- Monday, February 24, 2025
By: Shubham Ghosh
HERE are news in brief on Indian economy and business for Tuesday, May 28, 2024:
Average air ticket prices in India spiked nine per cent in the first quarter of 2024, primarily on account of general increase in travel demand and “much stronger” economic growth, according to Australian Securities Exchange-listed FCM Travel. At the same time, FCM Travel said there was a 20 per cent jump in the premium class bookings in the January-March period compared to the same period last year, driven by sectors such as manufacturing IT as well as conglomerates. “Domestic air capacity has increased more than 3 per cent but due to the demand in travel, we have seen average ticket prices increase by 9 per cent which is attributed to a much stronger economic growth and a general increase in demand for travel,” said Sunny Sodhi, managing director of FCM Travel India.
India is likely to continue on its economic policy trajectory whether prime minister Narendra Modi wins his third straight term in office or not, Raghuram Rajan, a former governor of the country’s central bank, has said. “There is a lot of continuity built into Indian policy,” he said in an interview with Bloomberg TV’s David Ingles on Tuesday. “Whatever government comes in will take a lot of the good stuff that has been done and continue it.” the economist, now a professor of finance at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, said on the sidelines of the UBS Asian Investment Conference in Hong Kong. The new government will unveil a budget shortly after its term begins, which will likely focus on “all the good stuff that is happening while trying to see what other changes have to be made,” Rajan added.
US-based Novelis Inc, which is part of Hindalco Industries, will launch an initial public offer (IPO) to raise up to $945 million (£740 million), with an estimated equity valuation of up to $12.6 billion (£9.8 billion). In the proposed public issue, around 45 million shares will be sold by Novelis Inc’s sole shareholders A V Minerals (Netherlands) NV, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hindalco Industries Ltd. The company will not receive any proceeds. Novelis, a leading player in the production of innovative aluminium products and solutions and the world’s largest, announced the launch of its roadshow for the initial public offering (IPO) of 45 million common shares held by its sole shareholder.
Indian finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday hinted at the government’s potential reevaluation of alterations to the income-tax regulations that require payments to micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to be settled within 45 days, Moneycontrol reported. Failure to comply would necessitate companies to pay taxes on the outstanding amount. The mandate came into effect on April 1. The minister urged MSMEs to send representations on the same, adding that the government will “surely do something about it in the July Budget.” Speaking at an event in Ludhiana in the northern state of Punjab, Sitharaman said the changes mandating the 45-day payment window was started after requests from MSMEs themselves.
India and Singapore are looking at firming up around half-a-dozen ambitious agreements to shore up cooperation in areas of green economy, digitalisation, energy, food security and healthcare soon with an aim to further bolster their strategic ties, diplomatic sources said on Tuesday. The pacts are likely to be finalised at the next meeting of the India-Singapore Ministerial Roundtable (ISMR) that is set to be held in the Southeast Asian nation by around September-October, they said. “There is an intent on both sides to move forward on the ambitious agreements within the first 100 days of formation of a new government in India,” said a source.
(With agencies)
