- Monday, March 10, 2025
By: Shubham Ghosh
Here are news in brief related to Indian economy and business for Friday, September 9, 2022:
Indian oil marketing companies (OMCs) are unlikely to slash retail prices of fuel such as petrol and diesel despite a sharp correction in crude oil prices, Moneycontrol reported. Indian petroleum and natural gas minister Hardeep Singh Puri said that the OMCs need more time to recover their losses when he was asked whether the falling crude prices in the last one week can bring the retail price of fuel down. Puri was talking at a media event on Friday. Benchmark Brent crude oil prices have fallen to under $90 a barrel from around $110 levels in end-July.
Amp Energy on Friday announced its foray into solar cells and modules manufacturing, unveiling its plan to set up a joint venture with Websol Energy Systems, Press Trust of India reported. ”Amp Energy India… has announced a joint venture (JV) with Websol Energy Systems Ltd for manufacturing and production of up to 1.2 GW monocrystalline PERC solar cells and modules,” a company statement said. The production of monocrystalline PERC solar cells and modules would be in two phases of 600 MW each at Websol’s existing unit at Falta in West Bengal. The company’s entry into manufacturing solar cells will help it to provide a better control over the supply chain for critical components, Amp Energy said.
CreditSights, part of the Fitch Group, said it had discovered calculation errors in its recent debt report on two power and transmission companies controlled by India’s richest person, Gautam Adani, after a conversation with the management, Reuters reported. Debt research firm CreditSights’ report late last month calling the conglomerate “deeply overleveraged” and flagging other risks had sent shares of many Adani companies down. In a report dated September 7, CreditSights said that it had spoken with Adani Group’s finance and other executives and reconciled some figures for Adani Transmission and Adani Power. “(Adani’s) Management views that the group’s leverage is at manageable levels, and that its expansion plans have not been mainly debt funded,” CreditSights said.
The income-tax department has raided over 20 premises spread over Solapur, Osmanabad, Nashik and Kolhapur districts of Maharashtra belonging to two groups engaged in the business of sand mining, sugar manufacturing, road construction, healthcare and running of medical colleges, Asian News International reported. The search and seizure action was carried on August 25, according to an official statement released by the Indian finance ministry on Friday. During the course of the search operation, a large amount of incriminating evidence, in the form of hard copy documents and digital data have been found and seized. This evidence reveals various modus-operandi of tax evasion adopted by the group including booking of bogus expenses, undisclosed cash sales, unexplained loans/ credit entries, etc, the ministry said.
Passenger vehicle wholesale in India witnessed a 21 per cent annual growth in August, riding on improved supplies of semiconductors and festive demand, according to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), PTI reported. As per the latest data released by industry body Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), passenger vehicle (PV) dispatches to dealers stood at 2,81,210 units last month, against 2,32,224 units in August 2021 Passenger car wholesales were up 23 per cent at 1,33,477 units last month, as against 1,08,508 units in the year-ago period, SIAM said. Utility vehicle dispatches were higher by 20 per cent at 1,35,497 units in August, as compared to 1,12,863 units in the same month a year ago. Similarly, total two-wheeler wholesales increased to 15,57,429 units last month, compared to 13,38,740 units in the year-ago period, a growth of 16 per cent.
Indian budget carrier SpiceJet on Friday said it has appointed Ashish Kumar as its chief financial officer (CFO), PTI reported. Kumar’s appointment for the post is effective from September 9, SpiceJet said in a statement. Kumar succeeds Sanjeev Taneja, who quit the struggling carrier on August 31. Before joining the Gurugram-based low-cost airline, Kumar was serving as vice president for corporate finance at Interglobe Enterprises since January 2019, SpiceJet said. Previously, he served as the CFO at Interglobe Hotels for five years from 2014 to 2018, as per the statement.
Digital insurer Edelweiss General (EGI) has announced that it has extended its Group Health Insurance policy to include members of the LGBTQIA+ community, ANI/NewsVoir reported. EGI’s revamped group health policy now covers both LGBTQIA+ and unmarried partners (partners of same or other gender, who may be living in). The policy will also cover disabled children without any age limit and dependent children (with no disability) up to 30 years of age. EGI’s policy is a big step towards a more inclusive healthcare framework, given the fact that traditionally, group health policies only included the legally wedded spouse of individuals. Companies opting for EGI’s group health cover can now offer comprehensive cover customized for the needs of diverse employees.
