News Analysis - 10/11/2024 To 16/11/2024

1) India is constructing 60 km railway test track with curves, bridges etc in Rajasthan, costing ?820 crore, to test bullet trains.

As part of its push towards modernising the railway network, India is constructing its first-ever dedicated test track for comprehensive rail testing in Rajasthan. This state-of-the-art facility, spanning 60 kilometres, is designed to test high-speed, semi-high-speed, and metro rolling stock with meticulous attention to safety, stability, and durability. Expected to be completed by December 2025, this track marks a milestone for Indian Railways, allowing extensive testing without disrupting existing passenger services.

The Rs 820 crore project will feature seven large bridges, 129 small bridges, and four testing stations, namely Gudha, Jabdinagar, Nawan, and Mithadi. Special attention has been given to ensuring that these structures can withstand the intense demands of high-speed trials. Equipped with RCC and steel bridges designed to resist vibrations, the track is also engineered to be corrosion-resistant, thanks to stainless steel components that can withstand the alkaline environment around Sambhar Lake.

A key objective of this dedicated test track is to enable trials for high-speed trains, including future bullet trains, at speeds up to 230 km/h. Once the first phase of construction is complete, these trains will undergo various tests to evaluate how they perform under conditions that mimic real operational challenges. This will include assessing stability on curved tracks, particularly at high speeds, to ensure that trains remain safe and steady while making turns.

2) Supreme Court rules drivers with light motor vehicle license can drive small trucks weighing up to 7,500 kg.

In a relief for commercial vehicle drivers, the Supreme Court on Wednesday (November 6, 2024) held that a person holding a driving licence for a light motor vehicle (LMV) is also entitled to drive a transport vehicle with an unladen weight not exceeding 7,500 kg. The judgement of a five-judge Constitution Bench headed by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud is a jolt to insurance companies which had been rejecting claims if accidents involved transport vehicles of a particular weight and if the drivers were not authorised to drive them as per legal stipulation.

He said the LMV driving licence holders, who spent maximum time behind the wheels, are seeking an answer from the court and their grievances cannot be rejected on technical grounds. Besides the CJI and Justice Roy, the Bench also comprised Justices P.S. Narasimha, Pankaj Mithal and Manoj Misra.

The Bench had reserved its verdict on August 21, 2024 on the vexatious legal issue after Attorney General R. Venkataramani, appearing for the Centre, had submitted that the consultations to amend the Motor Vehicles (MV) Act, 1988 are “almost complete”. The top court asked the Centre to complete the exercise of amending the law at the earliest. The legal question, which was answered by the Bench, was whether a person holding a driving licence for a light motor vehicle (LMV) is also entitled to drive a transport vehicle with an unladen weight not exceeding 7,500 kg.

3) Govt plans to set up mini Silicon Valley with data centres, chip design research etc  in Goa: Piyush Goyal

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has said that the government is looking to set up a "mini-Silicon Valley" replete with a hub for global capacity centres in Goa. Stating that the presence of the wellness industry, regenerative tourism, and home stays alongside five-star hotels and cultural tourism make Goa an attractive destination, the Minister highlighted a recent survey which had judged the state as the best wedding destination in India.

Speaking at Amazing Goa Global Business Summit where he had joined remotely from Mumbai, the Minister said that 23 industrial estates in the coastal state are currently attracting investments which presents a large opportunity for global and domestic investors to co-develop.

The Central and the state government aim to create an additional framework for hi-tech industries to come to Goa as a preferred destination for data centres, to develop and designing high quality semiconductor chips and for producing high-quality electronics and automobile products. Several plans of the state government in the sector may also need Central funding.

4) India did the entire world a favour by buying Russian oil, or prices would have shot above $200/bl: Hardeep Puri

India’s decision to buy oil from Russia amid global uncertainties helped avert a potential spike in global oil prices, Union petroleum and natural gas minister Hardeep Singh Puri said in a post on social media platform X on Thursday. "India did the entire world a favour by buying Russian oil because if we had not done so, the global oil prices would have skyrocketed to $200/barrel," Hardeep Singh Puri wrote.

The Union minister emphasised that Russian oil was not subject to sanctions, but only a price cap, which he assured Indian entities had adhered to. He also pointed out that European and Asian countries had also engaged in significant energy purchases from Russia, stating, “Let us not forget that while some ill-informed commentators talked about putting restrictions on India, many other European and Asian nations bought much more crude oil, diesel, LNG, rare earth minerals worth billions of dollars from Russia.”

The minister further highlighted India’s commitment to sourcing energy at the best rates available. "We will continue to buy energy from whoever offers the best rates to our oil companies.

5) 6 new Trump Towers worth Rs 15,000 cr to be built in Pune, Gurugram, Noida Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru.

After Donald Trump's historic win in US elections 2024, India is expected to become the largest real estate hub for Trump Towers outside of the United States. The licensed partner for the Trump Organisation in India, Tribeca Developers, has finalised six new real estate deals spread across Pune, Gurugram, Noida, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru totalling 8 mn sq ft with the US brand. These are expected to have a sale potential of over ?15000 crore.

Incidentally, India has the highest number of Trump branded projects in the world, after the US, with four Trump branded projects, totaling 3 m sq ft. Tribeca Developers, Trump’s India partner, has indicated that they have finalized six new projects across India, totaling 8 m sq ft and with a sale potential of over ?15,000 crore. The brand is now all set to enter three new markets Noida, Bengaluru and Hyderabad and come up with repeat projects in Pune, Mumbai and Gurugram.

6) Bitcoin, the world's biggest cryptocurrency, has reached its all-time high of $82,490 on Trump's promise to make USA crypto capital of the world.

Cryptocurrency Bitcoin crossed the $90,000-mark on Wednesday, November 13 after Republican candidate and US President-elect Donald Trump pledged to ease regulation around the digital tokens, reported the news agency AFP. Bitcoin rallied to an all-time high above $91,000 before easing to $90,670 on Wednesday. The volatile digital asset has gained a lot since Trump won last week's US presidential election, beating its previous record highs multiple times.

Trump, in his election campaign, said that he plans to make the United States the “bitcoin and cryptocurrency capital of the world,” according to the agency report. The Trump administration's previous tenure witnessed corporate tax cuts that brought more liquidity into the market, encouraging investment in cryptocurrencies.

Trump also announced in September that he, along with his sons and entrepreneurs, will launch a digital currency platform named World Liberty Financial. But it had a faltering sales launch earlier this month with a fraction of tokens that went on the market finding a buyer, as per the agency report.

7) US has ordered world's largest contract chipmaker TSMC to stop shipments of advanced Al chips to China.

The US government has ordered Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, to halt shipments of advanced chips to Chinese customers involved in artificial intelligence (AI) applications. This move, effective from Monday 11th November, represents a significant escalation in the ongoing tech war between the US and China, with potentially far-reaching consequences for the global semiconductor industry.

As reported by Reuters, the Department of Commerce sent a letter to TSMC imposing export restrictions on sophisticated chips, specifically those with 7-nanometer or more advanced designs, destined for China. These chips are crucial components in AI accelerators and graphics processing units (GPUs), powering the development and deployment of AI technologies.

This action follows the discovery of a TSMC chip in a Huawei AI processor, revealed by Tech Insights last month. This finding indicated a potential violation of US export controls, as Huawei is on a restricted trade list that requires suppliers to obtain licenses for shipping any goods or technology to the company. Asia Times highlighted, “TSMC’s 7nm chip ban [is] aimed at blocking China’s Huawei Technologies from being able to place orders with TSMC via third parties.”

8) Indian households acquired ?820 lakh cr wealth in last 10 years, of which 11% came from stocks: Morgan Stanley

Over the past 10 years, Indian households have acquired around $9.7 trillion in wealth. This could have a wide range of implications, from higher domestic equity flows, increased consumption and a greater propensity to borrow, India's financialization is truly underway, says international brokerage Morgan Stanley.

This financialization is driven by macro stability, digitalization, rising appetite for equity investing and strong earnings growth prospects, said the brokerage. One of the key reasons behind is this India's rising digitalization. "The digital revolution has already changed the way India handles documents, invests and makes payments, and it is also set to alter the way India lends, spends and insures," the brokerage said, which had led to rapid financialisation.

However, according to Morgan Stanley, Indian households are still under-invested in equities. At cost, only 3 percent of the household balance sheet is in equities excluding equity holdings of founders. We think this number could rise to double digits in the coming years for the reasons already discussed above. Indeed, if one looks at the wealth creation over the past decade, about 11 percent has come from equities," the brokerage said in a report.

9) Air India has completed its merger with Vistara, marking the end of the 10-year-old  brand.

Air India-Vistara merger: Tata Group-owned Air India on Tuesday, November 12, completed its much-awaited merger with Vistara to create an integrated airline, partly owned by Singapore Airlines, that will be flying 1,20,000 passengers daily and connect over 90 destinations. The completion of the amalgamation, which was announced in November 2022, comes within six weeks of the integration of Air India Express and AIX Connect.

The two mergers have created a full-service carrier and a low-cost carrier of scale for the Tata Group, which is seeking to establish a "world-class global aviation company with an Indian heart." The amalgamation marks a significant boost and consolidation in the Indian aviation space. Earlier in the day, the nearly 10-year-old Vistara—a joint venture between Tata and Singapore Airlines—flew its last flight from Delhi to Singapore.

Singapore Airlines (SIA) will invest an additional ?3,194.5 crore in the enlarged entity as part of the merger. The enlarged Air India will operate over 5,600 weekly flights, connecting more than 90 domestic and international destinations with a fleet of 210 aircraft, according to Air India. "Post-merger, Air India Group operates a combined fleet of 300 aircraft covering 55 domestic and 48 international destinations, with 312 routes and 8,300 weekly flights. The collective staff strength stands at over 30,000," said Air India in its official statement on Tuesday.

10) SoftBank to exit Ola Electric. It had invested ?2,800 cr for a 17.83% stake.

Talking about Ola Electric in an exclusive interaction with CNBC-TV18, Sumer Juneja, managing partner for India and EMEA at SoftBank, said they are "in no hurry to exit". When asked if SoftBank would partially get out of Ola Electric once the lock-in period ends in six months or if it depends on the market, Juneja said, “depends on the performance of the company, but it's definitely going to be a very thoughtful, gradual exit.”

Juneja’s remarks come after a Japanese investor announced its July to September quarter results, according to which Ola Electric added $401 million to SoftBank’s Vision Fund. This is the first earnings announcement after Ola Electric’s market debut. SoftBank holds a 17.83% stake in Ola Electric as of September 2024. The Japanese technology investor had invested over ?2,800 crore in the company.

Reflecting on India’s EV ride on the back of Ola Electric at a time when government subsidies are reducing, Juneja said, “Over the 5-10 year period, we should be reaching 30-40% penetration in EV. It is a large two-wheeler market. It is more economical in the long run for a consumer to have an EV. We make it at affordable prices.”

11) Reliance Industries to invest ?65,000 cr in Andhra Pradesh to set up compressed biogas projects.

Asia’s leading business tycoon Mukesh Ambani is set to make a massive investment of Rs. 65,000 crore in Andhra Pradesh over the next five years through Reliance Industries Limited (RIL). The plan involves establishing 500 compressed biogas (CBG) plants in the state, marking RIL’s largest clean energy investment outside Gujarat. This initiative is expected to generate employment for approximately 250,000 individuals, both directly and indirectly.

According to reports, each plant will require an investment of Rs. 130 crore and will be developed on barren land across Andhra Pradesh. The collaboration was finalized during discussions between Anant Ambani, head of RIL’s clean energy initiatives, and Andhra Pradesh’s IT Minister Nara Lokesh, who leads the state’s employment creation sub-committee.

To finalize the agreement, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) will be signed on Tuesday in Vijayawada between Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) and the Andhra Pradesh Industries Department, in the presence of Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu.

12) Anil Ambani's Reliance Power faces criminal proceedings by SECI, for submitting forged documents and fake bank guarantees.

This follows SECI’s recent decision to bar RPower from participating in any of its future tenders for three years after the company submitted a fake document for a tender issued by the state-run entity in June this year.

“Subsequent to the debarment notices issued by SECI to the entities, namely Reliance Power and Reliance NU BESS, due to the submission of a fake endorsement of a foreign bank guarantee (BG) as part of its bid submission, it was later discovered that the BG submitted by Reliance NU BESS (known as Maharashtra Energy Generation at the time of bid submission) was also fake,” SECI’s latest notice noted.

Earlier this month, this paper reported that RPower had submitted invalid bank documents twice for the same tender, using an email ID later flagged by State Bank of India as fake. SECI had not responded to Business Standard’s emailed queries at that time. In its latest notice, SECI revealed that its investigation found the BG to be fraudulent, as the foreign bank that allegedly issued it has no branch in the Philippines which was cited in the documents.

13) Sundrop oil maker Agro Tech Foods will acquire sauce maker Del Monte Foods in a  ?1,300 cr share swap deal.

Agro Tech Foods, backed by private equity firm Samara Capital, is set to acquire Del Monte Foods Pvt Ltd -- a joint venture between Bharti Enterprises and Del Monte Pacific -- in a share swap deal valuing the joint venture at over Rs 1,300 crore. The acquisition will see Agro Tech issue 1.33 crore shares at Rs 975.5 apiece to the current shareholders of Del Monte Foods — Bharti Enterprises and Del Monte Pacific — as consideration for their ownership stake.

Del Monte will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Agro Tech. Bharti Enterprises will become the second largest shareholder in Agro Tech Foods, with nearly 21 percent, after the deal is completed. Additionally, Agro Tech Foods, through Del Monte Foods, will acquire an exclusive, perpetual license for the Del Monte brand in India.

14) Manipur recorded the highest inflation rate among states at 9.69% as India's CPl inflation surged to a 14-month high of 6.21% in Oct

After being in the lower rungs of the ladder for most of early 2024, the inflation rate has seen a steady surge in the past few months. The retail inflation rate measured through the consumer price index soared to 6.21 per cent for the month of October. This broke the RBI's inflation threshold of 6 per cent.

Previously, in the month of September, the national inflation rate had surged from the low of 3.65 per cent (in August) to 5.49 per cent. When we look at the granular data of the Indian states, we see that many states recorded an inflation number greater than the national average.

The northeastern state of Manipur reported the highest inflation rate, as the state's CPI surged to 9.69 per cent. Amongst the big states, Chhattisgarh had an inflation rate of 8.84 per cent. One of the most populous states, Bihar, reported an inflation rate of 7.83. Its neighbouring Uttar Pradesh had an inflation rate of 7.36 per cent.

15) Mahindra Thar Roxx, XUV 3XO & XUV 400 achieve 5 Stars In Bharat NCAP.

Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., India’s leading SUV manufacturer, continues its legacy of building safe SUVs with another significant milestone. Thar ROXX, XUV 3XO, and XUV400 have all secured the coveted 5-star safety rating under the Bharat New Car Assessment Programme (Bharat-NCAP), reinforcing Mahindra’s long-standing commitment to engineering SUVs that prioritise occupant safety while delivering exceptional performance and cutting-edge technology.

Thar ROXX has made history by becoming the first body-on-frame SUV to secure a 5-star Bharat-NCAP rating, achieving the highest overall score by any ICE vehicle in Bharat-NCAP testing. It earned an outstanding 31.09/32 in adult occupant protection (AOP) and 45/49 in child occupant protection (COP).

Latest C-SUV sensation, XUV 3XO, scored 29.36/32 in adult occupant protection (AOP) and 43/49 in child occupant protection (COP), underscoring Mahindra’s commitment to building India’s safest SUVs. Meanwhile, the XUV400 achieved an impressive 30.377/32 for AOP and 43/49 for COP, making it one of the safest electric vehicles on Indian roads.