According to a statement from the company, the ‘Yuva 2’ smartphone, priced at Rs 6,999, will be available across Lava’s retail network starting Wednesday.
Published Date – 01:15 PM, Wed – 2 August 23
New Delhi:Domestic smartphone brand Lava on Wednesday launched a new affordable smartphone which features a glass back finish, 5,000mAh battery and more.
The ‘Yuva 2’ smartphone costs Rs 6,999 and will be available across Lava’s retail network starting Wednesday, the company said in a statement.
It comes in three colours — Glass Blue, Glass Lavender and Glass Green.
“Yuva 2 features a Unisoc T606 OctaCore Processor with 3GB RAM with UFS 2.2 compliant 64GB ROM, which is expandable by an additional 3GB of virtual RAM,” the company added.
The new smartphone comes with a 90Hz refresh rate along with Lava’s new ‘SINK’ Display philosophy.
The SINK Display philosophy is focused on providing a high screen-to-body ratio and lower bezels.
The device features a 13 MP Dual AI Rear Camera and a 5 MP front camera with screen flash. It also comes with a Side Fingerprint Scanner, Anonymous Auto Call Recording and Dual Microphones for Noise Cancellation.
Moreover, it features a 5,000 mAh battery and comes with a Type-C 10W charger.
“Yuva 2 currently runs on Android 12 while providing users a clean and bloatware free android experience,” the smartphone maker said.
The company also promised one Android upgrade and quarterly security updates for a period of two years.
For a better after-sales consumer experience, a ‘free service at home’ will be provided to the customers, in which service will be provided at the customers’ doorstep.
Customers will be able to avail the service within the phone’s warranty period.
Almost a fortnight ago, Indian stock indices had touched their fresh highs and in the process, the benchmark Sensex topped the 67,000 mark for the first time.
Published Date – 02:00 PM, Wed – 2 August 23
New Delhi: Indian stock indices traded sharply lower Wednesday, tracking weak cues from overnight US markets.
At the time of writing this report, Sensex and Nifty were almost one per cent lower from their previous day’s closing. All Nifty sectoral indices were in the red, with Nifty auto, Nifty metal, Nifty PSU bank, and Nifty private bank declining the most.
Coming to specific stocks, NTPC, Hero Motocorp, Tata Steel, Tata Motors, and BPCL were the top five losers among the Nifty 50 group, while Divis Labs, Nestle India, Hindustan Unilever, Asian Paints, and HDFC Life were among the top gainers.
Almost a fortnight ago, Indian stock indices had touched their fresh highs and in the process, the benchmark Sensex topped the 67,000 mark for the first time.
The consistent inflow of foreign portfolio funds (net buyers in Indian stock markets for the fifth straight month), firm economic outlook, firm global markets, and a relative moderation in inflation contributed to the latest bull run in Indian stocks.
However, in the past few sessions, there has been a consistent but steady decline in both the indices, partly attributable to profit booking by investors on fears of high stock valuations, something flagged by analysts.
Edible oil major Adani Wilmar had posted a net profit of Rs 194 crore in the year-ago period
Published Date – 06:27 PM, Wed – 2 August 23
New Delhi: Edible oil major Adani Wilmar on Wednesday reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 79 crore in the first quarter of this fiscal year due to lower income amid fall in prices of cooking oils.
The company had posted a net profit of Rs 194 crore in the year-ago period.
Total income fell 12 per cent to Rs 12,928 crore during the April-June period of this fiscal from Rs 14,724 crore in the corresponding period of the previous financial year, Adani Wilmar said in a regulatory filing.
Adani Wilmar sells edible oils and other food items under Fortune Brand.
In volume terms, the company achieved 25 per cent growth to 14.9 lakh tonnes from 11.9 lakh tonnes.
“Our margins during the quarter got impacted by high-cost inventory in a falling edible oil price environment and dis-aligned hedges compared to spot prices of physical commodity,” said Angshu Mallick, MD & CEO of Adani Wilmar, said.
However, he said: “We have regained the momentum in our edible oil business with the decline in the edible oil prices. The soft prices of edible oil are expected to augur well for the industry.” The company is gaining good share from regional brands in the under-indexed customer segments with marketing and sales focus on specific geographies and oil categories, Mallick added.
To capture the opportunity in the value-added blended oils, Mallick said the company is investing in this segment under Xpert brand.
Across different business segments, Adani Wilmar reported a 14 per cent fall in revenue from edible oils business to Rs 9,845 crore in the first quarter of FY24 from Rs 11,511 crore in the previous year.
The turnover of industry essentials segment fell 3 per cent to Rs 1,986 crore from Rs 2,353 crore.
However, the revenue of food and FMCG segment rose 28 per cent to Rs 1,097 crore from Rs 860 crore.
Elaborating on the performance, Adani Wilmar pointed out that since the first quarter of the last fiscal year, “the price of edible oils has been declining. This trend continued during Q1’24 with the price of edible oils experiencing further decline, in the range of 5 per cent to 20 per cent (Q1’24 vs Q4’23), before recovering as the quarter came to a close.” This reduction has been attributed to a combination of factors, including the decline in consumer demand in developed economies, easing of supply at the Black Sea region and robust production of oilseeds globally, the company noted.
Adani Wilmar, a 50:50 joint venture between business conglomerate Adani Group and Singapore-based Wilmar, got listed on the stock exchange last year after raising Rs 3,600 crore through an Initial Public Offer (IPO).
India had eight companies in the Fortunes Global 500 list this year five of them from the public sector IOCL, LIC, ONGC, BPCL and SBI and just three from the private sector
Updated On – 08:09 PM, Wed – 2 August 23
New Delhi:Reliance Industries maintained its highest ranking among Indian corporates in the latest Global 500 list published by Fortune for year 2023.
Reliance Industries improved its rank by 16 places to rank number 88 rank from its previous year’s rank of 104. The company has gained a whopping 67 places in last two years from 155 of 2021.
Thus, the company has gained 83 places in the Fortune Global 500 rankings in just two years. The ranking of 88 is the best ever achieved by Reliance on the Fortune Global 500 ranking list.
India had eight companies in the Fortunes Global 500 list this year five of them from the public sector IOCL, LIC, ONGC, BPCL and SBI and just three from the private sector.
It is now 20th year of RIL being a part of the Fortune Global 500 list much longer than any other private sector company in India.
Fortune Global 500 list ranks Companies by total revenues for their respective fiscal years ended on or before March 31, 2023 Reliance Industries closed FY23 with record high consolidated revenues of Rs 976,524 crore, up 23.2 per cent, and EBITDA of Rs 154,691 crore, up 23.1 per cent Y-o-Y, with each of the O2C, Retail and Digital Services businesses posting all time high revenues.
Reliance Industries has maintained its highest ranking among Indian corporates in the latest Fortune Global 500 list, jumping 16 places to rank at number 88.
Published Date – 08:40 PM, Wed – 2 August 23
New Delhi: Billionaire Mukesh Ambani‘s Reliance Industries has maintained its highest ranking among Indian corporates in the latest Fortune Global 500 list, jumping 16 places to rank at number 88.
Reliance was ranked at number 104 in the 2022 ranking and in the 2023 ranking it is placed at number 88, according to the publication.
The company has gained a whopping 67 places in the last two years from number 155 in 2021.
As many as eight Indian companies feature in this year’s Fortune Global 500 ranking. State-owned Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) jumped 48 places to rank at number 94.
Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) slipped nine places to rank at 107. Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (number 158), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (number 233), and State Bank of India (number 235) were the other state-owned firms on the list.
Tata Motors rose 33 places to rank at number 337 and Rajesh Exports jumped 84 spots to number 353.
The ranking of number 88 is the best-ever achieved by Reliance on the Fortune Global 500 ranking list.
It is now the 20th year of Reliance being a part of the Fortune Global 500 list – much longer than any other private sector company in India.
Fortune Global 500 list ranks companies by total revenues for their respective fiscal years ended on or before March 31, 2023.
Reliance Industries closed FY23 with record-high consolidated revenues of Rs 9,76,524 crore, up 23.2 per cent, and EBITDA of Rs 1,54,691 crore, up 23.1 per cent, with each of the O2C, retail and digital services businesses posting all-time high revenues.
GST Council on Wednesday decided to levy a 28 per cent GST on online gaming and casinos on the face value of bets at entry level
Published Date – 09:45 PM, Wed – 2 August 23
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman chairs the 51st meeting of the GST Council, via video conferencing, in New Delhi on Wednesday. (ANI Photo)
New Delhi: The GST Council on Wednesday decided to levy a 28 per cent GST on online gaming and casinos on the face value of bets at entry level, even though three states — Delhi, Goa and Sikkim — expressed dissent.
The Centre will bring amendments to the Central GST law in the ongoing monsoon session of Parliament, following which states will pass the amendments in their respective assemblies to pave way for introduction of changes in law by October 1.
“The valuation may be done based on the amount paid or payable or deposited with the supplier by or on behalf of the player, excluding the amount entered into games bets out of winnings of previous games and bets and not on the total value of each bets placed. Entry (level) whatever they pay to get chips and not what they pay in each game,” Sitharaman said.
Giving an example, she said if a bet is placed for say Rs 1,000, and the player wins Rs 300, then if the player again places a bet of Rs 1,300, then GST will not be levied on the winning amount.
A review of the taxation of online gaming and casinos will be undertaken after 6 months or around April 2024 to see if any change in rules is required.
Briefing reporters after the 51st GST Council meeting here, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said for the purpose of GST levy, the valuation of supply of online gaming and casinos will be done based on the amount paid or deposited with the supplier, excluding the winning amount in the bet.
Revenue secretary Sanjay Malhotra said that offshore gaming platforms will have to register themselves with the GST authorities.
In case they do not follow the law, the government will invoke the provisions of the Information Technology Act to block those sites, Malhotra added.
The GST Council — the highest decision making body of the new indirect tax regime that comprises Union finance minister and representatives of all states — discussed the language of amendments that will be needed to enabling taxing of online gaming and casinos.
“We will undertake amendments to CGST Act at the earliest, in this session itself. From October 1, it will be implemented,” Sitharaman said.
Malhotra said the amendments will specifically define online gaming, online money gaming, virtual digital assets used to pay for online games, and supplier in case of online gaming.
Asked about the impact on the ongoing legal cases in case of online gaming, Malhotra said the decision of the GST Council is only clarificatory in nature as online gaming was always an actionable claim in the nature of betting and gambling on which 28 per cent GST is leviable.
The Council had at its meeting last month decided to levy a 28 per cent GST on full face value of bets placed and Wednesday’s meeting was to deliberate on the tax law changes that would be required to implement it.
Sitharaman said Delhi finance minister opposed 28 per cent tax on online gaming and wanted the matter to go back to group of ministers. Goa and Sikkim, whose revenues come from casinos, said 28 per cent GST should be levied on GGR (gross gaming revenue) or platform fees and not on face value.
Sitharaman, however, said other states, including Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Karnataka, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, wanted the decision taken at the Council meeting last month to be implemented at the earliest.
This was the biggest single-day fall for rupee in nearly six months. The Indian currency had witnessed the steepest intra-day fall of 68 paise on February 6
Published Date – 10:20 PM, Wed – 2 August 23
Mumbai: The rupee recorded its steepest single-day fall in nearly six months on Wednesday, declining 45 paise to settle at 82.67 against the US dollar amid weak domestic equities and unabated foreign fund outflows.
Rupee was trading in a negative note on risk aversion in global markets and weak Asian currencies. There was also downside pressure on the local unit due to strong dollar against major rivals overseas.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened at 82.38 against the dollar and touched a peak of 82.37 during intra-day. It finally ended the day at 82.67, registering a fall of 45 paise from its previous close.
This was the biggest single-day fall for rupee in nearly six months. The Indian currency had witnessed the steepest intra-day fall of 68 paise on February 6, when it had settled at 82.76 against the greenback.
On Tuesday, the rupee had settled at 82.22 against the dollar.
“We expect the rupee to trade with a negative bias on risk aversion in global markets and weak Asian currencies.
“Though the US dollar declined on a credit rating downgrade by Fitch, safe-haven demand amid risk aversion in global markets is providing a shield to the greenback,” Anuj Choudhary – Research Analyst at Sharekhan by BNP Paribas, said.
According to him, investors may also remain cautious ahead of the Bank of England’s monetary policy. “We expect the USD-INR spot to trade in the range of 82.20 to 83 in the near-term,” he added.
On Wednesday, USDINR gave an upward breakout after hovering near 82.25 for the past three days amid risk-averse sentiments, dollar outflows and higher crude oil prices, Dilip Parmar, Research Analyst, HDFC Securities, said.
The dollar flows and risk moods will drive the forex markets ahead of next week’s RBI’s monetary policy decision.
Broadly, USDINR has been oscillating between 83 to 81.50, since February 2022. “We believe the pair is expected to stay in the said range for a few more days amid the central bank’s intervention on both sides,” Parmar added.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.33 per cent to 102.64.
Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, declined by 2.27 per cent to USD 82.98 per barrel.
On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share BSE Sensex closed 676.53 points or 1.02 per cent lower at 65,782.78 points. The broader NSE Nifty fell 207.00 points or 1.05 per cent to close at 19,526.55 points.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital market on Wednesday as they offloaded shares worth Rs 1,877.84 crore, according to exchange data.
They assert that the majority of the casualties will be concentrated in MSMEs and startups that host new-age business models.
Published Date – 12:00 PM, Thu – 3 August 23
New Delhi: As the 51st GST Council meeting stayed firm on taxing online gaming at 28 per cent on gross value collected, industry players on Thursday once again criticised the decision, saying that taxing GST on deposits rather than the technology platform commission charged by the companies will make the unit economics unviable, wiping out 80 per cent of the industry.
Most of the fatalities will be concentrated in MSMEs and startups that house new age business models, according to them.
“This increase of 400 per cent will solely encourage the rise of monopolistic play. Reasonable taxation can protect our over 500 million internet consumers from illegal offshore products,” said Saumya Singh Rathore, Co-founder, WinZO.
In a joint statement, the Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports and E-Gaming Federation said that the new tax framework, while clarifying and resolving uncertainty, will lead to a very burdensome 350 per cent increase in GST and set the Indian online gaming industry back several years.
“However, it will allow gaming companies a fighting chance to innovate and rebuild the foundation of gaming in India,” they added.
The GST Council has also decided to review the decisions on the rate of tax and valuation after six months of implementation of the amendments, giving some hope to the industry.
“It has also been clarified that GST would apply on the entire sum collected upfront and subsequently the proceeds from winning won’t be taxed. It is a welcome clarification as there was some confusion on the issue,” said Pratik Jain, Partner, Price Waterhouse & Co.
It has also been clarified that offshore online gaming companies would have to take registration and comply, non-compliance could lead to blocking of such sites, Jain added.
According to Gunjan Prabhakaran, Partner and Leader, Indirect Tax, BDO India, the GST Council has recommended that the value of supply for online gaming and casinos should be the amount paid or payable to or deposited with the supplier by or on behalf of the player excluding the amount entered into gamesand not on the total value of each bet placed.
“This effectively means that the tax is levied on the amounts received by the online gaming platforms or casinos and the concern that there would be tax on individual bets placed has been addressed,” Prabhakaran said.
Sustained foreign fund outflows, strength of the American currency in the overseas market further dented sentiments, forex traders said.
Published Date – 12:45 PM, Thu – 3 August 23
Mumbai: The rupee depreciated 5 paise to 82.72 against the US dollar in early trade on Thursday as a negative trend in domestic equities and firm crude oil prices weighed on investor sentiments.
Sustained foreign fund outflows, strength of the American currency in the overseas market further dented sentiments, forex traders said.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened at 82.71, then touched 82.72, registering a decline of 5 paise over its last close.
On Wednesday, the rupee had settled at 82.67 against the dollar, registering a fall of 45 paise from its previous close.
This was the biggest single-day fall for the rupee in nearly six months. The Indian currency had witnessed the steepest intra-day fall of 68 paise on February 6, when it had settled at 82.76 against the greenback.
The rupee was trading in a negative note on risk aversion in global markets and weak Asian currencies. There was also downside pressure on the local unit due to strong dollar against major rivals overseas, traders said.
The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, rose 0.10 per cent to 102.68.
Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, advanced 0.10 per cent to USD 83.28 per barrel.
In the domestic equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex was trading 23.31 points or 0.04 per cent lower at 65,759.47. The broader NSE Nifty declined 11.90 points or 0.06 per cent to 19,514.65.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital markets on Wednesday as they offloaded shares worth Rs 1,877.84 crore, according to exchange data.
The 30-share BSE Sensex fell 299.99 points to 65,482.79. The NSE Nifty declined 87.5 points to 19,439.05.
Published Date – 01:00 PM, Thu – 3 August 23
Mumbai: Equity benchmark indices began the trade on a weak note on Thursday, continuing to fall for the third day running, in tandem with a bearish trend in global markets and continuous foreign fund outflows.
The 30-share BSE Sensex fell 299.99 points to 65,482.79. The NSE Nifty declined 87.5 points to 19,439.05.
From the Sensex pack, Titan, Bajaj Finserv, UltraTech Cement, Hindustan Unilever, Tata Steel and JSW Steel were the major laggards.
Leading jewellery and watchmaker Titan on Wednesday reported a 4.3 per cent drop in consolidated net profit at Rs 756 crore for the June quarter.
Sun Pharma, NTPC, HDFC Bank and Larsen & Toubro were among the gainers.
In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong were trading in the negative territory.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.11 per cent to USD 83.29 a barrel.
The Sensex tumbled 676.53 points or 1.02 per cent to settle at 65,782.78 on Wednesday. The Nifty fell by 207 points or 1.05 per cent to end at 19,526.55.
