Month: July 2023

FPIs pump in Rs 8,600-cr in Sep; pace of investment slows

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After infusing more than Rs 51,000 crore last month, foreign investors have slowed down the pace of equity buying in India in September so far, as they invested a little over Rs 8,600 crore, on sharp depreciation in rupee. Going forward, Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) are unlikely to buy aggressively amid rising dollar, VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, said.

Indication of further rate hike by the US Federal Reserve, fears of a recession, depreciating rupee and continued tensions in Russia and Ukraine will affect FPI flows, Basant Maheshwari, smallcase manager and Co-founder, Basant Maheshwari Wealth Advisers LLP, said.

FPIs turned net buyers in July after nine straight months of net outflows, which started in October last year. Between October 2021 till June 2022, they sold Rs 2.46 lakh crore in the Indian equity markets. According to the data, FPIs have bought equity to the tune of Rs 8,638 crore during September 1-23.

Also Read: RBI MPC may take hawkish stance on repo rate; must look at rationalization of tax rates, FPI limits for G-Sec

However, FPI activity has turned highly volatile with alternate bouts of buying and selling. They have sold on seven occasions in this month so far. In fact, in the last two trading sessions, they have pulled out Rs 2,500 crore from the Indian equity markets. Vijayakumar has attributed increased FPI selling in recent days to rising dollar and rising bond yields in the US.

In addition, the 75 basis points (bps) rate hike by the US Fed for the third consecutive time to control rising inflation and the surging dollar have impacted FPI buying, Wealth Advisers LLP’s Maheshwari said.

“The US Fed’s hawkish tone on interest rates and the fear of a global recession fuelled pessimism among investors,” Shrikant Chouhan, Head – Equity Research (Retail), Kotak Securities, said.

Foreign investors have been slowing down their equity buying in India since September. The scenario turned adverse after a hotter-than-expected inflation report dashed hopes that the US Fed would scale down its rate hikes in the coming months. The August US inflation edged 0.1 per cent higher from the preceding month to 8.3 per cent. Compared to one year ago, it eased as it was 8.5 per cent previously.

The aggressive stance of the central bank chair, which made it apparent that the Fed will once again go for another 75 bps hike for the fourth consecutive time in its next meeting as well, dented sentiments and turned investors risk averse towards emerging markets like India, Himanshu Srivastava, Associate Director – Manager Research, Morningstar India, said.

Also, currency movement is another factor that FPIs track very closely as it has a significant impact on the returns that they make on their investments in any country. Therefore, the outflows tend to accelerate in a scenario of rapid currency depreciation.

The sharp depreciation in Rupee as it touched all-time low of Rs 81.09 against the dollar does not augur well for foreign investments, he added.

“With the dollar index above 111 and the US 10-year bond yield above 3.7 per cent FPIs are unlikely to buy aggressively, going forward. The situation will change if the dollar index and US bond yields decline,” Vijayakumar said. In addition, foreign investors have pumped in Rs 5,903 crore in the debt market during the month under review.

Apart from India, FPI flows were positive for Indonesia and Philippines, on the other hand, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand witnessed outflows during the period under review

Brokers on edge as Sebi account settlement deadline looms

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The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) diktat on running account settlement is expected to result in outflows of thousands of crores in cash balances of brokers on October 7, impacting trading volumes the next few days and the broking business.

According to earlier regulations, brokers had to settle the client’s unused funds lying in the trading accounts at least once in 90 days (every quarter) or 30 days. This was on a rolling settlement basis and referred to as ‘running account settlement’ or ‘quarterly settlement of funds’. The aim was to prevent misuse of excess cash by brokers.

Under the new norms, the entire industry has to do the quarterly or monthly settlement on a specific date, which is the first Friday of each quarter or the first Friday of every month. If the first Friday is a trading holiday, such settlement will happen on the previous trading day.

Accordingly, the running account of funds are slated to be settled on October 7; January 6, 2023; April 6, 2023, and so on, for all the clients who have opted for quarterly settlement. Clients’ running accounts will be considered settled only by making actual payment into their bank accounts and not by making any journal entries. Clients are to be intimated by SMS and email.

“Sebi had found that a lot of brokers were not settling clients’ accounts on time or that the process to do so had become cumbersome. The new norms are aimed at bringing uniformity and ensuring that the entire industry has one single day to work towards the settlement process,” a broker said on condition of anonymity.

The move, however, may have industry-wide ramifications. 

Also Read: Sebi puts Fairfax Group-backed Go Digit’s IPO in ‘abeyance’

On October 7, every broker in the country, irrespective of what has happened before, will have to settle cash balances of all clients on the same day. This is a departure from the earlier practice of a rolling settlement, which ensured that surplus funds were available in the system on any given day despite the sundry settlement obligations.

“The entire industry will suddenly lose a large amount of cash balance running into thousands of crores on the same day,” said the broker quoted above. “Regular traders may bring back some of the cash in the next few days post settlement. Others may take several days or not come back at all. The market volumes may get severely impacted, at least for a few trading days after the settlement date.”

Brokers typically keep the excess cash collected from customers as fixed deposits with clearing corporations and that serves as margin money.

“This will result in a stress test for brokers,” said Ashish Rathi, head of risk and compliance at HDFC Securities. “If brokers have to pay all customers in the evening of a single day, they will have to break all the FDs and give it back to customers depending on customer obligation. This may lead to a liquidity crunch as the entire amount that has gone out may not come back in the next few days because of factors such as limits on banking transactions.”

He added that brokers who don’t have adequate funding capabilities will bear the brunt of the new norms.

Industry bodies have reached out to Sebi to express some of these concerns, said people in the know, and are hopeful that the regulator will issue a clarification soon. An email sent to Sebi did not get a response.

In 2021, Sebi had held extensive consultations with stock exchanges and industry representatives to devise a framework to mitigate the risk of misuse of client’s funds. “The intent of the online system is to discourage trading members from retaining excess funds of clients after settlement of running account, by considering all the client obligations across exchanges. The responsibility of monitoring settlement of running account compliance of members may be shared among stock exchanges,” the 2021 circular had said.

Meet Mukesh Ambani, Asia’s richest man; know about his lifestyle, net worth, businesses, family, and Disney deal

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Mukesh Dhirubhai Ambani, an Indian billionaire businessman and Asia’s richest man, is the chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries. He runs $110 billion (revenue) Reliance Industries, which has interests in petrochemicals, oil and gas, telecom, retail and financial services.

Mukesh Ambani’s early life

Born on April 19, 1957, in Yemen into a Gujarati Hindu family to Dhirubhai Ambani and Kokilaben Ambani, Mukesh Ambani has a younger brother Anil Ambani, and two sisters, Nina Bhadrashyam Kothari and Dipti Dattaraj Salgaonkar.

Mukesh Ambani’s family

In the 1970s, Mukesh Ambani and his family used to live in a two-bedroom apartment in Bhuleshwar, Mumbai. Eventually, Dhirubhai Ambani bought a 14-floor apartment block called Sea Wind in Mumbai’s Colaba area.

In 1985, Mukesh Ambani married Nita Ambani. The couple have two sons, Akash and Anant, and a daughter, Isha. They live in Antilia, a private 27-storey building in Mumbai, which was valued at US$1 billion and was the most expensive private residence in the world at the time it was built.

Mukesh Ambani’s education

Mukesh Ambani went to the Hill Grange High School in Mumbai’s Peddar Road. He attended the school with his brother and Anand Jain, who later became his close associate. The billionaire then went to St. Xavier’s College and received a BE degree in chemical engineering from the Institute of Chemical Technology.

He then did his MBA from Stanford University but withdrew in 1980 to help his father build Reliance.

Mukesh Ambani’s career

Reliance was founded by his late father Dhirubhai Ambani, a yarn trader, in 1966 as a small textile manufacturer. In 1981, he came back to India to help his father Dhirubhai Ambani with their family business – Reliance Industries Limited. After his father died in 2002, Ambani and his younger sibling Anil divvied up the family empire.

Mukesh Ambani’s deal with Disney

Mukesh Ambani’s RIL is reportedly nearing a deal to acquire Disney India’s television and digital businesses, in what could be the largest such deal in the Indian entertainment landscape.

Jio Platforms, Network18 Group, Reliance Petroleum, Hathway Cable & Datacom, DEN Network, etc., are some of the principal subsidiaries of the conglomerate.

Mukesh Ambani’s net worth

As per Forbes, Mukesh Ambani has an estimated net worth of $86.9 billion.

Sensex ends at nearly 1-month high; Nifty may hit 18100, momentum indicator enters into bullish crossover

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BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty 50 settled the weekly F&O expiry at nearly one month high, gaining 1 per cent. BSE Sensex gained 659 points or 1.12 per cent to settle at 59,688, while the NSE Nifty 50 surged 1 per cent to finish trade at 17,798.75. Index heavyweights such as ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, Infosys, HDFC Bank, State Bank of India (SBI), among others contributed the most to the indices gain. Broader markets too ended in green on Thursday. S&P BSE MidCap settled 0.3 per cent or 76 points up at 25,895, while BSE SmallCap gained 0.6 per cent or 176 points to finish at 27,475.

Also read: Govt to acquire Vodafone Idea stake after share price stabilises above this level; board offer at par value

The domestic financial market experienced a wave of optimism tracking strength across global markets as oil prices eased, cooling investor concerns about rising inflation. Despite premium valuations, consistent FII inflows are aiding Indian bourses to stay resilient. On the sectoral front, auto stocks were in focus as retail sales of automobiles grew 8.31% YoY in august while banking stocks moved in sync.

Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst, LKP Securities

The Nifty moved above the falling trendline on the daily chart. The setup looks bullish after the trendline breakout. Also, the index has moved above its recent consolidation on the daily timeframe. The momentum indicator has entered into a bullish crossover. Over the short term, the trend is likely to remain positive with a potential to reach 18100. On the lower end, support is visible at 17700.

Also read: FM Sitharaman’s fight against inflation: Centre, state govts collectively responsible to tame rising prices

Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research, HDFC Securities

Asian stocks (except China and Hongkong) rode a global rally on Thursday, making broad gains as oil prices steadied at lower levels not seen since before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. European stock markets traded higher Thursday, boosted by the positive close on Wall Street, with investors focusing on the latest European Central Bank policy-setting meeting. Nifty broke above the recent high of 17777 easily. Now the next tough resistance is 17992. On falls, 17651 could be the support.

Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research (Retail), Kotak Securities

Positive global cues helped markets rebound from 2-day losses led by banking stocks. India’s growth resilience is something that investors are betting on considering concerns of global slowdown amid rising interest rates. Technically, the Nifty took support near 17690 and reversed thereafter. On daily charts, the index has formed a small bullish candle and has reclaimed the 20 day SMA (Simple Moving Average) level as well. For the trend following traders now the 20 day SMA or 17650 would act as a key support level. Above which, the index could rally till 17900-18000. On the flip side, below 17650, bulls may prefer to exit from the long positions.

Kunal Shah, Senior Technical Analyst, LKP Securities

The Bank Nifty index surpassed the crucial hurdle of 40,000 on a closing basis which clears the room for further upside on the index. The index momentum oscillators are in the strong buy zone which confirms the internal strength. The index is likely to test the level of 41,000-41,500 on the upside and the lower end support remains at the 39,000 level.

Understanding debt mutual fund risks, and how to combat them

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By Niranjan Avasthi

It is well known that optimal portfolio diversification can help you generate compelling risk-adjusted returns, that is, mitigate downside risk while maintaining the upside potential of the portfolio. Generally, we gravitate towards debt investments to give our portfolio protection and towards equity investment to generate compelling long-term returns. However, it is important to understand that while equities are a riskier asset class, debt investments too have certain degrees of risk. Knowing and understanding some of the key risks in debt investments can help you better leverage the benefits of this asset class and choose the right debt fund for your portfolio.

Assume you invested Rs 100 in a 2-year bond which pays an interest of 10% per annum. After a year of holding the bond, the interest rates in the economy rise to 11%. 

Now the bond which you hold has 1 year remaining to mature and pays 10% interest. But a new bond in the market with 1-year maturity now pays 11% interest as rates have risen. This makes your bond less valuable. If you want to sell this bond in the market then you will have to compensate the buyer by providing a discount of 1% (this is an assumption to reflect the 1% change in rates – the discount could vary). Hence, you will now have to sell it for less than Rs 99.

As a result of an increase in interest rates, the price of the bond that you were holding fell.

In the same example, assume that the interest rates fell by 1%. Now the bond that you are holding becomes more valuable than the bond in the market since the interest rate on this bond is higher than the prevailing interest rate in the market. Now, when you want to sell this bond, you will demand a premium of 1% (this is an assumption to reflect the 1% change in rates – the discount could vary) for the extra interest that it provides. Hence, you will sell it for Rs. 101.

As a result of a decrease in interest rates, the price of the bond that you were holding rose.

Impact of maturity on bond prices

The demand and supply at a certain interest rate is one aspect that impacts the price of a bond. The other aspect is the maturity or the holding period of the bond. Generally, the longer the maturity of the bond, the larger will be the change in price due to interest rate changes.

Assume you invested Rs 100 in a 5-year bond that pays 10% interest. After 1 year, the interest rate rises by 1%. To compensate the buyer for the remaining 4 years, i.e., for 1% loss each year, you will need to sell your bond at Rs. 96.

In the earlier example, where the bond’s remaining maturity was 1-year and the rate went up by 1%, you sold the bond at Rs. 99. In the second example, where the bond’s remaining maturity was 4-years and the rate went up by 1%, you had to sell the bond at 96.

Due to the uncertainty that persists over a longer holding period, the longer maturity bond witnessed a higher price change. Due to the risk associated with holding the bond for a longer time period, the seller needs to offer a higher discount or offer more compensation. 

Choosing the right debt mutual fund

The NAV of a debt mutual fund responds to these changes. To arrive at a fair value of the bond, the mutual fund calculates its price daily after taking into account such changes in interest rates. As a result, the NAV gets impacted daily. 

The calculations done above are rough estimations. However, they can be calculated by using Modified Duration. This measures how sensitive the price of a bond is to changes in interest rates.

Understanding modified duration: A modified duration of 5 years means that a 1.5% change in the interest rate or yield will impact bond price by 7.5% (1.5 x 5). Higher maturity bonds will have the higher modified duration and therefore, will witness higher volatility due to changes in interest rates.

How to use modified duration while selecting a debt mutual fund?

Your investment time period and ability to absorb volatility is directly related to modified duration. If you want to invest for 3 months and don’t want volatility in returns, you will be better off investing in a debt fund with a modified duration of 3 months rather than 3 years. The modified duration can be found in the factsheet of the fund.

This is because, if you invest in a fund with a 3-month modified duration, even if interest rates go up by 1%, your returns will not fluctuate much. However, if you invest in a fund having 3 years modified duration, then a 1% rise in interest rate can reduce the NAV by 3%. 

How do you manage this uncertainty while investing in a debt fund?

There are 2 ways to manage this risk.

Match your investment horizon with the modified duration of the fund: For instance, if you are investing for 1year then invest in a fund with a modified duration of less than 1 year. This will reduce volatility in the returns due to changes in interest rate.Invest in target maturity funds: These funds have specific maturity like 3 years, 5 years or 10 years. They invest in bonds of the same maturity and hold them till they mature. Since the bonds in the portfolio are held till maturity, the risk is substantially mitigated. Whether interest rates go up or down, till the time you don’t sell the bond, it will not impact your returns (as you don’t have to sell at a discount). Similarly, if you stay invested in a target maturity debt fund till its maturity, your returns can be similar to what they were when you invested in the fund (yield at the time of investment). While the NAV may intermittently fluctuate, no loss or gains are realised since the bond is held till maturity. You can simply select a fund with a target maturity that suits your needs and stay invested till its maturity. This reduces the impact of interest rate changes on your returns.

Niranjan Avasthi is the Head – Product & Marketing, Edelweiss Asset Management Limited (EAML) and the views expressed above are his own. Please consult your financial advisor before investing.

Strong macros, falling crude attract FPIs to equities

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By Ashley Coutinho

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) have shopped for equities worth $8 billion since July, aided by a correction in commodity prices and India’s relatively strong macro fundamentals. This is after yanking out $33.5 billion between October and June.

India’s relative outperformance vis-à-vis other emerging markets has gained traction in recent weeks and the outperformance is now highest since 1999-2000 period, said the brokerage. The 50-share Nifty is trading at a valuation of 19x its 12-month forward P/E as on September 7.

“India’s sustained growth momentum and the relatively benign inflation in the context of continued global disarray on account of tensions in Ukraine and the Taiwan straits, have attracted FPIs back to Indian equities,” said UR Bhat, director at Alphaniti Fintech.

Also read: Buy these two stocks for near-term gains, charts show strength; Nifty needs to hold above 17550, buy on dips

India is seen as the favourite among emerging markets because of the relative resilience of the rupee and forex reserves, as also relatively low levels of external debt, current account and fiscal deficits.

“On a growth adjusted basis, Indian equities are better placed vis-à-vis competing emerging markets while offering much better sector diversity and a huge domestic market for goods and services,” said Bhat.

India’s weightage in the MSCI EM index has shot up to about 14.49% now from 8.1% at the end of October 2020. The number of constituents in the MSCI EM Standard Index is now at 108 stocks, compared with 87 as of October 2020.

“The two factors that have driven fresh inclusions and an uptick in the weightings of existing Indian constituents are the new regime on foreign ownership limit taking effect in the November 2020 review and domestic stocks’ strong outperformance to other EM counterparts,” said Abhilash Pagaria, head of Edelweiss Alternative and Quantitative Research.

FPIs have now turned their attention to domestic-facing sectors such as banks and consumption stocks which are immune to global shocks, according to Hitesh Jain, lead analyst – institutional equities at YES Securities. India’s thrust on manufacturing and a rebound in industrial output are also drawing investments in capital goods.

Also read: Reliance share price gains 1%, Mukesh Ambani’s RIL to acquire Shubhalakshmi Polyesters for Rs 1592 cr

The Nifty Bank and Nifty Consumption indices have risen 17.6% and 20%, respectively, in the last three months.

“FPIs’ under-ownership of Indian equities compared to historical levels, exodus of investments from Russia finding an alternative in India and funds looking at diversifying investments away from China are some of the factors prompting resumption of FPI inflows in Indian equities,” he said.

An increase in global crude oil prices, aggressive tightening by the US Federal Reserve and an upmove in the dollar index, however, could play spoilsport and impact FPI flows, said experts.

Rupee remains best performer against other global market currencies; watch out for these levels in INR

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The Jackson Hole last month delivered a fatal blow to the markets and proved to be a complete turnaround for fiat. Powell seemed quite “focused” on taking “firm measures” (vigorous hikes) to bring the inflation to Fed’s 2% target as the economy’s health with a strong labor market and robust growth supported the same. In addition, on the QT front, the Fed has been moving slowly and well behind schedule, where between June to Aug, $147.5 billion of balance sheet reduction was expected, but only $31.5 billion was achieved in the first two months. Plus, as the Fed is doubling the size of QT to $95 billion from this month, it will have to ramp up its balance sheet reduction program to meet the shortfall of previous months if they intend to hit the monthly caps. This will create a natural dollar shortage in the system inflating the dollar further.

As seen in the above tables, in the past 3 weeks, the DXY has risen by 3.66% whereas, amongst the Developed market currencies, the Japanese Yen is the worst hit with a nearly 7% fall followed by the New Zealand dollar, Pound with over a 5% fall each. The second largest traded currency EUR is also hit by a 2.8%

Also read: Gold Price Today, 8 Sep 2022: MCX gold may trade at Rs 50100-50750; all eyes on ECB monetary policy

For GBP, with the kingdom surrounded with majorly all sorts of crises, good news for those struggling with soaring energy costs comes with the latest GBP 130 billion relief announced by new PM Liz Truss. Well, the markets are reading this as another stimulus boost for the economy at a time of already strong inflation. The more cash the PM promises in terms of tax cuts or any fiscal support, the greater pressure it’ll create on the Bank of England to hike the rates larger and faster. As the economy goes into recession this year and the BoE is faced with the trade-off between high inflation and very low economic activity, the window for hiking rates seems to be getting closed more quickly than expected. Hence, creating more room for the pound to fall past 1.1450 toward 1.1000 and 1.0500, the levels last seen in the 1980s.

Whereas for EUR, while the data remains not so ugly as expected, new troubles are unveiled with every passing day challenging the stability of the currency. The pair have been struggling post-Russia completely shut its gas supply to Germany from the Nord stream. The pressure is growing on the EU as soaring energy prices are going to be a major problem for Europe, not just this year but in the years to come as well as nearly $2 trillion Surge in Europe’s energy bills is expected by 2023. That apart, energy trading exchanges in Europe are stressed by the requirement of $1.5 trillion margin calls to secure trades, sucking up capital and putting pressure on governments to provide more liquidity buffers. Rising prices have led to fear of defaults and hence the energy crisis deepens creating massive problems for the EU. Finland has warned of a “Lehman Brothers” type situation, with power companies facing sudden cash shortages. All in all, clouds remain darker with currently no light on the horizon keeping the EUR vulnerable with dives close to 0.9500 to 0.9200 levels remaining on cards.

Impact on USDINR amid the domestic and global fundamentals

As seen in the table above, the rupee has remained the best performer vs other developed market and Emerging market currencies against the dollar, with the currency weakening merely by 0.83%, the lowest amongst the rest.

Well, the credit for this goes to strong RBI’s foot into currency intervention, quite evidently seen from the reserves falling from over $600 billion in June to $561 billion now, though a major part of the fall in reserves comes due to currency devaluation in the basket of foreign currency assets of RBI. Moreover, the inflows for the month of August remained robust at over $7 billion which further helped in preventing the fall. Well, not to overlook the economic fundamentals back home which are quite decent with the growth of over 13%, and the economy holds up in expansion on the service and manufacturing side, which has helped build up positive investors sentiments towards India. That apart talks about India’s inclusion in JP Morgan’s global bond index would open up prospects for further inflows into the Indian Bond market, keeping the bar up on the positive side.

Also read: ICICI Bank, ITC, Adani Enterprises among 202 stocks to hit 52-week high on BSE; 9 scrips touch fresh lows

However, how long these domestic factors will help to overshadow the global glooms in the face of falling Asian and western currencies is questionable. As, if the rupee is kept overvalued compared to the Chinese Yuan and other EM’s by using reserves and interventions, it will lead us to lose competitive advantage and make the exports less appealing.

Considering all the aspects globally and domestically, the pressure on the USDINR pair seems bound on the upside. The moment RBI would get lenient in its intervention, USDINR shall break 80.10 and march towards 80.50 to 81.00 levels. On the flip side, 79.40 to 79.20 shall act as a near-term base for the pair.

(Amit Pabari, MD, CR Forex Advisors. Views expressed are the author’s own.)

Petrol, Diesel Price Today, 16 Sep 2022: Fuel cost static; check rates in Delhi, Noida, Mumbai, other cities

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Petrol and Diesel Rate Today in Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Mumbai, Lucknow: The price of petrol and diesel has been kept steady on Friday, 16 September 2022, keeping costs steady for more than three months now. Petrol and diesel in Delhi is priced at Rs 96.72 and Rs 89.62 a litre, respectively. In Mumbai, petrol is retailing at Rs 106.31 per litre and diesel at Rs 94.27 per litre. The last country-wide change in price came on 21 May 2022, when Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a cut in excise duty on petrol by Rs 8 per litre, and Rs 6 per litre on diesel. Since then, Maharashtra is the only state to have cut rates. The Maharashtra government had announced a cut in value-added tax (VAT) on petrol by Rs 5 a litre and by Rs 3 a litre for diesel in July.

Also read: Will bulls take a backseat as bears drag Nifty fall below 17800? 5 things to know before market opening bell

Also read: Adani Ports, PVR, Tata Power, UPL, Reliance, BPCL, Ami Lifesciences stocks in focus on 16 September 2022

Petrol, diesel prices in Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Lucknow, Noida, Gurugram

Mumbai: Petrol price: Rs 106.31 per litre, Diesel price: 94.27 per litre

Delhi: Petrol price: Rs 96.72 per litre, Diesel price: Rs 89.62 per litre

Chennai: Petrol price: Rs 102.63 per litre, Diesel price: Rs 94.24 per litre

Kolkata: Petrol price: Rs 106.03 per litre, Diesel price: Rs 92.76 per litre

Bengaluru: Petrol: Rs 101.94 per litre, Diesel: Rs 87.89 per litre

Lucknow: Petrol: Rs 96.57 per litre, Diesel: Rs 89.76 per litre

Noida: Petrol: Rs 96.79 per litre, Diesel: Rs 89.96 per litre

Gurugram: Petrol: Rs 97.18 per litre, Diesel: Rs 90.05 per litre

Chandigarh: Petrol: Rs 96.20 per litre, Diesel: Rs 84.26 per litre

Public sector OMCs including Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL), Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) revise the fuel prices daily in line with international benchmark prices and foreign exchange rates. Any changes in petrol and diesel prices are implemented from 6 am every day. Retail petrol and diesel prices differ from state to state because of local taxes like VAT or freight charges.

SC to hear RIL’s contempt petition against Sebi today

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The Supreme Court will hear on Friday a petition by Reliance Industries (RIL) seeking to initiate contempt proceedings against Sebi for failing to give certain documents, which the Mukesh Ambani company claims will exonerate it and its promoters from criminal prosecution initiated in a case related to the alleged irregularities in acquisition of its own shares between 1994 and 2000.

Sebi has not so far shared the three documents — the two legal opinions by former SC judge BN Srikrishna and a report by former ICAI president YH Malegam which examined the irregularities —that the SC had on August 5 directed it to share “forthwith”. As a result, RIL has filed a contempt plea against the market regulator and its authorised representative Vijayan A.

Also Read: Reliance Retail launches premium store brand AZORTE

In its contempt plea, RIL said there was no justification for Sebi to continue to resist the production of these documents, and that its continued withholding of the same constituted “willful disobedience, contumacious disregard and defiance” of the SC’s orders.

Sebi had obviously “misadvised itself” in assuming that its compliance with the judgment is a matter of discretion and on which it can seek advice, it said, adding that the market watchdog’s conduct is liable to be dealt with heavily and invites the maximum penalty prescribed under law.

According to the company, it had sent a notice to Sebi stating that if the documents were not received by it by August 18, it would assume that the market regulator has no intention of complying with the orders passed by SC and the company would take further consequential action as advised.

Sebi had, in January 2019, rejected RIL’s request for the “privileged” documents on the grounds that under the Sebi (settlement proceedings) regulations, the accused company had no right to seek information from it.

Chartered accountant S Gurumurthy had filed a complaint with Sebi in 2002 alleging fraud and irregularities by RIL, its associate companies and their directors/promoters, and 98 others in the issue of two preferential placement of non-convertible debentures in 1994. Sebi had alleged that RIL along with Reliance Petroleum had “circuitously funded the acquisition of its own shares” in violation of Sections 77 and 77A of the Companies Act, 1956 and the market regulator’s then takeover code, among various other regulations.

Ex-Googler found working as Uber driver in Bengaluru – Here’s why

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In recent news, a Bengaluru resident stumbled upon a surprising discovery during his Uber Moto ride. Raghav Dua, the passenger, was astonished to find out that his driver was a former employee at Google. Taking to the social media platform X, Dua recounted the unexpected encounter with the tech professional turned Uber driver.

Upon booking the bike-taxi service on Uber Moto, Dua was greeted by the ex-Google employee, who had relocated to Bengaluru just three weeks prior. Opting to work as an Uber driver, the former Googler expressed a desire to explore the city.

My Uber Moto driver is ex-google, moved to Bangalore 20 days ago from Hyderabad. He is just doing this to explore the city it seems. pic.twitter.com/C2zA71fMdJ

— Raghav Dua (@GmRaghav) October 22, 2023

The comments section on X was filled with a mix of reactions, with several users highlighting the increasingly common trend of well-qualified individuals taking up jobs in the ride-sharing industry. One user aptly described it as a “Peak Bengaluru” moment, emphasizing the city’s dynamic and diverse workforce, even among taxi drivers.

Some users lauded the driver’s initiative, citing it as a productive way to explore a city. One user shared their similar experience, meeting a former bank manager who had embarked on a journey to document various facets of Delhi by riding Rapido.

Expressing fascination with the incident, another user hoped that Dua had engaging conversations during the ride. Confirming the prevalence of such encounters, the user stated their own personal experience.

Adding a touch of humor, a fourth user quipped, “In Bengaluru, if you throw a stone in the air, it will either hit a bird or a software engineer,” capturing the essence of the city’s tech-savvy environment.

Instances of tech professionals taking up unconventional roles have become increasingly common, furthering the narrative of intriguing encounters between passengers and individuals from the tech industry. A similar incident was reported in August of this year, where an engineer in Bengaluru was surprised to find their Rapido ride arriving on a Royal Enfield motorcycle, as reported by moneycontrol.