Business News

[Nitin Kumar]

Why SBI’s New Home Loan Scheme Is A Boon For Borrowers

SBI Chairman Rajnish Kumar said the scheme will "improve the confidence of homebuyers" and increase the velocity of residential unit sales.
India's largest public lender State Bank of India (SBI) has come out with a home buyer finance guarantee scheme under which lenders will get a full principal amount refund if the builder fails to deliver a project within the stipulated deadline.

SBI's 'Residential Builder Finance with Buyer Guarantee scheme' can be availed for any housing project where the maximum price of a single unit is Rs 2.5 crore.

Under the scheme, developers will also be able to avail of a loan between Rs 50 crore to Rs 400 crore after fulfilling due diligence.

SBI Chairman Rajnish Kumar said the scheme will "improve the confidence of homebuyers" and increase the velocity of residential unit sales.

"We are committing that till the time a project receives an occupation certificate (OC), there will be a guarantee which the bank will offer buyers who take loans from it. This will be a win-win situation for home buyers, builders and the bank," Kumar added.

The scheme will initially be rolled out across 10 cities including RERA-registered projects and will be expanded later. Many in the real estate industry welcomed the move as it could provide a significant boost to the ailing sector.

HOW DOES IT BENEFIT HOMEBUYERS

SBI Chairman Kumar also explained how it works. For instance, when an individual buys a flat/apartment worth Rs 2 crore and has already paid Rs 1 crore, he/she will get an entire refund of Rs 1 crore if the project gets delayed beyond the deadline.

For the scheme, SBI has tied up with Sunteck Realty for three ongoing housing projects in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR).

[Lalitsharma]

BMW Motorrad Reports 10% Sales Growth For 2019 In A Year Of Launches


BMW Motorrad India registered 10% sales growth in 2019, delivering 2,403 motorcycles to customers against 2,187 units in 2018, the luxury motorcycle manufacturers said on Thursday. The momentum was primarily driven by the hugely popular BMW G 310 R and the BMW G 310 GS motorcycles which commanded a share of over 85% in the yearly sales. The BMW R 1250 GS / GSA, the BMW F 750 / 850 GS and the BMW S 1000 RR were also a favourite among motorcycle enthusiasts, the BMW Motorrad said. BMW S 1000 RR: First impression01:19 BMW Motorrad brought the litre-class S 1000 RR to Indian shores, launching the new-gen superbike Rs 18.5 lakh - Rs 21 lakh (ex-showroom). Engine, aesthetics and electronics underwent a major overhaul in the handsome looking race-spec machine. BMW Motorrad launched the most affordable offerings G 310 R and G 310 GS, at Rs 2.99 lakh and Rs 3.49 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi) respectively in 2018.

[harpreetkaur]

Tata Motors to showcase 26 vehicles at Auto Expo 2020, including 4 global unveil at Auto Expo 2020

[Nitin Kumar]

Government to slash the time taken to start a new business to 5 days

The government is set to slash the time taken for starting a new business from 18 days to five days.
You may now be able to start a new business in five days with minimal processes. The government is set to slash the requirements & time taken for starting a new business from 10 processes and 18 days to five processes and as many days. Ten key services, including name reservation, incorporation as well as registration for various taxes such as goods and services tax, will soon be available via two forms instead of multiple individual ones at present. The Ministry of Corporate Affairs will in a month unveil the two new forms — ‘Spice Plus’ and ‘Agile Pro’ — which will replace six forms currently required to avail of these services, a government official said. These two forms will provide access to GSTIN, PAN, TAN, ESIC, EPFO, DIN, bank accounts and professional tax. “The new forms will be web-based and much easier to use. The Spice Plus (incorporation form) will allow you to apply for name and incorporation in the same form besides other services,” the official said. Businesses will now have to register with the Employee State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) and Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) at the time of incorporation, the official said. Inclusion of director identification number (DIN) and registration for professional tax along with registrations of permanent account number (PAN), tax deduction and collection account number (TAN) and GST identification number (GSTIN) at the time of incorporation would greatly improve the ease of setting up a business.

[harpreetkaur]

Gold prices fell by Rs 80 to Rs 40,554 per 10 gram in the national capital on Friday amid muted international trend and a stronger rupee, according to HDFC Securities.

On Thursday, the yellow metal had closed at Rs 40,634 per 10 gram.

Silver also declined by Rs 200 to Rs 47,695 per kg from Rs 47,895 per kg in the previous trade.

[Vikesh]

DLF stock nears two-year high; surges 15% in one week

Shares of DLF traded near its two-year high of Rs 254, up 4 per cent on the BSE on Monday on the back of heavy volumes on expectation of earnings improvement.
The stock of real estate developer traded higher for the fifth straight day and quoted at its highest level since February 1, 2018. In the past one week, it has rallied 15 per cent, as compared to a 3 per cent rise in the S&P BSE Sensex.


The trading volumes on the counter jumped 1.6 times with a combined 14.2 million equity shares changed hands on the NSE and BSE. The stock eventually closed at Rs 252 apiece on the BSE, up over 3 per cent.

DLF, while announcing July-September quarter results on November 7, 2019, said it has witnessed encouraging response from the market for its completed inventory, especially in the micro markets of DLF5/New Gurgaon in Gurugram. The management said the company remains focussed on monetising the finished inventory.

The company further said Q2FY20 witnessed a significant transformation of the capital structure, resulting into a very healthy balance sheet for the Company. Pursuant to the settlement of inter-company payables, the net debt for the Company stood at Rs 4,461 crore at the end of the quarter and is committed to reduce in the near term.

[Lalitsharma]

RBI announces the auction of 63-Day GOI Cash Management Bill



The Reserve Bank of India announced the auction of 63-Day Government of India Cash Management Bill. The auction will be conducted using the ‘Multiple Price Auction’ method. Competitive bids for the auction will be submitted in electronic format on E-Kuber between 10:30 am and 12:00 noon and the result of the auction will be announced on the same day. Cash Management Bills are short term bills issued by the Central Government to meet its immediate cash needs.

[harpreetkaur]

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will have her task cut out when she steps up to present the Union Budget on February 1.

A sharp decline in GDP, lacklustre demand, liquidity crunch and rising inflation have emerged as key problems as the government gears up to present its financial plan for 2020-21. But the Modi government may not be able to fix all the issues in the upcoming budget.

[Lalitsharma]

Oyo Lays Off Over 1,000 Employees In India

SoftBank-backed Oyo Hotels and Homes are laying off hundreds of employees in India, according to a source and an internal memo seen by Reuters, as the loss-making hotel chain cuts costs in the pursuit of profits. The move is part of a larger priority to drive profitability and sustainable growth, following a cash-guzzling expansion spree that took Oyo to dozens of new markets including China and the United States, an email from Chief Executive Ritesh Agarwal to Oyo employees on Monday showed.

"Some roles at OYO will become redundant as we further drive tech-enabled synergy, enhanced efficiency and remove duplication of effort across businesses or geographies," Agarwal wrote. "As a result, we are asking some of our impacted colleagues to move to a new career outside of OYO."

The email did not disclose the number of layoffs. However, a person briefed on the matter said the layoffs impact more than 1,000 employees in India across senior, mid-level and junior positions. Four Oyo employees in the Indian cities of Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kochi and the company's headquarters in Gurugram confirmed that employees were being asked to leave. Local media have reported that Oyo was laying off anywhere between 1,000 and 2,000 employees in the country.

[Lalitsharma]

Amazon in India: Jeff Bezos announces $1bn Indian investment


Amazon boss Jeff Bezos has announced a major investment in India, saying the country is a key growth market.

Mr Bezos said his firm will invest $1bn (£770m) in digitising small and medium businesses - allowing them to sell and operate online.

Speaking at a company event in New Delhi, he also said the 21st Century is "going to be the Indian century". Thousands of small traders across 300 cities have planned demonstrations against what they see as Amazon's negative impact on the local retail market.

They allege Amazon is driving them out of business by offering sharply discounted products and favouring a few big sellers on its platform. During today's address, Mr Bezos said: "The dynamism, the energy... the growth. This country has something special - and it's a democracy."

He also said the online retail giant expects to export $10bn worth of India-made goods by 2025, and that Amazon has already committed to $5.5bn of investment in the country.

[harpreetkaur]

Budget 2020--What does the common man expect from it

With budget 2020 just around the corner, the common man is hoping for some relief from the government. They are hoping the government would boost consumer demand by rising disposable income in their hands. All measures supposed to revive the economy have so far been exhausted. There is an urgent need to tackle the slowdown. How can this budget help Indian citizens and what do they expect from it? Watch as Rajeev Dubey, Editor, Business Today talks about the expectations from the upcoming budget.

[samritisharma]

Recruiters Indicate Positive Hiring Outlook For H1 2020

Employers in India are bullish about their hiring outlook for the first half of this year, with 55% of recruiters anticipating new jobs as well as replacement hiring to happen during the six-month period, a survey said on Tuesday. participation from over 2,400 recruiters across the country, projected an overall positive outlook. Almost 55% recruiters anticipate new jobs as well as replacement hiring to happen in the first half of the year while 26% predict only new jobs and 13% expect to do replacement hiring only.

"Analytics emerges as one of the functional areas where 14% recruiters indicate hiring apart from popular roles in IT, Sales and Marketing and Operations," Pawan Goyal, Chief Business Officer, Naukri.com said. Around 30 per cent of recruiters indicated that hiring will happen for the experience band of 8-12 years, while 18% said they will be recruiting for experience levels of over 12 years. More than 2,400 recruiters and consultants representing more than 15 major industries participated in this edition of the survey.

[samritisharma]

Government Moves To Split GAIL Biz To Boost Gas Economy

The govt. is looking to cover 550-600 districts through the city gas network and is looking at splitting GAIL (India) into separate entities, dealing with pipeline network and marketing, as part of this strategy. While the plan is to only split. them into separate businesses at the moment, going forward a strategic investor may be roped in, sources familiar with the proposal told TOI. The government currently owns close to 55% of GAIL.

The move is part of a larger strategy to push gas in the economy so that it has around 15% of the energy consumed in India over the next few years, as against just around 6% currently. This is seen to be essential to reduce the dependence on oil, which is a major source of vulnerability for the Indian economy, apart from offering convenience to users and reducing the overall carbon footprint. A report said last month the oil ministry floated a proposal to transfer the pipeline business into a 100% arm.

[samritisharma]

Budget 2020: Tax Settlement Scheme Not Open To Launderers

The new direct tax dispute settlement scheme will not cover cases related to undisclosed overseas assets initiated on the basis of information from another country. Neither will it apply to prosecutions under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act and the income tax Act.

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman introduced the Direct Tax Vivid Se Vishwas Bill, 2020, in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, which she had announced during her February 1 budget speech. The legislation is aimed at resolving disputed tax cases involving Rs 9.32 lakh crore that has been stuck for more than a year through 483,000 cases pending in various courts. This Bill emphasises on trust-building,” the finance minister said, adding that the scheme will reduce needless litigation expenditure for the government and taxpayers.

[vishalsharma95]

India Business Will Show Market-Beating Growth In Next Few Quarters, Says Cipla Ceo

Cipla Ltd. expects its India business to grow faster than the domestic pharmaceutical market in the next few quarters on the back of investments and product licensing. “India [unit of Cipla] should show market-beating growth in the next couple of quarters,” the drugmaker’s Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Umang Vohra told BloombergQuint in an interview. He estimated it to grow by nearly 18-20 percent during this period, adding: “It’s a market where we hope to see a huge amount of volume growth over the next four quarters.” Cipla’s revenue from its domestic business grew 13 percent to Rs 1,777 crore in the quarter ended December. Revenue from its domestic branded business and trade generics arms grew 14 percent and 7 percent, respectively. Shares of the drugmaker are down over 7 percent so far this year and nearly 17 percent over the last 12 months. Around 64 percent or 28 analysts tracking Cipla have a buy rating on the stock, while 14 have a hold and 2 recommend a sell, according to Bloomberg data.