Bank Bad Loans Under Scanner In FM Sitharaman-Bankers Meet; Yunus Briefs Diplomats In Dhaka

Apple’s India bet is now taking wings. IMF’s Gita Gopinath says ease of doing business is helping India gain trading partners in new wave of protectionism sweeping the world. In other news, legacy two-wheeler companies pip electric start-ups for the first time in volume, and Bharat Petroleum looks to invest Rs 1.7 lakh crore in the next five years. 

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman To Meet Bankers On Bad Loans

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will review the current status of accounts acquired or being acquired by the National Asset Reconstruction Company Limited (NARCL), including the action taken and the way forward, in a meeting with public sector lenders on Monday, Business Standard reported quoting a senior banker. 

The FM could also look at the performance under schemes such as PM Awas Yojana, PM Surya Ghar, and PM Vishwakarma. Digital payments, the issuance of Viksit Bharat cards and cybersecurity, too, would be among the focus areas. The meeting between the bank chiefs and the FM has been called mainly to discuss the performance of public sector lenders in relation to deposit growth, credit-to-deposit ratio, and asset quality. Sitharaman had last chaired a meeting with heads of PSBs in December 2023. Read more

Sheikh Hasina Destroyed Every Institution In 15-Year Reign: Yunus Tells Diplomats

Bangladesh's interim government chief Muhammad Yunus has said Sheikh Hasina's "brutal dictatorship" destroyed every institution of the country during her decade-and-a-half-long reign when elections were "blatantly rigged", Business Standard reported.

Briefing foreign diplomats stationed in Dhaka for the first time, 10 days after assuming charge as the Chief Advisor of the interim government after Hasina's resignation and her fleeing to India, the 84-year-old Nobel laureate sought the support from the international community to rebuild Bangladesh after the Second Revolution following the mass uprising. Yunus assured the diplomats, including India's High Commissioner in Dhaka, Pranay Verma, that his administration will hold a free, fair and participatory election as soon as his government completes the "mandate" of carrying out "vital reforms." More here

Apple Inc’s India Business Crosses Rs 2 Lakh Crore Riding On PLI, Exports

The value of Apple Inc's business in India, including exports, crossed Rs 2 lakh crore in fiscal 2024, driven not only by a surge in the local manufacturing and export of iPhones, but also a spurt in domestic sales of its other products including MacBooks, iPads and Watches, the Economic Times reported.

The US-based tech giant has likely exhibited the fastest growth in production and exports by any company in the last 50 years in India, making it the largest global value chain operating here, said officials. The company exported Rs 1.35 lakh crore worth of iPhones, highest by any single brand in FY24 from India, while local sales were Rs 68,000 crore. The Economic Survey 2023-24 mentioned Apple five times, underscoring the company's role in India's efforts to become a global smartphone manufacturing hub. More here

India In Favoured Position For Countries Diversifying Trading Partners: IMF’s Gopinath

India is in a somewhat favoured position since it’s an attractive nation to work with for many countries in terms of diversifying their trading partners, the Economic Times reported quoting IMF’s first deputy managing director Gita Gopinath.

She said countries are certainly becoming more selective about their trading partners, while flagging concerns around the growing sentiment against de-globalisation and protectionism. India, she pointed out, also stands to benefit from initiatives on reducing friction in services trade at the World Trade Organization. On India facing the risk of falling into the middle-income trap, she said India can beat the trap like South Korea and Singapore by continuing with structural reforms on a continuous basis. More here

Legacy Two-Wheeler Companies Overtake EV Start-ups In Sales Volume

Legacy two-wheeler manufacturers such as Bajaj Auto, Hero MotoCorp and TVS Motor Company expanded their footprint in the fast-evolving electric two-wheeler market leaving behind leading startups Ola Electric, Ather Energy and Greaves Electric (Ampere), the Economic Times reported.

The startups’ cumulative  share declined to 48.8 per cent in the first quarter, from 59 per cent in the year-ago period. The market share of legacy firms in the electric two-wheeler segment increased to about 30 per cent in April-June, from about 25.5 per cent in the same period in FY24, according to Federation of Automobile Dealers Association data. The six companies mentioned above account for nearly 90 per cent of electric two-wheelers sold in the local market, with smaller firms such as Wardwizard, Okaya and BGauss comprising the rest. More here

BPCL To Invest Rs 1.7 Lakh Crore For Core, Green Energy Businesses

State-owned Bharat Petroleum Corporation plans to invest Rs 1.7 lakh crore over the next five years to grow its core oil refining and fuel marketing business as well as in 'future big bets' of petrochemicals and green energy, Moneycontrol.co reported quoting its chairman G Krishnakumar.

Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) currently owns about 14 per cent of India's oil refining capacity and about a quarter of the fuel retailing network. It plans to grow these businesses while foraying into newer areas. The firm is now implementing the first phase of a multi-decade aspirational journey in the form of 'Project Aspire' – its five-year strategic framework that is based on two fundamental pillars – 'Nurturing the Core' and 'Investing in Future Big Bets', he said in the company's latest annual report. More here