Govt Nets More Revenue From Disinvestment Than Expected In FY23-24 ; AI Models May Not Stay Freemium

Disinvestment, Asset Monetisation Beats FY24 Revised Estimate Figures

The government’s miscellaneous capital receipts, which include realisation from disinvestment and asset monetisation, has exceeded the revised estimate of Rs 30,000 crore in FY2023-24, the Economic Times reported. 

Disinvestment proceeds totalled Rs 16,507 crore, asset monetisation fetched around Rs 16,000 crore, an official said. In a rare move, the interim budget for FY2024-25 clubbed the government's disinvestment and asset monetisation targets under the "miscellaneous capital receipts" head, instead of declaring them separately. The budget, presented on February 1, had pegged the combined realisation for FY2023-24 at Rs 30,000 crore (revised estimate) and Rs 50,000 crore for FY2024-25. More here

Finance Ministry Review Hopes Above Normal Monsoon Will Ease Inflation

The finance ministry's latest monthly economic review has said the forecast of an above-normal monsoon in 2024 indicates a good harvest, potentially easing inflationary concerns in the coming months, Livemint reported. 

The ministry said the recent uptick in inflationary pressures across nations, along with persistent core inflation, warrants attention. This is despite global inflation remaining either in check or declining in most regions, the report said. Retail inflation in FY2023-24 witnessed a significant decline, reaching its lowest level since the Covid-19 pandemic, with core inflation dropping to 3.3 per cent in March 2024, the report said. Read more

Adani Green Energy Set To Raise US$ 400 Million Loan For Capex

Adani Green Energy is in advanced talks with several international banks to raise a US$ 400 million loan, the Economic Times reported. The company is being raised for capital expenditure. The Adani Group’s renewable energy arm is looking to develop a 25 gigawatt portfolio by 2025. 

The loan is likely to be priced at a secured overnight financing rate plus 250 basis points with a five-year tenure. Apart from this loan, Adani Green is planning to raise a US$1.3 billion bond in the next two months, after the general elections. It became the first Adani company last month to raise funds through a dollar note sale a year after the Hindenburg Research report alleging wrongdoings at the group. Here’s more

Fintech Companies Want Simpler KYC For Small Traders

Fintech players are likely to request the Reserve Bank Of India (RBI) for a minimal know-your-customer (KYC) process for small merchants, and a risk-based and graded approach to customer verification, the Business Standard reported.

The companies want to segregate some merchants on the volume of trade and seek simpler processes for them. Last week, in a draft circular, the RBI proposed stricter norms and customer due diligence procedures for merchants serviced by payment aggregators. It has proposed that payment aggregators will be required to undertake a contact point verification of entities. The banking regulator has invited comments on the draft directions from companies before May 31, 2024. More here

AI Developers Set To Monetise Products As Expenses Grows

With development costs growing larger by the minute, artificial intelligence (AI) developers are looking set to monetise their products, ETPrime reported. The price tag of OpenAI's GPT-4 and Google's Gemini Ultra has ballooned to US$ 78 million and US$ 191 million, the report said, quoting the Stanford AI Index Report 2023.

For OpenAI’s GPT-4 presently, one has to pay some Rs 1,600 while it may go up to Rs 2,499 for GPT-Turbo. Other models by OpenAI invite different subscription fees. Despite its freemium version, the paid version of Google Gemini costs around Rs 1,950 per month. Google One subscribers get a complimentary two-month access to Gemini Advanced. More here 

IndiGo Places Order For 30 Airbus A350-900 Widebody Aircraft

IndiGo has placed an order with European plane maker Airbus for 30 A350-900 widebody aircraft, a first for the airline, at a deal estimated to be between US$ 4 billion and US$ 5 billion, the Business Standard reported. Indian carriers have made four significant aircraft orders since last year to meet growing demand in the country’s air travel market. 

IndiGo itself had made the world’s largest aircraft order by signing a deal for 500 A320Neo family planes from Airbus in June last year. The Tata-run Air India Group has placed an order for 470 planes, 250 with Airbus and 220 with US company Boeing in February 2023. More here