Top Headlines: Roadmap to advance economy, 100 mn demat accounts, and more

The country's demat account tally topped the 100 million-mark for the first time, in August. Over 2.2 million new accounts were opened last month

FM Nirmala Sitharaman said that while the necessary stimulus for growth would continue, her ministry and the RBI would work on a pathway to maintain the growth momentum for the next 25 years in order to make India an advanced economy. The country’s demat account tally topped the 100 million-mark for the first time, in August. Over 2.2 million new accounts -- most in four months -- were opened last month. Read more on these in our top headlines

Working on road map to advanced economy, says FM Nirmala Sitharaman

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Monday that while the necessary stimulus for growth would continue, her ministry and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) would work on a pathway to maintain the growth momentum for the next 25 years in order to make India an advanced economy. “The next 25 years will be very critical for India. We have to work towards maintaining the growth momentum,” Sitharaman said. Read more
 

Tata Motors rolls out India's first CNG-powered truck in M&HCV segment

Tata Motors on Monday launched the country’s first CNG truck in the medium and heavy commercial (M&HCV) vehicle segment in the 28- and 19-tonne nodes. Most truck makers, including Tata Motors, currently offer CNG only in the small and light commercial vehicle segments. The company also launched a fleet of seven trucks in the intermediary and light commercial vehicle (I&LCV) segment, meant for varied applications. Read more
 

New milestone: Demat accounts surpass 100 million for the first time

The country’s demat account tally topped the 100 million-mark for the first time, in August. Over 2.2 million new accounts -- most in four months -- were opened last month, taking the cumulative figure to 100.5 million, according to data released by depository firms National Securities Depository Limited (NDSL) and Central Depository Services (CDSL). India’s demat account tally was 40.9 million in March 2020 just before the outbreak of Covid-19 in the country. Read more
 

Gold being imported under disguise of platinum to gain from lower duty

Thanks to an ambiguous law on the import of platinum alloys, some bullion importers are making big profits. A handful of them are importing refined gold cloaked as platinum alloy. Gold attracts 15 per cent import duty, as opposed to platinum alloy that invites a duty of 10.75 per cent. Industry sources say this is a case of mis-declaration and duty violation. Read more
 

Metal sector: Investors should brace for a difficult Q2; H2 could be better

The global industrial metals scenario has been extremely confused since the Russia-Ukraine war. We have seen both cuts in supply and also falling demand. The new equations are not yet clear. On the one hand, supplies from Ukraine and Russian have been disrupted. On the other hand, China lockdowns have led to both cuts in production as well as a drop in demand - weak GDP numbers and a real estate slowdown means demand is more affected. Read more