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In today’s podcast, we talk about the share market’s performance, GST revenues for August 2023, Centre granting NCERT deemed university status, and more.
Today’s Latest Business News Transcript at 5:30 PM on 1 September 2023
 
Let’s start with the share market – Domestic equity indices NSE Nifty 50 and BSE Sensex closed in the green on Friday. The NSE Nifty 50 closed at 19,435.30, while the Sensex closed the trading session at 65,387.16. The broader markets settled largely in the green, with Nifty Smallcap 50 and Nifty Smallcap 100 adding 1.61% and 1.17% respectively. Bank Nifty surged 1.02% to settle at 44436.10. Nifty Metal, Banks, Auto and IT were the leading gainers among the other sectoral indices.
 
Up next – The GST revenues for August 2023 have shown a growth of 11 per cent year on year due to increased compliance and less evasion, Revenue secretary Sanjay Malhotra said on Friday. The collection from Goods and Services Tax was Rs 1,43,612 crore in August 2022. Malhotra further said that roughly numbers are in the range of 11 per cent year on year growth as in earlier months. A 11 per cent growth roughly translates to around Rs 1.60 lakh crore. He was replying to a question on the expected GST revenue numbers for August. Malhotra said GDP growth was 7.8 per cent in June quarter and nominally it has grown 8 per cent.
 
Moving on – Torrent Pharma share price sank almost 4% in trade on Friday, falling for the third consecutive session, as reports suggested that the sixth large pharmaceutical player in India was likely to acquire the Hamied family’s stake in Cipla. Shares of the company touched an intraday low of Rs 1,772.05 apiece. The share price of Cipla sank around 1% to hit a low of Rs 1,244.70. Torrent Pharma’s promoters are considering placing a bid for Cipla along with a consortium of private equity firms. Additionally, the reports suggested that Torrent Pharma has secured funding from international entities for this purpose. If the Cipla stake acquisition goes through, it might lead to an open offer with a potential transaction value between $6.5-7 billion.
 
In other developments – India’s manufacturing sector showcased its fastest growth in three months in August, driven by robust growth in new orders and output increase, according to S&P Global’s monthly survey. The seasonally adjusted S&P Global India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index surged to 58.6 in August from July’s 57.7, indicating the second-best improvement in the health of the sector for nearly three years. Demand strength was pivotal to August’s robust performance, spurring the fastest upturn in new orders since January 2021. Competitive pricing and advertising were also cited as factors behind sales growth, the survey said. Meanwhile, a healthy demand environment and favourable market conditions led to output increase for the twenty-sixth successive month, and to the greatest extent in just under three years.
 
Meanwhile – Profitability of non-banking financial companies-microfinance institutions, in terms of return on managed assets, is expected to improve further to 2.7-3.0 per cent in FY2024 and 3.2-3.5 per cent in FY2025, from 2.1 per cent in FY2023, according to ICRA. This is seen on the back of an increase in margins, given the growing share of the new portfolio originated at higher rates, post the implementation of the new MFI regulations in FY2023 and the lower credit costs. Per the estimates by ICRA, a large part of the credit cost pertaining to the Covid-19 pandemic was absorbed till FY2023. ICRA said that while NBFC-MFIs witnessed a robust expansion of 38% in their AUM in FY23, it will be lower than the highs seen in FY2023.
 
In other news – Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has announced that the National Council of Educational Research and Training has been granted the prestigious status of a deemed university. This significant declaration was made during an event commemorating the 63rd foundation day of NCERT in the national capital. Pradhan also urged for the integration of Bal Bhavans and Bal Vatika into NCERT, envisioning a comprehensive educational approach which is aimed at providing holistic education to children. The concept of an Institution of Higher Education being declared ‘Deemed-to-be-university’ by the Central government, based on the guidance of the UGC, is designed to recognize institutions that excel in specific areas of study. These institutions gain the academic reputation and benefits associated with traditional universities after being granted this prestigious status.
 
Lastly – Hyundai India registered a total sales of 71,435 units in August 2023. Total sales for the month of August 2023 include domestic sales of 53,830 units and exports of 17,605 units. Tarun Garg, COO of Hyundai India said that the demand for SUVs in their portfolio remains robust, contributing more than 60% to our domestic sales in August. The Exter continues to excite customers, with more than 65,000 bookings already received by HMIL so far. The Hyundai Exter was launched in India in July at Rs 5.99 lakh ex-showroom.
 
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