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JSW Steel is currently trading at Rs. 198.05, up by 6.00 points or 3.12% from its previous closing of Rs. 192.05 on the BSE.
The scrip opened at Rs. 196.00 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 202.35 and Rs. 194.60 respectively. So far 993777 shares were traded on the counter.
The BSE group 'A' stock of face value Rs. 1 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 296.65 on 14-Feb-2020 and a 52 week low of Rs. 132.50 on 03-Apr-2020.
Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 202.35 and Rs. 185.75 respectively. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 47909.31 crore.
The promoters holding in the company stood at 42.71%, while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 22.03% and 35.26% respectively.
JSW Steel has raised Rs 1000 crore through rated, listed, unsecured, redeemable, non-convertible debentures (NCDs) and allotted 10,000, 8.50% NCDs bearing a face value of Rs 10 lakh on private placement at par to the investor identified. The Committee of Directors of the Issuer at its meeting held on June 05, 2020 has allotted and approved the same.
JSW Steel is one of the largest steel manufacturing companies in India having units in Karnataka and Maharashtra producing crude steel, long steel and flat steel products.

Thermax is currently trading at Rs. 742.35, up by 13.20 points or 1.81% from its previous closing of Rs. 729.15 on the BSE.
The scrip opened at Rs. 733.35 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 748.55 and Rs. 730.00 respectively. So far 853 shares were traded on the counter.
The BSE group 'A' stock of face value Rs. 2 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 1180.00 on 23-Sep-2019 and a 52 week low of Rs. 644.00 on 24-Mar-2020.
Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 786.35 and Rs. 719.15 respectively. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 8790.16 crore.
The promoters holding in the company stood at 61.98%, while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 25.35% and 12.67% respectively.
Thermax has resumed all its manufacturing plants operations based on Government of India and State Government approvals received from appropriate local authorities, post completion of mandatory safety check and training of personnel on physical distancing, health and hygiene as per the guidelines stipulated by the Ministry of Home Affairs of the Government of India.
Chemical manufacturing units at Jhagadia and Dahej in Gujarat and Paudh in Maharashtra were the first to resume production and other manufacturing facilities viz., Savli in Gujarat, Sricity in Andhra Pradesh and Chinchwad, Shirwal and Solapur in Maharashtra progressively have commenced operations. The project / O&M sites of customers which had been shut down in the last week of March have started functioning for most of the locations. The company is gradually reopening its offices across various states in line with guidelines from local authorities.
Thermax is a leading energy and environment solutions provider is one of the few companies in the world that offers integrated innovative solutions in the areas of heating, cooling, power, water and waste management, air pollution control and chemicals.

The scrip opened at Rs. 168.10 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 174.35 and Rs. 164.85 respectively. So far 290467 shares were traded on the counter.
The BSE group 'A' stock of face value Rs. 10 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 216.20 on 01-Aug-2019 and a 52 week low of Rs. 129.75 on 18-Mar-2020.
Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 174.35 and Rs. 158.30 respectively. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 90140.29 crore.
The promoters holding in the company stood at 51.34%, while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 43.67% and 4.99% respectively.
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has raised a demand of Rs 13,613.66 crore from Power Grid Corp of India as licence fee for years 2006-07 to 2009-10, interest, penalty and interest on penalty. The company holds National Long Distance licence (NLD) and Internet Service Provider (ISP) licences.
Power Grid Corporation of India is an Indian state-owned electric utilities company headquartered in Gurgaon, India.

Saregama has locked upper circuit limit of Rs. 400.70, up by 66.75 points or 19.99% from its previous closing of Rs. 333.95 on the BSE.
The scrip opened at Rs. 368.00 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 400.70 and Rs. 355.00 respectively. So far 23082 shares were traded on the counter.
The BSE group 'B' stock of face value Rs. 10 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 580.00 on 06-Jun-2019 and a 52 week low of Rs. 185.00 on 31-Mar-2020.
Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 400.70 and Rs. 267.00 respectively. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 698.26 crore.
The promoters holding in the company stood at 59.07%, while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 8.21% and 32.71% respectively.
Saregama India has partnered with Facebook, to license its music for video and other social experiences across Facebook & Instagram. This partnership will allow users to choose from a wide variety of music to add to their social experiences such as videos, stories via music stickers and other creative content. People will also be able to add songs to their Facebook Profile.
Saregama India engaged in manufacturing, selling and dealing of gramophone records, radio receivers, radiograms, record players, record producers, pick-up cartridges, components and accessories thereof and other allied products.

Trident is currently trading at Rs. 7.48, up by 0.33 points or 4.62% from its previous closing of Rs. 7.15 on the BSE.
The scrip opened at Rs. 7.70 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 7.79 and Rs. 7.14 respectively. So far 9355446 shares were traded on the counter.
The BSE group 'A' stock of face value Rs. 1 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 8.45 on 16-Dec-2019 and a 52 week low of Rs. 3.05 on 24-Mar-2020.
Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 7.79 and Rs. 4.50 respectively. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 3750.62 crore.
The promoters holding in the company stood at 71.06%, while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 3.02% and 25.91% respectively.
Trident has been granted patent for ‘Woven Fabric With Improved Comfort’ by United States Patent Office. The present invention provides for a fabric composition, construction and crimp control process which affords enhanced comfort and performance by improving parameters such as thermal conductivity and moisture regulation along with other parameters such as dimensional stability, smoothness, drying properties and tensile strength.
The grant of this patent provides further recognition of the quality of the innovation being carried out by the company.
Trident is the flagship company of Trident Group and the world's largest wheat straw based paper manufacturer.

Madhav Infra Project is locked at its upper circuit limit of Rs. 24.15, up by 1.15 points or 5.00% from its previous closing of Rs. 23.00 on the BSE.
The scrip opened at Rs. 23.95 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 24.15 and Rs. 22.50 respectively. So far 13596 shares were traded on the counter.
The BSE group 'X' stock of face value Rs. 1 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 28.00 on 29-Apr-2020 and a 52 week low of Rs. 16.60 on 04-Sep-2019.
Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 24.15 and Rs. 21.30 respectively. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 154.70 crore.
The promoters holding in the company stood at 72.65 and Non-Institutions held 27.35%.
Madhav Infra Project has incorporated wholly owned subsidiary (WOS) company namely ‘Madhav’ (Aaron Sindh Road) on May 27, 2020.  New Company incorporated as Special Purpose Vehicle of the Company for carried out the Rehabiliation and Upgradation of Roads for civil package No. 14, via Aaron via Vidoriya - Raghogarh & Ashoknagar- Aaron Road.
Madhav Infra Project operates under Madhav Group which focused on Energy, Highways, Urban Infrastructure and Real Estate industries.

Tata Steel is currently trading at Rs. 321.40, up by 2.10 points or 0.66% from its previous closing of Rs. 319.30 on the BSE.
The scrip opened at Rs. 325.00 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 326.10 and Rs. 320.85 respectively. So far 520793 shares were traded on the counter.
The BSE group 'A' stock of face value Rs. 10 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 516.40 on 27-Jun-2019 and a 52 week low of Rs. 250.90 on 30-Mar-2020.
Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 326.10 and Rs. 287.70 respectively. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 38802.75 crore.
The promoters holding in the company stood at 34.41%, while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 42.27% and 22.28% respectively.
Tata Steel has raised Rs 400 crore through Unsecured, Rated, Listed, Redeemable, Floating Coupon, Non-Convertible Debentures (NCDs) and allotted 4,000, 8.08% p.a NCDs having face value Rs 10 lakh each to identified investors on private placement basis. The Committee of Directors at its meeting held on June 3, 2020 has approved and allotted the same.
Tata Steel, the flagship company of the Tata group is the first integrated steel plant in Asia and is now the world’s second most geographically diversified steel producer and a Fortune 500 company.

Dixon Technologies (India) is currently trading at Rs. 5413.00, up by 213.55 points or 4.11% from its previous closing of Rs. 5199.45 on the BSE.
The scrip opened at Rs. 5207.00 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 5572.75 and Rs. 5207.00 respectively. So far 5642 shares were traded on the counter.
The BSE group 'A' stock of face value Rs. 10 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 5,572.75 on 03-Jun-2020 and a 52 week low of Rs. 1830.90 on 08-Aug-2019.
Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 5572.75 and Rs. 4573.30 respectively. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 6256.96 crore.
The promoters holding in the company stood at 36.17%, while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 33.71% and 30.12% respectively.
Dixon Technologies’ Joint Venture Company – All Dixon Technologies has entered into Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Molbio for manufacturing of Truelab Quattro Real Time Quantitative micro PCR Analyzer machines. These portable machines are capable of performing 40-48 tests per day of critical infectious diseases. These technologically driven machines will be manufactured at AIL Dixon’s manufacturing facility situated at Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh, India.
Dixon Technologies (India) is the largest home grown design-focused and solutions company engaged in manufacturing products in the consumer durables, lighting and mobile phones markets in India.

Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) has received approval from Loans & Investment Committee to raise Rs 500 crore through Rated, Listed, Unsecured, Redeemable Non-Convertible Debentures (NCDs), 6.19%, 5,000 nos NCDs for cash at par on Private Placement basis.
M&M is the flagship company of the Mahindra Group, a multinational conglomerate based in Mumbai, India. Amongst the various business interests of its parent group, the company is mainly involved in the automobile manufacturing. It is one of the leading auto companies of India.

Indian Hotels Company (IHCL) has raised Rs 300 crore through rated, unsecured, listed, redeemable, non-convertible debentures (NCDs) and allotted 3000 NCDs face value of Rs 10,00,000 by way of private placement, to ICICI Bank. The Committee for Long Term Borrowings at its meeting held on June 5, 2020 has approved and allotted the same.
Indian Hotels Company and its subsidiaries are collectively known as Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces and recognized as one of Asia's largest and finest hotel company. It operates in the luxury, premium, mid-market and value segments of the market.

Force Motors has reported the production, sales and export of the products manufactured during the month of May 2020. The company’s production of Small Commercial Vehicles (SCV) & Light Commercial Vehicles (LCV) reported zero production and Utility Vehicles (UV), Sports Utility Vehicles (SUV) & Tractors stood at 26 units.
The company’s domestic sales for SCV & LCV stood at 2 units and UV, SUV & Tractors stood at 254 units, while the company has exported zero units of SCV & LCV and UV, SUV & Tractors in month of May 2020
Force Motors is a Pune-based commercial vehicle maker. It is a fully vertically integrated automobile company, with expertise in design, development and manufacture of the full spectrum of automotive components, aggregates and vehicles.

SBI Cards & Payments Services has reported its customers continued using their credit cards during lockdown and due to the unique nature of business the average daily spends were in upwards of Rs 175 crore during May. Credit card as a product has an advantage of continuous customer engagement due to the unique nature of business.
As a result, spends on credit cards continued during lockdown through online and merchant outlets open during this period. Post relaxation of lockdown, average daily spends in the month of May 2020 is trending at over Rs 175 crore versus over Rs 290 crore for Q4FY20. However, the daily spend level in last 7 days of May is trending at over Rs 200 crore. The company is now averaging at over 60 per cent of the pre-lockdown daily average spending.
SBI Cards & Payments Services is a payment solutions provider in India.

The Bank has reported net profit at Rs 135.39 crore for the quarter under review as compared to net loss of Rs 4918.44 crore for the same quarter in the previous year. Total income of the bank increased by 4.67% at Rs 6924.94 crore for Q4FY20 as compared Rs 6616.06 crore for the corresponding quarter previous year.
On the consolidated basis, the bank has reported net profit of Rs 165.69 crore for the quarter under review as compared to net loss of Rs 4884.18 crore for the same quarter in the previous year. Total income of the bank increased by 4.39% at Rs 7010.74 crore for Q4FY20 as compared Rs 6716.02 crore for the corresponding quarter previous year.
For the year ended March 31, 2020, the bank has reported net loss of Rs 12887.34 crore as compared to net loss of Rs 15116.30 crore for the previous year. Total income of the bank decreased by 0.30% at Rs 25295.47 crore for year under review as compared to Rs 25371.53 crore for year ended March 31, 2019.
For the year ended March 31, 2020, on the consolidated basis, the bank has reported net loss of Rs 12847.40 crore as compared to net loss of Rs 15012.97 crore for the previous year. Total income of the bank decreased by 0.59% at Rs 25485.45 crore for year under review as compared to Rs 25637.43 crore for year ended March 31, 2019.

Aster DM Healthcare has launched 50 bed critical care Aster Hospital in Muhaisnah, Dubai. The new facility will provide treatment to Covid-19 patients, in addition to other Aster and Medcare Hospitals in UAE. Aster Hospital Al Qusais and Medcare Multi-Specialty Hospital, Al Safa are designated centres by Dubai Health Authority for Covid-19 treatment. With this new facility, Aster DM Healthcare strengthens its presence in UAE, with 4 Aster Hospitals and 4 Medcare Hospitals.
Aster DM Healthcare operates as a healthcare company in the Middle East, India, and the Far East. It operates hospitals and clinics, pharmacies, diagnostic centers, educational institutions, and healthcare management and healthcare support systems.

Coal India’s (CIL) coal supply to the power sector registered a decline of 22 per cent to 31.95 million tonnes in April amid slump in the fuel demand in the country on account of COVID-19-induced lockdown. CIL had supplied 40.90 million tonnes (MT) of April, 2019. CIL, the world’s largest coal producing company, is a major supplier of the dry fuel to the power sector in India.
Coal India is the world’s largest coal mining company. It also produces non-coking coal and coking coal of various grades for diverse applications.

IDFC First Bank has launched video KYC facility so that customers can open savings accounts without the need to visit a branch office. The zero-contact method completely does away with paper work or biometric verification, thereby removing physical interaction between the bank and customer from the know your customer (KYC) process. Customers can start earning 7 per cent interest and maximise their returns on funds held or invested anywhere else.

Nippon India Mutual Fund (MF) has launched the Nippon India Fixed Horizon Fund-XLII-Series 5, a Close Ended Debt income Scheme. The NFO opens for subscription on April 03, 2020 and closes on April 08, 2020. No Exit load and Entry load will be applicable for the scheme. The minimum subscription amount is Rs 5000 and in multiples of Rs 1 thereafter.
The scheme’s performance will be benchmarked against its performance to Crisil Composite Bond Fund Index and its fund manager is Amit Tripathi.
The investment objective of the scheme is to generate returns and growth of capital by investing in a diversified portfolio of the Central and State Government securities and other fixed income/debt securities maturing on or before the date of maturity of the scheme with the objective of limiting interest rate volatility.

L&T Mutual Fund (MF) has launched the L&T Nifty Next 50 Index Fund, an open-ended Equity Scheme tracking Nifty 50 Index. The NFO opens for subscription on March 24, 2020 and closes on March 31, 2020. Entry load will be nil. Exit load will be nil, if the units redeemed or switched out are up to 10% of the units purchased or switched in (‘the limit’) within 1 year from the date of allotment. If units redeemed or switched out are over and above the limit within 1 year from the date of allotment the exit load will be 1%, and the exit load will be nil if units are redeemed or switched out on or after 1 year from the date of allotment. The minimum subscription amount is Rs 5000.
The scheme’s performance will be benchmarked against its performance to Nifty 50 Index TRI and its fund manager is Praveen Ayathan.
The investment objective of the scheme is to achieving returns equivalent to the Total Returns Index of Nifty 50 index by minimizing the performance difference between the benchmark index and the scheme. The Total Returns Index is an index that reflects the returns on the index from index gain/ loss plus dividend payments by the constituent stocks.

 ICICI Prudential Asset Management Company (AMC) has announced changes in the Scheme Information Document (SID) and Key Information Memorandum (KIM) of the schemes of ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund.
As per the announcement, the Official Point of Acceptance of Transactions of CAMS, the Registrar and Transfer Agent of the Fund located at CAMS Service Centre, Kalika Temple Street, Beside SBI Bazar Branch, Berhampur -760002 , Odisha, Contact No: 0680-2250401, Email ID: camsbrp@camsonline.com is shifting to new premises with effect from March 16, 2020. New Address: CAMS Service Centre, Ground Floor, Kalika Temple, Street, Beside SBI Bazar Branch, Berhampur-760002, Odisha, Contact No: 0680-2250401, Email ID: camsbrp@camsonline.com.
All other provisions of the SID and KIM except as specifically modified herein above remain unchanged.

Nippon India Mutual Fund (MF) has launched the Nippon India Fixed Horizon Fund-XLII-Series 4, a close ended income scheme. The NFO opens for subscription on March 12, 2020 and closes on March 16, 2020. No Entry load and Exit load will be applicable for the scheme. The minimum subscription amount is Rs 5000 and in multiples of Re 1 thereafter.
The scheme’s performance will be benchmarked against its performance to Crisil Composite Bond Fund Index and its fund manager is Amit Tripathi.
The investment objective of the scheme is to generate returns and growth of capital by investing in a diversified portfolio of the Central and State Government securities and other fixed income/ debt securities maturing on or before the date of maturity of the scheme with the objective of limiting interest rate volatility.

ICICI Prudential Asset Management Company (AMC) has announced changes in the Scheme Information Document (SID) and Key Information Memorandum (KIM) of ICICI Prudential Fixed Maturity Plan - Series 87 - 1141 Days Plan G.
As per the announcement, the NFO period of the Scheme has been extended till March 12, 2020 (Thursday). Accordingly, switch-in requests from equity schemes will be accepted up to March 9, 2020, till the cut-off time applicable for switches and MICR cheques till the end of business hours on March 9, 2020. Switch-in requests from other than equity schemes will be accepted up to March 12, 2020 till the cut-off time applicable for switches. Transfer cheques and Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) requests will be accepted till the end of business hours on March 12, 2020.
All the other provisions of the SID/KIM/addenda of the schemes remain unchanged.

SBI Mutual Fund (MF) has launched the SBI Fixed Maturity Plan (FMP) - Series 31 (1160 Days), a close ended debt scheme. The NFO opens for subscription on March 06, 2020 and closes on March 12, 2020. Entry load and Exit load will not be applicable for the scheme. The minimum subscription amount is Rs 5000 and in multiples of Rs 1 thereafter.
The scheme’s performance will be benchmarked against CRISIL Medium Term Debt index and its fund manager is Ranjana Gupta.
The investment objective of the scheme is to provide regular income and capital growth with limited interest rate risk to the investors through investments in a portfolio comprising of debt instruments such as Government Securities, PSU & Corporate Bonds and Money Market Instruments maturing on or before the maturity of the scheme.

SBI Mutual Fund (MF) has launched the SBI Fixed Maturity Plan (FMP) - Series 31 (1160 Days), a close ended debt scheme. The NFO opens for subscription on March 06, 2020 and closes on March 12, 2020. Entry load and Exit load will not be applicable for the scheme. The minimum subscription amount is Rs 5000 and in multiples of Rs 1 thereafter.
The scheme’s performance will be benchmarked against CRISIL Medium Term Debt index and its fund manager is Ranjana Gupta.
The investment objective of the scheme is to provide regular income and capital growth with limited interest rate risk to the investors through investments in a portfolio comprising of debt instruments such as Government Securities, PSU & Corporate Bonds and Money Market Instruments maturing on or before the maturity of the scheme.

Nippon India Mutual Fund has filed offer document with SEBI to launch an open-ended index exchange traded fund scheme named ‘Nippon India ETF 5 Year Gilt’. The New Fund Offer price is Rs 10 per unit. Entry load and exit load will be nil. The scheme currently does not offer any plans or options and seeks to collect a Minimum Target Amount of Rs 10 crores.
The performance for schemes will be benchmarked against Nifty 5 Yr Benchmark G-Sec Index. The minimum application amount for initial purchase is Rs 5000 each and in multiples of Re 1 thereafter.
The investment objective of the scheme is to provide investment returns closely corresponding to the total returns of the securities as represented by the Nifty 5 Yr Benchmark G-Sec Index before expenses, subject to tracking errors.

Minister of State for Food and Consumer Affairs has projected a fall in Indias sugar output by 18% Y-o-Y, at 27.3 million tonne (MT) for ongoing 2019-20 season compared to 33.13 in last sugar season 2018-19. According to the industry body Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA), the country has produced 19.48 MT of sugar till February of the marketing year 2019-20 (October-September).
Sharp dip in the yield of sugarcane in the major sugar-producing states of Maharashtra and Karnataka, due to drought in some parts and heavy rains and floods in some other parts of these states, has resulted in the overall dip in sugar output.
Even though, the carry-over stock of about 14.5 MT of the previous sugar season and estimated production of about 27.3 MT in the current sugar season, the availability of sugar will be sufficient to meet the domestic consumption of about 26 MT. While, the ISMA, stated that contracts for exports have been made for a quantity of over 3.5 MT. The government has given 6 MT of sugar export quota for mills in the current season.

World Steel Association (worldsteel) in its latest report has stated that crude steel output of India has dipped by 3.26% to 9.288 million tonnes (MT) in January 2020 as compared to same month last year`s 9.591 MT. Meanwhile, the overall crude steel production from 64 countries reporting to the association was at 154.4 MT in January 2020, up by 2.1 % as against January 2019.
China, the world`s largest steel producing country, reported a rise in crude steel production in month of January 2020 by 7.2% at 84.3 MT as against last year same month. However, Japan has reported fall in its crude steel output during the period under consideration, by about 1.3% compared to last year same period. South Korea`s crude steel production was 5.8 MT in January 2020, a decrease of 8% from the corresponding period last year.
worldsteel represents steel producers, national and regional steel industry associations, and steel research institutes. As many as 64 major steel producing countries report data to the body which represents around 85% of global steel production.

Indias coal imports have increased by 8.6% to 21.83 million tonnes (MT) during the month of November 2019 from a year earlier, after previous three straight months of decline.
As per estimates of Coal Ministry, thermal coal, which is been used for electricity generation, imports peaked to 17.65 MT by about 12.3% increase as against previous year same month. While, shipping in of coking coal into the country fell by 5% to 4.18 MT as compared to last year same month.
During August to October, Indian thermal coal imports had marked declines, registering their longest losing streak in over two years. Mainly, the broader economic slowdown worries had weighed on the industrial investments.

The Gem Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) stated that Indias exports of gems and jewelry slipped 8.45% to Rs 21,146.59 crore in January 2020, as against previous year same month`s Rs 23,099.57 crore. The country`s exports during April 2019 to January 2020, witnessed a fall of 4.78% to Rs 2,16,076.06 crore as against previous year same period`s 2,26,933.91 crore.
Shipment of cut and polished diamonds (CPD) in the month of January also dropped by 4.92% to Rs 11,757.08 crore as against previous year same month`s Rs 12,365.89 crore. While for the first 10 months of FY20 the CPD slipped by 16.04% to Rs 1,14,982.97 crore as against previous year same period`s Rs 1,36,941.69 crore.
The overall gold exporting in January also dipped by 2.21% to Rs 6,337.12 crore as against previous year same month`s Rs 6,480.26 crore. Although, overall gold jewelry exporting during April 2019 to January 2020 has marked a gain of 5.33% to Rs 71,981.43 crore as against previous year same period`s Rs 68,340.74 crore.

Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar has said potato production of India increased 51% to 52.5 million tonnes (MT) in over a decade. Its production had stood at 34.7 MT in 2008. He pegged the potato output to grow about 3% annually till 2050. He added that the production of potato rose 34 times in seven decades while the area under cultivation grew by 9.3 times.
India is the second-largest producer of potato after China in the world. Together, both the countries contribute 38% to the world`s total potato production. Tomar further said the country also needs to increase the crop`s exports.
He expressed concerned over crop losses, saying the damage to the crop currently stands at 16 per cent that needs to be reduced. He also said that experts and researchers will have to find a way out to develop high-quality and disease-resistant variety of potato seed which would consume less water and meet the challenges of global warming.

The Economic Survey 2019-20 has showed that India produced 64.3 million tonne (MT) of crude steel and 59.73 MT of finished steel during April-October, 2019-20. The Survey also noted that the steel sector achieved a growth of 5.2 per cent during April-November period of the ongoing financial year as compared to 3.6 per cent in the year-ago period.
As per the survey, India produced 109.2 MT of crude steel during 2018-19 and in the current financial year (FY) till October 2019, crude steel production was 64.3 MT, displaying a growth of 1.5 per cent over corresponding period of last year with utilization capacity of 77.4 per cent. Similarly, it noted that production of finished steel was 137.2 MT in 2018-19 and 59.73 MT during April-October 2019.
The Survey further said as per RBI studies on corporate performance, demand conditions for the manufacturing sector weakened in second quarter of 2019-20, with a contraction year-on-year in nominal sales. It added that petroleum products, iron and steel, motor vehicles and other transport equipment companies were the major contributors to slowdown.

Indias gold imports has dipped by 6.77% to $23 billion during April-December 2019 as against last year same period`s $24.73 billion. This has contributed to trim the countrys current account deficit (CAD) to $118 billion during the period, compared to last year`s $148.23 billion.
India, the largest importer of gold, imports about 800-900 tonne of gold annually in volume terms. The government had increased import duty on the metal to 12.5% from 10%, to mitigate the negative impact of gold imports on trade deficit and CAD.
Meanwhile, gems and jewelry exports declined 6.4% to $27.9 billion in April-December this fiscal. The country`s imports in terms of value dipped by 3% to $32.8 billion in 2018-19. According to RBI data, the CAD narrowed to 0.9% of gross domestic product or $6.3 billion in July-September 2019 from 2.9% or $19 billion in corresponding period previous year.

The government is considering lifting ban on exports of onion as fresh arrival of the commodity has started softening its prices in the domestic market. Arrival of fresh onion will further soften the prices in the domestic market so there is a need to lift the export ban. Onion prices have come down to around Rs 60-70 per kg depending upon quality and locality from the peak of Rs 160 per kg last month.
Fresh onion is available from January to May. In September 2019, the government had banned the export of onion to increase availability of the commodity in the domestic market and contain rising prices. The government had also imposed stock limits on traders.
Retail onion prices had skyrocketed in Delhi and other parts of the country due to supply disruption from flood-affected growing states like Maharashtra. Onion production is estimated to have declined by around 25% in the Kharif and late Kharif seasons of 2019-20 crop year compared to the previous year due to late monsoon and then excess rains in the major producing states.

In a volatile session, Indian equity benchmarks traded in green throughout the day and ended on higher note on Friday, following positive global shares along with optimism over the easing of lockdown measures offset fears over rising cases of the coronavirus in the country. The markets had opened in the green, but soon pared most gains, as the surveys released by the Reserve Bank showing that consumer confidence has collapsed amid the coronavirus pandemic and it may result in contraction of the economy by 1.5 per cent during 2020-21. However, key gauges once again started upwards trend in late morning session, as traders took encouragement with the government data showing that the country’s job situation registered an improvement during 2018-19 with unemployment rate declining to 5.8 per cent, down from 6.1 per cent in the previous financial year.
Buying got intensified in the final hour of session, taking support from Crisil Research report that even as coronavirus pandemic has impacted many sectors, the agriculture could be the only bright spot as real agriculture is likely to witness a 2.5 percent growth in 2020-21. Sentiments remained positive as Union Minister for MSME and Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari has said that foreign direct investment (FDI) can be explored in non-banking financial companies (NBFCs), in order to strengthen NBFCs for extending support to MSMEs. He said strengthening of NBFCs, state cooperative banks, district cooperative banks, credit societies etc is required to extend support to MSMEs during this challenging time.
On the global front, Asian markets ended mostly higher on Friday as optimism over the easing of lockdown measures offset fears over rising cases of the coronavirus cases in the world. European markets were trading higher, after the European Central Bank expanded its stimulus more than expected to prop up an economy dealing with its worst recession since World War Two. Back home, banking stocks were in focus with ICRA’s report that gross non-performing assets (NPAs) of banks are likely to worsen to 11.3-11.6 percent by the end of this financial year from 8.6 percent as of March 2020, due to disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Construction sector stocks were also buzzing with Crisil’s report that investment in Indian construction industry is likely to witness a 12-16% decline to nearly Rs 7.3 lakh crore during the current fiscal year, as COVID-19 pandemic has severely impacted the economy and liquidity scenario.
Finally, the BSE Sensex gained 306.54 points or 0.90% to 34,287.24, while the CNX Nifty was up by 113.05 points or 1.13% to 10,142.15.
The BSE Sensex touched high and low of 34,405.43 and 33,958.02, respectively and there were 21 stocks advancing against 9 stocks declining on the index.
The broader indices ended in green; the BSE Mid cap index rose 1.79%, while Small cap index was up by 2.51%.
The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were PSU up by 4.13%, Metal up by 3.86%, Telecom up by 3.55%, Basic Materials up by 3.03%, Industrials up by 2.87% while, IT down by 0.75%, FMCG down by 0.32% were the losing indices on BSE.
The top gainers on the Sensex were SBI up by 7.90%, Tata Steel up by 6.00%, Bajaj Finance up by 3.44%, HDFC Bank up by 3.14% and NTPC up by 3.00%. On the flip side, TCS down by 2.19%, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.56%, Bajaj Auto down by 1.48%, Infosys down by 0.57% and Nestle down by 0.57% were the top losers.
Meanwhile, amid the call for higher public spending to spur growth, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in its agenda document 2020-21 has sounded a note of caution saying that the government should guard against increasing fiscal deficit that may prompt rating downgrade resulting in other consequences for the economy. The CII also refrained from making an estimate on economic growth this fiscal year given the uncertainty of the situation against the backdrop of COVID-19 pandemic. It mentioned there is currently a consensus amongst economists that the Indian economy will witness a contraction in 2020-21, the question is how deeply negative the growth is likely to be.
Observing that government spending has been supporting the economy over the last few years, the CII said for substantive economic recovery to kick in, government spending would be crucial. Further, it said the coronavirus-induced lockdowns, wherein economic activity came to a virtual standstill, will deepen the slowdown sharply. It said ‘the Indian economy is expected to contract this year, an outcome that we have experienced only five times in the last 70 years.’ 
With the Indian economy entering the Unlock Phase 1.0, economic activity is expected to pick up. However, it is difficult to say what will be the shape of the recovery, it said while highlighting that the need of the hour is for government and industry to work together to return to a sustainable growth path. Besides, CII said the country is witnessing reverse migration with migrant workers going back to their hometowns. It said ‘we should take this as an opportunity to create more geographically distributed model of development and programmes like the Backward District Development Programme need to be expanded.’
It added getting growth back is essential to protect and generate jobs and livelihoods. Lakhs of migrant workers moved back to their home states, mainly Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand, as the lockdown which started on March 25 halted economic activities in the country. The CII has outlined a 10 Point Roadmap to revive growth and navigate the challenges of loss of lives and livelihoods posed by the global pandemic COVID-19 that has forced countries across the world to reset their growth paths.
The CNX Nifty traded in a range of 10,177.80 and 10,040.75 and there were 40 stocks advancing against 10 stocks declining on the index.
The top gainers on Nifty were Tata Motors up by 13.65%, SBI up by 8.73%, Bharti Infratel up by 8.34%, Tata Steel up by 6.17% and Hindalco up by 5.01%. On the flip side, TCS down by 1.84%, Hindustan Unilever down by 1.58%, Bajaj Auto down by 1.36%, Cipla down by 0.92% and Nestle India down by 0.75%.
European markets were trading higher; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 71.55 points or 1.13% to 6,412.99, France’s CAC rose 107.21 points or 2.14% to 5,119.19 and Germany’s DAX was up by 208.67 points or 1.68% to 12,639.23.
Asian markets ended mostly higher on Friday as expectations for a quick global economic recovery after the European Central Bank announced it would nearly doubles asset purchases to 1.35 trillion euros under its emergency program, fueled market sentiment. Although, investors are cautiously awaiting key US jobs data for May due out later in the day. US employment is expected to tumble by about 8.0 million jobs in May after plunging by 20.5 million jobs in April. The unemployment rate is expected to jump to 19.8 percent, a post-World War Two record, from 14.7 percent in April. Japanese shares ended up as the safe-haven yen weakened, lifting exporters' stocks.

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LME Cancelled Warrants

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