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The consumer price index (CPI) based retail inflation rose to a four-month high of 5.52 per cent in March over 5.03 per cent in February on account of rising food prices as well as costlier fuel, though it remained within the comfort zone of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The Reserve Bank, which mainly factors in the retail inflation while arriving at its monetary policy, has been asked to keep CPI inflation at 4 per cent with a margin of 2 per cent on either side. In the year-ago month (March 2020), the retail inflation print stood at 5.91 per cent. The previous high CPI print was 6.93 per cent in November 2020. Besides, the food inflation as a category measured under the head ‘Consumer Food Price Index’ (CFPI) rose to 4.94 per cent during the month, as against 3.87 per cent in February 2021.
The National Statistical Office (NSO) under Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation in its data has showed that the Rural CPI (General) in March 2021 stood at 4.61 per cent as against 4.19 per cent in February. The Urban CPI (General) stood at 6.52 per cent in March as against 5.96 per cent in February. The index value for Rural, Urban and Combined CPI (General) stood at 156.7, 156.9 and 156.8, respectively, in March 2021.
The highest year-on-year increase in retail prices was witnessed in the ‘oil and fats’ segment, showing an increase of 24.92 per cent during the month. Inflation in case of ‘pulses and products’ was 13.25 per cent, up from 12.54 per cent. Likewise, in ‘meat and fish’ and fruits segments, it moved up to 15.09 per cent and 7.86 per cent, respectively. ‘Fuel and light’ inflation increased to 4.5 per cent in March this year from 3.53 per cent a month ago.
However, ‘cereals and products’ turned cheaper further with a negative print at (-) 0.69 per cent as against (-) 0.35 per cent. In vegetables basket too, the CPI remained in negative territory. The rate of price rise in protein-rich item egg was lower at 10.60 per cent from 11.13 per cent in February. Transport and communication costs spiked by 12.55 per cent in March, while healthcare costs were up by 6.17 per cent.

Firmer prices of crude oil, petroleum products and basic metal drove India’s inflation based on wholesale price index (WPI) to 7.39% (provisional) for the month of March 2021 over March 2020. However, month-on-month (March 2021 over February 2021) rate of inflation stood at 1.57%.
Component wise, primary articles index having weight of 22.62%, increased by (0.55%) to 146.2 (provisional) in March 2021 from 145.4 (provisional) for the month of February 2021. Prices of Crude Petroleum & Natural Gas, Non-food Articles and Minerals increased in March 2021 as compared to February 2021, while prices of Food Articles declined in March 2021 as compared to February 2021.
Fuel & Power index, having weight of 13.15%, rose (5.28%) to 109.7 (provisional) in March 2021 from 104.2 (provisional) for the month of February 2021. Prices of Mineral Oils increased in March 2021 as compared to February 2021, while prices of Coal declined in March 2021 as compared to February 2021. But, prices of electricity remain unchanged.
Manufactured Products constituting the major portion of the index with weight of 64.23%, jumped (1.27%) to 127.3 (provisional) in March 2021 from 125.7(provisional) for the month of February 2021. Meanwhile, for the month of January 2021, the final Wholesale Price Index and inflation rate for 'All Commodities' (Base: 2011-12=100) stood at 126.5 and 2.51% respectively.

The company has reported net profit at Rs 44.56 crore for the quarter under review as compared to net loss of Rs 5.25 crore for the same quarter in the previous year. Total income of the company decreased by 78.94% at Rs 706.35 crore for Q4FY21 as compared Rs 394.75 crore for the corresponding quarter previous year.
For the year ended March 31, 2021, the company has reported 2-fold jump in its net profit at Rs 49.25 crore as compared to Rs 23.45 crore for the previous year. Total income of the company increased by 11.37% at Rs 1765.73 crore for year under review as compared to Rs 1585.46 crore for year ended March 31, 2020.

The bank has reported a fall of 80.08% in its net profit at Rs 103.03 crore for the quarter under review as compared to Rs 517.29 crore for the same quarter in the previous year. However, total income of the bank increased by 13.19% at Rs 3,787.91 crore for Q4FY21 as compared Rs 3,346.47 crore for the corresponding quarter previous year.
For the year ended March 31, 2021, the bank has reported a fall of 27.06% in its net profit at Rs 2,205.46 crore as compared to Rs 3,023.74 crore for the previous year. However, total income of the bank increased by 17.68% at Rs 14,633.27 crore for year under review as compared to Rs 12,434.69 crore for year ended March 31, 2020.

DCB Bank has reported a rise of 13.31% in its net profit at Rs 77.91 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2021 as compared to Rs 68.76 crore for the same quarter in the previous year. However, total income of the bank decreased by 4.02% at Rs 971.16 crore for Q4FY21 as compared Rs 1011.79 crore for the corresponding quarter previous year.
For the year ended March 31, 2021, the bank has reported 0.64% fall in its net profit of Rs 335.79 crore as against Rs 337.94 crore for the previous year. Total income of the bank marginally decreased by 0.28% at Rs 3916.71 crore for year under review as compared to Rs 3927.73 crore for year ended March 31, 2020.

Fine Organic Industries (FOIL), Oleofine Organics Thailand Co., (OFT) and Oleofine Organics Sdn Bhd. (OFM) have executed the Joint Venture (JV) Agreement May 6, 2021. The agreement is for incorporation of a new Joint Venture Company (JVC) in Thailand for the purpose of operating business which will be mainly engaged in the business of manufacturing of Speciality Chemical products and supplying, exporting and distribution of such products.
FOIL does not have any shareholding in OFT and OFM. FOIL will be holding 45% stake in the proposed JVC, while OFT will hold 45% and OFM 10%.
Fine Organic Industries is the largest manufacturer of oleochemical-based additives in India and a strong player globally in this industry.

RailTel Corporation of India has received the work order from Cotton Corporation of India, for hiring on-cloud Data Centre hosting for Hardware and Software alongwith migration of Oracle EBS and other applications. The total cost for five years contract period would be Rs 11.99 crore exclusive of applicable GST.
RailTel Corporation a ‘Mini Ratna (Category-I)’ PSU is one of the largest neutral telecom infrastructure providers in the country owning a Pan-India optic fiber network on exclusive Right of Way (ROW) along Railway track. The company provides broadband telecom and multimedia network across the country.

NTPC’s arm -- NTPC Renewable Energy has entered into a power purchase agreement with Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam (GUVNL) to sell electricity from its 150 MW solar project. The project will sell power at a tariff of Rs 2.20 per kWh. With this successful bid, the company's total capacity under TBCB (tariff-based competitive bidding) tenders has reached 1.4 GW. The company has also been allocated land in Rann of Kutch by the Gujarat government for developing a solar park with a capacity of 4,750 MW.
NTPC is the largest power utility company in India and has presence in Coal, Gas, Solar PV, Hydro and Wind Power Generation and Coal Mining.

Generic Engineering Construction has secured new work orders worth Rs 101.77 crore (excluding GST) for various institutional projects from various reputed clients, existing as well as new, which inter alia includes Residential, Commercial, Industrial and Educational Projects.
The work orders include a residential project based in Borivali & Kalyan, Mumbai worth Rs 69.00 crore for Construction of Residential Building, Industrial project based in Karnataka of Rs 2.84 crore for Infrastructure works for Software ODC Centre, Commercial project based in Karnataka worth Rs 3.60 crore for Infrastructure works for GM office at Factory Outlet and Educational project based in Thane, Maharashtra worth Rs 26.33 crore. 
Generic Engineering Construction and Projects, formerly Welplace Portfolio & Financial Consultancy Services, is an India-based company, which is engaged in construction business.

The company has reported net loss at Rs 3865 crore for the quarter under review as compared to net loss of Rs 2501 crore for the same quarter in the previous year. Total income of the company decreased by 99.44% at Rs 2 crore for Q4FY21 as compared Rs 356 crore for the corresponding quarter previous year.
On the consolidated basis, the company has reported net loss attributed to the owners at Rs 1664 crore for the quarter under review as compared to net loss of Rs 2123 crore for the same quarter in the previous year. However, total income of the company increased by 37.18% at Rs 5202 crore for Q4FY21 as compared Rs 3792 crore for the corresponding quarter previous year.
For the year ended March 31, 2021, the company has reported net loss at Rs 10972 crore as compared to net loss of Rs 5465 crore for the previous year. Total income of the company decreased by 59.58% at Rs 563 crore for year under review as compared to Rs 1393 crore for year ended March 31, 2020.
For the year ended March 31, 2021, on the consolidated basis, the company has reported net loss attributed to the owner at Rs 9404 crore as compared to net loss of Rs 1075 crore for the previous year. However, total income of the company increased by 5.17% at Rs 19308 crore for year under review as compared to Rs 18359 crore for year ended March 31, 2020.

Oil Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) including Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), GAIL (India), Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) have committed Rs 100 crore towards the Badrinath development master plan and will be undertaking several works for the beautification of the temple & its surroundings, including pilgrim and environment-friendly amenities, water supply, sewage management, among others.
This is perhaps the first time top PSUs under one administrative ministry have committed funds for developing a religious shrine.
IOC is the largest enterprise in the country and the foremost ranked Fortune Global 500 Company in India and has presence in the complete hydrocarbon value chain from downstream refining & marketing, pipeline transportation, Petrochemicals, E&P and Gas Marketing.

Bajaj Finserv has launched its public awareness campaign, 'Savdhan Rahein. Safe Rahein', across digital and social media platforms, to educate customers and public at large on financial fraud risks and how to stay protected.
Through this awareness initiative, Bajaj Finserv aims to convey a very important message to its customers and prospects to strictly avoid making any refundable advance payments in the name of loan processing fee, bank charges, GST, verifications etc., and verifying all loan offers at the Bajaj Finance's official website, only.
Bajaj Finserv has established itself as a financial power house with interests in insurance, lending, asset management and wealth management.

Subex has inked a partnership with Snowflake, the Data Cloud company, to bring the power of AI-driven Augmented Analytics to enterprises. Subex, through its Augmented Analytics platform, HyperSense, and Snowflake will combine competencies to enable enterprises to accelerate their data analytics journey and realize the true value of their data.
Subex’s HyperSense is an Augmented Analytics platform that helps organizations enhance innovation and growth across businesses through AI-driven decision analytics. It increases productivity and efficiency through a drag & drop function and does not require coding expertise to build analytics models. It enables business users to evolve into citizen data scientists and delivers quick ad-hoc use cases. Through the partnership, Subex and Snowflake aim to bring accelerated efficiency and agility to enterprises and help them innovate and create greater value for their businesses. 

Vedanta’s Aluminium & Power Business has accelerated the COVID vaccination initiative and vaccinated over 7500 of its people across its plants. Further, it has swiftly augmented the capacity of its COVID Care Centres and quarantine centres across its plant sites in remote areas of Odisha and Chhattisgarh to effectively handle the pandemic scenario around its areas of operations.
With over 550 beds, Vedanta’s COVID Care Centres at Jharsuguda and Lanjigarh in Odisha, and BALCO in Korba, Chhattisgarh, are equipped with required infrastructure and medical personnel to provide proper care to those affected by COVID. Additionally, Quarantine Centres have been created for isolation and post-treatment recovery.
Vedanta is a diversified natural resources company, whose business primarily involves producing oil and gas, zinc- lead-silver, copper, iron ore, aluminium and commercial power.

Ramco Systems has opted to partner with EXSYN in the critical area of aircraft data migration, offering joint implementation services of Ramco Aviation M&E MRO Suite V5.8. With extensive footprints in the aviation industry, this partnership between both the companies will enable new clients onboarding Ramco Aviation Suite to trust and rely on the expertise and bespoke technology of EXSYN in order to smoothly migrate their data from existing systems into Ramco application.
The data migration for Iberia Maintenance & Engineering across 15 plus different legacy applications to Ramco Aviation Suite marks the first project of this partnership, put to action.
Ramco Systems is a next-gen enterprise software player disrupting the market with its multi-tenant cloud and mobile-based enterprise software in HR and Global Payroll, ERP and M&EMRO for Aviation.

Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) and Accenture are collaborating to transform India’s second largest oil and gas company by digitally reimagining its extensive sales and distribution network. Accenture will use its capabilities in data, artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud technologies to build, design and implement a digital platform, called IRIS.
This platform will integrate real-time data from across BPCL’s countrywide network, including more than 18,000 fuel retail outlets, 25,000 tank trucks, 75 oil installations and depots, 52 liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) bottling plants and 250 additional industrial and commercial locations, to provide a consolidated view of its extensive operations. By embedding intelligence in BPCL’s sales and distribution network, Accenture is helping BPCL optimize its operational performance and efficiency, enhance security and safety and deliver a superior experience for its retail and commercial customers across the country.
BPCL is into exploration, production and retailing of petroleum and petrol related products. The retail business unit of BPCL is into marketing of petrol, diesel and kerosene.

Axis Mutual Fund (MF) has launched the Axis Global Innovation Fund of Fund, an open-ended fund of fund scheme investing in Schroder International Selection Fund Global Disruption. The NFO opens for subscription on May 10 and closes on May 21, 2021. The Entry is not applicable for the scheme. If redeemed / switched-out within 12 months from the date of allotment the exit load will be nil for 10% of investment and 1% exit load for remaining investment. If redeemed/switched out after 12 months from the date of allotment nil. The minimum subscription amount is Rs 5000 and in multiples of Re 1 thereafter.
The performance of the scheme will be benchmarked to the performance to MSCI AC World (Net TR) and its fund managers are Hitesh Das and R. Sivakumar.
The investment objective of the Scheme is to provide long term capital appreciation by predominantly investing in units of Schroder International Selection Fund Global Disruption, an equity fund that aims to provide capital growth by investing companies worldwide which benefit from disruption and to invest a part of corpus in debt, money market instruments and / or units of liquid schemes in order to meet liquidity requirements from time to time.

PPFAS Mutual Fund (MF) has launched the Parag Parikh Conservative Hybrid Fund, an open-ended hybrid scheme investing predominantly in debt instruments. The NFO opens for subscription on May 07, 2021, and closes on May 21, 2021. The Entry load is not applicable for the scheme. In respect of each purchase / switch-in of Units, 10% of the units (‘the limit’) may be redeemed without any exit load from the date of allotment. Any redemption or switch-out in excess of the limit shall be subject to the following exit load:  Exit load of 1.00% is payable, if Units are redeemed / switched-out within 1 year from the date of allotment of units and no Exit Load is payable if Units are redeemed / switched-out after 1 year from the date of allotment. The minimum subscription amount is 5000 and in multiples of Re 1 thereafter.
The performance of the Scheme would be benchmarked against CRISIL Hybrid 85+15-Conservative Index TRI and Rajeev Thakkar, Raunak Onkar and Raj Mehta are the Fund Managers of the Scheme.
The investment objective of the scheme is to generate regular income through investments predominantly in debt and money market instruments. The Scheme also seeks to generate long term capital appreciation from the portion of equity investments under the scheme.

IIFL Mutual Fund has filed offer document with SEBI to launch an open ended fund scheme named ‘IIFL Global Innovation Fund’. The New Fund Offer price is Rs 10 per unit. Entry load will be nil and Exit load 3% if redeemed/switched-out within one year of allotment 2% if redeemed/switched-out on or after one year but before two years of allotment 1% if redeemed/switched-out on or after two year but before three years of allotment is Nil if redeemed on or after three years of allotment. The Scheme offers growth and dividend options for investment and seeks to collect a Minimum Target Amount of Rs 10 crore.
The performance of the scheme will be benchmarked by MSCI World Total Return Net Index. The minimum application amount is Rs 5000 and in multiples of Re 1 thereafter.
The investment objective of the scheme is to seek capital appreciation by investing predominantly in units/ shares of Nikko AM ARK Disruptive Innovation Fund. The Scheme may, at the discretion of the Investment Manager, also invest in the units of other similar overseas mutual fund schemes.

ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund (MF) has declared dividend under ICICI Prudential Fixed Maturity Plan-Series 82-1119 Days Plan X. The record date for the same is May 05, 2021. The quantum of dividend on the face value of Rs 10 per unit will be Rs 0.0500 each under Quarterly IDCW, Direct Plan-Quarterly IDCW and Half Yearly IDCW.
The units of the Schemes are listed on BSE. The trading of units of the Schemes will be suspended on BSE with effect from closing hours of trading of May 02, 2021.  For the purposes of redemption proceeds, the record date shall be May 05, 2021.

Aditya Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund (MF) has launched the Aditya Birla Sun Life Fixed Term Plan-Series TE (1095 days), a close ended Income Scheme. The NFO opens for subscription on April 12, 2021, and closes on April 19, 2021. The Entry load and the Exit Load is nil for the scheme. The minimum subscription amount is Rs 1000 and in multiples of Rs 10 thereafter during the NFO period.
The performance of the scheme will be benchmarked to the performance of CRISIL Composite Bond Fund Index and Mohit Sharma would be the designated Fund Manager of the Scheme.
The investment objective of the scheme seeks to generate income by investing in a portfolio of fixed income securities maturing on or before the duration of the scheme.

SBI Mutual Fund (MF) has launched the SBI FMP Series 42 (1857 Days), a close ended debt scheme. The NFO opens for subscription on March 25, 2021, and closes on March 26, 2021. The Entry load and the Exit Load is not applicable for the scheme. The minimum subscription amount is Rs 5000 and in multiples of Re 1 thereafter.
The performance of the scheme shall be benchmarked against CRISIL Medium to Long 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.

Kotak Mahindra Mutual Fund (MF) has launched the Kotak Nifty Next 50 Index Fund, an open-ended scheme replicating/ tracking Nifty Next 50 index. The NFO opens for subscription on February 17, 2021 and closes on February 24, 2021. The Entry load and Exit Load will be nil. The minimum subscription amount is Rs 5,000 and in multiples of Rs 1 for purchase and Re 0.01 for switches.
The scheme’s performance will be benchmarked against the performance to Nifty Next 50 Index TRI and Devender Singhal and Satish Dondapati will be the Fund Managers for the Scheme.
The investment objective of the scheme is to replicate the composition of the Nifty Next 50 and to generate returns that are commensurate with the performance of the NIFTY Next 50 Index, subject to tracking errors.

Axis Mutual Fund has filed offer document with SEBI to launch an open ended equity scheme named ‘Axis Multicap Fund’. The New Fund Offer price is Rs 10 per unit. Entry load will be nil and Exit load If redeemed/ switched-out within 12 months - For 10% of investment: Nil; For remaining investment:1% If redeemed/switched out after 12 months from the date of allotment: Nil .The Scheme offers both growth and dividend Options for investment and seeks to collect a Minimum Target Amount of Rs 10 crore.
The performance of the scheme will be benchmarked by NIFTY 500 Multicap 50:25:25 Index. The minimum application amount for initial purchase is Rs 5,000/-and in multiples of Rs 1 thereof.
The investment objective of the Scheme is to  generate  long  term  capital  appreciation  by  investing  in  a  diversified  portfolio  of  equity  and equity related instruments across market capitalization.

With easing prices of some food items, retail inflation of India based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) fell sharply to 4.59 per cent in December 2020 as compared to 6.93 per cent in November 2020 and 7.35 per cent in December 2019. The December CPI data has come within the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) upper margin of 6 per cent. The government has mandated the central bank to keep retail inflation within the range of 4 per cent with a margin of 2 per cent on either side.
The National Statistical Office (NSO) under Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation in its data has showed that the Rural CPI (General) in December stood at 4.07 per cent as against 7.20 per cent in November. The Urban CPI (General) stood at 5.19 per cent in December as against 6.73 per cent in November. The index value for Rural, Urban and Combined CPI (General) stood at 158.5, 156.0 and 157.3, respectively, in December 2020.
The Consumer Food Price Index (CFPI) or the inflation in the food basket eased to 3.41 per cent in the month of December, down from 9.50 per cent in November. The data indicated that the Rural CFPI stood at 3.11 per cent in December as compared to 9.64 per cent in November. The Urban CFPI stood at 4.08 per cent in December as against 9.23 per cent in November. The index value for Rural, Urban and Combined CFPI stood at 159.1, 163.4 and 160.6, respectively, in December 2020.
The 3.41 per cent growth in the food basket was due to a fall in vegetable prices that slipped (-) 10.41 per cent on-year rise in December. Apart from vegetables, other prices were however positive. The oils and fats segment saw a rise of 20.05 per cent, while that of eggs rose 16.08 per cent and pulses and products prices gained 15.98 per cent. The meat and fish segment also witnessed a rise of 15.21 per cent.

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.

Indian intraday trading market extended winning streak for fourth straight day and ended the Monday’s trade with a gain of over half a percent amid fall in daily Covid-19 cases. Markets started the day with significant gains as traders remain encouraged after the Union Health Ministry said more than 72 lakh COVID-19 vaccine doses are still available with states and union territories, while over 46 lakh doses will be received by them within the next three days. Union Health Ministry also stated that India is the fastest country globally to administer 17 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses. China took 119 days while the US took 115 days for reaching the same landmark.  The vaccination drive in India was rolled out on January 16 with healthcare workers getting inoculated and vaccination of frontline workers started from February 2. Subsequently, it was opened for different age groups. Market participants continued to buy risky assets amid reports that corporate India is stepping up to shoulder coronavirus-induced challenges by lending a helping hand through various initiatives like testing, vaccination camps, financial aid, medical help and resource access for COVID-19 care.
Market traded in fine fettle throughout the day as investors took some support from Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal’s statement that India is committed to concluding negotiations for the proposed free trade agreement and investment protection pact with European Union (EU) together at an early date. Adding more optimism, data of the commerce ministry showed continuing a positive growth, India's exports grew by 80 per cent to $7.04 billion during the first week of this month. Exports during May 1-7 last year stood at $3.91 billion and $6.48 billion in the same week of May 2019. Sentiments remained upbeat till end of the trade as Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) data showed that country’s foreign exchange reserves swelled by $3.913 billion to reach $588.02 billion in the week ended April 30, 2021. In the previous week ended April 23, the reserves had risen by $1.701 billion to $584.107 billion.
On the global front, European markets were trading mostly in red even as reopening of economies and easy monetary policy lifted sectors that typically benefit from a recovery. Asian markets ended mostly higher on Monday, after Malaysia's unemployment rate declined marginally in March. The data from the Department of Statistics showed that the jobless rate fell to 4.7 percent in March from 4.8 percent in February. The number of unemployed persons decreased to 753,200 in March from 777,500 in the previous month. The number of employed rose by 0.4 percent monthly to 15.33 million in March from 15.27 million in the prior month.
Back home, with an aim to augment resources to the three tiers of Panchayats for fighting the contagion, the Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance, has released an amount of Rs 8,923.8 crore to 25 States for providing grants to the Rural Local Bodies (RLBs). The grants are meant for all the three tiers of Panchayati Raj Institutions - village, block and district. On the sectoral front pharma stocks remained in focus with a private report stating that the domestic pharmaceuticals market has seen a rebound in April, with sales growing 51.5 per cent over last year, thanks to the low base of April 2020 and a pick-up in demand for Covid-19 drugs.
Finally, the BSE Sensex surged 295.94 points or 0.60% to 49,502.41, while the CNX Nifty was up by 119.20 points or 0.80% to 14,942.35.
The BSE Sensex touched high and low of 49617.47 and 49412.05, respectively and there were 25 stocks advancing against 5 stocks declining on the index.
The broader indices ended in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.97%, while Small cap index was up by 0.94%.
The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 3.53%, PSU up by 2.72%, Capital Goods up by 2.56%, Healthcare up by 2.27% and Power up by 2.13%, while IT down by 0.17% was the lone losing index on BSE.
The top gainers on the Sensex were Larsen & Toubro up by 3.89%, Dr. Reddys Lab up by 3.01%, Sun Pharma up by 2.74%, NTPC up by 2.52% and Power Grid up by 2.42%. On the flip side, Ultratech Cement down by 1.22%, Infosys down by 0.95%, Reliance Industries down by 0.29%, HCL Tech down by 0.25% and Axis Bank down by 0.24% were the top losers.
Meanwhile, S&P Global Ratings has said India's credit rating will be retained at the current level for the next two years, and the country will see a slightly faster pace of growth in the next couple of years that will support its sovereign rating. S&P, which had in March seen the Indian economy growing by 11 per cent in the fiscal year to March 2022, saw GDP growth rate dropping to 9.8 per cent under the 'moderate' scenario, where infections peak in May, and falling to as low as 8.2 per cent in 'severe' scenario under which caseload would peak only in late June.
Further, S&P Global Ratings Director - Sovereign and Public Finance Ratings - Andrew Wood said in the moderate downside scenario there would not be any major impact on the government's fiscal position. There could be upside pressure on general government fiscal deficit forecast of 11 per cent as revenue generation would be weaker, but debt stock would remain roughly stable just above 90 per cent of GDP.
He noted in the severe scenario, there could be more additional fiscal spending from the government and revenue growth would be weaker. This would mean that debt stock would stabilise only in the next financial year. He mentioned ‘India's rating remains stable on a 'BBB-' rating. We do not expect there to be a change in the rating level over the next 2 years...Of course, there are going to be some near term ramification on India's economy stemming from the severe second wave of COVID-19 and that may peep through into our sovereign credit metrics.’
The CNX Nifty traded in a range of 14892.50 and 14966.90 and there were 40 stocks advancing against 10 stocks declining on the index.
The top gainers on Nifty were Coal India up by 7.45%, UPL up by 7.18%, Hindalco up by 6.15%, Indian Oil Corporation up by 4.70% and Tata Motors up by 4.00%. On the flip side, Shree Cement down by 1.90%, Britannia Industries down by 1.37%, Ultratech Cement down by 1.22%, Infosys down by 0.96% and Hero MotoCorp down by 0.86% were the top losers.
European markets were trading mostly in red, France’s CAC decreased 12.01 points or 0.19% to 6,373.50 and Germany’s DAX was down by 22.85 points or 0.15% to 15,376.80. On the flip side, UK’s FTSE 100 increased 12.66 points or 0.18% to 7,142.37.
Asian markets ended mostly higher on Monday as weaker than expected US job growth in April eased concerns over prospects of higher interest rates. Chinese market eked out modest gain, with healthcare firms climbing after European Union leaders cranked up their criticism of the United States call to waive COVID-19 vaccine patents. Japanese market advanced as investors awaited earnings from prominent firms for signs of progress in a pandemic-hit economy. Meanwhile, Seoul stocks hit a record high as a disappointing US jobs report helped allay fears about higher inflation, interest rates and a cutback in stimulus.

       COPPER: -850 MT

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LME Cancelled Warrants

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