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FICCI CASCADE to launch ‘Anti-Smuggling Day’ on Feb 11

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FICCIs Committee Against Smuggling and Counterfeiting Activities Destroying the Economy (CASCADE) has taken a lead to mark the launch of Anti-Smuggling Day on February 11.

‘Anti-Smuggling Day’ will represent a major step in the fight against the global menace of smuggling. With no country immune to the impact of smuggling and no single sector can be said to be an exception, this day will highlight the mounting hazard of smuggling. It will not only call for attention for creating awareness on this issue, but will also evaluate what more needs to be done at a national and international level in mitigating this challenge.

Anil Rajput, Chairman, FICCI CASCADE said: “Illicit trade in smuggled goods is a global problem of enormous magnitude and nations are reeling under its devastating impact. Unfortunately, not enough awareness and thrust is being given to this growing threat which is not only draining our economies and leading to job losses but is also a huge risk to the security of nations worldwide. If the spread of smuggling is not checked, the consequences will be disastrous for our future generations and hence we must take a holistic view to curb this evil.”

Anti-Smuggling Day will gather momentum and will bring together policy makers, international institutions, enforcement agencies, industry members, media, and consumers and reinforce their commitment to take action to curb this scourge that is growing every year and affecting all countries.

Balesh Kumar, Member-Investigation, Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs; P.K Das, Director, Compliance and Facilitation Directorate, World Customs Organisation; Stefano Betti, Deputy Director-General, Transnational Alliance to Combat Illicit Trade (TRACIT); Najib Shah, Former Chairman, Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs; D.P. Dash, Former Pr. Director-General, DRI, Former Chairman, Enforcement Committee, World Customs Organisation (WCO) are slated to address the launch event.

As a run up to Anti-Smuggling Day, and to sensitise the youth on the menace of smuggled goods, FICCI CASCADE also organized a national Digital Art/Poster making competition on the theme, ‘Stand Against Smuggling’.

FICCI CASCADE will also felicitate the winners of the competition during the Anti-Smuggling Day event.

As per the estimates of the World Economic Forum, illicit trade resulted in an annual drain of $2.2 trillion or approximately 3 per cent of world GDP in 2020.

While nations are increasingly recognizing the dangers posed by this evil business and are intensifying their efforts to create an effective deterrence against such activities, in India, FICCI CASCADE is at the forefront of generating awareness on the detrimental impact of smuggled, contraband and counterfeit products.

As per a 2019 study by FICCI CASCADE, large scale smuggling in only 5 key industry sectors resulted in a loss of Rs 1,17,253 crore to the Indian economy and job losses to the tune of 16.36 lakhs.

With widespread smuggling of various goods, along with large quantities of the same being seized regularly, by our enforcement agencies, this illegal business will only grow in the years to come.

Business

Sensex, Nifty open lower amid weak global cues

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Mumbai, Sep 24: The Indian benchmark indices opened marginally lower on Wednesday, on the back of weak global cues, with broad-based selling across all sectors, except PSU bank.

As of 9.21 am, the Sensex was down 289 points, or 0.35 per cent at 81,813 and the Nifty was down 87 points, or 0.35 per cent at 25,082.

Investor sentiments were weighed down by comments from US Fed Chair Jerome Powell about stagflation risks and elevated asset prices. Additionally, the impact of US visa curbs, ongoing foreign outflows, and persistent valuation concerns in domestic markets acted as headwinds for the stock exchanges.

The broad cap indices Nifty Midcap 100 dipped 0.45 per cent, and the Nifty Smallcap 100 lost 0.20 per cent.

Trent, SBI, Asian Paints, Maruti Suzuki, and ONGC are among the major gainers on the Nifty pack, while losers include Hero MotoCorp, Titan Company, Tech Mahindra, Tata Motors, ICICI Bank.

Among sectoral indices, Nifty Auto, the top loser, lost 0.71 per cent. Nifty IT (down 0.66 per cent) and Nifty Consumer durables (down 0.70 per cent) also weighed down on the indices. All other sectoral indices were trading in the red except PSU Bank which gained 0.37 per cent.

Analysts said that the global market is fraught with concern due to the elevated asset prices. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell hinted that the prices of assets, including stocks, gold, silver, and bitcoin, are currently high. He also reiterated the risks to inflation and employment, indicating that the Federal Reserve’s policy will be difficult to navigate in the future.

In India, even though the Nifty is around 4 per cent down from the September 2024 peak, valuations continue to be higher than the long-term averages. But these valuations will become justifiable when the earnings growth picks up, hopefully in FY27, they said.

The US markets ended in the red zone overnight, as Nasdaq dipped 0.95 per cent, the S&P 500 dropped 0.55 per cent, and the Dow lost 0.19 per cent in the last trading session.

Most of the Asian markets were trading in the green during the morning session. While China’s Shanghai index edged up 0.45 per cent, and Shenzhen advanced 0.92 per cent, Japan’s Nikkei dipped 0.43 per cent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index added 0.74 per cent. South Korea’s Kospi lost 1.21 per cent.

On Tuesday, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) sold equities worth Rs 3,551 crore, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) were net buyers of equities worth Rs 2,671 crore.

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Business

Indian stock market opens marginally up, Sensex above 82,000

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Mumbai, Sep 23: The Indian benchmark indices opened with mild gains on Tuesday amid positive global cues, as buying was seen in auto, IT and financial service sectors in the early trade.

As of 9.22 am, Sensex was trading 122.13 points or 0.15 per cent up at 82,282.10 while the Nifty added 35.85 point or 0.14 per cent at 25,238.20

Nifty Bank was down 26.30 points or 0.05 per cent at 55,258.45. The Nifty Midcap 100 index was trading at 58,686.55 after dropping 12.95 points or 0.02 per cent. Nifty Smallcap 100 index was at 18,293.15 after gaining 4.25 points or 0.02 per cent.

According to experts, for the Nifty index, the resumption of near-term uptrend will depend on whether the slippages stretch beyond the 25200-25000 region or not.

Early moves may retain a positive bias if above 25238, but it would require a direct rise above 25278/335 region to attract momentum, they added.

Meanwhile, in the Sensex pack, Maruti Suzuki, M&M, Tata Motors, Infosys, HDFC Bank, Tech Mahindra and Axis Bank were the top gainers. On the other hand, Ultratech Cement, Sun Pharma, Trent and Asian Paints were the top losers.

In the Asian markets, Jakarta, Bangkok, Japan and Seoul were trading in green, while Hong Kong and China were trading in red.

In the last trading session, Dow Jones in the US closed at 46,381.54, up 66.27 points, or 0.14 per cent. The S&P 500 ended with a gain of 29.39 points, or 0.44 per cent, at 6,693.75 and the Nasdaq closed at 22,788.98, up 157.50 points, or 0.70 per cent.

According to analysts, the major drag on the market since the 2024 September peak is the sustained FII selling, which, in turn, is being triggered by the high valuations in India and attractive valuations elsewhere.

FIIs sold equity worth Rs 121,210 crore in 2024 and this year, they have sold equity for Rs 179,200 crore so far through the exchanges, they said.

The foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers as they sold equities worth Rs 2,910.09 crore on September 22, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) purchased equities worth Rs 2,582.63 crore.

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Business

Stock market opens marginally lower, Nifty IT down 2.68 pc

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Mumbai, Sep 22: The Indian benchmark indices opened marginally lower on Monday, despite positive global cues, with IT stocks leading losses owing to some concerns over the new US H-1B visa rules.

As of 9.26 am, the Sensex was down 189 points, or 0.23 per cent at 82,772 and the Nifty was down 40 points, or 0.16 per cent at 25,286. Sensex and Nifty had opened with dips of 0.40 per cent and 0.33 per cent respectively, but later cut down on the losses.

IT giants such as Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Infosys, Wipro, HCL Technologies, Tech Mahindra, and Coforge slipped in the morning trade.

The US government has clarified that visa holders returning to the country are exempt from the new $100,000 fee, which provided marginal relief to Indian IT companies.

White House said the visa fee would be a one-time payment, applicable only to new applications from the next lottery cycle (March–April 2026), and not on renewals.

The broad cap indices Nifty Midcap 100 dipped 0.05 per cent, and the Nifty Smallcap 100 lost 0.12 per cent.

The losers were Tech Mahindra, TCS, Tata Motors, Apollo Hospitals and Dr Reddy’s Labs.

Among sectoral indices, Nifty IT, the top loser, lost 2.68 per cent. Nifty Pharma (down 0.45 per cent) and Nifty Healthcare (down 0.33 per cent) also weighed down on the indices. All other sectoral indices were trading with marginal gains.

The Nifty index has held firmly above the 25,300 mark, closing at 25,327 in the previous session. It continues to trade above its key moving averages—the 20-day, 50-day, and 200-day EMAs—reaffirming the broader bullish undertone.

Analysts predicted that sentiment will remain positive as long as the index remains above these averages. Immediate resistance is placed at 25,500, followed by the 25,600 and 25,850 zones. The support lies at 25,150 and 25,000 zones.

They said that the market is likely to exhibit mixed behaviour, with the IT sector being affected by the H-1B visa issue and domestic consumption themes responding positively to the potential increase in consumption from lower GST rates kicking in from today.

According to them, the present low interest rate regime will aid the consumption boost and will also facilitate an increase in credit demand, boosting the profitability of financials.

Asia-Pacific markets mostly rose on Monday, tracking Wall Street’s gains from Friday and boosted by China’s key lending rate decision that kept key rates unchanged.

In the US markets, Nasdaq has added 0.72 per cent, the S&P 500 edged up 0.49 per cent, and the Dow inched up 0.37 per cent in the last trading session.

Most of the Asian markets were trading in the green during the morning session. While China’s Shanghai index edged up 0.07 per cent, and Shenzhen advanced 0.17 per cent, Japan’s Nikkei added 1.45 per cent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index lost 0.82 per cent. South Korea’s Kospi added 1.06 per cent.

On Friday, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) purchased equities worth Rs 390 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers of equities worth Rs 2,105 crore.

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