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FM has given very clear picture of Indian economy, reforms: PM Modi

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New Delhi, Feb 15: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, while responding to the debate on the Union Budget 2025-26 in the Parliament this week, has given a very clear picture of the Indian economy and ongoing reforms, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday.

“During her remarks in Parliament, Finance Minister @nsitharaman has given a very clear picture of the Indian economy and the reform trajectory we are undertaking,” PM Modi posted on social media platform X.

During the Budget debate in the Lok Sabha, the Union Finance Minister said the Indian economy will continue to be the world’s fastest-growing economy backed by the increase in the government’s capital expenditure in the Budget for 2025-26 and rising consumption levels, especially in the rural areas.

The Finance Minister said that the effective capital expenditure works out to 4.3 per cent of the GDP in the Budget for 2025-26 while the fiscal deficit is 4.4 per cent.

She further cited figures from the Budget to show that the capex allocation in the budget has increased to Rs 1.21 lakh crore, dismissing the opposition’s claim that the outlay has been reduced.

According to her, inflation management is the highest priority of this government and overall retail inflation is within the notified tolerance band of 2 per cent to 6 per cent.

During the Budget debate in the Rajya Sabha, FM Sitharaman said that the Budget for FY26 was prepared during a challenging time, with serious external challenges beyond estimates or forecasts.

“For decades, we have been talking about globalisation. Now we are facing the issue of fragmentation in the world. Everybody wants to have a free market but there are increasing tariff barriers. The world is growing through a major change,” said Finance Minister.

She further stated that there are no models that you can build and understand how the trends will be because they are very dynamic.

“Despite that, we have tried keeping the assessments as close as possible, keeping India’s interests as topmost. This immense uncertainty is still playing out and many Indian imports which are very critical for our economy to grow are also going to be left with uncertainty,” she mentioned.

The Budget has not reduced sectoral allocations and the effective capital expenditure during the next fiscal is estimated at Rs 19.08 lakh crore, according to FM Sitharaman.

She also introduced the new Income Tax Bill, 2025, in the Lok Sabha this week, as part of the tax reforms to streamline and simplify the provisions so that they are easier to understand and reduce the scope for legal disputes.

Business

Adani Power signs pact to supply 2,400 MW power to Bihar

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New Delhi, Sep 13: In a significant development, Adani Power Ltd (APL) has signed a 25-year power supply agreement with Bihar State Power Generation Company Ltd (BSPGCL) to supply 2,400 megawatt (MW) of power to the state, the Adani Group’s firm said on Saturday.

Under the agreement, the India’s largest private sector thermal power generator would supply the proposed power from a greenfield ultra super critical plant to be set up at Pirpainti in Bhagalpur district of Bihar.

The development came after a Letter of Award (LoA) by BSPGCL to APL, on behalf of North Bihar Power Distribution Company Ltd (NBPDCL) and South Bihar Power Distribution Company Ltd (SBPDCL) in August.

Adani Power won the project by offering the lowest supply rate at Rs 6.075 per kWh.

“The company is planning to invest approximately $3 billion to build the new plant (800 MW X 3) and its supporting infrastructure under the Design, Build, Finance, Own, and Operate (DBFOO) model,” the APL informed.

The coal linkage for the power plant has been allocated under the SHAKTI Policy of the government of India.

During the construction phase, the project will generate around 10,000 to 12,000 direct and indirect employment. Once it becomes operational, it will employ 3,000 people.

APL aims to commission the plant in 60 months.

Earlier, in a first-of-its-kind adoption of the greenshoe option in a thermal power tender in India, APL was awarded a total of 1,600 MW capacity by MP Power Management Company Limited (MPPMCL).

The company received a LoA from MPPMCL, awarding 800 MW additional capacity under the ‘Greenshoe Option’.

Both units (800MW x 2) in Anuppur district, Madhya Pradesh, will be commissioned within 60 months of the appointed date.

APL said that it will invest around Rs 21,000 crore towards setting up the plant and related infrastructure.

The project is expected to generate direct and indirect employment of 9,000-10,000 during the construction phase, and 2,000 once in operation.

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Stock market ends week on positive note, clock 8 consecutive session gains despite uncertainties

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Mumbai, Sep 12: The Indian equity indices ended the week on a positive note on Friday, maintaining the winning streak for the eight consecutive trading sessions despite geo-political uncertainties.

Optimism over a potential rate cut by the US Fed, positive developments in India-US trade talks and buying in defence stocks fueled the market sentiment.

Sensex settled the session at 81,904.70, up 355.97 points or 0.44 per cent. The 30-share index started trading with a decent gap-up at 81,758.95 against last day’s closing of 81,548.73. The index extended the momentum further amid positive global cues to hit an intraday high at 81,992.85.

Nifty closed at 25,114.0, up 108.50 points or 0.43 per cent.

The national market closed at a three-week high, supported by renewed global optimism over a potential Fed rate cut. Sentiments improved further on reports that the EU may reject U.S. tariff proposals on India for buying Russian oil, analysts said.

Progress in the US-India trade talks is also expected to keep the positive momentum intact in the near term. The defence sector outperformed, aided by the Indian procurement authorities beginning negotiations for six next-generation conventional submarines, analysts added.

BEL, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj FinServ, Axis Bank, Maruti, Tata Motors, ICICI Bank, L&T, Infosys, and PowerGrid were the top gainers from the Sensex basket. Eternal, Hindustan Unilever, Trent, Asian Paint, Bharati Airtel and ITC settled lower.

The majority of sectoral indices settled higher. Nifty Fin Services jumped 184 points or 0.70 per cent, Nifty Bank escalated 139 points or 0.26 per cent, Nifty Auto increased 122 points or 0.46 per cent, and Nifty IT settled the session 107 points or 0.3 per cent. Nifty FMCG fell.

Broader indices followed suit as well. Nifty Smallcap 100 moved 114 points or 0.64 per cent, Nifty Midcap 100 jumped 183 points or 0.32 per cent, and Nifty 100 closed 106 points or 0.41 per cent.

Rupee traded positively with gains of 0.18 per cent at 88.27 as mixed FII inflows supported sentiment.

“The dollar index remained weak below 98, providing additional strength to the rupee, while ongoing trade deal talks with the US also added optimism. Weakness in crude prices offered further minor support,” said Jateen Trivedi f LKP Securities.

Overall, the rupee looks set to gain some lost ground with scope to test 87.75 in the coming days, while 88.50 is seen as a reversal resistance zone, he added.

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Icelandic collaboration to further boost India’s Blue Economy

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New Delhi, Sep 12: India and Iceland are set to enhance collaboration in fisheries and aquaculture, emphasising sustainable practices, zero-waste models, technology transfer and cluster-based development, the government said on Friday.

An Indian delegation, led by Dr. Abhilaksh Likhi, Secretary of the Department of Fisheries, completed a three-day official visit in Iceland’s Reykjavík to strengthen bilateral cooperation through strategic partnerships, investment promotion, and innovation exchange, an official statement said.

Likhi met with senior representatives of the Iceland Ocean Cluster and discussed cooperative innovation in fish processing, value addition, traceability, and certification. BRIM and Hampiðjan, leading Icelandic companies, provided insights into their advanced zero-waste models and cutting-edge processing technologies.

“Both sides explored investment opportunities for the Icelandic seafood processing industry in India, along with ways to deepen business-to-business (B2B) linkages,” the statement said.

The delegation also visited MATIS, Iceland’s top food and biotech R&D institute, to discuss cooperation in biotechnology, food safety, and marine resource utilisation. The visit opened new avenues for collaboration in research and technology transfer to bolster India’s fisheries value chain, the release added.

Emphasis was also laid on training and capacity building in deep-sea fishing technologies, alongside the adoption of advanced vessel monitoring and surveillance (VMS) systems, the ministry of Fisheries said.

The two sides explored opportunities in deep-sea fishing technologies, vessel monitoring systems, trout farming, and tuna innovations for India’s islands.

The government has adopted a cluster-based development model under the PMMSY, with 34 clusters notified so far. The cluster-based approach enhances competitiveness and efficiency by uniting geographically connected enterprises of all sizes – micro, small, medium, and large-across the entire value chain, from production to exports.

The country’s total fish production has grown by 104 per cent from 96 lakh tonnes in 2013–14 to 195 lakh tonnes in 2024–25, as inland fisheries expanded by 142 per cent for the same period from 61 lakh tonnes to 147.37 lakh tonnes, according to government data.

India stands as the second largest fish producing nation in the world, contributing around 8 per cent of global output.

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