Mumbai, Sep 21: The Indian equity markets opened on a positive note on Monday, driven by gains in realty stocks and correction in crude prices.

As of 9.20 am, Sensex added 411 points, or 0.55 per cent, to reach 74,706 and Nifty gained 33 points, or 0.14 per cent, to reach 23,379.

Main broad-cap indices showed divergence with the benchmark indices, as the Nifty Midcap 100 declined 0.19 per cent, and the Nifty Smallcap 100 shed 0.04 per cent.

Sectoral indices on NSE traded mixed, with Nifty IT and PSU banks posting moderate losses. Nifty realty was the top gainer, up 1.04 per cent, followed by auto, up 0.65 per cent.

Despite escalation of conflicts in the Middle East and the Russia-Ukraine war, Brent crude declined to below $102 due to the increasing oil flow through the Strait of Hormuz.

“The US 10-year bond yields are hovering around 5 per cent posing a threat to equity markets. But equity markets are holding their ground taking cues from the robust growth in developed economies and expectations of good corporate earnings. In India, too, this pattern is playing out,” an analyst said.

Global markets remain mixed, with Asian equities gaining on technology strength while easing crude prices are offering some relief.

In the previous session, Nifty surged 0.33 per cent, and its immediate support was placed at 23,100–23,200, while resistance was seen at 23,400–23,500.

In the previous session, Bank Nifty closed at 56,358.70, up 0.54 per cent, after recovering strongly from an intraday low of 56,073.55. Immediate support is placed at 55,800–56,000, while resistance is seen at 56,800–57,000.

In Asian markets, China’s Shanghai index gained 0.58 per cent, and Shenzhen added 0.63 per cent, Japan’s Nikkei added 1.38 per cent, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index added 0.66 per cent. South Korea’s Kospi added 1.84 per cent.

The US markets ended in green on their last trading day, as Nasdaq gained 0.4 per cent. The S&P 500 added 0.17 per cent, and the Dow Jones declined 0.18 per cent.

On September 18, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) net bought equities worth Rs 599 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought equities worth Rs 1,019 crore.

Guwahati, Sep 20: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday laid the foundation stone for Adani Power Limited’s 3,200 MW ultra-supercritical thermal power plant at Chapar in Dhubri district, marking one of the largest private investments in the state’s history.

The project, which entails an investment of around Rs 48,000 crore, is expected to significantly boost Assam’s power generation capacity while creating large-scale employment opportunities.

According to the company, the plant is likely to generate up to 20,000 jobs during the construction phase and around 5,000 permanent and indirect jobs once it becomes operational.

The foundation stone ceremony was attended by senior state government officials, industry representatives, community leaders and Adani Group Director Jeet Adani.

The Chapar thermal power project forms a major component of the Adani Group’s broader Rs 63,000-crore investment plan in Assam’s power sector.

The plant is scheduled to be commissioned in phases beginning in December 2030 and will comprise four units of 800 MW each. It will use ultra-supercritical technology designed to improve efficiency while incorporating modern environmental safeguards.

In his address at the event, Chief Minister Sarma said Assam is rapidly emerging as an energy hub for the Northeast and that several large energy projects are currently under development in the state. He described the Chapar project as a major outcome of the investment commitments made during the Advantage Assam Investor Summit 2.0.

“With an investment of nearly Rs 48,000 crore, this project will constitute one of the largest single investments ever made in Assam,” he stated.

Jeet Adani said the thermal power project marks the beginning of a new chapter in Assam’s development journey. “The project will also create jobs and open up opportunities for local contractors, suppliers and businesses. We are proud to invest in Assam and be part of the state’s economic growth,” he noted.

Highlighting the Group’s wider plans in the state, Jeet Adani said investments exceeding Rs 80,000 crore across power, aviation and cement sectors are already translating into projects on the ground.

Mumbai, Sep 19: In a sharp political offensive against the Central government’s decision to introduce a 0.4 per cent Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) on select Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions above Rs 2,000, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) Chief Raj Thackeray on Saturday alleged that the administration has ensnared the nation in a carefully laid “digital trap”.

In a detailed statement on social media platform X, the MNS Chief accused the ruling MahaYuti coalition-led Maharashtra government of lulling Indian citizens into a false sense of security with free digital transactions, only to quietly impose transaction fees and taxes once people became dependent on the platform.

Tracing the trajectory of digital payments from the 2016 Demonetisation move to the nationwide push for UPI adoption, Raj Thackeray said that the trajectory was planned to make citizens reliant on digital architecture before levying charges.

“First came Demonetisation; then the UPI system was introduced with great fanfare to showcase the push for digital transactions. They trumpeted its success, basked in self-praise, got people habituated to it, and then suddenly announced that fees would apply. In short, they lulled citizens into a false sense of security and quietly ensnared them in a digital trap,” he remarked.

He said that he had consistently warned the public against assuming that zero-fee digital services would remain permanent, saying that the government’s process of “coming knocking at your door” to collect revenues has now officially begun.

He questioned why permanent budgetary provisions for long-term maintenance and cybersecurity were not established during the initial investment phase if the intent was genuinely to simplify transactions rather than monetise them later.

Rejecting the Union government’s claim that the 0.4 per cent MDR burden falls solely on merchants, Raj Thackeray asserted that the Union government possesses zero monitoring mechanisms to prevent small and large businesses from passing the extra operational cost onto consumers.

He sharply criticised the levy of 18 per cent Goods and Services Tax (GST) on top of the MDR, accusing the Finance Ministry of attempting to “dip into citizens’ pockets wherever possible”.

Raising questions around international policy influences, Raj Thackeray cited Opposition’s allegations regarding US pressure and asked whether foreign card corporations and global payment networks influenced the policy decision.

Releasing a official government tweet screenshot from August 21, 2022 — which explicitly promised that UPI services would remain completely free — the MNS Chief called the recent policy shift evidence of “unclear and non-transparent intentions”.

He formally registered his party’s protest against the implementation of the Merchant Discount Rate.

Calling upon the trading community, small business owners, and retail associations to take a unified stand, Raj Thackeray urged merchants across Maharashtra and the nation to vehemently oppose paying the new transaction levies.