Connect with us
Saturday,13-September-2025
Breaking News

Business

India’s Oct retail inflation inches-up on high food, input prices

Published

on

India’s October retail inflation inched-up on sequential basis on the back of a marginal rise in food prices along with high fuel and commodity prices.

Accordingly, data furnished by the National Statistical Office showed that Consumer Price Index (CPI) inched-up to 4.48 per cent last month from 4.35 per cent in September 2021.

However, on YoY basis, the rise in last month’s retail inflation was slower than the 7.61 per cent rise recorded for October 2020.

The macro-economic data assumes significance as retail inflation remained we ll within the range of the Reserve Bank of India’s set target of 2-6 per cent for CPI inflation.

Region-wise, the CPI Urban rose to 5.04 per cent last month from 4.57 per cent in September and the CPI Rural came down to 4.07 per cent from 4.13 per cent.

As per the NSO data, the rate of rise in Consumer Food Price Index increased to 0.85 per cent last month from 0.68 per cent in September.

The CFPI readings measure the changes in retail prices of food products.

In terms of CPI YoY inflation rate, pulses and products’ prices jumped by 5.42 per cent in October 2021.

Besides, meat and fish prices rose by 7.12 per cent, however, eggs became cheaper by 1.38 per cent, nevertheless, the overall price of food and beverages category was up 1.82 per cent and oils and fats prices rose 33.50 per cent.

On the other hand, vegetable prices declined by 19.43 per cent.

Furthermore, as per the official data, the inflation rate for fuel and light was at 14.35 per cent.

In addition, sub-group of clothing and footwear showed a price acceleration of 7.53 per cent.

“Despite base effect, still-high fuel costs, input cost pressures and season al turn in some food prices in coming months etc. could even see inflation rise towards more than 6.2 per cent later in the fiscal year,” said Madhavi Arora, Lead Economist, Emkay Global Financial Services.

“We revise our forecast by 25bps to 5.5 per cent for FY22, as we reckon supply-side bottlenecks, higher imported commodity inflation and high pump prices would pose a countering upside pressure on inflation.”

According to Aditi Nayar, Chief Economist, ICRA: “The uptick in the YoY CPI inflation in October 2021 relative to the previous month, while mild, was pretty broad-based, with the hardening in the inflation for clothing and footwear, and miscellaneous items suggesting that reviving demand is nudging producers in some sectors to pass through the input price pressures, resulting in a pickup in the core inflation to 5.8 per cent in that month.”

Business

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

Published

on

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.

Continue Reading

Business

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

Published

on

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.

Continue Reading

Business

Icelandic collaboration to further boost India’s Blue Economy

Published

on

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.

Continue Reading
Advertisement
Advertisement

Trending