A surge in housing supply resulted in a nearly 50 per cent drop in rental price growth in top cities in the second quarter this year (to date) — registering a 2-4 per cent quarterly rise which is down from 4-9 per cent in the first quarter this year, a report showed on Tuesday. With more new supply entering the markets, a highly speculative residential rental spike is coming to a halt, according to the latest Anarock data.
The top seven cities are set to deliver nearly 5.31 lakh new units in 2024 while in 2023, these cities saw about 4.35 lakh units being delivered. This denotes a 22 per cent annual supply increase this year if delivery schedules remain on track. “In India, the second quarter of most years typically sees rents increase more than in other quarters due to the commencement of the new academic year and the employment of new staff,” said Santhosh Kumar, Vice Chairman, Anarock Group. Also Read – Chhagan Bhujbal demands caste census in India ADVERTISEMENT This year, declining rental value growth coincides with substantial new housing supply entering these markets, he added. Average rents for a standard 1,000 sq feet 2-BHK accommodation in Bengaluru’s Whitefield rose by 4 per cent in Q2 — from Rs 32,500 a month in Q1 to Rs 35,000 a month in Q2 (to date). In Q1 2024, the quarterly jump against Q4 2023 was doubled at 8 per cent for the same flat in Bengaluru. Also Read – Sharad Pawar urges Shinde to call meeting to mull ways to end drought in Pune District ADVERTISEMENT In Noida Sector 150, the average rent rose by a mere 4 per cent — from about Rs 24,000 per month in Q1 to approximately Rs 25,000 a month in the current quarter. The quarterly hike stood at 9 per cent in Q1 against Q4 2023. Sohna Road in Gurugram and Dwarka in Delhi saw their respective quarterly rents increase by 3 per cent and 2 per cent in Q2 2024; in Q1 2024, the hikes stood at 4 per cent and 6 per cent, respectively, the report showed. Mumbai Metropolitan Region’s (MMR) key markets Chembur and Mulund saw average rents rise by just 2 per cent against the preceding quarter (Q1 2024). In Q1 2024, they rose by over 4 per cent against Q4 2023.

AGENCIES

Riding on supportive policy interventions, investment in India’s key infrastructure sectors — renewable energy and roads – and real estate are likely to grow 38 per cent in the fiscals 2025 and 2026, compared with the previous two fiscals, to Rs 15 lakh crore, a report showed on Tuesday.

The surge, according to CRISIL Ratings, will ride on India’s need for creation of sustainable infrastructure by adding more green power to the energy mix, improving physical connectivity through a denser road network, as well as rising demand for residential and commercial real estate.

For renewables, the key growth driver is demand for sustainable energy transition.

The government’s target is driving up auctions, which has created a strong pipeline, the report mentioned.

“The underlying demand drivers in these three sectors remain strong, with regular policy interventions fuelling investor interest. This has also supported healthy credit risk profiles of private players and strengthened their execution and funding capabilities,” said Krishnan Sitaraman, Senior Director and Chief Ratings Officer, CRISIL Ratings.

India saw auctions of 35 GW in fiscal 2024, the highest-ever in a single fiscal, resulting in a strong pipeline of 75 GW.

This will primarily drive implementation of 50 GW capacity over the next two fiscals, said the report.

When it comes to the roads sector, the need for improved physical connectivity, which helps in efficiency gains for the economy, has driven healthy awarding over the past few fiscals, barring the last one.

“Strengthened order books of road developers, at 2.5 times of revenue, will support 11 per cent growth in highway construction, which is seen at 12,500 km per year over the next two fiscals,” the report noted.

As for real estate, net leasing of commercial office space will see demand growth of 8-10 per cent in this fiscal and the next. “Cumulatively, Rs 2 lakh crore of equity capital has been deployed in these sectors over the past two fiscals driven by strong investor participation,” said Manish Gupta, Senior Director and Deputy Chief Ratings Officer. AGENCIES

The government on Thursday rolled out an initiative under which steel makers will add ‘Made in India’ labels to their products to promote locally-made goods at the global level. The move is aimed at realising Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Make in India’ vision, Union Steel Minister Jyotiraditya M Scindia said.
In the first phase, all Integrated Steel Players (ISPs) have been included under the initiative to introduce branding and labelling of ‘Made-in-India’ steel products in the global market, the Ministry of Steel said in a statement. The Secondary Steel Industries (SSIs) will join the initiative in the second phase, it said.
Scindia chaired a consultative committee meeting to discuss the progress on the first-of-its kind initiative by the Ministry of Steel and the Ministry of Commerce and Industry to introduce branding and labelling of ‘Made-in-India’ steel products in the global market. Apart from making Indian steel products more attractive to buyers, this would also ensure standardised quality of goods, it said.
Minister of State for Steel Faggan Singh Kulaste, along with heads of various steel PSUs, attended the meeting here.
During the meeting, he highlighted “the significance of branding in promoting the Indian steel industry and realising the PM Narendra Modi’s ‘Make in India’ vision.”
He also emphasised on the efforts to build India as a manufacturing centre of the world, which requires a unified and distinctive identity for Indian steel that reflects its quality, innovation, and sustainability practices.

“It is the first ever initiative by any ministry to introduce labelling and branding of the sector’s products. The Ministry of Steel is the first ministry to come up with such a branding exercise, where a single brand identity for Indian-made steel will represent India’s strong manufacturing potential,” Scindia said.
‘Made in India’ branding has been rolled out for select products of all major ISPs.
ISPs-QCI (Quality Council of India) portal Application Programming Interface (API) integration has also been completed for label and QR code authentication, he said.
The rollout will be extended to include more products, as well as those by the SSIs in the next phase, the minister said.
“All ISPs, and 65 per cent of India’s steel products have been on-boarded with common labels finalised for all the product categories. Size and space for the Made in India logo has been allocated for each label,” the ministry said.
Made in India text will be used till the logo is finalised by DPIIT, it said.  IANS

New HAL order to further boost India’s self-reliance in defence manufacturing

In a fillip to the ‘Make in India’ initiative and strengthening self-reliance in defence manufacturing, Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) has received a request for proposal (RFP) by the Ministry of Defence for procurement of 156 light combat helicopters (LCH).

The news led to a more than 4.3 per cent jump in HAL shares to Rs 5,427 in morning trade on Tuesday. On Monday, the HAL stock jumped 4.62 per cent.

“We would like to inform that a Request for Proposal (RFP) has been issued by the Ministry of Defence for the procurement of 156 Light Combat Helicopters (90 for the Indian Army and 66 for the Indian Air Force (IAF),” said HAL in a regulatory filing.

The tender is expected to be worth Rs 45,000-Rs 50,000 crore with helicopters to be acquired by the Indian Air Force and Indian Army.

HAL saw its consolidated revenue jump of 52.19 per cent to Rs 4308.68 crore in Q4 FY24 as compared to Rs 2,831.19 crore in Q4 FY23.

The revenue from operations increased 18.36 per cent YoY to Rs 14,788.75 crore during the quarter. Meanwhile, the move by the Ministry of Defence to procure 156 light combat helicopters further emboldens the vision of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh towards achieving self-reliance in defence manufacturing.

“Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, our aim will be to further strengthen the security apparatus of the country, with a focus on achieving self-reliance in defence manufacturing,” said Minister Singh after assuming charge in the new BJP-led NDA government this month.

The policy of boosting defence production as part of the drive towards an ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ is increasingly reflected in the rising order books of the country’s defence equipment manufacturing companies and underlines a positive outlook for the sector ahead.Bengaluru-based Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), a key player in the country’s defence industry, has an order book that stands at a robust Rs 75,934 crore.

Before the new 156 light combat helicopters’ order, HAL had an order book of Rs 38,561 crore and is poised for a bigger leap in technology as India and the US are ready to sign an agreement for the manufacture of advanced GE engines for military planes at HAL’s facilities.

Larsen & Toubro, another major player in the defence industry, has an extensive order book worth a staggering Rs 94,000 crore. The government’s plan of stepping up defence exports aims to catapult India as a major player in the global defence market. AGENCIES

As the majority (63 per cent) of Life Sciences organisations, across biopharma and medtech, have connected health products already on the market or under development, the industry anticipates that connected health will contribute more than one-fifth of their total revenue (22 per cent) in the next five years, a new report showed on Tuesday.According to the IT firm Capgemini, three in five Life Sciences organisations are currently developing a roadmap for integrating Generative AI, and over half are already piloting genAI for interactions with patients and healthcare providers (HCPs).

“Unlocking the power of healthcare data and leveraging the possibilities posed by breakthrough technologies, such as Generative AI, will be at the heart of this connected health revolution,” said Thorsten Rall, Global Life Sciences Industry Leader at Capgemini.

“They can accelerate drug development, enhance patient care, and have the potential to reshape what ‘product’ actually means for pharmaceuticals, especially medtech companies,” he added.

The report surveyed 420 industry executives from various biotechnology, pharmaceutical (biopharma), and medtech organisations exploring connected health initiatives with annual revenues exceeding $500 million.

The report also found that there has been a six-fold increase in biopharma organisations with market-ready connected products since 2021.

Oncology, immunology, and cardiology are primary focuses for most biopharma companies, with emerging areas such as mental health, diabetes, obesity, and dermatology also showing huge growth since 2021.

According to the report, biopharma organisations have made significant progress in leveraging AI, Machine Learning (ML) and Cloud in the last three years.

Biopharma organisations using AI for predictive analysis of real-time data from connected health products have almost doubled since 2021 from 24 per cent to 46 per cent.

As per the report, over two-fifths (42 per cent) also have a Cloud platform in place for data integration from different sources.

However, only a minority of Life Sciences organisations mentioned that they had an adequate supply of technical skills such as AR/VR and Generative AI, according to the report.  AGENCIES

LG Electronics said on Tuesday it will pay out 90 billion won ($65.2 million) in dividends to its shareholders for the first half as part of plans to increase shareholder value.Shareholders will receive 500 won per share on June 30, according to the company in a filing.

This dividend payout is part of LG Electronics’ new shareholder return policy, which includes distributing dividends twice a year and increasing the dividend payout ratio to 25 per cent, reports Yonhap news agency.

Last year, LG Electronics paid out a dividend of 800 won per common share and 850 won per preferred share.

For the first quarter of the year, LG Electronics’ operating profit fell more than 10 per cent from a year earlier, due to rising costs and intensifying competition.

Its first-quarter operating profit came to 1.33 trillion won ($984.9 million), down 11 per cent from 1.5 trillion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing.

Sales increased 3.3 per cent on-year to 21.09 trillion won, marking the highest for any first-quarter results. The company did not provide the data for net income. AGENCIES

India’s pharmaceutical exports continue to register double-digit growth, reflecting the strong demand for the country’s affordable generic medicines in global markets led by the USA and UK.India’s pharma exports grew by 10.45 per cent in May this year to touch the $2.3 billion mark compared with the $2.08 billion in the same month of the previous financial year.

“It is moving in a positive way and we are optimistic of sustaining growth of not less than 10 per cent,” Director General, Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council of India, Ravi Uday Bhaskar said on the quick estimate numbers released last week by the Centre.

India is now the world’s third-largest drugmaker by volume amid the growing demand for the country’s pharmaceutical products in export markets.

The US is a key market, which accounts for about 30 per cent of India’s annual pharma exports after a nearly 16 per cent increase in fiscal 2024, according to Pharmexcil.

The country’s drug shortages as well as the increased use of drugs for lifestyle diseases such as diabetes, hypertension and depression is expected to fuel the demand for India’s affordably priced drugs, according to Bhaskar.

According to a report by India Ratings and Research, Indian drugmakers will sustain their revenue improvement in 2024-2025 due to drug shortages in the United States. India is a hub of bulk generic drug manufacturing and drugmakers including Dr Reddy’s, Cipla (NS:CIPL), Sun Pharma (NS:SUN) derive a significant share of revenue from both the US and Europe.

The world’s largest drug market is facing decade-high drug shortages, India Ratings said in a note citing data from with Utah Drug Information Service.

There is an active shortage of 233 drugs across 22 therapeutic categories as of April, led mainly by discontinuing production of some drugs, rising demand and delays in shipments, it said, also citing data from the US Food and Drug Administration. AGENCIES

The export of spices and its products reached an all-time high in FY 2023-24 at a record $4.46 billion making India a key player in the global trade.

The growth was seen owing to a rebound in volumes and higher prices for certain varieties such as pepper, cardamom and turmeric.

According to the latest data by the Spices Board under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the export of spices/spice products from the country has been 15,39,692 tonnes valued at Rs 36,958.80 crore ($4.46 billion) during FY 2023-24.

The red chilli exports hit a record $1.5 billion in FY24, a 15 per cent increase from the previous year’s $1.3 billion which is driven by robust demand from China and Bangladesh.

According to Spices Board data, red chilli export volume increased by 15 per cent in FY24 to 6.01 lakh tonnes from 5.24 lakh tonnes the previous year.

Red chilli exports, worth $1.5 billion, comprised about 34 per cent of India’s total spices exports.

China was the top importer of Indian red chillies in FY24, purchasing over 1.79 lakh tonnes valued at Rs 4,123 crore, according to Kedia Advisory.

This represents a 14 per cent increase in volume and a 21 per cent increase in value from 1.57 lakh tonnes worth Rs 3,408 crore in FY23.

Chilli exports to Bangladesh jumped by 67 per cent in FY24, reaching 90,570 tonnes, up from 53,986 tonnes the previous year.

“India’s red chilli exports have reached unprecedented heights in FY24, fueled by escalating demand from key importing nations. The surge in exports, especially to China and Bangladesh, reflects the growing recognition and preference for Indian spices worldwide,” Kedia Advisory said. AGENCIES

India has witnessed the fastest jump in alternative remittance share for e-commerce payments in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, from 20.4 per cent in 2018 to 58.1 per cent in 2023, a new report has said. According to the data and analytics company GlobalData, this jump can be attributed to the widespread usage of mobile wallets, largely driven by UPI (Unified Payments Interface), which enables mobile payments in real time simply by scanning QR codes.

The report highlighted that alternative payments are already popular in countries like China and India, and are gaining traction in other APAC markets as well.

“While most Asian markets are traditionally cash-dominated, the adoption of alternative payment methods for both online and in-store payments is growing across many markets in the region, outpacing the West,” said Shivani Gupta, Senior Banking and Payments Analyst at GlobalData.

“This trend is driven by the rising smartphone and Internet accessibility, increasing convenience of electronic payments, and the proliferation of mobile and QR code-based payment solutions,” she added.

In addition, the report revealed that cash-intensive countries in the region such as the Philippines, Malaysia, and Indonesia, are also witnessing a similar trend.

“Alternative payment solutions account for the lion’s share in e-commerce markets across many APAC countries, supported by rising Internet and smartphone penetration, and growing acceptance of digital payments by merchants,” Gupta said.

She also mentioned that with the convenience, speed, and security they offer, coupled with high expected growth in the overall e-commerce market in the region, “these payment tools are anticipated to further gain traction and disrupt the consumer payment space in the region.” AGENCIES

Amid the growing debate over artificial intelligence (AI) models, Google on Tuesday launched its AI assistant Gemini’s mobile app in India.

The Gemini app is now available in India, supporting English and nine languages — Hindi, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu.

The app allows users to type, talk, or even add an image to get the assistance they need.

“We’re also adding these local languages to Gemini Advanced, plus other new features, and launching Gemini in Google Messages in English,” Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai posted on X social media platform.

According to the company, Gemini Advanced users in India can now access the power of Gemini 1.5 Pro, its most advanced model, in nine languages.

“Additionally, we’re unlocking new features in Gemini Advanced such as new data analysis capabilities and file uploads, and also launching the ability to chat with Gemini in Google Messages, starting in English,” said Amar Subramanya, Vice President, Engineering, Gemini Experiences.

On iOS, Gemini access is rolling out directly from the Google app over the next few weeks.

With a 1 million token context window, Gemini Advanced now has the longest context of any widely available consumer chatbot worldwide.

“We’re also introducing Gemini in Google Messages to give you another way to collaborate with Gemini on your phone,” said the company. AGENCIES

Global rating agency Fitch on Tuesday raised India’s GDP growth forecast for FY25 to 7.2 per cent, from 7 per cent.

The rating agency said in its report that recovery in consumer spending and increasing investment trends are the main factors for this update.

Fitch said in its global outlook report, “We expect the Indian economy to grow by a strong 7.2 per cent in FY25.”

The estimate released by Fitch states that the Indian economy may grow at 6.5 per cent and 6.2 per cent in FY26 and FY27 respectively.

The rating agency said in its outlook, “Investments will continue to rise but it will be slow in comparison to recent quarters while consumer spending will recover with elevated consumer confidence.”

The rating agency says that the retail inflation rate may come down to 4.5 per cent at the end of this year. It is estimated to be 4.3 per cent in 2025 and 2026.

Earlier, the World Bank raised India’s GDP growth forecast to 6.6 per cent from 6.4 per cent. AGENCIES