India is world’s 3rd-largest aviation mkt

New Delhi: Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), the nation’s largest oil firm, on Tuesday reported returning to profitability in the December quarter after losses in the preceding six months from holding fuel prices despite a rise in cost. Standalone net profit of `448.01 crore in October-December 2022 compared with `5,860.80 crore net earning in the same period of previous fiscal. IOC said it earned $21.08 on turning every barrel of crude oil into fuel during the April-December period. —PTI

JAN GST MOP-UP AT `1.55 LAKH CRORE, 2ND HIGHEST EVER

New Delhi (PTI): India has become the third-largest aviation market in the world and is growing rapidly, with the number of airports increasing to 147 from just 74 in 2014, President Droupadi Murmu said on Tuesday.

She also said the Indian Railways is emerging as a modern institution and many inaccessible areas are being added to the rail map of the country. Murmu said the country's aviation sector is also growing rapidly. "Up to 2014, the number of airports in the country was 74, it has now increased to 147.

Today India has become the third-largest aviation market in the world. The

April-Dec fiscal deficit at 59.8% of FY23 target

New Delhi: GST collections for the month of January stood at `1.55 lakh crore. This is the second highest mop-up next only to the collection reported in April 2022.

The ministry said that CGST accounted for `28,963 crore, while the SGST stood at `36,730 crore. The IGST accounted for `79,599 crore (including `37,118 crore collected on import of goods) and cess was `10,630 crore (including `768 crore collected on import of goods). —FIB

SUGAR PRODUCTION

TO FALL 5% TO 340 LT IN 2022-23

New Delh (PTI): The government's fiscal deficit as of end-December touched 59.8% of the full-year Budget Estimate on subdued growth in revenue collections, according to finance ministry data released on Tuesday.

In actual terms, the fiscal deficit — which is the difference between expenditure and revenue — was `9,92,976 crore during the April-December period of 2022-23. In the corresponding period last year, the deficit was 50.4% of the Budget Estimates (BE) of 2021-22.

The government has budgeted fiscal deficit at `16.61 lakh crore or 6.4% of the GDP in the current financial year ending March 2023. The deficit is funded

UDAN GIVING BIRTH TO REGIONAL AIRLINES, SAYS CIVIL AVIATION MINISTER SCINDIA

New Delhi (PTI): The government’s regional air connectivity scheme, which has created a landmark, is giving birth to regional carriers in a country that in the last 20 years has seen closing down of airlines, Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said on Tuesday. After virtually flagging off regional airline IndiaOne Air’s flight from Jamshedpur to Kolkata, Scindia said it will also be the first scheduled commercial air service from Jamshedpur, which earlier was limited to non-scheduled operations. The UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik) scheme is “giving birth to new airlines in a country that over the last 20 years has only seen closing of airlines. With this scheme alone, regional airlines like StarAir, IndiaOne Air, FlyBig have been born. New records of aviation will be established,” Scindia said. According to the minister, UDAN, the regional air connectivity scheme, has created a new landmark transporting almost close to 1.15 crore people in the last six years.

New Delhi: India’s sugar production is estimated to fall 5% during 2022-23 marketing year ending September to 340 lakh tonnes as more quantity of sugarcane juice is being diverted for production of ethanol, according to industry body ISMA. Sugar production stood at 358 lakh tonnes in the 2021-22 marketing year. ISMA said sugar production in 2022-23 is estimated at around 340 lakh tonnes after diversion of 45 lakh tonnes of sweetener towards ethanol mfg. Sugarcane juice/syrup and B-molasses are being diverted to ethanol making. —PTI

GOLD DECLINES BY RUPEES 105; SILVER

SEES DIP OF `379

FISCAL DEFICIT IN APRIL-DEC

z In actual terms, the fiscal deficit which is the difference between expenditure and revenue was `9,92,976 crore during the April-December period of 2022-23 by market borrowing.

As per the CGA data, the net tax revenue at ` 15.55 lakh crore was 80.4% of BE 2022-23. During the 2021-22 period, net tax revenue was 95.4% of that year’s BE.

UDAN Yojana has played an important role in this regard," she said.

India's core sector output rises by 7.4% in December

New Delhi (PTI): Production of eight infrastructure sectors rose at a threemonth high of 7.4% in December 2022 against 4.1% in the same month of previous year on a better show by coal, fertiliser, steel, and electricity segments, according to the official data released on Tuesday.

Crude oil output, however, contracted by 1.2% in December last year.

The production of eight key sectors rose by 5.7% in November 2022.

The growth rate of eight infrastructure sectors -coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilisers, steel, cement and electricity -- stood at 8% in April-December this fiscal as against 12.6% during the same period last fiscal.

Inflation in India expected to come down to 5% in 2023: IMF official

Washington (PTI): Inflation in India is expected to come down from 6.8% in the current fiscal year ending March 31 to 5% the next fiscal, and then drop further to 4% in 2024, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Tuesday.

“Inflation in India as in other countries is expected to come down from 6.8% in 2022 to 5% in 2023 and then 4% coming towards the target in 2024,” Daniel Leigh, Division Chief, Research Department of the IMF told reporters here.

“That partly reflects the

‘EXPECTING SLOWDOWN IN INDIAN ECONOMY TO 6.1%’

UDAN (Ude Desh ka

Aam Naagrik) is the government's ambitious re- gional air connectivity scheme and UDAN flights have carried around 1.15 crore people over the last six years. Talking about the India Railways, Murmu said a modern and semihigh-speed train has become part of it in the form of Vande Bharat Express. "Inaccessible areas of Jammu Kashmir and northeast are also being connected by railways. Major railway stations of the country are being modernised. Indian railways is fast moving towards becoming the world's largest electric railway network. We are also rapidly expanding indigenous technology — KAVACH — to make Indian railways safer," she said.

‘About 3 lakh women farmers benefited from PM-KISAN’

New Delhi (PTI): President Droupadi Murmu on Tuesday said about 3 lakh women farmers have been benefitted from PM-KISAN scheme under which ` 54,000 crore has been transferred to them so far.

The Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PMKISAN) scheme was launched in February 2019 but is being implemented with effect from December 2018. Under the scheme, eligible farmers are provided with a financial benefit of ` 6,000 per year in three equal instalments of ` 2,000 each every four months. The fund is directly transferred to bank accounts of the beneficiaries.

Murmu said the government's priority is 11 crore

IMF expects world economy to grow 2.9%

central bank's actions,” he added, According to the World Economic Outlook update released by the IMF on Tuesday, about 84 percent of countries are expected to have lower headline (consumer price index) inflation in 2023 than in 2022.

AHEAD OF BUDGET, US FED’S RATE

New Delhi: Gold price in the national capital declined `105 to `56,780 per 10 gram on Tuesday amid weak global cues, according to HDFC Securities. Silver also tumbled `379 to `68,418 per kg.

“Spot gold prices in the Delhi markets traded at `56,780 per 10 gram, down `105 per 10 gram,” said an analyst. In the overseas market, both gold and silver were trading in the red at $1,913 per ounce and $23.27 per ounce, respectively. —PTI small farmers who were for decades deprived of the benefits.

"Under PM-KISAN, more than ` 2.25 lakh crore has been transferred. Important thing is that about 3 lakh are women farmers," Murmu said. About `54,000 crore has been transferred to these small women farmers, she said.

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Washington (PTI): The IMF on Tuesday said it is expecting some slowdown in the Indian economy next fiscal year and projected the growth to 6.1% from 6.8% during the current fiscal ending March 31. “Our growth projections actually for India are unchanged from our October Outlook. We have 6.8% growth for this current fiscal year, which runs until March, and then we're expecting some slowdown to 6.1% in fiscal year 2023. And that is largely driven by external factors,” Chief Economist and Director, Research Department of the IMF said.

Washington (PTI): The outlook for the global economy is growing slightly brighter as China eases its zero-COVID policies and the world shows surprising resilience in the face of high inflation, elevated interest rates and Russia's ongoing war against Ukraine.

That's the view of the International Monetary Fund, which now expects the world economy to grow 2.9% this year. That forecast is better than the 2.7% expansion for 2023 that the IMF predicted in October, though down from the estimated 3.4% growth in 2022.

Sensex and Nifty settle marginally higher

Mumbai (PTI): Equity benchmarks ended with marginal gains on Tuesday as investors adopted a cautious approach ahead of the Union Budget presentation and the US Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision. Fag-end buying helped the 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex settle with a gain of 49.49 points or 0.08% at 59,549.90. During the day, the benchmark hit a high of 59,787.63 and a low of 59,104.59. The broader NSE Nifty inched up 13.20 points or 0.07% to close at 17,662.15. From the Sensex pack,

Mahindra & Mahindra, UltraTech Cement, Power Grid, State Bank of India, ITC, Titan, Tata Motors and ICICI Bank were among the major winners.

Tata Consultancy Services, Bajaj Finance, Tech Mahindra, Asian Paints and HDFC were among the major laggards.

RUPEE FALLS 41 PAISE TO CLOSE AT 81.93 AGAINST

Us Dollar

Mumbai (PTI): The rupee depreciated by 41 paise to close at 81.93 (provisional) against the US dollar on Tuesday after the Economic Survey 2022-23 said the domestic unit may remain under pressure on account of plateauing of exports and subsequent widening of current account deficit. At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened weak at 81.61 against the dollar, and lost further ground to fall below the 82 per US dollar level. The rupee finally ended at 81.93, registering a decline of 41 paise over its last close.

Financial Benefit

z Under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PMKISAN) scheme, eligible farmers are provided with a financial benefit of `6,000 per year in three equal instalments of `2,000 each every four months

INDIGO TO OPERATE BOEING 777 AIRCRAFT ON DELHI-ISTANBUL ROUTE FROM FEBRUARY 1

Mumbai: IndiGo on Tuesday said it will start operating wide-body Boeing 777 on Delhi-Istanbul route from February 1. IndiGo so far has been operating only narrow-body all-economy airbus planes. This is for the first time in its over 16 years of operations that the Gurugramheadquartered airline will have twin-aisle planes in its fleet. The Boeing 777 aircraft has a seating capacity of 400 passengers in a dual class configuration — economy and business, the airline said in a statement. —PTI

INDIA'S 2022 GOLD CONSUMPTION DROPS 2.92% TO 774 TONNES

New Delhi: India’s overall gold demand remained resilient and witnessed a marginal decline of 2.92% in 2022 at 774 tonnes notwithstanding a sharp increase in prices, and the outlook for this year looks bullish, the World Gold Council (WGC) said in a report on Tuesday.

The overall gold demand in 2021 stood at 797.3 tonnes. India gold demand in the fourth quarter and the full year 2022, fell short of 345 tonnes (a record level in our 30-year data series) and 797.3 tonnes, respectively for 2021. —PTI

INDIA'S SOLAR MODULE MFG CAPACITY TO REACH 95 GW BY 2025

New Delhi: India’s solar module manufacturing capacity is expected to reach approximately 95 GW by the end of 2025, according to Mercom Capital. The solar module manufacturing capacity as of September last year was 39 gigawatt (GW), the research firm said in its latest report. “India’s solar module manufacturing capacities announced...39 GW at the end of September 2022 and is expected to reach approximately 95 GW by the end of the calendar year (CY) 2025,” the report said. —PTI

VI BOARD AGAIN APPROVES ISSUE OF `1600 CRORE BOND TO ATC, EGM ON FEBRUARY 25

New Delhi: Crisis-ridden telco Vodafone Idea on Tuesday said its board has approved an issue of optionally convertible debentures of up to `1,600 crore to vendor American Tower Corporation. After a meeting of the board of directors, the company in a regulatory filing said that it will convene an extraordinary general meeting on February 25 to seek shareholders’ nod for the same. “The Board of Directors of Vodafone Idea Limited...Has again approved Preferential Issuance of up to 16000 Indian Rupee denominated optionally convertible, unsecured, unrated and unlisted debentures...Aggregating up to `1,600 crores, convertible into equity shares at a conversion price of `10 per equity share, to ATC.” —PTI

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