Markets fall nearly 1% amid weak trend

New Delhi: German luxury carmaker MercedesBenz plans to launch four new electric vehicles in India in the next 8-12 months to accelerate its electric mobility drive, Mercedes-Benz AG Head of Region Overseas Matthias Luehrs said. The company expects 25% of its total sales in India to come from electric vehicles in India by 2027.

“We are very happy with the development of our EVs (electric vehicles) here in the Indian market with (models such as) the EQS and the EQB. We’ll have four more vehicles coming in,” Luehrs told reporters. —PTI

RESERVE BANK’S

Mpc To Meet Six Times Next Fiscal

New Delhi (PTI): Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Friday said that if India can use recently discovered reserve of lithium in Jammu and Kashmir, it can become world's number one automobile manufacturer in electric vehicle segment.

The road, transport and highway minister said there is a need to encourage public transport, and electric buses are the future. Lithium is a crucial element in producing batteries that power electric vehicles.

“Every year, we import 1,200 tonnes of lithium.

“Now, in Jammu and Kashmir, we got lithium. (If) we can use this lithium

Major Highlights

z The road, transport and highway minister said there is a need to encourage public transport, and electric buses are the future z Lithium is a crucial element in producing batteries that power electric vehicles z Presently India’s automobile industry is worth `7.5 L cr ion, we will be the number one automobile manufacturing country in the world,” he said. India has beaten Japan to become the third largest vehicle market in 2022 after China and the USA.

3 Times Global Average

New Delhi: The Reserve Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) will meet six times in the next financial year. The RBI rate setting panel will be holding its first meeting of the next fiscal from April 3 to April 6, the central bank said in a statement. The RBI Governor announces the bi-monthly monetary policy after MPC’s deliberations on the prevailing domestic and economic situations. The meetings are held over three days. —PTI

The ministry of road transport and highways is conducting a pilot project of automatic number plate recognition system (automatic number plate reader cameras) to enable automated toll collection without stopping the vehicles.

Mumbai (PTI): Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty buckled under selling pressure for the second straight session to settle nearly 1% lower on Friday as investors pared exposure to the metal, energy and realty stocks amid a bearish trend in Asian and European markets.

In a volatile trade, the 30-share BSE Sensex declined 398.18 points or 0.69% to finish at 57,527.10. During the day, it went lower by 502.3 points or 0.86% to 57,422.98. The broader NSE Nifty fell 131.85 points or 0.77% to end at 16,945.05.

Bajaj Finserv was the biggest loser among the Sensex constituents, followed by Bajaj Finance, Tata Steel, Reliance Indus-

` FALLS 24 PAISE TO CLOSE AT 82.44 AGAINST US DOLLAR

Mumbai (PTI): The rupee depreciated by 24 paise to close at 82.44 (provisional) against the US dollar on Friday. At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened lower by 12 paise at 82.32 as the US dollar. During intra-day trade, the rupee touched a high of 82.20 and a low of 82.49 against the greenback. The domestic unit finally settled at 82.44 against the American currency, 24 paise lower against its previous close.

tries, HCL Tech, SBI, Larsen & Toubro and Mahindra & Mahindra, Axis Bank and Titan. On the other hand, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, Power Grid, Asian Paints were the gainers.

Airtel’s 5G services live in 500 Indian cities

New Delhi (PTI): Telecom operator Bharti Airtel overtook Reliance Jio in 5G roll-out with the expansion of the network to additional 235 cities, taking its total reach to 500 cities.

Reliance Jio has so far announced the expansion of its ultra high-speed fifth generation (5G) network to 406 cities.

“Bharti Airtel...Ultra- fast 5G service is available to customers in 500 cities in the country. Airtel added 235 cities to its network, making it one of the largest roll-outs to date,” the company said in a statement.

Airtel said that it is adding 30-40 cities on its 5G network daily.

“Airtel was the first to offer 5G services in October 2022, and today's mega

India expects exports of $32 bn to UAE this year: Official

New Delhi (PTI): India's exports to the UAE are expected to touch an 'all-time high' of $32 billion by the end of this fiscal due to the benefits of free trade agreement between the countries, an official said.

The two countries also plan to integrate their customs and logistics portals for real-time tracking of shipments for priority of entry in ports, as part of a review of the bilateral Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA).

"India's exports (to the UAE) are around $28.3 billion. We are hopeful to touch an all-time high of

$32 billion exports this year," the government official said.

India and the UAE are working on customs facilitation wherein their logistics and customs portals would get integrated and help in real-time data exchange and tracking of ships for priority of entry in ports.

15% OF PILOTS IN INDIA ARE FEMALES

Mumbai (PTI): As much as 15% of pilots in India are females, which is almost three times the global average of 5%, according to an official release.

However, currently, there is no special programme in the government to encourage pilot training for females and backward classes including SCs/STs, it said. Also, there are currently 67 expat pilots working with various air operators in the country, it said.

As per data received, a total of 244 pilots have been recruited in 2021, the release noted and that indus- try estimates suggest that the country may require 1,000 pilots per annum over the next five years.

The annual requirement of commercial pilots depends upon various factors such as financial health of

Top Talking Points

z As much as 15% of pilots in India are women, which is almost three times the global average of 5% z However, currently, there is no special programme in the government to encourage pilot training for women and backward classes including Schedule Castes and Schedule Tribes an airline, airline expansion plan and growth in the aviation sector, the release stated. launch is our promise to connect every Airtel customer in the country with ultra-fast Airtel 5G Plus.

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We have already covered 500 cities and are adding 30 to 40 cities every single day. By September of 2023, we expect to expand our 5G footprint to all of urban India,” Bharti Airtel CTO Randeep Sekhon said. According to industry players, India has become the fastest country in the world to roll-out 5G networks.

MSI TARGETS SALES VIA NEXA OUTLETS TO OVERTAKE VOLUMES OF HYUNDAI,

TaMo BY NEXT YEAR

New Delhi: Maruti Suzuki India is targeting for its premium vehicles sold through the Nexa retail outlets to be more than the respective overall sales of Hyundai and Tata Motors by next year, according to Senior Executive Officer, Marketing and Sales, Shashank Srivastava. The Nexa retail chain, started in 2015 to sell Maruti Suzuki’s premium vehicles, has crossed the cumulative sales milestone of 20 lakh units. It currently sells models such as Baleno, Ignis, Ciaz, XL6 and Grand Vitara. Upcoming SUVs Fronx and Jimny will also be sold through the chain. —PTI

AKASA AIR TO HIRE NEARLY 1,000 PEOPLE

BY MAR 2024: CEO

New Delhi: Akasa Air plans to hire nearly 1,000 people and take the total staff strength to more than 3,000 by the end of March 2024 as the airline continues to expand its fleet as well as routes, according to its chief Vinay Dube. The airline, which took to the skies a little over seven months ago, also plans to start international operations by the end of this year, and the possible overseas destinations are still in the process of being finalised. The airline will place a “threedigit aircraft order” by the end of this year. —PTI

INDIA’S FOREX KITTY JUMPS BY $12.8 BILLION TO $572.8 BN

New Delhi: India’s forex kitty rose by $12.798 billion to $572.801 billion in the week ended March 17, the Reserve Bank said on Friday. In the previous reporting week, the reserves had dropped by $2.39 billion to a three-month low of $560.003 billion. It can be noted that in October 2021, the country’s forex kitty had reached an all-time high of $645 billion. For the week ended March 17, the foreign currency assets, a major component of the reserves, increased by $10.485 billion to $505.348 billion. —PTI

CIL MAKING ALL EFFORTS TO SUPPLY HIGHER QUANTITIES OF COAL TO NON-REGULATED SECTOR

New Delhi: State-owned CIL on Friday said it is making all efforts to supply higher quantities of coal to the non-regulated sector (NRS) without affecting supplies to the power sector, through increased production. The statement comes days after the maharatna firm stated that it is gearing up to meet the demand of coal from the power sector amid early onset of summer and a pick up in the industrial demand for electricity. Stepping up on supplies, Coal India Ltd (CIL) is poised to post 16.6% growth in coal despatch to its non-regulated sector customers in the fourth quarter of the ongoing fiscal, compared to the preceding quarter. —PTI