Business news highlights (December 2): India's sugar industry off to a slow start, Oct-Nov output falls

India's digital governance platform Pro-Active Governance and Timely Implementation (PRAGATI) has transformed the delivery of infrastructure projects by reducing delays in implementation, a study by Oxford University’s Saïd Business School and the Gates Foundation has revealed. (Read More)

Sajjan Jindal, Chairman and Managing Director of JSW Group, plans to revolutionise the Indian electric vehicle (EV) market by focusing on indigenising EV technology to better align with the unique needs of Indian consumers. Speaking exclusively to Moneycontrol, Jindal said the group will establish dedicated R&D and design centres over time, aiming to indigenise and localise EV technology to cater specifically to the Indian market. (Read More)

• Indian mills have produced 2.79 million metric tons of sugar since the current season began on Oct. 1, down 35.4% year on year, as mills in two key states started operations later than usual, a leading industry body said on Monday.
• Lower sugar production could lead the world's second-largest producer to refrain from allocating export quotas and support global prices.
• The start of sugar cane crushing in the western state of Maharashtra and neighbouring Karnataka was delayed, but soon crushing will pick up momentum, said Prakash Naiknavare, managing director of the National Federation of Cooperative Sugar Factories Ltd (NFCSF). (Reuters)

WhatsApp keeps dropping support for older devices and operating systems to keep developing the platform with new features, security updates and advanced architecture. In the latest update, WhatsApp has started sending a notification to users about dropping support for older iOS versions. This means iPhone users running the older version of the operating system won’t be able to use WhatsApp. (Read More)

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Dutch technology investor Prosus has revealed a strong pipeline of potential IPO candidates from its Indian portfolio, which includes Meesho, BlueStone, PayU and Urban Company. The companies are expected to go public over the next 18 months. (Read More)

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The allotment status for the Rs 99 crore C2C Advanced Systems IPO can also be checked on the official websites of BSE and NSE. (Read More)

The GMP of C2C Advanced Systems IPO has surged on the allotment date after a slight dip last week due to the postponement of the company’s listing over regulatory concerns. Subscribers to the maiden share offering can check their allotment status on the official registrar’s website, Link Intime India Pvt Ltd, by entering their application number or PAN details.

• Qualified Institutional Buyers (QIBs) -- 0.00
• Non Institutional Investors(NIIS) -- 0.10 times
• Retail Individual Investors (RIIs) -- 0.41 times
• Total - 0.23 times

Realty firm Macrotech Developers has acquired a 45-acre land parcel at Sohna, Gurugram to develop an industrial and logistics park for around Rs 110 crore, marking its entry into the Delhi-NCR market.

Mumbai-based Macrotech Developers, which sells properties under the Lodha brand, is one of the leading real estate developers in the country.

According to sources, the company has acquired around 45 acres of land at Sohna in Delhi-NCR for about Rs 110 crore.

Investment in Indian real estate by Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) has touched nearly Rs 75,500 crore in more than a decade, the highest among all sectors with a 17 per cent share in the total inflow through this route, according to Anarock.

Real estate consultant Anarock on Monday said that the Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) have shown impressive growth in India over the last ten years. Out of all sectors, real estate stands out as the leading choice for AIF investments across the country.

"Latest SEBI data compiled by Anarock indicates that out of a total of Rs 4,49,384 crore AIF investments made across sectors till H1, FY2025 (till September of this fiscal), real estate’s share was the highest at 17 per cent- totalling nearly Rs 75,468 crore," the consultant said.

"The situation of states is more precarious, our analysis of capital expenditure of states for H1 FY25 indicate that out of 17 major states only five states exhibited increase in expenditure in H1 FY25 as compared to H1 FY24. This is one of the reasons of low growth in Q2 FY25. Due to tied conditionalities on expenditure of states we are not expecting any uptick in the H2 expenditure also. This will keep the overall growth numbers between 6-6.5% only for FY25," says SBI Research paper.

Finance Ministry has on December 2 scrapped the windfall tax on aviation turbine fuel (ATF), crude products, diesel and petrol products, reported CNBC-TV18. (Read More)

• Qualified Institutional Buyers (QIBs) - 3.32 times
• Non Institutional Investors(NIIS) - 0.81 times
• Retail Individual Investors (RIIs) - 3.44 times
• Employee Reserved - 0.80 times
• Reservation Portion Shareholder - 1.60 times
• Total - 2.42 times
• Source - BSE

• Coal India | November coal production op 1.7% at 67.2 mt vs 66.0 mt (YoY)
• November offtake flat at 63.0 YoY

Rupee news live: Rupee weakens further against US dollar, at record low of 84.66/$

• Sajjan Jindal, chairman and managing director of JSW Group, has voiced serious concerns about the growing influx of Chinese steel into India, primarily through Free Trade Agreement (FTA) routes involving Association of Southeast Asian Nations or ASEAN countries.
• Speaking exclusively to Moneycontrol, Jindal said that China’s overcapacity in steel production is flooding global markets, with the country’s exports matching India’s entire steel production output. The issue, however, is not limited to direct imports from China but is exacerbated by a loophole allowing Chinese steel to enter India indirectly through third-party nations that have trade agreements with India. (Read More)

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is likely to maintain the policy rate unchanged for the eleventh consecutive time this week, driven by higher-than-anticipated inflation, according to a Moneycontrol poll of 15 economists, bankers, and fund managers. This comes despite economic growth slowing to a seven-quarter low of 5.4 percent year-on-year in September, weighed down by sluggish expansions in manufacturing and consumption. (Read More)

India’s manufacturing activity slipped to 56.5 in November compared with 57.5 in the previous month

• Rajesh Power Services shares listed on the BSE SME platform with a premium of 90 percent on December 2. The SME issue was subscribed 59 times at close on November 27.
• The shares of Rajesh Power Services were listed at Rs 636.50 per share on the NSE, a premium of 90 percent against the issue price of Rs 335. (Read More)

India's long-term growth prospects remain strong, with the economy already showing signs of recovery driven by government spending and easing monetary conditions, said Neelkanth Mishra, Chief Economist at Axis Bank, on "The Open Dialogue" podcast by Axis Bank. (Read More)

The Suraksha Diagnostic IPO comprises 1,91,89,330 shares, allocated as follows: 38,37,867 shares (20%) for Qualified Institutional Buyers (QIBs), 28,78,400 shares (15%) for Non-Institutional Investors (NIIs), 67,16,266 shares (35%) for Retail Individual Investors (RIIs), and 57,56,797 shares (30%) for Anchor Investors.

Investors can place bids for a minimum of 34 shares and in multiples thereafter. The table below outlines the minimum and maximum investment limits for retail investors and high-net-worth individuals (HNIs) in terms of both shares and amounts.

Brokerage firms swiftly lowered their projections for India's GDP growth in the financial year 2024-25 following a moderation to 5.4 percent in GDP growth for the September quarter. Experts attributed the slowdown to weakening consumption, sluggish government capital expenditure (capex), and a deceleration in industrial growth. (Read More)

• Qualified Institutional Buyers (QIBs) - 0.00 times
• Non Institutional Investors(NIIS) - 0.04 times
• Retail Individual Investors (RIIs) - 0.20 times
• Total - 0.11 times

The company plans to strengthen its presence in its existing markets, with a particular emphasis on Kolkata, according to the report.

The financial world is closely watching the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) upcoming Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting on December 6. The key question is whether the RBI will maintain the status quo or reduce the repo rate, currently at 6.5 percent. Additionally, December is a crucial month for taxpayers—ensure you pay your third advance tax installment and file any belated tax returns to avoid penalties. (Read More)

ICICI Securities Ltd, Nuvama Wealth Management Ltd, and SBI Capital Markets Ltd are acting as the book-running lead managers for the Suraksha Clinic and Diagnostic IPO, with Kfin Technologies appointed as the registrar for the issue.

"The diagnostic sector where the company operates is highly competitive, and its operations are limited to the eastern region of India, restricting its market reach. Given these factors, we find the issue to be overvalued and assign an ‘Avoid’ rating to the IPO," stated the Anand Rathi Research Team in their report on the public offering.

The company is conducting a book-built offer-for-sale (OFS) of 1.92 crore shares, with a goal of raising Rs 846.25 crore.

Suraksha Diagnostic, a Kolkata-based radiology testing and medical consultancy firm, experienced a subdued response to its IPO on the first day of public bidding. By Friday, November 29, only 11% of the total shares on offer had been subscribed.

The Suraksha Diagnostic IPO will continue its public bidding today, for the second day. The subscription window will close on Tuesday, December 3, with the shares expected to be listed on the stock market on Friday, December 6.

Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of top business news today. We will be tracking latest developments from the world of finance both nationally and internationally. First up, we are taking look at the Day 2 subscription trend of Suraksha Diagnostic IPO. This week, though there are no mainboard IPOs, the SME segment looks very busy. Stay with us for IPO GMP news and much more.