Author: Ajay Vaishnav

Parliament winter session 2019: Lok Sabha adjourned sine die after a productive session

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Parliament’s 20-day winter session has come to a close with Speaker Om Birla adjourning Lok Sabha sine die on Friday. While the last day of the winter session saw ruckus in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha over Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s reported remarks on rapes in India, the overall 20-day session has been legislatively very productive.

Both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha have worked over 100 hours with the lower house spending 130 hours and the upper house devoting 105 hours, according to data available on PRS Legislative Research.

Out of 130 hours of Lok Sabha, more than 56 hours were spent in legislative business. The lower house also spent over 48 hours in non-legislative business, almost 17 hours on questions and 5 hours on financial matters. Four hours were spent on other issues.

Out of almost 106 hours of functioning of Rajya Sabha, the upper house spent a good over 55 hours on legislative business, while over 30 hours were spent on non-legislative business. The Rajya Sabha spent nearly 14 hours on questions and 6 were spent on other issues.

In percentage terms, Lok Sabha achieved 114 percent of productivity compared to Rajya Sabha’s 94 percent, as per PRS Legislative Research data.

The winter session saw the longest over 12-hour sitting of Lok Sabha on December 9 when the house took up the Citizenship Amendment Bill, 2019. The Rajya Sabha also saw 9 hours spent on Wednesday, when the CAB was debated in the upper house.

The winter session came against the backdrop of the record-setting first session of the 17th Lok Sabha. In the previous session, Parliament passed 33 bills, the highest ever passed by it since 1952, with Lok Sabha MPs working beyond 10 pm on multiple occasions, debating legislation and raising important issues.

During the Budget Session which was combined with the oath-taking session, Lok Sabha had sittings for 37 days and Rajya Sabha had sittings for 35 days.

The session was planned to be held from June 17 to July 26, 2019 and was further extended till August 7.

During the session, Lok Sabha had sittings for 37 days and Rajya Sabha for 35 days.

Normally, a Parliament sitting is scheduled for six hours barring special occasions such as the President’s address and the election of the Speaker.

On an average, Lok Sabha has worked for 81 percent of its scheduled time in the past two decades, according to PRS Legislative Research data. However, the budget session saw Lok Sabha spending 281 hours which was 135 percent of the scheduled hours.

The Rajya Sabha worked for 195 hours, which was 100 percent of the scheduled hours, much better than its last two-decade average of 76 percent.

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Nifty Metal rises 3% after US, China agree on interim deal

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The Nifty Metal surged almost 3 percent in trade on Friday with the shares of Hindustan Copper, Vedanta, SAIL, Hindalco, Tata Steel, JSW Steel rising between 2 and 4 percent. Out of the 15 companies on the index, 14 were trading in the green.

At 11.09 am, the Nifty Metal index was trading higher by 2.58 percent at 2,634.95, after opening at 2,620.

So far this year, the Nifty Metal index has lost almost 17 percent, while the three-year return on the stock, too, is negative by over 7 percent.

The index advanced as the outlook for metal companies improved after US President Donald Trump approved an interim trade deal with China. “Getting VERY close to a BIG DEAL with China. They want it, and so do we!” Trump tweeted.

The development comes ahead of Washington’s scheduled imposition of fresh tariffs on Chinese goods from Sunday.

A wave of trade euphoria had already lifted Wall Street to record highs. Reuters reported the United States has agreed to reduce some tariffs on Chinese goods and delay a tranche of tariffs as part of the deal.

China has also reportedly agreed to make $50 billion in agricultural purchases in 2020 as part of the deal.

Besides, Myron Brilliant, the US Chamber of Commerce’s head of international affairs, who has been briefed by both the Trump administration and China, said: “We’re close to a deal”.

-with inputs from agencies

Also, catch all the latest market action and updates with CNBCTV18.com’s blog.

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Personal Data Protection Bill 2019: Here are its key aspects

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019, which was introduced in Lok Sabha by  Ravi Shankar Prasad, minister for electronics and information technology,  on Wednesday, has been referred to a join select committee of Parliament amid criticism that privacy provisions had been diluted. The joint panel will have 20 members from Lok Sabha and 10 from Rajya Sabha.  Speaker has been vested with the authority to recommend a Member of Parliament (MP) to be the panel’s chairman. The panel is likely to submit its report before the end of the budget session, which usually begins in late January. The Bill seeks to provide for protection of personal data of individuals, and establishes a data protection Authority for the same. The aim of the Bill is to plug loopholes and inadequacies presently plaguing the country’s information ecosystem.

Why is it important?

The PDP Bill 2019 governs the processing of personal data by government, companies incorporated in India and foreign companies dealing with personal data of individuals in the country.

The Bill envisages and regulates largely three categories of data – personal data, sensitive personal data (SPD), and critical personal data. SPD consists of existing categories of sensitive information such as financial data, health data and biometric data, and also includes new categories such as official identifiers, sex life, sexual orientation, genetic data, transgender status, intersex status, caste or tribe, religious or political belief or affiliation.

The Bill does not define critical personal data and instead leaves it to the Government of India to formulate a definition by way of rules. Notably, the Bill does not regulate anonymised data and exempts such data from its purview.

Significance of the new legislation

The Bill replaces the traditional terms “Data Controller” and “Data Subject” with “Data Fiduciary” and “Data Principal”. A data fiduciary is an entity or individual who decides the means and purpose of processing personal data. Such processing will be subject to certain purpose, collection and storage limitations. For instance, personal data can be processed only for specific, clear and lawful purpose.

All data fiduciaries must undertake certain transparency and accountability measures such as implementing security safeguards (such as data encryption and preventing misuse of data); and instituting grievance redressal mechanisms to address complaints of individuals. They must also institute mechanisms for age verification and parental consent when processing sensitive personal data of children, the Bill says.

How it protects the rights of individuals?

On rights of the individual, it sets out certain rights of the individual (or data principal). These include the right to: obtain confirmation from the fiduciary on whether their personal data has been processed; seek correction of inaccurate, incomplete, or out-of-date personal data; have personal data transferred to any other data fiduciary in certain circumstances; and fourth, restrict continuing disclosure of their personal data by a fiduciary if it is no longer necessary or consent is withdrawn.

While the Bill allows processing of data by fiduciaries only if consent is provided by the individual. But, in certain circumstances, personal data can be processed without consent if it is required by the state for providing benefits to the individual, for legal proceedings and to respond to a medical emergency.

On social media intermediaries, the Bill defines these to include intermediaries which enable online interaction between users and allow for sharing of information. All such intermediaries which have users above a notified threshold, and whose actions can impact electoral democracy or public order, have certain obligations, which include providing a voluntary user verification mechanism for users in India.

Who will oversee its implementation?

An independent authority called the ‘Data Protection Authority of India’ is empowered to oversee the enforcement of the Bill. The authority will have the power to, among other things, temporarily suspend or discontinue the business activity of the Data Fiduciary or Data Processor, cancel any registration or suspend or discontinue any cross-border flow of personal data.

The authority, where it has reasonable grounds to believe that any contravention of any provisions of the Bill has occurred, has the power to enter and search any building, access any computer resource or seize all books and records of a data fiduciary.

How it intends to ensure data localisation?

The Bill places specific restrictions on cross-border transfers of SPD and critical personal data. SPD may be transferred outside India for the purpose of processing, with the explicit consent of the Data Principal and if such transfer is made subject to standard contractual clauses or intra-group schemes that comply with requirements prescribed by the Authority. However, the Bill mandates storing a copy of or ‘mirroring’ all SPD within the territory of India.

The Bill further mandates the storage and processing of all critical personal data exclusively within India.

What penalties or punishment the Bill prescribes for violations?

The Bill lays down financial penalties for non-compliance ranging from Rs 5 crores or 2 percent of total worldwide turnover to Rs 15 crores or 4 percent of the total worldwide turnover. The Bill also provides for compensation for Data Principals for any harm caused to them due to contravention of the provisions of the Bill.

The Bill recognises the right of a class action suit, where an identifiable class of Data Principals have suffered harm. There are certain cases which have criminal liabilities prescribed under the Bill, such as obtaining, transferring or selling Personal Data knowingly or intentionally in contravention of the Bill or re-identification and processing of de-identified Personal Data.

Any person who knowingly or intentionally re-identifies anonymised data and processes the same without due consent is punishable with imprisonment for a maximum term of three years and/or a fine extendable to Rs 2 lakhs.

What do legal experts sayThe Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019?

“The draft proposed to be tabled before Parliament does take into account concerns raised by multinationals on the issue of data localisation. While flexibility has been introduced another issue of criminal liability has been tempered down with a further exception. What is definitely interesting are some new provisions relating to intermediaries and platforms,” Sajai Singh, Partner, J. Sagar Associates, Advocates & Solicitor, said on the Bill in a statement.

“It will be relevant to understand the thinking of the Government behind certain exceptions to personal data processing which were not there in the earlier drafts. Overall, the Data Protection Bill does seem more palatable from an industry perspective than earlier proposals,” said Singh.

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Markets at close: How the major indices and stocks fared on Thursday

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Indian shares ended Thursday’s trade higher as the government’s move to ease rules for non-banking financial companies lifted investor sentiment, with banking, metals and finance stocks leading the gains. The US Federal Reserve’s indication that rates would remain steady in 2020, and buying by institutional investors in certain index heavyweights further aided sentiment.

Here’s a quick recap of how top market indices and stocks fared on Thursday:

Frontline indices

Sensex: The Sensex settled 169 points or 0.42 percent higher to close Thursday’s trade at 40,582. So far this year, the 30-share benchmark BSE index has surged over 12.5 percent, adding 4,513 points.

Nifty50: The Nifty50 gained 61 points, or 0.52 percent, to settle at 11,972. So far this year, the broader NSE index has been positive by 1,109 points, or over 10 percent.

Key stocks

Reliance Industries: The oil-telecom-retail conglomerates’ shares ended 0.31 percent higher, quoting at Rs 1,567.50 on NSE.

Tata Consultancy Services: The IT major settled 1.2 percent lower, closing at Rs 2,016.75 per share on NSE.

HDFC Bank: The private sector lenders’ shares settled 1.18 percent higher in trade today, quoting at Rs 1,263.45 on NSE.

Hindustan Unilever: The FMCG major’s stock closed at Rs 2,006.45 per share, ending 0.16 percent lower at close on NSE.

HDFC: The NBFC stock settled at Rs 2,318.40, mildly up 0.07 percent.

Major sectors

Nifty Bank: The banking gauge settled 1.31 percent higher at 31,665, up 409 points at close. So far this year, Nifty Bank has gained over 16.5 percent.

Nifty IT: The IT index ended 1.04 percent lower to settle at 14,972. So far this year, it has gained 3.7 percent.

Nifty FMCG: The consumer goods gauge settled 0.42 percent higher at 30,228. So far this year, Nifty FMCG has corrected by almost a percent.

Nifty Auto: The index ended 1.32 percent higher to settle at 7,942. So far this year, it has corrected by over 14 percent.

Nifty Metal: The metal index gained 2.36 percent to settle at 2,569. So far this year, the index has lost 18.5 percent.

Disclosure: Network18, the parent company of CNBCTV18.com, is controlled by Independent Media Trust, of which Reliance Industries is the sole beneficiary

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Pankaja Munde is not quitting BJP, to hold fast on January 27 in Aurangabad

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Dispelling speculation over her future in the Bharatiya Janata Party, Pankaja Munde on Thursday said she will not leave the party. Munde was addressing a rally at Beed in Maharashtra to commemorate the birth anniversary of her late father Gopinath Munde.

Munde, however, announced that she will hold a day-long hunger strike in Aurangabad on January 27 to draw the attention of the leadership towards the issue of Marathwada.

“I will not leave the party. I will hold a day-long hunger strike in Aurangabad on 27 January, 2020,” news agency ANI quoted her as saying.

“I will hold a day-long hunger strike in Aurangabad. This will not be against any party or individuals. It will be a symbolic hunger strike to attract the attention of the leadership towards the issue of Marathwada,” she said.

Munde’s recent actions, particularly a controversial post on Facebook, fuelled speculation about her future in the BJP.

Along with her tweets congratulating Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray after the latter took oath as Maharashtra chief minister and subsequently, the removal of the Lotus symbol from her Twitter bio further added fuel to the fire.

On Tuesday, she ‘skipped’ the BJP core committee meeting in Mumbai as well.
That Pankaja isn’t happy with many in the party is not a secret after she lost the Parli assembly seat to her estranged cousin and NCP leader Dhananjay Munde. She even stated that some BJP leaders colluded with Dhananjay as they didn’t want her to win the seat.

Belonging to the Vanjara OBC community, Pankaja’s exit from the BJP could have had an impact on the party’s support base in the community as well as among wider backward castes.

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PM Modi assures ‘brothers, sisters of Assam they have nothing to worry’ after CAB passage

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday assured the people of Assam that they have nothing to worry about the Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) 2019. PM Modi posted a series of tweets, in both Assamese and English, against the backdrop of violent protests in Assam opposing the CAB. The prime minister said he and the Central government are “totally committed to constitutionally safeguard the political, linguistic, cultural and land rights of the Assamese people as per the spirit of Clause 6.”

The Central Government and I are totally committed to constitutionally safeguard the political, linguistic, cultural and land rights of the Assamese people as per the spirit of Clause 6.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) December 12, 2019

The Clause 6 of the Assam Accord guaranteed safeguarding local rights, language and culture

“I want to assure my brothers and sisters of Assam that they have nothing to worry after the passing of #CAB,” PM Modi wrote.

He said, “No one can take away your rights, unique identity and beautiful culture. It will continue to flourish and grow.”

I want to assure my brothers and sisters of Assam that they have nothing to worry after the passing of #CAB.

I want to assure them- no one can take away your rights, unique identity and beautiful culture. It will continue to flourish and grow.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) December 12, 2019

Assam has reported several incidents of violence following the passage of the bill by Parliament on Wednesday night. The CAB seeks to grant citizenship to non-Muslim refugees from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan facing persecution there.

Guwahati, the epicentre of anti-CAB protests, was placed under indefinite curfew on Wednesday night, while the Army was called in at four places and Assam Rifles personnel were deployed in Tripura as the two northeastern states plunged into chaos over the hugely emotive Citizenship (Amendment) Bill or CAB.

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Parliament winter session 2019: FM Sitharaman to introduce IBC amendment Bill in Lok Sabha today

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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In the ongoing winter session of Parliament, the Thursday List of Legislative Business in the Lok Sabha includes three Bills which will be introduced for consideration and passing. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will introduce the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Second Amendment) Bill, 2019. The Bill will amend the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016.

The Central Sanskrit Universities Bill, 2019 will be moved by Union minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank. The Bill will establish and incorporate universities for teaching and research in Sanskrit to develop all-inclusive Sanskrit promotional activities.

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar will move the Anti-Maritime Piracy Bill, 2019. This will make special provisions for repression of piracy on high seas and to provide for punishment for the offence of piracy.

The Thursday List of Business in Rajya Sabha includes a motion for reference of a Bill to Joint Committee and Bills for passing and return, besides the tabling of papers by several union ministers and parliamentary committees.

The Legislative Business of the motion for reference of the Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019 will be moved by Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad.

The motion says: “That this House concurs in the recommendation of the Lok Sabha made in the Motion adopted by the Lok Sabha at its sitting held on Wednesday, that this House do join in the Joint Committee, and resolves that the following Members of the Rajya Sabha be nominated to serve on the said Joint Committee — Bhupender Yadav, Suresh Prabhu, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Ashwini Vaishnaw, Jairam Ramesh, Vivek K. Tankha, Derek O’Brien, A. Navaneethakrishnan, Ram Gopal Yadav and Amar Patnaik”.

Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad will move the Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-sixth Amendment) Bill, 2019. This is to further amend the Constitution of India, as passed by the Lok Sabha to be taken into consideration.

Union Minister Arjun Munda will move the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Second Amendment) Bill, 2019. The Bill, which further amends the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950 to modify the list of the Scheduled Tribes in the State of Karnataka, will be taken into consideration and passing. The Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Second Amendment) Bill, 2019.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will move the Appropriation (No.3) Bill, 2019. Bill for consideration and return. The Bill will authorise payment and appropriation of certain further sums from and out of the Consolidated Fund of India for the services of the financial year 2019-20 as passed by the Lok Sabha.

Twelve union ministers will table papers regarding their concerned ministries and different committees will also present their reports in the Upper House.

Meanwhile, the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday approved the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, completing the legislative procedure for giving Indian citizenship to non-Muslim migrants from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.

Replying to a six-and-a-half-hour debate on the bill, home minister Amit Shah said the legislation seeks to provide citizenship to persecuted minorities in the three countries and not take away citizenship of anyone.

He rejected the Opposition charge that the bill was against Muslims and said they have nothing to fear.

The Bill was passed with 125 votes in favour and 105 against it. Besides BJP, its allies such as JD-U and SAD, the legislation was supported by AIADMK, BJD, TDP and YSR-Congress.

Earlier the House rejected motions to send the bill to a select committee of the House with 124 members voting against it as compared to 99 in its favour.

The House also rejected several amendments moved by opposition members to the bill, most by voice vote.

The Bill was passed by Lok Sabha on Monday. It will now go to the President for his assent.

-with inputs from agencies

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Jharkhand assembly polls 2019: Voting for third phase for 17 seats underway

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Voting is currently underway for the third of the five-phase polling in 17 assembly constituencies of Jharkhand on Thursday. Polling started at 7 am in all the 17 constituencies, amidst a tight security arrangement. While polling at Ranchi, Hatia, Kanke, Barkatha and Ramgarh seats will end at 5 pm, voters in rest of the constituencies can exercise their franchise till 3 pm.

“A total of 56,18,267 voters are eligible to cast votes in the 17 constituencies across eight districts. The voters include a total of 26,80,205 women and 86 third gender voters,” Vinay Kumar Choubey, the Chief Electoral Officer of Jharkhand, said.

The fate of 309 candidates, including 32 women nominees, will be decided in the third leg of the elections.

The assembly elections to the 81-member House began on November 30 and will end on December 20.

CEO Choubey said that about 40,000 polling personnel have been deputed to conduct smooth and peaceful voting.

He said the polling personnel were apart from the deployment of security forces across the 17 constituencies, which have left-wing extremism pockets.

Out of the total 7,016 polling stations set up for the third-phase, 1,008 are marked as critical’ and 543 sensitive’ in Naxal-affected areas.

A total of 1,119 polling stations are critical’ and 2,672 polling stations are sensitive’ in non-Naxal affected areas.

There are 13,504 ballot units, 8,772 controlling units and 9,123 VVPAT in the 17 seats, with double ballot units set up in nine of the constituencies as there are sixteen or more candidates in the fray.

A total of 2,014 polling stations have webcasting facilities, 329 model polling stations and 44 polling stations will be conducted by women polling personnel.

The 17 constituencies, including two reserved for SC candidates and one ST candidate, are spread over eight districts.

The seats where polling is being held are Kodarma, Barkatha, Barhi, Barkagaon, Ramgarh, Mandu, Hazaribag, Simaria (SC), Dhanwar, Gomia, Bermo, Ichagarh, Silli, Khijri (ST), Ranchi, Hatia and Kanke (SC), the Election Commission said in a release.

Notable candidates in the fray are former Jharkhand chief minister Babulal Marandi, Urban Development Minister C P Singh and Education Minister Neera Yadav.

While Marandi, the president of Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik), is contesting from the Dhanwar seat, Singh and Yadav are fighting from Ranchi and Kodarma constituencies respectively.

Former deputy chief minister and AJSU party president Sudesh Mahto is trying his luck to regain Silli seat after he lost the 2014 assembly polls and the subsequent bypoll to JMM candidates Amit Mahato and his wife Seema Mahato.

The JMM has re-nominated Seema Mahato.

The BJP has not fielded any candidate from Silli though the NDA allies are fighting the polls separately, for the first time since the state’s creation.

Of the 17 seats, BJP, JMM and Congress had won 10, three and two seats respectively in 2014 Assembly elections.

The first-phase polling for thirteen seats and the second-phase for twenty seats had concluded on November 30 and December 7 respectively.

The fourth and the fifth phases polling for 15 and 16 seats will be held on December 16 and 20 respectively

Votes will be counted on December 23.

-with inputs from agencies

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Markets at close: How the major indices and stocks fared on Wednesday

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Indian shares reversed losses in the last leg of trade to ended higher on Wednesday, led by gains in IT and private bank stocks.

Here’s a quick recap of how top market indices and stocks fared on Wednesday:

Frontline indices

Sensex: The Sensex settled 173 points or 0.43 percent higher to close Wednesday’s trade at 40,412. So far this year, the 30-share benchmark BSE index has surged over 12 percent, adding 4,344 points.

Nifty50: The Nifty50 gained 53 points, or 0.45 percent, to settle at 11,910. So far this year, the broader NSE index has been positive by 1,048 points, or over 9.6 percent.

Key stocks

Reliance Industries: The oil-telecom-retail conglomerates’ shares ended flat, quoting at Rs 1,562.60 on NSE.

Tata Consultancy Services: The IT major settled 1.43 percent higher, closing at Rs 2,041.20 per share on NSE.

HDFC Bank: The private sector lenders’ shares settled 0.08 percent lower in trade today, quoting at Rs 1,248.70 on NSE.

Hindustan Unilever: The FMCG major’s stock closed at Rs 2,009.60 per share, ending 0.76 percent lower at close on NSE.

HDFC: The NBFC stock settled at Rs 2,322.05, up 1.19 percent.

Major sectors

Nifty Bank: The banking gauge settled 0.31 percent higher at 31,257, up 96 points at close. So far this year, Nifty Bank has gained over 15 percent.

Nifty IT: The IT index ended 1.23 percent higher to settle at 15,130. So far this year, it has gained almost 5 percent.

Nifty FMCG: The consumer goods gauge settled 0.14 percent lower at 30,102. So far this year, Nifty FMCG has corrected by almost 1.5 percent.

Nifty Auto: The index ended 0.47 percent higher to settle at 7,838. So far this year, it has corrected by over 15 percent.

Nifty Metal: The metal index slipped 0.25 percent to settle at 2,509.55. So far this year, the index has lost almost 20.45 percent.

Disclosure: Network18, the parent company of CNBCTV18.com, is controlled by Independent Media Trust, of which Reliance Industries is the sole beneficiary

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These 3 AC stocks could rise 10-55% in 12 months after giving 15-30% returns YTD

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Anand Rathi Research has retained a ‘buy’ rating on Amber Enterprises and Blue Star and ‘hold’ for Voltas. For Amber Enterprises, the most preferred of the troika, Anand Rathi has set a long-term target price of Rs 1,631 per share, which has a 55 percent upside potential from the scrip’s current market price of Rs 1,049 a share. Likewise, Blue Star has a long-term target price of Rs 1,147 per share.

Based on the current market price of Rs 801, the stock could rise 43 percent during the next 12 months, as per the brokerage recommendation. Voltas’ could potentially rise 10 percent in the long term to Rs 760 from the existing price of Rs 690 per share.

The brokerage firm says that OEMs or contract manufacturers specialising in room air conditioners are set to report stellar FY20 results after posting robust results in the first half. The companies, particularly Amber Enterprises, will benefit from the booming domestic demand and exports, it said in a research report last week.

“The room-AC category is also set for interesting times in the coming season: an expected pick-up in demand for 7-star ACs and several critical breakthroughs pertaining to reasonably priced solar-powered ACs, which Amber can offer to OEMs,” the report said.

The brokerage expects Amber Enterprises to grow 33 percent in the second half of the current financial year, outperforming the average industry growth by 10-15 percentage points.

Analysts at Anand Rathi Research also said that the “outlook for Voltas and
Blue Star’s project business has further improved after a substantial increase in orders, with the bid pipeline continuing robust. Amber’s subsidiary, Sidwal Refrigeration, is also set to obtain orders in H2 FY20 after bagging a Rs 1.67 bn order from BEML for the Mumbai metro-rail. Another low-hanging fruit for Sidwal could be orders for the Pune metro-rail, which can be expected to be finalized in H2 FY20.”

Analysts at Anand Rathi expect Amber Enterprise’s reasonably priced
solar-powered AC to be an important technological breakthrough as the competition in inverters hots up.

While the brokerage cites unseasonal rains and protracted winters as temporary risks, it expects FY22e earnings of the companies to go up for Voltas, Blue Star and Amber.

“As we roll over our earnings to FY22, Amber remains our top pick in airconditioning with a target price of Rs 1,631 (earlier Rs 1,248 based on a sum-of parts model factoring in FY21e). We maintain our Buy rating on Blue Star with a target price of Rs 1,147 (earlier Rs 879 based on FY21e earnings). Also, we retain our Hold recommendation on Voltas, with a target price of Rs 760, as the recent run-up in the stock provides limited potential,” the report said.

Voltas reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 107.28 crore in the second quarter, while revenue from operations came in at Rs 1421.94 crore.

On consolidated basis, Blue Star’s net profit rose 94.1 percent to Rs 37.94 crore on a 21 percent jump in net sales to Rs 1,249.47 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018.

Amber Enterprises reported a consolidated net profit at Rs 11.7 crore in the September quarter against a loss of Rs 2.6 crore in the same period last year. Consolidated revenue grew by 89 percent year-on-year to Rs 623.2 crore in Q2FY20.

Shares of Amber Enterprises have returned 13 percent so far this year. Blue Star has given over 28 percent return this year, while Voltas has surged over 22 percent year-to-date.

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Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow