New GST rates: 23 goods and services to get cheaper from January 1

In a new year gift to the common man, the government has notified reduction in GST rates on 23 goods and services, including movie tickets, TV and monitor screen.
The consumers will pay less for these items of common consumption as the incidence of Goods and Services Tax (GST) on them will come down from Tuesday.

The GST Council on December 22 decided to cut tax rates on 23 goods and services, including movie tickets, TV and monitor screens and power banks and exempted frozen and preserved vegetables from the levy.
The Council had rationalised the 28 per cent slab and restricted the highest slab to luxury, demerit, and sin goods, besides cement, large screen TV, Air Conditioners and dishwashers.
The goods on which GST has been lowered to 18 per cent from 28 per cent at present include pulleys, transmission shafts and cranks, gear boxes, retreaded or used tyres, power banks of lithium ion batteries, digital cameras, video camera recorders and video game consoles.
The GST Council has also decided to slash tax rate on parts and accessories for the carriages for disabled persons from 28 per cent to 5 per cent. Also third party insurance premium of goods carrying vehicles has been reduced from 18 per cent to 12 per cent.
The other items which will attract lower GST rate of 5 per cent include marble rubble, natural cork, walking stick, fly ash blocks.
Music books and vegetables (uncooked or cooked by steaming or boiling in water), frozen, branded and put in an unit container and vegetables provisionally preserved but unsuitable in that state for immediate consumption have been exempted from GST.
Services supplied by banks to basic savings bank deposit account holders under the Jan Dhan Yojana will not attract the GST.
Air travel of pilgrims by non-scheduled/charter operations being facilitated by the government under bilateral arrangements will attract a lower GST rate of 5 per cent.
GST on movie tickets costing up to Rs 100 has been cut to 12 per cent, from 18 per cent. Also tickets over Rs 100 will attract 18 per cent GST, against 28 per cent earlier.
Monitors and TV screens up to 32 inches and power banks will attract 18 per cent GST, as against 28 per cent earlier.

MARKETS LIVE: Sensex down 100 pts, Nifty below 10,850 weighed by financials

The benchmark indices have erased their opening gains and are now trading marginally lower weighed by select financial stocks.
Among the sectoral indices, the Nifty Bank index is trading over 0.3 per cent lower dragged by IndusInd Bank, ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank. The Nifty Auto index, too, is down around 0.5 per cent weighed by TVS Motor Company, Mahindra & Mahindra and Maruti Suzuki.

In the broader markets, the S&P BSE MidCap index was trading 25 points or 0.16 per cent lower at 15413 levels. However, the S&P BSE SmallCap index was up 12 points or 0.08 per cent at 14,719 levels.
Rupee
The rupee opened 15 paise higher at 69.62 against the US dollar. The domestic unit Monday signed off the last trading session of 2018 with 18 paise gains at 69.77 but clocked a 9.23 per cent fall during the year after witnessing its one of the tumultuous years in the recent past.
Global Markets
Most Asian markets are shut on account of New Year.
The Wall Street advanced in low-volume trading on Monday as investors gathered to ring in 2019, marking the end of the worst year for US stocks since 2008, the height of the financial crisis.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 265.06 points, or 1.15 per cent, to 23,327.46, the S&P 500 gained 21.11 points, or 0.85 per cent, to 2,506.85 and the Nasdaq Composite added 50.76 points, or 0.77 per cent, to 6,635.28.
(with Reuters input)
CATCH ALL THE LIVE UPDATES
11:29 AM
Varun Beverages up 15% in five days; stock nears record high
Shares of Varun Beverages (VBL) were trading higher for the fifth straight day on Tuesday. The stock was up 5 per cent at Rs 828 in an otherwise subdued market. The company is a key player in beverage industry and one of the largest franchisee of PepsiCo in the world (outside USA). In the last five trading days, the stock has outperformed the market by gaining 15 per cent, as compared to a one per cent rise in the S&P BSE Sensex. At the time of writing this report, it was 2.5% away from its all-time level of Rs 849 touched on September 21, 2018 on the BSE in intra-day trade. Read more
11:07 AM
Lessons from 2018: Don't be greedy, continue your SIPs to build a corpus
Investment consultant Arun Kejriwal has a complaint with stock market investors: “Most do not realise that there is an unlimited number of opportunities in the stock market. But the money they have is limited. And they have to maximise their returns with that limited amount.”

According to him, there was a strong buzz that the government might bite the bullet on capital gains tax in January itself. Most investors, especially in the mid-and small-cap space, were sitting on significant profits at that time. But they refused to sell, or lower their exposure. Click here to read more

10:57 AM
Top losers on BSE500
COMPANY PRICE() CHG() CHG(%) VOLUME
DHANUKA AGRITECH 452.90 -14.20 -3.04 533
FUTURE LIFESTYLE 413.50 -11.30 -2.66 1541
BLISS GVS PHARMA 162.40 -3.65 -2.20 92299
SHEELA FOAM 1453.05 -31.90 -2.15 21
GE T&D INDIA 288.00 -6.00 -2.04 1042
» More on Top Losers
10:45 AM
JMC Projects rallies 19% in two days on order win worth Rs 596 crore
JMC Projects (India) rallied 11% to Rs 96.80 on Tuesday, thus surging 19% in the last two sessions after the construction and engineering company said it has secured new orders worth Rs 596 crore. Out of Rs 596 crore, Rs 434 crore has been assigned for residential and commercial projects in South India. The second order amounting to Rs 162 crore is for civil works for a steel plant in Orissa. Most of these new orders are repeat orders from the company’s existing clients. The company said it was confident of meeting its revenue and margin guidance for financial year 2018-19. Read more

10:27 AM
NEWS ALERT | Maruti Suzuki India Limited sold a total of 128,338 units in December 2018
10:23 AM
NEWS ALERT | Karnataka Bank hikes MCLR across tenures by 10-15 bps from today
10:22 AM
Atul Auto surges 11% following December sales figures
Shares of Atul Auto surged 11 per cent to Rs 322 apiece on the BSE in early morning trade after the company posted a strong 50 per cent growth in sales numbers for December 2018. The three- wheeler manufacturer sold 4,332 units in December against 2,890 units in the same month last year. The company’s total vehicle sales during December quarter grew 39 per cent at 13,808 units, as compared to 9,922 units sold in the previous year quarter. Read more
10:12 AM
Model Portfolio for 2019 by IIFL

09:58 AM
Market check
Index Current Pt. Change % Change

S&P BSE SENSEX 35,951.18 -117.15 -0.32

S&P BSE SENSEX 50 11,331.96 -35.47 -0.31

S&P BSE SENSEX Next 50 32,968.48 -26.73 -0.08

S&P BSE 100 11,129.89 -31.13 -0.28

S&P BSE Bharat 22 Index 3,487.71 -8.93 -0.26
09:58 AM
Motilal Oswal Financial Services on NBFCs

We remain bullish on the vehicle financiers (VF) sector due to multiple tailwinds. With growth returning and migration to 90 days past due (dpd) over, we expect a strong earnings recovery for vehicle financiers, especially Shriram Transport Finance Co (SHTF) and MMFS (Mahindra and Mahindra Financial Services). In addition, asset quality trends have been stable. The impact of the liquidity crisis should fade over the next few months and it would be business as usual. In addition, these players have a large pool of securitizable assets that could be used to generate liquidity via PSL sell-downs. Our top pick in this space is SHTF.
09:52 AM
From ICICI Bank to Bajaj Finance, 10 stocks to beat the market in 2019
Indian equities were not a happy hunting ground for domestic investors in 2018 with most sectoral indices ending in the red while the benchmark indices delivered single-digit returns. Higher oil prices, a depreciating rupee, rising interest rates and a liquidity crisis for finance companies were some of the reasons.

For 2019, there are uncertainties related to outcome of general elections, the direction of fund flows and global growth worries. READ MORE
09:37 AM
All sectoral indices on NSE are trading in red barring Pharma and Realty

09:27 AM
UCO Bank surges over 11% in early trade

09:26 AM
BLOCK DEAL| 27.8 lakh shares (0.5% equity) of IndusInd Bank trade in 2 blocks on NSE at Rs 1,595.60/sh
09:21 AM
BLOCK DEAL | 58.56 lakh shares of Axis Bank trade in a block deal on NSE at Rs 622.75 per share; stock trades flat
09:20 AM
Sectoral trend on NSE

09:19 AM
Opening gainers and losers on BSE Sensex

09:17 AM
Market at open

At 9:15 AM, the S&P BSE Sensex was trading at 36,093, up 25 points, while the broader Nifty50 was ruling at 10,873, up 10 points.
09:11 AM
NEWS ALERT| 1.3 cr shares of Bharti Airtel traded in a block on BSE at Rs 319/sh in pre-opening session
09:05 AM
Lupin, JMC Projects and Fortis Healthcare among top stocks to track
The drug maker Lupin said it has received approval from the US health regulator for Clobazam Oral Suspension, used to treat seizures associated with Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome. The drug is indicated for treatment of seizures associated with Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome (LGS) in patients of two years of age or older. Read more
09:02 AM
Market at pre-open
Index Current Pt. Change % Change

S&P BSE SENSEX 36,161.90 +93.57 +0.26

S&P BSE SENSEX 50 11,393.37 +25.94 +0.23

S&P BSE SENSEX Next 50 33,041.97 +46.76 +0.14

S&P BSE 100 11,185.11 +24.09 +0.22

S&P BSE Bharat 22 Index 3,504.91 +8.27 +0.24
09:01 AM
Rupee opening
Rupee opens at 69.62/$ vs its previous close of 69.77 per dollar
08:59 AM
Top trading ideas by Prabhudas Lilladher
BUY BIOCON
CMP: Rs 629
TARGET: Rs 680
STOP LOSS:Rs 595

The stock has been consolidating around the range of Rs 600 and Rs 630 levels for quite some time and now it has given a breakout with decent volume. The relative strength index (RSI) indicator also has signaled a Buy by reversing its trend in the positive direction. We recommend a positional buy in this stock keeping a stop loss of Rs 595 for an upside target of Rs 680. Click here for more trading ideas

08:57 AM
Top trading calls by Anand Rathi
CONCOR: BUY
TARGET: Rs 724
STOP LOSS: Rs 670

The stock has formed a symmetrical triangular pattern and it has seen good long built up. The momentum indicator has also provided a buy crossover; hence one can buy for the target of 724 with a stop loss of 670. Click here to read more
08:46 AM
India's core sector growth drops to a 16-month low of 3.5% in November

Growth in the eight core sectors of the economy fell to a 16-month low of 3.5 per cent in November, after it had hit a three-month high of 4.8 per cent in October.

Economists blamed an unfavourable base effect, along with a sudden slowdown in the growth of cement production and electricity output for bringing down the overall growth rate of the core sectors. Contributing 40 per cent to the total industrial production, output of the core sectors has increasingly focused on cement production, led by rising construction activity across the country.
08:35 AM
Rupee check

The Indian rupee on Monday signed off the last trading session of 2018 with 18 paise gains at 69.77 per dollar but clocked a 9.23 per cent fall during the year after witnessing its one of the tumultuous years in the recent past.
08:27 AM
SGX Nifty

The Nifty futures on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) were trading largely flat at 10,922.50 levels in early trade.
08:20 AM
Wall Street check
The Wall Street advanced in low-volume trading on Monday as investors gathered to ring in 2019, marking the end of the worst year for US stocks since 2008, the height of the financial crisis.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 265.06 points, or 1.15 per cent, to 23,327.46, the S&P 500 gained 21.11 points, or 0.85 per cent, to 2,506.85 and the Nasdaq Composite added 50.76 points, or 0.77 per cent, to 6,635.28.
08:15 AM
Good morning
Welcome to Business Standard's live blog. We wish our readers a very Happy New Year 2019

India's core sector growth drops to a 16-month low of 3.5% in November

Growth in the eight core sectors of the economy fell to a 16-month low of 3.5 per cent in November, after it had hit a three-month high of 4.8 per cent in October.
Economists blamed an unfavourable base effect, along with a sudden slowdown in the growth of cement production and electricity output for bringing down the overall growth rate of the core sectors. Contributing 40 per cent to the total industrial production, output of the core sectors has increasingly focused on cement production, led by rising construction activity across the country.

“Growth has been driven by the government spending on infra. This may be a challenge to sustain as the government may cut back on capex to meet the fiscal targets,” Madan Sabnavis, chief economist at CARE Ratings, said.
Data released by the commerce and industry ministry on Monday showed that the eight segments — coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertiliser, steel, cement and electricity — cumulatively grew 5.1 per cent in the first eight months (April-October) of the current financial year, remaining higher than the 3.9 per cent growth in the corresponding period of FY18.
“The Y-o-Y growth performance of a variety of early indicators, including the core industries, non-oil merchandise exports and auto production, displayed a broad-based deterioration in November 2018, driven to an extent by unfavourable base effects, partly related to a shift in the festive calendar. Accordingly, IIP growth is likely to display a considerable moderation to a modest 2-3 per cent in November 2018, from the healthy 8.1 per cent in October 2018, led by manufacturing, mining and electricity,” said Aditi Nayar, principal economist at rating agency Icra.
Despite remaining the largest growth puller, cement production saw growth reduce by more than half in November. Production expanded by 8.8 per cent in November, down from the 18.4 per cent in the previous month. Experts said cement demand growth will remain at a moderate 6-7 per cent in FY19, led by housing (chiefly affordable housing) and infrastructure (mainly road, irrigation projects).
chart However, the other major pillar of the construction sector — steel — saw output rise to register a 6 per cent rise in November, up from 2.6 per cent a month earlier.
Growth in coal production tumbled to a three-month low in November. Production rose by 3.7 per cent, down from the 10.6 per cent rise in October. As a result, growth in electricity generation also halved to 5.4 per cent in November, down from a high 11.4 per cent in September.
Other broad fuel components continued to do badly. Crude oil output contracted for the twelfth straight month, going down by 3.5 per cent, compared to 5 per cent in October. On the other hand, natural gas production managed to barely make it back to the growth charts. It rose by 0.5 per cent in the latest month, after contracting by 0.9 per cent in October.
However, the sharp slide in growth of refinery production — under way for the last four months — stopped in November. It rose by 2.3 per cent, up from the 1.3 per cent growth in the previous month. Having the biggest weight in the core sector index, output of the refinery products category had dropped dramatically from July, then it had hit a high of 12.3 per cent.
Finally, fertilizer production continued to crash in November. Output of the sector contracted by a significant 8 per cent in November, albeit lower than the 11.5 per cent drop in the previous month.

Situation could be serious for banks if top group borrower defaults: RBI

The RBI's Financial Stability Report showed that if the top group borrower, or the top-three group borrowers default, the situation could be serious for Indian banks. This indicates the concentration risk that the Indian banking system is exposed to.
Stress tests reveal that the losses could be around 7.6 per cent and 13.6 per cent of the capital at the system level under the assumed scenarios of default by the top-group borrower and by the top two group borrowers, respectively.

“Fourteen banks will not be able to maintain their CRAR (capital adequacy) level at 9 per cent if top three group borrowers fail to meet their payment commitments,” said the December 2018 FSR.
RBI report calls for fine-tuning institution scanning after IL&FS crisis

Modi govt falls short of target: 1 million homes continue to be in the dark

Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led central government missed a self-imposed target to electrify every home, delaying the success of the marquee $2.3-billion development goal that his party plans to showcase before national elections early this year.
After bringing electricity connections to 23.9 million households across 25 states, about 1.05 million homes in four states still lack power, the government’s Press Information Bureau said in a statement Monday, the year-end deadline.

Power Minister R K Singh reaffirmed as recently as late November that the government would meet its December 31 target, which had earlier been moved up by three months.
Achieving full energy access has been one of Modi’s key reforms amid his outreach to rural communities, where his Bharatiya Janata Party has been challenged by dissatisfaction and joblessness. Electrification success would be a political boon for Modi and the BJP as they face national elections in the coming months.
The central government has set several milestones for its rural electrification plan since Modi came to power in 2014 -- bringing connections to all villages by May 1, then to all homes by the end 2018. After full electrification is achieved, the next goal will be to ensure reliable uninterrupted supplies by March 31.
Modi’s government in September 2017 set out to electrify nearly 40 million homes, a target that has been shrinking and shifting along the way.
As of Monday, the total number of homes targeted for electrification stood at about 25 million, more than one-third fewer than the original plan. The target was revised downward to account for families that migrated to cities and households living under one roof that were grouped together for a common power connection, P.V. Ramesh, chairman of REC Ltd., which is executing the rural electrification work, said in early December.
The deadline was also brought forward from its original March 31. The government’s statement Monday, which said the states of Assam, Rajasthan, Meghalaya and Chhattisgarh are still to be electrified, made no mention of the Dec. 31 target. It also mentioned that the state of Uttar Pradesh started a campaign to identify any “left out” households and provide electricity connections.
“Completing this program in a time-bound manner is a big achievement, but it will have to be complemented with more reforms at the state utility level,” Kameswara Rao, who leads power and mining practices at PwC India, said before the announcement.
With assistance from Bibhudatta Pradhan

Banking system getting back to health as NPAs on the decline: RBI report

The bad assets problem of the banking sector in the country is receding for the first time since 2015, according to the bi-annual financial stability report (FSR) for December, published by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Monday. But, the non-performing assets (NPAs) are still too high for comfort.
The banks showed an overall improvement with their gross NPA (GNPA) ratio declining from 11.5 per cent in March 2018 to 10.8 per cent in September 2018. However, stress was still on the rise in mining, food processing, and the construction sectors.
“The banking sector appears to be on course to recovery as the load of impaired assets recedes. The first half-yearly decline in the gross NPA ratio since September 2015 and the improving provision coverage ratio, being positive signals,” said RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das in the foreword to the report.
ALSO READ: RBI report calls for fine-tuning institution scanning after IL&FS crisis
Stress-test results showed banks had liquidity and should be able to withstand pressure, while there appeared to be greater discipline in credit assessment, higher sensitivity to market risk, and better appreciation of operational risks, Das said. The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code had brought a paradigm shift, and had helped bringing in the much-needed discipline in the credit culture of the country, even as some of the resolutions lag behind the envisaged timelines.
“A time-bound resolution of impaired assets will go a long way in unclogging the credit pipeline, thus improving the allocative efficiency in the economy,” Das said.
While the system seemed healthy at present, there were risks nevertheless.
“Among the institutional risks, the asset quality deterioration of banks, risk on account of additional capital requirement, and cyber risk continued to be perceived as high-risk factors,” the report said. On day-to-day liquidity requirements, 49 out of the 54 banks were found to be resilient in a scenario of assumed sudden and unexpected withdrawals of around 10 per cent of deposits along with the utilisation of 75 per cent of their committed credit lines.

ALSO READ: RBI stress test shows banks asset quality might improve in 2019
However, banks under the prompt corrective action (PCA) framework needed capital to protect themselves from severe shocks.
For example, if the gross NPA ratio of 54 banks moves up from 10.9 per cent to 14.9 per cent, the system-level capital adequacy ratio (CAR) will decline from 13.4 per cent to 11.1 cent, and the core capital will decline from 11.2 per cent to 9 per cent for these banks.
However, 18 banks, including all 11 under the PCA framework, “might fail to maintain the required CRAR (capital to risk weighted assets ratio),” if the gross NPA ratio increased by 4 percentage points. These 18 banks had a share of 31.7 per cent of total assets of all banks.
“As many as eight public sector banks under the PCA framework may have a CRAR below the minimum regulatory level of 9 per cent by March 2019 without taking into account any further planned recapitalisation by the government,” the report noted.
The banks under the PCA are now less risky, as the restricted framework had managed to reduce their systemic footprint.
“Lending and other restrictions imposed on the banks under the PCA framework have led to a reduced impact on the system through connectivity. This has reduced the contagion losses incurred by the banking system in case of the PCA banks’ failure,” the report said, justifying the RBI’s resolve to continue with the restrictive PCA framework.
ALSO READ: Better coordination needed among financial sector regulators, says RBI
Nevertheless, there was capital infusion in banks, leading to an improved credit expansion in September 2018, driven largely by private sector banks. Non-banking financial companies (NBFC) had also increased their lending activities, while “the relative proportion of domestic bank and non-bank resources was almost evenly matched.”
Mutual funds (MFs) had emerged as one of the largest financial intermediaries in providing funds. However, the FSR sounded caution on the sector, considering the risk of credit concentration, as was evident from the recent Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services saga. MFs had about Rs 6,500 crore of the IL&FS group’s exposure out of a total debt of around Rs 90,000 crore.
The degree of interconnectedness in the banking system had been declining slowly over the past five years.
MFs were the largest provider of liquidity in the system, with their gross receivables being around 36.5 per cent of their average asset under management. The gross receivables were around Rs 8.34 trillion. The top three recipients of their funds were banks, followed by NBFCs and housing finance companies.
WHAT THE REPORT SAYS
Key highlights from the Financial Stability Report
Indian banks’ bad debt fall for the first time since 2015
Banks are liquid and able to withstand sudden withdrawal of deposits
Lenders under PCA need urgent capital to maintain minimum requirement
PCA bank induced system reduces risks
Mutual funds are the largest net provider of liquidity in the system

How e-com giant Amazon is reinventing itself to win in booming rural India

Amazon Inc. is building a logistics network from scratch to target customers in India’s rural backwaters—the home of more than 800 million people, many of whom have little access to retailers. Most are new to online shopping and often don’t have smartphones, credit cards or even delivery addresses. What they do have is money to spend.
Amulya Bhuyan, 37 years old, lives in Dhowachala, in the northeastern state of Assam, and has few ways to buy new things. It takes hours to get to the nearest small town from the village of 1,000 people. Mr. Bhuyan, a teacher, ...

You won't be able to use WhatsApp on these iOS, Android devices in 2019

Facebook-owned WhatsApp has been dropping support for dated devices and operating systems (OS) from time to time and now it is ending support for iOS 7 and older versions, Android 2.3.7 and Nokia Series 40 (S40).
What this means is that users of Nokia Series 40 device will no longer be able to create new WhatsApp accounts and some features of the app could stop functioning on the device at any time.

"When we started WhatsApp in 2009, people's use of mobile devices looked very different from today. The Apple App Store was only a few months old. About 70 per cent of smartphones sold at the time had operating systems offered by BlackBerry and Nokia.

Mobile operating systems offered by Google, Apple and Microsoft -- which account for 99.5 per cent of sales today -- were on less than 25 per cent of mobile devices sold at the time," it said in a blog post on Sunday.
You will, however, still be able to use WhatsApp on the device though, according to the Dignited.
The Nokia S40 OS was seen in the company's mid-tier devices like Nokia Asha 201, Nokia Asha 205, Nokia Asha 210, Nokia Asha 230, Nokia Asha 500, Nokia Asha 501, Nokia Asha 502, Nokia Asha 503, Nokia 206, Nokia 208, Nokia 301, Nokia 515.
Earlier, WhatsApp had outlined devices and OS that would be cut off from its support room and affixed dates to them accordingly. Nokia S40 would be supported until December 31, 2018, Android versions 2.3.7 and older until February 1, 2020 and iOS 7 and older until February 1, 2020.

New rules for e-commerce portals will not hurt smartphones' growth in 2019

Snazzier phones with premium price tags are set to vie for Indian customers' wallets in 2019, but it would be entry-level and affordable smartphones driving sales volume in the world's second largest smartphone market.
However, exclusive launches and deep discounts on e-commerce platforms like Flipkart and Amazon could become a thing of the past as new rules for online marketplaces with new rules coming into effect in February.

According to experts, 2018 was a vibrant year for smartphone companies in India as shipments grew by an estimated 11 per cent to about 150 million units. And the growth streak is expected to get a bit better at 12 per cent in 2019.
The stellar growth saw India uprooting the US as the the world's second largest mobile phone market by volume -- ranking behind China but handset prices have been skewed towards lower-end of the market.
"This is likely to change fast. We expect that mid-range smartphones, those with wholesale prices in the range of $200-$400, will grow 20 per cent year-on-year in 2018 and by almost four times during the next five years to make it one of the most important smartphone segments," Counterpoint Research Associate Director Tarun Pathak told PTI.
He said the sales volume sweet spot is moving from sub-$150 segment towards mid-tier as many features and capabilities common among flagship models, progressively diffuse through to these lower price bands.
Also, with features like full-screen displays, dual-cameras, biometric security and support for artificial intelligence being made available in more mid-range devices, customers don't seem to mind paying more for the latest technologies.
The 4G feature phones -- designed to bring new users online -- continued to gain traction among users during 2018 with Reliance Jio making a strong push for these devices.
Xiaomi, which held onto the numero uno spot in a hyper-competitive market, said it expects the average selling increasing gradually.
The company has already expanded its product range to include televisions and said it will continue to focus on bringing more categories and more innovative products to India. Premium players like OnePlus and Apple also expect strong growth in sales in 2019.
OPPO, which has recently set up a research and development facility in India, is focussed on localising products and creating consumer centric devices for consumers in the coming year. The Chinese player, much like its peers, expects the premium segment market to grow and shape out well in 2019.
For Transsion -- which operates multiple brands in India including itel, Infinix and Tecno -- the Rs 7,000-15,000 segment of smartphones is expected to contribute highest in 2019.
Globally, new innovations like 5G and even foldable screens are trends that consumers are keenly awaiting. However, it may be some time before new gadgets with these new features make inroads in the Indian market.
Interestingly, high demand -- coupled with increased customs duties -- prompted many vendors to ramp up production in the country.
From being entirely dependent on imports to meeting almost 100 per cent of the domestic requirement, India has come a long way.
According to India Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA), the mobile handset manufacturing in terms of value for 2018-19 is expected to touch a whopping Rs 1650 billion with a volume turnover of about 290 million units.
"The resurgent mobile handset manufacturing eco-system in India has saved the country of approximately Rs 3,000 billion through replacement of complete build unit imports and the growing domestic assembling or manufacturing of handsets," ICEA Chairman Pankaj Mohindroo said.
He added that India's mobile handset and components manufacturing industry has successfully established 268 manufacturing units, generating employment for over 6.7 lakh across the nation.
An ICEA-McKinsey report said if India extends its ambitions to the export market, it could manufacture around 1,250 million handsets by 2025 and create an industry worth around $230 billion.
The onslaught of the Chinese giants like Xiaomi, Vivo and Oppo continued during the year with these three players alone accounting for over 44 per cent of the shipment in the July-September quarter.
Despite the intense competition, domestic players like Micromax and Lava remain upbeat. Lava International Head (Product) Tejinder Singh said brands engaged in short-term strategies in India would fail.
"...brands like Lava, which have invested heavily in R&D will deliver products rich in quality and provide the best consumer experience to its customers. We feel that this cut throat competition is actually good for the industry as it pushes everyone to improve consistently, rethink strategies and optimise costs for the consumers," he explained.
According to Micromax co-founder Vikas Jain, further 'consolidation' could be seen in the industry that has seen exit of players like Comio and HTC this year.
"Consolidation is likely to be seen in the market with some smaller players exiting. Quality of products and services, across price bands, are important factors for customers. It's not cheap phones, but value for money that they seek," he said.
The industry also saw the entry of new players like Realme in the country. Realme India CEO Madhav Sheth believes competition will continue to be intense, especially in the mid-range.
While smartphone launches may hog limelight through the year, the PC industry remains also remains upbeat on 2019. HP India Senior Director (Personal Systems) Vickram Bedi said the PC market in India is going through a transformative phase wherein the premium and gaming segment are leading the growth momentum of the entire category.
Arnold Su, PC and ROG Head at Asus India shared similar views. "The 'thin and light' segment is expected to dominate 2019. The objective is to build powerful laptops which are easy to carry at an affordable price point," he said.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Awaiting clearance, RCom, Jio extend asset sale pact's validity to June 28

Reliance Communications and Reliance Jio announced on Monday that they have extended the terms of an agreement for sale of wireless assets of the Anil Ambani owned firm.
The move comes at a time when Reliance Communication's spectrum sale deal has been hanging fire, pending requisite clearance from the telecom department.

"Reliance Jio lnfocomm Limited, a subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited, extended the term of the definitive agreement for the acquisition of specified assets of Reliance Communications Limited and its affiliates to 28th June 2019," Reliance Industries said in a regulatory filing Monday.
The acquisition is subject to receipt of requisite approvals from governmental and regulatory authorities, consents from all lenders, release of all encumbrances on the said assets and other conditions, it said.
ALSO READ: RCom-Jio deal to Ayodhya dispute, five cases to watch out for in 2019
In a separate filing, Reliance Communications said the company and Reliance Jio have "extended the validity of the agreements signed on 28th December 2017 for sale of towers, fiber, MCNs and spectrum of RCOM and its affiliates to 28th June 2019".
"The transactions are to be consummated subject to various approvals that are presently in progress," RCom added.
Reliance Communications has been urging the telecom department to grant it the "long-awaited no-objection certificate" to comply with a Supreme Court order in "letter and spirit".
ALSO READ: Committed to paying any outstanding or disputed amount, RCom tells DoT
Senior officials of Reliance Communications and Reliance Jio had also met the telecom secretary this month to discuss outstanding issues raised by Department of Telecom (DoT) over payment related to spectrum sale deal between the two companies.
The Anil Ambani-owned company had maintained that it remains committed to discharging any outstanding or disputed amount subject to final adjudication.
Reliance Communications had earlier asserted that the requirement of giving bank guarantee as per DoT's demand has been substituted by the orders of telecom tribunal and the Supreme Court, and that its unit Reliance Realty had provided a non-disposal undertaking and corporate guarantee.
ALSO READ: Jio stands its ground, tells telecom department won't pay RCom dues
"Hence, compliance with the trading guidelines is met," RCom had asserted in an earlier statement.
However, the DoT has, so far, held to its position that the deal cannot be cleared unless there is clarity on payment of dues and associated charges, particularly as the Mukesh Ambani-led Jio has refused to take any payment liability of his younger sibling's firm RCom to conclude the spectrum trading deal between the two firms.

Malabar Hill property among realty IL&FS will auction off to pare debts

The debt-laden IL&FS group has further put up its properties for sale to garner funds in order to settle loan dues.
It has invited bids from interested buyers for properties (commercial and residential) in Mumbai and one in Kolkata.

Properties on sale include a 1,376 square feet residential property located at upscale Malabar Hill besides three commercial properties in Mumbai and one commercial space in Kolkata.
The embattled infrastructure and financial sector major has asked bidders to submit their bids on or before January 15.
The Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS) group has loans due of nearly Rs 910 bn.
Earlier, it has invited bids to sell its various road, solar energy and education assets to generate funds.
The spree of defaults is continuing with the group, which until Friday said that the company would not be able to service its obligations in respect of the interest of non-convertible debentures due on December 29, 2018.
The group has been resorting to various measures, including selling-off the luxury cars owned by it as well as office furniture and white goods to pay-off its debt.
Sources said the company may be able to fetch nearly Rs 2 bn by selling these properties.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

BSE-listed firms lost Rs 7.25 trillion in mcap in 2018; Sensex gained 5.9%

Investor wealth eroded by Rs 7.25 trillion in 2018 amid volatile broader market conditions.
The market capitalisation (m-cap) of the BSE-listed companies slumped by Rs 7,25,401.31 crore to Rs 1,44,48,465.69 crore this year.

The BSE benchmark Sensex has gained 2,011.5 points, or 5.90 per cent, in 2018.
From its all-time peak of 38,989.65 scaled on August 29 this year, the Sensex has fallen by 2,921.32 points, or 7.5 per cent, to 36,068.33.
"In stark contrast to the bullish opening today, the last trading session of the calendar year, market closed on a flattish note. Mixed cues from global markets, lack of any fresh trigger, ensured that the session remained uneventful," said Joseph Thomas, head research, Emkay Wealth Management.
The 30-share BSE index fell 8.39 points to finish at 36,068.33 on the final trading session of 2018.
Marketmen said the later part of the year has been challenging for the equity markets due to both global and domestic triggers.
"In 2019, immediate attention could be on the impending general elections, but the basic direction of the market would be, to a large extent, determined by the interest rate policy of the Fed and the RBI, direction of oil prices, as also further developments in the context of the US-China tariff war, and fears of a hard Brexit," Thomas added.
"The ongoing volatility may continue in the near-term, due to premium valuation, slowdown in the domestic economy, muted earnings growth in the next two quarters, cascading effect of liquidity crunch in the urban and rural market, short-term effect of national election with risk of populist measures and global effect of current uncertainties, impacting the performance during the initial part of 2019," Vinod Nair, head of research, Geojit said.
However, as 2019 matures, the above mentioned factors are likely to stabilise and provide a better investment horizon in the long-term, Nair added.
From the 30-share pack, 15 stocks ended lower Monday led by Bharti Airtel, Axis Bank, Hero MotoCorp and NTPC.
Reliance Industries Ltd is the country's most valued firm with a m-cap of Rs 7,10,584.48 crore, followed by TCS Rs 7,10,532.81 crore, HDFC Bank (Rs 5,77,309.35 crore), Hindustan Unilever Ltd (Rs 3,93,544 crore) and ITC (Rs 3,44,934.39 crore) in the top five order.
On the BSE, 1,503 stocks advanced, while 1,105 declined, and 192 remained unchanged on Monday.

CCTV footage shows men transporting Saudi 'Jamal Khashoggi body parts'

A Turkish television station has broadcast CCTV footage showing men carrying cases and bags which it says contained slain Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi's body parts.
The images shown on A-Haber television late Sunday feature three men carrying five suitcases and two large black bags into the home of the Saudi consul general in Istanbul. The residence lies a short distance from the Saudi consulate where Khashoggi was murdered in October in a killing that has tested Riyadh's relations with the West.

Citing unnamed Turkish sources, A-Haber said Khashoggi's dismembered body was inside the cases and bags.
Khashoggi, a contributor to the Washington Post, was killed on October 2 shortly after entering the kingdom's consulate in what Riyadh called a "rogue" operation.
The 59-year-old former Saudi insider turned critic was strangled before he was cut up into pieces by a team of 15 Saudis sent to Istanbul for the killing, according to Turkish officials, with media reports suggesting the parts were dissolved in acid.
The consulate and the residence were searched by the Turkish authorities in October along with several other locations but Khashoggi's body has still not been found.
There has been speculation that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman ordered the hit but Riyadh has absolved the de facto leader of any blame.
Saudi Arabia has also repeatedly rejected Turkish demands to extradite suspects connected to the murder of the journalist, a critic of the crown prince. A-Haber said the bags and suitcases were put into a minibus which travelled the short distance from the consulate to a garage at the residence. The men are then seen taking them inside.

HC sets aside ED's order attaching Rs 8.22-bn deposits of Tech Mahindra

The Hyderabad High Court Monday set aside an Enforcement Directorate order provisionally attaching Rs 8.22 billion worth of fixed deposits belonging to Satyam Computer Services Ltd, which was acquired by Tech Mahindra.
In 2012, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had issued provisional attachment orders freezing fixed deposits of Satyam (now merged into Tech Mahindra) in connection with its probe in the money laundering case.

The agency provisionally attached the amount alleging that it was ill-gotten proceeds of Satyam Computers.
A bench of Justices V Ramasubramanian and J Uma Devi Monday set aside the ED's orders.
Vivek Reddy, counsel for Tech Mahindra, told PTI they argued that there was no money when the Tech Mahindra took over the fraud-hit Satyam Computer Services Ltd (SCCL) in 2009 and on the other hand, the Mahindra group company had to infuse money to revive the B Ramalinga Raju-founded company.
"Our argument was that there was no proceeds of money when Tech Mahindra (TechM) took over the company (SCSL). There was no money in the company then and they (TechM) had to infuse money into the company.
"So where is the question of any ill-gotten money when the company had negative balance?" he said.
P V P Suresh Kumar, representing the ED, said the agency might approach the Supreme Court challenging the high court's order.
"One of the strongest grounds (for an appeal in the apex court) was that the CBI special court had earlier convicted Ramalinga Raju and brothers.
"In view of that conviction, it clearly shows that there was a contravention of the Money Laundering Act and IPC provisions. In such a situation, the attachment order passed by the Enforcement Directorate was valid and correct, according to the contravention," Kumar said.
"The ED will approach the Supreme Court after going through the order copy," he said.
Earlier, a single bench judge had stayed all further proceedings pursuant to the ED's attachment order.
Challenging the single judge order, the investigating agency had filed a writ appeal before a division bench.
The bench had on December 31, 2014 issued orders dismissing the ED's appeal, saying the act of the agency was contrary to rules.
Tech Mahindra argued that it was a victim of fraud and no proceedings could go under the provisions of the PMLA against "victims of fraud".
The ED had attached the accounts of SCCL as its probe claimed to have found that B Ramalinga Raju and his associates "wrongfully" offloaded inflated shares of the company by way of sale or pledging of shares.
A trail of loans derived from front companies revealed that Rs 8.22 billion out of Rs 21.71 billionfound their way to Satyam Computers and were used for day-to-day expenses like payment of salaries among others, the ED had said in its order.

India exempts rupee payments for Iran oil imports from hefty taxes: Report

The finance ministry has exempted rupee payments made to the National Iranian Oil Co (NIOC) for crude oil imports from a steep withholding tax, according to a government order reviewed by Reuters.
The exemption, put in place December 28 but backdated to November 5, will allow Indian refiners to settle about $1.5 billion of outstanding payments to NIOC. Those have been building up since Tehran was put under stringent US sanctions in early November.

The two countries on November 2 signed a bilateral agreement to settle oil trades through an Indian government-owned bank, UCO Bank, in the Indian currency, which is not freely traded on international markets.
However, the income of a foreign company that is deposited in an Indian bank account is subject to a withholding tax of 40 percent plus other levies, leading to a total take by the authorities of 42.5 percent.
ALSO READ: Iran oil waivers: How India, China are lining up after US exemptions
That made the agreement unworkable for Iran and led to the freeze in payments by the refiners until the exemption could be introduced.
Iran will be able to use the rupee funds for a range of expenses - including imports from India, the cost of its missions in the country, direct investment in Indian projects, and its financing of Iranian students in India, according to another government document reviewed by Reuters. It can also invest the funds in Indian government debt securities.
"In the previous round of sanctions Iran was allowed to use funds for imports from India but this time we have expanded the scope for use of funds to benefit both nations," said an Indian government official, who declined to be named because of the sensitivity of the issue.
The move may help India fix its trade balance, which is currently tilted in favour of Iran.
Payments to start soon
The tax exemption order, though, only refers to crude oil. That means it does not apply to imports of other commodities, such as fertiliser, liquefied petroleum gas and wax.
India, Iran's top oil client after China, has turned to paying for Iranian oil in rupees as major banking channels dealing in global currencies are closed off by the US sanctions.
"Passing of this notification eases constraints for Indian refiners to make payment," said Sanjay Sudhir, joint Secretary in India's oil ministry.
ALSO READ: Exemptions explained: Knowns and unknowns of US Iran oil sanction waivers
An official from India's top refiner and Iran's top customer in the country, Indian Oil Corp, said his company would start making payments to Iran from January.
The finance ministry did not respond to a request for comment.
Indian Oil Corp and UCO Bank also did not respond.
Last month, the United States introduced the sanctions aimed at crippling Iran's oil revenue-dependent economy because of its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes and its support for militant proxies in the Middle East. Washington did, though, give a six-month waiver from sanctions to eight nations, including India, and allowed them to import some Iranian oil.
India's overall imports from Iran totalled about $11 billion in April-November 2018, with oil accounting for about 90 percent of the imports.
Iran will be able to register as a foreign portfolio investor, allowing it to invest in Indian government debt.
The direct investment provision could help Iran in participating in Indian oil refiner Chennai Petroleum Corp Ltd's expansion plans. Iran owns 15.4 percent of the company.
Iran which used to be the third biggest oil supplier to India slipped to No. 6 in November, according to ship tracking data and industry sources.

Non-subsidised LPG cylinder cost cut by Rs 120, subsidised price by Rs 5.91

Domestic cooking gas (LPG) price was cut by Rs 5.91 per cylinder on Monday, the second straight reduction in a month's time due to tax impact on reduced market rate of the fuel.
A 14.2-kg subsidised LPG cylinder will cost Rs 494.99 in the national capital from midnight tonight as against Rs 500.90 currently, Indian Oil Corp (IOC), the country's largest fuel retailer, said in a statement.

This is the second straight monthly reduction in LPG rate. On December 1, subsidised LPG price was cut by Rs 6.52 per bottle.
That price cut had come after six consecutive monthly hikes in rates since June. The two price reductions have mostly negated the Rs 14.13 per cylinder increase in rates between June and November.
IOC said non-subsidised or market priced LPG rates have been cut by a steep Rs 120.50 per cylinder "due to fall in price of LPG in international market and strengthening of US dollar-rupee exchange rate."
It will now cost Rs 689 per 14.2-kg cylinder in Delhi.
On December 1, price of non-subsidised LPG was cut by Rs 133 per bottle.
All LPG consumers have to buy the fuel at market price. The government, however, subsidises 12 cylinders of 14.2-kg each per households in a year by providing the subsidy amount directly in bank accounts of users.
This subsidy amount varies from month to month depending on the changes in the average international benchmark LPG rate and foreign exchange rate.
When international rates move up, the government provides a higher subsidy. And when they come down, the subsidy is cut.
As per tax rules, GST on LPG has to be calculated at the market rate of the fuel. The government may choose to subsidise a part of the price but tax will have to be paid at market rates.
So, with the fall in market price or non-subsidised LPG price, the tax incidence on subsidised cooking fuel has also come down, leading to the current price reduction.
"Accordingly, the upfront cash payment by the consumer of domestic LPG will also reduce by Rs 120.50 per cylinder. Domestic LPG consumer will now be required to make upfront cash payment of Rs 689 a cylinder in place of Rs 809.50 per cylinder," IOC said.
Subsidised cooking gas consumers will get Rs 194.01 per cylinder subsidy in their bank accounts for the month of January. The subsidy transfer in the customer's bank account has been reduced from Rs 433.66 in November and Rs 308.60 in December.

Core sector growth hits 16-month low at 3.5% in Nov due to oil, fertilisers

Eight core industries grew at their slowest pace in 16 months at 3.5 per cent in November due to a fall in the output of crude oil and fertilisers, official data showed on Monday.
The previous lowest expansion in output growth of these key industries was recorded at 2.9 per cent in July 2017.

The growth rate of eight infrastructure sectors -- coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilisers, steel, cement and electricity -- was 6.9 per cent in November last year.
Crude oil and fertiliser production recorded negative growth of 3.5 per cent and 8.1 per cent, respectively, as per the government data released on Monday.
The growth rate in the production of natural gas, refinery products, steel, and cement sectors slowed to 0.5 per cent, 2.3 per cent, six per cent, and 8.8 per cent, respectively, in November.
Slow growth in key sectors would also have implications on the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) number as these segments account for about 41 per cent to the total factory output.
However, growth in coal and electricity output grew by 3.7 per cent and 5.4 per cent, respectively, in November as against 0.7 per cent and 3.9 per cent, respectively, in the same period last year.
During April-November this financial year, the eight core sectors grew by 5.1 per cent as against 3.9 per cent during the same period last financial year.

MARKET WRAP: Sensex slips 8 points on last day of CY18; gains 6% YoY

The domestic equity market ended the last trading day of the calendar year 2018 (CY18) on a flat note.
The S&P BSE Sensex closed the session at 36,068, down 8 points, while, the National Stock Exchange's (NSE's) Nifty50 index added just 3 points to settle at 10,863.
The broader market indices, however, outperformed their headline peers, with the S&P BSE MidCap index gaining 78 points or 0.5 per cent to settle at 15,438, and the S&P BSE SmallCap index rose 0.7 per cent or 101 points to end at 14,707 level.
MARKET IN 2018
The Sensex gained 5.91 per cent during the year gone by, while the 50-share index of NSE gained 3.15 per cent.
Among sectoral indices on NSE, the Nifty Bank index rose 6.35 per cent during the year. In the broader market, the S&P BSE MidCap index fell 13.38 per cent during the year, while the S&P BSE SmallCap tumbled 23.53 per cent.

Global Markets
Asian stocks rose on Monday as hints of progress on the Sino-US trade standoff provided a rare glimmer of optimism in what has been a rough year-end for equities globally.

Sentiment had brightened just a touch when US President Donald Trump said he held a "very good call" with China's President Xi Jinping on Saturday to discuss trade and claimed "big progress" was being made.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan added 0.6 per cent but was still down 16 percent for the year. Japan's Nikkei was closed for a holiday having ended the year with a loss of 12 per cent. Across the region, the worst performer of the year was the index of Chinese blue chips, which lost a quarter of its value.
(with Reuters inputs)
CATCH ALL THE LIVE UPDATES
04:00 PM
S&P BSE Sensex: Top gainers and losers
03:37 PM
Market at close

The S&P BSE Sensex ended flat at 36,068, down 8 points while NSE's Nifty50 index settled at 10,863, up just 3 points.
03:25 PM
Butterfly Gandhimathi up 20% as CRISIL upgrades rating for bank facilities
Shares of Butterfly Gandhimathi Appliances were locked in the upper circuit of 20% at Rs 299 on the BSE, after the credit rating agency CRISIL revised its outlook on the long- term bank facilities of the company to 'Positive' from 'Stable’.

Till 03:00 pm, around 28,000 equity shares changed hands and there were pending buy orders for 6,989 shares on the BSE, the exchange data shows. READ MORE
03:07 PM
From Bezos to Zuckerberg: World's billionaire winners and losers of 2018

The popularity of Fortnite, the phenomenon that forced some into video-game rehab, gave gamemaker Tim Sweeney a $7.2 billion fortune this year. Autry Stephens has $11.4 billion after his closely held Endeavour Energy Resources LP attracted bids that valued the oil company at as much as $15 billion. READ MORE
02:54 PM
EPFO subscribers may be allowed to invest more in equity markets in 2019
Subscribers of the retirement fund body EPFO may get an option in the new year to invest more of their savings in the equity market, besides a host of other social security benefits and digital tools to manage their funds.

At present, the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) invests up to 15 per cent of its investible deposits into the exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and so far such investments total about Rs 550 billion. READ MORE
02:43 PM
Metals, PSU banks, realty top sectoral gainers

02:34 PM
Market Check
Index Current Pt. Change % Change

S&P BSE SENSEX 36,087.11 +10.39 +0.03

S&P BSE SENSEX 50 11,374.62 +10.91 +0.10

S&P BSE SENSEX Next 50 33,049.14 +167.68 +0.51

S&P BSE 100 11,169.70 +17.30 +0.16

S&P BSE Bharat 22 Index 3,496.30 +4.53 +0.13
02:16 PM
BHEL bags Rs 3.5k cr order for setting up 660 MW thermal unit in West Bengal
State-run BHEL on Monday said it has bagged an order worth Rs 3,500 crore for setting up a 660 MW supercritical thermal power plant in West Bengal. The order by West Bengal Power Development Corporation (WBPDCL) entails setting up a 660 MW Sagardighi Thermal Power Project at Manigram village in Murshidabad district of West Bengal, BHEL said in a statement. READ MORE
02:03 PM
After staying range-bound, gold likely to trade with an upward bias in 2019
After staying range-bound for several years, gold is expected to trade with an upward bias in 2019. A decade-long bull run in gold from 2001 to 2011 when it gained over six times, was followed by a 40 per cent decline by 2015.

Since then it has traded in a range between $1,150 and $1,350 per ounce in international markets. In 2018, prices are still lower by 1.9 per cent in dollar terms but in India gold went up 7.9 per cent from Rs 29,240 to Rs 31,550 per 10 gm, due to rupee depreciation. READ MORE
01:48 PM
Tube Investments up for third straight day; stock hits new high
Shares of Tube Investments of India, a Murugappa Grou company, were trading higher for the third straight day, rising 5% to Rs 359 per share, hitting a new high on the BSE in an otherwise range-bound market, on expectations of strong earnings growth. The stock surpassed its previous high of Rs 350 touched on December 13, 2018, in intra-day trade. READ MORE
01:37 PM
ICRA maintains stable year-end outlook for the steel sector

ICRA has given a stable outlook for the steel sector, in its year end assessment of the sector. The Government’s thrust on infrastructure, in particular towards affordable housing, power transmission, and the Railways in the Union Budget 2018-19 is likely to keep domestic steel consumption growth favourable in the medium term, which is expected to grow by 7 per cent during FY2019 as well as FY2020.
01:25 PM
WEB EXCLUSIVE | Only 1 stock in the BSE 500 pack gave over 100% returns in CY18

The equity market had quite a rough ride in the calendar year 2018, owing to rising interest rates, sharp increase in oil prices and a consistent decline in the value of the rupee. This apart, trade war tensions between two of the biggest economies in the world — the US and China — and a host of unfavourable developments back home, ranging from PNB scam to IL&FS crisis triggering a massive sell-off in the NBFC space, dented investor sentiment in a big way. READ MORE
01:10 PM
SAURABH MUKHERJEA | From stock markets to banking system, what to expect in Lok Sabha poll year
Opportunities Data clearly shows that the political affiliation of the government has little or no impact on India’s economy (since there are almost no ideological differences regarding economic policy between India’s main political parties). READ MORE
12:46 PM
Metals may recover on positive oil demand-supply equation in 2019: Experts
After a year of downturns, resource commodities are expected to recover largely on the back of China’s economy recovering in 2019 on the back of government-infused stimulation and extension of production cuts by oil producing countries. Metals are likely to recover on positive demand-supply equation, while experts say crude oil may have bottomed out, even as the annual average price may be lower than in 2018. READ MORE
12:39 PM
Asian Granito nears 52-week low; stock slips 13%
Shares of Asian Granito India slipped 13% to Rs 162 per share on the BSE in intra-day trade after the company's promoter and managing director Mukeshbhai Patel was arrested by Directorate of Revenue Intelligence on Friday for a case related to an amount of Rs 35 million. Patel was released on bail on Saturday, the company said in a press release. READ MORE
12:17 PM
Lost money on emerging Asian markets? Be warned - 2019 may bring more pain
If you lost money on emerging Asian bonds and currencies this year, be warned: the first half 2019 may see more of the same. In what could be an unwelcome replay, risk assets are likely to remain at the mercy of the U.S.-China trade war, a messy Brexit and rising U.S. interest rates. READ MORE
12:03 PM
Market check
Index Current Pt. Change % Change

S&P BSE SENSEX 36,085.66 +8.94 +0.02

S&P BSE SENSEX 50 11,374.71 +11.00 +0.10

S&P BSE SENSEX Next 50 33,075.41 +193.95 +0.59

S&P BSE 100 11,171.06 +18.66 +0.17

S&P BSE Bharat 22 Index 3,497.66 +5.89 +0.17
11:54 AM
Investing in mid-cap is likely to be a roller-coaster ride in 2019: Experts
In a growth market like India, chasing outperformance often sends investors looking for ideas in the mid- and small-cap space. However, as mid-caps end 2018 with their worst seven-year performance; fund managers' ability to beat benchmarks (also called alpha) is facing some serious questions.

While 2019 is likely to remain volatile, fund managers say the correction opens up opportunities as quality names had run up into ‘overvalued’ territory. READ MORE
11:48 AM
Top gainers in BSE 500:
COMPANY PRICE() CHG() CHG(%) VOLUME
KIOCL 162.95 14.45 9.73 6850
I T D C 321.25 17.60 5.80 15294
NAVKAR CORPORAT. 58.60 3.00 5.40 104153
BLISS GVS PHARMA 164.00 7.75 4.96 268009
JINDAL STAIN. 34.50 1.50 4.55 257435
» More on Top Gainers
11:33 AM
Oil check
Oil prices climbed on the last trading day of the year on Monday, mirroring gains in stock markets, but were on track for the first yearly decline in three years amid lingering concerns of a persistent supply glut. Hints of progress on a possible US-China trade deal helped bolster sentiment, which has been battered by concerns over a weaker global economic outlook.

Brent crude futures - the international benchmark for oil prices - rose 56 cents, or 1.1 per cent, to $53.77 a barrel. Brent declined nearly 20 per cent in 2018 following two years of growth. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $45.77 a barrel, up 44 cents, or 1 per cent, from their last close. WTI is down about 24 per cent this year.
11:22 AM
L&T firms up after winning orders
Larsen & Toubro rose 0.56% to Rs 1447.05 at 10:56 IST on BSE after the company said its construction arm won orders worth Rs 2084 crore. The announcement was made during trading hours today, 31 December 2018. READ MORE
11:09 AM
NEWS ALERT Bank of Baroda hikes base rate by 10 bps to 9.4 per cent
11:07 AM
Motilal Oswal Financial Services on automobiles

We prefer PVs over 2Ws and CVs due to their stronger volume growth and a stable competitive environment. Our top picks in autos are Maruti Suzuki India, Eicher Motors and Motherson Sumi among large caps, and Exide Industries and Endurance Technologies among midcaps.
11:02 AM
MARKET COMMENTARY | Nitin Singh, MD & Head, Standard Chartered Wealth Management, India

As we head into 2019, Indian markets are likely to remain volatile. We take a balanced approach to investing being selective in taking risk (diversified equity exposure) while keeping a greater margin of safety (preference for bonds) and keeping some dry power for tactical opportunities during the year (cash a core holding).
11:00 AM
Muthoot Finance nears record high; surges 25% in two months
Shares of gold loan company Muthoot Finance hit a fresh 52-week high of Rs 512 apiece, up 1.4% on Monday. The stock has surged 25% in the past two months, on improved assets quality and expectations of healthy growth going forward. The stock is 3% away from its record high level of Rs 526 touched on September 13, 2017, on the BSE in intra-day trade. READ MORE
10:41 AM
Sebi to ramp up market surveillance, data warehouse tool to identify frauds
Regulator Sebi is planning to beef up its market surveillance system as well as its tool for speedy analysis of trade data, which identifies possible violations such as insider trading, share price manipulation and front running.

In this regard, Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has invited applications from the interested companies to provide IT services for the maintenance of its integrated market surveillance system (IMSS), data warehousing and business intelligence system (DWIBS). READ MORE
10:23 AM
STOCK OF THE DAY | Bank of India hits 7-month high on government fund infusion plan

Shares of Bank of India (BOI) hit a seven-month high of Rs 105, up 2% on the BSE in early morning trade, after state-owned bank Saturday said the government has decided to infuse Rs 100.86 billion in the bank as part of capital infusion. The stock was trading at its highest level since May 29, 2018. READ MORE
10:07 AM
RECAP 2018 | Gold ends 2018 on a strong note as growth concerns spur demand for haven

Spot bullion is holding near a six-month high after topping $1,280 an ounce, and the metal is set for the best monthly gain in almost two years. December’s rally has pared an annual decline, the first full-year loss since 2015. READ MORE
09:55 AM
Options contracts see a rise in activity ahead of 2019 Lok Sabha polls

Activity is maximum in put options at a strike price of 9,000 and 10,500 on the Nifty50. Put options at both these levels are out-of-the-money, which means they would be profitable only if the benchmark Nifty50 falls significantly from its Friday’s close of 10,859.90. READ MORE
09:47 AM
Chart Reading: Sensex, Nifty and Nifty Bank heading towards breakout levels
NSE Nifty50: The index rose by 80 points on Friday rising above 10,850 to close at 10,859. It finished the week with a gain of 1 per cent. The current level is near 100-DMA, located at 10,914 as per the daily chart. A recovery from 10,534 with an immediate gap up close and a red candle crossing high of 10,834 is heading towards breakout level. The 100-DMA of 10,914 along with recent high of 10,985 stay as the immediate resistance level. The support comes at 10,750 levels followed by 10,680. The trend indicates Nifty is heading towards breakout level of 10,984, chart suggests. Click here to read further

PM Hasina's Awami League registers landslide victory in Bangladesh polls

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina cruised to victory for a third consecutive term in Bangladesh's general election on Sunday, following a tense vote that saw at least 17 people killed in poll-related violence and demands of a fresh election by the opposition, according to media reports.
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According to media reports, the ruling Awami League-led coalition won over 260 seats in the 300-member House.
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Private DBC TV aired results of 299 seats out of 300. The ruling Awami League-led grand alliance bagged 266 seats and its ally Jatiya Party secured 21, while the opposition National Unity Front (UNF) with BNP being its key partner got only seven seats, according to the channel.
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Independent candidates won in two seats, according to the local media. The election was postponed in one seat due to the natural death of a candidate.
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The Election Commission confirmed the complete result of the constituency in southwestern Gopalganj from where Hasina won bagging 2,29,539 votes, while her BNP opponent got only 123 votes.
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Bangladesh's opposition NUF alliance, with BNP as its key partner, rejected the outcome of the general election and demanded fresh polls under a neutral caretaker government.
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The National Unity Front (NUF) is a coalition of parties, including BNP, Gono Forum, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal-JSD, Nagorik Oikya and Krishak Sramik Janata League.
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"We reject the results and demand a new election under a neutral government," NUF convenor and veteran lawyer Kamal Hossain, who heads the Gono Forum party, told reporters after early results suggested a win for AL-led Grand Alliance.
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"We ask that you cancel this election right away," Hossain urged the Election Commission, claiming, "we have reports that fraudulence took place in almost all centres".
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BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, who steered the party in Zia's absence and won from his northeastern constituency, described the polls as a "cruel farce".
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While Hasina is seeking re-election for a fourth term as the prime minister, her chief rival Zia, who is reportedly partially paralysed, faces an uncertain future in a Dhaka jail.
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The voting started at 8 AM and ended at 4 PM. The results are expected by Monday morning which would be announced by the commission headquarters in the capital, the EC said.
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EC officials said they have received over a hundred complaints from candidates throughout the country amid reports of violence.
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At least 17 people, including a member of a security agency, have been killed in eight districts, and several others were injured in poll-related violence, the Daily Star newspaper reported. The build-up to the election has already been marred by violence.
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Reports said most of the dead were ruling party activists, while others were workers of opposition BNP or its allies.
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Over 600,000 security personnel including several thousand soldiers and paramilitary border guards were deployed across the nation for the election in which 10.41 crore people were eligible to vote.
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"Barring some unwanted incidents, the polling so far was smooth and peaceful," Chief Election Commissioner Nurul Huda said.
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Citing security reasons, authorities temporarily blocked mobile data services and slowed down the internet.

Sajjan Kumar surrenders before Delhi court, to be lodged in Mandoli jail

Former Congress leader Sajjan Kumar on Monday surrendered before a court here to serve the life sentence awarded to him by the Delhi High Court in connection with a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case.
He surrendered before Metropolitan Magistrate Aditi Garg who directed that Kumar be lodged in Mandoli jail in northeast Delhi.

The court rejected Kumar's petition to be lodged in the high-security Tihar jail, but allowed his plea for security and directed the police to take him to the prison in a separate vehicle.
A lawyer present in the courtroom said the court considered Kumar's plea for security since there was a threat as he was also facing prosecution in another anti-Sikh riots case.
While declining his plea to be sent to Tihar jail, the court said he was being sent to Mandoli jail in accordance with the rule.
The HC had set a deadline of December 31 for Kumar to surrender and on December 21 declined his plea to extend the time by a month.
The 73-year former Congress leader has filed a petition in the Supreme Court challenging the conviction and life sentence awarded by the HC.
The high court on December 17 convicted and sentenced Kumar to life imprisonment for the "remainder of his natural life". After his conviction, Kumar resigned from the Congress party.
The case in which Kumar was convicted and sentenced relates to the killing of five Sikhs in Raj Nagar Part-I area in Palam Colony of southwest Delhi on November 1-2, 1984 and burning down of a Gurudwara in Raj Nagar Part-II.
The riots had broken out after the assassination of then prime minister Indira Gandhi on October 31, 1984, by her two Sikh bodyguards.
Earlier in the day, former MLAs Kishan Khokhar and Mahender Yadav, who were also convicted in the same case, surrendered before the court to serve their 10-year jail term.
Besides Kumar, the others convicted in the case were former Congress councillor Balwan Khokhar, retired naval officer Captain Bhagmal and Girdhari Lal.
In its judgment, the high court had noted that over 2,700 Sikhs were killed in the national capital during the 1984 riots which was indeed a "carnage of unbelievable proportions".
It also said the riots were a "crime against humanity" perpetrated by those who enjoyed "political patronage" and aided by an "indifferent" law enforcement agency.
The high court had further said there has been a familiar pattern of mass killings since Partition, like in Mumbai in 1993, Gujarat in 2002 and Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh in 2013, and the "common" feature of each was the "targeting of minorities" with the attacks being "spearheaded by the dominant political actors, facilitated by law enforcement agencies".
The high court had set aside the trial court's 2010 verdict which had acquitted Kumar in the case.

2019 polls: Govt planning monthly income support, cash handout for farmers

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is studying three options, including a cash handout for farmers, people with knowledge of the matter said, as his administration seeks to ease an agrarian distress and shore up popular support ahead of next year’s general election.
The government is weighing options including a monthly income support program for farmers, a cash handout plan for the shortfall between the actual sale price and state-set procurement rate and a revamped crop insurance program, people familiar with the matter said, asking not to be identified as they aren’t authorized to speak to the media. The final program could be one of these or a combination of all three.

The plan for the handout comes soon after the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party was voted out in key state elections this month, forcing Modi to draw up a course correction before federal polls due by May. The government, which has already exceeded the annual budget gap aim, has little room for spending in the current year, having forgone some tax revenue on goods and services following the defeat.
The income support program involves a certain amount as monthly payout to farmers and could benefit as many as 150 million farm households, a key bloc that can influence the election outcome.
Distress Sales
In July, the government raised support prices of crops such as cotton, soybeans and paddy rice to ensure farmers get at least 50 per cent more than the estimated production costs. While that has largely failed to shield farmers from distress sales due to lack of sufficient state procurement, the government now plans to pay cash to farmers if their produce sells at a discount to the government-set rates.
Modi’s Pledge on Farm Income Wilts as India Crop Prices Drop
Another alternative being considered is a revamp of the crop insurance program.
The changes could include a reduction in premium paid by farmers, inclusion of more crops to avail state incentives and bringing tenant farmers under the cover.
Finance ministry spokesman DS Malik didn’t respond to two calls made to his mobile phone. An agriculture ministry spokeswoman declined to comment.
ALSO READ: Inflation remained within comfort zone for most of 2018, but farmers hit
Modi, who is seeking a second term, has to win over farmers before the election. They have been hit by falling crop prices and rising input costs, forcing them to hit the streets seeking debt waivers and protection from distress sales. Add to it, the pressure from opposition Indian National Congress which waived off farm loans after wresting power from the BJP in three states earlier this month.
The income support program could help reduce poverty in a country that’s home to a third of the world’s poor and still spends less than 2 per cent of its gross domestic product on social security.
With the government already exceeding its budgeted annual deficit in October, any sops will need to be balanced with possible reductions in spending to achieve the fiscal gap target of 3.3 per cent of gross domestic product.

Nirav Modi effect? Bank frauds more than double to Rs 412 bn in 2017-18

Even as the number of bank accounts has grown exponentially owing to the Modi government’s Jan Dhan scheme, there has been a commensurate rise in the number of banking frauds and the amount involved in these frauds.
The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) latest report on ‘Trends and Banking in India 2017-18’ notes that Rs 412 billion worth of frauds were committed across Indian banks in 2017-18 – a 112 per cent increase over 2014-15 when the Modi government came to power. However the RBI’s report has a caveat to justify this phenomenal jump. Without naming anyone, the report states, “In terms of amount, frauds in the banking sector increased sharply in 2017- 18 mainly reflecting a large value case in the jewellery sector.” The Nirav Modi scam estimated to have cost Punjab National Bank almost Rs 135 billion. In effect, if the Nirav Modi case were to be left out of the fraud equation, the bungling in Indian banks would have increased by just Rs 38 billion in 2017-18 as compared to the previous year. This would have been even lower than the increase in 2016-17 when the amount of frauds in India’s banking system had grown by Rs 52 billion as compared to the previous year. In 2015-16, the amount of frauds reported in Indian banks had decreased by Rs 8 billion even as the number of fraud cases had remained almost same compared to 2014-15.

The RBI warned that more than 90 per cent of the frauds could be attributable to bank credit. It outlined a similar modus operandi as used by Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi to outline the danger faced by India’s banking system. The report notes, “The modus operandi of large value frauds involves opening current accounts with banks outside the lending consortium without a no-objection certificate from lenders, deficient and fraudulent certification by third party entities, diversion of funds by borrowers through various means, including through shell companies, lapses in credit, underwriting standards and failing to identify early warning signals.” According to the RBI, more than 80 per cent of frauds during 2017-18 involved an amount of more than Rs 500 million.
While the report outlines the dangers posed by lax lending and oversight by banks to people who divert bank credit through shell companies, there has also been an exponential rise in frauds in off balance sheet transactions in addition to cyber frauds. With Indians more frequently transacting through the internet and mobile phones encouraged by Modi government’s digital banking push after demonetisation, the amount of money people lost through cyber frauds has almost doubled during the year. In 2015-16, the last demonetisation year, India’s banks recorded just about Rs 400 million in cyber frauds, In 2017-18, two years post Modi’s digital push, banks and their customers lost over Rs 1 billion through internet banking frauds. There has also been a staggering rise in off balance sheet fraud in banks. The RBI’s report notes that off balance sheet frauds stood at Rs 163 billion in 2017-18 – a more than 250 fold growth over the previous year. These frauds are not reported by banks on their balance sheets which in effect gives a more positive picture about their financial health than it would have looked had the frauds and subsequent losses been allowed to reflect in its books.

8 start-up firms turn into unicorns in 2018, more likely in 2019

While India saw eight start-ups enter the unicorn club (private companies valued at over $1 billion) in 2018, ushering in an era of growth that has never been seen before, experts and industry watchers say this is just the tip of the iceberg.
There are at least a dozen start-ups in India which are exhibiting growth potential to break into the billion dollar club in 2019.

Ranging from on-demand trucking company Rivigo to on-demand task management firm Dunzo, experts say India could easily generate another eight unicorns next year.
“I think there’s more maturity for a very important reason — the valuations are reasonable and not outrageous. They’ve (companies) reached a certain size and the growth potential looks good because of which big funds want to come and invest,” said Mohandas Pai, chairman of Arin Capital and former director of Infosys.
ALSO READ: Start-ups accredited by DIPP will no longer be asked to pay angel tax
Pai says the momentum in creating unicorns will keep up next year, thanks to lower inflation, an increase in investment, high consumer confidence and growing wages. With around a dozen firms close to crossing the $1 billion valuation mark, he expects around 8-10 companies to enter the elite club in 2019.
While it’s still a little too early to predict who exactly could end up becoming a unicorn in 2019, investors say the sectors these start-ups will come from would be even more diverse than what was seen this year. Unlike in the boom days of 2015-16, money hasn’t only gone into online retail, digital payments and cab hailing but other segments as well.
For instance, in 2018, hotel room aggregator OYO and online food ordering service Swiggy both raised $1 billion each in a single funding round in 2018. Both companies weren’t even a part of the unicorn club in 2017.
Some notable mentions of firms growing faster than their peers in the market are online grocery firm Grofers, on-demand task management service Dunzo, health and fitness start-up Curefit, logistics start-up BlackBuck and robotics start-up GreyOrange.
While the current boom may hark back to the days of crazy valuations among start-ups, investors and analysts say that hasn’t happened this time around. Founders of newer companies say they are willing to dilute far less than before. An analyst pointed out that, in 2018, except for Swiggy, which is engaged in a battle with rivals Zomato, Foodpanda and UberEats, most of the funding rounds raised by unicorns did not see much dilution of stake.
“I think what we’re seeing is that many of the new entrepreneurs don’t want to become employees by diluting too much. I think they’re being careful and haven’t raised too much money because they’re not burning too much money either,” he added.
But while things certainly are looking up for the sector going into 2019, some say that the endemic issue of start-ups continuing to make losses hasn’t gone away.
Large Indian start-ups are not profitable, pointing to the fact that valuations are not the end all and be all for a necessarily successful business.
For years, Analytics firm MuSigma was the only Indian unicorn to make profit, but a recent share sale saw the firm’s valuation drop to around $850 million.
Ad-tech giant InMobi, which was on track to make a profit in FY17, fell short of its target when it posted a $12.7 million loss in the year ended March 2017. The financial performance of the company in FY18 is not known yet.
“I have a very contrarian view, which is unpopular. It’s not difficult to create unicorns, but it’s difficult to build a unicorn that makes money. You can’t just say this is indicative of a great market opportunity. It’s also indicative of the fact that the founders have not figured out how to make money,” said Vaitheeswaran K, founder of India’s first e-commerce company Indiaplaza.com (Fabmall) and author of ‘Failing to Succeed’.
“The reality is that anybody can sell a dollar for 99 cents. What you need to do is sell 99 cents for a dollar and then see if you can create a unicorn,” he added.

Over 400 million millennials to decide India's fate in 2019 Lok Sabha polls

In the first half of 2019, a billion Asians will elect the next leaders of the region's two largest democracies.
Half – 400 million in India, and 79 million in Indonesia – are from the millennial generation, born roughly between 1982 and 2001. Many will cast ballots for the first time. Although the threat of sectarian hatred looms large over both the Indian and Indonesian elections, economics will still take center stage.
The issue that will resonate most with younger voters is jobs.
Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo will seek a second term on April 17, promising to "re-industrialize" the economy. The commodity boom that helped ameliorate high unemployment after the 1998 Asian crisis has faded. Without pushing into large-scale manufacturing and adding more value to the country’s raw-materials exports, it’s hard to see how municipalities with 9-percent-plus joblessness in West Java can close the gap with the national average of around 5 per cent.
ALSO READ: Your financial calendar for 2019: Follow a single goal every month
Jokowi, as the president is known, wants to keep spending on infrastructure, even though foreign direct investment is set for its first annual decline since he came to power in 2014. But his opponent, the former general Prabowo Subianto, is striking a more nationalistic pose by vowing to review Chinese belt-and-road investments, including a signature high-speed rail project, if he comes to power. Prabowo’s solution for attracting more private investment is to slash taxes and government spending.
Lack of jobs and widespread agrarian distress are also the main campaign issues for Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi. He's looking to unseat Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his disastrous currency ban and a botched goods and services tax – moves that have hurt small firms and their workers disproportionately.

ALSO READ: Battle for the Hindi Heartland: Whose year will 2019 eventually be?
Since it’s politically suicidal to cut fuel subsidies in an election year, both Modi and Jokowi will hope global oil prices stay low. Indonesia’s cash handouts to the poor will double in 2019. But with revenue growing strongly, the budget deficit is still expected to come in below 2 per cent of GDP.
The same isn’t true for India, though. Encouraged by his party’s wins in recent state polls, Gandhi is putting pressure on Modi to waive farmers’ loans. Meanwhile, the prime minister is wooing the middle class by pruning the list of items taxed at 28 per cent, the highest of the five GST rates. Even without the additional burden, the budget deficit in the fiscal year ending in March would struggle to meet the goal of 3.3 per cent of GDP. Elections will be held by May.
ALSO READ: 2019 Lok Sabha elections: Congress set to promise revamped GST in manifesto
For both countries, the biggest "known unknown" of 2019 is the U.S. Federal Reserve's policy. If the Fed takes a pause only after three interest-rate increases in 2019, the Indian rupee and the Indonesian rupiah, Asia’s two worst-performing currencies this year, could remain under pressure. In Indonesia, the risk is from the current account deficit, which at about 3.4 per cent of GDP is already large. With prices of palm oil and natural rubber slumping, exports may be slow to revive. In India, an abrupt change of guard at the central bank could lead to more relaxed financial conditions – perhaps even interest-rate cuts – to stoke credit-fueled growth ahead of the elections.
If the Fed sets the backdrop for the 2019 Asian polls, Facebook Inc. could determine their tone, even outcomes. The social media platform has been under scrutiny ever since the Cambridge Analytica scandal, when it emerged that personal data of 87 million Facebook users were obtained by the consulting firm that had, among other things, helped get President Donald Trump elected.
ALSO READ: 2019 elections: BJP may lose 70% seats in Hindi heartland, Congress to gain
Analysts are dreading a repeat of the role social media played in securing a victory for far-right presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil. WhatsApp, the messaging service owned by Facebook, has 250 million users in India, which has seen murders and lynchings triggered by fake news. Indonesian Communications and Information Technology Minister Rudiantara 1 told me last year of his frustration over social media firms’ slow and inadequate response to requests to take down offensive content. A third of his countrymen use Facebook.
How a billion Asian voters navigate around misinformation, fake news and a hardening of majority sentiment against minorities (Indonesia’s ethnic Chinese and India’s Muslims) on their way to the polling booths will be worth watching. There will be a third important Asian election next year. Thailand’s military junta, in power since May 2014, has decided to hand over power in polls scheduled for Feb. 24. Considering that elected leaders keep getting unseated by the courts or the army, a durable democracy in Thailand would be a huge positive for investors. At this juncture, though, that may be too much to expect from 2019.
Bloomberg

PM Modi pays tribute to 2004 tsunami victims in Andaman and Nicobar Islands

Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid floral tributes to the victims of the 2004 tsunami at a memorial in Car Nicobar here on Sunday.
The Prime Minister who reached the Andaman and Nicobar Islands Saturday evening is scheduled to meet tribal chiefs and attend a public function at BJR stadium in Car Nicobar.

Later in the day, Modi will hold a review meeting with the local administration at Raj Bhawan, Port Blair, and hoist a high mast flag at South Point Sea Shore.
He will visit the cellular jail at Port Blair and pay tribute to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose to mark the 75th year of the freedom fighter's historic visit to the islands and the hoisting of the national flag at Port Blair.
At the Netaji Stadium, the prime minister will release a commemorative postal stamp and coin. He will also release the innovation and start-up policy for the islands.
The prime minister will inaugurate a 7 MW solar power plant, and solar village. He will also lay the foundation stone for a number of development projects and address a gathering.

Netflix pays content chief Sarandos like a mogul with 50% raise

Netflix Inc. gave Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos a 50 percent increase in salary for 2019, vaulting him into the ranks of Hollywood’s best-paid media moguls with $18 million in base compensation.
Sarandos’s cash pay compares with the $20.2 million that 21st Century Fox Inc. Chairman Rupert Murdoch got last fiscal year, and the $17.7 million Walt Disney Co. Chief Executive Officer Bob Iger received. Netflix also granted Sarandos $13.5 million in stock options, according to a filing Friday, comparable to the awards other elite media executives received.

Netflix CEO Reed Hastings, meanwhile, is getting paid like his Silicon Valley counterparts, with most of his pay incentive-based. His base salary stays at $700,000 for 2019, and his stock-option allocation rises to $30.8 million from $28.7 million.
Sarandos, 54, joined Netflix in 2000 and has emerged this decade as one of the most powerful figures in Hollywood, presiding over a budget of as much as $8 billion this year to produce or acquire exclusive programming for the streaming-video giant.
ALSO READ: Netflix's 1983 has a disturbing resemblance to contemporary politics
Chief Product Officer Greg Peters will make $10 million in salary, up from $6 million in 2018, and gets $6.8 million in options, up a bit from $6.6 million.
Sarandos and Peters each had $1 million base salaries in 2017 but had hefty cash-bonus targets. The federal tax plan passed late that year eliminated companies’ ability to deduct performance-based bonuses to managers paid more than $1 million, so Netflix decided to consolidate all cash compensation into salaries.
ALSO READ: Netflix original movies take aim at the heart of Hollywood -- the Oscars
Chief Financial Officer David Wells’s salary will rise to $3.5 million from $2.8 million, with his options up to $2.8 million from $2.45 million. Wells announced in August he’ll step down after the company finds a successor, saying he wants to focus on philanthropy.
Netflix shares have risen 33 percent this year, compared with a 3.5 percent drop for the S&P 500 movies and entertainment index. The Los Gatos, California-based company had 137.1 million subscribers at the end of the third quarter and said it expected to add a record 28.9 million customers for the full year.

Congress to block passage of triple talaq bill in Rajya Sabha on Monday

The contentious triple talaq bill seeking to criminalise instant divorce is set to be tabled in the Rajya Sabha even as the Congress said it will not allow the passage of the proposed legislation in its present form.
Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad will table the bill in the Upper House after it was cleared by the Lok Sabha on Thursday amid a walkout by the Opposition. The bill was passed by the Lower House with 245 voting in favour and 11 opposing it.

Prasad had on Friday claimed that the bill will find support in Rajya Sabha, where the BJP-led NDA lacks numbers. It is listed in the Rajya Sabha's legislative agenda for Monday.
All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary K C Venugopal told reporters in Kochi that the party would join hands with others to prevent the bill from getting passed in the House, he told reporters in Kochi.
He said 10 opposition parties had openly come out against the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2018 when it was introduced in the Lok Sabha.
Even the parties which support the government on various issues, including AIADMK, have opposed the bill, said Venugopal, who is also a Congress floor strategist.
Condemning the bill, he said the stringent provisions like criminalisation of a civil wrong were there in the triple talaq bill and it was not at all acceptable to the opposition parties, including the Congress.
"...The bill will not help empower women," the Congress leader said.
Venugopal claimed there was no confusion in the Congress-led UPA or party-led UDF in Kerala regarding the bill.
The Alappuzha MP said the government could not push the bill in its initial form in the Upper House due to stringent opposition from the Congress and other opposition parties.
"That is the reason why the government brought the ordinance and re-introduced the bill in the Lok Sabha. But the Congress will oppose its passage in the present form in the Rajya Sabha," Venugopal said.
The Congress had earlier accused the NDA government of getting the triple talaq bill passed in haste in the Lok Sabha in view of 2019 general election.
The party has said its provisions are against the Constitution and violate the fundamental rights.
The Opposition has been demanding that the bill be referred to a 'joint select committee' of Parliament for further scrutiny.
On Thursday, the government rejected the Opposition's contention that it was aimed at targeting a particular community.
Piloting the bill, Prasad had said there should be no politics on the bill, stressing that it was not against any particular community.
Describing the passage of the triple talaq bill as a historic step to ensure equality and dignity of Muslim women, BJP chief Amit Shah had demanded an apology from the Congress for decades of injustice.