Author: NNI Editor

The Government is working to set up a National Green Financing Institution to support its net-zero target by 2070, as current finance flows for climate initiatives remain much lower than the desired levels, NITI Aayog has said. “A dedicated National Green Financing Institution may be envisaged to bridge the huge gap,” the Aayog said in its annual report 2024-25. It added that the primary purpose of the institution will be to aggregate green capital from different sources and lower the cost of capital. NITI Aayog said it is examining structuring mechanisms for operationalising a potential National Green Financing Institution, including…

The merged entity is expected to be run by Bharti Airtel. File. | Photo Credit: Reuters Tata Group and Bharti Group are close to merging their satellite TV businesses, creating a nearly $1.6 billion entity with the aim of tiding over the sustained migration of subscribers to digital streaming, Economic Times reported on Tuesday (February 25, 2025).The merged entity is expected to be run by Bharti Airtel , which will likely hold between 52%-55% with the remaining held by Tata Play shareholders, including Walt Disney, the report said, citing sources.Bharti Airtel, Tata Play and Disney did not immediately respond to…

India can mitigate the impact of higher U.S. tariffs through talks and by providing greater market access to U.S. farm products and increasing energy purchases, Moody’s said on Tuesday.“Most companies in our rated portfolio are domestic-focused with limited exposure to the U.S. market. To mitigate pressure from reciprocal tariffs, the U.S. and India are reportedly now in talks for India to lower import tariffs on select U.S. products, increase market access for U.S. farm products and increase U.S. energy purchases, while seeking to initiate a trade deal by the fall of 2025,” the rating agency said.In the Asia Pacific region…

MUMBAIThe Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has lowered the risk weight on the exposure of Scheduled Commercial Banks’ (SCBs) lending to non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) and microfinance loans.The risk weight on the exposures was increased by 25 percentage points in 2023 in the case of NBFCs and on a review, the RBI decided to restore the risk weights applicable to such exposures, the central bank said, adding that this would come into effect from April 1.“It is a welcome move in view of the current headwinds faced by the sector; this shall to an extent provide some relief to the…

Small-scale foundries in Coimbatore struggle to be cost competitive with the units in the northern States. | Photo Credit: Siva SaravananS Rising costs of power, labour and raw materials have dented the competitiveness of the 400-and-odd small-scale foundries in Coimbatore city and nearby areas.A. Shiva Shanmughakumar, president of the Coimbatore Tiny and Small Foundry Owners’ Association (Cosmafan), said the foundries are operating only 60%-70% of the capacity as they are unable to compete with the foundries in Gujarat, West Bengal, and Uttar Pradesh in costs.The raw material, including ferrous, coke, and sand, prices are at least 5 % higher in…

The rupee fell sharply by 47 paise to settle at 87.19 against the U.S. dollar on Tuesday due to month-end dollar demand by importers amid uncertainty over U.S. trade tariffs.Elevated greenback against major crosses and sustained FII outflows also contributed to the decline in the domestic unit, forex traders said.“The rupee fell by more than half a percent against the dollar, marking its biggest intraday drop in the past three weeks. However, after the steep fall, a slight recovery was observed,” said Rahul Kalantri, vice president (Commodities), Mehta Equities Ltd.“The drop in the rupee against the dollar came after U.S.…

Technological advancements in India have increased farmer profitability by 26% while reducing pesticide use by 18%, said Tanveer S Uberoi, Director, Mid-Market Sales, Google Customer Solutions.He said in a keynote on “Leveraging AI for Market Insights and Improved Productivity” on the second day of the International Spice Conference (ISC) 2025, hosted by the All India Spices Exporters Forum (AISEF) here in Bengaluru.While illustrating AI’s tangible benefits in sustainable and profitable farming, Mr. Uberoi cited Google’s collaboration with AI-driven agricultural platforms, such as OneMoney, which enables farmers to upload photos of their crops for AI-powered disease diagnosis and treatment suggestions. ‘‘These…

Sundaram Home Finance plans to double its disbursements in the Emerging Business segment, covering small shops and businesses and affordable housing, to more than ₹400 crore in a year.A press release from the company said the Emerging Business (EB) comprises of loans up to ₹20 lakh to small shops and businesses and affordable housing finance where the company provides loans of up to ₹35 lakh.With 40 branches in Tamil Nadu to cater to this segment, Sundaram Home Finance recently opened five branches in Andhra Pradesh and will venture into Telangana soon.D. Lakshminarayanan, Managing Director of Sundaram Home Finance said in…

Shareholders of Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Ltd. (IREDA) have approved the company’s proposal to raise up to ₹5,000 crore through Qualified Institutions Placement (QIP) of equity shares, in one or multiple tranches. The approval was granted by the shareholders in favour of the resolution via remote e-voting during the 22nd Extra-Ordinary General Meeting (EGM) held on Tuesday through video conferencing. IREDA’s Board had earlier approved the fundraising plan on January 23, which includes the dilution of the Government of India’s shareholding in the company by up to 7% post-issue equity, in one or multiple tranches.Addressing the shareholders, Pradip Kumar Das, CMD,…

The board of directors of Tata Capital Ltd. at their meeting held on Tuesday approved a proposal by the company to raise ₹1,504 crore via rights issue of equity shares of face value of ₹10 each of the company to existing equity shareholders of the company. The record date is February 25.The board has also approved an Initial Public Offering (IPO) of the equity shares of the company with face value of ₹10 each with a fresh issue of up to 23 crore equity shares and an offer for sale of equity shares by certain existing and eligible shareholders of the company, subject…