Godrej Consumer increases stake in Darling Group to 90%...stock flat

Godrej Consumer Products Ltd has announced that the Company has entered into an agreement with the Darling Group.

Godrej Consumer Products Ltd has announced that the Company has entered into an agreement with the Darling Group for increasing its shareholding in Darling South Africa and Mozambique businesses to 90% in line with its intent of gradually scaling up its ownership of the Darling businesses.

The stock is trading at 1130, up 1%.

The stock has hit a high of Rs 1145 and a low of Rs 1130.

Total traded quantity on the counter stood at over 355 shares.

Govt will cut budget allocation for Social Welfare Programs; States will fill the deficit

The ministries that are responsible for carrying out social welfare schemes may see their budget shrink as the government plans to cut down its contribution by 25-30%.

Social welfare, majorly funded by Centre and run by states will be rejigged in the upcoming budget. The Narendra Modi government will execute on his promise of making states full partners in India's development, which will mean lower contribution to centrally sponsored schemes (CSS). The ministries that are responsible for carrying out social welfare schemes may see their budget shrink as the government plans to cut down its contribution by 25-30%.  

 Freedom to states

 The proposed change comes after the YV Reddy led 14th Finance Commission recommended that the states should get a greater share in participation. This implies that though the department of agriculture will get 25% less funds to the tune of Rs. 16,650 crore from Rs. 22,300 crore, the difference has to be met by the states. It is expected that the human resource ministry too will witness a budget cut of Rs. 12,000 crore. 

  Various social sector ministries including women and child development, panchayati raj, drinking water and sanitation will have to modify their proposals in light of the planned budget cut and transfer of more power to the states. As of now, the government is planning to cut the contribution from 75% to 50% in some states and to 40% in other while it may hand over full responsibilities to certain states. Though the states will bring in the additional money to meet the target, but it will have more power in its hands to design and customize programmes as per their needs.  

 More Burdens on States  

 Meanwhile, the budget may not be allocated for the national food security mission, which was one of the chief initiatives introduced by the previous UPA government. The initiative is now merged with the national mission of sustainable agriculture, which itself received lower allocation by Rs. 400 crore. The Centre may like the concept, but experts are clearly not. According to experts, the government should instead introduce direct cash payments to benefit poor rather than run welfare schemes in the name of poor. Ravi Srivastava, professor of economics at Jawaharlal Nehru University said that the concept will only put more burdens on poor states, which will ultimately impact the poor section of the society.

Sensex surges 150 points...Auto, Bankex lead

Auto, Consumer Durables, Power, banking, healthcare, metal, realty, capital goods, FMCG, Oil and gas indices are the gainers. 

At 9:17AM, the S&P BSE Sensex is trading at 29,174 up 170 points, while NSE Nifty is trading at 8,801 up 39 points.

The BSE Mid-cap Index and BSE Small-cap Index was trading up at 1%.

Auto, Consumer Durables, Power, banking, healthcare, metal, realty, capital goods, FMCG, Oil and gas indices are the gainers.

A lot is happening back home in India too even as the Budget session of Parliament is underway.

 The outlook is a start in the green. Global cues are mostly positive but given the eve of F&O expiry and upcoming budget, choppiness could set in. 

The Dow rose half a percent while S&P 500 gained 0.3%. Nasdaq gained 0.14%. Asian markets are seeing a mixed trend with Japan's Nikkei higher and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index trading lower. China's Shanghai index is also in the red.

The Modi government introduced the 14th Finance Commission's report in the Parliament. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley moved the MoA (memorandum of association) on Finance Commission report in the Lok Sabha. The government said that devolution to states will be at Rs. 3.48 trillion in FY15, while it would be around Rs. 5.6 trillion in FY16.

Jaitley said that the every spending within the territory of India is going to add to the growth process. The Central Government is happy that the allocation of financial resources to the states have been augmented, Jaitley added.

Top economic news of the day - February 25, 2015

Auctions for the 21 ready-to-produce coal blocks have been put off to March 2. This follows a petition filed by Sarda Energy and Minerals Ltd in the Delhi High Court.

While acknowledging that the country's external sector indicators have proved in the first six months of 2014-15, the central bank has cautioned that there is no room for complacency in an uncertain global macroeconomic environment.
 
Auctions for the 21 ready-to-produce coal blocks have been put off to March 2. This follows a petition filed by Sarda Energy and Minerals Ltd in the Delhi High Court. 
 
Private sector companies are less keen on their capital expenditure plans, which may decline by an annual rate of 11% this fiscal, according to a survey report by Crisil.

Sensex, Nifty to open positive, turn volatile

The outlook is a start in the green. Global cues are mostly positive but given the eve of F&O expiry and upcoming budget, choppiness could set in. 

The Fed seems to be patient on a decision regarding raising interest rates. With too many Americans remain unemployed, wage growth sluggish and inflation running below the Fed's target, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen in her semiannual economic report to Congress, said FOMC's assessment that it can be patient in beginning to normalize policy means that the Committee considers it unlikely that economic conditions will warrant an increase in the target range for the federal funds rate for at least the next couple of FOMC meetings.

Greece, secured a four-month extension of its financial rescue on Tuesday. The euro zone partners gave a nod to a reform plan even as IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said the reform plan was "not very specific." ECB President Mario Draghi too was guarded in welcoming the developments.

A lot is happening back home in India too even as the Budget session of Parliament is underway. The outlook is a start in the green. Global cues are mostly positive but given the eve of F&O expiry and upcoming budget, choppiness could set in. The Dow rose half a percent while S&P 500 gained 0.3%. Nasdaq gained 0.14%. Asian markets are seeing a mixed trend with Japan's Nikkei higher and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index trading lower. China's Shanghai index is also in the red.

The Modi government introduced the 14th Finance Commission's report in the Parliament. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley moved the MoA (memorandum of association) on Finance Commission report in the Lok Sabha. The government said that devolution to states will be at Rs. 3.48 trillion in FY15, while it would be around Rs. 5.6 trillion in FY16.

Jaitley said that the every spending within the territory of India is going to add to the growth process. The Central Government is happy that the allocation of financial resources to the states have been augmented, Jaitley added.

The controversial Land Acquisition Bill was introduced by the government in the Lok Sabha  amid  protests by an NDA ally. A report said that the entire opposition staged a walk-out calling the bill "anti-farmer and anti-poor".

Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said that BJP government was willing to discuss all provisions of the bill but his effort went in vain.

Mindtree Ltd is scouting for large deals in India and abroad worth more than $200 mn in cash and cash equivalents, says report.Report said that the team is headed by Rahul Malhotra, who joined Mindtree from rival Tech Mahindra.

iGate is planning to lay off 5-10% of its workforce, or around 1,500 to 3,000 people, over the next three months, according to reports.Report said that the layoffs are said to be partly because of a huge bench that the company created.

Shares of Spicejet Ltd were up 2% at Rs 24.55 after the company has announced the entire shareholding of Mr. Kalanithi Maran and Kal Airways Private Limited (the existing Promoters) has been transferred to Ajay Singh on February 23, 2015.

Railway related stocks ended with deep cuts a couple of trading sessions ahead of the Railway Budget. Titagarh Wagons, which, hit a fresh life-time high at Rs. 724, on Monday was locked at the 10% lower circuit at Rs. 617 on Tuesday. Kalindee Rail Nirman Engineers slumped 12.5 per cent to Rs. 139. Texmaco Rail & Engineering plunged nearly 9 per cent to Rs. 144, and Stone India shed 7 per cent at Rs. 85.

Shares of HUL ended 3% higher at Rs. 913.

Shares of Maruti Suzuki ended flat at Rs. 3,588, after the company launched a refreshed version of Dzire with introductory prices ranging from Rs 5.07 lakh to Rs 7.81 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi).

Suzlon Group has successfully completed installing and commissioning of over 350 MW wind energy in Brazil over a period of 16 months ending Nov 2014 with bulk of 309 MW being added in Calendar Year (CY)2014. This combined capacityincludes projects located in the high wind states of Rio Grande do Norte & Ceara in Brazil