Home-made laptops

To boost domestic manufacturing, India is all set to curb imports of laptops, tablets and personal computers among other items. From November, companies will need a licence for their inbound shipments. India’s move is expected to hit major foreign players like Dell, Apple, Lenovo, and HP, possibly making their products expensive in the country. At present, India has almost no competitive advantage in the international trade of computers. The market is dominated by China and Vietnam, the former being the world leader in computer exports and also the largest net exporter, aMint analysisshowed.

CSR spending

India Inc.’s spending on corporate social responsibility (CSR) remained flatin 2021-22, an analysis byprimeinfobase.combased on companies’ annual reports showed. The combined CSR expenditure by 1,205 listed companies that were required to spend under the law stood at ₹14,801 crore, similar to ₹14,763 crore in 2020-21. Education-related sectors and healthcare segments received the highest CSR spends, close to 60% of the total expenditure. Reliance Industries continued to lead the charge in CSR activities by shelling out ₹813 crore in 2021-22.

Adani stakes $500 million:That’s theamount raisedby the promoters of Adani Group by selling a part of their holdings in Adani Green Energy. As of market price on 8 August, around ₹31,095 crore were required by the promoters to release the shares pledged by the promoters in five key group firms. The Adani group’s promoters have been monetizing stakes in several firms over the past three months. US-based boutique asset management firm GQG Partners Llp has purchased around $3 billion worth of shares from the promoters in various Adani Group firms.
 

Handsome rewards

Despite lacklustre growth in profit, India Inc. paid handsome rewards to shareholders in 2022-23 through dividends, aMint analysisof 439 BSE 500 companies showed. Indian companies gave record high dividends of ₹4 trillion, up 28%. This includes proposed payouts. This is the third consecutive year when dividend payments posted a strong double-digit growth. Some of the biggest dividend payers include Tata Consultancy Services, Vedanta and public sector firms such as Coal India, Oil and Natural Gas Corp. and Power Grid Corp. of India.

Surplus surprise

Russian funds worth $10-12 billion are estimated to have been invested in the Indian government treasury bills in the year ended 31 March 2023, areport by Mintsaid. A surge in trade deficit, amounting to $43 billion, with Russia has led to higher surpluses in the vostro accounts of exporters under the rupee trade settlement mechanism. In 2022-23, aggregate imports from Russia jumped almost five times from the previous fiscal as India purchased huge quantities of crude oil. India imported crude worth $31 billion from Russia in FY23, as against $2.5 billion in the previous year and $900 million in FY21, data from the commerce ministry showed.

Jet’s woes ₹350 crore:That’s how much the new management of Jet Airways—Jalan Kalrock Consortium (JKC)—will have to pay to the Committee of Creditors (CoC) by 31 August,Mint reported. A plea had been filed by State Bank of India before the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) against JKC to recover pending dues. A lawyer for JKC said the group will do its best to pay the amount by the deadline. Till now, the lenders have infused nearly ₹400 crore of public money into the airline.

Digital ironies

The rapid growth of internet users in India in recent years has brought with it a series of contradictions. On one hand, the country boasts of having the largest number of people connected to the internet, but on the other, internet shutdowns are frequently used as a law-and-order tool in times of unrest. Last year, India saw 45% of all shutdowns globally, aMint analysisshowed. Internet penetration still falls behind the world average of 63%: the country ranked 120th in the world with 46% penetration in 2021.

Chart of the week: Price pinch

The cost of preparing a vegetarian thali at home surged to ₹33.7 in July, up 28% since June, astudy by Crisilshowed. Soaring prices of vegetables, especially tomatoes, onions, and potatoes are said to be the reason behind this steep rise in costs. Meanwhile, the cost of a non-vegetarian thali rose by a relatively moderate 11%.

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