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LXIV NO. 198, 18 PAGES, `12.00 P U B L I S H E D F R O M : A H M E D A B A D , B E N G A L U R U , C H A N D I G A R H , C H E N N A I , H Y D E R A B A D , K O C H I , K O L K A TA , L U C K N O W, M U M B A I , N E W D E L H I , P U N E SENSEX: 80,424.69 ▼ 12.15 NIFTY: 24,572.65 ▲ 31.50 NIKKEI 225: 37,388.62 ▼ 674.05 HANG SENG: 17,569.57 ▲ 139.41 `/$: 83.87 ▲ 0.08 `/€: 92.56 ▼ 0.29 BRENT: $79.65 ▼ $0.03 GOLD: `70,265 Share of blue-chip stocks in N E W S RBI paper sees 54% retail portfolios at 22-yr low FY25 ESTIMATE: `2.45 LAKH CRORE IN THE APPRAISE MSMEs VIA DIGITAL FOOTPRINT, FM TELLS BANKS FINANCE MINISTER Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday asked public sector banks (PSBs) to launch special drives to mobilise deposits by ‘connecting’ with customers with a view to narrowing the widening credit-deposit gap, reports Prasanta Sahu. She also told them to expedite the rollout of a new credit assessment model for MSMEs, based on digital footprint and step up loans to beneficiaries for government schemes. ■ PAGE 6 GST COMPOSITION: IDENTIFY HIGH-RISK TAXPAYERS, SAYS CAG THE COMPTROLLER AND Auditor General (CAG) has asked the finance ministry to identify high-risk taxpayers in the GST composition scheme on a periodical basis and verify from other sources, including third parties, their declared value of sales to check tax evasion. ■ PAGE 2 EXPLAINER Why India needs to zero-rate its exports ■ PAGE 9 growth in pvt capex FE BUREAU New Delhi, August 19 THE RESERVE BANK of India Bulletin has some good news on capital expenditure by the private sector. According to a paper, which is part of the bulletin, private sector capex is estimated to grow by 54% to `2.45 lakh crore in 2024-25, from `1.59 lakh crore in 2023-24. The article made this assessment after taking into consideration the phasing profile ofpipelineprojects’finances.Thisisoneofthe brightest outlooks on private capex for the current financial year. Other agencies and independent economists are less sanguine about the trend in corpoINSIDE rate investments. According to the ‘Sticky food paper,whichisnotnecesinflation sarily articulating the spilling over centralbank’sviews,the to costs’ ■ P2 authors, Kamal Gupta, Rajesh B Kavediya, Sukti Khandekar and Snigdha Yogindran, said that investment intentions of private corporates remained buoyant during 202324 as reflected in higher number of projects aswell as the total cost of projects sanctioned by banks/financial institution (FIs).“Greenfield projects accounted forthe lion’s share of about 89% in the total cost of projects financed,”they noted. The infrastructure sector continued to attract major share of envisaged capital investment, led by ‘roads & bridges’ and ‘power’sectors,as per the article. Phasing plans indicate that aggregate capex intended by the private corporate sector in 2023-24 increased significantly by ■ Article's assessment based on phasing profile of pipeline projects’ finances ■ Says investment intentions of corporates remained buoyant during 2023-24 ■ This is reflected in higher number of projects and their total cost sanctioned by banks/FIs ■ Infra sector continued to attract major share of envisaged capital investment about 57% over the preceding year,it added. However, in an introductory note to the bulletin,the RBIreferredto the“hithertosubdued participation of the private sector in total investment”.“...Aggregate demand conditions are gathering momentum with a revival in rural consumption on the back of growing incomes.This stimulus to demand is expected to reinvigorate the hitherto subdued participation of the private sector in total investment,”the note said. Continued on Page 11 CAPITAL FLOW VIVEK KUMAR M Mumbai, August 19 BRIGHT OUTLOOK Mid, small-caps attract investors with bumper returns Non-promoter corporate Individual investors 1.2 FPIs 4.6 Others 8 29.3 24.5 Private Indian promoters share ofNifty 50 firms in individual investor portfolios down to 36.8% ■ Share of Nifty firms in total institutional holdings also at lowest since March 2001 ■ Nifty has (in %) THE SHARE OF Nifty 50 companies in the portfolioofindividualinvestorshasslipped to a 22-year low of 36.8% as of June 30, according to a report by the National Stock Exchange(NSE).Thishasbeendrivenbyconsistentoutperformanceofthemid-capand small-capstocksandtheconsequenthigher inflows that they have managed to attract afterthe Covid pandemic. ThebenchmarkNiftyhasrisen122%in the last five years,which translates into an average annual return of around 24%.The majorbroadermarketindices,however,have soared 250-350% during the same period. The bumper returns have drawn retail investors towards these stocks directly as well as through mutual funds. At 60% as of June 30,the share of Nifty Standalone Amazon Pay app soon? HC dismisses Religare Acute faculty crunch plea on Sebi inaction at medical colleges E-COMMERCE MAJOR AMAZON is reportedly considering makingitsIndiapaymentsoffering, Amazon Pay, a standalone app.AccordingtoaTechCrunchreport,with this,thecompanyaimstoboosttheusageof Amazon Pay in India, where such an app would compete with Google Pay,PhonePe, and others.Amazon Pay is currently integrated into the company’s main shopping app, and allows users to send money, pay bills,buy insurance,book travel,and invest in mutual funds and digital gold.The US giantintendstoproceedwiththeplaninthe coming months,the report said. THE DELHI HIGH Courthasdismissed Religare Enterprises’ petition against the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi)overalleged“inaction”oncomplaints againsttheBurmanfamily,statingthatthe issue was already addressed on May 31, reports Akshata Gorde.The matter,originally scheduled for August 20,was heard on August 12 after four Burman familyownedentitiesinformedthecourtthatthe relief sought by Religare had already been addressed through a communication by Sebi. Religare now plans to approach the SecuritiesAppellateTribunal. ■ Page 6 A N O RT H AMERICA ■ As ofJune 30, Nifty 50 companies’ ownership as in June 2024 7.1 8.1 Banks, FIs, Insurance Domestic MFs 11.1 Govt 6.2 Foreign promoters Source: NSE Pulse report companies in total institutional holdings has also dropped to the lowest since at least March 2001,according to the NSE report. Continued on Page 11 PRIME MINISTER NARENDRA Modi’splantoadd75,000more medical seats over the next five years may be the dose India’s educationrequires,butitlookstobeaHerculean task, experts said, reports Manu Kaushik. That’s because medical education in the country is already weighed down by shortage of faculty,ghost professorsandhighattrition.Evenincaseswhere thecollegesarereportingsufficientfaculty memberstotheNationalMedicalCouncil, theactualnumbersinmostcasesarequite low, sources said, citing the situation in specific institutions. ■ Page 18 G E T C LO S E R TO THE BIG APPLE W I T H E A SY A C C E S S T O 1 9 0 N O RT H A M E R I C A N D E S T I N AT I O N S , T H E R E ’ S A LWAY S A N OT H E R R E A S O N T O F LY W I T H U S . ORIGINAL B O O K AT B A . C O M T&Cs apply risen 122% in last 5 years, while broader indices are up 250350%