Business News Live: Maharashtra Assembly Election Results, Counting Begins At 8 AM-Read More

Visuals from various counting centres in Maharashtra on Saturday morning showed teams of Election officials gearing up for the counting of the votes for the 288 assembly seats that went to the polls on November 20. The counting is expected to begin at 8 am today. 
Arrangements are also in place for counting votes for the Jharkhand assembly polls and bypolls on 48 assembly and two Lok Sabha seats across 15 states. Counting begins at 8 am, with trends expected to emerge in Maharashtra and Jharkhand within the next two hours.
In Maharashtra, the Mahayuti alliance, comprising the BJP, Shiv Sena, and NCP, is engaged in a fierce contest with the MVA, which includes Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT), and NCP (SP), ANI reported.
 

The initial public offering of NTPC Green Energy Ltd, the renewable energy arm of NTPC, got fully subscribed on the third day of the share sale on Friday. The Rs 10,000-crore share sale received bids for 60,68,16,774 shares, as against 59,31,67,575 shares on offer, translating into 1.02 times subscription, as per NSE data till 11:27 hours. The portion for Retail Individual Investors (RIIs) got subscribed 2.70 times. The quota for Qualified Institutional Buyers (QIBs) fetched 75 per cent subscription, while the non-institutional investors part got subscribed 42 per cent. NTPC Green Energy has mobilised Rs 3,960 crore from anchor investors. 

Shares of eight of the ten listed Adani group firms were trading lower during the morning trade on Friday after billionaire Gautam Adani was charged by US prosecutors for allegedly being part of a scheme to pay USD 265 million (about Rs 2,200 crore) bribe to Indian officials in exchange for favourable terms for solar power contracts.

Adani Green Energy dropped 10.95 per cent and Adani Energy Solutions tumbled 8.57 per cent to hit the 52-week low of Rs 637.85 on the BSE, as reported by PTI.
 

Zepto on Friday announced a USD 350 million fundraise in its latest round that the quick commerce company said marks the largest 100 per cent domestic fundraise within India's startup ecosystem.

The round included investments from Indian HNIs, family offices, and leading financial institutions. The fundraise was led exclusively by Motilal Oswal's Private Wealth division, PTI reported.
 

In a relief to Raheja Developers, the appellate tribunal NCLAT has confined the insolvency proceedings against the realty firm to only one of its projects 'Raheja Shilas'.

However, it has directed Raheja Developers to provide the details regarding the other incomplete projects and the status of all ongoing projects, enabling appropriate orders to be passed, PTI reported.

Indian stock markets opened with gains on Friday after the rally in other Asian stocks.
The Nifty 50 index opened at 23,411.80 points with a gain of 61.90 points or 0.27 per cent, while the BSE Sensex index opened at 77,349.74 points with a gain of 193.95 points or 0.25 per cent, ANI reported.
 

New York: India has reiterated its call for urgent reform of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), with Parvathaneni Harish, India's Permanent Representative to the UN, stating that the current structure undermines the organisation's credibility and effectiveness.
Speaking at the Plenary of the Intergovernmental Negotiations on UNSC reform on Wednesday, Harish said, "My delegation agrees with the assertion that the UN Security Council in its current design is detrimental to the credibility and effectiveness of the UN and must be addressed at the earliest. We need a UN Security Council that reflects the new multipolar world of today."

Georgetown (Guyana): Prime Minister Narendra Modi held discussions with the Prime Minister of Saint Lucia, Philip Pierre on the sidelines of the second India-CARICOM Summit held in Guyana.
As per the statement released by the Prime Minister's Office, the two world leaders held "productive discussions on 20 November".
The leaders discussed bilateral cooperation in a range of issues such as capacity building, education, health, renewable energy, cricket and yoga.
In his post on X, PM Modi said that deliberations took place to boost trade linkages and enhance ties in sectors such as healthcare, pharma and energy.
PM Pierre appreciated Prime Minister Modi's seven-point plan to strengthen the India- CARICOM partnership.
 

Speaking at an Indian community event in Georgetown, Guyana's President Mohamed Irfaan Ali praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his exemplary leadership and transformative impact on India's global stature. 
Addressing the gathering, President Ali said, "...Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India is a shining light in your leadership. It is no secret that the strength of your leadership, the passion and compassion of your leadership, and the deliberateness of your leadership have placed India in a different light and realm around the globe. You have brought incredible respect. But more importantly, you have brought an unmatched level of dignity and pride to India, and we congratulate you on that, as reported by ANI.

) The rupee depreciated 8 paise to settle at an all-time low of 84.50 (provisional) against the US dollar on Thursday, dragged down by massive sell-off in domestic equity markets and surging crude oil prices amid a volatile geopolitical situation.

According to forex traders, the American currency strengthened due to safe-haven appeal amid escalating tension between Russia and Ukraine, while the continuous outflow of foreign funds also put pressure on the domestic unit, reported PTI. 
 

India's economy is projected to grow at a faster pace in the third quarter of the current financial year (October-December 2024) compared to the first half (April-September 2024), according to a report by ICRA, said ANI.
 

India will be relatively insulated from the global economic shocks expected from a potential trade war between the United States and China in 2025, according to a report by Goldman Sachs.
The report says that despite the ongoing global uncertainties, India's long-term structural growth prospects remain robust. 
"In 2025, we believe India will likely be a relatively insulated economy from global shocks emanating out of a potential trade war between US and China", said the report
However, the report highlighted that a cyclical growth slowdown is anticipated, with the country's GDP growth forecast to decelerate to 6.3 per cent year-on-year in 2025. 
This slowdown is attributed to continued fiscal consolidation and tighter credit growth due to macro-prudential measures taken by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), as reported by ANI.
 

The Commonwealth of Dominica has conferred its highest national honour, the Dominica Award of Honour, upon Prime Minister Narendra Modi. President Sylvanie Burton presented the award to PM Modi in recognition of his efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic and his dedication to strengthening the relationship between India and Dominica.
Upon receiving the prestigious award, PM Modi expressed his gratitude, saying, "This honour is not only mine but of 140 crore people of India, their efforts, their values and their tradition. We are two democracies, and we together are role models of women's empowerment for the world. It is a matter of deep satisfaction that we were able to help the people of Dominica during a pandemic like Covid-19."
 

Former Higher Education Secretary K Sanjay Murthy was sworn in as the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India by President Droupadi Murmu on Thursday.

Murthy, a 1989 batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the Himachal Pradesh cadre, succeeds Girish Chandra Murmu.

Murthy was named the new CAG by the Centre on Monday. Girish Chandra Murmu completed his tenure as the CAG on Wednesday, reported PTI.  
 

India and Guyana signed 10 Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the country, covering areas such as agriculture, pharmaceuticals, and the deployment of UPI in the Caribbean nation.
Key agreements include an MoU on Cooperation in the Hydrocarbons Sector, focusing on joint efforts in crude sourcing, natural gas collaboration, and infrastructure development. This partnership also aims to enhance capacity building and expertise sharing across the hydrocarbon value chain, as reported by ANI.

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das emphasized the critical role of fiscal-monetary coordination in navigating India through a series of external economic shocks. 
Speaking at the High-Level Policy Conference of Central Banks from the Global South in Mumbai, Das outlined the measures undertaken by RBI to ensure macroeconomic stability amid global challenges.
"Effective fiscal-monetary coordination was at the core of India's success in the face of a series of adverse shocks. From this perspective, macroeconomic stability becomes a shared responsibility of both monetary and fiscal authorities," he said, highlighting the collaborative efforts that contributed to India's economic resilience, wrote ANI.
 

India's equity indices tumbled further on Thursday morning after the stock market opened following the election holiday. At the time of this update, Nifty was down 0.77 per cent, while Sensex was tracing 474 points down or 0.61 per cent lower.

Matrize has predicted a massive win for NDA with 45 seats. INDI, on the other hand, is expected to get 32 seats. According to the poll, the others will win just four seats in Jharkhand. 
 

Exit polls are predicting a victory for the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Mahayuti in Maharashtra. According to the P-MARQ exit poll prediction, Mahayuti may have an edge against Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA).
While projecting that Mahayuti may win 137-157 seats, the exit poll has predicted that the MVA may get 126-146, even as others might bag somewhere between 2-8 seats. According to the exit poll, Mahayuti is expected to get 42 per cent vote share, Maha Vikas Aghadi may get 41 per cent and 17 per cent for the independents. 

“In India, the slack in speed observed in the second quarter of 2024-25 is behind us as private consumption is back to being the driver of domestic demand with festival spending lighting up real activity in Q3. Domestic financial markets are seeing corrections with the relentless hardening of the US dollar and equities being under pressure from persistent portfolio outflows.” - RBI Bulletin for November 2024. 

Nokia has been awarded a multi-year, multi-billion extension deal by Bharti Airtel (‘Airtel’) to deploy 4G and 5G equipment across key Indian cities and states. As per the contract, Nokia will deploy equipment from its 5G AirScale portfolio including base stations, baseband units and the latest generation of Massive MIMO radios.

Major Chinese fund companies announced a reduction in fees for a batch of equity exchange-traded funds (ETFs) on Wednesday, intensifying price competition in the rapidly expanding $400 billion sector of the market.

The move to cut management and custodian fees came a day after Wu Qing, China's chief securities regulator, pledged to encourage index investment and fund industry fee reform.

Bitcoin surged to a record high, exceeding $94,000, following reports that Donald Trump’s media company is in talks to acquire cryptocurrency trading platform Bakkt. This development has amplified hopes for a more cryptocurrency-friendly environment under the incoming Trump administration.

Asian shares were cautious on Wednesday as investors looked ahead to earnings results from AI darling Nvidia where the risk of disappointment is high, while the dollar gave back a little of its recent bumper gains.

 It remains uncertain how far interest rates can fall, though the initial reductions made by the U.S. central bank are a vote of confidence that inflation is returning to its 2% target, Kansas City Fed President Jeffrey Schmid said on Tuesday.

Corporate executives were taking a wait-and-see approach to President-elect Donald Trump's vow to impose heavy tariffs on imports when he takes office in January, but many have raised concerns about the effect such levies will have on inflation.