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Smartphone makers are hoping for exports from India to continue their strong showing, which will drive their own growth as production levels are reaching their saturation point if only the domestic market is to be served, said market trackers. "The only headroom for growth right now is by increasing exports from India," said Prachir Singh, senior analyst, Counterpoint Research. The market tracker added that annual shipments now range between 150 million and 160 million since the pandemic, with demand unlikely to pick up significantly until elections end.India's mobile phone exports surged 35% to a record $15 billion in FY24 from $11.1 billion in FY23, according to government data.Smartphone production for local consumption was up 8% year-on-year in the January to February period, with over 30 million units produced during the period, said Singh. He added that with exports combined, smartphone production jumped to 10-12% in the same period, driven by heavy exports from Apple.109443672Smartphone manufacturers led by DBG, Dixon Technologies, Hon Hai (Foxconn), and Samsung scaled up production in the first two months of the year, as inventory bottlenecks in the market improved and brands launched more new models as compared to last year hoping to tap into a demand revival, market trackers said. Xiaomi, Apple, and Samsung were among brands that contracted the most volumes during the period, according to Counterpoint.Canalys observed sharp growth in shipments for Xiaomi which contracts manufacturers such as DBG, BYD, and Dixon for mobile phones, while Motorola and Apple also saw double-digit growth, fuelling production volumes for Dixon and Hon Hai (Foxconn), respectively.Counterpoint added that production is also expected to have increased in March as well, as manufacturers tend to produce more stocks near the closing of the financial year to meet their fiscal targets."Although the local demand remains modest, the push from the PLI (production linked incentives) approved companies to complete and exceed their PLI targets is driving this trend. Players like Foxconn Hon Hai, Wistron, Samsung and Dixon are driving this push in local manufacturing, with a focus on export-led manufacturing," Singh said.

Openers KL Rahul and Quinton de Kock, who made classy fifties on a slow pitch, produced a chasing masterclass to power Lucknow Super Giants to a comfortable eight-wicket win over Chennai Super Kings in their IPL match here on Friday. Asked to bat first, Ravindra Jadeja came up with a solid unbeaten 57 before Moeen Ali (30 off 20) and MS Dhoni (28 off 9) went on a six-hitting spree to take CSK to a fighting 176 for six. In reply, Rahul (82) and De Kock (54) batted with authority during their match-winning alliance of 134, the highest partnership for any wicket at the Ekana Stadium, as LSG scored 180 for 2 in 19 overs to recover from back-to-back loss and consolidate their position in the table. CSK, who came into the match with twin wins, on the other hand, slumped to their third loss in this IPL. Guilty of not capitalising on his starts, Rahul finally lived up to the expectations, smashing nine fours and three sixes in 53 balls, while De Kock overcame a scratchy start to hit five fours and a six in his 43-ball knock. Chasing 177, Rahul was the aggressor as he played some magnificent strokes to give LSG a flying start. The skipper was harsh on Deepak Chahar as he pulled the pacer for a six, before slapping him for another maximum over cover. He also hit him for a four off a slower delivery. Rahul also produced a punch off the backfoot for a boundary off pacer Mustafizur Rahman as runs came thick and fast. De Kock too smashed Tushar Deshpande for a maximum over deep midwicket as the powerplay yielded 54 for 0. Rahul next sent a short-pitched ball from pacer Matheesha Pathirana over the third man for another maximum and the bowler was left further demoralised when he dropped De Kock's catch at short third man off Jadeja in the ninth over. After 10 overs, LSG were 89 for no loss. Rahul notched up his 35th fifty with a four off Jadeja in the 11th over and then picked up another boundary to complete a 100-run opening stand with De Kock. De Kock, who was subdued in the last three games, then reached his fifty in the 15th over with a single off Mustafizur, who removed him in the last ball. However, Nicholas Pooran came out with all cylinders blazing, slamming Pathirana for a maximum, before sending Mustafizur on a leather hunt. A one-handed catch from Jadeja finally ended Rahul's fabulous knock but it was too late as Pooran (23 not out) and Marcus Stoinis (8 not out) knocked off the remaining runs. Earlier, Rahul was spot on with his bowling changes as the pacers put the CSK batters under pressure initially before spinner Krunal Pandya tightened the noose in the middle overs. Opener Rachin Ravindra's (0) awful run continued as left-arm pacer Mohsin rattled his stumps, while Ruturaj Gaikwad (17) fell to Yash Thakur, who induced an outside edge from the CSK skipper. Rahane (36), who opened the innings again, played some exquisite shots, pulling LSG debutant Matt Henry for the first six of their innings as 13 came off that over. The Mumbaikar also carted two fours off Thakur to accumulate another 13 runs in the fifth over. Jadeja, promoted to no. 4, picked a boundary off Henry in the next over as CSK scored 52 for 2 in the first six overs. Owing to the slowness of the track, LSG skipper immediately introduced spinners Krunal and Bishnoi and the former struck in his second over, cleaning up Rahane. CSK's man-in-form Shivam Dube too failed to fire with Stoinis (1/7) justifying Rahul's decision to hand over the ball to him, striking in his first ball as the left-handed batter sliced one up in the air. Krunal then returned to dismiss impact player Sameer Rizvi, who paid the price for his premeditated dance down the track as CSK lost half their side with 90 on board. Jadeja, who played some cracking sweep shots, held one end up and completed his fifty with a six off Mohsin to bring out his trademark sword-wielding celebration. Rahul's decision to give another over to Bishnoi, however, backfired as Moeen slammed three sixes as 19 came off the 18th over before perishing. LSG paid the price for a sloppy overrate as Dhoni slammed a four and a six off Mohsin before smashing Thakur for another maximum. He finished the innings with two more fours as 19 came off the last over.

Air India will soon have a new crew management system that will help strengthen rostering rules and enable faster recovery from scheduled disruptions. In a message to the staff on Friday, Air India CEO and MD Campbell Wilson said that in the next two weeks, there will be the CAE Crew Management System that will "strengthen our systems' adherence to rostering rules, improving the tracking of training & qualifications, and enabling faster recovery from schedule disruptions". The new system also comes against the backdrop of concerns flagged by pilots' unions about rostering issues. "With it comes the new CAE Crew Access app, allowing the crew to seamlessly access real-time information, enjoy new capabilities (for instance, the ability to swap flights) and avail of a host of self-service tools, auto alerts, and features such as secure in-flight chats," Wilson said. Meanwhile, he said that Air India is now placing the 'AI' code on Air India Express (IX) operated flights, allowing AIX to benefit from its global sales and distribution. Air India will leverage 9 new destinations and hundreds of extra frequencies operated by AIX, and customers to enjoy the convenience of through-checkin and baggage tagging, he added. "This follows the earlier rollout of AI code on I5 flights and is a precursor to the placement of the AI code on Vistara flights too," Wilson said. The Tata Group is consolidating its airline business as part of which Vistara will get merged with Air India, while the merger of Air India Express and AIX Connect (formerly AirAsia India) is complete.

Nifty on Friday ended 151 points higher after four successive days of decline and formed a bullish reversal pattern on the daily chart.The psychological mark of 22,000 holds intermediate support, followed by strong support of the 21,800-21,700 subzone. On the higher end, the 20-DEMA placed at 22,300, followed by a bearish gap of 22,430-22,500, is likely to act as a daunting task in the near period and an authoritative breakthrough could only re-strengthen the lost momentum to the bulls of D-Street, said Osho Krishan of Angel One.What should traders do? Here’s what analysts said:Tejas Shah, JM Financial & BlinkXTechnically, the set-up is mildly negative at this point with Nifty below the crucial resistance zone of 22,300-350. A crossover beyond this area is required for the bulls to be back in the game. Any immediate closing above 22,300-350 levels should bring back fresh buying momentum. Support for Nifty is now seen at 22,000 and 21,700-800. On the higher side, the immediate resistance zone for Nifty is at 22,150-175 levels and the next crucial resistance zone is at 22,300-350 levels. Overall, the coming week should set up the market for a large trending move.Rupak De, LKP SecuritiesLooking ahead, bulls may drive Nifty's recovery towards 22,300. Furthermore, a decisive breakthrough above 22,300 could trigger a sustained rally towards 22,600. On the downside, support on a closing basis is situated at 22,000.(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views, and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)

State-run Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd (HPCL) plans to set up an international oil trading desk, a company official said. The company is currently in the process of finalizing the location. Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) is executing the Visakh Refinery Modernisation Project (VRMP) to modernize and enhance capacity ...Post modernization, the refinery will produce petrol and diesel with BS-VI specifications; increase in refining capacity from 8.33 million metric tons per annum (mmtpa) to 15 mmtpa by setting up various process and utility units and improve refinery distillate yields from 76% to 86%.A trading desk helps companies procure crude oil from the international market on a real-time basis, helping cut import prices by locking in the best price and quality.India is the world’s third-largest consumer of crude oil and depends on imports to meet over 85% of its requirements.HPCL is the second oil marketing company planning to set up an international trading unit. State-run Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd (BPCL) is also evaluating setting up a similar facility in Singapore, Dubai or Gift City in Gujarat. Indian Oil Corp. Ltd (IOCL), the country’s largest refiner and marketer, has a trading desk in Delhi.India’s public sector refiners Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL), and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) source 70% of crude oil on term contracts and the rest on a spot basis.This helps companies diversify their crude supply basket and address market volatility.Term contracts are long-term oil purchase deals with fixed volumes and pricing and spot contracts are immediate purchases from suppliersFor Indian companies, West Asia is a natural source of crude oil supply because of the region’s proximity. The trading office may help HPCL trade in energy derivatives, international financing, and other joint ventures that the company may plan in the future.HPCL had similar plans around eight years ago, which were put on the back burner as the company wanted to study the prospects of setting up a trading desk in detail.