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The SME IPO of Medicamen Organics opened for subscription on Friday and will close on June 24. The company aims to raise about Rs 10.54 crore through the SME IPO and list the shares on BSE SME platform. Here are 10 key things investors need to know about the public offer before subscribing to the issue.1) About Medicamen OrganicsMedicamen Organics is engaged in developing, manufacturing and distribution of broad range of pharmaceutical dosage including genericdosage in form of Tablets, Capsules, Oral Liquids, Ointments, Gel, Syrups, Suspension and Dry powders for government (including both state and central governments) and private institutions as contract manufacturer.2) Industry overviewAccording to a recent EY FICCI report, there has been growing consensus over providing new innovative therapies to patients. The Indian pharmaceutical market is estimated to touch $130 billion in value by the end of 2030. Meanwhile, the global market size of pharmaceutical products is estimated to cross over the $1 trillion mark in 2024.3) Medicamen Organics IPO sizeThe IPO is completely a fresh equity issue of 31 lakh shares and through the issue, the company plans to raise around Rs 10.5 crore.4) Medicamen Organics IPO price bandThe company is offering its shares at Rs 32-34 apiece, and investors can bid for 4,000 shares in 1 lot.5) Medicamen Organics IPO financial performanceFor the period ended March 2024, the company clocked revenues of Rs 25.27 crore and net profit of Rs 2.4 crore.6) Objects of the offerThe net proceeds from the public offer will be used for product registration in the international markets, plant updation and increase in production capacity, working capital requirements and other general corporate purposes.7) Lead managers and RegistrarGYR Capital Advisors is acting as the lead manager to the issue and Kfin Technologies is the registrar.8) Issue structureAbout 50% of the offer is reserved for QIB investors, 35% for retail investors and the rest 15% for other investors.9) Important datesThe IPO opened on June 21 and will close on June 25. The final allotment will likely be made on June 26. The company's shares will likely get listed on June 28.10) Medicamen Organics GMPAhead of the issue opening, the company's shares were trading with a GMP of Rs 60 in the unlisted market.

Food inflation in India, driven by supply-side factors like adverse weather affecting crops, has remained at around 8 per cent year-on-year since November 2023 and is unlikely to ease any time soon, despite early arrival of monsoon rains and forecasts of above-normal rainfall. Elevated prices of food, which accounts for nearly half of the overall consumer price basket, has kept headline inflation above the central bank's target of 4 per cent, preventing it from cutting interest rates. WHAT IS DRIVING FOOD INFLATION HIGHER?A drought last year and an ongoing heat wave have significantly reduced the supplies of foods like pulses, vegetables, and cereals. Curbs on food exports and reducing tariffs on imports have had little effect.111129310 Although vegetable supplies generally decrease during the summer months, this year's decline is much more pronounced. Temperatures in nearly half of the country are soaring 4-9 degrees Celsius above normal, spoiling harvested and stored vegetables and hindering the planting of crops such as onions, tomatoes, eggplant and spinach. Farmers usually prepare vegetable seedlings before the June-September monsoon rains and transplant them to the main fields afterward. However, this year, the excessive heat and water scarcity have disrupted both seedling planting and replanting, further exacerbating the shortage of vegetables. WHY HAS THE MONSOON NOT HELPED?The annual monsoon, on which India's agricultural output is dependent, arrived early in the southern tip of the country and advanced swiftly to cover the western state of Maharashtra ahead of schedule. However, this initial momentum soon waned, resulting in a 18 per cent rainfall deficit so far this season. Besides triggering the heat wave, the weakened monsoon has delayed the planting of summer-sown crops, which can only proceed at full pace with sufficient rainfall.111092175 Despite June's patchy rains, India's weather office has forecast above average rainfall for the rest of the monsoon season. WHEN WILL PRICES COME DOWN? Vegetable prices are expected to fall from August onwards if the monsoon revives and covers the entire country as per the usual schedule. However, floods or a prolonged dry spell in July and August could disrupt the production cycle. Prices of milk, cereals and pulses are unlikely to decrease soon due to tight supplies. Wheat supplies are dwindling, and the government has announced no plans to import grain, which will allow wheat prices to rise further.111114570 Rice prices may increase as the government on Wednesday raised the minimum support price, or buying price, of paddy rice by 5.4 per cent. Supplies of pulses, such as pigeon peas, black matpe and chickpeas, were severely affected by last year's drought, and will not improve until the new season crops are harvested. Sugar prices are likely to remain high as next season's production is expected to fall due to lower planting. CAN GOVERNMENT INTERVENTION HELP?Yes, government interventions such as restricting exports and easing imports can help bring down the prices of some food commodities. However, the government can do little when it comes to prices of vegetables, which are highly perishable and difficult to import. The government has implemented various measures to bring down food prices by restricting exports of sugar, rice, onions and wheat. However, these measures have proved unpopular among farmers, and led to losses in the general election for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in rural areas. State elections are approaching in Maharashtra and Haryana, where a significant farmer population will decide the outcome. The central government has been trying to win back farmers' support and may allow prices of some crops to rise instead of taking aggressive measures before the elections, which are due in October.

On Wednesday, US-based technology giant Nvidia Corp raced to the top of the global market-cap rankings, surpassing giants like Microsoft and Apple. With a market-cap of $3.335 trillion, Nvidia is now more valuable than some of the biggest global markets.111153838

HDFC Bank is discussing with investors and the regulator a plan through which the country's most-valued lender would buy back some of the bonds issued by the erstwhile HDFC, and replace these instruments with new infrastructure bonds to be sold to the same set of investors holding the securities.This exercise, if approved, would help HDFC Bank cut interest costs as bank infrastructure bonds have the advantage of exemptions from regulatory reserve requirements like Statutory Liquidity Ratio and Cash Reserve Ratio."They (HDFC Bank) are likely to come out with a large infrastructure bond issuance soon. What they are proposing to some investors like insurance companies is that based on their subscription to the new infrastructure bond issuance, the bank would buy back securities that had been issued by HDFC Ltd before the merger was effected," a source aware of the developments said.Given that a proposal of this sort would require the approval of the Reserve Bank of India, HDFC Bank is in talks with the regulator on the matter, sources said.Emails sent to the RBI and HDFC Bank seeking comment on the matter did not receive responses by the time of publication.ET had reported last week that HDFC Bank is likely to soon issue infrastructure bonds worth around ₹10,000-15,000 crore."There are various ideas being floated around and this could be one of them. Nothing prevents a bank or company from buying back a bond. Having said that, any such proposal needs to be examined for legal and regulatory compliance before a concrete plan is made," said another person close to the development.From April 2022 - when the merger between HDFC Limited and HDFC Bank was announced - to the implementation of the merger in July 2023, HDFC Limited had issued bonds worth around ₹1.2 lakh crore. HDFC Bank had requested the RBI to allow the lender to classify the bonds issued by the former NBFC as infrastructure bonds after the merger.For insurance companies, HDFC Bank's proposal to buy back bonds that had been issued by HDFC Limited would open up investment limits to the Banking Financial Services and Insurance (BFSI) sector.These limits were progressively filled up after the merger as what earlier counted as infrastructure exposure to HDFC bonds, would now be considered as BFSI exposure to HDFC Bank. However, with the central bank having declined that request, HDFC Bank faces a tricky situation on the maintenance of reserves as the merged entity has seen a sharp increase in liabilities while inheriting a relatively low-yielding home loan portfolio from HDFC Limited.

WASHINGTON: The Biden administration on Thursday announced plans to bar the sale of antivirus software made by Russia's Kaspersky Lab in the United States, with Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo saying that Russia's influence over the company poses a significant security risk. The software's privileged access to a computer's systems could allow it to steal sensitive information from American computers or install malware and withhold critical updates, enhancing the threat, a source said, noting that Kaspersky's customers include critical infrastructure providers and state and local governments. "Russia has shown it has the capacity and ... the intent to exploit Russian companies like Kaspersky to collect and weaponize the personal information of Americans and that is why we are compelled to take the action that we are taking today," Raimondo said on a briefing call with reporters. Kaspersky said it believed the U.S. decision was based on "the present geopolitical climate and theoretical concerns, rather than on a comprehensive evaluation of the integrity of Kaspersky's products and services." In an emailed statement, Kaspersky added that its activities did not threaten U.S. national security and that it will pursue legal options to preserve its operations. The Russian Embassy did not respond to requests for comment. Previously, Kaspersky has said that it is a privately managed company with no ties to the Russian government. The sweeping new rule, using broad powers created by the administration of former President Donald Trump, will be coupled with another move to add three units of the company to a trade restriction list, Raimondo said, dealing a blow to Kaspersky's reputation that could hammer its overseas sales. The plan to add the cybersecurity company to the entity list, which effectively bars a company's U.S. suppliers from selling to it, and the timing and details of the software sales prohibition were first reported by Reuters. The moves show the Biden administration is trying to stamp out any risks of Russian cyberattacks stemming from Kaspersky software and keep squeezing Moscow as its war effort in Ukraine has regained momentum and the United States has run low on fresh sanctions it can impose on Russia. It also shows the administration is harnessing a powerful new authority that allows it to ban or restrict transactions between U.S. firms and internet, telecom and tech companies from "foreign adversary" nations like Russia and China. "We would never give an adversarial nation the keys to our networks or devices, so it's crazy to think that we would continue to allow Russian software with the deepest possible device access to be sold to Americans," said Democratic Senator Mark Warner, chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee. The new restrictions on inbound sales of Kaspersky software, which will also bar downloads of software updates, resales and licensing of the product, kick in on Sept. 29, 100 days after publication, to give businesses time to find alternatives. New U.S. business for Kaspersky will be blocked 30 days after the restrictions are announced. Sales of white-labeled products - that integrate Kaspersky into software sold under a different brand name - will also be barred, the source said, adding that the Commerce Department will notify companies before taking enforcement action against them. The Commerce Department will also entity list two Russian and one UK-based unit of Kaspersky for allegedly cooperating with Russian military intelligence to support Moscow's cyber intelligence goals. Kaspersky's Russian business is already subject to sweeping U.S. export restrictions over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. But its UK-based unit will now be effectively barred from receiving goods from American suppliers. GROWING PRESSUREKaspersky has long been in regulators' crosshairs. In 2017, the Department of Homeland Security banned its flagship antivirus product from federal networks, alleging ties to Russian intelligence and noting Russian law lets intelligence agencies compel assistance from Kaspersky and intercept communications using Russian networks. Media reports at the time alleged Kaspersky Lab was involved in taking hacking tools from a National Security Agency employee that ended up in the hands of the Russian government. Kaspersky responded by saying it had stumbled upon the code but said no third parties saw it. Pressure on the company's U.S. business grew after Moscow's move against Kyiv. The U.S. government privately warned some American companies the day after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 that Moscow could manipulate software designed by Kaspersky to cause harm, Reuters reported. The war also prompted the Commerce Department to ramp up a national security probe into the software, first reported by Reuters, that resulted in Thursday's action. Under the new rules, sellers and resellers that violate the restrictions will face fines from the Commerce Department, the source added. If someone willfully violates the prohibition, the Justice Department can bring a criminal case. Software users will not face legal penalties but will be strongly encouraged to stop using it. Kaspersky, which has a British holding company and operations in Massachusetts, said in a corporate profile that it generated revenue of $752 million in 2022 from more than 220,000 corporate clients in some 200 countries. Its website lists Italian vehicle maker Piaggio, Volkswagen's retail division in Spain and the Qatar Olympic Committee among its customers.