Business News

Amid the growing might of Indian financial markets, regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has launched a free and voluntary online investor certification examination.The certificate exam is developed in collaboration with the National Institute of Securities Markets (NISM).This voluntary certification aims to help investors test their knowledge of markets and investing. It is designed to assist individuals towards gaining comprehensive knowledge about investing in the Indian securities markets.During the launch, Ananth Narayan G, Whole Time Member of Sebi, highlighted that Sebi's new investor certification examination is a significant step towards enhancing digital financial education in the securities market."This online exam will help enhance investors' understanding of the investment process and the associated risks in the securities market and thus promote an efficient approach to investment aligned with the risk appetite of the investor," Narayan said.Anyone who is keen on learning about the Indian financial markets may take the exam. There is no eligibility requirement with regards to age as well as educational qualification to take the SICE exam.To register for Sebi investor certification examination, candidate needs to fill in the online registration form available on the NISM online certification system at https://certifications.nism.ac.in.Sebi's new investor awareness program comes even as there are concerns around unregulated investment advice on the internet or elsewhere.The exam objective is to develop a foundational understanding of basic concepts of finance, including saving, investment, budgeting, inflation etc.,The certification also helps investors gain information about various government schemes, explore the structure of securities markets, including primary and secondary markets.Further investors will also get to know the role of stock exchanges, depositories, and regulatory bodies and learn about risks associated with investment such as credit risk, market risk, and liquidity risk.

Portfolio outstanding of the Microfinance sector at Rs 442.7k crore as of March 24 rose 26.8 per cent in FY' 2023-24 according to a report by credit bureau CRIF Highmark.Despite regulatory restrictions , personal loans grew the second fastest among retail assets which rose 38.3 percent. While property loans rose the fastest at 41.4 per centThe share of personal loans in the retail MFI exposure was 29 per cent in FY’2023-24 compared to 19 per cent in FY’2022-23. while that of property loans ws 2.4 per cent, almost double the level of 1.6 per cent the previous year.NBFC MFIs continued to dominate the market with portfolio share of 39.2 per cent, followed by Banks at 33.2 percent, Small Finance Banks at 16.9 per cent, NBFCs at 10.2 per cent as of March 24, CRIF said.On a year-on-year basis, NBFCs microfinance portfolio rose 45.8 per cent, the banks’ portfolio rose 25.9 percent, for NBFC MFIs the growth was 23.5 per cent, and 27 per cent for small finance banks.In terms of size, Loans in ticket size between Rs 30,000 and Rs 50,000 continues to dominate the portfolio with share of 46.9% as of March 2024. Nearly 26 percent of the originations in terms of value were from those who were new to credit, CRIF Highmark said.

Telecom company Vodafone Idea (Vi) has said that its board will meet on Thursday to consider issuing equity shares or convertible securities on a preferential basis to its vendors.Experts say this move likely is a way to fully or partly pay off its dues to vendors such as Indus Towers.“…a meeting of the Board of Directors of the Company is scheduled to be held on Thursday, 13 June 2024, inter-alia, to consider and evaluate proposals for issuance of equity shares and / or convertible securities on a preferential basis to vendors,” Vi said in a filing to the stock exchanges late Monday.Vodafone Idea owes around Rs10,000 crore to Indus Towers, according to analysts. It also has outstanding dues to equipment suppliers such as Nokia and Ericsson.Bharti Airtel chaIrman Sunil Mittal recently told ET that Vi should clear all of Indus Towers’ past dues, else the struggling telco won’t be allowed to use the tower company’s infrastructure for any new services such as 5G.Airtel is the largest stakeholder in Indus Towers, with around 48% stake.Mittal though added that the Indus board will be flexible with its decisions even if Vi pays a substantial amount and gives a schedule for the rest. "In that case, the Indus board would look into it. The idea is to get them into more tenancies and business for Indus,” Mittal said.Vi’s stock rose 2.7% to close at a price of Rs16.20 after falling in early trade on Tuesday.

Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal on Tuesday said the implementation of a uniform civil code was part of the government's agenda. He also said a solution will be found on the issue of memorandum of procedure -- a set of documents on the appointment, elevation and transfer of high court and Supreme Court judges -- pending finalisation. He also rejected suggestions that there was a conflict between the executive and the judiciary. Meghwal on Tuesday assumed charge as the minister of state (independent charge) for the ministry of law and justice. He held the same portfolio in the previous Modi government too. Responding to a question on key vacancies in his ministry, he said wherever there are vacancies, be it the Supreme Court, high court or our ministry or the subordinate courts, we will try to fill them at the earliest. On the issue of simultaneous polls, he said the committee under former president Ram Nath Kovind has submitted its report and we will inform about it later. He noted the law commission is also working on the subject. Before the law panel could submit its report, its chairperson Justice (Retd.) Ritu Raj Awasthi moved to Lokpal as a member. Responding to a question on the uniform civil code, he said that it was part of the government's agenda. The uniform civil code has remained a part of the ruling BJP's successive manifestos. Responding to a query on memorandum of procedure, Meghwal said it is pending and the government has written to the SC collegium on it. "I believe that we will certainly find a solution to it," he said. Addressing the issues of vacancies in the higher judiciary and pending cases, and finalising the Memorandum of Procedure are the key challenges before Meghwal. According to data shared by the government with Parliament, over five crore cases are pending across courts -- the lower courts, the 25 high courts and the Supreme Court. There are various reasons for the rising pendency but one of the key reasons is vacancies in the judiciary. As on June 1, while there are two vacancies in the top court, the posts of 345 judges are vacant in the high courts. While the sanctioned strength of the apex court is 34, the 25 high courts have a combined sanctioned strength of 1,114. Another key issue which Meghwal will have to handle is the finalisation of the memorandum of procedure (MoP). Seeking to replace the Collegium system of appointments of judges of the Supreme Court and the high courts with a more transparent appointment mechanism, the government had brought into operation the Constitution (99th Amendment) Act, 2014 and the National Judicial Appointments Commission Act, 2014 effective April 13, 2015. The new law was passed by the Parliament with near unanimity. However, both the Acts were challenged in the Supreme Court which in October, 2015 declared the Acts as unconstitutional and void. The Collegium system as existing prior to the enforcement of the two Acts was declared to be operative. The top court issued an order on supplementing the MoP, saying the government may finalise the document supplementing it in consultation with the chief justice of India. It was laid down that the chief justice of India will take a decision based on the unanimous view of the Collegium comprising four senior-most judges. Despite a series of back and forth between the government and the top court, the MoP's finalisation remains pending.

Nifty ended flat on Tuesday but formed a Doji candle on the daily chart and hinted at the possibility of a minor downward correction in the short term.The index is currently placed at the hurdle of 23,400-23,500 levels (1.382% Fibonacci projection), weekly hanging man and the opening downside gap of June 4, which are weighing high for the market to sustain the new all-time highs. Hence, there is a possibility of a dip in the market. Immediate support is at 23,050 levels, Nagaraj Shetti of HDFC Securities said.Open Interest (OI) data showed on the Call side, the highest OI was observed at 23,400 and 23,500 strike prices. On the Put side, the highest OI was at 23,000 strike price.What should traders do? Here’s what analysts said:Jatin Gedia, SharekhanThe hourly momentum indicator has triggered a negative crossover suggesting loss of momentum. Hence, there can be some consolidation in the near term and the Nifty is likely to drift towards 23,160 – 23,100 over the next couple of trading sessions failing to sustain can lead to a fall to 22,930. On the upside 23,420 – 23,500 is the immediate hurdle zone.Tejas Shah, JM Financial & BlinkXNifty is facing a lot of resilience around 23,340-350 levels on an immediate basis and we need to witness a decisive close above 23,340-350 levels for further strength in Nifty. We believe that Nifty will further outperform only if it is able to decisively close above this resistance zone or else profit booking is likely from the current levels. Support for the Nifty is now seen at 23,200 & 22,950-23,000 levels. On the higher side, immediate resistance is at 23,350 levels & the next resistance is at 23,500 Mark.Rupak De, LKP SecuritiesNifty remained sideways during the day as there was no directional move. The sentiment might remain sideways as well until it breaks out of the 23,150-23,350 range. Any decisive breakout on either side might confirm the future direction of the market. On the higher end, above 23,350, it might move towards 23,600. Meanwhile, support below 23,150 is placed at 23,000-22,900.(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)

The equity boom in Indian markets meant that lakhs of investors entered the investing arena, particularly post the pandemic era.This is reflected in the fact that equity investors have realized a profit of Rs 50,000 crore over the last four years and are sitting on unrealized profits of Rs 1 lakh crore on an AUM of Rs 4.5 lakh crore, according to Zerodha's Nithin Kamath."Equity investors have realized a profit of Rs 50,000 crore over the last 4+ years and are sitting on unrealized profits of Rs 1,00,000 crores on an AUM of Rs 4,50,000 crore," Kamath said in a tweet quoting his earlier statement.Kamath had earlier, in a separate tweet acknowledged, the expansion of market post Covid, based on Zerodha's growing assets under management.Indian markets are trading near all time highs following Modi-led NDA's win for the third consecutive time. Despite falling short of expectations, equities took comfort in the hopes of a stable government and policy continuity.On Tuesday, the markets remained range-bound and ended unchanged after a flat start. However, a mixed sectoral trend persisted, with realty and auto sectors edging higher and emerging as top performers, while FMCG, pharma, and banking sectors faced some profit-taking.The broader indices outperformed, with both midcap and smallcap indices gaining over half a percent.Technically, analysts said Nifty is consolidating after a sharp run up of 2,100 points in the range of last week."The hourly momentum indicator has triggered a negative crossover suggesting loss of momentum. Hence, there can be some consolidation in the near term and the Nifty is likely to drift towards 23,160–23,100 over the next couple of trading sessions failing to sustain can lead to a fall to 22,930. On the upside, 23,420–23,500 is the immediate hurdle zone. The broader market witnessed outperformance today with the Mid and Small Cap Index up by 0.81% and 0.55% respectively," said Ajit Mishra – SVP, Research, Religare Broking.(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)