The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on March 1 said that 97.62 percent of the Rs 2,000 currency notes in circulation as of May 19, 2023, have returned to the banking system. The total value of such banknotes in circulation declined to Rs 8,470 crore at the close of business on February 29, 2024, from Rs 3.56 lakh crore at the close of business on May 19, 2023, when the withdrawal of Rs 2,000 banknotes

Passenger Vehicle (PV) sales continue to move northwards for the second month in a row this year as carmakers have despatched nearly 360,000 units to their dealers, as per industry data. Sustained demand for Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs), buoyant consumer sentiments, easier availability of waitlisted models, coupled with new rollouts is driving up volumes by nearly 8 percent year-on-year.

While acknowledging the importance of the environment and its long-term impact on organisations and economy as a whole, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has now released a draft framework for banks to follow. As per the framework, banks will be mandated to disclose those climate-related risks which have a bearing on their financial stability.

The inversion in the yield curve between Treasury bills and the 10-year benchmark bond is likely to sustain till the time the liquidity conditions in the banking system eases, money market experts said. Yield inversion happens when the yield on short-term debt instruments trades higher than longer-term ones.

The Rs 224-crore initial public offering (IPO) of Mukka Proteins was subscribed 4.55 times on March 1, the second day of bidding. Retail investors led the race, subscribing 7.1 times the quota of shares set aside for them. High net-worth individuals picked 3.33 times their allotted quota and qualified institutional buyers 1.02 times their reserved portion.

The National Stock Exchange (NSE) is going to conduct a special live trading session on Saturday, March 2, 2024, with an intraday switchover to a disaster recovery (DR) site. The NSE special session is being conducted to strengthen the exchanges in the event of any unforeseen incident, which may impact their operations. So, the Indian stock market is expected to remain open on Saturday this week.

Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia will virtually launch the first green hydrogen plant of Jindal Stainless Ltd on March 4. The plant is touted to be the stainless steel industry's first green hydrogen project, according to the company. It was earlier set to be unveiled on February 27. The facility, located in Hisar, Haryana, is projected to lower carbon emissions by about 2,700 metric tonnes.

Shares of ICICI Bank rallied 3 percent to hit a 52-week high of Rs 1,085.3 on March 1 after the private lender upped his stake in ICICI Lombard General Insurance via an open market transaction, the second such purchase in a week. The transaction came within days of the private sector lender purchasing a 1.6 percent stake in the issuer for Rs 1,356 crore.

Kotak Securities downgrades the rating on Canara Bank and Punjab National Bank. The brokerage firm has downgraded the rating of Canara Bank to “Reduce” while that of Punjab National Bank to “Sell”. However, it iterates a “Buy” rating on the stock of State Bank of India, said preferred stock among PSU banks. Kotak has maintained the “Add” rating for Bank of Baroda and Union Bank. 

Sona Machinery IPO: Agro-processing original equipment manufacturer Sona Machinery Limited has received approval from the National Stock Exchange (NSE) for its proposed fundraising through an initial public offering (IPO). The issue, which will open on March 5 and close on March 7, 2024, will see a fresh issue of up to 3,624,000 equity shares with a face value of ₹10 per share.

The benchmark Nifty 50's ascent to its new peak above the 22,300-mark on March 1 was driven by solid gains in a slew of index heavyweight stocks like Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Larsen & Toubro, and State Bank of India. These stocks cumulatively contributed around half of the Nifty 50's 1.4 percent rise. Among those, ICICI Bank contributed the biggest chunk of gains.

Shares of JSW Steel jumped over 4.4% on Friday to hit their day's high of Rs 835.60 on the NSE after the company announced incorporating a wholly-owned arm JSW Green Steel Ltd for the manufacture of hot-rolled and cold-rolled steel products. The stock also breached the Rs 2 lakh crore market capitalisation mark in the process. At 11:32 am, the market cap of JSW Steel stood at Rs 2.03 lakh crore..

NSC vs ELSS: Numerous products qualify for tax benefits under Section 80C, including insurance, tax-saving fixed deposits, NSC, and ELSS. The suitability of an investment product depends on factors like risk tolerance, time horizon, and future fund needs.ELSS Mutual FundsEquity Linked Saving Scheme (ELSS) mutual funds offer tax deductions up to ₹1,50,000 annually under Section 80C.

The job market for freshers in India presented a complex picture, marked by a 12 percent decline in hiring in February 2024, compared to the same period in 2023, according to foundit Insights Tracker (fit) by talent platform foundit (formerly Monster APAC & ME). Despite this drop, the landscape revealed a notable surge in applications, witnessing a 24 percent increase.

To ensure effective recovery of property, water and other taxes and better tracking of defaulters, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) has decided to roll out a GIS-based survey and map about two million properties across the city. As part of this project, the civic body will use latest high-resolution satellite data and drones to capture boundaries.