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Mobile phone manufacturing in value terms jumped 21-fold to Rs 4.1 lakh crore in India in the last 10 years as government policy measures like PLI played a critical role in attracting global players to boost local production, industry body ICEA said in a statement. India now produces 97 per cent of its total mobile phone demand locally and 30 per cent of the total production in financial year 2024 is meant for export, the India Cellular and Electronics Association said. "Mobile phone production surged from Rs 18,900 crore in 2014-15 to an estimated Rs 4,10,000 crore in FY'24, registering an increase of 2000 per cent. In 2014-15, mobile phone exports from India were a mere Rs 1,556 crore. The industry expects to end FY24 with an estimated export of Rs 1,20,000 crore. This would mean a 7500 per cent increase in exports over a decade," ICEA said. According to a note on manufacturing, in the field of smartphones, Apple and Samsung, have played a crucial role in boosting mobile phone exports from the country. India manufactured devices are being exported in large volumes to the UK, Netherlands, Austria, and Italy besides Middle East and North Africa and South American markets, the note said. "30 per cent of production in FY'24 will now be meant for exports. The industry expects to end FY'24 with an estimated export of Rs 1.2 lakh crore. Driven by this export growth, mobile phones have now become India's 5th largest export as an individual commodity," the industry body said. In May 2017, the Indian government announced the Phased Manufacturing Programme (PMP) to promote the domestic production of mobile handsets. This initiative helped build a robust indigenous mobile manufacturing ecosystem in India and incentivized large-scale manufacturing. From just 2 mobile phone factories in 2014, India now has become the second largest mobile phone producer in the world. The Production Linked Incentive scheme for Large-Scale Electronics Manufacturing (LSEM) and for IT hardware has played an instrumental role in making India a competitive destination for electronics manufacturing. The PLI scheme offers incentives ranging from 3 to 5 per cent of the incremental sales value for a stipulated period to eligible players. The PLI scheme has attracted leading global contract manufacturers, including Foxconn, Pegatron, Rising Star and Wistron to set up a production base in India. Samsung on the other hand, operates its second-largest mobile phone factory in Noida. "This exponential growth in production, exports and self-sufficiency stems from a conducive policy environment, and a close working relationship between industry and key Government Ministries such as the Ministry of Electronics and IT, DPIIT, Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Finance, NITI Aayog and the PMO," ICEA said.

A day after India crushed England in Dharamsala to win the five-match series 4-1, the Men in Blue claimed the top spot in the ICC Test rankings, overtaking Australia in the latest pecking order released by the world governing body for cricket on Sunday.India, currently leading the World Test Championship (WTC) standings, have now ascended to the top position in the ICC rankings across all three formats of the game.Rohit Sharma's side will remain at the top of the chart irrespective of the result of the second Test between New Zealand and Australia currently underway in Christchurch.Australia, the current champions of the World Test Championship, are ahead in the two-Test series with a 1-0 lead after securing a 172-run win in Wellington.India holds a Test ranking of 122 points, leading Australia by a margin of five points, while England follows closely in third place with 111 rating points.In ODIs, India have 121 rating points, with Australia a close second with 118 points.In the T20Is, India have 266 rating points, with England (256) at the second spot.India were the world No.1 Test side from September 2023 to January 2024, before they slipped to second spot after a drawn away series against South Africa.Australia overtook India at the top of the Test rankings, after sweeping the three-Test series against Pakistan at home.India's five-Test series against England saw them lose the first Test in Hyderabad by 28 runs. But the home team bounced back in style to win the remaining four Tests.Victories in Visakhapatnam, Rajkot, Ranchi and Dharamsala helped them reclaim the top position in the Test rankings.(With PTI inputs)

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is set to begin its next lunar mission, Chandrayaan-4, aiming to bring back moon rocks and soil (regolith) to Earth. This mission will involve the use of two separate rockets – the heavy-lifter LVM-3 and ISRO's reliable workhorse PSLV – to carry distinct payloads for the same lunar mission.“The aim of the mission is to collect samples from the lunar surface and return the samples safely to Earth for scientific studies,” according to a recent presentation by Isro chairman S Somanath at National Space Science Symposium.Scheduled for launch no earlier than 2028, Chandrayaan-4 will mark India's entry into the select group of nations with the capability to collect samples from the lunar surface and safely return them to Earth for scientific studies.According to ISRO Chairman S Somanath's recent presentation at the National Space Science Symposium, Chandrayaan-4 will feature five spacecraft modules:Propulsion ModuleDescender ModuleAscender ModuleTransfer ModuleRe-entry ModuleThis comprehensive setup distinguishes Chandrayaan-4 from previous Moon missions, which involved 2-3 modules. The mission's primary goal is to collect lunar samples, contributing valuable insights to scientific studies.The successful execution of Chandrayaan-4 would position India as the fourth nation globally to achieve the capability of bringing back samples from the lunar surface. This ambitious venture underlines ISRO's continuous efforts to push the boundaries of space exploration and enhance India's standing in space research and technology.with TOI inputs

There are a host of corporate actions scheduled for this week. SBI Life Insurance Company, IIFL Securities, and Kirloskar Ferrous Industries will trade ex-dividend, while Waaree Renewable Technologies will trade ex-split this week.On Thursday, 14 March, Data Infrastructure Trust and Wonder Electricals (Re 1/share) will trade ex-dividend.Meanwhile, Autoriders International (Rs 0.5/share), IIFL Securities (Rs 3/share), India Gelatine & Chemicals (Rs 10/share), ISMT (Rs 0.5/share), Kirloskar Ferrous Industries (Rs 3/share), and SBI Life Insurance Company will trade ex-dividend on Friday, 15 March.The ex-dividend date is when the price of the equity shares of a company gets adjusted for the dividend payout. It is one or two working days before the record date. All the shareholders whose names appear in the company's list by the end of the record date will be eligible to receive dividends.Shares of OK Play India (Rs 10 to Rs 1) on Monday, while Waaree Renewable Technologies ( Rs 10 to Rs 2) on Friday will ex-split.A stock split is usually done to increase the liquidity of the stock in the market. On the ex-split date, investors who are holding the stock until the record date will receive the new shares in Demat accounts, and the stock price will be adjusted according to the split ratio.Shares of Gujarat Ambuja Exports (1:1) and MK Proteins (2:1) on Friday will be ex-bonus.A company issues bonus shares for shareholders to increase the liquidity of the stock as well as to decrease its stock price to make it affordable for investors.Bonus shares are fully paid additional shares issued by a company to its existing shareholders. When a firm issues bonus shares, its shareholders do not have to incur any extra costs to get them. The number of bonus shares you receive depends on the number of shares of the firm you already hold.The bonus shares once allotted will rank pari‐passu in all respects and carry the same rights as the existing equity shares and will be entitled to participate in full in any dividend and other corporate actions recommended.Whereas, the record date for the right issue of Arunjyoti Bio Ventures is fixed on Tuesday, 12 March 2024.A rights issue is a prevalent form of corporate action where the company invites existing shareholders to buy additional shares in the company at a discounted price within the said period (the cut-off date).However, as existing shareholders of the company, you do not have an obligation to buy additional shares. If you think the company has a flourishing business, you can apply for the rights issue and increase your stake within the company.

Sudip Bandyopadhyay, Group Chairman, Inditrade Capital, says "there is a strong speculation that Tata Sons will get listed in the near future and the best way to play that will be probably through Tata Chemicals; that is the conventional thinking in the market and that led to this kind of massive rise in the share price of Tata Chemicals." One cannot take eyes off the Tata Group names! With all the talk around Tata Sons, look at the move on Tata Power, Tata Chemicals, Tata Steel. All group companies are holding up.Sudip Bandyopadhyay: Absolutely. I think the buzz around listing of Tata Sons is gaining momentum considering the timelines suggested by RBI when they came out with the new set of regulations. There is a strong speculation that Tata Sons will get listed in the near future and the best way to play that will be probably through Tata Chemicals; that is the conventional thinking in the market and that led to this kind of massive rise in the share price of Tata Chemicals. Other companies are also benefiting from that halo effect. I am not saying they are not doing well. Whether it is Indian Hotels or Tata Power, Tata Motors, all of them have their individual reasons for getting a good valuation and doing well. But this is the halo effect of Tata Sons IPO and its effect what it can have on Tata Chemicals shares and shareholders. So, pretty much that is what it is. If somebody has to look at the Tata Group, I would think Tata Steel is still the best possible buy. The way the steel industry is poised, the way the global steel manufacturing and demand is shaping up, the strong demand of steel in India considering the massive infra and construction spends we are witnessing now and likely to witness in the near future, Tata Steel at current level is a good long-term buy.You run an NBFC, you have worked in one and you have obviously invested in many. The slight nudge at NBFCs as RBI the Governor himself alluded to, has led the froth being corrected from many of these NBFCs. Bajaj Finance, IIFL Finance, JM and many others. Some fell in sympathy which had nothing to do with some of the most conservative names from the south also fell. Would you recommend buying any of those, utilising this fall and getting into some good names?Sudip Bandyopadhyay: There was regulatory action on India Infoline (IIFL Finance) in gold loan business. Muthoot and Manappuram definitely were good buys and they continue to remain good buys. The restriction on IIFL definitely benefits Muthoot and Manappuram. Out of the two, Manappuram, considering the valuation, is interesting at this stage. As far as other NBFCs are concerned and the RBI action is concerned, obviously the action is on the back of non-compliance of regulations and some kind of violations which RBI is cracking down on. This will, in the long run, bring much more discipline and it is good for the overall industry structurally in the long run. Of course, when some action like this gets taken, the shareholders gets nervous and the price correction, price action permeates across the industry and sometimes it looks unfair. Some of these stocks corrected though they had no reason to correct based on action on JM or IIFL. Obviously that was overdone and they are making a comeback. But if I have to buy an NBFC, I still will go for Manappuram at this stage. Other NBFCs are doing good work, but the valuation at this stage looks full in most of the cases. Among new age companies, Paytm has been in news. What about the other names Delhivery, PB Fintech, Nykaa? Zomato is currently around Rs 160,170. Do you see that trending higher?Sudip Bandyopadhyay: Absolutely. if you see the new-age companies, leaving aside Paytm, the realisation came pretty fast that in the listed space profitability is extremely important and without that investors are not going to like and give the valuation which they are demanding and that is why though the course correction by pretty much all these companies and we have seen the results.As far as Nykaa is concerned I always believe that the beauty and fashion is one business which globally has been doing very well. We all know of LVMH, one of the richest companies and one of the top performing companies for the last one decade almost and the owner is the one of the richest persons in the world, so if you are in similar space, pretty much in an organised and structured manner, you are bound to do well and Nykaa is getting its act together. I heard the commentary and we are seeing the performance improving. So long term, it is a good story. As far as PB Fintech is concerned, again insurance is an area which is grossly under penetrated in India and PB Fintech is the only company which has till now successfully digitally started sourcing insurance in a big way and that puts them in a unique position. The performance parameters have been improving dramatically and I think again they have a good runway. I am also positive on Delhivery. This is an age-old business, Logistics is thousand-year-old business. They are just trying to bring in technology and do it more efficiently. So, yes, once they get their act together, that is going to be an excellent company. They have not performed well as far as the quarterly numbers are concerned for quite many quarters, but it may be the time for the investors to start getting into Delhivery because the turnaround may come very soon.What is your view on Tata Power and Tata Chemicals?Sudip Bandyopadhyay: As far as Tata Power is concerned, we like Tata Power. In fact, all these power producing companies, which are predominantly thermal power, are transitioning beautifully into a mixed company which is they will continue to have thermal and they are also setting up massive green energy capacity. Tata Power has been doing that. The green energy part is very interesting and that is coming up pretty well. As far as the entire power sector is concerned, the demand is robust and the only challenge as far as Tata Power is concerned was the Mundra but we believe that that also is getting close to resolution and that should do wonders for Tata Power's balance sheet. On the whole, we like Tata Power, but if I have to pick up one stock in this space, it will continue to be NTPC. We like NTPC over Tata Power, but Tata Power will be the second pick. As far as Tata Chemicals is concerned, they have done phenomenally well over the last few quarters. I am not talking about stock market performance, I am talking about financial performance. I think they have done pretty well. Their soda ash business has been doing well. Now, the question remains, the current excitement. I think that is pretty much on the back of Tata Son’s listing because Tata Chemicals will probably benefit the most if that listing happens.