Top headlines: HDFC Q2 profit tanks 28%, factory output hits decade high

From NIIF foraying into road and highway sector to HDFC Q2 profit declining, Business Standard brings you top news of the evening

HDFC Q2 net profit tanks 28% YoY to Rs 2,870 crore, beats Street estimates

Housing financier HDFC’s net profit for September quarter of FY21 tumbled 27.5 per cent to Rs 2,870.12 crore, less than Street's expectations of over 50 per cent decline, supported by gain from stake sale HDFC Life during the quarter. It had clocked a net profit of Rs 3,961.5 crore in the year-ago period. On a consolidated basis, the profit declined 53.15 per cent to Rs 5,035.41 crore from Rs 10,748.69 crore clocked in Q2FY20. The lender has set aside provisions worth Rs 436 crore in the September quarter of FY21. Read More...

Factory output hits decade high in October as demand bounces back: PMI

India's factory activity expanded at its fastest pace in over a decade in October as demand and output continued to recover strongly from coronavirus-related disruptions, but firms cut more jobs, a private survey showed. Asia's third-largest economy is healing after shrinking a record 23.9 per cent in the April-June quarter. The Indian government has removed most restrictions imposed to control the spread of the virus, though infections continue to climb and now number over 8 million people. Read More...

Bad debt will hinder India's economic recovery: Ex-RBI Guv Subbarao

Indian banks saddled with the world’s worst bad debt pile pose a risk to the nation’s economic growth unless the government steps in to recapitalize some of them, according to three former central bank chiefs in a soon-to-be released book. The problem though is that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has very little resources to help the banks after pledging money to fight the pandemic’s fallout, the ex-central bankers say in the book, “Pandemonium: The Great Indian Banking Tragedy”. The reason: falling revenues that are seen causing the fiscal deficit to blow out to double that budgeted. Read More...

Mills across India want people to consume more sugar: Here is why

In a world where sugar has attracted increasing scrutiny for its impact on health and obesity, there are moves afoot in the biggest consuming country to persuade people to eat more of the sweetener. Mills in India are eyeing increased consumption as a way to cut the nation’s chronic oversupply, which stems partly from the favorable incentives provided to growers in politically powerful rural areas. High production costs mean the country finds it hard to sell sugar on the global market without subsidies. Read More...

NIIF enters road and highway sector with acquisition of two Essel projects

The National Infrastructure Investment Fund (NIIF) has acquired Essel Devanahalli Tollway and Essel Dichpally Tollway from Essel Infraprojects, the wholly-owned subsidiary of Subhash Chandra’s debt-laden Essel group. NIIF had earlier tried to enter in the highway sector by acquiring other operational highway projects either from private operators or through the toll-operate-transfer (TOT) monetisation mode of the government. With this acquisition, NIIF has taken its first step to build its portfolio in the road and highway sector, said an official statement. Read More...