Week 13

Oily ⛽

October 03, 2020

Good Morning,

Welcome! I hope you have your “Subah Kee Chai” ready and you're excited to read your weekly 10-minute digest. 

This week celebrated Gandhi Jayanti, the birth of the famous Indian freedom fighter Mahatma Gandhi. It also covered the new RBI rules for credit and debit cars, the unique transport news and some exciting news in the oil and coal mining industry. 

I hope you enjoy today's newsletter,

Now let’s get into the news.

Markets

Markets

The

closed on Thursday this week, as India celebrated Gandhi Jayanti on Friday. Both equity markets finished in the green this week due to positive cues from both the domestic and global markets. Induslnd Bank, Bajaj Finance, ICICI Bank and Axis Bank were among the top gainers at the end of the week. On the contrary, ITS, Reliance, Titan and ONGC were among the top losers. According to traders, domestic markets were positive after the Government's decision to open theatres as part of its unlock 5.0 protocol. The price of crude oil slumped while the price of gold fluctuated around the INR 50,000 mark. 

  COVID-19

Reliance life sciences announced that it has

that promises a COVID-19 test result in less than 2 hours. This new testing development will prove beneficial for individuals that need immediate testing.

In addition, the Government announced Unlock 5.0, with updated lockdown measures. Movie theatres will be allowed to function at 50% capacity, and school and colleges will be allowed to open in phases. 

Oil & Natural Gas

Commercial Mining

The Indian Government on Tuesday stated that they

from 46 companies for 23 coal blocks that were auctioned for commercial mining. The deadline for the submission of bids was Tuesday at 2 pm. 

In other news, state-owned Coal India (CIL) stated that it

of coal in September. In comparison, that is 31.6% higher than the coal production in September 2019. 

Oil

Indian oil refiner

agreed to purchase 2 million barrels of Canadian heavy crude oil per month. This decision comes after Reliance Industries halted their oil imports from Venezuela, as the country faces political turmoil and US sanctions. This purchase showcases a future growth for Canadian oil exports as a number of companies scramble to find substitutes for Venezuela. 

On the contrary,

is seeking USD 1.4 billion in losses from the Indian Government on the claim of expropriation of its investments to enforce a retrospective tax demand. In basic terms, the company seeks compensation for being treated unfairly in India. 

Lastly,

in the world, is seeking to store oil in the United States of America and other viable locations to reduce any supply risks. Up till now, the country has diversified its oil imports by expanding to the USA, Russia, and Venezuela. India currently stores 5.33 million tonnes of oil in underground storages on the east and west coast.  

Transport 

German Disagreement

Due to an

over the travel air bubble, Germany announced on Wednesday that all

between India and Germany are canceled until the 20th of October. In addition, Germany has also banned any Air India flights from flying into the country till the 14th of October. The tussle stems from a disparity in the number of flights being operated by Air India and Lufthansa under the air bubble. Both airlines are looking to end the conflict and resume flights by the end of the month. 

Automobile Boom

In the month of September,

led the pack as passenger vehicle sales boomed. In numbers, Maruti Suzuki stated that it experienced a 32.2% increase in domestic sales. In addition, Hyundai Motor reported a 23.6% increase. The primary reason for an increase in sales is the fast approaching festive season. 

Tesla

hinted on Friday that the electric car making company will look to enter the Indian market in 2021. Will the entry of Tesla push India towards a more sustainable future? 

New RBI rules

In an attempt to reduce banking fraud, the Reserve Bank of India issued

, effective from October 1st. Here is a summary of the updated guidelines:

1. New credit/debit cards will only be enabled for domestic transactions at ATM's. 

2. Users will be allowed to set up transaction limits.

3. Users can choose their daily spending and withdrawal limits. 

4. Card holders will be allowed to enable and disable certain services on their cards. 

5. The RBI has asked all commercial banks to disable online payment services for cards which have never indulged in any form on online payment in India or abroad. 

Sports 

Week 2 of the IPL comes to a close with the Royal Challengers Bangalore sitting at the top of table, however the Delhi Capitals have a game in hand. 

On the contrary, the Chennai Super Kings aren't having the best of seasons sitting with just 2 points at the bottom of the table. MS Dhoni became the

surpassing Suresh Raina. The captain marked his 194th appearance in Friday's game against Sunrisers Hyderabad. 

Other News

1. The Indian Government is planning to sell 25% stake in the nation's largest life insurer,

. 

2. E-commerce platform

into its Indian stores to compete against Walmart-owned Flipkart and Mukesh Ambani's Reliance JioMart during the festive season. 

3.

stated that its bank accounts in India were completely frozen by the Indian Government after a constant tussle between the two parties.

4.

Mohsin and Zuber Issa acquire the largest stake in UK-based supermarket chain Asda in a deal worth USD 8.8 billion. 

5.

announced that it was opening a new office in Hyderabad. This office will be its second in India, with the first office in Bengaluru.  

Quiz

Quiz time! 

What is represented by the following?

HANY

HAEY

HAEY

HADY

HALY

HAEY

Think!

See you next week!

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Quiz Answer: a "NEEDLE" in a hay stack. 

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Written by: Adnan Bahrainwala (Founder of Subah Kee Chai)