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India is celebrating <keyword id="23288581" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Dhanteras" source="keywords">Dhanteras</keyword> today, even as the public remains cautious about adding gold's glitter to their portfolios, given the metal's sky-high prices. <keyword id="19910265" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="gold-prices" source="keywords">Gold prices</keyword> went past the Rs 81,000 mark today in Delhi. Per IBJA (<keyword id="20397944" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="India-Bullion-and-Jewellers-Association" source="keywords">India Bullion and Jewellers Association</keyword> Ltd.), the cost of 24K gold stood at Rs 7,885/gram today, while 22K gold was priced at Rs 7,695/gram. While jewelers anticipate some increase in customer footfall today, between afternoon and late evening, the All India Gem and Jewellery Domestic Council expects sales volumes to remain steady at around 20 tons. However, per their estimates, sales this year might be down by 5% compared to last year. The <keyword id="19921618" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Confederation-of-All-India-Traders" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Confederation of All India Traders" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Confederation of All India Traders">Confederation of All India Traders</keyword> (CAIT) projects nationwide retail trade worth Rs 50,000 crore during this Dhanteras. Even quick-commerce companies are cashing in on the Dhanteras sentiment. While Blinkit has partnered with Joyalukkas and Malabar Gold and Diamonds to deliver gold and silver coins in 10 minutes, Zepto has teamed with Augmont and Malabar for the same. Per media reports, Swiggy Instamart has partnered with Muthoot Exim and Malabar, while BigBasket has tied up with Tanishq. Legend has it that it was on this day that Lord Dhanvantari, the deity of health, appeared today, making brass utensils particularly auspicious for purchase. People also seek blessings from Lord Ganesha, Goddess Lakshmi, and Lord Kuber, and it is considered auspicious to buy gold and silver jewelry, utensils, kitchenware, vehicles, garments, and electronics on this day. <h2>The appreciation of gold</h2> Gold has had a great run this year, having a YTD (yield-to-date) of 24%. Despite high prices, the demand for gold this festive and wedding season is expected to remain buoyant in India. The yellow metal's demand as a haven has jumped up significantly in recent times, owing to <keyword id="19955176" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="geopolitical-tensions" source="keywords">geopolitical tensions</keyword> like the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict. Moreover, with governments across the world trying to tame inflation and boost spending by way of rate cuts, gold is increasingly being seen as an effective hedge against inflation. Experts suggest that the demand is set to remain elevated for the times to come. "The immediate outlook for gold remains robust, supported by the recent import duty reduction from 15% to 6%, which has already stirred significant market activity with imports doubling year-over-year. Despite price changes, the traditional festive and wedding seasons continue driving strong demand, with consumers adapting their purchasing patterns," says Vikas Singh, Managing Director &amp; CEO of MMTC-PAMP. "Looking ahead, multiple structural factors paint a positive long-term picture. There is an overall trend of increasing gold holdings providing sustained price support. While physical gold remains paramount, there's increasing interest in gold investments, particularly among urban consumers," he continues. <h2>How to check if your gold is pure </h2>First, always make sure to buy only hallmarked physical gold. "Hallmarking is the accurate determination and official recording of the proportionate content of precious metal in the precious metal article. Hallmarking provides consumers with third-party assurance and satisfaction that they get the right purity of gold (or silver), the government noted in a press release yesterday, urging customers to buy only <keyword id="23040621" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="hallmarked-gold" source="keywords">hallmarked gold</keyword> and silver. Hallmarked gold is characterized by a few specific marks, like the logo of BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards), the jeweler's mark, and that of the hallmarking center. During the process of hallmarking, each piece of gold or silver is assigned a 6-digit alphanumeric code or HUID (Hallmark Unique Identification). Download the BIS Care app on your phone and enter this code using the verify HUID icon on the app. This will help you test the veracity of your purchased gold.

Gold continues to shine bright on Dhanteras, but should you participate in the glitter?

America's absurd war on 'organized retail crime'

The Reserve Bank on Friday announced the launch of a mobile app to enable <keyword id="19972907" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="retail-investors" source="keywords">retail investors</keyword> to participate in government securities (<keyword id="21202837" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="G-Secs" source="keywords">G-Secs</keyword>) or <keyword id="20283766" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="government-bonds" source="keywords">government bonds</keyword> market. <keyword id="21202838" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="rbi-retail-direct-scheme" source="keywords">RBI Retail Direct Scheme</keyword>, launched in November 2021, gives access to individual investors to maintain gilt accounts with the <keyword id="19899808" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="RBI" source="keywords">RBI</keyword> and invest in government securities. The Scheme enables investors to buy securities in primary auctions as well as buy/sell securities through the <keyword id="382785" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Negotiated-Dealing-System" source="Orion">Negotiated Dealing System</keyword> - <keyword id="21202839" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Order-Matching-system" source="Orion">Order Matching system</keyword> (NDS-OM) platform. "To further improve ease of access, a mobile application of the Retail Direct portal is being developed. The app will enable investors to buy and sell instruments on the go, at their convenience. The app will be available for use shortly," RBI Governor <keyword id="19913110" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="shaktikanta-das" source="keywords">Shaktikanta Das</keyword> said, while announcing the first bi-monthly monetary policy for the current fiscal. The government is planning for gross market borrowing of Rs 14.13 lakh crore for 2024-25. Out of this Rs 7.5 lakh crore, or 53 per cent, is scheduled to be borrowed in the first half (H1). In a separate announcement, RBI permitted non-bank payment system operators to offer Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) wallets to encourage its wider use. Currently, CBDC pilots in the retail and wholesale segments are underway with more use-cases and more participating banks. "Continuing with this approach, it is proposed to make CBDC-Retail accessible to a broader segment of users in a sustained manner, by enabling non-bank payment system operators to offer CBDC wallets," he said. This is expected to enhance access and expand choices available to users apart from testing the resiliency of the CBDC platform to handle multi-channel transactions, he said, adding, necessary changes will be made to the system to facilitate this. In November 2022, the pilot of the wholesale CBDC, known as the Digital Rupee-Wholesale (e-W), was launched with the use case being limited to the settlement of secondary market transactions in government securities. In the following month, RBI rolled out a pilot in the retail version of the CBDC (e-R).

RBI to soon launch app to enable retail investors to participate in govt bonds

<keyword id="20104772" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Hyundai-Motors" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Hyundai Motors" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Hyundai Motors">Hyundai Motors</keyword> India's IPO worth Rs 27,870 crore, the largest India has ever seen, got off to an unhurried start today, with 18% of the total offer subscribed on the first day. The IPO, which closes on October 17, has already attracted significant attention from retail and institutional investors. The issue was subscribed 0.27x in the retail category, 0.05x in the QIB (qualified institutional buyers) category and 0.13x in the NII (non institutional investors) category. <keyword id="19972907" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="retail-investors" source="keywords">Retail investors</keyword> placed bids for 1.3 crore shares, as against the 4.94 crore shares which were offered to them. In contrast, Hyundai employees showed strong support for the IPO, bidding for 6,28,509 shares, as against the 7,78,400 shares allocated to them. Just a day before, Hyundai had raised Rs 8,315.3 crore from about 225 <keyword id="21330641" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="anchor-investors" source="keywords">anchor investors</keyword>. The list included several marquee global names, like the <keyword id="22882636" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Government-of-Singapore" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Government of Singapore" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Government of Singapore">Government of Singapore</keyword>, New World Fund Inc, and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. These institutions, along with Fidelity, Government Pension Fund Global, and American Funds Insurance Series New World Fund, invested a combined Rs 2,191.66 crore in the company. Other notable participants in the anchor round included Vanguard, Blackrock, Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan. Hyundai Motor India allocated 4.2 crore equity shares to these anchor investors at Rs 1,960 per share. Also, 34.42% of the entire allocation to anchor investors went to 21 domestic mutual funds via 83 schemes. AMCs (asset management companies) like ICICI, Invesco, Kotak and UTI were part of this round. While the current IPO is entirely OFS (offer for sale), which means that no part of the proceeds will go to Hyundai Motor India, the company has announced that it plans to invest more than Rs 33,000 crore over the next 10 years in India. The country is an important market for the South Korean automobile giant, given that it is the 2nd largest OEM (original equipment manufacturer) in the passenger vehicle space in India. However, the market is already preparing for muted listing day gains, with the company's GMP dropping to Rs 59 today. Hyundai is estimated to list at Rs 2,019 per today's GMP, taking the expected gain/loss per share to a minuscule 3.01%, as per data from IPO site Chittorgarh.

India's biggest IPO off to a slow start, subscribed 0.18x on Day 1

<div type="image" title="For the unversed, trading in futures and options can be akin to setting their hard-earned money on fire" height="900" width="1200" msid="114064202" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;For the unversed, trading in futures and options can be akin to setting their hard-earned money on fire&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> Once upon a time, there thrived a wild, wild land. Here, it was all about super high monetary stakes, lightning-fast trade deals, and bucketloads of money shifting hands every single second. This wilderness lured millions of individuals with the promise of super duper high returns. But, at what cost? Welcome to the unforgiving, ultra-risky wild west of <keyword id="19991165" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Indian-equity-markets" source="keywords">Indian equity markets</keyword> called the <keyword id="145718" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="Futures-and-Options" source="Orion">futures and options</keyword>. Here, everyone seems to just fly right through the bright red-flagged warnings of financial risks to earn even a fraction of these promised returns. Most burn themselves in the process, but carry on nevertheless, as if nothing ever happened. <h2>Chasing the cloudy profits</h2>The data conclusively proves that every 9 out of 10 individuals only lost their hard-earned money in this land. But hey, what do the numbers know? Some hide their losses out of shame, some out of fear. The proponents, meanwhile, proudly boast unusually high returns on their investments, some open social media channels while others encourage their friends and family to take the plunge. Naturally, news of this unstoppable and humongous en-masse migration to the F&amp;O (futures and options) town has reached sheriff <keyword id="19901201" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="SEBI" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="SEBI" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="SEBI">SEBI</keyword>, galvanising them into action. After all, it was time to put a leash on this madness and save the common man. The inhabitants of this town doubled in the last 2 years, from 51 lakh in FY22 to 96 lakh in FY24—99.8% of whom were small and mid-income traders. But profits? Well, that's a different, rather completely absent story. <h2>Que Sera Sera, much?</h2>A recent report by SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India) that studied profits and losses made by traders in the equity derivatives segment between FY22-24 exposed the mad mania of futures and options trading in India, especially since the pandemic. Per the report, 91.1% of individual traders, or about 73 lakh traders had only lost money trading in futures and options in FY24. Between FY 22-24, over 1 crore traders, or about 92.8% of individual traders, had lost Rs 2 lakh each. But once bitten, twice shy? Well, not in this case. More than 75% of individuals, who had only made losses trading in F&amp;O in FY22 and FY23, continued to trade vigorously in FY24 as well, without any changes in the bottom line, which remained deep in red and negative. So, then all these traders must be uber-rich, with tons of cash and not much care to spare? Nope. 76% of traders in the F&amp;O space in FY24 had an annual income of less than Rs 5 lakh. 2 years ago, their share stood at 71%. And their choice of poison? Options! In FY24, 60% of traders made losses trading in futures, but a whopping 91.5% burnt their funds trading in options. Mind you, futures are riskier than options. With futures, which require significant capital investment, the buyer and seller both are contractually bound to adhere to the pre-determined strike price of the futures or options contract, irrespective of whether the prevailing prices are higher or lower (and thus, resulting in losses for either the buyer or seller). With options, since this adherence ain't necessary, individuals end up taking debt to take highly leveraged positions while trading here. <h2>Scale of the explosion</h2>Anyone who trades even infrequently will tell you that a demat account is the mitochondria or powerhouse of the trading cell. As of August 2024, India had over 17.1 crore <keyword id="20957284" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="demat-accounts" source="keywords">demat accounts</keyword>, which are a prerequisite for trading in the markets. India is the 9th biggest country in the world, in terms of total demat accounts. Did you know that our demat accounts are at par with the entire population of Bangladesh? Talk about scale! Just 4 years ago, in March 2020, this number was a mere 4 crore. Naturally, the total F&amp;O turnover on both <keyword id="20004725" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="NSE" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="NSE" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="NSE">NSE</keyword> and BSE has hit the roof, and also broken it. As of October 4, 2024, the total futures and options turnover on NSE stood at a massive Rs 4,78,27,27,750.30 crore. Good luck counting the thousands! <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none;" class="redcator-table-advance"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Year </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Total Turnover (Both Futures and Options) (In Rs Crore) </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">2020-21 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">64,36,03,951.51 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">2021-22 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">1,69,52,33,134.47 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">2022-23 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">3,82,23,26,468.06 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">2023-24 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">7,99,27,67,152.43 </td></tr></tbody><tbody></tbody><tbody></tbody><tbody></tbody></table>Source : NSE Another metric that underlines the meteoric growth of trading in India is the collection of STT or <keyword id="20930760" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Securities-Transaction-Tax" source="keywords">Securities Transaction Tax</keyword>. As of September 2024, India's STT mop-up had gone past Rs 26,000 crore. Traders have to pay STT whenever they buy or sell any security in the market. So, more trading brings in more STT, and hence, more revenue for the government, so they're not really complaining. After all, this is certainly what they'd call enviable growth. As of August 2023, our STT collection stood at about Rs 21,599 crores. And in FY20-21, India's STT collection had been Rs 16,000 crore. If only our salaries also managed to grow at this rate! <h2>So, what's happening?</h2>Two things. One, it's the big bulls who are raking in all the moolah. And it's the younger lot (those aged under 30) who are propping them up for this. In FY24, 43% of individual traders in the market were less than 30 years of age. In just one year, this number has swelled by 12 percentage points from just 31% of individual traders. But who says ageing is bad? Wrinkles and silver hair seemingly have a propensity of incurring lesser losses in the market. In FY24, only 79% of traders aged above 60 years made losses, as compared to 93% of those aged below 30. Small and mid-income traders, which make up 98% of the total trader base, witnessed average losses per person of Rs 65,000 and Rs 1.5 lakh in FY24 in futures and options, respectively. The winner here? Clearly, the big bulls, who declared an annual income of over Rs 1 crore, ended up with average profits of Rs 96,000 per person this year. <h2>What’s the sheriff up to?</h2>The government has finally swung into action, hiking the STT rate for F&amp;O during this year’s budget. Effective October 1, 2024, the STT on futures stands at 0.02%, up from 0.0125%. For options, it was upped to 0.1% versus 0.0625% previously. Small margins, but huge impact oncoming. Says Puneet Sharma- CEO and Fund Manager at Whitespace Alpha, “SEBI aims to enhance market stability while safeguarding investor interests, reflecting the regulator's intent to balance risk management with market participation”. But this might come with its own share of challenges, too. “Stricter norms around leverage, transparency, and capital adequacy could limit the ability of investors to determine their own risk appetite, thereby stifling innovation in trading strategies. Over-regulation in an environment that thrives on strategic flexibility and creativity could dampen the market’s dynamism, affecting India's competitiveness in the global derivatives landscape”, he observes. SEBI recently came out with a set of guidelines that aim to thwart <keyword id="19972907" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="retail-investors" source="keywords">retail investors</keyword>' participation in futures and options and hinder them from taking undue risks. Here's a quick recap of what's to come for the residents of the F&amp;O town Margin Requirements: To battle the high volatility and chaos which is generally seen on expiry days(i.e the last mandated date, post which an option becomes invalid), SEBI will put in place an extreme loss margin (ELM) of 2% for all open short options on the day of expiry. Translation? Traders will need to pony up more cash upfront, leaving them with fewer funds to take on risky bets. It ain't a choice: No more of one expiry every single day! Going ahead, an exchange like BSE or NSE will just be able to offer weekly expiries, that too, only on one benchmark index, as opposed to an entire buffet it currently offers. At present, NSE offers weekly options contracts for its financial index, bank and midcap indices. But say goodbye to this, and hello to derivatives on only 1 index per exchange. Raising the bar: Effective November 30, 2024, the minimum contract value for index derivatives will be upped to Rs 15 lakh, from the present Rs 5-10 lakh. The hope is that by making it ultra-expensive to enter these trades, investors will be dissuaded from taking on risky trades. Pay upfront: Starting February 2025, those trading in options will have to pay the entire options premium upfront, even before their trades are executed. This is because options generally carry very high leverage, and paying a significant sum upfront can force traders to think twice. Invigilation Pro Max: Starting April 1 2025, to make sure that the number of positions for equity index derivatives does not slyly slip over the mandated limit, especially on expiry days when trade volumes are huge, the exchanges will have to take a minimum of 4 position snapshots randomly. The question is, will these injections of sobriety be enough to calm down the steroid-fed bull of the futures and options market in India? Well, only time and market turnover will tell! For more insights into the financial markets and business news, stay tuned to our site and social media handles. And don’t forget to subscribe to Business Insider India’s newsletters for your weekly dose of Simply Put! Disclaimer: The content on this website is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as investment advice. We recommend readers consult certified, qualified and registered advisors for professional and personalised financial advice.

SIMPLY PUT: SEBI is on a mission to take on the wild, wild west of futures and options in India. Here’s why, what, and how

After reporting <keyword id="21767878" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="record-profits" source="keywords">record profits</keyword>, state-owned <keyword id="20459282" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="fuel-retailers" source="keywords">fuel retailers</keyword> <keyword id="19908045" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Indian-Oil-Corporation" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Indian Oil Corporation" meta.hostid="153" meta.entityid="Indian Oil Corporation">Indian Oil Corporation</keyword> (<keyword id="6354733" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="IOC" source="Orion">IOC</keyword>), <keyword id="19908646" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="BPCL" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="BPCL" meta.hostid="153" meta.entityid="BPCL">BPCL</keyword> and <keyword id="20052221" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="HPCL" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="HPCL" meta.hostid="153" meta.entityid="HPCL">HPCL</keyword> posted up to 90 per cent slump in their June quarter earnings as margins fell and they booked under-recovery on the sale of domestic cooking gas LPG at government-controlled rates. IOC, the nation's largest oil firm, reported 81 per cent drop in standalone net profit in April-June - the first quarter of current 2024-25 fiscal year - to Rs 2,643.18 crore as opposed to a profit of Rs 13,750.44 crore a year back, according to a company filing. Net profit also declined sequentially, when compared to an earning of Rs 11,570.82 crore in March quarter. Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) posted 90 per cent drop in profit to Rs 633.94 crore as compared to an earning of Rs 6,765.50 crore in April-June 2023 and Rs 2,709.31 crore in the preceding March quarter. Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) net profit dropped to Rs 2,841.55 crore in April-June from Rs 10,644.30 crore a year back and Rs 4,789.57 crore in January-March, its filing showed. The three fuel retailers made extraordinary gains from holding petrol and diesel prices despite a drop in cost. The price freeze was justified in the name of recovering losses they had suffered in the previous year when they did not raise retail prices despite a surge in cost. The gains arising from the price freeze were eroded with petrol and diesel prices being cut by Rs 2 per litre each just before general elections and a fall in refining margins. Also, the three had uncompensated <keyword id="20866844" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="LPG-subsidy" source="keywords">LPG subsidy</keyword> - IOC booking under-recovery of Rs 5,156.23 crore in April-June, BPCL Rs 2,015.10 crore and HPCL Rs 2,443.71 crore, according to the filings. As per an order of the oil ministry, when market determined price (MDP) of LPG cylinders is less than its effective cost to customer (ECC), oil marketing companies (OMCs) have to retain the difference in a separate buffer account for future adjustment. However, as on June 30, 2024, the three firms had a net negative buffer as the retail selling price was less than MDP. The three retailers IOC, BPCL and HPCL had reported record profits totalling about Rs 81,000 crore in FY24 (2023-24), which was far more than their annual earnings of Rs 39,356 crore in pre-oil crisis years. This is because they resisted calls to revert to daily price revision and pass on softening in rates to consumers on grounds that prices continue to be extremely volatile - rising on one day and falling on the other - and that they needed to recoup losses incurred in the year, when they kept rates lower than cost. IOC in 2023-24 posted a standalone net profit of Rs 39,618.84 crore compared to Rs 8,241.82 crore in 2022-23. While the company could argue that FY23 was impacted by the <keyword id="21626914" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="oil-crisis" source="keywords">oil crisis</keyword>, the FY24 earnings are higher than even the pre-crisis years - Rs 24,184 crore net profit in 2021-22 and Rs 21,836 crore in 2020-21. BPCL posted a net profit of Rs 26,673.50 crore in FY24, higher than Rs 1,870.10 crore earnings in 2022-23 and Rs 8,788.73 crore in FY22. HPCL's 2023-24 profit of Rs 14,693.83 crore is compared with a Rs 8,974.03 crore loss in FY23 and a profit of Rs 6,382.63 crore in 2021-22, according to the filings. The losses in FY23 had led to the finance minister announcing Rs 30,000 crore equity infusion in the three firms. Mid-way through the year, that support was halved to Rs 15,000 crore. The support was to happen by way of equity infusion via a rights issue. But after the record profits of 2023-24, the equity infusion plan has now been scrapped. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had on February 1 last year, while presenting the annual Budget for the 2023-24 fiscal (April 2023 to March 2024), announced an equity infusion of Rs 30,000 crore in IOC, BPCL and HPCL to support the three state-owned firm's energy transition plans. In the interim budget that the finance minister presented in February this year ahead of the general elections, the capital support to the three oil companies was halved to Rs 15,000 crore. In the full budget for 2024-25, both plans have been scrapped. While other state-owned oil companies like Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and GAIL (India) Ltd too have lined up billions of dollars of investment to achieve net-zero carbon emissions, the equity support was limited to the three fuel retailers, which had suffered huge losses in 2022 when they held retail petrol, diesel and cooking gas (LPG) prices despite a spike in raw material (crude oil) prices, following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The board of IOC and BPCL had last year approved rights issues to raise to Rs 22,000 crore and Rs 18,000 crore, respectively. The government was to participate in the rights issue. The three companies, which control roughly 90 per cent of India's fuel market, 'voluntarily' have not changed petrol, diesel and cooking gas (LPG) prices, resulting in losses when input costs were higher and profits when raw material prices were lower. They posted a combined net loss of Rs 21,201.18 crore during April-September 2022 despite accounting for Rs 22,000 crore announced but not paid LPG subsidy for the previous two years. Subsequent softening of international prices and government giving out LPG subsidies helped IOC and BPCL post annualised profit for 2022-23, but HPCL was in the red. In FY24, things changed dramatically, and the three firms posted record earnings.

After record profits, state-owned fuel retailers Indian Oil, BPCL and HPCL see profit slump in Q1

<ul class="summary-list"><li>China's 618 shopping festival faced challenges, despite creative strategies to attract shoppers.</li><li>Alibaba, ByteDance, and JD.com offered large discounts amid an uncertain economic environment.</li></ul>China's e-commerce platforms worked hard to attract shoppers during the country's annual 618 shopping festival. But economic troubles got in the way of big sales.The 618 promotion is a weeks-long event from late May to June 18, during which online platforms launch flash sales. This year saw internet companies like Alibaba, ByteDance, and JD.com offering steep discounts to woo Chinese consumers hit by <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-economy-lopsided-recovery-consumer-retail-spending-industrial-output-property-2024-5">persistent deflation</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-xi-jinping-economy-youth-unemployment-crisis-impact-on-us-2023-10">youth unemployment</a>, and the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-outlook-home-prices-slumped-beijing-property-crisis-real-estate-2024-4">property crisis</a>.It's is the second-biggest sale after Singles Day, which takes place in November and is likened to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mixed-results-tiktok-shop-first-us-black-friday-cyber-monday-2023-12">Black Friday in the US</a>. The summer shopping festival is seen as a key indicator of China's general retail temperature — and signs so far this year show that consumer spending is still muted.In recent weeks, Alibaba offered a 50% discount on Lululemon clothing, JD.com sold some Apple iPhones at discounts as high as 20%, and TikTok's sister company Douyin cut prices aggressively.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/luxury-goods-sales-slow-clothes-shoes-china-bain-company-travel-2024-6">Luxury brands, </a>which are seeing a purchase <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gucci-kering-income-decline-stock-down-hit-china-sales-slump-2024-4">slowdown in China</a>, joined the festival, too. Burberry livestreamed its 618 discounts, while Louis Vuitton offered shoppers a 30-minute virtual personalized shopping experience on WeChat.After the end of 618, Alibaba and JD.com said sales grew, but neither reported specific figures.According to figures from Syntun, a Chinese third-party data agency, total sales on Alibaba's Tmall, JD.com, and Pinduoduo fell 6.9% year-on-year. Total sales during the festival were 742.8 billion yuan, or $102.3 billion, the first time sales dropped in the eight years since Syntun started collecting data.Home appliances, skincare, cosmetics and perfume, and personal care products were the top three categories in terms of sales, according to the data company.The drop comes amid China's slow post-pandemic recovery, as people exercise caution with their discretionary spending. According to a<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-economy-lopsided-recovery-consumer-retail-spending-industrial-output-property-2024-5"> research note </a>from Dutch bank ING published in May, Chinese consumers are cutting spending on clothing, cosmetics, and jewelry and instead choosing to spend their money on experiences like dining and sports. They are also <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-economy-gold-rush-consumer-spending-money-savings-starbucks-gucci-2024-5">flocking to safe haven investments like gold</a> and supporting local manufacturers, instead of spending on overseas luxury brands like Gucci, Apple, and Starbucks.The slowdown may also stem from a plethora of year-round sales and discounts."The promotional period is too long, and all the marketing has gotten confusing," said Constance Zhou, a 31-year-old who <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ft.com/content/0086c19c-b2d3-4a5f-aea5-5c3096577f10">told</a> the Financial Times she did not buy anything this year. "The platforms are always doing promotions. Regular shoppers don't have any motivation to participate."

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