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Economic Times
12-07-2025
- Business
- Economic Times
Can Tata and Mamata Banerjee ever be business friends?
ET Bureau & Agencies A lot of activities connecting the past, present and (intended) future happened over the last fortnight. The much-awaited, almost-given up reunion of Oasis happened in Cardiff on July 4. The epochal final 'Back to the Beginning' concert of Black Sabbath and its legendary frontman Ozzy Osbourne in Birmingham took place the next day. But a decidedly quieter meeting of no less momentous proportion took place in Kolkata on July 9. Tata Sons chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee met at the latter's office on Wednesday. This was the first time that a Tata Group chairman met a West Bengal CM in 14 years - the last two being Ratan Tata and Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, just before the woman who drove Tata Motor Dixie out of Bengal took over Bhattacharjee's portfolio, and much else. The warring Oasis brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher had been fighting for 16 years. Ozzy had been put out to Sabbath for health reasons for 20. But somehow, Didi's darbar with Chandra, at least to people with a more ironic sense of history - especially where economic progress has been history for some time - felt more fateful than a re-Oasis or re-Ozzy. Now, I - like most others who believe puddings should be first eaten before one considers them to be pudding - have seen Banerjee, in her post-Che chief ministerial module, rack up MoUs with corporate houses like she was Le Chiffre piling up chips at the baccarat table in Casino Royale. But her annual BGBS (Bengal Global Business Summit) is not WYSIWYG. The likes of Ambani, Adani and other open- and closed-vowelled big names of industry fly down to Kolkata have photo-ops with Banerjee, make investment promises, and then take the first flight back to where they'll put their money where their MoUs are. With Chandra, Didi reportedly exchanged pleasantries, a core strength of Bengalis. TMC officially noted: 'The meeting reflected Bengal's commitment to fostering meaningful public-private partnerships that drive innovation, investment and inclusive development... the conversation centred on deepening the Tata Group's presence in the state'. If you say so. And never mind Singur and the Tata Motors factory turned to factionary by then-in-opposition Didi. US goods trade with Vietnam was some $149.6 bn in 2024, 'Ho Ho Ho Chi Minh!' notwithstanding. But it's not the present tete-a-tete offensive's genuineness I doubt. Or whether bygones can be made to be bye-byegones. It's the continued mismatch between how Bengal - not just its CM or political class, but also its people - sees business and the way rest of the world sees it. A perfect example of this is Kolkata's roads, arguably the worst among India's metropolitan cities. But here again, Bengalis will trot out examples of collapsed bridges in Gujarat and bombed-out highways in UP to make a point that they are being picked on for conspiratorial reasons. The definition of 'maintenance' is radically different from that in the rest of India. Tenders are floated, vendors are chosen, councillors get a slice of the MLA fund... the repair work (sic) is done in such a calibrated shoddy manner that the 'fixed' road will turn into a lunar landscape and public hazard by the next round of rains. Wash, rinse, repeat. And everyone is fine with this 'circular economy' here. Then there's 'wealth creation' itself. At some fundamental level, wanting to be rich - never mind being rich - is taboo, as if akin to wanting to sleep with one's own cousin. This is largely because most people in this everything-is-politically-connected economy make money by cutting corners, slipping slips, nailing turfs, promising cuts.... 'Mou' in Bengali is honey. 'MoU' is sweet nothing. For a state that takes pride in being constantly angry, 'When Chandra Met Mamata' remains a romcom scene famous for 'faking it' - at least until the pudding of actual investment is eaten. P.S. Rumour of the meeting originally scheduled for July 8, and then pushed a day later after someone pointed out that Tuesday was Jyoti Basu's 111th birth anniversary, I'm sure, was nothing but a rumour. Elevate your knowledge and leadership skills at a cost cheaper than your daily tea. India's gas dream runs on old pipes. Can a European fix unclog the future? Did Jane Street manipulate Indian market or exploit its shallowness? Newton vs. industry: Inside new norms that want your car to be more fuel-efficient Is gold always the best bet? Think again Do bank stress tests continue to serve their intended purpose? These large- and mid-cap stocks can give more than 24% return in 1 year, according to analysts Suited for the long term, even with headwinds: 8 stocks from healthcare & pharma sectors with upside potential of up to 39% Stock picks of the week: 5 stocks with consistent score improvement and return potential of more than 22% in 1 year
Economic Times
10-07-2025
- Business
- Economic Times
Equity MFs see surge in inflows to Rs 23,587 crore in June
Synopsis Equity mutual funds rebounded in June with net inflows of ₹23,587 crore, a 24% increase from May, fueled by flexi-cap, mid-cap, and small-cap schemes. SIP contributions reached a record ₹27,269 crore, driving retail flows. Despite debt fund outflows, the industry's AUM hit a new high of ₹74.41 lakh crore, reflecting positive investor sentiment amid market gains. ET Bureau & Agencies Debt mutual funds recorded net outflows of ₹1,711 crore in June, with liquid funds recording the most outflows. Mumbai: Investments in equity mutual funds rebounded in June after five consecutive months of declining inflows. Net inflows surged to ₹23,587 crore during the month, marking a 24% jump over May's ₹19,013 crore, driven by fresh subscriptions to flexi-cap, mid-cap and small-cap schemes. While debt mutual funds saw outflows, a buoyant equity market and pick-up in retail participation helped the industry's net assets under management (AUM) scale to a new all-time high of ₹74.41 lakh crore in June, up from ₹72.20 lakh crore in May. The reversal comes after inflows had steadily fallen from ₹39,688 crore in January to ₹19,013 crore in May. It was the 52nd consecutive month of flows into equity schemes since March 2021. Record SIPs Systematic Investment Plans (SIPs) remained a major driver of retail flows into equity funds. SIP contributions rose to a record ₹27,269 crore in June, up 2.2% from ₹26,688 crore in May. The number of contributing SIP accounts increased from 8.56 crore in May to 8.64 crore in June. SIP AUM stood at ₹15.31 lakh crore in June, accounting for 20.6% of the industry's total assets, higher than 20.2% in May. A total of 61,91,178 new SIPs were registered during the month. Investor sentiment remained positive despite global uncertainties, with market gains helping equity flows. The NSE's Nifty gained 2.7% and the BSE's Sensex rose 3.1% in Fund Offers (NFOs) also aided inflows in equity funds. NFOs raised ₹1,986 crore across 20 new open-ended schemes in the equity category, flexi cap funds registered highest inflows of ₹5,733 crore, followed by small cap funds that recorded inflows of ₹4,024 mutual fund folios climbed to 24.13 crore as of June, reflecting continued investor interest. Retail mutual fund folios (equity, hybrid and solution-oriented schemes) rose to 19.07 crore in June from 18.84 crore in May, while retail AUM grew to ₹43.99 lakh crore from ₹42.20 lakh crore a month earlier. Hybrids Arbitrage funds contributed ₹15,584.57 crore - the most among hybrid-based funds - though inflows were marginally lower compared with May. The inflows in multi-asset allocation funds that invest in equity, debt and gold grew 9.7% to ₹3,209.9 crore in June. In June, Gold ETFs witnessed inflows of ₹2,080 crore, up 613% from ₹292 crore recorded a month ago. "Almost a 10 times jump in gold ETF inflows suggests investor desire to diversify their asset allocations in an uncertain global environment and hedge against any global volatility," said Sumit Bhatnagar, Fund Manager - Equity at LIC MF. Debt Funds Debt mutual funds recorded net outflows of ₹1,711 crore in June, with liquid funds recording the most Funds saw the highest outflows at ₹25,196 crore, largely driven by corporate advance tax payments, though this was 37% lower than May outflow of ₹40,205 crore. Overnight Funds also remained negative with ₹8,154 crore in the debt segment largely remains influenced by liquidity and rate expectations, shorter-duration funds benefited from investor preference for relatively safer avenues amid interest rate uncertainties. Ultra Short Duration Funds grew 59% to ₹2,944 crore. Short Duration Funds jumped 474% to ₹10,277 crore from ₹1,790 crore in May.
