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NDTV
5 days ago
- Business
- NDTV
India-US Trade Talks In Advanced Stage, Agricultural Products A Hurdle: Official
New Delhi: The India-US trade negotiations are at an advanced stage and a consensus on an interim deal is within reach, a key official told NDTV on Tuesday, adding that Washington's demands on agricultural products are proving to be a hurdle. Indo-American Chamber of Commerce Executive Council Member Sunil Jain spoke to the channel on Tuesday, a day after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman was reported as having said that agriculture and dairy are "big red lines" for India in the trade talks. "The deal has progressed a lot and the chief negotiators of India are extending their stay in the US and trying to complete the deal. I think the two areas where the deal is getting stuck are related to agricultural products. Agriculture is the lifeline of the Indian GDP and Indian people. It is very difficult for us to import agricultural products. There are many difficulties and sensitivities involved," Mr Jain said in Hindi. "The second thing is that the products the US sells to us are genetically modified products, which are banned in India. Till date, no law has been enacted in India to allow these products. So, it is very difficult for us to import maize, cotton, soya, almonds, apples, etc. The US is telling us to make a deal on these products," he added. The negotiations between India and the US entered the sixth day in Washington on Tuesday. The Indian team, headed by Rajesh Agrawal, special secretary in the Department of Commerce, was initially scheduled to stay for two days. The extension is important because US President Donald Trump's 26% reciprocal tariffs had been suspended for 90 days till July 9. The baseline tariffs of 10%, though, are still in place. "I think both countries can keep this obstacle aside and move forward with other products. For the US, exports of auto components, aluminium and steel from India are a problem. I think we should make a deal and keep some products out of it... We can debate and come to an agreement on these products after three to four months," he said. If this can be worked out, the executive council member said, a large part of India's exports to the US will be saved from the reciprocal tariffs, but the base tariff of 10% is likely to remain. "The zero tariff trade will be settled only after September-October. But, even if we work with 10% as the base tariff, it is fine for the country... If there is any bilateral trade agreement, it will have to involve give and take. So, we will move forward and America will move forward. Both are the largest democracies in the world and they will have to move together," Mr Jain said.
Time of India
22-06-2025
- Automotive
- Time of India
NDMC eyes overhaul of Lutyens' Delhi avenue roads post monsoon
New Delhi: To improve road infrastructure in Lutyens' Delhi, New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) is set to begin a comprehensive revamp of 79 avenue roads. The initiative will be guided by a detailed Visual Distress Survey conducted by CSIR-Central Road Research Institute. The project, currently in its final tendering phase, will begin after the monsoon, tentatively in Oct 2025, and is expected to be completed by March 31, 2026, at an estimated cost of Rs 92 crore. "We'll deploy the latest technology for the work. The tendering process is nearly complete," said NDMC vice-chairman Kuljeet Chahal. "CRRI has identified various issues, including cracks and surface deterioration, and assessed their severity and spread across the road network." The survey, commissioned under an MoU signed last year, focused on roads where the bituminous layer has exceeded its typical five-year lifespan. CRRI's assessment included not only a visual inspection but also technical procedures such as roughness surveys and extraction of bituminous cores from selected stretches to study subsurface cracking. Based on these findings, the final recommendations propose strengthening measures, including milling to remove worn asphalt layers and laying new overlays. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Learn Online Without the High Tuition SearchMore Learn More Undo The scope of the project includes a full assessment of existing pavement conditions, crack analysis, measurement of ride quality, calculation of pavement condition index and formulation of optimal milling and resurfacing strategies. CRRI will also provide technical oversight during the execution phase to ensure quality control and long-term maintenance. According to senior NDMC officials, the 79 roads have been grouped into six divisions, with bitumen work planned in phases to cover all radial routes. The objective is to ensure that roads remain in good condition for the next five years. In the Connaught Place division, eight major roads were surveyed, including Outer Circle Road, Panchkuian Road (up to SBS), BKS Marg, Sansad Marg, Janpath, KG Marg and Inner Circle Road. The R-I division covered 18 roads, including Atul Grove Road, Dr Rajendra Prasad Road, Jai Singh Road, Janpath (between Connaught Place and Rajendra Prasad Road), Shrimant Madhav Rao Scindia Marg, Bhagwan Das Road, Sikandra Road, Safdar Hashmi Road and Copernicus Marg. In the R-II division, 21 roads such as APJ Abdul Kalam Road, Max Muller Marg, Humayun Road, Archbishop Marg, Aurobindo Marg, Khanna Market Road and Lodhi Estate were included. R-IV division had 28 roads identified for upgrades, including Sardar Patel Marg, Dharma Marg (between Kautilya Marg and SP Marg) and S Radhakrishnan Marg. In the R-V division, four stretches like Pandit Pant Marg and Kali Bari Marg were selected for the survey. CRRI chief scientist Sunil Jain emphasised the need for milling on all roads prior to overlay treatment. He noted that in specific areas like Golf Link Road, where adjacent zones experienced heavy waterlogging during the last monsoon, the agency recommended milling to a depth of 150–160 mm followed by a 40 mm bituminous concrete layer, effectively lowering the road level by 120 mm to enhance drainage and reduce flooding risk.
Economic Times
19-06-2025
- Business
- Economic Times
Rs 58,000 crore cash lying idle in 5 mutual fund schemes. Are stocks too expensive to buy?
A growing pile of cash is making more noise than stock picks in some mutual fund houses. Five mutual fund schemes now hold Rs 58,442 crore in cash, accounting for a staggering 30% of the entire mutual fund industry's cash reserves. ADVERTISEMENT Out of a Rs 2 lakh crore industry-wide cash corpus, these five are sitting on the largest war chest. Parag Parikh Flexi Cap Fund tops the list with the highest cash pile of Rs 22,360 crore. SBI Contra Fund follows with Rs 10,028 crore, HDFC Flexi Cap with Rs 10,013 crore, Motilal Oswal Midcap with Rs 9,479 crore, and HDFC Mid-Cap Opportunities with Rs 6,562 crore, according to data from Elara Securities. That's not all. About 25% of the entire mutual fund industry's cash is concentrated in just four schemes, and half of it is held by only 18. What's more telling is that the cash hoarding has lasted over a year for many of them with experts saying it isn't a tactical timeout but a strategic positioning reflecting caution on current market valuations, especially in the mid and smallcap segments. 'Most of these schemes have maintained elevated cash levels for more than a year. Importantly, 25% of the incremental inflow over past 9-months have come in 12 schemes which have not got totally deployed in the market, raising cash levels,' said Elara's Sunil Jain. Also Read | Promoter, PE & VC selling crosses Rs 40,000 crore in 2 weeks: Red flag for Nifty bulls? The hesitation to buy in the secondary market despite a roaring rally hints at something deeper. ADVERTISEMENT 'The persistence of high cash balances over a long period—despite ongoing market strength—suggests that most of these fund managers are not likely to aggressively chase secondary market rallies. Rather than deploying cash in the secondary market, managers are channeling liquidity into the primary market. A large chunk of this paper supply has come from promoter divestments and PE exits, not new capital formation. This signals distribution, not expansion,' he schemes continue to show comfort in deploying funds with overall cash levels falling to Rs 16,500 crore from Rs 19,120 crore in April. But midcap schemes are showing signs of withdrawal. Cash levels in midcap funds have surged to 7.3%, the highest since 2020, fuelled by massive inflows into Motilal Oswal Midcap Fund. The total cash here is now Rs 29,900 crore, up from Rs 27,700 crore in April. ADVERTISEMENT Smallcap schemes have only slightly trimmed their cash stockpiles. At Rs 25,900 crore, they're just a notch below last month's Rs 25,250 crore. Overall, the mutual fund industry's active equity schemes collectively held Rs 2 lakh crore in cash in May, slightly down from Rs 2.06 lakh crore in April. Parag Parikh Mutual Fund leads in cash as a percentage of AUM—holding 21.3% in cash. Motilal Oswal is not far behind at 19.9%, according to Elara. ADVERTISEMENT For Parag Parikh, taking cash calls isn't new. The fund house's CIO Rajeev Thakkar, in an earlier note, had compared this approach to playing Test cricket—not swinging wildly, but waiting patiently for the right ball. For him, holding cash is less about timing and more about readiness—for the right price, the right stock, and the right pitch.'Holding some amount of cash gives us the opportunity to deploy whenever a stock trades at attractive valuations to deploy. Investment opportunities do not come everyday across all companies and one has to wait to deploy money well,' Thakkar had said, adding that one shouldn't perceive it as market timing but rather waiting to deploy at the right valuation. ADVERTISEMENT For fund houses like Quantum AMC, which has around 12% cash in its portfolio, the elevated cash is not a tactical bet, but a result of a valuation-driven discipline.'Given that markets, in aggregate, are perceived as expensive with fewer attractive opportunities, our cash levels naturally become slightly elevated. We are disciplined about adhering to our investment philosophy, which prioritizes value and long-term potential. When we find that the opportunities aligning with our rigorous selection criteria are not readily available at attractive valuations, we prefer to hold cash rather than deploy capital into overvalued assets. This approach ensures that we are positioned to capitalize on opportunities when they do emerge, rather than being forced to invest simply to deploy capital,' Chirag Mehta, CIO, Quantum AMC, told ETMarkets. Also Read | Buy Eternal & Swiggy, sell Nykaa & BSE: Latest investing mantra of mutual funds The firm sees opportunity in largecaps but remains selective in smallcaps, waiting for reasonably priced Mutual Fund maintains less than 5% cash across portfolios and relies more on internal allocation shifts between large, mid, and smallcap segments to manage valuation risk.'We don't want to mix asset allocation with stock selection. Our job is stock selection and not asset allocation. Asset allocation is how much money should I put into equities versus how much cash do I hold. That is typically best done by a distributor who knows the client's cashflow profile,' explained Trideep Bhattacharya, CIO – Equities at Edelweiss Mutual Direct's Pankaj Pandey also suggests against making large cash calls. "Generally, we do not suggest holding a proportion of cash because we have seen historically it is a very difficult call to take. For holding cash, you need luck to get prices at lower levels and most importantly, courage to deploy cash during such times,' he question remains whether these fund managers are displaying prudent risk management or missing out on continued market gains while sitting on the sidelines with their massive cash reserves. (Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times) (You can now subscribe to our ETMarkets WhatsApp channel)
Time of India
19-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Rs 58,000 crore cash lying idle in 5 mutual fund schemes. Are stocks too expensive to buy?
A growing pile of cash is making more noise than stock picks in some mutual fund houses. Five mutual fund schemes now hold Rs 58,442 crore in cash, accounting for a staggering 30% of the entire mutual fund industry's cash reserves. Out of a Rs 2 lakh crore industry-wide cash corpus, these five are sitting on the largest war chest. Parag Parikh Flexi Cap Fund tops the list with the highest cash pile of Rs 22,360 crore. SBI Contra Fund follows with Rs 10,028 crore, HDFC Flexi Cap with Rs 10,013 crore, Motilal Oswal Midcap with Rs 9,479 crore, and HDFC Mid-Cap Opportunities with Rs 6,562 crore, according to data from Elara Securities. That's not all. About 25% of the entire mutual fund industry's cash is concentrated in just four schemes, and half of it is held by only 18. What's more telling is that the cash hoarding has lasted over a year for many of them with experts saying it isn't a tactical timeout but a strategic positioning reflecting caution on current market valuations , especially in the mid and smallcap segments. 'Most of these schemes have maintained elevated cash levels for more than a year. Importantly, 25% of the incremental inflow over past 9-months have come in 12 schemes which have not got totally deployed in the market, raising cash levels,' said Elara's Sunil Jain. Live Events Also Read | Promoter, PE & VC selling crosses Rs 40,000 crore in 2 weeks: Red flag for Nifty bulls? The hesitation to buy in the secondary market despite a roaring rally hints at something deeper. 'The persistence of high cash balances over a long period—despite ongoing market strength—suggests that most of these fund managers are not likely to aggressively chase secondary market rallies. Rather than deploying cash in the secondary market, managers are channeling liquidity into the primary market. A large chunk of this paper supply has come from promoter divestments and PE exits, not new capital formation. This signals distribution, not expansion,' he said. Largecap schemes continue to show comfort in deploying funds with overall cash levels falling to Rs 16,500 crore from Rs 19,120 crore in April. But midcap schemes are showing signs of withdrawal. Cash levels in midcap funds have surged to 7.3%, the highest since 2020, fuelled by massive inflows into Motilal Oswal Midcap Fund. The total cash here is now Rs 29,900 crore, up from Rs 27,700 crore in April. Smallcap schemes have only slightly trimmed their cash stockpiles. At Rs 25,900 crore, they're just a notch below last month's Rs 25,250 crore. Overall, the mutual fund industry's active equity schemes collectively held Rs 2 lakh crore in cash in May, slightly down from Rs 2.06 lakh crore in April. Parag Parikh Mutual Fund leads in cash as a percentage of AUM—holding 21.3% in cash. Motilal Oswal is not far behind at 19.9%, according to Elara. For Parag Parikh, taking cash calls isn't new. The fund house's CIO Rajeev Thakkar, in an earlier note, had compared this approach to playing Test cricket—not swinging wildly, but waiting patiently for the right ball. For him, holding cash is less about timing and more about readiness—for the right price, the right stock, and the right pitch. 'Holding some amount of cash gives us the opportunity to deploy whenever a stock trades at attractive valuations to deploy. Investment opportunities do not come everyday across all companies and one has to wait to deploy money well,' Thakkar had said, adding that one shouldn't perceive it as market timing but rather waiting to deploy at the right valuation. For fund houses like Quantum AMC , which has around 12% cash in its portfolio, the elevated cash is not a tactical bet, but a result of a valuation-driven discipline. 'Given that markets, in aggregate, are perceived as expensive with fewer attractive opportunities, our cash levels naturally become slightly elevated. We are disciplined about adhering to our investment philosophy, which prioritizes value and long-term potential. When we find that the opportunities aligning with our rigorous selection criteria are not readily available at attractive valuations, we prefer to hold cash rather than deploy capital into overvalued assets. This approach ensures that we are positioned to capitalize on opportunities when they do emerge, rather than being forced to invest simply to deploy capital,' Chirag Mehta, CIO, Quantum AMC, told ETMarkets. Also Read | Buy Eternal & Swiggy, sell Nykaa & BSE: Latest investing mantra of mutual funds The firm sees opportunity in largecaps but remains selective in smallcaps, waiting for reasonably priced entries. Edelweiss Mutual Fund maintains less than 5% cash across portfolios and relies more on internal allocation shifts between large, mid, and smallcap segments to manage valuation risk. 'We don't want to mix asset allocation with stock selection. Our job is stock selection and not asset allocation. Asset allocation is how much money should I put into equities versus how much cash do I hold. That is typically best done by a distributor who knows the client's cashflow profile,' explained Trideep Bhattacharya, CIO – Equities at Edelweiss Mutual Fund. ICICI Direct's Pankaj Pandey also suggests against making large cash calls. "Generally, we do not suggest holding a proportion of cash because we have seen historically it is a very difficult call to take. For holding cash, you need luck to get prices at lower levels and most importantly, courage to deploy cash during such times,' he said. The question remains whether these fund managers are displaying prudent risk management or missing out on continued market gains while sitting on the sidelines with their massive cash reserves. ( Disclaimer : Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)
The Hindu
13-06-2025
- Business
- The Hindu
U.S. investors cautious as tariff pause deadline nears: Elara Capital
Investors from the United States may be more cautious about investing into India as the pause over tariff deadline nears. U.S. based funds had a weekly outflow of $44 million in the past week, the first time in the past two months there is an outflow, according to a report from Elara Capital. 'While the outflow is not significant, it potentially signals a pause in the two-month positive flow trend that had added up to $1.6bn,' the report said. U.S. funds invested $388 million into the Indian financial markets. This moderated to $73 million in the past week. Moreover, India is the only emerging economy where there is a lacklustre inflow into the market. Other emerging economies including Brazil, South Korea among others continued to receive foreign investments for eight consecutive weeks. 'Indian market is still expensive for the foreign funds and they are in wait and watch mode as the end of U.S. tariffs come to an end,' said Sunil Jain, V-P of Elara Capital. To be sure, the India VIX index, which measures stock market volatility, closed at 15.08 points on Friday (June 13), about 3.1% more than the close of 14.63 points on June 6. Further, Elara Capital said that gold funds had recovered from their redemptions, with an inflow of about $12.4 billion in the past three weeks. When securities markets turn volatile, investors usually take to investing in gold, as they are considered safe havens. Foreign portfolio investors (FPI) withdrew the most in October 2024, after which it turned positive in April 2025. The expensive valuations as against earnings growth, currency depreciation and the potential of the then incoming President of the United States prompted expectations of strengthening of the American economy. The tariff, however, turned out to be uncertain for the global markets, which led to a return to Indian markets among other emerging markets. As the deadline for the 90-day pause nears, experts believe that foreign investors may be cautious of any big increases in India exposures.
