The market size of the Indian chemicals and petrochemicals sector is expected to grow to approximately $300 billion by 2025, up from its current market size of $220 billion, Union Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on Friday.

Addressing the ‘Roundtable on Petrochemical’ during the ‘India Chem 2024’, the minister said the demand for chemicals is predicted to nearly triple and the petrochemicals industry in India may reach $1 trillion by 2040.

The chemical industry plays a crucial role in India's economy, contributing around 6 per cent to the GDP and generating employment for over 5 million people.

"The petrochemical sector in India is projected to attract investments exceeding $87 billion in the next decade, representing over 10 per cent of global petrochemical growth. Under the new PCPIR Policy 2020-35, a combined investment of Rs 10 lakh crore (approximately $142 billion) is targeted by 2025, underscoring the government's long-term vision for the industry," the minister emphasised.

Amid growing geopolitical tensions and FII selling, India's foreign exchange (forex) reserves dropped $10.746 billion to $690.43 billion for the week ended October 11, data from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) showed on Friday.

The forex had hit an all-time high of $704.885 billion at the end of September.

In the previous reporting week, the forex had dropped by $3.709 billion to $701.176 billion.

Meanwhile, gold reserves decreased by $98 million to $65.658 billion during the week, according to the Central Bank. For the week ended October 11, the Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) were down by $86 million to $18.339 billion. The country’s reserve position with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was down by $20 million to $4.333 billion.

Bangladesh's National Board of Revenue (NBR) Thursday drastically cut import duty on eggs from 25 per cent to 5 per cent to help rein in prices.

The egg import duty cut would reduce import costs of eggs by 13.8 takas per dozen, making the country's cheapest source of protein affordable for the commoners, the NBR said in a statement after issuing an order in this regard.

The reduced import tax for eggs will be valid until December 31 this year, reports news agency.

A team of Indian researchers on Friday revealed novel insights into the mechanisms that limit electron mobility in semiconductors.

The findings, published in the journal Nano Letters, showcase a big leap forward in understanding the electronic properties of semiconductors for developing more efficient electronic devices.

Scientists from Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR), Bangalore, an autonomous institute under the Department of Science and Technology (DST), explored the factors that limit electron mobility in scandium Nitride (ScN), a rocksalt semiconductor.

The festive season has revived demand for the Indian auto industry as registration growth in the second week (October 10-October 16) improved for most of the segments compared to that seen in the first week of this year’s festive period, a report showed on Friday.

Two-wheelers (2Ws) registered mid-single-digit growth over the second week of last year’s festive season (October 22-October 28), while mopeds saw low double-digit growth, according to the report by BNP Paribas India.

While passenger vehicle (PV) sales declined, the decline reduced week-on-week.

The three-wheeler (3W) registrations declined by low-single digits, while those of tractors declined by mid-double digits.

Fintech firm Lendingkart is facing a cash crunch as the company's profit margin declined in recent years and its valuation has reportedly nosedived by more than 60 per cent.

According to a report, the company reported a loss of Rs 24.87 crore in the June quarter of FY 2024-25, compared to net profit of Rs 25.63 crore in the same quarter of the previous financial year (FY24).

Ahmedabad-based Lendingkart's operating margin in the first quarter of FY 2024-25 was 12.62 per cent, as against 31.62 per cent in the same quarter of the previous financial year.

However, the company's sales increased by 18.57 per cent year-on-year to Rs 272.93 crore in the June quarter of the current financial year, as per reports.

Real estate remained the most preferred asset class for investment among 59 per cent of Indians in the first half this year, as 57 per cent of investors said they are buying premium properties to earn rental income, driven by surging rental rates in cities, according to a report on Friday.

About 51 per cent of respondents prefer 3 BHK units, showing increased demand for larger home, as 67 per cent of buyers seek property for end use, while 33 per cent the investment purpose, said the report by FICCI and Anarock Property Consultants.

The report highlighted significant shifts in homebuyer preferences and market dynamics in India's real estate sector.

“Investor confidence is vital for the industry's long-term success, and SEBI’s focus on transparency and governance has been key in building this trust,” said Pramod Rao, Executive Director, SEBI. He emphasised that strong compliance and better disclosures will be crucial in attracting institutional investments.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's focus on 'Transformation through Transportation’ is turning waterways into the new highways of India and in the month of September, cargo volume handled by 12 major ports surged to 413.747 million metric tonnes (MMT), a 5.03 per cent growth (year-on-year).

According to the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, the transportation of cargo on National Waterways reached 56.57 MMT for the April-August 2024, registering 4.54 per cent growth over the same period last year.

The volume of cargo transported through India's inland waterways took more than six-fold leap from 18.07 million metric tonnes (MMT) in 2013-14 to 133.03 MMT in 2023-24.

After a successful 5G rollout, the country is now taking lead in 6G as the ‘Digital India’ initiative transforms the economy, with the Jan Dhan, Aadhaar and Mobile (JAM) trinity emerging as a solid foundation block, experts said here on Friday.

Sumnesh Joshi, Deputy Director General, Ministry of Communications said that the country has seen one of the fastest roll out of 5G services across the world and has taken the lead in 6G.

Addressing an event organised by Assocham, Joshi said that today, everyone has a bank account creating a robust ecosystem for innovative services such as financial credit or micro credit, micro insurance, mutual fund and even share-related products.

“We have to leverage the ecosystem that we have created in our country. Today, we are even able to transact just 5 rupees, 10 rupees, 15 rupees. We can now think of making a payment without the smartphone, without the QR code. Aadhaar-based payments is the next logical step and the need of the hour is to connect all the systems,” he told the gathering.

India has surpassed China to become the largest two-wheeler market in the world, driven by rising demand in rural areas, supported by favourable monsoon conditions and government initiatives for rural development, a report showed on Friday.

Globally, two-wheeler sales grew 4 per cent (year-on-year) in the first half of 2024, according to Counterpoint Research.

Although India, Europe, North America, Latin America, and the Middle East and Africa saw growth, China and Southeast Asia (SEA) experienced a decline.

Senior analyst Soumen Mandal said that India’s two-wheeler market saw a remarkable 22 per cent YoY growth in the first half this year.