Indian Rupee: Seen extending upside amid dollar weakness
The Indian rupee is seen extending upside in opening trades on Monday as weak dollar, lower oil prices and expectation of a positive start to local equities support. Rupee opened higher at Rs 85.61 per dollar and hit a low of 85.60 so far during the day. On Friday, INR saw good gains against the US dollar after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) cut interest rates by half a percent, continuing to witness good support around 86 threshold. RBI has slashed its key lending rate, or the repo rate, by 50 basis points to 5.5% amid softening inflation. INR added 16 paise at 85.64 per US dollar. Local stocks soared following this with the NIFTY50 index zooming up 1% to hit 25K mark. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Sanjay Malhotra also noted that with the moderation in trade deficit in Q4:2024-25, alongside strong services exports and remittance receipts, the current account deficit (CAD) for 2024-25 is expected to remain low. On the NSE, USDINR pair eased slightly to 85.73 tracking loses in dollar overseas.
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Time of India
42 minutes ago
- Time of India
Fly ash brick prices up due to raw material costs
Indore: A significant increase in raw material costs led to a price hike of 0.50 paise per piece in fly ash bricks across Indore, lifting the overall building costs for homeowners and construction companies. The surge primarily stems from the rising costs of stone crusher dust and other essential materials used in the manufacturing process. The revised cost of fly ash bricks in Indore is Rs 6.50 per piece. Now the cost of a small truckload carrying 2,000 flyash bricks will be dearer by Rs 1,000. Vijay Gandhi, a builder and member of Confederation of Real Estate Developers' Associations of India (CREDAI), Indore said, "Any jump in the input cost directly impacts the building cost. In Indore fly ash is used in around 30-40 per cent projects and red bricks are used widely in Indore due to its easy availability." The robust manufacturing base has established Indore as a significant hub for fly ash brick production in the region. According to industry data, Indore's fly ash brick manufacturing units produce approximately 20 lakh pieces daily. The majority of this production serves the local market, with most supplies being consumed within the city and a 20-kilometre radius. Abhishek Purohit, vice president, Fly Ash Brick Manufacturers Cooperative Society Ltd, said, "The association members unanimously decided in a meeting that due to the rising costs of gravel and stone crusher dust used in the production of fly ash bricks, the price per brick will be increased by 0.50 paise. These revised rates will be implemented immediately." The city hosts over 200 fly ash brick manufacturers, forming a substantial industrial segment. These units collectively require around 6,000 tonnes of fly ash per day to maintain their production levels. Industry experts suggest that this price increase could impact ongoing and planned construction projects in the area. Small-scale builders and individual homeowners might need to revise their budgets to accommodate these higher material costs. "Local manufacturers are working to maintain steady production levels while managing increased operational costs, but this has resulted in squeezed margins. Fly ash bricks offer an eco-friendly alternative to traditional clay bricks, and despite the price increase, these bricks remain an essential building material," said Gaurav Mohta, president, of the association. Fly ash manufacturers highlighted challenges related to logistics and timely transportation of fly ash to end-users.
New Indian Express
an hour ago
- New Indian Express
Cool way to cut power consumption
A 2020 CEEW survey found that nearly 60% of Indian AC users set their units at 23°C or lower. 'Even a modest shift from 18°C to 20°C can cut AC energy use by 12%. If just 30% of new buyers (~5 million) adopt this change, it could save 1.4 billion units of electricity annually — enough to power 10–14 million homes monthly,' Agrawal added. If India improves its ACs efficiency substantially, energy consumption will be reduced to nearly 120 terawatt-hours by 2035, which is comparable to the energy output of over 60 gigawatts (GW) of solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity, say market estimates. The moot question though is whether the industry and consumers are ready for it. Different studies show that improving the efficiency of ACs can be a win-win proposition for both the industry and consumers. The IECC study challenges the notion that increasing the efficiency of ACs will make them less affordable. Global data, as well as India's data of AC consumers, reveals that the price of higher efficient ACs consistently decreases while the efficiency of ACs doubles in the same period. Experts explain that the lower cost of ACs with higher efficiency is due to the economy of scale, enhanced manufacturing process, and competitive market dynamics. Data from Japan shows that between 1990 and 2015, the price of ACs reduced by 80%, while in the same period, ACs efficiency doubled, from 2.5 to 6.1 on the energy efficiency index. In Korea, too, energy efficiency increased to more than double, while the price declined by 60% after inflation was adjusted. Similarly, between 2004 and 2023, room AC efficiency improved by 60% in India, and prices were nearly halved. However, India's AC efficiency has not increased compared to Japan and Korea, which bolsters the idea that higher efficiency does not lead to increased costs. Moreover, the price of lesser efficient ACs compared to the efficient ACs is not much different. The IECC analysis shows that the average market price of 5-star ACs (highly efficient) is almost equal to that of 4-star and a little above that of 3-star. The median retail price of 3-star ACs last year was `36,990, whereas the 4-star median price was `43,490, followed by the 5-star price of `43,990. A market analysis shows that investing in 5-star ACs (1 ton) yields an upfront median incremental price of `5,970 compared to 1-star ACs. However, the higher-efficiency AC consumes 377 kWh less per year, resulting in annual electricity bill savings of `3,360. This implies a payback period of under two years.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
CM flying squad to probe MCM sanitation contract
Gurgaon: The CM flying squad has initiated an investigation into MCM's sanitation contract with Akanksha Enterprises, demanding documents such as tender details, contractor payments, and supervision records. The probe follows MCM's recent Rs 9.2 crore penalty on the contractor for inadequate service delivery. The contract, initially valid till Feb 2025, was extended to May. "A letter was sent to the MCM officials seeking details of the contract so that the CM flying squad could probe the matter. The civic body was given a week's time to probe the matter," said a ULB official privy to the matter. The contractor submitted an invoice of Rs 13.2 crore for services rendered during these three months. The representative of Akanksha Enterprises, Shishpal Rana, could not be reached despite repeated attempts by TOI. In April, the company also faced a Rs 4.3 crore penalty, during which they alleged bribery among senior MCM officials and payment delays, leading to the transfer of the then MCM commissioner. A sanitation standing committee reviewed the work of the agency between Feb 20, 2025, and May 19, 2025. A meeting was held on June 4 when the committee recommended deducting over Rs 9.17 crore from the agency's Rs 13.17 crore bill, approving only Rs 3.9 crore for payment. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Giao dịch vàng CFDs với mức chênh lệch giá thấp nhất IC Markets Đăng ký Undo According to state govt-sanctioned estimates derived from central public health and environment engineering standards (SWM manual of CPPHEO norms, 20216) and the project's request for proposal (RFP), the agency was required to supply 1,997 personnel, 96 tractor trolleys, 468 rickshaw carts, and four earthmovers for sweeping roads in the MCM area. The urban local bodies (ULB) department stipulated that all SWM payments would be processed via the SWM monitoring portal starting Jan 2025. The committee observed a significant gap between the actual deployment figures shown on the SWM portal. It revealed personnel shortfalls of 1,315 in Feb, 1,355 in March, 1,533 in April, and 1,284 in May. Regarding equipment deployment, the committee's review showed that the agency provided only 101 rickshaw carts instead of the required 468 and merely 38 tractor trolleys against the specified 94, indicating substantial shortages in equipment provision for their work in the MCM area for three months.
