There is a potential $40 billion investment opportunity for the development of electric vehicles (EVs) and ancillary industries in India over the next 5-6 years, a report showed on Wednesday.

About two-thirds of the planned investments can potentially materialise in the lithium-ion battery segment alone, said the report by Colliers, a professional services and investment management company.

The deployment of these funds will rely upon successful implementation of government policies, charging infrastructure ramp-up and domestic manufacturing capacity scale-up, it added.

At the same time, with an uptick in EV adoption, increasing need for charging infrastructure would potentially translate into real estate demand for more than 45 million square feet by 2030.

The Indian capital market is projected to see 17-45 per cent compound annual growth rate (CAGR)-sustained revenue growth over FY24-27, a Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd (MOFSL) report said on Tuesday.

The entire ecosystem of capital market – asset management companies (AMCs), brokers, exchanges, intermediaries and wealth managers – will see sustained growth in revenue during the period

Fixed cost nature will drive operating leverage for all segments, resulting in superior profit growth, said the report, adding that high cash generation, healthy dividend payouts, and superior return on equities (RoEs) bolster MOFSL’s view in the entire capital market space.

There is a recent uptick in deal activity in the Indian market which will be better visible in the first quarter of 2025, a report showed on Tuesday.

As the year draws to a close, deal activity is expected to remain subdued to moderate, with several transactions likely to be pushed to Q1 2025, according to Grant Thornton Bharat Dealtracker.

“Quick commerce fund raising activity headlined in November, which otherwise witnessed a subdued activity as deals have been delayed/ postponed to 2025,” said Shanthi Vijetha, Partner, Growth at Grant Thornton Bharat.

“There is a recent uptick in deal activity in the market, but expected to be announced in Q1 2025. Hence, anticipate moderate deal activity in December too, but a good start for the new year 2025 in January,” she added.

India is expected to be the key destination for global oil and gas products as the country adds refinery, petrochem, LNG regasification and pipeline capacity while the Chinese economy slows, according to an HSBC report released on Tuesday.

The report states that global oil prices are likely to remain weak. This would benefit India as the country imports over 80 per cent of its crude oil requirement and any decline in global oil prices leads to a huge saving in the import bill.

"For India's oil and production, we expect another year of marginal growth but it is all contingent on ONGC's ability to deliver on-schedule production and minimise the decline in nomination blocks. CY25 will also see at least 25 per cent growth in LNG regasification capacity which will further enhance India's capacity to absorb global LNG. On the refining side, India is expected to increase its capacity by 9 per cent, adding 0.5 million barrels per day,” the HSBC report states.

The inflow into systematic investment plans (SIPs) stood at Rs 25,320 crore in November in the country, almost similar to the October figures (Rs 25,323 crore), according to data from the Association for Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) on Tuesday.

In November, the mutual fund industry's total assets under management (AUM) increased to Rs 68.08 lakh crore in November from Rs 67.25 lakh crore in October, as per the data by the AMFI.

In October, the SIP investments crossed Rs 25,000 crore for the first time in the country. The continuously increasing SIP figure shows that people prioritise investing in mutual funds through SIP.

The transport ministry here said on Tuesday it has imposed fines totalling 11.7 billion won ($8.16 million) on 18 foreign and domestic automakers for selling cars with inadequate safety standards.

Of those, the imported brands included BMW Korea, Honda Korea, Mercedes-Benz Korea and Tesla Korea, while the domestic manufacturers included Hyundai Motor Co., Kia Corp. and KG Mobility Corp., according to the ministry.

The ministry said the fines were based on corrective measures against defective parts of the companies' models from July to December of last year, reports news agency.

US national average price of gasoline was $2.97 per gallon, a level it last touched in 2021, according to a report from oilprice.com.

The number of US states that now enjoy average gas prices below $3 per gallon rose to about 35, up by seven from a month ago, said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, on Monday, reports news agency.

"The national average has finally fallen below $3 per gallon, and it couldn't come at a better time for motorists with the holidays upon us," Haan said, citing GasBuddy data compiled from more than 12 million individual price reports covering over 150,000 gas stations across the country.

"One would need to count over 1,300 days since we've seen the national average this low, with the affordability of gasoline at its lowest non-COVID level since 2015," he added.

Oil is the primary factor that determines gasoline prices in the United States, and commodity experts at Standard Chartered have predicted that US oil production will not surge under Donald Trump's second presidency, according to the oilprice.com report.

The Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) has granted regulatory approval to SSI Mantra, the first made-in-India surgical robotic system, for telesurgery and teleproctoring, signifying a monumental leap in surgical robotics, the company said on Monday.

Developed by Gurugram-based SS Innovations, the system aims to decentralise and democratise access to surgical expertise. It also addresses critical gaps in healthcare, particularly in remote areas, where access to specialised medical care has often been a challenge.

“Telesurgery and teleproctoring have been a dream in the making for over four decades, and today, it has finally come to life. With the technology and bandwidth available now, we can truly decentralise and democratise surgical expertise, reaching patients and surgeons in the most remote parts of India and the world,” said Dr. Sudhir Srivastava, SS Innovations Founder, Chairman, and CEO.

Air India on Monday confirmed it has placed an order to purchase 100 more Airbus aircraft, comprising 10 widebody A350 and 90 narrowbody A320 aircraft, including A321neo.

These 100 new aircraft are in addition to the firm orders of 470 aircraft that Air India had placed with Airbus and Boeing last year.

The latest order takes the total number of aircraft that Air India ordered with Airbus in 2023 from 250 aircraft, comprising 40 A350 and 210 A320 Family aircraft, to 350, the airline said.

Air India also announced it has selected Airbus’ Flight Hour Services-Component (FHS-C) to support the maintenance requirements of its growing A350 fleet.

Tata Motors on Monday announced to hike prices by up to 3 per cent across its passenger vehicles (PVs) portfolio, including electric vehicles (EVs).

Effective from January, the price increase will vary depending on model and variant, and is being taken to partially offset the rise in input costs and inflation, said the automaker.

Kia India also announced up to 2 per cent price hike across its entire lineup, effective from January 1, “primarily due to rising commodity prices and escalating supply chain-related costs”.

“At Kia, we are committed to delivering exceptional, technologically advanced vehicles of the highest quality to our valued customers. However, due to the persistent rise in commodity prices, unfavourable exchange rates, and increased input costs, a necessary price adjustment has become unavoidable,” said Hardeep Singh Brar, senior vice president, sales and marketing, Kia India.