Driven by robust rural demand, Indian e-commerce market is expected to reach $325 billion in 2030, with a strong 21 per cent compound annual growth rate (CAGR), a report said on Monday.

The retail sector, which is valued at $753 billion in FY23, is projected to post a 9.1 per cent CAGR until FY27, the highest among the large economies, according to the FICCI-Deloitte report.

The findings showed that retailers are rapidly adapting to omnichannel strategies, employing tech-enabled experiential selling, and launching new private labels to cater to India’s price-sensitive yet aspirational consumers.

The expansion of retail networks in tier 2 and 3 cities is expected to contribute a significant portion of this growth, the report noted.

The securitisation volumes of standard assets in India reached Rs 60,000 crore in the July-September period in FY25, a growth of 36 per cent on quarterly basis and 31 per cent on year-over-year basis, according to a report on Monday.

In the April-September period, the securitisation volumes estimated to have touched Rs 104,000 crore, reflecting a modest YoY growth of 2 per cent, as the volumes had been relatively muted in the April-June period, according to credit rating ICRA. The report expects the market volumes to reach Rs 2.1 lakh crore in FY25.

According to the report, the sharp increase in the quarterly volumes has been fuelled by large private sector banks selling down their portfolio to improve their credit-to-deposit ratio, given the relatively lower pace of deposit accretion being witnessed.

The Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) on Monday announced a collaboration with leading global resources company BHP to accelerate steelmaking decarbonisation in the country.

SAIL, the largest government-owned steel producer in India, said the move is an important step for them in promoting lower carbon steelmaking technology pathways for the blast furnace (BF) route in the country.

Amarendu Prakash, Chairman of SAIL, said the emergent need to align the steel sector with climate commitments is non-negotiable.

“SAIL is committed to contributing towards tackling the issue of climate change through fostering an innovative future for the steel industry in India,” said Prakash.

India Inc saw 551 deals worth $19 billion in the July-September period, clocking highest quarterly deal volumes in two years, a report showed on Monday.

The three-month period (Q3 2024) also saw 25 initial public offerings (IPOs) valued at $4.1 billion, according to Grant Thornton Bharat Dealtracker.

There were 214 mergers and acquisitions valued at $11.4 billion, a 57 per cent increase in volume and 65 per cent in value from Q2 2024, which is a testament to India's resilience and growing confidence.

“India's deal-making environment has been on the upward trend in volumes since Q1 2023, with Q3 2024 marking its highest, reflecting domestic market resilience, driven by domestic and cross-border transactions and breeding confidence among investors,” said Shanthi Vijetha, Partner, Growth at Grant Thornton Bharat.

With the festive season in full swing, Artificial Intelligence (AI), quick-commerce, and the rise of micro-influencers are some factors playing a leading role in influencing festive purchases this year, finds a report on Monday.

The report, commissioned by social media giant Meta and conducted in September by consumer insights platform GWI, indicates an optimism in consumer sentiment with half of respondents planning on spending more than last year.

It noted that festive shopping trends continue to see disruption with 96 per cent of shoppers expecting their shopping pattern to change this year on the back of online shopping, e-commerce penetration, and the rise of quick commerce.

Bhavish Aggarwal-led Ola Electric saw its stock crashing to about Rs 90 a piece in the morning trade on Monday, as aggrieved customers flooded social media platforms again with a myriad of issues with its flagship electric two-wheeler.

The Ola Electric share nosedived to Rs 90.26 apiece, a drop of 8.5 per cent from the last trading session. The EV firm debuted on the stock market with Rs 76 and even touched Rs 157.40, before crashing like a pack of cards over innumerable hardware and software issues with its e-scooters and poor conditions at its service centres across the country.

Since touching the all-time high, the company’s share is trading around 42-43 per cent lower.

The EV firm continues to lose its market share in the Indian EV market and in September, its share further dropped to 27 per cent amid rising competition as well as its crippling service centres. It saw 24,665 e-scooter sales last month, from 27,587 units sold in August, according to the government transportation portal Vahan.

Led by robust two-wheeler (2W) retail sales, the Indian automobile market saw 6.55 per cent growth (year-on-year) in the first six month of current fiscal (FY25), as rural markets are set to spur demand going forward, a report showed on Monday.

The Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) said that the April-September period saw 9.08 per cent sales growth in 2W, 7.58 per cent in 3W and 1.07 per cent in passenger vehicles (PVs).

However, consumer vehicles (CV) and tracker retail sales fell by 0.65 per cent and 8.82 per cent, respectively, as per the FADA data.

According to FADA President C.S Vigneshwar, “the Shraddh period further impacted sales negatively, leading to a YoY decline in retail sales across various categories”.

Mercedes-Benz car dealers in South Korea have apparently been trained by the company's local unit to tell customers that the automaker used battery cells produced exclusively by CATL in its electric vehicle (EV) models.

In the 2023 EQ Sales Playbook, Mercedes-Benz Korea's official dealer training material, dealers were instructed to mention CATL as the EV battery cell manufacturer when responding to customer inquiries. CATL is the global leader in EV battery sales, reports news agency.

The topic of EV battery cell suppliers has been a closely watched matter within the auto industry recently, following a massive fire caused by a Mercedes-Benz EV that ended up damaging over 100 vehicles and destroying an underground apartment parking garage in Incheon, west of Seoul, in August.

The real estate sector in India is the second-largest employer after the agriculture sector and the phenomenal growth with an 18.7 per cent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) makes the sector ripe to become the largest employment generating sector and a hub for young talent, industry leaders said on Saturday.

The Indian real estate industry is witnessing a boom in terms of value and volume with a well-established value chain of developers in residential and commercial real estate, contractors, consultants such as architects and engineers, investors and so on.

“Further, this 'mother industry' is boosting other ancillary sectors and also, new-age PropTech startups are also booming with over Rs 40,000 crore invested in them, the real estate sector is poised to create multiple career opportunities,” said Vikas Jain, President-Elect, NAREDCO Maharashtra Next-Gen.

Speaking at a seminar here, Rajesh Doshi, Secretary, NAREDCO Maharashtra, said this sector is not limited to engineers or architects anymore.

“Real estate is for smart, driven individuals who can turn possibilities into opportunities. With the integration of tech, big data, and 3D modelling, there is a rising demand for skilled professionals like data scientists to forecast industry trends and dynamics,” Doshi added.

Bank credit grew by 15 per cent in August in India, maintaining steady levels compared to the same month last year (14.9 per cent) as agriculture and industry picked up, a report showed on Saturday.

The non-food credit demand has also grown by 15 per cent in August with broadly similar growth last year, according to the report by Bank of Baroda (BoB).

According to Jahnavi Prabhakar, economist, Bank of Baroda, the credit to agriculture sector rose at a steady pace of 17.7 per cent from 18.1 per cent in July and higher than 16.5 per cent growth in August last year.

The credit to the industry sector saw a moderate increase of 9.8 per cent YoY in August, compared to 5.3 per cent same month last year.

Notably, medium-sized firms saw robust growth in demand, rising 19.2 per cent YoY, while large industries witnessed a 7.7 per cent credit growth.