In a bid to ease the financial burden on direct-to-home (DTH) operators, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on Friday released recommendations on ‘Framework for Service Authorisations for provision of Broadcasting Services under the Telecommunications Act, 2023’.

The telecom regulator recommended a reduction in the authorisation fee for DTH services from the current 8 per cent to 3 per cent of the adjusted gross revenue (AGR).

In addition, TRAI also proposed the complete phasing out of the authorisation fee for DTH players by the end of fiscal 2026-27.

Aiming to promote growth and enhance ease of doing business in the sector, TRAI also recommended to reduce bank guarantees and processing fees for DTH and HITS services.

Global brokerage Elara Capital on Thursday initiated coverage on Adani Energy Solutions Ltd (AESL) with a 'BUY' rating and a share price target of Rs 930 -- implying a 37 per cent potential upside from the current market price.

Adani Energy Solutions is set to post robust growth in its transmission, distribution, and smart meters businesses. Transmission EBITDA is likely to double to Rs 76 billion by FY27E, driven by India's renewable energy (RE) target, 20-25 per cent market share in Rs 840 billion near-term transmission bid and a Rs 548 billion project pipeline.

In distribution, Mundra SEZ demand is set to surge from 50MW to 5GW, pushing the regulated asset base (RAB) to Rs 15-20 billion while Mumbai operations would get annual capex of Rs 12-15 billion, which would increase regulated equity to Rs 60 billion by FY27E, according to the brokerage.

In a further push to the local manufacturing, the entire iPhone 16 lineup, including the newly-launched iPhone 16e, is now being assembled in India for domestic market as well as for exports, as industry experts on Thursday cleared the air around the new device being compared to now-retired iPhone SE.

The new Apple device, with A18 chip, breakthrough battery life, Apple Intelligence, and a 48MP 2-in-1 camera system, is being manufactured/assembled for local consumption as well as for export to select countries.

According to experts, iPhone 16e is not iPhone SE4 and the whole “comparison is futile”.

India's domestic benchmark indices ended lower for the third consecutive session on Thursday as selling was seen in the IT, pharma and financial services sectors.

Sensex ended at 75,735.96 down by 203.22 points or 0.27 per cent. The index had touched an intra-day high of 75,794.15 but also saw a low of 75,463.01 before closing.

The Nifty index ended almost unchanged at 22,913.15, slipping by 19.75 points or 0.09 per cent. The broader index traded between 22,923.85 and 22,812.75 during the session.

According to experts, another day passed with Nifty remaining confined within a narrow range, failing to break beyond a defined level.

The Suzuki Motor Corporation of Japan, the parent company of Maruti Suzuki India, on Thursday announced a new mid-term plan with a "rethink" in its strategy as "the business environment has changed due to declining market share in India" and the growing electrical vehicles segment.

In its new mid-term plan for 2025-30, the company has identified India as its "most important market". Maruti Suzuki aims to create a manufacturing capacity of producing 4 million cars annually to reclaim a 50 per cent market share in India and use the country as a global export hub as well.

The auto major plans to expand its EV lineup starting with the e-Vitara, and is aiming to launch four new EV models by FY30 in a segment where its rivals like Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra already have a varied EV portfolio in India.

"In India, we will promote further localisation in line with the growth of the electric vehicle market," the company said.

The cumulative number of EVs on Indian roads will likely cross 28 million units in 2030, generating significant demand for energy from the grid, according to the India Energy Storage Alliance (IESA), a leading industry body focused on e-mobility, energy storage and hydrogen.

India's cumulative EV sales have crossed 4.1 million units in the fiscal year 2023-2024 and the future outlook for electric vehicle sales continues to be positive, driven by increasing environmental awareness, customer interest, advancements in Battery technology, and readily available and easily accessible EV charging infrastructure, according to an IESA statement.

“It is predicted that 83 per cent of the annual sales would be e-2wheelers, 10 per cent would be e-4wheelers, and commercial vehicles such as trucks, buses while three-wheelers would contribute to 7 per cent of sales,” IESA said.

India continues to make significant and sustained inroads in its decarbonisation journey, with the rapid increase in sales of electric vehicles, supported by demand and supply incentives, growing consumer demand, and a focus on developing charging infrastructure.

The revenue growth of the Indian auto component industry is projected to expand by 8-10 per cent in FY26, according to a report on Thursday.

Credit rating agency ICRA expects operating margins to remain range-bound and hover at 11-12 per cent in FY25 and FY26, supported by benefits from operating leverage, higher content per vehicle and value addition, while remaining vulnerable to any significant unfavourable movements in commodity prices and foreign exchange rates.

The disruption along the Red Sea route has resulted in a surge in ocean freight rates by 2-3 times in CY2024, compared to CY2023.

The government on Wednesday said that a recent circular issued by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has no impact on the overall FASTag customer experience.

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) issued a clarification after reports surfaced, citing the NPCI circular dated January 28, regarding the change in FASTag rules which reportedly declines transactions on FASTags which are not active for more than 60 minutes prior to read time and up to 10 minutes after read time.

"The Circular has been issued by NPCI to facilitate resolution of disputes between Acquirer Bank and Issuer Bank on FASTag status while vehicle crosses Toll Plazas," the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways said.

The circular also aims to ensure that the FASTag transactions are created within a reasonable time of vehicle passing a toll plaza so that customers are not harassed by late transactions.

"All National Highway Toll Plazas operate on ICD 2.5 protocol which gives real-time tag status, hence the FASTag customers can recharge any time before crossing the toll plaza," the ministry said.

Some toll plazas on state highways are still on ICD 2.4 protocol which needs regular updates of tag status.

Domestic annual sales of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) vehicles are forecast to reach 1.1 million units by the end of the current financial year, driven by the government’s ongoing push for cleaner fuels, according to a Crisil report released on Wednesday.

This will take the CNG vehicle count in India to 7.5 million, a 3 times increase from 2.6 million in fiscal 2016, and translate into a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of around 12 per cent, the report states.

The rapid uptake has been undergirded by the expansion of the CNG infrastructure, with the number of filling stations set to rise to over 7,400 from 1,081 in fiscal 2016, etching a CAGR of 24 per cent.

The report also states that rising sales of CNG passenger vehicles has driven up their penetration in the overall passenger vehicle population to 15-16 per cent this fiscal-end vs 5.6 per cent in fiscal 2016.

The availability of over 30 CNG car variants, compared with single digit not long ago, thus catering to diverse consumer preferences, has accelerated adoption.

Global brokerage Jefferies on Wednesday said it remains optimistic about the two-wheeler industry in India, especially with recent income tax cuts in the Union Budget to boost consumption.

According to the firm, two-wheeler registrations in India grew at 4-5 per cent in January and the first half of February, following a strong performance during fiscal years 2022-24.

Jefferies projects a 13 per cent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for the two-wheeler industry from fiscal 2024 to 2027, which translates to a modest 3 per cent CAGR over the longer period from fiscal 2019 to 2027.

“The domestic industry is seeing divergent growth among companies, with TVS Motor Co. outperforming with double-digit growth and registration market share rise”, Jefferies said in a note.

"Hero MotoCorp Limited and Bajaj Auto Limited, conversely, are lagging in domestic two-wheeler growth," it added.