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India’s Growth Vs Emissions Conundrum
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In today’s edition — why India should focus on improving the living standards of its people rather than reducing emissions; Reliance-owned Campa Cola gets co-presenting rights for IPL 2025; and India’s view on Russian oil sanctions.
JANUS VIEW
Reducing Emissions A Global Responsibility, India Must Prioritise Living Standards
A major event in India this week has been the India Energy Week that concluded on February 12. While it covered the ground on different energy sources and the energy transition to a low-carbon future, the vital area of carbon capture for storage or utilisation did not receive the attention it deserves. There were two technical sessions on the subject, but it did not figure as the prime mover in climate strategies that it actually is.
Speaking at the India Energy Week, oil minister Hardip Singh Puri flaunted India’s success with providing even rural homes with cooking gas, to rescue rural women from the passive, low-level poisoning they suffer while cooking with biomass that is burnt inefficiently, producing a lot of smoke. He was offering the Indian model to African nations.
While replacing wood stoves with gas stoves might seem a great move, it is actually far from salutary. It makes sense for India to make electricity the primary cooking fuel in rural areas. At one point, this would have seemed like a daydream. Now, with near total electrification of rural areas, and power lines bringing electricity to the smallest hamlets, it only takes an efficient supply of electricity to replace all other fuels with this relatively cheap and absolutely smokeless fuel.
India imports half its requirement of natural gas and 80% of its requirement of crude oil. Cooking gas is produced from either of these two. Instead of training Indians to cook on this imported fuel, it makes far more sense to generate enough power to make electricity the preferred fuel for cooking. Power can be generated from locally abundant coal, besides from renewable wind and solar. India has the world’s fourth-largest reserves of coal. India would not run up a balance of payments problem for its cooking fuel if it uses electricity generated from coal.
What of the emissions this would create? India’s primary responsibility is to grow and improve the living standards of its people.
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PODCAST
On Episode 508 of The Core Report, financial journalist Govindraj Ethiraj talks to Ajay Rotti, Founder and CEO of Tax Compass. We also feature an excerpt from our interview with Sandeep Kumar Gupta, Chairman and Managing Director, GAIL (India) limited.
The Markets Slide For The Seventh Day Even As Asian Markets Perk Up.
Small Cap Vs Large Cap Debate.
The New Income Tax Bill Will Be Old When It Arrives.
How India Is Using Gas To Power Economic Growth.
CORE NUMBER
Rs 200 crore
This is the value of the co-presenting rights deal for IPL 2025 secured by Reliance Consumer Products-owned Campa Cola. According to reports, this is the same amount paid by Coca Cola’s Thums Up last season. The move marks Campa Cola’s national expansion, taking on global giants like Coca-Cola, Business Standard reported. Reliance will also promote its sports drink Spinner and RasKik Gluco Energy during the IPL, leveraging sponsorships with five teams. Meanwhile, Coca-Cola is strengthening its partnerships. IPL 2025’s ad revenue is expected to grow 8-10%, reaching Rs 4,500 crore, with the tournament running from March 21 to May 25.
FROM THE PERIPHERY
—📊 Amid debate over remarks made by Sankaran Naren, the chief investment officer at ICICI Prudential AMC, Moneycontrol reports that the company has the least exposure to the small and midcap funds among the country's top five fund houses in terms of assets under management (AUM). The report said that ICICI Prudential AMC's small cap exposure as a percentage of equity scheme AUM was in single digits, at 9.58%. Earlier this week Naren had said, "We think it is time to take out lock, stock and barrel from small- and mid-caps." Along with prudential MF, HDFC MF, Nippon India MF and Kotak MF made up 54% of the total industry AUM as of December 31, 2024.
—🛢️ India won’t take oil from Russia unless it comes from companies and ships that have not been sanctioned by the US. Reuters reported India’s oil secretary Pankaj Jain as saying, “It is the responsibility of the supplier to deliver to me something that meets my requirements of compliance.” India is the second-largest importer of crude oil from Russia and the world’s third-largest oil importer. Jain’s comments come at a time when India has been playing it safe as the Donald Trump administration threatens countries with tariffs. While Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has had a cordial relationship with Trump, the US president did not spare a warning for India when it comes to tariffs.
—📵 India’s market regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), is pushing for greater powers to remove unauthorised financial advice from WhatsApp, Telegram, and other social media platforms and access call records for market violation probes. However, the government has yet to approve the request, despite a similar attempt in 2022. Social media companies, including Meta and Telegram, have refused to share data, citing legal restrictions. SEBI argues that without these powers, investigating insider trading and market fraud is difficult. The government is reviewing the request, but granting such authority would require a wider policy change.
—💰 Fundraising through Qualified Institutional Placements (QIPs) reached a record high in 2024, with 99 issues raising Rs 1,41,482 crore, a 75% increase from the previous peak of Rs 80,816 crore in 2020. The real estate sector emerged as the top contributor, with eight developers and one REIT raising Rs 22,320 crore, highlighting strong institutional investor confidence. QIP activity doubled from 2023, when 43 issues raised Rs 55,109 crore, with no real estate participation. Despite market volatility, the Real Estate Index surged 34.67%, reinforcing sustained investor interest in the sector.
😒UGHH
Amid heated global debates on whether to go back to work full time, yet another CEO has pushed back at employees resisting it. And the language used wasn’t kosher. JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon wasn’t happy with an online petition by employees urging him to reconsider a five-day work-from-office policy. According to Reuters, who accessed recordings, during a town hall meeting on Wednesday, Dimon said, “Don't waste time on it. I don't care how many people sign that fucking petition.”
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