Tata Motors, India’s leading electric vehicle (EV) maker, on Monday slashed the prices of its two popular cars by up to Rs 1.2 lakh to pass on to consumers the benefits of reduced battery prices.

Depending on the model, the Nexon.ev would now start at Rs 14.49 lakh and the Tiago.ev from Rs 7.9 lakh.
Nexon’s price was reduced by up to Rs 1.2 lakh and the Tiago by is up to Rs 70,000. Prices of the recently launched Punch.ev remain unchanged as the battery price reduction was already factored in, said Tata Motors, which has more than 70 per cent of India’s EV market.

The mercury settled at 11 degrees Celsius on Tuesday morning in Delhi as a partial haze enveloped parts of the city, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

The relative humidity at 8.30 am was recorded at 97 per cent, the IMD's weather bulletin said.

The weather office on Monday had forecast a partly cloudy sky with the possibility of very light rain or drizzle and shallow fog on Tuesday morning.

Ashok Leyland's shareholding in UK-based commercial vehicle maker Optare Plc, which is also the holding company of Switch Mobility Ltd, rose to 92.59 per cent from 92.19 per cent. This comes after the company invested Rs 536.73 crore in the second tranche via equity shares in Optare, it told the exchanges on Tuesday.

In November last year, Ashok Leyland announced that it would invest Rs 1,200 crore in its electric vehicle arm, Switch Mobility, through Optare Plc. In December, it had invested Rs 662.5 crore in the first tranche. On Tuesday, the company said it has completed the investment in the second tranche.

Retail sales of automobiles in January 2024 witnessed a 15 per cent increase to 2.13 million units, compared to 1.85 million units during the corresponding period in 2023.

This growth was observed across all vehicle categories, including two-wheelers, three-wheelers, passenger vehicles, tractors, and commercial vehicles, which reported increases of 15 per cent, 37 per cent, 13 per cent, 21 per cent, and 0.1 per cent, respectively, according to data shared by the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA).

Reserve Bankof India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das on Monday firmly dismissed any possibility of a review of the central bank’s action against Paytm Payments Bank.

He stated that the decision was taken after a comprehensive assessment of the firm’s operations.

The Reserve Bank of India (RB) on Monday conducted two four-day variable rate repo (VRR) auctions to infuse liquidity into the banking system. The liquidity deficit in the system widened to Rs 1.93 trillion on Sunday.

The central bank conducted two VRR auctions in a day for the first time on Friday, following six fine-tuning variable rate reverse repo (VRRR) auctions between February 2 and 7. This included two one-day VRRR auctions on February 6 and 7.

Fintech firm One97 Communications, which owns the Paytm brand, has received support from merchants, and it assured them of continuity of services without any disruption, the company said in a blog on Sunday.

The blog post came amid the recent crisis around Paytm Payments Bank Limited (PPBL), an associate company of Paytm, which has been barred by the RBI from accepting deposits or top-ups in customer accounts, wallets, FASTags and other instruments after February 29.

SpiceJet Airlines is set to reduce its workforce by 1,400 employees, constituting nearly 15 per cent of its total staff, as part of cost-cutting measures aimed at sustaining investor interest amidst ongoing financial challenges. The cash-strapped budget airlines confirmed the news with The Economic Times (ET), citing the necessity for aligning companywide costs with operational requirements as the rationale behind the staff reductions.

The airline currently employs 9,000 personnel and operates approximately 30 aircraft, including eight wet-leased from foreign carriers.

Samsung has announced that the sleep apnea feature on the Samsung Health Monitor app has received De Novo authorization from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This feature detects the signs of sleep apnea by monitoring blood oxygen levels of the user during sleep through supported Galaxy Watches. The feature will be available in the US through the Samsung Health Monitor app in the third quarter of 2024.

Last year, Samsung received the approval by South Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) for the same feature.

Apeejay Surrendra Park Hotels (ASPHL) made a good stock market debut on Monday, with its shares getting listed at Rs 187, a 21 per cent premium over its issue price of Rs 155 per share on the BSE in an otherwise subdued market.

The stock opened at Rs 186 on the National Stock Exchange (NSE). The company is engaged in the hospitality business and runs hotels under its "The Park" brand.

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