The state of Maharashtra tops the list  with the  highest number of registered investors  with  1.48 crore. Uttar Pradesh  rose  to  second position, surpassing Gujarat, with 89.47 lakh investors. The state recorded a  33.8%  growth  in the number  of  new investors.  

 The number of  investors in the  stock market  in India has  crossed  the 8 crore  mark,  registering a remarkable growth of 22.4%  compared to  the figure recorded on December 31, 2022,  according to  data from the  Exchange.  National Stock Exchange (NSE). 

  The total  number of investors  as  on  December 25,  2023  stood at 8.49 crore  as against  6.94 crore  as  on December 31, 2022.  Data shows that the investor  base  has grown  from 7 crore to 8 crore in eight  months.  

 The state of Maharashtra tops the list  with the  highest number of registered investors  with  1.48 crore. Uttar Pradesh  rose  to  second position, surpassing Gujarat, with 89.47 lakh investors. The state recorded a  33.8%  growth  in the number  of  new investors. 

  Gujarat  stood at  third position with 76.68 lakh registered investors, recording a growth of  17.2 per cent  in the number of registered investors.  Several other states  have seen significant increases  in investor participation in the stock market. West Bengal, Karnataka, Tamil  Nadu  and Rajasthan  emerged  as the  top  states, each with an investor base of  over  47 lakh registered individuals. 

  The  notable increase in investor participation can be attributed to the recent market  recovery, which has led to increased  interest  in  equity  investing.  

 The Indian stock market has seen  decent growth in  2023,  with both  benchmark indices hitting consecutive record highs on the back of  strong  domestic economic growth and optimism  around reduce  global interest rates  next  year.  

 The frontline  Nifty 50  index  has  gained  nearly 20%, while  the  BSE Sensex  has gained over  18% in 2023 so far. The bullish momentum was seen in  the  broader markets  and  they  significantly  outperformed the  leading stocks.  The Nifty Smallcap 100 index  has gained  over 54% and the Nifty Midcap 100  has gained  over 45% this year. 

  India’s  market  capitalization has  crossed the $4 trillion mark and India  ranks  fourth in the world in terms of market  capitalization.  

  At the same time,  the market capitalization-to-GDP  ratio increased by 10 percentage points to 115  on  December 25, 2023, from 105 on December 31, 2022. 

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  According  to the Thai Rice Exporters  Association, Thailand’s 5% cracked white rice – the Asian benchmark – increased for the third consecutive week to $659 per ton on Wednesday. This is  the highest  level  since October 2008. 

  Rice prices  have hit  a  new  15-year high, fueled by strong demand and lingering supply concerns.  According  to the Thai Rice Exporters  Association, Thailand’s 5% cracked white rice – the Asian benchmark – increased for the third consecutive week to $659 per ton on Wednesday. This is  the highest  level  since October 2008 and  has sent  prices  up  about 38% this year, after top  exporter  India restricted exports and dry weather threatened production.  

Rice is  essential  to the diets of billions of people in Asia and Africa, and the latest  price hike  could  add to  inflationary  pressure  and  increase  import bills for buyers. Some  countries  have  increased  purchases to  stock up on supplies out of concern  that the impact of El Niño  could  further tighten  supply  in the coming months. 

 Indonesian President Joko Widodo said last week that Thailand  would  deliver  up to  2 million tons next year, while India  agreed to supply 1 million tons. Meanwhile, the Philippines is  expected  to receive more than 500,000 tons of rice imported by the private sector  until the end of  February.  

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 The number of fraud cases reported by private banks accounted for 66.2% of the total  cases.  

 Indian banks reported a total of 12,069 card and internet-related digital frauds  in the first half of FY24 (April-September),  amounting to  Rs  630 crore,  seven times higher than  87 crore  fraud during  the corresponding period  of the  previous  financial year, says the report, Banking Sector Trends and Progress 2023 by  the Reserve Bank of  India (RBI).  

 Overall, lenders reported a total of 14,483  scams  amounting to  Rs  2,642 crore, the lowest in six years. “Based on the date of  fraud occurrence,  the average amount involved  decreased  during  2022-2023,  with the number of  incidents  concentrated  on  card or  internet related frauds,”  the report said.  

 The number of fraud cases reported by private banks accounted for 66.2% of the total  cases, while  in terms of  numbers,  public sector banks  accounted for  a higher share. The majority of  fraud cases  in public sector banks were related to advances, while private lenders accounted for  the  majority of  cases related to cards,  internet and  cash.  

 Along with  the overall  decline in  frauds, the RBI also  fined  lenders  less  in FY23  compared to  FY22. For  example,  the regulator imposed a total  fine  of  3 .7 crores  on seven  non-compliance  cases in  public sector banks in FY23,  compared to a fine of Rs  17.6 crore  imposed  in  13  cases  in FY22.  

 Private banks were  fined  more than public sector banks in FY23, with the regulator imposing  a penalty of Rs  12.2 crore  for  seven  violations by  these  lenders. The central bank  has  imposed the highest penalty on cooperative banks, as it  has imposed  a  fine  of Rs 14 crore for 176 violations by this category of lenders. 

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 Delhi  makes  most payments between  midnight and 6am.  

 An  interesting finding  from  the report  is  that the maximum number of payments  are made  on  Saturday,  making it the busiest day  of  the week for digital transactions.  With  most payments  made  between  midnight and  6  am,  Delhi  has become Paytm’s  night owl.  

 One97 Communications Limited  (OCL),  the  owner of  payments and financial services company Paytm,  has  announced the release of  Paytm Summary 2023.  The  summary shows  payment numbers and user engagement on  the app  its  use. 

 Users can also check  out  their  personal payments journey  with Paytm in 2023 through paytm.com/recap.  Paytm  recorded  strong in-store payment  figures  with  over  92 lakh  devices pioneered by  Paytm  like  Soundbox, Card  Machine,  etc. in the quarter ending  September  2023. A total of 912 crore merchant payments were made using Paytm in Q2FY24. Paytm was the first  company  to launch QR code  and confirmation  based  payments Instant sound  with Soundbox device. This year, the company launched three new Paytm Soundbox devices for  merchants:  Pocket Soundbox, Music  Soundbox  and Card Soundbox.  

An  interesting finding  from  the report  is  that the maximum number of payments  are made  on  Saturday,  making it the busiest day  of  the week for digital transactions.  By  making most payments between  midnight and  6  am,  Delhi  has become Paytm’s  night owl,  outperforming  cities like Hyderabad, Bengaluru,  Chennai  and Goa. 

  “The  company’s  report shows the widespread adoption of  Paytm’s pioneering  QR codes and  points out  that if all the Paytm QR codes used this year were stacked  together, they  would be  larger  than 40 Qutub  Minars, ”  it said in  an announcement.  

 The company is  expanding  digital payments  everywhere, thereby  driving financial inclusion as it is  adopted in the most remote parts  of the country, with users  coming  from places like Dharwas in Himachal Pradesh and Laitmawsiang in Meghalaya. 

 There were some interesting  observations  during the  year  with Rs 20 being the most  popular  amount paid by  Paytm users. Facilitating  payments  of over 55  lakh  challans worth  over  a staggering Rs  179  crore, the company  has  provided users with a convenient way to  clear  fines and  fees.

  “Over  the  past  year, users  have  made payments to our  robust commerce  base  worth ₹3.75  crore, across the country, supporting businesses of all sizes,” the company said. 

  A  Paytm  spokesperson said:  “As the pioneer of QR  codes, sound boxes  and mobile payments in India, we continue to see widespread acceptance of Paytm, with  growing  adoption  by  consumers and  sellers.  

In 2023, we achieved new milestones and further  strengthened  our leadership in payments. We continue to  be at the forefront of  technology for  small shops  in India  and remain focused on driving financial inclusion in  India. 

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 The  Indian economy showed resilience in 2023 with strong GDP growth and  strong  GST  collections,  but inflation remained above the RBI target. 

  The  Indian economy  has shown  remarkable resilience in 2023 with strong GDP growth and  strong  GST  collections.  However, inflation  remains higher than  the Reserve Bank of  India’s (RBI) target of 4%.  

 India’s retail inflation, or  inflation based on the  consumer price index  (CPI),  was  4.87%  in October,  up  from  5.02%  in September and  6.83%  in August. However, it rebounded in November  and hit  a three-month high of  5.5%.  

 In its  latest  policy  meeting,  the RBI kept  its  inflation forecast unchanged as it  forecast inflation based on the  Consumer Price Index  (CPI)  or retail  inflation  at  5.4%  for FY24, with  a third quarter forecast of  5.6  percent  and  a fourth quarter forecast of  5.2  percent. hundred.  CPI inflation  in the first quarter of FY25  is  forecast  at 5.2 per cent,  in the second quarter  at 4 per cent and  in the third quarter  at 4.7 per cent.  

 On the other hand, the RBI  has  raised its real GDP growth  forecast  for FY24 to  7%,  from  6.5% previously,  with Q3 GDP at  6.5% (vs. previous estimate  of  6%. )  and  fourth quarter  GDP  was 6%. (compared to previous estimate  of  6%).  The  previous estimate was 5.7%). 

RBI’s  real GDP growth  forecast for the first quarter  of  FY25  is  6.7 per cent, for  the second quarter of FY25 it  is  6.5 per cent and for  the third quarter FY25 it  is  6.4 per cent.

 Mint  spoke  to several experts to gather their  views  on  India’s inflation and economic growth  trajectory  in 2024. Here’s what they said: 

 Dr. Manoranjan Sharma, Chief Economist, Infomerics Ratings 

  India’s annual  retail price inflation  rose from  4.87%  in October to  5.55%  in November 2023.  Agriculture  production  hit by  five-year low monsoon in 2023  by ‘El Niño. As a result,  the MPC will continue to be wary of inflation  as  the  macroeconomic outlook is characterized  by volatile and  unstable  food prices. 

  India’s  GDP  in fiscal 2024  is  expected  to grow by  6.7%.  Going forward, India  will  emerge stronger  thanks to key transformation factors, namely the consumption boom, the rise  of  the  middle class and  the  green transition (demand side) and  economic benefits. i.e. demographics, better  access to finance and  increased  physical and digital infrastructure (supply side). In  short,  India is in  an ideal situation. 

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