India is likely to step up spending on infrastructure, health services and social programmes in its annual budget on Tuesday, to try to set the economy on a firmer footing as it fights a spike in COVID-19 cases and rising inflationary pressure.

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman is expected to announce more spending on roads, railways, besides higher subsidies for affordable housing amid growing public criticism over inadequate relief following the economic disruption after the outbreak of pandemic in 2020.

The price of 10 gram of 24-carat gold decreased by Rs 100 on Tuesday with the precious metal trading at Rs 48,990.

The price of 22-carat gold also declined by the same amount to Rs 44,900.

One kg of silver is selling at Rs 61,300, up Rs 100 from yesterday.

With 1,67,059 people testing positive for coronavirus infection in a day, India's total tally of cases increased to over 4.14 crore, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Tuesday.

The death toll has climbed to 4,96,242 with 1,192 fatalities reported during the 24-hour period, the data updated at 8 am showed.

Shares of Deepak Fertilisers and Petrochemicals Corporation hit a new high of Rs 597.80, up 5 per cent on the BSE in Tuesday’s intra-day trade, and in the process was up as much as 16 per cent in the last three days after the company reported robust results for the quarter ended December 2021 (Q3FY22).

In the past one month, the stock has zoomed 60 per cent, as compared to 0.74 per cent gain in the S&P BSE Sensex. At 10:04 am; the stock traded 4 per cent higher at Rs 593, as against 1.4 per cent rise in the S&P BSE Sensex.

Shares of Tata Motors slipped 4 per cent to Rs 498.55 on the BSE in Tuesday's intra-day trade on profit booking after the company pared its consolidated loss on quarter-on-quarter basis in the September-December 2021 (Q3FY22) as better availability of semiconductors helped Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) ramp up production.

At 09:30 am, Tata Motors traded 3 per cent lower at Rs 502, as compared to 1.2 per cent rise in the S&P BSE Sensex. In the past six months, the stock has rallied 71 per cent, as against 12 per cent gain in the benchmark index.

Telecom operator Bharti Airtel on Monday announced an agreement to acquire about 25 per cent equity stake in Bengaluru-based technology startup Lavelle Networks. Further, ASM Technologies, a global technology engineering and product development services provider, has done a follow on investment in Lavelle Networks.

In a statement on Monday, Airtel announced the acquisition of about 25 per cent strategic stake in SD-WAN startup Lavelle Networks but did not disclose financial details about the deal that entails a cash consideration.

Sebi has barred fugitive businessman Mehul Choksi and one Rakesh Girdharlal Gajera from the capital markets for one year and levied a fine totalling Rs 2.5 crore on them for violating insider trading rules in the matter of Gitanjali Gems.

In addition, they have been restrained from buying, selling or otherwise dealing in securities of Gitanjali Gems Ltd (GGL) for a period of two years.

Reliance Brands (RBL), the brand licensing arm of Reliance Industries (RIL), has entered into a 60:40 joint venture (JV) with fashion designer Rahul Mishra to create a new ready-to-wear (pret) business.

The brand will grow both vertically and horizontally to cross-pollinate creativity further in the fields of accessories, footwear, home, beauty, and jewellery for a worldwide audience, said a joint statement.

The country’s largest pharma player, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, which has an 8.2 per cent share of the Rs 1.67 trillion Indian market, posted an 11 per cent year-on-year (YoY) rise in consolidated revenues to Rs 9,814.2 crore in Q3FY22, riding on strong growth in its key markets – India and the US.

The net profit for the quarter was Rs 2,058.8 crore. The Ebitda came in at Rs 2,557.4 crore, with a resulting Ebitda margin of 26.1 per cent.

A meeting of the Union Cabinet will be held on Tuesday at 10

After getting the nod from the cabinet, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Union Budget 2022-23 in a paperless form for the second time on February 1. Earlier, the Union Budget of 2021-22 was delivered in paperless form last year for the first time.

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