On Monday, March 17, 2025, HDFC Bank issued a public statement to declare that it will now accept deposits under the Senior Citizens’ Savings Scheme (SCSS). It is one of the top 3 agency banks for the Indian government, as per the Controller General of Accounts and the Press Information Bureau.

What Is The Senior Citizens’ Savings Scheme?

This is a government-backed savings program for people aged 60 years and above. It provides regular income via quarterly interest payments. It is a relatively safe investment option for the elderly and has a 5-year tenure.

What Is The Interest Rate On SCSS Deposits?

As of March 2025, the scheme provides an annual interest rate of 8.2%. This was the applicable rate for FY 2024-25, as per the government. The interest rates on the deposits are periodically revised.

Who Is Eligible To Apply For SCSS?

As mentioned earlier, people aged at least 60 years who had superannuated at the age of 55 years are eligible to apply for the scheme. Besides, retired defence personnel who had previously served the Indian government are also eligible after attaining 50 years of age.

What Are The Tax Benefits Available Under SCSS?

The Income Tax Act of 1961 states that under Section 80C, investments of up to ₹1.5 lakh are eligible for tax deduction in each financial year. However, if the total interest earned on deposits exceeds ₹50,000, the government will charge TDS (Tax Deducted at Source).

What Are Other Government-Backed Offerings Provided by HDFC Bank? 

HDFC Bank also accepts deposits under the Sukanya Samriddhi Account Scheme and the Public Provident Fund.

About HDFC Bank 

HDFC Bank was incorporated in 1994 and provides a wide range of services including retail banking and wealth management. It is one of India’s largest private-sector banks and is listed on both the BSE and the NSE.

As of 11.45 AM on Tuesday, HDFC Bank share price was trading at ₹1,727, up 1.03% from the previous close.

What Are The Different Banks That Accept Deposits Under SCSS?

 

Disclaimer: This blog has been written exclusively for educational purposes. The securities mentioned are only examples and not recommendations. This does not constitute a personal recommendation/investment advice. It does not aim to influence any individual or entity to make investment decisions. Recipients should conduct their own research and assessments to form an independent opinion about investment decisions.

Investments in the securities market are subject to market risks, read all the related documents carefully before investing.

NACL Industries share price hit a 52-week high of ₹107.40 on the BSE today. This was followed by Coromandel International’s announcement to acquire a majority stake in the company. In the past 4 trading sessions, the company’s stock price has risen by 60%. As per news reports, trading volumes have also surged to nearly 10.4 million equity shares on the BSE and the NSE.

Details of Coromandel International’s Acquisition 

As per news reports, Coromandel International will acquire a 53% stake in NACL Industries from its promoter, KLR Products Limited. It will pay around ₹820 crore at ₹76.7 per share to acquire the company. In compliance with SEBI’s Takeover Regulations, Coromandel has also proposed an open offer to purchase nearly 26% of NACL’s equity.

With this acquisition, Coromandel International is expected to become a leading player in India’s crop protection industry. It will enhance its contract manufacturing capabilities, and boost its domestic and foreign market presence.

As a result of this announcement, Coromandel International share prices also gained 6% in Monday’s intra-day trade and rallied by nearly 12% over the past 3 days.

Financial Ratings and Recent Downgrade

In Q3 of FY 2024-25, NACL Industries had reported a net loss of nearly ₹36 crore. This prompted CRISIL Ratings to downgrade its bank loan facilities from ‘Crisil BBB-/Negative/Crisil A3’ to ‘Crisil BB+/Negative/Crisil A4+’. This had increased liquidity pressures on the company and negatively impacted its business performance outlook.

The Strategic Positioning of Coromandel International and Future Prospects

The implementation of the nutrient-based subsidy (NBS) scheme is expected to minimise working capital requirements for Coromandel International. Its acquisition of NACL will further strengthen its key position in India’s agriculture sector by enabling it to launch new product offerings. This integration will also create a relatively more competitive and robust entity in India’s agrochemical industry.

 

Disclaimer: This blog has been written exclusively for educational purposes. The securities mentioned are only examples and not recommendations. This does not constitute a personal recommendation/investment advice. It does not aim to influence any individual or entity to make investment decisions. Recipients should conduct their own research and assessments to form an independent opinion about investment decisions.

Investments in the securities market are subject to market risks, read all the related documents carefully before investing.

The discovery of an accounting discrepancy worth ₹2,100 crore by the IndusInd Bank has caused disbelief among many depositors. On Saturday, March 15, 2025, the Reserve Bank of India restated its confidence in the bank’s financial position to pacify rising concerns among depositors.

Financial Analysis of the IndusInd Bank

In Q3 of FY 2024-25, IndusInd bank released its auditor-approved financial results, which contained the following information:

This reveals that the IndusInd Bank has a strong buffer of capital (well above the prescribed regulatory requirements) to deal with potential losses. It can provide for nearly 70.20% of its losses arising from non-performing assets (NPAs). It also holds high-quality liquid assets to meet its cash obligations over a 30-day stress period.

Actions Taken 

IndusInd Bank has engaged an external audit team to expeditiously account for the real impact of its accounting error. The RBI has directed it to complete necessary remedial action by the end of Q4 of FY 2024-25.

What Should Depositors Do?

The central bank has assured depositors of the bank’s financial stability, despite an impact of nearly 2.35% on its net worth. The RBI has also encouraged depositors to refrain from acting on speculative reports.

What Happened At IndusInd Bank?

IndusInd Bank has experienced an accounting discrepancy which will impact its Q4 results by around ₹1500 crore. The issue is related to the internal hedging of NRI deposits. The “internal trades” did not have enough liquidity. While the internal trade used swap cost accounting, the external leg was marked to market. The issue was discovered when the bank unwound its internal trades.

Conclusion

With RBI’s confidence in the bank’s fundamentals, the savings of both depositors and investors in the bank are safe.

As of 2.35 PM on 17 March 2025, the IndusInd Bank share price was trading at ₹681.95. This was a 1.43% rise from the previous close.

Disclaimer: This blog has been written exclusively for educational purposes. The securities mentioned are only examples and not recommendations. This does not constitute a personal recommendation/investment advice. It does not aim to influence any individual or entity to make investment decisions. Recipients should conduct their own research and assessments to form an independent opinion about investment decisions.

Investments in the securities market are subject to market risks, read all the related documents carefully before investing.

Allchem Lifescience, a leading manufacturer of speciality chemicals in Gujarat, has filed preliminary papers for an IPO issue with SEBI. The company wants to raise ₹190 crore as fresh capital for funding business growth. Its promoters, Manisha Bipin Patel and Kantilal Ramanlal Patel have an offer for sale (OFS) of over 71 lakh equity shares.

The company has appointed Emkay Global Financial Services as the sole merchant banker for managing the issue. It aims to allocate ₹130 crore for debt repayment, and use ₹60 crore for supporting business requirements.

About Allchem Lifescience 

The company was established in 2017 and can manufacture nearly 263 products. It specialises in producing piperazine derivatives and quetiapine. These are crucial ingredients for treatment of mental health disorders such as schizophrenia. They serve both international and domestic clients, such as Indoco Remedies, Alembic Pharmaceuticals, and Neuland Laboratories.

The company has conventionally focused on identifying products that are scarce but high in demand, including import substitutes. In December 2024, the company had served 66 customers overseas (22 countries) and 148 customers (13 states) in India.

Financial Analysis of Allchem Lifescience 

During 2022-24, Allchem Lifescience’s operational revenues grew at a CAGR of 12.75%. Its PAT (profit after tax) also grew at a CAGR of 28.65% and reached ₹1.09 crore in September 2024. During March-September 2024, the company recorded revenues worth ₹7.84 crore.

About Allchem’s Merchant Banker 

Emkay Global Financial Services was founded in 1995 and is engaged in providing financial advisory services. Its client base included prominent foreign institutional investors (FIIs), banks, MSMEs, hedge funds, domestic mutual funds, private equity firms, insurance companies, corporate houses, and high net worth individuals (HNIs).

It specialises in providing futures and options trading services. It also provides services related to investment banking, portfolio management, commodities, and retail broking services.

Conclusion

Allchem Lifescience’s ₹190 crore IPO aims for debt reduction and growth. Its strong financial performance coupled with Emkay Global’s backing signals a promising entry for it into the specialty chemicals sector. This can complement the rise of India’s pharmaceutical industry and chemicals sector in the world.

Disclaimer: This blog has been written exclusively for educational purposes. The securities mentioned are only examples and not recommendations. This does not constitute a personal recommendation/investment advice. It does not aim to influence any individual or entity to make investment decisions. Recipients should conduct their own research and assessments to form an independent opinion about investment decisions.

Investments in the securities market are subject to market risks, read all the related documents carefully before investing.

On March 17, 2025, as of 12:32 PM, the BSE Sensex was down 0.30% at 74,047.57, while the Nifty 50 was down 0.28% at 22,460.25. The mid-day top gainers and losers for the day are:

Mid-Day Top Gainers 

Niraj Cement Structurals 

Shares of Niraj Cement Structurals opened at ₹53.6 and rose to ₹59.02, up 19.98% at mid-day.

NACL Industries Limited 

Shares of NACL Industries Limited opened at ₹90.5 and rose by 16.79 points to reach ₹107.29, up 16.14% at mid-day.

United Nilgiri Tea Estates Company

The shares of United Nilgiri Tea Estates Company opened at ₹359.55 and rose by 48.25 points to reach ₹407.8, up 15.17% at mid-day.

Indef Manufacturing Limited

The shares of Indef Manufacturing Limited pened at ₹232.94 and rose by 24.81 points to reach ₹257.75, up 12.3% at mid-day.

Lypsa Gems & Jewellery 

The shares of Lypsa Gems &Jewellery opened at ₹7, rose by 0.59 points to reach ₹7.59, up 12.11% at mid-day.

Mid-Day Top Losers

Inventurus Knowledge Solutions 

The shares of Inevnturus Knowledge Solutions opened at ₹1,657.00 and fell by 216.00 to reach ₹1,441.00, down 12.44% at mid-day.

Global Education 

The shares of Global Education opened at ₹51.49 and fell by 5.89 points to reach ₹45.60, down 9.76% at mid-day.

One Mobikwik Systems

The shares of One Mobikiwk Systems opened at ₹269.55 and fell by 23.20 points to reach ₹246.35, down 8.98% at mid-day.

Industrial Investment Trust

The share prices of Industrial Investment Trust opened at ₹235.4 and fell by 19.40 points to reach ₹216.00, down 8.24% at mid-day.

MTNL

MTNL share prices opened at ₹46.75 and fell by 1.67 points to reach ₹45.08, down 7.77% at mid-day.

Disclaimer: This blog has been written exclusively for educational purposes. The securities mentioned are only examples and not recommendations. This does not constitute a personal recommendation/investment advice. It does not aim to influence any individual or entity to make investment decisions. Recipients should conduct their own research and assessments to form an independent opinion about investment decisions.

Investments in the securities market are subject to market risks, read all the related documents carefully before investing.

As per news reports, Imarticus Learning will file a Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) with SEBI in the next 4-5 months. Facilitated by IIFL, the company plans to obtain SEBI’s approval by September 2025 and get publicly listed by early FY 2027.

Organisations like Simplilearn, Classplus, and PhysicsWallah have already launched IPOs in the previous year.

IPO Details

Imarticus Learning expects to raise at least ₹750 crore to fund its initiatives for business expansion. It aims to strengthen its position in the edtech industry by acquiring more companies and diversifying its existing range of courses. As per news reports, the offer size will include a secondary share sale worth ₹500 crore and a primary issuance of ₹250 crore.

Imarticus’ Early Investors

Some of the early investors of the company include Caspian, Global Ivy Ventures, and BLinC Invest. In 2023, the company had raised US$11.7 million in a Series C round of funding. Currently, industry experts have valued it at around US$123 million.

Imarticus Learning Is A L&D company

Imarticus Learning perceives itself as an education company and hence will not position itself as an edtech company with SEBI. Its DRHP will exclude the word “edtech”. It is the leading provider of finance courses in India. It initially started with a small centre in Mumbai in 2012 and gradually expanded its presence to other cities like Bengaluru, Pune, and Hyderabad.

Overview of Digital Education Companies in India

India’s tech enablement industry comprises over 17,000 companies. This includes over 1,00,000 companies that have collectively raised roughly US$14 billion in private equity and venture capital. Of these, nearly 7 companies are now unicorns and 324 are Series A+ funded.

Conclusion

Despite facing market volatility, India’s edtech sector is focusing on future growth plans by merging with other companies and introducing industry-relevant courses. Imarticus Learning’s IPO issue is expected to attract new investors confident of investing in the nation’s edtech industry.

 

Disclaimer: This blog has been written exclusively for educational purposes. The securities mentioned are only examples and not recommendations. This does not constitute a personal recommendation/investment advice. It does not aim to influence any individual or entity to make investment decisions. Recipients should conduct their own research and assessments to form an independent opinion about investment decisions.

Investments in the securities market are subject to market risks, read all the related documents carefully before investing.