Property sales in top-8 cities up 22%, Byju's lenders want prepayment, and new gas pricing norms

The Federal brings you the key economic and business events on Friday (April 7).

Key developments

• Property sales in the top eight cities up 22 per cent: Report.
• Apple signs 11-year lease for first India store in Mumbai.
• States paid legacy power dues worth ₹47,317 cr since June 2022.
• Gold price declined to ₹60,623/10 gm, and the price of silver rose to ₹74,164/kg.
• Indian Rupee settled two paise lower at 81.92 against the US dollar.

(Today is a holiday for the BSE because of Good Friday)

Also read: Apple’s India store, Adani’s earnings target, and Shapoorji Pallonji funding plan

New gas pricing norms

The Cabinet committee on economic affairs has adopted new gas pricing guidelines, which would link India’s local natural gas prices to global oil prices. Now, natural gas will cost 10 per cent of India’s average monthly crude oil price. It also gave the administered price mechanism for petrol a floor price of $4 per metric million British thermal unit (mmBtu) and a ceiling price of $6.50 per mmBtu.

What it implies: It will cut natural gas prices by roughly 10 per cent in the short run by reducing price volatility. As a result, the price of CNG in Delhi would fall to Rs 73.59 per kg from Rs 79.56 per kg, and in Mumbai, it will fall to Rs 79 from Rs 87. Piped Natural Gas rates in Delhi would fall to Rs 47.59 scm from Rs 53.59 scm (standard cubic metre of gas), and in Mumbai to Rs 49 scm from Rs 54 scm. A kilogramme equals 1.164 square centimetres. These adjustments result from the government’s decision to develop a petrol price formula that considers the interests of local consumers and producers and its goal to move towards a gas-based economy.

Also read: India, China to account for half of global economic growth in 2023: IMF chief

Byju’s lenders want a prepayment of $200 million

As a condition for restructuring its $1.2 billion (Rs 9,600 crore) term loan B, which is currently being looked at, Byju’s lenders have asked for up to $200 million (Rs 1,600 crore) in prepayment and a higher rate of interest from Byju’s, an edutech startup. The Bangalore-based company had earlier agreed to raise the interest rate by about 2 per cent, but it hasn’t agreed to the prepayment clause that the lenders, including several US-based hedge funds, have asked for.

What it implies: Increasingly, Byju’s has been finding it difficult to raise money, as the valuation has dipped and has been facing a more aggressive set of lenders who now want to recover the money they had invested in the edutech major. It has also been unable to post its unaudited financial results for 2021-22, with the previous year’s results being delayed by nearly 18 months.

Also read: Zerodha founders Nithin and Nikhil Kamath make it to Forbes Billionaires List 2023

Indian Space Policy 2023

The government has approved the Indian Space Policy 2023, which seeks to institutionalise private sector participation in the space sector, with ISRO focusing on research and development of advanced space technologies.

What it implies: A unified space strategy has long been in the works, and the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre, established in 2020, offered a single point of contact for all permissions and resource sharing, but they were granted on a case-by-case basis. Since the space sector was opened up, over 200 startups have been set up. The new policy will clarify space reforms and boost private industry participation. However, analysts say that there should also be a legal framework, and there should be no jail terms.