AUM Advisory GROUP

Happy to Announce ,AUM Group has expanded and has now started a new division of Real Estate Consultancy.

With In House Team of Experienced Lawyers now in place,Collateral legal analysis will be done upfront for our clients to eliminate any risk of future litigations.

In House Vastu Experts have been appointed to make sure collaterals are Vastu Compliant and have an edge from rest of the properties.

Our Sales Team has done Strategic tie up with various builders and exclusive pricing has been negotiated.

Location analysis,comparitive analysis,Returns ,Leasing etc will also be done for our clients .

Please get in touch with us for any of your real estate requirements

Wishing Happy Birthday to our Staff Member -Akash Singh.

Reality

office boy, peon required for firm located in 9 phase industrial area,mohali

Required office boy for cleaning the office and for delivering of documents to banks

required office boy for cleaning and dropping of documents in banks

US investors' rights law firm announces probe against HDFC Bank:

American Law firm, Rosen Law, has announced an investigation of potential securities claims on behalf of shareholders of HDFC Bank. The firm is also preparing for a class action suit on behalf of bank’s shareholders.
The investigation is reportedly resulting from allegations that HDFC Bank may have issued materially misleading business information to the investing public.

Rosen Law, on its website, asked investors to provide their details if they have purchased HDFC Bank Limited securities and would like to receive information about the investigation concerning the class action to recover the investor losses in HDFC Bank Limited securities.
“A representative of The Rosen Law Firm will contact you at no cost to you and provide you detailed information concerning the proposed class action to recover your losses in HDFC Bank Limited securities,” said the firm.

The charges include bank’s executives forcing the borrowers to buy GPS devices bundled with the auto loans and even insisting that loans will not be sanctioned unless they buy these devices. The devices, manufactured by a Mumbai firm, Trackpoint GPS, cost about Rs 18,000 a piece. Following an internal investigation, the bank had sacked some executives.

The misconduct by the bank officials was acknowledged by Puri himself in the bank’s AGM during which he said that an internal probe was conducted against a few erring employees and appropriate action was taken.

RBI unlikely to cut rates in 2020 as high inflation can pressure bond yields:

India's retail inflation jumped to 6.93 percent in July as food and fuel prices picked up pace, the National Statistical Office (NSO) data released on August 13 shows, reducing chances of a rate cut by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
The number was higher than that for June which, too, was revised upwards to 6.23 percent from 6.09 percent earlier.
In the last two consecutive quarters (January-March of FY 2019-20 and April-June of FY 2020-21), the average consumer price index (CPI)-based inflation has breached 6 percent.

The Reserve Bank of India has a target of keeping inflation at 4 percent within a band of +/- 2 percent.
During its policy announcement earlier this month, the central bank said it expected the headline inflation to remain elevated in the second quarter of FY 2020-21, hence a rate cut was unlikely in 2020.

At its August policy meeting, the RBI's monetary policy committee voted unanimously to hold interest rates, citing high uncertainty and rising concerns over inflation.

The RBI has cut repo rate by 115 bps to 4 percent since the lockdown, which has helped the bond yields to smoothen down.

Food and beverage prices, which contribute more than 50 percent of the CPI basket, rose to a four-month high of 8.7 percent in July, higher than 2.3 percent in the corresponding month of FY20 and 7.9 percent in June 2020.

RIL-Aramco mega deal faces valuation hurdles

Differences over the valuation of the refining and petrochemicals business of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) is likely to prolong a potential mega deal between India’s largest private sector company and the world’s top crude oil producer, Saudi Arabian Oil Co. (Aramco)

The deal was announced last August by RIL chairman and managing director Mukesh Ambani, wherein Aramco was to pick up a 20% stake in the company’s oil and chemicals business for $15 billion, at an enterprise value of $75 billion.

However, an agreement is yet to be signed between the two companies. Last month, Ambani had informed shareholders at the annual general meeting that due to the unforeseen circumstances in the energy market, the Aramco deal has not progressed as per the original timeline.

Aramco president and chief executive Amin Nasser said work on the RIL deal is on and they will update shareholders in due course.

“The impact of crude oil prices on Saudi Aramco’s balance sheet is visible. It wants a market to place its crude, but it is not desperate. And, so is not RIL to sell a stake. So, both companies are looking at a commercial deal which is a win-win for both," said the first official cited above.

While for Aramco, the drop in oil price has impacted its balance sheet and valuation, RIL, having raised ₹2.12 trillion through its combined investments in Jio Platforms, a rights issue and investment by BP in its fuel retail business, is not as desperate to sell a stake.

RIL’s last year’s valuation of $75 billion could have fallen to a gross valuation of nearly $57 billion, as on 16 July. Crude prices have fallen 23.44% so far since 12 August 2019, when the RIL-Aramco deal was first announced.

SC ruling that daughters have equal coparcenary rights in a joint HUF ‘progressive’; settles all ambiguities

The apex court has settled the issue on the effective date of the 2005 amendment, by laying no relevance on the date of birth of the daughter or alternatively the date of death of the father. So long as the daughter is alive post 2005, she has an equal right as a son in the coparcenary property

What this means is that whether with the passing of the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005, a daughter of a coparcener shall by birth become a coparcener in her own right in the same manner as the son, or if she could be denied her share on the ground that she were born prior to the enactment of the Act on September 9, 2005, and, therefore, cannot be treated as coparcener.
A coparcener refers to a person who assumes a legal right in parental property by birth only.

The apex court has clearly settled the issue on the effective date of the 2005 amendment, by laying no relevance on the date of birth of the daughter or alternatively the date of death of the father, whether prior to the 2005 amendment or post. So long as the daughter is alive post 2005, she has an equal right as a son in the coparcenary property.

The top court in its ruling conferred an equal status of coparcener on the daughter born before or after amendment to the Section 6 of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, in the same manner as son.

Bank union approaches RBI seeking review of KV Kamath's appointment as loan restructuring committee head

The All India Bank Employees’ Association (AIBEA) has requested the Reserve Bank of India to review it's decision to appoint KV Kamath as the head of the Expert Committee on COVID-19-related loan restructuring.

In a letter addressed to RBI India Governor Shaktikanta Das, AIBEA has expressed concerns about Kamath’s alleged role in the ICICI Bank- Videocon Group loan controversy.
“Reports have appeared in the media about the infamous nepotism scandal in ICICI Bank involving Ms Chanda Kochhar for sanctioning huge loan of more than Rs 3,000 crores unscrupulously to Videocon Company. As per media reports, in the FIR filed by CBI, in addition to the name of Ms Chanda Kochhar, the name of KV Kamath also appears,” the letter read.

AIBEA further wrote, “It is reported that besides being the former CEO and non-Executive Chairman of ICICI Bank, he (KV Kamath) was also a member of the committee that approved the loan which has now become questionable and are under investigation."

The regulator named KV Kamath as the head of the expert panel for loan restructuring last week, along with four other members who will submit their recommendations on sector-specific parameters and other considerations within 30 days. The committee is also tasked with reviewing all large resolution plans under this recast scheme involving a debt of over Rs 1,500 crores.

KV Kamath, a veteran banker, was most recently the head of the New Development Bank set up by the BRICS nations. He served as ICICI Bank’s MD & CEO from 1996 to 2009.
Get Chanda Kochhar, the name of KV Kamath also appears,” the letter read.

“It is reported that besides being the former CEO and non-Executive Chairman of ICICI Bank, he (KV Kamath) was also a member of the Committee that approved the loan which has now become questionable and are under investigation,” AIBEA said in its letter.

Moratorium end may pull down core income growth for banks

Even as the pandemic has forced Indian banks to increase provisions and take a hit on profits, there has been one comforting factor in the first quarter earnings - core operating performance of most banks has been encouraging.

The net interest income of the top five private sector lenders has shown double digit growth year-on-year. Sequentially also, the growth in core income has been decent. In fact, for the country’s largest lender--State Bank of India--the net interest income grew an impressive 17% sequentially and 16% year-on-year.

Net interest income is basically the interest that a bank earns from its main business which is lending. When the loan book grows, it reflects in the increase in net interest income growth. Given that loan book for most banks shrank during the June quarter, what explains the growth in the net interest income?

The answer lies in a simple accounting norm where net interest income is considered on an accrual basis. In other words, if the interest from a loan is due it is considered as received even though the borrower may eventually end up not paying it for various reasons.

The moratorium of six months granted to borrowers has distorted this metric now. Despite moratorium, the interest on the loans has accrued to banks and hence is taken into the calculation of net interest income for the quarter. Ergo, borrowers who have opted for moratorium may not have actually paid the interest but lenders consider the interest received.

According to AUM, interest accrued on loans under moratorium was 15-40% of net interest income of the June quarter for private sector lenders.
This means that Indian banks will perhaps see the worst coming once the moratorium ends in August. As such, bankers expect a surge in bad loans and that means pressure on core income.

So far, banks have been able to keep a lid on their expenses. The sharp drop in deposit rates has meant that the interest lenders pay has come down faster than the interest they earn from borrowers. This has also been a key factor in a healthy operating profit for lenders.
All this may change once moratorium lifts. Ergo, investors need to watch for a worsening of operating metrics of banks in the coming quarters.

Sashidhar Jagdishan to replace Aditya Puri as HDFC Bank CEO

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on August 4 cleared the name of Sashidhar Jagdishan as the next chief executive officer of HDFC Bank, according to a senior RBI executive who didn’t want to be named. “Jagdishan’s name has been approved,”

Jagdishan's selection confirms HDFC Bank’s outgoing Chief Aditya Puri’s recent comments that his successor will be an insider. “There has been a lot of talk about the successor not being with us for a long time. Our potential successor has been with us for 25 years. My successor was always in place, at least in my mind. It is now for RBI to decide,” Puri said at the bank’s recent AGM.

Jagdishan is currently serving as the additional director of HDFC Bank and has been with the bank for nearly three decades. Jagdishan served as the Group Head of Finance, Human Resources, Legal & Secretarial, Administration, Infrastructure, Corporate Communications and Corporate Social Responsibility.

He joined the bank around 1996 as a Manager in the Finance function, and then went on to become Business Head - Finance in 1999 and Chief Financial Officer in the year 2008.

Jagdishan, along with Kaizad Bharucha, another HDFC Bank senior executive, was among the top three names recommended by the bank to RBI early this year. The third name was Sunil Garg, CEO of Citi Commercial Bank.
Puri’s term is ending in October this year. Paresh Sukthankar, deputy managing director of HDFC Bank and a trusted lieutenant of Puri was seen as a worthy successor to his boss. But Sukthankar surprised the markets by quitting in August 2018, thereby confirming the ensuing hunt for another candidate.

Jagdishan will be taking over at a time when the banking industry is in the middle of a crisis following the onset of Covid-19. About 9 per cent of the HDFC Bank’s loan book is under moratorium as on June 30. The bank has admitted that COVID-19 has already taken a toll on the retail loan book.

“The continued slowdown in economic activity has led to a decrease in retail loan origination, sale of third party products, use of credit and debit cards by customers, efficiency in collection efforts and waivers of certain fees. As a result, fees/other income was lower by approximately Rs 2,000 crore,” the bank said announcing the first quarter results.In the retail loan portfolio, the auto loan portfolio has shrunk to Rs 81,082 crore from Rs 83,935 crore while the home loan portfolio declined to Rs 62,652 crore from Rs 63,445 crore. Two-wheeler loans shrank to Rs 9,568 crore from Rs 9,855 crore. Clearly, the COVID-19 stress is visible on the books of HDFC Bank.

Also, the successor to Puri is entering at a time the bank is under the shadow of a controversy surrounding auto loan division. There were allegations that the bank’s vehicle financing division flouted rules to sell GPS devices bundled with auto loans. Post an internal investigation, the bank had sacked a few officials. Puri’s successor will have to take steps to send a message to the investors about good corporate governance standards in the bank.

OYO founder Ritesh Agarwal launches VC fund for startups with average deal size of $1-$10 million:

OYO founder Ritesh Agarwal has floated a venture capital (VC) fund - Aroa Ventures - focused on early-stage startups in technology, leisure infrastructure and consumer sectors with annual revenues ranging $500,000-$1 million. It will have an average deal size of $1 million-$10 million.
The VC also includes Gaurav Gulati, co-founder and ex-COO of Innov8, which was acquired by OYO for $31 million in March 2019. Aroa Ventures was registered in 2019 in Singapore with Agarwal and Thomas Hufnagel as shareholders, Entracker reported. Agarwal owns 100 percent of the entity.

As per reports however, Agarwal and Gulati are looking to “entrepreneurs of high repute, who are looking to build long-lasting businesses.”

"Beyond capital, our team of serial entrepreneurs and experienced professionals work alongside portfolio companies to accelerate their growth and to deliver better risk-adjusted returns," the website stated.

Donald Trump to announce “Good News” on Covid 19 in 2 weeks:

Amid the surging COVID-19 cases, US President Donald Trump has said that his administration will announce good news regarding therapeutics developed for the novel coronavirus infection within the next two weeks.

"With respect to therapeutics, I can tell you that I think over the next couple of weeks, we will have some really, very good things to say," Trump told reporters on July 27. Trump's administration will have "some announcements" on that over the next two weeks.

Trump's comment came on the day the world's biggest COVID-19 vaccine study got underway with the first of 30,000 planned volunteers helping to test shots created by the US government -- one of several candidates in the final stretch of the global vaccine race.

The trial of the vaccine, developed by the National Institutes of Health and Moderna Inc, is one of the first late-stage studies supported by the Trump administration's effort to speed development of measures against the novel coronavirus, adding to hope that an effective vaccine will help end the pandemic.
Moderna, which has never brought a vaccine to market, has received nearly $1 billion from the US government, which is helping bankroll several vaccine candidates under its Operation Warp Speed program.

More than 6.53 lakh people have died of COVID-19 globally and over 1.64 crore tested positive for the disease. In the US alone, more than 1.48 lakh Americans have died and nearly 43 lakh people tested positive for the novel coronavirus, according to Johns Hopkins University data.

Bill Gates says Indian pharmaceutical industry is capable of producing COVID-19 vaccines for the world:

India's pharmaceutical industry will be able to produce COVID-19 vaccines not just for the country but also for the entire world, Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Bill Gates has said.

A lot of "very important things have been done" in India and its pharmaceutical industry is doing work "to help make the coronavirus vaccine building on other great capacities that they have used for other diseases," said Gates, who is also the Co-Chair and Trustee of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Commenting on the strength of India's pharmaceutical industry, Gates said: "India has a lot of capacity there -- with the drug and vaccine companies that are huge suppliers to the entire world. You know, more vaccines are made in India than anywhere-- starting with Serum Institute, that's the largest."

"But (there are) also Bio E, Bharat (Biotech), many others. They are doing work to help make the coronavirus vaccine, building on other great capacities that they have used for other diseases," he added.

Stating that India joined the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), a group working worldwide to build vaccines platforms, Gates said, "I am excited that the pharmaceutical industry there will be able to produce not just for India but also for the entire world.

(This is) what we need to reduce the deaths and make sure we are immune, which is how we end the epidemic."
Gates said his foundation is also a "partner with the government, particularly with the department of biotechnology, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the office of the principal scientific advisor provide advice and help about getting these tools going".
Commenting on the deadly virus breaching India's borders in the documentary which was shot extensively during the period of lockdown, he said, "India is still at the beginning of this, but there's a lot of very important things have been done.

“It is a huge challenge with India because you've got a gigantic country. You've got your urban centers with a lot of density -- and so that -- drives the spread. You have people moving around."

However, he added: "Yet people are stepping up... Looking at how we reduce the spread while trying not to reduce food availability, equipment that people need."

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RIL 43rd AGM: Google will invest Rs 33,737 crore for 7.7% in Jio Platforms

Google will invest Rs 33,737 crore for a 7.7 percent stake in Jio Platforms Limited, becoming the latest A-list investor in the digital unit of Reliance Industries (RIL).
The deal with Jio, which runs the telecom enterprise Jio Infocomm, India’s biggest, as well as movie, news and music apps, is not just a financial but also a strategic investment by the internet giant. Google has joined Facebook Inc, Intel Corp and Qualcomm as strategic partners in Jio.

Speaking about the investment Ambani said, " Google has empowered millions of Indians to access helpful information and, like Jio, is a force for change and innovation. We welcome Google onboard and are excited about our partnership for what it can deliver to Indians, from universalising Internet usage to deepening the new digital economy and providing a prime mover to India’s economic growth. Together, we hope to play a strong facilitative role in the transformative journey of building a new, Digital India.”

Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and Alphabet said, "“Reliance Industries, and Jio Platforms in particular, deserve a good deal of credit for India’s digital transformation. The pace and scale of digital transformation in India is hugely inspiring for us and reinforces our view that building products for India first helps us build better products for users everywhere. Google is proud to invest ₹ 33,737 crore into Jio. I am excited that our joint collaboration will focus on increasing.

On the contours of the partnership with Google, Mukesh Ambani, at RIL's 43rd AGM said, "The Jio-Google partnership is determined to make India 2G-mukt. We believe we can design entry-level 4G or even 5G smartphone for a fraction of its current cost. To power such a value engineered smartphone, we also need an equally value engineered smartphone operating system and such an operating System must be designed from grounds-up. Google and Jio are partnering to build just such Android-based smartphone operating system right here in India."
The investment by Google—the 14th such deal in less than 13 weeks—takes the total stake that Reliance sold in Jio Platforms to a skosh over 33 percent. Mumbai-based RIL has now raised a combined Rs 1,52,056 crore from some of the world’s leading tech investors in the largest fundraising exercise by a company anywhere in the world and during a global lockdown at that. access for hundreds of millions of Indians who don’t currently own a smartphone while improving the mobile experience for all."

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Apple supplier FOXCONN to invest 1 Billion $ in India:

Foxconn plans to invest up to $1 billion to expand a factory in Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu where the Taiwanese contract manufacturer assembles Apple iPhones, two sources said. The move, the scale of which has not previously been reported, is part of a quiet and gradual production shift by Apple away from China as it navigates disruptions from a trade war between Beijing and Washington and the coronavirus crisis.

Foxconn's planned investment in the Sriperumbudur plant, where Apple's iPhone XR is made some 50 km west of Chennai, will take place over the course of three years.

Some of Apple's other iPhones models, made by Foxconn in China, will be made at the plant, said both sources, who declined to be identified as the talks are private and details have yet to be finalised.

Taipei-headquartered Foxconn will add some 6,000 jobs at the Sriperumbudur plant under the plan, one of the sources said. It also operates a separate plant in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, where it makes smartphones for China's Xiaomi Corp, among others.

India is also working to boost electronics manufacturing by firms such as Foxconn and last month launched a $6.65 billion plan, offering five global smartphone makers incentives to establish or expand domestic production.

Having Apple widen its local presence is likely to be a boost for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's flagship "Make In India" drive, aimed at creating new jobs.

South Korea's Samsung has already said it will make smartphones for export from its plant outside New Delhi.

Over 40 stocks in BSE 500 buck trend to rise 10-30% in volatile week

The Nifty50 which started the week on a positive note looked set to reclaim 10,900 levels, but bears slowly took control and pushed the index towards 10,700 on Friday.

The Nifty50 finally closed 1.52 percent higher compared to 1.59 percent rally seen in the S&P BSE Sensex.

The mixed performance was seen from the broader market space as the S&P BSE Midcap index rose just 0.81 percent while the S&P BSE Smallcap index closed with gains of 1.59 percent for the week ended July 10.

However, as many as 46 stocks in the S&P BSE500 index that rose 10-30 percent for the week ended July 10. These include NCC, GE Power, Jindal Steel & Power, IndusInd Bank, Equitas Holdings, Karnataka Bank, IRB Infrastructure, and Ujjivan Small Finance Bank, among others.

Metals and Financials led the rally on D-Street in the week gone by. The Nifty metal index rallied over 3 percent while the Nifty Bank was up 2.5 percent for the week ended July 10.

Nifty outlook for the week:

Equity benchmarks extended gains over the fourth consecutive week amid lackluster global cues. The Nifty ended the week at 10768, up 161 points, or 1.5 percent.

Broader markets continued to outperform as Nifty midcap and small-cap rose 1.4 percent and 3.5 percent, respectively. Sectorally, metal, financials and IT outshone during the week while infra and energy took a breather.

The Nifty50 managed to reclaim 10600 on the closing basis for the week ended July 10, and the next big resistance is placed around 10900, but before that experts see some consolidation.

“In the coming week we expect the index to undergo healthy consolidation in the broad range of 10,900-10,600 amid stock-specific action as we enter the Q1FY21 result season,” Dharmesh Shah, Head Technical, ICICI direct said

Centre not considering merger of CBDT with CBIC:

The Finance Ministry said on July 6 that the government is not considering any proposal to merge the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) with the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC).

The said merger was one of the recommendations of the Tax Administration Reforms Commission (TARC), headed by Parthasarathi Shome, which submitted its report in 2016.

Reacting to a media report which suggested that a merger of policy making bodies of direct and indirect taxes — CBDT and CBIC— is on cards, the ministry in a statement said, “The government has no proposal to merge the two Boards created under the Central Boards of Revenue Act, 1963.”

The Finance Ministry said on July 6 that the government is not considering any proposal to merge the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) with the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC).

The said merger was one of the recommendations of the Tax Administration Reforms Commission (TARC), headed by Parthasarathi Shome, which submitted its report in 2016.
Reacting to a media report which suggested that a merger of policy making bodies of direct and indirect taxes — CBDT and CBIC— is on cards, the ministry in a statement said, “The government has no proposal to merge the two Boards created under the Central Boards of Revenue Act, 1963.”

The ministry said that the report of TARC was examined in detail by the government and this recommendation of TARC was not accepted by the government.
"As a part on an assurance made by the government in Parliament in response to a Parliament question, the government has also placed this fact in 2018 before the Committee on Government Assurances. The action taken report on the recommendations of the TARC is placed even on the website of Department of Revenue, which clearly shows that this recommendation was not accepted," it added.

The Tax Administration Reforms Commission (TARC) was constituted with a view to review the application of tax Policies and Laws in context of global best practices and recommend measure for reforms required in Tax Administration to enhance its effectiveness and efficiency.TARC had made 385 recommendations out of which 291 recommendations are relating to CBDT and 253 to CBIC.

The ministry further said it is in the process of implementation of a number of taxpayers' friendly reforms like transition from manual assessment based on territorial jurisdiction to a completely randomized electronic faceless assessment, electronic verification or transactions and faceless appeals.

Stock Market is a device for transferring money from Impatient to Patient -Warren Buffett

Why is diesel more expensive than petrol??

Retail prices of petrol and diesel have been moving up rapidly since the beginning of June. Higher excise duty and high marketing margins of oil marketing companies (OMCs) are the two main factors keeping the retail prices high.
While high fuel costs are pinching pockets, what is grabbing the eyeballs is retail diesel prices have overtaken those of petrol currently.

Why so?

Diesel is now dearer. Globally, diesel has been a more costly fuel due to the higher cost of production. However, in India, the price of diesel historically has been lower than petrol and this is largely attributable to the varied tax structure on the two fuels. The excise duty and the VAT (value added tax) structure had been lower on diesel.
However, in the past few months, there has been a sharp rise in duties. Hike in duty on diesel has been much more than that of petrol, thus making taxes on the two fuels almost equal. Thus, with a higher base price of diesel, the price in the retail market is now getting ahead of the petrol prices.

The excise duty hike

During the past few months, when crude prices were soft in the wake of the pandemic, the central government had announced hikes in the excise duty charged on petrol and diesel in order to shore up its coffers. The excise duty on petrol had gone up from around Rs 20 per litre in February to Rs 33 per litre now. Similarly, the duty on diesel had gone up from Rs 16 per litre in February to Rs 32 per litre now. The tax on petrol was Rs 9.5 per litre in 2014 and that on diesel stood at Rs 3.5.

Impact of marketing margins on OMCs

During the period of falling global oil prices, the OMCs had jacked up their marketing margins sharply. Margins, which generally stay around Rs 2-3 per litre, were taken as high as nearly Rs 13-19 per litre during April and May. Our calculations suggest that marketing margins are higher than Rs 5 per litre currently. In order to protect their margins, the OMCs have now started an upward revision of retail prices.

Outlook

The sharp rise in excise duty and marketing margins is keeping the retail fuel prices high. A steep revision in excise duty and intrinsically higher base price of diesel are the main reasons why diesel is costlier than petrol. While OMCs had jacked up their marketing margins during March-May, the current marketing margins seem to fall nearer to their long-term average. Given the hit on overall demand, OMCs have little cushion but to raise prices in order to absorb the rise in global prices.