Sensex tumbles over 850 pts on weak global cues, FII outflows; sinks below 75k
Mumbai, Feb 24 (PTI): Falling for the fifth straight session on Monday, equity benchmark BSE Sensex plunged over 850 points to drop below the crucial 75,000 level, tracking a weak global market trend and unabated foreign fund outflows amid escalating trade tensions.
Besides, deep losses in IT, telecom and metal stocks added to the gloom, analysts said.
The 30-share BSE benchmark tanked 856.65 points or 1.14 per cent to settle at 74,454.41. During the day, it plummeted 923.62 points or 1.22 per cent to 74,387.44.
The NSE Nifty dropped 242.55 points or 1.06 per cent to 22,553.35.
As many as 2,810 stocks declined, while 1,207 advanced and 183 remained unchanged on the BSE.
"The market is more concerned about the US' likely move to reciprocate higher tariff levies on exporting nations, which could impact developing countries, including India. Also, FIIs showing no signs of putting brakes on their India exit strategy continue to weigh heavily on markets, with expensive valuations driving investors to curb their equity bets here.
"Heavy selling in banking, IT, telecom and other old economy sectors saw benchmark Sensex end below the crucial level of 75k mark," Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd, said.
In the last five trading sessions, the BSE barometer lost 1,542.45 points or 2 per cent, and the Nifty tanked 406.15 points or 1.76 per cent.
From the Sensex pack, HCL Tech, Zomato, Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, Bharti Airtel, Tata Steel and NTPC were among the biggest laggards.
In contrast, Mahindra & Mahindra, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Maruti, Nestle and ITC were among the gainers.
Among BSE sectoral indices, BSE Focused IT dropped 2.65 per cent, IT (2.60 per cent), teck (2.56 per cent), telecommunication (2.26 per cent), metal (2.16 per cent), commodities (1.53 per cent) and utilities (1.42 per cent).
On the other hand, Auto and FMCG were the gainers.
The BSE smallcap gauge declined 1.31 per cent, and the midcap index dipped 0.78 per cent.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 3,449.15 crore on Friday, according to exchange data.
Foreign investors have pulled out over Rs 23,710 crore from equity markets so far this month, pushing total outflows past Rs 1 lakh crore in 2025 amid rising global trade tensions.
"The D-Street indices experienced a sharp drop to an eight-month low as market sentiment remained subdued. The decline was primarily driven by significant losses in heavyweight stocks, especially within the IT sector. This weakness followed reports of declining consumer confidence in the US, casting a shadow over the country's growth outlook.
"The broader market felt the impact, pulling down both small and midcap indices," Ameya Ranadive, Chartered Market Technician, CFTe, Sr Technical Analyst, StoxBox, said.
In Asian markets, Seoul, Shanghai and Hong Kong settled lower. Equity markets were closed in Tokyo for a holiday.
European markets were trading mostly in positive territory. US markets ended significantly lower on Friday.
"Global headwinds continue to weigh on the domestic market, with persistent volatility causing uncertainty among retail investors, who generally have a lower risk appetite. Weak US consumer sentiment and tariff concerns may further pressure export-oriented sectors such as IT," Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services, said.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude rose 0.04 per cent to USD 74.46 a barrel.
On Friday, the BSE benchmark dropped 424.90 points or 0.56 per cent to settle at 75,311.06. The Nifty declined 117.25 points or 0.51 per cent to 22,795.90.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Single higher education regulator bill tabled in LS; Oppn flags ‘centralisation,' JPC likely
New Delhi: A bill to set up a 13-member body to regulate institutions of higher education was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Monday.
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan introduced the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, which seeks to establish an overarching higher education commission along with three councils for regulation, accreditation, and ensuring academic standards for universities and higher education institutions in India.
Meanwhile, the move drew strong opposition, with members warning that it could weaken institutional autonomy and result in excessive centralisation of higher education in India.
The Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, 2025, earlier known as the Higher Education Council of India (HECI) Bill, has been introduced in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
The proposed legislation seeks to merge three existing regulatory bodies, the University Grants Commission (UGC), the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), and the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE), into a single unified body called the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan.
At present, the UGC regulates non-technical higher education institutions, the AICTE oversees technical education, and the NCTE governs teacher education in India.
Under the proposed framework, the new commission will function through three separate councils responsible for regulation, accreditation, and the maintenance of academic standards across universities and higher education institutions in the country.
According to the Bill, the present challenges faced by higher educational institutions due to the multiplicity of regulators having non-harmonised regulatory approval protocols will be done away with.
The higher education commission, which will be headed by a chairperson appointed by the President of India, will cover all central universities and colleges under it, institutes of national importance functioning under the administrative purview of the Ministry of Education, including IITs, NITs, IISc, IISERs, IIMs, and IIITs.
At present, IITs and IIMs are not regulated by the University Grants Commission (UGC).
Government to refer bill to JPC; Oppn slams it
The government has expressed its willingness to refer it to a joint committee after several members of the Lok Sabha expressed strong opposition to the Bill, stating that they were not given time to study its provisions.
Responding to the opposition, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said the government intends to refer the Bill to a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) for detailed examination.
Congress Lok Sabha MP Manish Tewari warned that the Bill could result in “excessive centralisation” of higher education. He argued that the proposed law violates the constitutional division of legislative powers between the Union and the states.
According to him, the Bill goes beyond setting academic standards and intrudes into areas such as administration, affiliation, and the establishment and closure of university campuses. These matters, he said, fall under Entry 25 of the Concurrent List and Entry 32 of the State List, which cover the incorporation and regulation of state universities.
Tewari further stated that the Bill suffers from “excessive delegation of legislative power” to the proposed commission. He pointed out that crucial aspects such as accreditation frameworks, degree-granting powers, penalties, institutional autonomy, and even the supersession of institutions are left to be decided through rules, regulations, and executive directions. He argued that this amounts to a violation of established constitutional principles governing delegated legislation.
Under the Bill, the regulatory council will have the power to impose heavy penalties on higher education institutions for violating provisions of the Act or related rules. Penalties range from ₹10 lakh to ₹75 lakh for repeated violations, while establishing an institution without approval from the commission or the state government could attract a fine of up to ₹2 crore.
Concerns were also raised by members from southern states over the Hindi nomenclature of the Bill. N.K. Premachandran, an MP from the Revolutionary Socialist Party representing Kollam in Kerala, said even the name of the Bill was difficult to pronounce.
He pointed out that under Article 348 of the Constitution, the text of any Bill introduced in Parliament must be in English unless Parliament decides otherwise.
DMK MP T.M. Selvaganapathy also criticised the government for naming laws and schemes only in Hindi. He said the Constitution clearly mandates that the nomenclature of a Bill should be in English so that citizens across the country can understand its intent.
Congress MP S. Jothimani from Tamil Nadu’s Karur constituency described the Bill as another attempt to impose Hindi and termed it “an attack on federalism.”
_vb_22.jpeg)
