Morning Buzz: Credit card defaults surge, Centre considers equity stake in chip design companies, and more

Credit card defaults have surged sharply in FY23 rising from Rs3,122 crore to Rs4,073 crore Image: Shutterstock

Credit card defaults surge sharply in FY23

Credit card defaults have surged sharply in FY23 rising from Rs3,122 crore to Rs4,073 crore according to data obtained from the Reserve Bank of India under the Right to Information Act. The total credit card outstanding in March 2023 stood at Rs1.94 trillion as against Rs1.48 trillion in March 2022. A credit card amount is treated as a default if the minimum amount due is not paid fully within 90 days of the due date given on the card.

(Financial Express)

Centre considers picking up equity in chip design companies

The central government is considering taking stakes in semiconductor chip design companies through the design linked incentive scheme. The broader thought process behind this is to provide equity support to those domestic semiconductor chip design companies that have reached a certain maturity and have the potential to go to the next level. Homegrown semi conductor design companies have a revenue of only $30-40 million. The Centre has a target of investing in 20 domestic companies.

(Business Standard)

Sovereign gold bond sales hit record Rs4,600 crore in June

Sovereign gold bond sales have hit a peak of 7.7 tons to Rs4,604 crore in the first series of the fiscal year. The issuance in June was at Rs5,926 crore, which was the highest since the schemes inception in 2015. This is an increase of 10 percent from the December 2022 series. During the same period the Nifty has risen 6 percent. Sovereign gold bonds score over gold ETFs as they provide tax free capital gains.