Mukesh Ambani’s bet on India’s rising middle class is paying off

20/04/2019
new delhi: Billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s debt-fueled bet on the rise of the Indian consumer is starting to pay off, with his retail and telecommunications businesses contributing an increasing share of revenue and profit to his $87 billion empire. The two divisions accounted for a combined 23 percent of revenue for the year ended March, up from 17 percent in the previous year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That growth has come at the expense of the conglomerate’s energy-related arms...

RBI releases draft framework for regulatory sandbox to help fintech space

20/04/2019
Mumbai: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) released a draft ‘Enabling Framework for Regulatory Sandbox’ in order to support the country’s rapidly growing fintech space. The sandbox will begin the testing process with 10-12 selected entities focusing on financial inclusion, payments and lending, digital KYC, etc. The cohorts (end-to-end sandbox process) may run for varying time periods, but should ordinarily be completed within six months, said the RBI. A regulatory sandbox usually refers to live...

‘We are at critical stage’: Jet asks staff to keep off media

20/04/2019
new delhi: The grounded Jet Airways has issued a gag order to its employees advising them to refrain from speaking with external stakeholders. An internal mail accessed suggests that talking with external stakeholders especially the media might impact the bidding process for airline’s stake sale. “We are currently at a critical stage of our bid process that is being led by our lenders. We urge you to refrain from engaging with the media and let the task of interaction with external stakeholder...

Airtel Payments Bank partners with Bharti AXA General Insurance for two-wheeler insurance

20/04/2019
new delhi: Airtel Payments Bank Friday announced it has teamed up with Bharti AXA General Insurance for a two-wheeler insurance product offering. In a statement, Airtel Payments Bank said the product is available on MyAirtel App and at over 40,000 Airtel Payments Bank points across India during the first phase of launch. "Airtel Payments Bank today (Friday) announced the launch of an attractive two-wheeler insurance product in association with Bharti AXA General Insurance," the statement said...

Lohani may meet SBI chief over leasing of wide-body Jet planes

20/04/2019
Mumbai: Air India chairman Ashwani Lohani is likely to meet State Bank chairman Rajnish Kumar Friday over the national carrier's plans to lease five wide-body Boeing planes from the now grounded Jet Airways. Weighed down by a mountain of debt and falling revenue, Jet Airways announced suspension of its entire operations from Wednesday night and owns 16 wide-body planes, 10 B777-300ERs and six Airbus A330s. The SBI-led consortium of lenders are now running the airline under a debt recast plan....

Uber wins USD 1bn investment from Toyota, SoftBank fund

20/04/2019
Tokyo: Japanese car giant Toyota and investment fund SoftBank Vision Fund on Friday unveiled an investment of USD 1 billion in US company Uber to drive forward the development of driverless ridesharing services. The latest cash injection, expected to close in the third quarter this year, came amid fevered anticipation of Uber's public share offering which is expected to be the largest in the tech sector for years. Toyota has already invested USD 500 million in Uber as the firm races Google-ow...

CBDT identifies 20.4 million non-filers, asks I-T dept to take action

20/04/2019
new delhi: The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has directed the Income-Tax Department to initiate penalty proceedings by June 30 against non-filers and ‘drop filers’ of tax returns. According to the non-filer monitoring system (NMS) of the I-T department, data for 20.4 million non-filers has been obtained between 2013 and 2017, of which 2.5 million are those who are inconsistent popularly known as ‘dropped filers’. “We are issuing notices in all the non-filer/dropped filer cases across t...

In a bid to attract buyers, banks ask govt to protect Jet’s prime slots

20/04/2019
new delhi: The lenders’ consortium, led by State Bank of India, has sought protection of prime airport slots of Jet Airways so that the value of the suspended airline does not erode further. In a communication to the Ministry of Civil Aviation, the lenders have made a case for protecting the Jet slots. "Adequate number of slots at metro airports will be protected by the government. These will only be given temporarily so that adequate number of seats are available,” said a person aware of the ...

India still not power-surplus nation; peak deficit at 0.8 pc, energy deficit at 0.6 pc in 2018-19

20/04/2019
new delhi: India has again missed the target of becoming an electricity-surplus nation by a whisker as its peak power deficit stood at 0.8 per cent and the overall energy deficit remained 0.6 per cent in 2018-19. In its load generation balancing report (LGBR) for 2018-19, the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) had pegged overall energy and peak power surpluses at 4.6 per cent and 2.5 per cent, respectively, indicating that India would be a power-surplus country in the financial year. In 2017 ...

Alibaba head’s remarks spark debate over China working hours

20/04/2019
Beijing: Remarks by the head of Chinese online business giant Alibaba that young people should work 12-hour days, six days a week if they want financial success have prompted a public debate over work-life balance in the country. Jack Ma is one of China's richest men and his comments last week brought both condemnation and support as China's more mature economy enters a period of slower growth. Newspaper People's Daily, the ruling Communist Party's mouthpiece, issued an editorial, saying mand...

India should be wary of getting too cosy with Saudi Aramco

19/04/2019
new delhi: It’s funny how friendly someone gets when they’re trying to sell you something. Saudi Arabian Oil Co. is doing its best to make nice with one of its biggest customers. With the ink barely dry on the takeover of 70 percent of the country’s chemical giant Saudi Basic Industries Corp. and the issuance of its first-ever corporate bond, Aramco is looking to buy a stake in the world’s biggest oil refinery. Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Ltd. is seeking to sell as...

Amazon says will not operate China marketplace site from July 18

19/04/2019
new delhi: In a rare retreat for Amazon.com Inc., the e-commerce giant plans to shut down its Chinese marketplace business in July as it shifts its focus to offering mainland consumers overseas products rather than goods from local sellers. Amazon will keep running its other businesses in China, including Amazon Web Services, Kindle e-books, and cross-border operations that help ship goods from Chinese merchants to customers abroad. Starting on July 18, customers logging in to Amazon’s Chinese...

Air India keen on taking 5 grounded Jet Boeings

19/04/2019
new delhi: Air India wants to take 4-5 wide-body Boeing 777 aircraft of the now-grounded Jet Airways and may hold discussions for it with the airline`s lead lender State Bank of India (SBI). The move is aimed at catering the peak demand on various international routes such as India-Gulf and India-UK. Jet Airways has 10 Boeing 777 in its fleet which it used to serve various popular destinations in Europe and North America before halting the entire international operations. "Air India has expr...

Lenders agree to get bids from potential investors for survival of cash-strapped Jet Airways

19/04/2019
new delhi: The lenders of Jet Airways have decided to get binding bids from potential investors survival of the cash-strapped airline. The lenders after due deliberations agreed that they should get bids from investors who have submitted an expression of interest (EoI) and have been issued bid documents on April 16. The lenders also expressed hope that the bidding process is likely to be successful in determining the fair value of Jet Airways in a transparent manner. The decision comes aft...

SpiceJet, IndiGo stocks have run up too fast, too soon: Analysts

19/04/2019
new delhi: The gradual descent of Jet Airways’ operations over the past few months has proved to be a boon for the other players who are not only looking to capture the temporarily out of service airlines’ market-share, but also benefit from the soaring ticket prices. The markets have been quick to respond to the development. SpiceJet and Interglobe Aviation (IndiGo’s parent company) have outperformed the benchmark index thus far in calendar year 2019 (CY19) with a gain of nearly 36 per cent a...

Karnika cruise completes its maiden Voyage, gives passengers rich experience of Indian culture

19/04/2019
new delhi: The Karnika cruise, operated by Jalesh Cruises, started its luxury travel operation in India by successfully completing its maiden Voyage yesterday. The World Class cruise ship, is a fourteen-story cruise, having passenger capacity of two thousand seven hundred people. The 250-meters ship has all the facilities of a 7-star hotel. Jalesh Cruises - meaning 'Lord of Water' is designed to offer a rich experience of Indian culture, hospitality and food to domestic and international trav...

Wipro to underperform peers; buyback a good option for investors: Experts

19/04/2019
new delhi: Wipro, the Bengaluru-headquartered IT services company, announced a Rs 10,500 crore share buyback programme. The company will repurchase 323.1 million shares, which represents 5.35 per cent of total paid-up equity share capital, at Rs 325 apiece, as per its stock exchange filing. The buyback price is nearly 16 per cent premium to the current market price (as of Tuesday's close). Given the modest performance in the fourth quarter of the financial year 2018-19 (4QFY19) and soft guid...

Skootr leases 22,000 sq ft from DLF to open coworking centre in Gurugram

19/04/2019
new delhi: Coworking operator Skootr has leased 22,000 sq ft prime office space at Gurugram in Haryana from realty major DLF Ltd to expand its business and cater to rising demand of flexible space. Gurugram-based Skootr, which was founded in 2015, currently has 12 centres spread over 1.8 lakh sq ft area with about 3,600 seating capacity in Delhi, Gurugram, Noida and Jaipur. "We have taken on lease 22,000 sq ft of office space in 'DLF Square' building. With this, we have leased around 1 lakh s...

Hyundai eyes leadership position in compact SUV segment: MD

19/04/2019
Mumbai: Hyundai Motor India is eyeing a leadership position in the compact SUV segment in the country with its upcoming model Venue, a top company official said. The company will face stiff competition in the sub-4 metre compact SUV segment from the likes of Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza, Tata Motors Nexon, Mahindra XUV300 and Honda WR-V. These models are priced between Rs 6.48 lakh and Rs 11.99 lakh. Currently, Vitara Brezza leads the pack with sales of between 13,000-14,000 units per month. ...

ICICI Bank launches insta car, two-wheeler loans

19/04/2019
new delhi: Private sector lender ICICI Bank announced the launch of insta car and two-wheeler loans that will provide existing customers final sanction letters instantly. The first service, called 'Insta Auto Loan', enables over two million pre-approved customers to avail the final sanction letter of a car loan instantly and digitally up to Rs 20 lakh for a tenure of up to seven years, ICICI Bank said in a statement. The second initiative, named 'Insta Two-Wheeler Loan', offers over 12 million...

DGCA officers want their own service for job growth, perks

18/04/2019
new delhi: Officers at India’s civil aviation regulator want a service of their own, the Indian Civil Aviation Service, because they claim this will ensure their salaries and career progression are on par with officers of organised Group A services of other ministries. About 150 of the 400 staff working with the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) have submitted a representation to the ministry demanding what is called a Group A central service. The officers have written about the b...

Vijay Mallya blames government for Jet Airways crisis, renews offer to pay back 100% debt

18/04/2019
new delhi: Fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya on Wednesday extended his “sympathies” for debt-ridden Jet Airways and slammed the government for “discriminating” between private airlines and state-owned airlines (read Air India). In a series of tweets, Mallya said that the collapse of Jet Airways and his Kingfisher Airlines (which is now defunct) is largely due to the policies of the government. He also raised questions over the government's decision to use 35,000 crores of public funds to bail...

We want balanced trade with India: Chinese envoy

18/04/2019
Kolkata: Consul general of China in Kolkata, Zha Liyou said that his country is keen on balanced trade with India as it is always beneficial and inclusive. There is greater need for boosting trade and investment between the two countries, he said on economic ties between the two countries. "We do not want to have trade deficit with India. We want a bilateral balanced trade as it is always mutually inclusive", he told the Bharat Chamber of Commerce here. Liyou said that Yunan Provincial Invest...

RIL-Aramco deal fits well for both their future strategies

18/04/2019
Mumbai: Reliance Industries (RIL), which owns the world's largest refinery, appears to be making a shift towards consumer businesses, while Saudi Arabia has been taking conscious steps towards de-linking its economy from oil. The two strategies--one corporate and the other national--could find a point of convergence to make way for an RIL-Saudi Aramco deal, news reports suggest. Aramco is a Saudi-owned petroleum company, which Bloomberg recently reported to be the most profitable in the world....

Trai finds six cable firms violating new tariff order, seeks compliance in 5 days

18/04/2019
new delhi: Regulator Trai said six cable TV players, including GTPL Hathway and Siti Networks, violated several rules, especially those related to new tariff order, and directed them to ensure compliance within five days. The other players are Fastway Transmissions Private Ltd, Den Networks, and IndusInd Media and Communications Ltd (IMCL) and Hathway Digital. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) found that GTPL Hathway, Siti Networks, Fastway Transmissions Private Ltd, Den Networ...

5 million men lost their jobs after demonetisation: SWI 2019 report

18/04/2019
new delhi: According to an analysis by Bengaluru-based Azim Premji University researchers, five million men lost their jobs between 2016 and 2018. The beginning of the decline in unemployment coincided with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's demonetisation of high-value currency notes on November 8, 2016. The university released its State of Working India 2019 (SWI 2019) report here on Tuesday, adding to the already raging debate over employment generation at a time when India votes to elect a new...

Lessors rush to repossess 4 more Jet Airways planes, even as emergency funds awaited

18/04/2019
MUMBAI: Lessors to Jet Airways Ltd have applied to deregister another four Boeing Co 737 planes, the Indian aviation regulator said on its website on Wednesday, even as the embattled carrier seeks emergency funding from its lenders. Latest analysis of data disclosed by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation shows that Jet’s lessors have, so far, sought to deregister and repossess at least four dozen of the planes operated by Jet. Once deregistered, lessors are free to reclaim a plane and le...

Lenders to Jet working on revival, no final decision yet: PNB MD

18/04/2019
new delhi: Lenders to the cash-strapped Jet Airways are committed to reviving the air carrier but nothing has been finalised yet, Punjab National Bank (PNB) Managing Director Sunil Mehta said. PNB is part of a consortium of 26 lenders, led by State Bank of India (SBI), which have exposure to Jet Airways' debt of over Rs 8,000 crore. "Discussions for reviving the airline are underway and nothing has been finalised as of now. SBI Capital Markets is working on the revival package for Jet Airways...

Mindtree Q4 net up 8.9% at Rs 198.4 cr; declares special dividend of 200%

18/04/2019
new delhi: Mid-sized IT firm Mindtree on Wednesday said its consolidated net profit grew 8.9 per cent to Rs 198.4 crore for the March 2019 quarter, from Rs 182.2 crore in the year-ago period. The Bengaluru-based company's revenue also increased by 25.6 per cent to Rs 1,839.4 crore in the said quarter, as compared to Rs 1,464 crore in the year-ago period, Mindtree said in a regulatory filing. Mindtree, which is facing a hostile takeover bid by infrastructure giant L&T, said its board has also ...

DGCA notice to IndiGo over plane engines: Report

18/04/2019
Mumbai: Aviation regulator DGCA has issued a show-cause notice to budget carrier IndiGo’s chief operating officer and engineering head over the Pratt & Whitney engines issues, sources close to the development said. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is also conducting a special safety audit of the airline’s operations and engineering, they said. Indian carriers IndiGo and GoAir, which have Pratt & Whitney-powered Airbus A320 neo planes, have been facing problems with these engin...

IBM using AI to create customised, emphatic chatbots

17/04/2019
new delhi: Chatbots may have become ubiquitous in recent times, assisting businesses in everything from bill payments to customer services, but these automated algorithms still struggle to grasp the nuances of human language and context of conversations. In order to improve user-experience, researchers at IBM India are using artificial intelligence (AI) to make chatbots more emphatic and personalised so that they can meet a client's specific needs and provide business value at a much higher sc...

Sensex up 400 points, Nifty crosses 11, 800 for first time

17/04/2019
MUMBAI: Indian shares extended gains to record highs on Tuesday, led by index heavyweights ICICI Bank Ltd and Reliance Industries Ltd, amid sustained buying from foreign investors. Around 2pm on Tuesday, the broader NSE Nifty crossed 11,800 for the first time and the benchmark BSE Sensex was was up 400 point . Both indexes were headed for their four straight sessions of gains. Investors were also optimistic as the earnings season got off to a good start and the state-run weather office foreca...

Jet Airways likely to cancel all flights temporarily

17/04/2019
Mumbai: Debt ridden Jet Airways is likely to cancel all flights temporarily, sources told The carrier, which has more than Rs 8,000 crore debt, is currently operating less than 10 aircraft. Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal, who along with his wife Anita Goyal, had stepped down from the airline last month, is staying away from bidding for acquiring stake in the airline. The cash-strapped airline is awaiting fresh fund infusion under a debt resolution plan. SBI Capital Markets has the mandate f...

Indian firms see great value in data, 47% already monetising it: Dell study

17/04/2019
new delhi: With data becoming a mainstream conversation, more and more businesses in India realise the importance of leveraging it for better outcomes. A recent study has found that 93 per cent of the businesses in India see the potential value of data and 47 per cent of the businesses are monetising it. The Global Data Protection Index by Dell EMC took into account inputs from 2,200 IT decision makers from public and private companies with over 250 employees across 11 industries and 18 countr...

BookMyShow enlarges footprint in cashless tech with investment in AtomX

17/04/2019
Mumbai: Online ticketing portal BookMyShow, has made a strategic investment in AtomX, a Pune-based payments technology company. With this investment, BookMyShow will be able to provide customers an enhanced cashless experience for on-ground events. The company also hopes to further strengthen its position in the market for out-of-home entertainment across ticketing, producing and managing on-ground operations for live entertainment experiences through this investment. Commenting on the inves...

Exports grow 11% in March, 9% in FY19

17/04/2019
new delhi: India's exports rose to a five-month high of 11 percent in March on account of higher growth mainly in pharma, chemicals and engineering sectors, marking the outbound shipments at USD 331 billion for FY 2018-19, official data showed Monday. Merchandise exports in March stood at USD 32.55 billion as against USD 29.32 billion in the same month last year. This is the best growth rate for exports since october 2018, when shipments grew by 17.86 percent. Imports rose by 1.44 percent to...

Spicejet to add five more 90-seater Bombardier Q400s to fleet

17/04/2019
Mumbai: Budget carrier SpiceJet Tuesday said it plans to expand its regional jet fleet to 32 aircraft by adding five more 90-seater Bombardier Q400s. The move is aimed at augmenting capacity in the domestic markets especially on regional routes, following the near collapse of Jet Airways, which has resulted in massive surge in air fares besides mismatch in demand and supply amid peak travel season. Three of these planes will join the fleet in the next ten days while the remaining two will be ...

‘We Also Make Tomorrow’ mantra burnishes Tata Steel’s brand recall

17/04/2019
Bhubaneswar: Tata Steel’s latest branding campaign ‘We Also Make Tomorrow’, emblematic of the steel maker’s commitment to build a greener and better tomorrow, has added sparkle to its brand recall. An independent research done by Kantar, a leading data, insights and consultancy firm, shows Tata Steel’s brand recall scores featuring in the top 25 scores embedded in the database. The score was determined out of different studies related to campaign evaluation conducted by Kantar. The campaign t...

Prabhu directs aviation ministry to review Jet Airways' issues; protect passenger rights, safety

17/04/2019
new delhi: Union Minister Suresh Prabhu Tuesday directed the Ministry of Civil Aviation to review matters related to debt-ridden Jet Airways including issues around increased fares, flight cancellations and passenger rights and safety. “Directed Secretary @MoCA_GoI to review issues related to Jet Airways, especially increasing fares, flight cancellations etc. Asked him to take necessary steps to protect passenger rights and safety; and to work with all stakeholders for their well being,” tweet...

Reliance Jio approaches DoT for in-flight connectivity licence: Report

17/04/2019
new delhi: Reliance Jio Infocomm has approached the telecom department for in-flight connectivity licence, that allows service providers to offer connectivity and data services to Indian and foreign airlines, according to sources. Besides Jio, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has also received a clutch of other applications including those from Ortus Communications, Station Satcom and Cloud Cast Digital, sources privy to the development told. Reliance Jio, however, declined to comme...

Gold smuggling in India slows due to election seizures of cash, bullion

16/04/2019
MUMBAI: India's gold smugglers have slowed their operations over worries their shipments will be caught up in seizures of cash, bullion, booze and drugs that are aimed at controlling vote-buying in the country's national elections, industry officials told Reuters. In India, political parties and their supporters often offer money or goods in exchange for votes. The Election Commission, which monitors the polls, tries to prevent this by setting up highway checkpoints to seize cash, gold, liquor...

Jet Airways pilots appeal to SBI for funds, also ask PM to save 20,000 jobs

16/04/2019
Mumbai: Jet Airways pilots body, the National Aviator's Guild, Monday appealed the State Bank of India (SBI) to release Rs 1,500 crore, which was proposed to be infused in the ailing carrier as part of a debt-restructuring plan last month. The airline is operating just 6-7 planes, with almost its entire fleet being grounded due to non-payment of rentals to lessors amid severe paucity of cash. "We would like to appeal SBI to release Rs 1,500 crore funds for the airline to help it continue oper...

Walmart, Amazon are turning small Indian firms into global entrepreneurs

16/04/2019
Bhubaneswar: Indo Count Industries, a lesser known textiles manufacturer in India, is one of the fastest growing suppliers of home textiles in the US and Europea. The company has entered 49 foreign markets and aims to be a global leader. For Mumbai-based Indo Count, global retail monolith Walmart offered the gateway. A partnership with Walmart’s home brand ‘Canopy’ over a decade ago helped the Indian textiles maker expand globally. Being a Walmart supplier has elavated its position to a truste...

WPI inflation spikes to 3.18% in March on costlier food, fuel

16/04/2019
new delhi: Wholesale price-based inflation rose for the second consecutive month to 3.18 percent in March on costlier food and fuel, government data released Monday showed. The Wholesale Price Index (WPI) based inflation was at 2.93 percent in February. It was 2.74 percent in March 2018. Inflation in food articles hardened with steep rise in prices of vegetables during March 2019. Vegetables inflation was at 28.13 percent in March, up from 6.82 percent in the previous month. However, infla...

Foxconn set to begin mass production of iPhones in India this year

16/04/2019
new delhi: Foxconn Technology Group Chairman Terry Gou said the iPhone will go into mass production in India this year, a shift for the largest assembler of Apple Inc.’s handsets that has long concentrated production in Gou said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has invited him to India as his Taiwanese company plans its expansion in the country. Apple has had older phones produced at a plant in Bangalore for several years, but now will expand manufacturing to more recent models. Bloomberg New...

India’s steel export to US in 2018 down by 49%, aluminium up 58%: Report

16/04/2019
Washington: India's steel export to the US in 2018 declined by 49 per cent to $ 372 million, while that of aluminum increased by 58 per cent to $ 221 million, the independent Congressional Research Service (CRS) said in its latest report. In 2018, the US imports of steel and aluminum products totalled $ 29.5 billion and $ 17.6 billion respectively, the report said adding that over the past decade steel imports have fluctuated significantly by value and quantity, while imports of aluminum have ...

Pennar Industries to nearly triple hydraulic cylinder production capacity

16/04/2019
Hyderabad: Engineering products company Pennar Industries Limited (PIL) announced today that it is scaling up its hydraulic cylinders capacity to 200,000 units per annum from the present 75,000 units to cater to both domestic and global demand. These hydraulic cylinders find applications in agriculture, forestry, construction equipment, material handling, tippers and trailers, aerospace and defence industries, according to the company. The firm is building a new plant that will be equipped to...

Reliance Jio crosses 300 mn customers mark

16/04/2019
new delhi: Telecom operator Reliance Jio has crossed the 300 million customers mark in two-and-a-half years of its operations, sources said. The milestone was reached on March 2, they added. Queries sent to Jio on the matter remained unanswered. However, in its television commercials during the ongoing IPL season, Jio is shown 'Celebrating 300 million users'. Jio became the fastest company in the world to achieve 100 million telecom subscribers in 170 days of starting commercial operation. In...

Export of oilmeals rose 31 pc to Rs 6,222 cr in FY19

16/04/2019
new delhi: Export of oilmeals rose by 31 per cent to Rs 6,222 crore during the last fiscal year on higher volumes as well as price realisation, industry data showed. The country had exported oilmeals worth Rs 4,762 crore during the 2017-18 fiscal, according to the Solvent Extractors' Association of India (SEA) data. In volume terms, the exports increased 6 per cent to 3.2 million tonnes in the 2018-19 fiscal year from 3.02 million tonnes in the previous year. Shipment of rapeseed meal rose ...

Jet Airways pilots, engineers joining SpiceJet at 30-50% pay cut

15/04/2019
new delhi: Low-cost carrier and top rival SpiceJet appears to be making the most of the crisis at Jet Airways. Spicejet is now hiring engineers and pilots at much lower pay than their current salaries at the financialy-troubled Jet. Industry sources told that pilots from Jet Airways are being asked to take salary cuts of 25-30 per cent, while engineers have been advised to settle at 50 per cent of their current pay package. Not long ago, many airlines including SpiceJet were luring the same...

Modi govt has major successes in social sector schemes: Panagariya

15/04/2019
new delhi: Former Niti Aayog vice chairman Arvind Panagariya has said the Modi government has achieved 'major successes' in social sector programmes like Ayushman Bharat, PM-Kisan and rural electrification. Besides, this government has made an 'unprecedented progress' in tackling corruption, he added. On the reforms undertaken by the Narendra Modi-led NDA government, he said the three major areas of initiatives were implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), Insolvency and Bankruptcy...

Jubilant Cadista recalls 12,960 bottles of erosive esophagitis tablets

15/04/2019
new delhi: Jubilant Cadista Pharmaceuticals Inc is recalling 12,960 bottles of Pantoprazole Sodium delayed-release tablets from the American market, as per a report of the US health regulator. The tablets are used for the short-term treatment of erosive esophagitis associated with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). Salisbury-based Jubilant Cadista Pharmaceuticals Inc is a fully-owned subsidiary of Cadista Holdings Inc, which is a part of Noida-based Jubilant Life Sciences. Jubilant Cadist...

FPIs stay bullish on India, pour in Rs 11,096 cr in April so far

15/04/2019
new delhi: Foreign investors have pumped in a net sum of Rs 11,096 crore into the Indian capital markets in April so far, driven by global and domestic factors. Foreign portfolio investors (FPI) were net buyers for the previous two months as well, infusing a net sum of Rs 11,182 crore in February and Rs 45,981 crore in March. Prior to that, FPIs had pulled out a net Rs 5,360 crore from the capital markets (both equity and debt) in January. As per depositories data, FPIs invested a net amount...

ONGC arrests fall in oil output from onshore wells, posts higher growth

15/04/2019
new delhi: State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) has arrested a declining crude oil production trend in its onshore fields and registered a 1.25 per cent rise in output in the fiscal year ended March 2019, top company officials said. ONGC produced 6.141 million tonnes of crude oil from its onshore fields despite majority of them being more than 50 years old and facing a natural decline. The company has been able to make a production turnaround through a slew of initiatives, they said. ...

RCom arm got huge tax waiver from France after Rafale deal: Report

15/04/2019
Mumbai: The French authorities waived taxes amounting to over Rs 1,000 crore (Euro 143.7 million) for a French-registered company of the Anil Ambani group within six months of the announcement by India to buy 36 Rafale jets in 2015, French newspaper Le Monde said. It claimed that “between February and October 2015, while the French were negotiating the Rafale contract with India, Anil Ambani got a tax waiver of Euro 143.7 million from the French state”. When contacted, a Reliance Communicatio...

Jet Airways stops forward booking for east-bound international sector

15/04/2019
MUMBAI: Crisis-ridden Jet Airways has stopped forward bookings for some of its international sectors, including those for east Asia, sources said on Sunday. Currently, the airline has suspended international operations till Monday afternoon. Accordingly, the company has informed the country`s aviation regulator that it has stopped taking forward bookings for its flights to SAARC and ASEAN destinations including Colombo, Kathmandu, Singapore, and Hong Kong till further notice. However, sour...

344 infra projects show cost overruns of Rs 3.16 lakh cr

15/04/2019
new delhi: As many as 344 infrastructure projects, each worth Rs 150 crore or more, have shown cost overruns to the tune of over Rs 3.16 lakh crore owing to delays and other reasons, a report said. "Total original cost of implementation of the 1424 projects was Rs 18,17,469.76 crore and their anticipated completion cost is likely to be Rs 21,33,649.81 crore, which reflects overall cost overruns of Rs 3,16,180.05 crore (17.40% of original cost)," the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Impleme...

NPCI mulls using blockchain solution to strengthen digital payments

15/04/2019
new delhi: Payments network NPCI is considering using highly scalable blockchain solution to further strengthen digital payments, which have seen an exponential growth in recent times. A blockchain or distributed ledger is a continuously growing list of encrypted transactions called blocks. A block may contain any type of data such as unique digital identifiers of physical products The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) is an umbrella organisation for all retail payments in India. ...

RBI net dollar buyer for third straight month in Feb, snaps up $825 mn

15/04/2019
Mumbai: The Reserve Bank remained a net buyer of the US dollar for the thirdconsecutive month in February, when it bought $825 million from the spot market, according to the data from the central bank. In the reporting month, the central bank bought $2.086 billion and sold $1.261 billion in the spot market as the rupee was under pressure. The central bank had turned net buyer of dollar for the first time in fiscal 2019 in December 2018, buying $607 million. In January 2019, the RBI had net p...

Infosys Q4 profit rises 10.5% to Rs 4,078 crore, meets Street estimates

14/04/2019
Bengaluru: Infosys posted a mixed set of numbers for the March quarter as well as the entire financial year 2018-19 (FY19) but gave a muted estimate on revenue growth for the current year, apart from slashing its operating margin forecast for the second consecutive year. Despite clocking 9 per cent revenue growth in constant currency terms for FY19 against its guided range of 6.5-8.5 per cent for the period, the country’s second-largest information technology services company guided for only 7...

RBI governor says India’s economy needs to grow even faster to deal with poverty, other challenges

14/04/2019
new delhi: India’s central bank chief said the expansion of the world’s fastest-growing major economy needs to pick up to around 8 percent to deal with poverty and other challenges. While the past few years’ average growth of around 7.5 percent was impressive, “the expectation is India can be better,’ Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das said at an International Monetary Fund event in Washington on Friday. He also said more structural reforms were needed in areas such as land and lab...

SC orders status quo on funds payout in Essar Steel insolvency case

14/04/2019
new delhi: ArcelorMittal’s entry into India’s steel market could be delayed further after the Supreme Court ordered the status quo on the distribution of funds among operational and financial creditors from the Luxembourg-based firm’s Rs 42,000-crore resolution plan for Essar Steel India. The apex court also asked the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) to expedite hearing in the matter. A two-judge Bench, led by Justice Rohinton F Nariman, was hearing a bunch of petitions moved by...

At 0.1%, India’s industrial growth falls to 20-month low in February

14/04/2019
new delhi: A contraction in manufacturing output, especially in the sensitive capital and consumer goods segment, pulled down industrial growth to a 20-month low of just 0.1 per cent in February. The bottom crawling growth rate follows a 1.43 per cent growth in the previous month of January. The index of industrial production (IIP) has witnessed low growth since November, 2018, and is expected to remain muted owing to weak exports, rural distress, credit constraints and uncertainty over the el...

Former IL&FS managing director Ramesh Bawa arrested in fraud case

14/04/2019
new delhi: Former IL&FS MD and CEO Ramesh Bawa was arrested by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) in connection with an ongoing investigation against Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services (IL&FS) and its group entities, news agency reported on Saturday. Bawa’s arrest comes after the Supreme Court’s refusal to extend his protection from being arrested. On April 1, SFIO had arrested ex chairman Hari Shankaran in the same case for alleged “abuse of power”. Hari Shankaran had b...

Travel community platform Tripoto raises Rs 25 crore from VCs

14/04/2019
new delhi: Tripoto, a travel community platform, has raised Rs 25 crore from Orchid India, Hornbill Orchid India Fund, Chiratae Ventures (formerly IDG Ventures), 3one4 Capital and Lasmer NV. The online travel platform was launched in the year 2014 by Anirudh Gupta (IIT Delhi & ISB alumnus) and Michael Lyngdoh (ISB Alumnus). Since its inception, the community and commerce platform has raised a total of Rs 50 crore. Tripoto is a full-stack platform that brings user generated travel content, com...

TCS net profit up 17.7% to Rs 8,126 crore in Q4, crosses $20-bn revenue

14/04/2019
Mumbai: Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) on Friday reported robust numbers both for the fourth quarter of 2018-19 and the full financial year, with the country’s largest IT services company crossing the $20-billion revenue mark for the first time. Growth in net profit as well as revenue exceeded Street expectations, though margin contracted a bit in the fourth quarter. For the quarter ended March 31, TCS reported Rs 8,126 crore in net profit, a jump of 17.7 per cent over the corresponding quart...

‘Scrapping India’s trade privileges could hit American consumers’: US senators

14/04/2019
new delhi: A US plan to end preferential duty-free imports of up to $5.6 billion from India could raise costs for American consumers, two US senators have told their country’s trade office, urging a delay in adopting the plan, and seeking more negotiations. If US?President Donald Trump presses ahead with his plan to end the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) for India, it could lose the status in early May, Indian officials have said, raising the prospect of retaliatory tariffs. India is...

Jet Airways employees flood Air India with job applications

14/04/2019
new delhi: Jet Airways crew members and air hostesses have applied for new jobs in the national carrier -- Air India. A few days back, Air India had announced the recruitment of crew members in its fleet. Debt-laden Jet Airways, facing the worst time in 25 years, on Friday announced the suspension of international flights till Monday (April 15) due to the non-payment of outstanding bills to its lessors. Air India spokesperson said: "AI is looking for 1,200 crew members. In the first phase af...

Facebook more than doubles Mark Zuckerberg’s compensation to $22.6 million

14/04/2019
new delhi: Facebook Inc Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg`s compensation for 2018 more than doubled to $22.6 million, a regulatory filing showed . Facebook has in the past few years faced public outcry over its role in Russia`s alleged influence on the 2016 U.S. presidential election and has come under fire following revelations that Cambridge Analytica obtained personal data from millions of Facebook profiles without consent. (https://bit.ly/2Gbb9cn) Even though Zuckerberg has been dra...