India tops up strategic reserves with cheaper crude, saves over $685 mn. Taking advantage of low prices in major oil-producing centres in Saudi Arabia and UAE, India has filled up its strategic crude oil reserves to meet its energy needs in times of emergency and saved a neat $685.11 million in the process.
It bought crude oil at an average price of $19 per barrel to fill its reserves in April and May when prices reached an all-time low while the US oil touched negative price levels in futures market. The state-funded reserves are meant to tide over short-term supply disruptions and will take care of India's oil needs for 9.5 days. The country was already holding half of its total 5.33 million tonnes oil reserves capacity when the government decided to take advantage of the low crude prices. Apple Store Online goes live with trade-in option for iPhones, bank offers. Apple Store Online is now live in India.
The digital store is a one-stop portal where you can purchase Apple products and avail of services. Said to deliver the same experience that is available at Apple Store locations around the world, the online store offers the shopping assistance feature through Apple Online Specialists, trade-in for iPhone, custom-built Mac, AppleCare+ and free no-contact delivery. Moreover, the online store offers multiple financing options on products — equated monthly instalments through credit cards. Let’s take a look at the offers currently available on Apple Store Online: Cashback offer from HDFC Bank The Apple Store Online is running a limited time cashback offer in partnership with HDFC Bank wherein customers can avail a six per cent cashback on the purchase price of select Apple products.
According to the terms and conditions of the cashback offer, it is available only on HDFC Bank credit cards and credit cards EMI transactions. EMI and no-cost EMI option. Parliament passes 3 key labour reform bills amid boycott by oppn parties. Parliament on Wednesday approved three key labour reform bills that will remove impediments for winding up of companies and allow firing of staff without government permission in firms with up to 300 workers.
Amid boycott by opposition parties including Congress and Left over suspension of eight MPs, Rajya Sabha passed by voice vote the three remaining labour codes on industrial relations, social security and occupational safety. The three codes were passed by Lok Sabha on Tuesday and these will now be sent to the President for his assent. Replying to the debate on the three labour reforms bills, Labour Minister Santosh Gangwar said,"The purpose of labour reforms is to provide a transparent system to suit the changed business environment. " The minister also told the House that as many as 16 states have already increased the threshold for closure, lay off and retrenchment in firms with up to 300 workers without government permission. Facebook may leave Europe if Ireland enforces ban on data sharing with US.
Facebook may have to pull out of Europe if the Irish Data Protection Commission enforces a ban on sharing data with the US after the European Court of Justice found that the bloc's measures to protect its data from US intelligence agencies were insufficient, Head of Data Protection and Associate General Counsel at Facebook Ireland Yvonne Cunnane said in a court filing.
In July, the European Court of Justice invalidated the 2016 Privacy Shield, saying that EU digital privacy laws were at risk of being violated under the agreement, which allows for data to be transferred, stored, and processed in the United States. "In the event that [Facebook] was subject to a complete prohibition on the transfer of user data to the United States, as appears to be what the DPC [Data Protection Commissioner] proposes, it is not clear to [Facebook] how, in such circumstances, it could continue to provide inter alia the Facebook and Instagram services in the EU," the document unveiled earlier this week said. CAMS IPO: Issue subscribed 34 times on day 3; HNI bids at 91.5 times.
The initial public offering (IPO) of Computer Age Management Services (CAMS) was subscribed 33.56 times so far on Wednesday, the last day of the issue.
The portion reserved for retail investors was subscribed 4.72 times. At 3:03 PM, the high networth individuals (HNI) portion of the issue was subscribed 91.5 times, while the portion of qualified institutional buyers was subscribed 42.25 times.. The firm had allotted shares worth Rs 666 crore on Saturday to 35 anchor investors. The anchor investors include Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Fidelity Funds, Goldman Sachs India, and the Government of Singapore. It had, on September 18, raised Rs 667 crore from several anchor investors at higher end of price band of Rs 1,229-1,230 per share, as a result the issue size has been reduced to over 1.28 crore equity shares from 1.82 crore shares earlier. LIVE updates: Rajya Sabha adjourned sine die, monsoon session cut short. Covid-19 LIVE: 10 States/UTs accounted for 83% of deaths in last 24 hours. MARKET WRAP: Indices end flat, Sensex slips 66 pts; Bharti Airtel falls 8% No coercive action against Facebook VP till Oct 15: SC to Delhi panel.
The Supreme Court Wednesday directed a Delhi Legislative Assembly panel not to take coercive action against Facebook India VP and MD Ajit Mohan till October 15 in connection with a summon asking him to depose before it with regard to north east Delhi riots.
The panel is probing the social media firm's role in spread of alleged hate speech. A bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Aniruddha Bose and Krishna Murari issued notices to the secretary of the Legislative Assembly; the ministries of Law and Justice, Home Affairs, Electronics and IT; Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, represented by the Secretary General, and Delhi Police, asking them to respond to the plea. KKR to invest Rs 5,550 crore in Reliance Retail Ventures for 1.28% equity.
Global investment firm KKR will invest Rs 5,500 crore in Reliance Retail for 1.28 per cent equity share, Reliance Industries Limited said in a BSE filing on Wednesday.
Govt panel suggests cash fertiliser subsidy of Rs 5,000 per year per farmer. The Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP), the Indian government’s advisor on minimum support price for major farm products, has for the first time recommended a cash fertiliser subsidy to farmers to the tune of Rs 5,000 per year.
The panel has suggested that this should be done in two tranches of Rs 2,500 each — in the kharif and rabi seasons. If the government accepts this recommendation, the ongoing practice of transferring subsidy to fertiliser producing companies will be discontinued. Currently, farmers receive urea as well as P&K fertilisers at subsidised prices in the market. Shapoorji Pallonji Group agrees to exit Tata Sons, calls for separation. The Shapoorji Pallonji Group on Tuesday told the Supreme Court of India that it would exit from Tata Sons provided it gets an early and a fair, equitable solution.
With this, the 70-year old relationship between two of India’s biggest groups will come to an end. The SP group, which owns 18.5 per cent stake in Tata Sons, in a statement said a separation from the Tata Group is necessary due to the potential impact this continuing litigation could have on livelihoods and the economy. “It was crucial that an early resolution is reached to arrive at a fair and equitable solution reflecting the value of the underlying tangible and intangible assets,” it said.
Route Mobile up 7% as Goldman Sachs, Kuwait Investment Authority pick stake. Shares of Route Mobile rallied 7 per cent to quote at Rs 694 on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) on Tuesday after foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) such as Goldman Sachs and Kuwait Investment Authority acquired shares worth of Rs 210 crore of the company on its debut on Monday.
The stock bounced back 9 per cent from a low of Rs 636 hit in the intra-day trade today. It was, however, trading 5 per cent lower from a high of Rs 735 touched on its listing day. On Monday, Goldman Sachs India Fund Limited, Goldman Sachs Trust Emerging Markets Equity Fund and GS FDS Sicav GS Global Emg Mkts EQ Portfolio bought a combined 2.41 million equity shares worth of Rs 170 crore. Over 10 mn migrant workers walked to their states in March-June: Govt. More than one crore migrant labourers returned to their home states on foot during March-June 2020, including those who travelled during the COVID-19 pandemic-induced lockdown, the government said on Tuesday. "COVID-19 has resulted in migration of large number of workers from destination states to the home-states, Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways V K Singh told Lok Sabha in a written reply.
As per the data compiled by Ministry of Labour and Employment, more than 1.06 crore migrant workers, including those who travelled on foot during the lockdown, returned to their home states, he said. Cheaper electric cars may help oil firms to green their businesses faster. A decade ago, some of the smartest minds at the US Department of Energy set an ambitious goal: lower the cost of battery packs to $100 per kilowatt-hour from more than $1000 per kWh. If achieved, electric cars would reach cost parity with internal-combustion engine cars — unleashing a revolution. That moment is here. Later today, at Tesla’s Battery Day event, Elon Musk could announce that the California-based company now makes batteries that cost less than $100 per kWh.
Jio announces JioPostpaid Plus plans with free OTT apps subscription & more. Reliance Jio on Tuesday announced JioPostpaid plans in which the Mukesh Ambani-owned telecom operator is offering free subscription of the commonly used over-the-top platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Disney+ Hotstar. Besides, the plans come bundled with free access to Jio apps suite.
The plans start at Rs 399 and goes up to Rs 1,499. In all the tariff plans, the company is offering unlimited voice and messages and data rollover facility. Moreover, the company is offering additional postpaid connection under its family plan at Rs 250 per connection. Murugappa family votes to keep Valli Arunachalam out of holding co board. The shareholders of Ambadi Investments (AIL), the holding company (holdco) of the Rs 38,100-crore Murugappa Group, have voted against the induction of 59-year-old Valli Arunachalam, the eldest daughter of former executive chairman M V Murugappan, into its board. At the annual general meeting held on Thursday, 91.36 per cent of the shareholders of the Chennai-based holding company that controls the financial services-to-agro commodity conglomerate voted against the resolution, while 8.64 per cent voted in favour. Arunachalam had sent a notice in August, proposing her candidature for directorship. She had earlier laid two proposals before other branches of the Murugappa group family — either give a board berth to her or her sister, or buy her family’s 8.15-per cent stake in AIL at a ‘fair value’.
Arunachalam, her sister Vellachi Murugappan, and their mother M V Valli Murugappan hold the stake together. Mukesh Ambani's next weapon to dominate telecom market is a Rs 4,000 phone. Reliance Industries Ltd has asked local suppliers to ramp up production capacity in India so they can make as many as 200 million smartphones over the next two years, according to people familiar with the matter, a potentially enormous boost for the country’s technology ambitions and a warning shot to rivals such as Xiaomi Corp. India’s most valuable company is in talks with domestic assemblers to make a version of its Jio phone that would run on Google’s Android and cost about 4,000 rupees ($54), said the people, asking not to be identified since the plans are private.
The inexpensive phones will be marketed with low-cost wireless plans from Reliance Jio, the parent company’s carrier, they said. Reliance Chairman Mukesh Ambani is aiming to remake the country’s smartphone industry much like he did in wireless services, where his aggressive prices and simple plans quickly made him the dominant force. E-commerce cos fret over Madras HC ruling on GST refunds on service inputs. Coronavirus LIVE: India cases at 5,562,663; over 100,000 cured in 24 hours.
MARKET LIVE: Indices fall again, Sensex down 300 pts; autos, PSBs drag. Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea must pay 10% of AGR dues by March 31: DoT. Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea are busy dialing their legal teams to interpret what the Supreme Court meant when it said 10 per cent of their adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues must be paid by March 31, 2021, even as the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) believes there's no ambiguity in the order.
While these telcos maintain they have already paid more than the 10 per cent of their AGR dues, the DoT view — that the companies will have to pay 10 per cent of the total dues by March 31, 2021, irrespective of what one has already paid — has turned the industry calculation topsy turvy. The telcos would decide their future course of action depending on the legal advice they get as senior counsels study the fine print of the verdict. Fiscal stimulus, lower interest rate needed for 7% growth rate: Panagriya. India will need fiscal stimulus, lower interest rates, faster bank recapitalisation and privatisation of some PSUs to return to 7 per cent growth rate, former Niti Aayog vice chairman Arvind Panagariya said on Monday. Addressing a virtual event organised by AIMA, Panagariya further said the country lost nearly $125 billion in the April-June period due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Sebi to prescribe stress tests, liquid holdings for debt mutual funds. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on Tuesday said it would soon issue guidelines that mandate all debt mutual fund schemes to hold a certain percentage of liquid assets in their schemes, including government securities and treasury bills. Nucleus Software hits record high, stock zooms 132% in 2 months. Birla Corp slips 9% after HC bars Harsh Lodha from MP Birla group companies. Hindustan Unilever hits over 3-month low; stock falls 12% in 2 months. Mukund freezes upper circuit for 14th straight day; up 87% in September. GOCL Corp leaps 12% on divestment of partial stake in Quaker Houghton. HCL Tech shares hit a fresh record high as Co to acquire IT firm DWS Ltd. Farm Bills needed for 21st century India, says Modi as Opposition protests. Google Pay adds tap-to-pay feature for Axis, SBI card users: Details here.
Coronavirus LIVE: At 4,396,399, India has highest no. of recovered patients. LIVE: Modi lays foundation of 9 highway projects worth 14,000 cr in Bihar. MARKET LIVE: Sensex dips 100 pts; realty, metal stocks decline, IT gains. FinCEN files: Almost all Indian banks named for suspicious transactions. Thanks to Covid, jet fuel is so cheap it's being blended for use by ships. India's Covid-19 lockdown claims another victim; gold smuggling routes. FinMin to decide borrowing calendar for H2 of FY21 in Sept last week. EPFO records 845,000 new enrolments in July, up from 482,000 in June. Paytm accuses Google of trying to dominate India's digital ecosystem. Rajya Sabha passes two farm bills amid ruckus by oppn MPs, farmer protests. India's single-day recoveries surpass new cases as 94,612 people recuperate. State Bank of India to raise Rs 8,000 crore, gets shareholders' nod. TCS sets up 11 Covid-19 isolation centres for staff, their dependents. LIVE: India extends $250 mn support to Maldives to overcome Covid-19 impact.
LIVE: Opposition members sit in protest inside RS after House adjourned. Have given my blessing, says Trump on TikTok deal involving Oracle, Walmart. Govt proposes wider coverage for migrant workers under labour laws. The Modi govt must forget pakoras and let the likes of Toyota create jobs. FB neutral, non-partisan, says India chief; defends handling of hate speech. Rajya Sabha passes two farm bills amid ruckus by oppn MPs, farmer protests. Govt decriminalises Companies Act to promote greater ease of doing business. Oxford vaccine: Phase-3 trial to begin in Pune next week, volunteers enrol. Nine RSS workers living at Sangh headquarters test positive for Covid-19.
Amarinder lashes out at Akalis for 'misleading' people on agri bills. Jabra Elite 45h review: On-ear headphones with good sound, on-battery time. Veteran Rabindra Sangeet exponent Purba Dam dies at 85 at her residence. No decision to discontinue printing of Rs 2,000 currency note: FinMin in LS. Garib Kalyan Rojgar not implemented in WB as it did not provide info: FM. Carmichael project created 1,500 jobs, awarded $1.09 bn in contracts: Adani. RITES Ltd announces share buyback worth Rs 257 cr at Rs 265 per share. Brokerage industry's revenues expected to reach Rs 23,000 cr in FY21: Icra.
Best of BS Opinion: The China gap, National Suspicion State & more. Expect to have enough Covid vaccines for every American by Apr 2021: Trump. Latest news LIVE: Rajya Sabha passes IBC (Second Amendment) Bill 2020. Maharashtra police reports 153 new Covid-19 cases; five more cops die. Coronavirus LIVE: 97 persons died on Shramik trains, govt tells Rajya Sabha. New rule for importers to get FTA concessions; industry raises concern. 'Would be massive': Paytm Money looks to tap India's stock trading mania. Monsoon session may be curtailed as Covid-19 cases rise among MPs: Report. Insolvency against corp debtors, personal guarantors can go together: FM.
HC orders removal of Harsh Vardhan Lodha from MP Birla group companies. Paytm returns to Play Store after suspension over violating Google policies. Govt's total liabilities rise to Rs 101.3 trn in Q1: Finmin report. Two US-based law firms file class action suits against HDFC Bank. Apple Store Online coming up on Sep 23, will offer services beyond shopping. Covid-19: Ind-Ra downgrades Indian banking outlook to negative for H2FY21. SAD's Harsimrat Badal resigns from Modi cabinet over farm Bills.
Coronavirus LIVE: India's case tally crosses 5.2 mn, recovery rate at 78.8% MARKET LIVE: Sensex, Nifty range-bound; broader indices outperform. No plan to exclude Huawei, ZTE from 5G infra contracts: Sanjay Dhotre. Climate change in mind, Wall Street to start trading a new commodity: Water. Indian economy staring at double-digit decline as Covid-19 cases spike. In Punjab, farmers' body to start 'rail roko' agitation from Sep 24. RBI gets more elbow room for bond purchases as banks return borrowed money. Dubai bans Air India Express for 15 days for carrying Covid positive flyer. Keeping his friends close: Musk learns from partners, then does it alone.
SAD's Harsimrat Badal resigns from Modi cabinet over farm Bills. Advance tax mop-up dips 25.5% in Q2, led by plunge in corporate tax: Report. RBI announces outright purchase of Rs 10k-cr of bonds from secondary mkts. SP slaps notice on Tata Sons board, seeks damages for blocking fund raise. Trump wants a vaccine by end of this year but the barriers are too high. Oracle to get access to TikTok's source code to eliminate Chinese backdoors. GCV Powerlist 2020: 5 Indians among top 25 venture capitalists in the world.
Coronavirus LIVE updates: India cases at 5,118,253; over 4 million recover. MARKET LIVE: Indices at day's low, Sensex plunges 300 pts; India VIX up 4% VC investments from China down by 66% in 2020, startups to feel the heat. Supreme Court to begin hearing SBI's plea against Anil Ambani today. HCL Tech enters top-10 most valued firms club; surpasses ITC in m-cap.