News digest: Govt vs RBI, Rafale deal row, Ayushman Bharat, and more

Govt vs RBI: Urjit Patel meets PM Narendra Modi amid ongoing tussle

Reserve Bank of India Governor Urjit Patel met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday to iron out issues on which the government and the central bank are not seeing eye to eye.

Sources said Patel was in New Delhi on Friday, when he met Modi and senior officials in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO).

Some of the government’s demands the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) may accede to include relaxing prompt corrective action (PCA) norms for some banks and a special dispensation for micro, small and medium enterprises. Read more 

Hit by fuel costs, Jet posts 3rd straight quarterly loss at Rs 12.97 bn

Jet Airways is overhauling its network after posting a net loss of Rs 12.61 billion in the third quarter of 2018-19. In the September quarter of 2017-18, it had reported a net profit of Rs 0.71 billion.

Total revenue rose 6.9 per cent to Rs 63.63 billion on a year-on-year basis, with the gains coming from international routes and passenger feed from partner airlines. The airline booked "expected refund of variable rentals" worth Rs 1.11 billion in revenue, which helped boost numbers.

After the weak results, the airline on Monday said it was conducting a comprehensive review of its network, product and services. It was engaging with its "financial stakeholders" as high fuel prices and low fares hurt its operations, the firm added. Read more 

 

Rafale row: Govt submission to SC hints at shortcuts in decision-making

The government on Monday submitted to the Supreme Court (SC) details about the process by which it arrived at the decision to buy 36 Rafale fighter aircraft from France while cancelling a tender for 126 Rafales, of which 108 were to be built in India.

While the part on price details was submitted to the apex court in a sealed cover, Business Standard has reviewed a copy of the submission on the procurement process, which came in response to an SC order of November 1 and was shared with the petitioners — Yashwant Sinha, Arun Shourie and Prashant Bhushan — in accordance with the court’s directions. Read more

50 days of Ayushman Bharat: 200,000 benefit; states okay claims of Rs 3 bn

Fifty days since the launch of Ayushman Bharat on September 25, 200,000 beneficiaries have already availed of treatment; 500,000 health cards have been distributed to date. Senior government officials say letters are being sent in regional languages to beneficiaries to espouse the notion of universal health care.

Claims worth Rs 17 billion have been received across the country. Of this, Rs 3 billion worth of claims have been approved by various states, inform government sources. Read more 
 

Twitter's Dorsey trends on Delhi trip, offers politicians tools to go viral

In the general elections next year, Twitter is likely to be the biggest campaign manager for political parties — or at least that’s what its Chief Executive Officer Jack Dorsey would like.

During his maiden visit to India, the 41-year-old, nose ring-sporting Dorsey wants “to experience everything”, according to a tweet he posted on November 10. He might do a few touristy things — going to Jaipur, or getting his ring pulled by the Dalai Lama — but his six-day trip has other things on the itinerary. Read more