News digest: Mayhem on D-Street, fuel price cut, IL&FS crisis, and more

The rupee fell to an all-time low of 73.6 against the dollar, down more than 13% this year, making it the worst-performing currency in Asia

Mayhem continues on D-Street: Sensex crashes 806 pts; rupee hits record low 

Indian equities slid to their lowest levels in three months on Thursday as a falling rupee, surging global crude oil prices, and weak global cues continued to weigh on investor sentiment.

The rupee fell to an all-time low of 73.6 against the dollar, down more than 13 per cent this year, making it the worst-performing currency in Asia. The rise in inflationary pressures could compel the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to raise interest rates on Friday, say experts.  Read more

Modi govt blinks, reduces excise duty on petrol, diesel by Rs 2.5 a litre

Facing widespread discontent over the steep rise in fuel prices in recent months, the Union government on Thursday bit the proverbial bullet and cut the excise duty on petroleum products by Rs 1.50 a litre with immediate effect. Additionally, state-owned oil marketing companies (OMCs) have reduced the prices by Rs 1 a litre. This is the first time in more than four years that prices of either petrol or diesel are being controlled. Read more

IL&FS value to be preserved, says non-executive chairman Uday Kotak

The government-appointed board at debt-ridden Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS) hit the ground running and said it would take steps to preserve the value of the group. 

The situation at IL&FS is more complicated than what was anticipated so far, said the newly constituted seven-member board of directors on Thursday after a five-hour meeting. 

While the Ministry of Corporate Affairs said in its petition that IL&FS had 169 group companies under its structure, the new board said the group comprised 348 entities which is “significantly larger than what we had originally been aware of”. Read more

Essar Steel bid: ArcelorMittal, Numetal get two weeks to clear dues

The Supreme Court (SC) on Thursday granted an opportunity to ArcelorMittal and Numetal to clear dues for non-performing assets (NPAs) in two weeks to be eligible to bid for Essar Steel.
 

For Numetal, this is a significant departure from the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal’s (NCLAT’s) order, which had found its second bid valid. The tribunal had directed Arcelor to clear its dues within three days to become eligible. Read more

ICICI Bank's Chanda Kochhar quits, Sandeep Bakhshi appointed as new CEO

Chanda Kochhar, facing a probe for charges of wrongdoing in giving loans, has quit as managing director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO) of ICICI Bank, after heading the private lender for nearly a decade. 
 

ICICI Bank has appointed Sandeep Bakhshi MD and CEO for a five-year term.

The market took the development positively as the bank’s stock gained 4.07 per cent over the previous close, while the Sensex declined 2.24 per cent.

Kochhar has been on long leave to facilitate the independent investigation, which is being conducted by former Supreme Court judge B N Srikrishna.  Read more