News digest: S&P holds India rating, insolvency ordinance, and more

National drug pricing regulator NPPA on Friday said it has capped prices of 51 essential formulations, including those used for the treatment of cancer, pain, heart conditions and skin problems

Last Updated : Jan 07 2018 | 3:02 AM IST

S&P refuses to do a Moody's; maintains status quo on India's rating

Credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P) on Friday retained India’s sovereign rating at the lowest investment grade with a stable outlook. It attributed its decision to a weak fiscal position, particularly of states, high government debt, and low per capita income.

S&P’s rating remains at BBB-, one notch above junk and a notch below what Moody’s Investors Service upgraded India to recently. Read more

India needs to look beyond Buenos Aires, says Suresh Prabhu

With a little over a fortnight left before the World Trade Organization’s biennial ministerial conference gets underway at Buenos Aires in Argentina, Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu tells that India should focus on strategising how to scale up its exports in tandem with the economy reaching the $5 trillion mark in less than a decade. Read more

Cancer, cardiac among 51 essential drugs under NPPA price cap

National drug pricing regulator NPPA on Friday said it has capped prices of 51 essential formulations, including those used for the treatment of cancer, pain, heart conditions and skin problems. The prices have been slashed in the range of 6 to 53 per cent. Read more

Insolvency Code ordinance: Promoters' loss is PEs' gain

Private equity (PE) players are getting ready to bid for stressed assets, which they expect to bag at attractive valuations after an ordinance amended the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC). The ordinance has practically barred most promoters of the defaulting companies from bidding for their assets in the bankruptcy auction. Read more

ArcelorMittal's bid for steel firms in trouble

Amendments to the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) have not only practically debarred promoters from reacquiring their own assets but have also put the world’s largest steelmaker ArcelorMittal’s prospective bid for stressed steel assets — Bhushan Steel, Bhushan Power & Steel, and Essar Steel — in trouble. Read more