Top 10 biz headlines: FM's infra plan, SBI's distressed asset fund, & more

From a CEO poll indicating that slowdown will worsen to hiring in IT sector, here are the top 10 business news headlines for the day

FM Sitharaman unveils Rs 102-trillion infrastructure plan to boost growth

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday launched a National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP), unveiling projects worth Rs 102 trillion, to boost economic growth and help the economy reach the $5-trillion target by 2024-25. Read more.

SBI to float $2-bn distressed asset fund; to bring in global partners

The country’s largest lender, State Bank of India (SBI), plans to float a distressed asset fund in the new year and will be roping in a global partner to raise money from international investors. Rajnish Kumar, chairman, SBI, told Business Standard: “We are expanding our fund management business. Read more.

Slowdown set to worsen in 2020, but Budget may help turn the tide: CEO poll

A majority of chief executive officers (CEOs) of Indian companies expect economic growth to slow down further in the new year, mainly due to slowing consumer demand in the country and ongoing trade wars among the world’s major economies. Read more.

Note ban ghost comes to haunt jewellers as I-T dept passes recovery orders

The income-tax (I-T) department has passed recovery orders against thousands of jewellers across the country on their cash deposits after demonetisation of high-value currency in November 2016. Tuesday (December 31) was the last day to pass orders for the accounting year 2016-17 in which such deposits were made. Read more.

After a tough year, fund managers bet on mid- and small-caps for 2020

Mid and small-cap stocks, which had a difficult last year, can get their mojo back in 2020, say domestic fund managers. They expect the stocks of smaller-sized companies to start staging a strong recovery after the economy starts to respond to the government’s efforts to revive growth. Read more.

IT sector is likely to hire 10% more freshers in 2020, say experts

The IT sector is likely to hire 10 per cent more freshers in 2020, even as the overall recruitment in this space may remain at the current level. According to various estimates, the net addition of new jobs in the IT sector is likely to be more than 100,000 in 2020, of which around 40 per cent will go to fresh graduates from engineering colleges. Experts in the human resources (HR) consultancy space said that mid-level staffers with more than six years of experience will continue to face pressure this year as IT firms are likely to reduce count in this level. Read more.

Indian airlines may hire fewer pilots in 2020 compared to last year

Indian carriers are expected to hire fewer pilots in 2020 compared to the previous year. This is due to delivery delays from Airbus, uncertainty surrounding Boeing 737 Max’s return to service and a reserve of Jet Airways pilots currently in training. Read more.

Trai issues draft rules on network testing norms for wireline services

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) on Tuesday issued draft recommendations on ‘network testing before commercial launch of wireline services’ as it mooted a 90-day limit on the test phase involving trial subscribers in such cases. Read more.

Tatas to seek urgent relief ahead of Jan 9 TCS board meeting

Ahead of the TCS board meeting scheduled for January 9 to consider Q3 results, Tata Sons will move the Supreme Court to seek early interim relief from the tribunal order reinstating Cyrus Mistry. Although a hearing is possible only when the SC opens on January 6 after the winter break, the holding company is likely to file an appeal on January 2; reports The Economic Times.

Bank credit to industry slips 3.9% in 8 months

During the first eight months of the current financial year, according to data released by the RBI, bank credit to industry shrunk by 3.9%, or Rs 1.13 lakh crore. Despite this, overall bank credit continues to be up 1% largely due to home loans and other personal loans, reports The Times of India.