Top 10 biz headlines: Rs 1.3-tn blow to telcos, Infosys' woes mount, & more

The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed a plea moved by telcos challenging the definition of adjusted gross revenue. The verdict allows the government to recover Rs 92,000 crore.

Blow to telecom service providers as SC rejects plea over AGR definition

Ending a legal tussle that lasted for more than a decade between the Union government and telecom service providers, the Supreme Court (SC) on Thursday dismissed a plea moved by firms challenging the definition of adjusted gross revenue (AGR). The verdict allows the government to recover Rs 92,000 crore of AGR from the already financially stressed telecom industry that includes many operators who’ve already gone out of business or are under insolvency proceedings. Read more

DHFL lenders consider liquidating firm's assets to recover their dues

With speculation growing on the quality of assets at beleaguered Dewan Housing Finance Corporation (DHFL), its lenders are looking at alternatives to recover their dues.

“They have turned cautious with respect to converting their outstanding debt to equity in DHFL,” said a person in the know. Read more

Whistleblower case: Infy woes mount as auditing regulator, SEC begin probe

Trouble continues to mount for Infosys, hit by allegations of unethical practices by a whistle-blower. After the Indian market regulator, now the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has initiated a probe into the allegations, even as the central government has directed the newly formed auditing regulator National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA) to look into the charges of wrong accounting practices at the firm. Read more

India rises 14 places to 63rd in global Ease of Doing Business rankings

India has risen 14 places in the World Bank’s latest Ease of Doing Business global rankings, inching closer to its target of being counted as part of the top 50 club. The ‘Doing Business 2020’ report, released on Thursday, ranked India at 63rd position against 77th last year.

India had breached the 100th mark two years ago, jumping 30 places from the 130th position. Last year, it gained 23 places to reach 77th, among a total of 190 countries. Read more

DHFL audit firm TP Ostwal & Associates comes under Sebi, RBI lens

The banking and securities markets regulators are planning to seek the views of audit firm TP Ostwal & Associates to understand how it gave a clean chit to Dewan Housing Finance Corporation (DHFL) in March, soon after media website Cobrapost revealed DHFL’s promoters had diverted funds. Read more

Govt plans to take InvIT route for BSNL asset monetisation

To make the asset monetisation programme of BSNL a success, the government plans to take the recently expanded Infrastructure Investment Trust (InvIT) route. This will be the first major use of the route by a public sector company and it follows last week’s announcement by the Reserve Bank of India allowing banks to invest in InvITs. Read more

IndiGo flies deep into red with Rs 1,031 cr pre-tax loss in Sept quarter

InterGlobe Aviation, which runs the country’s largest domestic airline IndiGo, swung to a pre-tax loss of Rs 1,031 crore in second quarter FY20 owing to a mark-to-market charge and provision for aircraft maintenance expenses. In the same period last year, the airline had posted a pre-tax loss of Rs 987 crore. Read more

Discounts a speed-breaker for Maruti: Q2 profit falls 39% to Rs 1,358 cr

Maruti Suzuki’s September quarter results were broadly in line with Street estimates. Revenues fell over 25 per cent, compared to the year-ago quarter, led by a 30 per cent decline in volumes.

The decline in revenues was less as compared to that in volumes, given the improvement in realisations or average revenue per unit. Read more

RBI has begun to sell some of its gold again

For the first time in a long while, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has started selling gold from its reserves. Since July, the central bank has bought gold worth $5.1 billion and sold about $1.15 billion of gold, The Economic Times reported, citing RBI's weekly statistical supplement data. 

Reliance, ONGC among top CSR funders

The maximum contributions to corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives was made by Reliance Industries (RIL), ONGC, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), NTPC and Infosys in four years (2014-18) since the spend was made mandatory through law, The Times of India reported.