Top headlines: India bans PUBG, cap on export promotion scheme, and more

Business Standard brings to you a snapshot of the stories which made it to the headlines today

Govt bans PUBG and 117 other apps linked to China, citing security

India on Wednesday banned popular gaming app PUBG and 117 other platforms linked to China, building up a campaign for digital security as a military standoff with its Communist neighbour continues. Read more

Govt puts Rs 2 crore cap on exports promotion scheme, sparks protests

The government has capped benefits under its biggest exports promotion scheme at Rs 2 crore for each business on trade done between September 1 to December 31, sparking protests against the "unilateral step". A Commerce Department notification on September 1 said that all benefits under the Merchandise Exports of India Scheme (MEIS) will stop from January 1, 2021, effectively confirming the end date of the scheme. Read on...

Voda Idea board to meet on Sept 4, consider fund-raising for AGR dues

As the Supreme Court allowed telecom operators 10 years for staggered payment of adjusted gross revenue (AGR)-related dues, Vodafone Idea said its board of directors will meet on September 4 to consider proposals for fund-raising. Read on...

Tube Investments gets board nod to infuse another Rs 100 cr in CG Power

The Murugappa Group's Tube Investments of India Limited (TII) has got an approval from its Board of Directors to infuse an additional investment of about Rs 100 crore in CG Power and Industrial Solutions. The proposed investment is in addition to Rs 700 crore approved for investment in the equity shares and share warrants of CG Power. Read more...

Why Premjis, Ambanis and Nadars beat non-family-run companies

The return generated by family-owned businesses have been higher than the non-family owned ones since 2006, finds a study from Credit Suisse. Using its proprietary ‘Family 1000’ database of over 1,000 publicly listed family or founder-owned companies, the Credit Suisse analysis suggests that since 2006, the overall ‘Family 1000’ universe has outperformed non-family-owned companies by an annual average of 370 basis points (bps). Read more

Unacademy began as co-founder's hobby; start-up is now a unicorn

SoftBank Group Corp. is leading a round of venture investment in India’s education startup Unacademy, boosting its valuation to $1.45 billion as online learning surges during the coronavirus pandemic. Investors in the $150 million funding include existing backers Facebook Inc. and Sequoia Capital, while SoftBank’s money is coming from Vision Fund 2, a successor to its initial $100 billion fund. Read on...
 

Amazon makes India centre of fintech push, adds gold, insurance services

Amazon.com Inc has added insurance and even gold to its menu of financial services in India, to expand its customer base and attract more subscribers to its Prime loyalty programme in a battleground growth market. The push ramps up competition as financial technology (fin-tech) rivals and their deep-pocketed foreign backers struggle for profitability in a predominantly cash-based economy where about 190 million adults do not have bank accounts. Read on...