Top headlines: Centre's cap on green bond issues, RBI's message, and more

Business Standard brings you the top headlines at this hour

The Union finance ministry is putting finishing touches to its framework to issue ‘green bonds’ in the second half of the fiscal year, as part of its H2 borrowing of Rs 5.86 trillion. Pune-born Laxman Narasimhan is set to lead the world’s largest coffee chain, Starbucks, as its chief executive officer. Read more on these in our top headlines.

Centre may cap upcoming first green bond issues at Rs 25,000 crore

The Union finance ministry is putting finishing touches to its framework to issue ‘green bonds’ in the second half of the fiscal year, as part of its H2 borrowing of Rs 5.86 trillion. Initially, green bond issuances will only be a few tranches of its weekly government securities offerings and may not exceed more than Rs 25,000 crore, Business Standard has learnt.

Additionally, there have been talks within the government on providing tax benefits to make these instruments relatively attractive for investors, Central Board of Direct Taxes Chairman Nitin Gupta told Business Standard. Read more

Unionisation, first challenge brewing for Narasimhan as Starbucks CEO

Pune-born Laxman Narasimhan is set to lead the world’s largest coffee chain, Starbucks, as its chief executive officer. He will join the Seattle-based company on October 1 as incoming CEO and shall formally take on the role on April 1, 2023. 

He will work closely with Howard Schultz, the interim CEO before assuming the aforementioned role and joining the board of the company. Read more

'Think of the worst': RBI Governor Das nudges banks to raise capital

Given the uncertainties surrounding the global financial environment, domestic banks should raise more capital in order to be prepared for the worst-case scenarios, Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das said on Friday.

Das also underscored the need for banks to raise more capital to fund the demand for loans which is growing at a healthy clip. Read more

Britain slips behind India to become world's sixth biggest economy

Britain has dropped behind India to become the world’s sixth largest economy, delivering a further blow to the government in London as it grapples with a brutal cost-of-living shock.

The former British colony leaped past the UK in the final three months of 2021 to become the fifth-biggest economy. The calculation is based in US dollars, and India extended its lead in the first quarter, according to GDP figures from the International Monetary Fund. Read more

Fire-safety norms for Li-ion battery could push up e-scooter prices by 10%

Prices of electric scooters could go up by more than 10 per cent owing to extra fire-safety norms, just when their sales showed a substantial increase in August.

The government on September 1, through a notification, mandated additional safety requirements for lithium-ion batteries, to come into effect on October 1. Read more