Top headlines: FinMin hopeful about Q3 revival, services growth slows

Flipkart is doing a partial spin-off of PhonePe. More on that story in our top headlines of the day.

Halt digital launches, stop selling new credit cards: RBI to HDFC Bank

Coming down heavily on the country’s largest private sector lender, HDFC Bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has advised the bank to halt all its digital launches as well new sourcing of credit card customers temporarily. In an exchange notification, HDFC Bank said, RBI has advised it to temporarily stop all launches of the digital business generating activities planned under its program ‐ Digital 2.0 and other proposed business generating IT applications, and sourcing of new credit card customers. Read here

FinMin optimistic about revival in Q3

The finance ministry on Thursday said that the economy is witnessing optimism in the ongoing quarter led by sustained improvement in high frequency indicators in October and November. It said that there were no fundamental or structural factors responsible for the contraction in the gross domestic product (GDP) by 23.9 per cent in the period between April and June. Read here

Services sector growth slows

Services, the biggest sector of India's economy, saw a dip in growth in November, but it was the second straight month to have witnessed growth after 7 months of continuous decline, showed the widely-tracked IHS Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI). While domestic demand remains strong, that from overseas markets declined. Read here

Flipkart to spin-off PhonePe
 

E-commerce giant Flipkart is doing a partial spin-off of PhonePe, India’s largest digital payments platform. The move will help PhonePe access dedicated, long-term capital to fund its growth ambitions. In this financing round, PhonePe is raising $700 million in primary capital at a post-money valuation of $5.5 billion from existing Flipkart investors led by Walmart, the world’s largest retailer. PhonePe competes with rivals such as Google Pay, Amazon Pay and Alibaba-backed Paytm. Read here

Amarinder meets Amit Shah

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Thursday made an appeal to Union Home Minister Amit Shah and the protesting farmers to find an early resolution to the impasse over the new farm laws, saying the agitation is affecting Punjab's economy and the nation's security. Singh after meeting Shah at his residence here said a common ground must be found soon and the two sides should not take rigid positions on the matter. Read here