Top headlines: Manufacturing expands at fastest pace in 8 years in Sept

From SC ordering full refund of air tickets booked amid lockdown to Maruti Suzuki reporting 31% sales growth in Sept, Business Standard brings ypu top news of the evening

Airlines will have to pay interest to passengers on credit shell amount: SC

The Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered airlines to pay a 0.5 percent interest per month on delayed refunds of tickets which were cancelled due to restrictions imposed to counter Covid-19 pandemic. The court said that the credit shell will be valid till 31 March 2021 and if the passenger hasn’t used the amount after that, airlines have to refund the amount with additional interest. Read More...

Manufacturing activity expands at fastest pace in 8 years in September: PMI

India's factory activity expanded at its fastest pace in over eight years in September as a relaxation in coronavirus lockdown restrictions drove a surge in demand and output, a private survey showed on Thursday, though layoffs continued. Signs of recovery are welcome news for Asia's third-largest economy, which is widely expected to mark its first full-year contraction since 1979 this year. The pandemic is spreading in India at the fastest pace in the world. Read More...

India must stick to flexible inflation targeting, says Viral Acharya

India should stick with its flexible inflation targeting framework, which has worked well, to reap the benefits over the long term, former Reserve Bank of India (RBI) deputy governor Viral Acharya said. The central bank and the government agreed in 2015 on a policy framework that stipulated a primary objective of ensuring price stability while keeping in mind the objective of growth. That framework is due for a review in early 2021. Read More...

Maruti Suzuki's total sales grow 31% in September to 160,442 units

The country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) on Thursday reported a 30.8 per cent increase in total sales at 1,60,442 units in September. The company had sold 1,22,640 units in September last year, MSI said in a statement. The sales performance has to be seen in the context of lower base of September 2019, it added. Domestic sales increased by 32.2 per cent to 1,52,608 units last month, as against 1,15,452 units in September 2019, it added. Read More...

Petrol demand returns to pre-Covid-19 levels, diesel sales inching up

India's petrol sales rose 2 per cent in September - the first increase since the country's lockdown in late March - signalling demand returning to pre-COVID-19 levels. Diesel sales continue to be below normal but have shown a month-on-month increase, according to provisional data from state-owned fuel retailers who control 90 per cent of the market. Read More...