Top headlines: GDP may contract 7.7%; Airlines ready for vaccine journey

From GDP on its way to likely contract by 7.7 per cent in FY21 to Airlines get ready for Covid-19 vaccine journey ahead of inoculation drive, here are top headlines of this morning

India's GDP may contract 7.7% in FY21: First advance estimates

The pandemic will pull down India’s gross domestic product by 7.7 per cent in 2020-21, the first advance estimate of GDP released by the National Statistical Office (NSO) on Thursday showed. This will be the biggest annual contraction in records going back to 1952, according to Bloomberg. The estimate by the NSO was close to the Reserve Bank of India’s estimate of 7.5 per cent contraction. Economy trackers had estimated annual real GDP growth to be in the range of negative 6.5 to negative 9.9 per cent. Read More

Oaktree Capital, Piramal group trade charges over bids for bankrupt DHFL

Upping the ante, Oaktree Capital and the Piramal group have drawn the attention of the lenders to bankrupt housing finance firm DHFL that the offer submitted by the other firm is legally flawed and could eventually be challenged in court. Voting on the proposals submitted by the bidders will conclude on January 14. While Piramal has scored nine points higher than Oaktree across the six qualitative and quantitative parameters set by the committee of creditors (CoC), the US firm said its offer was being undervalued by Rs 2,700 crore by the lenders, giving an upper hand to Piramal. Read More

Airlines get ready for Covid-19 vaccine journey ahead of inoculation drive

Ahead of India’s mega inoculation drive starting next week, airlines are gearing up to fly tonnes of vaccine to different parts of the country. To be specific, the government has asked airlines to get ready to transport 30 tonnes of vaccines immediately. While airlines and airports have been told to be prepared at a short notice, there was confusion on whether the first shipment had been transported on Thursday. The civil aviation ministry has had many review meetings with airlines and airports to fine tune plans for vaccine transport. Read More

USTR backs action against India's equalisation levy, finds it burdensome

The US has held that India’s digital tax (2 per cent) on technology majors is unreasonable, burdensome, and discriminatory against American companies like Amazon, Google, and Facebook, and inconsistent with international tax principles. The office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) has noted that India’s digital services tax (DST), or equalisation levy, was “actionable” under Section 301 of the Trade Act, which may mean relatiatory tariffs on Indian products. Read More

Explained: How Covid-19 pandemic has changed shopping on BigBasket

Despite the operational glitches in the early days of the lockdown, the e-grocery firm mobilised its resources so as to be able to deliver essentials to its over 10 million customers across 24 cities. There were even days when the firm sold over 22 kg of onions and potatoes every minute, catering to the massive rise in demand. Read More 

RBI to conduct this year's 2nd Operation Twist on January 14

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced it will conduct simultaneous purchase and sale of government securities under Open Market Operations (OMO) for Rs 10,000 crore each on January 14. The decision was taken after a review of current liquidity and financial conditions, it said. Read More

Income tax department conducts surveys at Flipkart and Swiggy offices

The income-tax (I-T) department is conducting surveys at Instakart, a group company of e-commerce giant Flipkart, and food delivery firm Swiggy in Bengaluru. The surveys are related to an alleged bogus input tax credit connected to the external vendors of these firms, according to the sources. A team of I-T department officials reached the office of Instakart, located on the Flipkart campus in Bengaluru, on Wednesday. Read More

Two-wheeler registrations back on growth track; up 11% in December

Snapping a six-month declining streak, two-wheeler registrations rose in December year-on-year (YoY), re-affirming the preference for personal transportation amid the pandemic. The increase is attributable to gradual improvement in buyers’ sentiments and last year’s low base. Registration of top five two-wheeler makers in December saw 11 per cent jump YoY to 1,412,000 units, shows data captured by the VAHAN portal. It last rose in February by 1.52 per cent, plummeting in the high double-digits thereafter till November. Read More