Top headlines: India launches gas price reforms, US restricts H-1B visas

Google faces a new antitrust case in India in which the US tech giant is alleged to have abused its Android operating system's position in the smart television market. India leads the world in real-time payments by handling 41 million transactions per day. Here is more on those stories.


Govt grants pricing, marketing leeway to gas producers

The government on Wednesday came out with a new model of granting marketing and pricing freedom for natural gas producers in India, with the Union Cabinet clearing a standardised e-bidding process for price discovery from new production areas and high-pressure and high-temperature areas. Read more

Google faces antitrust case in India over abuse in smart TVs market: Report

Alphabet Inc's Google is facing a new antitrust case in India in which the US tech giant is alleged to have abused its Android operating system's position in the smart television market, a source and two lawyers involved in the case told Reuters. The case is Google's fourth major antitrust challenge in India, one of its key markets where it is currently facing public criticism from local startups for enforcing certain policies and company charges they contend hurt their growth. Read More...

Won't splurge stimulus money, infra spending to be key: Sanjeev Sanyal

Principal Economic Advisor Sanjeev Sanyal said on Wednesday that the government would be mindful about splurging money in the next round of stimulus that will aim at asset creation in a bid to boost demand in the economy. “We are a fiscally-conservative government as we typically tend to stick to the fiscal trajectory…Our debt-to-GDP ratio is much lower than many countries and there is a case for allowing it to go up to inflate demand. But we will not spend blindly. We will be careful as to what we spend on,” Sanyal said while speaking at the 115th Annual Session of PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Wednesday. Read More...

Trump imposes curbs on H-1B visas to protect US workers ahead of election

The Trump administration has announced new restrictions on H-1B nonimmigrant visa programme which it said is aimed at protecting American workers, restoring integrity and to better guarantee that H-1B petitions are approved only for qualified beneficiaries and petitioners, a move which is likely to affect thousands of Indian IT professionals. The interim final rule announced by the Department of Homeland Security on Tuesday, less than four weeks ahead of the US presidential election, will narrow the definition of specialty occupation as Congress intended by closing the overbroad definition that allowed companies to game the system. Read More...

India leads world, processes 41 mn real-time transactions a day: Report

India leads the world in real-time payments by handling 41 million transactions per day, said a report by FIS Global on Wednesday. Real-time payments doubled this year and transaction value increased by 80 per cent, said the report, reiterating industry experts' opinion that the coronavirus pandemic has accelerated digital usage in the country. Read More...