Top headlines: Govt likely to resume IBC filings, Tesla now accepts Bitcoin

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Impose local restrictions during upcoming festivals: Centre tells states

Amid a spike in COVID-19 infections in some parts of the country, the Centre on Wednesday asked states and union territories to consider imposing local restrictions in public observance of the upcoming festivals and limit or do away with mass gatherings for effective control of the pandemic. Additional Secretary in the Health Ministry Arti Ahuja, in a letter to state chief secretaries and union territory administrators, stated that the battle against COVID-19 is at a critical juncture with rising number of cases and deaths being reported from many parts in the recent past. Read more

Govt likely to resume bankruptcy filings as halt set to end on March 25

India’s government is considering resuming fresh bankruptcy filings after the current suspension expires on March 25, people with knowledge of the matter said. The lifting of the halt would come even as a resurgence in virus cases threatens the nascent economic recovery. It could spark a wave of new insolvencies, pent up from last year when businesses were hurt by India’s first economic contraction in decades. Read more

DHFL debt resolution to spill over into FY22

The acquisition of Dewan Housing Finance Corporation (DHFL) by Piramal Group is set to spill over to the next financial year with the legal process taking time, say lenders. With this, the lenders, who were expecting to resolve one of India’s biggest default worth Rs 90,000 crore in March quarter, will have to wait longer. Earlier this month, the company filed an additional affidavit in the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) informing the court about additional monetary loss due to loans given by the previous management led by Kapil Wadhawan. Read more

Next leg of Ujjwala scheme to focus on affordability of LPG: Oil ministry

The next leg of the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) is going to focus on affordability of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG or cooking gas) refills. According to a top oil ministry official, this will be in line with the government's efforts to increase adoption of LPG through behavioural shifts among lower income households. There is a fresh target to add another 10 million more PMUY beneficiaries to the existing 80 million. This will take the total number of LPG consumers in the country closer to 300 million by March 2022. Read more

Elon Musk says Tesla vehicles can now be purchased using bitcoin

Tesla Inc chief Elon Musk said on Wednesday the company's electric vehicles can now be bought using bitcoin and the option will be available outside the United States later this year. Read more