Top headlines: India challenges Vodafone arbitration; Flipkart rejigs board

RBI stresses on the need to fight inflation, Automakers in India are bracing for a parts shortage, and more top headlines of the day

India challenges arbitration ruling in Vodafone case 
 

India has challenged in Singapore an international arbitration court's verdict against it over a $2 billion tax claim involving Vodafone Group Plc, a senior government official told Reuters on Thursday on condition of anonymity. Vodafone in September had won the case against India, ending one of the most high-profile disputes in the country that had caused concern among investors over retrospective tax claims on companies. Read here

RBI sees economy recovering faster

Indian economy is recovering faster than expected and may post minor positive growth in the third quarter, but efforts need to be redoubled to fight inflation so that it doesn’t hurt the incipient growth impulses, according to the State of the Economy report in the December Bulletin of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Read here

Indian automakers brace for parts shortage
 

Automakers in India are bracing for a parts shortage and possible production losses over the next three to four months due to a global shortage of available shipping containers, said a trade body in the world's fifth biggest auto market. Shipping freight rates have surged since July and companies are now finding it "almost impossible to sustain normal trade operations", said Rajesh Menon, director general at the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM). Read here

New virus strain's transmissibility to cause more deaths: Study

The mutated coronavirus strain that’s been spreading in the UK appears to be more contagious and will likely lead to higher levels of hospitalizations and deaths next year, a new study showed. The variant is 56% more transmissible than other strains, according to the study by the Centre for Mathematical Modelling of Infectious Diseases at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. There’s no clear evidence that it results in more or less severe disease. Read here

Flipkart initiates board revamp ahead of IPO plan

Flipkart has made major changes to its board as the Walmart-backed e-commerce company prepares to go public in the US by 2022. Flipkart Group CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy will join the board along with three new directors: Keki Mistry, vice chairman and CEO of HDFC; Suresh Kumar, who is Walmart's global chief technology officer and chief development officer; and Leigh Hopkins, executive vice president of strategy and development for Walmart International.