Top headlines: Maharashtra Home Minister resigns; Byju's acquires Aakash

Growth in manufacturing slowed to the lowest rate in seven months, Investors' wealth tumbled over Rs 4.54 trillion in morning trade on Monday as markets crashed and other top news of the day

Anil Deshmukh resigns hours after Bombay HC orders CBI probe

Maharashtra's Home Minister Anil Deshmukh on Monday resigned from his post just hours after the Bombay high court ordered a CBI probe into allegations of corruption and misconduct made by former Mumbai police chief Param Bir Singh. A division bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Girish Kulkarni said this was an "extraordinary" and "unprecedented" case that warranted an independent inquiry. Read here

Byju's acquires Aakash Educational Services

Edtech decacorn Byju’s has closed the deal to acquire exam preparation firm Aakash Educational Services Limited (AESL) for nearly $1 billion. The stock-and-cash deal is the biggest in the education space, said sources. Byju’s said the deal is a strategic partnership with AESL, a leader in test-prep services. Read here

Manufacturing PMI falls to 7-month low in March

Growth in manufacturing slowed to the lowest rate in seven months, as increasing Covid-19 cases hit demand, said IHS Markit’s purchasing managers' index (PMI) on Monday. PMI fell from 57.5 in February to a seven-month low of 55.4 in March. In PMI lexicon, a reading above 50 means growth and the one below 50 shows contraction. The data came on a day the Reserve Bank of India's monetary policy committee sits for deciding the policy rate. The decision will be made on Wednesday. Read here

Investors' wealth tumbles over Rs 4.54 trillion as markets crash

Investors' wealth tumbled over Rs 4.54 trillion in morning trade on Monday as markets crashed amid a sharp spike in coronavirus cases in the country. The 30-share BSE benchmark index plummeted 1,449.03 points to 48,580.80 in morning trade. Following this, the market capitalisation of BSE-listed companies dived Rs 4,54,987.72 crore to Rs 2,02,71,414.07 crore. Read here

Govt determined to end Naxal menace, says Amit Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday said that the government is determined to take the ongoing fight against the unrest created by naxals to its logical conclusion. The minister, who is on a visit to Chhattisgarh, made the comment after paying tributes to the 22 security personnel who were killed by naxals in the state on Saturday. Read here