Top headlines: Migrant crisis looms again; night curfew returns to Delhi

From migrant crisis looming again as Covid-19 curbs expand to telcos getting approval to share active infrastructure, here are top headlines this morning

The second wave: Migrant crisis looms again as Covid-19 curbs expand

The closure of non-essential retail establishments, including malls, multiplexes, auto dealerships, and eateries in Mumbai and the rest of Maharashtra, could trigger a reverse migration of workers from the state for the second year in a row, industry bodies and top executives have told Business Standard. Delhi announced a night curfew on Tuesday, hitting businesses in the crucial evening hours for bars, restaurants, and pubs. Read More

AstraZeneca has sent us legal notice for vaccine supply delay: Poonawalla

Serum Institute of India (SII), the world’s largest vaccine maker, is juggling between meeting demands in its own country and its international commitments. SII CEO Adar Poonawalla, in an interview to Sohini Das, says that AstraZeneca has served a legal notice to the firm for delays in supplying the vaccine, and that SII has sought “a few thousand crores” as grant from the government to double the production of Covishield. Read More

Bharti Airtel sells spectrum worth Rs 1,497 crore to Reliance Jio

Reliance Jio Infocomm (Jio) on Tuesday said it had signed a definitive agreement with Bharti Airtel to acquire the right to use spectrum in the 800-megahertz (MHz) band in Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, and Mumbai circles through spectrum trading. Jio will acquire 3.75 MHz in Andhra Pradesh, 1.25 MHz in Delhi, and 2.5 MHz in Mumbai. “The aggregate value for the right to use this spectrum is Rs 1,497 crore, inclusive of present value of associated deferred payment liability of Rs 459 crore, subject to any transaction-related adjustments,” Jio said in a statement. Read More

Night curfew back in Delhi as Covid cases rise; essential services exempted

Just days after Maharashtra imposed stringent restrictions, Delhi came under night curfew starting Tuesday to control the spread of Covid cases. Following its latest round of review, the Delhi Disaster Management Authority decided to announce a 10 pm to 5 am curfew till the end of the month. “It has been observed that there has been a sudden increase in Covid-19 cases in the recent past along with high positivity rate and therefore it is felt that night curfew needs to be imposed in the territory of NCT of Delhi…,’’ the DDMA order said. Essential activities and services can continue as usual. Read More

Competition among auto cos address issue of vehicle scrapping sops: Gadkari

Union minister of road transport and highways, and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME), Nitin Gadkari, came out with two major announcements last month; a vehicle scrapping policy and record highway construction. In an interview with Megha Manchanda and Jyoti Mukul, the ever-optimistic minister shares his plans for furthering these initiatives even as he stresses on the need for green fuel and highways. Read More

Part of BSNL 4G contract may be reserved for domestic companies

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is looking at the option of splitting the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) contract for installing 4G equipment across the country. It has suggested that BSNL should proceed with the existing expression of interest which was floated in January and is reserved exclusively for domestic vendors in consonance with India’s focus on ‘Atmanirbhar’ Bharat to install 50,000 radio access networks. Read More

Telcos get approval to share active infrastructure as DoT amends UASL norms

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) amended the Unified Access Service Licence (UASL) on Tuesday to permit sharing of backhaul through microwave, which is used to connect towers. It has also allowed sharing of WiFi equipment, which includes routers and access points, among telecom players. At present, licence sharing of active infrastructure amongst service providers is allowed in certain areas, like antennae, feeder cable, radio access network and transmission systems. Read More

Pay Rs 79-cr GST dues to operate bank accounts, HC tells ByteDance

The Bombay High Court on Tuesday allowed Chinese firm ByteDance to operate its Indian bank accounts, frozen by the Goods and Services Tax (GST) auth­orities over alleged tax ev­a­sion, after depositing a sum of Rs 78.91 crore in a state-run bank. The four blocked bank accounts of the TikTok parent, however, held insufficient funds to pay the amount, according to its court filing. Read More