Top headlines: No need for lockdown, says PM; Bird Group eyes Air India arm

From PM Modi chairing a meeting with CMs over rising Covid cases to hike in deposit limit, here are top headlines this morning

No need for lockdown, focus on Covid-19 tests: PM Narendra Modi to CMs

Conceding that India was in the grip of a serious public health crisis that had surpassed the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday urged state governments to test more even if that meant higher reporting of the infection. Armed with experience of managing the first wave, better health infrastructure and a locally manufactured vaccine, lockdowns should be avoided altogether, the PM told chief ministers at the virtual meet on Covid. Read More

Cyclical stocks to lead India Inc's earnings growth in fourth quarter

Led by a surge in prices of metals and energy and a continued better show by lenders, India Inc is expected to report high double-digit growth in revenue and one of the highest quarterly profits in the fourth quarter of 2020-21. Year-on-year growth, however, will be amplified by the low base in Q4FY20 due to Covid-19 lockdown. The country’s top brokerages expect Nifty50 companies to report a combined net profit of Rs 1.2 trillion in Q4FY21, translating into year-on-year growth of 142 per cent from Rs 49,645 crore a year ago. Read More

Privatisation of two public sector banks on meeting agenda next week

The government may zero in on at least two public sector banks (PSBs) to be privatised in the first phase. Senior officials of the Niti Aayog, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), and the finance ministry’s financial services and economic affairs departments are set to meet on April 14 (Wednesday) to discuss the potential candidates for privatisation, said two sources in the government. Four to five PSBs have been suggested by the Niti Aayog and they will be discussed in the meeting. Read More

A soaring flight plan: Bird Group eyes Air India's ground handling arm

Their business interests often overlap, sometimes forcing them to compete head-on with their better-known distant cousin. So when the low-profile Delhi-based Bhatia brothers — Ankur and Gaurav — who run the aviation-to-hospitality Bird Group, hit the headlines for making a bid to buy out Air India with Spicejet promoter Ajay Singh a few weeks ago, many speculated that it was an ambitious (some said over-ambitious) attempt to get into an area where Rahul Bhatia, promoter of low-cost leader IndiGo Airlines, dominates the skies. Read More

Govt to earmark nearly Rs 1,000 crore to support fabless start-ups

Don’t be surprised if the next global fabless chip design and product company, on the lines of Qualcomm or Broadcom, comes from homegrown entrepreneurs. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) is finalising a plan to earmark close to Rs 1,000 crore to back fabless start-ups in the country. Fabless companies are those that design microchips, while the bigger ones contract out the production of the chips. Based on discussions with stakeholders, the outlay could help over 50-100 start-ups, some of which could be scaled up to become global players. Read More

Embassy Group plans to explore more opportunities in warehousing

Bengaluru-based property developer Embassy Group will again explore more opportunities in warehousing after closing a Rs 1,800-crore warehousing deal with US-based fund manager Blackstone. Embassy is in the final stages of selling Embassy Industrial Parks — its warehousing business with private equity (PE) major Warburg Pincus — to Blackstone. The foray will be made through its merged entity with Indiabulls Real Estate. Embassy Group is merging the assets of Indiabulls Real Estate with itself. Read More

Deepak Kochhar's NuPower Renewables blames bank loan default on MSEDCL

NuPower Renewables, a company owned by Deepak Kochhar and in the maelstrom of a cash-for-loans scam at ICICI Bank, has defaulted on bank loans for the financial year ended March 2021. The company dodged paying its principal amount and has held non-receipt of dues from Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company (MSEDCL) for the default. Read More

Hike in deposit limit: Payment banks likely to attract bigger clients

The RBI’s decision to double the maximum balance per day for each individual customer at payment banks to Rs 2 lakh will enhance such firms’ ability to attract bigger customers like MSMEs and small traders and merchants and enhance the viability of the business, said experts. The average balance per account may not rise drastically, but the ability to get clients with higher turnover especially from those owning retail space would grow, said a senior executive with Mumbai-based payment bank. Read More