Top headlines: Tata Sons rebuffs Interups' offer; IKEA to expand footprint

From Tata Sons rebuffs US-based fund Interups' offer to buy AirAsia stake to Syringe, vial makers ramping up capacity, here are top headlines this morning

Tata Sons rebuffs US-based fund Interups' offer to buy AirAsia stake

The Tata group has refused to acknowledge an offer by US-based fund Interups Inc to buy 49 per cent in AirAsia India, currently owned by AirAsia Berhad (AAB) and the Indian conglomerate. The Interups offer was endorsed by AirAsia Berhad, which is looking at exiting India due to financial problems faced by the company back home in Malaysia. Read More

Gig workers to make PF contribution, get social security for first time

For the first time, gig workers would be asked to make a contribution for availing provident fund and insurance cover benefits under a new social security framework. Prominent aggregator firms representing the gig economy such as Uber, Ola, Swiggy and Urban Company have told the Union government that they expect more than 1 million workers to join the new social security regime in the first year itself. The government is planning to design the rules under the Code on Social Security, 2020, in such a manner that the finances of gig companies do not take a hit. Read More

IKEA parent planning to expand footprint, set up shopping malls in India

Swedish giant Ingka Group, which owns the famous furniture and lifestyle brand IKEA, is planning to bring its retail format “Ingka Centres”, anchored by an IKEA store, into India. Sources say that the company is looking to set up these centres in the cities of Delhi-NCR, Mumbai and Bengaluru. Globally, the size of these shopping malls or centres, some of which will be through the acquisition of existing malls, range from as much as 20,000 square metres to over 220,000 square metres and are meant to drive visitations to the anchor IKEA store. Read More

Syringe, vial makers ramp up capacity amid Covid-19 vaccine hopes

If the Covid-19 vaccine is ready for roll-out in early 2021, it will give rise to a huge demand for syringes and glass vials. And while manufacturers say they are ramping up capacities, there may be a supply crunch in the second half of next year, as international supply commitments, too, pick up. India has an annual capacity to make about 1.08 billion 0.5 ml AD (auto-disable, or those that are automatically disabled after a single use) syringes. Read More

Top Amazon officials appear before Parliamentary panel on data protection

Top officials of e-commerce giant Amazon appeared on Wednesday before the joint parliamentary committee (JPC) looking into the Personal Data Protection (PDP) Bill, 2019. Earlier, experts at the Jeff Bezos-led firm had expressed their inability to appear before the JPC, citing travel restrictions due to Covid-19. Read More

Agri reforms a move in the right direction, says HUL MD Sanjiv Mehta

India will have to get into a virtuous cycle of growth as it seeks to reboot economic activity, Sanjiv Mehta, chairman and managing director (MD) of Hindustan Unilever (HUL), said at a virtual summit organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) on Wednesday. Mehta said per capita consumption of FMCG products in rural areas was less than half of the total per capita FMCG consumption in India, which stood at $40. “There is a huge runway for growth in rural areas. Read More

Order book already 10% higher than H1 last year, says Mindtree CEO & MD

With Mindtree’s September quarter profit beating Street estimates, the company is confident the deal pipeline and strong order book will help it continue the growth momentum into the second half of financial year 2020-21 (FY21). In an interview, the company’s MD and CEO Debashis Chatterjee tells Sai Ishwar that the firm has already overcome “significant” impact of the pandemic. Read More

Rebound in demand helps UltraTech Cements lead over peers in Sept qtr

UltraTech Cement, along with LafargeHolcim group entities Ambuja Cements and ACC, delivered a resilient performance in the September quarter (Q2), boosting Street sentiment. The rebound in demand, following the lockdown-led disruption in the June quarter, led to higher realisation. Read More

Most agencies underestimating India's growth in FY22: Sanjeev Sanyal

Principal Economic Advisor Sanjeev Sanyal believes that most agencies have underestimated economic growth of India for the fiscal year 2021-22. "I think people have underestimated the growth for 2021-22. Most forecasts which I have seen underestimated (GDP growth rate for FY22)," Sanyal told Business Standard. He exuded confidence that most agencies would upgrade their forecast next year. "When they do it, they will say that it was due to low base but the base is known. So you should hold them to it when they do it," he said. Read More

India and UK agree to establish a bilateral Sustainable Finance Forum

The finance ministry on Wednesday said India and the United Kingdom have agreed to establish a bilateral Sustainable Finance Forum. This was discussed during the 3rd session on infrastructure and sustainable finance during the 10th India-UK Economic and Financial Dialogue. During the meeting, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said India’s $1.4-trillion National Infrastructure Pipeline and the City of London are working together to ensure flow of sustainable finance. Read More