Top headlines: Tesla's India plan dealt blow, Tata Motors gets debt problem

Business Standard brings you the top headlines on Tuesday

India said it has no plans to cut import duties on electric vehicles, weeks after Tesla Inc. appealed to the government. Two state-run firms are in talks to run private trains in India. More on those stories in our top headlines.

Tata Motors' net-debt-to-equity ratio at a decade high in FY21

Nearly 13 years after the acquisition of Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), Tata Motors continues to grapple in a bid to put its business on the path of sustained profitability. While its domestic business has lost money in 23 of the last 35 quarters, including the latest quarters, its British subsidiary JLR has reported losses in seven of the last 13 quarters. Read more

IRCTC and BHEL in talks for a partnership to run private trains

Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) and Bharat Heavy Electricals (BHEL) are in talks for a partnership to run private trains. According to officials in the know, the two public sector undertakings (PSUs) are planning to form a special purpose vehicle (SPV) to run passenger trains on routes for which IRCTC has put in bids. Read more

Tesla's India plans dealt blow as minister rules out import duties cut

India said it has no plans to cut import duties on electric vehicles, weeks after Tesla Inc. appealed to the government to slash taxes, and its billionaire chief Elon Musk floated the possibility of a local factory once it starts selling wholly-built units from overseas in the world’s second-most populous nation.

“No such proposal is under consideration in Ministry of Heavy Industries,” junior minister Krishan Pal Gurjar told parliament on Monday, referring to the ministry in charge of making policies for the auto industry. Read more

PM Modi launches 'big reform' e-RUPI to make targeted DBT benefits work

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday launched a digital direct benefit transfer (DBT) platform called e-RUPI, which aims at making sure that the money transferred by the user, in this case, the government, is used exactly for the same purpose as it is intended to be.

Prime Minister Modi termed the e-RUPI as a “big reform”, in line with the launch of BHIM-UPI payment system in December 2016. Read more

Indian women's hockey: An Olympic story of grit, camaraderie and family

While comparisons are inevitable, in this case “life imitating art”, “the real following the reel”, the Indian women hockey team’s “Chak De” of Australia in the quarter finals of the Olympics is a good time to pause and reflect on all that has happened. If the men’s dismissal of Great Britain — what with the buildup involving a full-on invoking of the colonial past — was fist-pumping passion and confirmation that, yes, maybe #ItsComingHome, the women’s response to that has been significantly bigger. In scale, shock value, achievement, astonishment and everything in between. Read more