Top headlines: Trump blocks H-1B visa; India may cap China FPI investments

From Donald Trump blocking H-1B visa for certain foreign workers, Moody's lowering India GDP forecast to Maruti launching new BS-VI S-Presso, here are top news of the day

Despite businesses in America opposing the new H-1b move, Donald Trump went ahead with the suspension entry for certain foreign workers claiming that it would help revive the economy. The Indian government, amid standoff with China, is planning to restrict foreign portfolio investmentsat 5% from th country. Stressing that buying local will be beneficial in the long run, Railways Minister Piyush Goyal has said that it will also be more sensible decision to opt for local products over foreign even if they are expensive. Here are the top headlines of the day:


Donald Trump blocks H1B visa as businesses say it will hurt US recovery

US President Donald Trump suspended the entry into the United States of certain foreign workers on Monday, a move the White House said would help the coronavirus-battered economy, but which business groups strongly oppose. Trump issued a presidential proclamation that temporarily blocks foreign workers entering on H-1B visas, which are for skilled employees, and L visas, for managers and specialized workers being transferred within a company. Trump also blocked those entering on H-2B seasonal worker visas, which are used by landscapers and other industries. Read More...

Covid-19 impact: RBI may review extra-provisioning norms of June 7 circular

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) may review its June 7 circular’s key trigger points on additional provisioning and the terms to upgrade accounts. A view that is gaining traction is the grant of longer timelines of up to a year before additional provisioning norms kick in, and reducing it by, say, 10 per cent — from 20 per cent after 180 days from the end of the review period; and from 15 per cent after a year — or a reduction in the additional provisioning to 15 per cent from 35 per cent. Read More...

Unlock 1.0: Essential shopping rebounds fastest to pre-lockdown levels

With Unlock 1 entering its fourth week, power generation numbers and goods carried by the Railways are showing signs of the economy returning to some sort of normalcy. Essential shopping activities, too, are hovering around pre-lockdown levels, shows another set of numbers from weekly economic indicators tracked by Business Standard. The latest weekly figures show power generation is close to 2019 levels as industries gradually reopen. Read More...

Galwan Valley clash: Govt plans to cap China FPI investments at 5%

The department of economic affairs (DEA) and markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) are considering capping investment by foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) from the countries sharing a land border with India, especially China, at 5 per cent, said persons in the know. Currently, an FPI or a beneficial owner is allowed to hold up to 10 per cent in a listed stock. The sources said the proposal had already been discussed by the DEA and Sebi and is awaiting feedback from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). Read More...

Sensible to buy local even if it's costlier than imports: Piyush Goyal

Buying domestic products even if they are more expensive than imported items is a sensible decision as low-priced imports affect the manufacturing sector and, by extension, consumers, in the long run, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Monday. Speaking at the 12th Horasis India Meeting, an event organised by Switzerland-based international think tank Horasis and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Goyal argued buying Indian products was crucial to the ultimate survival of domestic manufacturing. Read More...

Maruti launches BS VI compliant S-CNG variant of S-Presso at Rs 4.84 lakh

The country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) on Monday said it has launched BS VI compliant S-CNG variant of S-Presso, priced between Rs 4.84 lakh and Rs 5.13 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi). The introduction of the S-CNG variant is in line with the company's commitment to expand its green vehicle portfolio in the country, MSI said in a statement. The new trim comes with one litre engine delivering a mileage of 31.2 km/kg, it added. Read More...

Moody's projects India GDP to shrink 3.1% in 2020, flags geopolitical risk

Moody's Investors Service on Monday projected the Indian economy to shrink 3.1 per cent in 2020 and said clashes with China on the border also suggest rising geopolitical risks in the Asian region where countries are particularly vulnerable to changes in geopolitical dynamics. While it pegged India's annual growth at 0.2 per cent in April, the forecast has been sharply revised after taking into consideration the disruptions due to the coronavirus pandemic. However, Moody's expects the economy to register 6.9 per cent growth in 2021.In its June update to Global Macro Outlook (2020-21), Moody's said it has revised down its 2020 growth forecast for India as incoming data show the extent of coronavirus-related disruption in January-March and April-June quarters. Read More...

RIL 57th most valuable firm globally by market-cap; Saudi Aramco tops chart

Reliance Industries (RIL) became the first Indian company to be valued at $150 billion on Monday with the stock hitting a fresh all-time high of Rs 1,804 on the BSE. Over the past three months, the RIL stock has doubled – from a low of Rs 883.85 hit on March 23 as compared to a 35 per cent rise in the S&P BSE Sensex. The up move in RIL has been triggered by a series of investments in its telecom business vertical – Reliance Platforms – by marquee global companies and investors that include Facebook, Silver Lake Partners, KKR, General Atlantic, Mubadala, and TPG. In the process, RIL has become net-debt free much ahead of its deadline to achieve this status by March 2021. Read More...

India will transform into middle-income economy by 2030: NITI Aayog VC

Niti Aayog Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar on Monday said India will transform into a middle-income country from a lower middle-income economy by 2030. Kumar also said that India will witness a recovery in investment cycle by April 2021 and beef up efforts on trade front as well. On the coronavirus situation in the country, he said it is unfair to compare India's dealing of the Covid-19 pandemic with Western countries as resources and priorities are not the same. Read More...

Top retail and restaurant brands in Delhi's high street locations switch to revenue share model

Many marquee retail and restaurant brands in high street locations like Delhi’s Khan Market have stopped paying rentals and switched entirely to revenue-share models amid continuing uncertainty over a revival in business, industry executives told ET. Town Hall, a marquee restaurant brand in Khan Market which is among the world’s most expensive high-street retail locations, will run entirely on a revenue-share basis instead of paying rentals “till things are back to normal”, its owner, Navneet Kalra, said. According to industry executives, average rentals in Khan Market till last year were Rs 7-10 lakh a month, or Rs 1,400-2,700 per sq ft, but things have changed drastically in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, reported The Economic Times.