Top headlines: Zuckerberg loses $7 bn in hours; coal supply debate heats up

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg lost $7 billion in a few hours after a whistleblower came forward and outages took Facebook Inc.’s flagship products offline.

More on this and other top headlines of the day:

Zuckerberg loses $7 bn in hours 

Mark Zuckerberg’s personal wealth has fallen by nearly $7 billion in a few hours, knocking him down a notch on the list of the world’s richest people, after a whistleblower came forward and outages took Facebook Inc.’s flagship products offline.

A selloff sent the social-media giant’s stock plummeting around 5% on Monday, adding to a drop of about 15% since mid-September. Read more

Banks' rejection of debt recast deathblow for SREI

On Monday, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) decided to supersede the board Srei Infrastructure Finance Limited (SIFL) and Srei Equipment Finance Limited (SEFL) – both are non-banking finance companies engaged in financing to the infrastructure sector, due to governance concerns and defaults in meeting their payment obligations. This marks the end of a prolonged period of negotiations between the Srei management and the banks during which the former failed to impress the banks for a debt recast. SEFL is a wholly-owned subsidiary of SIFL. Read more

States not on same page on digital health mission

As India gears up to roll out Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) across the country, states are not on the same page.

While states like Tamil Nadu say they would run a parallel digital health programme with unique user IDs, others feel running a parallel scheme may create confusion. Read more                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

Coal supply debate heats up ahead of festival season

India’s coal supply position is now at a crossroads, with power generators blaming less-than-optimum supply and Coal India (CIL) claiming it is on a “war footing” to ensure adequate supply.

Since September 1, the number of power plants with less than eight days of coal has increased to 104, from 79. However, government officials said there was no energy shortage in the country and fears of scarce electricity supply are “unfounded”. Read more

UP offers Rs 45 lakh compensation for Lakhimpur Kheri victims' kin

The Uttar Pradesh government on Monday announced that a retired High Court judge will probe the Lakhimpur Kheri violence and that it will give Rs 45 lakh compensation to the families of the four farmers killed in the incident.

The government will also give Rs 10 lakh to those injured in the violence, said Additional Chief Secretary, Home, Awanish Awasthi. Read more