Top Biz Headlines: Borrowing limit raised, Swiggy lays off 1,100 and more

Here are the top 10 headlines on Tuesday morning

Bengaluru-based unicorn Swiggy is laying off 1,100 employees across grades and functions over the next few days, as Covid-19 continues to infect its food delivery and cloud kitchen business. The Centre has withdrawn its order directing employers to pay wages to workers, even with units remaining shut during lockdown.

Here are the top 10 headlines that made news on Tuesday morning:

Govt withdraws order asking firms to pay wages during lockdown

In what may come as a major relief to businesses, the Union government has withdrawn its order directing employers to pay wages to workers, even with units remaining shut during lockdown. Read here.

Borrowing limit raised, but states won't rush to make use of the chance

The extra borrowing provision for states has not unsettled the bond market much. This is because, according to a back-of-hand calculation, most states get automatically excluded, given the conditions. Read here.

New-look inter-creditor agreement on the cards as IBC process suspended

The stage has been set for a major relook at banks’ inter-creditor agreements (ICAs), following suspension of fresh cases under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC). Read here.

Covid-19 crisis: Global mobile firms warn curbs make India unattractive

The productivity-linked incentive (PLI) scheme of the government to woo mobile device players like Apple Inc and Samsung to make India a global export hub could be derailed. Read here.

Swiggy follows Zomato, lays off 1,100 as coronavirus dashes business

Food delivery platform Swiggy is laying off 1,100 employees across grades and functions over the next few days, as Covid-19 continues to affect its food delivery and cloud kitchen business. Read here.

Economic package a lost opportunity; FY21 GDP to contract 7%: Bernstein

According to analysts at Bernstein, the stimulus package announced by the government over the past few days is a lost opportunity. "While the package started on important aspects but the need to announce measures that add up to this top-down number, made the entire package aimless, with several generic announcements which should ideally, have been a part of a normal economic agenda,” it said in a report.  Read here.

Bharti Airtel posts consolidated loss before tax of Rs 7,010 crore in Q4

Bharti Airtel posted a consolidated loss before tax of Rs 7,010.5 crore in March quarter because of the payment of adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues. In FY20, the company reported a net loss of Rs 32,183.2 crore, which also accounted for an exceptional loss of Rs 28,812.3 crore, which includes the payment of AGR dues. Read here.

RBI converts less than a third of Rs 30K-crore bonds into long securities

The Reserve Bank did not offer the originally planned Rs 30,000 crore of securities maturing in June for conversion into longer dated securities. It, however, accepted switching for only Rs 7,866.73 crore, the auction results showed. Read here.

Government may monetise debt if fiscal overshoots: Official

The government may consider monetising its borrowings if the fiscal deficit overshoots expectations sharply, Economic Times reported. In February, the government announced its fiscal deficit target for FY21 at 3.5% but with the Covid-19 crisis, the math needs to be reviewed, and could widen to almost 7%, according to Nomura.

Many firms see hopes of a revival dwindle

Several companies in sectors that have been the worst hit by the lockdown are on the brink of bankruptcy with the government ignoring their pleas for a rescue package. Many of these companies, especially those with weak balance sheets are in sectors such as aviation and hospitality, LiveMint reported.