Top headlines: PM calls for dialogue on Ukraine, 800 drugs to get costlier

Fund manager Mark Mobius says he sees more downside in equity markets amid the invasion of Ukraine. More on that in our top headlines.

Leaders of the of the Quad security dialogue held discussions over Russia's invasion of Ukraine with Prime Minister Modi calling for a return to dialogue as the crisis in eastern Europe continues to escalate. Meanwhile, India's regulator for pricing for drugs is likely to allow the highest ever price hike amid a rise in inflation. Head further down for more on these stories and other top headlines in our morning newswrap. 

PM Modi calls for return to path of dialogue, diplomacy on Ukraine crisis

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday called for a return to the path of dialogue and diplomacy to defuse the crisis in Ukraine as he and other Quad leaders discussed the Russian military offensive in the eastern European country and the humanitarian implications of it. A joint readout released by the White House said US President Joe Biden, Modi, Australian PM Scott Morrison and his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida discussed in the virtual format the ongoing conflict and humanitarian crisis in Ukraine besides assessing its "broader implications". Read more

LIC IPO: 10.8 million eligible to avail of policyholders' quota

About 10.8 million policyhol­ders of Life Insurance Corpo­ration of India (LIC) have linked their policies with PAN and have a demat account. This exud­es confidence among government and LIC officials about the subscription of policyholders’ reservation in the upcoming initial public offering (IPO). Read more

WPI effect: 800 key drugs likely to see 10% price rise in April

In what could be the highest-ever price hike allowed for scheduled drugs (or drugs under price control) in a long time, the national pharmaceutical (pharma) pricing regulator is likely to allow a price hike of 10 per cent in April due to steep rise in wholesale price index (WPI)-based inflation. Scheduled drugs roughly constitute 17-18 per cent of the Rs 1.6-trillion domestic pharma market. Read more

Russia-Ukraine crisis: See more downside in equity mkts, says Mark Mobius

The markets have slipped sharply from their recent highs because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. MARK MOBIUS, founder, Mobius Capital Partners, tells Business Standard in an interview that in the current situation, it will be a good idea to remain 10-15 per cent in cash and wait for opportunities to invest at lower levels. Read more

Future Retail NPAs: Indian Bank to take Rs 800-crore hit in fourth quarter

With the Swiss challenge mode of auction being put forward as a possible solution to the battle over Future Ret­ail between Reliance In­du­stries and Amazon, the classification of loans to the cou­ntry’s second-largest re­ta­iler as non-performing ass­ets (NPAs) is likely to have a larger dent in several banks’ books during the fourth quarter. Read more