Top Headlines: 13 Indian firms to make Covid pill; bank NPAs at 6-year low

Business Standard brings you the top headlines at this hour.

13 Indian firms set to boost India's anti-Covid arsenal with a pill

Thirteen Indian companies can now manufacture and market oral antiviral drug Molnupiravir developed by Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics after the country’s drug regulator granted approval for restricted use under emergency situations for Covid-infected adults in high-risk category. Read more
 

Bank NPAs ease to nearly six-year low: RBI Trends & Progress report

Proving sceptics wrong, 2020-21 turned out to be the best in recent years for Indian banks in terms of their financial performance. The pandemic-hit financial year was marked by a “discernible increase” in profitability, as banks’ income remained stable but expenditure declined, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) observed in the annual Trends & Progress Report. Read more
 

IPO-bound LIC to take glide path for surplus transfer from next year

Ahead of the Life Insurance Corporation of India’s (LIC’s) public listing, the finance ministry and the insurer have approved gradually lowering the public sector outfit’s distributable surplus to its policyholders. From next year, LIC will distribute 92.5 per cent of its surplus to the policyholders against 95 per cent at present, and then bring the level down to the industry norm of 90 per cent. Read more
 

Indians to continue to embrace cryptocurrencies despite RBI concerns

The future of cryptocurrencies in India appears uncertain but that has not deterred young Indians from embracing the so-called ‘fourth industrial revolution’ world, where interconnectivity and smart automation, much of it relying on blockchain technology, drive human civilisation. Read more
 

Banks' asset quality 'may get dented' as special schemes end: RBI report

The Indian financial system’s asset quality improved despite the pandemic, but it could be due to special dispensations by the regulator, and banks would likely see increased stress on their books once the schemes expire. Read more
 

From L&T to Reliance Industries, giants hitch a ride on the green road

India’s traditional companies are now moving full scale into the renewable and alternative energy space that had been dominated by smaller players over the past decade. Companies such as government-owned NTPC and the Adani and the Tata groups restructured their businesses well in time to become major players in the green space. Read more