Top headlines: Footfall increases for Covid vax; Rs 1.24 trn in GST mop up

Expert panel defers decision on Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine, wants more data

The wait for Sputnik V in India got a little longer as the expert panel reviewing the application has sought more data on safety, efficacy, and logistics. A source close to the development said, “No approval was given to Sputnik V on Thursday. Some queries have been asked on safety, efficacy, and logistics, which the firm will have answers to at the next meeting.” Read More

Tucked away in a corner on the eighth floor of Rajkumari Amrit Kaur outpatient block at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi, people excitedly queue up next to a photo booth that proudly exclaims: ‘I got my Covid-19 vaccine today!’ Wearing green wrist bracelets — that signify their vaccination status — they pose happily for friends and families to have their pictures clicked. In another corner, nursing officers turn people away, asking them to come back the following day. “It is 4 pm and we are out of vials. We are seeing more people than we had anticipated,” says a nursing attendant to his associate. Read More

Low base, recovery in demand drive March auto sales into fast lane

Auto companies racked up more than 100 per cent growth in sales in March on account of the low base of the same month last year. However, industry executives warned the numbers must be seen in the context of last March, when seven days of sales were lost due to the lockdown and the pandemic began buffeting growth much before that. The country had gone into lockdown on March 25. Read More

Rate cut on small savings: Elections, WEF report linked to fastest recall

There was already an in-principle approval that the interest rates on small savings instruments have to be aligned every quarter with the government debt papers. So, on Wednesday when the file for adjusting the rates was moved in the budget division of the finance ministry, the routine order did not need to reach Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. However, within minutes of the finance ministry order, Bharatiya Janata Party workers in the poll-bound states had begun to reach out to the leaders for rescinding the order, sources said. Read More

Recovery on a roll: GST mop-up hits record Rs 1.24 trillion in March

Goods and services tax (GST) revenue touched an all-time high in March, with the government collecting nearly Rs 1.24 trillion. It surpassed the Rs 1-trillion mark for the sixth straight month, and remained over the Rs 1.1-trillion mark for the fourth time in a row, revealed the government’s provisional data on Thursday. With this, the net tax collection is likely to have exceeded the Revised Estimates (RE) for the fiscal year, resulting in a fiscal deficit lower than 9.5 per cent of gross domestic product estimated for 2020-21 (FY21). Read More

Reliance Infra sells HQ in Mumbai's Santacruz to YES Bank for Rs 1200 cr

Anil Ambani Group’s Reliance Infrastructure (RInfra) on Thursday sold its headquarters (HQ) in Mumbai’s Santacruz to YES Bank for Rs 1,200 crore. YES Bank, which currently operates from One Indiabulls Centre in central Mumbai, will convert the building into its corporate head office. Once the HQ of Anil Ambani, Reliance Centre is a high-tech office building with over 695,000 square feet area on a plot of 15,514-square metre land. Ambani shifted to this office after he moved out of Reliance’s Ballard Estate office. The entire proceeds from the sale of Reliance Centre will be utilised only to service the debt of YES Bank, RInfra said. Read More

'Was an oversight': Govt drops reduction in interest rates on small savings

In the fastest rollback so far, the Union government on Thursday morning reversed the move to lower interest rates on small savings schemes such as the public provident fund (PPF). Restoring the rates through a Twitter message, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman called the previous evening’s announcement an “oversight”. “Interest rates of small savings schemes of GoI (Government of India) shall continue to be at the rates which existed in the last quarter of 2020-2021, ie, rates that prevailed as of March 2021. Orders issued by oversight shall be withdrawn,” she said. Read More

Tata-Mistry spat: What it means for minority and small shareholders

The Supreme Court order in the Tata-Mistry case has put the spotlight on the rights of minority and small shareholders in public and private companies. The court pointed out that there is no statutory provision under Company Law that entitles the minority shareholder — namely the Mistry group — to claim proportionate representation on the board of a private company. Read More