Top headlines: New rules on holding firms unclear, Ruia's EoI for Air India

From New Budget rules on holding firms queering the pitch for sovereign, pension funds to Pawan Ruia's EoI for Air India, Business Standard brings you the top headlines at this hour

New Budget rules on holding firms queer pitch for sovereign, pension funds

The Union Budget 2021-22 has made it easier for sovereign wealth funds and pension funds to invest in Indian infrastructure projects, but some of the new rules may need more clarity, experts said. The proposed regime requiring investments through holding companies may have adverse tax implications for such funds and may create an arbitrage between the new and old projects, they said. Read more

Air India privatisation: Pawan Ruia takes a shot at aviation with EoI

In a surprise development, Kolkata-based businessman Pawan Ruia has submitted an expression of interest to buy a 100 per cent stake in national carrier Air India. The Tata group and an employees’ consortium of Air India are the other entities to express interest. Read more

Govt to bring forward a Crypto Bill soon: Clear definitions, no grey areas

The Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill, 2021, or Crypto Bill, will take care of which cryptocurrencies the government is seeking a ban on, with clear definitions to plug any grey areas that could possibly arise due to the evolution of technology, said a senior government official. Read more

E-commerce firms being probed on small traders' complaints: Piyush Goyal

Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday warned those companies, including multinational corporations, which are violating provisions of the e-commerce policy to mend their ways. He said various complaints given by consumers and small retailers about them are being investigated. Read more

Indian investors join the bitcoin party after Tesla CEO Musk's endorsement

The price and volume of bitcoin have surged in the domestic market in the past 15 hours after Tesla Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk’s announcement of investment in the cryptocurrency, according to Indian exchanges. Read more

Explained: How India lost out on 5G network leadership opportunity

India’s date with 5G was proclaimed with fanfare in June 2019 when Com­munic­ations Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said that spectrum for trial runs would be allocated to operators in 100 days. Twenty months later, forget spectrum auctions or the actual rollout of commercial services.

Operators are still waiting for the go-ahead for 5G trials. Read more

Crude, cracks and tax cocktail pushes India's fuel users to the brink

A recovery in international prices is expected to keep petrol and diesel prices firm in the country. This, coupled with the recent inching up of crude oil price to beyond $60 a barrel, has locked domestic petrol and diesel rates at record levels. Read more

Complaints against banks and mobile banking to RBI soar: Report

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Monday released the annual report of its Ombudsman Scheme. There was an increase of 64.97 per cent in the receipt of complaints under the three ombudsman schemes, from 200,362 in 2018-19 to 330,543 in 2019-20. Of these, 86.19 per cent were received electronically and via email. Read more