Top headlines: Rs 1.2-trn stimulus for growth, jobs; IIP grows 0.2% in Sept

New Delhi: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Minister of State Anurag Thakur during a news conference in New Delhi, Thursday, Nov 12, 2020. (PTI Photo/Kamal Kishore)

India Inc hands out an austerity parcel to employees this festive season

In a normal year, a glut of gifts at corporate offices signal the festive build-up to Diwali. From carefully curated hampers to single malt scotch, gold coins, fine chocolate, luxury watches, even mini golf putting and poker chip sets that cost upwards of Rs 15,000 – corporate gifting is an exercise for which brainstorming and budgeting begins months before Diwali. But with India Inc continuing to work from home, this year’s gifting has taken an austere turn. Read More

IIP grows 0.2% in Sept, enters positive territory after 6-month contraction

Amid a recessionary outlook, India’s industrial activity returned to the growth territory in September after a gap of six months. Data released on Thursday showed a small uptick led by recovery in consumer goods, electricity and mining sectors. This post-Covid revival could be attributed to pre-festival stocking and a favourable base, but economists have cautioned against its sustainability in the near run. Read More

Serum to have 200 mn doses of AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine ready by Jan

Pune's Serum Institute of India (SII) will have 200 million doses of the AstraZeneca-Oxford University vaccine for the coronavirus ready by January, ramping up its capacity to make 100 million doses of the inoculation monthly.. Sources said the company has recruited over 1,600 participants in India for phase 3 trials of Covishield (the AstraZeneca vaccine candidate). Read More

Despite the dispute with Amazon, new 'future' awaits Kishore Biyani

E-tailer Amazon’s litigation against Future group for breaching a 2019 agreement when signing a deal with Reliance Retail may have surprised many, but the latter two seem determined to complete the nearly Rs 25,000-crore transaction signed in August. Experts say that it allows Future group founder Kishore Biyani to get out of his debt spiral and Reliance Retail to consolidate its position as the leader in the country’s organised retail market. Read More

PLI scheme: Telecom eligibility criteria for companies may be raised

The draft note on the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for promoting telecom equipment manufacturing will sharply increase the threshold for eligibility in the case of global as well as domestic companies. The note, under discussion by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), has set a target that 80 per cent of incremental production in value terms under the PLI will be for exports. Read More

With $40 billion, private equity players hope to better 2019 investments

Private equity (PE) players are expecting they will deploy close to $40 billion in India this calendar year, bettering what they did last year, despite the economy being in the pandemic grip. PE deals worth $37.04 billion were signed last year, according to the VCCEdge data. While big companies like Reliance Industries have not run short of PE money, nor have start-ups, which require angel funding, companies looking at venture capital (VC) funds have taken the knock, say PE experts. Read More

Will have 2-3 other promising businesses beyond 2021: Swiggy's Vivek Sunder

Like several other sectors, restaurants have been badly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. This also impacted the online food delivery firms, especially during the lockdown period. In an interview, VIVEK SUNDER, chief operating officer (COO), Swiggy, shares his learning experiences with Bibhu Ranjan Mishra. Read More

We are open to a coal regulator, says Coal Minister Pralhad Joshi

The Union government has got past the Covid-19-induced slowdown to successfully auction 38 commercial coal blocks. In an interview with Shreya Jai & Jyoti Mukul, Union Minister of Coal, Mines and Parliamentary Affairs Pralhad Joshi argues why coal production cannot be sacrificed at the altar of environment. Read More