The Union Cabinet on Thursday approved a proposal to allow 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) in public sector refiners, expanding the scope for FDI in the privatisation of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL). The approval by the Cabinet will enable the sale of the government's 52.98 per cent stake in BPCL to a foreign buyer, and, at the same time, will open the door for FDI in other public sector companies in the oil sector put up for privatisation.
Recovery from the second wave of the pandemic in April-May is expected to be swifter as compared to the first wave in 2020, according to the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) chief executive officers (CEOs) poll of 119 top corporate. During the second wave, the lockdowns were largely designed to limit social gatherings and impact on economic activities was restricted. This helped arrest the impact of the second wave on economic growth, according to a survey conducted by the industry lobby group Confederation of Indian Industries (CII). About 59 per cent of the CEOs polled expect the recovery in sales to be better than in the first wave for their companies, while 46 per cent of them expressed a similar trend for their respective industry sectors.
Infosys chairman and Aadhaar architect Nandan Nilekani will join a panel set up by the central government, along with eight other members, to advise the government on designing and accelerating adoption of Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), aimed at curbing digital monopolies. The larger idea is to give 'free and fair' choice to consumers to buy products on an online platform, a senior government official said.
The proposed amendments to the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020, that are envisioned to protect consumer interests, may further compound the impact of multiplicity of regulations on the e-commerce sector, the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce (IACC) had told the ministry of consumer affairs. IACC, the apex bilateral chamber for Indo-US business, had told the government that the proposed amendments would increase compliance liabilities that risk severely impairing the growth of the sector.
Skylark Drones, a leading drone platform company that counts Tata Steel, Ultratech Cement, Softbank Energy among its customers has secured $3 million in a pre-series A funding round. It would use the funding to strengthen its product offerings and fuel international expansion.
'We are having an outsize impact not only on the lives of the customers and livelihood, but also the economy of India.'
The Centre has slapped as many as 148 notices on e-commerce players in the past three months for not complying with the mandatory display of the 'country of origin' tag on products sold. "Of the 148 notices, 56 have compounded it (the offence) and paid up around Rs 34 lakh," a senior official told Business Standard. "Every product has to display the country of origin, along with other basic information," the official added. In the case of e-commerce companies, these details have to be clearly displayed on their portals.
Billionaire and Mahindra Group chairman Anand Mahindra along with top Silicon Valley investors Naval Ravikant and Balaji Srinivasan are backing space tech start-up Agnikul as part of a new funding round. Chennai-based Agnikul said, on Thursday, that it has raised $11 million in Series A funding round led by Mayfield India. It is the largest funding round for a private Indian space technology company in the country. Existing investors pi Ventures, Speciale Invest and Artha Venture Fund also invested in this round.
'We look forward to providing great customer experiences in India.'
The trade to-and-from India so far is not affected. But if the situation continues to remain the same for the next two to three months, it could definitely hurt India trade, including essential cargo.
'Supplies should start moving to the Serum Institute without any impediments.'
With scrutiny that comes with a public listing, Deepinder Goyal's leadership could face its sternest test yet.
Recently, the finance ministry waived off basic customs duty and health cess on imported oxygen and related equipment for three years.
Zomato said it has consistently gained market share over the last four years to become the category leader in the food delivery space in India in terms of gross order value from October 1, 2020 to March 31, 2021.
There seems to be no dearth of funds to fuel this growth, report Peerzada Abrar and Shivani Shinde.
'Overall, compared to the previous episode, we are in a better shape because the vaccine is already out there and vaccination drives are proceeding'
'One out of three phones sold in India is a Xiaomi phone.'
According to Ajai Sahai, director-general and CEO of Federation of Indian Export Organisations, rising cases are a cause for concern as it adds to the uncertainty and may impact exports.
The stock-and-cash deal is the biggest in the education space.