India Financial News

Supreme Court on Thursday refused to pass an interim order to ensure that the committee of creditors (CoC) does not hold any meeting in pursuance of the insolvency proceedings against embattled ed-tech firm Byju's. A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, however, said it will accord the final hearing in the matter on August 27. The bench said the developments, which may take place in the meantime, can be negated if it finds there was no merit in the appeal of the US-based creditor Glas Trust Company LLC against the judgment of the insolvency body — National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT). At the outset, senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for Byju's, and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), said the CoC has been constituted in the meantime and 98 per cent stakes are with the US firm.

PayU has partnered with Amazon Pay Later to provide instant digital credit access to Indian shoppers. As part of this partnership, Amazon Pay Later will be integrated into PayU’s checkout infrastructure, allowing online merchants to offer an instant credit line to their customers, thereby boosting business revenues. “We believe this innovative solution is poised to significantly impact the way instant credit is accessed and utilised by consumers in India, while also helping merchants achieve better business outcomes,” said Nikhil Mehta, senior vice president of payments strategy and partnerships at PayU.

cement industry has lined up a capex of around Rs 1.25 lakh crore for FY25 to FY27 to meet the growing demand, said a report by rating agency CRISIL. During this period, the industry is expected to add 130 million tonne of cement grinding capacity, which is a fifth of the existing capacity. The investment will be driven by healthy demand outlook and the quest for market share, and the low capex intensity and strong balance sheets will keep the credit profiles of the companies stable, the report said. «The projected outlay will be 1.8 times the capex during the past three fiscals, yet the credit risk profiles of manufacturers will remain stable. This is owing to their continued low capex intensity and solid balance sheets with financial leverage sustaining below 1x on the back of strong profitability,» it said.

investment platform InvestorAi has raised Rs 80 crore from stock market investor Ashish Kacholia, founder of Lucky Investment Manager and his associates, the company said in a statement on Thursday. The newly raised funds will be used to scale up business operations and add new products. Founded in 2018 by Akshaya Bhargava, Bridgeweave which runs InvestorAi platform is a Sebi-registered research analyst. The platform is aimed at using artificial intelligence and the latest technology to create winning investment outcomes for young millennials who are tech-first investors.

civil aviation ministry on Thursday announced simplified regulations for seaplane operations, including allowing non-scheduled entities to operate such services and putting in place a simplified certificate process. The relaxed norms are aimed at encouraging seaplane operations under the regional air connectivity scheme UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik). Generally, seaplanes are amphibian aircraft that can take off and land on the sea. Under the relaxed norms of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), there will be no need for a waterdrome license and compliance requirements have also been reduced.

FAIMA) on Thursday decided to end its 11-day strike, called to protest against the rape and murder of a medic in Kolkata, following «positive directions» from the Supreme Court. The apex court earlier in the day asked protesting doctors to resume work and assured them that no adverse action would be taken after they rejoin. "#FAIMA has decided to call off the strike following positive directions from the #Chief Justice of India. We welcome the acceptance of our prayers for interim protections and the necessary steps to enhance security in hospitals. United, we will continue to fight legally," FAIMA, an umbrella body of doctors, said in a post on X. The move comes soon after several resident doctors' associations (RDAs) called off their strike over Kolkata incident, following an appeal from the Supreme Court.

Madhapur, a village on the outskirts of Bhuj in Gujarat, is dubbed 'Asia's richest village.' With a population of around 32,000, up from 17,000 in 2011, its residents hold fixed deposits worth Rs 7,000 crore. The village's prosperity is attributed to its NRI (non-resident Indian) families who deposit crores every year in local banks and post offices. Madhapur is home to the Patel community and boasts 17 banks, including major public and private banks like HDFC Bank, SBI, PNB, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, and Union Bank. This is unusual for a single village, but more banks are interested in opening branches here. The significant deposits are primarily from families who live abroad, particularly in African countries where Gujaratis dominate the construction business. Many residents also reside in the UK, Australia, America, and New Zealand.

Diana Pundole, a devoted mother of two and a dedicated teacher from Pune, has shattered the glass ceiling by claiming the national championship title in the saloon category at the MRF Indian National Car Racing Championship 2024, held in Chennai. Diana's journey to the top is nothing short of extraordinary. Her passion for racing ignited eight years ago when she received an unexpected call from Coimbatore inviting her to participate in a car racing championship. At that time, she was one of 200 women selected from across India to undergo rigorous trials as part of a national talent hunt. Despite facing skepticism and numerous challenges, Diana's determination propelled her forward, eventually earning her a spot among the top six contenders.

demand from local banks and corporates. A moderate rise in the dollar index also added to the weakness in the rupee. The local currency ended weaker by 3 paisa, ending at 83.95 versus the US dollar, as against its previous close of 83.922/$1, LSEG data showed. The rupee moved in a tight band of 83.937/$1 and 83.965/$1 on Thursday.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, in a letter to Prime Minister Modi, requested the formation of a 'stringent central legislation ' to fight against the rising cases of rape in India. Alapan Bandyopadhyay, Chief advisor to the West Bengal CM, on Thursday revealed that the TMC Supremo urged PM Modi to take into account the increasing number of rapes throughout the country, and help set-up laws that put an end to such hate-crimes. «Respected Prime Minister, I wish to bring to your kind attention the regular and increasing occurrence of rape cases throughout the country and in many cases rapes with murder are committed according to the available data, it is horrifying to see that almost 90 cases of rapes occur daily throughout the country,» the letter read by Bandyopadhyay stated.

Piyush Goyal on Thursday said that India is not against e-commerce companies but wants them to be fair and honest. In remarks that came a day after he flagged concerns about e-commerce firms, Goyal said online businesses need to ensure a «fair chance» of competing. Goyal on Wednesday voiced concerns about predatory pricing by e-commerce firms and feared about the impact their operations have on small retailers in the country. He also went public with his fears, warning of the «huge social disruption» with the massive growth of the e-commerce sector. «We are very clear that we want to invite FDI (foreign direct investment), we want to invite technology, we want to have the best of the world, and we are not against online at all,» Goyal said at an event here.

Disney and Reliance have offered some concessions to secure an India antitrust approval for their $8.5 billion media merger, but are unwilling to sell any cricket broadcast rights, the biggest prize in the deal, two sources familiar with matter said. Reuters reported earlier this week that the Competition Commission of India (CCI) sent a warning notice to the companies expressing concern that their merged entity will have a tight grip on most cricket rights for TV and streaming in India, and can hurt advertisers. In their response, the companies have offered to go easy on advertising rate hikes and not increase them unreasonably, the sources said.

Janmashtami, the Hindu festival celebrating the birth of Lord Krishna, will be observed on August 26 and 27 this year. Marking the 5251st birthday of Lord Krishna, the festival is revered by millions of devotees across India, particularly in Vrindavan and Mathura, where Krishna spent his early years. The day is filled with rituals, fasting, and vibrant festivities, reflecting the deep cultural and religious significance of the event.

Sumit Antil, left for the Paris Paralympics in advance to get acclimatised to the conditions. The 16 para athletes will stay at hotels in Paris for a few days before entering the Games Village on August 25, three days before the Opening Ceremony. The likes of Antil, who is bidding to become the first Indian to defend his Paralympics gold, will train at facilities near the French capital to acclimatise with the weather conditions there. Para athletics events will be held from August 30 to September 8, the closing day of the Paralympics, at Stade de France, the same venue where the able-bodied athletes competed during the Paris Olympics.

tax disputes with major companies including Infosys Ltd. and foreign airlines, people familiar with the matter said, suggesting New Delhi is open to making accommodations to avoid hurting investor sentiment in the South Asian nation. Authorities are exploring options to settle with companies including Infosys, which last month got hit by a demand for 324.03 billion rupees ($3.9 billion) in back taxes dating back to 2017, the people said. Authorities at the time cited non-payment of taxes on expenses incurred by overseas offices of the company, which provides IT services to banks and other multinational corporations from the US to Europe. Also Read: Infosys accused of Rs 32,000-crore GST evasion: Here are 10 things to know

«There are forces determined to disrupt the election process, but we are fully prepared, and the ballot is the answer to such forces,» said Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar after briefing election observers for Jammu and Kashmir and Haryana. Speaking to ANI, Kumar stated, «We briefed election observers today. General, Police, and Expenditure Observers from several states attended the briefing. Observers were instructed to be available to political parties and candidates to address any grievances and ensure adherence to election rules.»

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has paid homage at the 'Good Maharaja Square,' a monument in memory of the late Maharaja of Jamnagar in Warsaw, the capital of Poland. According to the Indian Embassy website, eight Polish primary and secondary schools are named after Jam Saheb, known as 'Good Maharaja' in Poland. The memorial monument – comprising a small brick pillar with inscriptions on it – was unveiled in October 2014 at the Square of the Good Maharaja, Ochota district in Warsaw.

Credit line on UPI could surpass the $1 trillion in transaction value by 2030, Zeta a banking tech unicorn has forecasted. The credit line provides 80% of pre-approved, inactive credit customers on the UPI network with instant access to credit lines. After it was first launched in August 2016, UPI took a little over 3 years to reach 1 billion transactions in a month. Less than 5 years later, UPI clocked 13 billion transactions in April 2024 alone. Zeta has forecasted that UPI could also hit the $1 trillion mark by 2030.

Axis Mutual Fund has announced the launch of Axis Consumption Fund, an open-ended equity scheme following the consumption theme. The new fund offer or NFO of the scheme will open for subscription on August 23 and will close on September 6. The scheme will reopen for continuous sale and repurchase within five business days from the date of allotment. The scheme will be benchmarked against Nifty India Consumption TRI. The fund will be managed by Hitesh Das, Shreyash Devalkar, and Krishnaa Narayan.

PayPal founder Peter Thiel has described restaurants as some of the worst businesses to invest in, citing high competition, slow growth, and low wages as major drawbacks. Despite these warnings, one Indian immigrant's venture into the restaurant industry in the US has proved to be a lucrative endeavor.

Modi on Thursday reiterated India's previous standing of supporting dialogue and diplomacy and said India is willing to help Ukraine and nations West Asia revolve its conflicts. While speaking at the joint press briefing with Polish PM Donald Tusk, the PM further said that India does not believe war to be a solution. «The ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and West Asia are a matter of deep concern for all of us. India firmly believes that no problem can be solved on the battlefield. The loss of innocent lives in any crisis has become the biggest challenge for the entire humanity. We support dialogue and diplomacy for the early restoration of peace and stability. For this, India is ready to provide all possible cooperation along with its friendly countries,» he said. The prime minister's comments came ahead of his first visit to war-torn Ukraine on Friday by the invite of Ukrainian President Zelenskyy. PM Modi also thanked PM Tusk for playing a crucial role in facilitating the evacuation of Indian students from Ukraine during the initial months of the start of the its war with Russia in 2022.