HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank: What technical charts indicate for private banks

Here's a look at what technical charts indicate for Nifty Bank and key private banks.

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Lawsuit accuses Facebook of age and gender bias in targeted ads

Two law firms have filed a discrimination suit in San Francisco federal court on behalf of a 54-year-old woman living in Washington and will ask a judge to grant the case class-action status.

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Pepsico India wins US award for saving more than 17 billion litres of water

PepsiCo India has been named the global ACE winner in sustainable operations in the multinational enterprise category for its sustainable farming initiative in India

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Telecom firm auditors should have insisted on making provisions for AGR instead of taking ostrich-like approach

Airtel and Vodafone-Idea, the worst-hit among the telcos, are making no bones about their displeasure with the Supreme Court (SC) interpretation of what constitutes adjusted gross revenue of the telecom companies.

The SC vide its judgment of 24 October 2019 had upset their applecart by ruling that apart from termination fee and roaming charges, all other revenue including non-operational were to be included in the AGR that forms the basis of revenue sharing with the government.

Ironically, the industry, which was peeved with the one-time license fee regime that ruled the roost till 1999, is not satisfied with the strict implementation of the revenue sharing regime either.

The SC has rightly reinforced the legal maxim that the law should be interpreted strictly as per its letter. The telcos have been guilty of agreeing to the strict and arguably rigid definition of AGR, perhaps flush with excitement at the immediate reprieve from the backbreaking one-time fee and perhaps in the smug realisation that they can, in the meanwhile, buy time.

Representational image. ThinkStock.

Telecom companies pay around 3-5 percent and 8 percent of the AGR as spectrum usage charges and licence fees respectively, to Department of Telecommunications (DoT) ever since the revenue sharing regime kicked in. When revenue has to be shared, there is always a temptation to understate the revenue.

The industry is, however, guilty of not negotiating hard enough while signing the license agreements in the blasé belief that they can cross the bridge when they come to it. This ostrich-like approach has cost them dear.

If the telcos are guilty of brushing the crushing, mounting liabilities under the carpet and keeping their shareholders in the dark, once again it is the auditors who have to be blamed more for abdicating their advisory and whistleblowing role.

Conservatism is the basic accounting tenet accountants and accounting standards swear by. All liabilities that stare at you have to be provided for in the profit and loss account. And if some of them or all of them are debatable or legally contestable, at least they should have been to that extent disclosed as contingent liabilities as a footnote to the balance sheet so that at least the discerning among the readers of financial accounts read the ‘fine print’ and take the profits with a pinch of salt.

Auditors, however, should have put their foot down and insisted on provision being made for the possible claim from the government for suppression of AGR and not settled for a wishy-washy footnote by way of contingent liabilities. It is another matter that they haven’t even done this.

In 2017, the government’s auditor, Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) had tabled a report in Parliament that said six private telecom players understated their revenues by over Rs 61,000 crore, causing a loss of Rs 7,697.62 crore to the exchequer. At least this should have given a wakeup call to the smug telcos who also should have in any case heeded the 2011 SC rejection of their claims noting that “parties understood right from the beginning that the gross revenue does not exclude discounts, commissions, rebate, etc”.

The apex court has given the telcos three months' time to comply with the order to pay up a whopping Rs 92,000 crore to the government towards additional revenue share that they had tried to wriggle out through clever by half interpretation of what AGR meant. The total dues amount to Rs 92,641 crore (disputed actual demand is Rs 23,189 crore, levy of interest of Rs 41,650 crore, penalty of Rs 10,923 crore and interest on penalty of Rs 16,878 crore).

It is apparent that the telcos are paying a heavy price for their brazenness, bordering on contempt for the rule of law and its strict interpretation and implementation.
It is for the government to show magnanimity and grace to the industry reeling under a debt overhang of a whopping Rs 7 lakh crore, to waive off the interest on penalty and thereby mitigate the crushing burden although the industry doesn’t deserve it.

(The author is a senior columnist and tweets @smurlidharan)

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With no liquidity, liquor sales on the rocks

Liquor trade’s hangover from the slowdown is similar to FMCG failing to take a bigger bite out of consumer spend, again thanks to liquidity issues. Hindustan Unilever had last month said trade was facing an acute liquidity crunch. Analysts expect liquor sales to remain subdued for the rest of the fiscal.

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With no liquidity, liquor sales on the rocks

Liquor trade’s hangover from the slowdown is similar to FMCG failing to take a bigger bite out of consumer spend, again thanks to liquidity issues. Hindustan Unilever had last month said trade was facing an acute liquidity crunch. Analysts expect liquor sales to remain subdued for the rest of the fiscal.

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The outcome of the BJP-Shiv Sena battle depends on Uddhav Thackeray's ego

BJP and Shiv Sena are engaged in a game of Grim Trigger strategy in the state now

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Top events today: Merkel to meet Modi, YES Bank Q2 result, RCEP deal & more

From German Chancellor Angela Merkel's talks with PM Modi to launch of 5G mobile phone services in China, here are the top events of the day to keep an eye on

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Stocks to watch: YES Bank, DR Reddy's, IndiGo, IOC, HCC, Voda Idea, autos

Here's a look at the top stocks that may remain in focus today.

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Boeing faces fresh crisis as Qantas grounds three 737 jets with cracks

The US Federal Aviation Administration last month ordered urgent checks on next-generation 737s that have carried out more than 30,000 flights

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Paytm e-commerce narrows losses to Rs 1,171 cr in FY19; focuses on building online-to-offline business channels

New Delhi: Paytm e-commerce narrowed its losses to Rs 1,171.62 crore in 2018-19 from about Rs 1,787.73 crore in the previous financial year, according to regulatory documents.

Paytm e-commerce, which is locked in a battle with giants like Amazon India and Walmart-backed Flipkart, clocked about 25 percent jump in total revenue at Rs 968.16 crore in 2018-19 as against Rs 774.86 crore in the financial year ended March 2017, the regulatory documents sourced by business intelligence platform Tofler showed.

When contacted, Paytm Mall Director Rudra Dalmia said Paytm Mall is focusing on building out online-to-offline business channels.

The headquarters of Paytm digital payments firm in Noida. Reuters

"Paytm Mall is focusing on building out O2O business channels whilst continuing the online business at contribution margin positive levels. The goal is to be Ebitda (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) neutral by Q2-2020 and profitable by Q1-2021," he said.

While e-commerce in the country is at a fledgling stage, reports estimate it to become a $200-billion opportunity over the next few years. US-based Amazon and Walmart are placing multi-billion dollars bets on the Indian market, even as their e-commerce ventures here incur huge losses.

Amazon has committed $5 billion worth of investment in India in 2016, while Walmart had picked up 77 percent stake in Flipkart for $16 billion last year. These entities have been investing millions of dollars across various operations like marketplace, infrastructure and supply chain management as well as marketing and promotion.

However, this rapid scaling up has not come cheap. Amazon Seller Services, the online marketplace arm of Amazon in India, managed to narrow its losses to Rs 5,685 crore in 2018-19. Its revenues grew 55 per cent to Rs 7,778 crore in 2018-19 over the previous financial year.

Flipkart Internet, the unit that runs Flipkart's marketplace business, recorded 40 percent rise in losses to Rs 1,624 crore for the year ended 31 March. Its revenue increased by 33 percent to Rs 4,804 crore.

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Market Ahead, November 1: All you need to know before the Opening Bell

Bank of India, Dr Reddy's Lab, JK Lakshmi Cement, and YES Bank are among the 33 companies scheduled to report their Q2 earnings today

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Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata among cities that may be submerged by 2050: Report

The study was led by scientists Scott A. Kulp and Benjamin H. Strauss of Climate Central, an independent organisation of scientists, journalists and researchers

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Derivatives strategy on Grasim Industries by HDFC Securities

Derivative call by Nandish Shah, Technical Analyst, HDFC securities

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PSU banks extend Rs 2.56 lakh cr support to stressed NBFCs by credit, pooled buyout since September 2018

New Delhi: The finance ministry on Thursday said public sector banks (PSBs) have extended support of Rs 2.56 lakh crore to NBFCs by way of credit and pooled buyout since September 2018 as part of efforts to provide much-needed liquidity to the sector.

Further, under the partial guarantee scheme, PSBs have been accorded sanction to purchase Rs 21,580 crore worth of pooled assets as on 16 October, the ministry said in a status report of various stimulus measures announced since 23 August to boost sagging economic growth which hit a six-year low of 5 percent during the first quarter of the current fiscal.

To address the stress in the sector, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the Budget proposed that public sector banks would purchase high-rated pooled assets of financially sound NBFCs, amounting to a total of Rs 1 lakh crore, during the current financial year.

For this, the government will provide a one-time six months' partial credit guarantee to PSBs for first loss of up to 10 percent.

The finance minister announced several short and long-term measures to boost the economy in three phases between August 23 and September 14, it said.

Out of the total 44 measures announced, 16 have been fulfilled, it said, adding the rest of the announcements are under active consideration by relevant ministries.

Further, it said action on one out of three announcements made for the housing sector has been completed and the other two are being taken up.

File image of Rs 100 notes. AFP.

In respect to GST refund to MSMEs within 30 days, it said a refund drive was organised and the tax department paid Rs 10,490 crore or 97 percent of total pending amount of Rs 10,841 crore.

In order to spend Rs 100 lakh crore for developing modern infrastructure over five years, a Task Force under the chairmanship of the economic affairs secretary has been constituted. It will draw up a National Infrastructure Pipeline for each of the years from FY 2019-20 to FY 2024-25.

So far, 12 meetings of the Task Force have been held and deliberations with 17 ministries/departments have been completed.

The finance ministry has effected the upfront release of capital to PSBs, with Rs 60,314 crore being infused in banks in September 2019 through recapitalisation bonds, including Rs 4,557 crore in IDBI Bank.

With regard to boosting exports, it said the RBI issued orders on 20 September 2019 for enhancing sanction limits for eligibility of export credit under priority sector lending from Rs 25 crore to Rs 40 crore per borrower and removing overall turnover limit of Rs 100 crore.

The integrated refund module along with single disbursement has been deployed with effect from 26 September, it said.

Giving details of announcements implemented, it said e-assessment scheme has been launched, relief has been given from enhanced surcharge on long-term/short-term capital gains and angel tax provisions for startups and their investors have been withdrawn.

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Delhi sees haze-filled Friday morning, air quality in 'severe' zone at 425

At 6:30 am, Delhi's overall air quality index (AQI) was 425, according to SAFAR India. Gurgaon, Faridabad, Noida and Ghaziabad too recorded 'severe' overall air quality

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Donald Trump says Americans are 'very disappointed' after Fed rate cut

Fed officials reduced interest rates by a quarter-percentage point Wednesday and signaled a pause in further cuts unless the economic outlook changes materially

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MARKET LIVE: Trends on SGX Nifty suggest a negative start for Sensex, Nifty

Catch all the live updates of the stock markets here

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Top 10 biz headlines: WTO trade dispute, core industries output, and more

Data by the commerce and industry ministry showed production in coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, steel, cement, and electricity declined in September

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India is running its telecom companies aground to fill a budget hole

High fees, frequent policy flip-flops, endless tax demands from an unsympathetic bureaucracy that treated carriers as cash cows have driven most telecom operators aground.

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India is running its telecom companies aground to fill a budget hole

High fees, frequent policy flip-flops, endless tax demands from an unsympathetic bureaucracy that treated carriers as cash cows have driven most telecom operators aground.

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Best of BS Opinion: In every systemic crisis there is a human factor

Here's a selection of Business Standard opinion pieces for the day

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Today's picks: Infosys to Tata Steel, hot stocks to watch on Friday

For Infosys, book profits at Rs 700

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A unique system employed in Gujarat has reduced pollution. Here's how

The Emissions Trading System (ETS) launched in July 2019 by the Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB) is billed as the first such scheme, not just in India but the world, for particulate pollution

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With toxic haze lingering, Delhi air quality still in 'severe' category

Anand Vihar continued to be the most-polluted area with an AQI of 466, followed by Wazirpur with an AQI of 453.

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PMC Bank scam: Major relief for depositors as RBI asks Mumbai Police to release attached assets for auction

There is perhaps a ray of hope for the distressed bank account holders of PMC Bank.

In a move aimed at giving a huge relief to the PMC Bank account holders, the administrator appointed by the Reserve Bank has reportedly asked the Mumbai Police to release the seized assets in connection with the bank scam for initiating auction process.

The administrator reportedly asked the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai Police to release properties attached in the Punjab & Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank case. This is being done to facilitate auction at the earliest, according to a report in The Economic Times.

The RBI's move comes as a major relief to thousands of aggrieved account holders of the troubled PMC Bank.

Representational image. News18

After the central bank's demand, the Mumbai Police is expected to seek the permission of the court to hand over the properties that the EOW attached to the RBI administrator, the report said quoting two people with knowledge of the development.

On Wednesday, depositors of the PMC Bank protested in Mumbai seeking an immediate payback of their dues from the troubled cooperative.

The protest, which came a day after a similar agitation, also exposed cracks within the depositors, where two groups of leaders seem to have emerged.

Three of the protesting members were detained by the police and taken away.

"We have decided to go to the Economic Offences Wing of the Mumbai Police to seek officials and will continue with the protest," Gurjyot Singh Keer, one of the detained on Wednesday, said.

So far, five persons have been arrested in connection with the scam.

On 14 October, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had seized and identified assets worth Rs 3,830 crore, including private jets and a yacht belonging to the Housing Development and Infrastructure Ltd (HDIL) group, in connection with its probe in the PMC Bank money laundering case, reported PTI.

The central agency said it is in the process of conducting the valuation of a number of properties of HDIL, its directors, promoters, PMC Bank officials and others as part of the investigation.

The assets, both immovable and movable, would be attached under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) after valuation, it said.

"The total value of movable and immovable assets seized, frozen and identified by ED being the proceeds of crime, in this case, is more than Rs 3,830 crore which does not include value of 80 unencumbered properties around Mumbai.

High-end assets like ten cars, including Rolls Royce, Bentley and Range Rover, recovered from the residential premises of Rakesh Wadhawan, have been seized.

Two aircraft —Bombardier Challenger-300 VT and Falcon 2000 VT HDL, owned by Privilege Airways Private Limited -- had been frozen against operation by the agency.

HDIL owes around Rs 6,500 crore to the bank-as much as 73 percent of its total loan book—as per the whistleblower and also its suspended managing director (MD), Joy Thomas' admission to the RBI.

On 4 October, Thomas was arrested in connection with the alleged scam at the bank by the EOW of Mumbai Police.

The same day, the EOW had also arrested HDIL directors Rakesh Wadhawan and his son Sarang Wadhawan in the case.

On 17 September this year, a whistleblower informed the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) of the mess at PMC Bank. Acting on it, on 23 September, the central bank placed PMC Bank under an administrator, suspended the management and also banned it from carrying regular banking activities.

On 23 September, the RBI superseded the board of PMC Bank and appointed Jai Bhagwan Bhoria as the administrator of the bank.

So far, the scam has claimed the lives of five depositors in Mumbai and Maharashtra after the irregularities came to the fore last month.

— With inputs from agencies

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RPG Life Sciences zooms 20% as PBT jumps four-fold in Q2

Meanwhile, operational revenue during the quarter grew 8.8 per cent at Rs 98.49 crore, as against Rs 90.5 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

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Israeli spyware used to spy on Indian journos, activists: Whatsapp confirms

The hackers allegedly used an Israeli technology, Pegasus develeoped by Israeli firm, NSO to the conduct cyberespionage

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Cognizant to exit Facebook content review contract, 6,000 jobs under threat

Cognizant had about 500 workers in India's southern city of Hyderabad looking for sensitive topics or profane language in Facebook videos

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Australia's Woolworths admits underpaying staff up to Aus$300 mn

Australian retail giant Woolworths on Wednesday admitted underpaying workers up to Aus$300million ($206 million), the latest in a string of big businesses that have failed to properly pay staff.

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Stocks to watch: Bharti Airtel, Voda-Idea, IOCL, Concor, HDFC, Bandhan Bank

Here's a list of stocks that may remain in focus today.

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Intergrow secures PE funding for expansion

The Kerala-based company that owns Rs 150 crore Kitchen Treasures brand curry masala and spice blends has secured Rs 80 crore funding from Bahrain-based PE firm Investcorp for its new ventures.

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Australia's Woolworths admits underpaying staff up to Aus$300 mn

Australian retail giant Woolworths on Wednesday admitted underpaying workers up to Aus$300million ($206 million), the latest in a string of big businesses that have failed to properly pay staff.

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Life and death for firms: Can Hong Kong's plummeting economy rebound?

The Hong Kong government has announced relief packages this year, but for most struggling businesses the best cure would be an end to the protests

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Market Ahead, Oct 31: Top factors you need to know before the Opening Bell

The Fed on Wednesday cut interest rates by 25 bps to a range between 1.5-1.75 per cent to ensure the US economy weathers a global trade war without slipping into a recession

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Gateway of terrorism into India closed by repealing Articles 370, 35A :Shah

Shah also said Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel's unfullfilled dream of integrating Jammu and Kashmir with the rest of the country was accomplished on August 5

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R K Mathur sworn-in as the first Lt Governor of Union Territory of Ladakh

The oath of office was administered by chief justice of Jammu and Kashmir high court Geeta Mittal at a simple function held at Leh.

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HDFC acquires 9.89% stake in Bandhan Bank as part of merger scheme; over 15.93 cr shares transferred to mortgage firm

New Delhi: Mortgage firm HDFC Ltd has acquired 9.89 percent stake in Bandhan Bank as part of scheme of merger.

As many as 15.93 crore shares of the bank was transferred to HDFC Ltd, Bandhan Bank said in a regulatory filing.

Earlier this month, Bandhan Bank merged with Gruh Finance, which brought down the shareholding of the promoter from 82.26 percent to 60.96 percent.

Representational image.

The merger was part of the stake dilution exercise to meet the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) stipulation.

The RBI on Tuesday imposed a penalty of Rs 1 crore on Bandhan Bank for not bringing down the promoter shareholding to 40 percent as per the central bank timeline.

The filing further said the scheme of merger between Gruh Finance, affordable housing finance company promoted by HDFC Ltd, and Bandhan Bank was approved by all the requisite authorities and the shareholders and creditors of both the merging companies.

The effective date of the scheme was 17 October.

In accordance with the scheme of merger, 9.89 percent stake of the total share capital of Bandhan Bank has been allotted to HDFC Ltd, it said.

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Top events today: J&K becomes a UT, Chidambaram's bail plea and more

From International Solar Alliance assembly to Jammu and Kashmir being officially Union Territories, here are the top events of the day to keep an eye on

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Stock recommendations by Tradebulls Securities: Buy NIIT Tech, sell UPL

Nifty outlook and two stock calls by Sacchitanand Uttekar, DVP - Technical (Equity) of Tradebulls Securities

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Startups will never be harassed, govt taking steps to promote them, says Piyush Goyal

New Delhi: Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Wednesday assured that startups will never be harassed and that the government is taking steps to promote them.

"I assure you that startups will never be harassed. They have to do the limited activity of registering themselves so that good law is not misused by a few people," he said here at a function.

The minister said the government has come out with clarifications that startups would not be asked any questions if they are registered with and recognised by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT).

File image of Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal. PTI

"Few investments which are genuine investments in startups possibly got notice probably seeking some information. I think there is no harm in giving that information," Goyal said.

According to him, there is no such thing called "angel tax".

He said the issue of angel tax came up at first place, "because we have thousands and lakhs of shell companies which the Narendra Modi government de-recognised and on which we are taking action, where hawala operators used to create fake equity capital by issuing shares at a huge premium with no business activity at all and using that for money laundering".

Earlier, several startups made representations to the government about receiving notices from the Income Tax Department. They had claimed it was getting difficult for them to operate when the taxman was breathing down their neck.

The government launched the 'Startup India' initiative on 16 January 2016, to build a strong ecosystem for nurturing innovation and entrepreneurship. It also provided them with certain tax benefits and other incentives.

As many as 24,250 startups have been recognised by the department and they are eligible for different tax incentives.

Goyal also released the High-Level Advisory Group (HLAG) report on promoting exports and investments at a function organised by industry body CII.

He assured that India would always protect its strategic and economic interests while engaging in multilateral talks.

He urged people to talk, argue and understand issues and not indulge in creating fear psychosis as the government would never sign on any trade agreement without consultations.

The HLAG report has suggested several steps to boost the country's goods and services exports. It has made specific recommendations for sectors such as pharma, electronics and textiles.

For electronics, it has suggested shifting from a tariff-based policy to an incentive-based policy for manufacturing, incentives based on certain specified criteria such as technology, manufacturing capacity, and employment generation.

Tax holiday for a considerable period, under Indian tax laws, to incentivise investment by domestic as well as foreign enterprises in high-end electronics has also been suggested.

Other recommendations include the creation of a single ministry for the regulation of medical devices —right from import and manufacture, up until pricing and sale of the products — for easing the compliance burden for both domestic as well as foreign manufacturers.

Besides, the report has called for the creation of a pan-India Tourism Board, according to infrastructure status to tourism and amend tax rates.

It has also recommended issuance of 'Elephant Bonds' wherein people declaring undisclosed income would have to mandatorily invest specified amount in these securities.

"The government may introduce a one-time disclosure scheme for declaring undisclosed foreign income and assets and pay tax on such undisclosed income/ asset at the rate of 15 percent.

"The scheme should also provide for locking 40 percent of the funds in Elephant Bonds...for a period of 20-30 years," the report said.

As per the report, the tariff regime needs to be simplified, rationalised and made more predictable.

"Reduce the number of basic customs duty rates for industrial products. This should be done in a phased manner, mostly over five years. After the five-year transition period, tariff rates could be 0, 5, 10, 15, 20 or 30 percent," it added.

In certain very limited number of cases, particularly new technology products, basic customs duties may need to be increased to provide domestic industry with time to become competitive, the report said.

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Nifty view and trading ideas by CapitalVia: Buy Asian Paints, Berger Paints

Technical Calls by Gaurav Garg, Head of Research at CapitalVia Global Research Limited- Investment Advisor

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Top 10 biz headlines: Reliance Jio slams peers, Diwali sales, and more

Diwali has brought much-needed sparkle to companies and retailers in an otherwise weak festival season

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MARKET LIVE: Trends on SGX Nifty suggest a positive start for Sensex, Nifty

Catch all the live updates of the stock markets here

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Here's what leading brokerages expect from YES Bank's Q2 results

"Slippages to remain elevated including McLeod Russel, ADA-NBFC group and Cox & Kings. The bank will take mark-to-market (MTM) on DHFL bonds," said analysts at Emkay Global Financial Services

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Best of BS Opinion: BSNL-MTNL merger, Delhi's pollution menace, and more

Here's a selection of Business Standard opinion pieces for the day

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Coca-Cola set to sell some bottling units to partners

The combined value of the deals in the first phase of the selloff is estimated at Rs 1,500-2,000 crore, one of the officials said. HCCB has 18 plants and accounts for two-thirds of Coca-Cola India’s volumes.

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On path to making profit this year: FreshMenu

FreshMenu founder Rashmi Daga said the company had also managed to rationalise shipping costs, which had been one of the major spends for the startup.

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Stocks to watch: HDFC Life, Petronet LNG, Concor, BEML, NTPC, PVR, telcos

Here's a look at the top stocks that may remain in focus today.

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Bharti Airtel's Q2 mobile services revenue up 7% to Rs 10,981 cr y-o-y; ARPU slips in September quarter

New Delhi: Telecom operator Bharti Airtel's revenue from India mobile services rose 7 percent year-on-year during the September 2019 quarter to Rs 10,981.4 crore, as the subscriber base stood at 279.4 million, according to a regulatory filing by the company.

Its customer base for India mobile services represented a 15 percent fall over the year-ago period, but seen on a sequential basis, it was 0.9 percent higher than June quarter.

The average revenue per user (ARPU) for mobile services—a key metrics for telecom companies—slipped marginally to Rs 128 against Rs 129 in the previous sequential quarter.

The company released its operating highlights for the three months ended September 2019 in a regulatory filing to the BSE, but postponed the release of its Q2 earnings to 14 November citing the uncertainty that has arisen in the sector, in the wake of the recent SC ruling on definition of telecom revenue.

Representational image. Reuters.

In fact, Bharti Airtel Chairman Sunil Mittal and his brother Rajan Mittal had on Monday met Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and Telecom Secretary Anshu Prakash in the aftermath of the 24 October Supreme Court order that accepted the government's way of calculating revenues of the companies, based on which statutory dues to exchequer are calculated.

According to the DoT's calculations, Bharti Airtel faces a liability of around Rs 42,000 crore after including licence fees and spectrum usage charges, while Vodafone-Idea may have to pay about Rs 40,000 crore.

The telcos are pitching for a waiver of interest and penalties on the unpaid amount, as well as staggering payment of principal licence fee over 10 years, sources said.

Meanwhile, the government has constituted a Committee of Secretaries to work out a financial bailout package that may include lowering of spectrum charges as well as ending the era of free mobile phone calls and dirt cheap data.

The Committee of Secretaries, headed by Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba, has been asked to examine "all aspects" of "financial stress" faced by service providers such as Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea Ltd and suggest measures to mitigate them, sources in the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) said.

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Delhi chokes as pollution levels remain 'severe' for second straight day

On Wednesday morning, Delhi air quality index was 422 -- a little worse than Tuesday's AQI of 414 at 8 pm, according to the Central Pollution Control Board

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Struggling India needs more trade; RCEP may just be the right card to play

Modi has long sought to portray himself as both a reformer and a global statesman. A bold decision would not only shore up his reputation , it would point India in the direction of recovery

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Struggling India needs more trade; RCEP may just be the right card to play

Modi has long sought to portray himself as both a reformer and a global statesman. A bold decision would not only shore up his reputation , it would point India in the direction of recovery

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Democrats unveil Trump impeachment procedure; White House labels it 'sham'

Following in the footsteps of previous impeachment inquiries, the next phase will move from closed depositions to open hearings where the people will learn firsthand about the president's "misconduct"

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Market Ahead, October 30: All you need to know before the Opening Bell

Today, a total of 61 companies, including Concor, Tata Global Beverages, and Tata Chemical, are scheduled to announce their September quarter results

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Technical calls from Religare Broking: Buy Dabur, HDFC, Hero Motocorp

Weekly Technical Recommendations by Religare Broking Ltd.

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UK MPs back Boris Johnson's December 12 election plan by a mammoth majority

The development marks a win for British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's bid for a pre-Christmas poll to try and win a public mandate in favour of his Brexit plan.

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Economy may be struggling but Narendra Modi's right turn project is not

India's global reach hinges on its ability to drive the global economy over the next decade

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Top 10 biz headlines: Saudi investment, telecom sector crisis, and more

Govt has set up a CoS to suggest measures to mitigate financial stress in the telecom sector

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Economy may be struggling but Narendra Modi's right turn project is not

India's global reach hinges on its ability to drive the global economy over the next decade

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Air India pilot bodies seek meeting with civil aviation minister Hardeep Singh Puri on privatisation; govt to call bids for sale next month

Mumbai: Flag carrier Air India's pilot bodies—IPG and ICPA—on Tuesday sought an appointment with civil aviation minister Hardeep Singh Puri for clarity on the proposed disinvestment amid the government preparing to exit from the airline business.

The government for long has been trying to sell debt-ridden airline but could not attract bidders. It has now again decided to call bids for sale next month.

The pilot bodies, in communication to Puri, said that the airline management appraised it of the status of disinvestment during a recent meeting but it did not provide any clarity on pending issues or provide any roadmap with regards to the future of employees as a result of this disinvestment process.

Earlier this month, as many as 13 Air India unions including its pilots unions, Indian Pilots Guild (IPG) and Indian Commercial Pilots Association (ICPA), had discussions with the airline top management on the issue of privatisation.

"We, the Air India employees have a big stake in the success and prosperity of our airline. We request you to kindly grant us an urgent appointment for a meeting at your convenience so that we can have clarity on the mechanics of the disinvestment process and communicate employees issues/concerns as well as the ground reality to you directly," the pilot bodies said in a joint letter to the aviation minister.

Air India Express. Image courtesy: Air India website

"We would like to bring to your kind attention that in 2007 when the merger of AI and IA was being processed, we had raised various issues regarding employee status and service conditions in the merged entity," it said.

At the meeting, it was "categorically" emphasised that the interest of the employees of both erstwhile Indian Airlines and Air India was of paramount importance and as such while drafting the Scheme due care has been taken to protect the same, the letter said.

Despite the merger of the two carriers about 12 years failing to achieve the projected synergy, the employees have been working tirelessly to make the merger a success and to improve the condition of the airline which has deteriorated due to "mismanagement" and "legacy issues", the letter said.

"We were made tall promises at the time of merger which have all fallen flat and have grave apprehensions regarding the future of our airline as well as our own livelihood post disinvestment," it added.

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Boeing Manager tried to halt 737 Max production over safety before crashes

At least one whistle-blower also told the committee that the company sacrificed safety for cost savings

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Bond vigilantes worry too much: Veteran banker shrugs off fiscal concerns

Gautam, a banker for nearly thirty-five years, is counting on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's administration's past fiscal-track record

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Bond vigilantes worry too much: Veteran banker shrugs off fiscal concerns

Gautam, a banker for nearly thirty-five years, is counting on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's administration's past fiscal-track record

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MARKET LIVE: Trends on SGX Nifty suggest a positive start for Sensex, Nifty

Catch all the live updates of the stock markets here.

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WhatsApp sues Israeli firm NSO for spying on journalists, activists

The lawsuit said the software developed by NSO known as Pegasus was designed to be remotely installed to hijack devices using the Android, iOS, and BlackBerry operating systems.

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India, Saudi Arabia ink several pacts as Narendra Modi meets top leaders; set up Strategic Partnership Council

Riyadh: India and Saudi Arabia on Tuesday inked over a dozen agreements in several key sectors including oil and gas, defence and civil aviation to bolster their ties as Prime Minister Narendra Modi held extensive talks with the Kingdom's top leadership during which a Strategic Partnership Council was established to coordinate on important issues.

Modi, who is on a two-day visit to the Gulf Kingdom to attend the Future Investment Initiative here, held talks with Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz and powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

After the delegation-level talks, the two sides signed an agreement to establish the India-Saudi Arabia Strategic Partnership Council to coordinate decisions regarding strategically important issues.

The council will be headed by Prime Minister Modi and Crown Prince Mohammed and meet every two years.

The two sides condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and agreed to step up bilateral security cooperation.

Saudi Arabia, known to be a key ally of Pakistan, has been siding with India in its campaign to rid the region of terrorism and pledged to extend all cooperation to effectively deal with the challenge.

"The two sides stressed that extremism and terrorism threaten all nations and societies. They rejected any attempt to link this universal phenomenon to any particular race, religion or culture," said a joint statement issued at the end of Modi's visit.

It said that both sides expressed their rejection of all terrorist acts and stressed the need to prevent access to weapons including missiles and drones to commit terrorist acts against other countries.

Saudi Arabia's crown prince Mohammed bin Salman and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Reuters

The two sides reaffirmed their deep commitment to strengthening the strategic partnership envisaged in the 'Riyadh Declaration' of March 2010, it said.

They agreed on the importance of bilateral engagement to promote ways to ensure the security and safety of waterways in the Indian Ocean region and the Gulf region from the threat and dangers that may affect the interests of the two countries including their national security, the statement said.

Briefing the media following the meeting and luncheon hosted by King Salman for Prime Minister Modi, Economic Relations Secretary T S Tirumurti said that the two leaders also discussed cooperation in agriculture, oil and gas, maritime security, innovative technology, renewable energy, trade and investment.

An agreement was signed on bringing coordination between e-migration systems of the two countries. An MoU was also signed to roll out RuPay card in the Kingdom—making Saudi Arabia the third country in the Persian Gulf after the UAE and Bahrain to introduce India's digital payment system.

The two sides also vowed to further enhance defence industries collaboration and security cooperation. The first naval exercise between the two nations will take place by end of this year or early next year.

They decided to move ahead on the ambitious west coast refinery project in Maharastra's Raigarh which will involve investments from Saudi oil giant Aramco, UAE's Abu Dhabi National Oil Company and Indian public sector oil firms.

An MoU for a joint venture between Indian Oil Middle East and Saudi company Al Jeri for downstream cooperation and setting up of fuel retail business in the Gulf country was also signed.

An MoU between Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Limited (ISPRL) and Saudi Aramco was also signed.

India, the world's third-largest oil consumer, imports 83 per cent of its oil needs. Saudi Arabia is its second-biggest supplier after Iraq. It sold 40.33 million tonnes of crude oil to India in 2018-19 fiscal, when the country had imported 207.3 million tonnes of oil.

India buys some 200,000 tonnes of LPG every month from Saudi Arabia.

A series of drone and missile attacks on oil facilities of Saudi Aramco in Abqaiq and Khurais on September 14, jacking up oil prices.

Notwithstanding the attacks, Saudi Arabia assured India that it was committed to meet the country's energy security needs.

Modi thanked King Salman for the continued supply of the petroleum products to India despite the attack, Tirumurti said. King Salman also congratulated Modi on his party's election win.

The two sides inked an MoU for cooperation in the area of renewable energy. They also signed agreements to increase the number of flights between the two countries to facilitate people-to-people contacts, medicine products regulation and prevention of trafficking of narcotics among others.

"The two sides noted the continued positive economic transformation in both countries and stressed the importance of expanding the trade and investment ties in order to advance the strategic cooperation," the joint statement said.

India's relations with Saudi Arabia have been on an upswing over the last few years based on burgeoning energy ties. India's bilateral trade with Saudi Arabia was at USD 27.48 billion in 2017-18, making Saudi Arabia its fourth-largest trading partner. This is Prime Minister Modi's second visit to the country.

Saudi Arabia last month said that it was looking at investing $100 billion in India in areas like energy, refining, petrochemicals and infrastructure.

They discussed regional and global issues of mutual interest and reiterated their categorical rejection of all forms of interference in the internal affairs of countries, and the need for the international community to fulfil its responsibilities towards preventing any attacks on the sovereignty of states, the joint statement said.

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Best of BS Opinion: A Brexit nervous breakdown, PM's Diwali gift, and more

Here's a selection of Business Standard opinion pieces for the day

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Venture capital firm Jungle Ventures raises $240 million for third fund

Jungle is scouting for companies in India which have an opportunity to scale their business into Southeast Asia and globally

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Meet the 22-year-olds who are building earth imaging satellites for farmers

Images from their firm Pixxel's satellites track changes in farms and help improve productivity; these solutions are also useful in detecting crop diseases and pest infestation

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Steelmakers face debt challenges amid falling prices, slowing consumption

Domestic steel consumption in September was at its lowest since the start of the fiscal year 2019/20, according to official data

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Marico declines 7% as consumption slowdown hits domestic biz in Q2

"The company had a soft second quarter in the face of a challenging liquidity and consumption environment in the domestic market, the management said

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BJP to raise NRC pitch after data reveals W Bengal has Bangladeshi convicts

According to the NCRB data of 2017, West Bengal has the highest number of foreign prisoners among all the states.

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Sensex jumps over 100 points in early trade led by gains in Tata Motors, RIL, TCS; Bharti Airtel, IndiGo among major losers

The BSE Sensex jumped over 100 points in early trade on Tuesday led by gains in Tata Motors, RIL and TCS, amid foreign fund inflow.

At 9.15 a.m., the S&P BSE Sensex traded at 39,281.43 points, higher by 31.23 points or 0.08 percent from the previous close of 39,250.20 points.

It had opened at 39,293.49 points and has so far touched an intra-day high of 39,331.54 and a low of 39,274.70 points.

After hitting a high of 39,393.12, the 30-share index was trading 106.37 points, or 0.27 percent, higher at 39,356.57 in morning trade, and the broader NSE Nifty advanced 16.75 points, or 0.14 percent, to 11,643.90.

Tata Motors was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rallying over 13 percent, after its British arm Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) returned to profitability, reporting a pre-tax profit of 156 million pounds, 246 million pounds better year-on-year.

Index losers this morning pic.twitter.com/B07zOMxz9h

— CNBC-TV18 (@CNBCTV18Live) October 29, 2019

Shares of Reliance Industries (RIL) too rose over 1 percent after the company on Friday said it will set up a new subsidiary to bring all its digital initiatives and apps under a single entity, and infuse Rs 1.08 lakh crore equity into this new unit.

Tata Steel, M&M, Vedanta, TCS and Maruti too advanced up to 3 percent.

On the other hand, Bharti Airtel, Yes Bank, Kotak Bank, HUL, NTPC, Asian Paints, PowerGrid and SBI fell up to 4 percent.

In the previous session on Sunday, which was a special Muhurat trading session to mark the beginning of Hindu Samvat year 2076, the 30-share Sensex ended at 39,250.20, up 192.14 points, or 0.49 percent.

Representative image. Reuters.

In domestic markets, the Nifty Auto index rose over 3 percent with Jaguar Land Rover owner Tata Motors jumping over 16% to its highest in over three months, after reporting a narrower quarterly loss on Friday.

Similarly, the Nifty climbed 43.25 points, or 0.37 percent, to finish at 11,627.15.

The Nifty IT index inched up over half a percent with shares of IT services firm Tata Consultancy Services Ltd adding 1.57%.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net buyers in the capital market, buying Rs 6.61 crore on Sunday, while domestic institutional investors purchased shares worth Rs 54.39 crore, data available with stock exchange showed.

Among the losers, shares of InterGlobe Aviation Ltd, parent of the country’s largest airline IndiGo, fell as much as 5.19 percent, after the DGCA, the air safety watchdog on Monday asked the airline for more checks on planes with Pratt and Whitney engines. Adding to the firm’s woes, the airline posted its biggest-ever quarterly loss on Friday.

Bourses were closed on Monday on account of Diwali Balipratipada.

According to experts, investors will stay focused on the next leg of corporate earnings announcements during this holiday-truncated week.

The US Federal Reserve is expected to keep its interest rates steady on Wednesday. Volatility may prevail for short term with the overall market volumes showing a decreasing trend as further cues on Brexit and trade war will remain in focus, they added.

Rupee up 18 paise

The rupee on Tuesday appreciated by 18 paise to 70.72 against the US dollar in morning trade, as gains in domestic equity market and easing crude prices strengthened investor sentiments.

However, strengthening of the greenback vis-a-vis other currencies overseas capped gains for the rupee, forex dealers said.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened strong at 70.75, showing a gain of 15 paise over its previous closing.

On Friday, the rupee had appreciated by 12 paise to settle at 70.90 against the US dollar.

Forex market remained closed on Monday on account of Diwali Balipratipada.

A higher opening in the domestic equities supported the local unit.

Brent futures, the global oil benchmark, slipped 0.70 percent to USD 61.14 per barrel.

Asian shares up

Asian shares rose to a three-month peak on Tuesday after Wall Street hit all-time highs amid hopes of progress in Sino-U.S. trade talks and for another dose of policy stimulus from the Federal Reserve this week.

Japan's Nikkei led the way with a rise of 0.5 percent to reach ground last trod a full year ago, while Shanghai blue chips dithered either side of flat.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan crept up 0.2 percent to its highest since late July.

E-Mini futures for the S&P 500 ESc1 extended their gains by 0.1 percent and 50 futures STXEc1 held steady.

US President Donald Trump said on Monday he expected to sign a significant part of the trade deal with China ahead of schedule but did not elaborate on the timing, Reuters said.

The US trade representative also said they were studying whether to extend tariff suspensions on $34 billion of Chinese goods set to expire on 28 December this year.

“The market appears to be interpreting the improvement in trade talks as a positive sign that the US will suspend its planned tariffs on $160 billion of Chinese imports due to take place in December,” said Rodrigo Catril, a senior FX strategist at National Australia Bank.

“This is a big assumption as talks could easily fail again if both parties don’t find a compromise.”

On Wall Street, the S&P SPX gained 0.56 percent to score a record closing peak, while the Dow rose 0.49 percent and the Nasdaq 1.01 percent.

Microsoft Corp climbed 2.46 percent after winning the Pentagon’s $10 billion cloud computing contract, beating out Amazon.com Inc.

Google parent Alphabet Inc slipped in late NY trade after missing analysts’ estimates for quarterly profit even though revenue growth topped expectations.

-- With inputs from agencies

Disclaimer: Reliance Industries Ltd. is the sole beneficiary of Independent Media Trust which controls Network18 Media & Investments Ltd which publishes Firstpost

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Tata Motors extends rally on encouraging Q2 results, jumps 34% in 2 days

Net loss at the consolidated entity narrowed to Rs 216.6 crore in the three months to September, from Rs 1,048.8 crore in the same period a year before.

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MahaRERA allows home-owners of DSK Group to complete stressed project in Pune; directs freezing of promoter's bank account for project

Mumbai: In a first, Maharashtra's realty regulator has allowed homebuyers in a project of the stressed company DSK Group to complete a stuck project in Pune.

Over 90 percent of the project, christened 'Sadaphuli' in Talegaon is completed in six years since it was launched, while the rest will now be completed by buyers who have booked apartments, DSK's financier Tata Capital Housing Finance and a two-member panel appointed by the realty watchdog, Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority (MahaRERA).

DSK has been mired in a series of allegations of impropriety for the last few years, leading to stress in its ongoing projects. Usually, realtors transfer their rights to peers in case of stress, but DSK's difficulties had put question marks over the future for 161 home buyers.

MahaRERA on 22 October ordered the resolution under sections 7 and 8 of the state's RERA Act and revoked the registration of the project. While doing so, it allowed homebuyers or the association of allottees (AOA) to execute the remaining construction and register the sale agreements for the project.

Representative image. PTI

The Authority has also directed Tata Capital Housing Finance, an investor in the project and MahaRera designated resolution panel comprising developer Niranjan Hiranandani and consumer rights activist Shirish Deshpande, to assist the AOA to complete the project.

The AOA, Tata and the two-member panel has been asked to formulate a blueprint for completion of the project to be submitted by February next year. The project consists of 279 apartments to be constructed over two phases, and 161 apartments have already been sold.

The first phase, which includes two towers has a total of 184 apartments out of which 100 are already sold or booked. In the second phase, which has 95 apartments, as many as 61 are sold or booked.

Meanwhile, MahaRERA has directed to freeze the bank accounts opened by the promoters of the company in Bank of Maharashtra's Pune branch for the project until further notice.

It has also suggested filing a caveat application by the AOA and Tata Capital Housing with the NCLT, Mumbai Bench, to ensure that they are heard and the NCLT is apprised of the efforts of the authority in case of a possibility of an operational creditor, if any, initiating insolvency proceedings against the DSK Group.

DSK Group chairman DS Kulkarni and his wife are currently lodged in Yerawada jail in Pune for allegedly cheating nearly 33,000 depositors and investors of nearly Rs 2,043.18 crore.

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Bharti Airtel slips 4% as it defers September quarter results on AGR matter

Last week, in a major blow to the incumbent telecom players, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone-Idea, the Supreme Court ruled that the existing definition of AGR will prevail.

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Bharti Airtel defers Q2 results till Nov 14 over ambiguity on AGR verdict

Shares of the company, which was expected to release its quarterly numbers later in the day, dropped 3.3 per cent in early trade

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Sunil Bharti Mittal knocks on govt doors to tackle statutory dues not fully provisioned for; telecom operators look for waiver of penalties, interest

New Delhi: Telecom tycoon Sunil Bharti Mittal on Monday came knocking at the doors of top government officials including Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, over billions of dollars in statutory dues like spectrum and licence fee liability that his and other telcos had not fully provisioned in their accounts.

Sources said Mittal first met Prasad and then Telecom Secretary Anshu Prakash, apparently over the liability that arises from the Supreme Court upholding government's view on how revenues should be calculated for sharing of statutory dues.

Kumar Mangalam Birla, head of Vodafone-Idea Ltd that also has been severely hit by the apex court ruling, was expected to come for a meeting but has now sought a different time, they said.

Delivering its verdict, the Supreme Court had on 24 October upheld government contention that non-core revenue in telecoms groups should be included in adjusted gross revenue -- the figure on which statutory levies are charged.

Sources said the telecom operators are looking at the government for a possible relief such as waiver of penalties and interest though the Supreme Court had categorically stated that companies must pay many years worth of charges plus interest and penalties.

Ideally, companies are required to make provisions in their books for any potential liability that may arise from a legal dispute.

Sunil Bharti Mittal. File photo. Reuters

While emails sent to Bharti Airtel and Vodafone-Idea on the impact of the Supreme Court judgment and provisioning remained went unanswered, industry sources said provisioning for the full amount was not made. The companies also did not respond to a separate email on meeting with the Government.

Also, there is no sight of promoters willing to infuse more equity into the companies to clear the liabilities.

According to the DoT's calculations, Bharti Airtel faces a liability of around Rs 42,000 crore after including licence fees and spectrum usage charges while Vodafone-Idea may have to pay about Rs 40,000 crore.

Initially, Telecom Service provider (TSPs) had to pay a fixed license fee.

The Government in 1999 offered a new package, known as 'Migration Package', giving an option to the licensees to migrate from fixed license fee to revenue sharing fee with a principle of 'Pay as you Earn'. This was accepted by the operators unconditionally.

License fee and interest till the date of migration i.e. 31 July 1999, was paid by them and no dues were waived off.

The 'revenue sharing' regime was so designed that the Central Government becomes a partner or sharer of 'gross revenue of the company'. An annual license fee is payable as a percentage of Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR). The license fee initially was 15 percent of the AGR and progressively reduced to 8 percent in 2013 and many saw it as an extremely beneficial regime for telcos.

However, AGR calculations became a point of dispute with some in the government feeling that funds due to the exchequer were being diverted to create new businesses within and outside the country.

The Supreme Court had in an order way back in 2010 ruled that "it was not open to a TSP to turn around and agitate any dispute after availing of the migration package". And then again in October 2011, it held that "TDSAT has no jurisdiction to exclude certain items of revenue, which were included in the definition of AGR." But the TSPs neither paid the government nor created any provisions in their books of accounts for past and future payment of license fee (LC) and spectrum usage charge (SUC) on the basis of law laid down by the Supreme Court, sources said.

Non-disclosure of known contingent liability and outstanding dues pertaining to LF and SUC in the statement of accounts and balance sheet is an economic offense under the Companies Act.

Supreme Court in the judgment last week said that "No litigant can be permitted to reap fruits on such inconsistent and litigate for decades in several rounds which is not so uncommon but is disturbing scenario projected in many cases. We have examined the matter upon merits and then the aforementioned conclusions indicate the frivolous nature of objections."

After the judgment, the telcos have stated that they don't have money to pay the government.

Government officials, however, feel both companies have enough capacity and capability to raise funds through means such as equity from promoters and monetizing some of their assets. Any waiver of dues would be at the cost of taxpayers and public exchequer money and open to review by government auditor, CAG, they added.

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Johnson to push for early election after EU approves Brexit delay

MPs defeated a third attempt by Boris Johnson to call a snap poll, with the Conservative leader immediately announcing an alternative plan

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Hong Kong likely to record negative economic growth in 2019: Carrie Lam

Lam was speaking two days after Financial Secretary Paul Chan said Hong Kong has fallen into recession and was unlikely to achieve any growth this year.

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Market Ahead, October 29: All you need to know before the Opening Bell

About 18 companies are scheduled to announce their Q2FY20 results today.

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Flipkart incurs higher loss of Rs 3,836 cr during FY18-19 against Rs 2,063 cr previous year; revenue from operations up

New Delhi: Flipkart India, the B2B arm of Walmart-owned Flipkart, has registered a higher loss of Rs 3,836.8 crore during 2018-19 as compared to the previous financial year, according to regulatory documents.

The unit had posted a loss of Rs 2,063.8 crore for the financial year ended March 31, 2018, documents filed by Flipkart India to the corporate affairs ministry showed.

"...company incurred a net loss of Rs 38,368 million during the financial year under review as against the net loss of Rs 20,638 million in the previous financial year. There has been an increase in the net loss by 85.91 percent," the documents sourced by Paper.vc said.

Flipkart India's revenue from operations, however, saw a 42.82 percent jump to Rs 30,931 crore in 2018-19 from Rs 21,657.7 crore in the previous financial year, it added.

The logo of India's largest online marketplace Flipkart is seen on a building in Bengaluru. Reuters

Flipkart, which is locked in a battle against rival Amazon, has its holding company registered in Singapore.

It operates different entities for various functions and provides e-commerce services through Flipkart Internet.

According to reports, Flipkart Internet has seen a 40 percent increase in losses to Rs 1,624 crore for the year ending 31 March 2019. The unit saw operating revenues expand by 51 percent to Rs 4,234 crore in 2018-19 as against the previous fiscal.

Flipkart India Pvt Ltd is engaged in business of wholesale distribution of mobile, television, laptop, tablet, mobile accessory, footwear, clothing, etc, on business-to-business (B2B) basis.

In August last year, US-based retail giant Walmart Inc had acquired controlling stake in Flipkart's holding company.

Under the deal, Walmart had picked up about 77 percent stake for about $16 billion, giving handsome returns to investors like SoftBank that had sold their shares.

This is a significant positive development for the company and companies in the Flipkart Group, the document noted.

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Jewellery, apparel sales take massive hit in run-up to Diwali amid economic slowdown: Report

Mumbai: Festive shopping for jewellery and apparels has seen a massive hit in the run-up to the Diwali festivities, a report said on Monday.

The average value of card transactions in the two affected segments dipped in the days leading to Diwali, according to the data released by transaction processing company, Worldline.

The release of the data comes at a time when policymakers have been struggling to push up consumption to drive growth in the economy, where GDP growth has slowed down to a six-year low.

Representational image. Reuters.

The average ticket size observed in jewellery retail dipped by 66 percent to Rs 3,625 for Dhanteras and Diwali, while the same for apparel stores dipped 28 percent to Rs 1,746, the company said.

It said there was a three times increase in the number of transactions for jewellery retail segment in 2019, but the value transacted remained the same, resulting in the drop-in average ticket sizes.

The drop in the average ticket sizes has happened even as there has been a 20 percent rise in precious commodity prices over the last year, it pointed out.

"Dip in average ticket size could likely be due to a positive change in consumer behaviour of using cards to pay for smaller value items and is an indication of higher uptake of digital payments," it said.

Groceries and restaurants are the standout categories of segments that witnessed an increase in average spends of 11 percent and 32 percent, respectively, in 2019 festivities, the company said.

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Nifty outlook and top trading ideas by CapitalVia: Buy TCS, HCL Tech

Technical Calls by Gaurav Garg, Head of Research at CapitalVia Global Research Limited- Investment Advisor

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Supreme Court order to recover Rs 92,641 cr in AGR massive blow for Airtel, Vodafone: Kotak

The Supreme Court verdict allowing the Centre to recover Rs 92,641 crore in total adjusted gross revenue (AGR) from telecom operators in India is a massive blow to Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea Ltd, Kotak Securities has said.

In a blow to telecom service providers, the Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the Department of Telecom’s (DoT) move to recover adjusted gross revenue (AGR) of about Rs 92,000 crore from them.

It said that post-the adverse SC order in the long-standing AGR case, Airtel and the combined entity of Vodafone Idea are liable to pay Rs 21,700 crore and Rs 28,300 crore, respectively. These liabilities pertain only to the underpaid licence fee and associated penalty and interest, according to an IANS report.

Related demand on underpaid spectrum usage charges is also quite likely, which could be 60-70 percent of the licence fee related demand, the brokerage house said in a report.

Representative image. Reuters

Stating that the judgment has far-reaching implications, it said aggregate demand from 15 operators (10 of whom have exited the industry) stood at a hefty 92,641 crore.

"The amounts are material for both Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea and places the latter specifically in a very tricky spot, given the massive stress it is already under," the report said.

Both Airtel and Vodafone Idea, in their respective press releases post-the SC judgment, have appealed to the government to review the impact of the verdict on the industry and find ways to mitigate the financial burden on the sector.

"We wouldn't be too hopeful of a material relief. Vodafone Idea has also indicated that it could look at filing a review application if there are any technical or procedural grounds to do so. Our understanding, on the basis of discussions with legal experts, is that the case for a review application to be accepted is quite weak," the report said.

Assuming that no relief comes through, the outstanding liability of 28,300 crore (and another potential large demand for past SUC underpayment) would make the already-stressed situation even tougher for Vodafone Idea.

"The company may need to resort to another round of large equity raise to fund these payouts. However, this may not be easy, given that the amounts we are talking about are a multiple of the company's current market capitalisation. Bharti's balance sheet is relatively better and while the payouts will increase the leverage ratios, we believe the situation is far more manageable for Bharti," the report said.

On 24 October, the Supreme Court ruled in favour of the Department of Telecommunications (DOT) in a long-standing dispute on the definition of adjusted gross revenue (AGR).

Operators pay licence fee and spectrum usage charges (SUC) on AGR and the dispute pertained to inclusion/exclusion of receipts from non-licensed activities (items like treasury income, dividend, capital gains, scrap sales, forex income, etc.) and certain other items (bad debt recovery, trade/consumer discounts, rental income on infra sharing).

The SC ruled that the DOT's claims on the definition of AGR as well as applicability of interest, penalty and interest on penalty are both valid and that the operators are liable to pay 100 percent of the demand that DoT has raised.

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Top 10 biz headlines: Infosys whistleblower case, IBC resolutions, and more

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Trump impeachment: House of Representatives to vote on inquiry procedures

The Trump administration reacted sharply to the move, accusing the Democrats of conducting an "unauthorized impeachment proceeding".

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Facebook employees write to Mark Zuckerberg opposing political ads policy

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MARKET LIVE: Sept quarter results, US-China trade deal key factors today

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Top events of the day: PM Modi's Saudi visit, Airtel Q2 results and more

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Best of BS Opinion: Real wage rate falls, consumption blues, and more

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Unemployment, sluggish growth fuelling unrest in Arab states: IMF

The IMF slashed its outlook for the region's three largest economies -- Saudi Arabia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates

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Redmi 8 review: A performer for its price, if you don't mind the processor

For a starting price of Rs 7,999, Xiaomi has done good work on the phone's features, but a trade-off has been made in downgrade of the processor which might deter some users

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Baghdadi's death gives Trump a timely win but unlikely to slow impeachment

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Nearly 70 senior bankers in race to head debt-ridden Laxmi Vilas Bank

The Chennai-headquartered mid-sized private sector bank has been headless since mid-September after the then chief executive Parathasarathy Mukherjee left before the completion of his three-year term

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Oppo Reno2 Z review: Impressive design, cameras and display, but expensive

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Fadnavis, Raote to meet governor even as power-sharing battle continues

A close aide of Fadnavis also told PTI that the chief minister will be meeting the governor to wish him for the Diwali festival

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Nokia 7.2 review: HMD Global's most comprehensive midrange smartphone

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After muhurat trading, BSE, NSE, forex markets shut for trading today for Diwali Balipratipada

The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) are closed for trading today (28 October), on account of Diwali Balipratipada.

Wholesale commodity markets, including metal and bullion, will also be closed. There will be no trading activity on forex and commodity futures markets as well.

On 27 October, in the special trading session known as Muhurat trading, the benchmark indices started the Samvat 2017 on a stronger note with Nifty ended above 11,600.

After opening 200 points high, the benchmark BSE Sensex was 192.14 points or 0.49 percent higher to end at 39,250.20 at the close of the special muhurat trading session on Sunday on the Bombay Stock Exchange today. The Nifty50 was trading 43.25 points or 0.37 percent higher at 11,627.15.

The special muhurat trading session marks the beginning of Hindu Samvat year 2076.

Representational image. Reuters

The 30-share index, after opening on a firm footing at 39,397.37, inched up to 39,402.23 as investors accumulated select auto, IT and bank stocks.

It pared some gains on profit-booking and finally ended at 39,250.20, up 192.14 points, or 0.49 percent.

On similar lines, the broader NSE Nifty climbed 43.25 points, or 0.37 percent, to finish at 11,627.15.

The top-Nifty50 gainer was Tata Motors, which was up 16 percent.

In the last Muhurat trading session, conducted on 7 November, 2018, the Sensex index climbed 0.7 percent to end at 35,237.68 and the broader NSE Nifty benchmark rose 0.65 percent to shut shop at 10,598.

In the Sensex kitty, prominent gainers were Tata Motors, Yes Bank, M&M, Vedanta, Infosys and Tech Mahindra, spurting up to 16.54 percent, according to a PTI report.

During the special muhurat session on Sunday, Bharti Infratel remained the top loser, trading 3 percent down.

Brokers said buying activity gathered momentum as investors opened their new books on the first session of Samvat 2076.

Barring telecom and consumer durables, all BSE sectoral indices finished in the green, led by industrials, auto, basic materials and capital goods.

A similar trend was seen in the broader markets as well, with investors snapping up stocks available at attractive levels. The BSE small-cap index jumped 1.20 percent and the mid-cap gauge gained 0.69 percent.

Domestic markets conduct a special Muhurat trading session on Diwali every year to mark the beginning of the traditional Hindu calendar year, called 'Vikram Samvat'.

In the previous Samvat 2075, the BSE Sensex gained 4,066.15 points or 11.62 percent, while the Nifty soared 1,053.90 points or 10 percent.

Meanwhile, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) net sold shares worth Rs 435.42 crore on Friday, while domestic institutional investors bought to the tune of Rs 440.16 crore, as per provisional data.

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Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi: How a preacher became the 'caliph' of terror

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Delhi air quality post-Diwali: Better than last 3 yrs, but still very poor

Delhi sprung a surprise with air quality sensors recording only a marginal increase in pollution levels even though people continued bursting crackers until late on Sunday night

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Five-months of relentless anti-govt protests push Hong Kong into recession

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E-cigarette traders write to state govt chief ministers seeking help against ban

Kolkata: An association of e-cigarette traders, in the wake of the recent nationwide ban on electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) by the Centre, has sought the intervention of state governments into the matter.

The Trade Representatives of Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (TRENDS) has written to all chief ministers, and are hopeful of receiving replies from at least the non-BJP ruled states, an official of the association said.

The traders have urged the states to conduct independent studies, evaluate the effects of e-cigarettes and arrive at a "rational" decision.

"Health is a state matter. The state health departments should seek the Centre's nod for conducting a study and taking independent decision on the use of e- cigarettes. We have written to the chief ministers in this regard and are expecting responses from at least the non-BJP states," TRENDS convener Praveen Rikhy said over phone.

In September, the BJP-led central government banned production, import, sale and distribution of e-cigarettes and similar products, citing health risks.

In its plea to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, TRENDS said, "We would request you, as the leader of West Bengal, to ask the central government to allow your state health department to conduct its own research and study so that a rational decision benefitting maximum number of people of the state can be taken."

With overall tobacco users (15 years and above) at 36.8 percent and smokers at 16.7 percent, the figures in the state are "quite alarming", Rikhy said.

TRENDS claimed that e-cigarettes could be a solution-both for smokers who want to "move to a lesser harmful option", and the state which gains from lower health costs and better mortality rates.

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GVK Group companies to raise Rs 7,614 cr to retire debt, Bidvest, ACSA stakes in Mumbai Airport

Hyderabad: GVK Group companies have entered into definitive agreements with subsidiaries of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Canada's Public Sector Pension Investment
Board and National Investment and Infrastructure Fund to raise Rs 7,614 crore investments into GVK Airport Holdings Limited.

GVKAHL is the holding company of Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) and engaged in the business of developing, operating and managing the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, Mumbai and development of Navi Mumbai International Airport.

A GVK press release said proceeds from the transaction would be used to primarily retire debt obligations of its holding companies significantly and fund the purchase of additional shares in MIAL by GVKAHL, from Bidvest and ACSA in accordance with the Right of First Offer already exercised by GVKAHL.

The GVK Group had earlier said it was determined to acquire the 13.5 percent in Mumbai International Airport Limited owned by South African firm Bid Services Division Mauritius or Bidvest.

Other shareholders are ACSA Global (Airports Company of South Africa) which owns 10 percent, Airports Authority of India (26 percent) and GVK Airport Holdings, which is the majority owner with a 50.5 percent ownership in the company that runs the country's second busiest airport.

Representational image

GVK has already announced its intention to acquire ASCA Global's 10 percent stake.

Adani Group and GVK engaged in a legal tussle over the acquisition of Bidvests stake.

GVK Reddy, Founder and Chairman, GVK, said, "We are delighted to welcome ADIA, PSP Investments and NIIF as shareholders in GVKAHL. Together, we will continue with our endeavors to create world-class infrastructure and a strong aviation hub that will provide the impetus for growth and development of Mumbai and India. We will now accelerate our efforts for developing the Navi Mumbai International Airport, monetising MIAL's real estate assets and building an even stronger airport business. This transaction validates the Government of India's efforts to attract global investors into the country."

As per the terms of the proposed transaction, upon completion, GVKAHL will have four shareholders GVK Airports Developers Limited, ADIA, PSP Investments and NIIF.

GVK Reddy will continue as Executive Chairman and GV Sanjay Reddy as Managing Director in both MIAL and NMIAL.

Upon completion of the Transaction, GVKADL will hold 20.9 percent in GVKAHL and the balance will be equally shared between the Investors.

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Layer of haze around Delhi on Diwali; air quality dips to 'very poor'

Ear-deafening booms, toxic smoke and ash from firecrackers filled the air as the overall air quality index crossed the "severe" mark at many places

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Mukesh Ambani to set up Alphabet-like Rs 1.08-trillion digital company

The newly-formed unit will in turn invest the same amount in Reliance Jio and acquire the parent's equity investment of Rs 650 billion in the wireless carrier

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Top events of the day: PM Modi leaves for Japan, Air India EoI & more

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Gold shines on Dhanteras; trade records 30 tonnes of sales, registers around 25% drop in demand against last year

After a damp start, gold sales on Dhanteras picked up with heavy footfalls noticed by jewellers by end of day.

Sales were more than the expectation as it was recorded to be around 30 tonnes, said the national secretary of Indian Bullion and Jewellers Association, Surendra Mehta.

He said that gold sales in the past few years used to be around 40 tonnes, but due to high prices and liquidity crunch in the market this year, it was expected that the sales might be around 20 tonnes. The sales have dropped by around 25 percent as compared to last year.

"We didn't expect so much sales because the demand for gold in the domestic market was down due to high prices," IANS quoted Mehta as saying.

Dhanteras, celebrated in northern and western parts of India on Friday, is considered an auspicious day for buying gold, silver and other valuables.

India is the world's largest consumer and importer of gold.

Gold is also considered a good hedge against inflation globally, especially in the time of economic slowdown and trade wars.

On Dhanteras, one of the busiest gold buying days in India, when demand peaks as buying bullion is considered auspicious, saw retailers dole out a wide array of offers to attract buyers.

“Jewellers are witnessing good footfalls today [25 October] due to Dhanteras. Retail demand was good after a long time,” said Harshad Ajmera, the proprietor of JJ Gold House, a wholesaler in the eastern Indian city of Kolkata.

Discounts have been falling due to lower imports in the last few months but could widen again if demand falters after the festival, Reuters said quoting said Mukesh Kothari, director at Mumbai bullion dealer RiddiSiddhi Bullions.

The domestic price of gold includes a 12.5 percent import tax and a 3 percent sales tax. The government has increased the import duty on expensive metals to 12.5 percent from 10 percent so as to reduce the import of gold due to which the precious metal became expensive in the country.

On 8 October, Mehta had said that due to weak demand, they expected that only 20 tonnes of gold will be sold in the domestic bullion market on Dhanteras this year.

Ajay Kedia, Director, Kedia Advisory, said that gold purchase was low by 25 percent as compared to last year.

The gold prices on Friday closed at Rs. 38,275 per 10 gm whereas last year the metal price was Rs. 31,702 per 10 gm.

The government has increased the import duty on expensive metals to 12.5 percent from 10 percent so as to reduce the import of gold due to which the precious metal became expensive in the country.

Gold futures were trading around 38,372 rupees per 10 grams on Friday, having hit a record 39,885 rupees last month en route to a roughly 22 percent gain so far in 2019.

“The sharp price rise and deep discount in the bullion market impacted trade and the consumer outlook in (the) September quarter. However, Dhanteras seems to have changed this as had been expected,” said Somasundaram PR, managing director of the World Gold Council’s Indian operations.

From an investor's perspective, gold returns in the past five years have been around 7 percent CAGR (compound annual growth rate). At the same time, equity returns for the same period have ranged between 12 and 15 percent, according to an ANI report.

"Therefore to reap returns from gold, one needs to position ahead of the uptick and move out as it peaks out," said Joseph Thomas, Head of Research at Emkay Wealth Management.

"If the rupee remains weaker from here and if current gold price levels in international markets are sustained, then domestic gold prices will remain well supported even at the current levels," he said.

However, fears of a global economic slowdown, continuing trade and tariff war between the United States and China, and geopolitical risks could help the price of gold to sustain at higher levels

Demand weak in China

Meanwhile, global benchmark prices eyed their best week in five. [GOL/]

At top consumer China, bullion was sold at a premium of $5-$6 per ounce, versus last week’s $4.75-$5.25, while long-drawn protests blotted out activity in Hong Kong, with premiums of $0.30-$0.50 being charged versus $0.45-$0.55 last week, according to Reuters.

“Demand was weak in China,” said Samson Li, a Hong Kong-based precious metals analyst at Refinitiv GFMS, adding “maybe supply chain will be keen to push out inventories by offering more jewellery discounts by December.”

Premiums in Singapore were at $0.70-$1 an ounce, against last week’s $0.50-$0.60, with Diwali demand mostly muted compared with previous years, traders said.

However, “we’re seeing a lot of clients coming to buy today mainly because of Diwali, as compared to rest of the week.” said Brian Lan, managing director at Singapore dealer GoldSilver.

In Japan, bullion was sold at par with the benchmark for the fifth-straight week as higher taxes marred demand, a Tokyo-based trader said.

--With inputs from agencies

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Automobile sector continues to be in the red but luxury car segment picking up; Mercedes delivers over 600 cars during Dhanteras

A slowdown has impacted India's automobile sector but demand for luxury cars are improving slowly but steadily.

Luxury automobile manufacturer Mercedes-Benz India on Saturday said that it has delivered more than 600 cars during Dhanteras across markets.

The company’s stellar sales performance comes after it had delivered more than 200 cars on Dussehra and Navratri in Mumbai and Gujarat, according to an IANS report.

Further, Mercedes-Benz India handed more than 250 cars to customers on Dhanteras in Delhi-NCR alone.

Taking the Delhi-NCR delivery into account, Mercedes-Benz has delivered more than 600 vehicles to customers in the key markets of Mumbai, Pune, Gujarat, Kolkata and Punjab on Dhanteras.

In addition, the company said that it has sold off the current GLE, three months ahead of plan, owing to an unprecedented demand from across India. It has also opened the bookings for the upcoming new generation GLE scheduled to be launched before the Auto Expo 2020.

According to Mercedes-Benz India’s Managing Director and CEO Martin Schwenk: “The festive season has been satisfactory for us and we are glad to see an overwhelming response to our products from across markets.”

Representative image. Reuters

“This impressive number of deliveries during the current festive season reiterates the increasing customer confidence and the trust on brand Mercedes-Benz for a luxury car buyer in a challenging market.”

Not just Mercedes, but luxury automobile manufacturer Lamborghini India too has reported an uptick in sales.

In the last week of September,  Lamborghini India created a record for the fastest 50 deliveries of SUV 'Urus' within the first 12 months of its launch.

According to the company, India was amongst the first few markets to launch the Urus which comes with a price tag of Rs 3.1 crore (ex-showroom).

With its new offering, the super sports car Huracan Evo, starting deliveries from September to add to the Urus SUV, which has been sold out for 2019, Lamborghini India is confident of clocking high double-digit sales growth, although it had earlier pegged the outlook for the year at around 60 percent.

"There is a downturn in the overall auto industry. There are some challenges even in the super-luxury industry. Thankfully we are able to bring products at the right time and we are able to create excitement in the marketplace despite the challenges," Lamborghini India Head Sharad Agarwal told PTI earlier.

Following the launch of Urus SUV, last year the company emerged as the leader in the overall super luxury cars segment (cars priced above Rs 2.5 crore) where it competes with the likes of Rolls Royce, Bentley, Ferrari, Aston Martin and top-end products from German manufacturers Mercedes, BMW and Audi.

Domestic sales decline

Compared to the 20,000 units of luxury vehicles that were sold in the first half of last year, the Indian luxury market this year, recorded between 15,000 and 17,000 models, reports stated. In 2019, the luxury segment did worse than the rest of the country which is unusual in India as it typically outperforms the market.

The year began with a marginal decline in sales, according to a PTI report. However, the second quarter from April to June witnesses the worse drop with sales falling more than 30 percent to 6,500 to 7,000 units. In light of the same Mercedes-Benz, last week, reported an 18 percent decline in sales for the first half of 2019, blaming macroeconomic headwinds such as high-interest rates, rising import costs and a liquidity crunch that has affected the auto-loan market.

At an average 35,000-40,000 units in the last three-four years or about 1.17 percent of the overall passenger vehicle market, the luxury automotive market is the smallest among the large economies. India houses more than 350,000 millionaires.

Major industry players suggest that the industry is looking at its biggest decline in a decade. A few of them are also worried about the impact of India’s shift from Bharat Stage IV emission standards to BS-VI, as the increased cost associated with the technology change could discourage more buyers.

In August, all major Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) consisting of passenger, commercial, two- and three-wheeler manufacturers have reported a massive decline in domestic sales.

As per Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers' (SIAM) August sales figures, the overall sectoral offtake in the domestic market has plunged 23.55 percent to 1,821,490 units, from 2,382,436 units sold during the corresponding month of the previous year.

From April to August period, the sales have fallen by 15.89 percent to 97,32,040 units from 1,15,70,401 units in the year-ago period, SIAM had said.

--With inputs from agencies

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Baghdadi's death a major victory in mission to defeat ISIS: US Defense Secy

The ISIS leader was taken down by the US Special Forces during an air raid in his hideout in northwest Syria on Saturday night

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From quota to Kolpak, challenges staring South African cricket in its face

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Kudos to US for taking down Baghdadi, but ISIS menace still exists

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Top biz headlines: Solid start to Samvat 2076, GVK gets Rs 7,614 cr, & more

Samvat 2076 started on a positive note for the equity markets with the benchmark Sensex ending the ceremonial one-hour-long trading session with a gain of nearly 200 points on Sunday

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Best of BS Opinion: Of govt responsibility and people lacking clear ideas

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Manohar Lal Khattar sworn-in as Haryana CM for second consecutive term

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Pollution levels peak in Delhi on Diwali day, expected to worsen tonight

The period between October 15 and November 15 is considered critical for Delhi-NCR's air quality due to stubble burning in neighbouring states and firecracker emissions on Diwali

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IAF helicopters evacuate crashed civilian chopper at 11,500 ft in Kedarnath

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India's oldest multiplex finally pauses for breath, closed for six months

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Cyclone Kyarr: Navy rescues 17 fishermen from sinking boat off Mumbai coast

The fishing boat had developed engine failure and had started flooding in very heavy seas and wind speeds of about 45 knots

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RBI denies dipping into gold reserves, cites other factors for fluctuations

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