Rescuing India's PSU behemoths coming at the cost of fiscal restraint

For years India’s state-run companies coughed up hefty dividends when the government needed cash. Now the treasury is being forced to return the favor.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will spend about $9.5 billion to resuscitate telecom firms Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd., Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said at a briefing last week. The government is already pumping 300 billion rupees of tax payers’ money into state-run Air India Ltd., while fighter-jet maker Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. has been borrowing to pay employees this year after parting with its cash reserves as dividends to the government.

Protests by angry employees at the telecom companies demanding that salaries be paid on time are piling pressure on Modi. The risk is that placating them could widen the 7 trillion rupee ($99 billion) hole in public finances, which has already pushed the government to resort to record borrowings.
Modi has received more than $28 billion from state firms since he came to power in 2014, by extracting dividends or getting them to buy out the government’s stake in other state companies, data compiled by Bloomberg show. While previous administrations also resorted to similar measures, the payouts have risen almost 60 per cent from the levels seen under Modi’s predecessor.
The numbers exclude dividends from the Reserve Bank of India and state-run banks. MTNL last paid a dividend of 6.3 billion rupees in the financial year ended March 2009.
“India has been killing the geese that were laying the golden eggs,” said Madhavi Arora, an economist at Edelweiss Securities Ltd. in Mumbai. “It just doesn’t have the resources at hand right now to write big checks to revive or shut down some of the behemoths.”
Arora says the government will resort to fire sales of some of these companies, while also auctioning some better-performing ones. That may explain why the government has, for now, left its borrowing target for the year through March 2020 unchanged.
There’s also growing expectation that the government will do an accounting sleight of hand to keep its deficit in check: borrow via state-owned firms and issue special bonds. Total public sector borrowings have reached as much as 9 per cent of gross domestic product by one estimate and a Bloomberg survey predicts the federal shortfall will widen to 3.9 per cent -- versus the 3.4 per cent target -- due to the government’s $20 billion tax break for companies.
The S&P BSE PSU index, which tracks 61 public sector units, has fallen 2.5 per cent this year compared with an 11 per cent gain in the benchmark gauge. Yields on top-rated 10-year bonds sold by state companies have dropped 61 basis points in 2019, less than the 87 basis point decline for sovereign yields.
“The government is unable to maximize the value of its central public sector enterprise ownership due to low valuations of government-owned companies,” analysts at Kotak Institutional Equities Research, led by Sanjeev Prasad, wrote in a report. “This route of revenue mobilization may run out in 1-2 years.”

Seven candidates shortlisted for RBI deputy guv post, interview on Nov 7

A search panel headed by Cabinet Secretary is scheduled to interview seven shortlisted candidates next week for the post of RBI deputy governor, sources said. The post had fallen vacant after Viral Acharya resigned in July -- six months before the end of his term. The Reserve Bank has four deputy governors.
The Financial Sector Regulatory Appointment Search Committee (FSRASC) has shortlisted about seven names who have been called for the interview on November 7, the sources said. The search panel also includes RBI Governor, Financial Services Secretary and some independent members.

Acharya, a New York University Stern School of Business professor, was looking after the monetary policy department, including its forecasting and modelling unit, in the RBI. According to a public notice, the appointment will be for a period of three years and the person will be eligible for re-appointment.
At present, there are three deputy governors - N S Vishwanathan, B P Kanungo and M K Jain.

Pegasus spyware: Bhima-Koregaon activists' lawyer got warning from WhatsApp

Over the last two years, Nagpur-based human rights lawyer Nihalsing Rathod has received receiving calls on WhatsApp from unknown numbers. These calls would be made from international numbers, and would invariably turn out to be a group call.
The moment Rathod answered them, the call would disconnect. He assumed these were innocuous calls made to his number but as a safety measure, reported each of the “suspicious calls” to WhatsApp.
On October 7, 2019, Rathod, however, was contacted by a senior researcher from the Toronto University’s CitizenLab informing him that he faced a “specific digital risk”.
“John Scott-Railton, the senior researcher told me that his lab had followed my work and during their research had found out that my profile was under a surveillance attack. All those calls made to me for two years suddenly began to make sense,” Rathod told The Wire.
CitizenLab was one of the first few organisations to examine how the Israeli surveillance firm NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware operated. In September 2018, it published comprehensive research identifying 45 countries, including India, in which operators of the spyware may be conducting operations.
The NSO Group has been in the spotlight this week after WhatsApp filed a lawsuit against them, alleging that they exploited a vulnerability in its video-calling feature to specifically target and snoop on over 1,400 users including activists and journalists.
The conversation between a Citizen Lab researcher and Rathod. Credit: The Wire.The conversation between a Citizen Lab researcher and Rathod. Credit: The Wire.

The conversation between a Citizen Lab researcher and Rathod. Credit: The Wire.The conversation between a Citizen Lab researcher and Rathod. Credit: The Wire.
Rathod wrote to WhatsApp once again, with newer information from CitizenLab and this time he says he received a response on the same platform.
“In May we stopped an attack where an advanced cyber actor exploited our video calling to install malware on user devices. There’s a possibility this phone number was impacted, and we want to make sure you know how to keep your phone secure,” the message from WhatsApp read, along with further steps to be taken to ensure security protections on his phone.
While WhatsApp’s message didn’t specifically mention Pegasus or the NSO group, Rathod says the possibility of it is very high.
The Wire has separately confirmed that this is indeed the message that was sent by WhatsApp to people it detected were targeted by Pegasus.
The message that Rathod received from WhatsApp. Credit: The Wire.The message that Rathod received from WhatsApp. Credit: The Wire.
On Thursday, the Indian Express reported that the Facebook-owned platform said journalists and human rights activists in India have been targets of surveillance by operators using Pegasus.
WhatsApp recently made details of this clear in a broader disclosure before a US federal court in San Francisco. It is still unclear the extent of this threat and how many WhatsApp profiles were compromised.
Bhima Koregaon
Rathod is one of the lawyers handling the Bhima Koregaon case in which nine activists and lawyers have been arrested since June 2018. His senior legal mentor Surendra Gadling is among those arrested and was booked under several sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and the Indian Penal Code.
Rathod says that he is not the only one in his human rights activists circle who has complained of such calls. At least two other lawyers, both connected with the ongoing Bhima Koregaon trial and Gadling’s wife Minal Gadling have received similar calls.
One of them has confirmed having received a call and series of messages from CitizenLab informing her about a possible threat. She has, however, not received any email or message from WhatsApp.
Rupali Jadhav, a 33-year-old cultural and anti-caste activist from Pune shared screenshots of messages that she had received from both WhatsApp and Citizen Lab two days ago. Jadhav however says she had not received any WhatsApp call from an “unknown number” or had seen any suspicious activity on the application.
Jadhav, who has been associated with an anti-caste cultural group Kabir Kala Manch (KKM) for over a decade has been handling the social media handles of several social movements in the state. She says that may have been one of the primary reasons why her profile has got compromised.
“I am the official administrator of the WhatsApp and Facebook pages of Kabir Kala Manch, Bhima Koregaon Shaurya Din Prerana Abhiyan, Elgaar Parishad, and the political party Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi. These spaces have been actively involved in confronting the state and have been asking uneasy questions. This is more to do with the organizations than me particularly,” Jadhav says.
Most persons associated with the KKM has had cases of UAPA registered against them and have been released on bail bond after having been incarcerated for several years.
According to the Indian Express report, at least two dozen academics, lawyers, Dalit activists and journalists in India were contacted and alerted by WhatsApp that their phones had been under state-of-the-art surveillance for a two-week period until May 2019.
An example of the mysterious WhatsApp calls that Rathod used to get. Credit: The Wire.An example of the mysterious WhatsApp calls that Rathod used to get. Credit: The Wire.
Rathod, however, says that he had been receiving these calls much before – and after – this two-week window period as mentioned by WhatsApp.
The NSO Group, in its response to the legal suit, has claimed that the Pegasus spyware has been sold only to government agencies.
Rathod says he looks at the attack on his profile as a serious attempt to victimise and possibly target more human rights lawyers. “My WhatsApp profile was not chosen randomly but by design. We are a handful of human rights lawyers who are confronting the current dispensation and are in the process of exposing the different strategies used to arrest human rights activists in the country.”
“I have reason to believe that the Bhima Koregaon case is based on the letters which were planted through this route or some other route by government agencies itself. The ridiculous contents of those letters make it more apparent,” he told The Wire.
Expressing concern over the development, Amnesty International India, in a statement, said, “This is a grave violation of the activists’ fundamental right to privacy enshrined in both national and international law.”
The human rights organisation has sought the NSO group’s license to be revoked. “On November 7, the Tel Aviv’s District Court is due to hear a legal case arguing that Israel’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) should revoke NSO Groups export license. The company’s Pegasus software has been used to target journalists and activists across the globe – including in Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Mexico and the United Arab Emirates. An Amnesty International staff member was also targeted using NSO malware,” the statement read.
Responding to the threat faced by activists and journalist globally, Danna Ingleton, deputy director of Amnesty Tech said, “NSO says its spyware is solely intended to ‘prevent crime and terrorism’, but instead the firm’s invasive surveillance tools are being used to commit human rights abuses. The safest way to stop NSO’s spyware products reaching governments who plan to misuse them is to revoke the company’s export license.”
Amnesty International has announced its legal support in the case in Tel Aviv District Court to force the Israeli Ministry of Defence to stop NSO’s spyware products.

RFL scam: Court extends Singh brothers' judicial custody until Nov 14

A Delhi court Thursday extended till November 14 the judicial custody of former Fortis Healthcare promoters Malvinder Singh and his brother Shivinder for allegedly misappropriating funds of Religare Finvest Ltd (RFL).
Metropolitan Magistrate Deepak Sherawat also extended the judicial custody of three others, Sunil Godhwani, Kavi Arora and Anil Saxena, till November 31.

On October 23, the court was informed that the settlement talks between the Singh brothers and RFL remained inconclusive as no proposal was given to the company by them.
Malvinder (46), Shivinder (44), Godhwani (58) and Arora (48) and Saxena, were arrested by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Delhi Police for allegedly diverting the money and investing in other companies.

China objects to J&K's bifurcation into UTs, calls it 'unlawful and void'

China on Thursday objected to the bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories as "unlawful and void", saying India's decision to "include" some of China's territory into its administrative jurisdiction "challenged" Beijing's sovereignty.
Jammu and Kashmir was bifurcated on Thursday into two union territories -- Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh -- in accordance with the Indian government's August 5 announcement revoking the state's special status under Article 370.

China had earlier objected to the Indian government's August 5 order of the revocation of Article 370 and the formation of Ladakh as Union Territory, saying that some of the area involved Chinese territory.
"The Indian government officially announced the establishment of so-called Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh Union Territories which included some of China's territory into its administrative jurisdiction," China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told the media here on Thursday.
"China deplores and firmly opposes that. India unilaterally changed its domestic laws and administrative division challenging China's sovereignty," he said replying to a question.
"This is unlawful and void and this is not effective in any way and will not change the fact that the area is under Chinese actual control," he said.
"China urges the Indian side to earnestly respect Chinese territorial sovereignty, abide by our treaties and uphold peace and tranquillity in the border areas and create favourable conditions for proper settlement of boundary question," he said.
After the revocation of Article 370, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, who visited China in August, informed his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi that the revocation of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir is an internal matter and the sole prerogative of India and it has no implication for either the external boundaries of India or the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
On the Kashmir issue, Geng said, "China's position on the Kashmir issue is consistent and clear, this is a dispute left from history and it should be properly and peacefully resolved based on the UN charter, the relevant UNSC resolutions and other bilateral treaties and relevant sides should resolve the dispute through dialogue and consultations and uphold regional peace and stability."
Since the revocation of Article 370, China, which in the past stated that Kashmir issue should be resolved between India and Pakistan, started referring to the UN charter and UNSC resolutions for a settlement.
China has backed its all-weather ally, Pakistan's attempts to call for an informal meeting of the UN Security Council. However, the informal UNSC meeting, in a rebuff to Beijing and Islamabad, ended without passing a resolution or statement.
A joint statement, issued at the end of Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's visit to Beijing on October 9, said, "The Chinese side responded that it was paying close attention to the current situation in Jammu and Kashmir and reiterated that the Kashmir issue is a dispute left from history, and should be properly and peacefully resolved based on the UN Charter, relevant UN Security Council resolutions and bilateral agreements".
Khan's visit took place ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Chennai on October 11-12, where he held his second informal summit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
In his visit to Beijing in August, Jaishankar defended the government's decision during talks with his Chinese counterpart Wang and said that the reason for the change is for better governance and social and economic development in Jammu and Kashmir.
"It has no implications for anybody else. The issue related to changes is a temporary provision of the Constitution of India and was the sole prerogative of the country," Jaishankar had said.
"The legislative measures were aimed at promoting better governance and socio-economic development. There was no implication for either the external boundaries of India or the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China. India was not raising any additional territorial claims," Jaishankar said.
"The Chinese concerns in this regard were therefore misplaced," the minister had said, adding that as far as the India-China boundary question was concerned the two sides had agreed to a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable settlement on the basis of the 2005 Political Parameters and Guiding Principles.
The India-China LAC covers 3,488 km and the Special Representatives of both the countries have held 21 rounds of talks to reolve the boundary dispute.

Rajan responds to FM's comment, says two-thirds of his tenure was under BJP

Former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan, who faced a stinging attack from Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for presiding over the "worst phase" of the Indian banking sector, on Thursday reminded her that two-third of his tenure as the head of the central bank was under the BJP government.
Rajan, who was Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) from September 5, 2013 to September 2016, said during his term a clean up of the banking sector that was "clogging" with bad loans had begun and the job remains unfinished.
He said the country needs a new generation of reforms to accelerate economic growth. At 5 per cent GDP growth rate, India was witnessing substantial economic slowdown.
"I had just over eight months in the previous (Congress) government and I had 26 months under this (BJP) Government. So much of my term (as RBI Governor) was under this government," he told CNBC in an interview.
He was asked about Sitharaman's comments in New York earlier this month where she said that the Indian public sector banks had the "worst phase" under the combination of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Rajan.
Rajan, however, hasten to add that he doesn't want to get into a political debate on the issue.
"Let me not get into a political back and forth. The reality is, there is a clean-up which we started, which is underway, which needs to be completed fast. The recapitalization has been done, but it also has to be done in the non-bank financial sector which is ceasing up and you need to clean-up, get the financial system going again if you want stronger growth," he added.
Sitharaman's comments at the Columbia University were in response to a question on Rajan in his previous statements apparently mentioning that in its first term, the Narendra Modi government had not done better on the economy because the government was extremely centralised and the leadership does not appear to have a consistent articulated vision on how to achieve economic growth.
She had retorted back saying instead there were major issues with bank loans during Rajan's tenure as the central bank head. "I'm taking a minute to respond I do respect Raghuram Rajan as a great scholar who chose to be in the central bank in India at a time when the Indian economy was all buoyant," Sitharaman had said.
"It was in Rajan's time as Governor of the Reserve Bank that loans were given just based on phone calls from crony leaders and public sector banks in India till today are depending on the government's equity infusion to get out of that mire."
In the interview with CNBC, Rajan, however, said the seeds of problems were sown in "euphoria" in the pre-2008 global financial crisis. "A lot of investments were made and those slowed down. Those created the bad loans which we needed to clean up. And we started the process of cleaning up," he said.
"There are people who say why did we clean up, we could have gone on. We simply couldn't have gone on because banks were stopping lending because their balance sheets were getting clogged with non-performing loans. So, you had to force the recognization and recapitalization to set them back on track."

That job, he said, "half-finished right now".
"It has to be finished," he said. "Now, could it have been done faster, absolutely. We needed to do it faster but we are where we are. We need to clean up but also clean up new risks that have emerged for example in the non-bank financial system. If we don't do, the financial system is going to be an overhang over the economy."
On the lifeline being extended by the government in the form of capital support, Rajan said that was needed but it has to accompany the cleanup.
"Because, without cleanup good money can go after bad. It is not only just clean up of legacy problems, it is also to make sure those don't happen again which is by improving governance. That is work in progress that has to be accelerated to ensure it won't happen again," he said.
On economic growth, Rajan said the country was witnessing a substantial slowdown.
"The peak in 2016 was 9 per cent growth in one of the quarters, in the first quarter, now it is down to 5 (per cent). There are people who have raised a concern about whether 5 is really 5. The reality is there has been a substantial slowdown," he said. "I think 5 is bad enough. So, you have to do something about it because 5 doesn't get jobs given we are adding 1 million people to the workforce every month."
"India needs far stronger growth but it is not going to come from tinkering. It really needs another generation of reforms. Good news, the government has political strength and the power to undertake those reforms. Bad news, [it] hasn't done so so far," he said.

IOC September quarter net profit slumps 83% at Rs 563.4 crore

State-owned Indian Oil Corp (IOC) on Thursday reported a 83 per cent drop in second quarter net profit on the back of slump in refinery margins and inventory losses. Net profit in July-September at Rs 564 crore was 82.6 per cent lower than Rs 3,247 crore net profit in the year-ago period, IOC Chairman Sanjiv Singh told reporters here.
"The major reason for the decline in net profit was inventory losses in Q2 as against inventory gain during corresponding quarter of previous year," he said.

The company earned $1.28 on turning every barrel of crude oil into fuel in July-September as compared to gross refining margin of $6.79 per barrel in Q2 of previous fiscal. Without accounting for inventory losses, the GRM was $3.99 per barrel. He said the company recorded an inventory loss of Rs 1,807 crore in the quarter as opposed to an inventory gain of Rs 2,895 crore.
A company suffers inventory loss when it buys raw material (crude oil case of IOC) at a particular price but by the time it is able to ship it and process it into fuel, global rates would have fallen. Because pump rates are benchmarked at prevailing international rate, it books an inventory loss. Inventory gain are booked if reverse happens.
He said the company also had a forex loss of Rs 1,135 crore in the second quarter. Turnover slipped to Rs 1.32 lakh crore from Rs 1.51 lakh crore due to dip in prices. Petroleum product sales was 21.4 million tonnes, while refinery throughput was 17.5 million tonnes in the September quarter.

Sebi tightens asset quality disclosure norms for all listed banks

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on Thursday tightened the asset quality disclosure norms for banks. The market regulator has directed all listed lenders to make disclosures pertaining to divergences and provisioning within a day of receipt of the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) final risk assessment report (RAR).
Earlier, banks used to make these disclosures as part of their annual financial statements. Also, in the past, the regulators had frowned upon certain banks for making selective disclosures from the RAR, an annual exercise conducted by the central bank.

After consultation, Sebi and RBI have set the threshold for making such disclosures. These include additional provisioning for non-performing assets (NPAs) assessed by the RBI exceeding 10 per cent of the reported profit before provisions and contingencies for the reference period. Also, additional gross NPAs identified by the RBI exceeding 15 per cent of the published incremental gross NPAs for the reference period.
Sebi has said the disclosures have to be made in either or both cases.
The move is aimed at improving transparency and to help investors assess the risk better.
ALSO READ: Sebi brass rejig: Changes at the top expected in the next six months
“These disclosures in respect of divergence and provisioning are in the nature of material events or information and hence, necessitate immediate disclosure. Further, this information is also price-sensitive, requiring prompt disclosure,” Sebi said in a circular.
Analysts said in the absence of specific guidelines, banks used their own discretion in making disclosures from the RAR.
“The latest Sebi circular is a welcome step. The rules are now clear for making disclosures from the risk report. This will help avoid a YES Bank-like episode in future,” said a banking analyst.
Earlier this year, YES Bank had made a disclosure to the stock exchanges stating the RBI’s RAR had not found any divergence in asset classification and provisioning done by the lender for 2017-18. Following the disclosure, shares of YES Bank had skyrocketed 30 per cent. However, later the RBI had pulled up YES Bank for making the disclosure over breach of confidentiality and selective revelations. The stock had later tanked.
Later Sebi launched a probe into the same matter, charging the lender for making selective disclosure and not disclosing other issues mentioned in the RAR, such as lapses and regulatory breaches in various areas in its functioning.
In September, YES Bank had settled the case with Sebi under the consent route by paying a penalty of Rs 14.5 lakh.

AGR verdict: Reliance Jio says telcos have sufficient capacity to pay dues

Strongly opposing a bailout of telecom companies at taxpayers' expense, Reliance Jio on Thursday wrote to Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad saying firms that have been ordered by the Supreme Court to pay past statutory dues have "sufficient" financial capacity to clear their liabilities.
It also slammed the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) for writing ex-parte to the government on the financial distress in the sector, saying the body was "blackmailing" to "extract relief from the government" after all legal recourse had expired.

"We submit that the so-called affected service providers have sufficient financial capacity to pay the government dues by monetising their existing assets/investments and by issuing fresh equity in their companies," it wrote to Prasad.

Cognizant Sept quarter net up 4.1% at $497 million; to cut 12,000 jobs

IT major Cognizant on Thursday posted 4.1 per cent increase in net profit to $497 million for September 2019 quarter, and said it will slash up to 7,000 jobs in the next few months as part of a cost reduction programme.
The US-based company, which has a significant portion of its workforce based in India, had posted a net profit of $477 million in the year-ago period.

It has also raised its annual revenue growth outlook to 4.6-4.9 per cent for 2019.
Its revenue grew 4.2 per cent to $4.25 billion in the third quarter, compared to $4.07 billion in the year-ago period, Cognizant said in a statement.
The topline rose 5.1 per cent on constant currency basis, exceeding the guidance of 3.8-4.8 per cent revenue growth given for the third quarter.
The company has also raised the lower-end of its annual revenue growth guidance. It now expects its topline for the fiscal to grow 4.6-4.9 per cent in constant currency basis, from its previous expectation of 3.9-4.9 per cent.
It expects its October quarter year-on-year revenue growth to be in the range of 2.1-3.1 per cent in constant currency basis.
"Over the past few months, we've sharpened Cognizant's strategic posture and begun executing plans aimed at improving our competitive positioning," Cognizant CEO Brian Humphries said.
He added that the company is now announcing a simplification of its operating model and a cost reduction programme that will allow it to fund investments in growth.
Cognizant will remove about 10,000-12,000 mid-to-senior level associates worldwide from their current roles in coming quarters, it said.
The gross reduction is expected to lead to a net reduction of approximately 5,000 to 7,000 roles (about 2 per cent of its total headcount) and re-skilling and redeployment of about 5,000 of the total associates impacted.
"We expect the remaining 5,000-7,000 associates to exit the company by mid-2020 either through attrition or role elimination," Cognizant CFO Karen McLoughlin said.
The company has not detailed out the geographies that would be impacted by the reductions.
However, given that India accounts for the biggest share of the company's headcount, the impact of these layoffs is expected to be significant.
Cognizant's total headcount stood at 2,89,900 people at the end of September 2019 quarter. The company had recently stated that its headcount in India has crossed the two-lakh mark.
"Looking ahead, we see a clear path to unlock the organisation's full growth potential, win in our key digital battle-grounds, and return Cognizant to its historical position of being the bellwether of the IT services industry," Humphries said.
The optimisation of cost structure is expected to result in total charges of approximately $150-200 million, primarily related to severance and facility exit costs.
This is expected to result in an annualised gross savings run rate of approximately $500-550 million in year 2021, the company said.
Cognizant saw its financial services segment - which accounted for over 35 per cent of the company's revenues - posting 1.9 per cent growth in constant currency terms, while healthcare decreased 1.2 per cent.

F&O expiry: Sensex pares gains, ends 77 pts higher; YES Bank advances 24%

After soaring over 340 points to hit a fresh lifetime high of 40,392 levels in the intra-day deals, the S&P BSE Sensex pared its gains to settle at 40,129, up 77 points or 0.19 per cent on Thursday, the last day of the October series of the futures & options (F&O) contracts.
Markets witnessed sharp sell-off in the fag-end of the session after reports surfaced Chinese officials had doubts about whether it was possible to reach a comprehensive long-term trade deal with Washington and US President Donald Trump.
YES Bank (up around 24 per cent) emerged as the biggest gainer on the Sensex after the lender said it has received a binding offer of US $1.2 billion from a global investor. READ MORE
On the downside, Tech Mahindra (down over 2 per cent) bled the most.
Broader market outperformed the benchmarks. The S&P BSE MidCap index gained over 167 points or 1 per cent to settle at 14,865 while the S&P BSE SmallCap index closed at 13,558., up 127 points or nearly a per cent.
On the NSE, the benchmark Nifty50 added 37 points or 0.31 per cent to end at 11,881.
Sectorally, PSU banks and media counters advanced the most. The Nifty PSU Bank index gained nearly 4 per cent to end at 2,505 while the Nifty Media gained over 3 per cent to settle at 1,787.
Voaltility index India VIX declined around 2 per cent to 16.30 levels.
BUZZING STOCKS
Shares of Tata Motors hit a five-month high of Rs 180, up 4 per cent on the BSE, zooming 42 per cent in the past four days, after it delivered a better-than-expected September quarter (Q2FY20) earnings show, with improvement in the operational performance at Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), its Britain-based luxury vehicle arm. The stock eventually closed at Rs 178, up 3.40 per cent. READ MORE
JK Tyre & Industries surged as much as 13.87 per cent to Rs 80 apiece on the BSE during the day. The company on Wednesday reported over three-fold jump in the consolidated net profit to Rs 167.70 crore in the September quarter driven by gains from deferred tax liability. At close, shares stood at Rs 75.60, up nearly 8 per cent.
On the contrary, telecom majors Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel were under pressure, slipping up to 9 per cent during the day, after rating agencies underlined concerns emerging from the Supreme Court's ruling in the adjusted gross revenue (AGR) case. Vodafone Idea settled at Rs 3.89, up 2 per cent while Bharti Airtel ended at Rs 374, up over 1.50 per cent.
GLOBAL STOCKS
Asian shares jumped on Thursday to a three-month high and the dollar fell broadly after the Federal Reserve cut interest rates as expected and US Treasury yields declined. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.53 per cent to the highest since July 30. Hong Kong shares rose 0.93 per cent, while Japan’s Nikkei stock index rose 0.43 per cent.
The pan-region Euro Stoxx 50 futures were up 0.08 per cent, German DAX futures added 0.1 per cent, while FTSE futures edged down 0.02 per cent.
In commodities, oil prices edged up. Brent crude futures were up 39 cents, or 0.6 per cent, at $61 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up 30 cents, or 0.5 per cent, at $55.36 after a 0.9 per cent decline in the previous session.
(With inputs from Reuters)
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NEWS ALERT | Hong Kong govt says economy has entered a technical recession
02:01 PM
MARKET COMMENT | Naveen Kulkarni, HoR, Reliance Securities
Market is clearly in a positive setup with festive season seeing improvement in demand and corporate tax rate cut providing the much needed earnings boost. Considering there is likely sequential improvement and earnings visibility, we believe market will continue to trend upwards. We have a April 2020 Nifty target of 12,800.



01:54 PM
Tata Motors hits 5-month high, zooms 42% in four days on strong Q2 results
In Q2FY20, Tata Motors’s consolidated net loss narrowed to Rs 217 crore, from Rs 1,049 crore reported in the year-ago period, while net revenue dropped nine per cent to Rs 65,432 crore. Driven by an improvement in JLR’s operational metrics, earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) in the quarter rose 250 basis points (bps) to 12.4 per cent, the highest in 16 quarters. READ MORE
01:48 PM
YES Bank zooms 35% on $1.2 billion binding offer from global investor
Shares of YES Bank moved higher by 35 per cent to Rs 76.40 on the BSE on Thursday after the private sector lender said it has received a binding offer of US $1.2 billion from a global investor. “The bank has received a binding offer from a global investor for an investment of US $ 1.2 billion in the Bank through fresh issuance of equity shares, subject to regulatory approvals/conditions as well as Bank's board and shareholders approvals,” YES Bank said in a regulatory filing. READ MORE
YES Bank makes two senior management appointments; stock rises 5.5%
01:34 PM
NEWS ALERT | Board likely to consider binding offer on Nov 1: CNBC TV18
Alert: Bank to report its Q2 results tomorrow.
01:33 PM
NEWS ALERT | 4.5% equity of YES Bank, worth Rs 700 cr, traded in multiple blocks on NSE and BSE: CNBC TV18
01:31 PM
Around 45 securities hit 52-week high on the NSE
01:16 PM
NEWS ALERT | Binding offer from global investors via fresh issuance of equity shares: YES Bank
-- Offer will be accepted subject to Regulatory approvals
01:11 PM
NEWS ALERT | YES Bank receives binding offer of $1.2 billion
01:10 PM
Broader Market Check | Small-caps outperform benchmarks, index up 1.05%
12:56 PM
MARKET CHECK | Top 5 losers on the BSE at present
12:50 PM
BROKERAGE RADAR | Anand Rathi Financial Services on Indoco Remedies
We believe Indoco's FY20 to be a year of stablisation after a few hiccups regarding its plants catering to the US. Also, its domestic business has resumed normal growth and EU supply is expected to improve. Post-normalisation of its businesses, we expect a gradual step-up in earnings. We retain our Buy recommendation, at a lower target of Rs 191.
12:47 PM
Infosys surges nearly 5%; should you buy the stock now?
Shares of Infosys were trading higher for the fifth straight day, up 9 per cent in past one week, as compared to a three per cent rise in the benchmark index. Prior to that, share price of Infosys slipped 17 per cent in just three trading days from Rs 768 to Rs 635 after an anonymous whistleblower group called 'Ethical Employees' alleged that the company’s current management was taking 'unethical' steps to spur short-term revenue and profits. READ MORE
Infosys plans less staff deployment to meet future demands, check attrition
12:26 PM
BROKERAGE RADAR | Reliance Securities on Ramco Cements
A healthy improvement in sales volume and lower-than-expected decline in realisation were the key positive surprise. Capacity expansion of 4mnT without stretching its B/S much along with D/E ratio at 0.4x bodes well for TRCL. We maintain our long-term positive view on TRCL on the back of sustained volume growth and improving operating efficiency. Considering current valuations at 12.5x FY21 EBITDA, we do not see any meaningful upside from the current level. Hence, we maintain our HOLD recommendation on the stock with a revised Target Price of Rs 810.
12:13 PM
BROKERAGE RADAR | Geojit Financial Services on ZEEL
We expect company’s earnings to grow at a healthy 17.7% CAGR over FY19-21E. However, we remain cautious amidst mounting debt concerns and assign a HOLD rating on the stock with a revised TP of Rs 260 based on ~11x FY21E adj. EPS.
12:04 PM
Earnings Alert | Dhanlaxmi Bank Q2 result
-- Net profit at Rs 22.1 cr, up 81% YoY
-- Gross NPA at Rs 476.1 cr; 7.06% (vs 7.61% QoQ)
-- Net NPA at Rs 105.3 cr; 1.65% (vs 2.35% QoQ)
-- Loan growth at 7.2% YoY

12:01 PM
Two years on, debt resolution of first dozen firms still not complete
Of the 12 large accounts which were referred to the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) for resolution by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in 2017, resolution of seven corporate debtors has been approved and orders for liquidation has been passed in respect of two corporate debtors even as the resolution process for three of the remaining has not concluded. The combined debt of these 12 large accounts was Rs 3.45 trillion; the amount realised so far is Rs 1.01 trillion. READ MORE

11:51 AM
Rescuing India's PSU behemoths coming at the cost of fiscal restraint
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will spend about $9.5 billion to resuscitate telecom firms Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd., Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said at a briefing last week. The government is already pumping 300 billion rupees of tax payers’ money into state-run Air India Ltd., while fighter-jet maker Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. has been borrowing to pay employees this year after parting with its cash reserves as dividends to the government. READ MORE
11:41 AM
NEWS ALERT | US FDA issues EIR for Cadila Healthcare's Baddi unit: CNBC TV18
-- EIR establishes No Action Indicated
Alert: EIR is Establishment Inspection Report

April-September fiscal deficit at Rs 6.52 trillion, 92.6% of FY20 estimate

India's fiscal deficit reached nearly 93 per cent of the budget estimate at Rs 6.52 trillion at the end of September in the current financial year, government data showed on Thursday.
In absolute terms, the fiscal deficit or the gap between expenditure and revenue was Rs 6,51,554 crore as on September 30, according to the data released by the Controller General of Accounts (CGA).

The deficit stood at 95.3 per cent of the 2018-19 budget estimate (BE) in the corresponding month a year ago.
The government has pegged the fiscal deficit for the current financial year at Rs 7.03 trillion, aiming to restrict the deficit at 3.3 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP).
Notably, the government has let go of revenues to the tune of Rs 1.45 trillion by announcing cuts in corporate tax in September with a view to boosting the faltering economy.
The CGA data showed that revenue receipts of the government during the April-September 2019-20 period rose to 41.6 per cent of the BE compared to 40.1 per cent in the corresponding period last year.
In absolute terms, revenue receipts stood at Rs 8,16,467 crore at the end of September. For the entire 2019-20, the revenue receipts have been pegged at Rs 19.62 trillion.
The capital expenditure was 55.5 per cent of the BE as compared to 54.2 per cent in the year-ago period, the CGA data showed.
Total expenditure during April-September stood at Rs 14.88 trillion or 53.4 per cent of the BE, same as the corresponding period of the previous financial year.
The government has pegged its total expenditure for the financial year 2019-20 at Rs 27.86 trillion.
The fiscal deficit figure in monthly accounts during a financial year is not necessarily an indicator of fiscal deficit for the year, as per the CGA.
Its data gets impacted by temporal mismatch between flow of non-debt receipts and expenditure up to that month on account of various transitional factors both on receipt and expenditure side, which may get substantially offset by the end of the financial year.

Yes Bank gets $1.2 bn binding offer from a global investor for a stake sale

Yes Bank Ltd. said it got a $1.2 billion binding offer from a global investor for a stake sale, resulting in a rally that helped make it the world’s best performing bank share this month.
The Mumbai-based lender jumped 24% at the 3:30 p.m. close in Mumbai on Thursday following the announcement. The company didn’t name the investor in its exchange filing, though CNBC-TV18 said it was Hong Kong-based SPGP Holdings. The report didn’t cite anyone.

Yes Bank has been foundering since last year, culminating in the departure of co-founder Rana Kapoor, who was forced out by India’s central bank amid a dispute over the lender’s reporting of bad debts. Chief Executive Officer Ravneet Gill was brought in from Deutsche Bank AG in March to stabilize operations, and has spent the past few months trying to raise capital. A sale would reassure investors, who have seen the bank lose about 60% of its market value in the past year.
“If they are able to raise this capital then it will sustain Yes Bank’s growth for next one year,” said Kranthi Bathini, director at Wealthmills Securities Pvt. “But we need to know the name of the investor, timing of the capital infusion and the Reserve Bank of India’s comfort with this proposal.”
Gill said in an interview earlier this month that the share sale will happen “much sooner than the market expects.” The company has been in talks with private equity investors, technology companies and family offices.
Yes Bank rose to 70.30 rupees in Mumbai on Thursday. Its 3.75% U.S. dollar notes due February 2023 gained 3.9 cents on the dollar to 89.2 cents, according to prices compiled by Bloomberg.
Yes Bank shares have been volatile this year as investors react to news of the lender raising capital, and its attempt to resolve bad loans. They have risen 70% this month but are still down 62% over the past year.
A transaction is subject to regulatory and other approvals, according to the statement. The company is scheduled to release its quarterly earnings on Friday.

Core sector output contracts 5.2% in Sep, against 4.3% growth a year ago

Output of core infrastructure industries shrank by 5.2 per cent in September 2019 as seven of eight sectors witnessed negative growth, according to official data released on Thursday.
The eight core sectors had expanded by 4.3 per cent in September 2018.

Production of seven sectors of coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, cement, steel, and electricity contracted in September.
Fertilizers production increased by 5.4 per cent in September 2019 over the year-ago month.
During the April-September period, the growth of core industries fell to 1.3 per cent against 5.5 per cent in the year-ago period.

HBR's list of 10 best performing CEOs has 3 Indian-origin chief executives

Three Indian-origin CEOs have been featured in a list of world's top 10 best-performing chief executives.
'The Best-Performing CEOs in the World, 2019' list compiled by the Harvard Business Review (HBR) features 100 CEOs and has been topped by American technology company NVIDIA's CEO Jensen Huang.

Among the top 10 chief executives on the list, three spots have been occupied by the Indian-origin CEOs.
On the 6th spot is Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen, followed by MasterCard CEO Ajay Banga, ranked 7th and Microsoft chief Satya Nadella on the 9th spot. The list also features India-born CEO of DBS Bank Piyush Gupta on the 89th spot. Apple CEO Tim Cook is ranked 62nd.
The list also includes Nike CEO Mark Parker ranked 20, JPMorgan Chase chief Jamie Dimon (23), Lockheed Martin CEO Marillyn Hewson (37), Disney CEO Robert Iger (55) and SoftBank head Masayoshi Son (96).
The HBR said since 2015, its ranking has been based not only on financial performance but also on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) ratings.
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, who has been the top CEO every year since 2014 on the basis of financial performance alone, failed to make this year's list owing to Amazon's relatively low ESG scores.
To compile the list of the world's best-performing CEOs, HBR said it began with the companies that at the end of 2018 were in the S&P Global 1200, which is an index that reflects 70 per cent of the world's stock market capitalisation and includes firms in North America, Europe, Asia, Latin America, and Australia.
The HBR took into account three metrics for each CEO's tenure - the total shareholder return (including dividends reinvested) adjusted by country and by industry and change in market capitalisation (adjusted for dividends, share issues, and share repurchases), measured in inflation-adjusted USD.
The 2019 list has four female CEOs in the top half of the rankings, up from three in 2018 and just two in previous years.
"Each year when HBR publishes this list, some readers protest the paucity of women; each year we respond by saying it's the result not of the performance of female CEOs but of how few women serve in the rolea phenomenon we, too, find regrettable," the magazine said.
On average, the executives on the list became CEOs at age 45 and have been in office 15 years.
"The CEOs who appear in this year's list display remarkable longevityand illustrate how happy boards are to allow a high-performing leader to stay in the job for many years," it said.
Three Indian-origin CEOs have been featured in a list of world's top 10 best-performing chief executives.
'The Best-Performing CEOs in the World, 2019' list compiled by the Harvard Business Review (HBR) features 100 CEOs and has been topped by American technology company NVIDIA's CEO Jensen Huang.

Among the top 10 chief executives on the list, three spots have been occupied by the Indian-origin CEOs.
On the 6th spot is Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen, followed by MasterCard CEO Ajay Banga, ranked 7th and Microsoft chief Satya Nadella on the 9th spot. The list also features India-born CEO of DBS Bank Piyush Gupta on the 89th spot. Apple CEO Tim Cook is ranked 62nd.
The list also includes Nike CEO Mark Parker ranked 20, JPMorgan Chase chief Jamie Dimon (23), Lockheed Martin CEO Marillyn Hewson (37), Disney CEO Robert Iger (55) and SoftBank head Masayoshi Son (96).
The HBR said since 2015, its ranking has been based not only on financial performance but also on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) ratings.
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, who has been the top CEO every year since 2014 on the basis of financial performance alone, failed to make this year's list owing to Amazon's relatively low ESG scores.
To compile the list of the world's best-performing CEOs, HBR said it began with the companies that at the end of 2018 were in the S&P Global 1200, which is an index that reflects 70 per cent of the world's stock market capitalisation and includes firms in North America, Europe, Asia, Latin America, and Australia.
The HBR took into account three metrics for each CEO's tenure - the total shareholder return (including dividends reinvested) adjusted by country and by industry and change in market capitalisation (adjusted for dividends, share issues, and share repurchases), measured in inflation-adjusted USD.
The 2019 list has four female CEOs in the top half of the rankings, up from three in 2018 and just two in previous years.
"Each year when HBR publishes this list, some readers protest the paucity of women; each year we respond by saying it's the result not of the performance of female CEOs but of how few women serve in the rolea phenomenon we, too, find regrettable," the magazine said.
On average, the executives on the list became CEOs at age 45 and have been in office 15 years.
"The CEOs who appear in this year's list display remarkable longevityand illustrate how happy boards are to allow a high-performing leader to stay in the job for many years," it said.

Govt forms secretaries' panel on steps to ease financial stress in telecom

Days after the Supreme Court ordered telecom companies to pay as much as Rs 1.42 trillion in past statutory dues, the government is constituting a Committee of Secretaries (CoS) under the Cabinet Secretary to suggest measures to mitigate financial stress in the sector.
While the terms of reference of the panel do not explicitly mention the Supreme Court ruling of October 24, it has been asked to look at suggestions for deferring of payments for spectrum as well as re-look at the obligation to fund a universal service fund for operators.

The panel -- which will comprise secretaries of ministries of finance, telecommunication and law, among others -- is expected to meet shortly and submit recommendations in a time-bound manner, sources said.

In a bonanza for stock markets, govt may scrap DDT, review LTCG slabs

A bonanza is in the offing for the stock markets as the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) and the Finance Ministry are working on measures which may include dividend distribution tax (DDT) to be scrapped and a review of existing slabs and holding period of long term capital gains (LTCG), short term capital gains (STCG) and securities transaction tax (STT).
Officials of Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) and Revenue Department in the Finance Ministry have held meetings in this regard with the Prime Minister's Office (PMO).

The LTCG was introduced in the 2018 Budget after more than a decade with a tax of 10 per cent on an amount above Rs 1 lakh. There may be a review under which after a particular holding period, the tax may be done away with.
Short term capital gains are taxed at 15% of total gains for equity holdings less than a year. Capital assets in this category include listed equity shares, ETF (exchange traded fund) and equity-oriented mutual funds.
The STT is charged on buy and sale of securities instruments, including equity. The markets have been demanding reduction of the STT or doing away with it altogether. However, it is a big money spinner for the government, and it also helps to track equity buying at source and was introduced in 2004 after abolishing capital gains.
According to analysts, the announcement related to buyback attracting 20% tax to close the loophole on ADDT had made investors jittery. Also, no booster shot for LTCG, STCG and STT had left the stock markets disappointed.
The provision on buybacks was a new one, introduced in this year's Union Budget by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. The motive was to clamp down on the strategy of avoiding dividend distribution tax (DDT) through buyback of shares by listed companies. The Budget had proposed an additional tax of 20 per cent in case of buyback of shares by listed companies.
This was one of the key reasons for the nervousness in the stock markets post Budget when they fell heavily. Hundreds of companies which were planning buybacks were stuck in the middle of the new tax and since then there has been a lull for new buybacks. This has also unnerved investors who used to benefit from surrendering shares to the companies.
As per the Budget provision, as per section 115QA of the Act, buyback of unlisted shares attracts additional tax at 20% (plus surcharge and cess) in the hands of the company distributing the income on such buyback. Such income arising in the hands of shareholders is exempt under section 10(34A) of the Act.
However, such provision is not applicable on buyback of listed shares. "It is now proposed that section 115QA of the Act will be amended to include such tax on buyback of listed shares. Further, section 10(34A) of the Act is consequentially proposed to exempt income received by the shareholders on buyback of listed shares. The proposed amendment will be applicable with effect from 5 July 2019", the Budget provision said.

Shiv Sena not promised CM's post for two-and-a-half years: Fadnavis

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday said the Shiv Sena was not promised the CM's post for two-and-a-half years when the alliance was formalised before the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
Amid the ongoing tussle between the BJP and Shiv Sena over sharing of power in the next state government, Fadnavis asserted he will be the chief minister for next five years.

He also expressed displeasure over the Shiv Sena's mouthpiece 'Saamana' frequently targeting the BJP, saying its role was to "derail" the talks.
"There should be no doubt in anybody's mind that it will be a BJP-led government for next five years," Fadnavis told reporters at his official residence 'Varsha' here.
Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray last week reminded the BJP of the 50:50 formula "agreed upon" between himself, BJP president Amit Shah and Fadnavis ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.
The Sena demanded a written assurance from the BJP for implementing "equal formula for sharing of power" before holding talks on staking the claim to form the next alliance government in the state.
Commenting on the issue, Fadnavis said, "I have confirmed with Amit Shah and he told me that the BJP has not given any assurance for the chief minister's post for two- and-a-half years (each for the BJP and Sena) when the alliance was formalised before the Lok Sabha polls." Asked what was then the '50:50 formula', he said, "You will know soon."
To a query if the BJP will give the deputy chief minister's post to the Sena, Fadnavis said, "Appropriate decision will be taken."
The BJP-led alliance will provide a "stable and efficient" government for next five years, he said.
On the Sena talking about other options, Fadnavis said both the allies have no other alternative.
"We will form the government together. Reasonable demands on merit will be considered when we sit to talk government formation. There is no plan B. Plan A is successful," he said.
Fadnavis also expressed resentment over editorials in 'Saamana' against the BJP.
"The paper's role is to derail the talks. Will the paper take a hard stand on Congress-NCP?" he asked.
He said the BJP Legislature Party will elect its new leader on Wednesday.
On who will be the chief minister, Fadnavis said, "You have any doubt? It has already been decided. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has already announced the name and now it is a mere formality."
He was apparently referring to Modi's statement during campaigning for polls that Fadnavis will lead the coalition.
Fadnavis said Amit Shah will not be attending the legislature party meeting on Wednesday.
To another question, the chief minister said he is satisfied with the mandate.
"We expected to be in the first merit, but got first class first. Since 1990, no political party has got a good strike rate like the BJP in 2019," he said.
Asked when the government formation will take place, he said, "You will know soon."

Tata Sons stake in Tata Motors to rise to 43.73% post preferential issue

Tata Sons, the promoter of major operating companies of the Tata Group, will increase its shareholding in Tata Motors to 43.73 per cent after the proposed Rs 6,500 crore preferential issue by the automobile manufacturer.
Last week, Tata Mortors' board had approved raising of Rs 6,500 crore via preferential allotment of securities to Tata Sons.

In a notice for extraordinary general meeting (EGM) seeking shareholders' nod, Tata Motors said as on September 30, 2019 Tata Sons held 35.3 per cent stake in the company.
Explaining the reasons for raising funds from its promoters, Tata Motors said the domestic business has been hit by slowdown which "significantly impacted sales volumes, profitability and cash flows and increased the net debt to unsustainable levels".
Tata Motors group has a net debt of Rs 50,000 crore out of which Tata Motors Ltd alone account for Rs 20,000 crore.
"Though the company remains optimistic on medium to long-term growth in the Indian market, the near-term demand situation is fluid and the slowdown has come at an inopportune time when capital expenditure intensity will remain high due to continued focus on exciting products and BS VI transition," Tata Motors said.
Also, the company said its British arm Jaguar Land Rover continues to face risk from external factors despite improvement in performance and recovery in China.
"However, JLR continues to face risks from a slowing global economy, Brexit related uncertainties, trade wars and disruptions from ACES (autonomous connected electric shared)," Tata Motors said.
JLR will require continued investments in products and technologies to drive growth in this situation, it added.
"Hence despite improving business fundamentals, these external risks could impact the company's and JLR's credit ratings and ability to refinance competitively," Tata Motors said.
The company further said, "The preferential allotment to its promoter, at a premium to the current market price, was chosen to minimise dilution impact and for a successful and speedy execution".
As part of the fund raising plan, Tata Motors will issue up to 20,16,23,407 ordinary shares at a price of Rs 150 per share aggregating Rs 3,024.35 crore.
It will also issue up to 23.13 crore (23,13,33,871) convertible warrants each carrying a right to subscribe to one ordinary share per warrant, at a price of Rs 150 per warrant aggregating Rs 3,470 crore.
Tata Motors' board had also approved in principle raising of additional funds up to Rs 3,500 crore through external commercial borrowings.
The company said the EGM will be held on November 22 and the ordinary shares and warrants will be allotted to Tata Sons within a period of 15 days from the date of passing of this resolution, subject to regulatory approvals.

Govt likely to order SFIO probe into financial irregularities at DHFL

The government is likely to order an SFIO probe on the financial irregularities at troubled mortgage firm DHFL soon, an official said.
The Registrar of Companies, Mumbai office, has submitted its report on Dewan Housing Finance Corporation (DHFL) to the Ministry of Corporate Affairs a couple of days ago, an official said.

There is good enough reason to refer the DHFL matter to Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO), the official said adding, the report indicates fund diversion and siphoning.
The matter will be referred to the agency in the next few days, the official added.

Biocon moves up to sixth spot in Global Biotech Employers ranking

Bengaluru-headquartered biopharmaceuticals company Biocon Ltd has moved up to sixth spot in the Top 10 Global Biotech Employers ranking for 2019.
It continues to be the only company from Asia to feature on the prestigious US-based 'Science' magazine's annual 'Science Careers Top 20 Employers' list, since its debut in 2012.
Ranked at number six among global pharma and biotech companies in 2019, Biocon has moved up from number seven in 2018 and number nine in 2017.
Biocon said in a statement it has been consistently recognised for three key attributes: "Innovative leader in the industry, 'is socially responsible' and leadership makes changes needed."
The ranking is a result of the 2019 Science Careers Top Employers global survey conducted by the US-based Science magazine to determine which companies in the biotech and pharmaceutical industry have the best reputations as employers globally.
Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, CMD, Biocon said: "We have consciously created a culture that encourages ideation, experimentation and collaboration to address unmet patient needs."

Biocon was ahead of leading global pharma companies like Novozymes, Roche, Eli Lilly, Abbott, Novartis, Pfizer etc. in the 2019 rankings.
The Top 5 global players in this year's list are Alnylam, Regeneron, Incyte, Merck KGaA and Spark therapeutics.
Respondents to the web-based survey were asked to rate companies based on 23 characteristics, including 'innovative leader in the industry,' 'treating employees with respect,' 'is socially responsible,' 'work culture values aligned' and 'leadership makes changes needed,' it was stated.

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

Shares of Marico slipped up to 7.3 per cent to Rs 362.35 on the BSE on Tuesday on tepid growth in the September quarter of FY20. Despite a 17 per cent rise in the net profit, weakness in the domestic business dented sentiment.
The fast moving consumer goods (FMCG)-major reported a 3 per cent year-on-year (YoY) decline in the domestic business turnover at Rs 1,398 crore due to "an accelerated slowdown in consumption". READ REPORT HERE

"While offtakes in some of the key categories declined during the quarter, Marico offtake growths were ahead of the category growths in these segments, leading to market share gains. In the traditional channel, constrained liquidity ailed both the urban and rural segments leading to correction in trade inventories," the company said in a statement.
Sales of Parachute Rigids declined by 1 per cent, value added hair oils was flat in volume terms, while Male Grooming declined marginally during the quarter, the company added.
"The company had a soft second quarter in the face of a challenging liquidity and consumption environment in the domestic market, especially in rural, while the international business provided some respite on the back of a robust performance in Bangladesh," it said.
The company’s International business reported 8 per cent value growth and 9 per cenr in constant currency terms led by broad based growth in Bangladesh of 15 per cent in constant currency while in remaining markets it had a flat quarter, the financial statements of the company show.
"The company had a challenging quarter for domestic business, impacted by low consumption environment. Low input prices led to strong gross margin expansion, expected to have better margins in the near term also... Going forward, company’s distribution expansion and rejig distribution channel with improvement in demand scenario on the back of government initiatives will drive the growth," analysts at Narnolia said in a earnings update.
Overall, however, the manufacturer of Parachute Coconut Oil and Saffola Refined Oil reported a 17 per cent YoY growth in PAT at Rs 253 crore. Revenue growth was flat at Rs 1,864 crore YoY, while EBITDA grew 16 per cent to Rs 353 crore. EBITDA margin expanded by 270 basis points to 19.3 per cent in the recently concluded quarter. The FMCG major forecast its EBITDA margin at 20 per cent plus in the India business over the medium term.
"The company expects mid single digit growth from India business in 2H if consumption improves," the managemenr said in an analysts' call.
At 10:20 am, the stock was trading 6.9 per cent lower at Rs 364.8 apiece. In comparison, the S&P BSE Sensex was ruling 0.73 per cent higher at 39,583 level. A total of 3.57 million shares changed hands on the NSE and BSE till the time of writing of this report. Nifty FMCG index was trading 0.24 per cenr lower, led by Marico, Emami, United Breweries, and Dabur.

IBC resolutions exceed new time limit of 330 days prescribed by govt

The average time taken for completion of 156 CIRPs that have yielded resolution plans has overshot the government's revised deadline of 330 days for completion of the process.
According to the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) data, till September 2019, 156 CIRPs have yielded resolutions and the average time taken for resolution, including the time excluded by the adjudicating authority (AA) is 374 days; if the time excluded by the AA is considered then the average time taken would stand at 347 days. Either way, the time taken for resolution is more than the government's revised deadline of 330 days.

In July, in a bid to expedite the resolution process, the government made amendments to the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) that included revising the time limit to 330 days. The amendments though passed by the Parliament are facing a legal challenge in the Supreme Court by operational creditors to Essar Steel.
The outside time limit for resolutions earlier was 270 days. In many cases however that timeline had been breached largely due to litigation from different stakeholders. In most cases, insolvency courts had excluded the time period of litigation.
ICRA vice president, Abhishek Dafria, said, CIRPs, on an average, continue to take more than the initial 270-day timeline and exceed even the revised 330-day timeline.
As on September 30, 2019, 535 of the 1,497 onging CIRPs had exceeded the 270-day timeline; 324 had exceeded 180 days but were within 270-day timeframe. The total number of cases admitted were 2,542.
chart"The increasing number of cases being admitted challenges the NCLT infrastructure to close cases in a timely manner. CIRPs that are ongoing have reached an all-time high with close to 1,500 as at the end of September 2019," said Dafria.
While the average time taken is 374 days, there are cases from the RBI's first list of NPAs mandated for resolution under the IBC that have now been dragging for more than two years like Essar Steel and Bhushan Power & Steel. Essar Steel was admitted on August 2, 2017 and Bhushan Power on July 26, 2017.
Insolvency professional, Sumit Binani, said that timely resolution was one of the basic objectives of the Code. "The timeline was revised as it was not being maintained. The amended maximum resolution time limit of 330 days which includes the litigation period would ensure that the two important pillars of the Code i.e. the resolution professional and the adjudicating authority take timely steps to complete the process," he said.
Binani pointed out that the infrastructure was also being beefed up to gear up to the new timeline. More members had been added, new places and newer buildings were being looked at so that more courts could be added.
"There would also be separate benches for NCLAT in all metros with the first coming up in Chennai," he said.
If the resolution process is not completed within 330 days, then an order would be passed for liquidation. The average time taken for completion of 156 CIRPs that have yielded orders for liquidation however is 300 days.
About 56.17 per cent of the CIRPs that were closed ended in liquidation compared to 14.93 per cent ending with a resolution plan. However, 72.86 per cent CIRPs ending in liquidation were earlier with the BIFR or defunct.

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

The Indian economy has generated a contest of imaginations, which are feeding on hopes and fears. They all serve to meet their own needs of the moment. Uddalok Bhattacharya sums up
With a greater focus by state governments on improving the ease of doing business in their jurisdiction, India can surely hope, as the Prime Minister has exhorted us, to be one of the top 50 in this globally.
Rajiv Kumar explains how
Privatisation that is not carefully planned does little to help the economy, says T T Ram Mohan
In 2018-19 the wage increase in India’s best employers could not keep pace with inflation, says Mahesh Vyas. This is disquieting.
OUR EDIT SAYS:
The recent tax cuts have helped, but India Inc’s revenue growth is not encouraging
QUOTE
"We sought votes neither for the BJP nor for the Congress. People gave 1.86 million votes in JJP's (Jannayak Janata Party’s) favour and we won ten seats."
Haryana Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala

Change engines of 16 A320Neo within 15 days or face action: DGCA to IndiGo

IndiGo has been instructed by the civil aviation regulator to change engines on 16 of its Airbus A320neos, following three instances of aircraft turning back. The regulator has warned the airline the aircraft would have to be grounded if the changes are not completed in the next 15 days.
IndiGo has a fleet of 245, including 89 A320neos. These are powered by Pratt & Whitney (PW) engines and have been facing low-pressure turbine issues, main gearbox failure, and engine vibration, resulting in schedule disruptions. While modifications have been carried out, the regulator wants IndiGo to take more steps.

“We have decided that all aircraft with unmodified LPT engines, which have clocked more than 2,900 hours, have to be fitted with one modified LPT engine in the next 15 days,” said Director General of Civil Aviation Arun Kumar.
Change engines of 16 A320Neo within 15 days or face action: DGCA to IndiGo
The action follows the analysis of the three incidents between October 24 and 26 due to LPT failure. A team of Directorate General of Civil Aviation officials met the airline’s senior management on Monday. “IndiGo has been instructed to ensure no Airbus A320neo which has two PW 1100 series engine of more than 3,000 hours engine life each should be operated. IndiGo has been given a fortnight to comply with the instructions,” said Kumar.
While the IndiGo management had last week said it saw improvement in engine performance and reduction in snags, the regulator took a strict view and possible grounding of planes.
In a statement on Monday, IndiGo said, “We are continuing to work with the authorities and will take necessary action, as required, going forward.”
“We can see significant overall improvement. The in-flight shut-down rate has come down to 0.01 per 1,000 engine flight hours,” the airline’s Chief Operating Officer Wolfgang Prock-Schauer informed analysts after the second-quarter results.
He added, “The regulatory requirement laid down by the US Federal Aviation Administration and European Aviation Safety Agency is 0.05 and we are within the regulatory limit.” He did not specify the engine’s previous shut-down rate.
Prock-Schauer said many of the issues related to the engine have been fixed and the airline is on track to resolve the rest. These pertain to LPT, main gearbox, and engine vibration.
He said all the A320neo planes delivered after May have the necessary modification which addresses LPT failure.
“The main gearbox issue has been fixed and all the required software changes have been done,” he clarified.
Global regulators do not call for maintenance action if engine vibration is below a certain threshold, but the airline has a taken a cautious approach over the issue and is taking all necessary action, Prock-Schauer said.

Gold rush ahead? Price may surge to Rs 42,000 by Dec-end, say analysts

Geo-political uncertainties, sustained central bank buying and the rupee’s weakness against US dollar will keep gold under pressure and are likely to push the prices up to Rs 42,000 per 10 grams level by the end this year, according to analysts.
"Geo-political uncertainties emerging from the Middle East may continue to underpin gold prices going ahead to $1,650 an ounce in Comex markets and Rs 42,000 in MCX," Commtrendz Research co-founder and CEO Gnansekar Thiagarajan told PTI here.

The yellow metal is likely to continue to remain bullish till the end of the year mostly due to sustained Central bank buying, geo-political uncertainties and possible year-end squaring of positions in equities boosting appeal for safe-haven gold, he added.
Gold prices were at Rs 38,302 per 10 grams in MCX, while it was at $1,506 in Comex.
Motilal Oswal Financial Services (MOFSL) VP-commodity Research, Navneet Damani said, this year has proved to be one of the best years for gold returns as prices have risen by 15 per cent on the domestic front, getting some support from weakness in the rupee that has fallen by 1.4 per cent against the dollar.
"We expect that positive momentum for gold could continue further, but the pace of rally could get measured as uncertainties related to trade war is taking back seat. This slowdown in major economies could push central banks to remain dovish for an extended period and that will support gold prices," he added.
The ease off in trade war could lead to some correction in prices, however, the prices remain bullish and expect to move higher to test previous highs of Rs 39,500 by the end of the year, he pointed out.
Kotak securities head of commodities Ravindra Rao said going forward gold is expected to average in a broad range of $1,460-1,530 in dollar and rupee terms average between Rs 36,800-39,400 on MCX.
Investment demand which is the indicator of the safe haven buying in the yellow metal has surged in the third quarter, he said.
Although, the optimism about US-China trade talks and a Brexit deal has prompted traders to book some profits the gold remained bullish as the ongoing trade concerns have already impacted the global economy as seen from the International Monetary Fund projections, he opined.
As per the IMF the global economy is projected to grow at 3.5 per cent in 2019 and 3.6 per cent in 2020, 0.2 and 0.1 percentage point below last October's projections, he added.
Abans Group chairman Abhishek Bansal said geopolitical tensions flared in the Middle East after an attack on the Saudi Aramco oil facility on September 14.
"Gold also found support after US lawmakers launched a formal impeachment inquiry on President Donald Trump on September 24. All these developments created fresh uncertainty in the financial markets, which raised gold prices during the second and third week of September," he added.
The spot gold prices are likely to bounce back while remaining above the critical support level of $1,458, he said.
"Gold prices in India would remain firm as we expect the rupee to weaken further from current levels. The government's plan to boost economic activity through various tax sops could end up in higher fiscal deficit, thereby causing depreciation of the rupee," he added.

Steelmakers face debt challenges amid falling prices, slowing consumption

India's biggest steelmakers may be suffering from buyer's remorse as assets they bought from bankrupt rivals stretch their bottom lines while market conditions have worsened.
Less than 18 months after scooping up these distressed assets in the hopes of extracting value and boosting market share, the steelmakers are struggling to meet sales and production targets because of a slowdown in the key construction and auto sectors.

Tata Steel Ltd, JSW Steel Ltd and others are also wrestling with falling revenues amid high debt loads.
"The operating environment has changed from when they bid for these plants," said Amit Dixit, senior steel analyst with brokerage firm Edelweiss Financial Services. "So their payback period obviously gets elongated now."
Steel prices were high and demand was booming then. Now, confronted with falling prices and slower consumption, steelmakers are facing the risk of credit downgrades, job losses and cuts in capital expenditure.
Arnab Kumar Hazra, assistant secretary general at the Indian Steel Association, an industry group that also represents major steel producers, noted companies would take a longer time to turn their assets around in the current environment.
A deepening credit crunch in India's shadow banking industry following the collapse of a major infrastructure lender in 2018 has sharply dented spending on cars and real estate in India.
Domestic steel consumption in September was at its lowest since the start of the fiscal year 2019/20, according to official data.
A synchronised global economic slowdown amid the US-China trade war has compounded the problem, quashing global steel consumption and intensifying competition among exporters.
JSW Steel Ltd, which bought Monnet Ispat & Energy Ltd in September last year, had promised to turn it around within a year but now says it will take another year.
The company will also miss its sales and production target for 2019/20 by 3% and has had to cut its capital expenditure by a third, said Seshagiri Rao, JSW's joint managing director and group chief financial officer.
"There is a credit squeeze, there is prolonged monsoon, a weaker government expenditure and fall in consumer demand," Rao said.
Tata Steel, which bought specialty steel firm Usha Martin Ltd in April, told Reuters the turnaround of the company would be delayed.
Tata Steel and JSW are not alone.
The world's biggest steelmaker ArcelorMittal and partner Nippon Steel and Sumitomo Metal Corp, which committed $6 billion to acquire a 10 million tonne steel plant in India, will face similar issues, analysts have said.
Pressure Building
The problems afflicting the steel majors, which together control over half the country's total steel production, have already surfaced among mid-sized firms.
"Inventory is high, debtor days have extended, and most mid-level steel companies are now contemplating job cuts," said R.K. Goyal, managing director of Kalyani Steels Ltd which relies heavily on the automotive sector for steel orders.
The credit crunch and slowdown in autos and real estate pushed India's GDP growth to a six-year low of 5% in the April-June quarter, in a troubling sign for the steel sector whose fortunes are closely tied to the broader economy.
The extent of the slowdown is prompting companies to revise capital expenditure plans and others to question the ability of companies to achieve debt reduction goals.
Despite Tata Steel's move to partially defer expenditure on expansions, IIFL analyst Anupam Gupta said its plans to cut debt by $1 billion this fiscal year look ambitious, given weakening profitability across India and Europe.
Brokerage firm Edelweiss expects both JSW Steel and Tata Steel to see increases this year in their debt to EBIDTA ratios - a metric that reflects the cash available to companies to pay debts.
And the downward pressure on steelmakers does not look set to reverse soon.
"We are just sitting idle and waiting for the tide to turn," Kalyani Steels' Goyal said.

Justice S A Bobde to take over as 47th CJI, will assume office on Nov 18

Justice Sharad Arvind Bobde was on Tuesday appointed as the 47th Chief Justice of India, sources in the government said.
Justice Bobde, 63, will take oath as the CJI on November 18, a day after incumbent Ranjan Gogoi demits office.

He will have a tenure of 17 months and would demit office on April 23, 2021.
His Warrant of Appointment have been signed by President Ram Nath Kovind and a formal notification is expected shortly, the sources said.

MARKET LIVE: Sensex jumps 400 pts, Nifty tops 11,700 as autos, metals surge

markets
Extending their gains, benchmark indices were trading a per cent higher in the morning deals on Tuesday.
The S&P BSE Sensex was trading at 39,641 levels, up 400 points or 1 per cent while NSE's Nifty50 index was hovering near 11,750 level at 11,744, up 118 points or 1 per cent.
On the sectoral front, barring FMCG and media counters, all the indices were trading in the green.
In the broader market, the S&P BSE Midcap index was trading 0.57 per cent higher at 14,524 while the S&P BSE SmallCap index was trading 0.50 per cent higher at 13,377 levels.
EARNINGS TODAY
About 17 companies are scheduled to announce their Q2FY20 results today.
BUZZING STOCKS
Shares of Bharti Airtel slipped up to 4 per cent in the opening deals on Tuesday after the company deferred its September quarter results till November 14 saying it needed more clarity on adjusted gross revenue (AGR) matter. The company was slated to release its financial results today. READ MORE
Shares of Tata Motors jumped as much as 15 per cent in the morning deals on Tuesday on better-than-expected Q2 results. The auto major had settled over 16 per cent higher during the one-hour Muhurat Trading session on Sunday, that marked the beginning of new Samvat year - 2076. In two trading sessions, the stock has jumped 34 per cent. READ MORE
Shares of Marico slipped up to 7.3 per cent to Rs 362.35 on the BSE on Tuesday on tepid growth in the September quarter of FY20. Despite a 17 per cent rise in the net profit, weakness in the domestic business dented sentiment. READ MORE

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12:02 PM
MARKET CHECK | Top 5 gainers on the BSE at present
12:00 PM
IndiGo dips 5% as DGCA warns of action post 3 cases of in-flight shut-downs
InterGlobe Aviation-run IndiGo airlines slipped for the third consecutive day, down 5 per cent on the BSE on Tuesday, after industry regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) instructed the airline to change engines on 16 of its Airbus A320neos, following three instances of in-flight engine shut-downs. The regulator has warned the airline the aircraft would have to be grounded if the changes are not completed in the next 15 days. READ MORE

11:53 AM
BROKERAGE RADAR | Dolat Analysis & Research Themes (DART) on Castrol India
Castrol India has been continuously working on protecting margins with sustainable growth. Given the under performance of the stock price for a prolonged period, CSTRL business performance in the next two quarters will be crucial for the long term stock outlook. Recommend Accumulate, with a target price of Rs 172, to trade at 19x CY20 EPS.
11:40 AM
NEWS ALERT | Strategic p'ship with Saudi to include Saudi investment in downstream oil projects: PM Modi
-- Lookign forward to Aramco's participation in India's strategic petro reserves
(As reported by CNBC TV18)
11:30 AM
Market check | Sensex trades near 4-month high
11:26 AM
BROKERAGE RADAR | MOFSL on SBI
SBIN reported a moderation in slippages across segments (after elevated slippages in 1Q), while it prudently used the gain from the stake sale in SBI Life to create higher provisions. The bank carries sufficient provisions to cushion earnings; however, given the macro slowdown and the limited visibility on the resolution of large stressed accounts, we expect credit cost to stay elevated over the near term. Margins have improved but appear to have peaked out as monetary easing continues exerting pressure on incremental yields. We fine tune our earnings and estimate SBIN to deliver PAT of Rs 199b/Rs 296b in FY20/21 (+1.3%/2.6%). Maintain Buy with a target price of Rs 350 (1.1x FY21E ABV for the bank).

11:15 AM
BROKERAGE RADAR | HDFC Securities on ICICI Bank
We continue to like to the structural change in the bank’s B/S (increasing retailisation) and P&L fortification (better margins, lower LLPs due to better coverage). These trends appear sustainable and are likely to persist over the medium term. Our estimates did factor a slight increase in stress in the near term, hence they have not changed significantly. Limited exposure to known stressed names gives us some comfort and we believe the worst in terms of asset quality is long past ICICIBC. Maintain BUY with an SOTP of Rs 510 (2.0x Sept-21E core ABV of Rs 193 and sub-value of Rs 125).
11:03 AM
Steelmakers face debt challenges amid falling prices, slowing consumption
India's biggest steelmakers may be suffering from buyer's remorse as assets they bought from bankrupt rivals stretch their bottom lines while market conditions have worsened. Less than 18 months after scooping up these distressed assets in the hopes of extracting value and boosting market share, the steelmakers are struggling to meet sales and production targets because of a slowdown in the key construction and auto sectors. READ MORE
steel plant, steel, steel factory
10:58 AM
NEWS ALERT | Govt reviews equity-related tax rate rationalisation, reports CNBC-TV18
10:57 AM
MARKET CHECK | Nifty tops 11,700
10:55 AM
Market check
10:45 AM
Marico declines 7% as consumption slowdown hits domestic biz in Q2
Shares of Marico slipped up to 7.3 per cent to Rs 362.35 on the BSE on Tuesday on tepid growth in the September quarter of FY20. Despite a 17 per cent rise in the net profit, weakness in the domestic business dented sentiment.

The fast moving consumer goods (FMCG)-major reported a 3 per cent year-on-year (YoY) decline in the domestic business turnover at Rs 1,398 crore due to "an accelerated slowdown in consumption". READ MORE
10:39 AM
Market check | Nifty50 reclaims 11,700 after 4 sessions
10:36 AM
Tata Motors extends rally on encouraging Q2 results, jumps 34% in 2 days
On Friday, Tata Motors reported a better-than-expected earnings for the September quarter, with improvement in the operational performance at Jaguar Land Rover, its Britain-based luxury vehicle arm. 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. READ MORE
10:20 AM
Market check | Sensex near day's high
10:06 AM
Bharti Airtel slips 4% as it defers September quarter results on AGR matter
Shares of Bharti Airtel slipped up to 4 per cent in the opening deals on Tuesday after the company deferred its September quarter results till November 14 saying it needed more clarity on adjusted gross revenue (AGR) matter. The company was slated to release its financial results today. READ MORE
Bharti Airtel narrows its revenue gap with Reliance Jio in March quarter
09:57 AM
Market check
09:46 AM
BROKERAGE RADAR | ICICI Securities on Astral Poly Technik
We model revenue, earning CAGR of ~22%, ~35%, respectively, in FY19-21E led by volume growth, recovery in EBITDA margin. Though we believe in strong fundamentals of APTL coupled with intact demand outlook (led by government push on housing & infra sectors), the current price discounts all near term positives. We maintain HOLD rating on the stock.
09:28 AM
Momentum Picks by ICICI Securities
09:27 AM
Top 5 losers on the BSE at present
09:26 AM
RESULTS IMPACT | Pfizer gains over 4.50% after Q2 results
09:24 AM
Bharti Airtel slips 3% as it defers Q2 results
09:23 AM
BUZZING STOCK | Tata Motors jumps 10%
09:21 AM
Sectoral gainers and losers on the NSE
09:21 AM
Top gainers and losers on the S&P BSE Sensex
09:19 AM
OPENING DEALS
At 09:17 am, the S&P BSE Sensex was trading 42 points or 0.11 per cent higher at 39,293 levels while NSE's Nifty50 index was ruling at 11,637, up 10 points or 0.09 per cent.
09:05 AM
Top gainers and losers on S&P BSE Sensex during Pre-open
09:04 AM
Market at Pre-open
09:04 AM
Market at Pre-open
09:03 AM
Rupee Opening Alert
-- Rupee opens higher at 70.72/$ vs Friday's close of Rs 70.88/$
-- Trades at 1-month high

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

Bharti Airtel said on Tuesday it has postponed its second-quarter earnings report to mid-November, as the wireless operator sought clarity on the court ruling asking telecom firms to cough up overdue payments to the government.
Shares of the company, which was expected to release its quarterly numbers later in the day, dropped 3.3 per cent in early trade.

The company's board, which met earlier in the day, accepted the management's recommendation to shift the September-quarter results to Nov. 14, the telecom operator said in a statement.
The Supreme Court last week upheld a demand by the country's telecoms department (DoT) that wireless carriers pay 920 billion rupees ($12.97 billion) in overdue levies and interest.
The company is approaching the DoT to seek clarity on the total amount involved and seek their support to deal with this "adverse outcome", Airtel said.
Airtel's rivals have also expressed concerns about the court ruling. Loss-making smaller rival Vodafone Idea said it will ask the federal government for relief on payments of at least $4 billion after the court ruling.

Chidambaram taken to AIIMS after he complains of stomach ache: Report

Former finance minister and senior Congress leader P Chidambaram, who is currently in the custody of Enforcement Directorate in the INX Media case, was taken to AIIMS on Monday after he complained of stomach ache and other related issues.
Sources said Chidambaram was taken to the RML Hospital in the morning but has now been shifted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences here.

Chidambaram complained of illness and pain in the stomach, the sources added.
Sources at AIIMS said the former union minister was brought to the hospital around 5.40 PM and is being examined by a team of doctors in the old private ward.
While those close to Chidambaram said "his condition is not good", ED sources claimed "there was nothing serious".

EU nations agree to Brexit extension until January 31: Donald Tusk

The European Union on Monday agreed a 3-month flexible delay to departure from the bloc as Prime Minister Boris Johnson pushes for an election after opponents forced him to request an extension he had vowed never to ask for.
Just three days before the United Kingdom is due to leave the EU on Oct. 31 at 2300 GMT, Brexit is hanging in the balance as British politicians are no closer to reaching a consensus on how, when or even if the divorce should take place.

Johnson, who became prime minister by pledging - "do or die" - to deliver Brexit on Oct. 31, was driven into requesting a postponement after he was defeated in parliament over the sequencing of the ratification of his divorce deal.
The 27 countries that will remain in the EU after Brexit agreed on Monday to put off Brexit until the end of January with an earlier departure possible should the faction-ridden UK parliament ratify their separation deal.
"The EU27 has agreed that it will accept the UK's request for a Brexit 'flextension' until 31 January 2020," European Council President Donald Tusk said in a tweet, referring to the idea of a "flexible extension".
But EU member states will need Britain to formally respond to its offer of a 3-month delay to Brexit before launching a "written procedure" whereby governments will have 24 hours to accept or reject the delay.
"We can only launch the written procedure when we have the agreement of the UK government on the text," said a senior EU official.
Two senior EU diplomats confirmed that the written procedure period agreed was 24 hours, effective from the time London accepts the offer of a Brexit delay from Oct. 31 to Jan. 31.
Britain's departure has already been delayed twice - from March 29 and April 12 - after Johnson's predecessor, Theresa May, failed three times to get her deal ratified by parliament.
With British politics still paralysed over carrying out Brexit 3-1/2 years after a 52%-48% referendum vote in favour of Leave, Johnson is demanding parliament approve an election on Dec. 12 in return for more time to adopt his deal.
But he needs the support of two-thirds of the 650 lawmakers for a new election. A House of Commons vote is due later on Monday.
"FLEXTENSION"
The EU, forged from the ruins of World War Two as a way to prevent another devastating conflict in Europe, is fatigued by Britain's Brexit crisis but keen not to be held responsible for an economically tumultuous "no-deal" Brexit.
French President Emmanuel Macron had been the main hurdle to an extension, arguing there had to be a good reason for a delay and that the British needed to break their own political deadlock. But a source close to Macron said the prospect of an election in Britain had strengthened significantly.
The source stressed that the third Brexit delay would come with conditions, including a refusal to renegotiate the divorce agreement and giving a green light to other EU countries to meet without Britain to discuss the bloc's future.
The latest delay plan envisages that Britain could be out on Dec. 1 or Jan. 1 should parliament ratify the agreement in November or December, respectively, according to diplomats who deal with Brexit in Brussels.
The EU will state that the extension, the third granted so Britain can sort out the details of its departure, will not be used to renegotiate the divorce treaty again, and that London should not impede other essential work by the EU on projects ranging from budgets to climate policies.