Billionaire Mukesh Ambani is looking to activate the vast workforce of Reliance Industries Ltd. to drum up interest in the blockbuster initial public offering of his empire’s telecom and digital services arm Jio Platforms Ltd., even bringing forward some salaries to give employees access to investable cash.

India wants to promote trade settlements in rupee to help partner countries facing a shortage of hard currencies so that they continue importing essential goods, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Friday.

When countries struggling to access hard currencies often face difficulties in maintaining trade despite their need to import goods, and local currency settlements could help address the problem.

Mutual funds have stopped accepting fresh investments in their gold fund of funds (FoFs) from Friday. The restrictions, which mutual fund (MF) officials said were imposed on the instructions of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), come amid concerns over the current account deficit and continued pressure on the rupee.

The Indian economy is expected to grow by 7.1-7.3 per cent in the current fiscal, with a sustained revival in private investment providing an additional source of demand, Deloitte India said on Friday.

However, geopolitical tensions, volatile energy prices and trade disruptions pose risks to the growth outlook, it added.

Reliance Industries on Friday said it has never feared competition and that India's regulatory framework treats domestic and foreign companies equally, responding to recent criticism by billionaire Elon Musk over delays in the launch of his satellite internet service, Starlink, in the country.

"In light of recent remarks about Reliance and the Indian market, we wish to place the facts on record," the company said in a statement.

Capital market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has revised the Closing Auction Session (CAS) framework, addressing key concerns surrounding the derivatives settlement. The regulator has changed trading timings and the methodology for determining settlement prices of stock and index derivatives contracts.

Following the move, Jefferies in a note said that the decision to change the methodology for calculating settlement prices of index derivatives on expiry days to the volume-weighted average price (VWAP) is a bigger positive for brokers versus exchanges.

Air India has set up a multi-disciplinary team to identify cost-saving opportunities across its operations and tightened spending approvals as it faces high jet fuel prices, airspace disruptions and the impact of the conflict in West Asia, news agency PTI reported.

Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Tewolde Gebremariam has reportedly asked employees to adopt a culture of frugality and accountability.

India has used up about half of the more than $140 billion it mobilised through special measures to bolster its foreign exchange war chest earlier ​this year, highlighting pressure on the rupee and the central bank's determination ​to turn the tide.

The Reserve Bank of India's spot market dollar sales to support the local ‌currency.

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday said the first phase of the India-US trade pact has been finalised and is undergoing legal drafting.

He expressed hope that it would be finalised soon and operationalised once India secures a competitive advantage over its peer countries.

Delhi Police Commissioner Anurag Kumar has told the Supreme Court that timely, proportionate and lawful measures taken by the police helped avert a major public order situation during the recent protests in the national capital.

The commissioner, who tendered an unconditional and unqualified apology to the apex court in a contempt case, said that preventive measures undertaken on October 10.

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