Reliance Industries (RIL) hit a new high of Rs 890, up 1.6% on the BSE in early morning trade, after the company reported a 12.5% increase consolidated net profit at Rs 8,109 crore for the second-quarter ended September 2017 (Q2FY18) on back of higher margins from its core refining and petrochemical businesses. The company had reported profit of Rs 7,206 crore in the same quarter of last fiscal year.

Consolidated revenue increased by 24% to Rs 101,169 crore during the quarter ending September as against Rs 81,651 crore in year-ago period.

The Odisha government’s Directorate of Treasuries and Inspection and the State Bank of India have signed an MOU for integration of SBI e-Pay with cyber treasury. The MoU is a landmark initiative by the state government to facilitate revenue collection from citizens through digital banking platform, an official said. The SBI e-Pay is the payment aggregator service wing of the bank which will facilitate on line payment of government dues by the customers of any public/ private sector banks by using the payment gateway of SBI.

To help its employees gain creativity, focus and happiness, Microsoft has built treehouse workspaces with embedded tech at its Redmond campus that will serve as meeting spaces and a more casual work environment. Designed by renowned builder Pete Nelson, the treehouse is one of the three new branch-based meeting spaces and is part of a larger new system of technology-enabled outdoor districts connected to buildings around campus empowering employees to work in new ways.

Mumbai: Indian rupee on Friday strengthened for the fifth session, its longest winning streak since February, to hit near three-week high against the US dollar on steady inflation and better-than-expected factory output data.

The home currency ended at 64.92 against the dollar, up 0.26% from its Thursday’s close of 65.09. The rupee opened at 64.95 a dollar and touched a high of 64.87, a level last seen on 25 September.

Pay less for flights on Diwali eve. That seems to be the mantra as carriers are substantially lowering the average spot airfare of tickets on Diwali eve, usually the highest in a calendar year, that are booked a week before departure. Thanks to increased capacity by airlines on some of the routes and a slowdown in certain sectors of the economy, a lower priceline around the festival of lights seems the new normal.

Reliance Industries on Friday reported a strong set of numbers during the July-September quarter, beating estimates on all fronts. Boosted by strong refining and petrochemicals margins, the company’s consolidated net profit excluding exceptional items increased a sharp 12.5% year-on-year to `8,109 crore. The company announced its earnings after market hours.

Gross refining margins (GRMs) for the country’s largest integrated oil and gas major were at a record nine-year-high of $12 per barrel against $10.10 a barrel in Q2FY17, but below estimates of $12.50 a barrel.

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has provided some relief to 10-year old diesel vehicles by extending their road validity by three years. In an earlier judgement, NGT had banned diesel vehicles older than 10 years from plying on the streets of Delhi/ NCR. The basis for this ban was that the green tribunal believed that diesel vehicles are one of the key contributors to the worsening air quality in Delhi and surrounding regions. Now though, NGT has provided partial relief for diesel vehicle owners with through the three-year extension.

Just two days after Reliance Jio launched its Diwali Dhan Dhana Dhan offer under which it is offering 100% cashback on the recharge of Rs 399, BSNL has now joined the festive Diwali war with its new offer. BSNL offers 50 per cent additional talk time to prepaid users under its ‘Laxmi’ promotional offer on Diwali. The announcement was made by the telecom operator through its Twitter handle, In BSNL’s new Laxmi offer, users will get 50 per cent extra talk time on top-up of Rs 290, Rs 390 or Rs 590. This means that talk value of Rs 435, Rs 585, and Rs 885 will be given on recharge of Rs 290, Rs 390 and Rs 590 respectively.

MUMBAI: The tax department has sought explanations from banks and financial institutions, including multinationals, on transitional credit claimed by them in July under the goods and services tax (GST) regime, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said. Deputy commissioners and assistant commissioners (central tax) have issued ‘information summons’ in the last seven days seeking data in five specific areas “by e-mail/hard copy".

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has raised the issue of reforms in the H1B and L1 visa processes during his talks with US Treasury and Commerce Secretaries and asked them to appreciate the contributions of Indian professionals to America’s economy.

Jaitley, who is in the US on a week-long tour, held bilateral meetings with his US counterpart and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross. They discussed Indo-US Economic cooperation, in particular, how bilateral trade and investment can be improved between the two countries.

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