Ford India has blamed constraints in the supply chain for a 27% drop in combined domestic sales and exports in September even as it has upped the ante in the country with a tie-up with Mahindra & Mahindra.

The company recorded wholesale of 16,525 vehicles in September this year as against 22,590 units sold in the same month last year.

Shares of all three state-owned oil marketing companies (OMCs) were trading higher by up to 4% on BSE in early morning trade after the government cut the excise duty on both branded and unbranded petrol and diesel by Rs 2 a litre from Wednesday.

Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) and Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL) have gained between 3% and 4%, extending their gains for the past 2 days on the BSE.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will soon release Rs 100 denomination banknotes in the Mahatma Gandhi (New) Series, having the signature of Governor Urjit R Patel. However, the Rs 100 banknotes in the earlier series will continue to be a legal tender.

According to Mint, RBI will start printing new Rs 100 notes in April (once Rs 200 notes have been printed), while the existing notes will be withdrawn from the market gradually without causing any disruption.

As Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is squeezed by the Donald Trump administration to reduce the use of overseas workers for US jobs, TCS is also fighting claims in court that its hiring practices are anti-American.

TCS, Asia’s largest software maker, and Infosys are both embroiled in civil rights lawsuits accusing them of discriminating against white IT workers that predate Donald Trump’s election last year.

Ending its year-long discount on its Prime membership, Amazon India is set to start charging Rs 999 as yearly fees within the next few days.

"Prime membership is available for only a few more days at the special introductory price of Rs 499 a year. In India, Prime members enjoy unlimited free one day and two-day delivery on over 11 million products online, free standard delivery without a minimum purchase, exclusive deals on bestselling products and instant access to latest movies and TV shows," the company said.

Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) is likely to take a short-term bridge loan for about one year to fund the acquisition of the government’s stake in Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL).

ONGC has already lined up plans to sell its stake in Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) and GAIL (India) and has also got approvals from shareholders to borrow up to Rs 25,000 crore from the market. “We are looking into all options. As we have to look at favourable market conditions for selling stake in the two companies, we are looking into the option of a bridge loan or any short-term loan for at least a year,” an ONGC official said.

Facing public resentment over the recent spike in fuel prices, the government on Tuesday cut the excise duty on both branded and unbranded petrol and diesel by Rs 2 a litre from Wednesday. According to sources, the finance ministry was initially reluctant to reduce the duty due to revenue concerns, but relented after discussions with the petroleum ministry on implementing steps to bring down petrol prices to Rs 60-65 a litre.

While this would hit the revenues of the exchequer by Rs 13,000 crore in the second half of the current financial year at a time when the fiscal deficit has already touched 96 per cent of the Budget Estimates, consumers will get relief as the move would reduce the consumer price index (CPI)-based inflation rate by 9 basis points as a first round impact.

Bajaj Auto hits a new high of Rs 3,208, up 3% on BSE after the company reported a highest ever total sales of 428,752 units in September against 376,765 units sold in the same month last year. The company recorded sales growth of 14% in September, its highest monthly sales growth rate since March 2016.

Bajaj Auto’s commercial vehicles sales were up 32% at 59,074 units as against 44,789 in the corresponding month last year. Motorcycle sales were at 369,678 units as against 331,976 in the year-ago month, up 11%, the company said in a statement.

Reliance Communications (RCom) hit a record low of Rs 17.45, down 9% on BSE in early morning trade, after the company said that it has called off its merger with Aircel, owned by Maxis of Malaysia. The stock surpassed its previous low of Rs 17.80 touched on June 14, 2017 on BSE in intra-day trade.

“Legal and regulatory uncertainties, and various interventions by vested interests, have caused inordinate delays in receipt of relevant approvals for the proposed transaction,” RCom said in a statement.

Nissan Motor Co Ltd will recall all 1.2 million new passenger cars it sold in Japan over the past three years after discovering final vehicle inspections were not performed by authorised technicians, it said on Monday.

The recall is the second major misconduct incident involving a Japanese automaker in as many years, after Mitsubishi Motors Corp admitted in April 2016 it had falsified the fuel economy for some of its domestic market models.

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