China on Thursday said the atmosphere was not right for a bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Hamburg, amidst a standoff between the armies of the two countries in the Sikkim section.

The atmosphere is not right for a bilateral meeting between President Xi and Prime Minister Modi, Chinese Foreign Ministry officials said ahead of the G20 Summit in the German city of Hamburg from tomorrow.

The automobile industry will see growth in the short term, driven partly by price reduction and restoration of normal inventory levels at dealerships as the transition to GST has been surprisingly smooth, M&M Managing Director Pawan Goenka said today.

However, with the GST Council firm on high tax rate for hybrid vehicles, auto companies which had big plans for this category will have to rethink their strategy, he added.

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, has invested Rs 667 crore ($103 million) in L&T Infrastructure Finance Company Ltd by subscribing to the country's first official green bonds. This is in line with IFC’s strategy to support renewable energy infrastructure in the country and also develop the capital markets.

L&T Infrastructure Finance Company Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of L&T Finance Holdings Ltd, will use this money to give loans to solar power projects. The company has been increasing its focus on renewable energy, which has come to comprise 37 per cent of its Rs 22,774-crore (nearly $3.51 billion) total portfolio.

The Department of Disinvestment has reportedly issued a Cabinet note on the proposed amalgamation of the state-run refiner Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd with the giant oil explorer Oil and Natural Gas Corp, amid news reports of the Prime Minister’s Office’s disappointment on the slow progress in the government’s quest to create a huge energy PSU of the global scale.

However, a deal may still not be immediately in sight, as the handover of HPCL to ONGC may take one year even after the government securing the Cabinet nod, hindi news channel CNBC Awaaz reported citing unidentified sources.

Sikkim standoff: China has today cancelled the meet between Prime Minisrter Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping saying that “the atmosphere is not right” for a meet even as they are expected to attend the G20 summit in Hamburg, according to a PTI report. Chinese Foreign Ministry officials statement comes amid the lengthy border stand-off between the armies of both the nations. Minister of State for Defence Subhash Bhamre has told PTI that the border standoff can be resolved diplomatically and that the Chinese soldiers should leave first to reduce tension in the area. “China is approaching towards Bhutanese territory. We want them not to come forward. “This is our security concern and this is our stand. Bhutan’s King had yesterday given a statement that Chinese (troops) are entering into its territory. This tension can be resolved at the diplomatic level. Across the table we can solve all the problems,” he added.

Global giant Amazon has invested an additional Rs 1,680 crore in its India unit as it looks to further strengthen operations in the booming e-commerce market here.

The fresh infusion -- part of Amazon's $5 billion commitment to Indian market - will also provide more arsenal to the Indian entity that is locked in an intense battle for leadership with local rival, Flipkart.

Samsung Electronics on Thursday unveiled the redesigned version of its Galaxy Note 7 smartphone, whose production and sale was stopped last year due to repeated incidents of handsets catching fire.

This new modified version, Galaxy Note FE (Fan Edition) goes on sale on Friday in South Korea, with a price tag of 699,600 won ($607), reports Efe news.

Racketeers involved in peddling high-end narcotics like LSD, MDMA had a mixed clientele of around 1,000 people including a film producer, officials of MNCs and shockingly students of various schools and colleges here, a senior Excise Department official said today.

Eight persons, five of them engineers working in good positions in multinational companies, have been arrested so far by the Excise Department since it busted the drug racket on Sunday after conducting raids across Hyderabad and Secunderabad.

As the higher engine displacement superbikes catch fancy of the Indian consumer, Axis Bank on Wednesday introduced a special loan product, offering to fund up to 95 per cent of the costs.

The loans, which are for motorcycles with an engine displacement of over 500 cubic centimetres (cc), will come at a price tag of 10-11 per cent per annum.

The five per cent Goods and Services Tax (GST) rate will apply only on those branded cereals which are registered with the Register of Trade Marks, while others will remain exempted, the Finance Ministry said on Wednesday.

The government clarification comes as doubts were being raised over the meaning of "registered brand name".

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