India News

Sebi invites bids for courier service

Markets regulator Sebi has invited bids from independent agencies, which will be responsible for delivery of valuable documents within and outside India. The agency is required to collect the consignments from Sebi office in Mumbai and carry them either by air or train or any other accepted mode of transport, whichever may be the quickest mode for the expeditious transport of the documents, to the respective destination centers, according to Sebi.

Solar equipments and parts to attract 5% GST only, says Revenue Secretary

Solar panel equipment will attract the lowest tax rate of 5% under the GST regime, as against the initially proposed 18%, Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia said.

Responding to industry queries on twitter, Adhia said, "All solar equipment and parts would attract 5% GST only". Senior officials on Monday said that the GST Council, headed by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and comprising state counterparts, is likely to reconsider the decision of levying 18% tax on solar equipment.

'Sachin: A Billion Dreams' mints over Rs 27 cr in opening weekend

Legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar's documentary drama film Sachin: A Billion Dreams has collected Rs 27.85 crore in its opening weekend at the box office, according to makers.

The film released on May 26 in Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu and English.

ONGC looking to aggressively expand acreage under exploration

With a steady rise in domestic fossil fuel consumption making the country’s target of cutting import dependence on oil more challenging, state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corp. (ONGC) has decided to aggressively expand its acreage under exploration and production from July once the government starts accepting bids for 26 unexplored sedimentary basins.

The country’s largest oil and gas producer intends to increase its exploration and production acreage at least by 30% over the next few years from 90,000 square kilometers at present, a senior official said, asking not to be named.

Reliance Industries eyes 10% market share in fuel retail

Mumbai: Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) is targeting doubling its market share in fuel retail in the next two-three years as it expands the business, two people aware of the plan said. RIL currently has a 5% share of India’s fuel retail market.

“RIL is working on various plans to improve its market share in the fuel retailing segment. It is looking at all the markets it is not currently represented in, and these are areas other than urban markets,” said one of the two officials cited above. This person spoke on condition of anonymity as he is not authorized to speak to the media.

Can central bank stem NPA rot?

Indian banking is often in the news — sometimes as entertainment (around high-profile failed airline promoters), but mostly serious. The government’s recent NPA Resolution Amendment to the Banking Regulation Act is a serious development, which comes not a day too soon. NPAs now, at nearly Rs 9.6 lakh crore, account for 15 per cent of all bank loans and constitute a serious bottleneck to growth. However, is it kosher for RBI, as does the Central Bank (CB), to get operationally involved in the resolution of NPAs? And, is it enough?

Sensex slips below 31,000-mark after two consecutive profit-booking sessions

Stock markets came off their peak and turned weak on Monday after two back-to-back sessions of gains as the benchmark Sensex cracked below 31,000-mark after investors indulged in profit-booking. Besides, muted earnings from some companies weighed on sentiment.

The 30-share index slipped below the 31,000-mark by falling 158.31 points, or 0.51%, to 30,869.90 as profit-booking set in recent gainers. The gauge had gained 726.57 points and closed at life high of 31,028.21 after scaling an intra-day record high of 31,074.07 on Friday.