Canadian export credit agency, Export Development Canada (EDC) has given a $215 million loan to India’s third largest telecom operator, Idea Cellular. The loan is under a pre-existing $500 million uncommitted financing arrangement for the Aditya Birla Group (ABG). Under the arrangement, EDC provides financing support to the broader group companies under the ABG banner for transactions that are of strategic importance to both EDC and the Group, the agency said.

Indian Oil Corporation’s (IOC) chairman B Ashok will sign off on a high when he demits office on May 31 as the company registered a 70% growth in annual profit for 2016-17 and an 85% jump for the quarter ended March 31, 2017. Ashok will be succeeded by Sanjiv Singh who is currently the director for refineries.The country’s largest oil marketing company posted a net profit of Rs19,106 crore for 2016-17 compared with Rs11,242 crore in the previous financial year, and the net profit for the fourth quarter of 2016-17 stood at Rs3,721 crore compared with Rs2,006 crore in the year-ago period.

The country’s second largest commercial vehicle manufacturer, Ashok Leyland on Thursday beat estimates by reporting a net profit of Rs476 crore during the January-March quarter against a net loss of Rs140 crore during the same period last year on the back of healthy demand for its products in the medium and heavy vehicles segment.

Due to higher demand for trucks and buses, net sales during the period increased 10.79% y-o-y to Rs6,617.89 crore.

After former foreign minister Yashwant Sinha's track II initiative, it is now the turn of Congress leader and former union minister Mani Shankar Aiyer-led team to embark on Mission Kashmir 2.0 and engage with the separatists and mainstream leaders in Kashmir.

Aiyer led five member team of Centre for Peace and Progress on Thursday called on Hurriyat hawk Syed Ali Shah Geelani and moderate leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq at their residences and discussed Kashmir with the two separatist leaders.

Naxals torched a signal set and communication system and partially damaged engine of a goods train at Dumri Bihar railway station in Bokaro, Jharkhand.

The Civil Police received the information early morning today that at around 11:30 pm yesterday, Naxals vandalized the train engine and burnt down the communication system.

The BSE Sensex Friday shot up another 133.86 points to a fresh all-time high of 30,883.89 and the Nifty hit 9,542.85 in early trade on Friday as the June derivatives series took off on a strong footing on encouraging earnings and sustained foreign capital inflows.

The 30-share BSE index climbed 133.86 points, or 0.43%, to trade at a new record of 30,883.89, breaking its previous landmark of 30,793.43 (intra-day) touched in Thursday's trade. The gauge had rallied 448.39 points in the previous session.

DLF, the real estate giant, plans a major entry into the co-work space business. It aims to lease 100,000 sq ft of prime commercial space, initially in the Delhi region and Chennai, to start-ups in the co-working sector over the next couple of years. And, is in talks with New York-based WeWork and other US and Europe-based co-work service entities.

“We are looking at the space. In the next five years or so, we believe it would be around five to seven per cent of (our) total rental revenue. We have had talks with foreign players; a lot of private equity players are interested in this space,” sources in DLF said.

Luxury carmakers, hit by diesel ban in the National Capital Region and demonetisation in recent times, are treading cautiously in the run-up to the Goods and Services Tax (GST). The country’s largest luxury carmaker, Mercedes-Benz, has lowered prices by up to nine per cent with immediate effect to ensure that customers do not postpone purchases to wait for a price benefit that kicks in from July. BMW is offering discounts and benefits until actual price cut happens to keep sales intact. Companies do not want to take any hit on sales.

Tamil superstar Rajinikanth on Thursday issued a stern warning to his fans against indulging in any kind of indiscipline, saying those violating his fans club’s code of conduct would be expelled from it.

The actor did not refer to any specific incident but the message comes close on the heels of his fans going into celebration mode over him hinting at a political entry, and pasting posters on the issue in parts of Chennai and elsewhere.

Union Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju today expressed his concern over ‘poor’ financial condition of the airline and said that the government is mulling all options to revive India’s premiere airline, and that even privatisation is not exactly ruled out, an ANI report said. “Air India’s finances are very bad, impoverished part of Air India has to go, but we are looking at all alternatives to revive it,” the minister was quoted as saying by the agency.

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