The three-way merger between Reliance Communications (RCom), Aircel and MTS (brand of Sistema Shyam) is on course to create a formidable company, with best-in-class spectrum and reasonably strong financials.

Even as the entities have written to the Competition Commission of India (CCI) for approval, both RCom and Aircel are working on lowering their debt, which they have agreed to cap in the new entity at Rs 20,000 crore. Sistema Shyam has agreed to settle its liabilities ahead of the merger with RCom.

In a giant capability boost for the Indian Navy, a naval warship today test-fired a new missile that can shoot down incoming aerial threats --- such as aircraft and missiles --- whilst they are still 70 kilometres away.

A defence ministry press release today stated: “Adding a quantum jump in its air defence capability, INS Kolkata, Indian Navy’s state of art, indigenous stealth destroyer, successfully test fired the Long Range Surface to Air Missile (LR-SAM).

A federal judge has certified two shareholder class actions accusing Facebook Inc of hiding concerns about its growth forecasts prior to the social media company’s May 2012 initial public offering.

US District Judge Robert Sweet in Manhattan said retail and institutional investors who claimed to lose money from buying Facebook shares at inflated prices in connection with the $16 billion IPO may pursue their respective claims as groups.

Mumbai: The Indian rupee on Wednesday weakened marginally against the US dollar in thin holiday trade, tracking losses in most Asian currencies.

At 2.20pm, the rupee was trading at 66.45 a dollar, down 0.1% from its previous close of 66.40. The local currency opened at 66.44 and touched a low of 66.47 a dollar, a level last seen on 18 December.

Mumbai: India’s market regulator will in a few days release detailed rules under which investors are deemed fit to buy shares in exchanges, Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) chairman U.K. Sinha said on Wednesday.

Sinha was speaking on the sidelines of a conference organized by Bandhan Bank on the inauguration of its 600th branch in India.

The BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty snapped a two-day winning streak on Wednesday on the back of unwinding of long positions ahead of the derivatives expiry, coupled with profit bookings. Sensex closed 119.45 points down at 25960.03, while Nifty settled 32.70 points down at 7,896.25.

Depreciation in Indian rupee too dampened sentiments. The rupee was trading lower by 4 paise to 66.43 against the dollar at the time of equity markets closing at the Interbank Foreign Exchange market on increased month-end demand for the US currency from importers.

Stepping up its 'name and shame' campaign, the Income Tax department on Wednesday made public a third list of 18 tax defaulters including gold and diamond traders whose dues totalled around Rs 1,150 crore.

The IT department's public notice containing the names of the 18 defaulters who have either gone untraceable or have inadequate assets to pay is the third such list this year after names of 49 defaulters with a tax liability of over Rs 2,000 crore were earlier released in two instalments.

Rocket Internet-backed online food ordering service Foodpanda's India unit has laid off over 300 people, joining rivals Zomato, Swiggy and TinyOwl in scaling down its business in the country to curb cash burn.

The downsizing, which was confirmed by Foodpanda India CEO Saurabh Kochhar, will see the company losing close to 15 per cent of its staff from across business segments. The layoffs will be restricted only to Foodpanda's Indian business.

We maintain ‘hold’ on Idea Cellular with a target price of R150 per share. While Idea’s 4G launch will strengthen its high-speed data offering, the coverage is not only thin but also in circles where 4G device penetration is low. We would hence wait to see the company’s pricing strategy for major cities where device penetration is better. Hence, we remain cautious.

In the new Air India offer announced today by the government-run airline, two special schemes enable passengers to ring in the New Year 2016 in style – these are ‘New Year Special’ and ‘Lucky First’.

Under the New Year Special offer, passengers will get an all-inclusive one-way fare of Rs 5,016 for travel between the metros on flights departing between 8 pm on December 31, and 8 am on January 1, the national carrier said in a statement.

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