Homegrown auto major Mahindra & Mahindra today reported 2.43% decline in standalone net profit at Rs 923.56 crore for the second quarter ended September 30, 2015-16.

It had posted net profit of Rs 946.63 crore in the July- September period of the 2014-15 fiscal, Mahindra & Mahindra said in a filing to BSE.

PM Narendra Modi on Thursday launched two schemes on gold as well as a sovereign gold coin, as the government aims to broaden the investment choices for individuals as well as households, and also discourage imports of the precious metal. Although Modi has described the schemes on gold monetisation and sovereign gold bond as an example of “sone pe suhaaga” (icing on the cake), analysts believe these may not achieve runaway success instantly, despite having the potential to establish the metal as a viable investment instrument, as certain issues have not been adequately addressed.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella on Thursday echoed the sentiments of Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis by saying that his company’s ambition was to empower the people. Speaking at the Microsoft Future Unleashed event, the India-born CEO said there is going to be more computing in our lives in the coming decade.

“Computing will be everywhere, but what will be key is our mobility of our human experience through all this computing. That is where the cloud is important.”

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on Thursday approached the Supreme Court seeking transfer of a fresh plea filed by PACL from the Rajasthan High Court to the apex court.

Sebi has alleged that while PACL and its promoters had moved the Supreme Court against SAT’s August 12 order that directed it to refund close to over Rs 44,376 crore that it collected from around 58.5 million customers and winding up of its collective investment schemes (CIS), the real estate firm on October 12 again moved the Rajasthan HC seeking a direction to Sebi to register its CIS and for release of its sale deeds to enable it sell properties to raise money.

Because of its size and profits, automotive major Tata Motors has considered itself a frontrunner in the contest to win India's biggest 'Make' category defence project - a Rs 50,000 crore contract to design and build a "future infantry combat vehicle" (FICV) for the army. Now, with the stroke of a pen, the defence ministry has reshaped the formbook.

Last year, thanks to profits from its UK-based subsidiary Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), Tata Motors had a consolidated turnover of Rs 2,63,695 crore and a net profit of Rs 13,986 crore, almost thrice as much as Larsen & Toubro (L&T), its next-biggest rival in the FICV contest.

The department of telecommunications (DoT) is actively considering setting up a holding company, with state-run telecom companies Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) as its subsidiaries. The move is expected to revive the ailing public sector undertaking companies, by synergising their operations.

This is one option recommended by IIM-Bangalore in a report on measures for reviving the firms, according to a senior official from the department.

Bank of Baroda, India's second-biggest state-run lender by assets, second-quarter profit slumped about 89% on Friday, hit by a sharp rise in provisions as bad loans jumped.

Shares in the Mumbai-based bank, which in August became one of the first state owned lenders to appoint a private sector chairman, tumbled almost 10% at the market open. At 0400 GMT, the stock was down 5.5%.

Wizikey, a technology PR startup, on Thursday rolled out its reputation engineering platform, in association with Nasscom 10,000 Startups, an initiative to scale up the startup ecosystem in India.

Founded by sisters IIT Kharagpur and ISB alumna Aditi Bhargava, and SRCC and MICA alumna Aakriti Bhargava, the company is headquartered in Gurgaon.

TVS Emerald, associate company of TVS Motor that is one of the largest two-wheeler companies in country, is planning to set up 4-5 new housing projects in and around Chennai.

The company which delivered its maiden project said it may raise Rs 200 crore from PE and other investors to support future projects.

The construction arm of Larsen & Toubro won orders worth Rs 2,048 crore across various business verticals in October 2015.

The cumulative orders include deals bagged by its power transmission and distribution division, transportation infrastructure and buildings and factories unit.

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