Investors bet on Bharti Airtel as Reliance Jio’s impact seen waning
While Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd has been making all the moves in the marketplace to grab customers with its cut-price offers, investors have stayed buoyant about its main rival and telecom market leader, Bharti Airtel Ltd. Bharti Airtel’s share price has gained 38% year-to-date, outperforming the BSE Sensex’s 16% gain with a promise of even better times to come. Stock analysts have stayed bullish on the firm and despite this outperformance, analysts see a further 16% gain over a 12-month period, which indicates an upswing in its earnings on expectations that Reliance Jio will have to slowly raise its pricing and end promotions by the end of this fiscal.
MPC members warn inflation could accelerate: RBI minutes
The Reserve Bank of India’s monetary policy committee (MPC) members said easing consumer inflation had supported the need for a rate cut at its August meeting, but warned prices could start accelerating, minutes showed on Wednesday. The comments reflected continued caution by most of the six-members of the committee, despite pressure by government officials and some economists to cut rates more aggressively after consumer inflation has remained below the RBI’s 4% target since October.
Sebi eases rules for lenders buying stake in distressed companies
Markets regulator Sebi has notified relaxed norms for stake purchase in distressed listed companies by lenders, exempting them from making open offers for shareholders. The relaxation will be subject to certain conditions, including shareholders’ approval of the stake acquisition by way of special resolution. The Sebi decision comes against the backdrop of the government and the Reserve Bank of India stepping up efforts to tackle the menace of bad loans, amounting to over Rs 8 lakh crore.
Union Cabinet approves new metro rail policy
The central government will approve and aid metro rail projects only if they have private participation and ensure last-mile connectivity for users, under a new policy cleared by the Union cabinet on Wednesday. Under the new metro rail policy, states will get powers to make rules and regulations and set up permanent fare fixation authorities. In line with global best practices, metro projects will be approved on the basis of ‘Economic Internal Rate of Return of 14%’, a change from the existing ‘Financial Internal Rate of Return of 8%’. “Private participation either for complete provision of metro rail or for some unbundled components (like automatic fare collection, operation and maintenance of services, etc) will form an essential requirement for all metro rail projects seeking central financial assistance,” says the policy.
Government extends anti-dumping duty on Chinese chemical import
The government has extended by five years the anti-dumping duty imposed on import of chemical compound PTFE, used as a non-stick coating for pans and other cookware, to safeguard the domestic industry. The revenue department has issued a notification imposing $2,637 per tonne as anti-dumping duty on imports of polytetraflouroethylene (PTFE) from China. The duty was first imposed for five years in August 2011 and extended by one-year last August.
Source: Economics Times
Delhi to Amritsar bullet train via Chandigarh in just 2 hours at 300 km/hr!
Traveling at a speed of 300 km/hour, an Indian Railways bullet train will take you from Delhi to Amritsar via Chandigarh in the coming years. The bullet train would complete the 458-km long train journey in 2 hours and 3 minutes, a senior Railway official told Financial Express Online. The bullet train will also stop at Panipat, Ambala, Chandigarh and Ludhiana. Presently, the Delhi to Amritsar Shatabdi Express train takes around 6 hours. In effect, your train travel time from Delhi to the Golden Temple town would come down to one-third!
Now, pilots will have to serve one-year notice period: DGCA
Overruling objections from pilots, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation has increased the notice period of commanders to one year from six months earlier. Co-pilots will continue to serve six months’ notice period. The civil aviation regulator issued new regulations today citing public interest. The DGCA said pilots were quitting jobs without notice leading to last minute cancellations and inconvenience to customers. With the finalisation of the rule the DGCA and pilots are headed for another showdown. Pilots are set to challenge the regulation afresh arguing that the notice period is a contractual issue between them and their employer and the regulator had no role in it.
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