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India and China have pulled back troops by at least 1 kilometer in the tense Galwan river valley in eastern Ladakh. Stay tuned with Business Standard for latest news of today

India and China have pulled back troops by at least 1 kilometer in the tense Galwan river valley in eastern Ladakh, where 20 soldiers were killed in action in a deadly brawl with Chinese troops on June 15, news agency ANI reported.

Nepal's ruling communist party's crucial Standing Committee meeting to decide Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli's future has been postponed until Wednesday, according to an official announcement. The reason for the postponement was not immediately known.

In another development, special high-level committee meeting is scheduled to take place today to discuss the Covid-19 situation in Goa.

Flood situation in Assam, meanwhile, is reported to have improved. So far, over 700,000 people across 17 districts have been affected, according to officials.

Stay tuned for the latest news of the day

11:36 PM

US military to stand with India in conflict with China, indicates WH official

The US military "will continue to stand strong in relationship to a conflict between India and China or anywhere else, a top White House official said on Monday, after the US Navy deployed two aircraft carriers to the South China Sea to boost its presence in the region.

 

"The message is clear. We're not going to stand by and let China or anyone else take the reins in terms of being the most powerful, dominant force, whether it's in that region or over here, White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows told Fox News.

 

And the message is clear. Our military might stands strong and will continue to stand strong, whether it's in relationship to a conflict between India and China or anywhere else, Meadows said in response to a question.

 

He was told that India banned Chinese apps because Indian soldiers were killed by Chinese troops last month that asked what's mission of the two aircraft carriers - the Ronald Reagan and the Nimitz - and what's America's mission.

11:35 PM

Diplomacy has adapted to new situation in wake of Covid-19 pandemic and has gone strongly digital: Foreign Secretary

11:20 PM

Suzlon loss widens in March quarter

Suzlon Energy on Monday posted a consolidated net loss of Rs 834.22 crore for the March quarter mainly due to lower revenues and high finance cost.

 

The consolidated net loss of the company was Rs294.64 crore in the quarter ended on March 31, 2019, a regulatory filing said.

 

Total income from operations of the company declined to Rs 658.89 crore in the quarter under review from Rs 1,450.47crore in the year-ago quarter.

 

The consolidated net loss of the company in 2019-20 was Rs 2,691.84 crore as against Rs 1,537.19 crore in 2018-19.

11:13 PM

Diplomacy has gone strongly digital, India at forefront: Foreign Secy

Diplomacy has gone strongly digital, adapting to the situation arisen due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and India has been at the forefront of it with Prime Minister Narendra Modi turning challenge into opportunity to start global conversations using virtual platforms, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said on Monday.

 

Speaking at a webinar organised by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India on 'Implementing the Vision of Aatmanirbhar Bharat', Shringla said Covid-19 has disrupted diplomatic calendars causing almost all international meetings and summits to be cancelled.

 

"While face-to-face meetings with counterparts have traditionally been considered essential to resolve complicated issues or conduct difficult negotiations, diplomatic engagement cannot be allowed to stop in their absence," he said.

 

A crisis of this magnitude has required a coordinated global response, making sustained communication between countries all the more essential, Shringla said.

 

The increase in tensions in different parts of the world, including on the Line of Actual Control between India and China, have only emphasised the criticality of continued communication, he said.

11:02 PM

Wipro's new CEO asks employees to lead growth in industry

IT services major Wipro's new CEO and managing director Thierry Delaporte, who took charge on Monday, called upon employees to strive for improvement in all spheres and aim to lead in industry growth.

 

"Despite the immediate challenges, I have no doubt that we will emerge stronger. We must strive for improvement in all spheres and aim to achieve industry leading growth," Delaporte said in his first email addressed to Wiproites.

 

"We must build an inclusive and sustainable future in the best interests of all our stakeholders. I am counting on your support," he said.

 

Stating that this is a defining period for IT industry and Wipro, the new CEO said disruption has always been a part of business.

 

"Yes, today, our normal lives have been upended. The challenges are new. But I know that Wipro, with a history of 75 years, has overcome many challenges with tenacity and resilience," he said.

11:01 PM

Gujarat has become 'epicentre of Chinese investment in India': Congress

10:50 PM

Indian app Trell records 10 million downloads since Chinese app block

Local lifestyle app Trell on Monday claimed to have recorded over 1.2 crore downloads within five days of the government blocking 59 Chinese apps.

 

The company co-founder Pulkit Agarwal said that the app registered 5 times growth in daily active users and touching 2 crore monthly active users in last two days.

 

"The lifestyle community-commerce platform is breaking all the records by witnessing 12 million downloads in just 5 days, just after the bold decision made by Indian Govt to promote Atmanirbhar Bharat," the company said in a statement.

 

It claimed to have received 5 lakh uploads in a single day with 2.2 lakh new content creators.

10:49 PM

Final-year examinations in universities will be conducted by September-end

Final-year examinations in universities will have to be conducted by September-end, the HRD Ministry announced on Monday, deferring the schedule from July in view of a spike in Covid-19 cases.

 

However, students unable to appear in final-year exams in September will get another chance and universities will conduct special exams "as and when feasible", according to a revised guidelines issued by the University Grants Commission (UGC).

 

The decision by the HRD Ministry came following a nod from the Ministry of Home Affairs to conduct the exams as per the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) approved by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

 

The announcement has put to rest speculations that the exams for final-year students may be cancelled in view of the COVID-19 situation.

10:45 PM

With a view toward Iran, Israel launches spy satellite

Israel said it successfully launched a new spy satellite into space on Monday as its leaders hinted it was behind a massive fire at an Iranian nuclear site last week potentially ratcheting up a long-running covert war.

 

If Israel was responsible for the fire at the heavily fortified Natanz facility, it would mark another in a series of daring strikes against Iran's nuclear programme attributed to Israel, while also risking Iranian retaliation on either Israeli or Western targets.

 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed the launch of the new Ofek 16 satellite, the latest addition to a fleet deployed over the past two decades.

10:42 PM

Moderate showers in Mumbai; above average rains in city so far

After witnessing a spell of heavy rainfall over the past three days, Mumbai and neighbouring Thane received moderate rains on Monday, but the IMD predicted showers will continue in the night in the region.

 

The India Meteorological Department (IMD), in a statement, also said that significant reduction in rainfall is expected over the west coast during the next two days.

 

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the Thane-Belapur Industries Association observatory recorded 34 mm rainfall between 8:30 am and 5:30 pm on Monday, the IMD said.

 

The Santacruz weather bureau (in Mumbais suburbs) recorded 5.2 mm rainfall, while the Colaba weather station, representative of the island city, reported 1.2 mm rainfall.

10:31 PM

PNB board to consider fundraising plan on Jul 9

State-owned Punjab National Bank (PNB) on Monday said its board will consider a proposal to raise capital through a mix of both equity and debt on July 9.

 

Besides, the board will clear opening balance sheet of the amalgamated bank as on April 1, which is post amalgamation of Oriental Bank of Commerce and United Bank of India into PNB, the bank said in a regulatory filing.

 

The board will consider proposal for raising capital through issue of Basel-III-compliant tier-1 bonds, tier-2 bonds and equity shares by way of private placement, qualified institutions placement, follow-on public offering, rights issue or any other mode or through a combination, it said.

 

Following the board approval, the resolution will be put for the shareholders' nod, it added.

10:28 PM

Vistara in talks with planemakers, lessors to delay taking delivery of some aircraft

Indian airline Vistara is in talks with planemakers and leasing companies to delay taking delivery of some aircraft, the carrier's chief strategy officer said on Monday, as Covid-19 hits demand for air travel.

 

Vistara, owned by India's Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines , placed an order for 13 A320-neo family aircraft from Airbus SE in 2018 and said it would take another 37 Airbus planes from leasing companies - all due for delivery between 2019 and 2023.

 

It also has six Boeing Co 787-9 Dreamliner widebody planes on order, primarily for international flights, due to be delivered in 2020 and 2021.

 

Delivery of some planes have already been pushed back due to logistics issues and production delays at the planemakers, as countries went into lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic, Vinod Kannan, chief strategy officer at Vistara told reporters.

10:20 PM

Green shoots of economic revival have emerged: Finmin report

The government on Monday said green shoots have emerged and will grow further on the back of a conducive policy environment, nudging the coronavirus-hit economy to move on the path of recovery and growth.

 

India's growth has been forecast at (-) 4.5 per cent in 2020, a 6.4 percentage points downward revision compared to the April 2020 forecast as per the World Economic Outlook (June 2020) report of the the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

 

Given the immense uncertainty associated with infection and macroeconomic recession curves of countries across the world, the IMF has revised downward global growth to () 4.9 per cent in 2020, 1.9 percentage points lower than its April 2020 forecast, the Macroeconomic Report for June released by the Economic Affairs Department said.

 

However, the report said, "early green shoots of economic revival have emerged in May and June with real activity indicators like electricity and fuel consumption, inter and intra-state movement of goods, retail financial transactions witnessing pick up."

10:14 PM

India is engaging with China through diplomatic and military channels: Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla

10:01 PM

CBI books Chennai-based firm, its directors for cheating SBI of over Rs 88 crore