News digest: Essar Steel, ICICI Bank stock, Dalit protest, and more

BS brings you top stories to keep up with the latest news

Three-way race for Essar Steel: ArcelorMittal, Numetal-JSW, Vedanta in fray

Essar Steel, put up for bidding for the second time, saw companies owned by metal sector billionaires taking part on Monday. This time, lenders expect the valuation to cross the $6 billion mark and none or minimal haircut, with Anil Agarwal’s Vedanta, L N Mittal’s ArcelorMittal, and VTB Bank-owned Numetal, which tied up with Sajjan Jindal’s JSW Steel, making aggressive bids. Read more
 

 

ICICI Bank stock posts biggest single-day drop in nearly three years
 
The ICICI Bank stock posted its biggest single-day drop in nearly three years amid the ongoing investigations into its lending practices. Read more

 
RBI asks Axis Bank to reconsider decision to re-appoint Shikha Sharma

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has asked Axis Bank’s board to reconsider the decision to re-appoint Shikha Sharma as managing director and chief executive officer for a fourth term, amid concerns over rising bad loans at the private sector lender, sources said. Read more
 
Essar Steel: ArcelorMittal hits out at JSW for joining Numetal in 2nd round

 Round two bidding for Essar Steel clearly is going to be pitched between the world’s largest steelmaker, ArcelorMittal, and India’s largest, JSW Steel. On Monday, ArcelorMittal came out strongly against JSW Steel joining Numetal. “JSW Steel joining Numetal is clearly a defensive move — they don’t want competition. Competition is good for the country’s industry and good for consumers. Also, India has an ambitious target of increasing steel production to 300 million tonnes. It needs new players to achieve that. We continue to believe ArcelorMittal and Nippon are the strongest possible partner for Essar Steel,” a company statement said. Read more 

 
Bharat Bandh: Dalit protest over SC/ST Act turns violent, nine dead

The Centre on Monday filed a petition for reviewingthe Supreme Court order on the law on preventing atrocities on Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes even as the ‘Bharat bandh’ call by Dalit outfits was marked by widespread protests, including incidents of violence in several parts of northern India, in which at least half dozen people were killed and property damaged. Read more