News digest: ICICI-Videocon case, capital goods, cargo movement, and more

Business Standard Annual Awards 2018: Toasting the spirit of success

The Business Standard Annual Awards for Corporate Excellence, held on Saturday evening, toasted the indomitable spirit of Indian entrepreneurship that was ready to fight all odds. The Crystal Room at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel in Mumbai, filled to capacity with familiar faces and famous names, witnessed much cheer when Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, the chief guest at the function, lauded Corporate India for going beyond business and making a difference in the lives of marginalised people such as the Araku tribals of Andhra Pradesh by giving them an opportunity. Read More

ED initiates enquiry in ICICI-Videocon loan, asks Sebi for documents

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has started an enquiry into the Rs 32.50-billion loan sanctioned to the Videocon group and others by ICICI Bank, which was part of a consortium of lenders.

According to sources, the agency has written to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), seeking information on the Videocon group. The ED asked for details of the investigation into the group’s activities in the past few years. Read More

Capital goods, construction firms see 69% jump in new orders in FY18

The order flow of listed capital goods and construction companies was worth more than Rs 2.80 trillion in 2017-18 — a rise of 69 per cent over the Rs 1.65 trillion in the previous financial year. 

In 2015-16, companies had reported orders worth Rs 1.94 trillion, according to the data of the Business Standard Research Bureau. A rise in the order flow, industry analysts and experts say, is not a norm in terms of growth but reflects improvement over the poor performance in 2016-17. Read More

Everything hinges on re-establishing contact: Isro chief on GSAT recovery

The Indian space agency is working overtime to restore the communication link with its GSAT-6A satellite "which is still alive", ISRO Chairman K. Sivan said on Sunday.

"Data available with us shows that we can restore the communication link with the satellite as it is alive," Sivan told IANS here. Read More

Govt to use AI, blockchain technology for seamless cargo movement

Zero human intervention in cross-border trade is something the finance ministry says it is exploring, using blockchain technology and artificial intelligence (AI) for cargo movement.

Beside saving cost and time, it could help India vastly improve its ranking on the ‘trading across borders’ parameter under the ease of doing business ranking by the World Bank. Read More