Top 10 biz headlines: Economic revival, Tatas control AirAsia, and more

From GoAir cancelling flights to Bharti Infra-Indus merger, here are the top 10 business headlines for the day

Tatas to get full control of AirAsia India after licensing deal amendment

Tata Sons and AirAsia Berhad have agreed to amend a controversial brand licensing agreement that gave control of crucial functions to the Malaysian parent. The agreement signed between the two firms in 2013 — which gave the airline the right to use the AirAsia brand — has been mired in controversy as key decisions needed approval from the parent. Read more

Credit growth, NPA reduction to depend on pace of economic revival: RBI

Indian banks are getting a better grip on their bad debt situation and non-banking financial companies (NBFC) are expected to regain their niche after a turbulent one year, but further reduction in bad debts and credit growth depend upon how fast the economy recovers from the slowdown, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said on Tuesday. Read more.

Bharti, Bajaj, RIL groups top m-cap charts despite economic slowdown

It’s not all gloom and doom for India’s top business groups, despite a general slowdown in the economy. Quite a few of the industrial houses witnessed strong double-digit growth in their market capitalisation (m-cap) in the current calendar year, as investors moved their money to large-cap stocks away from mid- and small-caps. Read more.

GoAir cancels flights for second day in a row amid pilot shortage

GoAir cancelled around twenty of its scheduled 330 flights on Tuesday because of non-availability of pilots caused by previous schedule disruptions and implementation of new regulations on pilot duty time. Read more.

NTPC plans to switch to a 2-part tender process for solar power projects

NTPC, the country's largest thermal power producer, will switch to a two-part tender process for solar power projects. Senior executives said this would bring down the cost; the aim is to procure power panels in bulk form separately, on own cost metrics. Read more.

I-T dept to move SC against Reliance Jio's plan to sell stake in tower arm

Reliance Jio Infocomm’s plan to reduce debt by selling stake in its telecom tower arm to Canadian investor fund Brookfield isn't free of the income tax (I-T) department hurdle. The latter plans to petition the Supreme Court against the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) order of December 20 which cleared Jio's proposed demerger of tower and fibre optic network assets to two infrastructure trusts. Read more.

HDFC to mop up Rs 2,500 crore by issuing bonds on private placement basis

Mortgage lender HDFC Ltd will raise up to Rs 2,500 crore by issuing bonds on a private placement basis. The secured redeemable non-convertible debentures are to be allotted on a private placement basis on Friday for an issue size of Rs 2,500 crore, HDFC Ltd said in a regulatory filing on Tuesday. Read more.

No govt nod to Bharti Infra, Indus merger; deadline extended by 2 months

The merger of Bharti Infratel and Indus Towers yet again failed to receive the Centre’s nod. The deadline for the completion of the amalgamation has been extended by two months to February 24, 2020. Read more.

Net blockade leaves UP at a net financial loss

Banking services, including movement of cash and branch operations, have been hit by the internet shutdown in parts of Uttar Pradesh due to the protests over the Citizenship Amendment Act. Merchants were finding it hard to conduct business and transactional services had come to a halt, according to sources quoted in a report by The Economic Times.

Government seeks to hire three directors for divestment-bound Air India

The civil aviation ministry is seeking to hire three directors for divestment-bound Air India Ltd. The ministry has sought applications for the positions of a director each for the key verticals of operations, commercial and personnel. The step is in line with a cabinet decision last year to induct professionals from the private sector into top managerial positions in an effort to make the airline turn profitable, reports LiveMint.