Top 10 biz headlines: Rs 1 trn GST mop up, surge in new projects, and more

From pharma sector getting 'green' signal to IndiGo fleet size, here are the top 10 business headlines for the day

GST mop up crosses Rs 1 trn, indicates stabilisation of revenue collection

Goods and services tax (GST) collection crossed the Rs 1 trillion mark for the second straight month in December, but fell short of the Rs 1.1 trillion target set for the last four months of 2019-20. The latest numbers, however, indicated the stabilisation of revenue collection owing to anti-evasion measures introduced by the government. Read more.

New projects surge in December quarter; up 37% at Rs 4.26 trillion

Investment in new projects increased by more than Rs 1 trillion during October-December 2019 over the same period in the previous year. There was Rs 3.1 trillion in new projects in December 2018. This has risen by 37.4 per cent on a year-on-year basis to Rs 4.26 trillion in December last year, showed the data from project-tracker Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE). Read more.

Income Tax dept examines foreign contribution sought by Tata trust

The income-tax (I-T) department is examining the foreign contributions sought by the Navajbai Ratan Tata Trust (NRTT) as a non-profitable entity in December 2015, even after the Trust offered to surrender its charitable trust status earlier that year. The NRTT is among the six Tata Trusts that had their registrations cancelled by the I-T department in October. Read more.

In a booster dose, pharma industry gets 'green' signal in New Year

In what can be a game changer for the Indian pharmaceutical industry, the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has cleared a proposal to allow drug manufacturers to tweak their product mix or raw materials used without a fresh environmental clearance as long as their pollution load remains constant. Read more.

ONGC gets cracking at Panna-Mukta field, saves Rs 1 cr in shipping costs

State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) has begun an exercise to shed excess cost at the Mumbai offshore oil and gas fields of Panna-Mukta, whose control it regained after two and half decades and has already saved Rs 1 crore in the shipping cost. Read more.

Auto sales continue to slide in Dec, likely to remain subdued for some time

Automobile sales continued to slip in December despite a faint uptick seen in the two preceding months, worrying the industry that a recovery in the Indian car market is not yet in sight. Read more.

Electrical equipment makers stare at Rs 800-cr dues from states, Centre

The electrical equipment industry is staring at dues of more than Rs 800 crore, payable for a period of over three years. These are mostly from states and central government-owned companies, including BHEL and Power Grid. Read more.

IndiGo fleet size crosses 250 planes, becomes first Indian carrier to do so

The country's largest airline IndiGo now has more than 250 planes in its fleet after inducting at least four neo aircraft on December 31, according to an official. IndiGo, which has a domestic market share of more than 47 per cent, is also the first Indian carrier to have over 250 planes. Read more.

Future’s ‘Sabse Saste Din’ sale to debut on Amazon

Centred around Republic Day, Future Group’s ‘Sabse Saste Din’ sale will also feature on Amazon.in, reflecting a broadening of the alliance between the two sides. At Future Group stores such as Big Bazaar and Food Bazaar, items are offered at a discount during the sale that runs for five-six days. Amazon acquired a stake in Kishore Biyani’s retail venture last year, reports The Economic Times.

Jr Premji may lose chairman role due to new Sebi rules

If Sebi’s guidelines on segregation of the positions of chairman and CEO/managing director in the top 500-listed companies comes into effect on April 1, Wipro’s Rishad Premji may cease to continue as the company’s chairman in an executive role. Following a transition that was on expected lines and was set in motion after his father and former chairman Azim Premji stepped down from his executive role last year, Wipro had submitted a proposal to markets regulator Sebi, seeking its permission to allow Rishad to continue in an executive role, reports The Times of India.