Top 10 biz headlines: Small savings schemes, Mindtree acquisition, and more

From small savings schemes to Mindtree acquisition, Business Standard brings to you stories that made the headlines on Monday

Govt may cut interest rates on small savings schemes for July-Sept quarter

The government may lower interest rates on small savings schemes for the July-September quarter, according to senior government sources. The cut may only be for some — and not all — small savings schemes, and could be as high as 30-50 basis points. Read on...

Huawei offers to sign 'no back door' pact with India to allay spying fears
 

Chinese technology giant Huawei, which is under fire in the US over alleged breach of sensitive user information, has offered to sign a “no backdoor” agreement with the Indian government to allay concerns that it might use its telecom gear for surveillance. Read on...

Sebi plans to tighten rules of pledging shares by promoter group entities
 

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) plans to tighten rules of pledging shares by promoter group entities. The market regulator will soon direct promoters whose pledged shares exceed 20 per cent of the equity capital to cite detailed reasons for this. Read on...

Bimal Jalan panel report may contain dissent note by Subhash Garg
 

The Bimal Jalan committee, tasked with reviewing the economic capital framework of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), has deferred the submission of its report to the central bank for the third time. The panel will meet again in mid-July, after the presentation of the Union Budget on July 5. Read on...

Mindtree acquisition saga: Nalanda Capital sells entire 10.6% stake to L&T
 

The founders of Mindtree on Monday lost their last line of defence against L&T’s takeover bid as Nalanda Capital sold its entire 10.6 per cent stake in the Bengaluru-based firm to the engineering major. Sources said after putting up a stiff resistance, Nalanda Capital, which was so far seen as a supporter of founder’s stance, tendered its shares in the open offer on Monday. Read on...

TCS hikes stake in Japanese JV to 66% with $32.6 million investment
 

Global IT company Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) on Monday announced a 15 per cent increase in its stake in TCS Japan, its joint venture (JV) with Mitsubishi Corporation (MC), with an investment of JPY3.5 billion ($32.6 million). The JV was established between Mitsubishi and TCS APAC in 2014. Read on...

Banks want Reliance Jio to give minimum business guarantee to InvITs

Indian lenders, who are in discussions with Reliance Industries (RIL) on transfer of latter’s telecom debt worth $15.4 billion, or Rs 1.07 trillion, to two infrastructure investment trusts (InvITs), are seeking guaranteed business to the InvITs. Termed as ‘take or pay’, RIL may be asked to give minimum business guarantee to the InvITs — whether the company uses the telecom infrastructure or not. Read on...

Explained: Why telecom operators seem to be in no rush to embrace 5G
 

Are Indian telecom operators ready to make the massive investments necessary to roll out 5G mobile services? The three telcos — Airtel, Vodafone-Idea, and Reliance Jio — have already invested over Rs 280,000 crore on 4G rollouts. Read on...

How India can use cryptocurrencies to bypass Dollar as the world currency
 

Even as plans are afoot to launch a digital rupee, India proposes to ban cryptocurrencies altogether, and a law is reportedly in the works that would make holding cryptocurrencies a crime that would put you in jail. RBI has already banned cryptocurrencies. This is myopic. India needs to be open to the possibility of using cryptocurrencies for international payments bypassing the dollar, reports The Economic Times.

Budget hopes: Tea industry seeks alternative to MEIS
 

The tea industry, which has been reeling under the pressure of rising costs outstripping price realisations in the past few years, is looking for some respite in the upcoming Budget, reports BusinessLine.