Top 10 business headlines: Angel tax relief, SC heat on RCom, and more

Here are the top 10 business stories that made news on Wednesday

1. SC holds Anil Ambani guilty of contempt, orders RCom to clear Ericsson dues

The Supreme Court on Wednesday held Reliance Communications (RCom) Chairman Anil Ambani (pictured) and two of his top executives guilty of contempt of court for wilfully failing to pay the dues to telecom equipment maker Ericsson. Click here to read on

2. Over 7,000 cash-starved start-ups may benefit from angel tax relief

A series of changes made to the so-called angel tax by the government could give wing to 7,000 cash-starved start-ups, sources in the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) said. Read more here

3. Govt banks get Rs 48,239-crore capital boost to move out of PCA framework

The Union government on Wednesday approved a capital infusion of Rs 48,239 crore into 12 public sector banks (PSBs), with the largest chunk of money flowing into Allahabad Bank and Corporation Bank to help them come out of the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) prompt corrective action (PCA) framework. Read on

4. EPFO plans to invest over Rs 4,000 crore in CPSE ETF, Bharat 22

The Employee Provident Fund Organization (EPFO), is likely to ramp up the corpus that it invests in the central government’s two exchange traded funds — the Central Public Sector Enterprises ETF (CPSE ETF) and Bharat 22 ETF, 2019-20 onwards. Click here to read on

5. RBI Governor Das, bankers may not be on same page over passing rate cuts

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das will meet bank chiefs on Thursday to impress upon the need to improve transmission within the confines of it being a business decision. Read more here

6. Out 6 months later, FDI data show 7% fall in inbound equity investment

Brought out after a six-month hiatus, the government’s Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) figures have revealed that inbound equity investments dropped for the first time under the current regime, going down by 7 per cent in the April-December period of FY19. Read on

7. Lenders jittery as Anil Ambani's wealth falls 26% since January to $1.2 bn

Reliance Communications’ (RCom’s) creditors are worried because promoter Anil Ambani’s personal net worth has declined by 26 per cent since January this year to $1.2 billion, thanks to a steady fall in the share prices of group companies. Click here to read on

8. Investors still look wary of NSE-SGX connect in GIFT City

A case in point is the back and forth between the National Stock Exchange (NSE) and Singapore Exchange (SGX) on the fate of the Nifty futures contract listed at Singapore. Since the drama began a little over a year ago, outstanding positions in SGX’s Nifty futures contract have more than halved, says a report by the Livemint.

9. The ‘other half’ isn’t really doing so well

There’s a long way to go for India, stuck in the middling development category on all key indicators. Between 1990 and 2017, India’s life expectancy at birth increased by 10.9 years, mean years of schooling (not counting years repeated) increased by 3.4 years and expected years of schooling by 4.7 years. India’s Gross National Income (GNI) per capita rose by about 266.6 per cent between 1990 and 2017. That may sound like great progress, but actually there’s still a long way to go, according to a report by the Hindu BusinessLine.

10. You need not pay your power bill. Here's how 

It's about the new technology which is now commercially available — the solar power. It's environment friendly as well as cost effective. It can cut your electricity bill by at least 90 per cent. All you need is access to rooftop, explains a report by the Economic Times.