Top 10 business headlines: Battle for Essar Steel, 5G spectrum, and more

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

1. Vedanta, JSW may jointly bid for Essar Steel, make offer of Rs 48,000 cr

Vedanta and JSW Steel are in talks to make a joint bid for Essar Steel in a last attempt to keep ArcelorMittal away. A bid together, or one from either company, could be made next week, said sources aware of the development. (Click to read more)

2. RBI to pay Rs 28,000 cr interim dividend to govt; Das to meet bank CEOs

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) decided to transfer an interim dividend of Rs 28,000 crore to the government in the current financial year (2018-19 or FY19) at its board meeting on Monday. Read more...

3. Rise in pledged shares by promoters puts Dalal Street on the edge

Promoters of India Inc continue to rely heavily on share pledging to raise debt for funding their core and non-core business activities. According to the data analysed from Capitaline, the promoters pledged more than Rs 1.2 trillion worth of shares in 2018-19, 60 per cent higher than the previous year’s tally. Read on...

4. Confident of meeting direct tax mop-up target, says new CBDT chief

Pramod Chandra Mody, the newly appointed chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), said he was confident of meeting the direct tax collection target for the current financial year, which has been increased by Rs 50,000 crore. There's been apprehension in different quarters that the revised target of over Rs 12 trillion for 2018-19 cannot be met. Click here to read more.

5. DoT may not extend 90-day period for telecom firms to test 5G spectrum

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has expressed reservations over increasing the duration for allocating 5G spectrum for trials, as companies in the past sat on lowly priced airwaves, which otherwise would have fetched the central government a premium. Read on...

6. NBCC India leads race for Jaypee Infratech with Rs 1,000-crore offer

Indian lenders of Jaypee Infratech are set to vote from Wednesday on the two offers made by the government-owned NBCC India and Suraksha Asset Reconstruction. The highest bidder will be announced by Saturday. While NBCC has made an offer of Rs 1,000 crore as upfront cash, Suraksha’s offer was far less at Rs 10 crore. (Click here to read more)

7. Post-bribery disclosure, Cognizant goes slow on greenfield expansion

Cognizant, an IT services company, is treading cautiously on capacity expansion in India, especially with regard to setting up its physical infrastructure, after its disclosure to the US Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of the violation of Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). Read on...

8. How Artificial Intelligence is transforming the music streaming industry

Deeper mobile penetrations, cheaper data and the emergence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) have created a great ecosystem for streaming players to thrive and grow, according to a report by the Livemint.

9. Job switches fetching most for pros in tech, ecommerce, digital 

Technology, ecommerce, digital, fintech, consumer, IT and manufacturing are among the sectors leading the charge, offering enticing hikes of 30-40% for in-demand talent, said around half a dozen headhunters and recruitment firms, says a report by the Economic Times.

10. Mutual fund houses push sell button on auto and construction sectors

Mutual funds have dumped automobile stocks, bringing down their holding by 17 per cent to Rs 60,426 crore in January against Rs 72,924 crore logged in December, as reported by The Hindu  BusinessLine.