Top 10 business headlines: Cabinet decisions, Jet Airways bailout, and more

From GDP growth data to Jet Airways bailout, here are the top 10 business stories that made news on Thursday

GDP growth in Q3 slows to 6-quarter low of 6.6%

Growth in gross domestic product (GDP) slowed to a six-quarter low of 6.6 per cent in the third quarter (Q3) of 2018-19 (FY19) due to subdued expansion in agriculture, manufacturing, and government expenditure, the data released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) shows. Investment activity, however, continued to grow at a healthy pace. Read more here.

Banks ask Naresh Goyal, Etihad to contribute to Jet Airways bailout

The consortium of lenders in Jet Airways has made it clear to the promoter and chairman of the cash-strapped airline, Naresh Goyal, and partner Etihad Airways that there cannot be only a bank-driven bailout of the Indian carrier and the two will have to play an equal role in getting it out of financial woes. Read more here.

Ayushman Bharat charts plan to track next 500 mn people: CEO Indu Bhushan

They are out there. They are eligible. They could definitely benefit. But who are they and how can they be tracked down in urban jungles? For Ayushman Bharat, the ambitious national health protection scheme, it has been a challenge to identify urban candidates, but now it’s hit upon the idea of tapping into the huge employee base of companies like Amazon, Walmart-owned Flipkart, Uber and the like to reach those who qualify for its Rs 500,000 per annum health cover. Read more here.

Bharti Airtel board approves raising Rs 32,000-crore to fire up biz

Bharti Airtel on Thursday said its board of directors approved a fundraising plan of up to Rs 32,000 crore through a mix of rights issue and bond. This will help reduce the company’s debt of about $14 billion and also fire up the telco’s fight to reach to the top. Read more here.

Cabinet approves policy on software products to create 3.5 million jobs

The Cabinet on Thursday cleared a policy to make India a software product centre by 2025. In a series of decisions, it approved the second phase of the FAME India scheme to boost electric vehicle for public transport, and an ordinance to allow voluntary use of Aadhaar number as a Know Your Customer (KYC) mechanism. Read more here.

NCLT rejects Essar Steel's operational creditors plea against Arcelor's bid

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT)-Ahmedabad on Thursday rejected debt-laden Essar Steel India’s (ESIL’s) operational creditors (OCs) plea against ArcelorMittal’s Rs 42,000-crore bid. It is seeking consideration of promoters Essar Steel Asia Holding’s (ESAHL’s) Rs 54,000-crore proposal. Read more here.

Infosys fines Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw for breach of insider trading norms

The country’s second-largest information technology (IT) services company, Infosys, has imposed a penalty of Rs 9.5 lakh on its lead independent director, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, for inadvertently selling 1,600 shares of the company during open trading window period without prior permission to execute such a trade. Read more here.

EverSource, NIIF, CDC invest $330 million in Ayana

EverSource Capital and the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund Ltd (NIIF) have partnered with CDC Group, the UK’s development finance institution, to invest in its renewable energy platform, Ayana Renewable Power, Livemint reported.

Most entrepreneurs feel 2019 will be a tough year for funds 

The funding environment for startups will likely be more challenging in the current calendar year, according to more than 45% of the respondents in a survey by InnoVen Capital. Only a little over a third of the founders surveyed rated the government’s efforts to improve the startup ecosystem as good or excellent, with respondents stating that tax policies should improve and a stable regulatory environment must be established, The Economic Times reported.

DoT considering specialised bank for telecom infra

The Department of Telecommunications is considering a recommendation made earlier by the industry to set up a specialised bank for the telecom sector. To begin with, the bank will have a corpus of about $30 billion that will be transferred from the Universal Service Obligation Fund, The Hindu BusinessLine reported.