Top 10 business headlines: GST architecture is my brainchild, says PM

From Emami cement business sale to govt diktat to pharma associations, Business Standard brings you the top headlines of the day

GST architecture is my brainchild, says PM 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday told Parliament that the current architecture of goods and services tax (GST), including greater weighting to manufacturing states, was his brainchild, which he had suggested as chief minister of Gujarat to then finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, but eventually Arun Jaitley, the finance minister during his government’s previous term, included it into the law. Read more

DBS, Capri Global suitors for Lakshmi Vilas Bank

Capital-starved private sector lender Lakshmi Vilas Bank (LVB) may soon have a suitor willing to pump money into it. Read more

RBI holds rates, keeps door open for cuts in future

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), in its sixth bi-monthly monetary policy of 2019-20 on Thursday, kept its policy rates and stance unchanged but adopted unconventional measures to lower banks’ cost of funds so that they could reduce their lending rates further and boost retail advances to revive consumption demand. Read more

Emami to sell cement business to Nirma group arm 

Kolkata-based diversified conglomerate Emami Group announced on Thursday that it had entered into a binding agreement with Nuvoco Vistas Corp, part of the Nirma group, for divesting its 100 per cent equity stake in Emami Cement for an enterprise value of Rs 5,500 crore. Read more

Follow ethical practices: Govt to pharma groups 

In the wake of the debate around unethical marketing practices allegedly adopted by pharmaceutical companies, the Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP) has sent a directive to leading pharma associations in India to ensure that their members adhere to the Uniform Code for Pharmaceutical Marketing Practices (UCPMP). Read more

In a slow-moving FMCG market, product prices are inching up

A slow-moving consumer goods market will have to contend with price hikes in the next few months as input cost pressures steadily increase. Read more

ArcelorMittal makes $1.6 bn equity contribution for Essar Steel acquisition

ArcelorMittal's equity contribution for the acquisition of Essar Steel India (now AM/NS India) is $1.6 billion, the company said while announcing its 2019 financial results. Read more

PhonePe goes live across one million offline shops in eastern India

PhonePe, the country's leading digital payments platform, has emerged as a live payment option across one million offline shops in the eastern region. Read more

Govt Weaves Tax Net for Internet’s Global Biggies

India has introduced an enabling provision that will make an overseas platform that advertises, streams or sells goods to an Indian IP address taxable in the country, according to the Economic Times

Onus of Content Not Generated by Users on Social Media Platforms

The government has added a clause to the proposed IT intermediary guidelines, making social media companies responsible for all nonuser generated content — including sponsored content — published on their platforms, according to senior government officials, The Economic Times reported