Top 10 headlines: Voda seeks breather on AGR dues, Delhi violence, and more

From AGR dues to Modi government's approach towards coronavirus, Business standard brings to you the top headlines of the day

1. AGR dues: Voda Idea seeks relief; asks DoT for Rs 8,000 crore GST refund

Financially stressed telecom operator Vodafone Idea, in a letter to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), has sought the adjustment of goods and services tax (GST) refund to the tune of Rs 8,000 crore against its dues linked to adjusted gross revenue (AGR), an official told Business Standard on Wednesday. Read on...

2. FM warns banks against trusting credit scores of loan seekers 'blindly'

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday told state-owned banks to not “blindly” trust the credit scores of loan seekers, and to focus on improving branch-level connect with customers. Her suggestions came on a day she launched a new set of reform measures for public sector banks (PSBs), aimed at enhancing the role of technology. Read more...

3. Wounded Delhi limps to a tense calm after mobs turn it into battleground

A badly wounded Delhi began limping back to a semblance of normalcy on Wednesday with crisp directives to the government by the high court, immediate intervention by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and an appeal by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for peace in the northeastern part of the city that has seen communal violence in the past two days. Read on...

4. Tax thorns haunt Walmart-Flipkart deal, foreign shareholders want clarity

Tax-related issues are cropping up in the Walmart-Flipkart deal even almost two years after the transaction was done. A clutch of foreign firms that were shareholders in Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal-founded Flipkart have moved the Authority of Advance Rulings (AAR) to seek clarity on the taxability of the capital gains arising out of the $16-billion deal struck in May 2018. Read more...

5. Modi govt adopts flexible approach towards coronavirus epidemic

After multiple rounds of meetings with exporters, importers, industries, and other stakeholders, the Narendra Modi government has firmed up its response to the coronavirus epidemic.

The Centre has decided against a broad-based approached and will tackle the issue on a case-to-case basis. Officials have also ruled out any rollback of import duty hikes announced in the Union Budget. Read on...

6. Merger of public sector banks on schedule, says Nirmala Sitharaman

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday reiterated that the consolidation of 10 state-owned banks is on course and will take place according to the schedule set by the government.

Her comments come even as the Union Cabinet didn’t take up an important notification, supposed to be issued by the finance ministry, to take the process of the bank merger forward. Read more...

7. Q3 GDP growth to be below 5%, but better than Q2, say economists

The downturn in the economy is not going to reverse anytime soon, and the growth data for the quarter ended December (Q3) would reflect the continuing slackening, economists expect. None of the economists surveyed by Business Standard thinks that gross domestic product (GDP) grew by more than 5 per cent in Q3 of the financial year 2019-20 (FY20). But some indicators showed better growth, and Q3 would show a higher GDP growth number than Q2, they said. Read on...

8. IndusInd Bank CEO race gets interesting as Tata Capital's Sabharwal enters

The contest to succeed Romesh Sobti at IndusInd Bank has got a little more interesting with the lender considering Rajiv Sabharwal of Tata Capital as a probable candidate.

It is now a two-way race between Sabharwal, Tata Capital’s managing director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO), and Sumant Kathpalia, head of consumer banking at the Hindujas-promoted bank, according to sources in the know. Read more...

9. RBI's new GDP template: The 12 enablers of India's growth makeover

Continuing a sordid six-quarter trend, India's economy grew at just 4.5% in Q2 of the current fiscal. One tepid quarter more, and it will become the longest spell in over two decades of shrunken growth for the country.

India's GDP grew at 5 per cent in the first quarter of FY20, the slowest pace in six years, reports the Economic Times. 

10. Auditors to now check if firms can repay debt

Auditors in India will now be required to record their findings related to potential frauds in companies, their ability to service debt and whistle-blower complaints after the government widened the scope of statutory audits amid a surge in fraud cases, reports the Livemint.