Top headlines: Advance tax collection falls; drug gives hope in Covid fight

Twenty Indian soldiers killed in a "violent face-off" with Chinese troops in eastern Ladakh.

Twenty Indian soldiers were killed in a "violent face-off" with Chinese troops in eastern Ladakh; the central government's advance tax collection fell by 76 per cent in the first quarter, and scientists said a cheap and widely used steroid had showed promise in reducing Covid-19 deaths. Here is more on what is making news Wednesday morning.

Q1 advance tax mop-up falls 76%

Economic disruption caused by the pandemic has pulled down advance tax collection by 76 per cent in the first quarter, which is an indicator of a subdued earnings outlook of the corporate sector this year. Direct tax collection net of refunds was down 32 per cent as of June 15 over the same period last year. Read here

20 Indian soldiers killed in face-off with China

In a steep escalation of the ongoing Sino-Indian border face-off in eastern Ladakh, soldiers of China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) attacked and killed 20 Indian soldiers, including a colonel, on Monday night. This is the first deadly clash on the 3,488-kilometre disputed border since four Assam Rifles jawans were ambushed and killed by Chinese border guards in October 1975. Read here

Drug lowers deaths by one-third in severe Covid-19 patients

A cheap and widely used steroid called dexamethasone has become the first drug shown to be able to save lives among Covid-19 patients in what scientists said is a “major breakthrough” in the coronavirus pandemic. Trial results announced on Tuesday showed dexamethasone, which is used to reduce inflammation in other diseases such as arthritis, reduced death rates by around a third among the most severely ill of Covid-19 patients admitted to hospital. Read here

'Profound uncertainty' about global recovery: IMF

The International Monetary Fund will likely forecast a worse contraction in the global economy than previously estimated for 2020 and sees "profound uncertainty" about the path of recovery, IMF chief economist Gita Gopinath has said. Gopinath said the economic crisis triggered by the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic was more global and playing out differently than past crises. Read here

Centre relaxes payment mechanism for highway contracts

The Centre has relaxed the payment mechanism for engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) or government-funded highway contracts to provide more liquidity in the hands of contractors. Contractors will now be given funds every month, rather than on the basis of the milestone achieved. Read here

RBI relaxes norms for the deployment of ATMs by white-label players

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has relaxed the deployment norms of automated teller machines (ATMs) by white-label players, who will now not need to put up thousands of units every year. The central bank is for manageable annual targets, a major departure from the stiff run-rates set under the licence terms in 2012, sources aware of the development said. Read here

EPFO allows regional offices to settle PF claims from other centres

The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has launched a facility which will help formal sector workers to expeditiously withdraw the provident fund claims. Till now, the claims of subscribers, even if filed online, were settled in a particular regional office of EPFO where the establishment was registered. Read here

China's Great Wall Motor commits Rs 7,600 crore investment in India

Chinese auto major Great Wall Motor (GWM) said it has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Maharashtra government for its manufacturing facility in the state which it had acquired from General Motors (GM). The company has committed an investment of $1 billion (about Rs 7,600 crore) in India in a phased manner with an estimated employment for over 3,000 people. Read here

BNP Paribas decides to shut down onshore wealth management business

French banking major BNP Paribas has decided to shut down its onshore wealth management business having assets under management of $14.5 billion, officials said. The entity said the move is driven by strategic reasons, wherein it wants to focus on businesses like corporate and institutional banking, and cannot be linked to the Covid-19 crisis. Read here

Swift completes 15 years with sale of over 2.2 mn units, says Maruti

Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) on Tuesday said its premium hatchback Swift has completed 15 years in the market with sales of over 2.2 million units till date. Launched in 2005, Swift heralded the start of the premium hatchback segment in India and has created a glorious legacy. Read here