Top headlines: August exports shrink 12.6%; telcos sound alarm over 5G

From Facebook saying zero tolerance on hate speech to Delhi Metro seeing pick up in ridership, here are top headlines this morning

August exports shrink 12.6%, trade deficit hits 4-month high of $6.77 bn

After reducing for three months, the pace of contraction of India’s exports rose in August. Export earnings in the month declined by 12.6 per cent year on year, higher than July's 10.2 per cent fall, as trade in major foreign exchange earners such as petroleum, gems, electronics, and textiles continued to take a hit. Outbound trade stood at $22.7 billion, completing six straight months of contraction. Read More

Absolutely clear on zero tolerance for hate speech at Facebook: India MD

Weeks after a controversy broke out around Facebook’s political leanings, the India head of the American social media giant has said in an interview that the company does not profit from hate speech while detailing the in-house checks and balances. The Menlo Park-headquartered firm was accused of ignoring a Bharatiya Janata Party leader’s hate speech on the social media platform following an advisory from the company’s public policy team. Read More

Major defaults in our corp bond holdings due to Covid unlikely: LIC chief

Despite the grim economic situation and in contrast with the sharp contraction most Indian companies are expected to witness, Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) expects to grow its business in 2020-21 (FY21). The insurer is not considering scaling down its targets. In a talk with Subrata Panda, LIC Chairman M R Kumar speaks of the life insurance sector, the company’s growth targets, gains from equity investment, and the implications of the pandemic for corporate India. Read More

Suitors opting out of race for Lavasa over fall in realty prices

Top suitors of Lavasa Corporation, including Haldiram Snacks Pvt Ltd and Oberoi Realty, have quit the race to acquire the debt-laden company, citing falling real estate prices due to the Covid-19 pandemic. A subsidiary of construction major HCC, Lavasa had defaulted on bank loans worth Rs 7,700 crore, prompting its lenders to send it to the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) in 2018 for debt resolution under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC). Read More

All Delhi Metro lines operational but ridership just a fraction of earlier

A week after it resumed operations, Delhi Metro is showing a pick-up in ridership. On September 14, the mass rapid transit network ferried about 250,000 riders. Though a sharp surge from 8,300 passengers in the first few hours of its restart on September 7, the number is still nowhere close to the 6-million average daily ridership of Delhi Metro before the nationwide lockdown kicked in on March 25. Read More

Telecom operators sound alarm over India-specific standard for 5G

Telecom operators are locked in a bitter battle with key members of the Telecommunications Standards Development Society, India (TSDSI) for trying to push through an India-specific standard for 5G called TSDSI Radio Interface Standard or RIT. The operators would rather go along with the global standards set by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project or 3GPP. Read More

Blackstone, Partners Group Holding in race to acquire Piramal Glass

Blackstone Group and Partners Group Holding AG are the two remaining bidders vying for a controlling stake in Piramal Enterprises Ltd’s glass unit, people familiar with the matter said. The investment firms have progressed to the final round of bidding for India’s Piramal Glass, the people said, asking not to be identified as the information is private. Read More

Adani Green Energy's market valuation crosses Rs 1 trillion mark

Adani Green Energy has entered the club of companies commanding a market valuation of Rs 1 trillion, helped by continuous rally in its share price. The company is also Adani Group’s most valued firm in terms of market valuation. Read More

Govt presents first batch of supplementary demand for grants: An explainer

The Centre has presented to Parliament its first batch of supplementary demand for financial grants to be made to various depart­ments. The demand is to spend an additional Rs 2.36 trillion in FY21. The Centre presents its annual spending plan two months ahead of the beginning of a new fiscal year. Read More