Top headlines: CBI, ED to charge GVK Group, Biden promises on H1-B & more

Here are the top headlines of the day

If elected, will revoke temporary suspension of H1-B visa: Joe Biden

US presidential candidate and former vice president Joe Biden has said that he will lift the temporary suspension on H-1B visas, the most sought-after by Indian IT professionals, if he wins the presidential elections. In a digital town hall meeting on Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) issues he praised the contribution of H-1B visa holders. Read more.

After CBI, ED set to charge GVK Group for Mumbai airport 'irregularities'

The Enforcement Directorate is set to charge GVK Group promoters for alleged money laundering, after CBI accused them of alleged irregularities to the tune of Rs 705 crore in running the Mumbai airport. The CBI on June 27 registered a case against group chairman GVK Reddy, MIAL and AAI officials for cheating and criminal conspiracy that allegedly caused loss to the tune of about Rs 1,000 crore to the government, said sources. Read more.

Axis Bank gets approval to raise up to Rs 15,000 cr to tide over Covid-19

Axis Bank plans to raise up to Rs 15,000 cr to shore up its capital base. In a meeting held, the private lender's board approved the capital raising plan through issue of equity shares/ depository receipts or any other instrument or securities. Meanwhile, the lender has notified the stock exchanges that it will hold its annual general meeting on July 31 via video conferencing. Read more.

Tractor sales surge in June, buoyed by positive farm sentiment: Industry

Tractor sales have continued to grow due to several factors such as the timely arrival of the south west monsoon, record Rabi crop, government support for agri initiatives among others. A part of the $19.4 billion Mahindra Group's, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd’s Farm Equipment Sector (FES) domestic sales in June saw a surge of 12 per cent to 35,844 units, as against 31,879 units sold during June 2019. Read more.

Novartis pays $729 mn to settle US govt charges that it paid doctors kickbacks

Novartis AG agreed to pay more than $729 million to settle US government charges it paid illegal kickbacks to doctors and patients to boost drug sales. The drugmaker will pay $678 million to resolve claims it organised thousands of sham educational events where it lavished doctors with exorbitant speaker fees, expensive dinners and alcohol to induce them to prescribe its cardiovascular and diabetes drugs more often. It will also pay $51.25 million to resolve charges it funnelled money through charitable foundations to cover co-payments of Medicare patients. Read here.