Top headlines: Jio plans to roll out 100 mn phones; PUBG sheds China link

From Kamath panel recommendations to rating firms reworking their India FY21 GDP forecasts, here are top headlines this morning

Reliance Jio plans to roll out 100 million low-cost phones by December

Reliance Jio is looking at a plan to outsource and manufacture over 100 million low-cost smartphones, to be built on the Google Android platform. These phones, which will be bundled with data packs, could be launched in December or early next year, sources in the know said. Read More

Loan recast: Things should be back on track in 2 years, says K V Kamath

The two-year period for the debt restructuring of firms hit by Covid-19 is reasonable, as things will be back to normal in this time frame, says K V Kamath, chairman of the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) expert committee on a one-time loan recast. In an interview to Abhijit Lele, Kamath said challenges faced by non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) should be dealt separately by the regulator. Read More

Extra life? PUBG Mobile sheds China link to reach Indian gaming fans

PUBG Corporation, the owner and publisher of popular multiplayer gaming application PUBG, has decided against authorising the franchise of the mobile version of the game in India to Chinese firm Tencent Games. This opens up the possibility of the gaming application returning to Indian handsets. Read More

Rating firms rework their India FY21 GDP forecasts with sharper contraction

Global and domestic rating agencies have sharply cut their forecast for India’s economic growth this fiscal year, after the official data showed a sharper-than-expected GDP contraction in the June quarter and sluggish recovery in indicators thereafter. Fitch now expects India’s GDP to contract 10.5 per cent in FY21, compared to its earlier estimate of 5 per cent. India Ratings, its wholly-owned Indian subsidiary, predicts a sharper fall of 11.8 per cent in real GDP. Read More

With $500 mn funding led by Silver Lake, Byju's valuation crosses $10.8 bn

Byju’s, an edtech company, has raised $500 million in a new round of funding from Silver Lake, the leading global technology investment firm, according to sources. Though the company confirmed the development, it declined to reveal the amount. Read More

Kamath panel recommendations: 1,027 listed firms eligible for debt recast

A total of 1,027 listed firms, with a combined gross debt of Rs 30.1 trillion as of March 2020, are eligible for corporate debt restructuring based on the K V Kamath panel’s recommendations. These exclude banks, insurers, and NBFCs. However, the June quarter results of these entities suggest that close to 40 per cent of them may require some forbearance. Read More

L&T veteran Gunnar Hansen's rare art collection to go under the hammer

By the end of this month, 16 never-before-seen works by Indian masters will go under the hammer at Sotheby’s Modern and Contemporary South Asian Art auction. While the sale will feature rare works by V S Gaitonde, Ram Kumar, Krishen Khanna, Mohan Samant and Piraji Sagara, what also makes it special is that the collection being auctioned belongs to Gunnar Hansen, who was general manager-Manufacturing and later board member at engineering conglomerate Larsen & Toubro. Read More

Chinese troops charged towards Indian post with rods, spears, clubs: Govt

Chinese troops carried rods, spears, clubs and pole weapons called 'Guandao' in aggressively trying to close in on an Indian position in Mukhpari area of Rezang-La ridgeline in eastern Ladakh on Monday evening, government sources said on Tuesday. As tension escalated at the Line of Actual Control(LAC), the sources said around 50-60 soldiers of Chinese People's Liberation Army(PLA) approached the Indian post in the southern bank of Pangon lake area at around 6 PM but the Indian Army personnel posted there strongly confronted them. Read More
 

Vote on GST compensation inevitable if govt sticks to 2 options, says Isaac

Kerala Finance Minister Thomas Isaac on Tuesday did not rule out the possibility of voting in the GST Council over the issue of compensation to states. This comes a day after the Centre assured states of full compensation. So far, all decisions in the council have been taken on a consensus basis except for the GST rates on lotteries. Isaac said there will definitely be voting if the Centre insists on the two options that it offered to states. Read More

Kamath panel has little impact on retail, media, food services: Experts

The recommendations of the K V Kamath-led expert committee on loan restructuring, approved by the central bank on Monday, has limited impact on the retail, media and food services industries, experts tracking these markets said. The above-mentioned sectors are part of the list of 26 categories identified by the committee for loan restructuring. Read More