Top headlines: Companies hold back on capex, GST mop-up at record high

Business Standard brings you top news of the evening

AstraZeneca vaccine set to become first to get approval in India: Report

India’s drug regulator is set to approve on Friday a coronavirus vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University for emergency use, three sources with knowledge of the matter said. The decision would pave the way for the vaccine’s rollout in the world’s second-most populous country which, after the United States, has the highest number of COVID-19 infections in the world. Britain and Argentina have already authorised the vaccine for urgent public use. Read more

GST mop up rose to highest ever level at over Rs 1.15 trillion in December

Goods and services tax (GST) collections have hit a record of over Rs 1.15 trillion in December against Rs 1.04 trillion the previous month, raising hopes of economic revival. Before this, the highest GST collection was Rs 1.14 trillion in April 2019. The collections were 10.57 per cent higher month-on-month and 11.65 per cent higher on a year-on-year basis despite the fact that the base was elevated on both the yardsticks. The government had collected Rs 1.03 trillion in December 2019. Read more

Ford Motor pulls the plug on plans to cede India business to Mahindra

Ford Motor Co. is reversing plans to cede most of its Indian operations to Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., deciding to pull out of a proposed joint venture and continue its standalone business in the country. The companies agreed to terminate the venture after reassessing in part due to the global coronavirus pandemic, they said Thursday. The decision ends a deal reached more than a year ago under which Ford was expected to fold its local operations, including two factories, into a JV that would be majority-controlled by Mahindra, a leading Indian manufacturer of sport utility vehicles. Read more

Companies shelve capex plans on pandemic blow, new projects decline 88%

New projects involving setting up of factories, buildings and other assets fell to their lowest levels since the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic began. While there were Rs 7.01 trillion worth of new assets in December 2019, this fell 88.6 per cent to Rs 80,000 crore for the three months ending December 2020, shows data from project tracker Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE). Money spent on creating new assets like manufacturing plants is called capital expenditure and can be a key driver of economic growth. Read more

Trump extends freeze on H-1B visas until Mar 31; IT professionals miffed

US President Donald Trump has extended the freeze on the most sought-after H-1B visas along with other types of foreign work visas by three months to protect American workers, saying while therapeutics and COVID-19 vaccines are recently available, their effect on the labour market and community health has not yet been fully realised. The decision will impact a large number of Indian IT professionals and several American and Indian companies who were issued H-1B visas by the US government for the fiscal year 2021 beginning October 1. Read more