Top headlines: India will return to growth, PM Modi tells India Inc

From oil prices increasing ahead of Opec+ meeting to Moody's downgrading of India's sovereign debt, here are top headlines of the day

India will return to growth, won't depend on others: Modi to India Inc

India would return to the growth path while the rest of the world was struggling with the coronavirus outbreak, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday, even as the latest government data showed India's economy had in 2019-2020 grown at the slowest pace in 11 years. “Getting growth back is our motto, too, as we reopen the economy. India will get its growth back,” said Modi in a video address at the Confederation of Indian Industry's (CII's) 125th annual session. This was four days after his government announced a plan to gradually lift a nationwide lockdown in force since March 24 to contain the spread of coronavirus. Read More

India staring at a GDP contraction of 10%, says former finance secretary

Former finance and economic affairs secretary Subhash Chandra Garg on Tuesday said that India was staring at a GDP contraction of 10 per cent in FY21 and that a well-targeted stimulus could have saved businesses and workers. Read more

IndiGo Q4 loss at Rs 871 cr, defers new capacity addition amid Covid-19

Private airline IndiGo on Tuesday reported a net loss of Rs 870.8 crore for the March quarter of FY20 (Q4FY20) as air travel remained severely disrupted during the quarter due to the coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak. Read more

Oil prices increase ahead of Opec+ meeting on extended output cuts

Oil prices rose on Tuesday, with traders waiting to see whether major producers agree to extend their huge output cuts to shore up prices at a virtual meeting expected later this week. Brent crude futures rose 0.94 per cent, or 36 cents, to $38.68 a barrel as of 0630 GMT. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 0.73 per cent, or 26 cents, to $35.70 a barrel. Read More

China must use diplomacy to settle border issues with India: US House panel

China has moved up its forces along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with India, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said, asserting that authoritarian regimes take these kinds of actions. Several areas along the LAC in Ladakh and North Sikkim have witnessed major military build-up by both the Indian and Chinese armies recently, in a clear signal of escalating tension and hardening of respective positions by the two sides even two weeks after they were engaged in two separate face-offs. Read More

Moody's downgrade of India's sovereign debt had been on cards for months

The decision of Moody’s to downgrade India’s sovereign debt, both in rupee and forex — from Baa2 to Baa3, the lowest investment grade status — had been on the cards for months, despite hectic behind-the-scenes lobbying by officials to avoid a downgrade. In that sense, it is hardly a shock. Moody's has also downgraded India's local-currency senior unsecured rating from Baa2 to Baa3, and its short-term local currency rating from P-2 to P-3. Read More

Facebook employees' virtual walkout against company's stance on Trump posts

Facebook employees are using Twitter to register their frustration over CEO Mark Zuckerberg's decision to leave up posts by President Donald Trump that suggested protesters in Minneapolis could be shot. "I don't know what to do, but I know doing nothing is not acceptable", wrote Stirman, who works on research at Facebook, formerly at Twitter. Read More