Top headlines: Telcos for waving off AGR service tax; Hotels see recovery

From Adani Group eyeing 74% stake in Mumbai International Airport to decline in tax mop up in metros, here are top headlines this morning

'It's a double whammy': Telcos want govt to waive service tax on AGR

With notices being sent to telecom companies (telcos) on the service tax they have to pay on their adjusted gross revenues (AGR), the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) has written to the government, asking for a law doing away with the tax on the dues the firms have to stump up in compliance with a Supreme Court (SC) order. Or else, the COAI said, the telecom industry will suffer incalculable losses. Read More

Adani Group to acquire 74% stake in Mumbai International Airport

Gautam Adani-led Adani Group is set to acquire a 74 per cent stake in Mumbai International Airport (MIAL), which operates the country’s second-largest airport, with the current operator settling its disputes with its minority partner and exiting the venture. With six airports already under its belt, this will make the group the largest private airport operator after GMR Group, which operates Delhi and Hyderabad airports. Read More

Apollo Global Management, Piramal Capital in talks for $500-million loan

US-based private equity (PE) fund Apollo Global Management, Inc. is in final stages of talks with Piramal Capital & Housing Finance, part of Piramal Enterprises, on a loan of $300-500 million (Rs 2,220-3,700 crore), according to sources in the know. This will be the one of the largest debt deals in home finance/non-banking finance this year. Read More

Gold rush 2020: ETFs now hold more yellow metal than any central bank

In the 19th century California gold rush, the surest way to a fortune, according to Mark Twain, was to be in the “pick and shovel business.” If 2020 gold fever has an equivalent, it’s the ETF business. Exchange-traded funds backed by physical gold and silver accumulated more than $50 billion of bullion this year. Read More

Tax mop-up from metros sees double-digit decline; Kolkata worst-hit city

Direct tax collections are likely to remain muted in the second consecutive quarter of the current fiscal year with most top Indian cities witnessing double-digit contraction in receipts till August 20. Kolkata emerged the worst-affected metro city, reporting a drop of 60 per cent in the mop up during April-August 20. It was followed by Chennai and Delhi, which saw decline by 41 per cent and 36 per cent, respectively. Read More

Wedding bells to the rescue of five-star hotel chains amid pandemic

Five-star hotel chains in India are counting on weddings to see them through in a pandemic-hit market. Though on a smaller scale, most hotels are seeing a recovery in bookings and enquiries for the wedding season in November and December. They are also relying on couples who had earlier planned destination weddings but are now considering options within the country. Read More

Boeing pushes hard for jet contracts; looks to Super Hornet for Navy, IAF

US aerospace major, Boeing, which accounts for most of the $18-billion worth of weaponry that Washington has sold India since 2005, is pressing hard to win a $7-8 billion Indian Navy contract for 57 aircraft carrier-borne fighters. Boeing has begun testing its flagship naval fighter, the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, which it intends to offer the Indian Navy, to prove it can operate from any of the Indian Navy’s three carriers: the in-service INS Vikramaditya; Vikrant, which is to be commissioned by 2022; and INS Vishal, which is still on the drawing board. Read More

How national recruitment agency will help both employers, job seekers

The Central government is putting in place the National Recruitment Agency (NRA), an overarching body for a preliminary screening, to facilitate recruitment by some of the biggest employers in the country. At a time when job cuts and salary cuts have created uncertainty and economic distress in the private sector, railways, banks, and central police organisations will have this new system of recruitment, which is expected to reduce cost for employers and job seekers. Read More

Can the new Thar move bring Mahindra's SUV business on to the fast lane

Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) is set to redefine its brand DNA as it seeks to make a strong comeback in a market where it lost ground to rivals. Launching the all-new Thar, the iconic SUV that broke cover on Independence Day, was the first step towards that direction as the vehicle holds the “brand DNA in its purest form”, said Rajesh Jejurikar, executive director, auto and farm equipment sectors, said. Next in line would be the new-generation XUV500 (codenamed W601) in early part of 2021-22, followed by the new generation Scorpio (codenamed Z101). Read More

A deep dive into the SC ruling on daughter's right to ancestral property

Many modern women in India don't assert their right to own a car, open a bank account, or even a beer bottle, and the bitter truth is that they don't enjoy the liberty or financial freedom that men do. Thankfully, things are changing. Take, for instance, the inheritance laws in India, particularly those governing succession and inheritance among Hindu families. Last week, the Supreme Court held that daughters would have equal coparcenary rights in Hindu Undivided Family(HUF) properties, irrespective of whether the father was alive or not on September 9, 2005. Read More

Vaccine will be available only after trials are successful: Serum Institute

Amidst reports claiming Serum Institute of India would be ready with Covishield vaccine in 73 days, the Pune-based company on Sunday clarified that these claims were misleading. “The government has granted us permission to only manufacture the vaccine and stockpile it for future use,” Serum Institute said on Sunday. The drugmaker said the vaccine would be commercialised once the trials are proven successful and all the requisite regulatory approvals are in place. It said the claims surrounding Covishield's availability in the media were “conjectural”. Read More