Top headlines: US court asks Isro arm to pay, Apple clocks record sales

From Apple selling record iPhones in Sept quarter in India to govt making first set of draft rules under labour code public, Business Standard brings you top news of the evening

US court orders Isro's Antrix to pay $1.2 bn to Devas as compensation

A US court has asked Antrix Corporation, the commercial arm of ISRO, to pay compensation of USD 1.2 billion to a Bengaluru-based startup, Devas Multimedia, for cancelling a satellite deal in 2005. As per the agreement in January 2005, Antrix agreed to build, launch and operate two satellites and to make available 70 MHz of S-band spectrum to Devas, which the latter planned to use to offer hybrid satellite and terrestrial communication services throughout India. Read More...

Apple turns the tide in India with record sales; 800,000 iPhones sold in Q2

Consumer technology giant Apple has finally managed to turn the tide in India. Buoyed by a refreshed India strategy and pent-up demand for cutting-edge smart devices, it clocked record sales during the July-September quarter in the local market. According to Tim Cook, chief executive of Apple Inc., its sales surged to a historic high for the September quarter in India. “Geographically, we set September quarter records in the Americas, Europe and rest of Asia Pacific. We also set a September quarter record in India, thanks in part to a very strong reception to this quarter's launch of our online store in the country”, he said during an earnings call early morning today. Read More...

Govt gives digitisation push to labour codes, makes draft rules public

The government has made public the first set of draft rules under the labour codes approved by Parliament recently, which is aimed at ensuring time-bound permission for companies to retrench, lay-off or shut its businesses. The Union labour and employment ministry has proposed to rationalise the number of forms from 30 under the present laws to 12, according to the draft Industrial Relation (Central) Rules, 2020, which have been made public for comments for a period of 30 days. Read More...

With 350% stock gain, drugmaker Laurus Labs seeks to boost capacity

Indian pharmaceutical company Laurus Labs Ltd. plans to spend as much as 15 billion rupees ($202 million) over the next 24 months to expand its production capacity, according to its chief executive officer. “We have a good visibility of orders going forward and this large capital outlay will help us meet the needs of the customers,” Satyanarayana Chava, also the company’s founder, said in a phone interview Thursday after it reported second-quarter profit that rose more than fourfold from a year earlier to 2.43 billion rupees. Read More...

As Europe curbs travel due to Covid, oil set to see worst month since March

Oil is poised for the biggest monthly slide since March on concern a resurgent pandemic in the US and Europe will keep people hunkered down, crimping demand for auto and aviation fuel. Futures have tumbled 9.8 per cent this month in New York and they’re near the lowest since late May in London. Infections surged to a record in the US Midwest, while parts of Europe tightened restrictions to stem second waves. Meanwhile, the return of Libyan supplies added to concerns of a crude glut. Read More...