Top biz headlines: RBI's relief for MFs, Axis Bank results and more

Here are the top 10 headlines on Tuesday

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Monday opened a Rs 50,000-crore special liquidity window for mutual funds (MFs) to give a line of credit to the industry in the light of heightened redemption pressure after the closure of six schemes by Franklin Templeton Mutual Fund. Here are the top 10 business stories that made news on Monday:

RBI opens Rs 50,000-crore special liquidity window to support mutual funds

The RBI window, which is effective from April 27, allows MFs to access liquidity through two routes. Banks can borrow funds from the statutory liquidity facility for them from the RBI and lend to MFs against their collateral debt securities, or buy commercial papers or corporate debentures from the MFs. Read more here.

Govt needs clear 'entry and exit plan' on fiscal expansion: Shaktikanta Das

The Covid-19 pandemic will expand the government’s fiscal deficit beyond 3.5 per cent of India’s gross domestic product (GDP), said Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das as he called for a “well-calibrated road map” to manage finances. Read more here.

Lockdown 2.0: Zomato ends funding of discounts amid Covid-19 outbreak

Starting Monday, Zomato is withdrawing the funding of merchant discounts (sharing discounts offered by its restaurant partners) as it seeks to cut losses in a competitive food-delivery market. Read more here.

Covid-19 outbreak: Time running out for just-in-time inventory system

As corporate India braces for a post Covid-19 world, many CEOs are pressing ahead with fundamental changes in the factory and its supply chains, including more automation, localisation, ending just-in-time production, the way they work, and opting for larger warehouses. Some of these issues are contentious and opinions can be divided, depending on what line of business you are in and what levels of automation you have. Read more here.

Franklin fiasco: Gilt funds emerge as star in troubled debt MF pack

Amid the turmoil in the debt mutual fund space, the 10-year government bonds (gilt) segment has emerged as the ace in the pack. Sharper-than-expected rate cuts and liquidity measures by the RBI have helped the category deliver best returns in over a decade. Read more here.

Target zero net debt? RIL board to consider rights issue on April 30

Reliance Industries said on Monday that its board would consider a proposal to issue equity shares to existing shareholders on a rights basis, during its board meeting on Thursday. Analysts see the move as a bid to help the firm achieve its zero-net debt target, if other stake sale plans get delayed. Read more here.

Axis Bank to report Q4 earnings on Tuesday; here's what analysts expect

Double digit loan growth, high credit cost coupled with ballooning of slippages and provisioning to cushion against the likely increase in stressed assets due to the Covid-19 outbreak could hit the net profit of Axis Bank in the March quarter of FY20, analysts say. The bank is slated to report its Q4FY20 numbers on Tuesday, April 28. Read more here.
 

Battling Covid-19: Start-ups chip in to resolve India's ventilator crisis

The coronavirus pandemic has created a health care crisis of epic proportions across the globe, and with the cases surging every day there is a dire need for adequate respiratory support. India, for instance, has less than 50,000 ventilators, which will be insufficient to deal with the rising Covid-19 cases in the country. read more here.

Panic buying of drugs down since mid-April

​​Sales of anti-infective medicines in the April 1-22 period eased to 62% from levels seen from March 1to 22. While sales of anti-diabetes drugs touched 106% of the March 1-22 levels in this period, during April 16-22 they dropped to 83% from levels in the corresponding week in March, The Economic Times reported.

State govts leverage Big 4’s tech for management of pandemic

With states preparing for a likely influx of migrant workers after the lockdown, the so-called ‘big four’ consultancies are helping state governments with crisis management to deal with the coronavirus pandemic, according to several people aware of the development, LiveMint reported.