LIVE updates: Banks going to be catalysts for economic revival, says FM

Chinese troops carried rods, spears, clubs and pole weapons in aggressively trying to close in on an Indian position in Mukhpari area in eastern Ladakh, reports PTI. Stay tuned for Latest LIVE news

5:22 PM

Trump nominated for 2021 Nobel Peace Prize for brokering UAE-Israel peace deal

US President Donald Trump has been nominated for 2021 Nobel Peace Prize following his efforts to broker peace between Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

 

The nomination was submitted by Christian Tybring-Gjedde, a member of the Norwegian Parliament. He nominated Trump citing his "key role in... creating new dynamics in other protracted conflicts, such as the Kashmir border dispute between India and Pakistan".

5:11 PM

Gold rises by Rs 251 to Rs 52,149, silver jumps Rs 261

Gold prices rose by Rs 251 to Rs 52,149 per 10 gram in the national capital on Wednesday, according to HDFC Securities. In the previous trade, the precious metal had closed at Rs 51,898 per 10 gram.

 

Silver prices also jumped Rs 261 to Rs 69,211 per kilogram from Rs 68,950 per kilogram in the previous trade. In the international market, gold and silver were trading flat at USD 1,931.60 per ounce and USD 26.70 per ounce, respectively.

4:58 PM

India's fuel demand fell 15.6% y-o-y in August

India's fuel demand fell 15.6 percent in August compared with the same month last year. Consumption of fuel, a proxy for oil demand, totalled 14.39 million tonnes, data from the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) of the oil ministry showed.

 

Sales of gasoline, or petrol, were 7.5 percent lower from a year earlier at 2.38 million tonnes. Cooking gas or liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) sales decreased 5.1 percent to 2.28 million tonnes, while naphtha sales fell 6.6 percent to 1.07 million tonnes.

4:49 PM

5-8% of overall loans will get restructured under new framework: Icra

Banks and non-bank lenders will restructure up to Rs 10 trillion in debt or 8 per cent of outstanding loans under the one-time restructuring scheme announced by the Reserve Bank, domestic rating agency Icra said on Wednesday.

 

The RBI has operationalised guidelines based on K V Kamath-led panel's recommendations, which give relief to 26 listed sectors affected by the pandemic and stress on banks factoring-inleverage, liquidity and debt serviceabilitybefore admitting a case.

 

"We feel the overall restructured portfolio will come at 5-8 per cent of the overall loans," the agency's head of credit policy Jitin Makkar told reporters on Wednesday.

4:26 PM

HAL's light utility helicopter completes hot and high altitude trials

HALs indigenously developed Light Utility Helicopter (LUH) demonstrated high altitude capability in hot and high weather conditions in the Himalayas for about 10 days.

 

A comprehensive test plan was executed at Leh (3300 metres above mean sea level) in temperatures up to ISA (international standard atmosphere)+320C which included envelope expansion, performance and flying qualities, Bengaluru headquartered HAL ( Hindustan Aeronautics Limited) said.

4:18 PM

Sri Lankan navy tows stricken tanker away from coast, Indian plane sprays trailing slick

The Sri Lankan navy towed a stricken supertanker away from the Indian Ocean island's east coast on Wednesday, while an Indian Coast Guard plane sprayed chemical dispersants on a long oil slick that trailed in its wake.

 

A fire broke out in the engine room of the Greek-owned New Diamond tanker last Thursday. The blaze was believed to have been doused on Sunday but reignited a day later.

 

Laden with 2 million barrels of crude oil, there are fears that the accident could cause an environmental disaster, but so far the slicks have resulted from escaping marine fuel oil rather than leaking crude.

 

 

4:08 PM

SC stays implementation of Maharashtra law granting reservation to Marathas

The Supreme Court Wednesday stayed the implementation of 2018 Maharashtra law granting reservation to Marathas in education and jobs but made it clear that the status of those who have availed of the benefits will not be disturbed.

 

A three-judge bench headed by Justice L N Rao referred to a larger constitution bench, to be set up by Chief Justice of India S A Bobde, the batch of pleas questioning the validity of the law granting reservation to Marathas in education and jobs. Read more

 

3:55 PM

Silver Lake picks 1.75% stake in Reliance Retail for Rs 7,500 cr; KKR may follow

US private equity firm Silver Lake Partners will buy 1.75 per cent stake in billionaire Mukesh Ambani-run Reliance Industries Ltd's retail arm for Rs 7,500 crore and may be followed by KKR & Co.

 

Silver Lake will invest Rs 7,500 crore in Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd, a subsidiary of Reliance Industries, for a 1.75 per cent stake, the Indian firm said in a statement.

 

"This investment values RRVL at a pre-money equity value of Rs 4.21 trn," it said.

3:44 PM

Fitch says BPCL privatisation is 'event risk' over little info on bidders

Fitch Ratings on Wednesday said the potential privatisation of BPCL is an "event risk" as there is little information about bidders and potential transaction structure.

 

The rating agency affirmed Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd's (BPCL) long-term foreign-currency issuer default rating (IDR) at 'BBB-'. The outlook is 'Negative'. "Fitch equalises BPCL's rating with that of its largest shareholder, the India sovereign (BBB-/Negative)...due to the strong likelihood of government support," it said.

3:35 PM

Food processing minister inaugurates Organic India unit in UP

Food Processing Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal on Wednesday inaugurated Organic India Pvt Ltd's plant at Barabanki in Uttar Pradesh that has been set up at a cost of Rs 55 crore.

 

Inaugurating the food processing unit through video conference, she said the food processing sector is witnessing robust growth and has been identified as a champion sector by the central government. "Food processing sector is growing at 8.5 per cent annually," the minister said.

3:27 PM

EPFO decides to credit part of 8.5% interest for FY20

Retirement fund body EPFO on Wednesday decided to credit a part of 8.5 per interest on employees provident fund (EPF) for 2019-20 into the account of its around 6 crore subscribers.

 

The decision to provide 8.15 per cent interest on EPF has been taken at the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation's (EPFO) trustees meet held on Wednesday, a source told PTI.

 

The remaining 0.35 per cent rate of interest on EPF for 2019-20 would be credited into the subscribers account in December this year, the source further said.

3:15 PM

EAM Jaishakar meets Tajik counterpart Sirojiddin Muhriddin

2:58 PM

Rupee settles 5 paise higher at 73.55 against US dollar

Snapping its two-day losing streak, the rupee rebounded by 5 paise and settled at 73.55 (provisional) against the US dollar on Wednesday, even as the domestic equity market was trading with significant losses.

 

At the interbank forex market, the domestic unit opened at 73.67 against the US dollar, and finally ended the day at 73.55, registering a rise of 5 paise over its last close.

 

During the trading session, the local unit witnessed high volatility and touched an intra-day high of 73.47 and a low of 73.73 against the greenback. On Tuesday, rupee had depreciated by 25 paise to settle at more than one-week low of 73.60 against the US dollar on Tuesday.

2:47 PM

Efforts on for online delivery platform for street vendors: PM

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said efforts are being made to provide an online delivery platform to street food vendors on the lines of big restaurants.

 

After a virtual interaction with beneficiaries of the PM Street Vendors' Aatmanirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) scheme from Madhya Pradesh, Modi praised the state government for ensuring the scheme's benefits to over lakh people and providing identity cards to over 450,000 people (scheme beneficiaries) in just two months.

 

The Union government had launched the PM SVANidhi scheme on June 1 to help poor street vendors impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic resume livelihood activities.

2:36 PM

'Sanskrit Gram' to be developed across Uttarakhand

Encouraged by the success of an experimental project promoting the use of Sanskrit as a means of daily communication, the Uttarakhand government has decided to develop 'Sanskrit Gram' across the state.

 

People in these model villages will communicate with each other in the ancient Indian language on a daily basis.

 

Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat has entrusted Haridwar-based Sanskrit Academy Uttarakhand with the task of developing such villages initially in districts and then at the block level, an official release here said.