Top headlines: All eyes on Chandrayaan-3 landing, 28% GST move, and more

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India set for first south pole Moon landing after Russia's Luna-25 crashes

India is set to become the first country to land a spacecraft near the moon’s south pole after Russia’s attempt at a lunar touch down in the same area ended in failure following an engine malfunction. Chandrayaan-3 — India’s spacecraft that launched last month — is expected to land at 6:04 p.m. local time on Wednesday, after Russia’s Luna-25 crashed into the moon on Sunday. A rover, named Pragyan, or wisdom, will then analyze the chemical makeup of the moon’s surface and search for water over the course of one lunar day, which is equivalent to 14 days on Earth. Read more

 

Over the Moon: Chandrayaan readies to land, India Inc prepares to take off

This is how the Chandrayaan-2 Orbiter greeted the Chandrayaan-3 Lander Module on Monday, as the two communicated for the first time. This, an industry expert points out, symbolises the emergence of a modern Isro — short for the Indian Space Research Organisation, India’s space agency — conversant with today’s lingo. Today’s Isro is also comfortable in the midst of private sector companies. Several private sector firms are an integral part of Chandrayaan-3, India’s third moon mission (see: ONBOARD CHANDRA­YAAN-3). On Tuesday, executives from some of these companies were at Isro’s headquarters in Bengaluru, providing last-minute assistance. Read more

Titan plans to take on partial debt to fund Caratlane's acquisition

Jewellery maker Titan is planning to take on partial debt to fund the acquisition of a 27.18 per cent stake in its subsidiary, Caratlane shares. The company plans to fund more than 50 per cent of the acquisition by debt. On Saturday, Titan announced that it signed a share purchase agreement with the founder of CaratLane Trading (‘CaratLane’) and his family members to acquire all the shares held by them representing 27.18 per cent of the total paid-up equity share capital (on a fully diluted basis) of CaratLane for a total consideration of Rs 4,621 crore. Read more

28% GST move: E-gaming companies fear tax liability may rise to 400%

The online gaming industry fears it may face a “Vodafone-like” situation because the government demands 28 per cent goods and services tax (GST) from companies such as Gameskraft Technology Private Ltd (GTPL) for the period when the amen­ded law was not even in force. Tax on a retrospective basis was imposed on Vodafone. The fear of retrospective demand may come to haunt the online gaming industry, they apprehend. Read more

Food ministry to ask FSSAI to revisit fortification labelling norms

The food ministry is planning to ask the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) to revisit its advisory on labelling of bags containing fortified rice being harmful for people with sickle cell anemia and thalassemia major in light of the recent new evidence. Addressing a press conference, Food Secretary Sanjeev Chopra on Tuesday said the latest reports and studies showed that the amount of iron that goes into the diet through the PDS system was not harmful even for people with sickle cell anemia or thalassemia major. “Because of this, we are in process of urging the FSSAI to revisit its package labelling guidelines for rice PDS bags on the same,” he said. Read more