Delhi High Court gives RBI one more day to finalise stand on Tata-DoCoMo arbitration award

LATEST NEWS - The Delhi High Court on Tuesday allowed the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) a further day to finalise its stand on the enforcement of the $ 1.18 billion Tata Sons-NTT DoCoMo arbitration award, now sought to be realised in favour of the Japanese telecom major through a settlement agreement arrived at by the two companies.

On March 8, Justice Muralidhar had directed the RBI to inform the court by March 14, of its stand on an intervention application filed by the central bank against the enforcement of the international arbitral award. The court's order had come on the backdrop of lengthy arguments made by the RBI on grounds of violations to Indian law and the disregard of regulatory considerations, which in the opinion of the banking regulator, were attempting to do something that was not permitted directly in an indirect manner. After hearing the arguments raised, the court had on that date, asked the RBI to take a final call on the matter and to inform the bench on all applicable laws in favour of its position, in case the regulator still chose to object to the settlement of the issue in line with the understanding arrived at by the companies.

In Tuesday's hearing, instead of clarifying its stance as directed, senior advocate Soli Sorabjee appeared on behalf of the RBI and sought the court's allowance for the central bank to again look into the matter "afresh", before clarifying its final position. On protests made by the DoCoMo and Tata and after highlighting the volume of arguments already made by the RBI, Justice Muralidhar denied the senior counsel's request and instead remarked, "This must be decided here and now. The RBI still hasn't told the court under what law, circular or regulation it may have an issue (against the enforcement)."(READ MORE)

BJP has requisite numbers: Heptulla on Manipur govt formation

BREAKING NEWS - Manipur Governor Najma Heptulla on Tuesday justified her decision to invite BJP to form the government in the north-eastern state by stating that the party has the requisite numbers.

On Congress's contention that she should have first invited the party to form the government since it emerged as the single largest party after the state Assembly election, Heptulla told reporters, "I do not know what allegations they are making. I am a straight-forward person. I go by the book. I know the rules and regulations."


"BJP has the requisite numbers. They are more than 30. It will be helpful for Manipur," she said.

Clarifying her position on the matter further, the Governor said, "My 37 years in Parliament and 17 years in the Chair (as Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman)... When I was a member of the Congress party, I had to work with non-Congress governments, including Janata government, BJP and many others. I had to work with at least five different prime ministers and nobody ever made an allegation that I did something wrong.

"For Manipur we need lots of development, lots of jobs and I feel that it is very necessary that we should have stability in the state," she said.

On being quizzed regarding the number of ministers who will take oath tomorrow, Heptulla said, "The list will come to me."(READ MORE)

Flipkart looking to raise $1 billion in latest funding round: Source

Latest News - India's top e-commerce company Flipkart is holding talks with investors to raise up to $1 billion in one of its biggest funding rounds so far, a source familiar with developments said on Wednesday.

The source declined to name the potential investors and the exact valuation Flipkart was looking for, but said it hoped the valuation would be in the "double digits", referring to a valuation of $10 billion or more.

Earlier on Wednesday, Financial Express newspaper, citing unidentified sources, said (Read More)

Avenue Supermarts IPO fully subscribed on first day

Latest News - India's Avenue Supermarts Ltd's initial public offering (IPO) to raise up to Rs 1,870 crore was fully subscribed on the first day of the offer, exchange data showed on Wednesday.

The supermarket operator is selling shares in a range of 295-299 rupees a share in an offer that closes on Friday.

Its IPO is the country's biggest since PNB Housing Finance Ltd raised Rs 3,000 crore in an initial share sale in October.

The supermarket operator operates 118 stores across 45 cities under the "D'Mart" brand.

Separately, the (Read More)

China posts first monthly trade deficit in 3 years as imports soar

Latest News - China unexpectedly posted its first trade gap in three years in February as a construction boom pushed imports much higher than expected and as increasing US protectionist rhetoric casts a spotlight on the export giant's trade position.

The upbeat import reading reinforced the growing view that economic activity in China picked up in the first two months of the year, adding to a global manufacturing revival.

That could give China's policymakers more confidence to press ahead this year with oft-delayed and painful structural reforms such as tackling a rapid build-up in debt.(Read More)

Gender pay gap: Men earn 67% more than women in India, says Report

Latest News - The gender pay gap in India is as high as 67 per cent as a man on an average earns USD 167 compared with $100 by a woman, says a report.

According to Accenture Research, much of this gap is caused by the fact that there are more men than women in high paying functional and leadership roles, in addition to factors such as education levels, industry segment and hours worked.

"Despite recent successes such as improvement in education, and more work opportunities, socio-cultural issues often force women to step back at important stages in their careers making the gap harder to close," said Rekha Menon, Chairman and Sr Managing Director, Accenture in India.(Read More)

Sena joins Congress, NCP in loan waiver demand; Maha Assembly adjourned

BMC POLLS 2017 - The Maharashtra Legislative Assembly was on Wednesday adjourned for the day without transacting any business after it witnessed noisy scenes as Shiv Sena legislators joined Opposition Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) to demand loan waiver for distressed farmers.
As soon as the House assembled for the day, Leader of Opposition, Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil through an adjournment notice highlighted the plight of farmers across the state after consecutive droughts and said there was no alternative other than granting them a loan waiver.
NCP leader Ajit Pawar asked the BJP government to recall how its ministers, while in Opposition would raise farmers' woes (Read More)