Ola drops Foodpanda delivery, lays off several employees

• Company lays off many employees, but will continue with cloud kitchens
• Ola is in talks with delivery companies such as Dunzo and Zomato to relist its cloud kitchen brands

DHFL puts fresh deposits and renewals on hold, halts pre-mature withdrawals

• The most recent downgrade by CARE Ratings affected borrowings
• DHFL has so far been servicing its debt and there has been no default

Inside the audit lapses that led to IL&FS crisis

How did auditors fail to notice a crisis that had been brewing on IL&FS’ balance sheets for several years?

Hyundai sharpens focus on electric cars that run on hydrogen fuel cells

• Firms such as Japan’s Toyota Motor and Honda Motor have also been investing in hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles
• Others, such as Japan’s Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. Ltd, have also been investing in hydrogen fuel cell EVs

NSE moves SAT against Sebi orders in co-location case

• Bourse says the regulator’s ruling is ‘unsustainable, arbitrary and disproportionate’
• NSE alleges Sebi has not made a case that any member got advantage due to preferential access

TechM’s Q4 results underscore why it’s been an unexciting bet for investors

• After an exceptionally strong show in Q3, Tech Mahindra’s growth fell off the cliff in Q4
• Worse still, profit margins fell at a higher-than-expected rate, underscoring cost pressures

Ahead of poll results, opposition parties up the ante on EVMs

• The opposition demanded that VVPAT slips be counted along with EVM figures
• Opposition parties are desperately seeking an excuse for their impending defeat, says BJP

RBI plans specialized structure for regulation, supervision of banks

• A decision to this effect was taken at a meeting of the Central Board chaired by RBI Governor
• The decision is based on the recommendations of an internal committee under the current executive director in charge of NBFC supervision

Hinduja Group evaluating Jet Airways opportunity

• An investment by the Hindujas is expected to offer a respite to Jet Airways, its staff, as well as lenders and investors
• Jet Airways stopped operations in mid-April after banks refused to extend emergency funding

TV, print get top billing in online companies’ ₹6,700 crore ad blitz

• In India, traditional media continues to find favour with marketers of even digital firms, according to data
• Online firms are spending on ads so as to create brand recall, armed with celebrities and big media budgets

Yes Bank eyes private equity funds to raise ‘confidence capital’

• Yes Bank is looking to bolster its balance sheet after taking a massive hit to cover loan losses
• The lender was further hit when rating agencies Icra and India Ratings downgraded the long-term ratings of the bank

IL&FS weighs plan to recast part of its stressed loans from banks, MFs

• Restructuring could involve seeking a reduction in interest rates and a modification of the terms of loans
• If proposal gets nod, Moradabad Bareilly Expressway will be re-classified as a fully solvent “green” asset

Johnson & Johnson loses $25 million talc verdict in New York

• J&J faces more than 14,000 claims that its powders caused ovarian cancer and mesothelioma, a rare cancer linked to asbestos exposure
• The company denies its products ever contained the carcinogen

Iron ore mine auction delay may hit steel production in 2020

• The dearth of domestic iron ore supply will necessitate an increase in the import of iron ore mix
• The initiation of the auction process was delayed till the latter half of 2019 because of the Lok Sabha elections

Markets fall 1% as investors turn cautious ahead of poll verdict

• Indices drag after sharp sell-off in equities as participants turn cautious ahead of 23 May
• The markets are pricing in a clear victory for the NDA and any disappointment on 23 May could lead to correction

The bond market has a godfather in RBI, for now

• Bond yields have eased since the general elections began in April
• In short, RBI could absorb at least a quarter of the scheduled bond supply in FY20

Sebi permits mutual funds to participate in commodity derivatives

• Mutual funds to participate in commodity derivative market only through exchange traded commodity derivatives (ETCDs)
• Hybrid funds and gold ETFs permitted to participate in ETCDs

Airtel, ‎Voda Idea lose 30 million customers; Jio adds 9.4 million users in Mar

• Bharti Airtel's mobile subscriber base was 325.1 million, and that of rival Reliance Jio was 306.7 million as on March 2019
• Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel together shed 29.6 million users by March-end compared to February

PNB likely to take control of OBC, Andhra Bank and Allahabad Bank: Report

• PNB could take control of two-to-three small state-run banks, that could include Oriental Bank Of Commerce, Andhra Bank and Allahabad Bank
• PNB could start the process of taking control of the banks in the next three months

Finance commission may not extend GST compensation

• Tax buoyancy will take care of current shortfall in revenue in some states, says panel
• The guaranteed compensation to states under the GST regime will end in two years from now

Theresa May to ask lawmakers to vote on a second Brexit referendum

Theresa May said her govt will include in her Withdrawal Agreement Bill a requirement for lawmakers to vote on whether to hold another Brexit referendum

GroupM COO Prasanth Kumar appointed as South Asia CEO

• Singh leaves GroupM in June end to take up a senior role at ByteDance India, a technology firm specializing in content platforms
• Kumar, who joined GroupM in 2004, has played several leadership roles across India and the region, before becoming the South Asia COO in January

Opinion | The EVM ball is in the election panel’s court

A controversy over electronic voting machines has been brewing all through this poll season, but the Election Commission could still address these concerns and quell rumours

Guzzling high-priced UBL may be perilous to investors’ health

• United Breweries quotes at a stiff price-earnings multiple of about 55 times one-year forward earnings estimates
• Beer sales took a hit due to tax hikes in Maharashtra and West Bengal, and capacity constraints in Uttar Pradesh

Opinion | The global consequences of a Sino-American cold war

If care is not taken to avert the ‘Thucydides Trap’, it could get worse than the US-Russia Cold War

NDA confident of again forming government

• The meeting of NDA comes on the same day when opposition parties complained to Election Commission about the functioning of EVMs
• The meeting of NDA partners was initiated by BJP president Amit Shah and a dinner was organised by BJP for all the NDA partners

Opinion | Let’s not miss this opportunity to revive ‘Make in India’

India can leverage the US-China trade spat to attract firms looking to shift manufacturing out of China

Bio-Med directors in the dock over supply of tainted drugs

• Zonal drug regulator files complaint against company’s senior staff in Ghaziabad court
• The complaint is against Bio-Med’s five directors, its lab in-charge and the company itself

For OMCs, marketing segment steals the show in the March quarter

• First, demand is not expected to be robust. Second, global refining capacity is expected to be higher
• In the near term, the focus will be on how OMCs change petrol/diesel prices post-elections, added the brokerage firm

VC funds focused on India’s consumption story draw strong  investor interest

• The interest in these funds is also driven by LP’s need to invest in specialized funds as they bet more on India
• A91 Partners, the venture capital fund set up by three former managing directors at Sequoia Capital, is nearing the final close of its $350 million debut fund

Indices end lower, a day after record rally

• Sensex closed 1% lower at 38969.80 points, while the NSE Nifty 50 index fell 1.01% to close at 11,709.10 points
• Analysts believe domestic markets have already priced in Prime Narendra Modi's re-election, with little room for a further rally

CBDT wants religious, charitable trusts to be more open about their affairs

• Trusts also have to disclose details about their beneficial owners
• Tax relief is available to trusts on the income used towards meeting their stated religious or charitable objectives subject to conditions specified in Income Tax Act

IL&FS initiates claim process for 70 group entities

• The claims process is being run to crystallise the financial, operational liabilities of the group to facilitate distribution of proceeds from the resolution process
• IL&FS has appointed Grant Thornton India as the claims management advisor for overseeing and executing the process

Irdai-proposed insurance sandbox to give a leg up to customer experience

• Sandbox will allow need-based customization of products
• Applicant's net worth should be at least ₹10 lakh

Two former Ostro executives to set up clean energy firm

• Ranjit Gupta, Murali Subramanian are in talks with Temasek, EQT to raise $500 mn
• Gupta and Subramanian are starting the new firm after Ostro was acquired by ReNew

Sole and absolute owners can do what they want with an inherited property

• Sole legal owner of a house can dispose it to any person/s at his discretion, which can also be one of his children
• If you hold the house along with any other owner(s) as tenants-in-common, you are only free to sell your share in that house to any person

How exit polls landed on a Modi return

Every pollster has predicted an NDA win. Is exit poll a fraud science or can one attach some credibility to it?

Aggrieved buyers face another Rera battle

• Several Rera orders favouring homebuyers have not been executed
• According to Rera Act, once an order is passed by the authority, it needs to be executed within a fixed timeline

Nokia CEO Rajeev Suri sees possible benefits from Huawei tensions

• Nokia said it has won one additional commercial 5G contract since it reported first quarter earnings in late April
• Nokia last month reported a surprise quarterly loss after it failed to supply 5G telecoms equipment in time

TPG arm to sell cancer hospital chain to Varian for $283 mn

• CTSI is run by TPG Growth-owned Asia Healthcare Holdings (AHH), which invests and helps build early-stage, single-speciality healthcare delivery businesses
• The transaction is expected to close in two weeks, TPG said in a statement

Most bullish forecaster sees a big jump in rupee's value on Modi's return

• Foreign inflows into local markets will get a boost if Modi secures a second term
• Another rate cut by RBI in June policy will also help boost local equities and bonds: Analyst

Get a bird’s eye view of business from 15,000 ft

• Qtrove co-founder Vinamra Pandiya says skydiving, much like entrepreneurship, pushed him out of his comfort zone and the result was entirely worthwhile

Opinion | Are you a hoarder or a compulsive spender? You have a money disorder

Money disorders are prevalent in everyone—from the very poor to the very rich

Train 18 for exports after domestic demand is met: Railway official

• India's first self-propelled (engine-less) Train 18, which was rolled out last year, presently runs between New Delhi and Varanasi
• The official also said ICF would take up design, development and production of Train 19, a sleeper version of Train 18, in the current year

Sebi proposes to reduce time taken for rights issue process

• Sebi proposes to reduce time taken for rights issue to around 31 days as well as make the application, allotment process more efficient
• Sebi has proposed reduction in period of notice for companies to set a record date from 7 to 3 working days

Investors may need a reality check if reforms are hard to come by

• While some infrastructure firms may gain, valuing all of them at higher multiples is naive
• The solution to some of the country’s problems would need some tough reforms

L&T m-cap to touch ₹3 lakh crore in five years: A M Naik

• The $ 20 billion diversified L&T Group has a market cap of about ₹2.5 lakh crore at present
• Naik narrated how he aspired to be a manager in L&T and retire when he would get ₹1,000 salary

Bimal Dayal to lead merged entity of Indus Towers, Bharti Infratel

• The merger is at an advanced stage of completion and is expected to be closed by June
• Bharti Infratel and Vodafone India own 42% each in Indus Towers, while Idea Cellular holds 11.15%

Scoot official Vinod Kannan to board Vistara as strategy officer

• At present, former SpiceJet executive, Sanjiv Kapoor is the chief strategy and commercial officer at Vistara
• Kannan, who joined Singapore Airlines as direct marketing executive in 2001, has been a general manager with the airline at Indonesia and Italy

Health insurance exclusions all set to reduce

• Irdai’s draft exposure aims to enhance scope of health cover by rationalising and standardising health insurance exclusions through six key changes
• The draft is bound to have some impact on premium as the scope of cover has gone up and we will have to see how it will impact pricing

Muthoot Finance to expand personal loan operations

• The personal loan book target for the current financial year 2019-20 is ₹750 crore
• Customers will be evaluated based on their credit history, know your customer (KYC) based background check as well as CIBIL score

The A-Z of electioneering

Two months of relentless campaigning for the 2019 Lok Sabha election has drawn to a close. Millions of words have been poured into ears of voters, much of the language less than parliamentary. As we wait for the results, Shalini Umachandran brings you a lexicon from the campaign trail