Battered infra dream awaits a new deal

• A long-awaited ramp up in infrastructure spending was derailed by the pandemic. Now, all eyes are on the Budget
• The near collapse in public funding, especially at a time when India is striving to capture a slice of the global supply chains through its China+1 gambit, could have worrisome consequences

Power Grid files offer document for InvIT IPO, first ever by a PSU

• This will be the first time a state owned entity is monetizing its infrastructure assets through the InvIT route
• The InvIT will initially comprise of 11 power transmission lines currently owned and operated by Power Grid

HUL’s sales in Q3 fare better, but investors need to watch margins

Sales growth in foods and refreshment segment excluding the impact of the GSK CH merger and acquisition of VWash stood at 19% for the December quarter

We need a good NPA market if a bad bank is to succeed

A ‘bad bank’ could take on bad debt but we must optimize risk transfer rules to attract private interest

Maruti Suzuki expected to report double digit growth in net profit for Q3

• The carmaker is likely to report a 13% year-on-year increase in net profit to ₹1775.6 crore as result of 13% jump in net sales to 23417.3 crore, according to a brokerage
• Maruti Suzuki also registered double digit growth in retail sales during the Navratri and Diwali festival season after two years

BoB chief warns of rising stress in retail and small businesses

Public sector lender Bank of Baroda (BoB) on Wednesday warned of rising stress in the coming months, possibly emanating from the retail and small business segments as a fallout of covid-19 stress

AstraZeneca UK COVID vaccine plant evacuated after over a suspicious package

• Operated by Wockhardt UK, the plant provides so-called fill-and-finish capacity for AstraZeneca's UK supply chain
• A spokesman for Prime Minister Boris Johnson said his office was being kept up to date on developments in Wales

Fix inverted tariff structures to boost industrial growth in India

Correcting import-duty anomalies will attract foreign firms to set up assembly bases here and lift our global competitiveness

One out of five in informal sector are out of work post lockdown

More than two-thirds (69%) of those employed in February had lost work during the lockdown, the survey said

Aditya Birla Fashion to buy 51% stake in designer brand Sabyasachi for ₹398 cr

The deal is in line with the company's 'long term strategy of building a formidable play in ethnic wear segment', says ABFRL

Wall St: Dow plunges over 550 points at open with earnings underway, eyes on Fed

• The Fed is expected to keep monetary policy locked in crisis-fighting mode at its meeting ending
• The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 575.3 points, or 1.86%, at the open to 30,361.35

Markets to watch out govt’s fiscal target, reforms in Budget 2021: Experts

• 'The government may surprise positively on the fiscal side,' Neelkanth Mishra, India strategist, Credit Suisse said
• Indian markets tanked sharply on Wednesday after hitting record highs with the benchmark indices losing nearly 5% in the last four sessions

Air India losses narrow to ₹7,770 crore on standalone basis in FY20

• The airline’s operational revenue stood at ₹27,710 crore during FY20
• Total Expenses rose to ₹36,290 crore during FY20

IIT-D may admit non-JEE candidates

IIT-D aims to scale up the IoE (institute of eminence) system and become much more comprehensive

Rajnath Singh discusses India-China tensions with US counterpart Lloyd Austin

• We reiterated our firm commitment to deepen India-US defence cooperation, Rajnath Singh said in a tweet
• The two discussed 'bilateral, regional and global issues,' a statement said

Stocks dive nearly 2% amid budget worries

The BSE Sensex fell 937.66 points, or 1.94%, to 47,409.93. The National Stock Exchange’s broader Nifty index shed 1.91% to 13,967.50.

Five states recorded maximum covid-19 vaccination turn out

• The cumulative number of healthcare workers vaccinated against covid-19 crossed 23 lakh today with a total of 23,28,779 beneficiaries, according to a report
• Total cumulative recoveries stand at 1,03,59,305 today surpassing covid-19 cases

Farmers call off budget day march to Parliament

Protesting farmer union also condemned the violence in the capital on Republic Day

India won't tolerate insult to Tricolour at Red Fort, says Prakash Javadekar

• 'Action should be against all of those who instigated others. India won't tolerate the manner in which the Tricolour was insulted at the Red Fort,' Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said

Farm laws stir: Farmers postpone march to Parliament on Budget Day

• Farmer leader Balbir S Rajewal on Wednesday said that the farmers' protest march towards Parliament, which was scheduled to take place on 1 February, stands postponed

Nissan aims to electrify all cars in key markets by early 2030s

Further development of Nissan’s e-POWER electrified powertrains to achieve greater energy efficiency

Apple may start producing iPhone 12 series phones in India this quarter: Report

The report also suggests that Apple is working on diverting production of other core products from its current manufacturing bases in China which includes iPad, Macs and other products

Covid vaccination: Over 23 lakh beneficiaries inoculated so far, says govt

• 23,28,779 have been vaccinated so far till 6 pm today, of which 2,99,299 people were vaccinated on Wednesday alone, according to the Health Ministry

Biden withdraws Trump-era plan to rescind work permits for H1-B spouses

• Nearly a lakh Indian spouses can now breathe a sigh of relief as the H-1B visa holders can continue working in the US

India holds talks with Russia, Japan for trilateral cooperation in many sectors

• It may be seen as an attempt by India and Japan, both part of the grouping loosely known as the Quad along with the US and Australia, to engage Russia
• All 3 countries welcomed their growing links in the Arctic, 'recognising the inter-connected nature of regional development alongside the Russian Far East,' a statement said

E-commerce industry poised to touch $90-100bn in 3-4 yrs: Kalyan Krishnamurthy

Flipkart Group CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy said while challenges brought in by the COVID-19 pandemic impacted businesses, many new avenues also opened up

Sensex slumps 900 points in biggest fall in a month, gives up this year's gains

• In just four sessions, Sensex has lost about 2,400 points, giving up all the gains of this year

Budget 2021: Govt plans ₹3 trillion reform to revive ailing power utilities

• The spending would be spread over a few years and is likely to be unveiled on Feb. 1 as part of the government’s budget for the year starting April 1.
• The plan for carrying out reforms for reducing losses of state distribution utilities was sought by the nation’s power ministry and is under discussion

Axis Bank Q3 results: Net profit drops 36% to ₹1,117 crore, NII rises 14%

• 'Reported profits after tax for the quarter are adversely impacted to the extent of around ₹1,050 crore on account of prudent expenses and provisioning charges during the quarter,' the bank said.

Delhi records single-day rise of 96 Covid-19 cases, lowest in over nine months

• This is also the first time that the national capital has logged less than 100 Covid-19 cases since April 30 last year
• The number of active cases is 1,501, of which 670 are in home isolation

Bird flu confirmed in Solapur, Pune, Nashik and 5 other districts in Maharashtra

• The outbreaks of avian influenza were detected in nine states for poultry birds
• Further, avian influenza were found in crow in Uttarakhand (Rudraprayag Forest Division), Titar in Junagad(Gujarat) and peacock in Beed (Maharashtra), the ministry confirmed

HUL profit jumps 19% on demand recovery

• Profit in the third quarter rose to ₹1,921 crore from ₹1,616 crore a year ago
• Standalone revenue for the quarter jumped 21% to ₹11,862 cr from ₹9,808 cr a year ago

LG Display reports stronger profit on iPhone demand, rising panel prices

The Apple supplier posted an operating profit of 685 billion won ($622 million) in the fourth quarter of 2020, compared with a loss of 422 billion won in the same period a year earlier

Bank of Baroda shows resilience, but growth is some time away

A healthy growth of 8.65% in its core interest income, largely due to the benefit of low cost of deposits, helped the bank’s profitability

FDI inflows in Apr-Nov 2020 rise 22% to $58 bn, highest-ever for 8 mnths: Govt

• The FDI inflows for the first 8 months of 2019-20 stood at $ 47.67 billion
• Total FDI equity inflows in April-November 2020 rises 37% (YoY) to $43.85 billion