Business Highlights

Following are the top business stories at 1850 hours: DEL11BIZ-FM-LD LOAN WRITE OFF-TWEETS Wilful defaulters beneficiaries of 'phone banking' under UPA regime: Nirmala Sitharaman New Delhi: Hitting out at the Congress party, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that wilful defaulters were beneficiaries of 'phone banking' under the UPA regime and the Modi government is chasing them to recover the dues. DCM61 BIZ-GADKARI-PACKAGE Govt considering packages for sectors facing distress: Gadkari New Delhi: The government is "seriously considering" unveiling packages, to the extent possible, to support sectors facing distress and a decision in this regard will be taken at the Prime Minister's level, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Wednesday.

DCM31 BIZ-LOCKDOWN-FOOD PROCESSING Centre urges industry players to buy vegetables, foodgrains from farmers to reduce crop losses New Delhi: Expressing concern over loss of harvested crops in different parts of the country, the Centre on Wednesday asked industry players to buy perishable vegetables and fruits besides foodgrains to reduce wastage and benefit farmers amid COVID-19-induced lockdown. DEL88 BIZ-AGRI-GROWTH Farm growth not to be impacted much this fiscal due to COVID-19 lockdown: Agri Min New Delhi: The country's farm sector is functioning smoothly despite COVID-19 lockdown and there will not be much impact on its growth in the current fiscal unlike other sectors, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said on Wednesday.

DEL66 BIZ-LD-RUPEE Rupee spurts 52 paise to 4-week high as dollar weakens Mumbai: The rupee surged by 52 paise to close at a four-week high of 75.66 against the US dollar on Wednesday, bolstered by gains in domestic equities and a weak greenback in global markets. DCM65 BIZ-FINMIN-INFRA-INVESTMENT Infra funding requirement pegged at Rs 111 lakh crore during 2020-25 New Delhi: To augment infrastructure and create jobs in the country, a government task force has projected a total investment of Rs 111 lakh crore in infra projects over five years, the Finance Ministry said on Wednesday.

DEL59 BIZ-LD STOCKS Markets rally for third day ahead of F&O expiry; HDFC twins lead charge Mumbai: Benchmark indices defied gravity for the third straight day on Wednesday, spurred by robust gains in financials, bank and IT stocks amid positive overseas cues. DCM4 BIZ-FITCH-MF RBI's liquidity support measures for MFs may struggle to be effective: Fitch New Delhi: The Reserve Bank of India's liquidity support measures for mutual funds may struggle to be effective, as its success will hang on banks' appetite to take up the risks involved, amid low capital headroom and a likely increase in fresh non-performing loans, according to Fitch. DCM49 BIZ-VIRUS-GADKARI-REALTY Sell unsold units at 'no-profit-no-loss' to save interest, boost liquidity: Gadkari to realty cos New Delhi: Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Wednesday exhorted real estate players to sell unsold housing units even at no-profit-no-loss to boost their liquidity condition and save interest cost on loans.

DCM44 BIZ-RBI-COOP-BANK-CURBS RBI extends curbs on Mumbai-based coop bank for 6 months Mumbai: The Reserve Bank on Wednesday extended restrictions imposed on city-based The Needs of Life Co-op Bank Ltd for another six months till October 31. DCM45 BIZ-VIRUS-LD IITG-HESTER-VACCINE IIT Guwahati collaborates with Hester Biosciences to develop COVID-19 vaccine New Delhi/Guwahati: Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati (IITG) on Wednesday said it has joined hands with Ahmedabad-based Hester Biosciences to develop a vaccine for COVID-19 and animal trials are likely to start by the end of this year.

DCM14 BIZ-VIRUS-ECOMMERCE-LEVY Global business bodies demand deferring of Equalisation Levy by 9 months New Delhi: International business bodies, whose members include global giants like Walmart, Amazon, Google, Netflix etc, have approached Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for deferring the 2 per cent tax imposed on non-resident e-commerce companies by nine months due to the crisis triggered by COVID-19. DCM41 BIZ-DELOITTE-WAGE CUT 27 out of top 100 cos can't sustain current wage bill: Deloitte study New Delhi: As many as 27 out of the top 100 companies listed on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) will not be able to sustain current wage bill if their revenue dip by 30 per cent or more due to a nationwide lockdown and imminent salary cuts, a Deloitte study said.

PTI SHW SHW.