Business highlights

Following are the top business stories at 1930 hours: DEL38 PM-LD DIGITAL INDIA Data, demographic dividend present huge opportunity; this decade to be ‘India's techade’: PM New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said the combination of nation's demographic dividend and data, with proven tech prowess presents immense opportunities as he exuded confidence the decade will be 'India's techade'.

DEL82 BIZ-RBI-FSR-DAS Economic activity recovering since late-May; rising cyber attacks a risk: Das Mumbai:The second wave of the pandemic took a ''grievous toll'' on India, but the dented economic activity has started recovering from late-May, Reserve Bank Governor Shaktikanta Das said on Thursday. DEL69 BIZ-LD ZYDUS-DCGI-VACCINE Zydus Cadila seeks emergency use authorisation for COVID-19 vaccine New Delhi: Drug firm Zydus Cadila on Thursday said it has applied for emergency use authorisation (EUA) with the Indian drug regulator for its three-dose COVID-19 vaccine ZyCoV-D, and plans to manufacture 10-12 crore doses annually. DEL56 BIZ-LD STOCKS Markets extend losses for 4th day; pharma stocks buck trend Mumbai: Equity benchmarks stayed on the backfoot for the fourth consecutive session on Thursday as IT and finance counters bore the brunt of hectic selling amid weak Asian cues. DEL52 BIZ-GST-LD FM Enhanced GST mop-up of recent months should now be 'new normal': FM New Delhi: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday said taxpayer base has almost doubled to 1.28 crore in four years of rollout of the historic tax reform and the enhanced GST mop up in the recent months should now be the ''new normal''.

DEL63 BIZ-LD RUPEE Rupee tumbles 23 paise to hit over 2-mth low of 74.55/USD Mumbai: The Indian rupee plunged 23 paise to its lowest level at 74.55 against the US dollar in over two months on Thursday amid a lackluster trend in domestic equity markets and a continuous rise in crude oil prices.

DEL15 BIZ-PMI-MANUFACTURING India's manufacturing sector contracts in June; first time in 11 months: Survey New Delhi:India's manufacturing sector activities contracted for the first time in 11 months in June as rise in coronavirus cases and strict containment measures adversely impacted demand as well as resulted in job losses, a monthly survey said on Thursday.

DCM63 BIZ-LD-GADKARI GST Gadkari says GST was 'very essential', sees 'room for improvement' New Delhi: With the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime completing four years, Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Thursday said this tax reform was ''very essential'', while observing that there is a room for improvement in the indirect tax regime.

DCM50 BIZ-VODAFONE IDEA-MORATORIUM VIL approaches DoT, seeks 1-yr moratorium on Rs 8,200 cr spectrum instalment due in 2022 New Delhi: Cash-strapped Vodafone Idea Ltd (VIL) has approached the government to seek one-year moratorium on payment of spectrum instalment of over Rs 8,200 crore, due in April 2022.

DEL39 BIZ-GOLD-PRICES Gold rallies Rs 526; silver zooms Rs 1,231 New Delhi: Gold in the national capital on Thursday rallied Rs 526 to Rs 46,310 per 10 gram in line with a strong recovery in global precious metal prices and rupee depreciation, according to HDFC Securities.