Business highlights

Following are the top business stories at 2030 hours: DEL81 BIZ-2NDLD SURVEY India to remain fastest growing major economy; to expand 8-8.5% in FY23: Survey New Delhi: India will retain its tag of the world's fastest-growing major economy as the pre-Budget Economic Survey on Monday forecast an 8-8.5 per cent GDP growth in the fiscal year starting in April, saying it has the fiscal space to do more to support the economy and is well placed to meet the future challenges.

DEL93 BIZ-LD GDP Indian economy contracts by 6.6 pc in 2020-21: NSO data New Delhi: Indian economy contracted by 6.6 per cent in 2020-21 as against the earlier estimate of 7.3 per cent decline, showing that the COVID-19 pandemic hit economy did not perform as badly as was initially worked out.

DEL57 BIZ-LD NINL-SALE Tata Steel Long Products to acquire NINL for Rs 12,100 cr New Delhi: In its second acquisition of a PSU in recent weeks, Tata group firm beat the likes of Jindal Stel and JSW Steel to snap loss-making Odisha-based Neelachal Ispat Nigam Ltd (NINL) for Rs 12,100 crore.

DEL91 BIZ-BUDGET FM to boost budget spending to support eco growth New Delhi: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is likely to strike a fine balance between being fiscally prudent and growth supportive when she presents her fourth straight budget on Tuesday, which is expected to have plans to boost spending to revive investment and create jobs.

DEL37 BIZ-SURVEY-VACCINATION Vaccination critical for opening up economy, not just health response, says Survey New Delhi: The COVID-19 vaccination should be treated as a macro-economic indicator since it is not merely a health response but is critical for opening up the economy, according to the Economic Survey 2021-22.

DEL100 BIZ-GST GST collection tops Rs 1.38 lakh cr in Jan New Delhi: GST collection in January crossed Rs 1.38 lakh crore in January, a growth of 15 per cent over the year-ago period.

DEL96 BIZ-LD-INFRA-GROWTH Core sector growth recovers to 3.8 pc in Dec New Delhi, Jan 31 (PTI) Production of eight infrastructure sectors expanded by 3.8 per cent in December 2021 against a 0.4 per cent contraction in the same month last year on better show by coal, cement and refinery products, according to the official data released on Monday.

DEL89 BIZ-SANYAL-CRYPTO Govt to take balanced view on cryptocurrency, says PEA Sanjeev Sanyal New Delhi: The government will take a balanced view on the issue of regulation of cryptocurrencies as they have implications on the country's financial stability, Principal Economic Adviser Sanjeev Sanyal said on Monday.

DEL84 BIZ-LD RUPEE Rupee logs best day in 12 weeks, soars 42 paise against USD Mumbai: The Indian rupee on Monday clocked its biggest single-day rise in 12 weeks by surging 42 paise at 74.65 against the US dollar in line with positive regional currencies and buoyant domestic equities.

DEL66 BIZ-LD STOCKS Sensex races to 58k-mark ahead of Budget; IT, bank stocks spurt Mumbai: Equity benchmarks notched up solid gains on Monday after a two-session sliding streak as healthy growth projections in the Economic Survey and supportive global cues enthused investors.

DEL36 BIZ-SURVEY-AGRI Govt needs to prioritise crop diversification, allied sectors, promote alternative fertilisers: Survey New Delhi: The farm sector has been resilient to the COVID-19 shock and is estimated to grow at 3.9 per cent this fiscal, the Economic Survey said on Monday, while suggesting to the government to give priority to crop diversification, allied farm sectors and alternative fertilisers like Nano urea.

DEL39 BIZ-SURVEY-PRIVATISATION Air India sale to boost privatisation; need to encourage private participation across sectors: Survey New Delhi: Air India sale will give a boost to India's privatisation drive, the Economic Survey said on Monday, as it suggested redefining the public sector role in business enterprises to encourage private participation in all sectors.

DCM104 BIZ-TATA MOTORS-SEMICONDUCTORS Worst of semiconductor shortage over: Tata Motors Group CFO New Delhi: The worst of the ongoing semiconductor shortage crisis that has hurt Jaguar Land Rover and Tata Motors is over and normalcy is expected in the coming quarters as additional chip capacity becomes available and more long-term planning with suppliers takes place, Tata Motors Group CFO PB Balaji said on Monday.