Business highlights

Following are the top business stories at 2100 hours: BIZ-RBI-LD RS2000 NOTES - DEL76 More than 97 pc of Rs 2,000 notes returned to banking system: RBI Mumbai: The Reserve Bank of India on Wednesday said that more than 97 per cent of the Rs 2,000 bank notes have been returned to the banking system and only about Rs 10,000 crore worth of the notes are still with the public.

BIZ-GST-LD COLLECTION -DEL59 GST collections rise 13 pc to Rs 1.72 lakh cr in Oct; second highest-ever New Delhi: GST collections increased 13 per cent to Rs 1.72 lakh crore in October, the second highest-ever, helped by momentum in the economy, efforts of taxmen in checking evasion and festive demand.

BIZ-LAPTOP-LD IMPORTS -DEL54 Govt clears 110 applications for imports of laptops, other IT hardware products New Delhi: The government has cleared 110 of the total 111 applications, including those of Apple, Dell and Lenovo, that sought permission for imports of IT hardware products like laptops and computers on the first day of implementation of the new system, an official said.

BIZ-LD STOCKS -DEL62 Markets fall for 2nd day on foreign fund outflows Mumbai: Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty declined for the second day in a row on Wednesday amid unabated foreign fund outflows.

BIZ-LD RUPEE -DEL84 Rupee falls 4 paise to settle at 83.28 against US dollar Mumbai: The rupee depreciated 4 paise to settle at 83.28 against the US dollar on Wednesday, tracking a strong greenback against major rivals overseas and unabated foreign capital outflows.

BIZ-COMPANIES-LD OVERSEAS LISTING -DEL73 Govt allows direct overseas listing of Indian cos; notifies relevant section under companies law New Delhi: In a significant move, the government has permitted Indian companies to list on foreign exchanges, subject to certain conditions.

BIZ-LD-AUTO-SALES - DEL68 Riding on festive demand, passenger vehicle sales soar to record high in October New Delhi: Passenger vehicle wholesales in India rose to a record high in October as companies pushed dispatches to dealers to cater to the enhanced demand in the festive season.

BIZ-RESULTS-TATA STEEL - DEL79 Tata Steel slips into red; reports Rs 6,511 crore net loss in Sep quarter New Delhi: Tata Steel on Wednesday reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 6,511.16 crore in the second quarter ended September.

BIZ-SEBI-MF DOCUMENTS -DCM121 Sebi simplifies offer documents of mutual fund schemes New Delhi: To boost ease of preparation of the Scheme Information Document (SID) by mutual funds and increase its readability for investors, markets regulator Sebi on Wednesday simplified and rationalised the format of offer documents.

BIZ-GOLD-PRICE - DEL56 Gold falls Rs 350; silver tumbles Rs 1,200 New Delhi: Gold price declined Rs 350 to Rs 61,700 per 10 grams in the national capital on Wednesday amid weak global cues, according to HDFC Securities.