Business highlights

Following are the top business stories at 1925 hours:

DEL31 BIZ-CAB-LD DA Govt hikes DA/DR by 5 percentage points to 17pc for central govt employees, pensioners

New Delhi: Bringing cheers to 50 lakh central government employees and 65 lakh pensioners ahead of Diwali, the Cabinet on Wednesday announced an increase of 5 percentage points to 17 per cent in dearness allowance and relief, envisaging an additional annual outgo of Rs 16,000 crore.

DEL34 CAB-PM-LD KISAN Govt extends Aadhaar seeding date for PM-Kisan plan till Nov 30

New Delhi: The government on Wednesday extended Aadhaar seeding date till November 30 to avail Rs 6,000 benefit under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-Kisan) scheme to help farmers buy farm inputs ahead of rabi sowing season.

DEL15 BIZ-WEF-INDIA COMPETITIVENESS India slips 10 places to 68th on global competitiveness index; Singapore on top

New Delhi/Geneva: India has moved down 10 places to rank 68th on an annual global competitiveness index, largely due to improvements witnessed by several other economies, while Singapore has replaced the US as the world's most competitive economy.

BCM6 LD-SBI-MCLR SBI cuts lending rates for 6th time; deposits rates down 25bps

Mumbai: The State Bank Group on Wednesday revised its marginal cost of funds-based lending (MCLR) rates by a marginal 10 basis points across all tenors but steeply revised down the pricing on savings deposits under Rs 1 lakh by a 25 bps to 3.25 percent.

DEL40 BIZ-RUPEE-CLOSE Rupee pares losses on hope of US-China trade deal; closes 5p down

Mumbai: The rupee pared most of its initial losses and settled the day marginally down by 5 paise as China offering to buy additional US goods to ease trade tensions bolstered hopes of a partial deal between the two major economies.

DEL39 BIZ-LD STOCKS Sensex snaps 6-day fall, spurts 646 points as banks, financials sparkle

Mumbai: Benchmark indices made an emphatic comeback on Wednesday after a six-session losing streak as investors piled into recently beaten down banking and financial stocks ahead of the earnings season.

DCM21 BIZ-TOMATO PRICES Now, tomato price soar to Rs 80/kg in Delhi

New Delhi: After onions, retail price of tomatoes shot up to Rs 80 per kilogram in the national capital on Wednesday due to supply disruption caused by heavy rains in key growing states, including Karnataka.

DEL27 BIZ-GOLD-PRICE Gold prices gain Rs 315 on strong global cues

New Delhi: Gold prices on Wednesday rose by Rs 315 to Rs 39,325 per 10 grams at the bullion market in the national capital following strong global cues.

DCM34 BIZ-LD MUTUALFUNDS Equity mutual fund inflow hits 4-month low in Sep on profit booking

New Delhi: Equity mutual funds witnessed a net inflow of around Rs 6,489 crore in September, the lowest in the last four months, due to profit-booking by investors after a rally in markets following a reduction in corporate tax.

DCM31 BIZ-STOCKS-LD-DHFL DHFL shares hit lower circuit, fall 10 pc to hit 52-week low

New Delhi: Shares of DHFL hit lower circuit by slipping almost 10 per cent to its 52-week low on Wednesday after CDSL freezed shareholding of the mortgage lender's promoters due to delay in announcement of financial earnings.

DCM27 BIZ-JIO-CALL CHARGE Jio to charge users 6 paisa/min in view of TRAI's review of IUC regime

New Delhi: Forced by regulatory uncertainty over review of sunset clause for call termination charges, billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Jio on Wednesday announced it will charge customers 6 paise per minute for voice calls made to rival phone networks, but will compensate them by giving free data of equal value.