BUSINESS HIGHLIGHTS

Following are the top business stories at 1910 hours: DEL79 BIZ-LD HYDROXYCHLOROQUINE India biggest producer of 'game-changer' hydroxychloroquine drug; has enough capacity New Delhi: India is the biggest manufacturer of hydroxychloroquine, the anti-malarial drug that is being touted as 'game-changer' in the fight against COVID-19 and is being aggressively sought by US President Donald Trump. DEL49 BIZ-VIRUS-LD WHATSAPP WhatsApp to limit sharing of frequently forwarded messages to one chat at a time New Delhi: WhatsApp will allow users to send frequently forwarded messages to only one chat at a time as part of efforts to curb spreading of misinformation amid the coronavirus pandemic.

DEL62 BIZ-LD STOCKS Sensex, Nifty log best single session ever tracking global peers Mumbai: Indian market gauges Sensex and Nifty logged their biggest one-day gains ever in absolute terms on Tuesday, tracking global peers amid signs that the Covid-19 pandemic may be peaking in some of the hard-hit countries. DCM75 BIZ-VIRUS-GDP ICRA Indian economy likely to grow 2% in FY21: Icra Mumbai: Icra Ratings on Tuesday sharply cut the country's GDP forecast amid the COVID-19 crisis and expects the economy to grow at just 2 per cent in the current fiscal.

DEL64 BIZ-LD RUPEE Rupee surges 49 paise to end at 75.64 against dollar amid stocks rally Mumbai: The rupee on Tuesday surged by 49 paise to close at 75.64 against the US dollar, following a rally in stock markets. CCM2 BIZ-VIRUS-INSURANCE Insurance cos start offering exclusive COVID-19 policies, partnering with online payment firms Kolkata: Seeing business opportunity amid the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, insurance companies in the country have started offering policies specific to COVID-19 and some of them partnered with digital payment service providers to push sales of such plans, officials said on Tuesday.

DCM61 BIZ-GST-AAR-DIRECTOR SALARY Remuneration paid to directors to attract GST: AAR New Delhi: Companies will have to pay GST on the remuneration they dole out to directors, the Authority for Advance Ruling (AAR) has said. DCM20 BIZ-VIRUS-POVERTY COVID-19: Food insecurity, malnutrition, poverty may escalate in developing world says IFPRI New Delhi: Food insecurity, malnutrition and poverty may escalate, particularly among marginalised people in the developing world due to the rapid spread of coronavirus, a latest report by International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) said on Tuesday.

DCM41 BIZ-VIRUS-FUEL-SALES Plunging fuel demand has OMCs worried on all fronts Mumbai: National oil companies are staring at inventory losses as they have to bring down refinery throughputs because of the plunging demand for fuels following the nationwide lockdown to contain the deadly coronavirus infection. .DCM38 BIZ-VIRUS-RBI RBI relaxes overdraft facility norms for states, UTs New Delhi: The Reserve Bank on Tuesday relaxed norms for state governments to avail overdraft facilities for a longer period until September 30 as they are facing cashflow mismatches amid coronavirus outbreak leading to countrywide lockdown.

DCM49 BIZ-IL&FS CORP GOVERNANCE IL&FS case a 'blessing in disguise' to address corp governance issues: Official New Delhi: Describing the IL&FS matter as a "watershed moment", Corporate Affairs Secretary Injeti Srinivas has said it was a blessing in disguise that forced the government to take the bull by its horns and address the difficult issue of corporate governance. DCM35 BIZ-TOTAL SA-ADANI French firm Total's arm invests Rs 3.7K cr to form JV with Adani Group New Delhi: French energy firm Total SA on Tuesday said it has invested Rs 3,707 crore to set up 50:50 joint venture with Adani Green Energy Ltd (AGEL) through its step-down subsidiary.

DCM63 BIZ-STOCKS-LD WEALTH Investor wealth jumps Rs 7.71 lakh cr as markets recover New Delhi: Investor wealth on Tuesday jumped Rs 7,71,377 crore as markets bounced back after two days of fall, tracking a broad-based rally in global equities. DCM22 BIZ-VODAIDEA-CONNECTIVITY Vodafone Idea users face connectivity issues New Delh: Several subscribers of Vodafone Idea on Tuesday reported poor call and data connectivity issues.

DCM69 BIZ-LD SBI-MCLR SBI cuts savings rate by 25 bps to 2.75 pc New Delhi: The country's largest lender SBI on Tuesday said it has cut the savings rate by 0.25 per cent to 2.75 per cent on all deposits. DCM68 BIZ-VIRUS-GARG-ECONOMY MEASURES Centre may require additional Rs 5 lakh cr to support economy hit hard by COVID-19: Garg New Delhi: The Centre may need to borrow 2-2.5 per cent of GDP or about Rs 4-5 lakh crore additionally for supporting people and businesses hit hard by the coronavirus outbreak and nationwide lockdown, according to former finance secretary Subhash Chandra Garg DEL43 BIZ-LOCKDOWN-LIQUOR Allow liquor sale; illicit trade burden on exchequer: CIABC to 10 states New Delhi: The Confederation of Indian Alcoholic Beverage Companies (CIABC) has urged 10 states to allow sale of alcoholic beverages saying that a blanket ban during the lockdown to contain coronavirus has resulted in sale of illicit and spurious liquor while causing burden on exchequer.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)