Business highlights

Following are the top business stories at 1945 hours: DEL73 BIZ-SMALL SAVINGS-ORDER Finmin withdraws order slashing rates on small savings schemes New Delhi: The finance ministry on Thursday issued a formal order for withdrawal of the cut in interest rates on small savings schemes and restored the old rates.

DEL68 BIZ-LD GST-COLLECTION GST mop-up at all-time high of Rs 1.23 lakh cr in Mar; tops Rs 1 lakh cr for 6th month in a row New Delhi: GST collections remained above the Rs 1-lakh-crore mark for the sixth month in a row in March, rising 27 per cent annually to record Rs 1.23 lakh crore, the finance ministry said on Thursday.

DEL56 BIZ-LD-STOCKS Stocks begin new fiscal on a high, Sensex reclaims 50K level Mumbai: Indian equities started the new fiscal on a strong note on Thursday, with the BSE Sensex surging over 520 points to settle above the 50,000-level on across-the-board buying by participants amid positive global cues.

DEL47 BIZ-GOLD-PRICE Gold rallies Rs 881; silver gains Rs 1,071 New Delhi: Gold rallied by Rs 881 to Rs 44,701 per 10 gram in the national capital on Thursday following a sharp recovery in global precious metal prices, according to HDFC Securities.

DEL38 BIZ-NITI-FOOD SUBSISDY Niti Aayog suggests policy measures to ensure subsidised food grains supply to needy New Delhi: Niti Aayog has suggested policy measures to the food ministry that envisages various scenarios to ensure supply of subsidised foodgrains to the needy without ''pinching'' the union government's fiscal resources, according to a senior official.

DEL71 BIZ-NIRMALA-GULF-TAX Salary income of Indian workers in Gulf exempt from I-T: Nirmala New Delhi: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday said salary income earned by non-resident Indians in Gulf countries would continue to be exempt from tax in India. DEL8 BIZ-ATF-PRICE Jet fuel price cut by 3 pc New Delhi: In the first reduction in rate in two months, jet fuel or ATF price on Thursday was cut by 3 per cent in line with softening international crude oil prices.

DCM73 BIZ-STOCKS-WEALTH Investors' wealth jumps over Rs 2.95 lakh cr on first day of new fiscal New Delhi: Investors' wealth jumped over Rs 2.95 lakh crore on Thursday, the first day of the new financial year, amid a rally in the equity market.

DCM69 BIZ-LD AUTO SALES Major auto cos log robust sales in March on pent up demand, shift towards personal mobility New Delhi: Leading automakers Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai and Tata Motors on Thursday reported robust sales in March as a shift towards personal mobility and pent up demand continued to help companies push dispatches to their respective retail partners.

DCM63 BIZ-TAX-REFUND I-T refunds of over Rs 2.62 lakh cr issued in FY21 New Delhi: The Income Tax Department has issued refunds worth over Rs 2.62 lakh crore to more than 2.38 crore taxpayers in 2020-21.