1. No Offer Yet, But We’re Interested in Jet Airways: Tata Sons
Tata Sons Ltd, the holding company of Tata Group, said on Friday that it is in talks to acquire a controlling stake in Jet Airways, the cash-strapped airline that has been looking to raise equity to meet debt repayments and manage operating expenses.
“Over the last few days there has been growing speculation in the print and electronic media about Tata’s interest in Jet Airways,” Tata Sons said after a board meeting.
“We would like to clarify that any such discussions have been preliminary and no proposal has been made.”
(Source: LiveMint)
2. GAIL Likely to Buy IL&FS Wind Energy Assets
State-owned gas utility company GAIL (India) Ltd is considering acquiring all of the wind energy assets held by subsidiary of debt-laden Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services (IL&FS), according to people familiar with the matter.
GAIL India is looking to buy 775 megawatts (MWs) of wind energy assets from IL&FS Energy Development Co., a unit of IL&FS, and has approached investment bankers to advise on a possible deal, the people said, asking not to be named as the talks are private. The discussions are at a preliminary stage and a decision to bid hasn’t been made, the people cited above said.
(Source: LiveMint)
3. Myntra-Jabong Merger to Affect 10% of Combined Workforce; Narayanan to Lead
Flipkart-owned fashion retailer Jabong will merge with its sister company Myntra, which will continue to operate as a separate brand, in a move that could lead to a 10 per cent reduction in the combined workforce. Also, Myntra Chief Executive Ananth Narayanan (pictured) will continue to lead the Myntra-Jabong team, the company said, dismissing speculations about his exit.
The development comes days after Flipkart co-founder Binny Bansal stepped down as chairman and group CEO following an allegation of "serious personal misconduct" against him.
There was tension in the air at Jabong’s Gurugram office on Friday as anxious employees waited to be told if they were safe or would be let go.
(Source: Business Standard)
4. SC Stays CCI’s Rs 420 Cr Penalty on Hyundai
The Supreme Court on Friday stayed a penalty of ₹420.26 crore imposed by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) on car manufacturer Hyundai Motor India Ltd for allegedly violating antitrust laws in the supply of genuine spare parts and diagnostic tools.
A two-judge bench comprising justices A.M. Khanwilkar and Deepak Gupta was responding to an appeal by Hyundai against the CCI’s 27 July 2015 order.
(Source: LiveMint)
5. With Walmart in Driver’s Seat, Flipkart Set to Speed Up Hiring
Amid the headlinegrabbing exits of Binny Bansal and others said to be leaving in his wake, Walmart-owned Flipkart has lined up an aggressive hiring spree that includes senior talent in domains such as supply chain management, technology, marketing, human resources and product. The company will also transfer employees from abroad so that the Indian business aligns with Walmart’s global processes, said headhunting firms.
The company confirmed that it was about to embark on an expansive recruitment drive.
(Source: The Economic Times)
6. 41% Indian Employees Feel They are Poorly Paid, Says ILO Study
At least 930 million workers in the Asia-Pacific region, including India, are facing vulnerable employment, the International Labour Organization (ILO) said on Friday in a report that urges economies to improve the quality of jobs.
There is no country-specific break-up of this number, but on an average 48.6% of workers in this region feel vulnerable and the trend will grow marginally to 49% by 2020, the ILO said. This means almost one in every two workers are facing uncertainty at work, including low wage and less conducive working conditions, despite impressive economic growth in the region over the last one-and-a-half decades.
(Source: LiveMint)
7. Essar Steel Creditors Seek Dismissal of Two Pleas That Could Delay Debt Resolution
The committee of creditors in the Essar Steel bankruptcy case has sought the dismissal of two applications that could potentially delay debt resolution at the stressed steelmaker, for which ArcelorMittal has been chosen the winner by the lenders.
The interlocutory application, moved before NCLT Ahmedabad in this case, is generally used to seek urgent relief, or to bring fresh facts to the court’s knowledge.
The committee has also sought day-to-day hearing of other such applications, filed by operational creditors. A group of 30 vendors, who had supplied goods and services to Essar, came together to petition the NCLT’s Ahmedabad chapter asking for their dues worth more than ₹600 crore. These dues are not promised to be repaid in the ArcelorMittal plan.
(Source: The Economic Times)
8. Airbus Global Aerospace Accelerator to Set Up Innovation Centre in Kerala
Airbus BizLab India, a global aerospace accelerator which is part of Airbus, signed a MoU with Kerala Government to set up an Aerospace Innovation Centre in Thiruvananthapuram.
The Centre would support aspiring entrepreneurs seeking to dabble in the aerospace and defence sectors.
Under the MoU, an Innovation Centre will be set up in Thiruvananthapuram, which will be the nodal body for planning and executing all the activities to help the startups.
(Source: Business Standard)
9. Govt for Greater Involvement in Decision Making of RBI
The government wants greater involvement in the RBI's decision making as it feels the current practice leaves it out on many critical issues like single-day default turning a loan into an NPA, sources said ahead of the crucial board meeting of the central bank.
The government feels that as the representative of the people, it should be involved in critical policy decisions made by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), they added.
To buttress its point, sources said the government cites that quorum for some of the sub-committees is completed by the presence of the governor and four deputy governors and not requiring any other directors to be present.
(Source: PTI)
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