1. Nestle Again Lands in a Soup Over Maggi Noodles
In a setback to Nestle India Ltd, the Supreme Court on Thursday lifted a stay on the proceedings of a class-action suit filed by the central government against the maker of Maggi noodles in the apex consumer court.
The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) can now continue proceedings against Nestle India, based on the results of tests of Maggi noodle samples conducted by the Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI) in Mysuru. In December 2015, the top court had stayed NCDRC proceedings against Nestle India and directed the testing of the noodles by CFTRI.
(Source: Livemint)
2. Azim Premji Is India's Most Cash-Rich Promoter, Anil Agarwal Comes Second
Azim Premji of Wipro, Shiv Nadar of HCL Technologies, and the founders of Infosys are some of the most cash-rich promoters in the country. The promoters of the three technology companies together earned a little over Rs 20,000 crore through equity dividends and share buybacks in the last three years.
Share buybacks accounted for 56.5 per cent of their cash earnings during the period. Among individual promoters, Premji tops the list with cash earnings of Rs 10,115 crore, through equity dividends and share buybacks, in the last three years.
(Source: Business Standard)
3. Bankers Send A To-Do List To New RBI Governor
Hopeful that the Reserve Bank of India, under new Governor Shaktikanta Das, will be more receptive to their concerns, the country’s top bankers have shot off a letter with a list of requests. Among them is an appeal to dilute the tough 12 February circular for stressed asset management and a plea to allow banks to retain exposure to Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services as a standard asset.
Two bankers in the know who spoke on condition of anonymity confirmed the key contents of the letter which was sent in the second half of December.
(Source: BloombergQuint)
4. Panel Suggests Relaxing Capital Requirements For Banks To Boost Lending
A parliamentary committee suggested suspending the new international accounting standards for Indian banks and extending time to implement Basel-III norms.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance has said that the higher than global capital norms for Indian banks are unrealistic and unwarranted and an additional capital base required under the latest International Financial Reporting System’s norms for Indian banks may end up drastically reducing banks’ lending capacity.
(Source: BloombergQuint)
6. Three-Fourths of Airports of the Country Are in Loss! Setback to PM Modi’s Attempt to Boost Regional Air Connectivity
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ambitious plan to boost regional air connectivity seems to have run into trouble.
Under the regional connectivity scheme (RCS), the government is pushing the development of airports across the country, especially in unserved and underserved areas, but nearly three-fourths of the airports managed by Airports Authority of India are incurring losses.
(Source: Financial Express)
7. No Threat to Food Retailing by Amazon
The government on Thursday clarified that the latest rules for e-commerce companies with foreign investment such as Amazon and Flipkart, which barred online marketplaces from holding inventory, would not be applicable to the retailing of food products.
This means Amazon, Grofers and Big Basket, which have already got the government’s approval to sell locally-produced food products, can hold inventory of such items without any restriction. Currently, the government allows up to 100% FDI in e-commerce marketplaces via automatic route but no FDI is allowed in the inventory-based model (barring food retail).
(Source: Financial Express)
8. Ericsson Seeks Jail for Rcom Chairman Anil Ambani Unless Dues Cleared
Telecom equipment maker Ericsson filed its second contempt petition in the Supreme Court against Reliance Communications’ Chairman Anil Ambani, asking that he be detained in civil prison and be barred from travel overseas unless he ensures payment of Rs 550 crore owed to the Swedish company.
(Source: Economic Times)
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