Top headlines: India entry into global bond indices put off, SMS rules held

India’s inclusion in global bond indices faces taxation hurdle

India’s entry into the global bond indices has got postponed because of tax changes sought by their managers. They have also demanded that India list its sovereign debt papers on leading international central securities depositories like Clearstream.

This means that taxes on these papers, such as withholding tax, will need to be frozen. The government will have to give in writing that taxes will not be changed to the disadvantage of investors. Read more

Special insolvency relief framework for Covid-hit MSMEs in the works

With the suspension of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) coming to an end, the government is preparing a special relief framework for medium and small enterprises that are still grappling with the pandemic crisis. Under this, the Centre is planning to introduce in the code special provisions that could be part of the relief framework for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs). Read more

After outage, Trai puts on hold regulation on pesky SMS for one week

Responding to the outages felt across banking and e-commerce services, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has put on hold implementation of its regulations to curb unsolicited commercial communication. Users failed to receive text messages including one time passwords for online transactions , and banks attributed the glitches to Trai’s new regulations which came into effect on Monday. Read more

Flyers wearing masks incorrectly be put on no-fly list: Delhi HC tells DGCA

A Delhi High Court judge, on board Air India’s Kolkata-Delhi flight on March 5, has issued a set of guidelines that empowers airline cabin crew to offload ‘without delay’ delinquent passengers who wear their masks on the chin and be put on a ‘no-fly’ list if they exhibit ‘stubborn reluctance’. Read more

Surveillance fears over new rules to tame social media in India

For long, activists and governments have been prompted to demand greater transparency and accountability from Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter and other social media behemoths. Read more

Identifying Indian assets for seizure in case of non-payment, says Cairn

Cairn Energy Plc on Tuesday said preparatory identification of assets belonging to the Indian government has begun in multiple countries. The company will go to court to seize the assets, if its arbitration award is not honoured. The company could also monetise the award, with the potential to transfer it to third-party funds. Read more

ONGC wants to reduce cycle from discovery to production, says chairman

Global crude oil prices have been volatile this year. Shashi Shanker, chairman and managing director of state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, told Business Standard in an interview the country’s largest oil producer will be realising lower value than last year despite the recent spurt in global prices. Read more

Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin safe, immunises for at least 3 months: Lancet

Results from the phase 2 clinical study published in The Lancet shows that India’s first indigenously developed Covid vaccine to get the regulator’s nod for restricted emergency use — Covaxin — produced durable antibody and T-cell responses three months after vaccination. Read more

Dear Reader,

Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.

We, however, have a request.

As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed.

Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard.

Digital Editor