The rate of unemployment was the highest in the urban areas, which constitute the most number of red zones due to the COVID-19 cases, at 29.22 per cent, as against 26.69 per cent for the rural areas.

The order, which set aside the August 9 ruling of a single-judge bench, prevented the group entities from publishing the voting results of the last AGM. However, the firms will now be able to execute decisions taken at the AGM last year. People in the know said the Birlas would appeal against the order in a higher court.

The IHS Markit India Services Business Activity Index stood at 5.4 in April, an extreme decline from 49.3 in March, and indicative of the most severe contraction in services output since records began in December 2005. As per the IHS Markit India Services Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), a print above 50 means expansion, while a score below that denotes contraction.

Researches reveal that many firms that employ H-1B workers directly, including some of the biggest names in the technology industry such as Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Apple, Qualcomm, Salesforce and Uber, pay a large share of their H-1B workers at one of the two lowest wage levels, Level 1 or Level 2.

'Banks are being encouraged to lend instead of parking their resources with the RBI and earn risk-free interest income,' points out Tamal Bandyopadhyay.

No change in retail prices as oil marketing firms to absorb increase

Companies across the sector are restructuring payrolls of crew, cutting allowances, and extending leave without pay duration as they realise they will have more aircraft and employees compared to customers.

M and M was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rallying over 5 per cent, followed by Bajaj Finance, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Bharti Airtel and Hero MotoCorp. NSE Nifty rose 65.30 points, or 0.71 per cent, to finish at 9,270.90.

'A total overall of the existing way of working by abolishing taxes and allowing citizens to help themselves without any government bottlenecks and impediments,' observes Rahul Mishra.

The Union government will gain close to Rs 1.6 lakh crore in additional revenues this fiscal from a record hike in excise duty on petrol and diesel that has pushed the total incidence of taxation on auto fuels to 70 per cent of the price. Late on Tuesday evening, the government hiked excise duty on petrol by Rs 10 per litre and that on diesel by Rs 13 a litre to mop up gains arising from international oil prices falling to a two-decade low.

Custom authorities have been keeping strict vigil on the cargo movements from Bhutan, Taiwan, China, Afghanistan, South Korea Japan, and Dubai since January.

Experts say that the lockdown and its aftermath will further quicken the consolidation in the real estate sector, which has been taking place since 2012, with more small players going out of the business and bigger, branded players dominating the market.

'As much as $4 billion in India's start-up companies has come from Chinese funds.' 'Government policy must not remain indifferent to the problems India's start-up ventures are likely to face after the change in FDI rules,' says A K Bhattacharya.

'The challenge will be making sure its efficacy is high.' 'If a vaccine is only 50 to 60 per cent efficient, it's a double-edged sword.'

'I have no problems with the finance ministry or with state governments treating petrol pump prices as the last resort for meeting their ambitious spending targets with very limited revenue resources.' 'But let's do away with this smokescreen of free pricing of petrol and diesel and go back to administered pricing regime,' says Dr Sudhir Bisht.

Vashi APMC traders see supplies to Mumbai impacted over movement curbs. A number of trucks sent to Mumbai from the market has reduced from 600 per day in recent times to around 300.

Just to promote govt's policy of Make in India, BSNL said, it cannot afford to procure sub-standard equipment from inexperienced companies, not having proven technology. BSNL complained that when competitors were procuring world-class 4G equipment from experienced vendors, why should BSNL be compelled to procure locally.

There is much to learn from how Brian Chesky, co-founder and CEO, Airbnb, let 1,900 employees know they had lost their jobs.

'This prime minister thinks he knows everything.' 'He has to consult, he has to talk and he has to mobilise the best people, but having seen him function, I have no expectations from him.'

A clutch of automakers including Maruti Suzuki, Hero MotoCorp, Mercedes Benz India, Eicher Motors, TVS Motor, and Isuzu Motors India announced they had got the clearance from the governments of the states they operate in to resume operations.

Other than Kapoor, the complaint, running into more than 10,000 pages, named his wife, Bindu; three daughters Rakhee, Roshini, and Radha; and three firms, Morgan Credits, RAB Enterprises, and Doit Urban Ventures, allegedly controlled by them.

That would reverse the growth trend of around 11 per cent per annum, which the industry has logged over the past ten years, making it one of the most adversely-affected sectors of the economy.

ONGC was the top loser in the Sensex pack, slumping over 4 per cent, followed by NTPC, Kotak Bank, Titan, Bharti Airtel and PowerGrid. On the other hand, IndusInd Bank rallied over 6 per cent.

Radhakishan Damani is the only billionaire to see his wealth grow by around 20% during the lockdown.

'Two consecutive quarters of negative growth are the technical definition of an economic recession, and for the first time in this generation's memory, we may be staring at one,' observes Aakar Patel.

The five southern states source 10-15 per cent of their revenue from excise duty on liquor but account for nearly half of the total consumption, says a report. The financial position of these states is precarious as the coronavirus lockdown completely dried up this crucial liquidity tap for them in April.

Reliance Industries on Friday announced the sale of 2.32 per cent stake in its digital unit to US-based Vista Equity Partners for Rs 11,367 crore, the third deal in a little over two weeks that will inject a combined Rs 60,596.37 crore in the oil-to-telecom conglomerate to help it pare debt. The US-based private equity firm will buy a stake in Jio Platforms, which houses the country's youngest but biggest telecom firm Jio, at an equity value of Rs 4.91 crore and an enterprise value of Rs 5.16 crore.

Moody's Investors Service on Friday projected India's growth at zero per cent for the current fiscal and said the negative outlook on sovereign rating reflects increasing risks that GDP growth will remain significantly lower than in the past. The outlook also partly shows weaker policy effectiveness to address economic and institutional issues, it noted in the update to its November 2019 rating forecast.

'A balanced head plus heart approach would be a full opening up of the economy including manufacturing and internal travel in the country but excluding COVID-19 hotspots,' recommends Jaimini Bhagwati.

Stock markets squandered early gains but managed to end in the green on Friday, propped up by heavyweight Reliance Industries which announced another stake sale deal for its digital platform. A strengthening rupee and firm global cues also supported the domestic bourses, traders said.

Except for laws pertaining to the payment of minimum wages, following safety norms and adequate compensation for workers in case of industrial accidents, no other provisions of the labour law would apply to all new companies that wish to operate in the state for at least 1,200 days, and for those that have already been operational for that period.

The government of Maharashtra decided to shut operations at APMC Vashi mandi between May 11 and 17 after confirmed cases of Covid-19 surpassed 80 in the APMC and over 450 across Navi Mumbai, where the mandi is located.

According to the complaint filed by SBI, the account had become non-performing asset on January 27, 2016.

Even after filling up reserves, govt would have secured only nine days of emergency supplies.As lockdown has crimped demand for fuel products, it has saddled refineries with unsold stocks

Indians are using this down time to connect with their friends and family.As film theatres shut down and eating out becomes a non-option due to social distancing requirements, people are turning to video-on-demand services

TV viewership grew 40% in the fifth week of disruption when compared to the pre-covid period.News consumption on TV has grown by 251% and 177% in Mumbai and Delhi respectively

Inventory losses would be more for refineries located away from the coast because they have to stock crude oil for longer periods.Besides inventory losses, operating performance of refiners is expected to remain weak in the first quarter of fiscal 2021 due to lower volumes and weak GRMs

Paytm and Vodafone Idea partner to power prepaid mobile phone recharges.COAI asks states to issue requisite instructions to enable 'mobile recharging retailers' to open their outlets for offering telecom services to the public

Public sector bank branches face an uphill task with low demand for credit.Senior management is pressuring branch managers without understanding field-level constraints

CAIT apprises the government of the difficulties being faced by traders on ground.The reopening of shops is subject to the area being neither a hotspot nor a containment zone

The cut-off yields on the sale of near-term paper were, however, lower than prevailing market yields.According to the auction results, the cut-off yields on the securities bought by RBI was higher than secondary market figures

The film exhibition sector is dealing with zero revenue and the biggest loss ever to their business.The big worry for exhibitors is that viewers, especially families, will fear stepping out into large crowds even after theatres reopen

An internal assessment of its portfolio by HDFC Bank has revealed that its NPAs may rise by 50 bps.IndusInd Bank has found that its asset quality could deteriorate by a maximum of 80 bps due to the covid-19 crisis

A resumption in production by Maruti and Hyundai is critical for India’s automotive industry as they together control nearly 70% of the domestic passenger vehicle market.Maruti and Hyundai would follow MG Motor India Ltd, which recently reopened its factory in Gujarat

There are concerns about the group’s ability to pay, especially as stores are functioning amid tight restrictions.The pandemic has caused long-term store closures across the group’s apparel, fashion, and other high-margin verticals

Netflix’s Extraction starring Chris Hemsworth may not have extracted the best reviews but is no less than any Hollywood big-screen spectacle with its Hindi, Tamil and Telugu versions.Amazon Prime Video had released Oscar-winning south Korean black comedy Parasite dubbed in Hindi and also has an entire catalogue of films that it has localized itself for Indian audiences

Most medicine factories are running at 50% of capacity or less because of the lack of manpower and also because local authorities are not giving permission for the units to function.Industry officials believe the situation could deteriorate for the industry if the nationwide lockdown continues

Nielsen says in the first quarter of 2020, share of modern trade stores in metro cities rises to 24.7% from 22.3% a year ago

Retail loan growth is likely to be subdued because of the recent spate of job losses and a sense of uncertainty.Some banks are already seeing higher growth in their corporate book, as compared to their retail loan book

Retailers may go the the extra mile, devising ways to woo customers back while complying with norms on hygiene and social distancing.Besides reaching out to their customers online and apprising them of the safety measures taken, retailers are betting on the word of mouth publicity to bring shoppers back