The commerce ministry has recommended the continuation of anti-dumping duty on a Chinese chemical used in food and pharma industry with a view to guard domestic players from cheap imports. In a notification, the ministry's investigation arm, the Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR), has said there is a "positive" evidence of likelihood of dumping of Sodium Citrate and injury to the domestic industry if the existing anti-dumping duty were to be removed.

The government can issue recapitalisation bonds, or the RBI's huge reserves of over $127 can also be dipped into to help the state-owned bank's recapitalisation needs.

Assocham president Niranjan Hiranandani said his talks with government officials showed dues to industry and states were pending in the form of refunds of income tax, value-added tax, and GST, and compensation, payments to discoms in the power sector, fertiliser subsidies, etc.

SBI was the top laggard in the Sensex pack, shedding over 4 per cent, followed by Bajaj Finance, Asian Paints, Axis Bank, Kotak Bank and ICICI Bank. M and M, PowerGrid, ONGC and Reliance Industries were among the major gainers. NSE Nifty fell 87.90 points or 0.95 per cent to close at 9,205.60.

Though exports to Hong Kong, a major destination for India's polished diamonds, have resumed, the industry is currently sitting on an inventory worth around $2.3 billion.

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.

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

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.

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

'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.'

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.

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.

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.

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