BQuick On Dec. 23: Top 10 Stories In Under 5 Minutes  

Here’s a roundup of the day’s top stories in brief.

1. Government Asked To Pay $1.2 Billion To Cairn

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration has been ordered to shell out over $1.2 billion to Cairn Energy Plc. after it lost arbitration proceedings in a tax dispute case—its second defeat over levies.

2. Retail Credit Inquiries Rebound

Data from credit bureau TransUnion CIIBIL has showed that a combination of low interest rates and a build-up of savings have spurred home loan demand. This has led to an improvement in retail credit inquiries, but lender approvals still remain lower.

3. Nifty Rallies Despite Volatile Start

NSE Nifty 50 Index added 1% to close at 13,601, after swinging between gains and losses at least four times in the first half hour of trade.

Related Coverage

• Motilal Oswal identifies 25 wealth creators for the next 25 years.

• Zensar Technologies shares jump on deal with U.K. rural insurer.

• Firstsource Solutions stock rises after new acquisition.

4. Most And Least Favoured Sectors For FPIs

Low-interest rates, surplus global liquidity, better-than-expected corporate earnings, and increase in weightage at MSCI have turned foreign portfolio investors towards India. Find out the sectors they’ve invested most in.

5. Airtel Continues To Outpace Jio

Bharti Airtel Ltd. added the most mobile subscribers in October, outpacing its rival Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd. for the second straight month. All that while Vodafone Idea Ltd. continued to lose customers.

6. IndiGo Says It Is Recovering From Aviation ‘Carnage’

India’s biggest airline said that “doom and gloom” are off the table and the company could soon start slowly rehiring staff. More on IndiGo’s recovery hopes here.

7. RBI Issues A Second Warning Against Aggressive Digital Lending Practices

Reserve Bank of India's second warning in recent months prompted the Digital Lenders Association to issue a revised code of conduct, hours after the regulator’s notice.

8. Cardiac Medicines Sell More Than Covid-19 Drugs

Demand for drugs to ease Covid-19 symptoms surged during the pandemic. Sale of such drugs was more than any other category. Except for one.

9. Fuel Demand: Short-Lived Revival

India’s demand for fuels fell in November, after rising for the first time in seven months in October, despite an uptick in economic activity.

10. Covid-19 Vaccine Can Kill The Virus, And India’s Recession Too

Covid-19 vaccine is, first and foremost, a health weapon. But it is also a powerful antidote against economic recession. Raghav Bahl makes an economic case for a Tatkal plan to deliver the vaccine.