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Petrol, Diesel Vehicle Ban:&nbsp;Ahead of winters and the imminent smog that Delhi faces during the season, the Supreme Court today came down heavily on the old vehicles. The court on Monday prohibited the plying of 15-year-old petrol and 10-yr-old diesel vehicles in the national capital region and directed the transport department to announce that such vehicles will be impounded if found plying.&nbsp;

The apex court, which described as "very critical" the prevailing situation of pollution in the Delhi-NCR region, said that the list of 15-yr-old petrol and 10-year-old vehicles be given on the website of Central Pollution Control Board and transport department of NCR.

The CPCB will immediately make social media account on which citizens can complain about pollution, the top court ordered.&nbsp;

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Earlier, the National Green Tribunal had also banned 15-yr-old petrol and 10-yr-old diesel vehicles in Delhi-NCR.

Petrol, Diesel Vehicle Ban: The Supreme Court on Monday prohibited the plying of 15-year-old petrol and 10-yr-old diesel vehicles in the national capital region and directed the transport department to announce that such vehicles will be impounded if found plying.&nbsp;


Alert! Supreme Court bans these petrol and diesel vehicles on Delhi-NCR roads; here's why

Billionaires made more money in 2017 than in any year in recorded history and the richest people on Earth increased their wealth by a fifth to $8.9 trillion, according to a report by Swiss bank UBS.

Billionaires break 'world record'; this is how much money they earned

Democratic Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii is considering running for US president in 2020, a source with direct knowledge of the matter told Politico, a US publication.

Rania Batrice, an adviser to the progressive representative and deputy campaign manager on Bernie Sanders’ 2016 presidential campaign, did not dispute that Gabbard was considering running for the office of president.

Batrice said in an interview: “Someone like Tulsi, with her experience, is an important voice in the country.” 
Gabbard, 37, became the first Hindu to serve in Congress when she won a seat in the US Congress on the Democratic Party’s ticket. She has also served in the Iraq War.

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With rumours going around that Republican Nikki Haley, also an Indian-American, might make a bid for the top office, 2020 US elections might turn out to be a war between two women candidates with strong ties to India.&nbsp;

With rumours going around that Republican Nikki Haley, also an Indian-American, might make a bid for the top office, 2020 US elections might turn out to be a war between two women candidates with strong ties to India.&nbsp;


Tulsi Gabbard to make US presidential bid in 2020?

Delhi Petrol Pump Strike Today: All 400-odd petrol pumps along with linked CNG dispensing units in the national capital will remain shut today in protest against Delhi government's refusal to reduce VAT on fuels. Delhi Petrol Dealers Association (DPDA) had said this in a statement on Sunday. In Delhi, there are about 400 petrol pumps that also have linked compressed natural gas (CNG) stations and all of them will remain closed for nearly 24 hours in protest from 6 am onwards on October 22 and remain closed till 5 am on October 23, the statement said.

DPDA president Nischal Singhania said, "The central government had slashed the rate of petrol and diesel by Rs 2.50 per litre each on September 4. This was followed by reduction of VAT (value added tax) by various states including neighbouring Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, bringing relief to their residents.&nbsp;

"But, the Delhi government refused to reduce VAT on fuel both petrol and diesel resulting in fuel becoming more expensive than bordering Haryana and Uttar Pradesh."&nbsp;

In comparison to Delhi, fuel rates in bordering states like Uttar Pradesh and Haryana are cheaper, he said. Because of high price in Delhi and low prices in states like UP and Haryana, customers are deserting the petrol pumps in Delhi, leading to huge drop in sales, Singhania said.

Due to the difference in prices, there has been a sharp drop of 50-60 per cent in sale of diesel in Delhi and 25 per cent in petrol in this quarter, the DPDA president said, adding that on Monday, all the 400 pumps of Delhi will neither purchase nor sell petrol, diesel and CNG. He said the festival season is peak season for the sale of fuel due to social travelling by residents.

"DPDA urges the Delhi government to immediately reduce VAT on petrol and diesel and encourage commuters to buy euro VI fuel and save the livelihood of employees and owners of petrol pumps of Delhi and also save state's revenue loss," the statement said.&nbsp; &nbsp;

Fuel Price Down

Meanwhile, fuel prices witnessed a dip in Delhi again on Monday. Petrol price was slashed by 30 paise to Rs 81.34 per litre. Diesel is being sold today at Rs 74.92 per litre today, 27 paise lower than yesterday.&nbsp;

Delhi Petrol Pump Strike Today: All 400-odd petrol pumps along with linked CNG dispensing units in the national capital will remain shut today in protest against Delhi government's refusal to reduce VAT on fuels.


Delhi Petrol Pump Strike Today: Why fuel dealers are protesting against Delhi government

The Government of India's efforts to sell off cash-strapped Air India has not seen any success so far. Air India has been eating massive amounts of tax-payers' money and even then running into losses. Air India has even been failing to meet its working capital requirement and looking for loans to fix the problem. Two days ago, Air India got a Rs 1000 crore loan from the&nbsp;National Small Savings Fund. It also received Rs 980 crore towards equity infusion by way of a supplementary grant from the Union government. The possibility of getting these amounts back is negligible indeed. So, keeping Air India in mind, what is happening in tiny Cyprus, really puts things in perspective about what is possible.

Notably, Air India further hopes to mop up Rs 500 crore through short-term borrowings next week. These are, however, stop-gap arrangements with no permanent cure of ailing airline in sight. Also, the government is apparently unable to decide on the right course of action. The reason could be political as well. In contrast to India, a foreign country with a similar problem shows how a teething problem like Air India may be solved.&nbsp;

In Cyprus, the government has withdrawn the licence of its ailing airline - Cobalt. The government turned down appeals from Cobalt for more time to find investors as it withdrew the carrier's operating licence. "We wanted more time, but our licence was revoked," Cobalt's chairman Grigoris Diakos told state radio, a day after the carrier's sudden collapse, on Friday. "We asked for a suspension (of the licence), we needed two months to find a strategic investor after the Chinese investor pulled out," he added.

Diakos said there were "one or two serious proposals" from potential investors. But the Cyprus Air Transport Licensing Authority (ATLA) decided to revoke the licence, senior transport ministry official Alecos Michaelides said.&nbsp; The Cyprus government also ruled out a temporary suspension because there was no sign of a solid rescue plan. "A company that is constantly posting losses, and especially losses of around 30 million (euros, or USD 34 million) a year over a three-year period, cannot survive," Michaelides told ANT1 television.

Michaelides further said that the strategic Chinese investors were estimated to have ploughed in USD 114 million, but losses had continued unabated. Although the airline's licence has been revoked, it can reapply to resume operations once it finds the necessary financing, the government said, although it could also face legal action.

On Wednesday night, Cobalt Air ceased all operations and entered an administration process, after completing just two years and three months of operations. Transport Minister Vassiliki Anastassiadou said USD 2.3 million have been allocated for the repatriation of thousands of passengers left stranded by Cobalt's collapse.

Cobalt was launched in 2016 in a bid to fill the void to become the Mediterranean island's biggest airline after state-owned Cyprus Airways went bankrupt in January 2015. Cobalt operated 13-15 flights daily, carrying up to 3,000 passengers to 23 destinations including Athens, Beirut, Heathrow, Paris and Tel Aviv. It had plans to launch flights to China. 
 
Cobalt's largest shareholder was AJ Cyprus, with 49 percent of the shares. AJ Cyprus is owned by China's AVIC Joy Air.&nbsp; &nbsp; 
&nbsp;

The Government of India's efforts to sell off cash-strapped Air India has not seen any success so far. Air India has been eating massive amounts of tax-payers' money and even then running into losses.&nbsp;


Even as Air India sale fails, check what tiny Cyprus just did  

Markets closed today: The benchmark BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty will be closed today on account of Dussehra. The Sensex has tanked 382 points on Wednesday snapping its three-day gains spree, due to heavy selling, rising crude prices and rupee volatility.

The Sensex hit a low of 34,727.16 in late afternoon trade before closing at 34,779.58, down by 382.90 points, or 1.09 per cent on Wednesday.

The broader NSE Nifty too dived by 131.70 points, or 1.24 per cent, to close at 10,453.05. Intra-day, it reclaimed the 10,700-mark to scale a high of 10,710.15 and a low of 10,436.45.

Intense selling pressure was witnessed in select counters led by auto, realty and oil&amp;gas stocks. Sentiments were also hurt by liquidity concerns that dragged down non-banking financial stocks.

Overall sentiment was cautious as investors were on a wait-and-watch mode ahead of quarterly results from Reliance Industries, to be released later in the day, brokers said.

"A strong rupee and buoyant global markets set the stage for the Indian markets to trade cheerfully in the morning. Nifty did open with gusto, though could not sustain and fell more than 250 points from the highs," VK Sharma, Head PCG &amp; Capital Markets Group, HDFC Securities, said.

Globally, other Asian markets were in a bullish mood and European shares too rose in their early session after upbeat US earnings and strong economic data drove a rebound on Wall Street.

In the Asian region, Japan's Nikkei rose 1.29 per cent, Singapore up 1.73 per cent, Korea gained 1.04 per cent, Indonesia up 0.61 per cent and Shanghai Composite advanced 0.60 per cent.

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A similar trend was witnessed in the broader markets as investors preferred to take away profits after recent gains pulling down the small-cap index by 2.47 per cent and mid-cap by 2.36 per cent.

Markets closed today: BSE Sensex, NSE Nifty shut on account of holiday

Bilaspur-Manali-Leh line: For the first time in India, a railway station will be built inside a tunnel at a height of 3,000 metres, on the strategic Bilaspur-Manali-Leh line close to the Sino-India border, a senior official told PTI.&nbsp; While many metro stations in Delhi and other cities are inside tunnels, once completed, the Keylong station in Himachal Pradesh will be the first on the railway network to be inside a tunnel. Keylong is the administrative centre of Lahaul and Spiti district, 26 km north of Manali and 120 km from the Indo-Tibetan border.

"The Keylong station, in the project, will be inside the tunnel according to the first phase of the location survey. This will be the first such railway station in the country. As and when the final surveys are completed, there could be many such stations on the route," D R Gupta, chief engineer construction, Northern Railway, told PTI.&nbsp;

The station will be at a height of around 3,000 metres and will be inside a 27-km-long tunnel. The line once completed will connect all important locations between Bilaspur and Leh like Sundernagar, Mandi, Manali, Keylong, Koksar, Darcha, Upshi and Karu and other towns of Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. It is important because of its proximity to the Sino-India border and can facilitate in movement of goods and personnel to the frontier areas.&nbsp;

The project will include 74 tunnels, 124 major bridges and 396 minor bridges, according to the first phase of the survey. Once finished, the line will halve the duration taken to cover the distance between Delhi and Leh, from 40 hours to 20 hours," said Vishwesh Chaube, general manager, Northern Railway.

The final location survey is expected to be completed in 30 months, after which a detailed project report will be finalised.

Bilaspur-Manali-Leh line:&nbsp;For the first time in India, a railway station will be built inside a tunnel at a height of 3,000&nbsp; metres.


Wow! Indian Railways' Keylong Station in Himachal to be inside tunnel on Bilaspur-Manali-Leh line - Details

Flipkart Big Billion Days Sale: Buying a new phone and worried about theft, or even getting scratches on the screen? Flipkart will now solve your woes for just Rs 99!&nbsp; Ahead of the festive sale, Flipkart has teamed up with Bajaj Allianz General Insurance to offer customised insurance solutions to power its mobile phone protection programme. The insurance plan will be avaliable for all leading mobile phone brands are sold on Flipkart, the e-commerce giant said in a statement Sunday. Flipkart also said that it is foraying into the insurance segment after securing a corporate agent license.&nbsp;

Under the new programme, Flipkart will offer both cash payout option or free pick up, service and drop convenience to customers. The insurance offering by Flipkart will be available from the start of Flipkart's The Big Billion Days (TBBD) on October 10.&nbsp;

"In line with our customer-first policy and as the market leader in this segment, insurance felt like the logical next step in providing consumers with excellent after-sales care for their phones. The plan, from purchase to claim, will be completely integrated into our online platform..." Flipkart Senior vice-president and head of Fintech Ravi Garikipati said in a statement.

"We will offer customised insurance solutions to power our complete mobile protection programme for all leading mobile brands sold on our platform with Bajaj Allianz," said Flipkart said.&nbsp;

Tapan Singhel, MD and CEO of Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Co, said the two companies are starting with the complete mobile protection plan (CMP), adding value for millions of customers.

<a href="http://www.zeebiz.com/companies/news-flipkart-big-billion-day-sale-vs-amazon-great-indian-festival-how-to-make-the-most-before-diwali-65228">ALSO READ |&nbsp;Amazon Great Indian Festival vs Flipkart Big Billion Day Sale: How to make the most of cool deals</a>

As per estimates, about 36 per cent of mobile phone users in India own smartphones. The customers are, however, always worried about damage to their smartphone screens or it getting stolen. The insurance programme aims to address these two challenges.&nbsp;As per the official Flipkart statement, the insurance offer will be valid for a year. It will cover accidental, screen, and liquid damage along with theft of the protected mobile phones.&nbsp;

Cost of insurance plan

According to Flipkart, a customer will be able to purchase the insurance-powered CMP plan at the same time as they buy the mobile phone for Rs 99 onwards. Once the customer shares the required details at checkout, the policy will be activated from the day of delivery.

How to make a claim

For claims, the customer can reach out to Flipkart via the app, email, or phone call and will have a choice between returning the phone for fixing or opting for a cash payout, which will then be deposited in their Flipkart-registered bank account or any other account owned by the customer, according to the statement.

"Customers will be able to purchase the insurance when buying the mobile phone at a nominal price starting from Rs 99. The policy will activate from the day of delivery," said the statement.

The cash payout that will be deposited in the customer's bank account.

The 11-year-old Flipkart group includes Myntra, Jabon and PhonePe. It offers 80 million products in 80 categories. In the last fiscal 2017-18, Flipkart recorded Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) of $7.5 billion and net sales of $4.6 billion, representing 50 per cent year-on-year growth. The company has over one-lakh sellers. It offers about 80 million products across 80 categories, including smartphones, books, media, consumer electronics, furniture, fashion and lifestyle.

Ahead of the festive sale, Flipkart has teamed up with Bajaj Allianz General Insurance to offer&nbsp;customised&nbsp;insurance solutions to power its mobile phone protection programme.


 Flipkart-Bajaj Allianz mobile insurance: Buying new phone? Don't worry about theft, screen scratches; here's why

Ahead of the festive sale, e-commerce giant Amazon India has created over 50,000 seasonal positions across its network of fulfilment centres in the country this year. The move comes as the e-commerce major jousts for leadership position against rival Flipkart. There is a network of 50 fulfilment centres, several sortation centres and close to 150 delivery stations of Amazon India across the country.

"In our effort to provide a seamless shopping experience, we have enhanced our teams significantly with more than 2X the number of seasonal associates working in the Amazon fulfilment network and customer service sites compared to the last festive season... The 50,000 seasonal associates will help us in augmenting our capabilities," Amazon India Vice President (India Customer Fulfilment) Akhil Saxena told PTI. Saxena further said that the festive enhancement will play an "instrumental" role in "driving an exceptional experience" during Amazon India's Great Indian Festival Sale that is slated to be held between October 10-15.

Amazon India has, throughout the year, been investing heavily in ramping up its infrastructure and delivery network. Saxena said these seasonal positions have been created across its network of fulfilment centres, sortation centers, delivery stations and customer service sites in cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Chennai, Bengaluru, Ahmedabad, Pune and others ahead of the festive season.

The new recruits will join the thousands of associates to help pick, pack, ship and deliver customers' orders more efficiently.

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A section of these recruits will also work with the 20 customer service sites (across 16 cities) that provide voice support for customers in vernacular languages like Kannada, Tamil and Telugu. These customer service sites support Amazon customers in India with pre and post order service through email, chat, social media and phone.

E-tailers like Amazon and Flipkart usually hire thousands of people in delivery and support roles to handle the high volume of orders during sale period.

Flipkart has also significantly expanded its infrastructure and delivery operations ahead of its Big Billion Days (BBD) sale that will be held from October 10-14 this year.&nbsp;

The Walmart-backed company has doubled its warehousing capacity and now has over 65 fulfilment centres and more than 60 'mother hubs' that will cater to the expected spike in demand during the festive sale. It has also onboarded about 30,000 new delivery staff over the past many weeks, including freelance workers to help with deliveries.

Around 20 million people are expected to shop on various e-commerce platforms during the festive sale next month, translating into sales of around USD 3 billion for players like Amazon and Flipkart, according to a report by research firm RedSeer.

Like in offline retail, e-commerce companies see a significant jump in sales during Dussehra and Diwali. The September-November period typically generates a majority of the annual sales of these companies, which prepare months in advance for the sale event.

Ahead of the festive sale, e-commerce giant Amazon India has created over 50,000 seasonal positions across its network of fulfilment centres in the country this year.


 Amazon is hiring! E-commerce giant raises army of 50,000 personnel for Great India Sale; Details here

In mid-February, a lobby group chose Chanda Kochhar, the then head of ICICI Bank, for an interactive session with the visiting Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. A little over a month later, the toast of the town was battling allegations of impropriety that led to a multi-agency probe and an eventual forced leave-of-absence. The 56-year-old Kochhar, who rose to occupy the corner office at the largest private sector lender, was mired in allegations of conflicts of interest, lack of disclosures and quid pro-quo while extending loans to the now bankrupt Videocon Industries. She, in fact, was the first woman to head a large lender in the country.

Kochhar, a favourite of the then group chairman KV Kamath, joined ICICI, an infrastructure lender in its earlier avatar, as a management trainee in 1984 and rose to play an important part in its transformation into a retail-focused lender and when it turned into a commercial bank in the early 1990s.

After the exit of the larger-than-life KV Kamath, she was chosen in 2009 to succeed the illustrious leader as the managing director and chief executive despite a strong leadership bench. Her elevation also led to the exit of Shikha Sharma (Axis Bank chief), who was senior to her in ranking from the group. Before her elevation to the corner office, she was a key member of the bank’s setting up, oversaw the retail business and was also chief financial officer.

She consolidated activities at ICICI Bank, the only domestic lender to be impacted in the post-Lehman crisis, and ensured it speaks little and it is only her who does the talking all the time.

While Kamath faced many bank runs during his tenure, Kochhar’s brute control on the institution has led to a complete arrest of such negative press. There was just one run-on during her tenure.

When an RBI review in 2015 found high amount of under-reported dud assets with the bank, she announced a new strategy of concentrating only on the well-rated borrowers.

She championed many social causes but it was her inspiring rise to the top that was most admired.

Yet, she perplexed many with her contrarian views that girls lack quantitative analytical skills, blaming it on the limited number of women in B-schools.

Over the years her leadership of the bank became a hyphenated relationship, wherein she came to define the bank, till it was broken Thursday with the announcement of her formal exit, six months after allegations of impropriety first cropped up against her, though she has been on an indefinite leave from May after the Board was forced to appoint an external probe into the entire issue. The reasons for her ouster pertain to the loan to Videocon and the business dalliances between its promoter Venugopal Dhoot and her husband Deepak Kochhar.&nbsp;

Dhoot had invested in and subsequently exited a power company promoted by Deepak and Chanda Kochhar did not recuse herself or disclose this when a loan was granted by ICICI Bank to Videocon as part of a consortium.

Initially, she enjoyed full backing of the board but lost support as the list of allegations kept growing with more names like an Essar group shell company of the Ruias also emerging among those with whom the Kochhar family had a relationships. However, the gains from the Ruia ties were only a fraction of Videocon’s loan of Rs 3,250 crore in FY11 which soon turned dud.

These allegations led to probes by multiple agencies, including the CBI, ED and SFIO, and also questioning of the Kochhar family members. Finally, it was a complaint by a whistleblower who is yet to be named, which proved to be her undoing.

Kochhar had six months to go before her current term expires in March 2019. Regulations allow private sector bank chiefs to continue till the age of 70. Her offer to resign was accepted with immediate effect Thursday and Bakhshi was elevated to succeed her. The probe against her will continue and its outcome will determine the compensation she gets, the bank said in a statement.

In the past few months, shareholders have sought clarity on the issue at annual meetings and also raised concerns over the bank’s move to appoint her as the chairman of group’s securities arm. Kochhar, who maintained a huge public profile, has been away from public glare since May, since her forced leave.

From a performance perspective, when she took over ICICI Bank was the second largest in the system and the largest among its private sector peers. But at the end of her actual career at the bank it was reduced to a distant No. 3 in the system and the second largest private sector lender after HDFC Bank by a wide margin.

In mid-February, a lobby group chose Chanda Kochhar, the then head of ICICI Bank, for an interactive session with the visiting Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. A little over a month later, the toast of the town was battling allegations of impropriety that led to a multi-agency probe and an&nbsp; eventual &nbsp;forced leave-of-absence.


Who is Chanda Kochhar, ICICI Bank CEO who quit under conflict of interest controversy?

SBI Classic and Maestro debit card holders have just suffered a serious setback and would need to be careful when they visit their bank ATM next time as they will get a nasty surprise! The country's largest lender SBI will limit cash withdrawals from ATMs to Rs 20,000 per day for certain debit card holders from October 31, according to a communication.

The limit will be applicable on the Classic and Maestro variants of SBI debit cards, while those who want to withdraw more can apply for a higher variant card. "Daily cash withdrawal limit for Classic and Maestro debit cards has been reduced from Rs 40,000 to Rs 20,000 per day with effect from October 31.&nbsp;

"If you require higher daily cash withdrawal limit, please apply for a higher card variant," SBI said in an information for debit card holders on its website.

SBI Managing Director PK Gupta told PTI that the move intends to protect customers from fraudulent cash withdrawals from ATMs and also to spur more digital transactions.

"We analysed all the ATM transactions and we found that most of them are less than Rs 20,000 a day. In case of frauds reported to us, we found that in all such cases withdrawals of Rs 40,000 (the maximum) have happened. So this is basically to protect the customers and secondly, we want that more such (digital) transactions should happen," Gupta said.

If any customer wants higher limit of cash withdrawal, he or she can ask for a higher variant card.

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When asked why the reduction comes ahead of the festive season, Gupta said the option is always open to visit a branch to draw more cash and besides there are many digital means through which people make their transactions these days.

"Let us see if customers can do more transactions through digital means also, there are so many digital payment mechanisms available," Gupta said.

When asked how many such customers/cards are to be impacted due to this reduced limit, he said a very large number of customers fall into this category.

However, the bank has lots of customers with higher variant debit card, so they are not impacted.

SBI Managing Director PK Gupta told PTI that the move intends to protect customers from fraudulent cash withdrawals from ATMs and also to spur more digital transactions.


SBI Classic, Maestro debit card holder? Nasty surprise in store; Your cash benefit slashed by your bank!

On a day that was marked by a number of major happenings that included FM Arun Jaitley announcing a cut in petrol, diesel excise duties by Rs 2.50, resignation ICICI chief Chanda Kochhar and rupee crashing to yet another all-time low, Sensex tanked by as much as 806.47 points to close at 35,169.16 even as Nifty slumped by 259 points to 10,599.25.

"Government has today announced a relief of Rs. 2.5/ltr on petrol and diesel to consumers. Central government will cut Rs. 1.5 in excise duty and remaining Re 1 will be borne by Oil marketing companies. Rough estimates suggest that Re 1 cut will hurt annual profit after tax of 19% for IOCL, 26% for BPCL and 27% of HPCL. Oil marketing companies stocks closed down sharply around 20%," said&nbsp; VK Sharma, Head Private Client Group &amp; Capital Market Strategy at HDFC Securities.

Earlier in the day, BSE benchmark Sensex plunged over 800 points today around 12.15 pm to trade at 35,170, but it had recovered about 200 points. The BSE 30-share barometer pared some losses and was trading at 616.15 points, or 1.71 per cent, lower at 35,359.48 at 1245 hrs. However, it resumed its precipitous fall thereafter. The Sensex today had opened down by over 400 points and quickly plunged further. Heavy selling based on macro factors like weakening rupee and rising crude oil prices has led to the carnage at Dalal Street.

The rupee plunged to a new low of 73.81 against the dollar, while the international benchmark Brent crude breached the US 86 per barrel level, nearing its four-year high.

A sharp plunge mainly in healthcare, IT, oil &amp; gas, banking and auto pulled the Sensex lower by 806.47 points, or 2.24 per cent, to close at 35,169.16 points, extending losses for the second straight day. Intra-day, it hit a low of 35,022.12.

This is the lowest closing since July 2 when it had settled at 35,264.41. The gauge had lost 550.51 points Wednesday on worsening rupee woes coupled with surging crude oil prices and unabated foreign fund outflows.

The bloodbath on bourses was primarily triggered by continued slide in the rupee which hit yet another low of 73.81 (intra-day) against the dollar, brokers said.

The NSE Nifty index too fell 213.15 points, or 1.96 per cent, to 10,645.10. Volatility index India VIX also surged 6 per cent.&nbsp;

All sectoral indices were trading in the red, with IT, auto, pharma, banking and realty stocks witnessing most losses.

Top laggards include Reliance Industries, Hero MotoCorp, TCS, IndusInd Bank, Adani Ports, HDFC Bank, Infosys, HUL, Asian Paints, HDFC and Bajaj Auto, falling up to 6 per cent.

While, Yes Bank was the top gainer, rising up to 2.18 per cent.

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Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth a net of Rs 1,550 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) made purchases to the tune of Rs 1,402 crore Wednesday.

Sensex tanked by as much as 806.47 points to close at 35,169.16 even as Nifty slumped by&nbsp;259 points to 10,599.25.


Mayhem in markets! Sensex plunges 806.47 points, closes at 35,169.16

A day after hitting an all-time low, the Indian rupee repeated the dose and started on a very dismal note on Thursday. The rupee hit a new low of 73.77 after it plunged 43 paise against US dollar. On Wednesday, the Indian rupee plunged by 43 paise to breach the historic low of 73 level as soaring crude oil prices fuelled worries over capital outflows and widening current account deficit. The domestic currency closed at a record low of 73.34, down by 43 paise or 0.59 per cent at the interbank foreign exchange.

In the day trade yesterday, the rupee crashed to its all-time low of 73.42 per dollar as crude oil prices breached the USD 85 per barrel mark, leading to huge outflows of cash. Investors remained concerned over sustained foreign capital outflows and soaring crude oil prices, analysts said. After breaching the US 85 per barrel level, the benchmark Brent crude stayed near four-year high levels at USD 84.86 per barrel.

According to the provisional exchange data, foreign investors withdrew Rs 1,550 crore on a net basis from capital markets on Wednesday. Rising US interest rates and bond yields have encouraged investors to pull out funds from emerging markets to pocket better returns, analysts said. "The rupee has made a new record low today on the back of consistent rise in the crude oil prices. A sharp rise in crude oil along with steep depreciation in the rupee might push inflation higher in coming months," Rushabh Maru - Research Analyst, Anand Rathi Shares and Stock Brokers.

The Reserve Bank refused to open a special window for oil marketing companies which affected market sentiments, VK Sharma, Head Private Client Group &amp; Capital Market Strategy at HDFC Securities. Stocks also fell by more than 1.5 per cent due to the rupee falling to record low levels. The benchmark BSE Sensex plunged by 550 points or 1.51 per cent while the broader Nifty tanked 150 points or 1.38 per cent.

The rupee opened lower at 73.26 per dollar due to high crude oil prices against the last close of 72.91 per dollar. The currency pared some losses to touch a high of 72.90 per dollar on market speculation that RBI may open special dollar window for oil companies.

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However, without any clear signals from the central bank, the rupee crashed to all-time lows before settling at 73.34. Meanwhile, the FBIL set the reference rate for the dollar at 73.02 per dollar. The reference rate for euro was fixed at 84.57 against 84.37 previously and for the British pound at 94.98 against 94.88 on October 1.

A day after hitting an all-time low, the Indian rupee repeated the dose and started on a very dismal note on Thursday. The rupee hit a new low of 73.77 after it plunged 43 paise against US dollar.


Indian Rupee plunges to new all-time low of 73.77, sheds 43 paise against US dollar

Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services (IL&amp;FS), whose recent defaults have roiled Indian markets, hid important facts from the company`s board, a senior finance ministry source said on Monday.

The infrastructure company is currently looking for an equity injection after a subsidiary failed to make interest payments.

Meanwhile, the government has said it stands fully committed to ensuring that needed liquidity is arranged for the debt-trapped IL&amp;FS to prevent any more defaults in payment of loans by the non-banking financial company.

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On a day when the Mumbai-bench of NCLT allowed the government to take over the board of IL&amp;FS, the Finance Ministry in a statement said the move was essential to restore confidence in the financial market and hoped that financial institutions would provide the NBFC liquidity.

"There is an emergent need to immediately stop further financial defaults and also take measures to resolve defaulted dues to the claimants.

"This would require a combination of measures of asset sales, restructuring of some liabilities and fresh infusion of funds by the investors and lenders. The confidence of the financial market in the credibility of the IL&amp;FS management and the company needs to be restored," the ministry said.

Observing that the company continued to pay dividends and huge managerial pay-outs regardless of looming liquidity crisis, the statement said, "it shows that the management had lost total credibility."

If further said that there have also been serious complaints on some of the companies for which an SFIO investigation has been ordered into the affairs of IL&amp;FS and its subsidiaries.

The NCLT Monday approved reconstitution of IL&amp;FS board appointing six members including Uday Kotak as non-executive chairman.

IL&FS hid facts from board; government to ensure liquidity for IL&FS to prevent defaults: Finance Ministry source

New Delhi: Discussions on a bailout package for embattled state-run carrier Air India are at an “advanced stage”, the country’s junior aviation minister Jayant Sinha said on Wednesday. The government has been working on a package for Air India after plans to sell a majority stake in the debt-laden airline failed this year due to a lack of interest from bidders.

“We are going through the government approval process,” Sinha told reporters, without giving details.

Air India, which has survived for years with help from taxpayers, has asked the government for Rs 2,121 crore in additional equity to pay the carrier’s bills to vendors.

Sinha earlier said that a $120 million capital injection for Air India was on the way, and the government is also working on a relief package for the airline industry.

Jet Airways, India’s largest full-service carrier, and Air India are struggling to stem losses in India, where competition is intense and fuel taxes are high.

The aviation ministry has proposed other measures to help the industry, including adding aviation turbine fuel to a nationwide goods and services tax, Sinha said.

Meanwhile, economic affairs secretary Subhash Chandra Garg said the government is working on restructuring Air India’s finances to ensure that the airline has “sustainable debt”.

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The debt burden of the national carrier, which is grappling with tough business conditions, is estimated to be more than Rs 50,000 crore.

“What government is doing in Air India is to restructure the finance of Air India in a way that Air India is there with a sustainable level of debt. Whatever is the excess unsustainable debt (it) will be taken out... Air India with sustainable debt will work as a viable entity,” Garg said.&nbsp;

Air India, which has survived for years with help from taxpayers, has asked the government for Rs 2,121 crore in additional equity to pay the carrier’s bills to vendors.


Agencies