Moneycontrol Selects: Top stories this afternoon

A round-up of the big stories

Here are the top stories this afternoon:

Google India lays off over 400 employees: Report

Google India terminated 453 employees late on February 16, The Hindu Business Line has reported. Employees were informed of the layoffs through an email by Sanjay Gupta, the vice president and country head of Google India. Soon, employees took to LinkedIn to share their personal accounts. Read here

GST Council likely to provide relief to coal washeries by extending exemption, say sources

The goods and services tax (GST) council at its meeting on February 18 is likely to provide relief to the washeries by extending the exemption from compensation cess on coal rejects both supplied to and by these to avoid double taxation, sources have told Moneycontrol.

“The fitment committee has recommended that exemption benefit should cover rejects supplied to and by a washery, arising out of coal on which compensation cess has been paid and no input tax credit thereof has been availed by any person. The proposal is likely to be discussed and approved by the Council,” an official said on condition of anonymity. Read here

Godrej Properties acquires Raj Kapoor’s bungalow in Chembur for Rs 100 crore

Godrej Properties Ltd, the real estate arm of the Godrej Group, has acquired for Rs 100 crore the late actor and director Raj Kapoor’s bungalow in Chembur, Mumbai, to develop a premium residential project, property registration documents accessed by Zapkey.com showed. The building is located at Deonar Cottage, Deonar Farm Road, Deonar, Mumbai and the land area is 4265.50 sq m, the Index 2 document showed. Read more here

Elon Musk shuts 2 of three Twitter India offices, sends staff home

Twitter Inc has shut two of its three India offices and told the staff to work from home, underscoring owner Elon Musk’s mission to slash costs and get the struggling social media service in the black. Twitter, which fired more than 90 percent of its roughly 200-plus staff in India in late 2022, closed its offices in New Delhi and Mumbai. The company continues to operate an office in the southern tech hub of Bengaluru that mostly houses engineers, sources said. Read more here

MSCI will speed ESG ratings reviews after silence on Adani

One of the market’s most popular ESG index providers says it will speed up its review of companies after it failed to address allegations of poor governance at the Adani Group companies as quickly as its competitors.

MSCI Inc will now review holdings in its ESG indexes on a monthly basis, more frequently than its previous quarterly schedule. Any companies involved in significant ESG controversies and those that do not comply with the principles outlined by the United Nations global compact will be stripped from the indexes. Read more here

IndiGo has nearly 500 planes on order, will add 10-15 destinations this year

IndiGo is a little short of 500 planes on order based on existing orders and expects delivery of around 40 aircraft in 2023, CEO Peter Elbers has said. The recent Air India order speaks of the confidence and the belief in growth of India as an upcoming aviation giant.

"IndiGo has never ruled out any option. We do have a significant order book. We have almost 500 aircraft on order... we have a steady stream of deliveries coming. Our focus and emphasis will be on that part. We do have the XLRs order that will further stretch the range of operations for IndiGo," he told PTI. Read more here