News Highlights of the Day: Cong suspends Mani Shankar Aiyar after 'neech' remark about PM Modi

22:00 That's all for today, readers. Thanks for staying on with our coverage of the day's action. Your enthusiasm encourages us to better our coverage every day. Do come back tomorrow for more news, views and insights.

21:52 No law provides change of woman's religion after marriage: SC

The Supreme Court today said the law does not sanction the concept of a woman's religion getting merged with her husband's faith after an inter- religion marriage.

A five-judge Constitution Bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra was dealing a legal question whether a Parsi woman loses her religious identity if she marries a man from a different religion.

21:28 Congress suspends Mani Shankar Aiyar over ‘neech’ remark

Senior Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar was suspended by his party on Thursday after kicking up a row when he called Prime Minister Narendra Modi a "neech" (vile man).
The comments drew a sharp reaction from the prime minister who dubbed it as an "insult" to Gujarat and a reflection of "Mughal mentality."
Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi too disapproved of Aiyar's remarks and said both he and the party expected the senior leader to apologise.
"He (Modi) is 'neech kism ka aadmi' (a vile man) who has no 'sabhyata' (civility)," Aiyar, who has often courted controversy with his off-the-cuff remarks said, attacking Modi after the latter accused the Congress of seeking votes in BR Ambedkar's name but trying to erase his contribution to building India.

21:18 ANI Tweets| They can call me 'Neech'- Yes, I am from the poor section of society and will spend every moment of my life to work for the poor, Dalits, Tribals and OBC communities. They can keep their language, we will do our work: PM Modi in Surat

21:13

21:07 Vijay Mallya's defence brings in banking expert at trial

Vijay Mallya's defence on Thursday brought in a banking expert at his extradition trial as a witness to analyse the documents used by the liquor baron to seek loans from Indian banks for his then-struggling Kingfisher Airlines and emphasise that he had no intention to act "fraudulently".

Paul Rex was deposed on day three of the ongoing trial at Westminster Magistrates' Court in London to determine whether the 61-year-old businessman can be forced to return to India to face charges of fraud and money laundering allegedly amounting to around Rs 9,000 crores.

20:56 General Electric to cut 12,000 jobs in power business revamp

General Electric Co announced on Thursday it was axing 12,000 jobs at its global power business as the struggling industrial conglomerate responds to dwindling demand for fossil fuel power plants.

The US company launched the cuts to save USD 1 billion in 2018, saying it expected current difficulties in the sector to continue.

20:45 

20:41 Indian hospital operator Shalby's $79 million IPO subscribed nearly 3 times

Indian hospital operator Shalby Ltd's initial public offering to raise 5.1 billion rupees (USD 79 million) was subscribed 2.8 times on the last day of the sale on Thursday.

Institutional investors bid for 4.5 times the number of shares reserved for them, while the retail portion was subscribed 2.93 times, data as of 6:00 PM (1230 GMT) showed.

20:24 Ex-Volkswagen executive gets 7 years in jail for 'dieselgate' emissions scandal

A US court has sentenced former Volkswagen executive Oliver Schmidt to seven years in prison for his role in the German automaker's "dieselgate" emissions cheating scandal.

Schmidt, who led Volkswagen's US regulatory compliance office from 2012 to March 2015, was also ordered by a federal judge in Detroit to pay a USD 400,000 fine.

He had pleaded guilty in August to charges he conspired to commit fraud and violate the US Clean Air Act.

20:10 Future Supply Chain IPO subscribed 72% on Day 2

The initial public offer of Future Supply Chain Solutions, the logistics arm of the Future Group, was subscribed 72 per cent at the end of the second day of bidding today.

The public issue, which targets to garner Rs 650 crore, received bids for over 49.62 lakh shares against the issue size of more than 68.49 lakh scrips, a subscription of 72 per cent, data available with the National Stock Exchange (NSE) showed.

20:06 Trade setup for Friday: Top 10 things you should know before the Opening Bell

The wait for a pullback rally is finally over as bulls remained in control of D-Street throughout the trading session on Thursday and made a strong bull candle, which also resembles a bullish belt hold kind of pattern on the daily candlestick charts.

A bullish belt hold pattern is formed when the opening price becomes the lowest point of the day and is significantly lower than the closing price.

Read our full story here 

20:00 Love could finally conquer hate as Padmavati may release just before Valentine's Day

It looks like film lovers will have a lot to look forward to in 2018, especially in the first half. After the Rajinikanth and Akshay Kumar-starrer 2.0 got an April release date, it now appears that Sanjay Leela Bhansali's controversial film Padmavati is likely to release in February next year.

Padmavati could hit theatres on February 9 after a schedule sent out by distributors to overseas chains like US/Canada mentioned this date for the film’s release, according to a Box Office India report.

Read our full story here

19:52  Jet Airways reports 91% fall in net profit for September quarter as margins shrink
Despite registering a 3 percent rise in overall revenues, the country’s second largest airline Jet Airways today reported a 91 percent year-on-year drop in its net profit for the September quarter.
The main reason behind the fall in profit was a drop of over 700 basis points in the company’s operating profit margin for the quarter under review. Operating profit in absolute terms came in at Rs 261.51 crore, 59 percent lower than in the same quarter last year.

19:41 Jet Airways Q2 results announced 

19:29 Railways record 5% jump in freight, passenger traffic in last 8 months

The Indian Railways has registered a rise in both its freight and passenger business during April-November as compared to the same period last year, according to a data with the national transporter.

The freight traffic, which essentially serves the revenue of the railways, recorded an almost 5 percent jump in loading during April 1-November 30, 2017, as compared to 2016.

19:08 Guj polls: BJP candidate sparks row, says 'need to reduce' Muslim population BJP contestant from Dabhoi Assembly seat in Gujarat, Shailesh Sotta today courted controversy by allegedly saying that the population of "topi and dadhiwalas", an apparent reference to Muslims, should be "reduced".

He also said that he came to Dabhoi to "instill fear" and that if sporadic communal clashes were not stopped a "befitting reply" would be given.

18:52 Alibaba may pump in up to USD 300 million in BigBasket Alibaba will pump in up to USD 300 million in online grocery player, BigBasket, according to industry sources.

The deal, which is expected to be announced in the next few weeks, will give BigBasket more muscle to compete against rivals like Grofers and e-tailing giant Amazon, they said.

18:47 GAIL India awards job orders under key pipeline project
State-owned gas utility GAIL India today said it has awarded job contracts for laying a 520-km stretch in Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal under the Pradhan Mantri Urja Ganga gas pipeline project.

With these awards, major contracts for phase-II of the Jagdishpur-Haldia and Bokaro-Dhamra Natural Gas Pipeline (JHBDPL) project have been finalised.

18:45 Tata Motors, IIT Varanasi tie up to launch education, research programs
The country's third largest car maker Tata Motors has partnered with IIT Varanasi to launch innovative programs in education and research,aimed at bridging the gap between academic excellence and business know-how.

As a first step of this technological collaboration, the two entities will work in areas of mutual interest, with an aim to cater to the future engineering needs of the industry and academia, as per a release issued today.

18:43 Ten percent rise in Congress candidates with serious criminal charges
An analysis of the affidavits of candidates in fray for both phases of the Gujarat Assembly polls has revealed that 38 Congress candidates face serious criminal charges.

This, the analysis shows, is a 10 per cent rise in candidates with serious criminal charges when compared to the party's candidates for the 2012 assembly polls.

18:20 ArcelorMittal's $1 billion India joint venture to get green light next week: Sources

State-owned Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) is set to approve a long-proposed $1 billion joint venture with ArcelorMittal at its board meeting next week, three sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

The decision to approve the deal was reached after talks between ArcelorMittal's billionaire Chairman Lakshmi Mittal, India's Steel Secretary Aruna Sharma and SAIL Chairman P.K. Singh at a meeting last week in New Delhi.

The much-delayed collaboration to make automotive-grade steel is nearing realisation after legal teams from SAIL and ArcelorMittal finalised a joint term-sheet in talks mediated by a government think-tank in the past two weeks, the sources said.

17:51 Centre plans border protection grid to check influx of Rohingyas, B'deshis

A border protection grid on the lines of Unified Command set up in insurgency-hit states will soon come up in five eastern states sharing borders with Bangladesh to check illegal immigrants including Rohingyas.

At a meeting of chief ministers and home ministers of West Bengal, Assam, Mizoram, Meghalaya and Tripura here, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh today said the concept of the grid has been planned as a multi-pronged and foolproof mechanism to secure the 4,036-km-long Indo-Bangla border.

17:49 Kannada outfit stages stir against Sunny Leone's show in city
A pro-Kannada organisation took out a march here today, in protest against Bollywood actress Sunny Leone's scheduled visit to the city on December 31 for a New Year's Eve show, saying it would be an "assault" on the city's culture.

The Karnataka Rakshana Vedike (KRV) also staged a demonstration and burnt the pictures of Leone, demanding the cancellation of her programme.

17:44 UK says Jallianwala Bagh massacre 'deeply shameful', avoids apology
The UK has sidestepped London mayor Sadiq Khan's call for an official apology on the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre, saying the government has "rightly condemned" the "deeply shameful act" in British history in the past.

The UK Foreign Office statement comes after Khan during his visit to Amritsar yesterday said the British government should apologise for the mass killing.

17:40 Air pollution from traffic puts unborn babies at health risk
Pregnant women exposed to air pollution from road traffic are more likely to give birth to babies that are underweight or smaller than they should be, a study conducted in the UK warns.

However, when it comes to traffic-related noise, the study of more than half a million infants, published in The BMJ, found no conclusive effect on babies' health.

17:39 Union Minister Hegde booked for remarks against Karnataka CM
A case has been registered against Union Minister Ananthkumar Hegde for allegedly using derogatory words against Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in a speech at Kittur in Belagavi district recently, police said today.

The case was registered by Mysuru police on the direction of a court based on a complaint by Mysuru district Congress president B J Vijay Kumar, a senior police official said.

17:37 Patnaik bats for pension disbursement in cash Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today urged the Centre to release funds under National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP) without imposing any conditions.

The CM's missive to Prime Minister Narendra Modi came in the wake of a letter received by the state government from the Ministry of Rural Development over disbursement of pension, under the NSAP scheme, through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) platform.

17:36 Emami to acquire 30% stake in Helios Lifestyle
Indian FMCG major Emami today announced to acquire 30 per cent stake in Helios Lifestyle, which owns male grooming brand 'The Man Company'.

The stake will be acquired by December 31, 2018 through infusion of required funds in Helios, the Kolkata-based company said in a statement.

17:32 BJP as filthy but Aiyar should apologise to PM Modi: Rahul Gandhi on 'neech' comment
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi strongly chastised Mani Shankar Aiyar for calling Prime Minister Narendra Modi a "low-life person", saying he does not "appreciate the tone and language" used by Ayiar, India Today reported.

"Both the Congress and I expect him to apologise for what he said," Rahul added, even as his used the opportunity to hit out at the Bharatiya Janata Party for "routinely " using "filthy language to attack the Congress party."

17:22 Court issues production warrant against Al-Qaeda suspect
A Delhi court today issued a production warrant against a British national, in custody on charges of allegedly recruiting youths for al-Qaeda to carry out terror activities, after the NIA sought his presence in the court.

Shamiun Rahman, who is of Bangladeshi origin and against whom the warrant was issued for tomorrow, was arrested in September by the Delhi Police for his alleged involvement in recruiting Rohingya Muslims for the terror outfit and train them to fight against the Myanmarese army.

17:17 DMK resents TN Governor holding discussions with officials DMK working president M K Stalin today claimed that a state governor does not have the authority to tour districts and inspect work for people like ministers.

"As regards the governor, as per constitutional norms, it is said that he does not have either authority or right to inspect or undertake district wise tours to oversee work for the people," he told reporters.

17:12 Online petition against FRDI Bill gets thousands of signups
An online petition against the bail-in provision in the FRDI bill has got thousands of signatures even as the finance ministry said that the proposal, under consideration of a joint parliamentary committee, is depositor friendly and provides more protection.

An online petition on Change.org against the Financial Resolution and Deposit Insurance (FRDI) Bill, 2017, has gone viral on social media, seeking public support against what it terms as an attempt to "allow a government entity to use depositors' money to save a bank on the verge of bankruptcy".

17:10 Trinamool looting democracy in West Bengal, says BJP's Dilip Ghosh
West Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh today alleged that the Trinamool Congress had come to power in the state via democratic process but since then it is looting democracy in every sphere.

The Trinamool Congress has become the property of two persons and others are merely employees of the party, he said without naming anybody.

17:08 Parshwanath Corporation settles case with Sebi, pays Rs 6 lakh Ahmedabad-based realty firm Parshwanath Corporation has settled a case, related to alleged violation of capital market norms, with regulator Sebi after paying Rs 6 lakh.

According to an order dated December 6, the realty firm had filed an application to settle the "proposed adjudication proceedings" for the alleged violation of the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Rules.

16:58 Aiyar calls Modi 'neech aadmi'
In controversial remarks, Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar today called Prime Minister Narendra Modi a "neech aadmi" (vile man), who does "dirty politics".

"He (Modi) is 'neech kism ka aadmi' (a vile man) who has no 'sabhyata' (civility)," he said, attacking Modi after the latter accused the Congress of seeking votes in B R Ambedkar's but trying to erase his contribution to building India.

16:56 Posters seeking support for Ahmed Patel as CM stir controversy
Posters appealing Muslims to vote for Congress to make Ahmed Patel the chief minister came up in some minority-dominated areas here on the last day of campaigning for first phase of Gujarat polls, but Patel called it a "dirty trick" by the BJP and said he was not in the race.

Patel, who is Congress President Sonia Gandhi' political advisor, stressed that he was never a candidate for the chief minister's post and "never will be"

16:53 BJP delegation meets Rajnath on law-and-order situation in WB BJP national secretary Rahul Sinha met Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh here today and urged him to look into the law-and-order situation in West Bengal.

Singh is in the city to chair a meeting of chief ministers of the states bordering Bangladesh.

16:50 Toyota mulls price hike by up to 3 percent from Jan
Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) today said it is considering to increase prices of its models by up to 3 per cent from January, to offset impact of rising input costs.

The company considered the price rise after reviewing input and freight costs periodically, which is also a general industry phenomenon, TKM said in a statement.

16:45 UNESCO recognises Kumbh Mela as India's cultural heritage
India's Kumbh Mela has been recognised by UNESCO as an "intangible cultural heritage of humanity", a tweet posted today by the international organisation said.

The Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage under the UN body inscribed Kumbh Mela on the "Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity" at its 12th session in Jeju, South Korea.

15:27 Essar Ports terminal posts 20% rise in cargo handling
Essar Ports' Bulk Terminal in Paradip has achieved an average productivity of 90,000 tonne per day, registering an over 20% rise in cargo handling so far this fiscal, reports PTI. The CQ3 terminal at Paradip Port, operated by Essar Bulk Terminal Paradip (EBTPL), handled 2.8mmtpa till November this year as against 2.3mmtpa during the same period a year ago, a senior Essar Ports official said.

15:16 China Nov FX reserves rise for 10th month as outflow risks ebb
China’s foreign exchange reserves rose for a 10th straight month in November, though slightly less than market expectations, as tight regulations and a strong yuan continued to discourage capital outflows. Capital flight had been seen as a major risk for China at the start of the year, but a combination of tighter capital controls and a faltering dollar helped the yuan stage a strong turnaround, bolstering confidence in the economy. Reserves rose $10 billion in November to $3.119 trillion, compared with an increase of $700 million in October, central bank data showed on Thursday. Economists polled by Reuters had expected reserves to rise by $11 billion to $3.120 trillion.

15:14 French October trade deficit rises to around EUR 5bn
France’s trade deficit increased to stand at around EUR 5 billion ($5.90 billion) in October compared to EUR 4.6 billion in the previous month, showed seasonally adjusted data published on Thursday by the customs office. The increase in the trade deficit was due partly to an increase in imports in the automobiles sector, and a dip in exports towards Asia of sales of products in the aerospace industry.

15:11 Two US B-1B bombers join US-South Korean military drills
Two US B-1B bombers took part in joint US-South Korean military drills on Thursday, an official at Seoul’s defence ministry told Reuters, exercises which North Korea has said are taking the peninsula to the brink of nuclear war. The planes, which scrambled from a US air base in Guam, joined some 20 fighter aircraft of the two countries which have been staging a large-scale aerial exercise in South Korea since Monday, the official said. One bomber joined the exercises on Wednesday.

15:06 JLR sales up 10% at 52,332 units in Nov
JLR reported a 10% increase in retail sales at 52,332 units in November as compared with the same month last year. The company said sales during the month were primarily driven by the introduction of the new Land Rover Discovery and the Range Rover Velar. Besides, retail sales of Jaguar's all new compact SUV, the E-PACE, began in the UK and Europe during November, JLR said in a statement.

The Jaguar brand reported retail sales of 13,688 units last month, down 6.3% from the year-ago period as strong sales of the long wheel base XFL in China were more than offset by lower sales of XE. Land Rover saw sales of 38,644 vehicles in November up 17.2%, primarily reflecting the sales ramp up of the all new Discovery and the introduction of the Range Rover Velar. However, sales were partially offset by softer sales of Range Rover Sport.

14:54 Hotel Leelaventure Q2 net loss widens to Rs 24.44cr
Hospitality firm Hotel Leelaventure reported a net loss of Rs 24.44 crore for the quarter-ended on September 30, 2017, against that of Rs 8.95 crore in the same period of the previous fiscal. Total income of the company stood at Rs 149.25 crore for the quarter under consideration against Rs 173.86 crore for the same period year ago, it said in a filing to the BSE.

14:52 Earthquake of 5.4 magnitude hits J&K's Ladakh region
A moderate intensity earthquake measuring 5.4 on the Richter Scale hit Jammu & Kashmir's Ladakh region in the early hours of Thursday, MeT officials said. The tremors were also felt across the Kashmir valley. The epicentre of the quake was near the India-China border in the Ladakh region, officials said.

"The earthquake of 5.4 magnitude on the Richter Scale was recorded at 4:59 am today. The epicentre of the earthquake was at a depth of 35 km near the Jammu & Kashmir-Xingjian border in the state's Ladakh region," a Meteorological (MeT) Department official said. No damage to property or casualty was reported, the police said.

14:49 SAIL's mining plans in Jharkhand may be nixed
India’s environmental authorities are likely to cancel a plan by a state steel company to dig for more iron ore from a massive reserve located in a lush green forest roamed by elephants, sources told Reuters, as the government aims to halt mining in the area. Steel Authority of India (SAIL) was banking on the mine in the country’s east to supply a big chunk of its raw material needs for a multi-billion-dollar expansion of its steel production capacity.

SAIL produces only around 800,000 tonne a year from a section of the Chiria mine but was targeting to raise that to 7 million tonne in the next few years, to lift its steel capacity nearly four times to 50 million tonne by 2030-31. “Getting forest clearance for the mine under existing guidelines is a challenge,” Sunil Kumar Barnwal, the mines secretary of Jharkhand state where the mine is located, said.

14:40 German industrial output falls unexpectedly in October
German industrial production fell unexpectedly in October, the Economy Ministry said, adding that public holidays at the start of the third-quarter that prompted many workers to take long weekends had significantly contributed to the fall. Industrial output decreased by 1.4% after falling by a revised 0.9% in September. In August output rose by 2.6%, which was the biggest increase in more than six years. The October reading compared with the mid-range forecast in a Reuters poll for a rise of 1%. A breakdown of the data showed that output fell in all industrial sectors except for energy.

14:19 Cyclone Ochki death toll climbs to 36
Three bodies were recovered on Thursday morning off the Kerala coast, taking the death toll due to Cyclone Ockhi to 36 even as rescue operations are going on in full swing to trace the 96 missing fishermen, reports PTI. Sources in the Thiruvananthapuram state control room monitoring the rescue operations, said with the recovery of three more bodies, the death toll in Kerala due to the cyclone has gone up to 36 and 96 fishermen are yet to be traced.

While a body was recovered near Alappuzha by the Marine enforcement wing, two bodies were found by Coast Guard ship Vaibhav off Alappuzha-Kochi coast on Thursday morning, defence sources said. An Air Force aircraft AN 32, flying between Kozhikode-Kochi coasts had sighted a fishing boat with about 15 fishermen this morning following which Navy has sent a Dornier aircraft and ship to the area which is close to Lakshadweep islands, the sources said.

13:56 JLR launches Range Rover Velar priced up to Rs 1.38cr
Tata Motors-owned Jaguar Land Rover launched its latest SUV model, Range Rover Velar in India priced between Rs 78.83 lakh and Rs 1.38 crore (ex-showroom Delhi). The company will start deliveries of the model by end of January 2018. It expects the Range Rover Velar to be one of its main volume drivers in the SUV segment. "The Velar fills a gap in our Range Rover portfolio between Evoque and Discovery Sport.

This is a product which will help us tremendously in the market and we expect this to be one of our mainstays in SUV segment," Jaguar Land Rover India President and MD Rohit Suri told PTI. The new model will be available in three engine options of 2-litre petrol, 2-litre diesel and 3-litre diesel. The 2-litre engine variant in both petrol and diesel options are priced between Rs 78.83 lakh and Rs 91.86 lakh; while the 3-litre diesel variant is tagged at a price ranging from Rs 1.1-1.38 crore (all prices ex-showroom Delhi).

13:41 Prime Focus to raise Rs 330cr via preferential warrants
Media services firm Prime Focus said its board has approved raising Rs 330 crore through issuance of share warrants on preferential basis. "The Board of Prime Focus has approved to issue and allot, on a preferential basis, share warrants worth Rs 330 crore primarily to a promoter entity (Rs 300 crore) and balance to a non-promoter investor (Rs 30 crore)," the company said in a BSE filing.

It said the funds raised would be used largely towards debt reduction. "The allotment would be a total of 3,11,32,076 warrants at the price of Rs 106 per share, with a right exercisable by the warrant holder to subscribe for one ordinary share per warrant which option shall be exercisable on or after April 1, 2018, but not later than 18 months from the date of issue of warrants," the company added. The promoter holding, on full conversion, will increase to 40% from 35% as on September 30, 2017.

13:08 Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani may face stiff battle on BJP's 'safe' seat
The battle for Rajkot-West seat, the traditional BJP fortress, could be a cliff-hanger for its high-profile contestant and Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani who is facing a challenger in Congress' Indranil Rajyaguru, reports PTI.

Earlier known as Rajkot-II, the seat is considered as 'safe' for the saffron party which has been representing it since 1985.

Though Rajkot-West is a stronghold of the RSS, the Congress has mounted a strong challenge by bringing in Rajyaguru, the sitting MLA from Rajkot-East, to rework the caste combination in the party's favour.

To retain his seat, Rupani has to surmount the angry Patidars as well as the trading community, which is smarting under the impact of demonetisation and rollout of the Goods and Services Tax (GST).

12:43 Palestinians react, 'Trump has made the biggest mistake of his life'
Palestine has condemned United States President Donald Trump's decision to recognise the city of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and move its embassy there from Tel Aviv.

In a televised address, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said, "These procedures do also help in the extremist organizations to wage a religious war that would harm the entire region, which is going through critical moments and would lead us into wars that will never end, which we have warned about and always urged to fight against".

In a statement, Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat said, "President Trump just destroyed any possibility of a two-state (solution)".

Speaking to CNN, Erekat said "President Trump tonight made the biggest mistake of his life".

12:30 Woodland eyes 15% revenue growth in FY18
Footwear and apparel brand Woodland is eyeing a revenue growth of 15% in the current financial year. Aero Club, manufactures and retailers of the brand, is also trying to popularise the hi-fashion formal luxury brand 'Woods' in India. "Our revenue in the last financial year was Rs 1,200 crore from operations in India, Hong Kong, West Asia and CIS nations," MD of Aero Club, Harkirat Singh said.

He said the topline would grow by 15% this fiscal, despite a slump in sales in July and August due to implementation of the GST. Singh said the company currently has 600 stores, mostly owned, and its products are also available in 5,000 multi-brand outlets. "We plan to add 30 to 40 stores each year."

12:27 Shalby IPO subscribed fully; issue closes today
The initial public offer of Shalby, the Ahmedabad-based multi-specialty hospital chain, was oversubscribed 1.13 times in noon on the last day for receipt of bids. The IPO, which aims to raise Rs 504 crore, received bids for 1.64 crore shares against the total issue size of 1.45 crore shares - a subscription of 1.13% - data available with NSE showed. The initial share sale, which opened to public subscription on December 5, will close today. The price band has been fixed at Rs 245-248. At the upper end, the public issue would fetch Rs 504 crore.

12:16 Centre willing to extend deadline for mandatory linking of Aadhaar to March 31, 2018
The Centre today informed the Supreme Court that it was willing to extend till March 31 next year the deadline fixed for mandatory linking of Aadhaar for availing various services and welfare schemes, reports PTI. The Supreme Court now will be setting up a five-judge Constitution Bench next week to hear several pleas seeking an interim stay on the Centre's decision of mandatory linking of Aadhaar.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra was informed by Attorney General KK Venugopal that the Centre was willing to extend the deadline of December 31 to March 31 next year for linking of Aadhaar with various services and schemes. The Attorney General, however, made clear that February 6 next year would remain the deadline for linking Aadhaar for availing uninterrupted mobile services as it had been mandated by the apex court.

12:03 Rahul Gandhi’s 9^th question to PM Modi on farmers' plight
Taking forward his 'question a day' campaign, Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the problems afflicting the farm sector and farmers, reports PTI. Asking his 9th question in the series, he asked, “Neither loan waiver, nor remunerative price for produce, neither received crop insurance benefit, nor were tubewells installed.”

The Congress leader also used the 'Gabbar' jibe to target the prime minister. "Agriculture hit by Gabbar Singh, land snatched and the (annadatta) farmer was rendered useless. PM sahib should explain why such step-motherly treatment with the farm labour," he also said on Twitter.

Gandhi had earlier termed the Goods & Services Tax as Gabbar Singh Tax to attack the government. Under the ongoing offensive, the Congress leader is using the tagline ‘22 saal ka hisab, Gujarat maange jawab’ (22years of account, Gujarat demands answers), in the run-up to Gujarat elections starting December 9. (Picture courtesy: PTI)

11:44 PM Modi fights to protect home base in Gujarat election
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was in the final phase of campaigning on Thursday to retain power in his home state and stave off the most serious challenge yet from a combined opposition, reports Reuters. The election for a new legislature in Gujarat this weekend is turning out to be a greater challenge for Modi than anticipated, the polls show, as rival parties seize on discontent caused by a slowing economy.

Modi has thrown himself into the campaign, addressing dozens of rallies over the past month, saying he alone could deliver on development. On Thursday, he was due to address party colleagues on their mobile phones to ensure a strong voter turnout.

Gujarat is where Modi earned his spurs as a business-friendly chief minister who cut red tape and graft and turned it into an economic powerhouse. But an unpopular national tax and a shock move last year to withdraw most currency in a fight against graft has hurt Gujarat, like the rest of the country, and its businessmen are making loud complaints.

Three big polls carried out in the run-up to the vote on Saturday and next week have predicted a victory for Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) but with a greatly reduced majority. An ABP-CDS poll this week gave the BJP 91-99 seats in the 182-member state house and the main opposition Congress 78-86, suggesting a close fight. To win a party needs 92 seats.

The surveys have often gone wrong, though, and Modi himself remains far more popular across the country than his rivals including Rahul Gandhi who is leading the Congress charge to weaken Modi in his home base.

11:30 Indian start-ups form lobby group, seek favourable regulations vs global giants
Many of India's top tech start-ups are establishing a lobbying group to push for governmental regulations to put an end to global companies' continued success in the country. The group, called Indiatech, will begin its operations early next year. Chief among its agenda is to coax the government in New Delhi into passing regulations to help local companies dominate the country's internet market, sources told CNBC.

The new group represents an aggressive new strategy for a local industry that has been scrambling to compete with global giants — and repeatedly come up short. If the lobbying efforts are successful, they could benefit domestic firms while squeezing out big-name companies like Amazon and Uber from the hugely promising market.

11:04 L&T Hydrocarbon Engineering bags Rs 1,600cr order from HPCL
Larsen & Toubro (L&T) said its a wholly-owned subsidiary has bagged an order worth Rs 1,600 crore from Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL). "L&T Hydrocarbon Engineering, a wholly-owned subsidiary of L&T, has won an order worth Rs 1,600 crore from Hindustan Petroleum Corporation, Visakhapatnam Refinery," the engineering and construction major said in a BSE filing. L&T said the project is part of HPCL Visakh Refinery Modernisation Project (VRMP).

10:58 US House quells Democrat's bid to impeach Trump
The US House of Representatives has overwhelmingly quelled a congressman's resolution to impeach President Donald Trump as many Democratic Party leaders questioned its timing and termed the move as "premature", reports PTI. The lawmakers voted 364 to 58 in rejection of Texas Democratic lawmaker Al Green's resolution to start impeachment against Trump.

The Republican Party, which enjoys a majority in the lower chamber of the Congress, was joined by a large number of lawmakers from the Opposition Democratic party to defeat a move to impeach Trump on Wednesday. Prominent among those included Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi and Minority Whip Steny H Hoyer, who also issued a joint statement against Green's push to impeach Trump.

10:48 Very strong case of fraud against Vijay Mallya: sources
There is prima facie a very strong case of fraud against liquor baron Vijay Mallya, senior government officials told PTI, amid reports that his lawyers told a UK court that India had no evidence against him. "The fact remains that there is, prima facie, a very strong case in terms of the UK's Fraud Act 2006 against Mallya," a source in the government said.

He said news reports from London had suggested that there was no evidence to support the government's case against Mallya and that his lawyer had torn into the government's extradition plea. The 61-year-old liquor baron, wanted in India on charges of fraud and money laundering allegedly amounting to around Rs 9,000 crore, was in the dock at Westminster Magistrates' Court for his defence, headed by barrister Clare Montgomery, on Wednesday.

"The conduct of Vijay Mallya, especially before the Supreme Court and other courts, was also highlighted to drive home the fact that Mallya has to answer about his dishonest intentions in the contempt proceedings against him in the Supreme Court of India," he said, quoting proceedings in the Westminster Magistrate's court. Mallya, who was arrested by the Scotland Yard on an extradition warrant in April this year, has been out on bail on a bond worth GBP 650,000.

10:40 GMR in race for $250m airport project in Philippines
A GMR group company along with its partner, Manila-based Megawide, is in the race for the $250 million Clark International Airport new terminal building project in Philippines. According to a statement issued by the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) of the southeastern nation, seven firms submitted the bid documents for the design, engineering, and construction of the Clark International Airport new terminal building in Philippines.

"The firms which submitted the bid documents are China State Construction Engineering Corporation, China Harbour Engineering Company, Sinohydro Corporation, the joint venture of Megawide-GMR Infrastructure (Singapore), DDT Konstract, R-II Builders and Tokwing Construction Corporation," BCDA said in a statement.

The technical proposals of the eligible firms will be opened today and it will be subject to thorough evaluation by the SBAC (special bids and awards committee), it said.

10:29 Trump's eldest son questioned in US Congress about Russia
President Donald Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr, declined to discuss with lawmakers on Wednesday a conversation he had with his father about emails related to a June 2016 meeting he attended with Trump associates and Russians, a congressional panel member told Reuters.

Representative Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the US House of Representatives Intelligence Committee investigating allegations of Russian interference in last year’s US election, said Trump Jr answered the “overwhelming majority” of questions from committee members in his hours of testimony.

But Trump Jr claimed attorney-client privilege in declining to respond to queries about that discussion with his father because a lawyer was in the room when it took place. The discussion between then-Republican candidate Trump and his son took place after the emails became public, Schiff said. Trump Jr released the emails in July.

10:13 China criticises India for crashed drone near border
China expressed “strong dissatisfaction” with India on Thursday after the recent crash of an Indian drone in what the Chinese military said was Chinese territory, an incident that could cause further friction along the two countries’ disputed border, reports Reuters. “This action by India violated China’s territorial sovereignty. We express strong dissatisfaction and opposition,” said Zhang Shuili, a senior military official in China’s western battle zone command, according to a Defence Ministry statement.

“China’s border defence forces took a professional and responsible attitude in conducting an inspection of the device,” Zhang said, adding that the military would resolutely defend national sovereignty and security. It said only that the drone crashed in “recent days” and did not give a location.

09:52 Arun Jaitley signals rethink on Financial Resolution & Deposit Insurance bill
Moving swiftly to address growing disquiet over provisions in the Financial Resolution & Deposit Insurance (FRDI) bill pending before Parliament, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley hinted that the government may backtrack on some of its controversial provisions, reports PTI.

Taking to the microblogging site Twitter, Jaitley said: “The Financial Resolution and Deposit Insurance Bill, 2017 is pending before the Standing Committee. The objective of the government is to fully protect the interest of the financial institutions and the depositors. The government stands committed to this objective.”

The bill has received flak from various stakeholders for some of its controversial provisions including a ‘bail-in’ clause which suggests that depositor money could be used by failing financial institutions to stay afloat.

09:35 IRB Infra share dives over 5% as CBI files chargesheet against co in land grab case
Shares of IRB Infrastructure Developers fell over 5% in the opening minutes as investors reacted negatively to a chargesheet filed by CBI. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday filed a charge sheet against 16 people including senior officials of IRB Infrastructure in the Pune Sessions Court in connection with a land scam exposed by slain RTI activist Satish Shetty in 2009.

CBI prosecutor Vijaykumar Dhakane said the 2,000-page charge sheet names 16 persons including IRB Chairman and Managing Director Virendra Mhaiskar, Deepak Gadgil, authorised signatory of Aryan Infrastructures (a subsidiary of Ideal Road Builders), revenue officials, land agents, lawyers and some farmers.

Based on documents received under the Right to Information Act, Shetty had filed a cheating and forgery case with Lonavala police in October 2009 against Mhaiskar and others, alleging illegal purchase of government land in Ozarde and Pimploli villages in Maval tehsil of Pune district.

09:16 P-notes investment rises to Rs 1.31 lakh cr in October
Investments in the Indian capital market through participatory notes (P-notes) climbed to Rs 1.31 lakh crore at October-end after hitting an over eight-year low in the preceding month. P-notes are issued by registered foreign portfolio investors to overseas players who wish to be part of the Indian stock market without registering themselves directly. They, however, need to go through due diligence.

The total value of P-notes investment in Indian markets - equity, debt and derivatives - rose to Rs 1,31,006 crore at October-end from Rs 1,22,684 crore at the end of September, according to the Sebi data. P-note investments were on a decline since June and hit over eight-year low in September. This was in view of stringent norms put in place by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi). Of the total investments in October, P-note holdings in equities were at Rs 90,161 crore and the remaining in debt and derivatives markets.

08:26 North Korea says US threats make war unavoidable on Korean peninsula: KCNA
Large military drills being carried out by the United States and South Korea and US threats of a pre-emptive war against Pyongyang have made the outbreak of war on the Korean peninsula “an established fact”, North Korea’s foreign ministry told Reuters. A spokesman for the North’s foreign ministry also blamed “confrontational warmongering” remarks by US officials for pushing the peninsula to the brink of war. “The remaining question now is: when will the war break out?” the spokesman said late on Wednesday in a statement carried by North Korea’s official KCNA news agency. “We do not wish for a war but shall not hide from it,” he said.

08:08 IMF lists three important 'tensions' to China's financial system
An almost two-year long study of the Chinese financial system by the International Monetary Fund found three major tensions that could derail the world's second-largest economy, reports CNBC. Those tensions emerged as China moves away from its role as the world's factory to a more modern, consumer-driven economy, the IMF said. The financial sector is critical in facilitating that transition, but in the process it evolved into a more complicated and debt-laden system.

The first tension in China's financial system, according to the IMF, is the rapid build-up in risky credit that was partly due to the strong political pressures banks face to keep non-viable companies open, rather than letting them fail. Such struggling firms have, in recent years, taken on more debt to achieve growth targets set by the authorities.

The second tension identified by the IMF is that risky lending has moved away from banks to the less-regulated parts of the financial system, commonly known as the "shadow banking" sector. That adds to the complexity of the financial sector and makes it more difficult for authorities to supervise activities in the system, the IMF said.

And the third issue identified by the international organisation is that there's been a rash of "moral hazard and excessive risk-taking" because of the mindset that the government will bail out troubled state-owned enterprises and local government financing vehicles.

07:56 EU parliament details UK concessions on rights
Britain will guarantee rights for as yet unborn children who join EU parents after Brexit and accept EU judges’ rulings on such rights, according to a draft European Parliament resolution seen by Reuters on Thursday.

The document, drafted on Monday for a vote next week before an EU summit that may launch talks on a future EU-UK free trade pact, also confirms that British Prime Minister Theresa May has secured agreement from Brussels that British citizens in the EU will be able to live freely in any member state after Brexit.

The resolution was prepared on the basis of an agreement May was about to sign on Monday before objections from her allies in Northern Ireland forced a postponement due to concerns on a plan to keep “regulatory alignment” between the province and the EU “to ensure no hardening of the border on the island of Ireland”.

07:50 European financial markets' revamp to cost its banks $4.4bn a year: report
A wide-ranging reform of European financial markets called MiFID II will cost European investment banks around 2.6% of annual revenues, equating to $4.4 billion a year, according to industry analytics firm Coalition. The new rules set to come into force on January 3 are aimed at making European markets more transparent and provide better value for investors, but are expected to drive down banks’ profits as a result, reports Reuters.

Coalition said in a report, based on banks’ internal estimates of the effects of MiFID II on more than 25 investment banking products, that its findings suggested banks will be able to cope with the hit to profits. “Everyone has been painting a very negative picture, MiFID II will of course disrupt the industry but our report suggests the impact will be manageable,” said Eric Li, research director at Coalition.

07:32 Uber paid 20-year-old Florida man to keep data breach secret
A 20-year-old Florida man was responsible for the large data breach at Uber Technologies last year and was paid by Uber to destroy the data through a so-called “bug bounty” programme normally used to identify small code vulnerabilities, sources told Reuters.

Uber announced on November 21 that the personal data of 57 million passengers and 600,000 drivers were stolen in a breach that occurred in October 2016, and that it paid the hacker $100,000 to destroy the information. But the company did not reveal any information about the hacker or how it paid him the money.

It made the payment last year through a programme designed to reward security researchers who report flaws in a company’s software, sources said. Uber’s bug bounty service - as such a programme is known in the industry - is hosted by a company called HackerOne, which offers its platform to a number of tech companies.

07:25 Oil edges up after drop in US crude inventories, but soaring output weighs
Oil prices inched up on Thursday on a decrease in US crude inventories, but rising gasoline stocks and crude production weighed on the market, reports Reuters. Traders said the higher prices came as US crude oil inventories fell by 5.6 million barrels in the week to December 1, to 448.1 million barrels, putting stocks below seasonal levels in 2015 and 2016.

07:17 Trump recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital, defying allies, foes
President Donald Trump on Wednesday reversed decades of US policy and recognised Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, imperilling West Asian peace efforts and upsetting Washington’s friends and foes alike, reports Reuters. Trump announced his administration would begin a process of moving the US embassy in Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, a step expected to take years and one that his predecessors opted not to take to avoid inflaming tensions.

The status of Jerusalem - home to sites holy to the Muslim, Jewish and Christian religions - is one of the biggest obstacles to reaching a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed Trump’s announcement as a “historic landmark,” but other close Western allies of Washington such as Britain and France were critical.

06:55 Bitcoin blasts past $14,000, less than 24 hours after crossing $12,000
Bitcoin rocketed higher on Thursday, crossing the $14,000 mark less than 24 hours after topping $12,000, reports CNBC. The landmark happened on the Coinbase exchange just before 4:30 am, and it traded as high as $14,400 on that platform. That said, there are often significant price differentials on different bitcoin exchanges. CoinDesk, a widely regarded industry site, didn't show the cryptocurrency crossing the $14,000 level until about 6 am, according to its average of prices across leading exchanges.

The digital currency's gains accelerated after crossing the psychologically key level on Wednesday morning. Bitcoin now has a market value of more than $230 billion, meaning it would rank among the 20 largest stocks in the S&P 500. The latest swing higher came as bitcoin topped $12,000 on Wednesday morning in a rapid recovery from a 20% drop last week. The digital currency began the year below $1,000 and its gains have accelerated as investor interest grows.