Top headlines: Adani hires Grant Thornton, Jio aims 100% 5G coverage

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Adani hires Grant Thornton for audits after Hindenburg fallout: Report

India's Adani Group has appointed accountancy firm Grant Thornton for independent audits of some of its companies in a bid to discredit claims by short-seller Hindenburg Research that have battered its stocks and bonds, two people familiar with the matter said on Monday.

The appointment marks the first major effort by Adani Group to defend itself in the wake of a Jan. 24 report by Hindenburg that accused it of improper use of offshore tax havens and stock manipulation. Read more

Vodafone Idea may get 60 days to raise funds before govt asks for Q3 dues

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is likely to give Vodafone Idea (Vi) up to 60 days to raise fresh funds and invest in the company, before it asks for the pending third quarter dues that the company owes to the government, officials said.

"The company has agreed to prepare a detailed plan to raise further funds and increase investments. Therefore, it has been decided that sufficient time would be given to it before the government inquires about the quarterly dues owed by it," an official said. Read more

Reliance Jio aims for 100% 5G coverage in cities, tehsils by December

Reliance Jio is aiming to hit a minimum of 100 million 5G customers by the end of financial year 2024 (FY24) by covering all cities and over 6,000 tehsils. Sources working on the roll out say the goal is to reach 100 per cent coverage in these locations by December.  

Currently, Reliance Jio offers 5G services in 240 cities.  Jio currently has a total subscriber base of 423 million. In the effort to appeal to more customers to switch to 5G, Jio (and rival Bharti Airtel) have refrained from charging any premium over their 4G tariff. Read more

India's inflation higher than peers like Brazil and South Korea

India now has higher inflation than some emerging market peers.

The latest inflation figure of 6.52 per cent is above the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) tolerance band of 2-6 per cent, which is higher than peers, such as Brazil and South Korea, shows a Business Standard analysis of data from central bank websites across the world. India had among the lowest inflation numbers relative to peer economies earlier. 

South Korea’s latest inflation number was 5.2 per cent while it was 5.77 per cent in Brazil. Central banks in both countries have increased rates at a faster pace than Indian from the pandemic lows, when global interest rates were aggressively cut to limit the negative economic effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. Read more

NSE board gives sanction to CBI to prosecute ex-MD, CEO Chitra Ramkrishna

Leading stock exchange NSE's board has given its approval to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to prosecute its former MD and CEO Chitra Ramkrishna in the co-location scam case, sources said on Monday.

The CBI was awaiting the go-ahead of the board of National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) to prosecute Ramkrishna following her arrest in March last year. She was arrested in the co-location scam nearly four years after an FIR was registered by the agency in May 2018. Read more