Top headlines: 28% tax on online gaming, Dish TV-YES Bank tussle, and more

Business Standard brings you the top headlines at this hour

Blanket 28% GST could hit online gaming badly in India, says industry

Online gaming players in India fear that the industry may be badly hit if the Centre proposes a blanket goods and services tax (GST) of 28 per cent on it. According to Roland Landers, chief executive officer (CEO) of the All India Gaming Federation, this move could hamper the booming industry’s upward trajectory and lead to closure of businesses in the sector. Read more...

Dish TV-YES Bank saga throws non-retiring director puzzle into sharp relief

The tussle between Dish TV’s erstwhile promoters and YES Bank has brought into sharp focus the conundrum of ‘non-retiring’ directors at India Inc. The Companies Act, 2013, allows public companies to appoint directors not liable to retire. The concept, say legal experts, is to allow large institutional shareholders, such as Life Insurance Corporation of India, to appoint nominee directors. However, it can complicate matters in cases where individuals belonging to erstwhile promoter groups refuse to cease their position even when they lose the reins of the company, observe experts. Read more...

SaaS startups gain favour as funding slows down for other companies

One of the biggest merger-and-acquisition events for software-as-a-service (SaaS) came when NYSE-listed Zendesk was acquired for $10.2 billion. Though the deal size was lower than the earlier $17 billion offered by the same consortium of investors, it shows the interest and potential of SaaS companies across the globe. Read more...

Public sector banks request RBI on bond portfolios as yields harden

Senior treasury officials of some state-owned banks requested officials from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to provide dispensations regarding their bond holdings at an informal meeting on Friday, sources told Business Standard. The treasury officials requested a further increase in the limits for held-to-maturity (HTM) portfolios for government bonds as well as permission to amortise marked-to-market losses incurred on bond holdings in the current quarter. Read more...

Delayed diagnosis, reluctance to take booster dose pushing severe cases up

Delayed diagnosis, deferred treatment, and reluctance to take the booster shot are factors contributing to the serious rise in the number of Covid cases in pockets, say doctors. Deaths have risen in pockets -- Mumbai and Kerala are cases in point. In the past 15 days, in Mumbai there have been 31 Covid-19 deaths among the 1,370 people hospitalised. The city has reported 26,615 cases in the fortnight. Read more...

Towering legacy: Pallonji Mistry's business achievements span continents

They called him the “phantom of Bombay House” — his powerful presence felt rather than seen in the Tata Group headquarters. Pallonji Mistry, the man who was the biggest shareholder of Tata Sons outside of Tata Trusts and whose Mumbai-headquartered construction conglomerate, Shapoorji Pallonji (SP) Group, left its footprint across continents, died early Tuesday morning. He was 93. Read more...