Top Headlines: Monsoon Session starts today; rupee's worst may soon be over

The Monsoon Session of Parliament will start on Monday and will see the election of a new President of India, a new vice president (who is also the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha) and the likely passage of around eight bills. The Indian currency, which has depreciated almost 7 per cent against the dollar in 2022, may not weaken much over the next few months. According to a Business Standard poll, the rupee is seen at 80.20 per dollar at the end of July. Read more on these in our top headlines.

Business Standard poll: The worst may soon be over for rupee, say experts

The Indian currency, which has depreciated almost 7 per cent against the dollar in 2022, may not weaken much over the next few months. According to the median of a Business Standard poll comprising 10 respondents, the rupee is seen at 80.20 per dollar at the end of July; this would imply a depreciation of 0.4 per cent from its last closing level of 79.88 per dollar. Read more
 

Today's Presidential election, little else in likely muted Monsoon session

The Monsoon session of Parliament to be held between July 18 and August 12 will see the election of a new President of India, a new vice president (who is also the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha) and the likely passage of around eight bills. Twenty-four new bills will be introduced. However, domestic elections are expected to dominate proceedings in the first two weeks. Read more
 

Govt draws up plan to bolster PSU bank boards, hold directors accountable

The central government is looking to strengthen the boards of public sector banks (PSBs) by specifying terms of office and conditions of service for whole-time directors, and also seeking disclosures from all directors about interests in other companies. Through the Banking Laws Amendment Bill, the government is likely to introduce conditions for disqualification of whole-time and independent directors which are not specified in the current legislation. Read more
 

5G spectrum auction may turn out to be a short affair, say telcos

Telcos participating in the upcoming auctions at the end of July say they expect only a fourth of the value of spectrum on offer to be sold. The government has put Rs 4.3 trillion of spectrum up for sale at the base price across seven bands including for 5G. An executive of a leading telco said he estimates that mobile operators collectively would buy spectrum of only around Rs 1.1 trillion. Read more
 

Metro AG: In deal season, German cash & carry chain feels the heat in India

German chain Metro Cash & Carry may not have been under the spotlight in India all these years unlike American major Walmart, but things changed swiftly in the deal season. Dusseldorf-headquartered Metro AG started making plans for selling its India business (fully or partially) more than one year ago at the peak of Covid-19, but negotiations with potential bidders and investors picked up speed in the last two months or so. Read more