Top Headlines: Free PDS to 810 mn, founders exit NDTV, and more

Centre made distribution of foodgrain through ration shops as part of the National Food Security Act (NFSA) free for the almost 810 million beneficiaries. India needs a more ambitious fiscal consolidation roadmap to ensure medium-term debt sustainability amid growing risks to its growth outlook. Read more on these in our morning brief of top headlines.

Centre makes PDS free for 810 mn people; annual outlay likely at Rs 2 trn

In a significant move, the Narendra Modi government on Friday made the distribution of foodgrain through ration shops as part of the National Food Security Act (NFSA) free for the almost 810 million beneficiaries, by merging certain benefits of the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) into the Public Distribution System (PDS). Read more

Founders Prannoy Roy, Radhika Roy exit NDTV, transfer most stake to Adani

New Delhi Television Ltd (NDTV) founders Prannoy Roy and Radhika Roy on Friday said they have decided to transfer most of their shares in the news network to Adani Group. Read more

Ex-ICICI Bank CEO Chanda Kochhar, husband arrested in loan fraud case

Former ICICI Bank CEO Chanda Kochhar and her husband Deepak Kochhar were arrested by the CBI on Friday as part of its investigation into a money laundering case involving the bank and the Videocon Group. Read more

Hinduja sweetens offer for RCap to counter Torrent group’s winning bid

The Hinduja group today revised its bid for Reliance Capital by offering a net present value of Rs 9,000 crore for the company, after the e-auction ended earlier this week. Read more

IMF calls for ‘more ambitious’ fiscal consolidation by India, cites risks

India needs a more ambitious fiscal consolidation roadmap to ensure medium-term debt sustainability amid growing risks to its growth outlook and shrinking fiscal space, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Friday. The government, however, differed from the Fund, stressing public debt remained sustainable. Read more

India better placed as world deals with Covid, economic headwinds

The year 2022 was supposed to be when “normality” returned to India and the world, resetting the world economy after two years in which the Covid-19 pandemic raged across the globe — killing millions, sending economies into deep recession, and severely disrupting supply chains. Read more