Lockdown hits household income: CMIE SC: No reassessment of telecom AGR dues

IL&FS said it expected to resolve about 57 per cent of its near Rs 1 lakh crore debt pile even as the pandemic delayed the resolution process in some of the group companies. About 50 per cent of the debt is expected to be resolved by March 2021, its board said in a progress report, with 18 per cent already addressed as of June end. The board had said in October that it aimed to resolve 50 per cent of the debt by March this year.

Glenmark Pharmaceuticals’ shares closed nearly 3 per cent lower after the drug regulator sought clarification from the firm over its alleged "false claims" about use of anti-viral FabiFlu on Covid-19 patients with comorbidities and pricing of the drug. The DGCI sought the clarification after an MP complained that the total cost of FabiFlu treatment is aro-und Rs 12,500 and the drug trail was not designed for comorbidities.

Cafe Coffee Day (CCD) has closed down 280 outlets in the first quarter of the current fiscal year, citing profitability issues and likely future increase in expenses, a company statement said.With these closures, the total count of its outlets stood at 1,480 as on June 30. The coffee chain also reported a decline in average sales per day (ASPD) per cafe to Rs

15,445 during Q1 from Rs

15,739 a year ago.

Household incomes have been hit hard by the Covid-induced lockdown, subsequent job losses and salary cuts. Across all income groups, only 6.7 per cent of households reported an increase in incomes in April-June

2020 against 33 per cent reporting a rise in the same period last year, according to private think-tank CMIE.

The proportion of households reporting an improvement in incomes compared to a year ago declined quite sharply in the April-June period, finds the survey by CMIE. The proportion that said that their incomes were higher than a year ago was 9.6 per cent in April. This fell to 6.1 per cent in May and then to 4.4 per cent in June. While 122 million jobs were lost in April, the subsequent recovery in jobs is not reflected in perceptions regarding improvement in incomes at all.

“Every income group has suffered a big hit in terms of the proportion of households who report an increase in income. But, a greater proportion of relatively richer households have been hit by their incomes not growing,” said Mahesh Vyas, managing director of CMIE.

None of the respondents who earned less than Rs

4,000 a month said that their incomes had improved during April, May and June. Less than five per cent of those who earned between four and six thousand a month said that there was an improvement. But, this worsened in June when none of the respondents who earned less than Rs

6,000 a month said that their incomes had improved over the past 12 months. The improvement in employment in June did not help improve incomes at the lower end of the income spectrum.

In April-June 2019, around 14 per cent of the households that earned less than Rs.6,000 per month reported an increase in income over a year.

New Delhi, July 20: The Supreme Court Monday said it will not hear "even for a second" arguments on re-assessment of Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) related dues of telecom companies which run into about Rs 1.6 lakh crore.

The apex court also said it was not a reasonable proposal that a period of 15 to 20 years be given to the telecom companies to pay AGR dues.

A bench of Justices Arun Mishra, S Abdul Nazeer and M R Shah reserved verdict on the issue of timeline for staggered payment of AGRrelated dues by telecom companies.

When issue of re-calculation of the dues was raised, the bench shot back: We will not hear arguments for re-assessment (of AGR related dues) even for a second.

The bench also observed that instead of seeking 15 or 20 years for payment the companies should come forward with an appropriate time frame.

The Centre had earlier urged the top court that up to 20 years be given to telecom companies for the payment of dues in staggered manner.

The top court further said that it would examine bona fides of some telecom companies going into insolvency.

On June 18, the top court was informed by the Centre that the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has decided to withdraw 96 per cent of the Rs 4 lakh crore demand for AGR related dues raised against nontelecom PSUs like GAIL.

The court had however asked the private telecom companies including Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea to come out with a reasonable payment plan, make some payment to show their bona fide and file their books of accounts for the last 10 years.

During the hearing on Monday, the bench asked solicitor general Tushar Mehta, appearing for the DoT, as to how the government intends to secure the AGR related dues.

When the counsel appearing for one of the telecom companies disputed the DoT's calculation of AGR related dues and said that the figures have to be checked, the bench shot back: Everybody is disputing the dues. Tell us only the instalment part and the time (for payment of dues).”

Weekend positive earnings surprise from index majors HDFC Bank, Britannia, HCL Technologies and earlier by IT giants Infosys and Wipro as well as global cues aided the Nifty-50 close above the 11000 level.

The Nifty-50 index closed at 11022.20, up 120.50 points or 1.11 per cent, while the Sensex closed at 37418.99, up 398.85 points or 1.08 per cent.

“In just 21 weeks, the Nifty regained the 11000 level. This is important because at one point the Nifty was below the 7500 levels. Economy and technology stocks supported the market, which is a rare thing,” said Shrikant Chouhan, executive vice president, Equity Technical Research, Kotak Securities.

"The earnings results declared so far have been positive, as the sectoral leaders, especially in the IT and Banking sector, have emerged better than expected,” said Vinod Nair, head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.