A look at headlines in the sector right now:

  1. Nirmala Sitharaman calls for 2% RBI rate cut to boost MSME growth: The minister said the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise sector is ‘hard pressed for money’ because of the current interest rate set by the central bank.
  2. Walmart, other US retailers to investigate Welspun India products after Target cancels contract: The textile company’s market value dropped by nearly 50% after Target accused it of passing off standard cotton sheets as premium Egyptian ones.
  3. Centre, Monsanto dispute escalates as company pulls GM cotton seeds to protest technology sharing: The biotech giant and the government are also at odds over how much can be charged for its genetically modified seeds.
  4. Railways to start talks with Facebook to offer free Wi-Fi at rural stations, nearby villages: The social media company recently concluded a pilot programme for its Express Wi-Fi service across 125 locations in rural India.
  5. Government may soon allow calls and Wi-Fi facilities in Indian airspace, says aviation secretary: Earlier, security agencies did not have technology to monitor data transmission over Indian airspace, which the Centre is now hoping to resolve.
  6. Tata Power crosses 2 million consumer base in India: The country’s largest integrated power firm said it remains committed to provding reliable and uninterrupted power supply at competitive prices.
  7. Centre approves rail infrastructure projects worth Rs 24,000 crore: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs cleared the massive line expansion programme, which involves track construction of a total length of 1937.38 km at an estimated cost of Rs 24,374.86 crore.