KreditBee has secured an investment of $75 Mn (INR 544 Cr) in a Series C funding round led by Azim Premji’s PremjiInvest and South Korea’s Mirae Asset Venture. This deal will pave way for Chinese investors to exit the platform's parent company Finnov. The lending tech platform will use the funding to to provide credit to over 180 million new-to-credit (NTC) customers.

Kalpataru Power announced 10.72% growth in total revenues for the Q3'FY21 on a consolidated basis at Rs3,501cr. The top-line growth was driven by a 10% growth in the core Engineering, Procurement and Construction or EPC power business. The remaining segments were too small to make a material difference to the top line. The consolidated PAT for the Q3'FY21 was up 142.52% at Rs308cr.

IDFC posted -11.7% fall in total revenues for the Q3'FY21 on a consolidated basis at Rs103.78cr. It saw a spike in the fess and commission income during the quarter on a YoY basis but the net gains on fair value changes in the quarter are sharply down resulting in weaker revenues. The consolidated net loss for the Q3'FY21 was at Rs-205.61cr, narrowing sharply from a loss of Rs-343.10cr in Q3'FY21.

The government on Sunday announced that all kinds of steel will be allowed for highways provided these meet the quality parameters. They have halted the restrictive conditions associated with the use of steel in highways Earlier, the contract provisions required use of steel produced by primary/integrated steel producers only. The move is aimed at ensuring cost reduction in highways construction.

Rajasthan Health Minister Raghu Sharma announced that the second dose of the Covid-19 vaccine will be administered in the state from today. Sharma said an action plan has been prepared for the vaccination schedule. Additionally, beneficiaries of the Social Justice and Empowerment and the Agriculture departments will be administered the first dose of the coronavirus vaccine.

IRCON International announced 11.73% growth in total revenues for the Q3'FY21 on a consolidated basis at Rs1,353.03cr. IRCON is into creating and building infrastructure for the Indian Railways. During the Q3'FY21, IRCON saw a sharp spurt in revenues from domestic and also from international business. The consolidated PAT for the Dec-20 quarter was down -28.32% at Rs102.10cr.

Hike in raw material costs may trigger a second round of price hikes in the auto industry with manufacturers indicating a markup of 1-3%. Mahindra & Mahindra, Eicher Motors and Ashok Leyland may increase prices in Apr-May to neutralise the sharp rise in costs of steel, aluminium and other metals. It comes at a time when the truck market is just about hitting the growth track after 2yrs.

Amazon wanted $40mn to drop its “right of first refusal” to buy Future Group’s assets in Future Retail, the Indian retailer has alleged in documents submitted with the SIAC. In its submission to the emergency arbitrator, Future claimed that Abhijeet Mazumdar, head of corporate development and private investments at Amazon, proposed verbal offer to Kishore Biyani on behalf of the e-tailer.

Bitcoin hit a new record high and approached $50,000 on Sunday, building on its record rally as Wall Street and Main Street increasingly adopt the world’s biggest cryptocurrency. The cryptocurrency recently stood at $48,800 on Sunday morning, up 3.2%. It had traded as high as $49,714 earlier in the day. The cryptocurrency is up around 70% year to date.

Corporate earnings grew at a robust pace during the Q3'FY21. The figures propel to a brighter spot for the Indian economy, which is seeking to ride out of the brutal impact of the pandemic. A Mint analysis of 2,485  firms  shows that net profit grew fastest in at least 25 quarters. A Mint analysis of 2,485 firms shows that net profit grew fastest in at least 25 quarters.

Brookfield Asset Management, Actis Llp and Edelweiss Infrastructure Yield Plus Fund’s Sekura Energy Ltd are interested in acquiring a majority stake in Finnish state-run power utility Fortum Oyj’s 500 MW solar projects in India in a deal estimated at about half a billion euros. The 3 parties have submitted 3 separate non-binding bids for the deal, which is expected to be completed by March.

President Joe Biden will hold his first event with leaders from the Group of Seven nations in a virtual meeting on Friday to discuss the coronavirus pandemic, the world economy and dealing with China as a group. This virtual engagement with leaders of the world's leading democratic market economies will provide an opportunity for President Biden to discuss plans to defeat the COVID-19 pandemic.

India Inc registered a strong double-digit, YoY growth in aggregate net profit for the second straight quarter. A sample of 3,087 companies revealed 68.7% YoY growth in net profit for the October-December 2020 period. The figure is the strongest in nine quarters. It was largely possible due to efficient cost control by companies as revenue grew by a modest 1.8%.

Tata Steel is betting on expanding steel demand to double its capacity to 40 million tonnes. Expansion within the three sites in Angul, Kalinganagar and Jamshedpur will allow the company to grow from the current capacity of 20 to 40 million tonnes per annum,” Managing Director T.V. Narendran told ET. Kalinganagar can grow to about 15 – 16 million, Angul to 10 million and Jamshedpur to 14 million.

Asian shares advanced to record highs on Monday and oil rose to a more than one year peak as successful coronavirus vaccine rollouts globally raise hopes of a rapid economic recovery amid new fiscal aid from Washington. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan jumped 0.4% to 736.4. Japan’s Nikkei climbed 1.3%.