Indraprastha Gas reported 23.07% fall in Sep-20 quarter top line sales revenues yoy at Rs1,440.74cr. Indraprastha supplies piped gas to the capital city of Delhi and its agglomerations and there was a sharp fall in the consumption and demand in the Jun-20 quarter, which is evident from the top line numbers. For the Sep-20 quarter, the operating profits were up by 1.67% at Rs336.01cr.

HDFC Bank has revised its interest rates on fixed deposits (FDs) maturing in one year and two years with effect from November 13. The bank has kept the rates unchanged for the rest of the term deposits. HDFC Bank has cut the interest rates by 10 basis points (bps) on deposits maturing in one year and two years. So, the interest rate for 1 year 1 day to 2 years has been cut from 5% to 4.90%.

Telecom operator Vi (Vodafone Idea) is planning to increase its tariffs by 15-20 percent by the end of 2020 or early 2021 in a bid to increase its revenue. According to sources who spoke to The Economic Times, the company is planning to increase tariffs while telcos wait for the regulator to increase the floor prices. The telco has lost nearly 8 million users in the July-September quarter.

The Indian govt has received a "sufficient and good response" regarding the privatisation of Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd and will not extend the deadline for private firms submitting initial bids, people familiar with the matter said on Monday. The government had extended the deadline for bids for BPCL, as the pandemic delayed the process that was initially expected to be completed by October.

US biotech company Moderna on Monday, 16 November, said that early data shows that their COVID-19 vaccine candidate is 94.5 percent effective, AFP reported. The biotech company released an interim analysis on Monday, which said that based on a study of 95 patients with confirmed COVID-19 infections, the vaccine candidate had been found to have an efficacy of 94.5 percent.

Edible oil firm Ruchi Soya, which is owned by Patanjali Ayurved, will launch a follow-on public offer (FPO) next year to bring down promoters' shareholding in the company, said baba Ramdev. "We are going to come with the FPO next year in which we would dilute our shareholding," Ramdev told PTI. Patanjali Group has run Ruchi Soya efficiently after the acquisition last year, he said.

Amazon is seemingly seeking to control 100 per cent of Future Retail Ltd (FRL) by controlling the entire Kishore Biyani Group's majority equity in FRL, which means with an investment of Rs 1,431 crore, it seeks to control Future Group's assets worth about Rs 30,000 crore. Amazon's investment exposure is limited to Rs 1,431 crore in Future Coupons Ltd (FCL) alone.

Apple has become the latest member to join a coalition of firms looking to define and develop 6G, the next-generation mobile technology. The main aim of this group is to establish North America as a major player in the development of 6G, according to a recent announcement made by the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions (ATIS)  technology company.

HDFC Asset Management Company, on November 16, appointed Navneet Munot as the Managing Director & CEO. He will succeed the present Managing Director Milind Barve. Navneet Munot is currently the chief investment officer (CIO) at the SBI mutual fund company, where he has worked for 12 years. Barve, on June 12, was re-appointed as the managing director of the company.

Sales enablement platform MindTickle has raised $100 Mn in a mix of equity and debt funding led by Japanese conglomerate SoftBank Vision Fund II at a valuation of $500 Mn. This is SoftBank India’s first investment in a Software-as-a-Services (SaaS) company. Existing investors Norwest Venture Partners, Canaan, New View Capital and Qualcomm Ventures also participated in this round.

J&J launched a new large-scale late-stage trial on Monday to test a two-dose regimen of its experimental COVID-19 vaccine and evaluate potential incremental benefits for the duration of protection with a second dose. The U.S. drugmaker plans to enrol up to 30,000 participants for the study and run it in parallel with a one-dose trial with as many as 60,000 volunteers that began in September.

VA Tech Wabag reported 4.4% fall in Sep-20 quarter top line revenues yoy at Rs608.35cr. The company is into water treatment, waste treatment and de-salination project execution and the revenues did see a dip in the Jun-20 quarter in the midst of the lockdown. However, the revenues are almost back to pre-COVID levels in the Sep-20 quarter.

Bengaluru-based fintech company Instamojo has raised an undisclosed amount from Gunosy Capital and Japan-based Base. Earlier this year, Instamojo acquired GetMeAShop from Times Internet to boost its commerce operations. Times Internet got a stake in Instamojo as part of the deal. Instamojo has grown steadily since its initial investment and is one of the leading payment service providers in India.

PharmEasy is the latest startup to join foodtech unicorn Swiggy, social commerce platform Meesho and others to buy back employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs). The online pharmacy has announced a $3 Mn ESOP buyback, as it looks to instill confidence in staff amid the Covid-19 pandemic.  The buyback will benefit 40-45 nearly employees of the Mumbai-based company.

Graphite India reported 45% lower Sep-20 quarter top line sales revenues yoy at Rs485cr. There was a sharp fall in the overall revenues largely due to the plant shutdown in its India plants between end of March and mid-May at the behest of the government. The German plant of Graphite also had to be shut down to adhere to COVID norms.