Telecom companies demand reduction in regulatory levies

New Delhi: The telecom sector has sought Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s intervention for immediate lowering of regulatory levies in view of its critical role in dissemination of information on Covid. The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) has sought reduction in Spectrum Usage Charge to 3% for all operators and lowering of licence fee contribution from 8% to 3%. It has also sought immediate refund of the unutilised input tax credit or grant of soft loan to companies using GST input credit as collateral. TNS

Airports’ body urges govt to defer taxes till December 31

New Delhi: Airports Council International, a global body of the aviation facility, in a letter to PM Narendra Modi, has sought deferment of aviation- specific taxes till December 31 to safeguard airports’ operational and business continuity amid threat of the Covid pandemic. The industry group’s director general Angela Gittens said, “Airports are the engine of your national economy in terms of jobs created and GDP growth. The airport industry in Asia-Pacific employs more than 63% of aviation industry jobs, providing a variety of services.” TNS

New york
Boeing announces voluntary layoff plan

Boeing unveiled a voluntary worker layoff programme on Thursday, telling employees that it hoped to avoid “other workforce actions” as the aviation industry reels from the coronavirus crisis. The initiative was announced by Boeing Chief Executive David Calhoun, who said such belt-tightening was needed amid the hit to the industry caused by the pandemic. AFP

New Delhi
Manufacturing activity weakens in March: PMI

The manufacturing sector activity grew at the slowest rate in four months during March, as international demand faltered owing to the coronavirus pandemic, a monthly survey said on Thursday. The IHS Markit India Manufacturing PMI fell to 51.8 in March, from 54.5 in February, signalling the slowest improvement in business conditions since November 2019. PTI

New Delhi
Moody’s changes banks’ outlook to negative

Moody’s Investors Service on Thursday changed the outlook for Indian banking system to negative from stable, as it expects deterioration in banks’ asset quality due to disruption in economic activity from the coronavirus outbreak. It said banks’ asset quality will deteriorate across the corporate, small and medium enterprises and retail segments, leading to pressure on profitability and capital. PTI