WhatsApp is in the final stages of regulatory clearances for the commercial launch of its much-awaited payments service with the instant messaging platform having approached the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for approval, sources in the know of development said. The company had initiated the process for the launch of its BHIM UPI-compliant payment service over three years ago.

IOC plans giving a big boost to the compressed biogas business by procuring biogas from across India and selling it at its retail outlets, as part of India’s strategy to reduce dependence on imported fuel and double farm income by 2022. Biogas, produced naturally through anaerobic decomposition from waste or biomass sources like agriculture residue, cattle dung, sugarcane press mud and solid waste, also provides an additional source of income to farmers.

Civil aviation minister Hardeep Puri on Thursday said the government will completely exit Air India, and there is already significant interest among prospective buyers for it. “Air India should be totally privatised. We have to get the best possible deal and we have to get it in the shortest possible time available,” Puri told reporters.

Amazon India’s new delivery centre in Pune has emerged as its largest facility in the country at a time when the e-commerce major has doubled its delivery network in Maharashtra in the last six months. The 40,000-sq ft delivery station in Pune’s IT hub in Hinjewadi is part of Amazon India’s aggressive expansion in Maharashtra where it has taken its direct delivery presence to 900 pin codes with the ability to deliver in one to two days at these locations and penetrate further into smaller towns.

Multi-faceted business conglomerate Essel Group has taken another step towards its overall process of asset divestment. The group on Thursday said that it has signed an agreement with Adani Green Energy to sell 205 megawatt (mw) projects.

The operating solar assets of Essel Green Energy Pvt Ltd and Essel Infraprojects Ltd, located in Punjab, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh, are being sold at an enterprise value of Rs 1,300 crore, the group said in a statement.

In what seems to be a sudden jolt to the sentiment in the already ailing telecom sector, dark clouds have covered the future of 5G auction in India.

The 5G auction, which was originally on the telecom ministry’s 100-day agenda, seems to be getting delayed. The companies which were already in the backfoot due to huge spectrum prices have yet another reason not to bid for 5G spectrum.

India’s path to economic recovery faces another obstacle, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi asking the state road builder to stop constructing highways after its debt ballooned almost seven-fold over the past five years.

"National Highways Authority of India totally logjammed with unplanned and excessive expansion of roads," the prime minister’s office wrote to NHAI in a letter dated August 17. "NHAI mandated to pay several times the land cost; its construction costs also shooting up. Road infrastructure has become financially unviable."

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), in its order on Thursday, disposed of the show cause notice (SCN) issued to senior employees of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) on January 4, with respect to the co-location (colo) case. The capital markets regulator did not levy any monetary penalty.

The rupee on Friday opened 2 paise higher at 71.78 agains the US dollar amid dip in crude oil prices and rise in Asian stocks.

The domestic unit gave up most of its losses to close down by 3 paise at 71.80 on Thursday even as uncertainty over the US-China trade talks and recession fears kept investors on edge.

After Dark mode made it to WhatsApp, it appears that Microsoft too does not want to be left behind. Led by Satya Nadella, the tech giant has finally introduced the new color mode to its Office suite of apps on the mobile. It is being reported that Outlook for Android will switch to the new mode when the device is kept on Battery Saver.

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