Gold prices on Thursday jumped Rs 250 to breach the record Rs 40,000 per 10 gram level for the first time at the bullion market here on strong demand from investors amid growing fears of global economic slowdown. Maintaining its record-breaking run for the second day, gold spurted by Rs 250 to a fresh life-time high Rs 40,220 per gram, according to the All India Sarafa Association. The precious metal had soared by Rs 300 to close at Rs 39,970 per 10 grams on Wednesday.

With the government clearing the decks for single-brand retail firms to sell directly via online stores thereby changing the earlier norms of having a brick-and-mortar store first, Apple will start its web stores within the next 3-4 months in the country, sources said. However, the company will take a longer time to set up brick-and-mortar stores —around 18-24 months — as these are spread over a large area like 25,000 sq ft. They also need to be located at prime locations and require logistics like call centres, etc.

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.

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