Coffee Day seeks to sell Sical Logistics to cut debt: Report
Coffee Day Enterprises, founded by late VG Siddhartha, has reportedly put up its Bengaluru-based unit Sical Logistics for sale to raise around ₹1,000-1,500 crore for cutting debt. Coffee Day, which operates about 1,700 Café Coffee Day outlets across India, would sell entire promoter stake and assets of Sical, Livemint reported. Coffee Day reportedly has around ₹4,400 crore of consolidated debt.
Vikram lander is in a single piece but in a tilted position: ISRO official
Chandrayaan-2’s Vikram lander is in a single piece, however, it’s in a tilted position, an ISRO official associated with the mission has said. “It’d a hard-landing very close to the planned touchdown site as per the images sent by orbiter’s camera,” the official added. “We are making all-out efforts to see whether communication can be re-established,” the official further said.
Was yelled at by directors in early days, thrown out of movies: Priyanka
Actress Priyanka Chopra, while speaking about the early days of her career, revealed, “I didn’t know anything or anyone. I was yelled at by directors.” “I was thrown into movies, I was thrown out of movies,” she added. “I taught myself confidence. I learnt it’s what you do after failure that makes you a success,” said Priyanka.
Binny Bansal to launch $400 million VC fund for startups: Reports
Flipkart Co-founder Binny Bansal is planning a $400-million venture capital fund to support startups, reports said on Monday. The fund’s primary focus will be on Indian startups, however, it will also back entrepreneurs in Southeast Asia. Bansal, who quit as Flipkart’s Group CEO last year, is expected to launch the fund, based out of Singapore, by this year’s end.
Obstacles on Moon may be stopping signals: Chandrayaan-1 Director
Mylswamy Annadurai, the Director of India’s first Moon mission Chandrayaan-1, believes that obstacles on the Moon’s surface may be stopping the Vikram lander from receiving signals. “There is always a two-way communication between the orbiter and lander, but we can attempt to communicate through one way,” Annadurai said and added that communication will not be for more than 5-10 minutes.
Pakistani astronaut congratulates ISRO for ‘historic attempt’
Pakistani astronaut Namira Salim has congratulated India and ISRO for the “historic attempt” to make a soft landing on the south pole of the Moon. “The Chandrayaan-2 mission is indeed a giant leap that makes the global space industry proud,” she said. “No matter which nation leads, in space, all political boundaries dissolve,” she further said.
Pakistan has ‘secretly’ released JeM chief Masood Azhar: Report
Pakistan has “secretly” released Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar to plan terrorist operations, according to a report quoting Intelligence Bureau (IB) officials. “Pakistan may try to use the current situation and the Indian government’s focus in J&K to target somewhere else,” an IB official said. Recently, Azhar was declared individual terrorist by India under a new anti-terror law.
Handwritten notes, poems by Sahir Ludhianvi found at scrap shop
Handwritten notes, poems, diaries, and black and white photographs of Urdu poet-lyricist Sahir Ludhianvi have been found at a scrap shop in Mumbai. Mumbai-based NGO ‘Film Heritage Foundation’ has bought the items for ₹3,000. “The diaries found have details of his daily routines like where he would be going for song recording and other personal life happenings,” the NGO said.
PM Modi to address UNGA on Sept 27, same day as Pak PM Imran Khan
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) session on September 27, according to an updated list of speakers released by the United Nations. Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan is also scheduled to address the General Assembly on the same day. Khan will address the UNGA session shortly after PM Modi’s address.
More Americans will die: Taliban after Trump ends Afghan talks
US President Donald Trump’s decision to cancel Afghan peace talks will cost more American lives, the Taliban has said. Trump abruptly cancelled the talks, aimed at ending the nearly 18-year-long war in Afghanistan, after Taliban claimed responsibility for an attack in Kabul last week that killed an American soldier and 11 others.
Buffett’s Duracell to buy Eveready business for up to ₹1,700 cr: Report
World’s fourth-richest person Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway-owned Duracell is set to acquire BM Khaitan’s Eveready Industries’ battery and flashlight business for ₹1,600-1,700 crore in an all-cash deal, The Economic Times reported on Monday. The deal reportedly includes Eveready’s manufacturing plants, distribution networks and brand name. The deal is said to be in the final stages of negotiation.
Patanjali to infuse ₹3,438 cr in debt-laden Ruchi Soya to settle dues
Baba Ramdev-led Patanjali Ayurved will infuse over ₹3,438 crore as equity and debt to settle dues of creditors of the debt-laden firm Ruchi Soya. Patanjali got the NCLT approval last week to acquire Ruchi Soya in an insolvency process. The amount will be infused in a special purpose vehicle ‘Patanjali Consortium Adhigrahan’, which will be later amalgamated with Ruchi Soya.
Tamil actor-director Rajasekar passes away in Chennai
Tamil actor and director Rajasekar, who was in his sixties, passed away in the early hours of Sunday in Chennai. Rajasekar started as a director in the Tamil entertainment industry and is known for directing films like ‘Palaivanacholai’ and ‘Chinna Poove Mella Pesu’. As an actor, Rajasekar is known for Bharathiraja’s ‘Nizhalgal’ and Praveen Bennett’s directorial serial ‘Saravanan Meenatchi’.
Ranveer, Alia starrer ‘Gully Boy’ to release in Japan in Oct
Actor Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt starrer film ‘Gully Boy’ will be released in Japan in October. “It’s a very happy and proud moment for us all who have worked on the film,” Ranveer said. The film, which was directed by Zoya Akhtar, won Best Film award at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne in August 2019.
Porsche hikes stake in electric car startup Rimac Automobili
German automobile manufacturer Porsche has increased its stake in Croatian electric sports car and electromobility components startup Rimac Automobili to 15.5%. In June 2018, the German sports car maker had purchased a 10% stake in Rimac for an undisclosed amount. “We intend to intensify our collaboration in the field of battery technology,” Porsche said.
MP to allow people to adopt cows for lifetime for ₹3 lakh
Madhya Pradesh government has reportedly decided to let people adopt cows. Lifetime adoption will reportedly cost ₹3 lakh while adoption for a year will cost ₹21,000. People will reportedly be able to adopt a cow for a minimum of 15 days for ₹1,100. This comes a day after CM Kamal Nath said, “Cow is a matter of faith, not politics.”
President Kovind to become first Indian President to visit Slovenia
President Ram Nath Kovind’s three-nation tour to Slovenia, Iceland and Switzerland will make him the first Indian President to visit Slovenia. “To continue India’s engagement and boost the bilateral relations…#PresidentKovind emplanes for State visits with a high level delegation,” Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted on Sunday night.
1500 pilgrims stranded due to landslides in Uttarakhand
More than 1,500 pilgrims reportedly got stranded at various places in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli after landslides blocked many routes following heavy rainfall. “CM has spoken to officials of Chamoli and Pithoragarh…relief work is going on at full pace ensuring steady supply of essentials such as medicines, rations,” an official said. A cloudburst occurred in Govind Ghat area on Saturday.
18 PSBs record frauds worth ₹31,898 cr in Q1; SBI with maximum cases
Eighteen Public Sector Banks (PSB) have recorded fraud worth about ₹31,898 crore with the total number of cases reported at 2,480 in the first quarter of this fiscal, an RTI query revealed. The maximum number of frauds were reported at India’s largest lender State Bank of India (SBI), with as many as 1,197 cases worth about ₹12,012 crore.
Afghanistan defeat Bangladesh to record their 1st ever away Test win
Afghanistan defeated Bangladesh by 224 runs at Chattogram’s Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium to register their first-ever away Test victory. Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan became the first player to score a fifty and take 10 or more wickets in debut match as captain. Afghanistan also became the second Test side after Australia to win two of their first three Tests.
BSP to contest Haryana Assembly elections alone on all 90 seats
Bahujan Samaj Party’s Rajya Sabha MP Satish Chandra Misra has said that BSP will contest Haryana Assembly elections alone on all 90 seats. “We’ll not have alliance with Congress or anybody else,” said Misra. Earlier, BSP supremo Mayawati tweeted that her party was ending the alliance with former MP Dushyant Chautala’s party JJP due to disagreement over sharing of seats.
Kohli has proven he’s best white-ball batsman: Kagiso Rabada Speaking ahead of his side’s tour to India, South African pacer Kagiso Rabada praised Indian captain Virat Kohli, saying, “[He] has proven that he is the best batsman in [the] white-ball format.” “He is already regarded as a great of the game with some pedigree. Playing him is an opportunity to test yourself as a player,” Rabada added.
