Mint Morning Digest: India-UAE trade balance, Airtel pan-India 5G coverage and more

India’s trade deficit with the United Arab Emirates quadrupled between May and June, the first two months since the India-UAE free trade agreement came into effect, driven by a surge in oil and gold imports. Read more here.

Syrma stock sale offers clues for IPO watchers

This week, the primary market will provide important clues for companies and investors about to go public. After a dry period of more than two months, the IPO is set to go public on August 12, with Chennai-based engineering firm Syrma SGS Technology set to test investor interest. Read more here.

What should investors in mainland and Taiwan funds do now?

After diversifying into the U.S. market, Indian investors have sometimes turned to Greater China, which includes mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. However, Indian funds focused on the region have found returns rather subdued over the past year. Read more here.

CBIC regulates collection of air passenger information

The Central Indirect Tax and Customs Board (CBIC) has instituted new regulations to regularly collect passenger information from airlines for risk analysis and to prevent breaches of customs laws, the official order shows. Read more here.

Airtel plans pan-India 5G coverage by March 24

Bharti Airtel will launch its 5G service later this month and plans to cover 5,000 cities and towns by March 2024, Gopal Vittal, chief executive officer and managing director of Bharti Airtel, said in an analyst call on Tuesday. India’s second-largest telecommunications company reported a five-fold increase in net profit in the June quarter. Read more here.

Floating solar projects may be successful under new policy

The government is working on a floating solar power policy that offers higher incentives for companies willing to invest in factories that require expensive power generation technology, two people familiar with the matter said. The move is expected to further boost India’s renewable energy capacity, they added. Read more here.

We have a small window to control monkeypox: WHO’s Swaminathan

Dr Soumya Swaminathan, chief scientist of the World Health Organization (WHO), said there was a small window in which monkeypox outbreaks could be contained before it became endemic in many countries. Depending on how it develops, a vaccine may be needed to control monkeypox in the future, Swaminathan said in an email interview to Mint. She added that the increasing likelihood of human-animal interaction will lead to more zoonotic infections. Read more here.

Is MF’s investment in IndoStar Capital worth watching?

IndoStar Capital Finance, a non-banking financial company (NBFC), which reported a loss for the quarter ended March 31, has been negatively impacting the past few weeks, especially regarding its inability to continue as a going concern. That negative outlook is only compounded by the resignation of its chief financial officer, Kapish Jain, just two months after joining the company. Read more here.

Nitish Kumar takes oath as Bihar CM for eighth time today

Ending the alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Janatadar (United) leader Nitish Kumar may be sworn in again today as Bihar’s chief minister, while Tejash Vyadav will be deputy prime minister . Read more here.

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