News Podcast: Future Lifestyle Fashions acquires stake in Koovs

ED initiates extradition process against Nirav Modi under MLAT

With the permission of special PMLA Court, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has begun the extradition process against diamantaire Nirav Modi in $2-billion PNB loan fraud case under PMLA. Till now, the extradition has been sought from UK, Belgium and a few other countries. But that's not all. The agency is also working on another strategy, i.e. MLAT. Sources told Indiatoday.in that the agency is also making a request for extradition of Nirav Modi under Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT). MLATs are agreements between two or more countries, which create obligations under international law for governments to assist one another in criminal investigations and prosecutions.

Mukesh Ambani unveils JioGigaFiber at RIL AGM 2018

The richest man in the country who runs India's largest private enterprise by revenue has announced his ambitious plan for taking India among Top 5 nations in fixed-line broadband.Ambani also launched the advanced version of Jio's flagship device, JioPhone. Besides, he also launched Jio Gigafibre. The new Jio Phone 2 will hit the markets by August 16 this year and will be available at a price of Rs. 2999. Mukesh Ambani has also announced the Jio Monsoon offer, he informed that old JioPhone users can exchange their phones in just Rs 501 under the special Reliance Jio Monsoon offer. The offer is valid till July 21. He also informed that Reliance Jio and Retail ventures were the top earners for the company in the previous fiscal year.

Kishore Biyani's Future Lifestyle Fashions acquires stake in fashion etailer Koovs

In a regulatory filing yesterday, Biyani-led Future Lifestyle Fashions Ltd (FLFL) disclosed that it has reached a conditional agreement with leading e-commerce fashion business Koovs to acquire up to 29.9 per cent stake in it, subject to regulatory and procedural approvals. According to Mint, FLFL will shell out Rs 140 crore for this acquisition, which will be funded through internal accruals and the money it had raised though a stake sale to Singapore-based private equity firm L Catterton Asia in May.

E-tailers exploring ways to improve reverse logistics costs: Study  

E-tailers are increasingly looking for ways to improve their "reverse logistics" capabilities to offset the high costs associated with handling returned goods, a study by Zebra Technologies said today. Reverse logistics refers to the process of return of a product to the manufacturer or the company. The study said that while handling product returns is not a new challenge, it has become an "infinitely bigger concern" in an omni-channel marketplace.The report said merchants are increasingly exploring new models to offset the costs of returns.

About 58 per cent of retail respondents said they add a surcharge for returns currently, while a segment of participants said they plan to do so in the future.About 35 per cent of the respondents of the study in the Asia-Pacific region were from India

Iran to Trump: oil will cost $100 per barrel, and it is your fault

Oil will soon cost $100 per barrel due to supply disruptions caused by U.S. President Donald Trump, Iran's OPEC Governor told Reuters on Thursday, as he warned expectations that Saudi Arabia and Russia would help bring down prices were in vain.Trump again accused the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries of driving fuel prices higher on Wednesday, and urged U.S. allies such as Saudi Arabia to pump more if they wanted Washington to continue protecting them against their top foe Iran. Iran, OPEC's third-largest producer, is facing U.S. sanctions on its oil exports that are prompting some buyers to cut purchases.

Indian Aviation Records Double Digit Passenger Growth For Nearly Fourth Straight Year

India registered double-digit domestic air passenger growth for the forty fifth straight month in May even as volumes moderated in recent months. The International Air Transport Association said that the country's revenue passenger kilometre--a measure of passenger volumes--rose 16.6 percent in May. Seasonally-adjusted passenger volume in India has fallen back in recent months alongside some mixed signs on the economic front, it said. IATA said that this year growth is expected to slow slightly due to reduced stimulus from lower airfares and a mixed economic backdrop.