A look at the headlines in the sector right now:

  1. MakeMyTrip, ibibo announce merger in $1.8-billion deal: The combined entity will function under the MakeMyTrip brand and will include its home stay service Rightstay and ibibo's Ryde ride-sharing service.
  2. GST Council proposes four tax bands, with highest rate at 26% for luxury goods, tobacco: Items such as tobacco, cigarettes, aerated drinks and luxury cars might attract the highest tax rate of 26%.
  3. Telecom companies fined Rs 10.8 crore for flouting mobile radiation rules: The action was taken after Department of Telecommunications officials found that 205 base stations violated norms.
  4. Markets drop amid profit booking by investors, a day after Sensex surged 500 points: ICICI Bank was among the biggest losers on the Nifty, falling by nearly 2% after its shares earlier rallied by around 10% following the Essar-Rosneft deal.
  5. Tata Motors hikes prices of its passenger vehicles by up to Rs 12,000: A top official said the company was forced to increase the cost of its cars as the prices of raw materials, steel and zinc, had risen.
  6. SBI blocks nearly six lakh debit cards after security breach in external ATM network: Officials said new cards will be re-issued to the clients affected, and called on banks with infected systems to acknowledge the problem.
  7. Airtel competes against Reliance Jio with new data offers: The telecom major has rolled out a new package that gives 10 GB data for a recharge of Rs 259 for those buying 4G handsets in the next three months.