Newsmakers: PM Modi on GST, Yu Yuphoria price cut and more

ICICI Bank cuts home loan rate by 25 bps
Private sector lender ICICI Bank has cut its home loan rate by 25 bps for new customers. The new lending rate stands at 9.65 per cent for new customers. It has raised the spread on home loans by 10 bps to 30 bps.

IGATE CEO Ashok Vemuri resigns months after merger with Capgemini
Ashok Vemuri, CEO of IGate , has resigned after the US-based firm was acquired by Capgemini in July 2015. Ashok Vemuri joined US-based IGATE as CEO in September 2013. Paul Hermelin, chairman and CEO of the French firm Capgemini, said the firm would like to thank Ashok Vemuri "for his active participation to the acquisition process and his remarkable energy in the transition phase".

Growth favourable in India, reforms needed:IMF
Growth prospects for India remain favourable despite a slowdown in the global economy, but the government should speed up structural reforms and relax supply constraints in the energy, mining, and power sectors, the International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday. The IMF marginally lowered India's growth forecast to 7.3% this year, from its earlier estimate of 7.5%, and said that a faster-than-expected deceleration in inflation provides leeway for modest cuts in interest rates.

Yu Yuphoria smartphone gets a price cut
Yu Televentures has announced Rs 500 cut for its Yu Yuphoria smartphone. The handset is now available for Rs 6,499 at Amazon. Moreover, the smartphone is now available in Android 5.0 Lollipop instead of Android Lollipop-based Cyanogen OS 12 custom ROM. The smartphone was launched at a price of Rs 6,999 in May. Its Cyanogen OS variant is still showing available at Rs 6,999.

Govt hopes to roll out GST in 2016, says PM Modi
The government hopes to roll out a new goods and services tax (GST) in 2016, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday in a speech to Indian and German businesses that played up the attractiveness of investing in Asia's third-largest economy. The GST, currently blocked in Parliament, was one of a range of business-friendly measures highlighted by Modi in a speech in tech hub Bengaluru, during a visit by German Chancellor Angela Merkel.