RBI flags risks to banks, inflation in telecom crisis

• Allow telcos to stagger payment of dues, RBI urges govt
• RBI’s monetary policy committee had cautioned about the impact of tariff hikes on inflation

No-holds-barred Rajeev Misra vs Nikesh Arora fight rocks SoftBank

• Misra, head of the $100-bn Vision Fund, is said to have conducted a campaign to eject Arora by planting negative news stories, trying sexual blackmail
• The scrutiny faced by Misra is reminiscent of Arora’s situation before he was forced to leave SoftBank

Fear index up 52% this year as coronavirus spooks stocks

• The India VIX has gained 58%, while the Nifty has lost over 4% in 2020 so far
• Fears that the virus could hurt the economy far more than expected have kept investors on tenterhooks

Government puts spending restrictions on ministries to contain fiscal slippage

• The government has told ministries to limit expenditure in March to 10% of their budget allocations against 15% earlier
• Ministries and departments have spent ₹21.1 trillion in the nine months ended 31 December, leaving ₹5.9 trillion available for spending during the three months to March

Gold prices rise today but still down over ₹1,000 per gram in three days

• Goldman Sachs has raised its price forecast for gold
• Silver rates also edged higher today

China reports rise in new coronavirus cases, warns of risk of rebound

• The total number of confirmed cases on mainland China has now reached 78,497
• Also, some coronavirus patients discharged from hospitals after recovery have been readmitted after testing positive again

'Balle balle': Anand Mahindra on kid who caught Melania Trump's attention

• Anand Mahindra shared a delightful video of a little boy who broke the internet with his incredible dance moves
• As the cameras caught Gaganjit dancing, Melania Trump could be seen laughing and clapping for him

Oyo's Ritesh Agarwal is the world's second youngest self-made billionaire

• Oyo Hotels founder Ritesh Agarwal's wealth has been estimated at ₹7,800 crore
• Ritesh Agarwal is also the richest self-made Indian aged under 40

Government’s new notification will allow many EPFO members to get higher pension

• If a pensioner had opted for commutation in August 2008, he or she will get increased pension from 2023
• Those who had opted for commutation in January 2005 or before are eligible for increased monthly pension

Mercedes GLC Coupe facelift: All you need to know

• AMG version of GLC Coupe is likely to be replaced with 2.0-litre turbo petrol and 2.0-litre diesel engine options.
• Design updates on the outside are certain. The MBUX infotainment system will also make it debut in the car.

Tokyo's pro-baseball league to hold games without spectators until 15 March

Japan PM called for major sporting and cultural events to be called off, postponed or scaled down over the next two weeks, saying the move was crucial in preventing the domestic spread of the new coronavirus

Indian Railways turns old train coaches into restaurant. See pics

• Indian Railways converted two overaged coaches into signature restaurants
• Indian Railways is likely to generate non-fare revenue of approximately ₹50 lakh in the next five years

Business Confidence Index rose by 7.8% in Nov-Jan

• RBI gave exemption to help boost credit flow to productive sectors that lead to growth impulses
• Move comes amid a fall in credit growth to 7.14% in fortnight ended 17 Jan against 7.51% in earlier period

L&T stock runs out of favour with investors as macro gloom worsens

• L&T’s valuation of 14 times 1-year forward earnings is below the decadal average of more than 20 times
• Earnings risk is due to deteriorating macroeconomic trends, order outlook, execution challenges

Hyundai to pass BS-VI upgrading cost to consumers in phases

• The Korean auto major also expects that the second half of 2020 will be far better
• Jain said to counter the degrowth, the company will bring in new launches and upgrades

Dow falls 3% as US stocks sell-off deepens on coronavirus fears

• All S&P sectors in the red, energy falls most
• US stocks started the session with an attempt to rebound, but were quickly rebuffed as investors noted it had spread to new countries including Spain and Romania

Shift to an asset-light model is boosting profit margins at Indian Hotels

• IHCL’s earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization in the first nine months of FY20 jumped 650 basis points year-on-year to 24.4%
• The strategy to shift from owned properties to leased assets, and drive revenue growth through income from managing hotels, is paying off

Delay in merger of Indus, Infratel puts to test original deal terms

• Indus profits have fallen owing to the Vodafone Idea merger; Infratel has maintained profits
• Infratel valuations have fallen sharply, which will impact Indus’s valuation too for the deal

Donald Trump and First Lady Melania relishes Bukhara's naan and shikandari raan

• The president stayed in the Grand Presidential Suite of the five-star property, which has hosted his predecessor Barack Obama and other US presidents like George W Bush and Bill Clinton
• Trump's daughter Ivanka and his son-in-law Jared Kushner were also at the Bukhara

Harvey Weinstein found guilty in landmark #MeToo moment

• Harvey Weinstein was found guilty of criminal sex act for assaulting production assistant Mimi Haleyi at his apartment in 2006 and third-degree rape of a woman in 2013
• The jury of seven men and five women took five days to find him guilty

SoftBank leads $165 million capital boost for liquid biopsy firm Karius

• The deal is relatively small by the standards of Softbank and its giant investment arm
• The funding comes at a time of investor scrutiny into Softbank's investments

Flag march in Delhi's Maujpur after clashes between pro and anti-CAA protestors

Security personnel conduct flag marches to disperse the mobs and maintain peace after the Maujpur area witnessed clashes between pro and anti-CAA groups

No prescription yet to cure health problems

US-based healthcare firms have for long raised concerns about section 3(D) of the Indian Patents Act

Sunni Board to build mosque, hospital on five-acre site

• The Board also decided to form a trust to oversee the construction of the mosque
• The appointment of members to the trust will be announced following its creation, the release added

Sanders wins in Nevada, Biden to finish second

Sanders had 47% of county convention delegates in Nevada with 50% of the precincts reported

Lotteries to attract uniform 28% GST rate from March 1

• The lottery industry had sought a uniform tax rate on lotteries following which a group of ministers were set up to suggest the GST rate
• Currently, lotteries run by the state-owned agencies levy 12% GST, while a state-authorised lottery attracts 28% tax.

India increases screening from four more airports

• Now, fliers from as many as 10 countries would be screened at Indian airports
• As on Saturday, 21,805 passengers have been brought under community surveillance

MG Motor, Kia Motor tap growing demand for UVs to expand

• Firms intensify focus on growing utility vehicle segment to consolidate their presence
• MG Motor showcased its Gloster sport-utility vehicle at the recent Auto Expo 2020

Third death from Japan cruise ship as new cases raise quarantine doubts

• Japan has been criticised in the face of mounting evidence that the quarantine imposed on the Diamond Princess did little to stop the virus spreading
• Still left on the ship are some travellers waiting for charter flights home and roughly 1,000 crew

Google warns against installing Chrome extensions on Microsoft Edge browser

• The search engine giant has added to the Chrome web store which detects when a user is installing extensions to Microsoft Edge
• The extension simply explains that Google "recommends" using Chrome instead of Edge to use extensions 'securely'

No discovery of around 3000-tonne gold deposits in UP's Sonbhadra: GSI

• 'GSI has not estimated such kind of vast resource of gold deposits in Sonbhadra district,' GSI Director General (DG) M Sridhar said
• The exploration works of the GSI for gold was not satisfactory

Indians use too big car to move single person: M&M MD Pawan Goenka

• Goenka also conceded that the automobile industry does add to pollution, and pitched for adopting all the means to reduce it
• He said Indians weighing 65-70 kg use an entire 1,500 kg car to travel individually, hinting at the wastage of resources that go into making the big car move

BSNL employees plan hunger strike on Monday

• The strike is also aimed at putting pressure for the expeditious settlement of employees' grievances, according to an AUAB statement here on Saturday
• Last year the cabinet approved a ₹69,000 crore revival package for both BSNL and MTNL

Berkshire Hathaway 100% ready for my departure: Warren Buffett

• Buffett, one of the world's richest men, did not go into detail or name a successor
• Buffett is known for his track record of brilliant investing but also for his folksy and humble persona, as well as his philanthropy

Coronavirus enters worrying new phase as cases outside China rise

• Investors are wary of the impact of a wider regional outbreak on global growth and corporate earnings
• The epidemic that emerged in early December has yet to become a pandemic, which is defined as a situation where the virus is spreading across multiple continents

US markets: Stocks fall, bond prices rise as investors seek safe ground

• The losses had the benchmark S&P 500 index on track for its first weekly loss after two weeks of gains
• Traders remain anxious over the economic fallout from the virus outbreak that began in China, which continues to spread

Takeaways from Lakmé Fashion Week Summer-Resort 2020

The event’s 20th anniversary included new takes on traditional crafting techniques, a debate on inclusive formats and a Gen Next show that could have been better

Indian airports now turn hot destinations for foreign investors

• ADP’s acquisition of a GMR stake makes it the second global airport operator to enter India in last three months
• Groupe ADP will buy 24.99% of GMR in the coming days, and will acquire an additional 24.01% stake later

Pakistan stays in grey list, warned of action if terror funding isn’t curbed

• India had said it would keep up pressure on Pakistan to cut finances to terrorist groups
• Prior to the Paris plenary, Pakistan sentenced LeT chief Hafiz Saeed to 11 years in prison

Twitter latest feature: Now, connect fresh tweets to older ones faster

• Twitter's new feature is a new way to create faster tweet threads
• The micro-blogging site has recently acquired California-based creator of Stories template, Chroma Labs

Michael Bloomberg gets bashed at Democratic debate

Rivals savaged him for coming in late and throwing huge amounts of money at the race

309 applicants for one post of constable; Ashok Gehlot promises 50,000 jobs

• Despite several vacancies getting stuck in legal tangles and the proverbial red tapes, Gehlot sounded confident of creating around 50,000 jobs this year
• For the post of 5,483 constables, announced to be filled this year, around 17 lakh applications have been received.

After-hours with the boss

Sachin Haritash, founder and CEO of Mavyn, spends much of his spare time reading about global politics to keep himself updated

India needs efficient supervision, simple regulation, says Sanjeev Sanyal

Principal Economic Adviser Sanjeev Sanyal says an approach having focus on supervision rather than regulation increases efficiency and reduces compliance burden

Restrictive data policies can hamper innovation

Among the East Asian countries, China was the most restrictive in terms of data policies, followed by Vietnam. Hong Kong and Japan were the least restrictive

Delhi Metro launches 250 e-rickshaws at 12 stations to boost connectivity

• With this, the total tally of stations where such facilities are available rises to 29, with an operational fleet of over 1,000 e-rickshaws
• These e-rickshaws will be plying from 12 stations — Qutab Minar, Ghittorni, Arjangarh, Nawada, Shadipur, Patel Nagar, Nangloi, Nangloi Railway Station, Govindpuri, Harkesh Nagar Okhla, Moolchand and Botanical Garden.

INX Media: Special court grants regular bail to accused bureaucrats

• The court said the accused would not leave the country without its permission
• It also directed them not to tamper with the evidence or hamper probe

PIL in Karnataka HC seeks removal of Anand Singh as state forest minister

PIL cites serious ‘conflict of interest’ as Anand Singh has pending cases relating to the department he now heads

Entertainment firms use print ecosystem to woo audiences

• India’s entertainment companies allocate as much as 40% of their advertising budget to print
• When Gaana had reached 100 million users, it looked at newspapers as the primary advertising medium to convey the message and hosted an extensive 44-city plan

Mint Globetrotter Index: Take a trip to Male, Maldives

• The Mint Globetrotter index compares the cost of 25 essential travel spends for 50 cities across regions
• Here, Mint Money will list these 25 spends for a city and compare it with Delhi

IBBI proposes simultaneous CoC voting on two or more resolution plans

• The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) aims at time-bound and market-linked resolution of stressed entities
• IBBI implements the Code and the Committee of Creditors (CoC) of a company has a key role in the resolution process

Safety versus privacy debate in focus as airports gear to install body scanners

• Amid concerns over invasion of privacy and harmful effects of radiation, security officials say move’s necessary in current geopolitical climate
• India is also set to roll out the technology across major airports, starting with Hyderabad, though it is still in the trial phase

SpaceX aims to launch up to 4 tourists into super high orbit

• Space Adventures already has helped put tourists into orbit with trips to the International Space Station, working with the Russian space program
• Elon Musk's California-based SpaceX already is dabbling in space tourism, signing on a Japanese billionaire to fly to the moon in three or so years

System can detect threats that metal detectors cannot

• Body scanners have become an important part of the security toolkit around the world
• Scanners are more reliable than currently available techniques and gadgets to recognize threats involving explosives and contraband items hidden anywhere on the body

'Practicalities' led to extending deadline for cos to split chairman, MD posts

• In January, Sebi deferred the requirement for splitting Chairman and Managing Director at the companies by two years to April 2022
• The requirements would have meant difficulty for top firms, including Reliance Industries, Wipro and a slew of state-run enterprises like ONGC and BPCL

China's Xi Jinping recounts early role in coronavirus battle

In the speech, Xi Jinping admitted there were 'shortcomings' in China's emergency response systems and said local officials would be punished if they failed to 'take responsibility' or implement directives

Approval for third aircraft carrier may not come soon, indicates Gen Bipin Rawat

• The Navy has been pitching for three aircraft carriers to deal with China's growing naval prowess
• At present, the Indian Navy has one aircraft carrier, INS Vikramaditya, which is a Russian origin platform

Nirmala Sitharaman says fiscal deficit figures absolutely realistic

On inflation management, Nirmala Sitharaman said except for the seasonal perishable commodities which make up for significant size in the basket, prices of most goods and also particularly food products have been kept well within the acceptable norms

Air travel volume shows muted growth in January

• Domestic airlines carried 12.78 million passengers in January 2020 against 12.5 million in the same month a year ago
• The DGCA report said that barring Vistara, all domestic airlines reported a decline in capacity utilization in January compared to December