Why India must open its doors for RCEP

• India’s absence from the Asia-Pacific trade treaty will solidify its insular economic orientation and hurt innovation
• Positive institutional effects of RCEP must not be underestimated as trade patterns evolve in this region. Indian firms will find it tough to adapt to a regional market

Cabinet may consider equity infusion of ₹6,000 crore into NIIF

NIIF Strategic Opportunities Fund has set up a debt platform comprising an NBFC Infra Debt Fund and an NBFC Infra Finance Company

Dow hits record 30,000 on vaccine hopes, Biden White House transition

• For the blue-chip Dow, the journey to 30,000 from the 20,000-mark took less than four years
• Stocks rose following news that Biden will tap former Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen as treasury secretary

In pandemic era's isolation, meaning of 'self-care' evolves

• The pandemic has forced people to spend more time with themselves than ever. Along the way, it has reshaped and broadened the way many think about and prioritize how they treat themselves — what has come to be called self-care

Nivar: Possible flight disruption to statewide holiday in TN — 10 updates

• As of now, three flights from Chennai airport stand cancelled Chennai recorded heavy rainfall between 8:30 am and 5:30 pm today
• Aim should be to ensure that there is no loss of life and damage is minimum, says Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba at NCMC meeting

3,000 weddings slated to take place in Jaipur in Nov; officials fear Covid surge

• A majority of the weddings will take place on 25 Nov, on the occasion of ‘Dev Uthani Ekadashi’, and up to 100 people are allowed to attend a marriage function
• Rajasthan's Covid tally crossed 2.5 lakh-mark on Tuesday

All that you need to know about the country’s first covid vaccine

AstraZeneca-Oxford jab could be launched as soon as Jan, but immunization drive could go on till 2024

Trai fines Jio, Airtel, BSNL in Paytm vs telcos phishing case

• BSNL has been slapped with the highest fine of ₹30 crore, according to an affidavit filed by the Trai at Delhi HC
• In June, One97 had moved Delhi HC against telcos, Trai and the Centre for not blocking those who were defrauding its customers by phishing activities over mobile networks

Second COVID-19 wave looms, some parties busy in protests: Uddhav

• Thackeray informed the prime minister that the Shiv Sena-led state government has formed a task force to manage the distribution of COVID-19 vaccine once it is available
• He also underlined the need to pay attention towards health issues faced by people after their recovery from the COVID-19 infection

DoT mandates 0 prefix for all landline-to-mobile calls, effective 1 Jan

• It has also asked telecom operators to furnish details of number series, both mobile and fixed-lines, allotted to them and utilisation of the series. The details of the number series for each calendar year have to be submitted to the DoT by 15 January of the next year

AirAsia India posts 69% drop in Q2 revenue

The budget airline reported revenue of ₹221.55 crore in the three months ended 30 September

Tesla stock hits $500 bn-mark after soaring 547% this year

• Tesla shares rose as much as 4.1% in New York in early trading, touching an all-time high of $543.17, and pushing its market capitalization to over $506 billion
• Shares of the electric vehicle company have soared this year, rising nearly 550%, with gains accelerating over the past week

Kerala govt moves SC seeking stay on lease of Trivandrum airport to Adani

The state claims that the Centre had assured the state govt that it would be consulted at the time any decision regarding privatization was taken

GDP contraction to improve to 'higher single digits' in Jul-Sept, says expert

The GDP contracted by 23.9% in the June quarter due to strong lockdown measures and leading to expectations of the GDP growth being a negative 14% for the full fiscal

Cyclone Nivar: NDRF pre-positions 22 teams in TN, Puducherry, Andhra

Nivar is very likely to cross Tamil Nadu and Puducherry coasts between Karaikal and Mamallapuram during late Wednesday evening

Airlines globally to lose $118.5 billion during 2020 due to pandemic: IATA

• IATA, however, expects airline performance to improve during the second half of 2021
• Total number of passengers carried by airlines are expected to plummet to 1.8 billion during calendar year 2020

Soon callers will require to add prefix '0' for all landlines to mobile calls

The DoT has accepted sectoral regulator Trai's recommendation for having the '0' prefix for such calls, a move that will create sufficient numbering space for telecom services

Indian govt bans AliExpress, 42 other Chinese apps: Full list here

Indian govt says these apps were found 'prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity, defence of India, security of state and public order'

YES BANK credit card users can share reward points now. Check all new features

• YES BANK credit card members can now share their credit card reward points with their friends and family
• There is also an option to redeem credit card reward points against statement outstanding

Govt clears 7 projects to create infra for agro-processing clusters

The proposals with total project cost of ₹234.68 crores will leverage private investment of ₹173.81 crores and are expected to generate employment for 7,750 persons

Nifty climbs Mount 13K, Nifty Bank near 30K. What analysts say

• Nifty has gained about 12% so far this month
• Financial stocks led the gains today with Nifty Bank index rising about 2.5% to 29,737.

Tamil Nadu declares statewide public holiday tomorrow ahead of Cyclone Nivar

Cyclone Nivar is expected to cross Tamil Nadu-Puducherry coasts between Karaikal and Mamallapuram tomorrow evening

SBI raises ₹2,500 cr from Basel-lll compliant bonds to fund business growth

The bonds of face value of ₹10 lakh each, at par, bearing a coupon of 7.73% per annum payable annually with call option after five years and on anniversary dates thereafter, aggregates to Rs, 2,500 crore

Sputnik V found to be 91.4% effective in preventing virus

• The price of the two-dose vaccine, co-developed with the Gamaleya National Center of Epidemiology and Microbiology, would make Sputnik V shots much cheaper than the messenger RNA vaccine candidates of US firms Pfizer and Moderna

SC dismisses plea challenging PM Modi's election from Varanasi constituency

• The plea had been filed by former BSF constable Tej Bahadur whose nomination from Varanasi was rejected by the election commission

COVID-19 vaccine: India Aatmanirbhar for syringes, says industry

The additional capacity of 350 million syringes per month is already built up by the manufacturers taking learning from mask and PPE kits experience India faced in March and April 2020, AISNMA said

HDFC Life, HDFC Ergo unveil combi Corona Kavach health insurance policy

• The policy will provide all the benefits and features of Click 2 Protect 3D Plus and Corona Kavach
• The Corona Kavach plan provides coverage against treatment in case of hospitalisation, home care treatment as well as AYUSH treatment

Tesla market value crosses $500 billion as shares surge six-fold this year

Tesla shares rose as much as 3.9% to a record high of $542.35 in early trading, valuing the company briefly at $514 billion

RBI rejects Muthoot Finance's proposal to buy IDBI MF

'The activity of sponsoring a Mutual Fund or owning an Asset Management Company is not in consonance with the activity of an operating NBFC,' RBI tells Muthoot Finance

Air passenger traffic likely to be hit by Maharashtra govt decision: Icra

The Maharashtra government's decision to make coronavirus negative report mandatory for those entering the state from four certain states is expected to impact the domestic travel demand further, ratings agency Icra said

‘We’re drowning’: Hospitals in America’s heartland flooded with covid cases

• After pounding big US cities in the spring, COVID-19 now has engulfed rural and small-town America, seeming to seep into the country’s every nook and cranny
• Hospital leaders described demoralization among staffers struggling to reckon with overwork, grief and death

Infratel’s shares fire up post Indus merger, but Vi factor is a worry

Analysts reckon that the Infratel's rise is more of a relief rally rather than a long-term trend

Salary of high-skilled gig workers, independent consultants returning to normal

• Their salaries are returning to pre-covid levels after dropping 20-25% post the nationwide lockdown, says a survey.

Germany’s DAX to get bigger, stricter after Wirecard fiasco

• The changes will trigger billions of euros of passive flows for the new members
• The earnings reporting requirements will become effective during the first-quarter index review, along with a mandate for companies to include an audit committee on their supervisory board

The latest unicorn startup in India is a used car website

• The company’s valuation jumped to more than $1 billion after a new round of funding
• DST Global, the investment firm led by Russia-born billionaire Yuri Milner, invested $200 million in the deal.

EU reaches deal for supply of 160 million doses of Moderna COVID-19 vaccine

• Last week Moderna said its experimental vaccine was 94.5% effective in preventing COVID-19

Covid vaccine: PM asks CMs to prep cold storage facilities, set up task force

• Priority of Covid vaccination being decided in consultation with states, PM modi tells CMs during review meet
• He urged CMs to share their feedback in writing on COVID-19 strategy, says no one can impose any view and all have to work together

Stressed developers get a lifeline

• The government has announced a number of initiatives, particularly for stalled projects, such as the SWAMIH scheme
• In the residential sector, in particular, sales have been largely concentrated in projects by so-called branded developers numbering 15-20 across cities