Government panel moots tax relief for companies

• Draft direct tax code report given to govt; proposes 25% tax rate for all firms, changes in I-T slabs for individuals
• The proposed corporate tax reduction will apply to both large local as well as foreign companies that are present in India without a subsidiary and are taxed at 40%

RIL-BP may set up EV charging points at its fuel retail outlets

• In addition to the EV charging facilities, the energy stations would also retail petrol, diesel, CNG and LNG
• RIL’s plans to set up EV charging points comes as the Centre accelerates efforts to boost EV sales

Lenders angry with Sanjeev Gupta for taking Liberty with top bids

• Liberty House has backed out after placing the winning bids for Amtek Auto, ABG Shipyard and Adhunik Metaliks
• Angry lenders have since sued Liberty House and want the firm barred from bidding for distressed assets in India under the IBC

Retail auto sales continue to slide in July on weak demand

• Sales fell 6% on uncertain economic conditions, high insurance costs and a cash crunch
• About 1.65 million automobiles were sold in the domestic market last month, showed Fada data

Modi raises regional terror issue with Trump

• Extreme rhetoric and incitement to anti-India violence by certain leaders in the region was not conducive to peace, Modi tells Trump
• Modi and Trump are widely expected to meet on the sidelines of the Group of Seven meeting later this month at the coastal town of Biarritz in France

Vodafone Idea CEO Balesh Sharma quits

• Balesh Sharma’s exit comes less than a year after the merged entity started operations on 31 August 2018
• Vodafone Idea’s share price plunged to ₹5.99 on Monday from ₹30 on 31 August 2018, when it started trading

Auto stocks see gains on hopes of monsoon revival, government stimulus

• The Nifty Auto index has risen 1.57% this month, with Maruti and Hero MotoCorp reaping healthy gains
• The rise in auto stocks contrasts with the weak sales performance by the sector for about a year

Govt set to release inflation indices for farm, rural labour

• CPI for agricultural workers and rural workers were framed taking 1986-87 as the base year
• New indices will help in deciding respectable wage rates at state level for rural, agricultural workers

Applying for IPO through a broker? Use UPI ID

• If your bank does not provide UPI facility for IPOs, you will not be able to apply through an intermediary and will have to take the SCSB route instead
• Investors putting in their bids through SCSBs can continue using the bank account to block the bid amount

Royal Enfield’s BS-VI roll-out plans ride on outcome of IP case

• If case isn’t resolved, firm will have to look for a new supplier which will increase cost
• The issue relates to the usage of the regulator rectifier, a component mandatory for all BS-VI compliant products

Going digital was a natural step in India: H&M MD Fredrik Olsson

• The Swedish brand launched its first store in India in 2015 and touched ₹1,108.2 crore in sales in 2018
• Olsson spoke about the potential of growth of its digital store given India’s fast adoption of technology

DHFL parent WGC sells its loan distribution biz to Metdist Group

• Sale of Andromeda is part of WGC’s attempts to raise capital to meet debt obligations at DHFL
• For Metdist, the acquisition of Andromeda will help grow its financial services business in India

SBI’s credit card subsidiary invites bids from advisors for share sale

• SBI Card plans to appoint up to eight investment banks to manage the proposed initial public offering
• SBI Card’s total IPO size is expected to be around ₹3,000-4,000 crore, valuing the company at $2-2.5 billion

Bike taxi firm Rapido acqui-hires analytics startup Vahanalytics

• Vahanalytics aims to promote safe driving behaviour among drivers and fleet owners by utilizing sensor data
• The acqui-hire was finalized using a cash and stock component split between the Vahanalytics founders and investors

IT stocks fall despite weak rupee amid bleak outlook

• The Nifty IT index slipped 1.31% in Aug even as the rupee fell 3.70% against the dollar
• A Falling rupee means higher dollar earnings for IT firms, but larger concerns hit IT stocks in August

SBI aims to eliminate debit cards

• In the next five years, there will be a limited need to have any plastic cards in your pocket, Rajnish Kumar said
• Rajnish Kumar said through the Yono platform, one can withdraw cash at the automated teller machines

Schools reopen in Kashmir valley as govt eases curbs

• Govt discusses lifting more restrictions, including restoring mobile phone services
• NSA Ajit Doval briefs home minister Amit Shah about his 10-day visit to Kashmir after the Centre scrapped Article 370

PM Narendra Modi calls up Trump, raises Pakistan's anti-India rhetoric

• PM Modi reiterated India's commitment to cooperate with anyone who followed this path, in fighting poverty, illiteracy and disease
• During the call, the two leaders covered bilateral and regional matters

Living on the edge in India’s coastlines

Climate change is throwing up rain bombs and floods that are endangering millions of people. What can be done?

Real estate may be a safer bet than equities

Housing is a better investment choice than equities even though house prices are susceptible to credit cycles, a database of asset returns since 1870 suggests

How concentrated is your mutual fund scheme?

• Diversified funds, too, can hold a concentration of their larger holdings and a much more diversified portfolio among the smaller holdings
• Here is a list of funds with the highest concentration of top 10 holdings

NTPC keen to get outside PPA comfort zone

• The move comes at a time when merchant trading in power has increased and state government utilities struggle to pay power bills that they are locked into
• One of its first projects where NTPC will go without PPAs is a planned 5,000MW solar park in Kutch, Gujarat

Cabinet may soon decide on bill seeking greater reproductive rights for women

• Union health ministry said the process for amending the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act, 1971 is under way
• The MTP (Amendment) Bill, 2019 was drafted 'for cases in which doctors diagnose foetal abnormalities or substantial risks to the mother or the child'

Info Edge impresses on returns, but downgrades begin to appear

• On a stand-alone basis, revenues grew at 20.5% in Q1 from last year, much in line with what analysts were estimating
• The rally in Info Edge shares comes at a time when the markets have corrected by nearly 10% in the past year

Corporate tax to be cut gradually, says Nirmala Sitharaman

• The government will support wealth creators: Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman
• The corporate tax cut was part of the budget proposal last month

Govt exempts NBFCs, listed firms from debenture reserve requirements

• The move will make it cheaper for NBFCs, listed firms to raise funds and deepen the nation's bond market, the government said
• The move will also create more of a level-playing field between NBFCs, and commercial banks

From 5 Sep, SpiceJet and IndiGo to shift ops from Delhi’s T2 to T3

• IndiGo will shift a part of its operations to terminal 3, while SpiceJet will shift its entire operations
• The airport will expand to handle up to 100 million passengers a year by 2022

Saudi women get a new right: Allowing their kids to travel

• Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has put loosening social restrictions at the heart of his economic transformation plan for Saudi Arabia
• Saudi women’s rights activists have campaigned for years against the kingdom’s guardianship system

Axis Bank says linking loans to repo is not the only way for faster transmission

• The comments come at a time when pushing up the sagging economic growth has become the biggest focus for the policymakers
• The third-largest private sector lender's executive director for corporate lending Rajiv Anand blamed liquidity issues prevented banks cutting the lending rates

'Financial sector will drive country’s growth as NBFC issue gets resolved’

• Mirae Asset Global Investments’s average AUM jumped over seven times in the last 3 years, making it one of the fastest growing fund houses and a favourite with investors
• Mirae Asset Global Investments CEO Swarup Mohanty talks about the company’s good run, the Indian markets

Opinion | Let the system tell you your capital gains tax

A government plan to pre-fill income tax return forms online with details of your capital gains could ease your compliance burden. In time, its coverage could become comprehensive

Economic slowdown 'very worrisome', new set of reforms needed: Raghuram Rajan

• Raghuram Rajan said the govt needs to fix the immediate problems in power, NBFCs and come out with a new set of reforms to energise private sector to invest
• The former RBI governor also called for a fresh look at the way GDP in India is calculated

US assures support to American technology firms in India in letter

• Industry executives with direct knowledge said it wasn't common to receive such letters from the US administration
• The USA and big technology companies say India has taken a series of protectionist measures by imposing stricter foreign investment rules

Grofers sees sales worth ₹403 crore in discount week

• The 10-18 August sale, called Grand Orange Bag Days (GOBD), saw 48 million units sold, with about 200,000 orders a day.
• Grofers generally sells goods worth about ₹240 crore every month

US economists expect recession in the next 2 years

• The survey came out after Donald Trump pushed back against talk of a looming recession as a raft of US data reports last week showed a mixed picture on the economy
• The survey showed 38% economists expect a contraction of growth next year, while 34% don't see it until the following year

Opinion | Renewable hybrid energy systems as a game changer

These can generate round-the-clock power with cost and reliability levels comparable to coal-fired plants

Wilbur Ross says US to ease Huawei sanctions for another 90 days

• Some telecom companies in the US are 'dependent' on Huawei, and thus a 90-day reprieve was deemed appropriate, says Ross
• The announcement follows an upbeat tweet from Trump indicating the US was ‘doing very well with China, and talking’

Despite challenges in the economy, mood should remain positive: RBI governor

• The mood today ranges from existential angst to a positive attitude: Shaktikanta Das
• 'One does realise that there are challenges in the economy, severe external global headwinds and India cannot live in isolation'

Visa blasts scrapping MDR, says it's based on fallacious logic

• The MDR is a commission of up to 2% paid by a merchant establishment to banks which put up the POS machines
• It can be noted that a part of the MDR also goes to companies like Visa or Mastercard for their role as the payment intermediaries

How a former MakeMyTrip executive built a challenger to Oyo

• Similar to Oyo, RedDoorz signs on budget hotel owners, provides them with software and standardized supplies, and trains their staff
• Both Oyo and RedDoorzare riding a surge in independent travel as younger Asians grow more affluent

Government amends anomaly, all CAPF personnel to now retire at 60 years

• The latest home ministry direction comes in the wake of a January order of the Delhi High Court
• All these forces are deployed across the country to render a variety of internal security duties including border-guarding, counterterrorism and anti-Naxal operations

IKEA products can now be ordered online in Mumbai. Check out opening offers

• Mumbai will see a multichannel offer including smaller format stores, and a big format store in Navi Mumbai, IKEA said in a statement
• IKEA's online store is offering 1,000 products, including storage boxes and doormats, priced below ₹200

Opinion | The single-word answer to what Indian women want

To engage with the world and truly live their lives, Indian women want the rule of law to deliver safety

Use SBI rate to convert earnings abroad

• If the foreign rental income is received outside India, the conversion needs to be made at the year-end TTBR rate
• If the foreign rental income is directly received in India, then the rupee value credited in the bank account needs to be considered

Does research influence policy design?

• Gaps in information access must be bridged for research to meaningfully inform policy choice, suggests a new research