Sebi tightens norms for investment advisers to prevent mis-selling

• The regulator said an entity can provide either advisory services or distribute financial products
• Sebi cleared norms for regulatory sandboxes, allowing the live-testing of new financial services in a controlled environment

Oyo's loss rises sevenfold but says no brakes on expansion

• The hospitality firm reported widening of its consolidated net loss to $335 mn for the financial year ended March 2019, mainly on account of international expansion
• Oyo’s loss in its oldest market India narrowed to 14% of revenue in the last fiscal from 24% in the year-ago period

Vodafone Idea, Airtel make partial payments after SC tough talk

• SC refuses to entertain Voda Idea plea that sought directions to DoT not to take coercive steps
• While Vodafone Idea on Monday paid ₹2,500 crore to DoT and will cough up an additional ₹1,000 crore before the end of the week. Bharti Airtel has deposited ₹10,000 crore

RIL to merge its distribution, media business into Network18

• The broadcasting business will be housed in Network18 and the cable and ISP businesses in two separate wholly owned subsidiaries of Network18
• RIL had in November 2014 taken over Network 18 Media and Investments Ltd through its Independent Media Trust

Cyrus Mistry moves Supreme Court seeking directorship at Tata Sons

• In the petition filed on 13 February, the Mistry firms said NCLAT did not grant them the reliefs they had sought
• In its order on 13 December, NCLAT had found faults in the conduct of Tata Sons

DHFL receives interest from at least 15 bidders

• KKR India, Welspun and Adani among suitors interested in taking over the business
• DHFL’s creditors will meet on 20 Feb to discuss EoIs received from prospective investors

RBI receives ₹1.94 trillion bids for repo operation

• The RBI move is aimed at providing cheaper money to banks at the repo rate so that it can be used to boost credit growth
• The central bank also withdrew the daily fixed rate repo and four 14-day term repos every fortnight

Coronavirus live update: WHO warns against blanket measures over deadly virus

• China has total now 70,548 confirmed cases, and 1,775 deaths, according to its National Health Commission
• China’s Hubei reported 1,933 additional confirmed cases for and more than 100 deaths on February 16

Opinion | An Indian army that can now be led by a woman

A female general at the helm of the force is no longer beyond the realm of possibility thanks to a far-sighted ruling of the Supreme Court that finally lets women take roles of command

How startups crack the profits puzzle

• Nudged by investors, many startups are abandoning a growth-at-all-costs approach. Here’s how
• Surveys have shown that there is a strong need for offline touchpoints, which would allow customers to see and get a sense of the products they saw online

Karvy plans stake sale to honour client payouts

• Karvy has told NSE it will pay fund shortfall of ₹678 crore by March, said Sebi chairman Ajay Tyagi
• On 22 Nov, Sebi barred Karvy from acquiring new clients and using power of attorney, thereby preventing the company from trading on behalf of clients

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

Govt must continue reforms; green shoots of recovery need to sustain: RBI Guv

• The RBI saw an imminent slowdown in growth early in 2019 and used the space that was opened up by the moderation in inflation to cut interest rates
• Green shoots are now visible and need to be sustained to pull India out of its current slowdown

Tata Teleservices pays ₹2,197 crore worth of license fees

• TTSL and TTML have also submitted to DoT the details of calculations in support of the payment
• Last week, the Supreme Court came down heavily on the Telecom Department for not taking steps to recover statutory dues

Supreme Court’s hard blows make Airtel the most sought-after stock

• Most of the gains in Bharti Airtel’s shares came after the SC ruling against telcos in end-October
• Analysts say tariff hikes in December were possible due to govt intervention post the SC order

Sebi board clears regulatory sandbox for registered entities

• Sebi allows registered entities to test new products, services in a live environment on select customers
• The proposed 'regulatory sandbox' is intended to serve as a testing ground for new business models and technologies that benefit investors, Indian markets and the economy at large

SBI Cards gets Sebi's go ahead to float IPO

• SBI holds 76% in SBI Cards and rest of the stake is held by Carlyle Group
• Sebi's observations are necessary for any company to launch public issues including initial public offer, follow-on public offer and rights issue

Outbreak of novel coronavirus takes a toll on OYO’s China business

• OYO is facing a drop in bookings in China, although the extent of the impact on its business is yet to be ascertained
• A large part of OYO’s $10 billion valuation has to do with its international expansion, especially in the China market

Moody’s slashes India’s 2020 growth projection

• Moody’s said the China virus outbreak has hit prospects of stabilization of global growth
• It assumes normal economic activity will resume in April-June quarter after the virus is contained

SpiceJet inducts two Airbus aircraft amid worries over 737 Max

• Regulators worldwide have grounded the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, following two fatal crashes
• SpiceJet had ordered as many as 205 of these planes in 2017, of which 13 have been delivered

SC appoints mediators to engage with protesters in Shaheen Bagh

• Top court clarifies it isn’t against people’s right to protest, but is concerned over blocking of public places
• SC was hearing pleas over the road block due to the ongoing protests at Shaheen Bagh against CAA

We are examining NSE's IPO request: Sebi chairman

The entire IPO would be an Offer for Sale, wherein existing shareholders would sell the bourse's shares

Tech launches go virtual after coronavirus derails MWC 2020

• The cancellation of MWC 2020 came at a huge financial cost
• Huawei's sub brand HONOR said it will announce its products through a livestream

You can complain about unregulated deposit schemes, but no authority to go to

• A competent authority to hear depositor complaints is yet to be created
• A competent authority can provisionally attach property of unregulated deposit takers based on complaints

Pollution, Yamuna top agenda for AAP govt

• AAP wants to reduce pollution by 300% in next five years
• The party also released a 28-point manifesto that promised doorstep delivery of subsidised grocery

Air India buyer must retain employees for a lock-in period, says Puri

• Air India has 9,426 permanent workers, 4,201 contract employees and 2,867 employees on deputation
• The government had on 27 January invited expressions of interest from investors for its entire stake in Air India

SC clears command roles for women in army

• SC directs Centre to ensure women army officers be given permanent commission on a par with male officers
• The top court rejected the Centre’s views on women’s physiological features and social norms

NRIs need to file tax returns in India if their taxable income exceeds ₹2.5 lakh

The taxable income should be computed before giving effect to the various deductions such as under 80C

SpiceJet lands roughly on some counts in December quarter

• Profit in Q3 got a big boost from other income, which includes compensation of ₹246 crore for 13 grounded planes
• Going ahead, the uncertainty over the resumption of services by the MAX aircraft remains a big risk

'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

Two more Indians test positive for coronavirus on cruise ship off Japan

• Two more Indians on board quarantined cruise ship Diamond Princess off Japan have been tested positive for coronavirus
• Now, the number Indian nationals infected with the deadly virus on the vessel is six

SBI loan guarantee isn’t the best option

• In case of a project delay, the guarantee will free the borrower of the bank liability, but he will lose the down payment and the interest paid until then
• If the buyer exercises the guarantee option in case of a delay, he would need to relinquish the right to the house