RBI to consider early ₹28,000 crore dividend to government  

• Any payout from RBI will help partly bridge the government’s budget gap in the year ending March
• The government has budgeted for ₹28,000 crore in interim payment from the RBI

DHFL yet to decide on stake sale

• Earlier this month, the home loan provider DHFL said it was keen to sell assets
• Shares of DHFL rose as much as 7% in early trade on Monday after a media report of alleged stake sale

A year after India's biggest bank fraud, PNB on road for annual profit  

• PNB is expected to clock a net profit of ₹22.66 billion for the year ending March 2020, which would be its highest annual profit in 5 years
• PNB's loan growth is estimated to be 8.33% for fiscal 2020, its highest in 4 years

‘Make in India’ has not eased manufacturing woes

• Despite its ambitious targets, NDA’s ‘Make in India’ has failed to improve investment, employment, and exports in India’s manufacturing sector
• One area where this government has fared relatively better has been in attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) to the country

Lenders’ lifeline for Essel may hurt MF investors

• Sebi is said to have stepped in to nix a safety net stitched together by lenders to the Essel group
• Investments in debt securities of companies that are generating cash flow may not be at risk from this event

Mid-cap IT stocks feel the heat as investors do a reality check

• Headwinds emanating from a slowdown in the US, trade wars and uncertainty concerning Brexit other key issues
• Only a few mid-tier IT companies have been consistent in performance, leaving investors in the lurch

Tech Mahindra nears 52-week high as board mulls share buyback  

• Tech Mahindra shares rose nearly 3% to ₹822 today
• Earlier this month, Tech Mahindra had posted a better-than-expected third-quarter net profit

Informal sectors workers can start enrolling for ₹3,000 monthly pension scheme

• Each subscriber under this scheme will receive a minimum assured pension of ₹3,000 per month
• PM-SYM is a voluntary and contributory pension scheme on a 50:50 basis

Notional rent: How to calculate it and how much tax do you pay?

• Notional rent was introduced to discourage taxpayers from leaving houses vacant and create supply of properties for tenants
• Notional rent is calculated using the concepts of fair rent, municipal value and standard rent. You are allowed to deduct municipal taxes 

Cognizant used L&T to bribe govt officials in India

• Cognizant routed $3.64 million through L&T for bribes to officials in Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu
• Coburn resigned after the firm told US officials that some payments made in India could have breached the law

Pulwama attack mastermind reportedly killed by security forces

• Top Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) commander Kamran is believed to have masterminded the attack
• Four Indian Army soldiers, including a Major-rank officer, were killed in an overnight encounter with the JeM terrorists 

Amazon Apple Fest: iPhones, MacBooks, iPads available at discounted prices

• Apple iPhones are available in the sale with discounts up to ₹16,000
• The cheapest deal in the sale is the 2018 Apple iPad (Wi-Fi/32GB storage) starting at ₹25,999

Oppo F11 Pro with pop-up selfie camera, 48MP primary sensor teased

• The Oppo F11 Pro will sport a motorised pop-up selfie camera along with a rear camera module which includes a 48MP sensor
• Oppo previously launched the F9 and F9 Pro in the series last year

Malvinder accuses spiritual guru of siphoning off funds

• Documents show that Singh reached out to Babaji, as Dhillon is called, to “resolve” financial matters
• The emails show that the Singh brothers had given financial advances to the guru

RBI Governor to meet bank chiefs on interest rate transmission

• Finance minister Arun Jaitley today chaired RBI's board meeting
• RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said he can’t prejudge what the central board will decide on interim dividend

Redmi Note 7 rival Samsung Galaxy M30 to launch on February 27

• The Samsung Galaxy M30 will be a sub- ₹15,000 smartphone aimed directly at the Redmi Note 7 and Mi A2
• The Samsung Galaxy M30 will sport a new triple camera setup at the back, 5000mAh battery and an Exynos 7904 SoC with up to 6GB RAM

‘Gully Boy’ opens big in metros

• The Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt-starrer made ₹71.25 crore over its four-day opening weekend
• ‘Gully Boy’ is also making the right noise overseas

Anil Ambani group firms surge after agreement with lenders on pledged shares

•  The group will pay the principal and interest amount to the lenders as per the scheduled due dates
• It has also appointed investment bankers for part-placement of the group's direct 30% stake in Reliance Power to institutional investors

No-claim bonus in motor insurance is not insurer specific, can be easily ported

• In a standard health insurance policy, physiotherapy is covered as a post-hospitalisation expense. Most insurers allow up to 60 days of post-hospitalisation expenses. 
•  If a child starts earning, she no longer qualifies for coverage within family floater

Should you take a home loan now or wait for another rate cut?

• Decline in inflation and core basket has led to expectations of another rate cut in the policy review in April
• Consumers should know that loans like home loans are on a floating rate and the rates are reset periodically, every 3-6 months, so the cost of borrowing tends to even out

Tax ombudsmen abolished: Experts raise concern

• In the absence of the tax ombudsmen, taxpayers should be alert to the structure of the available alternative grievance systems and their limitations
• Govt said the number of new complaints had fallen to single digits, implying that fewer aggrieved taxpayers were approaching these agencies

Top performing NPS schemes: Here is a comparison

• NPS is a market linked, defined-contribution product that needs you to invest regularly in the funds of your choice
• Here is a breakdown of the performance of different funds of the private sector NPS.

Opinion | Why you should insure yourself against cancer

• The quality of insurance plans that cover cancer is uniformly good in India
• A study by EY suggests that in 75% of homes in India, the treatment cost of cancer is more than the annual income

Gift of money to son should be documented

• Transfers of a property as a gift or under a Will, will not have any tax implications for both of you
• If your father transfers the flat to you, as a sale, the resultant gain/loss would be taxable in his hands as LTCG/LTCL, as the flat has been held for over 24 months

Air India Express launches international operations from Surat

• With this, Surat has become the 20th destination in the country for the international budget arm of the flag carrier Air India
• Air India Express will fly four times a week on the new route

Yes Bank shares falls sharply as RBI censures selective disclosure

• The risk assessment report on Yes Bank prepared by RBI identified several lapses and regulatory breaches
• RBI called the disclosure a “deliberate attempt” to mislead the public

Diesel price rose by 40 paise while petrol went down by 3 paise this month  

• Since the beginning of this month, petrol has fallen by 3 paise while diesel has increased by 40 paise
• Prices of both petrol and diesel have fallen by more than ₹5 each in the last 3 months

Hartal in Kerala after two Congress workers hacked to death

• The duo, Kripesh (19) and Sharat Lal (21), were returning home when they were attacked
• The Congress alleged that local members close to the ruling Communist Party of India (Marxist) carried out the attack

Nestle India reports a 9.6% jump in December quarter profit

• In the year ago period Nestle India posted a profit of ₹311.8 crore
• Nestle India posted a 12% jump in total income at ₹2972.5 crore up from ₹2,652 crore

Paytm sees its losses surging in 2019-20

• Paytm’s growing losses have been attributed to the parent’s emphasis on expansion to take on rivals in the e-comm space
• Paytm expects its loss to surge to around ₹2,100 crore for the year ending 31 March 2020

Is the govt making enough money from its PSEs? 

• Top 5 most profitable companies made around 43.3% of the total profit made by the PSEs
• 174 of the 184 profitable firms contributed around 38% of the profit in 2017-18

Adani, GMR bid for 6 non-metro airports listed for privatization

• The Airports Authority of India received a total of 32 bids in the latest round of airport privatization
• Crisil had said that it expects the development of these six airports to attract potential investments worth $1.4 billion

Terrorism, energy pact on India’s agenda during Saudi prince visit

• India will be looking for some ‘strong language’ on terrorism in the joint statement with Saudi Arabia
• New Delhi has also been hoping for investment from Saudi Arabia in its National Investment and Infrastructure Fund

India’s goal of ending TB by 2025 will be a tough task, says Global Fund 

• India has shown remarkable leadership in acknowledging that there is a big problem with TB
• India is critically important to the global fight against diseases, but particularly TB

Saarc nations may not agree on India’s efforts to isolate Pakistan

•  It is unlikely that India will be able to convince all the members to take action against Pakistan
• Pakistan was temporarily suspended in 2007 from the membership of the Commonwealth grouping

Why blockchain has caught the fancy of IIT-B

• Blockchain is no longer just about cryptocurrencies. It is being used by healthcare, electricity firms, and others 
• IIT-B is already piloting a blockchain solution christened

Gold at two-week high on trade deal hopes; palladium peaks

• US gold futures rose 0.4 percent to $1,327.8 an ounce
• Palladium hit a record high of $1,449 an ounce and stayed in a broad $20 range in early trade

Goldman Sachs unit set to lead $60 million funding in Dailyhunt

• In recent months, Indian content startups have faced stiff competition from well-funded Chinese firms

• There is a huge potential for adoption of social media via mobile

Rupee edges lower against US dollar

• Oil prices have risen to over 3-month highs
• Most Asian currencies were higher against US dollar

Pakistan calls back high commissioner to India amid tension over Pulwama attack

• 'We have called back our high commissioner in India for consultations,' said Pakistan
• New Delhi had called back its high commissioner to Islamabad Ajay Bisaria on Friday

Oil hits 2019-high on OPEC cuts, US sanctions on Iran and Venezuela

• International Brent crude futures hit a 2019-high of $66.61 per barrel early on Monday
• US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures hit $56 per barrel for the first time this year

Airlines escape crash landing in Oct-Dec, clearer skies ahead

• Carriers post better than expected performance despite costlier fuel and a fall in passenger load factors
• Improving pricing at a time when load factors have dropped suggests that the quality of air traffic has improved

We’re very upbeat on Indian venture space: Mirae Asset

• We do not see growth capital funds as competitors, but as collaborators, says Mirae’s Ashish Dave

•  It’s not about less competition, but growth capital is a critical element in any venture ecosystem

Security cover for separatists revoked

• Other govt facilities to Mirwaiz Farooq, Abdul Ghani Bhat, Bilal Lone, Hashim Qureshi and Shabir Shah also withdrawn
• Home ministry and CRPF issue advisory to state governments to protect people of Jammu and Kashmir, especially students

The fallout of price discounting is bad news for all stakeholders

• Brick-and-mortar relied on imperfect, or limited, information, but a positive shopping experience

• Online retailing can only compete on pricing, hoping to generate brand loyalty from consumers for whom loyalty is a secondary consideration

BJP likely to announce tie-up with Shiv Sena today

• BJP president Amit Shah is in Mumbai and is likely to announce the tie-up along with Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray
• The Lok Sabha elections might see the BJP contesting 25 of the 48 seats in Maharashtra, while the Sena will contest the rest

Solving enterprise problems using Cloud and IoT

• RateGain uses AI and machine learning to provide real-time intelligence and self-learning recommendations
• We profile two enterprise tech startups that are using software as a service

Opinion: What industry 4.0 means for corporation

Robotics, AI can enable customer services 24x7 from govt agencies

Opinion | Airlines’ refund policy is all but guest-friendly

At a time when the government is subsidizing flights to help the common man fly, a parallel system that makes cancellation and rescheduling a revenue-earning tool should be nixed

RPA is about taking robot out of humans: Daniel Dines

• In RPA, software robots mimic and integrate human actions within digital systems to optimize business processes 
• A process would need lesser people to handle when RPA is applied. But it does not automatically render workers jobless

Nestlé India serves up a profit miss as selling expenses mount in Q3

• Sales have been particularly strong in prepared dishes, beverages, chocolates and milk products
• The pleasant news is that the company’s revenue growth continues to be in double digits

Co-working to co-living, millennials share it all

• To avoid nosy landlords, errant maids and housework, millennials prefer co-living rather than renting
• Not being fixated on permanent roommates helps people to learn new things and can be great for introverts 

GST compliance: Govt plans to go easy on businesses till polls

• Easing anti-evasion measures comes in the backdrop of lower indirect tax mop up in the current fiscal
• Experts said it was only a matter of time before central and state authorities went on a drive against tax evasion