Govt plans to sell BPCL, Concor, Air India by March 2020: Report

• The government plans to sell Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd, logistics firm Container Corp of India Ltd and debt-laden Air India
• The govt aims to sell these state-owned firms to local or foreign firms to raise up to ₹60, 000 crore

'No need to ban petrol, diesel vehicles; EVs picking up momentum naturally'

• The minister also said the new policy provides for making it mandatory to procure power from waste-to-energy projects
• Niti Aayog had reportedly proposed that after 2030, only electric vehicles (EVs) should be sold in India

Sensex surges over 1,000 points, regains 39,000: 10 things to know

• Many brokerages have raised their earnings estimates for India Inc and Sensex and Nifty target after the corporate tax cut
• It is important to see when FPIs will resume their buying spree: Analyst

Not much relief for IT companies FY20 post tax rate cut

• The actual tax incidence varies across IT companies depending on their exposure to tax exemption zones
• Effective tax rates of most large IT companies are already low or close to the new tax rates announced by the government

Midcaps bounce back, but earnings downgrade cycle may take time to recover

• Nifty Midcap 100 was trading at a premium of about 60% to the Nifty 50 index's trailing price-earnings multiple
• Over the longer run, mid-caps usually trade at a lower valuation compared to larger peers

Why resisting Hindi is no longer enough

The linguistic state project was about plurality, not merely language. Does the south still remember?

Choose from India’s best health policies

• Don’t stop at top-rated plans; find one that caters to your needs
• The ratings should not only help you choose a plan well but also help you develop an understanding about what to look for in health insurance

RBI panel recommendations credit positive for mortgage-backed securities

• RBI recommended standardizing loan documentation criteria
• The central bank has requested comments on the recommendations by 30 September

Health insurance covers more, but the cracks remain

One year on, the Ayushman Bharat scheme appears to suffer from both inclusion and exclusion errors

SBI to link new floating rate home, auto loans to RBI's repo rate

• The new interest rate mechanism from SBI will be effective from October
• SBI has made some modifications to its existing repo-linked home loan scheme

Steel scrappage policy to be out next month

• The proposed policy is aimed at having an assured and regular supply of processed scrap for the downstream industry
• The policy will deal with scrap from automobile, household, structural, railways, industrial sectors, among others

EPF account becomes inoperative if an employee migrates abroad permanently

• A PF account becomes inoperative and does not earn further interest, where an employee retires from service
• The accumulated PF balance due and payable to you is exempt from tax if you have rendered continuous service for a period of five years

New OnePlus devices to debut on 26 September 'Special Event': 5 things to know

• OnePlus is expected to launch the yearly successors to its 'flagship killing' devices and a brand new member in the company's lineup—the OnePlus TV
• The OnePlus TV will sport a unique design and will powered by Android with OnePlus' custom UI running atop

KTM 790 Duke launched in India, prices start ₹8.63 lakh

• The bike is powered by a four-stroke 799-cc, 8-valve DOHC engine that generates 105 HP of power and 87Nm of torque
• This is KTM's first new offering after the Duke 200 that was launched in November last year

Where to get your housing loan from: banks or HFCs?

• Experts say banks are more reliable, but NBFCs offer more flexibility and services
• Most people like to borrow from banks as their loan disbursal mechanism has proven to be effective

The story behind ‘RB 01’: The first tail number of an IAF Rafale

• Air Marshal Bhadauria has played an important role in negotiations for procuring 36 Rafale jets in the flyaway condition
• On 20 September, the IAF technically accepted the first Rafale aircraft from Dassault Aviation at its manufacturing facility in Bordeaux, France

Ogilvy names Rishabha Nayyar as national strategy lead of 82.5 Communications

• Rishabha Nayyar will have planning teams across Mumbai, Bengaluru and Delhi and will report to Kapil Arora, co-chairman and chief executive of the agency
• Ogilvy Group rebranded its creative agency Soho Square as 82.5 Communications in January this year

Auto industry to benefit from corporate tax revision: Icra

• The reduction of corporate tax rates to globally competitive levels will incentivise OEMs and their vendors to increase localisation
• Indian auto manufacturers have imported components worth $17.6 billion during 2019-20 (till now) and this is likely to increase further in 2020-21

Four Supreme Court judges take oath of office taking total strength to 34

• Justices Krishna Murari, S Ravindra Bhat, V Ramasubramanian and Hrishikesh Roy took oath in a simple function in courtroom 1 which is CJI Ranjan Gogoi's court
• On 18 Sept the Central government had cleared the SC collegiums recommended names for the appointment as Supreme Court judges

Tax incentive for new firms could spark ‘make in India’ for EV parts

• The govt’s steps are likely to boost local production of Li-ion batteries, charging equipment and other parts
• The FM said new manufacturing companies set up on or after 1 October will pay income tax at the rate of 15%

Deepika Padukone’s family office invests in Blu Smart

• Blu Smart is building an all electric ecosystem with strategic partnerships across automotive, infrastructure and energy companies
• While Padukone has invested via Ka Enterprises, other investors include JITO Angel Network, Bajaj Capital managing director Sanjiv Bajaj and Rajat Gupta

Brokerages raise Sensex targets, earnings estimates of India Inc after tax cuts

• The corporate tax cuts may improve earnings, margins of India Inc, according to analysts and fund managers
• Many brokerages have also Sensex targets

Narendra Modi wows America, Donald Trump wows India

• US President Donald Trump says border security is vital to India and its people, just as it is to the US
• This was Modi’s third event with the Indian diaspora in the US —the previous ones were in 2014 and 2015

Investor wealth zooms ₹10.35 lakh crore in two days of market rally

• The 30-share BSE Sensex soared 1,075.41 points, or 2.83%, to close at 39,090.03 on Monday
• Led by the gains in equity market, the market capitalisation (m-cap) of BSE-listed firms rose by ₹10,35,213.03 crore to ₹1,48,89,652.44 crore in two trading sessions

Decoding 5G: What does this future tech means for you

• Commercial 5G networks are starting to go live across the world
• In 2020, worldwide 5G wireless network infrastructure revenue will reach $4.2 billion, according to Gartner

Use of insolvency code in Dewan Housing will expedite resolution process

• The lenders are now preparing the resolution plan for DHFL under RBI’s new framework for resolution of stressed assets
• On 30 August, DHFL had said its board approved the plan to convert the whole or part of its debt into shares

Cricket-cinema combo brings host of brand tie-ups for ‘The Zoya Factor’

• Entertainment and cricket are the country’s biggest obsessions and the movie naturally lends itself to integration with brands
• The Audi car, Cadbury chocolates, SG equipment and ASICS shoes also make appearances in the film

In just 2 days: Investors richer by ₹10 lakh crore as Sensex jumps 3000 points

• Banking stocks have outperformed in this two-day rally
• Many brokerages have raised their Sensex targets after corporate tax cut

AIMIM to contest 20% seats in Maharashtra assembly polls

• In the 2014 state elections, apart from winning two of the 24 seats it contested, the AIMIM managed to come second and third in nine seats
• The AIMIM had called-off the alliance with VBA after being offered only eight seats

ICICI bank eyes 450 retail branches by end of fiscal

• According to Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data, fiscal 2018 and 2019 were the slowest in the last 10 years
• ICICI bank’s branch expansion comes at a time when banks are slowing down on branch expansion

iD Fresh gets ₹50 lakhs per month in revenue from Bigbasket: CEO

• iD Fresh sells its fresh foods products through five different channels
• The 15-year old company also has a larger presence in the Middle East market, which mainly targets NRIs

HRD Ministry shares data on PhD programmes, enrolments

• There are 34.8% colleges, which run only single programme, out of which 83.1% are privately managed
• A total of 1,69,170 students are enrolled in PhD programmes that is less than 0.5% of the total student enrolment

IIT graduates develop sheet that can detect heart disorders as you sleep

• The device works on a technology known as Ballistocardiography (BCG)
• The device has successfully predicted early health deterioration in conditions ranging from fever to heart failure

Reliance Cap's stake sell in mutual fund arm to be completed by month-end

• At the time of announcement, both partners held 42.88% stake each in the company, while the rest was with public shareholders
• Reliance Capital, which will receive ₹6,000 crore through sale of its stake, will utilise the amount to pare its debt

After Sitharaman’s tax bonanza come the big challenges

• The fiscal deficit can be even higher than 4% if GDP does not grow by 12% as the budget expects it to
• One option for the government is to push through genuine disinvestment by selling PSEs to private firms

Opinion | Don’t let notional losses hold policy reforms hostage

The revenue-sharing formula contained in the 1999 NTP is an example of major policy correction

Lower corporate tax may not be enough to jump-start economy

• Besides a tax cut, the government needs a boost through policy rate cuts and may also need to raise its spending
• The austerity among Indians has come partly due to wage stagnation even as cost of living went up

Gold prices today up ₹500 from one-month lows, silver rates surge

• Stronger global rates and a weaker rupee lifted domestic gold prices
• Silver, which had fallen sharply earlier, logged strong gains

SC seeks EC’s response on plea by disqualified MLAs against Karnataka bypolls

• EC had announced that the bypolls to the 15 vacant seats of the disqualified lawmakers will be held on 21 October
• A three-judge bench, headed by justice N V Ramana, agreed to hear the plea for interim relief sought by the disqualified Karnataka

Asus ROG Phone 2 launched at half the price of its predecessor: Specs, offers

• The ROG Phone II has been priced at ₹37,999 in its 'base' 8GB/128GB configuration
• The first ROG Phone, for comparison, was launched at a price of ₹69,999

Opinion | 2019 MSMR sees rise in A-rated products

A handful of products have consistently managed to stay ‘A’ rated over the years

Shares of IT companies fall as investors book profits

• Analysts said IT stocks had traded at a premium to other stocks
• The new taxation rule will be neutral event for Indian IT companies at the consolidate level, a report said

MAT breather to give a leg-up to bankruptcy resolution and M&As

• Analysts say the MAT exemption will lead to better realization of the asset sale
• The Taxation Laws (Amendment) Ordinance exempts companies opting for the lower corporate tax rate of 22% and new manufacturing firms eligible for 15% tax rate from payment of MAT

Amit Shah lays basis for digital 2021 Census, NPR rollout

• Shah also said the Centre was likely set to spend ₹12,000 crore on the 2021 Census as well as the preparation of the NPR
• The Census of 2011 had pegged the country’s population at 121 crore