SoftBank’s Rajeev Misra used campaign of sabotage to hobble internal rivals

• The man atop world’s biggest tech fund paid an intermediary to smear them, people familiar with the matter say; a Misra spokesman said he did not orchestrate the effort
• Misra’s targets were Nikesh Arora, who was once heir apparent to Masayoshi Son as chief executive, and Alok Sama, a deputy to Arora

RBI approves appointment of Sumant Kathpalia as IndusInd Bank CEO for 3 years

• A chartered accountant by qualification, Sumant Kathpalia has been with the bank since 2008
• In October last year, the bank had said its board finalized a potential candidate for the position of managing director & chief executive after Romesh Sobti's term comes to an end in March 2020

US stocks in correction territory on coronavirus fears, Dow plunges 600 points

• The losses came after US public health officials confirmed a coronavirus case in California, the first affliction of unknown origin
• Shares of Microsoft Corp fell more than 4% after the company warned of weakness in PC business due to a hit to its supply chain from coronavirus outbreak

Two SITs to probe northeast Delhi violence; death toll mounts to 38

• On Thursday, the violence ebbed but did not subside completely and thousands of people began picking up the pieces of their shattered lives and livelihoods
• The police have registered 18 FIRs and arrested 106 people in connection with the violence in which 34 people

Tata Motors, two group finance firms accused of antitrust violations in India

• The CCI has powers to impose a penalty of up to 10% of the relevant turnover of a company in the last three financial years if it is found to have abused a dominant position
• The Tata Group has faced antitrust reviews in the past

IndiGo launches co-branded credit card Ka-Ching with HDFC Bank, MasterCard

• The credit cards will be available in two variants--the basic ‘6E Rewards’ and the premium card ‘6E Rewards XL’
• IndiGo and HDFC Bank aim 1 million cards in three years

Q3 GDP growth seen at 4.7%, coronavirus poses risk to nascent recovery: Analysts

• At 4.5%, India suffered its weakest expansion in over six years in the September quarter
• In its annual budget, the government estimated economic growth in the current fiscal year ending in March would be 5%, the lowest for 11 years

PNB fraud case: Sebi slaps penalty of ₹5 crore on Mehul Choksi, others

• Sebi has penalised Choksi, Gitanjali Gems and Dhanesh Sheth, the whole-time director of Gitanjali, for failing to make various requisite disclosures
• This is the highest ever penalty imposed on a company for disclosure violations

Govt will take steps if coronavirus threatens raw material supplies: Sitharaman

'Some industries felt that if after two months the situation does not improve regarding containing the virus they may start having some problems of raw material availability,' the FM said

Coronavirus impacts demand for Corona Beer

Corona, which derives its name from the Sun's corona and has nothing to do with the virus

China reports rise in new coronavirus cases, warns of risk of rebound

• The total number of confirmed cases on mainland China has now reached 78,497
• Also, some coronavirus patients discharged from hospitals after recovery have been readmitted after testing positive again

Delhi riots, anti-CAA protests have not dampened investor sentiment: Sitharaman

• In Guwahati, she said the investors she met in her recent visit to Saudi Arabia expressed willingness to invest more in the country
• Raw material supplies to industries likely to be hit due to coronavirus crisis if situation doesn't improve in two months, says finance minister

'Namaste Trump' watched by almost twice as many people as Oscars 2020

• According to data by BARC, the mega event at the world's largest cricket stadium had a total of 11.69 billion viewing minutes across India
• The BARC estimated that 46 million people watched the event on 180 television channels across India

Indians emerge as fastest growing nationality for UK student visa applications

• Indian professionals also held on to their global lead in the Tier 2 skilled visa category for the UK
• The UK’s Office for National Statistics (ONS) found that over 37,500 Indian students received a Tier 4 (Study) visa in 2019, which marks a 93% increase from the previous year

AGR-hit Vodafone Idea wants 7-8 times hike in mobile data tariffs

• Current mobile internet prices are in the range of ₹4-5 per GB
• The loss-making telco is under pressure to clear adjusted gross revenue dues of more than ₹50,000 crore to comply with a Supreme Court order

Virus scare jolts India to extend flying ban to Iran after China

• At present only Iran Air and Mahan Air operates several weekly flights to Indian cities of Mumbai and New Delhi
• India has already banned flights to China, while airlines have restricted flights to Hong Kong following the outbreak.

Huawei plans to train 2 million ICT professionals in 5 years

• Huawei has partnered with more than 600 international universities to set up Huawei ICT academies
• To meet new requirements and challenges, Huawei ICT Academy Programme will enter second phase in 2020

Coronavirus might lead to S&P 500's decline by 20%, say experts

In a world struggling to deal with the fast-spreading coronavirus, talk of a 20% decline is starting to emerge

Jet Airways lenders to seek fresh Expression of Interest for the carrier

• The airline which was grounded in April last year, owes more than ₹8,000 crore to banks, with those from the public sector having significant exposure
• The earlier deadline for submitting the bids was February 18

Flying ban on Kunal Kamra reduced to 3 months, IndiGo tells Delhi HC

• Delhi HC disposes the petition filed by Kamra with a direction to the DGCA to decide his representation within 8 weeks
• Kamra was banned from flying after he heckled journalist Arnab Goswami on an IndiGo flight

Apple to open first online store in India, could help shore up portfolio

• Company doesn’t want “somebody else to run the brand” for it
• Cook also said Apple hasn’t received the Indian government’s approval yet.

Chandrababu detained at Vizag airport; eggs, tomatoes and chappals hurled at him

Naidu was taken into preventive custody at the airport for his 'safety' after ruling YSR Congress workers staged a protest opposing his visit

US politicians turn to dating apps for votes

Dating apps have grown in popularity in US, making them fertile territory to connect with voters

IKEA in talks with govt over import tax hike, plans to increase local production

• IKEA says it is evaluating the impact of the government decision to hike import duty
• The company is looking to open big stores as well as small formats in the big cities of Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru

US gas developer rattled as biggest Indian buyer seeks competing deal

• The development highlights how a flood of new supply and record low spot prices are strengthening buyers’ hands and ramping up competitive pressure among sellers

With revenues falling, income tax dept rake up old demonetisation cases

• About 15,000 Indian jewellers have been sent tax demands
• Income tax authorities are seeking around ₹50,000 crore from people in the gems and jewellery sector

Give double punishment if anyone from AAP found involved in riots: Kejriwal

• Delhi govt to give ₹10 lakh to families of those killed in riots, ₹2 lakh to those seriously injured, said Arvind Kejriwal
• Delhi govt to set up special camps for people to get documents burnt during arson, violence, said CM

Samsung vows to improve Galaxy S20 Ultra's camera issues

• Reviews from publications have highlighted that the autofocus system is unreliable
• Galaxy S20 Ultra's camera system is one of its main selling points, including a huge 108MP sensor

Saudi Arabia suspends entry for pilgrims over coronavirus

• Some 2.5 million faithful travelled to Saudi Arabia from across the world to take part in last year's hajj -- one of the five pillars of Islam
• Saudi Arabia, which so far has reported no cases of virus but has expressed alarm over its spread in neighbouring countries, said suspensions were temporary

Oppo's Reno 3 Pro available for pre-booking ahead of launch

• The camera specifications have been shared on the dedicated promotional page on its website
• The smartphone will come with a quad-camera setup

Hero MotoCorp launches BS6 compliant Super Splendor. Details here

• Super Splendor BS6 is powered by an all-new 125cc engine with programmed fuel injection
• The bike comes in two variants, one with drum brake and the other with disc brakes

Karnataka HC grants interim stay on CCI probe into Flipkart

• Flipkart got a stay on the same lines as Amazon, said one person directly involved in the matter
• CCI had in January ordered a probe into alleged violations of competition law by Amazon and Flipkart

Govt plans to spend ₹1.5 lakh crore on rollout of prepaid electricity meters

• The prepaid meters are expected to help to improve billing and collection, which are the most basic problems facing the country’s ailing distribution companies, known as discoms