Delhi Anaj Mandi fire: 43 dead, several critically injured, probe ordered

• The death toll is likely to climb as many of the injured have suffered grievous injuries, said fire, police officials
• Many people trapped inside were rescued and rushed to RML Hospital and Hindu Rao Hospital, a Delhi fire service official said

Personal income tax rate cut soon, hints Nirmala Sitharaman

• When asked how soon there will be a relief on personal income tax, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, 'wait for the Budget'
• A cut in personal income taxes would put more pressure on government’s finances, especially as tax collections have remained tepid

Market outlook: Macro-data, growth pangs to drive equity indices' trajectory

• Macro-economic data along with the direction of foreign fund flows and US Fed's monetary policy are expected to influence the equity market's trajectory next week
• The rupee's movement against the US dollar and the progress of US-China trade deal will also impact investors' risk-taking appetite

5 of top-10 most valued Indian firms add ₹56,877 crore in market valuation

• TCS, Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Infosys were among the top gainers
• HDFC Bank, HUL, HDFC, ITC and SBI suffered losses in their market valuation in the week ended on Friday

Airtel's mobile app flaw exposes data of 32 crore subscribers

A Bengaluru-based researcher, who first noticed the fault, said the flaw existed in one of Airtel's API that allowed people to fetch sensitive user information of any Airtel subscriber

FPIs turn net sellers in Indian capital markets in December amid weak macro data

• Foreign investors pulled out a net sum of ₹1,668.8 crore from equities.
• FPIs, however, invested ₹1,424.6 crore on a net basis in the debt segment, resulting in a total net outflow of ₹244.2 crore in December so far

Zomato looks to become profitable by end-2020

• The company's current cash burn is $15 million per month
• Zomato recently announced plans to raise up to $600 million in a new funding round

North Korea says it carried out 'very important test'

• US President Donald Trump said he'd be "surprised" by any hostile action from the North
• North Korea said, the result of the latest test will have an 'important effect' on changing the 'strategic position' of Pyongyang

Telangana encounter: NHRC begins probe, PIL in SC seeks action against police

• A 7-member NHRC team visited the site where the 4 men arrested on charge of gang-rape-murder of a veterinarian were shot dead in an alleged encounter
• Telangana police registers a case in connection with the alleged encounter

Airtel allows unlimited calling to any network; announces 3 new bundled plans

• Airtel lifts FUP limit on voice calls for all unlimited pre-paid plans
• With the removal of limit, Airtel's new ₹399 plan with 56 days validity becomes cheaper than that of Reliance Jio plan at same price

I-T Dept searches 39 locations to check tax evasion by BSE brokers, traders

• The unscrupulous entities have secured desired profits/losses, which is estimated to be more than ₹3,500 crore
• The action was taken against those who were involved in facilitating 'accommodation of profits/losses' through reversal trades in illiquid stock options

We are moving towards a harassment-free taxation regime: Nirmala Sitharaman

• Sitharaman appealed to tax assessees to approach her office when facing harassment at the hands of tax officials
• Sitharaman today also said the Centre will soon have a streamlined GST regime for all assessees

Sitharaman’s tax promise

Nirmala Sitharaman has sought to reassure Indian industry of a favourable tax regime

AI on Wall St: Robots in finance could wipe out some of its highest-paying jobs

• The use of algorithms in electronic markets has automated the jobs of tens of thousands of execution traders, said former head of machine learning at AQR Capital Management LLC Marcos Lopez de Prado
• During the almost two-hour hearing, lawmakers asked experts about racial and gender bias in AI

India’s real estate sector is in 'deep trouble': Raghuram Rajan

• The RBI should carry out an asset quality review of the non-bank finance companies, says the former RBI governor
• 'There is also significant distress in rural areas,' Rajan wrote in a magazine

Criminal justice system may soon witness a facelift as govt mulls major change

• The govt is now looking into the minutiae of criminal laws that will not just address crimes such as mob lynching, rape but will also look at fast tracking justice
• The govt has reached out to all states, asking them to 'send their suggestions for undertaking this major overhaul and recasting of criminal laws'

Gold suffers big loss, down for third day, silver rates slump

• Gold prices are now down about ₹2,300 per 10 gram in about three months
• The latest trigger for the tumble in gold rates is strong US jobs data

Will soon streamline GST regime for all assessees: Nirmala Sitharaman

• Currently, there are four key tax slabs—5%,12%,18% and 28%—under the new indirect tax regime that was rolled out on 1 July 2017
• Sitharaman at HTLS 2019 also said the government is committed towards paying compensation to the states for their revenue shortfall

NEFT money transfer facility to be available 24×7 soon: 5 things to know

• RBI announced to make the NEFT system available on a 24x7 basis from December 16
• This means you will be able to send and receive money anytime

NSC: Interest rate, maturity amount, income tax benefits explained

• NSCs or National Savings Certificate have a lock-in of five years
• Currently, the interest rate is same as that offered on PPF

India Post Payments Bank: QR card without PIN, doorstep banking, unique features

• One can open a regular savings account at India Post Payments Bank with zero balance
• With the regular savings bank account, the bank provides an unique QR card

Railways saving ₹1,100 crore per year in diesel cost with this new technology

• The HOG technology works with an improvised converter has been developed, which is fitted in Electric locomotives which can replace the diesel generators
• The air-conditioned coaches which is running on the End-on-Generation (EOG) system produces an unbearable noise of around 100dB

Congress CMs hit out at govt for non-payment of GST revenue compensation

• At the 17th Hindustan Times Leadership Summit 2019, Amarinder Singh and Bhupesh Bhagel addressed issues such as leadership in the Congress party, recent encounter in Telangana and nationalism
• The comments from the CMs come at a time when Jharkhand is conducting assembly elections

Pentagon chief Mark Esper wants to reallocate US forces to Indo-Pacific

• Pentagon wants to prioritize the deployment of US forces to the Asia-Pacific from other areas, including Afghanistan, to confront a growing military competition with China
• The US strategy has shifted to confronting China and Russia, as the primary challenges, supplanting the war on terrorism

Jharkhand polls: Voting ends in 18 seats amid violence; turnout over 55%

• The final voter turn out percentage will come after polling concludes in two more Assembly seats at 5 pm
• In poll related violence, one youth was killed in police firing and six, including three policemen, were injured in the Sisai constituency of Gumla district

Hyderabad encounter: Justice must never take form of revenge, says CJI

• The Chief Justice's remarks gain significance in the backdrop of 'encounter' killings of four people accused of rape-murder of a veterinarian by Telangana police
• 'I believe justice loses its character of justice if it becomes revenge,' said Sharad Arvind Bobde

Cambridge Analytica deceived Facebook users, says FTC

• The FTC ruling prohibits Cambridge Analytica from making misrepresentations about the extent to which it protects users' privacy
• The ruling has come after Facebook in July agreed to pay record-breaking $5 billion to the FTC as fine

Govt won’t raise questions on genuine business decisions taken by banks: PM Modi

• Extend loans without fear, PM Modi told bankers at the 17th Hindustan Times Leadership Summit
• 'Unlike previous govts, we aren't doing politics of promises, we are taking the country towards politics of performance,' said Modi

'China has plenty of money': Trump asks World Bank to stop lending to China

• The statement by the US President has come after the World Bank agreed to provide financial assistance to China with a five-year low-interest loan programme
• The World Bank has agreed to issue aid to China despite the objections by the US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin

Netflix on India binge, to spend ₹3,000 cr

• Founder and CEO Reed Hastings said India will see unrivalled investment from both foreign and local streaming companies in the coming years
• At HTLS 2019, Hastings said Netflix plans to push its mobile subscription plan, the first such option in the world

Vodafone Idea will shut shop if there is no govt support: Kumar Mangalam Birla

• ‘There is no company in the world that can pay that kind of fine ( ₹40,000 cr) in three months,’ said the Aditya Birla Group chairman at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit
• Birla’s comments were quick to send Vodafone Idea shares tumbling in Friday’s trade, ending 5.34% lower on Friday to ₹6.92

Goldman Sachs says case to diversify with gold ‘as strong as ever’

• While Goldman said the correction on bullion prices has further room to run, the bank is still sticking to its forecast prices will climb to $1,600 over the next year
• The precious metal climbed to a six-year high in September as the Federal Reserve cut borrowing costs

Gave my kids freedom to follow their passion: Kumar Mangalam Birla

• Aditya Birla Group chief says he would have done things differently if given the option
• Kumar Mangalam Birla said that growing up he did not have a choice to pick his own career path, unlike children today who have options to pursue their own interests

WhatsApp new features update: Dark mode, battery-saving option, delete messages

• The most-anticipated Dark Mode feature is still under development
• We bring to you some of the latest WhatsApp updates that were rolled out this week

ICICI Pru's new insurance plan covers diabetics, others with health conditions

• ICICI Prudential's new life insurance plan is designed to benefit those who have existing medical conditions
• Based on the protection the customer wants, ICICI Pru Precious Life offer two kinds of term cover — life option and life plus option

H-1B visa: USCIS rolls out new electronic registration process

• The US Citizenship and Immigration Services would start accepting the H-1B petitions from April 1, 2020 for the next fiscal year
• Companies applying for H-1B visas for foreign workers for the fiscal year 2021 would have to register online and pay a processing fee of $10

SBI to soon block old ATM-cum-debit cards

• SBI customers can replace their ATM-cum-debit card by either by visiting their Home Branch or through internet banking
• SBI has also informed its customers that they don't have to pay anything for upgrading their card to new EMV chip card

Senior citizen bank fixed deposit (FD) rates at 9.5%. Check interest rates here

• All the top lenders including, State Bank of India (SBI), ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and others give 50 basis point to senior citizens
• Senior citizen bank FD rates: The interest rate offered by small finance banks are higher than bigger banks

File your belated ITR this month or pay higher penalty from January

• You have time till March 2020 to file you belated income tax returns (ITR) for FY 2018-19
• Filing of belated ITR by December 31 can save you ₹5,000 in penalty

PAN card: What will happen if you don't link it with Aadhaar this month

• Your PAN card risks invalidation if it is not linked to Aadhaar card within this month
• The income tax department has extended the PAN-Aadhaar linking deadline by seven times so far

Employees Provident Fund (EPF) subscriber? Don't forget to complete KYC

• It is in your interest to update your KYC details in the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) portal
• Here is how to update your KYC for your EPF account online

Film review: Desultory adultery in 'Pati Patni Aur Woh'

• In Mudassar Aziz's film, a married man falls for a young single woman
• The best thing about 'Pati Patni Aur Woh' is Aziz's ear for comic dialogue