Government may hire auditors to settle AGR dues row

• The exercise, if successful, may help telcos and govt reach middle ground
• Vodafone Idea owes ₹50,000 cr, of which it has paid ₹2,500 cr on Monday and another ₹1,000 cr on Thursday

Homeland security to IP rights, Donald Trump visit to help seal five pacts

• Discussions are slated to span the gamut of bilateral, regional and global issues
• Another pact expected to be signed is the $2.6 billion deal for 24 Seahawk helicopters for the Indian Navy

Group ADP to pick up 49% in GMR Airports Limited

• The first tranche of Rs. 5,248 crore will be received by GMR Group immediately, which will be utilised to deleverage the Group's massive debt
• The company said that the total valuation assuming all above earn-outs are successfully consummated, may reach ₹26,475 crore

Coronavirus Live update: Fecal transmission may be behind virus’s rapid spread

• The death toll from the coronavirus outbreak in China has climbed to 2,118 as 114 more people died of the deadly infection on Wednesday, while the overall confirmed cases increased to 74,576
• US scientists create 1st 3D map of the protein used by the deadly virus to invade to and infect the human cells, a critical step toward developing vaccine and treatments

What value may lie within the doors of LIC

• The Centre’s ₹2.1 trillion disinvestment bet may rely heavily on a stake sale in LIC. What are the odds of a windfall?
• LIC will have to review its profit- sharing arrangement and improve product mix, persistency ratios for a decent valuation. Fears of government influence continue to loom over the valuation

Telcos owe around Rs22,589 cr as licence fees; rest Rs70k cr is interest,penalty

• As telecom operators scramble to comply with Supreme Court order on AGR dues, the sources said actual pending liability regarding licence fees is ₹22,589 crore
• Bharti Airtel has paid ₹10,000 crore, Vodafone Idea ₹3,500 crore and Tata Group ₹2,197 crore for both licence fee and SUC dues

CPI weights need rejig for gauging inflation better

• CPI measures the changes in the prices of goods and services that are consumed by households
• As our consumption pattern shifts, a CPI based on old weights is likely to underestimate or overestimate inflation

M&M-backed Porter in talks to raise funds

• Swiss investor LGT may lead $30 mn round in logistics company
• LGT Aspada has emerged as an active investor in the growth stages of Indian firms in the past few months

Future Lifestyle to raise over ₹600 crore from promoters, IFC

• The board has approved issuance of 5.14 million equity shares of face value of ₹2 at an issue price of ₹414 each
• The board also approved issue of 96,61,835 equity shares of face value of ₹2 each at an issue price of ₹414 per share

Centre pays Rs19,950 crore GST compensation to states

• Central govt has paid over Rs1.2 trillion towards GST compensation to states and UTs
• The govt has a target of collecting Rs1 trillion in GST cess in the current fiscal

Airtel will comply with SC’s order, pay rest of AGR dues expeditiously: Mittal

• Airtel on Monday paid ₹10,000 cr out of its liability of more than ₹35,000 cr and plans to pay the rest before 17 Mar
• Vodafone Idea has been the most hit with dues of more than ₹50,000 crore

On FLOTUS itinerary, ‘happiness class’ at a Delhi government school

• Melania Trump is likely to be received at the school by CM Arvind Kejriwal and deputy CM Manish Sisodia
• She is also expected to spend some time with the students during her visit

Amit Shah allays fears in North-East over Article 371, says it won’t be touched

• This is the second time in six months that Shah has said that ‘interests of North-Easterns’ won’t be harmed
• Amit Shah says incorrect messages are being sent out that Centre would scrap Article 371

Sunil Mittal meets Telecom Minister amid AGR turmoil

• Sunil Mittal said the telecom industry is vital to the nation and its digital future
• Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea together serve 61% of the telecom users in India

Inflation upset RBI monetary policy panel’s rate cut plan, show minutes

• Minutes show RBI rate-setting panel is ready to cut policy rates as soon as headroom opens up
• Members are worried over the recent rise in inflation but believe it would begin to drop soon

Retail sales of passenger vehicles fall 4.6% in Jan

• Subdued customer sentiment and a low base seen behind decline in sales
• Decline in sales shows persistent unease in consumer sentiment, sluggish economic growth

SAP advises ‘work from home’ after few employees test H1N1 positive

• SAP says few cases of H1N1 (Swine flu) have been detected out of its Ecoworld office in Bengaluru
• As a precautionary measure SAP’s offices across Bengaluru, Mumbai and Gurugram will temporarily remain closed until further notice

DHFL reports net profit in Q3, but auditors wary

• Stressed lender posts ₹934 cr stand-alone net profit, primarily on a tax adjustment
• During the Dec quarter, DHFL gains from a deferred tax adjustment of ₹1,102 crore

Production will be hit if virus woes continue: boAt’s Aman Gupta

Aman Gupta, co-founder of boAt Lifestyle, elaborates on the philosophy behind boAt, the company’s future plans, impact of coronavirus and why manufacturing in India is important

IRCTC stock zooms 500% over IPO price in four months

• On a standalone basis, IRCTC's net profit jumped 179.6% to ₹205.80 crore in Q3
• Revenue from internet ticketing segment surged 310.16% YoY to ₹226.90 crore

Railways HR services digitized, launches new mobile app for its employees

• The mobile application -- HRMS Employee Mobile App for Indian Railways -- was launched by Railway Board Chairman Vinod Kumar Yadav
• The data of 93% (11.19 lakh) serving railway employees has already been collected in this module

India will not 'rush into' a trade deal with US: MEA

• Around five MoUs are under discussion, MEA spokesman Raveesh Kumar said
• Issue related to H1-B visa will figure during PM Modi- Donald Trump talks, says the MEA spokesman

How to safeguard your data while using voice-activated virtual assistants

If exploited, smart devices can expose your personal data to cybercriminals

US markets tumble as coronavirus fears mount

• At 12:11 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 283.37 points, or 0.97%, at 29,064.66 and the S&P 500 was down 32.79 points, or 0.97%, at 3,353.36
• Technology stocks led the slide, with Microsoft down 2.5% and Apple and Amazon.com dropping 1.3% each

New Delhi downplays Donald Trump's comments that US not treated well by India

• The MEA spokesperson said the India-US relationship is progressing from strength to strength
• The US remains the top trading partner for India in terms of trade in goods and services, followed by China

309 applicants for one post of constable; Ashok Gehlot promises 50,000 jobs

• Despite several vacancies getting stuck in legal tangles and the proverbial red tapes, Gehlot sounded confident of creating around 50,000 jobs this year
• For the post of 5,483 constables, announced to be filled this year, around 17 lakh applications have been received.

Fitch takes Bharti Airtel off 'watch negative'

• Vodafone Idea on Monday paid ₹2,500 crore towards dues related to adjusted gross revenue (AGR) and deposited an additional ₹1000 crore today
• The development comes after Supreme Court on Friday pulled up Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea as well as officials of DoT for delaying the payment of dues

DRDO anti-drone system to be deployed for Trump-Modi roadshow

• Donald Trump and PM Narendra Modi will take part in a 22km-long roadshow in Ahmedabad and jointly address a gathering at the newly- built cricket stadium in Motera
• The DRDO system is equipped to instantaneously detect and identify drone threats and terminate them

Westinghouse set to sign pact with NPCIL for nuclear reactors during Trump visit

• US has been discussing the sale of nuclear reactors to India since a 2008 landmark civil nuclear energy pact
• Donald Trump has made bilateral trade with India a top priority, seeking greater market access for U.S. products from farm goods to motorcycles

India rejects China's objection to Amit Shah's visit to Arunachal Pradesh

• Arunachal Pradesh is an 'integral and inalienable' part of India, says MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar
• Objecting to the visit of Indian leaders to an Indian state does not stand to reason and understanding of the Indian people, the MEA spokesperson said

Crisil cuts Vodafone Idea NCD rating, cites likely lack of relief on AGR dues

• Vodafone Idea on Monday paid ₹2,500 crore towards dues related to AGR, will pay ₹1,000 crore more by Friday
• Vodafone owes ₹50,000 crore in AGR dues

SBI Cards IPO to open for subscription on March 2

• SBI Cards plans to issue new shares worth ₹500 crore and will offer up to 130.5 million shares for sale, the prospectus, showed

Oppo launches trial version of ColorOS 7. Check devices that will get the update

• The trial version of ColorOS 7 can be accessed on ten Oppo handsets
• The company is claiming seamless and fast user experience with the new update

Nearly 900,000 pangolins trafficked in Southeast Asia: watchdog

Scientists have long suspected that the virus, which has killed more than 2,100 people and infected 74,000, was passed from an animal to a human at a market in the central Chinese city of Wuhan

CBI court adjourns hearing in Aircel Maxis case to 4 May

• Investigating agencies sought time to complete probe in the matter
• Letters rogatory had been sent to four countries and their response is awaited