Pakistan isolated further as Saudi Arabia backs India's fight against terrorism

• Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman joins Prime Minister Narendra Modi in condemning Pulwama attack
• Mohammed Bin Salman and Narendra Modi urge all countries to ‘renounce the use of terrorism as an instrument of state policy’

Saudi Aramco in talks with Reliance for more projects in India

• Saudi Aramco seeks to take its India play beyond the $44 billion Ratnagiri refinery project, which will now be relocated
• Saudi Aramco’s interest is driven by India’s energy demand, which is expected to grow at 4.2% over the next 25 years

Amazon’s new environmental report will show how bad two-day shipping is

• Ordering online uses less energy than driving to the store, but the benefits drop with faster delivery
• A challenge for Amazon, which now counts more than 100 million Prime members, all of whom are eligible for two-day shipping

Samsung announces Galaxy Fold phone with apps from Facebook, Google

• The Galaxy Fold will cost $1,980 and go on sale on 26 April, Samsung officials said at an event in San Francisco
• The device will have a 4.6-inch display while folded and a 7.3-inch display when unfolded

US concern over new trade ‘barriers’ by India may further strain bilateral ties 

• US President Donald Trump has repeatedly accused India of resorting to discriminatory trade practices
• Things worsened when the US dragged India to the World Trade Organization on its export subsidy programmes

12 PSU banks to get ₹48,000 more in FY19 as part of bank recapitalisation plan

• The fresh bank recapitalisation plan is aimed at meeting the ₹1.06 trillion revised target to recapitalise banks this fiscal
• The bank recapitalisation of weak banks is expected to boost credit growth and help PSU banks meet capital requirements

Decision on property tax cut likely on Sunday

• A ministerial panel is in favour of lowering the GST rate on under-construction properties to 5%
• The seven-member panel also favours lowering the rate on affordable housing from 8% to 3%

Nasscom ends annual growth forecast

• Nasscom chairman Rishad Premji said they were discontinuing with the annual growth forecast from this year
• Nasscom said that the industry closed above its forecast clipping at 9.2% in FY2019

Combat ready Tejas finally a reality for IAF

• Tejas accorded the final operational clearance by aviation certifying authorities
• IAF to soon issue the request for proposal for 83 Tejas MK-1A

Merger of Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank with BoB to be effective from 1 April

• As per the Scheme of Amalgamation, shareholders of Vijaya Bank will get 402 equity shares of BoB for every 1,000 shares held

• The govt in Sept last year had announced merger of state-owned Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank, with larger peer Bank of Baroda

How MGNREGS is used as a political tool

The authors use a data set that includes census and MGNREGS implementation data at the single-constituency level for Andhra Pradesh (from 2009 to 2017) across an entire election cycle (2009 to 2014)

Vodafone Idea not in favour of 5G spectrum auction before 2020: CTO

• Vodafone Idea CTO Vishant Vora said that the full integration of the two telecom networks post the mega merger last year is "on track"
• Last year, Idea and Vodafone completed the merger of their India operations to create the country’s largest telecom operator

Terrorism a common concern with India: Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman

• Saudi Arabia promises 'all kinds of cooperation' to help India in its fight against terrorismm says Mohammed bin Salman
• The crown prince, however, did not refer to the Pulwama attack or Pakistan's role in sheltering anti-India terrorist groups

IL&FS crisis: ED raids multiple locations after filing PMLA case

• The raids are on in Mumbai and locations in Delhi-NCR
• IL&FS is sitting on a debt pile of about ₹91,000 crore

EPFO in a spot after dismal CPSE ETF and Bharat 22 ETF returns

• EPFO investments in CPSE ETF and Bharat 22 ETF have yielded just 1.89% and 0.48%, respectively, as of 31 December
• EPFO has invested in CPSE ETFs in three tranches and in Bharat 22 ETF in two tranches

Pulwama fallout: 'Total Dhamaal', 'Luka Chhupi' won't release in Pakistan

• Pakistan is a sizeable market for Bollywood and brings around 5% of the overall earnings at times
• Pakistani distributors can pay a minimum guarantee of up to ₹5 crore for a big Indian film

Jet Airways bailout puts focus on India banks' debt-to-equity losses

• SBI and other creditors are planning to convert part of their loans to Jet Airways Ltd. into equity as it struggles to repay debt
• SBI isn’t alone: competitors including ICICI Bank Ltd., Bank of Baroda and Axis Bank Ltd. saw the market value of their equity holdings drop last year

What are India’s greatest and worst movies?

• Cinematic quality is tricky to measure but if user ratings on IMDb are considered, then recent releases, Aamir Khan and Rajkumar Hirani top the charts
• India’s greatest film is Anand. The 1971 film scored 8.7 from 22,168 votes and is followed by the 2013 Malayalam-hit Drishyam (8.6)

New e-commerce policy changes haven't shaken our confidence in India: Walmart

• Walmart remains optimistic about the e-commerce opportunity in India
• Walmart hopes for a collaborative regulatory process going forward which results in a level playing field

In sharp U-turn, monetary policy easing back in play across Asia

• Inflation below or barely within target across Asia;  US-China trade war, Beijing stimulus in focus
• Japan, Australia, India, Philippines turn more dovish

Mumbai sees biggest decline in home sizes, rise in affordability

• A house in Mumbai today will cost around seven times the annual household income, against 11 times in 2010
• The size of an average Mumbai property, meanwhile, has shrunk by 24% over the same time period

Supreme Court holds RCom, Anil Ambani guilty of contempt in Ericsson dues case

• Supreme Court directs RCom chairman Anil Ambani to pay ₹453 crore to Ericsson within four weeks or face three months jail
• The payment is in addition to the ₹118 crore already deposited by RCom in the Supreme Court's registry

Do we make our resume or does our resume make us?

• With the amount of fortune and time invested in building one’s career, the resume has unequivocally become the most prized possession of our lives
• A resume, on the other hand, confines us within the boundaries of repetitive job descriptions and employer expectations

India keeps fighter jet makers waiting. And waiting. And waiting

• Its rapidly aging fighter jets make it a lucrative potential prize for the likes of Lockheed Martin Corp. and Boeing Co
• India, which is hosting its flagship air show this week, has also derailed plans by Lockheed and Boeing to breathe new life into their aging F-16 and F/A-18 programs

Focusing only on 80C products won’t sort your money life

• Slowly moving towards goal-based investing has given Sunny  Goel a better grip of his finances
• He needed an emergency fund to keep him afloat in unforeseen circumstances

Prestige Group plans to sell plotted projects

• Prestige Group plans to develop housing plots and sell individual office units to investors, says CEO Venkat Narayana
• Both the strategies are expected to generate quicker cash flows and attract investors for Prestige Group

Xiaomi Mi 9 launched in China at ₹35,000. Here's a look at specifications

• Xiaomi also announced the Mi 9 Explorer Edition with a semi transparent back panel which is priced at 3,999 Yuan (about ₹42,000)
• The Mi 9 is a 5G-enabled smartphone and is powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 855 SoC paired with 6GB of RAM and 128GB internal storage

Scope of PM-Kisan may be wider than perceived

• Govt aims to reach all beneficiaries before model code of conduct comes into force
• The PM-Kisan scheme is expected to cost ₹20,000 crore in 2018-19, and ₹75,000 crore in 2019-20

Railways’ recruitment drive out of necessity or a political gimmick?

• Timing of initiative to fill 230,000 vacancies raises several questions
• Indian Railways, which has a sanctioned strength of 1,506,598, employs 1,223,622 people

India an investment priority for Saudi Aramco: CEO Amin Nasser

• Saudi Aramco is looking to tap into India's oil demand that is expected to rise to 8.2 mbd by 2040
• India at buys about 800,000 barrels a day of Saudi Arabian oil, says Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser

Vivo V15 Pro launched in India at ₹28,990: Full specifications, offers

• The Vivo V15 Pro will go on sale starting 3 March on vivo.com, Flipkart and Amazon while its pre-bookings will commence today
• The highlights of the Vivo V15 Pro include a pop-up front facing 8MP camera and a notch-free display

This is how Twitter Ads Transparency Centre will work in India

• In the Ads Transparency Centre dashboard, people can view ads that have run on Twitter within the last seven days from any Twitter handle
• No login or Twitter account would be required to access the Ads Transparency Centre

Could Karl Lagerfeld's cat Choupette inherit his millions?

• Karl Lagerfeld's cat Choupette could become the richest feline on the planet
• Choupette is something of a cult figure in the fashion world, with more than 170,000 followers on social media

PF funds' investment in IL&FS bonds have no government guarantee

• Thousands of crores of money of more than 15 lakh employees of both public and private sector companies have exposure to IL&FS bonds
• Over 50 funds that manage retirement benefits of over 15 lakh employees have exposure to IL&FS

 Recruit’s silent surge: Japan’s internet giant  

• With a constellation of 200 websites and 350 apps, Recruit is a top contender for global internet domination  
• If Recruit were a US company, it would be like having LinkedIn, Zillow and dozens of other apps—all under one roof

Top health insurance plans for you

• To give you a ready comparison of health insurance plans, we designed Mint SecureNow Mediclaim Ratings (MSMR)
• Here, only the A-rated plans have been shown

How much tax do you pay on your bond investments?

• Among debt instruments in India, there are various types of bonds available, with different features—duration, tax benets, coupon rates, and lock-ins
• Take a look at the applicable taxation before investing

Mother of all hiring drives will augment railways’ workforce

• Move aims to plug in the personnel gap arising out of 45,000 retiring each year

• One of the key questions that come up in an era of ever-increasing automation is whether we really need to replace group D employees

6 behavioural biases that can influence your money life

• The tendency to only invest in familiar investment instruments or sticking to losses in the belief that they will get recovered can harm your financial plan
• People know that they should start saving and investing early on in their life, but often don’t because of inertia

Why reinsurance has attracted IRDA scrutiny

IRDA has issued an advisory to non-life insurance firms to carry out proper due diligence when they enter into reinsurance contracts through brokers

Latte factor: Habitual spends may cost you

• Small habitual spending done consistently can put a large dent in your finances over the long term
•  Latte Factor Calculator is designed to show you just how much you are spending on a small habit, and how much it adds up to over time

Saudi Arabia sees $100 billion investment opportunity in India: Crown Prince

• Saudi Arabia has invested in India in petrochemicals and diversifying into other sectors

• The crown prince arrived here on a less than 30-hour visit Tuesday night, a day after concluding his high-profile tour of Pakistan

Only Jio, BSNL add mobile users in Dec, Voda Idea lost maximum: Trai

• Bharti Airtel reported a loss of 15 lakh subscribers taking its customer base to 34 crore

• Reliance Jio added 85.64 lakh users and BSNL 5.56 lakh customers to their network

India readies dossier on Pakistan’s support to terrorist groups

• Home minister Rajnath Singh meets India’s envoys to US, Pakistan but it's not known whether Pulwama terror attack was discussed
• India is reaching out to key countries and other major governments to garner support for its case against Pakistan

Pulwama attack fallout: India suspends Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus service

• The development comes amid escalated tensions between Pakistan and India in the wake of the Pulwama terror attack
• The cancellation of the Muzaffarabad-Srinagar bus service saw protests in the capital of Pakistan Occupied Kashmir

Not opposed to Masood Azhar ban by UN, says Saudi foreign minister

• Saudi Arabia follows a policy of zero tolerance towards terrorism, says its foreign minister Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir
• Anyone who supports and finances terrorism must be designated and punished, says the foreign minister

Coal India gets Sebi exemption for share buy back programme

• Coal India had filed an application on February 12 with Sebi seeking exemption from the strict enforcement of the buyback norms
• The application has been necessitated on account of transfer of equity shares of Coal India which were held by the promoter