Why business has its back to the wall

• Steps are needed to get businesses to invest, banks to lend, consumers to spend, and taxman to be circumspect
• While the problem of mounting unserviceable debt has dragged on for several years, a slew of steps announced by Modi govt, ostensibly to clean up the system, further added to the uncertainty

Tesla shows interest in India’s plans to build battery plants

• The robust global interest comes amid the govt’s push to make India a hub for making EVs and their components
• India will need six gigawatt-scale facilities (of 10GWh each) by 2025 and 12 by 2030, according to a NITI estimate

ICICI Bank moves to revamp its office culture, discards cabins, some grades

• The bank has scrapped grades of employees above AGM rank, retaining grades only for executive directors and MD
• The private sector lender has also allowed 500 employees access to its executive dining room, which was earlier open only to the top tier of the management

India could soon be world leader in uses of behavioural economics: Cass Sunstein

Making toilets available is one of the greatest public policy achievements in the world in the last quarter of a century, says Sunstein

Make in India is yet to create enough jobs, says L&T chairman

• A.M. Naik says that India is exporting jobs instead of goods
• More than 10 million young people enter the job market every year in India

SoftBank to lend staff $20 billion for buying stakes in 2nd Vision Fund: Report

• The second Vision Fund aims to raise $108 billion
• In addition to its employees, SoftBank is also expected to collect money from Apple, Microsoft, and Foxconn

The most stressed district courts in India

Bihar, UP and Odisha account for the bulk of highly-stressed district courts, shows an analysis based on parameters including pendency rate, infra deficit

Road developers in the dock as slow economy, liquidity crunch take a toll

• With interest costs increasing, the interest cover ratio fell from 3.8 in Q4 FY19 to 1.4 in Q1 FY20
• Subdued growth in toll collections and execution delays are risks to cash flows

Britannia Industries’ soggy Q1 FY20 leaves a bad aftertaste for investors

• Consolidated revenue growth of about 6% appears discouraging, missing Street expectations
• So far in FY20, Britannia’s shares have shed nearly 19% of their value, underperforming the Nifty 200 index

Traders flock to gold as fears of recession in the US loom large

• The World Gold Council’s outlook report showed that central banks bought 224.4 tonnes of gold in Q2 of 2019
• In its latest survey of fund managers, BofAML points out that the proportion of fund managers expecting a global recession in the next 12 months was at its highest since 2011

How a former MakeMyTrip executive built a challenger to Oyo

• Similar to Oyo, RedDoorz signs on budget hotel owners, provides them with software and standardized supplies, and trains their staff
• Both Oyo and RedDoorzare riding a surge in independent travel as younger Asians grow more affluent

Talks with Pakistan now will only be about PoK, says Rajnath Singh

• Addressing a public rally at Kalka in Haryana, Union defence Minister Rajnath Singh said if talks are held with Pakistan, it will now be on PoK
• The defence minister's comment came two days after he said India reserves the right to revoke its 'no first use' policy

SBI extends repayment period for stressed auto dealers by up to 30 days

• Passenger vehicle industry recorded its worst performance in nearly 19 years in July as sales fell 31% to 200,790 units
• The bank has an exposure of ₹11,500 crore to auto dealers

NITI Aayog plans to review laws that hinder ease of living

• The federal policy think tank will comb through all the laws in the country and make recommendations to the government, said NITI Aayog vice chairman Rajiv Kumar
• As part of efforts to improve living standards, the Modi government had in its previous term sought to extend access to amenities

Indian stock markets likely to gain as Asian peers rise on stimulus policy

• Over recent weeks, recession anxiety has led to a shakeout in financial markets
• SBI is extending loan repayment time for stressed automobile dealers by 15 to 30 days amid slowing car sales, a top bank official said

Glenmark’s debt reduction therapy does not cut much ice with investors

• The US business was impacted by a decline in sales of its Mupirocin cream
• Glenmark is undergoing a restructuring exercise

Spandana Sphoorty lists 3.7% lower than issue price

• The stock touched a high and a low of ₹849 and ₹809.20 respectively
• The IPO, open for subscription during 5-7 August, was subscribed 1.05 times

Deals Buzz: GIP eyes up to $1 billion corpus for India-focused infra fund

In other news, Lenders to grounded Jet Airways (India) Ltd have received expressions of interest (EoIs) from Anil Agarwal’s family trust, Panama-based fund Avantulo Group and a Russian firm

NCDs decoded: From income tax implications to risk factors

• NCDs work for investors who analyse, understand the firm’s fundamentals
• It is important to consider credit rating of the firm before you invest in them

Trump said Cook 'made a good case' that trade war could hurt Apple more Samsung

• Trump said Cook 'made a good case' that tariffs could hurt Apple, given that Samsung's products would not be subject to those same tariffs
• Apple's MacBook laptops and iPhones would not face the additional tariffs until December 15

Donald Trump 'not ready' for China trade deal, dismisses recession fears

• 'We're doing tremendously well, our consumers are rich,'Trump said on Sunday
• He hinted that the White House would like to see Beijing resolve ongoing protests in Hong Kong first

An AI startup keeps mega-machines at peak performance

• Bengaluru-based Flutura’s AI product helps global giants like Shell and Henkel move into the age of Industry 4.0
• Flutura is also building a separate product to enable engineers to apply AI without being experts in data science

Litmus test for govt as it moves to restore normalcy in Kashmir

• Security forces keep strict vigil on suspicious activities as govt begins to lift curbs in the region in phases
• Landline and 2G services across the valley are being restored in parts as a security measure

PM to visit UAE, Bahrain from 23 Aug in bid to boost ties

• Prime Minister Modi would receive the Order of Zayed, the highest civil decoration of the UAE
• Modi's visit to Bahrain will be the first ever Prime Ministerial visit from India

Gold prices today edge lower but silver rates slump

• Gold prices had hit record highs last week in India
• Higher gold prices have however hurt demand in India

PM lists space, education as new areas of cooperation with Bhutan

• The Prime Minister invited more students to visit India for studies in traditional areas such as Buddhism
• One of the key outcomes of the visit was Modi and Bhutanese prime minister Lotay Tshering inaugurating the 720 megawatts Mangdechhu hydel power project on Saturday

Universities reach out to Kashmiri students to bridge trust deficit

• University professors are organizing group lunches, holding counselling sessions for Kashmiri students
• As the trust deficit widens between Kashmir and heartland India, several universities are making an extra effort to reach out to Kashmir students

Hooda supports govt’s Article 370 move, says Congress has lost its way

• Hooda’s statements come just months ahead of crucial assembly elections in Haryana
• A divided Congress, which has 16 MLAs in Haryana, faces a tough electoral battle against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led by chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar

IS claims Afghanistan wedding suicide blast that killed 63 people

• The attack came as the Taliban, the US are trying to negotiate an agreement on the withdrawal of US forces in exchange for a Taliban commitment on security, peace talks with the Afghanistan govt
• Taliban denied responsibility for the blast at a west Kabul wedding hall

UK faces food, fuel and drugs shortages in no-deal Brexit: Leaked documents

• Energy minister says there is 'scaremongering' over Brexit
• The leaked documents say 85% of lorries may not be ready for French customs

Incomplete projects continue to reel under liquidity crisis

• Assess the developer’s financial situation before booking an apartment in an under-construction project
• Lack of funding to developers will directly affect the completion of projects that are under construction

Standard term plan does not cover disability

• Porting will be allowed to the individual plan of the same insurer as the group policy
• Personal accident plans cover accidental deaths and disability

'World must 'seriously consider' safety of India's nuke arsenal under Modi govt'

• Rajnath Singh had said that the future 'circumstances' would determine what would happen to India's 'no first use' policy of nuclear weapons
• Imran Khan's statement comes close on the heels of Defence Rajnath Singh's statement on the possible change in India's 'no first use' policy of nuclear weapons

Flood alert for Delhi as Yamuna nears warning level

• Yamuna was flowing at 203.37 metres on Sunday evening and its water level is expected to rise further on Monday
• Delhi govt said preparations are being made to erect tents in nearby areas to accommodate the people living in the low-lying areas

Traders body calls for boycott of Chinese goods, seeks up to 500% import duty

• The CAIT has 'given the call to boycott Chinese products to make China understand the repercussions of supporting Pakistan'
• CAIT has urged the government to levy customs duty from 300 to 500 per cent on imports of Chinese goods

Hyundai announces 'No Production Days' to suit market conditions

• The production downtime as and when they occur has been in line with the operational plans
• Transmission-1 department was under no production day on August 10 in all its three shifts while transmission-2 on August 10 and 12

Power gencos' outstanding dues from discoms rise by 30% to ₹46k crore in June

• According to PRAAPTI portal, distribution companies owed a total of ₹46,412 crore to power generation companies
• In order to give relief to power generation companies, Centre has enforced a payment security mechanism from 1 August, 2019

J&K: Curbs reimposed on movement, phones in Srinagar

• In the past 24 hours, there has been a series of protests against New Delhi's August 5 revocation of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status
• At least two dozen people were admitted to hospitals with pellet injuries after violent clashes broke out in Srinagar on Saturday night

FPIs pull out ₹8,319 crore in August amid persisting negative sentiment

• According to the depository data, FPIs sold equities worth ₹10,416.25 crore on a net basis during 1-16 August.
• FPIs, however, invested a net ₹2,096.38 crore in the debt securities during the period

Income Tax Department to adopt 'taxpayer friendly' approach

• Earlier, Sitharaman asked the tax dept to bridge the communcation gap between tax officials, assessees and sought a change in mindset amid allegations of 'tax terrorism'
• CBDT introduces a computer-generated document identification Number, which will be be quoted in any notice issued by its officials

Mahindra & Mahindra defers new investments to cope with slowdown in demand

• About 15-20% of capex from original plan could be deferred, says managing director Pawan Goenka
• Mahindra and Mahindra cut about 1,500 jobs of temporary workers since 1 April 2019

While braving rain, Hong Kong protesters flood city streets in ‘peaceful’ march

• Tens of thousands of protesters carrying umbrellas poured across the heart of Hong Kong island despite torrential rain, closing key roads
• Sunday's rally was convened as a ‘non-violent’ demonstration, according to organisers the Civil Human Rights Front

Govt mulling options to enforce ban on e-cigarettes, nicotine flavoured hookahs

• Banning such alternative smoking devices like e-cigarettes among others is one of the priorities of the Health Ministry as part of the first 100 days agenda of the second term of the Modi government
• The ministry is also learnt to have sought a legal opinion over the issue

Auto industry bets big on scrappage policy

• Automobile industry's representatives have sought an 'End of Life' policy from the Central government as a measure to arrest falling sales
• The policy, if implemented, is expected to encourage customers to go in for new purchases which will be backed-up by incentives in lieu of their old vehicles

Prestige Group looks to list commercial office portfolio

• Prestige Group currently has 11 million sq. ft of ready and rent yielding assets
• It also plans to launch projects in Mumbai and NCR as part of its strategy to enter new market

GIP eyes up to $1 billion corpus for India-focused infra fund

• The fund will aim to acquire operating assets in roads, renewables and transmission
• GIP will explore investment opportunities in infrastructure projects for 5G roll out