Issue of interim dividend may come up at RBI board meeting

• Interim dividend may come up for discussion as the govt struggles to meet its fiscal deficit target of 3.3%
• There would be at least one board meeting of RBI before this fiscal comes to an end, say sources

Air India unions to demand voluntary retirement scheme in Monday meeting

Hardeep Singh Puri is set to meet over a dozen Air India unions, including unrecognised ones, on Monday for the second time in a month over the airline's privatisation plans.

DoT examining if 23 Jan deadline for AGR payment applies to non-telecom PSUs

• The PSUs too have been asked to make payments related to statutory liabilities
• DoT has estimated over ₹2.4 tn in liability for non-telecom firms, including GAIL, PowerGrid, which had taken licences to trade broadband on optic fibre running along their pipelines, transmission lines

‘SC verdict on access to internet seminal, progressive, balanced’

• The access to internet being a fundamental right, it is a path-breaking decision as internet is a means of getting information
• SC has not transgressed into the powers of government with this judgement, which reflects all the submissions of the govt

2,838 Pakistanis, 914 Afghans given citizenship in last six years: Sitharaman

• Coming down heavily on the opponents of the CAA, Sitharaman said those who don't speak about human rights are speaking against CAA
• She also said the state governments cannot say that the law will not be implemented

India, Sri Lanka seek closer military ties as China clout grows

• India's NSA Ajit Doval met Saturday with recently elected Sri Lanka President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and discussed setting up a maritime research coordination centre
• The meeting followed Rajapaksa's visit to New Delhi in late November for talks with PM Modi, who offered $450 mn in aid to Sri Lanka

India may miss tax collection target for 2019-20 by nearly Rs2.5 lakh cr: Garg

• Subhash Chandra Garg from the tax revenues perspective, 2019-20 is proving to be a dysfunctional year
• Former finance secretary says corporate tax, excise duties and customs are likely to see negative growth in collections in 2019-20

'Won't remain a mute spectator': Governor on Kerala govt moving SC against CAA

• 'This is not a personal fight. What is important is the Constitution and law of land,' says Arif Mohammed Khan on the tussle with Kerala government over the CAA
• Khan had earlier said that the citizenship law has to be implemented as there is no other option and the states have to implement it under Article 254

Pre-budget rally is the latest hope for the markets

• When the stockmarket resumes trading on Monday, it would also be responding to the quarterly results of RIL, TCS, and HDFC Bank, the 3 biggest heavyweights in Indian market indices
• As long as there are no negative surprises, it seems there’s hope for the markets, despite their high valuations

Indian school teacher undergoes treatment for Streptococcal infection in China

• Preeti Maheshwari, a teacher at an international school in Shenzhen, is being treated for the infection, her husband said
• Chinese city of Wuhan is currently under the grip of a new mysterious viral pneumonia

'Is Whatsapp down?': Twitterati report media transfer issues on messaging app

• Many WhatsApp users taking to Twitter complained about facing an issue with media transfer
• #whatsappdown became top worldwide trending topic on Twitter in no time

State ministers explore ways to check GST evasion on gold

• The ministerial panel decided to take suggestions from various agencies including firms that import gold and from income tax officials
• Kerala has reported a drastic fall in taxes collected from the levy on gold since the implementation of GST in July 2017

Airtel announces ₹179 prepaid bundle with built-in life insurance cover

• The Airtel new prepaid plan offers unlimited calling to any network, 2 GB data, 300 SMS along with a term life cover of ₹2 lakh from Bharti AXA Life Insurance
• The pack has a validity of 28 days and is targeted at entry-level users users in semi-urban, rural markets

Reliance outpaces industry in petrol, diesel sales from its outlets

• Reliance registered an 11% growth in diesel sales and 15% growth rate in petrol sales from its 1,394 fuel retail outlets
• This is compared to industry growth rate of 0.2% for diesel and 7.1% for petrol

Commerce ministry moots limiting liquor purchase to 1 bottle at duty-free shops

• If accepted by the finance ministry, the proposal could be a part of the Budget 2020-21 to be presented by FM Nirmala Sitharaman on 1 February
• Duty-free shops are licensed as private warehouse under Section 58 of the Customs Act, 1962

‘Not averse to foreign investment but investors must comply with policies’

• Representatives of CAIT issued a statement post their meeting with Piyush Goyal in the capital on Saturday
• The meeting between CAIT and Piyush Goyal comes a few days after Amazon promised fresh investments to the tune of $1 billion in India

Telangana municipal polls: Advantage TRS as Congress, BJP caught off-guard

• The timing of the polls and the preparedness of the TRS has left both the opposition parties behind
• The ruling party, led by chief minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao (KCR), has filed nominations for 2,972 wards

Bangladesh PM says CAA 'not necessary', but it is India's 'internal affair'

• 'Bangladesh has always maintained that the CAA and NRC are internal matters of India,' said Sheikh Hasina
• Soon after the CAA was passed, Dhaka called off high-level visits and meetings in New Delhi

Why gold prices may still rise despite big gains last year

• Gold prices have surged by about a third since August
• Many fund managers see the rally in gold extending further this year

Nirmala Sitharaman likely to set realistic nominal GDP target at 9.5-10%

• Revenue estimates and fiscal deficit targets are also likely to be circumspect as not to face a situation of failing to meet them
• The PMO, which is closely associated the budget has told North Block not to set over-ambitious tax, fiscal deficit targets

Arvind Kejriwal releases 'guarantee card', promises free bus rides for students

• Arvind Kejriwal today released a 'guarantee card' listing 10 promises that AAP will deliver on if it is elected to rule Delhi again
• Kejriwal promised to continue the scheme for free electricity up to 200 units, free health facilities and to plant 2 crore saplings in the national capital over the next 5-year

Railways to replace Urdu with Sanskrit on station signboards in Uttarakhand

• The railway signboards which have names of stations written in Hindi, English, Urdu will now be written in Hindi, English and Sanskrit
• The decision has been taken as per provisions of the Railway Manual, which says that names of the stations should be written in Hindi, English and in the 2nd language of the state

Disney removes 'Fox' from 20th Century Studios, Searchlight Pictures

According to Variety, the 20th Century Fox film studio will be rechristened as 20th Century Studios, and Fox Searchlight Pictures will become Searchlight Pictures

Iran says it is preparing for satellite launch

• Telecommunications Minister Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi tweeted about the development
• Iran says its satellite program, like its nuclear activities, is aimed at scientific research and other civilian applications

Govt considering specific excise duty on ATF

• Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present her second budget on February 1
• ATF presently is chargeable at 11% ad valorem rate of excise duty

Six of top-10 Indian firms add ₹62,773 crore in m-cap; HUL, RIL top the list

• HUL's valuation zoomed by ₹22,827.94 crore to ₹4,45,778.10 crore, topping the gainers' chart
• Among the top losers, SBI took the biggest hit as its m-cap plunged by ₹12,717.6 crore to ₹2,83,802.65 crore

Petrol, diesel prices cut for 4th straight day. Check latest rates

• The petrol now costs ₹75.09 a litre in Delhi, ₹80.68 a litre in Mumbai, ₹77.68 a litre in Kolkata and ₹78.01 a litre in Chennai after the price cut
• Diesel costs ₹68.45 a litre in Delhi, ₹71.77 a litre in Mumbai, ₹70.81 per litre in Kolkata and ₹72.33 a litre in Chennai

Investment in equity mutual funds drops 41% to ₹75,00 crore in 2019

• Equity and equity-linked saving schemes (ELSS) attracted an inflow of ₹74,870 crore in 2019, much lower than ₹1.2 trillion seen in 2018, Amfi data said
• Experts, however, are of the view that equity schemes will attract investor interest this year as the market is expected to perform well

Sai Baba temple to remain open amid indefinite shutdown at Shirdi from today

• Sai Baba temple at Shirdi will remain open on 19 January, says CEO Shri Saibaba Sansthan Trust
• Devotees will not face any difficulty if they come to Shirdi Baba Temple, said B. Wakchaure, a member of Saibaba Sansthan Trust

WhatsApp won't work on a number of phones from 1st Feb. Is yours on the list?

• WhatsApp will also not work on a number of Android and iOS phones from 1 February, 2020
• On 31 December 2019, WhatsApp withdrew support for Windows Phones

SBI revises FD rates. How they compare with Yes Bank, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank

• SBI new FD rates are effective from 10th January
• ICICI Bank, Yes Bank, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank offer FDs maturing in 7 days to 10 years

Govt launches website for ready-to-move-in flats: 10 things to know

• India's first e-commerce housing portal, HousingForAll.com will be opened for homebuyers from February 14
• Through this portal, lowest priced inventory will be made available by builders

New debit and credit card rules: Switch on, off your card, set your own limit

• Cardholders will have an option to switch on and switch off their cards
• RBI has issued a host of new regulations to curb misuse

Higher interest than bank FDs: This govt senior citizen scheme open till March

• Any individual who is 60 can avail the benefits of Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Yojana
• The scheme can be purchased offline as well as online, through Life Insurance Corp. of India

Mumbai-Ahmedabad Tejas starts its journey today, fastest train on this route

• Passengers can book their tickets exclusively on IRCTC website www.irctc.co.in and its mobile app 'Irctc Rail Connect'
• In a first, IRCTC decided to pay the travellers Mumbai-Ahmedabad Tejas Express is delayed

India’s top airports under DGCA lens to curb unsafe ground handling practices

• DGCA said through periodic checks, it is trying to improve the safety standards. It is covering 10 top airports from last 3-month and have done series of checks
• The DGCA will also add 5 new airports—Patna, Bhubaneshwar, Coimbatore, Jaipur and Vishakhapatnam—in its periodic checks

CAA, NRC 'internal matters' of India: Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina

• Sheikh Hasina has termed CAA and NRC as 'internal matters' of India, but at the same time said the act was 'not necessary'
• She voiced concern that any 'uncertainty' in the country is likely to affect its neighbours

Mumbai shopping malls, restaurants to remain open 24X7 from end of this month

• The long-pending proposal to keep all restaurants, malls, multiplexes, shopping plazas open 24x7 was given the green signal late on Thursday by Environment & Tourism Minister Aditya Thackeray

Google introduces online coding course 'Python' to train workers

• The program includes a final project where learners will use their new skills to solve a problem they might encounter in a job
• 'Python is now the most in-demand programming language,' said Natalie Van Kleef Conley Product Lead, Grow with Google

'As long as Delhi has an honest govt, no pvt school can arbitrarily hike fees'

• Arvind Kejriwal said like the last five years, his government will continue to control the school fees in Delhi
• Arvind Kejriwal's comments came ahead of the February 8 Delhi Assembly polls

Aadhaar update: Use mAadhaar app to avail these services. Check list here

• The new mAadhaar app provides a host of services
• mAadhaar app is available for both Android and Apple users

Indian passport holders do not need prior visa to travel in these 58 countries

• Planning a foreign holiday? Find out which countries an Indian passport holder can travel without a prior visa
• Visa-free access makes travelling cheaper and more convenient

WhatsApp features: How to backup and restore your chats

• If you don't want to miss out on your important WhatsApp messages and media, you must backup your chats
• Here's how to backup and restore your chats on your smartphones

These Samsung, Xiaomi, Nokia phones to get Android 10 OS update

• The Android 10 update started rolling out for Pixel users first
• The update comes with a number of exciting and fresh features