AGR case: SC agrees to hear telecom operators’ modification plea

• The matter was mentioned before a bench headed by Chief Justice SA Bobde today, and the case is likely to be heard next week
• The government, meanwhile, will not take any coercive action against telcos till the plea is heard

Budget 2020: Three things Nirmala Sitharaman needs to watch out for

• Government must realize that without a revival in consumer demand, investor sentiment which is at its lowest in six years, is not going to improve
• The Oxfam report released on Monday only reaffirms the growing inequality in India

Zomato acquires Uber Eats business in India to consolidate position

• Zomato said the deal gives Uber a 9.99% ownership in Zomato
• Uber Eats in India will discontinue operations and direct restaurants, delivery partners, and users of the Uber Eats apps to the Zomato platform

India’s electric vehicle ambitions could stumble on lack of Lithium

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration unveiled a slew of measures in 2019 to promote the clean-energy vehicles
• Several plans are under way to build lithium-ion battery factories in India

DHFL lenders ease bidding criteria for prospective buyers

• Eligibility norms pertaining to minimum net worth, AUM and committed funds were lowered for potential bidders
• The ₹4,100 crore claim on DHFL by Prudential International Insurance Holdings has been rejected

Sensex pares losses, Vodafone Idea surges 15%

• Asian markets were mostly lower today
• Info Edge shares also moved higher today

India’s slow growth is a drag on the world: IMF

• Fund slashes India’s FY20 growth forecast to 4.8%, also trims global outlook
• 'Growth in India slowed sharply owing to stress in the NBFC sector and weak rural income growth,' said IMF chief economist Gita Gopinath

Govt could be losing ₹5 tn in GST revenue over defaults, evasion

• The revenue loss is equivalent to 2.4% of GDP or 40% of the GST collection target
• GST authorities have zeroed in on about 40,000 companies for claiming excess or wrongful tax rebates

RBI pre-empts RTI by releasing minutes of October board meet

• This is the first time RBI has revealed the proceedings of its central board to the public
• The minutes of the 579th meeting were released as part of the central bank’s transparency initiative

Gold prices today rise for fifth day in a row, silver rates jump

• Gold rates could extend gains from current levels in near term, say analysts
• Gold is still down over ₹1,000 per 10 gram from record highs hit earlier this month

Samsung Galaxy Note10 Lite to launch today: Check expected price, specs

• Samsung is already taking registrations for Galaxy Note 10 Lite under 'Notify Me' option on its official site
• The smartphone builds on the legacy of the Galaxy Note series, bringing premium features for its customers

Andhra Pradesh assembly passes Bill to establish three capitals

Earlier in the day on Monday, the state government approved the ‘High Power Committee’ report during a cabinet meeting chaired by chief minister Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy in Amaravati

Axis MF launches ESG fund with foreign twist

• Its partial allocation to foreign stocks places the fund in a unique basket of hybrid India-international combo funds which benefit from equity taxation while participating in foreign markets.

ICICI Bank introduces new way of ATM cash withdrawal

• ICICI Bank's cardless cash withdrawal facility is safe and secure
• This service allows the bank customers to withdraw cash from any ICICI Bank ATM without a debit card 24X7

Delhi airport flights to be affected for 10 hours this week

• Air passengers are advised to check with their respective airlines and plan accordingly
• Budget carriers like IndiGo, Spicejet and Vistara have issued travel advisory on flight delays and disruptions for passengers

Stocks to Watch: RIL, Zee Entertainment, HDFC AMC, NBCC, IDBI Bank

Here’s a list of top 10 stocks that may be in focus on Tuesday

Uber sells India food business to rival Zomato to cut losses

• Uber Technologies has agreed to sell Uber Eats in India to local rival Zomato, underscoring the US ride-hailing giant’s effort to cut back on loss-making operations globally
• Uber will offload the business in return for 9.9% of the Indian startup

Fire breaks out in Surat's Raghuveer Market, 40 fire engines rushed

• Fire breaks out in Raghuveer Market in Surat, Gujarat
• 40 fire tenders have been rushed to the spot

Union Budget: Here’s how the ‘winners’ from budget last year fared

• Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman prepares to deliver her second budget on February 1
• Here’s a look at how the expected winners from last year’s fiscal plan fared

'One nation, one ration card' scheme to be implemented by June 1 across India

• 'We will implement the 'one nation, one ration card' scheme by June 1 in the whole country,' says Ram Vilas Paswan
• Under this scheme a beneficiary will be able to avail benefits across the country using the same ration card

Macron, Trump may have tariff truce in 2020 digital tax fight

Presidents Emmanuel Macron and Donald Trump agreed to a truce in their dispute over digital taxes that will mean neither France nor the U.S. will impose punitive tariffs this year, a French diplomat said.

Budget’s biggest task is to create employment opportunities

• The impact of the slowdown has been accentuated by the absence of jobs. People hope that the budget will ease this pain point
• The economy is going through a tough time with GDP growth sliding to 4.5% in the September quarter, the lowest since March 2013

Sebi to firms: Can’t advise, distribute to same client

Sebi consultation paper proposes client segregation, new rules for financial advisers

Diesel cheaper by Re 1 in just 6 days, petrol price also cut. Check latest rates

• The price of both petrol and diesel has seen a sharp drop in the last six days
• The fall in diesel price sharper than that of petrol

Reality check for Kotak Bank stock as growth slows and slippages rise

• Kotak Mahindra Bank’s advances grew by only 10% in Q3. Continued fall in growth is a concern
• Company’s gross non-performing loans rose to 2.46% of advances, provisions for bad loans also up

Top court seeks govt, EC response on plea to stay electoral bonds

• Plea puts on record the objections raised by the RBI, besides other authorities, which were ignored by the Centre
• Petitioner had sought a stay on the grounds that the anonymity clause flouts scheme’s objective of transparency

IAF deploys 6 Sukhoi jets in TN, boosting capabilities in Indian Ocean

• The development comes against the backdrop of China increasing its presence in the Indian Ocean region
• Defence ministry says the Sukhois will ‘provide protection to our island territories and sea lines of communication in the Indian Ocean Region’

Bank of Baroda, Bank of India and Canara Bank get new MD & CEOs

• Sanjiv Chadha, DMD SBI, appointed MD & CEO of Bank of Baroda for three years
• Atanu Kumar Das, ED at Bank of India, appointed MD & CEO of Bank of India for three years

Supreme Court clears government’s 7-member board to take over Unitech

• The court also granted a two-month moratorium from any legal proceedings against the new management.
• The bench clarified that no existing projects shall be stalled by the appointment of the new board.

Vodafone Idea, Airtel, Tata file joint plea in SC for more time to pay AGR dues

• Modification application, in which telcos may present a definite payment plan, is likely to be heard in SC on Tuesday
• The modification application is the final attempt by the debt-laden telcos to negotiate for an easier payment schedule with the DoT

NRI whose income isn’t fully taxable can file Form 13 for low TDS certificate

• If the payee qualifies as an NRI during the relevant financial year, the payer is required to deduct TDS at a specified rate on the taxable income of the payee
• It is advisable to document the gift through a gift deed. The taxability of receipt of gift in the US may need to be analyzed separately

Richest 10% of Indians have three-fourths of nation’s wealth: Oxfam

• The top 1% holds over four times the wealth held by 953 million, who make up the poorest 70% of India’s population
• The report, 'Time to care', released in Davos, Switzerland said the bottom 50%, the majority of the population, has a mere 2.8% share of the national wealth

Former Union minister Nadda unanimously elected BJP chief

• Nadda takes the reins at a time when the party is facing pressure over the controversial citizenship Act, NRC
• The immediate electoral challenge for Nadda will be Bihar in Nov and Bengal in May 2021

Why food inflation may turn sticky

• Despite the slowdown in rural demand, the spike in food prices is not showing any signs of cooling. Here’s why
• This is the best time for the budget to address the volatility in food prices. Reliable market intelligence on crop production and timely advisories to farmers can help stabilize prices

Why Future Group scaling down e-commerce operations makes sense

• Why interfere when the big boys are throwing large sums of money at the India e-commerce opportunity
• The fact that the group has a tie-up with Amazon means that it will continue to benefit on the e-commerce side of things through the partnership

How deep is India's fiscal hole?

Taking into account a likely shortfall in revenue and off-budget spending, the real fiscal deficit could be as high as 5.5% of GDP in the current fiscal

Is there room for income tax cuts in Budget 2020?

At a time when economic growth is trending southwards and consumption has taken a hit, hopes are high that FM Sitharaman will announce some incentives in the upcoming budget. Disha Sanghvi and Ashwini Kumar Sharma ask experts if the govt has room to accommodate further tax cuts considering the widening fiscal deficit

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