Government junks survey on consumer spending citing data issues

• Government is separately examining the feasibility of conducting the next survey
• The ministry also denied that the report was withheld due to its ‘adverse’ findings

Not in a hurry to recover telecom dues, says FM

• Govt working on bills seeking to raise insurance cover on bank deposits, says minister
• The FM dismissed concerns that govt’s spending may get affected due to revenue shortfall

IndiGo, GoAir get more time to replace engines

• Aviation regulator has asked the airlines to replace engines on 36 Airbus A320neo planes by 24 November
• IndiGo's deadline to replace all engines with modified LPTs remains 31 January, 2020

For Boeing’s new jetliner boss, job 1 is making amends for Max

• Stanley Deal spent the Oct. 29 anniversary of the first of two 737 Max crashes with Rusdi Kirana, founder of Indonesia’s Lion Air
• Stanley Deal, previously known to suppliers for his efforts to handle some of their business in house at Boeing, will see his people skills put to the test

FMCG firms pin hopes on govt initiatives for demand revival

• Despite headwinds from the liquidity crisis, firms expect a recovery in demand within next two quarters
• the near-term outlook for rural demand is likely to remain challenging, said HUL’s Mehta

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman rules out quick recovery for economy

• Nirmala Sitharaman said it’s a bit too soon to say whether Asia’s third-largest economy would be able to stick to its fiscal deficit targets
• The government’s asset sales program -- key to plugging a gaping hole in the budget -- is moving ahead comfortably, she said

WTO rejects most Indian claims against US steel duties

• India had complained that the United States failed to meet an April 2016 deadline to comply with a WTO decision
• India's complaint alleging US non-compliance listed 14 areas where it said the United States was in breach of the international trade rules

Synergy Group seeks time till December for Jet Airways bid

• The airline’s assets will likely be liquidated if Synergy fails to draw up a resolution plan
• Synergy Group had time till 15 November to submit its bid for the grounded airline

Supreme Court clears the decks for Arcelor’s India entry

• Top court okays Essar resolution plan approved by committee of creditors
• Mittal’s bid has been beset by legal cases but he can now enter India as the steelmaker to reckon with

5 tips to protect savings in times of inflation

Mint lists five ways to protect yourself from inflation

New rules set under IBC to govern rescue of non-bank lenders

• Only a regulator will be allowed to refer a non-bank lender or housing financier to a bankruptcy tribunal
• The bankruptcy tribunal will appoint an administrator who will try to stitch together a turnaround plan

India’s trade deficit narrows to $11 billion in October

• Some large export items, such as gems and jewellery, chemicals, and pharmaceuticals, grew
• Escalating trade tensions and a slowing global economy have led WTO to sharply downgrade its forecast for trade growth in 2019 and 2020

More Amazon customers in India set up Alexa-controlled smart homes

• Amazon said this year it sold five times more Alexa built-in smart speakers and TVs compared to last year
• Alexa and Echo were launched in India in October 2017

‘The fight against air pollution shouldn’t be just Delhi-centric’

• Schemes like odd-even are temporary and don’t work so well in the long run, especially when you don’t have an alternative in place
• We can’t solely pass on the blame of stubble burning onto the farmers. We need to incentivize the process

SC holds Singh brothers guilty of contempt

• Suo motu contempt proceedings were also initiated against Fortis Healthcare for the stake sale
• A bench comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Deepak Gupta held the former Ranbaxy promoters guilty of contempt of court

Classic Legends launch Jawa Perak at ₹1.94 lakh

• The Jawa Perak is powered by a 334cc, single-cylinder, liquid-cooled, 30 bhp engine
• The company has notably revised the existing 293cc, single-cylinder, 27bhp engine that powers the Jawa and the Forty Two models

With hike in meal prices, fares of Rajdhani, Shatabdi, Duronto to go up by 3-9%

• The rate of Janta Meal has been kept unchanged at ₹20
• The revised catering tariff shall be effective from March 29 next year

Delhi AQI at ‘emergency’ level despite reduction in stubble burning

• The air quality is not likely to get better anytime soon
• The Delhi government’s car rationing scheme, as part of its winter action plan, ended on Friday

Film review: 'Charlie’s Angels' isn't exactly heaven-sent

• Elizabeth Banks directs the latest big screen version of the TV show
• Kristen Stewart, Naomi Scott and Ella Balinska play the central trio

How to Lounge this weekend

• From a design fair by Raw Mango featuring homegrown brands in Delhi to Tata Lit Live!, the literature festival featuring authors from across the world
• Treat yourself to some indigenous Indian food at the Isuzu X Food Festival in Mumbai

Russia plans to deliver S-400 missile systems to India on schedule: Putin

• The S-400 can engage targets at a distance of 400 km and at an altitude of up to 30 km
• The contract worth $5.43 billion was signed during the visit of President Putin to India last year

Trai says no reference yet to set floor prices for mobile services

• Mobile tariffs are now under forbearance, which means operators have a free hand in fixing rates
• If a floor price is set, free services could be passé

Government considering telecoms firms' request for relief on overdue payments

• India has formed a panel of bureaucrats to suggest ways to alleviate financial pressures on the telecoms sector
• Bharti and Vodafone Idea are due to pay the bulk of 920 billion rupees ($13 billion) in overdue levies

Deposit insurance limit, on your money in banks, to be increased

• Under the current bank deposit insurance scheme in case of an unlikely bank failure deposits up to ₹1 lakh is insured and paid back to the depositor

Government withdraws draft bill to amend Forest Act

• Published in March, the draft sparked protests from tribal groups over some of the proposed changes
• Prakash Javadekar said that a “wrong impression” was created that the government wants to amend the IFA, 1927

Believe govt is aware of telcos' stress: Vodafone Idea CEO Ravinder Takkar

• Vodafone Idea Ltd (VIL) plans to monetise its 11.15% stake in Indus Towers on completion of the Indus Towers-Bharti Infratel merger
• The Supreme Court, last month, ruled in favour of the government and directed telecom companies, including Vodafone Idea, to pay dues

Supreme Court paves way for ArcelorMittal's takeover of Essar Steel

• The world’s largest steelmaker, ArcelorMittal, and its partner Nippon Steel Corp had offered to pay ₹42,000 crore in cash to creditors and pump another ₹8,000 crore in the mill last year

India needs to curb tendency to excessively legislate, says Bibek Debroy

• 'Apart from the enforcement cost, if the legislation unwarranted, it unnecessarily causes problems,' he said
• Government’s policy think tank NITI Aayog is also identifying statutes and rules that need to be abolished for being a burden on people

Blackstone invests ₹1,750 cr in Future Lifestyle Fashions, acquires 6% in Ryka

• FLFL is an integrated branded fashion company and operates in-house retail chains like Central, Brand Factory and Planet Sports
• As on September 30, 2019, FLFL has 349 stores measuring 7.3 million sq feet retail area

Worried about your debt fund exposure in Vodafone Idea papers? Here’s what to do

• It is likely that rating agencies will downgrade Vodafone Idea's debt papers further
• There are total 29 schemes which are invested in debt papers of Vodafone Idea

Sensex ends higher but off day's high, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea shares surge

• Most global markets are higher today
• SBI, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Tata Motors were among the top gainers

AIIB to lend $500 million to Mumbai suburban rail

• This brings the bank’s total investments in India to $2.9 billion
• The project involves quadrupling of Virar-Dahanu Road corridor (64 km) to provide an extension of the suburban railway service to connect peripheral areas with Mumbai

Fortis Heathcare's takeover by IHH halted after Supreme Court ruling

• The takeover fight for Fortis has seen as many as four separate bids, two scrapped deals, and the replacement of most of the company’s board

Delay in implementation of zero IUC to hurt service affordability: Jio

• Traffic symmetry indicates that telecom operator will not have any outstanding balance of interconnect usage charges (IUC) against other networks
• Airtel said that IUC should not come down to zero and the BAK regime should be postponed by at least three years

Axis Small Cap fund outperforms in last one year. But is that enough?

• Most of the funds in the small cap category are in negative territory over this period
• Going by one year's track record, the fund's outperformance looks impressive, but investors shouldn't lose sight of the fact that equities are long term vehicle of investments

Airbus bets on AI for single-pilot model to meet travel demand

• While the human will continue to be accountable for strategic decisions, AI will do the routine tasks: Vittadini
• Airbus will begin testing the single pilot model with freighter aircraft and it expects this to become a reality in the next decade or so

Opinion | The curious case of a consumption decline

A leaked NSO survey report says that expenditure by consumers across India actually fell over a six-year span till 2017-18. This is at odds with our GDP data. So what explains this finding?

Why investors are taking a $4.8 bn blow to Bharti Airtel in their stride

• Bharti Airtel has provided for a liability of ₹34,260 cr ($4.8 bn), in keeping with the court order
• Investors are pricing in higher market share gains from Vodafone Idea, if no relief is provided

Opinion | India’s export woes

Exporters have had to suffer inordinate delays in the refunds due to them under the goods and services tax regime

Xiaomi patents vertically folding smartphone

• The patent was filed back in August 2018 before it was granted and published last month
• Xiaomi is expected to release a foldable phone by the end of 2019

Kwality insolvency: NCLT directs lenders to consider Haldiram Snacks' offer

• Haldiram sells sweets and other snacks through its own outlets as well as retail chain
• Kwality has a total debt of around ₹1,900 crore

Mint Visionaries 2019 - An overview

• Bill Gates, co-chair, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, will be in conversation with Rishad Premji, chairman of Wipro Ltd