Foreign investors could register as companies to get tax relief: Sitharaman

• Sitharaman increased taxes on anyone earning an annual incomes of more than ₹2 crore that will also cover trusts
• The new rate will include 25% surcharge on income between ₹2 crore and ₹5 crore, and 37% on income exceeding ₹5 crore a year

Rana Kapoor loses $1 billion as Yes Bank shares slump 78% since August

• Kapoor owns just over 10% of Yes Bank shares, including through his two holding companies, Yes Capital (India) Pvt and Morgan Credits Pvt
• Last year, he pledged never to sell his shares, vowing to pass them on to his daughters

Sebi tweaks disclosure norms for listed banks

• The changes made in the disclosure norms are in line with the revised RBI requirements
• As per the circular, listed banks will have to disclose to the stock exchanges divergences in the asset classification

Investors cheer Wipro’s cash return policy, can they ignore capital loss risk?

• Hardly, anyone is hoping for company's growth revival in the second half of the year
• Wipro’s dividends and buybacks translate into a 6% yield for investors, which is nothing to sneeze at

Telecom, retail to negate weakness in RIL’s refining, petchem business in Q1

• According to a Bloomberg poll of 11 brokers, RIL's consolidated net sales are expected to come in at ₹1.45 trillion and net profit is estimated at ₹9,706.20 crore by 13 brokers
• Analysts expect RIL's gross refining margin to be $8-$8.5 per barrel

Fifth CPSE ETF tranche set to open tomorrow

• The 2019 budget has proposed to include CPSE ETFs in the ELSS category that is eligible for tax deduction, but past returns have not been inspiring
• Since CPSE ETFs may now come in the ELSS category, investors may have to contend with a three-year lock-in

Seven indirect tax related laws being amended: Nirmala Sitharaman

• The government would also be bringing changes to seven laws related to direct taxation
• Nirmala Sitharaman said amendments to laws are being made through the Finance Bill in five major categories, including in GST

It's hard to feel the love for 'The Lion King'

• This is a photorealistic remake of the 1994 animated Disney film
• Director Jon Favreau can’t capture the excitement of his 2016 ‘Jungle Book’ remake

eBay logs into Paytm Mall with 5.5% stake, eyes pie of online retail

• eBay is investing $165 million in Paytm Mall,
• The value of Paytm Mall has now risen to about $3 billion from $1.5-2 billion last year

MG Motor stops bookings for Hector to ensure customer satisfaction

• Morris Garages has a total capacity of 84000 units in its manufacturing plants in Halol
• According to the company, the top two variants – Smart & Sharp – have registered the highest demand, with over 50% reservations for the petrol variants

Are mobile phones a flight danger? They are on these Boeing jets

• Passenger cellphones could pose a crash threat to some models of Boeing 737 and 777 airplanes
• Many airlines now permit passengers to turn their phones to “airplane mode,' which allows Wi-Fi transmissions

Monsoon rains 20% below average in past week, raising crop worries

• India has received 16% below average rain since the monsoon season began on June 1
• Monsoon rains turned patchy over the central, western and southern parts of the country, raising concerns over the progress of crop plantings

Saravana Bhavan founder P Rajagopal dies in Chennai

• Saravana Bhavan owner P Rajagopal died at a private hospital in Chennai
• He was sentenced to life imprisonment in a murder case

Before filing your tax returns this year, calculate and pay self-assessed tax

• Taxpayers are required to pay tax on the consolidated income from all the five sources of income—income from salary, business and profession, house property, capital gains and other sources
• Tax can be paid either offline at designated branches of banks empanelled with the I-T department, by filling up challan 280 or online through Incometaxindia.gov.in

Netflix to roll out cheaper mobile-only subscription plan in India

• Netflix's new subscription plan is aimed at battling cheaper offerings from rivals such as Amazon Prime Video and Hotstar
• Netflix currently offers three monthly plans in India, priced between ₹500 rupees and ₹800

Flood fury forces Kaziranga tiger to take shelter in shop

• Several famed one-horned rhinoceros and other animals have reportedly died in the floods
• Over 95% of the Park is submerged, rendering animals shelterless and forcing them to look for refuge in human habitations

ADB cuts India GDP growth forecast to 7% for FY20

• Agriculture is expected to grow at a healthy rate in 2019-20 as current weather trends indicate a normal monsoon
• Growth is expected to inch up again to 7.2% in 2020-21, helped by recent reforms

For clues to Bitcoin price movement, the new place to go: Social media

• Hedge funds and asset managers seeking an edge are training computers to scrape social media sites
• Bitcoin, the biggest cryptocurrency has surged over 180% this year

SC allows mediation to continue over Ayodhya land allocation

• The Supreme Court allowed Justice Fakkir Mohamed Ibrahim Khalifula, chairman of the Ayodhya land dispute mediation committee, to continue mediation into the dispute related to allocation of land in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid case
• The bench sought a report from the mediation panel on 31 July

Bira 91 leverages World Cup platform to further global expansion plans

• Bira 91 will be the exclusive beer to be poured at all upcoming ICC events
• The company is likely to face distribution hurdles in the brand expansion process

Inclusive growth dividend - an alternative income transfer

Pegged at 1% of India's GDP, the Inclusive Growth Dividend would cut down targeting costs and boost consumption for the poor

Arun Jaitley slams Pakistan’s subversion of diplomatic norms in Kulbhushan case

• Jaitley, who had served as the Union defence minister in 2017, debunked claims by Pakistan of the judgment being a victory for the neighbor country
• External affairs minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar has now pressed for repatriation and release of Kulbhushan Jadhav

Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus may support 45W charging

• The launch of the Galaxy Note 10 is likely to get delayed
• Many industry watchers believe 45W charging could fundamentally change the battery game

The focus now shifts to IBM's 'game changer'

• After lagging in the cloud market for more than a decade, IBM is pegging its future to a hybrid cloud strategy
• IBM CEO Romet Ginnity paid a rich premium for Red Hat in order to help the company catch up with cloud market leaders

Samsung Galaxy A80 launched in India. Price, specs, other details

• The Galaxy A80 has a 3,700 mAh battery and features Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G Octa-Core chipset and comes with Samsung Pay
• The Galaxy A80's selfie mode in the camera app makes its three cameras pop-up and rotate

Wipro’s struggle with growth will leave investors unimpressed

• Management is hopeful that healthy deal pipeline will strengthen growth in rest of the fiscal year
• Softness in BFSI, and delays in ramp-up of projects weighed on the revenue growth

Will Aadhaar interchangeability for ITR make PAN redundant?

• Apart from interchangeability with PAN, Aadhaar can also be quoted in other transactions that otherwise require quoting of PAN
• In a few years, Aadhaar may become the primary ID for individuals and, perhaps, PAN will become redundant for tax compliance

Railways await PMO nod for Delhi-Katra Vande Bharat Express

• The train will cut down the travelling time between Delhi and Katra by over five hours
• The official said the route was identified by the Railway Board in order to capitalize on the high traffic volume

Suzuki Motorcycle launches MotoGP edition of GIXXER SF series priced ₹1.1 lakh

• The GIXXER SF MotoGP edition is powered by a 155cc, four-stroke, single-cylinder fuel injection engine
• It will have the same livery theme along with Suzuki Racing Blue colour taking cues from the 2019 edition of Suzuki MotoGP machine

Tax dept seize ₹400 crore Noida plot belonging to Mayawati's brother

• The total properties apparently belonging to Mayawati's brother and his wife are estimated at ₹1,300 crore
• Anand Kumar is currently BSP vice president while his son Akash Anand is the national coordinator

Xiaomi eyes premium smartphone segment

• Firm launches the Redmi K20 Pro at ₹30,999, its most expensive phone yet
• Entry  into premium segment is triggered by the intent to launch a product at an affordable price

Expense ratio should not be the main criterion of choosing a mutual fund

• Liquid funds charge the least expense ratio, and equity funds charge the most
• As the size of a fund goes up, the expense ratio goes down as the incremental cost of managing the funds decreases with asset size

Why picking the right mutual fund is key in a tough market

• The “mutual funds sahi hai” (mutual funds are good) catchline hasn’t amused investors, given their poor returns in the last two-three years when the industry faced setbacks
• Mint analyses the reasons for the lacklustre performance of the funds and suggests what you should do

OPPO A9 launched in India for ₹15,490, check features

• OPPO A9 is powered by an octa-core MediaTek Helio P70 processor along with Mali-G72 MP3 GPU and is backed by a 4GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage
• OPPO A9 has 16 MP 2 MP rear dual camera setup and a 16MP front camera for selfies

Govt issues notice to Tiktok, Helo; asks to answer queries or face ban

• The government has sought reply from TikTok, Helo on allegation that these platforms have become 'a hub of anti-national activities'
• The government has sought assurance that the data of Indian users are not being transferred at present and will not be transferred in future

GoAir announces new domestic, international flights

• GoAir managing director Jeh Wadia the airline has embarked on an aggressive expansion plan
• The airline currently operates about 285 flights a day to 24 domestic destinations and has four international services

Netflix shares slide on disappointing subscriber growth

• The video streaming app has dded 2.7 million new subscribers globally in the April-June period
• Subscriber growth reignited in the opening weeks of the current quarter, executives said

Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 specifications leaked online

• A set of leaked images hit the web showing off Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 with its stylus
• The Galaxy Tab S6 would come with four AKG-tuned speakers -- two each at the top and bottom without any headphone jack

Chandrayaan-2 set for new launch on 22 July afternoon, announces Isro

• The agency had completed the filling of fuel into the cryogenic stage of the rocket
• The mission comes around 11 years after the space agency’s maiden journey to the moon

100 per cent confident Karnataka trust vote will be defeated: B S Yeddyurappa

• BJP state president B S Yeddyurappa Thursday exuded confidence that the motion would be defeated
• All eyes are set on the floor test as 16 MLAs of the coalition government had resigned from the assembly

After Icra, CARE Ratings also sends CEO on leave pending completion of inquiry

• Icra's Naresh Takkar was also put on leave amid regulatory concerns
• An anonymous complaint to SEBI alleged that there were lapses in Care's rating mechanism

Ebix acquires Yatra for an enterprise value of $337.8 million

• The online travel firm will continue to be independently run and will retain its brand and status in India
• Ebix first offered to buy Yatra in March for $337 million, in cash or by stock

India to push for Kulbhushan Jadhav’s repatriation

• India has called upon 'Pakistan to release and repatriate him'
• Wednesday's judgment a vindication not just for Jadhav's innocence but for the rule of law as well: External affairs minister S Jaishankar

Apple, Google's new emojis reflect an inclusive push

• Apple, Google are rolling out dozens of new emojis that include cute critters, of course, but also expand the number of images of human diversity
• Apple and Google unveiled their designs on Wednesday to coincide with World Emoji Day

As Mindtree changes hands, its performance takes a back seat

• Mindtree’s revenues rose just 0.8% sequentially in Q1, slower than most analysts’ estimates
• Profit margins contracted from around 14% in the year-ago June quarter to 10% last quarter

Tata Chemicals may make lithium-ion cells

• Firm said to have acquired land in Dholera town of Gujarat for the factory
• Tata Chemicals will play a key role in Tata Motors’ plan to devise an EV ecosystem in India

Zomato says save water to make tea, Twitter in splits

• The food-delivery platform tweeted 'SAVE WATER. Otherwise chai kaise banaoge?'
• Some users took a jibe on Zomato for delivering non-vegetarian food instead of vegetarian order

Facebook's Libra prospects dim, but cryptocurrencies roll on

• The plan by Facebook and its partners has generated skepticism from US lawmakers and G7 finance ministers
• Facebook argues, and many experts agree, that if Libra fails, other digital currencies will gain traction

Smart money said ‘Skip Bitcoin, bet on blockchain.’ Not any more

• While Bitcoin’s price has rebounded this year, a fresh batch of data shows the flow of cash into blockchain startups dropped
• Traditional venture capital investments in blockchain companies have totaled $784 million via 227 deals, according to CB Insights

Finding a cheap Omega watch just got a lot harder

The watchmaker is cracking down on so-called 'gray market' dealers who sell stock at a discount

Gold prices remain near record high, silver rates surge

• Silver rates have zoomed in India, reflecting a surge in global prices
• Gold prices have been supported by expectations of a dovish monetary policy from global central banks

Twitter unveils 'Hide Replies' feature, global roll-out soon

• The Twitter users will soon be able to hide replies in the conversation thread on the micro-blogging platform that are offensive, hateful or racist in nature
• If your followers still want to see the hidden replies, they can press the icon and view those

Mumbai-Gorakhpur Antodaya Express derails in Maharashtra

• Services in the down line were affected
• The incident occurred between the Kasara and Igatpuri section

H1-B visa: How the fees collected are being spent by the US government

• The funding source is the fees companies pay to hire foreign workers under the H-1B visa program
• The Department of Labor is expanding its apprenticeship programs

Spotify launches an in-app Disney Hub to lure more fans

• The Disney Hub places soundtracks from Disney's animated films, Marvel movies, "Star Wars" and other Disney properties in one place
• Spotify said the hub will roll out additional content, although it did not specify if videos would be available