SC directs RBI to disclose information on bank inspection reports under RTI

• The Supreme Court directed the RBI to review its policy to disclose information relating to banks under RTI, saying "it is duty bound under the law"
• The court said any further violation would invite contempt of court proceedings against the RBI

Market participants up in arms against exclusion of stocks from derivatives

• The stocks will be moved out at the end of the current expiry
• Out of 1900 stocks, only 159 will now trade in derivatives. Brokers fear this will reduce liquidity and volumes

IL&FS board move to suspend debt payments affects quality of assets

• IL&FS board’s decision to prevent a full-fledged bankruptcy and stabilize subsidiaries has NCLAT’s approval
• Saving cash instead of servicing debt and maintaining assets has affected the quality of assets on sale

RBI extends ombudsman scheme to non-deposit taking NBFCs

• It will help provide expeditious complaint redressal mechanism to customers
• The ombudsman scheme was earlier operationalized for deposit-accepting NBFCs

Film review: ‘Avengers: Endgame’ wants to be your shrink

• Joe and Anthony Russo’s film is mostly about coming to terms with grief
• This is also a final showcase for the original Avengers team

'My wife has said she won't stay with me if I join politics': Raghuram Rajan

• Politics is not particularly noisy or whatever, I don't have any taste for it, says Raghuram Rajan
• NDA looks a lot like what UPA did— emphasised the same thing like GST, Direct Benefit Transfer, Aadhar, says Raghuram Rajan

Goa turbulence throws light on mega projects

Disturbing environmental and operational questions continue to be raised about the Mopa airport project in Goa

Axis Bank has fixed its big bad loans but small loan risks are rising

• For the lender, the share of riskier unsecured loans in the retail book is growing
• The bank has a new leadership and an unshackled balance sheet ready to grow

India, China step on the gas on oil sourcing plan

• The two are in talks to form a consumers’ collective for joint sourcing of oil
• The coming together of China and India may change global energy equations

Sebi’s plan to restrict royalty payments to 2% runs into hurdles

• According to the industry, royalties are critical for Indian companies specially when it comes to taking advantage of technology and other innovations of parent companies
• Since the norms are applicable only to listed companies, it will make it less lucrative for MNCs to list their Indian subsidiaries

Chinese brands dominate Indian smartphone market in first quarter

• Xiaomi remained the smartphone market leader in Q1 2019 with a 29% share
• Vivo, according to Canalys estimates, appears to be the only phone maker to register triple digit growth

Gold buying picks up after prices fall to lowest level of this year

• Earlier this week, gold prices fell to their lowest level this year at $1,265.90 an ounce
• This fall has helped reinstate some physical demand for gold: Analysts

Two injured in Tata Steel UK plant blast

• Tata Steel confirmed that the fire had been caused by a train carrying molten metal and that an investigation has been launched into the incident
• No serious injuries have been reported

‘Avengers: Endgame’ frenzy grips India, tickets sold out

• BookMyShow reported that it had sold more than 2.5 million tickets of Avengers: Endgame
• Trade analysts said the film had broken pre-booking records of some of Bollywood’s most-anticipated releases

Maharashtra: Will Raj Thackeray play spoilsport and dent incumbent’s prospects?

• He has held around 10 public meetings across the state, including some in Mumbai, where he has sought to 'expose' the lies of the Modi government
• In 2008, he nearly snatched the Marathi manoos (son of the soil) card away from the Shiv Sena

Saudi Aramco sells first LNG, looks to expand gas biz through joint ventures

• Saudi Aramco sold the shipment of LNG from Singapore, CEO Amin Nasser told
• 'For the first time ever, we will be exporting gas either by pipeline or as LNG from Saudi Arabia' said CEO Nasser

Election is not a war but a festival of democracy: Narendra Modi

• Narendra Modi's message to BJP workers: Contestants from other political parties are not enemies
• Narendra Modi is expected to file his nomination from Varanasi on Friday

Elections 2019: The ordinary world of Kanhaiya Kumar

• Lounge goes on the campaign trail with Begusarai’s first-time candidate, Kanhaiya Kumar and his young team of idealists
• The young Kanhaiya is seeking to transform himself from a compelling student leader to a successful popular politician

Modi puts SP-BSP on notice with show of strength in Varanasi

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to file his nomination papers on Friday
• The 6-km-long roadshow started from the Benaras Hindu University (BHU) and will conclude at the ghaat of the Ganges

J&J faces more pain as Mumbai cops reopen implants case

• The Mumbai Police has opened investigation into an eight-year-old case against DePuy Medical Pvt. Ltd
• The city police is in the process of recording statements of patients and doctors to collect evidence

Xiaomi's new e-bike has 120km range, ₹31,000 price tag

• The Xiaomi Himo T1 electric was launched in China on Wednesday
• It is powered by a 350W brushless permanent magnet motor and is backed by a 14,000mAh (14Ah) li-ion battery with a nominal voltage of 48V

How impersonators sold pirated Microsoft software to Delhi schools

• The accused would sending fake letters to various Delhi schools and force them to purchase the software in bulk from him
• Most of the time, he used to sell pirated software to the schools

Uber aims for an IPO valuation of as much as $90 billion

• Uber is taking a conservative approach to its valuation and could later raise the price depending on investor demand
• Uber could aim to raise about $8 billion to $10 billion in the listing, though the final details of the pricing may still change

Rupee edges higher against US dollar

• Other Asian currencies were mostly higher against US dollar
• 10-year bond yield inched higher to 7.451%

Can Rahul Gandhi's NYAY help Congress revive its fortunes in Rajasthan?

• Out of the 1.8 million people living in the Banswara district in 3.6 lakh households, 78% are tribals
• With a 46.1% literacy rate, 91.3% of households earn less than ₹5,000 per month

Jet pilots accuse SpiceJet official of humiliating them at job interview

• The reaction came after a Spicejet official allegedly told some Jet pilots that they were doing a "charity" by hiring them
• Over 1,300 pilots are on the street after Jet Airways announced halting of operations

Growing urbanisation and the need for motorbike ambulances

• As the roads have been clogging up with heavy traffic, motorbike ambulances are making emergency healthcare easy
• The idea behind the project is to reach medical help to the needy much faster

Home sales dip despite rise in project launches, stagnant prices

• In the January-March period, NCR sales dropped by 9%, followed by Pune (8%) and Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR- 7%)
• Around 73,716 housing units were launched during the quarter, up 43% from the preceding December quarter and maximum launches happened in MMR, per the report

Google announces more policy changes after employee protests

• Google staff can now lodge complaints and concerns about harassment and other misconduct at work via a new website
• By June, the Alphabet Inc. subsidiary will also complete a dedicated site for receiving concerns from temporary workers and vendors

Maruti to phase out all diesel cars from April next year

• Maruti Suzuki garners nearly 23% of its annual sales from diesel cars
• The carmaker also today announced a hike in prices of some of its models

Triumph Motorcycles to launch used bike program in India soon

• The company is also planning to offer financing options on its refurbished models, Triumph India general manager Shoeb Farooq said
• Triumph Motorcycles started its India operations in November 2013 and has cumulatively sold more than 6,000 premium bikes

Sri Lanka suspends visas on arrival program for citizens of 39 countries

• The visas on arrival pilot programme was part of a larger initiative to increase tourist arrivals to the country
• Probes have revealed foreign links to the attacks and we don't want this facility to be abused, said tourism minister

After three years, IndiGo hikes salaries of pilots, cabin crew

• The pilots and crew will receive an "upward revision" in their pay through individualized salary letters
• The Gurugram-based airline, which nearly controls half of the market, wiped off nearly three-fourths of its profit in the December quarter

Amazon to offer 1-day delivery for Prime members

• The news marks a costly challenge for competitors that will have to pour money into logistics
• Amazon expects to spend $800 million toward the shipping goal in the second quarter alone

Minority shareholders seek approval to present proposal to revive Jet Airways

• Jet Airways, which was until recently India’s second-largest airline, suspended flights last week under the weight of high debt and a severe cash crunch
• Jet Airways owes the 11 banks, including nine Indian banks, about ₹11,261 crore

Govt to charge Axis, Standard Chartered, Bawa & wife with contempt of NCLT

• The ministry is filling two applications and a petition against Bawa
• The NCLT has posted the matter for hearing on Friday

Opinion | Reliance Jio’s spectacular rise

According to reports, Jio now has a subscriber count of 306 million (paying and non-paying both), pushing Airtel with its 284 million figure at the end of 2018, could find itself in third spot on overall numbers

Samsung expects to sell around 40 LED cinema screens Onyx in India by 2022

• Samsung is looking at around 20 screens by 2020 and then we would double it around to 40 around 2022
• Samsung is providing Onyx LED cinema screens in three stock keeping units - in the screen sizes of 5 metre, 10 metre and 14 metre