VC deals surged to a record $254 billion last  year: Report

• Investment wave comes despite a decline in number of deals for third straight year

• The total number of VC deals fell to a six-year low of 15,299 in 2018, compared with 17,314 in 2017 and a peak of 20,172 in 2015

Bidders cold to SBI’s Essar Steel loan sale

• The sale of loans comes with a precondition that caps the profit a winning bidder can make from resolution to 18%
• Essar Steel has received a binding bid of around ₹42,000 crore from ArcelorMittal

Google sets 2018 lobbying record as Washington tech backlash expands

• The search giant, which spent $4.9 million in the last three months of the year, according to a Tuesday filing, beat its previous record of more than $18 million from 2017.

Davos bankers try to put brave face on gloomy outlook

• Trade tensions between the US and China are hurting investor sentiment worldwide
• Chinese economy was slowing in part because of the trade tensions but still growing at a pace that would make most other countries 'truly envious', StanChart's Halford said

No respite yet for IndiGo, GoAir from P&W glitches

• Aviation experts remain cautious about the safety challenges posed by the problems
• P&W, which is doing a root cause analysis, is yet to identify number of planes affected by main gearbox issue

Sebi probing Sun Pharma over whistleblower charges

• Sun Pharma ends business arrangement with promoter-owned Aditya Medisales
• Sun Pharma had come under a cloud over allegations of related-party transactions with Aditya Medisales

Who moved my milk: Prabhat Dairy and the ‘business disappearing’ risk   

• Prabhat Dairy's current market value is 55% lower than the sale consideration for its core business
• It remains to be seen if investors gang up and vote against the deal. Similar past deals have resulted in wealth erosion

The geography of learning outcomes in India

• On average, children in poorer districts of the country tend to learn less in schools, shows an analysis of two large data sets on learning outcomes
• The analysis shows that large parts of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Madhya Pradesh have the poorest learning outcomes in the country

The Tolerance test: why India isn't ready for Gillette’s #MeToo-inspired ad camp

• The campaign ‘The Best Men Can Be’ (wordplay on its tagline) takes a bold stand on bullying, cat-calling, and sexual harassment
• In India one is never sure how audience will react, says Rohit Raj, co-founder, The Glitch  

Google says it will provide details of political ads

• Google to disclose names of those purchasing election ads on its platforms and how much money is being spent
• Google has also updated election ads policy for India which will require advertisers that are running election ads

GST reform needs to reduce the compliance burden on taxpayers

• The present form of GST delivers little on promises, reform was rolled out with little homework both at technical and operational ends
• The new GST registration threshold limit is a farce

Simplicity, uniformity take a back seat amid frequent tweaks in GST

• Changes imply policymakers are struggling to make reform acceptable to a large number of small taxpayers
• The GST Council on 10 Jan meeting decided to let states choose between two possible criteria— ₹20 lakh or ₹40 lakh annual sales—for businesses to get GST registration

Government likely to target about ₹800 billion from divestment in FY 19/20

• The government could also sell shares in a number of state-owned companies through initial public offerings
• Arun Jaitley, who is currently in the US for a medical check-up, is expected to announce the target while presenting an interim budget on 1 February

Reliance leaps to 94th spot on Deloitte’s top retailers’ list 

• Deloitte ranked 250 firms for its annual report based on their retail revenues for fiscal year 2017
• In case of Indian companies, Deloitte factored revenue for year ended March 2018

At Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, Modi attacks Congress on corruption

• PM says middle class honestly kept paying taxes while the ‘loot’ of 85% kept happening simultaneously
• Modi urged the Indian diaspora to make use of the opportunities that had been created in the past four years

India to become bigger than China eventually: Raghuram Rajan

• Rajan said Indian economy would continue to grow while growth rate is slowing down in China
• The comments assume significance with China working on a lot of infrastructure projects across the region, including in Nepal and in Pakistan

Dealing with cross-border insolvency of a single corporate entity

• The main issue is forming a group for the insolvency proceedings as each firm has to be managed in its own interest

• The flexibility for preferring insolvency proceedings as a group can help overcome hurdles faced during cross-border scenario

US markets drop over 1.5% as global growth worries resurface

•  Dow Jones was down 361.74 points, or 1.46%, at 24,344.61, the S&P 500 was down 40.95 points, or 1.53%, at 2,629.76
• Nasdaq was down 133.68 points, or 1.87%, at 7,023.55

Made big purchases in FY18 but not filed tax returns? CBDT says do so now

• The 21-day time period will be from the date of receiving the e-mail or SMS from the I-T department regarding non-filing of tax returns
• Filers have been advised to file their responses online and not approach any income-tax office 

GST: Changes are politically-driven but are in the right direction

• Concept of ‘one nation, one tax’ should not get diluted by measures like providing state-specific sops
• Most of the decisions of the GST Council appear to be in the right direction

ICRA places mutual funds with IL&FS exposure on ratings watch

• Debt repayments are becoming increasingly uncertain for the IL&FS Group
• The six funds include HDFC Short Term Debt Fund, UTI Banking and PSU Debt Fund and UTI Bond Fund among others

MasterCard fined $648 million for high EU card fees

• MasterCard last month set aside $650 million to cover the fine
• The company later received a 10% fine reduction for cooperating with the EU

'Super star' firms giving a lot for free, but will it continue? asks Rajan  

• The concern is not so much about today, but tomorrow, says former RBI governor
• We also need to know who is paying for things that consumers get free of cost, he adds

Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas: Be a part of New India's growth story, Modi tells NRIs

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave a snapshot of the changes brought about by the government in the past four and a half years
• Estimated ₹5,80,000 crore had been transferred to people for different programmes, Modi

Nothing's taboo for IMF's new chief economist Gita Gopinath, first woman in job

• Gita Gopinath will oversee the IMF’s research, including its closely watched growth forecasts
• The IMF on Monday downgraded its global outlook for the second time in three months

Dateline Davos | NGOs must fail to succeed

• As the world’s elite gather at Davos this week, there is growing demand to bring the benefits of risk-taking and failure to the social sector
• Progress on this issue will require candid communication between social entrepreneurs and the philanthropic community

Hiring at B-schools off to a flying start with more offers, better pay

• Sectorally, consulting firms are top recruiters at management schools
• The number of offers given to students of the Indian School of Business (ISB) went up by 46% compared with last year

Fully owned arm to distribute Sun Pharma’s domestic formulations

• The transfer of business from current distributor Aditya Medisales, a related party, will take place by June
• Sun Pharma allegedly paid Aditya Medisales through Suraksha Realty, a company owned by Sun promoter Sudhir Valia

Smartphone trends we can expect at MWC 2019  

• Foldable displays will take the centre stage at the MWC 2019; Motorola is expected to revive the Razr brand
• Expect more announcements around 5G-enabled smartphones

Google to reveal details of political ads, spends ahead of 2019 Lok Sabha polls

• Google will also verify the identity of advertisers before their election ads run on its platforms
• Google runs ads across its video streaming platform YouTube, search pages as well as through programmes such as Ad sense and Ad words

Drug price regulator's wings clipped

• Medicines under price control will be identified by a NITI Aayog committee instead of NPPA
• The new order also ends the existing mechanism in which drugs declared essential would automatically come under price control

Titan weighs internal, external candidates to replace MD Bhaskar Bhat

• External candidates may include those from Tata group firms, says Bhat, who will retire by end-2019
• At least six other top executives in Titan are also close to hitting retirement age over the next few years

L&T’s share buyback ordeal puts spotlight on Sebi’s misplaced zeal

• Sebi recently rejected Larsen and Toubro Ltd’s (L&T’s) proposal to buy back shares worth ₹9,000 crore
• Sebi said the company’s consolidated debt-equity ratio will exceed 2:1 post the buyback, which flouts the regulator’s buyback rules

How Jet Airways is casting a shadow on Lok Sabha elections

• With about 23,000 jobs at stake, pressure is building on PM Modi for a rescue package as a collapse would mean bad optics in his re-election bid in a poll due by May
• Jet Airways has piled on $1.1 billion in debt and failed to pay loans and salaries

Bond bonanza helps Kotak Mahindra Bank in beefing up profits in Q3

• Kotak Mahindra Bank reported an year-on-year increase of 23% in net profit growth because it wrote back provisions worth ₹287 crore
• The private sector lender ’s gross bad loan ratio fell to 2.07% and its net bad loan ratio slipped to 0.71%.

Godrej Appliances says revenue poised to cross ₹4,500 cr in FY19

• Godrej is ramping up its store count and trying premiumization to win over customers
• "Sales in 2018 was less than we had hoped for," says Nandi

NPS can help you save ₹15,600 extra in taxes

• NPS, in addition to qualifying for a tax deduction of ₹1.5 lakh under Section 80C, qualifies for an extra deduction of ₹50,000
• NPS is a defined contribution pension plan that requires annual contributions till 60 years of age

Salary for services rendered in India is taxable in India

• Salary income for the period services are rendered in India is taxable in India, irrespective of residential status
• Under the exchange control law, an NRO account may be held jointly with residents on ‘former or survivor’ basis

L&T Infotech’s consistent show adds heft to its valuations

• L&T Infotech's revenue in the December quarter grew 20.6% in constant currency, marking the ninth consecutive quarter of double-digit growth
• The L&T Infotech stock has gained 58% over the last year

An airport is a mini travel destination, so make the best use of your time there

• Check if the airport you are visiting offers some activities or facilities
• Some airports now ensure that you get a little bit of a taste of the city when you are passing through

Why Exide has charged ahead of Amara Raja in the past year

• Exide’s rising valuation is the result of its comeback in the automotive batteries segment.
• In the September quarter, Exide reported a 12% increase in Ebitda, compared with Amara Raja’s flat profits.

How food ordering apps are eating into millennials’ income

• Overspending on food can put a significant dent in your finances over a period of time
• Millennials are eating out or ordering food more frequently compared to Gen Xers, who are now in their late 30s and 40s, and Baby Boomers, who are of retirement age

Rupee marginally higher against US dollar

• Rupee was trading at 71.18 a dollar, up 0.14% from previous close of 71.28
• So far this year, the rupee has declined 1.87%

Top court to hear Trai petition against tribunal’s ruling on predatory pricing

• A bench headed by justice R.F. Nariman issued notices to Bharti Airtel, Vodafone, and Reliance Jio Infocomm
• TDSAT had highlighted the need for “objective” yardsticks to introduce vital changes relating to SMP and non-predation

IMF forecasts India’s growth will improve to 7.5% in the next fiscal

• Risks to global growth tilt to the downside, with IMF revising 2019 growth projection downwards by 20 bps to 3.5%  
• The review comes even as trade tensions and a weakening Europe cast a shadow over global growth

TCS reshuffles management with an eye on the future

• TCS has announced three changes to its employees last month
• TCS has appointed new deputy heads for its human resource function and manufacturing vertical

L&T in talks with CCD founder Siddhartha for stake in Mindtree

• The talks are also focused on L&T’s plan to buy an additional 5% stake from the promoters of Mindtree
• Over the past six months, NEC and buyout PE funds KKR and Co. and Baring PE Asia too have evinced interest

Xander in talks to set up logistics platform in India

• PE firm begins negotiations to identify and acquire land parcels for logistics parks

• India’s logistics industry, which is worth around $160 billion, is likely to touch $215 billion in the next three years

France slaps $56.8 million fine on Google

• Google has come under CNIL’s scrutiny before, but under the old rules, fines couldn’t exceed €150,000
• Google was accused of forcing users to agree to new privacy policies

IDBI  gets  nod  to  resume  insurance  JV  stake  sale plan

• IDBI joins other state-owned lenders that are in the process of monetizing their shareholding in insurance joint ventures

• IDBI’s announcement follows LIC’s announcement that it has completed the acquisition of a 51% stake in the bank

EWS quota may face infrastructure, faculty hurdles

• A Delhi University professor said jumping into the EWS quota will worsen the teacher-student equation
• Neither the HRD ministry nor the UGC has explained how to implement 10% quota in education for EWS

Srei Infrastructure gets board nod to list equipment finance business

• The move will help augment the capital of both its infra finance and equipment finance businesses

• Srei’s equipment finance business funds the purchase of new and used equipment for sectors such as construction, mining and allied equipment

PMJAY spending gives a boost to govt’s focus on tertiary care

• The top tertiary specialities for treatment were cardiology, cardiothoracic, vascular surgery, orthopaedics
• The estimated proportion of all deaths due to NCDs rose from 37.09% in 1990 to 61.8% in 2016, says ICMR report

Opinion | Tech changing the face of indirect tax, transfer pricing

The capability of the government to digitize tax compliance has reached a new high after GST came in to effect

Swiss watchmaker Patek Philippe may be put on the block

• Patek Philippe has sales of 1.5 billion francs, according to Berenberg estimates

• The 180-year-old Swiss watchmaker could fetch 7 billion to 9 billion euros, analysts led by Zuzanna Pusz wrote in a note

Pakistan shares Kartarpur draft pact

• The draft pactwas given to the Indian high commission in Islamabad, according to the foreign office statement
• New Delhi has received the draft of the agreement that aims to finalise the documents needed for pilgrims to cross over