British MPs vote to delay Brexit deal decision

• Lawmakers backed an amendment which effectively forces the government to request an extension until January next year
• I will not negotiate a delay with the EU and neither does the law compel me to do so: UK PM Boris Johnson

Trade wars, protectionism a dampener on global capital flow, says Sitharaman

• 'Trade integration, geopolitical uncertainties, and high accumulated debt levels necessitate global coordination'
• 'We need not wait for the slowdown to become a crisis'

HDFC Bank Q2 profit up 26.7% to ₹6,345 crore despite 48% rise in provisions

• Of the total provisions, ₹2,038 crore was for loan loss provisions
• Asset quality saw a slight deterioration in the September quarter as gross NPAs as a percentage of gross advances rose 5 bps year-on-year to 1.38%

Twenty countries, including India, to dominate global growth in 2024

• Weaker global growth, expected to fall to 3% this year and the slowest since the global financial crisis, will affect 90% of the world: IMF
• The US, while still expected to contribute a sizable portion to world growth, is projected to fall to third place, after India

IMF says corporate income tax cut will help revive investment in India

• India should address continued fiscal consolidation and secure long-term stability of the fiscal conditions, said the IMF
• Following a marked slowdown in the last two quarters in India, the economy is expected to grow at 6.1% this fiscal year, picking up to 7.0% in 2020, IMF added

ED raids DHFL premises on having exposure to firms linked to Iqbal Mirchi

• The ED raids were in relation to a case money laundering in a land deal involving drug lord Iqbal Mirchi
• DHFL is under scanner for giving loans to a real estate firm — Sunblink Real Estate. This real estate firm has links with Mirchi

Banking services may be hit on 22 Oct as unions warn of strike

• Banking services could be affected on 22 Oct as 2 bank unions have warned they will go on strike to protest against the bank mergers, falling deposit rates and a call for job security
• SBI has said the impact would be minimum as most of its employees are not members of the participating unions

Who is SA Bobde, the next Chief Justice of India?

• SA Bobde will take over the highest office of the Indian judiciary as the 47th Chief Justice of the country, replacing Ranjan Gogoi
• On 18 October, Gogoi wrote to the Ministry of Law and Justice recommending Bopde as his successor

Detention centre for illegal foreigners near Bengaluru soon

• A detention centre to keep illegal foreigners till they are deported is coming up at Nelamangala in Karnataka's Bengaluru Rural district, said a police official
• Amit Shah has recently indicated that the govt would hold a nationwide exercise across the country to identify, deport foreign nationals overstaying in India illegally

Indian army chief hopes that Pakistan will act against terror groups

• Indian Army chief General Bipin Rawat said he hopes that Islamabad will act against terror groups based on its soil
• The global finance watchdog said Pakistan has failed on 22 of 27 parameters set by an FATF action plan to prove that it was complying with promises it had made in June last year

Brexit day of reckoning: Boris Johnson's deal faces wrecking amendment

• Ex-Conservative lawmaker Letwin has proposed that the decision on whether to back a deal be deferred until all the legislation needed to implement it has been passed through parliament
• If the amendment is approved by parliament, Johnson's deal would not then be put to a vote on Saturday.

Retail, digital drive RIL's Q2 net profit to a record high of ₹11,262 crore

• Consumer-facing businesses offset energy weakness in September quarter
• RIL’s outstanding debt as on 30 September was ₹2.91 trillion, compared to ₹2.87 trillion on 31 March

J&J recalls 33,000 bottles of Baby Powder as FDA finds traces of asbestos

• Johnson & Johnson is voluntarily recalling the lot, #22318RB, which consists of 33,000 bottles. The firm said that it is working with the FDA, which tested the bottle
• Johnson & Johnson shares fell 6.2% to $127.70 at the close in New York, the biggest drop since December 2018

Brexit reversed: How could Britain end up with a second referendum?

• A group of lawmakers in the main opposition Labour Party have put forward an amendment calling for approval of any deal to be put to a second referendum
• But the government has repeatedly ruled out another popular vote saying that to ignore the first one could trigger a constitutional crisis

Sitharaman, Manmohan in war of words over state of Indian economy

• 'We will reach a $5 tn economy with policies that are implemented in an open and transparent manner,' says the FM
• 'The government is obsessed with trying to fix blame on its opponents, thus it is unable to find a solution that will ensure revival of economy,' the ex-PM said

No charges on digital payments made to large business establishments from 1 Nov

• CBDT has also invited applications from banks and payment system providers who are willing that their payment systems may be used for the purpose
• In her Budget speech, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had made this proposal

Indian in FBI's top 10 most wanted list, biggest ever hunt launched

• Bhadresh Kumar Patel, who hails from Viramgam in Ahmedabad, figures in the FBI's top 10 list of most wanted fugitives and carries an award of $100,000
• FBI considers Patel as a cold-blooded murderer and an 'extremely dangerous' criminal who killed his young wife at a Dunkin' Donuts store in Hanover

MPC debates if monetary easing is enough to revive the economy

• A section of MPC felt that further fiscal measures by government were warranted to deliver the desired results
• RBI governor Shaktikanta Das emphasized the need for fiscal prudence by the government amid concerns of widening deficit

Retail sales of passenger vehicles see steepest fall on record in September

• Sales of vehicles also remained in the red due to the Shraddh period, considered inauspicious for big purchases
• Also, manufacturers did not push much inventory to the dealers expecting sales to remain tepid during the month

ED gets custody of Wadhawans till 22 October in PMC Bank case

• Another depositor of the bank died after his family failed to arrange for funds to pay for a heart surgery
• Rakesh and Sarang Wadhawan were sent to ED custody in connection with the ₹4,355 crore PMC scam

Film review: 'Laal Kaptaan' is fertile but frustrating

• A sadhu is out for revenge in Navdeep Singh's period Western
• The film is set in 18th century north India, in the years after the collapse of Mughal rule

Visit Golden Temple, India extends invitation to heads of foreign missions

• Over 90 Resident Heads of Missions in New Delhi are expected to travel to Amritsar on 22 October
• The visit is being organized by the ICCR in collaboration with the Punjab government and the Shiromani Gurudwara Parbandhak Committee

Oliver Letwin: Thatcher protege behind Brexit vote delay

• 'Despite my support for the prime minister's deal, (I) do not believe that it's responsible to put the nation at risk'
• Letwin has been waging a campaign against a chaotic 'no-deal' divorce with the EU

Telangana bus strike: Bandh call evokes mild response, TSRTC unions leaders held

• Most of the shops, establishments in Hyderabad and its surrounding were unaffected by the bandh call
• Public transport continued to be severely affected as few buses could be seen operating

PMC Bank crisis: Depositors hold protest outside RBI headquarters

• PMC Bank depositors gathered outside the RBI and held protests by showing placards and chanting slogans against the bank and the RBI
• After an alleged ₹4,355 crore scam came to light at the PMC Bank, the RBI initially capped withdrawals at ₹1,000, and later hiked it to ₹40,000 in three moves

Mint50: Hand-picked mutual funds to build your portfolio

Mint50, a curated basket of investment-worthy funds, is the result of an exhaustive exercise that blends in various parameters with the aim of getting you the best combination of risk and returns

Lacklustre campaign by Congress' Gandhi family for assembly elections

• While PM Modi has held over 25 election rallies in both Haryana and Maharashtra, Congress president Sonia Gandhi has not campaigned in any public meeting
• Interestingly, general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who had campaigned extensively in Lok Sabha polls, was also missing from the ongoing campaign

Bank fixed deposit (FD) rates at 9%. Check interest rates here

• Bank FDs are one of the most preferred forms of investment because it is considered safe
• As compared to commercial banks, small finance banks offer higher interest rates on FDs

How to transfer Employees Provident Fund (EPF) balance online

• When you change jobs, the new employer opens a new EPF account, though UAN remains the same
• Using EPFO's online facility, members can also apply for PF final settlement

How to transfer your SBI account online to another branch

• Now you can transfer your SBI savings account online, from one branch to another
• Online transfer of SBI account is only possible if your account is KYC compliant

Updating Aadhaar card address with rent agreement? 3 things to keep in mind

• You can easily change your Aadhaar card address both online and offline
• Rent agreement is one of the 44 documents accepted by the UIDAI to update address in Aadhaar

PPF account: Why investors should be aware of Form H

• PPF accounts have a maturity of 15 years
• It can be extended with or without making further contributions

Income tax department reveals 9 individuals earned more than ₹100 crore salary

• More than 49,000 individuals pocketed an annual salary of at least ₹1 crore
• The income tax department analysed this data from income tax returns (ITR) filed by assessees

These new health insurance rules to benefit senior citizens. Here's how

• IRDAI has asked insurers to increase the maximum age limit field for health policies
• IRDAI's call to introduce the option of multiple premium payment options is a welcoming change

EPFO to cover 400,000 employees in J&K: Key benefits for workers

• The move will make J&K employees eligible for a series of social security benefits ranging from family and disability pension to higher life insurance, among others.
• It shall also reduce the employee cost for companies to some extent

UN Security Council needs to take more frequent recourse to ICJ: India

• India said that the UNSC needs to take more frequent recourse to the ICJ to promote judicial settlement of international disputes before resorting to any other means
• India said ICJ plays an important, critical role in the maintenance of international peace, security by adjudicating disputes between States

Mars once had salt lakes similar to those on Earth: Study

• The liquid water on Mars may have become unsustainable and evaporated as the planet's atmosphere became thinner, and the pressure at the surface became lesser, said the study
• The Mars salt ponds are similar to some found on the Earth such as those in a region called Altiplano near the Bolivia-Peru border

PFRDA aims to cover 45 crore unorganised sector workers

• PFRDA says its idea is to reach 45 crore people who are in the unorganised sector and having no access to any financial products
• The PFRDA runs the Atal Pension Yojana (APY) and National Pension System (NPS) schemes, and has around 3 crore subscribers currently

Lufthansa units face 6-hour cabin-crew strike tomorrow

• Cabin crew at SunExpress Deutschland, Lufthansa CityLine, Germanwings and Eurowings are set to strike between 5 am and 11 am local time, the union said
• Lufthansa spokeswoman said the airline aims to operate all flights, despite the union’s action

Opinion | World’s longest flights aren’t meant for cattle class

For all the hardship of spending a day cooped up with the body odors of a couple of hundred other humans, long-haul flying isn’t a particularly attractive business for airlines, either

Swiggy eyes 100 mn customers using the app over 15 times a month in 10-15 years

• 'If some of our growth estimates come true, it won’t take long before we will be the third-largest source of employment in India,' says CEO Sriharsha Majety
• Currently, Swiggy clocks nearly 1.4 million food orders daily across India, compared with about 700,000 orders per day a year ago

China to work with US to address each other's core concerns

• Chinese Vice Premier Liu He said stopping the trade war would be good for both countries and the world economy
• China's third-quarter economic growth slowed to an annual 6.0%, its weakest pace in almost three decades as the bruising trade war hit factory production, investment sentiment

Isro releases 1st illuminated image of moon surface taken by Chandrayaan 2

• Isro releases the first image of the surface of the moon captured by the IIRS payload on-board Chandrayaan 2
• The image covers part of the lunar farside in the northern hemisphere

Refining again starts firing at RIL; Jio, Reliance Retail add heft in Q2

• Earnings before interest and tax (Ebit) of the refining business rose 10% sequentially
• RIL’s gross refining margin (GRM) has increased to $9.4 per barrel in Q2FY20 from $8.1 per barrel in the June quarter

Sebi issues stricter norms for auditors amid spate of exits

• The new Sebi norms make it mandatory for auditors to issue a limited review report even if they resign
• The new rules also stipulate that the limited review should also come with adequate disclaimers, clearly specifying the reasons for the resignation

Here's how the Singh brothers stripped Religare bare of ₹3,000 crore

• The FIR against the duo along with erstwhile CEO Sunil Godhwani provides details of the modus operandi
• Internal inquiries showed that the poor financial condition of Religare Finvest was, to a large extent, on account of wilful defaults

P Chidambaram, 13 others charged in INX Media case

• Son Karti, former NITI Aayog CEO Khullar and Peter Mukerjea among those named
• CBI had arrested Chidambaram on August 21. Subsequently, he was sent to judicial custody

Vishal Gondal: The game is afoot

• The founder of GOQii talks to Mint about gaming healthcare, empowering the consumer with data, investing smartly and getting that headstand right
• Gondal says early stage investing is like talent scouting—90% of the onus is on the team building the business, 10% is on the idea

Ex-Fortis promoters Malvinder, Shivinder seek interim bail, offer settlement

• If proposal is suitable, we will not oppose the bail, said the counsel for Religare Finvest
• The court on Thursday had sent Singh brothers and other accused -- Sunil Godhwani, Kavi Arora and Anil Saxena -- to judicial custody till 31 Oct

Govt asks Mother Dairy to sell tomatoes at ₹55/kg or below

• Tomatoes are available at ₹60-80 per kg in the Delhi-NCR market
• The tomato crop in Karnataka has begun arriving in the mandis and this will have an immediate impact on prices especially in the southern region