FM Nirmala Sitharaman to meet press today amid stimulus expectations

• According to businesses, the government needs to take swift action on the economy
• India's economic growth in January-March slid to a near five-year low of 5.8%

SC grants interim protection to Chidambaram in ED case; no relief in CBI matter

• P Chidambaram will continue to be in custody as the Supreme Court did not intervene in the CBI case
• On Thursday, Chidambaram was sent for custodial interrogation of the CBI till 26 August

ED searches Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal's premises in Delhi, Mumbai

• Jet Airways shuttered operations on 17 April after running out of cash
• In March, Naresh Goyal stepped down as chairman of the airline

Govt considers exempting foreign investors from super-rich tax: Report

• Government finalising a package to reverse the economic slowdown: Report
• Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will hold a press briefing at 5 pm today

Maruti Suzuki recalls over 40,000 units of WagonR

• Starting 24th August 2019 owners of the suspected WagonR models will be contacted by Maruti Suzuki dealers
• Owners of WagonR models can also check on Maruti's website

Amazon, Future group deal to intensify competition in India's retail Industry

• On Thursday, Kishore Biyani's group company Future Coupons said that Amazon is acquiring a 49% stake in Future Coupons
• This is the third investment by Amazon in an Indian brick and mortar retail business following Shoppers Stop and More

Equities, rupee pare losses on hope govt may roll back higher surcharge on FPIs

• Sensex and Nifty in opening trade fell nearly 1% to hit six-month lows
• Investors remain cautious ahead of the Fed chairman's speech

Lenders of DHFL set to declare 65% of its debt as unsustainable

• DHFL shares fell nearly 13% on Thursday over speculation that lenders may take a majority stake in it
• Of the total unsustainable debt of DHFL, ₹760 crore will be converted into equity at ₹54 per share

Investors jittery about Yes Bank’s high holding of pledged shares

• Since news of suspect transactions at borrower CG Power emerged, Yes Bank’s shares have shed 26.6%
• Yes Bank held pledged shares of just one firm at the start of 2014. As of 19 Aug, it held such shares across 21 firms

Pawan Munjal to plug into Ola Electric

• An investment in Ola Electric will be made by Munjal in his personal capacity and not linked to Hero MotoCorp
• An investment in Ola Electric would be a major endorsement of the potential of electric mobility in India

Animation comes to life in India with box office, streaming success

• Hollywood studios are going for strong localization and marketing drives, buoyed by Lion King’s success
• Netflix is gung-ho about the prospects of Indian animation original Mighty Little Bheem

IRCTC files for IPO, eyes up to ₹600 crore

• Government to reduce its stake in the company by about 12.5%
• The proposed share sale is part of the government’s plans to take rail entities public

Trump: India, Pakistan should fight terrorism in Afghanistan

• Statement comes ahead of US pulling out troops from Kabul and amid growing animosity between neighbours
• India is reluctant to send its soldiers as its embassy in Kabul has been targeted by the terror groups

Zomato CEO stands by changes in Gold plan, rules out more tweaks

• Goyal’s statement is likely to further escalate row between online food platform and restaurants’ body
• He says Zomato was levelling the field among small and big restaurants

Despite auto slump, Kia Motors hits the gas on new car launches in India

• Carmaker to introduce six new vehicles over the next three years, says its India CEO Kook Hyun Shim
• Kia’s focus will be on the UV segment, which is dominated by Hyundai, M&M and Maruti Suzuki

Opinion | New Delhi’s options in the face of Beijing’s stance on Kashmir

China’s bid to ‘internationalize’ the issue could push India to hurt its larger neighbour’s interests

Chandrayaan-2 sends the first set of images of Moon from lunar orbit

• Isro has also identified one of the most striking large-scale features on the Moon—the Mare Orientale basin
• Earth’s closest neighbour, moon is nearly 384,402 km away from the planet

Opinion | Data deprivation makes cybercrime difficult to tackle

Another emerging casualty of such cybercrimes is the emerging 'startup' ecosystem

Government proposes ban on e-cigarettes, with jail term of up to 3 years

• The govt’s plans would deal a blow to US-based Juul Labs Inc, which is hoping to launch its e-cigarette in India
• First-time offenders would face a prison term of up to one year and a fine of 100,000 rupees

Amazon to acquire 49% stake in Kishore Biyani’s Future Coupons

• Deal gives Amazon call option to acquire all or part of promoter shares in Future Retail
• Amazon has agreed to make an equity investment in Future Coupons Ltd for acquiring a 49% stake comprising both voting and non-voting shares

INX Media case: Court sends P. Chidambaram to CBI custody until Monday

• Allegations against former FM are serious, says court
• The legal team of the Congress leader is likely to press for anticipatory bail in the ED case

SBI cuts fixed deposit rates for second time in a month. Latest FD rates here

• In latest revision, SBI lowered FD rates by 10 to 50 basis points across maturities
• SBI however kept interest rate on savings accounts unchanged

At solar alliance summit, Delhi to propose global power grid

• The global grid will aim to connect countries like Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam
• The proposals will be presented at the second general assembly of ISA to be held in New Delhi from 30 October to 2 November

India opens up 137 mountain peaks for mountaineering, trekking

• The list of peaks includes Kanchenjunga, Nepal Peak, Garur Parbat, Purbi Dunagiri and Mount Kailash
• E-visa has been extended from one year to five years

Who gains the most from corporate charity?

• The group of states that got the highest CSR funding accounted for only about 11% of the backward districts
• Data released by the corporate affairs ministry shows that states where poverty levels are low account for 40% of CSR funds

Deals Buzz: Pawan Munjal to invest into Ola Electric

In other news, American e-commerce giant Amazon.com is acquiring a 49% stake, comprising both voting and non-voting shares, in one of Kishore Biyani-led Future Group’s entity— Future Coupons Ltd

Who is Rajiv Gauba, the new cabinet secretary?

• Gauba is currently posted as home affairs secretary
• Born in Punjab in 1958, Gauba had earlier replaced Rajiv Mehrishi as the union home secretary

Gold prices today remain near record highs, silver struggle

• A weakening of the rupee supported gold prices in India
• In India, gold prices are up around 20% so far this year

Ahmedabad-Mumbai Tejas Express to run 6 days a week: 10 things to know

• Ahmedabad-Mumbai Tejas Express will be uniquely numbered and operated by loco, pilots, guards and station masters of railways
• The fares of Ahmedabad- Mumbai Central and Delhi-Lucknow Tejas Express will be flexible and will be decided by the IRCTC

Solving business problems using desi networks

Peer entrepreneur forums like Bouncing Boards of Erode act as a lifeline on managerial and emotional fronts

India, Pakistan should resolve Kashmir issue bilaterally: Emmanuel Macron

• The two leaders reviewed the entire gamut of the dynamic and multi-faceted bilateral relationship during their more than 90-minute long one-on-one meeting
• The one-on-one interaction was followed by the delegation-level talks

Google ditches dessert names for Android Q in favour of Android 10

• Google has also decided to update its logo and brand colour
• The next release of Android will simply use the version number and be called Android 10

Southern Railway denies reports on suspending OBHS in over 100 trains

• The OBHS, pest control, linen supply and toilet maintenance would continue on all 110 identified trains
• At no stage did it consider stopping OBHS and other allied services on Southern Railway trains

Faulty hip implants: J&J pays ₹25 lakh each to three victims in Uttar Pradesh

• The Delhi High Court had in May directed Johnson and Johnson to make an interim payment of ₹25 lakh
• According to Uttar Pradesh Drug Licensing and Control officer A K Jain, the company has given compensation to three patients

Policy for food aggregators continues to be ambiguous

• Some experts say food delivery falls under the ambit of e-commerce guidelines
• Regulators have unofficially exempted food apps from policy for marketplaces, say those privy to talks

The story of city slickers and their urbane choices

India’s 469 UAs (urban agglomeration) drew 109 million migrants, of whom 31 million were in five UAs

Rajiv got huge mandate in 1984, but didn't use it to spread fear: Sonia Gandhi

• As PM, Rajiv Gandhi gave message that unity can be maintained by celebrating India's diversity, says Sonia
• Rajiv Gandhi's 75th birth anniversary is not ritual, it is occasion to reaffirm resolve to uphold values that inspired him, says Sonia

India's consumer confidence drops in August: Report

The index prepared by Thomson Reuters in partnership with Ipsos said that the downward movement in PCSI has been continuous since May 2019

India's fiscal scene has never been better in 300 years: Narayana Murthy

• 'For the first time, we have an economic environment that engenders confidence that we can indeed overcome our poverty and create a better future for every Indian,' Murthy said in UP
• 'If we try hard, we can wipe the tears off the eyes of the poorest of the poor child,' said Murthy

OMCs stop fuel supply to Air India at six airports over non-payment of dues

• In absence of financial support, Air India cannot handle huge debt service liabilities, said an airline spokesperson
• The airports where the fuel supply was stopped are Cochin, Visakhapatnam, Mohali, Ranchi, Pune and Mohali

Amid slowdown, HSBC lays off 150 tech staff in India

• Majority of the lay-offs have happened in its Pune and Hyderabad offices
• HSBC in India, till recently, had about 14,000 employees across its technology function in the two cities

Deepinder Goyal taunts NRAI prez for promoting Gold, says Zomato is no 'bully'

• Large restaurant owners are using NRAI platform to sabotage aggregators, said Zomato founder on Twitter
• Zomato has been accused by the NRAI of 'unethical' deep discounting practices for its 'Gold' prgramme

Analytics firm Zendrive raises fresh funds from XL Innovate, others

• Zendrive said the funds will help it build up its mobile driving safety solution and strengthen its global team
• Zendrive is also launching FullStop, a mobile-powered risk solution that helps track road violations designed for automobile insurers

Gmail will fix grammar & spelling mistakes using AI in emails

• The new spelling and grammar correction capabilities for Gmail use artificial intelligence
• An as-you-type auto-correction feature has also been added for improved accuracy

SBI Mutual Fund, Aditya Birla Sun Life buy Alkem Lab's shares worth ₹538 crore

• SBI Mutual Fund bought 24 lakh shares and Aditya Birla Sun Life MF purchased 7.5 lakh shares of Alkem Lab for ₹1,708.45 a piece
• Prasid Uno Family Trust held 3.43% stake in Alkem

Rupee weakens past 72 mark to hit fresh eight month low

• The 10-year government bond yield was at 6.577%
• The currency opened at 71.95 to a dollar, level last seen on December, 2018

Kia Motors launches 'Made in India' SUV Seltos; price starts at ₹9.69 lakh

• Kia Motors' new SUV Seltos comes in both petrol and diesel variants
• Kia Motors has already seen as many as 32,035 Seltos bookings till date

To tackle slowdown, Indian auto companies are resorting to extreme measures

• The sales declines triggered major job cuts, with many companies forced to shut down factories for days and axe shifts
• Passenger vehicle sales in July fell at the fastest pace in nearly two decades

NCLAT gives Vikram Bakshi 'last chance' to settle matter with HUDCO

• The NCLAT has directed to list the matter on 18 September for orders in the matters
• The NCLAT has also asked to cooperate with Bakshi and try to reach a final settlement

Air traffic growth slumps in Jan-Jul

• About 82.56 million passengers travelled on domestic routes in January to July against 80.04 million passengers a year earlier
• Airlines expect headwinds especially in June-to-August, which is seasonally weak for travel

Mind the doors: Japan bullet train runs with door open at 280 kph

• The Tokyo-bound Hayabusa No. 46 train screeched to an emergency stop in a tunnel shortly after leaving Sendai station
• The accident, due to human error, was a rare mishap for the Japanese 'Shinkansen' bullet train

Rupee, EM currencies have little to look forward to in the rest of 2019

• Fears of a recession escalated after the US yield curve inverted last week, prompting investors to seek refuge in safe-haven assets such as gold
• Global issues apart, the rupee has internal worries to tackle

HDFC Bank to offer 2 million credit/debit cards to millennials

• A bank official said in five years, it is aiming to have 10 million of the cards in force in the market
• The offering launched for millennials - generally referred to people born in the 1980s or thereafter

Why India’s best-placed power utility NTPC is getting the cold shoulder

• Operating earnings grew just 5% in FY19 despite expansion in installed capacity base and regulated equity
• The capacity ramp-up will boost the company’s finances

Killer Robots are coming, thanks to big tech firms like Amazon, Microsoft

• The use of AI to allow weapon systems to autonomously select and attack targets has sparked ethical debates in recent years
• Using facial recognition technology, the drones could wipe out one ethnic group or one gender