Karnataka government open for talks with Ola over ban

• Ola could lose out badly to Uber if pushed out of Bengaluru for an extended period
• Bengaluru is among Ola's top three markets in India

Cash-strapped Jet Airways suspends services to 13 international routes

• Jet Airways has suspended operations on as many as 13 more international routes till end-April 
• The airline has now reduced its operations to one-fourth from over 600 daily flights earlier

RBI again defers Indian Accounting Standards implementation by banks

• RBI had postponed the implementation of the Indian Accounting Standards by the banks by one year
• RBI in February 2016 had proposed implementation of new accounting standards for banks 

India will be a test laboratory for Ikea worldwide: CEO Jesper Brodin

• Ikea Group president and chief executive Jesper Brodin on Ikea’s expansion plans for Mumbai and the rest of India
• He also dwelt on new format stores and local adaptations according to India's urban challenges and cultural requirements

Deve Gowda picks Tumakuru to contest polls

• Deve Gowda is expected to file his nominations on Monday
• The Lok Sabha elections are scheduled to commence from the second week of April

Who killed the influencer?

• The rise of digital influencers marked one of the new millennium’s biggest cultural shifts but their popularity has waned over the decade 
• As global media declares the death of the influencer, Lounge explores the future of the community in India 

Tata Coffee appoints Chacko Purackal Thomas as MD And CEO

• Thomas will replace the current MD and CEO Sanjiv Sarin following his retirement effective 31 March
• He currently works as the executive director and deputy CEO of the Tata Group firm

Economic affairs secretary SC Garg defends data revisions amid controversy

• Revisions to economic statistics are a fact and the revisions themselves are based on facts, says Subhash Chandra Garg
• 108 economists last week accused the Centre of deliberately revising or withholding statistics that show the government in poor light

BJP's K Surendran to contest from Kerala's Pathanamthitta

• The Sabarimala temple is located in the Pathanamthitta constituency
• Surendran's candidature was caught in internal factional wars

Tata Motors to hike passenger vehicle prices by up to ₹25,000 from April

• The price hike is due to rising input costs and external economic conditions
• Tata Motors currently sells a range of passenger vehicles starting from the Nano to premium SUV Hexa 

Vice Admiral Karambir Singh appointed as next Navy chief

• Vice Admiral Karambir Singh to succeed Sunil Lanba
• Singh is an naval helicopter pilot and has flown Chetak and Kamov helicopters

After Trump barbs, General Motors announces $1.8 bn investment, new jobs

• GM said it is in the process of adding 1,000 jobs to its truck assembly plant
• GM shuttered five US plants, including auto assembly plants in Michigan

Much ado about masala

• A new book teases out connections between mainstream Hindi cinema and Shakespeare
• Jonathan Gil Harris’ ‘Masala Shakespeare’ is also a tribute to the idea of an syncretic mixture

Property distress in India has Piramal prowling for acquisitions

• Piramal Realty's sales have quadrupled this year to ₹30 billion, fueled by new projects in the south of Mumbai
• Anand Piramal says more land will become available in the next six to nine months as some distressed developers are forced into bankruptcy

Bengaluru’s Kamanahattan

• A dreadlocked writer goes looking for an African hair salon in Bengaluru, and finds a neighbourhood full of surprises
• The neighbourhood has developed into a melting pot of cultures with students and artists from various African countries, Korea, Iran and eastern Europe 

Fitch cuts India GDP growth forecast for FY20 to 6.8%

• Fitch Ratings expect Indian GDP growth to hold up reasonably well, at 6.8%, followed by 7.1% in FY21
• Fitch has also cut growth forecasts for FY20 and FY21 to 7% from 7.3% and 7.1% from 7.3%, respectively

China trade deal will probably happen, says Donald Trump

• America likely to keep a 25% tariff on European light trucks amid separate ongoing trade talks with the European Union
• Companies can avoid it by building factories in the US: Donald Trump

Donald Trump nominates Stephen Moore to the Federal Reserve board

• Moore’s selection is just the latest step in Trump’s effort to exert control over the US central bank
• 'I want to be somebody who can really help Chairman Powell,' said Moore in an interview

I-T dept exempts about 120 startups from angel tax net

• Under new plan, an entity is considered a startup eligible for tax relief for up to 10 years from date of incorporation
• The move brings to an end a major tax problem faced by startups wrongly caught in an anti-tax evasion provision

Grand alliance finalizes seats in Bihar, RJD gets 20, Congress 9

• The Lok Sabha elections in Bihar are expected to be a two-way contest between the grand alliance and the NDA
• Sharad Yadav, a former national convener of the NDA, will contest the Lok Sabha elections again on the RJD symbol

IndiGo to add 25 Airbus A321neo planes to fleet over next one year

• Indigo is looking to start operations to Myanmar, Vietnam, Saudi Arabia, and China
• IndiGo cancelled several flights due to pilot shortage and bad weather last month

How to update your Aadhaar address without valid address proof  

• UIDAI allows Aadhaar cardholders to change the address by giving an address validation letter
• Once you have the consent of an address verifier, you can go to the UIDAI portal to generate the letter

First-time credit card user? Avoid these mistakes

• Most credit card frauds are primarily phishing frauds. Basically, fraudsters pretend to be calling from a bank or a company and customers tend to fall prey to it.
• You can also limit the amount of transaction on your credit cards—a facility provided by card issuing companies on their net banking platform

Last-minute vacation? Get visa on arrival in 59 countries

•  If you are looking for a quick break, don’t like to go through the visa process, the visa on arrival option may be useful for you
• More than 50 countries across the world provide visa on arrival for Indian citizens

GVK hikes MIAL stake in bid to block rivals  

• GVK group acquired the entire 10% stake of Airports Co. South Africa (ACSA) Global Ltd in Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) for ₹924 crore
• GVK initially owned a 50.5% stake, while two South African companies, Bidvest Group and ACSA Gobal Ltd, held 13.5% and 10%, respectively

SBI raises ₹1,251 crore by issuing Basel III-compliant bonds

• The bonds with a face value of ₹10 lakh each bears a coupon rate of 9.45% per annum payable annually
• The bonds were subscribed on Friday

Dell plans to expand retail presence across 1,300 cities, towns

• Dell will be looking to increase its presence in 300 more Indian cities and towns this year
• Dell said it is reaching out to students in tier III and IV towns in India where it is creating awareness around gaming PC and career options linked to it

Disinvestment exceeds target at ₹85,000 crore: FM

• Against a goal of ₹80,000 crore in FY19,  divestments have touched ₹85,000 crore,  says FM Arun Jaitley
• The centre was able to garner revenue through IPOs, share buybacks, offer for sale, as well as ETFs

How do contactless cards work?

• If the transaction amount is above Rs. 2000, the transaction can not made through the tap-and-pay option
• If there is a fraud on the card, the customer is completely protected because the bank has to mandatorily cover the loss

Insurance technology gets crowded

• Although insurance technology is still at a nascent stage, firms are attracting investors’ attention.
• $220 million has been pumped in to insure tech companies in first two months of 2019.

National Geographic Expeditions business ventures into India

• It is not a travel company but can offer fantastic experiences like any vendor
• The National Geographic Expeditions offers everything from train and land journeys to private jet expeditions

Sebi fines 4 entities ₹27 lakh for fraudulent trading in BSE stock options

• Umapati Oil Mill and Ginning Factory, Yudhbir Chhibbar, Kasturbhai Mayabhai Pvt Ltd and Vimladevi Shyamsunder Khetan are the four entities
• The regulator found that the trades executed by the entities were not genuine as they were reversed within few seconds

RIL denies sidestepping US sanctions on Venezuela

• RIL's denial comes after a report said that the company has sidestepped US sanctions on Venezuela by selling fuel from India and Europe to Venezuela
• RIL has been in continuous communication with the US Department of State regarding its activities in Venezuela

Nokia plays down compliance issues after shares drop

• Nokia sought to play down the risks of an investigation into compliance issues at its Alcatel-Lucent business after its shares fell sharply
• Nokia flagged the issue in its annual report which was released late on Thursday to the US Securities and Exchange Commission

DMK wants release of Modi biopic deferred, writes to poll panel

• The Vivek Oberoi-starrer, titled PM Narendra Modi, is expected to hit the theatres in the first week of April
• The letter has been addressed to the chief election commissioner, as well as local election authorities

Sterling Biotech case: Hitesh Patel held in Albania

• Patel, wanted by the ED, was detained by law enforcement officials of Albania in the capital city of Tirana on Wednesday
• Patel is an accused in a ₹5,000 crore money laundering case -- as part of the ₹8,100 crore bank loan fraud allegedly perpetrated by the Sterling Biotech Group

Statistical Institute submits report on paper trail count to Election Commission

• Refusing to divulge much, sources in the poll panel claimed the ISI was of the view that "5%" match would be sufficient to enhance voters' faith in the EVM
• There have been demands by parties to increase the number of polling stations where VVPAT slips are matched with EVM results

Karnataka cabinet minister and Congress leader C.S.Shivalli dies at 57

• Shivalli had been aiding rescue efforts in Dharwad district where a building collapsed and had so far claimed the lives of 15 people
• Shivalli, a legislator from Kundagol in Dharwad district, collapsed while talking to locals in the district

Garuda Indonesia seeks to cancel order for 49 Boeing Max 8s

• It is the first announcement of a cancellation since Boeing's new model aircraft were grounded following fatal crashes
• Garuda joined other airlines worldwide in grounding its one Max 8 jet after the crash of an Ethiopian Airlines flight this month

Power Grid Corporation pays ₹1,600 crore interim dividend to govt for 2018-19

• The total interim dividend disbursed was ₹3,050.02 crore for 2018-19 to about 5.91 lakh shareholders of the company
• Power Grid Corporation handed over electronic payment remittance advice for payment of ₹1,629.62 crore for 2018-19 to the Government of India

Biggest India bond holders ditch government paper for state debt

• Banks are buying state bonds and moving them to the so-called held-to-maturity group
• India’s $807 billion sovereign-debt market is battling poor demand and increased volatility ahead of Lok Sabha polls

Former cricketer Gautam Gambhir joins BJP, likely to contest Lok Sabha polls

• Gautam Gambhir is likely to fight Lok Sabha elections from one of the seven seats in Delhi
• The former opening batsman joined BJP in the presence of Union ministers Arun Jaitley and Ravi Shankar Prasad

In bad news for borrowers, NBFCs’ funding cost zooms to multi-year highs

• Debt concerns have pushed funding costs for non-bank financing companies to multi-year highs in recent weeks
• The problems started late last year following shock defaults at shadow lender IL&FS group

Why heavyweights like Mayawati and Pawar are giving Lok Sabha elections the miss

• BSP chief Mayawati said she will not contest this year’s Lok Sabha election
• NCP chief Sharad Pawar is making way for the next generation in his family to contest 

WhatsApp Business now available on iOS: well, almost

• The company has not officially announced the rolling out of its Business app, but some users from Mexico, Brazil and Argentina confirmed the availability
• WhatsApp Business was announced back in September 2017 and launched for Android in January 2018

How PNB fraud exposed chinks in India's banking industry

• Nirav Modi's arrest seen as a milestone in India's efforts to deal with those attempting to dupe the banking industry
• An increasing number of bank frauds has led to bankers becoming very cautious in making lending decisions

Facebook fixes glitch that exposed millions of user passwords to employees

• Facebook said the issue was discovered in January as part of a routine security review
• The passwords were accessible to as many as 20,000 Facebook employees

India risks fresh bad debt pile up as weak banks resume lending

• India already has the world’s worst bad-loan ratio
• Of the 11 banks on whom tough restrictions were placed since 2014, five have recently been allowed to exit RBI's PCA sanctions

A culture shock awaits Mindtree employees under L&T

• Mindtree has an informal work culture: many of its employees call members of the founding team by their first names
• In contrast, Larsen and Toubro's (L&T) work culture is based on command-and-control and top-down management