Infosys in damage control mode as stock plunges

• Law firm hired to independently examine claims made by whistleblowers
• Audit committee has begun consultations with internal auditors on terms of reference for an investigation

25 DHFL group firms with ₹1 lakh avg profit took ₹14,000  cr loans

• The draft forensic audit report will be presented to the board once it is finalized
• Out of the around ₹27,000 cr worth of loans raised by DHFL from banks for on-lending to home buyers, around ₹10,050 cr was invested in mutual funds, findings of the audit revealed

Brexit in chaos after parliament defeats Boris Johnson's ratification timetable

• Lawmakers voted 322 to 308 against the so-called Programme Motion
• Boris Johnson was on Saturday forced by opponents into the humiliation of asking the EU for a delay beyond 31 October

Uber CEO Khosrowshahi urges Indians to shun car ownership ‘trap’

• Dara Khosrowshahi said very high car ownership is a trap that can prevent innovation
• Uber launched Uber Transit at select Delhi Metro stations, making it the first city in Asia for the service

Abhijit Banerjee meets PM Modi, bats for banking reforms

• Banerjee said there was a need to bring down the govt’s stake in PSBs to less than 50%
• The Nobel laureate said Ayushman Bharat scheme serves a useful purpose in ensuring access to healthcare for the poor

How Infosys’ accounting stands up vis-a-vis its whistleblower’s charges

• An analyst had questioned Infosys about an unusual jump in unbilled revenues this year
• This is reflected in the rise in fixed-price projects, where revenue recognition norms are different

Axis Bank reports loss of ₹112 cr on one-off tax adjustment

• The bank takes a hit of ₹2,138 cr as it restated DTA to new corporate tax rate of 25%
• The private lender adds fresh bad loans worth ₹4,983 crore in the quarter ended 30 September compared to ₹4,798 crore in the previous quarter

Credit card firms trying to make mobile shopping easier

• Companies are eliminating the need to type in 16-digit card numbers and expiry dates in tiny boxes
• Card networks debut one-click checkout that competes with PayPal, Apple Pay

How the trade seesaw tilted towards Beijing is hurting India badly

• A $671 million trade deficit in FY01 swelled to $63 billion in FY18
• India has benefitted immensely from the import of cheap intermediate and capital goods

Oil prices, Kashmir to top PM’s agenda during Saudi visit

• PM will meet Saudi King Salman and the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during his visit
• Modi will also address the Future Investment Initiative forum on 29 October in Riyadh

8 states account for 67.2% of financial crimes in 2017

• Rajasthan, UP, Telangana reported bulk of economic crimes in 2017, states NCRB data
• The number of economic offences across India rose to 148,972 cases in 2017 from 143,524 in 2016

Donald Trump likens House impeachment inquiry to 'a lynching'

• The highest-ranking African American in Congress warned Trump about making the comparison
• Lynchings, or hangings, historically were mostly used by whites against black men, mostly in the South, beginning in the late 19th century

Traditional insurance plans need to look at Ulips for cost structure

• Policyholders are at the receiving end due to high surrender costs and poor disclosure about returns
• Due to the high surrender penalties, early exit from traditional plans means loss of the principal invested

Delayed by a day, India will sign Kartarpur pact on 24 Oct

• India and Pakistan officials are expected to meet at the Attari-Wagah crossing to sign the pact
• India had said that it was ‘disappointed’ with Islamabad’s insistence on levying a $20 service fee on every pilgrim crossing over to Pakistan

Envoy testifies Trump tied Ukraine aid to politically motivated investigations

• William Taylor gave closed-door testimony to the three Democratic-led House of Representatives committees leading an impeachment inquiry against Trump
• Taylor's appearance marked another pivotal development in the political drama unfolding in Washington that threatens Trump's presidency

SC grants bail to Chidambaram in INX Media case

• Chidambaram will not be allowed to leave the country without the permission of the trial court and has to make himself available for interrogation when required
• The top court order comes 61 days after the senior Congress leader’s arrest.

US says bilateral dialogue between India, Pakistan best way to resolve disputes

• Alice Wells, US acting assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asia, remarks come after a major effort by Pakistan to engage the US as a mediator
• US says the ‘chief obstacle’ to bilateral talks was Islamabad’s continued support to terrorists

Facebook CEO Zuckerberg says Libra won’t launch until US approves

• Zuckerberg said Facebook is seeking to offer an affordable solution to existing methods of sending money abroad
• The Libra Association was officially created last week, which means Facebook is now just one of 21 members, each with the same voting control over important decisions

WeWork valued at $8 bn in SoftBank bid for majority stake; Adam Neumann may exit

• It’s a stunning fall from the $47 billion valuation WeWork secured from SoftBank in January
• One of SoftBank's executives, Marcelo Claure, is tipped to replace Neumann, the current chairman and co-founder who was ousted as CEO last month

Why it doesn’t make sense to stop your SIPs mid-way

• SIP stoppages have grown by around 4% in the past six months, according to industry data
• Stopping SIPs is a poor strategy for an equity investor because markets give asymmetric returns over different periods

SC grants three months to Centre to revise social media guidelines

• The court also transfers to itself all cases related to proposed linking of Aadhaar to social media profiles
• SC ruling comes after the Centre had sought more time to collate and analyse information from stakeholders before finalizing and notifying the new social media rules

Whistleblower allegations at Infosys—To trust or not?

• On 21 October, the audit committee retained the law firm of Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas to conduct an independent investigation
• The whistleblower complaints can be broadly categorized into three buckets

Karnataka govt approves ₹667 cr for Nirbhaya fund

• Under the Nirbhaya Fund, 7,500 cameras to be installed in Bengaluru for women’s safety
• The approval comes a day after the NCRB released data for 2017 showing a rise in crimes against women across India

Kotak Mahindra Bank Q2 net surges 51% to ₹1,724 cr; asset quality weakens

• Gross bad loans as a percentage of total loans, a measure of asset quality, ticked up to 2.32% by end of September quarter against 2.19% in the previous quarter
• Net interest income rises 25% to ₹3,350 cr

Opinion | The case for meat options that taste like the real thing

It is only by making drastic changes to our dietary habits that we can meet our planetary goals

India and its unhealthy children

Affluent states like Gujarat are failing to ensure their poorer children have a decent diet and that the richer ones are protected from lifestyle diseases

Opinion | The RCEP as a trade opportunity rather than threat

Joining the RCEP could boost productivity, bolster our ‘Make in India’ agenda and deliver gains

This advanced system may help Railways reduce Delhi-Howrah travel time to 12 hrs

• Grand Chord is part of the Howrah-Gaya-Delhi line and Howrah-Allahabad-Mumbai line
• As a part of the upgradation process railways installed the most advanced Electronic Interlocking System at Tundla Junction in Uttar Pradesh

SC to examine if state can seek access to citizens' social media accounts

• SC on Tuesday transferred to itself all cases related to the issue from other high courts
• The top court asked its registry to place the list of all connected matters before the Chief Justice of India for listing before an appropriate bench in last week of January, 2020

Investors eye social e-comm startups to target new users

• Social e-commerce startups have raised $157 mn from venture investors this year
• The e-comm market is expected to reach $84 bn by 2021, driven by growing internet penetration

Indian promoters claw back control

• Founders of Indian startups are looking at ways to take back control from investors. What are the implications?
• Founders’ attempts are driven by their need to ensure they don’t lose control of their firms since, at most Indian unicorns, investors control an overwhelming majority of shares

'Reduce Centre's stake below 51%': Abhijit Banerjee's remedy to banking crisis

• Fear of a CVC probe in case of loan defaults has paralysed bankers and the banking system and this power should be taken away, says the Nobel laureate
• He said such crises are happening repeatedly and if there is a problem in bank balance sheets, then it should be stopped way ahead before it explodes

DMRC to take over ops, maintenance of Gurgaon Rapid Metro from Tuesday night

• The DMRC will take over the reins from Rapid Metro authorities
• The total operational metro network in Delhi and NCR will now become 389 km

Tuhin Kanta Pandey appointed DIPAM Secretary; Pankaj Kumar is new UIDAI CEO

• Current DIPAM Secretary Anil Kumar Khachi repatriated to his parent cadre on personal grounds
• Pandey will take over at a time when government is preparing a second shot at privatizing Air India

What equity-linked debentures are and how to use them

ELDs are structured fixed-income products that combine the benefits of capital protection along with participation in returns from equity markets

Best health plans for a sum insured of ₹20 lakh for 30 and 45 year olds

• Here is a comparison of top health insurance plans for different sum assured and across different age groups
• Only the A-rated health insurance plans have been shown here

DPIIT plans single window system to handhold foreign investors

• The system will help in getting all relevant approvals and clearances required by foreign investors
• The single-window system is likely to have representatives from both the Centre and state governments, an official said

Opinion | Tried-and-tested mutual funds score over alternate funds

Mutual funds are liquid, well-regulated, transparent and provide risk-adjusted returns

AirAsia India to increase fleet size to 29 by year-end, says COO Sanjay Kumar

• Airline has 23 aircraft in its fleet and will induct a couple of aircraft during the next fortnight taking its fleet size to 25
• DGCA approves the operation of 1,345 departures every week by AirAsia India in the upcoming winter schedule between 27 Oct 2019 and 28 Mar 2020

Uber partners DMRC, to introduce public transport service in Delhi

• Delhi will be the first city in Asia where the US-based company will launch Transit
• The taxi aggregator firm had launched the service in Boston in the US, Nice in France, among others

IAF fires two Brahmos missiles on routine training

• The drill to check the IAF's capability to hit targets with 'pin-point' accuracy at targets close to 300 KM
• The 2.5-tonne surface-to-surface missile has a range of around 300 km.

Deal with HAL for 83 Tejas Light Combat Aircraft soon: Indian Air Force

• In a previous order, the IAF had signed a deal with the HAL for 40 Tejas LCAs
• So far, around 18 LCAs have been delivered to the IAF from this order

Bharti Infratel, Indus Towers merger faces govt clearance delays

• A new committee will meet on Thursday to evaluate ‘all possible options’ for future strategy
• Bharti Infratel chairman Akhil Gupta says all approvals have been received except the one pertaining to FDI enhancement from DoT

Opinion | Economic ties hinge on China addressing strategic concerns

China and India talking RCEP is a good beginning, but there is a long way ahead

Mint Globetrotter Index: Take a trip to Rio De Janeiro

• The Mint Globetrotter index compares the cost of 25 essential travel spends for 50 cities across regions
• Here, Mint Money will list these 25 spends for a city and compare it with Delhi

Infosys chairman Nandan Nilekani issues statement on whistleblower complaints

• To ensure independence in these investigations the CEO and CFO have been recused from this matter: Nilekani
• Infosys shares have slumped in today's trade

Opinion | The Infosys investigation needs a broader ambit

The software major has been rocked by whistleblower charges that need a probe. The company has initiated one. But its scope should include fresh questions that have arisen

TSRTC stalemate may end as KCR relents, panel to look into demands of unions

• However, it's yet to be known whether KCR will hold talks with union leaders or not
• Employees and worker unions of TSRTC began the indefinite strike from 5 Oct across Telangana, demanding a merger with the government, among others

Timeline: Governance lapses at Infosys, CEO Vishal Sikka’s exit in 2017

• An anonymous employees’ group has accused the management, mainly CEO Salil Parekh and CFO Nilanjan Roy, of unethical accounting practices
• Similar issues had unfolded nearly 3 years ago when the firm’s promoters had blamed the board including former CEO Vishal Sikka for misgovernance

Opinion | Liberals scrape through in Canada

The election results point towards an erosion in Justin Trudeau's popularity, but his victory signals that liberalism still trumps conservatism in the land of maple leaf harmony

The perks of making eye contact

In his new book, Brian Grazer argues that the road to innovation, creativity and good business pitches starts with having a real-life conversation

Who is Jeff Bezos? Asks US student as Amazon CEO stands next to him

• The teacher of the class said "only about three" of her 15 students knew who Bezos was when he walked into the classroom
• Jeff Bezos, who owns the Washington Post, is the richest man in the world with an estimated net worth of $110 billion