Kia reports 50k connected vehicles' sales after 10 months of starting in India

• South Korean vehicle manufacturer Kia has reported 50,000 connected vehicle sales after entering Indian market with the Seltos, a mid-size sport utility vehicle
• The company's manufacturing facility is situated in Anantapur in Andhra Pradesh and it is all set to roll out its third vehicle soon

Private lenders see tepid rise in loans in Q1

• With banks cherry-picking customers during the pandemic, better asset quality and low-risk credit are being prioritised. Experts believe that this has led to a slackening growth in bank loans

Social media platforms moved slowly on containing hate speech: WPP’s Mark Read

• There has to be a careful balance that these platforms have to strike between free speech, taking down hate speech and moderating the content on their platform and having the resources to do that, Read said

Retailers see 67% fall in sales during June 15-30: Survey

During the period, malls witnessed 77% degrowth (year-on-year) on account of not being allowed to open uniformly across the country, high street retail showed degrowth of 62% in business despite being allowed to open across India

BP to invest USD 70 million in India's Green Growth Equity Fund

This is to support the growing renewable energy sector in India, this fund, established in 2018, is focused on identifying, investing and supporting growth in zero-carbon and low-carbon energy solutions in the country

Banks disburse 49% of loans approved under emergency credit guarantee scheme

• 16 private sector lenders have sanctioned ₹65,863.63 crore, out of which ₹35,757 crore has been disbursed
• In case of the 12 state-owned banks, ₹20,515 or 42% of credit sanctioned has been disbursed

BP to invest $70 million in India’s Green Growth Equity Fund

• Upon investment later this year, BP will become a limited partner in the GGEF and have representation on its advisory committee
• BP's investment in GGEF is aimed at rapidly scaling up commercially viable low-carbon solutions as part of its ambition to become a net zero company by 2050 or sooner

Fino Payments Bank launches 'Bhavishya' savings account for minors

• Bhavishya, a subscription-based savings account, can be opened by paying a nominal amount
• The bank will initially introduce the Bhavishya savings account in UP, Bihar, and MP and gradually in other states

Airtel launches new ₹289 prepaid plan with Zee5 content for free: Details here

• The announcement came after the telco's strategic alliance with digital entertainment platform, ZEE5, which will give its users complete access to all the ZEE5 premium content for free
• The new ₹289 prepaid bundle offers unlimited calling, 1.5 GB/day, 100 SMS/day for a pack validity of 28 days

Media undersold itself, is overdependent on advertising: Uday Shankar

• Letting advertisers pay for the product has become a big setback for the media industry which is looking at a bleak year as advertising plummets due to the ongoing pandemic

Banks sanction about ₹1.14 tn loans to MSMEs under credit guarantee scheme

The finance ministry said banks have sanctioned loans of about ₹1,14,502 crore under the ₹3 trillion Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme for MSME sector reeling under the economic slowdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic

SOP for shooting films soon in India amid pandemic: Javadekar at FICCI FRAMES

• Javadekar also said that more than 80 foreign film producers have taken advantage of the film facilitation office
• Virtual inaugurations are the new normal and those virtual spaces are the new places for real partnerships, Javadekar said

Retail sales slump in June, consumer durables mark steady recovery

• In all, sales were down 67% year-on-year during 15-30 June as India moved towards unlocking the economy, with malls in some parts of the country also allowed to resume business with caution

Like the wine industry, the oil market has its own vintages

Global refiners seek their barrels much like connoisseurs covet bottles of Bordeaux and Burgundy

Films look at special effects, animation for production during covid times

• Producers will spend a lot more time on pre-visualising things on devices so as to have entire sequences planned out in advance and spend minimum time on the actual set

BJP's Shaina NC nominated to the board of state broadcaster Prasar Bharati

• Shaina NC holds the positions of national spokesperson, member of the national executive council, and treasurer of BJP's Maharashtra unit
• She is also involved in social work through two NGOs, I Love Mumbai and Giants International

Laptop, PC makers likely to spend ₹450 cr on ads as demand grows

Consumers are looking for one device per person instead of one device shared among family members

Yes Bank may sell a part of wholesale loan book to SBI

• The private lender is looking to raise ₹700 crore by downselling its exposure in WKLT
• The equity capital will help Yes Bank increase its capital adequacy ratio which currently stands at 8.5%

Himachal first state where everyone has an LPG connection: CM

• The state government had launched 'Himachal Grihini Suvidha Yojana' to cover the left out families in the state
• The chief minister said as many as 2,76,243 families in the state were provided free gas connections under this scheme

Urban job losses on the rise again

• The increase comes after Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Assam, West Bengal and Maharashtra imposed fresh curbs on urban activity
• The CMIE data shows both rural and overall joblessness rate climbed marginally for the second consecutive week