Challa Sreenivasulu Setty appointed MD of SBI for 3 years

• Challa Sreenivasulu Setty has been appointed as the MD of the SBI for a period of three years with effect from the date of his taking over the charge of the post
• Setty is currently serving as the deputy managing director of the SBI

RBI board discussed state of financial sector, supervision in Oct meeting

• The central board also discussed the specific case of PMC Bank
• RBI releases minutes of the 579th meeting of the central board as part of its transparency initiative

Reliance Jio witnessed 22 mn heavy voice subscribers' churn in Q3: Analyst

• Jio's gross subscriber additions continue to be driven by Jio phones
• Contribution from Jio phone continues to trend upwards, as such ARPU improvement was not seen much in this quarter

Airtel launches new ₹179 prepaid plan with ₹2 lakh life insurance cover

• The new Airtel prepaid plan has a validity of 28 days along with a term life cover
• The insurance cover is available to customers aged between 18 and 54 years and requires no paperwork or medical test

New products by Indian pharma may be delayed as US FDA warning letters double

With intensifying regulatory scrutiny, sales growth (for Indian firms) from the US market will drop to 10-11% during fiscals 2020-22, compared with a growth of 16% in fiscal 2019, CRISIL said

AGR issue: Airtel, Vodafone Idea jointly file modification application in SC

• Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea seek more time to pay adjusted gross revenue related dues
• The Supreme Court last week dismissed pleas of these operators to review its earlier judgement that had asked telecom operators to pay over ₹1 trillion in AGR dues

AGR issue: Telcos likely to move modification plea in SC today

• The development follows the Supreme Court last week dismissing pleas of these operators to review its earlier judgement
• Without any relief from the court, the operators will now have to ensure that they pay the dues in about a week

Disney removes 'Fox' from 20th Century Studios, Searchlight Pictures

According to Variety, the 20th Century Fox film studio will be rechristened as 20th Century Studios, and Fox Searchlight Pictures will become Searchlight Pictures

DoT examining if 23 Jan deadline for AGR payment applies to non-telecom PSUs

• The PSUs too have been asked to make payments related to statutory liabilities
• DoT has estimated over ₹2.4 tn in liability for non-telecom firms, including GAIL, PowerGrid, which had taken licences to trade broadband on optic fibre running along their pipelines, transmission lines

Airtel announces ₹179 prepaid bundle with built-in life insurance cover

• The Airtel new prepaid plan offers unlimited calling to any network, 2 GB data, 300 SMS along with a term life cover of ₹2 lakh from Bharti AXA Life Insurance
• The pack has a validity of 28 days and is targeted at entry-level users users in semi-urban, rural markets

Passenger vehicle exports rise 6% in Apr-Dec, Hyundai, Ford lead the pack: SIAM

• Passenger vehicle exports stood at 5,40,384 units in the Apr-Dec period of the current fiscal as compared with 5,10,305 units in the same period of 2018-19
• Hyundai Motor India led the segment, followed by Ford India and Maruti Suzuki at the 2nd and 3rd positions, respectively

Morgan Stanley starts cost-cutting plan with CEO, slashes Gorman's salary by 7%

• The step-down in pay for the CEO will probably have a knock-on effect for the rest of its senior management
• The bank this week reported a massive surge in bond-trading revenue for the fourth quarter

Climate conscious brands to dominate this decade: Report

• The finding is part of ‘The Future 100’ report released by Wunderman Thompson Intelligence, the innovation arm of the WPP Plc-owned advertising agency
• Among other trends seen to proliferate is the greater need for privacy where brands are becoming more conscious about the consumer data they collect

Little chance of govt relief, telecom headed for duopoly: Analysts

• Apart from the high risk of Vodafone Idea going bankrupt, ripples of the decision are set to hit the overall investment appetite of operators, say analysts
• Bharti Airtel, despite its liabilities to the government, will actually benefit in the long run in a two-player market

Apple to release first-ever original film 'The Banker' in theaters this March

• It was originally set for 6 December, 2020
• The story is based on the real-life story of two African-American businessmen in the 1960s who helped people to overcome racial barriers in banking

Friday Film Wrap: ‘Jai Mummy Di,’ ‘Dolittle’ compete in theatres

• Epic war film 1917 is the other Hollywood release the Robert Downey Jr-starring Dolittle will have to contend with
• Pattas, with Dhanush as lead, and Big Brother, starring Mohanlal, are the big regional releases of the week

Vodafone Idea’s future is not looking exciting after SC rejects AGR plea

• Shares of Vodafone Idea tumbled as much as 39% on Friday
• Last year, Vodafone Idea had raised ₹250 billion from a rights issue

Film review: Despite its top-line cast, 'Dolittle' does very little

The latest Doctor Dolittle reboot, starring Robert Downey Jr as the vet who can speak to animals, is flat and lazy

Film review: Tom Hanks lights up 'A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood'

Marielle Heller's film about TV host Fred Rogers' relationship with a troubled writer doesn't break any psychological ground but is seen through by a sublime turn by Hanks

Airtel, Vodafone Idea mull curative plea to stall ₹1.47 trillion dues on telcos

• TheDoT estimated that the total liability of 15 telecom companies, including penalties and interest, would be ₹1.47 trillion
• Industry body COAI said the dismissal of the review petition is the last straw in contributing to financial distress