Indian films may see staggered release once theatres re-open

• India battles rampant piracy of movies and a film being screened in any part of the country is likely to make its way to others in a matter of hours

Airtel, Amazon Web Services sign pact to offer cloud solutions to businesses

• The partnership will enable Airtel and AWS integrate their capabilities to offer customers cloud services at a large scale
• Under the alliance, Airtel Cloud will build an AWS Cloud Practice supported by the latter’s expertise, and develop Airtel Cloud products leveraging AWS cloud solutions

Global government IT spending to decline 0.6% in 2020: Gartner

• Government IT spending in North America will be the largest globally, reaching $191 billion in 2020, followed by Western Europe at $94 billion and Greater China at $39 billion

India now accounts for 15% of Disney+'s global subscriber base

• The impressive subscriber growth has also pushed Disney to announce plans to launch an international direct-to-consumer general entertainment offering under the Star brand in calendar year 2021

PNB classifies its loan exposure to Reliance Home Finance as fraud

• PNB is the only bank among the consortium members to tag the account as fraud
• PNB made the decision following a forensic audit report that highlighted some Reliance Home Finance transactions with other companies in the same group

Joblessness at pre-covid level as India unlocks more

• With coronavirus cases soaring in March, India went into a stringent lockdown beginning 25 March to curb infections, triggering misery and mass unemployment
• The fall in the unemployment rate is largely attributed to a good monsoon and better sowing season in rural India

Setback for BCCI as Vivo pulls out of IPL in wake of backlash

• Backlash on social media behind Chinese firm’s decision to pull out
• The decision comes a day after the cricket board said that it will retain the Chinese sponsor.

Why IRDAI, RBI need to follow Sebi on Adviser guidelines

The final pending circular will pin down the finer details, but the broad strokes are clear

TDSAT leaves order in Vodafone Idea premium plan case unchanged

• Trai had sought changes to the tribunal's July order, which said it was clear that the regulator’s probe into the validity of the premium plan for high-paying postpaid customers began due to Jio’s complaint.

Builders defer project launches due to market instability

The covid-19 crisis has added to the woes of the real estate sector which was already reeling under a prolonged slowdown

Banks sanction ₹1.37 trillion under emergency credit line guarantee scheme

Latest data show that cumulative sanction is 46% of the target of ₹3 trillion collateral free loan scheme backed by government guarantee

Trump’s order queers the pitch for H-1B workers

The move is set to hit Indian IT firms offering solutions to US federal govt projects

Facebook’s campaign talks about helping people solve covid woes

• Created and executed by advertising agency Taproot Dentsu, the consumer marketing campaign ‘More Together’ comprise four new films which are inspired by real stories and celebrates the people who came together in these trying times to help and support one another

Sashidhar Jagdishan, a banker who rose through the ranks over nearly 25 years

It remains to be seen how Jagdishan steers HDFC Bank's Massive loan book of over ₹10 trillion

Bollywood’s first batch of direct-to-digital releases fails to create buzz

• Hindi movies like Gulabo Sitabo, Dil Bechara, Shakuntala Devi, Ghoomketu, Yaara, Raat Akeli Hai, out of a list of scores of other acquisitions, have made it to video streaming platforms as theatres remain shut indefinitely, with producers making upwards of ₹60 crore on an average deal

NIIF backed Ayana Renewable acquires 40MW of solar assets from First Solar

• Ayana has acquired the two projects, located in Karnataka, India, as part of its strategic mission to deliver high-quality projects organically and inorganically, to create value for its shareholders

BlackRock, three others buy ₹10,600 crore of Bandhan Bank shares

• The holding company aims to use the proceeds to start new ventures in areas such as insurance and asset management, subject to RBI’s approval, Ghosh said
• Some of Bandhan Bank’s profitability metrics, including return on assets and return on equity, are the highest among Indian banks

The world’s one-time pharmacy now has a globalization headache

• The generics business is one of extreme price pressures
• Europe remains a manufacturing hub for more lucrative prescription medicines, and the most obvious answer might be to build more factories there

RBI board to meet on 14 August over dividend

• The dividend from RBI will come at a time when the Centre’s finances are under severe strain
• The government has budgeted ₹60,000 crore as dividends from RBI and state-run banks and financial institutions, according to the Union Budget 2020-21

Amid churn, non-banks explore consolidation option

• InCred, an NBFC backed by global private equity firms, including Investcorp, is seeking a merger with wholesale NBFC biz of PE firm KKR
• NBFCs such as Shriram Transport Finance, Mahindra and Mahindra Financial Services and PNB Housing Finance are relatively better off, but may not be free of stress