RBI post budget meet: India needs fewer and mega banks, says Arun Jaitley

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley addressed the media after the post-budget meeting of the central board of RBI. “Year after year, our experience of the last five years has been that there has been a reasonably high growth as far as revenues are concerned”. He also said that the country needs fewer and mega banks that are strong. RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das also joined Arun Jaitley in the media conference. He said, “The ball lies in the court of the banks to implement and restructure the loans of the eligible MSMEs as per the rules and guidelines given in the MSME package announced on January 01, 2019”.

Money With Monika: Asset allocation for mutual funds (Season 2, Episode 9)

Money With Monika: Personal finance expert Monika Halan explains the importance of asset allocation in this episode of the weekly show. “Equity, debt, cash, gold and real estate are all asset classes. Each comes with its own attribute and has a specific role in your portfolio,” she points out. Monika Halan is the Consulting Editor of Mint; and author of Let’s Talk Money. She also takes questions every week from viewers on their financial worries. If you have a question, write to MoneyWithMonika@livemint.com. Watch the full video for more.

IndiGo cancels 30 flights due to shortage of pilots

Due to a shortage of pilots, IndiGo canceled as many as 30 flights on Tuesday. The passengers were allegedly being forced to buy last minute high fares for its flights. Most of the flights are not being operated from Kolkata, Hyderabad and Chennai. In a statement on Sunday, the airline had blamed on weather for disruption in operations across its network

Max Financial Services reports 41% increase in profit in Q3 

Max Financial Services Monday reported a rise of 41% in standalone net profit at ₹139.89 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2018. The company's net profit stood at ₹99.45 crore in the year-ago quarter. During September quarter 2018-19, the company reported a net loss of ₹56.33 crore. 

Democrat Elizabeth Warren announces White House bid for 2020

Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren made her bid for the White House official on Saturday in the working-class Massachusetts city of Lawrence. Warren delivered a populist call for change at her presidential kickoff, decrying a "middle-class squeeze" that has left Americans crunched with "too little accountability for the rich, too little opportunity for everyone else".

Govt claims creation of over 3.79 lakh jobs in 3 years amid unemployment debate

As debate intensifies over rising unemployment in the country, the Modi government claims to have generated over 3.79 lakh jobs between 2017 and 2019 in its various establishments, according to the interim budget for 2019-20.

Jaguar Land Rover considers other options after shock writedown

• Jaguar Land Rover, reeling from a $4 billion writedown, a slump in China sales and uncertainty around Brexit, said conditions were not right for it to borrow from the bond market and it was seeking alternative funding. The luxury automaker needs to raise $1 billion within 14 months to replace maturing bonds, while feeding an investment programme for electric cars that’s burning through cash. To support its needs, JLR could increase a receivables facility or turn to other bank financing, with further options including leasing assets and tapping export credit.

Twitter CEO, officials decline to appear before Parliamentary committee

• Twitter CEO and other top officials on Saturday refused to appear before the Parliamentary Committee on IT, which had summoned them over the issue of safeguarding citizens' rights on social media platforms, sources said. Twitter cited "short notice of the hearing" as the reason, despite being given 10 days to travel. The panel had issued a summon to Twitter via an official letter dated 1 February. 

Political mudslinging overshadows Karnataka budget

• Political mudslinging among the Janata Dal (Secular) (JDS), Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) hit its peak on Friday amid the presentation of the Karnataka budget. The Congress finally ran out of patience and on Friday decided to act against four rebel members of legislative assembly (MLAs) to contain the threat the dissidents posed to the already fragile coalition government in the state. Siddaramaiah, former chief minister and leader of the Congress legislature party, said that the party would take legal action under the stringent anti-defection law against the four missing MLAs—Ramesh Jarkiholi, B. Nagendra, Mahesh Kumathalli, and Umesh Jadhav—amid reports they were considering defecting to the BJP.

Net MF inflows hit 24-month low in January

• Net inflows into mutual fund equity schemes hit a 24-month low, with only ₹6,158 crore accruing in January. Volatility in stock markets and political uncertainty seem to have hit sentiment. January’s net mutual fund inflows are down 6.7% from ₹6,606 crore in December 2018, according to the Association of Mutual Funds of India (Amfi) for January 2019. Compared with the ₹15,390 crore net inflows a year ago, the fall is a steep 60%.

Netflix rolls out 'Smart Downloads' feature for iOS

 Netflix rolled out the "Smart Downloads" feature for iOS users. The feature will automatically delete the downloaded episodes after the viewer has watched it and will download the next episode. This feature was introduced for Android users in July 2018. "Netflix iOS users can get the convenience of 'Smart Downloads' spending less time managing their downloads and more time watching," the company said in a statement. 

Microsoft Surface devices debut in 20 more countries

Surface Pro 6, Surface Laptop 2, Surface Studio 2, and Surface Headphones are now available in 20 more countries. The Surface Studio 2 PC is now also available in India. The flagship Surface devices by Microsoft are dubbed as competitors to Apple products. Premium Surface headphones hit the stands in eight more countries. Microsoft in its second quarter announced massive revenue from Surface devices.

After 377: A love against the odds in Bundelkhand

Deepshikha Shrivas and Abhilasha Sakya, who live in Hamirpur, Uttar Pradesh, first met as 16-year-olds when the latter would travel to the former’s village. Today, six years later, they've battled social and familial pressures, and decided to come out, marry and start a life together. The reading down of the draconian Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code has given them courage, and Srivas and Sakya are now working towards getting their "same-sex union" registered in the Hamirpur district court. They hope to find work, settle down and adopt children together. By Khabar Lahariya, a rural network with a team of local women reporting on issues in the heartland.

RBI cuts repo rate by 25 basis points, changes policy stance to neutral  

The monetary policy committee of the Reserve Bank of India today cut the policy interest rate by 25 basis points to 6.25% in a 4-2 decision. The move could spur banks and non-banking finance companies into reducing their lending rates for consumer and home loans, resulting in lower EMIs for borrowers. In another key move, the central bank changed its stance to ‘neutral’ from the earlier ‘calibrated tightening’. 

Trump nominates US Treasury’s David Malpass as next World Bank President

US President Donald Trump Wednesday nominated David Malpass, who has been a critic of the World Bank, to lead the institution focused on global poverty. Praising Malpass, Trump said he "has been a strong advocate for accountability at the World Bank for a long time." Now the undersecretary for international affairs at the Treasury Department, Malpass has been an outspoken skeptic of the 189-nation World Bank, a leading source of funding for economic development. The World Bank provides low-cost loans for projects around the world. Among its key missions is helping combat poverty in developing countries. Malpass has called for curbing the World Bank's financial reach and has criticized its lending to China, one of the bank's leading recipients of aid. 

Vodafone Idea reports loss of ₹5005 crore for Q3 

Vodafone Idea Ltd reported a loss of ₹5,005 crore ($699.49 million) in the quarter ended 31 December. That was above analysts' estimates of a loss of ₹5,256 crore, according to Refinitiv Eikon data. Revenue from operations was ₹11,765 crore. Vodafone Plc merged its Indian operations with Idea Cellular in August last year.

Air India CMD Pradeep Singh Kharola appointed civil aviation secretary

• Air India chief Pradeep Singh Kharola has been appointed civil aviation secretary as part of a minor bureaucratic reshuffle effected on Wednesday, according to an official order. Kharola, a 1985 batch IAS officer of the Karnataka cadre, was in November 2017 named chairman and managing director of Air India Ltd

Money with Monika: Understanding mutual fund investment options 

In Season 2, Episode 8, personal finance expert Monika Halan explains the various options through which you can invest in mutual funds. She explains the difference between a Systemic Investment Plan (SIP), a Systemic Transfer Plan (STP) and a lump sum investment. If you have a question, write to MoneyWithMonika@livemint.com. 

PNB reports unexpected profit in Q3

• Punjab National Bank on Tuesday reported an unexpected net profit for the third quarter. PNB's Q3 profit rose 7.13% to ₹246.51 crore. The bank had reported a net loss of ₹4,532.35 crore in Q2. Provisions and contingencies declined 38.35% to ₹2,753.84 crore during the third quarter.

Flipkart billionaire Binny Bansal breaks his silence after Walmart ouster

It’s been less than three months since Binny Bansal’s shock ouster from Flipkart, the e-commerce giant he founded over a decade ago. The entrepreneur once celebrated for jumpstarting India’s internet retail industry is now dedicating himself to helping other founders get their startups off the ground. Bansal, who departed after Flipkart’s new owner Walmart Inc. investigated alleged personal misconduct, is now focused on xto10x Technologies, a startup he co-founded with former colleague Saikiran Krishnamurthy. It’s aimed at helping entrepreneurs navigate the often-tricky Indian startup scene. Bansal’s already put together an early team, set up an office at a co-working space and even snagged several “leading” startup customers.