Category Archives: Economy Snapshot

General News

• Budget Session of Parliament concludes; Lok Sabha clocks 129% productivity, Rajya Sabha 99%.
• President gives assent to Bill unifying Delhi’s 3 Municipal Corporations.
• PM Modi launches projects worth ₹20,000 crore in 1st J&K visit since article 370 move.
• Centre sanctions ₹1584.25 crore for Panchayati Raj institutions to strengthen grassroots democracy in J&K.
• India, US reaffirm commitment to promote regional stability and rule of law at 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue.
• PM Modi, WHO Chief, Mauritius PM inaugurates WHO-Global Centre for traditional medicine in Jamnagar.
• India signs 7 MoUs for social development projects worth over ₹12.96 crore with Maldives.
• UK PM Boris Johnson visits India; India, UK sign defence cooperation agreement, promise FTA by year end.
• PM Modi, EU President Ursula von der Leyen hold talks; agree on establishment of trade council.
• India, US sign MoU on Space Situational Awareness at 2+2 ministerial meeting.
• PM Modi and Nepal PM S B Deuba finalise 4 pacts to expand ties in areas such as railways, energy.
• PM Modi, Ratan Tata inaugurate 7 state-of-the-art cancer hospitals in Assam.
• Hindi should be an alternative to English and not to local languages: Amit Shah.
• Vinay Mohan Kwatra takes over as foreign secretary from Harsh Vardhan Shringla.
• Govt announces changes in defence acquisition procedure, Military hardware import exempted.
• Rajnath Singh releases 3rd positive indigenisation list to develop India as a defence manufacturing hub.
• Lt Gen Manoj Pande named new Army chief, first from Corps of Engineers.
• India successfully test fires anti-tank missile ‘Helina’ from advanced light helicopter in Ladakh.
• IAF’s Chinook performs longest non-stop journey from Chandigarh to Assam, covers 1910 km in 7.5 hours.
• Russia begins delivery of second unit of strategic S-400 missile system to India.
• UIDAI, ISRO ink technical collaboration pact to develop Bhuvan-Aadhar.
• SC fixes timeline for filing claims for COVID-19 ex-gratia; 60-day limit for deaths occurred before March 20.
• PM Modi inaugurates Pradhanmantri Sangrahalaya, a museum to honour all Prime Ministers of country.
• UGC allows students to pursue two full-time academic programmes simultaneously.
• Jaishankar meets UN chief Guterres, discusses key issues including Ukraine situation.
• Centre extends AFSPA in 3 districts of Arunachal Pradesh for 6 months.
• Andhra cabinet reconstituted; 14 new ministers inducted; 13 new districts inaugurated.
• Odisha extends additional free rice distribution for 6 months under state food security scheme.
• Punjab Assembly passes resolution seeking immediate transfer of Chandigarh to state.
• AAP govt announces 300 units of free power in Punjab from July 1, 2022.
• Delhi, Punjab sign knowledge-sharing pact for better health, education.
• Assam govt to provide 70 MW electricity every month to 20 lakh people.
• Prashant Kishor presents roadmap for 2024 polls to Congress leadership; declines offer to join party.
• Sitaram Yechury gets third term as CPM General Secretary, 3 new faces in Politburo.
• India’s total COVID – 19 cases at 4.31 crore, death toll at 5.24 lakh; daily COVID cases cross 3,600.
• Global COVID caseload rises to 51.3 crore, fatalities at 62.3 lakh.
• Shanghai extends COVID-19 lockdown till April 26 as death toll rises to 36.
• Russia intensifies attack in Ukraine as war enter 3rd month.
• UNGA ousts Russia from Human Rights Commission; India abstains from voting.
• Ukrainian President Zelenskyy addresses UN Security Council for 1st time since Russian invasion.
• UN Secretary-General Guterres separately meets Putin and Zelenskyy.
• US Secretaries Blinken and Austin met with Ukraine President in Kyiv.
• Putin introduces visa restrictions for citizens from “unfriendly countries“.
• Russia appoints new General to oversee Ukraine invasion; raises emergency spending fund by $3.5 billion.
• US announces $100 million in additional military aid to Ukraine.
• UK PM Boris Johnson, Presidents of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland visit Ukraine.
• Russia’s Putin, Saudi’s bin Salman discuss bilateral ties and oil.
• Australia, UK, US alliance ‘AUKUS’ to develop hypersonic missiles.
• Emmanuel Macron beats far-right rival Le Pen to win second term.
• Sri Lankan President announces new Cabinet, PM Mahinda only member from powerful Rajapaksa clan.
• Pakistan PM Imran Khan ousted in no-trust vote; Shehbaz Sharif sworn in as 23rd Prime Minister.
• China signs military pact with Solomon Islands despite US warning.
• UK PM Boris Johnson pays partygate fine, offers ‘full apology’.
• UK finance minister Rishi Sunak cleared of ethics breach over family’s tax status.
• Australian Prime Minister calls federal elections on May 21.
• Turkey court halts Jamal Khashoggi murder trial transfers it to Saudi Arabia; President Erdogan visits Saudi.
• Myanmar court sentences Suu Kyi to 5 years in jail for corruption.
• Indian GM Praggnanandhaa wins Reykjavik Open chess tournament.
• IPL: Gujarat Titans are leading the points table with eight wins and just one loss in their first nine matches.
• CSK’s Dwayne Bravo becomes highest wicket-taker in IPL with 171 wickets to his name.
• BCCI announces South Africa to tour India for 5 match T20I series, starting June 9.
• Australia beat England by 71 runs to win a record-extending 7th ICC Women’s World Cup title.
• Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah among Wisden’s five ‘Cricketers of the Year’.
• Andrew McDonald named head coach of Australian cricket team.
• West Indies all-rounder Kieron Pollard announces retirement from international cricket.

Business News

• RBI keeps rates unchanged, lowers GDP growth to 7.2%; increases inflation projection for FY22-23 to 5.7%.
• India’s industrial growth edges up to 1.7% in February from 1.5% in January.
• Retail inflation surges to a 17-month high of 6.95% in March from 6.07% in February.
• India’s trade deficit touch $18.51 billion in March, exports rose nearly 20% to $42.22 billion.
• Chartered Accountants, Cost and Works Accountants and Company Secretaries (Amendment) Bill passed.
• Govt brings around 96% Post Offices brought under core banking system.
• India extends credit, fuel, food to bail Sri Lanka out of economic crisis.
• India Australia ink economic cooperation and trade pact, over 95% of Indian goods to get duty-free access.
• India’s agriculture exports touch historic high of 50 billion in 2021-22.
• India’s tax collections surge to ₹27.07 lakh crore in FY22; ₹2.24 lakh crore IT refunds issued in FY22.
• PM Modi lays foundation stone of multiple development projects at Banas Dairy Sankul in Gujarat.
• Nirmala Sitharaman meets IMF chief and US Secretary of Commerce; meets CEOs of large global firms.
• Rajnath Singh exhorts US aerospace, defence majors to join ‘Make in India, Make for the World’ drive.
• PM Modi and Nepal PM jointly launch RuPay payment card in Nepal.
• Commercial LPG cylinder price hiked by ₹250, ATF hiked by 2%, Petrol, diesel prices unchanged since Apr 6.
• Cotton prices hits all-time high in India at ₹43,240/bale.
• Govt sells 51% stake in helicopter services provider Pawan Hans to Star9 Mobility for ₹211 crore.
• Andhra Pradesh cancels Adani’s bids to supply imported coal.
• Govt approves 61 proposals of over ₹19,000 crore under PLI scheme for textiles.
• Centre infuses ₹5,000 crore into 3 state-run insurance companies.
• Govt amends FEMA rules to allow 20% foreign direct investment in LIC.
• SEBI revises UPI payment limit for retail investors in IPOs from ₹2 lakh to ₹5 lakh.
• RBI issues new rules, penalties for credit & debit cards.
• Mutual funds add over 3 crore folios in FY22 on sharp rally in equity market, digitisation.
• LIC IPO to open on May 4, price band set at ₹902-949 a share; to raise up to ₹21,008 crore.
• HDFC, HDFC Bank merger to create third-largest company in India.
• Bandhan Group-led consortium acquires IDFC AMC for ₹4,500 crore.
• EU approves ban on Russian coal in new round of sanctions.
• IMF cuts global growth forecast to 3.6% citing Russia-Ukraine war, trims India forecast to 8.2%.
• Sri Lanka raises key interest rates by 700 bp to 14.5%; inflation rises 29.8% in April, food inflation 46.6%.
• World Bank agrees to provide $600 million in financial assistance to Sri Lanka.
• US inflation climbed to 8.5% in March, highest rate since 1981.
• UK inflation jumps to 30-year high of 7.0% in March.
• Egypt adds India as new wheat supplier following disruptions by Ukraine and Russia war.
• WHO suspends Covaxin supply through United Nations agencies citing manufacturing deficiencies.
• SII, Bharat Biotech halt production of Covid vaccines as demand slips.
• Passenger car exports are up 43% in FY22; Maruti Suzuki leads segment.
• Electric vehicle retail sales zoom over three-fold to 4,29,217 units in 2021-22.
• Nitin Gadkari announces, ‘heavy penalty’, recall of EVs after e-scooters catch on fire.
• Alliance Air officially separates from Air India following privatization, moves to own website, flight code.
• Made-in-India Dornier 228 takes off on maiden commercial flight from Assam to Arunachal Pradesh.
• Biden announces historic oil reserve release to soften gas prices.
• Oil sinks below $98 as China’s lockdowns imperil demand outlook.
• Indonesia bans palm oil exports as global food inflation spikes.
• Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway buys over 11% stake worth $4.2 billion in IT Giant HP.
• Wipro acquires consulting firm Convergence for $80 million and global SAP firm Rizing for $540 million.
• EU sets new online rules for Google, Meta to curb illegal content.
• Twitter accepts Elon Musk’s $44 billion acquisition offer; Musk sells $4 billion of Tesla stock.
• Amazon, SpaceX grabs NASA’s $278 million space communications contracts.
• CBI files charge sheet against former NSE Chief in co-location scam.
• France issues international arrest warrant against former Nissan Motor company chairman Carlos Ghosn.
• SC disposes Amazon-Future case as parties agree to resume Singapore arbitration proceedings.
• Apple starts iPhone 13 production in India through Foxconn.
• Flipkart invests $116 million in fashion retailer Myntra amid challenge from Reliance, Nykaa.
• Reliance calls off ₹24,713-crore deal with Future group after secured creditors rejection.
• Netflix loses 200,000 subscribers in 100 days; first time in over 10 years.
• Rajiv Kumar to step down as Niti Aayog Vice Chairman; Suman Bery to take over from 1 May.
• Wipro appoints Satya Easwaran as India head.

Q4 Results

• HDFC Bank net profit up 23% YoY to ₹10,055 crore, NII up 10% to ₹18,872 crore; dividend at ₹15.50/share.
• ICICI Bank profit surges by 59% to ₹7,019 crore, NII up 20% to ₹12,605 crore, declares ₹5/share dividend.
• Axis Bank Q4 profit jumps 54% YoY to ₹4,117.8 crore, NII grew by 16.7% to ₹8,819 crore.
• IndusInd Bank Q4 net profit jumps 55% YoY to ₹1,361 crore; dividend at ₹8.50/share.
• HCL Tech net profit zooms 226% to ₹3,593 crore, revenue grew 15% YoY to ₹22,597 crore.
• TCS Net profit rises 7% YoY to ₹9,926 crore, revenue grows to ₹50,591 crore.
• Wipro Q4 profit rises 3.9% YoY to ₹3,092.5 crore, revenue grew 28.4% YoY to ₹20,860 crore.
• Infosys profit rises 12% YoY to ₹5,686 crore, revenue up 23% to ₹32,276 crore, declares ₹5/share dividend.
• Maruti Q4 PAT rises 58% YoY to ₹1,839 crore, announces dividend of ₹60/share.
• Bharti Airtel partners Apollo Hospitals, Cisco to create 5G connected ambulance.
• HUL Q4 Profit rises 7% YoY to ₹2,327 crore, revenue up at ₹13,462 crore; declares ₹19 per share dividend.
• Nestle Q1 net profit slips 1.25% to ₹594.71 crore, net sales increased 9.74% to ₹3,950.90 crore.
• Biocon Q4 net profit falls 4.2% to ₹283.9 crore, revenue rose 30.8% YoY to ₹2,408.8 crore.

General News

• Assembly Elections 2022: BJP retains power in 4 States, landslide win for AAP in Punjab.
• 2nd terms for CMs in UP, Goa, Manipur and Uttarakhand; Bhagwant Mann takes oath as 18th Punjab CM.
• Bypolls in West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Bihar and Maharashtra will be held on April 12, counting on April 16.
• 2nd part of Budget session of Parliament resumes. Parliament approves ₹1.42 lakh crore budget for J&K.
• Govt approves acquisition proposals of armed forces worth over ₹8,000 crore.
• India, China ‘agree to maintain stability on ground’ in 15th round of LAC talks.
• PM Modi upholds commitment to Indo-Pacific region’s peace, stability and prosperity at QUAD meet.
• Japan’s PM Fumio Kishida arrives in India; announces ₹3.2 lakh crore worth investments over next 5 years.
• PM Modi and Scott Morrison hold India-Australia Virtual Summit, discusses regional, international issues.
• China Foreign Minister Wang Yi meets with NSA Ajit Doval, EAM Jaishankar.
• PM Modi calls for regional unity and cooperation among BIMSTEC nations.
• India, Indonesia discusses countering terrorism, cyber safety and maritime security issues.
• Sonia Gandhi continues as Congress interim President; Congress’ G-23 pushes for party overhaul.
• Sharad Yadav merges LJD with Lalu Prasad Yadav’s RJD.
• Assam, Meghalaya sign historic agreement to resolve 50-year-old boundary dispute.
• India’s COVID-19 cases crosses 4.3 crore, death toll rises to 5.21 lakh; 60.1% of population fully vaccinated.
• COVID-19 vaccination of children in age group of 12 to 14 begins; more than 1.5 crore received COVID jabs.
• Centre to end COVID-19 containment measures from March 31; face masks, social distancing to continue.
• Government restores 5-year e-tourist visa to foreign nationals; 10 years visa to US, Japan citizens.
• India, Maldives ink pact for mutual recognition of COVID-19 vaccination certificates.
• Operation Ganga: Over 22500 Indian citizens evacuated so far from Ukraine.
• National Medical Commission allows foreign medical graduates to complete internship in India after Test.
• India, WHO sign pact to set up global centre for traditional medicine in Gujarat.
• Karnataka High Court rules wearing hijab not essential religious practice.
• Home Ministry amends Census rules to allow self-enumeration, digital data collection.
• India regrets accidental firing of Brahmos missile into Pak, orders high-level probe.
• Padma awards: Gen. Rawat, Ghulam Nabi Azad, SII’s Cyrus Poonawalla, Covaxin makers, N Chandrasekhar,
  late Kalyan Singh, Neeraj Chopra among awardees.
• Russia-Ukraine crisis: India abstains from voting on resolutions led by UN and Russia.
• Indian Embassy in Ukraine temporarily relocated to Poland.
• Russia targets Ukraine’s Chernobyl and Zaporizhzhia nuclear plants.
• US House approves $13.6 billion in aid for Ukraine in huge spending bill.
• President Biden announces another $500 million in direct aid to Ukraine.
• Polish, Czech, Slovenian PMs travel to Kyiv in EU show of support for Ukraine.
• NATO rejects no-fly zone over Ukraine, despite President Zelensky’s repeated pleas.
• Russia-Ukraine war enters its 36th day; heavy shelling, missile strikes continue.
• Russia, Ukraine hold face-to-face peace talks in Istanbul.
• Russia strikes Ukraine with cruise missiles from Black Sea and Caspian Sea.
• EU imposes 4th set of sanctions against Russia for war.
• Ukraine’s President Volodomyr Zelenskyy addresses NATO Summit, asks for weapons.
• US President Biden visits Europe, announces new sanctions and measures to help Ukrainian refugees.
• Russia halts WWII peace treaty talks with Japan in response to sanctions over Ukraine invasion.
• US President Joe Biden proposes $1.8 billion for Indo-Pacific Strategy.
• US Senate approves bill to make daylight saving time permanent.
• United States reaches 65,000 H-1B visa cap for 2022 USCIS.
• UN Chief warns pandemic not over, decries ‘scandalous’ vaccine inequality
• Global COVID-19 caseload 488 million, fatalities at 6.16 million.
• Shanghai locked down as China’s biggest city sees over 3,400 asymptomatic COVID cases.
• Pakistani opposition moves no-confidence motion to seek PM Imran Khan’s ouster.
• Pakistan hosts Organization of Islamic Cooperation meet; Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi attends.
• Conservative candidate Yoon Suk-yeol elected South Korean President.
• North Korea fires possible ICBM in largest test since 2017; conducts ninth missile test of the year
• All 132 passengers presumed dead after 737 plane crashes in mountains in China.
• Oscars 2022: CODA wins Best Film; Dune makes a mark with six wins.
• India vs Sri Lanka: India sweep the Test series 2-0.
• Virat Kohli becomes 12th Indian to play in 100 Tests, 6th Indian batsman to reach 8000 runs.
• ICC Women World Cup: England to face Australia in final.
• Jhulan Goswami becomes first woman to enter 250-wicket club, joins elite Indian men’s bowlers.
• IPL 2022 kick off; Lucknow and Gujarat, joined the format taking the total to ten teams this year.
• MS Dhoni steps down as Chennai Super Kings captain, Ravindra Jadeja to lead in IPL 2022.
• Bangladesh seal historic one-day series triumph over South Africa.
• Swiss Open: PV Sindhu clinches title; Prannoy finishes runner-up in men’s singles.
• Daniil Medvedev overtakes Novak Djokovic for No. 1 in ATP rankings.
• World No. 1 Ashleigh Barty announces retirement from tennis aged 25.
• Cristiano Ronaldo becomes all-time leading scorer record on 807 goals.
• Tiger Woods officially inducted into World Golf Hall of Fame.
• Legendary Australian spinner Shane Warne dies of heart attack at 52.
• Court of Arbitration for Sport upholds FIFA’s ban on Russia’s participation in World Cup.

Business News

• Lok Sabha passes Finance Bill; completes budgetary exercise for FY23.
• Centre seeks Parliament nod for ₹1.07 lakh crore extra spending in 2021-22.
• Cabinet nod to National Land Monetization Corporation for monetising surplus land of PSUs.
• Govt collects ₹1.33 lakh crore GST in February, cess collection crosses ₹10,000 crore for first time.
• Over ₹53,600 crore GST compensation yet to be released to states this fiscal: Nirmala Sitharaman.
• Nitin Gadkari inaugurates 19 NH projects worth Rs 1,407 crore in Haryana and Rajasthan.
• India achieved its merchandise export target of $400 billion for FY22.
• PLI scheme for Automobile, Auto Component Industry attracts investment of ₹74,850 crore.
• EPFO fixes 8.1% as interest rate on provident fund deposits for 2021-22, lowest since 1977-78.
• Trade Unions went on 2-day nationwide strike; Banking, public transport services affected in some states.
• Petrol, diesel prices see 9 hikes in 10 days, total increase now stands at ₹6.40 a litre.
• BSE joins hands with Tamil Nadu government’s M-TIPB to promote listing of MSMEs.
• LIC gets SEBI approval to launch India’s biggest ever IPO.
• TCS’ ₹18,000 crore buyback offer subscribed 7.5 times; acceptance ratio at 26%.
• India resumes regular International Flights from 27th March; Covid curbs eased in airport, flights.
• Transactions under the UPI crossed the 5-billion count for the first time in March 2022.
• RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das launches ‘UPI123Pay’ for feature phones and 24/7 helpline, DigiSaathi.
• PNB reports fraud of ₹2,000 crore in IL&FS Tamil Nadu Power Company’s loan.
• DCGI’s EUA nod for Serum Institute’s COVID Vaccine – Covovax – for 12-17 age group.
• India, Japan launch clean energy partnership at 14th Annual Summit.
• Food, fuel prices skyrocket in Sri Lanka as it battles worst economic crisis; Sri Lankan rupee tumbles.
• India extends $1 billion line of credit to Sri Lanka.
• India signs agreement to set up hybrid power projects on northern Sri Lankan islands.
• US Fed increases interest rates by 25 bps and signals more hikes ahead.
• Bank of England raises key rate to 0.75% from 0.5%, warns inflation could break 8%.
• IMF approves $1.4 billion in emergency funding support for Ukraine.
• World Bank approves $723 million loans, grants for Ukraine amid Russia invasion.
• Japan revokes Russia’s ‘Most-Favored Nation’ trade status.
• Major US, European firms pull out of Russia following invasion; World Bank, BRICS Bank suspend projects.
• Elon Musk’s SpaceX sent thousands of Starlink satellite internet dishes to Ukraine.
• IMF board signs off $44 billion Argentina debt deal, warns on risk.
• Saudi Arabia signs deals worth $2.13 billion with local, foreign defence firms.
• FATF keeps Pakistan in grey list, tells do more to probe, prosecute terrorists.
• Indian Railways tests indigenous train collision protection system ‘Kavach’.
• Cochin Shipyard, Dredging Corporation sign pact to build India’s first indigenous dredger.
• Prasar Bharati signs MoU with Yupp TV to expand global reach.
• Lulu Group to invest ₹3,500 crore in Tamil Nadu; 5 UAE firms sign MoUs worth ₹2,600 crore with the state.
• Samsung signs MoU with TN govt to invest ₹1,588 crore to set up new compressor plant for refrigerators.
• Suzuki signs MoU with Gujarat govt for electrical vehicles and battery manufacturing in India.
• India’s largest EV charging station for 4-wheelers opens in Gurugram with a capacity of 121 EV chargers.
• Hyundai Motor opens first plant in Indonesia to gear up Southeast Asia drive.
• MG Motor launches new venture ‘MG Charge’ to install 1,000 chargers in India in 1,000 days.
• Hero MotoCorp unveils new brand ‘Vida’ for emerging mobility solutions.
• Sony, Honda announce partnership to make electric vehicles.
• HAL introduces 19-seater aircraft, can be operated in semi-prepared and unpaved airstrips.
• U.S. FAA finalizes Boeing 777 safety directives after fan blade failures.
• Elon Musk’s SpaceX wins more NASA crew flights to ISS for $3.49 billion.
• Australia unveils $360 million in financing of critical minerals to offset China’s dominance.
• IEA members agree to release 60 million barrels of oil from their strategic reserves.
• Oil price surges to highest since 2008, as brent hit $139/barrel.
• India buys Russian oil despite pressure for sanctions; G7 rejects Russia’s demand to pay for gas in Rubles.
• US, EU announce new partnership to undercut Russian energy.
• Russia stock market exchange partially reopens after one-month closure.
• Bharti Airtel prepays ₹8,815 crore towards deferred liabilities for 2015 spectrum.
• TCS partners with Fletcher Building, Google Cloud to support long-term growth and digital innovation.
• Tech Mahindra partners with Cisco to drive 5G modernisation and routed optical networking.
• Google teams up with MeitY to help 100 Indian startups build global apps.
• EU approves new Digital Markets Act putting clamps on Big Tech.
• US adds Russia’s Kaspersky, China telecom firms to national security threat list.
• CBI arrests former NSE CEO Chitra Ramkrishna in co-location scam case.
• Russians launches ‘Rossgram’- a replacement of Instagram amid war with Ukraine.
• Amazon announces 20-for-1 stock split, $10 billion share buyback.
• BYJU’S named as official sponsor of FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.
• PVR, INOX announce merger, Ajay Bijli will be MD of combined entity.
• Zomato acquires a 16.66% stake in Mukunda Foods for $5 million, grants $150-million loan to Blinkit.
• N Chandrasekaran appointed chairman of Air India as Ilker Ayci declines CEO role.
• Madhabi Puri Buch takes charge of Chairperson of SEBI.
• LIC appoints Reliance-Nippon Life’s Sunil Agarwal as CFO ahead of mega IPO.
• Aviation industry veteran Sanjiv Kapoor appointed Jet Airways CEO.
• Govt appoints ex-financial services secretary Debasish Panda as IRDAI Chief.
• Anil Ambani resigns as director of Reliance Power, Reliance Infrastructure

General News

• Assembly Elections 2022: 78.94% voter turnout recorded in Goa, 62.5% in Uttarakhand, 65.50% in Punjab.
• UP Assembly Elections 2022 Phase 1: 60.17% , Phase 2: 60.44%, Phase 3: 61.02% and Phase 4: 59.77%, Phase 5: 53.98%. Manipur Phase 1: 78.03%.
• First leg of Budget Session concludes, both Houses adjourned till March 14.
• India’s energy needs to double in next 20 years: PM Modi at World Sustainable Development Summit.
• PM Modi holds India-UAE virtual summit with Abu Dhabi Crown Prince, release roadmap to boost ties.
• India France sign roadmap to enhance bilateral exchanges on blue economy and ocean governance.
• India, Maldives hold dialogue to expand defence cooperation.
• India-EU hold 2nd maritime security dialogue; both commit to inclusive, rules-based Indo-Pacific.
• US announces Indo-Pacific strategy to support India’s continued rise and regional leadership.
• Jaishankar, British counterpart Liz Truss discuss India-UK ‘Roadmap 2030’, Ukraine.
• Saudi Arabia land forces Commander calls on Army chief Naravane on first visit to India.
• Oman Defence Ministry’s Secretary General calls on Air Chief Marshal, discusses bilateral ties.
• Govt creates post of Maritime Security Advisor, Vice Admiral Ashok Kumar takes Charge.
• 40 countries take part in Indian Navy’s multilateral exercise MILAN 2022.
• Army Chief MM Naravane discusses bilateral defence cooperation with Australian counterpart.
• 3 more Rafale jets arrive in India from France, total 35 of 36 aircraft acquired.
• Defence Ministry makes induction of women fighter pilots in IAF a permanent scheme.
• ISRO successfully launches PSLV-C52 carrying ‘earth observation’ & 2 other satellites.
• PM CARES Fund corpus triples to ₹10,990 crore in FY 2020-21; disbursal rises to ₹3,976 crore.
• Centre approves ₹26,275-crore police modernisation scheme for five more years from 2021-22 to 2025-26.
• Centre approves ‘Education for all’ scheme for non-literates of 15 years above.
• Home Ministry bans 54 Chinese apps citing security concerns.
• J&K delimitation Panel proposes 17 Assembly seats in Jammu, 12 in Kashmir; gets time to redraw map.
• Telangana CM K Chandrasekhar Rao meets Sharad Pawar, Uddhav Thackeray, discusses ‘anti-BJP front’.
• PM Modi unveils giant ‘Statue of Equality’ in remembrance of Saint Ramanujacharya in Hyderabad.
• Lalu Yadav gets 5 years in jail in fodder scam case, fined ₹ 60 lakh; CBI court convicts 74 others.
• ED arrests Nawab Malik in money laundering case linked to Dawood Ibrahim.
• SC refuses to hear plea challenging Karnataka HC interim order on Hijab row.
• CBSE to conduct 2nd term board exam for classes 10, 12 in offline mode from April 26.
• India, Nepal sign MoU to construct motorable bridge across Mahakali river in Dharchula.
• Jal Jeevan Mission achieves milestone of providing tap water to 9 crore rural homes in the country.
• India’s total tally of COVID-19 cases rises to 4,29,31,045, death toll climbs to 5,14,054.
• Cumulative COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in India cross 177 crore.
• Centre asks states, UTs to end additional COVID curbs amid decline in cases.
• Govt removes ‘At Risk’ marking for countries with high Omicron caseload.
• India’s melody queen Lata Mangeshkar, Bappi Lahiri, Rahul Bajaj passed away.
• India abstains from procedural vote ahead of discussion on Ukraine at UN Security Council.
• President Putin accuses West of deliberately ignoring Russia’s security concerns over Ukraine.
• Putin recognises Ukrainian separatist regions as independent nations; EU, UK, Australia, Canada, Japan impose sanctions.
• Germany suspends Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline Project Approval for Russia.
• Russia’s Vladimir Putin announces military operation in Ukraine.
• Ukraine’s military retaliates; tens of thousands civilians flee their homes.
• Russian President Vladimir Putin orders military command to put nuclear deterrent forces on high alert.
• First round of peace talks between Ukraine & Russia end with no agreements; second round scheduled.
• India abstains from UNSC resolution against Russian aggression; Russia vetoes resolution.
• NATO bolsters arms supply to Ukraine with anti-tank weapons; US approves $350 million in military aid.
• Global COVID-19 caseload tops 437 million, fatalities at 5.97 million.
• One Ocean Summit: More than 100 nations commit to take action to save oceans from human harm.
• US approves appointment of Masood Khan as Pakistan’s envoy to Washington.
• Biden signs order to split $7 billion frozen Afghan funds to 9/11 victims, humanitarian relief.
• Pakistan allows Indian humanitarian relief passage to Afghanistan.
• Bill Gates make his first-ever visit to Pakistan, discusses health issues with PM Imran Khan.
• Pakistan PM Imran Khan to visit Russia on Wednesday, first visit by Pakistan premier in 23 years.
• Truckers end U.S. border blockade Canadian PM declares end of 10-day state of emergency.
• South Korea, US, Japan commit to close coordination against North Korean missile threats.
• Myanmar’s Ousted Leader Suu Kyi slapped with the 11th corruption charge, faces 150 years in prison.
• Queen Elizabeth marks 70 years on the throne; backs Camilla as Queen Consort.
• India vs West Indies: India sweep ODI and T20 series 3-0.
• India vs Sri Lanka: IND register historic 12th consecutive T20I win, clinch series sweep over SL.
• Rohit Sharma replaces Virat Kohli as India’s new Test captain.
• India climbs to top spot in ICC T20 rankings after series sweep over WI.
• ICC Women’s ODI Rankings: Mithali Raj climbs to second spot, Smriti Mandhana retains sixth position.
• IPL 2022 to be played across four venues in Mumbai and Pune, final on May 29.
• ICC U-19 Cricket World Cup 2022: India beat England by 4 wickets in finals to win record-extending 5th title.
• Beijing 2022 Opening Ceremony starts with spectacular ‘Beginning of Spring’ sequence.
• Arif Khan finishes 45th out of 89 competitors in giant slalom of 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
• Norway tops Winter Olympics medals table with 37 followed by Germany(27) and China(15).

Business News

• RBI keeps repo, reverse repo rates unchanged at 4% and 3.35%, respectively for 10th time in a row; pegs FY22 GDP growth at 9.2%.
• Centre releases revenue deficit grant of ₹9,871 crore to 17 states.
• Food Processing Ministry gives nod to 83 proposals for incentives under PLI scheme.
• Govt receives 5 proposals for semiconductor % display manufacturing under the ₹76,000 crore PLI scheme.
• Govt to develop 22 Greenfield Expressways, 23 key infrastructure projects & 35 Multi-Modal Logistics Parks.
• Govt bans import of foreign drones, lists exceptions; scraps requirement of drone pilot license.
• Karnataka approves 88 industrial projects worth ₹ 2,367.99 crore.
• Suzuki, Hyundai, Tata Motors among 20 companies selected for sops under Auto PLI scheme.
• Govt makes seatbelts mandatory for all cars carrying up to 8 passengers.
• Centre makes helmet, safety harness a must for kids riding pillion.
• Govt approves up to 20% FDI in LIC under automatic route.
• Indian government pays Cairn Energy PLC ₹7,900 crore to settle retro tax dispute.
• Adani Wilmar, Manyavar-owner Vedant Fashions make their market debut.
• TCS approves ₹18,000 crore share buyback; February 23, 2022, fixed as the record date.
• Centre places purchase order for 5 crore doses of Corbevax Covid vaccine each costing ₹145 sans tax.
• Govt approves EUA for Sputnik Light and BE’s Covid jab Corbevax for 12-18 years age group.
• DGCI gives nod to SII’s proposal to manufacture vaccine against omicron for test, analysis.
• Zydus Cadila starts supplies of its anti-COVID vaccine ZyCoV-D to government, priced at ₹265 per dose.
• Eli Lilly’s new antibody drug to fight Omicron receives US FDA authorization.
• Canada authorises Medicago’s 2-dose vaccine, first plant-based COVID-19 vaccine for adults aged 18 to 64.
• IIFL Home Finance signs $68 million loan with ADB; to boost affordable green housing in India.
• Blackstone acquires majority stake in wealth management firm ASK from Advent, others.
• Tata Teleservices withdraws plan to convert its accrued interest on deferred AGR dues into govt equity.
• Airtel joins SEA-ME-WE-6 undersea cable consortium to scale up high-speed network.
• Jio Platforms invests $200 million in internet company Glance for 17% stake.
• Jio’s subsea cable system IAX to connect Maldives to India, Singapore.
• Biden administration rolls out $5 billion funding plan to states for electric vehicle chargers.
• Jaguar Land Rover ties up with Nvidia to develop software for SUVs.
• Tesla to accept Dogecoin as payment at Supercharging station.
• IL&FS resolves ₹324 crore debt by selling stake in Warora Chandrapur Highway.
• CBI interrogates Former NSE Chief Chitra Ramkrishna, accused of sharing info with Himalayan Yogi.
• ₹18,000 crore returned to banks in cases related to Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi & Mehul Choksi: Govt to SC.
• Karnataka HC strikes down state’s prohibition on online gaming involving money.
• Gujarat-based ABG Shipyard accused of defrauding 28 banks of Rs 22,842 crore by CBI.
• Oil prices surge above $100 a barrel for first time in 8 years as Ukraine crisis escalates
• Sri Lanka imposes rolling power cuts as economic crisis worsens.
• EXIM Bank signs $500 million LoC agreement with Sri Lanka.
• China imposes sanctions on US defense giants Lockheed, Raytheon over Taiwan deal.
• India, UAE signs a free trade pact, to almost double two-way trade to $100 billion in the next five years.
• IMF approves $1 billion loan tranche for Pakistan.
• France become the first country to join China to build $1.7 billion global infra projects.
• Pakistan signs new pact with China to kick off 2nd phase of CPEC.
• Vedanta signs up with Foxconn to manufacture semiconductors in India.
• Intel agrees to $6 billion deal to buy Israel’s Tower Semiconductor Ltd.
• Former US President Donald Trump’s Truth Social app launches on Apple App Store.
• Amazon India signs MoU with Karnataka govt to turn rural women into entrepreneurs.
• Online health and fitness platform Cult.fit acquires Gold Gym fitness chain across India.
• Ravi Mital appointed head of Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India.
• Madhabi Puri Buch appointed as SEBI India Chairperson for a term of 3 years.
• N Chandrasekaran gets extension as Chairman of Tata Sons for 5 years.
• Former Turkish Airlines Chairman Ilker Ayci named Air India CEO.
• IndiGo appoints co-founder and promoter Rahul Bhatia as MD; Rakesh Gangwal resigns from board.
• Former Sri Lankan Airlines CEO Vipula Gunatilleka appointed as Jet Airways CFO.
• Sanjeev Sanyal inducted into Economic Advisory Council to PM.
• World Bank’s India head Junaid Ahmad appointed Vice President, Operations

Q3 Results

• SBI Q3 profit jumps 62% YoY to ₹8,432 crore on lower provisions, NII increased 6.48% to ₹30,687 crore.
• Bank of Baroda Q3 net profit doubles to ₹2,197 crore on lower provisions, NII jumps 14% to ₹8,552 crore.
• HDFC Q3 net profit rises 11% YoY to ₹3,261 crore, NII rose 5% to ₹4,284 crore.
• Tech Mahindra Q3 profit up 4.5% YoY to ₹1,369 crore, revenue up 18.7% to ₹11,451 crore.
• M&M reports 57% jump in Q3 net profit at ₹1,987 crore, revenue increased 9% to ₹23,594 crore.
• Ashok Leyland reports Q3 net profit at ₹5.7 crore, revenue rose 15% YoY to ₹5,535.2 crore.
• ONGC Q3 Profit jumps 220% YoY to ₹11,637 crore, revenue gains 45% to ₹1.46 lakh crore.
• Bharti Airtel profit drops 2.8% to ₹830 crore in Q3; revenue up 12.6% to ₹29,867 crore, ARPU falls to ₹163.
• Nykaa Q3 Profit plunges 58% to ₹29 crore; revenue up 36% ₹1,098.36 crore.
• Zomato’s Q3 loss narrows to ₹63.2 crore; revenue jumps 82% YoY to hit ₹1,112 crore.
• Nestle India Q4 profit dips 20% YoY to ₹386.66 crore, net sales up 8.9% to ₹3,739.32 crore.

General News

• Assembly elections 2022: EC announces 7-phase election in 5 states from Feb 10, counting on March 10.
• UP to vote in 7 phases; Manipur in 2 phases; Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa in single phase.
• CM Adityanath to contest from Gorakhpur, Akhilesh Yadav to contest from home turf Karhal.
• AAP names Bhagwant Mann as Punjab’s CM candidate, Amit Palekar as Goa CM candidate.
• India displays its military might, cultural diversity, socio economic progress at 73rd Republic Day parade.
• President approves 384 Gallantry Awards, other decorations to Armed Forces; Padma awards announced.
• Vaccination for 15-18 age group, booster dose to senior citizens, healthcare and frontline workers begins.
• India’s total COVID caseload touches 4.14 crore; cumulative vaccination crosses 166.7 crore.
• Focus on localised curbs to contain COVID, minimise damage to livelihood: PM Modi to Chief Ministers.
• No one can be forced to get vaccinated against their wishes: Centre tells SC.
• PM Modi launches India-assisted projects with Mauritius counterpart Pravin Kumar Jugnauth.
• PM Modi reviews strategic partnership with new German Chancellor Olaf Scholz .
• India, 5 Central Asian countries decide to establish joint working group on Afghanistan.
• PM lays foundation stone of 22 developmental projects worth over ₹4,800 crore in Imphal.
• PM Modi virtually inaugurates 11 medical colleges in Tamil Nadu.
• Assam, Nagaland CMs discuss on issues of ‘mutual interest, status quo along interstate border for now.
• Centre withdraws SSG security cover to 4 ex-J&K CMs – Abdullahs, Mehbooba Mufti & Ghulam Nabi Azad.
• SC appoints panel headed by ex-judge Indu Malhotra to probe breach in PM’s security in Ferozepur.
• SIT files chargesheet in Lakhimpur Kheri violence case, names MoS Ajay Misra`s son as prime accused.
• Amar Jawan Jyoti at India Gate merged with National War Memorial Flame.
• Indian Army unveils new digital combat uniform at Army Day parade.
• India, China hold 14th round of military talks to resolve eastern Ladakh standoff.
• Lt Gen Manoj Pande appointed as next Army Vice Chief.
• India bags contract from Philippines for BrahMos missiles worth $374 million.
• India successfully test-fires new version of BrahMos supersonic cruise missile off Odisha coast.
• CDS General Bipin Rawat’s chopper crashed due to inclement weather, ‘entry into clouds’: IAF.
• Rocket scientist S Somnath to be new ISRO chief for three years, replaces K Sivan.
• Global COVID caseload tops 375 million, deaths surge to more than 5.68 million.
• COVAX program delivers 1 billion doses to 144 poor countries: WHO.
• EU ends omicron travel ban on flights from southern Africa.
• UN launches nearly $5 billion aid appeal for Afghanistan; US announces $308 million in aid.
• US suspends all commercial flights to China ahead of Beijing Winter Olympics.
• Leaders of US, Russia, Britain, France, and China adopt joint statement on preventing nuclear war.
• Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy urges calm as world leaders work to avert Russian invasion.
• Australia, Japan sign ‘historic’ defence pact amid China concerns.
• US and Japan strengthen defence ties by signing 2 new defence deals.
• South Korea inks deal with UAE to sell mid-range surface-to-air missiles.
• North Korea launches 7th missile test in 1 month.
• Iran blacklists 51 Americans over assassination of former military commander Qasem Soleimani.
• Myanmar’s ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi jailed for 4 more years for possessing walkie-talkies.
• Indonesia passes Law to move capital from Jakarta to remote Borneo.
• Justice Ayesha Malik takes oath as first woman judge of Pakistan’s Supreme Court.
• Malta’s Roberta Metsola becomes youngest person elected European Parliament president.
• Massive underwater volcanic eruption in Tonga triggers tsunami; Magnitude 6.2 earthquake hits again.
• China successfully tests ‘Artificial Sun’ to harness clean energy by 2040, 5 times powerful than real Sun.
• Virat Kohli steps down as India’s Test captain after 7 years in role.
• South Africa beat India by 4 runs in a thriller to complete 3-0 series sweep.
• South Africa secure 2-1 Test series victory over India.
• ICC Awards 2021: Babar Azam, Lizelle Lee named ODI Cricketers of the year; Mohammad Rizwan and Tammy Beaumont named ICC T20 Cricketers of the Year.
• Smriti Mandhana, Shaheen Afridi named ICC Cricketers of the Year.
• Babar Azam named Captain of the ODI and ICC T20I Team of the year.
• T20 World Cup 2022 to start from Oct 16; India to begin campaign against Pakistan on October 23.
• FIFA Awards: Robert Lewandowski, Alexia Putellas named Best Players; Cristiano Ronaldo honoured.
• Shuttler Tasnim Mir becomes first Indian to claim World No. 1 status in U-19 girls singles.
• India Open 2022: Lakshya Sen wins men’s singles crown; Satwik-Chirag pair claims maiden title.
• Australia bars Novak Djokovic, cancels entry visa over vaccination status.
• Australian Open: Rafael Nadal secures 21st Grand Slam; World No.1 Ash Barty claims her maiden title.
• France’s Kristina Mladenovic, Croatian Ivan Dodig win Australian Open mixed doubles title.

Business News

• Nirmala Sitharaman presents Union Budget 2022-23; expects economic growth at 9.2% in the current fiscal.
• RBI to issue India’s first digital currency in FY22-23 using Blockchain.
• Cryptocurrency income to be taxed at 30%, no change in income tax slabs.
• 400 new Vande Bharat trains to be introduced, National Highway network will be expanded by 25,000 kms.
• Economic Survey forecasts FY23 real GDP growth at 8-8.5%.
• Govt approves ₹12,000 crore green energy corridor phase-II to modernise transmission.
• Centre approves ₹1,500 crore infusion in IREDA to boost renewable energy financing.
• Govt clears 20 strategic projects worth ₹30 crores under National Technical Textiles Mission.
• Finance ministry relaxes expenditure cap for Jan-March quarter within revised estimates.
• J&K inks 6 deals with global investors at Dubai Expo 2020.
• Assam govt partners with NDDB to set up ₹2,000 crore dairy joint venture.
• Govt completes formal handover of Air India to Tata Group.
• Tatas gets loan commitment from SBI-led consortium for Air India.
• DGCA extends suspension of commercial passenger flights to and from India till Feb 28.
• Number of handbags per passenger reduced to 1 to reduce congestion and security threat.
• PM Modi propagates “Pro-Planet People” approach at WEF Davos Agenda 2022.
• India, South Korea agree to fast-track trade talks, set $50 billion bilateral trade target before 2030.
• India allows imports of US pork, pork products for the first time.
• World Bank projects India’s growth at 8.3% for FY 2021-22; 8.7% in FY 2022-23.
• India grants $900 million loan to Sri Lanka to build forex reserve; extends $500 million LoC for fuel import.
• Sri Lanka inflation hits record 14%; govt announces $1.2 billion economic relief package.
• China cuts interest on 1-year medium-term loans for first time since April 2020.
• Bank of Japan revises inflation projection for first time since 2014, no policy change.
• UK-EU resume talks on Brexit trade spat.
• Supreme Court upholds winding up of Devas Multimedia.
• Cairn withdraws all lawsuits against India, to get ₹7,900 crore tax refund.
• UK court orders eviction of Vijay Mallya from his London home over UBS’ unpaid loan.
• Covishield, Covaxin get conditional market nod.
• Aurobindo Pharma launches Molnaflu, its brand of Molnupiravir, an Oral COVID pill in India.
• Lupin launches antiviral medication Molnulup for COVID-19 treatment in India.
• Govt proposes mandatory 6 airbags in all new cars carrying up to 8 people from October 2022.
• Delhi government directs cab aggregators and delivery service providers to add 50% EVs by 2023.
• Toyota dethrones GM to become America’s top-selling automaker in 2021.
• Renault, Geely to jointly design and produce electric hybrid and gasoline-fueled vehicles in South Korea.
• Hero Future Energies ties up with Ohmium to set up 1GW green hydrogen facilities in India, UK, Europe.
• M&M partners with Hero Electric, to manufacture electric bikes Optima & NYX.
• TVS Motor acquires Switzerland’s e-bike firm SEMG for $100 million.
• Verizon, AT&T delay 5G rollout around some airports after stark warnings from US airlines.
• Voda Idea, Tata Teleservices opt for conversion of AGR dues into equity; Airtel opts for interest payment.
• Reliance Jio pre-pays ₹30,791 crore clearing all spectrum liabilities.
• Nokia, Tech Mahindra partner for 5G-based solutions for enterprises.
• Bharti’s OneWeb, Hughes partner to provide satellite broadband services in India.
• Google invests $1 billion in Airtel for shaping India’s digital ecosystem, takes 1.28% stake for $700 million.
• Airtel Payments Bank gets permission to function as scheduled bank from RBI.
• TCS wins second phase of Passport Seva Programme valued at about ₹6,000 crore.
• Tech Mahindra partners with US’ Pyze; acquires European firm Com Tec Co IT for  ₹2,620  crore.
• HCL Tech acquires Hungary’s Starschema for $42.5 million.
• Dixon, boAt form 50:50 JV to manufacture Bluetooth enabled audio devices.
• IMF urges El Salvador to dissolve the $150 million Bitcoin trust fund, scale back its Bitcoin push.
• UAE-based LuLu Group’s ₹200 crore MoU for J&K food processing hub.
• Google Cloud ties up with CryptoWire to develop blockchain, crypto ecosystem.
• Future Enterprises sells 25% stake in general insurance JV to partner Generali for ₹1,253 Crore.
• Reliance arm RIHL acquires 73.37% stake in New York’s Mandarin Oriental hotel for $98.15 million.
• Timex Group gets manufacturing, distribution rights for Guess & Gc branded watches in India.
• Facebook parent Meta builds powerful AI Supercomputer to support Metaverse.
• Jubilant FoodWorks launches American restaurant chain Popeyes in India.
• Swiggy turns decacorn; closes $700 million round led by Invesco at $10.7 billion valuation.
• Apple becomes first company to reach $3 trillion market value.
• Govt appoints V Anantha Nageswaran as Chief Economic Advisor.
• Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas replaces Gita Gopinath as IMF chief economist.
• Former RBI Governor Urjit Patel appointed Vice President of AIIB.
• OPEC picks Kuwait’s Haitham Al Ghais as next Secretary-General.
• Senior IAS officer Vikram Dev Dutt appointed new Chairman and MD of Air India.
• Starlink India Head Sanjay Bhargava resigns as it offers refunds for pre-orders.

Q3 Results

• HDFC Bank Q3 profit rises 18% to ₹10,342 crore, net interest income grows to ₹18,444 crore.
• ICICI Bank Q3 net profit up 25% YoY to ₹6,194 crore; NII jumps 23% to ₹12,236 crore, NNPA ratio at 0.85%.
• Kotak Mahindra Bank Q3 net profit up 15% YoY to ₹2,131 crore, NII increases by 12% to ₹4,334 crore.
• RIL Q3 profit up 38% to ₹20,539 crore, revenue grew 54.25% to ₹1.9 lakh crore.
• Reliance Jio Q3 net profit up 9% to ₹3,615 crore, revenue grew 6% YoY to ₹20,597 crore, ARPU up at ₹152.
• TCS Q3 net profit up at ₹9,769 crore, revenue at ₹48,885 crore; announces buyback of ₹18,000 crore.
• Infosys Q3 Net profit up 12% YoY at ₹5,809 crore, revenue up 23% at ₹31,867 crore.
• Dr Reddy’s registers Q3 net profit at ₹707 crore, Consolidated revenues up by 8% YoY to ₹5,320 crore.
• Wipro Q3 net profit at ₹2,970 crore, revenue up 30% YoY at ₹20,432 crore; declares ₹1 interim dividend.
• HUL Q3 profit rises 17% YoY to ₹2,243 crore, sales rises 10% to ₹12,900 crore.
• Maruti Suzuki Q3 net profit falls 48% YoY to ₹1,011 crore, revenue stood at ₹22,187 crore.
• Bajaj Auto Q3 FY22 net profit down 17% QoQ to ₹1,430 crore, income rises marginally ₹9,369.31 crore.
• Vodafone Idea Q3 loss widens to ₹7,231 crore, revenue down 11% YoY to ₹9,717 crore; ARPU up at ₹115.

General News

• Parliament adjourned sine die, ahead of schedule; Lok Sabha registers 82% productivity, Rajya Sabha 47%.
• Bill repealing 3 farm laws gets President’s assent; Cabinet clears draft Bill for linking Aadhaar & voter ID.
• Farmers call off protest after Centre accepts their demands in writing.
• India’s total COVID-19 cases rose to 3,48,38,804; cumulative vaccination coverage exceeds 144.5 crore.
• Omicron tally rose to 1200; Delhi and Maharashtra top the chart.
• India to start administering booster doses for frontline workers and people above 60 from Jan 10.
• COVID-19 vaccine booster dose to be given nine months after second shot.
• Children aged 15 to 17 to be administered Covaxin from Jan 3.
• Centre asks states to impose night curfew, containment zones to curb Omicron spread.
• Govt panel recommends restricted emergency use of Covovax, Corbevax and anti-Covid pill Molnupiravir.
• Himachal Pradesh becomes first state to achieve 100% vaccination.
• Centre releases ₹604 crore to J&K to expedite Jal Jeevan Mission implementation.
• Purvanchal Expressway, Kushinagar Airport, Jewar Airport, Ganga Expressway – among projects announced by PM Modi in poll-bound UP.
• PM Modi inaugurates multiple development projects worth over ₹650 crore in Goa.
• Rajnath Singh inaugurates 27 bridges and 3 roads on LAC and LoC.
• Goa Forward Party, Congress announce alliance ahead of 2022 Assembly polls.
• 14 civilians killed by security forces in Nagaland in a case of mistaken identity; Army orders probe.
• CM Kejriwal launches Dilli Ki Yogshala to help Delhi residents practise yoga under trained teachers.
• Delhi govt extends free ration distribution scheme till May 31.
• AP Govt waives ₹10,000 crore worth home loans of poor under One-Time Settlement (OTS) scheme.
• Cyclone Jawad weakens into deep depression; spares Odisha, Andhra Pradesh any major damage.
• Supreme Court stays proceedings of West Bengal’s Lokur panel probing Pegasus snooping allegations.
• Bhutan confers its highest civilian award on PM Modi on occasion of the country’s National Day.
• India, Central Asian nations vow to fight Afghanistan terror at 3rd India-Central Asia Dialogue.
• Army receives new Israeli Heron drones for deployment in Ladakh sector to boost surveillance along LAC.
• India, Russia hold first ever 2+2 ministerial dialogue; discuss terrorism, Afghanistan, maritime security.
• India-Russia ink AK-203 assault rifle deal, renew 10-year pact for military cooperation.
• Centre approves plan to manufacture 5 lakh AK-203 rifles in UP’s Amethi.
• First Chief of Defence Bipin Rawat, 13 others die in chopper crash in Tamil Nadu’s Coonoor.
• President Kovind confers annual National Awards on International Day of Persons with Disabilities.
• Ex-CM of AP K Rosaiah, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Nobel Peace prize laureate passes away.
• WHO warns Omicron variant of COVID-19 is spreading at unprecedented rate; reported in 106 countries.
• Countries brace for renewed restrictions amid Omicron surge.
• Global Omicron surge drives cases to record highs in 20 countries; total Covid caseload tops 288.5 million.
• China reports sudden spike in COVID-19 cases ahead of Winter Olympics.
• United Nations adopts resolution on North Korean human rights abuses.
• US President Biden bans import of goods from China’s Xinjiang province to prevent use of forced labour.
• US imposes sweeping human rights sanctions on China, Myanmar and North Korea.
• Biden signs stopgap funding bill to keep government running until mid-February.
• US President Biden signs $770 billion defence bill.
• Russia warns of ‘grave consequences’ after U.S. reaffirms threat of sanctions over Ukraine.
• Olaf Scholz takes over from Angela Merkel as German chancellor.
• Iran steps up uranium enrichment capacity despite talks to salvage nuclear deal.
• UAE switches weekend to Saturday-Sunday from next year.
• Taliban government resumes issuing Afghan passports in Kabul.
• Turkey, Qatar enters into deal with Taliban on running airport of Kabul.
• Pakistan approves its first-ever National Security Policy.
• Myanmar court sentences ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi to 4 years.
• US, UK, Canada and Australia stage diplomatic boycott of Beijing Winter Olympics.
• WADA reinstates India’s dope testing lab accreditation.
• Indian legend Anju Bobby George wins Woman of the Year Award from World Athletics.
• BWF World Championships: Kidambi Srikanth settles for silver.
• Rohit replaces Kohli as ODI captain, takes over from Rahane as Test vice-captain.
• IPL Retention: Dhoni, Kohli, Rohit, Bumrah, Pant retained; Rahul, Rashid opt to go into auction pool.
• India beat New Zealand by record 372 runs to win Test series 1-0, reclaims top spot in Test Rankings.
• IND vs SA 1st Test: India beat South Africa by 113 runs, take 1-0 lead in 3-match series.
• R Ashwin takes 50 Test wickets for 4th time in calendar year; overtakes Kumble and Harbhajan.
• Ajaz Patel becomes 3rd bowler after Jim Laker, Anil Kumble to take all wickets in an innings.
• Harbhajan Singh, New Zealand’s Ross Taylor, South Africa’s Quinton de Kock announce retirements.
• The Ashes: Australia retain Ashes after thrashing England by an innings for 3-0 series lead.
• Formula 1: Red Bull’s Max Verstappen took his first Formula One title.
• Lewis Hamilton receives knighthood from Prince Of Wales for services to motorsport.

Business News

• Government seeks Parliament nod for ₹3.73 lakh crore additional spending this fiscal.
• Cabinet approves ₹76,000-crore incentive scheme for semiconductors, display manufacturing; ₹1,300 crore to promote digital payments.
• 46th GST council meet defers rate hike on textiles.
• PM lays foundation stone of hydropower projects worth over ₹11,000 crore in Mandi, Himachal Pradesh.
• Power minister RK Singh approves 23 new inter-state transmission system projects worth ₹15,893 crore.
• Ministry of Electronics and IT releases national strategy on blockchain for its adoption in govt systems.
• J&K government inks 39 MoUs worth over ₹18,000 crore at maiden realty summit.
• Invest Rajasthan: State govt inks MoUs for ₹36,820 crore in Tamil Nadu.
• Vibrant Gujarat: 16 more MoUs inked for investments in hospitality, defence accessories.
• Odisha extends additional rice distribution for 4 months till 2022 March under State Food Security Scheme.
• Commercial LPG cylinders hiked by ₹100, second price increase since November 1.
• Railways to get ₹20,000 crore in supplementary grants as capital expenditure.
• Government issues advisory against Ed-Tech companies in India, urges citizens to use caution.
• I-T relaxes time till February 2022 for taxpayers to complete verification of FY’20 ITRs.
• RBI extends card tokenisation deadline by 6 months till June-end.
• RBI holds repo rate at 4%; FY21 GDP growth pegged at 9.5%, inflation unchanged at 5.3%.
• United Forum of Bank Unions holds two-day strike to protest the Centre’s plan to privatise PSU banks.
• India Post Payments Bank partners HDFC Bank for banking products, services in semi-urban and rural areas.
• Kotak Mahindra rolls out business with WazirX for Crypto trading.
• Paytm Payments Bank receives ‘scheduled bank’ status from RBI.
• Star Health, Tega Industries, Anand Rathi Wealth, Shriram Properties, RateGain Travel Technologies, MapmyIndia, Metro Brands, MedPlus Health Services, Data Patterns, HP Adhesives, Supriya Lifescience make market debuts.
• WHO approves emergency use listing for Serum Institute’s Covovax.
• DCGI approves Covaxin for emergency use in age group between 12 and 18 years.
• Serum Institute of India delivers first Novavax vaccine batch through COVAX.
• Biocon partners with Tabuk Pharma to commercialise its specialty generic medicines in Middle East.
• DGCA extends ban on scheduled international passenger flights till January 31.
• CCI approves Tata Group acquisition of Air India
• Tata group prepares 100-day plan to improve service, operational standards of Air India.
• Tata Motors signs MoU with Maharashtra Govt to set up a vehicle scrapping facility.
• Tesla gets approval for launch of 3 more models in India.
• Tata Motors incorporates EV subsidiary Tata Passenger Electric Mobility.
• Mercedes gets nod to use hands-free driving system in Germany.
• Bajaj Auto commences work at its new EV facility, roll out in June 2022.
• Murugappa Group enters India’s EV market, rolls out e-auto and cargo three-wheeler under Montra brand.
• DoT releases bank guarantee of around ₹9,200 crore of Airtel, VIL, Jio.
• Airtel, TCS successfully test 5G use cases on Neural Manufacturing solutions.
• Airtel pre-pays ₹15,519 crore to clear all deferred liabilities for spectrum acquired in 2014.
• Qualcomm, Google Cloud announce collaboration to create next-gen mobile AI.
• Vedanta group to invest ₹60,000 crore to set up chip manufacturing unit in India.
• Tech Mahindra acquires 100% stake in Activus Connect for ₹466 crore.
• HCL Tech and apoBank to acquire German IT consulting firm gbs for €99,000.
• Wipro acquires US cybersecurity firm Edgile for $230 million.
• Apple puts Foxconn plant on probation, iPhone 12 production on hold until further notice.
• Oppo signs deal with ISRO to strengthen R&D of NavIC messaging service.
• China tightens scrutiny on offshore listings in sectors off-limits to foreign investment.
• Bharat Petroleum collaborates with Bhabha Atomic Research Centre for Green Hydrogen production.
• UK signs free-trade agreement with Australia to bolster post-Brexit economic ties.
• Pakistan receives $3 billion loan from Saudi as part of economic support package.
• Reliance, Abu Dhabi-based TA’ZIZ form joint venture for $2 billion chemical projects in Ruwais.
• CCI suspends Amazon-Future Group deal citing suppression of information.
• Zee-Sony merger gets approval from board; Sony to hold 50.86% stake in the merged entity.
• Grofers rebrands to Blinkit in line with its 10-min grocery delivery plan; sets up 300 partner stores.
• Flipkart, Walmart invest $145 million in Ninjacart.
• PhonePe becomes first payment platform to tokenise cards on Visa, Mastercard and Rupay.
• NASA awards $415.6 million to Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin, others for new space hubs.
• Apple’s Tim Cook signs $275 billion deal with Chinese officials to placate China.
• Swiggy and ANRA Technologies conduct first-ever delivery trials of food, medicine with drones.
• Vedanta withdraws cases against govt to settle ₹20,495 crore retro tax dispute.
• UK high court defers decision on Nirav Modi’s appeal against extradition.
• Italy fines Amazon record $1.3 billion for abuse of market dominance.
• Cult.fit acquires RPM fitness, Fitkit, Onefitplus, and Urban Terrain brands in a single transaction.
• Samsung merges Mobile and Consumer Electronics Divisions in management restructuring.
• Health-tech startup Pristyn Care raises $96 million in Series E round, joins Unicorn club.
• China removes 106 apps from app stores citing privacy violations.
• WhatsApp empowers 500 villages in Karnataka, Maharashtra with access to digital payments.
• Workers in New York Vote to Form First Starbucks Union in the US.
• Gita Gopinath to take on new role at IMF as First Deputy Managing Director.
• Senior bureaucrat Alka Upadhyaya appointed National Highways Authority of India Chief.
• RBI appoints Yogesh Dayal as additional director on RBL Bank board for 2 years.
• Centre appoints Atul Kumar Goel as new MD & CEO of Punjab National Bank.
• Infosys scraps COO position after UB Pravin Rao retires, distributes responsibilities among top executives.
• OYO rooms appoints former SBI Chairman Rajnish Kumar as Strategic Group Advisor.
• Jefferies resigns as loan agent for spyware maker NSO Group.

General News

• Winter Session of Parliament begins from November 29, to go on till December 23.
• PM Modi announces repeal of 3 contentious farm laws; Farm laws repeal Bill passed by both the Houses.
• WHO names new COVID strain ‘Omicron’, classifies it as ‘highly transmissible’.
• Centre advises States to ramp up testing for early detection of cases over Omicron scare.
• India COVID tally touches 3.46 crores, Active cases account for 0.30% of total infections.
• Global COVID-19 caseload crosses 263 million: deaths surge to more than 5.2 million.
• Over 124 crore COVID vaccine doses administered I India so far; 32% fully vaccinated.
• India to hit net-zero climate target by 2070: PM Modi at COP26 climate summit.
• Almost 200 nations strike climate deal with coal compromise; International Solar Alliance signs UN pact.
• Centre extends funding for weather, climate services to ₹2,135 crore.
• Defence Acquisition Council gives nod to production of AK 203 rifles.
• Ajit Doval chairs Security Dialogue on Afghanistan; NSAs of 7 countries raise issue of terrorism in Kabul.
• CDS General Rawat meets Czech Army’s Chief of General Staff, discusses bilateral defence cooperation.
• Gen Naravane meets with Israeli General; discusses aspects of bilateral military cooperation.
• Admiral R Hari Kumar takes charge as 25th Chief of Naval Staff.
• Defence Ministry formally lifts ban on Italian firms Leonardo SpA, AgustaWestland.
• President confers honorary rank of ‘General of the Indian Army’ to Nepal Army Chief.
• President Ram Nath Kovind confers Gallantry Awards and Padma Awards.
• PM Modi launches 341km long Purvanchal Expressway; inaugurates projects worth ₹3,240 crore in UP.
• PM Modi inaugurates re-development projects worth ₹130 crore in Uttarakhand.
• Centre releases about ₹8,400 as health sector grant to states.
• Govt extends 5-kg free foodgrains scheme till March 2022 under PMGKAY.
• Delhi govt extends free ration supply till May 2022; approves allocation of ₹1,544 crore for COVID-19.
• Air pollution: Delhi govt bans construction, demolition activities, entry of trucks till further orders.
• Workers affected by ban on construction activities to be given ₹5,000 each: CM Arvind Kejriwal.
• Assam CM Himanta Biswa and Mizoram CM Zoramthanga agree to form panel to solve the border dispute.
• Rajasthan Cabinet expansion: 11 Cabinet Ministers, 4 MoS sworn in including 5 Pilot loyalists.
• Captain Amarinder Singh quits Congress, launches new party ‘Punjab Lok Congress’.
• Jammu and Kashmir gets State Investigation Agency to conduct speedy probes in terror-related cases.
• Heavy rains lashes most parts of South India; Andhra, Tamil Nadu, Kerala received over 100% rains in Nov.
• Ex-Meghalaya CM Mukul Sangma joins Trinamool with 11 MLAs.
• Trinamool names ex-Goa CM Luizinho Faleiro as candidate for Rajya Sabha bypoll.
• Samajwadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yada finalises alliance with Rashtriya Lok Dal for upcoming UP elections.
• Kartarpur Sahib Corridor reopens after 20 months.
• Shimla tops Niti Aayog’s urban development index followed by Coimbatore and Chandigarh.
• Swachh Survekshan 2021 Awards: Indore’s clean sweep bags top honours fifth time in a row.
• India re-elected to UNESCO executive board for 2021-25 term.
• Pakistan allows India to send 50,000 wheat over land to Afghanistan.
• US mandates vaccines or weekly tests for big companies by January 4.
• Biden-Xi virtual meeting ends with both sides calling for more cooperation amid tensions.
• Biden signs the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill into law; House sends social spending bill to Senate.
• Xi Jinping officially announces establishment of China-ASEAN comprehensive strategic partnership.
• UK PM Johnson and French President Macron agree to step up efforts to prevent migrant crossings.
• German parties seal coalition deal to make Olaf Scholz chancellor.
• UAE reopens embassy in Afghanistan; Taliban says ‘we have good relations’.
• China’s Communist Party’s key conclave passes ‘landmark resolution’ ensuring Xi Jinping’s record 3rd term.
• Beijing tightens measures as COVID cases spike, raises concerns over zero-virus policy.
• Countries reintroduce travel bans over omicron variant.
• Fumio Kishida reelected Japan’s Prime Minister in parliamentary vote.
• US, Canada, Mexico leaders meet in first summit since 2016.
• Sri Lanka reports new sub-lineage of COVID-19’s Delta variant.
• Troika Plus: Pakistan pitches for including Taliban in talks on Afghanistan with US, Russia, China envoys.
• Pakistan enacts law to give Kulbhushan Jadhav right to file review appeal against his conviction.
• Sudan’s military agrees to reinstate ousted PM Abdalla Hamdok.
• T20 World Cup: Australia win their 1st title by outclassing New Zealand in final.
• India vs New Zealand: India wins the T20I series 3-0; 1st Test ends in draw.
• BCCI appoints Rahul Dravid as India head coach till 2023 ODI World Cup.
• West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo to retire from international cricket after T20 World Cup.
• AB de Villiers announces retirement from all forms of cricket.
• Australian Open confirms players must be vaccinated to play in 2022.
• J&K’s alpine skier Arif Khan becomes first Indian to win 2022 Winter Games quota.
• Lionel Messi wins record 7th Ballon d’Or as Barcelona’s Alexia Putellas claims women’s award.

Business News

• Centre notifies GST rate changes for footwear, textiles to correct inverted duty structure.
• Auto-rickshaw services provided through e-commerce platforms to attract 5% GST.
• Centre releases ₹17,000 crore as GST Compensation to States, UTs.
• India’s Purchasing Managers’ Index moves up to 55.9 as against 53.7 in September.
• India’s service sector PMI surges to decade high at 58.4 in October.
• Cabinet approves construction of 32,152 km roads in far-flung areas of country at a cost of ₹33,822 crore.
• PM Modi lays foundation stone of highway projects worth ₹11,090 crore in Maharashtra.
• Govt to install 6,000 EV charging stations across 9 expressways in the country.
• Centre cuts excise duty on petrol by ₹5, diesel by ₹10 in Diwali reprieve.
• Commercial LPG cylinder price hiked by ₹266; no change for domestic use.
• Government announces bill to ban cryptocurrencies, push official digital currency of RBI.
• Centre approves ₹6,466 crore package for telecom services in remote areas.
• SIDBI ties up with Google to support MSMEs with upto ₹1 crore.
• Govt inks $61 million loan pact with ADB for development projects in Agartala.
• Jyotiraditya Scindia launches online platform e-GCA to provide 298 services of DGCA.
• India, ADB sign $300 million loan pact to boost primary health care in country.
• RBI issues revised Prompt Corrective Action framework for banks, to be effective from Jan 1 .
• RBI gives go-ahead to FPIs to invest in InvITs, REITs.
• PB Fintech, Fino Payments, One 97(Paytm), Nykaa, Sapphire Foods, Tarsons Product, Go Fashion, Sigachi Industries make their market debuts.
• India resumes overseas supply of India-made COVID-19 vaccines.
• India’s first homegrown COVID-19 vaccine Covaxin wins WHO emergency use listing.
• Bharat Biotech’s US partner Ocugen seeks Covaxin approval for kids.
• President Biden nominates Jerome Powell for second term as Fed chief, opting for continuity.
• China’s central bank injects 1 trillion yuan via medium-term loans into the financial system.
• Bank of England holds interest rate at a record low 0.1% despite soaring inflation.
• Japan unveils record stimulus package worth $490 billion to fix ailing economy.
• US launches auction for 32 million barrels of crude oil from 4 strategic petroleum reserves (SPR) sites.
• G20 nations agree to limit global average temperature increase to 1.5 C above pre-industrial levels.
• India, Indonesia, Philippines and South Africa join coal transition programme.
• US bank BNY Mellon cuts ties with Adani’s Carmichael coal mine in Australia.
• Reliance Industries exits US shale gas business.
• UK launches India Green Guarantee, commits new funds for EVs in India.
• Maruti Suzuki Toyotsu India opens first vehicle scrapping unit in Noida.
• Rivian and Ford scrap plans to develop an electric vehicle together.
• Ford partners with GlobalFoundries to advance semiconductor chip manufacturing in the U.S.
• Rakesh Jhunjhunwala-backed Akasa Air orders 72 Boeing 737 Max Aircraft to launch service in India.
• Boeing reaches $225 million settlement in shareholder lawsuit over 737 Max safety.
• General Electric to split into 3 public companies to simplify business, pare debt.
• Airtel conducts India’s 1st 5G trial in 700 MHz band with Nokia in Kolkata.
• OPPO conducts first 5G call from Hyderabad lab.
• Bharti Airtel, Oracle widen alliance to bring cloud solutions range to over 1 million enterprise users.
• Lava becomes first Indian brand to launch 5G smartphone.
• Govt asks Indians to not subscribe to Elon Musk’s satellite internet service Starlink.
• IBM, Amazon partner to extend reach of data tools for oil companies.
• Microsoft enters metaverse race by launching 3D avatars and immersive meetings on Teams.
• Acer India, Dixon Tech partner to manufacture 500,000 laptops annually.
• Apple allows self-repairs to iPhones and Mac computers.
• Microsoft to end support for OneDrive desktop application on Windows 7, 8, and 8.1 from March 1.
• Google signs 5-year licensing deal with AFP for paid news subscription.
• Yahoo pulls out of China, citing ‘challenging’ environment.
• Google commits $740 million to Australia to mend ties after exit threat.
• Amazon, Apple hit with € 200 million antitrust fine in Italy.
• Myntra launches ‘M-Live’ for real-time video-enabled, interactive shopping experience.
• NPCI increases WhatsApp UPI payment cap to 40 million users from 20 million.
• Uber hits its 100th city milestone in India with launch in Telangana’s Warangal.
• Mensa Brands becomes India’s fastest startup to turn unicorn, raises $135 million.
• NoBroker becomes India’s first proptech unicorn after $210 million funding round.
• Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey steps down as CEO, succeeded by Parag Agrawal.

Q2 Results

• SBI Q2 net profit surges 67% YoY to ₹7,627 crore, NII up 29% at ₹31,183.9 crore, NNPA down at 1.52%.
• HDFC Q2 net profit rises 32% to ₹3,780 crore, revenue from operations rose 4% to ₹12,216 crore.
• Tata Motors consolidated loss widens to ₹4,441 crore in Q2, revenue increase 14.6% to ₹61,378 crore.
• M&M Q2 Net profit soars 785% YoY to ₹1,431.7 crore, revenue grows 14.7% to ₹13,305.4 crore.
• Ashok Leyland reports Q2 net loss at ₹84 crore, consolidated revenue up by 44% YoY to ₹5,562 crore.
• Hero MotoCorp Q2 Net profit falls 17% YoY to ₹794 crore, revenue declines 11% to ₹8,453.40 crore.
• IRCTC Q2 net profit soars 386% YoY to ₹159 crore, revenue spiked 357.3% YoY to ₹404.9 crore.
• ONGC reports highest ever net profit by any corporate at ₹18,347 crore in Q2.
• Sun Pharma Q2 net profit rises 13% YoY to ₹2,047 crore, revenue rose 12.5% to ₹9,625.9 crore.
• Bharti Airtel Q2 Revenue rises 13% to ₹28,326 crore; PAT climbs to ₹1,134 crore.
• Vodafone Idea loss narrows sequentially to ₹7,132 crore in Q2.
• Zomato Q2 net loss widens to ₹434.9 crore, revenue up at ₹1,024.2 crore.
• Paytm Q2 revenue jumps 64%, net loss widens to ₹473 crore.
• Nykaa reports 96% decline in Q2 net profit at ₹1.1 crore, revenue up 47% YoY to ₹885 crore.

General News

• India crosses 100 crore COVID vaccinations milestone; over 106.14 crore vaccinated so far.
• India COVID tally touches 34.2 million, Active cases account for 0.48% of total infections; recovery rate improves to 98.18%.
• PM Modi launches Swachh Bharat-Urban 2.0, AMRUT 2.0 for ‘Garbage Free’ and ‘Water Secure’ cities.
• PM Modi launches Jal Jeevan Mission App and Rashtriya Jal Jeevan Kosh.
• 16th East Asia Summit: PM Modi calls for free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific.
• PM Modi hosts Danish PM; both countries agree on 5-year plan to implement green strategic partnership.
• G20 Summit: PM Modi highlights India’s contribution to fight against COVID.
• Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla calls on Sri Lankan PM Mahinda Rajapaksa.
• Jaishankar, UK counterpart agree to facilitate travel between two nations.
• US Navy chief Admiral Mike Gilday arrives in Delhi; holds talks with Navy Chief Admiral Karambir Singh.
• Gen Naravane meets Sri Lanka’s top civilian and military leadership; discusses steps to boost defence ties.
• Jaishankar takes part in new quadrilateral with Israel, UAE and U.S.
• Jaishankar calls on Israeli President, PM; discusses bilateral full potential of bilateral relations.
• S Jaishankar-UK counterpart Liz Truss review progress on roadmap 2030; discuss terror, Afghanistan.
• S Jaishankar holds talks with UK CDS Gen. Carter on Afghanistan situation, issues related to Indo-Pacific.
• India allows foreign tourists travelling by chartered flights from Oct 15, rest from Nov 15.
• Indian Space Association, industry body of Indian space and satellite companies, launched.
• Parliament panels reconstituted; Congress leaders retained as Chairmen.
• Amit Shah approves release of ₹7,274 crore to 23 states as central share of State Disaster Response Fund.
• Union Cabinet approves affiliation of 100 schools in Govt, private sector with Sainik School Society.
• Army chief reviews security situation at forward areas along LoC in Jammu and eastern Ladakh.
• India deploys Pinaka, Smerch rocket system on China border.
• Agni-5, surface-to-surface ballistic missile capable of striking targets up to 5,000 km, successfully test-fired.
• India-China standoff clashes: 20 ITBP personnel honoured with gallantry medals.
• Sonia Gandhi reinstates her position as a full-time and hands-on Congress President.
• Bhabanipur Bypoll: Mamata Banerjee secures chief minister’s seat, wins bypolls.
• Lakhimpur Kheri: UP govt announces ₹45 lakh, govt jobs for families of 4 farmers who died in the incident.
• Tamil Nadu rejects National Education Policy 2020, to form expert panel to formulate State Policy.
• Uttarakhand rains: Death toll 64, state govt pegs damage at ₹7,000 crore
• Kerala rains: At least 27 people killed after torrential rain triggers landslides and floods.
• Pegasus spyware case: SC forms three-member committee to probe snooping allegations
• SC asks Kerala, TN to abide by supervisory committee’s view to maintain water level in Mullaperiyar dam.
• IAF showcases Sukhoi Su-30, Rafale at Hindon airbase on 89th Air Force Day.
• Tamil drama ‘Koozhangal’ is India’s official entry for Oscars 2022.
• Rajinikanth receives the Dadasaheb Phalke Award at 67th National Film Awards ceremony in Delhi.
• Journalists Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov win Nobel Peace Prize.
• Global COVID-19 caseload tops 247.4 million: deaths surge to more than 5 million.
• WHO panel recommends COVID vaccine booster shot for people with weak immunity.
• WHO forms new 26-member team, says this may be ‘last chance’ to find COVID-19 origins.
• UN starts vaccinating people against Ebola in Congo.
• Australia, New Zealand ease COVID-19 travel advisory ahead of border reopening.
• China re-imposes fresh lockdowns amid rising Covid-19 cases.
• Moscow shuts most workplaces as COVID-19 infections, deaths soar.
• Pakistan FM Qureshi, ISI chief Hameed visit, hold talks with Taliban leaders in Kabul.
• Moscow hosts worldwide talks on Afghanistan, calls for inclusive government.
• Afghanistan resumes passport issuance after a few months delay.
• US President Biden, Europeans take up Iran nuclear program in Rome talks.
• Biden signs bill to avert government shutdown, approves bill to fund government through Dec. 3.
• US govt allows fully vaccinated foreign travellers to enter country from November 8.
• UK approves India-made Covishield; drops 10-day quarantine for Indians.
• Mauritius exits FATF grey list; Turkey joins Pakistan on the list for failing to check terror financing.
• Sudan PM returns home, remains under guard after military takes power in coup and arrests leaders.
• Kim Jong Un orders people to eat less as North Korea faces acute food shortage.
• Fumio Kishida elected as new Prime Minister; lower house dissolved for October 31 national election.
• Qatar’s first legislative elections see 63.5% voter turnout
• ICC Women’s T20 rankings: Shafali Verma drops to second spot, Smriti Mandhana static at third.
• Rahul Dravid to succeed Ravi Shastri as India’s head coach after T20 World Cup.
• India win 8th SAFF Championship title, Chhetri equals Messi 80-goal record.
• Germany unveils logo for soccer’s Euro 2024 tournament.
• Australia’s Ellyse Perry is 1st woman cricketer to achieve 5000 runs, 300 wickets in international cricket.
• IPL 2021: Chennai Super Kings beat Kolkata Knight Riders by 27 runs to clinch fourth IPL title.
• New IPL teams: CVC Capital wins bid for Ahmedabad, RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group gets Lucknow.
• Shakib Al Hasan becomes highest wicket-taker in T20 Internationals.
• ICC men’s T-20 World Cup 2021 kicks off in the UAE.
• ISSF Junior World Championships: India tops table with 9 gold medals.

Business News

• Gati Shakti: PM Modi launches ₹100-lakh crore national master plan for multi-modal connectivity.
• Centre releases ₹40,000 crore to States/UTs to meet GST compensation shortfall.
• Finance Ministry releases ₹9,871 crore of revenue deficit grant to 17 states.
• Nirmala Sitharaman discusses issues of anti-money laundering, terror financing with Janet Yellen.
• Nirmala Sitharaman hold talks World Bank chief, discusses post-pandemic economic recovery, other issues.
• Piyush Goyal meets trade ministers from UK, US, Brazil, Australia, S Africa, South Korea on G-20 sidelines.
• Vehicle Scrapping Policy to come into force from 1st April 2022; list of incentives, disincentives released.
• Oil touches 7-year high after OPEC+’s plan for gradual output hike; LPG, fuel rates surge to record highs.
• Country’s power crisis eases on account of increased coal supply, onset of winter.
• Govt begins process for self-reliance in green energy; global bids invited for setting up new units.
• PM Modi inaugurates UP’s 3rd international airport in Kushinagar, to boost tourism on Buddhist circuit.
• Govt approves 31 proposals for telecom PLI scheme entailing ₹3,345 crore investment.
• RBI keeps policy rate unchanged at 4% for 8th time in a row, revises FY22 retail inflation projection to 5.3%.
• RBI maintains GDP growth target for FY22 year at 9.5% ; IMPS daily transaction limit increased to ₹5 lakh.
• HDFC Bank, Mastercard, USAID and DFC launch $100 million credit facility for MSMEs in India.
• Paras Defence makes stellar stock market debut; Aditya Birla Sun Life makes a tepid debut.
• Centre permits export of 4 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine Sputnik Light manufactured in India to Russia.
• WHO seeks ‘additional clarifications’ for Covaxin to conduct final ‘risk-benefit assessment’.
• Covaxin approved for emergency use in children aged 2 years and above.
• US FDA clears Moderna, J&J COVID vaccine booster shots; clears Pfizer’s vaccine for kids aged 5 – 11 years.
• EU regulator OKs Pfizer vaccine booster for 18 and older.
• Tata Sons wins bid for acquiring national carrier Air India at ₹18,000 crore.
• Rakesh Jhunjhunwala-backed Akasa Air gets aviation ministry’s NOC to operate in India.
• MG Motor India sells out first batch of SUV Astor within 20 minutes of opening bookings.
• Ola Electric raises over $200 million funding, valuation touches $3 billion.
• TVS Motor, Tata Power in pact to create EV charging infrastructure in India.
• Toyota, Stellantis to build EV-battery factories in the US.
• AGR dues: Vodafone Idea, Airtel accepts four-year spectrum payment moratorium.
• New Zealand and United Kingdom reach free trade deal.
• Sri Lanka seeks $500 million loan from India for fuel purchase.
• Taliban meet with UK, Iran delegations as Afghanistan teeters on the brink of economic collapse.
• Venezuela introduces new currency, drops six zeros.
• US introduces a bill that would bar Big Tech platforms from favoring their products and services.
• Saudi Arabia comes to cash-strapped Pakistan’s rescue with $3 billion package.
• Food prices surge for 3rd straight year in Pakistan, inflation rate shoots up at 12.66%.
• Singapore-based arbitrator rejects Future Retail’s plea to lift the interim stay on RIL deal.
• Adani Group finalises 35-year deal to build and operate Colombo Port’s West Container terminal.
• Gautam Adani meets UK PM in London, assures to commit $70 billion for clean energy.
• RIL floats wholly-owned subsidiary ‘Reliance International’ in UAE.
• Reliance Retail extends deadline to complete ₹24,713 crore deal with Future Group.
• Reliance Retail launches 7-Eleven convenience stores; forays into premium grocery format with Freshpik.
• Facebook changes name of parent company to ‘Meta’, to reflect its metaverse ambitions.
• Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp face outages twice, restored later.
• Microsoft to shut down LinkedIn in China, cites ‘challenging’ environment.
• Paytm Group takes over complete ownership of digital lending startup CreditMate.
• BharatPe forays into Buy Now Pay Later segment with launch of postpe.
• Swiggy rolls out 2-year ESOP liquidity program worth $35-40 million.
• Licious becomes India’s first D2C unicorn after raising $52 million.
• Karnataka notifies law banning online betting games.
• IMF board backs Kristalina Georgieva to continue as Managing Director after review of data-rigging claims.
• IMF chief economist Gita Gopinath resigns, to return to Harvard University in January.
• Govt re-appoints Shaktikanta Das as RBI governor for another three years.
• Krishnamurthy Subramanian steps down as Chief Economic Adviser after three-year term.
• RBI approves reappointment of Amitabh Chaudhry as MD & CEO of Axis Bank.
• Ex-Air India MD Rajiv Bansal takes charge as Civil Aviation Secretary.
• Former SBI chairman Rajnish Kumar joins BharatPe board.

Q2 Results

• TCS Q2 net profit jumps 29% YoY to ₹9,620 crore, board approves second interim dividend of ₹7/share.
• Infosys Q2 net profit up by 12% YoY to ₹5,421 crore, revenue rose 20% to ₹29,602 crore.
• Wipro Q2 net profit rises 19% YoY to ₹2,930.7 crore, revenue climbs 30.1% to ₹19,667.4 crore.
• HCL Technologies Q2 Profit rises 1.6% QoQ to ₹3,265 crore, revenue up 2.9% at ₹20,655 crore
• HDFC Bank Q2 net profit rises 17.5% to ₹8,834 crore, NII grew 12% to ₹ 17,684 crore, GNPA at 1.35%.
• ICICI Bank Q2 net profit grew 30% to ₹5,511 crore, NII jumps 25%; NNPA down at 0.99%..
• Kotak Mahindra Bank Q2 net profit down 7% at ₹2,032.01 crore, NII rose 3% YoY to ₹4,021 crore.
• HUL Q2 net profit rises 9% YoY to ₹2,187 crore, revenue up 11% to ₹12,724 crore, to pay ₹15 dividend.
• Maruti Suzuki Q2 net profit falls 65% YoY to ₹475 crore, Net sales declined 9.09% to ₹19,297.80 crore.
• TVS Motor Q2 net profit rises 41% to ₹277.6 crore, reports the highest ever revenue of ₹5,619 crore.
• HDFC Life Insurance Q2 net profit down 16% to ₹274 crore; Net premium income up 14% to ₹11,445 crore.
• RIL Q2 net profit rises 43% YoY to ₹13,680 crore, revenue grew 48% to ₹1.74 lakh crore.
• Jio Platforms Q2 net profit rises 23% to ₹3,728 crore, ARPU up at ₹143.6.
• Dr Reddy’s profit rises 30% to ₹992 crore, revenue rises by 18% to ₹5,763 crore in Q2.

General News

• India COVID tally touches 33.7 million, 883 million vaccine doses administered so far.
• Active cases account for 0.80% of total infections; recovery rate improves to 97.84%.
• Govt allows door-to-door COVID vaccination for differently-abled persons.
• PM Modi launches Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission, health ID for every citizen.
• PM Modi holds first bilateral meeting with Biden; discusses Indo-Pacific, climate, COVID.
• PM participates in the first in-person Quad Summit; addresses at 76th session of UNGA.
• India, Australia holds ‘2+2’ talks to strengthen defence, strategic cooperation.
• Jaishankar meets China’s Wang Yi; calls for early resolution on LAC issues in eastern Ladakh.
• S Jaishankar meets with UK’s Foreign Secretary; calls for resolution of ‘quarantine Issue’.
• Indian envoy to Qatar meets Taliban leaders, says Afghan soil must not be used for terrorism.
• India to host G-20 summit in 2023 for the first time; Piyush Goyal appointed sherpa for grouping.
• Air Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari to be new chief of Indian Air Force.
• IAF plane carrying Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari conducts mock emergency landing in NH 925 in Barmer.
• India signs a project agreement with the US for air-launched unmanned aerial vehicles.
• India, Singapore conduct major naval exercise near South China Sea.
• Defence Ministry places order for 118 Arjun Mk-1A tanks worth ₹7,523 crore.
• Indian Air Force signs deal with French Air Force to purchase phased out Mirage aircraft.
• India buys 4 Israeli Herons, to upgrade them with missiles as Army, IAF, Navy ramp up drone inventory.
• Smriti Irani inaugurates Poshan 2.0, urges all districts to establish Poshan Vatikas.
• Shikshak Parv 2001: PM Modi launches five new initiatives for accessible education.
• Centre, Assam govt signs Karbi Peace Accord with 5 insurgent groups in Assam.
• President Kovind appoints new governors to Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Nagaland.
• Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani resigns; Bhupendra Patel takes oath as 17th Chief Minister.
• Captain Amarinder Singh resigns as Chief Minister of Punjab; Charanjit Singh Channi takes oath as CM.
• BJP deploys 13 Union ministers, including seven of Cabinet rank, for poll-related duties in the states.
• Navjot Singh Sidhu resigns as president of Punjab Congress.
• Former Union minister Babul Supriyo and Former Goa CM Luizinho Faleiro join Trinamool Congress.
• Kanhaiya Kumar joins Congress, Jignesh Mevani extends support to party.
• Senior Congress leader and former Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee V.M. Sudheeran resigns from AICC.
• PM Modi launches Sansad TV, a news channel combining the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha TV.
• Pegasus snooping row: SC to pass interim order on pleas seeking independent probe.
• PM-CARES not a fund of Government of India, can’t be brought under RTI: Centre to Delhi HC.
• Farmers call for Bharat Bandh; block highways, roads at many places to protest three farm laws.
• Cyclonic storm Gulab brings heavy rains to Andhra Pradesh, Odisha.
• NEET-UG 2021: Over 95% of registered candidates appeared at over 3,800 centres across India.
• Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Kashmir’s separatist leader dies aged 92 after a prolonged illness.
• Global Coronavirus cases touch 234 million; UN reports substantial decrease in both cases and deaths.
• WHO urges rich countries to hold off on booster shots until 2022.
• UK health service begins COVID booster vaccine rollout; begins vaccination for school children aged 12-15.
• U.S. FDA clears Pfizer COVID-19 booster for older and at-risk Americans.
• UK, US, Australia launch new trilateral Indo-Pacific alliance; Australia to get nuclear powered submarines.
• France recalls envoys from US and Australia in protest at submarine deal.
• Mullah Hassan Akhund to lead Taliban’s interim govt, Abdul Ghani Baradar to be Deputy.
• Taliban nominates spokesman Shaheen as Afghan envoy, seeks UN participation.
• Afghanistan commercial flights resume as UN warns of humanitarian crisis.
• Antony Blinken defends Afghan withdrawal at testy U.S. congressional hearing.
• FBI releases declassified record on 9/11 terror attacks, offers no proof on Saudi involvement.
• Pakistan Foreign Minster Qureshi meets Secretary Blinken, urges engagement with Taliban.
• Russia’s ruling pro-Putin party wins majority despite losing around one-fifth of its support.
• Germany’s Angela Merkel loses elections narrowly to Social Democrats after 16 years.
• Justin Trudeau re-elected Canadian PM for 3rd time but fails to secure majority.
• Japan’s former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida wins party vote, to become new Prime Minister.
• North Korea tests first ‘strategic’ cruise missile with possible nuclear capability; fires 2 ballistic missiles.
• South Korea successfully fires first submarine-launched ballistic missile.
• India finishes 24th in its best showing at the Paralympics in Tokyo with 5 gold, 8 silver and 6 bronze medals.
• US Open: Emma Raducanu becomes first British woman to win title in 53 years; Daniil Medvedev stuns Novak Djokovic to win Maiden Grand Slam title.
• ICC ODI Rankings: Mithali Raj retains top spot in batting list.
• ICC T20I Rankings: Virat Kohli rises to fourth, KL Rahul retains sixth spot.
• Virat Kohli to step down as India’s T20I Captain after ICC T20 World Cup.
• Virat Kohli becomes first Indian batter to score 10,000 runs in T20 format.
• Cristiano Ronaldo breaks the international goal scoring world record with 111 goals for Portugal
• IND vs ENG Test series: India leads the 5-match by series by 2-1; 5th Test to be rescheduled.
• IPL 2021: IPL 14 second leg kick off in UAE; final on Oct 15, Chennai Super Kings qualifies for play-offs.

Business News

• GST exemptions on expensive drugs like Zolgensma, Viltepso; 5% GST levied on food delivery apps.
• Cabinet approves ₹ 10,683 crore PLI scheme for textile sector.
• Cabinet approves telecom relief package; approves moratorium of 4 years for AGR dues.
• Cabinet clears ₹26,538 crore scheme for auto sector; ₹120 crore to be allotted for drone PLI.
• Union Cabinet clears decks for National Asset Reconstruction Company.
• Government hikes Minimum Support Price for wheat by ₹40 to ₹2,015 per quintal.
• Finance Ministry releases ₹9,871 crore to 17 states as revenue deficit grant.
• Finance ministry approves capex projects of over ₹2,900 crore in 8 states, releases first batch of funds.
• Piyush Goyal sets exports target for textile industry at $100 billion, up from $33 billion.
• Cabinet approves additional capital infusion of ₹4,400 crore in ECGC.
• Centre announces auction for sale of ₹26,000 crore govt securities.
• PM Modi launches 35 crop varieties with special traits to address climate change, malnutrition.
• FSSAI introduces green coloured ‘V’ logo to denote vegan food products.
• PAN-Aadhaar linkage deadline extended by six months till March 2022.
• Income tax dept extends due date to file returns for AY FY22 from current 30th Sept to 31st Dec.
• India becomes world’s 6-biggest stock market, overtakes France for the first time in market capitalization.
• Aptus Value Housing Finance, Vijaya Diagnostic Centre, Ami organics, Sansera Engineering make their market debut.
• RBI, Monetary Authority of Singapore announce project to link UPI and PayNow.
• RBL Bank restarts credit card issuances with rival Visa.
• ICICI Bank partners with Amazon India to offer OD facility to sellers, small businesses.
• IRDAI grants final approval for transfer of Bharti AXA General into ICICI Lombard.
• HDFC Life acquires Exide Life Insurance for ₹6687 crore.
• Indiabulls get CCI nod to sell mutual fund business to Groww for ₹175 crore.
• Ford Motor to stop making cars in India, to sell only imported vehicles as part of a restructuring exercise.
• Toyota cuts annual auto production target by 3% on shortage of chips, parts.
• Ola Electric crosses ₹1100 crore in combined sales of S1 scooters over two days.
• Govt increases domestic flight capacity to 85% of pre-COVID levels with immediate effect.
• Government gives final approval to privatise 13 airports.
• SpiceJet gets lease rental waiver of ₹300 crore for 4 Boeing MAX aircraft.
• HAL signs pact with Alliance Air for deployment of civil Do-228 Aircraft in Arunachal Pradesh.
• Singapore lifts flight ban on Boeing 737 Max planes.
• Infosys, Microsoft ink multi-year cloud transformation deal with Australian utility, Ausgrid.
• HCL signs up with South Korean software company HANCOM for global expansion, tech solutions.
• Intel to invest up to $95 billion over the next decade in boosting EU chip capacity.
• TCS partner Colombian airline Avianca to build latter’s IT infrastructure and cloud transformation.
• TCS signs 10 year contract with Transport for London for design, operation of mobility system.
• Wipro launches co-innovation space with Google Cloud in Bengaluru.
• Mphasis acquires US-based Blink UX for $94 million in an all-cash deal.
• DCGI gives nod for phase 2/3 trials of Biological E’s Covid vaccine on those aged between 5 & 18.
• DCGI allows Serum Institute to enroll 7-11-year-olds in COVID-19 vaccine trial.
• Sputnik’s single-dose vax gets DCGI nod for Phase-III trials in India.
• Biocon Biologics to offer 15% stake to Serum Institute Life Sciences; gets access to 100 million doses.
• Hetero gets DCGI nod for biosimilar version of Tocilizumab to treat COVID-19.
• Future-Reliance Retail deal: Supreme Court stays Delhi HC order for seizure of Future Group’s assets
• Tata Steel commissions India’s first plant for CO2 capture from Blast Furnace gas at Jamshedpur.
• India accelerates talks with Taiwan on chip plant, trade deal.
• Zee Enterprises board approves merger with Sony Pictures, Punit Goenka to remain MD & CEO.
• Piramal Group completes DHFL acquisition in total consideration of ₹34,250 crore.
• PepsiCo commissions ₹814-crore foods plant in Uttar Pradesh’s Mathura.
• Shapoorji Pallonji Group sells majority stake in Eureka Forbes to PE major Advent for ₹4,400 crore.
• Kitex group increases investment in Telangana to ₹2,400 crore, promises 22,000 jobs.
• China pumps $17 billion into system amid Evergrande concerns.
• Huawei CFO leaves Canada post agreement with US prosecutors to end the bank fraud case against her.
• New York court halts tax suit to allow Cairn to settle dispute with India.
• US aerospace companies to get $482 million in payroll support.
• El Salvador bought $21 million of bitcoin as it becomes first country to make it a legal currency.
• Sri Lanka central bank chief steps down as foreign exchange reserve crisis deepens.
• World Bank discontinues ease of doing business reports after ethics review.
• Freshworks makes stellar debut on Nasdaq, market cap crosses $12 billion.
• New iPhone 13 series, ipad and Watch Series 7 unveiled at Apple Event.
• Byju’s acquires coding platform Tynker for $200 million in US expansion push.
• Gaming start-up Mobile Premier League valued at $2.3 billion, joins unicorn club.
• Vedantu raises $100 million at $1 billion valuation, becomes India’s 5th edtech unicorn.
• Zomato scraps its grocery delivery plans and health supplements businesses.
• Blue-collar worker app Apna acquires unicorn status after $100 million fundraise led by Tiger Global.
• PayPal acquires Japanese Unicorn buy now, pay later firm Paidy in $2.7 billion deal.
• Amazon Pay partners Kuvera to offer wealth management services.
• Paytm Money launches investment advisory marketplace on platform.
• Myntra and Flipkart announce Strategic Partnership with British Sports Brand Slazenger.
• Govt appoints K Rajaraman as telecom secretary.
• Former SBI Chief Rajnish Kumar joins Andhra government in advisory role.
• Microsoft announces share buyback of up to $60 billion, ups dividend; names Brad Smith Vice Chair.
• Yahoo names tinder CEO Jim Lanzone as its next chief.
• Zomato cofounder Gaurav Gupta quits two months after IPO.

General News

• India celebrates its 75th Independence Day; PM Modi announces ₹100 lakh crore Gatishakti plan for holistic growth and National Hydrogen Mission.
• PM Modi declares August 14 to be observed as Partition Horrors Remembrance Day.
• Parliament session ends 2 days ahead of schedule; 22 Bills passed by both the Houses.
• Rajya Sabha records 29% productivity and Lok Sabha records 22%.
• President Kovind gives assent to Constitutional Amendment Bill allowing States to identify OBCs.
• India COVID tally touches 32.8 million, active cases account to 1.14% of total infections.
• India administers over 65.41 crore doses of COVID vaccination; recovery rate stands at 97.49%.
• Centre releases 2nd tranche of COVID Emergency Package to help states improve health infrastructure.
• DGCI approves study on mixing of Covaxin and Covishield doses; trial to involve 300 volunteers.
• Johnson and Johnson’s single-dose COVID vaccine gets approval for Emergency Use in India.
• Many states announce COVID relaxation measures; schools, colleges , cinema halls set to reopen.
• Kerala govt reimposes Sunday lockdown, announces night curfew from 10pm to 6am from August 30.
• India, China agree to disengage from a key patrol point in Ladakh.
• Bhubaneswar becomes first Indian city to achieve 100% COVID-19 vaccination.
• Defence Minister Rajnath Singh launches 5th edition of Defence India Startup Challenge.
• DRDO develops technology to safeguard fighter aircraft from radar threats.
• Indian and Chinese Armies establish hotline for Sikkim sector.
• ISRO’s GSLV fails to put EOS-3 into orbit after cryogenic stage glitch.
• PM Modi launches Ujjwala 2.0 in UP, 1 crore additional LPG connections for low-income families.
• Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel announces 4 new districts, 18 tehsils on Independence Day.
• Tamil Nadu Budget: Petrol price reduced by ₹3; ₹257.16 crore allotted for healthcare at doorstep scheme.
• CM Jagan Mohan Reddy launches ₹4,500 crore Naadu-Nedu-2 to give fillip to 16,000 schools in Andhra.
• Karnataka becomes first state to issue order on implementation of National Education Policy 2020.
• Delhi CM Kejriwal inaugurates India’s first-ever Smog Tower in Connaught Place to improve air quality
• No govt jobs, passport clearances for those involved in stone-pelting, other crimes: J&K govt.
• Nagaland political parties agree to set up all-party government to resolve Naga conflict.
• Delhi Government, International Baccalaureate Board sign MoU for Delhi Board of School Education.
• Indore declared as the first ‘water plus’ city of India under the Swachh Survekshan 2021.
• India’s highest altitude herbal park inaugurated near Indo-China border in Uttarakhand.
• Govt need not disclose anything that compromises national security: SC on Pegasus snooping row.
• Calcutta HC orders CBI, SIT probe into West Bengal post poll violence.
• Former Congress MP from Assam Sushmita Dev joins TMC in presence of senior leader Abhishek Banerjee.
• Prashant Kishor quits as Punjab Chief Minister’s principal advisor.
• Former Uttar Pradesh CM Kalyan Singh passes away after prolonged illness.
• Global Coronavirus cases exceeds 218.5 million; U.S. hits daily average of 100,000 hospitalizations.
• WHO calls for halt on booster shot of vaccines to ensure wider coverage in poor countries.
• UK regulator approves Moderna COVID-19 shot for 12 to 17-year-olds.
• UAE approves Sinopharm’s COVID vaccine for children aged three and over.
• Australia expands lockdown amid virus spread fears.
• Japan extends COVID-19 “state of emergency” lockdown through mid-September.
• New Zealand moved into a snap three-day lockdown, after 1st COVID case in 6 months.
• President Ashraf Ghani flees Afghanistan, Taliban seize Presidential Palace.
• Taliban announce ‘amnesty’ for govt officials, urges women to join government.
• ISIS-K claims responsibility for Kabul airport blasts; U.S. drone strike destroys Its car bomb in Kabul.
• Countries officially end their evacuation mission; over hundred thousand people flown out of the country.
• UNSC adopts resolution on Afghanistan; demands territory not be used to attack other countries.
• US Senate narrowly passes Biden’s $3.5 trillion budget plan.
• US Vice President Kamala Harris begins Asia Trip amid Afghan crisis.
• Iran swears in new hard-line president Ebrahim Raisi amid regional tension
• Canada PM Justin Trudeau calls snap election on September 20 to retake a majority in Parliament.
• Mexico and US vow to expand cooperation to address immigration in high-level talks.
• Malaysia PM Muhyiddin Yassin resigns after losing majority; King appoints Ismail Sabri as Prime Minister.
• Myanmar army chief General Min Aung Hlaing appoints himself Prime Minister, promises election by 2023.
• Tokyo Olympics: India finishes 48th, best in four decades; 33rd in terms of terms of overall medals won.
• USA tops medal table with 113 medals (39 Golds), followed by China 38 Golds, Japan (27) and Britain (22).
• Odisha Govt extends its sponsorship of Indian National hockey teams by another 10 years.
• Tokyo Paralympics: Shooter Avani Lekhara wins Gold; Sumit Antil wins Gold, breaks world record thrice.
• India’s medal tally rises to 10 with 2 Gold, 5 Silver and 3 Bronze.
• Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award renamed after Hockey Great Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award.
• ENG vs IND: England beat India in 3rd Test by an innings and 76 runs to level 5-match series 1-1.
• ICC T20 World Cup 2021 scheduled from Oct 17 to Nov 14; India to face Pakistan on Oct 24.
• ICC Test Rankings: Kohli slips to fifth, Bumrah rises to ninth spot.
• World Athletics U20 Championships: India clinch Bronze in 4x400m Mixed Relay.
• Lionel Messi signs 2-year contract with Paris Saint-Germain after leaving Barcelona.
• Cristiano Ronaldo leaves Juventus, returns to Manchester United after 12-years.

Business News

• Cabinet approves Amendments to LLP and Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation Bills.
• Government amends FEMA to enable FDI hike in insurance sector to 74%.
• Taxation Laws Amendment Bill passed to nullify retro tax.
• Cabinet approves National Mission on Edible Oils with outlay of ₹11,040 crore.
• Finance minister launches ‘Ubharte Sitaare’ scheme for export oriented MSMEs.
• Centre announces asset monetisation plan to raise ₹6 lakh crore by 2025.
• PM Modi launches e-RUPI: India’s new purpose-specific digital payment solution.
• Govt launches web portal, mobile app to make skill development schemes accessible.
• Govt launches e-SHRAM portal to maintain database of 38 crore unorganised sector workers.
• PM Modi transfers ₹19,509 crore directly to accounts of 9.75 crore farmers under PM-KISAN scheme.
• Govt introduces new registration mark “Bharat series (BH-series)” to facilitate seamless transfer of vehicles.
• Aviation ministry passes Drone Rules, 2021; slashes fees, eases rules of using drones in India.
• DGCA extends suspension of international flights till September 30.
• DGCA allows Boeing 737 MAX aircraft to fly 30 months after global ban.
• Tourism Ministry signs MOU with MakeMyTrip, Ibibo to strengthen hospitality industry.
• Govt launches ‘Samridh’ schemes to support 300 start-ups for creating 100 unicorns.
• RBI keeps policy rate unchanged for 7th time in a row; repo retained at 4%.
• ICICI Bank files ₹563 crore fraud case against Karvy Stock Broking.
• SEBI bars Kotak AMC from launching new fixed maturity plan for 6 months.
• India, World Bank sign $250 million project to make existing dams safe and resilient.
• RBI partially lifts ban on HDFC Bank, allows it to sell new credit cards.
• Glenmark Life Sciences, Rolex Rings, Devyani International, Windlas Biotech, Exxaro Tiles, Krsnaa Diagnostics, CarTrade Tech, Nuvoco Vistas, Chemplast Sanmar, Aptus Value Housing Finance make their market debuts.
• IT Ministry empanels Oracle as cloud infrastructure solutions provider.
• Cognizant acquires a digital engineering firm Hunter Technical Resources, its sixth acquisition in 2021.
• HCL Tech signs contract with Munich Re for digital workplace services in 40 countries.
• Govt approves Bharat Biotech’s manufacturing facility in Gujarat’s Ankleshwar for production of Covaxin.
• Wockhardt inks pact with RDIF’s subsidiary Enso Healthcare to produce, supply Sputnik vaccine.
• Serum Institute buys 50% stake in country’s largest vial maker Schott Kaisha.
• Zydus Cadila’s needle-free Covid-19 vaccine, ZyCoV-D, gets approval in India.
• Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine becomes first to win FDA’s full approval.
• Glenmark, Canadia’s SaNOtize inks pact to produce, market anti-COVID-19 nasal spray.
• Nitin Gadkari asks automakers to offer six airbags as standard in cars, SUVs.
• Centre exempts battery-operated vehicles from RC issue, renewal fees.
• Renault-Nissan ordered to pay additional wages, despite warning India unit could become ‘unviable’.
• Maruti Suzuki & Toyota Jointly Developing Hybrid Cars For India.
• Great Wall Motor to shift some India investment to Brazil after approval delays.
• Tesla gets approval for four models from India’s testing agencies.
• Yahoo shuts down news sites in India over FDI regulations.
• 75 Vande Bharat trains to connect different parts of country in 75 weeks of ‘Amrit Mahotsav’.
• Centre raises caps on domestic airfares by 9.83% – 12.82%.
• First direct flight operations flagged off on Imphal – Shillong route under UDAN.
• Tata Sons, Singapore International Airlines invest ₹750 crore in Vistara.
• Lockheed Martin gets $328.8 million contract to maintain IAF’s C-130J transport fleet.
• Twitter has ‘prima facie’ complied with new IT Rules: Centre tells Delhi HC.
• Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn secure Afghan users’ accounts amid Taliban takeover.
• Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic restarts space-trip sales at $450,000 and up.
• China passes major data protection law as regulatory scrutiny on tech sector intensifies.
• Amazon India’s top seller, Cloudtail to cease ops from May 2022.
• PayPal launches cryptocurrency trading in the UK.
• Prosus acquires Indian payments giant BillDesk for $4.7 billion, will merge with its PayU fintech group.
• Supreme Court stalls ₹24,713-crore Future-Reliance deal, says arbitrator’s award enforceable in India.
• Delhivery inks $200 million deal to acquire rival Spoton Logistics.
• ShareChat and Moj in multi-year music licensing deal with T-Series.
• Spotify expands its Music+Talk show format to 15 new markets including India.
• India jumps to 48 rank in Global Innovation Index amid record patent grants, trademark registrations.
• CoinDCX becomes India’s first crypto exchange to hit unicorn status, raises $90 million led by B Capital.
• N K Singh succeeds Dr ManMohan Singh as President of the Institute of Economic Growth Society.
• Mini Ipe takes charge as new Managing Director of LIC ahead of proposed IPO.
• Vinod Dasari resigns as Royal Enfield CEO & ED; COO B Govindarajan to take charge as ED.
• Eicher board re-appoints Siddhartha Lal as MD with revised remuneration package.
• Adi Godrej to step down as Godrej Industries’ chairman; Nadir Godrej to take over.

Q1 Results

• SBI reports highest-ever quarterly net profit of ₹6,504 crore in Q1, NII rose 3.7% to ₹27,638 crore.
• Bank of Baroda posts net profit of ₹1,208 crore in Q1; NII rises 16% to ₹7,892 crore.
• HDFC Q1 net profit dips to ₹3,001 crore; NII rises 22% YoY to ₹4,147 crore.
• Ashok Leyland loss narrows to ₹282 crore in Q1; revenue grows to ₹2,951 crore.
• Hero MotoCorp Q1 net declines 72% QoQ to ₹249 crore, revenue declined by 37% at ₹5,503 crore.
• Zomato Q1 net loss widens to ₹356 crore; consolidated revenue rises to ₹844 crore.
• Voda Idea Q1 net loss widens to ₹7312.9 crore; Revenue fell 4.7% QoQ to ₹9,152.3 crore.
• ONGC Q1 Net profit soars 772% to ₹4,335 crore, Gross revenue rose 77% to ₹23,022 crore.

General News

• Monsoon session of Parliament: Both houses face repeated adjournments over Pegasus, farm laws.
• All citizens aged 18 and above to be vaccinated by December 2021: Health Ministry tells Parliament
• 36 new ministers take charge after Cabinet revamp; 7 promoted, 12 ministers dropped.
• PM Modi offers India’s Co-WIN platform to the world for adaptation to local use.
• India COVID tally touches 31.6 million, 470 million vaccine doses administered so far.
• Active cases account for 1.28% of total infections; recovery rate improves to 97.34%.
• Global Coronavirus caseload crosses 198.5 million; US cases surpass 35.7 million.
• PM Modi inaugurates, lays foundation stones of projects worth over ₹1,500 crore in Varanasi.
• Tirath Singh Rawat tenders resignation as CM of Uttarakhand; Pushkar Singh Dhami takes oath as CM.
• Union Minister Thawarchand made Karnataka Governor; 7 other States get new Governors.
• Basavaraj Bommai sworn in as the 30th Chief Minister of Karnataka.
• S Jaishankar holds delegation level talks with Iranian, Russian and Georgian couterparts.
• S Jaishankar discusses outstanding issues along the LAC in the Western Sector with China’s Wang Yi.
• US Secretary of State Blinken meets PM Modi, discusses regional challenges, cooperation on COVID.
• President Kovind visits J&K, Ladakh; pays tributes to Kargil martyrs at war memorial in Baramulla.
• Navjot Singh Sidhu named Punjab Congress Chief with 4 working Presidents.
• YS Sharmila launches her political party, named ‘YSR Telangana Party’.
• Puri takes out Lord Jagannath’s Rath Yatra without devotees amid COVID-19.
• Phones of 50,000 people targeted using Pegasus spyware; includes over 40 Indian journalists, politicians.
• Timeline for Aadhar linking with ration card extended upto Sept 30.
• Two explosive devices dropped from a suspected drone on the Indian Air Force Station in Jammu.
• US Navy hands over first two MH-60R multi role helicopters to India.
• Fresh batch of 3 Rafale fighter jets land in India after flying 7,000 km non-stop from France.
• DRDO successfully test-fires new-generation Akash surface-to-air missile.
• GAVI signs COVID-19 vaccine supply deals with Sinovac, Sinopharm for COVAX.
• UNICEF inks deal to supply of 220 million COVID vaccine doses for African Union member states.
• United Arab Emirates becomes the world’s most vaccinated nation, vaccinates 72.1% of its population.
• Brazil suspends decision to import four million doses of India-made Covaxin..
• UK achieves its July-end vaccination goal, govt says all adults offered one jab.
• Over half of Europe’s adult population ‘fully vaccinated’ against COVID-19: EU.
• 17 European countries approve Covishield for ‘Green Pass’.
• Newly-elected Nepal PM Sher Bahadur Deuba wins vote of trust in Parliament.
• President Joe Biden signs three bills to overturn Trump-era rules.
• President Biden hosts Chancellor Merkel at White House in her final visit to US as head of the state
• Joe Biden, Iraq’s PM Mustafa al-Kadhimi seal agreement to end U.S. combat mission in Iraq.
• US troops leave Afghanistan’s Bagram airfield after nearly two decades.
• Taliban delegation meets Chinese Foreign Minister, discusses current Afghan situation.
• North, South Korea agree to restore severed communication links as leaders seek to rebuild ties.
• Melbourne joins Sydney in lockdown as COVID-19 spreads in Australia.
• Unprecedented heatwave claims as many as 500 people in Western Canada.
• NASA awards $178 million Jupiter moon mission contract to Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
• Tokyo Olympics: Mary Kom, hockey captain Manpreet Singh India’s flagbearers at opening ceremony.
• Mirabai Chanu wins silver, opens India’s medal account on Day 1.
• Boxer Lovlina Borgohain assures second medal for India.
• Women’s hockey: India beat South Africa 4-3 to keep quarterfinals hopes alive.
• Kamalpreet finishes 2nd in discus qualification to make finals.
• Brisbane picked to host 2032 Olympics without a rival bid.
• India Tour of Sri Lanka: India won the ODI series 2-1 ; Sri Lanka defeats India to clinch T20I series 2-1.
• Dhawan 10th Indian to score 6000 ODI runs, completes 10,000 runs as Opener in International cricket.
• ENG-W beat IND-W England wins series 2-1.
• New Zealand’s Devon Conway and England’s Sophie Ecclestone named ICC Players of the month for June.
• ICC announces new points system for 2nd edition of WTC, Teams to be ranked on percentage of points won.
• BCCI announces schedule for remainder of VIVO IPL 2021 in UAE, MI to face CSK on September 19.
• Ashleigh Barty wins maiden Wimbledon women’s title, Novak Djokovic wins his 6th Wimbledon title.
• Argentina beat Brazil 1-0 to win Copa America, 1st major title in 28 yrs.
• Euro 2020 Final: Italy beat England 3-2 on penalties in London to win their second European Championship.

Business News

• Lok Sabha passes Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Bill 2021.
• Cabinet approves BharatNet implementation strategy across 16 states through PPP Model.
• Cabinet approves amendment to Limited Liability Partnership Act, 12 offences to be decriminalised.
• Government announces inclusion of Retail and Wholesale trades as MSMEs.
• Centre releases ₹75,000 crore to states and UTs, nearly half of FY22 GST compensation shortfall.
• Centre approves ₹6,322 crore PLI scheme for specialty steel; to create 5.25 lakh jobs.
• Nitin Gadkari inaugurates country’s first LNG facility plant at Nagpur.
• 8 new routes to boost regional aerial connectivity from MP to Maharashtra, Gujarat.
• 59 airports including 2 water aerodromes and 5 heliports operationalized under RCS-UDAN.
• Odisha CM inaugurates Tata Consumer Products’ ₹100 crore tea packaging plant in Gopalpur.
• CBDT extends e-filing of IT Forms 15CA,15CB till 15th August.
• RBI bars Mastercard from adding customers in India from July 22.
• India Pesticides, Zomato, Clean Science, GR Infraprojects, Tatva Chintan make their market debuts.
• Govt to procure 66 crore doses of Covishield, Covaxin at ₹205 and ₹215 per dose, respectively.
• Bharat Biotech commits to supply 500 million doses of Covaxin to Centre for immunisation programme.
• Covaxin offers 93.4% protection from severe COVID, 65.2% immunity against Delta variant.
• MSN Labs, BDR Pharma, Bajaj Healthcare get license deal with DRDO for COVID-19 drug 2-DG.
• Dr Reddy’s soft launches Sputnik V vaccine in 50 cities including Delhi and Mumbai.
• India’s Morepen manufactures first test batch of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine.
• Govt caps trade margin for pulse oximeter, BP monitoring machine, 3 other medical devices.
• NPPA allows 50% price hike for ibuprofen, ranitidine, carbamazepine.
• Maharashtra unveils new EV policy, increases subsidies; aims 10% share in total registrations by 2025.
• Rajasthan announces subsidies for e-2W, e-3W buyers.
• Maruti Suzuki India lines up ₹18,000 crore investment for new manufacturing plant in Haryana.
• Ashok Leyland to invest up to $200 million in EVs via Switch Mobility.
• Tata Motors launches new brand ‘XPRES’ for fleet customers.
• Daimler, Volvo and Traton plan $600 million truck-charging JV.
• Alibaba Backed AutoX Achieves True Driverless Robot Taxi Service In China.
• Ola opens bookings for electric scooter at ₹499; receives 1 lakh reservations in the first 24 hours.
• Ola Electric signs $100 million long-term loan with Bank of Baroda.
• Ceat to invest about ₹1,000 crore capital expenditure for various expansion projects this fiscal year.
• OPEC+ meets to agree oil supply boost as prices rise.
• Zurich airport signs shareholder agreement with NIAL for development of Noida airport.
• Billionaire Richard Branson reaches Space, safely returns to Earth.
• Blue Origin’s first passenger Spaceflight with jeff Bezos & crew successfully complete historic space launch.
• Centre inks MoUs with Microsoft, Amazon, Patanjali for farm data project.
• HCL Technologies selected as a strategic launch partner for Microsoft cloud for Financial Services.
• IBM signs 10-year partnership with Bangalore International Airport for digital transformation.
• TCS enters pact with OTT platform SonyLIV as its technology partner.
• Vijay Mallya declared bankrupt by UK High Court for Indian bank to realise debt.
• Facebook submits compliance report as directed by new IT Law.
• WhatsApp puts privacy policy on hold till data protection bill comes into force.
• Cairn Energy secures French court order to seize 20 Indian government properties.
• Kitex group enters into ₹1,000 crore investment deal in Telangana, to set up factories in Warangal district.
• Adani Group takes over Mumbai airport management, now controls 33% of India’s air cargo traffic.
• World Bank deployed $157 billion to fight pandemic in 15 months.
• IMF approves policy reforms to support recovery of low-income nations.
• Asian Development Bank lowers India’s economic growth forecast for this fiscal to 10% from 11%.
• 130 countries agree to Biden-backed 15% global minimum tax for companies.
• G20 approves global corporate tax rate of at least 15%.
• US Senate passes bill to ban all imports from China’s Xinjiang over allegations of rights abuse.
• Pentagon cancels $10 billion Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure contract given to Microsoft.
• Salesforce finalizes $27.7 billion Slack acquisition.
• Verizon Business signs 5G contactless payment deal with Mastercard.
• Byju’s acquires Epic for $500 million; buys Great Learning for $600 million.
• Airtel Business, Cisco partner for connectivity solutions for enterprises.
• •OYO raises $660 million term loan funding from global institutional investors.
• Govt approves up to ₹15,000 crore FDI investment proposal from Voda Idea.
• Reliance Retail acquires majority stake of 66.95% stake in Just Dial for ₹3,497 crore.
• EU fines Volkswagen, BMW $1.036 billion in for emissions cartel.
• France fines Google $593 million over copyright row.
• India’s ranking jumps to 90.32% in 2021 in UN Global Survey on Digital and Sustainable Trade Facilitation.
• RBI clears Shyam Srinivasan’s reappointment as Federal Bank MD & CEO for 3 years.
• Shiv Nadar resigns as MD of HCL, named Chairman Emeritus; C Vijayakumar, President & CEO named MD.
• Kenneth Juster named advisor to Global Board of US India Business Council.
• Jeff Bezos to hand over the job of Amazon chief executive on July 5 to Andy Jassy.
• Aditya Ghosh to join as co-founder Rakesh Jhunjhunwala’s Akasa Airlines

Q1 Results

• Reliance Industries Q1 Profit after tax jumps 67% YoY to ₹13,806 crore, revenue at ₹1.44 lakh crore.
• HDFC Bank Q1 profit rises 14% to ₹7,922 crore, NII rose 14% to ₹17,009 crore, GNPA up at 1.47%.
• ICICI Bank Q1 Net profit rises 78% YoY to ₹4,616 crore as provisions fall; NII rose 18% to ₹10,936 crore.
• Kotak Mahindra Bank Q1 Net profit rises 32% YoY to ₹1,642 crore, NII rose 6% to ₹3,942.
• IndusInd Bank Q1 net profit doubled to ₹1,016 crore, NII increased 8% to ₹3,564 crore.
• Maruti Suzuki Q1 net profit rose to ₹440.8 crore, revenue soars 333% to ₹17,770.7 crore.
• TCS Q1 Profit rises 29% YoY to ₹9,008 crore, revenue at ₹45,411 crore, approves ₹7/share dividend.
• Infosys Q1 Profit rises to Rs 5,195 crore, revenue climbs to Rs 27,896 crore
• Wipro Q1 net profit rises 9% QoQ to ₹3,243 crore, revenues rises 12.4% to ₹18,252 crore.
• HCL Tech Q1 PAT rises by 9% to ₹3,214 crore, revenue at ₹20,068 crore; declares ₹6/share dividend.
• Tech Mahindra Q1 profit jumps 39% YoY to ₹1,353 crore, revenue grew 11.98% YoY at ₹10,197.6 crore.
• Tata Motors Q1 Consolidated net loss narrows to ₹4,451 crore, revenue up 108% YoY at ₹66,406 crore.
• Hindustan Unilever Q1 net profit rises 9.6% to ₹2,061 crore, revenue rose 12.8% to ₹11,915 crore.
• ITC Q1 profit rises 28.6% YoY to ₹3,013.5 crore, revenue jumps 36.4% to ₹12,959 crore.