Edition 03

Week in Review
July 08, 2019

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 NATIONAL
Budget 2019 Highlights: Super-rich demonetised, tax sops for
EVs, affordable housing

Modi government's first Budget comes at a time when the

economy is showing signs of slowdown. After a pre-election,
populist Budget in February, the Modi government presented a
Union Budget that aims to boost investment.
https://bit.ly/2YEZlHp

SC asks Meghalaya to deposit Rs 100 cr fine

The Supreme Court on 03 July directed the government of

Meghalaya to deposit a fine of Rs 100 crore, imposed on it by
the National Green Tribunal (NGT) for failing to curb illegal
coal mining in the state, with the Central Pollution Control
Board.
https://bit.ly/2XyklDa

TikTok collecting user-data, sending to China: Tharoor

Shashi Tharoor, Member of Parliament, while speaking during

the Zero Hour in the Lok Sabha has claimed that TikTok-maker
ByteDance is illegally collecting user information and sharing it
with China.
https://bit.ly/2FZ4eno

'First Rafale to be delivered in 2 months'

French Ambassador to India Alexandre Ziegler on Friday said

the first Rafale fighter aircraft will be delivered "perfectly on
time". Calling it an excellent aircraft, he said it would add a lot
to the capacity of the Indian Air Force.
https://bit.ly/2XrMU0g

Rahul steps down as Congress chief

Congress is all set to have a non-Gandhi-Nehru family member

as its president as Rahul Gandhi on 03 July made a public
announcement of his decision to step down from the post.
https://bit.ly/306xCQj
 INTERNATIONAL
Strongest earthquake in 20 years rattles Southern California

The strongest earthquake in 20 years shook a large swath of

Southern California and parts of Nevada on July 4th, causing
injuries and damage in a town near the epicentre, followed by a
swarm of on-going aftershocks. Multiple injuries and two house
fires were reported in the town of 28,000.
http://bit.ly/2JiCQ5X

Bangladesh PM signs agreements with her Chinese counterpart

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina held wide ranging talks

with her Chinese counterpart Li Keqiang to further consolidate
bilateral ties and signed nine agreements. The nine instruments
were signed in different sectors ranging from aid for the Rohingyas
and economic and technical cooperation, investment, power,
culture and tourism.
http://bit.ly/2L4eizK

IMF approves $6 billion loan for cash-strapped Pakistan

The IMF approved a USD 6 billion loan over a period of three

years for Pakistan, aimed at returning sustainable growth to the
country's fragile economy and improving the standards of living.
The USD 6 billion financial aid includes an immediate
disbursement of USD 1 billion to help Pakistan address its
balance of payment crisis.
http://bit.ly/2NwMBkT

Iran says it has breached stockpile limit under nuclear deal

Iran acknowledged it had broken the limit set on its stockpile of

low-enriched uranium by the 2015 nuclear deal, marking its
first major departure from the unravelling agreement a year
after the US unilaterally withdrew from the accord.
http://bit.ly/32auRiH

Europe's heatwave burns on, but eases from record highs

A four-day heatwave across western Europe that killed seven

people began to ease slightly, as temperature alerts were cut
back and wildfires slowly brought under control. Most of the
fires that had broken out Spain in recent days were stabilized.
http://bit.ly/2YBY6J7
 BUSINESS
Punjab National Bank hit by another fraud

The Punjab National Bank(PNB) on Saturday said it had

reported a borrowing fraud of 38.05 billion Indian rupees ($556
million) in Bhushan Power & Steel Ltd’s account to the Reserve
Bank of India (RBI). PNB has been defrauded of over $2 billion
in a separate scam that came into picture last year.
https://bit.ly/2YC6jwF

Maruti Suzuki’s resale price maintenance under scanner

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) on Thursday said it

had ordered an investigation into how the country’s biggest car
maker Maruti Suzuki controls discounts its dealers offer. The
CCI order further said that MSIL's submission that there exists
no agreement to control discounts, is devoid of substance and
merits rejection.
https://bit.ly/2JxWNEv

Deutsche Bank to close most Asia Pacific equity business

The Frankfurt-based lender expects to stop offering trading of

cash equities, equities research and may no longer underwrite
initial public offerings in the region. The final decision depends
on the bank’s supervisory board meeting on Sunday.
https://bit.ly/2XtWK1H

Jaguar Land Rover to build electric cars at UK plant

This announcement gives a boost to Britain’s automotive sector

hit this year by Honda and Ford’s plans to close factories. The
focus is on mobility which is gradually shifting to the electric
front as the industry is aimed at making the next generation a
zero-emission one.
https://bit.ly/30hKKC5

Anil Ambani planning to sell Mumbai HQs to cut debt

Anil Ambani is planning to sell company headquarters located in

Santacruz. The move is reportedly aimed at making Reliance
Infrastructure debt free. Almost all of Anil Ambani’s companies
are in massive debt.
https://bit.ly/2XxaloW
 TECHNOLOGY
French lawmakers vote to target online hate speech in draft bill

Social media giants such as Facebook and Twitter would be

required to remove any hateful content within 24 hours under a
draft bill approved by France’s National Assembly.
https://reut.rs/30kgwP6

FM snubs cryptocurrencies, no mention in Budget 2019

The much-debated cryptocurrencies did not find any mention in

finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman's budget speech, as
anticipated by various stakeholders in the industry. It could mean
government is taking time to understand the importance of this
currency, and may not rush into taking a decision anytime soon.
https://bit.ly/2xCxeN2

US panel clears SoftBank's $2.25B investment in GM's Cruise

Cruise, a U.S. self-driving vehicle company majority-owned by

General Motors, said that a U.S. national security panel
approved a $2.25 billion investment in the firm by Japan's
SoftBank. SoftBank has been facing increasing U.S. scrutiny
over its ties to Chinese firms.
https://bit.ly/2XrYGYw

India proposes tax benefits for electric vehicles to promote

sales

India proposed tax waivers on the purchase of electric vehicles and

removed import taxes on some auto components to help boost sales
and reduce its dependence on fossil fuels. FM Nirmala Sitharaman,
presenting the federal budget, said buyers of electric vehicles will
receive an income tax deduction of 150,000 rupees on interest paid
on loans taken out to them.
https://reut.rs/2YAdQfK

Samsung in hot water over splashy Australian phone ads

Australia’s consumer watchdog has sued Samsung Electronics Co

Ltd’s Australian unit for allegedly misleading consumers by
promoting water-resistant Galaxy smartphones as suitable to use
in swimming pools and the surf.
https://reut.rs/2LFz9IZ
E-COMMERCE & STARTUPS
SoftBank pumps in $250 million in Ola Electric

Ola Electric Mobility has secured a funding of over ₹1,725 crore

from SoftBank as a part of its Series B round., entering the club
of India’s fastest unicorns. The new fund infusion into Ola
Electric is expected to help the firm reach its goal of
introducing 1 million electric vehicles on Indian roads by 2021.
https://bit.ly/2JmXxw6

AI health tech start-up raises ₹31 cr from Alteria Capital

Novo Cura Tech Health Services Pvt Ltd raised Rs 31 crore as

venture debt from Alteria Capital. The startup had previously
raised $17.2 million in series B funding in April. The AI-
powered healthcare platform, which connects individuals to
doctors online, aims to triple its investments in AI, mobile
engineering and hardware integration.
https://bit.ly/2XdIoCo

Tech startups, ecommerce companies to step up hiring in 2019

Cash-rich startups are expected to hire 50% more people in

2019 than they did this year, while matured players like Zomato
and Oyo are likely to increase in headcount up to 30% as they
are targeting new markets. A majority of the new jobs will be in
advanced technologies such as AI and big data analytics.
https://bit.ly/2rS2Jjo

E-commerce sales from India grew 4% in Q1 2019

Sales from India were up 121 per cent on YoY basis with India
reaching the 6th position in terms of sales on international
marketplaces. The findings are based on a sample of over
100,000 merchants actively selling on international
marketplaces. The study revealed a 38 per cent YoY increase in
sellers selling on more than one international marketplace.
https://bit.ly/2JsXX4h

Shein shuts down partially amid customs crackdown

Mumbai Customs seized about 500 parcels of the official Indian

seller for Chinese apparel and lifestyle e-tailer Shein, and
sealed a company warehouse in the city after officials found it
undervaluing and wrongly declaring goods. The crackdown is
for allegedly paying much lower customs duties.
https://bit.ly/2Xt6HfD
 SPORTS
India to play New Zealand in semis after topping league stage

India will take on New Zealand on July 9 while Australia will

play England on July 11 in the World Cup 2019 semi-finals.
India ended the round robin phase as group winners, beating Sri
Lanka, courtesy of Rohit Sharma’s record breaking 5th ton at
this World Cup while the Aussies lost to South Africa to finish
second on the table.
https://bit.ly/32dIHAX

USA beat Netherlands to win Women’s World Cup

The United States won the Women's World Cup for a record
fourth time as they eventually overpowered the Netherlands 2-
0 in Lyon. Megan Rapinoe's penalty and Rose Lavelle's fine run
and finish gave the defending champions victory in the second
half, after resilient first-half defending from the Dutch.
https://bbc.in/2xzaEFd

Wimbledon 2019: Nadal and Federer progress to fourth round

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal reached the fourth round at

Wimbledon with straight-set victories over French opponents.
Spanish world number two Nadal - a two-time winner at SW19
- defeated Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-2 6-3 6-2. Eight-time
champion Federer beat Lucas Pouille 7-5 6-2 7-6 (7-4).
https://bbc.in/2RZqOkH

Brazil beat Peru to win Copa America 2019

Gabriel Jesus scored one goal and assisted another before being
sent off as Brazil won a first Copa America title in 12 years,
beating Peru 3-1. It is the ninth time Brazil have won the Copa
America and is their first tournament success since winning a
gold medal at the 2016 Olympics.
https://bbc.in/2JhJk4V

Tour de France 2019: Mike Teunissen wins stage one

Teunissen, a Jumbo-Visma team member, outsprinted Peter

Sagan to take the yellow jersey by centimetres in stage one on
Saturday, July 6. He becomes the first Dutchman to claim the
yellow jersey since Erik Breukink in 1989. In Sunday’s team
time trial, Team Jumbo-Visma won to further extend
Teunissen’s lead at the top.
https://bbc.in/2XJuYm7