Bullets

Under the PLI (Production LInked Incentive) scheme, multiple international companies are set to receive ₹4,400 crore based on FY23 targets.

iPhone manufacturer Foxconn, South Korea-based Samsung, Tata-owned Wistron, Apple Inc. contract manufacturer Pegatron, and India-based Dixon Technologies are included in the list.

As per reports, the previously selected 10 companies could not meet the set targets, so the outlay of ₹6,504 crore won’t be used fully.

Learn more about the PLI Scheme and which sectors are covered under it for a brief understanding.

PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana, aka Rooftop Solar Scheme, receives the cabinet government’s approval for 10 million households.

With a total outlay of ₹75,021 crore, the scheme would entail the installation of solar panels on houses, giving free electricity to up to 300 units.

PM Modi made this announcement in Interim Budget 2024-25 this February. Interested citizens can apply for this scheme via the national portal.

Read about the rooftop solar scheme and its benefits from the article Pradhan Mantri Suryodaya Yojana.

Google displays its monopoly power in the mobile application & distribution sector by warning Matrimony.com and Info Edge (Naukri.com) removal from its app store.

Google has removed ten companies from its Play Store in India due to the backlash over its billing system and delayed payment of service fees.

This war between Indian startups and Google has been going on for a while now, with the famous tech giant close to winning the battle.

What would be the fate of Matrimony, Naukri.com & others? 🤔

India’s GDP for Q3 FY2025 zoomed to 8.4%, which was a massive hike from RBI’s estimated 6.5%. This boost in GDP, along with in-line US inflation, had the bulls running in the stock market.

BSE Sensex jumped 1000 points, touching a record 73,574 high, and NSE Nifty50 topped 22,300 on 1 March 2024.

Read about the upcoming NSE IPO and check whether it could be a good addition to your portfolio.

Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL), Viacom18 & Walt Disney have agreed to a joint venture by merging Viacom18’s media operations into Star India.

The to-be-formed JV would be valued at ₹70,352 crore, where RIL has signed to contribute ₹11,500 crore.

After the breakup of the Zee-Sony merger, this news is bringing positive limelight back to the national media sector.

Bringing forth the solution to the FEMA violations, RBI has instructed NPCI (National Payments Corporation of India) to be the third-party application provider for Paytm.

This good news removes many allegations from the One97 Communications head, giving the Paytm stock a good 5% upward surge.

NPCI is looking for ways to move Paytm customers to other banks without disrupting transactional lines.

Troubled EdTech Byju’s parent Think & Learn investors passed a resolution to remove Byju Raveendran as CEO, revealed one of the investors, Prosus.

The investors voted unanimously to revamp the board, which consists of Raveendran’s wife & cofounder Divya Gokulnath & brother Riju Raveendran. CEO Byju regards the Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) of investors as illegal and is in no hurry to leave his position. 

The resolution passed at the EGM requests outstanding governance, focusing on financial mismanagement & compliance issues and, hence, removal of the key managerial position holders & board members.

Aditya Birla Group’s flagship, Grasim Industries, is entering the paints sector to compete with leaders Asian Paints & Berger. Grasim Industries, with the brand name "Birla Opus", plans to be the No.2 player in the paints business.

Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla plans to partake in the booming construction business and thinks it an innovative strategy with the launch.

Is Asian Paints leadership in danger with the new arrival?

Zee Entertainment made headlines again; this time, it was for a ₹2,000 crore hole in its accounting. The media corporation has claimed this allegation to be false and submitted proof to SEBI.

Zee Entertainment might be able to return to its pristine position, as became clear from the 15% uplift of its shares yesterday. The reformation of the Zee-Sony merger is the reason for it.

Whether the merger will come to fruition or fall apart remains to be seen.

After Sony called off the awaited $10 billion merger with Zee Entertainment Enterprises, whiffs of the reunion are wafting in the media world. Sony and Zee have reportedly set up meetings for the last 15 days to find a middle ground.

As per reports, Sony wishes Punit Goenka to back off the CEO position for the to-be-forming entity, which was one of the major reasons for the breakup.

Will Zee accept all the conditions and save the merger? Stay tuned to know it all!

Read how the Zee-Sony merger could be a lifesaver for Zee.

State-backed telecom firm BSNL is initiating a tender project worth ₹65,000 crore to implement the BharatNet Project. This tender is phase III of the original ₹1.4 trillion BharatNet Project.

This project is focused on improving rural area connectivity by advancing existing infrastructure and introducing new initiatives.

The completion of the project would connect 1,64,000 gram panchayats and & approximately 47,000 new gram panchayats to the urban lands.   

Facing insolvency, GoFirst is looking for bidders to which SpiceJet promoter Ajay Singh and Busy Bee Airways Private Ltd. (BBAPL) have joined hands. Both the parties have submitted a joint bid as an interested party.

On the same side, Sharjah-based aviation services company Sky One also showed interest in bidding.

Go First ceased flying in May 2023. Read how everything fell apart for the aviation company by reading the article Go First Airline Insolvency.

Paytm Payments Bank breathed a sigh of relief as RBI pushed the deadline for restrictions on credit, FASTag, wallet, etc. services to 15 March.

This extension was the first good news after removing Paytm from the approved bank's list for FASTag transactions. Paytm Payment Bank’s board members started resigning once the RBI hold was leaked.

It remains to be seen what will happen to Paytm's digital services and how consumers will be affected.

Read about Paytm's business model and see how it could be affected due to the ongoing drama.

Tax return forms were released by the Income Tax Department designated for individual taxpayers. These forms deem the New Tax Regime as the default regime for 2024-25, clearing the air for people preferring the Old Tax Regime.

One must fill out Form 10-IEA to switch back to the old tax regime by 31 July.

The clarity on who can fill out the form and what would be done is still pending. So stay tuned to Bullets by Insider to get all the details about your taxes.

Read the New vs. Old Tax Regime article to learn the basic differences between the two.

With a historic high of 18.2%, India’s weightage is second to China's as per the MSCI Global Standard Index. Currently, the weightage is 17.9%, and the proposed hike to 18.2% will come into action after MSCI’s review on 29 February.

Rising FPI and domestic institutional inflows lead to the current rise. This is bound to bring $1.2 billion (around ₹9,960 crore) of inflows into the nation.

Experts also believe India’s weightage may reach 20% by 2024 if the situation remains unchanged.

Sovereign Gold Bond Series IV will be available from 12 February to 16 February. From salaried individuals to HUFs, Trusts, Universities, and Charitable Institutions can purchase these bonds.

A minimum investment of 1 gm to a maximum of 4 kg for individuals and HUFs and 20 kg for trusts have been fixed.

The article Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme 2023-24: Is It Worth Investing? contains all other crucial details about this series. Check it out.

The Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) increases the deposit interest for provident funds to 8.25% in 2023-24. This was a considerable hike from 8.15% in 2022-23 and 8.10% in 2021-22.

With EPFO subscribers touching 65 million, the rise in interest rate is still awaiting approval from the Ministry of Finance.

After the interim budget failed to include any changes for the corporate jobholders, this news would undoubtedly make invested salaried employees happy.

Read about all the important announcements from the budget in the article: The Highlights of Interim Budget 2024-25.

Reserve Bank of India voted on maintaining the repo rate of 6.50% again. RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das explained that the Monetary Policy Committee’s decision to hold the rate again is due to the inflationary unevenness.

Interestingly, unlike before, the decision to keep the rates unchanged was not unanimous but a 5:1 vote.

The difficulty in achieving the inflation target of 4% is the factor behind the unchanging nature of the repo rates.

Know the repo rate and how it will affect your finances from this article: What are the impacts of Repo Rate Cuts by RBI?

A Section 206 notice, including operations and legal actions taken against co-founder Ashneer Grover, has been requested from BharatPe. This demand under the Companies Act came from the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), including queries about the company's financial irregularities.

The rising caution in the fintech sector and the many allegations by Ashneer Grover have raised many questions about BharatPe.

To know the whole story, read the article: Is Bad Blood with Ashneer Grover Destroying BharatPe?

RBI allows India’s largest bank lender, HDFC Bank & its group entities, to acquire up to 9.50% stakes in 6 lenders. ICICI Bank, YES Bank, Axis Bank, Suryoday Small Finance Bank, IndusInd Bank, and Bandhan Bank are included in the list of “aggregate holdings”.

This approval by RBI will be valid for 1 year, from 5 February 2024 to 4 February 2025.

This rise from 5% holding to 9.5% increases investment limits for HDFC Bank & group.