Author: Loknath Das

The Fifteenth Finance Commission, in its interim recommendations, has suggested continuing with a 42 percent devolution of divisible taxes to states. It has, however, recommended some adjustments, including a carve out for Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. The interim recommendations were released as part of the budget presentation on Saturday and will form the basis on centre-state fiscal relations in 2020-21. Final recommendations of the commission will be submitted by Oct. 30, 2020. The Fifteenth Finance Commission has recommended keeping the split of net proceeds of union government’s taxes unchanged at 42 percent, post adjusting 1 percentage point for needs…

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While the upcoming Super Bowl ads are continuing to generate as much buzz as the game itself – even if Planters wisely opted to put its Mr. Peanut campaign on hold following the tragic death of Kobe Bryant last weekend. For many the ads have become as big as the actual game. “Super Bowl ads have become a cultural staple, sometimes overshadowing the game itself,” explained Robert Rothschild, vice president of global marketing at Smartly.io. However, unlike the now famous Apple Macintosh “1984” ad that only aired once nationally, which was during Super Bowl XVIII during a break in the third quarter,…

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NEW DELHI: Nifty futures on the Singapore Exchange traded 28.50 points, or 0.24 per cent, higher at 12,096.50, indicating a positive for Dalal Street. Here are a few stocks which may buzz the most in today’s trade: Tata Power, Bajaj Finance: Bajaj Finance, Tata Power, The Ramco Cements, IDFC First Bank, Jubilant Foodworks AptechNSE -1.95 %, Bajaj FinservNSE -1.76 %, Escorts and GCPL are some of the companies which will report their December quarter earnings today. TCS: Tata Sons has started the process of arranging funds for paying off the Rs 13,823-crore AGR dues of Tata Teleservices, said top officials close to the development.…

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Atari has licensed its name for a number of brand partnerships in the gaming space, but the company’s latest deal to build eight Atari-branded hotels marks its foray into the hospitality industry. The company announced a licensing deal with US real estate developer True North Studio and GSD group to build eight hotels in the US. Construction will begin in Phoenix in mid-2020, with more hotels to come in Austin, Chicago, Denver, Las Vegas, San Francisco, San Jose, and Seattle. The “video game-themed destination” will offer gaming playgrounds that include VR and AR games, and some locations will have venues and studios…

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Apple Arcade has so far been a great repository for polished, offbeat indie games that are best explored when you have some quiet time and perhaps no internet connection. The latest entry into the iOS subscription game service is different. It’s a flashy multiplayer battle royale shooter, kind of like Fortnite — except it’s more kid-friendly, with a food fight theme instead of guns and bullets and a top-down design that gives it the look and feel of classic dungeon crawlers. It’s called Butter Royale, and it’s available today for all Apple Arcade subscribers. ‘BUTTER ROYALE’ IS A NONVIOLENT SHOOTER FEATURING FOOD-THEMED WEAPONS But isn’t Fortnite…

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The market share loss that they are having is one worry but from a valuation perspective, Zee looks fine to us, says Abhimanyu Sofat, VP-Research, IIFL. Excerpts from an interview with ETNOW. What did you make of Zee’s performance? Is it still a worthy buy? If you look at the numbers closely, clearly the advertising revenue is coming down. The new TRAI regulations that have come in could have a negative impact on the company. Somehow the momentum that they were getting in certain markets like Tamil Nadu is not there any more. So, that is one concern. Yesterday, what the management said in the…

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Bengaluru: Flourish Ventures, a venture firm focused on financial services and fintech, may back companies in neo-banking, gig economy, embedded finance and insure-tech, in India this year, its managing partner, Tilman Ehrbeck, said. In March last year, Omidyar Network, the philanthropic investment firm started by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar, had said it had spun off its financial inclusion initiative to launch Flourish Ventures. Flourish makes investments in personal finance management tools, challenger banks, regulatory innovations, and technologies that foster an inclusive economy. Till 2018, Omidyar Network globally had invested $200 million across more than 45 startups in financial services including 13…

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According to a new report, the consumer millennials (18 – 34-year-old) are notably impacted by internet influencers and people they follow sites such as Instagram and Facebook. Their daily use of Facebook is 77%, compared to 68% usage by the 35 to 54-year-old and 52% of the 55+ age group. However, their daily influence on purchasing behavior of Instagram is substantially higher. The daily usage by the 18 – 34-year-old is 72%, 41% by the 35 – 54-year-old and only 9% by the 55+ age group. YouTube use compared to Instagram is more by older age groups. Less popular sites…

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Follow these steps if you want to hide memories with certain people on Facebook | Picture for Representation Facebook is one of the most popular social platforms across the world where people can share their photos, videos or post a status with others creating memories. Memories on Facebook helps its users to remind their old Facebook posts, when they became friends on Facebook with others, posts on Facebook that they were tagged in and major life events including some other things. But, one can control what they see in Memories by hiding people or dates they don’t want to be…

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Social networks, once a fun and novel way to connect with friends and interests online, have taken on a much more frustrating and dispiriting tone for many users in recent years. It’s an albatross that many of us can’t seem to shake. Twitter and Facebook have ballooned into monolithic giants that hold a lot of sway over the way we consume information and interact on the web. And they can’t seem to solve their myriad negative impacts on society… or worse, don’t see the value. Facebook allows lies in political advertising and plays fast and loose with user data; Twitter lets fake accounts run riot across…

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