Morning News Bulletin: Track latest updates

Normal life in Mumbai was affected as incessant rains pounded the megapolis and its suburbs for the second day on Wednesday, while five people were killed in rain- related incidents in Palghar district.

Incessant downpour for 2nd day affects normal life in Mumbai

Normal life in Mumbai was affected as incessant rains pounded the megapolis and its suburbs for the second day on Wednesday, while five people were killed in rain- related incidents in Palghar district.  The rains affected air services as 108 flights were cancelled and suburban train services were delayed by about 15-20 minutes.  The India Meteorological Department (IMD), which had last evening given a heavy to very heavy rainfall warning in parts of Mumbai region for Wednesday, in its forecast issued this afternoon, said the city would receive intermittent rains.
Schools and colleges in Mumbai Metropolitan Region were instructed to remain closed today in view of heavy rains.

Main runway at Mumbai Airport shut, over 180 flights cancelled

More than 180 flights at the Mumbai airport had to be cancelled in the past 24 hours due to heavy rainfall in the city and after a SpiceJet aircraft skidded off the runway and got stuck in mud, shutting down the main runway.  The Boeing 737, which skidded off the runway yesterday, was towed away to the paved area late this evening with the help of a team of engineers from national carrier Air India and Mumbai International Airport Ltd, an airport spokesperson said.  Efforts to remove the aircraft had been underway for nearly 24 hours.  According to airport sources, NOTAM (notice to airmen) has been extended till 6 am tomorrow, meaning flights will operate from the secondary runway which has limited aircraft handling capacity.

ONGC makes massive new discovery at Mumbai High; find may pep up production for years

State-run hydrocarbon explorer ONGC has found reserves to the west of its Mumbai High offshore fields, with initial estimates suggesting the new discovery’s size to be about 20 million tonnes of oil equivalent (mtoe). The firm’s output has been stagnating over the last many years with annual oil production in the range of 25-26 million tonnes (mt) and natural gas output around 23 billion cubic metres (bcm). Though the zones at the well WO 24-3 are still under assessment, the new find is believed to be big enough to pep up the firm’s production in coming years. Mumbai High in the Arabian sea annually produces about 10 mtoe. The newly discovered reserves are located 10 km west of Mumbai High, which is 180 km off the city’s coast.

Google Tez: Here is all that it can do for you, from sending money to friends to getting payment in your bank account

The Internet is fast becoming part of daily life for many Indians, but when it comes to making payments in the real world, we still prefer to pay by cash. Google wants to change this through its new payments app, called Tez. A simple and secure way to pay for online and offline purchases, Tez is a free payments and commerce app built on top of the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) standard. The best part: It is multilingual. Let us take a look at some of its key features and what we can do with this new Google app. Make cash-like payments: One of the most powerful aspects of cash is that it enables you to pay others without exchanging sensitive personal information. Cash Mode enables just that by letting you pay another Tez user nearby without having to share personal details like your bank account or phone number. This is ideal for paying the vegetable vendor or auto driver. Bring two phones near each other, hit pay or request, enter your UPI PIN and the payment goes instantly from one bank account to another. Cash Mode is built using Google’s proprietary AQR (Audio QR) technology, which is similar to QR codes but more convenient and more secure. And unlike NFC, it works on almost any smartphone in India, whether Android or iOS.

Railways staff to get big bonus: Cabinet clears PLB equivalent to 78 days wages; move to cost Centre Rs 2,245 cr

With the festive season ahead, the Cabinet on Wednesday announced productivity-linked bonus (PLB) equivalent to 78 days’ wages for the Indian Railways’ 12.3 lakh non-gazetted employees. The gesture will cost the transporter Rs 2,245 crore. The Cabinet also approved transfer of three India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) hotels to the respective state governments for a total consideration of about Rs 25 crore. Among other decisions, it approved a revamped Khelo India programme to create an ecosystem for budding sportspersons at a cost of Rs 1,756 crore for three years until 2019-20. To motivate the workers of the railways, the bonus to the transporter’s staff will be released before the Dussehra holiday, beginning later this month. The decision comes at a time when the railways’ finances are in doldrums and it is going through a tough period due to multiple derailments mostly due to human errors. The wage calculation ceiling prescribed for payment of PLB is Rs 7,000 per month. “The maximum amount payable per eligible railway employee is Rs 17,951 for 78 days,” the government said in a statement.

Surprise: Kotak Mahindra Bank emerges 2nd only to HDFC Bank; ICICI Bank pushed to 3rd

Kotak Mahindra Bank (KMB)’s market capitalisation is nudging Rs 2 lakh crore. On Wednesday, the private sector lender’s market cap stood at Rs 1.95 lakh crore while ICICI bank’s m-cap was Rs 1.86 lakh crore. KMB is the country’s second-most valued private lender after HDFC Bank, which commands a market cap of Rs 4.77 lakh crore. Shares of KMB closed Wednesday’s session 0.87 % lower at Rs 1,025.45 on BSE. The stock is up 42.6 % so far in 2017, while the return over one month is 5.58 %. the bank recently raised Rs 5,806 crore through a placement of shares at Rs 936 per share. ICICI Bank’s market cap had hit Rs 1.95 lakh crore on July, 25 but since then the stock has lost close to 4.5 %. While Axis Bank is valued at Rs 1.24 lakh crore, Indusind Bank is valued at Rs 1.03 lakh crore, respectively.