The Bharti Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan) will on Saturday hold dharnas outside the residences of three senior BJP leaders in Punjab on the fifth day of the farmers' protest over their various demands, including a legal guarantee for MSP.

Apart from holding dharnas outside the homes of former Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh, the BJP's Punjab unit chief Sunil Jakhar and senior leader Kewal Singh Dhillon, the union will also hold protests at toll plazas in the state, extending support to the farmers' "Delhi Chalo" call.

The listed microfinance institutions (MFIs) and MFI subsidiaries of the listed finance companies posted 80 per cent year on year (Y-o-Y) growth in net profit at Rs 1,105 crore in the December quarter of the current financial year (FY24). The buoyant interest income of 51.88 per cent Y-o-Y and credit offtake helped non-banking finance companies (NBFCs)-MFIs report a healthy bottom line. Sequentially, profit was up by just 4.14 per cent from Rs 1,061 crore in the September quarter (Q2FY24).

The interest income rose to Rs 4,508 crore in the third quarter ended December (Q3FY24) from Rs 2,968 crore a year ago.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has signed a 10-year bilateral security agreement with France hours after he officialised a similar one with Germany.

The agreements send a strong signal of long-term backing as Kyiv works to shore up Western support nearly two years after Russia launched its full-scale war.

SoftBank Group Corp. founder Masayoshi Son is seeking as much as $100 billion to bankroll a chip venture to compete with Nvidia Corp. and supply semiconductors essential for AI, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

Code-named Izanagi, the project marks the billionaire’s next big endeavor as SoftBank sharply curtails startup investments. Son envisions creating a company that can complement chip design unit Arm Holdings Plc and allow the billionaire to build an AI chip powerhouse, said the people, who requested anonymity because the discussions remain private.

The RBI on Friday advised customers as well merchants of Paytm Payments Bank Ltd (PPBL) to shift their accounts to other banks by March 15, giving 15 more days to the beleaguered entity to close most of its operations, including deposit and credit transactions.

The earlier deadline was February 29, 2024, which the RBI has extended by 15 days keeping in view the interest of customers (including merchants) of PPBL who may require a little more time to make alternative arrangements and in the larger public interest The RBI also said withdrawal or utilisation of balances by PPBL customers from their accounts.

SpiceJet promoter Ajay Singh and Busy Bee Airways Private Ltd (BBAPL) have jointly submitted a bid for insolvent airline Go First, which ceased to fly in May last year.Moreover, Sharjah-based aviation services company Sky One announced submitting a bid for the airline.

BBAPL, an East Delhi-based company, has Paul Gomes and Pran Sathiadasan as 50-50 shareholders, according to the latest documents filed with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs in November 2023, which have been reviewed by Business Standard.

Seven BJP MLAs were on Friday suspended for the remainder of the Budget session of the Delhi Assembly for interrupting the Lt Governor's address.

The BJP MLAs had interrupted Lt Governor VK Saxena multiple times during his address on Thursday as they sought to attack the Arvind Kejriwal government.

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Friday laid the foundation stone for a steel project of JSW Group to be set up at an estimated investment of Rs 65,000 crore.

The proposed project would have an annual steel manufacturing capacity of 13.2 million tonne (MT) with a captive power plant and captive jetties with cargo-handling capacity, JSW Steel said in a BSE filing.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday laid the foundation stone of an All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) here.

He also dedicated to the nation and laid the foundation stone of multiple development projects related to urban transport, health, rail and tourism sector worth over Rs 9,770 crore.

Ola Electric has announced that they will be dropping the prices of their electric scooters for February. The prices have been lowered by up to Rs 25,000 on the S1 Pro, S1 Air and S1X+. They are now priced at Rs 130,000, RS 105,000, and Rs 85,000. All prices are ex-showroom.

Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Ola Electric's chairman and managing director Bhavish Aggarwal said that this special discount is in effect starting today, February 16, and will exist till the end of this month.

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