Top headlines: Cabinet approves bill to set up DFI, Nokia to cut10k jobs

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Cabinet approves Bill to set up Development Finance Institution

The Union Cabinet on Tuesday approved a bill to set up a Development Finance Institution (DFI) to generate funds for investment in the infrastructure sector. The proposed legislation will give effect to the Budget announcement made by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on February 1. The government has proposed Rs 20,000 crore to capitalise the institution. Read more

633,000 'New Middle Class' households In India: Hurun India report

Hurun India Wealth Report 2020 released Tuesday has identified a novel household category in India – the ‘New Middle Class’ – with an average savings of Rs 20-lakh per annum. These households, the report says, have major allocation towards physical assets such as primary residential property and automobiles. Hurun India pegs the total number of such cumulative households in India at 633,000. According to Hurun, there are 412,000 dollar-millionaire households / affluent households in India with a networth of at least Rs 7 crore. Hurun Rich Listers have a wealth of Rs 1,000 crore, the report says, and pegs the number of such cumulative households in India at 3,000. Read more

Indian Railways will never be privatised: Piyush Goyal in Lok Sabha

Railways Minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday asserted that Indian Railways will never be privatised but said private investment should be encouraged for more efficient functioning. Replying to a discussion on Demands for Grants for Railways, Goyal said there has been no death of any passenger due to a rail accident in two years and the railways has been putting enormous focus on passenger safety. He said the country can progress towards high growth and create more employment opportunities only when the public and private sectors work together. Read more

PhonePe cements position as leading payments app, WhatsApp falls behind

PhonePe processed the most transactions in the last three months to continue as India’s top Unified Payments Interface (UPI) app and WhatsApp, the messaging platform used by millions in India, failed to live up to expectations that it will grow rapidly, data showed. In February, WhatsApp processed 0.55 million transactions amounting to Rs 32.41 crore. Transactions have gone down since December when it processed 0.81 million transactions amounting to Rs 29.72 crore. Read more

Nokia to cut up to 10,000 jobs over next two years to trim costs

Finnish telecoms group Nokia said on Tuesday it plans to cut between 5,000 and 10,000 jobs within the next two years to trim costs and invest more in research capabilities. Read more