RBI governor gets show cause notice, a device to combat Delhi’s toxic smog, and more top news

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RBI governor Urjit Patel has received a show cause notice for not disclosing a list of wilful defaulters despite a Supreme Court order. The Central Information Commission has asked Patel to explain why he shouldn’t face the maximum penalty for “dishonouring” the court’s verdict. The CIC had sought details of action taken against wilful defaulters who had borrowed in excess of ?50 crore. The commission has also asked the Prime Minister’s Office, the finance ministry and the RBI to make public former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan’s letter on bad loans.

A Delhi startup has devised a solution to the city’s unbreathable air. Kurin Systems has won a patent for the “world’s largest as well as the strongest air purifier,” which, its co-founder Pavneet Singh Puri claims, can provide clean air to 75,000 people living in a 3 km radius. The 40-feet tall solar-powered device can purify 32 million cubic metres of air per day, using a mechanism that’s markedly different from the one used by China’s Smog Tower in Xian. Delhi, the world’s most polluted metropolis, has been reeling under severely low air quality for the last few weeks.

Amazon's investment arm is set to acquire nearly 10% in Kishore Biyani’s Future Retail next week, Economic Times reports, citing people aware of the development. The two companies have already signed a term sheet and the deal will now go to the Future board for approval. Pegged at ?2,500 crore, the deal will give Amazon access to nearly a third of the country’s organised food market through Future Retail’s 1,100 physical stores, including the Big Bazaar and Nilgiris chains. Earlier, Amazon and Samara Capital jointly acquired Aditya Birla Retail, which runs the supermarket chain More, for ?4,200 crore.

Tesla cars may hit Indian roads in a year’s time. Co-founder and CEO Elon Musk tweeted that the electric car maker plans to have “partial presence in India, Africa and South America by the end of next year, with broader expansion in 2020.” Earlier, Musk tweeted that the country’s restrictive policy environment was proving to be a hurdle for local production. The government’s flip-flop on an electric vehicle policy hasn’t helped, with announcements ranging from 100% EV sales by 2030 to replacing 30% of conventional cars with battery-powered ones to statements such as an “EV policy was not required.”

International students will now pay a lot less to study at IIT Delhi. Livemint reports that the country’s premier engineering institute has slashed the yearly tuition fee for undergraduate foreign students by 31% and that for doctorate students by more than 96% to ?200,000 and ?10,000, respectively. The move is aimed at taking the number of foreign students from 1% currently to 25% over time, and enhancing the institute’s global standing. Earlier, IIT Delhi decided to offer full scholarship to international students, with a target of 1,500 foreign PhD students over the next five years.

The Centre is taking another crack at reviving Air India. Economic Times reports that the government plans to halve the airline’s debt by transferring ?29,000 crore of borrowings to a special purpose vehicle. The SPV, in turn, will repay the debt through sales of the airline's assets and subsidiaries. The government is also considering an equity infusion into the national carrier, and could seek parliamentary approval for it during the winter session, the publication quotes an unidentified source as saying. Air India was put on the block earlier this year, but it didn't find any takers.

Idea of the Day: We need to pay attention today to how intelligent technologies will redefine work tomorrow, says Accenture chairman and CEO Pierre Nanterme.

“Employers today need the courage to start conversations with employees about the implications of automation, so we can help them envision and plan for future career opportunities.”

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