QBiz: 1 Bn Records Compromised in Aadhaar Breach Since Jan; & More
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1. 1 Bn Records Compromised in Aadhaar Breach Since January
In the first six months of 2018, almost one billion records were compromised in Aadhaar breach incident, including name, address and other personally-identified information, according to a new report by digital security firm Gemalto.
According to company's Breach Level Index, almost one billion data records have been exposed in India since 2013, when the index began benchmarking publicly disclosed data breaches.
"During the first six months of 2018, almost 1 billion records were compromised in Aadhaar breach incident, including name, address and other personally identified information. This is particularly concerning, since the stolen, lost or compromised data records of only one out of 12 breaches were protected by encryption to render the information useless," Gemalto said.
(Source: The Hindu Business Line)
2. Festive Season Sales Help Amazon, Flipkart Clock Rs 15,000 Crore in Just 5 Days
E-commerce companies in the country are estimated to have raked in sales worth Rs 15,000 crore in about five days of their festive sales with giants like Amazon India and Flipkart claiming stellar show across categories like smartphones, large appliances and fashion.
RedSeer Consulting in its report said e-tailers had a better “sales performance over the five festive days from October 9-14”, generating about Rs 15,000 crore (around USD 2 billion) in sales.
This translates into about 64 per cent year-on-year growth compared to USD 1.4 billion (around Rs 10,325 crore) generated in the 2017 edition.
(Source: The Financial Express)
3. 5 Things to Watch out for in Infosys Q2 Results Today
Infosys’s second-quarter earnings, to be declared on Tuesday, will be an important marker to know the firm’s full-year growth. The second half of the year (October-March) is tepid for home-grown IT firms.
Infosys reported 0.9 percent sequential dollar revenue growth in the first quarter. Even if the company manages to grow by 1 percent in both the third and fourth quarters, Infosys needs to grow at least 2.4 percent in the July-September period to report 6.2% full-year dollar revenue growth, according to Mint analysis.
Infosys had outlined dollar revenue growth of between 7 percent and 9 percent at the start of the current year.
(Source: Livemint)
4. Indian Insurers Uncertain Of Pricing As Regulator Makes HIV/AIDS Cover Compulsory
Insurers say pricing HIV/AIDS insurance will be a challenge till there’s enough historical data after the regulator made such covers compulsory in India, the nation with the world’s third-highest HIV burden.
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India, in compliance with the HIV and AIDS (Prevention and Control) Act 2017, had directed insurers on Oct. 10 to not deny insurance to such patients “unless supported by actuarial studies”.
“Insurers must cover the condition either under comprehensive health plans or design separate products for patients suffering from it,” said Subhash Chandra Khuntia, IRDAI chairman.
(Source: Bloomberg Quint)
5. PM Modi has ushered in ‘acche din’ for business, says Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia on Monday, 15 October, committed to meeting India’s rising oil demand and said it is keen to invest in fuel retailing and petrochemical business in the world’s fastest-growing energy consumer.
Speaking at India Energy Forum, its oil minister Khalid al-Falih heaped lavish praises on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government for making it easier to do business in the country and ushering in “acche din”.
“My frequent visits to India are indicative of the importance Saudi Arabia attaches to this great nation as a critical energy and a strategic global player,” he said calling the county an “emerging superpower”.
(Source: The Financial Express)
6. Visa, Mastercard, Amex in Breach as Deadline for Data Localisation Passes
As the deadline for payment companies to comply with the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) data localisation rule ran out, major payment network players, including Visa and Mastercard, were in breach.
While there was no official word on the status from the RBI, banking industry sources said that of the 78 payment companies in the country, 15 are yet to comply with.
“The companies that are yet to comply have asked for more time to set up local data centres. Of the 15 players, four international players — American Express, Mastercard, PayPal and Visa — have shown intent to comply and submitted a roadmap to the banking regulator on how and when they intend to set up a data centre in the country,” according to top banking sources.
(Source: The Hindu Business Line)
7. India Sees Steepest FII Outflow in 2 Years in October
Selling of Indian shares by foreign institutional investors (FIIs) intensified in October as the markets plunged, weighed down by several macro concerns amid a global rout.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) have sold local equities worth $2.35 billion so far in October, the most since November 2016 when they withdrew $2.6 billion. The sell-off follows an FII outflow of $1.3 billion and $277 million in September and August, respectively.
In 2018, FIIs have sold local equities worth $4.4 billion.
Depreciation of the rupee against the dollar and high crude oil prices are key factors behind the FIIs move to dump India.
(Source: Livemint)
8. Tech Stocks, Dollar Fall as Global Tensions Rise
Technology companies pulled stock indexes lower, while the dollar dropped as investors eyed a growing list of global concerns. Treasuries rose.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq indexes led losses Monday, while small caps gained after President Donald Trump on Sunday, 14 October, threatened more tariffs on Chinese goods.
The S&P 500 deepened declines following its biggest weekly retreat since March, holding near the key 200-day moving average.
Bank of America Corp dropped after posting quarterly results, while Harris Corp and L3 Technologies Inc surged on the announcement of a merger.
The dollar touched a two-week low against peers, while the 10-year Treasury yield traded around 3.15 percent after US retail sales in September fell short of analysts’ estimates.
(Source: Bloomberg Quint)
9. Rupee Headed Towards 80 vs Us Dollar by 2018-End?
The rupee has witnessed its worst fall in 2018 in over five years — a meltdown good enough to unnerve market sentiment — declining approximately 15% from its 63/USD level in January to above 74/USD level in October.
At the current levels, the Indian rupee is the worst performer among Asian currencies this year and is only ahead of the Argentine Peso, Turkish Lira and South African Rand. Breaking all records, the rupee breached the 74/USD mark for the first time on 5 October and hit a record low of 74.4825 against the greenback on 11 October.
So, is it likely for the rupee to hit 75/USD, or even 80/USD very soon?
The twin movements of the dollar and crude will continue to influence the rupee going forward, asserts Hiren Sharma of Portia Advisory Services LLP.
(Source: The Financial Express)
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