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The Budget for 2021-22 may have refrained from tinkering with your taxes, but it has proposed a new levy — Agriculture Infrastructure Development Cess.

The new cess will be levied on 29 products, prominent among which are gold, silver, imported apple, imported alcohol (excluding beer), imported pulses, imported palm oil, imported urea, and petrol/diesel including branded ones.

BusinessLine's Shishir Sinha tells us more.

Fixed income instruments are generally considered to be a safe and reliable form of investment. It is generally considered a safe option for senior citizens and those who have retired. What are these instruments and how should you choose them? What are the pros and cons of these schemes?

In this episode of Portfolio Podcasts, BusinessLine's T R Vivek and Parvatha Vardhini C, Head, Research Bureau, tell you all you need to know about these schemes. Listen in.

Hi and welcome to quick look.

The US Senate has acquitted a defiant Donald Trump in his second impeachment trial in just over a year, after the Democrats failed once again to muster enough votes to convict the former president on a charge of inciting the deadly insurrection at the Capitol on January 6.

The Senate voted 57-43 on Saturday to convict Trump on a single impeachment count – incitement of insurrection. But that majority of all 50 Democrats in the upper chamber of the US Congress, joined by seven Republicans, fell 10 votes short of the 67 needed for a conviction, two-thirds of the 100-member Senate.

India's tally of COVID-19 cases surpassed 1.09 crore with 12,194 new infections, while fresh fatalities were recorded below 100 for the eighth time this month.

The total coronavirus cases rose to 1,09,04,940 and the death toll increased to 1,55,642 with 92 daily new fatalities as of February 14 morning.

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 1,06,11,731 which is the national COVID-19 recovery rate of  97.31 per cent, while the COVID-19 case fatality rate stands at 1.43 per cent. 

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman defended her Budget on Friday, saying that it has several pro-poor schemes and took steps to provide stimulus to the Covid-pandemic ravaged economy. She also hit out at Opposition parties for building a "false narrative" of the Modi government. Here are three takeaways from the Finance Minister's speech at the Rajya Sabha. Listen in.

Poco M3 has some big shoes to fill. Its previous gen, M2, became the best selling phone online across all brands and on all platformsBut the M3 has been given all the weapons it needs to beat the M2 at its own game, not the least of which is a better price. Even without that, there would have been plenty in its favour, including a whacky new design.

Listen in to Mala Bhargava's take on the Poco M3.

Good Afternoon and welcome to the news explained

In today's news explained, we look at the storm brewing between Twitter and the Indian Government

Recently Twitter has been in the eye of a storm with the Indian Government over the blocking of accounts.

The Indian government was riled after Twitter in a public blog post said it has taken down only half of the accounts and posts flagged by the government. Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeITY) had expressed displeasure at Twitter for failing to remove all of the over 1,100 accounts and posts it alleged spread misinformation about the widespread protests by farmers against new agricultural laws.

The government told Twitter's representatives that the microblogging site has to follow its orders and that it was not a subject matter of negotiation.

Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Thursday said social media platforms cannot give differential treatment while handling problems on Capitol Hill and the Red Fort.

He pointed out that while social media companies took immediate action when riots broke out at Capitol Hill in Washington, they ignored similar action when farm bill protestors ran riot at Red Fort on Republic Day.

The government, he said, was committed to freedom of media and rights of individuals but it was equally concerned about safety, security, and law and order in the country.

Are there new guidelines in the making?

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information technology had suggested whether the microblogging and social media companies could be covered under the laws of the Press Council of India and FDI laws would be applicable to them.

Prasad replied saying "I am aware of the recommendations of that standing committee. I along with (Prakash) Javadedkar (Minister of Information & Broadcasting) are revisiting the guidelines. When it takes final shape, we would inform the House."

Start-up leaders and tech entrepreneurs seem to be flocking to audio app Clubhouse — perhaps because everyone is a little fatigued with video calls or it’s the flavour of the month, especially after Elon Musk appeared on it. Of course, it’s an iOS-only app, so only those with Apple devices can use it.

Mala Bhargava tells us more.

In order to simplify insurance product choice for lay investors, the insurance regulator, IRDAI, has been introducing standard products with uniform features in both life and non-life insurance. Recently, a new product has been added to the list — the immediate annuity plan, Saral Pension, which all life insurers have to offer from April 1, 2021. But what is it? Listen to the podcast.

The cyberspace is 'predictably unpredictable. In an era where mobile apps and website have become a pre-requisite for enterprises, how does one know which platform is more trustworthy than the other. Keshav Dhakad, Group Head & General Counsel, Microsoft India, gives us a few insights.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi defended the three farm laws that his government passed last year once again today. While replying to the Motion of Thanks on the President's Address to the Parliament, the Prime Minister reassured farmers that the government is ready and willing to address their demands. Here are three takeaways from the speech.

Listen.