The country’s largest lender SBI Monday reported 69 per cent decline in consolidated net profit to Rs 576.46 crore in the second quarter ended September 30.

The bank’s net profit was Rs 1,840.43 crore in the July-September quarter of previous fiscal.

The bank had reported a net loss of Rs 4,875.85 crore in the first quarter of the current fiscal due to higher provisioning for bad loans.

Its total income (consolidated) rose to Rs 79,302.72 crore in the quarter under review, compared to Rs 74,948.51 crore in the year-ago period, State Bank of India (SBI) said in a regulatory filing.

On asset quality, the gross non-performing assets (NPA) of the bank rose to 9.95 per cent of the gross advances as on September 30, 2018 from 9.83 per cent a year ago.

Net NPAs or bad loans stood at 4.84 per cent of the net advances, down from 4.53 per cent.

The provisions for bad loans came down to Rs 10,381.31 crore during the quarter, from Rs 16,842.18 crore in the same period a year ago.

On standalone basis, the bank’s net profit was down at Rs 944.87 crore as against Rs 1,581.55 crore.

The lender’s income was Rs 66,607.98 crore in the July-September quarter, up from Rs 65,429.63 crore.

Shares of the bank closed 3.45 per cent higher at Rs 295.30 on BSE.

The rupee depreciated 34 paise to 72.79 against the US dollar in early trade at the interbank forex market Monday on foreign fund outflows. The rupee opened lower at 72.76 per dollar against the previous close of 72.45 and dropped further to quote 34 paise down at 72.79 in opening trade.

Traders said increased demand for the US currency from importers and losses in the domestic equity market weighed on the rupee. Besides, the dollar trading higher against some currencies overseas too put pressure on the rupee, they added.

The rupee on Friday clocked its biggest single-day gain in over five years, surging by 100 paise to close at 72.45 against the US dollar on easing crude oil prices. The benchmark BSE Sensex fell 100.54 points, or 0.29 per cent, to 34,911.11 in the opening session.

The benchmark Sensex slipped below the 35,000-mark by dropping over 100 points to 34,911.11 in early trade Monday after banking, metal and auto stocks declined following weak global cues and profit-booking.

The 30-share index fell 100.54 points, or 0.29 per cent, to 34,911.11. The gauge had rallied nearly 580 points Friday. The NSE Nifty, too, was trading 39.80 points, or 0.38 per cent, lower at 10,513.20.

Sectoral indices, led by power, metal, banking and auto stocks, were trading in the negative terrain, falling by up to 1.44 per cent.

Brokers said sentiments were weak largely in tandem with a negative trend in other Asian markets, tracking losses at the Wall Street, and profit-booking by investors after Friday’s rally.

NTPC fell the most by 3.01 per cent among Sensex scrips, followed by IndusInd Bank shedding 2.17 per cent.

Other laggards were PowerGrid, ICICI Bank, Hero MotoCorp, Adani Ports, Tata Motors, Vedanta, M&M, Asian Paint, Kotak Bank, Bajaj Auto, RIL, Tata Steel, HUL and HDFC, falling up to 1.95 per cent.

On the other hand, Axis Bank, ONGC, Sun Pharma, SBI and Yes Bank were trading positive, rising up to 1.98 per cent.

Meanwhile, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold shares worth a net of Rs 196.90 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought shares to the tune of Rs 852.99 crore.

Elsewhere in Asia, Japan’s Nikkei was down by 1.16 per cent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 2.52 per cent. Korea fell 1.50 per cent, Shanghai Composite Index shed 2 per cent and Taiwan lost 0.89 per cent.

The US Dow Jones Industrial had ended 0.43 per cent lower Friday.

Justin Rose is No. 1 in the world again, and this time it feels even more special. More than having the top ranking, he goes home with a trophy. Rose rallied from a three-shot deficit Sunday with a 3-under 68, and then defeated Li Haotong of China on the first playoff hole with a par to win the Turkish Airlines Open for the second straight year.

The first time Rose reached No. 1 in the world was two months ago, a bittersweet moment because he lost the BMW Championship outside Philadelphia in a playoff against Keegan Bradley.

“This time I’ve got some silverware,” Rose said. “Last time it was muted because I was still so mad at not winning the tournament at the BMW. But this time I’ve got the double kind of winning feeling, so it might be a bit more fun to celebrate it at this time.”

Chennai: India’s first indigenous microprocessor designed by researchers of Indian Institute of Madras may soon power your mobile phone, surveillance camera and smart meters.

The microprocessor named Shakti was developed, designed and booted at Semi-Conductor Laboratory (SCL) of Indian Space Research Organisations (Isro) in Chandigarh, making it the first ‘RISC V Microprocessor’ to be completely designed and made in India.

This microprocessor will be helpful in reducing reliance on imported microprocessors in Communications and Defence Sectors and is on par with International Standards.

The front-end design of the Shakti processors is developed with Bluespec, an open-source High-Level Synthesis (HLS) language. Shakti and its eco-system with its modular design approach enables design and development of application-specific end-user computing and communicating systems

Earlier, in July 2018, an initial batch of 300 chips, named RISECREEK was produced under Project Shakti, that were fabricated at the Multinational Chip Manufacturer Intel’s facility at Oregon, US, that successfully booted the Linux operating system.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced major steps including 59-minute loan portal for sanction of up to one crore rupees for small and medium enterprises (MSME). 

He was speaking at the launching ceremony of Government’s Support and Outreach Initiative for MSME. 

He said the measures are expected to boost the MSME since the sector is one of the major generators of employment opportunities and making a significant contribution to the overall growth of the country's economy. 

The Prime Minister said, mandatory procurement of 20 per cent from MSMEs by Public Sector Undertakings has now been increased to 25 per cent. 

Mr Modi said, it has also been decided that 3 per cent of the total purchases from it will be reserved for women entrepreneurs.

Mr Modi said, it will now be necessary for all Central Government companies to subscribe to Government E-Marketplace, GeM. 

The Prime Minister said, only one consent will be mandatory for MSMEs under air pollution and water pollution laws. He said, he will himself review the work of MSMEs in 100 districts. 

Simone Biles made history by picking up her record 13th career gold medal at the world gymnastics championships when she cruised to victory in the vault final on Friday. Yet it’s the silver she captured on uneven bars that the Olympic and world champion may cherish more.

For years Biles viewed bars with a mixture of skepticism and scorn. There was a point in time she admits she would have been OK with taking a “chainsaw” to every bars set in the country.

Those days are over. Helped in part by the influence of new head coach Laurent Landi, Biles now considers the event a challenge more than a chore. Maybe that’s why the smile on the podium during the medal ceremony after she came in second to Belgium’s Nina Derwael was so wide.

“I’ve come a long way,” Biles said.

It certainly showed. Biles put together a score of 14.7 to edge Germany’s Elisabeth Seitz for silver. Belgium’s Nina Derwael won the first ever gold medal for her country at worlds when the judges awarded her daring and intricate set with a score of 15.2.

French champions Paris St Germain beat Lille 2-1 in Ligue 1 on Friday to break the record for the best start to a season in Europe’s top five leagues with their 12th successive win.

France forward Kylian Mbappe and Brazilian Neymar scored the goals as PSG surpassed the 11 victories Tottenham Hotspur notched up to begin the 1960-61 English top flight campaign.

The result left leaders PSG on 36 points, 11 ahead of closest challengers Lille. Montpellier, who are a further three points adrift in third, host fifth-placed Olympique de Marseille in the round’s other standout fixture on Sunday.

Mbappe lit up the match with another brilliant goal, his 11th of the season, when he took a through ball in his stride and buried a delightful curling shot from 20 metres past Lille keeper Mike Maignan in the 70th minute.

Neymar made it 2-0 with a clinical finish in the 84th before Nicolas Pepe netted a stoppage-time penalty for Lille, who matched the home side for long spells with an adventurous approach and incisive passing.

Manipur government has declared a war on drugs affecting a significant number of people in the state, Chief Minister N Biren Singh has said.

The state government and the security forces have initiated projects to wean away drug users from the addiction while initiating strict action against drug peddlers, he said.

The chief minister said 600 peddlers were arrested this year and fast track courts have been set up to try the accused persons.

The Northeastern state, which is close to the Golden Triangle in Southeast Asia — infamous for drug trafficking, has been affected by drug usage and a large number of HIV cases owing to intravenous drug usage.

“Thousands of hectares of land are used for poppy cultivation in areas near the international border with Myanmar,” Singh told a group of visiting newspersons.

He said the poppy is exported to other countries via the Golden Triangle.

“We are taking help of the Army and Assam Rifles to root out the cultivation of poppy in Manipur,” the chief minister said adding that the poppy growers are being rehabilitated with lemongrass cultivation.

Novak Djokovic remains on course for a fifth Paris Masters title after beating Marin Cilic 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 on Friday to set up a semifinal against Roger Federer. Federer advanced to their 47th career meeting by beating Kei Nishikori 6-4, 6-4, his sixth straight win against the Japanese player.

Chasing his 100th career title after winning the Swiss Indoors last Sunday, the 20-time Grand Slam champion was hardly troubled. He saved a break point with a sharp volley at the net when serving for the set at 5-4 and then broke Nishikori at the start of the second set to take firm control.

Federer has won this tournament only once, back in 2011, and has not played here since 2015. He was given a huge ovation by the crowd after his win.

Now he has to find a way past Djokovic, the Wimbledon and US Open champion who has beaten Federer in their past three meetings and leads him 24-22 overall.

“If the crowd is for Novak that’s also good, as long as the (arena) is full. I know I have fans here, I can’t complain,” Federer said. “I have an enormous amount of support around the world. But for my fans to get into the match, I also have to play some good tennis.”