Maruti Suzuki India (MSIL) will hold discussions with the Centre and state governments on how the production of compressed biogas (CBG), which can be used in vehicles that run on compressed natural gas (CNG), can be expanded in the country, its majority shareholder Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC) said. The demand for CNG vehicles has been rising significantly in the country. MSIL sold 145,000 CNG vehicles in the first quarter of 2024-25, marking a 28.3 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) growth.
'Airlines are aware that during peak times like Diwali, demand will be high, so prices remain steep even for tickets purchased 90 days ahead.'
With cotton still figuring in the list of commodities that are produced using practices such as child labour, the Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI) has entered into an understanding with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) to create awareness, share technical know-how and knowledge about better labour standards. These standards, which are part of ILO Fundamental Principles and Rights to Work (FPRW), will be tried on a pilot basis in major cotton-growing districts of Madhya Pradesh for one year starting in 2024.
'Given our turbulent neighbourhood, the prime minister is likely to emphasise on democratic dividend as the reason behind India's continuous prosperity.'
After climbing to the highest level in more than five years to 4.7 million tonnes in FY24, India might import fewer quantities of pulses this financial year at 4-4.5 mt on the back of good monsoon and higher domestic production, Bimal Kothari, chairman of India Pulses and Grains Association (IPGA), said in New Delhi on Friday. Kothari was addressing reporters on the sidelines of a seminar on pulses titled "Bharat Dalhan-2024".
'Just look at China: They have five or six major airlines and some smaller ones.'
In what could come as a piece of good news, hunger in India - as measured by the Prevalence of Undernourishment (PoU) by the United Nation's Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) - has come down from 16.6 per cent of the population in the 2020-2022 to 13.7 per cent in 2021-23, the latest report on the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI 2024) showed. This means that around 39.3 million people have come out of undernourishment between the two periods, NITI Aayog member Ramesh Chand said on Tuesday.
Indian carrier Vistara on Monday announced voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) and voluntary separation scheme (VSS) for its permanent ground staff ahead of its merger with Air India, which had announced similar plans for its non-flying permanent staff two weeks ago.
Several BJP-backed state governments have unveiled schemes targeting the poor, women, farmers and students, following the party's setback in the Lok Sabha polls.
Alloting more funds for MNREGA and PM-KISAN could wipe out the entire additional money that the Centre may have for FY25.
Milk supplies could improve with the monsoon, provided the rains are not excessive.
As a panel of senior ministers deliberates on the need to review curbs on exports of some rice varieties, data shows that since outbound shipments saw restrictions in July-August last year, the non-basmati segment has suffered more than basmati exports. Sources said the panel is expected to soon deliberate on a few suggestions to ease the export curbs on some rice varieties due to higher-than-required stocks in the central pool. The panel, some observers feel, may also postpone the decision to ease the export curbs till a firm picture emerges on the latest kharif paddy sowing.
Government officials believe that central bridge projects perform better than state projects due to stricter checks and balances.
'Two would be premium products and three would be mainstream products.'
Being touted as a competitor to the country's busiest Delhi airport -- which handles approximately 1,200 flights a day -- the Noida airport was expected to start flight operations by the end of this year. But supply-chain disruption, caused by pandemic and subsequent global upheaval, has hit the pace of construction at the airport which is coming up in the Jewar area of UP's Gautam Budh Nagar, some 75-km from the Delhi airport.
Bengaluru outpaced Mumbai, Delhi, and Pune in 2023 to become India's leading city for electric car registrations. The city's tech-savvy workforce, increased acceptability, zero road tax, subsidised electricity for EV charging, and a wide charging station network contributed to this surge. Electric car registrations in Karnataka's capital surged more than threefold in 2023 to 8,690 units, overtaking the growth witnessed in the other three cities, according to data from Jato Dynamics
Increased production of pulses, oilseeds, and cereals will help boost domestic supplies and contribute to keeping inflation low in the coming months.
'The expeditious enactment of labour codes and strategic measures to bridge the skills jobs gap are critical.'
Air India (AI)'s rise could be at the expense of three "super-connector" hubs - Doha in Qatar, and Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the UAE - as the Indian passenger would any day prefer direct flights of their national airline that is providing excellent on-time service, Arved von zur Muehlen, chief commercial officer of Saudia Airlines, said on Thursday.