Close to 50 models were launched in India in the past 12 months, but companies have not been able to realise their potential due to the pandemic.
With demand drying up, hotels are surviving on quarantine centres and isolation facilities.
While the process of extracting plasma itself is simple, doctors say that it is the screening of donors, testing and filling up of numerous forms that takes time.
Iyer, popularly called Param, is keen to return to the US where he had spent several years working with the World Bank at its Washington office -- a job he later quit to become road manager for his daughter, a professional tennis player.
The Pune-based company sells the Platina and CT brands in the entry-level - 100-110cc - segment.
The two cities finally got their act together by ramping up the testing capacity and implementing stricter quarantine norms.
A good agricultural harvest and a timely arrival of monsoon, besides a slew of government schemes, have also come as a bounty.
Since existing laws do not cover Covid-19, any compensation in this regard has to be left to the discretion of companies.
Many experts feel the concept of a national peak is nebulous, given that the growth in case numbers is dominated by a handful of states.
The ministry of health and family welfare spent Rs 3,948 crore in May this year compared to Rs 7,816 crore in the corresponding month of the previous year. On the other hand, at Rs 12,930 crore, the expenditure had risen almost 200 per cent in April against Rs 4,327 crore in the corresponding month of 2019-20.
'We haven't flattened the infection curve, we may have merely smoothened it temporarily.'
Caught in the crossfire of Sino-India border skirmishes and strained by the severe impact of the pandemic on its business, Brand Hector is foregoing the bustle and frenzy for a quiet digital campaign that talks about its British roots, the smart tech powering its drive and its made-for-India models. The tone is subdued and the brand seems to be deliberately playing down its ownership by Chinese company, SAIC.
The pre-owned vehicles arm of the Mahindra Group plans to add 30 outlets in a few days taking the total number to 1,000.
Epidemiologists worry there's little or no data being shared on mortality by age group and contacts traced, which makes it difficult to understand how the effects of Covid-19 might be different in the Indian population, reports Ruchika Chitravanshi
Mandates have been handed out to staffing solutions companies such as Randstad India and TeamLease, officials at these firms have said, as players increasingly push into rural areas to capitalise on the uptick in the hinterlands.
This will have an impact on inflation as everyone in the value chain passes on the costs.
Several carmakers, including car market leader Maruti Suzuki India pulled the plug on diesel models citing higher costs for BSVI variants leaving buyers with limited options.
A knee-jerk reaction, they said, could be detrimental to the fortunes of an industry that is highly dependent on the country given the huge competitive advantage it offers, in terms of cost and speed.
The committee has recommended Rs 8,000-10,000, Rs 13,000-15,000, and Rs 15,000-18,000 including PPE costs for isolation beds, and ICUs with or without ventilator, respectively, to all hospitals. Currently, hospitals are charging Rs 24,000-25,000, Rs 34,000-43,000 & Rs 44,000-54,000 (excluding PPE cost).
Experts say a large part of the expenditure in April was spent on heads such as creating infrastructure for testing capacity and procuring testing kits, among other things.