Shine Jacob &Amp; Ishita Ayan Dutt

Stories by Shine Jacob &Amp; Ishita Ayan Dutt

Kerala likely to witness all-time high liquor sales this Onam

Kerala likely to witness all-time high liquor sales this Onam

Rediff.com   7 Sep 2022

Kerala is likely to witness all-time high liquor sales this Onam, the harvest festival, with the season already reporting a 30 per cent hike. According to the Kerala State Beverages Corporation (BevCo), the first few days of this Onam season have set the tone for record sales. "During last year's Onam season, our sales were around Rs 561 crore. This year, we expect it to be over Rs 700 crore," said Yogesh Gupta, chairman and managing director, BevCo.

Ford India offers final severance package for Chennai unit employees

Ford India offers final severance package for Chennai unit employees

Rediff.com   6 Sep 2022

Ford India has offered a "final revised severance package" for its employees at the Chennai unit, which is on average equivalent to 130 days of gross wages per completed year of service. The company said this was rolled out in the absence of any suitable alternative buyer. As part of the earlier package, employees were offered 115 days of gross wages for each completed year of service, which was later revised to 124 days.

Stakes rise for bauxite blocks in Odisha on Adani Group's entry

Stakes rise for bauxite blocks in Odisha on Adani Group's entry

Rediff.com   25 Aug 2022

The next auction for bauxite blocks in Odisha may see heightened interest with Adani Group charting an entry into alumina refining and existing players looking to boost capacity. Hemant Sharma, principal secretary, Odisha industries department, said that three bauxite blocks have been scheduled for auctions this year. Adani Group - which will be setting up a 4-MMTPA alumina refinery and may enter aluminium production - is expected to bid for mines, though raw material linkages shall be available from Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC).

GAIL feels blowback from Ukraine war

GAIL feels blowback from Ukraine war

Rediff.com   17 Aug 2022

On February 24, when Vladimir Putin announced a military operation on Ukraine, few would have thought that Indian government-owned GAIL India would feel the impact. The tensions over gas supplies were essentially a Europe-Russia problem, related to the sanctions western economies imposed on Moscow. But the EU depends on Russian imports for 40 per cent of its gas stocks, an over-dependence that Russia has underlined with Kremlin-owned Gazprom cutting its supplies through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline to 20 per cent, citing maintenance issues.

IIT-M Scores BIG On Job Offers

IIT-M Scores BIG On Job Offers

Rediff.com   16 Aug 2022

The average salary received by students during campus placements for 2021-2022 was Rs 21.48 lakh per annum. The highest salary offered was $250,000.

Will Partha's arrest in SSC scam impact Mamata?

Will Partha's arrest in SSC scam impact Mamata?

Rediff.com   10 Aug 2022

After the Trinamool's overwhelming majority in the West Bengal assembly elections last year, the SSC scam has given fresh ammunition to the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Communist Party of India-Marxist. Ishita Ayan Dutt reports.

India's plan to produce ethanol from 2G sources delayed

India's plan to produce ethanol from 2G sources delayed

Rediff.com   10 Aug 2022

India's plan to produce ethanol from second-generation (2G) sources -- mainly farm waste -- is taking time to materialise even as the government is set to dedicate to the nation on Wednesday a Rs 900-crore plant set up by Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) in Panipat. Though state-run oil companies had decided to set up at least 12 plants in 2016-17 with an investment of around Rs 10,000 crore, this will be the first unit coming on track while others are stuck in various stages owing to issues like capital expenditure, lack of feedstock, and high rates of finished products compared to traditional ethanol units. According to industry sources, three more second-generation plants are coming up.

Consumer product companies likely to pause price hikes

Consumer product companies likely to pause price hikes

Rediff.com   8 Aug 2022

Indian consumers are likely to get respite from rising prices just before the festival season. Some consumer companies, including automakers, have indicated that they are planning to pause price hikes just before demand picks up in August, while keeping a close eye on volatile raw material prices.

Battered by three decades of controversy, TMB looks back to the future

Battered by three decades of controversy, TMB looks back to the future

Rediff.com   28 Jul 2022

June was a memorable month for the 101-year-old Tamilnad Mercantile Bank (TMB). Last month, the Thoothukudi-based bank witnessed two new landmarks in a history in which the last three decades could easily qualify for a Kollywood blockbuster.

This super app will offer a range of multi-brand services for passenger cars

This super app will offer a range of multi-brand services for passenger cars

Rediff.com   18 Jul 2022

A single application and a plethora of services for passenger cars - that is what myTVS, a brand that operates under Ki Mobility Solutions and is part of the TVS family, is set to bring to customers, in a bid to disrupt the concept of "super apps" in India. Starting July 15, myTVS will launch its connected car platform or super app called myTVS Life360 for aftermarket passenger cars. Through it, customers will be able to avail themselves of a range of services like maintenance, diagnostics, roadside assistance, accessories, payments, insurance, and so on.

ACME, Tata Power among 60 firms to sign MoUs worth Rs 1.25 trn with TN govt

ACME, Tata Power among 60 firms to sign MoUs worth Rs 1.25 trn with TN govt

Rediff.com   5 Jul 2022

Tamil Nadu secured investments worth Rs 1.44 trillion on Monday by signing of memoranda of understanding (MoU) with 60 companies, laying of foundation stones and inauguration of new projects.

Ford India unions call off month-long strike

Ford India unions call off month-long strike

Rediff.com   5 Jul 2022

Employees at Ford India's Chennai unit have called off the strike that started on May 30. Following this, the company has revised its severance package from earlier 115 days to 121 days for employees supporting production. The company indicated it would continue 'constructive discussions' with the unions in order to sweeten the deal further, if required.

Collectors' items: Some of these exotic pets cost Rs 150,000!

Collectors' items: Some of these exotic pets cost Rs 150,000!

Rediff.com   3 Jul 2022

White-lipped tamarin is a type of monkey that lives in the Amazon area of Brazil and Bolivia. Prevost's squirrel is a colourful species from the forests in the Thai-Malay Peninsula and nearby islands. Sugar gliders are tiny marsupials - 6.3 to 8.3 inches in length - native to Australia.

Sri Lankan crisis: Indian orthodox tea gets a boost

Sri Lankan crisis: Indian orthodox tea gets a boost

Rediff.com   30 Jun 2022

It's a busy season for Indian producers of orthodox tea. As Sri Lanka, the world's largest supplier of orthodox tea, struggles with its worst economic crisis, a window of opportunity has opened up in neighbouring India. Calls to Indian planters and exporters from foreign buyers of Sri Lankan orthodox tea are pouring in and the buoyant sentiment is reflecting in prices at auction centres. Orthodox tea refers to loose-leaf tea which is produced using traditional or orthodox methods such as plucking, withering, rolling, oxidation and drying.

Foxconn likely to set up EV manufacturing unit in India

Foxconn likely to set up EV manufacturing unit in India

Rediff.com   30 Jun 2022

In a boost to the electric vehicle boom in India, Taiwanese major Hon Hai Technology Group (aka Foxconn) is likely to set up an EV manufacturing unit in India through its subsidiary Foxtron. Amid speculation that the company may look at Tamil Nadu and probably the Ford India unit near Chennai for its new facility, sources indicate that the group was already betting big in the electric vehicle component space in India through Bharat FIH, which is already having a tie up with companies like Ola Electric and Ather. Bharat FIH currently has two manufacturing units in Tamil Nadu's Sriperumbudur that manufactures phones like Apple iPhones and Xiaomi phones.

ITC's luxury project in Colombo hit as Sri Lanka economy sinks

ITC's luxury project in Colombo hit as Sri Lanka economy sinks

Rediff.com   30 Jun 2022

ITC's first foreign venture in the hotel space - a premium and luxury mixed-use development - has been "adversely impacted" by Sri Lanka's economic crisis, the firm said. The $300-million project under WelcomHotels Lanka (Private) Limited (WLPL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of ITC, comprises a luxury hotel and a super-premium residential apartment complex on 5.86 acres of prime sea-facing land in Colombo. In its latest annual report for financial year 2021-22 (FY22), ITC mentioned that the project's construction was running on schedule till the third quarter (Q3) of FY19, but was adversely impacted due to disruptions in the aftermath of the terror incidents in 2019 and thereafter by recurrent waves of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Domestic crude oil producers get marketing freedom, exports not allowed

Domestic crude oil producers get marketing freedom, exports not allowed

Rediff.com   30 Jun 2022

In a move that may boost the Indian hydrocarbon industry and bring more investments into the sector, the Union Cabinet on Wednesday decided to give marketing freedom to domestic crude oil producers, allowing them to sell petroleum to any company in the local market. The move is set to be beneficial for major crude oil producers, such as state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and Oil India, and private sector majors like Vedanta's Cairn Oil and Gas and Reliance Industries. As of May 31, India was dependent on imports for 86 per cent of its crude oil consumption; domestic production sufficed the remaining 14 per cent demand.

7 out of 9 neighbouring nations charge less for petrol than India

7 out of 9 neighbouring nations charge less for petrol than India

Rediff.com   28 Jun 2022

Amid news of a fuel shortage in some parts of the country and wider unrest over fuel issues in the neighbourhood, an analysis of the data from international tracker globalpetrolprices.com shows that the per litre price of petrol is higher in India than in seven out of its nine neighbours.

Domestic toy makers see surge in sales after dip in Chinese imports

Domestic toy makers see surge in sales after dip in Chinese imports

Rediff.com   27 Jun 2022

According to industry sources, domestic toy manufacturers are seeing a sharp rise in sales during the current financial year. On January 1, 2021, India had banned the sale of toys that are not certified by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). This meant that all factories churning out toys to be sold in India had to be certified by the bureau along with mandatory product testing, including for units abroad.

Twin setbacks put Pinarayi on a sticky wicket

Twin setbacks put Pinarayi on a sticky wicket

Rediff.com   23 Jun 2022

For Pinarayi, a victory in Thrikkakara would have come as public endorsement of his development initiatives, including controversial K-Rail project, which has witnessed widespread protest