The gems and jewellery industry is staring at a sales washout on Akshaya Tritiya for the second consecutive year as most of the states are under lockdowns due to the raging second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic which has led to negative consumer sentiment, say industry leaders. Akshaya Tritiya, considered as an auspicious day for buying gold and jewellery, falls on May 14 this year. India is the worst-hit among all nations with the second wave of the pandemic, which has been killing more than 3,500 daily and infecting close to 4 lakhs daily for weeks. The massive caseload has nearly paralysed the medical infrastructure.
The outbreak of a new strain of coronavirus, first detected in the Chinese city of Wuhan, in Hubei province, has led to massive efforts to quarantine major cities and halt the spread. As of Thursday, the nationwide death toll from China's novel coronavirus epidemic has jumped to 170 with 38 more fatalities while confirming more than 1,700 new infections. Since then, it has been described as a "ghost town" with residents staying home, cars banned from the roads and store shelves emptied of masks, disinfectants and even full body suits. Here are some scenes from Wuhan, the epicentre of the virus outbreak.
Drugs that are used to treat Covid or used by people as immunity boosters have seen a jump in sales and, in turn, rankings.
It's a great friend to expecting mothers and their babies, explains Ranjana Sharma.
Ordering groceries, vegetables and daily essentials is just a WhatsApp away as billionaire Mukesh Ambani's e-commerce platform JioMart taps into the popular messaging app to scale up online business in its fight for dominance in the giant Indian retail market with Amazon and Walmart-owned Flipkart. Ambani's twin children, Akash and Isha gave a preview of the ordering at Meta's second edition of the Fuel for India event on Wednesday. A new 'tap and chat' option allows users to order groceries through WhatsApp.
Koo, which works on similar lines as Twitter, was born with a focus on regional language, unlike Twitter and Facebook, which are very popular but primarily cater to an English-speaking audience, reports Neha Alawadhi.
Manoj Jain tells you how to fight stress and find peace in your daily lives.
Italians across the country hailed a great summer, during which they also won the European soccer championship and the Eurovision song contest.
Sanjiv Mehta, chairman of the country's largest consumer goods company, HUL, believes that the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic between April and June this year has been a mere pause in India's consumption story, and that it will not change the country's overall growth trajectory. India is poised for growth, especially in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector, Mehta told shareholders at the company's annual general meeting on Tuesday. The signs of recovery are becoming evident with many states lifting lockdown restrictions in recent weeks.
The ministry said there should be no interruptions in the services of small retail shops, large organised retail stores and e-commerce companies.
What to expect at the Fashion Design Council of India x Lakme Fashion Week
Master tailors, textile manufacturers and custom clothiers, however, say the upcoming festive season, reinvention in the form of new collections and digital outreach are salvaging the situation somewhat.
Rediff readers tell us how they are supporting the ban on plastic.
Anmol Ambani, the eldest son of industrialist Anil Ambani, has lashed out against a new round of lockdowns being imposed amid the surge in COVID-19 cases, saying such restrictions do not concern health but control and that they destroy the very backbone of the society and economy. The 29-year-old former executive director of Reliance Capital Ltd in a series of tweets lambasted the new semi-lockdown rules hurting small businesses and daily wage earners. "Professional 'actors' can continue shooting their films. Professional 'cricketers' can play their sport late into the night. Professional 'politicians' can continue their rallies with masses of people. But YOUR business or work is not ESSENTIAL. Still don't get it?" he said in a tweet.
Categories such as lifestyle, food and electronics accounted for over 1,350 sellers across the country last year.
'If one crore is sanctioned to make a road, they spend only Rs 40 lakhs and the remaining 60 lakhs is looted by the politician, bureaucrats and the contractor.'
'They (the ransomware attackers) are not after any VVIP data.' 'Had that been the case, they would have quietly installed a different malware.'
'We are having an outsize impact not only on the lives of the customers and livelihood, but also the economy of India.'
'The IOC is fully committed to the successful and safe delivery of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.'
Footfalls will invariably come down to a trickle even after lockdown restrictions go away, and the only way to prevent someone else from poaching your consumer is to go down to the consumer herself. Consumers will prefer products and services to be delivered to their doorstep, hygienically and safely.
If you consume enough water in a day, you'll notice a 14 percent increase in productivity at work, says Dr Siddhant Bhargava, nutritional scientist and co-founder, Food Darzee.
Large pharmaceutical firms feel that if the quality parameters and assurance levels are brought up to the level of branded generics, then Jan Aushadhi medicines would find it difficult to retain their affordability.
Groceries, apparel, computers, phones and sporting accessories are among the most popular. There is also a growing trend of men visiting the store, rather than women.
The funding marks the first investment in the Indian food delivery category by SoftBank Vision Fund 2, with participation from the company's long-term investor, Prosus, and other existing investors Accel Partners and Wellington Management, Swiggy said in a statement. In addition, new investors Qatar Investment Authority, Falcon Edge Capital, Amansa Capital, Goldman Sachs, Think Investments and Carmignac participated in the round, it stated. This latest fundraise was heavily oversubscribed following strong interest from investors, and comes on the back of Swiggy's rapid recovery from the impacts of COVID-19 and subsequent growth in 2020-21, Swiggy said.
Wellness expert Roopashree Sharma answers your health queries.
'I am an auto driver, and I am doing my best.'
The coronavirus pandemic has changed how businesses look at payments. Earlier, fintech companies said when they were talking to merchants, they were not interested in digitisation.
New York has been recording a decline in daily hospitalisations, ICU admissions and fatalities but the mayor said such progress must continue further before officials consider reopening the city.
Liquor shops reopened across the country in the non-containment zones after 40 days from Monday with people queuing up in large numbers, giving social distancing norms a toss at some places.
'If we are forced to be confined indoors for a month or two months, it's not such a big deal. It's not like we are in jail.'
FMCG firms such as ITC, Parle Products, Marico, Emami, PepsiCo India and CG Corp Global on Wednesday assured uninterrupted supply of their products based on the learnings from the last year's lockdown, even as surge in COVID-19 cases in India forced Maharashtra to declare a 15-day curfew while other states also imposing various restrictions.
This doctor couple put their faith in India. And in return India has put faith in them.
Tokenisation acts as an additional layer of security as it masks sensitive card data such as the 16-digit account number, expiry date and security code. However, the security level of the app and the customer's mobile itself also needs to be taken into consideration, say experts. Nikhat Hetavkar explains the whole idea of tokenisation, how it is enabled, its impact on card transactions and related security guidelines.
'Some refused to kiss each other on the cheek, as is customary in France while, others couldn't care less.'
'Rezang La was a unique battle.' 'It was not a large scale battle like the Battle of Kohima which involved a large number of troops.' 'Here there was just a company that fought it out till the last man.'
The existing restrictions due to coronavirus in Pune district of Maharashtra were extended till March 14 on Sunday, an official said.
You had been eating sehri in the morning and iftar in the evening for the past month, fasting for nearly 12 hours in between. Now that you are switching back to your old lifestyle, you'll need to follow a few guidelines to get your body back on course, advises nutritionist Ryan Fernando.
Under its door-step delivery model, consumers can shop at any of the three Future Group-owned convenience formats - Easyday, Nilgiris and Heritage - both online or offline.
'If people show laxity by not wearing masks or wearing it inappropriately or violate social distancing norms, and if law enforcement agencies do not penalise and ensure violations do not increase in quantum, then we are certainly in for a trouble. And, the next wave could be worse than the second wave situation'
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