The states were requested to take a stock of hospital preparedness such as availability of drugs and medical oxygen, vaccination coverage against COVID-19 and influenza.
Avenue Supermarts, the operator of DMart retail chain, reported good results for the July-September quarter (Q2FY24) with strong earnings before interest before interest, taxes and depreciation (Ebitda) and profit before tax (PBT) growth, but lower PAT due to higher tax incidence. The operating margin improved, and like-to-like store sales growth was strong. Average bill value also increased though this may be a seasonal effect to some extent. Analysts are assuming this means the slowdown in retail may have bottomed out.
The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is expected to maintain the status quo on policy rates for the fourth consecutive time in its October 4-6 review meeting. The incremental information available since its last meeting in August suggests that growth and inflation prints for the second quarter (Q2) of financial year 2023-24 (FY24) will exceed the committee's projections. However, the Consumer Price Index (CPI)-based inflation is expected to moderate in the second half (H2) of FY24.
Business leaders tell Congress that to attract and retain the best minds, the U.S. must keep the doors open to immigrants
'A cutback in hiring and compensation growth by IT companies will have a significant impact on consumer demand, especially in the urban sector of the economy.'
Outsourcing expert Ron Hira says that there are huge misconceptions about how the US worker visa programme operates.
In 2014-15, capital expenditure in the April-September period was Rs 99,100 crore.
India has recorded its first two deaths due to seasonal influenza subtype H3N2, one each from Karnataka and Haryana, with the Union health ministry on Friday saying it is keeping a close watch on the situation and cases are expected to decline from the month-end.
Consumption-related stocks, such as hotels, and quick service restaurants (QSRs), have been hitting the ball out of the park ahead. On the other hand, the Miss World Pageant scheduled for later this year in New Delhi, too, could provide some tailwind to these stocks, especially hotels and aviation. However, analysts suggest investors put their best foot forward and buy these counters only on a decline given the recent rally and economic headwinds.
In August, the Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das held a meeting with chief executive officers/ managing directors (CEOs/ MDs) of large non-banking financial corporations (NBFCs). The discussions included diversifying borrowing sources for NBFCs and housing finance companies (HFCs) to contain increasing reliance on bank borrowing, risks associated with high credit growth in retail segment in unsecured loans, prioritising IT upgrades and cyber-security, improving provisioning, monitoring of stressed exposures and slippages, ensuring robust liquidity and asset-liability management, ensuring transparency in pricing, creating robust grievance redress mechanisms.
A Green Card, known officially as a permanent resident card, is a document issued to immigrants as evidence that the bearer has been granted the privilege of residing permanently in the US.
The Indian IT industry has consistently protested the anti-outsourcing rhetoric of American politicians.
The demand for white-collar gig roles saw an 11 per cent uptick year-on-year in March, amid muted hiring across industries due to global headwinds and job cuts, according to a recent report. The month saw white-collar hiring in India rise 2 per cent in terms of job posting activity compared to the same period the previous year, according to the report by staffing portal foundit.in (formerly Monster APAC and ME). Sectors such as retail, telecom, and Travel and Tourism saw the biggest growth in demand on an annual basis.
The Indian PC market grew by an impressive 32 per cent in the first half of fiscal 2004-05 as compared to 18 per cent during the corresponding period last year with HP topping the list with 15 per cent market share, according to IT research firm IDC
India Inc, which had been battered by downgrades, would continue to see rating downgrades, although their severity and intensity might decline, said rating agency CRISIL.
Led by strong recovery in the manufacturing sector, industry grew at 7.9 per cent in the first six months of the current fiscal compared to 6.2 per cent in the same period last year.
Private telecom operator Bharti's net profit in the first six months of the current financial year touched Rs 630 crore (Rs 6.3 billion) beating the whole of last year's (2003-04) profit at Rs 620 crore (Rs 6.2 billion).
An impressive performance by the petroleum sector propelled infrastructure growth to 5.7 per cent during the first half of the current fiscal as against 5.4 per cent during the same period of last financial year.
The Centre has collected 3.10 per cent more in direct taxes in September at Rs 64,737 crore (Rs 647.37 billion) compared to the same period last year.
JP Morgan has reiterated its negative stance on Indian information technology (IT) services and downgraded the sector to underweight (neutral earlier post Q4-FY23 numbers), as it believes the overall demand environment for the sector still remains weak. The research firm expects most companies in the sector to disappoint while announcing their first quarter numbers for the current fiscal (Q1-FY24). Among stocks, it has placed Infosys, TCS, MphasiS in its 'negative catalyst watch'.
India's first-ever listed new-age company, Zomato, has seen a meteoric rise in its stock price in calendar year 2023 (CY23), rising 70.75 per cent during this period as compared to 9.5 per cent rise in the S&P BSE Sensex. From being the second worst hit new-age stock in CY22, crashing 57 per cent on the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the stock hit the Rs 100-mark for the first time since January 2022 in late August. The stellar run in the stock - only after PB Fintech and One97 Communications-owned Paytm, analysts say, may be coming to an end, at least for now.
French carmaker Renault on Thursday posted a net loss of 2.7 billion euro for the six months ended June 30 as all its major markets shrank due to the global economic meltdown.
India's second-largest information technology services provider, Infosys Technologies, has applied for a mere 405 visas till date for financial year 2009-10 - its lowest application count in recent years.
Blinken blamed the COVID-19 pandemic for a backlog of visa applications from Indian nationals.
I think the United States must realise that today 60 to 70 per cent of the growth of the revenues of large American companies comes from India and China.
The Biden administration has eased norms by releasing policy guidance on the eligibility criteria for those waiting for green cards to work and stay in America, days ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the US.
The government has cleared 408 foreign direct investment proposals involving Rs 3,025 crore (Rs 30.25 billion) in the first half of this fiscal, the Lok Sabha was informed on Friday.
India's electronic hardware and computer software services registered a growth of 35 per cent in dollar terms at $6.5 billion during the first half (April-September) of the current fiscal.
Analysts remain selective on cement stocks amid the likely government's capex push ahead of the scheduled general elections in May 2024. While UBS has initiated coverage on the Indian cement sector with an anti-consensus negative view and suggests investors sell select cement stocks on a rally, those at Nomura remain selectively bullish on the sector and prefer companies with large brownfield optionality and multi-region presence. In the near-term, UBS expects strong earnings of cement companies in the next two quarters to be driven by robust demand and margin tailwinds, but suggests any sharp uptick in stock prices could offer a good opportunity for booking profits in the related counters.
The US is 'putting every ounce of its energy' to eliminate the long visa wait time in India, including sending a cadre of consular officers to the country and opening up its other overseas embassies as far away as Germany and Thailand for Indian visa applicants, according to a senior US visa officer. India was one of the very few countries where applications for US visas saw a major upswing after coronavirus-related travel restrictions were lifted. There have been growing concerns in India over the long waiting period for first time visa applicants, especially for those applying under B1 (business) and B2 (tourist) categories.
Six non-BJP ruled states -- West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telengana, Kerala and Jharkhand -- have not reduced the VAT on petroleum products, leading to higher prices of petrol and diesel there, Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on Thursday. Puri said in Lok Sabha that the central government has reduced excise duty on petroleum products and some other states, following cues, reduced their Value Added Tax (VAT). Six states -- West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telengana, Kerala and Jharkhand -- have not reduced the VAT, he said amidst vocal protests by the opposition members.
The year-wise number of Indians who renounced their citizenship was provided by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in response to a question in Rajya Sabha.
The renowned pulmonologist, who was part of the national COVID task force, highlighted the need for research on developing vaccines which will cover not only the current circulating strains but also from the emerging variants.
India's second largest IT services company Infosys on Thursday reported a 3.1 per cent year-on-year rise in net profit to Rs 6,215 crore for the September 2023 quarter. The earnings (before minority interest) of the Bengaluru-based company stood at Rs 6,026 crore in the year-ago period. The company - which competes in the IT services market with TCS, Wipro, HCL Technologies and others - saw its revenue rising 6.7 per cent to Rs 38,994 crore for the just-ended September quarter.
rediffGURU Dr Rahul Baxi, honorary consultant diabetologist at the Bombay Hospital and Medical Research Centre, Mumbai, offers advice on how to manage your diabetes.
Indian and Indian-American IT businesses are being scapegoated for abuse of the visa programme - using it for cheap, immobile labour - that actually pervades the entire industry.
Arun Vakil answers reader questions about F1, H1B and travel visas. How should you present your assets? What questions should you expect from visa officers?
Dr Arun Vakil discusses US tourist visas, study visa and various work visas. He also details the procedure for using Visa Facilitation Services.
Two US lawmakers have introduced a bill in the House of Representatives that aims at granting an automatic right to H-4 visa holders to work in the country, a move which will benefit the spouses of thousands of foreigners, including Indians, and also address the labour shortage affecting American businesses. H-4 visas are issued to dependent spouses and children who accompany H-1B, H-2A, H-2B, and H-3 visa holders to the United States. Many H-4 visa holders are highly skilled people in their own right and previously had careers of their own or worked to support their families.
The US state department, which issued the revised travel advisory, on Wednesday said that the exemptions have been given under the national interest category.
