The number of Indians over 15 either working or looking for work is lower as a percentage than in the United States, China, Bangladesh or Pakistan, points out Aakar Patel.
Stuck in a training centre in locked-down Thailand's Phuket, ace Indian swimmer Sajan Prakash has found a silver lining in the extra time he is getting to recuperate from an injury amid the gloom of coronavirus pandemic. Sajan, who travelled to Phuket in February to train for swimming meets, had hoped to achieve the 'A' qualification mark for the Olympics. However, the national record holder has been left stranded in the city following the lockdown in the country.
'People are getting back to work.' 'The worst seems to be over.' 'It is very likely that the recovery is mostly among the informal, self-employed, workers who cannot afford to be away from work for too long,' notes Mahesh Vyas.
The S&P BSE Small-cap index has recovered 26 per cent as compared to a 23 per cent rise in the S&P BSE Sensex.
'You have no idea how much I miss Mumbai.'
There was a surge in the demand for virtual classes for yoga (87%) and high-intensity interval training (HIIT) cardio workouts such as Zumba (72%), aerobics (67%), and pilates (22%).
The Miracle Makers is an account of India's historic Test series of 2020-2021.
'Reports of hitherto 'atmanirbhar' breadwinners having to stand in line for a plastic bag of khichdi or, travelling thousands of kms with nothing but packets of biscuits, have not moved the prime minister,' observes Jyoti Punwani.
'For me, Nitin Chandrakant Desai will always be associated with masti-mazaak.'
A British brokerage on Tuesday cut India's FY22 GDP growth estimate by a sharp 0.80 per cent to 9.2 per cent, saying the economic impact of the second wave of infections has been deeper than initially expected. Barclays chief India economist Rahul Bajoria also mentioned the slow pace of vaccinations in the country and the rolling lockdowns across many states for the estimate. It can be noted that last month has seen a slew of similar forecasts from analysts, even as the RBI maintained its estimate of a 10.5 per cent growth in real GDP.
Eighteen months after the economy was battered by the Covid-induced lockdown, employment has not recovered to its pre-pandemic levels, points out Mahesh Vyas.
'When my father travelled 5,000 miles to build a new home in Ireland, I doubt he ever dreamed that his son would one day grow up to become its leader.' Vaihayasi Pande Daniel/Rediff.com profiles Dr Leo Varadkar who will step down as Ireland's taoiseach (prime minister) next week.
Since April, India has seen multiple strains of the coronanavirus sweep the nation, upending life and businesses alike. Out-of-home retail and discretionary categories such as durables, auto, fashion, lifestyle, hospitality, food services, travel, and tourism have been the worst-hit as Covid cases remain high, leaving state governments with no option but to curtail mobility and economic activity.
The cut in wages by companies whose operations were not shut by the lockdown was more likely opportunistic than out of business compulsions to survive the lockdown. If this is true, then it is worth wondering what kind of opportunism was this? Was it to make a quick buck or was it to use a crisis to engineer a structural change that was necessary, asks Mahesh Vyas.
Pistol ace Manu Bhaker has got a new electronic target installed at the makeshift shooting range at her home in Haryana in place of an archaic manual machine that was breaking down frequently and hampering her Olympics preparation. The old machine was causing her "immense irritation".
India's likely medium-term potential growth will almost certainly be markedly lower than that experienced in pre-pandemic years, warns Shankar Acharya, former chief economic advisor to the Government of India.
The cumulative loss of salaried jobs since the pandemic is even larger at 12.6 million, reveals Mahesh Vyas.
On Monday, Chaturvedi became the first quadruple centurion in the Cooch Behar Trophy final as his knock earned Karnataka their maiden title in the U19 tournament.
As we celebrate Amitabh Bachchan's 81st birthday on October 11, we see him through his daughter Shweta Bachchan Nanda's eyes.
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India's fuel sales surged past pre-pandemic levels in March on twin impact of the economy rebounding from the lifting of pandemic-related restrictions and anticipation of price increases leading to stocking. In the first two weeks of March, dealers, as well as the public, topped up their tanks in anticipation of an increase in prices that had been on hold in the run-up to the elections in states like Uttar Pradesh. While daily price revisions restarted on March 22, the increases were calibrated.
India has been under lockdown since March 25 to curb the spread of novel coronavirus.
India's COVID-19 curve has been steadily rising throughout the lockdown period with a massive spike in cases in the fourth phase of the lockdown that ended on May 31 and afterwards.
With intermittent disruptions in the supply chain of raw materials from China, the Indian pharma industry has braced itself with bigger inventory. Even smaller drug makers are now carrying a month of buffer stock of key raw materials, said industry insiders. The lockdown in various Chinese provinces, including Shanghai, is likely to delay shipments by two weeks to a month, said domestic players. Shipments are critical for the Indian drug industry, which imports 70 per cent of its raw material from China.
Until a sizeable number of the population are vaccinated, Covid-appropriate behaviour needs to be followed aggressively, he said and stressed on the need for stricter surveillance and area-specific lockdowns in case of a significant surge.
India will unveil its much-awaited new Foreign Trade Policy 2023-28 on Friday, with a view to boost exports amid slowing global trade. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal will announce the foreign trade policy, according to the ministry. The current foreign trade policy (2015-20) is in force till March 31, 2022.
A tough initial lockdown was imposed beginning March 25 but dreams of a V-shaped recovery after it was eased in May have been obliterated by a surge in cases and new lockdowns.
"Despite huge and multiple challenges, India has been demonstrating unwavering commitment in its fight against the pandemic," said WHO's South-East Asia Regional Director, Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh.
The total vehicle registrations in India fell by 29.85 per cent to 1,52,71,519 units in financial year 2020-21, the lowest in the last eight years, the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) said on Monday. Total vehicle registrations were at 2,17,68,502 units in fiscal year 2019-20. All categories of vehicles, except tractors were in red in FY21 with two-wheeler (2W), three-wheeler (3W), commercial vehicles (CV) and passenger vehicles (PV) falling by 31.51 per cent, 64.12 per cent, 49.05 per cent and 13.96 per cent respectively -- the lowest in last eight years and way below the FY13 levels, FADA said in a statement.
Abhishek returned with figures of 2-24 from his four overs
'Elevator rules deem no more than two people for a unit that carries six people, and as an employee enters the office, there are three masks to be used for five hours each a day, then disposed and one for the next day as well.'
Employment fell by 2.5 million in February, 0.1 million in March, 7.4 million in April and then by 15.3 million in May, explains Mahesh Vyas.
'The fight against COVID-19 is not a hospital fight.' 'It's a community level fight. 'If your community level measures are good, you can decrease the number of people coming to hospitals, or flatten it.'
Among the 44 per cent of Indian students who have used Gen AI in their studies, 60 per cent say it helps them learn faster, 55 per cent say it allows them more creative use of learning, while 51 per cent say it frees up their time.
'Rising Covid cases and localised lockdowns are being closely monitored.'
'A balanced head plus heart approach would be a full opening up of the economy including manufacturing and internal travel in the country but excluding COVID-19 hotspots,' recommends Jaimini Bhagwati.
Residential house prices have only risen since the pandemic.
'The people of Tamil Nadu in particular Chennai know about the double standards of the BJP. Nothing will work for them here.'
The scarcity of resources is particularly evident in the case of Rajasthan compared to many other states.
As concerns mounted and some people wondered whether this could possibly turn out to be another Covid, pulmonologist Anurag Agrawal said he doesn't expect to see a massive wave.
