India's harsh lockdown has left companies grappling with temporary closure, chaotic supply chains and depressed demand. Consequently, business plans have been modified.
The death toll also saw a record single-day increase of over 350 fatalities to move closer to the 8,500-mark, more than one-third of which have been recorded in 11 days since June 1 -- the day that marked the beginning of a phased exit from most restrictions imposed under a nationwide lockdown with effect from March 25.
The panel also stated that without the lockdown the country would have witnessed a peak of over 140 lakh cases.
Except for 69-year-old Xi, all top officials including the number two leader in the Chinese leadership hierarchy Premier Li Keqiang will be replaced in the massive reshuffle to follow during the week.
The report, compiled by COV-IND-19 Study Group, an interdisciplinary team of researchers, said while India seems to have done well in controlling the number of confirmed cases compared to other countries like the United States and Italy in the early phase of the pandemic, the country is critically missing a key component in this assessment -- the number of truly affected cases.
Emerging markets such as India have always run higher inflation rates than developed economies such as the US and countries of Western Europe. But for the first time in the past 30 years, the US reported a higher consumer price inflation (CPI) rate than India in five consecutive months. The US reported a CPI rate of 7.5 per cent in January 2022 against 6.01 per cent in India and analysts expect the trend to continue for at least a few months more
'Ours is a disaster movie with no big stars, songs or commercial ingredients.' 'Yet, it is Malayalam cinema's highest grosser.'
India must be prepared for a big, fat fuel import bill in FY23 - barring any further avatars of the Covid virus - as refiners crank up runs, or crude processing rates, to meet the growing demand for fuels, and crude prices soar. Capacity additions by an Indian state-run refiner will reinforce the need for foreign crude. Demand for all fuels is expected to increase by 3-8 per cent next fiscal from 2021-22, reaching pre-pandemic levels, according to analysts and industry experts.
Prospective buyers must make a well-considered decision regarding whether this is the right time to buy a house, particularly with home loan rates at near-peak levels, and the risk of job losses looming in many sectors.
Xiaomi topped the chart as the most sold smartphone brand by its users with 26 per cent share, followed by Apple (20 per cent), Samsung (16 per cent), Vivo, and Motorola (6 per cent each) among others, it said. Most smartphones sold by users were in the sub-Rs 10,000 brackets, it added. Among models, the iPhone 7 was the hottest selling model along with some other models as well as Redmi Note 4 and OnePlus 6 during the year. The number of smartphone repairs was the highest in Delhi in 2020.
Indian start-ups and software product companies are trying to attract engineers and programmers who are either stranded in India because of the lockdown or H-1B visa holders who have been laid off.
The retail industry witnessed robust top-line growth for the greater part of the previous financial year, but demand has started to show signs of fatigue seen in the January-March quarter (fourth quarter, or Q4) of 2022-23 (FY23), especially in the apparel and innerwear segments. Jewellery, however, has managed to hold on to demand in the quarter. "In the discretionary space, demand moderation in urban markets is expected to impact the quick-service restaurant and apparel categories the most, while paint, luggage, and jewellery should see resilient growth," Systematic Institutional Equities observed in its preview of the sector.
200 staffers, consisting of RBI officials and support teams, who are essential to perform critical functions, were isolated at a separate facility in a dedicated quarantined environment near all three RBI data centres.
The Economic Survey will remain a documentation of the government's resolve to not recognise the severe stress on the labour markets and on the livelihoods of Indian households arising out of the pandemic and the consequent lockdown, observes Mahesh Vyas.
We love a leader who oozes authority and firmness, notes Virendra Kapoor.
India is the fifth worst-hit nation by the COVID-19 pandemic after the United States, Brazil, Russia and the United Kingdom, according to data issued by the Johns Hopkins University.
India, the world's third-largest energy consumer and importer, on Wednesday warned of high oil prices hurting the nascent and fragile global economic recovery and floated an idea of long-term supply contracts that provide predictable and stable pricing. Speaking at the India Energy Forum by CERAWeek, Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said there was a mismatch between demand for oil and the supplies producers such as OPEC+ were making and there was a case for raising the production. The world, he said, needs "predictable, stable and affordable" prices for it to recover back to pre-pandemic levels.
Cherry blossoms in Sri Lanka, Hanuman speaking Bombaiya, the mythical Sone Ki Lanka looking darkly Gothic, Raavan looking like a Bollywood dude... this is not modernisation. This is a travesty, asserts Deepa Gahlot.
For the first seven days, India's trajectory was close to that of the US and the UK, but the implementation of the lockdown from Day 8 seems to have helped us control the spread significantly despite our larger population.
'The government should act proactively to instil confidence in the private investors, and also boost the purchasing power of people directly or indirectly by ensuring minimum wages.'
While the record shipments reflects the prevailing mood at the time, the exponential rise in Covid cases in the country has turned the tide since.
Australian pace spearhead Pat Cummins believes if hosting the ICC T20 World Cup amidst raging COVID-19 pandemic is a drain on Indian resources or is 'unsafe', it would be prudent to shift the event to the United Arab Emirates.
As the world recoils in fear from the Omicron scare and countries jostle to enforce lockdowns, these are scenes from Sarojini Nagar Market in the national capital on Sunday, November 28, where shoppers flouted every single norm in the Social Distancing rule book.
Tea estates across Assam and West Bengal, which were hitherto closed owing to the lockdown, opened in April.
India's tennis players -- both current and former -- are not just counting financial losses as they cope with the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic. The closure of the Pro Tour means that doubles exponent Purav Raja is set to lose at least $50,000 in this lockdown period, according to his own assessment. Prajnesh Gunneswaran, Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan and Divij Sharan can't exactly tell how much they would lose but considering the fact that they are consistently in contention to be in Grand Slam main draws, the massive financial hit is not difficult to assess.
'We are already exhausted, but we can't give up.' 'The battle is still on.' 'We will see some respite by December 2021.'
Hotels are using a combination of platforms to reach out to the guests. These include online travel agents among others. hotels in India are offering guests an option to pay now and stay later.
However, the Indian economy is expected to bounce back in 2021, the World Bank said.
A list of watchable Hindi legal shows and films on OTT, in order of release.
The Indian economy will suffer lasting damage from the coronavirus crisis and after an initial strong rebound in FY22 (fiscal year ending March 2022) growth will slow to around 6.5 per cent a year over FY23-FY26, Fitch Ratings said on Thursday. "A combination of supply-side scarring and demand-side constraints - such as the weak state of the financial sector - will keep the level of GDP well below its pre-pandemic path," it said in commentary on the Indian economy. Fitch said India's coronavirus-induced recession has been among the most severe in the world, amid a stringent lockdown and limited direct fiscal support.
In homes that are cramped, stuffy and increasingly low on food, residents of one of Asia's largest slum are struggling under India's nationwide lockdown.
One third of all Indians live in one room. Another one third lives in 2 rooms. They cannot self quarantine or isolate and if infected they will pass it on to others. It is impossible for India to control an epidemic, warns Aakar Patel.
CK Vineeth made headlines last year when he was seen working as a volunteer at a COVID-19 helpline centre back home during the nationwide lockdown.
16 national and regional industry bodies and sectoral business lobbies video-conferenced with Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Saturday and raised key concerns facing Indian industry in the wake of the 21-day lockdown over coronavirus.
'There could be a law where you can say from the 15th over or the 20th over, you can give the wax polish to the bowlers.'
India's triumphant Tokyo Olympics contingent, including history-making Javelin Throw gold-medallist Neeraj Chopra, returned to the country on Monday and was greeted by frenzy and chaos at the New Delhi airport, where supporters jostled to catch a glimpse of their sporting heroes.
Bhima Koregaon represents what the government can do in India against well meaning people who speak up against atrocities, who stand up for the weak and the dispossessed and for this reason alone as seen as enemies of the State and kept in prison for as long as the government can manage. So long as the rest of us do not speak up against this misbehaviour by the State, so long as we forget about those who have been made its victims, this behaviour will continue, asserts Aakar Patel.
In March, the World Health Organisation came out with a report on the origins of the virus but it had failed to meet the expectations of the US and several other leading countries.
32 per cent employees from India were concerned about not having access to the right technology assets to be productive and 30 per cent cited the blurring boundary between work and personal lives as the top concerns should remote work arrangements continue long-term.
Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) on Wednesday said it will take a call on India and Bangladesh's upcoming tours to the island nation later this week. India was scheduled to tour Sri Lanka in June-July for three ODIs and as many T20Is while Bangladesh was due to visit in July-August for a three-Test series as part of the ICC World Test Championship.
