I suggest we build a Vigyan Mandir (Temple of Science) with the ambience of a place of worship, so that it becomes a destination for pilgrims. We should embed on its walls bronze plaques describing each scientist mentioned here along with about a dozen of our ancient mathematicians, recommends Professor Kalyan Singhal, historian of science and technology.
The central government has asked public sector undertakings to dissuade their employees from participating in the bandh.
'This is what happens to a party when it gets trapped in the vicious circle of nepotism and dynastic politics'
Billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries Ltd climbed eight spots to the 45th rank, the highest for an Indian company on Forbes' latest Global 2000 list of public companies worldwide.
Bajaj Finance was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, soaring over 8 per cent, followed by Kotak Bank, IndusInd Bank, HDFC, PowerGrid, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank and L&T. On the other hand, Maruti, ITC, NTPC and Nestle India were among the laggards.
From the Sensex pack, NTPC, Bajaj Finance, IndusInd Bank, UltraTech Cement, Bajaj Finserv, State Bank of India, Tata Motors, ITC, Power Grid and Larsen & Toubro were the biggest gainers. IndusInd Bank climbed 2 per cent after the company on Tuesday reported a 30 per cent jump in consolidated net profit in April-June quarter at Rs 2,124.50 crore, helped by core income growth and lower bad loan provisions.
There's no place like home, but even for the affluent buying one in India is difficult. On top of that, the coronavirus pandemic-now in its eighteenth month-has made life uncertain. A hopeful thing is buying a house looks alluring as loan interest rates fall below 7 per cent, their multi-decadal lows. The slow decline in GDP growth after demonetisation, followed by the economic shock caused by Covid-19 waves, has hurt us unevenly.
China has spent half a century plotting to defeat America and in some respects, the Chinese military is already at par with the US armed forces, Haley said in a major policy speech on the economy in the key early primary State of New Hampshire on Friday.
After bumbling for years since 2014, the Modi government seems to believe that massive government expenditure will lead us to prosperity supported by 'seat-of-the-pants' decision-making, observes Debashis Basu.
The GST will subsume excise, service tax, value added tax, octroi etc.
The government believes firms which are subject to China's laws could be forced to hand over information to Beijing's security services.
It was lovely to enjoy the magical atmosphere of celebrating the spectacular accomplishments of extraordinary men and women who had enriched the world of sciences, literature and peace, notes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan after attending last week's Nobel Prize awards ceremony.
'These people jump up and down, excitedly waving their arms about to catch the attention of one political party or the other.' 'This mutant can be very dangerous,' observes T C A Srinivasa-Raghavan.
It is baffling how the PM chose the LCH as an indigenous product to celebrate on Rashtriya Raksha Samarpan Parv, even while his Cabinet holds up manufacturing clearance for 15 LCHs on the grounds that they are not Indian enough.
Enthused by higher than expected GDP numbers in the fourth quarter of 2022-23, Chief Economic Adviser (CEA) V Anantha Nageswaran on Wednesday said India's economic growth may exceed the initial estimate of 6.5 per cent in the current fiscal and the country can look for another year of solid economic performance.
The USNS Salvor was welcomed with a ceremony at the shipyard on Monday, and it is the first ship to arrive after the signing of the MSRA.
Strong macroeconomic headwinds causing turbulence in the $245-billion Indian IT industry are yet to calm down. Top Indian IT services companies are likely to post a decline or just marginal growth in sequential revenue in Q1FY24 because of a soft discretionary spending environment. Though the first quarter is seasonally strong for IT firms, "June 2023 will be an exception", according to analysts at Kotak Institutional Equities.
'Government supplied public services are less likely to be found in neighbourhoods with high numbers of Scheduled Castes and Muslims.'
Modelled loosely around the National Highway System of the US, he in 2001 launched the Golden Quadrilateral and the North-South & East-West Corridor projects to build 4/6 lane highways between four top metropolitan cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata as well as from Srinagar to Kanyakumari and Porbandar to Silchar.
Shreekant Sambrani remembers P R S 'Biki' Oberoi, personal friend and hospitality icon, who passed into the ages this week.
'Gold prices thrive on volatility and more so when the stock markets trend downward.'
'The consecration of Ram Lalla in Ayodhya has demoralised them.' 'And, now it is reflecting in their individual reactions as they are losing hope to take on the BJP in 2024.'
She also addressed the Indian Community at a reception held in her honour in Jakarta.
The Indian Navy has a big role to play in support of our strategic objectives in the Indian Ocean. The increasing Chinese presence in the Indian Ocean is a matter of concern and need to be factored. Hence, the requirement of an Aircraft Carrier is a foregone conclusion, asserts Commodore Venugopal Menon (retd).
Microsoft chairman and CEO Satya Nadella on Tuesday said there is a tremendous momentum in cloud adoption, as he termed cloud a "big game changer". Nadella, who is currently in India, addressed Microsoft Future Ready Leadership Summit in Mumbai on Tuesday. He is also scheduled to visit Delhi and Bengaluru this week, and will be meeting key customers, startups, developers, educators and students during his India visit.
From the Sensex pack, Infosys jumped the most by 3.67 per cent. Asian Paints, HCL Technologies, Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank, Wipro, NTPC, Tech Mahindra, Bajaj Finserv and Larsen & Toubro were among the other major gainers. State Bank of India, Bajaj Finance, Titan, Tata Steel, Tata Motors and UltraTech Cement were among the laggards.
It said banks' asset quality will deteriorate across the corporate, small and medium enterprises and retail segments, leading to pressure on profitability and capital.
The Indian economy remains on track to regain its position as the world's fastest-growing major economy after official estimates on Friday put the expansion at a tempered 9.2 per cent this fiscal amid concerns over the impact of a resurgent virus on the fragile recovery. The growth in the gross domestic product (GDP) of 9.2 per cent in April 2021 to March 2022 fiscal (FY 2021-22) given by the National Statistical Office (NSO) in its first advance estimate compares with 9.5 per cent expansion forecast by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) last month. The economy had contracted by 7.3 per cent in the previous financial year.
'It will be important strategically and geographically because there is no port in India which is as close to the international shipping route as Vizhinjam.'
Ahluwalia is not a great fan of the Uber model.
The Indian rupee, which has depreciated 1.1 per cent so far in August, is expected to decline further on the back of a strengthening US dollar and a weakening Chinese yuan, according to a Business Standard poll of analysts. The Indian rupee hit an all-time low recently, closing at 83.15 per dollar. Five of the 10 respondents said the Indian currency might touch 83.5 per dollar in August itself, while others said the worst could be over.
Tata Motors was the biggest loser in the Sensex pack, skidding 1.77 per cent, followed by SBI, Power Grid, Tata Steel, Infosys, UltraTech Cement, Titan, Larsen & Toubro, Reliance Industries and Maruti. On the other hand, IndusInd Bank, Bharti Airtel, Asian Paints, NTPC, HCL Technologies, HDFC and Sun Pharma were the gainers.
'Companies are coming to the campuses, and we have companies booking their slots for the placement season, but the overall number of companies signing is low, and the hiring numbers are also lower.'
The Indian startup ecosystem has lauded the inclusion of startups in the New Delhi Leaders' Declaration for the first time ever in the history of G20. Industry stakeholders say that the move will lead to easier access to capital, reduce regulatory hurdles, and may revive funding activity. The Declaration, through the Startup20 initiative, recognised startups as "natural engines of growth" and key to socio-economic transformation by driving innovation and creating employment.
Policymakers should aspire to restore the pre-Independence environment where the rupee was trusted and used all over South Asia, in Southeast Asia, in West Asia, and in East Africa, suggests Ajay Shah.
Online travel portals and airlines say the demand from companies is being led by essential services sectors like pharmaceutical, oil and gas, and power.
A healthy growth in India's services segments has helped the country's total exports and imports of goods and services to cross the $800 billion mark during the first half of 2023, despite a slowdown in global demand, think tank GTRI said in a report on Monday. According to the analysis of the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI), exports of goods and services rose by 1.5 per cent to $385.4 billion during January-June this year, as against $379.5 billion in January-June 2022. Imports, however, dipped by 5.9 per cent to $415.5 billion during the six months of this year, as against $441.7 billion in January-June 2022.
GST collections in March grew 13 per cent to the second highest ever at Rs 1.60 lakh crore, taking the growth rate of revenue mop-up for full 2022-23 fiscal to 22 per cent. March also saw over 91 per cent of the GST registered businesses filing returns and paying taxes - reflecting greater compliance and improving economic activity. Gross GST revenue collected in March 2023 is Rs 1,60,122 crore, of which Central GST is Rs 29,546 crore, State GST is Rs 37,314 crore, Integrated GST is Rs 82,907 crore (including Rs 42,503 crore collected on import of goods) and cess is Rs 10,355 crore, the finance ministry said in a statement.
Manufacturing activities in India advanced further and touched a 31-month high in May supported by stronger increase in new orders and favourable market conditions, which in turn generated more employment opportunities, a monthly survey said on Thursday. The seasonally adjusted S&P Global India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) rose from 57.2 in April to 58.7 in May, indicating the strongest improvement in the health of the sector since October 2020. The May PMI data pointed to an improvement in overall operating conditions for the 23rd straight month.
At a time when the tech sector witnessed a spree of layoffs and slowdown in new hiring, IT firms have opted for temporary jobs in order to turn some their fixed costs variable. Work fulfillment platform Awign has reported a 157 per cent rise in demand for such jobs in first half of 2023. Awign says most of the demand has arisen for highly-skilled tech professionals at mid-level and senior positions with 2-7 years' experience.