News for 'International Contract Agency'

CBI books GVK chairman, son for defrauding Mumbai airport

CBI books GVK chairman, son for defrauding Mumbai airport

Rediff.com2 Jul 2020

The Central Bureau of Investigation has booked Venkata Krishna Reddy Gunupati, chairman of the GVK group of companies, and his son G V Sanjay Reddy, managing director of Mumbai International Airport Ltd, among others for alleged irregularities to the tune of Rs 705 crore in running of the airport, officials said.

BJP's Karnataka Rout: A Defeat Foretold

BJP's Karnataka Rout: A Defeat Foretold

Rediff.com13 May 2023

The rising pitch of road shows and long rallies with hectoring pitches seem to have exhausted and numbed the audiences, rather than motivating them to vote for the party, observes Shreekant Sambrani.

Funding winter hits start-up advertising spend across properties

Funding winter hits start-up advertising spend across properties

Rediff.com6 Aug 2022

A long and bitter funding winter in the start-up world is beginning to take its toll on start-up advertising across properties. Earlier this week, Mastercard replaced Paytm as the title sponsor for all international and domestic cricket matches organised by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). But this is just one part of the story. The other side is that organisers of high-impact shows and events on Hindi general entertainment channels, too, are feeling the winter chill.

Grim global situation casts shadow on Budget 2023

Grim global situation casts shadow on Budget 2023

Rediff.com21 Dec 2022

Ahead of the Union Budget for 2023-24, Budget makers have welcomed the global consensus view that India will remain one of the bright spots in calendar year 2023. But there is some alarm over the grim global situation and how that might impact the Centre's projections and assessments for next financial year. The big global headwinds include a deep and sustained recession in the West, including India's biggest trading partners in North America and Europe, continuing volatility in commodity markets, and renewed Covid-19 fears, as lifting of strict curbs by China could potentially lead to a massive spread again.

CIL floats maiden tender to import 2.416 MT coal for power sector

CIL floats maiden tender to import 2.416 MT coal for power sector

Rediff.com9 Jun 2022

State-owned CIL on Thursday said that it has floated its maiden tender to import 2.416 million tonnes of coal to ensure adequate supply of the fuel to power plants in the country. The development assumes significance in the wake of the government making all efforts to build up stock of coal to avoid the reoccurrence of power outages which happened in April on account of shortage of the fossil fuel. "In a first ever, Coal India Limited (CIL) on Wednesday floated an international competitive bidding e-tender, seeking bids for import of 2.416 million tonnes (MTs) of coal," the company said in a statement.

ED raids 26 locations in ABG Shipyard bank fraud case

ED raids 26 locations in ABG Shipyard bank fraud case

Rediff.com26 Apr 2022

As many as 26 premises are being searched in these cities by the federal agency under the criminal sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, they said.

Crisil, Icra lower India growth projections

Crisil, Icra lower India growth projections

Rediff.com21 Nov 2022

Rating agencies Crisil and Icra on Monday revised down their India growth projections for the current fiscal and the second quarter mainly due to the ripple effect of slowdown in global growth and mixed crop output. Crisil downgraded the India growth forecast by 30 bps to 7 per cent while Icra pegged the economic expansion at 6.5 per cent for the second quarter of FY2022-23. "We have revised down our forecast for real gross domestic product growth to 7 per cent for fiscal 2023 from 7.3 per cent, primarily because of the slowdown in global growth that has started to impact our exports and industrial activity.

Cabin crew, guards among 1,600 Air India employees opting for VRS

Cabin crew, guards among 1,600 Air India employees opting for VRS

Rediff.com1 Jul 2022

More than 1,600 employees of Air India, the former state-run carrier now owned by the Tata group, have opted for voluntary retirement under a scheme announced on June 1. These employees comprise 22 per cent of permanent staff (around 7,000). The airline has a total employee strength of around 10,800, including those on contract.

OneWeb inks pact with ISRO commercial arm for launching satellites

OneWeb inks pact with ISRO commercial arm for launching satellites

Rediff.com21 Apr 2022

Bharti group-backed OneWeb and New Space India Limited, the commercial arm of the Indian Space Research Organisation, have entered into an agreement that will help ensure OneWeb completes its satellite launch programme. The first launch with New Space India is expected in 2022 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) SHAR, Sriharikota. The launches will add to Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite communications firm OneWeb's total in-orbit constellation of 428 satellites -- 66 per cent of the planned total fleet -- to build a global network that will deliver high-speed, low-latency connectivity.

IMF slashes India's FY23 GDP growth forecast to 8.2%

IMF slashes India's FY23 GDP growth forecast to 8.2%

Rediff.com20 Apr 2022

The International Monetary Fund (IMF), in its latest World Economic Outlook report, has slashed its forecast for India's FY23 gross domestic product growth to 8.2 per cent from 9 per cent, saying that higher commodity prices will weigh on private consumption and investment. This was one of the steepest cuts for emerging economies compared to the IMF's January WEO forecasts. Saying that global economic prospects have worsened significantly due to commodity price volatility and disruption of supply chains caused by the war in Europe, IMF cut its global growth outlook for calendar year 2022 to 3.6 per cent from 4.4 per cent, and said both Russia and Ukraine could experience large GDP contractions.

Covid impact: Economy unlikely to see double-digit growth in FY22

Covid impact: Economy unlikely to see double-digit growth in FY22

Rediff.com1 Jun 2021

India's economy is unlikely to see double-digit growth and may grow between 8 per cent and 9 per cent this fiscal year (2021-22, or FY22), against the estimated 11.5 per cent, according to leading economists and rating agencies. The downward revision of growth projections to as low as 10 per cent is mostly on account of stringency in restrictions by states, relatively slow vaccination pace, and the possibility of a third wave of the pandemic. However, they say the impact will not be as severe as the first wave, and expect the first quarter to see positive growth.

Get set, assassinate, but virtually

Get set, assassinate, but virtually

Rediff.com28 Mar 2016

It is an action-adventure game available for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

Antrix dispute: Devas seizes $87,457 cash in US

Antrix dispute: Devas seizes $87,457 cash in US

Rediff.com17 Aug 2022

Devas Multimedia has seized $87,457.47 cash that ISRO's commercial arm Antrix Corporation held in the US as it looked to enforce a $1.2 billion compensation it had won over a cancelled satellite deal, its lawyer said on Wednesday. Devas Multimedia America Inc had sought seizure of $145,000 but the actual recovery was $87,457.47 (a little less than Rs 70 lakh). This came after it secured a favourable order from the Eastern District Court of Virginia, Matthew D McGrill said.

'Public Sector Banks Don't Like To Loan To MSMEs'

'Public Sector Banks Don't Like To Loan To MSMEs'

Rediff.com21 Jul 2022

'The approach today is, instead of giving loans to 100 MSMEs, let us give one loan to a big-ticket corporate.' 'And so many of these big fish deceived the banks and the banks are in the doldrums now with high NPAs.'

Economic Survey pegs India's FY22 economic growth at 11%

Economic Survey pegs India's FY22 economic growth at 11%

Rediff.com29 Jan 2021

The Indian economy can contract by 7.7 per cent in current financial year ending on March 31 and the growth could be 11 per cent in the next financial year, according to the Economic Survey tabled in Parliament by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. The contraction in FY21 is mainly due to coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic and the visible damage caused by the subsequent countrywide lockdown to contain it. The survey unveiled two days before the Union Budget is broadly in line with forecasts by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) which has said it expected the country's GDP to contract by 7.5 per cent in the year ending March 31.

Experts say economy to perform better than earlier projections

Experts say economy to perform better than earlier projections

Rediff.com8 Jan 2021

India's GDP estimates for 2020-21 show that the economy is expected to perform much better than earlier projections by different agencies, indicating a sustained V-shape post-lockdown recovery, experts said. The first Advance Estimates (AE) by the National Statistics Office (NSO) has projected a contraction of 7.7 per cent in the real GDP during 2020-21. This was better than the projections by certain international agencies like the IMF and World Bank.

Russia reaches out to Kerala for Sputnik V plant

Russia reaches out to Kerala for Sputnik V plant

Rediff.com29 Jul 2021

The government may look at areas around Thonnakkal, in Thiruvananthapuram district, for the facility. If successful, this would be one of the few sites of Sputnik V owned by Russian firms outside that country. Shine Jacob and Sohini Das report.

Bank fraud: ED registers money laundering case against ABG Shipyard

Bank fraud: ED registers money laundering case against ABG Shipyard

Rediff.com17 Feb 2022

The action comes days after the CBI registered an FIR in the country's biggest alleged bank loan fraud case till date.

How Non-BJP States Are Paying Back Modi-Shah

How Non-BJP States Are Paying Back Modi-Shah

Rediff.com13 May 2022

Non-BJP chief ministers are retaliating. If the Centre can use its agencies to threaten, intimidate and jail its rivals, so can they. The fightback will get more intense, observes Shekhar Gupta.

Moody's on how Omicron will affect emerging markets

Moody's on how Omicron will affect emerging markets

Rediff.com1 Dec 2021

The economic impact of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 on emerging economies will depend on a mix of government restrictions, public comfort with social interactions, and capacity of governments and central banks to provide additional policy support to the private sector, Moody's Investors Service said on Wednesday. The emergence of the new variant poses new risks to the global economic growth and inflation outlook, as concerns mount about the variant's health risks and several countries have imposed new travel restrictions in recent days. These restrictions will likely increase over the coming weeks until scientists learn more about the variant, it said.

Khawaja, Stoinis named in preliminary squad for England tour

Khawaja, Stoinis named in preliminary squad for England tour

Rediff.com16 Jul 2020

Khawaja and Stoinis were included despite losing their national contracts after falling out of favour with selectors over the home summer.

NASA picks Indian-American astronaut to lead SpaceX mission to ISS

NASA picks Indian-American astronaut to lead SpaceX mission to ISS

Rediff.com16 Dec 2020

Chari, 43, will serve as the commander while NASA's Tom Marshburn will be pilot and ESA's Matthias Maurer will serve as a mission specialist for the SpaceX Crew-3 mission to the ISS, which is expected to launched next year.

India's economy to shrink by 3.2% in FY21: World Bank

India's economy to shrink by 3.2% in FY21: World Bank

Rediff.com8 Jun 2020

However, the Indian economy is expected to bounce back in 2021, the World Bank said.

Russia becomes India's premier oil supplier but Saudi is not losing sleep

Russia becomes India's premier oil supplier but Saudi is not losing sleep

Rediff.com1 Dec 2022

A few years ago, when top officials of Indian state-run refiners went to Dubai to negotiate a crude oil supply contract, a senior official from state-owned Saudi Aramco told them, "We can negotiate on anything, but I am the last man standing for you. "Nobody can offer the range of crudes we do with certainty," an official who was part of the negotiating team recalls. Perhaps that explains why Saudi Arabia is less concerned about losing its place as India's premier oil supplier to an upstart like Russia, which emerged from nowhere to become India's biggest crude oil supplier in September and October.

IMF cuts India's FY22 growth forecast to 9%

IMF cuts India's FY22 growth forecast to 9%

Rediff.com26 Jan 2022

The IMF on Tuesday cut India's economic growth forecast by 0.5 percentage points to 9 per cent for the current fiscal year, with its chief economist Gita Gopinath saying that the slight downgrade is mainly due to the impact of the spread of the Omicron variant. "If you look at the 2021-22 fiscal year, we have a slight downgrade of -0.5 percentage points and for the next fiscal year 2022-23 we have a slight upgrade of 0.5 percentage points. So, growth for the previous fiscal year is now nine per cent and for this year now is at nine per cent. We moved it up slightly," Gopinath told reporters during a news conference in Washington. In its latest update of World Economic Outlook on Tuesday, the International Monetary Fund has cut India's economic growth forecast to 9 per cent for the current fiscal year ending March 31, joining a host of agencies which have downgraded their projections on concerns over the impact of the spread of Omicron on business activity and mobility.

Why Switzerland is as desperate as Adityanath for Noida airport to take off

Why Switzerland is as desperate as Adityanath for Noida airport to take off

Rediff.com5 Oct 2021

There is little that Andreas Schmid, the Swiss-born chairman of Flughafen Zurich AG (Zurich Airport International AG), and Yogi Adityanath, chief minister of Uttar Pradesh (UP), could have in common. But Schmid, whose company is building the Noida airport in partnership with the UP government, finds himself on the same footing as the firebrand Hindutva leader who rules the state. Both hope the Rs 30,000-crore ($4 billion) project, hanging fire for 20 years, shows some progress when UP goes to the polls in 2022.

S&P sees Indian economy shrinking by 5% in FY21

S&P sees Indian economy shrinking by 5% in FY21

Rediff.com28 May 2020

Stating that COVID-19 has not yet been contained in India, the rating agency in a statement said the government stimulus package is low relative to countries with similar economic impacts from the pandemic. "The COVID-19 outbreak in India and two months of lockdown -- longer in some areas -- have led to a sudden stop in the economy. That means growth will contract sharply this fiscal year (April 2020 to March 2021)," it said. "Economic activity will face ongoing disruption over the next year as the country transitions to a post-COVID-19 world."

Israel to probe misuse of Pegasus, review licensing process

Israel to probe misuse of Pegasus, review licensing process

Rediff.com23 Jul 2021

The alleged use of the Pegasus software to spy on journalists, human rights defenders, politicians and others in a number of countries including India triggered concerns over issues relating to privacy.

Modi's Cult Of Personality

Modi's Cult Of Personality

Rediff.com10 Mar 2023

'It was more than ego.' 'It carried with it a sincere belief that he was the quintessence of the country, that the country's destiny was irrevocably intertwined with his destiny.' An excerpt from T J S George's The Dismantling of India: In 35 Portraits.

IMF cuts India's GDP growth forecast to 9.5% for FY22

IMF cuts India's GDP growth forecast to 9.5% for FY22

Rediff.com27 Jul 2021

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Tuesday cut its economic growth forecast for India to 9.5 per cent for the fiscal year to March 31, 2022 as the onset of a severe second COVID-19 wave cut into recovery momentum. This forecast for 2021-22 is lower than the 12.5 per cent growth in GDP that IMF had projected in April before the second wave took a grip. For 2022-23, IMF expects economic growth of 8.5 per cent, larger than the 6.9 per cent it had projected in April.

Amazon faces ED probe for violation of forex rules

Amazon faces ED probe for violation of forex rules

Rediff.com28 Jan 2021

The probe is being conducted under various sections of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) after the central probe agency recently received a communication from the commerce ministry seeking "necessary action" against e-commerce players like Amazon and Flipkart pertaining to certain multi-brand retail businesses and an observation made by the Delhi High Court in relation to Amazon.

How Parrikar Broke the Rafale Logjam

How Parrikar Broke the Rafale Logjam

Rediff.com23 Jul 2021

'It was Parrikar's sharp insights into finance and international systems that stood out when India --at his suggestion -- decided to procure the Rafale combat jets from France.'

India's economy projected to record stronger recovery in 2021: UNCTAD

India's economy projected to record stronger recovery in 2021: UNCTAD

Rediff.com18 Mar 2021

India's economy, estimated to contract by 6.9 per cent in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, is forecast to record a "stronger recovery" in 2021 and grow by 5 per cent, according to a UN report which said the country's current fiscal year budget points to a shift towards demand-side stimulus, with an uptick in public investment. The report, 'Out of the frying pan ...Into the fire?' published Thursday as an update to the Trade and Development Report 2020 by UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) said the global economy is set to grow by 4.7 per cent this year, faster than the 4.3 per cent predicted in September 2020, thanks in part to a stronger recovery in the US, where progress in distributing vaccines and a fresh fiscal stimulus of $1.9 trillion are expected to boost consumer spending.

Moody's raises India's outlook to 'stable' from 'negative'

Moody's raises India's outlook to 'stable' from 'negative'

Rediff.com5 Oct 2021

Ratings agency Moody's on Tuesday affirmed India's sovereign rating and upgraded the country's outlook to 'stable' from 'negative', citing receding downside risks to the economy and financial system.

Russian F1 organisers say race stays despite WADA sanctions

Russian F1 organisers say race stays despite WADA sanctions

Rediff.com10 Dec 2019

Promoters of the Russian F1 Grand Prix, ROSGONKI, said that the contract for the Sochi race was signed in 2010, long before the start of WADA's probing and are confident that the race will be held next year as well

Debris of China's disintegrating rocket falls into Indian Ocean

Debris of China's disintegrating rocket falls into Indian Ocean

Rediff.com9 May 2021

The debris from China's disintegrating Long March rocket entered the Earth's atmosphere on Sunday and reportedly fell into the Indian Ocean area close to the Maldives, the country's space agency said, ending an anxious week as people and the governments wondered where and when the space junk would fall.

Geelani's grandson sacked from govt service for 'aiding terror activities'

Geelani's grandson sacked from govt service for 'aiding terror activities'

Rediff.com17 Oct 2021

With the sacking of the grandson, Anees-ul-Islam, and the teacher, Farooq Ahmed Butt, the total number of employees dismissed in the last six months has gone up to 27.

COVID-19: 13% museums around the world may never reopen

COVID-19: 13% museums around the world may never reopen

Rediff.com19 May 2020

On the occasion of International Museum Day Monday, two studies by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation and the International Council of Museums said that museums have been especially affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, with nearly 90 per cent of them, or more than 85,000 institutions, having closed their doors for varying lengths of time during the crisis.

Niti VC says, India may post 6% growth next fiscal

Niti VC says, India may post 6% growth next fiscal

Rediff.com24 Jul 2020

The Niti Aayog vice chairman noted that green shoots of recovery are already visible in multiple sectors. In 15-16 sectors, businesses are coming back to pre-COVID levels," he said.

Wide-ranging reforms needed to regain economic growth: RBI

Wide-ranging reforms needed to regain economic growth: RBI

Rediff.com25 Aug 2020

RBI said aggregate demand during the year so far suggests that the shock to consumption is severe, and it will take quite some time to mend and regain the pre-COVID-19 momentum.