Former chief of defence staff Gen Anil Chauhan (retd) on Tuesday said the Indian forces "did not target" Pakistan's Kirana Hills, which reportedly has a nuclear facility, and that a lot of loitering munitions were sent at Sargodha, and one of those might have come down after losing its running capacity and hit a hill.
The Payments Council of India has confirmed that Unified Payments Interface (UPI) services will continue to be free for consumers and small merchants, despite a recent Lok Sabha Bill. This clarification addresses concerns about potential charges, emphasising that while a sustainable financial model for UPI infrastructure is being developed, transaction charges will not be passed on to users or small businesses.
Shiprocket plans to allocate a significant portion of its IPO proceeds towards artificial intelligence (AI), aiming to evolve its e-commerce enablement platform into a comprehensive operating system for merchants, enabling conversational commands and reducing manual tasks.
At the heart of the decision is concern over the survival of Meghalaya's neighbourhood retailers.
Four children drowned in a farm pond in Naganur village, Karnataka, while swimming on a school holiday. Police are investigating the tragic incident.
It was a shop that we grew up with and one that saw us grow. As children in boarding school, items bought from Krishnaji's store were like living symbols from home.
The government is set to examine concerns over quick commerce companies potentially undermining businesses of local kirana stores, particularly in the context of the draft Digital Competition Bill, according to official sources. The Ministry of Consumer Affairs recently raised the issue with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs during discussions around the proposed legislation. "We need to assess if and how the Bill can address these concerns and explore further steps to include provisions to keep a check," a senior official stated.
Indian kiranas are agile enough to face the q-com challenge, but it's going to be a tough fight, notes Ambi Parameswaran.
India is set to compete in the Billie Jean King Cup Asia-Oceania Group I ties, aiming for promotion to the 2026 play-offs. Despite a setback with Shrivalli Bhamidipaty's withdrawal, the team hopes to capitalise on home advantage.
'As result, Netanyahu 'convinced' Trump to go to war with the help of overoptimistic Israeli intelligence assessments, essentially explaining to him that they only need to bomb Iran for 3-4 days, and the regime would then collapse.' 'Rather unsurprisingly, Netanyahu is ever since blaming his own intel service for the entire operation failing.'
Sales of fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) witnessed significant recovery in September after enduring a double-digit decline in August, according to data furnished by Bizom. Kirana stores in rural areas stocked up in preparation for the festival season, which began in September. This, combined with rainfall reaching 113 per cent of the long-perid average for the month, contributed to a boost in sales.
'Traders must adopt digital payments as soon as possible within a set timeframe, as the nation is moving rapidly towards digitisation.' 'Ignoring digital systems is not an option for strengthening trade.'
'The Indian consumer is moving so quickly and they have so many options.'
Renowned classical vocalist and Padma Vibhushan Pandit Chhannulal Mishra passed away at the age of 89 after a prolonged illness. He was an exponent of Hindustani classical music and the Banaras gharana.
"We have not hit Kirana hills, whatever is there," Director General of Air Operations Air Marshal AK Bharti said at a media briefing on Operation Sindoor.
'I do believe there will be a resolution in the next couple of months on the penal tariff and hopefully on the reciprocal tariff also.'
Global nuclear watchdog International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has said there was no radiation leak or release from any nuclear facility in Pakistan during the country's recent military conflict with India.
With the rains at unprecedented low in August, kiranas are thinking twice before stocking up on goods. "With August 2023 rain shortfall at almost a 100-year low, we are seeing kiranas stocking up very carefully," Akshay D'Souza, chief of growth and insights at Bizom. He added, "As we look ahead, it does seem that the impact of rains in September will be critical to the sowing season.
As lower GST rates take effect on Monday, sales of air-conditioners, TV sets surged dramatically with buyers rushing to grab cheaper deals offered by retailers at the beginning of the Navratra festival.
Under this programme, first-year students enrolled in professional STEM (science, technology, engineering, maths) undergraduate programmes who are children of kirana store owners (KSOs) will receive a fixed scholarship of Rs 50,000 in the academic year 2025-26.
Daily essentials and food products will be cheaper from Monday, as leading FMCG companies have slashed prices, extending GST cut benefits to consumers.
Everyday consumerables, such as grocery and order-in food items are the key buyout sector, analysts say, and a major reason for kirana stores' digitisation push.
'90 per cent of the food and grocery business is still with the kiranas.' 'If kiranas are not allowed to operate, it becomes a serious issue.'
Start-ups such as Max Wholesale, Jumbotail and ShopKirana are helping them place orders, maintain inventory, optimise delivery routes and make payments, all digitally.
The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) representing 70 million traders has written to Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, drawing his attention to the alleged violations of laws and regulations by quick commerce (qcom) companies.
What was the aim of Operation Sindoor? Why was the operation halted so soon? asks Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (retd).
The US intelligence assessment highlights Pakistan's near-certain procurement of weapons of mass destruction-applicable goods from foreign suppliers, primarily through Chinese support.
'This operation was a culmination of such long (period) of efforts, and gives us satisfaction that whatever we have been doing, we have been doing correctly'
Udaan, India's largest business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce company, has received approval from the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) for its internal corporate restructuring plan, according to sources. By consolidating into a single entity, the restructuring will enhance Udaan's agility and pave the way for various financing options, including the ability to pursue an initial public offering (IPO) in India by 2026, according to people familiar with the matter.
The volume growth of India's FMCG industry has slowed down in the March quarter to 5.1 per cent, driven by increased consumer purchases of small-value packs, according to the latest report from data analytics firm NielsenIQ. Volume growth is slowing across categories, and non-food segments are still outpacing food in the FMCG sector.
Despite the failure of most e-commerce players to meet orders through the first week of the lockdown, there has been no serious crisis, thanks to supplies from 11 million small kirana and mom-and-pop stores across the country with the support of over 300,000 distributors and wholesalers.
Big retailers are openly talking of plans to harness the power of big data, even reporting those in annual reports as part of a long-term strategy.
Despite the onslaught from big retail chains, small kirana shops could get a lifeline from the Indian Institute of Packaging.
A dipstick survey of a bunch of small shops in Mumbai shows that the growth in their sales this season has been much less: under 15 per cent compared to 30 per cent in the previous years. "The malls have taken away our customers. They have a larger a variety of products which they are able to push through a plethora of schemes and very visible display," said Rajesh Shah, the owner of a kirana store in Andheri.
The move is expected to give high retail exposure to its products in innumerable kirana stores in the country, without having to spend much on advertising and marketing expenses apart from generating business volumes. When contacted, Reliance Retail spokesperson said: "As a policy, we do not comment on speculation." In a recent reshuffle at the company, Reliance Fresh head Gunender Kapur was made head of private labels business in the company.
Neighbourhood stores have the ability to adapt to changes.
Reliance Jio and Facebook will look to use WhatsApp for delivering goods from local neighbourhood kirana stores to consumers before expanding collaboration in education and healthcare sector, billionaire Mukesh Ambani said soon after announcing the mega Rs 43,574 -crore deal. "All of us at Reliance and Jio are delighted to welcome Facebook Inc," he said in a short video message posted on the group's social media handles.
'Had Haji Pir and/or Skardu been taken, the message would have gone out not just to General Asim Munir and his cohort in the Pakistan army but to the Pakistani people that every terrorist incident in India would lead to substantial loss of territory in PoK.'
Technology is rapidly reshaping industries that have long been rooted in tradition, driving a wave of innovation that is transforming everything from finance, banking, steel to manufacturing.
After making it available at petrol pumps, the convenient 5-kg cooking gas (LPG) cylinder will now be available at kirana stores and supermarkets in select cities.
