The GST rate on mobile phones will be hiked to 18 per cent while that on maintenance repair overhaul (MRO) services for aircraft will be lowered to 5 per cent with effect from April 1, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Saturday. The GST rate on handmade and machine-made matchsticks has been rationalised to 12 per cent from 5 per cent and 18 per cent respectively.
Don't view the mobile phone or tablet as a shut-up toy while a parent is busy, highlights Dr Aarti Bakshi.
For the second straight year, the gems and jewellery industry is set for almost a washout of business on Akshaya Tritiya as only about 10 per cent of pre-Covid sales of 2019 are expected on Friday amid the raging pandemic sapping footfalls and purchasing power of people.
'As we gird ourselves for rising infections, India's harsh lockdown remains an epic tragedy,' observes Rahul Jacob.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said the passage of the amendment will strengthen India's national security and its global position.
'India is no longer the India of the '70s and the '80s.' 'It's a large country with the fastest growing economy.' 'In working with India, you just can't go and humiliate the nation publicly.' USIBC President Mukesh Aghi tells Aziz Haniffa/Rediff.com about how he advises American companies to do business with India, what he thinks of Modi's government and the way forward for the India-US relationship.
Covaxin is being developed by Bharat Biotech, in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research - National Institute of Virology.
The government on Tuesday raised the deposit threshold limit to Rs 5 lakh per annum in provident fund for which interest would continue to be tax-exempt.
"I'm going to India next week and we're talking trade. They've been hitting us very hard for many, many years," Trump said at a 'Keep America Great' rally in Colorado on Thursday. Trump told thousands of his supporters that he "really likes" Prime Minister Modi and they would be talking business.
'Modi has visited all these three countries (the UAE more than once, inexplicably) but has left out Kuwait and Oman, the two Gulf countries that are closest to India in their political, cultural and civilisational ethos,' notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The former McKinsey India head is presently on board of many big Indian conglomerates.
India needs to get back to economic growth of seven to 10 per cent growth.
'Queen's mural is going to stay here for years and years to come.'
China's deteriorating economy is a serious concern. Xi Jinping and China's new premier will have a difficult task ahead of them after the 20th party congress, notes Jayadeva Ranade, the retired senior RA&W officer and China expert.
Wary of being identified, some said they had been reassured by their friends but were still apprehensive for themselves and their families. Adding to their anxiety was news of protests.
When Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) was conceived last December, the idea was to reduce the dominance of e-commerce giants like Amazon and Flipkart. It was also to bring in a level-playing field for small merchants in India's fragmented but fast-growing $1-trillion retail market. However, those goals have changed now as large e-commerce players such as Flipkart, Amazon and Ecom Express are in various levels of talks with the ONDC team. They want to form partnerships like integrating with the network as well as providing their expertise to build it, according to the industry sources.
Gold demand in India dropped by 30 per cent during the July-September quarter to 86.6 tonnes, compared to the same period last year due to Covid-19 related disruptions and ruling high prices, the World Gold Council (WGC) said in a report.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has pegged the base price for the combined IPL media rights at Rs 32,890 crore, nearly double the Rs 16,347 that Star Disney paid five years ago. Experts say that at these levels, there does not seem to be any profit-and-loss logic at play. It is more about what premium broadcasting companies are ready to spend for market share dominance. They point out that due to competition, they expect the final price to hit Rs 40,000-50,000 crore.
Opposition members trooped into the Well, resorting to high-decibel sloganeering.
'We are not going to be threatened by China neither are we going to threaten China.'
The next general elections would be held in multiple phases next year and be completed in time to constitute the 16th Lok Sabha by June 1, Chief Election Commissioner V S Sampath has said.
'Antibodies remain in the blood for at least seven to nine months.'
'Mumbai turned me into a fighter, always hustling to keep up with the world.' 'Now, I hustle for the poor and the ones who don't have a voice because I feel they are poor for no fault of their own.'
The world's biggest lockdown that shut a majority of the factories and businesses, suspended flights, stopped trains and restricted movement of vehicles and people, may have cost the Indian economy Rs 7-8 lakh crore during the 21-day period, analysts and industry bodies said.
The MFN (Most Favoured Nation, meaning non-discriminatory treatment for each other) issue is of prime importance to India, as it wants to have greater access in the Pakistani markets.
India is perceived to be a powerhouse for investment in coming times.
Iran's decision to keep India out and welcome China to the scene is a huge strategic setback for India, observes Dr Rajaram Panda.
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Climate change and US-India collaborations in renewable energy resources will be up for discussion at the US-India energy summit coinciding with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Washington, DC, later this month, reports Aziz Haniffa.
Tokenisation is the process of replacing debit and credit card numbers with a set of characters or tokens.
The second day of pre-Diwali Dhanteras witnessed a tepid response from shoppers on Friday as gold and silver sales have likely to be fallen by up to 35 per cent year-on-year due to high prices and COVID-19 induced financial distress, although consumers moved to online buying to make most of the festival, jewellers said. The buying was heavily restricted to light weight jewellery, coins and precious stones due to lower purchasing power and high gold rates, they said. Due to the fear of coronavirus infection, many customers who had booked in advance were taking delivery of wedding orders on Friday, while some were seen buying safely through online brands like Tanishq and Melorra.
Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu is slated to meet senior executives of Apple on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos later this month.
"Getting straight to business. PM @narendramodi just concluded a fruitful interaction with top energy sector CEOs at a Roundtable meeting in #Houston. Discussion focussed on working together for energy security and expanding mutual investment opportunities between India & US," MEA Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said in a tweet.
Greg Barclay has been elected as the International Cricket Council's new independent chairman
Participating in an online session, a panel of Hindu-American women, from different walks of life, expressed their strong views in favour of President Trump.
Women's T20 Challenge to be played in Sharjah.
How far investors will be convinced by Modi's promise to replace red tape with a "red carpet" remains to be seen.
Lawyers are working on the documents related to forming a trust and other legal formalities
The real focus should be on India AND China, says Meera Sanyal.
Mathai George George Muthoot joined the family business as an office assistant and in 1979 he became the managing director and group chairman in February 1993.
More than three weeks have passed since the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) new guidelines on e-mandates for recurring payments came into effect but consumers are still taking to social media platforms to complain about the disruptions they are facing. This comes as most stakeholders in the ecosystem have not put in place systems in accordance with the new rules, resulting in many transactions not going through. Industry sources said most banks are still not ready, especially the smaller ones.
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