The Boston Analytics Consumer Sentiment Index for August fell below the benchmark value of 100 since its inception, signalling a low-key festive season ahead.
Consumers worldwide overwhelmingly are ready to share their personal information to get better services from their doctors, bank and retailers, but they are cautious about how they share.
The US has ordered Tata-group owned Air India to pay a whopping $121.5 million as refunds and $1.4 million as penalties for extreme delays in providing refunds to passengers due to the cancellation or change in flights, mostly during the pandemic, officials said. Air India is among the six airlines that have agreed to cough up a total of over $600 million as refunds, the US Department of Transportation said on Monday. Air India's policy of "refund on request" is contrary to the Department of Transportation policy, which mandates air carriers to legally refund tickets in the case of cancellation or change in flight, officials said.
Consumers may now be insulated from any tariff increase for a period of 12 months if the recommendations made in a consultation paper of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) are accepted. At the moment, consumers have a protection against any hike for just six months.
The commission said its agents are more interested in making a quick buck by getting more policies for the company and they show scant regard to the interest of the policy holder.
TRAI on Wednesday asked service providers to ensure international mobile roaming (IMR) service is kept 'inactive' by default for all subscribers, and is activated only on explicit request by consumer, as the regulator revamped the framework to protect users from unintentional usage and consequent 'bill shocks'.
The government is at a "fairly advanced stage" of finalising a well-coordinated e-commerce policy and consumer protection rules, which will incorporate provisions of Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh said on Thursday. "E-commerce rules and e-commerce policy will be congruent with each other... That exercise is at a fairly advanced stage," Singh told reporters. The remarks come on a day the number of daily transactions on the platform has gone up 500 times since the beginning of this year with the number of retail merchants added to its roster growing 40-fold.
The Supreme Court on Monday imposed an interim stay on directives passed by the Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand governments that eateries along the Kanwar Yatra route must display names of owners.
Covering 37 different legislations such as the Partnership Act of 1932, Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, and laws on environmental protection, consumer protection and labour interests, the recommendations have been shared with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
Pirojsha Godrej, 43, patriarch Adi Godrej's son, is set to take over as chairman of the Godrej Industries Group from 2026 whol Nyrika Holkar, Smita Godrej Crishna's 42-year-old daughter, has emerged as the face of the Godrej Enterprises Group.
'When users sign up for free apps and services, they are giving up data. They fail to realise the impact of their data in the public domain, which is something that corporations have been monetising on for some time now.'
Health experts express concern about the unsupervised consumption of dietary supplements, warning poor-quality products can affect cardiovascular health and kidneys.
Ukraine and Russia need to engage with each other to find a solution to the ongoing conflict between them, India said on Friday after Prime Minister Narendra Modi held wide-ranging talks with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv under the shadow of the raging war.
Choosing the right wallet is crucial, alerts Bindisha Sarang.
State Bank of India on Monday moved the Supreme Court seeking an extension of time till June 30 to disclose details of each electoral bond encashed by political parties.
Lok Sabha will take up general discussion on the Union Budget for 2019-2020 on Monday.
The Union government on Tuesday said it has issued 202 notices to e-commerce players for incorrect declaration of 'country of origin' on products on their platforms in the last one year. The maximum number of such violations were found with respect to electronic appliances, followed by clothing and home products. Out of 217 notices, 202 notices were issued for violations relating to 'country of origin' norm.
One fallout of Rahul Gandhi's disqualification will be reflected in the Opposition's role in Parliament and related institutions.
The deposit has been made on account of the rate reductions approved by the GST Council in its November. The rate was reduced on items including shampoo, detergents, chocolates, beauty products, sanitary ware, leather clothing, cookers, stoves, after-shave, deodorant, detergent and washing power. Companies found it difficult to pass on the benefits to consumers immediately at the time of GST rate reduction owing to logistical issues.
The government on Friday came out with new guidelines to prevent misleading advertisements, including those targeting children and making free claims to woo consumers.
With hotels and restaurants being barred from levying service charge, waiters, chefs and other workers are worried they will lose out on money and are planning to approach managements to seek a pay raise. They are also apprehensive that tips given by customers out of goodwill will dwindle. Uttarakhand-native Prakash Singh Koranga, 27, a chef who works at an outlet of popular franchise Moti Mahal Deluxe restaurant in south Delhi, said service charge which gets proportionally divided among the staff acts as an "extra income" and "incentive to give our best at the job".
'As our per capita income increases and various demographic segments emerge, the need for various kinds of protection and risk covers will become even more explicit.'
The report analysed product launches of 2011, their success over three years, and reported 31 of the 14,509 products introduced that year were received well by consumers.
The 5G networks have rolled out in 738 districts across the country, and around 100 million subscribers are using these services, marking one of the fastest fifth-generation rollouts in the world, Parliament was informed on Wednesday. Telecom service providers have also committed a total investment of Rs 2 lakh crore, including a commitment of Rs 1.5 lakh crore for spectrum acquired through auction in July-August 2022, Minister of State for Communications Devusinh Chauhan said in a written reply in Lok Sabha. "As on November 24, 2023, 5G networks have been rolled out in 738 districts across the country and a total of 3,94,298 base stations have been installed with around 100 million subscribers using 5G services," he informed.
'it's not just youth in India who are left behind because of their inability to find jobs; nearly two-thirds of Indian women of working ages do not participate at all in the paid labour force.'
Whether Rajeev Chandrasekhar wins or not, Thiruvananthapuram will likely never see such an interesting contest again.
The government is planning to collaborate with industry stakeholders, including influencer marketing companies, to prepare and promote guidelines to help them understand the rules better and improve compliance. During a discussion with influencers, content creators, and their agencies on the recently released guidelines for celebrities, influencers, and virtual influencers on social media platforms, Rohit Kumar Singh, consumer affairs secretary, suggested forming a self-regulatory organisation for influencer marketing companies and the development of a creator or influencer recognition programme in collaboration with the industry.
ICICI Bank would review the interest rates on consumer loans after it hiked the home loan rates by 0.5 per cent on Thursday to protect margins.
The Bombay high court on Monday asked three Jain religious charitable trusts and a city resident practising Jainism why they were seeking to encroach on the rights of others by appealing for restrictions or ban on advertisements for meat and meat products in print and electronic media.
The Supreme Court recently quashed a rule that mandated telecom operators to compensate consumers.
Nestle India had re-launched Maggi earlier this month with a mandate of being safe for consumption amid much fanfare
With rising incomes, education, and health awareness in India, especially in the big cities, droves of people are saying no to sugar.
iPhone maker Apple has warned its users about ongoing Pegasus-like sophisticated spyware attacks that target a very small number of individuals often journalists, activists, politicians and diplomats.
'Business families like the Godrej group are increasingly realising that an amicable settlement is better.' 'Else, the wealth of all shareholders gets destroyed.'
From toys, footwear and furniture to insulated flasks, smart meters, and air coolers - the Central government over the last decade has mandated higher standards for production and imports of such items. Sample this: Till 2014, there were 14 Quality Control Orders (QCOs) covering 106 products. By the latest count, there are 156 QCOs on 672 products.
After dropping a Rs 5,000 crore plan to fill parts of strategic oil storages, the government will lease out space in the underground rock caverns to domestic and international firms to store oil, a top executive said on Tuesday. India Strategic Petroleum Reserve Ltd has built underground storages at Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh and Mangalore and Padur in Karnataka to store 5.33 million tonnes of oil that can be used in any emergency situation like supply disruption or war. UAE's Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) has already hired half of the 2.5 million tonnes storage capacity at Padur and 1.5 million tonnes facility at Mangalore.
The matter is being investigated, they said and added that so far, there is no evidence that the "Khalistani" slur was used.
Taking a strong view of Google pulling out some apps from its Play Store, the government on Saturday said delisting of Indian apps cannot be permitted and that the tech company and the startups concerned have been called for a meeting next week. In an interview to PTI, IT and Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the startup ecosystem is key to the Indian economy and their fate cannot be left to any big tech to decide. The minister's comments assume significance as Google on Friday began removing some apps, including popular matrimony apps, from its Play Store in India over a dispute on service fee payments, even as apps and well-known startup founders cried foul.
'Modi knows the people here are opposed to this project, but he is using the might of government to push this port down our throats.'
"Virtual currencies, also variously referred to as crypto currencies and crypto assets, raise concerns of consumer protection, market integrity and money laundering, among others," RBI said.
