Shortage of ICU beds, oxygen, ventilators, vaccines, doctors, nurses and crematorium space in India has dominated headlines around the world in the past few weeks with Covid-19 cases surging beyond control and the government failing to deliver. Yes, election rallies, Kumbh Mela, blatant flouting of social distancing and mask protocols coupled with a messy vaccination process are said to be responsible for the health crisis of colossal proportions that India is facing today. But an analysis of Budget speeches made by finance ministers over 75 years also offers a glimpse of how low on the priority list healthcare has featured for the political class and policy-makers, which is a significant reason for the current situation.
'With nearly double the market share of our nearest competitor, we are shaping the digital transformation journey of close to 1,000 clients in India.'
Onno Ruhl said it is imperative to have a favourable global environment in addition to the domestic advantages.
Mandaviya said this is the second phase of the Emergency Response and Health System Preparedness Package as the Central government had given Rs 15,000 crore earlier for setting up Covid-dedicated hospitals and health centres across the country.
The draft rules underline security parameters that digital wallet companies, such as Paytm, FreeCharge and Mobikwik, will have to follow
"The Central Public Works Department has asked Tata Projects Ltd to start the construction work of the new parliament building on January 15 as it is considered auspicious to commence such a project on the day of first dawn after 'Makar Sankranti'," the official sources said.
'For all of us at Amazon, it is 'Bharat first'.' 'We are keeping the Indian customer at the centre of what we are doing.'
Adapting to an inevitable digital intervention is India's only hope at beating a long-standing job crisis. To do so, focus on quality education and better skill development is fundamental, says Dr Yogesh Kumar Bhatt.
Investment in market leaders with a safety-first approach could yield reasonable returns across sectors.
Flipkart has promoted several of its leaders into newer roles at a time when the Walmart-owned e-commerce giant has internally raised its IPO (initial public offering) valuation target to about $60 billion and aims for a US listing in 2023, according to the sources. "I am delighted to announce the promotion of some of our exemplary leaders," said Kalyan Krishnamurthy, chief executive officer, Flipkart Group, in an internal note, and which has been reviewed by Business Standard. "Each of them has been instrumental in delivering impact and creating long-term value for Flipkart.
'Online teaching requires a new set of skills to be acquired by the teacher.' 'These skills are not like foot sizes or height which can't be improved, but are like muscles which can be developed with some practice.'
Amid oxygen shortage and a faltering health system in the country, India is seeing over 300,000 cases daily.
India's largest firm Reliance Industries has initiated work-from-home for its staff while keeping open consumer-facing businesses of hospital, retail stores and telecom with a minimum workforce amid increasing number of Covid-19 cases in the country. Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh Ambani will hold a meeting almost every third day to take stock of the impact of novel coronavirus (covid-19) outbreak on his employees and business, officials said.
Bengaluru-based InMobi and Microsoft combine their powers to break the stranglehold of Google and Facebook in the digital advertising space.
Apart from fulfilling banking services, one can access more than 100 e-commerce sites, book tickets, and even pay for small value groceries through the app. The bank is now proposing to allow other banks to use this to serve their own customers.
Jaitley's Budget has the potential to change the face of Modi's Bharat
Unlike the race to buy airwaves by telecom companies, airports by infrastructure companies and city gas networks by energy companies, the race to develop super apps by consumer-facing companies in India has not brushed up against any regulatory issues. Officials at the ministry of electronics and information technology and at other regulators are happy they do not have to meddle in who among the Tata group, Reliance Industries Ltd, Flipkart or Paytm will manage to build an app that sweeps in customers. Unlike separate apps a customer uses on her mobile to order groceries, buy food or airline tickets or just make payments, a super app can perform all these functions.
The government's second round of stimulus will spur consumer spending in the near term but support to economic growth will be minimal, Moody's Investors Service said.
'Revival is happening slowly.' 'But that is, if the pandemic is controlled.'
Kolkata excels in business performance with employee headcount and number of engineering students doubling in the last five years.
FDI is a major driver of economic growth and a source of non-debt finance for the economic development of the country. The government has put in place an investor-friendly policy on FDI, under which investment up to 100 per cent is permitted on the automatic route in most sectors/ activities. At $ 64.37 billion, FDI in 2018-19 is the highest ever investment received for any financial year.
The challenges before the coming Budget are more daunting than those in 2021, reveals A K Bhattacharya.
This was the one Budget that required radical departures on all these fronts, when it had none, asserts, Shreekant Sambrani.
The Railways launched the Google's free Wi-Fi service at Vijayawada, Kachiguda and Raipur stations.
Zomato's initial public offer (IPO) is scheduled to open for subscription on July 14 and is priced between Rs 72 - 74 per share. At the upper end of the price band of the offering, the company aims to raise Rs 9,350 crore. Most analysts have given a 'subscribe' rating to the issue for listing gains.
What these elections prove beyond any doubt (if ever there was one) that Modi's hold over public mind and Shah's mastery of election management are unparalleled. It doesn't seem likely that they will be matched any time soon in the Indian political scene, reaffirms Shreekant Sambrani.
Gross bad loans of banks may rise from 6.9 per cent in September 2021 to 8.1-9.5 per cent by September 2022 if the Omicron variant strikes the economy hard, as per the financial stability report of the Reserve Bank released on Wednesday. The report also said that the rising stress level in the retail loan portfolio of banks -- the mainstay of bank credit for many years now -- was led by home loans, which grew in double-digits so far this fiscal. While asset quality improved, with gross non-performing assets (GNPA) and net NPA (NNPA) ratios declining to 6.9 and 2.3 per cent, respectively, in September 2021, the slippage ratio inched up during the same period as private sector banks showed a higher rate of deterioration in asset quality, as per the report.
'From the very start, PM Modi was insistent that visiting foreign leaders should be exposed to an India beyond its capital.' 'Through these experiences, he felt that the full Indian narrative would be much better understood across the world,' explains External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. A riveting excerpt from Bluekraft Digital Foundation's Modi@20: Dreams Meet Delivery.
'67 per cent of our transactions happen digitally and about 93 per cent of transactions happen outside the branch.' 'Despite that, there is ample scope for promoting banking-related activities in branches.' 'So, for some time, we will have to, probably, live with the same structure.'
'Considering that an Internet company's market value is largely determined by its direct access to consumers for digital services, and largely served outside a sovereign country's control, it would appear reasonable in trade terms to discuss fees for a seat at the proverbial 'table' of opportunities in the largest open consumer market,' argues Venki Nishtala.
The GoM was told that six states -- Maharashtra, Delhi, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal -- account for 86 per cent of the deaths caused by COVID-19 and 32 districts account for 80 per cent of such fatalities, the Union health ministry said.
Stephen Hawking, in his final book Brief Answers to the Big Questions, considered an asteroid collision to be the biggest threat to the planet. At this point, we are as well prepared as dinosaurs were when a 10-km wide asteroid hit the planet 65 million years ago, notes Kumar Abishek.
The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved 'Mission Karmayogi', dubbed as the biggest bureaucratic reform initiative, aimed at capacity building of government employees to make them more "creative, proactive, professional and technology-enabled". The core guiding principles of the competency-driven programme will be to support a transition from "rules based to roles based" HR management to prepare the Indian civil servant for the future, according to a government statement.
Here's the full text of President's Ram Nath Kovind's address to the joint sitting of both houses of Parliament on the first of Budget Session 2022.
'If Indians are to be truly protected, Parliament must review and address these dangerous provisions before they become law.'
Digital campaigns compared to billboards or even print ads not only have the power to reach wider audiences but also reduce the campaign costs. The focus on social media by political parties at election time, therefore, is hardly misplaced.
Mobile tower radiation reaching us is more than a thousand times weaker than that from the handsets we use and the Indian standards are 10 times more stringent than the global norms recommended by the World Health Organisation, points out T V Ramachandran.
PSU divestment, LIC IPO, fiscal deficit: Budget 2021 marks a clear change in the Modi government's stance from fiscal conservatism to growth orientation.
As Covid-19 cases recede, India Inc is once again tweaking work rules. Big tech companies such as TCS, Wipro and Infosys have either begun or are in the process of calling employees back to office in a staggered manner. A survey by Aon, a global professional services firm, has found that 60 per cent of tech firms now expect every second employee to come to office. More than half of the employees working in engineering and manufacturing firms are also being asked to return to work.
