Two-wheeler sales, however, declined 21.4 per cent to 14,13,378 units last month, as compared to 17,98,201 units in November 2019. Commercial vehicle sales also slipped 31.22 per cent to 50,113 units, as against 72,863 units a year ago. Similarly, three-wheeler sales fell 64.98 per cent to 24,185 units last month, from 69,056 units in the year-ago period. Tractor sales, however, grew by 8.47 per cent to 49,313 units last month, against 45,462 units in the same month last year.
The government should set up agricultural co-operatives in every cluster of villages and in respective districts on a war-footing within a time limit. We should involve the services of our military personnel who retire at a young age with several years of working life still left in them and would be happy to contribute to nation-building, recommends Atul Gupta.
The growth in the contact-intensive portion of the economy trailed our expectation, highlighting how imperative it is for confidence to improve, either through accelerated vaccinations or otherwise, to drive a sustainable recovery in these sectors, asserts Aditi Nayar.
The farmer, Srikant Vishnu Gadale, a resident of Vadmauli in Kej taluka, also wrote that if the administration does not take note of his letter, he would protest through "democratic means".
The redevelopment project of the Central Vista -- the power corridor of the country -- envisages a new triangular Parliament building, a Common Central Secretariat and the revamping of the three-km-long Rajpath from the Rashtrapati Bhavan to India Gate and new residences for the prime minister and the vice president.
On International Women's Day, hundreds of women took to streets while raising slogans of "kisan ekta" (farmer unity) and some broke into nonchalant rhythmic steps of 'bhangra'.
Mayhem and panic gripped a country music festival in Las Vegas when a gunman opened fire on revellers.
From Covid to climate change, Shankar Acharya's look at some of the trends and events that might shape 2022.
India Ratings and Research on Friday revised down India's FY22 real GDP growth forecast to 10.1 per cent, from earlier projection of 10.4 per cent, citing the second wave of COVID-19 infections and slower pace of vaccination. At a time when large parts of the country are experiencing tremendous pressure on medical infrastructure, the agency said it expects the second wave to start subsiding by mid-May. Earlier this month, the Reserve Bank maintained its 10.5 per cent GDP growth estimate, but Governor Shaktikanta Das has flagged the rising cases as the biggest impediment to recovery.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said he regrets not being able to learn the world's oldest language Tamil during his long political innings as a chief minister and prime minister.
After recording positive growth in September, India's exports declined 5.4 per cent to $24.82 billion in October on account of dip in shipments of petroleum products, gems and jewellery, leather, and engineering goods. Trade deficit in October narrowed to $8.78 billion as against $11.76 billion, as imports also fell 11.56 per cent to $33.6 billion during the month under review.
On September 10, 'Uttradam', a day ahead of the harvest festival Onam when the outlets are shut, liqour worth Rs 90.32 crore was sold.
Increase in kharif sowing area, good monsoon, rural cash flows and base effect among factors that have driven volumes.
The economy is expected to throw up better numbers in the September quarter with GDP contraction of 9.9 per cent, as against 24 per cent in Q1 at the onset of the pandemic, says a report. The government will release the Q2 GDP numbers later this month. In the first contraction since 1980, the economy shrank a full 23.9 per cent in the first quarter of the fiscal after the whole nation was put under a strict lockdown.
What we have in the Congress is a useful glue to hold a non-cultural, unified Opposition together. That is the sacrifice the Congress must be willing to live with if showing the BJP the door is what the collective Opposition wants, observes Shyam G Menon.
Over four days all of Tamil Nadu is caught up in celebrating Pongal, the state's harvest festival. From a bonfire to worshipping cattle, it is a throwback to a time when society was agrarian, says A Ganesh Nadar/Rediff.com.
Here are eight images that prove we live in a odd, odd world.
Without strong storage facilities, bumper harvest has resulted in price crash
The harvest festival of Kerala is incomplete without these recipes.
In Central India, the standing soybean and pulses crops have also been hit but the loss isn't massive as the showers were followed by relatively bright sunshine that helped absorb soil moisture
Despite onion prices hitting Rs 130 a kg in the wholesale market, farmers have not gained enough to make a profit this season. Farmers and other stakeholders in the value chain estimate that 30 per cent crop damage this kharif season would result in a decline of about 2 million tonnes in output from Lasalgaon district alone. Similar crop damage across the country could lead to an onion shortage of nearly 7 million tonnes this year.
The government has made its flagship crop insurance schemes voluntary for farmers with existing crop loans or those willing to take new ones, as it seeks to address the concerns raised by farmers' body and states in implementation of these programmes. "The Union Cabinet has approved the revamping of 'Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY)' and 'Restructured Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme (RWBCIS)' to address the existing challenges in implementation of crop insurance schemes," an official statement said.
The CJI also said the ancient Indian text "Nyayshastra" is "not a bit" inferior to Aristotle and the Persian system of logic, and "there is no reason why we should forsake, overlook, and not benefit from the geniuses of our ancestors".
Cries of 'Jai Hind' rent the air as a large number of people bid a final adieu to Colonel Viplav Tripathi, his wife and five-year-old son, who were killed in a terrorist attack in Manipur two days ago, in their hometown Raigarh in Chhattisgarh on Monday.
Draped in a saree matching the colour of her background, the actor was seen lending a hand to women working in a wheat field, carrying bundles of freshly harvested crop.
A likely easing in inflationary pressures in the forthcoming months will reopen the window for the RBI to once again prioritise growth and ease its interest rates.
During his meeting with Bolsonaro, Prime Minister Modi invited the President of Brazil to be the chief guest at the Republic Day 2020. Bolsonaro accepted the invitation with pleasure.
This crisis requires political sophistication and governance skills. This BJP has neither, observes Shekhar Gupta.
The crop is currently trading at Rs 22 a kg compared to Rs 12.50 one month ago.
To prevent rise in air pollution levels, oil marketing companies and thermal power units were planning to procure stubble from farmers to make bioethanol and promote the central government's 'Agricultural Mechanization' for crop residue management. But both have seen minimal success.
Investors say they see large companies going through the grind, as their promoters struggle with liquidity because they are levered up at the holding company level and are starting to get margin calls thanks to the crashes in the stock market, and in the next six months, the targets that will come up for PE companies will make for a harvest season like never before.
Noida SEZ has 400 units and around 100,000 workers, and was shut down on March 23.
'Almost 70 per cent production time of a vaccine is dedicated to quality control, which is done through several hundred tests.'
'Happy Onam to all Malayali friends .. specially to my friend @sreesanth36'
Aseem Chhabra brings you the Best of the Berlinale.
Lauding the farm sector for demonstrating resilience during the pandemic, the Economic Survey on Friday suggested the government to see farm sector as a "modern business enterprise" for which "urgent reforms" are required to enable sustainable and consistent growth. India's agricultural sector has shown its resilience amid the adversities of COVID-19 induced lockdowns, the Survey noted. The agriculture and allied activities were the sole bright spot amid the slide in GDP performance of other sectors, clocking a growth rate of 3.4 per cent at constant prices during 2020-21, it added. According to the Survey, the farm sector has got "renewed thrust" due to various measures on credit, market reforms and food processing under the Aatmanirbhar Bharat announcements.
Aerial photography has an uncanny ability to literally offer a fresh perspective on subjects that have been photographed to death, and this ability is on full display in the winners gallery of the first annual Aerial Photography Awards. The grand prize winner was Belgium's Sebastien Nagy, who was declared Aerial Photographer of the Year 2020. Scroll down to view some of the best images from the contest.
'I hope the trend is sustainable and that economic activity accelerates going forward.'
'Government intervention in agricultural trade is a problem for farmers.'
The Centre has announced an extension for two more weeks in the nationwide lockdown. However, several relaxations will be allowed as per zones.