Soaring fuel prices give birth to a jugaad system in Bihar's border towns abutting Nepal with residents smuggling in India-supplied cheaper petrol and diesel from the mountain kingdom.
From paints to apparel and lifestyle majors, brewers, distillers and fragrance makers have stepped into the market, even as the frontline companies including FMCG players, pharma and healthcare majors were the first to seize the opportunity created by Covid-19.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday reviewed the impact of Covid-19 on the Indian economy and a possible second stimulus to boost sectors hit hard by the pandemic. Modi held discussions with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman as the pandemic hit sectors from small industries to the aviation sector hard with millions of jobs at stake.
In its draft guidelines, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Irda) has asked the country's life insurance companies to refile their existing products and withdraw the same by September 30.
The finance ministry is working on a second relief package for the Indian economy hit hard by the coronavirus outbreak and the 21-day nationwide lockdown imposed to curb the contagion, sources said. Last month, the government announced a Rs 1.70 lakh crore relief package in the form of foodgrains and cash transfers for the poor and vulnerable section of the society to help them deal with the hardships caused by the lockdown. Now, the government is working on a stimulus to be given to hard-hit sectors of the economy after the lockdown is lifted, sources said, adding that an announcement is expected in the next few days depending on the severity of the pandemic.
'There were moments when you didn't know if you will get out of there alive.'
Launching the Ayushman Bharat scheme via a video-conference to extend health insurance benefits to all residents of Jammu and Kashmir, he said the three-tier panchayat system has fully taken shape in the UT, describing it as a realisation of Mahatma Gandhi's dream of 'gram swaraj' (village self-rule).
Chuni Goswami needs insulin daily and due to the 21-day nationwide lockdown his medical supervisor is not able to attend him but his wife Basanti is 'managing' it somehow. Former India hockey captain Gurbux Singh remembers the World War II and also the partition but said he never witnessed anything like the current crisis.
'The available workforce is getting depleted.' 'We need to appoint doctors and frontline health workers immediately.'
Scores of people in violence-hit areas of northeast Delhi have been spending their nights in the dark as power lines damaged during the riots remain unrepaired and dangle precariously outside their houses.
When household bills for Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) jump over 60 per cent for those using 12 refills a year, the increase in the price of cooking fuel will beat that of petrol.
As dawn breaks, two queues start forming at the only petrol pump inLakshmangarh, a small town in Rajasthan's Alwar district.
Too much subsidised cooking gas is being consumed by country's VVIPs, according to the transparency portal launched on Friday by state-owned oil firms.
Over 100 personnel of the National Disaster Response Force and the State Disaster Response Force, along with police teams, are waiting for the water level to subside to begin rescue operations, the official said.
As India logged a world record of over four lakh coronavirus infections on Saturday, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said the entire world is shaken by what is happening here and accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of "dropping the ball and throwing it to states" after prematurely taking credit for having "won against COVID-19" when the second wave was already underway. "Rely on yourself is the motto. No one will come to help you. Definitely, not the prime minister," Gandhi said, while alleging that the COVID-19 situation has gone completely out of control for the Modi government, and wondered whether it was their way of making the states and the citizens truly 'Aatmanirbhar'.
Plans with loan clause denied approval; regulatory ban coming.
Rebuffing petroleum ministry, Siddaramaiah launches Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana-like scheme months before state polls
The rise in premiums could be in the range of 5-25 per cent, depending on the features that each insurance company adds on its products. Insurance firms have been given time till September 30 to include modifications mandated by the regulator.
More than half of the total subsidy provisioning, amounting to 54 per cent, is going towards food subsidy, which is estimated at Rs 184,220 crore for 2019-20 - a 7.5 per cent increase over the revised estimates for 2018-19.
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.
Rediff.com's Prasanna D Zore and photographer Sanjay Sawant reach Ramlila Ground in Delhi to take stock of the preparedness ahead of Anna Hazare's indefinite fast against corruption at this historic venue.
Serena Williams did not need the help of a fan-filled Arthur Ashe Stadium to provide a lift during her 7-5, 6-4 win over the 96th ranked Kristie Ahn.
'And that means all of us have to be very careful.'
'Our government has created 10 million jobs when the Indian unemployment rate is at a 45-year high.'
India's fuel consumption slumped by over 66 per cent in the first week of April as a nationwide lockdown halted economic activity and travel, which eviscerated demand. Petrol and diesel demand is down 66 per cent in April, while aviation turbine fuel (ATF) consumption has collapsed by 90 per cent as most airlines have stopped flying, industry officials said.
The NINL management can see this as their moment of giving back to the nation and humanity. Its plant has an oxygen unit that can produce 418 tonnes of oxygen every day. 418 tonnes is about 58% of Delhi's daily demand for oxygen, notes Sudhir Bisht.
In a capital protection scheme, fund houses usually invest a hefty chunk (say 80 per cent) of investor money in debt papers, while parking the remaining 20 per cent with equities.
The boy was born through a C-section on June 16 at Sonam Nurboo Memorial Hospital in Leh and 30-year-old Dorjey Palmo found out that her baby was unable to suckle when she tried to feed him. The baby underwent a complex life-saving surgery recently at a private hospital New Delhi.
Credit card offers - discounts, reward points and cashback - could range across shopping, phone bill payments, dining and entertainment.
There are about 15.3 crore LPG consumers in the country.
The new business premium of life insurance companies usually sees the highest growth in the March quarter.
'As the sun rises, so does my acquaintance with the neighbourhood's avifauna,' says Kishore Singh.
Of the 170 million rural households in the country, a government website claims to have connected 82 per cent of them. The metered households are 50 per cent of the total. As on February, 2018, of the 780,000 villages to be intensively electrified or provide connection to all in households, 493,000 have been covered. However, the amount and quality of the power supply cannot be ascertained from this data. No clause in any of the rural electrification programmes promises 24 hours' power supply.
IOC and other oil firms have been paying LPG consumers in 54 districts up to Rs 500 to help them buy a 14.2-kg cooking gas refill at market price, which is more than double of Rs 410 per bottle rate in Delhi.
The new requirements include a shift to cassette swap system, mandate armed guards while transferring money as well as a host of other measures that would require huge investments.
Price of non-subsidised cooking gas (LPG) was today cut by Rs 43.50 per cylinder as international oil rates slumped to their lowest since May 2009.
This rainy season, don't just prepare for storms but also make your finances rain-proof, says Amar Pandit.
'Rashtrapati Bhavan may have hygiene standards that are a benchmark for the rest of the hoi polloi, but you had to feel sorry for the august assembly of guests who braved the temperature for a seat at the new Cabinet's swearing in,' says Kishore Singh.
'The trajectory of the disease will keep increasing because of the population density being very high.'
LPG demand this fiscal is expected to be around 11 million tonne, against around 10.2 million tonne last year. It is the subsidised price of LPG, which is available at around Rs 21 per kg for domestic use. LPG for industries, which is outside price control, is sold at around Rs 58 per kg, up from around Rs 36 per kg last year.
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