Shortage of semiconductors, price hikes pull January auto sales into red. Dec had seen sales grow for 1st time this FY, which dealers called a one-off.
The DRDO will set up five oxygen plants, out of the total 500 planned, in and around Delhi by this weekend, the defence ministry said.
The Sri Lankan government has appointed an advisory committee comprising eminent economic and fiscal experts to provide guidance on addressing the current debt crisis and engaging with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other lenders as the country struggles to combat the unprecedented shortage of foreign reserves.
The economic impact of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 on emerging economies will depend on a mix of government restrictions, public comfort with social interactions, and capacity of governments and central banks to provide additional policy support to the private sector, Moody's Investors Service said on Wednesday. The emergence of the new variant poses new risks to the global economic growth and inflation outlook, as concerns mount about the variant's health risks and several countries have imposed new travel restrictions in recent days. These restrictions will likely increase over the coming weeks until scientists learn more about the variant, it said.
Will G20 showcase an India that is inclusive, culturally rich, diverse and tolerant, asks Ramesh Menon.
Auto companies are now grappling with a slowdown in sales, triggered by pent up demand due to the COVID-led lockdown easing a bit and supply-side issues for raw material.
The Rs 13,000-crore consultancy industry will face skilled manpower crunch, as it will create a capacity of over 220,000 top management consultants by 2010, found a study by Elixir web solutions on recruitment process outsourcing. The shortage is estimated to be around 10-12 per cent of the demand. The industry is growing at a rate of 20 per cent per annum and within it the Information Technology consulting sector is growing faster at 30 per cent per annum.
Various hotels and restaurants in the city have stopped offering meals at noon due to water shortage.
Facing an acute shortage of COVID-19 vaccines, the Odisha government on Monday decided to float a global tender for procuring the vaccine to inoculate the states entire population, Chief Secretary S C Mohapatra said.
The government has asked jewellers to provide information on purchases of gold bars or jewellery worth more than Rs 500,000 by the end of this month, a move seen keeping a check on big transactions amid rising smuggling.
While commercial vehicles are expected to benefit from strong replacement demand, the two-wheeler and tractor segments are expected to gain from a recovery in the rural economy.
Sri Lanka's Acting President Ranil Wickremesinghe on Monday imposed emergency giving him sweeping powers ahead of the key election on July 20 to pick a new President as he urged the political parties to put aside differences and form an all-party government, with the Opposition dubbing his decision as an 'undemocratic draconian act'.
The violence occurred following reports on Monday that Mahinda Rajapksa may offer to stand down as Prime Minister.
"There is no sufficient supply of vaccine vials by the Centre for inoculation of above-45 age group people. Hence, the state cabinet decided to divert the stock, purchased for the 18-44 age group, for the above-45 age group," Health Minister Rajesh Tope said.
As the kharif season is setting in, India is scrambling to source fertilisers from the international market. It is set to sign long-term contracts - especially with Morocco and Latin American countries - to ensure steady flow of supplies. "We have to source fertilisers wherever it is available because crops have to be secured.
Sri Lanka's main Opposition party Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) on Tuesday handed over to the parliamentary Speaker motions of no-confidence against the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) coalition government and embattled President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, even as the government announced the appointment of a cabinet sub-committee to look into the proposal for a new Constitution.
India may see a structural shift in supplies of crude oil with Russia emerging as a key source of fuels, a development that reduces New Delhi's dependence on West Asian oil, gives Indian refiners better bargaining power with price-setter Saudi Arabia, and improves overall energy security. The unexpected surge in supplies of Russian crude in the last few months, unthinkable until the war in Ukraine, may also deliver other unforeseen gains such as boosting exports of refined fuels to Europe, which historically has counted on Russian shipments. India has jumped on to the bandwagon of opportunistic buying of Russian crude but if calibrated carefully, Urals crude can be a long-term asset for India refiners.
On Wednesday, the Maharashtra government had said that it would not be able to launch the 18-45 age group vaccination drive from May 1 due to the shortage of vaccines.
The nationwide, indefinite strike by truckers, demanding stable fuel prices and fewer levies, entered the second day on Tuesday - threatening to cripple the country's delivery network.
The minister emphasised that India will play its due role in advancing global food security and it will do so in a manner in which it upholds equity, displays compassion, and promotes social justice.
'The steel and petrochemical industries are oxygen guzzlers and diverting oxygen from there can meet hospitals' requirements'
The Union ministry of coal, while acknowledging that domestic coal stock is not enough to meet the power demand, asked state governments and the power generating companies (gencos) to import coal before monsoon season sets in. The ministry has warned the gencos if they do not import coal for 10 per cent blending in their fuel demand by the end of this month, blending benchmark would be increased to 15 per cent. The order pertains to all - central, state and independent power producers (IPPs)/privately owned units.
'The corruption charges in FCI are not the first and won't be the last.'
Stung by the death of a student in north Kashmir, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday directed the power development department to put in all efforts to mitigate the hardships faced by the people in the valley owing to power shortage.
Ban on US-EU import of meat & poultry products could, if we get active, allow us to access a $128-billion market.
The excise duty cut will translate into a reduction of Rs 9.5 a litre on petrol and Rs 7 a litre in diesel after taking into account its impact on other levies.
Power plants, involving investments of Rs 100,000 crore, facing closure.
'Centres like polling booths can be set up for the area till the last adult is vaccinated -- open on all days from 9-9.' 'People should be able to come as per their convenience.'
Hospitals across the national capital had sent out SOS messages last week about depleting supplies of oxygen.
Sri Lanka has also imposed a police curfew in Western Province for six hours.
Investors have scaled back their allocation to equities as pessimism has reached "dire" levels due to cloudy economic outlook, according to the latest Bank of America (BofA) monthly global fund manager survey that covered nearly 300 money managers with combined assets of $800 billion. The survey showed that the expectations for global growth and profits are at all-time lows and cash levels are at highest since the 9/11 attacks. Interest rate hikes by central banks, the unwinding of an easy monetary regime, disruptions in global supply chains, and fears of recession have heightened market volatility since the beginning of the year.
With intermittent disruptions in the supply chain of raw materials from China, the Indian pharma industry has braced itself with bigger inventory. Even smaller drug makers are now carrying a month of buffer stock of key raw materials, said industry insiders. The lockdown in various Chinese provinces, including Shanghai, is likely to delay shipments by two weeks to a month, said domestic players. Shipments are critical for the Indian drug industry, which imports 70 per cent of its raw material from China.
The Consumer Price Index (CPI)-based inflation is now projected to be at 5.3 per cent for 2021-22 with risks evenly balanced. In its August policy, the central bank had estimated inflation to be at 5.7 per cent due to supply side constraints, high crude oil and raw materials cost.
The Madras high court on Thursday urged the State and the central governments to ensure equitable distribution of medical oxygen, COVID-19 vaccines and other life saving materials, by ramping up the production capacity.
Institutional shareholders of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) are expecting big-ticket announcements from the company, including timeline for listing of its telecom and retail subsidiaries. They expect this to unlock value in the company, which has seen a sharp fall in market valuation on Friday. This is due to windfall tax imposed by the Centre on refiners and oil producers.
Coal shortage crisis at thermal power projects does not seem to abate very soon as the number of non-pit head plants with less than four days of dry fuel stock (supercritical stock) has increased to 70 this Sunday compared to 64 a week ago on October 3, as per government data. According to the latest coal stock data of the 135 plants with over 165 GW of installed generation capacity monitored by the Central Electricity Authority (CEA), as many 70 plants are categorised as supercritical stock or having less than four days of fuel on October 10, 2021, compared to 64 a week ago on October 3, 2021. The data also showed that the number of non-pit head plants having less than seven days of fuel (critical stock) has also increased to 26 on Sunday from 25 such projects a week ago on October 3, 2021.
Deighton's unpaid role will be to scale up production domestically, where brands like Barbour and Burberry have already switched factory lines from high-end fashion to PPE.
The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved a Rs 76,000 crore policy boost for semiconductor and display manufacturing ecosystem in the country in an bid to position India as a global hub for hi-tech production. Announcing the decision of the Cabinet, IT and Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw observed that electronics plays an important role in everyday life, and semiconductor chips forms a crucial part of electronics. Outlining the details of the scheme, he said the Rs 76,000 crore programme has been approved for the development of semiconductors and display manufacturing ecosystem.
The emergency was imposed because of the mass scale protests planned for April 3 against the current economic hardships faced by the people.