A rare bonhomie among three private telecom companies in raising tariffs coming on the back of a bailout package by the government may have helped the telecom sector avert a crisis but the challenges haven't ceased to exist as the industry faces a cash-guzzling task of rolling out 5G networks in the coming months. The sector that provides direct and indirect employment to millions is projected to see Rs 1.3 lakh crore to Rs 2.3 lakh crore of investments in the coming years in creating robust infrastructure and building telecom and network products that have been incentivised by the government through PLI and other initiatives. After years of cut-throat competition and the apex court ruling on payment of past statutory dues left some players in the lurch, billionaire Sunil Mittal's Bharti Airtel and struggling Vodafone Idea almost in tandem raised tariffs, taking the plunge they had long been talking about.
"I have appointed a task force to speedily identify the projects so that money can be frontloaded," she said.
Trump had announced in May that the US will donate ventilators to India to help it fight the "invisible enemy".
The Ambanis are the only Indian family on the top 10 richest families list in Asia.
India has received over USD 20 billion in FDI amid the coronavirus pandemic, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said on Tuesday, showcasing the country as one of the most attractive destinations for investment globally.
Later, Sitharaman's office clarified that the FM had already met the industrialists, experts, and economists during the pre-budget consultations.
The trade impact of the coronavirus epidemic for India is estimated to be about 348 million dollars (approximately Rs 25 billion) and the country figures among the top 15 economies most affected as slowdown of manufacturing in China disrupts world trade, according to a UN report. Estimates published by United Nations Conference on Trade and Development on Wednesday said that the slowdown of manufacturing in China due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak is disrupting world trade and could result in a 50 billion dollar decrease in exports across global value chains.
A Republican-backed measure to fund Trump's border wall failed in a 50-47 vote while Democratic measure that omitted the wall fell short in a 52-44 vote.
Zonel Sougaijam, a 22-year-old civil engineer discovered a WhatsApp bug that violated the privacy of a user.
Released by the Trump campaign in form of a 35-page booklet, none of these allegations are new and have been known in the public domain for past several years.
Investment in infrastructure was necessary for the economy, as power shortages, inadequate transport and poor connectivity affect overall growth performance, as per the Economic Survey 2019-20 tabled in Parliament by Union Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. "To achieve GDP of USD 5 trillion by 2024-25, India needs to spend about USD 1.4 trillion (Rs 100 lakh crore) over these years on infrastructure so that a lack of infrastructure does not become a constraint to growth," it said.
In December last year, Amazon invested over Rs 1,700 crore into its payments and wholesale business units in India, while in October it had infused over Rs 4,400 crore (more than USD 600 million) in its various units in India, including marketplace and food retail. Bezos last visited India in 2014 when he presented Amazon's Indian unit with a giant cheque for USD 2 billion. Since then, Amazon has pledged a further USD 3.5 billion to expand in the country and the USD 1 billion investment announced on Wednesday would take the total committed investment to USD 6.5 billion.
Modi said the policies of the government will empower the downtrodden and turn them into a "power house" for the development of the country.
All eyes will be on what the prime minister says as his August 15 addresses have often been marked by big announcements, his government's achievements and bringing to people's attention what he believes to be the major challenges facing the country.
Modi first mentioned about his vision for an 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' (self-reliant India) in his address to the nation on May 12 while announcing a Rs 20 lakh-crore stimulus package to boost the economy hit by the coronavirus pandemic. Since then, various ministries and departments have announced a series of measures.
Billionaire Mukesh Ambani on Tuesday hinted at rolling out 5G telecom services in the second half of 2021 and said policy steps are needed to accelerate the early rollout of ultra-high-speed 5G services that are affordable and available everywhere. Ambani, whose four-year-old telecom venture Jio has captured the No.1 spot offering free voice calling and data at dirt-cheap rates, also pitched for developing hardware manufacturing in India, saying the nation cannot rely on imports in such a critical area. 5G is the 5th generation mobile network that enables connecting virtually everyone and everything together including machines, objects, and devices. India, he said, is today among the best digitally connected nations in the world.
Kohli had argued that the batsman should be declared out if the ball is hitting the stumps, even if marginally.
The net worth of India's richest man, Mukesh Ambani, dropped 28 per cent, or USD 300 million a day for two months to USD 48 billion as on March 31 due to the massive correction in stock markets, a report said on Monday. The chairman and managing director of the diversified Reliance Industries saw his wealth decline by USD 19 billion (app Rs 144,400 crores) in the February-March period, taking his global ranking down eight places to 17th, the Hurun Global Rich List said.
13-year-old Raghav Ganesh has been named one of America's top 10 youth volunteers of 2015 and granted a USD 5,000 award.
'Russia remains in a unique position since it has special strategic relations with both India and China and these relationships are independent in nature'
According to a new report by international management consulting firm Arthur D Little, the worst of COVID-19's impact will be felt by India's most vulnerable in terms of job loss, poverty increase and reduced per-capita income, which in turn will result in a steep decline in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). "Given the continued rise of COVID-19 cases, we believe that a W-shaped recovery is the most likely scenario for India. This implies a GDP contraction of 10.8 per cent in FY 2020-21 and GDP growth of 0.8 per cent in FY 2021-22," the report said.
The United States has offered rewards amounting to USD 20 million (around Rs 127 crore) for tips on whereabouts of four top leaders of the Islamic State, a day after the terror group claimed responsibility for its first attack on American soil.
The meeting is taking place under the shadow of a fierce border row between India and China, both members of the influential bloc.
The defence ministry has already shortlisted two Indian shipyards and five foreign defence majors for the project, being billed as one of biggest "Make in India" ventures.
Reliance Jio and Facebook will look to use WhatsApp for delivering goods from local neighbourhood kirana stores to consumers before expanding collaboration in education and healthcare sector, billionaire Mukesh Ambani said soon after announcing the mega Rs 43,574 -crore deal. "All of us at Reliance and Jio are delighted to welcome Facebook Inc," he said in a short video message posted on the group's social media handles.
The jump in the sale of American weapons to India comes at a time when sale of weapons from the US to other countries has dipped to USD 50.8 billion in 2020 from USD 55.7 billion in 2019.
India will export anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine, high in demand globally, only to foreign governments and not to private companies, as the product is under prohibited or banned category of exports, sources said. Although exports of this medicine is completely banned, India has decided to export this anti-malarial drug in sync with its global commitment to deal with the coronavirus pandemic.
Special Judge Ajay Kumar Kuhar said the CBI demand was "justified" that Chidambaram has to be further interrogated in its custody.
Bengaluru has emerged as the world's fastest-growing mature tech ecosystem in the world since 2016, followed by the European cities of London, Munich, Berlin and Paris, with India's financial centre of Mumbai in sixth place, according to new research released in London on Thursday.
Billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries has announced the contours of carving out of its oil-to-chemicals (O2C) business into an independent unit with a USD 25 billion loan from the parent, as it looks to unlock value by selling stakes to global investors like Saudi Aramco.
The House of Representatives needs to pass similar bill to avoid a government shutdown this weekend. House, in which the Republicans currently has a majority, is expected to pass the bill, but unlikely to include funding for the border wall.
An Indian doctor and his wife have pleaded guilty to charges of federal tax evasion and to illegally distributing weight loss medicines to patients, agreeing to pay nearly USD 5.2 million in restitution.
The fiscal deficit, as per the survey, deteriorated to 5.8 per cent of the GDP as compared to 3.4 per cent for 2018-19 estimated in the interim Budget.
The first tranche of 50 expected to arrive soon as part of efforts to strengthen bilateral cooperation in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic
Nepal has suffered a loss of up to USD 10 billion in the devastating earthquake and the subsequent aftershocks that rattled the Himalayan nation, the government said on Friday, as it appealed to donors for long-term support for bringing the country back on track.
Poonawalla said the price will be around USD 5-6 per dose with an MRP of around Rs 1,000 for the two necessary doses.
Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala wondered why Prime Minister Modi was 'silent' on his 'India First' policy as President Trump talked of 'America First'.
Oil and Natural Gas Corp, which had last year firmed up an investment of Rs 34,012 crore (USD 5.076.37 billion) in bringing to production 10 oil and gas discoveries in its Bay of Bengal block KG-DWN-98/2 (KG-D5), plans to invest another Rs 21,528.10 crore (USD 3.2 billion) in developing the ultra-deepsea UD-1 find.
Jet fuel (ATF) price was on Monday hiked by a steep 56.5 per cent and that of non-subsidised cooking gas LPG by Rs 11.5 per cylinder on the back of firming up of international oil rates, but petrol and diesel prices continued to remain on freeze for a record 78th day. Aviation turbine fuel (ATF) price was hiked by Rs 12,126.75 per kilolitre (kl), or 56.5 per cent, to Rs 33,575.37 per kl in the national capital, according to a price notification by State-owned oil marketing companies.
Soon after arguments on custodial interrogation got over, senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who was appearing for Chidambaram, sought permission from special judge Ajay Kumar Kuhar that his client be allowed to speak.