Business

03 May

Maharashtra Has Allowed Standalone Liquor Shops In High-Risk Red Zones Outside Containment Areas.

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Days after the centre released guidelines for the coronavirus lockdown's third phase, Maharashtra, the worst-hit state in the country, has allowed standalone liquor shops in high-risk Red zones outside containment areas."Even in the Red zone districts, there are some areas where coronavirus infection has been not prevalent since over a month now. These areas are known as non-containment zones," Bhushan Gagrani, Maharashtra Principal Secretary, told reporters."Such non-containment areas will have some relaxations, wherein the shops selling non-essential commodities, like clothes, footwear, liquor, stationery, among others will be opened," he added.

02 May

RBI Chief Talks With The Heads Of Banks Comes A Day After The Government Extended A 40-Day Nationwide Lockdown.

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Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das held meetings with heads of major public and private sector lenders through video conferencing on Saturday and discussed the current economic situation in the country. The RBI chief's talks with the heads of banks comes a day after the government extended a 40-day nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.Mr Das praised the efforts of banks "in ensuring normal to near normal operations" during the coronavirus-induced lockdown.The RBI chief also discussed the credit flows to different sectors of the economy, including non-banking financial companies (NBFCs), microfinance institutions, housing…

02 May

The Delhi Government Has Started The Process Of Allowing Standalone Liquor Shops To Reopen.

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The Delhi government has started the process of allowing standalone liquor shops to reopen in the national capital, a coronavirus "red zone", from May 3 after the centre extended the lockdown by two more weeks.The Home Ministry has said that except in containment areas, standalone liquor shops can open in all zones, including "green", where there are no coronavirus cases, and medium-risk "orange" areas.The Delhi government has asked all liquor shops run by its departments such as DTTDC, the tourism wing of the national capital, to give details about standalone shops that are eligible to reopen.

01 May

Six States Have Passed Laws Extending Working Hours From The Currently Mandated 8 Hours Per Day To 12 Hours Per Day.

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As the second stage of the coronavirus lockdown is scheduled to end, millions of workers face the prospect of returning to longer working hours. At last count, at least six states have passed laws extending working hours from the currently mandated 8 hours per day to 12 hours per day.The aim, say the governments, is to ensure that companies can operate with fewer workers and reduce the number of shifts, while meeting targets.The Rajasthan government, which passed the notification on April 11 extending working hours for three months, says this would allow firms to run operations for six days with…

30 Apr

India’s Reliance Industries Has Cut The Pay Of Employees By Up To 50 Per Cent.

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Reliance Industries has cut the pay of employees by up to 50 per cent, according to a company letter, as it battles lower profitability in wake of the coronavirus epidemic. The pay cuts were cited in a company note to employees dated April 29.Reliance Industries, headed by India's richest man, Mukesh Ambani, has decided that employees earning more than Rs 15 lakh ($20,000) a year will face a 10 per cent salary cut, while senior executives will take salary cuts ranging from 30 per cent to 50 per cent. Employees earning less than Rs 15 lakh per annum will not…

26 Apr

A Prolonged Lockdown May Possibly Push Million Of Indians Into The “Margins Of Subsistence”, Says Former RBI Governor.

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Former RBI Governor Duvvuri Subbarao said on Sunday that, a prolonged lockdown may possibly push million of Indians into the "margins of subsistence", while expecting a ''V'' curved recovery once the COVID-19 crisis ends and the turnaround in India to be faster than some economies. He was participating in a webinar on "History repeats - but differently- Lessons for the post Corona World," organised by the Manthan Foundation here, in which former Deputy Governor of RBI Usha Thorat took part."Because most analysts believe that this year India will actually have negative growth or growth will contract. We must remember that…

25 Apr

WhatsApp Increases Group Video Calling Limit From 4 To 8.

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WhatsApp Messenger is confirmed to be doubling the number of participants allowed in the group calls. With this, WhatsApp group calls will now support up to 8 people, up from four right now. The change was first spotted in the recent beta version of WhatsApp Messenger on both Android and iPhone, and now Facebook, the parent company of WhatsApp, has officially announced the change and revealed the timeline of when the increased group call participants limit can be expected.In a post on Facebook, the social giant's CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the upcoming change to WhatsApp group calls.“More than 700 million…

25 Apr

Centre Gives Permit To Shops To Reopen But With Certain Conditions, Malls To Remain Closed.

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A month into the nationwide lockdown to check the spread of the novel coronavirus or COVID-19, all shops in residential areas - except those in the malls - have been allowed to reopen from today with conditions by the government. The relaxations are not applicable to hotspots and containment zones. The Union Home Ministry's late night order - that says masks, gloves and adherence to social distancing norms will be mandatory - comes as a huge relief to the shopkeepers and buyers. However, with public transport still closed, employees of shops that can reopen could still find it tough to…

25 Apr

P Chidambaram’s Opinion On Franklin Templeton Shutting Funds.

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Former finance minister P Chidambaram has asked the centre to "act promptly" to stop any cascading effect of the unprecedented closure of six debt funds by global giant Franklin Templeton.Franklin Templeton Mutual Fund, one of India's most prominent mutual fund houses in fixed income, said on Thursday it would wind up six credit funds in India with large exposures to higher-yielding, lower-rated credit securities due to a lack of liquidity amid the coronavirus pandemic.

25 Apr

Sonia Gandhi Writes Letter To The Prime Minister.

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Congress chief Sonia Gandhi has written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi with five recommendations to help the micro, small and medium scale enterprises (MSME) sector amid the coronavirus pandemic. Mrs Gandhi said MSMEs contribute close to one-third to India's gross domestic product (GDP) and account for almost 50 per cent of the country's exports. The sector also employs over 11 crore people. But the lockdown necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic has put most economic activities to a halt and over 6.3 crore MSMEs "stand on the verge of economic ruin", Mrs Gandhi said in the letter.