Kerala will impose a 14-day quarantine on all air travelers except those who are coming for “one or two days” for “business requirements”, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said. The statement brings some clarity on the question of what happens to quarantine rules when domestic air travel is restarted on Monday. “The same rules that apply […]
A new study report by Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) finds that almost 70 per cent of India’s coal-fired power plants will not meet revised emission standards that come into effect in two years. The norms were set in December 2015 by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC). “Even after seven […]
With the Coronavirus lockdown putting people’s livelihoods in danger, India’s largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki said initial trends indicated more customer inquiries smaller cars. The company’s showrooms had shut on March 23 and re-opened only earlier this month. “Initial inquiry trends that we have seen so far, since the showrooms have opened, suggest that trend,” said […]
When Reliance Jio increased its data tariff by 25% in December last year, it had hoped for a boost to its revenue and profit numbers. Instead, the move seems to have helped its rivals more, with Bharti Airtel overtaking Jio in terms of data consumption growth for the first time. For the first time since […]
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan today criticized the economic support package announced by the central government to deal with the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country. Vijayan’s biggest grouse was that out of the Rs 20 lakh cr (Rs 2 trillion) included in the package, only about 5% was allocated for programs that […]
Reliance Jio, which earlier this month removed its sole data-only plan, has reintroduced such pure data offerings. The telco had, at the beginning of this month, removed its ‘Cricket Data Pack’, its only pure data offering that yielded 2GB of data per day at a cost of around Rs 5 per day. With the removal […]
The central government has started giving out the details of its 20 lakh crore ($250 bln) stimulus-cum-rehabilitation package announced in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced the program yesterday, and said that Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will announce the details in coming days. Sitharaman said she would announce plans […]
Hero MotoCorp said it has sold 10,000 motorcycles and two-wheelers since its dealerships and showrooms opened after a 41-day lockdown earlier this month. As of today, said the world’s largest manufacturer of motorcycles and scooters, it has opened more than 1,500 outlets and service centers which account for around 30% of the company’s total retail […]
Data costs on Reliance Jio network have gone up again as the operator has withdrawn its only data-only data and has made it mandatory for all consumers to also activate a voice pack to consume data services. The only data-only plan it had on offer — Jio Cricket Pack — used to give 2 GB […]
The National Disaster Relief Force or NDRF is holding a briefing on the leak of styrene gas from a plastic factor in Vizag in Andhra Pradesh. The video of the live briefing is below. You can also see the major bullet points summarizing the statements given by the NDRF and the NDMA in the briefing […]
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan today termed as risky and unfortunate the centre’s decision to not screen for Coronavirus infection before allowing passengers to board rescue flights that have started from today. Vijayan said the decision to potentially mix asymptomatic COVID-19 patients with healthy passengers in these flights from abroads would have serious consequences for […]
Indian Civil Aviation minister Hardeep Singh Puri today revealed more details, including the number of flights, their routes as well as ticket prices, related to the air evacuation of Indians stranded abroad in the aftermath of the worldwide Coronavirus lock-down. National carrier Air India will conduct 64 flights between May 7 and May 13 to […]
The Managing Director of Xiaomi, India’s No.1 smartphone maker, today clarified that his company does record a list of the websites visited by anyone using their apps, but but was doing so to make the user experience better. “The usage data that is logged is used to make your experience better,” Manu Kumar Jain said […]
TVS Motor Co, one of India’s top three two-wheeler makers, said it is getting ready to restart manufacturing operations after registering zero sales for the month of April due to the pan-India Coronavirus lockdown. “TVS Motor Company is gearing up to restart operations as per state guidelines and is undertaking strong measures to safeguard the […]
VE Commercial Vehicles, a joint venture between Sweden’s Volvo Group and India’s Eicher Motors, said it has received permission from the government to restart manufacturing operations at its commercial vehicle manufacturing plant in Madhya Pradesh. Considering the wider lock-down in place, it said, it is not planning on any immediate ramp-up in manufacturing operations. “The […]
At a time when companies are hoarding cash, Indian online classifieds pioneer JustDial Ltd has announced plans to return up to Rs 220 cr to its shareholders via a stock buy back. A stock buyback is one of the two key ways to give excess cash generated by a company back to shareholders, with the […]
Hexaware, the Mumbai-based mid-size IT services company, reported a rare instance of a slip in its quarterly growth rate amid the Coronavirus lockdown, and said 99% of its IT-related work is now being done by employees from their homes. The quantum of work being done from home is remarkably high for Hexaware, as, in most […]
Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant today said that if the nationwide lock-down is lifted next week, his state would face an unwelcome situation of having to deal wtih Coronavirus-positive travelers from other parts of the country. His comments come in the wake of the Goan government urging Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday to extend the […]
After oil producers, metro rail operators, pipeline operators, power distributors and railways, it is the turn of cable operators to feel the impact of the AGR judgment of a Supreme Court bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra last year. In October last year, the bench had ruled that any company that took a license from […]
India is now making a substantial number of essential medical supplies such as personal protection equipment (PPE), N95 masks and ventilators, the central government said today. Medical professionals in India were hit by a dangerous shortage of PPE kits and N95 masks till about two weeks ago, leading to at least some nurses taking to […]
