States scramble as Railways restarts long-distance trains

States seem to be scrambling to put in place a policy to deal with incoming travelers from COVID-19 affected red zone states after the Indian Railways unexpectedly announced that it was restarting some long distance trains from tomorrow. Most states currently limit interstate travel by issuing special passes, so that the number of incoming travelers […]

Hero MotoCorp sells 10,000 two-wheelers post COVID lock-down

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 […]

Reliance Jio hikes data price by removing data-only plan

Data costs on Reliance Jio network have gone up again as the operator has withdrawn its only data-only data and has made it mandatory for all consumers to also activate a voice pack to consume data services.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 […]

TVS Motor says readying to start ops post COVID shutdown

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 […]

END of LOCKDOWN? Volvo Eicher gets nod to restart production

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 […]

99% of IT work being done from home: Hexaware; Revenue slows

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 CM fears influx of infected tourists if lockdown lifted early

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 […]

Cable companies feel the pain of Supreme Court’s AGR judgment

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 making over 1 lakh PPE kits a day: Govt

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 […]

CORONAVIRUS: Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan warns of possible famine

Pinarayi Vijayan, chief minister of Kerala — a region with one of the highest success rates in arresting Coronavirus spread anywhere in the world — today warned the people of the state about a possible famine-like situation if the infection gets out of hand in other parts of India. Kerala, with one of the highest […]

ICMR to start BCG Vaccine study for Coronavirus next week

Indian Council of Medical Research, India’s top body for the formulation, coordination and promotion of biomedical research, said it will start a new trial next week to study the efficacy of anti-TB vaccine BCG in preventing mortality in COVID-19. The statement comes even as the World Health Organization has said that there is no evidence […]

Dabur explores online sales, sees material COVID-19 impact

Dabur, one of India’s largest manufacturers of daily essentials such as toothpastes, nutraceuticals and so on, said it saw a material impact on its its finances from the ongoing COVID-19 impact, and said it was exploring online options to boost sales. “On account of Covid-19 and consequent lockdown since March, the impact on our production […]