Uttar Pradesh completes evacuation of migrant workers

The Uttar Pradesh government has completed the task of bringing back stranded and jobless migrant workers from various places like Mumbai, Delhi and Gujarat, chief minister Yogi Adityanath said today. “The whole country is grateful [for the way in which] decisions were taken by the Prime Minister during the global pandemic, and for the systematic […]

No proposal to privatize BHEL – Govt

Government of India today said that its list of public sector companies scheduled to be sold to private entities did not include Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd. The company, abbreviated BHEL, has with operations in multiple locations such as Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh and Trichy in Tamil Nadu and is India’s largest suppliers of heavy electrical […]

Lucknow-Delhi Tejas earned 7.7 lakh, not 70 lakh in first month: RailMin

Lucknow-Delhi Tejas, India’s first privately run train, earned an operational profit of only Rs 7.73 lakh in its first month of operation, and not Rs 70 lakh as reported by the media, according to Railway Minister Piyush Goyal. The train had been widely reported in the media to have earned a whopping 70 lakh in […]

COLUMN: Why we should welcome a recession

Subramanian Swamy is often accused of propagating outlandish ideas and suggestions, but at least on the issue of addressing a slowdown in India’s GDP growth, he seems to be closer to the truth than India’s ruling establishment. Both Sitharaman and Swamy are united in recognizing the need for a ‘stimulus’ to nudge the economy from […]

United Bank of India to raise up to Rs 3,000 cr ahead of PNB merger

United Bank of India said its board of directors has approved in principle a plan to raise ‘up to Rs 3,000’ cr via a preferential sales of shares ahead of its merger with two other banks. A preferential sale of shares, as distinct from a private placement, is a quicker form of selling shares to […]

SpiceJet’s Ajay Singh blasts Govt’s approach towards aviation

Ajay Singh, Chairman of Spicejet and the man who came up with the slogan ‘Abki Bar Modi Sarkar’, today blasted the government’s approach towards the aviation sector. Speaking at the 12th International Conference-cum-Awards on Civil Aviation & Cargo by FICCI, Singh was unsparing in his criticism of government’s taxation policy towards his industry. “There is […]

Modi’s reforms drag, power plants to face low loads, study

India’s energy sector is facing low capacity utilisation in power generation as plant load factor is estimated to remain low at around 62 per cent until 2018-19, noted a recent ASSOCHAM-Crisil joint study. The study also expressed concern over the slow pace of reform implementation in certain areas. The study noted that India had made […]

Demonetization took India forward by 3 years – SBI

The demonetization of currency notes late last year has doubled the number of card transactions and helped push India’s payment digitisation by three years, State Bank of India said in a note. “Even after seven months post demonetization, the transaction value is quite large and approximately double of what it had been corresponding month last […]

Indian Railways sees 4% jump in passenger reservations in 2016-17

Indian Railways saw an increase of 3.91% in the total number of reserved bookings in the financial year ended March 2017, according to data from the ministry of railways. A total of 52.35 cr (523 mln) passengers were booked in the reserved category during the year, reflecting the continued demand for long-distance rail travel. In comparison, […]

Trademark registration up three fold in India

The number of trademarks awarded by the India’s Controller General of Patents, Designs & Trade Marks has jumped threefold this financial year, according to data obtained from the Patent Office. A total of 2.11 lakh trademarks were registered in India in the first eleven months of the year beginning April 2016, compared to just 65,045 in […]

No immediate plans for universal basic income: Indian Government

The Indian government has no immediate plans or proposals to institute a scheme of ‘unversal basic income’ in place of the myriad social welfare scheme run by the country at present, the finance ministry said in response to a query. The clarification that there is ‘no proposal for a universal basic income scheme’ comes in […]

Venture Capital firms seek validation for Modi’s policies in UP election

Private equity and venture capital firms are largely bullish on India in the context of big economic reforms, but are awaiting the results of the ongoing Uttar Pradesh elections to assess the level of popular support that such policies enjoy, according to a survey by VCCircle. VCCircle, which tracks private investment activity in India, said […]

Public Sector Banks need autonomy, mergers will be of limited use – Assocham

Asserting there are no quick fixes for grave problems facing the public sector banks, mainly centered around close to Rs 5 lakh crore non-performing assets, ASSOCHAM President Mr Sunil Kanoria today said a paper brought out by the chamber clearly suggests mergers or consolidation of the PSBs is certainly no answer to the present crisis, […]