Mamata Banerjee borrowing money to run West Bengal: BJP
KOLKATA: The Trinamool Congress government is borrowing money to run the state and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced a package for relief operations in Cyclone Amphan-hit areas without getting proper information from districts, West Bengal BJP chief Dilip Ghosh said on Friday. The state government has taken an overdraft of at least Rs 1,500 crore, […]
Coronavirus lockdown extended till June 30 in India; malls to open, no to cinema halls, metro trains
NEW DELHI: India’s Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) issued new guidelines to fight COVID-19 and for phased re-opening of areas outside the Containment Zones, today. The guidelines would come into effect from June 1, 2020 and would be effective till June 30, 2020. The current phase of re-opening, Unlock 1, will have an economic focus. […]
Donald Trump cuts ties with WHO as Covid-19 pandemic grips Latin America
US President Donald Trump said he is severing ties with the World Health Organization (WHO) over its handling of the coronavirus pandemic, as the death toll from the disease spiked again in the United States and Brazil. The virus, which has killed more than 364,000 people and devastated the global economy, is progressing at different […]
USA: 41 million have lost jobs since coronavirus hit, but layoffs slow
WASHINGTON : Roughly 2.1 million people applied for U.S. unemployment benefits last week, a sign that companies are still slashing jobs in the face of a deep recession even as more businesses reopen and rehire some laid-off employees. About 41 million people have now applied for aid since the virus outbreak intensified in March, though […]
Forex reserves soar to record high of USD 490.04 billion
NEW DELHI: The country’s foreign exchange reserves swelled by USD 3.005 billion to a lifetime high of USD 490.044 billion in the week to May 22, mainly on account of a rise in foreign currency assets, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data showed on Friday. In the previous week, the reserves had increased by USD […]
Core sector output contracts by record 38.1 per cent in April
NEW DELHI: The output of eight core infrastructure industries shrank by a record 38.1 per cent in April due to the coronavirus-induced lockdown, according to the official data. The eight core sectors had expanded by 5.2 per cent in April 2019, the data released by the Commerce and Industry Ministry on Friday showed. In March […]
India’s GDP growth stands at an 11-year low at 4.2% in FY20
NEW DELHI:India’s economic growth slowed to 3.1 per cent in January-March and to an 11-year low of 4.2 per cent for the full fiscal 2019-20 amid a drop in consumption and investment. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth stood at 5.7 per cent in the corresponding quarter of 2018-19, according to data released by National […]
Amit Shah meets Prime Minister; briefs on CMs views on lockdown
NEW DELHI: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and informed him about the views of all chief ministers on the extension of the ongoing nationwide lockdown beyond May 31, officials said. During the meeting, Shah briefed Modi about the suggestions and the feedback he received from the chief ministers […]
Mamata Banerjee announces relaxations from June 1
KOLKATA: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced a series of relaxations from June on Friday while claiming that the number of coronavirus cases is increasing in the state due to the massive influx of migrant workers. She announced that religious places can open up from June 1 and allowed full attendance at public and […]
Sonia Gandhi seeks transfer of Rs 7,500 per month to every family for the next 6 months
NEW DELHI: Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Thursday asked the Central government to unlock its coffers and help the needy affected by the coronavirus-induced lockdown. In a video message posted as part of the Congress’s ‘Speak Up India’ campaign, she lamented that even though the country is passing through a serious economic crisis with loss […]
Narendra Modi reviews power sector,says state-specific solutions needed
NEW DELHI: The Prime Minister Narendra Modi reviewed the work of the Ministry of Power and Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, last evening. Policy initiatives including revised Tariff Policy and the Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2020 to redress the problems afflicting the power sector were discussed. Prime Minister emphasized the need to enhance consumer satisfaction […]
Punjab Chief Minister asks Centre to give Rs 10,000 to poor people
NEW DELHI: Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Thursday demanded that the Centre give Rs 10,000 to the poor and provide financial assistance to small and medium enterprises to resume operation. In a video message as part of the Congress party’s ‘Speak Up India’ campaign, the CM said, “We want the government to give Rs10,000 […]
Private buses to run in Odisha from May 28
NEW DELHI: After a gap of over two months private buses will operate in Odisha from Thursday, the All Odisha Private Bus Owners Association said. The association in its general body meeting here on Wednesday decided to run buses “in phases” with the state government agreeing to fulfill some of their “genuine demands”. “The state […]
CREDAI requests RBI to pass on the benefit of the Rate Cuts
NEW DELHI: CREDAI, the apex developer’s body has written a letter to Shaktikanta Das, Governor, Reserve Bank of India requesting to pass on the benefit of reduction in repo rates and reverse repo rates to NBFCs and HFCs. “During the current crisis emanating from the COVID-19, RBI has announced various measures to infuse liquidity in […]
Housing firm HDFC Ltd profit declines 10% to Rs 4,342 crore in Q4
NEW DELHI: Housing finance firm HDFC Ltd on Monday reported a 10 per cent decline in consolidated net profit to Rs 4,341.58 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31. The company’s net profit (before adjustment of minority interest) was Rs 4,811.26 crore in January-March quarter of 2018-19. The board has proposed a dividend of […]
Indian economy to contract 5% in FY21: Fitch Ratings
NEW DELHI: Fitch Ratings on Tuesday forecast the Indian economy to contract 5 per cent in the current fiscal on account of slump in economic activities following a “very severe” lockdown that has lasted much longer than expected. In its Global Economic Outlook (GEO) for May, Fitch projected growth to rebound to 9.5 per cent […]