India - The Purbottar

27 Jul

Axis Bank buys 5.55 pc stake in fintech firm IBBIC

editor0 CommentsBusiness, IndiaBusiness

Axis Bank said it has bought 5.55 per cent stake in financial technology firm IBBIC. The bank has subscribed to 50,000 equity shares of face value of Rs 10 each fully paid up of IBBIC Private Ltd (IBBIC) for a consideration of Rs 10 per equity share constituting 5.55 per cent of the issued and paid-up capital of IBBIC, Axis Bank said in a regulatory filing. Incorporated in May this year, IBBIC platform offers distributed ledger technology (DLT) solutions to the Indian financial services sector. “Equity ownership of IBBIC is aimed at providing DLT solutions for the financial services sector,”…

27 Jul

At 29K, India records lowest new Covid cases in 132 days

editor0 CommentsCovid-19, Health, IndiaCovid-19

India on Tuesday recorded 29,689 new Covid-19 cases, less than the 30,000-mark in 132 days, and 415 deaths, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare data showed. After 124 days, the country now has 3,08,100 active cases which is less than the four lakh-mark. On March 14, India recorded 26,291 and on March 16, 28,903 new cases. The total number of deaths has reached 4,21,382 as per the government data. According to the government, 42,363 people were discharged from hospitals and health centres in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of cured to 3,06,21,469 till date as the…

26 Jul

“Were Told To Delete Porn Clips,” Claim Raj Kundra’s Employees

editor0 CommentsBollywood, Crime, IndiaRaj Kundra

Four employees of businessman Raj Kundra, actor Shilpa Shetty's husband, have turned witnesses in the case involving production and distribution of pornographic films and told police that they were asked to delete clips, said sources. The employees said sources, also confirmed that the clips were uploaded from "HotShots", the businessman's controversial app that the police believe was used for streaming porn. The app, said police, was removed from the Google Play Store for Android phones and Apple's App Store, so the accused "activated Plan B" and launched another app, Bollyfame. Raj Kundra, 45, was arrested on July 19 by Mumbai Police.…

26 Jul

Pegasus case: West Bengal becomes the first state to order probe

editor0 CommentsIndia, West BengalMamata Banerjee, pegasus

The Pegasus row erupted last Sunday before the beginning of the current monsoon session of Parliament after an international investigative consortium reported that India was among the countries that used phone hacking software to potentially target politicians, journalists and activists, West Bengal has ordered an inquiry into the Pegasus snooping row that has rocked the nation since July 18, becoming the first state to do so, said chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday. “The Cabinet has approved the appointment of a commission of inquiry comprising former Supreme Court judge, Justice (retd) MB Lokur and retired chief justice of Calcutta high…

26 Jul

By 2025, Covid will have cost world between $16 tn and $35 tn

editor0 CommentsBusiness, Covid-19, India, worldCovid-19, Lockdown

By 2025, Covid-19 will have cost the world between $16 trillion and $35 trillion, as per McKinsey. The world is unlikely to ever reach global herd immunity, but it can contain the virus with a combination of vaccines, improved testing, and smarter quarantining, based on known outbreaks, rather than large, blunt lockdowns, McKinsey said in a report. Obstacles to worldwide vaccination remain huge: while 49.6 per cent of inhabitants of high-income countries had received at least one dose of the vaccine as of July 14, only 1 per cent of those in low-income countries had. In the next two decades,…

26 Jul

No plan to print currency notes to tide over crisis: FM

editor0 CommentsBusiness, Indiafinanceminister, Nirmala Sitharaman

The government has no plan to print currency notes to tide over the current economic crisis triggered by the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman informed Parliament on Monday. To a question on whether there is any plan to print currency to tide over the crisis, the Finance Minister said, “No Sir”. Many economists and experts have suggested the government to resort to printing more currency notes to support the economy ravaged by the spread of COVID-19, and protect jobs. India’s real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is estimated to have contracted by 7.3 per cent during 2020-21, Sitharaman…

26 Jul

Rs 1,060 cr spend on Chennai-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor project

editor0 CommentsBusiness, Indiabengaluru, Chennai

A total of Rs1,060.02 crore has been spent during the last three fiscal years for the Chennai-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor project, the government told the Rajya Sabha. Answering a question raised by MDMK General Secretary Vaiko, the Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Som Parkash said the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on 30th December, 2020, approved the project cost of Krishnapatnam node (Andhra Pradesh) and Tumakuru node (Karnataka) as Rs 2,139.44 crore and Rs 1,701.81 crore respectively. The timelines for the construction of trunk infrastructure in these two nodes is 36-48 months, the government said.

26 Jul

No revision in petrol, diesel prices

editor0 CommentsBusiness, IndiaBusiness, Fuel

Oil marketing companies (OMC) continued to pause fuel price revision for the ninth consecutive day on Monday, the longest period in weeks, as global development on oil production and rising US inventories has softened crude and product prices. However, they stopped short of reducing the retail price of petrol and diesel as more time will be required to study oil price movement before any downward revision. Already, crude has firmed a bit for last few days and this could prevent price cut by OMCs. With no change in prices on Monday, petrol continues to be sold in the national capital…

26 Jul

Relatives of Kargil martyrs go down memory lane as bravery of war heroes showcases in Dras

editor0 CommentsIndiakargil

With one day to go for the Kargil Vijay Diwas, a special event narrating the stories of Operation VIJAY that was fought to flush out the Pakistani troops from the Indian positions along the Line of Control (LOC) was organized by the Army on Sunday at Lamochen near Dras where an account of the epic battles on Tololing, Tiger Hill, Pt 4875 and other prominent features was narrated with these very landmarks visible to the audience in front of their eyes. Lt General MV Suchindra, GOC White Knight Corps, along with Kargil War Heroes Subedar Sanjay Kumar, Param Vir Chakra…

25 Jul

Telangana’s 13th century Ramappa temple gets UNESCO World Heritage Site tag

editor0 CommentsIndiaINDIA

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on Sunday inscribed the 13th-century Ramappa in Palampet, Telangana a ‘World Heritage Site’. A consensus was reached in this regard during the ongoing virtual meet of the World Heritage Committee. While Norway opposed the inscription, Russia led an effort to have the temple recognised as a World Heritage Site. A consensus of 17 countries supported the move. The World Heritage Committee currently includes Australia, Bahrain, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Hungary, Kyrgyzstan, Mali, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Russian Federation, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, Thailand,…