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08 Feb

Petrol Price Cut By 23-24 Paise Per Litre, Diesel By 25-27 Per Litre In Metros

editor0 CommentsSikkim

Petrol and diesel prices were reduced in metros on Saturday, February 8 - a third straight day of downward revision. While the price of petrol was lowered by 23-24 paise per litre in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai, the rate of diesel was brought down by 25-27 paise per litre, according to data from Indian Oil Corporation. The prices of petrol and diesel have been lowered more than 3 per cent each in the four metros so far this year.

08 Feb

Importers Call Strike Against Toy Duty Hike, Say 1 Lakh Retailers To Be Impacted

editor0 CommentsBusiness, Tech Byte

More than one lakh retailers across the country will be hit by a three-fold hike in duty, according to toy importers who went on strike on Saturday. In the Union Budget for financial year 2020-21, the government proposed to raise the import duty applicable to toys from 20 per cent to 60 per cent, saying that the step would support micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), and promote local manufacturing.Protesting against the move, the toy wholesalers of the city went on a one-day strike, contending that the import duty hike will result in the closure of businesses and a spurt…

08 Feb

How Stock Markets Read Budget 2020, RBI Policy Review This Week

editor0 CommentsSikkim

Domestic stock markets rallied this week with benchmark indices clocking gains of nearly 4 per cent after the February 1 Budget announcements triggered their worst single-day fall in at least 17 months. The S&P BSE Sensex index registered a gain of 1,406.32 points (3.54 per cent) for the week while the broader NSE Nifty benchmark added 436.5 points (3.74 per cent). That marked the biggest weekly gain for the 30-scrip benchmark index since March 2019. Analysts say that the Budget may support the economy in the long term, even though it fell short of near-term market expectations.

07 Feb

Lockheed Martin Inks Pact With BEL To Explore Opportunities For F-21 Fighter

editor0 CommentsBusiness, Sikkim

US defence giant Lockheed Martin on Friday inked an agreement with the state-run Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) to explore opportunities in the F-21 fighter jet programme.Lockheed Martin has exclusively offered its F-21 military aircraft to India, with an eye to bag the Indian Air Force's $18 billion dollar deal to procure 114 jets."Lockheed Martin signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with defence PSU BEL to explore industrial opportunities in the F-21 programme at DefExpo 2020," the company said in a statement.

07 Feb

LIC Valuation Yet To Be Decided, Will Speak To Staff On IPO: Chairman

editor0 CommentsSikkim

The divestment of Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) by the government will not cause any problems for the company's employees, chairman MR Kumar told NDTV on Friday. There will be a reaction by the staff but the company will talk to them, said the LIC chairman, assuring that the proposed stake sale will not lead to its privatization of the insurer. In the Union Budget for 2020-21, the government proposed to divest a part of its stake in LIC in a move that could result in the partial listing of the country's largest insurance company, which led to protests by the…

07 Feb

Sensex, Nifty Snap Four-Day Winning Streak Led By Losses In Reliance Industries, HDFC

editor0 CommentsSikkim

S&P BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty 50 indexes snapped their four-day winning streak dragged by losses in Reliance Industries, Kotak Mahindra Bank, ICICI Bank, Larsen & Toubro, IndusInd Bank and Bharti Airtel. Since the Budget, which was presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday, the Sensex has and Nifty have surged 4 per cent each. Concerns about the economic impact from a coronavirus epidemic led to a downturn in global sentiment which impacted Indian stocks as well. Asian share markets fell on Friday and oil price gains stalled, as the growing death toll and economic damage from the coronavirus…

06 Feb

Free online learning for everyone as National Skill Development Corporation announces its partnership with Salesforce

editor0 CommentsNorth East

National Skill Development Corporation has announced its partnership with Salesforce, the global leader in customer relationship management. It will help to enhance NSDC’s skill development and capacity building initiatives through Salesforce’s Trailhead with free online learning platform that empowers anyone to skill up and increase one’s job prospects in the digital economy. The explosion of technological innovation in the Fourth Industrial Revolution is creating a massive demand for new-age skills. By 2022, more than 120 million workers will need reskilling due to advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and automation. According to the World Economic Forum, on average, an Indian worker today needs about 100 days for…

06 Feb

Bharti Airtel Inches Higher Despite Loss In Third Quarter

editor0 CommentsBusiness, Sikkim

Bharti Airtel is trading marginally in the green, albeit off the highs of the day, after reporting third straight quarterly loss after market hours on Tuesday. India's third largest telecom firm posted a loss of Rs 1,035 crore for the three months ended December 31 compared with a profit of Rs 86.2 crore a year earlier. The loss, however, narrowed from a whopping Rs 23,044 crore in the September quarter.At 11:30 a.m, the shares of Bharti Airtel were trading higher by Rs 2 or 0.3 per cent at Rs 521 on the BSE amid the Sensex's gains of 0.3 per…

06 Feb

RBI Keeps Lending Rate Unchanged At 5.15%, Pegs Growth At 6% In 2020-21

editor0 CommentsSikkim

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) kept the repo rate unchanged at 5.15 per cent on Thursday, in line with economists expectations, in a bid to combat inflation. The central bank, however, retained its accommodative monetary policy stance as growth remains lacklustre. RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das-led Monetary Policy Committee decided to continue with an "accommodative" policy stance "as long as it is necessary to revive growth, while ensuring that inflation remains within the target". The "underlying theme of our decisions is financial stability", said the RBI governor. All six members of the Monetary Policy Committee voted in favour of maintaining…

06 Feb

Weak Growth To Pull Down Rupee, Coronavirus Fears To Impinge

editor0 CommentsSikkim

The battered rupee will weaken further against the dollar over the coming year as a significant pickup in economic growth is unlikely, according to a Reuters poll of strategists who said the coronavirus outbreak was a downside risk.While Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das has said reviving growth was a 'national objective' in coordination with the government, the latest budget provided only minimal support to the slowing economy.That comes as a deadly coronavirus epidemic that is spreading globally has spooked investors and sent them rushing for cover into safe-haven assets and shunning emerging markets.