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Showing posts from July, 2021

India, US renew global development partnership deal for 5 years

India and the US on Friday renewed for another five years a global development partnership agreement that provides for jointly offering assistance to their partner countries in areas of connectivity, trade and investments, healthcare and agriculture. Both sides signed the second amendment to the Statement of Guiding Principles (SGP) on Triangular Cooperation for Global Development, the Ministry of External Affairs said. The SGP agreement was signed in November 2014 and the fresh amendment extended the pact's validity up to 2026. "Under the agreement, India and US will continue to offer capacity building assistance to partner countries in multiple sectors, focusing primarily on agriculture, regional connectivity, trade and investments, nutrition, health, clean and renewable energy, women empowerment, disaster preparedness, water, sanitation, education and institution building," the MEA said. The US embassy said the SGP between the US and India leverages the combined capaci...
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Jet Airways: Staff grouping seeks Scindia's intervention to resolve issues

A grouping of Jet Airways staff has sought the intervention of Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia in addressing their issues with respect to the resolution plan of the Jalan Kalrock Consortium, which has emerged as the winning bidder for the defunct airline. In a letter to the minister, the All India Jet Airways' Officers & Staff Association has requested him to take up their issues with the representatives of the consortium. Payment of all social security dues such as provident fund and gratuity, and assurance of employment to existing employees on the payroll are among their demands. "We are shocked and surprised to notice that complete injustice has been done to the employees of the company in as much that the dues offered is about Rs 52 crore which is a miniscule amount compared to the original claims accepted by the resolution professional," the letter, dated July 27, said. On June 22, the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) approved the consortium...
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Sonata Software to acquire Encore Software to boost cloud services

Sonata Software on Wednesday said it will acquire US-based IT services company Encore Software Services, a move that will enhance its capabilities in cloud engineering, application development and maintenance and data management. In a regulatory filing, Sonata Software said its wholly-owned subsidiary Sonata Software North America Inc (SSNA) has signed a definitive agreement with the shareholders of Encore Software Services, Inc. The cost of acquisition involves an upfront payment of USD 6.37 million (including adjustments for working capital, cash, and net debt) and deferred payout of USD 8.25 million payable over 3 years, it added. Encore Software Services, incorporated in 1998, is headquartered in San Jose, with development centre in Chennai. "This is a continuation of our M&A strategy focusing on strategic acquisitions aligned to our Platformation led digital transformation strategy, access to seasoned local leadership talent and entry into new industry verticals. "We...
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Mahindra Logistics June-quarter consolidated net profit at Rs 9 crore

Mahindra Logistics Ltd on Tuesday reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 9.35 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2021. The company had posted a consolidated net loss after taxes, non-controlling interests and share of loss of joint venture of Rs 15.81 crore in the year-ago period, Mahindra Logistics Ltd (MLL) said in a filing to BSE. The consolidated total income of the company during April-June quarter increased to Rs 875.28 crore over Rs 413.27 crore in the year-ago period. "We delivered a strong performance despite the challenging external environment due to the rapid spread of Wave 2 of the Covid 19 pandemic. The regional lockdowns, high commodity costs and fuel prices impacted demand across the end markets. "Our strong focus on customer retention, new account acquisition and cost reduction helped us offset these challenges," Rampraveen Swaminathan, managing director and CEO of Mahindra Logistics, said. Implementation of strategic initiatives continued through th...
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Nearly Rs 49,000 crore lying unclaimed with banks, insurers: Karad

An estimated Rs 49,000 crore is lying unclaimed with banks and insurance companies, the Minister of State for Finance Bhagwat Karad informed the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday. The data on the unclaimed amount is till December 31, 2020. Giving the details in a written reply, the minister said as per information received from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the total amount of unclaimed deposits of banks stood at Rs 24,356 crore, as on December 31, 2020. He further said that as per the Insurance Regulator Development Authority of India (IRDAI), the total amount of unclaimed amounts of policy holders in public and private sector insurance companies was at Rs 24,586 crore (end-December, 2020). The RBI framed the Depositor Education and Awareness Fund (DEAF) Scheme, 2014. As per the Scheme, unclaimed amounts lying with banks are credited to the DEAF by banks and DEAF is subsequently utilised for promotion of depositors' interest. On the other hand, all insurers having unclaimed amounts of .. ...
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At least 46 Afghan soldiers cross over to Pakistan to seek refuge

At least 46 Afghan soldiers crossed over and took refuge in Pakistan's northwestern Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province after losing control of a border post to the Taliban militants along the international border, according to media reports on Monday. The Pakistan Army said the incident occurred late on Sunday night in Arundu sector in the country's Chitral district when an Afghan National Army (ANA) local Commander requested the Pakistan Army for refuge and safe passage. According to a statement by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), 46 soldiers, including five officers, belong to the ANA and Border Police as they were unable to hold their military posts along Pak-Afghan International Border due to the evolving security situation in Afghanistan. The Pakistan Army contacted the Afghan authorities for information and necessary formalities. After contact with Afghan authorities and necessary military procedures, 46 soldiers including 5 officers have been given refuge/safe passag...
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China attacks US at bilateral talks; hands over list of demands

Striking an aggressive stance at the face-to-face talks with the US, China on Monday for the first time handed down to Washington a list of demands and remedial actions to be taken by the Biden administration to end the "stalemate" in bilateral ties. Talks between Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Xie Feng and US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman to improve the relations got off on a rough note at the northeastern Chinese port city of Tianjin, with Xie launching a blistering attack on Washington, accusing it of being the "owner of coercive diplomacy". Sherman, the No. 2 diplomat of the US, is the highest-ranking American official to visit China since President Joe Biden took office six months ago. She started her meetings with Xie, who is in-charge of the US-China relations, and is due to hold talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi at a resort hotel in Tianjin. Besides launching a well-publicised scathing attack on the US, accusing it of "bullying" ...
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West Bengal sets up panel to probe Pegasus snooping row: Mamata Banerjee

Upping the ante in her tense faceoff with the Centre over the Pegasus controversy, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday announced a two-member inquiry commission to go into the allegations of snooping on politicians, officials and journalists. The surprise development came shortly before the TMC supremo boarded a flight for New Delhi where she will hold parleys with opposition leaders to explore ways to cobble together an alliance of anti-BJP parties ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Former chief justice of Calcutta High Court Jyotirmay Bhattacharya and ex-Supreme Court judge Madan Bhimrao Lokur are the two members of the commission. "The Cabinet today approved the appointment of a Commission of Inquiry in exercise of power conferred by Section 3 of the Commission of Inquiry Act of 1952 in the matter of widely reported illegal hacking, monitoring, putting under surveillance, tracking and recording of mobile phones of various persons in West Bengal from Today...
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About the fans

Fans in stadiums account for a minuscule portion of the audience for whom athletes perform. It's the global TV audiences from which sports bodies derive their revenues from Today's Paper https://ift.tt/3izkeyM
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One team, two captains

With the appointment of Navjot Sidhu as the head of the Punjab Congress, Punjab CM Captain Amarinder Singh is, without doubt, down. But whether he is out remains to be seen, writes Aditi Phadnis from Today's Paper https://ift.tt/3kV1Ljj
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'Worried', says Editors guild on IT raids on media houses

The Editors Guild of India on Friday said it is worried that government agencies are being used as a "coercive tool" to suppress free and independent journalism. Its remarks come after the Income Tax Department's raids on Thursday across several states against prominent media group Dainik Bhaskar as well as Uttar Pradesh-based TV channel Bharat Samachar for alleged tax evasion. "The Editors Guild of India (EGI) is concerned about the income tax raids on July 22 at the offices of country's leading newspaper group Dainik Bhaskar as well as a Lucknow-based independent news channel Bharat Samachar," it said in a statement. "They come against the backdrop of in-depth reporting on the (COVID-19) pandemic by Dainik Bhaskar, which brought to the fore the gross mismanagement by government authorities and the immense loss of human lives," the guild said. It claimed that in a webinar hosted by it recently, Dainik Bhaskar's national editor Om Gaur had stat...
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Nearly 60 Congress MLAs turn up at Navjot Singh Sidhu's Amritsar home

In what is seen as a show of strength, nearly 60 Congress MLAs gathered at the residence of new state party chief Navjot Singh Sidhu here on Wednesday, amid a suspense over a possible truce between him and CM Amarinder Singh. Sidhu and Amarinder Singh has been at loggerheads for the past some time, with the Amritsar (East) MLA recently attacking the CM over the desecration cases. The chief minister was also averse to his appointment as the state Congress chief. After Sidhu's elevation, the CM had said that he won't meet him until the cricketer-turned-politician apologises for his "derogatory" tweets against him. On Wednesday, the MLAs joined by Sidhu boarded luxury buses and went to pay obeisance at the Golden Temple, where a large number of Congress supporters gathered. Sidhu and the legislators are also scheduled to visit the Durgiana temple and the Ram Tirath Sthal here. On Tuesday, scores of Congress workers and Sidhu supporters had accorded a warm welcome to him ...
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Hard knocks for soft power

The state is tightening its control over what we read, watch, hear or laugh at, says Vanita Kohli-Khandekar. Why not facilitate our soft power instead of clamping down on its strengths? from Today's Paper https://ift.tt/3wGdkgs
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LTI Q1 consolidated net profit up by 19.3% at Rs 496.8 cr

IT firm L&T Infotech (LTI) on Thursday reported a 19.3 per cent rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 496.8 crore for the June 2021 quarter, and declared a special dividend of Rs 10 per share. The company had registered a net profit of Rs 416.4 crore in the same period a year ago, LTI said in a statement. Its revenue was up 17.4 per cent to Rs 3,462.5 crore in the reported quarter from Rs 2,949.2 crore in the year-ago period, it added. "We are pleased to report our best ever Q1 sequential growth of 5.1 per cent, driven by holistic growth across our verticals, service lines, client pyramid and geographies. Our healthy pipeline and continued strong demand make us confident of our future growth," LTI CEO and Managing Director Sanjay Jalona said. The company, over the past five years, has delivered USD revenue CAGR of 13.5 per cent and more than doubled its net profit, he added. "I am proud of how we continue to innovate and deliver year on year industry-leading growth. ...
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Sensex, Nifty eke out gains after intense buying mainly in IT shares

Equity gauges Sensex and Nifty firmed up gains on Wednesday as a result of intense buying mainly in IT shares amid expectations of robust quarterly earnings and favourable economic data. At close, the BSE Sensex quoted 134.32 points or 0.25 per cent higher at 52,904.05 recovering from its early losses to mark its second straight session of gains. Likewise, the broader NSE Nifty advanced 41.60 points or 0.26 per cent to end at 15,853.95 the third straight session of gains for the index. On the Sensex chart, top three performers were IT firms, with Tech Mahindra gaining the most by rising 2.69 per cent, followed by HCL Tech and Infosys. Other notable winners were L&T, Tata Steel, ITC and TCS. On the other hand, Maruti, HUL, Nestle India, Dr Reddy's and Reliance were among the laggards. Sectorally, BSE IT, teck, capital goods, healthcare, and metal indices ended up to 2.25 per cent higher, while realty, oil and gas, energy and auto indices closed in the red. Broader midcap and ......
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Banks explore option of invoking personal guarantee of promoters, says SC

Armed with Supreme Court order, banks may invoke personal guarantees of tycoons ranging from Venugopal Dhoot to Kapil Wadhawan to recover unpaid loans from their delinquent firms, sources said Monday. According to an estimate, top 10 personal guarantors have guaranteed debt of over Rs 1.6 lakh crore. Among the big names, former promoters of Bhushan Steel and Power Sanjay Singhal and his wife Aarti Singhal had furnished personal guarantees worth up to Rs 24,550 crore to take loans from a consortium of bank led by State Bank of India (SBI). The former promoter of Reliance Communications, Anil Ambani, has also given personal guarantee against the loan taken. Erstwhile promoter Wadhawan stands guarantee to loans taken by DHFL, which is sitting on debt of about Rs 90,000 crore, while Dhoot has also given personal guarantee to a portion of Rs 22,000 crore loan to Videocon. The Supreme Court in May had held that the November 15, 2019 government notification allowing creditors, usually ... f...
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Zambia court halts liquidation proceedings over Vedanta Resources mines

A Zambian court has stayed hearing by a state-appointed provisional liquidator for splitting up Vedanta Resources' Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) unit and selling the assets. The stay on KCM liquidation proceedings has been granted to allow Vedanta and the Zambian government to proceed to arbitration, Vedanta said in a filing to the Singapore Stock Exchange. Metals and mining firm Vedanta Resources held a 79.4 per cent stake in KCM while the Zambian government through its state mining investment firm ZCCM-IH holds the remaining 20.6 per cent. Vedanta has been locked in a dispute with the Zambian government since May 2019, when the Zambian government handed control of the mine to a liquidator. Legal arguments over the case have been heard in both Zambia and South Africa. "Zambian Court of Appeal has granted a stay in respect of any hearing of the merits of the Winding Up Petition and Amended Petition in respect of Konkola Copper Mines plc pending a decision in respect of the arbitr...
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