Foreign exchange reserves have declined by $23 billion in the last four months, and stood at $402.7 billion as of the week ended August 3, 2018. The weak trend in the global markets along with the fall in the rupee affected investor sentiment in the equity market as well, with …
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Aluminium makers face coal shortage: FIMI
Aluminium makers hit by coal shortage, says FIMI Aluminium makers are facing shortage of coal to run their captive power plants which has hit their refinery and smelting operations adversely, according to the Federation of Indian Mineral Industries (FIMI). Captive power plants of aluminium makers are not getting coal even …
Read More »NTPC to set up unit for coal mining
State-run power giant NTPC will soon set up a subsidiary to handle its coal mining operations and also plans to enter commercial coal mining after meeting its requirement, an official said. The power sector behemoth also has a plan to list the coal subsidiary subsequently on stock exchanges. “The NTPC …
Read More »RJio begins registration for 1Gbps broadband service
After 4G mobile services, Reliance Jio on Wednesday started registration for optical fibre based fixed-line broadband service through which it has claimed to offer a download speed of one gigabit per second. “JioGigaFiber. Make your neighbourhood #Gigaready with Gigabit wifi, TV, smart home, free calling and more,” read the registration …
Read More »‘Steel sector’s growth trend to continue’
Tata Steel Ltd. CEO and MD T.V. Narendran on Wednesday said the steel sector had been witnessing a positive growth and this trend would continue with improving economic activities across the world. Talking to reporters after hoisting the Tricolour on the occasion of the 72nd Independence Day at Tata Steel …
Read More »‘Enough forex reserves to tackle volatile rupee’
Union Minister Arun Jaitley said India has sufficient foreign exchange reserves to mitigate any undue volatility in the currency market. His comment comes a day after the rupee fell sharply to breach the 70-mark against the dollar for the first time. In a series of tweets, Mr. Jaitley said that …
Read More »On-ground hurdles could hold up EVs: SmartE CEO
While the governments at the Centre and States have taken proactive steps to encourage electric vehicles (EVs), on-ground hurdles such as high levels of corruption at the regional transport offices (RTOs) could hold back the sector, according to Goldie Srivastava, CEO of SmartE, an electric vehicle solution provider that has …
Read More »Tea exports to China, Pak. rise
India shipped larger quantities of tea to two neighbouring countries — China and Pakistan — in the first half of 2018, when overall tea exports increased to 112.1 million kg, from 107.1 million kg in the year earlier period. According to data with the Tea Board, total earnings between January …
Read More »‘Earth to stay extremely hot until 2022’
Manmade global warming and a natural surge in Earth’s surface temperature will join forces to make the next five years exceptionally hot, according to a study published on Tuesday. The double whammy of climate change and so-called natural variability more than doubles the likelihood of “extreme warm events” in ocean …
Read More »Should coffee carry cancer warnings?
That undisputed fact led a Los Angeles judge to rule this spring that coffee companies must provide cancer warnings to coffee drinkers. The ruling cast a shadow on a daily and often essential rite for millions of people around the world. But now, the state of California has intervened, telling …
Read More »In China, rainbow trout gets a new name: salmon
When Chinese state TV accidentally revealed much of the “salmon” sashimi eaten in the country was actually rainbow trout, domestic fish farmers faced a crisis of consumer confidence. After fishing for a solution, they came up with an idea: to officially deem the rainbow trout a type of salmon. Over …
Read More »Seeking help on social media
Social media was flooded with distress calls from stranded people as well as videos of swirling waters taking over homesteads, roads and riverbanks. The personnel of the Army, the National Disaster Response Force, the State police and the Revenue Department had a tough time reaching out to the people marooned …
Read More »Permanent commission will lift the morale of women
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday announced in his Independence Day address that women officers in the military would get permanent commission on a par with their male counterparts. Details will be issued shortly, official sources said. Permanent commission exists for women in select areas in the military. However, Mr. …
Read More »With human space flight, India to push frontiers
Gaganyaan, the human space flight Programme green-flagged and set for 2022 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is highly doable, Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation K. Sivan said here soon after it was announced on Wednesday. V.R. Lalithambika, a specialist in advanced launcher technologies, will helm the project as …
Read More »Centre proposes new bidding model for greenfield airports
The government on Tuesday proposed a new transaction structure for the bid process for greenfield airports, switching from a revenue share model to a fixed fee per passenger to be paid to the concessioning authority. The Ministry for Civil Aviation is betting that the proposed change to the bid parameters …
Read More »Rupee breaches 70 against dollar for the first time
The rupee breached the psychological barrier of 70-to-a-dollar for the first time as the sharp fall in the Turkish lira continued to affect all emerging market currencies. The rupee had a strong opening against the dollar at 69.85, but fell sharply to breach the 70-mark and went on to depreciate …
Read More »1,575 sexually abused children are now in shelter homes: Centre to SC
What have you done about them, Bench asks ASG The Centre on Tuesday told the Supreme Court that a survey of 9,589 child care institutions across the country found that 1,575 inmates suffered sexual abuse before they were rescued and placed in these homes. The survey took two years from …
Read More »Retail inflation slows to 9-month low at 4.17%
‘Moderate food inflation to continue till MSP impact hits’ Retail inflation eased to a nine-month low of 4.17% in July as food inflation cooled to its lowest level since July 2017, according to official data released on Monday. Inflation based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) slowed from the 4.92% …
Read More »‘T.N failed to maintain Cauvery water quality’
Karnataka says it cannot be blamed Karnataka on Monday blamed Tamil Nadu in the Supreme Court for “failing to maintain the quality in the Cauvery river.” “The pollution is highest in the stretch below Mettur and up to Mayiladuthurai, which is the heart of irrigation in Tamil Nadu. The State …
Read More »Google to livestream Modi speech
Prasar Bharati wants Independence Day event to gain greater visibility Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Independence Day speech will be live-streamed on the Google homepage. Google had done a similar thing during Donald Trump’s inaugural address in January 2017. When you go to Google search page and search for Independence Day, …
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