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20% of auto retailers open shutters on lockdown relaxation; witness muted walkins and enquiries

Maruti Suzuki restarted operations at 680 dealerships till Wednesday, covering almost 35% of the addressable market. The nation’s largest carmaker is seeking permission from local authorities to reopen all but 500 of its remaining over 2,400 outlets. The 500 showrooms are in Covid-19 containment zones.




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ISRO invites proposals for development of technologies for human space programme

The Directorate of Human Space Programme of the city- headquartered ISRO has sought proposals for 18 tentative technology development areas. Four Indian Air Force fighter pilots are currently under training in Moscow and are likely to be potential candidates for the first manned mission to space.​​




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IIT professor develops software to detect COVID-19 within 5 seconds using X-ray scan

Kamal Jain, a professor at the institute's civil engineering department, claims that the software will not only reduce testing costs but will also reduce the risk of exposure to healthcare professionals. ​So far, there is no verification of his claim by a medical institution.




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IITs are helping India win the Covid battle

IIT Kanpur is developing a vaccine against Covid-19, while researchers at Madras and Kanpur have built desi drones for surveillance and IIT Ropar has produced robots to deliver food and medicines to patients in hospitals and quarantine zones. These innovations are in various stages of development.




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NASA develops high-pressure ventilator to fight COVID-19

The device, called VITAL (Ventilator Intervention Technology Accessible Locally), passed a critical test this week at the Icahn School of Medicine in New York, an epicentre of COVID-19 in the US, NASA said.




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Jadavpur University students develop device which can tell if a coughing person is a COVID-19 carrier

Two students of the Jadavpur University have developed an intelligent device which will analyse if a coughing person is a COVID-19 carrier.




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Economy likely to show negative growth in current year: Montek Singh Ahluwalia

The rationale behind the lockdown was not that it would prevent infections but that it would allow us to build the health infrastructure to be able to cope with larger numbers infected, opined Montek Singh Ahluwalia




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10-year benchmark bond yields fall to 2009 level, may reverse on higher borrowing plan

A hike in taxes on fuels, which will add to government’s revenue, helped lift sentiment.




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Bond yields likely to spike after govt raised borrowing targets

The gross borrowing programme for the year has been increased to Rs 12 lakh crore.




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Wall Street Week Ahead: US data deluge to underscore divide between roaring market, plunging economy

Though bleak, that number was smaller than analysts’ expectations of 22 million jobs lost.




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Australian Govt looking at travel exemptions for Indian cricket team's Test tour: Reports

Cricket Australia is under huge financial pressure due to global lockdown and has laid off 80 percent of its staff. India's four-Test tour in December-January could provide a relief to the struggling bldy




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Next year's Olympics will be cancelled if pandemic not over: Games chief

The postponed Tokyo 2020 Olympics will be cancelled if the coronavirus pandemic isn't brought under control by next year, the organising committee's president said in comments published Tuesday.




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No play on the field, sports firms go digital

Firms like IOS Sports & Entertainment, Baseline Ventures, Cornerstone Sports & Entertainment are all looking at new digital options to capitalise on their clients’ reach and popularity using online channels.




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Baseline Ventures signs India’s under-19 cricket captain Priyam Garg

The multi-year deal will see Baseline managing all the commercial interests of Garg. Born in Meerut, UP, Garg made his first-class debut against Goa in 2018 where he went on to score an unbeaten 117. He recently led the Under-19 Indian team at the World Cup in South Africa where they finished runners-up.




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Base metals: Copper, nickel futures climb on fresh bets

Copper prices on Friday traded 0.48 per cent higher at Rs 408.75 per kg in futures market.




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This summer, explore the popular Delhi-Agra-Jaipur route with your family

Time to explore the magical golden triangle circuit.




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Tantalising Texas—travel inside a cowboy's dream

Image credit: iStock The vast land of Texas is a paradise for travellers. Known for its cowboy culture, stupendous barbeques, and lovely country songs, this...




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All natural—in pursuit of an American travel story

Image credit: iStock If you have completed your American travel bucket list by visiting Los Angeles, New York City, and the likes, then we suggest you rehas...




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Comic commerce: What fuels the mini economy of vintage Indian comic books

Comic book buffs have created a mini-economy where collectors are willing to pony up big sums for rare editions.




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Toonz aqcuire majority stake in Telegael

The deal between India-based Toonz and Ireland’s Telegael brings many strategic synergies, making this a complementary venture for both companies.




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Brains behind idiot box: A quick look at the history of television

The first public demonstration of colour TV broadcast happened this week 90 years ago, setting the foundation for a major change in the way audio-visual media is consumed.




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Not just a film, 'Chhichhore' became a self-realisation exercise for Nitesh Tiwari & his team of writers

The writers of the film realised that academic failures do not mean it's all over.




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For the love of chicken & mutton biryani: How political gatherings helped caterers grow big

Tamil Nadu’s love for biryani probably stems from the state’s love of rice.




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OnePlus India launch highlights: OnePlus 8 priced at $699, 8 Pro to cost $899; Bullets Wireless Z, Warp Charge 30 Wireless charger unveiled

Both phones will come in 8GB + 128GB and 12GB + 256GB storage variants.




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No correlation seen between Jio investments and chances of Aramco deal: Axis Securities

‘This deal will probably give Jio access to a lot of enterprise software providers’




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Investors lapping up consumer, insurance, pharma & telecom stocks due to earnings certainty: ASK Investment

‘Investors focusing on predictability, sustainability and better quality businesses’




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Solid digital business model helped post strong Q4 numbers: ICICI Securities

‘We are a cash generating company and virtually carry no leverage’




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Expect RIL to conduct stake sale of up to 20%: Edelweiss Securities

‘The debt will come down even further if fibre InvIT and Aramco sale happens’




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Enter market only from a 3-5 years’ perspective: Angel Broking

‘Focus on more essential services and rural-focussed stocks’




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Pharma & tech cos will continue to perform well going forward: TCG AMC

‘As economic activity resumes, expect a further revival in the market in the coming months’




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If you think way to normalisation will be very short, that's a mistake: Lakefield Partners

'Investors are hoping that we will go back to normal, as it was before corona'.




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RBI allows 24x7 forex mkt ops via select banks

select banks in India can offer forex rates to Indian clients beyond the inter-bank market hours




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Vande Bharat Mission: Authorities seek hotel rooms across the country

Hotels newly earmarked in Delhi include the Taj Palace Hotel, Shangri-La’s Eros Hotel and Le Meridien, according to people aware of the matter.




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Realtors allege cartelization by cement, steel companies

The Confederation of Real Estate Developers' Association of India (Credai) has written to minister for housing & urban affairs Hardeep Singh Puri, seeking urgent measures to control the hike in the prices of cement and steel amid the ongoing pandemic crisis.




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Delhi govt issues 4.75 lakh e-tokens to buy liquor

Under the e-token system, customers are given specific time for purchasing alcohol so that there is no violation of social distancing norms by people queuing up outside liquor stores.




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Realtors body Credai reports 40-50% hike in cement, steel prices; alleges cartelisation

Realtors' apex body Credai on Saturday said cement and steel rates have increased by 40-50 per cent in last few weeks despite the lockdown and alleged price cartelisation and unfair trade practices by the manufacturers.




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Kalyan Jewellers to open 10 showrooms in green zones of Karnataka, Odisha, Assam and Puducherry

The company has already started operations in the Middle East, with the re-opening of 9 standalone showrooms in UAE and 3 showrooms in Qatar on the occasion of Akshaya Tritiya. Kalyan Jewellers will be following the highest level of safety and precautionary measures across operational showrooms, to safeguard the health and safety of both customers and staff alike.




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JNU releases tentative academic calendar for Monsoon session, set to return to classes by June 25

In case, the examination results are not ready by July 31, students will have the opportunity to provisionally register and move on to the next semester, the VC said. The entire monsoon semester registration process will be completely online making it easy for the students to register even from their homes.




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COAI urges DoT to extend timelines for minimum roll-out obligation by 6-9 months

"We request the DoT to kindly consider extending the currently specified timelines for minimum roll-out obligation by a period of at least 6 to 9 months so that relief is afforded to all forthcoming minimum roll-out obligation timelines and not just to those due for testing at this present point in time," COAI said in a recent letter to Department of Telecommunications (DoT).




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Govt panel seeks review of 5G spectrum base price

The task force has also called for a revamp of financing models for infrastructure and backed a return of development financial institutions, such as IDBI and IFCI, albeit with a sectoral focus. It has argued that banks and NBFCs are unable to meet the massive funding requirement and face several challenges, which is turning the clock back by close to two decades.




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TAIPA says industry needs clarity on resuming construction, installation of new telecom towers

Tower and Infrastructure Providers Association (TAIPA) Director-General T R Dua said that during the lockdown period so far, telecom tower-related work was primarily focused on operation and maintenance activities and carrying out essential repairs and upgrades.




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DPIIT asks telecom dept, BSNL to hold Rs 9,000 cr worth tender following allegations of anomalies

The tender was floated by BSNL in March under the new management for setting up 4G network. This was the first tender issued by the telecom PSU after the government announced Rs 68,751 crore relief package for BSNL and MTNL in October 2019.




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Airtel app users to get free access to ZEE5 content now for limited period

Airtel Thanks app customers will not have to pay any subscription to avail the access to ZEE5's content, according to the announcement.




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Telcos back 50 paise/spam SMS regime

TRAI had said that despite the higher charge on SMS, the complaints of UCC were on a rise and thus the regime for charging for SMSes should be brought under forbearance. In 2018, TRAI had mandated telcos to adopt distributed ledger technology (DLT) with ‘permissioned and private DLT networks’ where only identified and registered users can participate.




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Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea take steps to offer relief to Covid-hit MSMEs

Besides rental waivers on select plans for micro, small and medium enterprises, the telcos will help manage their bandwidth needs and offer customised digital tools to boost their web presence.




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TEPC wants PowerGrid to cancel deal with Fiberhome

The Indian unit of Fiberhome, a Wuhan-based producer of fibre optic, had in mid-2019 bagged a pan-India fibre-based network programme contract from PGCIL that aims to offer broadband services and resell bandwidth to public departments.




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No more extension of tariff relief to migrant workers: Telcos

Within a week of the announcement of lockdown from March 25, telcos had extended the prepaid validity of their low-income subscribers till April 17 and further to May 3 on subsequent announcement of lockdown extension. Airtel and Vodafone Idea also credited Rs 10 talk time credit to such users whereas Jio gave 100 minutes of free talk time and 100 text messages to all its users.




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Staff visiting customers to maintain highest level of hygiene, ensure 'contactless' experience: Airtel CEO

Airtel CEO Gopal Vittal, in a note to customers, said that the next phase of the journey has begun as the world slowly starts to open up.




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Saudi, American firms eye stakes in Reliance's Jio

Three deals in three weeks injected a combined $8 billion in the group and help it pare its debt.




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Coal India and subsidiaries helping each other with loans to tide over liquidity crisis

Coal India has lent Rs 300 crore to subsidiary Central Coalfields while Bharat Coking Coal is in talks with subsidiary Northern Coalfields for another Rs 300-400 crore loan in order to meet working capital requirements, including salaries. Central Mine Planning & Design Institute has also been given a Rs 15 crore loan for salary payment of its executives by Coal India.