The industry body represents 1.50 lakh mobile retailers who may be unable to pay their monthly instalments and interest towards credit cards, vehicle loan, home loan and business loans taken by them. A similar letter highlighting the concerns of the mobile retailers was also sent to non-banking finance companies (NBFCs).

Handset makers and offline traders have urged the commerce and home ministries to allow the sale and service of mobile devices and its accessories through offline stores in the country.

All India Mobile Retailer Association (AIMRA), which represents 1.5 lakh such retailers across the country, wrote to commerce minister Piyush Goyal to not consider mobile handsets as essential items.

"All standalone (single) shops, neighborhood (colony) shops and shops in residential complexes are permitted to remain open in urban areas, without any distinction of essential and non-essential," the ministry of home affairs said in a notification on Friday.

The company, which aspires to be a global brand in the segment, is in the process of opening 15 exclusive brand showroom 'Jaquar world' across the globe.

Having suffered an unprecedented sales decline of 6-7 per cent in 2019-20, the industry will be up against challenges in both supply and demand sides due to the coronavirus pandemic, Panasonic India and South Asia President and CEO Manish Sharma said.

Most consumer durables companies in India rely on imported components. Poor input supplies since January and later closure of factories, malls, shops and offices due to the lockdown hit consumer demand badly.

"Sales and profits of set products business, including smartphones and TVs, are expected to decline significantly as COVID-19 affects demand and leads to store and plant closures globally," Samsung said in a statement.

India’s largest maker of writing & printing paper has been in talks with Nine Dragons for some time now. Discussions are likely to lead to a binding agreement soon, sources said.

With 167 stores across 18 countries, Hamleys gives Reliance Retail a much-needed global footprint.

Most consumers tend to go bargain hunting online. For a large part of 2019, luxury mall managers reported that sales were lacklustre. Luxury goods websites, however, managed to buck the trend because of 20-50% lower costs on their sites. But at the moment, watch companies do not seem to be finding too many takers in tier-2 and 3 towns.

Wise fashionistas merely store rather than discard, waiting for the tide to inevitably turn.

Giorgio Armani has donated 2 million euros in recent weeks to hospitals around Italy.

India’s gross import of rough diamonds had declined by 13.43% to $12.39 billion between April 2019 and February 2020 from a year earlier.

According to the World Gold Council's (WGC) Q1 Gold Demand Trends report, in terms of value India's the first quarter gold demand fell 20 per cent to Rs 37,580 crore, compared to Rs 47,000 crore in the same period of 2019.

The continued lockdown in April 2020 (from late March) has impacted the entire textile industry and disrupted exports, Ind-Ra said in a report.

The New York-based chain, known for preppy clothing at times worn by former first lady Michelle Obama, filed for bankruptcy in a Virginia federal court with an agreement to eliminate its roughly $1.65 billion of debt in exchange for ceding ownership to creditors.

Harsh Noise Wally, is a sophisticated mashup mixing strips of Wally, the lazy and cynic colleague of Dilbert with some epic noise music extreme attitudes. Well conceived and assembled.

The plan is to launch six such centres in Saudi Arabia in the next 3 years with an estimated investment of over AED (Arab Emirates Dirham) 30 million (around Rs 52 crore).

World’s oldest barber shop Truefitt and Hill is keen to take its India tally to 17 by the end of this year.

“The export of all ventilators including any artificial respiratory apparatus or oxygen therapy apparatus or any other breathing appliance/devices... is prohibited with immediate effect,” the the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) said in a notification.

We have more than 25% market share in the Indian golf market, which is pegged at around $11 million.

A month after demonetisation, the industry is yet to recover from the shock. Sales have dipped drastically, and small businesses have had to shut down.

A northern Illinois economic development group is working on what’s being called a “code of ethics” for its member communities. They’re not alone. In this WNIJ Friday Forum, Guy Stephens looks at codes that are being created and what they can mean to economic development. Striking a balance between competing local interests to achieve a benefit of all long has been a mantra of regional economic development. No one involved seems to disagree. Still, it has been deemed necessary to “get it in writing.” The Region 1 Planning Council is an economic development alliance that comprises the Rockford Metropolitan Agency for Planning (RMAP) and the Economic Development District of Northern Illinois (EDDNI). It includes the City of Rochelle along with governments in Stephenson, Winnebago, Boone and McHenry Counties. The Council has been working on its so-called “code of ethics” with the aim of having something in place this year. It would, among other things, prohibit local governments from

Every fall, northern Illinois farmers set up roadside shops to get their crops to market, as well as get visitors to check out their farms. You can find several of these along a stretch of Lincoln Highway east of DeKalb. One of the largest is Kuipers Family Farm in Maple Park. It has a pumpkin farm and apple orchard, plus a lot of family attractions. These range from train rides and corn mazes to climbing walls and a "bouncing pillow." Co-owner Kimberly Kuipers says these were inspired by taking their own kids to nearby farms. "They were very nice, but there was just a lot of stuff to look at and our kids wanted to climb over everything, and were constantly getting in trouble so we thought, 'Why don't we take what we want to see for our kids, and see if we can duplicate it at our own farm?'" she said. That's what attracted Michelle Barton and her children. "I love it, and we have a great time, so we enjoy running around and doing all the activities." Kuipers says her biggest source of

Coronavirus has highlighted the digital divide among low-income as well as rural students. Schools that don’t send students home with laptops rushed them equipment so they could do their homework online. School administrators say some parents claim to have internet access, but it may only be through a phone plan. Districts have distributed hot spots for families without a plan or where service is undependable. Particularly in rural communities like Montmorency, reliable internet connectivity is a major hurdle. Montmorency is a K-8 district in Whiteside County with around 230 students. Alex Moore is the superintendent. “On a good day, I get four megabytes per second download speed, so I knew that was going to be an issue. About half of our families probably have decent internet,” said Moore. Even that “good day” download speed doesn’t meet the FCC’s minimum recommendation for e-learning. For many younger students, remote learning has to be pencil and paper. Schools like Somonauk set up

ONE of the first things you notice about the Jacobs brothers is that they finish each other’s sentences.

WHILE almost every athlete has been affected by the global shutdown of sport, it is perhaps the old and the young who are feeling it the most.

GUS MACKAY was full of good intentions when he agreed to become Cricket Scotland’s new chief executive last October.

Not everyone will agree with Paul Maxwell’s Dream Team, however what is indisputable is there are few better than the Ashfield boss for coming up with a potent mix of current and bygone picks.

THEY are both strikers, share the same surname, and are expected to have key roles in the Macron Scottish Junior Cup quarter-finals, but that is where the similarities end for Darvel’s Allan Mackenzie and Hurlford United’s Marc McKenzie.

Many of us have flocked to our TVs to binge-watch a range of shows during the lockdown.

Quite possibly the Metal album you've been waiting for.

With all its creativity and musical genius, Proponent for Sentience could definitely be one of the best albums you've ever heard.

Metallica prove that they can still play Metal.

Hardwired... To Self-Destruct has that familiar Metallica flavour while venturing into some interesting new territory, but fails to deliver a hefty blow like the glory-day albums.

AS A teenager in the 40s and 50s, Glasgow was the place to be if you loved a dance - the Locarno, the Barrowland, the Majestic and more were the stuff of legend.

AS Scotland’s National Dance Company, Scottish Ballet aims to bring the benefits and joy of dance to everyone.

STRIKING the right balance between decision making and maintaining robust scrutiny and accountability is a constant conversation at the best of times, and is ever more important during a crisis. This played out strongly at the Scottish Parliament this week, and raises important questions for our own council too.

ASH GOLDIE has been inducted onto Glasgow Clan’s Warrior Wall of Fame.

GLASGOW CLAN have been eliminated from the Challenge Cup after a 4-0 defeat to Sheffield Steelers last night.

Glasgow Clan head coach Zack Fitzgerald believes the Challenge Cup format needs a revamp.

MAY is normally a busy month behind the scenes for Gareth Chalmers and the ongoing uncertainty around sport hasn’t changed that a huge amount.

CELTIC hero Chris Sutton has joked that Rangers' SPFL dossier has "shaken Scottish football to the core".

Secret Cinema has invited fans to enjoy past events from the comfort their home to sign up to their virtual film club.

IT SEEMS almost impossible to watch a newly released silent film now, but new film 12th Man is all about proving the impossible, possible.

The long-awaited Arkansas Valley Conduit has gained more traction. The Bureau of Reclamation and the Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy District have adopted a management plan for the pipeline. It will eventually channel clean drinking water from Pueblo Reservoir to six counties in the lower Arkansas River Valley, serving an estimated 50,000 people.

Parallel 45 Theatre is about to try something new. The professional theatre company started in Traverse City seven years ago and typically produces three to four shows throughout the year. Next year, the company wants to produce more shows, for more people.

In the early 1800’s, American painter Edward Hicks began painting “Peaceable Kingdom," a series of 62 paintings inspired by a verse in the book of Isaiah. The verse says, “The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them.” In Traverse City, two different art galleries are bringing that concept to the art world.

October 28, 2019: Next Tuesday, San Francisco voters go to the polls to vote on a slate of city officials -- many of whom are running unopposed -- and ballot measures that address housing, campaign finance, e-cigarettes and taxes on Uber and Lyft rides.