Month: January 2020

The co-owner of Atlas Cycles, Natasha Kapur and wife of Sanjay Kapur committed suicide at her Aurangzeb Lane residence in Lutyens’ Delhi on Tuesday. She left a suicide note before committing suicide. In her suicide letter, Natasha Kapur said that she did something that “should not have been done” and she was ashamed.   Police said Natasha Kapur, in her suicide note, asked her family members to take care of themselves. She, however, did not mention the reason for taking the extreme step. The 57-year-old also said no one else…

Accusing the opposition parties of trying to mislead people, BJP MP Roopa Ganguly said that the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) should be regarded as the ‘world’s most important human rights law’. Winding up her two-day Odisha visit, the actor- turned-politician said that CAA will not take away anyone’s citizenship. “In no way, the CAA will have any adverse impact on Indian citizens. Opposition parties are spreading lies and misleading people for narrow political purpose,” she said.   “Despite all the hue and cry, CAA symbolizes humanism,” Ganguly concluded.

Cadbury chocolates manufacturer Mondelez India Foods Private Limited has paid ₹439 crore under the Sabka Vishwas (Legacy Dispute Resolution) Scheme, 2019, to settle a ₹580-crore excise tax dispute.    In 2011, the Directorate General of Central Excise Intelligence (DGCEI) which is now known as the Directorate General of Goods and Services Tax Intelligence (DGGSTI) had initiated a probe against the company for allegedly misusing “area-based exemption” for a new unit in Baddi in Himachal Pradesh to avail excise duty benefits, even before it came into existence. The “area-based exemption” for new units of firms in Himachal Pradesh provides full…

On Wednesday, Trump tweeted a record 131 times between 12 a.m. and 4:25 p.m. ET, The Associated Press reports. He did not let the World Economic Forum, international travel, or a Senate impeachment trial get in the way of his Twitter time.   This was his most active day on Twitter since he became president. The previous record was set just last month on Dec. 12, when Trump tweeted his heart out as the House Judiciary Committee began its session approving two articles of impeachment against him. His fingers were…

Union Home minister Amit Shah was in Lucknow addressing a rally in support of CAA. He called for a public debate on the legislation that had triggered the country-wide protest and forced BJP to launch CAA awareness campaign to awaken the people in favour of it.   Addressing the rally, Amit Shah cleared out straight, “Protest as much as you can, CAA will not be taken back.” Shah also lashed out Congress’s Rahul Gandhi as well as West Bengal chief minister Mamta Banerjee and Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav and…

Greta Thunberg is not just helping to save the planet – she is reshaping the global investment industry, says the boss of one of the world’s largest independent financial advisory organisations.   The comments from Nigel Green, the chief executive and founder of deVere Group, which operates in 100 countries worldwide, come as the high-profile young Swedish environmental activist urged political and business leaders and the media at the World Economic Forum in Davos to heed the science as she warned time was running out to tackle global warming.  …

Kishore Biyani-led Future Group has scaled down its e-commerce venture, Retail 3.0 and laid off 350-400 employees.   The layoffs across roles in sales, product development, marketing and ground operations were carried out in the last few months, four former employees privy with the development said on condition of anonymity.   The closure of 140 EasyDay stores in November was part of the same restructuring exercise, said one of the two people cited.   While announcing Future Group’s e-commerce strategy in 2017, Biyani had stressed blending technology with his existing…

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said that although the global economic slowdown is easing, recovery will be sluggish in 2020.   In the latest update to its World Economic Outlook, released Monday, the IMF lowered its global growth estimate for 2020 to 3.3%, 0.1% lower than the previous report released in October.   Nevertheless, the IMF numbers for 2020 indicate a modest increase in growth compared to 2019, which saw the global economy grow by 2.9%   The forecast comes a day before political and corporate leaders gather for…

As the 71st Republic Day is round the corner, the preparations are in full swing. This year Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro will attend the January 26 ceremony as the chief guest. PM Modi had extended the invitation to him last year.   The invitation to Bolsonaro is a part of Indian government’s outreach to Latin and South America, including exchange of high level visits to boost trade and investments.   The choice of a chief guest at the Republic Day celebrations is influenced by several factors, including strategic relations and commercial…

The newly appointed chairman of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) Arvind Singh has revealed to have a major infrastructure upgradation plan for the next five years involving a whopping investment of Rs 25,000 crore.   “We need a huge amount of investment — several billions of dollars – to ensure holistic infrastructure upgradation in the aviation sector across the country. We will invest about Rs 25,000 crore to augment facilities and infrastructure at the airports during the next five years,” said Singh.   Talking about the growth in the…