Year: 2020

A three-judge bench headed by justice Ashok Bhushan held that the two funds can exist separately and individuals and organisations are free to contribute to NDRF but funds from PM Cares need not be transferred to NDRF.   The PM Cares Fund set up by the central government is not in violation of the Disaster Management Act (DM Act) of 2005, the Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday, while rejecting a plea seeking transfer of all contributions made to PM Cares Fund till date to the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF),…

With a surge of privatization efforts aimed at education institutes in the country, India is no stranger to an exponential growth of student loan borrowers. Even before the pandemic swept the nation into all kinds of catastrophe, India’s economy has suffered a good deal of calamity already.   In 2019, India struggled with a 6.1% unemployment rate and today it’s risen to a staggering 27.11%. This inadvertently draws the spotlight on students who have taken up study loans, who are forecasted to default on their loans owing to the ever-increasing…

A big change in Congress campus was seen recently when senior party leader Ajay Maken replaced Avinash Pande as the new General Secretary in-Charge for Rajasthan.   Congress Chief Sonia Gandhi also set up a three-member committee to resolve the issues raised by party rebels in Rajasthan.    Senior party leader Ahmed Patel, Ajay Maken and KC Venugopal have been made members of the panel.   The appointments come in the wake of a rebellion in the Rajasthan government with former Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot and 18 other MLAs…

Fire broke out at Parliament Annexe building’s sixth floor on Monday morning. Seven fire tenders were rushed to Parliament Annexe building in central Delhi after a fire incident was reported, an official said. The Delhi Fire Service official said the fire broke out on the sixth floor of the building.   A call was received at 7.30 am and it is suspected the fire started following a short-circuit. The fire has been brought under control, said Atul Garg, Director, Delhi Fire Service.

LG Electronics celebrates this Independence Day, by announcing its contribution under ‘Kar Salaam- A CSR initiative’. Under the aegis of this initiative, LG Electronics will donate 1 crore to Armed Forces Flag Day Fund (AFFDF) under Kendriya Sainik Board Secretariat (KSB SECTT), a nodal organization of the Govt. of India, Ministry of Defence. AFFDF is dedicated to welfare of war widows, children of martyr’s, war disabled soldiers & Ex-servicemen.  Kar Salaam initiative was started 3 years ago by LG Electronics, dedicated to the soldiers of India. Through the initiative, LG…

Delhi Deputy CM and Education Minister Manish Sisodia, while speaking to the media raised issues of students taking vocational courses. He said that universities like Delhi University etc., are not treating those students equally to the students taking a regular degree.   The minister in a press meet raised the question of how the goal of giving a push to vocational education as mentioned in the new National Education Policy can be achieved when the system does not respect those with skill education.   He further added that students with…

Biological E. Limited (“BE”) has entered into an agreement with Janssen Pharmaceutica NV (“Janssen”), one of the Janssen Pharmaceutical companies of Johnson & Johnson, for the creation / enhancement of manufacturing capacities for drug substance and drug product for Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate, Ad26.COV2.S. Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate is currently in Phase 1/2a clinical trials.   “We are very pleased indeed to collaborate with an organisation like Johnson & Johnson. Given the magnitude of the COVID-19 pandemic, our ability to mount an effective response will be predicated on the ability…

Global tech giant Huawei held its Asia Pacific Financial Industry Storage Summit 2020 on Thursday. Business and technology leaders across the region gathered to discuss how 5G and the revolution in the data storage world will define the future of financial industry in the “new normal.”   Themed “Unleash the power of data-driven intelligent finance,” the virtual conference brought together key decision-makers from financial institutions such as The Asian Banker, DBS Bank and China Construction Bank Asia, to address the latest trends, developments and data-driven opportunities in the industry.   COVID-19 drives use…

Following the news that German auto maker Volkswagen plans to exit diesel vehicle segment in India;   Bakar Sadik Agwan, Senior Automotive Consultant at GlobalData, a leading research and consulting company, offers his view:   “OEMs are certainly not finding the diesel segment in India as lucrative as before. Market leader Maruti Suzuki and other players including Nissan and Renault are looking to phase out their existing diesel variants and introduce more petrol, CNG or hybrid variants. Volkswagen is the latest OEM to join the list as the company plans…

The Indian motor insurance business is expected to contract by 27.2% in 2020, a sharp decline from the 10.1% growth witnessed in 2019, according to GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.   GlobalData has revised India’s motor insurance forecast in the aftermath of the COVID-19 outbreak. As per the latest data, motor insurance business is expected to register a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 1.1% over 2019-2023, compared to the earlier forecast of 11.3%. This is primarily due to the current economic uncertainty and lockdown restrictions imposed in…