Year: 2020

Clothing suppliers are currently facing a barrage of cancelled orders, but care needs to be taken to ensure they do not turn to unregistered subcontractors with a high risk of labour abuses and poor factory safety once business resumes, says GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.   During the COVID-19 pandemic, consumers have shifted their purchases from clothing to essentials. Compounded by government-imposed lockdowns around the world, sales have fallen sharply and hundreds of brands have either reduced or cancelled their orders. In turn, this is forcing many factories…

China’s government is authoritarian, its economy has slowed from the torrid pace of recent years, and it has more than its share of accounting scandals. It is not just foreign companies buying assets that is the problem ─ it is the state-owned and massively subsidized companies of China that are dangerous because China uses its state-owned enterprises as a strategic tool of the state. By pretending they are private companies abiding by free-market rules makes us the biggest chumps on the planet. As per the report.   People’s Bank of China…

The Indian army has carried out precision targeting of gun areas and terror launch pads across the Line of Control from its posts in the Keran sector of Kupwara, people familiar with the development said.   The action, came in response to unprovoked ceasefire violations by Pakistan, was designed to destroy terror launch pads close to the border. There have been multiple intelligence reports about terrorists waiting across the Line of Control to infiltrate into India.   A top counter-terror operative said India was forced to retaliate in this sector…

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, billions of people around the world are relying on social media and messaging platforms to stay connected. Big tech has also donated millions of dollars in relief efforts and teamed up with medical organizations to disseminate accurate medical information about COVID-19. Services such as Facebook, once under fire for collecting personal data, are now sharing anonymized metadata to help track virus outbreaks. However, fake news is ratcheting up on social media and messaging platforms, and how big tech handles the influx could go a long way…

The Odisha government has come up with an ordinance with a provision of imprisonment of up to two years for those who violate lockdown regulations by amending Section 3 of the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897.   As per the Epidemic Diseases (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020, any person who will not obey any regulation or order made under the Act, is liable for imprisonment up to two years or with a fine of up to Rs 10,000 or with both.   However, all offences under the Act shall be cognisable and bailable, Asit Tripathy, Odisha’s…

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) will for the first time hold a closed session on Thursday to discuss the COVID-19 pandemic that has killed more than 74,000 people and infected over 1.3 million globally.   Council President for the month of April, the Dominican Republic, said it has formally scheduled a closed video-teleconferencing (VTC) “regarding the impact of COVID-19 on the issues that fall under the UNSC mandate”.   UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will participate in the session on Thursday afternoon as a briefer. It remains to be seen…

Amid COVID-19, Japan is willing to fund its companies to shift manufacturing operations out of China, as the disruptions caused to production by the pandemic, has forced Japan to rethink the business deal between two major trading countries.   As part of its economic stimulus package, Japan has earmarked $2.2 billion to help its manufacturers shift production out of China.   China is Japan’s biggest trading partner under normal circumstances, but imports from China have slumped by almost half in February due to lockdowns to curb the spread of the…

The head of International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently said that the fatal pandemic coronavirus will push the global economy into country’s Greatest Depression, as the world’s poorest countries will suffer the most.   “We anticipate the worst economic fallout since the Great Depression,” IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said, in remarks previewing next week’s virtual meetings of the 189-nation IMF and its sister lending organisation, the World Bank.   The IMF will release an updated world economic forecast on Tuesday that will show just how quickly the coronavirus outbreak has…

Employees Provident Fund Organization, EPFO, has processed about 1.37 lakh claims disbursing 279.65 crore rupees under a new provision to help subscribers fight COVID-19. The provision for a special withdrawal from the EPF Scheme to fight COVID-19 pandemic is part of the Prime Minister’s Garib Kalyan Yojana announced by the government . The remittances of the money have already started taking place. EPFO is also accepting the date of birth recorded in the Aadhaar card of a subscriber as a valid proof for rectification of the date of birth in PF records. The…

Chief Admiral of Indian Navy Karambir Singh asked the Navy personnel to ensure that vital operational assets such as ships and submarines remain free from the Corona virus. In a video message to all Navy personnel, he said,  Corona virus pandemic is unprecedented.    “Our ships and aircraft are on standby to support the government and civil administration. We are ready to extend support not only to our country but to Indian Ocean region nations, island territories of our country,” the navy chief said.   “The coronavirus pandemic is unprecedented…