India's economic engine is revving up, but navigating the global headwinds requires sharp strategy. The rupee's recent volatility against the dollar underscores the complexities facing Indian businesses, impacting everything from import-export trade to domestic inflation. This week alone, we've seen significant shifts in the IT sector, with major players announcing restructuring and a renewed focus on AI-driven solutions. Meanwhile, the burgeoning startup ecosystem continues to attract substantial funding, despite a cautious global investor sentiment. The government's recent policy announcements on infrastructure development and digitalization are poised to further shape the business landscape, creating both opportunities and challenges for entrepreneurs and established corporations alike. Understanding these market dynamics is crucial for success in today's rapidly evolving Indian economy. Stay informed with Abtak.com for the latest insights and analysis on key sectors including finance, manufacturing, and technology – empowering your business decisions in a dynamic market. Explore the complete business news section now to stay ahead of the curve.
Chennai: Theatre snacks are not the only thing burning a hole in Chennaiites' pockets; parking fees in the city can cost as much, or more. While cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Pune and Kolkata have either flat rates or nominal parking fees as low as 20, Chennai stands out for charging exorbitant parking fees of 80 for the first hour and 40 for every hour.Akshay Kumar, an IT professional, said: "The current rate is 100 for two hours, and 90 for each extra hour. Most films run longer, and the multiplex I go to often delays shows by 30 minutes. I end up paying 200 or more just for parking. That's almost the cost of a movie ticket."While hearing a recent case filed by V Arun Kumar against a mall, which charged 80 for his two-wheeler for two hours, a consumer forum said it was an unfair trade practice.Under Section 39(1)(g) of the Consumer Protection Act, the District Consumer Commission can direct a business to discontinue an unfair trade practice. If it fails to comply, the complainant can seek execution; be it compensation, attachment of property, or even arrest. "However, one ruling can't change the entire industry unless it comes from the high court. The non-compliance becomes contempt of court," said advocate Sanjay Pinto.Beyond legality, many say the issue is one of fairness. "In places like Dubai, malls give four to six hours of free parking. If misuse is a concern, validation through shopping bills can work," said advocate Akhil Bhansali.Sujith G, an entrepreneur, calls the fee structure exploitative. "Parking is built as a part of the facility; it's not a revenue model," he said."Free parking may not be possible everywhere. However, there needs to be a cap on parking fees to prevent exorbitant rates and fleecing of customers," said Sanjay.
Vijayawada: Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Friday unveiled an ambitious vision to transform Visakhapatnam into a new Mumbai over the next seven years. He directed officials to develop the 'Visakha Economic Region' as AP's primary growth engine, aiming for a staggering $120 billion economy from this region by 2032. The proposed economic region encompasses eight districts, including Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram, Srikakulam, Anakapalli, Kakinada, East Godavari, Alluri Sitharama Raju (ASR), and Manyam. The Chief Minister has instructed the officials to launch projects that will significantl ...Read More >
Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], June 27 (ANI): A female student was allegedly gang-raped inside a law college in Kolkata's Kasba on Wednesday evening. The police have arrested all three accused within 24 hours. The three accused, named as Monojit Mishra (31), Zaib Ahmed (19), and Pramit Mukhopadhyay (20), were former students or staff members of the same law college. Also Read | Student Gang-Raped at South Kolkata Law College: Police Arrest 3 Youths for Sexually Assaulting Young Woman Inside Law College. According to the police, the accused named in the FIR will be produced before the A.C.J. ...Read More >
Kolkata, Jun 28 (PTI) Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Saturday said the Centre is committed to investing in the railway sector in West Bengal and has significantly increased allocations as part of its broader push to boost connectivity, cargo movement and support micro and small enterprises in the state. Speaking at the inauguration of the Udyami Sammelan Mela 2025 at the National Library in Kolkata, Vaishnaw said the railway budget for Bengal has seen a sharp rise from around Rs 3,000 crore under the previous regime to around Rs 14,000 crore now. The minister outlined upcoming projects, ...Read More >
Bengaluru: Mysuru Dasara is set to run for 11 days this year -- a rare extension driven by celestial alignment and cultural planning -- with the inaugural ceremony on Sept 22 and the grand Jamboo Savari taking place on Oct 2, coinciding with Vijayadashami and Gandhi Jayanti.Chairing a high-level meeting at Vidhana Soudha Friday, chief minister Siddaramaiah said, "Mysuru Dasara in 2025 will be celebrated for 11 days, due to a unique astronomical occurrence -- the Panchami tithi (fifth lunar day) will appear on two consecutive days, Sept 26 and 27, a rare alignment that hasn't occurred in nearly ...Read More >
Hyderabad: Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) Working President K.T. Rama Rao (KTR) arrived back in Hyderabad on Thursday after completing his official tour of the United Kingdom. The visit, aimed at promoting Telangana's investment potential, included high-level meetings with business leaders, investors, and representatives of the Indian diaspora. During his UK tour, KTR showcased Telangana's achievements in sectors like IT, pharma, life sciences, and infrastructure development. He also addressed various business forums, emphasizing Hyderabad's emergence as a global investment hub. "Telangana co ...Read More >
New Delhi, Jul 15 (PTI) YouTuber Samay Raina appeared before the National Commission for Women (NCW) in Delhi on Tuesday, months after he was summoned in connection with allegedly offensive and sexist content aired during his show "India's Got Latent", officials said. Raina was also among the five social media influencers who appeared before the Supreme Court in a case seeking action against them for ridiculing persons suffering from disabilities. Raina submitted his statement in response to the allegations to NCW officials. Officials said further steps will be considered after reviewing his ...Read More >
VIJAYAWADA: Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has directed the officials to develop 'Visakha Economic Region' as the growth engine of Andhra Pradesh, with an aim to transforming it into a USD 120 billion economic region by 2032. He emphasised the need to develop Visakhapatnam on the lines of Mumbai in the next seven years. The Economic Region consists of eight districts including Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram, Srikakulam, Anakapalli, Kakinada, East Godavari, ASR, and Manyam. The Chief Minister instructed officials to develop projects that would boost economic activity across this eight-distri ...Read More >
Ludhiana, Jun 8 (PTI) Punjab Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring on Sunday asserted that his party will win the Ludhiana West assembly bypoll, scheduled to be held on june 19, with a "record margin". "Congress practically has no competition here", he claimed. Warring, who is also the Ludhiana MP, said that the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) was badly mistaken that the Congress would allow it to abuse power and misuse the official machinery for the elections. "First of all, we will not let any misuse of the official machinery and second, in case any official is found to be misusing ...Read More >
VISAKHAPATNAM: Energy Minister Gottipati Ravi Kumar inaugurated Andhra Pradesh's first Super ECBC (Energy Conservation Building Code) compliant building at Sagar Nagar in Visakhapatnam on Friday. Terming it a landmark in sustainable infrastructure, he emphasised the government's commitment to energy efficiency and green design in public facilities. The facility will serve as a national-level training hub for power sector staff. He urged power utilities to expedite 20 lakh rooftop solar connections, targeting 10,000 in each Assembly segment. He reaffirmed nine-hour uninterrupted power for agri ...Read More >
Hyderabad, Jun 28 (PTI) Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Saturday said the state government would make efforts to generate lakhs of jobs by establishing IT companies on the 400-acre land parcel next to the University of Hyderabad here. He also said the government will fight in the courts to reclaim the land. A row had erupted over tree felling on the 400-acre land in April this year. The Supreme Court had then rapped the Telangana government over its rushed action to fell trees on the land parcel and directed it to submit a specific plan to restore the 100 acres of deforested land ...Read More >
Jaipur: Police in Didwana have stepped up their probe into a cross-border smuggling case in which they arrested two arms and drug smugglers on June 27 for supplying Austrian Glock and Chinese Norinco pistols. It has emerged that the case has links to a massive Rs 300-crore heroin consignment seized by Punjab's Amritsar police near the India-Pakistan border in Barmer on June 30. Canada-based Joben Kaler was identified as the main overseas handler of the heroin consignment. Didwana-Kuchaman police had arrested Mohammad Ilyas from Khunkhuna and Amarjeet Singh Takhar, alias Prince, from Jalandhar ...Read More >
Lucknow, Jul 14 (PTI) Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday said the state's health services must be made future-ready to keep pace with global advancements and effectively respond to emerging challenges. He was speaking at the foundation stone laying and inauguration ceremony of various health projects worth Rs 1,000 crore at King George's Medical University (KGMU) here. Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak, who also holds the Health portfolio, and Medical Education Minister Mayankeshwar Sharan Singh were present on the occasion. The chief minister said institutions like K ...Read More >
Chandigarh, Jun 26 (PTI) A Mohali court on Thursday sent to a seven-day remand Shiromani Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia, who was arrested by the Vigilance Bureau on Wednesday in an alleged disproportionate assets case involving Rs 540 crore of laundered "drug money". Before producing Majithia in court amid tight security arrangements, police detained several Akali supporters protesting against the arrest near the court complex. Ferry Sofat, the counsel representing the bureau, told reporters the court has sent Majithia to seven-day vigilance remand, with the next date set on July 2. ...Read More >
Dehradun: The Uttarakhand State Election Commission (SEC), on June 21, issued a notification for the three-tier panchayat elections in 12 districts except Haridwar. Polls would be held in two phases, and the district election officers will issue notifications on June 30. The first phase will be conducted on July 24, followed by the second phase on July 28. The counting for all phases will be conducted by July 31. Earlier, the Uttarakhand High Court had stayed the panchayat elections in the state on June 23, at a time when it had already been notified by the SEC. Elections will be held in 89 ...Read More >
Hyderabad, Jun 28 (PTI) Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Saturday said the state government would make efforts to generate lakhs of jobs by establishing IT companies on the 400-acre land parcel next to the University of Hyderabad here. He also said the government will fight in the courts to reclaim the land. Also Read | Indian Astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla Describes Life on ISS During Video Interaction With PM Narendra Modi, Says 'From Here, We See Sunrise and Sunset 16 Times a Day' (Watch Video). A row had erupted over tree felling on the 400-acre land in April this year. The Supr ...Read More >
New Delhi, Jul 6 (PTI) Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP Manoj Jha has moved the Supreme Court challenging an Election Commission's order directing for special intensive revision of electoral rolls in Bihar. Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra has also approached the apex court against the EC's order. Also Read | PM Modi Narendra Highlights Pahalgam Terror Attack at BRICS Summit 2025, Says Condemning Terrorism Should Be Our 'Principle', Not Just 'Convenience'. In his plea filed through advocate Fauzia Shakil, Jha said EC's June 24 order be quashed for being violative of Articles 14, 21, 325 and ...Read More >
SRINAGAR: A defiant Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday scaled the gates of the Naqshband Sahib graveyard to pay tributes to the 22 people killed by the Dogra army on July 13, 1931. The dramatic scene unfolded a day after Abdullah and several leaders of the National Conference and opposition parties were put under house arrest to prevent them from going to the graveyard to mark Martyrs' Day. National Conference president Farooq Abdullah took an autorickshaw from the Khanyar crossing to the martyrs memorial while Minister for Education Sakina Ittoo surprised everyone by r ...Read More >
New Delhi, Jul 15 (PTI) The Indian economy is expected to grow at 6.5 per cent in the current financial year, despite geo-political tensions and trade policy uncertainties, Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) Chairman S Mahendra Dev said on Tuesday. In an interview with PTI, Dev further said that domestic growth will be driven by low inflation, resulting from good monsoon and benign interest rate regime, triggered by three back-to-back rate cuts by the Reserve Bank of India. "There are significant global headwinds like the twin shocks of geo-political tensions and trade ...Read More >
New Delhi, Jul 15 (PTI) Two people died and four others were injured after a fire broke out at a house in east Delhi's Old Govindpura area on Tuesday evening, an official said. Police have identified the deceased as Tanveer (28) and Nusrat. A call was received at Jagatpuri police station at 8.46 pm regarding a fire incident at Band Gali, Old Govindpura, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Shahdara) Prashant Gautam said. When a police team reached the spot, it found that 10 people were trapped inside a residential building that caught fire, the DCP said. With the help of police personnel and fir ...Read More >
Bihar's infrastructure has seen a 15-fold increase in data consumption over the past five years. Road density is now the third highest in India, electricity generation has increased tenfold, and IT parks and data centers are being developed. Numerous bridges and expanded rail lines are improving connectivity and boosting trade.Bihar has seen a 15-fold jump in data consumption in the last five years as the state goes big on developing infrastructure, investing in connectivity and building rail and ...Read More >
Thiruvananthapuram: In his budget for 2025-26, Finance Minister K N Balagopal emphasised on technology, research, jobs, and education, positioning the state as a knowledge powerhouse. Here are key allocations and initiatives that could fuel the state's knowledge economy vision. Technology & AI * Rs 10 crore for establishing a world-class GPU cluster in Thiruvananthapuram to develop AI and AVGC (Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, and Comics) industries. Unlike a CPU (Central Processing Unit), optimised for sequential tasks, a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) excels at parallel processing, maki ...Read More >
New Delhi: Lawyers from the district courts decided on Saturday to roll back their decision to abstain from work in protest against the shifting of the judges of the 34 digital Negotiable Instruments Act courts to the Rouse Avenue courts.A statement released by the All District Courts Bar Association of Delhi on Saturday said that the lawyers' coordination committee met the chief justice of Delhi High Court and was assured that all digital courts would function strictly as digital platforms only. The remaining proceedings and judicial work only would be conducted in the regular local courts, t ...Read More >
Bhubaneswar: Revenue minister Suresh Pujari on Saturday said Odisha would not be allowed to follow the lawless path in sand operations like it is in Bihar and West Bengal, while responding to the recent assault of an additional tehsildar in Kaptipada block, Mayurbhanj district, by the sand mafia. He promised stringent action against the sand mafia regardless of their connections, while speaking to mediapersons here on Saturday."The Kaptipada incident represents a serious escalation in conflict between law enforcement and the sand mafia. The attack on officers performing their enforcement dutie ...Read More >
MADURAI: Likening the custodial murder of Ajith Kumar in Tiruppuvanam to an 'organised crime by police where the state kills its own citizens,' Madras high court lambasted the Tamil Nadu police and said the action against the perpetrators should be more stringent than in normal murder cases.A division bench of Justice S M Subramaniam and Justice A D Maria Clete pointed to 44 external injuries on the person of Ajith Kumar and said no part of the body was spared by the delinquent cops. "Even an ordinary murderer would not have inflicted such kind of injuries," the bench said on Tuesday.The natur ...Read More >
Amritsar (Punjab) [India], July 15 (ANI): The Golden Temple in Punjab's Amritsar received another bomb threat on Tuesday. The dog squad has been deployed at the Golden Temple premises as part of a security check. The holy site for Sikhs received a bomb threat via e-mail for the second consecutive day. Also Read | India Raises Pahalgam Terror Attack at SCO Meeting: EAM S Jaishankar Calls for 'Uncompromising Position' on Combatting Terrorism. Pratap Singh, Secretary of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), demanded strict action against the miscreants. Pratap Singh told reporte ...Read More >
Guwahati, Jul 15 (PTI) Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi will visit Assam on Wednesday during which they will interact with party functionaries of the state. State Congress chief Gaurav Gogoi said the district, block and mandal presidents of the party will be able to present their views before its top leadership during Kharge and Gandhi's visit. Also Read | Did Lucknow Court Judge Take Selfie With Rahul Gandhi During Hearing of Indian Army 'Defamation' Case? BJP's Amit Malviya Found Fake in Fact Check. "I look forward to welcoming Shri ...Read More >
New Delhi: The death sentence of Kerala nurse Nimisha Priya, who was sentenced to death in Yemen, has been postponed for the time being. She was to be executed by shooting today, July 16. According to media reports, activist groups and influential religious leaders intervened in the matter, after which the death sentence of Nimisha Priya was postponed. Earlier, many efforts were also made at the diplomatic level to save Nimisha from the death penalty. There is also news that the victim's family has not yet agreed to clemency or blood money. As a last-ditch effort to save her, Kanthapuram A. ...Read More >
Kolkata: On the 13th day of teachers' protest outside Bikash Bhavan, the protesting teachers split among themselves and formed a new platform. At least 2,500 protesters stood by the chief minister, as stated in a press conference by education minister Bratya Basu on Monday. Reacting to a question from media, Basu said in Titagarh, "I will trust those who have written to me expressing their faith in the chief minister."The new organisation formed was named the West Bengal Untainted Teachers Associ ...Read More >
Silchar: Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday visited the flood-ravaged districts of Hailakandi and Sribhumi in the Barak Valley. He assured affected residents of providing timely disbursement of rehabilitation grants and swift repair of damaged infrastructure.This marks Sarma's second visit to the flood-hit region within four days, underscoring the gravity of the situation. Speaking to the media in Sribhumi after inspecting multiple relief camps, the CM said, "Flood-related problems may persist till July. I will return before Durga Puja to ensure that roads and infrastructure ar ...Read More >
Gurgaon: Two days after a law student died and his friend suffered critical injuries when a car knocked them down as they stood near railing on the service lane of Delhi-Jaipur highway in the early hours of Tuesday, a civil engineer was arrested on Thursday.Mohit (31), an employee of a private company in the city, told police that he got drowsy while driving. He is staying at a PG facility in Sector 14.The student who died, Harsh Singhal (25), was a resident of Om Nagar colony. His friend Abhishek Kumar (23), who is from Shanti Nagar in Sector 11, is undergoing treatment at a private hospital ...Read More >