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.
MUMBAI: The civic administration has introduced sweeping relaxations to fast-track the installation of piped natural gas (PNG) across Mumbai, facilitating the transition from LPG to piped cooking gas. The urgency arises from a crippling shortage of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) used for cooking, due to the war in West Asia. PNG supply has so far not been disrupted for domestic consumers, with the state government mandating that residents make the switch from LPG to PNG in areas where piped gas infrastructure is already available, within three months. In view of this, a circular was issued by the BMC's chief engineer (roads and traffic) Girish Nikam, on March 30, stating that where Mahanagar Gas Limited (MGL) is the PNG provider, ward offices have been directed to treat all existing and pending applications as deemed approved, allowing immediate commencement of work. For new applications, permissions are to be granted within 24 hours across all categories of roads. The circular introduces wide-ranging relaxations in financial requirements for MGL. The company has also been allowed to carry out work round the clock, with seasonal restrictions relaxed until June 30. The requirement of prior no-objection certificates from the chief fire officer and traffic police has also been eased, with only daily intimation to ward offices now required. "We want MGL to start the work and have waived all formalities. The demand note can be settled later. If they are willing to restore the road, they need not pay upfront. We want to expedite the process," said Nikam. A senior BMC official said that earlier, roads under the defect liability period (DLP) - the three-year period after a road is concretised or asphalted - required clearance from the chief engineer, but this has been relaxed. Now ward officers and assistant engineers (roads) are authorised to take decisions, covering both DLP and non-DLP roads. In H-West ward, around ten applications that were in process have been deemed approved since the circular was issued. In F-South ward, three applications have been received since the circular, with work already started on one and set to begin on the other two, a civic official said.
Mumbai: The birth of three penguin chicks at Mumbai's Veermata Jijabai Bhosale Udyan and Zoo has sparked an unexpected row not over their care, but their names. BJP functionary Nitin Bankar from the Byculla Assembly constituency has objected to the chicks being given English names, insisting they be named in Marathi instead. The BMC is expected to respond by June 10, after which Bankar will decide his next move. Speaking to The Free Press Journal, Bankar said, "When penguins were brought from abroad, we accepted that their names would be in English. But these chicks were born on the soil of M ...Read More >
Hyderabad, Jun 6 (PTI) Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Friday said BRS president K Chandrasekhar Rao should face an inquiry by the judicial commission on the Kaleshwaram project instead of attacking the Congress government. Addressing a public meeting after attending various development programmes in Yadadri-Bhuvanagri district, he referred to the judicial panel summoning KCR and the BRS criticising the state government on the matter. Also Read | Water Cut in Pune: Supply Suspended in South Pune on June 12 Due to Maintenance Work; Check Affected Areas. The judicial commission is ...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 >
Shimla, Jul 2 (PTI) The controversy over a five-storey building collapsing in Bhatta Kuffar area in Shimla saw two officials of National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) being booked on Wednesday on complaints by residents for allegedly endangering life and intentional hurt. This came a day after a case was filed against Himachal Pradesh Panchayati Raj Minister Anirudh Singh on charges of wrongful restraint and voluntarily causing hurt after he allegedly assaulted the two NHAI officials while inspecting the building collapse site. The FIR against the minister was lodged on the complaint fil ...Read More >
Mumbai: The death toll in Monday's BEST bus crash rose to seven and the number of injured to 42 even as the driver, Sanjay More, booked for culpable homicide not amounting to murder, claimed he had noticed a spark and mistakenly accelerated the bus instead of applying brakes. Seeking More's custody, police said they want to investigate if he intentionally used the vehicle as a weapon. The bus on Route 332 had accelerated on a congested 200m stretch near Kurla station hitting vehicles and pedestr ...Read More >
New Delhi, Jun 7 (PTI) Cracking down the whip on overage wrestlers competing at junior level, the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) has handed temporary suspension to 30 of them in the past month after investigating more than 400 such cases. The WFI acted on complaints, largely from coaches and wrestlers from the Delhi 'Akharas' that many wrestlers from Haryana have procured fake certificates to show they were born in the national capital and are eligible to compete at junior level. Much to the exasperation of WFI, two overage wrestlers even won medals at the recent Khelo India Games in Bi ...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 >
New Delhi: All city gas distribution (CGD) companies will now pay the same pipeline tariff regardless of their distance from the gas supply source, a measure that will help reduce transportation costs for licensees and potentially lower cooking and transport fuel prices in far-flung licensed areas. The Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) has amended the Natural Gas Pipeline Tariff Regulations, introducing key reforms to the sector. These include streamlining unified tariff zones, allowing a single pipeline tariff for CGD companies, and creating a dedicated pipeline development ...Read More >
BHUBANESWAR: Days after the obscene remarks of Nilagiri MLA Santosh Khatua against senior BJD leader Lekhashree Samantsinghar sparked widespread outrage, the official stand of the BJP was still not clear on the contentious issue. Neither the state government nor BJP president Manmohan Samal came forward to condemn the uncharitable remarks of the party MLA or hold him to task. None of the ministers and top functionaries of the party including Samal were forthcoming to give the stated position of the government on the issue. The BJP's silence on Khatua's behaviour comes days after assault of a ...Read More >
Nalgonda: Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka on Sunday said that the Congress government would stand tall and work tirelessly for the public, no matter how many conspiracies were hatched by the Opposition. He said the Opposition was conspiring against the Congress government because its welfare programmes were fundamentally changing lives and increasing its popularity. He pointed out that there were 1.1 crore families in Telangana, and the benefits of at least one of the welfare schemes had reached nearly 93 lakh families. "In just one and a half years, we have implemented some for ...Read More >
New Delhi: Three Indian citizens vanished mysteriously in Tehran. Darkness closed in as hope seemed lost. A ruthless Pakistani gang with potential links to ISI snatched them away, casting a shadow of fear. But relentless Indian diplomats refused to back down. Against all odds, a daring rescue mission ignited. Now, the captives are free, and a chilling game of espionage comes to light. The Punjab-based trio - Amritpal Singh from Hoshiarpur, Jaspal Singh from SBS Nagar and Hushnapreet Singh from Sangrur - had landed in Iran on May 1. Promised a clandestine route to Australia via Dubai and Tehra ...Read More >
Srinagar- Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Saturday said foreign countries were told clearly during the post-Operation Sindoor diplomatic outreach that in case of a fresh provocation, India would repeat its action. Speaking at a discussion at the Ahmedabad Management Association, Tharoor said Indian delegations which visited foreign countries in the aftermath of Operation Sindoor managed to convey that India acted with restraint and responsibility. "In other places, we actually were able to get some very high-placed people to say not only that they respected and supported India's right of self- ...Read More >
Nagpur: The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) has welcomed the state govt's decision to withdraw the controversial government resolutions (GRs) mandating Hindi as a compulsory third language from Class I. The party has called it a victory for Marathi pride and a direct result of party chief Raj Thackeray's steadfast opposition.Nagpur-based Sharad Bhandarkar, state general secretary of MNS Shikshak Shikshattar Sena (teaching and non-teaching staff association), said the move reflects the party's lo ...Read More >
Mumbai: Two months since the BMC started a dedicated drive to collect domestic hazardous waste, nearly 2,000 housing societies, women's hostels, beauty parlours, and educational institutions registered for the initiative.Currently, an average of 1.7 tonnes of such waste is collected daily and transported to six plasma incineration facilities within BMC's jurisdiction for safe and scientific disposal. This includes adult diapers, sanitary pads, pet waste, discarded medicines, and used waxing sheets, PPE kits, and facial masks.Mumbai generates an estimated 80 to 100 tonnes of domestic hazardous ...Read More >
NEW DELHI: Former head of Air India and chairman of the Railway Board Ashwani Lohani is the new Prime Ministers Museum and Library (PMML) director. The official order for his appointment was issued on Wednesday. A 1980-batch officer of the Indian Railway Service of Mechanical Engineering (IRSME), Lohani is known for turning around various organisations during his illustrious career. Following his retirement from IRSME service, he joined the GMR Group as the CEO. According to the order dated June 4, his appointment to the post of director, Prime Ministers Museum and Library in the rank and pa ...Read More >
Hyderabad, Jun 6 (PTI) Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Friday said BRS president K Chandrasekhar Rao should face an inquiry by the judicial commission on the Kaleshwaram project instead of attacking the Congress government. Addressing a public meeting after attending various development programmes in Yadadri-Bhuvanagri district, he referred to the judicial panel summoning KCR and the BRS criticising the state government on the matter. The judicial commission is probing the alleged irregularities in the Kaleshwaram project built during the BRS regime. "He (KCR) is getting restles ...Read More >
Bengaluru, Jun 7 (PTI) A 26-year-old man allegedly beheaded his wife following a heated argument on the outskirts of Bengaluru after he suspected her of having an extra-marital affair, police said on Saturday. After killing Manasa, Shankar travelled with her severed head on his scooter to the nearest police station and confessed to the crime, they said. The man was later arrested, police said, adding that the incident occurred at Heelalige village, near Chandapura, Anekal taluk late on Friday. According to the police, the couple were married for over five years and have a four-year-old daug ...Read More >
MNS chief Raj Thackeray has called for a significant protest march on July 5 at Girgaon Chowpatty in Mumbai against the "imposition of Hindi." Thackeray emphasized that the march will showcase Marathi unity, cultural pride, and will exclude political flags, focusing solely on the Marathi agenda. The protest comes amid debates over making Hindi compulsory in Maharashtra schools.Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray has called for a large-scale protest march on July 5 at Girgaon Chow ...Read More >
Mumbai: Uddhav and Raj Thackeray will hold a joint protest march of their parties in the city on July 5 against what they allege is imposition of Hindi in the state's schools from Class 1 through the new three-language policy. This will be the first time they will come together on a political platform after Raj Thackeray's decision to quit Shiv Sena to form MNS nearly two decades ago.There has been speculation of a reunion of the estranged cousins for the coming civic polls, and the protest march is being seen as the first step in that direction, reports Chaitanya Marpakwar.Uddhav and Raj had ...Read More >
DHARMAPURI: For the third time in the past two months, a wild leopard wandered into a private farmland near Valaithottam village near Palacode and hunted chicken raised by a local farmer. Locals are increasingly distressed and urged the forest department to take steps to relocate the leopard. Over the past few months, there have been several reports of leopard sightings in forest areas near Palacode, particularly in Valaithottam village, near the forest's fringe. There have been two instances when the leopard attacked farmlands, taking away a domestic dog and a chicken. On Saturday, the leop ...Read More >
Mumbai, Jul 1 (PTI) Lakhs of trucks and other goods carriage vehicles in Mumbai and other parts of Maharashtra will go on indefinite strike to oppose the e-challan system for traffic violations, and other demands from Tuesday midnight, transporters said. The operators of buses, including those involved in ferrying school children, however, announced they would postpone their participation in the strike at the request of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who said the warkaris (Lord Vitthal devotees) would face inconvenience as Ashadi Ekadashi is just round the corner. Taking cognizance of the ...Read More >
Alipurduar (West Bengal) [India], May 29 (ANI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday laid foundation stone of City Gas Distribution project in Alipurduar and Cooch Behar districts in West Bengal on Thursday. The project, worth over Rs 1010 crore, aims to provide Piped Natural Gas (PNG) to more than 2.5 Lakh households, over 100 commercial establishments, and industries, and Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) to vehicular traffic by establishing around 19 CNG stations in line with the Minimum Work Program (MWP) targets stipulated by the Government. Also Read | Kerala Lottery Result Today 3 PM L ...Read More >
HYDERABAD: In a major move aimed at reducing pollution and improving urban transport in Hyderabad, the Telangana government has approved the introduction of 65,000 new eco-friendly auto rickshaws within the city limits and the Outer Ring Road (ORR). The decision, driven by Transport Minister Ponnam Prabhakar and aligned with Chief Minister Revanth Reddy's vision, is expected to contribute to environmental sustainability and employment generation. The state issued GO No. 263 relaxing the long-standing cap on new auto rickshaw permits within Greater Hyderabad. For over two decades, restriction ...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 >
Thiruvananthapuram: Ravada A Chandrasekhar took charge as the new State Police Chief on Tuesday. He succeeds Shaik Darvesh Saheb, who retired on June 30. His tenure will run until July 1, 2027. A 1991-batch IPS officer currently serving as Special Director with the Intelligence Bureau, Chandrasekhar is on central deputation. He was selected over Nitin Agarwal, who topped the official list of probables. The appointment order, issued by Kerala Chief Secretary Dr A Jayathilak on behalf of the Governor, was released soon after a cabinet meeting held on Monday. Hailing from Andhra Pradesh's Godav ...Read More >
Shimla, July 2 (PTI) A day after he was booked for allegedly assaulting two NHAI officials, Panchayati Raj Minister Anirudh Singh on Wednesday denied the allegations and said that "the FIR does not mean that I am guilty." Singh also claimed widespread irregularities in road construction works by the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) and called its officials the "most corrupt in the country". The alleged incident occurred on Monday when the minister was inspecting a building collapse site in Shimla and called NHAI officers there. The owner of the building had claimed negligence by NHA ...Read More >
Haridwar: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Sakshi Maharaj on Sunday demanded that hotel, dhaba and eatery owners on the Kanwar Yatra routes should display their names and identities on boards outside their business establishments. The owners, who hide their identities under fake names, on the Kanwar Yatra routes should not be spared, he told reporters here. "Tampering with faith of the Hindu devotees during the Kanwar Yatra will not be tolerated," said the Unnao MP. The food shops on the Kanwar Yatra routes should have a board outside with the names of their owners clearly written on them, h ...Read More >
Mumbai: Senior BJP leader Ravindra Chavan is all set to become the next Maharashtra BJP chief as he filed his nomination for the post of party's state president on Monday. Mr. Chavan presented the nomination forms to Union Minister Kiran Rijiju, who has been appointed as a central observer for the elections by the BJP. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and outgoing party chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule were present on this occasion. With no other nomination being filed for the post, Mr. Chavan is certain to become the next state president of Maharashtra BJP, said party leaders. The ...Read More >
HYDERABAD: With the kharif season underway and farmers facing an acute shortage of urea, agriculture minister Tummala Nageswara Rao has written to the Centre, urging immediate intervention to ensure timely and sufficient supply of the critical fertiliser. In letters addressed to Union minister for chemicals and fertilisers JP Nadda, Tummala highlighted the alarming gap between the state's demand and actual supply. The minister said the Centre had allocated five lakh metric tonnes of urea to Telangana for the months of April, May, and June. However, only 3.06 lakh metric tonnes have been suppli ...Read More >
Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], July 9 (ANI): A 43-year-old man died and 15 others were hospitalised after allegedly consuming adulterated toddy in the Kukatpally area of Telangana's Hyderabad, officials said on Wednesday. According to police, the deceased, identified as Seetharam, a daily wage labourer (mason), reportedly consumed toddy at HMT Hills on the evening of July 7. Later that night, he started vomiting and diarrhoea. Also Read | ISRO Successfully Conducts 2 Hot Tests of Gaganyaan Service Module Propulsion System To Validate Test Article Configuration. As his condition worsened, Se ...Read More >