Author: Finance Khabar

New Delhi: The eight core industries grew at 5.5 per cent in February against 1.4 per cent month-on-month, government data released on Tuesday showed. The eight core industries comprise 40.27 per cent of the weightage of items included in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP). “The combined index of eight core industries stood at 132.9 in February 2020, which increased by 5.5 per cent as compared to the index of February 2019,” according to an official statement released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. “Its cumulative growth during April to February 2019-20 was 1 per cent.” Coal production with…

Mumbai: Faced with an unprecedented crisis, police forces in Sangli, Maharashtra and Guwahati, Assam in India have turned to drone technology to enforce lockdown throughout their respective cities and mitigate the spread of Covid-19. The drones have been supplied by ideaForge, India’s largest manufacturer of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) or drones for defence, homeland security and industrial applications. The drones have been deployed throughout various parts of Sangli and Guwahati for surveillance of public spaces. They provide real-time intelligence to the command & control centre, local patrol vans and ground forces. In case any anomalies are observed, the vans or…

Hyundai India has launched the updated Verna. Prices of the new Verna start from Rs 9.30 lakh, ex-showroom. The new Verna bookings started a few days ago. This mid-cycle facelift has indeed infused a freshness to the design. The older car has been soldiering on from 2017 with no change. The facelift also gets a new set of BS6 engines as well as a whole lot of transmission options. Speaking of engines and transmissions, there is a lot to choose from. Two 1.5-litre engines (petrol and diesel) are available. The petrol unit is naturally aspirated and makes 115hp of power…

New Delhi: BuyUcoin has announced its foray into the global crypto markets, when it was granted the Crypto trade and wallet license in Estonia. The Delhi based company plans to offer its platform into countries with legal framework and regulation for crypto currencies. The historic judgment by Supreme Court earlier this month rejuvenated the cryptocurrency industry and there is a shared optimism among the investors, traders, enthusiasts, experts related to the future viability of a supportive legal framework for the digital asset products and service providers. Experts have termed these events as the era of ‘Indian Crypto Renaissance.’ “Some call…

Bengaluru: Today, Vymo, the world’s leading provider of solutions for on-the-go sales teams announced a ‘Work From Home’ version of its personal sales assistant product for agents, relationship managers, and other frontline personnel. It is designed to provide 24/7 secure access to necessary data through a simple app for mission-critical customer engagement without desktop/on-prem dependencies. With the world experiencing an unprecedented crisis in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, banks and insurers are struggling to support their employees to ensure business continuity. But their customers want to be reassured of uninterrupted service during these challenging times, hence it is now…

New Delhi: Bharti Enterprises has committed over Rs 100 crore to support India’s fight against COVID-19, the company said in a statement on Tuesday. A large portion of the corpus will be immediately contributed to the PM CARES Fund. The balance amount is being directed towards sourcing of masks and other key equipment for the doctors, healthcare workers and essential services personnel who are at the forefront of the battle, the statement said, adding that over a million N-95 masks are being procured and will be made available on an immediate basis. “Bharti Enterprises and its companies Bharti Airtel, Bharti…

Mumbai:The Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) on Monday announced a donation of Rs 500 crore to PM CARES Fund to support the nation’s fight against the COVID-19. In a statement, the RIL said that it has also provided contributions of Rs 5 crore each to Maharashtra and Gujarat governments to support their fight against the deadly virus. Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries Limited, said, “We are confident that India will conquer the coronavirus crisis sooner rather than later. The entire Reliance Industries Limited team is with the nation in this hour of crisis and will do everything…

Mumbai: As part of its focus on premiumization of locking solutions, Godrej Locks, the 122-year-young leader in the locks segment, launched Spacetek, a new age 100% ‘Made in India’ digital lock. Spacetek is the latest hi-tech and aesthetically designed home safety solution from Godrej Locks. It is packed with technologically advanced features like 360-degree finger print recognition, spy code, privacy mode, low battery indicator, external power bank charging, volume control, break in alarm among others. As per Kenneth research, smart door locks market in the country is predicted to reach USD 652.04 million by 2023, rising its way up from…

Ahmedabad: Intas Pharmaceuticals Ltd., the largest supplier by volume of generic medicines to the UK NHS, is collaborating on a World Health Organisation endorsed study into the prevention of COVID-19 infection using hydroxychloroquine, a drug that may have an effect in preventing and/or reducing symptoms of COVID-19. The global COPCOV (chloroquine / hydroxychloroquine prevention of COVID-19 in the healthcare setting; a randomised, placebo-controlled prophylaxis) study involves 40,000 frontline healthcare workers who are caring for COVID-19 patients and is due to start shortly. COPCOV will be led by scientists from the University of Oxford and funded by the Wellcome Trust; the…

Noida: HCL Technologies said on Monday that the impact of coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on fourth quarter (January to March) results is not expected to be significant. “While the impact on this quarter’s numbers is yet to be quantified, we do not expect it to be significant. Our exposure to the more impacted verticals is not significant. Booking during this quarter has largely been on track as significant part of closures happened in January,” it said in a statement. The company said its business model is a healthy mix of recurring product revenues, managed services and discretionary spend led professional services.…

New Delhi: Navaratna public sector mining company NMDC Ltd said on Monday it will contribute Rs 150 crore to the PM CARES Fund to help in the fight against COVID-19. It is the biggest support yet offered by any public sector enterprise for the initiative, it said in a statement. NMDC has already rolled out various preventive measures at the headquarters, manufacturing plants and offices to protect its employees and their families against the spread of COVID-19. The company with operations in remote parts of India has also implemented steps in villages and hamlets adjacent to its facilities and townships.…

Mumbai: Equity benchmark indices traded weak on Monday as market mood remained sombre with most investors believing that the stimulus package announced by the government and Reserve Bank of India will have limited effect until the actual impact of coronavirus is known. But with the number of infections rising, the extent of lockdown, pace of return to normalcy and further fiscal responses will remain key monitorables. The BSE S&P Sensex closed 1,375 points or 4.61 per cent lower to 28,440 while the Nifty 50 edged lower by 379 points or 4.38 per cent to 8,281. Except for Nifty pharma and…

New Delhi: Punjab National Bank (PNB) has unveiled a new logo as it merges with United Bank of India and OBC with it, with effect from April 1. The new logo will bear distinct signages of all the three public sector lenders. With this, PNB is set to become the second largest lender in the country. “#PunjabNationalBank is here with #OrientalBankofCommerce & #UnitedBankofIndia in an all new avatar. Be a part of the #TogetherForTheBetter journey with us and experience a smoother and smarter way of banking,” PNB said in a tweet on Monday. Assuaging concerns regarding the merged entity, PNB…

Pune: Working capital management remains a critical part of an SME’s operations, either contributing to growth or causing a slump. While you monitor cash conversion cycles in your business, it is important to consider the fact that most SMEs in India receive payments only after 90 days of providing goods or services, as per an IFC report. This can cause severe gaps in working capital, leading to delayed payments to staff, reduced raw material and inventory purchase, machinery or equipment shortfalls, and other restrictions that can stunt the growth of your enterprise. By bridging this gap in time with a…

Beijing: China’s manufacturing sector has steadily advanced production resumption, with 98.6 per cent of major industrial firms resuming work amid the coronavirus pandemic, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said on Monday. Around 89.9 per cent of employees in industrial companies with an annual revenue of more than 20 million yuan ($2 million) have returned to their workplaces, Xinhua news agency quoted Xin Guobin, Vice Minister of the MIIT, as saying at a briefing here. In Hubei, where the pandemic originated in its capital Wuhan last December, the average work resumption rate of industrial firms have surpassed 95…

New Delhi: TVS Motor Company on Monday said it would donate Rs 25 crore to the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund PM-Cares for the fight against the Kovid-19 epidemic. The company said it is contributing on behalf of TVS Credit Services Limited, Sundaram-Clayton Limited and other group companies. The company said that this contribution is in addition to the activities carried out through the Srinivasan Services Trust (SST), the CSR arm of the group. Venu Srinivasan, chairman of TVS Motor Company, said, “The covid-19 epidemic marks an unprecedented time in modern history and victory in this battle will require humanity’s best…

New Delhi: Bank of Baroda has cut the interest rate for retail, private and micro, small and medium (MSME) industry loans by 0.75 percent. After this the loan interest rate has come down to 7.25 percent, which is valid from March 28. The bank said in a statement that it has reduced its repo rate linked loan interest rate (RLLR) by 0.75 percent. Bank of Baroda (Bob) has cut its interest rate after the Reserve Bank of India recently reduced the repo rate from 5.15 per cent to 4.40 per cent. A percentage interest rate will be charged. The bank’s…

Ahmedabad: The Adani Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the Adani Group, has donated Rs. 100 crore to the Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund (PM CARES Fund) set up to deal with with any kind of emergency or distress situation like the COVID-19 pandemic. “Adani Foundation is humbled to contribute Rs. 100 Cr to the PM Cares fund in this hour of India’s battle against COVID-19. Adani group will further contribute to support the governments and fellow citizens in these testing times,” Gautam Adani, Chairman of the Adani Group, said on Twitter. The Prime Minister is…

Royal Enfield trademarked the Meteor name last year and the same will replace the Thunderbird moniker. While there have been multiple sightings of the test mules wrapped in camouflage in the past, very recently, the bike has been snapped completely undisguised for the first time ever. This gives us an idea of the new details and differences when compared to the existing Thunderbird. It has to be noted that this is not the first time that Royal Enfield will be using the Meteor name as the same was being used for a motorcycle that used to sell during 1950s in…

New Delhi: Private sector lender Kotak Mahindra Bank and its managing director Uday Kotak on Sunday announced a Rs 60 crore donation to fight coronavirus pandemic. The bank will be donating Rs 25 crore to the “PM Cares Fund” and Rs 10 crore to Maharashtra Chief Minister’s Relief Fund for COVID-19, it said in a tweet. Uday Kotak, the wealthiest banker in the country, will be donating Rs 25 crore to the “PM Cares Fund”, another tweet said. “Next few weeks will define decades for humanity. Science and medicine beat the virus. Economics and finance contain the fallout. Time to…