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data related to its various social security schemes such as Employee Provident Fund Organisation, National Pension Scheme and Employee State Insurance Corporation, eyeing a totalisation agreement with Washington. New Delhi, will this week, push for a totalisation pact to do away with dual social security taxation for its workers, with US trade representative Katherine Tai under the India-US Trade Policy Forum. «They wanted data on social security.

From election planning to expenditure monitoring, electoral roll, IT applications, data management, EVM/VVPAT, SVEEP strategy, media and communication, the conference is focusing on every poll detail. The ECI has also started its field-level poll preparedness reviews with the commission visiting Andhra Pradesh earlier this week. At the New Delhi meet, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar expressed confidence in the CEOs' readiness to provide the best possible electoral experience to all stakeholders and stressed that the road to the elections is a «journey of duty and resolve.» He also underlined that the thrust of the upcoming elections would be to ensure the best possible experience for the voters. Commending the CEOs of states that recently held polls, the CEC appreciated that a solid set of preparations was in place for 2024 parliamentary elections. CEOs of the states where polls were recently held gave detailed presentations about their experiences, learnings and innovative practices they adopted during the assembly elections.

NEW DELHI : Bavarian automobile maker BMW’s India branch, which encompasses the premium two-wheeler brand Motorrad, British premium hatch brand Mini and BMW’s passenger cars, clocked its highest sales in 2023, delivering just over 13,300 cars, a growth of 18% over sales in 2022, and 8,768 motorcycles, 20% more than 2022. However, what shone alongside the growth in sales of BMW’s new vehicles, is its growth in its used car sales, which grew 32% in 2023 to attain their best-ever levels.

NEW DELHI, MUMBAI : Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) Ltd and Infosys Ltd on Thursday reported their lowest attrition in more than two and three years, respectively, indicating a muted job market in the growing shadow of artificial intelligence (AI). In the December quarter, Infosys’s attrition rate at 12.9% was the lowest in 12 quarters, while TCS’s at 13.3% was the lowest in nine quarters. Their highest rates were 28.4% (Q1FY23) and 21.5% (Q2FY23) respectively.

NEW DELHI : Budgetary allocation for Indian Railways is expected to hit record levels in 2024-25 as the government gears up to support a major makeover for the national transporter with additional modern and faster trains and improved safety features. The capital expenditure (capex) for the railways is likely to be increased by about 25% from the 2023-24 budget estimate, two people aware of the development said. That would take the budgetary allocation to more than ₹3 trillion in 2024-25.

NEW DELHI : Data center and IT infrastructure provider NTT is massively expanding its presence in India, which it considers to be both geopolitically stable and the world’s fastest growing data center market. The company has eight new data centres under construction in India, which would add to its 14 existing centres in the country. India also offers a large pool of talent and revenue growth opportunity, which will further expand with the advent of AI and GenAI, NTT Global Data Centers chief executive and president Doug Adams said while launching the company’s first data centre in Noida, Uttar Pradesh on Thursday.

NEW DELHI : The Vishnu Deo Sai government in Chhattisgarh Thursday declare a holiday in all educational institutions across the state on January 22, on the occasion of 'Pran Pratishtha' ceremony of Shri Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. Declaring a holiday for the educational institutions, state minister Brijmohan Agrawal, who handles the Religious Trust and Endowment, School and Higher Education as well as Culture and Tourism portfolios, said in a presser a weekly free train travel scheme for Ayodhya has also been planned. "As per Prime Minister Narendra Modi's promise, the people of Chhattisgarh will get to travel free by train to Ayodhya to have darshan of Ram Lalla.

NEW DELHI, BENGALURU : Tata Consultancy Services Ltd grew faster than its closest rival Infosys Ltd in the December quarter, and beat profit estimates, although both the IT industry heavyweights are at risk of registering among their slowest pace of annual growth. At least one-third of TCS’s incremental growth in the third quarter was driven by a large contract it secured from state-owned telecom firm BSNL. Without including that, its performance was only a tad better than that of Infosys, which posted a third straight quarter of muted performance with both revenue and profit falling short of Street expectations.

Vande Bharat Express trains have emerged as a shining example of the Centre's much-touted ‘Make in India’ initiative. But it's one thing to launch a service, but the main challenge is to maintain the quality of the service. Recently, an X user, Akash Keshari, posted videos showing 'smelly' and 'dirty food' served on a Vande Bharat Express train.

NEW DELHI : Visakhapatnam, Ghaziabad and Faridabad are emerging as India’s newest new e-commerce hotspots, according to a new report evaluating the potential of 100 major cities for digital commerce. Bengaluru, Mumbai and Delhi, as expected, top the list, according to the India Digital Commerce Index report by consulting firm Kearney and e-commerce marketplace Meesho. “The second cohort of cities includes the major tier 1 cities of Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, and Pune," the report stated, adding that India’s e-commerce market is expected to be valued at roughly $200 billion by 2026.

NEW DELHI : India is considering import duty cuts on components key to producing high-end mobile phones, two government officials said, which would potentially be a boost for companies like Apple and the country's exports. Companies in the sector have been pushing for cuts on nearly a dozen components to reduce the cost of making smartphones in India and level up the playing field with regional competitors such as China and Vietnam. India's electronics and information technology ministry is firming up the proposal, including the size of the duty cuts, and hopes it can be included in the federal budget on Feb.1, one official said.

NEW DELHI : The Union ministry of food processing industries may get a lower allocation in the interim budget for FY2024-25 following lower expenditure in the ongoing financial year, a senior MoFPI official said. The ministry has spent about ₹2,912 crore so far in FY2023-24, against the budget estimate of ₹3,287 crore for the financial year.

Rajnath Singh on Wednesday said Beijing's perspective has altered drastically with the emergence of New Delhi as a 'strategic power'. «A columnist for the Global Times, which, in a way, is a mouthpiece for China, published an article with the headline 'What I see about Bharat narrative in India'. This article is a ringing affirmation of the changing Chinese perspective on India.

Wipro Consumer Care Ventures –the venture capital arm of Wipro Consumer Care & Lighting, Mirabilis Investment Trust, and She Capital, along with existing investor Fireside Ventures. The funds will be used to enhance distribution growth, expanding reach into non-metro cities and international markets. It will be also employed for brand-building and marketing initiatives.

BJP plans to organise several programmes to reach out to Buddhists and leaders of other parties. It is also planning to hold an extended national council in New Delhi, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi will officially sound the bugle for the Lok Sabha polls and set the tone for the party's campaign.

The relationship between India and the Maldives is facing challenges after officials in the tiny island nation made derogatory remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s posts that promoted the pristine beaches of India’s Lakshadweep archipelago

NEW DELHI : Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s pre-election budget is set to focus on welfare schemes for five key sections of society—women, poor, youth, farmers and tribals—as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) aims a third term in office on the back of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s promise of inclusive growth. Accordingly, allocations for existing schemes for these sections of the society are likely to see an enhancement while new schemes may be announced, two persons privy to discussions in the government said.

NEW DELHI : Mobile phone exports from India can more than triple to $39 billion over the next two years, from $11 billion in FY23, if the government reduces import tariffs on components, and eliminates them in some categories, the Indian Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA) said on Wednesday. These shipments can even swell to $50 billion, if India rationalises import duties and undertakes reforms to ease doing business, the industry body said.

NEW DELHI : Akumentis Healthcare Ltd has launched a cannabis plant-based medicine in the market to treat seizures in toddlers. The drug, approved by the Drug Controller General of India, is specifically formulated to address seizures associated with Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome, Dravet Syndrome, or Tuberous Sclerosis Complex, the company said.

The move could irk some local carmakers. India's combined sales and additional taxes on hybrid vehicles sales are as high as 43%, based on the size of the car, compared with the highest rate of 50% imposed on petrol and diesel cars. India taxes electric vehicles (EVs) at just 5%.

Mohamed Muizzu is currently on a five-day visit to China, courting investors and trying to deepen bilateral ties. In an address at the Maldives Business Forum in Fujian Province, he termed China as the island nation's «closest» ally.