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India, they said, need to prioritise their AI (artificial intelligence) strategy as it promises to transform trade logistics and supply chain management and reshape traditional trade patterns. «AI is fast emerging as an important vehicle for future trade's journey. The AI-driven digital transformation is poised to boost not only services trade, but it may also create whole new categories of tradable AI-powered goods — from autonomous vehicles to robotics and beyond,» trade expert and Hi-Tech Gears Chairman Deep Kapuria said.

Amnesty Scheme for customs to foster ease of doing business. «The main asks of the industry would certainly be aligned with the objectives of the government and one objective of the government has been litigation reduction. On that front, having an amnesty scheme for customs especially covering pre-GST legacy taxes like additional duty, special additional duty has been one of the asks of the industry,» Price Waterhouse & Co LLP managing director Anurag Sehgal said. The government had in the past announced amnesty schemes for excise and service tax and even for the income tax but not for customs. There are estimates that over 40,000 cases were pending in various courts and tribunals pertaining to customs duty alone.

Champions Trophy this year, said sources in the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Also, pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah is being discussed as India's next captain, added the sources. Rohit's captaincy has been a mix of memorable highs and some extremely disappointing lows. Be it a 10-match winning streak during the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup at home, which concluded with a loss to Australia in the final or India's redemption with an ICC T20 World Cup title win in 2024 at Barbados, Rohit's captaincy has given fans plenty of positives. Under him, team also made it to the final of the ICC World Test Championship 2023, where they lost to Australia.

Adar Poonawalla, CEO of the Serum Institute of India, echoed Mahindra Group Chairman Anand Mahindra's views on the necessity of work-life balance. In a lighthearted remark, Poonawalla noted, “Even my wife enjoys staring at me on Sundays,” aligning with Mahindra’s earlier statement about cherishing personal time. Mahindra, a prominent voice on social media, had previously quipped, “I’m on social media, not because I’m lonely. My wife is wonderful; I love staring at her. I’m here because people don’t realize it’s an incredible business tool.” His comment, delivered at a recent event, was widely interpreted as a witty critique of L&T Chairman SN Subrahmanyan. Subrahmanyan had controversially questioned the utility of Sundays, provocatively asking, “How long can you stare at your wife? What do you do sitting at home?” The debate around work-life balance gained further momentum after RPG Group Chairman Harsh Goenka dismissed the notion of relentless work schedules. Taking to social media platform X, Goenka humorously proposed renaming Sunday as “Sun-duty” while stressing that excessive work hours lead to burnout, not success. He added, “Work-life balance isn’t optional; it’s essential.”

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. It has been over two weeks since China reported cases of the HMPV (human metapneumovirus) virus, and this has caused covid-19-like panic across the globe, more so in Asia. The number of cases reported in India has surged to 13 (at the time of writing this story) — the most recent one, according to a report by Mint, being a 9-month-old child in Gujarat.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. India’s economic growth story has been impressive. Gross domestic product (GDP) is expanding, corporate profits are looking up and the country is asserting itself as a global economic powerhouse.

Flipkart Monumental sale 2025 has been announced ahead of India’s Republic Day celebrations. Though the sale starts from January 14, Plus and VIP members are eligible for “12 hours early access,” Flipkart has announced. The Walmart-owned e-commerce platform will put up all iPhones—that are currently available for sale in India—on discount during the period.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. The Indian Air Force (IAF) is not only short of an adequate number of aircraft to protect our skies, but will see its capabilities weaken over time, unless corrective action is taken immediately. In my estimate, a significant proportion of IAF’s fighter aircraft fleet is down due to a shortage of Russian spares, and the rest are sparingly used to ensure that they don’t fly into a spares crunch.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. The much-awaited boom of consumer spending has not materialized, with demand in both rural and urban areas remaining subdued. Consumer-staple companies have collectively reported less than 5% growth in volumes.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Every time I have to interact directly with the government, I wonder, “Why doesn’t it like me?" I usually avoid direct contact. But unfortunately, for nearly two months, I have been trying to get an Aadhaar number for a minor.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. New Delhi: For homebuyers facing issues such as construction delays, substandard construction or hidden charges in apartment sales, India’s consumer protection watchdog is ready to take up the cudgels on their behalf. India’s Central Consumer Protection Authority plans to collaborate with the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (Rera) to help homebuyers file complaints, seek compensation, and address unfair contracts with developers, according to two officials familiar with CCPA’s plans.

air pollution. Some regions of Europe face far higher pollution risks than others, making them less ideal destinations for travellers. In 2021, the World Health Organisation (WHO) updated its air quality guidelines, lowering the recommended threshold for annual concentrations of nitrogen dioxide and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) such as dust, smoke, and soot from exhaust. ALSO READ: Why applying for a Schengen visa is 'humiliating' for Indians

Narendra Modi on Sunday paid tribute to spiritual leader and social reformer Swami Vivekananda on the occasion of his birth anniversary. Modi said Vivekananda is an eternal inspiration for the youth. The spiritual leader was born in 1863 and founded the renowned Ramakrishna Mission.

Indian market closed in red on Friday, dragged lower by selling in heavyweight financial and energy stocks, as worries over corporate earnings dampened market sentiment, while IT stocks stood out as the only gainers after quarterly update from sector leader TCS suggested early signs of a demand recovery. The benchmark BSE Sensex lost 241.30 points or 0.31% to close at 77,378.91, while the broader Nifty 50 index closed at 23,431.50, lower by 95.00 points or 0.4%.

Union Budget: As India plans to work towards being a viksit nation by 2047, industry body Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has put forward a 10-point specific suggestion before Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government for the upcoming Budget 2025 to enable ease of doing business. As per the industry body, all regulatory approvals — central, state and local levels — must mandatorily be provided only through the National Single Window System (NSWS), which they believe will help bring about transparency and speed in the processes. In the first stage, CII suggested that it should be completed for all central ministries within the next six months, followed by bringing on the platform, states, in a phased manner. A dedicated central budget could be allocated for the purpose, especially from the point of view of incentivizing states to shift completely to the portal. Read More: Budget 2025 can position India as the world’s China Plus One hub with manufacturing prowess

Sanjay Raut on Sunday said his party wants to go solo in the local bodies polls to strengthen its base and has never called for dissolution of the opposition INDIA bloc or the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA). Raut's remarks came a day after he cited the lack of opportunities for workers of respective parties in an alliance and the right to organisational growth as the major considerations for contesting solo, which raised a question mark over the opposition bloc's unity. Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Raut said, «The MVA was formed for the assembly polls and INDIA bloc for the Lok Sabha elections. The local body elections are meant to empower party workers and strengthen the organisation at the grassroots level.» «I or my party have never said that the INDIA bloc or the MVA should be dissolved,» the Rajya Sabha member added.

Kotak Mahindra Investment Bank. Domestic corporates played a substantial role, with their deal contribution almost doubling to $48 billion in CY24, up from $26 billion last year. Notable deals include the merger of Viacom and Disney, Aster DM and Quality Care, and Bharti Group's acquisition of a stake in BT Group. After a brief slowdown last year, Indian conglomerates are driving significant activity across sectors, focusing on diversification and strategic expansion. Major M&A deals in CY24 include Adani Group's buyouts in industrials and infrastructure, Birla Group's acquisitions in industrials, and Reliance's acquisitions in TMT and infrastructure, it said.

Kolkata has overtaken Bengaluru to become India's most congested city according to the 2024 TomTom Traffic Index. It is the world's second slowest moving city trailing only behind Barranquilla. Bengaluru and Pune follow at third and fourth spots, respectively. Dutch technology firm TomTom annually evaluates traffic conditions in major cities worldwide. Kolkata's average speed was 17.4 kmph, taking 34 minutes and 33 seconds to complete 10 kms. Bengaluru drivers took 34 minutes and 10 seconds to complete a similar journey. Commuters in Pune took 33 minutes and 22 seconds to travel 10 kms on an average.

IRCTC), the primary platform for booking tickets on Indian Railways, faced another significant outage on Thursday, leaving users across the country unable to access the website and mobile app. The outage, caused by scheduled maintenance activities, left many passengers frustrated, as they were unable to book or manage their train tickets. Downdetector reported over 2,500 complaints of the outage at its peak. This issue is not new. Similar disruptions have occurred in recent weeks, including one on December 26 and another on December 31, leading to growing concerns among frequent users about the platform’s reliability. Passengers trying to book tickets during peak hours, such as the Tatkal scheme, expressed their frustration on social media, with some tagging the railway minister, Ashwini Vaishnaw. One user wrote, “Please make a reel on trying to login to IRCTC portal at 10 AM for Tatkal ticket.” Another user shared, “It is 10:11 am… still IRCTC is not opening… IRCTC should be enquired and checked… definitely scams are happening. By the time it opens, all the tickets are gone… @AshwiniVaishnaw @irctc.” The IRCTC website displayed a message confirming the outage, saying, «Due to maintenance activity, e-ticketing service will not be available. Please try later.» This is the fifth such disruption in a short period, prompting calls for better digital infrastructure to support India’s vast railway network.

Kunal Bahl, known for his calculated investments, made headlines on the latest episode of Shark Tank India Season 4 with an impressive offer of Rs 8 crore. “When I like a business, I go all in,” he declared. This episode featured a unique pitch by a couple from Uttarakhand, the founders of Kiwi Kisan Window, a brand dedicated to showcasing regional foods from across India.

IRCTC) website is reportedly facing issues. On Sunday, many users took to the microblogging site X to report the outage with downdetector reporting outage faced by several users. The outage was also faced by users on Saturday. Last month, IRCTC faced similar outage twice, once on December 26 and again on December 31.