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UK has announced steps to make it easier for local businesses to hire foreign workers, with the Home Office announcing a major change in the way sponsor licenses are renewed. Effective April 6, the requirement to renew licenses every four years will be abolished, offering significant relief to businesses sponsoring skilled workers from outside the UK. This development will streamline the process for employers who previously faced the administrative burden and cost associated with periodic renewals. Under the previous system, sponsors were required to submit applications 90 days before the expiry date, incurring fees ranging from £536 to £1,476 depending on their size and charity status. Processing times for renewals could also stretch up to eight weeks. Click & check your eligibility for immigration Find out Recognizing the challenges and aiming to improve efficiency, the Home Office has opted for a more automated approach. Existing sponsor licenses expiring on or after April 6, 2024, will be automatically extended by ten years, eliminating the need for renewals altogether. Sponsors holding valid licenses within this timeframe are not required to take any action – their licenses are automatically covered by the extension.

Investing.com -- Futures hover around the flatline on Tuesday after last week's artificial intelligence-powered rally showed signs of slowing in the previous session. Lowe's (NYSE:LOW) is due to report its quarterly earnings, with investors keen to find out how the home improvement retailer is navigating a pullback in spending by inflation-squeezed shoppers. Elsewhere, Bitcoin hits the $57,000 mark and Disney announces a shake-up at its live action movie studios unit.

Chennai's famous mosque in Koyambedu, SC says that unauthorised religious structures on public land can never be a venue for preaching religion. «Move the mosque somewhere else, illegal encroachment in the name of religion will not be permitted, SC added. The apex court, presided over by justices Surya Kant and KV Viswanathan, underscored the obligation of states and high courts to ensure the eradication of such encroachments, regardless of whether they are temples, churches, mosques, or gurdwaras. The directive came in response to an appeal concerning a mosque unlawfully erected on public land in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. The Madras High Court had previously ordered the removal of the mosque, a decision contested by the Hidaya Muslim Welfare Trust, represented by senior advocate S Nagamuthu.

corruption cases, probity watchdog CVC has suggested «delayering» by limiting the levels of processing and speeding up decision making. The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) has issued guidelines from time to time, prescribing the time limit for completion of different stages of actions in vigilance related matters. «It has been observed that there are occasions when action in vigilance matters has been unduly delayed. One of the reasons for such delay has been found to be that the levels of examination/processing of vigilance matters are more than the required levels. The levels of processing of vigilance matters in different organisations also lacks uniformity,» the CVC said in an order. It said that in order to avoid delay in vigilance matters, the organisations concerned should review the levels of processing of such matters and should bring down the levels to a maximum of four.

Patanjali Ayurved's Baba Ramdev and Acharya Balakrishnan and asked why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against them for violating its orders. The top court was hearing Indian Medical Association's plea seeking action against Baba Ramdev and Patanjali Ayurved for defaming evidence-based medicine The SC said that the government was sitting with its eyes closed and asked it to take action against Patanjali.

I intend to make a gift of ₹1 lakh to my adult daughter. What will be the tax implications of this gift for me as well as my daughter? Do I need to follow any procedure for making the gifts? Do I need to prepare any gift deed, if yes, what is the stamp duty applicable? Is the gift deed required to be registered?

Samajwadi Party MLAs met Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath after casting their vote for the Rajya Sabha election, there was speculation of them having cross-voted in favour of the BJP. In response to this development, Samajwadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yadav said that disciplinary action would be taken against the MLAs if they had cross voted. Samajwadi Party MLAs: Abhay Singh, Rakesh Singh, Rakesh Pandey, Vinod Chaturvedi, and Manoj Pandey met CM Yogi Adityanath in the Assembly Secretariat today. «Not everybody has the guts to stand against the government. Pressure is put on everybody, is there anyone who doesn't know that BJP would go to any extent to win. BJP was dishonest during the Chandigarh elections also… When it comes to UP, BJP did everything to get votes and those who left, might not have had the guts to stand against the govt. Action will be taken because our party leaders want such people to be kept away from the party...» said Samajwadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yadav.

substitutes instead of real cheese in burgers and nuggets at a McDonald's outlet last week, the state of Maharashtra will be inspecting outlets of all global fast-food chains for food regulation violations, Reuters reported citing an official. The Indian state will run a check for misleading promotion of non-cheese items as containing cheese after mcdonald's crackdown and also inspect all McDonald's outlets in Maharashtra for the same, widening its scrutiny post crackdown by the state's Food and Drug Administration (FDA). «We are planning to check all outlets of McDonald's,» Abhimanyu Kale, the FDA chief told Reuters. «We will also take action on other well-known and frequently visited global fast-food chain outlets,» he added, but declined to identify the brands being targeted.

GIFT City and the IFSCA and noted that they were creating new opportunities for the startups and fintechs. The number of startups in India has grown significantly from just over 300 in 2016 to over 1.17 lakh in 2023 as recognised by DPIIT, generating more than 12.4 lakh jobs, and 47% of the startups have at least one Women Director.

multibagger superstars of last year are still holding their heads high and giving some of their largecap peers a run for money. Atleast seven smallcap stocks, which have seen a multifold rise in the value in 2023, extended gains further in 2024 and gave over 100% returns in just two months!

Expedia said on Monday it was cutting about 1,500 jobs globally, or about 9% of its total workforce, as part of its «organizational and technological transformation». The restructuring comes after Expedia warned earlier this month that revenue would moderate in 2024 as air ticket prices drop and said CEO Peter Kern was stepping down.

Article 370 Box Office Collection Day 4: Yami Gautam's new Bollywood movie, Article 370, managed to pass the Monday test and earned ₹3.25 crore net at the box office. The movie, directed by Aditya Suhas Jambhale and produced by Jio Studios and B62 Studios, has received positive responses from critics and audiences alike. The movie opened on February 23 with ₹5.9 crore net collections.

«We reiterate our view to continue with a “buy on dips” approach until Nifty decisively breaks 21,900 levels. However, traders should maintain extra caution in stock selection citing mixed participation and avoid high beta counters,» said Ajit Mishra, SVP — Technical Research, Religare Broking.

Paytm’s imminent exit from the employee benefits market, following the regulatory action against its payments bank and mobile wallet, is set to offer an opportunity to rivals like Pluxee (formerly Sodexo), Zaggle and banks to expand their business in this space. “With Paytm Payments Bank and its wallet service being asked to stop (services) after March 15, large corporations are looking for alternative options since meal benefits are a crucial aspect of their tax compliance,” said a senior fintech industry executive in the know.

Dora the Explorer, is swinging back into action in a new CG animated series on Paramount+. The trailer for the upcoming show, featuring Dora's iconic adventures with her friends, has been released, stirring excitement among fans worldwide.

nutraceuticals, health supplements and drugs in the same facility, said people with knowledge of the development. Under the revised Schedule M of Drugs and Cosmetics Act 1940, a manufacturing facility approved for drugs cannot be used for manufacturing other products. The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) has now directed the state authorities to take action against units that have licences to manufacture both drugs and food products and are flouting this norm, the people cited earlier told ET. According to the Federation of Pharma Entrepreneurs (FOPE), any clampdown in this regard will pose a significant challenge to the industry, affecting not only exports but also the domestic market. As per a recent notice by the DCGI, an enforcement and surveillance drive carried out by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) found that many units in Himachal Pradesh have dual licences under FSS Act 2006 and Drugs and Cosmetics Act 1940 for manufacturing nutraceuticals, health supplements and drugs in same factory.

One Piece are eagerly anticipating the release of episode 1096, which promises to deliver a mix of dense exposition and emotional moments, characteristic of the series. With the release date drawing near, viewers are eagerly counting down the days to catch the latest episode.

₹3 for electricity generated from rooftop panels. To address concerns of initial costs, the Delhi government has also promised capital subsidies to residential consumers over and above the subsidy provided by the Central government under the Rooftop Solar Programme Phase II. Sensing broader aspirations, Delhi’s policy is now being extended to commercial and industrial consumers as well, a major upgradation of the 2016 model.

As the 13th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO) begins, the question is not whether this once-important gathering will fail, only if it will fail in a way that’s even worth noticing. The prevailing sentiment seems to be, “True, this broken relic of neoliberalism is barely any longer functioning. Who cares?" Regardless of your views on globalization, you should care.

A post shared by Hanuma vihari (@viharigh) ACA stated that it had received a complaint from the junior player about Vihari at that time. “It has come to our attention that Mr Vihari personally verbally abuse a specific player during the Bengal Ranji game in front of everyone. The affected player filed an official compliant with the ACA," the release said.

Pragya Singh Thakur's plea for the day, it directed her to remain present from February 27 onwards "without fail, else, necessary steps will be taken". The court also directed all the accused to be present on their dates till their statements are recorded.