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Jharkhand has declared a holiday for government schools on Monday, while its offices, other establishments and public sector banks will remain closed for half a day on the occasion of the Ram temple consecration. The decision was taken following a direction from Chief Minister Hemant Soren in this regard, an official said.

global PC market witnessed a 14% (year-over-year) shipment decline in 2023 due to a slowdown in commercial and consumer sectors, a new report has said. The global PC market ended the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2023 with a 0.2% (year-over-year) shipment decline. This was the eighth consecutive quarter of a year-over-year shipment decline, according to Counterpoint Research.

Himanta Biswa Sarma's claim that he was scared of him, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday countered saying that the former was afraid of his alleged corruption being uncovered. At press conference earlier on Sunday, the Assam CM said, «Rahul Gandhi pehle toh mujhse darta tha, ab mere bacche se bhi darna shuru kar diya (Rahul Gandhi is not just scared of me but also my child).» Hitting back at the BJP leader, Rahul said, «He is making such statements as he is scared. He afraid of his corruption coming out in the open.» Adding that he will deputing all the newly recruited commandos in the area through which Rahul's 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra' would pass on Monday, the Assam CM added, «Muslim women will not turn out for his yatra, as our government has implemented many development schemes for them.» He informed that all educational institutions, including government schools, will remain closed for the entire day to mark the 'Pran Pratishtha' of Shri Ram Lalla in Ayodhya. «All educational institutions, including government schools, colleges, and universities will remain closed for the entire day tomorrow.

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Sunday announced a public holiday on January 22 in view of the consecration ceremony at the Ram temple in Ayodhya. The chief minister also appealed to the people of Himachal Pradesh to light earthen lamps at home on the occasion.

Gender Equity and Equality' announced on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum annual meeting 2024 here. The idea of this alliance emerged from the G20 Leaders' Declaration and India's abiding commitment to the cause of women-led development as propounded by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. As a follow up to the activities of the Engagement Group and initiatives under the G20 framework, inter alia, the Business 20, Women 20 and G20 EMPOWER, this alliance aims at taking forward the commitments of the G20 leaders for the benefit of the larger global community, the government said while announcing the alliance.

Samagra Shikshana Karnataka (SSK), Bangalore and Transform Schools signed a three-year MoU to scale the Marusinchana programme for providing targeted instruction model-based education statewide. The Karnataka government has launched a new education scheme, Marusinchana programme, to providing quality education and improve Class 10 board exam results. “Marusinchana announced in Karnataka State Budget 2023, aims to develop grade appropriate learning outcomes among children in classes 8, 9 and 10 in all aspirational talukas and prepare them for secondary level examinations through special classroom instruction and training,” State Project Director of Samagra Shikshana, K N Ramesh (IAS) said In partnership with Transform Schools, the integrated three year learning enhancement programme will focus on developing learning outcomes for children at the secondary school level.

The surge in illegal activities, through Chinese loan apps, has raised concerns about the exploitation of unemployed youth and financially-stressed individuals in India.

Ram Mandir Inauguration: Several government and private organisations have declared full or half-day holiday on January 22 on account of Ram mandir Pran Pratishtha ceremony. The nation is all set to witness the grand consecration ceremony or «pran pratishtha» of the Ram temple in Ayodhya on Monday, January 22. As the preparations to celebrate the «historic» day are underway across the country, here's a quick recap of what's open and what's closed on the day of the Ram temple ceremony. Stock market The stock market will remain shut on Monday. In a circular, the National Stock Exchange said the currency derivative segment will remain closed on January 22. The Indian stock market will have a full trading session on Saturday, January 20, it added. Money market Money markets will remain closed on January 22, announced the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday. There will be no transactions and settlements in government securities (primary and secondary), foreign exchange, money markets and rupee interest rate derivatives on that day, the RBI said in a fresh circular. Govt offices and institutions ➤ The central government declared a half-day closure for all central government offices, Central Institutions, and Central Industrial Establishments across the country on Monday, January 22.

Pran Pratishtha celebration on Monday will see guests being served specially curated vegetarian dishes cooked in desi ghee. The dishes will be served when visitors arrive at the temple grounds, and later on, prasad will be served, which includes "Ram laddoo and peda." During the entire day, over a lakh packs containing these offerings could be served to guests, as reported by IANS. Chefs from Delhi and Varanasi will showcase their culinary skills to prepare these dishes. To ensure a seamless execution of tasks, a school's assembly hall has been converted into a kitchen. «The devotees arriving for Pran Pratishtha ceremony at Ayodhya, renowned for its spiritual significance, will be served satvik vegetarian food along with phalahari (non-cereal) and millet-based dishes,» Mukesh Meshram, principal secretary, culture and tourism told IANS. Especially for the January 22 event, all the culinary arrangements for a limited group of VVIPs will be managed by the Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust.

investments in generative AI (artificial intelligence), incentives from the government and open-source content can boost employment generation and reduce disparities in the country, say experts. Generative artificial intelligence refers to the use of new-age technology to create new content like text, images, music, audio, and videos. «Generative AI will boost new job roles and can help people with limited skill levels perform higher level jobs, thus reducing the economic divide», said Vishal Talwar, Director, IMT Ghaziabad in a statement.

Anshul Saigal, Founder, Saigal Capital, says “one should really focus on bottom-up opportunities, not worry about the market levels, market direction. As long as we have got good companies at reasonable valuations in our portfolios, over the long term, we will be very well-placed. And there is a lot of money to be made in India.” Saigal also says: “We believe that, small banks, PSU banks, that is one space where value unlocking is yet ahead of us. Pharma, which has seen multi-year consolidation is coming out of that consolidation phase. We are quite positive on pharma. Then metals and minerals has seen a significant consolidation and adverse price action. This may look interesting going forward.” Market is at highs. People are looking for undervalued ideas. A section of the market on the consumption side, especially rural tier 2, tier 3 towns, QSR, FMCG as well as some other consumer categories – have underperformed because of inflation. Now that the inflation trajectory has peaked out, can this under-owned part of the market make a comeback? Also what categories would you bet on? Anshul Saigal: Yes, you are absolutely right that this is a market where it is no longer as easy as it was last year to identify opportunities.

Sunil Subramaniam, MD & CEO, Sundaram Mutual, says PSU banks are an exception to the whole PSU story, because they are in effect going to finance the whole capex cycle and be the vehicle of government dispersal. “Among PSU banks, I would still go for good quality banks, not an issue, but as for other PSUs, it will be to some extent stock specific but bearing in mind that a low PE and a liquidity have been the causes for the rally there, I would exercise caution in terms of jumping into them unless I get a clear signal that there is going to be a strong EPS growth independent of all of this.” The earning season so far, what do you make of it and the kind of reactions or the exaggerated moves that we are seeing on stock price? Sunil Subramaniam: It has been tepid so far and it is early days though, let us not draw any conclusions.

death «optional,» as the technology learns to perfectly emulate our personalities, memories and dreams, keeping a version of ourselves alive long after our physical bodies have perished. But if rapidly improving AI achieves its lofty goal of digital immortality — as its advocates believe it can — will it be a force for good or for evil?

(This story originally appeared in on Jan 21, 2024)

Students, parents, coaching institutes and education experts are divided over the Centre's new guidelines to regulate coaching centres in India, which came in the wake of an alarming rise in student suicides. While some have welcomed them as a good start, others say they can deprive students of the support system they need to crack competitive exams. Some of the stakeholders also said the guidelines will be difficult to enforce and may even lead to unfair practices. The new guidelines direct coaching centres, among various things, not to enrol students below 16, not make misleading promises, not charge exorbitant fees, ensure mental welfare of students and have an exit policy for those wanting to leave a course midway. «The issue is genuine, and that the government is concerned about this is heartening-but measures suggested will be very difficult to enforce,» said Narayanan Ramaswamy, national leader (education and skill development) at KPMG in India.

World Economic Forum meet. In all, about 60 heads of state and 800 CEOs were in attendance among a total of 2,800 participants, as they discussed wide-ranging issues — from climate change to economic slowdowns — at both formal and informal gatherings.

A travel advisory was issued by NYC Emergency Management on Friday. In the morning, the snow started to fall in the Big Apple, and within the time of the precipitation moving out, over half an inch of snow fell across the boroughs of the city. According to reports, 0.4 inches had fallen in Central Park.

PayTm Insider. However, netizen reported a delay in the show and expressed disappointment. Some social media users said on X that shutters of the venue were down even at 8 pm.

Congress 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra' led by Rahul Gandhi on Saturday entered Arunachal Pradesh from Assam. The Congress leader was received by Arunachal Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president Nabam Tuki at the Gumto check gate in Papum Pare district, where the flag handover ceremony was held. The flag handover ceremony was held between Tuki and Assam Pradesh Congress Committee president Bhupen Borah in the presence of senior party leaders from both the states. Speaking on the occasion, Gandhi thanked the people for the warm welcome. Adorned with traditional Nyishi headgear, Gandhi proceeded to Doimukh along with hundreds of party workers, where he would address a public rally.

Aditya Arora of Adlytick, said “in buzzing stocks like RailTel, IRFC and IRCTC, the market has priced in more than there is on the table. So, they seem pretty overvalued, overstretched, and charts are looking pretty overbought. It is a good time to lock the profits wherein people had invested previously at lower levels. Now, it is time to take chips off the table because correction is very likely in these counters.” Let us talk about the PSUs. Actually, all these public sector entities, whether you look at a RailTel, RVNL, IRCTC, Tourism Finance, IRFC, all of them are buzzing in trade and the run up that we have seen in these stocks, even in just the last five days, is something that one cannot fathom. What are the charts looking like for any of these names? Aditya Arora: There is good news to back that up as you said RailTel, IRFC, IRCTC, everything is buzzing away. But I think the market has priced in more than there is on the table. So, they seem pretty overvalued, overstretched, and charts are looking pretty overbought. It is a good time to lock the profits wherein people had invested previously at lower levels. Now, it is time to take chips off the table because I think correction is very likely in these counters.

tier-II and III cities witnessed a 13 per cent growth in 2023 with 1 crore applications, a report said on Saturday. In 2022, there were 2.7 crore applications from tier-II and III cities, of which 87 lakh were from women looking for financial independence, according to data from jobs and professional networking platform apna.co. According to the report, the total applications for tier-II and III cities in 2023 were 3.2 crore, of which 1 crore were from women, the report said.