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Indian IT companies. Among the positive moves, the Dept of Homeland & Security (DHS) extended F1 visa validity for students seeking jobs on OPT by one year which will significantly ease the burden, immigration consultants and policy experts said. “We are supportive of foreign nationals transitioning from a student visa to an H-1B wherein they will be able to extend their postgraduation work permit to a year after they’ve filed their H-1B petition to prevent gaps in employment,” said Shivendra Singh, vice president — global trade development at India’s apex technology body Nasscom.

“As per our estimates, the 1,700 centres in total have grown in size by 25%, meaning they are individually expanding while new ones are also being added. That is why you’re seeing so much activity and hiring,” said Nambiar. Formerly the CMD of Cognizant India, he took over as Nasscom’s president in November. Nambiar emphasised that the growth of GCCs doesn’t signify a loss for the IT sector. Instead, both sectors are closely intertwined, creating a win-win situation for India. To further accelerate the growth of the sector—which has hired more people than IT services firms—Nasscom is working with various government arms to address key concerns facing GCCs, such as safe harbor provisions and advance pricing agreements. He added that the era of requesting tax incentives or sops is over; the focus now is on resolving these structural concerns.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Kia India, known for its sharp focus on sport utility vehicles (SUVs), is treading with flexibility in the dynamic Indian passenger vehicle market, where regulatory uncertainty and shifting consumer trends often leave automakers scrambling for direction. Gwanggu Lee, managing director and CEO of Kia India, emphasized the importance of agility over rigid strategies, pointing out that committing to a single course could be perilous.

Fans can expect the complete season to drop on February 6, 2025, as mentioned in a report by What’s On Netflix. Here’s everything we know about Sweet Magnolias Season 4 and what could lie ahead in Sweet Magnolias Season 5.

The selection of the date of December 25 is believed to be nine months after the Annunciation which actually celebrates the conception of Jesus Christ on the date of March 25 which coincides with the spring equinox. The Early Christians initially focused on Easter as their main celebration; though however, as Christianity spread more and more, Christmas gained significant prominence. Near about by the sixth century, it was started being celebrated in numerous regions which including Jerusalem and Constantinople while it evolved into a significant holiday that combined religious observance with local customs and traditions.

Earlier, Netflix announced that the fifth and final season of 'Stranger Things' will arrive on the streaming giant in 2025. However, the exact release date is yet to be announced by Netflix. The episode titles are «The Crawl,» «The Vanishing of...,» «The Turnbow Trap,» «Sorcerer,» «Shock Jock,» «Escape From Camazotz,» «The Bridge,» and «The Rightside Up.»

Balaji Telefilms, a leading Indian television production company, has revealed plans to raise Rs 131 crore through a preferential issue of equity shares to eight selected investors, including its promoter, Ekta Kapoor. In a regulatory filing on Thursday, the company reported that its board of directors has approved the issuance of up to 1,78,59,776 equity shares at a price of Rs 73.17 per share.

OpenAI is rapidly developing into an AI shark, doing their best to cut away competition as much as possible, and bringing in a different kind of revolution in the technology industry. However, their approach is not being liked by the leaders at Silicon Valley, with Elon Musk even accusing the company of breaking away from industry norms, and paying way over industry standards in order to cut out other competitors in the same avenue.

Rahul Gandhi of «pushing and shoving» its MPs on the Parliament premises, the BJP on Thursday said he does not deserve to be the Leader of Opposition after such «indecent and shameful» conduct. Addressing a press conference at the BJP headquarters hours after unprecedented scenes of unruliness unfolded during protests by the ruling and opposition parties, Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan squarely put the blame on Gandhi for the fracas which left two MPs injured. «Rahul Gandhi does not deserve to hold the post of the Leader of Opposition,» Chouhan said as he slammed the Congress leader's behaviour and alleged it is against India's cultural ethos. Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, has rejected the BJP's charge that he pushed its lawmakers and alleged that the ruling party MPs «stopped, threatened and intimidated» him.

Chinese hackers specifically a group known as ‘Salt Typhoon’, reported Reuters. According to Reuters, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has issued guidance while recommending the use of end-to-end encrypted communication methods which are available in renowned apps like WhatsApp, iMessage and Signal. On the other hand, regular phone communications are not actually encrypted and can be intercepted by telecom companies, law enforcement or hackers. The Salt Typhoon hackers have reportedly compromised at least eight telecommunications firms in the US while leading to significant data breaches. A senior US official described these incidents as potentially the largest telecommunications hack in US history, asserted Reuters.

Flying Naked is changing the game for budget-conscious flyers. This minimalist approach to air travel is gaining traction among frequent travellers looking to save both time and money. Despite its quirky name, Flying Naked does not involve shedding clothes but rather traveling without traditional luggage, as mentioned in the report by Output Traveller.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. During one of the busiest shopping weekends of the year, Nike was the only brand to have a 30% discount on most of its footwear at Macy’s famous Herald Square location in New York City. Nike is in a race for cash.

Bharti Airtel has prepaid Rs 3,626 crore to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), clearing all liabilities relating to airwaves bought in the 2016 auction. This will help India’s second-largest telco save on interest costs annually and boost cash flows as it rapidly expands its countrywide 5G network and ramps up 4G rural coverage. “With this, Airtel has cleared all liabilities for spectrum it had acquired in 2016 and prepaid all its spectrum dues that had interest costs higher than 8.65%,” the Sunil Mittal-led telco said in a statement Thursday. The company added that following the latest payment, it has prepaid Rs 28,320 crore of spectrum dues in calendar 2024.

NTPC has plans to set up a nuclear project in Bihar, a move which will increase its non fossil energy portfolio, the company's Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) Gurdeep Singh said on Thursday. NTPC has also requested the state government for a land parcel at a suitable location to take forward its nuclear plans, he said addressing a session at the 'Bihar Business Connect 2024' summit here. «Looking at the future of the energy sector, nuclear (energy) is expected to become extremely important for the energy sector, 20-30 years down the line. I want to share that NTPC is now entering the nuclear energy space,» Singh said. Without sharing any further details, he said NTPC will conduct a study before taking ahead the plans to set up the nuclear project in the state.

fiscal discipline by reducing the fiscal deficit, achieving fiscal stability, and so much more.

Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and top officers of the Army, paramilitary forces, J&K administration, intelligence agencies and the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) attended the meeting. This was Shah's first meeting to review the security situation in the Union territory after the recent assembly elections that brought to power a National Conference government headed by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah. After the abrogation of Article 370 and the bifurcation of the erstwhile state into two UTs in 2019, law and order in Jammu and Kashmir comes under the central government.

Sandeep Gulati, Managing Director at ManpowerGroup (India & Middle East) shares, «In today’s hybrid and digitally transformed workplace, leadership must adopt an outcome-based approach to performance management. By designing metrics focused on measurable deliverables and prioritizing output over input, organizations can shape employee behaviour to achieve desired outcomes.” He adds that a clear alignment between goals and rewards fosters accountability within teams and creates a clear pathway for success.

Kia revealed its new compact SUV, Syros, in the Indian market on Thursday. The car is the second sub-compact SUV after Sonet by Kia in India. The model will go on sale in 2025. The price for the new vehicle will be announced in January at the Bharat Mobility Show. The company will start accepting bookings from January 3, 2025, and the deliveries will begin from February 2025.

Ashok Leyland Ltd. 1.88 per cent to Rs 218.60 in Thursday's trade as of 01:56PM (IST). The stock hit a high price of Rs 221.60 and low of Rs 216.35 during the session. The return on equity (ROE) for the stock stood at 27.58 per cent. Traded volume on the counter stood at 01:56PM shares and turnover at Rs 2.09 crore around that time. The stock of Ashok Leyland Ltd. quoted a 52-week high price of Rs 264.70 and 52-week low prices of Rs 157.65, respectively.

SandboxAQ said on Wednesday it has raised more than $300 million in funding, valuing the startup spun off from Alphabet at $5.6 billion, as it aims to fast-track the development of advanced artificial intelligence systems for computation. The new funding, from investors including New York-based investment firm Fred Alger Management, T. Rowe Price, and Breyer Capital, will be used to accelerate the development of its large quantitative models (LQMs) and other AI applications in industries from healthcare to finance. This follows a $500 million fundraising last year to build its quantum computing platform to serve business customers.