Page 23 - Companies

Z-Com, DU launch collaborative project of manufacturing Wi-Fi devices

New Delhi, Mar 22 (ANI): Global IT solution provider Z-Com has partnered with University of Delhi to launch their collaborative project of design, development, and manufacturing of Carrier Grade Wi-Fi devices in India under the Make in India Campaign. At present, the project will unveil two of its products including outdoor access points and indoor access points for Wi-Fi. The software handling the process is managed by the research and development cell of Delhi University. The one-of-its-kind collaborative project between industry and academia aims at promoting the Prime Minister's 'Make in India' initiative and develop India as the manufacturing hub of the entire worldwide.

IndiGo rejects report of partnership to bid for Air India

New Delhi, Mar 22 (ANI): Budget carrier IndiGo on Wednesday rejected the report of collaborating with Qatar Airways to bid for Air India. IndiGo in a statement clarified that there are no ongoing discussions of such nature. As per some media reports, IndiGo and Qatar Airways were likely to make a joint bid for Air India. IndiGo is owned by Interglobe Aviation Ltd, while Qatar Airways is owned by the Government of Qatar.

NITI Aayog partners with Piramal Foundation to transform 115 aspirational districts

New Delhi, Mar 21 (ANI): The NITI Aayog and Piramal Foundation entered into an agreement to work to transform 115 'aspirational Districts' across the country in terms of healthcare, education and nutrition. They will work closely with the District Collectors and Key officers of these districts. Earlier this year, NITI Aayog ranked 115 aspirational districts selected by the Government on six socio-economic parameters, pertaining to health and nutrition, education, financial inclusion and skill development, agriculture and water resources and basic infrastructure. The government's think tank also highlighted multiple challenges across indicators that need to be disentangled, in order to transform these aspirational districts across India.

Google to turn searches into cash

New Delhi, Mar 20 (ANI): Alphabet's Google wants to take a cut of each purchase of Target, Walmart, and Costco products listed on Google Search, Google Express and Google Assistant. Google is teaming up with stores like Target, Walmart, and Costco. It lets them list their products on Google Search, Google Express and Google Assistant. In return, it gets a cut of each purchase. For consumers, it means one shopping cart and an instant check-out. Google says its new program, called Shopping Actions, helps retailers sell more on desktops, cell phones and smart home devices with voice search, the next frontier for e-commerce. Google also says, it gives retailers a leg-up in competition with Amazon. Retailers that use Shopping Actions say they've already seen a jump in an average order value.

Mahagram, TJS Bank partner to integrate Bharat Bill Payment System

New Delhi, Mar 17 (ANI): Mahagram, a FinTech company has announced its partnership with Thane Janta Sahakari Bank Ltd. (TJS Bank) for integrating the Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS). This has come after Mahagram's payment services amalgamated with the BBPS monitored by the National Payment Corporation (NPCI). Mahagram has a digital financial services platform known as "eGramTM" that has brought a payment revolution by delivering an integrated range of services on a robust transaction platform. Aiming at BBPS, Mahagram is trying to resolve difficulties by assisting in a number of services to people's doorsteps. Like digital payment industry it offers services to help India go cashless.

Shares of Siemens medical equipment 'Healthineers' witness significant rise

New Delhi, Mar 17 (ANI): Shares of German Conglomerate Company Siemens medical equipment unit 'Healthineers' shares witnessed a significant surge of six percent during morning deal. The Initial Public Offering (IPO) of Healthlineers has marked as one of the biggest listings in recent years. Siemens presently sells 15 percent stake in world's largest maker of medical imaging equipment. Healthineers's equity is valued around Euro 28 Billion.

Top five platforms to buy event tickets online

New Delhi, Mar 16 (ANI): Want to join an upcoming seminar or attend a much talked about gig? Be it for a serious gathering or for the most happening events or movies, we have bid adieu to the traditional ways of buying tickets in long queues at the venue - thanks to the crazy ticketing solutions that several startups offer today. Want to head out for that amazing event you heard about? Here are top 5 platforms that are at your service:

PNB detects another fraud at Mumbai branch

New Delhi, Mar 15 (ANI): Punjab National Bank (PNB) on Thursday detected another fraud of around Rs 9.9 crore at a Mumbai branch. The new alleged fraud involves officials of a little known company called Chandri Paper and Allied Products Pvt Ltd, the Central Bureau of Investigation said in the complaint posted on its website.

Walmart expands home delivery service

New Delhi, Mar 15 (ANI): American multinational retail corporation Walmart is stepping up to battle against its rival Amazon by expanding its home delivery service to more than 100 metro areas. The customers have to order at least $30 worth of goods online by filling their carts using the app. The move compliments Walmart's grocery pick-up service which will be expanded to more than 2,200 stores this year. The online push by Walmart is to meet demands of increasing customers in the e-commerce industry.

Matrix Partners India invests in Bengaluru-based online lending platform

New Delhi, Mar 14 (ANI): Equity investment firm Matrix Partners's India division has invested in Avail Finance, a Bengaluru-based online lending platform. In addition to Matrix Partners India, Bhavish Aggarwal and Ankit Bhati, Ola's co-founders, Binny Bansal, co-founder and group CEO of Flipkart, Kunal Shah, founder of Freecharge; and Manish Patel, founder and CEO of Mswipe, also participated in the funding round. Avail Finance has raised a total of USD 17.2 million which includes debt and credit lines from multiple NBFCs. Leveraging alternate digital data and the power of the India stack (Aadhaar, eKYC, UPI), Avail aims to create a seamless lending and repayment process to serve this segment.

Credit disbursal to MSMEs up by 20% year-on-year

New Delhi, Mar 14 (ANI): Amid a slew of reforms taken for the empowerment of the Micro Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) segment, the Centre revealed that loan disbursal to this segment witnessed a 20 percent growth year-on-year (YoY). However, first-time borrowers increased by four lakhs, while loans to small businesses in the Rs. 10 lakh sub-section increased by 32 percent. Out of this, companies in the Rs.10-50 lakh segment saw 17.1 percent growth, while those in the Rs.50 lakh to Rs. 1 crore grew by 15.6 percent. The data also revealed that MSMEs with a loan between Rs.10 lakh and Rs. 5 crores had the lowest crime rate, stable asset quality and limited downside. MSME sector, in this year's Union Budget, was recognised as the engine of growth and employment.

US consumer prices slow in February; rents moderate

New Delhi, Mar 14 (ANI): Consumer prices cooled in February which is a sign of relief for inflation-focused investors. Prices at the pump fell nearly 1 percent, and rental costs moderated. That resulted in a 0.2 percent rise in the Consumer Price Index, a slowdown from the 0.5 percent rise in January. Strip out volatile components food and energy, and prices rose 0.2 percent. Both were in line with economists' forecasts. FAO Economics chief economist Robert Brusca called it a "plain vanilla report," saying, "The acceleration stopped. I'm in the camp that inflation is under control. There are a lot of dynamics in place to keep it down." Equity investors celebrated the inflation data, sending stocks up sharply at the market open Tuesday. Treasury yields edged lower.

SBI slashes charges for non-maintenance of minimum balance

New Delhi, Mar 13 (ANI): The State Bank of India (SBI) announced a substantial reduction of charges for non-maintenance of Average Monthly Balance (AMB) in savings accounts, effective April 1. The charges for non-maintenance of AMB for customers in metro and urban centers have been reduced from a maximum of Rs. 50 to Rs.15 per month, excluding Goods and Services Tax (GST). Similarly, for semi-urban and rural centers, the charges have been reduced from Rs. 40 to Rs. 12 and Rs. 10 per month respectively, excluding GST. The bank contains Rs. 41 crores savings bank accounts, out of which 16 crore accounts under the Prime Minister's Jan Dhan Yojna (PMJDY), and Basic Savings Bank Deposit Account (BSBD) and of pensioners/minors/social security benefit holders were already exempted. In addition, students up to the age of 21 years are also exempted.

Ola officially commences operations in Sydney

New Delhi, Mar 12 (ANI): Following a successful launch in Perth, Indian ridesharing platform Ola announced the official launch of its operations in Sydney, and has hired a local team to build partnerships and support driver-partners. Sydney riders can experience the new service at an introductory offer for free rides from today; customers can download the Ola app from the Android or Apple App Store, register for an Ola account and begin booking rides. Rides can also be booked to and from Sydney Airport, for drop off and pick up in the designated ridesharing area.

Industrial licensing for manufacturing for Defence has been liberalised: Nirmala Sitharaman

New Delhi, Mar 12 (ANI): Union Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman today attended International Conference on Military Ammunition: Make in India Opportunities and Challenges. While addressing the gathering, Sitharaman said Industrial licensing for manufacturing for Defence has been liberalised. Sitharaman further informed that there are 37 Defence licensing companies, which holding industrial licenses for manufacturing of arms, ammunition and explosives. She added that this number can grow.

I encourage Private Sector to come in Defence production: Nirmala Sitharaman

New Delhi, Mar 12 (ANI): Union Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman today said she encourages the Private Sector to come in the Defence production. Speaking at International Conference on Military Ammunition: Make in India Opportunities and Challenges, Sitharaman said Private Sector have shown agility. "They have identified the opportunity that exists in this area," the Defence Minister said while speaking about Private Sector.

Limit collateral damage from bank frauds, urges ASSOCHAM

New Delhi, Mar 11 (ANI): Apex trade association ASSOCHAM on Sunday said that all out efforts must be made by banks, regulators, Government and India Inc to limit the collateral damage from the alleged fraud in the Punjab National Bank (PNB).The trade body also cautioned that an over-reaction by the banks and the investigative agencies would hurt essential credit disbursement to the trade and industry and tamper the growth expectations. ASSOCHAM also said that India can learn a lot from the United States. In the present situation, while the debate on reducing government stake to below 50 percent should be encouraged, some immediate steps should be taken to do the capacity building in the Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) banks, enabling them to prevent, detect and act on frauds.

GST Council likely to simplify tax returns

New Delhi, Mar 10 (ANI): The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council in its 26th meeting on Saturday is likely to simplify tax returns. The council meet chaired by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is also expected to discuss the extension of 3B returns, and the current position of revenue generated from GST. Changes in the Anti-Profiteering Rules, which will give more flexibility and power to the apex body National Profiteering Authority (NAA) are also expected.

Wall Street rockets higher on bull market's birthday

New Delhi, Mar 10 (ANI): U.S. stocks jumped higher on the ninth anniversary of the bull market. Muted wage growth in February jobs report, tempered expectations of faster interest rate increases. The report assuaged fears of inflation and aggressive rate hikes. U.S. employers added 3,13,000 jobs in February. That's the biggest increase in more than 1.5 years and was much more than economists had expected. But average wages grew just 0.1 percent, tempering fears of inflation. The report sent gold prices lower and bond yields higher, and it boosted stocks in Europe after a sluggish start to the session. Goldman Sachs shares rallied. The Wall Street Journal reports CEO Lloyd Blankfein could step down as soon as year end.

CM Jairam Thakur presents Rs 41,440 cr tax free budget

Shimla (HP), Mar 10 (ANI): Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh Jairam Thakur has presented Rs. 41,440 crore tax free budget for next fiscal year. Thakur has announced more than two dozen new schemes laying emphasis on farm sector. CM Jairam Thakur announced to start governance index to rate districts over the performance on governance. Chief Minister announced 28 new schemes in this budget. He has said that the budget focuses on tourism, rural development and agricultural sector to revive the economy and provide job opportunities to the youth. The budget estimate projects the fiscal deficit at 5.16% while the revenue deficit at 2.09%.