Page 27 - Companies

India-made BMW G 310 GS more expensive than G310R

New Delhi, Jan 27 (ANI): Maxindo Moto, BMW Motorrad's official distributor in Indonesia has launched its budget adventure bike, the BMW G 310 GS in the country for an approximate price tag of IDR 125 million. Made in India, the motorcycle has been launched in many markets across the world. In India, it will be launched later this year, after it makes its debut at the 2018 Auto Expo. It is the second product to come out of the BMW-TVS technology cooperation agreement, the first two being the BMW G 310 R. It has also been launched in Japan where the price starts from 6.7 lakh yen, which is approximately Rs 3.82 lakh. This is about Rs 45-50k more expensive than the G310R. Both, G310R and G310GS will be launched in India later this year. As they are made in India, expect price tag to be in the range of Rs 3 lakh. The BMW G310GS shares many components with the G310R. This helps the manufacturing costs low, and price of the bike competitive.

CBEC facing twin challenge of detection, facilitation: Finance Minister

New Delhi, Jan 27 (ANI): Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Saturday said the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) needs to fulfill a twin challenge of robust detection to avoid tax evasion as well as facilitation of trade. The Finance Minister added that there has been rationalisation of both domestic and international customs tariffs, along with an increase in the availability of many goods within India itself, through the 'Make in India' initiative.

ONGC borrows Rs. 4,000 crore from ICICI Bank

New Delhi, Jan 25 (ANI): The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has borrowed around Rs. 4,000 crore from the ICICI Bank. Borrowing is part of a tie-up with three banks- Punjab National Bank (PNB), Bank of India (BOI) and Axis Bank, which took Rs. 18,060 crore for part funding its acquisition cost of Rs. 36,915 crore equity shares of the Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL). The acquisition would also create India's first integrated oil company. Earlier, the ONGC said that it has entered into loan agreements with the three banks- Rs. 10,600 crore with PNB, Rs. 4,460 crore with BOI and Rs. 3,000 crores with Axis Bank, respectively.

Grofers launches membership subscription-based service 'Smart Bachat Club'

New Delhi, Jan 24 (ANI): Low-price online supermarket Grofers has launched a membership subscription based service for its customers, 'Smart Bachat Club' this month. It is the first loyalty program of its kind for any online grocery player in the country and has already crossed 50,000 subscribers within two weeks from its launch. The 'Smart Bachat Club'subscription is available in a varied tenure, ranging from one month to twelve months, and the members of the club can shop for their daily groceries by paying as low as wholesale prices.

Amazon Go opens in Seattle

Seattle (U.S.), Jan 23 (ANI): American electronic commerce and cloud computing company Amazon opened its checkout-free grocery store in Seattle, an experiment could dramatically alter brick-and-mortar retail. Amazon just opened its first checkout-free grocery store called 'Amazon Go.' Amazon didn't say if or when it will add more Go locations. Last year, Amazon shelled out $14 billion to buy an upscale grocery chain Whole Foods. But it said it's not introducing the checkout-free technology there.

Lack of investment by private sector is problem in India's economic growth: Industrialist Rahul Bajaj

Davos (Switzerland), Jan 22 (ANI): Renowned Industrialist Rahul Bajaj, on Monday, asserted that the major problem causing hindrance in India's economic growth is lack of investment by private sector across the country. He added that the government is forced to spend more compared to the private sector, adding that it results to 'jobless growth'. He added that growth without employment is 'bad' for the common man.

Global chain WAFL to launch 1st outlet in Delhi's SDA Market

New Delhi, Jan 22 (ANI): Popular waffle chain, WAFL, having 50+ Quick service restaurants (QSR) outlets all over the world, is all set to enter the Indian market, with a first flagship store opening here at the SDA market. Targeting revenue of Rs. 60 crore by 2018, WAFL will soon open stores in GK-1, Punjabi Bagh, followed by Bengaluru and Surat for its first phase launch. By 2020, the company aims to open 250 stores pan India, with revenue targeted revenue of Rs. 200 crores. The WAFL food range will include a large range of waffle products namely Hongkong WAFL, Belgian WAFL, WAFL Corn Dog, WAFL Sandwich, WAFL Pie and the unique J-Tube for soft serve. Along with this shakes, tea, and coffee will also be served. The company is eyeing an untapped Indian breakfast market by serving foodies trendy food at reasonable prices.

Honda India recalls 22834 vehicles over faulty airbag

New Delhi, Jan 20 (ANI): Honda Cars India Ltd (HCIL) on Friday issued a recall for 22,834 vehicles of 2013 model of Accord, City and Jazz as part of a precautionary global recall campaign concerning Takata front airbag inflators. The replacement will be carried out free of cost at HCIL dealerships across India in a phased manner starting from January 19, and the company will communicate with customers directly. The company will recall 510 and 240 vehicles of Accord and Jazz respectively. About 22,084 Honda City vehicles will be recalled voluntarily. Further, customers can check whether their cars are covered under this campaign by submitting their 17 character alpha-numeric Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) on the special microsite which has been created on the company's website. The HCIL also reiterated the importance of replacing the defective Takata front airbag inflators urgently as they may deploy with excessive internal pressure when activated. The airbag inflator casing might

India's GDP to grow at 7.1% in 2018-19: India Ratings

New Delhi, Jan 19 (ANI): The Indian economy is expected to achieve 7.1 percent growth rate in the next fiscal, according to credit-rating body India Ratings. The agency claimed improvement in GDP growth from the current 6.5 percent to 7.1 percent will be steered by robust consumer demand and low commodity prices. The agency, in its outlook for 2018-19, said there will be a gradual pickup in growth momentum, owing to structural reforms like the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016. Earlier in the month, the growth in GDP during 2017-18 was estimated at 6.5 percent, as compared to the growth rate of 7.1 percent in 2016-17, the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation noted.

Get ready to witness 24 new launches at Auto Expo 2018

New Delhi, Jan 18 (ANI): The biggest fiesta for car enthusiasts, Auto Expo 2018 is scheduled to commence on February 9th at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi. More than 1200 participants from 20 countries will participate in the grand event. Auto Expo India receives the most footfalls per day in comparison to other motor shows globally. event organised by Society of Indian Automobile Manufactures (SIAM), jointly with the Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India (ACMA) and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) will unveil 100 products and witness 24 new launches in two wheeler, passenger vehicles and commercial vehicle segments. Kia Motors and Kawasaki India are among the few new entrants in the 14th Auto Expo.

Bitcoin slides to below $10,000, half its peak

New Delhi,Jan 18 (ANI): The largest and most prominent cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, extended a slump today following a recent surge to trade below $10,000 for the first time since December 1. The price of the cryptocurrency fell to as low as USD 9,500 on the Luxembourg-based Bitstamp exchange, lowest value since start of December. The largest and most prominent cryptocurrency is down from record highs approaching $20,000 in the week before Christmas. Not only bitcoin, other cryptocurrencies also plunged as well. Ripple and Ethereum were both down heavily after reports South Korea and China could ban cryptocurrency trading. It sparkle worries of a wider regulatory crackdown.

Watch: Celebration at Stock Exchange after Sensex crosses 35,000 mark for first time

Mumbai, Jan 17 (ANI): Benchmark Sensex atop 35,000 mark for the first time on Wednesday. The record mark was surpassed due to boost in domestic stock market after the announcement of the Government in reduction of additional borrowing. Celebrations took on the Bombay Stock Exchange on this achievement. Ashish Chauhan, CEO of BSE, said the government policies are helping in luring the investors to invest in domestic stocks. The confidence and hope has grown among the investors due to economic growth, he added.

TCS, M and G Prudential sign deal worth USD 690-million

New Delhi, Jan 17 (ANI): Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has announced that it bagged a USD 690 million deal from M and G Prudential, the UK and European savings and investments business of Prudential plc to digitally transform the latter's business and deliver enhanced service for its customers. Administration of over four million life and pension contracts will move from Prudential's incumbent business partner to TCS. Over 1,000 roles from the incumbent supplier across a number of UK sites are expected to be transferred under the TUPE arrangements to TCS' FCA-regulated, UK subsidiary. A further 700 roles in India are also expected to move from the incumbent supplier to TCS.

Patanjali joins hand with Flipkart, Amazon, Paytm to give big push to online sale

New Delhi, Jan 16 (ANI): Yoga guru Ramdev's Patanjali Ayurveda has entered into an agreement with e-commerce websites to give a big push to online sale of its 'Swadeshi' range of Fast-moving Consumer Goods (FMCG). Patanjali Ayurveda's products will now be available on online websites, including Paytm, Big Basket, Flipkart, Grofers, Amazon, Netmeds, 1mg, Shopclues, and others. Ramdev said the online mechanism aims to provide convenient and efficient option along with the extension of the traditional retail market.

Sudden price drop in chips spooks investors

New Delhi, Jan 16 (ANI): The 122 billion dollar memory chip industry had an incredible year due to robust hunger for smartphones and cloud services. But the surge could come grinding to a halt after prices for memory chips saw a sudden drop. The repercussions are expected to show up in shop windows very soon. Smartphone makers, who are responsible for a third of global memory chip demand, have been pressing suppliers to lower their prices. Memory chip prices dropped nearly 5 percent in the fourth quarter. This in turn sparked shares in Samsung and its rival SK Hynix to dip last week. The growth rate is also expected to drop by more than half this year. This is an industry known for ups and downs. And analysts say chipmakers can expect an even keel for at least the year ahead.

Strong opportunities in IT sector: Infosys CEO Parekh

Bengaluru, Jan 12 (ANI): Infosys Chief Executive Officer Salil Parekh on Friday showed confidence in the state of the information technology (IT) sector, saying there are "strong new opportunities" in the sector. Infosys chief executive officer identified data, analytics and Artificial Intelligence (AI) as some of the emerging sectors. Parekh also termed digital disruption as new area of opportunity.

South Korea plans to ban cryptocurrency trading

Seoul (South Korea), Jan 12 (ANI): South Korea is considering a law to ban cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin being traded on local exchanges. While lawmakers the world over are struggling with how to regulate bitcoin Seoul has been opting to clamp down on trade, worried over its frenzied local popularity. Its skyrocketing value last year drew students and housewives into investing.

Niti Aayog's VC hails Cabinet's decision to liberalise FDI policy

New Delhi, Jan 11 (ANI): The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday approved a number of amendments in the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Policy, intended to liberalise and simplify the policy so as to provide ease of doing business in the country. Niti Aayog's Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar hailed the Centre's decision and said that bringing multinational companies (MNCs) in India would grow exports thereby growing employment in the country. The Cabinet approval will, however, attract larger FDI inflow and subsequently greater growth of investment, income and employment. FDI is a major driver of economic growth and a source of non-debt finance for the economic development of the country.

First day, first show at CES 2018

Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2018 is now in full swing, with the world’s leading tech manufacturers converging at Las Vegas, Nevada to showcase their latest innovations. Here’s a sneak peek into the world of CES 2018.

Textile industry struggles to reach stability point post GST

Surat (Gujarat), Jan 09 (ANI): Months have elapsed since the Goods and Services Tax (GST) was rolled out across the nation, but textile industry in Gujarat's Surat continues to struggle to reach a stability point. With various shops being shut down and the decrease in overall sale, businessmen and workers earning their living from textile industry are still facing difficulties. About 250 shops from 8 well known markets in the city have been shut down. The overall production per day in the city, which was 4 crore meters has reduced to 2 crore meters per day. Moreover, there is a considerable decrease in the rents of the shops. The shop owners are ready to give their shops on rent with at 20-30% dip in the rent, but are still unable to find tenants. The power looms in the city too has been affected with thousands of power looms being shut down in the last 1 year. Many businessmen have now changed their businesses from textiles to various other businesses. Billed as India's biggest tax re