Todays Top News

NEW DELHI: The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) is in the process of setting standards for services provided by ecommerce companies and aggregators like Flipkart, Ola, AirBnB among others.The BIS, which lays down norms with regards to quality and safety of goods sold in the country, has been in discussion with various stakeholders to lay out standards for several issues ranging from standardisation of invoices and websites.It also plans to come out with certification for secure websites in order to curb the menace of fly-by-night operators in the digital commerce industry. “There are several fraudulent websites that fleece money from consumers…

NEW DELHI: After record-breaking smartphone sales until Diwali, demand has slumped 20-25% on-month in November so far, retailers and experts said.A national retail store association said it was a Black Diwali this year, with sales falling over 50% on-year. Smartphone sales likely fell as much as 25% in November and may decline further in December, according to Counterpoint Technology Market Research. Month-on-month sales usually fall right after Diwali, but the downside this year could be sharper given that peak demand in the lead-up to the festival was the highest, analysts said.”September usually records the highest shipments as brands begin stocking up…

Mumbai: JSW Steel has entered into a legally binding share purchase agreement to acquire the remaining 26.45% stake of JSW Vallabh Tinplate for a total sum of Rs 35 crore from the existing third party shareholders as it will add strategic value, the company said.“JSW Steel Limited (“Company”) has entered into a legally binding share purchase agreement to acquire JSW Vallabh Tinplate Private Limited in one or more tranches, 1,32,37,227 equity shares of INR 10/- each,” the company said in a BSE Filing on Tuesday.Upon closing of the transaction JSW Vallabh Tinplate will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of the company, with…

Mumbai: For Asia’s oldest maker of the primary infrastructure alloy, Tata Steel, Europe has suddenly become very crucial, as the old continent shows distinct signs of stirring back to life despite isolated lockdowns.Top steelmakers in Europe have raised prices of carbon steel – something that would have a material impact on their performances. So much so that Tata Steel Europe may post positive earnings in Q3 and Q4, say analysts.“Europe is witnessing price hikes in carbon steel…which if it sustains for longer will lead to earnings upgrades for companies including Tata Steel,” said global brokerage firm, Morgan Stanley in its recent…

Mumbai: Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) will require a massive capex to the tune of around Rs 3.5 lakh crore for electric vehicles (EVs) in the next five to seven years to meet the government’s target of 30 per cent of the total vehicles on road being EVs by 2030, a report said on Tuesday. However, it seems unlikely that OEMs will be able to incur such significant capital expenditure (capex) as the business environment has been badly hit due to the pandemic and larger OEMs are expected to take the inorganic growth path and acquire smaller, but specialised, players in the…

The BSE followed the National Stock Exchange suit and terminated the brokerage membership of Karvy Stock Broking with effect from Tuesday.The leading stock exchange said investors having any outstanding claims against the brokerage can file their claims with the exchange within 90 days from the date of issue of the notice (by February 22, 2021).Earlier in the day, the NSE declared Karvy Stock Broking as a defaulter for non-compliance with the regulatory provisions of the bourse. In addition, Karvy Stock Broking has been expelled from the membership of the exchange, the NSE said in a circular.The move effective from November 23,…

Food Processing minister Narendra Singh Tomar inaugurated a mega food park (MFP) at Phagwara in Kapurthala district of Punjab that will benefit 25,000 farmers and create 5,000 jobs, an official statement said. “Punjab and Haryana have significant role in development of agriculture sector of India. This MFP built at project cost of Rs 107.83 crores and spread over 55 acres of land is expected to benefit about 25000 farmers,” he said. Till date, 37 MFPs have been sanctioned and 20 have already started functioning.Tomar added that due to untiring efforts of farmers of these two states, India is not only self…

Education technology startup upGrad has acquired The Gate Academy for an undisclosed sum.The move is in line with its plans to enter the fast-growing higher education test preparation market in India.Bengaluru-based The Gate Academy has over 57 coaching centres and nearly 200,000 learners preparing for the GATE and other entrance tests for public sector and government jobs across the country.“TGA provides upGrad a non-linear growth opportunity in new-segment entry and deeper penetration in the semi-urban and rural markets, which is in line with our core vision of making Bharat employable by adopting the mantra of LifeLong Learning,” Ronnie Screwvala and Mayank…