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The cast of Bachchan Pandey just made one more addition. Headlined by Akshay Kumar, Bachchan Pandey has roped in actress Jacqueline Fernandez, who is “super excited” to have joined the cast. “Super excited to join Sajid Nadiadwala’s Bachchan Pandey gang. My ‘Happy Place’ with Nadiad, Akshay and the whole crew at Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment,” she wrote while sharing the big news. Bachchan Pandey will be directed by Farhad Samji and produced by Sajid Nadiadwala. Jacqueline has previously worked with Akshay Kumar in the Housefull series of movies, produced by Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment. Akshay and Jacqueline have also co-starred in Brothers . Akshay’s titular character is a gangster, who aspires to be an actor while Kriti Sanon plays the role of a journalist, who harbours dreams of directing films. The two characters’ love for cinema turns out to be the point of connect in Bachchan Pandey . Last week, actor Arshad Warsi joined the cast of Bachchan Pandey , marking his fi

Public Provident Fund — also known as PPF — is a popular investment scheme which offers an investment avenue with decent returns coupled with income tax benefits. PPF account holders can invest a maximum of ₹ 1.5 lakh each financial year. Also, they need to deposit a minimum of ₹ 500 in a financial year to keep the account active. A PPF account comes with a maturity period for 15 years, which means your investment is locked in for this period. Deposits can be made in lump sum or in 12 instalments. PPF deposits qualify for deduction from taxable income under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act. In terms of income tax implications, PPF qualifies for the EEE (exempt, exempt, exempt) tax category, which means an investor is not liable to pay tax at all three levels – investment, earning and withdrawal. 1. The rate of interest for PPF is determined by the central government on quarterly basis. At present it is 7.10 per cent per annum. 2. Partial withdrawal from PPF account is allowed every ye

S&P Global Ratings on Monday retained its forecast of 9 per cent contraction in the Indian economy for the current fiscal year, saying even though there are now upside risks to growth but it will wait for more signs that COVID infections have stabilised or fallen. S&P, in its report on Asia Pacific, projected the Indian economy to grow at 10 per cent in the next fiscal. “We retain our growth forecast of negative 9 per cent in fiscal 2020-2021 and 10 per cent in fiscal 2021-2022. While there are now upside risks to growth due to a faster recovery in population mobility and household spending, the pandemic is not fully under control. “We will wait for more signs that infections have stabilised or fallen, together with high-frequency activity data for the fiscal year third quarter, before changing our forecasts,” S&P said. According to the official data released last week, the Indian economy recovered faster than expected in the September quarter as a pick-up in manufacturing

ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company, owned by ICICI Bank, has received an in-principle approval from the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDA) to the draft scheme of arrangement between itself and and Bharti AXA General Insurance Company. The deal will create India’s third largest non-life insurance company, with a combined annual premium of ₹ 16,447 crore and a market share of nearly 8.7 per cent. “We would like to inform you that the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (‘IRDAI’) has granted in-principle approval under Section 35 to 37 of the Insurance Act, 1938….with respect to the said transaction,” ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company said in a regulatory filing to the stock exchanges. The board of ICICI Lombard had approved the scheme of arrangement at its meeting held on August 21, 2020. Bharti Enterprises currently owns 51 per cent and French insurance company AXA has a 49 per cent stake in Bharti AXA General Insurance. The sha

The auto shares are trading mixed ahead of the November sales data due to be released during the day. At 10:50 am, the Nifty Auto index was trading absolutely flat at 8,886.75. On the stock-specific front, Bosch, MRF, Eicher Motors and Tata Motors gained 0.7 per cent to 1.7 per cent each on the NSE, while Hero Motocorp, M&M and Maruti Suzuki shed 0.6 per cent to 0.9 per cent each. Auto companies had reported rise in passenger vehicle sales for the third straight month, in October, buoyed by heightened demand during Navratri and Dussehra festivals, and recovery in economic activity following easing of lockdown curbs. Maruti Suzuki had reported rise of 19.8 per cent in total domestic sales to 172,862 units in October, as against 144,277 units in the corresponding period last year. M&M had reported a 1 per cent increase in domestic sales of passenger vehicles, at 18,622 units in October compared to 18,460 units in the same month last year. And Bajaj Auto’s domestic sales stood at

World Aids Day is dedicated to spreading awareness about the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), which is spread by a virus called human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, HIV prevention, testing and treatment are all being disrupted worldwide particularly in countries where heathcare infrastructure is weak. According to the World Health Organisation, the “breakdown in essential HIV services due to COVID-19 is threatening lives”. “We must fight on with passion and we must keep human rights at the centre of our societies and of our health systems, or we will not end the HIV epidemic,” Executive Director of UNAIDS said in her message. Theme of World AIDS Day 2020: “Global solidarity, resilient services”. World AIDS day is marked by the WHO as a “global public health campaign.” Globally, 12.6 million people living with HIV still don’t have access to treatment: United Nations An estimated 38,000,000 people are living with HIV in 2019: WHO HIV continues to be

Domestic stock markets rose nearly 1 per cent on Tuesday, resuming trade after a day’s holiday, after official macroeconomic data showed the country’s GDP contracted a better-than-expected 7.5 per cent in the July-September period. The S&P BSE Sensex index rose 416.22 points – or 0.94 per cent – to touch 44,565.94 at the strongest level recorded during the session, and the broader NSE Nifty 50 benchmark climbed to as high as 13,081.10, up 112.15 points – or 0.86 per cent – from its previous close. Gains across sectors – led by IT, pharmaceutical and metal shares – supported the markets. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan added 1.08 per cent, having closed November with a gain of 9 per cent. That marked the best November since 2001. China’s blue-chip CSI300 index jumped to be 1.56 per cent higher on Tuesday, after a business survey showed on Tuesday activity in China’s factory sector accelerated at the fastest pace in a decade in November. Japan’s Nikkei was

In the world of new advancements and the rapid changes in the environment, the need of the hour is about saving the surroundings by changing the dynamics of the usage of the fuels in our day to day life. With the amount of pollution being emitted by the conventional fuels the urge to have new enriched and advance fuels has been shot up. To this hazardous problem the Liquefied Natural Gas has come up as a great solution. In the present time; around more than 20 million vehicles in the world running on natural gas. This gas, which is called CNG (Compressed Natural Gas), is the same as the gas used to heat our houses. Natural gas is a resource that is very widely available in the world and is less polluting than petrol or diesel. Therefore, it is quite a climate-friendly fuel for driving, but the problem lies mainly in the extraction method. But as an advancement a new fuel has come into the existence i.e. liquefied natural gas (LNG). It is a natural gas that has been cooled down to liqu

Union Home Minister Amit Shah, in Hyderabad on Sunday to campaign for next week’s municipal election, highlighted the floods that brought the city to a standstill last month, and asked voters for “one chance” to show how the BJP could change the city for the better, and take it from “dynasty to democracy” and from “corruption to transparency”. Addressing a public rally on the final day of campaigning, Mr Shah also said the BJP wanted to “rid Hyderabad of the Nawab-Nizam culture”, would not tolerate “appeasement of any community” and would ensure “no one will be a second class-citizen”. “If you give the BJP one chance, we will remove all illegal construction which blocks water exits and make sure the city never gets flooded again,” he said, attacking Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, or KCR, over his government’s handling of the situation. “We follow the news as well. We did not see the Chief Minister oversee rescue operations or meet with officials or do on-ground inspectio

Singer Aditya Narayan, who is reportedly set to marry Shweta Agarwal on December 1, occupied a top spot on the list of trends after pictures from his pre-wedding functions started surfacing on social media. The pictures which are spreading like wild fire on the Internet, happen to be from the couple’s Tilak ceremony. For the ceremony, both Aditya and Shweta Agarwal picked traditional outfits. In the pictures, Shweta can be seen dressed in an embroidered orange outfit , while Aditya complemented her in a dark blue kurta . In one of the pictures, the couple can be seen posing with Aditya’s parents – veteran singer Udit Narayan and his wife Deepa. Posting a picture with his fiancée Shweta, the singer wrote in his note: “We are getting married! I am the luckiest man alive to have found Shweta, my soulmate, 11 years ago and we are finally tying the knot in December. We are both extremely private people and believe that it’s best to keep one’s private life, well, private. Taking a break fro

Cryptocurrency Bitcoin jumped by more than $850 – or 5 per cent – to touch the $18,238.20 mark on Sunday, inching towards an all-time high of $19,666 registered this week. Recent gains in the virtual currency are part of a broader bull run that began last month after US-based online payments company PayPal allowed its customers to use Bitcoin on its network. It was last seen trading higher by over $800 to $18,173.70 on November 29, 2020.  Most other cryptocurrencies followed suit. Among major peers, Ethereum (ETH) traded 5.11 per cent higher at $556.16, XRP was up 6.83 per cent at $0.62688 and Cardano (ADA) up 0.24 per cent at $0.169106. Bitcoin has surged exponentially since entering a four-digit value for the first time in 2013. It has rallied more than 130 so far this year, fueled by demand for riskier assets. The cryptocurrency’s perceived quality as a hedge against inflation and expectations of mainstream acceptance lured institutional and retail demand.

State Bank of India (SBI) – the country’s largest lender by assets – currently provides eight maturity options for retail fixed deposits, or fixed deposits up to ₹ 2 crore. Also known as lock-in period, the maturity period starts at seven days and extends to as long as 10 years. Currently, SBI provides interest rates to the tune of 3.4-6.2 per cent to senior citizens, and 2.9-5.4 per cent to other depositors, on retail FDs. Commercial banks such as SBI revise interest rates applicable to fixed deposits from time to time, to align them with benchmark rates.

Manish Mehra, owner of Washex Hospitality, an industrial laundry service, recently flew from Delhi to Jodhpur to win a contract to service a large, government-run hospital – a move essential to kickstarting his business. “For a new relationship, it is essential to know each other before you can establish the trust and confidence to work online and that need is higher in case of government departments,” said Mr Mehra, who had to stay for a week in a Jodhpur hotel. Increased demand for air travel and hotel stays by small business owners like Mr Mehra, accompanied by a rise in rural incomes and spending after two good monsoons, is helping the pandemic-hit Indian economy slowly recover. Government data released on Friday showed the economy shrank 7.5 per cent in the July-September quarter, performing better than analysts’ expectation of an 8.8 per cent contraction as lockdowns were eased and some pent-up demand was met. In the April-June period, the economy shrank 23.9 per cent. Annual gro

Coronavirus cases in India are steadily on the rise with 41,810 new infections in the last 24 hours taking the tally to 93,92,919. There were 496 deaths recorded in the last 24 hours and the number of active cases went down by 984. There are 4,53,956 active cases in the country. Over 42,000 people recovered from the deadly disease in the last 24 hours taking the total recoveries to over 88 lakhs. The total deaths in the country stand at 1,36,696. India’s COVID-19 tally had crossed the 70 lakh on October 11, 80 lakh on October 29, and surpassed 90 lakh on November 20. Over 13.95 crore samples have been tested up to November 28 with 12,83,449 samples being tested on Saturday. Kerala reported the highest number of cases among all states in the last 24 hours with 6,250 infections. The most affected state remains Maharashtra with over 18 lakh infections. The state recorded over 5,900 cases in the last 24 hours. Serum Institute of India will apply within two weeks for an emergency use licens

Alliance Air, a subsidiary of Air India, delayed one of its flights to Delhi from Jaipur by 30 minutes on Saturday as it waited for a team of doctors who were transporting harvested organs donated by a woman to save four lives in the national capital. The retrieved organs, along with a team of doctors and paramedics staff, were to be flown to the national capital, the airline said on Sunday. “The retrieved organs consisted of two lungs, one liver, and one kidney and were urgently needed in Delhi to save four lives. Collaborated efforts of Rajasthan Chief Minister’s Office, State Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (SOTTO), Air India, Alliance Air, Central Industrial Security Force, and Jaipur airport authorities for this humanitarian cause helped in saving four lives,” Alliance Air said. Passengers “waited patiently” for the organs to arrive at the airport after the pilots and crew members of the aircraft announced the reason behind the delay,” Alliance Air said.

The Serum Institute of India has responded to “malicious and misconceived” allegations by preparing a ₹ 100 crore defamation suit against a Covishield coronavirus vaccine trial participant who claimed to suffer a “virtual neurological breakdown” after being administered a dose. the Serum Institute said that while it sympathised with the volunteer’s medical condition there was “absolutely no correlation with the vaccine trial and the medical condition of the volunteer”. “The allegations in the notice are malicious and misconceived. While the Serum Institute of India is sympathetic with the volunteer’s medical condition, there is absolutely no correlation with the vaccine trial and the medical condition of the volunteer. The volunteer is falsely laying the blame for his medial problems on the COVID vaccine trial,” the statement said “The claim is malicious because the volunteer was specifically informed by the medical team that the complications he suffered were independent of the vacci

Hema Malini and Dharmendra’s younger daughter Ahana Deol’s family has been joined by two new members. Ahana Deol and husband Vaibhav Vohra welcomed twin girls on November 26 – they shared the baby news in an Instagram story. “We are blessed to announce the arrival of our twin girls, Astraia and Adea Vohra. Born on – 26 November 2020. Proud parents Ahana and Vaibhav Vohra. Excited Brother Darian Vohra. Overjoyed grandparents Pushpa and Vipin Vohra, Hema Malini and Dharmenrdra Deol,” Ahana Deol wrote in her Instagram story. Ahana and Vaibhav are also parents to a son named Darian, who was born in 2015, a year after their wedding. Meanwhile, Esha Deol and her husband Bharat Takhtani are parents to two kids – daughter Radhya, who was born in 2017, and son Miraya, born last year. Esha Deol got married to Bharat Takhtani in a big fat wedding in Ahana Deol and Vaibhav Vohra got married in 2014.

Amazfit Pop Pro smartwatch is all set to launch in China on December 1. Huami has released a teaser poster confirming the arrival of the new wearable and has also teased key specifications and design. Amazfit Pop Pro, judging by the name, will be a slightly more premium variant of Amazfit Pop launched last month. In terms of design, Amazfit Pop Pro looks to be identical to Amazfit Pop, with the teaser hinting at a teal colour strap option and a square-shaped dial. The Amazfit Pop Pro teaser poster was shared on Huami’s Weibo account. The post confirms that the smartwatch will be launched in China on December 1. Amazfit Pop Pro is seen to sport a square dial with a colour touchscreen display and a silicone strap on the poster. Key specifications and features of Amazfit Pop Pro have also been teased, and it is set to offer NFC support and come with inbuilt GPS. The latter will prove to be the biggest differentiator between the upcoming Amazfit Pop Pro and the vanilla Amazfit Pop model. T

Vivo V20 Pro is set to launch in India on Wednesday, December 2, the Chinese company confirmed through a media invite. The flagship Vivo phone was unveiled alongside Vivo V20 at an event in Thailand in September. Key highlights of Vivo V20 Pro include dual selfie cameras, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G SoC, and 33W fast charging support. The smartphone also comes preloaded with a list of camera-focussed features that include Dual-View Video, Slo-Mo Selfie Video, Super Night Mode, and Motion Autofocus, among others. Vivo V20 Pro India launch date As per a ‘block your date’ invite sent to the media, the Vivo V20 Pro India launch will be held on December 2. The company is likely to host a virtual event to announce the arrival of the new phone.

Burger King India’s ₹ 810 crore initial public offering (IPO) will open for subscription on December 2. The IPO of the quick service restaurant chain will be open for three days, from December 2 to 4. The shares will be listed on the BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty on December 14. Burger King’s initial public offer (IPO) will consist of fresh issue of equity shares amounting to ₹ 450 crore and an offer for sale worth ₹ 360 crore by the promoter QSR Asia. In a pre-IPO placement, the company has already raised ₹ 91.92 crore from Amansa Investments at a price of ₹ 58.50 per share. Investors can bid for a minimum one lot of 250 equity shares and in multiples of thereafter, upto 13 lots. Retail investors can thus apply for maximum 3,250 equity shares at higher end of the price band. Burger King India will use proceeds from the public offer to open company-owned restaurants and for general corporate purposes. It plans to establish around 700 restaurants, including sub-franchised outlets, by Decembe

The S&P BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty 50 indexes ended on a flat note in trade on Friday as investors awaited official release of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) data for second quarter of the current financial year due later today. The benchmarks for most part of the day traded in a range bound manner. The Sensex moved in a range of 412 points and Nifty touched an intraday high of 13,035.30 and low of 12,914.30. Gains in HDFC, HDFC Bank, Asian Paints and Bajaj Finance were offset with losses in Reliance Industries, Infosys, TCS, Axis Bank and HCL Technologies. The Sensex ended 110 points or 0.25 per cent lower at 44,150 and Nifty 50 index declined 18 points or 0.14 per cent to settle at 12,969. The country’s economic activity likely picked up in July-September after a record 23.9 per cent contraction the previous quarter. Economists in a Reuters poll forecast gross domestic product (GDP) to shrink 8.8 per cent, a contraction that would still amount to a technical recession. Fourteen of 19

The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF, Russia’s sovereign wealth fund), and Hetero, one of India’s leading generic pharma companies (through its biologics arm “Hetero Biopharma”), have agreed to produce in India over 100 million doses per year of the world’s first registered vaccine against the novel coronavirus infection — Sputnik V. The parties plan to start the production of Sputnik V in the beginning of 2021. The Gamaleya Center and RDIF announced on November 24 positive results obtained during the second interim data analysis of the largest double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled Phase III clinical trials in Russia’s history involving 40,000 volunteers. Interim trial results have once again confirmed the high efficacy of the Sputnik V vaccine, the world’s first registered vaccine against coronavirus based on a well-studied platform of human adenoviral vectors.

Amundi said it has warned the State Bank of India it will evict one of the lender’s green bonds from a flagship fund if it helps finance a coal mine in Australia that has met fierce opposition from environmental groups. Amundi, which holds the bond in its Amundi Planet Emerging Green One fund, said it had learnt this week that the State Bank of India was considering financing the Carmichael thermal coal mine in Australia. Carmichael has drawn strong opposition from climate campaigners because of the potential carbon emissions that would be produced by the mine, at a time when many countries are exiting coal to help fight global warming. Under pressure from investors, a string of banks and insurers have already cut ties to the project, with the most recent being Lloyd’s insurer Apollo. Amundi’s Jean Jacques Barberis, Director of the Institutional and Corporate Clients division & ESG, said the asset manager had contacted the bank to voice its concern and followed up with a letter to

India’s gross domestic product (GDP) contracted 7.5 per cent in the July-September period, as the economy rebounded from a record slump of 23.9 per cent in the previous quarter due to slowdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Friday’s data confirms the economy’s first technical recession – which is two consecutive quarters of GDP contraction – since 1996, when the country began quarterly records. The GDP reading for the second quarter of current financial year is much better than economists’ forecasts of 8.8 per cent in a poll by news agency Reuters. Yet, the economy is on track to register an overall contraction of 8.7 per cent over the full year, which, if that were to happen, would be its worst performance in more than four decades. However, annual growth of 3.4 per cent in the farm sector and 0.6 per cent in manufacturing raised hopes of an early recovery as the government gears up to distribute coronavirus vaccines to a country with about 140 crore people. The latest data bring

The infrastructure output contracted 2.5 per cent in October from a year earlier, falling for an eighth straight month, government data on Friday showed. Infrastructure output, which comprises eight sectors including coal, crude oil and electricity and accounts for nearly 40 per cent of industrial output, contracted 13 per cent in the seven months through October from a year earlier, the data showed.

The Indian government has been implementing several methods and schemes across the country to curb air pollution. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways is trying to create an ecosystem to accelerate faster adoption of electric vehicles in the country. Recently, the government announced that 69,000 petrol pumps across the country will get charging kiosks installed. The phase-II of the FAME scheme is already in place to promote faster adoption of electric and hybrid vehicles in India. The Transport Ministry is now giving providing special permissions for two-wheelers as a taxi. This was announced by the Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways of India, Nitin Gadkari, during the latest interaction session with FADA Governing Council Members. He has informed that the electric and biofuel operated two-wheelers can be used as a taxi with an electronic meter. The Cabinet Minister said, “We are giving special permission for two-wheeler as a taxi. The two-wheeler on electric and bi

Redmi Note 9 Pro 5G, Redmi Note 9 5G, and Redmi Note 9 4G have been launched in China. The anticipated smartphones launched by Xiaomi will be available for purchase in China from December 1. International availability of the three new phones in the Redmi Note 9 series has not been announced yet. The earlier models in the Redmi Note 9 series, which include Redmi Note 9 Pro Max, Redmi Note 9 Pro, and Redmi Note 9, were launched in India earlier this year. Redmi Note 9 Pro 5G, Redmi Note 9 5G, Redmi Note 9 4G price Redmi Note 9 Pro 5G is priced at CNY 1599 (roughly Rs. 17,900) for 6GB RAM + 128GB model, CNY 1799 (roughly Rs. 20, 200) for 8GB RAM + 128GB, and CNY 1999 (roughly Rs. 22, 400) for 8GB RAM +256GB in China. It is offered in black, blue, and Lake and Autumn colour options. The Redmi Note 9 5G, meanwhile, starts at CNY 1299 (roughly Rs. 14,600) for the 6GB RAM + 128GB model, CNY 1499 (roughly Rs. 16,800) for the 8GB RAM + 128GB, and CNY 1699 (roughly Rs. 19,100) for the 8GB RAM +

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the agitation of farmers against the new farm laws and said no government in the world can stop farmers fighting the “battle of truth”. The former Congress chief’s attack on the government came as thousands of farmers, carrying flags and shouting slogans, gathered at various entry points into the national capital in a determined bid to push their way through as part of their ”Delhi Chalo” march against the new farm laws while police blocked them with barricades, teargas shells and batons. Later, the farmers were allowed to enter the national capital and hold peaceful agitation, the Delhi Police said. In a tweet in Hindi, Mr Gandhi said the prime minister should remember that whenever arrogance takes on truth, it gets defeated. “No government in the world can stop the farmers who are fighting the battle of truth,” the former Congress chief said. “The Modi government will have to agree to the demands of the

Volvo Cars has confirmed that it will bring the new XC40 Recharge electric SUV to India in 2021. It’s the electric version of the company’s popular compact SUV XC40, and it was just last month that the company began the production of the SUV at its plant in Ghent, Belgium. Last year, the Swedish carmaker had announced that it will be introducing 4 new electrified cars in India in the next 3 years, and now we have confirmed details that the Volvo XC40 Recharge will be one of them. Additionally, we also expect to see a plug-in hybrid version of the upcoming Volvo S60 sedan coming to India later. The Volvo XC40 Recharge comes with a dual-motor powertrain with 150 kW electric motors on each axle that converts to 408 bhp. The electric motors are powered by a 78 kWh battery pack that offers an approximate range of up to 400 km. It can achieve 0-100 kmph in 4.7 seconds, before hitting the top speed of 180 kmph. While the SUV comes with an 11 kW charger, it can also be charged with a 150 kW DC

India’s gross domestic product (GDP) contracted 7.5 per cent in the July-September period, as the economy rebounded from a record slump of 23.9 per cent in the previous quarter due to a slowdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Today’s data confirms the economy’s first technical recession – which is two consecutive quarters of contraction in GDP – since 1996, when the country began quarterly records.

Burger King India’s ₹ 810 crore initial public offering (IPO) will open for subscription on December 2. The IPO of the quick service restaurant chain will be open for three days, from December 2 to 4. The shares will be listed on the BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty on December 14. Burger King’s initial public offer (IPO) will consist of fresh issue of equity shares amounting to ₹ 450 crore and an offer for sale worth ₹ 360 crore by the promoter QSR Asia. In a pre-IPO placement, the company has already raised ₹ 91.92 crore from Amansa Investments at a price of ₹ 58.50 per share. Investors can bid for a minimum one lot of 250 equity shares and in multiples of thereafter, upto 13 lots. Retail investors can thus apply for maximum 3,250 equity shares at higher end of the price band. Burger King India will use proceeds from the public offer to open company-owned restaurants and for general corporate purposes. It plans to establish around 700 restaurants, including sub-franchised outlets, by Decembe

The S&P BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty 50 indexes ended on a flat note in trade on Friday as investors awaited official release of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) data for second quarter of the current financial year due later today. The benchmarks for most part of the day traded in a range bound manner. The Sensex moved in a range of 412 points and Nifty touched an intraday high of 13,035.30 and low of 12,914.30. Gains in HDFC, HDFC Bank, Asian Paints and Bajaj Finance were offset with losses in Reliance Industries, Infosys, TCS, Axis Bank and HCL Technologies. The Sensex ended 110 points or 0.25 per cent lower at 44,150 and Nifty 50 index declined 18 points or 0.14 per cent to settle at 12,969. The country’s economic activity likely picked up in July-September after a record 23.9 per cent contraction the previous quarter. Economists in a Reuters poll forecast gross domestic product (GDP) to shrink 8.8 per cent, a contraction that would still amount to a technical recession. Fourteen of 19

Thousands of farmers were allowed to enter Delhi today for a planned protest against new farm laws after a morning of clashes with the police at the border with Haryana. Even after the Delhi Police announced that they could enter, escorted by cops, teargassing and water sprays continued, apparently to control crowds. Some farmers were reportedly injured in the action. Groups of farmers, walking with tractors carrying food and essential supplies, had been trying to enter Delhi from multiple points, defying barricades, many wrapped in barbed wire, and trenches dug up near key roads. Farmers’ organisations said they had been “given safe passage” into Delhi and allowed to protest at a ground in Burari near the capital’s outskirts.

Malaysia has agreed to buy 12.8 million doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine, becoming the first country in Southeast Asia to announce a deal with the US drugmaker after some expressed reservations over the need for ultra-cold storage. While final trial data showed that Pfizer’s vaccine is 95 per cent effective, many Asian countries are not betting on it partly due to tropical heat, remote island communities and a lack of ultra-cold freezers. Pfizer’s vaccine, jointly developed with German partner BioNTech, must be stored and transported at minus 70 degrees Celsius (-94F), although it can be kept in a fridge for up to five days, or up to 15 days in a thermal shipping box. Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said on Friday that Malaysia would prioritise “high-risk groups… including frontliners, senior citizens, and those with non-communicable diseases, such as heart diseases and diabetes”. Pfizer will deliver the first one million doses in the first quarter of 2021, with 1.7 million, 5.8 mill

Foxconn is moving some iPad and MacBook assembly to Vietnam from China at the request of Apple Inc, said a person with knowledge of the plan, as the U.S. firm diversifies production to minimise the impact of a Sino-U.S. trade war. The development comes as the outgoing administration of U.S. President Donald Trump encourages U.S. firms to shift production out of China. During Trump’s tenure, the United States has targeted made-in-China electronics for higher import tariffs, and restricted supplies of components produced using U.S. technology to Chinese firms it deems a national security risk. Taiwanese manufacturers, wary of being caught up in the tit-for-tat trade war, have moved or are considering moving some production from China to countries such as Vietnam, Mexico, and India. Foxconn is building assembly lines for Apple’s iPad tablet and MacBook laptop at its plant in Vietnam’s northeastern Bac Giang province, to come online in the first half of 2021, the person said, declining to

President Ram Nath Kovind on Thursday led the nation in community reading of the preamble to the Constitution on the occasion of the Constitution Day. “The President read the preamble from Rashtrapati Bhavan, which was telecast live by Doordarshan and joined by the people across the nation,” an official statement said. It was screened live at Kevadia in Gujarat too which is hosting the 80th All India Presiding Officers’ Conference. The participants also read the preamble along with the President, the statement said. “The community reading of the Preamble, organised by the Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, is the part of various activities such as webinars, exhibitions, essay competition, poster competition, quiz competition and slogan competition aimed at highlighting and reiterating the values and principles enshrined in the Constitution,” the statement said.

Twelve years after the 26/11 attack, Pakistan has placed 19 members of the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) in a list of the “Most Wanted Terrorists” for their role in the heinous assault, but it has not initiated any serious efforts to catch them and also punish seven others who are facing trial in Lahore.The security agencies in Pakistan are clueless about the whereabouts of these 19 most wanted terrorists. Some of them have been hiding in Pakistan and others are believed to have fled the country. These terrorists were either crew members of the boats used by the attackers or financiers of the 26/11 attack. The move to place 19 LeT terrorists in the list apparently came following the Paris-based global money laundering and terrorist financing watchdog”s recent decision to retain Pakistan on its grey list till February 2021. The Financial Action Task Force made the decision after Islamabad failed to fulfill its six key obligations, including failure to take action against two of India’s m

National Pension System (NPS) is a government promoted pension/annuity scheme under which any Indian citizen between the age of 18 and 65 years can open ‘Tier I’ or ‘Tier I and Tier II both’ types of pension accounts. NPS account can also be opened by a non-resident Indian or a person with an overseas citizenship of India (OCI). However, NRI and OCI persons can only ‘Tier I’ NPS accounts. NPS accounts are managed by NPS Trust which invests in different asset classes, such as government bonds, equity market instruments and corporate debt according to preference of an investor. NSDL (National Securities Depository Limited) is the Central Recordkeeping Agency (CRA) for National Pension System (NPS). Each employee is identified by a unique number and has a separate Permanent Retirement Account Number (PRAN). An NPS account can be opened by a citizen of 18-65 years of age in two modes: online and offline. The subscriber can either apply for an NPS account by visiting a Point of Presence (Po

Union Bank of India shares gained nearly 2 per cent on the BSE in mid-morning trading after the state-owned lender proposed to raise up to ₹ 6,800 crore in the ongoing fiscal to fund its business growth. An extraordinary general meeting (EGM) will be held on December 30, 2020, to seek approval from the shareholders, Union Bank of India said in a regulatory filing to the stock exchanges. At 11:10 am, the shares of Union Bank were trading at ₹ 27.50, up 1.7 per cent on the BSE. “The EGM is being convened to obtain shareholders’ approval for raising of equity capital upto Rs.6,800 crore (including premium, if any) during the FY 2020-21 by way of various modes such as public issue (i.e. follow-on public offer) and/or rights issue and/or private placements,” Union Bank of India said.

The S&P BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty 50 indexes resumed their upmove after a day’s pause in the previous session, led by gains in metal, banking and financial services shares. The benchmarks staged a gap-up opening, but turned volatile in late-morning deals owing to expiry of November future and option contracts. However, late buying in banking shares lifted the benchmarks to intraday highs towards the close of the session. HDFC Bank, HDFC, Bajaj Finance, Axis Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank were among the top movers in the Sensex. The Sensex rose 432 points or 0.98 per cent to close at 44,260 and Nifty 50 index surged 129 points or 1 per cent to settle at 12,987. In the November series, Sensex rose 11 per cent, Nifty climbed 10.71 per cent and Bank Nifty index surged 22 per cent. Rahul Sharma, Market Strategist & Research Head, Equity99 Advisors said, “In an extremely volatile trading session, the benchmark indices settled higher with more than 60-65 per cent roll-over of open positi

President Ram Nath Kovind on Thursday led the nation in community reading of the preamble to the Constitution on the occasion of the Constitution Day. “The President read the preamble from Rashtrapati Bhavan, which was telecast live by Doordarshan and joined by the people across the nation,” an official statement said. It was screened live at Kevadia in Gujarat too which is hosting the 80th All India Presiding Officers’ Conference. The participants also read the preamble along with the President, the statement said. “The community reading of the Preamble, organised by the Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, is the part of various activities such as webinars, exhibitions, essay competition, poster competition, quiz competition and slogan competition aimed at highlighting and reiterating the values and principles enshrined in the Constitution,” the statement said.

US President-elect Joe Biden on Wednesday (local time) said the US is on track to begin immunisation against the COVID-19 by late December-early January next year as there have been “significant record-breaking progress” in developing a vaccine. “There’s been significant record-breaking progress made recently in developing a vaccine and several of these vaccines look extraordinarily effective. It happens to be on track for the first immunisation to begin by late December-early January,” Biden said at Delaware on the occasion of Thanksgiving. He added that there will be a need to put in place a distribution plan to get the entire country immunised as soon as possible “which we will do, but it’s going to take time.” “I hope with the news of the vaccine will serve as an incentive to every American to take the simple steps to get control of the virus,” the President-elect said. Biden said that the American people are at war against the virus that originated from Wuhan and not with one anot

Actress Sameera Reddy, who frequently addresses topics like body positivity in her Instagram posts, shared a picture from 2010 and explained that a lot of things were wrong with it. The prime factor being that it was edited to hide her “pimples, her real waist, the cellulite” and what not. Sameera Reddy posted a picture from the year 2010 from a photoshoot which was heavily tweaked. “Can you see the cellulite? The pimples? The loose skin on my belly? The real jawline? The real waist? Which part of my body is not touched up? Answer – Every part of it was cleaned, pulled in, tweaked, slimmed down in 2010,” wrote Sameera Reddy. Later in her post, Sameera Reddy wrote that she wished she had the original picture to highlight the drastic differences. She added, “I wish I had the original untouched picture to compare. Throwback.” She signed off her post saying that it took her a little time to accept her body the way it is. “A reminder that it took me a while to realise I need to love my body

AstraZeneca Plc and the University of Oxford, among the front-runners in the quest to deliver a Covid-19 vaccine, face mounting questions about their trial results after acknowledging a manufacturing error. While an announcement Monday by Astra and Oxford showed their shot was 70% effective on average in a late-stage study, the scant details released by the UK partners have sparked worries about whether regulators would clear it. In a later statement, Oxford said a difference in manufacturing processes led to some participants being given a half dose instead of a full one. Astra and Oxford said their vaccine was 90% effective when a half-dose was given before a full-dose booster, and that two full doses showed an efficacy of 62%. But the head of the US vaccine program known as Operation Warp Speed said the next day that the dose showing the higher level of effectiveness was tested in a younger population, and that the half-dose was given to some people because of an error in the quanti

Dedicated servers are often looked upon as over-expensive web hosting solutions. You may consider them an overkill for your business, but there is no denying the fact that they are the best hosting solution out there. Today, we will tell you some features of a dedicated WordPresshosting that makesit the best for your business. Reliability This is the key factor why most businesses choose a dedicated WordPress server hosting to host their website. A dedicated WordPress hosting server is administered and maintained by a team of professionals who provide online support and work towards optimising the performance of the server. Unlike shared and VPS hosting plans which give you access to limited resources, dedicated server hosting provides a good hosting support. This in turn increases the reliability. Scalability Every business aims to grow their customer base and increase revenues. However, with the limited resources provided by theshared hosting, it can be challenging to handle the high

Taapsee Pannu recently called out a troll on Instagram and she did it in her own style. The actress has quite a bit of a reputation for speaking her mind on social media and has never shied away from expressing her views freely. Be it posting her political views online or slamming a journalist who asked her to speak in a particular language during a media interaction, Taapsee Pannu has spoken up and out on social media an otherwise. On Tuesday night, Taapsee called out a troll who called her a “ faltu heroine.” Taapsee shared a screenshot of the message sent by the Instagram user which is too vile to be reproduced here. “Tujhe acting to aati nahi utha utha ke movie karti hai,” read an excerpt from the Instagram user’s message. Replying to him, Taapsee wrote, “ Exactly kya utha utha ke? Kyunki uthaya toh hai maine, standard but aapko shayad nahi samajh aaye

Radio City, India’s leading radio network announces the 12th season of India’s biggest singing talent hunt on the radio – Radio City Super Singer, to uphold its legacy of turning the spotlight onto some of India’s brightest singing stars. Singing superstar, Kailash Kher, would be judging the contestants of this season and will crown the ultimate winner of the Hindi speaking region across Radio City’s presence. Through Radio City Super Singer, the radio channel encourages aspiring singers by giving them a platform to showcase their singing talent across 39 cities. Keeping in mind, the current situation, Radio City would be executing the 12 th season of Radio City Super Singer on-air and across social media that will culminate on 20 th December 2020. The auditions for the contest will begin from 23 rd November 2020 wherein aspiring singers can send in their entries till 6 th December 2020 via IRVS, Radio City’s microsite, and social media platforms. Post the auditions, 5 contestants

In a sign of growing closeness between India and the United States amid conflict with China, the Indian Navy has inducted two Predator drones from an American firm on lease for carrying out surveillance in the Indian Ocean Region and which can also be deployed along the Line of Actual Control in Eastern Ladakh. The American-origin drones have been inducted by the Navy under the emergency procurement powers granted by the Defence Ministry in view of the India-China border conflict. “The drones arrived in India in the second week of November and were inducted into flying operations on November 21 at Indian Navy base at INS Rajali,” top government sources told ANI. The drones have already started flying operations and with an endurance capability of being in the air for over 30 hours, they are proving to be a big asset for the maritime force, they said. An American crew from the vendor is also accompanying the equipment and would help the Navy to operate the machines, the sources said. Th

In a sign of growing closeness between India and the United States amid conflict with China, the Indian Navy has inducted two Predator drones from an American firm on lease for carrying out surveillance in the Indian Ocean Region and which can also be deployed along the Line of Actual Control in Eastern Ladakh. The American-origin drones have been inducted by the Navy under the emergency procurement powers granted by the Defence Ministry in view of the India-China border conflict. “The drones arrived in India in the second week of November and were inducted into flying operations on November 21 at Indian Navy base at INS Rajali,” top government sources told ANI. The drones have already started flying operations and with an endurance capability of being in the air for over 30 hours, they are proving to be a big asset for the maritime force, they said. An American crew from the vendor is also accompanying the equipment and would help the Navy to operate the machines, the sources said. Th

Infrastructure major Larsen and Toubro (L&T) has won the contract to build the country’s longest river bridge. The road bridge will be 19-km long, to be built along the NH 127-B across the Brahmaputra river. It will connect Dhubri in Assam to Phulbari in Meghalaya. L&T Construction, the construction arm of the conglomerate, has secured the contract and will execute the project. The bridge holds strategic relevance as it will improve the connectivity of the northeastern states with the rest of the country, once completely implemented. It will also establish a vital link between the states of Assam and Meghalaya by reducing the distance by 250 km. Presently, the travel time between Dhubri and Phulbari by ferry is around two-and-a-half hours.

The cabinet on Wednesday approved the merger of Lakshmi Vilas Bank (LVB) with DBS India, which is the wholly-owned subsidiary of DBS Bank. “The speedy amalgamation and resolution of the stress in LVB is in line with Government’s commitment to a clean banking system, while protecting the interests of depositors, public and financial system,” the union minister Prakash Javadekar said in a media briefing at the end of the cabinet meeting. With the merger, there will no further restrictions on the depositors regarding the withdrawal of their deposit, the minister added. As part of the amalgamation plan, DBS India will infuse fresh capital of ₹ 2,500 crore into LVB and the entire share capital and reserves and surplus will be written off. The Reserve Bank of India had, on November 17, proposed the merger of the 94-year-old beleaguered lender with DBS India. On the same day, it had placed LVB under a moratorium for one month and capped withdrawals from its customers’ accounts at ₹ 25,000 a m

The government’s tight control of quality clearances for electronic goods from China slowed the import of Apple’s new iPhone model last month and held up other products made by companies like Xiaomi, according to two industry sources. Applications to the quality control agency, the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), typically used to be processed within 15 days, but some are now taking up to two months or longer. BIS started delaying approvals in August for China-made imports of devices like smartphones, smartwatches, and laptops, part of the fallout from deteriorating ties with China after a border clash in June that left 20 Indian soldiers dead. Since the clash, the country has tightened rules for investments from China and banned hundreds of Chinese mobile apps, including from tech giants Tencent, Alibaba, and ByteDance. It banned 43 more apps on Tuesday. When Apple’s new iPhone 12 was caught in the delays, Apple India executives called on BIS to speed its approval up, giving assuran

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved a capital infusion of ₹ 6,000 crore by the government in the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF), a sovereign wealth fund, over the next two years, Minister of Information And Broadcasting Prakash Javadekar said. The government would invest ₹ 2,400 crore in the NIIF during the current financial year ending in March that would help it raise up to ₹ 1.lakh crore for investments, Mr Javadekar, told reporters after the cabinet meeting. The cabinet also approved the merger of Lakshmi Vilas Bank (LVB) with DBS India, which is the wholly-owned subsidiary of DBS Bank.

Toyota Motor Corp again halted operations at its car plant from Monday, November 23, as the majority of members of its workers’ union continued a sit-in strike, the automaker said. Both the Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) factories in the industrial hub of Bidadi, Karnataka, had declared a ‘lock out’ on November 10 after the union went on strike, saying that their demand to withdraw the suspension of a worker was not met. The local state government’s labour department had prohibited the strike by the workmen, as well as the legal lock out declared by the management from Nov. 19 and directed operations to resume, a spokesperson for the automaker’s India unit said on Tuesday. Even after the lock out was lifted by TKM, only a few team members have reported to work, the company said. “For plant operations to run smoothly and effectively, a minimum workforce of 90% in each shift is required. In view of the current situation, it is not viable to carry on with manufacturing activity.”

The S&P BSE Sensex and Nifty 50 indexes fell sharply in trade on Wednesday as investors booked profits at record highs a day ahead of the monthly expiry of future and option contracts, analysts said. The Sensex crashed as much as 1,067 points from record high of 44,825.37 and Nifty 50 index touched an intraday low of 12,834 after hitting a record high of 13,145.85 during the session. HDFC Bank, Infosys, Kotak Mahindra Bank, HDFC, Reliance Industries, Axis Bank and Bharti Airtel were among the top drags in the Sensex. The Sensex slumped 695 points or 1.56 per cent to close at 43,828 and Nifty 50 index dropped 197 points or 1.51 per cent to settle at 12,858. Selling pressure was visible across sectors as all the 11 sector gauges, barring the index of PSU banks, ended lower led by the Nifty Realty index’s 2.5 per cent decline. Private bank, pharma, bank, financial services and auto indexes also fell around 2 per cent.

The central government on Wednesday asked states to step up efforts to contain coronavirus cases especially in areas where a spike has been reported in recent weeks. Issuing a set of guidelines that will be effective from December 1, the Home Ministry suggested measures including local restrictions such as night curfews, stricter enforcement of containment zones and encouraging “Covid-appropriate” behaviour. The centre said states can impose additional fines and curbs on gatherings but there can’t be any lockdown outside containment zones without its permission. The government call for stricter enforcement of existing rules like mask-wearing, social distancing and said it will issue formal rules for markets and weekly bazaars. India’s coronavirus caseload passed 90 lakh last week with a surge in places like New Delhi, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh where hospitals came under increasing pressure. The world’s second-worst-hit country, India has now also registered more than 1.34 lakh deaths

This method is inefficient and can also hamper productivity, even more given the current work-from-home situation.  Sonit Jain, CEO of GajShield Infotech  shares a solution to increase efficiency at work from home and shares a data-centric approach for safeguarding our data, and also ensure that tasks are carried out seamlessly. The problem with the website and application blocking approach Blocking an application or website naturally restricts complete usage. However, employees may need to access them in certain situations. For example, a client may require you to share files over collaborative apps such as Google Docs or employees might require access to certain blocked websites for professional work. Changing permissions to allow access to these sites can also result in misuses. Once a website or application is allowed, there is no control over the data being sent and received by the employees. The ‘allow but monitor’ solution with enhanced data security The ‘allow, but monitor’ app

Bhopal  :  In line with its commitment to offer innovative products to customers, IndianOil has introduced  SERVO Pride NXT series of lubricants – a range of premium BS-VI diesel engine oils for next- gen mobility. SERVO Pride NXT lubricants meet the highest specifications – API CK4 – for diesel engines and are also compatible with earlier diesel engine versions. These oils have been specially formulated at IndianOil’s state-of-the-art R&D Centre for superior engine performance, providing fuel economy benefits up to 2% in long haul applications. The SERVO Pride NXT series of lubricants is being offered in three variants, viz. SERVO Pride NXT 10W30, SERVO Pride NXT 10W40 and SERVO Pride NXT 15W40. Mr. Subimal Mondal, Executive Director(Lubes), IndianOil, said, “ SERVO Pride NXT range of lubricants has been specially-formulated for trucks. They are compliant with BS-VI emission norms and are environment friendly. This offering to our customers is in line with IndianOil’s philosophy a

Mumbai, November 2020:  The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) has introduced guidelines to make real-money gaming advertising safer and more responsible. The guidelines have been developed to ensure that such advertising makes users aware about financial and other risks that are associated with playing online games with real money winnings. As per a recent KPMG study, online gaming grew 45% in FY20 with the user base surpassing 365 million by March 2020 on real-money games (RMGs). The card-based and fantasy segments both achieved strong traction. As India is a mobile-first country, more than 90% of online gamers play games on their phones. The online gaming market, worth more than $500 million now, could be worth $1.1 billion by 2021. In 2019, around 5.6 billion mobile gaming apps were downloaded in India – the highest in the world and representing nearly 13% of gaming apps globally. Internet penetration in India is 31% and KMPG expects it to reach 53% by 2021 – which would

In a bid to provide relief to its retail borrowers amid the COVID-19 crisis, the State Bank of India (SBI) had launched an online portal where customers can check eligibility and apply for restructuring their loans online. According to the directives of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the country’s largest public lender came out with the loan restructuring policy to tackle the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and to provide some relief to customers. Education loans, auto loans, personal loans, housing, and other related loans are covered under the restructuring scheme, which can be availed subject to eligibility. Customers can apply for loan restructuring online by following some easy steps.

The U.S. will soon issue the results of probes into Austria, Italy and India’s decisions to tax local revenue of Internet companies such as Facebook Inc., which could pave the way for retaliatory tariffs, people familiar with the situation said. Determinations on the three countries are due because all of them have instituted so-called digital services taxes — or levies on local sales of companies such as Alphabet Inc.’s Google — this year, said the people who couldn’t be identified because the information is private. There may also be findings on Indonesia, U.K. and Turkey, one of the people said. The U.S. Trade Representative in June started investigations into the moves of at least 10 countries, citing Section 301 of the U.S. Trade Act of 1974, which allows it to retaliate for trade practices it deems unfair. It’s the same tool used to justify U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods for alleged theft of intellectual property. In addition to the three countries where determinations will soon b

Equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty rallied to fresh lifetime highs on Tuesday following broad-based buying interest amid persistent foreign capital inflows. Progress on a COVID-19 vaccine also spurred hopes for a faster economic recovery, leading to positive sentiment for equities. The Sensex rose as much as 495 points to an all-time high of 44,571.96 and Nifty 50 index surged to record high of 13,079. Banking shares led the rally in Tuesday’s session as the index of banking shares on the National Stock Exchange – Nifty Bank index -rose over 600 points. On the vaccine front, AstraZeneca’s encouraging interim results for its COVID-19 shot were followed on Monday by manufacturer Serum Institute’s announcement that it would focus first on supplies to India, raising hopes that the vaccine could become available quickly in the world’s second worst-hit country. Meanwhile, Hemang Jani, head – equity strategy, broking & distribution at Motilal Oswal Financial Services advised investors to

The domestic stock markets are likely to open flat, after two succesive days of gains, going by indications from SGX Nifty futures. Trends on SGX Nifty indicate a flat opening for the index in India. At 7:30 am, the Nifty futures were trading virtually unchanged at 12,953 on the Singapore Stock Exchange. Asian stocks opened higher on Tuesday as COVID-19 vaccine progress shored up global sentiment and U.S. President-elect Joe Biden was given the go-ahead to begin his White House transition. S&P 500 was up 0.52 per cent in early Asian trade, while Japan’s Nikkei was 1.8 per cent higher and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 1.11 per cent stronger. U.S. stocks closed higher in a choppy session on Monday as hopes for a COVID-19 vaccine lifted economically sensitive sectors such as energy and industrials, but a pullback in megacap shares curbed gains on the S&P 500 and Nasdaq. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.12 per cent and the S&P 500 gained 0.56 per cent, while the Nasdaq Com

Earlier this year, rumours of Honda reviving the Transalp name emerged with talk of a smaller mid-size Africa Twin to be called the Transalp. Now, there’s still more rumours, this time from Japan, with publication Young Machine suggesting that the Honda Transalp may be making a return pretty soon. Young Machine has been quite accurate with its predictions and scoops on upcoming models from Japanese brands, so this time around, the buzz about the Honda Transalp may actually progress into a full-scale production model.

India and the United States have extended the Memorandum of Understanding for cooperation on nuclear energy for 10 more years. According to a joint statement issued on Tuesday, “Marking the tenth year of cooperation between the United States and India at the Global Centre for Nuclear Energy Partnership (GCNEP) and the signing of the extension, for an additional ten years, to the Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Republic of India Concerning Cooperation with the Global Centre for Nuclear Energy Partnership, India, signed at New Delhi on November 7, 2010 (the GCNEP MOU).” The joint statement also recognizing India’s important commitment in 2010 to establish the GCNEP with a vision to promote safe, secure, and sustainable nuclear energy for the service of mankind through global partnership. “India and the US, recognizing and appreciating the strength of the enduring partnership between the two countries on matters