'An excited' Ivanka Trump reaches Hyderabad for GES 2017

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump's daughter Ivanka Trump will be inaugurating and addressing the Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) in Hyderabad today. Speaking a day ahead of the Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES), Ivanka Trump said, "as the world's largest democracies... there is much we can and should do together. We share common priorities, including promoting economic growth and reform, fighting terrorism, and expanding security cooperation."

In an interview with TOI, Ivanka, adviser to the US President said, "In September, I had the honour of meeting with foreign minister Swaraj in New York City during the UN General Assembly. I shared with her that I have long admired India's history and culture, and my hope for continued progress, particularly as it relates to women. I look forward to continuing this conversation with Prime Minister Modi. I'm excited for my visit and hope to be back soon to see more of India."

NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant called for providing greater impetus to women entrepreneurs, as this would be critical for India's growth.

"The summit comes at a time when the government is working on several initiatives to empower women in India, such as Beti Bachao Beti Padhao and others. This summit will witness women taking center stage in all fronts, including panel discussions. This summit has a majority of women participation (52.5percent), with over 10 countries being led by all-women delegation," Kant said at a joint press conference with US Ambassador to India Kenneth Juster.
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Terrorists kill BSF jawan Ramzan Parray, injure family members in Kashmir

Militants on Wednesday stormed the home of a Kashmiri BSF constable on vacation, shooting him dead and inflicting gunshot wounds on four of his family members in Hajjan in north Kashmir, police said.

Rameez Parrey (30) belonged to the 73rd battalion of the BSF.

The militants, after forcing their way into the house in Parrey Mohalla, fired indiscriminately at the family.

The jawan died on the spot. Four of his family members -- his father, two brothers and an aunt -- suffered gunshot wounds, police said.

The condition of the jawan's aunt was stated to be serious, while that of the three others was stable.

The Director General of Jammu and Kashmir Police, S P Vaid, termed the incident as "barbaric and inhumane" and said the guilty would be punished.

Parrey served the BSF for six years.

The BSF, India confirmed the news on Twitter: "Prahari Pariwar stands by the family of one of our member Constable Md Ramzan who was cowardly killed by terrorists today.He was on leave"

Nitish Kumar, who heads the police in North Kashmir, tweeted that the four were "critically injured".
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Will Pakistan risk overruling ICJ's order in Kulbhushan Jadhav case?

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Islamabad will overrule the International Court of Justice's (ICJ) order to suspend the execution of alleged Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav, who was sentenced to death by a military court, Pakistan's local media reports said.

According to Pakistan's local media reports, the Attorney General of Pakistan "was briefed on the issue on Friday and according to sources, Pakistan will deny jurisdiction of International Court of Justice (ICJ) over cases that have national stability at stake."

Earlier, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, sent an urgent communication to Pakistan from the office of its President under Article 74 for Islamabad and New Delhi's cooperation till a decision is reached on the death sentence case of former Indian naval officer and alleged spy Khulbhushan Jadhav.

Judge Ronny Abraham, the President of the ICJ, forwarded the urgent communication to both Pakistan and India .

ICJ President Judge Abraham in his letter to Pakistan Prime MInister Nawaz Sharif, said, " In my capacity as President of the Court, and exercising the powers conferred upon me under Article 74 , Paragraph 4, of the rules, I call upon the parties concerned ie. Your Excellency's Government , pending the court's decision on the request for provisional measures, to act in such a way as will enable any order the court may make on this request to have its appropriate effects."

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) will be holding public hearings in the Kulbhushan Jadhav case on May 15. Indian lawyer Harish Salve will argue the case of Kulbhushan Jadhav on New Delhi's behalf.

Pakistan was caught by surprise when India move swiftly to ICJ and Islamabad received a midnight order that stayed the execution of Jadhav.
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Pinterest acquires Twitter co-founder's 'human powered' search engine Jelly

Latest News - San Francisco-based Pinterest has acquired Twitter co-founder Biz Stone's "human powered" search engine start-up Jelly.

"This is the best decision for the future of human powered search and discovery. Jelly plus Pinterest is an exceedingly powerful match. A new adventure begins!" Stone, Co-Founder and CEO, Jelly Industries Inc, said in a statement on Wednesday.

Financial terms of the deals are yet to be disclosed and whether Jelly would remain separate, or integrated was also not revealed.

"We're still working out details, so there are unknowns," Stone said.

Jelly offers a search engine service that answers user's questions in details. To answer the user's questions Jelly routes them to people who might know.

"Human powered search, a subjective search engine, and discovering things you didn't know you (Read More)

Lamborghini eyes two-fold jump in India sales by 2020

Latest News - Italian super sports car maker Lamborghini is betting big on the Indian market and expects its sales in the country to double by 2020.

In order to popularise the brand, the company also plans to push sales of its licenced accessories and merchandise in India.

"India for us represents a market with a lot of returns and a very important market. Last year it was a very good year there, " Automobili Lamborghini CEO Stefano Domenicali said here on the sidelines of the Geneva Motor show.

He said although the company has been present in India for around three years, it was able to sell 28 units last year.

"It is a growing market and we see potential. We can go easily to 40-50 cars a year very soon (with the upcoming SUV Urus), we can double our sales in (Read More)

McDonald's to launch concept restaurants in India; soups, salads on offer

Latest News - As part of a brand transformation, McDonald's India is launching a series of concept restaurants with enhanced digital capabilities to improve customer experience, and expects to open 5-10 outlets in the city in the next 18 months.

Called 'Experience of the Future' (EOTF), the McDonald's outlet in Mumbai features self-ordering kiosks, table service, and has also introduced several healthy options on the menu.

"This is the next phase of brand transformation for McDonald's in India. We are launching our EOTF outlets in Mumbai first, and will take this to other cities over the next 2-3 years. In the next 1.5 years we could open about 5-10 outlets in Mumbai," Amit Jatia, vice-chairman, Westlife Development said here.

Westlife Development is the franchise owner of McDonald's in south and west India. It intends to have 20 per cent of its restaurants as (Read More)

Dr Reddy's fails one more US FDA test

Latest News - In another setback to drug major Dr Reddy’s Laboratories’ (DRL’s) remediation effort, its oncology formulations facility at Duvvada in Visakhapatnam has got a long and adverse rap from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

This particular rap is termed Form 483. The FDA issues it when an inspection of a unit reveals various objectionable deviations from its rules and standards. It was issued (“it has 13 observations, which we are addressing,” the company said, without details) after a new audit of the plant in question that was concluded on Thursday.

This is the second unit of Dr Reddy’s that has failed to clear a re-audit after the company had invited the FDA to do a fresh evaluation of all its three facilities that were issued a warning letter in November 2015, over lapses in what are termed “Current Good Manufacturing Practices”.

The company recently announced that all the commitments as part of the earlier warning letter response had been completed. The latest observations will further prolong the regulatory scrutiny at these.

Last month, the US regulator issued a (Read More)

Delhi HC upholds order restricting sale of Cipla's respiratory disease drug

Latest News - A division bench of the Delhi High Court on Thursday upheld a single judge order restraining Cipla from selling its respiratory disease drug – Indaflo.  Cipla had launched the drug in the Indian market in 2014 under the name Unibrez, while also calling for the revocation of five Novartis patents on Indacaterol, the generic version of the respiratory medicine. 

Cipla later had to change the name Unibrez to Indaflo, after a court order held the earlier name as infringing on the trademark of Novartis’s own variant – Onbrez. After winning the first round in court, Novartis filed a separate suit for permanent injunction claiming the infringement of its patent on Indacaterol by Cipla. 

Novartis’s bid to stop Cipla from selling Indacaterol in its entirety became a reality after a single judge bench in January 2015, restrained Cipla from selling their version of the drug, until otherwise allowed a compulsory license to sell the medicine from a (Read More)

Reliance Commercial Finance appoints Devang Mody as CEO

Latest News - Reliance Commercial Finance, a subsidiary of Reliance Capital, on Tuesday announced the appointment of Devang Mody as chief executive officer.

Prior to this, Mody served as president of consumer business at Bajaj Finance.

The consumer finance business of Bajaj Finance, under his leadership, witnessed a sharp growth to its current size spanning over 300 towns, with market leadership positions across various business lines.

Mody, aged 44, has over 20 years of experience in the financial sector. He started his career with Mahajan & Aibara, and then moved on to EY, followed by a stint at GE Money Financial Services where he was VP - Strategic Initiatives, before moving to Bajaj Finance.

"I am delighted to welcome Devang Mody as the new CEO of our commercial finance business, a high priority growth area for (Read More)

Markets continue strong rally on BJP's UP win; ICICI Bank up 5%

Latest News - Benchmark indices kept their strong rally going in the morning trade as investors cheered BJP’s stunning victory in Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, which gives it room for adding more representatives in the Rajya Sabha. BJP won state elections in four out of five states that went to polls indicating that the popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi was still intact.

Both indices rallied by about 2% with Sensex surging as much as 615 points during the early trade while the broader Nifty50 hitting the record high of 9,123 at open(Read More)

Flipkart looking to raise $1 billion in latest funding round: Source

Latest News - India's top e-commerce company Flipkart is holding talks with investors to raise up to $1 billion in one of its biggest funding rounds so far, a source familiar with developments said on Wednesday.

The source declined to name the potential investors and the exact valuation Flipkart was looking for, but said it hoped the valuation would be in the "double digits", referring to a valuation of $10 billion or more.

Earlier on Wednesday, Financial Express newspaper, citing unidentified sources, said (Read More)

Avenue Supermarts IPO fully subscribed on first day

Latest News - India's Avenue Supermarts Ltd's initial public offering (IPO) to raise up to Rs 1,870 crore was fully subscribed on the first day of the offer, exchange data showed on Wednesday.

The supermarket operator is selling shares in a range of 295-299 rupees a share in an offer that closes on Friday.

Its IPO is the country's biggest since PNB Housing Finance Ltd raised Rs 3,000 crore in an initial share sale in October.

The supermarket operator operates 118 stores across 45 cities under the "D'Mart" brand.

Separately, the (Read More)

China posts first monthly trade deficit in 3 years as imports soar

Latest News - China unexpectedly posted its first trade gap in three years in February as a construction boom pushed imports much higher than expected and as increasing US protectionist rhetoric casts a spotlight on the export giant's trade position.

The upbeat import reading reinforced the growing view that economic activity in China picked up in the first two months of the year, adding to a global manufacturing revival.

That could give China's policymakers more confidence to press ahead this year with oft-delayed and painful structural reforms such as tackling a rapid build-up in debt.(Read More)

Gender pay gap: Men earn 67% more than women in India, says Report

Latest News - The gender pay gap in India is as high as 67 per cent as a man on an average earns USD 167 compared with $100 by a woman, says a report.

According to Accenture Research, much of this gap is caused by the fact that there are more men than women in high paying functional and leadership roles, in addition to factors such as education levels, industry segment and hours worked.

"Despite recent successes such as improvement in education, and more work opportunities, socio-cultural issues often force women to step back at important stages in their careers making the gap harder to close," said Rekha Menon, Chairman and Sr Managing Director, Accenture in India.(Read More)

Sena joins Congress, NCP in loan waiver demand; Maha Assembly adjourned

BMC POLLS 2017 - The Maharashtra Legislative Assembly was on Wednesday adjourned for the day without transacting any business after it witnessed noisy scenes as Shiv Sena legislators joined Opposition Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) to demand loan waiver for distressed farmers.
As soon as the House assembled for the day, Leader of Opposition, Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil through an adjournment notice highlighted the plight of farmers across the state after consecutive droughts and said there was no alternative other than granting them a loan waiver.
NCP leader Ajit Pawar asked the BJP government to recall how its ministers, while in Opposition would raise farmers' woes (Read More)

Tech Mahindra to focus on improving profitability even at cost of growth

Latest News - India’s fifth largest IT services and solutions firm, Tech Mahindra, stated that the focus of the firm would be to improve profitability even at the cost of growth going ahead.

"It is not fair for the company to have margins in 12-15 per cent range when my competitors are reporting margins in the range of 20 per cent and above. We will strive to do better both on Ebitda (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) and growth, but my priority is going to be Ebitda now," said C P Gurnani, CEO & MD, Tech Mahindra.

He further added that as part of improving the margins, the company would let go of businesses or deals that did not have high yields. "We will definitely look at the yield management. Some of this will also mean abandoning my field engineering kind of work in LCC. I will reduce my business there. If you see de-growth, it is because I have decided on those particular areas," said Gurnani.

The company, which recently announced its third quarter numbers, reported topline growth of 12.7 per cent at (Read More)

Samsung stocks plunge after arrest of heir over corruption scandal

Latest News - South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics' stock price plunged on Friday after it was announced that its vice president and heir to the business conglomerate was arrested over his alleged role in a corruption scandal.

Samsung Electronics, one of the stocks that holds the greatest weight in the Seoul Stock Exchange, opened with a sharp decline, hitting 0.60 per cent, and by 9.30 a.m., was down 0.47 per cent to stand at 1.892 million won ($1,653), Efe news reported.

Earlier in the day, Seoul Central District Court authorised Lee Jae-yong's arrest after "new charges and evidence" were presented.

Following the order, the 48-year-old tycoon was immediately arrested and (Read More)

Note ban impact: Cash situation to become normal in March, says Nomura

Latest News -The impact of demonetisation is still visible and cash levels in the economy are not expected to be sufficient until March, which may keep trade volumes depressed for the next two months, says a Nomura report.

As per data released by the commerce ministry, growth in exports in January was lower than 5.72 per cent in December.

The moderation in India's exports volume suggests that demonetisation may still be affecting cash-intensive export sectors, Nomura said in a research note, adding that "we do not interpret this as a sign of reduced competitiveness".

"We expect trade volumes to remain subdued for another month or two as we do( Read More)

Telecom industry lost 20% revenue due to Reliance Jio giveaways: Ind-Ra

Latest News - The telecom industry has lost about 20 per cent of revenue due to Reliance Jio's free services, India Ratings and Research has said, revising the sectoral outlook for 2017-18 to negative.

India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra), a Fitch group company, said the revision of outlook on the sector to negative for 2017-18 from stable-to-negative for 2016-17 is due to "increasing competition".

"The negative outlook reflects Ind-Ra's expectation of longer and deeper than expected deterioration in the credit profile of telcos following the extended free services by Reliance Jio Infocomm," its latest report on corporate outlook said.

The report further said the industry has lost about 20 per cent revenues due to the free services by RJio.

"The existing telcos would lose market share to RJio and suffer profitability while the (Read More)

Tata Motors logs into Microsoft to improve in-car connected experience