Business Point Today

Fitness wasn’t always a selection criteria in the Indian team but with the evolution of cricket, a lot has changed. With Virat Kohli arguably being the finest example, Indian players have worked hard towards their first. Even the introduction of the Yo-Yo test has forced the players to work on their fitness in order to get into the Indian team. However, there also remains chatter on players like Rohit Sharma who often get people engaged in fitness debates. But, as far as India’s strength and conditioning coach Ankit Kaliyar is concerned, Rohit is as fit as Kohli. “Rohit Sharma is a fit player. He has good fitness. He looks a bit bulky but he always passes the Yo-Yo test. He is as fit as Virat Kohli. He looks like he is bulky but we have seen him on the field. His agility and mobility is amazing. He is among the fittest cricketers,” he said in a chat with the Times of India. Speaking of Kohli, Kaliyar had no qualms in admitting that the superstar batter is the one who has brought about ...

Alphabet Inc’s Google is in talks with the Indian government to integrate its shopping services with the country’s open e-commerce network ONDC, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. Late last month India soft-launched its Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) as the government tries to end the dominance of US companies Amazon.com and Walmart in the fast-growing e-commerce market. The government estimates the Indian e-commerce market was worth more than $55 billion in gross merchandise value in 2021 and will grow to $350 billion by the end of this decade. ONDC’s chief executive, T. Koshy, told Reuters that Google was one among many companies it was in discussions over an association with the project. Read More : https://english.alarabiya.net/business/technology/2022/05/27/Google-in-talks-to-join-India-s-open-e-commerce-network-ONDC

India's two richest men are going head-to-head. Only this time, they are competing for a share of the country's fast-growing video on-demand and streaming market, pitting themselves against Netflix and Amazon. Last month, conglomerate Reliance Industries' Viacom18 Media — controlled by Mukesh Ambani — formed a joint venture with James Murdoch's Bodhi Tree Systems to form one of the largest TV and digital streaming companies in India. At the same time, Gautam Adani, who overtook Mr Ambani as India's richest man this year, and has an estimated net worth of $123.7 billion, announced his entry into India's media sector by establishment of a subsidiary that would focus on areas including “broadcasting, distributing of content over different types of media networks”. “With a strong push into both broadcasting and digital media, Reliance Industries is doubling down on the media business,” says Kshitij Purohit, an analyst at Finofy, an investment advisory company. “Adan...

The Congress on Sunday slammed the Madhya Pradesh government's orders which stated that the investigation agencies mandatorily need to acquire prior permission of the chief minister to inquest corruption charges against officials of all-India services. Congress leader Kamal Nath accused the BJP of making 'elaborate arrangements to protect the corrupt.' "Those who used to give the slogan 'Na Khaunga and Na Khane Dunga' at the time of elections and those who used to talk about putting the corrupt in 10 feet deep pit, all of them together have made elaborate arrangements to protect the corrupt," the Congress leader wrote in a tweet. Notably, the General Administration Department of the Madhya Pradesh Government issued an order on Thursday stating that prior permission of the chief minister of the state would be required to initiate a probe against officers of All India Services (IAS, IPS, IFS etc.) under the Prevention of Corruption Act. The order was passed ...

With the QUAD summit scheduled to take place in Tokyo on May 24, the Chinese strategy to create choke points in the Indo-Pacific is certainly going to come up for discussion as these steps will have long term effects on the free and open seas. The issue assumes alarming dimensions if the Communist Party of China decides to militarily subsume Republic of Taiwan with its sea-based forces particularly the nuclear submarines crossing the first Island chain encircling mainland China. On April 22, a high-power delegation led by US National Security Council Indo-Pacific Coordinator Kurt Campbell with Deputy INDOPACOM Commander read the riot act to Solomon Islands Prime Minister over its security pact with Communist China. The message was simple and blunt: if Solomon Islands allow China to establish a Chinese military post or base in far Pacific, then the US would respond in kind. With the QUAD summit scheduled to take place in Tokyo on May 24, the Chinese strategy to create choke points in th...

 India's start-up sector is experiencing a slowdown in investment activity after a record-breaking year in 2021, due to global geopolitical factors and poor stock market debuts by loss-making internet companies, according to experts. But the long-term outlook remains bright for the sector, as India's digital sector records growth and it advances towards its goal of becoming the world's largest start-up destination. “Sure enough there is a global overhang of the current geopolitical situation ... and an erosion in some of the tech stocks that got listed has dampened the mood a bit,” says Anup Jain, managing partner at Orios Venture Partners, an early stage venture capital fund in India. But “tech start-ups are going to be driving the Indian economy forward”. “The rate of digital adoption across income classes is well-established and consumers are firmly behind this entire digitisation in every aspect of life,” he says. Start-ups in the country raised $10.5 billion in the fir...

 Paytm's shares dropped by as much as 13 per cent after the Reserve Bank of India barred the digital payments company’s Paytm Payments Bank venture from accepting new customers. The action is based on certain “material supervisory concerns” and the restrictions will continue pending a comprehensive audit of its information technology systems, the Indian central bank said on Friday. Paytm Payments Bank is a joint venture of One 97 Communications, commonly known as Paytm, and the company’s founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma. The Paytm app on a smartphone. The company's shares dropped by as much as 13 per cent on Monday.  The company is taking steps to comply with the central bank’s directive, including the appointment of an external auditor, it said on Saturday. Existing customers will be unaffected. The stock traded down 11 per cent at 686 rupees ($9) at 7.50am UAE time after earlier falling to 675 rupees. Paytm Payments Bank started operations in November 2017 after receiving its li...

  Hero MotoCorp, the world’s largest manufacturer of motorcycles and scooters, is foraying into electric vehicles with a new brand as part of its plan to switch to cleaner technology. The company will launch its first EV on July 1 under the brand Vida and begin deliveries later this year, according to a statement on Friday. The electric model will be produced at a factory in the Southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. The company will also set up a $100 million global sustainability fund to help entrepreneurs find environmental, social and governance solutions. Getting gasoline two-wheelers off India’s roads is crucial to curb one of the world’s most toxic air environments as scooters and motorcycles pollute more than cars and account for 81 per cent of the vehicles in the nation. Even though India has vowed to turn net carbon zero by 2070, EVs make up just 1 per cent of the nation’s passenger vehicle sales annually. Read More : https://www.thenationalnews.com/business/2022/03/05/...