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With $78 billion, India still highest overseas remittance receiver

India continues remains the top recipient of remittances, with its diaspora sending back $78.6 bn in 2018.




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IAF's Mig-29 jet crashes in Punjab's Nawanshahr, pilot ejects safely

An IAF fighter jet crashed into the fields here, Nawanshahr Deputy Commissioner Vinay Bublani said. The crash took place around 10.30 am, the officials said. An IAF spokesperson said the Mig-29 aircraft was on a training mission from an Air Force base near Jalandhar.




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‘Dr Saifullah’ of Wani gang may head Hizbul Mujahideen now

Riyaz Naikoo’s death has left a serious void at the top for HuM and possible successors being considered are "Dr Saifullah" or Abu Musaid, a resident of Malangpora in Pulwama, who was part of the Burhan Wani group of 12 terrorists, and Juniad Sehrai, chief of the Hurriyat’s Geelani faction who joined the terror group in 2018.




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Naikoo encounter:Restrictions tightened across Kashmir to maintain law and order

They said while the government is strictly enforcing the COVID-19 lockdown, the additional restrictions were imposed on Friday to ensure that the day passes off peacefully.




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China needs more nuclear warheads: Global Times editor

The Global Times is published by the People's Daily, the official newspaper of China's ruling Communist Party. The party has been known to float ideas and guide public sentiments via the Global Times, which tends to take a nationalistic stance on issues involving other countries.




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Defence Ministry signs contract with Tata Power SED for infra modernisation at 37 airfields

This is the phase two of the Modernisation of Airfield Infrastructure (MAFI) programme, the ministry said, adding that airfields of the Indian Air Force were upgraded in the first phase.




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Indian Army, IAF helicopters and Indian Army troops evacuated crew in Sikkim

Immediately on receipt of information, on May 7 , Indian Army rescue columns with personnel of ITBPs too, moved on foot, traversing dangerous terrain in bad weather, to the helicopter landing site to evacuate the individuals and provide medical aid, for which a doctor of the ITBP also accompanied.




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Road along Nepal border falls within Indian territory

In response to queries on inauguration of road on 8th May in Pithoragarh district Uttarakhand, MEA Spokesperson stated, “We have seen the Press Release dated 9th May 2020 issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Nepal pertaining to the inauguration of a road in India.”




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Insurers rework sales pitches post Covid-19

These companies have undertaken massive exercises to retrain agents to approach and convince customers to buy new policies and renew premiums entirely through digital channels such as WhatsApp or Zoom, while also rejigging sales strategies starting right from the drafts used by agents to approach prospective customers, said people aware of the developments.




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Covid-19 impact: After being locked down, companies now set to suffer labour pain

Industry leaders said April-June quarter would be a washout even for the high and mighty.




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Expired e-way bills biggest challenge for India Inc

India Inc’s first attempts to move goods across states after the easing of lockdown curbs were hobbled by expired e-way bills which made it near impossible for transporters to cross checkpoints.




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Corporate borrowings hit amid lockdown

Charge filings, which indicate new loans or additional collateral towards past loans, fell 57.4% to 277 in March and April combined from 650 in January and February, according to data compiled by Propstack, a financial data intelligence provider.




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Guidelines out for companies willing to work with 33% staff

The guidelines mandate companies to strictly observe the social distancing protocol, including restricting the number of people in a lift, providing health insurance to workers and random testing for Covid-19.




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Calcutta HC allows MP Birla Group companies to declare voting results of its AGM

On Monday, the court had also said that the order is not sustainable in view of the fact that orders and/or directions were passed interfering with the holding of AGM by the companies that are separate juristic entities without first deciding the issue of jurisdiction.




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With little to cheer, companies cut festive spend

Production cuts will be most in premium product portfolio as companies expect consumers to curb discretionary spending as the impact of the Covid-19. Manufacturing orders fall by up to 40% year on year as they expect much of current stock to remain unsold till then, company executives said.




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Brave New World: High govt borrowing comes at a great cost

​​Fed fund futures are now pricing negative fed rate by June 21.




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Lockdown 3.0: Some auto cos resume production, others prepare to restart manufacturing

The country's largest carmaker Maruti will resume operations at its Manesar plant from May 12.




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COVID-19: Maruti Suzuki leans on Wellness Mitra App for employees' safety

​The app that complements the Aarogya Setu App has been made mandatory for all employees across the value chain, requiring them to update their health status, including close family members, on the app everyday. It has been developed to ensure safety and monitor employees' health on a real time basis.




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Will expedite scrappage policy, extend compliance timelines for auto companies where possible: Gadkari

“I have been trying for the last two years to pursue the scrappage policy. I have asked the Secretary (ministry of road transport and highways) to expedite the scrappage policy. Because this will help reduce production cost,” Gadkari said in an interaction with SIAM Institute on Thursday.




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BMW Group India resumes local production at Chennai plant

German car maker BMW commenced operations at the Chennai plant in accordance with the government-initiated guidelines. The company also stated that the BMW, MINI and BMW Motorrad dealerships across the country would restart the operations in adherence to local government directives.




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Automotive retail chains crawl back to work

About 20% of the auto retail network, or 3,500 outlets, opened for business this week, with one-third staff to comply with social-distancing norms. As of Wednesday evening, some 50,000-60,000 employees were back at work, industry insiders said.




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20% of auto retailers open shutters on lockdown relaxation; witness muted walkins and enquiries

Maruti Suzuki restarted operations at 680 dealerships till Wednesday, covering almost 35% of the addressable market. The nation’s largest carmaker is seeking permission from local authorities to reopen all but 500 of its remaining over 2,400 outlets. The 500 showrooms are in Covid-19 containment zones.




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Ceat extends warranty on tyres by three months

The decision to extend warranty on tyres has been taken to express solidarity with customers amidst the continued lockdown, Ceat Tyres said in a statement. The extention is valid on tyres whose warranty is due to expire between March 1 and May 31, it added.




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Lockdown: Hyundai rolls out 200 vehicles from Chennai plant on first day of resuming operations

The auto major has commenced production at its Sriperumbudur factory in Tamil Nadu adhering to 100 per cent compliance of safety and social distancing norms, Hyundai Motor India said in a statement.




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IIT professor develops software to detect COVID-19 within 5 seconds using X-ray scan

Kamal Jain, a professor at the institute's civil engineering department, claims that the software will not only reduce testing costs but will also reduce the risk of exposure to healthcare professionals. ​So far, there is no verification of his claim by a medical institution.




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China names its Mars mission Tianwen-1 ahead of its planned launch this year

China on Friday named its first Mars exploration mission to be launched later this year as Tianwen-1 as it celebrated 'Space Day' to mark the 50th anniversary of the launch of the country's first satellite Dong Fang Hong-1 in 1970.




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India may see second wave of COVID-19 outbreak in monsoon, say scientists

The timing of the peak will depend on how India is able to control physical distancing and on the level of infection spreads after restrictions are relaxed, they said.




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IITs are helping India win the Covid battle

IIT Kanpur is developing a vaccine against Covid-19, while researchers at Madras and Kanpur have built desi drones for surveillance and IIT Ropar has produced robots to deliver food and medicines to patients in hospitals and quarantine zones. These innovations are in various stages of development.




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With 208 R&D projects, IITs lead India’s fight against Covid-19

IIT-Guwahati has shown the way cornering the biggest pool of projects, followed by IIT-Madras and IIT-Hyderabad. Nearly 50% of the key research in India’s premier technical schools are happening in six of the old IITs. Majority of the researches are happening in the field of personal protective care equipment (45 projects), followed by sanitisation (33) and treatment.




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Cardiac abnormalities in COVID-19 patients treated with hydroxychloroquine: Study

Recent reports have suggested that the combination of the anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine, and the antibiotic azithromycin may help patients with COVID-19, said scientists from the New York University School of Medicine in the US.




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Jadavpur University students develop device which can tell if a coughing person is a COVID-19 carrier

Two students of the Jadavpur University have developed an intelligent device which will analyse if a coughing person is a COVID-19 carrier.




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How a tiny widget waylaid the world’s biggest science experiment

The tale of ITER’s missing shims shows how even the best-laid contingency plans have had to be rewritten.




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Intensive farming may increase risk of epidemics, scientists warn

The scientists, including those from the University of Sheffield in the UK, said overuse of antibiotics, high animal numbers, and low genetic diversity caused by intensive farming techniques increase the likelihood of these pathogens becoming a major public health risk.




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With a phased opening, India tries to avoid a grave economic toll: Bibek Debroy

Mortality and morbidity apply to enterprises, too; MSMEs more pronounced than most. Baseline GDP growth was already in slowdown mode and a capital crunch was compounded by lockdown’s labour constraint.




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Economy likely to show negative growth in current year: Montek Singh Ahluwalia

The rationale behind the lockdown was not that it would prevent infections but that it would allow us to build the health infrastructure to be able to cope with larger numbers infected, opined Montek Singh Ahluwalia




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Motown takes corporate bond route to raise funds

In the past two weeks, at least five companies have either issued, or announced plans to issue, non-convertible debentures worth a total of Rs 5,500 crore, as per information available from filings with stock exchanges.




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Sovereign perpetual bonds: An idea whose time has come

Perpetual bonds are a standard instrument in the kitty of capital markets today.




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Companies tap bond markets at record rate to ride out coronavirus downturn

In Europe, investment grade-rated companies raised $83.2 billion in April, according to Refinitiv data.




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10-year benchmark bond yields fall to 2009 level, may reverse on higher borrowing plan

A hike in taxes on fuels, which will add to government’s revenue, helped lift sentiment.




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Bond yields likely to spike after govt raised borrowing targets

The gross borrowing programme for the year has been increased to Rs 12 lakh crore.




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Discussed decision to shut 6 MF schemes with Sebi, says Franklin Templeton

This is the first instance when a fund house is shutting its schemes because of coronavirus related pandemic.




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Traders are baffled why the futures market is pricing in negative rates

However, record-low yields are pointing to an undercurrent of worry in the market.




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Wall Street Week Ahead: US data deluge to underscore divide between roaring market, plunging economy

Though bleak, that number was smaller than analysts’ expectations of 22 million jobs lost.




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Adani Transmission Q4 net down 60% at Rs 59 crore on one-time writeoff

The company's consolidated net profit stood at Rs 146.7 crore in the quarter ended March 31, 2019.




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How to beat lockdown blues: What sports psychologists recommend for athletes

The Covid-19 outbreak brought the world to its knees, leading to sealing of borders, ban on travel, and postponement or cancellation of all major sporting events. So, here they are now, confined to their homes with the Games delayed by a year, no competitions, no proper training and no sign of light at the end of the tunnel.




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Next year's Olympics will be cancelled if pandemic not over: Games chief

The postponed Tokyo 2020 Olympics will be cancelled if the coronavirus pandemic isn't brought under control by next year, the organising committee's president said in comments published Tuesday.




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India loses hosting rights of 2021 men's world boxing championships

"After New Delhi didn't fulfill its obligations to pay host fee as mentioned in the Host City Agreement terms, AIBA has terminated the contract. Therefore, India would have to pay a cancellation penalty of USD 500," the AIBA said in a statement.




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Legendary footballer Chuni Goswami no more

The iconic sportsperson, who also played first-class cricket for Bengal, was 82 and breathed his last at a hospital here. He is survived by his wife Basanti and son Sudipto.




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Discus thrower Sandeep Kumari gets 4-year ban for dope flunk

Not only Kumari's but samples of four other Indians, including 2017 Asian champion quarter-miler Nirmala Sheoran's had returned negative at NDTL but were found positive when tested in Montreal. Jhuma Khatun, one of them, was also handed a four-year ban, last month.




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Sports ministry invites nominations for national sports awards through e-mail

"Due to lockdown on account of outbreak of COVID-19, hard copies of nominations are not required to be sent. Scanned copies of nominations duly signed by the applicant and recommending authority may be sent before last date of submission," read a ministry circular.