If you’re like me, you probably having a hard time changing the idea of social distancing into a habit. That’s not easy. Old habits die hard. Why don’t we wear a mask in public, wash our hands more often…or stay at least six feet apart? We each have our own reasons. Sometimes we just forget. I do. And some people just don’t understand the consequences if someone else is exposed to their cough; their hands or something they touched with the virus on it. Other people resist the whole idea of being told what to do. They think that social distancing imposes on their freedom. Or worse, they just can’t be bothered, no matter who they expose to the virus, even their loved ones. So here’s a thought -- Six Feet is Not That Far Away. Where I live in Princeton, Illinois, right off Interstate-80’s Exit 56, a group of us are asking “What does social distancing mean to us? We’re hoping that artists of all kinds will share their interpretations of that message in photographs, videos and music about

The COVID-19 pandemic has spurred efforts to control the spread of the virus through development of innovative digital contact tracing tools. In Singapore, Israel and India there is already an app for that. In Europe there’s debate between two competing frameworks, which have names that sound like Star Wars’ droids: PEPP-PT and DT-3T. And in the US, Apple and Google recently announced collaboration on a contact tracing feature that will eventually be integrated with updates to the mobile device operating system. Although providing promising solutions, these technologies are not without problems. First, the privacy protections for such systems need to be carefully scrutinized. The US currently does not have a general data protection law, like the EU's GDPR, that would permit government oversight and review of these contact tracing solutions. Second, contact tracing only works when a significant number of users opt-in and agree to use the technology. But there is no guarantee that

“Come look!” announced my husband on an early spring morning over a month ago. “I have a surprise!” I followed him out to the backyard, and there rising up out of the cold brown earth, were a myriad of green stems with sheathed yellow flowers just beginning to make themselves known. “Two hundred daffodils!” my husband beamed brightly. “I planted them last fall in honor of our 50th wedding anniversary. Looks like they made it through the winter.” Although our 50th anniversary isn’t till June, we had scheduled a celebration trip to the island of Kauai in March, but as the frightening days of the corona virus quickly escalated, that trip was canceled. So many others have had to do the same, canceling weddings, spring breaks, graduations, and sadly, even funerals. So instead of sitting on a beach looking out at the blue Pacific as a rosy sun slid into the sea, we are sheltered at home looking out the windows to our leafless backyard. The bright spot, however, is that those 200 daffodils

As you listen to or read this essay, you will be celebrating the beginning of a brand-new month. But it is being written and recorded on another milestone -- the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. I was present for the very first one, as a student at the University of Illinois. Seminars, programs, speeches and leaflets urged the protection of our environment and an appreciation of the outdoors. For me, that appreciation would continue for a lifetime. This was the era of the "back to the land" movement and Mother Earth News. REI and Backpacker Magazine. Community cleanups and widespread tree planting. I would be fortunate enough to acquire a small hobby farm in Northern Wisconsin, if only for a few years. I often think about that property and can imagine in my mind how the land has changed, and how it hasn't. I will celebrate today not only by getting outdoors, but also by revisiting some of my favorite outdoor writers: Henry David Thoreau, Aldo Leopold, and Sigurd Olson. Their thoughts are

FM Nirmala Sitharaman had announced about a 10% cut in corporate income tax in September 2019 to boost the economy.

Experts says India needs to avoid ‘vice versus virtue’ dichotomy with regard to alcohol.

Searches for “grocery delivery near me”, “online grocery delivery” and “ration dukaan” were up 550%, 350% and 300% this year compared to the previous year.

Chief minister BS Yediyurappa has been exploring revenue opportunities, and plans to also auction off plots of land in and around Bengaluru to mobilise funds. The revised retail prices will take effect Thursday. The CM has, however, spared beer and wine.

The company, which has a portfolio of more than 50 beer brands including Stella Artois, Corona and Harbin, reported quarterly revenue of $956 million, down from $1.6 billion last year.

Green Visor Capital backed-Simpl, that allows users to buy now and checkout with pay-later function, said the surge in the number of transactions done for daily essentials increased despite supply and workforce issues by merchant partners.

The five southern states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala together consume as much as 45 per cent of all liquor sold in the country, the report by Crisil said. While Tamil Nadu and Kerala top the list in revenue percentage terms at 15 per cent each, for Kerala the tax on liquor is its single largest revenue source.

According to an official statement, the government released a web link - www.qtoken.in - where people will be designated specific time for purchasing liquor after they fill personal details. The e-tokens will be sent on the mobile phones of the registered persons, it said.

Currently, owing to the ongoing lockdown, kirana (corner) stores on JioMart serve limited inventory. But that will be a thing of the past once restrictions are lifted.

The move came after Future group firms defaulted on loans taken against the pledged shares of Future Retail in March, which also impacted its share price.

Pernod Ricard, estimated to have revenues of Rs 21,000 crore in India in 2019-20 on sale of around 55 million cases, sells imported brands such as Chivas Regal, ABSOLUT, Glenlivet and Jameson, apart from the locally-made large-selling ones such as Royal Stag, Blenders Pride, and 100 Pipers.

Following instructions from Excise Minister Ram Naresh Agnihotri, principal secretary (excise) Sanjay R Bhoosreddy said that a rate higher than the fixed MRP cannot be charged by liquor vendors under any circumstances.

The Supreme Court refused to pass any orders to this effect, but suggested that it could be a better alternative than the chaos which has followed the government decision to open liquor shops during the lockdown.

The High Court passed the interim order on Friday as a result of the blatant violation of the conditions that the court had prescribed under which liquor shops could function. These conditions included adhering to social distancing norms while also deploying additional staff to manage the crowd.

Thousands of people standing outside the vends across the city said they had been trying to access the website since Thursday but decided come out and queue up for their turn when the online link didn't open. Delhi government officials confirmed the website crashed due to heavy rush and the glitch was being fixed.

The five per cent increases, which will take the tariffs to 15-25 per cent, and are due to roll out in stages through December and target some popular items, such as laptops, mobile phones and some shoes.

Sharing the reasons for the slowdown in the shoe industry, shoe manufacturer Pradeep Kumar said: "The main cause is the flood that most part of the country is facing. Due to sluggish sales, we are also short of funds."

Bata has already identified 180 such markets in smaller cities pan-India.

The commission said that the bag which was made available by Bata in Rs 2 to the consumer had the company’s logo and accessories printed on it.

On a yearly basis, the Kolkata-based company's share price, which stood at Rs 1127.35, as of January 1, 2019, has gained around 55.32 per cent.

Industry players say premium and luxury buying sees an uptick in two cases — purchase for occasions by the aspirational millennial and by a growing cohort of marathon runners.

Every year, leather shoes worth over Rs 3,000 crore are exported to European countries from Agra. The US and several African countries are also important destinations for Agra footwear, say industry sources.

"Our topline was around Rs 1,250 crore (FY19) and is growing by 10 per cent every year, which is a quite healthy and sustainable," Aero Club Managing Director Harkirat Singh told .

Founded in 2017 by Taran Chhabra and Amar Preet Singh, Neeman’s is a sustainable shoe brand that uses completely natural, renewable, recyclable and chemical-free materials to reduce the carbon footprint.

Russia has imported leather and footwear worth USD 3.9 billion in 2018, and India's exports to that country stood at only USD 52.6 million, said Panaruna Aqeel Ahmed, chairman of Council for Leather Exports (CLE).

"The newly launched footwear range is available in 90 stores. We plan to further expand and make it accessible at more stores in the coming seasons," said Somdeb Basu, head of foot apparel and accessories at W.

The donation will impact a number of countries in Europe, Latin America, Africa, Asia-Pacific, including India.

The pandemic is also likely to catalyse the shift to e-commerce.

Women’s share in the activewear category has gone up for sports brands such as Nike, Reebok, Adidas and Puma because of an increase in their participation in sports and other activities such as running, yoga, pilates and Zumba.

The production of high-tech running shoes at its so-called speedfactories in Germany's Ansbach and in the US city of Atlanta "will be discontinued by April 2020 at the latest", Adidas said in a statement.

The brand will expand into Hyderabad, Goa, Kochi, Pune and Mysuru next year by introducing products through a mix of exclusive and multi-brand outlets, Xtep India director Vijay Chowdhary said at an event here organised in memory of US-born boxing legend Muhammad Ali.

Campus Activewear is part of the Synergy Action Group that sells 100,000 pairs of shoes every day through more than 50,000, mostly third-party, outlets, according to Action Shoes’ website.

Sportswear makers say sales in tier II and III towns have grown exponentially in the last few years and contribute a sizable percentage of their revenue now.

“The Puma and First Mile programme has diverted about 40 tonnes of plastic waste from landfills and oceans, just for the products made for 2020. This roughly translates into 1,980,286 plastic bottles being reused,” said Stefan Seidel, head of corporate sustainability for Puma, in a press statement

According to the company, Puma's collaboration with the Indian cricket captain saw a massive rise in sales in FY2019 with sales through One8 accounting for almost 10 per cent of its overall sales, and cementing the leadership position by a wider margin.

Vatika has leased this space to French firm Decathlon, which is into retailing of sports goods, at its project 'Shopper's Village INXT' in New Gurugram, Haryana.

China accounted for 20% of Adidas sales in 2018. It sells its products from about 12,000 stores in China, most franchises plus fewer than 500 of its own stores. Almost a fifth of its shoes and apparel are produced in the country.

With this campaign, the brand aims to highlight the inspirational stories of real women, influencers and athletes from different age groups and fields through the medium of a film, said the company.

"We would like to wholeheartedly apologise. We have paid our landlords the rent for April." Adidas, which made a net profit of nearly two billion euros ($2.2 billion) in 2019, has been hard hit by a slump in Chinese sales and store closures around the world.

Adidas said 60% of its business was currently at a standstill, with more than 70% of its stores closed worldwide and all big sporting events - including the Tokyo Olympics and Euro soccer tournament - postponed or cancelled.

No large-cap company in the FMCG/ retail space is offering growth visibility as high as Titan.

​​The Bluetooth-enabled smart sunglasses by Titan’s eyewear division will allow users to listen to music with 8-hour playtime. An in-built mic will give access to Siri and Google assistant and allow hands-free calling.

The company had posted Rs 314.38 crore profit in the year-ago period.

“We have bagged a multi-million dollar order from the Ministry of Defence to make rucksacks for the Indian army. It is an unchartered territory but creating an ideal rucksack for an Indian jawaan who spends maximum time outdoors in challenging terrain will be good learning. The order will be executed next year,” said Siddharth Sood, cofounder of Wildcraft India.

While early movers like Rolex, Omega and Tag Heuer entered India in early noughties, a clutch of global luxury watches like Panerai are now placing bets on the Indian market, keeping in mind a longer investment horizon. In a bid to create a deeper connect with the Indian consumers, Panerai launched two MS Dhoni special edition watches on Wednesday.

Total expenses for fiscal year 2019 came in at Rs 514.52 crore, up about 20% compared to the year-ago period when expenses were at Rs 429 crore.