'At this stage, you should distribute money and food.' 'Like you queue up to vote, let people queue up to collect this.' 'This will arrest the decline in demand which will have a multiplier effect on the demand side for the economy as a whole.' 'The government should earmark about 2% of the GDP for this.' 'And this should be the first step to revive the economy.'

Though exports to Hong Kong, a major destination for India's polished diamonds, have resumed, the industry is currently sitting on an inventory worth around $2.3 billion.

The rate of unemployment was the highest in the urban areas, which constitute the most number of red zones due to the COVID-19 cases, at 29.22 per cent, as against 26.69 per cent for the rural areas.

The order, which set aside the August 9 ruling of a single-judge bench, prevented the group entities from publishing the voting results of the last AGM. However, the firms will now be able to execute decisions taken at the AGM last year. People in the know said the Birlas would appeal against the order in a higher court.

The IHS Markit India Services Business Activity Index stood at 5.4 in April, an extreme decline from 49.3 in March, and indicative of the most severe contraction in services output since records began in December 2005. As per the IHS Markit India Services Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), a print above 50 means expansion, while a score below that denotes contraction.

Researches reveal that many firms that employ H-1B workers directly, including some of the biggest names in the technology industry such as Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Apple, Qualcomm, Salesforce and Uber, pay a large share of their H-1B workers at one of the two lowest wage levels, Level 1 or Level 2.

Companies across the sector are restructuring payrolls of crew, cutting allowances, and extending leave without pay duration as they realise they will have more aircraft and employees compared to customers.

'A total overall of the existing way of working by abolishing taxes and allowing citizens to help themselves without any government bottlenecks and impediments,' observes Rahul Mishra.

The Union government will gain close to Rs 1.6 lakh crore in additional revenues this fiscal from a record hike in excise duty on petrol and diesel that has pushed the total incidence of taxation on auto fuels to 70 per cent of the price. Late on Tuesday evening, the government hiked excise duty on petrol by Rs 10 per litre and that on diesel by Rs 13 a litre to mop up gains arising from international oil prices falling to a two-decade low.

Custom authorities have been keeping strict vigil on the cargo movements from Bhutan, Taiwan, China, Afghanistan, South Korea Japan, and Dubai since January.

Experts say that the lockdown and its aftermath will further quicken the consolidation in the real estate sector, which has been taking place since 2012, with more small players going out of the business and bigger, branded players dominating the market.

'As much as $4 billion in India's start-up companies has come from Chinese funds.' 'Government policy must not remain indifferent to the problems India's start-up ventures are likely to face after the change in FDI rules,' says A K Bhattacharya.

'The challenge will be making sure its efficacy is high.' 'If a vaccine is only 50 to 60 per cent efficient, it's a double-edged sword.'

Vashi APMC traders see supplies to Mumbai impacted over movement curbs. A number of trucks sent to Mumbai from the market has reduced from 600 per day in recent times to around 300.

Just to promote govt's policy of Make in India, BSNL said, it cannot afford to procure sub-standard equipment from inexperienced companies, not having proven technology. BSNL complained that when competitors were procuring world-class 4G equipment from experienced vendors, why should BSNL be compelled to procure locally.

There is much to learn from how Brian Chesky, co-founder and CEO, Airbnb, let 1,900 employees know they had lost their jobs.

A clutch of automakers including Maruti Suzuki, Hero MotoCorp, Mercedes Benz India, Eicher Motors, TVS Motor, and Isuzu Motors India announced they had got the clearance from the governments of the states they operate in to resume operations.

ONGC was the top loser in the Sensex pack, slumping over 4 per cent, followed by NTPC, Kotak Bank, Titan, Bharti Airtel and PowerGrid. On the other hand, IndusInd Bank rallied over 6 per cent.

Radhakishan Damani is the only billionaire to see his wealth grow by around 20% during the lockdown.

'Two consecutive quarters of negative growth are the technical definition of an economic recession, and for the first time in this generation's memory, we may be staring at one,' observes Aakar Patel.

The five southern states source 10-15 per cent of their revenue from excise duty on liquor but account for nearly half of the total consumption, says a report. The financial position of these states is precarious as the coronavirus lockdown completely dried up this crucial liquidity tap for them in April.

Moody's Investors Service on Friday projected India's growth at zero per cent for the current fiscal and said the negative outlook on sovereign rating reflects increasing risks that GDP growth will remain significantly lower than in the past. The outlook also partly shows weaker policy effectiveness to address economic and institutional issues, it noted in the update to its November 2019 rating forecast.

'A balanced head plus heart approach would be a full opening up of the economy including manufacturing and internal travel in the country but excluding COVID-19 hotspots,' recommends Jaimini Bhagwati.

Stock markets squandered early gains but managed to end in the green on Friday, propped up by heavyweight Reliance Industries which announced another stake sale deal for its digital platform. A strengthening rupee and firm global cues also supported the domestic bourses, traders said.

Except for laws pertaining to the payment of minimum wages, following safety norms and adequate compensation for workers in case of industrial accidents, no other provisions of the labour law would apply to all new companies that wish to operate in the state for at least 1,200 days, and for those that have already been operational for that period.

The government of Maharashtra decided to shut operations at APMC Vashi mandi between May 11 and 17 after confirmed cases of Covid-19 surpassed 80 in the APMC and over 450 across Navi Mumbai, where the mandi is located.

According to the complaint filed by SBI, the account had become non-performing asset on January 27, 2016.