The government’s decision on Wednesday to ease local-sourcing norms for single-brand retail is positive for companies like IKEA, Uniqlo and H&M. All procurement in Indi

Ikea, H&M set to benefit from single-brand retail changes

The government&rsquo;s decision on Wednesday to ease local-sourcing norms for single-brand retail is positive for companies like&nbsp;&nbsp;IKEA, Uniqlo and H&amp;M. All procurement in India &mdash; for domestic or export markets &mdash; will be accepted as local sourcing. Also, single-brand retailers will be allowed to start online store even before they set up brick-and-mortar outlets. They will, however, have to establish an offline presence within two years of launching e-stores.According to retailers who already operate in the country, the new norms will help in ease of doing business.&nbsp;

The government’s decision on Wednesday to ease local-sourcing norms for single-brand retail is positive for companies like IKEA, Uniqlo and H&M. All procurement in India — for domestic or export markets — will be accepted as local sourcing. Also, single-brand retailers will be allowed to start online store even before they set up brick-and-mortar outlets. They will, however, have to establish an offline presence within two years of launching e-stores.According to retailers who already operate in the country, the new norms will help in ease of doing business.

In a response to West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee's letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking exemption from GST on Covid related dru

In a response to&nbsp;West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee's letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking exemption from GST&nbsp;on&nbsp;Covid&nbsp;related drugs and vaccines,&nbsp;Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman&nbsp;has said that&nbsp;GST exemption would make these items costlier. The FM tweet that a&nbsp;5 per cent GST rate ensures that the manufacturer is able to utilise ITC and in case of overflow of ITC, claim refund. Hence exemption to vaccines from GST would be counterproductive without benefiting the consumer. 
Currently, domestic supplies and commercial imports of vaccines attract a 5 per cent Goods and Services Tax, while it is 12 per cent in case of Covid drugs and oxygen concentrators.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Cadila Healthcare Ltd. plans to submit trial data for its Covid-19 vaccine by end of May and is looking for an approval in June, Financial Express r

Cadila&nbsp;Healthcare&nbsp;Ltd.&nbsp;plans to submit trial data for its Covid-19 vaccine by end of May and is looking for an approval in June, Financial Express&nbsp;reported&nbsp;citing Sharvil Patel, managing director of Cadila.
The Phase-III clinical trials of the ZyCoV-D vaccine will be representative of its efficacy against many known variants as different ones have surfaced in this wave, Patel told Financial Express.&nbsp;
Cadila Healthcare&nbsp;started producing its potential Covid-19&nbsp;vaccine last month for which it will seek emergency use authorisation in May or June, with an aim to make up to 240 million doses a year.

India's largest insurer will now allow alternate proofs of death in lieu of municipal death certificates in order to facilitate speedy settlement of deat

India's largest insurer will now allow&nbsp;alternate proofs of death&nbsp;in lieu of municipal death certificates in order to&nbsp;facilitate speedy settlement of death claims.&nbsp;
The other proofs of death include death certificate, discharge summary/death summary containing clear date and time of death issued by government/ESI (employees' state insurance) /armed forces/corporate hospitals and counter-signed by LIC class I officers or development officers of 10 years standing. This has to be submitted along with a cremation/burial certificate or authentic identifying receipt issued by the relevant authority, LIC&nbsp;stated.&nbsp;
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Amazon's annual Prime Day event which is blockbuster sale day for the e-commerce giant will be postponed this year for India due to the covid crisis and local

Amazon's annual&nbsp;Prime Day event which is blockbuster sale day for the e-commerce giant will be postponed this year for India due to the covid&nbsp;crisis and localised lockdown&nbsp;leading to delivery disruptions.&nbsp; Amazon&rsquo;s flagship Prime Day sale is scheduled to take place globally in June but will not to be launched in India at that time as per reports.&nbsp; Last year Amazon launched it's Prime Day sale in India in August and&nbsp;saw sales of as much as $500 million in the 2-day event.&nbsp;
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In a notification on Friday the govt has allowed hospitals, dispensaries and COVID-19 care centres to accept cash payments in excess of Rs 2 lakh from patients or

In a notification on Friday, the govt has allowed hospitals, dispensaries and COVID-19 care centres to accept cash payments in excess of&nbsp;₹2 lakh from patients or on behalf of them till May 31.
Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) stated that the person making the payment will have to produce their PAN or Aadhar&nbsp;card and also establish the relationship between the patient and themselves.&nbsp;
Many Covid&nbsp;centres were demanding cash which was not permissible above the limit of&nbsp; ₹2 lakh&nbsp;as per&nbsp;income tax law.&nbsp;

WhatsApp has scrapped its May 15 deadline for users to accept its controversial privacy policy update and said not accepting the terms will not lead to deletion of acco

WhatsApp has scrapped its May 15 deadline for users to accept its controversial privacy policy update and said not accepting the terms will not lead to deletion of accounts. A WhatsApp spokesperson told PTI that no accounts will be deleted on May 15 for not accepting the policy update. The PTI report further added that while a &ldquo;majority of users who have received the new terms of service have accepted them," some people have not had the chance to do so yet. WhatsApp has not clarified the reason behind the decision and did not divulge the number of users who have accepted the terms so far either. The company had faced severe backlash over concerns that user data was being shared with Facebook

In a move to safeguard assets overseas from the threat of Cairn seizing them the Govt has asked state run banks to reduce cash holding in overseas accounts as per ET.&n

In a move to safeguard assets overseas from the threat of Cairn seizing them the Govt has asked state run banks to reduce cash holding in overseas accounts as per ET.&nbsp; Govt though is looking to appeal is liable to pay Cairn&nbsp;$1.2 billion in damages in a long drawn-out tussle over retrospective tax claims.
Cairn has registered its claim against India in courts in the United States, Britain, France, the Netherlands, Singapore and Quebec, moves that could make it easier to seize assets and enforce the billion dollar award.
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Flurry of fuel price hikes post elections continues as, Friday marks the fourth straight day of hike in petrol and diesel prices across the nation, with fuel pumps in R

Flurry of fuel price hikes post-elections continues as, Friday marks the fourth straight day of hike in petrol and diesel prices across the nation, with fuel pumps in Rajasthan&nbsp;and Madhya&nbsp;Pradesh&nbsp;retailing petrol over ₹102/litre.&nbsp; Petrol price was hiked by a steep 29 paise per litre and diesel by 31 paise a litre. This brings the cumulative hike in petrol to 88 paise&nbsp;just this week. Here are the rates in the metros as of Friday:&nbsp; Delhi - ₹91.27 Mumbai&nbsp;- ₹97.61 Bangalore - ₹94.30 Chennai -&nbsp;₹93.15
This is the second time this year that rates in some parts have crossed the ₹100 mark - they had breached the physiological mark for the first time in mid-February.
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Reports indicate that IPO bound Zomato is looking to invest in e-grocery delivery platform Grofers. Economic Times reports as per sources that food delivery

Reports indicate that IPO&nbsp;bound Zomato is looking to invest in&nbsp;e-grocery delivery platform Grofers.
Economic Times reports as per sources that food delivery app Zomato is looking to invest $100 million in SoftBank&nbsp;backed&nbsp;Grofers,&nbsp;&nbsp;this comes after failed talks of a possible merger over a year ago.
Deepinder Goyal-led Zomato&nbsp;is looking to make the investment as Grofers&nbsp;backs out of US IPO&nbsp;plans and rival Swiggy&nbsp;also looking at fund raising from SoftBank.&nbsp;

Private jet and helicopter operator JetSetGo has seen a 900% surge in bookings from India in recent weeks with Indian families and expats looking to flee Indi

Private jet and helicopter operator JetSetGo&nbsp;has seen a 900% surge in bookings from India in recent weeks with Indian families and expats&nbsp;looking to flee India's covid inferno.&nbsp; Kanika Tekriwal, CEO&nbsp;told CNBC&nbsp;that,&nbsp;"The majority of them are fleeing to Maldives, which currently offers quarantine at a secluded resort for passengers arriving from India, or Dubai, which allows entry from business purposes." But it is not just tycoons or celebrities JetSetGO&nbsp;is now seeing 70% demand coming from upper middle class families that are pooling resources. So how much does it cost?&nbsp;$18,000 to $20,000 for an eight-seater jet to Maldives, or $31,000 for a six-seater jet to Dubai confirms&nbsp;JetSetGO.

As India continues to report record high covid cases and fatalities, brokerages and think tanks rework this years economic reality. IMF is now looking at redu

As India continues to report record-high covid&nbsp;cases and fatalities, brokerages and think tanks rework this year's economic reality. IMF&nbsp;is now looking at reducing India's growth projection from the optimistic 12.5% for this year.&nbsp;
"We're all watching what is happening in India with concern," IMF&nbsp;spokesperson&nbsp;Gerry Rice said. "There will be spillovers ... contingent on how deep and how long the severity of this crisis continues." S&amp;P ratings have already reworked India's growth projection to below the 10% mark along with brokerages such as UBS, Goldman Sachs.
India reported a record 4.12 lakh new COVID-19 cases on Thursday and a record 3,980 deaths, as the second wave of infections swamped its healthcare system.

96% efficacy, that's the word coming in from Moderna on Thursday it declared the results of its first clinical trials of it's Covid-19 vaccine among yout

96% efficacy, that's the word coming in from&nbsp;Moderna&nbsp;on Thursday it declared the results of its first clinical trials of it's&nbsp;Covid-19 vaccine among youths aged 12 to 17. With a trial pool of&nbsp;3,235 participants in the United States, it detected only 12 cases of coronavirus 14 days after the first shot. For these intermediate results, participants were followed up on average 35 days after the second injection. Moderna&nbsp;also claimed that any side effects had been "mild or moderate in severity," most commonly pain at the injection site.
Pfizer has already applied for authorization of their own vaccine for 12-15 year olds in the United States and Europe. On Wednesday, Canada became the first country to authorize the Pfizer shot for this age group.
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The govt has approved strategic sale of stakein IDBI bank to handover the charge to a new promoter. The government holds 45.48 per cent in IDBI Bank

The govt has approved strategic sale of stakein&nbsp;IDBI&nbsp;bank to handover the charge to a new promoter.&nbsp;The government holds 45.48 per cent in&nbsp;IDBI Bank&nbsp;while LIC holds 49.24 per cent. It was however not clarified how much stake each would sell.&nbsp; A govt official told Business Standard "A new buyer acquiring the government&rsquo;s entire stake in the bank would have still left LIC as a co-promoter or a majority shareholder, affecting key decisions. DIPAM will now scout for a buyer that will have to meet the RBI&rsquo;s fit and proper criteria" LIC&nbsp;had invested into IDBI&nbsp;in 3 tranches&nbsp;in FY19 at an average cost of Rs 60/share, the current market price for the company is significantly lower which will lead to a hit to the insurers investment.&nbsp;

Dogecoin continues its journey 'to the moon' as the cryptocurrency surged over 12,000% since the beginning of 2021. The meme-coin touched an all-time h

Dogecoin&nbsp;continues its journey 'to the moon' as the cryptocurrency&nbsp;surged over 12,000% since the beginning of 2021.&nbsp;
The meme-coin touched an all-time high of $0.72 in the late trading session on Wednesday as per the cryptocurrency&nbsp;exchange WazirX.
As per&nbsp;CNBC&nbsp;calculation,&nbsp;a $1,000 Dogecoin purchase on January 1, 2021, would be worth over $120,000 on Wednesday. In domestic currency terms, an investment of ₹1 lakh&nbsp;in January would be around ₹1.2 crore&nbsp;now.

Even as India has opened multiple avenues for vaccines to imported why is the popular Pfizer jab still not here? According to reports the negotiations are stuck in a de

Even as India has opened multiple avenues for vaccines to imported why is the popular Pfizer jab still not here? According to reports the negotiations are stuck in a deadlock over the&nbsp;indemnity clause.&nbsp; Economic Times reports that as per govt sources, Pfizer is insisting on an indemnity clause which absolves the company from paying any legal cost in case of an adverse event. Pfizer has signed an indemnity clause with many countries that are using its vaccine.&nbsp;
India has not offered any protection against adverse effects such as serious illness or death caused by the vaccine to any vaccine manufacturer till now.&nbsp;

The Competition Regulator has ordered a probe into allegations that Tata Motors abused its market position while supplying commercial vehicles to some of dealers.T

The Competition Regulator has ordered a probe into&nbsp;allegations that Tata Motors abused its market position while supplying commercial vehicles to some of dealers. The dealers allege that the company dictated terms around the quantity and type of vehicles it should stock and also worked in concert with affiliate firms while advancing credit.&nbsp;The order has come on two complaints filed against Tata Motors, Tata Capital Financial Services Ltd and Tata Motors Finance Ltd. The practice by Tata Motors to "coerce its dealers to order the vehicles according to its own whims and fancies" is anti-competitive, the CCI said in its 45-page order ordering a further investigation. 
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Read more at: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/auto/auto-news/cci-orders-probe-against-tata-motors-for-alleged-unfair-biz-practices/articleshow/82410018.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&amp;utm_medium=text&amp;utm_campaign=cppst

E-commerce giant Jeff Bezos this week sold nearly $2 billion worth of shares in Amazon as per stock exchange filings. Bezos sold $684 million worth of Amazon

E-commerce giant&nbsp;Jeff Bezos this week sold nearly $2 billion worth of shares in Amazon as per stock exchange filings.&nbsp;Bezos sold $684 million worth of Amazon shares on Tuesday, after the sale of about $1.27 billion worth of stock on Monday This is not the first time the e-commerce giant has sold shares, Bezos&nbsp;sold nearly $4.1 billion worth of shares&nbsp;last February and $3 billion worth of Amazon shares last November. The world's richest man Jeff Bezos&nbsp;had stated he would sell Amazon stock each year to fund his space exploration company, Blue Origin, which on Wednesday&nbsp;announced&nbsp;it will launch its first astronaut crew to space this summer.

Google is giving its employees more flexibility to work from different locations or entirely from home as it revealed it's post pandemic work location policy. Sear

Google is giving its employees more flexibility to work from different locations or entirely from home as it revealed it's post pandemic work location policy.&nbsp; Search giant Google expects that 60% of its employees will be on site for a few days a week, with 20% working in new office locations and 20% working from home Sundar&nbsp;Pichai&nbsp;wrote to employees on Wednesday stating, "Before the pandemic, we had thousands of people working in locations separate from their core teams. I fully expect those numbers to increase in the coming months as we develop more remote roles, including fully all-remote sub teams,&rdquo; In June Google will tell employees more about how they can request to permanently work from home or work from different offices, Pichai wrote.&nbsp;

In a big move that would allow more countries to manufacture much-needed COVID-19 jabs United States has backed waving off intellectual property protections for Covid-1

In a big move that would allow more countries to manufacture much-needed COVID-19 jabs United States has backed waving off intellectual property protections for Covid-19 vaccines, as countries struggle to manufacture the life-saving doses.
United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai&nbsp;tweeted, "These extraordinary times and circumstances call for extraordinary measures. The US supports the waiver of IP protections on COVID-19 vaccines to help end the pandemic and we&rsquo;ll actively participate in @WTO negotiations to make that happen."&nbsp; The World Health Organization&rsquo;s director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, called the U.S. decision as a &ldquo;monumental moment in the fight against Covid-19.
United States also stated that as they have secured enough vaccines for their population they will focus attention in distribution and marketing of vaccine and raw material to countries that are facing shortages amid the crisis.&nbsp;
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Global ratings agency has slashed India's growth outlook due to the raging covid crisis. S&P now sees India growing only 9.8% vs 11% earlier and that is their

Global ratings agency has slashed India's growth outlook due to the raging covid&nbsp;crisis. S&amp;P now sees India growing only 9.8% vs 11% earlier and that is their moderate case assumption, in what the agency calls a 'severe' situation the recovery could falter further and India could possibly see only a 8.2% growth in the current year.&nbsp;
S&amp;P notes that "the pandemic is more than a year old and is only getting stronger. The severity of the crisis is challenging the country's fiscal settings, which were already weak before COVID struck" The rating agency also warns that&nbsp;India's&nbsp; banks continue to face high levels of systemic risk. In the moderate downside scenario, the Indian banking system's weak loans should remain elevated at 11%-12% of total loans.&nbsp;
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S&amp;P Ratings believes second #COVID wave may derail India's budding recovery. In the moderate case scenario, it assumes 1.2 percentage point hit to India's GDP in FY22 and in severe scenario, 2.8 percentage point hit to the GDP
Severe scenario holds that new infections peak in late June 2021
Severe&nbsp;scenario: Assume 2.8%age point&nbsp;hit to India's GDP in FY22
Severe&nbsp;scenario: See GDP at 8.2%&nbsp;for FY22 vs 11% forecast earlier

Ikea, H&M set to benefit from single-brand retail changes

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Grofers set to receive investment order from Zomato

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Google unveils post pandemic policy, allows more flexibility to work from home

'Monumental Move': US backs waiving patent protections for Covid vaccines

S&P Ratings slashes India's GDP forecast below 10% as covid crisis escalates rapidly

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