Month: December 2022

Air India CEO says airline will get fresh brand identity with revamped website, mobile app

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Air India Chief Executive Officer Campbell Wilson said that the airlines will get a fresh brand identity with a revamped website and mobile app, as he noted the launch of Vihaan.AI – a five-year transformation road map for the airline.

A report by Business Standard quoted his year end note to the employees, in which Wilson said about the Tata Group airlines, “We are at the business end of Q4 now and it has been quite a year. Notably we launched Vihaan.AI–our transformation roadmap in September and we’ve been firing on all cylinders ever since. We are currently taxiing as planned with 22 initiatives of our agenda in various stages of progress. Thanks to our collective efforts, we are well on schedule.”

Wilson who leads the airline’s five-year plan called Vihaan took charge of Air India as CEO in July after the government handed over the airlines to Tata sons.

He said, “It will take us a few years before we attain the world class heights to which we aspire. But we have made a fantastic start, and you can all be proud of what has been achieved so far.”

Recently, the airlines announced that it will lease 36 planes and add three new routes, in addition to ten more in pipeline. The airlines hired more than 1200 employees across functions to expand and is under negotiations with Airbus and Boeing for more fleet.

The Tata Group has also announced to merge its four airlines into Air India and Air India Express. An employee survey is being carried out to get feedback on Vistara’s integration with Air India. Vistara is a full service carrier co-owned by Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines.

Wilson said upcoming milestones for the airline include a future-ready organisation structure and team co-location in new offices.

Also Read: Aloke Singh to head Air India’s low cost airline business from January 1

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

CBSE revises Class 12 board exam datesheet; check new schedule

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on Saturday revised the Class 12 exam datesheet for the 2023 board theoretical examinations. The test originally slated on April 4 will now take place on March 27, 2023, as per the CBSE class 12 updated date sheet.

The CBSE 2023 board exam date sheets are available for download on the official Board website at cbse.gov.in and cbse.nic.in for students sitting the Class 12 examinations in 2023.

The dates for the remaining tests will remain the same.  The schedule for the class 10 board examinations has not moved either.

Students in class 10 will take their final test on March 21. Students in class 12 will conclude their board examinations on April 5. According to the CBSE notice, to ensure that no two topic combinations occur on the same date, the date sheet was prepared by avoiding roughly 40,000 subject combinations.

Before the test begins, students will have 15 minutes extra to examine the question paper and plan their approach. Answers written by students during these 15 minutes will not be accepted.

Also read: Here’s a look at Indians studying abroad & their preferred destinations

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Indian Overseas Bank elevates Ajay Kumar Srivastava as its Managing Director & CEO

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Public sector Indian Overseas Bank has elevated Ajay Kumar Srivastava as its managing director and chief executive officer with effect from January 1, the bank said on Saturday.

Shri Ajay Kumar Srivastava has joined our Bank as Executive Director on 09.10.2017. pic.twitter.com/XMeY4jF26j

— Indian Overseas Bank (@IOBIndia) October 13, 2017

Prior to taking up the new role, Srivastava was serving the city-headquartered bank as its executive director.

Srivastava commenced his banking career as a probationary officer in Allahabad Bank in 1991. After serving over 27 years, he joined Indian Overseas Bank in October 2017. At Indian Overseas Bank, he had a very challenging journey and handled all the departments and portfolios.

He made strategies for each of the key areas and successfully implemented them at the ground level with the support from the Board, the statement added.

Also read: Goldman CEO Solomon says job cuts are coming next month

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

YES WORLD hits 100k token holders — inches towards 2 million transactions count

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Blockchain based climate tech startup YES WORLD Token, operated by YES WORLD Climate Tech Pte Ltd based out of Singapore, has reached a significant milestone of 100k holders. YES WORLD Token is getting a lot of interest from crypto enthusiasts worldwide and the number of holders for the cryptocurrency has doubled within the last two months, it said in a statement.

The leading utility token is also experiencing a rise in token price as well as volume, and making new highs in the last few trading sessions. As per the data from CoinMarketCap, YES WORLD Token price has shot up by over 35 percent in the last three months, and chart analysis indicates that this uptrend may continue in coming months also, it said.

“YES WORLD also reported reaching 1.5million transaction count last week,”it said.

YES WORLD launched utility services in over 80 countries a few days back. It’s utility portal is a platform where users will be able to utilize YES WORLD token for their regular purchases for products and services at merchant locations.

There are several merchants that are accepting YES WORLD Token directly over POS Terminal installed at the physical stores. Users will have to scan the bar-code presented at the checkout on the POS Terminal to make the payment using the token. Several vending machines installed worldwide also support YES WORLD Token as payment method.

Launched in 2022, YES WORLD Token is getting good traction in crypto utility space and  is already trading on several leading centralized exchanges including XT.com and Coinsbit.io, as well as on decentralized exchange – PancakeSwap.

YES WORLD Token is operated by YES WORLD Climate Tech Pte Ltd, based out of Singapore. It is a climate tech blockchain-based startup working on green technology to reduce carbon footprint.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Family of four tests positive for coronavirus in Indore, samples sent for genome sequencing

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Four members of a family tested positive for coronavirus in Madhya Pradesh’s Indore district on Saturday, and their samples have been sent for genome sequencing, an official said.

A 45-year-old man, his wife and their daughters, aged 12 and seven years, living in Agrawal Nagar colony have tested positive for the infection, district surveillance officer Dr Amit Malakar told PTI.

“Their samples were sent for testing after they complained of cough and cold. Our team is working on tracing their contact history and their samples have also been sent for genome sequencing,” he said.

A patient who had earlier tested positive for the disease was discharged from hospital on Friday, Dr Malakar said.

Madhya Pradesh has recorded 10,54,919 cases, 10,776 deaths and 10,44,138 till Friday and is left with five active cases.

Also Read: COVID-19 in India: 243 new infections reported, active caseload rises to 3,609

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Chinese manufacturing weakens as country battles COVID-19 surge

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Chinese manufacturing contracted for a third consecutive month in December, in the biggest drop since early 2020, as the country battles a nationwide COVID-19 surge after suddenly easing anti-epidemic measures.

A monthly purchasing managers’ index declined to 47.0 from 48.0 in November, according to data released from the National Bureau of Statistics on Saturday. Numbers below 50 indicate a contraction in activity.

The contraction was the biggest since February 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic had just started.

The weakening comes as China earlier this month abruptly relaxed COVID-19 restrictions after years of attempts to stamp out the virus. The country of 1.4 billion is now facing a nationwide outbreak and authorities have stopped publishing a daily tally of COVID-19 infections.

Several other sub-indexes, including for large enterprises, production and demand in the manufacturing market also dropped compared to November.

“Some surveyed companies reported that due to the impact of the epidemic, the logistics and transportation manpower was insufficient, and delivery time had been extended,” said Zhao Qinghe, a senior economist at the statistics bureau in a published analysis of the December data.

According to data from the bureau, sectors including construction saw expansion in December together with sub-indexes that measure industries such as air transport, telecommunications, and monetary and financial services.

The purchasing managers’ index for China’s non-manufacturing sector also fell to 41.6 in December, down from 46.7 in November.

China is likely to miss its goal of 5.5 percent economic growth this year, with forecasters cutting their outlook to as low as 3 percent in annual growth, which would be the second weakest since at least the 1980s.

Also Read: COVID-19: US epidemiologist highlights risks of XBB variant, accuses CDC of hiding data

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Tunisha Sharma suicide case: Sheezan Khan sent to 14-day judicial custody 

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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A court in Maharashtra’s Palghar district on Saturday remanded actor Sheezan Khan, arrested for allegedly abetting the suicide of his co-actor Tunisha Sharma, in 14-day judicial custody.

Khan was produced before a magistrate’s court in Vasai after his police custody ended on Saturday. The police custody had been extended by a day on Friday.

The magistrate remanded Khan to judicial custody for 14 days. The 27-year-old actor was arrested by Valiv Police in Palghar district on December 26 for allegedly abetting Sharma’s suicide.

A case under section 306 (abetment to suicide) of the Indian Penal Code has been registered against him.

Sharma, 21, who was acting in the TV serial ‘Ali Baba: Dastaan-E-Kabul’, was found hanging in the washroom on the set of the show near Vasai on December 25.

Sharma’s mother has alleged that Khan had cheated and “used” her daughter. She also claimed that Khan had slapped her daughter on the set of a TV show they were part of, and was teaching Sharma Urdu and wanted her to wear a hijab.

Also Read: Actor Tunisha Sharma found hanging on set of TV serial, cops arrest co-actor Sheezan M Khan

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Former Pope Benedict XVI passes away at 95 in Vatican city

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Former Pope Benedict, who in 2013 became the first pontiff in 600 years to step down, died on Saturday aged 95 in the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery in the Vatican where he had lived since his resignation, a spokesman for the Holy See said.

“With sorrow I inform you that the Pope Emeritus, Benedict XVI, passed away today at 9:34 in the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery in the Vatican. Further information will be provided as soon as possible,” the spokesman said in a written statement.

Earlier this week, Pope Francis disclosed during his weekly general audience that his predecessor was “very sick”, and asked for people to pray for him.

Also read: America’s pioneering woman journalist Barbara Walters dead at 93

For nearly 25 years, as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, Benedict was the powerful head of the Vatican’s doctrinal office, then known as the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF).

Conservatives in the Church have looked to the former pope as their standard bearer and some ultra-traditionalists even refused to acknowledge Francis as a legitimate pontiff.

They have criticised Francis for his more welcoming approach to members of the LGBTQ+ community and to Catholics who divorced and remarried outside the Church, saying both were undermining traditional values.

Also read: The rise of Rishi Sunak – UK’s first non-White Prime Minister

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Gujarat: 9 killed, 29 injured as SUV collides with luxury bus in Navsari

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Nine persons were killed and 29 others injured after a sports utility vehicle (SUV) collided with a luxury bus after jumping the road divider on a national highway in Navsari district of Gujarat early on Saturday, police said.

The accident occurred near Vesma village around 3.20 am when the bus was going towards Valsad, while the SUV was coming from the opposite direction, Navsari Superintendent of Police (SP) Rushikesh Upadhyay said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed grief over the accident and announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh to the next of kin of each deceased and Rs 50,000 to the injured persons.

”The driver of the SUV lost control over the vehicle, due to which it jumped the divider and crossed over to the other side before colliding with the luxury bus on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad national highway. The impact of the collision left the SUV completely mangled,” Upadhyay said.

Of the nine persons travelling in the SUV, eight died on the spot, while another occupant suffered grievous injuries. One of the bus passengers was also killed in the accident, he said.

The SUV was going to Ankleshwar in Bharuch district, he added.

The accident left 29 passengers injured and they are being treated in hospitals in Navsari and neighbouring Valsad city, police said.

”Most of the passengers of the bus hailed from Valsad district, while those in the SUV were from different parts of the state, such as Bharuch, Junagadh, Rajkot and Surat. They worked in Ankleshwar in Bharuch district,” a Navsari police official said.

Of the nine deceased, five were in their twenties, the police added.

In a tweet, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said, ”Pained by the loss of lives due to a road accident in Navsari. My thoughts are with the bereaved families. I hope the injured recover soon. An ex-gratia of Rs. 2 lakh from Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF) would be given to the next of kin of each deceased. Those injured would be given Rs. 50,000.” Union Home Minister Amit Shah also expressed grief over the accident and said the local administration was offering treatment to the injured.

”The road accident in Gujarat’s Navsari is heartbreaking. My condolences to those who have lost their families in this tragedy. May God give them strength to bear the pain. The local administration is giving immediate treatment to the injured, praying for their speedy recovery,” he said in a tweet.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Sam Bankman-Fried set to enter not guilty plea in FTX fraud case

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Sam Bankman-Fried is expected on Tuesday to enter a plea of not guilty to criminal charges that he cheated investors and looted billions of dollars at his now-bankrupt FTX cryptocurrency exchange, according to a source familiar with the matter.

Bankman-Fried is accused of illegally using FTX customer deposits to support his Alameda Research hedge fund, buy real estate and make millions of dollars in political contributions.

He is scheduled to appear at 2 p.m. EST (1900 GMT) on Tuesday before U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan to enter a plea.

Also read: Sam Bankman-Fried may be getting all the attention but where is Do Kwon

A lawyer for Bankman-Fried did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

It is not unusual for criminal defendants to initially plead not guilty. Defendants are free to change their plea at a later date.

Bankman-Fried has been free on $250 million bond following his extradition last month from the Bahamas, where he lived and where the exchange was based.

Since his release, Bankman-Fried has been subject to electronic monitoring and required to live with his parents, both professors at Stanford Law School in California.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology graduate has been charged with two counts of wire fraud and six conspiracy counts, including to launder money and commit campaign finance violations. He could face up to 115 years in prison if convicted.

Also read: The FTX-SBF fiasco: This week’s latest developments

Bankman-Fried has admitted to making mistakes running FTX but said he did not believe he was criminally liable.

The 30-year-old crypto mogul rode a boom in the value of bitcoin and other digital assets to become a billionaire several times over and an influential political donor in the United States, until FTX collapsed in early November after a wave of withdrawals. The exchange declared bankruptcy on Nov. 11.

The prosecution case was strengthened by last month’s guilty pleas of two of Bankman-Fried’s closest associates.

Caroline Ellison, who was Alameda’s chief executive, and Gary Wang, FTX’s former chief technology officer, pleaded guilty to seven and four criminal charges, respectively, and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors.

Ellison told prosecutors she agreed with Bankman-Fried to hide from FTX’s investors, lenders and customers that the hedge fund could borrow unlimited sums from the exchange, according a transcript of her Dec. 19 plea hearing.

Also read: FTX Japan to return assets to clients from February

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow