Month: July 2023

Jasprit Bumrah to return in Indian jersey as skipper for Ireland T20I series

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

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Jasprit Bumrah will make his comeback in the Indian jersey after a year’s gap in the three T20I series in Ireland. The series starts on August 18 and the star pacer will lead the team as he will don the captain’s cap. With Bumrah’s return, it will give a good boost to Team India in the upcoming ICC World Cup 2023 preparations.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the squad and rested big names like Shubham Gill and Ishan Kishan. On the other end, Bumrah has missed an entire edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023, Asia Cup 2022 and T20 World Cup due to his lower back surgery.

Post the back surgery in March this year, he was rehabilitated at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) for a while now, and the pace spearhead had recently bowled his full quota of 10 overs against visiting Mumbai side here at the Alur grounds.

The selectors have also included Karnataka pacer Prasidh Krishna in the squad. The right-arm quick last played for India in an ODI match against Zimbabwe in August last year before undergoing a surgery for stress fracture. Ruturaj Gaikwad has been named as the vice-captain of the side.

India’s squad for Ireland series:

Jasprit Bumrah (Capt), Ruturaj Gaikwad (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Sanju Samson (wk), Jitesh Sharma (wk), Shivam Dube, W Sundar, Shahbaz Ahmed, Ravi Bishnoi, Prasidh Krishna, Arshdeep Singh, Mukesh Kumar, Avesh Khan.

(With PTI inputs)

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

India critical for Samsung Mobile’s recovery in second half of 2023, says global head

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

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India is one of the largest and fastest growing market in the world (for Samsung), said the head of Samsung Mobile’s Global head TM Roh, in a media roundtable in Seoul South Korea. He further expressed confidence in the Indian market by noting that after the slump in first half of 2023, the Indian market will be critical for recovery and success in the second half of 2023.

TM Roh, Samsung’s President and Head of Mobile Experiences business, was speaking on the sidelines of the Samsung Unpacked event in Seoul, which witnessed the launch the next generation of Samsung’s foldable devices – Flip 5 and Fold 5.

Interetingly, he revealed that Samsung’s foldable devices already commanded 35 percent market share of the premium phone segment over USD 1000. With the launch of the new devices, he hoped that Samsung would be able to extend that market dominance of foldable phones to 50 percent of India’s premium market.

He confirmed that the Indian market was seeing rapid rise in demand for premium and high end products.

In the media interaction, he confirmed that boh the Flip 5 and the FGOld 5 will be made in the company’s Noida manufacturing facility. He clarified that the phones made will also be exported to other markets.

However, he refused to commit when questioned if Samsung was contemplating expansion of manufacturing in India. However, he was upbeat in saying, “State Govt (in Noida) is very cooperative, one of our best practice cases. By Developing and strengthening such cooperation (from Govt), India can also be a very imp manufacturing powerhouse.”

He also took a moment to reflect on the wider slump in demand for smartphones. He acknowledged that, globally, smartphone market has been slow in the first half and that a recovery was likely in the second half of 2023.

But, he was a little cautious about the prospects in second half. He said, “Pace of recovery may not be as fast as we hoped. The premium and high segment to see growth on a year on year basis. Recently launched foldable devices would have to show very good growth (for recovery).”

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

Nestlé India open to inorganic growth through acquisitions — CMD shares strategy

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

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Nestlé India has its door open for potential acquisitions, with a clear focus on familiar business areas, synergistic opportunities, and cultural alignment, said Nestle India’s Chairman and Managing Director, Suresh Narayanan. Speaking to CNBC-TV18, he outlined the company’s clear approach to mergers and acquisitions (M&A), with inorganic growth opportunities.

He said the company remains hungry for new opportunities and aims to continue its success in the market with strategic moves. The three fundamental criteria include focusing on businesses within their expertise, seeking synergies to bring tangible value, and ensuring a cultural fit with the target company, he said.

“I think the three principles that we use for M&A are very clear. Number one is that it should be in the area of business that we operate in or are familiar with. Number two is as a result of synergies — we should be able to bring something to the table. It’s not just empty calories that we just add on a turnover and feel happy about it.”

Narayanan added that size alone is not the sole consideration; instead, the emphasis is on creating overall value without diluting the company’s growth prospects significantly. “…size alone doesn’t matter, it is also the value that we bring to the table. And thirdly and very importantly, it is also the cultural fit and the competitive fit of the target company with Nestlé.”

“So these are the three primary criteria, and the fourth one, of course, is that so long as it doesn’t dilute the overall value creation of the company significantly or in fact, in some cases, possibly even accretive to the company, that would be a good thing. But these are the three or four criteria that we use quite transparently and are working with. So the fork and spoon are ready, the napkin is ready, the dish is in front of me and I do hope that we make something happen,” he said.

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

EaseMyTrip to acquire 51% stake in three travel tech companies

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

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Online travel service provider Easy Trip Planners Ltd, which operates under the brand EaseMyTrip, on Monday said it’s acquiring a 51 percent stake in Guideline Travels Holidays India Private Ltd, Dook Travels Private Ltd, and Tripshope Travel Technologies Private Ltd.

The proposed acquisition will be paid by EaseMyTrip by way of issuance of its equity shares to the selling shareholders of the respective target companies on a preferential basis, the company said in a regulatory filing.

Guideline Travels is a highly reputed travel company that excels in both B2C and B2B circuits. The company boasts an extensive product portfolio of international group tours, bespoke FIT ventures, fixed departures, and MICE movements and has its major business line in cruises.

Also Read: EaseMyTrip forays into retail with the launch of franchise outlets

TripShope Online is a travel and leisure solution provider based in Kashmir, offering a wide range of travel products, including flights, holidays, hotels, and more. The company’s dedication to providing exceptional travel experiences at the best available prices has garnered a loyal customer base.

Dook Travels is a renowned integrated travel management company based in Delhi, operating across CIS countries, Turkey, the UAE, and India. The company has established itself as the biggest DMC for CIS countries, serving a vast customer base of over 1 lakh tourists in the past 8 years.

Nishant Pitti, co-founder of EaseMyTrip, “These three companies have a strong track record and a wealth of experience in their respective areas. Together, with these remarkable travel companies, we extend and embrace a diverse spectrum of exceptional services catering to larger markets.”

Also Read: Easemytrip founder explains why flight discounts are down

Shares of Easy Trip Planners Ltd ended at Rs 40.58, down by Rs 0.45, or 1.10 percent on the BSE.

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

UCO Bank sets sights on strengthening low-cost deposit accounts, NIM targets

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

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One of the key aspects of UCO Bank’s growth strategy is to expand its current and savings account (CASA) deposits significantly, aiming to improve the CASA accounts or low-cost deposit accounts proportion to 40 percent of the bank’s total deposit base.

In an interview with CNBC-TV18, Ashwani Kumar, MD and CEO of UCO Bank highlighted the bank’s primary objectives, which include bolstering the current and savings account (CASA) base, maintaining a healthy net interest margin (NIM) range, and concentrating on key sectors within the bank’s loan portfolio.

State-owned UCO Bank has reported a significant 80.8 percent year-on-year (YoY) increase in its net profit, reaching Rs 223.5 crore during the first quarter that concluded on June 30, 2023.

This notable surge in profitability marks a considerable improvement compared to the net profit of Rs 124 crore recorded in the corresponding quarter of the previous year, as stated in the company’s regulatory filing.

Furthermore, the bank’s net interest income (NII), representing the difference between the interest income generated from lending activities and the interest paid to depositors, witnessed a noteworthy YoY growth of 21.8 percent, totalling Rs 2,008.8 crore, in comparison to the previous year’s NII of Rs 1,649.6 crore.

Talking further about CASA, Kumar said, “On the deposit front our focus will be on CASA where we intend to grow our saving account portfolio, current account portfolio.

So, internally we have kept a target to reach 40 percent level though in the current environment when the differential in the savings and FD rate is high, it will be a challenge for the team to bring it to 40, but our endeavour will be to bring additional products in the savings portfolio to make it to 40 percent in times to come.”

He also provided insights into UCO Bank’s diverse loan portfolio, shedding light on the bank’s focus on specific sectors. The corporate portfolio currently accounts for 39 percent of the bank’s loan book, while retail, agri, and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) segments together constitute 61 percent. This balanced approach allows UCO Bank to tap into different market segments and mitigate risks associated with concentrated exposures.

Within the retail, agri, and MSME segments, UCO Bank has identified housing, vehicle, and personal loans as the primary focus areas. The bank’s strategic emphasis on these segments aligns with the growing demand from consumers and businesses, presenting opportunities for healthy loan growth and increased profitability.

For more details, watch the accompanying video

Also, catch all the live updates on markets with CNBC-TV18.com’s blog

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

Bollywood actor Celina Jaitley says MEA took cognisance of her harassment by a Pakistani national

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

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Actor-model Celina Jaitley has said the Ministry for External Affairs has taken up with the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi her complaint against a Pakistani journalist who has been allegedly harassing her.

Jaitley said she had written to the National Commission for Women in India who then wrote to MEA.

The actor first spoke about facing harassment by the journalist on social media a few months ago and while she received support from online community, the actor said the person continued to target her with false allegations.

“The perpetrator changes his location on social media consistently but was hiding in Pakistan, as a result there of legal recourse was not possible for me and he continued to assault my character and modesty from across the border.

“I thereby took the matter to the National Commission of Women in India. @NCWIndia took cognizance of my complaint and wrote a letter addressed to the respected Joint Secretary (PAI Division), Ministry of External Affairs @MEAIndia for initiating necessary action in the matter,” Jaitley wrote on Twitter on Sunday.

The former Miss India, who also shared the copy of the MEA letter dated July 18, said the NCW has received a positive response from the MEA, which “has raised the matter with Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi seeking an immediate investigation and action of the incident”.

“For me it was not just a fight for the open assault on my character but also an assault on my integrity, my motherhood, my family and above all my God father and my beloved mentor Mr Feroz khan who is no longer in this world here to defend himself,” she said referring to the allegation of the journalist that she had an affair with the late actor and his son, Fardeen Khan.

When contacted, an NCW functionary said, “We received the complaint, and we asked External Affairs Ministry to intervene, and the matter was solved then.”

Also Read:Kiara Advani turns 31: A look at the actress’ net worth and upcoming projects

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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

Union Health Ministry asks Delhi govt to implement Clinical Establishments Act

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

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The Union Health Ministry has asked the Delhi government to implement the Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Act, 2010, contending that the functioning of clinics, laboratories, imaging centres and AYUSH facilities in the city are not regulated.

The July 21 letter to the secretary of the city’s health department highlighted that the Delhi Nursing Homes Registration Act, 1953, has a limited scope as it covers only hospitals and nursing homes of allopathic systems.

It mentioned that the Government of India notified the Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Act in March 2012 for mandatory registration and regulation of all types of clinical establishments belonging to all recognised systems of medicine in both government and private sectors.

“In terms of the Schedule to the Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Act, 2010, it is not applicable in the NCT of Delhi in view of the Delhi Nursing Homes Registration Act, 1953,” the letter said.

The Health Ministry had earlier too asked the Delhi government to implement the Clinical Establishments Act.

“It has been noted that the existing Act in NCT of Delhi has limited scope as it covers only hospitals and nursing homes of allopathic system. Other clinical establishments like clinics, polyclinics, laboratories, imaging centres, and AYUSH clinical establishments are not being regulated under the Delhi Nursing Homes Registration Act, 1953. Because of this, a large number of clinical establishments continue to remain unregulated in NCT of Delhi,” the July 21 letter said.

“I may request that the matter may be examined expeditiously at your end, or alternatively, the existing Act (The Delhi Nursing Homes Registration Act, 1953) may be repealed and the Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Act, 2010 may be adopted in the NCT of Delhi,” it added.

The letter said the Clinical Establishments Act seeks to standardise health facilities and provision of care based on standard treatment guidelines to improve public health in the country as mandated under Article 47 of the Constitution of India.

The legislation also provides for mandatory emergency medical treatment within staff and facilities available, display of rates, regulation of charges of procedures and services, maintenance of records and provision of statistics and information by clinical establishments, it added.

ALSO READ: Not just conjunctivitis, Delhi sees rise in dengue and Malaria cases too

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

Healthcare data breach detected on IIIT Delhi’s informatics platform

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

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A data breach at the Portal for Health Informatics (PHI) of IIIT Delhi was detected recently, which included 10,842 emails from 6,500 domains, internal healthcare files, and user details.

CloudSEK’s XVigil detected the breach on July 25 and found that a threat actor named “UsNsA” shared the sensitive data on a cybercrime forum. The breach resulted from a SQL injection vulnerability.

According to the report, the leaked database consists of 82 files, which are approximately 1.8 GB in size and contains sensitive information such as usernames, email addresses, and various internal healthcare-related documents. Findings include:

• • 10,842 emails in the collection from around 6,500 unique domains and 29,000 unique URLs.
  • Internal data files related to ovirustdb, leukemiabd, indiabiodb, HIV, and more.
  • Tables such as bacvacdb, cancerdp, PHPMyadmin, dengi, and Crud were present in the leaked database.
  • Usernames obtained from the DotProject Contacts Table, including admin, test, Vikram, mouli, osddadmin, osdduser11, and user31.

However, IIIT Delhi told CNBC-TV18 that the though the said data sets are available on the website, they do not contain any personal information.

“The platform in question is specifically designed to host non-sensitive, openly available datasets that can be used by researchers for further research purposes only. It does not contain any personal data, including emails, user details, or sensitive healthcare files,” a statement from the institute read.

UsNsA has a history of sharing databases from other countries. The impact could lead to infrastructure access, account takeovers, and ransomware attacks.

CloudSEK informed IIIT Delhi and the authorities. Organisations are advised to investigate, enhance security, encrypt data, and monitor for misuse. Cybersecurity vigilance is crucial to protect sensitive information and maintain user trust in the healthcare industry.

The PHI is an essential web platform offered by IIIT Delhi that serves bioinformatics, health informatics, and genomics communities.

By offering servers, databases, and scientific computation tools in the healthcare sector. PHI assists biologists in the production of vaccines and pharmaceuticals.

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

4,135 frauds worth Rs 10,856 crore reported in cooperative banks in last 5 years: Data

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

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The Department of Financial Services on Monday (July 31) disclosed alarming figures related to fraudulent activities in the cooperative banking sector. According to their data, cooperative banks across the country reported a staggering total of 4,135 frauds during the last five years, with an involved amount reaching Rs 10,856.7 crore.

The information, sourced from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), highlights the critical issue of fraud that has plagued the cooperative banking industry since the financial year 2018-19.

As of June 14, 2023, the total number of cooperative banks in the country stands at 1,886, comprising 1,500 urban cooperative banks and 386 rural cooperative banks. These cooperative institutions play a crucial role in serving the financial needs of various communities across the nation.

The data released by the Department of Financial Services gives a breakdown of the frauds reported during each financial year, painting a concerning picture of the escalating problem:

Source: RBI and NABARD

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

Warner Bros Discovery to restructure ad sales division

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

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Warner Bros Discovery said on Monday it would restructure its advertising sales division including the leadership team, as the entertainment major seeks to address a downturn in ad demand.

Advertising agency partners will now work with dedicated sales leaders and teams providing them with direct access to a variety of brands under the company’s umbrella.

In the new leadership structure, Jon Diament will lead the ad and partner strategy, while Ryan Gould will take on a newly created role to head the digital team to oversee the company’s advertising, programmatic sales and data strategy.

Also Read:Shark Week, Devdutt Pattanaik show in Discovery+ OTT platform’s July line-up

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