Amazon.com Inc. has unveiled a revolutionary new drone — part helicopter and part science-fiction aircraft — that the company expects to use for test deliveries of toothpaste and other household goods starting within months.

The new device takes off vertically, then tilts to fly horizontally like a plane. It also features artificial intelligence, using a suite of sensors the company said will allow it to fly robotically without threatening traditional aircraft or people on the ground.

There was a sharp 10% decline in the approval of H-1B visas by the US in the fiscal year 2017-18 which experts attributed to the “aggressive” policies of the Trump administration to clamp down on the use of the work visa program, popular among highly-skilled Indian IT professionals. The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise.

IT company Wipro on Wednesday announced that it had signed a definitive agreement to acquire International TechneGroup Incorporated (ITI), a global digital engineering and manufacturing solutions company. Wipro would buy the American firm for $45 million (around Rs 312 crore). ITI is a Computer Aided Design (CAD) and Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) interoperability software services company. Through its solutions for Model-Based Enterprise (MBE), data interoperability and data migration, ITI helps firms go digital.

The Reserve Bank of India is likely to cement its position as Asia’s most dovish central bank with a third straight interest-rate cut Thursday.

The six-member monetary policy committee led by Governor Shaktikanta Das will reduce the repurchase rate by 25 basis points to 5.75% on Thursday, say 31 of 43 economists surveyed by Bloomberg, while three are penciling in a 50 basis points cut.

Shares of Dewan Housing Finance Corporation (DHFL) tanked 15 per cent to Rs 95, hitting an over five-year low on the BSE in early morning trade after rating agencies downgraded its commercial papers (CP), citing delays in debt servicing. The stock was trading at its lowest level since December 23, 2013 on the BSE.

Industry chamber Assocham has demanded cut in effective corporate tax to 25 per cent, doing away with dividend distribution tax (DDT) and indexing of allowances and deductions under personal Income Tax with inflation.

In its pre-budget meeting with the Revenue Secretary last week, Assocham also demanded reduction of excise duty on Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF), and a cut in customs duty rates on raw materials used in domestic manufacturing.

Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) have joined in the country’s longest LPG pipeline project being laid by state-owned Indian Oil Corp (IOC) to cater to cooking fuel needs of a fourth of the country’s population. BPCL and HPCL will take 25 per cent stake each in the Rs 9,000-cr project that involves laying of a pipeline from Kandla in Gujarat to Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh, the companies said in separate but almost identical regulatory filings.

For its superlative performance, Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) has been awarded the Dalal Street Investment Journal (DSIJ) Award 2018 for the ‘Fastest Growing Maharatna of the year — Manufacturing’, in the country.

An independent jury unanimously selected BHEL for the recognition in the manufacturing category based on outstanding profit and Earnings Per Share (EPS) growth.

MUMBAI: Mahindra and Mahindra is ready to roll out its Bharat Stage VI or BS-VI emission norm compliant diesel vehicles next year and its petrol range over the next two-three months.

The Mumbai-based automaker alone has invested over Rs 1,000 crore in developing its product range to conform to BS VI norms, apart from big investments also from its component suppliers.

Uday Kotak, president-designate of the Confederation Indian Industry (CII), has pushed for a cut in the small savings rate, currently ruling at around 7.7 per cent, on the ground that banks are fighting an unequal battle with the postal system for deposits.

“The rates of interest on small savings are higher than the yields on government securities,” Kotak said after the chamber submitted its recommendations to the Modi government that could feed into its 100-day agenda.

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