New Delhi: The twin trends of outsourcing larger technology contracts and Fortune 1000 companies awarding work that was earlier done internally to its vendors have led analysts and information technology executives to suggest that the sector could grow faster in the year starting 1 April.

These trends are the third positive development for India’s $167 billion information technology (IT) outsourcing sector, after the first six months of the current fiscal saw IT firms adding more employees and raising salaries of some of them by as much as 40%.

The finance ministry has questioned the key proposals in a cabinet note moved by the coal ministry that seek to promote investor interest in captive coal mines, the latest round of auction for which have come a cropper. In a draft cabinet note prepared in this connection, the coal ministry had proposed allowing the bidders for captive coal mines to sell up to 25% of the production in the open market, without any premium chargeable on such sales.

Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) on Tuesday gave Hemant Bhargava additional charge as chairman. The announcement to appoint Bhargava, who is currently a managing director, comes after the retirement of VK Sharma on December 31.

VK Sharma was acting as LIC chairman on September 2016 and on December 2016, he took over as chairman after SK Roy resigned, nearly two years ahead of his retirement. Bhargava had taken charge as MD in February, 2017.

Stiff competition in the telecom sector has led to another rough year for the sector’s stocks. The shares of Vodafone Idea have been hit the hardest with the stock moving into the unenviable league of the worst-performing one in the MSCI Asia Pacific Index in 2018.

Last year, the shares of Vodafone Idea were down 65 per cent. Data compiled by Bloomberg shows the stock of the telecom major was among the top 5 losers in the regional index in local currency terms.

The biggest victim of India’s solar revolution has been land – especially hundreds of acres in arid and semi-arid regions. When a large solar park is set up, a vast patch of land goes under the solar panels. The Government of India has maintained that most such land is barren and unfit for farming. However, if India is to generate 100 GW of solar power by 2022, it is only a matter of time before agricultural land also goes under.

The rupee opened 9 paise lower at 69.52 against the US dollar on Wednesday. Minutes later, the currency declined further to 69.63, down 20 paise.

On Tuesday, the domestic unit gained 34 paise to settle at 69.43 on increased selling of the greenback by exporters and smart gains in domestic equities. The currency has rallied 92 paise in the last three trading sessions.

Indian equity market kicked off 2019 on a resounding note, with benchmark Sensex closing with 186 points gain Tuesday led by a rally in banking stocks following the Reserve Bank's comments that the banking sector is on a recovery path amid receding impaired assets load.

The heir apparent of Hyundai Motor Group said on Wednesday he will complete a restructuring in 2019 as he moves to formally take over from his father at the helm of South Korea's second-biggest conglomerate.

Euisun Chung made the comments in his first New Year address to employees in the absence of his 80-year-old father, the clearest sign that he is now in charge of the group as it plans its first leadership transition in about two decades.

New Delhi: Engineering major Larsen & Toubro Monday said its construction arm has bagged orders worth Rs 2,084 crore in the power transmission and distribution segment.

“The power transmission and distribution business of L&T Construction has secured Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) orders worth Rs 2,084 crore,” the company said in a statement.

New Delhi: State Bank of India (SBI) will permanently block debit/ATM and credit cards of its account holders, who have not upgraded from magstripe to the new EMV chip cards. As the 31 December deadline set by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) ends today, account holders with magstripe cards will be denied services at ATMs.

Inviting Real Estate Agents, Job Placements Agents, Educational Institutes, Software Service Providers, Real Estate Builders, Marriage Bureaus, Travel Agents, Restaurant Owners, Health & Fitness Centers and other Local Businesses to Post a FREE Classified Advertisement on Cootera.com Classifieds Website.