New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday sought greater cohesion in the international response to disasters, and urged women to play a bigger role in disaster risk management.

“In the aftermath of a disaster, disaster responders pour in from all over the world. This collective strength and solidarity could be enhanced further if we work under a common umbrella,” Modi said in his inaugural speech at the Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (AMCDRR) 2016.

MUMBAI: Sensex plummeted some 97 points to hit nearly four-month low of 27,430.28, falling for the fourth straight session, and Nifty crashed below the key 8,500-level on Thursday, tracking cautious global markets amid a new poll suggesting a likely win for Donald Trump in US election.

After opening lower at 27,518.06, the Sensex recovered to the day's high of 27,600.74 on bargain-buying by participants, including domestic financial institutions.

Apex industry body ASSOCHAM has mooted a proposal to the Union Government to constitute an appropriate authority either at the Central or state level to fix the ceiling on road freight rates and breaking local monopolies.

“Transporters charge exorbitant rates for movement of iron ore and other raw materials from mines and ports to steel plants, besides they also prevent free competition through their dominating presence in local areas,” said ASSOCHAM highlighting the double whammy being faced by the domestic steel sector.

The rupee edged higher by 2 paise to 66.69 against the US dollar at the forex market in early trade today on fresh selling of the American currency by exporters.

Besides, the dollar’s weakness against some currencies overseas supported the rupee but early losses in the domestic equity market restricted gains, dealers said.

NEW DELHI: In a setback to energy firms like ONGC and Cairn India, the government will from this fiscal levy service tax of about Rs 1,922 crore on royalties they pay to the exchequer on oil and gas they produce.

Companies currently pay 9.09 per cent of the price they realise on oil and gas produced from onland or onshore fields and 16.67 per cent on the same from offshore areas.

MUMBAI: The country’s largest private sector lender ICICI Bank has ignited a home loan rate war by slashing interest rates by 15 bps. Woman borrowers will now be able to avail loans at 9.15% while other borrowers will have to pay interest rate of 9.20%. The revised rates are applicable for home loans up to Rs 75 lakh. On October 28, ICICI Bank has cut its MCLR by 10 bps bringing its one year MCLR down to 8.95%.

MUMBAI: Private sector lender Yes Bank has launched “Yes Mobile 2.0” its new mobile banking app with multiple new features and extensive support for banking transactions on Apple and Android based SmartWatches. The app is compatible with all mobile devices including Android tablets and Apple iPads in addition to smartphones and wearables.

With multiple added functionalities and a customisable interface Yes Mobile 2.0 will replace the older Yes Mobile application that was being used by bank customers.

Payments company Mobikwik has partnered with Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), a subsidiary of the Indian Railways, to make e-payments for taktal bookings easier and faster.

A statement from Mobikwik said, "Instantaneous payments with MobiKwik will help tatkal online in managing the load of over a thousand ticket bookings per minute. The service will also help users to ensure that their bookings don't get rejected due to payment delays.

Czech auto company Skoda, part of the Volkswagen Group, on Thursday introduced a refreshed variant of its compact sedan Rapid at Rs 8.27 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi) onwards. Rapid competes with models like Honda City, Maruti Suzuki’s Ciaz and Hyundai Verna.

Beginning at Rs 8.27 lakh, the petrol run Rapid comes in three variants, priced up to Rs 11.36 lakh. The diesel powered vehicle is priced between Rs 9.48 lakh to Rs 12.67 lakh.

Microsoft Corp launched a messaging system for businesses, Microsoft Teams, on Wednesday, putting it in direct competition with fast-growing startup Slack and Facebook Inc's Workplace product.

The new software will be part of Microsoft's Office 365 services, a cloud-based software suite that has more than 85 million monthly active commercial users.

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