virendra pandit

Business

In a week of Taliban retaking Kabul, China’s tech stocks lose $560 bn

August 21, 2021 virendra pandit 0

Virendra Pandit New Delhi: It was a double whammy for China’s top businesses last week: Beijing’s crackdown on technology giants on regulatory issues continued apace, and investors were worried due to increasing uncertainties on the fate of the USD 60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), that passes through terror-infested areas in Pakistan, in the […]

Business

Business: FB India launches loan plan for SMBs in 200 cities

August 20, 2021 virendra pandit 0

Virendra Pandit New Delhi: India has become on Friday the first country where Facebook rolled out a new program, known as the “Small Business Loans Initiative”, in partnership with online lending platform Indifi, to assist small and medium businesses (SMBs) that advertise on the social media giant to get quick access to credit through […]

Business

Covid-19: As Delta threatens, Apple also delays reopening office until Jan 2022

August 20, 2021 virendra pandit 0

Virendra Pandit New Delhi: With the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus spreading faster than ever to at least 132 countries, the world’s top iPhone maker Apple has delayed return to the office until at least January 2022, as the USA is particularly witnessing a surge in cases of Covid-19. The company said its employees […]

Defence

Covid-19, terror: Hardening stand, India slams China at the UNSC

August 20, 2021 virendra pandit 0

Virendra Pandit New Delhi: Hardening its stand on the spread of Covid-19 pandemic and terrorism, India took a rare swipe at China on Thursday at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), saying nations should not place “blocks and holds” without any reason on requests to designate terrorists, warning that any double standards and distinctions […]

Business

Covid-19: Govt of India’s IT spend to reach $8.3 bn in 2022, says Gartner

August 19, 2021 virendra pandit 0

New Delhi: The Government of India’s Information Technology spend in 2022 is projected to increase by 8.6 percent over 2021 to reach $8.3 billion in 2022, research firm Gartner said on Thursday. “Digitalization initiatives of the Indian government organizations took a giant leap in 2020 because of the global coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic which forced the […]

Business

Roving Periscope: With Taliban 2.0, Russia back on the Afghan chessboard

August 19, 2021 virendra pandit 0

Virendra Pandit New Delhi: For nearly four centuries, Russia scouted for warm-water seaports in Asia as its other ports remained frozen for half the year, making navigation and trade impossible. The only way to acquire all-weather ports in the Arabian Sea passed through Afghanistan and Baluchistan. This quest pushed Moscow into Kabul in December […]

Business

Edible oil: Union Cabinet approves Rs.11k cr national mission

August 18, 2021 virendra pandit 0

New Delhi: Two days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a new central scheme during his Independence Day speech, the Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the National Mission on Edible Oils-Oil Palm (NMEO-OP) with a financial outlay of Rs 11,040 crore to promote the domestic cultivation of oil palm in the next five years, and […]

Defence

Afghanistan: A tale of two Ghanis—one triumphant, the other ‘traitor’

August 18, 2021 virendra pandit 0

Virendra Pandit New Delhi: The Afghans, who vanquished and packed off three superpowers of the day from their inhospitable mountains since the 19th century, often told their occupiers: ‘You may have the watch but we have the time.” No one is better living proof of this adage than Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar Akhund, the 54-year-old […]

English

The day after: Taliban go frolicking at amusement park, give “amnesty”

August 17, 2021 virendra pandit 0

Virendra Pandit New Delhi: After 20 years of fierce fighting, it is time for the Taliban to take a break. Ensconced safely in Kabul, with no one to attack them now—on the contrary, soldiers surrendered, policemen vanished, and hapless citizens fled to leave Afghanistan—they enjoyed themselves on Monday with rides at an amusement park, […]

Defence

Roving Periscope: All stakeholders, sans Afghans, love the ‘good’ Taliban!

August 17, 2021 virendra pandit 0

Virendra Pandit New Delhi: Seeing Afghanistan collapsing, Donald Trump mocked his successor President Joe Biden—“are you missing me?”—who, in turn, blamed his Afghanistan counterpart Ashraf Ghani for the Taliban mess, who had fled ‘to avoid bloodshed’ but did not forget, allegedly, to carry with him some USD 50 million, and reportedly landed in Tajikistan. […]