Author: NNI Editor
Baijayant Jay Panda. File | Photo Credit: The Hindu The select committee of the Lok Sabha, which will examine the Income-Tax Bill, 2025, was constituted on Friday (February 14, 2025) with BJP MP Baijayant Jay Panda appointed as chairman of the panel.The committee will have 31 MPs, including 17 from the ruling National Democratic Alliance. The NDA MPs consist of 14 from the BJP and one each from the TDP, JD(U), and the Shiv Sena.The Opposition parties have 13 MPs, including six from the Congress, two from the Samajwadi Party and one each from the DMK, the TMC, the Shiv…
Tamil Nadu’s temple saris | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement The sari (also spelt as saree) has a chequered history. While some say its origin dates to the 1st Century; others trace it to the Indus Valley civilisation that flourished between 2800 and 1800 BC. Over time, this unstitched garment has taken on different forms and drapes, leaving us with remnants of our once-rich textile heritage.This realisation struck me while walking through the exhibition Heirloom Sarees: The Glory of India’s Woven Heritage l at Delhi’s India International Centre. Organised by the Delhi Crafts Council (DCC) to celebrate 25 years of the…
The Board has appointed Aditya Kumar Halwasiya, Managing Director of Cupid Ltd as its Chairman & Managing Director. | Photo Credit: cupidlimited.com Cupid Ltd for the third quarter reported net profit of ₹ 11.04 crore, as compared to ₹ 8.86 crore in the year ago period, up 24.60%. The total income of the company for the period ended December 31, 2024 increased 24.47% to ₹ 50.76 crore as against ₹ 40.78 crore in the year ago. Operating Income was at ₹ 46.35 crore, as compared to ₹40.05 crore a year ago up by 15.73%. The Board has appointed Aditya Kumar Halwasiya, Managing Director of…
A necklace from Anu Merton | Photo Credit: Special arrangement Nearly five months since its first pop-up in Chennai, jewellery brand Anu Merton, which shares its moniker with the designer who founded it in 2020, is back at Amethyst. This time, it introduces the city to its soon-to-be-launched capsule that parades a colourful spectrum of semi-precious stones on the sturdy foundation of time-tested jewellery-making techniques. Rings, necklaces and bracelets by Anu Merton | Photo Credit: Special arrangement Assessing the response to her brand’s first outing at the 24-year-old garden café and boutique, Anu lauds the venue’s potential to draw the…
India’s insurance companies have agreed on a simple yet comprehensive and customer-friendly model for Bima Vistaar, the composite cover mooted by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI). It will be the first ever such product covering death, personal accident property and surgical hospitalisation with each line of the risk, co-insured between all the insurers of that corresponding line of business within an omnibus co-insurance arrangement, IRDAI said on the deliberations at the two-day Bima Manthan quarterly meeting with CEOs of insurers conducted here from February 13. “Discussions dwelled into operating model and implementation strategy… touched all aspects…
Designer duo Abraham and Thakore need no introduction; known as masters of minimalism, the OG designers David Abraham and Rakesh Thakore were in Hyderabad to launch their first flagship store at Banjara Hills. In 1992, as classmates and friends, they started a business in Abraham’s bedroom in Delhi’s Defence Colony, based on a suggestion from their friend Martand Singh.In today’s entrepreneurial lingo, they were a start-up. Abraham is quick to answer, “Of course we were. It all happened in my bedroom — designing, planning and even meeting clients. John Bissel, owner of FabIndia knew we had started something, he told…
In several States, free power is supplied to agriculture connections, which is why farmers don’t look for energy-efficient pumpsets. File | Photo Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto Agricultural pump-sets manufactured by the organised sector are losing out to “kit” (unbranded) pumps made in the unorganised sector because of 18% GST being levied on them for the last three years, say manufacturers in Coimbatore.According to K.V. Karthik, president of the Indian Pump Manufacturers Association, sale of “kit” pumps reduced to less than 10 % of the total agriculture pump-set sales after the introduction of 12% GST. However, following the hike in GST to…
When clothing brand My Designation launched their Onakkodi box, they did not anticipate the response. Though their merchandise — t-shirts, shirts, bottom wear, hoodies and jackets — that derive heavily from Kerala pop culture, is very popular, the response to the Onakkodi box has them on cloud nine. “We are almost sold out!” says Vishal Venugopal, general manager of the Thiruvananthapuram-based brand. One of their Onakkodi boxes, also unisex, has their signature modal Kerala shirt with its cheerful Onam/Kerala imagery — snake boats, sadya, pookkalam, pulikali (tiger dance), chenda melam (percussion ensemble) — a white and gold mundu (dhoti), a notebook…
Sugar mills in Uttar Pradesh usually had a slightly higher realisation for sugar in the domestic market compared with the mills in Maharashtra. File | Photo Credit: The Hindu Sugar mills have sought hike in the minimum selling price (ex-mill) of sugar to ₹39 a kg from ₹31 a kg now.Deepak Ballani, Director General of the Indian Sugar & Bio Energy Manufacturers Association (ISMA) told The Hindu that the retail price of sugar was almost flat for the last two years. However, the fair and remunerative price (FRP) paid to farmers and the conversion costs were on the rise. There was…
A Rouka sari | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT Kerala quirkyRouka by Sreejith’s collection of Kerala handloom saris for Onam are a bit whimsy, quirky and bring in a whole lot of nostalgia. The collection, says designer Sreejith Jeevan, as the answer to the question: What is the Onam of now? “This connection to our roots is also sprinkled with who we are now.” “Onam is a search for home — for a sadya that takes you back to childhood; for the comfortable wrap of a kasavu that connects with your grandmother; for that feeling of being one among a closely…