U.S. government debt prices were higher Tuesday morning, coming off a surge during the previous session following news of promising early testing of an experimental coronavirus vaccine. At around 2:10 a.m. ET, the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note was down at 0.7094% and the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond slipped to 1.4273%. Yields […]
Archives for May 2020
C-DoT developing a videconferencing app for govt and courts
Indians can soon go vocal on a local version of Zoom. In line with the push towards greater self-reliance, the Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DoT) is developing a secure videoconferencing platform for use by the government and the courts. One version will be made available for the public. India’s own videoconferencing software will come […]
E-pharmacies operating illegally via site linked to Aarogya Setu: Chemists to govt
A lobby of over 850,000 chemist outlets across India has asked the government to delink the Aarogya Setu Mitr portal from the government’s Covid tracker Aarogya Setu app, saying several “foreign-funded and illegally operating” e-pharmacies were using the portal to advance their business interests in India. The portal lists several e-pharmacies and telemedicine services. “We […]
Google to bring offline stores and consumers closer
Internet search giant Google is going to roll out a slew of initiatives to help brick-and-mortar stores in India connect with consumers online to adapt to the change in shopping behaviour in the post Covid-19 lockdown scenario. Two senior industry executives said Google has started a pilot where offline stores in India can list products […]
Kotak Mahindra Bank becomes first Indian lender to allow video KYC
Kotak Mahindra Bank on Monday has introduced video-KYC facility for customers opening savings account on Kotak 811 – the banks digital banking platform. The private lender is the first Indian bank to offer video based “zero-contact” onboarding service. The initiative is presently being launched on a pilot basis for savings accounts, Kotak Mahindra said in […]
WeWork India to lay off around 100 employees
Co-working major WeWork India, owned by realty firm Embassy Group, will lay off around 20% of its total 500 employees with effect from June to cut its operational costs after its business hit by the coronavirus outbreak, sources said. Karan Virwani, the CEO of WeWork India, informed this decision through internal communication to company employees. […]
AI waging war against mental illness and Covid-19
Awesome, not awesome.#Awesome“[AI in mental illness] is one of the most exciting new directions that we have. Because mental health problems, particularly depression but all across the board, are so important. They’re also understaffed in terms of capable counselors, psychologists, psychiatrists and mental health professionals in general. So the ability to quantify, in real time, […]
IRS mobilizing 3,500 phone operators to answer stimulus questions
The IRS announced Monday it is hiring 3,500 new phone operators to answer taxpayers’ questions about economic impact payments (IR-2020-97). The IRS cautioned, however, that “telephone assistance and other services” will remain limited due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In March, the IRS announced that it was scaling back operations, closing offices, and having employees work […]
Flipkart’s limited operations drag down Walmart’s international growth
Flipkart’s limited operations during the nationwide lockdown “negatively affected” growth in its international e-commerce business, US retail giant Walmart told investors on Tuesday, counteracting higher online sales in China, Canada, United Kingdom and Mexico. Walmart’s chief rival Amazon, too, said earlier this month that India was its most impacted geography due to the lockdowns brought […]
Ecomm ready to load cart with ‘non-essentials’
Illustration: Rahul Awasthi India’s top online marketplaces have begun accepting orders to deliver both essential and non-essential products across the country except within containment zones, even as some companies demurred while they wait for states to draw up regional guidelines for ecommerce. Amazon, baby products retailer Firstcry and beauty portal Nykaa were among those which […]