SINGAPORE/NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Indian liquefied natural gas (LNG) importers have issued force majeure notices to suppliers as domestic gas demand and port operations are hit by a nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of coronavirus, industry sources told Reuters. Any reduction in purchases by India, Asia’s third largest economy and one of the top […]
Archives for 2020
Dineout offers vouchers to aid restaurants tide over Covid-19 lockdown
Online restaurant reservation platform Dineout* has introduced “restaurant vouchers” that customers can purchase now and redeem later when the Covid-19 pandemic subsides. These restaurant vouchers can be redeemed in the next six months and Dineout will transfer the funds to the restaurants at no additional charges to ensure that restaurants continue to receive the crucial […]
COVID-19: Using Data to Map Infections, Hospital Beds, and More
The spread of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, and the resources to fight it, are being tracked and mapped by governments and other organizations in the US and the world. Here’s how they are doing it. IT organizations have recently had to turn on a dime to get their organizations’ workforces set up to work from […]
MakeMyTrip top execs to draw zero salary, leadership team takes 50% paycut
Online travel firm MakeMyTrip‘s top executives Deep Kalra and Rajesh Magow have decided to draw ‘zero salary’ from April 2020, while the rest of its leadership team will take a reduction of around 50% in their compensation amid the Covid-19 outbreak. Group Executive Chairman Deep Kalra and its Group CEO Rajesh Magow have decided to […]
Zomato, Swiggy operate with minimal staffing as restaurants shutter
Online food delivery startups Swiggy and Zomato are working with minimal delivery staffing and limited restaurant partners in several states as riders refuse to come to work fearing police harassment amid the Covid-19 lockdown. More than 95% of restaurants are offline, according to the National Restaurant Association of India. “Manpower can’t be risked…and supply is […]
Open neo-bank to focus on lending, wealth management
Illustration: Rahul Awasthi Open Financial Technologies, which operates a ‘neo-bank’ that helps small businesses automate and run their finances, will now focus on wealth management and lending even though the Covid-19 pandemic threatens the adoption of new products in the upcoming financial year. “Wealth management and lending are a core focus for the year. We […]
Flipkart to restart its grocery delivery service Supermart
Illustration: Rahul Awasthi After temporarily suspending all its services to customers on Wednesday morning, Flipkart is gearing up to restart its grocery delivery service Supermart within the next few hours, people familiar with the matter told ET. The company will first kick off deliveries of food and other essentials in Bengaluru, followed by Mumbai, Chennai, […]
Video streaming services like Netflix, Hotstar suspend HD streaming on mobile networks
All video streaming services, including Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hotstar and others, have jointly decided to offer only standard definition (SD) quality content on cellular networks, suspending high definition (HD) and ultra HD effective immediately. The digital services also decided to lower the bitrates to 480p, which will put less stress on telecom networks as India […]
Demand for audio streaming spikes 42% amid lockdown
As large parts of the country go under a lockdown forcing people to stay at home, audiostreaming services such as Gaana, JioSaavn, Spotify and YouTube Music are witnessing a spike in the time that users are spending by listening to music and podcasts, shows a study. The first fortnight of March has seen a 42% […]
IRS posts FAQs about coronavirus-related filing and payment extensions
In response to practitioners’ questions about the filing and payment deadline extension announced Friday in Notice 2020-18 (discussed here), the IRS posted 24 questions and answers on its website Tuesday. The answers clarify that only payments that are actually due on April 15 are delayed. Therefore, first quarter 2020 estimated income tax payments and Sec. […]