Is India in for an oil shock? Twitter appoints country head, and more top news
Twitter has appointed Manish Maheshwari, former CEO of Network18 Digital, as its managing director for India. Maheshwari’s mandate is to expand the microblogging giant’s audience and revenue in a market where it’s been dealing with allegations of fake news, fake profiles and complaints of bias. The Wharton School alumnus takes over from interim head Balaji Krish who was elevated to the position after the company’s former country director Taranjeet Singh resigned in September. Twitter has about 35 million active users in India.
India’s oil import bill is set to surge. That’s because the Trump administration has decided to revoke waivers granted to seven major consumers, including India and China, for importing crude oil from Iran. India benefits from the waiver in several ways: it pays for the commodity in rupees (which shields it from currency fluctuations), enjoys extended credit terms, and gets discounted rates. An unidentified source told Economic Times the government had already lined up alternate sources to make up for any shortfall.
India’s silver jewellery exports crashed following the exit of diamantaires Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi, Times of India reports, citing Gems & Jewellery Export Promotion Council functionaries. Data with the trade body shows the country exported silver jewellery worth $838 million in FY19, a quarter of the nearly $3.4 billion in the previous year. The Surat Special Economic Zone bore the brunt of the loss, though the magnitude couldn’t be ascertained. But there are also allegations that the exports shown by the uncle-nephew duo were mainly on paper – none of the “business” seems to have gone to other Indian firms.
Workplace stress is increasingly affecting the health of female employees, according to global health service company Cigna. The survey of 13,000 people over 23 markets revealed 84% of people believed they suffered from stress, with 13% unable to manage. The “always on” work culture, accelerated by smartphone use, was a key factor for women aged 35 to 49 with childcare responsibilities and elderly parents: 87% say they are stressed at work, with 64% claiming pressure to answer emails at night and on weekends.
Buying a cheap helmet to get past the traffic cop may not work anymore. That’s because the government is considering making the Bureau of Indian Standards certification mandatory for two-wheeler helmets, Times of India reports. Currently, just 9 Indian brands (such as Royal Enfield and Vespa) among the 220-odd sport an ISI mark even as seven in 10 helmets sold are either substandard or lack any safety certification. Nearly 100 Indians die every day because of not wearing protective headgear.
Idea of the Day: Just like you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, don’t judge a person by their age, says CareMore Health System’s Sachin H. Jain.
“Rather than slowing down to let them catch up, we speed beyond them—and leave them behind. And we are the ones who lose out.”
Thanks...Ankit B. :-)