Global technology services firm Cognizant Technology Solutions has appointed Ramkumar Ramamoorthy as Chairman and Managing Director of Cognizant India and head of India Operations, Cognizant CEO Brian Humphries has announced in a note which sent to employees this morning. Ramamoorthy will be reporting directly to the company’s executive committee. In the note, Humphries said, “Through countless interactions with our leaders and teams in India, not to mention two week-long visits there, I’ve developed a deep appreciation for the jewel that is Cognizant India, the hub of our global delivery, solutioning, and innovation. We are fortunate to have many talented and engaged colleagues in India, more than 200,000 in all, who excel at serving our clients. Cognizant India will build a bright future with the most adm

On Monday, crude oil prices surging around 20 per cent, the drone strikes on the world’s biggest oil producer, Saudi Arabian Oil Co., or Saudi Aramco; India, the world’s third-largest oil importer is bracing itself to stem any impact on its consumers. However,  the reported strikes by 10 drones at Abqaiq and Khurais oil facilities, disrupted more than half of Saudi Arabia’s oil capacity or 5.7 million barrels per day (mbpd), the enormity of the situation can be gauged from the fact that it is being termed as the far worst shock to global supplies than when Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in 1990 and 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran. International benchmark Brent crude futures soared $11.73 to $66.91 per barrel. US West Texas Intermediate crude futures jumped $8.49 to $59.76 per barrel. Some traders worldwi

On Monday, former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir and National Conference Chief Farooq Abdullah, so far under house arrest, was booked under the draconian Public Safety Act (PSA). This comes an about month after political leaders in the state were placed under preventive detention, after the abrogation of Article 370, granting special status to the erstwhile state. In 1978, the Public Safety Act had promoted, allows the imprisonment of a person for up to 2 years without a trial, if he or she is perceived as a threat to national security. Union home minister Amit Shah claimed in the Parliament that the NC leader missed the session of his own volition, while Abdullah has been under house arrest since 5 August. The restive state remains under lockdown after the Centre in August revoked its special status,

Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) is to offer you an insurance cover of up to Rs 10 lakh at a near-zero premium of 49 paise. Passengers have an option of opting the 'Travel Insurance' while booking train tickets through the IRCTC website. Eligibility for IRCTC travel insurance The online ticket booking from IRCTC website or mobile app will only be eligible to buy the insurance cover. This insurance policy covers death, permanent total disability, permanent partial disability and hospitalization expenses for injury and transportation of mortal remains following a rail accident or untoward incident, according to the IRCTC website. The maximum cover is up to Rs 10 lakh, in which you get a cover of Rs 10 lakh for death or permanent total disability due to rail accident or any untoward

Altico Capital India Ltd, a real estate lender, failed to pay around Rs 20 crore worth of interest on an External Commercial Borrowing (ECB) that was due to Mashreq Bank a UAE based financial institution, on 12th September. On the same day, Altico was downgraded from AA- to B by  CARE rating. Altico Capital’s long term issuer rating was downgraded to ‘D’ by India Ratings and Research, on 13th September. According to data from Rupeevest through paper such as non-convertible debentures (not ECBs), Mutual Funds have a collective exposure of about Rs 538 crore to the Altico. Out of this, UTI Credit Risk Fund has a 200 crore exposure or about 5.69% of assets and Reliance Ultra Short Duration Fund has a Rs 150 crore exposure or 4.61% of scheme assets. The balance exposure of around Rs 188 crore is held by Fix

Maruti Suzuki India Ltd is offering large discount on its vehicles. Maruti is India’s largest passenger vehicle maker seeks to stimulate retail demand during the crucial festival season. The local unit of Suzuki Motor Corp. had an argument with commercial banks to lower their rates on a vehicle loan, with recent reductions in the repo rate by the central bank, to make it easier for consumers to purchase new vehicles. Maruti supposes that this step would help to reduce the overall ownership cost of a new vehicle and avert a slump in retail sales for two consecutive festival seasons. In 2018, vehicle manufacturers endured the worst festive season sales in five years, as customers stayed away from showrooms in the aftermath of the bankruptcy of Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Ltd (IL&FS).

National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) on Friday said it has rationalized merchant discount rate (MDR) for RuPay debit card transactions, effective October 20, 2019. The rationalisation has been done across the point of sale, eCom and BharatQR code based merchant transactions, said a press release. According to NPCI, MDR has been revised to 0.60 per cent for transaction above Rs 2,000 with a maximum cap of Rs 150 per transaction. Presently, this is capped at 0.90 per cent for transaction above Rs 2,000 with a higher cap of Rs 1,000 per transaction. The card-based QR transactions (Bharat QR) MDR also has been reduced to 0.50 per cent with a maximum cap of Rs 150 per transaction, to boost asset lite infrastructure for digital payments. "With the reduction and capping of MDR merchants will now be encour

On Friday, leading Indian Trader asks the government to ban the upcoming festive sale on Amazon’s local unit and its competitor Flipkart. The reason for the oppose because both the e-commerce companies are giving a deep discount to their customers which violated the country’s foreign investment rules for online retail. Amazon and Flipkart hold annual festive season sales ahead of key Hindu festivals Dussehra and Diwali, which are due this year in October when Indians make big-ticket purchases such as cars and gold jewellery. Walmart owned and announced Flipkart's six days sale which begins from 29th September, but Amazon not yet announced. Both e-tailers promise big discounts on everything from fashion to smartphones to home appliances and have previously said discounts and deals are offered by sellers on