April 2020

Ratan Tata regrets being unable to practice as an architect for long He steered the country’s largest industrial house Tata Group for over two decades and is a doyen among business leaders. Still, 82-year-old Ratan Tata regrets that he was not able to practise as an architect for long. Tata on Monday emphasised that despite not being able to practice architecture, he gained directly from the sense of humanism that architecture renders. “I always wanted to be an architect because it renders a deeper sense of humanism. Also, architecture has motivated me and I had a deep interest in that field....

‘Thank you to Mahindra Group for…’: Mike Pompeo’s shout-out for India’s help India’s Mahindra Group has temporarily repurposed its auto-plant in Auburn Hills, Michigan to make protective equipment for healthcare workers at the frontline of the fight against the coronavirus. It has been making aspiration boxes and face shields with polycarbonate material used for auto windshields, The Detroit News reported last week. Aspiration boxes protect healthcare professionals at the time hospitalized Covid-19 patients are being taken off tubes, when it can get “messy”. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo gave it a public shout-out Monday, in a post on Twitter, with...

India Will Stand by Maldives in This Challenging Time, Says PM Modi New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday spoke with Maldivian President Ibrahim Solih on the health and economic challenges the COVID-19 pandemic poses for the island nation. “The special bond between India and Maldives strengthens our resolve to fight this common enemy together,” the prime minister tweeted. “India will stand by its close maritime neighbour and friend in this challenging time,” he said. Source: News18

Epidemiologist Anthony Fauci, America’s new hero amid Covid-19 pandemic Move over, Ruth Bader Ginsburg. There is a new feisty super senior in Washington who is captivating American hearts. Anthony Fauci is everywhere these days — not just as the straight-talking coronavirus point man at President Donald Trump’s daily pandemic briefings but on T-shirts, coffee mugs and, yes, even donuts. Indeed, for many, the diminutive 79-year-old epidemiologist with a heavy Brooklyn accent is the country’s new hero — a no-nonsense scientist speaking truth to a terrified nation led by a president who sometimes has a loose grasp of the facts. Nick...

BMW India CEO Rudratej Singh Passes Away BMW Group India president and CEO Rudratej Singh,46, passed away on 20 April 2020. The cause behind his death is yet to be ascertained according to an official statement although some reports indicated it was a cardiac arrest. Rudratej Singh joined BMW Group India on 1 August 2019. His demise comes at a time when BMW Group India was in midst of implementing measures to strengthen its dealer network across India. Arlindo Teixeira, Chief Financial Officer, BMW Group India has been appointed as the acting President in the interim. Source: The Quint

India may see rebound in property transactions in second half of 2020, says Priyank Shah of JLL The coronavirus outbreak has led to investors hitting pause due to an uncertain economic climate. When compared to the 2008-09 global financial crisis, the peak-to-trough for it occurred over a two-year period but this time the economic decline will likely be much sharper. Singapore-based Priyank Shah, Director Capital Markets, Asia-Pacific, JLL, tells Vandana Ramnani of Moneycontrol in an interview that like other markets, India will likely see a rebound in transactions in the second half of 2020 and the country remains high on...

No Hindu-Muslim or any communal angle in Palghar lynching case: Uddhav Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Monday ruled out any communal angle in the Palghar mob lynching incident, in which two sadhus and a driver were killed, while warning that strict action will be taken against those who are igniting communal hatred through social media. Uddhav, who has received phone calls from both Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to inquire into the incident, added that he had told Shah that there is no communal angle in the incident. “Since there were curbs on...

Will stand by Maldives in this ‘challenging time’: PM Modi tells President Solih Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday spoke to Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, President of the Republic of Maldives, over the prevailing coronavirus situation in the island nation. In a telephonic conversation, the leaders talked about the “health and economic challenges” the coronavirus pandemic poses for the Maldives. The Prime Minister tweeted about his conversation with President Solih and said that India will stand by the Maldives in this “challenging time”. “The special bond between India and Maldives strengthens our resolve to fight this common enemy together. India will stand by...

Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani in Self-isolation after Staff Test Positive for Covid-19 Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has self-isolated himself after at least 20 people at the presidential palace tested positive for coronavirus, reports said on Sunday. Twenty cases were initially reported, but on Sunday Western media reports said the number had risen to 40, the BBC reported. There has been no official reaction from the Afghan government or any reports that Ghani himself has contacted the viral infection, it added. According to the Johns Hopkins University’s Coronavirus Resource Centre, Afghanistan has 993 coronavirus cases and 32 deaths. There are also...

Twinkle Khanna shares stunning pics of flamingo migration to Mumbai amid lockdown, see them here Bollywood actor-turned author Twinkle Khanna has shared some beautiful pictures of birds flocking around TS Chanakya wetlands in Navi Mumbai. While one of them is an aerial view, another one is an evening shot which also shows the nearby residential buildings juxtaposed with the birds in the water body. The pictures were originally shared by a Hindustan Times photographer. Twinkle rewteeted the pics and captioned them, “Stunning.” The photographer had shared the pictures on her Twitter handle and described them. “Look at these two stunning photographs of...