Heeraben Modi passes away: ‘Glorious century rests at feet

Heeraben Modi death: Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid a heartfelt tribute to his mother Heeraben Modi, who passed away at the age of 100 on Friday morning. The Prime Minister said he always felt that she lived the life of an ascetic, and led a life committed to her values. 

Prime Minister Modi tweeted, “A glorious century rests at the feet of God… In Maa, I have always felt that trinity, which contains the journey of an ascetic, the symbol of a selfless karmayogi, and a life committed to values.” He added his mother told him to work with intelligence and live life with purity when he met her for her 100th birthday. 

The Prime Minister further writes, “When I met her on her 100th birthday, she said one thing, which I always remembered – work with intelligence and live life with purity.”

The news of Heeraben Modi’s passing away was confirmed by the UN Mehta Hospital

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Industry Analysis

Dish TV appoints ex-bureaucrat Lalit Behari Singhal as






Dish TV, the direct-to-home operator, which is part of the Essel group, on Thursday said that it had appointed former bureaucrat Lalit Behari Singhal as an independent director to its board.


In a separate filing in the evening, the company said that shareholders had voted against the two ordinary resolutions put up at its AGM held on Thursday, to adopt the FY21 and FY22 financial statements of the company.


This is the second time that shareholders have voted against the two resolutions. On September 26, four out of six resolutions were not approved by shareholders, which included the above two, forcing the company to adjourn the AGM to December 29.


The announcement of Singhal, on the other hand, followed a board meet of the company on Thursday, where Singhal’s appointment was considered for a period of five years, Dish TV said. His appointment is effective Thursday.


Earlier this month, Dish TV had announced the appointment of three new independent directors to the company’s board. These included Sunil Kumar Gupta, Madan Mohanlal Verma and Gaurav Gupta.


This was the first major appointment by the company after

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Industry Management

AI voice bots: Backed by tech, consumer interaction with

As we look ahead to 2023, it’s clear that the consumer experience is going to undergo significant changes driven by advances in technology. According to recent studies and research reports, one major shift we can expect to see is the increasing use of AI-driven voice responses on IVRs (interactive voice response systems) in customer support. Industry estimates suggest that AI voice BOTs will be able to successfully respond to 50-60% of customer complaints, reducing the need for live-agent assistance.

As we move towards 2023, we can expect to see a number of significant changes in the way consumers interact with brands and make purchases.

Customer support: AI-Driven voice responses on the rise

Over the next few years, we can expect to see a shift from live-agent assisted voice to AI-driven voice responses on IVRs in customer support. Industry estimates suggest that AI voice BOTs will be able to successfully respond to 50-60% of customer complaints, reducing the need for live-agent assistance. This shift towards more self-service, AI-driven customer interactions will be accompanied by a paradigm shift away from traditional voice-based call centres towards more social channel-driven customer interactions with brands.

Social channels: The new browser

Social channels, such as messaging

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Industry Sector

agr: Telcos’ AGR to exclude landline revenue in SUC

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has said that a telco’s adjusted gross revenue (AGR) will exclude revenue from landline services while computing spectrum usage charge (SUC).

The move will lower statutory payouts for mobile phone companies.

“It is clarified that for calculating total SUC payable with the weighted average method, the actual AGR will be taken after excluding revenue from wireline services,” the DoT said in an order dated December 26, which was issued on Thursday.

Telcos pay SUC as a percentage of AGR on a weighted average basis, depending on the timing and quantity of airwaves held. Hence, a lower AGR means reduced pay-outs by telcos towards such levies.

The latest DoT clarification is related to its earlier June 21, 2022 order in which the government scrapped the 3% floor on SUC, a move seen as a big relief for Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea (Vi) as it would sharply cut their future outflows towards these statutory fees.

Telcos earlier paid around 3-4% of AGR towards SUC, but after the scrapping of the 3% floor in June and the government decision not to charge for SUC from the March airwave auctions, their outflows towards this statutory fee

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Industry

radhika: Who is Radhika Merchant? All about Mukesh Ambani,

Radhika Merchant, the daughter of Encore Healthcare CEO Viren Merchant and Shaila Merchant, is engaged to Mukesh and Nita Ambani’s youngest son Anant Ambani. The Roka ceremony was held at the Shrinathji Temple in Nathdwara, Rajasthan, on Thursday.

Radhika has been engaged to Anant Ambani, and she was earlier spotted at all Ambani family events. She attended the marriages of Isha Ambani and Anand Piramal, as well as Akash Ambani and Shloka Mehta.

Radhika, originally from Kutch in Gujarat, has lived in Mumbai for many years. She attended the iconic Cathedral and John Connon School in Mumbai, as well as École Mondiale World School in Juhu. She then graduated from BD Somani International School with an International Baccalaureate Diploma.

Radhika later moved to New York for further education. She graduated from York University with a bachelor’s degree in politics and economics and then joined the Isprava Group, a luxury home developer backed by Nadir Godrej, Anand Piramal, and Dabur’s Burman family.

Radhika is currently a member of the Encore Healthcare Board of Directors. She is also known to be an animal lover who is actively involved in animal welfare. She is also a trained Bharatnatyam dancer, having studied with Guru

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Industry Accounting

Crude oil prices ease, China COVID spike hurts demand

Oil prices ticked down on Thursday as surging COVID-19 cases in China dimmed hopes of a recovery in fuel demand in the world’s second-biggest oil consumer.

The scale of the latest outbreak and doubts over official data prompted some countries to enact new travel rules on Chinese visitors, even as China began dismantling the world’s strictest COVID regime of lockdowns and testing.

Brent LCOc1 futures for February delivery fell 42 cents, or 0.5%, to $82.84 a barrel, by 0123 GMT, while US crude CLc1 fell 50 cents, or 0.6%, to $78.46 per barrel.

Oil markets were also buffeted by expectations of another US interest rate hike in the United States, as Federal Reserve tries to limit price rises in a tight labour market. 

US crude oil inventories fell less than expected, by about 1.3 million barrels, in the week ended Dec. 23, according to market sources citing American Petroleum Institute figures.

That compared with estimates for a draw of 1.5 million barrels, according to analysts’ estimates. The US government will release its weekly figures at 10:30 a.m. EST on Thursday.

Also weighing on prices, pipeline operator TC Energy said it was working to restart the portion of the Keystone pipeline

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Industry Analysis