New Delhi [India], Mar. 24 : Emergence of multi drug resistant TB and complications aggravated by high rates of co-infection with HIV-AIDS has renewed the threat of TB epidemic in India. With widespread prevalence of the infection, children experience a serious risk of contracting Tuberculosis, especially if they are under-nourished.

As we observe World TB day, doctors at Venkateshwar Hospital, Dwarka say under nutrition in children (especially below 5 years of age) is a significant risk factor for the disease. Contrary to perception, not just children living in slums and unhygienic conditions, even those from relatively affluent backgrounds are diagnosed with Tuberculosis.

New Delhi [India], Mar 23 : IBM on Thursday announced a strategic partnership to offer 'RetailSmart', an end-to-end fully integrated solution that will enable local 'Kirana' (unorganized) stores to become ecommerce ready.

Powered by IBM Cloud, the solution allows Kirana stores to deliver a convenient online shopping experience to consumers and pay safely using a convenient payment mode (irrespective of the size of the purchase).

According to industry reports, the current number of Kirana stores in India is pegged to be at 15 million.

New Delhi [India], Mar. 23 : Oh Snap! Aren't you on Snapchat yet?

It has been six years since Snapchat was introduced as a new Social Media platform. Earlier established as a platform for teens for merely sharing pictures and videos, this app has come a long way.

An estimated active user base of 150 million, it is one of the fastest growing social media platforms. An average snap chatter spends around 25-30 minutes on this app every day. Its inception created a buzz among the users of bracket 18 to 34 years which is no longer the case, as the app has transcended the age barrier over time.

Awareness, Interest and Evaluation are three key elements of the marketing funnel and Snapchat helps in achieving the second brilliantly i.e. interest the most.

New Delhi [India], Mar 23 : ExportersIndia on Thursday announced 56 percent boost in its business exclusively via its mobile app.

The company witnessed significant increase in business over the period of 2015 to present, retaining its position as India's largest searchable B2B marketplace and exporters' directory that connects manufacturers, exporters, suppliers, and buyers to generate value from unlimited online trade opportunities and buyer enquiries.

New Delhi [India], Mar 23 : Real estate startup Square Yards on Thursday announced the launch of an International property portal (global.squareyards.com) for enabling global cross border real estate investments.

This is notably the first and only portal by any Indian tech startup focusing exclusively on global real estate.

Square Yards is already the largest player by revenues (annual revenue run rate in excess of USD 25M) in the Indian real estate and has a virtual monopoly in some of the key NRI diaspora markets. It is now replicating its Indian success in international markets by acquiring multi country real estate licenses and entering into collaborative arrangements with leading International developers for exclusive cross-border marketing and selling rights.

New Delhi [India], Mar 23 : In a feat of sorts, Droom, India's pioneering online automobile transactional marketplace today became India's largest hyper local marketplace by bringing a whopping number of 500 cities, under its aegis. The watershed moment came soon after the company announced that it has achieved 1 lakh auto dealers on its online platform.

In order to reach this target, Droom has been aggressively running seller affiliation and community building programmes to increase its network base.

New Delhi [India], Mar 23 : L&T Technology Services Limited, a leading global pure play engineering services company inaugurated its new center of excellence dedicated for a leading German Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) in Munich Germany, its fourth delivery center for the customer following R&D hubs in Mumbai, Bangalore and Mysore in India.

The accredited near shore center will provide engineering and R&D services for the company's suite of infotainment consoles and its family of hybrid electric vehicles. The proximity to the said organization's campus will enable L&T Technology Services to test a variety of solutions and offer services in real time.

New Delhi [India], Mar 23 : Indian's are big dreamers, but when it comes to financial planning they lag behind by a distance reveals Aviva Plan India Plan survey 2017, a one of its kind survey conducted by Aviva Life insurance. However, millennial are better financial planners, while women are catching up fast with men on financial awareness and planning.

New Delhi [India], Mar 20 : Private sector bank ICICI Bank Ltd on Monday announced the launch of a unique mobile banking app 'Mera iMobile' for rural customers that will allow them to access banking services as well as information on agri services.

The app allows users in rural areas to avail as many as 135 services, some of which are unprecedented in the industry.

It will enable the users to save the time and cost of visiting a branch to avail these services. The list of services include Kisan Credit Card, Gold Loan, Farm Equipment Loan and loans to Self-Help Groups (SHGs).

The app also enables them to undertake an array of frequently used banking services from their smartphone, without using mobile internet services.

New Delhi [India], Mar. 20 : E-commerce major Snapdeal announced the appointment of Jason Kothari as the Chief Executive Officer of FreeCharge and a commitment to invest an additional USD 20 million in the company.

In addition to his appointment, Jason will continue his key leadership role as Chief Strategy and Investment Officer at Snapdeal. He will also join the Board of Directors of FreeCharge.

"As India moves towards a cashless and digital economy, we are certain that FreeCharge will play a pivotal role in the transition. We remain committed to the success and vision of FreeCharge. Jason is a strong, strategic and versatile business leader and entrepreneur who has already been the CEO of two successful companies," said Kunal Bahl, Co-founder and CEO, Snapdeal.

New Delhi [India], Mar. 20 : The Union Cabinet on Monday gave its nod to four legislations of the much-awaited Goods and Services Tax (GST) bill, namely Central, State, Union Territory and Integrated GST, along with the Compensation Bill.

The aforementioned legislations are reported to be taken up for discussion in the Parliament later this week.

The meeting held earlier today was chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, exclusively to discuss the outcomes of the above legislations, subsequently enabling the GST to be rolled out as per schedule on July 1, 2017.

The Central, State, Union Territory and Integrated GSTs were earlier approved by the GST Council after multiple discussion over 12 meetings of the Council held in the last six months.

New Delhi [India], Mar 20 : Digital wallets are set to be inter operable as Reserve Bank of India (RBI) prepares to open up the Unified Payments Interface platform as a part of government's digitization program. RBI is expected to issue guidelines shortly on interoperability and 'Know Your Customer' (KYC) norms for digital wallet companies.

Interoperability will allow direct money transfers to other digital wallet providers without having to go through a traditional bank.

As soon as RBI clears the norms and prescribes guidelines for it, it will become easier to transfer and pay money from one wallet to another wallet.

New Delhi [India], Mar. 20 : Idea Cellular on Monday announced that the board has approved its merger of Vodafone India Limited (VIL) and its wholly-owned subsidiary Vodafone Mobile Services Limited (VMSL) with itself, thus paving way for the creation of India's largest telecom entity.

As per minutes of the meeting held earlier today, Vodafone will hold 45 percent in the combined entity. Idea promoters will hold 26 percent in the combined entity.

Vodafone will own 45.1 percent of the company after transferring a stake to the Promoters of Idea for Rs. 38.74 billion in cash, post completion of the amalgamation.

New Delhi [India], Mar. 20 : For the fourth consecutive year, Wabco India, a provider of technologies that improve the safety, efficiency and connectivity of commercial vehicles was the Official Braking Technology Partner for Tata Motors at the T1 PRIMA Truck Racing Championship Season 4, on Sunday at the Buddh International Circuit, Greater Noida.

Wabco India demonstrated its advanced safety and efficiency technologies on the race track, one of the most challenging operating environments for heavy-duty trucks.

New Delhi [India], Mar. 19 : After the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) astounding victory in the recently-concluded Uttar Pradesh Assembly Elections 2017, apex industry body ASSOCHAM has said that the need of the hour in the state is ensuring adequate electricity supply in the coming summer, giving urgent relief to Bundelkhand and finding lasting solutions for arrears of sugarcane farmers.

The top priority of the new government should be to drastically improve the quality and quantity of power supply in the ensuing summer. Like several parts of the country, the challenge is not as much generation and availability of power but the financial health of the power utilities, mostly in the state ownership.

New Delhi [India], Mar 18 : Faced with high expectations created by a massive mandate given to the BJP, the incoming Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh has to meet immediate challenges of ensuring much better electricity supply in the coming summer, give urgent relief to Bundelkhand and find a lasting solutions for arrears of sugarcane farmers, the ASSOCHAM said on Saturday.

The Uttar Pradesh has a sizeable annual budget of about Rs. 3.5 lakh crore with a deficit of about Rs. 50,000 crore. Though there is a scope for bettering the state balance sheet, its fiscal situation is not as bad as some states, the chamber said.

New Delhi [India], Mar 18 : Marico has acquired 45 percent stake of one of the most renowned brands today in the men's grooming segment, Beardo.

The acquisition has happened for an undisclosed amount and the equity is slated to be acquired in the duration of two years, following primary infusion and secondary buy-outs.

Owned by Ahmadabad based Zed lifestyle, Beardo has been funded by Venture Catalyst, the leading seed investment and innovation platform in India.

New Delhi [India], Mar 18 : Forever 21, a leading fast fashion brand from Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Ltd. debuted in West Bengal with their very first store launch in Siliguri. The brand is focusing on strengthening its foothold in the country by exploring newer markets like West Bengal. Forever 21 is a pioneer in the fast fashion category, which makes it the most preferred fashion destination for young and fashion conscious consumers.

New Delhi [India], Mar 17 : Jugnoo, a hyper local startup, power-driven by its vast auto rickshaw network, today announced that the demand for its services doubled in Coimbatore. The announcement came soon after Uber suspended its auto rickshaw services in the city.

The aggregator had shut down their auto operations in the bustling cities of Coimbatore and Indore on Monday and Thursday respectively, following which Jugnoo's services witnessed this spike in demand. With Jugnoo's vast network and increasingly popular services across Tier II and Tier II cities, this was an expected trend for the brand.

New Delhi [India], Mar 17 : When it comes to life experiences, few can match what travel has to offer. No matter who you accompany and what destination you visit, the returns from a trip are likely to be impressive. But there is so much to see all over the world, where do you start? And more importantly, how to pay for your travels?

Think of a Personal Loan to meet your travel needs.

Wedding expenses

A wedding is one of the happiest occasions in the family. The preparations and the ceremonies are one big riot of emotion and celebration. And it is obvious that you would want this once-in-a-lifetime event to be the biggest celebration of your life. But big celebrations usually involve big money.