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Venkaiah Naidu nominates Manmohan Singh to parliamentary standing committee on finance

Loknath Das

Manmohan Singh was the country’s finance minister between 1991 and 1996. (Photo: PTI) Rajya Sabha Chairman Venkaiah Naidu has nominated Former Prime Minister and senior Congress leader Manmohan Singh to the parliamentary standing committee on finance in place of party colleague Digvijaya Singh. Digvijaya Singh has now been nominated to the parliamentary standing committee on urban development by the chairman of the Upper House, according to a Rajya Sabha bulletin. “The Rajya Sabha chairman has nominated Manmohan Singh, member, Rajya Sabha, to be a member of the committee on finance…

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Is It Time For Voice Technology To Kill Touchscreens?

Loknath Das

Humans and objects have had a long love affair. Simple tools, as well as sophisticated software are all extensions of our physical bodies. We can trace human progress and wellbeing to the level of sophistication of the tools we have created, and by doing so, the augmentation of our abilities to travel, build, communicate, and create. Since tools are so critical to our existence and prosperity, the way we interface with these tools is also of great importance. So important is the interface between humans and the machines we operate,…

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Why It Might Pay to Delay Planning Holiday Travel

Loknath Das

Procrastinators who have yet to book holiday flights might still have a shot at getting reasonably priced tickets—especially if they’re willing to play chicken with the airlines. AAA analyzed three years of domestic flights to identify the best times to reserve seats for Thanksgiving and Christmas travel and found that dawdlers got the best prices. Those who waited until seven to 13 days before the week of Thanksgiving paid $482 on average. Those who waited until that close to the week of Christmas paid around $488. By those calculations, holiday…

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The 2019 Guide To Space Travel

Loknath Das

Earlier this week, Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic made waves when it became the first commercial human spaceflight company to trade on a stock exchange. With space tourism long considered a futuristic pipe dream, this move signals new confidence among investors in the industry’s long term viability. Shortly after the IPO, NASA made announcements regarding Boeing’s and SpaceX’s upcoming Commercial Crew capsule abort tests, which represent important technical milestones towards achieving commercial orbital spaceflight. All the while, the International Space Station (ISS) has continued with business as usual, with the first all-female space walk occurring just…

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Qantas completes record 19-hour flight to test limits of air travel

Loknath Das

Qantas just broke a record for air travel, and it may have helped science in the process. The Australian airline has completed the first non-stop commercial flight from New York City to Sydney as part of a project researching the effects of very long flights — in this case, 19 hours and 16 minutes. The study measured pilots’ brain waves, melatonin and overall alertness, while passengers helped gauge the effectiveness of anti-jetlag measures like changes to cabin lighting and meals. Travelers even participated in exercises to keep their bodies limber. There are two…

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Finance Ministry ready to do more for NBFCs, says Nirmala Sitharaman

Loknath Das

Will seek details from PSBs on funding to NBFCs, retail customers on Oct 14 Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, on Thursday, said she is “not sitting back” after the recent spate of measures, and will take more steps if required for non-banking finance companies and other sectors. The minister will be meeting the chiefs of public sector banks on October 14, and she said will seek details of funding to NBFCs and retail customers. “I am not sitting back saying I have given some solutions for NBFCs. There may be more…

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Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to Meet CEOs of Public Sector Banks on October 14

Loknath Das

New Delhi: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will hold a review meeting with CEOs of public sector banks (PSBs) next week to discuss various issues, including progress on credit offtake. The meeting, scheduled to be held on October 14, is expected to review fund flow to stressed NBFC and MSME (micro, small and medium enterprises) sectors, sources said. Banks are expected to present report card on partial credit guarantee scheme and fund raising from market to enhance their capital base. The Centre in August issued guidelines on operationalising Rs 1 lakh crore…

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Here Are This Week’s Weirdest Reasons to Travel

Loknath Das

Get ready for some good ol’ wholesome vacation suggestions, my sweet friends. Everybody’s got their reason for traveling, be it for the beautiful locales, incredible cultural experiences, rugged landscapes, et al. But what about those of us with extremely specific interests that reside outside of these (very nice) reasons? We have compiled a list of this week’s weirdest and extremely specific reasons to travel this fall, and approximately five kinds of people who will be very into them (er, one of them, at least). You Never Forgot Lisa Frank and You Never…

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World Tourism Day: Meet these 5 women who choose to travel solo

Loknath Das

Whether it’s going on family trips, making quick getaways with a few friends, we all love to take a break from our routines. Travelling solo is an experience unlike any other. It opens one’s eyes to a very different way of life, boosts confidence, and teaches valuable life lessons. On World Tourism Day, meet these five women who are passionate about travelling solo and exploring the world around them without inhibitions. (L-R) Chandana Rao, Rutavi Mehta, Esha Gupta, Anahita Sriprasad, Priti Vishwakarma Chandana Rao Chandana Rao began travelling solo after quitting a corporate…

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UK travel giant Thomas Cook collapses, Goa set to feel pinch

Loknath Das

More than 600,000 vacationers who booked through tour operator Thomas Cook were on edge Sunday. (AP Photo) Tourist footfalls from the United Kingdom to Goa are expected to take a severe hit after British travel group Thomas CookNSE -2.65 % declared bankruptcy on Monday, an umbrella body of tour and travel operators said here. The 178-year-old operator had been desperately seeking 200 million pounds ($250 million, 227 million euros) from private investors to save it from collapse, but a last-ditch rescue deal failed, triggering the UK’s biggest repatriation since World…

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