Business

Salaries delayed for Byju’s 20,000 employees-Telangana Today

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Last month, we faced challenges due to a lack of capital, and now we are experiencing a delay despite having funds, CEO Byju Raveendran told employees

Published Date – 2 March 2024, 04:05 PM


Salaries delayed for Byju’s 20,000 employees


New Delhi: Edtech major Byju’s is yet to process the salaries of its employees for the month of February as the amount raised through the rights issue is currently locked in a separate account “at the behest” of some key investors, its founder and CEO Byju Raveendran has told employees.

In a letter to the staff, accessed by IANS, Raveendran said that the rights issue (which is about $250-$300 million) has been successfully closed. “However, I regret to inform you that we will still be unable to process your salaries. Last month, we faced challenges due to a lack of capital, and now we are experiencing a delay despite having funds,” he told more than 20,000 employees.

Raveendran further said that a select few (four out of its 150+ investors) have “stooped to a heartless level, ensuring that we are unable to utilise the funds raised to pay your hard-earned salaries”.

“At their behest, the amount raised through the rights issue is currently locked in a separate account. It is an agonising reality that some of these investors have already reaped substantial profits in fact, one of them has made a staggering eight times their initial investment in Byju’s”.

The Bengaluru bench of National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has directed Byju’s that the proceeds from the rights issue is to be kept in a separate account till the disposal of the case with investors.

Raveendran said that despite his best efforts, “we are left with no option but to confront the heart-wrenching reality that we are temporarily unable to provide you with the financial support you deserve”. “We are striving to ensure that your salaries are paid by the 10th of March. We shall make these payments the moment we are permitted to do so as per law.”

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Abu Dhabi's First Hindu Temple Inaugurated By PM Modi Opens For Public

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Abu Dhabi's First Hindu Temple Inaugurated By PM Modi Opens For Public

The land for the temple was donated by the UAE government.

Abu Dhabi:

The UAE’s first Hindu stone temple, which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 14, was opened to the general public on Friday. The temple was built by the Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) on a 27-acre site in Abu Mureikhah, near Al Rahba off the Dubai-Abu Dhabi Sheikh Zayed Highway at a cost of around Rs 700 crore.

The land for the temple was donated by the UAE government.

A grand ceremony attended by almost 5,000 people marked the inauguration of the architectural marvel by PM Modi on February 14. Overseas devotees were allowed to visit between February 15 and 29.

“The wait is over! #AbuDhabiMandir is now open for all visitors and worshipers,” a post on X handle by the BAPS Hindu Mandir handle (@AbuDhabiMandir) said along with a little over one-minute video of the stunning place of worship.

It also mentioned that the temple would be open from 9 am to 8 pm on all days except Monday when it would be closed for visitors.

The temple website (https://www.mandir.ae/) gave detailed guidelines for visitors, including what type of clothing is preferred and what is banned, rules for photography etc.

These guidelines are necessary to be followed “to preserve the tranquil ambience and ensure the orderly management of our premises,” the temple authorities said.

Constructed using sandstone and marble, the temple has been made in the Nagara style of architecture as per the ancient style of construction and creation mentioned in the Shilpa and Sthapatya Shastras, the Hindu scriptures which describe the science of temple design and construction.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has at least 3.5 million Indians who are part of the Indian workforce in the Gulf.

The BAPS Hindu Mandir in Abu Dhabi is the largest in the Gulf region. The UAE has three other Hindu temples in Dubai.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Hyderabad

Hyderabad: Spend a weekend with your furry friends at the Pet Fed festival

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The festival has many games and prizes organised for all doggo dynamos and tail-wagging enthusiasts. The event will have a fashion show, games like trick relay, temptation alley, feed the dog, musical mutts, and a lot more.

Updated On – 2 March 2024, 03:52 PM


Hyderabad: Spend a weekend with your furry friends at the Pet Fed festival


Hyderabad: Let your pets woof out of home and spend their weekend filled with bark-tastic events at Pet Fed Hyderabad- Express Edition 2024, India’s biggest Pet Festival presented by JustDogs.

The festival will be held at DSL Virtue Mall, Uppal on March 16 and 17, from 11 am to 9 pm. The two-day event promises to have wagging tails, giggles, and plenty of adorable paw traits to capture the day.

The festival has many games and prizes organised for all doggo dynamos and tail-wagging enthusiasts. The event will have a fashion show, games like trick relay, temptation alley, feed the dog, musical mutts, and a lot more.

If your pet can do some phenomenal tricks, then flaunt your little star on the stage in front of 20,000+ pet lovers, and stand a chance to win the Pet Fed Title and Trophy of the Most Talented Pet along with a paw-some gift hamper!

Pet Fed will have 10+ stalls, an Off-Leash Play Zone, and a dedicated Dog Agility Ring for pets to immerse in. In addition, visitors can watch and indulge in a wealth of pet displays and competitions held on the stage!

The tickets are available at BookMyShow, with their one-day pass entry ticket costing Rs.499 per person, they also have a buddy pass for Rs 1,999 which is a two-day pass for 5 people, which will include a personalised pet book and a free invitation to pre-parties. One can pre-book their passes online for the event, while your pets can walk in for free!

 

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Sharad Pawar Attends Government's 'Namo Job Fair' After Invite Gaffe

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Sharad Pawar Attends Government's 'Namo Job Fair' After Invite Gaffe

Mr Pawar’s presence at the job fair capped a chain of events that saw his name being omitted initially

Baramati, Maharashtra:

Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar chief Sharad Pawar was present along with Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde, Deputy chief ministers Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar for the inauguration of the ‘Namo Rojgar Melava 2024’ today in the opposition stalwart’s Baramati stronghold.

The NCP founder’s presence at the job fair capped a chain of events that saw his name being initially omitted from the list of invitees, followed by him calling chief minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy chief ministers Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar for a meal at his residence.

Mr Shinde and Mr Fadnavis had declined the meal invite by citing a busy schedule, while the position of Ajit Pawar, a bitter rival of Sharad Pawar since the split in the NCP in July last year, was not known.

“We have a tight schedule (on Saturday) as after the Baramati event we have to go to Ahmedabad. I told him (Sharad Pawar) that next time on my Baramati visit, I would visit him,” chief minister Shinde had told reporters on Friday after the end of the Legislature session.

Downplaying the invite and his declining it, Mr Shinde further said, “If someone comes close to your home, you are bound to invite him over.”

Incidentally, Sharad Pawar was invited formally for the job fair after a furore from opposition parties since he has represented Baramati as an MP or MLA since the last 1960s. He is currently a Rajya Sabha MP.

Others who took part in the Namo Rojgar Melava 2024 were state ministers Dilip Walse Patil, Uday Samant apart from Baramati Lok Sabha MP and Sharad Pawar’s daughter Supriya Sule.
 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Middle East

Palestinian factions pledge to continue struggle against Israel

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Palestinian factions have pledged to continue their struggle to confront the Israeli regime’s atrocities against Palestinians, especially its genocidal war on the besieged Gaza Strip.

In a statement on Friday, the factions reiterated their adherence to “confronting the Israeli aggression and genocidal war being waged against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and al-Quds with the US support and complicity.”

They also stressed the need for spirited resistance to thwart Israeli plots to forcibly displace Palestinians from their homes in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and al-Quds, emphasizing the illegality of settlement expansion activities per the UN Security Council and General Assembly resolutions.

Israel launched the genocidal war on Gaza on October 7 after the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas waged the surprise Operation Al-Aqsa Storm against the occupying entity in response to the Israeli regime’s intensified violence against Palestinians.

Since the start of the offensive, the Tel Aviv regime has killed 30,228 Palestinians and injured 71,377 others.

Last week, UN experts also warned that “any transfer of weapons or ammunition to Israel that would be used in Gaza is likely to violate international humanitarian law and must cease immediately.”

Meanwhile, representatives from the Palestinian Hamas resistance movement, including top members Mousa Abu Marzook and Husam Badran, met on Friday with Mikhail Bogdanov, the Russian president’s special representative for the Middle East and Africa, to discuss Israel’s ongoing genocidal war on Gaza.

During the meeting, the delegates lauded Russia’s supportive stance on the Palestinian issue and briefed Bogdanov on the fallout of the brutal Israeli aggression on the Palestinian territory, and its vicious crimes against civilians there.

They underscored that resistance fighters will continue to defend the Palestinian nation until final liberation.

The meeting comes as representatives from various Palestinian factions within the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), including the Fatah movement, as well as delegates from Hamas and the Islamic Jihad resistance groups have gathered in Moscow to overcome an internal split. 

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After Gautam Gambhir, Another BJP MP Tells Party Won't Contest Polls

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After Gautam Gambhir, Another BJP MP Tells Party Won't Contest Polls

New Delhi:

BJP MP Jayant Sinha has asked the party to relieve him of electoral duties, signalling that he does not want an active role or a ticket for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Mr Sinha’s announcement came just hours after another party leader, Gautam Gambhir, hinted at his exit from electoral politics.

Both the MPs have requested BJP president JP Nadda to relieve them so that they can focus on their other commitments. 

In a post on X, the MP from Jharkhand’s Hazaribagh wrote, “I have requested Honourable Party President JP Nadda to relieve me of my direct electoral duties so that I can focus my efforts on combating global climate change in Bharat and around the world. Of course, I will continue to work with the party on economic and governance issues.”

The announcements come amid reports that the two leaders may not get a ticket for the upcoming 2024 polls. The BJP is said to be contemplating giving tickets to several new leaders and some other sitting MPs also are understood to have told the party that they would like to focus on other organisational work.

The BJP is expected to release a first list of candidates – over 100 names, which will include heavyweights like Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah – for the 2024 Lok Sabha election soon. The party held marathon overnight meetings in Delhi, including one led by the Prime Minister at his Delhi residence that began 11 pm Thursday and finished at 4 am Friday.

Earlier today, BJP’s East Delhi MP Gautam Gambhir also said he said asked the party to relieve him from political duties so that he can focus on his upcoming cricket commitments.

“I have requested Hon’ble Party President JP Nadda ji to relieve me of my political duties so that I can focus on my upcoming cricket commitments. I sincerely thank Hon’ble PM Narendra Modi for giving me the opportunity to serve the people. Jai Hind,” Mr Gambhir wrote.

India

‘India has eliminated extreme poverty,’ claims US think-tank

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The report, authored by noted economists, saw the findings as an encouraging development and said, time has come for India to graduate to higher poverty line, much like other developed counterparts

Published Date – 2 March 2024, 03:25 PM


‘India has eliminated extreme poverty,’ claims US think-tank


New Delhi: India has eliminated extreme poverty and is now eligible to move to a higher poverty line, claimed Brookings, a US-based think-tank, in its report.

Citing a comprehensive set of data, it said that the country has registered a decline in headcount poverty ratio (HCR) and a significant jump in household consumption expenditure, which in turn has helped it in getting rid of abject poverty. The report, authored by noted economists Surjit Bhalla and Karan Bhasin, saw the findings as an encouraging development and said, time has come for India to graduate to higher poverty line, much like other developed counterparts.

The Brookings report attributes the country’s freedom from extreme poverty to PM Modi government’s policy thrust on redistribution under several welfare programs. It says that the government’s sharp focus on providing basic amenities to the entire population via cooking gas, housing for all, toilet constructions, piped water, and electricity supply to urban as well as rural belts went a great deal in enabling and facilitating an environment for all-inclusive growth.

The government’s explicit focus on improving development indicators could have been the game-changer behind this change, says the report. The report finds growth in per capita consumption, a decline in urban and rural inequality and a drastic decline in the country’s poverty index.

According to the Brookings Report, the real per capita consumption growth was recorded at 2.9 per cent per annum while rural growth was at 3.1 per cent per annum staying higher than urban growth of 2.6 per cent. It also found an unprecedented decline in both urban and rural inequality. The urban Gini (x100) declined from 36.7 to 31.9; the rural Gini declined from 28.7 to 27.0.

The Headcount Poverty Ratio (HCR) for the 2011 PPP$ 1.9 poverty line has declined from 12.2 per cent in 2011-12 to 2 per cent in 2022-23, equivalent to 0.93 percentage points (ppt) per year. Rural poverty stood at 2.5 per cent while urban poverty was down to 1 per cent, the report found.

Incidentally, the decline in HCR at the higher poverty line is remarkable given that in the past it took 30 years for India to witness a similar decline in poverty levels as now witnessed over 11 years, it said. On a closing note, the report said India should now graduate to a higher poverty line, which would then provide an opportunity to redefine existing social protection programs in order to give greater support to the genuine poor.

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How A Call From His Mother Saved Bengaluru Techie During Cafe Blast

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Kumar Alankrit said he had gone to the Rameshwaram Cafe to have lunch

New Delhi:

Kumar Alankrit, a Bengaluru-based engineer, escaped the Rameshwaram cafe blast unhurt yesterday. He had stepped out to receive his mother’s phone call, only a few seconds before a loud explosion rocked the eatery known for its South Indian cuisines.

Speaking to NDTV on Saturday, Mr Kumar said that he was meters away from the outlet in Whitefield where the low-intensity bomb explosion left 10 people injured.”Mother is a God. It was proven yesterday,” he told NDTV as he spoke about his narrow escape.

Mr Kumar, who is from Patna, said that his office is close to the Rameshwaram cafe and he had gone there to have lunch.

“I had gone to the cafe after my office to have lunch and had ordered idli and dosa. As soon as I was going to a table, I received my mother’s call,” he said.

READ | “Suspect Had Rava Idli And Left The Bag”: Bengaluru Cafe Owner To NDTV On Blast

He said that he then stepped out of the cafe to speak to his mother and was just 10-15 meters away from the restaurant when he heard the blast.

“The explosion was so loud that there was numbness in the ears for a few seconds,” he said.

Everyone started running out of the cafe and we saw smoke all around, Mr Kumar said, adding that initially they thought that a gas cylinder had exploded.

“I saw blood coming out of the hands of a woman, who would probably be in her 80s and I tried to wipe it with the tissues. I also saw burn injuries on another woman. One of the employees of the Rameshwaram cafe was also injured,” he said.

Rameshwaram Cafe Blast Suspect Caught On CCTV

CCTV footage has emerged showing a man carrying a bag inside the Rameshwaram cafe’s premises minutes before the explosion on Friday.

The suspect, according to the police, allegedly placed this bag in the cafe and then left before the blast took place. Another individual, who was seen along with the suspect, has been detained and is being questioned by the Bengaluru police.

READ | Bengaluru Blast Suspect Caught On CCTV With Bag That Allegedly Had Bomb

The main suspect, his face hidden by a mask, glasses, and a head cap, was caught on cameras installed inside the cafe carrying a plate of idlis.

The police have invoked stringent provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Explosive Substances Act and are on the hunt for the suspects.