LPG price hiked by Rs 4.50 per cylinder

New Delhi, Feb 9: Calling India a "long-standing friend", Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa on Saturday thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for visiting his country in the aftermath of last year's Easter Sunday terror attacks and outlined that New Delhi has always helped Colombo in its fight against terrorism.

In a joint press briefing with PM Modi, Mahinda Rajapaksa said he hopes that India will continue to help Sri Lanka fight terrorism.

Mahinda Rajapaksa expressed his gratitude to PM Modi for the neighbourhood first policy and the priority India gives to Sri Lanka.

"We had agreed that our cooperation is multifaceted and priority is given to a number of areas including security, economy, culture and social sectors. Part of our discussions centered on cooperation with regard to the security of the two countries. India has always assisted Sri Lanka to enhance our capacity, capabilities in intelligence and counter-terrorism. We look forward to getting continued support in this regard," he said.

"I thank the Prime Minister for visiting Sri Lanka in the aftermath of the Easter Sunday terror attacks that provided us with immense strength to come to terms with the tragedy. We also appreciate Prime Minister Modi's $400 million line of credit to enhance the economy of Sri Lanka and another $50 million line of credit for fighting terrorism," he added.

The Sri Lankan president urged PM Modi to consider further assistance to expand housing projectS all over Sri Lanka to benefit people from rural areas.

"The Prime Minister and I discussed how Sri Lanka and India can work together in the field of economy. India is among the world's fastest growing economies. I discussed with PM Modi how Sri Lanka could benefit from certain economic sectors where India is in a strong position," he said.

Concluding his statement, Mahinda Rajapaksa said, "India is our closest neighbour and a long-standing friend. The close historical links...provided a solid foundation to our ties."

Kochi, Apr 28: The Central government on Tuesday told Kerala High Court that the Kerala government will have to take up with other states the matter pertaining to bringing back COVID-19 affected Malayali nurses.

A Division Bench of Justice PV Asha and Justice V Shircy asked the Kerala government to examine if there is any solution that may be considered and orally noted the suggestion that perhaps a video-conference may be conducted between the states on the matter.

The matter was posted for further hearing on April 30.

Counsel for the Central government said that the "Centre has issued guidelines for the protection of health workers. But in this specific case, state governments have assured that nurses are being given proper treatment."
"The plea is on apprehensions that they are not being treated well in the other states.

Centre could help if there is any necessary requirement thereafter," the Centre's counsel said.

Advocate Abraham Vakkanal, appearing for the state government, said that state chief secretary has written to Union cabinet secretary to relax travel restrictions amid COVID-19 lockdown to bring back the nurses.

Vakkanal said that the state has sought permission and is waiting for approval and will take further actions if permission is received on the matter.

Advocate Anupama Subramaniam, appearing for the petitioner, said that 68 Malayali nurses in other states have reached out to inform that they are not being given treatment and that facilities for food and shelter are also not readily available for them.

Kerala High Court had earlier asked the Centre and the state government to file their reply on the plea.

The court was hearing a petition seeking to bring COVID-19 affected Malayali nurses back to Kerala from other States considering their "poor health and working conditions".

Feb 19: Pay increases across India’s organized sector will probably grow at the slowest pace since 2009 this year, according to a survey from Aon Plc.

Companies will increase average pay by 9.1% in 2020, down from 9.3% in 2019 and 9.5% the previous year, Aon said in a report published Tuesday. The small increase reflects a deep slowdown in Asia’s third-largest economy, where growing pessimism about job prospects have led many to cut down on consumption -- the main driver to growth.

India still leads the Asia-Pacific region in pay rises, but that is mainly due to higher inflation and a “war for key talent and niche skills,” Aon said.

“There is a general air of caution about the economy as we enter into 2020,” Tzeitel Fernandes, partner for rewards solutions at Aon, told reporters in New Delhi. “Low GDP projection and weak consumer sentiment are the reasons behind our lowest ever prediction.”

E-commerce companies and start-ups will probably get the biggest salary increases, projected at an above-average 10%, while financial institutions will hand out 8.5%. Unsurprisingly, the auto sector witnessed the biggest drop in growth -- down to 8.3% from 10.1% in 2018, according to Aon. The survey covered more than 1,000 companies across over 20 industries.