These are the top five business stories of the day.
These are the top five must read business stories of the day
1) Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train ticket to cost Rs 3,300
Travelling between Mumbai and Ahmedabad by the upcoming bullet train service may have you shell out nearly 1.5 times the current tariff of a first class AC compartment of a train, a report in ZeeBiz says.
For example, an AC first class compartment ticket in the Duronto Express (Mumbai to Ahmedabad) costs Rs 2,200. At that rate, the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train ticket may cost about Rs 3,300, the report said. Read the full story here.
2) Airbnb confident of manifold growth in India
Home-share booking site Airbnb is confident of manifold growth in its business in India over the next few years, driven by a surge in volume of travellers using its platform and increase in number of listed properties.
"India has seen tremendous growth in the last one year.
About 17,000 properties are now listed in India and we saw 115% growth in listing in 2015 from the previous year. In terms of travellers (bookings), there has been 185% increase in travellers from India and 184% increase in bookings in India (in-bound) from last year," Airbnb co-founder and CTO Nathan Blecharczyk. Read the full report here.
3) India, China have highest income inequality in Asia-Pacific region: IMF
Financial inequality is highest in India and China among Asia-Pacific countries despite the two being among the fastest growing economies, IMF has said.
According to the International Monetary Fund, China and India have grown rapidly and reduced poverty sharply, however, this impressive economic performance has been accompanied by increasing levels of inequality.
"In the past, rapid growth in Asia came with equitable distribution of the gains. But more recently, while the fast-growing Asian economies have lifted millions out of poverty they have been unable to replicate the 'growth with equity' miracle," the Fund said.
As per the report, China managed to increase middle class in urban areas, as did Thailand, while India and Indonesia struggled to lift sizeable portions of their populations toward higher income levels. Read the full report here.
4) DBT helped govt save Rs 21,000 crore in two fiscals.
Government has saved over Rs 21,000 crore in cooking gas LPG subsidy in the last two financial years as paying the dole directly into bank accounts of actual users helped eliminate duplicate connections as well as diversions, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said.
The government began paying subsidy directly into bank accounts of cooking gas consumers in select districts from November 2014 and in the rest of the country from January 1, 2015.
As on April 1, 2015, there were 18.19 crore registered LPG consumers and 14.85 crore active consumers implying a gap of 3.34 crore consumers which were duplicate, fake or inactive accounts. Read the full report here.
5) SC asks tobacco industry to adhere to stringent package warning norms
Supreme Court on Wednesday told the tobacco industry to adhere to rules requiring stringent health warnings on cigarette packs, but ordered a state high court to hear all pleas challenging the same.
The tobacco industry "should not violate any rule prevailing as of today," the two-judge bench said, and added that the Karnataka high court should hear all pleas challenging the new rules. Read the full report here.
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