#World-beating toys: Covid-induced supply disruptions ramped up the cost of imported Chinese toys, rendering Indian toys more competitive in the domestic market. But perhaps the biggest game-changer on the toy import scene was the sharp increase in basic customs duty from 20 per cent to 60 per cent on most imported toys (wheeled toys, dolls, puzzles and recreational models) since February 2020.
#Tax exemptions: Finance Ministry has notified conditions for tax exemption of sums received for Covid-19 treatment or on demise due to pandemic. However experts are not sure on how to avail the benefits as due dates for filing revised returns for last two assessment years are already over.
#Greenlight in Japan: Covaxin, the Covid-19 vaccine of Bharat Biotech International Ltd, has been approved by Japan as a booster dose for travellers.
#Charting the course ahead: After outperforming and riding the Covid-19 wave for two years (2020 and 2021), the Nifty Pharma index has become the second worst-performing index for this year so far. It is down 9 per cent.
#Tech to reduce cost: In the aftermath of the Covid pandemic which affected the aviation industry most adversely, the deployment of blockchain technology will help reduce costs through better information gathering, enhance overall efficiency, enable better maintenance, and help diagnose potential problems, says this article.
#No salary: Billionaire Mukesh Ambani for the second year in a row drew no salary from his flagship firm, Reliance Industries in the last fiscal as he voluntarily gave up remuneration in light of the pandemic hitting the business and economy.
#Health@75: Several activities were initiated by the Centre to celebrate 75 years of Independence, including a campaign for free precautionary doses against Covid-19, for adults, over 75 days. Previous speeches made by the Prime Minister on August 15th have mentioned the digital health mission, acknowledged health workers and so on.
This year, Independence Day comes as India deals with the twin international concerns of Covid-19 and monkey pox.