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The estimated unemployment rate for urban regions in India hit a 30-month low in February 2021. It fell to 6.99 per cent, the lowest since August 2018, according to data from CMIE. The overall unemployment rate for the month stood at 6.9 per cent and, for rural regions, it was 6.86 per cent.

The fall in unemployment can be attributed more to the opening up of the economy, which is more pronounced in urban areas, said Madan Sabnavis, Chief Economist, CARE Ratings. Besides, other sectors such as financial services, real estate and construction that employ a chunk of the labour force, recorded a good growth in the October-December quarter last year. Here's all you need to know.

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari termed the govt’s vehicle scrapping policy a "win-win" policy that will help improve fuel efficiency and reduce pollution. What’s it is about here’s all you need to know.

Hello and welcome to news explained.

Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari informed the Parliament that the Ministry is introducing a voluntary vehicle fleet modernisation programme, which seeks to create an ecosystem to phase out unfit and polluting vehicles.

He said: “It is proposed that private vehicles be de-registered after 20 years if found unfit or in case of failure to renew registration certificate. As a disincentive measure, increased re-registration fees will be applicable for private vehicles 15 years onward from the date of initial registration. It is being proposed that all government vehicles may be de-registered and scrapped after 15 years from date of registration.”

The criteria will take into account emission tests, braking and safety equipment, among other tests. A vehicle failing the fitness test may be declared as end-of-life vehicle. This was decided after looking into what other countries, like Germany, the UK, the US and Japan, do.

The 'Voluntary Vehicle-Fleet Modernisation Programme' or 'Vehicle Scrapping Policy' will offer a rebate of about 5 per cent to buyers on new car purchases in lieu of scrapping of the old. The scrap value for the old vehicle will be approximately 4-6 per cent of the ex-showroom price of a new vehicle.

He also said that State governments may be advised to offer a road tax rebate and waive registration fees for the purchase of a new vehicle against the scrapping certificate.

With a simplified registration process through a single window, the scrapping facility shall have to comply with environmental and pollution norms and with all applicable Acts.

It shall be ensured that the scrapping centres have an adequate parking facility, de-pollution equipment for air, water and sound pollution and adequate facilities for hazardous waste management and disposal, the minister said.

Well, the minister noted that older vehicles pollute 10-12 times more than fit vehicles and pose a risk to road safety. He said that that commercial vehicles can be deregistered after 15 years, if they fail to get a fitness certificate.

India has 51 lakh light motor vehicles that are older than 20 years and 34 lakh light motor vehicles that are older than 15 years. Around 17 lakh medium and heavy commercial vehicles are older than 15 years without valid fitness certificate.

The Road Ministry has proposed increasing the registration charges for vehicles that are over 15 years from October 1 this year. The draft notification, dated March 15 and published on March 16, has invited comments within a month.

Firstly, the policy could provide a major boost to the Indian automobile sector, which is reeling under the adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Secondly, the policy can reduce population caused by older and defective vehicles. it will help in achieving better fuel efficiency, formalising the informal vehicle scrapping industry, and boost the availability of low-cost raw materials for the automotive, steel and electronics industry. Finally, it can also improve road and vehicular safety.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Chief Ministers of States and Administrators of Union Territories virtually today to discuss the rising number of Covid-19 cases in the country. He was concerned that around 70 districts registered a 150 per cent growth in cases in the last few weeks, and urged States 'test, track and treat' to tackle the increase in cases. Here are three important takeaways from the meet. 

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Alibaba’s UC browser has been removed from Chinese app stores for failing Consumers...? Why? Here's all you need to know

Alibaba’s UC Browser was removed from China’s largest app stores after state-backed broadcaster CCTV listed the popular mobile browser along with other services for failing consumers.

Government-run China Central Television included UC browser among a number of brands it accused of flouting consumer rights in its annual name-and-shame program for March 15, World Consumer Rights Day.

App stores run by Huawei Technologies Co. and Xiaomi Corp. were among the local app stores that’ve since pulled the app, though Apple Inc. continues to offer UCWeb for iOS users.

The broadcaster also went after everything from Nissan Motor Co.-owned Infiniti’s customer service to face-recognition software failings.

This report by state-backed broadcaster CCTV came at a time for Alibaba Group Holding which is grappling with intensifying government scrutiny over its growing influence in the internet and media spheres, with uncertain outcomes.

Back in February, Alibaba had beaten quarterly revenue estimates with core commerce revenue rising 38 per cent to a record high of 195.54 billion yuan in the quarter, powered by the company’s China retail marketplaces as the economy rebounded from the Covid-19 crisis.

In January, Alibaba and Ant co-founder Jack Ma has resurfaced after months out of public view, quashing intense speculation about the plight of the billionaire grappling with escalating scrutiny over his internet empire.

Jack Ma had kept out of public view since early November 2020, when Chinese regulators torpedoed Ant’s $35-billion IPO, tightened fintech regulations, then ordered an overhaul of Ant and launched a separate antitrust probe into Alibaba — all in a span of days.

Ready or not, here they come. 5G phones are now starting to pour in. While it’s nice to know we’re geared up for the future, it’s still true that the future being sold to us is still nice and far away. It wouldn’t be unreasonable to think that by the time 5G connectivity becomes commonplace in India, you’ll be ready to buy another phone.

Listen in to know more about the Oppo F19 Pro + 5G.

India seems to be reducing its oil imports from Saudi Arabia due to its high prices. In February, imports from the West Asian kingdom have decreased by 42 per cent from January. Saudi Arabia has consistently been one of India's top two suppliers, but now the nation has slipped to the fourth position for the first time since at least January 2006.

The United States overtook Saudi Arabia as India's second-biggest oil supplier after Iraq in February. India is also reducing oil imports from other West Asian nations as well. However, India did buy more oil from Nigeria, which is now the third on the list. India purchased 472,300 bpd from the African nation, the most since October 2019. Why is this happening? Here's all you need to know.

Surge in new Covid-19 cases continued to be a big worry for health authorities with the daily countrywide count for March 13 coming in at 25,320, marking the steepest single day rise this year.

As of March 14,  2,97,38,409 people have been vaccinated with the Covid-19 vaccine with Rajathan leading the vaccinations with 28,94,730 people vaccinated overall in the state, followed by Maharashtra, West Bengal and Gujarat.

On March 11, Norway halted  the rollout of the AZ vaccine after three health workers in Norway who recently received the AstraZeneca vaccine against COVID-19 are being treated in hospital for bleeding, blood clots and a low count of blood platelets.This was following a similar move by Denmark, Iceland,Italy.

DMK Chief MK Stalin on March 13 released the party’s manifesto for the upcoming Assembly election with several populist measures.

The import of urad (black gram or black matpe) into the country could be affected this year following the political unrest in Myanmar.

The imports of urad, used in food items such as idli, dosa, and pappad, are crucial to bridge the demand-supply gap of the pulses in the country.

TR Vivek and Subramani Ra Mancombu look at India's pulses outlook this week.

Edited & Produced by Siddharth Mathew Cherian

Google has recently announced that it will phase out third-party cookies from its web browser and that it will not build alternative identifiers to track individuals. Google Chrome will be removing third-party cookies by 2022.

How will this change the way the web works? What does this mean for your privacy? How will marketers and the ad tech community find their target audience? Here's all you need to know.

Senior leader PC Chacko resigned from the Congress party on Wednesday, alleging group interest in deciding party's candidates for the coming assembly elections in Kerala. Here's all you need to know.

PC Chacko, who was a former working committee member of the Congress, said that there was no democracy in the party's Kerala unit. He said that the party has been divided into two groups -- the "A" group is headed by former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and "I" group led by senior party leader Ramesh Chennithala. He alleged that only Chandy and Chennithala know who were contesting as the party's candidates in the upcoming polls. Elections in the State will be held on the 6th of April.