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Time of India
22-07-2025
- Time of India
Slow & furious: A'bad crawls at 19kmph on Monday mornings
1 2 Ahmedabad: Monday mornings see Ahmedabad's traffic crawling at a mere 19 kilometres per hour, forcing commuters on a typical 10km journey to endure 31 minutes and 40 seconds of peak-hour agony. The streets become a parade of urban frustration with vehicles idling behind stubborn public transport buses, honking rickshaws adding to the cacophony and two-wheelers weaving through whatever gaps they can find. Monday clearly emerges as the week's most punishing day for commuters, with evening rush hours proving even more brutal. On Monday and Friday evenings, the same 10km distance stretches into a 33 min 37 sec ordeal as speeds plummet further to 18km per hour. You Can Also Check: Ahmedabad AQI | Weather in Ahmedabad | Bank Holidays in Ahmedabad | Public Holidays in Ahmedabad The data comes from TomTom's comprehensive traffic monitoring system, which harnesses Floating Car Data (FCD) from 747 billion kilometres driven across more than 500 cities in 62 TomTom's comprehensive traffic monitoring system tracks movement patterns through 600 million connected devices, including GPS units, navigation applications and traffic camera inputs to analyse congestion patterns and enable smart routing solutions. Ahmedabad ranks 43rd in global travel time and 367th in congestion level, behind Indian metropolitan cities such as Kolkata, Bengaluru and Pune, the former two of which are among the global top five cities with the worst travel times on the traffic index. Thursday evenings are the worst. At 6pm, when employees leave offices and children return from tuition classes, the average speed falls further to 17 km per hour. The most dysfunctional period spans from 6pm to 7pm, when multiple streams of urban life converge in predictable chaos. Office workers rushing home, students returning from classes, shoppers heading to markets and delivery executives making their rounds create a perfect storm of gridlock. " For a person who works for a corporate company, where office hours are unavoidably tied to peak hours, it is impossible to not encounter the worst kind of traffic every driving minute," says Musheer Iqbal, 42, a marketing executive from Paldi. Sunday provides some respite from the traffic nightmare. The optimal travel windows are between 8 to 10am and 9.30 to 11pm, when morning commutes drop to a more manageable 28 minutes and 24 seconds, with speeds climbing to 21 kilometres per hour — still sluggish compared to global urban averages of 30 to 50km per hour, according to data from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Health Organization (WHO). A senior official from the state's urban development department told TOI that plans are underway to amend the General Development Control Regulations (GDCR) to introduce international-level Street Design Regulations (SDR), inspired by cities like London, Paris and Singapore. These changes will also influence city speed limits, with a proposed cap of 30 kilometres per hour in congested zones. The Roads and Buildings (R&B) department issued a resolution on Oct 15, 2022, setting speed limits for various vehicle types and roads, now enforced by Ahmedabad City Police. For cars carrying up to eight passengers, the maximum speed is 70km per hour on roads such as the SG Road and SP Ring Road. Motorcycles exceeding 100cc engine capacity and goods vehicles face a 60km per hour limit, while smaller motorcycles under 100cc are limited to 50km per hour. ENDS
Reuters
02-07-2025
- Business
- Reuters
EU plan for 2 euro fee on low-value parcels "a joke", says Carrefour boss
PARIS, July 2 (Reuters) - A European Union proposal to charge a 2 euro ($2.36)handling fee on low-value e-commerce packages coming into the bloc is "a joke", the head of Carrefour ( opens new tab, Europe's largest food retailer, said on Wednesday. The EU unveiled plans in May to end the duty-free treatment of low-value consignments worth no more than 150 euros and impose a 2 euro fee in 2028, as the bloc faces a surge in imports of billions of goods sold by online platforms such as Shein and Temu. "This is a joke (...) Let's do a Trump tax, 100% of the value of the packages. There's a limit to low prices at all costs," Alexandre Bompard, who also heads the French Retailers Federation (FCD), told RTL radio. He also urged the EU to move much faster with its proposed fees. "If that price means the disappearance of toy manufacturers, textile manufacturers, small retailers, specialized retailers, and a crazy ecological bill, we can't pay that price, it's too high. And not in 2027, not tomorrow," he added. Retailers in Greece have also urged Brussels to bring forward the fees. ($1 = 0.8490 euros)
Time of India
27-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Indian cut & polished diamonds exports to decline by 7%-10% in FY26: ICRA
Rating agency ICRA expects the Indian cut & polished diamonds (CPD) exports to further decline by 7-10% in FY2026 on a YoY basis to about $12 billion, after witnessing 20-year low exports in FY2025. This is largely attributable to pressure on demand in the US, exacerbated by uncertainties surrounding the imposition of US tariffs. ICRA has thus maintained its sector outlook at Negative. In FY2025, CPD exports from India contracted by 17% to $13 billion, led by worsened global macroeconomic conditions and increasing competition from lab-grown diamonds (LGD) and fancy-coloured diamonds (FCD). Driven by a shift in consumer preferences for comparatively inexpensive diamonds and their perception of LGD's ethical sourcing, these diamonds have gained momentum, with their market share increasing to 8% of polished diamond exports in FY2025 vis-à-vis 1% in FY2019. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Cardiologist Reveals: The Simple Morning Habit for a Flatter Belly After 50! Lulutox Undo While the prices of rough diamonds declined by 8% in FY2025 as miners implemented price cuts to boost demand, any considerable correction in rough prices in the near term is unlikely. Miners are expected to curtail their production output in FY2026; controlled supply shall keep rough prices at their current level. Polished diamond prices dropped to an all-time low in H2 FY2025, as demand remained tepid, resulting in the polished diamond prices in FY2025 declining by 7% YoY, after a 17% YoY fall in FY2024. Live Events Q1 is generally a slow quarter for the industry, which, coupled with the evolving tariff situation, is expected to result in range-bound polished prices in H1 FY2026. In FY2025, the operating profit margin (OPM) of ICRA's sample set of CPD companies declined by around 400 basis points to 4%, led by negative operating leverage. ICRA expects the OPM for entities in its sample set of companies to decline further to 3.6-3.7% in FY2026, as the extent of passing on the price increases led by US tariff imposition remains limited in the backdrop of restrained demand. The credit profile of Indian CPD players is likely to remain subdued in FY2026 amid reduced earnings and a stretched working capital cycle. Going forward, inventory management will remain critical from the credit perspective.
The Hindu
15-05-2025
- Health
- The Hindu
Epilepsy surgery performed on pregnant woman at a hospital in Coimbatore
Epilepsy surgery was performed on a woman during the fourth month of her pregnancy at Kovai Medical Center and Hospital (KMCH) in Coimbatore. According to a press release from KMCH, the surgery addressed a congenital brain malformation identified as Focal Cortical Dysplasia (FCD). The patient experienced increased seizure activity during pregnancy, with 10 to 15 seizures daily despite medication. MRI and Video EEG tests were used to locate the source of the seizures. Surgery was carried out during pregnancy due to the severity of the condition. Following the procedure, the patient is reported to be six months pregnant and in stable condition. The foetus is developing normally. The medical team is monitoring her condition and will reassess medication needs after delivery.
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
French supermarkets agree stable supplier prices for 2025
French supermarkets have concluded their annual negotiations with food industry suppliers, resulting in a "quasi-stability" of purchase prices for 2025. This outcome follows a period of significant inflation in recent years. The Federation of Commerce and Distribution (FCD), representing major French retailers, announced that agreements have been signed with most suppliers, with only a few exceptions remaining. Layla Rahhou, General Delegate of the FCD, stated that the negotiations have concluded, with most agreements finalized. She noted that while contracts with small and medium-sized enterprises were signed well in advance, larger multinational companies delayed until the final days of negotiations. Rahhou also mentioned that some suppliers expressed concerns over the negotiation process, leading to government intervention to ensure compliance with existing laws. The purchase price paid by retailers influences the final price consumers see on store shelves. However, retailers set consumer prices independently, based on various factors including desired profit margins. On average, the purchase price accounts for approximately 72% of the final retail price. For example, for a product priced at €2.50, the retailer's purchase cost would be around €1.80, with the remaining €0.70 covering expenses such as staffing, logistics, rent, and energy, resulting in a modest profit margin. The Egalim laws, designed to protect farmers' incomes during negotiations between retailers and suppliers, have been a focal point of discussion. While the laws aim to ensure fair compensation for agricultural producers, retailers have called for increased transparency regarding the cost of raw agricultural materials. Some suppliers have accused retailers of circumventing these laws by conducting negotiations from abroad, a practice retailers defend as a strategy to strengthen their position against large multinational suppliers. The French government is planning to review the Egalim laws, with discussions expected to take place before or shortly after the summer. Proposed changes include enhancing transparency in agricultural pricing and reinforcing compliance measures to ensure fair practices throughout the supply chain. "French supermarkets agree stable supplier prices for 2025" was originally created and published by Retail Insight Network, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Sign in to access your portfolio
