Akasa, a new Indian airline backed by billionaire Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, plans to offer stock options to attract staff, using a lure more often deployed by technology startups in its bid to gain a foothold in one of the world’s most competitive air-travel markets.

The carrier, which is preparing to start flying in late May, is taking the unusual approach of granting company shares to a bigger pool of top employees, rather than a select group of senior executives, as the aviation industry globally suffers from a talent shortfall.

Technology and services supplier Bosch, which has completed 100 years of its presence in the Indian market, has said it will invest more than Rs 1,000 crore in the localisation of advanced automotive technologies over the next five years.

Besides, the company also launched its mobility marketplace to provide its mobility-related assets under one platform.

Dr Reddy's Laboratories on Thursday said it has inked a pact to acquire Germany-based Nimbus Health GmbH.

The drug major said it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the company which is a privately owned, licensed pharmaceutical wholesaler focusing on medical cannabis in Germany.

Telecom gear maker Nokia on Thursday reported a 15 per cent decline in India sales to 250 million euro (about Rs 2,113 crore) in the December 2021 quarter.

The company had recorded net sales of 294 million euro a year ago.

For the full year ended December 2021, the company's sales in India grew by 9 per cent to 1,039 million euro from 954 million euro at the end of 2020.

The price of 10 gram of 24-carat gold remained unchanged on Thursday, with the yellow metal trading at Rs 48,980.

The price of 22-carat gold also remained unchanged at Rs 44,900.

One kg of silver is selling at Rs 61,500, down Rs 500 from yesterday.

On the outskirts of this centuries-old Indian city, a world away from its congested roads and cacophony, the gleaming modern laboratories of Bharat Biotech are churning out a Covid vaccine that would be sprayed into the nose rather than injected into the blood.

Currently available vaccines produce powerful, long-lasting immunity against severe illness, as several studies have recently shown. But their protection against infection from the coronavirus is transient, and can falter as new variants of the virus emerge — a failing that has prompted talk of regular booster shots.

Nasdaq listed IT services company Cognizant reported growth of 10 per cent in its annual revenue for CY2021 at $18.5 billion. This marks the company’s return to double-digit annual revenue growth for the first time after 2015.

Cognizant also guided that for FY2022 it expects revenue growth to be in the range of 8.5 per cent to 11.5 per cent, which means revenue outlook of $20 billion to $20.5 billion.

Shares of tyre companies slipped by up to 6 per cent on the BSE in Thursday's intra-day trade after the Competition Commission of India (CCI) alleged cartelisation and imposed penalty on select companies.

The CCI had passed a final order against five Tyre companies namely Apollo Tyres, MRF, CEAT, JK Tyre & Birla Tyres and the tyre association i.e. Automotive Tyre Manufacturers Association for indulging in cartelisation by acting in concert to increase the prices of cross ply/bias tyres variants sold by each of them in the replacement market and to limit and control production and supply in the said market.

A COVID-19 outbreak hit the Indian cricket team on Wednesday as three main players -- senior opener Shikhar Dhawan, reserve opener Ruturaj Gaikwad and middle-order batter Shreyas Iyer -- tested positive for the virus during their mandatory isolation period before the start of West Indies series.

Four other persons, including net bowler Navdeep Saini, have also tested positive for COVID-19. Saini is also on standby list.

Shares of Bharat Dynamics (BDL) hit a new high of Rs 535.70, on rallying 10 per cent on the BSE in Thursday’s intra-day trade after the company signed a contract worth Rs 3,131.82 crore with the Indian Army. The contract is for manufacture and supply of Konkurs - M AntiTank Guided Missiles to the Indian Army, and will be executed in three years.

With this contract, the company’s order book position stands at Rs 11,400 crore (net), BDL said in an exchange filing.

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