为应对印度新的尾气排放限制标准，各厂商以纯电动汽车为中心提出新战略，但印度汽车市场持续萎靡不振。2019年的新车销量约为381万辆，比2018年减少13%。被德国超过，下滑至世界第5位。受金融机构惜贷和经济减速影响，印度的个人消费趋冷，大多数观点认为，“虽然2020年的新车销量将高于2019年，不过预计不会快速复苏”（鲇川社长）。
另外，要想在印度普及纯电动汽车，除了车辆本身外，完善基础设施也不可缺少。在印度西部的孟买等城市地区，正在逐步设置充电桩，但是目前“还无法满足众多利用者的需求”（鲇川社长）。
低价路线和高级路线哪一个会被消费者所接受呢？生产纯电动汽车驱动马达的日本电产会长兼首席执行官永守重信指出，“如果纯电动汽车时代到来，车价将降至5分之1”。如果马辛德拉公司的纯电动汽车战略能够在当地取得成功，这一潮流可能从印度向国外扩大。
The state of Uttar Pradesh’s labor minister Raghuraj Singh has called for an outright ban on women wearing burqas, suggesting that terrorists have been using them to elude authorities.
In an apparent reference to the recent violent protests against the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) which have swept India, Singh claimed that criminals and “terrorists” were using the burqa to conceal their identities.
The poitician from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party called for India to ban the Muslim veil, citing the example of Sri Lanka, which banned the headscarf after the Easter Sunday bombings which killed 259 people and injured many more. He added that it was the custom in Arab countries, but not in India which is predominantly Hindu.
When confronted by Indian media about his controversial statement, Singh doubled down, saying: “I have no remorse on what I said.”
E-commerce giant Amazon has moved to quash an antitrust investigation in India launched at the behest of local merchants, arguing the probe would do irreversible damage to the company and its reputation.
Responding to an investigation opened by India’s Competition Commission (CCI) in January over allegations the company – as well as Walmart-owned Flipkart, one of its main rivals – violated competition laws, Amazon said the probe was “bereft of foundation” and would cause “irreparable” losses in a court filing on Monday.
“(The investigation order) suffers from non-application of mind as it appears to contain no reference to the finding of an appreciable adverse effect on competition,” the filing said, as cited by Reuters.
The antitrust inquiry was kicked off last month over mounting complaints from a group of brick-and-mortar merchants, the Delhi Trade Federation, who say both Amazon and Flipkart have engaged in “predatory” trade practices, namely preferential treatment given to select sellers to the detriment of smaller businesses.
While the Competition Commission said there was a “prima facie case” that required investigation, both companies have denied the allegations, with Flipkart stating it was “fully compliant” with Indian law soon after the probe was ordered. Amazon at the time said it was “confident” it would be cleared of any wrongdoing and would “welcome” a chance to address the accusations.