The government will set up a centre of excellence for visual effects and gaming with help from the Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay.

Kataria, 49, an IIT-XLRI alumnus, was quick to implement a number of initiatives during the Covid-19 crisis including launching D2C initiatives such as mobile stores, WhatsApp messaging, video calling and home deliveries. Kataria was also swift to recognise that stay-at-home consumers were keen to buy informal rather than formal footwear, launching new collections quickly to take advantage of this trend, says Viveat Susan Pinto.

Experts point to the higher contribution of rural from the north for the growth reported by the region, a point endorsed by companies who've been pushing their presence aggressively there.

Next in line will be mega stores in cities such as Gurgaon and Bengaluru, though timelines for launch have not been specified yet. The company will also launch two more city-centre or smaller stores in 2021 in Mumbai to reach a wider audience.

'The blockbusters are unlikely to be launched in 2020.' 'They will move into the 2021 cycle when confidence level among people will be higher.'

Experts say Biyani will now become a contract manufacturer of fashion and FMCG products, with the Reliance group being one of his customers.

Since September, Reliance Retail has raised money from Silver Lake, KKR, Mubadala, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority , GIC, TPG, General Atlantic and Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund in a divestment programme that mirrored sister Jio Platforms a few months earlier.

Audience turnout is crucial to most exhibitors, since their discussions with film producers hinge on how many people will return to movie halls in the weeks ahead.

Experts say Future group will look for an out-of-court settlement with help from Reliance in the Amazon matter.

While sales momentum from rural areas may last another three to six months, sales growth in urban areas could stage a comeback by next year's June quarter as people learn to live with the coronavirus and economic activity gradually improves in the cities.

Real estate experts say rentals have corrected by 5-10 per cent across formats, including office, retail and housing, with a pick-up expected over the next few quarters as the economy recovers.

Ramping up e-commerce operations and going beyond its current strongholds are key challenges for the grocery chain in its battle with Mukesh Ambani's retail behemoth.

Small and big advertisers are making their presence felt this year far more than they did earlier, bringing a smile to the faces of the tournament's organisers and partners.

Advertising agencies admitted that conversations had begun with their clients to exercise restraint while using brand endorsements featuring film actors whose names appeared in the probe.

From paints to apparel and lifestyle majors, brewers, distillers and fragrance makers have stepped into the market, even as the frontline companies including FMCG players, pharma and healthcare majors were the first to seize the opportunity created by Covid-19.

The plan is to start with 20-25 per cent capacity by early next month as part of Unlock 5.0, before moving to 50 and then 100 per cent.

95 per cent of advertising inventory has been sold on television and 18 on-air sponsors have been signed up so far, the highest for any season.

Categories such as washing machines, refrigerators and television sets have seen sales growth of around 8-10 per cent in August compared to last year, industry sources said, with September also reporting a similar growth trajectory.

Analysts say large firms in these segments don't need loan recast due to the efficient manner in which many of them operate.

The bigger threat for DMart is that the Reliance-Future combine now has grocery revenues that are nearly 2.5 times of it, putting pressure on the former to improve stickiness of its consumers.