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Alibaba best-paying tech company in China despite crackdown

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Despite China aiming to rein in domestic Internet giants, Alibaba is still the best-paying tech company in the country at an average monthly salary of $5,000, followed by ByteDance and Tencent Holdings that offer average monthly wages of $4,900 and $4,600, respectively.

According to South China Morning Post, citing data from Chinese career and social-networking platform Maimai, the most generous tech companies in terms of annual bonuses last year were smartphone maker OPPO, Tencent Holdings, and Ant Group.

Huawei Technologies paid an average bonus of $25,000 last year, according to the data. Didi Chuxing was in the 10th spot with an annual bonus of $15,000.

According to China’s National Bureau of Statistics, the average nationwide annual per capita disposable income for 2021 was 35,128 yuan ($5,428), equivalent to about a month’s salary at one of the Big Tech companies, the report mentioned.

“The size of an annual bonus reflects a company’s financial performance, which is also an important symbol of an industry’s rise and fall, and can even act as a barometer of the economy,” Lin Fan, founder and Chief Executive of Maimai, was quoted as saying in the report.

Tech companies in China are paying hefty salaries and bonuses but this scenario might change with China planning to further shift its policies to control domestic tech giants like Alibaba and Tencent.

Chinese President Xi Jinping reportedly “intends to shift policies regarding its control over the country’s major tech companies such as Alibaba Group and Tencent Holdings”.

“The move is apparently aimed at revitalising the internet sector and propping up the Chinese economy, which is losing momentum amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the country’s zero-Covid policy”.

Since last year, Chinese regulatory authorities have been cracking down harder on domestic tech giants to end their dominance in the internet sector.

In March, Covid-19 lockdowns and China’s position on the Ukraine conflict led to tech shares rout, slashing billions of dollars from the likes of Alibaba Group Holding and Tencent Holdings in Hong Kong.

Chinese stocks in the US also suffered their biggest selloff since 2008 after US regulators identified five companies that could be subject to delisting for failing to comply with auditing requirements.

In December last year, Alibaba announced a major reshuffle at the top, as the country tightened its stand against domestic Big Tech companies over data and internet regulations.

Alibaba also unveiled major reorganisation plans to boost its strategy of domestic and international e-commerce.

National

Hindi ‘imposition’ row: Raj Thackeray to organise morcha on July 6

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Mumbai, June 26: Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray on Thursday announced to organise a morcha from Girgaum to Azad Maidan in Mumbai on July 6 to protest against the “imposition” of Hindi as the third language in Marathi and English schools.

He alleged that it was a conspiracy to destroy the Marathi language, which has recently been awarded Classical Status, saying that the party will not allow the “imposition” of the Hindi language in the state.

Raj Thackeray was speaking to the reporters after meeting School Education Minister Dadaji Bhuse.

“There will be no compulsion in the language, be it Hindi or any other. I am appealing to all the parties that on July 6, we have decided to take out a morcha from Girgaum. There will be no flags in this morcha. It will be a morcha of Marathi people; we are inviting everyone. I have chosen Sunday so that everyone can come,” said Raj Thackeray.

He added that all literary figures, Marathi lovers, film personalities and all political parties should participate in the morcha.

“We should come together for Maharashtra without any arguments,” he said.

Speaking about his meeting with Minister Bhuse, Raj Thackeray said that there is a shortage of teachers for the Hindi language. But the government is saying that it will recruit 10,000 teachers.

“Do you have the money to pay the salaries? There are many big issues before the state, so why is it coming to the language? Is there an attempt to hide something big?” he asked.

“Will you get work in films by learning Hindi? Maharashtra is big because of the education system. Then why this argument in favour of Hindi to make Maharashtra great,” Raj Thackeray said.

“If the government is going to promote arts and sports to increase the merits of students instead of a language, then we have no objection,” he said.

Raj Thackeray said that his party does not accept the government’s stand on Hindi at all.

“We will remain opposed to the imposition of Hindi,” he said.

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Business

No toll proposed for 2-wheelers, says Nitin Gadkari amid viral reports

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New Delhi, June 26: Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, on Thursday dismissed media reports suggesting that two-wheelers will be required to pay tolls on National Highways from July 15.

He called the reports misleading and clarified that no such proposal is under consideration.

Taking to social media platform X, the Union Minister said: “Some media houses are spreading misleading news about toll tax being levied on two-wheelers. No such decision has been proposed.”

“Two-wheelers will continue to be exempt from tolls. Spreading such baseless news without verifying the facts is not responsible journalism. I strongly condemn it,” the Union Minister stated.

The clarification comes after a report claimed that toll payment would soon be made mandatory for two-wheelers at all national highway toll plazas, and that riders would need to equip their vehicles with FASTag.

The report also claimed that violators could face penalties of up to Rs 2,000. This comes just days after Gadkari announced a new annual FASTag pass worth Rs 3,000 for private four-wheelers, aimed at simplifying toll payments and reducing congestion.

Set to launch on August 15, the pass will be valid for one year or 200 trips — whichever comes first — and can be activated via the Rajmarg Yatra app or official websites of the NHAI and the MoRTH.

The government has significantly expanded its highway infrastructure in the last decade, with the total length of national highways increasing from 91,287 km in 2014 to 1,46,204 km in 2024 — a rise of over 60 per cent.

The pace of highway construction has also tripled from 11.6 km/day in 2014 to 34 km/day in 2024.

As of now, 1,366 highway projects covering 32,366 km are under construction across the country, many of which are expected to be completed in phases by FY 2028.

With a 570 per cent increase in the road transport and highways budget over the last decade, the Centre continues to prioritise infrastructure development — but for now, two-wheeler riders can rest assured that tolls are not on the horizon.

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National

SC agrees to hear plea against Maratha quota law in July

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New Delhi, June 26: The Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to hear, in July, a plea challenging the decision of the Bombay High Court, which had directed that the interim order passed last year, allowing the Maratha community to avail 10 per cent reservation in educational institutions and public employment, will continue to remain in force.

After a lawyer mentioned the matter for urgent listing, a Bench of Justices K.V. Viswanathan and N.K. Singh assured of listing the plea on the re-opening of the top court (i.e. after July 14).

In an order passed on June 11 this year, the Bombay High Court allowed the Maratha community to provisionally avail the benefit of 10 per cent reservation, subject to the final outcome of the petitions challenging the validity of the contentious Maharashtra State Reservation for Socially and Educationally Backwards Classes (SEBC) Act, 2024.

The SEBC Act, allowing 10 per cent quota for the Maratha community, was passed by the previous Eknath Shinde-led government in February last year after the Justice (retd) Sunil Shukre-led Maharashtra State Backward Class Commission (MSBCC) opined that “exceptional circumstances and extraordinary situations exist” to grant benefit of quota to Maratha community beyond the 50 per cent threshold.

Notably, the Supreme Court had struck down a similar quota law enacted by the Maharashtra legislature in 2018 for having breached the 50 per cent cap fixed in the 1992 landmark Indra Sawhney case (Mandal Commission case).

A five-judge Constitution Bench, in its judgment passed in May 2021, had opined that it could not find any exceptional circumstances or extraordinary situation for allowing a 12-13 per cent quota for the Maratha community and struck down the Maharashtra Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBC) Act, 2018.

Further, the Supreme Court had declared that states do not have the power to prepare lists for socially and educationally backward classes and ruled that the President had the sole power to identify a community as backward.

It had also declined to entertain the review plea moved by the Maharashtra government seeking a relook at the judgment. Before this, the apex court had dismissed a plea by the Union government seeking reconsideration of the May 5, 2021, judgment.

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