Lok Sabha Elections 2024: Election Commission to visit states from January 7, evaluate preparedness Ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, the Election Commission (EC) is set to initiate an evaluation of state preparedness, commencing with visits to Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu from January 7 to 10. Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, along with Election Commissioners Anup Chandra Pandey and Arun Goel, will lead the commission’s delegation during this assessment period. Before the scheduled state visits, Deputy Election Commissioners have been directed to provide comprehensive briefings to the full commission on January 6, giving insights into the preparations in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. Deputy Election Commissioners have previously visited almost all states, overseeing preparations for the Lok Sabha polls. Also Read: Lok Sabha, 8 states: Elections set to be the buzzword in 2024 Standard practice for the EC involves touring states ahead of assembly or Lok Sabha elections, engaging with political parties, senior police and administrative officials, as well as evaluating the efficiency of its ground-level poll machinery. While it remains uncertain whether the EC will cover all states and union territories, there is a possibility of exemptions for those regions where recent assembly polls have taken place. In 2019, the Lok Sabha elections were announced on March 10 and held in seven phases from April 11 to May 19. The counting of votes took place on May 23.
The move had also prompted the country’s largest organised retailer Reliance Retail to step into the value retail segment with Yousta, which was announced on Thursday. Like Intune, Yousta began its operations in Hyderabad, with plans to expand across the country. Intune has three stores – two in Hyderabad and one in Dombivli, near Mumbai, with plans to add another three more outlets in the coming months.
Nair had admitted on a recent earnings call that the apparel segment in general was witnessing moderation and that the value retail foray by Shoppers Stop could help the company tap into the growing trend for affordable fashion and lifestyle products, aiding sales growth.
That was an important statement for Shoppers Stop, which reported a nearly 37% year-on-year drop in net profit to Rs 14.5 crore in the June quarter of FY24, even as revenue grew only 4.8% versus the previous year to nearly Rs 994 crore.
On a yearly basis, the company had last reported a net profit of nearly Rs 114 crore in FY23 after three consecutive years of loss between FY20 and FY22 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. FY23 topline also jumped nearly 60% year-on-year to Rs 4,022 crore, the highest in six years, its results showed.