Kerala has been hit by the worst-ever floods in a century. So far, over 357 people have lost their lives and over 10,000 people evacuated from the worst-affected areas of southern state.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday visited flood-ravaged Kerala and announced an immediate financial assistance of Rs 500 crore. He also announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh per person to the next of kin of the deceased and Rs 50,000 to those seriously injured.

The former United Nations Secretary-General was a constant advocate for human rights, the rule of law, the Millennium Development Goals and Africa. In 2001, Annan was awarded Nobel Prize for Peace.

As Chief Financial Officer, Ranganath oversaw key functions across the group, including corporate finance, taxation, treasury, mergers and acquisitions, risk management, and investor relations.

Imran Khan-led  PTI emerged as the single largest party with 116 seats in July 25 elections. Its number increased to 125 after nine independent members joined it and final tally reached 158 after it was allotted 28 out of 60 seats reserved for women and five out of 10 seats reserved for minorities.

BusinessToday.In pays tribute to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The former PM's last rites were performed at Smriti Sthal with full state honour. Here is a glimpse into his decades-long political career.

Former Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee has been termed as the father of modern telecommunications; under his reign India got the IT Act which gave us teeth to fight cybercrime; JioPhone 2 went on its first sale and JioGigaFiber registrations are now open; Xiaomi Mi A2 went out of stock in a jiffy in its first sale. Watch more in this episode of BT Weekly Tech Wrap.

Reema Kagti directed 'Gold' has collected Rs 33.25 crore after two days of its release. According to trade analyst Taran Adarsh, the movie collected Rs 8 crore on the second day of its release.

The yoga guru Baba Ramdev's company, which had recorded over 100 per cent growth rate about a year ago, has since witnessed a considerable dip in demand.

In this special edition of The Good, The Bad and The Ugly devoted to the legacy of former Prime Minister of India Atal Bihari Vajpayee: how Vajpayee laid the foundation of a modern, liberalised, fearless and progressive India; where he was criticised; and, the event he regretted the most happened under his watch - the enduring legacy of one of India's most beloved prime ministers. BusinessToday.In Editor Rajeev Dubey explains more in this episode.

Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, one of India's most charismatic leaders, was laid to rest on Friday. Vajpayee was the first non-Congress prime minister to complete a full five-year term in office. Watch BusinessToday.In video on some of the major reforms floated by the former prime minister.

The labour ministry is reportedly working on a new legislation that will formalise the $20-billion media and entertainment industry.

The Sensex and Nifty closed higher taking cues from global markets which rose on news China was preparing to resume trade discussions with the US, the first negotiations in more than a month. While the Sensex closed 284 points higher at 37,947, Nifty logged a gain of 85 points to end at a record high of 11,470 level,.Top Sensex gainers were YES Bank (3.76%), Vedanta Ltd (3.09%), and SBI (3.02%). Of 30 Sensex stocks, 20 ended in the green. Top Sensex losers were Hero MotoCorp (1.14%), ONGC (0.61%), and Maruti (0.58%). Money and bond markets were closed today on account of Parsi new year. Midcaps and small cap stocks contributed to the gains with the BSE midcap index rising 0.88% or 142 points to 16,306 and small cap index gaining 0.94%  or 156 points to 16,866 level. Banking, metal and consumer durables stocks led the charge with their BSE indices rising 398 points, 216 points and 194 points, respectively.  Market breadth was positive with 1631 stocks closing higher compared to 1075 stocks falling on the BSE. 156 stocks were unchanged.

Appealing for donations from people across the country, Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan today said the road to recovery for the southern state is going to be a long one.

As a member of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, Atal Bihari Vajpayee was already politically active by the age of 16. He participated in the Quit India Movement in 1942 and was arrested with his brother for 23 days.

Top Sensex gainers were YES Bank (3.76%), Vedanta Ltd (3.09%), and SBI (3.02%). Of 30 Sensex stocks, 20 ended in the green.  Top Sensex losers were Hero MotoCorp (1.14%), ONGC (0.61%), and Maruti (0.58%).

Why Indians should be grateful to Atal Bihari VajpayeeAs the nation mourns the loss of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, it's also time to remember all that he did for India's economy. He started the 'Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan' with the aim to provide education for all. He made India a nuclear state. Pokhran 2 was conducted during his tenure. He laid the foundation of the Golden Quadrilateral in 1999 for smoother movements of products and people. He's also considered the architect of the telecommunication sector in the country. He established a separate disinvestment ministry. He passed the Chandrayan-1 project.Health insurance to now cover mental illness says IRDAIIn a pathbreaking move, 3 months after  the Mental Healthcare Act, 2017 came into force, the Indian insurance regulator IRDAI has notified insurers to cover medical treatment for mental illnesses. The notice issued on Aug. 16, said that, \"every insurer shall make provision for medical insurance for treatment of mental illness on the same basis as is available for treatment of physical illness.\" The order is applicable on all insurance companies in India with immediate effect. The Mental Healthcare Act, 2017, which came into effect on May 29, is aimed at protecting the rights of persons with mental illnesses during delivery of mental healthcare and services.UPI gets an upgrade with new featuresNational Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has launched UPI 2.0 in Mumbai as an upgrade to the first iteration of Unified Payments Interface (UPI) that debuted in April 2016. The new UPI version has features such as UPI Mandate and Invoice in the Inbox. There are also new security enhancements including Signed Intent and QR that are designed to let customers verify merchants before making any payments as reported by NDTV. Further, there is an option to attach UPI to an overdraft (OD) account. This comes in addition to the existing saving and current account support. Banks that are using the upgrade include State Bank of India (SBI), HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, IDBI Bank, RBL Bank, Yes Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, IndusInd Bank, Federal Bank, and HSBC.Mercedes-Benz to hike prices by up to 4% next monthGerman luxury carmaker Mercedes-Benz said it will hike prices of its vehicles across models by up to 4 per cent from September to offset adverse impacts of rising input costs and upward forex movement. The rising inflation due to geo-political dynamics, coupled with rising input costs and increasing forex rates has been exerting significant pressure on overall operations, Mercedes-Benz India said in a statement.Airlines advised to keep air fares in check for Kerala flightsThe Central government has asked domestic airlines to keep a check on air fares for flights operating to and from Kerala.The advisory comes as the state suffers from one of the worst bouts of floods in the recent past.According to the Ministry of Civil Aviation, airfare on 18 domestic routes are being monitored. The monsoon fury has hit different parts of Western Ghats including districts of Kerala and adjoining areas in Karnataka.Plunging rupee to increase India's oil import bill by $26 billionIndia's crude oil import bill is likely to surge by about $26 billion in 2018-19 as rupee falling to a record low has made buying of oil from overseas costlier, government officials said yesterday as reported by Mint. The Indian rupee opened at 70.25 and plunged to a fresh record low of 70.40 a dollar. Moreover, the weak rupee will also lead to a hike in the retail selling price of petrol, diesel and cooking gas (LPG).

An astute politician who aspired to be a statesman, former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee was a writer and a poet before joining politics. His oratory skills and dexterity with words brought him into the Lok Sabha. BusinessToday.In takes a look at some of his famous speeches during his decades-long political career.

In 2002, then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee addressed a media conference after communal riots hit Gujarat. The former Prime Minister gave some advice to then Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi. Watch BusinessToday.In video.

Indian Railways plans to invest Rs 44,000 crore to build a 1,100-km greenfield freight corridor along the country's east coast to connect Kharagpur in West Bengal with Vijaywada in Andhra Pradesh.