Saturday 9 July 2016

US probes brake failures on Harley-Davidson motorcycles

WASHINGTON: The US automotive safety regulator said Friday it is investigating complaints of brake failures on Harley-Davidson motorcycles that have resulted in reports of three crashes and two injuries. "Riders report sudden brake system failure occurring without warning," said the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which has received 43 complaints. About 430,000 motorcycles are involved in the probe, the NHTSA said. Riders complained that the front brake hand

US economy posts largest job gains in eight months in June

WASHINGTON: U.S. job growth surged in June as manufacturers and other employers boosted hiring, confirming the economy has regained speed after a first-quarter lull, but tepid wages suggested the Federal Reserve will probably not raise interest rates soon. Nonfarm payrolls increased by 287,000 jobs last month, the largest gain since last October, the Labor Department said on Friday

Post-Brexit, UK now spawns M&A Bargain Hunters

LONDON: In the wake of the country's June 23 vote to leave the European Union, the UK's stocks and currency dropped, presenting an attractive prospect to global buyers looking for cheap assets and giving local businesses an incentive to reduce their exposure at home."Many euro and dollar denominated funds are seeing the weakness of the pound delivering a gift-wrapped buying opportunity, particularly those who have been in divestment mode over the last few years," said Guy

Larsen and Toubro wants to be 'number-one' in IT business: AM Naik

NEW DELHI: Ready to list Larsen and ToubroBSE -1.43 %'s 'second baby' in the stock market with over Rs 1,200 crore IPO of L&T Infotech, the conglomerate's Group Executive Chairman A M Naik today said his aim is to make this company "number one" as he has ensured in all other businesses of the group. He also said the immediate target for L&T Infotech, whose public offer will open on Monday, is to double its revenue to $ 2 billion (nearly Rs 13,500 crore) in next three years. 
L&T Infotech Ltd is the sixth largest Indian IT services player at present with revenue of $ 887 million and an employee base of over 20,000 people. The parent L&T, a conglomerate with presence in engineering, construction, infrastructure among other businesses, is already listed with a market cap of nearly Rs 1.5 trillion, while L&T Finance Holdings got listed over five years ago and commands a market cap of about Rs 14,000 crore. 

L&T Infotech 'actively' scouting for buys in analytics, consulting

NEW DELHI: IT company L&T Infotech today said it is "activity" scouting for acquisitions to strengthen its offerings in areas such as analytics, consulting and Internet of Things. The mid-sized IT company, which will come out with over Rs 1,200-crore IPO on July 11, said it would be interested in buys in the US, Europe or even Indian market. "We are looking at the US and European markets

Rajasthan ties up with Applicate IT Solutions to help village retailers access B2B ecommerce

AHMEDABAD: The Rajasthan government has joined hands with business-to-business (B2B) ecommerce firm Applicate IT Solutions to enable 35,000 e-mitra kiosks in the state for traders and retailers to procure products directly from manufacturers. The e-mitra kiosks launched in 2011by the state government allow villagers to access government services such as licences and passport services. The kiosks are usually installed and run at shops or stores and in return traders .

Centre of excellence for IoT launched

BENGALURU: India's first Centre of Excellence for Internet of Things (CoE-IoT) was launched in BENGALURU on Thursday. The CoE was announced last year as part of the Digital India programme and has been built as a joint effort between the government of India and Nasscom, Department of Electronics & Information Technology (DeitY) and Education and Research Network (ERNET). According to Nasscom, 120 firms offer IoT solutions in India with nearly 60% of them emerging after 2010. 

Access to mobile internet can positively impact farmers’ lives: Vodafone report

KOLKATA: Mobile internet access via smartphones can lead to a 50% increase in a small farmer's revenue in India, especially if the correct inputs — read agricultural information — are used, telecom company Vodafone said in a report. "A 1% increase in yields can lead to a 0.6%-1.3% reduction in poverty in India, having a greater impact than prices alone," said the report, 'Towards a more equal world: the mobile internet revolution', on the potential of mobile internet access . 

Juergen Hase to head Reliance group’s IoT business

KOLKATA: The Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group has appointed Juergen Hase as the chief executive of its Internet of things (IoT) business. Hase will be based in Mumbai reporting to Group Managing Director Amitabh Jhunjhunwala, Reliance Group said in a news release on Thursday. Group flagship Reliance CommunicationsBSE -3.15 % last year announced an IoT partnership with Jasper a company which was later acquired by Cisco — and they jointly piloted various IoT solutions in India over 

Facebook Messenger to offer strong encryption

WASHINGTON: Facebook announced Friday it would roll out optional "end to end encryption" for its Messenger application, following a trend aimed at stronger security and protection against snooping. The US technology giant said this feature would be known as "secret conversations" which can be read only by the sender and recipient. "Providing more ways for people to safely share is an important part of making the world more open and connected," the social network's vice  preident David Marcus said on his Facebook page. "Whether you're asking a doctor for medical advice, sending sensitive account information to your spouse, or even your Social Security number, it's important to have options available for sharing these kinds of very sensitive messages." 

Apple appoints point person for AppStore & iTunes for India market

NEW DELHI: Apple's Khushboo Ponwar, market development lead for App Store, Apple Music and iTunes, has been directed to focus solely on India, a market with strong growth amid slowing global sales for the Cupertino-based smartphone maker. Previously, Ponwar had been responsible for the App Store, Apple Music and iTunes business in the Middle East, Turkey, Africa and India. Apple declined to comment on the change of profile for Ponwar. By appointing a point person solely for the India market, Apple is sending out strong signals and making local strides in a market where iPhone sales grew 56 per cent on-year when Apple reported its first ever iPhone sales decline globally. India was among the few bright spots for Apple in its second quarter earnings, which saw its largest growing market China shrink - revenue fell by 11 per cent — and sales in developed markets slowing in the face of smartphone saturation. 

4G smartphones under Rs 3,000 now a reality, much before expected

NEW DELHI: Prices of smartphones supporting 4G technology have broken the Rs 3,000 price barrier, benefiting users wanting high-speed internet access who may have been deterred by high entry prices. The level was breached well before the year-end limit that was predicted by some analysts. Reliance Retail cut prices of its latest Lyf-branded 4G voice over LTE (Volte)-enabled smartphones - Flame 3, Flame 4, Flame 5 and Flame 6 launched launched over a month ago - by 25

Samsung launches new Galaxy phones, technologies

BENGALURU: Leading smartphone manufacturer Samsung on Friday launched two new Galaxy series phones while unveiling its Turbo Speed Technology (TST) and Smart Glow technologies. 
Newly-launched Galaxy J2 2016 is the refreshed version of Galaxy J2 launched in 2015, an addition to Samsung's existing 4G enabled smartphone portfolio. The reengineered Galaxy J2 2016 loaded with 'Made for India' features is equipped with TST, a new technology which delivers suprior performance by loading native apps 40 per cent faster. "With TST, Samsung engineers have made a quantum leap in optimising the operating system and hardware to provide consistent best-in-class performance out of the box and over time," said Samsung India Mobile Business Vice President Manu Sharma. Smart Glow offers Galaxy J2 2016 phone with next generation colour LED notificaion system. 

Started delivery of Rs 251 phones today: Ringing Bells

NEW DELHI: Ringing Bells, the Noida-based company that courted controversy after announcing a phone at an astonishingly low price of Rs 251 five months back, today claimed it has begun delivery of the world's cheapest smartphone in five states including Haryana, West Bengal and Bihar. "Of the 5,000 units of Freedom 251 phones that we committed to deliver in the first phase, we have started the delivery of 2,240 phones today through distributors and couriers," Ringing Bells Director  Mohit

Now, wheelchair avatars for disabled Xbox One gamers

In a move that will make Xbox One avatars significantly more inclusive for gamers, Microsoft is planning to make wheelchair options available. The news was confirmed by Xbox head Phil Spencer, who stepped into a conversation between two Twitter users discussing the possibility of creating a petition to bring in a wheelchair option for avatars, stating "no petition needed, we hear you. This is something we've already looked at, not far off." Shortly after this, Xbox engineering lead Mike

Facebook Messenger to offer strong encryption

WASHINGTON: Facebook announced Friday it would roll out optional "end to end encryption" for its Messenger application, following a trend aimed at stronger security and protection against snooping. The US technology giant said this feature would be known as "secret conversations" which can be read only by the sender and recipient. "Providing more ways for people to safely share is an important part of making the world more open and connected," the social network's vice president David Marcus said on his Facebook page. "Whether you're asking a doctor for medical advice, sending sensitive account information to your spouse, or even your Social Security number, it's important to have options available for sharing these kinds of very sensitive messages." Facebook earlier this year began implementing this end-to-end encryption on its WhatsApp messaging service, and Google, Apple and others have been making similar moves. 

Best of private sector yet to come: Arun Jaitley

NEW DELHI: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley here on Saturday indicated that the private sector can play a pivotal role in meeting the country's infrastructure and industrialisation deficit and added that the best of the sector is yet to come. "As we grow we are going to need lot of investment. There is infrastructure deficit and industrialisation deficit. He was speaking at the release of a commemorative stamp on the BSE completing 140 years. 

Niti Aayog may set up panel to draw up a new poverty line

NEW DELHI: The BJP government may soon come out with a new definition of poverty, with the Niti Aayog likely to set up a panel of experts to formulate a new 'poverty line'. The re-look at the controversial issue was necessitated as the Niti Aayog has to measure the impact of the government's anti-poverty schemes and other welfare initiatives, and set a target for poverty reduction while preparing its first 15-year vision document and seven-year strategy paper, which have replaced The Aayog, successor of the Planning Commission, is treading with caution on the estimation of the poverty line as the issue triggered a big controversy during UPA's tenure. Considering the sensitivity of the issue, a Niti Aayog official said the new poverty line will only define poverty, and won't be used to identify the poor or allocate resources under government schemes. It will purely be a tool to measure the impact of programmes, the official added. A top source said Niti Aayog vice-chairma .. 

India eyes place in top 100 on ease of doing business list

NEW DELHI: India hopes to figure among the top 100 nations in the ease of doing business ranking, counting on significant improvement achieved by Delhi and Mumbai as well as additional measures likely to be taken by the time the World Bank announces the next list in October. Officials said the government is hoping that India will improve its position from 130 out of 189 nations at present to within the top 100 this year and the top 50 next year. The ranking considers business environment in Delhi and Mumbai. According to a report released by the Department of Industrial Policy and

Brookfield Asset Management eyes Reliance Communications’ tower company

KOLKATA: US private equity firm Brookfield Asset Management has emerged a serious bidder to buy Reliance CommunicationsBSE -3.15 %' stake in its tower unit, three people aware of the matter told ET. The talks with Brookfield follow Sanjiv Ahuja-led Tillman Global Holdings' failure to find a suitable financier for the Anil Ambani-led telco's tower assets. RCom's plans to sell its Reliance

Telecom losses reported during UPA rule: Ravi Shankar Prasad

NEW DELHI: Law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad attacked the Congress over its allegations of a Rs 46,000 crore telecom scam, saying that the underreporting of revenue and related losses took place during the tenure of the United Progressive Alliance led government. "Congress had made the department of telecom a den of corruption," Prasad said, while clarifying that "underreporting" of revenue was different from the figure of "underpayment" to the government. 

At least 15 Kerala's youths go missing, families suspect IS links

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: At least 15 youths from Kerala's Kasaragod and Palakkad districts who had travelled to the Middle East have gone missing for the last one month and their families suspect they may have joined the Islamic State. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has directed the police to launch a probe into the matter urgently, Kasaragod MP P Karunakaran said. The families of the youths, including a couple, have not heard from them for the past one month and fear that they have been radicalised after having gone to the Middle East for religious studies. Kasaragod District

The only Gandhi Left: Congress can make this audacious move with Priyanka Gandhi

Recent reports suggest the Congress party may formally induct Priyanka Gandhi, the sole Gandhi left who hasn't yet taken a shot at claiming leadership of India. Of course, since she is a Gandhi, she won't work her way up through the ranks. Much like Bollywood star launches, she is expected to straight away lead the upcoming UP election campaign. It's hard when a party needs a new leader and

Sahara seeks indefinite bail for Subrata Roy, deposits Rs 200 crore in SC

NEW DELHI: The Sahara Group on Friday deposited Rs 200 crore as per Supreme Court orders and requested it to indefinitely extend the bail granted to Subrata Roy and director Ashok Roy Choudhary. It also sought bail for incarcerated director R S Dubey. "In compliance of the May 11 order, the applicants are depositing Rs 200 crore, despite Sebi's non-cooperation, which establishes their bona fide. In addition, efforts are being made to further arrange approximately Rs 300 crore in

Civil service officers are competing to build toilets as part of Clean India Mission

BENGALURU: If the rural job guarantee scheme was the hallmark of excellence and passion for civil service officers working as deputy commissioners and zilla panchayat CEOs during the previous United Progressive Alliance regime, now it is the construction of toilets and the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (Clean India Mission), even in Karnataka, a state ruled by the Congress party. 

PM Modi, Zuma hold talks after ceremonial welcome in Pretoria

PRETORIA,: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday sat down for bilateral talks with South African President Jacob Zuma after a ceremonial welcome accorded to him at the Union Buildings in Pretoria here. "Adding renewed vigour to an old friendship. PM @narendramodi & @SAPresident discuss India-SA ties," tweeted the Prime Minister's Office, tagging the photos of both leaders shaking hands. 

Centre-Delhi tussle: Supreme Court refuses to entertain AAP government's plea

NEW DELHI: Supreme Court today refused to entertain a Delhi government plea that the High Court be asked to first decide the preliminary issue as to whether it has the jurisdiction over disputes between the Centre and the state or is it "exclusively" triable by the apex court. The apex court also asked the Delhi government, which had moved the High Court seeking judgment on a acope of its powers under Article 239 AA of the Constitution, to approach it only after the Delhi High Court . 

Army can't use excessive force in disturbed areas: Supreme Court

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday said the army cannot use excessive force in its counter-insurgency operations in areas declared disturbed under the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act. 
The court held that criminal courts do have the jurisdiction to look into cases of alleged excesses by the armed forces in areas declared disturbed. A bench of Justice Madan B. Lokur and Justice Uday

UP CM Akhilesh Yadav to embark on 'Samajwadi Rath Yatra' in UP in September

LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav will set out on a 'Samajwadi Rath Yatra' across the state in September as part of his party's re-election bid next year. The 'chariot ride', which he will take in a special van, would allow Akhilesh to make mass contact with people in all parts of the state and highlight the achievements of the government, a Samajwadi Party (SP) strategist said on

CM Devendra Fadnavis expands ministry, 11 sworn in, Uddhav Thackeray skips ceremony

MUMBAI: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis today expanded his council of ministers by inducting 10 new faces and and elevating BJP's Ram Shinde to Cabinet rank, leaving the bickering ally Shiv Sena to settle for two additional Ministers of State. Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray skipped the swearing-in ceremony. The exercise, which reflected 45-year-old Fadnavis tightening his hold on

Law Commission runs into 2 legal hurdles on Uniform Civil Code

NEW DELHI: Tasked to examine the feasibility and desirability of a uniform civil code, the Law Commission has come across two major legal issues - the 80-year-old Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act and a Bombay high court judgment that gave Muslims the freedom to opt for the 1937 Act's provisions which govern marriage rules, including polygamy. The ruling was delivered by Justice M C Chagla who was the first Indian chief justice of the Bombay HC. Law Commission

India one of the most open economies: PM Narendra Modi tells South African CEOs

PRETORIA: Presenting India as the one of the most open economies, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today invited South African businesses to participate in its transformation march and tap the huge opportunities by enhancing investment and diversifying the basket of trade. Addressing top business leaders of India and South Africa here, he invoked the "greatest leaders" Nelson Mandela and

Freeze Aircel spectrum, stop deal with Airtel, RCom: Prashant Bhushan

NEW DELHI: Activist-lawyer Prashant Bhushan today demanded immediate freezing of spectrum held by Aircel, alleging that its Malaysian parent Maxis will "abscond" if the proposed deals with AirtelBSE -2.28 % and RCom are allowed to go through. Aircel has entered into an agreement with Bharti AirtelBSE -2.28 % to sell its 4G spectrum in eight circles for Rs 3,500 crore. Besides, the

Lalu Prasad has kind words for Smriti Irani, calls her 'innocent'

PATNA: RJD President Lalu Prasad today said Union Textile Minister Smriti Irani was an "innocent woman" who did some good work in the previous HRD ministry, but had no prospects in her new role as Textiles minister. "Smriti Irani innocent mahila hai (Smriti Irani is an innocent woman) who did some good work in her earlier ministry of HRD," Prasad told PTI while reacting to her shifting

Rajnath Singh never met Sadhvi Pragya Thakur: BJP

NEW DELHI: BJP today asserted that Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh had never met Sadhvi Pragya Thakur and termed as "baseless" Congress leader Digvijay Singh's claim that Rajnath Singh had met the Malegaon blast accused in 2008. "Rajnath Singh never met Pragya Thakur. It is a baseless claim. BJP condemns Digvijay Singh for his comments," its National Secretary Shrikant

Congress has scored self-goal on telecom issue: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley

NEW DELHI: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today said the Congress has scored a "self-goal" by calling under-reporting of Rs 46,000 crore revenue by six telecom firms an NDA scam as the "impropriety" had taken place during the UPA regime. "Shrillness, non-application of mind and a belligerent rhetoric seem to be the strategy of the Congress party," he wrote in a Facebook blog titled 'An Empty Rhetoric by the Congress Party'. 

Army can't use excessive force in disturbed areas: Supreme Court

NEW DELHI: In a setback to the government and the armed forces, the Supreme Court on Friday ruled the army cannot use excessive force during counter-insurgency operations in areas declared disturbed under the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act and criminal courts do have the jurisdiction over cases of alleged excesses by security forces. "The use of excessive force or retaliatory force by the Manipur Police or the armed forces of the Union is not permissible," said a bench of Justice ..

Alliance partner was not consulted before VAT increase: Former CM Prafulla Kumar Mahanta

GUWAHATI: What may come as discomfort to ruling BJP, former chief minister and Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) leader Prafulla Kumar Mahanta fires salvo stating that coalition partner was not consulted before increasing VAT on 127 items. Recently BJP led government has withdrawn partial exemption granted to oil companies on sale of liquefied petroleum gas for domestic use within

PM Narendra Modi traces back Mahatma Gandhi's historic South African train ride

DURBAN: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to mark a historic train journey by Indian independence leader Mohandas K. Gandhi during the final day of his South African visit. Modi's ride will commemorate the incident in which a young Gandhi in 1893 was ejected from a South African train when he refused an order to move from a first-class carriage because of his race. the encounter

Chemists to take e-pharmacies to court

NEW DELHI: The fight between brick-andmortar chemists and online pharmacies is set to reach courts now. The All India Organisation of Chemists and Druggists (AIOCD) will approach ten High Courts in India against the central and state drug regulators for lack of action against the "illegal" operation of online pharmacies, which could compromise patient safety. On their part, online pharmacies are gearing up for the fight in the hopes that it would clarify misconceptions about

'Bomb Robot' kills Dallas gunman, but opens ethical debate

WASHINGTON: Dallas police ended a standoff with a gunman Friday morning by remotely detonating a "bomb robot," an unprecedented tactic by officers that rekindles concerns about the militarization of local law enforcement in the United States. The bomb blast killed a black US Army reservist identified by authorities as Micah Xavier Johnson , who shot dead five police officers and wounded seven others in Dallas on Thursday night following a peaceful protest over police shootings

Among Dallas sniper victims: A newlywed, a navy veteran and parents

One slain officer was a newlywed. Another had survived multiple tours in Iraq, only to be killed back home in the US. A protester who doesn't normally march was shot trying to shield her sons. 
The stories of those killed or wounded in a sniper attack in Dallas during a protest over recent police shootings of black men emerged on Friday as their identities became known. Authorities say five officers were killed and seven others wounded in the deadliest day for US law enforcement since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Two civilians also were shot. 

Hamilton’s racing at home & wants to feel at home

The Mercedes driver's tally of victories includes successive wins in 2014 and last year, and a hat-trick on Sunday will see him join Jim Clark as the only driver to have triumphed at the event three or more times in a row. The Mercedes driver's tally of victories includes successive wins in 2014 and last year, and a hat-trick on Sunday will see him join Jim Clark as the only driver to have triumphed at the event three or more times in a row. The legendary Scotsman, who raced in the sixties and jointly holds the record for most British Grand Prix wins with five, took four of his victories successively. A

Sepp Blatter gets August appeal date to fight FIFA ban

LAUSANNE: Sepp Blatter will go to sport's highest court on Aug. 25 to challenge his six-year ban from football for approving a $2 million FIFA payment to Michel Platini. The Court of Arbitration for Sport set the former FIFA president's appeal hearing date on Friday to be held at its headquarters in Lausanne. Blatter's day in court will come more than three months after CAS imposed a four-year

Ajay Jayaram, Anand Pawar set up all Indian quarterfinal at US Open

EL MONTE: Fourth seed Ajay Jayaram and Anand Pawar set up up an all-Indian quarterfinal in the US Open Grand Prix Gold badminton event here. Other Indians who made the quarterfinals were the men's doubles pairing of Manu Attri and B Sumeeth Reddy, and women's doubles duo of S Poorvisha Ram and Meghana Jakkampudi. Pawar defeated compatriot Pratul Joshi 21-10, 21-13 while Jayaram

GCA fraud case: Treasurer Akbar Mulla resigns

PANAJI: Goa Cricket Association treasurer Akbar Mulla, who is one of the three accused in the case of alleged misappropriation of Goa Cricket Association (GCA) funds worth Rs 3.13 crore, has resigned from the post. The Economic Offences Cell of local police had on June 15 arrested GCA President Chetan Dessai, Secretary Vinod Phadke and treasurer Mulla on a complaint that they had allegedly encashed a cheque given by BCCI to GCA. The trio, who were later granted bail, are

Spell out policy governing export of US satellites to India: American lawmakers

WASHINGTON: Two weeks after ISRO successfully launched 20 satellites - including 13 from the US - in a single mission, two influential American lawmakers have asked the Obama administration to spell out its policy that allows it to launch commercial satellites on Indian space vehicles. In letters addressed to the administration, the two lawmakers -- Science, Space and Technology Committee Chairman Lamar Smith and Space Subcommittee Chairman Brian Babin -- asked for information about the current US policy governing the export of commercial satellites for launch on Indian launch

NASA's new airborne mission to map Earth's atmosphere

WASHINGTON: NASA is launching an airborne mission that will map the contours of the Earth's atmosphere to discover how much pollution exists in the most remote corners of the planet and assess how the environment has changed as a result. Pollutants emitted to the atmosphere - soot, hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides - are dispersed over the whole globe, but remote regions are cleaner, by factors of 1000 or more, than areas near the continents, researchers said. The Atmospheric

Scientists discover strange world with three suns

WASHINGTON: Scientists have discovered a new planet - located 340 light years from Earth and four times the mass of Jupiter - that orbits three stars and witnesses triple sunrises and sunsets each day, depending on the seasons, which last longer than human lifetimes. Located about 340 light years from Earth in the constellation Centaurus, HD 131399Ab is about 16 million years old, making it one

Friday 8 July 2016

Juergen Hase to head Reliance group’s IoT business

KOLKATA: The Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group has appointed Juergen Hase as the chief executive of its Internet of things (IoT) business. Hase will be based in Mumbai reporting to Group Managing Director Amitabh Jhunjhunwala, Reliance Group said in a news release on Thursday. Group flagship Reliance CommunicationsBSE -3.15 % last year announced an IoT partnership with Jasper — a company which was later acquired by Cisco — and they jointly piloted various IoT solutions in India over the past few months in preparation for the commercial launch.

Artificial Intelligence: Deep learning is not the ultimate fix

These are exciting times for developments in mainstream artificial intelligence (AI). Self-driving cars are hitting the streets, companies like Microsoft, Apple and Google are integrating evergrowing "intelligence" into their services, and some of them making their cutting-edge AI tools available to the public. While AI as a term is familiar to the industry, deep learning is what's been in the limelight lately. Like numerous other techniques, deep learning is a subset of machine learning, which in turn falls under the much broader umbrella of AI, all of whose broad goals are to make computers do things outside of the box of precise programmed instructions. The idea itself is decades old, but resurgence in research and sheer advances in raw computational power over the last decade have made deep learning an attractive computational tool.

India is world's fourth-largest app economy: Report

BENGALURU: India is rapidly moving into the mobile app age and is already the fourth-largest mobile app economy. The amount of time Indians spend on apps has also increased dramatically, says mobile-app analytics company App Annie. In total app downloads per year, only China, US, and Brazil are ahead of India. The annual figure for India is projected to grow by 92% to reach 7.7 billion downloads this year, and further to 20.1 billion by 2020. China's app download is expected to grow at a much slower 29% this year, but the absolute figure will be more than 6 times that of India's at 49 billion. With the introduction of affordable smartphones and better infrastructure supporting mobile, and given India's population, the growth here is expected to be significant," Junde Yu, MD of App Annie APAC, said. He said the most important thing that is now driving the app economy here is not the number of downloads .

Facing losses, maker of Rs 251 phone seeks Rs 50,000 crore from the government

NEW DELHI: As consumers wait to see the cheapest smartphone (less than $4) at its scheduled launch in the capital on Thursday, its Noida-based makers have made another pitch for the government's support to make their loss-making venture "work for millions" who don't own such a phone. According to Ringing Bells Pvt Ltd CEO Mohit Goel, he initially faced Rs 930 loss on each handset that cost him Rs 1180 and for which parts were imported from Taiwan.

Apple wants more clarity on sourcing rules before opening retail stores in India

KOLKATA: Apple Inc is not rushing to open retail stores in India, despite the government ostensibly relaxing sourcing norms for single-brand retail. The government last month said foreign single-brand retailers can comply with the controversial 30% local sourcing requirements over the first five years of operations, and not from the first year itself, as was originally proposed in the policy.It also said these rules will not apply for the first three years of operations to foreign companies that sold

Srini Gopalan quits Airtel, to join Deutsche Telekom

NEW DELHI: Srini Gopalan, director for consumer business at Bharti AirtelBSE -2.28 %, has quit the country's top telecom service provider to join Deutsche Telekom as head of its Europe business. The German telco announced Gopalan's appointment as its new board member for Europe in a statement late Thursday. Gopalan will join Deutsche Telekom on October 1 and replace Claudia Nemat — who will then head the new technology and innovation board department — effective January 1, 2017. Airtel in a statement said, "Srini has decided to pursue opportunities outside of

Apple appoints point person for AppStore & iTunes for India market

NEW DELHI: Apple's Khushboo Ponwar, market development lead for App Store, Apple Music and iTunes, has been directed to focus solely on India, a market with strong growth amid slowing global sales for the Cupertino-based smartphone maker. Previously, Ponwar had been responsible for the App Store, Apple Music and iTunes business in the Middle East, Turkey, Africa and India. Apple declined to comment on the change of profile for Ponwar. y appointing a point person solely for the India market, Apple is sending out strong signals and making local strides in a market where iPhone sales grew 56 per cent on-year when Apple reported its first ever iPhone sales decline globally
India was among the few bright spots for Apple in its second quarter earnings, which saw its largest growing market China shrink - revenue fell by 11 per cent — and sales in developed markets slowing in the face of smartphone saturation.

4G smartphones under Rs 3,000 now a reality, much before expected

NEW DELHI: Prices of smartphones supporting 4G technology have broken the Rs 3,000 price barrier, benefiting users wanting high-speed internet access who may have been deterred by high entry prices. The level was breached well before the year-end limit that was predicted by some analysts. Reliance Retail cut prices of its latest Lyf-branded 4G voice over LTE (Volte)-enabled smartphones - Flame 3, Flame 4, Flame 5 and Flame 6 launched over a month ago - by 25 per cent to Rs 2,999, a move that industry experts said would put pressure on Indian smartphone makers seeking to retain market share amid intense competition. "This will definitely spur competition and Indian players may be forced to cut prices," said Tarun Pathak, a senior analyst at Counterpoint Technology Market Research. "But they shouldn't because they don't have the same revenue model as Lyf, which has the phone bundled with voice and data services." 

Cipla to invest Rs 590 crore for a biosimilars plant in South Africa


NEW DELHI: Drug firm CiplaBSE 1.27 % will invest around Rand 1.3 billion (over Rs 590 crore) to launch a manufacturing facility in South Africa for the production of biosimilars. The company's "proposed biotech subsidiary in South Africa will invest just over R 1.3 billion into the country's first state-of-the-art biotech manufacturing facility, for the production of biosimilars," Cipla said in a statement. For this a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between Cipla BioTec prt ltd he facility will manufacture biosimilar drugs made from living organisms that would be used in the treatment of cancer and other diseases. Construction is scheduled to start in early 2017, with full operations expected to commence in the third quarter of 2018, Cipla said. 

Bharat Financial Inclusion Ltd unlikely to cut rates this year

KOLKATA: Bharat Financial Inclusion Ltd, earlier known as SKS MicrofinanceBSE -0.90 %, said it might not lower rates in the next two-three quarters, to protect margin and profitability. Its lending rate at 19.75% is the lowest among Microfinance companies while most of its rivals lend at 22-24% rate. Company president Dilli Raj said it is operating at 9.6% margin, lower the permissible 10% limit stipulated by Reserve Bank of India. "There is no need to cut  lending rate as we are operating below the 10% margin cap. A rate cut in the next two-three quarters is unlikely," Raj told ET, backtracking his earlier stance in April when he had said that a 15 bps rate cut was a certainty and was to happen soon.The company reported a net profit of Rs 303 crore for the fiscal 2015-16 compared with Rs 188 crore in the preceding one, despite a 380 bps reduction in lending rates. A lower operational and borrowing cost improved its profitability. The .. 

LG Electronics says Q2 operating profit likely at 2-year high

LG Electronics says Q2 operating profit likely at 2-year high
SEOUL: South Korea's LG Electronics Inc said on Friday its second-quarter operating profit likely reached a two-year high, with analysts pointing to strong contributions from its mainstay home appliances and television set businesses. The world's second-biggest TV maker by market share, behind compatriot Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, said in a regulatory filing that April-June profit was likely 585 billion won ($504 million), compared with the 599 billion won average of 23 analyst estimates in a Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S survey. The result would be the highest quarterly profit since the 610 billion won of the second quarter of 2014.

Japan's service-sector sentiment weakens in June on post-Brexit yen gain

TOKYO: Sentiment in Japan's service sector hit a new low in June due to a stronger yen and weaker stock prices following Britain's surprise vote to leave the European Union, adding to headaches for policymakers already worried about sputtering economic growth. The survey of workers such as taxi drivers, hotel workers and restaurant staff - dubbed "economy watchers" for their proximity to consumer and retail trends - showed their confidence fell 1.8 points from the previous month to 41.2 in June. 

US Internal Revenue Service investigates Facebook's Ireland asset transfer

US Internal Revenue Service investigates Facebook's Ireland asset transfer The US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) said Facebook Inc may have understated the value of intellectual property it transferred to Ireland by "billions of dollars", unfairly cutting its tax bill in the process, according to court papers. The US Justice Department filed a lawsuit on Wednesday in federal court in San Francisco seeking to enforce IRS summonses served on Facebook and to force the world's largest social network to produce various documents as part of the probe. 

Panasonic expects to double sales of electric car batteries in 3 years

OSAKA: Japan's Panasonic Corp said it expects strong demand for its lithium-ion batteries from Tesla Motors Inc to help more than double its annual sales of automobile-related batteries in three years. Kenji Tamura, an executive officer in charge of Panasonic's automotive and industrial systems business, said he expects the firm's annual automobile battery sales to grow to 400 billion yen ($3.98 billion) in the business year through March 2019 from 180 billion yen in the year ended march 2016.

Striking Wal-Mart workers in China return to work - for now

SHANGHAI/CHICAGO: Workers striking at Wal-Mart Stores Inc outlets in China have returned to work after the firm agreed to consider their protests against a new work scheduling system that some fear could be used to cut overtime pay, workers and labor activists say. The strikes started at the beginning of the month in the southern city of Nanchang and spread with the help of social media to Wal-Mart hypermarkets in two other cities, the activists and workers said. 

Government to use info collected under various pacts to identify suspected tax dodgers

NEW DELHI: The government is set to use the information collected under various international tax agreements to identify suspected tax dodgers and urge them to come clean through the ongoing black money scheme that expires on September 30. The income-tax department will soon write to such individuals that they have been identified on the basis of information received under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) from the US, various tax information exchange agreement.

Labour Ministry in favour of raising EPFO's investment in ETFs

NEW DELHI: Labour Ministry is of the opinion that the retirement fund body EPFO should increase investments in the stock markets through ETFs, as the exercise has started giving returns. "We see the possibility of it increasing, but we want to discuss it with the Central Board of Trustees (CBT). I believe the investment in ETFs should rise," Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya told reporters here when asked about the issue of increasing EPFO's investment in Exchange Traded Funds.

Corporate leverage in decline, banking strain remains: DBS

NEW DELHI: India Inc is witnessing gradual unwinding of corporate leverage, but the "strain" on the banking sector is likely to remain for the time being, says a DBS report. According to the global financial services major, gradual unwinding in corporate leverage is under way and the overall corporate sector stability improved in 2015-16 as against 2007-08, but the stress on banks' balance sheets stays. 

Government pitches for farm mechanisation to boost farmers income

NEW DELHI: Aiming to double farmers' income in the next five years, Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh today said farm mechanisation will bring down the cost of cultivation by up to 25 per cent and raise production by 20 per cent. 
He also said that raising support price of agri-crops will not suffice, as there is a need to bring down the cost of cultivation, for which, use of innovative farm machineries is the need of the hour. 

Modi government to launch 300 Namami Gange projects tomorrow

NEW DELHI: The government will launch more than 300 projects along the banks of Ganga, ranging from construction and modernisation of ghats to afforestation of river banks, on Thursday under the Namami Gange programme to clean and protect the 2,500 km long river. "Tomorrow will be a historic day...from Gangotri till the mouth of the river (Ganga Sagar), at the banks of the Ganga, banks of the Yamuna, the banks of Ram Ganga and Kali, 300 projects will start simultaneously," 

Uma Bharti today launched 43 projects

HARIDWAR: Holding that "wrong planning" led to the pollution in Ganga, Union minister Uma Bharti today launched 43 projects worth Rs 250 crore under Namami Gange programme in Uttarakhand, saying that the Modi government is taking corrective steps to cleanse the river. "The Ganga has not been polluted because of untreated water as much as because of wrong planning. Projects being launched under Namami Gange are corrective steps to atone for what has been done over the years to dirty  .. 


Mumbai City FC signs Lalrinmuana, Halder, Ralte & Ali for Indian Super League

NEW DELHI: In the run up to the third season of the Indian Super League (ISL), Mumbai City FC has signed up four domestic players—David Lalrinmuana, Pronay Halder, Lalhmangaihsanga Ralte and Anwar Ali—cashing in on their performances recent leagues David Lalrinmuana, who will turn 24 in November this year, was the captain for Aizawl FC in the 2015-16 I-League season. Lalrinmuana helped Aizwal FC get promoted into the top division of Indian Football. Pronay Halder represented Mohun Bagan in the 2015-16 I-League as a defensive midfielder. The Tata Football Academy graduate has represented India at the under-19 and under-22 levels and has been an integral part of the Indian National team ever since he made his debut last year.Lalhmangaihsanga Ralte, widely known as Sena Ralte, started his career from the Esthar Academy and later went on to join Royal Wahingdoh promoting his team to the top division in 2013-14. Ralte was at Chennaiyin FC in the second season of the ISL but will be seen at the Mumbai City FC camp this season.Indian defender Anwar Ali had kicked off his senior career with Punjab Police, then switched to JCT where he made a bright start by bagging the Most Promising Player award in the Durand Cup 2006.
Indranil Das Blah, CEO, Mumbai City FC said, "We are extremely happy to welcome Anwar Ali, Sena Ralte, David Lalrinmuana and Pronay Halder to the squad. They bring in a mix of experience and youth which is essential to the team. Each one of them adds a certain value which will be key for the upcoming campaign."

Thursday 7 July 2016

NASA probe to explore global atmosphere over oceans

WASHINGTON: NASA is set to launch a new airborne mission to map the contours of the atmosphere as carefully as explorers once traced the land and oceans below.The Atmospheric Tomography, or ATom, is the first to survey the atmosphere over the oceans, the US space agency said in a statement. Scientists aboard NASA's DC-8 flying laboratory will journey from the North Pole south over the Pacific Ocean to New Zealand and then across to the tip of South America and north up the Atlantic Ocean to Greenland.ATom will discover how much pollution survives to the most remote corners of the earth and assess how the environment has changed as a result, the statement added."We've had many airborne measurements of the atmosphere over land, where most pollutants are emitted, but land is only a small fraction of the planet," said Michael Prather, an atmospheric scientist and ATom's deputy project scientist at University of California Irvine.

'Gene - An Intimate History' by Indian American oncologist

NEW DELHI: The ethical and moral quandaries thrown up by the question of manipulation of the human genome -- of whether a man can truly transcend his genes -- are hotly debated, as are the unbridled prospects it tantalisingly offers.This knotty dilemma of whether human beings should remain bound to heredity or alter the course of future generations, interspersed with a personal family history of mental illness, is something Siddhartha Mukherjee attempts to tackle in his latest book 'The Gene- An Intimate History'.

This year to be one second longer: US Naval Observatory

WASHINGTON: On December 31 this year, a "leap second" will be added to the world's clocks at 23 hours, 59 minutes 59 seconds Coordinated Universal Time, the US Naval Observatory has announced.
This corresponds to 4:29:59 am IST, on January 1, 2017 when the extra second will be inserted at the US Naval Observatory's (USNO) Master Clock Facility in Washington, DC. Historically, time was based on the mean rotation of the Earth relative to celestial bodies, and the second was defined in this reference frame.

Three astronauts blast off for ISS in upgraded Soyuz craft

BAIKONUR: Three astronauts blasted off Thursday from Russia's Baikonur Cosmodrome towards the International Space Station in an upgraded Soyuz spacecraft. First-time astronauts Kathleen Rubins of NASA and Takuya Onishi of the Japanese space agency set off for a four-month mission at the ISS with two-time Russian cosmonaut Anatoly Ivanishin at 0136 GMT."And lift-off!" said a commentator on NASA TV, which broadcast footage of the launch in Kazakhstan.The trio's launch was delayed by over two weeks as Russian space officials carried out further software tests on the modified vehicle Features of the new Soyuz series include upgraded boosters, an improved navigation system, strengthened shielding from debris and more cells on the craft's solar panels.

Safari lioness suffering from deadly disease: IVRI report

KANPUR: The Etawah Lion Safari authorities on Wednesday said the pathology test report of ailing lioness Girishma has confirmed that she is suffering from canine distemper, a viral disease that is generally spread by stray dogs. The report was prepared by the Indian Institute of Veterinary Research (IVRI), Bareilly.
They claimed that they are in constant touch with experts at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI), US, and Longleat London Safari in this connection. "After receiving report from IVRI Bareilly on Wednesday, we are in regularly consulting experts through e-mails to know about the course of treatment," safari director Sanjay Srivastava told TOI.

Drought stalled Amazon forest's carbon absorption

The Amazon forest spanning across Brazil, Columbia, Peru and other South American countries is the world's largest forest covering 5.5 million square kilometers. Scientists have estimated that it stores 100 billion tonnes of carbon in its biomass. So any changes in this giant forest have global consequences. It suffered a major drought in 2010, following the 2005 drought.

Govt may extend tax payment deadline for black money scheme

NEW DELHI: The government may extend the deadline for payment of tax on black money disclosed during the one-time compliance window and has accepted the industry request for tax being paid in instalments.
"The government is favourably considering to extend the tax payment deadline as it understands the liquidity crunch around November," a top official told PTI."Discussions are on with regard to the number of months by which the payment window can be extended.

MoS for agriculture S S Ahluwalia says will focus on farmers' welfare

NEW DELHI: The government will work towards farmers' welfare and make Indian agriculture globally competitive, new Minister of State for Agriculture, S S Ahluwalia today said.The 65-year old Ahluwalia, an MP from Darjeeling in West Bengal, today took charge of the office in the presence of Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh and secretaries."The challenges that our agriculture sector faced in the past and now are different. I have been given an opportunity to work in this sector. The emphasis will be on farmers' welfare and making our agriculture globally competitive," Ahluwalia told reporters.There was a time when India had a "ship-to-mouth" existence, but the country has now become a net exporter because of farmers' effort.

Manoj Sinha can look forward to spectrum auction, BharatNet and Digital India plan

NEW DELHI: Manoj Sinha took charge as the new telecom minister on Wednesday, coming in as the department of telecom gears up for the largest auction of bandwidth later this year and as consumers continue to grapple with call drops.The appointment of Sinha, 57, brings with it a major challenge in the way of speeding up implementation of the much-delayed BharatNet initiative, which envisages delivering broadband connectivity to 2.5 lakh gram panchayats and is critical to the government's ambitious Digital India programme.Sinha's new portfolio brings with it the responsibility of the postal department. India Post is among entities that are preparing to start payments banks, through which the Narendra Modi-led government expects to bring large swathes of the rural population under the formal banking system.

New income disclosure norms to be applicable from April 1, 2016

NEW DELHI: The Income Computation and Disclosure Standards (ICDS) shall be now applicable from April 1, 2016 instead of April 1, 2015, since tax payers might have already filed income tax return without incorporating compliance with the ICDS, the Finance Ministry said here on Wednesday."It has been decided that the ICDS shall be applicable from April 1, 2016. The notification to this effect will be issued shortly," a statement from the Finance Ministry said here on Wednesday.

Government forms panel to study the feasibility of adopting new financial year

NEW DELHI: The government has constituted a committee to study the feasibility of adopting a new financial year. India currently follows the April-March financial year as opposed to the calendar year in most countries.The committee headed by former chief economic advisor Shankar Acharya has to submit its report by December 31, 2016. "The committee will examine the merits and demerits of various dates for the commencement of the financial year including the existing date .

Skill India or kill India: How to cope with the impending demographic deluge

As the politics of fear and insecurity spreads its shadow over the Western world, and robots and 3D printing threaten to dislodge blue-collar workers worldwide, the jobs story is grim in the world's fastest growing economy as well. At current rates, India will add 80 million new job-seekers by 2025, most of them unskilled. With 30 million new jobs projected at current rates, the picture turns depressing very quickly.
Higher education remains beyond the reach of three-quarters ..

India must focus on growth, not worry about inflation: Joseph E Stiglitz

BENGALURU: Nobel laureate and Professor of Economics at Columbia University Joseph E Stiglitz on Wednesday suggested that Indian policymakers would do well to pay attention to growing India's economy rather than "getting overly obsessed about inflation."
Stiglitz insisted that excessive focus on taming inflation would hurt growth, and lead to higher unemployment levels, and lead to more inequality. An author of several path breaking papers on inequality, Stiglitz was in Bengaluru .

Graphic India brings in Narendra Deshpande as Senior V-P

BENGALURU: Character entertainment company Graphic India today announced hiring of veteran animation executive Narendra Deshpande as its Senior Vice-President, Production and Animation.
Deshpande will work closely with Graphic India's Co-Founder and CEO, Sharad Devarajan, and its EVP, Creative, Jeevan J Kang, to scale up original animation production across television and digital platforms, the company said in a release here.

L&T Construction wins Rs 3,598 crore job orders

NEW DELHI: Infrastructure major Larsen & Toubro (L&T) today said its construction arm has won orders worth Rs 3,598 crore across various business segments."The construction arm of L&T has won orders worth Rs 3,598 crore across various business segments," L&T said in a BSE filing.L&T said its Heavy Civil Infrastructure Business, along with its partner, PES Engineers Pvt Ltd, has won a major order worth Rs 1,849 crore from the Irrigation and Command  ..

India Inc 'enthused' by Cabinet reshuffle: Assocham

NEW DELHI: Assocham today said Prime Minister Narendra Modi with the Cabinet reshuffle has conveyed a strong resolve to put a premium on performance of his colleagues to improve quality of governance.The industry body said India Inc is "quite enthused" by the strong leadership quality of Prime Minister at a time when the country is grappling with global headwinds and geo-political risks from terrorism, political upheavals in Britain and the European Union and mood swings in the US  ..

Indian businessmen like Anand Mahindra, Rashesh Shah do not speak their mind

On April 26, as the West Bengal elections were underway, Harsh Goenka, chairman of RPG Group, tweeted: "In private conversations all businessmen in Bengal tell me that they will vote for BJP or CPM. TMC has not been conducive for industry." TMC is Trinamul Congress (TMC), the ruling party.
Goenka is quite active on Twitter and is given to making controversial tweets. But this particular tweet created a huge furore in Kolkata. The Goenka name still carries a lot of heft in the state  ..

Need to change the financial year? Centre sets up panel to answer the question


NEW DELHI: The government has constituted a committee to study the feasibility of adopting a new financial year. India currently follows the AprilMarch financial year as opposed to the calendar year in most countries. The committee headed by former chief economic advisor Shankar Acharya has to submit its report by December 31, 2016."The committee will examine the merits and demerits of various dates for the commen cement of the financial year inclu ding the exis ting date (April to ..

Maharashtra: Devendra Fadnavis to expand Cabinet tomorrow

MUMBAI: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis will expand his Cabinet tomorrow.
The 20-month-old Fadnavis government will fill up portfolios rendered vacant after the resignation of senior minister Eknath Khadse over corruption charges last month.The 10 portfolios handled by him are temporarily with Fadnavis."The Cabinet expansion will be held tomorrow," a senior government official told PTI this morning.

Decision to overhaul Cabinet had been brewing for a while

NEW DELHI: A gradual accretion of frictions, an inability or refusal of some ministers to read hints about their functioning clearly and a careful assessment of ministerial outcomes that spanned several weeks led to the major shake-up of the Modi government on Tuesday.Though he had referred to the "reshuffle" as an expansion, PM Narendra Modi's remarks at the Cabinet meeting after the rejig made it plain that the "surprise" element was only for ministers and outsiders.

Vijay Mallya to make rare public appearance on Friday

SILVERSTONE: Troubled Indian businessman Vijay Mallya is set to make a rare public appearance in the United Kingdom on Friday when he is scheduled to attend the team bosses press conference ahead of the Formula 1 British Grand Prix.Mallya, who has been in the UK since March, has been declared a 'proclaimed offender' by a special court in a money laundering case back home. The creditors in India have also been trying to recover dues of Rs 9000 crore owed by his long-grounded King.

Bandaru Dattatreya to meet trade unions over 12-point demand charter

Labour minister Bandaru Dattatreya will hold a meeting with a dozen central trade union representatives on July 18 to apprise them of ministry's progress on the unions' 12-point charter of demand.The meeting, which has been scheduled on the onset of the monsoon session of Parliament, is rather seen as an exercise to seek the support for passage of key labour amendment bills lined up by the ministry as not much progress has been made on their demands pending with this government.

Raising quality of education will be top priority: Prakash Javadekar

NEW DELHI: Raising the quality of education in the country will be the "top priority" of Prakash Javadekar who today took over as the HRD Minister.65-year-old Javadekar, who was the Environment Minister, was elevated to the Cabinet rank in Tuesday's rejig of the Council of Ministers. He replaced Smriti Irani, who has been shifted to the Textiles Ministry.Talking to reporters, he said raising the quality of education is his "top priority" as the HRD Minister. He assured cooperation to all the states in developing the quality of education.
He, however, did not speak about policy issues, saying he would comment only after being briefed by ministry officials.Irani did not turn up for the event. Asked about her absence, he said certain family issues have held her back.

RSP threatens to leave Left Front over CPI-M's affinity for Congress

KOLKATA: Miffed over the CPI(M)'s new-found affinity for the Congress, the Revolutionary Socialist Party has threatened to quit the Left Front if the Marxist party decides to stay with the Congress."We have told the CPI(M) clearly that there will be no alliance, front or understanding with Congress. We are opposed to both Congress and BJP. For us both are equal," RSP state secretary Kshiti Goswami said."We all had paid a heavy price by forging an alliance.

Ahead of NATO summit Barack Obama, Vladimir Putin discuss Syria, Ukraine

WASHINGTON: Ahead of the NATO summit, President Barack Obama spoke over the phone with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on the situation in Syria and Ukraine, in addition to IS, the White House said today.Obama and Putin, confirmed their commitment to defeating Islamic State and the Nusrah Front, al-Qaeda's affiliate in Syria, the White House said in a readout of the call."Obama also stressed the necessity for progress on a genuine political transition to end th ..

China's innovation economy a real estate bubble in disguise

SHACHENG: The Chinese government's call to the nation to build an innovation-driven economy from the top down has sparked a rush by local governments to construct new buildings in the name of supporting creativity.Innovation centres have been popping up around the country and are set to more than double to nearly 5,000 in the next five years, according to internet research firm iiMedia. The only problem for local governments; entrepreneurs are not moving in.

Samsung flags big jump in profit on strong S7 sales

SEOUL: Samsung Electronics on Thursday flagged its biggest operating profit in more than two years, boosted by cost-cutting efforts and solid sales of its latest flagship smartphone.The South Korean electronics giant -- also the world's top handset maker -- predicted an operating profit of 8.1 trillion won ($7 billion) in April-June, up 17 percent from a year ago.It is the company's biggest operating profit since the first quarter of 2014 and beat the average estimate ..

Tell NASA which points of Jupiter you want Juno to spy!

WASHINGTON: With NASA's solar-powered Juno spacecraft successfully placed in Jupiter's orbit, the US space agency has invited amateur astronomers to upload telescopic images and help decide which points of the king of planets will be imaged during the mission.Users can select a point of interest in Jupiter's atmosphere and share it with the community or browse through other users' suggestions and comment on them.These points will form the foundation for the voting

Large Hadron Collider data unveils new 'exotic' particles

GENEVA: Scientists have observed three new "exotic" particles and confirmed the existence of a fourth one, using data from the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the world's largest and most powerful particle collider.
These particles seem to be formed by four quarks - the fundamental constituent of the matter inside all the atoms of the universe: two quarks and two antiquarks.
Due to their non-standard quark content, the newly observed particles have been included in the bro ..

Necessary to integrate innovation with science: K Kasturirangan

JODHPUR: Former ISRO Chairman K Kasturirangan today stressed on integrating innovation with national science and technology and emphasised the need of mega science projects in future.
"There are increasing multiple development demands, which has to be met within limited resources. Therefore, it is necessary to integrate innovation with the science and technology policy for ensuring sustainability and inclusivity," Kasturirangan said here during 24th Prof Daulat Singh Kothari Memoria ..

Three astronauts blast off for ISS in upgraded Soyuz craft

BAIKONUR: Three astronauts blasted off Thursday from Russia's Baikonur Cosmodrome towards the International Space Station in an upgraded Soyuz spacecraft.First-time astronauts Kathleen Rubins of NASA and Takuya Onishi of the Japanese space agency set off for a four-month mission at the ISS with two-time Russian cosmonaut Anatoly Ivanishin at 0136 GMT."And lift-off!" said a commentator on NASA TV, which broadcast footage of the launch in Kazakhstan.

Bengali actor Jeet acquires Kolkata franchise of Premier Futsal

NEW DELHI: Bengali cinema actor Jeet's firm Grassroot Entertainment has signed a long-term agreement with Premier Futsal to acquire the Kolkata franchise of the multi-nation futsal league for an undisclosed amount.The agreement makes Kolkata the second franchise to be sold after the promoters of football club Chennai City FC picked up the league's Chennai team."Football has a huge, fervent following in Kolkata, where love for the sport is passed on from one generation ..

Antoine Griezmann and Paul Pogba step into massive boots of Michel Platini and Zinedine Zidane

PARIS: Used to relying heavily on one key player for their European glory in the past -- Michel Platini and Zinedine Zidane in the 1984 and 2000 tournaments respectively -- French fans have two talented players on whom to pin their hopes at Euro 2016.
Some suggested one was exhausted after a gruelling season and the other might be overrated but France's Antoine Griezmann and Paul Pogba have started to prove the critics wrong.

Vijay Goel vows to work 24/7 as Sports Minister

NEW DELHI: He does not have a roadmap ready with him just yet but newly-appointed Sports Minister Vijay Goel today asserted that he will work round the clock with an aim to take sports to every nook and corner of the country.Goel, who was also Sports Minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee led NDA government, also promised to do something new in the department with a fresh vision.
"It is a matter of pride that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has chosen me for this responsib ..

Indian food on Rio Olympics menu, daily allowance doubled: Sports

NEW DELHI: Indian athletes travelling to Rio de Janeiro for next month's Olympics will get Indian food in the Games village.The Sports Ministry today said that some athletes had requested for Indian food in the Games village."We have got confirmation from Rio Olympics organisers that our athletes will be served Indian food throughout the Games. It will be part of the official Games' menu," Sports Secretary Rajiv Yadav said.

Comeback king Roger Federer reaches 11th Wimbledon semi-final by beating Marin Cilic

LONDON: Roger Federer saved three match points to beat Marin Cilic 6-7 (4/7), 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (11/9), 6-3 and reach a record-equalling 11th Wimbledon semi-final on Wednesday.The 34-year-old seven-time champion also claimed a new record for Grand Slam match wins of 307 as he made a 40th semi-final at the majors. His dramatic triumph was his 84th win at Wimbledon - taking him level with Jimmy Connors - and gave him a semi-final against Canada's Milos Raonic as he continues his pursuit  ..

Bengaluru FC hire former Barcelona Coach Albert Roca

Bengaluru FC have roped in former FC Barcelona assistant manager Albert Roca as their head coach for the next season. The Blues have penned a two-year deal with Roca.The 53-year-old Spaniard, who worked at Barcelona for five seasons from 2003-08, then followed Dutch manager Frank Rijkaard to Turkish club Galatasaray (2009-2010) and finally the Saudi Arabian national team (2011-2013). Roca's last job was as manager of the El Salvador national team, where he was in charge for a year.

Jeered, Lewis Hamilton hopes for cheers at British Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton need fear no boos or whistles at Silverstone this weekend but the Formula One world champion cannot escape the fallout from Austria as he chases a fourth British Grand Prix victory.
The Mercedes driver was jeered after he won in Spielberg last Sunday following a last-lap collision with teammate Nico Rosberg, who limped home fourth with his overall lead cut to 11 points.The abuse could be explained by the German presence in the crowd, with stewards punish.

Indian cricket team reaches West Indies to play four-Test series

ST KITTS: Indian cricket team, led by skipper Virat Kohli, today reached St Kitts to play a four-Test bilateral series against the West Indies starting with the opening match at Antigua on July 21.New head coach Anil Kumble posted a photograph of the team in his twitter handle and wrote: "Reached St. Kitts... long flight..@cheteshwar1 @klrahul11 @y_umesh Tour begins @BCCI."West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) also shared a picture of the Indian team after they reached St. ..

Mumbai City FC signs Lalrinmuana, Halder, Ralte & Ali for Indian Super League

MUMBAI: Mumbai City FC has signed in David Lalrinmuana, Pronay Halder, Lalhmangaihsanga Ralte, and Anwar Ali as part of their preparation for season three of the Indian Super League (ISL).Lalrinmuana, who will turn 24 this November, was the captain for Aizawl FC in the 2015-16 I-League season. He helped Aizwal FC get promoted into the top division of Indian Football and was even adjudged Mizoram Premier League "Player of the Year" 2015 and 2016.Nominated for the FPAI .

NHAI awards Rs 895 crore road project in Rajasthan to L&T

NEW DELHI: The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has awarded a Rs 895 crore project in Rajasthan to Larsen & Toubro."The NHAI has issued Letter of Award (LOA) for development of 4-laning of Bar-Bilara-Jodhpur section in Rajasthan under phase IV of National Highways Development Projects (NHDP) to Larsen & Toubro," NHAI said in a statement.

Modi government to launch 300 Namami Gange projects tomorrow

NEW DELHI: The government will launch more than 300 projects along the banks of Ganga, ranging from construction and modernisation of ghats to afforestation of river banks, on Thursday under the Namami Gange programme to clean and protect the 2,500 km long river."Tomorrow will be a historic day...from Gangotri till the mouth of the river (Ganga Sagar), at the banks of the Ganga, banks of the Yamuna, the banks of Ram Ganga and Kali, 300 projects will start simultaneously," water res ..

Anil Madhav Dave will have to restore people’s faith in environment ministry

New environment minister Anil Madhav Dave will be expected to continue with the project approval pace of his predecessor Prakash Javadekar, but that is only half the story.The biggest challenge for Dave, a passionate environmentalist who once rafted the course of the Narmada, would be to restore the faith of environment lovers in his ministry, which had come in for flak under Javadekar’s two-year tenure.

PM Modi arrives in Mozambique as part of 4-nation Africa visit

Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Mozambique on Thursday as part of his four-nation Africa tour aimed at enhancing ties with that continent, particularly in the economic sphere and people-to-people contacts.“A Maputo morning, an African dawn! PM @narendramodi arrives in Mozambique for the first leg of his visit,” Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Vikas Swarup tweeted on Modi’s arrival in Mozambique’s capital Maputo.Modi begins his five-day tour with Mozambique and will then travel to South Africa, Tanzania and Kenya.The focus of the African tour will be on deepening cooperation in areas of hydrocarbons, maritime security, trade and investment, agriculture and food.“Beginning my Africa tour with a visit to Mozambique. This visit will strengthen India’s bond with Mozambique,” the Prime Minister said in a tweet.

Hillary Clinton will face no charges over email probe: Attorney General

US Attorney General Loretta Lynch has said that Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton would not face any charges over allegations that she violated rules by using a private email server while she was US Secretary of State.In a statement, much to the relief of the Clinton campaign, Lynch said on Wednesday she has accepted the recommendation of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in this regard.
“Late this afternoon, I met with FBI Director James Comey and career prosecutors and agents who conducted the investigation of Secretary Hillary Clinton’s use of a personal email system during her time as Secretary of State,” she said.
“I received and accepted their unanimous recommendation that the thorough, year-long investigation be closed and that no charges be brought against any individuals within the scope of the investigation,” Lynch said in a statement, which legally closes the case against the former Secretary of State.
 

Two killed in suspected militant attack at Eid gathering in Bangladesh

At least two people, including a policeman, were killed when a group of suspected radical Islamists hurled homemade bombs at security men guarding Eid prayers in Bangladesh on Thursday, officials said.The attack occurred when about 300,000 people gathered in Kishoreganj, about 90 km north of the capital of Dhaka, to offer prayers on Eid-ul-Fitr, which marks the end of the holy month of Ramzan.Bangladesh information minister said the target of the attack was a police convoy patrolling the religious gathering. The blast killed one police officer and one other person, Minister Hasanul Haq Inu said.“Up to nine police constables have been injured in the attack,” Inu told Indian broadcaster CNN-News 18.

Three astronauts blast off for ISS in upgraded Soyuz craft

Three astronauts blasted off into the early morning sky in an upgraded Soyuz spacecraft from Russia’s Baikonur cosmodrome Thursday, heading towards the International Space Station.First-time astronauts Kathleen Rubins of Nasa and Takuya Onishi of the Japanese space agency set off for a four-month mission at the ISS with Russian cosmonaut Anatoly Ivanishin at around 0136 GMT.“All is well on board!” said mission control in comments relayed by Nasa TV, which broadcast footage of the launch in Kazakhstan.
Footage also showed Ivanishin and Onishi giving each other fist bumps to celebrate the successful launch.
Features of the new Soyuz series include upgraded boosters, an improved navigation system, strengthened shielding from debris and more cells on the craft’s solar panels.

Will ‘tough’ Theresa May be a unifying post-Brexit PM

Britain’s tough-talking interior minister Theresa May has avoided the Conservative party in-fighting that dominated the EU referendum campaign, making her a strong contender to replace leader David Cameron as premier.May is now leading three candidates left in the race along with Michael Gove and Andrea Leadsom, who will be whittled down to two by Conservative MPs on Thursday before the vote goes to party members.Although a long-standing eurosceptic and hardliner on immigration, May declared herself officially in favour of Britain staying in the European Union -- but kept a low profile during the divisive campaign.The 59-year-old trod a fine line between remaining loyal to Cameron and the “Remain” campaign, while appeasing Conservative Party members who wanted to quit the EU and clamp down on immigration.

Wednesday 6 July 2016

TCS bags RCPI deal to help doctors

MUMBAI: Country's biggest IT exporter TCS today said it has bagged a deal to deploy digital solutions to help doctors at the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland (RCPI) interact with each other over the cloud.
The company's solution will enable the postgraduate medical training college to create an online community which helps doctors share expertise and access online courses throughout their careers, TCS said in a statement without disclosing the deal size.

Happiest Minds hits profits, expands to Australia & Middle East

NEW DELHI: Bangalore-based Happiest Minds Technologies has posted an annualised run rate of USD 62 million for the fiscal ended March 2016, hitting profits within four years of inception.The IT services firm, founded by former Mindtree Chairman Ashok Soota in August 2011, is also expanding its global footprint by opening operations across Australia, Middle East and Turkey."We have reported an annualised run rate of USD 62 million.

Veritas to revamp brand after separation from Symantec

PUNE: Six months after being legally separated from Symantec, VeritasBSE -1.96 % is focusing on re-establishing its presence - and brand - in the information management space. Symantec had acquired Veritas in 2005 and recently sold the company to private equity firm The Carlyle Group.
Balaji Rao, sales lead India, Veritas, told ET that the company sells almost exclusively through channel partners in India and it is about mid-way through its new channel strategy.

Tata Teleservices may shut CDMA operations in 850 Mhz band

MUMBAI: Tata Teleservices is gradually shutting its CDMA operations running on the 850 Mhz band and writing off its equipment value, said three people familiar with the company's plans.The company's airwaves across all 22 circles in the band can't be used for 4G as they weren't bought in auctions.The loss-making Tata Group telco, which has been looking for a buyer for long, may look to buy some 850 Mhz band spectrum in the three circles of Andhra Pradesh, Mumbai .

Government pilots three alternative techs to expedite Digital India plan

The government is piloting three alternative to expedite the ambitious Digital India initiative and connecting the rural parts of the country through high speed broadband.In a meeting held by the government's premier think-tank Niti Aayog last month, it has been decided that the pilots will be carried out in at least five panchayats each over the coming year to gauge the effectiveness of various technologies such as White Space, VSAT and WiFi .

Bharti Airtel, Vodafone to increase capacity, improve internet speed

 Bharti AirtelBSE -1.94 % and Vodafone, the country's top two telecom carriers, have begun upgrading their networks to increase capacity and offer higher internet speeds.They have given new contracts to networking firms Juniper and Cisco to transform their respective legacy backhaul networks into pure so-called 'IP-fied' backhaul networks with latest Internet Protocol (IP) equipment, a person familiar with the matter said.

Net neutrality camp wants free web concept to be put in telcos’ licence

 Telcos have backed the concept of net neutrality, but said it should be applied not just to them but to all those who offer similar communication services, while Save the Internet wanted the concept of free Web to be a part of the licence conditions of mobile operators.While telcos wanted some amount of traffic management to be allowed, backers of net neutrality strongly opposed this, saying they go against the principles of a free Internet and will lead to discrimination.

Twitter ropes in Facebook veteran Bret Taylor to revive fortune

NEW YORK: In a bid to regain footing in the social media landscape, Micro-blogging site Twitter has appointed Bret Taylor -- former chief technology officer at Facebook and an ex-Google employee who helped build Google Maps to its board. Bret Taylor co-founded a social networking startup called Friendfeed, Re/Code reported on Wednesday. "Bret brings to our Board a great mind for consumer products and technologies that will be invaluable to the company .

Microsoft readies Windows 10 update, answers critics

SAN FRANCISCO: As Windows 10 approaches its first birthday, Microsoft is adding new features giving its Cortana digital assistant more capabilities and offering people new ways to sign into websites and apps without passwords.The company is also changing the wording of notices it sends to users of previous versions, following complaints that it was too aggressive in pushing them to get the free Windows 10 upgrade.

Oracle brings highly-secured SPARC platform to Cloud

In a bid to provide a more secured Cloud experience to its customers, software and cloud major Oracle on Tuesday announced to bring the advanced security, efficiency and simplicity of its SPARCBSE 0.92 % platform to the Cloud.Oracle's state-of-the-art SPARC M7 microprocessor is the world's first silicon-based memory intrusion detection and a high-speed encryption chip.All existing commercial and custom applications will run on the new SPARC enterprise cloud services.

Intex Tech mobile business head Sanjay Kalirona resigns

 Intex Technologies' mobile business head Sanjay Kalirona has put in his papers, making his exit the latest among a slew of senior executives leaving the No. 3 smartphone player in a fiercely competitive market.
According to sources, Kalirona resigned late last week and will leave the company by mid of this month. One of the people said Kalirona would be joining another local yet lesser known rival, Zen Mobiles, as chief operating officer.

Panasonic sees 'full-fledged' phone manufacturing in 1-2 years

NEW DELHI: Panasonic India is looking to "fully" manufacture mobile phones in India in next two years, while it banks on robust sales to clock revenues far higher than previously targeted.
Panasonic assembles mobile phones at its Noida unit, at 'semi-knocked down' level and is looking to deepen the manufacturing capability to 'completely-knocked down' level in the next 1-2 years, a senior company official said.

China’s TCL to take India road for growth

NEW DELHI: Chinese electronics company TCL expects to generate revenue of $100 million (Rs 665 crore) from India in a year from now as it makes the South Asian nation its hub for global smartphone launches. TCL is also evaluating manufacturing phones locally, either on its own or through contract manufacturers, once it achieves optimum volumes.
The multinational company, which is the world's 10th largest smartphone maker as per Gartner data ending March.

Leading Chinese MVNO Snail Mobile to enter India

SHANGHAI: Snail Mobile, a leading Chinese mobile virtual network operator (MVNO), is looking to shortly enter India, Xu Chongxian, the company's global executive director (mobile markets) told ET.

Confident of GST passage in Monsoon session: Santosh Gangwar

NEW DELHI: Government is confident of getting the much-delayed GST Bill passed in the upcoming Monsoon session of Parliament, beginning later this month, new Minister of State for Finance Santosh Gangwar said today.Gangwar, who was yesterday shifted from the Textile Ministry to the all-important Finance Ministry, assumed charge today along with Arjun Ram Meghwal, who has also been made a Minister of State in the Finance Ministry.

India, Bhutan discuss possibility of road linking Tawang-Assam

THIMPU: India and Bhutan have discussed ways to improve security along the international border and the possibility of opening a road, linking Arunachal Pradesh's Tawang with Assam via the Himalayan country.
Better security coordination along the Indo-Bhutan border, more trade between Bhutan and Indian states like Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and West Bengal, cultural exchange and a host of other issues were discussed by Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju with the top Bhutanese

India Inc reaps gains from higher infra spend: Deutsche Bank

Deutsche Bank said increasing infrastructure spending through revival of targeted public spends has been an important part of the government's economic strategy. Though there was an initial scepticism on the success of this strategy, the progress — particularly in the power, coal, road, and railways sectors — is now becoming visible, and has also started showing tangible results.

NHAI awards Rs 895 crore road project in Rajasthan to L&T

NEW DELHI: The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has awarded a Rs 895 crore project in Rajasthan to Larsen & Toubro."The NHAI has issued Letter of Award (LOA) for development of 4-laning of Bar-Bilara-Jodhpur section in Rajasthan under phase IV of National Highways Development Projects (NHDP) to Larsen & Toubro," NHAI said in a statement.

NIA scans Zakir Naik’s speeches to evaluate if he can be prose

NEW DELHI: The agencies have begun examining the speeches and activities of Mumbai preacher revealed that two of the killers, Nibras Islam and Rohan Imtiaz, were inspired by him. Sources said NIA has asked its sleuths to gather material on Naik so that it can take a call on whether any action can be initiated against him. The agency is treading with caution, mindful of the popularity he enjoys among a section of Muslims.
"We have to scan his speeches to see if he has justified .

Cabinet expansion: Shiv Sena casts doubts on calibre of ministe

MUMBAI: A day after the expansion and reshuffle of the Narendra Modi Cabinet, ally Shiv Sena today took potshots at the BJP saying that it is difficult these days to find people of the same calibre as those who had served in the ministries of Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi.

Laxmikant Parsekar may lead BJP in Goa Assembly polls, hints Manohar Parrikar

PANAJI: Senior BJP leader and Union Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar hinted that Goa Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar will lead the party in the state elections due next year, while the latter today said it is for the party and the people to decide."Now it is the responsibility of Parsekar to get the party elected again," Parrikar said during a civic reception held last evening to celebrate the 60th birthday of Parsekar.

Perform or perish: 6 reshuffle points that prove Narendra Modi

PM Narendra Modi's message to his ministerial colleagues, both old and new, is loud and clear: Perform or perish. While picking new names and shuffling the old hands, Modi has tried to reboot ministries that were struggling to meet targets set by him. Here are key takeaways from the Cabinet reshuffle.

Water meter scam: ACB issues notice to Sheila Dikshit, asks her to join investigation

NEW DELHI: In a huge setback for the Congress, the Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) on Wednesday issued notice to former Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit, asking her to join the investigation into the water meter scam case.The notice states: "It appears that you (Sheila Dikshit) are acquainted with facts and circumstances of case and is required to join investigation." "We are probing the matter. The concerned officers have been issued notice and Sheila Dikshit ji has also been issu ..

Ravi Shankar Prasad takes charge as Law Minister

NEW DELHI: The newly appointed Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad took charge of the ministry on Wednesday. Prasad succeeds D.V. Sadananda Gowda, who was moved to the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation in the reshuffle and expansion of the Union Cabinet on Tuesday.

Anil Dave takes charge of Environment Ministry

NEW DELHI: Anil Madhav Dave, a Narmada river conservationist and environmentalist, on Wednesday took charge of the Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change. "I will take one week to understand the departmental work and then set priorities accordingly," Dave said, adding he would carry on the good work of his predecessor Prakash Javadekar, now the HRD Minister.

Cabinet expansion: Shiv Sena casts doubts on calibre of ministe

MUMBAI: A day after the expansion and reshuffle of the Narendra Modi Cabinet, ally Shiv Sena today took potshots at the BJP saying that it is difficult these days to find people of the same calibre as those who had served in the ministries of Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi.
Miffed at being ignored in the ministry expansion, Sena had yesterday said it was 'hurt' at the way the exercise was carried out and questioned the Prime Minister's "selection criterion".
 

Laxmikant Parsekar may lead BJP in Goa Assembly polls, hints Manohar Parrikar

PANAJI: Senior BJP leader and Union Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar hinted that Goa Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar will lead the party in the state elections due next year, while the latter today said it is for the party and the people to decide."Now it is the responsibility of Parsekar to get the party elected again," Parrikar said during a civic reception held last evening to celebrate the 60th birthday of Parsekar.

Water meter scam: ACB issues notice to Sheila Dikshit, asks her to join investigation

NEW DELHI: In a huge setback for the Congress, the Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) on Wednesday issued notice to former Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit, asking her to join the investigation into the water meter scam case.
The notice states: "It appears that you (Sheila Dikshit) are acquainted with facts and circumstances of case and is required to join investigation." "We are probing the matter. The concerned officers have been issued notice and Sheila Dikshit ji has also been issu ..

Anil Dave takes charge of Environment Ministry

NEW DELHI: Anil Madhav Dave, a Narmada river conservationist and environmentalist, on Wednesday took charge of the Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change.
"I will take one week to understand the departmental work and then set priorities accordingly," Dave said, adding he would carry on the good work of his predecessor Prakash Javadekar, now the HRD Minister.

Tata Advanced Systems tying up with Bell Helicopter to compete for $2-billion naval chopper contract

NEW DELHI: Looking to consolidate its position as a leader in the Indian defence aviation industry, Tata Advanced Systems is tying up with Bell Helicopter of the US to compete against the Mahindra-Airbus combination for a $2-billion naval chopper manufacturing contract.
The mega contract for 100 utility helicopters to be operated from warships will be awarded as a 'Make in India' project. Tata will form a joint venture with Bell to bid for the contract under existing foreign direct  ..

Reliance Defence gets Reserve Bank nod to exit CDR

NEW DELHI: Batting for more involvement of the private sector in indigenous developmental efforts, defence minister Manohar Parrikar has told India's premier defence research organisation to ensure a partner from the industry in all projects where 'sufficient' orders are expected from the forces. The minister said that government-owned production agencies like Bharat Dynamics and Bharat ElectronicsBSE 0.15 % need to learn to compete with the private sector and that a joint effort is required to  ..

Infosys, TCS and Wipro see a big jump in campus offers acceptance

As the number of jobs in India's $160-billion information technology industry starts shrinking with each passing year, engineering graduates across are scrambling for every vacancy in a sector that was once a big