The Prime Minister’s Trade and Economic Relations Committee has stepped in after complaints by the Indian pharma industry over India’s planned trade agreement with the European Union. The commerce ministry led by Anand Sharma has been negotiating a trade agreement — aimed at reducing import duties and facilitating better access for companies on both sides […]
India’s second largest industry association, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) has lent its support to Congress President Sonia Gandhi’s proposal to allot mines only through bidding, but called it unsuitable for many cases. Under the current system, mines and similar natural resources (except oil blocks) are allotted in a non-transparent […]
This is the second part of the biographies gleaned from the Guantanamo prison records leaked by Wikileaks today. They show, up and close, how many young men decided to take up arms for their religion, how they were facilitated by religious teachers etc.. However, it must be remembered that the histories are largely based on […]
Bollywood actor Shiney Ahuja, serving seven years in jail on sexual assault charges levied by his former housemaid, has received bail from the Bombay High Court. The Court granted bail after noting that Shiney has not tried to tamper with evidence even when he was not in jail as the case was going on. He […]
The Central Bureau of Investigation, India’s premier investigating agency, has filed the second charge-sheet in the $10 billion 2G spectrum case. However, the filing at the special CBI court in Delhi has been opposed on procedural grounds by A Raja’s lawyer. The Court is expected to allow or disallow the filing by 4:30 pm. While […]
The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), India’s biggest industry association, has warned of a ‘soft landing’ for the economy in the current year due to high inflation, oil prices and slowing capital investments. Addressing his first press conference after taking over as CII president, Tata Steel Vice Chairman B Muthuraman said CII expected Indian GDP […]
Reliance Infrastructure, the engineering, infrastructure and construction company from the Anil Ambani group has again started share buy-backs on a large scale. The company announced that it had bought back 1 lakh shares of the company today from the open market. At around Rs 695 per share, the company has spent Rs 7 crore in […]
Defence Minister AK Antony, known for his clean image, has urged top defence officials not to fall into the trap of corruption in the “garb of aggressive marketing.” “At times, vested interests bring about unnecessary pressure and resort to corrupt practices that can wreak serious havoc upon our security in more ways than one. We […]
Kaspersky Lab, the Russia-based anti-virus provider with a substantial marketshare in India, has announced a ‘privacy guard’ cum anti-virus software for smartphones. The software will not only protect phones from viruses, but also enable users to create white lists and black lists of contacts. No call records or contact details will be visible if persons […]
India Against Corruption (IAC), the umbrella body led by Anna Hazare spearheading the fight for the establishment of a Lokpal (corruption ombudsman) has announced plans to have a nationwide awareness program including mass rallies and meetings in the coming days. “The response is so overwhelming that all these dates have been pre-booked. Other dates are […]
The Department of Atomic Energy, Government of India’s Atomic Energy wing, has denied allegations that the Jaitapur Nuclear plant is situated in an earth-quake prone zone. It said the nearest tectonic fault — an area where one underground earth ‘plate’ meets another — is at least 30 km away. The plant has come under increasing […]
Freedom on the Internet is coming under more and more threat from governments around the world, according to the second ‘Freedom on the Net’ (FOTN) report by the Freedom Institute for 2011. The study of 37 countries found former Soviet republic Estonia to have the freest Internet, with a restriction of just 10 points, followed […]
In a judgement that will be welcomed by many air travellers in India, the Supreme Court has quashed the ‘Airport Development Fees’ or ADF charged by private airports like Delhi and Mumbai today. The judgement is likely to lower domestic air tickets prices by around Rs 200 or more. Besides ADF, air ticket prices are […]
The second ‘Freedom on the Net’ (FOTN) report by the Washington-based Freedom Institute has expressed concern over the decreasing freedom of expression on the Internet in India. The Institute, which put India in the company of states like China, Egypt and Iran which saw a deterioration of freedom of expression on the Internet since the […]
The prime minister Manmohan Singh put down his foot firmly in favor of the Jaitapur Nuclear Project today, four days after environment minister Jairam Ramesh called for a ‘pause’ on the project. After talks with Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chawan, V Narayanasamy, the junior minister in charge of the Prime Minister’s portfolio (which include Nuclear […]
Union environment minister Jairam Ramesh has removed a clause requiring compensation-seekers from depositing 1% of their requested compensation upfront with the application. The move came after a media report that criticised the provision as the Government trying to “make the victim pay for justice.” Ramesh said the intention was to deter non-serious applicants and there […]
Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chawan flatly blamed ‘outsiders’ for “instigating” trouble at Jaitapur, the site of a proposed Nuclear plant by French company Areva. Chawan said the dangers from the 10,000 megawatt nuclear plant have been exaggerated by those with vested interests and those who are ideologically opposed to all nuclear power. “The agitations are […]
A December 2006 US diplomatic cable leaked by Wikileaks has given valuable insights into what the Americans, at least the then US ambassador David Mulford, viewed as India’s role in the emerging political scenario in Asia. Not only did Mulford see India as a counterweight to China, “which it can never match,” but he also […]
The National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) — the powerful industry lobby of India’s software and BPO industry — appointed Rajendra Pawar, chairman of NIIT group as its new chairman. Som Mittal will continue to be the President of the organization, arguably India’s most successful industry-lobby. N Chandrasekaran, the CEO and MD of […]
We’ve all heard of newspapers coming out with April Fool’s stories, but a cable leaked by Wikileaks reveals that even the dour diplomats have a funny bone they let out once in a year. The cable, reproduced in entirety below, was authored by the American Embassy in charge Steven White on April 1, 2008 and […]
