India’s oil import bill continued to remain near record levels in January, and imports of non-oil items too gained pace, taking the trade deficit to the unhealthy $200 billion mark this year. India’s oil bill rose 7 percent in January to $15.6 billion. The increase was 12.3% in rupee terms, as the value of the […]
A vast majority of salaried class people employed in a host of trade and industry sectors want the Finance Minister Mr. P Chidambaram to raise the exemption limit of income tax to at least Rs 3 lakhs and increase deductions such as medical and educational allowances in the Union Budget so that they are left […]
Global payments company Visa Inc has tied up with India’s ICICI Bank to introduce a ready-made ‘mobile money’ solution targeting mobile operators, smaller banks etc.. The solution, which will enable smaller banks and operators compete with the likes of ‘Airtel Mobile Money’ and Oxicash, has got its anchor tenant in the form of Maxis-owned Aircel […]
India has been dragged into a tough diplomatic situation with the former president of Maldives Mohamed Nasheed and 12 members of parliament from his party rushing to the Indian embassy in the island nation, seeking protection. Maldivian police forces are standing outside the Indian embassy, urging the politicians to get out of the embassy and […]
It has been a year since Indian and foreign media reported that India’s procurement of 12 VVIP helicopters from Italy’s Finmeccanica through Britain’s Agusta Westland was being probed for corruption by magistrates in Italy. Yet, the government did not order any inquiry despite the Italian investigation. It was in February 2012 that Italian media reported […]
Cheap and Samsung never go together, at least in the Indian market. The Korean company enjoys the perks of being a premium brand, next only to Apple, in the Indian mobile and tablet market. While that has ensured that the Indian market remains profitable for Samsung, it has also opened up a large gap in […]
The Suryanelli case has taken yet another turn with the arrest of Dharmarajan, the only person who was convicted in the case and who accused Rajya Sabha deputy chairman PJ Kurien of involvement in the rape case. Dharmarajan had jumped bail soon after being convicted in 2001 for traficking the girl for prostitution and other […]
Giving into a long-time demand from users, Google News has now enabled users to totally filter out, or ‘ban’, news sources that they don’t like. The feature, introduced without any fanfare, works using a ‘slider’ system for signed-in users, and can be accessed by clicking on the ‘gear wheel’ icon on the top right of […]
The Suryanelli rape case took yet another turn on Monday morning with Dharmarajan, the key and only person in the scandal who was convicted in the case, saying that he had taken Congress leader PJ Kurien to the Kumili guest house where the girl was kept. Rajyasabha deputy chairman PJ Kurien was not named in […]
India’s consumer price index has jumped by 10.8% in January, on of the steepest rates of price increases. Price increases are calculated on the basis of surveys conducted by the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) to find out what ordinary people consume the most, and how the prices have changed in the market. An increase […]
Telecom firms that failed to get 3G or 4G spectrum in the auctions may be allowed to launch such high-speed services using their existing, or 2G, spectrum, according to the latest consultation paper by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). In its consultation paper in response to the Supreme Court judgement quashing 122 mobile […]
Asian Americans are the American minority most unimpressed with how they are portrayed in mainstream TV, according to a survey about 1,500 households in the United States. 27% of the Asian respondents felt the portrayal of their community in mainstream media was inaccurate, while only 22% felt it was accurate. The rest were neutral. Similarly, […]
Growth prospects for India’s industrial production look quite weak and the output may show less than two per cent expansion in the current financial year, an ASSOCHAM study has indicated. The not-so-bright outlook for the industrial growth has been projected despite the fact that there are visible signs of improvement in the business confidence in […]
Intel said it is appointing Kumud Srinivasan as president for Intel India. With over 3,500 people, India is Intel’s largest non-manufacturing site outside the US. Kumud succeeds Praveen Vishakantaiah who is relocating to the U.S. as the General Manager of Client Solutions and Technology group in the PC Client Group for Intel. Srinivasan has been […]
U.P chief minister Akhilesh Yadav rejected Arvind Kejriwal’s claim that the U.P. government is not serious about allegations of misappropriations by a trust owned by Salman Khurshid’s wife, Louise Khurshid. “It is not correct. It is our government which initiated the inquiry. We could start the inquiry only when we came to power. How can […]
UPDATE: The plans are no longer available and were posted on Vodafone’s website in error, a public relations official speaking on behalf of the operator told RTN. Readers are advised that the plans are not available. After a period of relative calm in India’s 3G data tariffs space, Vodafone Delhi has shattered the silence with […]
Mobile customers of state-owned telecom operator BSNL can now look forward to better quality of service in North and South India as the company has finally placed purchase orders for equipment after four years. BSNL has been facing controversies and delays in purchasing new GSM equipment for the last 4 to 5 years due to […]
If you are on the look out for the latest and sexiest Android smartphone, you can safely give the new Samsung Galaxy Galaxy GC100 a miss. It is as thick as four or five of the new smartphones available at the same price levels in India, Rs 29,850. But the Galaxy GC 100 is not […]
A month after the much bandied number portability was introduced, telecom firms have started accusing each other of using underhand means to prevent subscribers from leaving them. The accusations have come even as consumer complaints grow that some operators are just not letting them move out of their networks. The system is being hijacked by […]
The Commerce Secretary Rahul Khullar has scalded the Finance Ministry’s decision to withdraw the Income tax concession given to Special Economic Zones (SEZ.) Khullar said the move is akin to changing the policy “midstream” and will affect the sentiments towards investing in India. “It is one issue to hurt people who have already taken the […]
