Hero MotoCorp (HMCL) reported a 2.4% increase in its motorcycle shipments in March, well below the growth seen in the full year. Hero, which split from its joint venture partner Honda last year, sold 5.28 lakh vehicles in March, up from 5.16 lakh in March 2011. In comparison, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI) saw […]
Former railway minister Dinesh Trivedi seems set on his way to becoming a new middle class hero. The minister, who was unceremoniously ejected from the Union Cabinet as a result of a political and ego tussle between the Congress party and its ally Mamata Banerjee, will deliver a lecture on “Country, Before Party and Self” […]
Micromax has entered the Indian tablet market with a 7-inch ‘Funbook’ priced at Rs 6,500, making it the cheapest Android tablet in India from a prominent brand. That credit earlier belonged to HCL’s ME U1 tablet, priced at Rs 8,000. The Funbook is a good 19% cheaper than the HCL ME U1. Micromax has partnered […]
Sun Direct will offer IPL (Indian Premier League) matches in high definition (HD). Previously, Sony Max HD, the channel on which IPL is being telecast, was being offered by cable operator Hathway. However, subscribers will need to have HD enabled set top boxes to enjoy the broadcast. “All existing HD customers of Sun Direct as […]
The GSM Association, which represents GSM operators and equipment companies worldwide, predicted that India will have 367 million (36.7 crore) mobile broadband connections by 2016. India currently has a total of around 20-30 million broadband connections, including about 13 million DSL connections. The exact number of broadband connections in India is not known, as 3G […]
Many consumer rights groups have faulted trading in agricultural commodity price futures for the rapid rise in prices, but now, even the trade bodies are joining in. Industry body Assocham gave out a strongly-worded statement decrying what it called the Harshad-Mehta-scam-like situation in India’s commodity exchanges, fueling a fantastic rise in prices. “Turmeric, which was […]
India’s core sector industries’ output grew 6.8% year on year in February, government numbers revealed. The eight industries have a combined weight of 37.90 per cent in India’s Index of Industrial Production (IIP). The combined Index was 145.6 in February 2012. It had grown 6.4% Growth in February 2011. The growth is significantly higher than […]
India’s defence minister AK Antony said a major “step up” is required in India’s defence modernization to keep up with its neighbours. “We live in a sensitive region. We have to consider the pace at which our neighbours are modernizing… Need a substantial step-up for the modernization.. It is our stance, a balanced stand will […]
Defence minister of AK Antony termed the recent leak of Army chief VK Singh’s letter to the Prime Minister as “anti-national.” “Whoever leaked this letter.. that act is anti-national. No patriotic Indian will do this. It helps only enemies, only our enemies… We have requested the IB to enquire about this.. We want to know […]
Global rating agency Fitch has forecast that real GDP in India could grow around 7.5% in the new financial year, up from an estimate of 7.0% in FY2011-12. “India appears to be reaching the bottom of the current economic cycle. Real GDP grew just 6.1% yoy in Q411, down from 6.9% yoy in Q311… Industrial […]
The ruling Congress Party’s cup of woes continue to overflow. Announcement for the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) was supposed to facilitate the smooth functioning of the Parliament but the Lower House or Lok Sabha continues to see disruption, and this time on the issue of a separate Telengana state. Leading the protest were eleven Congress […]
The government today claimed that the widely reported case of polio in West Bengal was not, in fact, one. Media reports had claimed that India’s multi-year effort to wipe out polio from the country had failed, with the case of Sumi Naskar 18-month old girl from from Baruipur, 24-Parganas South. India has not reported any […]
Air India’s losses has increased by around 20% this year, going by the numbers for the first half, the government told the Rajya Sabha yesterday. India’s national carrier has recorded a loss of Rs 4,100 crore in the first six months of the year. On an annualized basis, the carrier may suffer a loss of […]
India’s trade deficit could be in excess of $180 billion this year and could rise to an alarming $428.3 billion by 2015-16, creating a payments crisis, industry body ASSOCHAM said today. India had a target of keeping its goods-trade deficit in the $120-130 range this year, but has failed miserably to stick to the estimates, […]
The Central Vigilance Commission recommended major penalty proceedings against over 1600 central government officers in the last three years, according to data from the ministry of personnel, pensions and public grievances. The ministry, headed by V Narayanasamy, however, did not give the details of how many of these recommendations were heeded. Instead, the ministry redirected […]
Overruling environmentalists’ protests, the Forest Advisory Committee — the final experts body under the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) — has recommended clearance for Mayawati’s ambitious eight-lane expressway from Greater Noida to Saharanpur along the Upper Ganges Canal. The project, which will involved cutting down 42,100 trees in five districts, will however have to […]
India’s total mobile penetration is only 51%, international technology market research agency Gartner said, well below the official estimate of a teledensity of around 75% by the TRAI. The number of mobile users in India increased by just 9% in 2011, hitting 638 million (63.8 crore) at the end of last year, the agency said. […]
If you are wondering what is the best way to save tax, mutual funds are the way to go, according to an analysis by Crisil Research, part of the CRISIL rating agency. According a study of the tax saving mutual funds, called ‘equity linked savings scheme’ or ELSS in India, showed that they offered more […]
Worldwide software as a service (SaaS) revenue is forecast to reach $14.5 billion in 2012, up 17.9 percent from 2011, said Gartner. SaaS-based delivery will experience healthy growth through 2015, when worldwide revenue is projected to reach $22.1 billion, it added. “After more than a decade of use, adoption of SaaS continues to grow and […]
India’s embattled national carrier Air India reported better traffic and revenue numbers for February and proceeded to set up direct import of aviation fuel. The passenger revenue during February 2012 went up 32% to Rs. 949 crores from a year ago. Total number of passengers who flew on Air India also went up 13.4% to […]
