23 GW of solar parks sanctioned in India, Gujarat No.1

Gujarat, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh are emerging as the top destinations for large, utility scale solar projects in India, according to numbers from the Minister of New and Renewable Energy. According to data for Government of India’s “Solar Parks and Ultra Mega Solar Power Projects” scheme, Gujarat ranked as the state with the highest number […]

Idea Cellular officially confirms DoT approval for Vodafone merger

Idea Cellular, India’s fourth largest telecom company, officially confirmed the receipt of approval for its mega merger with Vodafone India. “We wish to inform you that the Department of Telecom has approved the merger of Vodafone India ltd and Vodafone Mobile Services Ltd with Idea Cellular Ltd,” the company said in a statement today morning. […]

Indian govt demands greater access from WhatsApp, Facebook & Twitter

India’s Information Technology Department today unveiled a new plan of action to combat fake news that would require foreign social media firms like Facebook, Twitter and Google to establish offices in India and actively help in flagging and tracking down people who post troublesome messages online. Ravi Shankar Prasad also said WhatsApp, in particular, has […]

Eros forms JV with Baahubali writer V Vijayendra Prasad

Eros International Media, one of India’s leading content producers, said it has formed a joint venture company with V Vijayendra Prasad, the writer of popular movies like Baahubali, Magadheera and Bajrangi Bhaijaan. Eros International said Prasad has already penned down 10 stories that will be converted into films by the new company. “To bring these […]

PVR opens four-hall multiplex at Garuda Mall, Mysore

PVR Cinemas, the country’s largest cinema exhibition chain, said it has opened a four-hall multiplex cinema at Garuda Mall in Mysore. The multiplex has 948 seats and comes with 2K projection systems, Dolby Digital 7.1 surround sound and next generation 3-D screens. The property is spread over 29,500 square feet. Chairman and MD Ajay Bijli said […]

Sun Pharma launches diabetes drug metformin in the US

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries  said it has launched the glucose regulating drug  metformin hydrochloride in the United States. The tablets in two strengths — 500 mg and 1000 mg —  have an addressable market size  of around $443 million, the company said, quoting IQVIA. Metformin hydrochloride is sold in the US by Santarus Inc under the […]

Facebook most prompt in blocking posts; Twitter, Instagram least

Facebook has emerged as the social media platform that has the highest degree of compliance with Government of India’s blocking requests, while Twitter and Instagram have the least. In all, the government issued blocking requests for 2,205 posts in 2017 and 2018 (up to June), out of which 74% were taken down by the concerned […]

Indian MPs question govt over stopping crude oil imports from Iran

Government of India has faced questions from members of parliament on reports that it has asked state-owned refiners to get ready to stop importing crude oil from Iran in the face of pressure from the United States. A question from Lok Sabha MPs Supriya Sule and Mullappally Ramachandran sought to know “whether the Government has […]

HT Media print ad sales down 7% YoY, 6.5% QoQ

HT Media, the publisher of Hindustan Times and Mint newspapers, reported disappointing advertisement sales for the Apr-Jun quarter, and said corporations were not spending on ads due to poor earnings growth. The company generated only Rs 221 cr during the three months from advertisement sales at its English newspapers Hindustan Times and Mint, a decline […]

Hindustan Media Ventures profit down 73% as sales slide

Hindustan Media Ventures, which publishes Hindustan – the Hindi newspaper from the Hindustan Times Group, showed no signs of a recovery in its business as print media continued to grapple from the impact of rising internet penetration. Net profit fell 73% on year to Rs 13.2 cr, even as profit before exception items and tax […]