After two months of respite, India’s import bill has again started going up, partly due to high crude prices and the restarting of refineries under repair. Exports, however, continued their 30% year on year growth in January, though they slipped by around $2 billion compared to December. Oil imports bounced back from $6.9 billion in […]
Worldwide sales of mobile phones to end users reached 419 million units in the second quarter of 2012, a 2.3 percent decline from the second quarter of 2011, according to Gartner, Inc. Smartphone sales accounted for 36.7 percent of total mobile phone sales and grew 42.7 percent in the second quarter of 2012. “Demand slowed […]
The slipping economic growth rate has started showing in the recruitment numbers, according to the latest numbers released by India’s biggest recruitment firm Naukri.com. The July numbers showed a decline in hiring in sectors that depend on domestic demand, instead of catering to the foreign markets. Sectors that showed a slowdown include banking, oil and […]
The recent slashing of 3G tariffs by leading operators such as Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Idea led to a doubling of data usage in just one month, Nokia Siemens Networks, which runs nearly 30% of India’s mobile networks, said. About two months ago, Indian operators had cut the price of 1 GB of 3G data […]
The electronic and IT manufacturers of India have raised issue with the government on rising “inspector raj” in the implementation of India’s new e-waste rules. India put in place new rules to handle e-waste — the toxic residue of items such as mobile phones, computers, TV and printers — in May this year. The new […]
A 2009 US diplomatic cable leaked by Wikileaks has exposed how Pakistani leaders had to practically beg the US ambassador for money to carry out basic functions such as providing education and drinking water to its people last year. The cable written by US ambassador to Pakistan Anne Patterson shows Pakistani finance minister Shaukat Tarin […]
The newly formed Congress government in Kerala seems to be heading for a controversy that has an uncanny similarity to the CVC PJ Thomas episode at Centre. While the Congress-led government at the Centre appointed a corruption accused as the chief of India’s anti-corruption body, in Kerala, the days old Congress-led government has appointed an […]
The decision by the Joint Parliamentary Committee to ascertain the ‘loss of revenue’ due to a shift in telecom policy 12 years ago is likely to open another can of statistical worms. The move is also likely to be aimed at obfuscating the core issue of a minister manipulating existing policy for favoring a handful […]
The 1.9 million tonne cement plant and captive power plant being set up by Nirma near the Coast in Gujarat is likely to be forced to relocate after the environment ministry’s expert committee upheld the findings of a small expert fact-finding mission. In its recommendations — published by the environment ministry a few hours ago […]
The government has done away with tax deductions linked to accumulated losses, moving towards an investment-linked tax incentive scheme. In the budget for 2011-12, the government said it is withdrawing the so-called 10-A and 10-B deductions due to rampant misuse by companies. Many companies artificially lower their profits or declare losses to get the benefit […]
Anna Hazare’s broad-based anti-corruption alliance ‘India Against Corruption’ seems all set to form a new political party after Anna’s supporters voted overwhelmingly in favor of the option, according to initial trends. Anna Hazare himself said he was in agreement with the requests of his followers. “I will not be part of any party, but I […]
Google and NIIT joined hands to introduce a training service for young professionals in India. The program named ‘Google Web Academy’ aims to bridge the digital skill gap in the country and help students and professionals capitalize on the emerging job market for the online industry. Under the initiative, NIIT will be Google’s first partner […]
In its first major move after former commerce secretary Rahul Khullar took over as TRAI chief, the regulator has proposed tightening the penalties for mobile operators who flout number portability (MNP) rules and subscribers who send commercial SMSes and calls. It also suggested doing away with the so-called ‘processing fee’ on recharge coupons, thus enabling […]
Essar Oil said it has tied up credit arrangements worth Rs 5,000 crore from Indian banks to pay its sales tax bill of Rs 6,169 crore. Essar Oil is a subsidiary of Essar Energy, listed on the London Stock Exchange as ESSR. In April this year, the Supreme Court of India had rejected Essar Oil’s […]
India’s IT spending will buck the overall global slowdown and grow at a strong rate of 16.3% in dollar terms this year, International Data Corporation (IDC) said. The growth forecast is unexpectedly strong and bullish, given that Gartner recently predicted that global IT spending will grow only 3% this year. According to IDC, India’s total […]
In the era of cheap me-too 7-inch tablets, PC peripherals brand Intex has launched a standout ultra-slim tablet with a built-in keyboard like that of the Microsoft Surface. The Intex i-Buddy, priced at Rs 6,500 (the same as Micromax Funbook), seems better value for money than the Micromax model and many others in the 7-inch […]
After several years of relentless increases in spending on populist schemes such as the National Employment Guarantee scheme, food, fertilizer and fuel subsidies, the government has finally applied the brakes in the budget for 2011-12. Instead of increasing budgets to rope in more people under the schemes, the government has proposed to make the schemes […]
Banks in India will face increasing stress over the next two years due to a possible deterioration in asset quality and overall economic malaise, ratings agency Standard and Poor’s said. While other BRIC countries will also face slowing growth, India’s situation is the most dire among the four big developing nations, it said. “We believe […]
Prices of food items, particularly pulses and coarse cereals, are likely to rise in coming months due to a possible drought in India this year and add to the already high inflation levels, CRISIL Research has warned. It pointed out that monsoon has so far been 22% below average and the situation is reminiscent of […]
Internet purchases are worth $10 billion (Rs 50,000 crore) at present, but are growing fast, prompting online retailers like Flipkart and Myntra to burn cash to attract customers, a new study by consultancy firm Zinnov has found. On a positive note, it noted that online retail accounts for only 0.5% of the total retail industry […]
