News of India

2011-11-17T03:35:00.001-08:00

2011-11-17T02:33:00.001-08:00

Market could witness volatility due to IIP numbers and Q1 results

2011-07-09T09:46:00.000-07:00

TOI | Although, market was able to overcome the resistance around 5700 on Nifty and 19000 on the Sensex, it was unable to sustain above these psychological levels.

The 50-share Nifty closed at 5660.65 (+0.58% for the week) while Sensex closed at 18858.04 (+0.51% for the week). On a weekly basis, the major sectoral gainers were BSE Realty (+7% for the week) and BSE CD (+4.15% for the week) while BSE metal (-1.22%) was the major sectoral loser for the week.

Sustenance above the psychological mark can take the market to 5900 levels. The near term triggers for the market are the Q1 FY-12 numbers and the RBI policy meeting later during the month.

Looking ahead, market could witness increase in volatility due to announcement of IIP numbers and Infosys Q1 FY12 results on 12th July 2011.

On the earnings front, consensus estimates show that the aggregate earnings growth for the Sensex companies is likely to be limited to high single digits in Q1 FY-2012 in spite of the expectations of a strong 20 pc plus growth in the aggregate revenues during the same period.

On the domestic market front, food inflation for the week ended 25th June, eased to seven week low, at 7.6 pc compared to 7.8 pc in the previous week which also supported the upbeat sentiment in the market.

The new mining Bill, was approved by a 10-member Group of Ministers (GoM) that indicated that coal companies will have to share 26 pc profit with the local population had a negative bearing on mining companies although its full implications if implemented will be felt from FY13.

On the Global market front, this week saw China raising interest rates again. The week, also witnessed Moody's downgraded Portugal's debt. Interest rates in Italy and Spain rose to a new high for the year and this could be a concern.

In the US markets, the ISM services numbers came in below expectations at 53.5. The number is still above the critical 50 level and it indicates economic expansion. The ADP employment showed that 157,000 jobs were added to the private sector in June.

This was 100,000 jobs more than analysts had expected. Next week, FOMC meeting minutes, Retail Sales
(MoM), CPI (MoM) should provide direction to the US markets. For the US markets, earnings season officially kicks off next week, but the big earnings announcements are still two weeks away.

Keywords: STOCK MARKETS | INDIAN STOCK MARKETS | EQUITY MARKETS

MCA detect 80,000 Companies as defaulters for last five years

2011-07-09T09:35:00.000-07:00

PTI | Asserting that companies that have not filed annual returns and balancesheet to Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) for past five years have been put on notice, a senior official of MCA today said there were 80,000 such companies in northern India.

"About 80000 defaulters (defaulting companies) are there in northern India. There are various type of defaulters and most of them are defaulters due to failure to submit annual statement and balance sheets of the companies. But we taking strict action now", the ministry's Regional Director, Northern Region, B K Bansal told reporters.

"These companies were filing only even-based information with the MCA as per their convenience and not filing annual returns. We have sent them notices in past two months and have now blocked them", Bansal said.

He further said that MCA has taken steps for compliance management by the companies to ensure they file their annual returns and balancesheets duly audited in time.

Companies that have failed to file annual returns with MCA for past five years have been barred from filing any further documents with regard to benefits, he said.

"To make the move effective, ministry has also informed the banks associated with defaulting companies", Bansal said.

It has been decided that no request, whether oral or in writing or through e-forms, for recording any even-based information/changes shall be accepted by the Registrar of Companies (ROC) from such defaulting companies unless they file their updated balancesheet and profit and loss accounts and annual returns with ROC, he said.

This is in order to ensure corporate governance and proper compliance of provisions of Companies Act, 1956.

Bansal said companies are now registered by the ROC within 24 hours of filing of complete documents.

MCA has launched drive for withdrawal of prosecution cases filed wrongly against companies and directors, if any, he said.

He said the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) is now fully e-governed and registers almost all the documents in new State of art e-governance project - State Through Process (STP.

"It means that all the documents once it is uploaded through internet and fee is paid, will be registered immediately through STP mode by ROC office", he said.

Keywords : ROC | ROC INDIA | BUSINESS | INDIAN BUSINESS

Genelia is John Abraham’s duly wed wife! | Genelia |John Abraham|bollywood

2011-07-09T07:34:00.000-07:00

Genelia D’Souza and with John Abraham in a still from the film

An on screen Bollywood marriage is close to reality as it shows the entire wedding ritual in an elaborated manner to complement the enormous amount of money that is spent behind the larger than life wedding sets. And the Tinsel Town is known to recreate weddings on screen in the most authentic and dramatic manner.

Not too long ago, there was news of Genelia D’Souza and John Abraham doing a wedding sequence for their upcoming film `Force` wherein the mantras that were chanted were real and the duo completed all the wedding rituals religiously. The priest, Pandit Bhagwat Guruji was so engrossed performing the rituals that he forgot it was not real but reel wedding and he ended up pronouncing them duly wed husband and wife in real life.

Now comes a twist in the tale! According to the priest Genelia cannot tie the nuptial in the near future with her alleged beau Riteish Deshmukh. He has asked producer Vipul Shah to help him fix an appointment with Genelia so that he could talk to her about the present situation.

Talking to a daily, a source revealed, "There`s a scene in `Force` where the lead pair get married. Instead of a junior artiste, they called a real pandit for the scene. He insisted that she couldn`t get married as she was already married to John!"

However, producer Shah said, "The pandit is now mad at us for getting him involved in this scene. He`s treating it like a real wedding, but I want to make him understand that that`s not the case. In my entire career, I`ve never experienced anything of this sort!"

Keywords :Genelia |John Abraham | bollywood | bollywood news |

DMK-Congress alliance will continue said by Pranab | Pranab meets Karunanidhi

2011-07-09T00:55:00.000-07:00

CHENNAI(TOI): Two days after DMK leader Dayanidhi Maran resigned as textiles minister, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee met DMK chief M. Karunanidhi on Saturday and said the alliance between the two parties "will continue", amid speculation over an impending Union Cabinet reshuffle early next week,

"There is a lot of speculation whether the alliance between the Congress and the DMK is on and I want to say that this alliance is there. The alliance will continue and it will be strengthened," Mukherjee told reporters after the meeting here, IANS reported.

"This is my third visit to Chennai after the state assembly elections (held in April) and therefore I took the opportunity to meet Karunanidhi and explain the current political situation to him," he added.

Maran resigned on Thursday as textiles minister in the wake of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) report about his role in the 2G spectrum scam.

There was speculation that Mukherjeee met the DMK patriarch apparently to know about the party's choice for replacements for Maran and A Raja, who had earlier quit over the scam. At present, the UPA's key regional ally has only one representation in the cabinet, M K Alagiri, son of Karunanidhi.

This was the first high level meeting between Congress and the DMK in recent weeks after Karunanidhi's daughter Kanimozhi was arrested over the 2G spectrum allocation scam that has left the DMK patriarch sulking.

Karunanidhi, who recently met Kanimozhi in the Tihar jail for the second time, skipped the second anniversary celebrations of the UPA government, choosing to depute former minister T R Baalu. He also did not meet Sonia Gandhi , indicating the growing strains between the two allies.

For the record, Baalu, the DMK Parliamentary party leader, indicated the party was not in a hurry and would not seek any replacements for the time being for Maran and Raja.

Before Mukherjee arrived at Karunanidhi's residence, Maran met Karunanidhi for the second time since his arrival from Delhi last night, when he briefed him about the developments surrounding his resignation.

Maran's exit comes at a time when the ties between Congress and DMK are under strain and reports said Mukherjee's visit here was also to "assuage" the feelings of Karunanidhi, particularly over the arrest of Kanimozhi.

Maran quit the Cabinet a day after the CBI told the Supreme Court that he had 'forced' telecom promoter C Sivasankaran to sell his company Aircel to a Malaysian firm when he was the telecom minister in 2006.

Keywords :Pranab Mukherjee | Karunanidhi |DMK | UPS |

Airbus Baged an orders of worth $35 bln from India - exec

2011-07-09T00:39:00.000-07:00

(Reuters) - European plane maker Airbus has orders worth $35 billion from India, a senior company executive said on Friday, with recent record order wins in the fast-growing market accounting for more than half of the total orders.
Indian carriers are rapidly expanding their operations as an economy growing at nearly 9 percent spurs business travel and the middle class, long accustomed to traveling by rail, increasingly takes to the air.
Airbus has an order backlog of more than 400 planes to be delivered to Indian carriers over the next 15 years, Joost Van Der Heijden, Airbus' head of airline marketing for Africa, India, South East Asia and Japan, told reporters in Mumbai.
He said India is the seventh-largest market for Airbus but expected it to climb in coming years.
"India will move up with traffic growth higher than anywhere in the world," Heijden said.
"The Indian fleet will certainly more than double and could even triple in the coming years," he said on the sidelines of an industry conference organised by Euromoney.
Indian budget carriers Indigo and GoAir last month placed plane orders worth nearly $23 billion in total with Airbus.
Rival Boeing has existing orders of about $15 billion with airlines in India, the top official in its Indian unit said on Thursday.
Boeing expects India's commercial plane market to reach $150 billion over the next 20 years, as a burgeoning middle class is expected to drive demand in Asia's third-largest economy.

key words: BUSINESS | AIRLAINES | DEALS

Bollywood Inspired by Hollywood in Useing Techanalogy

2011-07-09T00:14:00.000-07:00

a picture from Bollywood film ''Bheja Fry 2'' after special effects

(Reuters Life!) - Don't look for an Indian "Avatar" anytime soon, but Bollywood, inspired by the success of blockbusters such as "Transformers," is starting to take special effects seriously.
Up until five years ago, producers were unwilling to embrace technology, preferring instead to spend millions on expensive outdoor shoots and sets.
That changed when India became a viable back-end destination for Hollywood films like "Tron" and "Avatar" amid a growing wave of outsourcing post-production special effects due to cost. The number of studios handling VFX -- visual effects that include mixes of live-action footage and computer-generated images -- mushroomed.
"Earlier, Bollywood looked at technology like VFX as a cost-saving mechanism, but now it is also about the experience of watching a film with that kind of technology," said Kamal Jain, chief financial officer at Eros International.
Eros will release "Ra One", an ambitious superhero film with star Shah Rukh Khan, later this year. The company is also making "Rana," a tri-lingual epic with another superstar, Rajnikanth.
Rajnikanth's last film, "Robot," had the flashiest Bollywood special effects to date, including a Matrix-like sequence, and such superstar backing of the trend means others are sure to follow.
"Zindagi Na Milegi Dobaara" or You Won't Get This Life Again, which releases next week, has used VFX to recreate a sky-diving scene and a race between a car and a horse.
Another film, "Urumi" or Curling Blade, which depicts the arrival of explorer Vasco Da Gama in Kerala, used special effects to re-create Portugal in the 14th century.
Both films were processed at Reliance MediaWorks, part of the Anil Ambani ADAG group, which has a sprawling studio in a distant suburb of Mumbai. The studio, which earlier worked on back-end VFX for Hollywood, added a separate team to cater to the growing demands from Bollywood.
Starting from eleven in 2008, the studio has now grown to 51 and is constantly on the lookout for more talent.
"Revenue from VFX for Bollywood has doubled every year and we continue to see it growing," Neil Cunningham, Creative Head at the RMW digital lab, told Reuters.
BOOMING BUSINESS BUT NO BUDGET
The Indian animation and VFX industry is expected to grow at a compound annual rate of 19 per cent, reaching 55.9 billion rupees by 2015, said consultancy KPMG.
But that business isn't translating into Indian "X-Men", because budgets aren't on a par with those in the West.
"The kind of budgets that a movie like "Avatar" needed were justified because the appetite for that kind of a film is huge. But Indian producers can't spend as much, because the audience isn't as huge," said Rajiv Raghunathan, RMW production head.
In addition, Indian audiences -- brought up on film staples of family dramas and corny romances -- have only recently started adapting their palates to VFX-heavy films.
Rajnikanth's "Robot" was India's most expensive film to date, with an estimated cost of $33.3 million. It earned more than $83 million, making it one of the biggest hits ever.
"Indian producers don't need to spend as much on special effects, because we have studios here who will give you the same quality for a lesser price," says Jain at Eros, whose company was one of the first to set up a VFX studio in India.
That studio, EyeQube, has handled special effects for Hollywood and also for in-house productions in Eros, and recently opened a London office.
"It wasn't always this easy. When we set out to make a VFX heavy film in 2005, the technology wasn't accessible, and people were very suspicious of it," says Bollywood producer Harry Baweja, whose futuristic film "Love Story 2050" was one of the first films to use special effects.
The film bombed in 2008, and Baweja says he knows of producers who were planning similar films, but shelved them.
But he said things were poised to change.
"Bollywood is well-known for its herd mentality. If one film like Ra One does well, you can be sure there will be producers lining up outside VFX studios, hoping to replicate its success."

key words: BOLLYWOOD| HOLLYWOOD | ENTERTAINEMENT | TECHANALOGY

Dhoni and Raina put India in safeside in thired test

2011-07-08T22:50:00.000-07:00


india's Suresh Raina, left, is congratulated by dhoni

(Reuters) - India built up a lead of 104 runs over West Indies with four first-innings wickets remaining at the close of the third day of the third and final test in Dominica on Friday as the tourists moved closer to securing a series victory.
India lead the three-test series 1-0 and it is hard to see how, barring a second-innings catastrophe, they can lose that advantage in the final two days of a rain-affected test.
Half centuries from Abhinav Mukund (62) Vangipurappu Laxman (56), Suresh Raina (50) and skipper MS Dhoni (65 not out) were the backbone of India's 308 for six at the end of what, for this series at least, was a rare day of rain-free cricket.
West Indies were hampered by the absence of seamer Ravi Rampaul who did not bowl at all due to a virus which kept him at the team hotel for most of the day.
With the other pace bowler Fidel Edwards also having some physical difficulties, West Indies skipper Darre Sammy, who opened the bowling with his medium pace, bowled 26 overs while spinner Devendra Bishoo worked his way through 35 overs.
West Indies even turned to the occasional spin of Kirk Edwards and Shivnarine Chanderpaul - with the latter producing a surprise wicket when the Guyanese had Laxman stumped in unusual fashion by Carlton Baugh.
The day began brightly for the hosts when Murali Vijay (5) was caught behind off a rising delivery from Edwards and then India found themselves 18 for two after Rahul Dravid (5) was bowled by Sammy.
Mukund and Laxman saw the tourists through to 102 for two at lunch and the 98-run partnership between the pair laid the foundations for India's innings.
Mukund, who had made his maiden test half-century, must have been fancying his chances of going on to a first hundred but he was caught, off a bat-pad, by Adrian Barath from Bishoo's spin.
Virat Kohli was then caught behind off Sammy to leave the tourists at 168 for four and a key breakthrough for the home side came with the dismissal of Laxman who, on 56, let go an innocuous, wide delivery from Chanderpaul but lifted his foot briefly and wicket-keeper Baugh reacted sharply to stump him.
At 172 for five, West Indies, despite injuries also appearing to affect Sammy and Edwards, would have fancied their chances of getting into the Indian tail but a 103-run partnership between Raina and Dhoni put paid to those hopes.
Raina was trapped lbw by Edwards with the new ball and Harbhajan Singh (12) saw the session to a close with a confident-looking Dhoni.

keywords : MS.DHONI |SURESH RAINA |CRICKET |CRICKET INDIA

Twitter security lags some other sites - experts

2011-07-08T22:37:00.000-07:00

(Reuters) - The fast-growing microblogging site Twitter has fallen behind some other Internet services in introducing tools to help secure the accounts of users, security experts say.
Weaknesses in Twitter's security became apparent on the U.S. July 4 Independence holiday as an unknown hacker took control of a Fox News Twitter account and sent out messages falsely claiming that U.S. President Barack Obama was dead.
While the hijacking of Twitter accounts is not new, the false Tweets about Obama generated headlines around the world.
The Secret Service is investigating the matter. Fox News has said it is unsure how the attacker gained control of its account, but complained that it took Twitter more than five hours to return control of the account to Fox.
"What Twitter needs to do now is to commit to a thorough review of their security practices," said Daniel Diermeier, a professor at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management. "For Twitter this is a very serious problem."
Security experts said that the attack may have been prevented if Twitter had offered two-factor authentication technology to secure its accounts.
In two-factor authentication systems, a user must enter a second code in addition to a fixed password to access its account. The code changes every minute or so and is sent to a cell phone or other electronic device.
Google Inc and FaceBook already offer two-factor authentication to confirm the identity of users.
Security experts said that Twitter could soon come under pressure to do so as well, particularly from influential users such as politicians, major corporations or news outlets.
"They won't have a choice. I think if they want to stay viable they'll have to," said San Diego State University professor Murray Jennex, who teaches information security.
He warned that Twitter would be "flirting with disaster" if it did not proactively add two-factor authentication, and that more high-profile attacks could harm the company's reputation.
In addition to the Fox News heist, PayPal's Twitter account in the United Kingdom was also hijacked this week and followers urged to visit the website www.paypalsucks.com.
SCRAMBLING PASSWORDS
Twitter allows its users to communicate with the site using an ordinary, unscrambled connection, which makes it easier for potential hackers to steal passwords.
The site does offer the option of scrambling that traffic, but users must type "https" before entering the Twitter URL into the Web browser to call up an encrypted connection.
Chris Palmer, technology director for the privacy-promoting Electronic Frontier Foundation, said Twitter should use https by default because not all users are aware of the option or care to use it. Google uses https encryption by default for many of its services.
"Basically, if nothing bad happens, it's because no attacker cared to attack," Palmer said of Twitter.
Twitter spokeswoman Lynn Fox declined to say whether the company intended to add two-factor authentication or make https encryption a default.
"We take security very seriously and we're always looking for ways to help users make their accounts more secure," she said.
Yet she added that Twitter's users are responsible for securing their own passwords.
"We can't anticipate compromises that occur offsite," she said. "That's one of the reasons we very clearly recommend to users that they be extremely careful with the security of their passwords."
(Reporting by Jim Finkle in Boston, Roy Strom in New York and Diane Bartz in Washington, editing by Matthew Lewis)

iPad, iPhone OS security flaw exposed

2011-07-07T01:56:00.002-07:00

Hackers have disclosed a bug in software from Apple Inc that security experts said could be exploited by criminals looking to gain remote control over iPhones, iPads and iPod Touch devices.

The security flaw in Apple's iOS operating system came to light as the website www.jailbreakme.com released code that Apple customers can use to modify the iOS operating system through a process known as "jail breaking."

Some Apple customers choose to jail break their devices so they can download and run applications that are not approved by Apple or use iPhone phones on networks of carriers that are not approved by Apple.

Security experts warned that criminal hackers could download that code, reverse engineer it to identify a hole in iOS security and build a piece of malicious software within a few days.

"If you are a malicious attacker, it is fairly doable," said Patrik Runald, a senior researcher with the Internet security firm Websense.

Apple has yet to release an update to iOS that protects customers against malicious software that exploits the flaw.

Apple spokeswoman Trudy Muller said the company was aware of the problem. "We are developing a fix that will be available to customers in an upcoming software update," Muller said.

Apple has long been vocal against jail breaking, which if done voids the warranty on its devices. Any security flaw in iOS software -- which runs Apple's iPhone, iPad tablet and iPod Touch -- has the potential to affect millions of devices that are at the core of Apple's business.

Apple has sold 25 million iPads since it launched last year. The company sold over 18 million of its popular iPhones in just the first three months of the year.

Hackers can exploit the iOS vulnerability by creating a malicious PDF document file. It would infect Apple devices when users attempt to open that document, according to Runald.

Once the device is infected, hackers could "do anything they want," Runald said. That includes stealing passwords, documents and emails.

Comex, a 19-year-old hacker from New York State who developed the jail-breaking tool, said that Apple might be able to patch the software before criminal hackers develop software that exploits the bug.

Last time he put out a version of his jailbreaking software, Apple was able to issue a patch before anybody exploited the bug for malicious purposes.

He said that Apple might not be able to move quickly enough this time. "It's not that hard to reverse engineer," he said via telephone.
SOURCE:TIMES OF INDIA

iPad, iPhone OS security flaw exposed

2011-07-07T01:56:00.001-07:00

Facebook launches ‘instant’ video chat, group chat

2011-07-07T01:52:00.001-07:00

Facebook on Wednesday launched a video calling feature with a difference -- where users can chat with their Facebook friends with a single click.

It has tied up with Skype for the video calling facility. Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg also launched two other features -- group chat and a new chat sidebar.

The group chat function will allow users to chat within Facebook Groups. This feature is likely to give a big boost to people who use groups, to discuss and plan together. The new chat sidebar will be bigger and will effectively use the space in bigger computer monitors.

The video chat feature comes at at time when Google has launched Google+ to rival Facebook. Google+ also has a video chat facility called Hangout.

During the launch, Mr Zuckerberg emphasised on the ‘ease’ factor of the video chat feature in Facebook, where one has to click and call a friend for video chat. The friend can respond to it by just clicking the answer button in the window that would pop up.

Mr Zuckerberg said the app would automatically download any software that would be required. Apart from this, there would be no need to download separate software.

Facebook launches ‘instant’ video chat, group chat

2011-07-07T01:52:00.000-07:00

Facebook on Wednesday launched a video calling feature with a difference -- where users can chat with their Facebook friends with a single click.

It has tied up with Skype for the video calling facility. Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg also launched two other features -- group chat and a new chat sidebar.

The video chat feature comes at at time when Google has launched Google+ to rival Facebook. Google+ also has a video chat facility called Hangout.

Mr Zuckerberg said the app would automatically download any software that would be required. Apart from this, there would be no need to download separate software.

Now Pune edging out Hyderabad

2011-07-07T01:46:00.001-07:00

After Bangalore and Chennai, it's Pune that seems to be beating Hyderabad in the realty race. With 'T' agitations erupting in the city yet again, investors keen on putting their money on property here are now turning to the Maratha land in the hope of better returns. Also spelling doom for the once booming sector are cash-rich investors and developers from outside the state who are fast dropping Hyderabad from their radar due to frequent disruptions. One among them is a Dubai-based group that was expected to invest a whopping Rs 100 crore in the local market this year. The firm has now backtracked on its decision, sources said.

While it remains to be seen if this big investor too heads for Pune, realtors here say that they are indeed losing a lot of business to the tier-II city, which was once way behind it in the real estate market. And apart from Hyderabad's poor industry ratings, which are now on par with small towns like Vadodara, it is Pune's impressive IT growth, affordable property prices and stable political atmosphere that's pulling investors to its shores. In fact market analysts from the city say that all corporate firms on expansion mode are now vying for space in Pune as against Hyderabad.

And realtors squarely blame the government for this shift. They rue that it is the government's inability to take a conclusive decision on the Telangana issue that has pushed Hyderabad's once booming realty story towards the graveyard. "It is the uncertainty over the Telangana issue that is resulting in our loss in business to Pune," said D Sreedhar Reddy, president, Andhra Pradesh Realtors Association ( APRA) stressing how the city has already lost several clients to Bangalore and Chennai over the last two years, since the time the 'T' turmoil first hit Hyderabad. "This time around too, a chunk of our clients who were supposed to pick up commercial space here have put their decisions on hold. Their numbers will further rise if this situation persists," Reddy said. In fact, in the last few days alone, several investors with elaborate business plans in the city have shelved their proposals owing to the unrest, sources claim.

And it's not the commercial market alone that has taken a beating. Even the residential segment is down in the dumps, say industry analysts. From being among the top six metro cities in India not too long ago, Hyderabad has almost dropped to the level of tier -III towns now. "If the prices here were once compared to cities like Chennai and Bangalore, there are now compared to cities like Baroda. There has been no rise in price for over four years," said real estate consultant B V P Raju of Ghar4U adding how the recent troubles have negatively impacted the sentiment of builders here.

Home-grown firms apart, even `outstation' developers seem to be feeling the `T' jitters. Terming the current state of realty in Hyderabad as "most unfortunate", these builders say that they would have to give their future projects in the city a second thought if the political crisis is not addressed. "We will definitely fulfil our commitments made to clients in Hyderabad. But whether we would continue here post the completion of our current ventures, is now debatable," said a senior executive of a leading Bangalore-based construction firm with a significant presence in the city.

Though some like Mantri Developers, also from Bangalore, are still optimistic because of the recent spurt in recruitments in the local IT industry, they do agree that a decision on the Telangana issue should be taken at the earliest. "It will only help in stabilizing the market as nobody enjoys uncertainty. But, that does not mean we are withdrawing from Hyderabad anytime soon. Our ventures here will go on as planned," said Sushil Mantri, chairman and managing director of the firm.

Now Pune edging out Hyderabad

2011-07-07T01:46:00.000-07:00

Maran delayed spectrum allotment to Aircel, CBI tells apex court

2011-07-07T01:28:00.001-07:00

A day after he was nailed by the CBI in the 2G spectrum allocation scam, DMK leader Dayanidhi Maran's fate is likely to be decided anytime soon. All eyes are on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on whether he will drop Maran from the Union cabinet.

According to Times Now, Maran left the Prime Minister's residence 7 Race Course Road, where the meeting was being held, soon after the meeting ended.

Meanwhile, opposition leader Arun Jaitley said that Maran has run out of options and he should quit. He further added that the Prime Minister cannot look away after the developments in connection with the 2G scam.

AIADMK too has said that there is no use expecting Maran to take responsibility and Prime Minister should simply drop him from the Cabinet.

Sources suggest that Maran's party is not in a position to defend him and feels he can defend himself best.

Earlier on Wednesday, the CBI told the Supreme Court that its preliminary inquiry into the allegation of Sivasankaran, a serial entrepreneur known as Siva in business circles, suggested that Maran starved Aircel of new licences to bully him into selling out.

Sources tell Times Now that the government is mulling over options of Maran's fate. Congress sources said that if an FIR is filed against Maran then his position will become untenable.

Dayanidhi Maran hold the position of textiles minister.

Maran delayed spectrum allotment to Aircel, CBI tells apex court

2011-07-07T01:28:00.000-07:00

2011-07-06T02:12:00.001-07:00

The Supreme Court on Wednesday asked the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to examine the source and antiquity of the treasure unearthed from the Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. An apex court bench of justice R V Raveendran and justice A K Patnaik asked the ASI to suggest the steps that can be taken to protect the treasure and also where it can be housed.
Treasure estimated at over Rs 1 lakh crore has been found in five of the six chambers of the 16th century temple that have been opened so far on the instructions of the Supreme Court after a local lawyer alleged poor security and mismanagement by the trust that runs the temple.

source:hindustan times

2011-07-06T02:12:00.000-07:00

GLOBEL MOBAIL AWARDS 2011 WINNERS

2011-07-06T02:05:00.001-07:00

Category 1 - Global Mobile App Awards
App of the Year on the Apple Platform
Rovio / Clickgamer/Chillingo for Angry Birds
App of the Year on the BlackBerry® App World Platform
Research In Motion for BlackBerry Messenger
App of the Year on the Android Platform
Google for Google Maps
App of the Year on the Nokia Platform
Herocraft & InnerActive for Zum Zum
Best Mobile App
Rovio / Clickgamer/Chillingo for Angry Birds

Category 2 - Mobile Advertising & Marketing
Best Mobile Advertising & Marketing Campaign
Mobilera - Outeractive for Unilever Cornetto Multiplayer Interactive Wall Projection Mapping Game

Category 3 - Best Mobile Business & Enterprise
Best Mobile Enterprise Product or Solution
Antenna for Antenna Mobility Platform (AMP)
Best Mobile Money Product or Solution
Airtel Africa, MasterCard Worldwide and Standard Chartered Bank for Airtel Card

Category 4 - Social & Economic Development
Best use of Mobile for Social & Economic Development
Ericsson and Flexenclosure for Ericsson Community Power
Best Mobile Money for the Unbanked Service
Vodafone Group, Safaricom, Vodacom, Vodafone Essar Limited and Roshan Ltd for M-PESA
Best Product, Initiative or Service for Underserved Segment
BBC World Service Trust for BBC Janala


Category 5 - Mobile Innovation
Best M-Health Innovation
Mobisante Inc for MobiUS
Best Mobile Learning Innovation
Urban Planet Mobile and PT Telkomsel for Urban English, Mobile English Learning Initiative
Best Mobile Innovation for Utilities
EDMI and Sierra Wireless for EDMI EWM100 Advanced GSM/GPRS Modem for Smart Metering Applications
Best Mobile Innovation for Automotive & Transport
Nissan Motor, AT&T, NTT DOCOMO, and Telenor Connexion for ICT for Electric Vehicles
Best Embedded Mobile Device (Non-Handsets)
AT&T and VITALITY, Inc for AT&T-connected Vitality GlowCaps

Category 6 - Green Mobile Award
Green Mobile Award for Best Green Product/Service or Performance
Bharti Infratel for GreenTowers P7 Project

Category 7 - Best Mobile Devices
Best Mobile Device
Apple for iPhone 4
Device Manufacturer of the Year
HTC

Category 8 - Best Technology
Best Mobile Broadband Technology
Ruckus Wireless for Ruckus Mobile Wi-Fi Gateway System
Best Mobile Technology for Emerging Markets
Orange for Orange solar base station programme
Best Technology Breakthrough
Seven Networks for SEVEN Open Channel
Best Customer Care & CRM
Airtel Africa and Tango Telecom for Tango Telecom's 'Dynamic Pricing Service'

Category 9 - Outstanding Achievement Awards
GSMA Chairman's Award
Dr. Wang Jianzhou, Chairman, China Mobile
Government Leadership Award
Government of Afghanistan

GLOBEL MOBAIL AWARDS 2011 WINNERS

2011-07-06T02:05:00.000-07:00

Category 1 - Global Mobile App Awards
App of the Year on the Apple Platform
Rovio / Clickgamer/Chillingo for Angry Birds
App of the Year on the BlackBerry® App World Platform
Research In Motion for BlackBerry Messenger
App of the Year on the Android Platform
Google for Google Maps
App of the Year on the Nokia Platform
Herocraft & InnerActive for Zum Zum
Best Mobile App
Rovio / Clickgamer/Chillingo for Angry Birds

Category 2 - Mobile Advertising & Marketing
Best Mobile Advertising & Marketing Campaign
Mobilera - Outeractive for Unilever Cornetto Multiplayer Interactive Wall Projection Mapping Game

Category 3 - Best Mobile Business & Enterprise
Best Mobile Enterprise Product or Solution
Antenna for Antenna Mobility Platform (AMP)
Best Mobile Money Product or Solution
Airtel Africa, MasterCard Worldwide and Standard Chartered Bank for Airtel Card

Category 4 - Social & Economic Development
Best use of Mobile for Social & Economic Development
Ericsson and Flexenclosure for Ericsson Community Power
Best Mobile Money for the Unbanked Service
Vodafone Group, Safaricom, Vodacom, Vodafone Essar Limited and Roshan Ltd for M-PESA
Best Product, Initiative or Service for Underserved Segment
BBC World Service Trust for BBC Janala


Category 5 - Mobile Innovation
Best M-Health Innovation
Mobisante Inc for MobiUS
Best Mobile Learning Innovation
Urban Planet Mobile and PT Telkomsel for Urban English, Mobile English Learning Initiative
Best Mobile Innovation for Utilities
EDMI and Sierra Wireless for EDMI EWM100 Advanced GSM/GPRS Modem for Smart Metering Applications
Best Mobile Innovation for Automotive & Transport
Nissan Motor, AT&T, NTT DOCOMO, and Telenor Connexion for ICT for Electric Vehicles
Best Embedded Mobile Device (Non-Handsets)
AT&T and VITALITY, Inc for AT&T-connected Vitality GlowCaps

Category 6 - Green Mobile Award
Green Mobile Award for Best Green Product/Service or Performance
Bharti Infratel for GreenTowers P7 Project

Category 7 - Best Mobile Devices
Best Mobile Device
Apple for iPhone 4
Device Manufacturer of the Year
HTC

Category 8 - Best Technology
Best Mobile Broadband Technology
Ruckus Wireless for Ruckus Mobile Wi-Fi Gateway System
Best Mobile Technology for Emerging Markets
Orange for Orange solar base station programme
Best Technology Breakthrough
Seven Networks for SEVEN Open Channel
Best Customer Care & CRM
Airtel Africa and Tango Telecom for Tango Telecom's 'Dynamic Pricing Service'

Category 9 - Outstanding Achievement Awards
GSMA Chairman's Award
Dr. Wang Jianzhou, Chairman, China Mobile
Government Leadership Award
Government of Afghanistan

HTC Awarded As “2011 Device Manufacturer Of The Year” By The GSMA

2011-07-06T01:53:00.001-07:00

HTC Corporation, a global designer of smartphones, has been honored this week with the highest industry honor as “Device Manufacturer of the Year” by the GSMA at its Global Mobile Awards ceremony in Barcelona. The award follows a year of global momentum for HTC, which saw the launch of a large portfolio of industry leading smartphones such as the HTC Desire. HTC was awarded from a list of three finalists that included Apple and Samsung.

“For HTC to be recognized by the industry in this way for the growth and success we have experienced in the last year is truly humbling. Thousands of people at HTC work tirelessly to create the intuitive and deeply personal smartphone experiences for which we have become known. This award is a measure of their passion and dedication,” said Peter Chou, CEO of HTC Corporation. “This award also belongs to the tens of millions of customers around the world who enjoy our phones and inspire us each day to create new innovative experiences. To those people, to our partners around the world and to the HTC family, you have my sincere thanks and congratulations.”
The GSMA judges commented, “this company (HTC) has built its market presence from nowhere, with fresh branding and marketing and a strong portfolio of devices across many platforms. In particular, it has proven an exceptionally popular and enduring phone manufacturer. With great communication and good customer service, this is a well-deserved award.”
HTC previously was awarded for the “Best Mobile Phone of 2010” with the HTC Hero.
A committee of judges that include industry analysts and consultants, mobile operators, educators and other industry leaders determines the GSMA Awards

HTC Awarded As “2011 Device Manufacturer Of The Year” By The GSMA

2011-07-06T01:53:00.000-07:00

Flights delayed as dust storm hits Phoenix area(usa)

2011-07-06T01:48:00.001-07:00

(CNN) -- A massive dust storm enveloped areas of Arizona on Tuesday night, causing low visibility and delaying flights in and out of the state's largest airport.
The violent dust or sandstorm called a haboob typically occurs over desert land and can stretch thousands of feet high, according to the National Weather Service.
It prompted the Federal Aviation Administration to issue a ground stop of about an hour and 15 minutes at Phoenix's Sky Harbor Airport.
The storm had sustained winds of up to 69 mph and stretched more than 30 miles long at one time, according to a meteorologist for CNN affiliate KNXV-TV.
Parts of the state were also under a severe thunderstorm watch Tuesday night.
More than 10,000 customers were without power at the height of the storm, said spokeswoman Jenna Shaver of the Arizona Public Service.
Many of them now have power, she said.
Haboob comes from the Arabic word for wind and is used to describe sand and dust storms across the world.

In addition to visibility that can cause accidents, haboobs can also uproot trees, damage roofs and bring down power lines.