3G Spectrum Auction

The Union Budget estimate of 2009-10 includes a sum of Rs 35,000 crore as expected revenue from auction of 3G spectrum, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said in Budget papers.

Just few days before the Budget, Government had decided to fix the reserve price at Rs 4,040 crore and allow only seven operators to offer 3G mobile services.

The auction, when happens would allow telecom firms to offer services such as high-speed Internet and video downloads on mobile phones. Telecom Minister A Raja had already said that the auction could happen by December of this year. The government had initially aimed to get Rs Rs.20,000 – Rs.25,000 crore.

The sale has been deferred twice. The finance ministry wanted the floor price of the auction to be Rs 4,040 crore double of what the DoT had suggested.

According to the guidelines, the government planned to conduct auction for 20 of India’s 22 telecom zones and had said companies could bid for four slots in most of these areas.

Source : [ The Hindu ]

Lorry Freight Charges Hiked

Federation state president Mr.K Palanisamy said a decision on this would be taken at the federation’s meeting in Namakkal which is going to be held on July 13. Expressing serious reservations on the fuel price hike, he said the truck owners would be severely hit by the increase of Rs 2 per litre on diesel.

He also stated, “The transport industry is already burdened by road tax, hike in spare parts, tyre prices. Besides, the private toll gate operators on the National and State Highways are fleecing the transporters by imposing high toll fees. This hike in diesel price will cripple the already sick industry. Therefore, the truck owners feel that a 25 per cent increase in freight rates will help them tide over losses,”

Due to the increase in freight rates, it would lead to increase in prices of essential commodities, Palanisamy said that the truckers association was conscious of the public’s concern.“But with no other options left, the truck owners will demand the Centre to rollback the diesel price hike. If the government heeds the plea and effects a rollback, there will be no need to increase freight,”.

Pranab Mukherjee

He recalled that in 2006 the set top boxes enjoyed a full exemption from basic customs duty it was to enable their free import for the smooth introduction of the Conditional Access System (CAS). And now the production capacity has come up in the country, so there will be a basic customs duty of 5 per cent on set top boxes. A move like this is bound to help the manufacturers of the country.

The Price of LCD Panels & Mobile accessories will get cheaper as he announced the reduction in basic customs duty on LCD panels from 10 % to 5 % to support indigenous production of LCD televisions and monitors.

Pranab Mukherjee said, “The electronic hardware industry has a strong potential for creating employment especially in the SME sector. I intend to reduce the basic customs duty on LCD panels from 10 per cent to five per cent to support indigenous production of LCD televisions”

Further, he proposed to reintroduce the same rate that was available to accessories, parts and components imported for the manufacture of mobile phones. So it means that the mobile accessories will get cheaper in price along with LCD Screens.

Samsung Marine

Samsung had launched its ” Marine ” mobile phone finally ! Its really a very rough and tough mobile phone especially very suitable for Indians for those who use mobile phones very fluently in the Outdoors. As equal to its name its really a water resistent mobile phone.

The Samsung Marine B2100 is encased with an anti-shock urethane material, which enables it to withstand  bangs, bumps, scrapes, dust and water. The phone also features IP57 certification and is resistant to water up to one meter deep for a 30 minutes. It is also capable of withstanding heavy rain, humidity, , fog, sand and extreme hot and cold temperatures. It is tested under specifications defined by the U.S. Department of Defense.

The phone also has a basic 1.3 megapixel camera, camcorder, FM radio, a music player and expandable memory (up to 8GB). Bluetooth and USB support too find their way in. It is available in two color options red and green colors and is priced at Rs 7,030.