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Weekly Recap – Blackberry App in India, Google’s WiMAX Ambition..and more (pluGGd.in)

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 17:21:41 +0000

Weekly Recap – Blackberry App in India, Google’s WiMAX Ambition, Orkut fined half a million dollar for fake profile..and lot more articles on startups/entrepreneurship and Business Management.

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Weekly Recap – Blackberry App in India, Google’s WiMAX Ambition..and ...

How to Install Wordpress on your Computer [Wordpress Weekend] (pluGGd.in)

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 22:28:00 +0000

We love wordpress and started ‘wordpress weekend’ to share tips to use wordpress effectively.

If you run a wordpress blog on your server, it’s strongly recommended that you play with wordpress themes/plugins on your local computer first (and push to the server later) – and for this, you need to install wordpress on your local machine.

wordpress tips

Here are two ways to install wordpress (both will take 5-10 minutes maximum).

XAMPP Route

Follow these steps for a blissful installation

Download and install xampp (

Google Homepage Sports a New Logo, Drawn by a 9-Year Old Kid (Digital Inspiration)

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 14:44:00 +0000

Puru Pratap Singh, a class IV student from Gurgaon in India, has won the Doodle 4 Google contest and you can see his artwork live on the Google India homepage.

The theme of this year’s Google Doodle contest was "My India".

Dennis Hwang, who is the creative genius behind every holiday logo that you see on the Google homepage across countries, was ...

Korea's GS Home Shopping Invests $18.5 Million In HomeShop18, Valuing The Firm At $123 Million (contentSutra.com)

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 10:46:00 +0000

South Korea’s GS Home Shopping, the world’s third largest home shopping network (as per this release), will invest $18.5 million in HomeShop18, a Network18 subsidiary. GS will hold 15% stake in the company post the investment. Parent Network18 will invest $5 million and will continue to be a majority shareholder with a 51% stake post dilution. GS’ investment values HomeShop18 at $123 million.

Saif Partners holds a 30% stake in the company.

The partnership also entails strategic cooperation in the areas of sourcing, merchandising, broadcasting and logistics. GS will post key employees at HomeShop18 and will also train HS employees in Korea.

Another South Korean network, CJ Home Shopping, had forged a JV with Star India for a home shopping channel. It is yet to go on air. ...

PVR Buys DLF's DT Cinema For Rs52 Crore In Stock & Cash; Separate Stake Sale To Thailand Firm (contentSutra.com)

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 10:20:00 +0000

Multiplex chain PVR Ltd is buying realty major DLF Ltd’s cinema chain DT Cinemas, which currently runs 26 screens in Delhi, Gurgaon and Chandigarh. PVR will also get exclusive rights to be the key ...

Accion International Invests In Bihar-based Saija Finance (VC Circle)

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 03:50:00 +0000

In one of the rare microfinance deals in Northern India, Accion International, a Boston-based nonprofit organisation investing in microfinance institutions globally, has picked up 49.5% equity stake in Saija Finance Pvt Ltd for $500,000. Accion has invested through its equity investment arm, Accion Gateway Fund, and it is its fourth investment in India.

Saija Finance is a Patna-based microfinance start-up, which provides financial services to micro-entrepreneurs, and low and middle-income families in India. The company believes the funding will help it expand its services in other states as well. “We plan to offer individual and group loans to over four lakh people by 2014, and roll out financial literacy training as well,” said the company in a statement.

Currently, Saija Finance is operational in Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. This will be the first instance of private equity investment in Bihar.

Most of ...

Orkut fined half a million dollar for fake profile (pluGGd.in)

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 01:33:00 +0000

Brazilian court has fined Orkut $500,000 for allowing fake profile on the site. Civil court case, filed by race car driver Rubens Barrichello in 2006 has his fake profile depicted him as a toy turtle.

In another India incident, Detection of Crime Branch (DCB) arrested a man for allegedly posting obscene (morphed) photographs of a former colleague on Orkut. After profiling the victim as a call girl, he mentioned her residence and mobile numbers in the profile as well (via).

Given the way profiles can be maligned, do you see a need for profile authentication service for social networks in India?

Twitter does have the service for authenticating celebrity profiles, but what about Orkut/FB etc? Will you pay for that ‘Verified’ seal?

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HomeShop18 Gets $18.5M From South Korea's GS Home Shopping (VC Circle)

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 08:16:00 +0000

HomeShop 18, a TV shopping channel from the Network 18 stable, is worth over $100 million. The Indian home shopping channel has raised $18.5 million from South Korea’s GS Home Shopping, the world’s third largest network, for a 15% stake.

The Network18 Group subsidiary will also see an investment of $5 million from the parent, which will retain 51% majority stake in the firm on a full diluted basis, the company said, in a release. It is understood that BMR Advisors advised HomeShop 18 on the transaction.

The strategic partnership happened at a time when STAR CJ Network India, a 50:50 joint venture between News Corp owned STAR India and another Korean company, CJ Home Shopping, is set to foray in the Indian market. Speaking about the competition, Sundeep Malhotra, CEO, HomeShop 18 stated that they always have the first mover advantage in the market and ...

Belstar Investment To Raise $1.15M From IFC (VC Circle)

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 05:43:00 +0000

Belstar Investment and Finance Ltd, a Bangalore-based microfinance firm, has signed an agreement with International Finance Corporation (IFC) to raise $1.15-million fund. Belstar, which is the microfinance arm of Hand in Hand International (HHI), offers equity to establish a sustainable microfinance operation to the poor in rural and semi-urban areas in India.

“The funding and association with IFC will help us to obtain support from other international investors, domestic banks and financial institutions,” said Kalpana Sankar, MD, Belstar in a statement. IFC, the private investment arm of the World Bank Group, finances and provides advisory services to private sector ventures and projects for the eradication of poverty in developing countries.

Last month, VCCircle reported that the company is planning to raise a venture capital round of $3.6 million and is in discussions with investors, including IFC.

Through Belstar, HHI also ...

IMImobile Raises $13M From Sequoia, First Mark Capital (VC Circle)

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 03:04:00 +0000

IMImobile, a Hyderabad-based mobile, online technology and content services company, has raised $13 million funding from Sequoia Capital and its existing investor First Mark Capital. The company plans to use the funds for acquisition, and is eyeing companies in Europe and the US.

Mohit Bhatnagar, MD of Sequoia Capital India will join the board of IMImobile, informed a company press release. Spark Ventures plc, a founding partners of IMImobile is the largest institutional shareholder and had provided the seed capital. The Mape Advisory Group acted as adviser to IMImobile for the investment.

Vishwanath Alluri, founder and CEO of IMImobile stated that the fund will help them develop the cloud infrastructure for tier I telecom operators and allow them to expand their customer base and account penetration through acquisitions. “Sequoia Capital’s global experience and strong local expertise will be a key differentiator as we look to launch into our next ...