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Showing posts from September, 2017

No gain: India, Pak still locked in a cycle of bloody exchanges 1 yr after surgical strike

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A year has passed since the much vaunted 'surgical strikes' across the line of control, in the wake of the Uri debacle LATEST NEWS : On the intervening night of September 29 in 2016, the Indian Army conducted a surgical strike in Pakistan. The operation that went on for over five hours not only dealt a blow to terrorists planning attacks in India, it also avenged the Uri attack where 19 Army personnel were killed. This writer explains what India has, and has not achieved over the last one year. A year has passed since the much vaunted ‘surgical strikes’ across the line of control, in the wake of the Uri debacle, in which 19 Indian soldiers were killed before the four attackers could be neutralized. Divergent claims have been made regarding the impact of the strikes beyond the initial claims of “significant casualties, caused to terrorists and those providing support to them.” Unconfirmed reports indicate that at least 50 terrorists and two Pakistan Army handlers ...

Apple iPhone 8 launched, buyers to get 70% of price when selling it back to Jio

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Akash Ambani said the buyback offer would be available for customers of iPhone8 or iPhone 8 Plus Latest news : Reliance Jio has a large wonder for the ones inquisitive about shopping for Apple's iPhone 8 in India. Jio will buy lower back Apple Inc's cutting-edge iPhone fashions from its clients within a yr for 70 percent of the retail rate of the telephone, the company announced on Friday. Reliance chairman Mukesh Ambani's son Akash Ambani said the buyback provide would be to be had for clients of iPhone8 or iPhone eight Plus through Reliance virtual, Jio.com or the Jio store. Below this scheme, users will receive 70 percent of the acquisition rate of the gadgets upon using it with a Jio SIM card and returning it after a yr. In different approaches, this buyback scheme lets in iPhone customers to get 70 according to cent in their money back once they improve to next iPhone.The buyback provide is legitimate for three hundred and sixty five days. This par...

22 killed, 30 injured in stampede near Mumbai's Elphinstone Station

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The unfortunate incident took place on foot overbridge linking Elphinstone Road and Parel suburban stations in Mumbai LATEST NEWS : Twenty two people have been killed and 30 injured in a stampede on foot overbridge linking Elphinstone Road and Parel suburban stations in Mumbai, according to ANI. The cause of the stampede was being probed. Emergency relief and medical teams were rushed to the station. "Of the injured 20 people have serious injuries, rest have minor injuries. Can't comment more right now," said Niket Kaushik, GRP Commissioner. The tragedy took place amid rain in the city around 10.40 am when the foot overbridge was heavily crowded, a police official said. Railway PRO Anil Saxena said, "It seems all started when someone slipped because of the wet floor." Police suspect a short-circuit with a loud sound near the FOB led to panic and people started running, resulting in the stampede. Three persons were brought dead to the...

New Maruti Suzuki S-Cross officially unveiled

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The company has incorporated customer feedback in bringing in changes to the vehicle Latest news :   The country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) is looking to bolster its position in the premium crossover segment with the introduction of an upgraded version of S-Cross model , a senior company official said. MSI and its suppliers have invested Rs 100 crore in development of the upgraded version of the S-Cross, which will now come with a single diesel engine option of 1.3 litre with smart hybrid technology. While the company has already opened bookings for the new vehicle, the prices are expected to be announced in coming days. "We do expect the new S-Cross to add volume to our flagship product of Nexa chain. The earlier version was selling around 2,000-2,500 units a month and with the new one, we expect to do more than that," Maruti Suzuki India Senior Executive Director, Marketing and Sales, R S Kalsi told PTI here. Also read this  ...

World Gold Council to form panel to set up India's first spot gold exchange

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A dedicated exchange for physical gold is expected to pave the way for standard gold pricing practices in India, apart from bringing in transparency into a market which sees large cash transactions LATEST NEWS : The world Gold Council (WGC ) plans to shape a committee quickly to help installation India's first spot gold exchange within 12 to 18 months, a senior official of the enterprise body said on Thursday.A committed trade for physical gold is anticipated to pave the way for trendy gold pricing practices in India, other than bringing in transparency right into a market which sees big cash transactions. "we will be taking lead in forming the committee, so that it will have all of the stakeholders," Somasundaram PR, managing director of the WGC's Indian operations, informed Reuters. The committee, that's in all likelihood to be formed inside the December region, will not installation the exchange. it'll provide guidance in setting up the chan...

Modi govt's policy U-turn may harm 'Make in India' drive

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GE won a $2.6 billion contract in 2015 to supply 1,000 diesel locomotives LATEST NEWS  : Surprise policy shifts, consisting of an obvious U-turn over a locomotive cope with preferred electric, chance undermining high Minister Narendra Modi’s flagship ‘Make in India’ initiative, which targets to create millions of jobs and enhance increase, enterprise executives say. GE won a $2.6 billion agreement in 2015 to deliver 1,000 diesel locomotives - the largest direct funding in India with the aid of a U.S. company and the primary deal awarded to a foreign company after India allowed one hundred percentage foreign investment in its railways - a part of efforts to overhaul its creaking, colonial-technology infrastructure. however the railways ministry said ultimate week it wouldn’t need diesel in spite of everything - hoping to shop on fuel and maintenance fees - and advised GE may need to make electric powered engines instead. electric engines are typically used for...

It's the economy, stupid! Yashwant Sinha's comments indicate churn within BJP

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In recent weeks, most Opposition parties, but particularly the Congress, have chosen to focus their attack on the Modi government on its handling of the economy, lack of jobs and farm distress LATEST NEWS :  Former finance minister and Bharatiya Janata celebration (BJP) veteran Yashwant Sinha’s modern day criticism of the Narendra Modi government’s moves has given the Congress birthday celebration, which has struggled to build a marketing campaign around the present status quo’s disasters on the financial the front, a prime shot inside the arm. while Sinha responded the decision of his “national obligation” to talk up, BJP’s Rajya Sabha member Subramanian Swamy and Sangh Parivar fellow vacationer S Gurumurthy have also spoken earlier approximately the negative state of the economy. Congress chief and some other former finance minister P Chidambaram, who held a press briefing later inside the day to highlight the monetary slowdown the united states turned into deali...

IMC 2017: Sunil Mittal says Airtel to invest Rs 18,000 cr in digital infra

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Mittal noted that building infrastructure in telecom sector, like in other sectors, will take time LATEST NEWS :  Chairman of Bharti Airtel, Sunil Bharti Mittal on Wednesday stated that amid infrastructural development in the telecom quarter, the organisation can be investing around Rs. 18, 000 to twenty,000 crore this 12 months toward the identical. Speaking at the Indian mobile Congress 2017 (IMC) here, Mittal referred to that even as the authorities is aware of the challenges that the telecom area is going through, constructing infrastructure, like in other sectors, will take time. "India's time has come to show off increase in digital economic system. authorities is acutely privy to the shortages of the telecom quarter. Rs 50,000-60,000 crore is going into constructing hard infrastructure every 12 months. however, building Infrastructure, like in different sectors, will take time," he stated. In addition, he known as for aid from the authorities whi...

India's Aadhaar rivals growth of Windows, Android, Facebook: Satya Nadella

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Aadhaar now has scaled to over one billion people, rivaling the growth of other platform innovations LATEST NEWS : India's Aadhaar   identity   system   opponents   the   boom   of   different   platform   innovations   like   home windows , Android or   facebook , Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has   said . Nadella, in his   book   'Hit Refresh', which   changed into   launched   for the duration of   the continued   Microsoft Ignite 2017   conference , has praised India's   leap   forward   in the   digital   and technological   area . "Aadhaar now has scaled to over   one thousand million   humans , rivaling the   increase   of   different   platform   improvements which includes   windows , Android or   fb , the 50- yr - vintage   wrote in his   ebook   that hit the   book ...

Govt to create Rs 500-cr fund for R&D in 5G

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India looking to position itself as a leader in 5G technology LATEST NEWS :    As India pursuits to grow to be a frontrunner in 5G , the government is operating on to create a Rs 500-crore fund for improvement of the technology and it has also created a excessive-level committee to paintings on a roadmap for the roll-out of 5G by 2020. As consistent with officers, India doesn't want to miss the opportunity this time like in case of 2G and 3G, in which it lagged in the back of different countries. For 5G, India wants to grow to be a leader and have its very own requirements and IPR that turns into a part of the 5G international standards. "We need to make certain that popular essential patents, amongst different matters, additionally have an Indian IPR," Telecom Secretary Aruna Sundararajan informed business standard. India is asking at 5G technology as a first-rate possibility in terms of providing services tailor-made for rural India like teleheal...

GST collections slow down in August to Rs 90,669 crore

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About 45% of taxpayers yet to file returns LATEST NEWS :  The government gathered Rs 90,669 crore Goods and services tax (GST) for August, a little decrease than the Rs 94,063 crore accumulated in July. that is additionally decrease than the Rs 91,000 crore which need to have come to the Centre and states in a month, given the finances Estimates and assumed increase costs in receipts for 2017-18. Only 55 according to cent of assessees paid taxes for August, in comparison to 64 per cent for July. However, the figures should be compared cautiously. approximately Rs 92,283 crore GST became gathered for July until August 29, whilst Rs 90,669 crore turned into garnered till September 25. consequently, increase in collections changed into flat in August, in comparison to July. As tons as Rs 94,063 crore changed into paid till August 31. Approximately Rs 14,402 crore came from the principal GST (CGST) in August, towards Rs 14,894 crore in July (paid till August 29); R...

PM launches Saubhagya scheme to provide 24x7 electricity to poor by 2019

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The Rs 16,320-cr scheme aims at providing 'last mile electricity connectivity to all rural and urban households' LATEST NEWS :  With energy focus reaping benefits for the ruling BJP in Uttar Pradesh elections earlier this year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today unveiled a new flagship programme of 'Saubhagya - Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana' to energise last mile power delivery. The Rs 16,320-crore scheme aims at providing 'last mile electricity connectivity to all rural and urban households'. The announcement, made at the headquarters of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, will reinforce the ruling party's electricity-for-all target, which was recently advanced from 2019 to 2018. The Union government would provide 60% funds for the programme amounting to Rs 12,320 crore. For special category states, the Centre’s contribution would be 85%. State governments and their utilities would provide 10% funds. In the case of special categor...

Vijay Mallya diverted most of Rs 6,000-cr loan to shell firms in 7 nations

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CBI, ED preparing chargesheet to strengthen extradition case; Mallya alleged to have systematically duped banks by repaying some loan and borrowing more after gaining their confidence Strengthening the case for fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya's extradition from the United Kingdom, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) are reported to be preparing a charge sheet alleging the former liquor baron laundered a major chunk of the Rs 6,027-cr loan taken for the defunct Kingfisher Airlines. Mallya, the 61-year-old chief of the erstwhile Kingfisher Airlines who owes over Rs 9,000 crore to IDBI Bank and various other Indian banks, had fled India to escape legal proceedings in connection with default on the loan repayment. The money, borrowed from a consortium of banks led by State Bank of India, was allegedly diverted through shell firms in seven countries, including the United States (US), the UK, France and Ireland, The Times of I...

Festive sale: Amazon crosses last year's Day One numbers

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Amazon's Great Indian Festival sale for non-Prime members will start on Thursday and will continue till Sunday LATEST NEWS : For Amazon India, the outcome of its 12-hour festival sale for ‘Prime members only’ came as a pleasant surprise. Senior company executives said most of its categories had sold more during the half-day marathon sale on Wednesday than they did on Day One of the sale last year. Interestingly, Prime membership itself was the most sought-after product.   Amazon’s Great Indian Festival sale for non-Prime members will start on Thursday and will continue till Sunday.  “Prime is the largest selling product. We saw a massive spike in people buying Prime as a product. The sale went up 10X,” said Manish Tiwary, vice-president of category management at Amazon India. Festive sale: Amazon crosses last year's Day One numbers After the expansion of its fashion, mobile phones and electronics, groceries, and mobile wallet categories, the e-commerce compa...

Yes Bank turns ex-stock split in the ratio of 5 for 1; shares hit new high

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Since July 3, the bank announced the stock split plan the stock outperformed the market by surging 29% against 3.5% rise in Sensex LATSET NEWS :  Yes Bank hit a new high of Rs 383, up 2% on BSE in early morning trade after the stock turned ex-stock split in the ratio of 1:5 with effect from today. The board of Yes Bank on July 26, 2017 had approved stock split in the ratio of 5 for 1, i.e. sub-division of 1 equity share of face value of Rs 10 each fully paid up into 5 equity shares of Rs 2 each fully paid up. The bank has fixed Friday, September 22, 2017 as record date for determining the eligibility of shareholders, with regards to sub-division equity shares. In order to facilitate affordability of the company’s shares for investors at large and to enhance the liquidity of the company’s equity shares in the stock market, the most of companies proposed to bring down the nominal face value of equity shares. Since July 3, the bank announced the stock split pl...

Tata's 1st compact SUV Nexon launched, petrol variant starts at Rs 5.85 lakh

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The new vehicle will be on sale across Tata Motors' 650 authorised sales outlets in the country LATEST NEWS : The much-awaited Nexon is here and, according to reports, it is aggressively priced to challenge offerings from rivals Maruti Suzuki and Ford Motor.  Tata Motors on Thursday launched the Nexon , its first compact sports utility vehicle offering,  Livemint  reported. According to the financial daily, the prices start at Rs 5.85 lakh for the petrol variants and Rs 6.85 lakh for the diesel ones. Depending upon the variant, the compact SUV could cost you between Rs 5.85 lakh to Rs 9.45 lakh ex-showroom New Delhi, the  Economic Times  reported.  From Thursday, the new vehicle will be on sale across Tata Motors' 650 authorised sales outlets in the country.  Nexon, according to the financial daily's report, is the fourth product based on the 'Impact Design' philosophy, which the company claims brings together global and contempor...

LG Q6+ with FullVision screen launched at Rs 17,990: Know features, specs

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The phone will go on sale starting September 20 through retail outlets across the country LATEST NEWS :  LG Electronics on September 20 launched the ‘ LG Q6+’ , a premium smartphone in LG Q-series, at Rs 17,990. The smartphone features 18:9 screen for enhanced multitasking, facial recognition for device safety and security and military grade aluminium build for durability. The phone will go on sale starting September 20 through retail outlets. The LG Q6+ sports 5.5-inch fullHD screen with 18:9 aspect ratio screen, dubbed as FullVision. The FullVision screen feature in LG Q6+ is adopted from the flagship LG G6, which was the first LG phone to sport FullVision screen. With LG Q6+, the company is also offering one-time free screen replacement within six months. The smartphone is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 435 processor, coupled with 64 GB internal storage and 4 GB RAM. On camera front, the LG Q6+ boasts a 13-megapixel primary camera and a 5 MP wide-angle selfie camera....

Google likely to launch new Pixelbook starting at $1,199

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Google might make a formal announcement for Pixelbook at its flagship phone launch event on October 4 LATEST NEWS :  Google is likely to launch a high-performance Chromebook called Google Pixelbook at a starting price of $1,199. Pixelbook will come in Silver, with 128GB ($1,199), 256GB ($1,399) and 512GB ($1,749) storage options, tech website Droid Life reported late on Tuesday. Unlike earlier Chromebook Pixel units, the new Pixelbook folds into a tablet and comes with official Pixelbook Pen which will be sold separately for $99. The Pixebool Pen is pressure sensitive, with tilt support and supposedly no lag, the report added. Google might make a formal announcement for Pixelbook at its flagship phone launch event on October 4. Also read this :  LG Q6+ with FullVision screen launched at Rs 17,990: Know features, specs

Advantage Jio: Trai cuts IUC to 6 paise per minute from October 1

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Charges to be zero in two years; incumbents set to move court LATEST NEWS : In a fresh blow to incumbent mobile operators, including Bharti Airtel and Vodafone, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has cut the interconnect usage charges (IUC, also known as terminating charges) by 57 per cent to 6 paise per minute effective October 1, from 14 paise currently. In two years, the charges would come down to zero, meaning there won’t be any payment for calls landing on other telcos’ networks. The new charges are being seen as a relief for the latest entrant, Reliance Jio . It is estimated to save about Rs 3,800 crore annually from this move. However, the reduction is likely to hit the profitability and revenues of the incumbents further. Analysts at HSBC said in a recent note that a significantly lower IUC would be a boost for Jio and there may be some more pricing disruption after downward revision of IUC rates. Jio has, since its launch last year, paid about Rs ...

BCCI nominates MS Dhoni for prestigious Padma Bhushan award

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With two World titles (2011 50-over World Cup and 2007 World T20), nearly 10,000 runs, 90 Test matches, there is no one better than him who could have been nominated said a BCCI official LATEST NEWS :   The Indian cricket board has nominated Mahendra Singh Dhoni for the country's third highest civilian award -- the Padma Bhushan -- for his contribution to the game. A senior BCCI official confirmed that the Board has only sent one name for the Padma awards this year and it was a unanimous decision to nominate India's most successful captain. Mahendra Singh Dhoni has been nominated by the BCCI for the Padma Bhushan award. There was no doubt among the members that Dhoni has impeccable credentials. Two World titles (2011 50-over World Cup and 2007 World T20), nearly 10,000 runs, 90 Test matches. There is no one better than him, who could have been nominated," a senior BCCI official told PTI on conditions of anonymity. The BCCI has not sent any other nominati...

SBI Life Insurance IPO opens today. Should you invest?

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Here is a quick compilation of what the leading brokerages suggest LATEST NEWS     :     SBI Life Insurance Company Ltd is the India’s largest private life insurer in terms of new business premium (NBP) generated in each fiscal year since FY10. It has also increased its market share of NBP generated among private life insurers in India, from 15.9% in FY15 to 20% in FY17. Over FY15-17, the company’s NBP increased by 35.5% CAGR, which is the highest among the top five private life insurers (in terms of total premium in FY17) in India. The company's maiden issue opens for subscription today. At the IPO price band of Rs 685-700, the stock is available at P/IEV multiple of 4.2x FY17 (post issue) at the upper end of the price band. Post issue market capitalisation is at around Rs 70,000 crore. So, should you subscribe to the issue? Here's what leading brokerages and research houses suggest. We believe the Indian Life Insurance industry is in a p...

Will iPhone X hurt iPhone 8 and 8 Plus sale? Here's what experts say

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Apple unveiled both iPhone X and iPhone 8 models, with the "super-premium" iPhone X starting at $999 LATEST NEWS : As Apple gets ready to ship iPhone 8 and 8 Plus before it opens iPhone X for pre-orders, a top analyst with Taiwanese business group KGI Securities has warned that iPhone X will cannibalise iPhone 8 orders. According to Ming-Chi Kuo, the most famous analyst with KGI Securities when it comes to Apple, it is very likely that iPhone X demand will cannibalise iPhone 8 pre-orders. "While it takes three to six weeks or more to ship new iPhone models after they are available for preorder, they see the iPhone 8 taking less than one to two weeks. This is due to the iPhone X cannibalisation," streetinsider.com quoted the analyst as saying late on Monday. Apple unveiled both iPhone X and iPhone 8 models, with the "super-premium" iPhone X starting at $999. Ming, however, said the new Apple Watch Series 3's (GPS + Cellular versio...

Asus Zenfone 4 Selfie Pro packs a punch with solid dual front-camera set-up

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Priced at Rs 23,999, the Zenfone 4 Selfie Pro is on the costlier side, but a good bet if you are always on the go and like to capture a lot of photographs LATEST NEWS : Dual cameras have been a key feature defining the smartphone industry all this year. But Taiwanese electronics major Asus takes the dual-camera game to the next level with the Zenfone 4 Selfie series – three selfie-centric smartphones, two of which have dual front camera set-ups. While one variant of the Asus Zenfone 4 Selfie and the premium Zenfone 4 Selfie Pro have dual front cameras, the Zenfone 4 Selfie also has a single-front-camera variant. The Pro version has a dual 24-megapixel plus 5 MP shooter on the front, along with a soft flash and features like the portrait mode and wide-angle shot. Design: The metal-clad smartphone with dual front cameras looks premium from all sides. At 147 g, the device is light, and its 6.85 mm chassis makes it slim and comfortable to hold. But, for a 5.5-inch device, ...

8 PSUs declare bonus issue in 2016

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Institutional portion fully subscribed, retail 60% covered, wealthy investor portion subscribed just 8% LATEST NEWS :  The Rs 5,700-crore initial public offering (IPO) of ICICI Lombard , the country's largest private sector general insurer, was subscribed 67 per cent a day before its close. The institutional portion of the offering has been fully subscribed, the retail portion has been 60 per cent covered and wealthy investor portion was subscribed just eight per cent. The IPO closes on Tuesday. The price band for the IPO is Rs 651 to Rs 661 per share. At the top-end of the price band, ICICI Lombard, a joint venture between private sector lender ICICI Bank and Canada's Fairfax Financial Holdings, will be valued at nearly Rs 30,000 crore. The entire IPO is offer for sale (OFS) by ICICI Bank and Fairfax, who are offloading their seven per cent and 12 per cent stake respectively. Many brokerages are recommending their clients to subscribe to the IPO for "lon...