Fitch says Chanda Kochhar issue raises governance concerns at ICICI Bank

The ongoing allegations around the sanction of a loan by ICICI Bank to the Videocon Group and the bank’s reluctance to support an independent probe into the matter has created doubts about the bank’s internal governance standards, global ratings agency Fitch said. “..the presence of the bank’s CEO on this credit committee – and the […]

India facing 37% shortfall in DTH spectrum – I&B ministry

India has a total registered demand of 175 satellite transponders for DTH services, but only 111 transponders are currently available, Rajyavardhan Rathore, junior minister for information and broadcasting said, adding that efforst are on to rectify the situation. Satellite transponders refer to the terminals on satellites that emit TV signals that are captured by dish […]

Supreme Court lifts HC stay on RCom asset sale to Jio, no relief in NCLT case

Anil Ambani Group’s Reliance Communications cleared a major hurdle for the sale of its assets to Reliance Jio with the Supreme Court lifting the stay imposed by the Bombay High Court on the transaction. However, there was no immediate relief for the company on the the NCLT stay. The stay by the High Court was […]

CBI closes inquiry into Kirti Azad’s complaint on “DDCA scam”

The Central Bureau of Investigation has closed its investigation into complaints of financial irregularities at the Delhi & District Cricket Association, the Lok Sabha was informed today. “A preliminary enquiry was registered in SC-II branch (of the CBI) on 23.10.2015 against unknown office bearers of Delhi & District Cricket Association (DDCA) and unknown others, on […]

BSNL on track to post biggest ever subscriber losses in FY18

India’s state-owned telecom utility Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd is likely to report a decline of around 1.66 mln landline phone users in the year-ended March 2018, the highest in its history. During the first ten months of the just-concluded financial year, the company saw a 10.04% fall in its landline telephone users. At this rate, […]

Jio users need to click on app to extend Prime membership

Contrary to rumors, Reliance Jio is not giving an automatic extension in Jio prime membership to all its users, but existing members have to ‘express their interest’ through the company’s selfcare application. “Express your interest to get complimentary membership for the next 12 months,” the company said in a ‘how to’ statement for its existing […]

As criminals switch to ‘digital India’, Govt forms committee to tackle phone fraud

The government of India has set up a “Committee on Phone Frauds” to deal rising instances of theft of money using phone calls and one time passwords. India has seen a sharp increase in the number of ‘phishing calls’ made on phones in recent years for several reasons, including new laws that require people to […]

I&B Ministry data confirms blockage of salary funds for Prasar Bharati

SALARY AID TO PB Rs cr 22.05.2017 892 27.07.2017 100 23.08.2017 198 22.09.2017 198 31.10.2017 198 01.12.2017 198 22.12.2017 205 28.02.2018 2.75 Budget Allocation Rs 2800 cr Total Released 1991.75 cr Yet to be Released 808.25 cr Data related from the information and broadcasting ministry shows that the government has not made any substantial disbursal […]

Reliance Jio’s 49 plan revives interest in Jiophone – Credit Suisse

Financial services firm Credit Suisse said sales of Jiophone, which had begun to lose steam after an initial surge, are now back on track due to the affordable Rs 49 plan launched by Reliance Jio. Jiophone, priced at Rs 1,500, is estimated to be selling at the rate of about 6 mln pieces per month, […]

Reliance Jio overtakes Bharti Airtel as India’s largest telecom network

Newly launched telecom operator Reliance Jio has overtaken market leader Bharti Airtel as the company with the largest telecom network in India. As of March 1, Reliance Jio had 4.48 lakh telecom base stations (towers) in India, compared to 4.31 lakh base stations for Bharti Airtel. At the same time, Idea Cellular had 2.79 lakh […]

I&B Ministry addresses allegations of bias in awarding IFFI coverage contract

The Information and Broadcasting ministry has responded to allegations that it caused needless expenditure by getting a private company to cover the opening and closing ceremonies of the International Film Festival of India in place of Doordarshan. It has been alleged by sources in Prasar Bharati that the ministry overlooked Doordarshan’s considerable expertise and experience […]

Balesh Sharma to head Vodafone-Idea Cellular after merger, Himanshu Kapania moved to Group

Aditya Birla Group and Vodafone have announced the list of office bearers who will run the company resulting from the merger of Vodafone India and Idea Cellular. Balesh Sharma, who is currently Chief Operating Officer of Vodafone India, has been chosen to head the new company, while the existing CEO of Vodafone India and Idea […]

Smriti Irani says no salary till Prasar Bharati agrees to performance targets

Information & Broadcasting Minister Smriti Irani today said her ministry has not released funds for the payment of salaries to the employees of India’s public broadcaster Prasar Bharati because the ministry and the organization have not been able to agree on a set of performance parameters for the broadcaster to achieve. Irani said the memorandum […]

RCom says confident of completing asset sale to Reliance Jio on time

Anil Ambani-led Reliance Communications said it is confident of completing the sale of the assets related to its mobile network to Reliance Jio on time. The company’s statement was in the context of the Supreme Court refusing to give any urgent relief on the stay imposed on the asset sale by the National Company Law […]

RCom discloses additional details on restructuring and asset sale to Reliance Jio

Reliance Communications said it had received the nod of the majority of its bondholders to its plans for selling most of its mobile network assets to Reliance Jio, and disclosed further details of its restructuring plan. “Noteholders holding in aggregate 44% of the principal amount of outstanding Notes were present or represented at the Adjourned […]

Airtel, Vodafone beat Reliance Jio in on-the-ground 4G speed tests

4G operator Bharti Airtel was clearly ahead of market leader Reliance Jio and challenger Idea Cellular in on-the-ground 4G speed tests conducted by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India in ten cities in India this year. According to the data from these tests, Bharti Airtel scored an average download speed of 9.46 Mbps, 44% faster […]

Tata Power offers ‘Gorilla’ BLDC fans at 50% discount in tie-up with IIT start-up

Tata Power, which supplies power to much of Mumbai, is offering a 50% subsidy to its customers who want to buy a BLDC or ultra-low power fan. Instead of Rs 3,500 per unit, customers will be able to get four units of the fan at Rs 1,750 each, making the remote-controlled ‘smart fans’ cheaper than […]

Bharti Airtel’s new EMI scheme offers savings of Rs 8,000-11,000 over 2 years

Bharti Airtel, India’s largest telecom services provider, today unveiled its installment schemes for the new Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus that can save you anywhere from Rs 8,000 to Rs 11,000 over a two-year period. The plans are similar to what it has rolled out for the Apple iPhone, and offer value for those […]

Yes Bank lends Rs 750 cr to Mahindra Group for Rewa solar plant

Yes Bank said it will lend Rs 750 cr to Mahindra Renewables Pvt. Ltd., part of the Mahindra Group, for constructing a 250 megawatt solar farm in the solar park at Rewa in Madhya Pradesh. The project has raised another Rs 200 cr from other financial institutions and achieved financial closure, the bank added. The […]