The ruling Congress Party’s cup of woes continue to overflow. Announcement for the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) was supposed to facilitate the smooth functioning of the Parliament but the Lower House or Lok Sabha continues to see disruption, and this time on the issue of a separate Telengana state. Leading the protest were eleven Congress […]
The government today claimed that the widely reported case of polio in West Bengal was not, in fact, one. Media reports had claimed that India’s multi-year effort to wipe out polio from the country had failed, with the case of Sumi Naskar 18-month old girl from from Baruipur, 24-Parganas South. India has not reported any […]
Air India’s losses has increased by around 20% this year, going by the numbers for the first half, the government told the Rajya Sabha yesterday. India’s national carrier has recorded a loss of Rs 4,100 crore in the first six months of the year. On an annualized basis, the carrier may suffer a loss of […]
After Wipro, Toshiba, Lenovo, HP, Samsung, Asus and Acer, it is Dell’s turn to launch an ‘Ultrabook’ in India. The third largest PC brand in the world will launch its 13-inch Ultrabook, the Dell XPS 13, on Tuesday in Mumbai. The Dell XPS 13 is priced at Rs 80,000 in India. The XPS 13 will […]
A combined amendment bill put forth by the opposition in India’s upper house on NCTC Rajya Sabha was defeated by 105 votes to 82 in a surprise outcome today. The amendment, intended to take the sting out of the National Counterterrorism Center legislation brought in by the government. Though the government had only 94 votes, […]
In India’s world of outsourcing and me-too IT companies, Bangalore-based Ittiam Systems stands out. Founded more than ten years ago with the vision of leveraging India’s intellectual capacity to create intellectual property (such as patents), instead of simply helping others do their job, the company has just crossed the $20 million revenue mark. Interestingly, the […]
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is investigating an alleged scam in the procurement of wireless land-phones, known as FWTs or fixed wireless terminals, by BSNL. In reply to a question by member of Parliament P Lingam and others, the ministry of communications and IT said that the CBI started the investigations on the basis […]
IIT Indore, one of the eight new IITs being set up by the government, has run into forest clearance hurdles for its campus near Indore city. The central government’s Forest Advisory Committe, the apex experts body clearing forest allotments in the country, has rejected the Madhya Pradesh government’s proposal to allot 80 hectares of central […]
The government is thinking of setting up annual National Awards for media, similar to the National Film Awards, to reward excellence in media and journalism, the ministry of information and broadcasting said in reply to a question in the Parliament. “A National Media Awards scheme is being examined in the Ministry. Details will be provided […]
The government has not taken any disciplinary action against any defence personnel against whom complaints have been received in the last two years, according to numbers laid in the Rajya Sabha. Asked by member P Rajeeve to give the number of persons in the army, navy, air force or other wings against whom disciplinary actions […]
Satellite TV channels from most of India’s neighbours figure in a list of ‘harmful’ channels compiled by Indian security forces, according to information provided to the Rajya Sabha by the government this week. Not surprisingly, Pakistan is home to the highest number of ‘harmful’ channels, as determined by Indian security agencies. Also interesting is the […]
Tata Communications said it has established a fibre optic connection between India and Europe, making it the first company to offer a round-the-globe fibre network. The latest, 9,280 km Eurasia (TGN-EA) cable connects Europe to India through Egypt, The latest cable runs “across the Mediterranean and the Middle East, uses fibre-optic technology based on microscopic […]
Rating agency Crisil has warned that new RBI regulations that limit the amount of money gold-loan companies could provide will reduce the growth rate of the industry from 80% to 20-25% per year. New regulations from the Reserve Bank of India prohibit companies from loaning more than 60% of the value of the gold that […]
Were you tempted by the Rs 2,900 Akash tablet, or the Rs 3,250 Penta tablet from BSNL, but put off by their resistive touch-screen displays? Help is at hand, in the form of Wishtel, an Indian company that has brought in a decent capacitive-touch tablet at Rs 5,500. The Wishtel IRA and ‘IRA Thing’ tablets […]
30% of the 6,500 scientist posts in India’s premier agricultural research body is lying vacant, according to minister of state for agriculture Harish Rawat. Nearly 1,960 scientist posts, mostly at the level of ‘Senior Scientists’ are lying vacant in the Indian Council for Agircultural Research (ICAR), the minister said in response to a query by […]
The Budget 2012-13 envisions total tax income in excess of Rs 10.7 lakh crore, while expenditure of more than Rs 14.9 lakh crore. Gross Tax Receipts estimated at `10,77,612 crore. Net Tax to Centre estimated at `7,71,071 crore. Non-tax Revenue Receipts estimated at `1,64,614 crore. Non-debt Capital Receipts estimated at `41,650 […]
The following are the highlights of the Union Budget proposals with regard to all indirect taxes — including service tax, custom duties, excise and all other central taxes. Standard rate of excise duty to be raised from 10 per cent to 12 per cent, merit rate from 5 per cent to 6 per cent […]
The following are the main proposals in the Union Budget for 2012-13 that relate to Agriculture: Plan Outlay for Department of Agriculture and Co-operation increased by 18 percent. Outlay for Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) increased to `9,217 crore in 2012-13. Initiative of Bringing Green Revolution to Eastern India (BGREI) – Allocation […]
The following are the proposals related to the development of infrastructure and industry, contained in the Union Budget 2012-13 presented today. Infrastructure Government has approved guidelines for establishing joint venture companies by defence PSUs in PPP mode. First Infrastructure Debt Fund with an initial size of `8,000 crore launched earlier this month. […]
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has suggested putting a limit of 6 minutes per hour for advertisements on pay channels. The Authority, which issued a consultation paper in this regard today, also suggested putting a cap of 12 minutes per hour on ads in free-to-air channels, like Doordarshan. In live sports events, it […]
