European magazine GEO is all set to launch in India after it got approval today from the Finance ministry for investing in the country. It will initially invest Rs 7.35 crore to launch the Indian edition. GEO one of the most popular magazines in Europe and is based out of Germany. The first edition of […]
Meeting Lalu Prasad Yadav, the then railway minister, was an “unforgettable experience” for the then US Ambassador to India, David Mulford, according to a cable released by Wikileaks. Mulford, who described Lalu as “as one of the most savvy, colorful, grassroots politicians in India,” however, was disappointed by the rather ‘serious’ Lalu that he encountered. […]
Robert O Blake, the interim US ambassador to India in 2005, praised the then newly elected Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Prakash Karat as “a talented and skillful leader, well-aware of his political importance.” The cable, sent in May 2005 busted two myths — one, that the US embassy did not try or succeed […]
UP is the state most vulnerable to Islamic terrorism and extremists seemed to operate with impunity in the state, worrying the community elite; according to the US embassy’s survey after 2006 Mumbai bombings. An embassy survey among Muslim intellectuals in Lucknow, including Maulvis (both Sunni and Shia), Urdu language journalists, political and community leaders, scholars […]
The Americans considered the hijacking of the IC-814 to Kandahar and the subsequent release of Islamic Terrorists “an ignominious decision, and defeat” on the part of India, according to new cables released by Wikileaks. The cable also shows that in 2005, the Indian external affairs ministry did not mind putting stress on the relations between […]
Telecom secretary R Chandrasekhar has set a deadline of one month for taking action against companies found to be involved in the 2G scam. Talking to reporters in Delhi today, Chandrasekhar, who has a reputation as a clean and no-nonsense technocrat, said all the 70 or so companies that have been sent notices for misrepresenting […]
The North Eastern Indian state of Manipur is ruled more like an Indian colony than a state with widespread human rights violations, the Kolkata US Consul General Henry V Jardine wrote after a visit of the state in September, 2006. Jardine, who was on a security-checking mission in the trouble-prone state, gave a stark, if […]
The World will spend a whopping $29.4 billion (Rs 1.35 lakh crore) this year on media tablets, a market where Apple had almost 90% marketshare last year, according to Gartner research agency. The number is three times the equivalent figure for 2010, the researcher said in its latest prediction. Gartner had earlier predicted tough times […]
The Mumbai Consultate and New Delhi embassy of the US Government were extremely concerned at the use of an ‘American’ hotel in Dubai for the “brazen” wedding of Dawood Ibrahim in late 2005. The US officials in India asked for action against the US-based Hyatt group for letting the wedding take place at the hotel […]
Concerned over India’s galloping electronics import bill, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India will recommend a phased introduction of ‘local sourcing’ rules of telecom operators in a week. The TRAI chairman JS Sarma said most of the final details on the recommendations, has been arrived at and the recommendations will be put out next week. […]
Buckling under accusations of large-scale diversion of funds and violence associated with the ‘food for work’ program, the Central government has warned states that it will not release funds unless allegations are probed in a timely manner. The National Employment Guarantee Scheme has been under the spotlight after an activist was killed by local level […]
Tata Consultancy Services reported a third quarter only mildly below expectations, but the stock is likely to see some profit booking on Friday. TCS reported dollar revenue growth of 3% quarter on quarter, missing average analyst estimates of 3.5%. Volume growth came in at 1.8% compared to expectations of about 2.25%. However a slight increase […]
One of the most powerful tablets in the market today, the LG G Pad 8.3 Google Play Edition – has been launched in India by shopyourworld.com at a price of Rs 30,000. The 8.3 inch tablet comes with a full HD display, a quad-core 1.7 GHz Krait 300 processor and 2GB RAM. The LG G […]
Cornering over one-fourth share of the total number of new jobs advertised on portals and newspapers, Delhi-NCR has emerged on top with over 1.39 lakh new jobs created during the calendar year 2013, industry body Assocham said, quoting an in-house study. The survey analysed the vacancies posted by about 4,500 companies via job portals like […]
Corporate and financial information provider Dun & Bradstreet said India’s GDP growth is likely to pick up pace in the new year, rising to 5.5% compared to its estimate of a 4.8% GDP growth in 2013. It also expects wholesale inflation to fall to around 5.8%. “Owing to the substantial moderation in the services sector […]
India’s Home Minister P Chidambaram felt a pang of guilt at trying to ‘usurp’ law and order responsibilities from the state governments through the formation of the National Intelligence Agency, according to the latest cable leaked by Wikileaks. According to the cable written two years ago, American officials said Chidambaram felt considerable trepidation and doubts […]
Idea Cellular has copied the post-pay plans of Bharti Airtel to announce a new flexible billing scheme for its customers. India, where over 95% of mobile subscribers are on prepaid schemes, has not found many takers for billing schemes, largely on account of a mutual distrust on the part of customers and operators about the […]
Jairam Ramesh has ordered the Orissa government to take action against Navin Jindal’s Rs 25000 crore project in Orissa that was cleared by him a month ago. He took the extraordinary decision after media reports that he had favored the Congress MP’s company by allowing it to take advantage of a circular that was in […]
ONGC Videsh, India’s government-owned overseas petroleum company, increased its stake in Block BC-10, a deepwater offshore block in Campos Basin of Brazil, by 12% to 73%, the company said, blocking a move by China’s Sinochem to buy a 35% stake in the block. The Campos Basin is considered a promising hydrocarbon reserve of the future, […]
With a view to counter the attractiveness of Reliance Communications’ emi scheme for Apple iPhone and clear out existing stocks, Samsung has also tied up with credit card companies and Ingram Micro to offer a unique buy-back guarantee scheme for its mobiles. Under the scheme, which also enables the user to buy Samsung mobiles on […]
