Many consumer rights groups have faulted trading in agricultural commodity price futures for the rapid rise in prices, but now, even the trade bodies are joining in. Industry body Assocham gave out a strongly-worded statement decrying what it called the Harshad-Mehta-scam-like situation in India’s commodity exchanges, fueling a fantastic rise in prices. “Turmeric, which was […]
India’s core sector industries’ output grew 6.8% year on year in February, government numbers revealed. The eight industries have a combined weight of 37.90 per cent in India’s Index of Industrial Production (IIP). The combined Index was 145.6 in February 2012. It had grown 6.4% Growth in February 2011. The growth is significantly higher than […]
India’s defence minister AK Antony said a major “step up” is required in India’s defence modernization to keep up with its neighbours. “We live in a sensitive region. We have to consider the pace at which our neighbours are modernizing… Need a substantial step-up for the modernization.. It is our stance, a balanced stand will […]
Defence minister of AK Antony termed the recent leak of Army chief VK Singh’s letter to the Prime Minister as “anti-national.” “Whoever leaked this letter.. that act is anti-national. No patriotic Indian will do this. It helps only enemies, only our enemies… We have requested the IB to enquire about this.. We want to know […]
Global rating agency Fitch has forecast that real GDP in India could grow around 7.5% in the new financial year, up from an estimate of 7.0% in FY2011-12. “India appears to be reaching the bottom of the current economic cycle. Real GDP grew just 6.1% yoy in Q411, down from 6.9% yoy in Q311… Industrial […]
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 […]
The growing prevalence of the Internet will push the beloved personal computer to the sidelines, new prediction from technology market research firm Gartner says. “The reign of the personal computer as the sole corporate access device is coming to a close, and by 2014, the personal cloud will replace the personal computer at the center […]
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 […]
If the traditional, big Indian mobile operators were dreaming of increasing tariffs in what is often called the world’s most competitive market, they have got another thing coming. It was in July last year that big operators, such as Airtel, Vodafone and Reliance, proclaimed the end of the cheap-tariff era and hiked call rates by […]
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 […]
