Apple to begin assembling iPhones in Bengaluru soon: Karnataka IT minister

To gain its foothold in the world’s fastest growing smartphone market, Apple Inc is ready to start assembling iPhones in India.

“Apple Inc is ready to start assembling high-end iPhones in less than a month. This will boost its chances of gaining a foothold in the fast growing Indian market, said Karnataka IT Minister Priyank Kharge on Thurday.

"In less than a month, we will have something out - Apple will start assembling and making its high-end iPhones at its plant in the city. Taiwanese contract manufacturer company, Wistron Corp will help Apple in in the process,"   Kharge added.

Recently, Apple has been in talks with Indian government seeking concessions on import of key components. However, the Indian government has rejected most of the demands of the Cupertino based company.

Kharge said if the Centre is keen on taking on China, it should not give special treatment to Apple alone, but to other players as well such as Samsung and Lenovo.

“Open the entire eco-system for high-end manufacturing of electronics if you really want to compete with China and Taiwan," Kharge said.

Kharge also said that the government should give companies certain timelines, subsidies and incentives to create a level-playing field for them.

"The government should give companies a timeline, say in 10 years they should be able to manufacture 100 per cent of phones and its components by procuring them from the local market. Such a timeline should be given because we don't have that environment now," he said.

"The government should also give companies subsidies and incentives to create a level-playing field for them to strengthen the Indian eco-system," Kharge said. (READ MORE)

BS III vehicles banned, even as car dealers sit on inventory of 900,000

A few thousand automobile dealers received a major jolt on Wednesday, as the Supreme Court decided to ban the sale and registration of BS-III vehicles from April 1, when a higher emission standard  BS-IV comes into force.

As many as 900,000 BS-III vehicles, including commercial vehicles and two-wheelers, are lying as inventory with dealers. Their combined value is estimated at Rs 12,000 crore.

Earlier, through an intervention application, the Federation of Automobile Dealers’ Associations (FADA) had urged the Supreme Court to allow the sale of BS-III vehicles after March 31. "When the hearing comes up on Friday, we will be able to present our case. Dealers are caught in a crossfire between automobile manufacturers and the Environment Pollution Control Authority (EPCA)," Nikunj Sanghi, director, international affairs, FADA, had said a week ago.

There are around 20,000 automobile dealerships in India. Almost all of them are carrying inventory of BS-III vehicles, especially commercial vehicle and two-wheeler dealerships.

"The original notification from the government mentioned clearly that the deadline for manufacturing of BS-III vehicles was March 31. It did not mention anything about sale and registration," Shekar Viswanathan, vice-chairman, Toyota Kirloskar Motor, which stopped making BS-III vehicles almost a year ago and now has no stock lying with dealers, had said.

He had also said that if the EPCA was of the opinion that sale and registration of BS-III vehicles be stopped from April 1, the body ought to have taken up the issue long back and lobbied with the government to ensure necessary legal changes. (READ MORE)

Mahakaushal Express accident: Crack in tracks apparently led to derailment

A crack in the tracks prima facie caused the derailment of eight coaches of Mahakaushal Express near Mahoba station in Uttar Pradesh on Thursday.

Speaking on the sidelines of a function, Minister of State for Railways Manoj Sinha said that "according to the Divisional Railway Manager, prima facie fresh weld failure on left side caused the derailment."

Fresh welding means it was not an old crack and that the crack developed suddenly and could not be detected.

While the UP ADG (Law and Order) Daljit Chaudhary said 52 passengers were injured in the mishap, Sinha said 21 were injured, including one seriously.

The derailment took place near Mahoba station in Uttar Pradesh.

The DRM of Jhansi Division and General Manager of North Central Railway have rushed to the site after the accident to supervise the rescue and relief operations. (READ MORE)

ITR form simplified for salaried individuals; e-filing to start from April

A crisp income tax form for salaried individuals will be introduced from April 1, doing away with some columns to simplify the filing of returns.

Individuals with salary and interest income will have to fill fewer columns as some of these for claiming income deductions have been clubbed in ITR1 form called 'Sahaj'.

In the form for Assessment Year 2017-18, deductions claimed under different sections of Chapter VIA have been removed and only mostly used ones have been included.

"Columns that will remain include those for claiming deductions under Section 80C, mediclaim (80D). Those individuals who want to show deductions under other heads can do so by selecting an option," an official told PTI.

Currently, the ITR 1/Sahaj has 18 different columns for claiming deductions under Section 80 of the Income Tax Act.

Under section 80C, a deduction of Rs 1.5 lakh can be claimed from total income for investments in LIC, PPF and repayment of housing loan.

Section 80D provides for tax deduction from the total taxable income for the payment of medical insurance premium. This deduction is over and above the deduction under Section 80C. (READ MORE)

UIDAI blacklists agency that leaked M S Dhoni's Aadhaar details for 10 yrs

Taking a serious view of public sharing of Aadhaar details of M S Dhoni, the Unique Identification Authority of India has blacklisted for 10 years the entity that had enrolled the ace cricketer.

The UIDAI has also ordered an inquiry to determine any possible involvement of others and take action as per the Aadhaar Act.

"We have blacklisted VLE (Village Level Entrepreneur) who enrolled M S Dhoni for leaking Aadhaar receipt which carried his personal information. At UIDAI, we are very strict on the privacy issue. We have ordered further inquiry on the matter and action will be taken against all those involved in the leak," UIDAI CEO Ajay Bhushan Pandey said.

He also said action will be taken even against those involved in tweeting the picture of the receipt through the official Twitter account (CSCeGov) of the state-run CSC e-Governance Services.

The UIDAI crackdown came after Dhoni's wife Sakshi flagged the matter and complained about it to Law and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, who promised swift action.

The agency's Common Services Centre (CSC) through its handle @CSCegov posted a tweet on Tuesday saying "ace cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his family get their Aadhaar updated at VLE Mariya Farooqui's CSE at Ranchi, Jharkhand".

Prasad was tagged in the tweet. It included a photograph of the cricketer with a CSC representative and another of his personal details on what appeared to be the Aadhaar website.

The tweet with the information was later removed.

"Is there any privacy left? Information of Aadhaar card, including application, is made public property," Sakshi had tweeted.

While thanking Sakshi for bringing up the issue to his notice, Prasad said, "Sharing personal information is illegal. Serious action will be taken against this." (READ MORE)

Shiv Sena forces 500 meat shops, KFC to shut in old Gurgaon

As many as 500 meat shops, including a KFC outlet, in old Gurgaon were allegedly shut down by over 200 Shiv Sainiks for nine days on account of Navratri.

They also threatened the shop owners yesterday to shut their establishments on every Tuesday.

"We have served notices to meat shop owners, including KFC, and other fast food outlets to shut their shops till Navratri ends and on every Tuesday," Gautam Saini, the president of Shiv Sena, Gurgaon, told PTI.

The Sena workers assembled at Palam Vihar yesterday and forced the closure of meat market and dhabas such as Bismillah Khan eatery in others areas too.

However, ACP-PRO of Gurgaon Police Manish Sehgal said some meats shops were shut down but they were later opened. These shops have commercial licence to sell meat. Strict action will be taken against those forcing closure of shops illegally. (READ MORE)

Telecom wars: Bharti Airtel ramps up 4G data with Rs 1,600-cr Tikona deal

In the midst of an aggressive war in the telecom sector, leading operator Bharti Airtel on Thursday made public its plan to go big on data. The telco announced the acquisition of Tikona Digital Networks’s 4G business, including broadband wireless access (BWA) spectrum and 350 sites across five circles. With the deal, which values Tikona at Rs 1,600 crore, Sunil Mittal-led Airtel is gearing up to face Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio with a stronger data offering and faster customer addition. The deal is subject to requisite regulatory approvals.

The company’s total mobile data customers are around 54. 9 million, of whom 37.6 million are only 3G and 4G users. Jio crossed the 50-million mark for data customers in November 2016.

Bharti gets 22.8 per cent of its total mobile revenue from data. Tikona currently has 20 MHz spectrum in the 2,300 MHz band in the Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh (East), UP (West), Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh circles.  

Airtel plans to roll out high-speed 4G services on the newly acquired spectrum in those five circles, immediately after the closure of the transaction. (READ MORE)

Aadhaar linking to everything poses serious national security challenges

The widespread adoption of Aadhaar numbers and linkages to Unique Identification (UID) programme databases for the purpose of authenticating sensitive transactions should give pause to India’s foreign policy and military planners. That Aadhaar is a centralised database, and therefore susceptible to cyber attacks, is already known. But pervasive “Aadhaar-isation” brings together systems and platforms in a digital ecosystem without interoperable standards for security.

The UID is device-agnostic. Whether an Indian enters her Aadhaar number into a virus-infested desktop at a local cyber cafe or a highly secure iPhone, her device is linked to and authenticated by the Aadhaar database. In almost all cases, there is a two-step authentication process, involving a one-time password from the user. The UID Authority of India claims such authentication (at its most basic level) is a simply “Yes/No” interaction of the Aadhaar database with the machine, and that no biometric or personal information is sent back. Biometric or demographic records of Indians are available today in multiple databases, and hardly an invitation to target Aadhaar servers. Based on the specific transaction involved – filing tax returns, transferring money or purchasing health insurance – Aadhaar, however, creates a “map of maps” of Indians identifying, the platform, device, location and successful/failed attempts at authentication. Coupled with the demographic data that can anyway be extracted from an insecure mobile phone or app, this Aadhaar authentication data is of strategic value to a foreign adversary. (READ MORE)

Won't apologise over AI plane incident, says Sena MP Gaikwad

An unrepentant Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad on Friday said that he would not apologise to the Air India staffer whom he assaulted, and instead blamed the airline employee for the incident.

The MP drew more flak on Friday, with four private Indian carriers banning him from flying, while Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathy Raju promised that action would be taken against him.

Gaikwad told reporters at the Maharashtra Sadan in the morning that he has no regret over his actions, saying "kaahe ka pashchaataap (what is there to repent)?"

"I will not apologise...He (AI Manager Sukumar) should come and apologise... Then we will see. A 60-year-old man should also know how to behave," he said.

Gaikwad said he went out to watch a Bollywood movie Badrinath ki Dulhaniya last night to "relax" himself after journalists sought his reaction over the incident.

"Tension-free hona chahiye na...You also watch the movie...It's very good," he said.

The first-time lawmaker also said he had made Parliament "proud", when asked if his act has brought shame to the temple of democracy.

Meanwhile, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan said she cannot take suo motu action and that she will take a call if it is brought to her notice in the House. (READ MORE)

Bharti Airtel to buy Tikona's 4G business for Rs 1,600 cr

Telecom major Bharti Airtel today said it will acquire 4G business of Tikona Networks, including broadband spectrum and 350 sites across 5 circles, for about Rs 1,600 crore.

"Bharti Airtel shall acquire the 4G busienss of Tikona" for "approximately Rs 1,600 crore for the transaction" , the company said in a regulatory filing.

Tikona currently has 20 MHz spectrum in the 2,300 MHz band in Gujarat, UP (East), UP (West), Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh circles.

With this acquisition, Airtel will be second company, after Reliance Jio, in the country to have pan-India presence in 2300 Mhz band -- which has second largest ecosystem of 4G devices.

"We believe that combining our capacities in TD-LTE (4G technology for 2300 Mhz band) and FD-LTE (technology for 1800 Mhz and other spectrum bands) will further bolster our network, and help us provide unmatched high-speed wireless broadband experience to our customers," Bharti Airtel MD & CEO (India & South Asia) Gopal Vittal said.

As per the Nokia MBIT report, 97% 4G devices being used in India are compatible with 4G services provided using 1800 Mhz band, earlier called 2G spectrum, and 90% are compatible with 2300 Mhz band.

"...The acquisition of the 4G business in Gujarat, UP (East), UP (West) and Himachal Pradesh will be undertaken by Airtel, while in the Rajasthan circle, it will be accomplished through Airtel's subsidiary Bharti Hexacom Limited," Airtel said in a statement.

Airtel plans to roll-out high speed 4G services on the newly acquired spectrum in the five circles immediately after the closure of the transaction, it added.

Post-acquisition, the combined spectrum holding of Airtel in these five circles will be within the spectrum caps prescribed by the government.

"The deal will significantly bolster Airtel's spectrum position in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, taking its overall BWA spectrum holding to 30 MHz each in these circles. Post completion of the deal, Airtel will have 30 MHz in the 2300 MHz band in 13 circles giving it tremendous advantage to handle the surging data demand," the statement said.

Trilegal was the lead legal counsel for Goldman Sachs in sale of its shareholding in Tikona to Bharti Airtel. (READ MORE)

Jio Prime membership: Cashbacks, other offers & discounts: Know everything

Mukesh Ambani-backed Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited has been offering free voice calls, SMS, app services and high-speed 4G data to its subscribers since its launch last year. And,  now that the Reliance Jio ‘Happy New Year’ offer is coming to an end on 31 March, 2017, the company is offering perks to secure as many subscribers as possible by offering membership plans and other benefits under which the subscribers can retain their Reliance Jio connection and continue to access and enjoy its services at an affordable price tag.

To continue taking the Reliance Jio benefits post 31 March, the subscribers need to recharge the Reliance Jio connection with Rs 99. This recharge enrolls the subscriber to Reliance Jio Prime membership aka “unlimited maza continue hoyenga” plan. Post recharging with Rs 99 Prime membership plan, the subscriber needs to do the monthly recharge as well but will get the Prime membership benefits.

Let’s look at the table to know what Reliance Jio Prime membership offers:
Apart from Prime membership plan perks, the company has been offering other incentives to retain its subscriber base. Take an example of the recent ‘Buy one get one free’ offers that assure additional benefits to subscribers.

Under ‘Buy one get one free’ offer, the subscribers get an option to recharge either by Rs 303 or Rs 499 and above. In Rs 303 recharge, the subscribers get an add-on worth Rs 201 for free with an additional 5GB of 4G data. In Rs 499 and above recharges, the subscribers get an add-on worth Rs 301 for free with an additional 10 GB of 4G data.

Not just recharges and membership plan, Reliance Jio has been offering perks on Jio apps as well. The Reliance Jio Money app is currently offering Rs 50 cash back on every Jio payment. If users take benefit of this cash back offer, they can actually get the Jio membership, which is of Rs 99, for free.

Here is how to get the cashback which covers the Reliance Jio Prime membership fee

After Adityanath's slaughter house ban, women police battalions for UP?

With Uttar Pradesh (UP) Chief Minister (CM) Yogi Adityanath handing over the BJP manifesto (Lok Kalyan Sankalp Patra) to bureaucrats to be implemented over the next five years, there may be many more surprises in store in the times to come.One of the first things his government did after being sworn in was to declare a ban illegal slaughter houses.

One of the other things in the BJP’s manifesto that was handed over to the state’s top bureaucrats  is a proposal to raise women police battalions across the state. These women battalions are to be christened as Jhalkari Bai battalion, Uda Devi battalion and Avanti Bai battalion. All three women soldiers were part of separate rebellions against the British empire in what is called the Great Indian Revolt of 1857.

Hindi poet Srikrishna Sarala describes Jhalkari Devi in Volume 1 of his five-volume series chronicling Indian revolutionaries between 1751 to 1961 as the soldier who fought disguised as Lakshmibai, the queen of Jhansi against the British. Raising these three battalions named after Dalit women soldiers would also signal an acknowledgment to the Dalit community in the state. All three women soldiers were Dalits. (TO BE CONTINUED)

Rs 2 lakh is the cash transaction limit, Aadhaar mandatory for I-T returns

 

cash transaction limit - The Rs 3-lakh limit proposed for cash payments in the Budget for 2017-18 would be brought down to Rs 2 lakh as part of an unprecedented 40 amendments to the Finance Bill.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley moved the amendments in the lower House on Tuesday. This is aimed at tightening the noose on those dealing in cash.

Most other amendments — making Aadhaar mandatory for filing tax returns, applying for permanent account numbers (PAN) and allowing payments by only non-cash modes such as cheques, bank drafts or electronic transfers for electoral trusts — are also aimed at curbing black money.

A few are aimed at rationalising tribunals by merging these to reduce the number to 12 from 40.

The amendment related to reducing the cap on cash transactions comes amidst reports that digital transactions had declined after a spurt after demonetisation.

“In the amendment to the Finance Bill, the government has proposed the limit of Rs 3 lakh for cash transactions be reduced to Rs 2 lakh,” Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia tweeted. He added the penalty for violation would be a fine equivalent to the amount of the transaction. The penalty would be paid by individuals or establishments receiving the payment.

The Rs 2-lakh limit applies to single transactions, those in aggregate from a person in a day, and to those relating to one event or occasion from a person. The provision does not apply to the government, banks and post offices. (READ MORE)

Aussie media calls Virat the Donald Trump of sports: Thank you, says Big B

Megastar Amitabh Bachchan has slammed Australian media for comparing Indian skipper Virat Kohli to US President Donald Trump.

The Daily Telegraph on Tuesday had compared Kohli to Trump, saying "Kohli has become the Donald Trump of world sport".

"Aussie media calls Virat, Donald Trump of sports !!... Thank you Aussie media for accepting that he is a winner and the PRESIDENT," Bachchan, 74, tweeted.

The comparison comes after Kohli accused the Australian players of trolling Team India physio Patrick Farhart during the Ranchi Test.

Australian daily also alleged that Kohli launched an attack on skipper Steve Smith and the Australian team where he accused of them being systematic cheats, but refused to apologise or provide any concrete evidence. (READ MORE)

Adityanath orders closure of all slaughter houses in UP

In keeping with the BJP's manifesto, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday directed police officials to prepare an action plan for closure of slaughter houses across the state.

He also ordered a blanket ban on smuggling of cows and said zero tolerance would be exercised in this regard.

Official sources did not specify the type of slaughterhouses which will be shut.

However, the BJP manifesto had said that all the illegal slaughter houses would be closed and there would be a blanket ban on all the mechanised slaughterhouses.

The BJP document had observed that due to cow smuggling, dairy-based industries have failed to flourish.

It noted that during the past state governments there has been a fall in cattle count, reflecting that bovine smuggling was rampant.

BJP Chief Amit Shah in his election meetings had emphasised that the moment his party comes to power in the state, it would ban all slaughter houses.

In his orders issued today, Adityanath also directed the police to act tough against anti-social elements.

He warned that those using police security as "status symbol" would come under the scanner and after review of their threat perception their security might be changed. (READ MORE)

Debacle in UP casts doubts about Rahul Gandhi's elevation to Congress chief

Several in the Congress believe Rahul Gandhi made poor choices in UP, for which he needs to take responsibility.

Some hard questions are being asked about Rahul Gandhi’s leadership following the Congress’s shocking election debacle in Uttar Pradesh, with the Narendra Modi juggernaut ensuring the BJP steamrolled all rivals.

In the immediate aftermath of the results, Rahul’s friend and National Conference leader Omar Abdullah summed it up that there is no leader today with a pan India acceptability who can take on Modi and the BJP in 2019.

While Abdullah’s blunt statement has not been taken kindly by the All India Congress Committee (AICC), many in the party are raising the same question.

Congressmen are suggesting that a naive Rahul played into the hands of Modi by agreeing to a pre-poll alliance with the Samajwadi Party (SP).

Former AICC spokesperson Rashid Alvi, however, put it differently. “Congress made a pre-poll alliance with SP and this alliance became an alliance of Muslim community. The BJP took advantage of it and played the game of polarisation in UP politics.”

Restructuring: Tata Motors rolls out VRS, moves to a flat five-level hierarchy

Former Congress Working Committee (CWC) member Harikesh Bahadur said that the politics of alliances in Uttar Pradesh doomed the party as partymen became “frustrated” because they were raring for a fight with the BJP all over the state.

Suggesting that the Congress opposition to demonetisation became counterproductive, Bahadur, who hails from eastern Uttar Pradesh, claimed that the note ban issue helped the BJP in a major way in rural areas.

Former Congress MP Sandeep Dikshit’s remarked that “In Congress it can’t be business as usual… We have to seriously decide if we are going to do the ideological and strategic change that is required” to make a comeback in the future, which reflected the deep frustration among partymen who see no light at the end of the tunnel. 

Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee general secretary Umesh Pandit made it plain, demanding that Rahul quit owning moral responsibility for the debacle, the latest among a series of  defeats for the party, beginning from the Lok Sabha elections in May 2014. Read more

A guide to creating a retirement budget -Business Standard

Retirement means taking things easy. But in order to have a happy one it is never a good idea to be complacent about the planning. Finance institutions like HDFC Life offer tailor-made innovative pension plans to provide financial security for a happy retired life without compromising on living standards.

Experts, in fact, recommend that retirement planning should start from the day you start earning. Presenting six steps to help retire in comfort.

1. Budget for retirement

Knowing post-retirement expenses is crucial to retirement planning.

Two ways to do it:

a. Estimate the retirement fund
Every individual needs roughly about 70% to 80% of pre-retirement gross income. Sooner one starts, the better it is. That way even after the paychecks stop coming, life doesn’t.

It’s a good idea to consult a financial advisor on how to create a monthly budget. Many reputed financial firms, like HDFC Life, have formulated retirement expense worksheets, so the help needed to pencil out a budget for retirement is just a click away.

b. Create a detailed monthly budget for retirement
Some expenses, such as those on clothing and entertainment, come down. Others, such as transportation, medicine and insurance, go up. Typically, during the initial retirement years, people spend more on travel and leisure activities, and later, more on health. It is important to note that everyone’s situation is different, so what works for one individual may not work for another.

READ MORE:-
2. Start an SIP 
3. Get a life insurance 
4. Allocate a sizeable portion of any raise to saving
5. Factor in inflation and surprise expenses
6. Don't dip into corpus before you retire

Ex-Googlers bring augmented reality to Holi selfies with a localised Snapchat

LATEST NEWS - Look at the first of the three pictures carefully. It is not a simple snap taken on Holi, the Indian festival of colors. In fact, the colors are not real at all! They’ve been put on the face using an augmented reality (AR) app — and it’s not Snapchat.

MaskUp, an Indian app, has launched ‘Holi selfie face filters’ to mark the festival being celebrated today.

And by doing so, it has gone where better-known apps like Snapchat, Face Swap, and MSQRD have not — that is, brought in a specific Indian context to AR.

The app has been devised by Chennai-based Makesto Infotech run by ex-Googlers Jeyashankher Ramamirtham and Pradnya Karbhari. MaskUp was launched on Play Store on January 14 as a very early beta.

“We currently have about 5,000 monthly active users. Holi is our first major experience launch,” says Jeyashankher.

All you need to do is switch on the app, click on the box showing colors, and tap on the screen. Out flies a cloud of color and settles on your face! And this happens every time you tap, with a different color erupting on screen each time.

Holi marks the onset of spring in India, and true to the spirit of the season, people go wild putting colors on each other – dry powder, water, or even sticky paint that could take days to come off. MaskUp recreates that look, with fairly whacky results.

A green blotch around your nose, red on your right cheek, blue on the left, and yellow around the eyebrows!(READ MORE)

11-year-old Pakistani girl writes to Modi, asks him to take steps towards peace, friendship

BREAKING NEWS - Congratulating Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) historic mandate in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly Elections, an eleven year old Pakistani school girl wrote to him saying that he should now focus towards winning more hearts of Indians and Pakistanis alike, by becoming a bridge of peace between the two nations.

In her letter, Aqeedat Naveed highlighted the need for peace between India and Pakistan, and said that Prime Minister Modi can help speed up the process, reports DunyaNews.

"Once my father told me that winning of hearts is a marvelous job. Perhaps you have won the hearts of Indian people, therefore you won the election in UP. But I must tell you if you want to win more Indian and Pakistani hearts, you should take steps towards friendship and peace. Both countries need good relation. Let's make a peace bridge between India and Pakistan. Let's decide that we will not buy bullets, will buy books. We will not buy the guns, will buy the medicine for the poor people," Aqeedat wrote in the two-page letter.

Also Read : Congress debacle in UP raises questions about Rahul Gandhi's elevation to party chief

She further emphasised that the choice between peace and conflict lies open for both the nations, and signed off by congratulating the prime minister for the UP polls victory.

The fifth grader, who hails from Lahore, had earlier written a letter to Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj as well on the matter of peace and has also received several responses from officials in New Delhi.(READ MORE)

How Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati's mistakes helped Modi win UP polls

ELECTION NEWS - There is more to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s mind-boggling sweep in the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections than can be explained by factors like his persona, Modi’s aggressive, high profile campaign in the state, the caste configuration of the state or for that matter, the communal turn of his campaign.

Perhaps, the win is also a consequence of the sustained attacks that the Akhilesh Yadav-Rahul Gandhi duo and BSP supremo Mayawati launched against some of Modi’s policies.

Gandhi’s outburst against the army’s surgical strikes on terror camps along the Line of Control – which he termed as “khoon ki dalaali” – went against the nationalist sentiments of even those who do not subscribe to the saffron ideology. In one stroke, Gandhi lost much of the steam he’d generated through his aggressive efforts to rejuvenate the Congress in UP.

However, it was Gandhi, Yadav and Mayawati’s tirade against demonetisation that served as an even bigger boon for Modi.

Without making any effort to see the ground reality, these leaders went on a Modi bashing spree – that evidently proved counter-productive and paid Modi dividends that surprised him as much as those who voted for him.(READ MORE)

Amazon top recruiter at IIM-A, offers 18 jobs to graduates

LATEST NEWS - E-commerce major Amazon made 18 offers to final-year post-graduate students at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A), during the recently concluded placement process, becoming the top recruiter.

An audited report according to the Indian Placement Reporting Standards (IPRS), which IIM-A introduced to bring greater transparency to B-school placements, would be released soon. The institute has, for the time being, released an unaudited report.

A little more than 100 firms took part in the final round of placements at IIM-A. Sector-wise, consulting firms, such as Accenture Strategy, Bain & Company, McKinsey & Company and The Boston Consulting Group, made the highest number of offers. Following Amazon was McKinsey & Company; it made 15 offers.


Among global banks, Goldman Sachs was the largest recruiter, picking nine students. In sales and marketing, Hindustan Unilever made seven offers followed by Procter & Gamble, SC Johnson and Samsung, with six offers each. With 10 offers, TAS was the largest recruiter in the general management sector.(READ MORE)

Reason to cheer: No more limits on cash withdrawals at ATMs

BREAKING NEWS - All limits on savings bank cash withdrawals post-demonetisation ended on Monday, as had been announced by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) last month.

In a two-stage process, the weekly withdrawal limit per account had been raised to Rs 50,000, from Rs 24,000, with effect from February 20, and all limits on ATM withdrawals were slated to cease from March 13.

The announcement had been made by RBI Deputy Governor R. Gandhi following the fiscal's last monetary policy review announcement by the central bank in February, when it kept its key interest rate unchanged at 6.25 per cent, saying it awaited data on the full impact of the government's demonetisation drive.

On January 30, the RBI had ended all curbs on withdrawals from Current Accounts, Cash Credit Accounts and Overdraft Accounts.

The limits were placed following the November 8 demonetisation of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 notes. The upper limit at ATMs was just Rs 2,500 initially and was later raised to Rs 4,500.

In January, the RBI had hiked the daily ATM withdrawal limit to Rs 10,000 and doubled the weekly Current Account withdrawal limit to Rs 1 lakh.

The upper limit for weekly withdrawal from bank accounts had been raised to Rs 24,000 from Rs 20,000 in November.

While lifting of ATM withdrawal limits represents coming full circle for these machines in respect of demonetisation, the return to normalcy in terms of cash available in them is still awaited, indicating the slow pace of remonetisation.(READ MORE)

Election Results 2017 LIVE: UP, Uttarakhand say 'Har Har Modi'; Congress declares victory in Punjab

Elections Results 2017 - UP Election result 2017: The exit polls on Thursday predicted a hung assembly in the key Hindi heartland state of Uttar Pradesh, where Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) would emerge as the single largest party, winning anywhere between 164 and 210 of the 403 seats. A victory for Narendra Modi's BJP in Uttar Pradesh, which is home to 220 million people, would boost his chances of winning the 2019 general elections and underscore his popularity after he made himself the face of the party's campaign in the state. 

Punjab election result 2017: Most polls forecast a close fight between the Congress, which is seeking to return to power in Punjab after a hiatus of 10 years, and Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), making its debut in the Punjab Assembly election.  Stay with us for LIVE updates on Assembly Elections 2017.

Uttarakhand election result 2017: Most exit polls have projected that BJP will emerge as the single largest party in Uttarakhand election 2017, ending the Congress Party's hope to retain its Harish Rawat-led government in the state. 

Goa election result 2017: In Goa, too, BJP is seen as the largest party with 15-20 of the 40 Assembly seats. The Congress could be a close second, while AAP, a debutant in the state, could get 2-4 seats.

Manipur election result 2017: Exit polls for Manipur have a split verdict. While some show BJP forming government in the state, others expect the Congress' Okram Ibobi Singh returning for a fourth term. Iron Lady Irom Sharmila, contesting her first election, is expected to have a weak debut.

Assembly Election Results 2017: The real fight in UP is between the BSP and BJP

Election results 2017 - Now that all the phases are of the Uttar Pradesh elections are over, the time has come for predictions. Several senior journalists, in my opinion, misused their influence by calling the election before the final phase of voting.

The observations I present here are based on travels in the state, evolving trends over the past three years (particularly in west UP) and conversations with a wide range of people (in person and over the phone). Let me start by presenting five reasons why UP is most probably headed towards a hung assembly.

This was not a ‘wave’ election. In the initial phases, the media tried to project an Akhilesh Yadav wave, in the latter phases, a Narendra Modi wave. But there was no ‘wave’ on the ground. Truth is, this was a seat to seat election and individual candidates, localised caste arithmetic and issues will determine the result. 

ALSO READ: Exit Polls 2017 LIVE: Advantage BJP in UP, Akhilesh-Rahul fail to impress

Election Results 2017 LIVE: Modi magic works in UP, Uttarakhand; Congress leads big in Punjab

Election result 2017 - UP Election result 2017: The exit polls on Thursday predicted a hung assembly in the key Hindi heartland state of Uttar Pradesh, where Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) would emerge as the single largest party, winning anywhere between 164 and 210 of the 403 seats. A victory for Narendra Modi's BJP in Uttar Pradesh, which is home to 220 million people, would boost his chances of winning the 2019 general elections and underscore his popularity after he made himself the face of the party's campaign in the state.

Punjab election result 2017 : Most polls forecast a close fight between the Congress, which is seeking to return to power in Punjab after a hiatus of 10 years, and Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), making its debut in the Punjab Assembly election.  Stay with us for LIVE updates on Assembly Elections 2017.

Uttarakhand election result 2017: Most exit polls have projected that BJP will emerge as the single largest party in Uttarakhand election 2017, ending the Congress Party's hope to retain its Harish Rawat-led government in the state. 

Goa election result 2017: In Goa, too, BJP is seen as the largest party with 15-20 of the 40 Assembly seats. The Congress could be a close second, while AAP, a debutant in the state, could get 2-4 seats.

Manipur election result 2017: Exit polls for Manipur have a split verdict. While some show BJP forming government in the state, others expect the Congress' Okram Ibobi Singh returning for a fourth term. Iron Lady Irom Sharmila, contesting her first election, is expected to have a weak debut.

Election Results 2017 LIVE: BJP leads in UP & Uttarakhand, Congress in Punjab, close fight in Goa

Election Results 2017 - UP Election result 2017: The exit polls on Thursday predicted a hung assembly in the key Hindi heartland state of Uttar Pradesh, where Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) would emerge as the single largest party, winning anywhere between 164 and 210 of the 403 seats. A victory for Narendra Modi's BJP in Uttar Pradesh, which is home to 220 million people, would boost his chances of winning the 2019 general elections and underscore his popularity after he made himself the face of the party's campaign in the state.

Punjab election result 2017: Most polls forecast a close fight between the Congress, which is seeking to return to power in Punjab after a hiatus of 10 years, and Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), making its debut in the Punjab Assembly election.  Stay with us for LIVE updates on Assembly Elections 2017.


Uttarakhand election result 2017: Most exit polls have projected that BJP will emerge as the single largest party in Uttarakhand election 2017, ending the Congress Party's hope to retain its Harish Rawat-led government in the state. 

Goa election result 2017: In Goa, too, BJP is seen as the largest party with 15-20 of the 40 Assembly seats. The Congress could be a close second, while AAP, a debutant in the state, could get 2-4 seats.

Manipur election result 2017: Exit polls for Manipur have a split verdict. While some show BJP forming government in the state, others expect the Congress' Okram Ibobi Singh returning for a fourth term. Iron Lady Irom Sharmila, contesting her first election, is expected to have a weak debut.

2017 polls: 'Modi wave' is alive and kicking

UP ELECTION RESULT 2017 - With gruelling elections in five states, including Uttar Pradesh, now over, the popular discourse has now shifted to predicting the poll results, which anyhow would be out in the open tomorrow.

While most exit polls have accorded the edge in poll outcome to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), barring Punjab, the results nonetheless would be analysed in the context of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

BJP’s biggest mass leader to date, Modi had crisscrossed the poll-bound states of UP, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Goa and Manipur, over the last two months to consolidate the party’s core votes. However, he had invested maximum energies in the crucial state of UP, which returns 403 legislators to the state assembly.

Although Modi was not a candidate himself, the polls were largely played on the theme of ‘Modi versus all’ in all these states, especially UP.

In the backdrop of demonetisation, the polls are being seen as virtual referendum on Modi’s three-year rule at the Centre and the impact of the demonetisation decision.

BJP has swept all the local bodies polls held across the states after demonetisation, which implied that the majority of people had stood up for the purported anti-corruption move and that the perception of Modi’s personal integrity was uncompromised.(READ MORE)

Mayawati chides 'babua' Akhilesh for 'childish talk' on jumbo statues

UP ELECTION RESULT 2017 - BSP chief Mayawati on Thursday took a swipe at Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav for his continued attack on the elephant statues set up by her government, saying he was indulging in "childish talk".

"Just as Mulayam Singh Yadav (a former defence minister) speaks of China at any given opportunity, his 'babua' (child), Akhilesh, has nothing to tell people except for patharwali sarkar," Mayawati told a press conference here.

"Everyone knows that the stone statue of elephant will remain in the same position...This is why I call him babua, as only a babua can say something like this. He is indulging in childish talk," Mayawati asserted.

"Even a small kid will be able to tell this. He (Akhilesh) is the father of kids and yet talking like this," she said.

Mayawati said people wanted to question the SP government on issues of "mafiaraj, gundaraj, jungleraj and anarchy" but instead he wanted to indulge in politics of stone.

She, however, thanked the "babua" for talking about the elephants as he was giving free publicity to her party's election symbol.

Mayawati also raked up SP patron Mulayam Singh Yadav's invite to Modi and other BJP leaders to attend a family wedding function in Saifai, and alleged that SP and BJP had a tacit understanding.(READ MORE)

Assembly Elections 2017 LIVE: SP-Cong, BSP, AAP Reject Exit Poll Verdict

Exit Polls 2017: Advantage BJP in UP but Modi may fall short of majority

UP ELECTION RESULT 2017 - Prime Minister Narendra Modi's party is well ahead of rivals in an election in the country's most populous state, Uttar Pradesh, but may fall short of an absolute majority, four major exit polls showed on Thursday.

Victory for Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Uttar Pradesh, which is home to 220 million people, would boost his chances of winning the 2019 general election and underscore his popularity after he made himself the face of the party's campaign.

The prime minister would also see success as vindication of his sudden decision in November to abolish high-denomination banknotes to rein in corruption.


The move was seen as politically risky, because most transactions in India are carried out in cash and millions of Indians were forced to join long queues outside banks to deposit their old bills or get hold of new ones.

Indian elections are notoriously hard to call, and polls taken before and after voting are often wrong. Pollsters were left red-faced in 2015 after mistakenly predicting a BJP win in the state of Bihar.

Results in Uttar Pradesh, as well as four other state ballots, will be announced on Saturday.(READ MORE)

Exit Polls 2017 LIVE: Market Sees UP Results As Litmus Test For BJP

Exit polls predict BJP win in UP, but Dalal St euphoria to fade away soon

UP ELECTION 2017 RESULT - Exit polls have predicted a victory for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the key state of Uttar Pradesh (UP) that is being dubbed as the semi–final to the 2019 general elections, and appeared to be too close to call.

Over the past few sessions, the markets have been moving sideways, consolidating the 9% gain made thus far in calendar year 2017. Analysts say the outcome could create distractions (or positives) for the government and will be interpreted as a referendum on the government’s demonetisation drive.

Here is a quick compilation of what the leading market experts think about the possible outcome and its implication for the economy and markets:

G. CHOKKALINGAM, FOUNDER & MANAGING DIRECTOR OF EQUINOMICS RESEARCH & ADVISORY

The exit polls have predicted significant improvement for the ruling party at the Centre. If this prediction becomes true, it could be sentimentally positive for the equity markets for a week or so. However, in our view, fundamentally speaking, whether the ruling party wins or loses, it doesn’t have significant relevance for the markets.(READ MORE)

Exit Polls 2017 LIVE: Sensex Sees UP Results As Litmus Test For BJP

Assembly polls 2017: 12 reasons why fight in UP is between the BSP and BJP

UP ELECTION RESULT 2017 - Now that all the phases are of the Uttar Pradesh elections are over, the time has come for predictions. Several senior journalists, in my opinion, misused their influence by calling the election before the final phase of voting.

The observations I present here are based on travels in the state, evolving trends over the past three years (particularly in west UP) and conversations with a wide range of people (in person and over the phone). Let me start by presenting five reasons why UP is most probably headed towards a hung assembly.

This was not a ‘wave’ election. In the initial phases, the media tried to project an Akhilesh Yadav wave, in the latter phases, a Narendra Modi wave. But there was no ‘wave’ on the ground. Truth is, this was a seat to seat election and individual candidates, localised caste arithmetic and issues will determine the result.

National issues like demonetisation will have an indirect impact. While not many may have voted directly on that issue, for castes like Jats and sections of non-Jatav Dalits who may have voted the BJP in 2014 and were already drifting away from the party for various reasons, demonetisation was the final nail in the coffin, leading to them snapping their ties or loyalty for the party. One is very uncertain about Banias, though. Many Banias, who are among the most loyal BJP voters, were very upset with demonetisation. However, whether that has resulted in voting elsewhere and to what extent is unclear. The community has been very silent this time. And in many parts, they didn’t even openly campaign for the BJP.(READ MORE)

Exit Polls 2017 LIVE: Advantage BJP In UP, Akhilesh-Rahul Fail To Impress

Railways seek reimbursement for IRCTC service charge

With the finance ministry starting the process for listing of Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), Indian Railway Finance Corporation (IRFC) and Ircon International (Ircon), the loss of service charge for IRCTC has become a cause for concern for railway officials.

The government waived the service charge following demonetisation to encourage cashless transactions.

The railway ministry has written to the finance ministry seeking reimbursement of the loss amounting to over Rs 500 crore on an annualised basis. IRCTC shares half of this service charge revenue with the railways.

Officials said the process for appointment of merchant bankers was under way with ICICI Securities and IDFC making presentations. The Department of Public Asset Management has set March 16 as the final date for submission of requests for quotations in this regard.

The decision to list these companies came as a surprise to the railways when Finance Minister Arun Jaitley made the announcement in his budget speech last month. The railways had written to the finance ministry on the issue of service charge before the budget as well.(READ MORE)

Market sees UP poll results as a litmus test for the BJP

UP POLLS 2017 - Markets have been consolidating and moving in a tight range ahead of the outcome of the assembly poll outcome in key states of Punjab, Uttar Pradesh (UP), Goa, Uttarakhand and Manipur – to be announced on March 11. Analysts say the outcome could create distractions (or positives) for the government and will be interpreted as a referendum on the government’s demonetisation drive. 

The election outcome in UP (the biggest state by population), is being dubbed as the semi–final to the 2019 general elections, and appears to be heading towards a close fight.

Here is a quick compilation of what the leading market experts think about the possible outcome and its implication for the economy and markets:

Samir Arora, founder and fund manager, Helios Capital

We do not believe that outcome of state elections can be a big development for the market. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is expected to win in UP (the only election that matters in this round, if at all). Even if BJP does not win, we don’t think that investors will project this to derive conclusions about 2019 national elections. If BJP wins as expected, the market will have more reasons to go up for sure CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL STORY

Flipkart's Bansals no more billionaires, Patanjali's Bala now worth $3.6 bn

Latest Business News - Flipkart founders Sachin and Binny Bansal, who earned dollar billionaire status last year and whose wealth has fallen with successive markdowns of their firm’s valuation, are among the 31 Indian billionaires who are out of the Hurun Global Rich — Indian billionaires report.

Eleven of the 31 have lost their billionaire status since demonetisation. Prominent among them are Gautam Thapar of Crompton Greaves, Nilima Motaparti of Divi’s Labs, Prathap C Reddy & family of Apollo Hospitals, and Nandan Nilekani, an Infosys shareholder. This list is exclusively based on the share price performance of companies after demonetisation.

However, many billionaires have seen their wealth soaring. The cumulative wealth of 132 Indian or Indian-origin billionaires is estimated to have increased to $392 billion, up 16 per cent from last year, says the report.

Twenty-seven billionaires have been added to the list this year. Of the 27 entrants, Acharya Balakrishna of Patanjali Ayurved leads the pack with wealth of $3.6 billion, followed by Nadir B Godrej and Smitha V Crishna. Patym founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma also lands on the list with $1.5 billion, though his wealth is likely to be revised upwards with Reliance Capital selling its nearly one per cent stake to Alibaba at $41 million. (READ MORE)

Samsung Pay is live in India. Your move, Apple?

Latest Business News - A week back Samsung initiated the registration process for early access to its mobile payment service Samsung Pay in India. And this week, the service has been officially launched for the users who registered for early access program to use Samsung Pay services.

India saw a huge spike in digital payment services post demonetisation drive, which took place on November 8. Since then, a lot many players have entered the arena and are offering digital payment services in different ways. The latest in the arena is Samsung Pay, which took the lead and launched its mobile payment services in India before Apple’s Apple Pay and Google’s Android Pay.

While there is no dearth of e-wallet services and digital payment apps in India, what is it that makes Samsung Pay different from other existing services? Let’s take a look:

What is Samsung Pay

The Samsung Pay is a secure and easy to use mobile payment service available exclusively on select Samsung Galaxy smartphones -- Samsung Galaxy Note5, Samsung Galaxy S7, Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge, Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+, Samsung Galaxy A7 (2016) (2017) and Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016) (2017).

READ MORE ON - How Samsung Pay works?
CLICK HERE To Watch The Video Of Samsung Pay

Rs 48,000 cr Delhi Budget: AAP focuses on health, education, no new taxes

Breaking News - A Rs 48,000-crore budget for the national capital was today presented by the AAP government, laying major focus on improving transport, health, water distribution and education infrastructure.

In its third Budget, the Arvind Kejriwal government abolished the plan and non-plan expenditure heads and presented it in terms of revenue and capital classification in line with the Centre's decision.

There was no proposal on levying any new tax.

In a first, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, who holds the finance portfolio, also presented an "outcome budget" which he said would act like a "contract" between the government and the people.

Sisodia asserted that the economy of the state will grow "despite demonetisation".

At the same time, he said note ban has led to contraction in the city's estimated GSDP for the ongoing financial year (at constant prices) although it will still be higher than the projected growth at the national level.(READ MORE)