Apple exploring app that can charge iPhone handsets using Wi-Fi routers

US tech giant Apple is experimenting with wireless charging technologies that could see users charge their iPhones with a Wi-Fi router.

"Apple's patent application for 'Wireless Charging and Communications Systems With Dual-Frequency Patch Antennas' is a method for transferring power to electronic devices over frequencies normally dedicated to data communications," appleinsider.com reported on Friday.

The patch antennas may be used for wireless power transfer at microwave frequencies or other frequencies and may be used to support millimetre wave communications.

The patch antennas may be used to form a beam steering array. The wireless circuitry may include adjustable circuitry to steer wireless signals associated with the antenna array.

"Apple's patent application merely covers the theory behind wireless power transmission using existing communications link frequencies, and does not divulge specific operating details beyond the implementation of specialised beam forming patch antennas," the report noted.

Apple is set to bring "True Color iPad Pro" screen technology to its smartphones for the first time.

"The screen technology uses advanced four-channel ambient light sensors to automatically adapt the colour and intensity of the display to match the light in your environment. Which means reading anywhere is more natural and comfortable - almost like looking at a sheet of paper," Forbes.com reported earlier.

The full spectral sensing ambient light sensor will be added to the iPhone 7S, iPhone 7S Plus and iPhone 8.
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The 2017 agenda: Reliance Jio to soon venture into DTH, broadband services

Reliance Jio stormed into the telecom industry with the launch of ultra-affordable high speed 4G internet services combined with free voice calls, SMS and Jio apps. To keep the momentum going, Reliance Jio Infocomm is reportedly gearing up to expand the company’s product portfolio by venturing into diverse areas such as broadband services and Direct-to-Home (DTH) TV services.

Things to expect from Reliance Jio in 2017

Reliance Jio FTTH broadband services

Reliance Industries plans to spend a further Rs 18,000 crore additional investment required for its fibre network as it expands Jio's 4G reach, reports Business Standard. The Reliance Jio fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) broadband services has already been offering trials at a few locations and the services will expand to more cities soon.

Based on the information posted by users on social media networks, the Reliance Jio FTTH broadband services offers speed ranging from 70 Megabits per second (Mbps) to 100 Mbps. This is way faster than what the competition is currently offering in the market.

As with Reliance Jio, pricing would be a key factor for the success of Reliance Jio broadband services.

Reliance Jio DTH service

Reliance Jio is expected to launch direct-to-home (DTH) TV services, which will broadcast native TV channels and stream online content with the help of Jio’s broadband services.

The Reliance Jio DTH service would offer more than 350 channels – with at least 50 high-definition (HD) channels. Also, the DTH services will make use of Jio’s cloud capabilities to store content for later viewing purpose and therefore the user will get the flexibility to save the program directly on cloud, therefore, eliminating the need of external storage device.

Reliance Jio 4G VoLTE feature phone

Reliance Jio is reportedly working on a feature phone that will support 4G VoLTE services. The feature phone also purportedly sports hardware buttons to use the suite of Jio apps. The phone will be subsidized by Reliance and might retail at a value ranging from Rs 999 – Rs 1,500.

ALSO READ: Reliance lifts Jio investment above Rs 1.9 lakh cr after record year

Make in India arms too? Jaitley says new defence manufacturing policy soon

The government is in ‘advanced stages’ of formulating a new policy to increase domestic defence manufacturing and reduce dependence on the imported high-tech military, Finance and Defence Minister Arun Jaitley said on Friday.

"India is the world's largest arms importer, spending some 1.8 per cent of its GDP on defence. It imports about 70 per cent of defence equipment, a proposition which the government wants to change,” Jaitley said at an event organised by industry body CII.

"We are in the advanced stages of formulating a policy where we can ensure that instead of just being buyers, on the strength of technological and other tie-ups, India also becomes a manufacturing economy," he said.

Jaitley did not give additional details on the proposed policy. "The response that we have from domestic and international industry has been quite encouraging itself," he added.

Additionally, he stated that there would not be any massive surprises in fixing tax rates under the new GST regime and that new rates under the nationwide tax regime, expected to be rolled out from July 1, not be "significantly different" from current levels.

He, however, added that companies should pass on to consumers the benefit of reduction in taxes under GST which will eliminate the current compounding effect of different central and state levies. The GST Council, headed by Jaitley and comprising representatives of all the states, is scheduled to meet in Srinagar on May 18-19 to finalise tax rates on different goods and services after unifying at least 10 indirect taxes into the Goods and Services Tax (GST).

"We are now in final stages of fixing tariffs for different commodities. The formula under which it is being done has also been explained and therefore nobody is going to be taken by surprise, it's not going to be very significantly different," Jaitley said.
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Movie review: Baahubali 2 - The Conclusion is a colossal bore

Watching Baahubali 2 is like being in a purportedly romantic relationship with a psychotic person who keeps saying “if you can't handle me at my worst, you don't deserve me at my best”. The worst in this case is basically 150 minutes and the best is around 20 minutes. After a fairly decent first part, director S S Rajamouli seems to have gotten a carte blanche from his producers to let his imagination go unfettered in the second part.

He did make a wild and weird movie but it ends up being a distended mess. As suggested at the end of the first part, Baahubali 2 hits the ground running with the back story of Amarendra Baahubali (Prabhas) and how before his coronation as king of the ancient city of Mahishmati he meets the love of his life Deva Sena (Anushka) under the garb of a simpleton. The first 60 minutes of the movie are slow and the comedy track involving Subba Raju as the simple-minded cousin of Deva Sena barely evokes any laughs. Things pick up a little when Deva Sena realises the real person behind the unassuming guy in her midst and goes to his kingdom with him. A tale of mistaken identities leads to Baahubali's near-real mother Sivagami (Ramya Krishna) make her son Bhallaladeva (Rana Daggubati) as the king.

Second half is how righteousness of both Sivagami and Baahubali lets Bhallaladeva unfurl a vortex of tragedies until his nephew (Mahendra Baahubali) returns to avenge for the deaths. For the last 22 months, we always knew that the antagonist is going to die a bad death in the hands of his blood-thirsty nephew. We have been waiting for the journey for a predestined destination but Rajamouli disappoints. He goes offtrack way too often and by the end we are left huffing and puffing that the whole fuss around Kattappa killing Baahubali is fairly predictable.
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Udan: Modi to flag off first RCS flight from Shimla today

Udan - An Alliance Air ATR-42 aircraft with 15 passengers will take off from Shimla airport on 11.15 am on Thursday heralding the launch of regional connectivity scheme (RCS).

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off the Shimla-Delhi flight from Himachal Pradesh capital and launch two other services (Kadapa-Hyderabad and Nanded-Hyderabad) under the government policy, which aims to link unconnected towns with affordable fares.

The Kadapa-Hyderabad and Nanded-Hyderbad flights will be operated by TruJet and minimum tickets on these two routes is priced at Rs 1,000 one way.

“We will operate the ATR-42 aircraft five times a week between Delhi-Shimla. The demand is positive and seats on the route are filling up fast,” said Alliance Air chief executive officer C S Subbhaih. Alliance Air is a subsidiary of Air India.

Under the RCS  an airline is bound to sell 50% of the seats at subsidised fares and on Delhi-Shimla route one way ticket is priced at Rs 1,920. The ATR-42  aircraft has 48 seats but due to restrictions at the Shimla airport Alliance Air will only be able to fill 35 seats  to Shimla and 15 seats for its return leg to Delhi. The highest system fare on Delhi-Shimla route has been kept at Rs 20,000 one way.

While a total of 70 airports have been selected under the RCS, the launch from Shimla has a significance. Despite being a state capital, Shimla lacked air connectivity and a writ petition was filed in state high court demanding resumption of flights, which were suspended in 2012. The petition is currently being heard in the Supreme Court.

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Flipkart continues lead over Amazon but sales are still smartphone heavy

India’s largest e-commerce marketplace Flipkart continues to hold a 25-30 per cent lead over rival Amazon in terms of the gross merchandise value sold on its platform, but could face headwinds as a large portion of its sales is still driven by smartphones.

Flipkart's sales during March clocked in at around Rs 3,200-3,300 crore, while rival Amazon managed to do just around Rs 2,400 crore in sales, according to a person with the knowledge who did not want to be named. The gap in terms of unit sales between the two companies was at around 15-20 per cent.

“Even though the gap in the number of units sold on both platforms isn’t that huge, Flipkart continues to hold a strong lead over Amazon in terms of GMV. This is because Flipkart continues to lead in the smartphone sector, which usually have a higher purchase value,” the person said.

Standalone sales for Flipkart’s platform clocked in at Rs 2,800 crore, slightly higher than Amazon, while the rest of the group companies Myntra, Jabong and eBay raked in around Rs 450 crore. From an annualised GMV run rate perspective Flipkart holds around a 25 per cent lead at $6 billion compared to Amazon’s $4.5 billion.

An Economic Times report on Thursday cited investors and analysts estimates who put Flipkart’s annualised GMV at $4 billion, but said that sources close to investor Tiger Global said that the company’s gross sales crosses $6 billion at the end of March 2017.

While Flipkart continues to have a strong lead over Amazon in India’s hotly contested $17 billion e-commerce market, it’s reliance on driving sales through high-cost smartphones could trip it. According to a Counterpoint report, Flipkart controls 57 per cent of the online smartphone market in the country, as opposed to Amazon’s 27 per cent.

“Amazon is building value in India by selling books, low value items to customers in tier two markets and through things like Prime. Flipkart continues to drive a large portion of its GMV from smartphones which can be disrupted very easily. It’s the same thing that happened to Snapdeal, look where they are now,” added the person.
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Veteran Bollywood star Vinod Khanna dies at 70

Vinod Khanna, the yesteryears Bollywood superstar, died at the age of 70 on Thursday. He was battling cancer.

He worked in more than 100 films.

He was an active politician, and a sitting Member of Parliament from Gurdaspur, Punjab. Vinod Khanna was born on 6 October, 1946.

He is survived by his wife Kavita Khanna, sons Rahul, Akshaye and Sakshi, and daughter Shraddha Khanna. Before marrying Kavita, Vinod Khanna was married to Getanjali but they later got divorced.

His polupar movies include Mere Apne, Mera Gaon Mera Desh, Gaddaar (1973 film), Jail Yatra, Imitihaan, Inkaar, Kuchhe Dhaage, Amar Akbar Anthony, Rajput, Qurbani, Kudrat, Dayavan, Kaarnama,Suryaa: An Awakening and Jurm.

Vinod Khanna received the Filmfare award in the best supporting actor category for Haath Ki Safaai, and in 1999 he received the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award, and again in 2007 he won a lifetime achievement award at the Zee Cine Awards.

In late 2016 and early 2017, news about his detoriating health started coming in, this kept him away from a public eye. In his last days he was surrounded by all his children and wife Kavita.
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It's a shame Indians don't want to pay taxes: SC talks tough on Aadhaar

The Supreme Court on Wednesday asked why there was no objection from lawmakers on the government’s decision to make Aadhaar mandatory for making permanent account number (PAN) cards, a move which was given effect by the latest budget from July 1.

“542 persons are sitting in Parliament, why do they not object to it? If they are not objecting, why should we go into it,” a Bench comprising Justices A K Sikri and Ashok Bhushan said.

When it was told that the Centre has earlier made a statement in the apex court that it would not make Aadhaar mandatory, the Bench said, “They cannot be bound by it. It cannot preclude Parliament from enacting a statutory provision.”

The court was hearing three petitions challenging the constitutional validity of section 139AA of the Income Tax (IT) Act. Section 139AA, introduced through the latest Budget and the Finance Act, 2017, provides for mandatory quoting of Aadhaar or enrolment ID of Aadhaar application form for filing of I-T returns and making application for allotment of PAN with effect from July 1, 2017.

The Bench also observed that tax evasion existed in India and it was a “shame” that citizens do not want to pay taxes.

The court said there was no doubt that Aadhaar should be voluntary and observed since tax evasion existed, the government could bring in new statute to stop such “leakage”.

Defending the Centre’s stand to make Aadhaar mandatory for filing of income tax returns and to apply for PAN, Attorney-General Mukul Rohatgi referred to around 10 lakh fake PAN cards and said Aadhaar was the only system which could prevent duplication or fake cards.

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MCD results: AAP loses, cries foul over EVMs as BJP wins big in Delhi

MCD results 2017 - The BJP was on Wednesday won 184 of the 270 seats, leaving the Aam Aadmi Party well behind on 46 seats with the Congress suffering another dismal day. The BJP also swept all three corporations. The BJP said it will not celebrate its victory in the civic polls but "dedicate" it to the 25 CRPF troopers who died in a Maoist attack in Sukma.

"We won't celebrate this victory and will dedicate it to the CRPF personnel who lost their lives in the Sukma Maoist attack," Delhi Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Manoj Tiwari told reporters.

Here is the complete winners list by ward and party:

South Delhi Municipal Corporation

The BJP won 70 wards, AAP 16 and Congress 12. Here’s the break-up:

BJP: Madipur, Punjabi Bagh, Raghubir Nagar, Rajouri Garden, Vishnu Garden, Hari Nagar A, Pratap Nagar, Keshopur, Mahavir Nagar, Janakpuri West, Janakpuri South, Milap Nagar, Vikaspuri, Sainik Enclave, Vikas Nagar, Mohan Garden North, Uttam Nagar, Bindapur, Dabri, Sagarpur West, Kakraula, Dwarka A, Dwarka B, Isapur, Raj Nagar, Dwarka C, Mahipalpur, Madhu Vihar, Mahavir Enclave, Sadh Nagar, Palam, Lajpat Nagar, Kasturba Nagar, Kotla Mubarakpur, Vasant Kunj, Dakshin Puri, Sangam Vihar B, Pushp Vihar, Khanpur, Greater Kailash, Chitaranjan Park, Molarband, Hari Nagar B, Jaitpur, Om Vihar, Madanpur Khadar East, Madanpur Khadar West, Mohan Garden South, Chhawla, Gopal Nagar, Roshanpura, Hauz Khas, Malviya Nagar, Vasant Vihar, Mehrauli, Said Ul Ajaib, Bhati, Tughlakabad Extension, Sangam Vihar E, Sri Niwas Puri, Kalkaji, Harkesh Nagar, Tughlakabad, Safdarjung Enclave, Raja Garden, R.K. Puram, Munirka, Chhatarpur, Sagarpur East and Pul Pehladpur

AAP: Tagore Garden, Tilak Nagar, Sitapuri, Bapraula, Manglapuri, Matiala, Bijwasan, Lado Sarai, Tigri, Deoli, Madangir, Chirag Delhi, Abul Fazal Enclave, Hastsal, Sangam Vihar C and Sangam Vihar D

Congress: Sarita Vihar, Badarpur, Aya Nagar, Andrews Ganj, Sidharth Nagar, Ranhola, Subhash Nagar, Khyala, Zakir Nagar, Govind Puri, Nangli Sakrawati and Daryaganj

INLD: Dichaon Kalan

Samajwadi Party: Ghuman Hera

Independents: Sangam Vihar A, Kapashera, Nawada and Najafgarh
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No end to data wars: Reliance Jio free offers to continue for 12-18 months

The free schemes and recharge options that Reliance Jio is offering to its customers is likely to continue for the next 12-18 months, which means other telecom services providers like Airtel, Vodafone and BSNL will have to step up efforts to counter Jio's strategy.

Jio's tactic would lead to pressure on the average revenue per user (ARPU) of incumbent operators, US bank Morgan Stanley said in a report. It added that ARPU for Bharti Airtel, Idea Cellular and Vodafone India has been effectively capped at about Rs 300 due to Jio’s current offers, a report published in The Economic Times said.

Jio prepaid plans start from as low as Rs 19, and go up to Rs. 9,999, while postpaid plans are available at Rs. 309, Rs. 509, and Rs. 999 denomination. Jio launched its 4G service commercially on September 5, 2016 for free and crossed 50 million subscribers in just 83 days, and 100 million in 170 days, adding at an average rate of 6 lakh subscribers per day.
The company said that in terms of data usage it "has become the largest network globally" and plans to add one lakh mobile sites in coming months to double the network size.

The Morgan Stanley report mentioned that Jio, which started services on September 5, has netted 6 per cent of the country’s wireless subscribers and aims to get at least 15 per cent.

Reliance Jio extended the free usage period for Jio services to its existing and new customers till March 31, 2017. Jio reached the 100 million user mark in the first 170 days, adding consumers at an average of 600,000 a day.

Meanwhile, Reliance Jio Infocomm on Monday posted a net loss of Rs 22.50 crore for the six months ended March 31, 2017, as the company provided free voice and data services since its launch on September 5, 2016. The loss pertained to not just free voice and data services unleashed by its brand reliance Jio, but also on account of employee cost, finance cost, depreciation and other expenses.
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MCD election 2017: Threat for AAP govt, Delhi may see early Assembly polls

The results of the Delhi civic polls lead to some obvious conclusions, and not so obvious near-term possibilities. These include fresh assembly polls in Delhi by the end of the year, the likelihood of several incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Lok Sabha members might be replaced in 2019 Lok Sabha polls and more leaders quitting the Congress party.

1. Modi wave

The BJP victory in the polls is primarily because of the popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, brilliantly leveraged by party chief Amit Shah with deft organisational work.
It is true that BJP won the last two civic polls as well, but the party campaign in Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) polls focused on Modi’s leadership, not of any local leaders. Today, Shah credited the victory to Modi's leadership.

2. Alarm bells for BJP Lok Sabha MPs

The BJP fielded fresh faces in 267 of 272 municipal wards. It helped BJP beat anti-incumbency, and present itself as a new and improved version under Modi. This should worry incumbent legislators and Lok Sabha members of the party.
As Gujarat chief minister, Modi used to replace at least a third of all sitting legislators before every assembly polls. He led the party to three consecutive assembly victories in 2002, 2007 and 2012. It is likely that Modi and Shah could replace party’s sitting legislators in the forthcoming polls in Gujarat and Karnataka.

3. The AAP government in Delhi could be short-lived.

AAP founder Shanti Bhushan has gone on record to state that AAP’s hope of having Rajya Sabha representation in 2018 is likely to remain a pipedream. Three Rajya Sabha seats from Delhi fall vacant next year, and AAP is sure to win all with its massive majority in the Delhi assembly. But there is growing dissension in the party against its leadership.

4. Question mark over Arvind Kejriwal as a challenger to Modi

Until some months back, Kejriwal was this bright star on the Indian political firmament. He was considered as a leader for the future. In the years to come, many expected him to provide the leadership to non-BJP forces. But Kejriwal’s reputation is in tatters.
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MCD Election Results 2017 LIVE: AAP hit by Modi wave, won't accept defeat

MCD election result LIVE: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is leading in all three municipal corporations - North Delhi Municipal Corporation, South Delhi Municipal Corporation and East Delhi Municipal Corporation in the national capital. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Congress are in the race for the second spot in the three civic bodies. Other parties which contested the election include Swaraj India, the political arm of Swaraj Abhiyan - co-founded by activists Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan, BSP, SP.

While the Congress party welcomed the mandate, the Aam Aadmi party blamed Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) for the party's dismal performance and the BJP's good show in the MCD polls. "This is not a Modi wave, but an EVM wave," Delhi Labour Minister and senior AAP leader Gopal Rai said.

The AAP leaders including Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia were huddled at Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's residence as the trends showed a poor show by the party. The prospects of a "massive" defeat loomed large over AAP, close on the heels of the bypolls for Rajouri Garden Assembly seat where BJP-Akali Dal candidate won while party candidate lost his security deposit.

Trends showed that AAP was trailing far behind BJP which has been accused by the Kejriwal led party of "corruption and mismanagement" during its 10 year rule.

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2008 Malegaon blast: Bombay HC grants bail to Sadhvi Pragya

The Bombay High Court today granted bail to Sadhvi Pragya Singh Takhur but denied any relief to co-accused former Lt Col Prasad Purohit in the 2008 Malegaon blast case.

"The appeal filed by Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur is allowed. The applicant (Sadhvi) is directed to be released on bail on a surety of Rs 5 lakh. The appeal filed by Prasad Purohit stands dismissed," said a division bench of Justices Ranjit More and Shalini Phansalkar Joshi.

The court directed Sadhvi Pragya to surrender her passport to the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

It also directed her not to tamper with the evidence and to report to NIA court as and when required.

"We have said in our order that prima facie there is no case made out against Sadhvi," Justice More said while refusing to stay today's order.

Sadhvi Pragya and Purohit accused of involvement in Malegaon bomb blast case in which eight persons were killed and nearly 80 others were injured when a bomb strapped to a motorcycle had exploded in Malegaon on September 29, 2008.

Sadhvi Pragya and Purohit were arrested in 2008 and are in jail since then.

The court was hearing the appeals filed by Sadhvi Pragya and Purohit challenging an earlier order of a special court rejecting their bail pleas.
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Google introduces machine-learning products for nine Indian languages

Aiming to bring a billion people online and make the web more useful for them, Google India on Tuesday unveiled new products on advancement in machine learning for Indian languages.

Google also announced that the neural machine translation is now available for nine Indian languages -- Hindi, Bengali, Punjabi, Marathi, Gujarati, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada.

"Google wants to extend the internet for every Indian. We have identified gaps that bar Indians from accessing the internet. There are 400 million internet users in India and the number is expected to reach 600 million by 2020," Rajan Anandan, Vice President, India and SouthEast Asia, Google, told reporters here.

He added that 300 million Indians access the internet on smartphones. Anandan also spoke about Google's tie-up with RailTel to provide high-speed internet at Railway stations.

The neural machine translation is available in Chrome and Maps to make the translation process seamless and refined.

The company said it does one billion translations every day and 95 per cent of Google Translate has its usage outside of the US.

"Of over 500 million people who use Google Translate, most of the users are in India, Indonesia, Brazil and Thailand," it said.

According to Google, neural networks initially took 10 seconds to translate but the company worked on it and brought down the time to 0.2 seconds in two months.

The company also launched "Gboard" in 22 scheduled languages in India. The users can now search words, meanings and even emojis in local language.

The keyboard now has a new feature by which text editing can be done on the go easily.

The new Gboard comes with a feature that makes it easy to resize and reposition the keyboard according to a user's need.

Google also unveiled Hindi dictionary in Google Search in collaboration with Oxford University Press.

It also shared findings from a new report by Google and KPMG India, titled "Indian Languages-Defining India's Internet".
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Maruti 's new Dzire will roll out on 16 May: What to expect

Car market leader Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) is seeking to revive growth in compact sedan segment in the country with the launch of its third generation Dzire next month.

The company, which has till date sold 13.81 lakh units of the model in India since its launch in March 2008, will roll out an all-new version of Dzire on May 16.

The sub-four metre compact sedan segment has witnessed decline in sales. In 2016-17, it clocked 4,02,608 units as against 4,40,735 units in 2015-16, down 8.65 per cent.

MSI's Dzire sales declined by 14.67 per cent at 1,99,878 units in financial year 2016-17 as against 2,34,242 units in the previous year. Despite the decline, the model accounted for 50 per cent of the total sales in the segment.

"Due to capacity constraints we had to adjust production of certain models, including Dzire, in order to reduce long waiting period of models like Baleno and Vitara Brezza," MSI Executive Director Sales and Marketing RS Kalsi told reporters here.

With additional capacity of 1.5 lakh units available for this fiscal from Suzuki's Gujarat plant, he said the pressure will ease and it will benefit models like Dzire.

"We have 50 per cent market share in the compact sedan segment where Dzire is present and with the launch of next generation edition we are looking to maintain the sales momentum," Kalsi said.
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RJio details, GRMs, capex: What to watch out for in RIL's results today

The market watchers are keenly awaiting Reliance Industries Ltd’s March quarter results, which the oil & gas major will announce later in the day. While the company is expected to report strong overall numbers amid growth in the refining and petrochemical segment, all eyes will be on RIL’s commentary on Reliance Jio Infocomm, the group’s telecom venture.

RIL, now an oil-to-telecom conglomerate, has reported growth in profit after tax (PAT) for eight straight quarters, and beaten consensus PAT estimates in six quarters in a row.

"We expect strong earnings, driven by refining and petchem (higher volumes, improved margins). Despite increased losses in domestic E&P (exploration and production), we expect RIL to report a ninth straight quarter on quarter stand-alone PAT growth," analysts with Nomura Research wrote in an April 7 report.

"Reliance Industries’ (RIL) grandiose $20 billion core capex is seeing fruition, which unlike the uncertainties associated with RJio, will instantly bolster earnings," said brokerage Edelweiss Securities in an April 20 research note.

Meanwhile, in a Bloomberg poll, 16 analysts estimated the company’s March quarter revenue at Rs 67,476 crore and profit at Rs 8,016 crore at a standalone level.

For the March 2016 quarter, the company had reported a net profit of Rs 7,320 crore and revenue of Rs 54,189 crore on a standalone basis.

Analysts expect gross refining margins (GRMs) for the quarter in the range of $10.5 to $11.2 a barrel, against $10.8 in the quarter ended December 2016.

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BSNL gives Reliance Jio a run for its money, offers 270 GB for Rs 333

To counter threat from Reliance Jio, state-run telecom firm Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), is the latest to join the bandwagon after Idea Cellular and Bharti Airtel as it has announced three new schemes ranging from Rs 333 to Rs 395.

Here are the three new offers — Triple Ace, Dil Khol Ke Bol and Nehle per Dehla that have been launched for existing pre-paid users.

Rs 333 Triple Ace plan: Offering unlimited 3G data with a per day cap usage of 3 GB, this plan has a validity of 90 days. This amounts to 90 GB a month and 270 GB 3G data for three months. While the cheap rates at Rs 1.23 per GB is a catch, other operators offering 4G speed can be a drawback for BSNL.

Rs 349 Dil Khol Ke Bol plan: Enticing customers with unlimited local and STD calling, this plan offers high speed 3G data with a daily cap of 2GB, valid for 90 days as well. However, whether the unlimited calls are valid across other networks except BSNL is not known yet.

Rs 395 Nehle pe Dahla plan: Apart from offering unlimited data with a limit of 2GB data per day, users will also get 3,000 minutes free calls within BSNL network, and 1,800 minutes free for calls to all other networks. Upon exhausting the daily download limit, the speed will drop to 80 kbps. Unlike the other two plans, this one has a validity of 71 days, which equals to nearly 10 weeks.

The above-mentioned data plans are meant to take on Reliance Jio’s plans priced at Rs 309 and Rs 509 that offers unlimited calling, national roaming, free SMS across India. For the Rs 309 plan, a user gets 1GB 4G data per day valid for 84 days, whereas, the Rs 509 plan offers 2GB 4G data valid for 84 days as well.

Additionally, BSNL also revamped the benefits of STV339 plan.

Reliance Jio has become the largest broadband service provider in the country within three months of its commercial launch. It has 52.23 million broadband customers.

BSNL continues to dominate the broadband market in fixed line services segment with 9.95 million customers and ranks fifth in mobile broadband space with 20.39 million subscribers.
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Ramdev's Patanjali Amla juice found unsafe; Army canteens suspend sale

The canteen stores department(CSD), the retailing platform for India's defence forces suspended the sale of Baba Ramdev's Patanjali Ayurved's amla juice after receiving a negative state laboratory test report about the product. In a letter dated April 3, 2017, the CSD asked all depots to make debit notes for their existing stock so that the Amla Juice can be sent back to Patanjali.

Amla Juice was one of Patanjali's first consumer launches which helped the company establish its credentials in the consumer business segment. As per reports, a batch of juice tested at the lab in Kolkata was declared unfit for consumption. Patanjali has therefore withdrawn amla juice from all army canteens.

According to a report of  Economic Times, CSD is the retailer for India's defence forces with selling nearly 5,300 products to about 12 million personnel of the Indian defence services, including their families and ex-servicemen.

It must be noted here that the same lab in Kolkata had detected high lead levels and MSG in the samples of Nestle Maggi noodles two years ago, that had initially led Nestle to withdraw the brand across India.

It is not the first time that Patanajli has fallen into a controversy. The company had been also questioned for selling noodles and pasta without relevant licences. Advertisements of some of its products are accused of misleading customers.
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Modi pitches for simultaneous elections, changing fiscal year to Jan-Dec

BREAKING NEWS - Prime Minister Narendra Modi today pitched for conducting simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and the state assemblies and shifting to a January- December fiscal year.

Addressing the Niti Aayog Governing Council's third meeting, which was attended by several state chief ministers, Modi said for long, India had suffered from economic and political mismanagement.

"Because of poor time management, many good initiatives and schemes had failed to deliver the anticipated results," he said, adding there is a need to develop robust arrangements that could function amidst diversity.

The prime minister called for carrying forward the debate and discussions on holding simultaneous elections to Parliament and state legislatures.

On the Goods and Services Tax (GST), Modi asked the states to make legislative arrangements "without delay" for the rollout of the indirect tax regime from July 1.

The GST, which will subsume central excise, service tax, Value Added Tax (VAT) and other local levies, is scheduled to be rolled out from July 1.

The consensus on GST reflects the spirit of 'one nation, one aspiration, one determination', Modi earlier said in his opening remarks at the meeting.

Referring to the change in the budget dates, he said in a country where agricultural income is exceedingly important, budgets should be prepared immediately after the receipt of agricultural incomes for the year.
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Apple, Nike to unveil limited edition Apple Watch 2

Apple and Nike are working to expand their smartwatch series partnership for the Apple Watch 2 with a new limited edition NikeLab offering.

"NikeLab will feature a simple face to focus on fitness and will go on sale April 27, but will only be available through Nike's website and at an Apple pop-up shop in Tokyo," US-based new service thestreet.com reported on Friday.

Last year, Apple released Apple Watch Nike+ that features built-in GPS to track users' pace, distance and route — even if they don't have iPhone with them.

Apple Watch Nike+ is water resistant (50 metres). Training data including pace, distance and heart rate are available at a glance and through shared run summaries.
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SC raps Modi govt for making Aadhaar mandatory for filing I-T returns

The Supreme Court of Friday asked Attorney General (AG) Mukul Rohatgi to justify making Aadhaar mandatory for filing Income Tax returns as it is a complete violation of the court's previous order. "Is making Aadhaar by force the only way to tackle fraud?" a furious Supreme Court asked the central government.

The apex court debated the legality of a centralized biometric-based database of India’s 1.2 billion citizens. To this, Mukul Rohatgi responded that the central government's only option was to make Aadhaar mandatory to end the black money menace.

"We found a number of pan cards being used to divert funds to shell companies, to prevent it the only option is to make Aadhaar card mandatory," said Rohatgi.

The Supreme Court had on March 27 made it clear that Aadhaar cannot be made mandatory by the government for extending benefits of social welfare schemes.

The top court, however, said that the government cannot be barred from seeking these cards, which are issued by UIDAI, for "non-benefit" purposes like filing of IT returns and opening of accounts.

"The answer is this that for giving benefits of welfare schemes, it (Aadhaar) cannot be pressed. They (government and its agencies) cannot be stopped from seeking Aadhaar for non-benefit schemes like opening of bank accounts," a bench headed by Chief Justice J S Khehar had said.

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Watch: Dismissed BSF jawan Tej Bahadur Yadav says justice was denied

Tej Bahadur Yadav, the BSF jawan who had posted a video on social media about the poor quality of food being served to jawans, was dismissed from the Border Security Force recently. He said he was sad about his dismissal and that he paid the price for being honest.

He claimed that the condition of food in all the wings of the military was pathetic and senior officials were responsible for it.

In a video, he said that almost 50 per cent of the senior officials were responsible for the deplorable food condition and they did not care about jawans. He added that he was denied justice and would move high court.
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Watch the video here:

Reliance Jio commentary to be highlight of RIL's Q4 results on Monday

Dalal Street will be eyeing management commentary on telecom venture (Reliance Jio) as Reliance Industries reports its March quarter performance on Monday, April 24. Analysts at J P Morgan say that “Reliance should report another strong quarter, though core business has become less relevant from a stock perspective, as all focus is on the telecom segment (RJio).”

Meanwhile, the March quarter performance will still be driven by performance in its core refining and petrochemicals segment as contributions from Telecom venture will only be to the extent of prime membership enrollments.

Analysts estimate quarter ending March to be strongly led by core refining and petrochemicals segment only. Analysts at Jefferies expect Reliance to report further earnings improvement in the quarter with standalone Ebitda up three and five per cent on year-on-year and sequentially basis respectively, helped by better refining and petrochemicals performance.

Petchem profitability is expected to increase year-on-year, led by improved deltas. Monoethylene Glycol and Butadiene continued their strong performance and were up more than 50 and 75 per cent sequentially according to analysts at BNP Paribas who add that Paraxylene (PX) margins continued their steady recovery and were up seven per cent sequentially. The refining margins, however, may be slightly lower looking at Weakness in Benchmark Singapore GRM’s in the back of weak demand. Reliance is expected to report GRM of $10.2 per barrel versus $10.8/bbl in 3QFY17 and $10.8/bbl in the year-ago quarter say analysts at Motilal Oswal who however expect Petchem Ebitda per tonne to increase to $300 compared $271.6 seen in the year-ago quarter.

The company’s investments in Refining and petchem segment are ripe to reap results. The process has already begun with the commissioning of the first phase (50 per cent capacity) of its 2.2 million metric tonne per annum paraxylene (PX) expansion project at the Jamnagar petrochemicals complex. While this commissioning is a key milestone, it was to be followed by the refinery off-gas cracker with 3.3 million tonne per annum capacity which is lined up for commissioning soon. The updates on the same will also be looked at by the street as also commissioning of a pet-coke regasification project that was to come on stream by mid-2017. These expansions are to accrue further benefits from the Q2FY18 post stabilisation of expansions and third quarter of FY18 may be a stronger quarter for RIL.
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Nissan Sunny now becomes cheaper by Rs 1.99 lakh, starting at Rs 6.99 lakh

Japanese automobile manufacturer Nissan on Thursday slashed prices of its mid-sized sedan Sunny in India by up to Rs 1.99 lakh, citing better localisation.

Sunny will be now available at a starting price of Rs 6.99 lakh going up to Rs 8.99 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi), Nissan Motor India Pvt Ltd (NMIPL) said in a statement.

Under the new prices, petrol variant of Sunny will now cost Rs 6.99 lakh, a cut of Rs 1.01 lakh, while the top-end automatic transmission variant is tagged at Rs 8.99 lakh, a reduction of Rs 1.99 lakh.

Similarly, the base variant of diesel option will see a pricecut of Rs 1.31 lakh. It is now priced at Rs 7.49 lakh. The top-end variant is now cheaper by Rs 94,000 at Rs 8.99 lakh (all prices ex-showroom Delhi).

Commenting on the price cut, NMIPL Managing Director Arun Malhotra said, "Local production of this car enables significantly lower costs...We pass on these benefits to our customers with very competitive prices for the Nissan Sunny, our popular premium sedan."

Last year, the company had slashed prices of automatic transmission variant of its premium hatchback Micra in India by up to Rs 54,252 on the back of increased parts localisation.

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Note ban: Parliamentary panel calls Urjit Patel again on May 25

RBI Governor Urjit Patel has been asked by a parliamentary panel to appear before it again on May 25 over demonetisation issue after former prime minister Manmohan Singh prevailed over BJP MPs in the panel to call him.

Interestingly, Patel was spared a grilling when he had appeared before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance in January this year after Singh, who himself was RBI governor once, intervened to say that the RBI as an institution needs to be respected and Patel should not be put "odd" questions.

Top sources and members of the committee said that Patel has been asked to appear again before it to brief the members about demonetisation as discussion on it is yet to be concluded.

"BJP members in the panel including Nishikant Dubey were not in favour of calling Patel to appear before the committee, but after members from opposition led by Manmohan Singh insisted, it was decided to call the RBI governor," a member said.

The Committee headed by former Union minister and senior Congress leader M Veerappa Moily had in January also called finance ministry officials besides top RBI officials to discuss the demonetisation of currency notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 and the impact thereof.

As members could not complete their questions, the committee had decided to call RBI Governor and ministry officials again on a later date, after the Budget session.

The sources privy to development said that the members in the panel are likely to ask Patel about how much money has come back into the system.

The members will also inquire as to when banks' operations will be normal.
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Reliance Prime users get 448 GB data free on purchase of Galaxy S8, S8+

Launched in India on Wednesday amid much fanfare, the Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ are two top-tier flagship smartphones. The sale of the smartphones will begin on 5 May, 2017 for Rs 57,900 and Rs 64,900, respectively on Flipkart as well as Samsung online store. To make the deal even sweeter, the smartphones come bundled with Reliance Jio exclusive offer that provide ‘Double Data’ to the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ customers.

As a promotional offer, the Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ customer will get a Double Data offer on the Jio network. On a monthly recharge of Rs 309 users will enjoy 448 GB of 4G data over 8 months. This translated to 2 GB high-speed 4G data per day for next 8 months.

To recall, under Reliance Jio’s Dhana Dhan offer the subscribers are offered 1 GB 4G high-speed data per day for 3 months at a monthly recharge of Rs 309. Also, on a recharge of Rs 509, the subscribers get 2 GB 4G high-speed data for 3 months.

Effectively, the Reliance Jio ‘Double Data’ promotional offer that comes bundled with Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ offers much more than double the data to Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+. At Rs 309 recharge, the prime users get 2 GB data per day – already double to what existing users get In Dhana Dhan offer – for 8 months.

The sale of Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ devices will begin on 5 May, 2017 and therefore the benefits of Reliance Jio ‘Double Data’ promotional offer for the flagship smartphones buyers will continue till January 2018.

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Govt to hire UK arbitrator to bring back Vijay Mallya

The government is planning to get on board a UK-based “independent arbitrator” to appear on behalf of Indian authorities and put up a strong case of extradition against absconding liquor baron Vijay Mallya, an Enforcement Directorate (ED) official said.

The move comes in view of India’s past experiences with extradition cases and long-drawn legal processes.

Mallya was briefly arrested in London on Tuesday over accusations of fraud by Indian probe agencies and presented before the Westminster Magistrates’ Court for an extradition hearing. He was released on bail a few hours later.

The 61-year-old businessman had fled India last year after banks started seeking his arrest over unpaid loans tied to his defunct Kingfisher Airlines.

“The person who will represent the case should be well-versed with the judicial system of the country where the matter will be heard. The court of law differs from country to country, so it is essential that the representative knows the law and legal remedies of that country,” said the official cited above.

Sources said there were at least a dozen instances in the past when Indian agencies lost cases due to lack of understanding of the State laws.

Some officials said the chances of Mallya being extradited anytime soon were less than 30 per cent, considering the “civil” nature of charges against him. He can seek relief on the grounds that he is not one among the “big loan defaulters”. Loan default cannot be a major factor to extradite any person, another official of the enforcement agency said.
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Facebook is for all: Zuckerberg takes a dig at Snapchat

Facebook does innovation to serve "everyone" in the community and not just the "high end", its CEO Mark Zuckerberg has said in an apparent swipe at Snapchat boss' reported "poor countries" remark that triggered a controversy in India.

"I think one thing that people probably don't think about as much as we do is innovation to serve everyone in the community, not just the high end, right?," Zuckerberg told Tech Crunch on the sidelines of the annual Facebook Developer Conference (F8) at the McEnery Convention Center in San Jose, California on Tuesday.

When asked about the perception of Facebook being less innovative, Zuckerberg said, "I guess I'm not that worried about that. I mean, I feel like we do different kinds of work in different areas. I mean, I think certainly, no one who looks at the solar-powered planes that we're building or the satellites that were making, and thinks that that stuff isn't interesting."

Zuckerbeg, 32, said we focus on a lot of things like Facebook Lite. It's up to 200 million people in like a year...I tend to worry more and think more about the substance of what our community actually wants, Tech Crunch reported.

Snapchat is strongly denying allegations by a former employee Anthony Pompliano, who alleged in a lawsuit that Spiegel had once shot down his suggestion to pursue growth in certain international markets.

Pompliano alleged that Spiegel said Snapchat is "only for rich people" and that he didnt want to "expand into poor countries like India and Spain.

Snapchat had refuted the reported claims of a former employee who alleged that its CEO Evan Spiegel made negative comments about the Indian market, saying the multimedia mobile app is for everyone and the company is "grateful" to its Indian users.

Spiegels remarks caused an uproar in India where users are quickly uninstalling the Snapchat app.
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Modi govt to reap political gains from action against Mallya, Subrata Roy

It is perhaps easy to miss the coincidence of two developments taking place in quick succession this week, but their significance in national politics should not be underestimated. Nor should there be any celebrations over an early resolution to the problems that those developments are seeking to address.

On Monday, the Supreme Court ordered the auction of the Aamby Valley property of the Sahara supremo, Subrata Roy, to help recover from him dues that market regulator, the Securities and Exchange  Board of India, estimates to be over Rs 47,000 crore, including interest. Of this amount, the group has so far paid back Rs 11,477 crore.

A day later, the United Kingdom (UK) authorities started extradition proceedings against Vijay Mallya, who allegedly owes over Rs 9,000 crore to banks in India and has been staying away from India for the last 13 months. After the UK Secretary of State certified that extradition proceedings can begin, the London police arrested Mallya and produced him before a local court, which granted him conditional bail.

Purely from an economic governance point of view, these steps mark just the beginning of what would certainly be a long process of recovering dues from Subrata Roy and Vijay Mallya. But that the process has begun augurs well for a country where action against malfeasance is rare and when the process does start, it is excruciatingly slow. And worse, when the process ends after many years, the accused often get away with relative ease.

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Ram Mandir-Babri Masjid issue: Read the entire timeline of the dispute

The Supreme Court's suggestion  for an amicable settlement to the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute in Ayodhya has yet again rekindled the debate on the subject that has for decades been a religious and political flashpoint.

The Babri mosque dates back nearly 500 years when it was built in Ayodhya by Mir Baqi, a commander of the first Mughal emperor Babur, in 1528. Hence the mosque's name, Babri Masjid.

Here is the timeline to the dispute:

1853: The first recorded incident of violence over the holy site takes place during the reign of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah of Awadh. Nirmohis, a Hindu sect, claim that a Hindu temple had been destroyed during Babur's times to build the mosque.

1859: The British colonial administration erects a fence at the site to separate the places of worship. While the Muslims are allowed to use the inner court, the Hindus are allowed the outer court.

1885: In January 1885, Mahant Raghubir Das files the first case, seeking permission to build a canopy on the Ramchabutra (a raised platform) outside the mosque. The plea is rejected by the Faizabad district court.

1949: Lord Ram's idols appear inside the mosque, allegedly placed by Hindu groups. Both sides file suits; the government declares the area as disputed and locks the gates to the premise.

1950: Gopal Singh Visharad and Mahant Paramhans Ramchandra Das file suits at the Faizabad court seeking permission to offer prayers to the idols in the janamsthan. While the inner courtyard remains locked, prayers are allowed.

1959: The Nirmohi Akhara files a third suit seeking possession of the site and claiming to be the custodians of the Ram Janmabhoomi.

1961: The Sunni Central Board of Waqf files a case against the placing of idols inside the mosque and claim that the mosque and surrounding land was a graveyard.
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Vijay Mallya arrested in London, gets bail; could be extradited to India

Businessman Vijay Mallya has reportedly been arrested in London by Scotland Yard just weeks after UK set in motion the process of extradition of the industrialist who has been declared a proclaimed offender.

Mallya fled to UK in March 2016 after being pursued in courts by banks seeking to recover about Rs 9,000 crore owed by his Kingfisher Airline.

Last month, the British government certified India's request and sent it to a district judge for further action.

CNBC-TV18 on Tuesday reported that Mallya has been produced in a local court in the UK and will soon be handed over to India.

Mallya, however, later tweeted that the whole arrest issue was "the usual Indian media hype" and that it was only the scheduled court hearing on extradition that had taken place:

Vijay Mallya 

✔@TheVijayMallya

Usual Indian media hype. Extradition hearing in Court started today as expected.

Mallya has avoided several summon notices from Indian courts.  

Despite multiple injunctions, he has failed to appear before investigators at the Enforcement Directorate in connection with a probe under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

Earlier in January this year, a CBI court had issued a non-bailable warrant against Mallya in the Rs 720-crore IDBI Bank loan default case.

Mallya, whose now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines owes more than Rs 9,000 crore to various banks, had fled India on March 2, 2016.

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Apple to be worth at least $824 bn in 2017, predict analysts

Benefiting from its expensive 'plus' models and rising demands of its products, Apple Inc will be worth at least $824 billion this year, analysts have predicted.

Apple's shares already soared more than 16 per cent to fresh highs during the second quarter but analysts are optimistic the stock has much more room to grow, MarketWatch reported on Monday.

Canada-based global investment bank RBC Capital Markets on Monday lifted its 12-month price target to $157 from $155 and reiterated an outperform rating.

That would increase Apple's market capitalisation to $824 billion from $740 billion currently. Apple's stock hit a record high of $144.77 on April 4, the report said.

RBC analyst Amit Daryanani also increased his March-quarter iPhone estimates and fiscal 2017 revenue estimates, saying trends indicate consumer preference for Apple's more expensive plus models, which have contributed positively to average selling prices.

While the company's third-quarter outlook "could come modestly below estimates" as consumers delay planned upgrades ahead of the iPhone 8 launch in September, its large installed base and attractive valuation make it worthy of investment despite muted expectations.

Analyst at Pacific Crest Andy Hargreaves suggested that Apple is struggling with the optical fingerprint functionality expected on the OLED iPhone, which could lead to delays or the removal of it.

"While this creates some risk of production delays, at this point we do not believe it materially threatens volume through the coming iPhone cycle," Hargreaves was quoted as saying.

According to a report in USA on Tuesday, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak believed that Apple, Google and Facebook will be bigger in 2075 and dominate the world.

Shares of Apple inched 0.6 per cent higher to $141.12 on Monday. The company will announce its earnings for the second fiscal quarter (first calendar quarter) of 2017 on May 2.

Apple had $246.1 billion cash at the end of its last fiscal quarter.
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Vijay Mallya arrested in London, likely to be extradited to India

Businessman Vijay Mallya has reportedly been arrested in London by Scotland Yard just weeks after UK set in motion the process of extradition of the industrialist who has been declared a proclaimed offender.

Mallya fled to UK in March 2016 after being pursued in courts by banks seeking to recover about Rs 9,000 crore owed by his Kingfisher Airline.

Last month, the British government certified India's request and sent it to a district judge for further action.

CNBC-TV18 on Tuesday reported that Mallya has been produced in a local court in the UK and will soon be handed over to India.

Mallya has avoided several summon notices from Indian courts.
Despite multiple injunctions, he has failed to appear before investigators at the Enforcement Directorate in connection with a probe under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

Earlier in January this year, a CBI court had issued a non-bailable warrant against Mallya in the Rs 720-crore IDBI Bank loan default case.

Mallya, whose now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines owes more than Rs 9,000 crore to various banks, had fled India on March 2, 2016.

No high-profile extradition has taken place from the UK to India since a treaty was signed in 1993, though India has extradited a number of Britons, including Maninderpal Singh, convicted of raping and murdering a British teenager, who had fled to India.
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Nation wants to know: Arnab Goswami gets a legal notice for the phrase

Who owns “nation wants to know”? That seems to be the question that will probably be answered by the courts. The catch-phrase popularised by former Times Now anchor, Arnab Goswami has become a bone of contention now.

According to a report in the newspaper Mint, Times Group has sent a legal notice to Arnab Goswami asking him not to use the phrase on his own news channel “Republic TV”. Arnab Goswami’s new channel has been in the news ever since it was announced late last year but its much anticipated launch has been delayed due to unspecified reasons.

Times Now is a channel owned by the Times Group and they contend that “nation wants to know” is their intellectual property. Goswami became synonymous with the use of this phrase.

Arnab has released an audio clip on YouTube informing people that he has received this notice. He has not revealed the name of the group that has sent him the notice. “A media group has sent me a six-page letter threatening me with imprisonment if I ever use the phrase ‘Nation wants to know’. They say that they own the phrase.”

He further explained that the phrase belongs to “you, to me and to all of us, every citizen of this country. Every Indian has a right to use that phrase. And this phrase comes from the heart. Every Indian, through his or her questioning spirit, can use the phrase Nation Wants to Know.”

He says the media group has been trying to delay the launch of Republic TV.
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4G data war: Airtel, Vodafone, Idea counter Reliance Jio with these offers

Last year, Mukesh Ambani, the Chairman and MD of Reliance Industries Ltd launched Reliance Jio services offering free VoLTE-based voice calls, apps, sms and high-speed 4G data. Soon after, the incumbents like Airtel, Vodafone and Idea faced the heat that led to the greatest tariff war in telecom sector of all times.

Now, when Reliance Jio trial offer giving free services is over and the telecom major is offering ultra-affordable plans and recharge options to provide free voice, sms, apps and high-speed 4G data, the other telecom giants such as Airtel, Vodafone and Idea are not leaving any loose ends to fight the competition by offering additional 4G data and free calls in existing postpaid and prepaid plans.

Here are the current plans that the telecom giants are offering:

Reliance Jio

Reliance Jio is currently offering three recharge offers to its prime users.

Rs 149 plan: The subscriber gets 2 GB high-speed 4G data for 28 days. In addition, there are free voice calls, Jio apps and 300 sms bundled with the offer.

Rs 309 offer: The subscriber gets 1 GB high-speed 4G data per day for 28 days. In addition, there are free voice calls, sms and Jio apps bundled with the offer.

Rs 509 offer: The subscriber gets 2 GB high-speed 4G data per day complimentary for 28 days. In addition, there are free voice calls, sms and Jio apps bundled with the offer.

For non-Prime members, the telecom operator is offering the above-mentioned plans at Rs 408 and Rs 608 (Jio Prime membership fee and regular recharge price).

The above-mentioned plans are not available for customers already registered for Jio Summer Surprise offer.

Airtel

Postpaid

Airtel is offering up to 30 GB of additional free data for the next three months. The offer can be availed using 'My Airtel' app by April 30. The offer is valid for users who joined Airtel network before 28 February.

Prepaid

Rs 399 plan: Under this pack, users will get 1 GB data per day only if they have a 4G smartphone and SIM card. The free calls incentive comes with a 3,000 minutes cap for a 70-day period. When the minutes gets exhausted, users will be charged Rs 0.10 a minute. For Airtel-Airtel calls, the limit is 300 minutes per day, but 1,200 minutes is the maximum consumption per week.

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Enough is enough: SC orders sale of Sahara's Rs 34,000 crore Aamby Valley

BREAKING NEWS - The Supreme Court today asked Bombay High Court's official liquidator to sell the Rs 34,000 crore worth of properties of the Aamby Valley owned by the Sahara Group and directed its chief Subrata Roy to personally appear before it on April 28.

"Enough is enough. You cannot say something today and resile tomorrow," a bench, comprising Justices Dipak Misra, Ranjan Gogoi and A K Sikri, said, taking strong note of non- submission of over Rs 5,000 crore by the Sahara group.

The bench also cautioned Roy from playing with the court's order and said non-compliance of its order would invite the wrath of the law and ultimately he will be at his own peril.

The bench asked the official liquidator, attached with the Bombay High Court, to auction the Aamby Valley properties, estimated to be worth Rs 34,000 crore, and directly report to it.

The bench also directed Roy and his group as well as SEBI to provide all necessary details relating to the properties to the official liquidator within 48 hours.

Meanwhile, the top court restrained one Prakash Swamy, who has filed an affidavit with regard to the sale of Sahara hotels in the USA, from leaving India and asked him to deposit Rs 10 crore as fine with the market regulator SEBI.

Swamy will also have to appear in person in the apex court on April 28.

The Supreme Court had on April 6 warned the Sahara Group that if it failed to deposit Rs 5092.6 crore in SEBI-Sahara refund account by April 17 in pursuance of its order, it will be "compelled" to auction its property at the Aamby Valley in Pune.

The top court had told the group that no extension of time would be granted for depositing the amount.

The observation had come when the lawyer mentioned an interim plea seeking extension of time for depositing the money in the SEBI-Sahara refund account.

The court had also observed that it had clearly told the group that a "substantial amount" must come in the refund account.
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Uber follows Google, forays into Indian food delivery space with UberEATS

After Google’s entry into Indian food delivery sector with Aero, the world’s largest cab aggregator Uber is looking to do the same with its UberEATS service set to launch in India in the second quarter of the current financial year.

Powered by the same technology that makes its transport mobile app efficient and cost-effective, ordering food from UberEATS will most likely be as easy as requesting a ride.

Not only will it give consumers, restaurant partners, and delivery partners more options, restaurants can even register themselves in order to reach out to more customers.

The launch will be headed by Manan Javeri, former McKinsey executive who joined Uber in 2015, reported The Economic Times. He will most likely directly report to Uber's Asia Pacific head Allen Penn.

UberEATS has been hiring city general managers, city-level restaurant operations managers as well as branding and sales heads across Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune, Mumbai, Chennai and Gurugram, the report added.

The US-based company had started UberEATS in 2014 as a small delivery pilot in Los Angeles. Since then, it has been expanded to become a stand-alone app. It is currently available in 58 cities globally, including Bangkok, Singapore, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Taipei.

"I am incredibly excited about bringing UberEATS to India. This is a significant investment, it spans across multiple cities and regions, and it has the potential to change the food industry - with the push of a button - in one of the most vibrant food cultures in the world," UberEATS Asia Pacific Head Allen Penn said in a blog post.
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