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Ola to Invest Rs 350 Crore in Haryana Over 5 Years

28Jun By AdityaNo Comments

News

Ola to Invest Rs 350 Crore in Haryana Over 5 Years

Taxi hailing app Ola has signed an agreement with Haryana government to create over 10,000 entrepreneurs in the state with an investment of Rs 350 crore over the period of five years, the company said today. "We are proud to partner with the Haryana government to create more than 10,000 entrepreneurship opportunities across the state. To this end, we are planning to invest over Rs 350 crore in Haryana over the next 5 years," Chief Operating Officer, Ola, Pranay Jivrajka said in a statement. Ola will work with the Haryana government to introduce innovative and customised mobility solutions like Ola Auto, Ola Bike, Ola Share and Ola Shuttle across the state. "Ola's commitment to building mobility for citizens, by using mobile technology and by enabling entrepreneurship and skilling, will ...

Chinese Tech Giant Baidu Planning of Mass-Producion of Driverless Cars

28Jun By AdityaNo Comments

CHINA

Chinese Tech Giant Baidu Planning of Mass-Producion of Driverless Cars

Chinese tech giant Baidu today said it plans to begin mass-production of driverless cars in five years as part of its efforts to get ahead of its US rivals Google and Tesla Motors in the autonomous vehicle technology. President Zhang Yaqin said Baidu will carry out road tests of driverless cars in 10 Chinese cities, with the aim to commercialise the technology in three years and realise mass production in five years. The move is a significant step for the Beijing-based tech company trying to get ahead of Google in building autonomous cars, and is marshalling the resources to advance the effort. During the ongoing Annual Meeting of the New Champions 2016, or Summer Davos, in Tianjin, Zang told state-run Xinhua news agency that the core technology of Baidus driverless cars, was the "B...

IRCTC Tie-Up With Defence Food Research For Better Food Quality in Trains

28Jun By AdityaNo Comments

News

IRCTC Tie-Up With Defence Food Research For Better Food Quality in Trains

Seeking to upgrade its catering operations, Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) today signed an agreement with the Defence Food Research Laboratory (DFRL) here for transfer of technology in food and beverage processing and packaging. Under the agreement, DFRL, a Defence Ministry establishment under Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), will transfer the technical know how and testing for quality assurance to IRCTCs ready-to-eat packaged food for the rail travelers. The Licensing Agreement for Transfer of Technology (ToT) was initiated by IRCTC Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) A K Manocha and DFRL Director Rakesh Kumar Sharma, an IRCTC release said. "IRCTC has been taking several new initiatives to upgrade, professionalise and standardize its cat...

Microsoft Accelerator In a Joint Initiative With Tata Launched Startups Accelerator Center

27Jun By AdityaNo Comments

BUSINESS

Microsoft Accelerator In a Joint Initiative With Tata Launched Startups Accelerator Center

Microsoft Accelerator in India and TCS Co-Innovation Network have announced a joint initiative to create a platform that provides a boost to the Indian startup ecosystem. Under the collaboration, an open innovation framework will be created to mentor and engage with startups to bring their innovative solutions to market. The announcement was made at Think Next Summer 2016, Microsoft Accelerator’s flagship forum, which brings together thought leaders in technology who are driving transformation via innovation. “The progress India has made in IT and entrepreneurship over the past four decades, has radically changed the landscape offering new entrepreneurs unmatched opportunities. As one of the contributors to the startup ecosystem in India, we felt it was a story worth telling. It has tak...

Facebook Hires Top Ex-Google Executive For Internet Projects

25Jun By AdityaNo Comments

News

Facebook Hires Top Ex-Google Executive For Internet Projects

IANS- Social media giant Facebook has hired a co-founder of Google's Fibre high-speed Internet project to beef up its Internet connectivity team. According to tech news site Re/Code, the social network has hired Kevin Lo as its Director of Infrastructure Connectivity and Investments to help lead Facebook's partnerships such as Terragraph - a project to bring Wi-Fi to dense urban areas and Facebook's partnership with Microsoft to build a fibre optic cable. Lo later confirmed his appointment on his Facebook Page, saying that he wants to bring onboard over four billion people who lag behind in terms of using high-speed Internet services. "...so I'm excited to let you know I'm joining Facebook this month as Director of Infrastructure Connectivity and Investments. I'll help shape our strateg...

Shopclues Expecting 20,000 Cr Sales in This Financial Year

24Jun By AdityaNo Comments

News

Shopclues Expecting 20,000 Cr Sales in This Financial Year

E-commerce company Shopclues expects to register more than two fold jump in Gross Merchandise Volume (GMV) from its platform at USD 3 billion (about Rs 20,000 crore) by the end of current financial year. "We are planning to close financial year 2016-17 at annualised GMV rate of USD 3 billion," Shopclues Chief Business Officer Radhika Ghai Aggarwal said. The company has registered GMV sales of USD 1.2 billion in 2015-16, she said. Shopclues expects that additional push to its business will come from fashion category which it has recently started. "The company has already added 60,000 new sellers on its platform under fashion category and will take this number to 1,50,000 by the end of the year. In GMV and orders terms, we expect 100 per cent growth in fashion category by end of ongoing ...

Finally Indian Govt Approved Rs 10,000 Cr Fund For Startups

23Jun By AdityaNo Comments

News

Finally Indian Govt Approved Rs 10,000 Cr Fund For Startups

The government today approved Rs 10,000 crore Fund of Funds for Startups to support them with an aim to generate employment for 18 lakh persons. "The fund is expected to generate employment for 18 lakh persons on full deployment...A corpus of Rs 10,000 crore could potentially be the nucleus for catalysing Rs 60,000 crore of equity investment and twice as much debt investment," an official statement said. The decision was taken in the Union Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "The Cabinet has approved the establishment of Fund of Funds for Startups (FFS) at Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) for contribution to various Alternative Investment Funds (AIF), registered with SEBI which would extend funding support to startups," it said. This is in line wi...

23Jun By AdityaNo Comments

CHINA

McDonald’s Going To Auction China, HK stores, Could Fetch Up to $3 Billion Deal

McDonald's has received more than half a dozen bids for its China and Hong Kong stores, including offers from Beijing Tourism Group, Sanpower and ChemChina, in an auction that could fetch up to $3 billion, people familiar with the matter said. Buyout firms including Bain Capital, TPG Capital and Carlyle Group are also participating in the auction with a view to teaming up with Chinese strategic bidders, the people said. "Given the difficulties Western chains have had recently with public perception, local players have become a serious competitive threat," said Elizabeth Friend, consumer foodservice analyst at Euromonitor International. Oak Brook, Illinois-based McDonald's has hired Morgan Stanley to run the sale of about 2,800 restaurants in China, Hong Kong and South Korea, Reute...

Legal Platform LawRato Launches LawBot, India’s First Legal Advice Chatbot

20Jun By AdityaNo Comments

News

Legal Platform LawRato Launches LawBot, India’s First Legal Advice Chatbot

LawRato, India's leading lawyer search and legal advice platform, launched the country's first self-help Facebook Messenger chatbot today nicknamed 'LawBot', the chatbot that lets users search for legal answers, ask a free legal question and find the best lawyer for their legal requirement. Users can also book a consultation with the lawyer recommended by the bot by paying a nominal consultation fee. The bot can be accessed through https://m.me/lawrato/ or by sending a message at LawRato's Facebook page. Available across India, LawBot allows users to enter their legal problem in the form of a question and throws up the most relevant answers and recommended lawyers for the particular problem using an AI algorithm developed in-house at LawRato.com. The users can then either continue by ...

19Jun By AdityaNo Comments

INDIA

Raghuram Rajan Leaving Not a Good Sign For Indian Economy: ASSOCHAM

The ASSOCHAM has said at a time when a tumultuous global economy posed several risks to India along with the banks grappling with an unprecedented challenge of mounting non-performing assets, the decision of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Raghuram Rajan to not continue with his current post after the end of his tenure was unfortunate. "While it is the institutions which are paramount, individuals provide leadership and a quality leadership makes all the difference. That is what Dr Rajan has done to the RBI. Over the last three years, he provided a new dimension to entire approach of the central bank with a global perspective, yet keeping intact, the unique advantages of the Indian economy and eco system," ASSOCHAM Secretary General D. S. Rawat said. He expressed hope that Rajan was...

McDonalds May Shift Some Jobs to India in Cost-Cutting Move

18Jun By AdityaNo Comments

News

McDonalds May Shift Some Jobs to India in Cost-Cutting Move

Fast food giant McDonalds may be planning to outsource jobs to India as part of a USD 500 million cost reduction plan it announced last November, a media report said. A report said McDonalds is shedding jobs as part of a USD 500 million cost reduction spearheaded by Chief Executive Steve Easterbrook. "McDonald is also moving some functions to India in what could be a larger controversial push toward outsourcing," it quoted sources familiar with the company's plans as saying. A regional office in Columbus, Ohio is among the first casualties of the cost-cutting. McDonalds described the facility's closing as part of "plans to permanently restructure its operations and eliminate a number of roles," in a May 13 letter the company sent to city officials. The layoffs will begin in ...

Mark Zuckerberg’s Philanthropy Venture Invested $24 million in Andela

17Jun By AdityaNo Comments

FUNDING

Mark Zuckerberg’s Philanthropy Venture Invested $24 million in Andela

Facebook Inc founder Mark Zuckerberg's philanthropy venture has made its first major investment, leading a funding round in a startup that trains and recruits software developers in Africa. The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative LLC, created by Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan, led a $24 million Series B funding in Andela, the startup said on Thursday. Alphabet Inc's GV, previously known as Google Ventures, was also part of the funding round. Andela selects the top 1 percent of tech talent from Africa, trains them and places them in engineering organizations. The startup, which has nearly 200 engineers currently employed by its Nigeria and Kenya offices, will use the funds to expand to a third African country by the end of 2016. "We live in a world where talent is evenly distr...