Tuesday, March 19

INDIA

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Delhi Govt Launches App For Traders
INDIA

Delhi Govt Launches App For Traders

In order to ensure ease of doing business in the national capital, Delhi government today launched a mobile app for traders to register under the Trade and Taxes Department under which there will be no need for verification of their business premises. The Trade and Taxes Department of the government today issued a circular introducing a new facility for the city traders in the capital. Traders can register themselves with the department through the mobile app DVATMsewa -- giving basic information like name, Aadhaar number, date of birth, mobile number and residential address. The app can be downloaded from Google Play Store. "Traders, whose annual turnover is more than Rs 20 lakh, can register themselves with trade and taxes department through the mobile app without any verifi...
Prasar Bharati to Auction Prime Time Slots on DD
INDIA

Prasar Bharati to Auction Prime Time Slots on DD

Public Broadcaster Prasar Bharati has decided to auction prime time slots, between 7-11 pm, on its national channel as per a new policy under which the producers will provide content in return for a share in the advertising revenue. The modalities of the new 'slot sale' policy were discussed in a meeting of Prasar Bharati Board, which was also attended by Bollywood actor Kajol, who was nominated earlier this year. Sources said in the meeting chaired by Prasar Bharati chairperson A Surya Prakash, it was felt that e-auctions could be held for the 7-11 pm slots for all the seven days of the week barring Saturdays. The new policy is expected to be rolled out by October 1. "We have decided that on Saturdays, Prasar Bharati Board would reserve the 7-8 pm slot for its own content and the...
The Delhi Commission For Women Issues Notice To App-Based Taxi Services in Delhi
INDIA

The Delhi Commission For Women Issues Notice To App-Based Taxi Services in Delhi

The Delhi Commission for Women has issued notice to five app-based taxi services including Ola and Uber seeking to know the number of taxis which operate under their banner in the national capital and number of drivers whose details have not been duly verified. The DCW, which has taken suo-motu cognisance of the threat to women's safety posed by unregulated taxi aggregators in Delhi, has also sought to know the extent of compliance by these taxi operators of the prevalent rules and regulations imposed by the Delhi government. DCW has also sought details of the drivers who possess the Public Service Vehicle Badge issued by the Transport Deptartment. "Of the drivers operating under the banner of your company, how many drivers have licenses from outside the state? Please provide st...
Vodafone Has Not Paid a Single Naya Paisa of Demand: Rajan
INDIA

Vodafone Has Not Paid a Single Naya Paisa of Demand: Rajan

Wading into the Vodafone tax dispute debate, Reserve Bank Governor Raghuram Rajan today said the British telecom giant has not paid "a single naya paisa" as yet on the demands made on it, but this case always comes in when India talks about creating a predictable tax regime. In an interaction here at Chicago Booth School, Rajan said India is making serious efforts to become "a more friendly place to do business" and putting in place a predictable tax regime is part of those efforts. "One of the things that we have been working hard on is creating a predictable tax structure. But every time we talk about taxes, we get Vodafone sort of sort of flung back at us. "Remember Vodafone has yet to pay a single naya paisa on the demands that were levied on it. Thats going on. We have a structu...
India Has Tools To Tackle iPhone Encryption: Ravi Shankar Prasad
INDIA

India Has Tools To Tackle iPhone Encryption: Ravi Shankar Prasad

As Apple slugs it out with FBI on privacy issues, Indian govt has said strong encryption technology to secure data and communications in smartphones, including those made by the US-based firm, is a challenge for law enforcement agencies. It said however that a tool for mobile forensics has been developed to handle smartphones including Apple. "Smartphones including phones by Apple employ strong encryption to secure the data stored and to protect the communication. Such Encryption technologies pose challenges to Law Enforcement Agencies throughout the world including India,"telecom minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said in a reply to the Rajya Sabha. He said the government has taken note of media reports about the dispute between the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation and App...
UAE-Based Indian Firms To Invest USD 3.6 Billion In UP
INDIA

UAE-Based Indian Firms To Invest USD 3.6 Billion In UP

DUBAI: Five leading Indian-owned businesses in the UAE will invest over USD 3.68 billion in infrastructure and industrial development initiatives in Uttar Pradesh after an MoU was signed in this regard during an investment forum held in Dubai. The move comes after UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav had launched an ambitious programme to boost all-round development of the state by attracting NRI investments from across the globe, especially from the Middle East. The UAE-based Indian companies signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the state government which was represented by a high-level delegation of officials who visited the UAE on Thursday. The names of the investors will be announced by the UP government in the coming weeks. The companies pledged to invest in the state's ...
Delhi Metro Train Maker Bombardier is Eyeing Up to $1 Billion Business From India
INDIA

Delhi Metro Train Maker Bombardier is Eyeing Up to $1 Billion Business From India

Banking big on the governments thrust to boost infrastructure, global transportation player Bombardier is eyeing up to USD 1 billion business from India in the next five years from USD 300 million, at present, its chief Laurent Troger has said. Bombardier counts India among top markets for its railway business and has invested over USD 100 million in the past two decades. The firm is also a collaborator in the governments ambitious Make in India drive and is the largest supplier of the Delhi Metro. "We expect that in five years we will double our business in India. We can reach between USD 700 million and USD 1 billion... India, in the overall landscape of Bombardier Transportation, is a significant country. The climate now is very favourable, if we look for investment," Bombardi...
Banks Should Provide Hassle-Free Services to Start-Ups in J&K’
INDIA

Banks Should Provide Hassle-Free Services to Start-Ups in J&K’

The banking sector in Jammu and Kashmir should create entrepreneurship culture in the state by providing hassle-free services to start-ups, Union minister Kalraj Mishra said. Speaking at a daylong workshop on Prime Minister's Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP), the Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) said banks should be customer-friendly by providing hassle-free services to entrepreneurs on priority basis. "Banks should not add to their (entrepreneurs) worries. They should be given free hand in choosing their trades. The financial institutions should professionally perform their job, but dispose of cases on priority. You should be customer-friendly and create entrepreneurship culture by providing hassle-free services to the start-ups," Mishra said. The...
Save Your Children From ‘Useless’ Degrees – RBI’s Raghuram Rajan
INDIA

Save Your Children From ‘Useless’ Degrees – RBI’s Raghuram Rajan

Reserve Bank of India governor Raghuram Rajan said on Saturday that efforts should be made to make quality higher education affordable and cautioned students to be careful of “unscrupulous schools” that left alumni with high debt and “useless degrees”. Speaking at the convocation ceremony of Shiv Nadar University, Rajan said while banks must be careful to ensure that student loans were repaid in full, there needed to be concessions for those who fell upon bad times or opted for public service jobs. “We have to be careful that student loans are repaid in full by those who have the means, while they are forgiven in part for those who fall on bad times or those who take low-paying public service jobs,” Rajan said. Banks’ bad loans have become a politically sensitive issue after l...
India to cross 500 million Internet users this year: Ravi Shankar Prasad
INDIA

India to cross 500 million Internet users this year: Ravi Shankar Prasad

The number of Internet users in the country is likely to reach 500 million this year, Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said today. "India has grown to around 400 million Internet users. If we take Trai numbers then it is somewhere close to 332 million. As per service providers, they were telling me that up to date it is 402 million. We were to have 500 million users by 2017, I feel it will happen this year itself," Prasad said while launching Digital Desh Drive 2. India has now over 100 crore mobile subscribers, he added. As per the official data shared by him in Lok Sabha today, the total mobile subscriber base at the end of February has 98.2 crore GSM mobile users and 4.45 crore subscribers on CDMA network. ALSO WATCH: Live Coverage of Digital Desh 2.0 – An Introducti...
PM Modi to Launch Solar-Powered Boats on River Ganga in Varanasi
INDIA

PM Modi to Launch Solar-Powered Boats on River Ganga in Varanasi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will today visit his Lok Sabha constituency Varanasi where he will launch solar-powered boats for plying on river Ganga. Prime Minister Modi would be distributing 11 solar-powered 'e-boats' at the Assi Ghat. "Particularly excited to launch a scheme for environmentally friendly e-boats at Assi Ghat. These will help bring down pollution. The e-boats will also bring down operational costs thus ensuring higher incomes for those who earn their livelihoods through such boats," he said in a series of tweets. Later, the Prime Minister will also distribute 1,000 e-rickshaws and also hold a chaupal with rickshawpullers. Before launching the e-boats, he will meet 100 prominent people from the district to discuss about the development of Varanasi. "In Varanasi ...
India Can Save USD 50 Bn if Logistics Costs are Brought Down to 9 Pct of GDP: Study
INDIA

India Can Save USD 50 Bn if Logistics Costs are Brought Down to 9 Pct of GDP: Study

India can save up to USD 50 billion if logistics costs are brought down from 14 percent to nine percent of country's gross domestic product (GDP) thereby making domestic goods more competitive in global markets, an ASSOCHAM-Resurgent India joint study said today. "With expected inflow of new investments owing to government's thrust on promoting domestic manufacturing sector, India's cargo and logistics industry is likely to clock a compounded annual growth rate of about 16 percent during the course of next few years," noted the study on 'Cargo and logistics industry in India,' conducted by ASSOCHAM jointly with knowledge firm Resurgent India. "The Make in India campaign will see investments connect India to global production networks that would generate new business for logistics in ...