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Showing posts from April, 2017

Babri case: SC restores criminal conspiracy charges against Advani, Joshi

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Senior BJP leaders LK Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Uma Bharti and others will be tried BJP leaders L K Advani, M M Joshi and Uma Bharti will face trial in the 1992  Babri Masjid demolition case  as the Supreme Court today allowed the CBI plea and restored criminal conspiracy charges against them. The court also clubbed the trial in the matter pending against the leaders and 'karsevaks' and said the proceedings should be completed in two years. "We have allowed the CBI appeal against the Allahabad High Court judgement with certain directions," a bench comprising Justices P C Ghose and R F Nariman said. The apex court, however, noted that Rajasthan Governor Kalyan Singh enjoys Constitutional immunity and can be tried only after he ceases to hold the office. Kalyan Singh was the chief minister of UP in 1992. Also Read :  Babri masjid: SC rules Advani, Joshi to be tried under criminal conspiracy The court also gave significant directions including that sep...

IPL 2017: RCB beats Gujarat by 21 runs; Chris Gayle, Yuzvendra Chahal shine

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Chris Gayle also completed his 10,000 runs in twenty20 cricket Swashbuckling West Indies opener Chris Gayle smashed a blistering half-century before Yuzvendra Chahal returned with a three-wicket haul as Royal Challengers Bangalore defeated Gujarat Lions by 21 runs in their  IPL 2017  encounter here today. Gayle slammed a 38-ball 77-run innings, while skipper Virat Kohli produced a superb 50-ball 64 to guide RCB to a massive 213-2 after Gujarat skipper Suresh Raina won the toss and elected to field. Opener Brendon McCullum then played a superb 72-run off 44-ball innings, studded with two fours and seven sixes but he didn't get the support from the other end as RCB restricted the Lions to 192-7 to snap their three-game losing streak. Yuzvendra Chahal (3/31) was the pick of the bowlers for RCB as he picked up three crucial wickets — Dwayne Smith (1), Suresh Raina (23) and McCullum — in his four overs to derail Gujarat's runchase. Chasing 214 to win, Gujarat lost the...

Nation wants to know: Arnab Goswami gets a legal notice for the phrase

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Goswami says the phrase belonged to the people and not to any media group 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. ...

Samsung to launch Galaxy S8 in India on April 19: Key facts to know

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Samsung revealed Bixby, a smart voice assistant to rival Apple's Siri at the US event. Almost three weeks after its initial launch in the US, South Korean giant Samsung will launch its flagship device  Samsung Galaxy S8  in India on April 19. Samsung launched S8 and S8 Plus on March 29 in the US. The devices come in two variants with different screen sizes -- the 5.8-inch Galaxy S8 and 6.2-inch Galaxy S8 Plus. On Monday, the company said in an invitation: "Samsung India cordially invites you to the launch of its next Galaxy series". Also Read :  Update details to link PAN and Aadhaar, mismatch leads to failure Samsung revealed Bixby, a smart voice assistant to rival Apple's Siri and Google's Assistant at the US event. The device has a bezel-less curved edge "infinity display" covered with pristine glass and a 12MP rear camera with multi-frame processing and optical image stabilisation. It has an 8MP auto-focus front shooter. The device ...

Netflix, YouTube & more: Airtel Internet TV launched at Rs 7,999 annual pay

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It comes preloaded with Netflix, YouTube, Google Play Music, Google Play Games, Airtel Movies Airtel Digital TV, the direct-to-home arm of Bharti Airtel, on Wednesday launched 'Internet TV -- powered by Android TV, which brings online content to the TV screen along with a bouquet of over 500 plus satellite TV channels, the company said. Airtel 'Internet TV' transforms any TV into a Smart TV and enables users to switch seamlessly between online and linear TV content with a single device. It is priced at Rs 4,999 with three month Digital TV subscription. Also, for a limited period, customers can pay Rs 7,999 and get the  Airtel Internet TV  with one year subscription. Airtel 'Internet TV' will be available exclusively on Amazon India starting on Wednesday. It will be available through Airtel Digital TV touch points -- retail stores/website/contact centres soon after online launch, a company statement said. "Customers can stream and cast their favo...

United Airlines could have avoided PR nightmare by following economics 101

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According to reports, airlines routinely overbook their flights leading inconvenience to passengers On April 9, a passenger was forcibly removed from a  United Airlines  flight from Chicago O’Hare to Louisville after the carrier was unable to find volunteers to accommodate four of its employees on standby. Dramatic videos of the incident have gone viral on YouTube and social networks, and I reckon the resulting cost of this PR disaster will likely make United’s CEO wish he had sent in a private jet to ferry those employees to Louisville (which the airline could easily have afforded, given its net income of US$2.3 billion in 2016). ALSO READ:  United shares fall after worldwide backlash over dragged passenger Many articles have reported that airlines routinely overbook their flights, and sometimes passengers have to accept (voluntarily or not) the inconvenience of getting to their destination later than planned. As an airline economist, I do not recall, howev...

Eicher CEO downplays Bajaj claims, says not easy to unseat Royal Enfield

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Enfield enjoys almost the entire 250-350 cc motorcycle market in country Royal Enfield, well known for its bullets, said it is not going to be easy for any new entrant to unseat the company. Bajaj Auto, which entered the 350-500cc motorcycle segment in December, claimed to have overtaken  Royal Enfield  in February in volumes. “If you look at the 250 cc plus motorcycle market in India, every 19 of 20 products are sold by us…that is a reality. It is not that easy to unseat someone who is doing this,” Siddhartha Lal, managing director and chief executive officer of Eicher (which owns Enfield) told  Business Standard . Bajaj’s claim was based on one month’s performance of the Dominar, its new 373cc premium sports motorcycle. Also Read:   Not worried about Bajaj, says Royal Enfield chief Japanese two-wheeler major Honda is also reported to be working on a motorcycle to cater to this segment. “It is very clear. There will be people entering. There is no doubt ...

The Flipkart-ebay deal and the high stake battle with Amazon

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Flipkart has been and will continue to make acquisitions to increase scale India's top e-commerce firm  Flipkart  has raised $1.4 billion in its biggest fundraising to date as it takes on US tech giant  Amazon.com  Inc for a larger share of the country's burgeoning online retail market. Chinese social media and entertainment firm Tencent Holdings Ltd, the world's biggest software company Microsoft Corp and online marketplace eBay Inc participated in the funding round, Flipkart said in a statement on Monday, which will value the Indian company at $11.6 billion. That is lower than the $15 billion valuation achieved at its last fundraising in 2015, reflecting how competition has intensified in the e-commerce sector as companies vie for a slice of the world's fastest-growing internet services market. Amazon last year said it would invest over $5 billion in India, and has recently expanded into online video and grocery shopping, seeking to expand aggressively ...

Linking PAN to Aadhaar is now compulsory. Here's how to do it

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1.08 cr assessees done with linking; over 25 cr PAN card holders, 111 cr Aadhaar holders in India If you have not linked your Aadhaar with your PAN on the income tax portal yet, you should not delay it. As per latest circular from income tax (I-T) department, it is now mandatory to  link Aadhaar and (PAN)  permanent account number while filing tax returns. The rule which will be applicable from July 1, 2017 is aimed at tax evaders who hold multiple PAN cards to escape paying tax. Therefore, after linking both the Aadhaar and PAN, the government hopes to keep tabs on the taxable transactions of a particular individual or entity, whose identity and address will be verified by his Aadhaar card By linking the two, entities will no longer have to submit their Income Tax acknowledgement to the I-T department, thus saving tax payers a lot of trouble. When linking, make sure that name, date of birth and gender displayed on the income tax website matches with the detail on ...

Hardik Pandya's fireworks take Mumbai Indians to 184/8 vs RPS

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Rising Pune Supergiants bowler Imran Tahir celebrates the wicket of Mumbai Indians batsman Parthiv Patel during the IPL T20 match played in Pune All-rounder Hardik Pandya's last-over heroics helped Mumbai Indians recover from a mediocre position to post a healthy 184/8 against Rising Pune Supergiant (RPS) in the second game of the  IPL 2017  Indian Premier League (IPL) at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium here on Thursday. Bengal medium pacer Ashoke Dinda was the culprit for the home side conceding 30 runs in the final over when Hardik (35 not out) hammered the right-armer for four sixes (including three consecutive) and a four to change the course of the game. Earlier, South African leg-spinner Imran Tahir, who went unsold in the auctions and was a late addition to the Pune squad, brought the hosts back into the game with three quick wickets after the Mumbai opening duo of Jos Buttler (38) and Parthiv Patel (19) added 45 runs for the opening wicket. Also...

Namami Gange project in a shambles, Narendra Modi intervenes

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Much of the money allocated to the project remains unspent India’s $3 billion plan to clean the holy  Ganga  river is badly behind schedule with large stretches contaminated by toxic waste and sewage, forcing Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene, according to government officials and documents seen by Reuters. Much of the money allocated to the project, a flagship initiative for Modi’s Hindu nationalist government, remains unspent, say officials from the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG), a government body overseeing the project. In one slide of a presentation to a top Modi aide in late January, NMCG officials marked almost the entire length of the river within three big circles to highlight “pollution in river Ganga”. SEWAGE, POLLUTION MODI TAKES CONTROL A 2018 deadline to clean the river is “impossible”, one NMCG official said. “If we want to meet the 2018 deadline, we should have commissioned plants to treat half the sewage already,” he said, requ...

Yogi Adityanath Cabinet waives off crop loans worth Rs 36,000 crore

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UP to float Farmers' Relief Bond for composite waiver amount; decision to benefit 21.5 mn farmers Within a fortnight of taking office, the  Yogi Adityanath -led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Uttar Pradesh (UP) on Tuesday fulfilled its key poll promise, writing off crop loans of up to Rs 1 lakh for about 21.5 million small and marginal farmers. The total waiver will be of Rs 36,359 crore — one of the highest-ever promised by a state. Of this, Rs 5,630 crore of NPAs, or non-performing assets, of 700,000 farmers will be immediately waived. This would not only enable these farmers to seek new loans, but also clean up the account books of the banks involved. According to the official data, there are 23 million farmers in UP, of whom about 92.5 per cent, or about 21.5 million, belong to the small and marginal segments. State Health Minister and Spokesperson Siddharth Nath Singh said the government would bear the entire burden, with no help from the Centre. He als...

And the winner of 'Indian Idol 9' is L.V. Revanth

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Hyderabad-based playback singer  L.V. Revanth  was on Sunday night declared to be the winner of the season of the singing reality show 'Indian Idol'. 26-year-old Revanth, has won a prize money of Rs. 25 lakh and a contract with Universal Music. Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar handed over the trophy to Revanth with other judges Anu Malik, Farah Khan and Sonu Nigam in attendance. The season finale witnessed three contestants - L.V. Revanth, Khuda Baksh and PVNS Rohit - battle it out to win the title of Indian Idol. The first runners-up was Khuda Baksh, the second runners-up was PVNS Rohit. Revanth had a terrific journey on the show by singing songs like 'Moh Moh Ke Dhaage' from 'Dum Laga Ke Haisha' for the semi-finals. He hails from Vishakhapatanam and is not a new comer to the world of singing as he had lent his voice to one of the biggest projects including the regional version of 'Baahubali'. His song 'Manohari' also made him w...

P V Sindhu beats Carolina Marin to win India Open, avenges Olympic loss

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India’s P V Sindhu (R), pictured here with her opponent Carolina Marin, celebrates after winning women’s singles final of the 'Yonex-Sunrise India Open 2017 tournament', in New Delhi India's Olympic 2016 silver medallist  P.V. Sindhu  overcame her Rio Games conqueror Carolina Marin of Spain in straight games to win her maiden India Open Superseries badminton title at a packed Siri Fort Sports Complex here on Sunday. The match-up between Sindhu and Marin was a repeat of the 2016 Rio Olympic final which saw the Spaniard taking away the gold medal in a hard-fought encounter. But in front of her home fans here, third seed Sindhu posted a 21-19, 21-16 triumph in 46 minutes to give another display of her fast-rising career. Since the Rio final, it was the second contest between the two shuttlers and the 21-year-old Hyderabadi has won both. With this win, Sindhu also equalised 5-5 in career meetings against the two-time reigning world champion. The Spanish top seed s...