RCom Special Audit: Govt may have lost Rs 250cr

The Telecom Ministry has said a special audit carried out by a government-appointed auditor has shown Reliance Communications under-reported its revenue.“Reliance Communications under-reported its revenue during financial years 2006-07 and 2007-08,” the ministry said, pegging the FY07 misrepresentation at Rs 1,000–1,500 crore.In April this year, the Department of Telecom (DoT) ordered a special audit on five telecom companies: Bharti Airtel, Vodafone-Essar, Tata Teleservices, Idea Cellular and Reliance Communication, amid concerns of misreporting of revenue and evasion of tax and licence fee.In October, the DoT said the audit on Reliance Communications, conducted by a firm Parakh & Co, confirmed under-reporting, a claim questioned the company later. Reliance Communications slammed the special audit and accused it of being biased and said it conflicted with industry practices.The Telecom Ministry today said the government may have lost Rs 250 crore on account of under-reporting.

PM to attend Copenhagen summit on December 17

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will attend the Copenhagen summit on climate change on December 17, days after India announced that it would consider an emission cut of 20 to 25% by 2020, but would not be coerced into accepting unilateral cuts decided by developed countries.Till now, speculation was rife that Dr Singh would not attend the summit and that India would be represented by its minister of state for environment and forests Jairam Ramesh and the Prime Minister's special envoy for climate change Shyam Saran. It was speculated last week that the Prime Minister had revealed that he would think of going if he thought the inking of a deal to reduce climate change was possible.

CAT schedule extended by one day

After the online Common Admission Test collapsed in several places, creating confusion among thousands of B-school aspirants, the CATauthorities on Friday extended the exam schedule by one day. "Prometric and the Indian Institutes of Management (IIM) have extended the Common Admission Test (CAT) 2009 till Dec 8. CAT 2009 was scheduled to run for 10 days from Nov 28 to Dec 7 2009," the US headquartered Prometric said in an official communique. "We understand and regret the additional stress and inconvenience caused to candidates who have not been able to test on their scheduled day due to technical difficulties," said Ramesh Nava, Prometric vice-president and general manager for Asia Pacific, Japan and Africa.

Assam ready for peace process, ULFA leader offered safe passage

It's official. The government has offered peace talks and safe passage to the top rung of the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA).The offers come a day after ULFA's Chairman, Arabinda Rajkhowa, was found along the Triupara border by the Bangaldesh government. Rajkhowa was handed over to the Indian government and was later flown to Delhi on Tuesday night in a special plane. He now becomes a key player in any discussions for peace. That's rattled ULFA's military chief, Paresh Barua, who is underground in Myanmar. He has asked the group's militant cadres in Assam to unleash violence using bomb blasts. Barua's calls to his cadres were intercepted on Tuesday by intelligence officials. Gogoi said that peace talks should be held even without Baruah. However, he clarified that all negotiations are being supervised by the Home Ministry. 

India's economy continues to grow

India's economy grew at a faster-than-expected rate of 7.9% in the three months to September, compared to the same period last year. The growth was helped by government stimulus spending. A boost in manufacturing and services helped the country expand at the fastest pace for 18 months. Some analysts said this could give the central bank room to raise interest rates as early as December to combat rising inflation. "This data could be a green light for the Reserve Bank of India to hike rates, and there are greater chances of this by the end of the calendar year," said Robert Prior-Wandesforde from HSBC. "The exit from the fiscal stimulus by the government may also be earlier post-the GDP data," he added. However, a government official said he expected no change in stimulus policy for the current fiscal year. Farm output was up 0.9% in the third quarter but economists warned that the figures did notreflect the poor monsoon season. The central bank warned that the poor season was more likelyto drive food price inflation.

Senate report: Bin Laden was 'within our grasp

WASHINGTON – Osama bin Laden was unquestionably within reach of U.S. troops in the mountains of Tora Bora when American military leaders made the crucial and costly decision not to pursue the terrorist leader with massive force, a Senate report says.The report asserts that the failure to kill or capture bin Laden at his most vulnerable in December 2001 has had lasting consequences beyond the fate of one man. Bin Laden's escape laid the foundation for today's reinvigorated Afghan insurgency and inflamed the internal strife now endangering

'Outrageous' Raju ranks high on CEO shame list

It's one Forbes list where none would want to figure, but Ramalinga Raju, the founder-chairman Satyam Computers (now Mahindra Satyam), has managed the feat of being among the world's ‘10 Most Outrageous CEOs’.Raju has been ranked as the world's fourth most outrageous CEO in 2009 on the list compiled by the Forbes, known for its rankings of the richest and the most powerful the world over.Giving Raju company are Sri Lankan-origin American hedge fund manager Raj Rajarathnam (third), former Merrill Lynch CEO John Thain (2nd) and Goldman Sachs' Lloyd Blankfein (1st).Raju, the only Indian on the list dominated by Americans, owes his place on the list to his disclosure in January about committing the country's biggest ever corporate fraud.

Mahindra Satyam recovers after a steep slide

Mahindra Satyam rose 1% to Rs 91.45 at 14:00 IST on bargain hunting after the company's top official told media that customer attrition has stopped and the firm is not resorting to price cuts to bag new deals.Meanwhile, the BSE Sensex was down 126.81 points, or 0.74%, to 17072.14.On BSE, 2.17 crore shares were traded in the counter as against an average daily volume of 78.23 lakh shares in the past one quarter.The stock hit a high of Rs 93.80 and a low of Rs 83.05 so far during the day. The stock had hit a 52-week high of Rs 251 on 1 December 2008 and a 52-week low of Rs 11.50 on 9 January 2009.The stock had underperformed the market over the past one month till 25 November 2009, falling 18.24% as compared to the Sensex's 2.31% rise. It underperformed the market in past one quarter, sliding 16.12% as against 9.63% increase in the Sensex.The large-cap software company has an equity capital of Rs 235.13 crore. Face value per share is Rs 2.Mahindra Satyam's president, global operations, Atul Kunwar was quoted by the media as saying on Wednesday, 25 November 2009, that Mahindra Satyam has added about 36 clients since July and currently has about 420 customers. It has renewed over 50 deals in the last three months.Mr Kunwar said the company is working on reviving contracts with customers who left in the wake of the scandal, and is in talks with the World Bank to lift an eight-year ban imposed last December.The company, which is looking at expanding its board with independent directors, is not seeing any payment delays, he said.The stock slumped 10.92% to Rs 90.55 on Wednesday, 25 November 2009, after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) found evidence of an additional Rs 4739 crore corporate fraud in the company, perpetrated by its founder R Ramalinga Raju and his associates.

India ready to discuss Kashmir with Pakistan: Singh

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, while addressing the council of foreign relations in Washington on Monday said that New Delhi is ready to pick up the threads of the dialogue with Islamabad, including issues related to Jammu & Kashmir. Singh also reasserted of better relations with Pakistan if Pakistan acts to curb terror networks operation from its soil.

Anil present in apex court for gas row hearing

Anil Ambani was on Tuesday present in the Supreme Court for the ongoing hearing of the gas row between his group RNRL and his brother's RIL."My presence in the Hon'ble Supreme Court today reflects my deepest regard for our judiciary," Anil said in a brief statement to the media."I have come here today not just on my own behalf but on behalf of nearly 11 million shareholders of the Reliance ADA Group-the largest shareholding family in the world-whose interests will be directly affected by the outcome of this case," he said.The Ambani brothers are locked in a bitter battle over the supply and price of the gas from KG basin.

While RNRL is seeking gas at a committed price of $2.34 per unit, RIL says it cannot honour the commitment made in the 2005 family agreement due to government's pricing and gas policies.

Maruti Suzuki to launch van to replace Versa

The country's largest car maker, Maruti Suzuki India (MSI), today said it will launch a new van within this fiscal to replace its MPV versaVersa, whose production has been stopped. "We will be launching a new van by the end of this fiscal. This vehicle will replace the Versa, whose production has already been stopped," Maruti Suzuki India Managing Executive Officer (Engineering) I V Rao told reporters on the sidelines of the Fourth Environmentally Friendly Vehicle Conference here. He, however, did not give the price point of the soon-to-be launched vehicle. MSI is also looking to produce one million vehicles by the end of this fiscal. "Hopefully, we will have one million units in production by the end of this financial year by utilising our full capacity," Rao said. He added the company is working on making all its models Bharat Stage-IV compliant as required under the government norms. "We have not completed BS-IV compliance norms on all our models but we are working towards that direction.

Airtel slashes cell roaming rates by 60 per cent

Bharti Airtel has launched a new mobile phone tariff plan with 60 per cent lower roaming rates, opening a new front in the ongoing price war that has impacted the profitability of the country’s telcos.The country’s largest telecom firm on Friday said that the new plan will bring down the roaming rates to 60 paise per minute forcalls within its network and 80 paise per minute for calls to other networks. Reliance Communications, the country’s second largest cellular operator, is already offering a lower roaming rate of 50 paise per minute for all its customers on all networks. Other GSM operators such as Vodafone Essar, BSNL and Idea Cellular are also expected to launch new billing plans that offer lower roaming rates within the next couple of days. Bharti Airtel president for mobile services, Atul Bindal said that this is an attempt to join the price war scenario currently prevailing in the industry. “Our primary aim is to bring the advantage of our network to our customers. Recent research has shown that customers need benefits while travelling and are not satisfied with just local calling benefits and our network is uniquely positioned to offer similar benefits on roaming all across the country.

Sachin completes 30,000 runs in internationsl cricket

Master blaster Sachin Tendulkar has reached another milestone in his career by completing a phenomenal 30,000 runs in international cricket during the ongoing Ahmedabad Test against Sri Lanka on Friday.Tendulkar, who completed 20 glorious years in cricket on Sunday (November 15), needed 35 runs to reach the landmark at the start of India's second innings in the Ahmedabad Test against Sri Lanka.Next in line for the feat is is Australia captain Ricky Ponting, who had recently crossed 24,000 runs.Tendulkar has 17,178 runs in ODI cricket, 10 runs in the only T20 International he's played, and 12,812 Test runs at the time the landmark was reached.He holds the record for most ODI and Test runs and centuries.Tendulkar is clearly widening the gap between him and his contemporaries and it is certainly going to be difficult for anybody to catch up with the great batsman.

Ambanis, Mittal in Forbes' list of richest Indians

Mukesh Ambani has emerged the wealthiest person in India with a net worth of $32 billion, as the number of Indian billionaires in Forbes' ‘India Rich List’ this year has nearly doubled to 52, thanks to the rebound in stock markets. London-based Lakshmi N Mittal with $30 billion, Anil Ambani with $17.5 billion, Azim Premji with $14.9 billion, Shashi and Ravi Ruia with $13.6 billion and K P Singh with $13.5 billion make up the top five billionaires on this year's list. "The combined net worth of India's 100 richest people is $276 billion - almost a quarter of the country's gross domestic product," the magazine said, adding the number of Indian billionaires has also nearly doubled from 27 last year.

TVS to launch 110-cc clutch less motorcycle

The country’s third largest two-wheeler manufacturer, TVS Motor Company, is set to launch a 110-cc clutch-less motorcycle, a first in the world's second-largest two wheeler market.The bike will be unveiled to the company's 600-strong dealer network in Macau on Wednesday and would be launched in the country later this month. It will be powered by a 110cc engine with four gears, comparable to most other vehicles in its category, but will have an auto clutch system coupled with an anti-stall mechanism, which make the bike almost gearless.“The bike will be launched in India shortly and it will be an answer to stressful driving in the cities," said a senior company official who did not wish to be named. "Despite the break through in technology, it will not have a premium price tag."

Nokia N97 Mini Arrives in India

Nokia has launched the younger sibling of the N97, the N97 Mini, in India just a few months after the bigger, better endowed Nokia N97 was announced. Positioned as the cheaper alternative to the N97, the phone comes with a slightly smaller screen and unlike the N97, this device does not have the navi-pad on the keyboard.

The N97 Mini, on all other fronts, is visually similar to the N97 and is at par with its larger sibling in terms of features as well. The device will be on sale by the last week of November and will be available in Cherry Black, Garnet and White colors. The phone is priced at Rs. 30,939 - which is slightly lower than the price of the N97. Along with the phone, Nokia has also launched a new contest wherein four winners will be shortlisted by a panel of judges and two stand to win Nokia N97 mini for free every week.

The N97 Mini, just like the N97, supports Nokia's Ovi range of services. It also comes with the Lifecasting application from Nokia that allows users to publish location and status update directly to their Facebook account from the mobile device.

You can prebook the N97 Mini starting November 23.

Taj launches tough task of back-to-glory mission

Tata Sons are at work on Taj Palace Hotel to live up to Gregory Peck’s dream. Peck, one of Hollywood's greatest stars, had checked into the Taj by the Gateway in 1980, his return to Mumbai after 28 years. What he saw around surely impressed him.
“The old Taj is the same-like a jewelled crown,” he famously remarked. Almost three decades and a devastating terrorist attack later, Ratan Tata & Co have now deployed an army of engineers and designers to lift up the old Heritage Wing of this showpiece hotel and make it India’s crown jewel once more, an earshot from the Queen’s Necklace Nariman Point drive way.
It’s not an easy task to rebuild what Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata had crafted by painstakingly collecting the best jewels from Europe during his personal trips, whether it was a soda and ice-making factory, silver polishing machines, a laundry, elevators, an electric generator or even pillars of soft iron that held the famous ballroom up.

PVR snaps up DT in Rs 62 crore deal

Movie theatre chain PVR on Friday acquired DLF-owned DT Cinemas —seven cinema halls in NCR and one in Chandigarh, 29 screens in all -- in a stock-cum-cash deal of Rs 62.2 crore. PVR will run all these multiplexes under PVR Cinemas brand; DT Cinema will now cease to exist.In the deal to acquire DT Cinemas, PVR paid Rs 20.2 crore cash to DLF Ltd. Besides this, it also gave 25.57 lakh new shares, which constituted 10% of the post diluted equity capital of PVR. According to the deal, PVR will also have exclusive rights to operate as a key anchor multiplex partner in all future malls developed by DLF.

HP TO BY 3 COM

HP that's mean Hewlett Packard Co is making a move into the network equipment market by striking a $3.1 billion deal for 3Com Corporation in a major challenge to Cisco Systems Incorporation.

HP acquires IBRIX

HP has announced a definitive agreement for the company to acquire IBRIX, a leading provider of enterprise-class file serving software that includes data protection, high-availability features and data management services for extreme scale-out, cloud and high-performance computing deployments.Customers with large-scale, data-intensive application environments find that storage performance often becomes a bottleneck for their workflows. IBRIX's solutions allow enterprises to easily and cost-effectively store massive amounts of user-generated data."Customers need highly scalable storage solutions that efficiently and cost-effectively manage massive amounts of information," said Jim Wagstaff, Vice President & General Manager StorageWorks Division,Enterprise Storage, Servers and Networking, HP Enterprise Business."This acquisition expands our portfolio to better support the needs of this market segment. In addition, IBRIX's highly scalable software leverages industry-standard hardware allowing customers to fully maximize their existing investments."IBRIX's software is currently available with HP StorageWorks storage area networks (SANs), HP ProLiant servers, HP BladeSystem, and HP ProCurve Ethernet switches and management software.

Travellers give thumbs up to India as a global brand

It's not just arts and culture or history that makes India popular, but also its way of doing business.The FutureBrand's latest Country Brand Index (CBI) has ranked India among the top five countries for value for money, authenticity, history, best brand for art and culture and business.India has also made it to the list of this year's "rising stars" -- the places which are likely to become major tourist destinations in the next five years, according to the survey.Other rising stars include United Arab Emirates (UAE), China, Vietnam, Croatia and South Africa.CBI is a comprehensive study of about 3,000 international business and leisure travellers from nine countries -- the US, the UK, China, Australia, Japan, Brazil, UAE, Germany and Russia.The survey was conducted by FutureBrand, a leading global brand consultancy, along with public relations firm Weber Shandwick's Global Travel & Lifestyle Practice.

Online activists hijack 300 Facebook groups

Activists claimed to have seized control of nearly 300 Facebook community groups in a self-proclaimed effort to expose how vulnerable online reputations are to tampering.A contingent that identified itself as Control Your Info (CYI) claimed credit for commandeering 289 Facebook Groups, saying it was simple to get into poorly protected administrative settings at the website."This is just one example that really shows the vulnerabilities of social media," said a blog post at controlyour.info."If you chose to express yourself on the Internet, make sure the expressions are your own and not a spammers. This isn't some kind of scare tactic, nor is it a hack, it's a feature that can be used, and is being used, in bad ways." CYI claimed its motives were pure and that the move was more of a "take-over" than a computer hack of Facebook groups.Facebook Groups are themed chat venues that users of the social networking service can join to socialise online with people who share interests."Facebook Groups suffer from a major flaw," said a message on the CYI blog."If an administrator of a group leaves, anyone can register as a new admin. So, in order to take control of a Facebook group, all you really have to do is a quick search on Google."

Nokia Exchanges Chargers

ESPOO, Finland -- Nokia today initiated a charger exchange program, in which consumers owning certain Nokia-branded chargers manufactured by a third-party supplier are recommended to exchange these chargers for free replacements.
During a routine quality control process, Nokia identified a potential product quality issue with certain chargers manufactured by one of its third-party suppliers. The plastic covers of the affected chargers could come loose and separate, exposing the charger's internal components and potentially posing an electrical shock hazard if certain internal components are touched while the charger is plugged into a live socket. Nokia is not aware of any incidents or injuries related to these chargers. Only a limited number of chargers of certain model types manufactured by a single third-party supplier during a specific time period are within the scope of the exchange program. They are the AC-3E and AC-3U models, manufactured between June 15, 2009 and August 9, 2009; and the AC-4U model, manufactured between April 13, 2009 and October 25, 2009. For more information, including how consumers can check to see if their chargers are part of this exchange program, Nokia has established a website. Consumers are asked to visit http://chargerexchange.nokia.com or their local Nokia website.

Indian eves lose to China in Asia Cup final

The valiant Indian women hockey team had to be satisfied with the after they went down 3-5 to formidable China in an action-packed final of the seventh Asia Cup here on Sunday. Surinder Kaur and her teammates, who have already booked their berth for the 2010 world cup in Argentina with this final appearance, tried every trick in the book but just could not get the better of their Chinese opponents.Surinder earned the lead for India in the eighth minute, while Mamta Kharab (47th) and Deepika Thakur (54th) sounded the board in the second half but the Chinese scored thrice in the first session (13th, 18th and 27th) and twice (47th, 51st) in the second to emerge victorious.This was China's second Asia Cup triumph, coming exactly 20 years after their 1989 victory in Hong Kong.India took the initiative early in the match with Surinder's eighth minute goal but the joy lasted only five minutes as the Chinese changed to top gear putting the Indian on the defensive mode.Veteran Fu Bao Rang trapped a free hit to equalise in the 13th minute and soon Ma Yi Bo's straight drive off the team's first penalty corner made it 2-1 for China.Right winger Zhao Yu Dia then made good use of a feed from the left to stretch the lead to 3-1 in the 27th minute and go into the breather with a two-goal advantage.Ma Yi Bo converted another penalty corner and De Jiao Jiao struck another in a counter attack in the second half to complete the tally for the winners.Earlier, the match started 30 minutes late due to power failure and because of heavy rains. Half-time break had to be increased from usual 10 minutes to about 40 minutes.The Chinese juggernaut rolled smoothly today befitting their world number three status. The forward line of Zhao Yu Dia on the left, Fu Bao Rong in the centre and Li Hong Xia at the right flank masterminded innumerable sallies that had the Indian defence on its toes.With neat trapping at a high pace, they tormented Indian defenders Subhadra Pradhan and Binita Toppo. With goalie Deepika Murthy and Ritu Rani extending helping hand, India did thwart some nippy attacks in time.India got a handful of chances in the first half. Midway through the first half, defender Binita surged to the 25-yard line before giving a precise cross but Rani Ramphal could not trap inside the circle and a golden chance was thus frittered away.Quickly after the second session started, Mamta miscued a close range shot and within five minutes, India wasted two penalty corners. On the first occasion, Jasjeet's grounder proved too feeble, while Saba Anjum's deflection was blocked by China goalie Zhang Yi Meng.India suffered a setback in the 40th minute when medio Asunta Lakra got an yellow card and the team had to make do with one player less and in this spell China scored twice.In the last five minutes, two penalty corners came India's way but neither Jasjeet nor Saba could sound the board.Once China established a comfortable 4-2 lead, India coach M K Kaushik brought Savita Punnia under the cage and she certainly lived upto the expectations with some fabulous last second kicks and clearances.The silver medal gave India valuable 700 points which will boost India's world ranking when it is revised this year.

Hitler's birthplace on sale amid Neo Nazi fears

An Austrian house where Adolf Hitler was born is being put up for sale amid frantic efforts by authorities to block the auction over fears it could fall into the hands of neo-Nazis who would turn it into a memorial for the Nazi dictator.Hitler's mother Klara and father Alois rented a suite of rooms above a pub and lived in the apartment until 1892 when they moved to Linz.The owner of the house in Braunau-am-Inn where Hitler was born on April 20, 1889, wants to put it on the market with a likely asking price of over 2 million pounds, The Scotsman newspaper reported today.The local authority in Braunau-am-Inn has vowed to resist the sale to private individuals because it fears the house could end up in the hands of extreme right-wingers, it said.The local council, which is facing financil problem, plans to appeal to the government in Vienna to help with the purchase.The mayor of Braunau, Gerhard Skiba, said ideally the town council would like to purchase it and so control its future fate.But there is not enough money in the coffers to buy Salzburger Vorstadt 15

Mickey sneaks into IIM-A summers

Mickey Mouse sneaked its way into the Louis Kahn Plaza causing a flutter on the Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad (IIM-A)

campus which is recovering from the jolt of the global meltdown. For the first time Walt Disney picked interns from Asia’s best B-school for summer placements this year for marketing jobs. A first for the B-school and Walt Disney Company, the good news is that Disney is expected to be back for the final placements to be held in February-March next year. The company, which was the world’s best producer of family entertainment in the 60s, has now diversified into Disney merchandise, parks, and even food, its latest characters being Hannah Montana, a favourite among young girls. By the end of Day One of the summer placements several media groups had also joined in the list of recruiters like Starcom Media Vest, HT Media and Star TV. Realty companies Oberoi Construction and Ramky Infrastructure were also firsts on campus this year. Summer recruitments are on for interns from Post Graduate Programme in Management (PGP-I) and Post Graduate Programme in Agri-Business Management (PGP-ABM) Other regular recruiters on the campus this year included Dabur, Asian Paints, Cadbury’s and Renault, the car makers. Airtel and Starcom MediaVest offered roles in branding and sales and marketing. Five students will be joining Starcom MediaVest across locations in South-East Asia. Microsoft returned to the campus to pick eight students for summer internship. It had first come to IIM-A last year. After dominating the first two days of the process, consulting firms continued to recruit interns. These included Cognizant and Synergy Consulting. Vivek Jain, a placement committee coordinator said, "Cognizant offered roles in IT consulting and recruited six students."

PNB sets up joint venture with FIM Bank of Malta

Punjab National Bank on Wednesday said it had entered into an agreement with FIM Bank of Malta and Italy-based Banca IFIC for setting up a joint venture for providing factoring, forfeiting and trade finance related business.

Ambani Case: Judge drops out, 6 days lost

Justice RV Raveendran, one of the judges hearing the high-profile Ambani vs Ambani case, has dropped out of the case, citing a possible conflict of interest. He said, "I came to know only yesterday that my daughter is associated with a firm which is advising RIL relating to global acquisitions. My conscience is clear that justice should not only be done but is seen to be done."When the case began last month, Justice Raveendran told the court that he has sharer in Mukesh Ambani's RIL; he offered to withdraw from the case if anyone had any objections. At that point, lawyers for both Mukesh and Anil Ambani said they were fine with his hearing the case.Mukesh Ambani and Anil Ambani are battling over gas. Mukesh wants to revise the price at which Anil can buy gas from him. The price agreed upon is below rates, and was arrived at through a family agreement. With Justice Raveendran dropping out, six days have been lost; the case will start afresh on Thursday with a new bench. Justice Raveendran will be replaced by a new judge; there are two other judges hearing the case. The Chief Justice of India has committed that all hearings in the case will finish before the end of November. The schedule for the case will see 4 days of arguments each by Mukesh and Anil's then the government and other interested parties will have two days to present their case.

Net could run out of web addresses

The world could well run out of Internet addresses next year, unless urgent action is taken to switch to a new generation of net addresses, the European Commission has warned.According to the commission, businesses urgently need to upgrade to Internet protocol version six or IPv6, a new version of the Internet's addressing protocol, which will hugely increase the number of available addresses.The IPv6 system has been ready for over a decade and is providing 340 trillion, trillion, trillion web addresses. But, not many companies are actually ready to migrate to the new platform.In fact, a survey, conducted by the Commission, found that few companies are prepared for the switch from the current naming protocol, IPv4, to the new regime, IPv6, 'The Daily Telegraph' reported.The IPv4 and IPv6 protocols refer to the way in which web addresses are created and assigned. Each website has a unique IP address, represented by a string of numbers, such as 192.168.1.1, which are then given a user-friendly web address to make them easier to remember.The IPv4 protocol uses 32-bit addresses, which enables the web to support around 4.3 billion unique addresses while IPv6 uses 128-bit web addresses, creating billions of possible new web addresses.The EC survey found that of the 610 government, educational and other industry organisations questioned across Europe, the Middle East and Asia, just 17 per cent have upgraded to IPv6.The Commission has warned that the timely deployment of the protocol is vital to the growth and stability of the Internet. Detlef Eckert, Director in Commission's information society and media directorate-general, said: "In the last 10 years, the Internet has become hugely important worldwide from a socio-economic perspective."Only by ensuring that all devices connected to the internet are compatible with IPv6 can we stay connected and safeguard sustainable growth of the Internet and the global digital economy, now and in the years to come."

Amitabh Bachchan gets clean chit in Barabanki land row

A five-member committee constituted by the Barabanki district administration has given a clean chit to Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan in a case of alleged land forgery.The committee, headed by a sub-divisional magistrate, in its report submitted on Saturday, turned down the charges of forgery against Bachchan following which a complaint lodged by son of the Daulatpur village head was quashed, Superintendent of Police Alok Singh said on Sunday.The committee, constituted by District Magistrate Vikas Gothwal, in its report said Bachchan had only proposed to donate two plots in Daulatpur village to the gram samaj."As the process to donate plots to the gram sabha was not completed, it cannot be proved that plot numbers 711 and 793 were to be transferred to the gram samaj," the report said.As the village head gave her consent to take the land in donation without the approval of land management committee of the district administration, the entire process was 'null and void,' it said."The committee in its inquiry found that the allegation of fraud against Bachchan was baseless," a senior official said. Two days after the complaint was lodged against 67-year-old Bachchan on October 27, his former representative Vinay Shukla had said the land to be donated to the gram sabha was by 'mistake' included in the gift deed towards a foundation for construction of a college named after his daughter-in-law Aishwarya.Shukla had said on coming to know of the mistake, Nishtha Foundation, on the request of the actor, had made a formal request to the district administration to do the needful but Avnindra Singh, son of Daulatpur village gram pradhan, Rajkumari Singh, lodged a complaint with the police.On October 23, Bachchan through his representative had transferred 16 bigha land at Daulatpur village to the foundation run by Bollywood actress Jaya Prada for construction of a girls college.Later, the DM constituted the committee to inquire into the allegation. In the meantime, Nishtha Foundation had returned the two plots to Bachchan after which filmstar's representative Rajesh Rishikesh Yadav submitted a letter to the DM stating the superstar wished to donate both the plots to gram sabha as proposed by him earlier by completing all the legal formalities.

Spare the freshers, target them in second year

If you are first year student in a college, not ragged by your seniors this year, chances are they are waiting to target you next year. This is an alarming trend that has come to the notice of authorities.Some students in Coimbatore medical college with multiple fractures are victims of ragging in their second year. Their seniors assaulted them using hockey sticks.A worrying trend is emerging in professional colleges - spare the freshers and target them the second year.Recently more than 20 senior students from various colleges across Tamil Nadu were put behind bars for this. Police say there's a misconception that anti-ragging laws are limited to harassment of freshers."This should be a pointer to all students indulging in this. Anti-ragging law will be applied to all students, irrespective of the year of study of victims," said K Radhakrishnan, ADGP, Law and Order.Colleges are stepping up monitoring and want victims to report such violations. Even judges are now raising awareness on the tough punishments for ragging."They are mainly explaining about the Supreme Court's guidelines and the implications, to try and end ragging," said V Kumaran, dean, Coimbatore Medical College.Victims are scared to speak on camera. While torturing of freshers in the name of ragging still keep coming in, this is a yet another challenge for authorities.

Narendra Modi gets swine flu

Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi has been diagnosed with swine flu. A panel of doctors has been formed to treat him. A spokesperson for the Gujarat government says Modi will be kept in isolation for seven days.

UP villager files complaint against Amitabh Bachchan

A written complaint has been lodged against actor Amitabh Bachchan. by a resident of Daulatpur village in Uttar Pradesh.accusing him of committing fraud."A written complaint was received by Mohammadpur Khala police station against Bachchan from Avnindra Singh, son of village head of Daulatpur village Rajkumari Singh last (Tuesday) night, which is being examinaed," said Superintendent of Police Alok Singh.Efforts to reach Bachchan for his comments did not fructify.The complainant alleged that on July 5, 2007, one Vinay Shukla, the then representative of Bachchan, gave a letter to the village head stating that the actor was willing to donate land in Daulatpur village to the gram samaj.He, however, alleged that instead of donating the land to gram samaj, Bachchan transferred it to Nishtha Foundation run by actor-turned-politician Jaya Prada to construct a college.On October 23, one Rajesh Rishikesh Yadav, to whom Bachchan had given power of attorney, executed a gift deed of the controversial 1.383 hectares of farmland in Daultapur village in favour of Nishtha Foundation for construction of the college in the name of Bachchan's daughter-in-law Aishwarya Rai Bachchan.Avnindra alleged that the land donated to the Foundation included plots, which Bachchan promised to donate to the gram samaj.The SSP said the police was investigating the matter."A committee will soon be constituted with the consent of District Magistrate Vikas Gothwal which will examine the land records and based on its report further action will be taken,

Historic railway link in Kashmir inaugurated

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday flagged off a new train service on the 18-km track linking south Kashmir with Srinagar and other places in the north of the valley. With this, the 129-km railway line in the Kashmir Valley is complete.
The 18-km stretch, not so long in terms of geographical distance, will be of huge socio-economic and political significance to the militancy-affected Kashmir Valley. The stretch is part of the government's Kashmir rail link, which has been declared a project of national importance.
The new train service will reduce by one hour the otherwise three-hour travel between north Kashmir's Baramulla and Qazigund.
Qazigund, about 80 km from Srinagar, is also significant as it will be the highest broad-gauge rail station in the country at a height of 1,722 metres.

BHEL sets up instrument calibration centre in Noida

Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) today said it has set up an instrument calibration centre in Noida as part of its ongoing capability upgradation and capacity expansion programme. The centre, established at a cost of nearly Rs 3.2 crore as part of its MoU with Indian government. BHEL, the power equipment manufacturer, said the centre would help in enhancing the accuracy of Performance Guarantee Test of Thermal Sets of various ratings and would help in meeting the capacity addition target of the 11th Five Year Plan. The company conducts Performance Guarantee (PG) Tests on thermal sets ranging from 60 MW to 500 MW to prove the equipment's capacity and efficiency. This facility would also reduce the turn around time for calibration of precision PG Test Instrumentation and enable PG testing of more projects.

Sony partners with Netflix to stream movies on PS3

Sony Corp said on Monday it is partnering with Netflix Inc to provide access to the online movie rental company's library throughSony's PlayStation 3 video game console. PS3 users in the United States who are also Netflix subscribers will be able to instantly stream movies from the Netflix catalog at no extra cost. Sony's move is just the latest salvo in its battle with Microsoft Corp and its Xbox 360 console as the two heavyweights vie to become the so-called "digital hub" of the living room. Both companies are using their consoles to provide content beyond games. "While gaming is clearly our core DNA I think we felt very confident three years ago when we debuted PlayStation 3 that this was going to be a device that was going to mean much more than gaming," said Jack Tretton, chief executive of Sony Computer Entertainment America.

The Xbox already offers Netflix access, but users must pay $50 a year for Xbox Live Gold membership to use it.

Although Netflix offers thousands of movies and TV episodes for instant streaming, it does not make its entire catalog available. Netflix will be up and running on the PS3 in November, Sony said. Initially PS3 users will utilize a Blu-ray disc to access Netflix, but it will eventually be available through a software update on the PS3.

The PS3's installed base numbers close to 9 million units in the United States, and Netflix has a US subscriber base of 11.1 million. The PS3, long the No. 3 console in the United States, is generating sales momentum following a recent price cut.

In September, the PS3 was the top-selling home console in the United States for the first time, according to industry tracker NPD, dethroning long-running champion Nintendo Co. Tretton said the PS3's strength has continued into October. "A lot of consumers were waiting for this price point .... The numbers are extremely good."

Manmohan, Wen agree to build India-China trust

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Chinese counterpart Wen Jiabao met for nearly an 
hour in Thailand on Saturday and
agreed to build "trust and understanding" in their bilateral relationship.  
The two leaders had "good discussions" and "a productive meeting" at Hotel Dusit Thani, the venue of the Asean and East Asia summits, official sources said. 
Wen said: "We want to have a healthy and steady relationship with India. I hope we can use this opportunity to exchange our views on all related issues." 
The much awaited meeting was aimed at easing tensions between the two countries centred on their unresolved border dispute. Official sources, however, said Arunachal Pradesh and Buddhist spiritual leader the Dalai Lama did not figure in the discussions. 
The two countries also agreed to beef up their strategic and cooperative partnership. 
Manmohan Singh told Wen: "I am excited to see you." He said the Chinese people have had a number of achievements "and we share their sense of accomplishment". He said this in the context of the 60th anniversary of the founding of modern China. 
Manmohan Singh also recalled his meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao in Russia in June this year. 
Earlier, the Chinese premier received Manmohan Singh like an old friend and spoke of the meetings they have had in the past.

Three GSM service providers seek additional spectrum

Three major GSM telecom operators — Tata DoCoMo, Reliance Communications and Idea Cellular — have sought additional wireless spectrum to support their increasing subscriber base.
The companies have moved the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), seeking an additional total of 1.8 MHz spectrum. While Tata DoCoMo has sought additional spectrum for all 10 circles (where it has launched GSM services), RCom has sought it for a few circles and Idea Cellular for two circles.

Sensex dips below 17,000-level

MUMBAI: The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex on Thursday dipped below 17,000 points level losing
over 101 points in opening trade on
selling by foreign funds amid weak global trends.
The 30-share index fell by 101.83 points to 16,907.34 points. The Sensex had lost over 315 points in the past two sessions.
The wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty fell by 32.20 points to 5,031.40 points.
Brokers said stock markets fell due to continued profit-taking by funds and general investors following weak trend in other Asian bourses.
Heavy selling by domestic mutual funds also impacted the sentiment, they said.
Shares of Reliance Industries fell by 1.73 per cent to Rs 2,144.70, ICICI Bank by 1.81 per cent to Rs 912.70, State Bank of India by 0.69 per cent to Rs 2,368.90 and Tata Steel lost one per cent at Rs 546.95.
However, software major Infosys Technologies found some support and rose by 2.84 per cent to Rs 2,227.
The Hong Kong's Hang Seng was down 1.20 per cent, while Japan's Nikkei shed 1.57 per cent in them morning trade.
The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.92 per cent down yesterday.

Windows 7 and Google Chrome, comes together!

As all of you know Microsoft windows 7 is going to launch on this thursday world wide. Google and microsoft planned to integrate Google Chrome web browser in windows 7 operating system. By this users get Google chrome web browser in the operating system by default.
No need to install the Google chrome web browser manually. But it was not sure that Google chrome will be available by default. May all have to wait till thursday to have a look into the new and exclusive operating system windows 7 by microsoft.
After windows vista release, this is the big software product that microsoft release. May be windows 7 is the successful microsoft operating system after windows XP professional. But all have to wait until the release.

Galleon Clients Abandon Ship

Hedge-fund giant Galleon Group, facing heavy investor withdrawal requests after Friday's arrest of co-founder Raj Rajaratnam, moved to unload some of its technology stocks and other holdings to raise cash. Investors have sought to withdraw about $1.3 billion of the $3.7 billion in assets Galleon manages, traders say. Moreover, two of the brokerage firms Galleon normally deals with,Bank of America Merrill Lynch and BarclaysPLC, have told Galleon they will no longer trade securities positions with the fund firm, according to a person close to the situation.

Woman wins Economics Nobal

Elinor Ostrom and Oliver Williamson of the united states won the Nobal Economics Prize for their work on economic governance and the organisation of cooperation making ostrom the first woman to win the prize.they got 1.4 million dollar as prize money.

woman wins Economics

Sensex soars, ruling 2.21 percent up

A key index of Indian equities markets shot up during afternoon trade Monday and was ruling 2.21 percent higher than its previous close.

Around 2.15 p.m., the 30-scrip benchmark index of the Bombay Stock Exchange, Sensex, which opened at 16,687.32 points, was ruling at 17,015.18 points, up 372.52 points or 2.24 percent.


The S&P CNX Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) also climbed up to 5,044.75 points, up 2.01 percent.


Broader market indices were also in the green, with the BSE midcap index ruling 1.19 percent higher and the BSE smallcap index up 0.99 percent.

Four killed as gunbattle ends at Pakistan army HQ

SLAMABAD: Heavily-armed unidentified gunmen on Saturday made an audacious bid to force their way into the Pakistan army's headquarters in

Rawalpindi, sparking a raging gunbattle which left all four attackers and some soldiers dead.

The brazen attempt by the gunmen shortly before noon was foiled as the army brought in commandos and helicopters to overpower the attackers, who drove up in a white van to the entrance of the general headquarters.

An intense shootout broke out as troops tried to stop the attackers from entering the complex, TV news channels reported.

"All four terrorists who were trying to enter (the general headquarters) have been killed," chief military spokesman Maj Gen Athar Abbas told reporters, adding the situation is fully under control now.

Abbas said some soldiers were also killed in the gun battle with the terrorists, but did not give the figure.

"They (attackers) came out of the van and ran towards another check post, where the exchange of fire continued for some time. We are ascertaining how many security personnel were killed in the incident,"

The heavily-armed terrorists, who were in a white van, opened fire when they were challenged by soldiers at a check post near a cricket stadium outside the general headquarters at 11.30am, Abbas said.

The terrorists tried to gain entry to the fortified military facility by using a street that connects the Mall Road, one of Rawalpindi's main thoroughfares, to the general headquarters.

"There was some confusion as the attackers were wearing camouflage uniforms but they were all killed and the situation was brought under control," Abbas said.

No group claimed responsibility for the attack but observers said it appeared to be the handiwork of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, which has vowed to target the Pakistani security forces to avenge the killing of its chief Baitullah Mehsud in a US drone attack in August.

Earlier, witnesses told TV news channels that the terrorists had lobbed about five grenades at the headquarters.

Dozens of army commandos in black uniforms and wearing body armour cordoned off the area, where traffic was stopped as several army helicopters hovered over the area to keep vigil.

The audacious attack was the third major assault in a week that came a day after a blast in NWFP capital Peshawar that left 50 people dead and over 120 injured.

Several top army officers were trapped in the compound during the 45-minute long gunfight, TV channels reported.

All roads leading to general headquarters were blocked and only ambulances and vehicles of rescue services were allowed to enter the area.

A witness told a news channel that the firing occurred in front of the office of the inter-services public relations, located within the general headquarters.

TV channels said they were beaming deferred footage from the scene of the incident as the aides of the terrorists could be monitoring the coverage.

Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani strongly condemned the attack in Rawalpindi, which is close to Islamabad.

Security has been tightened across the country, especially in the federal capital, and for dignitaries like president, prime minister and federal ministers.

Advani will not be BJP leader in 2014 polls: Naidu

NEW DELHI: Former BJP president M Venkaiah Naidu has said the party will not contest the next Lok Sabha

elections under the leadership of LK
Advani and agreed that it would be logical for the party to get a new leadership
at that juncture.

"Advani is not going to contest the next elections. We are not going to fight the next elections under his leadership. Next general elections are going to happen when... you know (2014)," Naidu told a news channel.

He was replying to a question on whether BJP would contest the next general elections under Advani's leadership, who would be 87 years old in 2014.

He agreed it sounded logical that in such a scenario BJP would need a new leader and for this the change of guard would have to take place couple of years before the polls.

Asked who would be the next leader, Naidu said, "Political parties discuss issues and then come to conclusions according to the need of the hour and by consensus".

The Rajya Sabha MP said Advani had been chosen as the Leader of Opposition by BJP for the 15th Lok Sabha and it was for him to decide when to step down.

"Whenever he (Advani) wants to make way for others, it is his choice. Nobody has given him any deadline....," Naidu said.

Naidu justified the continuation of Advani as head of the BJP Parliamentary Party, though the latter was "reluctant to accept" and had to be "persuaded".

"When you lose an election that to for the second time, there will be certain amount of demoralisation, so we wanted him (Advani) to guide....The process of leadership change is a normal process...when he wants to choose a new leader, it will be announced by Advani," Naidu said.

On the recent controversy created by Advani's statement that he did not want expulsion of Jaswant Singh, Naidu said, "Initially, yes, he was opposed to expulsion.... He said in place of expulsion can we think of any other alternative."

However, Naidu maintained the final decision was unanimous. "Jaswant Singh's book contains many objectionable references," he said, adding that everybody in the meeting agreed action had to be taken and Advani, being a "democratic person" agreed.

Naidu said the decision to expel Jaswant Singh was a "painful decision" as he had been with the party for 25-30 years but there was no other way.

The veteran leader said Advani had not "suffered any image loss at all" in the last few months which have witnessed several controversies within the BJP.

On Arun Shourie's recent outburst against Advani and party president Rajnath Singh, Naidu hinted action may be taken after the forthcoming assembly polls while he was confident Vasundhara Raje would abide by party decision.

BHEL looking at Africa for first factory abroad

Government-owned Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) is looking at Africa for setting up its first manufacturing facility abroad. The company had earlier zeroed in on the UAE, but decided to locate the plant in Africa.
 
A senior company executive said the location has not been finalised but it would cater to the company’s business in Africa and the West Asia. Africa, West Asia and Central Asia are the primary foreign markets for BHEL, dominant player in the power and heavy equipment business in India. It plans to increase its export revenue to Rs 10,300 crore by 2012.

The aim behind the new facility is that it would open the entire African and the West Asian market for the company. At present, BHEL has Rs 1,000 crore worth of business in Africa alone. “If we focus, we can get better access,” said the executive. BHEL earns about 15 per cent of its revenue from abroad. It recorded a net profit of Rs 3,039 crore on a revenue of Rs 27,505 crore in 2008-09. It aims to become a $10 billion (around Rs 47,200 crore) company by 2012.

The proposed overseas plant would manufacture switchgear and transformers. “We have been holding preliminary talks with various countries in Africa,” said the executive, without divulging names. The plans are in a discussion stage and nothing has been finalised till now, said another.

At present, BHEL’s international business is supported from India, with its presence overseas being limited to regional offices in Dubai and Jakarta. Its product profile for the international market ranges from thermal, gas and hydro generation to the transmission business. Though its products and services have been exported to over 70 countries, it has not established any production base outside India.

BHEL had earlier made plans for acquisitions abroad, including that of Czech power company Skoda Power AS’ turbine manufacturing facility and units for manufacturing boilers and railway coaches, among others. But these plans could never take off and now it appears to be focusing on putting up its own facility.

Porsche drives in its sedan, Panamera

NEW DELHI: Luxury car maker Porsche launched its solitary sedan offering,

Panamera, in the Indian market on Tuesday. Priced at Rs 1.4 crore
to Rs 2.05 crore
(ex-showroom Delhi), Panamera will be one of the fastest cars on Indian roads, with a top
speed of 282 km per hour. The car will be available in three versions — S, 4S and the top-of-the-range Turbo. ( Watch )

Precision Cars India, the official distributor of Porsche cars in the country, plans to sell 50 Panameras in the first year. It has already received bookings for 13 cars, mostly from Mumbai. The 4.8-litre eight-cylinder engine delivers 400 horse power and consumes 11.1 litre of fuel for travelling 100 km.

Porsche currently sells four other cars in India, sportscars 911 and Boxster and Cayman and Cayenne sports utility vehicles. It expects 20% increase in sales in the local market, despite sales dipping in most parts of the world.

Rod Wallace, managing director of Precision Cars India, said, “We have had a tough time in India, too, but now sales are revving up. There is strong demand for high-end products. So we have brought Panamera just after a month of its launch in Europe.”

The company aims to sell 200 cars this year against 168 cars in 2008. Globally, Porsche is expecting to sell 75,000 cars in 2009, down from 98,000 vehicles last year.

Lupin buys cholesterol drug for $39 million

Pharmaceutical major Lupin has acquired the US rights for a cholesterol lowering drug, Antara (Fenofibrate capsules, 43 mg and 130 mg), from bankrupt US drug company Oscient Pharmaceuticals for close to $39 million (Rs 188 crore).

The drug had $70 million (Rs 337.5 crore) worth of sales in the US market in 2008, data from drug sales tracking agency IMS show.

Lupin acquired the drug in a bidding process on September 25 under the procedures of the US Bankruptcy Court. Lupin outbid Akrimax Pharmaceuticals and private equity player Paul Capital to acquire Antara, Vinita Gupta, group president and chief executive of Lupin told Business Standard.

“The drug has strong brand equity, with primary care physicians, and has patent protection till 2020. We plan to strengthen the marketing of this product by doubling our US sales team to about 120 people,” she said.

Antara currently has 4.5 per cent share of the Fenofibrate market worth $1.9 billion and grew 20 per cent in revenue in the last year.

Gupta said the company would fund the acquisition from internal accruals. Lupin, whose turnover is Rs 3,900 crore, had created a Rs 1,000 crore war chest fund two years earlier, as part of an aggressive acquisition strategy.

Lupin paid $38.6 million for the product and related assets, inclusive of inventory, said sources.

Lupin had previously filed a marketing application (ANDA) with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to market generic versions of Fenofibrate capsules, 43 mg and 130 mg. On September 21, prior to the acquisition of Antara, Lupin sold its ANDA to Dr Reddy’s Laboratories.

The company has also settled the pending litigation with Oscient Pharmaceuticals regarding the generic version. Lupin had challenged the patents of the drug and following this, Oscient sued Lupin.

Company sources said the Antara acquisition enables Lupin to enter the primary care market with a three-product portfolio. Lupin’s Suprax tablets and Allernaze have strong potential in primary care. Unlike most other Indian companies selling generics drugs in the US market, Lupin sells the drugs by marketing to physicians. The company is ranked ninth in the US market in terms of number of prescriptions in a year. The brand business contributed around $74 million (Rs 356 crore), 27 per cent of Lupin’s overall US business.