India’s IT spending will buck the overall global slowdown and grow at a strong rate of 16.3% in dollar terms this year, International Data Corporation (IDC) said. The growth forecast is unexpectedly strong and bullish, given that Gartner recently predicted that global IT spending will grow only 3% this year. According to IDC, India’s total […]
In the era of cheap me-too 7-inch tablets, PC peripherals brand Intex has launched a standout ultra-slim tablet with a built-in keyboard like that of the Microsoft Surface. The Intex i-Buddy, priced at Rs 6,500 (the same as Micromax Funbook), seems better value for money than the Micromax model and many others in the 7-inch […]
After several years of relentless increases in spending on populist schemes such as the National Employment Guarantee scheme, food, fertilizer and fuel subsidies, the government has finally applied the brakes in the budget for 2011-12. Instead of increasing budgets to rope in more people under the schemes, the government has proposed to make the schemes […]
Banks in India will face increasing stress over the next two years due to a possible deterioration in asset quality and overall economic malaise, ratings agency Standard and Poor’s said. While other BRIC countries will also face slowing growth, India’s situation is the most dire among the four big developing nations, it said. “We believe […]
Prices of food items, particularly pulses and coarse cereals, are likely to rise in coming months due to a possible drought in India this year and add to the already high inflation levels, CRISIL Research has warned. It pointed out that monsoon has so far been 22% below average and the situation is reminiscent of […]
Internet purchases are worth $10 billion (Rs 50,000 crore) at present, but are growing fast, prompting online retailers like Flipkart and Myntra to burn cash to attract customers, a new study by consultancy firm Zinnov has found. On a positive note, it noted that online retail accounts for only 0.5% of the total retail industry […]
After many stumbles, the reform of India’s massive food-subsidy system is gathering pace. Starting this month, Kochi in Kerala will be among the select few cities in India where a new public distribution system (PDS) will be tested out. Unlike the current system, the new system will not route the subsidy on food and kerosene […]
Come next year, salaried employees who earn less than Rs 8 to 9 lakhs a year will not have to through the hassle of filing their annual income tax returns. According to the budget for 2011-12, from June 2011, government would change the laws to make it unnecessary for salaried employees to file annual IT […]
Barely two weeks after launching the Android tablet version, Google has launched its Google Plus app for the iPad. The biggest advantage in using the app (and not the mobile website) is ease of use and the possibility of multi-user, free video conferencing. “There’s nothing like catching up with friends face to face. Now you […]
Uninor has launched India’s cheapest talk plan — all calls at 25 paise per minute — in its Mumbai circle. Customers will have to pay Rs 49 per month as monthly rental for the plan through an easy recharge. Earlier Videocon used to have a similar plan. Uninor’s offer is without any monthly limit on […]
WishTel has launched the second version of its tablet, called IRA THING 2. The main upgrades are in the operating system — which is now Android Ice Cream Sandwich, processor (1.5 GHz) and RAM (512 MB). IRA THING 2 also plays full HD (1080p) videos through its HDMI port. Display remains at 7 inches. Resolution […]
In keeping with recent trends, India’s exports dipped again in June, this time by 5.5%. June exports were US $25.07 billion. Thankfully, imports too dipped, faster than exports. Imports were US $ 35.37 billion with a negative growth of (-) 13.46%. Balance of Trade was comfortable at US $ 10.3 billion, compared to $13-14 billion […]
Anna Hazare has made it clear that he will not break his next fast on the basis of assurances, written or otherwise, from the Prime Minister or anyone else. His fast starting next month will end only with the passing of a strong Lokpal bill, or his death, he said. “So many people are dying […]
Inflation continued to remain above 10% in June, led by high food inflation, latest government numbers show. Overall, on an all-India basis, consumer prices were up 10.02% in June, compared to prices in June 2011. Double-digit consumer price inflation is bad news for people with fixed income, such as those on salaries and pensions. Even […]
If 2010-11 was the year of the Indian mobilephone brands, 2011-12 has been the year when they’ve crash landed to reality, according to the latest Voice & Data survey. Barring Karbonn and Lava, all the Indian mobile phone brands such as Micromax and Spice saw drops in their revenues in 2011-12, according to the survey. […]
Smartphones will make up about 25% of the total Indian mobile phone market by 2015, ‘Research and Markets’ has predicted. The research firm said sales of smartphones in India will grow at 60% every year on average till 2015, while overall mobile handset sales will grow at about 13% per year. It estimated smartphone volumes […]
ASSOCHAM has called for a big dose of political courage to halt the negativity being spread by vested global agencies and reverse the on-going decline in investor confidence. At a meeting with the Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh today the ASSOCHAM President Mr. Rajkumar Dhoot submitted a memorandum suggesting measures to tackle issues like high […]
The Indian domestic IT market, including hardware, software and services, was worth $30.4 billion, according to the latest study by advisory firm Zinnov. In the enterprise sector, 53 per cent of the money spent was for hardware, followed by IT services (32%) and software (15%). The study, which focused on the Banking, Financial Services and […]
Asian Americans are the American minority most unimpressed with how they are portrayed in mainstream TV, according to a survey about 1,500 households in the United States. 27% of the Asian respondents felt the portrayal of their community in mainstream media was inaccurate, while only 22% felt it was accurate. The rest were neutral. Similarly, […]
Subash Chandra-owned Zee Groups’ DTH platform Dish TV has bowled a googly in the ongoing scamper for snapping up subscribers during the cable digitization wave. While the whole battle was seen as DTH operators fighting with cable operators to lure away the latter’s customers at the time of digitization, Dish TV has unveiled a new […]
