Growth is back on the agenda for IT outsourcing (ITO) providers, according to a survey by IT research and advisory firm Gartner, Inc. Sixty-two per cent of respondents identified growth as the top strategic goal this year, with aggressive marketing plans and investments in cloud, utility and `as a service` offerings, it said in a statement. "It is clear that providers are op
Within days of hiking mobile tariffs in some segments, Bharti airtel on Tuesday hinted that charges may go up "significantly" in the near future in view of rising operating costs. "... The pressure on this industry will be acute as the operators will have to serve the rural markets, as well as low-end customers, who use only voice calls and SMSes," Bharti Grou
Telecommunication service provider Vodafone Essar on Tuesday launched a new mobile phone targeted at young individuals who can instantly connect with online social networking site Facebook. The new phone -- Vodafone Blue allows users to share and connect with their friends anytime. The phone is designed specifically to bring an "outstanding and affordable integrated mobile F
A Yuva Sena delegation led by Aditya Thackeray, along with principals of colleges in Mumbai, met School education minister Rajendra Darda on Tuesday to oppose the system of online admissions. MLA and Yuva Sena spokesman Abhijit Adsul said issues like confusion among the student community, random and wrong allocation of colleges, low internet usage, slow servers have led to the co
IL&FS on Tuesday signed a pact with IGNOU for partnership in their education and skill programme in a variety of skilled areas. IL&FS Education is a set up to offer services in the education and technology solutions for learning resources development and capacity building. The agreement was signed for design and development of a land mark programme such as
In a bid to tackle rampant corruption in procurement of items, government on Tuesday announced it will bring a bill to deal with the issue even as the Group of Ministers set up to tackle corruption adopted a report which recommends means to make the procedure more transparent. The comprehensive public procurement law to clearly demarcate powers and responsibilities of various aut
A three day international workshop on “regulatory ramework for emerging telecom environment”, being jointly organised by telecom regulatory authority of India (TRAI) and Asia-Pacific Telecommunity (APT), began in the Capital on Tuesday. Inaugurating the workshop Kapil Sibal, the union minister of communications and information technology said that India is at the cus
Free SMS service on weather forecast started by Haryana Agricultural University (HAU) has gained popularity among farmers within six months of its launch with seven thousand peasants availing the facility, a senior university official said. This service is the first to be provided by any farm varsity and was launched in March under a scheme of the Agriculture Department of Haryan
Anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks today said it had published its full cache of more than 250,000 US diplomatic cables, which could be accessed through an Internet link without a password. "Release Cablegate2: 251,287 US embassy cables in searchable format," said a message on WikiLeaks` Twitter account. It was not immediately clear whether WikiLeaks released all the cables
IMImobile, an end-to-end enabler of Mobile Value Added Services on Monday announced the launch of a unique service, `My SMS` which breaks the language barrier, enabling users to receive SMS in their very own language. `My SMS` application from IMImobile will empower the users to access content in their local language, a challenge which has been faced by the whole telecom system f
Mumbai-based Indian industrial giant Mahindra and Mahindra plans to make acquisitions in Britain in and Europe to bolster its software and outsourcing business, a report has said. Anand Mahindra, the group`s managing director told `The Times` that the group was seeking acquisitions to strengthen Mahindra Satyam`s access to the European market. "IT acquisitions are certainly
Internet titan Google, which is on an acquisition spree, has bought digital coupons and incentives platform Zave Networks for an undisclosed amount. Zave Networks is Google`s 19th buyout this year so far. According to an estimate, Google has acquired over 100 firms in the last decade, starting with Deja, a company in the Usenet space that was later integrated with Google Groups.
An average Indian smartphone user spends about two-and-half hours a day on the handset, dedicating more time to entertainment and internet activities than to voice calls and text messages, says a survey. According to a Nielsen-Informate Mobile Intelligence survey, Indian smartphone user spends 72 per cent of the time on activities such as gaming, entertainment, applications (apps
Campus walls have now made way for the Facebook `Wall`. With campaign on full steam for the Delhi University student polls, campaigners are not only making sure they reach out to students on the campus but are also actively mobilising support through online social networks. While it pays to be active on virtual platforms like Facebook and Twitter where over 50 per cent of the Uni
Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit on Monday said her government was making "humble efforts" to implement the Right to Education (RTE) Act and taking steps to open new schools while stressing on the need to impart education through interactive classrooms. Presenting awards to 77 outstanding teachers on the ocassion of Teachers` Day, Dikshit said Delhi governmen
A Bill, seeking to provide for maintenance of a national database of academic awards in electronic formats, was tabled in the Lok Sabha on Monday by MoS in the Prime Minister`s Office V Narayanasamy. The National Academic Depository Bill, 2011, when passed will facilitate setting up of `National Academic Depository`. The database would facilitate online verification of academic a
In a major employee-friendly initiative, MCD on Monday announced that its employees can avail medical care from empannelled hospitals without paying a single penny. The civic body also announced that it will provide budget computers for students studying in MCD schools. This was announced by Mayor Rajni Abbi at a function to facilitate teachers on the occasion of Teachers` Day.
Telephone users will finally get relief from pesky calls and text messages from September 27. All those subscribers who have registered with the National Customer Preference Registry, earlier known as `Do Not Call Registry`, would get relief from all commercial communications, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) said. "...relevant clauses of regul
Making its presence felt at China`s biggest IT fare with a high-power delegation, India on Monday asked Beijing to deliver on its commitment to open up huge IT sector to Indian firms to bridge the yawning trade gap. Leading the Indian IT delegation, which included NASSCOM President Som Mittal and top officials of major IT companies, Indian Ambassador S Jaishankar said that it is
State Election Commissioner C R Chikkamath on Tuesday said the Commission plans to hold online urban local bodies elections in Karnataka in 2013 on a trial basis. "We have been inspired by Gujarat and Maharashtra to hold online urban local bodies elections," he said speaking at the MoU signing ceremony between Election Commission and Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship an
