Passport officers from across the country will share experiences and be apprised of the latest policy decisions and developments at a two-day conference in the Capital from Tuesday scheduled to be inaugurated by External Affairs Minister S M Krishna. Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai will also address the conference which will review the implementation of the mission mode project t
State Bank of India on Monday launched mobile banking facility for providing services to villagers at their door-steps. A Krishna Kumar, SBI managing director, handed over the "Bank on Wheels" vehicle to Meghalaya Rural Development Society at the SBI Shillong Branch premises in Shillong. Kumar said the vehicle would cover unbanked areas and create financial literacy and
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange blasted the mainstream media, Washington, banks and the internet itself as he addressed journalists in Hong Kong on Monday via videolink from house arrest in England. Fresh from accepting a top award for journalism from the prestigious Walkley Foundation in his native Australia on Sunday, Assange spoke to the News World Summit in Hong Kong before
The Telecom ministry is likely to approach the Cabinet with a proposal to waive off spectrum charges of about Rs 1.20 lakh crore for the airwaves used by the Defence. According to sources, a draft Note has been prepared by the Department of Telecom (DoT), seeking Cabinet approval "for waiver of spectrum charges for usage by Defence in bands other than 2G/3G bands amounting t
The Telecom ministry will soon hold a meeting with leading service providers to resolve the contentious 3G roaming pact which has been declared as a violation of licence terms and conditions. "Consultation with Law (Ministry) is complete. We will hold a consultation with telecom players before taking any final decision," Telecom Secretary R Chandrashekhar told reporters
The Telecom Commission on Monday failed to take any decision on sector regulator TRAI`s recommendations on mergers and acquisitions and spectrum pricing and is likely to meet again on December 1. "The issues discussed today include M&A, spectrum pricing and priority of allocation of spectrum. No final decision has been taken and the TC will again meet on December 1 for h
The era of analog transmission in Indian cable television is on the way out with the government introducing a Bill in the Lok Sabha to make changes in the Cable TV Networks (Regulation) Act making digitisation mandatory. The Bill, piloted by Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Sonia, seeks to digitise the cable sector in the country by December 31, 2014. While the plan i
Iran has banned a popular computer game, "Battlefield 3", depicting US armour and aircraft launching an assault on Tehran, an Iranian IT magazine reported. "All computer stores are prohibited from selling this illegal game," an unnamed deputy with the security and intelligence division of Iran`s police said in a statement carried by the Asr-e Ertebat weekly.
Buyers of unit-linked products (ULIP) can now compare on their mobile phones schemes offered by different life insurance companies. The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) has introduced a mobile application that would enable people to compare insurance products and premium rates. "The application lets users of mobile phones/devices with internet connectivi
The Centre would soon unveil a policy that would allow access to data, barring those of sensitive nature, to registered users for scientific, economic and social developmental purposes. Thirumalachari Ramasami, Secretary in the Department of Science and Technology (DST), made this announcement at a conference on `Geospatial Technologies for Good Governance` organised by FICCI.
Ports regulator Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB) has initiated the process of upgrading International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code features at major ship handling ports here following an Intelligence Bureau (IB) advisory, a top GMB official said. Presently, around 11 GMB-administered ship handling ports, including private ones like Mundra, Pipavav, Hazira and Dahej, co
After service providers, telecom equipment makers have sought Prime Minister Manmohan Singh`s intervention to protect the domestic industry from European and Chinese imports, demanding a level playing field. "We are not asking anything out of context from the Prime Minister or which is outside the National Telecom Policies of 1994 or 1999 or the recommendations made in the d
Not satisfied with pace of enrolment for Adhaar number, Delhi government on Friday directed the agencies concerned to expedite the process. Revenue Minister A K Walia reviewed implementation of the scheme in the city and strictly told all agencies concerned to speed up the enrolment process. Officials said that out of total population of 1.67 crore, bio-metric details of 95 lakh
Facebook is facing a crackdown in Europe for harvesting its users` personal information and "selling" the same to advertisers, a media report said. The European Commission is planning to stop the way the popular social networking website "eavesdrops" on its users to gather information about their political opinions, sexuality, religious beliefs -- and even the
Internet on mobile phones and e-commerce are set to lead the trend in the IT sector, Google India MD Rajan Anandan said on Friday. Speaking at the 13th annual Confluence at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A), Anandan identified trends such as mobile internet, social networking, e-commerce and internet video as being the most important trends for any technology
No more penalties will be levied on telecom operators till reasonable procedure is evolved, Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal has said, a move that will give big relief to the industry. "I have passed an order that no fine will be imposed henceforth till such a time we evolve reasonable procedures for imposition of fine. If the government fines Rs 50 crore, then people will go to
A court in the United Arab Emirates on Sunday sentenced five democracy activists to prison terms of up to three years on charges including insulting the Gulf state`s leaders. The activists were accused of using the Internet to insult UAE leaders, call for a boycott of September`s Federal National Council elections and for anti-government demonstrations. Blogger Ahmed Mansoor was
As Internet penetration is increasing and e-commerce becoming more secure, the number of people transacting online is expected to touch 39 million by 2015, says a study. According to the study by financial services firm Avendus, this will also provide a further fillip to the Indian e-commerce market which is estimated to grow to USD 24 billion by 2015 from USD 6.3 billion now.
With rapid expansion of the e-commerce industry, there are thousands of new job openings in the sector, especially at the mid and higher levels, according to Elixir Consulting. "This trend of manpower movement to the e-commerce and online retail areas began in the early 2009, when most of the large global online retailers set up shops and gained a substantial consumer-base," t
State-run telecom operator Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has launched its online education service `Topper Education` in partnership with Greycell 18 for its landline broadband customers. Using this service, BSNL subscribers can access education resources from a comprehensive library of video lessons covering the entire curriculum, online tests with assessment tools and study material.
