A panel headed by UIDAI chairman Nandan Nilekani on Wednesday suggested two-phase strategy to use IT to improve the PDS network and provide direct subsidy to poor, besides checking pilferage in the process. The first phase of PDS revamp will deal with supply chain improvement, while the second will focus on direct transfer of subsidy, Nilekani said after submitting the report to
Punjab Information Technology Minister Adaish Pratap Singh Kairon on Wednesday said the state is ensuring delivery of transparent e-governance services not only at the district level but also at the block and village level. "In Punjab emphasis has been given to recognise the importance of e-governance for providing the citizen specific services at the district, block and vil
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy on Wednesday said that the state government was planning to reimburse the interest subsidy of the women members of Self Help Groups (SHGs) by an online facility, to avoid delay in payments. Reddy launched the second phase of the Rachabanda programme of the state government at Elamanchilli in the district. He also sa
Global internet giant Google on Wednesday launched a new initiative in the country under which it will offer free website hosting to 5 lakh small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the next three years, helping them create an online presence for business opportunities. "India is home to an estimated 80 lakh small medium businesses, but only about 4 lakh have an online presence
Internet giant Yahoo has reached a deal to acquire online advertising firm Interclick for around USD 270 million to expand its market share in the display advertising market. The New York-based Interclick, which was founded in 2006, designs tools that help the marketers target online customers. As per the agreement, Yahoo would commence an all-cash tender offer for
British Foreign Secretary William Hague issued a warning on Wednesday to countries which sponsor cyber attacks, at the close of a global cyberspace conference in London. He would not name and shame those responsible, saying the two-day talks were intended to be "constructive", but government advisor Pauline Neville-Jones said on Monday that Russia and China were "c
Japan`s parliament has come under cyber attack again, apparently from the same emails linked to a China-based server that have already hit several lawmakers` computers, an official said. Malicious emails were found on computers used in the upper chamber of the Japanese parliament, a government spokesman said. "The upper house office has confirmed that seven su
Rattled by the August riots in London and other English cities, Premier David Cameron wanted to shut down access to Twitter, Facebook and the Blackberry network that were allegedly being used to coordinate trouble. Cameron, however, was cautioned by Foreign Secretary William Hague not to do so, because such a blackout would be exploited by countries like China as evidence of Brit
Aakash, billed as the world`s cheapest tablet PC, has evinced a lot of interest among several world leaders and international organisations like UNESCO and World Bank, HRD Minister Kapil Sibal. "Several prime ministers and ministers have evinced interest in Aakash who want it for their country in thousands," he told reporters here without elaborating. He,
Country`s four leading telecom firms--Bharti, Vodafone, Idea and Tatas-- have joined hands to defend their 3G roaming pacts, saying the agreements are "legal and permissible". In a letter to Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal, the players said any adverse move could "negatively impact investor sentiment and do irreparable damage to India`s long standing as an investment
Calling for firm linkages between industry and academia to promote innovation in the country, Advisor to the Prime Minister Sam Pitroda on Wednesday said industrial clusters should pool funds and create dedicated teams to collaborate with universities on R&D initiatives. "I would very strongly recommend that in each major cluster, FICCI and other industry associations sh
Demand of mobile handsets in the country is expected to reach 350 million units per annum by 2020, says a study by industry body FICCI with market analyst firm Ernst and Young (E&Y). "India is the world`s second-largest telecom market after China, with the total wireless subscriber base crossing 850 million at the end of June, 2011. By 2020, the handset demand is project
Bharti Airtel on Tuesday moved telecom tribunal TDSAT seeking a directive to rival Tata Teleservices on payment of Rs 287 crore towards termination charges for SMSes. The Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) issued notice to TTSL and directed it to file its reply within two weeks. Meanwhile, the tribunal has also asked Bharti Airtel to file re
In a development that would bring mobile telephone tariffs further down, telecom regulator Trai has suggested doing away with termination charges in a phased manner over the next three years. Termination charges, a part of Interconnection Usage Charges, are a levy paid by one operator to another on whose network a call ends. Any change in it will have impact on mobile tariffs.
Former BJP president and local MP Rajnath Singh on Tuesday said Home Minister P Chidambaram could have prevented the 2G scam as he was the finance minister when the spectrum allocations were made. Talking to reporters here this evening, he also charged the Prime Minister Office with having full knowledge of the goings on in the telecom ministry and wondered how despite such impor
Under scrutiny for entering into illegal roaming agreement for 3G mobile services, lobby of GSM operators COAI on Tuesday said that any changes in it would deprive users of enjoying seamless high speed data services. In July this year, in an effort to reduce cost and offer pan-India 3G services, Vodafone, Bharti Airtel and Idea Cellular had entered into roaming agreement to serve
IT@School project, a state government sponsored initiative to popularise information and communications technology, has developed a teaching module and programme exclusively for differently-abled students. The course was developed using free software application GCompris and has a total of 119 activities in eight different sections, Project Executive Director K Anvar Sadath said
Dudu-Basantgarh of Udhampur district on Tuesday became the first sub-division in Jammu and Kashmir to have its own official website. "Minister for Revenue, Relief and Rehabilitation Raman Bhalla launched the first ever official website of a sub- division (Dudu-Basantgarh) in Jammu and Kashmir," Basantgarh sub-divisional magistrate Amit Sharma said. The we
Telecom services provider Telstra International on Tuesday said its Indian joint venture has got three telecom licences to offer national long distance, international long distance and Internet services, and expects to start operations by March 2012. "We got ILD, NLD and ISP licence in October. Now we are working on set-up infrastructure for rolling out services. We expect t
With the number of Internet and phone users in India increasing rapidly, online medium is set to play a bigger role in advertising, enabling marketers to reach out to a bigger number of target customers. According to McKinsey & Company, at present, around 100 million users have access to mobile Internet in India. "As we move to 350 million plus from this 1
