A group of senior professionals, including software icon N R Narayana Murthy today formed a work group that would spearhead an initiative aimed at getting the IT industry to set higher benchmarks in professionalism and ethics. Besides Murthy, who is the chief mentor of Infosys, other members of the group are: Chief Technology Officer of Wipro I Vijaya Kumar, Vice-Chairman of Mind
As WikiLeaks began rolling out classified diplomatic cables ?running into more than 250,000 documents ? that brought to the fore for the first time some of the top secrets of the US, the whistleblower website christened this as "Cablegate". "Please use "cablegate" to discuss the pending US Embassy cables release," WikiLeaks said in its twitter post.
Union Minister of State for Finance, S S Palanimanickam, today expressed the hope that introduction of smart card system would help people in remote places in the district to save money. He was speaking at a function here in which the IOB bio-metric `Smart Cards` for people living in villages was launched and housing loans to the tune of rs 25 lakh to 125 beneficiaries were disbu
Taxpayers will now have to procure a `new number` for filing returns and making any communication with the Income Tax department. The unique Document identification number (DIN), on the lines of numbers like PAN and TAN, will be quoted on "every" income tax-related communication, including returns to be filed next year for the financial year 2010-11. Acco
The Haryana Government today said it has decided to raise the ceiling on personal computer or lap top loans admissible to its employees from existing Rs 30,000 to Rs 35,000. While stating this here today, a spokesperson of the Finance Department said that any government employee drawing revised pay in any pay band would be eligible for the loan. He said that the lo
Global IT service provider, Patni Computers, today said it would launch cloud computing as a separate service line in the first quarter of next fiscal. "We will launch cloud computing as a separate service line in the first quarter of next fiscal. It would be a key focus area for us," Chief Executive Officer of the company Jeya Kumar said. Meanwhile, havi
Boosted by higher demand, the fast-growing Indian animation and gaming industry is expected to be worth USD 2.5 billion (Rs 11,435 crore) in the next three years, says global consultancy Deloitte. According to estimates, the Indian animation and gaming market was valued at around USD 750 million (Rs 3,430.5 crore) in 2009. "This (Indian) industry is expected t
Even as the government contemplates the imposition of penalties worth over Rs 135 crore on old telcos that have not completed network roll-out in circles allotted to them, the Telecom Ministry is likely to issue showcause notices to new operators for similar lapses. Sources in-the-know said the Department of Telecom (DoT) may decide on a report by the Telecom Regulatory Authority
The petroleum & natural gas ministry has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with unique identification authority of India (UIDAI) to curb diversion of LPG cylinders in the country. Petroleum minister, Murli Deora said that the MoU will ensure distribution of LPG cylinders to the rightful persons based on certification of their identity through a handheld device havin
Entrepreneurs seeking to set up industries in the national capital will now be able to apply online for environmental clearance by Delhi Government. Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit launched an online system for environmental approval by Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC). Environment department officials said DPCC has become the first such state pollution contr
The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) is looking at the possibility of partnering with public sector banks to co-design Aadhaar enabled financial products, VS Bhaskar, deputy Director General of UIDAI said here. He said that they are currently weighing this option and may enter in to Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) with banks at an appropriate. &q
Himachal Pradesh is emerging as one of the pioneer states in the use of IT enabled services and providing agri-consultancy through AGRISNET, designed primarily to provide specialized information to suit the needs of farmers, Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal today said. In his inaugural address at the two-day regional conference on `Improving Public Service Delivery and Role of e-
The Income Tax department has struck an estimated Rs 50 crore deal with state-owned telecom company BSNL to provide 51,000 mobile connections and one thousand high-end Blackberry phones for secure and fast communication amongst its officers and staff. The department`s new telecom kitty, formulated to help I-T officials to enhance their speed of communication for official work, ha
A cyber security plan for the 2012 London Olympics is to be developed to help disrupt criminal activity on the internet and protect IT networks. Minister for security, Baroness Neville-Jones announced the plans at an Olympic security conference organised by the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) in London. The announcement follows a review of Olympic security p
A separate and full-fledged cyber crime investigation cell will soon be set up here, a top police official said today. Director General of Police Alok Kumar Verma said once recruitment of police personnel,now in progress, was completed a separate cyber crime wing would come into being here. The CID police were currently handling cyber crime cases particularly the c
India ushered in Mobile Number Portability that will allow cellphone users to switch operators without changing numbers, with Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal launching the service in Haryana. The rest of India would get to use MNP from January 20, next year. The consumer-friendly service was mooted over two years ago and was supposed to be implemented by the end of 20
The US has warned India and other key governments across the world about a new potentially embarrassing release of classified documents by the whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks which may harm the American interests and create tension in its ties with its "friends". "We have reached out to India to warn them about a possible release of documents," State Departm
Research firm The Nielsen Company is all set to carry out a survey to assess the effectiveness of online advertising campaigns on Facebook, which could help streamline marketers` efforts to reach their target audience through the social networking website. The survey will initially be undertaken on a pilot basis on behalf of social developmental or
Help is now a phone call away for Indian expatriate workers who face distress in the UAE, as a 24-hour toll-free multilingual helpline will provide them counseling in financial, legal and psychological matters - the first of its kind for migrants by any country in the world. The helpline is a toll-free telephone line 800 46342 which can be availed from anywhere in the United Arab
If things go according to plan, the CAT entrance examination may soon be held globally on the lines of GRE or GMAT. IIM-Lucknow director Devi Singh said the prospect is being looked into as lot of queries from countries like Sri Lanka and some East Asian nations have come in. "Some B-schools in France have already started accepting CAT scores," he told re
