"Saturday Special" RIM to target business customers, says CEO

Canada-based,Research In MotionLtd. (RIM), which isthe makerof popular BlackBerrry family of smartphones, has said that it will focus on business customers.

Apple has been able to surpass rival Canada-based, Research In Motion Ltd. (RIM) in its home market for the first time in the smartphone market. Apple has overtaken RIM with its iPhone smartphones in terms of total shipments. RIM said that it will loose most of its consumer market share and will focus on business segment.

RIM CEO Thorsten Heins is taking aggressive steps to turn around the company. It will now return to its traditional strength area, the business market, where several users prefer the company due to safety.

Heins also said that the company has seen only limited success in the consumer market. BlackBerry has not really fallen from the top spot in so much as other smartphones have grown faster. iPhone smartphone, which is facing stiff competition from various Android as well as other devices globally, is emerging as the most preferred smartphone among users.

As part of the turnaround, David Yach, chief technology officer for software, and Jim Rowan, chief operating officer for global operations are set to leave the company. RIM said former co-CEO Jim Balsillie recently resigned from the board.

Source:topnews.in

"New 24" Petroleum ministry signs contracts for 16 oil and gas blocks

The union Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry has signed Production Sharing Contracts (PSC) with 16 oil and gas blocks that were awarded under the IX round of New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP).

State-run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has emerged as the biggest winner with six blocks. The government rejected a total of eight bids from the company due ot various reasons, including five for deep-sea blocks.

The government was offering 34 blocks including eight deepwater blocks, seven shallow water blocks, 11 on-land blocks, and eight Type-S on-land blocks under the NELP-IX. The government had received bids for 33 blocks on close of auction on March 28.

U. S.-based Deep Industries' Deep Energy won three onshore areas and Sankalp Oil and Natural Resources won three areas each. Focus Energy, Pratibha Oil and Natural Gas and Pan India Consultants won on-land block each in the auctions.

"There are some reservations regarding profit-sharing mechanism. Investment Multiple principle also creates its own sets of problems... In future this formula can be fine tuned," oil minister Jaipal Reddy said.

He said that the government signed 13 contracts with energy firms for blocks awarded under the ninth round of new exploration licensing policy.

Source:topnews.in

"News 24" Hu arrives in India, to meet Manmohan

Chinese President Hu Jintao arrived in New Delhi on Wednesday on a two-day visit to participate in the BRICS summit and to hold wide-ranging bilateral talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

The Chinese president is accompanied by a high-profile delegation comprising Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, State Councillor Dai Bingguo, senior ministers and business leaders.

Hu will meet Russian President Dmitry Medvedev Wednesday before participating in the BRICS summit next day.

Hu, along with the presidents of Russia, Brazil and South Africa, will attend a banquet hosted by President Pratibha Patil in the evening.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will hold bilaterals Thursday afternoon with the Chinese president that will cover various issues including bridging the trade deficit and fasttracking the new confidence-building measures.

The two leaders are expected to declare 2012 as the year of India-China friendship and unveil initiatives to bolster cultural exchanges and people-to-people contacts.

India is expected is to raise the issue of huge imbalance in bilateral trade which has exceeded $70 billion, with the surplus heavily in China's favour.

Hu will speak at the plenary session of the 4th BRICS summit Thursday where he is expected to highlight China's position on global governance, sustainable development and ways to ramp up intra-BRICS trade and investment.

This will be the last visit to India by Hu as China goes in for a leadership succession later this year. He last came to India in 2006.

Hu Jintao's visit to India for the BRICS summit was greeted with protest banners and shuttered Tibetan shops.

Most shops in the town's suburb McLeodganj -- also known as 'Little Lhasa' -- downed their shutters as the community expressed its opposition to China's rule over Tibet.

The streets have been lined with banners and posters with photographs of those who have self-immolated themselves in Tibet.

A prayer session was held close to the official palace of the Dalai Lama.

India is home to around 100,000 Tibetans.

Source: IANS

TDC signs IT deal with TCS

Danish telecoms operator TDC said it had entered a deal with Indian group Tata Consultancy Services to replace U.S. company CSC as its IT services provider.

TDC will begin its IT cooperation with Tata next week, chief operating officer Carsten Dilling told a news conference.

The contract will run for four years with a two-year extension option.

While Dilling did not offer an exact value of the deal, he said he would not reject a suggestion it was worth 2-3 billion Danish crowns.

Source:moneycontrol

"News 24" TRAI rules against telcos over fees

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) plans to recommend that carriers be denied a refund of their licence fees if they lose or surrender permits, in a further blow to companies whose licences are set to be revoked after a court order.

The Supreme Court has ordered the withdrawal of 122 zonal telecoms licences awarded to eight carriers in a scandal-tainted 2008 sale. It has asked the government to reoffer the licences and radio spectrum via an open auction.

Norway's state-backed Telenor is one of the eight carriers affected, but market leaders such as Bharti Airtel and UK-based Vodafone are poised to benefit from that ruling.

Under current rules, one-time entry fees paid by operators when winning licences are "non-refundable". Some of the affected operators had suggested fees be refunded, or that they be offset against any payment due as a result of the upcoming auction.

In draft proposals released on Monday, the TRAI said it plans to recommend to the government that the entry fee remains non-refundable.

The government last year asked the regulator to give its proposals on an "exit policy" for carriers that want to quit operations.

The regulator said on Monday it would recommend to the government there was no need for a separate "exit policy" and to continue with rules that allow a telecom licensee to surrender licences by giving notice of at least 60 days.

The regulator's recommendations are not binding on the government.

Source:moneycontrol

"Sunday Special"Government approves allotment of 16 oil and gas exploration blocks

India's union cabinet has given its approval to the awarding of 16 oil and gas blocks, according to a new statement issued by the government.

 The number of oil and gas blocks for which the allocation has been approved is half of the blocks offered under its ninth exploration-licensing round. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs The government has received 33 out of 34 blocks that were put under an auction in March 2011.

 According to the release, 8 of the blocks are deepwater, 7 are shallow water and 19 are located onshore. The government did not announce names of successful companies. The CCEA had received recommendations of the Empowered Committee of Secretaries (ECS) saying the cabinet committee should approve awarding of 16 blocks to the first ranked or single bidder.


 The cabinet did not given its approval to the allotment of 14 blocks due to lower profit petroleum to the government under the Ninth Round of the New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP). The statement did not specify information for the remaining three blocks for which the bids were received by the government. It also announced the cancellation of award to local firms of two blocks that were offered in the eight round.
Source:topnews.in

"Saturday Special"World Bank offers $500 million loan for education in India

The World Bank has offered $500 million interest-free credit to India for improving the standards of secondary education, an official statement said Friday.

 The World Bank Thursday approved the credit that will help the Indian government's efforts to make good quality education "available, accessible and affordable to all young persons at the secondary level (grades 9 and 10)."

 The project will support all activities as envisioned in the $12.9 billion Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) programme, a flagship government of India programme for gradual universalisation of secondary education, the World Bank said in a statement.

 "This World Bank project will support the objectives and activities of RMSA.
 It will facilitate a whole set of mechanisms built around identifying what is needed to improve the quality of secondary education," said Venu Rajamony, joint secretary, economic affairs in India's finance ministry.

 The project will be financed by a credit from the International Development Association (IDA) -- the World Bank's concessionary lending arm - which provides interest-free loans with 25 years to maturity and a grace period of five years.

 The money will be used for setting up libraries, computer laboratories, upgrading primary schools in to secondary schools and providing training to teachers. In addition, expansion, repair and renovation will take place in some 60,000 existing government secondary schools; some 44,000 upper primary schools will be upgraded into secondary schools; and about 11,000 new secondary and senior secondary schools will come up mainly in underserved areas.

 Efforts will also be made to strengthen the role of local bodies in school management, which can, over time, lead to greater accountability and improved outcomes, the World Bank said. "RMSA is a young programme which is expected to grow rapidly and hence it is an opportunity for the World Bank to support the government of India in building effective systems as the programme expands while improving quality," said Roberto Zagha, World Bank country director for India.

 Zagha pointed out that a major concern in India these days was the issue of quality education. "Mere improvement in access, if it is of differential quality, may not be conducive for inclusive growth. Recent international research confirms that improved quality - measured by cognitive skills - is important in determining future income and contribution to economic growth," he said.

 "Hence the country needs all their young people to get good quality secondary education," Zagha added. The World Bank's funded project is designed to meet critical needs in secondary education.

 "First, to make sure that secondary education expands in such a way that quality and equity are enhanced at the same time; second, to develop and evaluate innovative approaches to secondary education; and, third, to leverage World Bank resources to help the government address systemic issues in the sector."
Source:Times of India