Reliance Retail to turn hypermarkets into wholesale stores

NEW DELHI: Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Retail is converting some of its big hypermarkets into wholesale cash-and-carry stores, in an apparent sign of modern retail's inability to effectively take on neighbourhood stores in India. The Reliance Mart hypermarket in Bhopal's Aashima Mall is currently under renovation and getting refitted to be reopened in February in a new avatar, as a cash-and-carry store. This 44,000-sq-ft hypermarket is among Reliance's big-box stores, including one in Ludhiana and another in Aurangabad,...

Read More

SMS to be accepted soon by govt departments as official document

NEW DELHI: People may soon be able to use SMS communication with government departments as a documentary proof while utilising citizen-services for making payments, registrations and various other schemes. The Centre today launched a platform with about 241 applications for the public after completing pilot project of mobile governance with about 100 departments and testing proof of concepts. The applications relate to services covering areas such as Right to Information (RTI), health, Aadhaar, education, directory...

Read More

From Rs 250 to Rs 2,700 crore, R K Sinha's SIS is the first Indian MNC in security

As one of the seven children born in a Patna-based family of limited means, I had a hard time growing up. So, in 1971, while pursuing a degree in political science, I picked a part-time job as a trainee reporter at a publication called Searchlight, in an attempt to supplement the family income. As part of my job, I had to cover the Indo-Pak conflict, and in the process, stayed with the Bihar Regiment at a border post. This is where I made friends with the army personnel, who helped breathe life into my entrepreneurial...

Read More

UN mission: The place where Devyani Khobragade has been shifted to

The Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade who was strip-searched after her arrest in New York City on visa charges has been transferred to India's mission to the United Nations, her lawyer and a former colleague said.Clt is unclear how such a move might affect Devyani Khobragade's immunity from prosecution. A UN spokesman, however, said the world body had not received the necessary transfer request for her as of Wednesday evening.ick through to take a look at the building...

Read More

Handcuffed and strip-searched, I broke down several times: Devyani Khobragade

NEW DELHI: US authorities subjected Devyani Khobragade to treatment reserved for hardened criminals. On Tuesday the government was spurred into action by an email she wrote to her IFS colleagues. She was not just handcuffed but subjected to strip-search, DNA swabbing and cavity searches, she wrote. On Tuesday, the IFS Officers' Association met to ramp up pressure on the government to consider further retaliatory action if Washington did not offer an unconditional apology. In her email, Khobragade implored the government...

Read More

Bigg Boss 7: Armaan Kohli arrested for 'assaulting' contestant Sofia Hayat

MUMBAI: Actor Armaan Kohli was arrested tonight for allegedly assaulting British-Pakistani actress Sofia Hayat during their stay at a Lonavala-based bungalow for the shooting of reality show 'Bigg Boss'. Kohli was picked up from the Bigg Boss house by Lonavala city police in connection with the complaint registered against him by Hayat, police said. On December 11, Hayat, who was recently evicted from 'Bigg Boss 7', had filed...

Read More

Consensus exists over Rahul Gandhi as Prime Ministerial candidate

NEW DELHI: Congress has "consensus" over the leadership of Rahul Gandhi as its Prime Ministerial candidate, a party spokesperson said today amid speculation that he may be anointed as the party nominee at the AICC meeting being held here on Jan 17. "Right now Congress party wishes that Rahul is projected as PM candidate....If this announcement is made, we all will be very happy. Right now there is a consensus in the party on his leadership....Today we feel people are looking at a face," party spokesperson Priya Dutt...

Read More

Suzanne Roshan finally speaks out about her split from Hrithik Roshan

Sussanne, Bollywood actor Hrithik Roshan's wife of 13 years, Saturday said their separation is based on their "individual choices". But, they will continue to care for each other and for their two sons. See More...

Read More

AAP to organise 'broom yatra' in Gujarat over corruption issue

AHMEDABAD: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) said that as part of its 2014 Lok Sabha election campaign, it will launch a "broom yatra" in Gujarat to "expose state government's corruption". "The broom yatra will be launched on January 26. During the yatra, we will expose the Gujarat government's corrupt practices. We aim to clean the political filth in the state," member of AAP national executive committee, Dinesh Vaghela said. The decision to organise the yatra was taken during AAP's two-day state executive meet, which ended...

Read More

1984 anti-Sikh riots: US court asks Sonia Gandhi to respond to lawsuit

NEW YORK: A US federal court here has given Congress President Sonia Gandhi time till January 2 to respond to charges of "shielding, protecting and rewarding" the perpetrators of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. The court's direction came after rights group Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) filed an amended class action complaint early this month against Gandhi, with specific instances of impunity and promotions for Congress leaders and police officials who were allegedly involved in attacks on the Sikh community in November 1984...

Read More

India Inc raised $1.93 billion from abroad in October: RBI data

MUMBAI: Indian companies raised $1.93 billion from overseas markets in October through external commercial borrowings and foreign currency convertible bonds, according to RBI data. In September, the domestic firms had raised $3.35 billion from abroad. As many as 52 Indian companies raised money from external sources in October, of which $719.52 million was raised through automatic route for which no approval is required from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) or the government. While, 12 firms raised a total of $1.21...

Read More

Losses on diesel sales climb to Rs 10.48 a litre

NEW DELHI: Losses on diesel sales have climbed to Rs 10.48 per litre after international oil rates inched up, the Oil Ministry said today. Under-recovery or revenue loss on diesel has risen to Rs 10.48 per litre from Rs 9.99 a litre in the first fortnight of December, an official statement said here. This followed marginal increase in gas oil rates in the international markets and rupee value falling from Rs 61.78 to a US dollar to Rs 62.13. Oil firms calculate the desired retail selling price of diesel on 1st and...

Read More

Datawind enters into low-cost smartphone segment Low-cost Aakash tablet maker Datawind made a foray into touch-screen smartphone segment with the launch of three handsets at a price starting from Rs 3,499, which are equipped with its patented mobile internet technology See Mo...

Read More

Krispy Kreme opens first doughnut retail outlet in Delhi

NEW DELHI: US doughnuts major Krispy Kreme on Saturday opened its first retail outlet in the national capital, taking the total number of outlets in the country to nine. Krispy Kreme entered the India market in January this year and has eight franchised stores in Bangalore. The 76-year-old multinational will sell its doughnutss in north India through franchisee Bedrock Foods Pvt Ltd. "To cater to vegetarian consumers in India, we will be selling eggless doughnuts," Krispy Kreme Doughnut Corp President (International)...

Read More

Tata Group to inject Rs 4,000 crore into Tata Teleservices

MUMBAI: The Tata Group is investing around Rs 4,000 crore in two tranches in its telecom arm Tata Teleservices, said four people aware of the matter, after banks said they could not renew loans for Tata Tele until the company's annual losses were funded. The investment is likely to be through a convertible loan instrument the exact terms of which are yet to be finalised. The group will invest Rs 2,500 crore now and Rs 1,500 crore in a few months, said one of the people. The investment isn't meant to fund spending...

Read More

Microsoft turns to Bollywood to spruce up Apps store

MUMBAI: Microsoft, beaten badly in the global mobile apps race by Apple and Google, is trying to cover some lost ground, at least in India. To make its mobile Apps store richer with local content, the American software giant is turning towards Bollywood. A game based on the upcoming action movie Dhoom 3 starring Aamir Khan and Abhishek Bachchan was downloaded nearly a million times on Microsoft's MS platform before it was launched on Apple's iOS and Google's Playstore. Another modelled on Rakesh Roshan's Krrish 3...

Read More

IOC tops Fortune India 500 list; RIL at second spot

NEW DELHI: State-run Indian Oil Corp has emerged as the country's biggest company in terms of annual revenue, followed by Mukesh Ambani-led private sector giant Reliance IndustriesBSE 0.57 % at the second place, as per an annual list of Fortune 500 companies in India. This year's list of the country's 500 largest corporations, compiled by the global business magazine Fortune's Indian edition, shows that there are as many as seven energy companies in the top 10 list. Indian Oil Corp ( IOCBSE -1.94 %) was the biggest...

Read More

Nokia offers government Rs 2,250 crore to save Microsoft deal

NEW DELHI: Finnish handset maker Nokia has offered to deposit the entire proceeds from the sale of its Chennai factory to Microsoft into an escrow account, pending the court order on its tax dispute with the government. The government has frozen the Chennai unit as a result of the tax issue and the lifting of the freeze will allow the company to transfer its India assets to Microsoft by the December 12 deadline. The Delhi High Court which had to hear the matter on Monday has now deferred it to Tuesday. As part of...

Read More

UK unveils Rs 100 million worth scholarship program for India

COIMBATORE: To attract more Indian students to the United Kingdom, the GREAT Britain Campaign (GREAT), today announced its "largest ever" scholarship programme for India worth almost one million Pounds (about Rs 100 million) for the coming academic year. Announcing the scheme, Andrew Soper, Counsellor (Prosperity), British High Commission, Delhi, told reporters here that there would be 370 scholarships for 260 Undergraduate and Post Graduate Course in England, Scotland Wales and Northern Ireland. The courses...

Read More

ET Awards 2012-13: How IIT-alumnus Sachin Bansal built Flipkart into a big online brand

\ Entrepreneur of the Year: Sachin Bansal, Flipkart The award seeks to recognise the ability of a business leader to enter the big league and take on the best in the world It has taken Sachin Bansal, 32, a mere six years to build Flipkart, the country's best-known online retail brand. In awarding him the Entrepreneur of The Year award, the jury recognised Bansal's acumen by saying he has "out-innovated everyone else" in...

Read More

Opportunities provided by Indo-US nuke deal yet to be tapped: Condoleezza Rice

NEW DELHI: The technological opportunities provided by the Indo-US civil nuclear deal are yet to be tapped, former US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice today said. "The Civil Nuclear Deal opened the way for extraordinary technological cooperation. I am not sure we could quickly make advantage of the opportunities of the technological cooperation it presented," she said. Rice, who had played a crucial role in the negotiations during the deal, was speaking at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit here during a seminar...

Read More

Foreign buying in markets crosses Rs 1 trillion mark for 2013

MUMBAI: Overseas investors were buyers of Rs 11.51 billion ($186.3 million) worth of Indian shares on Thursday, taking total inflows for the year to over Rs 1 trillion, regulatory and exchange data show. Shares rose on Friday to their highest close in more than a month, extending gains for a second consecutive session on hopes that state elections results on Sunday will show strong support for BJP ahead of general elections next year. Continued foreign investor buying has also supported shares. BJP is perceived by...

Read More

Enduring legacy of Nelson Mandela: A leader, and bright light of peace and justice

It is a mark of Nelson Mandela's stature that his death is being mourned — not the formal protocol that follows the passing of heads of state, but genuinely mourned, by leaders and masses alike -— across the world almost as a personal loss. And that is primarily because in a world where hopes of peace, reconciliation and brotherhood seem to lie in tatters, where dictators and oppressive regimes still trample over people's rights, and where violence and bitterness, rancour and hostility seem rife, he shone, graceful,...

Read More

How Flipkart's Sachin and Binny Bansal revolutionised e-commerce in India

In 2007, two twenty something IIT, Delhi graduates quit their cushy jobs at Amazon to turn entrepreneurs. The duo, Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal, weathered fierce parental opposition to start up on their own, first attempting to build an online shopping comparison engine, before turning their attention to ecommerce and Flipkart. In the months—and many sleepless nights they agonised over the decision—the unrelated Bansals discovered that they had to write and rewrite many rules of the game. Back in 2007, e-commerce ...

Read More