Friday 31 March 2017

Aadhaar can be hacked, data leaked, Modi government finally admits

A letter written by the government confirms the data has been leaked online

 1484828546-3705

How safe are your biometric data? With Aadhaar, you have given your fingerprints and iris scans to the government. This clearly gives an individual a 'unique' identity. But what if the details of your Aadhaar get leaked? In the recent past, there have been several cases of UID data being compromised with. While the government has constantly denied any possibility of a compromise, The New Indian Express published on Friday a report on how the NDA government has acknowledged that personal identity of individuals, including Aadhaar number and other sensitive information, has been leaked to the public domain.

A letter written by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, which the Express claims to have accessed, confirms that data, which the government has been cautiously guarding, has been leaked online. “There have been instances wherein personal identity or information of residents, including Aadhaar number and demographic information and other sensitive personal data such as bank account details etc. collected by various Ministries/Departments... has been reportedly published online and is accessible through an easy online search,” Archana Dureja, a scientist in the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, wrote on March 25.

1490945804-5386 Jaitley maintained that the only way to prevent hacking is to strengthen the firewalls. “Technology always is a learning experience,” he added.
 
On March 5 the Ministry of Electronics and IT issued a statement assuring that personal data of individuals held by UIDAI is fully safe and secure.
 
With over a billion Indians possessing an card in 2017, data theft issue can turn into a mammoth crisis for Modi government that has been aggressively pushing for its adoption across services and platforms and for the citizens who have linked their bank accounts and other sensitive information with it......(READ MORE)
 
 

Samsung Galaxy S8 & S8+ first look: Top features and how they compare

The Samsung Galaxy S8 has a 5.8-inch screen, whereas the Galaxy S8+ features 6.2-inch screen

1490863383-731
After hitting the rumour mill time and again, Samsung has finally taken the wraps off the much awaited Samsung Galaxy S8 and Samsung Galaxy S8+ smartphones.
The eighth iteration in the line of ‘Galaxy S’ series, which the Samsung Galaxy S8 and Samsung Galaxy S8+ devices have been the most discussed in the tech community. There had been huge expectations from these devices in terms of the utility they offer and the innovation factor that Samsung brings in to its flagship devices year after year.
The recent Samsung Galaxy Note 7 fiasco was another reason why the world was looking forward to the launch of the Samsung Galaxy S8 and Samsung Galaxy S8+ smartphones.
The expectations were high and that can easily be judged just by looking at the rumours that were there before the launch of the new devices. So, how do Samsung Galaxy S8 and Samsung Galaxy S8+ smartphones fare against expectations. Let’s take a look.
Display
The Samsung Galaxy S8 and Samsung Galaxy S8+ devices are built on the same bezel-less curved edge design that Samsung introduced with Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge. However, the new smartphones take the definition of curved screen to another level by covering it under the Gorilla Glass 5 protection...
View image on Twitter
Follow
Samsung Mobile
 
@SamsungMobile
Infinity Display means more screen for a more immersive viewing experience. #UnboxYourPhone http://spr.ly/GalaxyS8 
  • 781781 Retweets
     
  • 1,2141,214 likes
The devices support HDR10, which was there in Samsung Note 7, too, without Dolby Vision. Also, the display on the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ are the first to feature Ultra Dynamic Range (UDR).
Camera
On the camera front, the Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ don't see any major upgrade in terms of sensor. The two smartphones feature at the rear the same 12-megapixel Dual Pixel sensor that was there in the Samsung Galaxy S7 but with improved algorithms and software processing. On the front, there is an 8 MP camera that supports autofocus.
Hardware
The Samsung Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ will come with two different chipset options – Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 and Exynos 8895 – but, as per the company claims, the performance would remain identical irrespective of the chipset...(read more)

Thursday 30 March 2017

Ban on BS-III vehicles: Expect heavy discounts on cars, 2-wheeler inventory

Of this, 96,000 are commercial vehicles, 600,000 two-wheelers and 40,000 three-wheelers

1490820452-7659.jpg
Expect heavy discounts at automotive dealerships, especially two-wheeler sales outlets, over the next two days. As the clock ticks towards the deadline of a ban on the sale of BS-III vehicles after March 31, automotive dealers across the country are expected to make a last-ditch effort to sell their inventory.

As of now, dealerships are sitting on a total inventory of 824,000 vehicles that are BS-III compliant. Of this, 96,000 are commercial vehicles, 600,000 two-wheelers and 40,000 three-wheelers. A judgement from the Supreme Court on Wednesday banned registration and sale of BS-III vehicles from April 1, thus rendering an inventory, estimated to be worth Rs 12,000 crore, practically worthless.

Around 20,000 automotive dealers across the country are thus staring at an uncertain future. John Paul, president, The Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA), said it had come as quite a blow for dealers. “In small towns, this might mean the end of business for many dealers and sub dealers, especially of commercial vehicles,” he said, adding that the association was waiting for the copy of the order to understand the fine print.
 

Wednesday 29 March 2017

BS-III deals a blow to automakers sitting on inventory worth Rs 7,000 cr

Second body blow after diesel ban on engines of 2,000 cc and above in NCR

 1468846476-0689

The decision leaves automobile makers, primarily Tata Motors, Ashok Leyland and Hero, saddled with a large inventory of BS-III vehicles estimated to be worth Rs 6,000-7,000 crore at the end of the month. Companies were seeking time beyond April 1 to dispose of the existing stock. They now will have to offer steep discounts, ship products to BS-III export markets or invest to upgrade their products to BS-IV. 

This is the second major blow for the industry from the apex court in the past 15 months. In December 2015, the court had imposed a ban on sales of diesel vehicles with an engine of 2,000 cc and above in the National Capital Region. The ban, which primarily impacted Toyota and Mercedes, was lifted in August last year. Wednesday’s order also impacts others like SML Isuzu, VECV and Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India.

Wednesday’s order was passed by a division Bench consisting of Justice Madan Lokur and Justice Deepak Gupta after a hearing over several days. 

At the end of the month, companies, along with their dealers, might be left with an unsold inventory of 500,000-600,000 BS-III vehicles, mostly two-wheelers and commercial vehicles. The government, which had brought out the notification on BS-IV, had told the court that sales could continue after March 31. The notification had stated that manufacturers should comply with BS-IV norms from April 1, 2017, but was silent on the fate of vehicles manufactured before March 31 as far as sales and registration were concerned.

1490816174-9174
Bajaj may be left with a small number of BS-III two-wheelers at the end of this month. S Ravikumar, president (business development) at the company, told Business Standard that one of the options before the firm was to take back the unsold stocks from dealers and divert them to export markets. “We are the largest exporter of two-wheelers. So, that should not be an issue.” 

However, export is not a simple option for every company. Manufacturers will need to suitably modify the vehicles to meet the local regulatory requirements in export markets. Over the next three days, dealers are expected to dole out heavy discounts to clear as much inventory as possible.| read more...

Monday 27 March 2017

R-Jio Prime membership discounts, additional data up to 120 GB: Here's how

The subscribers can take the Prime membership, which is available for Rs 99, before 31 March, 2017

 1490610754-2852

#LATEST | Mukesh Ambani-backed Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited has been offering free voice calls, SMS, app services and high-speed 4G data to its subscribers since its launch last year. Now that the free services are in its last leg and will expire on 31 March, 2017, the company is offering several perks to retain as many subscribers as possible.

Anyone familiar with the development on this front may know that Reliance Jio has been offering the Prime membership plan aka “Unlimited maza continue hoyenga” offer to Jio subscribers. The subscribers can take the Prime membership, which is available for Rs 99, before 31 March, 2017. The Prime membership fee is a one-time charge that qualifies subscribers to take Reliance Jio services benefit post 31 March, 2017 at affordable price tag.

1490257175-5122

The subscribers can make multiple recharges and thus is eligible to get 120 GB of additional data (10 GB X 12 months = 120 GB additional data) along with the entitled benefit of the recharges.

The user can also avail Reliance Jio Prime membership for free. Here is how to get the cashback which covers the Reliance Jio Prime membership fee

Step 1: Recharge your Reliance Jio connection using Jio money app with Rs 99 for Prime Membership; On successful recharge, the user gets Rs 50 cash back

Step 2: Make another recharge using Jio money app of Rs 303/Rs499 and above that will get you an add-on worth Rs 201/Rs 301 for free, which is equal to additional 5GB/10GB of 4G data; On successful recharge the user gets Rs 50 cash back

With both the cash-back the user saves Rs 100

Filing I-T returns: Single-page form for income up to Rs 50 lakh

Only for salaried; Jaitley's earlier promise was for annual income up to Rs 5 lakh

 1490554381-9184.jpg

#LATEST | To encourage more individuals to file returns and widen the tax net, the government is set to introduce a single-page income tax (I-T) return form from April 1.

This will be for those with annual salaried income up to Rs 50 lakh, much higher than Rs 5-lakh limit proposed in the Union Budget, Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia told Business Standard.

He added this would only be for those with salaried and one house rent income.

There are 290 million PAN card holders (the I-T dept identification) but only 60 mn return filers.

Currently, the I-T form is three pages. It was simplified two years ago, when a controversial provision for mandatory disclosure of foreign trips and dormant bank accounts was removed.

“To expand the tax net, I also plan to have a simple one-page form to be filed as I-T Return for the category of individuals having taxable income up to Rs 5 lakh, other than business income,” Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had announced in the 2017-18 Budget.

Of the 7.6 million individual assessees who declare annual income above Rs 5 lakh, 5.6 mn are in the salaried class.

For those with annual income of over Rs 50 lakh and up to Rs 1 crore, a surcharge of 10 per cent will be imposed; 15 per cent for those over Rs 1 crore. The surcharge is estimated to generate additional revenue of Rs 2,500 crore.

Taxing Matters
  • 10% surcharge for those with income above Rs 50 lakh and up to Rs 1 crore
  • 15% surcharge for those with income above Rs 1 crore
  • Rs 2,500 crore additional revenue from the surcharge
  • Rs 10,000 fine for those who do not file their Income Tax Returns (ITRs) on time, from 2018-19 assessment year| (READ MORE)

Sunday 26 March 2017

UP meat sellers on strike against Yogi's crackdown, restaurants to be hit

Operations have been disrupted completely for the past few days because of an atmosphere of fear

slaughterhouse-1
Meat sellers across Uttar Pradesh (UP) launched an indefinite strike from Monday against the Adityanath government's crackdown on illegal and mechanised slaughterhouses.
"We have decided to intensify our strike from tomorrow. All shops will remain closed. Fish sellers too have joined us and are extending support to us," Lucknow Bakra Gosht Vypar Mandal office bearer Mubeen Qureshi had said on Sunday.
He said, in the wake of the crackdown, there was no question of the strike being called off anytime soon. "It will go on indefinitely," he added.
Industry fears being butchered
Several butcher shops and slaughterhouses across the state have complained that they are being targeted under the new dispensation. “Authorities are even closing down chicken shops,” a shop owner in Noida told NDTV. Another said even legal abattoirs were asked to hang curtains in front of their stores, while others alleged that the new administration was not willing to issue fresh licenses or renew the old ones.
As reported earlier, operations have been disrupted completely for the past few days because of an atmosphere of fear across the supply chain, since the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) formed the government in the state after winning a historic mandate, with Yogi Adityanath as chief minister. One of the party’s election promises was shutting down illegal slaughterhouses.
So far, allegedly illegal meat shops have been shut down in Lucknow, Varanasi and Ghaziabad. Last week, three meat shops owned by Muslims were burned down in Hathras.
Eateries hit
Due to the strike, non-vegetarian food outlets, including the famous Tunday and Rahim's have shifted to mutton and chicken dishes after buffalo meat became scarce.
As the mouth-watering kebabs went off the platter, the owner of another famous eatery said the situation might force hoteliers to get mutton from Delhi. "But there will be no compromise on the quality of the food," he said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
At the same time, he supported the closure of illegal and mechanised slaughter houses in the state, saying it was difficult for a common man to pass through a locality where the slaughter houses were operating almost openly. He also alleged that the illegal abattoirs even indulged in slaughtering dogs.
Replying to a question, he said, "This is not a religious issue. In fact, it is directly linked to the health of people, who have the right to good quality of meat and fish."


Thursday 23 March 2017

Not just Air India: Airline association bans unapologetic Sena MP Gaikwad

Air India lodged a complaint with the police against the MP for 'assaulting' its duty manage

 ravindra-gaikwad-shiv-sena-mp_650x400_61490262965

An association of airlines has today decided that Ravindra Gaikwad, a Shiv Sena MP who assaulted a staff member of Air India, will not be allowed on flights, say sources, according to a report published by NDTV.

Air India has already blacklisted the MP. Tho move has been also supported by budget carrier IndiGo which said it will support any move which bars unruly passengers from flying, a day after Air India said it was mulling preparing a no-fly list.

"We will support a no-fly list," IndiGo President and Whole Time Director Aditya Ghosh told PTI.

Ravindra Gaikwad was flying on an Air India flight from Pune to Delhi and hit airline's duty manager Shivkumar with his slippers several times when the latter urged him to deplane at the Indira Gandhi airport.|  Watch: You can watch the video here

Gaikwad, carrying a business class ticket, insisted on taking the airline's early morning flight AI-852 from Pune to Delhi, which is an all-economy class. This led to an argument with the airline employees in Pune and an assault on the manager by the MP when the aircraft landed in Delhi.

"I dare the Delhi police to arrest me...I will not apologize, he (Air India manager) must come to me and apologize," Gaikwad told reporters on Friday, claiming that "a 60-year-old man must know how to behave" and suggesting that his party will stand by him. 

Air India lodged a complaint with the police against the Shiv Sena MP for "assaulting" its duty manager at Delhi airport, an airline spokesperson said (read full story)

Govt mull steps to check unruly passengers as Sena MP assaults AI staffer

The MP turned violent, broke the duty manager's spectacles, tore his shirt and hit him with slippers

1489174268-8497

The government is working on an institutional mechanism to check "undesirable flight behaviour" while Air India is mulling preparing a no-fly list for unruly passengers.
This follows an incident at the IGI airport n which a Shiv Sena MP allegedly assaulted a 60-year-old airline staffer.
Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju said such regrettable incidents should never happen again.
"We are also working on creating institutional mechanisms to check undesirable flight behaviour or unruly passengers," Raju said in a series of tweets.
Following the incident, the national carrier is also looking to have a no-fly list.
"Air India is examining creation of no-fly list of unruly passengers on the lines of other carriers," a senior airline official said.
Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad, who was flying on an Air India flight from Pune to Delhi, hit the airline's duty manager Sukumar with his slipper several times when the latter urged him to deplane after the lawmaker refused to do so once the plane landed at the Delhi airport.
"The MP turned violent, broke the duty manager's spectacles, tore his shirt and hit him with slippers several times," an airline source said.
Gaikwad, carrying a business class ticket, insisted on taking the airline's early morning flight AI-852 from Pune to Delhi, which is an all-economy class. This led to an argument with the airline employees in Pune and an assault on the manager by the MP when the aircraft landed in Delhi.
In recent times, there have been reported incidents of unruly behaviour by the fliers onboard various airlines.(Click here..)


Jio Prime membership: Cashbacks, other offers & discounts: Know everything

Reliance Jio has been offering incentives and schemes to retain its subscriber base in India

 1490256946-1917

Mukesh Ambani-backed Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited has been offering free voice calls, SMS, app services and high-speed 4G data to its subscribers since its launch last year. And, now that the Reliance Jio ‘Happy New Year’ offer is coming to an end on 31 March, 2017, the company is offering perks to secure as many subscribers as possible by offering membership plans and other benefits under which the subscribers can retain their Reliance Jio connection and continue to access and enjoy its services at an affordable price tag.
1490257175-5122

To continue taking the Reliance Jio benefits post 31 March, the subscribers need to recharge the Reliance Jio connection with Rs 99. This recharge enrolls the subscriber to Reliance Jio Prime membership aka “unlimited maza continue hoyenga” plan. Post recharging with Rs 99 Prime membership plan, the subscriber needs to do the monthly recharge as well but will get the Prime membership benefits.

jioo

Here is how to get Reliance Jio Prime membership for free

Step 1: Recharge your Reliance Jio connection with Rs 99 for Prime Membership; On successful recharge, the user gets Rs 50 cash back

Step 2: Make another recharge of Rs 303 that will get you an add-on worth Rs 201 for free .(READ MORE)





Wednesday 22 March 2017

Adityanath as UP CM: Uttam Pradesh or Yogi Pradesh?

Adityanath follows a strict work ethic but he'll be challenged by UP's dismal state-of-affairs

 1490203645-5855

If the overwhelming mandate for the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) in Uttar Pradesh surprised many, the party’s choice of Chief Minister – Yogi Adityanath – shocked rival parties, media and some say, even many leaders within the party.

But many locals aren’t too surprised. They believe that Adityanath (named Ajay Singh Bisht by family) is the right person for the job because of his strong work ethic, lifestyle and of course, his credentials as a hindu hardliner.

His 12-by-12 room in the Gorakhnath temple just has one bed and a table. From personally feeding gud (jiggery) to almost 400 cows a day to holding a meeting with locals in the area every morning, Yogi Adityanath or baba, as he is popularly called in the area, has given personal attention to the area.

Baba’s followers believe that he can do no wrong. And even if he does it, it is for the larger good. For example, his daily meetings are held without any bias towards the rich or poor or if one goes by locals, any religion either. People waiting to meet the baba are fed lassi. There is just one condition: don’t lie to the baba. The offender is punished by allowing someone else to cultivate his land for months or could be harsher.

In these meetings, doles are given out for marriages, children’s education, disputes are resolved and so on. The best part: the meeting don’t end till the last person is heard. A local says that half of the disputes get resolved once one party says that he/she is going to baba for resolution.| READ MORE....


Prepare action plan against illegal abattoirs: Yogi to officials

He today ordered blanket ban on smuggling of cows

 1490178510-0009
Uttar Pradesh chief minister Adityanath Yogi has directed officials to prepare an action plan for closing down illegal abattoirs across the state even as he warned against laxity on the issue.

In the UP Vision Document, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in run up to the recently concluded 2017 state poll, had promised shutting down illegal and mechanised abattoirs in the state after coming to power.

While there are about 45 licensed mechanised slaughterhouses in UP operating in the private sector, the number of illegal abattoirs is estimated in several hundreds. The government has already rolled out the process of identifying units flouting norms or operating without valid licences.

Holding a review meeting with top administrative and police officials here today, Yogi also stressed upon blanket ban on cow slaughter in the state.

Besides, he asked officials to identify anti-social elements active in different pockets of the state and to take strict penal action against them.| READ MORE....


Adityanath orders closure of slaughter houses in UP, bans cow smuggling

Official sources did not specify the type of slaughterhouses which will be shut

 1489930798-1037.jpg

In keeping with the BJP's manifesto, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday directed police officials to prepare an action plan for closure of slaughter houses across the state.

He also ordered a blanket ban on smuggling of cows and said zero tolerance would be exercised in this regard.

Official sources did not specify the type of slaughterhouses which will be shut.

However, the BJP manifesto had said that all the illegal slaughter houses would be closed and there would be a blanket ban on all the mechanised slaughterhouses.| READ MORE..

Tuesday 21 March 2017

How did D-Mart shares double on day one?

Answer lies in pre-open call auction, which is a 45-minute window for price discovery

 1490126218-8585

Shares of Avenue Supermarts, which operates successful retail chain D-Mart, doubled during their stock market debut on Tuesday. 

While, DMart is not the first company whose stock has doubled on listing day—there have been at least eight other companies— but it is the first since market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) introduced listing day circuit filters. 

To curb listing day volatility, Sebi in 2012 introduced circuit filters and the so-called pre-open call auction for IPO stocks. Depending on the size of the Initial Public Offer (IPO), stocks were allowed to move in a trading band of either 10 per cent or 20 per cent on their listing day.

1489073120-8576Then how did Dmart shares double? The answer lies in pre-open call auction, which is a 45-minute window for price discovery before the actual trading begins. During this pre-open sessions, buyers and sellers key in the price at which they want to buy or sell a stock. The prices are then collated and price at which most bids are received becomes the “equilibrium price”. The circuit filters apply on the equilibrium price. 

In case of DMart, the equilibrium price was Rs 604, 102 per cent higher than the issue price of Rs 299. The 20 per cent circuit filter in case of DMart was on the discovered price. Therefore, trading would have halted in the counter if the stock would have gone to either Rs 725 or Rs 483.| READ MORE 








Why no category for those who couldn't exchange notes by Dec 30, asks SC

Of Rs 15.4 lakh cr worth of currency that was banned, Rs 14 lakh cr has been deposited or exchanged

1487954183-5505.jpg
 
LATEST| The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the Centre why it chose not to create a separate category for those who couldn't deposit demonetised notes by December 30, 2016 unlike the NRIs and people who were abroad.

A bench headed by Chief Justice J S Khehar said that the Prime Minister, in his November 8 address, had said that those with valid reasons could deposit the demonetised currency even after December 30, 2016, till March 31, 2017.

"Prime Minister in his address had said that people with genuine difficulties can deposit the demonetised currency even after December 30, 2016, till March 31, 2017 with the RBI branches.Give us the reasons why despite having powers under the law, you did not create a category for those people who couldn't deposit the demonetised notes before December 30, 2016" the bench said.

The apex court bench also comprising Justices D Y Chandrachud and S K Kaul said that the PM's address had given hope that those in difficulty would get a chance, till March 31, 2017, after giving valid reasons.

It also said that the government should file an affidavit by April 11 explaining the reason why the window was not created for the people having difficulty and the chance was only given to NRIs and the citizens who travelled abroad.

The SC also asked the Centre whether it intends to give a chance to those category of..... |Read More

Rabble rouser Yogi Adityanath as UP CM: What happens to cases against him?

The BJP leader and his Hindu Yuva Vahini face multiple cases for creating communal tension in state

 Swearing-in of UP Chief Minister

Eighteen years ago, on February 10, 1999, Bharatiya Janata Party MP Yogi Adityanath and his armed supporters tried to capture a graveyard in Muslim-dominated Panchrukhiya village in Maharajganj district of Uttar Pradesh. But the police acted swiftly, and they had to flee.

On the way, however, they fired at a group of Samajwadi Party workers who had gathered on the main road close to the village for a routine demonstration against the then BJP government in the state. In the attack, at least four persons were injured. One of them, Head Constable Satyaprakash Yadav, who was the personal security guard of the Samajwadi Party leader leading the demonstration, Talat Aziz, later succumbed to bullet injuries.

A first information report filed by the police that same evening at the Kotwali thana in Maharajganj turned out to be the first in a series of such legal entries triggered by incidents involving Adityanath, directly or indirectly, in the years that followed. Many of these FIRs against Adityanath, now the chief minister of the recently formed BJP government in Uttar Pradesh, are still being investigated by the Crime Branch-Crime Investigation Department, the investigation and intelligence wing of the state police.

Riot record

For some time after he was named in the FIR, the Gorakhpur MP lay low. But once he formed his personal anti-minority outfit, the Hindu Yuva Vahini, in 2002, within weeks of the Godhra incident in Gujarat that year – when the death of 59 kar sevaks in a fire on the Sabarmati Express set off Hindu-Muslim riots that killed over 2,000 people in Gujarat...

Rabble rouser to chief minister
 
The shock apparently turned Adityanath wiser – or more political – as he refrained from personally leading mobs and participating in attacks on Muslims in the manner he used to earlier. He has since restricted himself to making...


Vodafone-Idea merger: A telecom giant is born amid Reliance Jio threat

Vodafone, Idea merger to create biggest telco in the country

 
 1485801977-2273
Facing intense competition from cash-rich Reliance Jio, the Aditya Birla Group and British telecom giant Vodafone Plc on Monday announced the merger of their Indian wireless telephony businesses, creating the largest telecom operator in the country.

In a news conference in Mumbai, Vodafone Group Plc Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Vittorio Colao and Aditya Birla Group Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla said the merger would create a new champion of digital India. It would launch new services soon.

As the first step of the merger, Birla-owned Idea Cellular and Vodafone India would merge their operations at a swap ratio of 1:1. Then, Birla’s holding companies would buy a 4.9 per cent stake from Vodafone at Rs 110 per share, investing close to Rs 3,900 crore. This will increase Idea’s stake to 26 per cent and bring down Vodafone Plc’s stake to 45.1 per cent. The Birlas would have the right to acquire another 9.5 per cent stake from Vodafone in the next four years, so that both partners eventually hold an equal stake in the company (about 35.5 per cent each).
1490047248-9288
             1490036891-4105
“Consolidation is a much-anticipated and welcome development in this beleaguered sector. It will help bring in operational efficiencies and improved quality of services for customers. The regulatory regime will have to ensure that benefits of effective competition continue to be availed by customers,” said Arpita Pal Agrawal, partner and leader – Telecom, PwC India.  Before the transaction is completed, Vodafone and Idea also plan to sell their standalone tower assets and Idea’s 11.15 per cent stake in Indus Towers to reduce leverage in the combined company. | ( READ MORE )
 

14th BRICS summit to review current global issues, reach key agreements

  At the   14th BRICS summit   which is to be hosted by China in a virtual mode on 23-24 June, the member nations will review the current gl...