Fadnavis takes oath as Maharashtra CM, promises transparent government

44-year-old Fadnavis, who was sworn in as Chief Minister of the first BJP government in the state, got down to work immediately and has instructed Chief Secretary Swadheen Kshatriya to have a draft of the Right to Service Bill ready within a month.
  
"I have directed the Chief Secretary to prepare a draft of the legislation, a form of citizen's charter, to provide better services to the people who can take legal recourse if they don't get them," he told reporters at a meet the press programme shortly after taking oath.
  
He said the decision was taken at the first meeting of the Council of Ministers. Portfolios will be allocated to the seven Cabinet and two Ministers of State tomorrow.
  
"People of Maharshtra have high expectations from us and it is a big responsibility. We will provide an efficient and transparent administration with focus on development," he said.
  
"The state government's financial condition is not that good. If all the assurances given by the erstwhile (Congress-NCP) government are to be implemented, the government would have to spend Rs 52,000 crore," Fadnavis said.
  
The Chief Minister said the decisions taken by the previous Congress-NCP government just before the model code of conduct for election kicked in will be reviewed.
  
"It will take time to bring the administration back on the track but we will do it. We will bring Maharashtra to the number one position," he said.
  
Asked about the possibility of Shiv Sena joining the new government, Fadnavis said," There was a positive talk between Amit Shah and Uddhav Thckeray today."
  
On the presence of godmen at the swearing-in ceremony, Fadnavis said, "They belonged to all religions. There is a thin line between belief and superstition. We are against superstition."

Source: News in Hindi and Newspaper

Coal unions protest 'privatisation' move; to strike on 24th November

The steering committee of the central trade unions met at Ranchi and served a joint notice on the token strike in the coal industry including Coal India and Singareni Collieries, Secretary General of Indian National Mine Workers' Federation S Q Zama said.
  
The call for the strike, which coincides with the opening day of Parliament, came ten days after the government issued an ordinance to e-auction coal blocks enabling private sector firms, barring those convicted for offences related to mines allotment, to bid. The Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Ordinance 2014, got Presidential nod on October 21.
  
The unions, which also included INTUC, CITU, AITUC and HMS, demanded scrapping of the enabling clause for commercial mining by private players and stopping of further disinvestment and restructuring of CIL.
  
The unions are also seeking first preference to CIL and its subsidiaries before auctioning of any coal block, besides steps to revive units like Dankuni Coal Complex, CIL subsidiary Central Mine Planning and Design Institute Limited (CMPDIL) and Assam's North Eastern Coalfields.
  
Left parties have also opposed the ordinance, with AITUC General Secretary Gurudas Dasgupta earlier saying the decision of the government on coal blocks "has a covert implication. It is a back-door entry for taking over the entire coal sector by the private corporates".
  
All India Coal Workers Federation General Secretary Jibon Roy had also warned of nationwide protests if the government implemented any enabling provision to allow commercial mining by private companies.
  
The Supreme Court had last month quashed allotment of 214 coal mines to various companies since 1993 on the ground that they were done in an illegal manner by an "ad-hoc and casual" approach "without application of mind".
  
Allocation of coal blocks became a political issue after Comptroller and Auditor General alleged arbitrariness and absence of any criteria in the screening process and pegged notional loss to the exchequer at Rs 1.86 lakh crore.

Source: News in Hindi and Newspaper

App to help blind 'see money'

Developed by researchers Suriya Singh, Kumar Vishal and C.V. Jawahar from the International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad, and Shushman Choudhury from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, the currency recognition software relays the information as an audio clip.

It can be used on low-end smart phones. In our current approach we have been able to report a recognition accuracy of 96.7 percent on 2,584 images. We have worked with the Indian Rupee.

However, it can be extended to other currencies," told Singh. The app will be available in English, Hindi, Bengali, Telugu, Kannada. It takes 1.09 seconds for the app to tell the currency denomination, running on a  typical smart phone with specifics of 1.2 Ghz CPU and IGB RAM.

Source: Latest News from Latest Tech News

Samsung electronics seeks China turnaround, unveils mid-tier handsets with premium feel

The Galaxy A3 and A5 will be Samsung's first devices to feature fully metal bodies and its thinnest smartphones to date. In size, they are comparable to those of the top-of-the-line Galaxy S5, though of lesser screen resolution quality.

Samsung said on Friday that it will start selling the Galaxy A3 and A5 in China sometime in November. It classified them as mid-tier, and said they will be launched in other "select markets", without disclosing the pricing.

The announcement, combined with hopes for an earnings recovery and bigger dividends, pushed Samsung's shares to a two-month high in Seoul in midday trade on Friday.

The news comes a day after Samsung reported its worst quarterly operating profit in more than three years. Earnings from its handset division slumped 73.9 percent from a year earlier.

The company said its responses to "rapid shifts in the competitive landscape" were not quick enough. It vowed to revamp its offerings.

"For our mid to low-end smartphones we will enhance product competitiveness by differentiating our displays and materials as well as upgrading camera functionality," Senior Vice President Kim Hyun-joon told analysts on Thursday.

The world's smartphone leader is regrouping as it lost market share in annual terms for the third straight quarter in July-September, according to Strategy Analytics.

It has been beaten by Apple Inc's iPhones in the premium segment and undercut by Chinese rivals like Lenovo Group Ltd and Xiaomi Inc at the bottom end.

Source: Latest News from Latest Tech News

India important market for Lenovo; to co-exist with Motorola

In January this year, Lenovo had announced that it will acquire Motorola Mobility for USD 2.9 billion from tech giant Google, one of the largest acquisitions by a Chinese tech firm. Google, itself, had bought Motorola in 2012 for USD 12.4 billion.
   
"India is one of the most important markets for Lenovo. Lenovo and Motorola combined are third in the Indian market after Samsung and Micromax... We will continue to sell Motorola handsets online and Lenovo in offline stores," Lenovo Chairman and CEO Yang Yuanqing told reporters in a conference call.
   
He added that while the dual brand strategy will be for emerging markets like India, the company will use the Motorola brand in mature markets like the US.
   
In India, Motorola sells its devices in partnership with eCommerce major Flipkart. Its range in the country includes Moto G, Moto E and Moto X as well as the Moto 360 smartwatch. It has recently unveiled the second generation of Moto G and Moto X smartphones.
   
India is one of the fastest growing smartphone markets globally. According to IDC, 63.21 million units were shipped to India in Q2 2014. Samsung had a 29 per cent share, followed by Micromax 18 per cent and Karbonn at 8 per cent. Motorola had 5 per cent share.
   
"We will be a wholly-owned subsidiary of Lenovo and remain headquartered in Chicago's Merchandise Mart while maintaining offices around the world, including in Silicon Valley," Motorola Mobility President Rick Osterloh said.
   
The iconic Motorola brand will continue as will the Moto and DROID franchises that have propelled growth over the past year, he added.
   
With the completion of the acquisition, Lenovo has added nearly 3,500 employees globally, including about 2,800 in the US.
   
"This partnership has always been a perfect fit. Motorola brings a strong presence in the US and other mature markets, great carrier relationships, an iconic brand, a strong IP portfolio and an incredibly talented team. This is a winning combination," Yuanqing said.
   
Liu Jun, Lenovo Executive Vice President and President of Lenovo's Mobile Business Group will be the Chairman of the Motorola Management Board.

Source: Latest News from Latest Tech News

Expert claims hacking Xiaomi server, firm calls it hoax

"Chen Huang is an independent Taiwanese Security Expert. Session Abstract: In this session Taiwanese Researcher will demonstrate how Xiaomi Phones have been sending device data and personal data of Xiaomi Phone user to Chinese Servers," said the website of Ground Zero Summit.
   
"The Researcher will also release Server Logs, Mi Account username, Emails and passwords of millions of Xiaomi users which have been obtained using a Zero Day flaw in the Xiaomi Servers," the webpage added.

Xiaomi is now world's third largest smartphone maker after Samsung and Apple, as per the latest IDC report.
   
When contacted, Xiaomi' Head of India Operations Manu Jain said: "We have verified that the zero-day data breach allegation made by security researcher Chen Huang and the Ground Zero Summit organising committee reported by The Hacker News on October 30, 2014 is a hoax."
   
Jain said that the zero-day vulnerability reported by the cyber security researcher Chen Huang is a deliberate falsehood and Xiaomi is taking the necessary legal action against the parties involved.
   
Jain in his reply admitted that the company's user account file was leaked in May this year.
   
"To date, throughout Xiaomi's history, there has only been one incident in which a two-year-old user account file was leaked in May 2014," Jain said.
   
He said that leaked information was from user accounts registered before August 2012 in an old version of the Xiaomi user forum website.
   
Meanwhile, organisers of the summit, which is to be held here next month, said that they have put Cheng's session on hold till the time Xiaomi completes its investigations.
   
"Xiaomi representatives contacted and requested us regarding the session. We have decided to withhold session till the time Xiaomi investigates data breach and accusations and works with the researcher to fix it," Indian Infosec Consortium CEO Jiten Jain said.
   
The summit's website shows former chief of Indian Army and Minister of State for Development of North Eastern Region General VK Singh, Home Ministry Joint Secretary Nirmaljeet Singh Kalsi, Enforcement Directorate Special Director Karnail Singh and NTRO Director of Cyber Security Operations Alok Vijayant will be among key speakers.

Source: Latest News from Latest Tech News

I am proud to be gay, says Apple's Tim Cook

"So let me be clear: I'm proud to be gay, and I consider being gay among the greatest gifts God has given me," Cook said in the article.
             
"I don't consider myself an activist, but I realize how much I've benefited from the sacrifice of others," he said.
             
Cook is at least the third CEO of a publicly listed U.S. company to come out of the closet.
             
C1 Financial Inc's Trevor Burgess and IGI Laboratories Inc's Jason Grenfell-Gardner have previously acknowledged that they are gay.
             
Cook's disclosure was greeted by a flood of congratulatory comments on Twitter.
             
"I have so much respect for this man," a person identifying himself as Andrew Clarke tweeted.

Apple Chairman Art Levinson called Cook "courageous."
             
"(His) decision to speak out will help advance the cause of equality and inclusion far beyond the business world," Levinson was quoted by CNBC as saying.
             
"On behalf of the board and our entire company, we are incredibly proud to have Tim leading Apple."
             
Apple has a long history of supporting the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community.
             
The company recently criticized an Arizona bill that would permit businesses to refuse service on religious grounds, a measure that critics said could allow discrimination against gay people.
             
"...I will personally continue to advocate for equality for all people until my toes point up," Cook said.
             
"Plenty of colleagues at Apple know I'm gay, and it doesn't seem to make a difference in the way they treat me," he added.

Source: Latest News from Latest Tech News

Samsung seeks smartphone revamp to arrest profit slide

The global smartphone leader's market share declined in annual terms for the third straight quarter in July-September, lagging Apple Inc in the premium market and overtaken by rivals like Lenovo Group Ltd and Xiaomi Inc at the bottom end, research firm Strategy Analytics said.
             
Executives said the South Korean giant would overhaul its lower-tier line-up to boost price competitiveness and use higher-quality components to set its devices apart, after it announced its worst third-quarter profit in more than three years.
             
"The mid-to-low end market is growing rapidly, and we plan to respond actively in order to capitalise on that growth," Samsung Senior Vice President Kim Hyun-joon said during a conference call with analysts.
             
Samsung said its third-quarter operating profit fell by an annual 60.1 percent to 4.1 trillion won ($3.9 billion), matching its guidance issued earlier this month.
             
While the company expects profits to pick up in the fourth quarter on strong demand for televisions and memory chips, analysts still expect Samsung to record its worst annual operating profit in three years.
             
Profit for the mobile division fell 73.9 percent to 1.75 trillion won in the third quarter, its worst performance since the second quarter of 2011.
             
Samsung spent most of the quarter without launching a new flagship device, and continued to struggle in the mid-to-low tier markets against cheaper and value-packed offerings like Xiaomi's Redmi 1S.
             
Robert Yi, Samsung's head of investor relations, said the firm would launch new mid-tier models in the fourth quarter, although he didn't specify what features they would have.
             
Samsung expects average selling prices for handsets will rise in the fourth quarter due to an increase in premium smartphone sales, namely of the Galaxy Note 4, and as demand picks up in the holiday shopping season.
             
Analysts say Samsung will likely have to sacrifice margins to protect its market share. Cheaper phones are expected to drive global smartphone market growth in coming years, meaning a general trend of lower average selling prices.
             
Samsung's chips division was a bright spot, recording a 2.26 trillion operating profit for the July-September quarter to mark the highest earnings since the third quarter of 2010.

Source: Latest News from Latest Tech News

Burkina Faso leader refuses to quit after day of violence

It remained unclear who was in charge of the country after an earlier announcement by the army that it had taken control, dissolved parliament and would put in place a transitional government.
  
Opposition figures said around 30 people had been killed and 100 injured as tens of thousands took to the streets in protest against plans to allow Compaore to extend his long reign.
  
Hundreds stormed parliament and other public buildings including the national television headquarters in the capital Ougadougou, ransacking offices and setting fire to cars despite a heavy police and army presence.
  
Compaore initially called a state of emergency but appeared on television just a few hours later to say it had been called off.
  
"I have heard the message," the president said.
  
But he refused to step down on Thursday, saying instead that he was "available" for talks on "a period of transition after which power will be transferred to a democratically elected president".
  
At a hastily assembled press conference earlier in the day, the army said it was imposing a dusk-to-dawn curfew. It pledged to restore constitutional order within 12 months.
  
The communique, read out by an officer, was signed by the army chief of staff Nabere Honore Traore.

Read more: News in Hindi and Newspaper

Congress has no right to talk about black money: BJP

The party said the Narendra Modi government, as its first action on bringing back black money, constituted the SIT to probe the issue and is making attempts to get information about offenders from various sources and make it public.
  
"The previous UPA government initially opposed the constitution of SIT to investigate black money. An idea given by the Supreme Court in 2011 was vociferously opposed by the then Solicitor General. In November 2013, UPA filed an application in the court asking the Supreme Court to modify its earlier order that appointed SIT. The SIT was asked to investigate the Hassan Ali case and other cases," BJP Secretary Shrikant Sharma said.
  
"UPA, as late as in November 2013, still hoped and tried that the SIT would not be formed. This petition was dismissed by Supreme Court. Even on May 8, 2014, the UPA in its last days filed a review petition, among other things, to cancel important Supreme Court orders which constituted the SIT," he said, adding the previous government made "all-out efforts to stall the probe into the issue".
  
He said immediately after the Modi government took over on May 26, it constituted the SIT on May 28. Thereafter, it provided all names of foreign account holders to the SIT and started meetings with Swiss authorities for more information.
  
Congress has attacked BJP, saying it made "tall" promises on black money during Lok Sabha polls campaign and vowed to disclose "55,000 accounts" but "even Rs 55 has not come in five months" after it assumed power.
  
Sharma hoped that the authorities looking into the black money issue would complete the assessment of the report of account holders by November 30 and the Income Tax department would complete its report by March 31, 2015.
  
The BJP leader said the Supreme Court also made certain remarks against the Congress regime in its orders on the black money case which "speaks volumes about the intentions of the previous government in investigating the serious issue".
  
"And now Congress has no moral right to talk on the issue," he said.
  
Sharma further claimed that after coming to power, the BJP dispensation has shared all information with the SIT on black money and has in fact stepped up efforts to obtain more and more information in this regard from abroad before making it public amid fears among the internationally banking community on the breach of the confidentiality clause.

Read more: News in Hindi and Newspaper

Congress slams Jaitley for remarks on CAG

Ajay Maken, general secretary and in-charge of media communication, questioned why Jaitley did not say the same when his party, BJP, stalled Parliament over reports on 2G spectrum and coal block allocations during UPA rule.
  
Accusing the government of "misleading and hoodwinking" the country, Maken said Congress "strongly condemns" the statement of Jaitley in which he said the CAG should not sensationalise its report.
   
Speaking to reporters, he wondered why Jaitley, a senior BJP leader, forgot to say the same when CAG reports "used to be leaked even before being placed before Parliament, and "when the Finance Minister's party, based on those reports, used to disrupt the parliament for days."
  
Condemning "this kind of threat" to the CAG, he questioned why Jaitley had not made similar observations when the CAG was holding press conferences and giving power point presentations on its reports during the UPA tenure.
  
Maken questioned, "Why this sudden change of heart and u-turn? Is it because of the CAG report on Gujarat which talks about irregularities worth Rs 25,000 crore in land affairs when (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi was the CM?...Now do Arun Jaitley and Modi feel that opposition would use against them CAG reports, based on which they had stalled Parliament for long?"
  
Another Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh also criticised Jaitley.
  
"CAG should not sensationalize its findings,"- Arun Jaitley. Wish he had realised this when 2G and Coal Block CAG Report came!", he tweeted.

Maken said Congress does not see the statement of the Finance Minister on Wednesday as "just a one-off incident" or as "one chapter" but "as one sequence".
   
In this context, the Congress leader recalled Narendra Modi's address to Gujarat Assembly on May 21 before he was sworn-in as Prime Minister.
   
"He (Modi) said CAG report must not be used to target opponents. He did this after the election results were out.... Modi says CAG report should not be used to target opposition. Finance Minister says CAG report should not be sensationalised," he said.
  
Maken said that since the BJP government came five months ago, "there would have been probably not a single day when they (government) did not make a U-turn on a particular issue. We often think that they government will at least stick to its stand on other issues when one issue settles."
  
Taking a dig at the government, Maken said done a "U-turn" on number of issues like Anderson report (on 1962 India-China war), insurance legislation, GST, double taxation agreement and even black money.
  
"And now the latest is the on the CAG report over which we are surprised," he added.
   
Addressing the annual conference of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) on Thursday, Jaitley had said "Auditor should be conscious of the fact that he is reviewing a decision that has already been taken. Have the fair procedures been followed?”
  
"He doesn't have to sensationalise. He doesn't have to get into the headlines," Jaitley had said.
  
Jaitley had insisted that an auditor has to be "an active auditor but activism and restraint are always the two sides of the same coin."

Read more: News in Hindi and Newspaper

2G case: Court to pass order on framing charges on 31st October

Special CBI Judge O P Saini, who was scheduled to pass the order on framing of charges on Monday, deferred it till October 31, saying the order was not yet ready.

"Order is not ready...Put up for order on October 31," the judge said.

ED, in its charge sheet against the 19 accused, including 10 individuals and nine companies, had alleged that they were involved in the Rs 200-crore money transaction which was not 'bonafide' and 'genuine' and it was a 'bribe for grant of telecom licences to DB Group companies' by Raja.
  
The agency had claimed that the series of transactions relating to transfer of Rs 200 crore from DB group company to DMK-run Kalaignar TV through Kusegaon Fruits and Vegetables Pvt Ltd and Cineyug Films Pvt Ltd were not 'genuine business transaction'.

The accused, however, had countered the claims of the ED contending there was no evidence to support the allegations leveled by the agency.

The counsel appearing for Raja and Kanimozhi had argued in the court that documents filed along with the ED's complaint nowhere show that they were connected with the Rs 200-crore transaction from DB group to Kalaignar TV.
  
Similarly, other co-accused, including Swan Telecom Pvt Ltd promoters Shahid Usman Balwa and Vinod Goenka, had argued that there were no evidence to connect them with the alleged crime and its proceeds.
  
According to ED, Kanimozhi and co-accused Sharad Kumar, MD of Kalaignar TV, were having 20 percent stake each in the TV channel while Dayalu Ammal was holding the rest 60 percent stake. All the individual accused in the case are presently out on bail.

Read more: News in Hindi and Newspaper

Digvijay takes a dig at Jaitley for CAG remarks

"CAG should not sensationalise its findings,"- Arun Jaitley. Wish he had realised this when 2G and Coal Block CAG Report came!", the Congress General Secretary said on Twitter.
      
Congress party had voiced similar views in the past after huge notional losses were projected in reports on 2G and coal allocation scams.
  
The CAG reports on 2G telecom spectrum allocation and coal mine allotment which carried figures of notional losses to the tune of Rs 1.76 lakh crore and Rs 1.84 lakh crore respectively had caused tremendous discomfort for the UPA government and the Congress party that headed the coalition.
  
They had come in handy for the Opposition to attack the government on the issue of corruption.
  
Addressing the annual conference of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) on Wednesday, Jaitley had said, "Auditor should be conscious of the fact that he is reviewing a decision that has already been taken. Have the fair procedures been followed?
  
"He doesn't have to sensationalise. He doesn't have to get into the headlines," Jaitley had said.
  
Jaitley had insisted that an auditor has to be "an active auditor but activism and restraint are always the two sides of the same coin."
     
On Monday, Parliament's Public Accounts Committee Chairman and senior Congress leader K V Thomas too had said in the conference that the auditor should restrict audits to financial impropriety and not come out with "astronomical" figures of notional losses.

Read more: News in Hindi and Newspaper

Samsung debuts new Nook tablet with larger screen

Samsung and Barnes & Noble said in June they would team up on the devices and the first-co branded Galaxy Tab 4 Nook debuted in August for USD 179 with a 7-inch screen.
  
Now, the company is offering the tablet with a larger 10.1-inch diagonal screen ahead of the all-important holiday season for USD 299.99.

The tablets are competing in a crowded field that includes Apple's iPad and Amazon.com's Kindle Fire, both available in more than one size.
  
The Nook offers access to both the Nook app store and Google's Play store for Android apps. The new Nook will come with more than USD 200 in free content from the NOOK Store, including a books, TV shows, top magazines and apps.

Both sizes of the Nook are available at Barnes & Noble retail stores and nook.com.

Source: Latest News and Latest Tech News

Google launches new email service dubbed "Inbox"

Google said it was sending out invitations to selected Gmail users to try out the new service. Users can also email the company at inbox@google.com to get an invitation.
             
For now the new service is being provided alongside Gmail, which was launched in 2004. It will be available on the Web as well as on Android smartphones and iPhones.
             
"Inbox is by the same people who brought you Gmail, but it's not Gmail: it's a completely different type of inbox, designed to focus on what really matters," the company said in a blog post.
             
Google said Inbox displays real-time updates to emails – for example, showing the delivery status of items bought online.
             
It also shows reminders in a more accessible way that allows users to more easily keep track of chores and appointments.
             
The company said the new application also enhances features that are already available in Gmail that allow users to view purchases and bank account statements grouped together.
             
Google's shares were up 1.7 percent at USD 547.33 in early afternoon trading Nasdaq.

Source: Latest News and Latest Tech News

Intex launches Aqua Amaze smartphone for Rs 10,690 in India

The dual-SIM Android KitKat powered device features 1.4 GHz octacore processor, 1GB RAM and 8GB memory.
   
With a five-inch screen, the smartphone sports a 13 MP autofocus with flash and 5 MP front camera and 2,000 mAh battery.
   
"It is essential to create something that not only stands out in terms of price but compelling features too. We would like to believe that our endeavour to be a part of such a realm has been achieved with the launch of the Aqua Amaze today," Intex Technologies Mobile Business Head Sanjay Kumar Kalirona said.

Earlier, Intex launched three new smartphones, priced Rs 6,990 onwards under its new 'Star' range as it looks to capture a larger share of the strongly contested Indian smartphone market.

The three new devices- Star, Star HD and Star Power will be available from September 29 onwards priced at Rs 6,990, Rs 7,490 and Rs 8,690 respectively.

"The devices not only offer a longer battery life but also features like USB OTG and clicking selfies through the back camera by using the volume button on the phone. These are interesting features that will appeal to users," Intex Technologies Business Head Mobile Sanjay Kumar Kalirona told reporters here.

In the next one month, the three models cumulatively should sell one lakh units, he added.

The dual-SIM handsets run on the latest Android KitKat operating system and are powered by 1.3 Ghz quad core processor and have 1GB RAM.

The Star features a five-inch display, 8MP auto-focus rear and 2MP front camera, 8GB memory (expandable to 32GB) and 2,000 mAh battery.

The Star Power features a 4.5-inch screen and a 3,000 mAh battery, while the Star HD sports a five-inch screen with 13MP rear and 5MP front camera and 1,800 mAh battery.

"Star Power and Star HD support USB OTG, means customers can connect keyboard and mouse for using on the smartphone. These are some features that will help us differentiate our products from competitors apart from the aggressive pricing that we offer," he said.

Kalirona added that Intex will phase off its i5 range of smartphones over the next few months as the firm expands its smartphone portfolio.

Source: Latest News and Latest Tech News

Samsung, Airtel launch integrated digital TVs

As part of this innovation - Samsung's range of SmartDirect TVs will come designed with an in-built Airtel digital satellite tuner which will enable DTH signal reception without the need for customers to install an external set-top-box (STB), the company said in a statement.
  
Commenting at the launch, Samsung India Chief Marketing Officer Ranjivjit Singh said: "We are thrilled to launch India's First Smart Direct TV with an in-built iDTV technology in India."
  
"We are today excited to announce our collaboration with Samsung to launch the Integrated Digital TV and introduce the Indian market to its next phase of TV viewing experience," Bharti Airtel CEO – DTH & Media Shashi Arora said.

Source: Latest News and Latest Tech News

Philips unveils feature phone at Rs 3,800 in India

Senior citizens are often inconvenienced by the standard phones available in the market due to their small font size, short battery life and fragility, Philips said in a statement.
   
According to Pew Research Internet Group, elderly citizens face several difficulties while adopting new technologies.
  
Two in five elderly citizens indicated that they have a "physical or health condition that makes reading difficult or challenging" or a "disability, handicap, or chronic disease that prevents them from fully participating in many common daily activities", it added.
  
The phone makes use of large font sizes on a 2.4-inch screen to enable easy reading and the keypad also makes use of larger keys for comfortable viewing.
  
It comes with a 1630mAh Li-ion battery capacity and Xenium power saving technology that offers users up to 1,128 hours standby time and up to 24 hours talking time.
  
The handset also comes with SOS function that allows users to set three 'emergency' or SOS numbers.
  
In case of an emergency, users can press the SOS button hidden under the flashlight to dial out the pre-set SOS numbers. The phone will automatically connect to these numbers until the call gets answered by any one of the parties. It also has a flashlight that can be used even when the phone power is switched off.
  
"With changing lifestyles in metros in India and increasing incident of elderly abuse, senior citizens are often left to support themselves by choice or otherwise. We specially designed this phone to make technology more accessible to and user-friendly for the elderly with minimum intervention from others," Sangfei Mobility Country Manager SAARC S S Bassi said.
  
Sang Fei is a subsidiary of China Electronics Corporation (CEC) that owns the exclusive global licence to market and sell mobile phones under the 'Philips' brand.

Source: Latest News and Latest Tech News

Amit Shah urges people to join Clean India, Clean Ganga mission

"Our Prime Minister has taken many initiatives. He stressed for two things clean India and Clean Ganga. Every citizen of the country should join these initiatives," Shah said in his address to the people here today.

"Cleanliness is the joint responsibility of people and the state. This (occasion of Chhath Puja) is the best occasion to take a pledge for a clean India and clean Ganga mission. This cleanliness will bring health and prosperity," Shah said.

"The river Ganga is not only a river, it's our mother. We have to take the initiative so that Ganga remains clean from Gangotri to Gangasagar. Whenever, you people go to 'Poorvanchal' (region comprising eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar), you have to stress the Clean Ganga mission.

"The mammoth work initiated by Modiji can only  be finished with the help of people in Poorvanchal," Shah said, at the annual Chhath Puja organised by the Bihar-Gujarat Association here.

Source: News in Hindi and Newspaper

Centre makes reconciliatory effort to end Assam-Nagaland row

At a high-level meeting, chaired by Home Minister Rajnath Singh and attended by Chief Ministers Tarun Gogoi (Assam) and T R Zeliang (Nagaland), efforts have been made to come to an acceptable final solution to the border dispute between the two states.
  
As per the decision taken during the meeting, the Chief Secretaries of the two states will submit suggestions to the Home Ministry within two weeks, which is expected to pave the way for solving the long lasting issue.
  
"The Home Minister is taking a sincere reconciliatory effort to find a solution to be acceptable to both Assam and Nagaland," a Home Ministry official said.
  
Eleven people were killed along the Assam-Nagaland border in Golaghat district in August and nearly 10,000 people had been displaced and taken shelter in relief camps after clashes between people of the two states.
  
Gogoi had earlier urged the Home Minister to initiate immediate measures to deploy Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) as a neutral force in the affected villages along its border with Nagaland.
  
The boundary dispute, which was first cropped up in 1970s, has been going on very often and both the states have approached the Supreme Court for a final resolution. The case is still sub-judice.

Source: News in Hindi and Newspaper

Report on black money will be submitted in time: SIT Chief

"We have already filed the first report (on black money) in August. Certainly I am hopeful about the timely submission of second report," Shah said.

On Wednesday, Attorney General submitted a list of 627 names having accounts in HSBC bank, Geneva, to the apex court, Shah informed that the list was already known to the team.

"Investigation is going on. Without investigation it is very difficult to say that a person is guilty or that person has done something wrong. A person is required to be heard first," he said.

Shah, a retired Supreme Court judge, said investigation in these cases is not easy. "It is not easy because when a department also issues a  notice, it takes time. Concerned parties and assessees replies take time," the SIT chief said.

Shah denied that government's probe in black money case is an eyewash. "It is not eyewash. Nothing is eyewash. Nothing can be said to be eye wash. On the contrary we got some results also," he said.

Source: News in Hindi and Newspaper

Black money case: SIT invites information from public

The panel comprising of retired judges and regulators will soon release an email id where anyone can give information, sources say.

Anybody having credible information on black money can approach the SIT. The team will investigate that information, but it needs to be an authentic one. And no one will be spared.

However the panel will meet on Thursday to work out details of its inquiry, a day after the government submitted a list of 627 foreign account holders to the Supreme Court.

The court has set a deadline of March next year to complete the investigations into whether these account holders have violated tax laws. The court said the list will be given to the top officials of the SIT.

Source: News in Hindi and Newspaper

I-T department to prosecute about 300 foreign bank account holders

Officials said the department has informed the Special Investigation Team (SIT), constituted to go into the issue, to allow it to start the "first step of prosecution" under two sections of the Income Tax Act.
   
Prosecution is being sought under Section 277 (false statement in verification) and 276 D (failure to produce documents) so that the department can share information with other enforcement agencies like the ED and CBI, they said.
  
The sources said the department has already realised Rs. 200 in taxes and penalties from some of these account holders who have accepted to holding these accounts abroad.  There could be another Rs.200 crore to Rs.300 crore in taxes and penalties that could be realised from the others, they said.
  
"The list of 627 Indians submitted to the apex court today has close to 300 people against whom prosecution action can be launched soon. Basic prosecution, at least under select sections of the I-T Act. While some 120 cases are already under prosecution these fresh individuals and entities can also be booked based on prima facie evidence gathered by tax sleuths," sources said.
  
They said this will enable the SIT to hand over some vital information to agencies like Enforcement Directorate and CBI who could take action under their mandates and the laws that they enforce.
  
International and bilateral treaties allow a member nation to share such information obtained by one agency with others only at the stage of prosecution or when the matter is in the purview of courts of the land.
  
"The SIT has agreed to this and we expect to file new prosecutions sooner than later. In these 300 cases the I-T department has some evidence," they said.
    
Officials said these cases pertain to the years 1999-2000 and they will get "time barred" by March 2015 and hence there is "no time to loose" for the authorities.
    
Sources privy to the contents of these lists said there are a number of "established" cases where the foreign account is genuine and has been reflected in tax statements filed by the individual or entity.

Source: News in Hindi and Newspaper

Black money case: CPI urges SC to give out all names of account holders

The National Executive of CPI, which began a two-day session here, adopted a resolution in this regard, according to CPI General Secretary S Sudhakar Reddy.

"The National Executive of the Communist party of India, currently in session at Hyderabad, with Kanam Rajendran in chair welcomes the stand of Supreme Court on black money and urges upon the apex court to persist with orders for total disclosure of all names of persons who have stashed away black money in foreign banks," the resolution said.

Claiming that the BJP-led government talked about right of privacy of individuals and companies in disclosing the names, the party said it is nothing but an attempt to shield them.

"Earlier, the BJP Government was repeating the arguments of its predecessor – UPA II Government that they can not disclose the names of black money holders as it will breach international agreements.

After Supreme Court punctured this argument it is now crying of rights of privacy of individuals and companies. This is nothing but a crude attempt to shield the culprits. It is believed that the quantum of black money in India is worth USD 3 trillion that is equal to our GDP," the resolution said.

The NDA government has submitted just one list of 627 people given by France, but the government is in possession of other lists received from other countries and foreign banks, it alleged.

"There are other lists in the possession of the government received from other countries and foreign banks.

The National Executive hopes that the Supreme Court will get all these information and not confine it to the Special Investigation Team (SIT). They must be made public," it said.

Asserting that people of India have every right to know the names, the CPI said investigation should be conducted to know how black money was stashed away abroad and for what purposes.

"Apart from holders of foreign accounts, their benefactors including the political parties and other entities should be hauled up. The black money should be confiscated and used for the alleviation of poverty in the country," the resolution said.

The Centre today placed a list of names of 627 Indian account holders in HSBC bank, Geneva in black money case before the SC and directed SIT to open the list and take appropriate action in accordance with law.

Source: News in Hindi and Newspaper

President invites Oman to 'Make in India', seeks deeper trade ties

This was conveyed by the President when the Commerce and Industry Minister of the Sultanate of Oman, Dr Ali Bin Masoud Al Sunaidy, called on him on Monday, a Rashtrapati Bhavan spokesperson said here on Tuesday.
  
During his meeting, Mukherjee referred to the 'Make in India' campaign and invited Omani companies "to come and invest in Indian infrastructure and other sectors which offer good returns".
  
The President said that India's ties with Oman are built on the strong foundation of historical and civilisational linkages and India appreciates and values the strategic partnership, which is reflected in the remarkable overall growth in the bilateral relationship in recent times.
  
"Bilateral trade between India and Oman has increased from USD 4.6 billion in 2012-13 to USD 5.77 billion in 2013-14. However, trade remains much below its potential and both sides need to bring it to a higher level commensurate with the depth of the bilateral relationship," remarked the President.
  
He expressed hope that the forthcoming Seventh Joint Commission Meeting between the two countries would be productive and help to further strengthen the economic and trade relations between India and Oman.
  
He also thanked Oman for its support in anti-piracy operations.
  
The Oman minister told Mukherjee that friends like India have fuelled his country's economy and helped its growth.
  
He paid tribute to the Indian community in Oman and to the Indian professionals who are contributing to its economy and said there was a need for the two countries to re-connect keeping in mind the interests of the youth.
  
"They should do things differently so that relations can multiply rapidly on the terms of the youth and taking into account changes sweeping the world," Sunaidy was quoted as having said by the spokesperson.
  
The 'Make in India' programme is a major national initiative launched by the Narendra Modi government which aims at transforming India into a global manufacturing hub.

Source: News in Hindi and Newspaper

 

View: News

Agricultural Ministry proposes amendment to NCDC Act to include FPOs

Currently, the National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) provides financial assistance to cooperatives including those from weaker sections, for infrastructure and business development among others.

"We have suggested a small amendment to the Act to incorporate FPOs for extending loans and subsidies," a senior Agriculture Ministry official said.

The government is encouraging setting up of FPOs in a big way and trying to provide credit facilities through various schemes so that FPOs become viable, the official added.

FPOs, which are registered under the Companies Act, are firms consisting of small and marginal farmers. There are total 300 FPOs in India supported by government body Small Farmers Agribusiness Consortium (SFAC).

NCDC, a statutory body, had in 2013-14 fiscal released Rs 5,268 crore, against the sanctioned amount of Rs 7,755 crore for the same period.

Maximum funds were released to cooperatives working in Chattisgarh, Maharashtra, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh, an official data showed.

Financial assistance is being given for production, processing, marketing, storage, export and import of
agricultural produce and other notified commodities.

Source: News in Hindi and Newspaper

 

View: News

Black money case: Centre submits list of 627 foreign account holders to Supreme Court

The list was submitted before the Supreme Court by Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi. The development came a day after the apex court directed the Centre to furnish the names of all individuals and entities in its possession who have accounts in overseas banks.

However, the Supreme Court refused to open the sealed envelope saying that the documents should be placed before SIT.

The Supreme Court said, 'Only SIT chairman and vice chairman can open the sealed envelope containing names of account holders.

The Supreme Court asked the SIT to submit status report of its probe by the end of November. SIT will decide what further action is to be taken on black money issue, added the Supreme Court.

Earlier on Tuesday The Supreme Court pulled up the government for seeking a modification of its order on disclosure of names of black money holders abroad. It directed the Centre to place before it names of all such account holders by Wednesday.

Jaitley said the government was keen to punish all illicit foreign account holders and would do everything to bring back the black money.

The truth about these names and also these accounts must come out so that penal action can be taken against the people and  the money lying there can be brought back to India.

"The government has no difficulty whatsoever with any agency investigating this matter because there is nobody the government wants to protect in this case so that those whose names have come must really be investigated and punished according to law," he said.

He, however did not reply to a question on whether the government would make the list public.

Jaitley said the government is also keen that the procedure followed must be such that the reciprocating countries continue to cooperate with India.

Source: News in Hindi and Newspaper

 

View: News

President Pranab Mukherjee to hold conference of NIT chiefs today

The agenda of the conference includes steps required for deepening research and technological innovation for meeting national development goals; technology enabled learning; building international networks and linkages for quality improvement and initiatives for capacity development of faculty, a press release issued today by Rashtrapati Bhavan said.

An action taken report on the recommendations made in the last year's conference was also discussed during the meet, it said.

This is the second conference of Directors of NITs during the present presidency. The first conference was organised in November last year. The Directors of 30 NITs will participate in this year's conference.

Source: News in Hindi and Newspaper

 

View: News

Sensex recovers 81 points in morning trade

The 30-share barometer, which had lost 98.15 points in the previous session, recovered 81.43 points, or 0.30 percent, to 26,834.33 with the sectoral indices led by capital goods, banking, healthcare and realty were trading in positive zone with gains up to 0.52 percent.

Also, the National Stock Exchange index Nifty, regained the 8,000-mark by rising 20.60 points, or 0.26 per cent, to 8,012.30.

Brokers said sentiments turned better as funds and retail investors made fresh buying, tracking a mixed trend on other Asian markets ahead of US Federal Reserve's monetary policy meet.

Besides, expectations of encouraging earnings from more companies also supported the recovery, they said.

Among other Asian markets, Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.20 percent, while Japan's Nikkei was trading 0.17 percent down in morning trade.

US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.07 percent up in Tuesday's trade.

Read more: News in Hindi and Newspaper

Tatas leave Singur behind, assure Mamata of project expansion

Asked about the 'bitter experience' of shifting of the Tata Nano car plant from Singur in 2008, Rana Sinha, one of the executives, said, "Forget the issue of the past and target the future."

In September 2008 during the previous Left Front regime, the Tatas left Singur in West Bengal and set up Tata Nano car plant at Sanand in Gujarat following an agitation by the then opposition Trinamool Congress' leader Mamata Banerjee over 'forceful' acquisition of land in the area. A case regarding this is now pending in the Supreme Court.

Singur issue was not in the agenda of the meeting, Tata Steel Processing and Distribution Ltd MD Sandipan Chakraborty said.

Chakraborty said Banerjee asked them if they were facing any problem and how the state government could assist them to overcome them.

"Such an interaction with the CM is unprecedented. The meeting was positive, optimistic and fruitful," Chakraborty, former MD of Tata Ryerson, said.

After the 90-minute long meeting, state Finance and Industry Minister Amit Mitra told reporters that Tata Group was keen on expanding many of their existing projects in the state creating more employment opportunities.

Five companies of the Tata Group have told the chief minister about their plan to invest and expand in existing projects, said Mitra who was also present at the meeting.

The Tata Group have offered employment to nearly 30,000 people in the state under various projects and they would offer more employment in near future, Mitra added.

Tatas were represented in the meeting by executives of Tata Hitachi Construction Machinery, Tata Metaliks, metaljunction and TM International Logistics (TMILL).

Though no Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) executive was present at the meeting, Mitra said TCS CEO and MD N Chandrasekaran wrote to him about its expansion plan.

Under TCS' new project at the 40 acres of land given at Rajarhat New Town, the company would create an employment opportunity for 20,000 people, Mitra said.

Read more: News in Hindi and Newspaper

Softbank Group to invest USD 627 million in Snapdeal

This is the largest investment made by a single investor in an e-commerce company in India. Other existing investors have also participated in this round of investment but the company declined to disclose the amount.

Snapdeal will use the investments in expanding its chain of fulfilment centres and make acquisitions in the coming few months specifically in the area of mobile technology.

With mobile commerce fast gaining pace in the country, the city-based firm also plans to set up an incubation centre to hone and harness start-up businesses in the mobile technology space within next 6 months.

Through this strategic investment and partnership with Snapdeal, the SoftBank Group aims to further strengthen its presence in India and leverage synergies with its network of Internet companies around the world, Snapdeal said in a statement.

Snapdeal has raised close to USD 1 billion during this calendar year. Founded in 2010, Snapdeal has more than 25 million registered users and more than 50,000 business sellers.

"We believe India is at a turning point in its development and have confidence that India will grow strongly over the next decade. As part of this belief, we intend to deploy significant capital in India over the next few years to support development of the market," SoftBank Corp Chairman and CEO Masayoshi Son said.

SoftBank has pledged an investment of USD 10 billion (over Rs 60,000 crore) in India's IT and communications space, one of the biggest investment commitments from a Japanese firm after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to that country.

"India has the third-largest Internet user base in the world, but a relatively small online market currently. This situation means India has, with better, faster and cheaper Internet access, a big growth potential," SoftBank Corp Vice Chairman and CEO of SIMI Nikesh Arora said.

Arora will join the board of Snapdeal as part of the strategic investment.

Read more: News in Hindi and Newspaper

Switzerland acts iffy about India making Swiss bank a/c information public

However, the Swiss Foreign Ministry official hoped that with the advent of the new government in India, which has made taking action against black money a priority, the differences would be resolved much quickly.

Valentin Zellweger, Director and Legal Adviser, Swiss Department of Foreign Affairs, at the same time asserted that there is no banking secrecy in case of illegal acts.

"There's no banking secrecy if we talk about illegal acts. So if we get a request from a prosecutor in another country, there's no banking secrecy. We have very stringent know your customer rules. So we are quick in being able to give the information," he said.

Responding to a question on the first list of names, allegedly having accounts in Swiss banks on unaccounted wealth, Zellweger said the talks with the Indian Government so far has been on tax evasion and not any other illegal acts.

"We have had long discussions with the Indian government. But that is for tax evasion. Tax evasion used not to be a criminal offense under Swiss law. That is changing. We are now adapting to international standards," he told a Washington audience, acknowledging that this is a issue of dispute.

"That is at the heart of the dispute. There is a disagreement with the Indian government and as to what exactly will have to be disclosed. There is a new Indian government. We now hope that we will be able to resolve the case much quicker than we could do so in the past," he said.

Appearing at a panel discussion on Returning Stolen Assets organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington-based think tank, Zellweger said this is now very much on the forefront of international news and argued that in recent years Swiss authorities have been very co-operative in repatriation of the unaccounted money.

"You take Tunisia, for example. You had a restitution of USD 27 million by Lebanon to Tunisia, what is it now, 2011 within three and a half years. The Swiss prosecutor general has decided to send back two-thirds of the funds we have frozen in Switzerland to Tunisia," he said.

"We never had that in the past. The quickest case we had so far was Abacha, and that took us five years. We were efficient because we had an excellent cooperation with Nigeria in that case. Now, in Tunisia, we solved the case within three years," he said.

"So I am pretty confident for two reasons. First, asset recovery is now a topic on the international agenda. And second, international cooperation has hugely increased over the past two years," he said.

In the run-up to Parliamentary polls, BJP had promised to bring back black money kept by Indians in overseas banks while targeting the UPA government for not taking effective action on the issue.

Read more: News in Hindi and Newspaper

US, China to hold trade talks in Chicago in December

US Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker and Trade Representative Michael Froman will host a high-level Chinese delegation for the talks during the 25th session of the US-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade (JCCT) from December 16 to 18, officials said.

US Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack will also take part in the dialogue to address key agricultural trade issues between the two countries. "Expanding the US-China bilateral trade relationship is critical to strengthening our nation's economy and supporting job creation in communities from Maine to Hawaii," Pritzker said. Noting that JCCT has played a vital role in their efforts to bolster mutually beneficial relationship for more than two decades, the Commerce Secretary said the upcoming high-level discussions will culminate a year of continuous work to address important issues facing the two nations.

"This dialogue comes at an important time for the two largest economies in the world who share an enormous stake in the global trade and investment system," Froman said. The JCCT continues to be a place where the bilateral ties that link the US and China are reinforced through cooperation and constructive face-to-face discussions focused on making concrete progress to address the challenges, he said.
  
Established in 1983, the JCCT is the primary forum for addressing bilateral trade and investment issues and promoting commercial opportunities between the United States and China. High-level plenary meetings are held annually and are co-chaired by the US Secretary of Commerce, the United States Trade Representative, and the Chinese Vice Premier in charge of trade and investment issues.

Sixteen JCCT Working Groups meet throughout the year to address topics such as intellectual property rights, agriculture, pharmaceuticals and medical devices, information technology and travel and tourism. The 24th Annual JCCT meeting was held in Beijing in 2013. In the last year's meeting, significant progress was made on several important issues, including protection and enforcement against theft of trade secrets, government procurement and market access for US testing and certification companies.

China was the third-largest market for US exports in 2013 (after Canada and Mexico). US goods exports to China were USD 122 billion in 2013, up 652 per cent since 2000. Trade in services with China (exports and imports) totaled USD 52.1 billion in 2013.

Read more: News in Hindi and Newspaper

India ranks 114 out of 142 nations on WEF's Gender Gap Report

India's slipped 13 spots from its last year's ranking of 101 on the Gender Gap Index by the World Economic Forum. India is part of the 20 worst-performing countries on the labour force participation, estimated earned income, literacy rate and sex ratio at birth indicators.

On the other hand, India is among the top 20 best-performing countries on the political empowerment subindex.

The index was first introduced by the World Economic Forum in 2006 as a framework for capturing the magnitude of gender-based disparities and tracking their progress. The index benchmarks national gender gaps on economic, political, education and health criteria.

On the criteria of economic participation and opportunity, India was ranked 134. Its female to male ratio in labour force participation was 0.36. The disparity in estimated earned income was high with females earning USD 1980 compared to USD 8087 earned by their male counterparts.

On educational attainment, India ranked 126 with female to male ratio in literacy rate at 0.68. India was the second-lowest performing country on health and survival, ranking 141 just ahead of Armenia.

However on political empowerment subindex, India ranked an impressive 15. It is the highest-ranked country on the years with female head of state (over the past 50 years) indicator.

There is also some evidence from India to suggest that women in local government roles make decisions with better outcomes for communities than men do when charged with budget decisions.

They also appear to be more competent representatives than men, obtaining more resources for their constituencies despite having significantly lower education and relevant labour market experience.

The report said that India has the highest difference between women and men on the average minutes spent per day on unpaid work—a difference of 300 minutes.

It is also among the countries with the highest difference in the female and male percentage of total R&D personnel. India has one of the lowest percentages of firms with female participation in ownership.

India had experienced improvement of its overall score since 2010, when it had ranked 112. It had ranked 105 in 2012 and 101 last year but saw a decrease in 2014 due to a drop in scores on the economic participation and opportunity and educational attainment subindexes.

India performed better than countries like UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Jordan.

Iceland, which has had a female head of state in 20 of the past 50 years, ranked number 1 on WEF's index. Iceland has taken the top spot on the index consecutively since 2009. The country was followed by its Nordic neighbours: Finland ranked 2, Norway (3), Sweden (4) and Denmark (5). US is ranked 20, putting it behind countries like Canada, South Africa and France, but ahead of other developed countries like the United Kingdom and Australia.

The report said that no country in the world has fully closed the gender gap, but all five of the Nordic countries have closed more than 80 percent of it. Yemen, the lowest ranking country has closed just over 50 percent of the gender gap.

At 141, Pakistan was the second lowest ranking country, scoring poorly on all the four parametres.

In 2014, 25 countries fully closed the gap in Educational Attainment (same as last year). Angola, Ethiopia, Yemen, Guinea and Chad hold the last five spots on this subindex, with Yemen and Chad having closed less than 70 percent of their education gender gap. In total, there are 22 countries where women still have less than 90 percent of the education outcomes that men have.

While eight countries—Bahamas, Belize, Brazil, France, Guyana, Latvia, Namibia, and the Philippines have fully closed the gap on both the health and education subindexes, no country has closed either the economic participation gap or the political empowerment gap.

On the Economic Participation and Opportunity subindex, 14 countries have closed more than 80 percent of gap, including from from Sub-Saharan Africa and five from Europe and Central Asia.

Burundi, Norway, Malawi, the United States and the Bahamas occupy the top five spots on the subindex.

Read more: News in Hindi and Newspaper

Travellers with Ebola should not be stigmatised: UN Chief

UN Secretary General said that the restrictions put particular pressure on health care workers and those who have been on the frontline of the Ebola response.

"The Secretary-General is concerned by the recent restrictions put in place in several countries and localities applying to people who have travelled to the main Ebola-affected countries," a statement issued by Ban's spokesman said here.

"Returning health workers are exceptional people who are giving of themselves for humanity. They should not be subjected to restrictions that are not based on science," he said in the statement.

"Those who develop infections should be supported, not stigmatised," he added.

Ban reiterated that the best way for any country to protect itself from Ebola is to stop the outbreak at its source in West Africa.

"This requires considerable international health care worker support and in return for this support, we have an obligation to look after them," he said.

According to UN World Health Organisation's latest situation report, there have been 9,936 cases of Ebola and 4,877 deaths so far.

In New York, after a doctor who treated Ebola patients returned from Guinea and tested positive for the virus, state government had put in place a mandatory 21-day quarantine for travellers returning from the most-affected West African countries.
  
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo came in for sharp criticism from health experts and had to loosen restrictions, allowing asymptomatic medical workers who had contact with Ebola patients in West Africa to remain at home during the quarantine period.

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie also faced backlash after a nurse who arrived from Sierra Leone last week was swiftly quarantined in a tent set up inside a Newark hospital, with a portable toilet but with no shower.

Ban is currently in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, at the start of a joint trip uniting the capacities of the United Nations, World Bank, European Union, Islamic Development Bank, and African Development Bank and targeting a swathe of countries in the Horn of Africa, spanning Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda.

Ban announced a new USD 8 billion development initiative aimed at boosting economic growth, reducing poverty and spurring business activity across the African region's eight countries.

As aid workers and medical personnel return to their countries after working to provide treatment to Ebola patients in West Africa, several restrictions have been put on their movement by governments as they aim to prevent the spread of the virus.

Read more: News in Hindi and Newspaper

India should refrain from complicating boundary issue: China

"China's position on China-India boundary question is consistent and clear. We are committed to finding a solution to the boundary question with the Indian side through friendly negotiation as soon as possible and working together to safeguard peace and tranquillity along the border," Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying said.
  
"Pending the final settlement of the boundary question, we hope that the Indian side could refrain from taking any action that may complicate or exaggerate the question," Hua said in an e-mail response to a query about 54 new Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) force border outposts to be built along the Arunachal Pradesh border.
  
China claims Arunachal Pradesh as southern Tibet.
  
China's reaction is a trifle different from its reaction on October 15 to the plans announced by Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju to build new roads along the boundary from Mago-Thingbu in Tawang to Vijaynagar in Changlang district of Arunachal Pradesh to match China's infrastructure development.
  
"There is a dispute about the east part of the China- India border. Before final settlement is reached we hope that India will not take any action that may further complicate the situation," Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hong Lei said earlier while reacting to the road proposal.
  
"We should jointly safeguard the peace and tranquillity of the border area and create favourable conditions for the final settlement of the border issue," he had said.
  
Subsequently, officials from India and China held the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination (WMCC) meeting in New Delhi during which the two sides discussed a host of issues relating to the management of the boundary and maintaining of peace and tranquillity along the borders.

Read more: News in Hindi and Newspaper

Centre hopeful of UP sugar mills falling in line & start operations

Few months back, private sugar mills in Uttar Pradesh the country's second biggest producer threated not to open their mills in the current 2014-15 season (October-September) till the state government links cane prices with sugar rates.

Mills were forced to issue suspension notice as they suffered huge losses during last season on account of high cane prices fixed by the state and lower realisation from sugar sales.

"There is no way that UP sugar mills will remain shut for long. My reading is that all mills will run. But they may start 10-15 days late," Food Secretary Sudhir Kumar said.

Kumar said that mills do not have any option but to run their mills as they cannot shift to other business, while farmers can easily shift to some other crops.

However, the Secretary clarified that this is the matter between the state government and UP millers, and the Centre does not have much role to play.

On likely impact on the country's sugar production due to delay in crushing operation in UP, he said, "It is too early to say. Let the crushing begin. We will assess it at the end of the season."

Meanwhile, Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA) Director General Avinash Verma said: "UP sugar mills have taken one step forward and have agreed to start maintenance activity which should take 40-45 days."

"However, they would wait for a mechanism or a policy that determines sugarcane price in relation to revenue generation before start of the crushing operations, so that they are in a position to pay cane price on time," he said.

The UP sugar industry has shown confidence in the state government that a rational cane price formula would be announced and the industry would pray that the state should not fix the cane price, he added.

Crushing operation in western UP normally begins from October 15 and five days later in other parts the state.

According to industry estimates, sugarcane arrears in Uttar Pradesh have come down to Rs 2,400 crore now from Rs 7,500 crore at the end of March this year.

Sugar production for this season is pegged at 25-25.5 million tonnes, against 24.3 million tonnes last year.

Read more: News in Hindi and Newspaper