Chanda Kochhar to face ICICI Securities shareholders today at AGM

The resolution comes in the face of the conflict of interest for clearing loans to Videocon group which, in turn, invested in Nupower Renewables, a firm owned by Kochhar's husband

ICICI Securities shareholders will vote on ICICI Bank MD & CEO Chanda Kochhar's candidature as a director at the annual general meeting in Mumbai on Thursday. The resolution comes in the face of the conflict of interest for clearing loans to Videocon group which, in turn, invested in Nupower Renewables, a firm owned by Kochhar’s husband, Deepak Kochhar. The allegations are being investigated by Sebi, the CBI and the I-T department. Here are some proxy firms’ recommendations:

Glass Lewis: Vote: AGAINST

"There are significant legal and regulatory issues involving the company's non-executive chair nominee Chanda Kochhar. We believe shareholders should be concerned about the matters facing Kochhar, which includes her being forced to take a leave of absence from the ICICI Bank board, pending the outcome of the investigation into her conduct. While the issues pertain to the parent company, ICICI Bank, the mere fact that she has been forced to take leave may be representative of serious lapses of governance issues that carry reputational risk issues which may negatively impact the company.

 

Google may steal Amazon, Flipkart's Diwali bonus; set for e-commerce debut

The company is also going to offer consumers instant loans on its platforms and has partnered four banks

It’s official. Google will make its debut in India’s e-commerce and retail ecosystem this Diwali via its payments platform, Tez, rechristened Google Pay .

From tying up with more than 2,000 e-commerce companies, including big names such as cab aggregator Uber and movie ticketing platform BookMyShow, to adding about 1.2 million offline merchants, including the likes of Big Bazaar, Google is on a hyperdrive to create an ecosystem where everything will hinge on the payments app. The company is also going to offer consumers instant loans on its platforms and has partnered four banks — HDFC, ICICI, Kotak Mahindra and Federal Bank.

According to Google, a pre-approved loan limit for individuals, based on their bank account and Tez transaction history, will be set. The app’s users will get the money deposited directly into their bank accounts.

The technology giant rebranded its made-in-India Tez app, launched in September last year, as Google Pay, with an eye on expanding the platform to other markets. Read More

 

SpiceJet tests India's first biofuel-powered flight. Will it change flying?

Ajay Singh said: It has the potential to reduce our dependence on traditional aviation fuel by up to 50 per cent on every flight and bring down fares

No-frills airline SpiceJet on Monday operated India's first test flight powered by biojet fuel, marking a new chapter in the fast-growing domestic aviation sector.

The nearly 45-minute flight from Dehradun to the national capital was operated with a Bombardier Q400 aircraft, partially powered by biojet fuel made from Jatropha plant, according to an airline official. The flight landed at around 1150 hours here.

With the test flight, India has become one of the few countries and probably the first among the developing nations to use biofuel for flying planes.

SpiceJet on Monday said it has successfully operated "India's first ever biojet fuel flight".

It also comes at a time when the airline industry is grappling with spiralling fuel prices that are impacting their profitability. However, use of biofuel for regular flights would take some time.

For the test flight, which carried 28 people, including five crew members, the aircraft's right engine was filled with 75 per cent aviation turbine fuel (ATF) and 25 per cent of biojet fuel, made from Jatropha plant, the airline official said.

The fuel was prepared by the CSIR-Indian Institute of Petroleum (IIP), Dehradun. The institute's Director Anjan Ray said around 330 kg of biojet fuel was made for the little over 40-minute flight.

Noting that it was a "historic occasion" to operate the test flight, SpiceJet Chairman and Managing Director Ajay Singh said India is the first among developing countries to fly flight powered by biojet fuel. Read More

 

Akshay Kumar, Salman Khan among top-10 highest paid actors in Forbes list

Akshay, who was 10th last year, upped his game by $3 million. Khan stayed at his ninth rank, but with an increase of $1.5 million in his earnings for this year

Akshay Kumar has emerged as the seventh highest-paid actor in the world. He earned $40.5 million in 2018, according to Forbes magazine. The Gold actor is closely followed by his contemporary Salman Khan in the ninth place, who raked in $38.5 million. Akshay and Salman are the only two Bollywood actors to make it to the top 10 highest-paid actors’ list compiled by the publication.

Akshay, who was 10th last year, upped his game by $3 million. Khan stayed at his ninth rank, but with an increase of $1.5 million in his earnings for this year. Shah Rukh Khan, who was at the eighth spot in 2017, did not find a place in the list this year Read More

 

Veteran journalist, author and diplomat Kuldip Nayar passes away at 95

Nayar died at around 12.30 am at a private hospital, his elder son Sudhir Nayar said

Veteran journalist Kuldip Nayar passed away in New Delhi on Thursday, a member of his family said. He was 95.

Nayyar died at around 12.30 am at a private hospital, his elder son Sudhir Nayar said.

He is survived by his wife and two sons.

Nayar started his career as an Urdu press reporter. He was editor of Delhi edition of English newspaper The Statesman.

Nayar had served as High Commissioner of India to the United Kingdom (UK). He was also nominated as a member of the Upper House of Parliament in 1997.

He was also the author of more than 15 books including, Beyond the Lines, Distant Neighbours: A Tale of the Subcontinent, India after Nehru.

His last rites will be performed at Lodhi crematorium.

Read Full Story → Kuldeep Nayyar

 

WhatsApp to trace the origin of fake messages, set up servers in India

The instant messaging platform had earlier expressed inability in tracing the origin of messages citing privacy of consumers

With the government threatening action against WhatsApp over spread of fake news, the chief executive officer (CEO) of the American messaging platform, Chris Daniels, flew down to New Delhi to fix things.

Daniels, who took over as the boss of WhatsApp in May, on Tuesday told the government it would work out a technological solution to trace the origin of fake messages. The Facebook-owned firm, with more than 200 million active subscribers in India, also committed to complying with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) rules relating to local storage of financial data by having servers in India.

Daniels, a Facebook insider known for running Internet.org at the California-based social media firm, has been firefighting with the Indian authorities over fake news soon after he was appointed as the WhatsApp boss. Following an exchange of letters with the Department of Information Technology on the steps to block fake news, the WhatsApp team decided to meet the authorities in person to list out the corrective measures planned by the company. In the country for three to four days, the team would meet other ministers and bureaucrats as well. It could not be confirmed if a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi was scheduled.

Within hours of his interaction with Daniels, Electronics and Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad was off to Argentina for an ICT conference. From there, he will travel to Silicon Valley, which houses several prominent tech companies including WhatsApp. The minister is scheduled to meet top executives of many tech companies including Google during his US trip. Read Full Story

 

Ind vs Eng 3rd Test Day 3 highlights:Kohli's 103 help Ind to set 521 target

Virat Kohli hit his 23rd century and put 119-runs stand for 3rd wicket with Cheteshwar Pujara (72) to put India in a commanding position in 3rd Test

On Day 3 of third Test of 5-match series, England were 23 for no loss in their second innings while chasing a mammoth 521 runs for victory against India at Trent Bridge in Nottingham on Monday. Courtesy skipper Virat Kohli's (103) 23rd century, his second ton of the series, India declared their second innings at 352 for seven, leaving the hosts an improbable victory target of 521 runs to chase with two full days play remaining in the match.

At stumps, Keaton Jennings was batting on 13, while Alastair Cook was unbeaten on 9. Earlier, Indian captain Virat Kohli hit his 23rd century in post Tea session to put India in a commanding position. At tea India were 270/3, taking their overall lead to 438 runs against England at Trent Bridge in Nottingham.

Kohli and Rahane (17) were at the crease when umpires dislodged the bails for the session. After missing the century by three runs in the first innings, Kohli is seven runs short of his 23rd Test ton. Cheteshwar Pujara (72) was the only batsman to be dismissed in the second session.

He was sent packing by pacer Ben Stokes when scorecard was reading 224. Kohli continued his impressive run while Cheteshwar Pujara finally found some form as India reached 194 for 2 at lunch, consolidating their lead to 362 against England at Trent Bridge in Nottingham. Kohli (56 batting) and Pujara (54 batting) put on 83 for the unbroken 3rd wicket stand slowly putting the visitors in an unassailable position. Starting from overnight 124-2, India had perfect conditions for batting on a humid and warm day in Nottingham.

The two batsmen looked to grind and play for time with no hurry whatsoever. It could be seen in the manner Pujara took his sweet time to get going, even as Kohli set off quickly for the day. They scored 70 runs during the wicketless session.

Video: India cricket Team led by captain Virat Kohli at Stumps

 

Oppo F9 Pro launch today: Watch livestream, know expected features, specs

The Oppo F9 Pro would features a water drop notch-based screen and gradient colour design. It would also feature the VOOC flash charge

Oppo, a Chinese smartphone manufacturer, is gearing up for the launch of the Oppo F9 Pro today i.e. August 21. The smartphone would feature a tiny notch-based screen and gradient colour design, similar to the Realme 1. The phone would also feature the VOOC flash charge, an enhanced version of Oppo’s proprietary fast charge technology that can provide up to two hours of talk time in five-minute charge, the company’s claimed.

OPPO F9 PRO FEATURES

First introduced in the Oppo Find X Lamborghini edition, the VOOC charge is a fast charging technology that uses a low voltage and high amp configuration to transfer more power from charger to the device. The charger uses a standard configuration of 5V/4A to achieve a charging speed that are 4 times faster than conventional 5V/1A charging technology. Read More

 

Kerala flood LIVE: 370 dead; 1st commercial plane lands at Kochi naval base

Commercial flight operations from Naval airport at Kochi commenced today with the first Air India flight from Bengaluru arriving this morning

Kerala floods : The situation in the flood-ravaged state was gradually improving, even as some rainfall was forecast for the coastal state from Monday onwards. According to the Indian Meteorological Department, “heavy rainfall” is expected only in Kozhikode, Kannur and Idduki districts over the next four days. However, even as water recedes from major areas, authorities are gearing up to deal with the possible outbreak of water-borne and air-borne diseases.

Commercial flight operations from the Naval airport at Kochi commenced today with the first Air India flight from Bengaluru arriving this morning. It is after 18 years that civilian flights are landing and taking off from the naval airport.

The Indian Railways said that two special trains will be run on Monday from Thiruvananthapuram and Ernakulam to Kolkata and that the train services are expected to be restored on all lines in Kerala by Monday evening. The Railways would also provide blankets and bedsheets to the affected people in Kerala.

In the worst ever torrential rains in Kerala in this monsoon season, 370 lives have been lost and 724,649 persons evacuated to 5,645 camps so far.

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Priyanka Chopra welcomes Nick Jonas, his parents in Mumbai

Actress Priyanka Chopra welcomed her American singer beau Nick Jonas and his parents, fuelling rumours that they will be reportedly formalising their relationship with an engagement party.

Nick, dressed in an all-black attire with a gold chain, stepped out of the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport here late on Thursday night, flanked by his parents -- mother Denise and father Kevin Jonas Sr -- and a security entourage as the paparazzi welcomed him with loud cheers of "Welcome to India, Nick".

Priyanka is reportedly going to host a party on Saturday when her family members, including her mother Madhu and brother Siddharth, will meet Nick's kin.

As they made their exit, the Jonas patriarch had a big Tiffany & Co. bag in his hand. Tiffany is the jeweller that closed down its London store for Nick to buy an engagement ring for Priyanka, according to PEOPLE.com | Celebrity News, Exclusives, Photos, and Videos.

According to international media reports, the two got engaged over Priyanka's birthday last month.

Read More On → priyanka chopra engagement

 

Vajpayee's health continues to remain critical, on life support: AIIMS

Vajpayee is under the supervision of Dr Randeep Guleria, a pulmonologist and currently the Director of AIIMS. Guleria has served as personal physician to Vajpayee for over three decades

Former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee 's condition continues to remain critical, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) said in a statement on Thursday. Vajpayee's health worsened on Wednesday and he is on life support system.

"Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's condition continues to remain the same. He is critical and on life support systems," the statement by the hospital read.

Senior BJP leaders Lal Krishna Advani, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh paid visits to the AIIMS on Thursday to enquire about the health of the former prime minister.

Earlier in the morning, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu visited AIIMS to enquire about the condition of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who has been undergoing treatment at the premier institute. Read Full Story

 

Ajit Wadekar, who taught India to win overseas, dies at 77; India mourns

Ajit Wadekar is one of the only three cricketers who represented India as a captain, coach, and national selector. The other two players are Chandu Borde and Lala Amarnath

Former Indian cricket team captain Ajit Wadekar , who led India to maiden Test series wins in England and West Indies, died at the age of 77, at the Jaslok Hospital in South Mumbai on Wednesday, after suffering prolonged illness.

The aggressive batsman left an indelible mark on Indian cricket despite making a mere 37 Test appearances. He led India to triumphs in England and the West Indies in 1971. Wadekar also served as India's manager in the 1990s when Mohammed Azharuddin was the captain. He later went on to become the chairman of selectors as well.

He is survived by his wife Rekha, two sons, and a daughter.

Ajit Wadekar as Indian cricket captain in 1971

In 1971, Wadekar was appointed the captain of national cricket team after Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi opted out of the West Indies tour. He led the side that included players like youngster Sunil Gavaskar, Farokh Engineer, Gundappa Viswanath and the Indian spin quartet of Bishen Singh Bedi, E A S Prasanna, Bhagwat Chandrasekhar, and Srinivasaraghavan Venkataraghavan. Read More

 

'Sui Dhaga' makes self-employment a necessity, not an option (Trailer Review)

Entertainment News : After I saw Sharat Kataria's "Dum Laga Ke Haisha", I immediately sensed he was an important and portentous cinematic voice, meant to take our cinema far ahead. This time again in "Sui Dhaga" he weaves the dreams desires, destiny and doom of the small town working class community into a pastiche of struggle and hope.

It is world lined with pain. But won't give up on laughter.

In his directorial debut, Kataria took on body-shaming. His X-L sized heroine (Bhumi Padnekar) was at peace in her large body even when her husband was ashamed to be seen with a woman so overweight. This is Sharat Kataria's universe of heroes who don't emerge from the shadows to claim fame. They remain in the shadows and are happy to be recognized for their ambivalent pride and poorly defined dignity.

In "Sui Dhaga" he takes on hierarchical humiliation with powerfully drawn characters who exude a sense of self worth in their state of worthlessness.

Varun Dhawan again in the October spirit, plays Mauji a tailor who in the absence of financial resources to support his own enterprise works for an employer who repeatedly shames him. Egged on by his quietly stubborn wife Mamta(Anushka Sharma, deglamourized with a purpose she reminded me of Waheeda Rehman in Pyasa) Mauji begins his own tailoring business as he is showered by taunts and disbelief by those all around him.

Read More On → Sui Dhaaga Trailer Review

Multiplex chain PVR to acquire South India-based SPI Cinemas for Rs 8.5 bn

The acquisition will also propel PVR to becoming the 7th largest cinema exhibitor in the world in terms of annual admissions at its theatres

Multiplex chain PVR Ltd on Sunday announced the acquisition of South India-based SPI Cinemas Private Ltd, which has a presence in the key markets of Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, and Mumbai.

In a cash-cum-stock deal, PVR will acquire 222,711 equity shares of SPI Cinemas, constituting 71.7 per cent of SPI, from existing shareholders for a total consideration of Rs 6.33 billion, and issue 1.6 million equity shares of PVR Limited, constituting 3.3 per cent of the diluted paid up equity share capital of PVR. At Rs 1,317.2 per share, this translates to Rs 2.1 billion, taking the deal value to just short of Rs 8.5 billion. EY India was the exclusive financial advisor on the transaction.

PVR will be funding the cash transaction through a combination of internal accruals, new debt issuance, and a deferred consideration of Rs 1 billion, which will payable on the achievement of certain milestones. Both of SPI's key executives, Kiran M Reddy and Swaroop Reddy, will continue to remain associated with the business.

Read More On → PVR SPI Cinemas Deal

 

It's official! PM Modi to launch India Post Payments Bank on August 21

IPPB would become one of the largest banking networks in India. India Post has 154,000 post offices, of which 139,000 are in rural areas

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) on August 21. The event will take place at the capital's Talkatora stadium.

The bank is running pilot services in Raipur and Ranchi. It will tie up with other banks and financial companies to offer loans, mutual funds and insurance policies, said sources. The Department of Posts was one of the 11 entities to get the in-principle nod from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in 2015 for setting up a payments bank. Many private firms such as Airtel, Fino, Paytm, etc, have launched these services. But IPPB missed the September 2017 deadline to open 650 branches because it failed to get a system integrator (SI) on board.

IPPB would become one of the largest banking networks in India. India Post has 154,000 post offices, of which 139,000 are in rural areas. The government is planning to utilise 650 branches to serve as controlling offices for servicing and monitoring post offices. These branches will be linked to IPPB by the end of this year. Read More

 

Maharashtra bandh: Security beefed up, schools and colleges remain open

All departments and affiliated colleges of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University, Aurangabad will remain closed today

Security has been beefed up in Maharashtra as Sakal Maratha Samaj, an umbrella body of Maratha groups has called for a state-wide bandh on Thursday over reservation issue.

Addressing the media, a leader of the Sakal Maratha Samaj, Amol Jadhavrao said that the state-wide bandh would be observed in a peaceful manner from 8 am to 6 pm. However, the bandh will not be observed in the Navi Mumbai.

"We have called for a state-wide bandh on August 9. The bandh will not be observed in Navi Mumbai, due to some sensitive issue. Essential services, schools and colleges have been excluded from the bandh called by us," Jadhavrao said.

He also urged the community members to not commit suicide over the issue and maintain their calm.

Meanwhile, police officials have also been deployed across the state to contain any unpleasant situation. "Adequate police deployment has been done to ensure peaceful bandh," Manjunath Shinghe, Mumbai Police PRO said.

All departments and affiliated colleges of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University, Aurangabad will remain closed today in view of the bandh.

Read More On : Maharashtra Bandh

 

Fake news crackdown: Modi govt wants WhatsApp, Facebook to be responsible

The government is more concerned with Telegram, fast becoming the preferred medium for many people

The government has said it expects popular social media applications such as WhatsApp and Facebook, which have large user bases in the country, to be responsible. In a bid to check the spread of fake news through social media and messaging platforms — leading to mob lynching in some cases — the government is exploring the possibility of blocking WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, and Telegram. The government is also trying to curb child abuse and pornography spread through these platforms.

The government has already issued notices on WhatsApp to keep a check on content. But, it is more concerned with Telegram, fast becoming the preferred medium for many people. Sources said the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) had expressed concerns about Telegram to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT). Based on the letter from MeitY, DoT had asked the telecom and internet service providers to provide inputs about blocking mobile apps.

ALSO READ: Social media with large user base should behave responsibly: IT Secretary

Asked about the blocking of mobile apps, Information Technology (IT) Secretary Ajay P Sawhney said, “We are always in touch, and anytime we have a concern we flag it. We expect all platforms to behave in a responsible manner, especially those with a large user base.” He, however, said whenever the need arises, the government acts according to the IT Act in order to remove contentious content.

Sources told Business Standard it was very difficult for the government to ensure content had been blocked or taken down. In case of Telegram, which does not have a huge user base in India yet, the government wants to strengthen its enforcement mechanism.

Telegram claims its cloud chat data is stored in multiple data centres around the globe that are controlled by different legal entities spread across different jurisdictions. The relevant decryption keys are split into parts and are never kept in the same place as the data they protect. As a result, several court orders from different jurisdictions are required to force them to give up any data.

“Thanks to this structure, we can ensure no single government or block of like-minded countries can intrude on people’s privacy and freedom of expression,” Telegram explained on its website. Read more

 

Xiaomi Mi A2 India launch today: How to watch livestream; know specs, price

Xiaomi, a Chinese mobile phone manufacturer, is launching a Google Android One operating system-based Xiaomi Mi A2 smartphone in India today i.e. August 8. First unveiled in Spain on July 24, the device is a successor of the Mi A1, which was the first Xiaomi smartphone to run stock Android out of the box. The Mi A2 gets a major design overhaul in comparison to the predecessor, along with several new improvements in terms of specifications and features.

The Xiaomi Mi A2 features a familiar design that the company introduced with the launch of the Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro. The phone sports a bigger 5.99-inch in-plane switch (IPS) screen in a form factor almost identical to the predecessor. The screen features fullHD+ resolution that stretches in an 18:9 aspect ratio, protected by a 2.5D curved Corning Gorilla Glass 5. While most other midrange phones are moving towards all glass design, the Mi A2 retains the metallic body design of its predecessor, but now boasts more colour options.

ALSO READ: Xiaomi component supplier Holitech to Make in Andhra, will invest $200 mn

In terms of specifications, the Xiaomi Mi A2 is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 system-on-chip, paired with either 4GB or 6GB RAM. The phone also gets 128GB internal storage variant, along with the regular 32GB and 64GB model. Being an Android One smartphone, the Mi A2 runs vanilla Android Oreo, and the company had promised to upgrade it to Android P sometime later this year. The phone also gets unlimited high-quality photos storage on Google Drive.

Chennai remains tense as court to decide place for Karunanidhi's burial

Security tightened ahead of the expected arrival of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other national leaders

Almost 12 hours after the demise of M Karunanidhi -- five-time Chief Minister and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) President, the situation in Chennai remains tense, even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, several other ministers and very important persons expected to visit the city to pay tribute to the late veteran politician.

There has been violence at some places after the state government denied a place for his burial at the Marina Beach, Chennai, where several leaders, including former Chief Ministers Annadurai, M G Ramachandran, and J Jayalalithaa, were buried.

The workers raised slogans seeking a place at the Marina for their beloved leader as his final resting place. Some of these workers turned violent. The DMK leadership immediately approached the Madras High Court which adjourned the hearing to 8:30 am on Wednesday.

During the night, Karunanidhi's mortal remains were moved from his Gopalapuram house to the one in CIT Nagar, where his two wives reside. The body was then moved to Rajaji Hall, a public hall in the city, Wednesday early morning to allow the public to pay homage. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and others are expected to visit the Hall on Wednesday after which the body will be taken for burial.

An eerie calm wrapped the city after Karunanidhi's death was announced on Tuesday night. Even on Wednesday morning, most of the shops remained closed in the city, while roads went empty, except for those who went to pay homage to the late DMK leader.

Read More On → Karunanidhi Death

 

Fake news crackdown: Govt seeks options to block Facebook and WhatsApp

Under the present framework, instructions for blocking of websites or URLs are issued by the DoT to internet service licensees, based on the directions of Meity and according to directions from courts

In a bid to check the spread of fake news through social media and messaging platforms — leading to mob lynching in some cases — the government is exploring the possibility of blocking mobile applications such as WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram and Telegram. The government is also trying to curb child abuse and pornography spread through these platforms.

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) had written to telecommunications service providers (TSPs) and internet service providers (ISPs) on July 18, seeking inputs about options for blocking mobile applications, especially when national security and public order are under threat.

According to officials, the DoT had a meeting on July 4 with telcos and ISPs to discuss measures. “Issues have been raised by the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) and law enforcement agencies for blocking of certain mobile apps... Therefore, you are requested to explore various possible options and confirm how the Instagram/ Facebook/WhatsApp/Telegram and such other mobile apps can be blocked on internet,” said the July 18 letter.

The MeitY, too, had issued a second notice to WhatsApp on July 19, warning the messaging app could face legal action if it failed to curb abuse on the platform. The ministry’s first notice was sent on July 2.

Telecom operators, however, said it would be difficult to block these applications. With the advent of technology, tools such as the virtual private network (VPN) are prevalent in the market, and they allow users to access content that has been blocked at the TSP or the ISP level. Read More

 

Rajan Nanda: The man who fast-tracked Escorts' tractor business

It is interesting that Nanda tried his hands over multiple businesses but in his lifetime realised the need to focus on the core, which is, tractor beside construction and railway equipment

Rajan Nanda , chairman and managing director of tractor and construction equipment maker Escorts, passed away on Sunday at the age of 76. Nanda had joined Escorts in 1965 when he was twenty-three and became the chairman in 1994 after his father H P Nanda, who had founded the company, stepped down.

Nanda’s death comes at a time when the tractor maker is firing on all cylinders, thanks to three consecutive years of normal rainfall. The company more than doubled its profit in FY18 to Rs 3.44 billion. In May, Escorts’ stock price rose to a record high of Rs 1,018. Nanda’s son Nikhil, currently the managing director, is actively involved in the business.

Nanda died at the Medanta Hospital in Gurgaon, at the outskirts of Delhi. Incidentally, Medanta was founded by renowned cardiac surgeon Naresh Trehan who once used to run the Escorts Heart Institute & Research Centre owned by Rajan. Nandas sold the Delhi hospital to Fortis for Rs 5.85 billion in 2005. The money was used to bring down the debt at Escorts, the flagship company. Read More

 

Honor Play India launch today: Price, features, specs & watch livestream

The Honor Play will go on sale today at 4PM exclusively on Amazon. It will be available in two colours - blue and black

Honor, an online sub-brand of the Chinese smartphone manufacturer Huawei, is gearing up to launch the Honor Play in India today i.e. August 6. The phone was first unveiled in China last month. It is with this smartphone that Honor introduced the GPU Turbo technology, which the company claims to improve phone’s graphic performance without compromising on the processor’s efficiency. The Amazon-exclusive smartphone would go on sale today from 4PM and will be available in two colours – blue and black.

The Honor Play is a premium device with top-notch specifications and features such as Kirin 970 system-on-chip (SoC), paired with a discreet neural processing unit for machine learning, artificial intelligence-based dual rear cameras. The phone brings back Honor’s signature metallic design with matte look. It boots Android Oreo 8.1 covered under EMUI 8.2 user interface.

The phone sports a 6.3-inch notch-based 19.5:9 aspect ratio screen of fullHD+ resolution.

It features a 16-megapixel primary camera sensor, paired with 2MP depth-sensing lens on the back and a 16MP shooter on the front for selfies. The rear cameras feature AI scene recognition for still photography and AIS & EIS for image and video stabilisation. The front camera features iPhone-inspired portrait mode with several lighting features. Powering the phone is a 3,750 mAh battery and it supports fast charging with bundled 18W charger.

Article Source : BS

Salman-Katrina turn muses for Manish Malhotra

Bollywood stars Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif set the stage on fire as they turned showstoppers for Manish Malhotra's recent bridal couture show.

One of the most loved pairs of Bollywood, the actors exuded elegance as they donned the outfits of a bride and groom.

The Indo-Persian inspired label of the ace designer is titled 'Zween'.

While the 'Sultan' star looked dapper in a black sherwani, Katrina's ethnic look caught many eyeballs.

On the work front, the duo is all set to share the screen space once again in Ali Abbas Zafar's upcoming film 'Bharat'.

The 'Zero' star has replaced Priyanka Chopra, who exited from the project due to her reported engagement to her rumoured boyfriend, Nick Jonas.

'Bharat' is slated to hit theatres on June 5, next year.

Article Source : BS

 

Sony vs Nintendo: Games consoles are holding out against mobile onslaught

New mobile versions of PUBG and Fortnite, both distributed by Tencent Holdings, raised the spectre of gamers spending more time on smartphone rather than more luxurious but less convenient consoles

A key takeaway from Sony’s and Nintendo’s earnings is that console games are alive and well. While both companies reported softness in sales and shipments of console hardware – the PS4 and Switch, respectively – revenue and unit sales from software remained strong.

That means consumers who bought the devices over the past year or so aren’t bored and weren’t lured to smartphone platforms to the extent many feared.

New mobile versions of PUBG and Fortnite, both distributed by Tencent Holdings, raised the spectre of gamers spending more time on the ubiquitous smartphone rather than more luxurious but less convenient consoles.

ALSO READ: Sony records 24% rise in Q1 profit over surge in game software sale

Both titles can be thought of as gaming versions of the Hunger Games plot, and are addictive. If gamers are trading in console time for mobile time, it’s not yet showing up in the numbers at Sony and Nintendo.

Game is on

• Nintendo reported a better than expected 88 per cent jump in Q1 operating profit as sales of Switch game titles more than doubled

• Sony reported a record first-quarter profit of 24 % as sales of game software surged

Read More On → Sony vs Nintendo

Article Source → BS