Golden rules for staying fit and healthy

Experts have jotted down five golden rules for a healthy lifestyle which according to them are a key to staying healthy and fit during old age.

The experts have revealed that not over-eating, avoiding being overweight, eating a healthy diet, getting regular exercise and taking some "tried and tested pills" are the five golden rules to remaining healthy, the Daily Express reported.

According to the scientists, from Linkoping University in Sweden, lifestyle factors are vital for maintaining cognitive , psychological and physical health as we grow older.

One of the study leaders, professor Mats Hammar, cautioned people against leaving the dinner table "stuffed to the gills", while claiming that under-eating slightly in the form of limited calorie intake is probably beneficial in the long run. 

The humble but ubiquitous Idli-Sambar, a dish that triggers much mirth, has emerged a clear winner. It has been chosen as the healthiest option among various Indian breakfast men­us. Also, the breakfast nutrient profile in Chennai is the best among all four metros though it is continues to be deficient in fibre, iron and B group of vitamins.According to research on ‘India Breakfast Habits Study’ conducted by Dr. Malathi Sivaramakrishnan of Nirmala Niketan (with support of Kellogg India), the existence of well-defined breakfast foods like Idli and Dosa with Sambar ensures that Chennaiites have a breakfast adequate in calories compared to De­lhi, Mumbai and Kolkata.“However, there are still glaring gaps in the recommended dietary allowance for Indians with a deficit in iron, fibre and Vitamin B3, Niacin,” Dr. Malathi said. When it came to the day’s nutrient profile with the deficit being met by lunch or dinner options, Delhi emerged the best, she added.Releasing the study findings, she said, though breakfast comprised of Idli or Dosa with some accompaniment for a majority of children, adolescents and working adults in Chennai, nearly per cent of housewives, 30 per cent of the elderly and 20 per cent working adults have only a beverage for breakfast.The contribution of calories from fat at breakfast among Chennaiites is as high as 34-35 per cent compared to 25 per cent of recommended dietary allowance (RDA) among adults (18-40 years).The breakfast fat comes from oil in Dosa, oil in chutney powder and coconut in chutney.The study also revealed a gender bias in breakfast skipping attitudes with about 18 per cent of adolescent girls displaying the tendency while this attitude was prevalent only among 4 per cent of boys.However, breakfast picture is slightly better in children below 12 years with skipping attitude less rampant in the age group.“The prevalence of breakfast skipping among adolescent girls is a major cause of concern as this is an important stage of growing up, especially for girls who need more iron intake,” Dr Malathi said.Supplementing the regular diet with foods that are rich in fibre and vitamins will help prevent breakfast skimping (inadequate nutrient) amo­ng people, she added. With reasons ranging from paucity of time to fears of weight gain, the study, Mumbai, found 27 per cent respondents saying they skipped breakfast. Only three per cent respondents said they considered breakfast as essential part of the day, it added. The study conducted over years, starting 2009, covered 3,619 respondents from Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai. 'Paranthas' emerged as the breakfast item of choice for Delhiites, while Idlis and Dosas found favour with Chennai residents.More respondents in Mumbai and Kolkata opted for bread, milk and eggs in breakfast. Other studies have suggested a link between skipping breakfast to obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes and other health problems seen as precursors to heart problems.Experts believe that people who don’t eat breakfast are more likely to be hungrier later in the day and eat larger meals. Those meals mean the body must process a larger amount of calories in a shorter amount of time. That can spike sugar levels in the blood and perhaps lead to clogged arteries.Skipping breakfast - the most important meal of the day, not only means that you tuck in more lunch, but also primes your brain to seek out unhealthier and higher-calorie foods.What's your favourite breakfast option? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

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Anxiety linked to stroke risk

Men and women with severe symptoms of anxiety may have a higher risk of stroke than their more relaxed counterparts, a new study suggests.

"The greater your anxiety level, the higher your risks of having a stroke," study co-author Dr. Maya J. Lambiase, of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, told Reuters Health.

"Assessment and treatment of anxiety has the potential to not only improve overall quality of life, but may also reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases, such as stroke, later in life," she said in an email.

Dr. Philip Muskin, a professor of psychiatry at Columbia University Medical Center in New York emphasized that the stroke risk identified in the study among overly anxious individuals was not vastly increased.

"What it's really saying is, you're a little more likely to have a stroke," said Muskin, who was not involved in the study. Still, he added, "I would like to be a little less likely (to have a stroke) in my life."

Stroke is one of the leading causes of death in the U.S., but few studies have looked at psychosocial factors other than depression or psychological stress or distress, that may contribute to a person's risk of stroke.

Yet, Lambiase and her colleagues point out, anxiety has been linked to increased cigarette smoking, alcohol abuse and physical inactivity - all of which are known to increase stroke risk.

To investigate the association between anxiety and stroke, the researchers analyzed data from 6,019 men and women who were enrolled in the First National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey in 1971-1975 and followed for about 16 years.

The participants were interviewed at the start of the study to determine the presence and severity of any anxiety symptoms, and stroke events were identified by examining hospital or nursing home discharge reports and death certificates.

A total of 419 strokes occurred throughout the study period, but the risk of stroke was higher among those who reported greater anxiety symptoms, including excessive feelings of worry, stress and nervousness, at the initial interview.

Overall, anxiety was linked to a 14 percent higher risk of stroke relative to participants who were not anxious, Lambiase and her co-authors report in the American Heart Association journal Stroke.

But stroke risk also appeared to rise in line with increasing severity of anxiety symptoms, the results suggest.

The link between anxiety and stroke risk remained even after the researchers took into consideration other factors that may have influenced cardiovascular health, such as alcohol use, physical activity and smoking. After those adjustments, men and women with higher levels of anxiety were 33 percent more likely to experience stroke than those with fewer anxiety symptoms.

Similarly, the link between anxiety symptoms and increased stroke risk remained when the researchers accounted for study participants' age, gender and symptoms of depression.

The researchers didn't analyze the reason for the connection between anxiety and stroke, but they speculate multiple factors are likely to be involved. These could include unhealthy coping behaviors people with anxiety indulge in as well as overactivation of the sympathetic nervous system, which controls fight-or-flight responses, such as the release of stress hormones.

"People with high anxiety levels are more likely to smoke and be physically inactive, possibly explaining part of the anxiety-stroke link," Lambiase said. "Higher stress hormones, blood pressure or sympathetic output may also be factors."

"However," she added, "future research is needed to determine the precise mechanisms whereby greater levels of anxiety increase a person's risk for stroke."

Dr. Muskin acknowledged that the study findings do point to a greater risk of stroke among overly anxious people, "but there are things you can do about that," he said.

Noting that "anxiety predicts bad health behaviors," Dr. Muskin cited the importance of stopping smoking and starting to exercise. He also described the importance of meditation and proper breathing techniques, which he teaches in his private practice with patients.

"Doing nothing leaves you at a higher risk (of stroke)," he said, but breathing exercises have "a psychologically beneficial effect," with no harm and no addicting qualities, he told Reuters Health.

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Mechanism behind breast cancer's spread

Scientists have discovered that low oxygen conditions, which often persist inside tumours, are sufficient to initiate a molecular chain of events that transforms breast cancer cells from being rigid and stationery to mobile and invasive.

Gregg Semenza, M.D., Ph.D., the C. Michael Armstrong Professor of Medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, said that high levels of RhoA and ROCK1 were known to worsen outcomes for breast cancer patients by endowing cancer cells with the ability to move, but the trigger for their production was a mystery.

He said that they now know that the production of these proteins increases dramatically when breast cancer cells are exposed to low oxygen conditions.

To move, cancer cells must make many changes to their internal structures, Semenza said.

Thin, parallel filaments form throughout the cells, allowing them to contract and cellular "hands" arise, allowing cells to "grab" external surfaces to pull themselves along. The proteins RhoA and ROCK1 are known to be central to the formation of these structures.

Moreover, the genes that code for RhoA and ROCK1 were known to be turned on at high levels in human cells from metastatic breast cancers.

In a few cases, those increased levels could be traced back to a genetic error in a protein that controls them, but not in most. This activity, said Semenza, led him and his team to search for another cause for their high levels.

The researchers found that women with high levels of RhoA or ROCK1, and especially those women with high levels of both, were much more likely to die of breast cancer than those with low levels.

The study is published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The way Angelina went public with her medical story on her own terms, in her own time - with a NY Times op-ed piece that caught the media fishbowl of Hollywood completely by surprise - reveals a woman who once seemed out of control to be one of Hollywood's most forceful and compassionate stars, using her fame with surgical precision to promote matters dear to her. Oscar-winning actress Angelina Jolie disclosed that she had a preventive mastectomy after learning she had a gene mutation that significantly raised her risk of breast cancer. A look at the procedure:Q: What kind of surgery did Jolie have?
A: Jolie had a preventive double mastectomy, meaning she chose to have both her breasts removed even though she had not been diagnosed with cancer.Q: Why did she have the operation?
A: Jolie says that she inherited a faulty version of the BRCA1 gene. Doctors told her she had an 87 percent chance of getting breast cancer and a 50 percent risk of ovarian cancer. She said the surgery reduced her risk of breast cancer to below 5 percent.Q: What did the procedure involve?
A: In double mastectomies, surgeons typically remove as much breast tissue as possible. In Jolie's case, the doctors preserved the skin covering her breasts, inserting "fillers" for the breast tissue to keep the skin elastic for reconstruction. According to Jolie, she had implants put in nine weeks later.Q: How many women have this faulty gene?
A: Only a small percentage of women inherit this same faulty gene, or a similar mutated version of a related gene, BRCA2. (The name stands for breast cancer susceptibility gene). These mutations are most commonly found in women of Eastern European Jewish descent. Q: How do these genes increase a woman's risk of breast or ovarian cancer?
A: The average woman has a 12 percent risk of developing breast cancer sometime during her life. In comparison, women who have inherited a faulty BRCA gene are about five times more likely to get breast cancer. In the U.S., about 5 to 10 percent of breast cancers are thought to be linked to harmful BRCA genes. Q: How can women find out if they have these gene mutations?
A: A genetic test using a blood test can detect these genes. Those at higher risk are those with close family members diagnosed with breast or ovarian cancer at an early age. Jolie says that her mother fought cancer for nearly a decade before dying at age 56. Genetic counseling is usually recommended to discuss the test and the results.Q. What does the test cost?
A. The test can cost several thousand dollars. According to Myriad Genetics, the sole provider of such tests in the U.S., 95 percent of patients have insurance that covers the test and the average out-of-pocket cost is $100. Myriad has a patient assistance program for those who aren't covered by insurance.Q: What other options might Jolie have had?
A: Doctors would likely have suggested earlier screening tests, including mammograms or MRIs, but those would only help them spot breast cancer earlier, not prevent it. They might also consider using breast cancer drugs preventively, though tests of long-term use are still ongoing. Not everyone opts for surgery. Q: How relevant is Jolie's decision to other women?
A: For most women, genetics will not play a big part in whether or not they get breast cancer. "The majority of women considering their breast cancer risk should focus on things like a healthy lifestyle, eating a balanced diet, keeping a healthy weight and not drinking too much alcohol," said Dr. Peter Johnson, chief clinician at Cancer Research U.K. But for women with a similar genetic risk to Jolie, it's possible her decision will prompt more procedures. "It's a very empowering message that women are not helpless when faced with a genetic cancer risk," Johnson said.

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Hyderabad Public School Grand masti

A reunion is usually when the alumni discuss their teachers, subjects and that time when they jumped the gate to watch a movie. But during Hyderabad Public School’s week-long 90th year celebrations, besides being the “reunion that broke all records in terms of turnout” (1,600 attending), it is looking to give back something to the city it calls home — a “think tank” to encourage  ideas.

Marri Aditya Reddy, member of the core organising committee and the board of governors, says, “It was initiated to help the younger generations make use of the network that HPS has created nationally. This year we are supporting two ventures. What’s important here is that one must have heard this in business schools and such, but there is no other similar programme that allows people to network at the school level.”

And HPS by no means has anything less to offer — locally and nationally. From Tollywood heartthrobs Ramcharan and Rana to the likes of Aditya Reddy, the secretary of APCC, Aamer Javeed, who was recently elevated as the national secretary of the National Students Union of India (NSUI) and C.V. Anand, the police commissioner of Cyberabad. Nationally, there’s minister Pallam Raju while in the field of business there’s Anil Reddi, the managing director of Porsche India and Satya Nadella, touted as a possible CEO of Microsoft. With an alumni like this, HPS is the ideal networking ground.

Although the big names were missing at the dinner on Thursday, the response this year has been overwhelming, says Aditya Reddy. “It was also a sort of time travel, because the menu was designed around the dishes we would have as students from Monday to Friday,” enthused Aamer Javeed.

In the recently opened dinning hall of 15,000 square feet, the younger lot approached their seniors for help and support. Aamer Javeed, the face of the student community, was mostly seen interacting with kids curious about the current state of affairs. “Kids are more politically aware now. The questions they asked were mind-blowing. They were mostly worried about the future of the state and were asking really important and the right questions,” he noted.

While the start-up, called Zip.pr, which provides exact locations of an address with short codes, was employed even in the logistics and planning of the reunion, wildlife photographers Ismail Shariff and Masood Hussain attracted a lot of eyeballs.

Ismail and Masood, two wildlife photographers of the ’96 and ’93 batches respectively, approached the Old Students Association to promote their firm with the “motive of inculcating the spirit of appreciation” for photography.

Ironically, the two did not meet while in HPS but caught up at Lamakaan after years. “This is what is nice about HPS, the quality of people around you is incomparable,” says Ismail, photographer and founder of Imprima, a firm specialising in high-end archival print for fine art and photography.

And they did succeed in their motive. The photography show that is currently on display has been a huge hit as the duo has managed to get some rare shots of wildlife.

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Hot Gadgets of 2013: A showcase of devices and innovations

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CBI probes Vedanta head

New Delhi: The CBI has registered a preliminary enquiry (PE) against Anil Agarwal, chairman of the Vedanta Group, and others to probe alleged irregularities in the disinvestment of the Hindustan Zinc Ltd (HZL) in 2002 during the period of BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government.

Sources said, “There are allegations that Sterlite Industries, part of Vedanta Resources, had picked up stake in the public sector undertaking at an undervalued price, resulting in the estimated losses running into hundreds of crores to the exchequer. The PE has been registered to probe whether the disinvestment led to any loss to the exchequer.”

The PE has been registered against Mr Agarwal and unknown officials of HZL, ministry of disinvestment and ministry of mines, sources added.

Sources said the agency will soon seek clarifications from Mr Agarwal and officials of ministry of disinvestment and ministry of mines.

Sources did not rule out the possibility of seeking clarifications from two former officials of the ministry who had reportedly approved the disinvestment process.

“The agency sleuths may also seek relevant records from the ministry concerned,” sources said. The company has been merged with another group Sesa Goa in August this year and renamed as Sesa Sterlite. Without registering a regular case, the agency does not have power to call anybody to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) headquarters for recording the statement.

If the agency decides to convert the PE into a regular case, then only can the CBI send summons to the people.  A statement issued by then ministry of disinvestment at the time of HZL’s disinvestment, ho-wever, had justified the stake sale to Sterlite. Sources alleged serious flaws in the disinvestment process undertaken by the then government in 2002. 

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GMR exits Istanbul airport

Hyderabad: GMR Infrastructure, the Bangalore-based infrastructure major, has agreed to sell its 40 per cent stake in Istanbul Sabiha Gokçen International Airport in Turkey to its joint venture partner Malaysia Airport Holdings for 225 million euros ($306 million or Rs 1896 crore).

According to Malaysian state-run news agency Bernama, Malaysia Airports has exercised its first right of refusal after GMR expressed its intention to sell its stake.

In the Istanbul airport, Turkey’s Limak Investment and GMR Group had a stake of 40 per cent each and the remaining 20 per cent was held by Malaysia Airports.

The group will use the sale proceeds to pare its debt and also for funding its power projects, said a GMR official.

According to Bloomberg, Sabiha Gokcen airport is the smaller of the two airports serving Turkey’s biggest city Istanbul, handling 14.7 million passengers in 2012 compared with 45 million travelers using TAV’s Ataturk Airport.

Turkey-based Limak, GMR and Malaysia Airports won operational rights to Sabiha Gokcen for 20 years from the Turkish government for 1.93 billion euros in 2007.

The exit from this airport marks GMR’s withdrawal from the overseas projects. It is also seen as part of the asset-light strategy to reduce its Rs 40,000 crore.

After its forced exit from Maldives airport, the group had sold its stake in Singapore-based power project for $125 million and its coal mines in South Africa for $50 million.

Earlier, Istanbul-based TAV, an affiliate of Aero-ports de Paris, was in talks with GMR to buy its stake. However, Malaysia Airports had asserted its right of first refusal to acquire the holding.

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Samsung launches dual-SIM Galaxy Grand 2

Huma Qureshi with Vineet Taneja, Country Head, Mobile and IT, Samsung India and Manu Sharma Director, Samsung India Mobile, at the launch of the company's new smartphone 'Galaxy grand 2' in Mumbai on Monday. - AP

Mumbai: South Korean mobile handset-maker Samsung today launched its latest offering 'Galaxy Grand 2' in a price range of Rs 22,990 to Rs 24,990.

The dual-SIM smartphone will be available in the market from first week of January next year.

"This new Samsung Galaxy Grand 2 delivers an improved HD viewing experience, more powerful multi-tasking features, a premium experience through design and entertainment on the go," Samsung India Country Head, Mobile and IT, Vineet Taneja said.

The device runs on Android 4.3 Jelly Bean and is a dual-SIM device with support for GSM+GSM. It also features a 5.25-inch HD TFT display with a resolution of 720x1280 pixels.

Samsung has also introduced a single destination - Club Samsung - for its Indian infotainment content, company's Director, Mobile, Manu Sharma said.

"The Club Samsung digital entertainment store features 4 lakh songs, 5,000 movies, 500 gigs and live TV with over 90 channels all optimised for high-quality display on Samsung devices," he said. The device will be available in black, pink and white colour variants in select regions.

"The device will be launched across the country through its dealership network of 1.2 lakh dealers," Sharma added.

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Suzuki’s Hustler raises eyebrows

Tokyo: Suzuki Motor Corp had little idea that the name “Hustler” for its new, boxy minicar aimed at outdoorsy Japanese customers might cause mirth among English speakers for its association with an adult magazine — but it’s not alone.

Plucking words from foreign dictionaries without checking how they might be received by native speakers appears to be a habit at Japanese companies, which have produced countless products with unintentionally unsavory names.

The name Hustler was chosen to conjure the image of agility, as well as invite nostalgia from customers who remembered an off-road motorbike released in 1969 called the Hustler 250, said a Suzuki public relations officer.

Foreign visitors might instead recall the sexually explicit magazine started by porn magnate Larry Flynt as competition to Playboy, or associate the word with obtaining mon-ey through illegal activities or vice industries.

The Hustler follows a string of other Japan-made cars to bemuse speakers of foreign languages, such as Daihatsu Motor Co Ltd’s Naked in 2000 and Isuzu Motors Ltd’s 1983 Bighorn.

Spanish speakers were taken aback by Mazda Motor Corp’s Laputa, a derogatory word for sex worker, while Mitsubishi Motors Corp sold its Pajero model as the Montero in Spanish-speaking countries as the former is slang for sexual self-pleasure.

Japanese confectionery often yields a chuckle from foreign tourists, too. A tubular chocolate snack called Collon and an isotonic sports drink named Pocari Sweat, for example, bear unfortunate associations with bodily functions.

While many brand names around the world don’t translate across borders — the Iranian washing powder Barf, which means snow in Persian, or a Swedish chocolate bar called Plopp, for example — Japanese companies often use foreign words for how they sound, with little regard to their original meaning.   

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Rural sales drive Maruti

New Delhi: For India’s largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki, rural sales have come as  a “life-saver” at a time when the consumer sentiments is low.

“The thrust of the marketing department five years ago to rural areas has come as a life-saver for us. Our rural sales have grown by 18 per cent due to which our overall sales between April and November of this fiscal have grown by one per cent,” said Maruti Suzuki India, chairman R. C. Bhargava.

He said that if the rural sales had not increased, the company would also have seen a negative growth like the whole of industry.

Surprisingly, the carmaker’s urban sales have declined by five per cent during the April-November period.  Now, rural sales constitute around 30 per cent of Maruti's overall sales from 26 per cent last year. “We will continue with this rural thrust,” said Bhargava.

The company is planning to have presence in a total of one lakh villages across the country by March next year.­ “We have been giving importance to rural markets. Last year, we had covered 44,000 villages and till November this year, we have presence in 60,000 villages and by March next year, we will have our presence in one lakh out of a total of 6.51 lakh villages in India,” said Bhargava.

While the company has grown by one per cent this fiscal till November, he said: “The industry has declined by nine per cent sans Maruti’s figure. This is not a happy situation. We are hoping that we will end the year with retail sales more or less flat as compared to the last year.”

“The one per cent may or may not remain  by the end of this year. But, we don’t expect to go below last year retail sales, we may be a little bit higher,” the chairman said.

Meanwhile the company’s chief operating officer (marketing and sales) said that the number of first time buyers has declined from 70 per cent last year to 64 per cent in the current year. However, he said that company is expecting December to break monthly record in terms  of retail sales with about 1.2 lakh units. 

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Internet ad sales climb to $10.7 billion in Q3

Washington: Advertisers broke an all-time record on ad spending after they spent 10.69 billion dollars on Internet advertisements in the last quarter, according to a new report.

The Interactive Advertising Bureau reported that the trade group tracked a 15 percent year-over-year growth in ad dollars in the third quarter of 2013.

According to CNET, in the third quarter of 2012, ad revenues totaled only 9.26 billion dollars.

The quarter's revenue was also a 4.2 percent rise from the second quarter of 2013.

The IAB has been tracking quarterly ad revenues since 1999.

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Nokia lines up Asha to boost sales

Hyderabad: With consumers of all income groups rooting for smartphones, Nokia plans to launch its most affordable smartphone in the Asha series, in an attempt to resurrect its declining market share.

“The new Nokia Asha 500 will launched later in December and is set to be the lowest priced affordable smartphone to offer WhatsApp and many other features, which are available only in high-end phones,” said T.S. Sridhar, regional director, south, Nokia India, on Tuesday.

The handsets worth less than Rs 5,000 make up nearly 85 per cent  of the Indian handset market in terms of volume.

Nokia, however, lost its ground in this segment to Indian handset makers, who import Chinese mobiles under their brand name. According to IDC, Nokia had a 14.7 per cent market share in the Indian mobile phone market in Q3, 2013, putting it in second place behind Samsung that had a market share of 15.3 per cent.

Sridhar, who was in Hyderabad to launch Nokia Asha 502 and 503, said the newly launched handsets will have the aspirational value at affordable price. He, however, added that Nokia Lumia is doing well in the highend segment and its Windows OS has emerged as the second most preferred mobile software in India.

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Despite top-level exits, Infosys stock up 50 per cent since Murthy return

Mumbai: Despite high-level exits since June this year, Infosys shares still retain a gain of nearly 50 per cent since its founder N R Narayana Murthy returned to the helm of affairs at the country's second largest IT firm.

In the eighth major exit since the return of Murthy six months ago, V Balakrishnan, Infosys head of BPO business, quit the company this month on whose Board he was also a member.

Infosys' shares are still trading at a record high and have shot-up by 48.85 per cent since June, although the shares fell by over 2 per cent a day after Balakrishnan's exit.

On December 20, the IT major's scrip had hit a 52-week high level of Rs 3,569.90.

The market value of the IT major has gained Rs 65,704 crore since Murthy's return.

"We believe that exit of Balakrishnan will not make any material impact at a business level as he was not heading a very big chunk of the company's revenue but the development does indicate that there is a severe management transition happening in the company," said Ankita Somani, Research Analyst IT, Angel Broking.

"Though the impact of top management resignations at Infosys will not immediately make an impact to its topline, it may have some effect over a medium term," she added.

Analysts said the rise in Infosys scrip is also because of the weak rupee.

Rupee is at present trading at 61.79 level against the US dollar. Fall in rupee versus the US currency is broadly seen as a positive for export-focussed sectors like the Indian IT space as large IT companies benefit from a weaker Indian currency, as it positively impacts their profit margins.

Big IT companies earn a major chunk of their revenues in dollar from their US clients.

According to Kishor Ostwal, CMD, CNI Research, "As long as rupee holds at 62-level, Infosys will remain in upward direction."

Said to be a top contender to the post of Chief Executive Officer, Balakrishnan, who joined Infosys in 1991 and later became its chief financial officer, resigned, just a day after Subrahmanyam Goparaju, senior vice president and head of Infosys Labs' quit.

This is the eighth high-profile exit in the IT major ever since Narayana Murthy returned at the helm in June, 2013 bringing along his son Rohan as Executive Assistant.

While Infosys global sales head Basab Pradhan quit in July, the company's global manufacturing head Ashok Vemuri resigned in August to join rival iGate as CEO. Stephen Pratt, who co-founded Infosys consulting, had stepped down last month.

In September, Infosys Head of BPO sales in Australia Kartik Jayaraman and BPO Head Latin America Humberto Andrade had quit the company. A month earlier, its Vice President and Financial Services Head for the Americas Sudhir Chaturvedi quit.

The top level exit also comes amidst organisational restructuring that company Executive Chairman N R Narayana Murthy is overseeing after returning to revive the sagging fortunes of the company in June.

Murthy, 67, has been making a series of changes at Infosys, including cutting costs at on-site work locations, and shifting focus to winning large outsourcing projects. 

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Apple working on 12.9-inch iPad for 2014

Washington: Tech giant Apple is reportedly speculated to be working on a large-screened iPad for the upcoming year.

Sources from Apple's Asia supply chain, Digitimes said that the company might be underway to release a 12.9-inch iPad sometime in October 2014.

According to Mashable, Digitimes' source has also pointed that the rumoured tablet will be manufactured by Taiwan-based PC manufacturer Quanta Computer

Earlier speculations have hinted to an iPhone with a larger screen and an Apple-branded smart television .

The report said that an iPad with a nearly 13-inch screen would largely buck the current trend of smaller tablets and phablets currently dominating the global marketplace and could function as a tool particularly useful in educational environment. 

On October 22, 2013, Apple launched its new tablet, the iPad Air. Apple CEO Tim Cook introduces the new iPad Air in San Francisco. The iPad Air is 7.5 millimeters thin; weighing at just 1 pound, it is 20% thinner than its predecessor.The new iPad boasts of a large 9.7 inch retina display, with a 2048-by-1536 resolution and over 3.1 million pixels.The Air runs on an Apple-designed A7 chip and M7 coprocessor. It is said to measure motion from the gadget by pulling data from the accelerometer, gyroscope, and compass, so that apps can give a better experience based on the movement of the iPad.Apple claims that even though it is 20 percent thinner and twice as fast as the previous-generation iPad, it still gives the same incredible 10-hour battery life. iPad Air which runs on the iOS 7 platform is packed with features - two antennas and MIMO (multiple-input multiple-output) technology, dual microphones, a 5 MP camera that also allows 1080p HD video recording.The new full-sized iPad has gone on sale from 25 October 2013, and will be priced starting $499.

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Bitcoin operators shut shop in India amid RBI warning

New Delhi: A number of bitcoin operators in India have begun suspending their business following RBI's warning against use of such virtual currencies due to potential money laundering and cyber security risks.

While RBI is yet to come out with a clear regulatory framework for bitcoins, which have been gaining currency across the world over the past few months, it has issued an advisory cautioning general public against use of bitcoins and other virtual currencies.

Within days of this advisory issued on December 24, a number of entities offering bitcoin services have suspended their operations, temporarily or indefinitely, while websites of a few others have gone down. However, some other entities continue to run their operations of offering bitcoin exchange services for rupee and other currencies.

Bitcoin is a virtual currency that can be generated through complex computer software systems with solutions shared on a network, although the process is complex and such 'mining' can be done only on very powerful servers.

Hardly three years into existence, bitcoin has already become the world's most expensive currency and its per unit value soared past USD 1,000 level or about Rs 63,000 recently, although the prices have now slipped below Rs 50,000 level.

There was a phenomenal surge in the exchange rate for bitcoin from little over USD 200 to well past USD 1,000 during November, but there has been an extreme volatility since then and the RBI's warning has further added to its woes in India.

One of the bitcoin operators in India, buysellbitco.in, has posted its website, "Post the RBI circular, we are suspending buy and sell operations until we can outline a clearer framework with which to work.

"This is being done to protect the interest of our customers and in no way is a reflection of Bitcoin's true potential or price," it said. Another entity, INRBTC also said that "in light of RBI's notice, services of INRBTC.com are being suspended indefinitely".

Explaining its decision, INRBTC said that RBI has stated that users of virtual currencies are exposed to both legal and financial risks.

"Further it (RBI) states that absence of information of counterparties could subject the users to unintentional breaches of Anti-Money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) laws," it added.

"The only option left now is suspend the services until further arrangements can be made," INRBTC said, while adding that all trades which have been executed till December 26, 2013 will be processed completely.

"All pending orders will be cancelled and the deposits on those orders will be refunded 100 per cent to the users," it said. Many other websites offering bitcoin services in India have gone down, although a few continue to operate as of now despite increasing regulatory glare on bitcoins globally.

While authorities and experts are becoming worried about its potential money laundering risks, concerns have also been raised about this new phenomenon snowballing into an 'e-ponzi' or an electronic version of investor fraud, given the growing promotion of bitcoin as investments without any enabling regulations for them.

According to a senior official said, pressure has increased on regulatory and enforcement agencies in India after latest moves by China and France on this front.

"The fact remains that regulators are scrambling for ways to regulate this entire gamut of digital currency, as it is a totally new concept in India and even the jurisdiction is not clear as yet on who should regulate them," he said.

While the US has declared that all prevailing money laundering laws would apply to bitcoins, China has asked its banks and other financial institutions not to deal in bitcoins and the public has been asked to do so at their own risk.

Besides, France last week warned its banks about risks related to bitcoins. At the same time, the experts are also raising concerns about cyber security issues, given the huge scope of money laundering and other illegal activities through use of an unregulated digital currency concept.

Bitcoin came into existence in 2009 and the current number of bitcoin units generated so far stands at about 12 million. However, only a small number of bitcoins are being used for real commercial and retail purposes and a majority of transactions are happening for speculative investments.

Adding to the challenges before the regulators, this e-currency is already being accepted by some online retailers in countries like the US, China and a few others, for various purposes including pizza delivery. Those looking at this new phenomenon include almost all financial sector regulators as also agencies mandated to handle economic crimes, such as RBI, Sebi and various agencies under the Finance Ministry, a senior official said.

While regulators are tight-lipped about their plan of action, a senior official said that one possible way forward can be following the US, where authorities have decided to subject bitcoins to money laundering rules applicable to all other financial transactions in the country.

Regulators are also looking into claims being made by some entities of being registered bitcoin exchange providers, although they might have merely registered as a company with the Registrar of Companies for generic business purposes.

To make things worse, this virtual currency has become new tool for fraudsters who are promoting bitcoins as the next big investment products with unlimited returns. A few complaints have already poured in about bitcoins being used by some operators in certain new-age and e-versions of multi-level marketing or ponzi schemes.

Regulators fear that this new phenomenon can give rise to a new kind of illegal investment schemes that could be very difficult to track and clamp down. There is almost zero physical activity when dealing in bitcoins and nearly all transactions take place in the electronic format.

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HP planning to launch 6, 7-inch 'phablets' for emerging markets

Picture for representational purpose only.

Washington: Hewlett-Packard (HP) is reportedly planning to launch 6 and 7-inch 'phablets' aimed at emerging markets.

HP had been hinting to a re-entry in the smartphone market for over a year and latest reports point to a way back through large screened smartphones.

According to Cnet, the speculated phablets are said to cost between 200 and 250 dollars without a contract.

The report said that HP had attempted to make a hold in the smartphone market after acquiring Palm in 2010, but the WebOS-based devices failed to catch on with consumers and eventually the company decided to pull the plug on its new tablet and smartphones in 2011.

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American Express to pay back $76m

New York: Credit-card giant American Express on  Tuesday announced a $75.7 million settlement to resolve charges that it overbilled consumers and misled customers on services provided.

American Express, a Dow component, will pay $16.2 million in fines and at least $59.5 million in customer remediation, the company said.

The customer remediation will go to more than 335,000 customers, said the US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in a statement.

The action also involved the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. “We first warned companies last year about using deceptive marketing to sell credit card add-on products, and everyone should be on notice of this issue,” said CFPB Director Richard Cordray.

“Consumers deserve to be treated fairly and should not pay for services they do not receive.”The settlement resolves a variety of allegations over AmEx's management of various supplementary products to customers, such as “identity protection.”In some cases, AmEx charged consumers for identity protection services without the written authorisation necessary to provide services, the CFPB said.

In other cases, consumers were misled about the benefits of an “account protector” program intended to offer relief after a major life event, such as unemployment or temporary disability.

AmEx said most of the costs associated with the settlements were already accounted for in previous quarters and that most of the remediation to customers has already been paid.   

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Government gives nod for hiking foreign invstment in Axis Bank to 62%

New Delhi: The government on Thursday approved increase in foreign investment limit to 62 per cent entailing an inflow of about Rs 7,250 crore. "The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved the proposal of Axis Bank for increase in foreign investment from 49 per cent to 62 per cent.

"(This is) subject to the aggregate foreign institutional investors holding not exceeding 49 per cent of the paid up equity share capital of the bank," an official statement said. The approval would result in foreign investment of about Rs 7,250 crore in the country, it said.Following the inflow and hike in stake by foreign investors, the bank will become foreign-owned, whereby every future investment in seven subsidiaries will be governed by the FDI (foreign direct investment) policy, according to sources.As per the FDI policy, downstream investment by an Indian company, "which is not owned and/or controlled by a resident entity/ies into another Indian company would be in accordance or compliance with the relevant sectoral conditions on entry route".The bank's seven subsidiaries are Axis Capitals, Axis Finance Pvt Ltd, Axis Private Equity ltd, Axis Trustee Services Ltd, Axis Asset Management Company, Axis Mutual Fund Trustee Ltd and Axis UK Ltd.As of June this year, foreign institutional investment (FII) holding in the bank was at 40.7 per cent, while global depository receipts (GDRs) total 8.08 per cent.The promoters of the bank are Life Insurance Corporation, General Insurance Corporation, New India Assurance, National Insurance Company and Administrator of Specialised Undertaking of the Unit Trust of India.

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Lift of import curbs may crash gold prices

Mumbai: With gold taking a beating in 2013 along with several other commodities, commodity traders expect gold to  continue to be weak if the Indian government relaxes the duties on imports.

Considering the three-year boom in the stock market and the recession in the commodities market, as per tradition commodities should witness a rally, said Dharmesh Bhatia, of  Kotak Commodities Services Ltd.  “But investors will have to be really savvy to make a return from commodities,” he said.

Further particularly in the case of gold he says, prices could crash if government removes the duties on gold imports or even relaxes the curbs significantly. Today there is a high premium on gold because of the shortage due to a drastic drop in gold imports.

Mr Bhatia said that Barclays Bank had stated that commodity-linked investment funds are headed for record outflows in 2013 and between November 2012 to November 2013, there has been a $88 billion decline in assets under management.

Investors had withdrawn $36.6 billion from the commodity funds during this period due to the decline in prices of sugar, coffee, nickel, gold, silver etc. But the biggest and bulk sell-off was witnessed in gold with a 29 per cent crash after a rise over nearly 11 years.

EPFR global which is a more official source estimates that investors have withdrawn $38.8 billion investments from gold funds alone.

Gold prices globally crashed by 37 per cent till December from the record peak of $1,923 per ounce witnessed during September 2011.

While there is no indication that government is in any hurry to left the ban on gold imports there has been a demand from the Union commerce and industry minister Anand Sharma for relaxing the curbs on gold imports.

Even  the Reserve Bank of India governor Raghuram Rajan is of the view that if curbs on gold imports continue. It would incentivise smuggling.

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Fixed deposits are a popular choice

Mumbai: The collective wealth of the Indian investing public is estimated at Rs 202 lakh-crore of which Rs 110 lakh-crore is in financial assets and Rs 92 lakh-crore is in physical assets like real estate and gold, according to the India Wealth Report by Karvy Private Wealth.

(The top five per cent owns a major portion of the wealth, though the report has not dealt with this aspect of wealth ownership).

The report, said Sunil Mishra, CEO, Karvy Private Wealth, provides for the first time, an overall perspective on wealth held by individuals in India across financial and physical assets.

He said due to the stupendous growth and development in financial markets in the last two decades since economic liberalisation a section of Indians now have 54.4 per cent of their wealth invested in financial as-sets.

The largest investment or 23 per cent of the total investment in financial assets is in fixed deposits and bonds Rs 25,30,608 crore, reflecting the risk averse nature of the Indian investor. FDs are now attractive with banks offering high interest rates of between 8-12 per cent.

This is followed by direct equity Rs 24,31,030 (22.1 per cent). The Nifty has given a return of 9.39 per cent as compared to minus (-)8 per cent in 2012.  Insurance at Rs 18,93,766 (17.2 per cent) was the third most popular asset class followed by savings deposits Rs 15,08,599 crore (13.7 per cent), and cash Rs 11,44,740 crore (10.4 per cent). These are followed by investments in small savings, provident fund, mutual funds, alternative assets and international financial assets.

Gold and real estate are increasing in popularity as assets classes despite the existence of various financial instruments.

The report reveals that wealth in physical assets stood at Rs 92.06 lakh crore of which gold was 65.84 per cent at Rs 60,61,167 crore and real estate was 34.14 per cent at Rs 31,43,274 crore. This wealth held investing individuals growing at a faster pace in the next five years and could double to Rs 411 lakh-crore by 2018.

He said “we believe the macro-conditions should bottom out in 2014 and financial assets will start finding favour again.”

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Air India gets go ahead for sale of 5 Boeing aircraft

Air India's Boeing 777 aircraft - Photo by MitRebuad via Wikimedia Commons

New Delhi: Air India can now go ahead with the sale of its five long-haul Boeing 777 aircraft to Etihad Airways, with the government giving its nod to the deal on Thursday.

The proposal for the sale of these wide-body planes, part of the national carrier's turnaround plan, was cleared at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, official sources said.

Air India had earlier this month finalised the deal with the Abu Dhabi-based carrier, which has also picked up 24 per cent stake in Jet Airways worth over Rs 2,000 crore.

Though both Air India and Etihad have remained tight- lipped about the deal size, it is estimated that Air India could get USD 300-350 million through the sale of five of its Boeing 777-200 LR (Long Range) planes which have an average age of six years.

The money would be utilised by Air India to partly pay off its huge debt and liabilities of over Rs 20,000 crore. The two airlines had signed a Letter of Intent in October for an undisclosed amount, which was later approved by the national carrier's board.

The deliveries of these aircraft to Etihad are likely to start around March-April next year, the sources said. Etihad has already announced plans to deploy them on long-haul routes like Abu Dhabi-Los Angeles from June next year.

Each of these planes would be re-fitted in a three-class configuration consistent with Etihad's fleet. The purchase comes as Etihad finalises a new fleet order to meet its organic growth and expansion requirements till 2025.

The Boeing 777-200 LRs have a design range of 17,370 km, that could allow Etihad to connect almost any city in the world from its Abu Dhabi hub.

Air India, saddled under huge debt, had put eight of these aircraft for sale, but as there were no takers earlier, it had to issue the tender twice. 

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Microsoft launches new app for women's safety

Hyderabad: Microsoft India on Thursday said it is introducing Guardian, a new safety application (app), available exclusively for Windows phone users in India. Incidents such as 'Nirbhaya' prompted the global IT giant to come out with an app aiming at protecting women, Microsoft IT India Managing Director Raj Biyani said.

Explaining its features, Biyani said Guardian enables users to switch on a 'track me' feature in the app that lets friends and family track them in real time using Microsoft Windows Azure cloud services and Bing Map APIs.

Guardian users can call for help through an 'SOS' alert button and also connect to security agencies, police and hospitals easily via this app in times of distress. The app was developed over six months by a group of enthusiastic Microsoft employees in India, within the Microsoft Garage.

Microsoft Garage is a global employee innovation initiative that gives Microsoft employees an outlet to explore ideas in their free time, Biyani said.

"Our employees wanted to do something to enable people to feel safer in our cities. So they used their spare time to develop Guardian. It is a robust personal security app with more safety features and capabilities than any other comparable app available to Indian smartphone users today," Biyani told reporters after launching the App.

To use Guardian effectively, users need to add the names of friends, family members and security groups to the settings and in an emergency situation, the app can be used to alert them, via the SOS button.

All the user has to do is tap the SOS button, a Microsoft official said. "The phone then sends a distress SMS to all buddy mobiles, notifying them of the emergency along with location details. At the same time the SOS button also sends emails to buddy email IDs and posts to private Facebook groups, if registered," the official said.

Guardian uses Microsoft Windows Azure cloud services and Bing Map APIs extensively and can help security authorities and medical teams track the user. The phone can be traced even if it is broken. The application is capable of one touch video recording that may be used later as evidence, the official added.

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Rupee is 4th largely traded in Asia

Mumbai: The Chinese currency renminbi or yuan is the largest offshore selling currency among emerging markets followed by the Singapore dollar, the Hong Kong dollar and the Indian rupee.

In a study on offshore trading in emerging market currencies in Markets in Motion (a financial technologies group initiative), M. Ravindran says the renminbi will soon catch up with the euro in two to three years.

The currencies of the emerging markets have only recently become increasingly global reflecting their growing rise as economic powers.

The renminbi is unique among all major emerging market currencies and sees an offshore trading of $86.1 billion (both spot and forward) a day equivalent to 72 per cent of its total volume globally, while the Singapore dollar is $48.8 billion, the Hong Kong dollar $40.7 billion and the India rupee $28 billion.

There are six currencies that are most actively traded globally, namely the dollar, euro, pound, yen and the Australian and Canadian dollar. Seventy per cent of the global trade is in these currencies.

Globally, the over the counter (OTC) FX spot and derivatives transactions grew by 71 per cent during 2010-13 according to the Bank for International Settlements and among emerging market currencies those of emer-ging Asia still account for almost half or 47 per cent of the total turnover.

The core participants because of the lot size include financial institutions, large national corporations and private individuals.

The UK accounts for 30 per cent of all FX OTC turnover of emerging market currencies.

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Bala’s exit pulls Infy down 2%

Mumbai: Shares of Infosys on Monday fell by over 2 per cent after V. Balakrishnan, head of BPO business, quit the company on whose Board he was also a member.

Infosys shares ended the day at Rs 3,468.65, down 2.35 per cent on the BSE. During the day, the scrip lost 2.51 per cent to Rs 3,463.

At the NSE, the stock settled 2.38 per cent lower at Rs 3,467. The bellwether stock was the worst performer among the blue-chips on Sensex and Nifty. “IT major Infosys corrected 2.3 per cent. The stock saw a sentimental impact after the company announced the exit of another senior management personnel.

IT stocks such as Infy, HCL Tech and Wipro are trading in overbought zone and thus a correction in the near-term can’t be ruled out,” said Milan Bavishi, head Research, Inventure Growth and Securities.

Said to be a top contender to the post of chief executive officer, Balakrishnan, who joined Infosys in 1991 and later became its chief financial officer, resigned, on Friday after Subrahmanyam Goparaju, senior vice president and head of Infosys Labs’ quit. 

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StockGuru scam: CBI arrests Income Tax Deputy Commissioner

New Delhi: CBI has arrested an Indian Revenue Service officer for allegedly receiving bribes from the perpetrator of the StockGuru scam, Ulhas Prabhakar Khaire.

CBI sources said Yogendra Mittal, a 2006-batch IRS officer who was posted as the Deputy Commissioner of Income Tax, was arrested on the allegations that, as the ADIT-Income Tax, he had received illegal gratification worth crores of rupees from Khaire in exchange for an assurance that he would settle his case and not inform other investigative agencies.

"It was alleged that a private person gave huge cash to the Income Tax Officer during Income Tax raids at his offices and residences on January 18-19, 2011," CBI spokesperson said. It said that the probe till now has revealed that Mittal, in furtherance of the said conspiracy, had allegedly demanded and obtained a bribe from Khaire.

"Searches were conducted at nine places, including at the office and residence of the Deputy Commissioner; his relatives and two other Income Tax Officers," a CBI spokesperson said here. The official said that Mittal was produced before the Special CBI court which has sent him to three days' police custody.

His role in the StockGuru scam is also being probed by the Enforcement Directorate. The scam was also investigated by Delhi Police. It is alleged that the raids led by Mittal in connection with the StockGuru scam were not carried out with complete honesty and were aimed at extracting illegal gratification.

The scam involves Khaire and his wife Raksha who were arrested last year by Delhi Police from Maharashtra for allegedly duping around two lakh investors in seven states of nearly Rs 493 crore by promising them high returns on investment through their firm StockGuru, which dealt with the share market.

After Delhi Police's Economic Offences Wing exposed the scam, Income Tax department and Enforcement Directorate also joined the probe.

The couple had floated StockGuru India in 2010, allegedly under the false identities of Lokeshwar Dev and Priyanka Saraswat Dev.

They allegedly lured people into investing in the firm by promising them high returns of 20 per cent per month up to six months on the principal amount followed by a subsequent refund of the principal amount in the seventh month.

CBI registered a case against Mittal, Khaire and other unknown persons in January for alleged criminal conspiracy under the provisions of Prevention of Corruption Act. 

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Maruti eyeing presence in one lakh villages by March

New Delhi: As the going gets tougher in the Indian auto industry, Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) is driving into the rural markets to boost sales.

The company, which devised a plan to tap rural markets five years ago, is planning to have presence in a total of one lakh villages across the country by March next year.

"The industry has seen a decline in sales by about 4-5 per cent this year.On the other hand, rural sales - which accounts for about 30 per cent of our total sales -- have grown by 18 per cent in the April-November period this fiscal," MSI Chairman R.C. Bhargava told reporters here.

He said had it not been for the rural market, the company would have had an even tougher time and "we would have been in similar mess like the rest of the industry" as demand in urban areas has slowed down by 5-6 per cent.

"We have been giving emphasis on rural markets. Last year, we had covered 44,000 villages and till November this year, we have presence in 60,000 villages and by March next year, we will have presence in one lakh out of a total of 6.51 lakh villages in India," Bhargava said.

At present, MSI has a total of 700 rural outlets, which are accompanied by workshops that are authorised to carry out repairs under warranty to an extent. In addition, it has 650 mobile vans that has helped in servicing even at the customers' home, he added.

Commenting on the overall market situation, Bhargava said the market continues to be down due to the overall condition of economy and the political situation.

"In terms of retail sales, for the fiscal till November we are one per cent up from that of last year. We are hopeful that we will be able to match last fiscal's numbers," he said.

Commenting on exports, Bhargava said the company will fall short marginally due to changing policies in some of the key markets like Sri Lanka and Algeria. "We were aiming 1.2 lakh units of export this year, which we think we will fall short.

All overseas markets have uncertainties associated with policies and economy," he said. Asked about future expansion, specially the company's Gujarat plant, he said the project is currently 'in cold storage' at the moment.

"There is no point in creating additional capacity when there is no demand. We have the land, boundary wall has been erected but we are not undertaking any capacity creation. We have not decided when we will start work at the Gujarat plant," Bhargava said.

He said the company will wait and watch for the outcome of the upcoming general elections next year and what steps the new government takes in order to boost economic growth and manufacturing.

"We don't expect anything to happen between now and the elections. We hope the elections will bring something positive for the industry," he said. MSI is, however, expecting December to break monthly record in terms of retail sales with about 1.2 lakh units, company, MSI COO (Marketing and Sales) Mayank Pareek said.

"Apart from discounts, which are about Rs 17,000 on an average, exchange offers and customers advancing purchases ahead of January is boosting our December sales," Pareek said.

On the demand for diesel passenger vehicles, he said for the industry overall share has come down to 54 per cent this fiscal as compared to 58 per cent.

Bhargava said that the company's R&D centre at Rohtak is on track to be completed by 2016. It would be Suzuki's fourth such facility, the rest three being in Japan.

Commenting on the LCV project, Bhargava said the company is sticking to its 2016 launch plan. He said the vehicle could come in various options, including CNG and petrol. 

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LG’s curved TV brings cinema home

LG India’s regional manager for AP Rajneesh Sharma (left) unveils the curved OLED 55-inch television on Tuesday at Hyderabad - DC

Hyderabad: While all of us enjoy watching movies at a theatre, not many of us are aware that these mammoth screens have curved display.

So, how about bringing that movie-watching pleasure home? Betting big on its newly launched 55-inch curved OLED television worth Rs 9,99,000, the South Korean manufacturer hopes that the new TVs will boost its flat panel display (FPD) segment.

“Flat panels are our growth engines and we expect this to reach 30 per cent by the end of next year,” said Rajneesh Sharma, regional manager of AP, LG India. The company is also working on newer versions of the curved display TVs, he added.

The flat panel TV market in India is expected to touch the $6.39 billion mark by 2015, says Frost & Sullivan research. The FPD TV market which in 2012 stood at $3.55 billion, is likely to grow at a CAGR pf 21.7 per cent by 2015. The total market in terms of consumption for such TVs stood at 6.48 million units, while the total domestic manufacturing was 1.93 million units in 2012.

Another report by IHS on FPDs says that South Korea’s Samsung and LG still lead as global TV manufacturers. Samsung, the world’s number one TV maker, accounted for 19 per cent of all shipments in the sector, followed by LG with 14 per cent while Sony and TCL of China had six per cent of the market, followed by Toshiba and Hisense with five per cent.

Given that flat panels are replacing cathode ray tube (CRT) television sets, with the availability of easy financing options, increasing power of consumer purchases and new technological innovations, LG India said it has phased out CRT TVs for India, except for some other markets in the world.

“We have phased out all the CRT models of TVs and India is seeing shift from LCDs to LEDs, 3D and smart TVs,” said Sharma, adding that this growing market has helped the company in bringing its curved OLED TVs to India.

The data from Frost & Sullivan said that the growing upper middle class has already moved to LCD TVs from CRT and is now driving the shift to LED TVs. However, the rural population will be a greater source of LCD television demand till 2015.

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Dreamliner grounded after sparks noticed from its wheels

Kolkata: An Air India Dreamliner was grounded today after sparks coming out of its wheels were noticed on landing at the Kolkata Airport.

The sparks were noticed by the pilot of another aircraft when the Boeing 787, which had 171 passengers on board, landed from Delhi at around 1650 hours, airport officials said.

The pilot, who observed the sparks immediately reported to the Air traffic Control as per the normal practice in such situations, the officials added.

Though the passengers were deplaned normally after the plane taxied to the parking bay, Air India engineers and technicians were rushed to the aircraft immediately and the aircraft was grounded for check and repair.

Air India's Dreamliner fleet has in past also reported several glitches. Earlier this month, while replying to a member's question in the Lok Sabha Civil Aviation minister Ajit Singh has said that the Dreamliner fleet suffered 136 'minor' technical problems between their delivery since September last year and November this year.

He had said that the Air India was constantly in touch with Boeing on the issue of technical reliability of these new aircraft and added that a team of engineers and technicians from the American manufacturer was installing a reliability enhancement package involving upgrades to the software and components in the aircraft. 

Authorities in Chile, Ethiopia, Europe, India, Japan and Qatar followed the US Federal Aviation Administration in halting all 787 flights after a smoke alert forced a Japanese Dreamliner to make an emergency landing on Wednesday.The US FAA, in grounding all US-registered 787 aircraft late Wednesday, highlighted "a potential battery fire risk in the 787" after a suspected leak emerged as the focus of inquiries into an All Nippon Airways emergency landing.This photo shows the distorted main lithium-ion battery of the All Nippon Airways' Boeing 787 which made an emergency landing on Wednesday.Analysts said Boeing would have to handle the ANA incident with extreme care after making a big gamble with its next-generation plane.The aircraft's flight systems rely heavily on electronics rather than the hydraulics used in older planes, and Boeing's use of lightweight composite materials is another breakthrough for airlines anxious to cut fuel costs.The global groundings came as Boeing reclaimed its title as the world's biggest planemaker from European rival Airbus.The powerful lithium-ion batteries used on the Dreamliner have emerged as the focus of concern in light of the ANA incident and another on a Japan Air Lines flight in the United States last week, with smoke reported on both planes.Electrolyte leaks and burn marks were found on the battery's metal casing, ANA said. Kyodo News reported that officials from the Japan Transport Safety Board were working on the principle that it had overheated.A 787 jet painted in a Delta livery is seen at Paine Field in Everett, Wash. Federal officials say they are temporarily grounding Boeing's 787 Dreamliners until the risk of possible battery fires is addressed.Department chief looks into the cargo hold of a Japan Airlines Boeing 787 Dreamliner jet parked at a Terminal E gate at Logan International Airport in Boston.A Japan Airlines Boeing 787 Dreamliner jet aircraft is surrounded by emergency vehicles while parked at a terminal E gate at Logan International Airport in Boston as a fire chief looks into the cargo hold.

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8.5 lakh new jobs expected in 2014: Survey

New Delhi: Job seekers can look forward to a prosperous new year as more than 8.5 lakh new jobs are expected across various sectors, including FMCG and healthcare, says a survey.

Coming against the backdrop of uncertain economic conditions, the projected number of new jobs in 2014 is higher than the estimated 7.9 lakh employment opportunities created this year, according to the survey by recruitment platform MyHiringClub.com.

The findings are based on a study conducted among more than 5,600 firms across 12 industry sectors. All the opportunities have been projected in for the organised sector, it added. Besides FMCG, more jobs are expected in healthcare, IT, retail and hospitality sectors.

"Last calendar year was not good either for job seekers or for employers due to uncertain and fluctuated economical and political conditions. 2014 is coming with positive vibes for job-seekers and expected to create 8.5 lakh new jobs in different sectors," MyHiringClub.com CEO Rajesh Kumar said.

"Finding employees who have employability or job readiness skills that help fit into and remain in the work environment is a real problem and threatening to growth. These issues need to be addressed on priority," he added.

MyHiringClub.com's survey showed that FMCG would lead the chart and is expected to generate 1.5 lakh new jobs, followed by healthcare (1.33 lakh), IT and ITeS (1.21 lakh), retail (86,700) and hospitality (83,400).

Banking and financial services (61,400), manufacturing and engineering (51,500), education, training and consultancy (42,900), media and entertainment (42,800) and real estate (38,700) are also expected to create job opportunities.

Another HR expert Prachi Kumari, Director at Sat-n-Merc Manpower Consultant said: "Recruitment activity in 2013 went slow beyond our expectation across every levels, majorly recruitments were done only to replace major gaps.

"Coming year 2014 seems very promising. To increase their revenue, companies need to feel the long time vacant positions and also they have to create more jobs as compared to 2013. Overall, it seems the worst condition is over for the job market and we are entering in a zone of another two years of positive growth if not more," she added. 

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'Erasable Internet' may topple Google, Facebook's permanence, says analyst

Washington: With ' erasable Internet' becoming the next big thing, permanence of content as established by sites like Google and Facebook, which in turn help the companies make revenue, appears to be in a threatened position, an analyst has pointed out.

The Wall Street Journal's Farhad Manjoo, in his analysis has pointed to a new business model that could someday lead to Google's downfall.

According to Fox News, companies like Google and Facebook have built an Internet based on permanence as they store their users' data for advertising purposes.

However, with auto-destruct photo sharing app like Snapchat, the position of Google and Facebook is threatened as the user data isn't saved and used to sell ads.

Manjoo has pointed that if Snapchat's model proliferates to other areas of communication and to the Internet in general, it could lead to some serious problems to the current leaders, which have business models that rely entirely on saving as much data as possible about their users and serving targeted advertisements based on that data.

Despite being the leaders in online presence, Google and Facebook might be toppled with the 'Erasable Internet of Things', unless they adapt and rebuild their businesses from the ground up. 

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Performance pay helped top executives get 10-22% hike in 2013

New Delhi: Faced with one of the roughest years for global economy, top corporate executives in India appear to have weathered the storm in 2013 as performance- linked pay helped them get salary hikes of 10-22 per cent.

According to experts, sluggish economic trends did not have much impact on executive remuneration packages and 35-40 per cent of corporate leaders also managed to secure their bonus payments linked to individual and company performances.

This assumes significance in the backdrop of top executives being affronted with tremendous pressure to maintain profit margins, control costs, retain talent and manage business sentiments.

The HR consultants say the performance of company executives in India has in fact turned out to be above average and better than those in developed countries.

HR consultancy Unison International's Managing Director Udit Mittal said "the performance of many executives has been better this year compared to last year and despite the global slowdown, overall performance has been above average". "India has been a self-sustainable economy and in other countries due to global market sentiment, performance has been comparatively bad," he said.

Echoing the view, HR services firm Randstad India's CEO Moorthy K Uppaluri said, "Corporate India CEOs, were lucky compared to their Western counterparts as India was still a growth market, though the rate of growth was modest".

"On the other hand, senior executives in developed countries, particularly Europe were faced with a stagnant growth prospects, financially constrained governments and diminishing returns," he added.

In terms of remuneration, top executives pay is estimated to have increased by 8-10 per cent on an average in 2013, while senior executives got a hike of 20-22 per cent.

As per executive search firm MANCER Consulting, there was a rise of 15-20 per cent in compensation levels for executives in 2013.

"There is positive increment expected in financial year 2014-15 as well, as senior executive salaries is inching towards their foreign counterparts slowly," MANCER Consulting CEO Satya D Sinha said.

As per Randstad, Indian top executives got a pay hike of 5-10 per cent in 2013, while 35-40 per cent of senior leaders were given bonuses based on their performance.

"Most companies rewarded senior executives who could take a lead in transforming their business and deliver expected results," Uppaluri noted.

Executive search firm Spectrum Talent Management Director Vidur Gupta said, "Companies have rewarded the ones who did well and at the same time most average performers had to do with very ordinary hikes".

However, Deloitte India Senior Director Human Capital Advisory P Thiruvengadam is of the view that top executives witnessed moderate increases in salaries that just barely compensated for the inflation. Predicting a brighter 2014, experts believe that next year holds a lot more in terms of new jobs and the average increment could be at least 15 per cent for top executives.

"Being the chief executive of an Indian company has never been more rewarding for professionals with expensive cars, a large house, overseas holidays and an eight-figure salary, with year-end bonus and stock options thrown in," MANCER's Sinha said. Meanwhile, tough business climate had its fallout as well and some companies saw changes in their top management team.

The attrition rate was also high. Unison International has estimated that attrition rate of executives was on an average 14 per cent, more than in 2012.

Individually, data provided by MANCER Consulting showed that pharmaceutical industry faced the highest level (30-35 per cent) of attrition rate among its executives followed by IT/ITES sector (20-25 per cent), healthcare (15 per cent), chemicals (14 per cent) and real estate (10 per cent). Lowest attrition rate was witnessed by steel sector and the telecom sector at 2 per cent and 4 per cent, respectively.

Experts say that a large part of attrition can be attributed to under-performance and cost-cutting measures, while there have also been cases of early retirement.

Randstad pegs the average tenure for top executives at 6.8 years and estimates 60 per cent of Indian CEOs to be holding office for less than 5 years. Sector-wise, senior executives in many industries such as telecom, automobiles, infrastructure, real estate, power and aviation had the most disappointing time owing to slowdown, falling rupee, rising cost of fuel and raw material as well as difficulty in raising funds for business operations.

In contrast, top corporate leaders across IT, ITES, healthcare, FMCG, hospitality, retail, e-commerce, education had a relatively rewarding year. "Rupee depreciation augmented the good performance of companies with export opportunities," Randstad's Uppaluri said.

"Power and Infrastructure has definitely been the worst hit last year owing to a tough political scenario as projects haven't moved well and it has been difficult to perform," Spectrum's Gupta noted.

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Aakash tablet my unfulfilled dream, other departments didn't lend support: Sibal

New Delhi:  Calling low-cost tablet PC Aakash his unfulfilled dream, Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal on Tuesday said he has pursued the project despite not getting support from some government departments and that the tender for manufacturing the latest version will be finalised in January.

"Aakash was my dream but it was not fulfilled, I tried hard...some departments of my government did not support me... despite that I continued to strive and then I brought the project in my ministry and now specifications for Aakash 4 have been completed," Sibal said at the launch of 'e-inclusion' project here.

"Some departments did not support me but despite that we are bringing the Aakash," Sibal said.

The Aakash project was Sibal's brainchild when he was the HRD Minister. The idea was to provide low-cost computing device at subsidised rate to students to enable them access Internet for educational purposes.

Canadian company DataWind had bagged the contract to produce the first and second versions of the Aakash tablet.

"The specifications of Aakash 4 has been finalised. DGSD has floated a tender, which will be finalised sometime in January. All those entities which will meet the tender conditions will be entitled to manufacture the Aakash and depending on the volume of production, it will be available to anybody who wants to buy it," Sibal said.

The Directorate General of Supplies and Disposals (DGSD) procures products for government supplies.

Asked about the price of the tablet PC, Sibal said: "We will see what the price is. Originally what we wanted was around Rs 2,500 but that is without excise, without any of the other transportation costs and other things. So once you add those on I don't know what it may come to," he said.

He, however, added those who can afford it can buy and those who cannot, the government departments like Human Resource Development Ministry and Rural Development Ministry can provide subsidy if they wish to.

"Those who can afford it can buy, those who cannot afford it, if government departments intend to buy it and give subsidies they can give it," he added. 

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CNG price hiked by Rs 4.50/kg in Delhi; 2nd increase in 3 months

New Delhi: CNG or compressed natural gas price in the national capital was on Thursday hiked by a steep Rs 4.50 per kg, the second increase in rates in three months.

Also, the price of cooking gas piped to kitchens has been increased by Rs 5.15 per kg with effect from midnight tonight. CNG will cost Rs 50.10 per kg in Delhi and Rs 56.70 per kg in Noida, Greater Noida & Ghaziabad from midnight tonight, Indraprastha Gas Ltd (IGL) said.

The price of piped natural gas (PNG) to the households in Delhi is being revised from Rs 27.50 per standard cubic metre to Rs 29.50 per scm up to consumption of 30 scm in two months. Beyond consumption of 30 scm in two months, the applicable rate in Delhi would be Rs 52 per scm.

Due to differential tax structure in the state of Uttar Pradesh, the applicable price of domestic PNG to households in Noida, Greater Noida and Ghaziabad would be Rs 31 per scm up to consumption of 30 scm in two months, which has been increased from existing Rs 29 per scm.

Beyond consumption of 30 scm in two months, the rate applicable in these cities would be Rs 54 per scm. CNG price was last revised in September when it was hiked by a hefty Rs 3.70 per kg. Price of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) sold to automobiles in the national capital then increased from Rs 41.90 to Rs 45.60 per kg.

Also at that time, the price of piped cooking gas, called PNG, for households has been hiked from Rs 24.50 per scm to Rs 27.50 per scm. IGL, the sole retailer of CNG and PNG in Delhi, said the increase was primarily due to increase in input cost as a result of reallocation of domestically produced gas quantities by the government for all City Gas Distribution Companies across the country. 

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