Doklam standoff ends: MEA says troops begin 'disengaging'

A press statement by the Ministry of External Affairs on Monday announced the development

Troops involved in the border standoff between India and China at Doklam have begun disengaging, a press statement by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Monday.

Shortly after the MEA statement, China’s Foreign Ministry said that Indian troops had withdrawn to the Indian side of the disputed border at Doklam, where the two countries’ soldiers had been locked in a standoff for more than two months, news agency Reuters reported.

Speaking at a daily news briefing, ministry spokes woman Hua Chunying said Chinese troops would continue to patrol the disputed Doklam region, the report added.

New Delhi and Beijing have reached an understanding for disengaging troops involved in the Doklam standoff, the MEA press statement said.

According to the statement, "expeditious disengagement" of border personnel at the face-off site has been agreed to and "is ongoing".

The MEA statement said that during bilateral communications, "we were able to express our views and convey our concerns and interests". It was on the basis of these communications, according to the statement, that the agreement to disengage was reached.

The People's Daily has also tweeted that India has withdrawn its troops.

The decision to disengage troops comes ahead of a crucial BRICS summit being hosted by China in September, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to attend.

Indian and Chinese troops have been locked in a standoff since June at Doklam, located at the Sikkim section of the Bhutan-China border.

This is the longest standoff between the two armies since 1987 when they faced a similar situation at Somordong Chu Valley in Arunachal Pradesh. Read more

UPSC-2017 Invites Applications for Assistant Professor Anatomy (III)

Candidates willing to take up the post can apply for the same till August 31, 2017 (Thursday)

The Union Public Service Commission is inviting applications for the post of Specialist Grade-III to be hired by the concerned department under Ministry of Health & Family Welfare. Candidates willing to take up the post can apply for the same till August 31, 2017 (Thursday). The number of vacancies are eight for Unreserved Category (4), OBC (3) and ST (1) only. The qualified candidates would be offered the salary as per PB-3 i.e. Rs.15, 600-39,100 with Grade Pay Rs.6600/- plus N.P.A as admissible (Pre-Revised). The post carries probation of one year.

Eligibility Parameters:

Age: Not exceeding 40 years on the normal closing date. Not exceeding 45 years for ST and 43 years for OBC candidates on the normal closing date, in respect of posts reserved for them. (Relaxable for Govt. servants by 5 years in accordance with instructions issued by the Central Govt.)

Also Read : Tamil Nadu To Follow NEET Merit List: SC tells Tamil Nadu

Educational Qualification:

1. A recognized MBBS degree qualification included in the First Schedule or Second Schedule or Part II of the Third Schedule (other than licentiate qualifications) to the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956 ( 102 of 1956). Holders of educational qualifications included in Part II of the Third Schedule should also fulfill the conditions specified in sub-section(3) of section 13 of the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956(102 of 1956).
2. Post- Graduate degree in the concerned specialty or Super-speciality mentioned in Section A of Schedule VI i.e. Master of Surgery (Anatomy) or Doctor of Medicine (Anatomy) or Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery with Master of Science (Anatomy) or Master of Science (Medical Anatomy) with Doctor of Philosophy (Medical Anatomy) or Master of Science (Medical Anatomy) with Doctor of Science (Medical Anatomy). Read more

UPSC-2017 invites applications for Assistant Mechanical Engineer

Candidates willing to take up the post can apply for the same till August 31, 2017 (Thursday).

The Union Public Service Commission is inviting applications for the post of Assistant Engineer (NQA) Mechanical Engineering at Department of Defence Production managed by Directorate of Quality Assurance Naval under the Ministry of Defence. Candidates willing to take up the post can apply for the same till August 31, 2017 (Thursday). The number of vacancy is one reserved for the OBC candidates only. The qualified candidates would be offered the salary as per Rs. 44900/- (Pay Level-7) Allowance. The post carries probation of two years.

Eligibility Parameters:
Age: Not exceeding 30 years on closing date. Relaxable for regularly appointed Central/U.T. Government Servant up to Five years as per instructions/orders issued by Govt. of India from time to time.
Educational Qualification: Degree in Engineering in the disciplines of Mechanical Engineering from recognised University. Experience in Computer operations for the purpose of preparation technical reports, technical/Briefs etc. would be preferred.

Also Read : UPSC Civil Service Exam 2017: Detailed application form released

UPSC-2017 invites applications for Assistant Engineer (NQA)

Experience: Two years’ practical experience in Quality Assurance/Quality Control Production/ Manufacturing and testing of Engineering Equipments including knowledge of various standards and their interpretation.

Roles and Responsibilities: The Officer shall be responsible for

• Quality assurance, acceptance, inspection of equipments and stores,
• Defect investigation, trials, vetting of draft indents/ agreement/ supply orders, sampling plans, liaison with production units,
• Removal of bottlenecks and suggesting methods of improvement of quality.

How to Apply: Click Here

Tamil Nadu Common Entrance Test 2018 Schedule Announced

In 2018 Tancent will be held in the month of March.

Tamil Nadu Common Entrance Test (TANCET) is conducted by Anna University, Chennai on behalf of the Government of Tamil Nadu. Tancent score is used for admission to Post Graduate courses ME, M.Tech, M. Arch, M. Plan, MCA and MBA in the state of Tamil Nadu. In 2018 Tancent will be held in the month of March. The procedure will start and the Application Forms will be available online in the third or fourth week of January 2018. In 2017 Tancet has been held on 25th March 2017 at 15 different centres in Tamil Nadu and the results were declared on 11th April 2017.

Tancet 2018 - Important Dates (Tentative)

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CEE Kerala announced first allotment for 5-year LLB course

About Tamil Nadu Common Entrance Test (TANCET)
Tancet examination is conducted in offline mode using paper and pen on an OMR sheet. The questions are objective type, multiple choice questions. There are four choices for every question and candidates have to choose the right option. There are 100 questions each carrying 1 mark thus total marks are 100. Time duration for the Tancet examination is 120 minutes (2 hours). There is also negative marking of 1/3 marks for every wrong answer. There is no negative marking for unattempted questions though. The examinations in divided in to five sections namely Reading Comprehension, English Grammar and Usage, Analysis of Business Situation, Quantitative Ability and Data Sufficiency.

The eligibility criteria for appearing for Tancet 2018 is that the candidate should have completed graduation from a recognised university with minimum 50% marks (general category) and 15% marks (reserved categories). Candidates should either have completed 10 + 2 + 3 years of Education or B. Pharm / B. Arch / B. Tech / B. E. or 10 + 2 + AMIE or 10 + 3 years Diploma + AMIE. Candidates who have appeared for their final examinations are also eligible to apply; also there is also no upper age limit for attempting Tancet.(more)

UPSC (2017): Online Application For Civil Service Main Exam Begins

The Main exam that will, as per the official notification, be conducted from Oct 28 to Nov 11

In July, the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) had announced the result of the prestigious Civil Service prelims that was conducted on June 18, 2017 (Sunday). Now those who cleared the prelims will move on for the Main exam that will, as per the official notification, be conducted from October 28, 2017 (Saturday) to November 11, 2017 (Friday). (See the time table here) The Main exam requires the candidates to fill in a detailed application form online and submit the same online. It is to be noted that the online application form is available on the website of the Commission www.upsconline.nic.infrom August 17 to August 31, 2017 till 6pm. Candidates must note down these dates. The Commission conducts the annual Civil Service exams for the Central Government at three levels: Preliminary, Main and Interview. The Candidates passing these exams secure the highly prestigious services such as Indian Foreign Service, Indian Administrative Service, Indian Police Service and the like. The Civil Service exam happens annually for filling numerous vacancies in the Central government department. Roughly 980 vacancies are said to be filled through the exam this year.

Also Read : UPSC-2017: Admit Cards For NDA II Released. Download Now.

Filling up Application Online: Candidates are advised to go through the instructions carefully before filling up the application form. Online submission of application can only be made at website http://www.upsconline.nic.in. Detailed instructions are available at the site. Candidate should read the instructions carefully before making any entry or selecting options. Candidate should supply all the required details while filling up the online form. Candidates may please note that changes are not allowed in the online application, once it is submitted. The filling of online application contains two parts.

• In Part I registration, candidate will have to fill basic information. On submission of details, candidate will be prompted to check the details and make correction, if any, in the application.
• Part-II Registration consists of filling up Payment details (except for fee exempted candidates), selection of examination centre, uploading of Photograph and Signature and agreeing to declaration.

Click here : Examination Overview Table

Modi's Independence Day speech is all about creating a 'New India'

Says note ban helped nab shell firms and GST increased efficiency

In the penultimate Independence Day speech of his current term, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday looked beyond the Lok Sabha polls due in April 2019 to give a call for building a “new India” by 2022.

If in his previous three speeches, the PM had announced such path-brea king steps as the abolition of the Planning Commission and schemes such as Startup India and Stand-Up India, Modi’s speech on Tuesday was devoid of new announcements except the launch of a website to honour gallantry award winners.

Instead, the PM focused on giving a report card of his government’s performance in the last three years and spelt out his vision of a “new India”. He indicated the lynchpins of his Lok Sabha campaign would be his government’s efforts at curbing corruption, building modern infrastructure, and delivering welfare.

Also Read : More shell firms found: PAN deactivation jolt for tax evaders in stock market

Modi said by 2022, the 75th anniversary of India’s independence, he envisioned a country where each family would have a pucca house, electricity, and power supply; farmers would earn twice of what they get currently; the country would be free of terrorism, communalism, casteism, corruption, and nepotism; and it would be clean and healthy.

The PM appealed to people to leave behind the “chalta hai” attitude, to think of “badal sakta hai”, or we can transform. Asking countrymen to take the “New India pledge and move ahead”, the PM quoted from scriptures: “If we don’t accomplish work within a stipulated time, we shall not be able to get the desired results.”

Modi asked people to replicate between 2017 and 2022 the resolve Indians showed from 1942 (Quit India Movement) to 1947. He said if Quit India’s slogan was “Bharat chhoro” today’s slogan should be “Bharat jodo”. (more)

Amid Doklam standoff, India-China trade war looms: Chinese media

The article said that China 'could easily retaliate' with restrictions on Indian products

A trade war seems to be looming between India and China after New Delhi imposed anti-dumping duties on 93 Chinese products amidst a military standoff in Doklam area, two state media reports here said on.

An article in The Global Times, part of the ruling Communist Party's publication group, urged Chinese firms to "reconsider the risks" of investing in India and warned New Delhi to be "prepared for the possible consequences for its ill-considered action."

The article said that China "could easily retaliate" with restrictions on Indian products, but added that it "doesn't make much economic sense" for the country.

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• India@70: Are we really ahead of China & Pakistan? Find out
• In a war over Doklam, why China will likely be the eventual loser

It cited figures from the Indian embassy in China to show that Indian exports fell by 12.3 per cent year-on-year to $11.75 billion while India's imports from China rose by 2 per cent to $59 billion, resulting in a trade deficit of $47 billion.

According to the Indian Commerce Ministry, the trade deficit with China last year mounted to over $52 billion when the bilateral trade stood at $70 billion.

"A trade war between China and India seems to be looming after the latter moved last Wednesday to impose anti-dumping duties on 93 products from China," the report said.

"If India really starts a trade war with China, of course China's economic interests will be hurt, but there will also be consequences for India," it said.

The report on trade comes as India and China have been locked in a tense military standoff in Doklam in the Sikkim sector. Read more

Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) - 2018

Commencement of process will start with availability of Application Forms from 01st September 2017

Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) 2018 dates has been announced. Commencement of process will start with availability of Application Forms from 01st September 2017. The last date to submit application form is 05th October 2017. GATE 2018 Examination will be conducted on February 03rd, 04th, 10th and 11th 2018 (Saturdays and Sundays). GATE is a national-level entrance examination held for admission into Postgraduate Programmes (Master's & Doctoral - M.E., M.Tech, PhD) at IITs, IISc, IISERs and other reputed institutions. Many Govt. PSUs such as IOCL, PGCIL, NTPC, BHEL, BARC, ISRO, CSIR, DRDO and private organizations also use GATE scores for recruitment purposes. GATE is jointly administered by Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and seven zonal Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) for Ministry for Human Resource and Development (MHRD) Govt. of India. Each year one of these institutes conduct GATE on a rotational basis, in 2018 GATE will be conducted by IIT Guwahati.

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About GATE 2018

GATE is one of the most pursued after entrance examination in India. Last year around 9,00,000 candidates appeared for the examination. GATE is conducted across 197 cities of India and 6 international cities namely Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), Colombo (Sri Lanka), Dhaka (Bangladesh), Dubai (UAE), Kathmandu (Nepal) and Singapore. GATE scores are also accepted for admission in universities in Singapore and Germany. While filling the Application form candidates provide three choices for centres and they are allocated the centre accordingly. GATE examination is conducted online and consists of both Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ) and questions which have numerical answers which are to be keyed in by candidates. Read more

Independence Day offer: Buy OnePlus 5 and get free flip cover, other deals

The OnePlus 5 flip cover normally costs Rs 1,290

Planning to buy the OnePlus 5? Why wait - this is one of the ideal times to buy it as OnePlus is offering a free flip cover to those who purchase the phone on or before August 15.

Along with a free flip cover, buyers can also avail 50 per cent off on OnePlus Bullets (V2), OnePlus 5 Essentials Bundle at 10 per cent off when purchased with the Oneplus 5 device.

The OnePlus 5 flip cover normally costs Rs 1,290 and are available in two colours- Black and Grey. The OnePlus 5 costs Rs 32,999 for 6GB RAM and Rs 37,999 for the 8GB variant.

Today is also the last day of Amazon Great Indian Sale. Amazon is offering a discount of Rs 2000 on OnePlus 3T with 6GB RAM + 64GB memory. Hence, it will be sold at a price of Rs 27,999.

Also Read : Global cyberattacks prompt India Inc to run for cover

ALSO READ: Amazon Great Indian Sale: 50% off on smartphones, home appliances, fashion

With its flagship OnePlus 5, launched in India on June 22, smartphone manufacturer OnePlus has shrugged off other Chinese handset makers’ strategy of targeting the budget smartphone segment. The result: A smartphone that is the priciest OnePlus device but the most affordable flagship product.

Click here to read the complete review

Malware stored in synthetic DNA can take over PC: Study

Discovery of a new hacking method reverberates as DNA data storage becomes more widespread

University of Washington researchers figured out a way to use biology to infect computers with malicious code.

In their experiments, the researchers stored malware in synthetic DNA and demonstrated how that code can compromise a computer analyzing the DNA after it has been run through a gene-sequencing machine.

The danger of such an attack is still years away, the researchers said, adding they haven’t seen evidence of hackers attempting this sort of breach. The experiments highlight a new type of threat that could allow sophisticated coders to gain control of computer systems if precautions aren’t taken.

Also Read : Facebook introduces a dedicated home for videos

Tesla's upcoming semi-truck will be able to drive itself, move in platoons

Chinese quantum satellite sends 'unbreakable' code

“This is something [the genomics industry] and the U.S. government should be concerned about,” said Tadayoshi Kohno, a computer-science professor at the university and a member of the research team.

The team will present the results of its experiments, conducted in late 2016 and 2017, at a security symposium in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, on Aug. 17.

The hack makes use of technology in which digital bits of data are converted into synthetic DNA. Researchers believe DNA data storage could prove far more durable than stashing information on hard disks and flash drives, which last just a few years and can crash without warning. The nascent technology converts the 1s and 0s of computing’s binary code into A, C, G and T, the letters that correspond to DNA base types, adenine, cytosine, guanine and thymine. Read more

Dual-camera Lenovo K8 Note launched in India, priced at Rs 12,999

This device has first stock Android (7.1.1), 13MP selfie camera, 5MP sensor with flash

Chinese smartphone maker Lenovo on Wednesday launched the much-awaited ' Lenovo K8 Note ' in India at Rs 12,999 (3GB RAM and 32GB storage version) that comes with a dual-camera setup (13MP+5MP sensor with flash).

The 4GB RAM and 64GB ROM variant will cost Rs 13,999. The device with first stock Android (7.1.1) has 13MP selfie camera that supports professional mode and flash (full-light LED flash) as well.

Lenovo 'K8 Note' will retail in venom black and fine gold colours on Amazon India, starting August 18.

Also Read : 'Arbo' powered Panasonic Eluga A3, A3 Pro launched in India

Ziox to invest Rs 200 cr in mobile assembly units; plans 4G feature phone

"This is the first global launch of a Lenovo product in India. 'K8 Note' comes packed with everything that our consumers would expect from a smartphone today - an eye-catching design, dual cameras, 10-core processor, great sound and, of course, the 'TheaterMax' technology that is the hallmark of the Note series," Sudhin Mathur, Country Head, Lenovo Mobile Business Group, India, told reporters here.

'TheaterMax' allows users to view the content on your phone on a much larger virtual screen once they put on a VR headset and 'Dolby Atmos' ensures high-quality sound.

The dual camera set-up has a 13MP primary and 5MP depth sensor for better pictures and enhanced depth of field.

Reacting to rumours that the company was superstitious and didn't launch the 'K7' series, Anuj Sharma, Head of Product Marketing (Smartphones) at Lenovo, said: "There was a K7 Note but that wasn't killer enough. We skipped a generation, took a leap and made 'K8 Note'". Read more

Qatar offers visa-free entry to India, 79 other nations amid Gulf crisis

Energy-rich Qatar's economy took a hit since Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Bahrain moved to isolate it

Qatar announced on Wednesday it was scrapping visa requirements for visitors from 80 countries as it weathers a boycott by four Arab states and gears up to host the World Cup in 2022.

Under the new policy announced by Qatar Airways and authorities, citizens of 33 mostly European countries can enter without a visa for 90 days in single or multiple trips during a 180-day period.

Americans, Britons, Canadians and citizens of 44 other countries can enter visa-free for an initial 30 days on single or multiple trips, and can extend that for a further 30 days.

Energy-rich Qatar's economy has taken a hit since Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain moved to isolate it two months ago over allegations it supports extremists.

Also Read : Current Affairs on News

The quartet of Arab nations is particularly irked by Qatar's ties with Iran and its support of Islamist opposition groups. Qatar denies it backs terror groups and says the allegations against Doha are politically motivated.

The four countries cut diplomatic and transport links with Qatar in June, and barred Qatar from using their airspace and shipping lanes.

In a related development, the UAE and Bahrain today sought to clarify a statement made the day before by the International Civil Aviation Organization, which said both countries had agreed to open up some of their airspace, including new "temporary or contingency" routes, for Qatar Airways.

The two, in statements carried on the UAE's and Bahrain's state-run news agencies, said that they had not agreed to open up their airspace in full to Qatari flights but to only allow Qatari aircraft to use their airspace located above international waters.

Details: NMAT by GMAC for Academic Session 2018-20

Candidates can self-schedule their test date and time as per their convenience in these 75 days.

NMAT by GMAC for the academic session 2018-20 will be conducted in the window period of 05th October to 18th December 2017. Candidates can self-schedule their test date and time as per their convenience in these 75 days. NMAT by GMAC is a national level MBA entrance examination held every year by Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC). This entrance examination is used by more than 23 universities, institutes and B-schools for admission in to their various management programs. The application process has started on 04th July 2017 and the last date for completing the application process is 03rd October 2017. Once registered, applicants can schedule their examination and appear for the same at a designated centre in one of 44 Indian cities and 4 international ones (Kathmandu, Thimphu, Dhaka and Colombo). After registration, the last date for scheduling NMAT is October 16th 2017. To apply for NMAT by GMAC applicants should have completed Fulltime Graduation in any discipline with 50% marks. Student in their final year may also apply.

Also Read : CBSE announces Class 12 Compartmental Exam Results. Check it here

Some prominent universities, institutes and B-schools that accept and use NMAT by GMAC test scores for admission purposes are: SVKM's Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies, Xavier University, MISB Bocconi, ICFAI Business School (IBS), Hyderabad and other locations, Alliance University, Amity University, Thapar School of Management, SRM University Chennai, Delhi NCR Sonipat, Shiv Nadar University, University of Petroleum & Energy Studies (UPES), Woxsen School of Business Management, BML Munjal University, VIT University, ITM Business School, Navi Mumbai, Mody University, GITAM School of International Business, Visakhapatnam and Hyderabad Business School, GITAM University

NMAT by GMAC- Important Dates

About NMAT by GMAC

NMAT by GMAC is a computer based examination. Once registered, the examination can be scheduled and taken thrice by the candidate in the given admission cycle or window period. The best score out of the three attempts will be considered as the final score. Read more

Loneliness may be a greater public health hazard than obesity: Study

Loneliness and isolation may actually lead to early death, researches say

Loneliness may be a greater public health hazard than obesity, according to a study which found that social isolation may put people at an increased risk of early death.

"Being connected to others socially is widely considered a fundamental human need - crucial to both well-being and survival," said Julianne Holt-Lunstad, professor at Brigham Young University in the US.

"Extreme examples show infants in custodial care who lack human contact fail to thrive and often die, and indeed, social isolation or solitary confinement has been used as a form of punishment," said Holt-Lunstad.

"Yet an increasing portion of the USPopulation now experiences isolation regularly," she said.

To illustrate the influence of social isolation and loneliness on the risk for premature mortality, Holt-Lunstad presented data from two research reviews.

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The first involved 148 studies, representing more than 300,000 participants, and found that greater social connection is associated with a 50 per cent reduced risk of early death.

The second study, involving 70 studies representing more than 3.4 million individuals from North America, Europe, Asia and Australia, examined the role that social isolation, loneliness or living alone might have on mortality.

Researchers found that all three had a significant and equal effect on the risk of premature death, one that was equal to or exceeded the effect of other well-accepted risk factors such as obesity.

"There is robust evidence that social isolation and loneliness significantly increase risk for premature mortality, and the magnitude of the risk exceeds that of many leading health indicators," said Holt-Lunstad.

Wipro opens Data Discovery Platform for businesses on Microsoft Azure

Industry analysts say Wipro will need appropriate selling methods for such a solution

Wipro, India’s third-largest IT services firm, said it has made its cloud-based Data Discovery Platform available for customers on Microsoft Azure through a “pay-per-insight” model.

To be hosted on Microsoft’s cloud computing platform Azure, the Data Discovery Platform is a big data analytics-as-a-service solution that can enhance the ability of businesses in sectors such as banking and financial services, retail, energy, education, and manufacturing to make better decisions using pre-built applications.

Company News : The platform can be used by businesses through an outcome-based model. “Data Discovery Platform leverages Microsoft’s Cortana Intelligence Suite, which includes HDInsight, Stream Analytics, Data Lake Analytics, machine learning, and Power BI to build analytical applications,” said the company in a statement, adding that both Microsoft and Wipro have collaborated in areas such as engineering, solution enhancement, and joint-go-to-market strategy.

“Today, the platform is a significant enabler of analytics-led digital transformation delivering analytics-as-a-service to organisations. We believe that this is a reflection of the Wipro Data Discovery Platform’s maturity and Microsoft’s confidence in the prowess of this platform," said Pallab Deb, vice-president and global head (Analytics) at Wipro.

Industry analysts say such a solution will need appropriate selling methods, be it data and services packaged or otherwise, as the platform is digital in nature.

“This is going to be a different offering from that of traditional software services. Wipro needs a new-age approach to sell such a platform. Even though there is enough demand for such data analytics-based solutions, this cannot be sold like any traditional technology service,” said Sanchit Vir Gogia, founder and chief executive, Greyhound Research.

JioPhone effect: Idea to launch 4G-enabled feature phone at Rs 2,500

We have no intention to subsidise handsets, said Himanshu Kapania, Managing Director Idea Cellular

Faced with the latest challenge of ultra-cheap 4G feature phone from Reliance Jio, Idea Cellular on July 28 said it is working with handset makers to bring down the cost of handsets.

However, the Aditya Birla Group company, set to be merged with bigger rival Vodafone, made it clear that it will not subsidise handsets.

Indian Companies News : "The practical solution that we are working on is to work with the handset industry and work with them to be able to bring down cost of handsets by bringing down the bill of material, so that the gap of the announced price of Jio feature phone versus a smart-phone can be brought down to reasonable levels," its Managing Director Himanshu Kapania told analysts.

Kapania said the ideal price point for a handset will be Rs 2,500.

In the past, the telecom operators had worked with handset makers when they were challenged by the then Reliance Infocomm's cheaper handsets, he noted.

"Given the fact that this (Jio announcement) has happened, and it is going to be distributed in large volumes, our belief is that we need to work with the handset industry and introduce similar phones in the marketplace," he said.

This will be an "affordable phone" which will allow customers the choice of dual SIM, selection of 2G and 4G networks, signing up with telecom operators of choice and to use applications of choice, he said.

There will be extensive market research on the number of features that can be brought down, operating system and whether it should have touchscreen, among others, he said. Read more

Flipkart-eBay India merger done; sellers can now take products global

Indian Companies News

Flipkart, India's largest e-commerce marketplace said it will begin offering the global inventory of eBay to Indian consumers while taking the products of thousands of sellers in the country to eBay's customers globally.

This comes after Flipkart completed the takeover of the India operations of eBay.

In a deal announced in April, Flipkart raised $1.4 billion from global technology majors eBay, Tencent and Microsoft. In exchange for an equity stake in Flipkart, eBay had made a cash investment and sold its eBay.in business to Flipkart.

Flipkart will now own and operate eBay.in, which however will remain an independent entity.Additionally, both companies are also partnering to leverage opportunities in cross-border trade. As a result, Flipkart customers will get expanded product choices with the wide array of global inventory available on eBay, while eBay customers will have access to more unique Indian inventory from Flipkart sellers. The partnership will thus provide a new opportunity for Flipkart sellers to expand their sales globally, the firm said in a statement.

"Being an early mover, eBay.in has a unique standing in the Indian e-commerce market, which is a great addition to Flipkart's leadership position. Our coming together directly benefits Indian customers and sellers for whom we want to provide the best possible e-commerce experience. This is a step in that direction," Flipkart CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy said in the statement.