India's cellular phone sector added a record number of users in November after a state-run telecom firm went national with its mobile services.
From the rollback of customs duty on key electronic components to fast tracking delivery of goods imported from China, players are looking for incentives on several counts.
The US tech major is planning to begin local production of its upcoming iPhone 12 by next April - within six months of its launch.
The government on Monday extended the period of production-linked incentive scheme for large-scale electronics manufacturing with a focus on mobile phones by a year until 2025-26. The base year of the scheme 2019-20 remains the same but the companies will have the option to choose their five-year period either from the base year or the year 2020-21 for calculation of the incentives under the scheme. "Now we have extended the tenure of the scheme from 2020-21 to 2025-26. "Earlier, it would have ended in 2024-25.
Indian GSM telecom operators added 11.25 million new subscribers in the month of May, taking the all-India cellular subscriber base to 444 million, according to cellular operators' association COAI.
In 2020 a round of hikes in customs duty on components like compressors, motors and printed circuit boards aggravated the situation, coronavirus crisis is now leaving manufacturers with no option but to hike prices despite fall in sales.
IIM Ahmedabad's CIIE signed a MoU with Tata Trust for founding partner for the Bharat Fund, which will provide seed funding to Indian entrepreneurs.
A well-balanced lifestyle is the cornerstone for people living with diabetes and those at risk, recommends Shilpa Joshi, head of Metabolic Nutrition, Fitterfly.
Amid an existential crisis facing the firm over Rs 50,000 crore unpaid dues towards the government, billionaire Kumar Mangalam Birla on Wednesday stepped down as the chairman of Vodafone Idea Ltd. Birla -- who had in June offered to give away his holding in the joint venture with Britain's Vodafone to the government -- will cease to be a director and non-executive chairman of the company at the end of business hours on Wednesday, VIL said in a filing to the stock exchanges. It did not give any reason for Birla's decision. He will be replaced by Himanshu Kapania (who was earlier managing director and CEO of Birla's Idea Cellular) as the new chairman of Vodafone Idea Ltd.
A 15 per cent corporate tax rate for services companies in SEZs, setting up a fund for deep-tech startups and establishing clusters to demonstrate design-to-manufacturing capabilities of tech firms were some of the key demands made by the IT sector at the pre-Budget consultation on Monday. The participants shared their views and suggestions regarding Big Data, incentives for encouraging setting up of data centres, fiscal incentives for data localisation, incentives for pushing digital penetration in rural areas, and corporate guarantee to startups for competing with other nations.
'The huge amount of investments being made by telcos in India for telecom gear, there is no way this demand could be met only by Europeans.' 'The Chinese are quick in installation and offer great value for money.'
A rare bonhomie among three private telecom companies in raising tariffs coming on the back of a bailout package by the government may have helped the telecom sector avert a crisis but the challenges haven't ceased to exist as the industry faces a cash-guzzling task of rolling out 5G networks in the coming months. The sector that provides direct and indirect employment to millions is projected to see Rs 1.3 lakh crore to Rs 2.3 lakh crore of investments in the coming years in creating robust infrastructure and building telecom and network products that have been incentivised by the government through PLI and other initiatives. After years of cut-throat competition and the apex court ruling on payment of past statutory dues left some players in the lurch, billionaire Sunil Mittal's Bharti Airtel and struggling Vodafone Idea almost in tandem raised tariffs, taking the plunge they had long been talking about.
Under these rules, telecom gear makers have to share their source codes and get their equipment tested by third-party labs accredited to the government.
The launch of Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd last September, particularly the tariff war it has unleashed on its competitors, has deepened the crisis facing India's telecom sector. One offshoot of this is the major drop in earnings reported by industry leaders Bharti Airtel and Idea Cellular with each passing quarter. Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com tells the story in numbers.
Six Indian-American students have grabbed top positions in a competition of young innovators.
Dr Mishra further explained the effect of hybrid immunity on the vaccinated population and said that it is likely to give protection to people along with the Indian vaccines administered.
The Union health ministry on Friday said while there is no evidence to suggest that existing vaccines do not work on the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2, some of the mutations reported may decrease the efficacy of the jabs.
The move comes a few days after billionaire businessman Elon Musk tweeted that his Starlink internet services would be available in India as soon as it gets regulatory approvals next year. Musk's Starlink, which plans to have a constellation of 40,000 low-orbit satellites, recently started offering high-speed internet in the US as part of its beta launch phase.
These teens have interesting solutions to every day problems.
The Society of Asian American Scientists in Cancer Research last month presented awards to seven doctors for their outstanding contributions to cancer research. The awards were presented by Rajvir Dahiya, SAASCR president, San Diego, California on April 6.
'There is no doubt at all that Jio's disruption of the mobile broadband market was a turning point for India's digital economy.'
India on Sunday announced temporary suspension of e-visa facility for Chinese travellers and foreigners residing in the neighbouring country and issued a fresh advisory saying anyone with travel history to China since January 15 can be quarantined.
Jio has accused incumbent telecom operators for not providing the required number of equipment to connect its mobile network with theirs
The novel mRNA vaccine candidate, HGCO19, is supported with seed grant under the Ind-CEPI mission of the Department of Biotechnology. The mRNA vaccines do not use the conventional model to produce immune response. Instead, they carry molecular instructions to make the protein in the body through a synthetic RNA of the virus.
Scientists associated with Indian SARS-CoV-2 Consortium on Genomics (INSACOG), the government panel that conducts research on different variants of the coronavirus, said they were surprised at noted virologist Shahid Jameel's decision to quit the group and wondered whether he was disillusioned with the government's handling of the pandemic.
Making the things worse, those hitting their record low share prices included big names like Reliance Power, Cipla, Ranbaxy, Ambuja Cement, Hindalco, Indian Hotels, Jaiprakash Associates, Jet Airways, Suzlon Energy and Idea Cellular. Realty majors DLF Ltd, Unitech, Parsvnath, Sobha Developers, Omaxe and Puravankara also plunged to their all-time lows.
Given the escalating cost of doing business, the revenue opportunity is decreasing and consolidation is an inevitable part of the industry.
With the profitability of telecom operators declining due to "low tariffs and high costs", GSM industry body COAI Chairman Himanshu Kampania has said the mobile sector cannot sustain future investments with present low margins.
Huawei willing to place its software code with government.
Companies like Amazon Prime Video are also temporarily lowering bit rates -- a measure of how much data is being transferred -- to ease pressure on telecom network infrastructure.
The industry is keeping a close watch to see if shuttered factories in China reopen in the coming days and supplies resume sometime this week.
Several factors have held India back. One is DoT policy somersaults and lack of clarity on whether to or not to ban Chinese gear makers.
High spectrum charges would lead to rise in mobile services rates and adversely impact government's Digital India initiative by impeding telecom network expansion.
COAI has argued that in India the government has been working to keep telecom networks secure, with reviews of the security policy and the insertion of specific clauses into the licences to prevent any risk to network security.
The new iPhones are "jam packed with new capabilities and an incredible new design", said Apple chief executive Tim Cook.
University of Washington researchers said some smartphones are starting to incorporate 3-D gesture sensing based on cameras, but cameras consume significant battery power and require a clear view of the user's hands.
Various facets of Mahatma Gandhi's life journey were displayed by the 22 tableaux that rolled down the Rajpath during the 70th Republic Day Parade.
This will be the first time BJP's prime ministerial candidate holds a discussion with IT, telecom czars.
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