LG lauches its 3D Televisions in Indian market

LG Electronics has announced the launch of its 3D LCD TVs in India in partnership with the Valuable Group, a Mumbai-based media company.
The company has procured licences to telecast IPL matches in 3D formats.

LG Electronics will set up its 3D TVs where cricket fans will gather, including restaurants and cinema theatres across the country to coincide with Valuable Group’s live 3D broadcast of the final four games of the Indian Premier League. Making it the first time any sporting event has been broadcast in 3D, the Indian cricket fans will be able to enjoy the action on stunning 3D TV.

HP launches new desktop variants

Hewlett-Packard introduced two new desktop PCs, the enterprise-geared Compaq 6005 Pro Ultra Slim and the consumer-oriented All-in-One, on April 21 along with news of a update to its HP TouchSmart 300 and 600 Series.

The first two PCs put a heavy emphasis on space savings and green design, with energy-efficient power supplies and recyclable shipping materials.

And while the All-in-One and TouchSmart run Intel processors, the Compaq 6005 represents HP's sixth generation of business desktops to feature processors from Advanced Micro Devices.

Investigation claims dozens of lapses on Saras during its test flight

The investigation report of the Saras Light Transport Aircraft (LTA) crash revealed dozens of lapses including an insufficient pre-flight debriefing, a poor telemetry system and lack of crew coordination.

According to a news report by The Hindu, indigenously developed light passenger aircraft Saras had crashed because of incorrect flight procedures set by its designer and adopted by the crew.

ICICI Bk relaunced its teaser Home loan rates

 Country’s largest private sector lender ICICI Bank has re-launched its special home loan plan, also called teaser rates, to attract property buyers.

“Mortgages continue to be a focus area for ICICI Bank. We offer competitive rates in the market and currently the rates are 8.25 per cent for first year, 9 per cent for the second year and the existing floating rate thereafter,” said a spokesperson of ICICI Bank.

Vedanta outsources its Orissa power project to German Based company Evonik

Vedanta Resources has outsourced the operation and maintenance of its Rs 8,200 crore power project in Orissa to Germany-based Evonik Energy.

The operation and maintenance (O&M) agreement was signed between Sterlite Energy, a subsidiary of the metal and mining group, and Evonik Energy Services India, the local arm of the fifth largest power company in Germany.

“Vedanta group is emerging as one of the leading players in the power sector in India and Evonik is one of the largest players in Germany, I think this will result in an excellent relationship between the companies and add lots of value in our power business,” Vedanta Aluminium Ltd (VAL) Director M. Siddiqi said in a statement.

Govt to infuse Rs.150 billion in state run Bks

The cabinet approved infusion of 150 billion rupees ($3.4 bln) in state-run banks during the fiscal year ending March, 2011, to help meet growing credit requirements of the economy, a government statement said.

"The infusion of 150 billion rupees in Tier I capital instruments of PSBs would enable them to expand their credit growth by about 1.85 trillion rupees ($41.6 bln)," the statement said on Friday.

The cabinet also gave its approval for infusion of additional capital in the next financial year after considering the third quarter results of banks in 2010/11.

In February, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee had made a provision of 165 billion rupees ($3.7 bln) in the annual budget for state-run banks to ensure that they are able to attain a minimum 8 per cent Tier-I capital by March 31, 2011.

India has signed two agreements with the World Bank for a loan of $3.2 billion to provide additional capital to state-run banks. Formalities for the first tranche of $2 billion have already been completed, it said.

The government expects an infusion of additional capital would also strengthen the Indian banking system, which remained largely unaffected during global financial crisis since September 2008.

India, Asia's third largest economy is expected to grow by around 8.5 percent in 2010/11 and 9 percent in the next financial year as per government estimates.

Govt expects $11Bn in 3G auction

India now expects its third-generation (3G) and broadband spectrum auctions to raise 500 billion rupees ($11.2 billion), much higher than the government's budget estimates of 350 billion rupees, telecommunications minister Andimuthu Raja said on Friday.

On Thursday, Raja had said he expected the auctions to raise 450 billion rupees. "Everyday it is going up," he told reporters outside the parliament on Friday, referring to the bids for 3G spectrum, for which the auction is currently on. India kicked off a closely-watched multi-billion dollar spectrum acution on April 9 which would enable telecom firms in India offer premium third-generation services.

One day Strike in Kashmir against death sentence

A one-day strike brought Kashmir to a standstill Friday, in a protest at the death sentences handed to three members of a separatist group who bombed a New Delhi market in 1996.

The three members of a Kashmiri group called the Islamic Front -- two Kashmiris and a Muslim resident of New Delhi -- were sentenced to death Thursday by a court in New Delhi.

Rajasthan CM on IPL commissioner Modi

Ratcheting up the political pressure on IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi and his supporters, Congress leader and Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot issued an unusual communique late tonight in which he slammed former CM Vasundhara Raje and alleged that Modi was involved in several land scams in the state with Raje’s support.

The communiqué was released following a Cabinet meet this evening but the delay, according to the CM’s press advisor, was because of the time it took to word it.

Maruti introduces new Wagon R variant

The country's largest car maker Maruti Suzuki India today launched a new version of its compact car WagonR priced between Rs 3.28 lakh and Rs 3.81 lakh.

"This new launch of WagonR is important to Maruti Suzuki for many reasons. It demonstrates the growing research and development capability of the company," Maruti Suzuki India MD and CEO Shinzo Nakanishi told reporters here.

The new WagonR is developed from the latest platform of the vehicle that is available in Japan. The car is powered by BS-IV compliant 998cc K-series engine.

With this launch the existing WagonR will be phased out that was launched in 1999 and sold a total of 8.8 lakh units.

Sachin says retaining 8 players in a IPL team is important

 Sachin Tendulkar, the Mumbai Indians captain, has said the IPL franchises should be allowed to hold on to a certain number of players from their existing squads as the league prepares for a reshuffle at the end of the 2010 season, when existing player contracts expire. Next year the IPL will have two new franchises - Pune and Kochi - and a fresh auction but Tendulkar wanted teams to be able to retain at least eight players.

"About retaining players, my personal thoughts are that we should be allowed to retain four India players and four foreign players," Tendulkar told the Indian news channel Times Now. "As for domestic players, it should be up to the franchisees. I feel it's a tough call because all teams have made huge efforts in building a good side.

Air India says its flight to ferry IPL team was purely commercial

 Air India on Friday said a Delhi-Coimbatore flight was chartered to ferry Indian Premier League (IPL) players and Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel's daughter Poorna for commercial reasons.

"It was absolutely a commercial decision. Chartered flights make a lot of money for the airline. We keep combining flights according to our operational demand. The IPL anyway has been our customer ever since it began," Arvind Jadhav, chairman and managing director of the airline, said in a statement.

Mahindra cuts Logan cost by Rs.27,000-80,000

Less than a week after utility and tractor major Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) bought the entire equity of French partner Renault in their joint venture company, it today declared a steep reduction in prices of the Logan car.

MahindraThe prices were cut by Rs 27,000-80,000 for the Bharat-III variant, while the reduction for the BS-IV version is in the range of Rs 24,000-65,000.

Despite the car having a very low localisation level of around 50 per cent, as the engine and transmission is imported into the country, M&M says the reduction has been a result of rationalisation efforts undertaken by the company at its plant in Nashik.

Sexual ecstacy , made legal in the Nithyanada ashram's agreement

Nudity, sexual activity, and physical intimacy were part of the “learning and practice of ancient tantrik secrets’’ at Dhyanapeetam Ashram of controversial godman Swami Nityananda at Bidadi, near Bangalore. Nityananda was caught on camera during an alleged sex romp with an actress last month.

Bizarrely, those who volunteered for the programmes were made to sign an agreement prohibiting them from disclosing any of these details or taking legal recourse after practising “ancient tantrik secrets’’. The programme is called ‘Learning from the Master Program’.