Mar. 4 - The Indian Government is to spend US$400 million over the next three years to enable broadband to reach more than 265,000 rural Indian villages, making the country one of the most densely interconnected populations on the planet.
The formation of a Group of Ministers (GoM) to monitor and review the implementation of this broadband initiative is also being considered. Whether the GoM will invite the private sector to participate in the planning of this initiative and focus on wireless as a means of delivery remains to be seen. Read the rest of this entry »
Feb. 18 - The Competition Commission of India (CCI) is considering a new scheme that will provide pre-merger consultation for companies mulling over potential mergers and acquisition.
This will allow companies the opportunity to seek competition regulator’s views prior to filing proposals and cut down on approval times and delay that sometimes can take as long as 210 days. “We are considering having pre-merger consultations clause for vetting mergers under sections 5 and 6 of the Competition Act,” CCI chairman Dhanendra Kumar said in a statement during the Indo-U.S. Economic Summit held in New Delhi. Read the rest of this entry »
Feb. 5 - Business visa rules that prohibit foreigners from working in the country may be relaxed to adjust to the needs of the IT industry.
Indian visa rules became stricter last year to clamp down on the thousands high and low-skilled Chinese workers illegally working in the country on power and steel projects using a business visa. The new rules requires that only one percent of total workers in a project can avail of employment visas and a cap of only twenty employment visas per project. Read the rest of this entry »
Jan. 5 - A recently approved industrial policy for New Delhi aims to consolidate business in the capital to turn it into a high-tech, knowledge-based service sector and IT hub.
Two special economic zones will initially be set up in Baprola, one for gems and jewelery and the other for IT and information technology enabled services (ITES) says The Economic Times. The plan is applicable from 2010 to 2021 and is only the second of its kind to be implemented in the city. Read the rest of this entry »
Dec. 9 - Major Indian conglomerate Reliance ADA Group will partner with a Los Angeles-based company to convert movies into 3-D in a US$40 million facility in Mumbai set to open in January.
When it opens the facility will be the largest of its kind in the world also capable of post-production, visual effects and film restoration. In-Three Inc. will work with Reliance to convert 15 to 25 films annually into 3-D format. Read the rest of this entry »
Dec. 8 - The country’s Department of Telecommunications will hold an auction on January 14, 2010 to sell four slots of bandwidth for 3G phone services and three slots for broadband internet services.
Bidding will start at INR35 billion or about US$758 million for a slot of 3G bandwidth and INR17.5 billion or US$378.8 million for wireless broadband access says The Wall Street Journal. The extra bandwidth will give telecommunications operators the option to offer better services for users who want mobile phone access to email and video. Read the rest of this entry »
Nov. 25 - Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said that India is willing to consider a free trade pact with the United States similar to the one it already has with Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
“I don’t mind exploring the possibility for a free trade agreement with the United States,” Mr. Singh said during a meeting with the Council on Foreign Relations during his first four-day state visit to the United States. Read the rest of this entry »
Nov. 24 - India has signed agreements on traditional knowledge, intellectual property and investment promotion with the United States during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s first official state visit to the country.
One of the first agreements signed is a Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TDKL) Access between the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) and U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO ) reports Zee News. Another agreement involves a deal between India’s Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, U.S. Department of Commerce. Read the rest of this entry »
Nov. 20 - India is taking a more aggressive stance in developing its solar-power industry by offering more subsidies for the production of renewable energy.
The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy is scheduled to release a solar-power policy soon with details that will allow more solar projects to receive government funding.
Ministry director, B. Bhargava, told The Wallstreet Journal that the new policy will hopefully spur solar panel manufacturers to increase production to help reduce cost. Read the rest of this entry »
Nov. 18 - Pranav Mistry, India’s IT wunderkind, demonstrated his “SixthSense” technology at the TED India conference this year. In a presentation to a packed house (video after the break), Mistry showed off tools that allow the physical world to interact with the digital one, including a paper “laptop” and a virtual camera.
It’s a fascinating look into the near future, made even more exciting by Mistry’s assertion that he will open-source the software behind the SixthSense technology, making its possibilities available to everyone. Read the rest of this entry »
