Modi’s Digital India campaign lands India in the UN’s E-Government rankings to 96th rank, DENMARK topped
Scaling 22 places in 4 years to 96th rank, India under Prime Minister Narendra Modi has managed to break into the top 100 of United Nations E-Government Index (EGDI).
The comprehensive survey released once in two years, assesses among others, government development at the national level based on telecommunications infrastructure, human capital, and national online presence. It maps how digital technologies and innovations are changing the public sector and people’s lives for the better.
India has managed to jump 11 ranks from 107 in 2016, in the list topped by DENMARK(0.9150) followed by Australia, Republic of Korea and the United Kingdom.
Surendra Rosha named HSBC India CEO
The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) on Monday announced the appointment of Surendra Rosha as Chief Executive Officer for HSBC India, subject to regulatory approvals.
“Rosha succeeds Jayant Rikhye, who is taking a leave of absence for medical reasons,”the Bank said in an official statement.
Rosha, who is currently HSBC’s Head of Financial Institutions Group (FIG) for Asia-Pacific,has 27 years of experience in financial services sector. He began his career in financial services when he joined HSBC’s India operations in 1991.
Chhattisgarh CM Raman Singh, Kangana Ranaut launch smartphone distribution scheme
Raipur (Chhattisgarh), Jul 31 (ANI): Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh and actress Kangana Ranaut launched ‘Mobile Tihar’ under Sanchar Kranti Yojna (SKY) in Raipur. The smartphone distribution scheme is for women and children in the state. The scheme will benefit around 45 lakh women and 5 lakh children. “We are working towards increasing network connectivity and youth will be empowered with smarthphones”, said CM Raman Singh on the occasion.
United States Eases Export Controls For High-Tech Product Sales To India
WASHINGTON:
The United States has eased export controls for high technology product sales to India, granting it the same access as NATO allies, Australia, Japan and South Korea, U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said on Monday.
Ross, speaking at U.S. Chamber of Commerce event, said the move to grant Strategic Trade Authorization status STA1 to India reflects its efforts to improve its own export control regime, its adherence to multilateral export rules and its growing status as a U.S. defense partner.
"STA1 provides India greater supply chain efficiency, both for defense, and for other high-tech products," Ross said, adding that the elevated status would have affected about $9.7 billion worth of Indian goods purchases over the past seven years.
Reliance again overtakes TCS as India’s most valued firm
Mumbai: Oil-to-telecom conglomerate Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) on Tuesday surpassed India’s biggest software services firm Tata Consultancy Services Ltd (TCS) to become the country’s most valued firm in terms of market capitalization—a first since April. Data from the BSE showed RIL has a market cap of ₹ 7.51 trillion, after its shares rose 3.1% on the BSE to record high of ₹ 1,185.85. TCS, which closed 0.19% lower at ₹ 1,941.25 per share, was valued at ₹ 7.43 trillion.
The surge in RIL share price follows its Q1 results where its standalone net profit increased 18% to ₹ 9,459 crore. TCS, on its part, reported quarterly revenues of over $5 billion for the first time in Q1.
RIL shares have beaten the market by a wide margin in the past two months on expectations of a regulatory boost for its refining business and excitement about revenue accretion from its telecom subsidiary Reliance Jio’s non-mobile businesses.
Renu Satti resigns as Paytm Payments Bank CEO
Renu had taken over as the CEO of the Paytm Bank in May 2017 and recently resigned to take over the operations at the new initiative by Paytm which involves working with local restaurants, grocery stores and pharmacies for enabling them for local ordering and delivery.
After her step down, the position of the head of the bank lies vacant and it is the second time when the office at the newly-licensed payments bank has been vacant after its previous CEO, Shinjini Kumar left before the formal launch of Paytm Payment Bank.
Renu Satti has juggled multiple roles at Paytm, from managing human resources to building businesses ground up including marketplace, movie ticketing and most recently Paytm Payments Bank.
Paytm also aims to build a P2P logistics with a countrywide network for intra-city deliveries. This new launch is expected to become one-thirds of Paytm's orders and GMV by 2020, says Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Founder of Paytm.
Rajasthan signs MoU for first cow sanctuary in state
Rajasthan will soon have its first ‘cow sanctuary’, a shelter for 10,000 bovines spread over an area of more than 220 hectares in Bikaner district. The state government on Friday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with a private trust in this regard, during Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje’s visit to Bikaner. The cow sanctuary will be the latest in a string of initiatives announced by the BJP government in the state for the protection of bovines since it came to power in 2013. The state already has a ministry dedicated to the welfare of cows and last year it had announced a 10 per cent surcharge on stamp duty towards cow protection.
“This will be the first cow sanctuary in Rajasthan and will be situated in Bikaner’s Napasar. The objective is to dedicate the entire area for cows, much on the lines of a wildlife sanctuary. The signing of the MoU was done on Friday and we are looking to start the facility at the earliest,” Gopalan minister Otaram Dewasi said. He added the sanctuary will be managed by a private trust.
AADHAAR PRIVACY ISSUES EXTEND BEYOND THE SECURITY OF ITS BIOMETRIC DATABASE
The weekend saw a sharp exchange of tweets between our soon-to-retire telecom regulatory chief Mr R.S. Sharma and advocates of privacy. He is an unabashed believer in the security of Aadhaar. This, for the uninitiated, is like a social security number that is now being linked to everything under the sun — bank records, financial statements, income tax returns, phone numbers and even competitive examinations.
Sharma has claimed, and he’s probably right, that no harm could come to him if his Aadhaar details were to be made public. This has been consistently echoed by UIDAI, which claims a “security perimeter” around the collected biometrics of every individual in the Indian subcontinent. As such, Aadhaar represents the most massive honeypot of sensitive biometrics ever compiled on the planet. This author takes the government’s claims on the security of the biometric database, and the claims that said database has never been breached, at face value.
Cambodian PM's party claims election rout, opposition sees 'death of democracy'
PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - Prime Minister Hun Sen’s ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) said on Monday it had won all 125 parliamentary seats up for grabs in a general election a day earlier that critics said was neither free nor fair.
Cambodia woke to another chapter of rule by strongman Hun Sen a day after an election that was heavily criticized by rights groups, the United States and other Western countries.
“The CPP won 77.5 percent of the votes and won all the parliamentary seats,” CPP spokesman Sok Eysan told Reuters by telephone. “The other parties won no seats.”
The White House said it would consider steps, including an expansion of visa restrictions placed on some Cambodian government members, in response to “flawed elections” in which there was no significant challenger to Hun Sen.
Zimbabwe Election: Anxious for change, 5.5 million to vote in first polls since Robert Mugabe's removal
About 5.5 million Zimbabweans are expected to vote on Monday in the first election since the removal of Robert Mugabe, a watershed vote they hope will rid the country of its global pariah status and spark a recovery in its failed economy.
Dozens of people waited in line to vote outside many polling stations in Harare, the capital.
"I want to do this and get on with my business. I am not leaving anything to chance. This is my future," said Emerina Akenda, a first-time voter.
Thousands of election monitors have fanned out across the country to observe a process that the opposition says is biased against them despite electoral commission assurances that it will be credible.