The government has to play a more proactive role to make e-governance initiatives offering Government-to-Citizen (G2C) services a viable business model, says SREI Sahaj, which has the mandate to set up such centres across various states. SREI Sahaj is a subsidiary of Kolkata-based Srei Infrastructure Finance Ltd and has the mandate of rolling out about 29,000 common service centr
Social networking website Facebook has launched a new service called `Places` which allows users to share their location with their friends. The service, which has prompted security fears, also tells users which of their friends are at the same place or if they have ever "checked in" there before. The new feature went live in Britain yesterday after its l
Russia`s VVIP protection service has surrendered the website it registered in its name sparking speculations of the official launch of campaign for the return of Vladimir Putin to top Kremlin job in 2012, a move which has virtually made Dmitry Medvedev a `lame duck` president. "The Federal Protection Service (FSO) is recalling its applications for registration of nine websit
Interpol chief Ron Noble claims to have become a victim of Internet fraud, after his identity on social networking site `Facebook` was hacked by criminals trying to get information on a major operation by the agency. "Interpol`s information security incident response team discovered two Facebook profiles attempting to assume my identity as Interpol`s secretary general.
The Haryana government has decided to introduce an e-challaning system for better management of traffic rules in the state. E-challaning system would consist of a computer-based centralised database of vehicles, driving licenses and traffic violations and hand-held devices with the field staff to provide them real time connectivity with the central server, Financial Commissioner
Global software major Microsoft Corp has been dragged to the Competition Commission of India (CCI) by a law firm for allegedly abusing its dominant position as a market leader. Singhania & Partners has filed a complaint against Microsoft alleging that software company first signed an agreement to sell a software at a certain price, but later raised the price intending not to
Essel Group`s Itz Cash Card Ltd, has received the requisite RBI clearance for issuing Mobile Wallet in the month of August under The Payment and Settlement Systems Act 2007. Itz Cash Card is the country`s first-ever multi service pre-paid card company. With this license, the company can offer Mobile Wallet facilities to citizens who are cell-phone subscribers, it s
Electronic voting technology will be tested in Russia`s 20 territories during upcoming regional elections, Chairman of the Central Election Commission (CEC), Vladimir Churov said here. He will take part in the OSCE seminar on organisation of elections. He spoke about "different forms of non-distanced electronic voting, which will be used in various parts of Russia from Siber
Telecom minister A Raja, who is embroiled in a controversy over 2G spectrum allocation, Saturday, said allegations were levelled were because he did not favour any cartel. "The reason for various allegations is that I did not favour any cartel," he said while distributing free mobile phones to 1,200 BPL households at Avanashi in nearby Tirupur District. T
The Planning Commission proposes to launch a website shortly inviting for suggestions from individuals and organisations on the approach to the 12th Five Year Plan, Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission Dr Montek Singh Ahluwalia said here today. "We will be launching it shortly, probably next week", Ahluwalia said during a lecture titled "Challenges in the 12th Pl
Chinese telecom vendors Huawei and ZTE and Swedish giant Ericsson have bagged orders from CDMA telecom operator Shyam-Sistema, which offers mobile services under the MTS brand, for rolling out and managing its network in different regions. The deal size is close to Rs 150 crore, industry sources said, adding that Huawei has been given the eastern region, Ericsson bagged the north
Tata Consultancy Services today said that the Workforce One Investment Board of Southwest Ohio has selected it as one of six Investing in People Awards recipients for the year 2010 for its `goIT` initiative. The initiative aims to ignite interest in IT careers among local high school students. Also noted was TCS`s commitment to continued learning and development opportunities for
The government has asked telecom service providers to upgrade their networks for interception of information sent and received on BlackBerry phones and be ready for demonstration of such facilities to the concerned authorities. In a communication to the operators, the Department of Telecom (DoT) said, "Please upgrade your technical capability for lawful interception facility
Telecom regulator TRAI may have pulled up mobile operators for poor call quality, but a survey commissioned by it has found that more than 90 per cent of subscribers are satisfied with quality of network availability and call drops were few and far between. According to the audit survey carried out by an independent agency for TRAI, Shyam-Sistema, which offers mobile services und
Mobile phone giant Motorola is looking at launching its tablet computer early next year, as the firm hopes to expand its product line beyond cell phones. "We want to make sure that any tablet that we deliver is competitive in the marketplace, and I think all of us will make sure that we will only deliver (computer) that when that occurs," Motorola`s India-born Co-Chief
Seeking Rs 55 crore from Airtel and Vodafone for routing unidentified calls on its network, public sector BSNL has moved the Supreme Court which asked the private operators file their replies. A bench headed by Chief Justice S H Kapadia issued notice to Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Essar Gujarat directing them to file their replies. The apex court further said that i
Handset-maker Nokia today said that with the launch of 3G mobile services and people opting to go for replacement of old devices, the smartphone market in India is set to more than double in the next two years. According to technology-focused analyst house Canalys, the Indian smartphone market was 2,126,140 units in the 2009 calendar year. "The market for smar
Market regulator SEBI has ushered in a major overhaul of the way mutual funds are sold with the introduction of biometric cards and stringent licencing norms for distributors to weed out agents indulging in frauds. Following directions from SEBI, mutual fund industry body AMFI has asked all fund houses in the country to comply with `Know-Your-Distributor (KYD)` norms before the g
Around 50 lakh citizens in three districts of Chhattisgarh would be provided with unique identity numbers under the first phase of the UID `Aadhar` project in the state. According to official sources, the Unique Identification Authority has selected Raipur, Bilaspur and Durg districts of Chhattishgarh in the first phase, aiming to issue identity numbers to 50 lakh people in its p
HRD Minister Kapil Sibal Friday said a software has been developed for making the recruitment process of government school teachers more transparent. "A software for transparent teacher recruitment has been prepared," he said while addressing the valedictory session of the state School Education Secretaries` conference here. He also asked the secretaries
