savramesh

Source The Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA), a representative body of private carriers, has sought a bailout package to tide over the current financial crisis and threatened that its members may suspend domestic operations from August 18. Addressing a press conference in Mumbai, FIA secretary general Anil Baijal said that member airlines had accumulated losses worth a whopping $2 billion, and unless the government initiates action to help them overcome the crisis they will not be able to sustain operations any further. Air India was not part of Friday's discussions. "We are bleeding. Everybody is bleeding. Giving a helping hand to the airline industry is done all over the world," said Naresh Goyal, chairman of Jet Airways and a founding member of the federation. "We may have to suspend operations indefinitely," added Vijay Mallya, chairman of Kingfisher Airlines, while adding that international operations of member carriers will, however, continue. Among the various demands from the federation are: Direction to oil retailers to sell aviation fuel cheaper and reduction in airport charges, which they say has ballooned ever since the entry of private players. "Aviation fuel is among the highest in the world," said Baijal, adding this expenditure alone added 30-40 percent of an airline's operational costs. The federation secretary general also said member carriers were already burdened by a low fares and a sharp dip in passenger traffic, and that in such difficult times, they were naturally looking for help from the government. "This is a well considered decision of private carriers," added Baijal. He said the carriers would take whatever logistical action was needed as the result of suspension of operations, like refund of money for tickets already booked. Thus far, the civil aviation ministry has ruled out any bailout package for the aviation industry, even though moves are afoot to help the national carrier tide over one of its worst crises.

Airlines call off August 18 strike Source MUMBAI: The Union government's tough talk appears to have hit home with private airlines that had called for suspending domestic flights for a day. About 48 hours after threatening a strike, the Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA) ate crow on Sunday to say that all private airlines would operate as scheduled on August 18. A statement issued late in the evening by a GoAir spokesperson on behalf of FIA said it decided to "put on hold its decision to suspend flights on August 18...in view of the agitated public sentiment, the potential inconvenience to passengers, and the government's willingness to enter into dialogue''. The government has never shown an unwillingness to sit across the table to thrash out the issues: reduction in airport charges and sales tax on ATF. "The FIA hopes that constructive dialogue with government will lead to redressal of problems,'' the statement said. The first signs of the possibility of the strike falling through came on Saturday evening when a low-cost airline, IndiGo, pulled out of the protest saying it would continue with its operations on August 18. At 7.30pm on Sunday, Spice Jet followed suit. By 8pm, FIA announced that the rest of the airlines  Kingfisher, Jet, Spice and Go Air  too had deferred their decision to suspend flights on August 18. Although FIA had to call off its decision without any assurance from the government, it did succeed in taking the issues plaguing the airline industry to the public. The strike threat got ample media focus which made it possible for FIA to bring fresh focus to protracted issues like airport charges and sales tax on ATF. "From day one, it was apparent that low-cost airlines (LCC) would pull out of this as they are not in such dire financial straits as full-fare carriers are,'' said an aviation analyst. The first signs of retreat came barely 24 hours after FIA made the adrenaline-charged announcement on Friday last. All private airlines continued to accept bookings for August 18; but the government took no chances. On Saturday, civil aviation minister Praful Patel warned the airlines against holding the country to ransom even as Air India chalked out plans to mount additional flights on its B-747 jumbos on August 18 and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) cracked the whip warning airlines not to flout the provisions of the permit that allows them to operate scheduled flights. And sure enough, IndiGo announced it was no longer part of the FIA strike.

please translate to english i dont understand the word "sasur"

Tata to deliver 60,000 Nano by July 2010 Source NEW DELHI: Country's largest auto maker Tata Motors will deliver up to 60,000 units of the Nano, which is touted as the world's cheapest car, by July next year while remaining committed to handing over the first one lakh cars by 2010 once its mother plant in Sanand goes on stream. Tata Motors Chairman Ratan Tata said in the company's Annual Report for 2008-09 that 95 per cent construction work at the Singur plant was completed before the project was "thwarted" by Trinamool Congress last year, forcing the company to relocate it to Gujarat. He said the new plant in Sanand is likely to be ready by the end of this financial year. It would have an initial production capacity of 2.5 lakh units per annum. "In the meantime, the Nano is being produced in other plant facilities so as to enable around 50,000-60,000 cars to be available to customers over the next 12 months until the main new facility in Gujarat comes on line," Tata told shareholders in the report. The company is currently manufacturing the car at its Pantnagar facility, which has an annual capacity of 50,000 units. Meanwhile, a Tata Motors spokesperson said, "Once the upcoming Sanand facility comes on line after completion of the last quarter of this financial year, it will supplement Pantnagar, completing the first 1,00,000 deliveries in October-December 2010." Referring to the violent agitation in Singur led by Trinamool Congress Chief Mamata Banerjee on land acquisition issues, Tata said relocation of the Nano facility to another state was the only option left. "The company's plans of spearheading industrial investment in West Bengal by locating the manufacturing plant for the Nano in the state was thwarted by a local political party, citing injustice done to the residents of the area by the state government in the acquisition of land for the project," he said. Praising the Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi for "an impressive display of leadership and pragmatism", Tata said all necessary approvals were received within just three days. "The equipment from the plant in West Bengal, which was 95 per cent complete, was dismantled and is being transported to Gujarat," he added. Conceived in 2003, the Nano project has cost over Rs 2,000 crore to the company. Tata Motors launched the car on March 23 this year and delivered it to the first customer last month.

Update on Airtel-MTN talks this week; MTN board meet on Aug 18 Source NEW DELHI: Bharti Airtel and South Africa's MTN are likely to announce the status this week of the proposed merger to create a USD 23-billion entity as period for exclusive talks between them expired on July 31. The telecom majors could not come to any conclusion in their exclusive talks, started on May 25 for a possible share swap deal between the two firms, said market sources. Recently Corporate Affairs Minister Salman Khursheed had said that any proposal to change the equity shareholding of the company would require the government's approval. Bharti Airtel officials remained tight-lipped on whether the deal was on and the period would be extended or whether talks had collapsed. Neither Bharti nor MTN issued a statement about the present status of the dialogue. Sources said MTN board may meet on August 18 to discuss the emerging situation. An email questionnaire sent to MTN remained unanswered. Sidhharth Behura, Secretary in the Department of Telecom, had maintained that there is no deal as yet, so there is no question of seeking any information from them. And also they do not require any approvals for FDI up to 74 per cent. Analysts said the silence of the firms so far indicates the negotiations are hitting some points of disagreement.

got it today...

@srk006, @ash1005, @kcvvenkit your answers are correct 49 answer pending..

47. Which side of a duck has the most feathers? 48. What two things you can't have for breakfast? 49. Why do chickens lay eggs? 50. I am a three digit number. My tens digit is five more than my ones digit. My hundreds digit is eight less than my tens digit.

Source Five BSNL officials have been suspended for their alleged involvement in a fraud case related to a call centre which did not pay a bill of Rs 95 lakh pertaining to international calls made from the ISD booth within a span of 22 days. The owner of the call centre, Rohit Masiha, who acquired 24 connections allegedly using fake addresses, is still on the run, police said. Four officials were suspended, while engineer B K S Senger, who was holding the post of SDO in the state-run telecom service provider, was suspended as soon as the fraud came into light on July 25, BSNL General Manager A K Bajpai told PTI, adding that the vigilance officers are also investigating the matter. An FIR was registered against Masiha at Nazirabad police station for using fake addresses and not clearing the bill of Rs 95 lakh. Masiha had closed down his Vertix Global Call Centre in this industrial city before fleeing, SP (Crime) O P Singh said adding connivance of some senior BSNL officials was suspected in the entire episode. Preliminary investigations showed the calls were made to various Gulf countries besides Canada, Australia and Italy through landlines and mobile phones, Singh said. Police were also trying to ascertain whether the calls were made to any suspected terror group or outfit, he said.

yup, 3 of my disconnected numbers are active now in diff name..

Source Reliance Communications (R-Com), part of the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, has posted a net profit of Rs.1,637 crore ($342 million) for the quarter ended June 30 as against Rs.1,512 crore in the like period last year, a growth of 8.3 percent. The company's total income surged 15.5 percent to Rs.6,145 crore from Rs.5,322 crore, it said in a regulatory statement. 'Successful commercial launch of nationwide GSM services and other new initiatives across all our businesses have helped drive profitable and sustainable growth at Reliance Communications,' company chairman Anil Ambani said in the statement. During the quarter, Reliance Infratel (RITL), a subsidiary of R-Com, signed a long-term agreement with the United Arab Emirates (UAE)-based Etisalat DB for sharing telecom infrastructure. The agreement for sharing of end-to-end tower and transmission infrastructure is expected to enhance R-Com's revenue by Rs.10,000 crore.

Source KOLKATA: Come October, BSNL broadband consumers in Kolkata will be able to enjoy hi-speed internet connectivity up to the speed of 16 Mbps. This is nearly double the current speed offered by BSNL. BSNL Kolkata is in the process of upgrading its broadband backbone from the present ADSL system to VDSL which will allow maximum speed up to 26 Mbps in its internet highway. German firm Siemens is undertaking the entire hardware upgradation for the transition from ADSL to VDSL. BSNL will come up with a new tariff plan for consumers who will opt for the 16 Mbps internet connectivity package. The move is likely to help BSNL consolidate its presence in the broadband segment where it currently has 2.2 lakh subscribers in the city. “We expect to have the VDSL network across Kolkata before the festive season. This will help us to offer hi-speed internet connectivity as the broadband highway can handle speed up to 26 Mbps. The service will be offered to both consumers as well as enterprises,” said BSNL chief general manager (Calcutta circle ) SK Chakravarty. While the present ADSL or Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line technology at BSNL enables internet connectivity speed up to 16 Mbps, BSNL currently offers a tariff plan for up to 8 mbps. VDSL or VHDSL (Very High Bitrate DSL), on the other hand, is the next-generation technology which is capable of supporting high bandwidth applications like HDTV. “We have already rolled out the PC across 16 circles of BSNL and we expect to complete the nationwide roll out by September . We are also undertaking trials with MTNL and expect to start commercial roll out in Mumbai and Delhi by November. Currently , we have a subscriber base of 4,000 machines across India,” Novatium Solutions CEO Alok Singh said.

Dear Sir, Thank you for showing interest in Loop Telecom. Loop Telecom is a subsidiary of Loop Mobile (formerly BPL Mobile Communications). Last year Loop Telecom received license to start GSM operation in 21 telecom circles in the country. We are currently testing our services and products and expect to commence commercial launch across Pan India soon. Thanking you. Yours truly, Loop Telecom Private Limited Customer Service Delivery This is the reply i got for my enquiry about their launch.

Will Bharti Airtel, MTN ring in a deal finally, or talk some more? Source Four possible scenarios in deal for world's third largest telecom services provider with at least 200 mn customers New Delhi: With exclusive talks for a proposed $23 billion (around Rs1.1 trillion) merger of Bharti Airtel Ltd and South Africa's MTN Group Ltd set to conclude on Friday, Mint lays out possible scenarios that may unfold. A merger would result in the creation of the world's third largest telecom firm, with more than 200 million customers and $20 billion of annual revenue. New Delhi-based Bharti would acquire 49% of MTN after Johannesburg-based MTN pays cash and stock for an effective 36% stake in India's largest telecom operator. The stake swaps would eventually lead to a full merger, the two companies have said. In order for Bharti Airtel to acquire the 49% stake in MTN Group, it would have to pay some $6.8 billion, at 86 rand (Rs532.45) per MTN share. Bharti would see an inflow of $2.9 billion from MTN Group as part payment for the purchase of a 36% economic interest in Bharti post-transaction. For Bharti, the net cash outflow required would be some $3.9 billion, part of which it would fund with its $1 billion cashpile. As part of the deal, Bharti shares would be listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. On Indian bourses, the shares would be renamed Bharti-MTN. The Securities and Exchange Board of India, or Sebi, India's capital markets regulator, said earlier this month that MTN could acquire the 36% stake in Bharti through global depositary receipts, or GDRs, without triggering a mandatory open offer as the GDRs would not come with voting rights. An open offer is needed only when the GDRs are converted into equity shares with voting rights. Scenario 1: The talks are called off. Little possibility. Analysts say there is very little chance that the firms will call off the talks because both have applied for funding to meet the financial obligations that would result from a merger. "There would be probably a significant foreclosure fee that they would have to pay if they don't take the loans now," said Kevin Trindade, a senior analyst with Mumbai based K.R. Choksey Shares and Securities Pvt. Ltd. "I expect that there will be an amicable settlement." Bharti has reportedly held talks with banks including Standard Chartered Plc., JPMorgan Chase and Co., Barclays Plc. and State Bank of India to raise about $4 billion, while MTN has held talks with a group of lenders to secure a $3.5 billion syndicated loan. Scenario 2: The talks are extended. Most probable outcome. Azmi Mikati, chief executive of the M1 Group that's one of the largest shareholders in MTN, has said that the talks would "most probably" be extended to the end of August as the deal was a complex one involving multiple jurisdictions, Reuters reported on Tuesday. The Lebanese Mikati family controls about 10% of MTN through the M1 Group. Mikati is also a non-executive member of MTN's board. "I doubt they will abandon the deal altogether but the likelihood of an extension is most probable," said Kunal Bajaj, a director at BDA Connect, a corporate advisory firm. "I think there will be an announcement for an extension in talks, but only by a couple of weeksnot more than three weeks," a Mumbai-based analyst at an international brokerage firm said. He declined to be named because he is not authorized to speak to the media. Scenario 3: Bharti and MTN change the contours of the deal. Another likely outcome. With many MTN shareholders complaining that the price is not high enough, the deal may have to be sweetened to appease them, some analysts say. "To a shareholder, money matters. Since Bharti needs the approval of 75% of MTN shareholders, they may need to raise the cash per share ratio," the Mumbai-based analyst said. Singapore Telecommunications Ltd, or Singtel, one of the largest shareholders in Bharti, will see a dilution of its stake in the Indian firm by 11 percentage points to around 19% in the event of a merger. To maintain its shareholding, Singtel may look at buying Bharti GDRs from MTN shareholders after a deal between Bharti and MTN is announced. "Singtel may buy the GDRs at a 5-10% premium in order to sweeten the deal (for MTN shareholders) and try to keep its shareholding in Bharti at a certain level," said the analyst. Scenario 4: An eleventh-hour deal happens before the deadline lapses. Unlikely. Bharti and MTN Group are yet to reach agreement on a proposed merger, corporate affairs minister Salman Khursheed said on Thursday, one day before the deadline lapses. Bharti has to seek the government's approval as and when any change is proposed in its equity shareholding, Bharti needs approval from the Foreign Investment Promotion Boardas the transaction involves a share swap and the issuance of GDRsas well as the department of telecommunications. MTN needs approval by at least 75% of MTN shareholders as well as approval from the South African telecom regulator, the central bank, and the stock exchange. "In all likelihood there will be an announcement tomorrow that the firms are extending the deadline for the talks," BDA Connect's Bajaj said. When the deal happens, both firms stand to benefit. A report by HSBC Seurities and Capital Markets (India) Pvt. Ltd estimates capital expenditure savings at as much as $5 billion over the next five years. The absence of a vendor base in Africa should make it easy for Bharti-MTN in a post-deal scenario to enter into single contracts for equipment with vendors and benefit from cheaper rates in both markets for so-called third-generation mobile phone services in India and voice telephony in Africa.

India adds 8.9 mln GSM mobile users in June this count is only for GSM Telecom user base touches 429.7 million this count is at the end of 'march' 464 is march+april+may+june

wait for bsnl's new broadband tariff. i think bsnl will be good for ur home use..

Karaoke Messaging on Loop Mobile Source An interactive voice response (IVR) based service Loop Mobile subscribers, who love karaoke, can now avail a fun value added service (VAS) from the telecom service provider. The company has introduced 'Karaoke Messaging' which allows subscribers to sing a song with music accompaniments and exact lyrics. Users can then listen to the recording and dedicate it to others. Subscribers can listen and select from the most popular Bollywood songs from a wide range of categories and sing along and record the selected song tune, and send it to people anywhere in India and on any network. The service is interactive voice response (IVR) based and the portal 54999 hosting the service. It has over 500 tunes of Bollywood music from categories such as Retro, Romantic and Ghazals. Loop Mobile subscribers will also have the option to save a recorded song in "My Album" on the IVR. If a user doesn't remember the lyrics of a song, he can listen to the original song as many times as he want. Subscribers will be charged Rs. 2 per minute while the song can be dedicated for free.

India adds 11.9 mn telecom subscribers in June Source NEW DELHI: India's telecom industry continued its robust growth story in June by adding 11.91 million new subscribers to take the total subcription base to 464.82 million, a government statement said on Thursday. The number of total subscribers in the country as on June 30, 2008 was 325.78 million. The wireless (GSM and CDMA) segment added 12 million new subscribers, while the wireline segment witnessed a dip of 134,000 connections, the statement said. The overall tele-density reached 39.86 per cent in June 2009 as compared to 28.33 per cent in the like period last year. Broadband connections reached 6.4 million at the end of May and the total number of licences issued for Internet service providers (ISPs) is 375, the statement added. Under the Bharat Nirman programme, public telephones were provided to 264 villages in May.

Animal life first began in lakes, not oceans Source A study of ancient rock samples in South China has found that the first animal fossils in the palaeontological record are preserved in ancient lake deposits, not marine sediments as commonly assumed. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ A car whose battery is recharged by braking Source This car uses a lithium-ion battery pack that is placed under the vehicle floor. The braking system recharges the battery while the car is driving, extending the driving range to 160 kilometres under charge with zero emission.

They may extend the offer or introduce a different offer. lets wait and see..

i hope this steps are applicable only for a GSM mobile and not for a cdma handset..

Tata Docomo crosses 5 lakh-subscriber mark in TN Source New Delhi (PTI): Tata Docomo, the GSM-based mobile services of Tata Teleservices, on Wednesday said it has crossed the 5 lakh-subscriber mark in Tamil Nadu within a month of launching its services in the region. "Tata Docomo has reached a significant milestone by crossing the 5 lakh-subscriber mark in Tamil Nadu," Tata Docomo said in a statement. Tata Teleservices has partnered with Japanese telecom major NTT Docomo to offer GSM-based telecom services. It has received licence for operating in 19 circles and has rolled out services in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Orissa and Andhra Pradesh. "We are focussing strongly on network superiority, coverage and service offerings... Tata Docomo will soon unveil a portfolio of value-added services that will reinvent mobile telephony in India, with products and services like free voicemail, timed SMS service, free missed call alerts and call-me tunes," Tata Docomo Chief Operating Officer (Tamil Nadu) Naga Velamuri said.

Good. I just want to move from 256kbps to 512kbps now, once bsnl reduces the tariff. got bored using 256kbps for the last 2.5 years.. 2000-2005 = 56kbps 2005-2006 = 128kbps 2006-2009 = 256kbps 2009-xxxx = 512 kbps

Idea plans to go pan-India by Dec 09 Source Aditya Birla Group’s GSM mobile service provider company Idea Cellular Limited has announced that it has received licenses to set up its operations in states of West Bengal and Jammu and Kashmir thus covering whole of the country. With its operations that began in 1997 with two circles, today the company has 17 circles and plans to go pan India by the end of this calendar year. It also announced its plans to concentrate on driving penetration in rural areas in the Maharashtra and Goa circle. “We plan to achieve this through our various initiatives like vans that will go to rural areas for promotions, there will be mobile handsets at subsidised rates on offer and the like to achieve our goal,”P Laxminarayana, chief operating officer, Maharashtra and Goa, Idea Cellular, told Business Standard . To take a step in that direction, Idea recently introduced new tariff plans and value added services designed for rural consumers like tips on farming and agriculture. It also apparently added over 1,300 cell sites in 12 months to achieve network coverage of 6,110 cell sites increasing its penetration to 78% from 65% in the previous year in Maharashtra and Goa. The company aims to have over 1,00,000 outlets in the state, by March 2010

Source Internet services provider Bharti Airtel is all set to launch a price war in the broadband segment, with plans to offer high bandwidth at low prices. Its main competitors – the government-owned Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) have said that they would offer services at lower than Bharti prices. “If our private competition reduces tariff, then we will certainly react and have a look at our tariff,” said MTNL director (technical) Kuldeep Singh. “We are always more competitive than our competitors.” The company is planning to offer speeds up to 8 Mbps for home users. Currently, MTNL offers broadband speed up to 2 Mbps. BSNL is also set to lower its tariff. “New plans are being finalised and we will soon announce them,” said a BSNL official who did not want to be identified. “Our plans will be much lower than our competitors.”