Latest News

Facebook -owned WhatsApp is likely to give group administrators more powers where they will be able to restrict all other members from sending text messages, photographs, videos, GIFs, documents or voice messages in case the admin thinks so. According to WABetaInfo, a fan site that tests new WhatsApp features early, the popular mobile messaging platform has submitted the "Restricted Groups" setting via Google Play Beta Programme in the version 2.17.430. The "Restricted Groups" setting can only be activated by group admininstrators. Administrators can keep sharing media and chatting as normal as they restrict other members. Once restricted, other members will simply have to read their messages and will not be able to respond. They will have to use the "Message Admin" button to post a message or share media to the group. The message will need to be approved by the administrator before going through to the rest of the group. "A g...

Facebook opens its biggest engineering hub in London; to create 800 jobs

Social media titan Facebook will open a new office in London on Monday that is set to be its biggest engineering hub outside America, the company has announced. The investment in the office, near Oxford Street in the heart of the city's West End district, will also lead to the creation of 800 jobs, more than half of which will be in engineering. The company, which opened its first office in the British capital ten years ago, said the new site would allow its local workforce to reach 2,300 by the end of next year, a sign that it "is more committed than ever to the UK". The country "has been a huge part of Facebook's story over the past decade", Nicola Mendelsohn, Facebook's vice president for Europe, the Middle East and Asia, told Britain's Press Association. "The UK's flourishing entrepreneurial ecosystem and international reputation for engineering excellence makes it one of the best places in the world to build a tech ...

Eating cheese every day may reduce risk of heart attacks, says study

Cheese Lovers , Rejoice! A new research shows that eating a daily portion of cheese could reduce the risk of fatal heart attacks and stroke. This comes just months after a previous study found that cheese could hold the keys to a longer life. According to the research, a daily portion of the size of a small matchbox reduces the chances of heart attack by 14 percent. All cheese is rich in vitamins, minerals and proteins which help protect against cardiovascular disease. Cheese also contains high levels of calcium, which means that although it is high in fat, less of that fat is absorbed by the body. Participants eating around one-and-a-half ounces (40g) a day saw the greatest reduction in risk to their health. The scientists said the research also showed cheese boosted levels of so-called "good" cholesterol while reducing levels of "bad" cholesterol. Reacting to the latest study, Ian Givens, Professor of Food Chain Nutrition at Reading Uni...

Max hospital fires two doctors for wrongfully declaring newborn baby dead

City-based private Max Super Specialty Hospital has terminated the services of two doctors involved in the declaration of a 22-week-old premature baby as dead while he was alive The hospital situated in north-west Delhi's Shalimar Bagh, which has also set up an inquiry into the matter and has two senior doctors from Indian Medical Association (IMA) in the panel, is likely to conclude its investigation on Monday. "While the inquiry by the expert group which includes external experts from IMA is still in process, we have decided to terminate the services of the two treating doctors, Dr A P Mehta and Dr Vishal Gupta in the case relating to the twin extreme pre-term babies," the hospital said in a statement. "This strict action has been taken on the basis of our initial discussions with the expert group and as a reflection of our commitment to higher standards of care," the statement added. The hospital added that the action should not presuppos...

Growth, healing: New CEO Salil Parekh faces twin tests at Infosys

After well over a decade with Capgemini, Salil Parekh is returning home to head unsettled Indian software services firm Infosys, where he will seek to replicate his success in notching up record growth at the divisions he ran. Alongside, Parekh has to help the bellwether of India's $154 billion software services sector recover from a nasty public spat between its board and founders that led to the dramatic exit of the previous CEO, Vishal Sikka, in August. Parekh joins Bengaluru-based Infosys in January from Paris-headquartered Capgemini, where he headed their core application services business in key markets like North America and the United Kingdom, and their cloud services and cloud infrastructure businesses. He also managed Sogeti - a unit of Capgemini focused on digital transformation. ALSO READ: Infosys' new CEO & MD Salil Parekh is a perfect fit for future vision As the CEO, Parekh will have to achieve growth while being careful not to antagonise...

Statutory warning: Cigars deliver more nicotine than cigarettes, says study

Cigars may have a reputation for being safer than cigarettes , but they may be just as harmful and addictive, researchers, including one of the Indian-origin, have warned. A study by researchers at the Pennsylvania State University in the US shows that small cigars have just as much if not more nicotine than cigarettes. They analysed the nicotine in smoke from popular brands of "small" or "filtered" cigars — that are almost identical to cigarettes except they are wrapped in leaf tobacco instead of paper. In the study, published in the journal Nicotine and Tobacco Research, they found that the level of nicotine found in small cigar smoke is similar to or greater than cigarette smoke. "There seems to be a perception in the public that cigars are not as harmful as cigarettes," said Reema Goel, from the Pennsylvania State University. "However, our study shows that nicotine is pretty high in this class of cigars, and future regulati...

Of Padmavati's historical veracity and belligerent sons of Mother India

The Rajputs in Rajasthan — or rather, a fringe group that claims to represent the entire community — has ensured that Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Padmavati is consigned, at least for the time being, to a limbo. Its release has been indefinitely delayed, different state governments have waded into the muddy debate and banned the film or have asked for legal action against its makers, a senior worker of the Bharatiya Janata Party has put out a bounty on the heads of the director and actors and yet continues to roam around freely. The rule of law has been suspended for the time being to satisfy demands of a violent group, as political parties measure what electoral gains can be squeezed out of the current imbroglio. One of the claims of the belligerent Rajputs is that the 14th-century fictional queen of Chittor, Padmavati, is like their mother. Inherent in this, is a celebration of jauhar. Whether or not Bhansali’s film celebrates this barbaric tradition or is a more feminist retelling ...

Nine years after 26/11 attack, India is safer today but still vulnerable

India has become inexplicably safer over the past years since the horrific 26/11 Mumbai terrorist attacks but her vulnerabilities have not diminished, argues Ajai Sahni. Crucially, India's policing apparatus – the 'first responders' in case of terrorist attacks and the most productive sources of counter-terrorism intelligence – remains decrepit, ill-equipped, and substantially unprepared. India's internal security apparatus continues to move with characteristic and elephantine slowness nine years after the Mumbai 26/11 attacks, when the national leadership had promised it would take all possible measures to ensure that such incidents would never be repeated. A constellation of factors – domestic, regional, and global – have nevertheless worked to ensure that there have been no repeats of the 26/11 attacks since, but vulnerabilities remain endemic. Indeed, speaking of the threat of Islamist terrorism, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh rightly observed, "The...

Body with note 'Padmavati ka virodh' found hanging at Jaipur fort

The body of a 40-year-old man was found hanging from the outer walls of Nahargarh Fort here on Friday morning, with the message "' Padmavati ' ka virodh" - in protest against the film "Padmavati". The message, written on the stones near the fort wall adjacent to the body, read, "Hum putle nahin jalate....latkate hain" (we don't burn effigies, we hang them). "It is early to comment on it as the matter is under investigation. The identity of the man, around 40-years-old, is yet to be ascertained," Satyendra Singh, DCP Jaipur (North), told IANS. Sanjay Leela Bhansali's "Padmavati" has been mired in controversies since its shooting started. Activists of the Karni Sena, a Rajput community, besides other groups have been protesting against the movie, claiming the film "distorts" historical facts. "They are trying to defame queen Padmavati by distorting historical facts. It is not acceptable,...

Padmavati row: A political weapon honed on mythology

November 23, 2017

A controversy has been raging over the release of the Hindi film Padmavati . As community leaders oppose its release on the grounds of hurt sentiment, others have offered huge bounties for beheading the filmmaker and the female lead. Various political leaders across states have spoken in favour of protesters. What is the political motivation behind this support? In this Business Standard Special, Mrinal Pande looks at why Padmavati has been used as a political weapon in the year 2017. In today's India, one does not need to ask for history lessons. They come all the time from unexpected places, uninvited and longwinded. All castes, clans Gotras and Khaps seem to have discovered their own fantastical historical heroes and villains whom they would proudly whip out and flash to strangers like friends’ selfies, as filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali discovered – perhaps too late -- in Rajasthan. For the past eight centuries, the blade of Rajput history has been sharpened on the flin...

VIP treatment: Woman blasts minister as flight delay makes her miss funeral

November 23, 2017

Union minister K J Alphons was confronted by an enraged woman passenger at the Imphal airport over the delay in her Kolkata-bound flight she was taking to rush to Patna to attend a funeral of her relative. Alphons on Wednesday said he was not responsible for the delay of the flight due to VVIP security protocol after a video footage of the passenger identified as a lady doctor arguing and directing her ire at him on seeing the minister at the Imphal airport went viral. The video of the incident that happened on Tuesday showed the woman complaining to Alphons about the flight being delayed due to VIP movement. Alphons, who is Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Tourism, had come to Imphal to attend the Northeast Development summit which was inaugurated by President Ram Nath Kovind on Tuesday. President Kovind's aircraft was due to land in Imphal around the time of departure of the Kolkata-bound aircraft. "I have to reach Patna. The body is waiting, o...

Vivo launches V7 with 24MP selfie camera in India at Rs 18,990

After a successful run of its selfie-focused flagship smartphone V7+ in India, Chinese smartphone maker Vivo on Monday launched V7 with the 24MP selfie and 16MP rear camera for Rs 18,990. Available in Champagne Gold and Matte Black colours, Vivo V7 will reach retail stores from November 25. The device was available for pre-booking orders on Flipkart from Monday. "With the launch of V7, we are offering consumers another compelling proposition featuring an excellent camera and powerful performance at a competitive price point," said Kent Cheng, chief executive, Vivo India. The device with 4GB RAM and 32GB ROM has 5.7 HD "FullView" display and houses 3000mAh battery. The device comes with "Moonlight Glow" and "Face Access" features. Coming to India in late 2014, Vivo has established itself as one of the top smartphone brands in India. According to the International Data Corporation's (IDC) latest "Quarterly Mobile Ph...

iPhone X may go off the shelves as Apple cuts retailers' margin by 30%

Apple Inc. has reportedly slashed the retailers’ margin on the anniversary edition iPhone X by nearly 30 per cent, according to a new report in the Economic Times. While other brand manufacturers offer retailers’ a margin of 10-15 per cent on their latest mobiles, Apple has been offering 6.5 per cent on the newly launch iPhone X. Now, the company has reportedly reduced the retailers’ margin to 4.5 per cent, which is almost 30 per cent less. Subhash Chandra, managing director at Sangeetha Mobiles, told the Economic Times that the margins have been reduced from 6.5 per cent to 4.5 per cent and it further reduces to mere 1.5-2 per cent if the customer opts to pay by card for the iPhone X. According to the report, India’s leading brands -- Samsung and Xiaomi -- offer more than double the margin that Apple offers -- around 12-15 per cent. Other mobile phone manufacturers, especially Chinese brands such as Oppo and Vivo, offer higher than usual margins to retailers to gain ma...

Padmavati row: Maharashtra min seeks ban; Ranveer extends support, and more

From criticism to protests to the life-threatening bounty placed on the cast and crew of the movie ‘Padmavati’ has attracted all sorts of controversies, with the latest being Maharashtra Tourism Minister Jaykumar Rawal demanding a ban on the screening of the film in the state. "I have written a letter to the chief minister demanding a ban on the movie if it distorted historical facts," the BJP leader said. He said any "objectionable scenes" in the movie should be deleted before its release is allowed. Rawal said he has written to the CBFC to cancel the "certificate given to the movie" and that it be shown to a committee of expert historians. ALSO READ: If not 'Mughal-e-Azam', then why 'Padmavati'? asks Rahul Rawail "Requesting the CBFC to immediately cancel the certificate given to the movie 'Padmavati'. A committee comprising expert historians be allowed to watch the movie and edit the defamatory fanta...

Air purifiers to fight Delhi pollution: When the state abandons public good

The severe air pollution in parts of north India has led people to find private solutions to a public problem in the form of air-purifiers. This follows the purchase of water purifiers by households because of poor quality of water supplied by civic authorities . Do these solutions represent the failure of our state? The author writes about how the state has abandoned public good in this Business Standard special. What is the connection between the air that we breathe, the on-going massive advertising campaigns for indoor air-purifiers and relationships between citizens and the state? It is a history of the present that tells us a great deal about some of the most fundamental aspects of our lives and the choices we might make for a decent future. In the period since 1991, the most significant aspect of our national life has been the changing nature of the state. In all post-colonial societies, the state apparatus has – till recently – enjoyed almost sacred status as the pro...

GES 2017 highlights: America First, Make in India can co-exist, says Ivanka