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  The State Bank of India recently announced interest rate on home loans at just 6.65%. But not everyone can avail the loan at such a low rate. For that, his or her  credit score  has to be excellent. The country’s largest lender is providing home loans at attractive interest rates for those with good credit scores. And not just loans, a decent  credit score  will also help you get credit cards too. So a good  credit score  helps you avail personal, consumer and other types of loans and credit cards easily. But, what exactly is the concept of credit score? Let us find out.   There are four credit information companies or credit bureaus in India whose credit scores are popular with both lenders and borrowers. These are TransUnion CIBIL, Experian, Equifax, and CRIF High Mark. A borrower’s credit score ranges between 300 and 900. For a bank or lender, your credit score reveals your creditworthiness as a borrower.   Scores that are at least 750 o...

  OnePlus  on Thursday launched in India its entry-level premium smartphone, the  OnePlus  10R  5G . The smartphone comes in two variants, one with 150W charging-tech (150W SUPERVOOC Endurance Edition) and the other one with 80W charging-tech (80W SUPERVOOC). Both the variants are identical, but with different battery capacities and charging technologies. The  OnePlus  10R  5G  150W SUPERVOOC Endurance Edition has a 4,500 mAh battery, supported by industry-leading 150W fast-charge technology. The OnePlus 10R  5G  80W SUPERVOOC has a 5,000 mAh battery, supported by 80W fast-charge technology. Other details are as follows: OnePlus 10R 5G: Specifications Powered by MediaTek Dimensity 8100-Max system-on-chip, the OnePlus 10R 5G comes in two RAM and storage variants – 8GB + 128GB and 12GB + 256GB. Both the variants boast LPDDR5 RAM and UFS3.1 storage. The 150W SUPERVOOC Edition is exclusive to 12GB + 256GB configuration, and the 80...

  OnePlus  on Thursday launched in India its most affordable  5G  smartphone, the Nord CE 2 Lite  5G . The smartphone boasts thin and lightweight design, FHD+ screen of 120Hz refresh rate, 5000 mAh battery with fast-charge support, and 64-megapixel based triple camera set-up on the rear. Here are the specifications, pricing information, and sale details of the  OnePlus  Nord CE 2 Lite 5G: OnePlus  Nord CE 2 Lite 5G: Specifications The Nord CE 2 Lite  5G  is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 5G system-on-chip, paired with 8GB LPDDR4x RAM and 128GB UFS 2.2 on-board storage. The smartphone packs a 5,000 mAh battery, supported by 33W SUPERVOOC fast-charging technology. OnePlus ships the phone with both the fast-charging adaptor and cable in the box. The Nord CE 2 Lite 5G has a 6.59-inch FHD+ LCD screen of 120Hz refresh rate. The screen supports sRGB and DCI-P3 colour gamut. The smartphone has a triple-camera array on the back, featu...

  OnePlus  on Thursday launched its maiden Nord-branded wireless earbuds called Nord Buds. The earbuds boast lightweight design, large audio drivers, long on-battery time, fast-charge support, and ingress protection rating for water and dust resistance. Here are the features, price information, sale details of the  OnePlus  Nord Buds: OnePlus  Nord Buds: Features The Nord Buds are powered by 12.4mm titanium dynamic drivers tuned for rich and balanced audio output. Though entry-level earbuds, the Nord Buds boast support for Dolby Atmos. The wireless earbuds have two microphones on each side for attending calls. The earbuds supports artificial intelligence-powered noise reduction technology for clear in-call experience in loud ambience environments. According to OnePlus, the Nord Buds have an on-battery time of 30 hours (with case) on a single charge. The buds support Flash Charge for fast-charging. According to OnePlus, the Nord Buds gets five-hour audio pl...

  WhatsApp  will within weeks roll out cashback rewards to lure more Indians to its peer-to-peer payments service and is testing similar incentives for merchant payments, two sources said, as the company seeks to compete with rivals including Google. The latest move comes days after  WhatsApp  won regulatory approval to more than double its payments offering to 100 million users in India, its biggest market with more than half a billion users overall. WhatsApp  will before the end of May launch the cashback offer of up to 33 Indian rupees ($0.40) for transfers users make on its payments service, which allows contacts to send each other funds from within the messenger app, said the sources, who have direct knowledge of the company's plans. The incentive, spread over three transactions, will be given irrespective of the amount being transferred, even if it is as little as 1 Indian rupee, in what one source described as WhatsApp's "user acquisition drive." ...

  Maruti Suzuki  India (MSI) on Wednesday said it has joined hands with  Indian Bank  to facilitate easy finance for customers. As part of the partnership, the company's customers can avail the loan benefits in over 5,700 plus branches of  Indian Bank  at metro, urban, semi-urban and rural locations. Maruti Suzuki  customers, under this exclusive scheme, can avail loans up to 90 per cent of the on-road price of the car besides getting benefits of zero processing charges, free accidental insurance cover up to Rs 30 lakh, free fastag and repayment tenure up to 84 months on their loans. The scheme is open till June 30 2022. "About 80 per cent of retail sales in the automobile industry happen through financing and to enable our customer's car-buying decisions,  Maruti Suzuki  has initiated several partnerships with banks & NBFCs across the public and private sectors. It is our firm belief that this partnership with  Indian Bank ...

  Reliance and Viacom18 on Wednesday announced a strategic partnership with Bodhi Tree Systems -- a platform of James Murdoch's Lupa Systems and Uday Shankar -- to form one of the largest TV and digital streaming  companies  in India. Bodhi Tree Systems is leading a fund raise with a consortium of investors to invest Rs 13,500 crore in Viacom18, to jointly build India's leading entertainment platform and pioneer the Indian media landscape's transformation to a "streaming-first" approach. Viacom18 is amongst the leading players in the core linear television business with 38 channels across nine languages and a pan-India presence. The transaction is expected to close within six months and is subject to closing conditions and requisite approvals. Reliance Projects and Property Management Services, a wholly-owned subsidiary of  Reliance Industries  which has significant presence in television, OTT, distribution, content creation, and production services, wil...

  Meta-owned  Facebook  is reportedly unable to account for much of the personal user data under its ownership, including what it is being used for and where it is located, media reports say. According to the tech website Engadget, privacy engineers on Facebook's Ad and Business Product team wrote a report last year, intending it to be read by the company's leadership. It detailed how  Facebook  could address a growing number of data usage regulations, including new privacy laws in India, South Africa and elsewhere. The report's authors described a platform often in the dark about the personal data of its estimated 1.9 billion users, citing an internal report leaked to Motherboard, the report said. The engineers warned that  Facebook  would have difficulty making promises to countries on how it would treat the data of its citizens. "We do not have an adequate level of control and explainability over how our systems use data, and thus we can't...

  Xiaomi  on Wednesday launched in India its premium flagship smartphone, the  Xiaomi  12 Pro  5G . Alongside, the Chinese internet company launched the  Xiaomi  Pad 5 and Xiaomi smart TV 5A-series in the country. The Xiaomi 12 Pro 5G, Xiaomi Pad 5, and Xiaomi smart TV 5A series will be available across Mi online store, Mi Home, Amazon India and retail stores. Xiaomi 12 Pro 5G: Specifications, price in India, and sale details The Xiaomi 12 Pro  5G  boasts premium glass-metal construction with Gorilla Glass Victus protection on the front and Gorilla Glass 5 protection on the back. It weighs 205g and measures 8.16mm at its thickest point. It sports a 6.73-inch AMOLED screen of 3200 x 1440 resolution and 120Hz refresh rate. It is a 10-bit LTPO 2.0 panel with Xiaomi AdaptiveSync Pro tech for variable refresh rate (1Hz – 120Hz). The screen is HDR10+ certified and supports Dolby Vision. According to Xiaomi, the screen’s brightness peaks at 1000...

  Xiaomi  Next launch event is set to kick off at 12 pm on Wednesday. At the event, the Chinese internet company would launch its premium flagship smartphone, the  Xiaomi  12 Pro  5G . Alongside, the company would launch the Pad 5, its maiden tablet in India, and smart TV 5A-series. Though an offline event, the  Xiaomi  Next will livestream online on Xiaomi official YouTube channel. You can watch the event livestream through the video embedded below. Xiaomi 12 Pro 5G: Expect specifications Launched earlier this year in China, the Xiaomi 12 Pro  5G  is a premium flagship smartphone. It boasts premium glass-metal construction and sports a 6.73-inch AMOLED screen of 120Hz refresh rate. The screen is HDR10+ certified and supports Dolby Vision. The smartphone sports a 50-megapixel triple-camera set-up on the back, featuring a 50MP primary sensor (f/1.9) with optical image stabilisation, a 50MP 115-degree wide ultra-wide-angle sensor (f/2.2), a...

The Centre is learnt to have set the price band for the initial public offering (IPO) of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) at Rs 902-949 a share, and may offer a discount of Rs 60 to the policyholders. Retail investors and the employees of LIC, on the other hand, may get a discount of Rs 45 on subscribing to the shares of India’s largest insurer, a senior government official said. The board of LIC has approved the discount to be offered to the three categories, reservations for policyholders and employees, and the issue dates, the official added. The government may sell 221.3 million shares, or 3.5 per cent stake, in LIC through the offering. This would help the government garner Rs 21,000 crore, valuing the insurer at Rs 6 trillion. The Securities and Exchange Board of India has approved the reduction in the issue size, the official said. An exemption on lowering the issue size was required from the market regulator as the existing guidelines mandate a minimum offering o...

  Mukesh Ambani-led  Reliance Industries  Ltd's (RIL) became the first Indian listed company to touch the Rs 19-trillion market capitalisation-mark after its shares scaled a record high. The stock hit a new high of Rs 2,827.10, up 2 per cent on the BSE in Wednesday's intra-day trade in an otherwise weak market. According to the BSE data, RIL m-cap stood at Rs 19.02 trillion at 09:33 AM, with the stock up 1.3 per cent at Rs 2,811.85. In comparison, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 0.61 per cent at 56,977. In the past seven trading days, the stock price of RIL has appreciated by 11 per cent from a level of Rs 2,544 on April 18, 2022. In the past three months, the stock has rallied 20 per cent, as compared to 0.42 per cent decline in the S&P BSE Sensex. " Reliance industries  is firing on all cylinders because its petchem business is doing extremely well on the back of a surge in Oil and Gas prices where Singapore gross refining margin (GRM) is at an all-time h...

  Japanese utility vehicles major  Isuzu Motors  on Tuesday announced top management changes in its India operations with Wataru Nakano taking over as the President and Managing Director of  Isuzu Motors  India (IMI). The company also announced the appointments of Toru Kishimoto as Deputy Managing Director of IMI and Rajesh Mittal as President of Isuzu Engineering Business Centre India (IEBCI) and as Deputy President of IMI. Nakano, who was General Manager, LCV Business Department at Isuzu Motors, Japan, has taken over from Tsuguo Fukumura as the President and Managing Director of IMI, the company said in a statement. With over 30 years of experience in areas of international sales, operations and business strategy, Nakano was responsible for the company's light commercial vehicles business at Isuzu Motors, Japan. "His vast experience will add to accelerating Isuzu's growth in the domestic and export markets," it added. In other changes, Toru Kishimoto...

  Having so far catered to the lead acid battery-powered L3 category of three-wheelers, with its recent foray in  electric vehicles  (EV), Gujarat-based  Atul Auto  Ltd. would now be looking to cater to the lithium ion-powered L5 vehicles that compete with conventional three-wheelers. Recently, the company announced its foray into EV three-wheelers through its wholly-owned subsidiary Atul Greentech Pvt Ltd (AGPL) which is engaged in designing and developing innovative solutions for last mile electric mobility for domestic and export markets. Over the past few years AGPL has developed automotive grade fixed thermal battery solutions, battery management systems and vehicle telematics solutions. However, recently AGPL announced collaboration with Honda Power Pack Energy India Pvt Ltd and Valeo to develop a prototype cargo and passenger three-wheeler vehicle. "So far,  Atul Auto  was only present in the L3 category of electric three-wheelers which mo...

  During a recent Indian Premier League match, West Indian bowler Obed McCoy celebrated taking a wicket by coolly swiping his chin with the back of his hand. McCoy’s imitation of actor Allu Arjun’s gesture was a reminder of the phenomenal run of 'Pushpa: The Rise' at the  box office  since its release four months ago. It was also a reminder of the fact that South Indian cinema has perfected the art of making pan-India movies, which appeal to both a larger domestic audience and foreign viewers. And, the results are showing where they matter the most, in terms of money earned. And Salman Khan too acknowledged it. He said on Monday that it is the heroism in South films that is drawing audiences to theatres, which is lacking in Hindi movies today. In 2019, Bollywood’s share in domestic box-office revenues was higher than that of South Indian films. The numbers stood at Rs 5,200 crore for  Bollywood  versus Rs 4,000 crore for South Indian films. Meanwhile, Ho...

  Karnataka  Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Monday said the silver jubilee edition of ' Bengaluru  Tech Summit-2022 (BTS-22)'- State government's flagship technological event - would be organised at an international-level. The summit would be held from November 16-18. The Chief Minister today chaired a meeting over breakfast with a number of CEOs and leaders from the fields of electronics, IT, biotech and startups here. "In November, we are holding the  Bengaluru  Tech Summit. In this regard, I have met industry leaders and they have given various suggestions concerning their respective sectors. This year's Tech Summit will be its 25th year and we want to make it special and of international-level," Bommai said. Speaking to reporters after the meeting, the Chief Minister said he has received various suggestions regarding technology, policy, infrastructure and eco system, among others, and most of which have been taken positively by the government a...

  Twitter  Inc is poised to agree a sale to  Elon Musk  for around $43 billion in cash, the price the chief executive of Tesla Inc has called his "best and final" offer for the  social media  company, people familiar with the matter said. Twitter  may announce the $54.20-per-share deal later on Monday once its board has met to recommend the transaction to  Twitter  shareholders, the sources said. It is always possible that the deal collapses at the last minute, the sources added. Musk, the world's richest person according to a tally by Forbes, is negotiating to buy Twitter in a personal capacity and Tesla is not involved in the deal. Twitter has not been able to secure so far a 'go-shop' provision under its agreement with Musk that would allow it to solicit other bids once the deal is signed, the sources said. Still, Twitter would be allowed to accept an offer from another party by paying Musk a break-up fee, the sources added. The ...