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Bollywood actress Aditi Rao Hydari is likely to be the last-minute entry as a celebrity speaker at the eighth edition of the Global Entrepreneur Summit to be held in Hyderabad from Nov 28 to 30. Jayesh Ranjan, IT and commerce secretary in the government of Telangana told Business Standard “It’s work in progress.” But Aditi’s confirmation is expected by the end of the day. After Deepika Padukone dropped out of the summit on Monday, the state govt, which is jointly organising the summit along with the Centre and the US, got into the damage-control mode to find a celebrity speaker. Nobody is giving reasons for Deepika opting out. It is learnt that threat perception over the controversy surrounding her film Padmavati, in which she has played the lead role, is the reason. Interestingly, Aditi had recently spoken out against those threatening Deepika with dire consequences over her role in Padmavati. The global summit, for the first time in India, is in the limelight because...

The phone takes dazzling photos and sports advanced artificial intelligence. Its display stretches gloriously from edge to edge. And at nearly $1,000, it pushes into eye-watering territory on price. But the Mate 10 Pro isn’t the latest high-end offering from Samsung or Apple. It comes from China — a country that, for all its growing sophistication in technology, has yet to produce a name like Lexus, Canon or Samsung that consumers around the globe associate with premium quality at premium prices. Huawei Technologies , the new smartphone’s creator, thinks the world is ready to pay top dollar for a Chinese product. It is rolling out the Mate 10 Pro — plus two sibling devices, one less expensive and lower spec, the other pricier and sleeker — in Europe, in the Middle East and elsewhere in Asia. And it is in talks with AT&T to offer the phones in the United States, according to a person familiar with the matter who asked not to be named because the discussions are not publi...

Controversy sells tickets, but with the ongoing crisis over the release of Padmavati reaching a crescendo and the movie’s release being deferred, film makers and marketers are struggling to salvage what was projected as one of the biggest box office grossers of the year. Not only could this convert a bad year for Bollywood into a worse one, it could also force brands to reassess their engagement with big budget films say several marketing experts. Tanishq, one of the most prominent brands associated with the film has designed a special Padmavati collection that went on sale just before Diwali. And although the company, speaking to the media after the launch of its collection had said that the association had been extremely profitable, promotion executives across studios point out that the mud being slung at the film will also likely stick to the brand. The movie starring Deepika Padukone, Shahid Kapoor and Ranveer Singh is based around a fictional event involving Mughal ki...

The International Film Festival of India (IFFI) 2017, to be inaugurated by superstar Shah Rukh Khan here on Monday, will have Salman Khan as the guest at the closing ceremony on November 28. Salman will be joined by a special guest, child artist Matin Rey Tangu, who made his debut in Kabir Khan and Salman's movie "Tubelight", read a statement from the festival organisers. According to the statement, "something special" has been planned for Salman as he will take to the stage for a fun interaction, closing the prestigious film festival with a bang. IFFI gets into its 48th year. Its Indian Panorama section, which has been the subject of much controversy over the exclusion of two films -- "S Durga" and "Nude" -- will be inaugurated by veteran actress Sridevi, who has landed here with her husband Boney Kapoor and daughter Jahnvi. Sridevi will also introduce audiences to a special audio-video that pays homage to the legend...

The eight-decade-old Gujarat-based ice cream maker Vadilal Industries is perhaps going for a split two years after a long drawn family feud. One of India's largest ice cream brands had started with modest beginnings in Ahmedabad in the early 1900s. Sources claim the company was not on the block even as one of the brothers looked for an exit. Vadilal's managing director Rajesh Gandhi could not be reached for a comment on the split. Founder Vadilal Gandhi started selling ice creams in India much before ice creams were an industry here. From selling sodas in 1907, Vadilal has travelled through four generations of Gandhis to become a Rs 500 crore company now. While exact brand shares are not known, Vadilal roughly enjoys a 14-16 per cent share of India's Rs 4,000 crore ice cream market that is clocking a 15-17 per cent annual growth. The market is well poised to grow as India's current per capita ice cream consumption is low - at 400 ml (as against Pa...

Haryana's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Chief Media Coordinator Suraj Pal Amu on Sunday passed derogatory remarks against ' Padmavati ' filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali, actress Deepika Padukone and actor Ranveer Singh. Amu threatened actor Ranveer Singh, who is playing Delhi Sultanate ruler Alauddin Khilji in the movie, for supporting Bhansali. "If you (Ranveer Singh) do not take back your words, we will break your legs [Agar tune apne shabd wapas nahin liye, toh teri taango ko todkar tere haathon mein de dengey)," he said, adding slurs against the actor. He also praised the Meerut youth for announcing Rs 5 crore bounty for beheading Deepika and Bhansali. "I want to congratulate the Meerut youth for announcing Rs 5 crore bounty for beheading Deepika, and Bhansali. We will reward the ones beheading them, with Rs 10 crore, and also take care of their family's needs," he added.

The vulnerability of information and technology infrastructures is becoming more visible and alarming by the day. Earlier this year, two separate malware outbreaks – WannaCry and Petya – affected hundreds of thousands of people and organisations around the world. WannaCry crippled over 230,000 computers across 150 countries, with the UK’s National Health Service, Spain’s phone giant Telefónica and Germany’s state railways among those hardest hit. Thousands of machines running on Windows, including ATMs, ticketing machines, hospitals and numerous industrial control systems across the globe were also compromised. First reported in Ukraine, Petya affected government services, banks and power utilities, along with Kiev’s airport and metro system. The radiation monitoring system at Chernobyl was even taken offline for fear of an attack. Petya also affected operations at India’s largest container port JNPT, in Mumbai; data put out by Symantec suggests that India was the worst affect...