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Detergent found in Mother Dairy milk: FDA</br> Detergent and frozen fat have been found by the Kolkata-based Central Laboratory during re-tests of milk samples collected by district Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) department from Mother Dairy booths here. Ghaziabad FDA yesterday received the re-test reports, from the Kolkata-based laboratory, according to which both samples of "full cream" and "toned" milk were found containing frozen fat and detergent, FDA official Vineet Kumar said here today. District FDA teams had collected samples of "full cream milk" on January 11 from a Mother Dairy booth situated at H-Block in Govindpuram, while samples of toned milk were collected on January 30 from the booth situated at 100 feet road in Loni, in the district, he said.
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Rohit Sharma buys 4-bedroom flat in Mumbai for Rs 30 crore</br> Cricketer Rohit Sharma has bought a 4-bedroom Arabian Sea-facing flat at Mumbai's posh Worli locality for Rs 30 crore. Sharma bought the flat in 53-storey Ahuja Towers which is developed by Ahuja Constructions. The deal is pegged at a whopping Rs 30 crore, considering the project is ready for possession and has been granted Occupation Certificate, Ahuja Constructions said in a statement. The 4 BHK unit on the 29th level offers a 270 degree view of the Sea Link and city, it added. The 53-storey Ahuja Towers has been designed by Palmer & Turner Architects, Singapore. (Reuters)
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Cell phone call drops rise massively, up 7-fold in Jan-Mar 2015</br> Showing deterioration in mobile telephony services, call drops jumped seven-fold on 2G networks and by 65% on 3G networks in the first quarter of 2015, regulator Trai has found. Industry average of call drop incident at the end of January-March 2015 period was 12.5%, compared to 1.64% at the end of March 2014 on 2G networks. Maximum call drops were found on the network of private telecom operator Aircel, followed by BSNL. As per norms, in worst case scenario call drop should not be more than 3 per cent of total calls made in a network. In case of Aircel call drops level was in the range of 3.15% to 17.99% and for BSNL 3.45-18.91%. High call drop rate was also noticed on Vodafone in Delhi. (Reuters)
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Ecommerce: Resale price pacts in online retail under scanner Keeping a close watch on the growing ecommerce market, fair trade regulator CCI is probing whether certain resale price arrangements between manufacturers and e-retailers violate competition norms – recently, though, the Commission rejected allegations of unfair business practices against Flipkart, Snapdeal, Amazon, Jabong and Myntra. CCI has been looking into various instances involving ecommerce and high technology products, including issues related to enforcement of patent rights. "It is a case of an allegation where a kitchen appliance maker has stipulated that the trader, in this case the online trader, will not sell the product below a certain price. "Putting a floor (price) is also anti-competitive. Why put a floor? If you can sell below that, it is good. That is under investigation," CCI said.
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Maggi noodles ban: Govt says claims from Nestle India can go beyond Rs 640 cr </br> Government's claim from Nestle for selling "defective and hazardous" Maggi noodles may exceed Rs 640 crore as it is tabulating further damages to be sought, even as the company termed the class action suit as disappointing and an unprecedented step. Nestle, which had to recall the popular noodles brand after orders from the food safety regulator FSSAI, is the first foreign firm in India to face a class action suit, which was filed by the government yesterday under an hitherto unused provision of the three-decade old Consumer Protection Act. The Consumer Affairs Ministry has flied a 45-page complaint before the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) to seek Rs 284.45 crore in basic damages and further Rs 355.50 crore in punitive damages, resulting in total damages of Rs 639.95 crore sought from the Swiss giant. (Reuters)
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Govt to create billion-dollar campus for startups: Chandy</br> The Kerala government is working on a master plan to create a billion-dollar campus for startups in the near future, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said today. Chandy announced this after inaugurating the distribution of Startup Boxes to 50 young mobile application developers as part of the Youth Entrepreneurs Scheme (YES) 2015, of which the Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) is the implementing agency. Putting forward a development strategy for the state, the Chief Minister said the vibrant business environment created by the young generation entrepreneurs and experienced Non-Resident Keralites (NRKs) can transform Kerala to a developed state by 2030. "The top student entrepreneurs, selected for the startup boxes should aim to become top startups in India within one year," he said.
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Talks for 36 Rafales runs into rough weather </br> The ongoing Indo-French negotiations for the purchase of 36 Rafale fighter jets has run into rough weather over offset clause and tweaking of weaponry technology which is driving up the cost. Defence sources said one of the main stumbling block was the offset clause that India is insisting on, something which the French says will drive up the cost of the the aircraft. Offset policy was first introduced as part of the Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP), 2005, under which a foreign company has to invest back a portion of the deal into India. (Reuters)
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Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw slams Congress for Parliament logjam</br> Biocon chief Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw criticised the Congress for the Parliament logjam and said it appears the grand old party believes the "only weapon" left is to oppose important legislation as supporting the government would weaken them politically. "What I deduce from the Parliament logjam is that the Congress is diffident, especially after their decimation in the Lok Sabha elections. It appears that the only weapon the Congress has, is to oppose important bills like the GST. I believe the thinking of Congress is that if they support the government, they will become politically weak," Mazumdar-Shaw said. The Biocon chief, however, said, "It is not the question of hitting out at the Congress. I have been vociferously talking about BJP MPs in the past for their anti-growth stance.” (Reuters)
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Gold enjoys stunning rebound; hits 3-week top </br> Gold prices marched ahead to hit its highest level in more than three-week high at the domestic bullion market as renewed buying interest kept up the strong bullish momentum amid firming overseas trend. Depreciating rupee value in the midst of escalating currency war in the Asian region following China's decision to devalue the yuan and massive sell-off in global equities predominantly supported the upmove in gold prices, a bullion dealer said. Standard gold (99.5 purity) rallied by Rs 350 to finish at Rs 25,600 per 10 grams from Tuesday's closing level of Rs 25,250. Pure gold (99.9 purity) also climbed by a similar margin to end at Rs 25,750 per 10 grams compared to Rs 25,400 yesterday. (AP)
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Indian rupee tumbles 59 paise to near 2-year low of 64.78 against US dollar</br> Declining for the sixth consecutive session, the Indian rupee tumbled by 59 paise to nearly 2-year low at 64.78 against the US dollar on sustained demand for the American currency from banks and importers on the back of firm greenback overseas following yuan devaluation. The rupee resumed lower at 64.55 as against yesterday's closing level of 64.19 at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market and dropped further to 64.94 before ending at 2-year low of 64.78. The domestic currency has tumbled by 104 paise, or 1.63 per cent, in last six trading days. It hovered in a range of 64.55 and 64.94 during the day. (AP)
