MUMBAI, JULY 15 (IANS): In a mega investment announcement, Reliance Industries (RIL) Chairman Mukesh Ambani on Wednesday said that Google will invest Rs 33,737 crore in Jio Platforms for an equity stake of 7.73 per cent.   Google is investing at an equity valuation of Rs 4.36 lakh crore, said an RIL regulatory filing.   "Jio Platforms Limited, a subsidiary of the Company, today signed binding agreements with Google International LLC pursuant to which Google w

MUMBAI, JULY 15 (IANS): In a major development amid the chorus for an 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat' or self-reliant India, Reliance Industries (RIL) Chairman Mukesh Ambani on Wednesday announced that Reliance Jio has developed a complete 5G solution from scratch.   Speaking at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of RIL, Ambani said that the "Made-in-India" technology can be deployed and launched in a year's time once spectrum is available. He added that Jio c

NEW DELHI, JULY 15 (IANS): Realme expands its budget-friendly smartphone portfolio in India by launching Realme C11 on Tuesday. The handset will be available in India starting July 22 from 12pm IST on Flipkart, realme.com, and later at selected partner stores. Realme also launched a new Realme 30W dart charge 10000mAh power bank, which is compatible with all fast charging phones and not just Realme.   Realme C11 price in India The single 2GB RAM and 32GB onboard storage m

SAN FRANCISCO, JULY 15 (IANS): In an ambitious bid to take on Google-owned YouTube, Facebook is readying itself to launch officially-licensed music videos for artists on its platform in the US next month.   In an email sent to Facebook Page owners linked to artists, the social network informed that they will need to toggle on a new setting to add their music videos to their page ahead of an August 1 deadline, TechCrunch reported on Wednesday.   Facebook would auto

NEW DELHI, JULY 14 (IANS): The employees union of state-run telecom operator BSNL will stage protests across the country on Thursday on a host of issues including the cancellation of its 4G tender and non-payment of salaries.   All major unions are organising 'lunch-hour black-flag' demonstrations throughout the country under the banner of All Unions and Association of BSNL (AUAB), said a statement by AUAB. These demonstrations will be organised, by maintaining socia

BENGALURU, JULY 14 (IANS): Software major Wipro on Tuesday said it has signed an agreement to acquire IVIA Servicos de Informatica Ltda, a specialised IT Services provider to financial services, retail and manufacturing sectors in Brazil, for an undisclosed sum.   Founded in 1996, IVIA provides IT solutions including system development, maintenance, consulting and project management services to clients in different sectors.   Wipro said IVIA's local talent and

BENGALURU, JULY 14 (IANS): A Walmart-led investor group on Tuesday pumped in an additional $1.2 billion into the ecommerce platform Flipkart Group to support its marketplace in the wake of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.   With the new investment, Flipkart group is now valued at $24.9 billion. The $1.2 billion will be funded in two tranches over the remainder of the fiscal year.   "We're grateful for the strong backing of our shareholders as we continue to

NEW DELHI, JULY 14 (IANS): Bharti Airtel on Tuesday announced its partnership with US-based communication technology major Verizon to offer video conferencing solutions to enterprises in India under the brand name 'Airtel BlueJeans'.   The Airtel BlueJeans services will take on the recently launched JioMeet and the US-based Zoom.   BlueJeans is Verizon's enterprise-grade video conferencing service which helps people communicate and collaborate across m

CHENNAI, JULY 14 (IANS): The second largest car maker in India Hyundai Motor India Ltd while continuing to bet on diesel powered vehicles is also looking at faster demand recovery from tier 2/3 cities, said a senior official on Tuesday.   Hyundai Motor also launched its new premium sports utility vehicle (SUV) Tucson for the Indian market.   Speaking to reporters, Tarun Garg, Director (Sales, Marketing and Service) said the timing of Tucson's launch is right a

NEW DELHI, JULY 14 (IANS): In a setback for Vodafone Idea, the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) has refused to stay TRAI's directive blocking the telco's premium plan 'RedX'.   Citing violation of norms and likely impact on the quality of services for other subscribers out of the plans, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), through a letter to both the telcos, blocked Bharti Airtel's 'Platinum' and Vodafone Id

NEW DELHI, JULY 14 (IANS): The Covid-19 pandemic and slowdown in demand across sectors has not eased the country's power supply deficit situation which widened to 0.5 per cent in April-June quarter of 2020, up from 0.4 per cent in the same period last year.   According to power supply data released by Central Electricity Authority (CEA), about 291.8 billion units (BU) of power was supplied in the first quarter of current financial year against a demand of 293.29 BU. This

NEW DELHI, JULY 14 (IANS): South Korean tech giant Samsung has started working on the sixth next generation cellular technology and it expects completion of the 6G standard and its earliest commercialisation date could be as early as 2028.   Mass commercialisation of 6G may occur around 2030, Samsung said on Tuesday, adding that both humans and machines will be the main users of 6G.   Samsung, which released a white paper entitled "The Next Hyper-Connected Ex

New Delhi, July 13 (IANS): Unexpected rise in diesel prices despite slower demand has put the transport sector at a big disadvantage as rising fuel cost has further shrunk its margins.   With 11 paise hike in diesel price in New Delhi on Monday while petrol prices remained steady, the gap between the two auto fuels has further widened in the national capital. Last month, diesel prices overtook that of petrol in the national capital in an unprecedented development.  

New Delhi, July 13 (IANS): Google CEO Sundar Pichai on Monday announced a Google for India digitisation fund through which, the company will invest Rs 75,000 crore or approximately $10 billion over the next five to seven years to help India go digital.   "We will do this through a mix of equity investment, partnerships and an operational infrastructure ecosystem in India. This is a reflection of our confidence in the future of India and its digital economy," Pichai

NEW DELHI, JULY 12 (IANS): The investment spree into Reliance Industries' Jio Platforms continues, with technology major Qualcomm coming in with Rs 730 crore to pick up 0.15 per cent stake.   Reliance Industries on Sunday announced that Qualcomm Ventures, the investment arm of Qualcomm Incorporated has committed to invest up to Rs 730 crore in Jio Platforms at an equity value of Rs 4.91 lakh crore and an enterprise value of Rs 5.16 lakh crore.   "Qualcomm

NEW DELHI, JULY 12 (IANS): India is unlikely to witness a sharp turnaround in its economic growth amid the pandemic as there has been limited fiscal support from the government so far, according to a survey of economists by FICCI.   FICCI's recent Economic Outlook Survey has shown that economists feel majority of the steps taken by the Centre and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) address only the supply side constraints, while there have been no major moves to boost demand

NEW DELHI, JULY 12 (IANS): With economic activities coming to a halt amid the Covid-19 pandemic and the lockdown, the Indian economy is expected to record a negative 4.5 per cent growth rate in the current financial year, according to the FICCI's Economic Outlook Survey.   The minimum and maximum growth estimate stood at (-) 6.4 per cent and 1.5 per cent, respectively, for FY21, it said. The quarterly median forecasts indicated 14.2 per cent contraction in the gross dome

SEOUL/NEW DELHI, July 12 (IANS): As anti-China sentiments grow in India after the ban on 59 apps and a public boycott of Chinese-made goods, Samsung Electronics is expected to increase its presence in the Indian smartphone market, industry analysts have said.   The fluid market situation offers new opportunities for various smartphone makers, especially the non-Chinese ones, to realign their strategies and regain the lost market share in the face of fierce Chinese competitio

NEW DELHI, JULY 12 (IANS): Around 77 per cent business organisations have witnessed a drop in their revenue as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, according to a recent global survey.   As per a joint survey by 720 Transform of Dubai, Prophecy FZLLC-Middle East and India-based Insights3D, around 7 per cent firms in India and the Middle East have registered an upward revenue growth, while about 16 per cent of the companies remained unaffected. Around 282 executives,

SAN FRANCISCO, JULY 12 (IANS): After several attempts in the past to launch Tesla cars for the Indian roads, Elon Musk is yet to inaugurate a Tesla showroom in India. However, he has once again hinted to let his Indian fans drive an electric Model 3 "hopefully soon".   In response to a query by a follower who booked the car four years ago, Musk replied that the "launch should hopefully happen soon".   "Dear @elonmusk. When is the Tesla3 ex