Naukariadda

NEW DELHI: Union home minister Amit Shah has flagged the delay in investigations against MHA employees facing graft charges and inquiries by the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC). Shah, who is currently recovering from the coronavirus infection at the All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS), is learnt to be attending work and issuing directions from the hospital.In a recent communication issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs’ vigilance branch, it was “observed by the home minister that the prescribed schedule of time limits in conducting investigations and departmental inquiries is not being followed by the departments, divisions as per the instructions issued by CVC”. The CVC is a top anti-corruption watchdog, monitoring all vigilance activities under the central government.Officials said Shah’s directives came following a large number of pending complaints not only against MHA officials but from 25 other departments under the home minister, including the Central Armed Police...

Bengaluru: Brands selling smartphones, appliances and electronic accessories are among those gearing up for a strong spike in online sales during the upcoming festive season, according to company executives, analysts and sellers who estimate an increase of nearly 30 per cent over last year’s sales. New product launches and an almost two-fold increase in the number of online shoppers — triggered by the pandemic — will drive this trend, the people cited above told ET.New models of smartphones, work-from-home and study-from-home enablers are expected to drive sales, while apparel and fashion sales will still remain a little weak, according to executives at online marketplaces. Focus on Small TownsProviding affordable merchandise and catering to the rising number of customers in small towns will be the focus of these ecommerce platforms.At the start of the lockdown, “brands were unclear about online demand, but (after) the Independence Day sale, everyone has figured out that there is going...

New Delhi: India’s telecom regulator is aggressively working on reforming the licensing regime and would soon release a consultation paper to base its views on promoting innovation and attracting new investments, as a part of ease of doing business in the sector.“Currently, we are working on reforming the licensing and regulatory regime to catalyse investments and innovation and promote ease of doing business. For this, the consultation paper will be released shortly,” Ram Sewak Sharma, chairman, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai), told ET.The sector watchdog has previously recommended a slew of measures to DoT such as the reduction in levies, and the upcoming initiative is aimed to further improve the industry’s health in line with the national policy unveiled in 2018.Trai had earlier presented its views to the department on rationalisation of adjusted gross revenue (AGR), reduction of license fee, spectrum usage charge (SUC) and Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) cont...

Industry 4.0, robotics, artificial intelligence — all were thought of more as buzzwords than necessary business interventions until recently. But the coronavirus pandemic has forced us to reconsider not just how we consume things but also how we produce them. The Economic Times got together the leaders of four companies at the forefront of the adoption of automation and artificial intelligence in manufacturing. Fast-changing business realities are forcing manufacturers to innovate and rethink age-old conventions, they said at The Economic Times-Back to Business Dialogues - Automating Business, Accelerating Growth: Increased role and impact of automation in manufacturing. The session’s moderator, Daisy Chittilapilly, set the tone for the conversation around the fourth industrial revolution and Covid-19 by quoting Lenin: “There are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen.” Excerpts:DAISY CHITTILAPILLY, MANAGING DIRECTOR, DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION OFFICE, CISC...

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New Delhi: Mobile phone sellers said they haven't yet caught sight of the festive season cheer among shoppers, with sales of devices this month being about a quarter less than August last year.Although the sales of smartphones have been steadily increasing month-on-month since May, the gap with pre-Covid numbers has widened in the crucial high selling second half of the year, analysts said.According to smartphone trackers, sales this month have been close to 12 million as against 15.5 million last year. If this trend holds, then 2020 estimates would have to be lowered further from the already scaled down forecast of 130-134 million units. Festive season typically accounts for around a third of annual smartphone sales.“The festive season has kicked off in certain parts of the country with Ganesh Chaturthi, Onam and Independence Day sales, however the sell-in and final consumer demand might not be of similar levels as last year for the third quarter but there will be a recovery in H2...