To improve internet connectivity through mobile phones especially in the rural areas, there is a plan to equip towers with solar power kits so that they keep functioning even when there is no power supply, the government said today. During the Question Hour in the Rajya Sabha, Telecom Minister Manoj Sinha also said the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) which was earlier in losses has posted an operating profit and more towers will be set up to improve the service and connectivity of the public sector enterprise.

India is slated to become the third-largest economy in the world within a decade, according to various global brokerage firms like Morgan Stanley and Bank of America Merrill Lynch. However, in contrast to that, the country is also saddled with the third-largest population base of HIV+ people globally. India had a whopping 21 lakh people with AIDS in 2014, according to a report by the UN. But AIDS is just one example.

NEW DELHI: Realty major DLF today appointed Saurabh Chawla as group chief financial officer (CFO).

Chawla, age 53 years, joined DLF in April 2006.

"...upon elevation of the group CFO Ashok Kumar Tyagi as whole-time director of the company, the board of directors... has appointed Saurabh Chawla as Group CFO of the company," DLF said in a regulatory filing.

The Lok Sabha on Thursday passed a bill that criminalises instant divorce with three years of imprisonment for Muslim husbands after the government rejected an overwhelming demand from the Opposition to refer the legislation to a Parliamentary standing committee for detailed consideration.

The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2017 was passed by a voice vote after rejecting a resolution moved by Revolutionary Socialist Party member N.K. Premachandran that the legislation be circulated for public opinion.

NEW DELHI: The equity markets followed suit with the last two days of trading, as both Sensex and Nifty opened firmly in the green.

30-share BSE Sensex jumped 41.36 points to open on 33,889.39 while the broader 50-share NSE Nifty started trading on 10,492.35, up by 14.45 points. Sensex extended gains in the first 30 minutes of trading with the index surging by more than 100 points. Nifty too saw an uptick as the broader index was up by more than 0.30 per cent at 9.50 am.

NEW DELHI: On Friday, finance minister Arun Jaitley will convene a meeting with financial sector regulators to chalk out decisions to be made for the Union Budget 2018. Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC) is a high-powered body, whose members include RBI Governor, Sebi Chairman, IRDAI chief and heads of other regulatory bodies. Besides, top Finance Ministry officials would be attending the meeting.

The meeting comes in the backdrop of government deciding to borrow an extra Rs 50,000 crore from the market, a move that has raised alarms of a fiscal slippage.

Mumbai: The Indian rupee on Friday was trading marginally higher against US dollar, tracking gains in its Asian peers.

The rupee opened at 64.07 a dollar. At 9.15am, the home currency was trading at 64.03 a dollar, up 0.08% from its Thursday’s close of 64.08.

In response to news reports that Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) will have to defend itself in the US in an anti-American bias case, the company said there are no discriminatory practices in any part of the company, and it is confident of defending its position at the trial. “In vindication of our position that TCS is an equal opportunity employer, the District Court in California has denied class certification on a litigation against the company alleging a pattern and practice of discrimination in hiring against people of non-South Asian origin.

SBI has introduced a special leave for employees who have suffered a bereavement in the family. This will be a one-week paid leave on the loss of a family member.

SBI deputy MD Prashant Kumar said that besides leave, the bank also took a decision to provide 75% subsidy on mediclaim premium for retired employees earning pension up to Rs 20,000. For those earning Rs 20,000-30,000 pension, the subsidy would be 60%. The bank has also expanded scope of mediclaim cover for employees' family to 100% of claimed amount as against 75% earlier.

Shares of Anil Ambani-owned Reliance Communications (RCom) zoomed 35% to Rs 41.77, also its 52-week high on the BSE in early morning trade after Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Jio said it will acquire RCom's mobile business assets including spectrum, mobile towers and optical fibre network of the company. On the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the stock rallied 30% to Rs 40.15 in intra-day trade.

"Reliance Jio Infocomm, a subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited, today announced signing of definitive agreement for the acquisition of specified assets of Reliance Communications Limited and its affiliates," Reliance Jio said in a statement.

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