Major Chunk of Indians can’t live without their Gizmos

Love for Smart Devices

New Delhi, 11^th December, 2014: It seems we Indians are getting too addicted to our smartphones. As per a global survey by B2X Care Solutions, a provider of customer care for smartphones, 57% of Indians said they can’t live without their smartphones. As if this was not enough, it was discovered that 98% Indians sleep with their smartphones and 83% keep it on their body or within reach throughout the day. The survey on mobile device usage, consumer behaviour and service expectations polled more than 2,500 smartphone and tablet users from the United States, Germany, Brazil, India and China, the top five smartphone regions globally.

Incidentally, Americans, Chinese and Indians would be less likely than Germans to hand over their smartphone, even if they were given $100 a day or $500 a week to go without it; they’d be much more willing in the case of tablets. In all countries respondents said they would give up their TV before their phone. In the US they were willing to forgo a best friend while Brazilians suggest they don’t mind saying bye to their spouse or partner to retain their phone. Thankfully, in India and China the trade-off ended with the car.

A Dynamic Platform of Smart Devices

A third of the Indians surveyed and more than half the Chinese had used a repair or exchange service for a device, more often than not covered under the manufacturer’s warranty. Repairs in India, China and the USA were covered by an extended warranty than it was the case for other countries. The top 3 smartphone pain points were listed as software problems, damage to the display and faulty batteries, while for tablets this was battery, software and screen freezes. While new companies in India vouch by the existence of a hotline for customer support, it was identified as the least used channel as most go to the store where they purchased the device. While 15% of devices are not fixed correctly the first time, India has the least efficiency with this number dropping to 22%. China is most efficient with just 8% incorrect repairs. While a high 24% Indian respondents said they need customer support at least once a month, 39% of them had no idea where to get help if they need support.

Brazilians are the global leaders when it comes to smartphone usage and 63% spend more than 3 hours per day on the phone. India is number two with 42%, well ahead of USA at 26%. 

Delhi High Court Banned Xiaomi Phones

New Delhi, 11^th December, 2014: The Delhi High Court in an interim order has restrained Xiaomi as well as online e-commerce site Flipkart from selling in India handsets of the Chinese mobile maker that run on the technology patented by Ericsson.

The court has also restrained Xiaomi or its agents from making, assembling, importing or offering for sale its devices which are infringing the mobile phone technology patented by Ericsson.

Justice G P Mittal directed the customs authorities to prevent import of Xiaomi phones that are infringing the patents of Ericsson and if any consignment is imported, the same be informed to Ericsson and its objections be decided as per the Intellectual Property Rules.

“I am satisfied that plaintiff (Ericsson) has made out a prima facie case for grant of ad interim injunction in its favour. The balance of convenience also lies in favour of plaintiff and in the absence of an injunction order, plaintiff will suffer irreparable loss and injury,” the court said.

It also issued summons and notice to Xiaomi and Flipkart and directed them to file an affidavit disclosing the number of devices – that are AMR, EDGE and 3G compliant – sold by them in India till date. They have to also indicate in the affidavit the revenue earned by selling these devices till date.

Xiaomi Phones on display

The court has also appointed three local commissioners to visit the premises of Xiaomi and Flipkart where the devices are stored in order to inspect and collect documents as well as seal the infringing mobiles.

The total fees of the local commissioners, amounting to Rs. 3.5 lakh shall be borne by Ericsson apart from travel and stay expenses, it said. The local commissioners have to submit their report within four weeks, it also said.

The order was passed on the plea of Ericsson that Xiaomi has been violating its eight patents pertaining to AMR, EDGE and 3G technologies in the field of telecommunication.

Ericsson has said that it had invited Xiaomi to use its patented technology by obtaining a licence, but instead of doing so, the Chinese manufacturer launched its devices in India in July 2014.

PAN Card is Dicey in Tatkal Reservation of Indian Railways

New Delhi, 4^th June, 2014: While providing the PAN card details to book the Tatkal ticket in Indian Railways could be risky enough for the passengers. Indian Railways Authority has been alerted by the Income Tax Department recently through an official letter. PAN, name, age and sex of the respective passenger are being mentioned in the reservation chart and thereby it is visible to all in several public places. According to the concerned department of income tax, anyone & everyone can straightforwardly misuse those provided details in their forged transactions.

PAN Card

These details can be mostly used in the jewellery shop transactions mentioned in that official letter to the railways authority. The transaction above five lakhs rupees can be managed effectively through any of the PAN from the Tatkal reservation chart. Simultaneously it could simply be manipulated in the banks in the transactions above fifty thousand rupees which is a big threat to the system. Due to this malpractice, an innocent person can be directly alleged by the Income Tax department.

The Income Tax department had also appealed to the people to provide other identification details while booking Tatkal tickets instead of PAN card for their own safety & privacy.

The Indian Railways has put a serious concern against the letter of Income Tax department. Neeraj Sharma, CPRO of Northern Railways has firmly said, “Income Tax department has issued a letter to the Railway Board relating to the concerned raising issue. For this, the Railway Board has already started scrutinising it with the highest priority. If at all found that PAN card is dicey during the process, there are maximum possibilities of replacing PAN card with other identity details.”        

Demise of the Union Minister Gopinath Munde

New Delhi, June 3, 2014: Rural Development Minister Gopinath Munde has passed away, after meeting with an accident while his convoy was on way to the Delhi airport.

It is believed that the accident, which took place between 6.00 and 6.30am, took place while Munde's convoy was en route to the airport, where he was scheduled to catch a flight back to Mumbai. Munde was then rushed to AIIMS, where he was put on a ventilator.  Speaking to media a short while ago, BJP leader Nitin Gadkari said that Munde had died at around 8 in the morning. "Munde was a diabetic patient; he was seriously injured after he fell off the car.

 

Union Rural Development Minister Gopinath Munde

He was conscious after the accident; he himself said 'take me to the hospital", Gadkari said. Gadkari added that Munde had been sitting alone at the back of the car, although he had been traveling with security guards, and said that Munde's family was at the Mumbai airport and would reach the national capital soon. BJP leader Harsh Vardhan who was also with Gadkari, said that by the time he reached AIIMS he had already had a heart attack. "When he reached AIIMS he was already serious, I rushed to the hospital as soon as I got to know", Vardhan said.

The 64-year-old Munde was a BJP deputy leader. He was also Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly during 1992-1995 and has held the post of Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra from 1995 to 1999. "We have lost one of our best leaders. This is a tragedy for the BJP and the government", Vardhan said. A post mortem will be carried out soon, although it has already been ascertained that he passed away following cardiac arrest.

Following the post mortem, his body will be taken to the BJP party headquarters and then to his village of Parli in Beed. The death of Munde is being seen as a massive blow to the BJP Maharashtra unit. He was one of the most popular state leaders of the party.

SC Pushed Modern India into the Dark Ages

New Delhi, December 11, 2013: “Gays should pay taxes, water and electricity bills, they should vote and contribute to ushering in a new kind of politics but they should not do what they want to do in the four walls of their house,” uttered by a passionate upholder of same sex rights. This is essentially a bad day for the country as a whole while there is fury & distress, menace & prejudice, discrimination & revulsion that looped into the consciousness of the people. And that has been exactly enacted by the bench of justices Ganpat Singh Singhvi and S.J. Mukhopadhaya by delivering their verdict on Wednesday against the 2009 verdict of the Delhi high court, which legalized gay sex and had read down Article 377.

Three of the news anchors (Times Now) today said in a bulletin that Supreme Court will certainly decriminalize the homosexuality. So this could have somehow let the sceptics think that this error passes. Given the mood of the nation, where almost every gradation of every fundamental and human right is in a see-through blender, the most obvious thing to expect is that the Supreme Court will gauge and feel it, too.

Isn’t it true that “kanoon andha hai”? It is unable to see what India wants, why the ripples against the Delhi gang-rape case are not only about rape; why the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)’s politics of idealism has been washed up centre-stage and is not only about a fatigue with corruption. Idealism is a consistent, wholesome reality. It cannot exist unless all fundamental rights of every citizen are protected and upheld. You cannot attempt to stand up for women’s rights but call the sexuality of 30 million people criminal. How can we even think of being a nation of idealists or even quasi-idealists where same-sex freedom will be punishable with a jail sentence, the maximum being life imprisonment?   

It is to be deeply noted that by referring the decision on Article 377 to the government, the Supreme Court has overlooked the fact that India is already beginning to reject the idea of the present government.