Kakatiya University,Andhra Pradesh
MCA 3rd year 1st sem Examination results:click here and see the results
MCA 3rd year 1st sem Examination results:click here and see the results
Monday 31 March 2014
Results on 29march,2014
kakatiya University results Andhra Pradesh
Mtech 2nd sem Navember 2013 Examination Results:click here see results
Mtech 2nd sem Navember 2013 Examination Results:click here see results
Sunday 30 March 2014
on 28march,2014
Update: BlackBerry revenue plunges 64 percent
BlackBerry continued to struggle during the company's fiscal fourth quarter, experiencing a huge drop in revenue and a $423 million net loss.
Revenue for the fourth quarter of BlackBerry's fiscal 2014, which ended March 1, was approximately $976 million, down 64 percent from $2.7 billion in the same quarter in 2013.
[ Find out what topics and issues affect tech's biggest names and news makers in the IDGE Insider CEO interview series. | Read Bill Snyder's Tech's Bottom Line blog for what the key business trends mean to you. ]
The company's $423 million net loss for the period compares to a $98 million profit for the year-earlier period. The loss, however, was smaller than analysts expected, and BlackBerry's shares were trading higher at the beginning of the trading day.
BlackBerry had $2.7 billion in cash, cash equivalents, and short- and long-term investments at the end of its fourth quarter, compared to $3.2 billion at the end of the previous three month period, it said.
BlackBerry's main problem continues to be that it doesn't sell enough phones. The company sold approximately 3.4 million BlackBerry smartphones to end users last quarter, including about 1.1 million phones running the BlackBerry 10 OS. A year earlier, the company said it sold 6 million smartphones.
While launching products that run BlackBerry 10, the company will continue to manufacture BlackBerry 7 OS devices and support the OS as long as there is demand, it said.
"We are starting a new production run with Wistron on a BB OS device for worldwide distribution, and I think most of you know it's the Bold," CEO John Chen said during a conference call regarding the results. Wistron is a company that designs and manufactures products such as phones and laptops.
BlackBerry's revenue breakdown for the quarter was approximately 37 percent for hardware, 56 percent for services and 7 percent for software and other revenue.
Chen said he is pleased with the progress the company made during the quarter against the strategy laid out three months ago. BlackBerry has reached a cost reduction target one quarter ahead of schedule, Chen said in a statement issued before the conference call.
During the conference call, Chen -- who took over as BlackBerry's CEO in November -- also repeated a turn-around plan he presented at Mobile World Congress last month. The company's fortunes will to a large extent depend on the success of the upcoming low-cost Z3 smartphone, the Classic QWERTY smartphone as well as management platform BES (BlackBerry Enterprise Service) 12 and the eBBM Suite. BBM Protected, the first product in the suite, will offer enterprise messaging with end-to-end encryption.
There are a lot of things to do, but BlackBerry has a "strong long-term strategic plan in place" to help with growth and profitability, Chen said.
The company's financial goals are to reach cash-flow break even at the end of the current fiscal year, and to reach profitability in fiscal 2016. Until that time the company's results will fluctuate, according to Chen.
Friday 28 March 2014
news on march28,2014
WI face Australia in crucial game
India top Group Two having won the first two matches and hope to consolidate their position with a victory against struggling hosts Bangladesh on Friday that would virtually secure them one of the two semi-final spots from the group.
West Indies are second, having beaten Bangladesh to bounce back after their loss against India, while Australia are fourth having lost their first match to Pakistan.
Australian all-rounder James Faulkner has already added spice to the important contest after Australian media quoted him as saying he does not particularly like the West Indies team.
"The Australians normally have a lot to say," Sammy told reporters when asked for a reaction.
"We (are) just here to play cricket. I think James is the only cricketer who does not love West Indies. I could safely say that West Indies are the second favourite team for the fans (after their home team).
"It doesn't bother us. Talk is talk. We just got to walk the talk out there on the field. He can say all he wants. We're not bothered by it," said the all-rounder.
Eventual champions West Indies thumped Australia by 74 runs in the semi-final of the 2012 tournament in Sri Lanka and Sammy said his team was getting close their best.
"So far in the tournament we've not played to our full potential. Once we do that, we'd be very destructive and we were destructive in that semi-final (in the) last World Cup."
The importance of Friday's contest was not lost on Australia wicketkeeper Brad Haddin either.
"You know exactly where you stand now. There is no second chance for us," said Haddin, hoping Australia would continue the momentum from their recent Ashes and South Africa test series victory.
"We got to make sure we bring our A game and play under the pressure. We have done that well over the last four months and I see no reason why we can't do that."
West Indies are second, having beaten Bangladesh to bounce back after their loss against India, while Australia are fourth having lost their first match to Pakistan.
Australian all-rounder James Faulkner has already added spice to the important contest after Australian media quoted him as saying he does not particularly like the West Indies team.
"The Australians normally have a lot to say," Sammy told reporters when asked for a reaction.
"We (are) just here to play cricket. I think James is the only cricketer who does not love West Indies. I could safely say that West Indies are the second favourite team for the fans (after their home team).
"It doesn't bother us. Talk is talk. We just got to walk the talk out there on the field. He can say all he wants. We're not bothered by it," said the all-rounder.
Eventual champions West Indies thumped Australia by 74 runs in the semi-final of the 2012 tournament in Sri Lanka and Sammy said his team was getting close their best.
"So far in the tournament we've not played to our full potential. Once we do that, we'd be very destructive and we were destructive in that semi-final (in the) last World Cup."
The importance of Friday's contest was not lost on Australia wicketkeeper Brad Haddin either.
"You know exactly where you stand now. There is no second chance for us," said Haddin, hoping Australia would continue the momentum from their recent Ashes and South Africa test series victory.
"We got to make sure we bring our A game and play under the pressure. We have done that well over the last four months and I see no reason why we can't do that."
India top Group Two having won the first two matches and hope to consolidate their position with a victory against struggling hosts Bangladesh on Friday that would virtually secure them one of the two semi-final spots from the group.
West Indies are second, having beaten Bangladesh to bounce back after their loss against India, while Australia are fourth having lost their first match to Pakistan.
Australian all-rounder James Faulkner has already added spice to the important contest after Australian media quoted him as saying he does not particularly like the West Indies team.
"The Australians normally have a lot to say," Sammy told reporters when asked for a reaction.
"We (are) just here to play cricket. I think James is the only cricketer who does not love West Indies. I could safely say that West Indies are the second favourite team for the fans (after their home team).
"It doesn't bother us. Talk is talk. We just got to walk the talk out there on the field. He can say all he wants. We're not bothered by it," said the all-rounder.
Eventual champions West Indies thumped Australia by 74 runs in the semi-final of the 2012 tournament in Sri Lanka and Sammy said his team was getting close their best.
"So far in the tournament we've not played to our full potential. Once we do that, we'd be very destructive and we were destructive in that semi-final (in the) last World Cup."
The importance of Friday's contest was not lost on Australia wicketkeeper Brad Haddin either.
"You know exactly where you stand now. There is no second chance for us," said Haddin, hoping Australia would continue the momentum from their recent Ashes and South Africa test series victory.
"We got to make sure we bring our A game and play under the pressure. We have done that well over the last four months and I see no reason why we can't do that."
India top Group Two having won the first two matches and hope to consolidate their position with a victory against struggling hosts Bangladesh on Friday that would virtually secure them one of the two semi-final spots from the group.
West Indies are second, having beaten Bangladesh to bounce back after their loss against India, while Australia are fourth having lost their first match to Pakistan.
Australian all-rounder James Faulkner has already added spice to the important contest after Australian media quoted him as saying he does not particularly like the West Indies team.
"The Australians normally have a lot to say," Sammy told reporters when asked for a reaction.
"We (are) just here to play cricket. I think James is the only cricketer who does not love West Indies. I could safely say that West Indies are the second favourite team for the fans (after their home team).
"It doesn't bother us. Talk is talk. We just got to walk the talk out there on the field. He can say all he wants. We're not bothered by it," said the all-rounder.
Eventual champions West Indies thumped Australia by 74 runs in the semi-final of the 2012 tournament in Sri Lanka and Sammy said his team was getting close their best.
"So far in the tournament we've not played to our full potential. Once we do that, we'd be very destructive and we were destructive in that semi-final (in the) last World Cup."
The importance of Friday's contest was not lost on Australia wicketkeeper Brad Haddin either.
"You know exactly where you stand now. There is no second chance for us," said Haddin, hoping Australia would continue the momentum from their recent Ashes and South Africa test series victory.
"We got to make sure we bring our A game and play under the pressure. We have done that well over the last four months and I see no reason why we can't do that."
West Indies are second, having beaten Bangladesh to bounce back after their loss against India, while Australia are fourth having lost their first match to Pakistan.
Australian all-rounder James Faulkner has already added spice to the important contest after Australian media quoted him as saying he does not particularly like the West Indies team.
"The Australians normally have a lot to say," Sammy told reporters when asked for a reaction.
"We (are) just here to play cricket. I think James is the only cricketer who does not love West Indies. I could safely say that West Indies are the second favourite team for the fans (after their home team).
"It doesn't bother us. Talk is talk. We just got to walk the talk out there on the field. He can say all he wants. We're not bothered by it," said the all-rounder.
Eventual champions West Indies thumped Australia by 74 runs in the semi-final of the 2012 tournament in Sri Lanka and Sammy said his team was getting close their best.
"So far in the tournament we've not played to our full potential. Once we do that, we'd be very destructive and we were destructive in that semi-final (in the) last World Cup."
The importance of Friday's contest was not lost on Australia wicketkeeper Brad Haddin either.
"You know exactly where you stand now. There is no second chance for us," said Haddin, hoping Australia would continue the momentum from their recent Ashes and South Africa test series victory.
"We got to make sure we bring our A game and play under the pressure. We have done that well over the last four months and I see no reason why we can't do that."
Bangladesh desperate for turnaround
Wednesday 26 March 2014
IPL spot-fixing case: Court pulls up Delhi police for delay in proceedings
A court here pulled up the Delhi Police on Wednesday for delay in proceedings in the IPL spot-fixing case, warning that it would impose costs on it and adjourn the case “sine die“.
“Take it for granted that if any application is received by me (after May 16) from defence counsel that the document is not complete, I will impose costs and will adjourn the case sine die. You (Police) are doing it for nine months,” Additional Sessions Judge Bharat Parashar told the Special Cell of Delhi Police.
The court was irked over the delay in completion of the scrutiny of documents filed by the police along with the charge sheets in the case, after some counsel appearing for the accused said they have not received the complete set of documents yet.
The judge directed the police to furnish and supply all the documents by May 16, the next date of hearing. Public prosecutor Rajiv Mohan, however, told the court that the police would file all documents by the next date of hearing and would also supply them to the counsel for the accused.
Earlier, the court had expressed concern over “repeated adjournment” in the case and directed the police to supply the copies of charge sheet and other documents filed along with it to all accused, including suspended cricketers S Sreesanth and Ajit Chandila, by Wednesday.
The court had also said that after scrutiny of documents is done, it would fix the date for hearing arguments on framing of charges in the case.
The Special Cell of Delhi Police had filed a 6,000—page charge sheet against the accused in the case.
The court had on June 10 last year granted bail to Sreesanth, Chavan and 19 others for lack of evidence against them under the provisions of stringent law Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA).
Various other accused, including Chandila, were also granted bail later on by the court.
The police, in its charge sheet, had claimed that accused underworld don Dawood Ibrahim and his aide Chhota Shakeel, who have been “controlling the fixing and betting market” in cricket in India, were behind the IPL spot-fixing case.
news on 26,march,2014
BJP balloon will burst: Rahul
Expressing confidence that UPA will form the government again, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday asserted that BJP’s campaign “balloon” will burst like ‘India Shining’ in 2004 as he warned that Narendra Modi’s coming to power would be damaging for the country.
Mr. Gandhi, along with Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, cautioned that Modi’s ideology was against the idea of India and the Congress will fight in a determined manner to ensure that this ideology is defeated.
Releasing the party’s manifesto here, they debunked the opinion polls which are predicting a dismal show by the UPA in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls and said everybody will be “surprised” when the election results come in.
On the upbeat campaign of NDA, Mr. Gandhi said, “just like the ’India Shining’ balloon exploded... I can say certainly the balloon will explode.”
He said this will be particularly true in Uttar Pradesh where 80 seats are at stake.
He said BJP has the ability of carrying out campaigns like ‘India Shining’ but all should keep in mind that that campaign “evaporated” when the results came in 2004.
Attacking Mr. Modi, the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate, Mr. Gandhi said he had nothing against him as an individual but was opposed to his ideology which is against the idea of India. “Modi represents an ideology which is exclusive,” he said.
Mr. Gandhi was asked whether he agrees with the statement of the Prime Minister about two months back that Mr. Modi’s coming to power will be “disastrous” for the country.
Replying, the Congress vice president said, “the PM is a wise man and on most of the issues I bow to him. I tend to agree with his wisdom.”
He went on to add that it was not an issue of an “individual” but the “ideology which is questioning the idea of India. “Individuals may have personal likes or dislikes but the real danger is the ideology,” he added.
Mr. Gandhi debunked the opinion polls which project a dismal show for the Congress.
“I frankly don’t have much faith in the opinion polls. In 2004 also, the story of Congress was over as per the opinion polls. In 2009 also, we were given no chance. But we got more seats. So, we cannot go 100 per cent by the opinion polls,” the Congress president said.
EC bars Akhilesh Yadav from holding discussion through video conference
A directive to this effect was issued by Chief Electoral Officer of Uttar Pradesh Umesh Sinha.
“During the Model Code of Conduct, no video conference would take place between the Chief Minister, Ministers and political functionaries with the officials,” the notice issued by Mr. Sinha said, while referring to a directive of the Election Commission of India (ECI) in this regard.
Mr. Sinha has asked all the district election officials to ensure that no such meeting is held through video conference.
In a notification last week, the Election Commission had said that such video conferencing will be permitted only in case of a natural calamity.
It had also said that before organising such meetings, approval of Chief Electoral Officer should be obtained
Tuesday 25 March 2014
Monday 24 March 2014
news on 25,march,2014
Dhawan to lead Sunrisers
Shikhar Dhawan will lead Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL-VII tournament to be held from April this year. This was announced in a statement released by the team management in Hyderabad on Monday.
“We are pleased to announce the formidable leadership combination of the IPL franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad with Shikhar Dhawan taking the coveted role of the skipper supported by Darren Sammy who will be the vice-captain of the team,” the statement mentioned.
Dhawan with his significant contribution as a batsman in the previous season has retained his position in the team not just as an opener but as the appropriate choice to lead the team.
Sammy was an integral part of the team’s success in the last season and will now support Dhawan
on 25,march,2014
FIDE turns to Sandeep Singh for coverage
With Viswanathan Anand producing vintage form in the on-going World Candidates chess tournament, India’s interest in the elite event is obvious, evident from the ‘hits’ recorded by the new-interactive website of the World Chess Federation (FIDE).
All other private websites have been overshadowed by this revolutionary platform that relays the moves in almost real-time. It is the brain work of a young Indian.
Sandeep Singh, 22, is the man FIDE’s Chief Executive Officer Geoffrey Borg turned to in November last when the governing body was looking to revamp its live coverage of this much-awaited event. “It was during the World championship in Chennai when Mr. Borg saw my work,” recalls Sandeep.
“Since he has a background of Information Technology (IT), Mr. Borg showed interest in the way the chess coverage was being handled. I think, he particularly liked the way the damage-control exercise we carried out after the servers crashed for seven minutes at the start of the first round. We got the coverage back on rails in just 15 minutes. That impressed Mr. Borg.”
Mr. Borg had his reasons. Several servers crashed during the final round of the last edition of Candidates in London last March. FIDE was obviously worried.
“We were given just three months to provide a platform for the new-look website. We (at Guru Infoways), prepared the software to display boards for live moves, video feed, incorporated analysis by world’s best chess engine, Houdini 4 Pro, and added the facility to tweet, all on one screen” says Sandeep. There is also a lighter version of the web page, without video, for mobile phones and slow internet connections.
The result so far has been superlative. In each round, the site has averaged 2,00,000 visitors from 8,400 cities spread over 180 countries.
“The site is getting millions of hits because this FIDE software transfers a move within 0.884 seconds as compared to four seconds by rival, private websites,” says Sandeep with pride. Interestingly, Armenia’s capital Yerevan tops the list of viewers with 5.47 per cent.
match on 24,march,2014
Sri Lanka thrash Netherlands in fastest ever T20I win
Sri Lanka recorded the fastest ever victory in a Twenty20 International as they thrashed a hapless Netherlands by nine wickets in just five overs in a Group 1 Super 10 match of the ICC World T20 in Chittagong on Monday.
Put into bat, minnows Netherlands could survive just 10.3 overs as they were shot out for a miniscule 39, the lowest ever completed innings total in a T20 International history and the Lankans took just 30 deliveries to chase down the target.
Tillakaratne Dilshan and Mahela Jayawardene remained unbeaten on 12 and 11 respectively after opener Kusal Perera was out for 14 in one of the most lopsided matches in cricket history at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium.
Sri Lanka’s win today was the largest margin of victory in terms of balls remaining as they overhauled the target — by reaching 40 for one — with 15 overs to spare.
The previous largest margin of victory in terms of balls remaining in a Twenty20 International was Ireland’s 10-wicket victory over Kenya at Dubai International Cricket Stadium in March 2012, which was achieved with 76 ball (12.4 overs) to spare.
In that match, Kenya were shot out for 71 in 19 overs and Ireland chased down the target in 7.2 overs.
With today’s win, their second on the trot, Sri Lanka are on top of Group 1 with four points from two matches. They had beaten South Africa by five runs on Saturday.
Earlier, Sri Lanka shot out Netherlands for just 39, with Angelo Mathews and Ajantha Mendis wrecking havoc with three-wicket burst each. Netherlands batsmen were simply run over by the Lankan bowlers.
For Netherlands only Tom Copper could reach double digit score of 16 while five of them were dismissed for nought.
This was the lowest ever T20 International innings total, the earlier lowest being the 56 scored by Kenya while chasing a target of 163 against Afghanistan at Sharjah Cricket Stadium in September last year.
Mathews had the wickets of opener Michael Swart (0) and wicketkeeper Wesley Barresi (1) off consecutive balls in the second over but could not come up with a hattrick. But, he came back to dismiss captain Peter Borren for nought in his next over to rock Netherlands innings.
The Dutch, who qualified for the Super 10 after defeating Ireland, were nine for four then and after a brief resistance, they suffered a dramatic batting collapse with Mendis taking two wickets in quick succession.
Netherlands lost three wickets in the same score of 39 with Mendis dismissing Pieter Seelaar (0) and Ahsan Jamil (0) in a space of three balls.
Lasith Malinga took two wickets and Nuwan Kulasekara chipped in with one scalp each.
news on 25, march,2014
When Waqas visited Munnar
Sometime after September in 2013, a ‘strikingly tall and well-built man’ was briefly in Munnar, a busy hill station dotted with expansive tea plantations in Idukki district.
During his stay, he largely passed unnoticed as one among the hundreds of North Indian sightseers who visit the scenic business town every day.
However, the 24-year-old man’s brief sojourn in the State’s most famed hill station triggered a flurry of activity in the intelligence community in Kerala soon after he left.
For the police intelligence had learned, though belatedly, that he was Zia-Ur-Rehman alias Waqas, a Pakistani national and wanted terror suspect. (The Delhi Special Police had arrested him this week in connection with multiple serial blasts across India).
Senior police officials said Waqas had left Munnar by the time the police got on his trial. Waqas had been on the run ever since the arrest of Mohammed Ahmed Sidi Bapa alias Yasin Bhaktal, alleged founder of Indian Mujahudeen (IM), a proscribed terrorist organisation, in August last year.
In 2013, the State police had sought the help of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to interrogate Yasin separately to find out specifically whether the IM had any ‘sleeper cells, covert operatives, safe houses, modules or sympathetic socio-political outfits’ in the State.
A senior State police official, familiar with the NIA’s investigations into the IM, said, so far, there was no evidence to suggest that the terror outfit had any kind of infrastructure in Kerala. The State also, so far, did not figure in the organisation’s list of targets.
However, the State police were ‘sure’ that Waqas had received some local assistance in Munnar. It was also possible that he met in Munnar other IM members who were, like him, fleeing from the law. Investigators here believe that Waqas could have reached Munnar from Mangalore or Goa.
It was Yasin’s arrest that revealed the existence of Waqas, along with at least six other key IM operatives, to the law enforcement agencies last year.
Possibly, the NIA was tracking the trial of digital communications of the suspected IM members, including their mobile phone and Internet usage patterns, to plot their relative locations in the country while they were on the run.
The arrest of Waqas was of much importance to the State police. Its operatives are likely to be in New Delhi soon to find out what the suspect has to state about his visit. Waqas’s statement is sure to have a bearing on the intelligence collection of the Kerala police in the coming months, a senior official said.
Hyderabadis run for a cause at ‘BITSathon’
Close to 650 runners participated in the 10K run ‘BITSathon’ organised by Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS), Pilani at Necklace Road. With a theme ‘Hyderabad for Innovation’, the run attracted large number of students from BITS, Hyderabad, alumni of BITS, Pilani, police personnel, recreations runners and professional athletes from all over India. In the male category, Berendra Kumar emerged victorious followed by Akshay Kumar and Ebenzer who received cash awards of Rs. 50,000, Rs. 10,000 and Rs. 5,000 respectively. The women’s category was won by M. Sruthi, P. Menaka and Taru who received the same cash prize as the male runners.
The BITS alumni prize was won by J. Sidharth Jain and Prajeethe Prabhu who received cash prize of Rs. Rs 6,000 and Rs. 4,000 cash. The winners in the female category in the same group include Babitha and Himshi who received the same cash prize as their male counterparts.
Director General, Anti-Corruption Bureau, A. K. Khan, Director, BITS Pilani, Hyderabad, Professor V. S. Rao, alumni members of 1972 batch of BITS Pilani and others were present.
Police brace up for Naxal threat
In the April 2004 general election, a contingent of 30 policemen on duty at the ‘inaccessible’ hilly polling station of Mangi in Asifabad Assembly constituency requested the Gond elders to spend nights in the police camp set up in the local ashram school. The security men wanted this to happen in the belief that presence of tribal people would be the deterrence that an armed dalam of extremists would never dare to ignore.
Adilabad was not an isolated case but, the threat of Maoists disrupting elections was very real in other North Telangana districts of Karimnagar, Warangal and Nizamabad until that election. There has been such a turnaround in the situation that Adilabad Superintendent of Police Gajarao Bhupal ventures to even claim that the current elections will be the most peaceful.
The security forces in Telangana districts nevertheless, are not in a mood to take chances. They are taking adequate precautions to prevent, rather pre-empt any violence from Left-wing extremists.
Election authorities are concentrating efforts on ensuring peaceful elections in Khammam which shares about 200 km of its border with Chhattisgarh and has 238 of the 2,259 being affected by Left-wing extremism, including the 140 which are located in Bhadrachalam Assembly segment alone.
According to Khammam SP A.V. Ranganath, a helicopter would be kept ready for use in contingencies. Among other measures to control naxalite violence was aerial surveillance of border areas and use of modern telecommunication facilities.
Intelligence reports suggest that Maoists have deputed a dozen Action Teams to target politicians which will be countered by police Counter Action Teams. Already a tribal activist of the CPI (M) has been gunned down by the extremists in election related violence in Tummada of Chintoor mandal.
Adilabad too shares over 150 km of its border with the naxal affected districts of Chandrapur and Gadchiroli in Maharashtra which gives the police some reason for expecting spill over Maoist activity. There are many ferry points across the Pranahita on the border which are under strict surveillance.
Of the 2,256 polling stations in 10 Assembly constituencies in Adilabad district, 169 have been identified as affected by Left- wing extremism. Sirpur segment has 48 of these while Khanapur and Chennur Assembly constituencies have 44 and 40 respectively and Asifabad 20 as these share long and riverine border with neighbouring Maharashtra.
The police in Warangal classified 609 polling stations of the 2,200 as sensitive and no extremist related violence in the coming election is anticipated in this district. There is a chance that Maoists may cross over into this district from the heavily forested areas of Eturnagaram, Mahadevpur in Karimnagar and in Mangapet via Bhadrachalam, according to Warangal Rural SP L.K.V. Ranga Rao.
Of the 12 Assembly constituencies in the district, the police identified Narsampet, Mulug and parts of Parkal as sensitive due to Maoist threat besides identifying Mahabubabad as sensitive owing to the presence of the CPI (ML) New Democracy, a faction of extremists.
Though naxalite violence is not anticipated in Karimnagar district also, it is a little bit surprising to observers as this district has contributed top leadership in the movement including the present CPI (Maoist) supremo Muppala Laxman Rao alias Ganapathi. As the Manthani Assembly segment shares its borders with Chhattisgarh, police are concentrating on control of spill over activity here.
Of the 3,393 polling stations 165 have been identified as affected by left wing extremism including the 104 in Manthani constituency.
‘Many arrests in J&K made without observing procedure’
Of the 94 persons, including three women, arrested under the Shaheed Gunj police station in 223 cases from January 1, 2013, to February 28, 2014, the police sought a pre-arrest warrant from a magistrate against only one accused — a Minister.
In reply to an application filed under the State’s Right to Information law, the Public Information Officer of Srinagar District Police has revealed that the police did not seek a pre-arrest warrant under Section 25 of the Jammu and Kashmir Police Act against any of the 94 persons arrested in the last 14 months. Major government offices, including the Civil Secretariat, the Jammu and Kashmir High Court, besides the Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council, fall under the jurisdiction of the police station that was chosen as a sample by an RTI activist.
The one-odd accused, against whom the police obtained a proper warrant under the law, was none other than the Congress MLA, Shabir Khan, who resigned as Minister in-charge, Health, following the registration of a case of sexual assault against him. The PIO has revealed that even summon or legal notice was not issued against any of the remaining 93 persons.
“It was just a sample. Arrests are similarly made throughout the State without observing the legal and procedural requirements in the whole State of Jammu and Kashmir,” RTI activist Raman Sharma said. “It has become clear that there are two laws here, one law for the common people and another for the VIPs. Police gave the Minister a long rope till he obtained interim bail and, finally, he walked to the SHO leisurely and went back.”
A former Sub Divisional Police Officer of Shaheed Gunj argued that issuing legal notices and summons and securing warrants “varies from case to case.” “In the ex-Minister’s case, we had apprehensions of resistance. Besides, we suspected him to be in Jammu and needed the warrant for his transit remand,” he told The Hindu. He claimed that most of those arrested last year were “stone-pelters”. Senior Superintendent of Police Amit Kumar said he was too busy to comment immediately.
Spurned by TRS, Congress may take CPI on board
After being spurned by Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) for an electoral alliance, the Congress is close to sealing a pact with the CPI and other minor outfits for the general elections in Telangana. It is likely to enter into a friendly alliance with MIM in the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad.
Talks between Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) president Ponnala Lakshmaiah and a CPI delegation led by former MP Aziz Pasha and others were termed ‘cordial’, leading to electoral pact.
The Congress leadership has invited like-minded parties that had actively participated in the agitation for statehood to Telangana to join its ranks in the elections.
According to TPCC sources, the CPI has demanded two parliamentary constituencies and 17 Assembly seats. It is insisting on Nalgonda and Khammam Lok Sabha seats. The Congress is said to be veering round to conceding one Lok Sabha and 12 Assembly seats. Mr. Lakshmaiah on Monday said the talks were fruitful and he was confident that the seat-sharing pact would be finalised in next few days.
Sources said before the consultations began here, top Congress leaders Digvijay Singh and Vayalar Ravi held a meeting with CPI top brass, including its general secretary Suravaram Sudhakar Reddy and secretary D. Raja.
“The two parties had come to a preliminary understanding that they should sail together,” sources said, adding that though they had approached the TRS too for an alliance, there were no positive signals so far.
In the 294-member Assembly, the CPI has four MLAs. The party is now keen on Nalgonda parliamentary seat but the Congress is firm on allotting the Khammam seat.
It reasons that Nalgonda seat is presently represented by Congress MP Gutha Sukhender Reddy and it would not be proper to deny him the ticket.
Highly-placed party sources said both the Congress and MIM have reached an understanding. The former is likely to put up a token contest in at least a dozen constituencies in the Old City of Hyderabad. The MIM is likely to reciprocate by not fielding its candidates in other Assembly constituencies in Telangana.
The Congress is also said to be in talks with the Rashtriya Lok Dal and the CPI(ML) New Democracy for seat-haring. If the talks succeed, the two parties may get two seats each.
Modi wave? Then Left may recover in West Bengal
Young Tamal Biswas (name changed) of Barrackpore in West Bengal used to be a non-cardholding cadre of the Communist Party of India (Marxist). But last year, he decided to quit and join the Trinamool Congress.
“It was getting increasingly difficult for me to run my small business, working for the party (CPI-M),” said the man in his late 20s. Essentially this is one of the key problems being faced by the CPI(M) in the State — retaining cadres aged below 30. The youth brigade is fast depleting.
But then, that is a small issue compared to what the Left Front is going through in the State. Let alone cadres, several Left Front MLAs joined the Trinamool and two of them have been nominated as candidates for the coming Lok Sabha election.
“Today, I am filing nomination as a Trinamool candidate in Alipurduar,” said Dasharath Tirkey, erstwhile tribal face of the Left Front in north Bengal. Perhaps, a bigger blow was dealt by Abdur Rezzak Molla, farmer leader of the Left from south Bengal, who not only openly challenged the senior leadership, calling it “a front of student leaders,” but also formed a platform to cut into the Left’s minority vote base. He was expelled a month ago, but not before he caused damage to the party.
“He is one leader who managed to keep the Left vote intact even in the 2011 Assembly election in his constituency in central Bengal,” says Lotub Ali, a textile worker from there. Mr Ali feels the Left Front has “damaged” its mass base among Muslims in south and central Bengal.
Leaders of the CPI(M) do not deny blame for the party damaging its Muslim vote base. All these years between 1977 and 2011, the Left parties, even as they had managed to keep the anti-Left, non-minority vote divided, consolidated a mass base among Muslims.
“Our analysis after the Assembly polls shows that in Hooghly and South 24 Parganas districts a large number of Muslims who were attached to their land were extremely upset at a land acquisition drive of the Left government. Panic spreads among minorities faster, and they, scared of losing their livelihoods, went against us,” says a party functionary.
Several districts have around 50 per cent Muslim population. Murshidabad and Maldah in the central part have 64 and 52 per cent. South Dinajpur got nearly 50 per cent and at least 10 others out of the 19 districts got over 20 per cent. Nearly 75 per cent of the 42 Lok Sabha constituencies are located in these districts of south, central and north Bengal.
In further trouble, the adverse report on the condition of Muslims by a “little wise man” damaged the party’s prospects in the State severely. “I used to know Justice Rajendra Sachar very well. But the damaging report he had given, saying the condition of Muslims steadily deteriorated in Bengal, is half-true,” says a senior leader. The Trinamool played up the report in Muslim areas.
Moreover, in several constituencies, the CPI(M) and the whole of the Left Front are not managing to campaign or even put up polling agents. Party functionaries feel this is also going to affect the CPI(M)’s prospects in the coming election. However, there is a ray of hope for the Left. It ironically is coming from the right. There is little doubt that if the so-called “Modi-wave” touches Bengal, which BJP leaders are claiming will, it will benefit only the Left Front. The rationale is that the Left Front’s dedicated electors will never vote for the BJP. So the BJP’s gain is not the loss of the Left but of the Congress or, more significantly, of the Trinamool. “I do not deny this analysis as there are two broad platforms in West Bengal — the Communists and the non-Communists,” says BJP vice-president and Darjeeling candidate Surinder Singh Ahluwalia. “We will not always get the non-Communist vote; there is little doubt about that,” he adds.
Moreover, the BJP’s vote share reduced from 6.14 per cent in the last Lok Sabha election to 4.08 in the 2011 Assembly election. “But thanks to Narendra Modi, there will be a definite rise this time,” Mr. Ahluwalia says. Anticipating some rise in the poll percentage, the BJP has put up candidates in all 42 constituencies, unlike in the previous elections. In addition, there is the traditional BJP vote in Bengal. This vote stayed with the Congress and later with the Trinamool as the BJP failed to put up any fight in the past. Many feel this vote will come back to the BJP in 2014, affecting the Congress and the Trinamool.
In this context, the Left Front just needs to perform as it did in 2009 Lok Sabha elections, during which it got 43.3 per cent votes. “If we stick to it, we will get 20 seats, given that the BJP will eat into the Trinamool vote … I can again get back to CPI(M),” says Mr. Tamal Biswas.
But in the 2011 Assembly election, it got only 39.68 per cent. In the corresponding period, the Trinamool vote share went up by 7.72 percentage points. Even in the last panchayat election, the Left vote share shrank substantially.
It seems Mr. Biswas will have to wait for some more time before he gets back to the party he loves.
Rise of youth icons in BJP
He is just a 23 year old, who recently acquired a law degree. And, he is in great demand for campaigning in different parts of the State for the Lok Sabha elections as Bharatiya Janata Party candidates from several constituencies have been requesting him to visit their areas.
Mr. Tejaswi Surya, secretary of the BJP State Youth wing, is emerging as the new-generation youth icon of the party, thanks to his oratory skills and clarity on issues pertaining to the youth. “I have travelled about 22,000 km in the last six months and addressed nearly 70 rallies in different parts of the State,” he said, while keeping pace with his hectic schedule.
He has become familiar in rightwing circles through social media, and the party has made him address rallies in Pune, Chennai and Mumbai.
Generally, young entrants in any party are not given key roles during the Lok Sabha poll campaign. However, this time around, political parties, especially the BJP, appear to be focussing on wooing the young voter. Mr. Tejaswi, who plans to take up higher studies at the London School of Economics, says he wants to be both a practising lawyer and a politician. “Politicians should not depend on politics for their bread and butter,” he says. He is for making the political ground more equitable so that any person who comes from a modest family background can also aspire to be a political leader.
Another active youth — Bangalore City youth wing president A.R. Sapthagiri Gowda — is playing a key role in organising political events related to youth in Bangalore city. Mr. Gowda, who is the son of former Minister Ramachandra Gowda, played an important role in organising the Modi tea stalls in about 60 wards of Bangalore city.
A lawyer-turned industrialist, he is focussing on enlisting the support of youth for the party in Bangalore city.
Both of them managed to draw the attention of the party as well as students’ community through the programme of campus ambassadors, where select students were enrolled as party volunteers to woo the student community.
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Sunday 23 March 2014
HTC: Not the best way to sell a smartphone
As HTC readied a new version of its flagship smartphone, it planned for many challenges.
As HTC readied a new version of its flagship smartphone, it planned for many challenges. It didn't know that one of them would be Roshan Jamkatel, a teenager from Schaumburg, Ill.
On March 2, Roshan — a self-described prankster — turned up on YouTube offering a hands-on, guided tour of the sequel to HTC's highest-profile product, the One. The world's first glimpse of the device was scheduled for this Tuesday, March 25, at the sort of orchestrated reveal that has become the industry standard, with product demonstrations, plenty of video-screen close-ups and a crowd to give the proceedings a sense of moment. Locations in New York City and London were booked for the occasion.
But Roshan upstaged this show with a rambling, mumbly critique that was posted for all the world to see. (The video was up, then taken down, then resurrected on a batch of Android fan sites, and now is much harder to find.) Forget stagecraft. The phone was placed on what appears to be Roshan's outer-space-themed bedspread, and his monologue was sprinkled with bland endorsements like, "The build design of this phone is really nice," and "This camera, I give it a 9 — no, an 8.7."
You imagine that after watching this sneak peek, HTC emitted a sound similar to the whup-whup-whup that Curly of the Three Stooges made whenever Moe poked him in the eyes. But publicly, the only sign of outrage was a message from HTC's senior global online communications manager, Jeff Gordon, to Roshan's Twitter account.
"It's not going to be a good week for you, my friend," Mr. Gordon wrote.
"It's a fake phone," Roshan tweeted back.
"We have the IMEI and all the other info," replied Mr. Gordon, referring to the unique identifiers given to each device. "We'll be in touch."
Mr. Gordon would not comment about this exchange, and Roshan did not respond to a message left on his mobile phone. But it was only the most notable leak of many that have bedeviled the run-up to the official introduction of the new phone, which might be called the All New One. The leaks have included photographs, performance specs, downloadable versions of wallpapers and ringtones, a look at a new smart cover, an ad explaining the new dual-lens camera and what is apparently a sales guide for retailers. ("Load up the camera and show the customer how they can take a selfie in the new Selfie mode.")
As a final indignity, one of the new phones was sold on eBay for about $500.
So much for the element of surprise.
These are just the latest setbacks for HTC, a company based in Taiwan that as recently as 2011 sold more smartphones in the United States than any other maker, according to the research firm Canalys.
Since then, shares of HTC have plunged almost 90 percent, shrinking its market capitalization to $4 billion from $33 billion. HTC's biggest problem is its mightiest foe, Samsung, which last year spent $14 billion on advertising — about the same as the G.D.P. of Iceland. HTC posted its first-ever operating loss in the third quarter of 2013, after which ABI Research, a consulting firm, said that once such handset companies become unprofitable, only 10 percent can be expected to survive the next two years.
The prognosis underscores how perilous the smartphone business has become. In just five years, companies like BlackBerry, Nokia and Motorola have gone from leaders to takeover bait or balance-sheet basket cases. Start-ups in China, India and Brazil are grabbing mid- and low-end sales, and the high-end market is increasingly dominated by Samsung and Apple.
Continue reading the main story "If you're not a Tier 1 smartphone maker, it's difficult to be heard," said Ken Hyers, a senior analyst at Strategy Analytics. "You don't have the megaphone, which is the marketing spend."
Typically, manufacturers like HTC crater because their products stink. But HTC's downward spiral has distressed plenty of phone geeks who think it makes the best devices on the market. The One, released in 2013, earned the "Smartphone of the Year" title at the Mobile World Congress, held in Barcelona in February, and was only the third phone to win a five-star review from TechRadar. A critic at the site said the phone "is closing in on flawless."
A reviewer at AnandTech said, "The One is without a doubt the best Android smartphone I've ever used." And David Pogue, the former tech critic at The New York Times, wrote, "You could quibble with the software overlays, but it would be hard to imagine a more impressive piece of phone hardware."
It isn't enough, though, to design a great smartphone. You also need to sell it, and when your main rival is blanketing the planet with ads, your marketing strategy had better delight and astound.
HTC's did neither.
"The most important thing is communication, and we didn't communicate with our end users well last year," said Cher Wang, HTC's co-founder and chairwoman, in a telephone interview on Wednesday. "We're going to do it better this year."
Among the company's 2013 misfires was an extravagant and daring two-minute ad starring Robert Downey Jr., which was first shown in August.
Mr. Downey plays a swaggering marketing genius who emerges from a helicopter, a briefcase chained to one hand, and is ushered into a room full of executives to explain how HTC should position itself.
"Humongous tinfoil catamaran," he says, cryptically.
After a pause, an aide to his right holds up a business card bearing the company's logo. "HTC," he says to the befuddled executives. "It's anything you want it to be."
What follows is a random series of h.t.c.-initialed tableaus: a hipster troll carwash, a hot-tea catapult, a Hungarian tuba concert.
The One made brief cameos in the ad, but they were easy to miss. Describing HTC as "anything you want it to be" didn't do much to build an idea of the brand.
"Sadly, the introduction of the phone itself, which has a great many selling points, gets lost in all that high-concept stuff," said Barbara Lippert, a columnist for Mediapost.com and a former ad critic for Adweek. "A lot of money, great production, and acting went into it, signifying not much to sell the phone."
The ad was reportedly the start of a two-year, $1 billion campaign. Within HTC, it was widely considered a letdown.
"We were told that this ad was going to save the company," said a former employee, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he did not want to antagonize onetime colleagues. "Then we saw the ad."
Ms. Wang said the ad's mixed reception was fine with her.
"Some people really loved it; some people didn't understand it," she said. "No matter what, people were talking about HTC and that was the purpose."
Ms. Wang is the daughter of a billionaire and went on to make her own billions as a co-founder of HTC and a chip set maker, VIA Technologies. Educated at the University of California, Berkeley, she is known for toughness as a negotiator and for optimism — a trait much on display in the interview. Time and again, she would glancingly acknowledge errors, then pivot to her excitement about what's next.
"I want to look forward," she said. "I always look at the past as an opportunity to learn."
Continue reading the main story If so, she has a full curriculum. Since last year, HTC has seemed like a rickety ship that crew members were eager to abandon. In the span of just a few months, HTC lost Rebecca Rowland, global retail marketing manager; John Starkweather, director of digital marketing; Kouji Kodera, chief product officer; Jason Gordon, vice president for global communications; and Eric Lin, product strategy manager.
Mr. Lin posted a departure tweet in May that said, "To all my friends still @HTC — just quit. leave now. it's tough to do, but you'll be so much happier, I swear."
Ms. Wang dismisses the notion that HTC has a brain-drain problem, saying, "we retained all the people we wanted to retain."
There were also a handful of employees who made newsworthy exits. In December, Thomas Chien, who had been a vice president for design, was indicted by Taiwanese prosecutors on charges that he leaked trade secrets. He and a handful of other employees were also indicted on charges of taking kickbacks from suppliers and falsifying expense reports. Local news media reported that investigators said they found more than $250,000 worth of Taiwanese currency, in fresh bills, in Mr. Chien's Audi, parked outside of HTC's headquarters.
Mr. Chien, who has denied the charges, reportedly said he didn't know where the money came from.
HTC was founded in 1997, initially producing notebook computers. For years, it was a contract manufacturer of hand-held devices for other companies, pioneering phones with touch-screen interfaces. In 2006, it started making products under its own name, and a year later Google introduced Android, which became the operating system of choice for HTC products. By 2011, the company's market cap exceeded that of Nokia, once the Goliath of the field.
"However you count it," wrote Chris Jones, an analyst at Canalys, in October 2011, "HTC has become a deserved leader in the U.S. smartphone market."
A lot went wrong between then and now. Ms. Wang says the company had trouble keeping up with demand for the One last year, because of the phone's complexity.
"This is a metal, unibody phone," she said, adding that its antenna and camera were engineering feats in themselves. "We didn't train our vendors well enough for mass production."
Analysts also say that some of HTC's other smartphones were mediocre, and a few weren't updated with the latest version of Android until long after Google released it. But perhaps the biggest disaster for HTC was the onslaught of Samsung, which jumped into the Android smartphone pool in 2009 and has been doing cannonballs ever since.
"The company's target may have been Apple but some of these smaller players were the victims," says Horace Dediu, founder of the consulting firm Asymco. "This is a classic case of disruption. HTC couldn't play on the same scale as Samsung."
Ms. Wang says HTC can still compete, even against Samsung's marketing muscle. Just look at Tesla, the electric car marker, she said. It isn't as big as any traditional automaker, but it has drummed up a remarkable amount of attention.
This is true, but Tesla is more of a niche seller than a mass-market player. Which might be what HTC becomes if sales of its all-new phone don't set some all-new records
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