Heena Sharma Blog

MG Motor India sold 3,021 units of Hector in December, taking the total sales figure, since launch in June, to 15,939 units. The company is set to launch its second car and the first electric vehicle - MG ZS EV - in India this month. Commenting on the sales performance in 2019, Rakesh Sidana, Director – Sales, MG Motor India , said, “As a new entrant in the Indian market, the robust sales momentum of our first offering, the Hector, has been very encouraging. We are working closely with our global and local suppliers to increase the production of the Hector in 2020 to support the booking backlog. In line with our focus on customer satisfaction, we are constantly evaluating the emerging demand for the Hector in newer markets across India. We are proactively setting up more service centres closer to our prospective customers to elevate their ownership experience with MG.” MG Motor India currently has over 150 outlets across India and aims to further strengthen its network cou...

Sonny Mehta , the literary savant who guided the reading hours of millions of people and the fortunes of the venerable publisher Alfred A. Knopf for 32 years at a time of changing tastes, aggressive merchandising and demands for profits, died on Monday at his home in Manhattan. He was 77. The cause was complications of pneumonia, a Knopf spokesman said. In an age of blockbuster best sellers by presidents and prime ministers, of sometimes surreal and shocking literary breakthroughs, and of cutthroat competition in a shrinking industry, Mr. Mehta was an almost ideal editor and publishing executive: a voracious reader and instinctive decision maker who could spot great books and, coming from a paperback world, had no qualms about aggressively marketing them. On his watch, first as Knopf’s president and editor in chief and since 2009 as chairman of the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, Mr. Mehta delivered literary quality and runaway sales, backed by clever promotion — he once ...

DTE Karnataka Diploma results 2019: The Directorate of Technical Education, Karnataka has declared the DTE Karnataka Diploma results 2019 on its official website - dte.kar.nic.in. Board of Technical Education (BTE) and DTE had conducted the diploma examinations in the months of November and December 2019 How to check Karnataka Diploma results 2019: Step 1: Visit the Karnataka DTE official website - dte.kar.nic.in Step 2: Click on the link to check the result Step 3: Enter the required information and click on 'submit' Step 4: The result will be displayed. Download the result for future reference DTE Karnataka Diploma Result 2019 Candidates who are not satisfied with their DTE Karnataka diploma results can apply for re-evaluation. Read More

Assam TET result 2019: The Department of Elementary Education, Assam, has released for Teachers' Eligibility Test (TET) 2019 result on its official website ssa.assam.gov.in. Assam TET examination 2019 was conducted on November 10 last across the different designated examination centres. Candidates who have qualified Assam TET 2019 will be eligible to teach at the different schools in the state based on the papers they have appeared for. How to check the Assam TET Result 2019 Step 1: Visit the official website of Assam TET - ssa.assam.gov.in Step 2: Click on the Assam TET 2019 result link Step 3: Enter login details Step 4: Download the Assam TET 2019 Result. Read More

Well, the website of JioMart with the tagline " India ki nayi dukaan " is a a new grocery shopping experience from Reliance Industries Limited, the country's most valued firm. This in turn is expected to take on online grocery specialists- Bigbasket and Grofers, as well as global e-commerce giants Amazon and Walmart. The JioMart app can be soon soon downloaded on apple and android platforms. Currently web services of JioMart are available in the outskirts of Mumbai, in suburbs such as Navi Mumbai, Thane and Kalyan. And this will be scaled up nationally soon. The app will not only connect consumers, but also enable kiranas to order at wholesale rates from Reliance’s cash-and-carry stores, Reliance Market, to refill their stocks. At present, the web portal is offering pre- registration discounts of Rs 3000, claims to have 50,000 plus grocery products with free home delivery and no minimum order value, no-questions-asked return policy and an express delivery p...

NEET PG Admit Card 2020 will be out today, according to a notification issued by the National Board of Examination (NBE) on its website nbe.edu.in. NEET PG 2020 examination will be conducted by the Board on January 5, 2020. Candidates will be able to download the NEET PG 2020 admit card from the website once they are released. The NEET PG 2020 examination will be conducted in a single session from 3.30 pm to 7 pm on the mentioned date. The exam, comprising 300 multiple choice questions, will conducted in English language only. The question paper will be divided into 3 parts (Part A, B, and C) each containing 50, 100, 150 MCQs respectively. How to download NEET PG 2020 admit card Step 1: Visit the official website of nbe - nbe.edu.in Step 2: Click on the link which says NEET PG Step 3: Click on the NEET PG admit card link on the new page. Read More

CSIR NET Result 2019: The National Testing Agency is set to release the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) UGC National Eligibility Test (NET) examinations results today. The candidates who appeared for the CSIR NET exam 2019, can check the results through the official website- csirnet.nta.nic.in. Candidates, who clear the CSIR NET result, are eligible for research under junior research fellowship. The UGC NET 2019 exam was held on December 15, 2019. Due to the anti-CAA protests the exam was postponed in certain centres in Assam and Meghalaya. The rescheduled exam was held on December 27 and the CSIR NET admit card was released on December 21. A total of 282,116 candidates applied from across the country to appear for the CSIR NET. CSIR NET Result 2019: Steps to download score Step 1: Visit the CSIR NET's official website- csirnet.nta.nic.in or nta.nic.in Step 2: Click on the 'download' result link. Step 3: Enter the required details ...

UGC NET December 2019 result: The National Testing Agency (NTA) is likely to release the UGC National Eligibility Test (NET) 2019 December results today. Candidates who had appeared for the UGC NET 2019 exam can check their UGC NET result on the official website.Over 1 million candidates had appeared for the UGC NET exam 2019, which was conducted from December 2 to December 6. The result will be declared on the basis of NTA NET December final answer key 2019. NET Dec 2019 result will be calculated on the basis of raw scores and percentiles scores of total raw scores. The UGC NET exam 2019 was conducted across 700 exam centres in 219 cities. UGC NET result 2019: Steps to download result The NET December 2019 result will be available only in online mode. Step 1: Log on to the official website ugcnet.nta.nic.in or nta.nic.in Step 2: Click on 'UGC NET DECEMBER 2019 RESULTS' link Step 3: Fill in the required details Step 4: Click on 'submit'. Read More ...

To strengthen its underwater fleet, the Indian Navy plans to build 24 submarines, including six nuclear attack submarines, a parliamentary panel was told. The Navy also told the panel that Medium Refit Life Certification (MRLC) of submarine Sindhuraj has been held up since the Russian side has not been able to submit bank guarantees and integrity pact due to sanctions imposed by the US. In its report tabled this month, the Navy stated that there are presently 15 conventional submarines and two nuclear submarines in its fleet. The Indian Navy has two nuclear submarines INS Arihant and INS Chakra, with the latter being leased from Russia. Majority of the conventional submarines are over 25 years old. Thirteen submarines age between 17 and 32 years, it said. “ Eighteen (conventional) + six SSN (nuclear attack submarines) are planned...,” it stated. The Indian Ocean Region, the area of operations of the Indian Navy has witnessed rising activities of the Chinese Navy. On it...

There was no breach in Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's security during her recent trip to Lucknow, the CRPF said on Monday, blaming her for "violations" for riding pillion on a scooter. The force, which provides armed commandos under the 'Z+' category of VIP security cover to her, said the Congress leader undertook "unscheduled movement without intimation". Therefore, an advanced security liaison (ASL) could not be conducted, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) said in a statement issued here under the name of its Inspector General (Intelligence and VIP security) P K Singh. Priyanka Gandhi's office had written to Singh's office on December 28 with a complaint that a police circle officer (CO) in Lucknow had issued threats to her security personnel and warned of restricting her movements on the same day. The statement said "there was no breach in security by the official" who happens to be the CO of Hazartganj,...

Tablets were originally conceptualised as devices with bigger screen to bridge the gap between smartphones and notebooks. Until last year, they were seen as a natural extension of smartphones, but not much of a computing device. However, things changed for tablets in 2019 and the good ones launched during the year offered the best of both smartphone and notebook functions. Apple iPad Pro The iPad Pro 2019 is one of the best tablets launched during the year. It boasts a sleek design, top-notch performance, faceID, big screen estate, gesture support, and keyboard and pencil support. Besides, the iPad Pro is powered by a iPadOS – a dedicated operating system for Apple tablets. Like notebooks, the iPad Pro’s operating system is designed for easy and convenient multitasking and faster graphic rendering. The smart keyboard and pencil support makes it an ideal big-screen device striking the right balance between a smartphone and a notebook. Read More

The year 2019 was a mix of ups and downs for the electric vehicle (EV) sales in the country. The coming year is expected to be better, with the entry of more electric cars and Chinese entities’ entry, bringing down the average cost. The second phase of the Rs 10,000-crore scheme of the central government, termed Faster Adoption and Manufacturing for Hybrid and Electric vehicles (FAME II), offers higher incentives to higher powered products. It excludes lead acid battery-powered two-wheelers and mandates that e-scooters should have 80 km per charge and a minimum top speed of 40 kmph, with at least 50 per cent localisation in manufacturing. This has left a large share of two-wheelers out of the incentive, says CRISIL Research. Recently, Union minister Prakash Javadekar told Parliament about 285,000 buyers of electric/hybrid vehicles had been supported by a subsidy of Rs 360 crore under FAME. Sohinder Gill, director-general, Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles (SMEV...

The town squares of Twitter, Facebook and WhatsApp were buzzing this year with people debating issues like Citizenship Amendment Act and scrapping of Article 370 with memes going viral, even as these companies battled the menace of fake news, data breaches and attempts by the government to frame rules to make social media platforms more accountable. With over 451 million Internet users (at the end of March 2019), India is second only to China in terms of monthly active internet users, as per estimates of industry body Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI). Interestingly, about 66 million of these are children aged between 5-11 years, who access internet on devices of their family members, constituting about 15 per cent of India's active Internet userbase. Indians are creating and consuming content on their mobile phones -- right from TikTok videos and Netflix shows to news reports shared by friends and family members on various WhatsApp groups. A large n...

The economic slowdown may have clipped sales of cars and biscuits in 2019, but smartphones bucked the trend as urban and rural users continued to buy, and even upgrade to, expensive handsets - a trend likely to pick up pace in the coming year. The growth in smartphone adoption was further fuelled by the government's push to position the country as a global hub for manufacturing and coax Apple and other leading brands to produce and export more phones from India. Experts say that phone shipment is expected to see high single-digit to double-digit growth in India as smartphones aiding everything from shopping to banking to social media and, yes, perfect selfies! Counterpoint Research Associate Director Tarun Pathak expects India's smartphone market to grow by 9 per cent this year, and in double digits (by 12-14 per cent) in 2020. By 2022, over 700 million people are expected to have a smartphone in India, and over a billion devices will be sold over the next four-f...

Likening the National Population Register (NPR) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) with demonetisation, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday said these exercises are "tax" on the poor, who will suffer the same way they did after the note ban in November 2016. He was talking to reporters at the airport here after attending the inaugural function of the National Tribal Dance Festival. "Whether NPR or NRC, it is a tax on poor people of the country. You understand demonestisation. It was a tax on poor people. Go to banks and give your money but do not withdraw money from your account. Entire money went to the pocket of 15-20 rich people. This (NPR or NRC) is the same thing," he said. He was responding to a query on the Centre's claim that the NPR has no link with NRC. "Poor people will have to go to officers and show their documents and give bribe. They will have to give bribe if there is a slight mistake in their names. Crores of rup...

What do you do when you have enormous shoes to fill? For one, you steer clear of blunders. Not Rishabh Pant . Widely seen as a natural successor to MS Dhoni in the India cricket team, Pant in 2019 got a great opportunity to prove his mettle and seal his place in the squad. But, given his many misses, he has yet to give the team management enough confidence. As Dhoni made himself unavailable for selection after the ICC Cricket World Cup earlier in the year, all eyes were on the Delhi southpaw who is known for his power-hitting abilities and a decent fare behind the stumps. However, as a batsman he squandered many a good start, and as a wicket-keeper he did little to stand out. Doubtless, the youngster would have been under immense pressure of expectations. There are no two thoughts about his abilities as a young player and the backing of seniors and former players. Even the recently-appointed president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Sourav Ganguly heaped p...

India ranks 47th in the world in terms of appreciation in housing prices as rates grew by only 0.6 per cent during July-September quarter over the year-ago period on slow demand, global property consultant Knight Frank said. India stood at 11th position in the April-June quarter of 2019 with a 7.7 per cent year-on-year rise in home prices. Knight Frank released its latest report -- Global House Price Index Q3 2019 -- that tracks the movement in mainstream residential prices across 56 countries and territories worldwide using official statistics. The report ranked India at the 47th spot among the 56 countries/territories tracked, in terms of appreciation in residential real estate prices, with a marginal 0.6 per cent year-on-year (YoY) rise in home prices. "Slow sales, high inventory and lack of liquidity with developers have restricted rise in home prices," the report said. Read More

India under-19 team produced an impressive all-round performance to begin its tour of South Africa with a comfortable nine-wicket win in the first Youth ODI at the Buffalo Park in East London. Batting first, South Africa Under-19 team folded for 187 in 48.3 overs. In reply, India dished out a solid batting display to overhaul the target, scoring 190 for 1 in 42.3 overs on Thursday to take 1-0 lead in the series. South Africa's decision to bat fist backfired as their batsmen failed to convert the starts into big scores with Luke Beaufort top-scoring with a 91-ball 64. For India U-19 team, Ravi Bishnoi scalped three wickets, while Kartik Tyagi, Shubhang Hegde and Atharva Ankolekar picked up two wickets each. Chasing the target, openers Divyaansh Saxena (86 not out) and N Tilak Varma (59) shared a 127-run stand to take the game away from South Africa. Read More

The Kerala government has in principle decided to give Rs 1.3 crore as compensation to former ISRO scientist Nambi Narayanan, who was falsely implicated in the 1994 espionage case. The amount is for settling the case filed by 77-year-old Naryananan against the government in a sub-court here, seeking enhanced damages for his illegal arrest and harassment. The compensation is in addition to the Rs 50 lakh provided by the government to the former scientist on a Supreme court order and the Rs 10 lakh recommended by the National Human Rights Commission. The cabinet meeting, which took the decision here on Thursday, also decided that the settlement agreement would be submitted before the court after consulting legal experts and further action would be taken as per the court's directions, a government press release said. Read More

Portable Bluetooth speakers have added more colour to our outings — be it a trek, camping or just a family picnic, now you can carry your music anywhere without much effort. These compact and sturdy portable speakers have made life a lot easier for audiophiles. From Sony to Ultimate Ears and LG ThinQ , companies captured the mood of the youth in 2019 and brought just what they needed. These speakers not only light up house parties or small gatherings, but they also have virtual assistants to set up an alarm for you, take notes, remind you of birthdays, and play music according to your mood. These speakers can be interconnected without any wire for a loud sound in unison. This year, we had many new products launched in this segment and we picked the top 5 that impressed us the most: Of the many launches this year, Business Standard lists top 5 portable Bluetooth speakers that stood out in 2019: Ultimate Ears Boom 3 Ultimate Ears Boom 3 is a premium Bluetooth speaker wi...

A stock swap offer to help shareholders of billionaire Mukesh Ambani ’s unlisted retail business monetize their investment has valued the unit at $34 billion. Share owners in Reliance Retail Ltd . can exchange four shares for one of its listed parent Reliance Industries Ltd., according to a so-called scheme of arrangement posted on the group’s website. With the parent’s latest market capitalization at 9.8 trillion rupees ($137 billion), the share swap values the subsidiary at 2.4 trillion rupees, according to Bloomberg’s calculation. Asia’s richest man is scouting for investors for the profitable retail unit. The share swap, which will help Reliance Retail employees monetize their illiquid stock options, values the company at more than Tesco Plc, the U.K.’s biggest supermarket chain. Ambani has promised to slash the group’s net debt zero to zero by March 2021 after an investment spree of $76 billion in the past five years, bulk of it on its massively disruptive telecom carrie...

While the monsoon season is always welcomed for bringing respite from the summer heat and replenishing parched reservoirs, this year it wrecked havoc in parts of western Maharashtra where over 80 people lost their lives and lakhs got displaced after unprecedented rains. Heavy showers pounded several districts in western Maharashtra, including Sangli, Kolhapur, Pune and Satara, causing flooding and damaging crops in August and September. Over 55 tehsils were badly hit in Kolhapur and Sangli. As several villages got marooned, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and Army had to be pressed into action to rescue people stranded there. Nearly 62 people were killed in floods and rain- related incidents in Pune division, which comprises Pune, Solapur, Satara, Sangli and Kolhapur districts, according to official figures. Of these, 17 people lost their lives after a boat capsized near Brahmnal village in Sangli on August 8. "Seven to eight lakh people were shifted...

JD(U) national vice president Prashant Kishor on Thursday scoffed at the Centre's refrain that there have been no deliberations so far on a country-wide National Register for Citizens, calling it a "tactical retreat". The poll-strategist-turned politician, whose party is an alliance partner of the BJP, asserted that the change in stance was prompted by country-wide agitations against the new citizenship law and the proposed NRC. "The claim of abhi to NRC ki koi charcha hi nahin hui hai is nothing but a tactical retreat in the face of nationwide protest against #CAA_NRC. It is a pause and not the full stop. Govt could wait till SC judgement on CAA. A favourable court order and the whole process will be back," Kishor tweeted. Speculation that CAA will be followed by NRC had intensified in the wake of Union Home Minister Amit Shahs remark during a debate on the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill in Parliament that "NRC aane wala hai" (NRC is on the...

Former England captain Michael Vaughan has slammed the International Cricket Council's ranking system, terming it as "absolute garbage". India are currently ranked number one in ICC Test team rankings , followed by New Zealand, South Africa, England and Australia. The cricketer-turned-commentator feels New Zealand and England don't deserve to get the second and fourth spot in the ICC Test rankings as they haven't won enough Test series in the last two years. "I will be dead honest about the ICC rankings. I think they are absolute garbage," Vaughan was quoted as saying by the 'Sydney Morning Herald'. "I have no idea how - New Zealand have won plenty of series over the course of the last two years - but for them to be second, and where it stands out for me that the rankings can't be right is that England in Test match cricket are third, and England for three or four years have struggled in Test match cricket, particularly ov...

5G is expected to bring some key improvements to the current generation of mobile networks with regard to data transfer speed, latency and throughput. Besides, the next-generation mobile network is also expected to enable the full potential of the Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystem, bringing to reality the concept of connected homes, office spaces, vehicles, and more. Considering the benefits of 5G , at least in terms of what it promises on paper, and given India's growing demand for data services, it is safe to assume that the technology would help put the country's dream of a digital economy on the fast track. However, despite several developments on the 5G front, the next-generation network does not appear to be anywhere close to getting rolled out in the country. What is 5G ? 5G is a mobile network touted to offer faster data transfer speeds than the current generation (4G) at a lower latency rate and higher throughput to handle more active connections simulta...

Top Foldable Smartphones 2019 : Foldable devices, which were seen only as a concept until last year, became a reality in 2019. Though the first breed of foldable devices boasts bendable screen, the technology industry did not shy away experimenting other formats, too, including the dual-screen design. From a new category of smartphones doubling up as tablets, to just smartphones with the same qualities, phone makers explored different avenues to market their first foldable devices. Business Standard takes a look at what the 2019 had in store insofar as foldable devices are concerned: Samsung Galaxy Fold Samsung Galaxy FoldThe world’s first foldable device, the Galaxy Fold, is the only bendable smartphone that is currently available for purchase in India. Pitched as a new category of smartphones with foldable screens, the phone has two displays — a 7.3-inch dynamic AMOLED foldable display that bends inwards, and a conventional 4.6-inch secondary super AMOLED display on the ba...

Around 1.24 million jobs were created in October as compared with 1.23 million in the previous month, according to payroll data of Employees' State Insurance Corporation (ESIC). Gross enrolments of new subscribers with ESIC were 1.49 crore during the entire financial year 2018-19, the National Statistical Office (NSO) said in a report. It also showed that during the September 2017-October 2019 period, around 3.22 crore new subscribers joined the ESIC scheme. The NSO report is based on the payroll data of new subscribers of various social security schemes run by ESIC, retirement fund body EPFO and the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA). It has been releasing the payroll data or new subscribers data of these three bodies since April 2018, covering a period starting from September 2017. The report showed that gross new enrolments with ESIC during the September 2017-March 2018 period were 8.3 million. Read More

Net users in tier-II cities are most vulnerable to cyber security threats, with Patna being the most susceptible. A staggering 47 per cent of netizens surveyed from that city said they had been attacked. Patna was followed by Guwahati and Lucknow, according to a latest report by IT security solutions provider K7 Computing. The study says that almost three out of every ten Indian cyber users encountered one or more cyberattacks, while metro cities have experienced a similar number when compared to the previous quarter. Among the metros and tier-I cities, Delhi has seen the highest increase in terms of infection rate, with a growth of six per cent on a quarter-on-quarter basis, says the K7 Computing's Cyber Threat Monitor report for the second quarter of 2019-20. The company uses infection rate, described as the regional percentage of threat events reported to its K7 Ecosystem Threat Intelligence (K7ETI) infrastructure, as a barometer to measure the exposure of netizens group...

DRDO recruitment 2020: The Defence Research and Development Organisation's (DRDO) official website-- drdo.gov.in --has published a job notification for 1,817 vacancies. Candidates can apply online for the posts of Multi-Tasking Staff (MTS) and General Central Service Group ‘C’ Non-Gazetted Ministerial posts. Authorities will soon notify the expected date for DRDO CEPTAM MTS Tier 1 examination. The last date to submit online applications for DRDO MTS recruitment 2020 is January 23, 2020. DRDO is conducting this recruitment process to fill up a total of 1,817 MTS vacancies. Out of the total vacancies, DRDO will fill 163 vacancies for SC, 114 for ST and 188 for EWS, and 849 vacancies reserved for General category. Important dates to remember Last date to submit DRDO online application: January 23, 2020 Opening date for DRDO online application: December 23, 2019. Read More

The Central Board of Secondary Education has released the CBSE CTET 2019 answer key on its official website. The answer key is for the CBSE CTET exam 2019, which was held on December 8, 2019. Candidates who appeared in the exam can visit ctet.nic.in to download the answer key. To access the CBSE CTET exam 2019 answer key, candidates will be required to login into the website using their login id and password. “ The scanned images of the OMR sheets of candidates appeared in CTET December 2019 has been uploaded on the website for viewing of candidates up to December 25, 2019,” reads the official notice. CBSE CTET is conducted twice a year for candidates who want to obtain a minimum teacher eligibility certificate from the central exam board. Around 3 million candidates appear for the exam every year. Read More