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BUSINESS
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), on
Wednesday, released the tariff structure and guidelines for mobile banking
services, a step that would help rural customers who do not have access to
banks and financial services. The TRAI has prescribed a ceiling tariff for an
outgoing unstructured supplementary service data (USSD)-based mobile banking
service at Rs.1.50 per USSD session.
“We have come out with a framework to help bank
agents to interface with service providers for the use of SMS, USSD and IVR
(interactive voice response) channels to provide mobile banking services. The
authority wants to utilise the benefits of mobile banking for financial
inclusion. A large section of the population, especially in rural areas, do not
have an easy access to banks…This facility will help to tide over that
shortcoming,” TRAI Chairman Rahul Khullar told journalists here on Wednesday.
The Mobile Banking (Quality of Service) (Amendment)
Regulations, 2013 have come into immediate effect, and the Telecommunication
Tariff (56th Amendment) Order, 2013 shall come into force on January 1, 2014,
TRAI said in a note. USSD technology is used by telecom operators to send
alerts to their users. It can be used for pre-paid call-back service,
location-based content services, and menu-based information services.
The TRAI note said telecom service providers should
collect charges from their subscribers for providing the USSD to deliver mobile
banking services. All service providers should facilitate not only the banks,
but also the agents of banks to use SMS, USSD and IVR to provide banking
services to bank customers.
“On September 30, 2013, there were about 87 crore
mobile subscribers in the country of which about 35 crore were in the rural
areas. The fact that a large number of mobile subscribers in rural areas do not
have access to banking facilities presents an opportunity for leveraging the
mobile telephone to achieve the goal of financial inclusion,” the note added.
Chinese handset vendor ZTE is all set to launch its
4G handsets by mid-next year, in association with three operators who are due
to launch 4G next year.
Speaking to dna, Amit Saxena, marketing director, terminals business, ZTE India, said. " ZTE has 90% market share in 4G (including handsets, data cards, modems)....however, we are expecting at least four-five operators to get into the 4G business between May 2014 and 2015, and we are in talks with at least three of them for 4G equipment and handsets, as going forward, 4G will be launched with voice and data in India.”
Saxena added that 4G handsets were taking time to come to India because of the high price factor. For ZTE, which is the fifth largest handset player globally, India contributes a mere 5% to its overall revenues – pegged at $400 million at the end of October 2013.
This is because, despite being in the country for 13 years ZTE is better known for its back-end products like routers, switches and IP phones, and in handsets it only holds the leadership position in CDMA phones. In fact, in the last seven years, ZTE has only sold 36 million devices
In a bid to change this, ZTE launched its first experience zone in Gurgaon on Thursday, which apart from selling ZTE handsets, will also aid in brand recall by displaying videos and allowing users to experience ZTE products, aided by qualified ZTE personnel. In the next two months, the entire bouquet of ZTE products, spanning 36,000 product categories will be available at the experience zone.
ZTE is expecting revenues of $800 million from India in the next fiscal - $500 million is expected to come from equipment business and $300 million from its terminal business that includes handsets and other mobility devices.
Speaking to dna, Amit Saxena, marketing director, terminals business, ZTE India, said. " ZTE has 90% market share in 4G (including handsets, data cards, modems)....however, we are expecting at least four-five operators to get into the 4G business between May 2014 and 2015, and we are in talks with at least three of them for 4G equipment and handsets, as going forward, 4G will be launched with voice and data in India.”
Saxena added that 4G handsets were taking time to come to India because of the high price factor. For ZTE, which is the fifth largest handset player globally, India contributes a mere 5% to its overall revenues – pegged at $400 million at the end of October 2013.
This is because, despite being in the country for 13 years ZTE is better known for its back-end products like routers, switches and IP phones, and in handsets it only holds the leadership position in CDMA phones. In fact, in the last seven years, ZTE has only sold 36 million devices
In a bid to change this, ZTE launched its first experience zone in Gurgaon on Thursday, which apart from selling ZTE handsets, will also aid in brand recall by displaying videos and allowing users to experience ZTE products, aided by qualified ZTE personnel. In the next two months, the entire bouquet of ZTE products, spanning 36,000 product categories will be available at the experience zone.
ZTE is expecting revenues of $800 million from India in the next fiscal - $500 million is expected to come from equipment business and $300 million from its terminal business that includes handsets and other mobility devices.
BUSINESS
COMMUNICATION
Hitachi,
Ltd. (TSE: 6501, "Hitachi") today announced its plans to reorganize
the IP telephony(1)-related products business within the Hitachi Group, with
aim of strengthening the products, centered on private branch exchanges (PBXs).
Specifically, design, development and manufacturing functions for Hitachi IP
telephony-related products will be transferred to Hitachi Information &
Telecommunication Engineering, Ltd. ("Hitachi Information &
Telecommunication Engineering") by the end of March 2014. Furthermore,
sales functions targeting Hitachi partner companies will be transferred (2) to
Hitachi Systems, Ltd. ("Hitachi Systems"). At the same time, Hitachi
Communication Networks, Ltd. ("Hitachi Communication Networks"),
which sells, installs and provides maintenance services for IP
telephony-related products will become a subsidiary of Hitachi Systems, Ltd. to
consolidate sales functions. Hitachi will continue to provide solutions
utilizing IP telephony-related products, particularly for large-scale systems.
Hitachi Information & Telecommunication Engineering performs a core role as an engineering operating company in the platform business of Hitachi's Information & Telecommunication Systems Business. It is mainly engaged in the design and development of servers, storage products, and communications networking devices as well as provides related solutions. Through this business transfer, design and development capabilities will be enhanced by achieving a dynamic development structure through the centralization and sharing of development resources for IP telephony-related products. This should in turn enhance product competitiveness.
Hitachi Information & Telecommunication Engineering performs a core role as an engineering operating company in the platform business of Hitachi's Information & Telecommunication Systems Business. It is mainly engaged in the design and development of servers, storage products, and communications networking devices as well as provides related solutions. Through this business transfer, design and development capabilities will be enhanced by achieving a dynamic development structure through the centralization and sharing of development resources for IP telephony-related products. This should in turn enhance product competitiveness.
FINANCE
Software
services major Tech Mahindra on Friday said it will merge Mahindra Engineering Services
(MES) with itself, a move aimed at tapping global opportunities in aerospace
and automotive verticals.
The Board of Directors of both companies have approved a proposal to merge MES with Tech Mahindra, the IT major said in a statement.
Catering to automotive, aerospace, defence and manufacturing industries, MES boasts of having over 1,300 employees with revenues of Rs. 250.59 crore in FY'13.
The merger, subject to necessary regulatory approvals, will expand MES' global reach and provide access to deeper resource pool.
On the other hand, Tech Mahindra will gain access to some of the key automotive clients across the globe.
The merger process could take about 8-9 months, the statement said.
"MES and Tech Mahindra's Integrated Engineering Services (IES) merger strengthens the existing services portfolio, enhances presence in US and Germany, provides scale and brings in new clients for further expansion," Tech Mahindra Global Head ? Integrated Engineering Services - Karthikeyan Natarajan said.
The exchange ratio approved by both the boards has been fixed at 5 shares of Tech Mahindra (face value of Rs. 10 each), for every 12 shares of MES (face value of Rs. 10 each).
Tech Mahindra will issue 0.426 crore new shares, thereby increasing its outstanding shares to 23.73 crore.
"Our joint go-to-market strategy will help us capture newer markets and enhance our service portfolio especially in aerospace and embedded services segments while bringing value to all our stakeholders," MES CEO Prashant Kamat said.
The Board of Directors of both companies have approved a proposal to merge MES with Tech Mahindra, the IT major said in a statement.
Catering to automotive, aerospace, defence and manufacturing industries, MES boasts of having over 1,300 employees with revenues of Rs. 250.59 crore in FY'13.
The merger, subject to necessary regulatory approvals, will expand MES' global reach and provide access to deeper resource pool.
On the other hand, Tech Mahindra will gain access to some of the key automotive clients across the globe.
The merger process could take about 8-9 months, the statement said.
"MES and Tech Mahindra's Integrated Engineering Services (IES) merger strengthens the existing services portfolio, enhances presence in US and Germany, provides scale and brings in new clients for further expansion," Tech Mahindra Global Head ? Integrated Engineering Services - Karthikeyan Natarajan said.
The exchange ratio approved by both the boards has been fixed at 5 shares of Tech Mahindra (face value of Rs. 10 each), for every 12 shares of MES (face value of Rs. 10 each).
Tech Mahindra will issue 0.426 crore new shares, thereby increasing its outstanding shares to 23.73 crore.
"Our joint go-to-market strategy will help us capture newer markets and enhance our service portfolio especially in aerospace and embedded services segments while bringing value to all our stakeholders," MES CEO Prashant Kamat said.
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Source of
Information for this issue: Google alert accessed on 2nd Dec 2013
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Compilation
Sabita Sahu
Sabita Sahu
Junior Librarian
Concept, Layout and
Editing
Syamaghana Mohanty
Chief Librarian
Chief Librarian
Information and
Documentation Division, Chanakya Central Library
Asian School of
Business Management
Shiksha Vihar Bhola,
Barang Khurda Road,
Chandaka
Bhubaneswar-754012
Tel:0674-2374832, 2374833
E-mail:library@asbm.ac.in, chieflibrarian@asbm.ac.in
Sabita Sahu :Junior Librarian and Syamaghana Mohanty : Chief Librarian, Knowledge and Information Services Unit, Chanakya Central Library, Asian School of Business Management, Bhubaneswar. chieflibrarian@asbm.ac.in ; www.asbm.ac.in
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