Buying online: India The world’s largest online retailer Amazon has finally opened up its shop in the fast expanding Indian e-commerce market. The US-based online retailer quietly announced yesterday the launch of its flagship selling platform for Indian buyers — www.amazon.in, alongside a service for domestic retailers wanting to generate online sales and a delivery service for third-party vendors with no back-end infrastructure. The Amazon India marketplace however begins by selling books, films, TV shows and will soon be adding mobile phones and cameras to its portfolio. While... 

    An insecure seat! Patna: according to reports, raids conducted by the state vigilance investigation bureau and the economic offence unit (EOU) of the state police on Thursday yielded disproportionate properties worth about Rs 20 crore. Among those raided are a motor vehicle inspector (MVI), Girish Kumar, Ramchandra Sharma, an executive engineer in building construction department at Patna and Awdhesh Kumar Mandal, an executive engineer of building construction department. The police seized documents relating to properties worth over Rs 4.50 crore from Sharma’s premises. Director... 

    Married and settled: at Class III Patna: corruption is indeed an arena where the Indians from all parts of the country show their innovative best. You may well imagine officials at all levels neglecting their work, their feet up on the table and staring at the blank walls, waiting for ideas, till the eureka moment arrives. Or else, you may imagine them in a huddle, in a heated debate over the ‘right way’, the ‘foolproof way’ to beat the system. All that remains to be done then is to decide on a close circle of beneficiaries as accomplices so the matter doesn’t come... 

  Call this distribution? Patna: The state government has decided to roll out Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model to trim high transmission and distribution (T&D) losses. It is planning to privatise energy distribution network in more than a dozen towns of the state. “We are very serious about this,” said Sanjeev Paundrik, Principal Secretary of the Energy Department, “and therefore we are taking every possible step in this regard. In next two years, we would have more than adequate power. However, high T&D losses are still a matter of concern.” He said that... 

  The Ponzi financial model! New Delhi: Amid lakhs of investors believed to have been defrauded by Ponzi schemes in West Bengal, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) Chairman U.K. Sinha on Wednesday said the regulator is working hard to ensure that small investors’ savings are not put to risk. “Within the powers given to us, SEBI is working extremely hard to ensure that savings of small investors are not put to risk,” Mr. Sinha said. He, however, said that SEBI has some legal limitations and he would not be able to comment on specific issues concerning specific companies as there... 

    Women police for women! Patna: Each of 823 regular police stations in Bihar and 100-odd government railway police (GRP) stations will soon have an exclusive desk to register complaints related to women. IG (CID-weaker sections) Arvind Pandey has directed all SPs, including those of the GRP, to set up the women’s desk within a fortnight. The direction has been issued to facilitate the implementation of recent changes in the criminal laws at the centre, following the hue and cry over the recent Delhi gang rape case. Pursuant to the amendment, all SPs (superintendents of police) in Bihar... 

  Bangalore: Free wireless internet services are expected to commence in the commercial heart of India’s technology capital starting next month. Mahatma Gandhi Road and Brigade Road, two of the best-known shopping destinations, will have free Wi-Fi access as part of a plan to make Bangalore the first city to have such a service available at public spots. The idea is the brainchild of a government-appointed panel headed by Mohandas Pai, a former director at Infosys. The pilot service will be available for at least six months, after which the Information and Communication Technology (ICT)... 

Road repair: by private firms! Patna: For the better upkeep of the roads, the state government has approved its new road maintenance policy. Under this policy, the upkeep of the road would rest on the contractors for the period of five to nine years. The state government gave its nod to the ambitious policy earlier this week. The principal secretary of the Cabinet Department, Brajesh Mehrotra told the press, “Under this new policy, the state government has changed its entire mechanism of road maintenance. Under this new policy, the state government proposes a performance based maintenance. The... 

  VIP security: king’s cavalcade? New Delhi: soon after Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit said that women did not feel safe in the Capital, the Supreme Court on Thursday asked the Delhi government to explain why large numbers of police personnel were deployed for VIP security instead of being in the service of the common man. The bench was hearing a petition on misuse of red beacon in Uttar Pradesh. Senior advocate Harish Salve, representing the petitioner, said incidents like the recent Delhi bus gang rape could have been averted if more policemen were deployed to carry out random... 

February, 2012: when the foundation was laid! Bharat Heavy Electricals (Bhel) has bagged a contract worth Rs 2,854 crore for supply of the Steam Generator Package for three coal-fired thermal units of 660 MW each with supercritical parameters. The order has been placed on Bhel by Nabinagar Power Generation  Company (NPGCL), a joint venture of NTPC and Bihar State Electricity Board, for the upcoming 1,980 MW Nabinagar Supercritical Thermal Power Project (STPP) in Bihar. Significantly, this is the second supercritical thermal power project being executed by Bhel in Bihar, the first being the 2×660...