india

Apple eyes India stores, but laws may hold it back

Apple's retail stores are expanding their footprint globally. But now, their move into India could be held back.

Earlier today, the Economic Times reported that Apple is currently considering opening stores in India. However, The Wall Street Journal reported today, citing sources, that the company is subject to a law that requires all foreign retailers to source 30 percent of their product sales from local companies. In other words, 30 percent of the products sold in the stores must have come from an Indian partner.

For Apple, that's a problem. The company currently relies on companies like Foxconn … Read more

Amazon launches India Kindle Store

Chalk up India as the next destination for the Kindle, as Amazon has launched the new India Kindle Store and partnered with Indian electronics retailer Croma to sell the Kindle in Croma retail outlets across the country for 6,999 INR or about $126.

That Kindle model is the entry-level, non-touch-screen Kindle, which sells for $79 in the U.S. in a "Special Offers" ad-supported version. The Kindle sold in India will not be ad-supported.

Amazon says the India Kindle Store offers over one million books -- now available for India customers priced in Indian Rupees (INR) -- … Read more

Indian government warns Twitter over not censoring tweets

India's government is instigating a full-fledged crackdown on social networks and various Web sites. After working with Facebook and Google to censor content, it's now clamping down on Twitter.

If Twitter doesn't go along with the government's demands of censorship, it may face legal action, according to The Times of India.

Here's what the Times of India wrote in an article today:

...a senior government official has said that Twitter has already been told that legal action may be taken against it as it had failed to cooperate with the Indian government in its efforts … Read more

India blocks Web sites, restricts bulk SMS

The Indian government has asked ISPs to restrict access to a number of Web sites, and has prevented bulk SMS messaging for two weeks.

Over 150 Web sites were blocked over the weekend according to official sources, PC World reports, after a large number of people received messages over SMS or online that threatened reprisals for recent violence in Assam between Muslims and indigenous communities.

In addition to the restrictions placed on text messaging services and Web sites, some people have also been charged for sending threatening messages.

According to the publication, India's Ministry of IT and Communications has … Read more

Oracle pays $2 million SEC fine to settle India corruption case

The Securities and Exchange Commission charged Oracle under the Foreign Corrupt Practices act for failing to keep its India subsidiary from creating a slush fund used to pay phony vendors.

According to an SEC statement, Oracle settled the charges by paying a $2 million fine. For Oracle, the SEC flap is the latest court setback. For example, Hewlett-Packard recently won lawsuit over Oracle's decision to not support Itanium. The Itanium suit is a problem for Oracle, which will likely appeal the setback since HP could garner significant damages. The Java loss vs. Google was also notable … Read more

Asian phone buyers looking to buy more local, instead of Nokia

Local handset makers are giving Nokia a run for its money in Asian markets such as Indonesia and India, where the Finnish company has traditionally been strong in.

In a research note released yesterday, ABI Research stated that the Asian handset market will see 624 million devices sold by the end of the year, thus representing a 6.9 percent year-on-year growth. In India and Indonesia, growth in 2012 is predicted at 11.2 percent and 16 percent year-over-year growth, respectively.

As the market expands though, Nokia's hold on these markets show signs of weakening. The research showed that … Read more

Indian court overturns Vimeo, Pirate Bay blockade

An Indian court has decided to clarify a previous order that saw entire Web sites taken down for fear of a single movie being pirated.

India's Medianama is reporting today that the Madras High Court recently limited a badly drafted April ruling on the subject. The court said in its updated ruling, according to Medianama, which obtained a copy of it, that "the interim injunction is granted only in respect of a particular URL where the infringing movie is kept and not in respect of the entire website. Further, the applicant is directed to inform about the particulars … Read more

U.S. to lose lead for most Facebook users to India?

The U.S. has long been Facebook's top market, but according to analysts, that could soon change.

Speaking to CNBC in an interview published yesterday, Gartner principal research analyst Shalini Verma said that India's strong growth and expected increase in Web users over the coming years, will help the country overtake the U.S. in total Facebook users.

"India could overtake the United States in the next three years," Verma said during the interview with CNBC. "Last year, Facebook users in India doubled. Growth will be driven by mobile internet users in second- and third-tier … Read more

How outsourcing is boosting prospects for Indian women

A couple of decades ago, women graduating from one of the thousands of colleges in India had limited options. If they went with the more popular career choices of the time, they could teach in a school, work at a bank or for the government. These days, they have another professional avenue - the IT services industry.

According to official data, India's IT and BPO services industry employs some three million workers. Today about a quarter or more of these are women, says India's industry trade body Nasscom. That is up from a fifth of the workforce in … Read more

New iPad lands in India and eight other countries today

The new iPad arrives today in nine more countries, including Colombia, Estonia, India, Israel, Latvia, Lithuania, Montenegro, South Africa, and Thailand.

This marks the fourth phase of Apple's staggered rollout.

The new iPad debuted in the U.S., and nine other nations on March 16. The tablet travelled to an additional 25 countries, mostly throughout Europe, on March 23. And last Friday saw 12 more nations on the receiving end of the latest iPad.

The iPad is now available in 56 different countries, or 58 markets altogether if Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands are included in … Read more