PM Modi to launch 'social security' smart cards

Union Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya has said that Prime MinisterNarendra Modi would soon launch smart card scheme for over 40 crore workers employed in the unorganised sector in the country.

The smart card called Unorganised Workers’ Identification Number (UWIN) card will give them access to various social security benefits like insurance and pension.

Speaking at the launch of Global Network Operations Centre of the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation here yesterday, Dattatreya said that the Prime minister would launch the scheme within a month.

He added that the entire task of issuing smart cards to all workers in unorganised sector would take at least two years time.

The government will be aiming to issue 10 crore such cards in the first pha

RBI to inject more cash into banks in March

The cash injections could come in addition to the current term repo system that provides cash to banks as short-term loans under the RBI's Liquidity Adjustment Facility (LAF).

The RBI also said it would allow standalone primary dealers to borrow via term repos, but only for the second half of March. Right now only financial firms with mandatory reserve requirements such as banks are allowed to participate.

"The Reserve Bank of India will inject adequate additional liquidity using a combination of appropriate instruments, while continuing with its normal Liquidity Adjustment Facility (LAF) operations," it said in a statement.The announcement comes two days after RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan met bankers to solicit their views on liquidity after cash conditions tightened significantly since December due to slow government spending.

Liquidity tends to worsen in March because banks conserve cash at the end of the fiscal year and because of tax outflows.

IS threat forces ONGC out of Syria

The grip of the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) over regions in West Asia has cost state-owned Oil and Natural Corp. (ONGC) two oil fields—one under production and the other under development—as the state explorer has withdrawn personnel from the region.

“I cannot risk the lives of my colleagues,” said ONGC chairman Dinesh K. Sarraf, who on Thursday announced a 64% decline in profit to Rs.1,286 crore for the company in the December quarter, on account of making a provision for impairment of oil field assets.

India is also wary of rising tension in the region, especially between Sunni Saudi Arabia and Shia-majority Iran—one of the main supporters of the Assad regime in Syria—following the execution of a Shia cleric by Saudi Arabia earlier in January. The Saudi embassy in Iran was ransacked in retaliation, which led to Saudi Arabia cutting diplomatic links with Iran. Bahrain and Sudan also followed suit, while the UAE downgraded ties with Iran. Recent statements from Saudi Arabia about sending troops to Syria have drawn sharp reactions from Iran and the Assad government.

FB Messenger rolls out multiple account support

Facebook says it’s testing a way for users to receive, read and respond to their SMS-based conversations in its Messenger application for mobile devices. The feature, which would be optional if broadly rolled out, could help to shift users away from their default texting application and see them increasing their time spent Facebook Messenger instead.At the same time, Facebook pulled the option to actually send out SMS messages, saying that the feature had seen “low traction.” In reality, the company likely wanted to force Messenger adoption – something it did very well, also by pulling the functionality from the default Facebook app in 2014.

Tata Motors Q3 net profit falls 2% to ₹3,507 cr

Tata Motors today reported 2 per cent decline in consolidated net profit to Rs 3,507.54 crore in the third quarter ended December 31, 2015-16, due to weaker sales mix and higher depreciation costs.

Net sales in the third quarter of current fiscal were up 3.71 per cent at Rs 71,686.12 crore, as against Rs 69,121.61 crore in the year-ago period, it added.

The company said its profit was lower due to weaker sales mix (both model and market), higher depreciation and amortisation expenses, non recurrence of an annual China tax rebate (received in the third quarter of 2014-15, but in current year it was received only in the first quarter of 2015-16) and other items in the Jaguar Land Rover business.

Now, FREE Wi-Fi at 144 KSRTC Bus Stations!

Bus travelers in Karnataka will be extremely happy to hear this – The Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) will soon offer Free Wi-Fi facility in 144 major bus stations. Some of the Bus Stations to have this facility include Bengaluru, Hassan, Mandya, Mysuru, Madikeri, Dharmasthala, Mangaluru, Kundapur, Davangere, Tumakuru, Kolar among others.

If you are at a KSRTC Bus stations, especially in Bengaluru, here is how you can get access to Free Wi-Fi:

• First, Wi-Fi needs to be enabled on the mobile device or  laptop
• Select ‘ION Wi-Fi’ from available networks.
• For Android phones, Download ‘FREE ION Wi-Fi’ app from ION Network or Google Play. (not yet available)
• On iPhones, login page will appear through the browser or the application can be downloaded from iStore.
• Enter 10-digit mobile number and receive password by SMS.
• Press submit, you are now connected to the Internet.

NATO to monitor human trafficking in Aegean Sea

NATO will deploy ships to the Aegean Sea in an attempt to stop smugglers moving migrants from Turkey to Greece, the military alliance’s secretary general said on Thursday.NATO will also enhance its surveillance of the Turkey-Syria border to monitor more closely the movement of migrants and the activities of smugglers, the secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, said. “This is not about stopping or pushing back refugee boats,” he said.