Check out the motoring news from the world this week

It is now time for all the news from the motoring world this week.

It is now time for all the news from the motoring world this week.

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Tata's Research and Design Centers in the UK

Tata Motors hasn't made any noise in a long time now and it has been a while since any significantly new product has rolled out from their stables. If you've been wondering what they've been up to, Tata Motors is in fact on its way for a complete overhaul of its passenger cars and manufacturing processes - and they're calling it the HorizonNext.

Tata Motors hasn't made any noise in a long time now and it has been a while since any significantly new product has rolled out from their stables. If you've been wondering what they've been up to, Tata Motors is in fact on its way for a complete overhaul of its passenger cars and manufacturing processes - and they're calling it the HorizonNext.

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CenturyPly's new ad campaign features Nana Patekar

We've got Century Ply's new campaign on NoticeBoard this week. Conceptualized by DDB Mudra Group, the campaign repositions the laminates and veneers brand, and aims to build brand affinity to its end consumers.

We've got Century Ply's new campaign on NoticeBoard this week. Conceptualized by DDB Mudra Group, the campaign repositions the laminates and veneers brand, and aims to build brand affinity to its end consumers. The brand has roped in actor Nana Patekar, and for the first six weeks, the plan is to advertise on general entertainment channels, regional and news channels.

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Hindustan Motors terminates 240 managerial staff

The plant manufactured the iconic Ambassador cars, whose demand in the market place dwindled owing to the onset of stiff competition from Japanese and Korean players.

India's oldest car maker Hindustan Motors , which declared suspension of work at its Uttarpara plant on May 24, has terminated the services of around 240 managerial staff.

The company, however, retained some staff in disciplines such as finance and HR.

Company sources told PTI that the termination notices on the staff were served yesterday.

The company had given employment to around 2,300 workers. When contacted a company spokesperson said: "Managerial restructuring has been an on-going process over the last 2-3 years and continues in an effort to optimise work flow whilst retaining staff that remains critical to the continuity of operations."

The plant manufactured the iconic Ambassador cars, whose demand in the market place dwindled owing to the onset of stiff competition from Japanese and Korean players. Commenting on the termination of the managerial staff, HR professionals were of the opinion that this action on the part of the existing top management would create a psychological impact in the minds of the workers.

"The workers will now have a feeling that since the managerial staff were retrenched, so there are little hopes of reopening," a senior HR professional said. He further said that "as the workers were not getting their wages, so it will now be easier on the part of the management to come up with a separation scheme, and in all probability, workers will be mentally induced to accept that."

In that case, the liability of the company would get reduced to a large extent with no decrease in assets. "It will probably be in a better situation to rope in a new investor for revival of the plant," he said. Meanwhile, the West Bengal labour department has called a tripartite on June 12.

Hind Motors stock price

On June 03, 2014, Hindustan Motors closed at Rs 9.68, down Rs 0.37, or 3.68 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 13.30 and the 52-week low was Rs 6.04.

The latest book value of the company is Rs -1.71 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company was -5.66.

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Centre committed to AP, Telangana growth: Commerce Minister

Talking to reporters, Union Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said emphasis would be on promoting food processing industries in the new State, which came into existence on June 2.

Stating that the Centre was committed to the development of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana,
Union Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman today said thrust would be on industrial development in the two states. "With the formation of Telangana state, scope for creating employment opportunities for the local youth has increased. We need to provide necessary training for skill development," she said.

Also Read: India Inc meets FM to discuss issues before Budget

Sitharaman was accorded a warm reception and felicitated by BJP cadres on her maiden visit to the city after taking charge as Union Minister last month. Talking to reporters at the party office later, she said emphasis would be on promoting food processing industries in the new State, which came into existence on June 2. "Our policies will be guided by our election manifesto," she said adding, the Centre would take steps to bring back black money stashed in foreign countries.

Expressing concern over the growing atrocities on women, Sitharaman said the Government would take effective steps to curb them.

BJP MP Bandaru Dattatreya, MLAs and other party leaders were present at the felicitation function. Sitharaman will attend the swearing-in ceremony of N Chandrababu Naidu as Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister at Nagarjuna Nagar, Guntur district, tomorrow.

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Goa mining stakeholders want early resumption of operations

The drafting of a new mining policy, which is mandatory to resume iron ore extraction and exports from Goa, should be expedited so that the key industry gets back on its feet, according to stake-holders.

Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar had earlier said the policy would be drafted by June-end but the stakeholders feel the government should fast-track the process so that the mining industry, which has been reeling under a Supreme Court ban for last two years, can resume operations.

Also Read: CoalMin mulls transfer petitions in mine deallocation cases

The ban, which has been now lifted, and halt in mining operations had resulted in loss of jobs and revenue to both companies and the state exchequer, they said. "Everybody dependent on the mining industry hopes the activity resumes immediately. It's up to the state government to make it happen. I don't understand why the Chief Minister is delaying the process (of policy formulation)," Suhas Naik, Convenor, Goa Mining People's Front, told PTI.

The front is a body representing people affected by suspension of mining activity in Goa. The mining industry has been facing allegations of rampant illegalities, leading to the ban in 2012.

The ban was lifted in April by the apex court, which gave powers to the state government to regulate the industry. The SC order had also declared the exports since last five years as illegal and cancelled mining leases which were not renewed after 2007, rendering them as state property.

Post the ruling, Parrikar had said his Government will come out with a new policy for the sector. "Parrikar used to say let (Narendra) Modi come to power at the Centre, I will resume the mining immediately. Now Modi is in the Centre. What stops Parrikar from fulfilling his promise?" Naik said.

He pointed out that mining in Karnataka, Chhattisgarh and Odisha has restarted, while Goa is still lagging behind. Goa Mineral Ore Exporters Association (GMOEA), too, has called for immediate resumption of mining activity. "Our expectation is that the mining should restart as early as possible," GMOEA Chief Executive Officer S Sridhar said. The mine owners are reluctant to come on record, but said they are ready to cooperate with the government on the
issue.

Parrikar has said he is waiting to visit New Delhi and meet the Union Minister concerned as part of mining policy formulation process.

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Vodafone reveals scale of govt snooping in India

Government snooping into phone networks is extensive worldwide, one of the world's largest cellphone companies revealed on Friday, saying that several countries demand direct access to its networks without warrant or prior notice.

The detailed report from Vodafone, which covers the 29 countries in which it operates in Europe, Africa and Asia, provides the most comprehensive look to date at how governments monitor mobile phone communications. It amounts to a call for a debate on the issue as businesses increasingly worry about being seen as worthy of trust.

The most explosive revelation was that in six countries, authorities require immediate access to an operator's network - bypassing legal niceties like warrants. It did not name the countries for legal reasons and to safeguard employees working there.

"In those countries, Vodafone will not receive any form of demand for lawful interception access as the relevant agencies and authorities already have permanent access to customer communications via their own direct link," the report said.

Vodafone's report comes one year after former NSA systems analyst Edward Snowden revealed that U.S. and other countries' intelligence agencies routinely gathered huge amounts of private data belonging to millions of innocent people in America and across the globe.

The revelations have focused particular attention on the role of Western technology and telecommunications firms, which stand accused of facilitating the mass surveillance by giving spies unrestricted access to their networks. Several Silicon Valley companies have since attempted to restore consumers' trust by publishing data on government surveillance.

But telecoms companies found themselves in an even more uncomfortable position. Historically closer to governments since many were once state-owned, telecoms companies are much more heavily regulated and have employees on the ground - making them more sensitive to government demands for data.

By making its report public, together with a breakdown on requests for information, Vodafone took the unusual step of entering the international debate about balancing the rights of privacy against security. Rather than being stuck with responsibility and consumer backlash when consumers realize their data has been scooped up without their knowledge, companies like Vodafone have decided it is time to push for a debate.

"Companies are recognizing they have a responsibility to disclose government access," Daniel Castro, senior analyst for the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation in Washington, D.C. "This is new."

The study comes at a time when other businesses are also calling for a revamp of laws too outdated to stand up to the quickly changing telecommunications universe.

Executives in Silicon Valley, for example, have stepped up pressure on President Barack Obama to curb the U.S. government surveillance programs that collect information off the Internet.

Twitter Inc., LinkedIn Corp., AOL Inc., Google Inc., Apple Inc., Yahoo Inc., Facebook Inc. and Microsoft Corp. are pushing for tighter controls over electronic espionage - fearing that eavesdropping threatens the technology industry's financial livelihood.

"They want their customers to be able to trust them to store their data in a private and secure manner," Castro said.

Vodafone's report is also seen by some as an effort to turn the page on the company's embarrassing role in the protests that toppled Egyptian strongman Hosni Mubarak in 2011. As the protests raged, Vodafone bombarded its Egyptian subscribers with pro-government text messages. At the time, the company said it had no choice but to comply, but was severely criticized for its actions. A change in culture followed.

"They took a hard lesson there," said Cynthia Wong, a senior internet researcher at Human Rights Watch. "Even if the government is the ultimate problem, they realized they needed to take steps to mitigate harm to their users."

Civil rights advocates applauded Vodafone for releasing the report, and cracking open the debate, even as they expressed alarm at the infringements into civil rights.

"For governments to access phone calls at the flick of a switch is unprecedented and terrifying," said Shami Chakrabarti, director of the human rights group Liberty, adding that the Snowden revelations showed the Internet was already being treated as "fair game."

"Bluster that all is well is wearing pretty thin - our analogue laws need a digital overhaul," she said.

Though some of the governments included in the report were able to block disclosure of any aspect of how interception was conducted, the report is unique in that it offers insight into how governments conduct surveillance.

Though some of the U.S. operators, such as AT&T and Verizon offered information amid the Snowden allegations, the level of detail is minuscule compared with Friday's report, Wong said.

Civil rights advocates weren't the only ones applauding Vodafone's actions. Norway's Telenor Group, which also has operations across Eastern Europe and Asia, offered support, noting governments have the ultimate responsibility to act.

The countries included in the report are: Albania, Australia, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Congo, Egypt, Fiji, France, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Kenya, Lesotho, Malta, Mozambique, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, South Africa, Spain, Tanzania, Turkey and the U.K.

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Checkout new AMG version of Mercedes: CLA45 AMG

We bring to you the all-new C-Class from Mercedes. The Mercedes' have a entry-level sedan, the sparkling new CLA sedan. We went to UK to Affalterbach in Germany to drive the AMG version of the baby Merc - CLA45AMG.

We bring to you the all-new C-Class from Mercedes. The Mercedes' have a entry-level sedan, the sparkling new CLA sedan. We went to UK to Affalterbach in Germany to drive the AMG version of the baby Merc - CLA45AMG.

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Check the happenings in the automotive world this week

It's now time for our Autoselector Segment where we answer all your motoring queries and doubts. Bert joins us as always.

It's now time for our Autoselector Segment where we answer all your motoring queries and doubts. Bert joins us as always.

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TOP TEN HOTTEST PLACES IN INDIA

According to the latest weather update by Skymet Meteorology Division in India, summer heat conditions have further strengthened its grip in Rajasthan. Heat wave conditions prevailed at many places in Punjab, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Vidarbha and at a few places in Haryana and Delhi. The hottest place in the country was Churu followed by Ganganagar and Satna.

The Palam Observatory in Delhi that recorded 47.2°C as maximum has also entered the list of top ten hottest places in India since Thursday.

Places State Maximum temperature on Friday Forecast trend for next 24 hours Churu Rajasthan 48.6°C Drop Sri Ganganagar Rajasthan 48°C Drop Satna Madhya Pradesh 48°C Same Damoh Madhya Pradesh 47.7°C Same Bikaner Rajasthan 47.6°C Same Nowgong Madhya Pradesh 47.6°C Drop Banda Uttar Pradesh 47.6°C Drop Brahmapuri Maharashtra 47.5°C Same Barmer Rajasthan 47.4°C Drop Palam Delhi 47.2°C Same Wardha Maharashtra 47.2°C Same  

By: Skymetweather.com

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