Orders
India defends Internet blocking.
India on Friday defended itself against accusations of heavy-handed online censorship, saying it had been successful in blocking content blamed for fuelling ethnic tensions. The government over the past week has ordered Internet service providers to block 309 webpages, images and links on sites including Facebook, Twitter, Wikipedia, news channel ABC of Australia and Qatar-based Al-Jazeera.
The orders were an effort to halt the spread of “hateful” material and rumours that Muslims planned to attack students and workers who have migrated from the north-east region to live in Bangalore and other southern cities. “We have met with success. These pages were a threat to India’s national security and we demanded their immediate deletion,” Kuldeep Singh Dhatwalia, a spokesman for India’s home ministry, told AFP.
“Spreading rumours to encourage violence or cause tension will not be tolerated. The idea is not to restrict communication.” The government has blamed Internet activity for fanning fears that resulted in tens of thousands of migrants fleeing back to the north-east last week from Bangalore and elsewhere.
But Twitter users, legal experts and analysts criticised the government’s approach, which appeared to have resulted in only partial blocking of material, much of which was still accessible. “The officials who are trusted with this don’t know the law or modern technology well enough,” Pranesh Prakash, programme manager at the Centre for Internet and Society research group, told AFP.
“I hope that this fiasco shows the folly of excessive censorship and encourages the government to make better use of social networks and technology to reach out to people.” Among the blocked content were photographs by AFP and other news agencies from Myanmar in the British Daily Telegraph, a parody Twitter account pretending to be from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and dozens of YouTube videos.
IKEA
More Sri Lankan investments in India – IKEA to invest.
The Union minister of Commerce has decided to redefine small and medium enterprises (SME) to make it possible for investment by the Swedish furniture giant IKEA . Union minister Sharma announced this at the India road show here.
IKEA furniture manufacturer has sought some changes in policy to come in with an investment of over Rs 10,500 crore into India. As per current definition, SME is a unit with $1 million investment that can go in for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). IKEA pointed out that once it started sourcing from SME in India, the growth would be fast and SMEs would have to exceed the investment limit.
Sharma said that the moment SME started selling its products to companies abroad its investment would need to go up and under the present law it would cross the limit given and make it not eligible for FDI. Sharma said that the present law was penalizing SME for doing well.
The government to attract FDI had relaxed the foreign direct investment rules last year to allow 100% FDI in single-brand retail . Earlier it was 51% but imposed numerous conditions such as mandatory local sourcing kept off foreign players.
A few investors such as Skechers, Pavers England, Promod and Tommy Hilfiger did express interest but were deterred by stringent norms in upcoming national manufacturing investment zones (NMIZ).
Sharma announced three additional national manufacturing investment zones (NMIZ) will be
coming up in Andhra Pradesh and two in Karnataka. Work on 12 more zones will start by the end of August. Talking about Sri Lankan companies’ investment , Sharma said Sri Lankan companies especially the textile firm Brandex, MAS textiles and Toray are coming to invest heavily in India.
He said Brandex apparels aims for fourfold increase in its exports from Vizag unit in the coming years. Not only Brandex is very upbeat on increasing its investment in India, every Monday about 50 million lingerie pieces are exported by them to Victoria Secret.
New Business
With the Economy Bouncing Back, Start a Buoyant New Business with Happy Jump.
As economic recovery begins making its way to potential small business owners, a bounce house rental is a smart choice.
Now that jobless claims are on the decline, and America’s coffers aren’t completely drained of extra cash, it’s time to start thinking about that small business endeavor again. There are plenty of fields to go into with varying rates of success. Opening the restaurant you’ve always dreamed of may seem tempting, but having learned a lesson or two from the economic downturn, you might be too smart to take on something so risky. But the really smart money, when the entrepreneurial spirit seizes you, is on a bounce house business. Not only can you begin a stable new business for yourself, you can also be a job creator by hiring a delivery and maintenance crew, and bring delight to the kids in your community.
One great thing about bounce house rental: There is no monopoly on your local market. Get your name out there, and the business will come pouring in. Parents are also benefitting from the bright spot in the economy. Over the next couple of years as your business grows, you’ll find that families in your town are ever more eager to shell out a few bucks for a great kids’ party. Even if there’s already a bounce house rental in your area – the market is rarely saturated – owners of businesses that rent out moonwalks from Happy Jump, Inc. report enormous profits even in highly populous cities.
There’s also the added benefit to your community that comes from hiring workers. There are a number of functions that must be performed. Although the workload is relatively light (thankfully, for the small businessperson) as your business expands, cleaning and maintenance, as well as transportation can be performed by a team of professionals hired by your company. You’ll be benefitting your community by reducing local unemployment in addition to netting a profit.
Lastly, the greatest gain to your community is all the fun to be had jumping in your inflatables. Happy Jump, maker and distributor of great inflatables for sale like bounce houses and other products of this nature. These are not only fun, but some of the safest moon bounces and inflatable water slides on the market. The huge variety available at Happy Jump, Inc. means your business will have a diverse selection of fun moon bounces and bounce castles for all the kids in your community to enjoy.