When Rajan, Subramanian Got Flak at IMF for Leaked Paper

Pune: Top financial gurus - Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan and Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian - got a "little flak" when at the International Monetary Fund or IMF, after a research paper by them on aid by rich nations got leaked to the media.

Undeterred by the leak, which created headline "IMF says aid doesn't work", the two worked further on the paper and it went on to become one of the "most cited" researches after finally being published.

Recalling the incident that took place years ago, Mr Rajan said they were to present the paper at a summit attended by all rich countries to discuss the aid given by them to the developing countries.

"Seven days before the Gleneagles Summit, the paper went public because of some 'responsible' journalists and the headline was 'IMF says aid doesn't work'... Now, I was an academic from outside and I had a job. That day 18 finance ministers called the Managing Director of the IMF to complain about the kind of the work IMF was doing," Mr Rajan said.

Maruti Suzuki May Consider Launching Swift Hybrid in India

In an effort to lure buyers towards electric and hybrid vehicles in the country, the government of India recently introduced the FAME India Scheme - 'Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric vehicles in India' - as a part of the National Electric Mobility Mission Plan. Under the new scheme, the Government will offer incentives on electric and hybrid vehicles of upto Rs. 29,000 for two-wheelers and Rs. 1.38 lakh for cars.

During the event, government officials also revealed that carmakers like Tata Motors and Maruti Suzuki will soon launch such products in the Indian market. One such product could be the Maruti Swift Range Extender, which was also showcased at the event. However, the company has clarified that it will develop its hybrid models only after getting further clarity about the schemes and incentives.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi Arrives in Germany to Seek Investment

Hannover :
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today arrived in Hannover on the second leg of his three-nation tour during which he will seek Germany's support for his 'Make in India' campaign.

During his three-day stay in Germany, the Prime Minister will meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel and German business leaders.

He is expected to invite German companies to invest in India and participate in 'Make in India' initiative. Business and technology will be the focus of the trip.

He will first visit the Hannover Fair where India is a partner country this year.

About 400 Indian companies are participating in the fair which will see the presence of about 100-120 Indian CEOs besides about 3000 German delegates.

PM Modi, along with Chancellor Merkel, will inaugurate the 'India Pavilion' of the Fair and address an India-German business summit.

He will also unveil a bust of Mahatma Gandhi in Hannover. The two leaders will have detailed talks in Berlin with focus on how Germany can work with India in its developmental agenda.

The Prime Minister will visit a railway station in Berlin amid his government's agenda of modernising Railways. He will also visit Siemens facility there.

The two leaders will address the Hannover Fair Business Summit, which focuses on the possibilities for promoting trade and industrial cooperation between India and Germany.

They will hold detailed discussions on various aspects of bilateral relations and international issues of "mutual interest" at their official talks in Berlin on Tuesday.

Germany is India's largest trading partner in the EU and one of the top ten global trading partners.

The overall exchange of goods and services between the two countries was valued at around around 15.96 billion euros last year, a drop of 1.14 billion euros from the level of 16.10 billion euros registered in 2013.

While India's exports to Germany rose marginally to 7.03 billion euros in 2014, its German imports dropped to 8.92 billion euros from 9.19 euros in the previous year, according to the Federal Statistical Office.

Germany is the 8th largest foreign investor in India. Its foreign direct investments in India during January-November 2014 was valued at around $ 995.7 million.

More than 1,600 Indo-German collaborations and around 600 Indo-German joint ventures are currently in operation.

The Best Free MP3 Players for Android

One of the biggest factors that drive people towards buying a smartphone is that it doubles up as a handy music player. Feature phones had music players too, but some of the amazing music player apps available on smartphones just blow features phones - and even dedicated portable media players - out of the water.

Android, in particular, is a favourite among those who have a large collection of music stored locally. This is because the Android phones let you drag and drop music from a computer to the phone, without needing any additional software to start playing your favourite songs. Also, many Android smartphones come with expandable storage, which means you can easily carry your media with you.

Here are our favourite apps for playing MP3 and the other audio files.

Myntra to Shutter Desktop Website, Go For App-Only

After closing its mobile website last month, online fashion retailer Myntra is now moving to an app-only strategy by shutting down its desktop website. The company confirmed the move by telling NDTV Gadgets it will "focus on mobile, and will soon be mobile only," but the spokesperson refused to comment on whether this would happen as soon as May 1, as claimed in sections of the media.

Myntra, which became a part of the Flipkart last year, claims that around 85 percent of all users come to the site via the app anyway, and that around 63 percent of all purchases happen on the app. Therefore, maintaining both a desktop and an app presence was not warranted, the company believes.

Speaking about the growing importance of the mobile app platform in an interview last week, Prasad Kompalli, Head of e-commerce platform, Myntra told us over the phone that the growing adoption of smartphones has allowed it to become more than a catalog, which isn't necessarily possible when working on  desktop.

"Mobile apps are the best platform for Myntra today," says Kompalli, "as they allow you to integrate with contacts, calendar, and camera, which can be used to improve  user's experience in a number of ways."

The site currently sees approximately 4 million monthly active users, Kopalli says, and he adds that in terms of traffic, there are already some days where the app accounts for 90 percent of all people browsing Myntra.

We asked Flipkart if the company is going to follow a similar move, and why it shut down its mobile website. 

Jeremy Mathieu Winner Saves Barcelona vs Celta Vigo

Madrid: Jeremy Mathieu headed home a vital winner 16 minutes from the time as Barcelona ground out a 1-0 win at Celta Vigo to remain four points clear of Real Madrid in the La Liga on Sunday.
Earlier, Cristiano Ronaldo's first-ever five-goal haul had taken Madrid back to winning ways in stunning style with a 9-1 thrashing of the Granada.
Mathieu had opened the scoring in Barca's 2-1 victory over Madrid last time out and just his second league goal for Barca could be just as crucial as they laboured for long spells against a well-organised Celta side.
There were no such troubles for  Madrid, as after Gareth Bale's opener, Ronaldo took over as he scored three times in eight minutes just after the half hour mark.
Karim Benzema struck twice either side of Ronaldo's fourth as Real added three more in a four-minute spell just after the break.
Robert Ibanez grabbed a consolation for the visitors, but Diego Mainz's own goal made it 8-1 before Ronaldo rounded off the scoring with a towering header.
Meanwhile, Valencia's outside hopes of a late title challenge were dented as they remain in fourth, nine points off the top, after a 0-0 draw at home to Villarreal.
Celta stunned Barca at the Camp Nou when they last met back in November and the visitors knew they were in for another uncomfortable 90 minutes when Claudio Bravo had to turn away former Barca forward Nolito's low drive 10 minutes in.
At the other end Messi was first to threaten as Sergio Alvarez did well to parry his curling effort before Neymar fired the rebound well over.
The best chance by of the opening 45 minutes fell to Celta's Joaquin Larrivey, but the man who scored the winner at the Camp Nou blazed over with just Bravo to beat.
Barca started the second period brightly and could have been in front as Neymar had a sweetly struck goal ruled out for a marginal offside call.
In the end the visitors had to rely on a set-piece to get the job done as a wonderful in-swinging free-kick from Xavi was met by a equally good header by Mathieu to thunder the ball in off the crossbar.
Celta then ended the game with 10 men as Fabian Orellana was sent off in bizarre circumstances for throwing a clump of turf at Sergio Busquets.
"It was a very difficult game," admitted Mathieu.
"After the international break it is more difficult because the rhythm always drops a little.
"Celta were better in the first-half and in the second we managed to win with a goal from a set-piece. Sometimes matches are won like this on small details."
However, a lean night in front of goal for Lionel Messi means Ronaldo's quintuple takes him four clear of the Argentine in the race to be La Liga's top goalscorer.
"Happy to have scored five goals with this excellent team work. Thank you for all your support," Ronaldo posted on his official Twitter account.
"What more can I say about him? It is the first time he has scored five goals with Real Madrid which is great for him and for us looking forward to the next game," said Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti.
Bale was first to capitalise on some terrible Granada defending when he latched onto Toni Kroos's through ball to round Oier Olazabal and slot home from a narrow angle.
James Rodriguez made his return after two months out with a foot injury and sealed his comeback with a lovely assist with the outside of his left foot to allow Ronaldo to curl home his first of the afternoon.
The Portuguese soon made it 3-0 by lashing home from close range after Olazabal had spilled a cross and he sealed an eight-minute hat-trick with some more help from the Granada 'keeper as he couldn't keep out the World Player of the Year's drive from 20 yards.
Granada offered embarrassingly little resistance after the break as Benzema was given plenty of time to control a corner from the left and fire home to make it 5-0.
Bale then unselfishly teed up Ronaldo to nod home his 46th goal of the season, although there was a brief scare for the home fans as Ronaldo collided with the frame of the goal in doing so but was soon back on his feet.
More shocking defending from Granada allowed Benzema to saunter through for a seventh barely 60 seconds later.
Granada pulled a goal back when Ibanez burst clear of Raphael Varane to slot past Casillas, but their miserable day was rounded off when Mainz could only turn Luka Modric's cross into his own net.
And fittingly Ronaldo had the final word when he rose highest to power Modric's free-kick in at the far post.