Regarding the pricing, it resembles that of the Value tablet from its series, while Swipe Halo Speed happens to offer more or less similar features. Some of the features of this device include a 7-inch screen, 2-megapixel rear camera and a 3-megapixel camera on the front.

The newest tablet has some similarities with the earlier device, while it can be safely said that both tablets will be having Android 4.1. The device weighs 335 grams with a processor of 1.5 GHz and is much better when compared to the Value device’s 1 GHz CPU.

In terms of features, the latest device has an improved memory system of 1 GB instead of the 512 MB of RAM. The connectivity features of the device include Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

The company said that the new vehicle has been launched to target young male users between the ages of 16 to 22, with the concept of aggressive sporty design. The new variant was designed after the earlier Ray model was developed to target young women. Therefore, Yamaha felt the need for the development of a scooter for young men and to increase the sales in the country.

Roy Kurian, vice president of sales and marketing, Yamaha said, “Identifying the needs of the customers is very important… Boys won’t like to drive a scooter meant for girls. Hence, Ray Z has been launched”. The new model by the company has the same air-cooled, four-stroke 113cc engine with continuous variable transmission with the initial model with a maximum power output of 7.1 PS. The model also provides a mileage of 53 km per litre.

More products will be taxed, which is the country’s tax reform plan for 2013. Kong Jingyuan, director-general of the development of comprehensive reform of the economic system at the National Development and Reform Commission made these remarks when he was answering questions about a guideline with the key tasks to deepen economic reforms in the year 2013.

In the guideline, NDRC states that it will properly modify the rate and scope of consumption taxes. Kong said that the changes will be carried out in terms of rates and structures. He also went on to say that some goods, which have become common in recent times, will also be subject to luxury taxes.

Those luxury goods include cars and yachts. The guideline also states that heavier consumption taxes will be levied on heavy-polluting and excessive-energy consuming products. The move will be taken due to weak inflation and the foreseeable likelihood of China’s central bank keeping interest rates low to increase consumer spending.

The new Maxx AX9Z Race is a 3G Android phone, powered by Android 4.1.1 Jelly Bean operating system and MediaTek MT6577 1.2 GHz dual-core processor with 512 MB of RAM, 2300 mAh battery, 8-megapixel rear camera with 2-megapixel front camera. It is a dual-SIM handset with 4 GB of internal storage and can be expandable to up to 32 GB with the help of a micro SD slot.

The connectivity features of the phone include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1 and GPS. It also has a 5.3-inch touch screen with qHD resolution. On the other hand, the Maxx AX8 Race is also a 3G Android phone, which has an Android ICS operating system with 1 GHz MediaTek MT6575 processor, 5-inch display with 480 X 800 pixel resolution. The phone is also slightly slimmer and weighs less than the other one.

It now became mandatory for the Indian carriers to fly a portion of their routes to the smaller cities and towns. This recent decision was made in order to connect around 1.2 billion people in the nation. On the other hand, airlines complained that these routes are unprofitable for them and are adding to losses in the industry which is already dealing with high-imported fuel costs, as well as expensive airport usage fees.

However, good news for the carriers is that the government is looking to reduce fees to land and park at 80 smaller destinations across the country to give the airlines more incentives to fly there. Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh in an interview said that this is a pilot project which will target the existing airports and disused airstrips.

These measures could later be rolled out at smaller airports. Singh added that their aim is to make these airports almost cost-free for the smaller planes. The recent idea has been welcomed by the analysts as a step in the right direction.

However, the company stated that the Indian market lacks a clear cut government policy related to the auto industry, such as the fuel policy and import tariff. Due to this, the company is now adopting a wait and watch policy before it decides to set up a new diesel engine plant in the country.

Toyota is also looking to launch more hybrid cars. Satoshi Ogiso, Toyota Motor Corporation Managing Officer said, “If you look at our portfolio in India, we have just one small car, Liva. We need more if we have to have big volumes in a fast growing market like India”. However, the company has not shared any details of the future models in the country yet.

Ogiso added that, on a global scale, the compact SUV segment is becoming more and more popular and the same trend is visible in the Indian market also. The Indian customer today is very much aware of the international trends. Regarding the company’s long-term ambitions in India, Toyota now plans to watch out for a clear cut government policy before it makes any further decisions.

The sudden increase in the demand for petrol cars left some models on the waiting list, despite the fact that the car companies are increasing their petrol car production to meet the demands of customers who are mileage-conscious. For instance, General Motors is now working on its production plans as the petrol car sales have doubled in the recent months.

In just a year, the total sales of hatchbacks and petrol sedans have gone up by 20% to 35%. P. Balendran, Vice President of General Motors said, “We have flexible production for both the fuels at our Halol plant. To meet the escalating demand for petrol, we are increasing production of these cars in line with the changed customer preferences”.

Balendran added that they are also rolling out new petrol models of its newly-launched Sail sedan, that now has a waiting period of three months.

General Motors explained that the price hike was essential in order to offset the rising logistics costs due to an increase in the price of diesel. P. Balendran, Vice President of the company, expressed his views on the latest development and said, “With diesel prices going up on regular intervals, transportation and other logistic costs have gone up significantly. We are left with no option, but to pass on the burden partially to consumers.”

Balendran added that the price hike would be placed in effect from the first week of June 2013. The VP also said that the exact amount of the price hike is yet to be finalized, but it will be up to 1.5 percent, which will be around Rs. 10,000. The price hike will be different for different models and their variants.

For now, the cheapest offering by General Motors is its Spark model, which is a subcompact hatchback available in India between Rs. 3.31 lakh and Rs. 5.97 lakh.

However, recent reports state that the sales of the Dzire have outpaced the Swift during the month of April 2013. In the month of April, Dzire accounted for 19,446 units and lost out by just 400 units to even overtook the sales of Alto. Alto has been the country’s best-selling model for a decade. Moreover, the month of April 2013 is said to be the toughest month for the Dzire, as it had to face a tough competition from the newly-launched Honda Amaze.

After the revelation of new sales figures, the company officials said that the vehicle will achieve greater heights in the future, as the demand for compact sedans has increased significantly in the country. Mayank Pareek, Chief Operating Officer of Marketing and Sales at Maruti Suzuki said, “When we conceived DZire, few years back it was thought as a complete package of a sedan coming at the price of a hatchback.”

According to industry experts, the Dzire has surpassed all the heights of success.

Air India’s low cost segment flies an all Boeing 737 fleet and gets 75% of its business in the state of Kerala. The carrier operates 200 weekly flights, the majority of which come from the Gulf region. The airline started charging for seats following the decision to unbundle the services. Travel agents were informed by the airline on May 20, 2013 that it will levy Rs. 100 to Rs. 400 as a preferential seat charge on the domestic flights and Rs. 200 to Rs. 750 on the international flights.

Pre-booking of the middle row seats will cost Rs. 100 and Rs. 200 on the domestic and international flights respectively. A travel consultant said, “Air India Express primarily caters to migrant labour traffic and charging for seats will make air travel expensive”. Earlier in May 2013, the government allowed the companies to charge for seats, meals, check-in baggage and use of lounges. The airlines have reduced the free baggage allowance from 20 kgs to 15 kgs.