Google to help small businesses set up virtual presence 8th-april

1.    Google to help small businesses set up virtual presence

i. Ravi Kotian, a clothes seller in mid-40s, whose shop is located in the crowded KR market area in Bangalore, is a disgruntled man. Traffic congestion and lack of parking space are key factors discouraging people from coming to his shop.

ii. However, Google Inc, with its new Maps technology, is offering traders like Kotian a solution. The search engine giant’s Indoor Google Maps will help them set up virtual stores, which will allow consumers to search online for products in their physical stores. The map will also give exact directions to the consumer to reach shops.

iii. Small businesses have to move beyond just setting up their websites and hoping that shoppers walk in, which is passé,” according to Suren Ruhela, Director and Product Manager, India Google Maps. Once a business has signed up, Google’s partners will help it to integrate its software with that of Google’s.

2.    Jhumpa Lahiri's "Lowland" shortlisted for 2014 Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction

i. Indian American novelist, Jhumpa Lahiri’s Lowland has been shortlisted for the 2014 Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction on 8 April 2014. Five other books have also been shortlisted for the prize.

ii. This is the UK’s only annual book award for fiction written by a woman and this year’s prize winner will be announced on 4 June 2014 in London.

iii. Lowland published in 2013 is a book set in Kolkata and Rhode Island in the US and narrates a story about the lives of two brothers (Subhash and Udayan), their choices and their fate. Earlier, the book was also shortlisted for Man Booker Prize.

About Jhumpa Lahiri 

• She is a Pulitzer Prize-winning Indian American novelist
• Her novel Namesake (2003) was adapted under the same title for the popular film
• Lahiri is a member of the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities, appointed by U.S. President Barack Obama
• Her short story collection entitled Interpreter of Maldives (1999) won the 2000 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction 

3.    India lose number one spot to Lanka in ICC T-20 rankings

i. India have lost their number one status to Sri Lanka in the latest ICC Twenty-20 rankings. Sri Lanka replaced India from the top spot, after it defeated MS Dhoni and Co. in the World T-20 final to become the new Champions.

ii. However, India's wonder boy Virat Kohli and spinner R. Ashwin have attained their career-high positions. In the rankings for batsmen, Kohli, who was highest run scorer of the World Cup, rose to the second spot. In the bowlers' rankings, Ashwin rose to the third spot.