Claudio Belocopitt

Claudio Fernando Belocopitt (n. Buenos Aires; 13 de septiembre de 1961) es un empresario argentino, dueño de Swiss Medical Group y del canal de televisión América TV.

Biografía
Estudio en la Escuela Del Sol y luego se recibió de Contador en la Universidad de Belgrano. En 1989 comenzó la construcción de la Clínica y Maternidad Suizo Argentina, inaugurada en marzo de 1991.

Es dueño de la Clínica y Maternidad Suizo Argentina, Sanatorio de Los Arcos, Sanatorio Agote, Clínica Olivos, Clínica San Lucas (Neuquén), Maternidad San Lucas (Neuquén), Clínica Zabala, Swiss Medical Center, SMG Seguros, SMG Life, Instituto de Salta, ECCO Emergencias Médicas, Blue Cross & Blue Shield de Uruguay, SMG ART, SMG Travel y SMG Laundry. Amante del cine y del teatro, además, tiene una productora que entre otras cosas produjo la película Relatos salvajes. En 2017 compró el 40% del Grupo América, el multimedio de Daniel Vila y José Luis Manzano.

Panamá Papers
Artículo principal: Repercusión de los Panama Papers en Argentina
En 2016 a raíz de los Panama Papers comenzó a ser investigado por la justicia, ya que figuraba en una lista de ciudadanos argentinos involucrados con cuentas sin declarar en paraísos fiscales, junto con Alejandro Burzaco,2​* Héctor Magnetto (CEO del Grupo Clarín), Amalia Lacroze de Fortabat, Carlos Blaquier, Francisco de Narváez, Luis Alejandro Pagani, Mario Pagani, Alfredo Coto, Alejandro Roemmers, Alejandro Daniel Muñoz (fallecido en 2016), Mauricio Macri, Jorge Macri, Daniel Angelici, entre otros

إيه إتش-64 أباتشي

إيه إتش-64 أباتشي (بالإنجليزية: AH-64 Apache) هي مروحية هجوم أمريكية من إنتاج شركة بوينغ، وتعد طائرة الهجوم الرئيسية للجيش الأمريكي.

وتتميز الأباتشي بأنها مروحية هجومية عالية التسليح، ذات ردود أفعال سريعة، بإمكانها أن تهاجم من مسافات قريبة أو في العمق، بحيث تكون قادرة على التدمير، والإخلال بقوات العدو.

وهي قادرة على العمل ليلا ونهارا وفي بجميع الظروف المناخية. والأباتشي مسلحة بصواريخ هيلفاير الخارقة للدروع وهي مجهزة بمدفع رشاش إم230 بعيار 30مم، وصواريخ الهايدرا 70 (مقاس 2.75 إنش) الفعالة تجاه أنواع مختلفة من الأهداف. طائرة الأباتشي قادرة على الصمود في مواجهات عنيفة، حيث تستطيع الاستمرار في العمل حتى بعد الإصابة بطلقات 23مم في مناطقها الحساسة.

الأباتشي أي اتش-64 أي، مزودة بأربع أطقم شفرات وبمحركين تربينيين من شركة جينيرال اليكتريك بقوة 1890 حصان لكل منهما، أقصى وزن لها يصل إلى 17650 باوند مما يسمح لها بالوصول إلى سرعة تحليق 145 ميل/س وقدرة على الطيران المتواصل ل 3 ساعات. يمكن تركيب خزان وقود إضافي خارجي للـطائرة أي اتش-64 بسعة 230 غالون، مما يسمح بزيادة مدى عملياتها. ويمكن تركيب أربع خزانات ذات سعة 230 غالون كحد أقصى. يمكن نقل طائرة أي اتش-64 لمسافت طويلة من خلال طائرات سي-5، وسي-141 وسي-17.

أي اتش-64 تستطيع حمل 16 صاروخ هلفاير الموجة بالليزر. هذه الصواريخ لها مدى 8000 متر، وتستعمل بشكل أساسي لتدمير الدبابات والعربات المصفحة. وتستطيع طائرة أي اتش-64 أن تحمل 76 صاروخ أرض جو عيار 2.75 تستعمل ضد الأفراد والعربات ذات التصفيح الخفيف. كما تحمل 1200 قذيفة بعيار 30مم.

جهاز تسجيل الفيديو على متن الطائرة قادر على تسجيل 72 دقيقة حسب ما يقرره قائد الطائرة أو مشغل الأسلحة. هذا التسجيل يساعد فيما بعد في تقيم نجاح المهمات التي أجرتها الطائرة. وهي أيضا مزودة نظام دوبلر للقيادة، ونظام تحديد الموقع.

الطائرة مجهزة بثلاث أنظمة للرؤية، بحيث تكون قادرة على مراقبة منطقة القتال في أي وقت وبأي ظرف. ومن هذه الأجهزة نظام رؤية مرتبط بجهاز الرؤية الليلية التي تظهر في شكل الكرة الأمامية المركبة تحت الأباتشي (جهاز تقوية ضوء وكاميرا ما دون الحمراء) ويتم بث الصور مباشرة إلى خوذة ضابط الأسلحة على متن الطائرة على شاشة صغيرة أمام إحدى عينيه كما أن جهاز الرؤية يقوم بالدوران والتحرك في الاتجاه الذي ينظر إله ضابط الأسلحة أوتوماتيكيا.

وقد طوّرت مروحية القتال الرئيسية AH-64A APACHE التي تنتجها شركة بوينغ الأمريكية (القسم العسكري) عملاق صناعة الطائرات في العالم، طوّرت من النماذج السابقة لتلبي احتياجات الجيش الأمريكي وكذلك لتلبية رغبات الدول والجيوش التي ترغب في الحصول عليها بشكل موسّع.

دخلت الـ AH-64A الخدمة في الجيش الأمريكي عام 1984. وهي في هذه النسخة مجهزّة بأنظمة قادرة على إدارة العمليات القتالية أثناء الليل وكذلك في مختلف الظروف المناخية (بما في ذلك الطقس الرديء) وكذلك فيها نظام تحديد الأهداف بواسطة الأشعة تحت الحمراء FLIR والمركبة في خوذة الرأس للطيار والتي من خلالها تتيح للطيار تعقب الأهداف والسيطرة الكاملة على الآلة القتالية التي يقودها وأيضاً فيها نظام فريد في توجيه المدفع الرشاش ذي عيار 30 مم المركّبة في مقدمة المروحية بواسطة اتجاه حدقة عين الطيار واتجاه نظره. النظام الفريد المجهزة به مروحية الأباتشي والتي تعتمد على اتجاه نظر الطيار هي عبارة عن نظام تحديد أولي (بشكل ابتدائي) للهدف ومن ثمة تتولى أنظمة التوجيه الليزري والموصولة بشاشات عرض في مقصورة الطيار تتولى متابعة الهدف في مرحلة أخرى من مراحل الهجوم. درع الأباتشي مجهز كي يقاوم اختراق إطلاقات مباشرة عليها من عيار 12.7 مم وكذلك الشحوم الثقيلة التي تدور في محركها مصممة كي لا تنسكب في ظروف قاسية من قبيل.

وقد أثبتت الأباتشي نفسها في ميدان القتال الفعلي وفي عدة نزاعات مسلحة قادتها الولايات المتحدة في حرب الخليج الثانية، أفغانستان وغزو العراق الأخيرة، حيث أثبتت الأباتشي أنها مروحية قادرة على البقاء في ساحة المعركة بالرغم من إصابتها إصابات مباشرة بقذائف RBG المضادة للدروع.
698 مروحية
241 AH-64A,
457 AH-64D
 السعودية
11مروحية من طراز AH-64E

93مروحية
12مروحية من طراز AH-64A
70 مروحية من طراز AH-64D
 إسرائيل
30 مروحية من طراز AH-64A
18 مروحية من طراز AH-64D
 اليابان
50 مروحية من طراز AH-64D
 مصر
50 مروحية من طراز AH-64A حدثت عام 2005 للطراز AH-64D
 اليونان
20 طائرة مروحية من طراز AH-64A
12 طائرة مروحية من طراز AH-64D
 هولندا
30 مروحية من طراز AH-64D
 الإمارات العربية المتحدة
30 طائرة مروحية من طراز AH-64A
 الكويت
16 مروحية من طراز AH-64D

Apache helicopter

The Boeing AH-64 Apache is an American twin-turboshaft attack helicopter with a tailwheel-type landing gear arrangement and a tandem cockpit for a crew of two. It features a nose-mounted sensor suite for target acquisition and night vision systems. It is armed with a 30 mm (1.18 in) M230 chain gun carried between the main landing gear, under the aircraft's forward fuselage, and four hardpoints mounted on stub-wing pylons for carrying armament and stores, typically a mixture of AGM-114 Hellfire missiles and Hydra 70 rocket pods. The AH-64 has significant systems redundancy to improve combat survivability.

The Apache began as the Model 77 developed by Hughes Helicopters for the United States Army's Advanced Attack Helicopter program to replace the AH-1 Cobra. The prototype YAH-64 was first flown on 30 September 1975. The U.S. Army selected the YAH-64 over the Bell YAH-63 in 1976, and later approved full production in 1982. After purchasing Hughes Helicopters in 1984, McDonnell Douglas continued AH-64 production and development. The helicopter was introduced to U.S. Army service in April 1986. The advanced AH-64D Apache Longbow was delivered to the Army in March 1997. Production has been continued by Boeing Defense, Space & Security, with over 2,000 AH-64s being produced by 2013.[3]

The U.S. Army is the primary operator of the AH-64. It has also become the primary attack helicopter of multiple nations, including Greece, Japan, Israel, the Netherlands, Singapore, and the United Arab Emirates. It has been built under license in the United Kingdom as the AgustaWestland Apache. American AH-64s have served in conflicts in Panama, the Persian Gulf, Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Iraq. Israel used the Apache in its military conflicts in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip. British and Dutch Apaches have seen deployments in wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Following the cancellation of the AH-56 Cheyenne in 1972, in favor of projects like the U.S. Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt II and the Marine Corps Harrier, the United States Army sought an aircraft to fill an anti-armor attack role that would still be under Army command.[7][8] The 1948 Key West Agreement forbade the Army from owning combat fixed-wing aircraft. The Army wanted an aircraft better than the AH-1 Cobra in firepower, performance and range. It would have the maneuverability for terrain following nap-of-the-earth (NoE) flying.[9] To this end, the U.S. Army issued a Request For Proposals (RFP) for an Advanced Attack Helicopter (AAH) on 15 November 1972.[10][11] As a sign of the importance of this project, in September 1973 the Army designated its five most important projects as the "Big Five", with the AAH included.[12]

Proposals were submitted by Bell, Boeing Vertol/Grumman team, Hughes, Lockheed, and Sikorsky. In July 1973, the U.S. Department of Defense selected finalists Bell and Hughes Aircraft's Toolco Aircraft Division (later Hughes Helicopters). This began the phase 1 of the competition.[13] Each company built prototype helicopters and went through a flight test program. Hughes' Model 77/YAH-64A prototype first flew on 30 September 1975, while Bell's Model 409/YAH-63A prototype first flew on 1 October 1975. After evaluating the test results, the Army selected Hughes' YAH-64A over Bell's YAH-63A in 1976. Reasons for selecting the YAH-64A included its more damage tolerant four-blade main rotor and the instability of the YAH-63's tricycle landing gear arrangement
In 1981, three pre-production AH-64As were handed over to the U.S. Army for Operational Test II. The Army testing was successful, but afterward it was decided to upgrade to the more powerful T700-GE-701 version of engine, rated at 1,690 shp (1,260 kW). The AH-64 was named the Apache in late 1981, following the tradition of naming Army helicopters after American Indian tribes. It was approved for full-scale production in 1982.[20] In 1983, the first production helicopter was rolled out at Hughes Helicopter's facility at Mesa, Arizona. Hughes Helicopters was purchased by McDonnell Douglas for $470 million in 1984.[21] The helicopter unit later became part of The Boeing Company with the merger of Boeing and McDonnell Douglas in August 1997.[22] In 1986, the incremental or flyaway cost for the AH-64A was $7M and the average unit cost was approximately $13.9M based on total costs.[21]

During the 1980s, McDonnell Douglas studied an AH-64B, featuring an updated cockpit, new fire control system and other upgrades. In 1988, funding was approved for a multi-stage upgrade program to improve sensor and weapon systems.[23] Technological advance led to the program's cancellation in favor of more ambitious changes. In August 1990, development of the AH-64D Apache Longbow was approved by the Defense Acquisition Board. The first AH-64D prototype flew on 15 April 1992.[24] Prototype testing ended in April 1995. During testing, six AH-64D helicopters were pitted against a bigger group of AH-64As. The results demonstrated the AH-64D to have a sevenfold increase in survivability and fourfold increase in lethality compared to the AH-64A.[25][26][27] On 13 October 1995, full-scale production was approved;[28] a $1.9-billion five-year contract was signed in August 1996 to upgrade 232 AH-64As into AH-64Ds.[29] On 17 March 1997, the first production AH-64D flew. It was delivered on 31 March

ONGC

Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) is an Indian multinational oil and gas company. Its registered office is now at New Delhi, India. It is a Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) of the Government of India, under the administrative control of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas. It is India's largest oil and gas exploration and production company. It produces around 70% of India's crude oil (equivalent to around 30% of the country's total demand) and around 62% of its natural gas.[5]

In a government survey for fiscal year 2016-17, it was ranked as the largest profit making PSU in India.[6] It is ranked 11th among the Top 250 Global Energy Companies by Platts.[7]

ONGC was founded on 14 August 1956 by Government of India, which currently holds a 68.94% equity stake. It is involved in exploring for and exploiting hydrocarbons in 26 sedimentary basins of India, and owns and operates over 11,000 kilometers of pipelines in the country. Its international subsidiary ONGC Videsh currently has projects in 17 countries. ONGC has discovered 6 of the 7 commercially producing Indian Basins, in the last 50 years, adding over 7.1 billion tonnes of In-place Oil & Gas volume of hydrocarbons in Indian basins. Against a global decline of production from matured fields, ONGC has maintained production from its brownfields like Mumbai High, with the help of aggressive investments in various IOR (Improved Oil Recovery) and EOR (Enhanced Oil Recovery) schemes. ONGC has many matured fields with a current recovery factor of 25–33%.[5] Its Reserve Replacement Ratio for between 2005 and 2013, has been more than one.[5] During FY 2012–13, ONGC had to share the highest ever under-recovery of INR 8993.78 billion (an increase of INR 567.89 million over the previous financial year) towards the under-recoveries of Oil Marketing Companies (IOC, BPCL and HPCL).[5] On 1 November 2017, the Union Cabinet approved ONGC for acquiring majority 51.11% stake in HPCL (Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited). On Jan 30th 2018, Oil & Natural Gas Corporation acquired the entire 51.11% stake of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation
Before the independence of India in 1947, the Assam Oil Company in the north-eastern and Attock Oil company in north-western part of the undivided India were the only oil producing companies, with minimal exploration input. The major part of Indian sedimentary basins was deemed to be unfit for development of oil and gas resources.[9]

After independence, the Central Government of India realized the importance of oil and gas for rapid industrial development and its strategic role in defense. Consequently, while framing the Industrial Policy Statement of 1948, the development of petroleum industry in the country was considered to be of utmost necessity.[9]

Until 1955, private oil companies mainly carried out exploration of hydrocarbon resources of India. In Assam, the Assam Oil Company was producing oil at Digboi (discovered in 1889) and Oil India Ltd. (a 50% joint venture between Government of India and Burmah Oil Company) was engaged in developing two newly discovered large fields Naharkatiya and Moraan in Assam. In West Bengal, the Indo-Stanvac Petroleum project (a joint venture between Government of India and Standard Vacuum Oil Company of USA) was engaged in exploration work. The vast sedimentary tract in other parts of India and adjoining offshore remained largely unexplored.[9]

In 1955, Government of India decided to develop the oil and natural gas resources in the various regions of the country as part of the Public Sector development. With this objective, an Oil and Natural Gas Directorate was set up towards the end of 1955, as a subordinate office under the then Ministry of Natural Resources and Scientific Research. The department was constituted with a nucleus of geoscientists from the Geological Survey of India.[9]

A delegation under the leadership of the Minister of Natural Resources visited several European countries to study the status of oil industry in those countries and to facilitate the training of Indian professionals for exploring potential oil and gas reserves. Experts from Romania, the Soviet Union, the United States and West Germany subsequently visited India and helped the government with their expertise. Soviet experts later drew up a detailed plan for geological and geophysical surveys and drilling operations to be carried out in the 2nd Five Year Plan (1956–61).[9]

In April 1956, the Government of India adopted the Industrial Policy Resolution, which placed Mineral Oil Industry among the schedule 'A' industries, the future development of which was to be the sole and exclusive responsibility of the state.[9]

Soon, after the formation of the Oil and Natural Gas Directorate, it became apparent that it would not be possible for the Directorate with its limited financial and administrative powers as subordinate office of the Government, to function efficiently. So in August, 1956, the Directorate was raised to the status of a commission with enhanced powers, although it continued to be under the government. In October 1959, the Commission was converted into a statutory body by an act of the Indian Parliament, which enhanced powers of the commission further. The main functions of the Oil and Natural Gas Commission subject to the provisions of the Act, were "to plan, promote, organize and implement programs for development of Petroleum Resources and the production and sale of petroleum and petroleum products produced by it, and to perform such other functions as the Central Government may, from time to time, assign to it ". The act further outlined the activities and steps to be taken by ONGC in fulfilling its mandate.[
Since its inception, ONGC has been instrumental in transforming the country's limited upstream sector into a large viable playing field, with its activities spread throughout India and significantly in overseas territories. In the inland areas, ONGC not only found new resources in Assam but also established new oil province in Cambay basin (Gujarat), while adding new petroliferous areas in the Assam-Arakan Fold Belt and East coast basins (both onshore and offshore).[9] ONGC went offshore in the early 1970s and discovered a giant oil field in the form of Bombay High, now known as Mumbai High. This discovery, along with subsequent discoveries of huge oil and gas fields in Western offshore changed the oil scenario of the country. Subsequently, over 5 billion tonnes of hydrocarbons, which were present in the country, were discovered. The most important contribution of ONGC, however, is its self-reliance and development of core competence in E&P activities at a globally competitive level.[9]

ONGC became a publicly held company in February 1994, with 20% of its equity were sold to the public and eighty percent retained by the Indian government. At the time, ONGC employed 48,000 people and had reserves and surpluses worth ₹104.34 billion, in addition to its intangible assets. The corporation's net worth of ₹107.77 billion was the largest of any Indian company.

In 1958 the then Chairman, Keshav Dev Malaviya, held a meeting with some geologists in the Mussoorie office of the Geology Directorate where he accepted the need for ONGC to go outside India too in order to enhance Indian owned capacity for oil production. The argument in support for this step, by LP Mathur and BS Negi, was that Indian demand for crude would go up at a faster rate than discoveries by ONGC in India.

Malaviya followed this up by making ONGC apply for exploration licences in the Persian Gulf. Iran gave ONGC four blocks and Malaviya visited Milan and Bartlseville to request ENI and Phillips Petroleum to join as partners in the Iran venture. This resulted in the discovery of the Rostum oilfield in the early 'sixties, very soon after the discovery of Ankleswar in Gujarat. This was the very first investment by the Indian public sector in foreign countries and oil from Rostum and Raksh was brought to Cochin where it was refined in a refinery built with technical assistance from Phillips.

2001 to present
In 2003, ONGC Videsh Limited (OVL), the division of ONGC concerned with its foreign assets, acquired Talisman Energy's 25% stake in the Greater Nile Oil project.[10]

In 2006, a commemorative coin set was issued to mark the 50th anniversary of the founding of ONGC, making it only the second Indian company (State Bank of India being the first) to have such a coin issued in its honor.

In 2011, ONGC applied to purchase 2000 acres of land at Dahanu to process offshore gas.[11] ONGC Videsh, along with Statoil ASA (Norway) and Repsol SA (Spain), has been engaged in deep-water drilling off the northern coast of Cuba in 2012.[12] On 11 August 2012, ONGC announced that it had made a large oil discovery in the D1 oilfield off the west coast of India, which will help it to raise the output of the field from around 12,500 barrels per day (bpd) to a peak output of 60,000 bpd.[13]

In November 2012, OVL agreed to acquire ConocoPhillips' 8.4% stake in the Kashagan oilfield in Kazakhstan for around US$5 billion, in ONGC's largest acquisition to date.[14] The acquisition is subject to the approval of the governments of Kazakhstan and India and also to other partners in the Caspian Sea field waiving their pre-emption rights.[15]

In January 2014, OVL and Oil India completed the acquisition of Videocon Group's ten percent stake in a Mozambican gas field for a total of $2.47 billion.[16]

In June 2015, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) gave a Rs27bn ($427m) offshore contract for the Bassein development project to Larsen & Toubro (L&T).[17]

In February 2016, the board of ONGC approved an investment of Rs. 5,050 crore in Tripura for drilling of wells and creation of surface facilities to produce 5.1 million standard cubic feet per day gas from the state's fields.[18]

On 19 July 2017, the Government of India approved the acquisition of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation by ONGC.[19]

Operations
ONGC's operations include conventional exploration and production, refining and progressive development of alternate energy sources like coal-bed methane and shale gas.[20] The company's domestic operations are structured around 11 assets (predominantly oil and gas producing properties), 7 basins (exploratory properties), 2 plants (at Hazira and Uran) and services (for necessary inputs and support such as drilling, geo-physical, logging and well services).[20]

Subsidiaries
ONGC Videsh Limited (OVL) is the international arm of ONGC. It was rechristened on 15 June 1989. The primary business of ONGC Videsh is to prospect for oil and gas acreages outside India, including exploration, development and production of oil and gas. It currently has 38 projects across 17 countries. Its oil and gas production reached 8.87 MMT of O+oEG in 2010, up from 0.252 MMT of O+OEG in 2002/03. ONGC holds 100% stake in ONGC Videsh Limited.[5]

Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) (BSE: 500104, NSE: HINDPETRO) is an Indian state-owned oil and natural gas company with its headquarters at Mumbai, Maharashtra. It has about 25% market-share in India among public-sector companies (PSUs) and a strong marketing infrastructure. Oil and Natural Gas Corporation owns 51.11% shares in HPCL and others are distributed amongst financial institutes, public and other investors.[21][22][8] The company is ranked 367th on the Fortune Global 500 list of the world's biggest corporations as of 2016.[23]. Prior to ONGC acquiring majority stake in HPCL, the former was not in the list of Fortune Global 500 while the latter HPCL was.

Presence of ONGC Videsh Limited (OVL) in Latin America;

Brazil (Block BC-10, BM-SEAL-4, BM-BAR-1, BM-ES-42, BM-S-73 & S-74)
Colombia (Block LLA-69, RC-8, RC-9, RC-10, SSJN-7 & CPO-5)
Cuba (Block N-25, N-26, N-27, N-28, N-29 N-34, N-35 & N-36 Block)
Venezuela (Block San Cristobal, Block Carabobo-1)
Presence of ONGC Videsh Limited (OVL) in CIS & Far-East;

Vietnam (Block 06.1, 127, 128)
Myanmar (Block A-1, A-3, AD-2, AD-3 & AD-9, Pipeline Project- PipeCo-1, PipeCo-2)
Russia (Block Sakhalin-I, 69, 70–1, 70–2, 70–3, 77, 80, 85–1, 85–2 and 86)(15% shares in csjc vancourneft company of vancour)
Kazakhstan (Satpayev Exploration Block)
Presence of ONGC Videsh Limited (OVL) in Africa;

Libya (Block NC-189, 81–1, Contract Area 43)
Nigeria (Block OPL 279, OPL 285, Block-2)
Sudan & South Sudan (GNOP/GNPOC/GPOC- 1, 2 & 4, Block 5A, Pipeline- Khartoum-Port Project)
Mozambique (Rovuma Area 1 Offshore)
Presence of ONGC Videsh Limited (OVL) in Middle East;

(Al Furat (4 PSA), Block-XXIV)
"Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited":
It is an oil refinery at Mangalore. MRPL has a design capacity to process 15 million metric tons per annum and have 2 Hydrocrackers producing Premium Diesel (High Cetane). It also has 2 CCRs producing Unleaded Petrol of High Octane.

ONGC Mangalore Petrochemicals Limited ONGC Mangalore Petrochemicals Limited (OMPL) is an Indian company promoted by Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL). Both ONGC and MRPL hold respectively 49% and 51% stake in the company.OMPL is a Subsidiary Company of MRPL and also a PSU behalf of share pattern of OMPL.[1] OMPL was incorporated on 19 December 2006.

The OMPL complex spans 442 acres of land in MangaloreSpecial Economic Zone (SEZ). The project cost was estimated at ₹ 5750 crore. The complex is connected with MRPL Refinery, from where the feed to the complex is supplied. It is 14 km away from the New Mangalore Port and about 15 km from Mangalore International Airport.

ONGC Sports
ONGC is holding many sport teams, such as athletics, badminton, basketball, boxing, chess, cricket, cue sports, carrom, field hockey, football, kabaddi, shooting, table tennis, tennis, volleyball and wrestling. Its football team, ONGC F.C., once played in Indian I-League.

The basketball team in particular is known internationally since several of the players of India's national basketball team have played there. These players include Vishesh Bhriguvanshi, Amritpal Singh, Yadwinder Singh, and others.

Joint Ventures
ONGC Tripura Power Company:
ONGC Tripura Power Company Ltd (OTPC) is a joint venture which was formed in September 2008 between ONGC, Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services Limited and the Government of Tripura. It is developing a 726.6 MW CCGT thermal power generation project at Palatana in Tripura which will supply electricity to the power deficit areas of the north eastern states of the country.[24] OTPC have 2 no 9FA machines supplied by GE USA. A 400 kV D/C Transmission system connecting Palatana (generation project site) in Tripura to Bongaigaon in Assam over a distance of around 650 km for the evacuation of power from the generation project.

The development and operation of the transmission system would be undertaken by North-East Transmission Company Limited (NETCL) a joint venture of OTPC, PowerGrid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL) and the North Eastern Region beneficiary states. OTPC has been granted in-principle approval for Mega Power Project (MPP) status by GoI on 27 July 2006 for the Project. The company is applying to MoP, GoI for final approval of MPP status and the same is expected to be obtained shortly. The Generation Project is being domiciled in ONGC Tripura Power Company Ltd. ("OTPC" or "the Company"), a Special Purpose Vehicle promoted by ONGC, IL&FS Limited and Government of Tripura (GoT).[25]

ONGC Petro Additions Limited:
ONGC Petro additions Limited (OPaL), a multi billion joint venture company was incorporated in 2006, as a Public Limited Company under the companies Act, 1956, promoted by Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and co-promoted by GAIL and GSPC.

OPaL is setting up a grass root mega Petrochemical project at Dahej, Gujarat in PCPIR/SEZ. The complex's main Dual Feed Cracker Unit has the capacity to produce 1100 KTPA Ethylene, 400 KTPA Propylene and the Associated Units consists of Pyrolysis Gasoline Hydrogenation Unit, Butadiene Extraction Unit and Benzene Extraction Unit. The Polymer plants of OPaL has 2X360 KTPA of LLDPE/HDPE Swing unit, 1X340 KTPA of Dedicated HDPE and 1x340 KTPA of PP. All the major contracts have been awarded and the construction is in full swing

Nuakhai Juhar

Nuakhai is an agricultural festival mainly observed by people of western Odisha in India.[6] Nuakhai is observed to welcome the new rice of the season. According to the calendar it is observed on panchami tithi (the fifth day) of the lunar fortnight of the month of Bhadrapada or Bhadraba (August–September), the day after the Ganesh Chaturthi festival. This is the most important social festival of Western Odisha and adjoining areas of Simdega in Jharkhand, where Odia culture is much predominant. Its coastal counterpart is Nabanna, observed in Coastal Odisha.
About the festival
Nuakhai is also called Nuakhai Parab or Nuakhai Bhetghat. The word nua means new and khai means food, so the name means the farmers are in possession of the newly harvested rice. The festival is seen as a new ray of hope, held the day after the Ganesha Chaturthi festival. It has a big significance for farmers and the agricultural community. The festival celebrated at a particular time of day which is called lagan. Arsaa pithaa is prepared to celebrate this festival. When the lagan comes, the people first remember their village god or goddess and then have their nua.

Nuakhai is the agricultural festival of people of Western odisha. The festival is observed throughout Odisha, but it is particularly important in the life and culture of Western Odisha. It is a festival for the worship of food grain. It has its best celebration in the Kalahandi, Sambalpur, Balangir, Bargarh, Sundargarh, Jharsuguda, Sonepur, Boudh and Nuapada districts of Odisha .

Ancient origin
According to local researchers Nuakhai is of fairly ancient origin. Some researchers found the fundamental idea of the celebration can be traced back at least to Vedic times when the rishis (sages) had talked of panchayajna, the five important activities in the annual calendar of an agrarian society.[7] These five activities have been specified as sitayajna (the tilling of the land), pravapana yajna (the sowing of seeds), pralambana yajna (the initial cutting of crops), khala yajna (the harvesting of grains) and prayayana yajna (the preservation of the produce). In view of this, Nuakhai may be seen as having evolved out of the third activity, namely pralambana yajna, which involves cutting the first crop and reverently offering it to the mother goddess.

Origin of the current form
Although the origin of the festival has been lost over time, oral tradition dates its back to the 12th century AD, the time of the first Chauhan Raja Ramai Deo, founder of the princely state of Patna[8] which is currently part of Balangir district in Western Odisha. In his efforts to build an independent kingdom, Raja Ramai Deo realized the significance of settled agriculture because the subsistence economy of the people in the area was primarily based on hunting and food gathering. He realised this form of economy could not generate the surpluses required to maintain and sustain a state. During state formation in the Sambalpuri region, Nuakhai as a ritual festival played a major role in promoting agriculture as a way of life. Thus credit can be given to Raja Ramai Deo for making Nuakhai a symbol of Sambalpuri culture and heritage.

Journey from past to present
In the early years, there was no fixed day for celebration of the festival. It was held sometime during Bhadraba Sukla Pakhya (the bright fortnight of Bhadraba). It was the time when the newly grown Kharif crop (autumn crop) of rice started ripening. There are reasons for observing the festival in the month of Bhadrava even though the food grain is not ready for harvesting. The thought is to present the grain to the presiding deity before any bird or animal pecks at it and before it is ready for eating.

In early traditions, farmers would celebrate Nuakhai on a day designated by the village headman and priest. Afterward, under the patronage of royal families, this simple festival was altered into a mass socio-religious event celebrated in the entire Kosal region (Western Odisha region).

Deities that are offered Nua
Every year, the tithi (day) and samaya (time) of observance was astrologically determined by the Hindu priests. Priests sat together at the Brahmapura Jagannath temple in Sambalpur and calculated the day and time. The tithi (date) and lagna (auspicious moment) were calculated in the name of Pataneswari Devi in the Balangir-Patnagarh area, in the name of Sureswari Devi in the Subarnapur area, and in the name of Manikeswari Devi in the Kalahandi area. In Sundargarh, Puja (worship) was first offered by the royal family to the goddess Sekharbasini in the temple which is opened only for Nuakhai. In Sambalpur, at the stipulated lagna (auspicious moment), the head priest of Samaleswari Temple offers the nua-anna or nabanna to the goddess Samaleswari, the presiding deity of Sambalpur .

Rituals of the nine colors of Nuakhai
People in the Western Odisha region initiate preparations for the event 15 days in advance. Nuakhai is understood to have nine colours and as a consequence, nine sets of rituals are followed as a prelude to the actual day of celebration. These nine colours include:

Beheren (announcement of a meeting to set the date)
Lagna dekha (setting the exact date for partaking of new rice)
Daka haka (invitation)
Sapha sutura and lipa puchha (cleanliness)
Ghina bika (purchasing)
Nua dhan khuja (looking for the new crop)
Bali paka (final resolve for Nuakhai by taking the Prasad (the offering) to the deity)
Nuakhai (eating the new crop as Prasad after offering it to the deity, followed by dancing and singing)
Juhar bhet (respect to elders & gift transfers)
Details of the rituals of Nuakhai
The preparations begin some 15 days prior to the date of the festival, when the elderly persons of the village sit together at a holy place after the beheren calls the villagers by blowing a trumpet. Then people get together and discuss with the priests the tithi and lagna (auspicious day and time) for Nuakhai. The priest consults the panjika (astrological almanac) and announces the sacred muhurta (a period of time equal to about 48 minutes) when nua is to be taken. This part of the preparations shows elements of both the original tribal festival and elements of Hindu religion. When the caste-Hindus migrated into the area the local tribal people adopted the idea of an astrological calculation of the tithi and lagna for the Nuakhai festival. In the same way, when the caste-Hindus adopted Nuakhai from the tribal people, they introduced some Sanskritic elements so as to make it more readily accepted by the caste-Hindus.

There was an attempt made during the 1960s to set a common tithi for the Nuakhai festival all over the western Odisha . It was decided this was not a workable idea. The idea was reintroduced in 1991 to set the Bhadraba Sukla Panchami tithi for the Nuakhai festival. This became successful and since then, the festival has been celebrated on that day, and the Odisha State Government has declared it an official holiday. Although for the sake of convenience a common auspicious day is set for Nuakhai, the sanctity of the ritual has not lost its importance. Today, however, the system of setting the tithi and lagna and calling elderly persons for a consensus does not happen in urban areas.

Nuakhai is celebrated both at the community and domestic level. The rituals are first observed at the temple of the reigning deity of the area or to the village deity. Afterward, the people worship in their respective homes and offer rituals to their domestic deity and to Lakshmi, the deity of wealth in the Hindu tradition. People wear new clothes for the occasion. It is a tradition that after offering the nua to the presiding deity, the eldest member of the family distributes nua to other members of the family. After taking the nua, all the junior members of the family offer their regards to their elders. Thereafter follows the nuakhai juhar, which is the exchange of greetings with friends, well-wishers, and relatives. This symbolizes unity. This is an occasion for people to lay their differences to rest and start relationships afresh. Towards the evening people meet one another, exchanging greetings. All differences are discarded and elders are wished nuakhai juhar. The elders bless their juniors and wish them long life, happiness, and prosperity. Even the partitioned brothers celebrate the festival under one roof. In the evening, folk dances and songs are organized called Nuakhai Bhetghat. People dance to the foot tapping traditional Sambalpuri dance forms like Rasarkeli, Dalkhai, Maelajada, Chutkuchuta, Sajani, Nachnia, and Bajnia.
Other Indian tribes celebrating Nuakhai
According to (Singh,1982:75)[10] Evidence can be found of the Nuakhai festival been observed by nearly all the major tribes in central and eastern India, with a minor difference in nomenclature. Jeth Nawakhai is celebrated among the Dudh Kharia and Pahari Kharia, Nawakhani amongst the Oraon and Birjia, Jom Nawa among the Munda and Birjia, Janther or Baihar-Horo Nawai by the Santal, Gondli Nawakhani by the tribal people of Ranchi district, Nawa by the Birjia, Nawa-Jom by the Birhor, Dhan Nawakhani by Korwa, and so on. Russel and Hiralal [11] have mentioned the Nawakhani festival of the Paraja, a small tribe found in the Bastar region and Odisha . Gautam (1977)[12] observed a new corn offering and rice eating festival of the Santals in Santal Pargana which they term Jom Nawa. Das Gupta (1978)[13] has noted the Nawa ceremony of the Birjia, a section of the Asura tribe of Chhotanagpur. Bhaduri (1944:149-50)[14] presents a short note on the celebration of a festival of the Tripura known as Mikatal where Mi stands for rice and Katal means new. It is celebrated in the month of Aswina (September–October).In the coastal districts of Odisha, the festival is called Nabanna by the caste-Hindus. Regardless of the name, the main objective of this festival is to get social sanction for the new crop, and to invoke the deities to bless the land with abundant crops.

Nuakhai celebrated throughout India
Nuakhai is a cohesive and unified force between people of the Western Odisha living in Delhi, as they unite and celebrate together the occasion of Nuakhai. People from the Odisha now living in Bangalore, Bhopal, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai, Surat and Visakhapatnam have been celebrating Nuakhai in their new cities for the past few decades. The modern Nuakhai festival, now being observed on the fifth day of the second fortnight of Bhadrava, was unquestionably given a new look of homogeneity and uniformity by various social organizations of Western Odisha, including the Odisha Government in 1991. It has lost some of its enormity and variety with the passage of time, but Nuakhai is still an occasion which endorses the patrimonial nature of the Sambalpuri culture and society.

Ryan Kent

Ryan Kent (born 11 November 1996) is an English professional footballer who plays as a winger for Scottish Premiership club Rangers.

A graduate of the Liverpool academy, Kent made his professional debut in 2015, before spending consecutive loan spells with League One side Coventry City and Championship side Barnsley, winning the club's Young Player of the Season award with the latter. After a loan spell at Bristol City, in 2017, he departed on loan once again, joining German Bundesliga club Freiburg.

After he spent the 2018–19 season on loan with Rangers, Kent moved on a permanent basis to Rangers in September 2019.

He is a former England youth international, having previously represented his nation at U18 and U20 levels
Oldham-born Kent joined Liverpool at the age of seven and progressed through the Liverpool academy to become a regular member of the U21 squad.[4] After an impressive end to the 2014–15 campaign for the reserves his performances were rewarded with a new four and a half-year contract in March 2015.[3] This was followed by a call-up to the first-team squad for their 2015 pre-season tour with the player being named in Liverpool's 30-man squad for their tour of Thailand, Australia and Malaysia.[5] On 17 July 2015 Kent made his first-team debut when he came off the bench in the 2–1 win over Australian A-League side Brisbane Roar and was handed a first-team squad number for the Reds.[citation needed]

2015–16: Coventry City loan
Liverpool received a number of offers to take Kent on loan after the player impressed in preseason.[6] Kent eventually joined Coventry City in September 2015 on a youth loan deal for four months until 16 January 2016.[7] Kent made his professional debut while on youth loan at Coventry City as a substitute on 12 September 2015 in a 1–0 League One loss to Scunthorpe United.[8] On 3 November, Kent played and scored in a 4–3 win over Barnsley.[9] The next day it was announced that he would return to Liverpool during the upcoming international break to be assessed by new Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp.[10] On 5 January 2016, he was recalled by Liverpool and was named in the first-team to make his competitive debut for them, starting the FA Cup third round match away to Exeter City. The match ended 2–2 with Kent being withdrawn from the action after 57 minutes.[11]

2016–17: Barnsley loan
On 26 July 2016, Kent was loaned to Barnsley for the season.[12] He scored his first goal for them in a 4–0 win against Rotherham United on 27 August 2016.[13] Kent was named Barnsley's Young Player of the Season at the club's end of season awards.[14]

2017–18: Loans to Freiburg and Bristol City
On 10 August 2017, after an impressive preseason, Kent signed a new long term contract with Liverpool,[15] and was loaned out to Freiburg for the season on the last day of the summer transfer window.[16] After making just six appearances, Kent's loan spell at Freiburg was terminated and he returned to parent club Liverpool on 8 January.[17]

On 12 January 2018, Kent joined Bristol City on loan until the end of the season.[18] His stint with the Robins was unsuccessful, as he played just 10 league games, failing to find the back of the net in any. It was later reported that Bristol City would be fined £300,000 by Liverpool due to Kent's lack of playing time
On 22 July 2018, Kent joined Rangers on season-long loan for the 2018/19 season.[20] He made his debut on 26 July 2018 in the Europa League 0–1 victory against NK Osijek.[21] He made his SPFL debut on 5 August 2018, in a 1–1 draw against Aberdeen.[22] His first goal for the club came on 15 September 2018, in a 4–0 victory against Dundee.[23] On 31 March 2019, Kent scored in the Old Firm derby against Celtic in a 2–1 loss.[23] During the match Kent became involved in an altercation with Celtic captain Scott Brown, who was shoved to the ground.[24] Kent was charged by the Scottish FA retrospectively,[25] He received a two match ban after losing his appeal.[26] He made 43 appearances in all competitions, scoring six goals and making nine assists for the club.[27] On 7 April, Kent won the 'Young Player of The Year Award for the 2018–19 season for Rangers at the club's end of season awards.[28] On 5 May 2019, Kent won the 2018–19 PFA Scotland Young Player of the Year after his performance for Rangers.[29] He was also voted in the PFA Scotland Team of the Year for the 2018–19 season.[29]

Kent returned to Liverpool for the 2019–20 pre-season with manager Jürgen Klopp wanting to assess Kent's development, with Rangers manager Steven Gerrard advising he wanted Kent to re-sign for Rangers on loan.[30] Kent was also subject of interest from Leeds United, with Leeds head coach Marcelo Bielsa also personally scouting Kent for Liverpool's pre-season friendly against Bradford City.[31][32] Kent was involved in pre-season friendlies involving Bradford City,[33] Borussia Dortmund,[34] Sporting CP[35] and Sevilla.[36] Klopp singled out Kent for praise after his performance against Sevilla, saying 'Ryan had sensational moments in the Sevilla game – one-on-one situations are his big strength. He is a wonderful kid, a wonderful player'.[37] On 2 September 2019, Liverpool agreed a transfer fee with Rangers.[38]

Rangers
Kent signed a four-year contract with Rangers on 2 September 2019.[38] Rangers paid Liverpool an initial transfer fee of £6.5 million, with further payments potentially due for future performance or Kent being sold.[38]

International career
On 27 August 2015, Kent was called up to the England U20 squad for a double header against the Czech Republic.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn (/lɪŋktˈɪn/) is an American business and employment-oriented service that operates via websites and mobile apps. Founded on December 28, 2002,[4] and launched on May 5, 2003,[5] it is mainly used for professional networking, including employers posting jobs and job seekers posting their CVs. As of 2015, most of the company's revenue came from selling access to information about its members to recruiters and sales professionals.[6] Since December 2016 it has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Microsoft. As of June 2019, LinkedIn had 630 million registered members in 200 countries.

LinkedIn allows members (both workers and employers) to create profiles and "connections" to each other in an online social network which may represent real-world professional relationships. Members can invite anyone (whether an existing member or not) to become a connection.[7] LinkedIn participated in the EU's International Safe Harbor Privacy Principles
LinkedIn is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, with offices in Omaha, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., São Paulo, London, Dublin, Amsterdam, Graz, Milan, Paris, Munich, Madrid, Stockholm, Singapore, Hong Kong, China, Japan, Australia, Canada, India and Dubai. In January 2016, the company had around 9,200 employees.[9]

LinkedIn's CEO is Jeff Weiner,[10] previously a Yahoo! Inc. executive. Founder Reid Hoffman, previously CEO of LinkedIn, is Chairman of the Board.[10][11] It is funded by Sequoia Capital, Greylock, Bain Capital Ventures,[12] Bessemer Venture Partners and the European Founders Fund.[13] LinkedIn reached profitability in March 2006.[14] Through January 2011, the company had received a total of $103 million of investment.[15]

The site has an Alexa Internet ranking as the 28th most popular website (December 2018).[2] According to the New York Times, US high school students are now creating LinkedIn profiles to include with their college applications.[16] Based in the United States, the site is, as of 2013, available in 24 languages,[10] including Arabic, Chinese, English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch, Swedish, Danish, Romanian, Russian, Turkish, Japanese, Czech, Polish, Korean, Indonesian, Malay, and Tagalog.[17][18] LinkedIn filed for an initial public offering in January 2011 and traded its first shares on May 19, 2011, under the NYSE symbol "LNKD
Founding to 2010
The company was founded in December 2002 by Reid Hoffman and founding team members from PayPal and Socialnet.com (Allen Blue, Eric Ly, Jean-Luc Vaillant, Lee Hower, Konstantin Guericke, Stephen Beitzel, David Eves, Ian McNish, Yan Pujante, Chris Saccheri).[20] In late 2003, Sequoia Capital led the Series A investment in the company.[21] In August 2004, LinkedIn reached 1 million users.[22] In March 2006, LinkedIn achieved its first month of profitability.[22] In April 2007, LinkedIn reached 10 million users.[22] In February 2008, LinkedIn launched a mobile version of the site.[23]

In June 2008, Sequoia Capital, Greylock Partners, and other venture capital firms purchased a 5% stake in the company for $53 million, giving the company a post-money valuation of approximately $1 billion.[24] In November 2009, LinkedIn opened its office in Mumbai[25] and soon thereafter in Sydney, as it started its Asia-Pacific team expansion. In 2010, LinkedIn opened an International Headquarters in Dublin, Ireland,[26] received a $20 million investment from Tiger Global Management LLC at a valuation of approximately $2 billion,[27] announced its first acquisition, Mspoke,[28] and improved its 1% premium subscription ratio.[29] In October of that year, Silicon Valley Insider ranked the company No. 10 on its Top 100 List of most valuable start ups.[30] By December, the company was valued at $1.575 billion in private markets
LinkedIn filed for an initial public offering in January 2011. The company traded its first shares on May 19, 2011, under the NYSE symbol "LNKD", at $45 per share. Shares of LinkedIn rose as much as 171% on their first day of trade on the New York Stock Exchange and closed at $94.25, more than 109% above IPO price. Shortly after the IPO, the site's underlying infrastructure was revised to allow accelerated revision-release cycles.[10] In 2011, LinkedIn earned $154.6 million in advertising revenue alone, surpassing Twitter, which earned $139.5 million.[32] LinkedIn's fourth-quarter 2011 earnings soared because of the company's increase in success in the social media world.[33] By this point, LinkedIn had about 2,100 full-time employees compared to the 500 that it had in 2010.[34]

In April 2014, LinkedIn announced that it had leased 222 Second Street, a 26-story building under construction in San Francisco's SoMa district, to accommodate up to 2,500 of its employees,[35] with the lease covering 10 years.[9] The goal was to join all San Francisco-based staff (1,250 as of January 2016) in one building, bringing sales and marketing employees together with the research and development team.[9] They started to move in in March 2016.[9] In February 2016, following an earnings report, LinkedIn's shares dropped 43.6% within a single day, down to $108.38 per share. LinkedIn lost $10 billion of its market capitalization that day.[36][37]

On June 13, 2016, Microsoft announced that it would acquire LinkedIn for $196 a share, a total value of $26.2 billion and the largest acquisition made by Microsoft to date. The acquisition would be an all-cash, debt-financed transaction. Microsoft would allow LinkedIn to "retain its distinct brand, culture and independence", with Weiner to remain as CEO, who would then report to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. Analysts believed Microsoft saw the opportunity to integrate LinkedIn with its Office product suite to help better integrate the professional network system with its products. The deal was completed on December 8, 2016.[38]

In late 2016, LinkedIn announced a planned increase of 200 new positions in its Dublin office, which would bring the total employee count to 1,200.[39]

As of 2017, 94% of B2B marketers use LinkedIn to distribute content.
Lawsuit
In 2013, a class action lawsuit entitled Perkins vs. LinkedIn Corp was filed against the company, accusing it of automatically sending invitations to contacts in a member's email address book without permission. The court agreed with LinkedIn that permission had in fact been given for invitations to be sent, but not for the two further reminder emails.[63] LinkedIn settled the lawsuit in 2015 for $13 million.[64] Many members should have received a notice in their email with the subject line "Legal Notice of Settlement of Class Action". The Case No. is 13-CV-04303-LHK.
As of 2015, LinkedIn had more than 400 million members in over 200 countries and territories.[10][66] It is significantly ahead of its competitors Viadeo (50 million as of 2013)[67] and XING (11 million as of 2016).[68] In 2011, its membership grew by approximately two new members every second.[69] As of 2019, there are over 600 million LinkedIn members.[70]

User profile network
Basic functionality
The basic functionality of LinkedIn allows users (workers and employers) to create profiles, which for employees typically consist of a curriculum vitae describing their work experience, education and training, skills, and a personal photo. The site also enables members to make "connections" to each other in an online social network which may represent real-world professional relationships. Members can invite anyone (whether a site member or not) to become a connection. However, if the invitee selects "I don't know" or "Spam", this counts against the inviter. If the inviter gets too many of such responses, the member's account may be restricted or closed.[7]

A member's list of connections can then be used in a number of ways:

Users can obtain introductions to the connections of connections (termed second-degree connections) and connections of second-degree connections (termed third-degree connections)
Users can search for second-degree connections who work at a specific company they are interested in, and then ask a specific first-degree connection in common for an introduction[71]
Users can find jobs, people and business opportunities recommended by someone in one's contact network.
Employers can list jobs and search for potential candidates.
Job seekers can review the profile of hiring managers and discover which of their existing contacts can introduce them.
Users can post their own photos and view photos of others to aid in identification.
Users can follow different companies.
Users can save (i.e. bookmark) jobs that they would like to apply for.
Users can "like" and "congratulate" each other's updates and new employments.
Users can wish each other a happy birthday.
Users can see who has visited their profile page.
Users can share video with text and filters with the introduction of LinkedIn Video.[72][73]
Users can write posts and articles[74] within the LinkedIn platform to share with their network.
The "gated-access approach" (where contact with any professional requires either an existing relationship, or the intervention of a contact of theirs) is intended to build trust among the service's users. LinkedIn participated in the EU's International Safe Harbor Privacy Principles.
LinkedIn is particularly well-suited for personal branding which, according to Sandra Long, entails "actively managing one's image and unique value" to position oneself for career opportunities.[75] LinkedIn has evolved from being a mere platform for job searchers into a social network which allows users a chance to create a personal brand.[76] Career coach Pamela Green describes a personal brand as the "emotional experience you want people to have as a result of interacting with you," and a LinkedIn profile is an aspect of that.[77] A contrasting report suggests that a personal brand is a "a public-facing persona, exhibited on LinkedIn, Twitter and other networks, that showcases expertise and fosters new connections."[78]

LinkedIn allows professionals to build exposure for their personal brand within the site itself as well as in the worldwide web as a whole. With a tool that LinkedIn dubs a Profile Strength Meter, the site encourages users to offer enough information in their profile to optimize visibility by search engines. A basic profile should include a person's industry and location, an up-to-date job description, two past positions, education, at least three skills, a profile picture, and at least fifty connections.[75] Web activity such as liking and commenting on content, as well as publishing LinkedIn blog articles and being involved in LinkedIn groups can increase views of one's profile, according to Long.[75] Advisor Kristin Sherry agrees, who recommended that users should engage with commenters and "give give give".[79] Profiles should be written in first person and have well-chosen keywords and list relevant skills, according to Long.[75] In 2016, user profiles with five or more relevant skills were viewed seventeen times more often than those with fewer skills.[75] These skills could be enhanced with recommendations and endorsements to solidify one's social proof.[75] A profile should have internal consistency, so that the headline and image and skills mesh into an easy-to-grasp picture.[75] Long recommends that users update their profiles regularly; a survey by Post Road Consulting found that over two-thirds of respondents spent two or more hours updating their profile every year.[75] LinkedIn's Shiva Kumar advised users to have a good profile picture and showcase one's achievements "without buzzwords".[80] It can strengthen a user's LinkedIn presence if he or she belongs to professional groups in the site.[81][75] The site enables users to add video to their profiles.[79] Some users hire a professional photographer for one's profile photo.[82] Video presentations can be added to one's profile.[83] LinkedIn's capabilities have been expanding so rapidly that a cottage industry of outside consultants has grown up to help users navigate the system.[84][79][85] A particular emphasis is helping users with their LinkedIn profiles.
The value of connections
LinkedIn enables job-seekers and employers to connect. According to Jack Meyer, the site has become the "premier digital platform" for professionals to network online.[81] For example, in Australia, which has approximately twelve million working professionals, ten million of them are on LinkedIn, according to Anastasia Santaraneos, suggesting that the probability was high that one's "future employer is probably on the site."[80] According to one estimate based on worldwide figures, 122 million users got job interviews via LinkedIn and 35 million were hired by a LinkedIn online connection.[87] Not only helping job applicants meet employers, LinkedIn can help small businesses connect with customers.[88] Connections are important in boosting a user's standing and presence in LinkedIn. In the site's parlance, two users have a "first-degree connection" when one accepts an invitation from another.[87] People connected to each of them are "second-degree connections" and persons connected to the second-degree connections are "third-degree connections."[87] This forms a user's internal LinkedIn network. As these connections get stronger and deeper, the user's profile is more likely to appear in searches by employers and others.

For job applicants, cold call messaging on LinkedIn generally is ineffective.[75] So messages should have a personal touch, such as the person read their book or heard them speak at a conference or have a common contact, according to Maddy Osman.[87] The message header should be short and specific
Security and technology
In June 2012, cryptographic hashes of approximately 6.4 million LinkedIn user passwords were stolen by hackers who then published the stolen hashes online.[89] This action is known as the 2012 LinkedIn hack. In response to the incident, LinkedIn asked its users to change their passwords. Security experts criticized LinkedIn for not salting their password file and for using a single iteration of SHA-1.[90] On May 31, 2013 LinkedIn added two-factor authentication, an important security enhancement for preventing hackers from gaining access to accounts.[91] In May 2016, 117 million LinkedIn usernames and passwords were offered for sale online for the equivalent of $2,200.[92] These account details are believed to be sourced from the original 2012 LinkedIn hack, in which the number of user IDs stolen had been underestimated. To handle the large volume of emails sent to its users every day with notifications for messages, profile views, important happenings in their network, and other things, LinkedIn uses the Momentum email platform from Message Systems.[93]

In 2014, Dell SecureWorks Counter Threat Unit (CTU) discovered that Threat Group-2889, an Iran-based group, created 25 fake LinkedIn accounts. The accounts were either fully developed personas or supporting personas, and they use spearphishing or malicious websites to comprise victims' information.[94][third-party source needed]

According to reporting by Le Figaro, France's General Directorate for Internal Security and Directorate-General for External Security believe that Chinese spies have used LinkedIn to target thousands of business and government officials as potential sources of information.[95]

In 2017, Germany's Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) published information alleging that Chinese intelligence services had created fake social media profiles on sites such as LinkedIn, using them to gather information on German politicians and government officials.[96][97]

Applications
LinkedIn 'applications' often refers to external third party applications that interact with LinkedIn's developer API. However, in some cases it could refer to sanctioned applications featured on a user's profile page.

External, third party applications
On February 12, 2015 LinkedIn released an updated terms of use for their developer API.[98] The developer API allows both companies and individuals the ability to interact with LinkedIn's data through creation of managed third party applications. Applications must go through a review process and request permission from the user before accessing a user's data.

Normal use of the API is outlined in LinkedIn's developer documents,[99] including:

Sign into external services using LinkedIn
Add items or attributes to a user profile
Share items or articles to user's timeline
Embedded in profile
In October 2008, LinkedIn enabled an "applications platform" which allows external online services to be embedded within a member's profile page. Among the initial applications were an Amazon Reading List that allows LinkedIn members to display books they are reading, a connection to Tripit, and a Six Apart, WordPress and TypePad application that allows members to display their latest blog postings within their LinkedIn profile.[100] In November 2010, LinkedIn allowed businesses to list products and services on company profile pages; it also permitted LinkedIn members to "recommend" products and services and write reviews.[101] Shortly after, some of the external services were no longer supported, including Amazon's Reading List.[citation needed]

Mobile
A mobile version of the site was launched in February 2008, which gives access to a reduced feature set over a mobile phone. The mobile service is available in six languages: Chinese, English, French, German, Japanese and Spanish.[102] In January 2011, LinkedIn acquired CardMunch, a mobile app maker that scans business cards and converts into contacts.[103] In June 2013, CardMunch was noted as an available LinkedIn app.[10] In August 2011, LinkedIn revamped its mobile applications on the iPhone, Android and HTML5. At the time, mobile page views of the application were increasing roughly 400% year over year according to CEO Jeff Weiner.[104] In October 2013, LinkedIn announced a service for iPhone users called "Intro", which inserts a thumbnail of a person's LinkedIn profile in correspondence with that person when reading mail messages in the native iOS Mail program.[105] This is accomplished by re-routing all emails from and to the iPhone through LinkedIn servers, which security firm Bishop Fox asserts has serious privacy implications, violates many organizations' security policies, and resembles a man-in-the-middle attack.[106][107]

Groups
LinkedIn also supports the formation of interest groups, and as of March 29, 2012 there are 1,248,019 such groups whose membership varies from 1 to 744,662.[108][109] The majority of the largest groups are employment related, although a very wide range of topics are covered mainly around professional and career issues, and there are currently[when?] 128,000 groups for both academic and corporate alumni.[citation needed] Groups support a limited form of discussion area, moderated by the group owners and managers.[110] Since groups offer the functionality to reach a wide audience without so easily falling foul of anti-spam solutions, there is a constant stream of spam postings, and there now exist a range of firms who offer a spamming service for this very purpose. LinkedIn has devised a few mechanisms to reduce the volume of spam,[111] but recently[when?] took the decision to remove the ability of group owners to inspect the email address of new members in order to determine if they were spammers.[citation needed] Groups also keep their members informed through emails with updates to the group, including most talked about discussions within your professional circles.[108][112] Groups may be private, accessible to members only or may be open to Internet users in general to read, though they must join in order to post messages.

In December 2011, LinkedIn announced that they are rolling out polls to groups.[113] In November 2013, LinkedIn announced the addition of Showcase Pages to the platform.[114] In 2014, LinkedIn announced they were going to be removing Product and Services Pages[115] paving the way for a greater focus on Showcase Pages.[116]

Job listings
LinkedIn allows users to research companies, non-profit organizations, and governments they may be interested in working for. Typing the name of a company or organization in the search box causes pop-up data about the company or organization to appear. Such data may include the ratio of female to male employees, the percentage of the most common titles/positions held within the company, the location of the company's headquarters and offices, and a list of present and former employees. In July 2011, LinkedIn launched a new feature allowing companies to include an "Apply with LinkedIn" button on job listing pages.[117] The new plugin allowed potential employees to apply for positions using their LinkedIn profiles as resumes.[117]

Online recruiting
Job recruiters, head hunters, and personnel HR are increasingly using LinkedIn as a source for finding potential candidates. By using the Advanced search tools, recruiters can find members matching their specific key words with a click of a button. They then can make contact with those members by sending a request to connect or by sending InMail about a specific job opportunity he or she may have. Recruiters also often join industry-based groups on LinkedIn to create connections with professionals in that line of business.[118]

Skills
Since September 2012, LinkedIn has enabled users to "endorse" each other's skills. This feature also allows users to efficiently provide commentary on other users' profiles – network building is reinforced. However, there is no way of flagging anything other than positive content.[119] LinkedIn solicits endorsements using algorithms that generate skills members might have. Members cannot opt out of such solicitations, with the result that it sometimes appears that a member is soliciting an endorsement for a non-existent skill.[120]

Publishing platform
LinkedIn continues to add different services to its platform to expand the ways that people use it. On May 7, 2015, LinkedIn added an analytics tool to its publishing platform. The tool allows authors to better track traffic that their posts receive.[121]

Influencers
The LinkedIn Influencers program launched in October 2012 and features global thought leaders who share their professional insights with LinkedIn's members. As of May 2016, there are 750+ Influencers, approximately 74% of which are male.[122] The program is invite-only and features leaders from a range of industries including Richard Branson, Narendra Modi, Arianna Huffington, Greg McKeown, Rahm Emanuel, Jamie Dimon, Martha Stewart, Deepak Chopra, Jack Welch, and Bill Gates.[123][124]

Top Companies
LinkedIn Top Companies is a series of lists published by LinkedIn, identifying companies in the United States, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Japan, Mexico and the United Kingdom that are attracting the most intense interest from job candidates. The 2019 lists identified Google's parent company, Alphabet, as the most sought-after U.S. company, with Facebook ranked second and Amazon ranked third.[125] The lists are based on more than one billion actions by LinkedIn members worldwide. The Top Companies lists were started in 2016 and are published annually.

Advertising and for-pay research
In mid-2008, LinkedIn launched LinkedIn DirectAds as a form of sponsored advertising.[126] In October 2008, LinkedIn revealed plans to open its social network of 30 million professionals globally as a potential sample for business-to-business research. It is testing a potential social network revenue model – research that to some appears more promising than advertising.[127] On July 23, 2013, LinkedIn announced their Sponsored Updates ad service. Individuals and companies can now pay a fee to have LinkedIn sponsor their content and spread it to their user base. This is a common way for social media sites such as LinkedIn to generate revenue.[128]

Future plans
Economic graph
Inspired by Facebook's "social graph", LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner set a goal in 2012 to create an "economic graph" within a decade.[129] The goal is to create a comprehensive digital map of the world economy and the connections within it.[130] The economic graph was to be built on the company's current platform with data nodes including companies, jobs, skills, volunteer opportunities, educational institutions, and content.[131][132][133] They have been hoping to include all the job listings in the world, all the skills required to get those jobs, all the professionals who could fill them, and all the companies (nonprofit and for-profit) at which they work.[131] The ultimate goal is to make the world economy and job market more efficient through increased transparency.[129] In June 2014, the company announced its "Galene" search architecture to give users access to the economic graph's data with more thorough filtering of data, via user searches like "Engineers with Hadoop experience in Brazil."[134][135]

LinkedIn has used economic graph data to research several topics on the job market, including popular destination cities of recent college graduates,[136] areas with high concentrations of technology skills,[137] and common career transitions.[138] LinkedIn provided the City of New York with data from economic graph showing "in-demand" tech skills for the city's "Tech Talent Pipeline" project.[139]

New user interface in 2017
Soon after LinkedIn's acquisition by Microsoft, on January 19, 2017, LinkedIn's new desktop version was introduced.[140] The new version was meant to make the user experience seamless across mobile and desktop. Some of the changes were made according to the feedback received from the previously launched mobile app. Features that were not heavily used were removed. For example, the contact tagging and filtering features are not supported any more.[141]

User reaction
Following the launch of the new user interface (UI), some users, including blogger Zubair Abbas, complained about the missing features which were there in the older version, slowness, and bugs in it.[142] The issues were faced by both free and premium users, and with both the desktop version and the mobile version of the site.

Discontinued features
In January 2013, LinkedIn dropped support for LinkedIn Answers, and cited a new 'focus on development of new and more engaging ways to share and discuss professional topics across LinkedIn' as the reason for the retirement of the feature. The feature had been launched in 2007, and allowed users to post question to their network and allowed users to rank answers.

On September 1, 2014 LinkedIn retired InMaps, a feature which allowed you to visualize your professional network.[143] The feature had been in use since January 2011.

According to the company’s website, LinkedIn Referrals will no longer be available after May 18, 2018 [144]

Business units
LinkedIn derives its revenues from four business divisions:[145]

Talent Solutions, through which recruiters and corporations pay for branded corporation and career listing pages, pay-per-click targeted job ads, and access to the LinkedIn database of users and resumes
Marketing Solutions, which advertisers pay for pay per click-through targeted ads
Premium Subscriptions, through which LinkedIn users can pay for advanced services, such as LinkedIn Business, LinkedIn Talent (for recruiters), LinkedIn JobSeeker, and LinkedIn Sales for sales professions
Learning Solutions, through which users can learn various skills related to their job function or personal learning goals, on the Lynda.com or LinkedIn Learning platforms
Some elements of the various subscription services are also on a pay per use basis like InMai