Public Voice

Tendulkar joins 11,000 club

2007-07-28T10:33:00.001-07:00

India's Sachin Tendulkar became only the third batsman in history to score 11,000 Test runs on the second day of the second Test against England at Trent Bridge here on Saturday.

The 34-year-old Tendulkar, playing his 139th Test only needed 25 runs to reach the landmark at the start of his innings.

He got there when, on 23, a cover-drive off left-arm spinner Monty Panesar went for four after a misfield on the boundary by James Anderson.

Tendulkar joined an exclusive club whose only other members are Test runs world record-holder Brian Lara (11,953) and former Australia captain Allan Border (11,174), both of whom have retired.

No racial discrimination against Dr Haneef: Australia

2007-07-28T10:32:00.001-07:00

Australian High Commissioner John McCarthy today dismissed all charges of racial discrimination against former terror suspect Dr Mohammed Haneef, and defended the action of his Government, saying it was based on the information given by the UK.

''We did not botch up the case. Our action was based on the information given by the UK. There is no racial or any kind of discrimination. The popular support Haneef got in Australia should lay all these doubts to rest,'' Mr McCarthy said in an interview to CNN IBN news channel.

Dr Haneef, 27, was yesterday freed of all charges in the failed Glasgow attack case. He was arrested on July 2 on charges of recklessly supporting terrorism by providing a relative in Britain with his mobile phone SIM card.

Mr McCarthy maintained that the Australian judiciary and the federal police were independent and commanded the respect of all.

''The due judicial process was followed right through. The incident shows that our judiciary remains independent,'' he said.

He did not give any direct answers to repeated questions on the possibility of Australia tendering an apology for the trauma Dr Haneef underwent.

''That is not for me to answer,'' he said.

Dr Haneef's wife, Firdous Ashriya, who also joined the live debate from Bangalore, felt there was no need for an apology.

''I don't want anybody to say sorry or feel bad in public. It can happen in any country. I thank the Australian High Commission for the help extended by them. But the same incident shouldn't be repeated,'' she said.

The High Commissioner also declined to comment on whether he was going to meet Dr Haneef's family in the coming days to express remorse over the unfortunate incident.

But he said he had great respect for the manner in which Dr Haneef and his family had handled the ordeal of being labelled a terrorist.

''I appreciate the dignity with which Dr Haneef and his family have handled the entire matter. It could not have been easy for them, but I do appreciate their attitude.''

Blood Sukers(Police of Andhra Pradesh) takes 8 Lifes

2007-07-28T10:29:00.000-07:00

Eight people, including a woman, were killed and eight others injured, three of them critically, when police fired to quell a stone-pelting mob at Mudigonda village in Khammam district as the Left-sponsored state-wide bandh in Andhra Pradesh turned violent today.

Health Minister S Chandrasekar, who represents Palair constituency in the Assembly in which Mudigonda village is located, told reporters that eight persons were killed in the firing.

He said that the police action was consequent to the Left parties' blocking the road for more than three hours and not heeding to the request to allow free movement of vehicles.

Home Minister K Jana Reddy told newspersons that Inspector General of Police Poornachandra Rao had rushed from Hyderabad to assess the law and order situation.

The government has ordered an inquiry into the police firing, Mr Reddy said, adding that action would be taken against erring policemen, if any.

The CPI and CPI(M) activists had pitched camps and were staging dharna on the road since this morning to protest against the lathicharge on party activists demanding land for the landless.

Police, who tried to evict them, were allegedly attacked with stones, resulting in serious injuries to a Circle Inspector and a Sub-Inspector.

State CPI(M) Secretary B V Raghavulu, recuperating at the Gandhi Government Hospital after the police broke his six-day fast-to-death this morning and shifted him for treatement, demanded an ex gratia of Rs five lakh each to the kin of the victims in the police firing.

He demanded action against the 'erring' policemen and cautioned that any laxity on the part of the Government could force his party to review its support.

CPI(M) Politburo member Sitaram Yechuri would reach Hyderabad tomorrow and visit Mudigonda to study the situation.

The State CPI(M) has called for a bandh in Khammam district tomorrow.

Seafood exports from India increase

2007-07-27T22:08:00.001-07:00

Seafood exports from the country increased by 19.62 percent in terms of quantity and 15.43 percent in value in 2006-07 over the previous year.

The Marine Products Exports Developments Authority (MPEDA) said here Friday that in terms of quantity, the total exports rose from 512,164 tonnes in 2005-06 to 612,641 tonnes and in value terms it shot up from Rs.72.45 billion to Rs.83.63 billion.

On account of imposition of fresh duty structures in the USA, seafood exports to that country dropped from 55,817 tonnes to 43,758 tonnes and in value terms also the fall was considerable. It came down from Rs.16.39 billion to Rs.13.47 billion, the MPEDA said in press release.

But exports to China went up drastically from 137,076 tonnes to 203,513 tonnes and grew in value terms from Rs.13.70 billion to Rs.20.35 billion.

Exports to European Union also grew from 136,842 tonnes to 149,760 tonnes and growth was also recorded in value terms from Rs.21.34 billion to Rs.27.59 billion.

Diggy finds fault with YSR!

2007-07-27T22:01:00.000-07:00

The Congress high command is apparently not happy with Chief Minister Dr Y S Rajasekhar Reddy's foul mouthing of Opposition Leader N Chandrababu Naidu, which the national media projected in big way showing the Congress party in bad light.

This was evident from the words of AICC general secretary in-charge of Andhra Pradesh affairs Digvijay Singh. Diggy found fault with YSR saying it was not proper on the part of the Chief Minister to utter those words and then apologise. He sounded that AICC president Sonia Gandhi was not happy with the aggressive behaviour of YSR.

The AICC president is also not happy with the handling of Left parties' land struggle issue by the YSR government. She tried to influence CPI-M national secretary Prakash Karat, but the situation has already gone out of hands, as the YSR government tried to suppress the agitation using force.

Another issue that displeased Sonia was the PJR issue. Though he is cooled down a bit, thanks to the intervention of V Hanumantha Rao and Iqbal Singh, there is evey possibility that he might lead the anti-YSR gang within the Congrss. PJR is meeting Diggy on Saturday and hopefully, he migh get an appointment with Sonia, too, sources say.

ITC posts 20 percent rise in Q1 net profit

2007-07-27T22:00:00.000-07:00

Tobacco and hospitality industries major ITC Ltd Friday reported a 20.2 percent rise in net profits for the first quarter of 2007-08 driven by higher cigarette prices and continuing growth in the consumer, hotels and agri-businesses.

ITC's net profit rose to Rs.7.83 billion ($193 million) for the quarter ended June 30, from Rs.6.52 billion in the like period of the previous year.

The gross turnover of the year grew by 20.2 percent to Rs.195.05 billion while the net turnover was Rs.123.69 billion, the Kolkata-headquartered company's chairman Y.C. Deveswar told the 96th annual general meeting here.

A value-added tax of 12.5 percent imposed on cigarettes from April pushed up prices. Accordingly, ITC, whose 31.7-percent stake is owned by British American Tobacco Plc, raised cigarette prices by about 20 percent.

In the past years, ITC had diversified into products such as garments, greeting cards and incense to reduce its dependence on tobacco. It also entered areas like personal care, apparel, retail and snack food sectors.

The non-cigarette portfolio of ITC grew by 37.6 percent during the year and now accounts for 52.3 percent of the company's net turnover.

Pre-tax profit jumped 20.1 percent to Rs.39.27 billion while post-tax profit at Rs.27 billion, registered a growth of 20.8 percent.

Earnings per share for the year stands at Rs.7.19 while the cash flows from operations stood at Rs.34.02 billion during the year.

ITC shares, valued at $15.6 billion, gained 3 percent in the quarter, trailing a 12 percent rise in the main index and a 5 percent rise in the sector index.

'The ITC Group's contribution to foreign exchange earnings over the last 10 years amounted to nearly $2.8 billion, of which agri exports constituted nearly 65 percent,' Deveswar said.

'Earnings from agri exports is an indicator of the company's contribution to the rural economy by effectively linking small farmers with international markets,'

YSR accused Naidu for wasting Assembly time

2007-07-27T21:59:00.001-07:00

Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy on Friday lashed out at Telugu Desam president N. Chandrababu Naidu for wasting the Assembly’s time over the Obulapuram issue.

"Frustration is glaring in the Telugu Desam camp. Mr Naidu tried his best to deliberately mislead the House on the Obulapuram mining issue. When that did not work, the TD MLAs got themselves suspended, wasting precious time of the House," he alleged.
"A discussion on Obulapuram would have put the Telugu Desam in a tight spot. We provided a CD of the Obulapuram incident to Speaker K.R. Suresh Reddy which clearly showed TD MLA E. Dayakar Rao assaulting a policeman. Fearing they would be caught on the wrong foot, the TD disturbed proceedings in the House," he added.

Speaking to mediapersons after the Assembly was adjourned abruptly, Dr Reddy said, "Nowhere in the State or country is there an Opposition leader like Mr Naidu. He has time and again tried to project an untruth as a truth. Though I did not refer to his mother or any other mother while speaking on the Obulapuram issue, Mr Naidu tried to blame me for doing so."

Dr Reddy said the TD leaders did not show any respect for the Speaker during their recent protests in the House. Alleging that the TD was frustrated over the government’s development programmes, including 56 irrigation projects, eight of which have been completed, he pointed out that 32 of the party’s activists had died in Vizag in a protest to demand the setting up of a steel plant.

"The TD is worried that it will be wiped out if development takes place in the State. The government will not bow to its pressure tactics but will do everything for the welfare of the people," he said.

"We are setting up a much bigger steel plant in backward Anantapur district and it will provide employment to 10,000 people besides earning revenue for the State. The Opposition does not want this to happen," Dr Reddy said.

Kalam continues to inspire - from personal website

2007-07-27T07:40:00.000-07:00

Former president A.P.J. Abdul Kalam's newly designed website - with the motto 'a site of inspiration and nation building' - became operational Thursday night, bringing joy to thousands of his fans.

Earlier in the day, hundreds of fans of Kalam, who demitted office Wednesday, were shocked to find all his inspiring speeches and comments absent from their favourite website www.presidentofindia.nic.in

The new-look site, www.abdulkalam.com, includes his major speeches - including those to students and faculty of the Anna University in Chennai Thursday - and his thanksgiving address to the nation Tuesday.

Re-launched at 7.30 p.m., the site recorded more than 7,400 visitors within a couple of hours.

Kalam's speeches, presentations and inspiring thoughts used to be hosted on the official website of the Indian president, www.presidentofindia.nic.in, which after the change of guard at Rashtrapati Bhavan Wednesday has been 'under construction'.

'The website is to be modified because Kalam has become the ex-president and all references to him have to be changed according to that. So it is under renovation for two-three days,' said an official at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

For the last five years, the 'presidentofindia' site hosted e-mail to and from Kalam, chats, speeches and lectures, his books, poems, his biography and his vision.

It had a children's corner as well as a speech-enabled site for the visually challenged.

Every day, 250,000 visitors had visited the site and at times there were more than 500,000 hits on a single day. Sources said this month at least a 10 million people visited the website.

Kalam's personal website, www.abdulkalam.com, was originally launched on his 69th birthday, which he celebrated on Oct 15, 2001, before he became president. Infosys Technologies chief mentor N.R. Narayan Murthy launched it.

V. Ponraj, assistant project director of network services, Aeronautical Development Agency, Bangalore, maintains it. This site will be as interactive as the presidential site, Ponraj said.

Left parties stir paralyse Hyderabad traffic

2007-07-27T07:38:00.000-07:00

Traffic movement was paralysed for over two hours in the heart of city on Thursday as Left parties laid siege to the collectorates of Ranga Reddy and Hyderabad districts.

Thousands of commuters and vehicle-drivers got stranded on the trunk routes connected to the two collectorates at Nampally and Lakdikapool with the agitators staging sit-in on the roads. Patients and their attendants going to Osmania General Hospital and passengers heading to the Mahatma Gandhi Bus Station were put to untold miseries.

Despite the police barricading the main roads, protesters managed to reach the two collectorates in large numbers.

The swelling crowds squatted on the road disrupting traffic movement. Slowly, they blocked the entire road even as police used mild force attempting to disperse them. This lasted for an hour bringing the unidirectional traffic flow on Abids-Nampally stretch to a halt.

As a result, traffic was thrown haywire on other roads leading to Kothi, Sultanbazar, Chaderghat and beyond. The traffic police tried their best to divert the vehicles but remained helpless with all lanes and by-lanes getting crammed by drivers trying to escape the traffic snarl.

The situation turned worst when the police began evacuating the demonstrators, bundled them into vans and headed towards Goshamahal stadium.

When the police resorted to mild lathicharge, the crowds began running into the narrow lanes. They again assembled at MJ Market junction and blocked the roads. Utter chaos reigned at this intersection that leads to important commercial areas like Osman Gunj, Begumbazar and Siddiamberbazar.

More chaotic was the scene near Ranga Reddy collectorate with all link roads filled with stranded vehicles. It took more than two hours to restore normal traffic movement.

Power cut: Kalam becomes an ordinary man

2007-07-27T07:36:00.000-07:00

Barely had A.P.J. Abdul Kalam demitted office as India's 11th president than he was beset by all the joys and sorrows of being an ordinary man in India. His vision for the country was, however, still intact.

'My aim is to see the smiles of one billion people in the country, I will be happy if I see this,' aero scientist Kalam told the media Thursday after addressing teachers at Anna University here.

'I am going to be with the people, to push India to become an economically-developed nation in the national prosperity index,' he said.

However, this may be easier said than done - and Kalam himself experienced how the common man in India is let down every day. On Wednesday, the lights failed at the Anna University guesthouse when Kalam reached there after an eventful day in New Delhi.

With no power at the guest house where Kalam was to stay the night, sleeping arrangements were made for him at the nearby Raj Bhavan.

'I had a plan...I went through that. One of the things was I went to all the states and union territories, saw tears - both happy and sad,' he said when asked by the media if he had achieved all that he had set out to do as president.

A democratic nation of one billion people like India 'needs core competence to give leadership to them, which is a unique thing', he said.

'I want to see self-confidence in every person...especially everyone below the age of 25,' he said.

Kalam, who has been succeeded by Pratibha Patil as president, is now a Professor Emeritus at Gandhigram University.

On Thursday morning, hundreds of Kalam fans were also disappointed to find all his speeches and comments gone from their favourite website www.presidentofindia.nic.in. The new dispensation at Rashtrapati Bhavan has placed the website 'under construction'.

PM has let me down, says Kiran Bedi

2007-07-25T22:06:00.000-07:00

Kiran Bedi, who lost the race for the job of Delhi's police commissioner, Wednesday blamed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for picking 'someone junior' to her for the coveted post.

'It's complete injustice to me and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has let me down. I am completely disappointed with the government and the bureaucracy,' an angry Bedi, one of India's most decorated police officers.

'The decision for selecting someone junior to me for the top city post is truly unfair. How can the prime minister simply disregarded seniority when he has the final word in the cabinet?' asked a disappointed Bedi, who was expecting to be the capital's first woman police commissioner.

'Prime Minister Singh was my last hope and he should have respected merit. He has not only let me down but the entire police system. It is also a rejection of the lieutenant governor of Delhi who had recommended my name for the post. It is also a rejection of the people of Delhi who wanted to see me as their first police commissioner.'

But a combative Bedi, 58, said she was not going to take things lying down and would fight this 'injustice'.

As a first step, she said she had gone on leave from the Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPRD), a police think-tank.

A 1972-batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, Bedi is two years senior to Dadwal and was keen to take charge of Delhi Police that she has served in various capacities with distinction.

A law graduate from Delhi University, Bedi was the first woman to join IPS. She was also a former all-India and all-Asian tennis champion.

Bedi became a household name in the Indian capital when she took charge of Delhi Traffic Police, earning in the process the sobriquet 'Crane Bedi' because of her penchant for using cranes for removing vehicles parked illegally on roads.

She then went on to hold several posts, including as deputy inspector general of police in Mizoram, as inspector general of police in Chandigarh, director general of Narcotics Control Bureau, inspector general of police at Tihar Jail, joint commissioner of police training and as special commissioner in charge of intelligence.

She then went on deputation to the United Nations. She won the Magsaysay Award for government service. She later became the director general of BPRD.

Earlier in the day, the ministry of home affairs appointed Special Commissioner (Administration) Yudhvir Singh Dadwal, a 1974-batch IPS officer as Delhi's new police chief.

Dadwal will take over from K.K. Paul Thursday. Outgoing commissioner Paul will move to the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) as a member. He served as the national capital's police chief for over 40 months, the longest tenure ever.

Former commissioner Ajay Raj Sharma had served the city for the second longest period of three years.

According to police sources, the decision swung in Dadwal's favour because of his reputation and long association with the city police.

'It was a tough competition as Bedi too has the reputation of being a tough police official,' a senior police official said.

'She was not given the Delhi Police rein because she has not been actively involved with the city police for many years. The other reason could probably be her outspoken personality. Bureaucrats in the ministry were said to be opposed to her,' the official explained.

Infosys bags $250 million Philips BPO deal

2007-07-25T22:03:00.000-07:00

India's leading IT bellwether Infosys Technologies Ltd Wednesday announced it had bagged a $250 million (Rs.10 billion) business process outsourcing (BPO) contract from Royal Philips Electronics NV of the Netherlands and acquired its three captive centres.

'It's an outsourcing deal structured as an acquisition. As part of the BPO deal spread over seven years, we are paying $28 million (Rs.1.13 billion) upfront to Philips for acquiring its shared services centres in Poland, India and Thailand,' Infosys CFO V. Balakrishnan told IANS.

The Philips BPO division has a combined headcount of 1,350, with 780 people in Warsaw, 400 in Chennai and 170 in Bangkok. They will bring valuable skills and abilities, including diverse language capabilities, technical expertise and domain knowledge to Infosys' BPO subsidiary.

'The deal includes acquisition of its assets and people. There are some employees' liabilities in the form of pension for those working in Poland,' Balakrishnan said.

Post-acquisition, the captive centres of Philips will become part of the Infosys BPO subsidiary and provide finance and accounting (F&A) services and process purchasing orders of the Dutch firm.

'As one of the largest F&A contracts in BPO space from India, the deal will also enable us to expand our global network and strengthen our European operations,' the company said in a statement.

With about 12,000 employees, Infosys' BPO subsidiary posted revenue of Rs.6.6 billion in last fiscal (2006-07), registering a growth of 70 percent, and a net profit of Rs.1.5 billion.

For the first quarter of this fiscal (April-June 2007), its topline growth was Rs.2 billion, accounting for five percent of the company's consolidated income of Rs.37.7 billion.

'The deal will also enable us to leverage the skills and geographical location of Philips captive centres in Poland and Thailand for client acquisitions in Europe and Southeast Asia. Currently, the captive centres will do F&A services to Royal Philips,' Balakrishnan pointed out.

Coming as it does three years after its last acquisition of an Australian firm, Expert Information Services, for $22.3 million (Rs.10 billion) in 2003, the Philips deal will catapult the company into the top five F&A outsourcing space globally.

'As it is a lift-out deal, spread over seven years, the revenues will be margin neutral,' Balakrishnan added.

Infosys CEO S. Gopalakrishnan said global corporations would require transformation partners like Infosys to enhance their competitiveness in a flat world.

'We are delighted to partner with Philips to take their F&A and procurement functions to the next level of transformation,' he noted.

Royal Philips chief strategy officer Gerard Ruizendaal said Infosys had demonstrated a willingness to invest in people with a strong HR process, better solution quality, ability to leverage end-to-end process improvements and a robust risk mitigation and transition plan.

The euro 27 billion Royal Philips Electronics is a global leader in healthcare, lifestyle and technology, delivering products, services and solutions.

With about 125,800 employees in over 60 countries worldwide, the Dutch firm is a market leader in medical diagnostic imaging and patient monitoring systems, energy efficient lighting solutions, personal care and home appliances, as well as consumer electronics.

Indian IT firms lag in regulatory compliance

2007-07-25T22:02:00.000-07:00

A recent technology survey has found regulatory compliance by Indian IT firms is far behind their counterparts in the Asia-Pacific region despite a majority of them acknowledging the business benefits of such a initiative.

The survey, conducted by MarketShare for Serena Software Inc., a leading global IT firm engaged in application lifecycle management (ALM), has observed that though 68 percent of Indian firms favoured regulatory compliance, only 18 percent of them had implemented the programmes so far.

'The compliance level in India is lower than in APAC by 42 percent and lags behind Japan (56 percent) and Singapore (52 percent). The future uptake is, however, promising, with 46 percent of Indian firms planning to implement the programmes by 2008,' the company said here in a summary report on the findings.

Of the total 350 medium and large IT enterprises interviewed for the survey across the region, 50 were from India.

While 88 percent of Indian chief information officers (CIOs) accept the role of IT in ensuring regulatory compliance, their company heads do not share the same view.

'About 40 percent of Indian CIOs feel they would be held accountable for compliance activities, as against 67 percent in the region. The reason for lower compliance is due to lack of budgetary support for such initiatives. Of the total respondents, 20 percent admitted spending 15 percent of their total IT budget on such activities.

'Indian firms have been slow in taking up regulatory compliance programmes, but realise the importance of international compliance requirements that give them a competitive advantage in the market,' Serena country manager Keshav Prakash said.

Take-up of compliance programmes in India is driven by corporate demands and global trade requirements. If Indian firms want to do business with a multinational or trade with an overseas firm, they have to meet certain standards.

In contrast, the level of compliance implementations in the APAC region has increased over the last 12 months. For instance, the number of firms implementing the compliance programmes doubled to 42 percent this year from 21 percent in 2006.

The survey also found the reason for launching compliance initiatives in APAC is to meet local regulations and do business with foreign firms.

'While the take-up of compliance initiatives in Asia has increased, the main drivers have also changed, with local regulations being a major factor. Japan is creating J-SOX, which will go into effect next year. Other Asian countries are following suit and developing their own industry regulations, Serena vice-president (APAC) K.C. Yee noted.

Singapore has emerged leader in IT budget spend on compliance, with 34 percent of its firms earmarking 15 percent of their budget on the initiative. Korea, however, lags behind other countries, with eight percent of its firms spending 15 percent of the IT budget on compliance. More Korean IT firms, however, agreed to provide enough budgetary support for compliance-related activities.

Among the verticals, the banking and finance industry has the highest rate of regulatory compliance in APAC at 58 percent, followed by telecommunications (38 percent) and IT (37 percent) industries. The travel and tourism sector has the best outlook with regard to future take-up of compliance activities, with 56 percent of its firms agreeing to implement the programmes by 2008.

'IT applications are used in all aspects of the business. To ensure regulatory compliance, companies need to run and evaluate their application development lifecycle to reduce costs. The application development lifecycle is complex because it is heterogeneous, global, and collaborative, and due to this complexity many non-standard, labour intensive processes exist,' the report pointed out.

Serena's flagship product ALM helps manage complexity in application development by automating the entire lifecycle and providing complete visibility into the portfolio of projects. This helps companies meet regulatory compliance requirements and also enables IT to deliver the most business value with their available time, budget, and skills.

'IT is involved in all aspects of the business and therefore plays a major role in ensuring regulatory compliance. As IT develops applications to meet new business requirements, companies can use Serena's ALM solutions to automate the arduous and costly task of compliance, providing flexible and streamlined capabilities for tracking, controlling, and managing activities,' Yee added.

YSR apologises to Naidu for 'mother' remarks

2007-07-24T22:53:00.000-07:00

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy tendered an unconditional apology in the state assembly Tuesday for allegedly passing a derogatory remark about opposition leader N. Chandrababu Naidu's mother.

While denying that he insulted Naidu's mother, the chief minister told the house that if Naidu felt hurt by what he said Monday, he was tendering an unconditional apology.

YSR, as the chief minister is popularly known, tendered the apology towards the end of his speech to deny the opposition's allegation of illegal iron ore mining in Obulapuram in Anantapur district.

'I have highest regard for motherhood. His mother is like my mother. I only said that after I expose him he would regret his birth. But if he thinks that I insulted him and passed derogatory remark about his mother, I am tendering an unconditional apology,' he said.

The apology came hours after the legislators of the main opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) were suspended from the House for the day for stalling the proceedings to demand the apology and Naidu's announcement that he would not attend the rest of the current session of the assembly.

'I am deeply hurt as he dragged my late mother into the debate and hence I have decided not to attend the House,' Naidu told newsmen.

Denying the allegations of irregularities in granting mining lease to Obulapuram Mining Corporation (OMC), YSR offered to take an all-party delegation to the area.

The attempt by TDP leaders to visit the area without permission and their arrest Saturday had triggered the row in the house, leading to a personal attack by YSR on Naidu Monday.

YSR said the delegation would visit both the mines including the one that was leased out by Naidu's government in 2002. 'We will also take the delegation to Brahmini steel factory, my son's cement factory and even my estate in Kadpa,' he told the opposition parties.

Brahmini Steel factory is being set up by G. Janardhan Reddy, who also owns OMC. The steel plant is being set up at a cost of Rs.200 billion in Kadpa, YSR's native district.

The TDP has alleged that since Janardhan Reddy, a member of the Karnataka Legislative Council, is a close friend of YSR, several irregularities were committed in allotment of 10,000 acres of land and the project's approval.

YSR appealed to Naidu not to scare investors away by making wild allegations. He said TDP 'rowdies' Tuesday attacked Janardhan Reddy's house in Hyderabad.

Police also arrested TDP leaders and activists who were trying to march towards assembly building to protest YSR's remark.

Meanwhile, Janardhan Reddy has filed a defamation suit against Naidu and two others in a court in Anantapur district.

Earlier, TDP legislators raised the matter as soon as the assembly met and rushed towards the speaker's podium shouting, 'We want an apology'. The speaker first adjourned the house for 10 minutes and when protests continued after the house reassembled, he suspended 30 legislators for one day.

The chief minister later said he made the remark against Naidu because he had made many derogatory remarks against the speaker and brought up wild allegations against his government.

'His party is misleading people and making baseless allegations that we siphoned off millions of rupees while the fact is that it was Naidu who had given lease for mining in Obulapuram in 2002,' he said.

Alonso to leave if McLaren found guilty of spying

2007-07-24T22:52:00.001-07:00

World champion Fernando Alonso would be free to leave McLaren should the team be found guilty in the espionage scandal currently engulfing Formula One.

Although opinion is split regarding the outcome of Thursday's FIA hearing into the matter, Spanish sports news website as.com has claimed there could be yet another 'penalty' for Ron Dennis's outfit should any blame be laid at its door.

Should the team be found culpable of benefiting from Mike Coughlan's decision to accept a 700-page dossier of information from a Ferrari insider, sanctions could range from a heavy fine, via the loss of all constructors' championship points, to the stripping of all points in both the teams' and drivers' championships.

Such an outcome would leave Alonso and current championship leader Lewis Hamilton with nothing to show for their five wins and consistent podium appearances this season.

The two-time world champion would be free to leave McLaren should his image be damaged by the team's involvement in the scandal.

Dennis has repeatedly claimed that nothing contained in the Ferrari technical package has appeared on McLaren's MP4-22 - which returned to winning ways with Alonso at the Nurburgring Sunday - but paddock rumour claims that the FIA has enough proof that the information has been used to throw the book at McLaren.

Despite Dennis's denials regarding the use of Ferrari intellectual property on McLaren's car, the information could nevertheless have potentially been used to gain a competitive advantage.

McLaren also launched a successful protest against the 'flexible floor' introduced by Ferrari at the start of the season - something cynics say would not have been possible without back-up information detailing the part - based on email exchange between Coughlan and Ferrari's Nigel Stepney.

Missile Man Address To The Nation

2007-07-24T22:46:00.000-07:00

Following is the text of President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam's thanksgiving address to the nation Tuesday, his last day in office:

Five eventful years

'When you wish upon a star,

Makes no difference who you are

Anything your heart desires

Will come to you'

Friends, I am delighted to address you all, in the country and those living abroad, after working with you and completing five beautiful and eventful years in Rashtrapati Bhavan. Today, it is indeed a thanks-giving occasion. I would like to narrate, how I enjoyed every minute of my tenure enriched by the wonderful association from each one of you, hailing from different walks of life, be it politics, science and technology, academics, arts, literature, business, judiciary, administration, local bodies, farming, home makers, special children, media and above all from the youth and student community who are the future wealth of our country. During my interaction at Rashtrapati Bhavan in Delhi and at every state and union territory as well as through my online interactions, I have many unique experiences to share with you, which signify the following important messages:

1. Accelerate development: Aspiration of the youth,

2. Empower villages,

3. Mobilize rural core competence for competitiveness,

4. Seed to Food: Backbone for agricultural growth

5. Defeat problems and succeed,

6. Overcome problems through partnership,

7. Courage in combating calamities,

8. Connectivity for societal transformation,

9. Defending the nation: Our pride and

10. Youth movement for Developed India 2020.

Now let me share with you each of the messages.

Accelerate Development: Aspiration of the youth

While there were many significant events during my tenure, a question from a little girl Anukriti of Sri Sathya Sai Jagriti Vidya Mandir School, of Darwa village from Haryana, during children's visit to Rashtrapati Bhavan on May 22, 2006, rings in my mind ever after.

Anukriti asked me 'why India cannot become a developed nation before the year 2020'. I appreciated the question and said it was indeed a thoughtful question and assured her that that her dream would be taken to the highest institution of the nation and we would work for it to achieve before 2020. This question reflects how the desire to live in developed India has entered into the minds of the youth. The same feelings are echoed by over fifteen lakh youth, whom I have met so far and who represent the dream of the 540 million youth of the nation. The aspirations of the young to live in a prosperous, safe and proud India should be the guiding factor in whatever profession we contribute.

Empower Villages

Friends, I recall my visit to Nagaland on 26th October 2002, soon after my assuming office as President. It was a unique experience for me at Khuzama village to meet tribal village council members and discuss with them the village progress and the dream of village citizens. I was very happy to see the empowered village council functioning with financial powers and taking decisions. I saw a prosperous village with fruits and vegetables production. However, there is a need for providing physical connectivity in Nagaland through quality roads for enabling faster movement of products from villages to the market. That meeting gave me a powerful message about the transformation which can take place to the 600,000 villages of India, if all the villages are empowered to deal with their development and are well connected among themselves and with the urban societies.

Mobilizing rural core competence for competitiveness

Now I would like to talk about the initiative of Periyar Maniammai College of Technology for Women, Vallam, Tanjore of Providing Urban Amenities in Rural Areas (PURA) complex involving 65 villages with a population of 3 lakhs. This includes provision of three connectivities - physical, electronic and knowledge - leading to economic connectivity. Periyar PURA has health care centers, primary to post graduate level education and vocational training centers. This has resulted in large-scale employment generation and creation of number of entrepreneurs with the active support of 1000 self-help groups. Two hundred acres of waste land has been developed into a cultivable land. The villagers are busy in cultivation, planting Jatropha, herbal and medicinal plants, power generation using bio-mass, food processing and above all running marketing centers. It provides a sustainable economic development model for the whole region.

During the last eight months, people of Periyar PURA villages technologically supported by Periyar Maniammai College of Engineering for Women have worked with experts from Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO) on various products, for which core competence and raw material are available in Thanjavur district. They developed internationally competitive prototypes for 55 life style products with support of JETRO specialists and feedback from exhibitions at Delhi and Tokyo. This co-operative venture has enhanced the innovative ability of the people of all the 65 villages enabling them to develop and produce internationally acceptable products. I have seen similar type of PURA being established in many states. The whole country needs 7000 PURA to bridging the rural - urban divide.

Seed to Food: Backbone for agricultural growth

Let me now share with you, the enriching experience I had, while meeting more than 6000 farmers from different States and Union Territories visiting Rashtrapati Bhavan. They evinced keen interest in the Mughal Gardens, the Herbal Gardens, the Spiritual Garden, the Musical Garden, the Bio-diesel garden and the Nutrition Garden and interact with the Horticultural specialists. Recently, during my address to the agricultural scientists while participating in a National Symposium on 'Agriculture Cannot Wait', I summarized the many practical suggestions given by farmers. We have to double the agricultural production with reduced land, reduced water resources and reduced manpower and improve the economic conditions of the nation through the principle of 'Seed to Food' since agriculture is the backbone of the nation. We should empower the farmers to protect and nurture the fertile land for second green revolution. Meeting the Scientists and the Farmers has given me the confidence that the nation is poised to increase the agricultural GDP growth by atleast 4% per annum through the partnership of farmers and agricultural scientists and industries particularly for value addition.

Defeat the problems and succeed

On the evening of February 24, 2007, at Coimbatore, I had a very beautiful experience. As I got ready for meeting the first person out of twenty appointments, a wheel chair was in sight with a smiling person probably in his late fifties; unfortunately he has no hands and legs. His radiant face was revealing his happy state of mind. He introduced himself as Vidwan Shri SR Krishnamurthy. I greeted him and asked him how this had happened. He smilingly said that it was from by birth. He thanked God, his parents, teachers and many others for giving him confidence, training and help. I asked him, what I could do for him? He said, 'I don't need anything from you. I would like to sing in front of you'. I readily agreed. He sang melodiously the Saint Thyagraja's pancha ratna kriti entharo mahanubavulu in Sriragam giving me a glimpse of his talent. I was quite touched. What is the message? Despite being physically challenged, the latent talent of music could blossom in this person with his positive attitude and perseverance, encouraged by the parents, teachers, academics and rasikas. Now he wants to give, give and give his art to inspire others. Of course, by his merit of music, in July 2007, he performed in the Rashtrapati Bhavan art theatre.

Overcome the impact of disaster through partnership

I had the opportunity to experience the Indomitable Spirit of the people and children of Jammu & Kashmir even as they were just recovering from the devastating earthquake in 2005. I visited Urusa village on 26th November 2005 which has been adopted by the Western Air Command, Air Force for providing relief and medical aid to the residents of that area. When I went there, I found that the school building had been severely damaged. I met all the school children and the village citizen of Urusa. The villagers apprised me of their losses and had all praise for Army and Air Force role in rescue and relief operations along with state government. I appreciate the courage of the people of Urusa in defeating their problems. They have actually become the master of the problem rather than allowing problems to become their master. Despite the severe loss due to the earthquake, the children and the members of the village participated in the relief operation with the Armed Forces bravely and were smiling when I went to meet them. They interacted with me and said that the school was functional in the temporary tents. Here, I also witnessed the participation of acting Chief Justice of Jammu & Kashmir along with State Government authorities in on-the-spot settlement of relief grants to be provided to the victims whose houses had been damaged in the earth quake. I have experienced many such acts of courage from our citizens when faced with severe challenges.

Courage in combating calamities

In 2005, I met the Tribal Council Leaders, Students, Children of Chuckchucha village during my visit to Car Nicobar Islands. While various reconstruction and rehabilitation activities were in progress, during the discussions with the members of tribal council, I realized the unique trait among the Car-Nicobar islanders. Even though there were many human losses due to the Tsunami of 26 Dec 2004, the tribal islanders had taken possession of affected victims as their children and there is nothing like orphanage in Car-Nicobar Islands. Touched by their courage, I composed few verses called 'Sea Waves' which reads as follows:

Sea Waves

We are the children of Sea waves,

Sea waves are my friends.

When they become angry,

Sea waves give the challenges.

God has given the courage,

To challenge the sea waves.

And we will succeed,

We will succeed

With Almighty's grace.

All the members who were gathered in the village sang the poem with me and exhibited lots of courage and enthusiasm even though they had gone through severe suffering during the Tsunami.

Connectivity for societal transformation

I addressed the Pan African Parliament on 16 September 2004, at Johannesburg, South Africa. This was attended by 53 member countries of the African Union, where I proposed the concept of Pan African e-Network for providing seamless and integrated satellite, fiber optics and wireless network connecting 53 African countries at an estimated cost of US $ 100 million.

As part of the project 12 universities (7 from India and 5 from Africa), 17 Super Specialty Hospitals (12 from India and 5 from Africa), 53 tele-medicine centers and 53 tele-education centres in Africa will be connected. The pilot project on tele-education and tele-medicine in Ethiopia has already been commissioned. Indira Gandhi National Open University has taken up the MBA Course for 34 Ethiopian students of Addis Ababa and Harmaya Universities. As regards, tele-medicine, the specialists from CARE Hospital, Hyderabad are providing one-hour live tele-consultation to doctors in Black Lion Hospital, Addis Ababa in Cardiology and Radiology since November 2006. Using the Pan African network the Heads of the State in all the 53 countries will be connected for instant communication. I am extremely happy that Indian experience in bringing the benefits of technology to the people has enabled us to work with Africa to bring societal transformation in the African continent.

Defending the nation: Our pride

I visited KUMAR in Siachen Glacier located at 17,000 feet altitude held by the Indian Army, had a memorable underwater journey in INS Sindhurakshak and flew in a Sukhoi-30 fighter experiencing 2.5 g. In these three experiences, I personally felt proud of our ever vigilant Soldiers, Sailors and Air Warriors performing their tasks beyond the call of their duty even in the most adverse circumstances natural and man made. During the last five years, I had an opportunity to present colours to many regiments, participate in number of passing out parades, meet the troops who were going to undertake peace missions and interact with the family members of our Defence Forces. Our Defence Forces are in a beautiful mission. When the nation sleeps during night, Members of our Defence teams are awake to guard us and remain vigilant to counter any threat. The Nation cherishes the valour, commitment and devotion to duty of our Defence Forces. Similarly, I had opportunities to interact with members of our para-military forces, central and state police personnel including internal security forces who are making immense contribution in augmenting the safety and security of our citizens under difficult conditions.

Youth movement for Developed India 2020

Recently, in Hyderabad, I met a group of citizens who are putting into practice the motto of transforming of our youth into enlightened citizen. The Lead India 2020 Foundation created by Dr. N.B. Sudershan at Hyderabad is training thousands of students in many districts of Andhra Pradesh in partnership with the District Administration. Particularly, I happened to know the transformation which has taken place among the students of Medak district. As per the district authorities the impact of the training on the students is visible in terms of self-discipline, love for their parents and teachers shedding of stage fear and recognition of their duties towards the nation. I talked to Ms. Padma, a student leader from Andhra Pradesh Tribal Welfare School, Nalgonda who related how she weaned her father away from smoking after imbibing the spirit of the 10 point oath from the Lead India Training Camp. This gives me an assurance that the youth of our country are on the right path through this mission oriented programme. With the ignited minds of the 540 million youth below the age of 25, which I consider is the most powerful resource on the earth, under the earth and above the earth, we have to empower the youth through value based education and leadership.

Conclusion

I was touched by the variety of Indian panorama, emotional content of the tune, cultural diversity and unity of minds in the vast land of ours. I have cited these examples just to give a glimpse of the richness of our tradition and effort being taken by different agencies to preserve it. There are also many new adventures by institutions and individuals. I have experienced many of them and learnt a lot about my country and our people. Even while pursuing our economic growth, we need to do a lot to preserve the rich and diverse treasures of our culture and civilization. It is our duty for our future generations. This has to be done in a much larger scale through countrywide participation of multiple institutions. Our country is blessed with natural resources, has shown considerable progress in the last sixty years, and above all we have hard working people particularly the power of the 540 million youth of the country. Every sector of our country has given me the confidence that India can become a developed nation well before 2020. Whomsoever, I met they constantly ask what they can give to the nation. We should constantly strive to empower such members of the society. With this spirit, I am extremely happy that we are on the right path. Here I am reminded of a famous poem:

'When you wish upon a star,

Makes no difference who you are,

Anything your heart desires,

Will come to you'

This poem is true to all of us, and particularly for our youth and if they aim great, I am sure they will reach close to the target or the target.

My dear citizens, let us resolve to continue to work for realizing the missions of developed India 2020 with the following distinctive profile.

1. A Nation where the rural and urban divide has reduced to a thin line.

2. A Nation where there is an equitable distribution and adequate access to energy and quality water.

3. A Nation where agriculture, industry and service sector work together in symphony.

4. A Nation where education with value system is not denied to any meritorious candidates because of societal or economic discrimination.

5. A Nation which is the best destination for the most talented scholars, scientists, and investors.

6. A Nation where the best of health care is available to all.

7. A Nation where the governance is responsive, transparent and corruption free.

8. A Nation where poverty has been totally eradicated, illiteracy removed and crimes against women and children are absent and none in the society feels alienated.

9. A Nation that is prosperous, healthy, secure, peaceful and happy and continues with a sustainable growth path.

10. A Nation that is one of the best places to live in and is proud of its leadership.

Finally let me thank each one of you for showering your love and affection on me throughout the last five years by your cooperation and support.

Dear Citizens, I conclude my address by sharing with you my mission in life which is to bring connectivity between billion hearts and minds of the people of India in our multicultural society and to embed the self confidence that 'we can do it'. I will be always with you, dear citizens, in the great mission of making India a developed nation before 2020.

May God bless you. Jai hind.

Reliance launches international calling cards

2007-07-24T07:52:00.000-07:00

Reliance Communications (RCOM), one of India's leading telecom players, Monday launched Passport Outroamer calling cards, which enable Indians travelling abroad to make calls to any international destination from a mobile phone, landline or payphone at lower rates.

The calling card enables savings of up to 90 percent as compared to international roaming.

V.K. Aggarwal, president, global voice business at RCOM said: 'The Reliance Passport Outroamer calling card is the beginning of a series of initiatives to offer cost effective solutions for outbound travellers to stay in touch with family, friends and business associates.'

It can be used to make calls from the US, Canada, Britain, Singapore, Australia and Malaysia at attractive tariff plans with rates starting as low as Rs.5.50 per minute.

'The product is in line with the global focus of Reliance Communications and is an effective way for us to tap the international voice market in order to further enhance our leadership position,' Aggarwal added.

The card also has value added services like Voice Portal that allows users to stay updated with the latest happenings in India.

RCOM also launched the Reliance Passport Advantage - an inroamer service for people travelling to India. By using this service, traveller can save up to 75 percent over other international roaming services.

The service is presently available for travellers coming into the country from the US. It will be extended to other countries later.

Indonesian landslide: Death toll rises to 20

2007-07-24T03:48:00.000-07:00

Rescue teams struggled today to reach parts of Indonesia's Sulawesi island where 20 people have died and 8,000 displaced by landslides and floods caused by days of torrential rains.

Rescuers are searching for 52 people missing in the landslides that have buried hundreds of homes in Baturube and Bungku Utara districts, which lie about 1,700 km northeast of the capital, officials said.

Bad weather and difficult access are hampering rescue efforts in the region where several villages have been cut off by the floods, Rustam Pakaya, head of the health crisis centre in Jakarta, told sources.

Jakarta had sent a team of doctors with medication, baby food, instant noodles and tents, but Pakaya said he feared bad weather was likely to delay help to the area, which is six hours by boat from the nearest town.

''About 8,000 have been evacuated, but many thousands are still in the area and need to be moved,'' said Setio Sutarmo, an official with the country's national coordinating body for disaster management.

''Yesterday we only had 60 rescuers from the local search and rescue unit and the police. Back up is on the way, but it takes time to reach the area.'' Deadly landslides occur frequently in Indonesia, where tropical downpours can quickly soak hillsides where years of deforestation often means there is little vegetation to hold the soil.

Credits

8 including 3 personnels hurt in Dera clashes

2007-07-24T03:47:00.000-07:00

Eight people, including three security personnel, were injured in a clash between sikhs and Sacha Sauda followers at Mallawale village, about 30 km from here today, police sources said.

The clash, in which some people opened firing, occured following reports that a sikh, identified as Satpal, son of local Gurdwara Manager Sher Singh, was manhandled and dragged allegedly by Dera Sacha Sauda "premis" (followers). The warring groups pelted stones at each other.

The clash followed cancellation of Sacha Sauda-sponsored satsang at a public place in the village at the intervention of peace committee and district administration.

The situation was described as tense but under control in the area.

Media makes mountain out of molehill

2007-07-24T03:45:00.000-07:00

The media in Andhra Pradesh, which is following an out and out anti-government policy, has found an excellent opportunity to deride Chief Minister Dr Y S Rajasekhar Reddy by making a mountain out of mole hill in the Monday's unsavoury episode in the Assembly.

Right from the time the incident happened in the Assembly till late in the night, Eenadu television carried an opinion poll on whether it was justified on the part of the Chief Minister to use foul language against Naidu and as expected, it was a sort of mobilising the public opinion against the government and YSR in particular. So was the case with TV, though on a lessor scale. The channels continuously aired the scenes in the Assembly to create a negative impression about the Chief Minister and played down his clarifications.

As expected, the two newspapers – Eenadu and Andhra Jyothi – carried banner stories against YSR and wrote editorials. And the Telugu Desam made use of every opportunity to take advantage of the media support. The Congress leaders are now lamenting for not having a publication or channel to give the otherside of the story!

You will repent having born to your mother

2007-07-23T09:18:00.000-07:00

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy's personal attack on opposition leader N. Chandrababu Naidu in the state assembly Monday sparked a furore, and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) activists immediately took to the streets demanding an apology.

The chief minister made a scathing attack on the TDP president during a heated debate on the issue of mining lease to Obulapuram Mining Corp (OMC) owned by Rajasekhara Reddy's friend and the arrest of TDP leaders in Anantapur district.

YSR, as the chief minister is known, was making clarifications on the opposition's allegations when Naidu tried to intervene.

The chief minister refused to yield and made a remark in Telugu while angrily gesticulating at Naidu. 'I will expose you in such a way that you will repent having born to your mother,' he said, and repeated it when Naidu and TDP legislators protested.

Although YSR and Naidu have been bitter political rivals for a long time, the TDP president was taken aback. The opposition legislators trooped into the well of the house and demanded an apology from the chief minister.

Amid the heated exchange of words between treasury and opposition benches, YSR requested Speaker K.R. Suresh Reddy to expunge any remark that he finds 'unparliamentary'. Following the uproar, the speaker adjourned the house till evening.

Later, talking to newsmen, Naidu said he was hurt by the chief minister's remarks. 'All members in the house have mothers. Has anybody been born without a mother,' asked Naidu, who was chief minister from 1995 to 2004.

Protesting against YSR's remark, TDP activists took to the streets in the state capital and other parts of the state and set afire YSR effigies.

Earlier, clarifying the issue in the house, YSR said it was Naidu's government that had given iron ore mining lease to OMC, owned by G. Janardhan Reddy, a member of the Karnataka legislative council.

The chief minister said the police arrested TDP leaders as they were proceeding to the mining area without permission and in violation of prohibitory orders. He said Janardhan Reddy was ready to facilitate a visit by the TDP delegation but wanted the party to wait for his return from China.

The issue of alleged police 'highhandedness' against TDP leaders rocked the house as soon as it met for the day. The speaker suspended Naidu and 20 other TDP legislators from the question hour for stalling the assembly's proceedings.

The speaker also suspended 13 Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) legislators on another charge.

Though the TDP has 45 legislators in the 294-member assembly, most were in Anantapur to protest against the arrest of their colleagues Saturday when they were going to OMC.

Tendulkar should continue till 2011: Gavaskar

2007-07-22T22:13:00.000-07:00

Sunil Gavaskar, the legendary Indian batsman and now a broadcaster and writer on cricket, has said he would like to see Sachin Tendulkar continue his career until the World Cup in 2011, which is scheduled to be co-hosted by India, with the final slated to be held in Mumbai.

Gavaskar, who is one of the expert commentators on BBC's Test Match Special programme covering the present India-England test match, made his remarks in course of a discussion on BBC Radio on Tendulkar during one of the breaks in play.

The reason for his suggestion was that the people of India should get the privilege of giving Tendulkar a farewell. Tendulkar will be 38 in 2011, generally considered too old to play one-day cricket, although Brian Lara made his last appearance at the same age in this year's World Cup.

Gavaskar himself had made his final bow in one-day cricket in the World Cup in India in 1987. This was, in fact, at his home ground of Wankhede Stadium, when India, despite being favourites, lost in the semi-final here to England.

Referring to Tendulkar's centuries, Gavaskar felt 100 international hundreds can be achieved by him, with 50 tons in one-day internationals a nearer target. Tendulkar has 41 three-figure innings in ODIs.

'Ace Ventura' set to return to big screen

2007-07-22T22:10:00.000-07:00

Comic film 'The Ace Ventura' is set to return to the big screen after a gap of 13 years with its third sequel.

The first two films had Jim Carrey in the role of a pet detective and its success catapulted him to superstardom.

Now 12-year-old Josh Flitter will play the pet detective's son in 'Ace Ventura 3', reports ananova.com. It will show Flitter's character following in his father's footsteps by becoming a pet detective at school.

He has to track down a stolen baby panda after his mother is wrongly suspected of the crime. Filming is due to start in September in Florida.

Politicians Orkut profiles under probe

2007-07-21T20:54:00.000-07:00

Police in Kerala have started investigations into the fraudulent profiles of prominent political leaders, including Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan and Leader of Opposition Oommen Chandy, on social network website Orkut put up by unidentified people.

Chandy, a former chief minister, gave a written complaint to the director general of police about two weeks ago that his picture and other personal details were added on the site.

Speaking to IANS here Saturday, Loknath Behra, inspector general of police in charge of the IT cell, said the investigations were underway to trace the culprits.

'We have got in touch with Google (which runs Orkut) and are certain that we will crack the crime. This has been done in the name of several VIPs,' said Behra, who recently solved a number of cyber crimes.

India Elected First Woman President

2007-07-21T20:50:00.000-07:00

India has got its woman president in Pratibha Patil who won one of the bitterest political campaigns to the top post in the country's 60-year-old post independence history.

Patil, 72, was voted Saturday as the 13th president of the country. She won by 306,810 votes against her rival Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, who contested the July 19 presidential election as an independent backed by opposition National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

Immediately after the results were announced, Patil came out of her temporary residence in the capital to describe it as a 'victory of principles, victory of right thinking' by the people.

Patil, a nominee of the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA), Left and Bahujan Samaj Party, got 325,180 votes from the state legislators and 442 of the total 682 MPs who cast their votes, paving her way to Rashtrapati Bhavan, the official residence of the president.

An MP's vote value is 706 and an MLA's varies from state to state according to its population.

Patil, who had been haunted by unsubstantiated opposition charges of corruption, fraud and improprieties, has won almost 11,000 more votes than expected. Shekhawat got 331,306 votes.

Congress party supporters erupted in jubilation across the country, bursting crackers, distributing sweets, dancing to drums and raising slogans in favour of Patil and party president Sonia Gandhi.

Patil's native Jalgaon village in Maharashtra and her husband Devisingh Ransingh Shekhawat's native place in Rajasthan's Sikar have been in celebration mood since morning as her victory was a foregone conclusion against her 84-year-old rival, Shekhawat, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) veteran.

Counting began 11 a.m. Saturday with Election Commission officials unsealing ballot boxes that arrived from 30 assemblies and the parliament house.

Thursday's poll had been preceded by the most acerbic campaign, which many political analysts said had dented the prestige of the country's highest office.

The ruling Congress party had in turn charged Shekhawat of protecting his family members in a land scam and of serving the colonial police when India was fighting against the British rule in the pre-1947 era.

While a reticent Patil denied the charges during her national tour for campaign, Shekhawat's party went on raising fresh charges against the former Rajasthan governor.

The legislators in Kerala, Mizoram and Tripura voted only for Patil as Shekhawat drew a blank in both the states. It was a sweep for Patil in her home state Maharashtra, where she won the support of 223 MLAs leaving 58 for Shekhawat.

It was a similar story in Haryana with her getting 74 to Shekhawat's 6, Himachal Pradesh (47-20), Manipur (55-5), Meghalaya (49-6) Andhra Pradesh (223-2), Arunachal Pradesh (58-1), Assam (92-20, four votes were invalid), Jharkhand (49-28) Delhi (50-19), Goa (25-14), Nagaland (40-12), Sikkim (31-1) and Tamil Nadu (171-59).

In Karnataka it was a close fight as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s ruling ally Janata Dal-Secular abstained from voting. The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) candidate got 83 and her rival, 82.

Shekhawat got more votes in NDA-ruled states. In Bihar he got 145 to Patil's 89, in Chhattisgarh (51-37), Gujarat (123-57), Madhya Pradesh (163-56), Punjab (66-45), Orissa (100-46) and Rajasthan (134-63). The vice president belongs to Rajasthan.

The new president will be sworn in on July 25.

Rishad joins father Azim Premji at Wipro

2007-07-19T23:31:00.000-07:00

Rishad Premji, 29, the eldest son of Wipro Ltd. chairman Azim H. Premji, has finally joined India's third largest IT firm after his appointment was approved at the company's annual general meeting (AGM).

'Yes, he (Rishad) joined the company Wednesday as our new employee. He has been appointed in our flagship global IT services and products division,' the elder Premji said Thursday.

Asked whether Rishad's appointment was part of his succession plan for the company, Premji declined to respond and said he had no comments to make or details to share.

'All I can say is Rishad is our new employee and will work in the IT division, reporting to Girish S. Paranjpe, the president of financial services,' Premji told IANS.

According to Paranjpe, Rishad has been absorbed in a lateral position and will undergo induction over the next two months. He will be based in Bangalore.

'Rishad is like any other new employee for us. Nonetheless, in view of his bright academic and professional background, he will be handling special projects in consulting and financial services,' Paranjpe told IANS.

After graduating from Harvad Business School with a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree, Rishad had worked at General Electric (GE) in the US and Bain & Co., a global consulting firm in Britain, where he was business development executive, handling financial and other allied services.

'Rishad brings to the table five years of experience in global consulting, mergers and acquisitions and driving business in financial services,' Paranjpe added.

Though Rishad is not yet qualified to apply for stock options (Esops), he has some stake in the company as part of Premji family's holding.

Billionaire Premji, who holds about 80 percent of Wipro's stock, joined the company in Mumbai at the age of 21 following his father's sudden death in 1966. Wipro was then known as Western India Vegetable Oils Company.

Premji's second son Tareeq, 26, looks after his father's investment portfolio. Earlier, he was associated with the Azim Premji Foundation, a non-profit organisation with a vision to contribute quality primary education for every child.

TCS, Infy, Wipro top IT recruiters: Nasscom

2007-07-19T23:29:00.000-07:00

Tata Consultancy, Infosys and Wipro have been adjudged Indian IT industry's top three recruiters, according to the Nasscom top 20 list of IT-ITES employers for 2006-07.

The rankings are based on the India-based headcount of firms with IT-ITES operations in the country.

'The Indian IT-ITES industry is India's largest employment generator in the organised sector of today creating jobs for over 7.5 million people both directly and indirectly, and as per our research this figure is expected to cross 10 million by 2010,' Nasscom's outgoing president Kiran Karnik said in a statement Thursday.

'A varied combination of factors have led to this - healthy growth environment, attractive remuneration and different kinds of employment opportunities in the new economy based on varying skill sets, and above all the availability of talent in India which meets the employment projections.'

Others who made it to the top 20 slot are HCL Technologies, Cognizant, Satyam Computer Services, Hewlett Packard, Genpact and Oracle.

The top 20 companies collectively employ over 500,000 people of the 1.6 million employed directly in the industry, Nasscom said.

'What we do need to work on is the quality factor to ensure we remain the highest employment generator and maintain our share of the global offshore IT and ITES industry,' said Karnik.

Recently, the human resource development ministry, with support from Nasscom and the IT industry, has recommended the launch of five new IIITs (Indian Institutes of Information Technology) by 2008, based on the public-private partnership model.

The ministry aims to set up about 20 IIITs over the next few years.

The industry body also recently launched NASSCOM's Assessment of Competence (NAC), an industry standard assessment and certification programme.

Australia seeks bank details of Haneef

2007-07-19T23:25:00.001-07:00

As India intensified diplomatic pressure over fair treatment of Mohammed Haneef, a suspect in the foiled UK bombings, Australia Thursday sought details of bank transactions and telephone calls of the Indian doctor charged with providing 'reckless' support to terrorists.

The Australian Attorney General has sought details of the accounts of Haneef in the Bangalore-based branches of UTI Bank and State Bank of India to verify whether Haneef was receiving funds from some overseas organisations with terrorist links.

The Australian authorities have sent a request seeking information about Haneef's bank transactions and family background in a Letter Rogatory which was received through the external affairs ministry and passed on to the CBI, well-placed sources said.

A questionnaire has also been sent for Haneef's wife Firdous and his brother Shoaib seeking more information about his schooling, college, family structure and other personal details of his family life.

The Australian authorities also want to know the reason for Haneef taking a one-way air ticket to India.

The Australian authorities are conducting a thorough scrutiny of Haneef's background to ascertain whether he was in any way involved with the failed bombings in London and Glasgow.

Haneef's visa was cancelled early this week soon after a Brisbane court gave bail to the Indian doctor saying he had no direct link to terrorists.

Earlier, India and Australia agreed to conclude a mutual legal assistance treaty even as External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee conveyed New Delhi's concerns over 'fair treatment' of Haneef to his Australian counterpart Alexander Downer.

Downer rang up Mukherjee and discussed developments relating to continuing detention of Haneef.

'Mukherjee conveyed to Downer the concern of the Indian government and people that Dr Mohammed Haneef be treated fairly and justly under Australian law,' external affairs ministry spokesperson Navtej Sarna said.

The two ministers agreed that both countries should conclude a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty, he added.

Australian High Commissioner John McCarthy said in TV interviews here that there was 'not a hint of racism' in the way Haneef was being dealt with in connection with failed UK bombings.

Babies for sale: Scam exposed in Andhra

2007-07-19T08:04:00.001-07:00

A midwife in Karimnagar district converted the job of helping deliver babies into a roaring business opportunity by simply selling newborn babies to childless couples.

The price paid for these babies sold soon after birth to childless couples in Karimnagar district of Andhra Pradesh ranged from Rs 5000 to Rs 1.5 lakh.

The racket was exposed after a young mother lodged a police complaint after she was told her baby was born dead.

''He agreed to pay Rs 20,000 for this baby but paid only Rs 5,000, saying he would pay only after checking the baby is okay,'' said Sameena, Midwife.

The midwife says the biological mothers gave up the babies because they were born out of illegitimate relationships.

''In the last one and a half years, she had sold six other babies. She lured vulnerable mothers. She took Rs 80,000, Re 1 lakh, Rs 1.5 lakh from childless couples and made money,'' said T Laxminarsaiah, DSP, Jagtial.

Six baby boys and one baby girl traded in a similar manner were traced within a 50-km radius and brought to the police station along with the couples who bought them.

''How can I now give up the baby? In fact I borrowed money to bring this baby boy home. He is now our life,'' said a local.

''She said if you give money, you can get a baby. So I gave money and got him home,'' said another.

''I can't give her up. How can I continue to live after that?'' said yet another local.

The children are now in the temporary custody of a voluntary organisation in Karimnagar.

The authorities say the parents have been asked to seek legal adoption of their wards.

Courtesy: NDTV

'Nehru and Edwina had a platonic relationship'

2007-07-18T03:19:00.000-07:00

The youngest daughter of Louis and Edwina Mountbatten says her mother and India's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru were very much in love but it was a platonic affair and no sex was involved.

Lady Pamela Hicks said in a television interview that Lord Mountbatten, British India's last viceroy, did use her mother to influence Nehru into going to the UN on the Kashmir row with Pakistan.

But Hicks insisted in her interview to Karan Thapar in CNN-IBN's Devil's Advocate programme to be telecast Sunday night that Nehru and Edwina never got physical.

'If you long to believe that (they had sex), then don't let me prevent you. But I don't believe it,' she said.

'I believe just that they loved being together ... they might like to hold hands or to hug or something like that. (But) I don't believe, I really don't believe, because of the fact that my father was so often around and that there was not a hint of that.'

CNN-IBN said it was the first interview given by any member of the Mountbatten family on the relationship between Lady Mountbatten and Nehru.

Hicks gave the interview to mark the publication of her book 'India Remembered' about the 15 months she spent in the country from March 1947 to June 1948.

She admitted that it was 'very awkward for them (her mother and Nehru), you know, if I was around the whole time'.

She called Nehru a very honourable man 'who liked my father. There was a great affection between the two... I think he (Nehru) would never have dishounoured his friends'.

Pressed that it would have been natural for a widower that Nehru was to be attracted sexually to a beautiful woman that Edwina was, Hicks said: 'It could be and maybe everybody will think I'm being very naive but the fact she had had lovers in the past, somehow this was so different. It really was.

'My mother was so happy with Jawaharlal ... my father knew that it helped her because a woman can, after a long marriage, and they had had their silver wedding so they'd been over 25 years together, a woman can feel perhaps frustrated, and perhaps neglected ... and so if a new affection comes into her life, a new admiration, she blossoms and she's happy ...

'It made my mother, who could be quite difficult at times, as many very extraordinary women can be ... lovely to be with her. There were no prickles.'

She said that both she and her father, Lord Mountbatten, handled the Nehru-Edwina affair with tact. Asked how easy that was, she responded: 'We just had to go out of the room.'

She added: 'They were (always) both fully dressed sitting on a sofa in the study or something.'

Hicks admitted that Lord Mountbatten did use his mother to influence Nehru's thinking.

'But he certainly wasn't going to throw her, he didn't say to her 'go become the prime minister's lover because I need you to intercede'. It was a by-product of this deep affection...'

Thapar: Many people in India believe that the decision Nehru took to refer Kashmir to the UN was taken under your father's advice. Could that have been an area where your mother's influence would have been particularly useful?'

Hicks: I think it could have been ... my father, just in dry conversation might not have been able to get his viewpoint over, but with my mother translating it for Panditji and making, you know, appealing to his heart more than his mind, that he should really behave like this. I think probably that did happen.

Thapar: So, in a very interesting sense, Panditji had a love in your mother and your father had a bit of influence through your mother on Panditji.

Hicks: Yes, I think so.

Hicks also spoke at length about the letters Nehru and Edwina wrote to each other.

'My mother died in Borneo ... She died suddenly in the middle of her work. On her bedside table was a packet of Panditji's letters. In her will we found she had left the whole collection of letters to my father, and they were an enormous number. There were suitcases full of these letters.'

Hicks said that although her father was sure there was nothing in the letters that would hurt him, he was nonetheless reluctant to be the first to read them.

'He said he was ninety nine percent sure there was nothing that would wound him or worry him or diminish him in any way. But there was just that one percent of doubt fluttering in his heart and he said: 'Darling will you read them first'.

'And so I read them and they were wonderful letters, but nothing at all that would have distressed my father.'

Speaking about the content of the letters, she said: 'They would have an endearment to begin with and, sadly always, that they were missing each other so much ... these letters had an opening paragraph of tenderness, and the end would also be tender and romantic and nice like that.

'But three quarters of the letter was unburdening himself of all his worries and his disappointments or his hopes.'

Website Against Presidential candidate.

2007-07-12T00:53:00.000-07:00

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Tuesday intensified its campaign against Pratibha Patil, launching a website and releasing a booklet on its allegations on the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) presidential candidate.

As part of the campaign, the party summoned its most articulate and acceptable face, party general secretary Arun Jaitley, to repackage and publicise the charges.

Jaitley launched a website www.knowpratibhapatil.com at a press conference at the residence of former BJP president M. Venkaiah Naidu.

It also released a 60-page A-4 size booklet with glossy paper containing all the recent news stories and commentaries in the media against Patil. It was titled 'A compilation of reports and articles appearing in the media about the life and work of Smt. Pratibha Patil'.

The occasion saw many senior BJP members and sympathisers like the Pioneer Editor Chandan Mitra, former personal secretary to Giani Zail Singh, Tarlochan Singh, Sudheendra Kulkarni and Rajkumar Sharma who served in the Prime Minister's Office under Atal Bihari Vajpayee and other notable BJP members rallying around to mobilise support for Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, who is contesting as an independent supported by the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

Also present was N.D. Patil, the BJP man from Jalgaon who has been carrying on this campaign on his website www.reportindia.com the day the UPA announced Pratibha Patil's name.

Speaking on the occasion, Jaitley said: 'Even though the people do not elect the rashtrapati (president), they have a right to know whether the likely winner is worthy of becoming the head of state of the world's largest democracy. They need to know whether the person embodies the lofty ideals enshrined in the Constitution of India, of which he or she will be the custodian.'

Putting all the charges against Patil on the doorstep of the media, the BJP general secretary said: 'A spate of scandals and controversies that the Indian media, both print and electronic, have exposed, casting Smt. Patil as a person wholly unsuited to occupy the highest constitutional office in India.'

Patil is charged with financial impropriety and with shielding her brother in a murder case.

They are tapping my phone - Sushma

2007-07-12T00:45:00.000-07:00

Sushma Swaraj, leading the opposition presidential election campaign for vice president Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, says her telephone is being tapped.

'My phones, those of Mr S S Ahluwalia and of Digvijay Singh (of the Janata Dal-United) are being tapped because we are the chief campaigners of Shekhawat,' she told reporters Wednesday.

'These people have become nervous and are sure to lose the elections. That is why, in panic, they are resorting to all these practices.

'I have brought this to the notice of the Election Commission. I have also written to the communications minister,' said Swaraj.

She said that whenever anyone called up her phone number, 9868181920, 'the reply comes 'this number does not exist'. I am not being able to call up from my phone. When I called up my residential landline it was being connected to the Police Control Room.'

BJP Rajya Sabha MP Ahluwalia, backed her up, saying, 'I have been handling mobile phones since their inception and can make out when they are being tapped or when there is some normal fault in the line and I can tell you this is clearly a case of tapping.'

TVS launches sports version of Apache

2007-07-10T05:18:00.000-07:00

At a time when India is buoyed by the Formula One hype, TVS Motors, the third largest two-wheeler manufacturer in the country, launched a sports version of Apache here Monday for the niche racing bike segment.

The 160 cc Apache RTR (Racing Throttle Response), custom-built for young racers, is a product of the in-house research wing of TVS.

The bike, combining TVS Racing's technology with home-grown research and development know-how, has 15.2 brake horse power (BHP) and can deliver a top speed of 118 kmph. It can accelerate from 0-60 kmph in mere 4.8 seconds and takes 17.7 seconds to reach 100 kmph.

Priced at Rs.58,000 (about $1,400), the new bike would be available in five sporting colours.

'Gradually the company is looking to graduate to high powered bikes and Apache RTR will be a step towards it. There is a market for sports bikes and TVS wants to see itself as a racing product,' said company's senior vice-president sales and service R.Chandramoili while unveiling the motorcycle.

The bike comes with hot features like rear set aluminium foot pegs, adjustable split handlebars, digital console with service due reminder clock and dual trip meter.

The company is banking on the success of Apache 150, which was launched last year at the Auto Expo, and is hopeful that Apache RTR will be another hot seller.

Apache was seen as a competitor of Bajaj's Pulsar, which launched its 220 cc version last month, and TVS feels that they would also gradually upgrade their RTR model.

'Bajaj has taken the first step by launching the 220 cc Pulsar. We will also do it gradually with an upgraded version of the RTR,' said Chandramoili.

BSE Sensex closes at all time High

2007-07-09T19:47:00.000-07:00

With technology stocks opening firm, Indian indices rose to a record high for a sixth successive day Monday, closing above the 15,000 mark for the first time in its history.

The benchmark 30-share sensitive index of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) breached the 15,000 mark in early trade and rose to a lifetime high of 15,085.22 levels during trade to close at 15,045.73, up 0.55 percent or 81.61 points from its weekend closing of 14,946.12 points.

The Sensex had for the first time breached the magic mark Friday, rising to 15,007.22 but closing at 14,964.12.

As many as 20 Sensex components traded in green.

The broader 50-issue National Stock Exchange (NSE) index, Nifty, was also 0.79 percent or 34.55 points to close at its all time high of 4,419.40 after hitting a lifetime high of 4,427.55 during trade.

'The overall scenario of the market looks positive. Through here is a possibility of a correction, the market looks good,' said Goldman Sachs analyst Neelesh Banerjee.

Leading the change at the Sensex Monday was private sector energy producer Reliance Energy, up 2.94 percent at Rs.615.50. Following was top engineering and construction firm Larsen & Toubro, up 2.17 percent at Rs.2,415.80, and leading private sector telecom service provider Bharti Airtel, up 1.98 percent at RS. 883.55.

Technical and banking stocks maintained their positive run to help the Sensex breach the magic level on two successive sessions.

State-run Oil and Natural Gas Corp., top software exporter Tata Consultancy Service, top lender State Bank of India, second largest private sector lender HDFC Bank heavy electrical equipment maker BHEL, thermal energy producer NTPC and second largest software exporter Wipro were the other major stocks that traded in the green.

Fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) maker Hindustan Unilever, led the top losers of the day, down 2.30 percent at Rs.195.35, losing Rs.4.60 on its last trade.

The largest private sector lender ICICI Bank was down 1.13 percent at Rs.970.45, and multi-utility vehicle maker Mahindra & Mahindra was down 1.02 percent at Rs.779.30.

Drug maker Cipla, textile producer Grasim Industries, car maker Maruti Udyog, top two-wheeler and three-wheeler maker Bajaj Auto and pharma firm Ranbaxy Laboratories were the other major index stocks that traded in the red.

India's most valuable company, Reliance Industries, also took a beating in the intra-day trading, down 0.03 percent at Rs.1,711.00.

The Rivalry of Two Leaders Clashed in Public

2007-07-09T19:32:00.000-07:00

The rivalry between Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy and senior leader of the ruling Congress party P. Janardhan Reddy took an ugly turn as the family members of the two politicians clashed in public over a petty issue here. Supporters of Janardhan Reddy damaged four buses in the posh Jubilee Hills locality Monday.

A brawl between Janardhan Reddy's son and the chief minister's younger brother Y.S. Ravindernath Reddy and nephew Sunday night snowballed into a major row with Janardhan Reddy and his supporters staging a protest in front of the Jubilee Hills police station.

Police Monday registered a case of attempt to murder against Janardhan Reddy's son P. Vishnuvardhan Reddy and son-in-law Santosh Reddy, who had to spend Sunday night in police custody.

Four other cases of rioting, criminal intimidation, mischief and causing damage were also booked against the duo. On Monday, a magistrate remanded them in judicial custody till July 20.

On a complaint filed by Janardhan Reddy's wife, the police have also registered cases of rioting against Ravindernath Reddy and his son.

PJR, as Janardhan Reddy is popularly known, and his supporters have been staging a protest before the Jubilee Hills police station since Sunday night. They are demanding the arrest of the chief minister's brother and nephew.

Alleging that the police are favouring the chief minister's family, he has refused to leave the police station till a case of attempt to murder is booked against the chief minister's brother.

Tension prevailed in the area Monday morning as some of PJR's supporters damaged four buses. Police arrested some of them and sent them to other police stations.

The incident took place when the chief minister was away in Maldives celebrating his 58th birthday.

Janardhan Reddy, who led the Congress party in the state assembly when it was in opposition from 1994 to 1999, is a bitter critic of the chief minister.

The trouble started Sunday night on a narrow road in MLA Quarters in the posh Jubliee Hills neighbourhood when the chief minister's brother and nephew, who were returning home in a car, found another car blocking their way.

The car belonged to Janardhan Reddy's son, who was attending a function at his sister's house in the same area. Ravindernath Reddy blew the horn and that led to an argument between the two sides.

Ravindernath Reddy and his son Y.S. Sumadhar Reddy alleged that they were beaten up by Janardhan Reddy's son and son-in-law. Soon, Janardhan Reddy and other members of the two families reached there and the two groups nearly came to blows.

Meanwhile, police rushed to the scene and took Janardhan Reddy and his family members to the police station.

While Ravindernath Reddy and his son claimed that PJR's son and son-in-law assaulted them, PJR's wife Sulochanamma has lodged a complaint with the police saying that the chief minister's brother and nephew began the fight by abusing them and alleged that they beat her son and son-in-law.

Reliance Com joins hands with Qualcomm

2007-07-08T19:13:00.000-07:00

Reliance Communications (RCOM), one of India's leading private mobile service operators, has signed a strategic deal with global CDMA provider Qualcomm Inc. to expand the technology in India.

RCOM announced expanding its CDMA network to more than 20,000 towns in India as it plans to address the needs of rural, urban and enterprise consumers through the introduction of more affordable and feature-rich handsets, wireless Internet data cards and a host of exciting data applications.

'We are committed to the continued explosive growth of telecommunication services in India and with Qualcomm our leadership in the domestic market will strengthen even further,' RCOM chairman Anil Ambani said in a statement Saturday.

To meet the requirements of the enterprise segment, RCOM has launched Reliance Netconnect, providing wireless Internet connectivity in more than 8,000 towns, 300,000 villages as also along major highways and railway routes in India.

'Reliance is a key driver of the fastest growing telecom market in the world, and we are pleased to enhance our long standing collaboration with them,' said Paul E. Jacobs, chief of Qualcomm.

'Having jointly achieved several milestones in driving down the costs of voice telephony in India, our latest goal is to bring consumers an exciting new range of data offerings in mobile broadband, including multimedia and entertainment,' Jacobs added.

India has 205.86 million telecom customers as of March 2007 with the tele-density increasing by 18.23 percent from December 2006, according to the latest report of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).

My election will be a victory of citizens

2007-07-07T00:34:00.001-07:00

Pratibha Patil, presidential candidate of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA), Friday said her election to the highest office of the country would be a victory of 'crores of citizens of the country'.

Addressing a meeting of MPs and MLAs of the ruling Congress here as part of her campaign for the July 19 election, she said: 'I do not regard this as my election alone, but I rather believe that my election will be a victory for the crores of citizens of this great country.'

During her six-hour visit to the city, Patil met leaders of Congress, Communist Party of India (CPI) and Communist Party of India Marxist (CPI-M).

Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) and Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM), which were also Congress' electoral allies in 2004, stayed away from the meeting, ignoring the ruling party's invitation.

While TRS is yet to take a decision on whom to support in the presidential poll, MIM has decided to abstain to protest Patil's remarks on 'purdah' or veil tradition among Muslim women.

'I will have the honour, when elected, of serving as India's first woman president. Sixty years after our independence, the highest constitutional office in our republic will be held by a woman,' she said while reading from a prepared text.

'The 2007 presidential election will be a significant moment in the history of our democracy. I have a unique privilege to be nominated as the candidate of UPA, left parties and other supporting parties for the president's post,' she said.

'I have faced many challenges in my long public life. In spite of all the attempts to tarnish my image, I remain steadfast in my commitment to my fellow citizens and my country in the highest and most noble traditions of our democracy and continue to serve the nation with humility and with deep sense of duty,' she said in an obvious reference to allegations made by opposition parties.

Earlier, she was accorded a warm welcome at Begumpet Airport by Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, president of state unit of Congress party K. Keshava Rao, All India Congress Committee general secretary and in-charge of party affairs in the state Digvijay Singh, state ministers and other leaders.

A large number of women activists of the party were waiting outside the airport. Some women leaders felicitated Patil. She later drove to a guesthouse where she had lunch with the chief minister and other leaders.

Patil is sure to get a major chunk of votes from Andhra Pradesh as the Congress has an overwhelming majority in the state assembly. The party has 191 members in 294-member assembly and a majority of MPs from the state also belong to it.

There are 42 members of the Lok Sabha and 18 of the Rajya Sabha from the state. Congress has 29 Lok Sabha members and 10 in the Rajya Sabha.

The main opposition TDP has five members of the Lok Sabha and six of the Rajya Sabha. The TRS has five members of the Lok Sabha and MIM, CPI and CPI-M one each. CPI and CPI-M also have a member each in the upper house of parliament.

Meanwhile, Digvijay Singh appealed to both the TRS and the MIM to support Patil. He told newsmen that he was in touch with both the parties.

This washerman runs own newspaper!

2007-07-06T01:57:00.001-07:00

A washerman in Jharkhand has found an innovative way to keep himself busy and spread awareness. He has been bringing out a handwritten weekly newspaper for the past 20 years.

Gaurishankar Razak of Dumka town, around 400 km from Ranchi, is the proud owner of 'Deen Dalit', which made its first appearance two decades ago.

The newspaper, which is even registered with the Registrar of Newspapers for India (RNI), is in Hindi.

The 55-year-old, who has studied till Class 10, gathers news about local problems and of course about corruption and writes the reports on a sheet of paper, which is then photocopied and pasted at important places in the district.

'I raise public awareness through my newspaper. By working as a washerman I get to watch the day-to-day problems of the people. I write about them in the newspaper,' said Razak.

'The purpose of bringing out the newspaper is to serve the country and the people of the state.

'When I decided to bring out the paper, I had no money. Even today I cannot print them. I bring out about 50 photocopies,' he added.

His wife and four children help him in his work. 'I feel proud when I see people reading my father's newspaper,' said one of his sons.

Even the readers are all praise for him.

'In today's world, it is difficult to find a person who uses his own money to bring out handwritten newspapers to serve society,' remarked Sandek Soren, a Dumka resident.

Bid to kidnap boy foiled

2007-07-05T07:45:00.000-07:00

HYDERABAD: Two ‘burqa’ clad women who allegedly attempted to kidnap a 13-year-old class VIII student in Jagatgirigutta were caught and handed over to the police by the locals, on Wednesday.

The accused- Mumtaz Najma (30) and Ayesha (25), both residents of Asbestos Colony in Jedimetla, around 1 pm on Wednesday met the victim- M Vanisree,while she was playing with her friend near her house in Rickshawpullers Colony.

“They told Vanisree that her mother is ill and admitted in the hospital. One of them pulled Vanisree’s hand and tried to take her away,” the victim’s friend Shravanti said.

“I rushed to the village informed the matter to my relatives and they were caught,” she said. The women were beaten up by the women residents and handed over the Jedimetla police. The victim’s father Dileshwar Reddy is a businessmen and was not present at that time.

The accused have been taken into custody for questioning. “They have not yet confessed the crime. We are verifying the facts of the case,” S Srinivas Reddy, Jedimetla police inspector said. Police has registered a case of attempt to kidnap against the accused based on the complaint lodged by the victim’s father.

However, the police are still not sure wether the accused really wanted to kidnap the girl.

This hotel does not allow Ambassador cars!

2007-07-05T07:34:00.000-07:00

India's premier automobile manufacturer Hindustan Motors has initiated legal action against a hotel in Thrissur, Kerala, for not allowing Ambassador cars to be parked in its premises.

V.S. Kumar, local legislator of Cherupu in Thrissur, was taken aback when the security staff of the Thrissur Tower Hotel did not allow his Ambassador car to be parked in the parking area. Kumar had gone to attend a wedding reception there Sunday.

'The security staff of the hotel said it was the hotel's policy not to allow Ambassador cars into the compound. I then called for the manager, who just repeated what the guard said. I even told them that I am the local legislator but they paid no heed. But I insisted that I will park my car,' the legislator told IANS.

The hotel owners and its managing director Sunil Kumar later went to V.S. Kumar's house and apologised for the incident. The legislator, however, had apprised Hindustan Motors officials about the turn of events.

Arul Raj, an official of the automobile firm, said the headquarters in West Bengal had been briefed about the incident.

'They (the company) have initiated legal action against the hotel for its discriminatory behaviour towards the vehicle,' Raj said.

But the hotel's managing director was quick to clarify that Thrissur Tower Hotel had no discriminatory policy against Ambassador cars.

'We are into a business which is highly competitive and we have no rules that disallow certain cars from being parked in the compound. We have already suspended the security official and the manager responsible for the row,' said Sunil Kumar.

Another Soldier Commits Suicide

2007-07-04T08:06:00.001-07:00

A soldier has shot himself with his service rifle in an Army Camp in the outskirts of this town apparently due to work related stress.

Officials Said that “Rifleman Vishnu Pratap Singh of Rajput Rifles shot himself in his barrack in Ratnucheck Army Cantonment at around last night”. Singh hailing from Madhya Pradesh, died on the spot, they said, adding a court of inquiry has been ordered into the incident.

A case has been registered and postmortem was conducted. Singh’s suicide is the second incident in two days in the state. Captain Megha Razdan of 113 engineering regiment (electrical and mechanical engineers) was found hanging in a room at Kunjawani Army camp Yesterday.

Every year almost 100 suicides are reported in the Army mostly involving personnel in the lower ranks. Expressing regret over Megha’s suicide, an Army Spokesman yesterday said that there was no rise in suicide cases in the Army.

Citing figures, the official said suicide rate in the Army was 7.5 cases per one lakh compared to a national average of 11.5 cases per lakh every year. Concerned that 100 suicides cases were being reported every year in the Army since 2001. Defence Minister A.K. Antony had recently instituted a high level committee to probe the deaths and suggest remedies.

Gandhi manuscript back in Indian hands

2007-07-04T00:18:00.000-07:00

After more than a week of feverish diplomacy, the Indian government Tuesday acquired the priceless manuscript of Mahatma Gandhi which was withdrawn from auction a day before it was set to go under the hammer at Christie's in London.

The letter is currently in the possession of the Indian high commission in London, official sources told IANS.

It's not yet clear whether the government paid for the letter (which was expected to fetch $24,000 at the auction), or whether it put legal pressure to get the letter back on the ground that it is the property of the Ahmedabad-based Navjeevan Trust that has the copyright and proprietary rights over all Gandhi's writings, based on the duly probated will of the Mahatma.

Mridula Mukherjee, director, the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, said that the NMML had argued strongly for using the legal route to get Gandhi's document back as was done in 1996 when Indian diplomats managed to prevent the auction of a large collection of Gandhi's writings by a British company.

In that particular case, Philips, a British vintage company, acquired Gandhi papers from the US-based Swami Sivaya who in turn got it from V. Kalyanam, a typist working with Gandhi.

The government then argued that the Gandhi letters, in possession of the British company, were stolen property as they had no title to the documents which were legally mandated property of Navjeevan Trust.

Mukherjee argued that the draft article, that was due for auction by Christie's and which was part of the collection of a Swiss collector, appeared to be identical to the 1996 papers and therefore there was a strong case for retrieving the manuscript through legal route.

'This is the logical way to go about it and this in all probability would have happened in the present case,' Mukherjee told IANS.

'It will, however, be for Navjeevan Trust to decide which institution gets to keep the letter.

In the Jan 11, 1948, draft article written for the 'Harijan' newspaper, which he edited, Gandhi makes an emotive appeal for tolerance towards Muslims.

'My view remains unalterable especially at this critical juncture in our history. It is wrong to ruffle Muslim or any other person's feeling when there is no question of ethics,' Gandhi wrote.

On Monday, Christie's withdrew the draft article written by Gandhi 19 days before his 1948 assassination. It was put for sale by representatives of Albin Schram, a Switzerland-based collector.

Indian diplomats managed to acquire the letter after several meetings between various ministries of the Indian government, including the Ministry of Culture, the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, Ministry of External Affairs and the Indian high commission in London.

20-yearr girl gang raped, burnt alive

2007-07-04T00:16:00.000-07:00

A girl was allegedly gang raped and then burnt alive in a village in Uttar Pradesh's Hardoi district, police said Monday.

The heinous crime took place Sunday night but came to light after the victim's mother brought her to the district hospital in Hardoi, over 100 km from here. The girl, aged about 20, succumbed to her injuries Monday.

According to a report registered with the police, the girl was alone in her village home at night when three youths from the neighbourhood sneaked in and raped her.

When the wailing girl threatened to bring them to book by naming them, they sprinkled kerosene oil on her and set her ablaze. The youth bolted the house from outside so that she could not call for help, police said.

It was only when her mother reached home Monday morning that she found the girl in a semi-conscious state. She was rushed to the district hospital where she died later in the day. However, the girl managed to give out details of the incident.

According to the victim's mother, police were reluctant to register a complaint initially. Though she has named the three alleged culprits, police have not made any arrest yet.

Infosys says no to trade unions in IT firms

2007-07-03T21:02:00.000-07:00

Coming out strongly against trade unions in the IT industry, Infosys Technologies chief executive S. Gopalakrishnan says the sector should instead opt for self-regulation if there are labour problems.

'Perception and image are vital ingredients to consider for the IT industry, and if there are any problems in the industry, the industry itself should form a self regulatory mechanism to tackle issues,' Gopalakrishnan said.

'Moreover, the National Association for Software and Service Companies (Nasscom) is also taking an active role in these issues. So why trade union in the IT industry?' Gopalakrishnan queried.

'It would not be good,' said the alumnus of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Chennai, after inaugurating the website of the Thiruvananthapuram Press Club here.

His remarks came in the wake of some leading trade unions seeking to bring about an organized movement in Kerala's industries, especially in the IT sector. It was this fear that Infosys took time to open shop in the state.

'It was all about perception that we took some time to open here, and now that we are here employing 1,100 professionals, we are very happy that we are in Kerala,' said Gopalakrishnan, also the managing director of the software major.

'Our new campus work has begun and we expect to increase our strength to 5,000. And if things go well, it would be doubled,' he added. It was on June 22 that he took over the reins from Nandan M. Nilakani, who is now co-chairman.

Asked why the IT sector had not progressed in Kerala, despite the state being home to the country's first technology park park, Gopalakrishnan said that now that all major IT firms were in the state, things would improve in the future.

In the country as a whole, too, the industry will progress since 67 percent of the players had high quality. The industry employs more than a million people and some 300,000 join the industry each year.

Yet, he said, one problem faced by the industry was shortage of engineers. 'The need of the hour is the quality of the educational system has to improve because if there is a drop in quality, then it is a cause of worry.'

Charges are False and Baseless says the Presidential Nominee

2007-07-02T04:40:00.000-07:00

Pratibha Patil, the presidential nominee of India's ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA), Sunday broke her silence on the allegations levelled against her, terming them 'false, malicious and baseless'.

'I deny the allegations being made against me right from the day I was named as the UPA's presidential nominee. These allegations are false, malicious and baseless,' Patil said a dinner hosted by Tamil Nadu's ruling DMK late Sunday evening.

The dinner followed a rally here at which she launched her campaign here for the presidential poll.

'Despite all attempts to tarnish my image, I will strive to serve the nation,' Patil added.

She was referring to reports that a sugar cooperative founded by her in Maharashtra had defaulted in repaying a government loan. She has also been accused of shielding her brother in a murder case.

While the Congress-led UPA had repeatedly defended her, the opposition National Democratic Alliance (NDA) had sought an explanation from Patil herself.

Major Disaster averted on Amarnath route

2007-07-01T21:10:00.000-07:00

Police averted a measure tragedy Saturday by timely detection of an improvised explosive device (IED) planted on the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway, en route to the holy cave shrine of Amarnath.

The IED was discovered planted outside a degree college in south Kashmir's Khannabal area, 54 km from here, according to a senior police official. Traffic movement on the road was suspended for several hours.

The route is also used for the annual pilgrimage to the Himalayan cave shrine of Lord Shiva in Kashmir. The pilgrimage, which was scheduled to begin Saturday, has already been suspended due to heavy rainfall in the Kashmir Valley.

The rainfall has affected both routes to the cave - via north Kashmir's Baltal and south Kashmir's Pahalgam.

DMK councillors' hand suspected in Sivaganga blast

2007-07-01T07:07:00.000-07:00

The Tamil Nadu police Saturday named two DMK councillors as perpetrators of a blast that killed a senior civic official Friday and began a manhunt to nab them.

P. Murugan, a municipal chairman in Sivaganga, about 450 km from here, and his driver were killed in the blast that ripped through their car.

Police have named Manimuthu and Mandhakalai as the perpetrators of the killings in the first information report (FIR) and declared them absconders as they are untraceable.

Acting on a complaint received from the Sivaganga Municipality's vice chairman Selvarangan, police began a manhunt for the duo after attempts to locate them in their known addresses failed.

'We have put out an all points bulletin to locate Manimuthu and Mandhakalai. Two police teams have been formed to search for them,' a district police official said.

It is for the second time within two months that DMK functionaries have been accused of murder.

Three newspaper employees were burnt to death in Madurai, a temple town not far from Sivaganga, in May allegedly by the supporters of Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi's elder son M.K. Azhagiri.

Azhagiri had been charged with the brutal murder of another party old timer and former minister T. Kiruttinan in Madurai in 2003. The case is still being heard.

Murugan was said to belong to a faction opposed to Azhagiri.

Karnataka CM fails to file assets return

2007-07-01T06:50:00.000-07:00

Karnataka Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy failed to file the annual statement of his assets and liabilities with the Lok Ayukta (the state anti-corruption body) Saturday, which was the last day to file asset details.

As a result, the panel will send a notice to Kumaraswamy. Moreover, his name will figure in the list of defaulting legislators, which will be submitted Monday by the head of the panel Justice N. Santosh Hegde to the state governor T.N. Chaturvedi.

Of the 270 legislators, 224 are members of the assembly and the rest are in the council (upper house). More than 200 have filed their statements, Hegde told reporters Saturday.

He said the chief minister has asked for an extension of ten days to file his statement.

Kumaraswamy is away in Hyderabad with his family and sources close to him said the chief minister could not file the statement because his regular auditor is unwell. Hence, he has sent a letter to the Lok Ayukta seeking an extension.

Hegde told reporters that defaulting legislators will be served a notice and they have 60 days to file the statement.

Another State in India to introduce VAT

2007-07-01T06:42:00.000-07:00

Uttar Pradesh will soon join the rest of the country in replacing trade tax with value added tax (VAT), officials said Saturday.

'We are in the process of working out modalities for implementation of VAT. Now it may only be a matter of time,' state cabinet secretary Shashank Shekhar Singh.

Uttar Pradesh has so far not joined the VAT system due to pressure from powerful traders. However, with Mayawati as the new chief minister, things are about to change.

'VAT is a far more practical system and in any case when the entire country is following that pattern, there is no reason why anyone should oppose it,' Singh said.

Official sources said the state cabinet would soon take a formal decision on the switchover.

Shekhar Agarwal, state principal finance secretary, said: 'The implementation of VAT could make substantial difference to the overall revenue accruing from the existing trade tax.

'The VAT system is far more transparent and leaves very little scope for evasion as compared to trade tax. Therefore, its implementation is bound to net higher revenue.'

Uttar Pradesh collects about Rs.170 billion in trade tax every year, which is nearly 60 percent of the state's tax revenue receipts.

Sunita Williams to visit India this year

2007-06-30T09:56:00.000-07:00

Indian-American astronaut Sunita Williams, who returned to earth last week after spending a record 194 days in space, said Friday she now plans to visit India.

Williams, whose stay in space is the longest for a woman, said she welcomed the support she received from the US and India during her record-breaking space mission.

In a series of interviews with journalists, she said she will visit India in the autumn.

Williams said she is undergoing rehabilitation to get her muscles and bones back in shape. 'Gravity is pretty heavy,' Williams, 41, said. 'My head felt heavy. My legs felt heavy.'

Still she said she was happy to be back on earth and had been able to spend time with her husband, mother and sister. She also enjoyed a pizza with her family after months of having to eat pre-packaged space food.

During her time as crew member of the International Space Station, Williams set records for the most time in space by a woman, for the most space walks completed by a woman and for time spent by a woman outside the space station on space walks.

Born September 19, 1965 to an Indian father and a Yugoslav mother, Williams grew up celebrating both Indian and US holidays, listening to Indian spiritual leaders but also attending Roman Catholic religious classes at her mother's church.

Kolkata, an emerging animation hub

2007-06-30T01:24:00.000-07:00

Kolkata is fast emerging as one of the major animation hubs of India, a leading animation and multimedia training company said here Friday.

'Indian animators have now been recognised for their technological proficiency and creativity and Kolkata is fast becoming a major animation hub with tremendous potential,' said Barunansu Sarkar, Regional Head (East) of Arena Animation at the end of a job fair organised here by his company.

Students were interviewed for over 225 opportunities in the fair. They were shortlisted for various jobs such as web designing, 2D animation, frame animation, graphic designing, 3D max & industrial modelling.

Leading companies that participated in the fair were Ignite Creation, Compressor Values & Plates Services, A.D Graphics & Company, Orbit Animate Pvt Ltd, Denimatic India Pvt Ltd, Design Development Solutions, DialIndia.com, Animatrix, Half Moon, AHK Corporation & Lippi System Ltd.

India hopes to double trade with US by 2009

2007-06-29T20:37:00.000-07:00

India hopes to double its two-way trade with the US by 2009 and will continue to engage its largest trading partner to successfully conclude the current round of global trade talks, Commerce Minister Kamal Nath said here Thursday.

'India and the USA enjoy a healthy relation with a total trade volume of almost $30 billion in the precious fiscal,' Kamal Nath told a press conference after a series of meetings with senior US officials and World Bank president elect Robert Zoellick.

'The US is India's largest trading partner and the foremost export destination accounting for 16.83 percent of India's export and some 6.34 percent of India's imports in 2005-06,' Kamal Nath noted.

'India now would like to add more content to a larger trade basket,' said the minister who was here to attend the US-India Business Council's (USIBC) 32nd anniversary celebrations and the Global India summit.

He also said a majority of US firms in India were reporting double-digit year-on-year growth and highlighted the success of companies like Coke, General Electric and US based banks like Bank of America and Citibank.

Earlier, Kamal Nath had a brief word with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and bilateral meetings with Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez, Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr., Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns and US Trade Representative Susan Schwab.

Kamal Nath reiterated India's commitment to take the Doha Round of world trade talks forward as New Delhi wanted to see a strong multilateral system in place as a powerful instrument of delivering international prosperity.

'We, like the US, do not want to see the multilateral system fractured by the failure of the Doha talks, and our inability to engage with each other candidly and fruitfully,' he said, seeking mutual respect for each other's sensitivities.

Denying that the failure of the Group of Four (G4) trade ministers to reach an agreement at Potsdam in Germany had caused tension between the two, Nath said it was not a question of only India, US, Brazil or the EU agreeing.

'You have to take on board a large number of countries.'

Discussions will now take place at the ambassadorial level with officials trying to converge on the text, he said, hoping the momentum will continue.

India can be flexible, but such flexibilities were contingent upon other things such as access for industrial goods and the removal of trade-distorting farm subsidies by rich counties, he said.

The distortions are caused by subsidies, Kamal Nath said, offering to take 10 percent more cut than what the developed countries were willing to take. But US, in the name of a little headroom, wanted them to take double the cuts.

India, he said is seeking a more balanced, a more just and a more development-oriented outcome in the WTO - an outcome that does not perpetuate the structural flaws in global trade, but redresses them.

The future of international trade lies not in tariff-reduction, which is going to happen in any case, but in meaningful reform of the rules, he said.

India is also seeking a balanced package on services trade as one cannot afford to restrict the deliberations to merchandise trade in today's globalised world. New Delhi has unilaterally taken steps to open its own services markets.

Asked about the India-US civil nuclear deal, the minister said, 'We would like to see it go through.' Both sides were committed to it, Kamal Nath said while recalling Rice's comments at the USIBC summit.

The Stamp Scam Hero Got 13 Years Sentence

2007-06-29T09:28:00.000-07:00

Abdul Karim Telgi, the prime accused in the multi-billion rupee fake stamp paper scam, was Thursday sentenced to 13 years in jail and fined Rs.500 million by a special court here Thursday after he pleaded guilty to all charges against him.

Additional Sessions Judge Chitra K. Bedi said the convict would have to undergo an additional jail term of three years if he fails to pay the fine.

The judge of the special court, set up under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), also sentenced 42 co-accused to jail terms ranging from one year to seven years.

Pronouncing the sentences, the judge observed that the court might have passed much more strict sentence had the accused not pleaded guilty.

This was the first and the most important in a series of 49 cases related to the Rs.30 billion scandal of issuing fake stamp papers.

It was this case that took the lid off the scam, masterminded by the 46-year-old stamp vendor and spread over nearly a dozen states.

The Bundgarden police here had registered the case after seizure of fake government stamps and stamp papers from a car in 2002. It was later transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

The scandal involved large-scale printing, circulation and sale of counterfeit government stamp papers and other security instruments by an organised crime syndicate headed by Telgi.

Earlier in the day, Telgi pleaded guilty amid high drama in the courtroom.With folded hands and tearful eyes, he answered the judge's queries and said he was aware of the huge loss to the national exchequer caused by his actions.

Saying 'sorry' to the country for his crime, he added that his wife had persuaded him to admit his guilt unconditionally.

Following his confession, Telgi's counsel Harshad Nimbalkar appealed to the court to take a lenient view on punishing him and take into account his HIV-positive status.

CBI counsel Raja Thakre opposed the plea, saying, 'A lenient view of this criminal who is now shedding crocodile tears should not influence the quantum of sentence as it will send wrong signals to the people and imply that anyone can get away softly despite the magnitude of the crime.'

Telgi, currently lodged in Yerwada Central Jail here, had Wednesday conveyed his desire to plead guilty through his counsel after 42 of his co-accused had done the same.

In a sensational disclosure during a narco-analysis test in 2003, Telgi had named several powerful politicians and officials as his accomplices. But all of the politicians named by him had denied charges.

The CBI had also filed charge sheets against former Mumbai Police Commissioner R.S. Sharma and two other senior police officers, but they were discharged Wednesday by the court for lack of evidence.

Telgi's first conviction came in January last year, when the Pune court sentenced him to 10 years in prison for counterfeiting government stamps.

In March this year, a special court in Bangalore sentenced him to another 10 years in jail for forgery and cheating. Subsequently, he was given terms of 15 years and seven years in two more cases.

Telgi's third sentence came in April when the special court sentenced him to 15 years for forgery and conspiring to cheat the state.

On June 21, the same court sentenced him to seven years in prison for bribing two government doctors to get a fake medical certificate to secure bail.

Low earth orbit ships by 2014, says Kalam

2007-06-29T09:19:00.000-07:00

The aeronautical community is ready with a roadmap for a 150 Seater civilian Aircraft as a public – private partnership mode and the R&D and infrastructure build up for the same has to start right away with innovative programme management methodologies, according to President APJ Abdul Kalam.

Participating in an international conference on aerospace, in Hyderabad, the President said ISRO had initiated programmes for a reusable two stage to orbit launch vehicle demonstrator and air breathing propulsion modules. Work has started on the feasibility studies for a manned mission to low earth orbit by 2014.

"DRDO has goals to develop stealth air crafts and long range reusable hypersonic cruise missiles. In the next two decades, I visualize the integration of multiple technologies of supersonic aircraft, missiles and spacecraft to transform into an unmanned supersonic long-range and low radar cross section aircraft replacing manned fighter aircraft," the President said.

The academic institutions and the public and private sector industries have large roles in successful accomplishments of these national initiatives. Particularly the current production activities in aggregate and total systems will move over to industries, he pointed out.

'Pawar to be the next ICC president'

2007-06-28T09:24:00.000-07:00

Indian cricket chief Sharad Pawar will become the International Cricket Council (ICC) president after England's David Morgan, who takes the chair next year, according to BBC.

According to the BBC website, the tussle between Pawar and England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) chairman Morgan has been resolved and it was decided that ECB will take the first turn followed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

The ICC president's post is allotted to a country and not to an individual.

An official announcement is expected to be made when a series of ICC annual meetings end here Friday.

Although the BBC said that Morgan, ECB chairman since 2003, will take over from South Africa's Ray Mali next year and Pawar would succeed him in 2010, at present there is no fixed tenure of ICC chief.

Pawar would complete his three-year term as BCCI president in September next year.

There had been a stand off between Pawar and Morgan even since an ICC appointment's committee failed to choose a clear winner between Pawar and Morgan to take over from South Africa's Percy Sonn, who passed away in office recently. Mali succeeded Sonn.

Since February, the ICC has not been able to resolve the issue, especially as there is no concrete formula to pick presidents.

The impasse over whether Morgan or Pawar should become ICC president began in February when a nominations committee was unable to agree on a name. It prompted a decision to extend then president Sonn's term of office by a year until 2009.

But when Mali was appointed following Sonn's death in May, the search for a compromise was stepped up with a view to a permanent replacement taking over next year.

But a compromise between the two, who met in London Tuesday evening, would see Morgan in charge until 2010, with Pawar succeeding him.

Pawar may have struck a deal with Morgan but must also made sure that things are smooth on his home turf.

Taking over as ICC president in 2010 will see Pawar preside over the 2011 World Cup to be held in the Indian subcontinent as both chairman of the organising committee and the ICC boss.

If Pawar succeeds, he would be the second Indian after Jagmohan Dalmiya to head ICC.

Dalmiya had outsmarted the likes of Inderjit Singh Bindra and late Madhavrao Scindia for the ICC top post soon after the 1996 World Cup in India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Scindia was the organising committee chairman, while Bindra was BCCI president in 1996. Dalmiya was both BCCI and PILCOM secretary and manoeuvred himself into the ICC job, leaving the other two contenders in the cold.

Pawar needs to watch out for just such a move since he will not be holding office in BCCI come 2010 since he will complete his third and final term as BCCI president next year.

Each penny of my assets accounted for: Mayawati

2007-06-28T09:12:00.000-07:00

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati, who disclosed her assets at Rs.52 crore (Rs.520 million) this week, Wednesday said 'each penny' was accounted for.

'Each penny is accounted for and explained before income-tax authorities,' Mayawati told a press conference here.

She revealed her assets in an affidavit filed Monday along with her nomination papers for contesting a Vidhan Parishad seat.

The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader said the bulk of her assets were acquired over the past three years as 'gifts' from party workers.

She also disclosed her close confidant Satish Chandra Mishra, is to quit as minister without portfolio in the state government in order to help establish the ruling party more firmly among upper castes across India.

'Misra was reluctant to take up a minister's position because he was aware of the larger role I have assigned him - to carry out our future mission of establishing the party's credentials with the upper castes in different states of the country,' Mayawati said.

'Misra will resign in the next two-and-a-half months to undertake that mission - and I am making his declaration here today so that you all do not start giving your own imaginary attributes to his resignation then,' she said.

Mayawati's surprise disclosure and rebuke to the press came as she strongly defended the appointment of several relatives and associates of Misra to key positions in the BSP government.

'If Misra's relatives have been appointed in various positions, it was not on his recommendation, but in recognition of the services rendered by him and his dedication towards the party,' the chief minister declared.

Misra is thought to be the architect of the BSP's victory last month in the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, but has come under a cloud after a television channel Tuesday listed his relatives who have been appointed in the new government.

They include his sister Abha Agnihotri as chairperson of the state women's commission and cousin Ankit Kumar Misra as health minister - even though he lost the election from Kanpur.

Shiv Sena supports Pratibha Patil

2007-06-27T10:17:00.000-07:00

United Progressive Alliance (UPA) candidate Pratibha Patil's chances in the July 19 presidential poll brightened as the Shiv Sena, a constituent of the opposition National Democratic Alliance (NDA), Monday declared its support for her.

'This is going to be a moment of pride for Maharashtra that a Maharashtrian will be occupying the top post in the country for the first time,' said Sena chief Bal Thackeray in a statement.

He criticized Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, who filed his nomination Monday as an independent candidate supported from outside by the NDA, for showing readiness to withdraw from the race if President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam were to contest.

Thackeray had earlier targeted Kalam for the delay in carrying out the death sentence for Mohamamd Afzal, convicted for his role in the December 2001 parliament attack case. Afzal's mercy petition is pending before the president.

Since June 18 when UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi announced Patil's name as the ruling alliance candidate, the Sena had avoided committing itself to supporting Shekhawat.

Patil's candidature has been supported by the Left parties and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).

Amity Students For NASA Competition

2007-06-27T10:01:00.000-07:00

Twelve students from Amity International School, Saket have been selected to represent Asia in the prestigious International Space Settlement Design Competition (ISSDC) to be held in the United States next month. The competition will be held at NASA's Johnson Space Centre in Houston, Texas. For the first time the team from Delhi has been selected for the concluding stage of the prestigious competition.

NASA is collaboration with Boeing has been organizing an international space settlement design competition in various space centres in the US. In the first stage of the competition, the best teams from various continents are selected, after which the selected teams are invited for the final International Competition.

Indian market says cheers to beer

2007-06-26T10:10:00.000-07:00

The market for beer in India is expected to expand by 39 percent to 2010, faster than the growth forecast for wines and spirits, says a new study by an international consultancy and research organisation.

'This growth is being fuelled by heavy levels of investment in the beer industry whereas spirits and wine industries are only now starting to attract the sort of multinational attention India's beer industry has long enjoyed,' says the study.

'However, India lags behind other regional markets, such as Thailand, in terms of our industry growth forecasts. Why? India seems to have a slower culture of change than other Asia Pacific markets,' adds the Research and Markets study.

The wine and spirits market in India is forecast to grow 31.7 percent and 31.6 percent respectively, while the broader alcoholic drinks industry, in general, is seen expanding by 32.4 percent to 2010.

Some 130 million cases of beer worth around Rs.100 billion ($2.4 billion) were sold in India last fiscal, as per industry estimates.

The study says even though the outlook for India's beer industry is promising and robust, it is reasonably moderate when compared with many of the region's other booming economies.

'An increasingly crowded competitive landscape and some constant investments in capacity increases, marketing initiatives and new product launches, coupled with a booming economy, should be a recipe for explosive growth,' it says.

The study notes that there has been a lot of activity in India's beer market in recent months. Anglo-South African brewing entity SAB Miller finalised its acquisition of the brewing assets of departing Australian drinks major Fosters.

'Similarly America's Anheuser-Busch, Denmark's Carlsberg and Belgian giant InBev were all once again rumoured to be on the verge of market entry,' it says.

For brewers in India, the growing middle and upper class consumer groups do lead to strong demand for their product - which is essentially a non-essential item that requires certain level of disposable income to consume.

'But these groups still represent the minority in a country where the vast rural population is yet to feel the effects of rapid economic development,' it says, adding that the entry of Carlsberg, Anheuser-Busch or InBev could change all this.

'Fiercer competition would inevitably result in brewers placing strategic emphasis on price while presently the emphasis is very much on 'premiumisation' and trading up existing customers,' it observes.

'These apart, lower prices would broaden the availability of beer even more and remove an element of the urban-rural consumption barrier that affects the sale of so many consumer goods in India.'

Hindustan Lever gets new identity

2007-06-26T09:39:00.000-07:00

Hindustan Lever Ltd (HLL), one of India's best known fast moving consumer goods company with popular brands like Liril, Lux, Brooke Bond, Kissan, Lakme and Kwality Wall's is getting a new corporate identity and logo.

The company informed the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), where it is listed Monday, that is was changing its name to Hindustan Unilever Ltd and that its log will be symbolic to the firm's mission of 'Adding Vitality to life'.

'Our new identity will help us confidently position ourselves in every aspect of our business,' said Doug Baillie, chief executive of Hindustan Unilever, which has some of 25 different icons representing the organization and its brands.

'We believes that the new name provides the optimum balance between maintaining the heritage of the company and the synergies of global alignment with the corporate name of Unilever,' he added.

The shareholders of the company, which has its presence in areas like nutrition, hygiene, personal care, food and drinks, had approved the change of corporate identity and logo May 18.

The company said it was is retaining the name 'Hindustan' as the first word in its name to reflect its continued commitment to the local economy, consumers, partners and employees.

Unilever first set up its Indian subsidiary Hindustan Vanaspati Manufacturing Co in 1931, followed by Lever Brothers India in 1933 the and the United Traders Ltd in 1935.

These three companies were merged to form Hindustan Lever Ltd in November 1956.

Curtain Raiser To 2009

2007-06-25T21:26:00.000-07:00

In India future ruling position occupies by the local party's. People vexed with all national parties-Of course with local parties also. Somewhat have faith in local parties. Coalition in future will between congress and left Parties. The BJP will become alone and all other local parties in India will come together and occupy the Delhi chair. It is also a bad signal to future of India. National Integrity will be in darkness in the light of Regional Interests.

Indian Politics Today

2007-06-25T21:19:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time people divided into have's and have nut's. Now a day's people are divided into Politicians and People with no power.

Politicians are mightiest

People are Weaker.

People have no voice

People have no Rights

No doubt the present politics seems to arose as a "Ruler Community". It was a bad bad Signal

'Kalam hurt by UPA's comments'

2007-06-25T09:51:00.000-07:00

President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Friday firmly turned down requests to contest the presidential election next month, saying he did not want his office to be 'dragged into unseemly politics.'

Kalam, who was Thursday asked by three senior cabinet ministers to retire gracefully after he hinted he may run a second term, made his decision known to former Tamil Nadu chief minister J. Jayalalitha who called on him at the Rashtrapati Bhavan to persuade him to continue in office.

'Although he appreciated the United National Progressive Alliance (UNPA) attempts for a consensus (for another five-year term for him), he expressed deep regret that he would not like to contest again,' AIADMK chief Jayalalitha told reporters here.

According to her, Kalam was 'deeply wounded' by the statements made by 'people in high offices and UPA senior leaders'.

'There have been wounding statements from high offices and uncivilised remarks from UPA leaders. They have done it in boorish and churlish language. Kalam was deeply wounded by these statements.

'He expressed the feelings that he did not want the post of president should be dragged into unseemly politics,' Jayalalitha said.

Jayalalitha, flanked by Telugu Desam party (TDP) chief N. Chandrababu Naidu, Samajwadi Party leaders Mulayam Singh Yadav and Amar Singh, Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) chief Om Prakash Chautala and MDMK leader Vaiko, said Kalam was firm against re-nomination.

'We have done our best to convince him. But he was firm,' she said.

Reiterating that the newly formed Third Front grouping will not support either UPA-Left-Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) candidate Pratibha Patil or Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) backed nominee Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, Jayalalitha said: 'In the present scenario, we will take some more time to deliberate and discuss what the next step would be.'

However, the AIADMK chief praised BJP and NDA leaders for 'being gracious' to announce their support for Kalam in the event of a national consensus about his presidency.

'It shows the graciousness and statesmanship on their part,' she said, after a visit to the residence of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

The UPA-Left-BSP combine has 570,000 votes in the electoral college comprising MPs and MLAs who elect the president. The NDA has 354,689 votes while the Third Front commands 105,225 votes.