New Delhi: Veteran Gandhian Anna Hazare, whose fast-unto-death demanding a more stringent anti-corruption law entered day three here today, said he could carry on for at least seven more days and he was fine except for "slight weakness"."Apart from a slight weakness, I am fine. I've lost a little weight but still I can carry on for at least seven more days. I'll never leave the path of truth," Hazare told reporters here amid thunderous applause from crowds at Jantar Mantar, a short distance away from the capital."You don't worry, god is with me," added Hazare.
Hazare's anti-corruption crusade has led to a groundswell of support with thousands of people joining the movement across India. He is demanding that the Lokpal (ombudsman) bill be given more teeth so it can effectively tackle corruption in public life.
source:agency
Tags : India News, Anna Hazare Fast, Anti Corruption Law, Anna Hazare Weakness
20110407
Six Indian-Americans figure in The Midas 100, Forbes' list of venture capitalists
Washington: Six Indian-Americans figure in The Midas 100, Forbes' list of venture capitalists who bucked the trends of shrinking firms and declining returns to "create wealth and fund the new ideas that keep US economy vibrant."
Topping the US business magazine's list of 2011 Top Tech Investors is Jim Breyer, whose Accel Partners' early $12.7 million bet on Facebook now worth $5 billion with a 10 percent stake makes Accel Facebook's second largest shareholder after Mark Zuckerberg.
Among the Indian Americans, San Francisco based Aneel Bhusri "the enterprise software guru", who worked as vice chairman at PeopleSoft before joining Greylock in 1999 is ranked number 15.
He notched big returns in 2007 when storage software outfit PolyServe sold to Hewlett-Packard for $200 million, and software vendor OutlookSoft was acquired by SAP.
Menlo Park, California based Rob Chandra comes next at number 26. "Three-time consecutive Midas member saw seven of his portfolio companies go public in the last three years, many in India where Chandra helped launch Bessemer's operations," Forbes noted.
Boston, Massachusetts based Sunil Dhaliwal follows at number 49. He led Battery Ventures' investments in CipherTrust (acquired by Secure Computing for $271 million) and Netezza, which went public in 2007 before IBM took it off the market for $2.9 billion last year.
Two notches down Waltham, Massachusetts based Neeraj Agrawal at 51 led Battery Ventures's investment in Internet media company InternetBrands, which sold to Hellman & Friedman for $640 million last December.
Agrawal led investment in software outfit RealPage, which went public just a few months earlier (current market cap: $1.67 billion), Forbes said.
Ranked 71st is Indian-born engineer Vinod Khosla, who raised $1.1 billion in the teeth of the recession (summer 2009)--the most raised by a venture firm in three years, Forbes said.
He "immediately started deploying capital into his 'imprudent science experiments,' everything from wood-based biofuel and new types of batteries, engines and lights to water purification, greener glass and clean cement." it said. Passion for social entrepreneurship led to an investment in SKS, the Indian microfinance lender he funded in 2006 and went public last August.
Sameer Gandhi ranked 81 brings up the rear. Gandhi joined Accel Partners Accel from Sequoia in 2008, where he invested in media and tech firm Gracenote before it sold to Sony for $260 million in 2008.
source:agency
Tags : Diaspora News, Indian Americans in The Midas 100 Forbes' List, Indian-American Capitalists, 2011 Top Tech Investors, US Economy
Topping the US business magazine's list of 2011 Top Tech Investors is Jim Breyer, whose Accel Partners' early $12.7 million bet on Facebook now worth $5 billion with a 10 percent stake makes Accel Facebook's second largest shareholder after Mark Zuckerberg.
Among the Indian Americans, San Francisco based Aneel Bhusri "the enterprise software guru", who worked as vice chairman at PeopleSoft before joining Greylock in 1999 is ranked number 15.
He notched big returns in 2007 when storage software outfit PolyServe sold to Hewlett-Packard for $200 million, and software vendor OutlookSoft was acquired by SAP.
Menlo Park, California based Rob Chandra comes next at number 26. "Three-time consecutive Midas member saw seven of his portfolio companies go public in the last three years, many in India where Chandra helped launch Bessemer's operations," Forbes noted.
Boston, Massachusetts based Sunil Dhaliwal follows at number 49. He led Battery Ventures' investments in CipherTrust (acquired by Secure Computing for $271 million) and Netezza, which went public in 2007 before IBM took it off the market for $2.9 billion last year.
Two notches down Waltham, Massachusetts based Neeraj Agrawal at 51 led Battery Ventures's investment in Internet media company InternetBrands, which sold to Hellman & Friedman for $640 million last December.
Agrawal led investment in software outfit RealPage, which went public just a few months earlier (current market cap: $1.67 billion), Forbes said.
Ranked 71st is Indian-born engineer Vinod Khosla, who raised $1.1 billion in the teeth of the recession (summer 2009)--the most raised by a venture firm in three years, Forbes said.
He "immediately started deploying capital into his 'imprudent science experiments,' everything from wood-based biofuel and new types of batteries, engines and lights to water purification, greener glass and clean cement." it said. Passion for social entrepreneurship led to an investment in SKS, the Indian microfinance lender he funded in 2006 and went public last August.
Sameer Gandhi ranked 81 brings up the rear. Gandhi joined Accel Partners Accel from Sequoia in 2008, where he invested in media and tech firm Gracenote before it sold to Sony for $260 million in 2008.
source:agency
Tags : Diaspora News, Indian Americans in The Midas 100 Forbes' List, Indian-American Capitalists, 2011 Top Tech Investors, US Economy
Sathya Sai Baba's condition continues to be critical
Puttaparthi (Andhra Pradesh): Spiritual leader Sathya Sai Baba's condition continues to be critical but stable, doctors attending on him said today.
According to the medical bulletin issued by Sathya Sai Super Speciality Hospital, his condition remained unchanged.
Hospital director A.N. Safaya said Sathya Sai Baba continued to be on ventilator to help in respiratory function. His pulse rate and blood pressure level are normal.
The duration of dialysis has also been reduced, indicating improvement in his kidney function. He continued to be on continuous renal replacement therapy for the last four days.
The doctors had on Wednesday said 85-year-old Sathya Sai Baba was suffering from multi-organ dysfunction but was responding to the treatment.
Satyha Sai Baba, who has millions of devotees both in India and abroad, was admitted to the hospital March 28 with pneumonia and breathing problems.
The doctors implanted a pacemaker to regulate his heart beat.
source:agency
Tags : India News, Spiritual Leader Sathya Sai Baba, Sai Baba Condition, Sathya Sai Super Speciality Hospital
According to the medical bulletin issued by Sathya Sai Super Speciality Hospital, his condition remained unchanged.
Hospital director A.N. Safaya said Sathya Sai Baba continued to be on ventilator to help in respiratory function. His pulse rate and blood pressure level are normal.
The duration of dialysis has also been reduced, indicating improvement in his kidney function. He continued to be on continuous renal replacement therapy for the last four days.
The doctors had on Wednesday said 85-year-old Sathya Sai Baba was suffering from multi-organ dysfunction but was responding to the treatment.
Satyha Sai Baba, who has millions of devotees both in India and abroad, was admitted to the hospital March 28 with pneumonia and breathing problems.
The doctors implanted a pacemaker to regulate his heart beat.
source:agency
Tags : India News, Spiritual Leader Sathya Sai Baba, Sai Baba Condition, Sathya Sai Super Speciality Hospital
Canadian Industry Minister signing a free trade agreement with India
Toronto: Canadian Industry Minister Tony Clement has reiterated his country's commitment to signing a free trade agreement with India by 2013.
Speaking at a roundtable organized by the Canada India Foundation (CIF) on Tuesday before the May 2 parliamentary election, Clement said if his Conservative Party's government is returned it would reintroduce its "India engagement initiatives" presented at the last budget.
Apart from the CIF, representatives from the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce, the IIT Alumni Association, TiE, the Ontario Chamber of Commerce, the Asia Pacific Foundation, the University of Waterloo and experts on Canada-India relations also joined the minister at the roundtable.
During his interaction with top Ind-Canadian bodies, the Canadian industry minister made special mention of the proposed India-focused $12 million chair under the Canada Excellence Research Chair (CERC) programme. The chair was mooted in the last Canadian budget.
To be called Canada-India Excellence Research Chair, its objective will be to bring the best minds from India to Canada to conduct groundbreaking research.
The India-specific chair is one of the 20 mooted under the Canada Excellence Research Chair (CERC) programme to "attract international researchers of the highest calibre who can positively contribute to Canada's global competitiveness and future prosperity.''
The idea of the India chair was mooted during Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper's visit to India in November 2009, and it got a further impetus during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit here last June.
Any Canadian university chosen to host the Canada-India Excellence Research Chair will get a $12 million grant over five years.
The Canadian minister lauded the role of the Canada India Foundation in fostering better ties between the two countries. He said his government will work closely with the CIF in giving shape to the India chair.
Ramesh Chotai, chair of the CIF, said the foundation members will meet with leaders of other political parties also before next month's elections to discuss their respective strategies to engage India.
source:agency
Tags : India News, Tony Clement, India Canada Free Trade Agreement, India Canada Relations, Canada India Foundation, Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce
Speaking at a roundtable organized by the Canada India Foundation (CIF) on Tuesday before the May 2 parliamentary election, Clement said if his Conservative Party's government is returned it would reintroduce its "India engagement initiatives" presented at the last budget.
Apart from the CIF, representatives from the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce, the IIT Alumni Association, TiE, the Ontario Chamber of Commerce, the Asia Pacific Foundation, the University of Waterloo and experts on Canada-India relations also joined the minister at the roundtable.
During his interaction with top Ind-Canadian bodies, the Canadian industry minister made special mention of the proposed India-focused $12 million chair under the Canada Excellence Research Chair (CERC) programme. The chair was mooted in the last Canadian budget.
To be called Canada-India Excellence Research Chair, its objective will be to bring the best minds from India to Canada to conduct groundbreaking research.
The India-specific chair is one of the 20 mooted under the Canada Excellence Research Chair (CERC) programme to "attract international researchers of the highest calibre who can positively contribute to Canada's global competitiveness and future prosperity.''
The idea of the India chair was mooted during Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper's visit to India in November 2009, and it got a further impetus during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit here last June.
Any Canadian university chosen to host the Canada-India Excellence Research Chair will get a $12 million grant over five years.
The Canadian minister lauded the role of the Canada India Foundation in fostering better ties between the two countries. He said his government will work closely with the CIF in giving shape to the India chair.
Ramesh Chotai, chair of the CIF, said the foundation members will meet with leaders of other political parties also before next month's elections to discuss their respective strategies to engage India.
source:agency
Tags : India News, Tony Clement, India Canada Free Trade Agreement, India Canada Relations, Canada India Foundation, Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce
UN Secretary-General called for efforts "to ensure full access for humanitarian aid"
United Nations: Voicing his deep concern about the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Libya, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called for efforts "to ensure full access for humanitarian aid" in the north African country.
"The secretary-general is deeply concerned about the deteriorating humanitarian situation facing civilians in Libyan cities under military attack, including Misratah, Brega and Zintan," Xinhua cited Ban's spokesman as quoting him in a statement on Wednesday.
"Conditions in Misratah are especially grave, with reports of the use of heavy weapons to attack the city, where the population is trapped and unable, as a result of heavy shelling that has continued over several weeks, to receive basic supplies, including clean water, food, and medicines," the statement said.
"The secretary-general reiterates his urgent call for an immediate cessation of the indiscriminate use of military force against the civilian population and to ensure full access for humanitarian assistance," it added.
"He also calls, once again, on the government of Libya to abide by Security Council Resolution 1973, which demands the immediate establishment of a ceasefire and the complete end to violence and armed attacks against civilians," the statement said.
Fighting in Libya between the government of Muammar Gaddafi and a rebel faction with assistance from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is continuing, causing difficult conditions in the north African country.
The western Libyan city of Misrata has witnessed fighting for over 40 straight days, leaving hundreds dead and wounded and thousands stranded.
source:agency
Tags : Libya Situation, Libya Aid, Humanitarian Aid for Libya
"The secretary-general is deeply concerned about the deteriorating humanitarian situation facing civilians in Libyan cities under military attack, including Misratah, Brega and Zintan," Xinhua cited Ban's spokesman as quoting him in a statement on Wednesday.
"Conditions in Misratah are especially grave, with reports of the use of heavy weapons to attack the city, where the population is trapped and unable, as a result of heavy shelling that has continued over several weeks, to receive basic supplies, including clean water, food, and medicines," the statement said.
"The secretary-general reiterates his urgent call for an immediate cessation of the indiscriminate use of military force against the civilian population and to ensure full access for humanitarian assistance," it added.
"He also calls, once again, on the government of Libya to abide by Security Council Resolution 1973, which demands the immediate establishment of a ceasefire and the complete end to violence and armed attacks against civilians," the statement said.
Fighting in Libya between the government of Muammar Gaddafi and a rebel faction with assistance from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is continuing, causing difficult conditions in the north African country.
The western Libyan city of Misrata has witnessed fighting for over 40 straight days, leaving hundreds dead and wounded and thousands stranded.
source:agency
Tags : Libya Situation, Libya Aid, Humanitarian Aid for Libya
Scores of activists in support of veteran Gandhian Anna Hazare's anti-corruption campaign
Chandigarh: Scores of activists in various parts of Punjab, Haryana and the joint capital Chandigarh have come forward in support of veteran Gandhian Anna Hazare's anti-corruption campaign.
Anna Hazare's fast-unto-death at Delhi's Jantar Mantar, demanding a more stringent anti-corruption law, entered its third day today.
Social activists in Punjab are staging a sit-in outside the office of deputy commissioner in Sangrur town to extend their support to Hazare. People's Party of Punjab (PPP), the newly floated political party of former finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal, has also announced its support to Hazare.
Besides, social activists also held protests in various parts of Punjab and Haryana like Sirsa, Ambala, Jind, Faridkot, Sangrur and Amritsar to raise their voice in support of Hazare's movement.
"We are gathering support even on social networking sites and through sending e-mails and SMSs to people. We strongly demand the Jan Lokpal bill as it would ensure the seizing of looted money from the houses and bank accounts of fraudsters and unscrupulous politicians," said Amit Saini, a social activist based in Amritsar.
At various places, teachers, lawyers, students and doctors planned to observe fasts.
"We want our Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who is known for his clean image, to personally intervene in this issue. This is a very genuine matter and it should not be politicised. If centre fails to meet the demands, then this agitation would be intensified in the coming days," Abhimanyu Gandhi, who is working with a Chandigarh-based NGO, told the media.
Besides, two lawyers of Punjab and Haryana High Court -- V.S. Makkar and Gaurav Goyal -- are sitting on an indefinite hunger strike in Chandigarh.
"We have been sitting on a hunger strike since the last 48 hours. We would continue it till Anna Hazare's demands are met. Many of our colleagues are supporting us and we are happy as this movement has emerged in a big way in this region," said Goyal.
Hazare's anti-corruption crusade has led to a groundswell of support with thousands of people joining the movement across India. He is demanding that the Lokpal (ombudsman) bill be given more teeth so it can effectively tackle corruption in public life.
source:agency
Tags : India News, Anna Hazare's Anti Corruption Campaign, Anti Corruption Law, Chandigarh Support to Hazare, Punjab Support to Hazare, Haryana Support to Hazare
Anna Hazare's fast-unto-death at Delhi's Jantar Mantar, demanding a more stringent anti-corruption law, entered its third day today.
Social activists in Punjab are staging a sit-in outside the office of deputy commissioner in Sangrur town to extend their support to Hazare. People's Party of Punjab (PPP), the newly floated political party of former finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal, has also announced its support to Hazare.
Besides, social activists also held protests in various parts of Punjab and Haryana like Sirsa, Ambala, Jind, Faridkot, Sangrur and Amritsar to raise their voice in support of Hazare's movement.
"We are gathering support even on social networking sites and through sending e-mails and SMSs to people. We strongly demand the Jan Lokpal bill as it would ensure the seizing of looted money from the houses and bank accounts of fraudsters and unscrupulous politicians," said Amit Saini, a social activist based in Amritsar.
At various places, teachers, lawyers, students and doctors planned to observe fasts.
"We want our Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who is known for his clean image, to personally intervene in this issue. This is a very genuine matter and it should not be politicised. If centre fails to meet the demands, then this agitation would be intensified in the coming days," Abhimanyu Gandhi, who is working with a Chandigarh-based NGO, told the media.
Besides, two lawyers of Punjab and Haryana High Court -- V.S. Makkar and Gaurav Goyal -- are sitting on an indefinite hunger strike in Chandigarh.
"We have been sitting on a hunger strike since the last 48 hours. We would continue it till Anna Hazare's demands are met. Many of our colleagues are supporting us and we are happy as this movement has emerged in a big way in this region," said Goyal.
Hazare's anti-corruption crusade has led to a groundswell of support with thousands of people joining the movement across India. He is demanding that the Lokpal (ombudsman) bill be given more teeth so it can effectively tackle corruption in public life.
source:agency
Tags : India News, Anna Hazare's Anti Corruption Campaign, Anti Corruption Law, Chandigarh Support to Hazare, Punjab Support to Hazare, Haryana Support to Hazare
Anna Hazare,apologised to former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Uma Bharati
New Delhi: Reformer Anna Hazare, on day three of his hunger strike demanding a more powerful anti-graft law, today apologised to former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Uma Bharati who was asked to leave the protest site a day earlier."Yesterday my sister Uma Bharati came here but she was escorted out by some people," Hazare told reporters at Jantar Mantar, where thousands of people have gathered in support of his demand.
"I was saddened by this and would like to apologise to her for the incident as everybody has a right to sit here and protest against corruption," he added.
He added that politicians could come and sit among the crowds but not on the stage "as this is a people's movement and giving it a political shade would be wrong".
"I have no objection to people fighting for the cause but they should not misuse it," Hazare said.
source:agency
Tags : India News, Anna Hazare Hunger Strike, Anti Graft Law, Uma Bharati at Anna Hazare Protest Site
"I was saddened by this and would like to apologise to her for the incident as everybody has a right to sit here and protest against corruption," he added.
He added that politicians could come and sit among the crowds but not on the stage "as this is a people's movement and giving it a political shade would be wrong".
"I have no objection to people fighting for the cause but they should not misuse it," Hazare said.
source:agency
Tags : India News, Anna Hazare Hunger Strike, Anti Graft Law, Uma Bharati at Anna Hazare Protest Site
Real estate sector in India as most corrupt:survey
News Delhi: A recent survey by a global consultancy, dubbing the real estate sector in India as most corrupt, has come as a shocker for industry captains struggling to improve the tainted image of the sector. Even Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said black money in realty was an unfortunate reality.
The KPMG survey established that the sector was the most prone to graft because the property business in India is capital-intensive, involving complex multi-level processes of approvals, coupled with government and political interventions.
The recent allegations of mega land and housing scams, involving Adarsh Housing Society, LIC Housing and Sukna land deal, besides the spectrum awarded for second generation (2G) phone services to some large realty firms have dealt a severe blow to the sector's image.
It is the fragmented and unorganised nature of the real estate sector with no regulator that has made it a happy hunting ground for corrupt politicians and bureaucrats. And the scope for parking black money results in unholy alliances that often come to light.
The image of the real estate sector has also got dented because of the perception among property buyers that greed of real estate developers is leading to unreasonably high and unaffordable prices, thereby souring the dream of millions to own a home.
The developer community on the other hand is quite justified in saying the rising costs of building material, high taxes and long and complex approval processes lead to project delays and cost overruns and thatb they are all contributing to the sharp increase in prices. Even the prime minister says high stamp duties are obstacles to transparent deals in this business. But the realty developers are the ones who get all the blame.
Negating this perception is high on the agenda of industry bodies like the Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India (Credai). They have also been lobbying with the media to help change the negative perception about the real estate sector, not just among consumers, but also among policy-makers.
There is no denying the fact that in the past decade, in the wake of reforms and several policy initiatives, the real estate sector has become more organised and professional in its approach with increasing transparency in property transactions.
But there is a long way to go for the sector, which lacks industry status. Today, only a small number of real estate firms are listed on the bourses, making up for 4 percent of the total market capitalisation. Since majority of the real estate companies are not listed, there is this big issue of mandatory disclosures and transparency, which is adversely impacting the confidence of property buyers.
Major real estate bodies have been demanding industry status for the sector to address key issues of funding, shortage of skilled manpower, land acquisition, delayed approvals and multiplicity of laws and taxes.
But then, the real estate industry captains must realise that reward and responsibility go hand-in-hand. When self regulation has not worked effectively, the way forward to address the real issues is a regulator for the sector.
Considering the enormity and scale of urbanisation challenge in the current decade, with 590 million Indians expected to be living in cities by 2030, the real estate sector needs a disciplined direction that, in turn, calls for a serious policy rethink.
If we are not able to tap the full potential of this sector, which is a major employer and contributor to the country's gross domestic product, it is largely because the sector is unregulated. It is unfortunate a section of real estate developers is still opposing the proposed real estate regulatory authority bill on the ground it would add to corruption.
The need of the hour is to push for a realistic regulatory framework, one that balances the interests of real estate developers, property buyers and government agencies for promoting ethical and transparent business practices.
This will go a long way in not just giving a boost to the image of the real estate sector but also in enhancing the attractiveness of real estate as a preferred asset class for investment, in turn ensuring its long term sustainable growth.
source:agency
Tags : India Business News, Real Estate sector in India, Global Consultancy Survey, India Industry Captains
The KPMG survey established that the sector was the most prone to graft because the property business in India is capital-intensive, involving complex multi-level processes of approvals, coupled with government and political interventions.
The recent allegations of mega land and housing scams, involving Adarsh Housing Society, LIC Housing and Sukna land deal, besides the spectrum awarded for second generation (2G) phone services to some large realty firms have dealt a severe blow to the sector's image.
It is the fragmented and unorganised nature of the real estate sector with no regulator that has made it a happy hunting ground for corrupt politicians and bureaucrats. And the scope for parking black money results in unholy alliances that often come to light.
The image of the real estate sector has also got dented because of the perception among property buyers that greed of real estate developers is leading to unreasonably high and unaffordable prices, thereby souring the dream of millions to own a home.
The developer community on the other hand is quite justified in saying the rising costs of building material, high taxes and long and complex approval processes lead to project delays and cost overruns and thatb they are all contributing to the sharp increase in prices. Even the prime minister says high stamp duties are obstacles to transparent deals in this business. But the realty developers are the ones who get all the blame.
Negating this perception is high on the agenda of industry bodies like the Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India (Credai). They have also been lobbying with the media to help change the negative perception about the real estate sector, not just among consumers, but also among policy-makers.
There is no denying the fact that in the past decade, in the wake of reforms and several policy initiatives, the real estate sector has become more organised and professional in its approach with increasing transparency in property transactions.
But there is a long way to go for the sector, which lacks industry status. Today, only a small number of real estate firms are listed on the bourses, making up for 4 percent of the total market capitalisation. Since majority of the real estate companies are not listed, there is this big issue of mandatory disclosures and transparency, which is adversely impacting the confidence of property buyers.
Major real estate bodies have been demanding industry status for the sector to address key issues of funding, shortage of skilled manpower, land acquisition, delayed approvals and multiplicity of laws and taxes.
But then, the real estate industry captains must realise that reward and responsibility go hand-in-hand. When self regulation has not worked effectively, the way forward to address the real issues is a regulator for the sector.
Considering the enormity and scale of urbanisation challenge in the current decade, with 590 million Indians expected to be living in cities by 2030, the real estate sector needs a disciplined direction that, in turn, calls for a serious policy rethink.
If we are not able to tap the full potential of this sector, which is a major employer and contributor to the country's gross domestic product, it is largely because the sector is unregulated. It is unfortunate a section of real estate developers is still opposing the proposed real estate regulatory authority bill on the ground it would add to corruption.
The need of the hour is to push for a realistic regulatory framework, one that balances the interests of real estate developers, property buyers and government agencies for promoting ethical and transparent business practices.
This will go a long way in not just giving a boost to the image of the real estate sector but also in enhancing the attractiveness of real estate as a preferred asset class for investment, in turn ensuring its long term sustainable growth.
source:agency
Tags : India Business News, Real Estate sector in India, Global Consultancy Survey, India Industry Captains
Shemaroo Entertainment Ltd. partnership with Airtel digital TV to launch iDarshan
New Delhi: Shemaroo Entertainment Ltd., today announced its partnership with Airtel digital TV to launch interactive service- iDarshan. Available exclusively on the Airtel digital TV platform, iDarshan is a 24- hour interactive devotional application for Airtel digital TV customers. Designed to provide multiple video/audio feeds at the same time in a snackable format, the applications would enable the customers to enjoy devotional content 24 hrs on the channel.
iDarshan would enable customers to enjoy Live Aarti from the four shrines- Tirupathi, Vaishno Devi, Golden Temple and Shirdi. Apart from this, the iTV application would also have library content playing when the Live Aarti is not available. The channel will bring Live Aartis every morning and evening, devotional movies and songs, debates, discussions, pravachans, satsangs, discourses, travel episodes from shrines across the country and pilgrimage information all within the comfort of viewers' homes.
iDarshan would be available @ Rs.15 per month. To activate iDarshan on the Airtel digital TV, customers need to call 12150.
The interactive service, iDarshan is powered by Shemaroo Entertainment Ltd. The company has tied up with Vistaas Digital Media Pvt. Ltd for content. Shemaroo will be actively involved in the packaging and management of the content.
Hiren Gada, Director, Shemaroo Entertainment Ltd. sharing his thoughts on the occasion said "We are delighted to tie up with Airtel digital TV, one of the leading DTH players. Being one of the leading content houses, it is our effort to innovate and offer new serviceson all the digital media such as Mobile, Internet, DTH, etc. This platform has given us an opportunity to offer consumer engagement value on the DTH services. We will not only be providing content for iDarshan but also managing it to suit the changing needs of airtel customers."
Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Sugato Banerji, Chief Marketing Officer, Airtel digital TV, Bharti Airtel, said "Cricket, Bollywood and devotional content have been the three biggest forms of entertainment for India. The devotional genre is emerging as a key driver for the interactive services category for us, after games and movies. We have 10 devotional, spiritual channels on our platform, the largest across any DTH platform available today. Our partnership with Shemaroo for iDarshan is a reiteration of our commitment to offer services that enrich lives of our customers. In what is an industry first, customers subscribing to iDarshan will not just get to see Live Aarti from four popular shrines but will also have continuous original library content running during periods when there is no live feed. This shrine specific content by giving a complete experience for each shrine within the comfort of ones home, will make for an interesting blend of content that is more engaging and fulfilling for our customers."
Tags : India Business News, Indian Media, Shemaroo Entertainment Airtel Digital TV Partnership, iDarshan Launch, Airtel Digital TV Customers, iDarshan Applications, iDarshan Content
iDarshan would enable customers to enjoy Live Aarti from the four shrines- Tirupathi, Vaishno Devi, Golden Temple and Shirdi. Apart from this, the iTV application would also have library content playing when the Live Aarti is not available. The channel will bring Live Aartis every morning and evening, devotional movies and songs, debates, discussions, pravachans, satsangs, discourses, travel episodes from shrines across the country and pilgrimage information all within the comfort of viewers' homes.
iDarshan would be available @ Rs.15 per month. To activate iDarshan on the Airtel digital TV, customers need to call 12150.
The interactive service, iDarshan is powered by Shemaroo Entertainment Ltd. The company has tied up with Vistaas Digital Media Pvt. Ltd for content. Shemaroo will be actively involved in the packaging and management of the content.
Hiren Gada, Director, Shemaroo Entertainment Ltd. sharing his thoughts on the occasion said "We are delighted to tie up with Airtel digital TV, one of the leading DTH players. Being one of the leading content houses, it is our effort to innovate and offer new serviceson all the digital media such as Mobile, Internet, DTH, etc. This platform has given us an opportunity to offer consumer engagement value on the DTH services. We will not only be providing content for iDarshan but also managing it to suit the changing needs of airtel customers."
Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Sugato Banerji, Chief Marketing Officer, Airtel digital TV, Bharti Airtel, said "Cricket, Bollywood and devotional content have been the three biggest forms of entertainment for India. The devotional genre is emerging as a key driver for the interactive services category for us, after games and movies. We have 10 devotional, spiritual channels on our platform, the largest across any DTH platform available today. Our partnership with Shemaroo for iDarshan is a reiteration of our commitment to offer services that enrich lives of our customers. In what is an industry first, customers subscribing to iDarshan will not just get to see Live Aarti from four popular shrines but will also have continuous original library content running during periods when there is no live feed. This shrine specific content by giving a complete experience for each shrine within the comfort of ones home, will make for an interesting blend of content that is more engaging and fulfilling for our customers."
Tags : India Business News, Indian Media, Shemaroo Entertainment Airtel Digital TV Partnership, iDarshan Launch, Airtel Digital TV Customers, iDarshan Applications, iDarshan Content
H2O Innovation India first manufacturing plant near Vadodara
Quebec City, Quebec: H2O Innovation Inc. ("H2O Innovation" or the "Company")(TSX VENTURE: HEO)(ALTERNEXT: MNEMO:ALHEO) announces today that its Indian joint-venture H2O Innovation India Ltd. ("H2O Innovation India"), based in Mumbai, India, has opened its first manufacturing plant near Vadodara, India, and secured $4.2 M in bookings of water treatment systems and equipment for industrial Indian customers within its first year of operation.
Created in February 2010, just over a year ago, H2O Innovation India is a joint venture between Chembond Chemicals Limited ("Chembond") of Mumbai, India and H2O Innovation. Pursuant to the joint venture agreement, Chembond owns 51% of the shares of the joint venture and the Company owns the remaining 49%. During its first year of operation alone, H2O Innovation India was awarded contracts totalling $4.2 M for the supply of industrial water treatment systems and equipment for industrial customers (including the contracts valued at $2.2 M announced on June 8, 2010). As of April 6, 2011, H2O Innovation India's sales backlog stands at $2.6 M for Indian projects only. H2O Innovation India's backlog will now be consolidated into the Company's sales backlog - proportionally to the Company's interest in the joint venture.
Operating out of Mumbai, where its sales, engineering, and service offices are located, H2O Innovation India inaugurated last month a 10,000 sq. ft. manufacturing plant near Vadodara, State of Gujarat, India. The plant's manufacturing capabilities are equivalent to those of the Company's plants located in Ham-Nord, QC and Minneapolis, MN. This new production capacity will enable H2O Innovation India to locally ensure detailed engineering, together with assembly, welding, pipe fitting, in-house performance testing and programming, among other operations. It will also enable H2O Innovation India to have a better control on delivery schedule and to strictly honour its commitments towards its customers. The capital expenditure incurred to build the plant has been assumed by Chembond, and H2O Innovation India has entered into a lease agreement with Chembond.
Now relying on an extended footprint in India through its partner Chembond, coupled with an in-depth knowledge of membrane-based water treatment systems, H2O Innovation India provides water treatment solutions and operation & maintenance services to SAARC(1) countries, among which India. As part of the contracts awarded this year, H2O Innovation India provides custom-designed plants for specialized applications (including water reused from cooling tower blow-down, demineralization and condensate polishing), and also offers packaged units, system optimization and after-sales service. H2O Innovation India already provides full operation & maintenance to a multi-national industrial client in Central India. The Company has partially outsourced to H2O Innovation India three major international membrane filtration projects for industrial customers in the petrochemical, power generation and oil & gas markets.
"We are proud to see that H2O Innovation India has successfully secured these contracts within the first year of operation, while constituting a sizeable backlog and developing a growing sales pipeline in such a short period of time", stated Nirmal V. Shah, Managing Director of H2O Innovation India. "We are confident that H2O Innovation India's devoted team of water treatment experts will build on these contracts and our extended local presence to sustain its growth objectives while focusing on the execution and management of the projects."
Tags : India Business News, H2O Innovation Inc, H2O Innovation India Ltd, H2O Innovation India Vadodara Plant, H2O Innovation India Water Treatment Systems, H2O Innovation India Water Treatment Equipment,
Created in February 2010, just over a year ago, H2O Innovation India is a joint venture between Chembond Chemicals Limited ("Chembond") of Mumbai, India and H2O Innovation. Pursuant to the joint venture agreement, Chembond owns 51% of the shares of the joint venture and the Company owns the remaining 49%. During its first year of operation alone, H2O Innovation India was awarded contracts totalling $4.2 M for the supply of industrial water treatment systems and equipment for industrial customers (including the contracts valued at $2.2 M announced on June 8, 2010). As of April 6, 2011, H2O Innovation India's sales backlog stands at $2.6 M for Indian projects only. H2O Innovation India's backlog will now be consolidated into the Company's sales backlog - proportionally to the Company's interest in the joint venture.
Operating out of Mumbai, where its sales, engineering, and service offices are located, H2O Innovation India inaugurated last month a 10,000 sq. ft. manufacturing plant near Vadodara, State of Gujarat, India. The plant's manufacturing capabilities are equivalent to those of the Company's plants located in Ham-Nord, QC and Minneapolis, MN. This new production capacity will enable H2O Innovation India to locally ensure detailed engineering, together with assembly, welding, pipe fitting, in-house performance testing and programming, among other operations. It will also enable H2O Innovation India to have a better control on delivery schedule and to strictly honour its commitments towards its customers. The capital expenditure incurred to build the plant has been assumed by Chembond, and H2O Innovation India has entered into a lease agreement with Chembond.
Now relying on an extended footprint in India through its partner Chembond, coupled with an in-depth knowledge of membrane-based water treatment systems, H2O Innovation India provides water treatment solutions and operation & maintenance services to SAARC(1) countries, among which India. As part of the contracts awarded this year, H2O Innovation India provides custom-designed plants for specialized applications (including water reused from cooling tower blow-down, demineralization and condensate polishing), and also offers packaged units, system optimization and after-sales service. H2O Innovation India already provides full operation & maintenance to a multi-national industrial client in Central India. The Company has partially outsourced to H2O Innovation India three major international membrane filtration projects for industrial customers in the petrochemical, power generation and oil & gas markets.
"We are proud to see that H2O Innovation India has successfully secured these contracts within the first year of operation, while constituting a sizeable backlog and developing a growing sales pipeline in such a short period of time", stated Nirmal V. Shah, Managing Director of H2O Innovation India. "We are confident that H2O Innovation India's devoted team of water treatment experts will build on these contracts and our extended local presence to sustain its growth objectives while focusing on the execution and management of the projects."
Tags : India Business News, H2O Innovation Inc, H2O Innovation India Ltd, H2O Innovation India Vadodara Plant, H2O Innovation India Water Treatment Systems, H2O Innovation India Water Treatment Equipment,
Indian companies are not very confident to manage contingencies will work
New Delhi: Indian companies are not very confident that the measures they have in place to manage contingencies will work and to quite an extent the firms tend to rely on key executives to evaluate risks instead of following well-laid out processes, according to a survey by global audit and advisory major KPMG.
The survey conducted across Europe, Middle East, Africa and India had close to 500 companies participating in it. More than 57 percent of the respondents were from Indian firms.
More than 77 percent of the Indian firms which responded said they were facing increasing risks in the past 2-3 years, but only 59 percent of them had a formal risk management framework in place.
Also a majority of the companies said they were not entirely confident that the risk management policy in place was good enough to identify emerging risks.
About 68 percent of the Indian companies that responded to the survey did not have a chief risk officer and 37 percent of them said they did not intend to appoint one as they did not believe it would lead to any perceptible change in the quality of risk management practices.
The draft Companies Bill proposes to mandate a company's board to review and affirm its risk management policies and practices. But KPMG said that in some ways increase in regulation was part of the problem.
"Organisations were not completely successful in aligning risk perceptions and appetite of key stakeholders with that of individual decision makers, resulting in sub-optimal business decisions being made," said Neville Dumasia, head of governance, risk and compliance, KPMG in India.
The advisory services major suggested some measures to overcome challenges in managing risk which include:
- Get specialists to improve understanding of key risks.
- Integrate risk management into decision making by leveraging risk indicators - key trends that can be predicted with the help of risk management tools could help organisations have a better grip on what is around the corner.
- Positioning the chief risk officer as a strategic business advisor.
source:agency
Tags : India Business News, Indian Companies Risks, Indian Companies Audit, Survey on Indian Firms
The survey conducted across Europe, Middle East, Africa and India had close to 500 companies participating in it. More than 57 percent of the respondents were from Indian firms.
More than 77 percent of the Indian firms which responded said they were facing increasing risks in the past 2-3 years, but only 59 percent of them had a formal risk management framework in place.
Also a majority of the companies said they were not entirely confident that the risk management policy in place was good enough to identify emerging risks.
About 68 percent of the Indian companies that responded to the survey did not have a chief risk officer and 37 percent of them said they did not intend to appoint one as they did not believe it would lead to any perceptible change in the quality of risk management practices.
The draft Companies Bill proposes to mandate a company's board to review and affirm its risk management policies and practices. But KPMG said that in some ways increase in regulation was part of the problem.
"Organisations were not completely successful in aligning risk perceptions and appetite of key stakeholders with that of individual decision makers, resulting in sub-optimal business decisions being made," said Neville Dumasia, head of governance, risk and compliance, KPMG in India.
The advisory services major suggested some measures to overcome challenges in managing risk which include:
- Get specialists to improve understanding of key risks.
- Integrate risk management into decision making by leveraging risk indicators - key trends that can be predicted with the help of risk management tools could help organisations have a better grip on what is around the corner.
- Positioning the chief risk officer as a strategic business advisor.
source:agency
Tags : India Business News, Indian Companies Risks, Indian Companies Audit, Survey on Indian Firms
Techies can start looking forward to 2011 with the salary increment season
Bangalore: The techies can start looking forward to 2011 with the salary increment season set to kick off in style for them. During the slowdown years this sector had experienced single digit pay increase and, sometimes, deductions in salaries. However, in this financial year they might receive double digit pay hikes.
In recent times the world has seen an increase in demand for IT services and levels of customer confidence have gone up as well. Media research has revealed that the hikes could fall in the 12 to 15% range. Professionals for specialized areas such as product space can expect 20% increment this time around.
Salaries and stipends being given to freshers has already gone up by 10-15% in comparison to 2010. In 2011 the number of campus interviews and recruitment exercises to be done in top colleges and universities would go up by 15 to 20%.
According to recruiters the leading tech companies such as TCS, HCL, Wipro, Cognizant and Infosys are expected to increase their pay packets by 10 to 15% on an average in 2011. Infosys is expected to increase their salaries in June and it is assumed to be in the 10 to 15% category.
The appraisal process in Wipro has started and as per e-mails sent to employees the whole procedure would get over by May. The company would announce the hikes during June-July and they would be implemented from the 1st of June. In 2010 the salaries were raised by 8 to 12% but in 2011 this would go up to 12 to 15%.
Senior professionals in the information technology industry have revealed that the sector has improved in a substantial manner. According to C Mahalingam the senior HR head and VP with Symphony Services, with improving markets customer rates have gone better as well. He has predicted better times ahead for the IT industry.
Roy Joseph, who heads the HR in Mahindra & Mahindra's technology product development and sourcing wing, has cited the unexpected recovery of Indian economy as one of the major reasons behind the growth of the IT sector.
He states that this situation means that companies now need to retain their best talent as the supply is a limited one. He mentioned that one way to keep the best employees in a company is the financial aspect.
Mahalingam states that IT professionals with experience of 3 to 8 years are highly sought after. The increased amount of business has left the companies with no time to train freshers. Increments are however, supposed to be lesser than in years before the global economic slowdown.
With the slow recoveries in markets across the West the companies are rather cautious. The situation in West Asia and Japan has also contributed to their mindset. It is expected that the salary hikes in 2011 would reflect their cautious outlook.
source:agency
Tags : India Business News, India IT Sector, IT Sector Salary Increment 2011, IT Sector Slowdown, IT Sector Salaries Deductions, IT Sector Pay Hikes 2011
In recent times the world has seen an increase in demand for IT services and levels of customer confidence have gone up as well. Media research has revealed that the hikes could fall in the 12 to 15% range. Professionals for specialized areas such as product space can expect 20% increment this time around.
Salaries and stipends being given to freshers has already gone up by 10-15% in comparison to 2010. In 2011 the number of campus interviews and recruitment exercises to be done in top colleges and universities would go up by 15 to 20%.
According to recruiters the leading tech companies such as TCS, HCL, Wipro, Cognizant and Infosys are expected to increase their pay packets by 10 to 15% on an average in 2011. Infosys is expected to increase their salaries in June and it is assumed to be in the 10 to 15% category.
The appraisal process in Wipro has started and as per e-mails sent to employees the whole procedure would get over by May. The company would announce the hikes during June-July and they would be implemented from the 1st of June. In 2010 the salaries were raised by 8 to 12% but in 2011 this would go up to 12 to 15%.
Senior professionals in the information technology industry have revealed that the sector has improved in a substantial manner. According to C Mahalingam the senior HR head and VP with Symphony Services, with improving markets customer rates have gone better as well. He has predicted better times ahead for the IT industry.
Roy Joseph, who heads the HR in Mahindra & Mahindra's technology product development and sourcing wing, has cited the unexpected recovery of Indian economy as one of the major reasons behind the growth of the IT sector.
He states that this situation means that companies now need to retain their best talent as the supply is a limited one. He mentioned that one way to keep the best employees in a company is the financial aspect.
Mahalingam states that IT professionals with experience of 3 to 8 years are highly sought after. The increased amount of business has left the companies with no time to train freshers. Increments are however, supposed to be lesser than in years before the global economic slowdown.
With the slow recoveries in markets across the West the companies are rather cautious. The situation in West Asia and Japan has also contributed to their mindset. It is expected that the salary hikes in 2011 would reflect their cautious outlook.
source:agency
Tags : India Business News, India IT Sector, IT Sector Salary Increment 2011, IT Sector Slowdown, IT Sector Salaries Deductions, IT Sector Pay Hikes 2011
Indian Premier League (IPL)-IV:get ready to see !
New Delhi: Even as the country rejoices over the World Cup victory, top players from all over the cricketing globe are here to play in the fourth edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) starting on Friday.There will be 10 teams, including two new entrants, and 74 matches played over 51 days from April 8-May 28.
Two news franchises, Sahara Pune Warrirors and Kochi Tuskers, will join the existing eight -- reigning champions Chennai Super Kings, runners-up Mumbai Indians, champions in inaugural year Rajasthan Royals, winners the next year when it was played in South Africa Deccan Chargers, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Delhi Daredevils, Kings XI Punjab and Kolkata Knight Riders.
The tournament will kick off in Chennai with a game between hosts Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders with a fair sprinkling of Bollywood pitching in at the inaugural ceremony.
The schedule was revised after the election dates were announced for assembly polls in Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Puducherry.
The eight original franchises have been allowed to retain four players, three of whom have to be Indians. The retained players have to be from the rooster of registered players for the 2010 edition and their fee will be mutually decided by the stakeholders.
A franchise retaining four players will have to pay $4.5 million a year and that leaves it with only $4.5 million to spend on other players. The players retained will be valued at $1.8 million for the first player, $1.3 million for the second, $900,000 for the third and $500,000 for the fourth.
New entrants Pune and Kochi have also been allowed to hire four players who were not affiliated with any of the other franchises in the first three editions.
If a franchise decides against retaining any player, it will have the full purse of $9 million to spend. Also, the franchises can only have a squad of 30 players.
The rest of the squad was finalised through open bidding at an auction in January and included young Ranji Trophy players.
After prolonged haggling over the format, it was decided that there will be two groups of five teams each and they will play 70 league matches plus four play-off games.
A round-robin among the 10 teams would have resulted in 94 matches. Realising that playing that many games would not only reduce spectator interest, but also lead to player burnout, it was decided to peg the number of matches at 74, including three play-off games and the final.
The number of league games has been equally divided among the 10 teams. Each team will now play seven matches at home and seven away. Each team will play one league match each against four teams of other group and two more on home or away basis against the fifth team selected randomly.
The top two teams in the points table will play each other in first playoff (A) and the winners of this game will go straight into the final.
The second playoff game (B) will be between teams finishing third and fourth in the standings.
The Game B winners will play the losers of Game A in the third play-off (C) for a place in the final against the winners of Game A.
The playoff system was replicated from the Cricket New Zealand format.
source:agency
Tags : India Sports News, IPL, IPL Fourth Edition, IPL Money, IPL Players, IPL Franchises
Two news franchises, Sahara Pune Warrirors and Kochi Tuskers, will join the existing eight -- reigning champions Chennai Super Kings, runners-up Mumbai Indians, champions in inaugural year Rajasthan Royals, winners the next year when it was played in South Africa Deccan Chargers, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Delhi Daredevils, Kings XI Punjab and Kolkata Knight Riders.
The tournament will kick off in Chennai with a game between hosts Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders with a fair sprinkling of Bollywood pitching in at the inaugural ceremony.
The schedule was revised after the election dates were announced for assembly polls in Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Puducherry.
The eight original franchises have been allowed to retain four players, three of whom have to be Indians. The retained players have to be from the rooster of registered players for the 2010 edition and their fee will be mutually decided by the stakeholders.
A franchise retaining four players will have to pay $4.5 million a year and that leaves it with only $4.5 million to spend on other players. The players retained will be valued at $1.8 million for the first player, $1.3 million for the second, $900,000 for the third and $500,000 for the fourth.
New entrants Pune and Kochi have also been allowed to hire four players who were not affiliated with any of the other franchises in the first three editions.
If a franchise decides against retaining any player, it will have the full purse of $9 million to spend. Also, the franchises can only have a squad of 30 players.
The rest of the squad was finalised through open bidding at an auction in January and included young Ranji Trophy players.
After prolonged haggling over the format, it was decided that there will be two groups of five teams each and they will play 70 league matches plus four play-off games.
A round-robin among the 10 teams would have resulted in 94 matches. Realising that playing that many games would not only reduce spectator interest, but also lead to player burnout, it was decided to peg the number of matches at 74, including three play-off games and the final.
The number of league games has been equally divided among the 10 teams. Each team will now play seven matches at home and seven away. Each team will play one league match each against four teams of other group and two more on home or away basis against the fifth team selected randomly.
The top two teams in the points table will play each other in first playoff (A) and the winners of this game will go straight into the final.
The second playoff game (B) will be between teams finishing third and fourth in the standings.
The Game B winners will play the losers of Game A in the third play-off (C) for a place in the final against the winners of Game A.
The playoff system was replicated from the Cricket New Zealand format.
source:agency
Tags : India Sports News, IPL, IPL Fourth Edition, IPL Money, IPL Players, IPL Franchises
Shane Warne denied showing interest in taking over as the Indian cricket coach
New Delhi: Australian spin legend Shane Warne has denied showing interest in taking over as the Indian cricket coach following the departure of South African Gary Kirsten after an outstanding three-year tenure.
Warne was surprised at media reports, which said that he was interested in replacing Kirsten, who coached the Indian team to its World Cup triumph.
"Just got told on bus - apparently I put my hand up to coach India. Wow - first I have heard of it. Sorry to disappoint but never said that!!!" Warne wrote on Twitter.
source:agency
Tags : India Sports News, Indian Cricket, India Cricket Cocah, Gary Kirsten Departure, Shane Warne
Warne was surprised at media reports, which said that he was interested in replacing Kirsten, who coached the Indian team to its World Cup triumph.
"Just got told on bus - apparently I put my hand up to coach India. Wow - first I have heard of it. Sorry to disappoint but never said that!!!" Warne wrote on Twitter.
source:agency
Tags : India Sports News, Indian Cricket, India Cricket Cocah, Gary Kirsten Departure, Shane Warne
Yuvraj Singh said the Pakistanis showed their big hearts by dropping catches
Chandigarh: Cracking a joke over Pakistani cricket captain Shahid Afridi's comments on Indians not being as large hearted as their neighbours, Yuvraj Singh today said the Pakistanis showed their big hearts by dropping catches in the field.
"They (Pakistan cricket team) showed how big their hearts are by dropping so many catches in their match against India at PCA (Punjab Cricket Association stadium in Mohali)," Yuvraj said in a lighter vein.
Pakistan showed a patchy form in fielding in the crucial World Cup semifinal against India on March 30. They dropped at least four catches of master-blaster Sachin Tendulkar alone.
Afridi had said that Indians are not as large hearted as Pakistanis or Muslims and it is very difficult to improve the relations between the two countries. But later, Afridi said that he was misquoted by the media.
The dashing all-rounder, Yuvraj Singh was earlier accorded a grand welcome on his arrival here today evening.
Hordes of fans and friends welcomed Yuvraj, who won Man of the Tournament, with loud beating of drums and bursting crackers at the domestic airport here.
"I am very happy that India won the World Cup as it was our dream. Now I am all ready for the upcoming IPL (Indian Premier League)," said Yuvraj, talking to reporters at the airport.
From the airport, he went to his residence in Manimajra town in a silver-coloured Audi car. Dozens of cricket fans, including many girls, and relatives gathered outside his house to welcome him in true Punjabi style.
His mother Shabnam Singh marked tilak on Yuvraj's forehead and performed a religious ceremony outside the home. Yuvraj also went to his fans and gave autographs and got photographs clicked with them.
Yuvraj would later seek the blessings of his guru Sant Ajit Singh Hansaliwala at Hansali village in Fatehgarh Sahib town.
source:agency
Tags : India Sports News, Indian Cricket, Shahid Afridi's Comments on Indians, Yuvraj on Pakistan Cricket Team, Punjab Cricket Association stadium in Mohali
"They (Pakistan cricket team) showed how big their hearts are by dropping so many catches in their match against India at PCA (Punjab Cricket Association stadium in Mohali)," Yuvraj said in a lighter vein.
Pakistan showed a patchy form in fielding in the crucial World Cup semifinal against India on March 30. They dropped at least four catches of master-blaster Sachin Tendulkar alone.
Afridi had said that Indians are not as large hearted as Pakistanis or Muslims and it is very difficult to improve the relations between the two countries. But later, Afridi said that he was misquoted by the media.
The dashing all-rounder, Yuvraj Singh was earlier accorded a grand welcome on his arrival here today evening.
Hordes of fans and friends welcomed Yuvraj, who won Man of the Tournament, with loud beating of drums and bursting crackers at the domestic airport here.
"I am very happy that India won the World Cup as it was our dream. Now I am all ready for the upcoming IPL (Indian Premier League)," said Yuvraj, talking to reporters at the airport.
From the airport, he went to his residence in Manimajra town in a silver-coloured Audi car. Dozens of cricket fans, including many girls, and relatives gathered outside his house to welcome him in true Punjabi style.
His mother Shabnam Singh marked tilak on Yuvraj's forehead and performed a religious ceremony outside the home. Yuvraj also went to his fans and gave autographs and got photographs clicked with them.
Yuvraj would later seek the blessings of his guru Sant Ajit Singh Hansaliwala at Hansali village in Fatehgarh Sahib town.
source:agency
Tags : India Sports News, Indian Cricket, Shahid Afridi's Comments on Indians, Yuvraj on Pakistan Cricket Team, Punjab Cricket Association stadium in Mohali
Ram Gopal Varma to make "A Love Story" on Kannada actress Maria Susairaj
Mumbai: Remember the 2008 case of Kannada actress Maria Susairaj, who along with her naval officer lover murdered her former lover, cut his body into pieces and dumped it into a suitcase? Trust Ram Gopal Varma to hit upon the brainwave of turning the crime of passion into a film called "A Love Story".
The film, which goes on the floors from April 10, will chronicle every ghoulish detail of the crime.
Speaking on what fascinated him about Susairaj's case, Ram Gopal Varma says: "I've been to the highrise in Malad where this bizarre stomach-churning crime happened. It is inhabited by normal people going through their normal routine. How could such a ghastly crime happen in a small corner of this seemingly normal residential complex?"
Ramu will go through all the complexities of the case. "I've met people who knew Susairaj and Emile Jerome Matthew (the man who allegedly helped her murder Neeraj Grover). They seemed so normal."
He has signed Mahie Gill to play Susairaj. "I've seen her in Anurag Kashyap's 'Dev D'. She's a fabulous actress."
The rest of the casting is yet to be decided. The film will have no music and songs.
source:agency
Tags : India Entertainment News, A Love Story, Ram Gopal Varma Film, Maria Susairaj, Mahie Gill
The film, which goes on the floors from April 10, will chronicle every ghoulish detail of the crime.
Speaking on what fascinated him about Susairaj's case, Ram Gopal Varma says: "I've been to the highrise in Malad where this bizarre stomach-churning crime happened. It is inhabited by normal people going through their normal routine. How could such a ghastly crime happen in a small corner of this seemingly normal residential complex?"
Ramu will go through all the complexities of the case. "I've met people who knew Susairaj and Emile Jerome Matthew (the man who allegedly helped her murder Neeraj Grover). They seemed so normal."
He has signed Mahie Gill to play Susairaj. "I've seen her in Anurag Kashyap's 'Dev D'. She's a fabulous actress."
The rest of the casting is yet to be decided. The film will have no music and songs.
source:agency
Tags : India Entertainment News, A Love Story, Ram Gopal Varma Film, Maria Susairaj, Mahie Gill
20110406
Anil Kapoor opted out of "Thank You" ,not comfortable with Sonam Kapoor
Mumbai: Anil Kapoor opted out of "Thank You" because he was not comfortable playing a Casanova in a film featuring his daughter Sonam and that is when Irrfan Khan stepped in to do his first-ever masala comedy."Yes, we did replace Anil with Irrfan. But what to do? Casting circumstances changed in 'Thank You'. And it was no longer decorous to cast Anil Kapoor," said Bazmee.
Bobby Deol, Akshay Kumar, Irrfan, Suniel Shetty, Celina Jaitely and Rimi Sen forms the cast of "Thank You", which is releasing on Friday.
Initially Katrina Kaif was playing the leading lady and Anil was supposed to feature as the third of the three skirt-chasers in "Thank You". But then Sonam stepped in to the picture, Anil stepped out.
The director admits Anil was replaced because of Sonam.
"Earlier it was Katrina Kaif who was doing the heroine's part in 'Thank You'. That's when Anil Kapoor was cast. When Sonam came into the picture, we quickly changed Anil to Irrfan. It would've looked very odd for Anil to play the roving-eyed Casanova in a film featuring his daughter."
Bazmee says this has not affected his relationship with Anil.
"There should be no hard feelings over that. Anil and I go back a long way. I've worked with him in 'No Entry', 'Welcome' and 'No Problem'. Now I've also worked with his daughter. I've been closely associated with Anil's brother Boney also. I don't think Anil has reason to be unhappy with me," he said.
source:agency
Tags : India Entertainment News, Bollywood, Sonam Kapoor in Thank You, Irrfan Khan in Thank You, Akshay Kumar in Thank You
Bobby Deol, Akshay Kumar, Irrfan, Suniel Shetty, Celina Jaitely and Rimi Sen forms the cast of "Thank You", which is releasing on Friday.
Initially Katrina Kaif was playing the leading lady and Anil was supposed to feature as the third of the three skirt-chasers in "Thank You". But then Sonam stepped in to the picture, Anil stepped out.
The director admits Anil was replaced because of Sonam.
"Earlier it was Katrina Kaif who was doing the heroine's part in 'Thank You'. That's when Anil Kapoor was cast. When Sonam came into the picture, we quickly changed Anil to Irrfan. It would've looked very odd for Anil to play the roving-eyed Casanova in a film featuring his daughter."
Bazmee says this has not affected his relationship with Anil.
"There should be no hard feelings over that. Anil and I go back a long way. I've worked with him in 'No Entry', 'Welcome' and 'No Problem'. Now I've also worked with his daughter. I've been closely associated with Anil's brother Boney also. I don't think Anil has reason to be unhappy with me," he said.
source:agency
Tags : India Entertainment News, Bollywood, Sonam Kapoor in Thank You, Irrfan Khan in Thank You, Akshay Kumar in Thank You
Punjab government would do away with ceremonial gowns worn during convocation functions of colleges
Chandigarh; Terming it as a reflection of the "colonial symbol of slavery", the Punjab government today announced that it would do away with ceremonial gowns worn during convocation functions of colleges, institutes and universities in the state.
Punjab Education Minister Sewa Singh Sekhwan, who was addressing a meeting of government college principals, said the Punjab government did not agree with the legacy of continuing with the system of convocation gowns.
Asking the principals to express their views freely to do away with the convocation gowns, Sekhwan said: "The gown reflects the colonial symbol of slavery and it is high time that we get ourselves free from this colonial mindset."
Exhorting principals to lead from the front, Sekhwan said the higher education department this year has the highest ever budget allocation since independence and it was imperative for them to raise the bar of standards in their colleges.
The minister said the state government would fill all vacant posts of college principals by promotion as well as direct recruitment within two months.
source:agency
Tags : India Education News, Punjab News, Punjab Government, Punjab Colleges Convocation Functions, Punjab Institutes Convocation Functions, Punjab Universities Convocation Functions
Punjab Education Minister Sewa Singh Sekhwan, who was addressing a meeting of government college principals, said the Punjab government did not agree with the legacy of continuing with the system of convocation gowns.
Asking the principals to express their views freely to do away with the convocation gowns, Sekhwan said: "The gown reflects the colonial symbol of slavery and it is high time that we get ourselves free from this colonial mindset."
Exhorting principals to lead from the front, Sekhwan said the higher education department this year has the highest ever budget allocation since independence and it was imperative for them to raise the bar of standards in their colleges.
The minister said the state government would fill all vacant posts of college principals by promotion as well as direct recruitment within two months.
source:agency
Tags : India Education News, Punjab News, Punjab Government, Punjab Colleges Convocation Functions, Punjab Institutes Convocation Functions, Punjab Universities Convocation Functions
Eating three bananas cuts the risk of a stroke
British and Italian researchers have found that eating three bananas cuts the risk of a stroke.
They said that having one banana for breakfast, one for lunch and one in the evening would provide enough potassium to reduce the chances of suffering a blood clot on the brain by around 21 per cent.
The findings suggest that thousands of strokes could be prevented by the consumption of other potassium-rich foods such as spinach, nuts, milk, fish and lentils, reports the Daily Mail.
Although some previous studies have suggested bananas could be important for controlling blood pressure and preventing strokes, results have not always been consistent.
In the latest research, scientists analysed data from eleven different studies - dating back to the mid-Sixties - and pooled the results to get an overall outcome.
They found a daily potassium intake of around 1,600 mg, less than half the UK recommended daily amount for an adult of 3,500mg, were enough to lower stroke risk by more than a fifth.
The average banana contains around 500 milligrams of potassium, which helps to lower blood pressure and controls the balance of fluids in the body.
Too little potassium can lead to an irregular heartbeat, irritability, nausea and diarrhoea.
Researchers from the University of Warwick and the University of Naples said, "Potassium intake in most countries is well below the recommended daily amount."
But if consumers ate more potassium-rich foods and also reduced their salt intake, the annual global death toll from strokes could be cut by more than a million a year.
The study has been published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
source:agency
Tags:Stroke,brain,Blood Clot,bananas
They said that having one banana for breakfast, one for lunch and one in the evening would provide enough potassium to reduce the chances of suffering a blood clot on the brain by around 21 per cent.
The findings suggest that thousands of strokes could be prevented by the consumption of other potassium-rich foods such as spinach, nuts, milk, fish and lentils, reports the Daily Mail.
Although some previous studies have suggested bananas could be important for controlling blood pressure and preventing strokes, results have not always been consistent.
In the latest research, scientists analysed data from eleven different studies - dating back to the mid-Sixties - and pooled the results to get an overall outcome.
They found a daily potassium intake of around 1,600 mg, less than half the UK recommended daily amount for an adult of 3,500mg, were enough to lower stroke risk by more than a fifth.
The average banana contains around 500 milligrams of potassium, which helps to lower blood pressure and controls the balance of fluids in the body.
Too little potassium can lead to an irregular heartbeat, irritability, nausea and diarrhoea.
Researchers from the University of Warwick and the University of Naples said, "Potassium intake in most countries is well below the recommended daily amount."
But if consumers ate more potassium-rich foods and also reduced their salt intake, the annual global death toll from strokes could be cut by more than a million a year.
The study has been published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
source:agency
Tags:Stroke,brain,Blood Clot,bananas
Harbhajan Singh hit out at Shahid Afridi for his out-of-turn reaction on Indians
Ace Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh hit out at Pakistan skipper Shahid Afridi for his out-of-turn reaction on Indians and their supposedly lack of big-heartedness.
"If Indians were not large-hearted, they wouldn't have made so much of progress and delivered growth," said an angry Harbhajan, reacting to Afridi's controversial remarks that Indians cannot be as large-hearted as the Pakistani.
"I think it's been an uncalled for reaction. It wouldn't help the love and respect with which he is treated in this country."
Afridi, in a television interview, had berated Indians for their "lack of large heart, unlike Muslims and Pakistanis" and criticised Indian opener Gautam Gambhir for dedicating the win over Pakistan to victims of 26/11 attacks in Mumbai.
After his remarks created a furore, Afridi did a volte-face, claiming that he was misunderstood and quoted out of context.
"Media makes a big deal of small issues. It is shameful. I have always done my bit to improve Indo-Pak ties but sometimes you say something and it is interpreted the other way. I have been quoted out of context," Afridi said.
source:agency
Tags:Shahid Afridi,Harbhajan Singh,Gautam Gambhir
"If Indians were not large-hearted, they wouldn't have made so much of progress and delivered growth," said an angry Harbhajan, reacting to Afridi's controversial remarks that Indians cannot be as large-hearted as the Pakistani.
"I think it's been an uncalled for reaction. It wouldn't help the love and respect with which he is treated in this country."
Afridi, in a television interview, had berated Indians for their "lack of large heart, unlike Muslims and Pakistanis" and criticised Indian opener Gautam Gambhir for dedicating the win over Pakistan to victims of 26/11 attacks in Mumbai.
After his remarks created a furore, Afridi did a volte-face, claiming that he was misunderstood and quoted out of context.
"Media makes a big deal of small issues. It is shameful. I have always done my bit to improve Indo-Pak ties but sometimes you say something and it is interpreted the other way. I have been quoted out of context," Afridi said.
source:agency
Tags:Shahid Afridi,Harbhajan Singh,Gautam Gambhir
Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO) will honour four Indian Americans
Washington: The Connecticut chapter of Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO) will honour four Indian Americans for their achievements and contributions.
In addition, Paul Semanski of Hartford will be honoured with Friend of India Award, GOPIO announced on Tuesday.
The four Indian Americans - Vijay Prashad, Madhu Mathur, Vidya Teredesai, and Mequitta Ahuja - will be honoured with a Friend of GOPIO award as the organisation celebrates its fifth anniversary on Sunday at the Italian Centre of Stamford.
Prashad holds the George and Martha Kellner Chair in South Asian History, and is Professor of International Studies at Trinity College, Hartford. He has published several books on world governance. Prashad is recognized in the category of Arts and Letters.
Mathur of Greenwich is a tireless advocate for children's health. She is the founding member of Stamford's Childhood Obesity Task Force.
In addition, she is Medical Director of the Regional Medical Home Initiative and Chair of the Health and Wellness Committee of Childhood Blueprint Initiative in Stamford. Mathur is recognized for her contribution to Health Services.
Teredesai of Norwalk is being recognized for her community service in the US and in India. She has raised funds for homeless shelters, Norwalk Senior Centre, Evergreen Foundation as well as Women's Hospital in Baroda.
The Young Person's Award goes to Mequitta Ahuja of Weston, who is a visual artist. Her work has been exhibited across the United States, in Paris, Brussels, Berlin, India and Dubai. In February 2010, she was profiled in ArtNews as "Artist to Watch."
Semanski serves as a Co-Coordinator for Asha Hartford, which organizes several fundraisers each year on behalf of the Navsarjan Trust Schools for disadvantaged girls in Gujarat and the DF Blind School in Kolkata.
source:agency
Tags : India News, Global Organization of People of Indian Origin, Indian Americans Achievements, Indian Americans Contributions
In addition, Paul Semanski of Hartford will be honoured with Friend of India Award, GOPIO announced on Tuesday.
The four Indian Americans - Vijay Prashad, Madhu Mathur, Vidya Teredesai, and Mequitta Ahuja - will be honoured with a Friend of GOPIO award as the organisation celebrates its fifth anniversary on Sunday at the Italian Centre of Stamford.
Prashad holds the George and Martha Kellner Chair in South Asian History, and is Professor of International Studies at Trinity College, Hartford. He has published several books on world governance. Prashad is recognized in the category of Arts and Letters.
Mathur of Greenwich is a tireless advocate for children's health. She is the founding member of Stamford's Childhood Obesity Task Force.
In addition, she is Medical Director of the Regional Medical Home Initiative and Chair of the Health and Wellness Committee of Childhood Blueprint Initiative in Stamford. Mathur is recognized for her contribution to Health Services.
Teredesai of Norwalk is being recognized for her community service in the US and in India. She has raised funds for homeless shelters, Norwalk Senior Centre, Evergreen Foundation as well as Women's Hospital in Baroda.
The Young Person's Award goes to Mequitta Ahuja of Weston, who is a visual artist. Her work has been exhibited across the United States, in Paris, Brussels, Berlin, India and Dubai. In February 2010, she was profiled in ArtNews as "Artist to Watch."
Semanski serves as a Co-Coordinator for Asha Hartford, which organizes several fundraisers each year on behalf of the Navsarjan Trust Schools for disadvantaged girls in Gujarat and the DF Blind School in Kolkata.
source:agency
Tags : India News, Global Organization of People of Indian Origin, Indian Americans Achievements, Indian Americans Contributions
Anna Hazare's fast-unto-death gathered steam on its second day
New Delhi: Veteran activist Anna Hazare's fast-unto-death here gathered steam on its second day today as he pressed for a stronger anti-graft Lok Pal Bill through greater involvement of civil society - a protest he has dubbed as the second Satyagraha.
"This is democracy and we want people's participation in drafting the Lok Pal bill," Hazare told reporters at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi where he has parked himself along with around 5,000 supporters.
"We want representation from civil society in drafting the Lok Pal Bill, 50 percent from civil society and 50 percent from the government," he said. The bill aims to fight corruption in public life.
According to India Against Corruption, the banner under which the activists have united to fight corruption, the government has not approached the fasting activist so far. Hazare, who has sat on the fast on Tuesday, however said that government will have to bow to the wish of the people.
"I am not waiting for government, the government will have to bow to the wish of the people," the 72-year-old crusader said.
Hazare, who has named his fast the second Satyagraha on the lines of the movement launched by Mahatma Gandhi against the British rulers, has been joined by thousands of supporters all across the country and also abroad.
Fasts are being observed and rallies and demonstrations are being taken out in over 400 cities across the nation.
Hazare, meanwhile, told reporters here that he is doing well and except for a little weakness, his health is fine.
"The doctor came, he said BP (blood pressure) is fine, I only have a little weakness," he said, adding in jest: "I will only lose some weight, can carry it forward for 10 or 12 more days."
The activists are demanding the government adopt the alternative Jan Lok Pal Bill drafted by leading legal experts and personalities, including Arvind Kejriwal, former Supreme Court judge Santosh Hegde and Supreme Court lawyer Prashant Bhushan.
The Jan Lok Pal Bill calls for setting up of ombudsmen - a Lok Pal and Lokayuktas (in states) - independent of government control. In the activists' version, investigation in any case will have to be completed in one year and punishment would be a jail term of minimum five years and maximum of life imprisonment.
The government's version recommends a prison term of minimum six months and maximum seven years as punishment for corruption.
source:agency
Tags : India News, Anna Hazare's Fast-unto-death, Anna Hazare Lok Pal Bill Protest
"This is democracy and we want people's participation in drafting the Lok Pal bill," Hazare told reporters at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi where he has parked himself along with around 5,000 supporters.
"We want representation from civil society in drafting the Lok Pal Bill, 50 percent from civil society and 50 percent from the government," he said. The bill aims to fight corruption in public life.
According to India Against Corruption, the banner under which the activists have united to fight corruption, the government has not approached the fasting activist so far. Hazare, who has sat on the fast on Tuesday, however said that government will have to bow to the wish of the people.
"I am not waiting for government, the government will have to bow to the wish of the people," the 72-year-old crusader said.
Hazare, who has named his fast the second Satyagraha on the lines of the movement launched by Mahatma Gandhi against the British rulers, has been joined by thousands of supporters all across the country and also abroad.
Fasts are being observed and rallies and demonstrations are being taken out in over 400 cities across the nation.
Hazare, meanwhile, told reporters here that he is doing well and except for a little weakness, his health is fine.
"The doctor came, he said BP (blood pressure) is fine, I only have a little weakness," he said, adding in jest: "I will only lose some weight, can carry it forward for 10 or 12 more days."
The activists are demanding the government adopt the alternative Jan Lok Pal Bill drafted by leading legal experts and personalities, including Arvind Kejriwal, former Supreme Court judge Santosh Hegde and Supreme Court lawyer Prashant Bhushan.
The Jan Lok Pal Bill calls for setting up of ombudsmen - a Lok Pal and Lokayuktas (in states) - independent of government control. In the activists' version, investigation in any case will have to be completed in one year and punishment would be a jail term of minimum five years and maximum of life imprisonment.
The government's version recommends a prison term of minimum six months and maximum seven years as punishment for corruption.
source:agency
Tags : India News, Anna Hazare's Fast-unto-death, Anna Hazare Lok Pal Bill Protest
Raj Rajaratnam made millions thanks to secret tips from company insiders:FBI
New York: A US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agent has testified how hedge fund tycoon Raj Rajaratnam made millions thanks to secret tips from company insiders including two Indian Americans.
Galleon Group founder Rajaratnam made nearly $23 million in profits from his trading in ATI Technologies after allegedly receiving tips about its potential acquisition by Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) in 2006, FBI Special Agent James C. Barnacle Jr. told a Manhattan court Tuesday.
Several times in the months leading up to the merger's announcement when Anil Kumar, a former Indian American McKinsey official, came in contact with confidential information about the deal and allegedly passed it along to Rajaratnam, he alleged.
Kumar, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy and securities fraud in January 2010, previously testified in the biggest insider trading trial in the US that he was a source on the deal.
Barnacle also testified about his review of phone records between Rajiv Goel, a former Indian-American manager in Intel's treasury department, and Rajaratnam ahead of Intel's earnings announcement in April 2007.
Goel, who pleaded guilty last year to conspiracy and securities fraud, has earlier testified that he gave Rajaratnam details about Intel's earnings before they were publicly announced.
The agent testified that Rajaratnam sent an instant message to his trader at Galleon in April 9, 2007, about an hour after receiving a phone call from Goel. The message said "short 1 million INTC", referring to Intel's stock symbol, the agent said.
Later, as the announcement grew closer and Rajaratnam and Goel engaged in several more phone conversations, Rajaratnam began covering his short position and buying Intel shares, Barnacle said.
By the time of the April 17, 2007 announcement, Rajaratnam held nearly two million shares of Intel, the agent said. As a result of his trading, Rajaratnam was able to earn profits and avoid losses of about $2.48 million, Barnacle said.
Separately, US District Judge Richard Holwell ruled Tuesday prosecutors can't show jurors videotapes of ex-Intel executive Roomy Khan allegedly faxing confidential information to Rajaratnam in 1998. Holwell said he might admit the video if Khan were to testify.
Khan, who has pleaded guilty to insider trading, allegedly helped Rajaratnam make $4 million in a day by passing on a tip from Indian origin Moody's analyst Deep Shah about Hilton hotel chain takeover by private-equity firm Blackstone Group.
Shah, who was declared a fugitive two years ago, was recently located in Mumbai.
source:agency
Tags : Galleon Group founder Rajaratnam, Galleon Group Profits, FBI
Galleon Group founder Rajaratnam made nearly $23 million in profits from his trading in ATI Technologies after allegedly receiving tips about its potential acquisition by Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) in 2006, FBI Special Agent James C. Barnacle Jr. told a Manhattan court Tuesday.
Several times in the months leading up to the merger's announcement when Anil Kumar, a former Indian American McKinsey official, came in contact with confidential information about the deal and allegedly passed it along to Rajaratnam, he alleged.
Kumar, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy and securities fraud in January 2010, previously testified in the biggest insider trading trial in the US that he was a source on the deal.
Barnacle also testified about his review of phone records between Rajiv Goel, a former Indian-American manager in Intel's treasury department, and Rajaratnam ahead of Intel's earnings announcement in April 2007.
Goel, who pleaded guilty last year to conspiracy and securities fraud, has earlier testified that he gave Rajaratnam details about Intel's earnings before they were publicly announced.
The agent testified that Rajaratnam sent an instant message to his trader at Galleon in April 9, 2007, about an hour after receiving a phone call from Goel. The message said "short 1 million INTC", referring to Intel's stock symbol, the agent said.
Later, as the announcement grew closer and Rajaratnam and Goel engaged in several more phone conversations, Rajaratnam began covering his short position and buying Intel shares, Barnacle said.
By the time of the April 17, 2007 announcement, Rajaratnam held nearly two million shares of Intel, the agent said. As a result of his trading, Rajaratnam was able to earn profits and avoid losses of about $2.48 million, Barnacle said.
Separately, US District Judge Richard Holwell ruled Tuesday prosecutors can't show jurors videotapes of ex-Intel executive Roomy Khan allegedly faxing confidential information to Rajaratnam in 1998. Holwell said he might admit the video if Khan were to testify.
Khan, who has pleaded guilty to insider trading, allegedly helped Rajaratnam make $4 million in a day by passing on a tip from Indian origin Moody's analyst Deep Shah about Hilton hotel chain takeover by private-equity firm Blackstone Group.
Shah, who was declared a fugitive two years ago, was recently located in Mumbai.
source:agency
Tags : Galleon Group founder Rajaratnam, Galleon Group Profits, FBI
Dangerous situation with the presence of Chinese military near the LAC:Indian Army
New Delhi: A prominent general in the Indian Army has indicated that the country is facing a dangerous situation with the presence of Chinese military near the LAC. He has also stated that there could be trouble on the LoC between India and Pakistan with the growing association between China and Pakistan.
The Chinese army has built up some substantial infrastructure close to the LAC that stretches for 4,057 kilometers. This has been especially evident in the Tibet Autonomous Region. China has also increased its presence in the infrastructure projects that are being executed in PoK.
These are proven facts but an Indian general sounding an alarm bell about the People's Liberation Army is a first. Lt General KT Parnaik who is chief of the Northern Army Command has said that there could be considerable military issues along the international borders India shares with China and Pakistan.
source:agency
Tags : India Defence News, Indian Army, Chinese Military, India China LAC, India Pakistan LoC, China Pakistan Association
The Chinese army has built up some substantial infrastructure close to the LAC that stretches for 4,057 kilometers. This has been especially evident in the Tibet Autonomous Region. China has also increased its presence in the infrastructure projects that are being executed in PoK.
These are proven facts but an Indian general sounding an alarm bell about the People's Liberation Army is a first. Lt General KT Parnaik who is chief of the Northern Army Command has said that there could be considerable military issues along the international borders India shares with China and Pakistan.
source:agency
Tags : India Defence News, Indian Army, Chinese Military, India China LAC, India Pakistan LoC, China Pakistan Association
Callidus Software Sponsors Annual Asian Banker Summit 2011
Pleasanton, CA: Callidus Software Inc. (NASDAQ: CALD), the leader in Sales Performance Management (SPM), announced today that it is a sponsor at the 12th Annual Asian Banker Summit. The event will be held from April 6-8, 2011 at the JW Marriot in Hong Kong. This Summit, now in its 12th year, is the largest meeting of decision makers and senior professionals in the financial services industry in the region.
"This Summit will feature a robust discussion on the latest trends in this industry, and driving business success through the optimization of sales performance will have a prominent place in these deliberations," said Arun Mambully, Associate Director at The Asian Banker. "With its domain expertise and experience working with global financial services companies, Callidus is well-placed to contribute to the exchange of ideas. We welcome Callidus as a sponsor at the Summit and look forward to a sustained partnership."
At the event, Callidus will showcase the latest version of its Sales Performance Management suite to demonstrate how commercial banking and investment banking businesses can drive alignment across sales and service channels to help consistently execute on key corporate growth and customer loyalty targets.
Callidus will be located at booth #B4.
"The Asian Banker Summit is a great forum for leaders in the financial services industry to deliberate on the significant opportunities in this fast-growing region," said Jimmy Duan, Senior Vice President, Asia Pacific and Latin America, Callidus Software. "It is mission critical for companies to align the sales force and all customer-facing channels with key corporate objectives. Callidus' solutions have enabled the world's leading financial institutions to harness the power of incentives to drive their sales performance and we look forward to engaging with the companies in this region to help them deliver on their growth targets."
source:agency
Tags : Callidus Software Inc, Sales Performance Management, 12th Annual Asian Banker Summit, JW Marriott Hong Kong, Asia Financial Services Industry
"This Summit will feature a robust discussion on the latest trends in this industry, and driving business success through the optimization of sales performance will have a prominent place in these deliberations," said Arun Mambully, Associate Director at The Asian Banker. "With its domain expertise and experience working with global financial services companies, Callidus is well-placed to contribute to the exchange of ideas. We welcome Callidus as a sponsor at the Summit and look forward to a sustained partnership."
At the event, Callidus will showcase the latest version of its Sales Performance Management suite to demonstrate how commercial banking and investment banking businesses can drive alignment across sales and service channels to help consistently execute on key corporate growth and customer loyalty targets.
Callidus will be located at booth #B4.
"The Asian Banker Summit is a great forum for leaders in the financial services industry to deliberate on the significant opportunities in this fast-growing region," said Jimmy Duan, Senior Vice President, Asia Pacific and Latin America, Callidus Software. "It is mission critical for companies to align the sales force and all customer-facing channels with key corporate objectives. Callidus' solutions have enabled the world's leading financial institutions to harness the power of incentives to drive their sales performance and we look forward to engaging with the companies in this region to help them deliver on their growth targets."
source:agency
Tags : Callidus Software Inc, Sales Performance Management, 12th Annual Asian Banker Summit, JW Marriott Hong Kong, Asia Financial Services Industry
Former MindTree co-founder Ashok Soota,setting up a new business venture - Happiest Minds Technologies
Bangalore; Former MindTree co-founder Ashok Soota today announced setting up a new business venture - Happiest Minds Technologies Limited - to provide a slew of IT services to global firms.
"Happiest Minds will focus on new emerging technologies like cloud, social CRM (customer relationship management), unified communications, mobility, business intelligence and analytics," Soota told reporters here.
Soota, a former Wipro vice-chairman, resigned from MindTree, a Bangalore-based leading IT solutions and product engineering services firm, on March 31 on personal grounds.
"We are setting a revenue target of $100 million over the next five years with a global presence as a full IT services firm," Soota said at an impromptu media briefing.
The new venture, which will begin operations in the next five months, will offer six lines of business spanning IT services, research and development services, product engineering services, remote infrastructure management, testing and consulting.
On the source of funding the start-up, Soota said though he would be investing his personal funds initially as seed capital, he was in consultation with two venture capitalists to take equity stake in the company for kick-starting the operations.
"I will raise funds by partially divesting my stake (11.1 percent) in MindTree, valued at Rs.1,600 crore (Rs.16 billion), in due course to partially fund the new venture," Soota said.
Clarifying that he did not have a non-compete agreement with MindTree, Soota said he was hopeful of attracting some top professionals in the industry to run the company, as he was already in touch with some of them.
"We will have marketing offices in Mumbai and New Delhi, besides Bangalore. We have hired a Chennai-based marketing agency to work out the modalities," Soota pointed out.
Noting that the US would be the main market for client acquisition, his new firm would also focus on the Indian market to generate 10-12 percent of business.
"Besides large corporations, including Fortune 500 firms, we will target medium and small enterprises to offer our range of IT services," Soota added.
source:agency
Tags : India Business News, India IT Sector, Ashok Soota New Business Venture, Happiest Minds Technologies Limited, MindTree
"Happiest Minds will focus on new emerging technologies like cloud, social CRM (customer relationship management), unified communications, mobility, business intelligence and analytics," Soota told reporters here.
Soota, a former Wipro vice-chairman, resigned from MindTree, a Bangalore-based leading IT solutions and product engineering services firm, on March 31 on personal grounds.
"We are setting a revenue target of $100 million over the next five years with a global presence as a full IT services firm," Soota said at an impromptu media briefing.
The new venture, which will begin operations in the next five months, will offer six lines of business spanning IT services, research and development services, product engineering services, remote infrastructure management, testing and consulting.
On the source of funding the start-up, Soota said though he would be investing his personal funds initially as seed capital, he was in consultation with two venture capitalists to take equity stake in the company for kick-starting the operations.
"I will raise funds by partially divesting my stake (11.1 percent) in MindTree, valued at Rs.1,600 crore (Rs.16 billion), in due course to partially fund the new venture," Soota said.
Clarifying that he did not have a non-compete agreement with MindTree, Soota said he was hopeful of attracting some top professionals in the industry to run the company, as he was already in touch with some of them.
"We will have marketing offices in Mumbai and New Delhi, besides Bangalore. We have hired a Chennai-based marketing agency to work out the modalities," Soota pointed out.
Noting that the US would be the main market for client acquisition, his new firm would also focus on the Indian market to generate 10-12 percent of business.
"Besides large corporations, including Fortune 500 firms, we will target medium and small enterprises to offer our range of IT services," Soota added.
source:agency
Tags : India Business News, India IT Sector, Ashok Soota New Business Venture, Happiest Minds Technologies Limited, MindTree
Bharti Airtel said its 3G suscriber base has reached two million
New Delhi: Telecom giant Bharti Airtel today said its 3G suscriber base has reached two million. The operator is also extending its new generation mobile telephony services to Hyderabad.
Airtel has over 159 million customers across the country.
It launched its 3G services in the country in a phased manner in Bangalore in January 2011 and has already extended these services to a dozen other cities, including Delhi, Chennai, Coimbatore and Patna,
3G services offer features like video-calls, mobile TV, video streaming and applications at superfast speeds on a wide variety of both mobile phone and personal computing devices.
source:agency
Tags : India Business News, India Telecom Sector, Bharti Airtel 3G Subscriber Base, Bharti Airtel Mobile Telephony Services, Bharti Airtel Hyderabad Services
Airtel has over 159 million customers across the country.
It launched its 3G services in the country in a phased manner in Bangalore in January 2011 and has already extended these services to a dozen other cities, including Delhi, Chennai, Coimbatore and Patna,
3G services offer features like video-calls, mobile TV, video streaming and applications at superfast speeds on a wide variety of both mobile phone and personal computing devices.
source:agency
Tags : India Business News, India Telecom Sector, Bharti Airtel 3G Subscriber Base, Bharti Airtel Mobile Telephony Services, Bharti Airtel Hyderabad Services
South African Gary Kirsten bid an emotional farewell
Mumbai: South African Gary Kirsten today bid an emotional farewell after his three-year tenure as India's cricket coach, saying it was one of the hardest goodbyes he has ever said.
"I am glad that I am leaving the team in a healthy state, but this is one of the hardest goodbyes I have had to say," Kirsten told reporters at the Cricket Centre in Wankhede.
Kirsten, who leaves for South Africa Tuesday night, praised legend Sachin Tendulkar for his friendship.
"Tonight, I leave with my wife to return to South Africa. To Sachin (Tendulkar), I want to say thank you for your friendship. You are the greatest sporting role model I have ever met," he said.
"It has been an honour to work with him over the last three years and I want to thank him for his support," he added.
Kirsten also extended a heartfelt thanks to the support staff and the cricket team.
"I thank everyone who gave me this unique opportunity and privilege to be part of this incredible country," he said.
Speaking about the World Cup victory, Kirsten said that he would have loved to win the Cup as a player.
"However, I did use my reference point as a player. But we were not in it for personal glory," he said.
"It was tough for a new coach as the Indian team had set high standards for themselves. But, as a new coach, it was important for me to bring some freshness of ideas in such a way that the players responded positively and I surprised myself," he said.
Lauding the Indian team, Kirsten spoke about the strengths of each member of the team.
"Virat is ready for test cricket. Ishant had a tough year, but he can be a future star player. I enjoyed working with Raina and I am excited about the young (Cheteshwar) Pujara. Indian cricket in a healthy position," he said.
Kirsten also said that he was very happy with Munaf Patel and that Zaheer Khan is the best bowler in the world and that he is extremely proud of Yuvraj Singh.
"Team India has unbelievable bowlers to left handers," he said. "I loved working one on one with players. I believe Dhoni is the best captain in the world. He leads by example and expects his troops to be ready for the battle. I have never seen him lose his temper. He is one of the greatest leaders of the country," Kirsten said.
source:agency
Tags : India Sports News, Indian Cricket, Gary Kirsten Farewell, India's Cricket Coach, Gary Kirsten's Tenure
"I am glad that I am leaving the team in a healthy state, but this is one of the hardest goodbyes I have had to say," Kirsten told reporters at the Cricket Centre in Wankhede.
Kirsten, who leaves for South Africa Tuesday night, praised legend Sachin Tendulkar for his friendship.
"Tonight, I leave with my wife to return to South Africa. To Sachin (Tendulkar), I want to say thank you for your friendship. You are the greatest sporting role model I have ever met," he said.
"It has been an honour to work with him over the last three years and I want to thank him for his support," he added.
Kirsten also extended a heartfelt thanks to the support staff and the cricket team.
"I thank everyone who gave me this unique opportunity and privilege to be part of this incredible country," he said.
Speaking about the World Cup victory, Kirsten said that he would have loved to win the Cup as a player.
"However, I did use my reference point as a player. But we were not in it for personal glory," he said.
"It was tough for a new coach as the Indian team had set high standards for themselves. But, as a new coach, it was important for me to bring some freshness of ideas in such a way that the players responded positively and I surprised myself," he said.
Lauding the Indian team, Kirsten spoke about the strengths of each member of the team.
"Virat is ready for test cricket. Ishant had a tough year, but he can be a future star player. I enjoyed working with Raina and I am excited about the young (Cheteshwar) Pujara. Indian cricket in a healthy position," he said.
Kirsten also said that he was very happy with Munaf Patel and that Zaheer Khan is the best bowler in the world and that he is extremely proud of Yuvraj Singh.
"Team India has unbelievable bowlers to left handers," he said. "I loved working one on one with players. I believe Dhoni is the best captain in the world. He leads by example and expects his troops to be ready for the battle. I have never seen him lose his temper. He is one of the greatest leaders of the country," Kirsten said.
source:agency
Tags : India Sports News, Indian Cricket, Gary Kirsten Farewell, India's Cricket Coach, Gary Kirsten's Tenure
Gary Kirsten said it will be waste of talent if Sreesanth doesn't take the next step in his career
Mumbai: India's World Cup-wining coach Gary Kirsten today said it will be waste of talent if "highly skilled" fast bowler Shantakumaran Sreesanth doesn't take the next step in his career.
Kirsten, during his farewell media conference before leaving for Cape Town, said the Kerala pacer is good in the Test matches but needs to be more consistent in the shorter version of the game. The temperamental fast bowler featured in two World Cup matches, the tournament opener against Bangladesh and the final against Sri Lanka, but went for runs on both occasions.
"Sreesanth is not only one who has not performed to his full potential so far. He has performed brilliantly in South Africa and in other Test matches. But I feel he needs to be consistent in ODIs," said Kirsten.
"Hopefully, he will be able to take that next step and if he is unable to do that, it will be a waste of talent."
Asked about the quality of fast bowling in the team, he said: "The bowling is a slight concern though the state of Indian cricket is in a healthy position. If the bowlers can withstand the rigours of playing continuous international cricket, then the situation could be dealt with."
The former South African opener also said Delhi pacer Ishant Sharma is a special talent.
"Ishant has a promising future and hopefully he will get better with the experience," he said.
source:agency
Tags : India Sports News, Indian Cricket, India's World Cup Win, Gary Kirsten, Sreesanth Career
Kirsten, during his farewell media conference before leaving for Cape Town, said the Kerala pacer is good in the Test matches but needs to be more consistent in the shorter version of the game. The temperamental fast bowler featured in two World Cup matches, the tournament opener against Bangladesh and the final against Sri Lanka, but went for runs on both occasions.
"Sreesanth is not only one who has not performed to his full potential so far. He has performed brilliantly in South Africa and in other Test matches. But I feel he needs to be consistent in ODIs," said Kirsten.
"Hopefully, he will be able to take that next step and if he is unable to do that, it will be a waste of talent."
Asked about the quality of fast bowling in the team, he said: "The bowling is a slight concern though the state of Indian cricket is in a healthy position. If the bowlers can withstand the rigours of playing continuous international cricket, then the situation could be dealt with."
The former South African opener also said Delhi pacer Ishant Sharma is a special talent.
"Ishant has a promising future and hopefully he will get better with the experience," he said.
source:agency
Tags : India Sports News, Indian Cricket, India's World Cup Win, Gary Kirsten, Sreesanth Career
20110405
Kumar Sangakkara stepped down from captaincy of the ODIs and the Twenty20 sides
Colombo: Sri Lankan skipper Kumar Sangakkara today stepped down from captaincy of the One-day Internationals (ODIs) and the Twenty20 sides, saying it was in the long-term interest of the national team.
Three days after he led the Sri Lanka team to the World Cup final against India, the 33-year-old Sangakkara met the national selectors and said he was stepping down as ODI and Twenty20 captain, but will continue leading the Test side on an interim basis. Sri Lanka lost the final to finish runners-up for the second consecutive World Cup.
"I met with the selectors on Monday and I explained my reasons for my decision and I assured them of my fullest support in helping our new captain settle into the leadership," Sangakkara told Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC).
"In this regard, I have offered to continue as the Test captain for the forthcoming series with England, and possibly Australia, if the selectors believe this would help the new captain and aid the transition. After careful consideration I have concluded that it is in the best long-term interests of the team that I step down now as national captain so that a new leader can be properly groomed for the 2015 World Cup," he said.
Sangakkara, who will be leading Deccan Chargers in the fourth edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) beginning on Friday, said he made the decision before the World Cup.
"This was a decision I made prior to the World Cup. I will be 37 by the next World Cup and I cannot therefore be sure of my place in the team. It is better that Sri Lanka is led now by a player who will be at the peak of his career during that tournament."
Sangakkara, however, said he wants to continue playing in all the three formats of the game.
"I have no plans of retirement from international cricket at this stage and, subject to form and fitness, I would like to be considered for selection in all three formats of the game for the foreseeable future."
Sangakkara said for him, the two-year stint as captain was a great privilege.
"It has been a true honour and a great privilege to serve my country as captain during the past two years," he said. "Although bitterly disappointed that we could not win the (World Cup) final, I am very proud of the performances of the team. I would like to take this opportunity to thank my team-mates and the coaching staff for their hard work and support."
Sangakkara has scored 8,244 runs in 94 Tests at an average of 57.25 with 24 centuries. He has 9,164 runs with 11 hundreds from 291 one-dayers.
source:agency
Tags : Kumar Sangakkara ODIs Captaincy, Kumar Sangakkara Twenty20 Captaincy, Sri Lanka ODI Captaincy, Sri Lanka Twenty20 Captaincy
Three days after he led the Sri Lanka team to the World Cup final against India, the 33-year-old Sangakkara met the national selectors and said he was stepping down as ODI and Twenty20 captain, but will continue leading the Test side on an interim basis. Sri Lanka lost the final to finish runners-up for the second consecutive World Cup.
"I met with the selectors on Monday and I explained my reasons for my decision and I assured them of my fullest support in helping our new captain settle into the leadership," Sangakkara told Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC).
"In this regard, I have offered to continue as the Test captain for the forthcoming series with England, and possibly Australia, if the selectors believe this would help the new captain and aid the transition. After careful consideration I have concluded that it is in the best long-term interests of the team that I step down now as national captain so that a new leader can be properly groomed for the 2015 World Cup," he said.
Sangakkara, who will be leading Deccan Chargers in the fourth edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) beginning on Friday, said he made the decision before the World Cup.
"This was a decision I made prior to the World Cup. I will be 37 by the next World Cup and I cannot therefore be sure of my place in the team. It is better that Sri Lanka is led now by a player who will be at the peak of his career during that tournament."
Sangakkara, however, said he wants to continue playing in all the three formats of the game.
"I have no plans of retirement from international cricket at this stage and, subject to form and fitness, I would like to be considered for selection in all three formats of the game for the foreseeable future."
Sangakkara said for him, the two-year stint as captain was a great privilege.
"It has been a true honour and a great privilege to serve my country as captain during the past two years," he said. "Although bitterly disappointed that we could not win the (World Cup) final, I am very proud of the performances of the team. I would like to take this opportunity to thank my team-mates and the coaching staff for their hard work and support."
Sangakkara has scored 8,244 runs in 94 Tests at an average of 57.25 with 24 centuries. He has 9,164 runs with 11 hundreds from 291 one-dayers.
source:agency
Tags : Kumar Sangakkara ODIs Captaincy, Kumar Sangakkara Twenty20 Captaincy, Sri Lanka ODI Captaincy, Sri Lanka Twenty20 Captaincy
Katrina Kaif, Imran Khan and Ali Zafar, is being shot near the Taj Mahal
Agra: Yash Raj Films' "Mere Brother Ki Dulhan" which stars Katrina Kaif, Imran Khan and Pakistani pop star Ali Zafar, is being shot in Agra near the Taj Mahal.
A wedding sequence for the film was shot on Tuesday. Kat came riding a horse with a band and some foreigners near Mehtab Bagh, on the bank of the Yamuna opposite the Taj Mahal's rear.
Shooting will continue at Mehtab Bagh and other locations in the city for the next 10 days. Kat came to Agra late on Monday evening and is staying at the Jaypee Palace hotel.
A big crowd of on-lookers gathered at the shooting site as Kat and Imran, Zafar and Tara shoot a sequence depicting a Hindu wedding ritual.
source:agency
Tags : India Entertainment News, Bollywood, Yash Raj Films' "Mere Brother Ki Dulhan", Katrina Kaif in Mere Brother Ki Dulhan, Imran Khan in Mere Brother Ki Dulhan, Ali Zafar in Mere Brother Ki Dulhan, Agra
A wedding sequence for the film was shot on Tuesday. Kat came riding a horse with a band and some foreigners near Mehtab Bagh, on the bank of the Yamuna opposite the Taj Mahal's rear.
Shooting will continue at Mehtab Bagh and other locations in the city for the next 10 days. Kat came to Agra late on Monday evening and is staying at the Jaypee Palace hotel.
A big crowd of on-lookers gathered at the shooting site as Kat and Imran, Zafar and Tara shoot a sequence depicting a Hindu wedding ritual.
source:agency
Tags : India Entertainment News, Bollywood, Yash Raj Films' "Mere Brother Ki Dulhan", Katrina Kaif in Mere Brother Ki Dulhan, Imran Khan in Mere Brother Ki Dulhan, Ali Zafar in Mere Brother Ki Dulhan, Agra
Ranbir Kapoor has given full credit to coach Gary Kirsten for the World cup
Mumbai: Bollywood actor Ranbir Kapoor has given full credit to coach Gary Kirsten for the Indian team winning the cricket World Cup and feels that a road in the city should be named after him to honour him.
"Gary Kirsten is the primary architect of this great win. Basically he has converted the same core of players that have been around for a bit into a solid team. Respect and lots of love to him. Should name a road after him. How about calling the road leading to Wankhede the Kirsten's Way for showing us the way…" Ranbir said in a statement.
The actor, who saw the match live at the Wankhade stadium on Saturday, was completely ecstatic after the win.
"The experience at the stadium was just euphoric. Team India is on the field a bunch of players from all over India totally diverse in language, race, religion, working together as a very powerful unit. I saw the same spirit outside the field in the biggest street party in the world," he said.
source:agency
Tags : India Entertainment News, Bollywood, India World Cup Win, Cricket World Cup, Ranbir Kapoor, Gary Kirsten
"Gary Kirsten is the primary architect of this great win. Basically he has converted the same core of players that have been around for a bit into a solid team. Respect and lots of love to him. Should name a road after him. How about calling the road leading to Wankhede the Kirsten's Way for showing us the way…" Ranbir said in a statement.
The actor, who saw the match live at the Wankhade stadium on Saturday, was completely ecstatic after the win.
"The experience at the stadium was just euphoric. Team India is on the field a bunch of players from all over India totally diverse in language, race, religion, working together as a very powerful unit. I saw the same spirit outside the field in the biggest street party in the world," he said.
source:agency
Tags : India Entertainment News, Bollywood, India World Cup Win, Cricket World Cup, Ranbir Kapoor, Gary Kirsten
Rani Mukerji endorses Procter & Gamble's Shiksha programme and urges everyone to educate
Mumbai: After doing various roles on big screen, Bollywood actress Rani Mukerji is set for a new role in real life - she endorses Procter & Gamble's Shiksha programme and urges everyone to contribute to help educate as many people as possible.
Procter & Gamble (P&G) has tied up with the NGO Child Rights and You (CRY) for Shiksha programme and under this some part of the proceeds generated from the sale of a P&G product such as Tide, Ariel, Vicks, etc. will go for children's education in the country.
"School is as important as drinking water and education is as important as the air we breathe. So, I feel that initiatives like Shiksha that support the cause of education are incredible, and I feel we should all contribute even if it's a little bit because if we do that India will have 100 per cent literacy rate one day," Rani told reporters here.
"It's my dream too that every child in India is educated because the way India is growing I don't think without education, we can see a very bright future. So if we want a bright future for our country, I think education is foremost," she added.
Rani, who described herself as "not such a studious student in school", also recommended that education should be made more interesting.
"It's very important to make education interesting and enjoyable so that students don't drop out. Also, focus should not be only on academics. Alternate interests like painting, music, etc., should also be encouraged," she said.
Also present at the event was Sharat Verma, marketing manager, P&G India.
"Shiksha is not just an initiative, but a passion that we as an organisation strongly believe in. After touching the lives of 150,000 children, we are now helping build the future of India's children by building 20 schools this year and aim to build another 20 in the coming year," he said.
P&G has tied up with other NGOs to spread this campaign.
Shiksha has been successful in impacting 150,000 children thus far, in association with leading NGOs Round Table India (RTI), Child Rights and You (CRY), Navy Wives Welfare Association (NWWA), Army Wives Welfare Association (AWWA) among others.
source:agency
Tags : India Education News, India Entertainment News, Bollywood, Rani Mukherjee Roles, Procter & Gamble's Shiksha Programme
Procter & Gamble (P&G) has tied up with the NGO Child Rights and You (CRY) for Shiksha programme and under this some part of the proceeds generated from the sale of a P&G product such as Tide, Ariel, Vicks, etc. will go for children's education in the country.
"School is as important as drinking water and education is as important as the air we breathe. So, I feel that initiatives like Shiksha that support the cause of education are incredible, and I feel we should all contribute even if it's a little bit because if we do that India will have 100 per cent literacy rate one day," Rani told reporters here.
"It's my dream too that every child in India is educated because the way India is growing I don't think without education, we can see a very bright future. So if we want a bright future for our country, I think education is foremost," she added.
Rani, who described herself as "not such a studious student in school", also recommended that education should be made more interesting.
"It's very important to make education interesting and enjoyable so that students don't drop out. Also, focus should not be only on academics. Alternate interests like painting, music, etc., should also be encouraged," she said.
Also present at the event was Sharat Verma, marketing manager, P&G India.
"Shiksha is not just an initiative, but a passion that we as an organisation strongly believe in. After touching the lives of 150,000 children, we are now helping build the future of India's children by building 20 schools this year and aim to build another 20 in the coming year," he said.
P&G has tied up with other NGOs to spread this campaign.
Shiksha has been successful in impacting 150,000 children thus far, in association with leading NGOs Round Table India (RTI), Child Rights and You (CRY), Navy Wives Welfare Association (NWWA), Army Wives Welfare Association (AWWA) among others.
source:agency
Tags : India Education News, India Entertainment News, Bollywood, Rani Mukherjee Roles, Procter & Gamble's Shiksha Programme
Breast cancer risk can be assessed by examining the epithelial cells found in breast milk
A new study suggests that breast cancer risk can be assessed by examining the epithelial cells found in breast milk.
"This screening method has the potential to provide a personalized assessment of breast cancer risk," said lead researcher Kathleen F. Arcaro, associate professor of veterinary and animal sciences at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Arcaro and colleagues collected breast milk samples from about 250 women who were scheduled for or who had a breast biopsy. The women submitted fresh samples, which were processed within 24 hours of expression; they provided samples from both breasts.
Once researchers received the samples, they isolated the epithelial cells (the potentially cancer cells) in the breast milk. Then they isolated the DNA to look for epigenetic signals (attachment of methyl groups to DNA), which are the signals that tell the body those genes that should be expressed. These signals were then compared with breast cancer risk assessed using the biopsy results.
Arcaro and colleagues analyzed three genes: RASSF1, GSTP1 and SFRP1. "More than 35 genes have been shown to be methylated in breast cancer," she said.
Of the 104 women with a non-proliferative (low-risk) lesion, results showed no difference in the average epithelial DNA methylation of their biopsied breast vs. non-biopsied breast for RASSF1 and GSTP1. For SFRP1, however, the average methylation was higher in the biopsied breast. Importantly, among the women whose biopsies revealed cancer, there was a significant increase in average RASSF1 methylation in the biopsied breast vs. non-biopsied breast. Although the sample size in this study is small, "it's sufficient to tell us that we can use the cells in breast milk to assess breast cancer risk,"
The findings were presented at the AACR 102nd Annual Meeting 2011, held April 2-6.
source:agency
Tags:Breast milk,breast cancer
"This screening method has the potential to provide a personalized assessment of breast cancer risk," said lead researcher Kathleen F. Arcaro, associate professor of veterinary and animal sciences at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Arcaro and colleagues collected breast milk samples from about 250 women who were scheduled for or who had a breast biopsy. The women submitted fresh samples, which were processed within 24 hours of expression; they provided samples from both breasts.
Once researchers received the samples, they isolated the epithelial cells (the potentially cancer cells) in the breast milk. Then they isolated the DNA to look for epigenetic signals (attachment of methyl groups to DNA), which are the signals that tell the body those genes that should be expressed. These signals were then compared with breast cancer risk assessed using the biopsy results.
Arcaro and colleagues analyzed three genes: RASSF1, GSTP1 and SFRP1. "More than 35 genes have been shown to be methylated in breast cancer," she said.
Of the 104 women with a non-proliferative (low-risk) lesion, results showed no difference in the average epithelial DNA methylation of their biopsied breast vs. non-biopsied breast for RASSF1 and GSTP1. For SFRP1, however, the average methylation was higher in the biopsied breast. Importantly, among the women whose biopsies revealed cancer, there was a significant increase in average RASSF1 methylation in the biopsied breast vs. non-biopsied breast. Although the sample size in this study is small, "it's sufficient to tell us that we can use the cells in breast milk to assess breast cancer risk,"
The findings were presented at the AACR 102nd Annual Meeting 2011, held April 2-6.
source:agency
Tags:Breast milk,breast cancer
Gary Kirsten:It has been one of the hardest good byes I have had to say
An emotional outgoing India coach Gary Kirsten on Tuesday said bidding adieu to the team he has nurtured for three years is one of the hardest goodbyes he has ever had to say but is satisfied to leave Indian cricket in a "healthy" state.
"It has been one of the hardest good byes I have had to say," Kirsten told reporters in his farewell press conference after serving out a successful term during which the Indian team reached the pinnacle of Test rankings besides lifting its first World Cup title in 28 years, last week.
"It has been an amazing achievement to be a part of this special group of cricketers," he said.
Kirsten came into the job with no coaching experience but turned out to be the most successful for India and the South African said having no prior experience probably worked to his advantage.
"I think it was interesting to come into this job without any coaching experience. I used the reference of being a player to work with the team. I tried building trust in the environment. Me and Paddy (Upton) tried to make sure that they knew that we had come to India to make it the best team in the world," he said.
Kirsten, who declined an offer to extend his tenure, said he has no plans to take up any other coaching assignment as of now and wants to spend time with his family.
"I am going home to spend some time with my family. But I have to consider my future at some time. I have been fortunate to have been offered some jobs but I want to spend time with my family right now," he said.
The Indian team performed consistently well under his guidance and Kirsten said there is hardly any area to improve upon from here except for fielding, which has also bettered in the past few months.
"They are the number one Test team in the world and won the World Cup so there is nothing much to improve. We have been working really hard on fielding and I was quite amazed at the way we fielded in the last three games of the World Cup," he said referring to the improved standards of fielding in the Indian team's knockout stage campaign.
The 43-year-old Kirsten said it would be quite a job for the next India coach as the task at hand is to sustain the consistency that the team has achieved in the past couple of years.
"Indian cricket is in a healthy position right now. Seam bowling is a slight concern but it has always been. But Indian cricket is going to be in a healthy state for a long time.
"It is going to be tough for the new coach in terms of the standards that have been set. But I don't see why the team should not continue doing well. The foundation has been set. The new coach should bring in fresh ideas," he said.
"I certainly wouldn't want the new guy to try and emulate what has been done in the past three years. Consistency for this team is now going be very important. I think the foundation is well set," he explained.
Speaking about individual players in the team, Kirsten lavished praise on the young brigade.
"Virat Kohli is ready for Test cricket. He is a bright young star. He has taken the responsibility of playing for India in big games really well. I think it's important to have competitiveness to be in the Indian team. You cannot be in the team with average performances.
"I have really enjoyed working with Suresh Raina. He has been an exceptional player. I have been impressed with Cheteshwar Pujara who can be a star of the future in Test matches. Pragyan Ojha has done well and he just needs to keep learning what he has to do. It is important to find one or two quality seamers.
"I was impressed with Munaf Patel. He performed well in the World Cup. Ashish Nehra also did well in the World Cup. Zaheer Khan has been number one for a long time but guys like these need support," Kirsten said.
Kirsten said Zaheer, in fact, is the best medium pacer in the world right now.
"Zaheer is the best 135kmph bowler in the world right now. He performs well under pressure. I think he is an unbelievable bowler to left-handers," he said.
Another player who got appreciation from the outgoing coach was flamboyant batsman Yuvraj Singh, who bagged the Man of the Tournament award at the World Cup for his fantastic performance with both the bat and ball.
"He was well-prepared and he had worked hard on his bowling. For Yuvi to end up being man of the tournament, I am extremely proud of him," he said.
Looking back at the memorable World Cup, Kirsten he was glad that every match that the team played in the group stage turned out to be close one as it prepared the side for the knockout stage.
"It was an interesting World Cup. We never had it easy. The first one against Bangladesh was perhaps the easiest. In the last three games of the knockout stage, there were no big individual contributions. It was a team effort. I was excited about the way we played," he said.
Kirsten said he would keep coming back to India and might even consider coaching an IPL team in future.
"I would definitely consider coming to India. IPL is certainly an avenue from a coaching point of view. But I don't know what I am going to be doing," he said.
Asked whether he found handling temperamental pacer S Sreesanth difficult given that even skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni seems to have given up on him, Kirsten broke into a laughter.
"Paddy spent a lot of time with Sreesanth. He is highly skilled. Sree needs to work on his consistency. He played seven Test matches in a row for us and he was the key. So I think he needs to deliver those performances consistently. It would be wasted potential if a Sreesanth didn't go to the next level in his cricket," he said.
Kirsten thanked the Indian fans for giving him the same respect that he got from the players he coached.
"It's been a tremendous experience. I have been honoured by the way Indians have embraced me. It's been incredible to see how much the Indian people love this game. To see the support the boys get from the Indian fans is fantastic. It's a beautiful country. I have made lots of friends here. So I will keep coming back," he said.
Asked whether he ever felt emotionally confused when the opposition team was his own country South Africa, Kirsten quipped he was happy to see the back of Graeme Smith's men from the World Cup as India coach but did feel bad for his nation.
"It's always been a mix of emotions. South Africa is my country, I felt sad for them that they didn't do well but then it was good for us that they were knocked out. We have played South Africa many times but my heart was 100 per cent with the Indian team," he said.
Kirsten also urged his country's media to stop calling the Proteas chokers.
"South Africa is a great team but I think everyone seems to focus on the World Cup and the knockout stages. In a tournament like this, you need to have huge amount of experience in the middle order which I think they were probably a little short of.
"It worries me when the South African media puts up the chokers' tag. I can understand the opposition media doing it but your media shouldn't. I do feel sad for them. Graeme Smith said 'it's not easy, we are trying' and it's true, it's not easy," he said.
source:agency
Tags:world cup,Team India,India,Gary Kirsten
"It has been one of the hardest good byes I have had to say," Kirsten told reporters in his farewell press conference after serving out a successful term during which the Indian team reached the pinnacle of Test rankings besides lifting its first World Cup title in 28 years, last week.
"It has been an amazing achievement to be a part of this special group of cricketers," he said.
Kirsten came into the job with no coaching experience but turned out to be the most successful for India and the South African said having no prior experience probably worked to his advantage.
"I think it was interesting to come into this job without any coaching experience. I used the reference of being a player to work with the team. I tried building trust in the environment. Me and Paddy (Upton) tried to make sure that they knew that we had come to India to make it the best team in the world," he said.
Kirsten, who declined an offer to extend his tenure, said he has no plans to take up any other coaching assignment as of now and wants to spend time with his family.
"I am going home to spend some time with my family. But I have to consider my future at some time. I have been fortunate to have been offered some jobs but I want to spend time with my family right now," he said.
The Indian team performed consistently well under his guidance and Kirsten said there is hardly any area to improve upon from here except for fielding, which has also bettered in the past few months.
"They are the number one Test team in the world and won the World Cup so there is nothing much to improve. We have been working really hard on fielding and I was quite amazed at the way we fielded in the last three games of the World Cup," he said referring to the improved standards of fielding in the Indian team's knockout stage campaign.
The 43-year-old Kirsten said it would be quite a job for the next India coach as the task at hand is to sustain the consistency that the team has achieved in the past couple of years.
"Indian cricket is in a healthy position right now. Seam bowling is a slight concern but it has always been. But Indian cricket is going to be in a healthy state for a long time.
"It is going to be tough for the new coach in terms of the standards that have been set. But I don't see why the team should not continue doing well. The foundation has been set. The new coach should bring in fresh ideas," he said.
"I certainly wouldn't want the new guy to try and emulate what has been done in the past three years. Consistency for this team is now going be very important. I think the foundation is well set," he explained.
Speaking about individual players in the team, Kirsten lavished praise on the young brigade.
"Virat Kohli is ready for Test cricket. He is a bright young star. He has taken the responsibility of playing for India in big games really well. I think it's important to have competitiveness to be in the Indian team. You cannot be in the team with average performances.
"I have really enjoyed working with Suresh Raina. He has been an exceptional player. I have been impressed with Cheteshwar Pujara who can be a star of the future in Test matches. Pragyan Ojha has done well and he just needs to keep learning what he has to do. It is important to find one or two quality seamers.
"I was impressed with Munaf Patel. He performed well in the World Cup. Ashish Nehra also did well in the World Cup. Zaheer Khan has been number one for a long time but guys like these need support," Kirsten said.
Kirsten said Zaheer, in fact, is the best medium pacer in the world right now.
"Zaheer is the best 135kmph bowler in the world right now. He performs well under pressure. I think he is an unbelievable bowler to left-handers," he said.
Another player who got appreciation from the outgoing coach was flamboyant batsman Yuvraj Singh, who bagged the Man of the Tournament award at the World Cup for his fantastic performance with both the bat and ball.
"He was well-prepared and he had worked hard on his bowling. For Yuvi to end up being man of the tournament, I am extremely proud of him," he said.
Looking back at the memorable World Cup, Kirsten he was glad that every match that the team played in the group stage turned out to be close one as it prepared the side for the knockout stage.
"It was an interesting World Cup. We never had it easy. The first one against Bangladesh was perhaps the easiest. In the last three games of the knockout stage, there were no big individual contributions. It was a team effort. I was excited about the way we played," he said.
Kirsten said he would keep coming back to India and might even consider coaching an IPL team in future.
"I would definitely consider coming to India. IPL is certainly an avenue from a coaching point of view. But I don't know what I am going to be doing," he said.
Asked whether he found handling temperamental pacer S Sreesanth difficult given that even skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni seems to have given up on him, Kirsten broke into a laughter.
"Paddy spent a lot of time with Sreesanth. He is highly skilled. Sree needs to work on his consistency. He played seven Test matches in a row for us and he was the key. So I think he needs to deliver those performances consistently. It would be wasted potential if a Sreesanth didn't go to the next level in his cricket," he said.
Kirsten thanked the Indian fans for giving him the same respect that he got from the players he coached.
"It's been a tremendous experience. I have been honoured by the way Indians have embraced me. It's been incredible to see how much the Indian people love this game. To see the support the boys get from the Indian fans is fantastic. It's a beautiful country. I have made lots of friends here. So I will keep coming back," he said.
Asked whether he ever felt emotionally confused when the opposition team was his own country South Africa, Kirsten quipped he was happy to see the back of Graeme Smith's men from the World Cup as India coach but did feel bad for his nation.
"It's always been a mix of emotions. South Africa is my country, I felt sad for them that they didn't do well but then it was good for us that they were knocked out. We have played South Africa many times but my heart was 100 per cent with the Indian team," he said.
Kirsten also urged his country's media to stop calling the Proteas chokers.
"South Africa is a great team but I think everyone seems to focus on the World Cup and the knockout stages. In a tournament like this, you need to have huge amount of experience in the middle order which I think they were probably a little short of.
"It worries me when the South African media puts up the chokers' tag. I can understand the opposition media doing it but your media shouldn't. I do feel sad for them. Graeme Smith said 'it's not easy, we are trying' and it's true, it's not easy," he said.
source:agency
Tags:world cup,Team India,India,Gary Kirsten
Google offers $900m for Nortel patents
Global Internet giant Google has bid $900 million for a warchest of patents from bankrupt Nortel Networks, in an initial "stalking horse" bid that's expected to draw in higher competing offers.
Google, which runs the world's most popular search engine, wants the Nortel patents to help it fight a growing wireless patent war against well-armed mobile superpowers. The company has pushed its Android mobile phone software to the top of the wireless heap, attracting litigation in the process.
"Google is a relatively young company, and although we have a growing number of patents, many of our competitors have larger portfolios given their longer histories," Kent Walker, Google's general counsel, wrote on the company's blog.
Nortel, which filed for bankruptcy protection in January 2009, was a pioneer in wired and wireless network technology and the assets include some 6,000 patents and patent applications for wireless, data and optical networking, voice, Internet, semiconductors and other technologies.
"As the mobile market gets increasingly litigious it comes as little surprise that Google is interested in assets that could help it defend its Android mobile platform against rival patent claims," said Ben Wood, an analyst at CCS Insight.
Oracle is suing Google over Android, while Apple is fighting Taiwan's HTC in what is widely seen as a proxy attack on Android, which runs on HTC smartphones as well as devices from Samsung Electronics, Motorola Mobility and others.
More established mobile vendors have cross-licensing deals with each other. That keeps their patent fees low but makes entrance expensive for newcomers like Apple and Google.
Interest robust
Interest in the Nortel patents has been robust, but a deal was been delayed as Nortel's liquidators and potential buyers haggled over price.
Other expected bidders include Chinese telecom network company ZTE, Ericsson, which bought most of Nortel's wireless operations, and RPX, which licenses patents on behalf of member clients for a fee.
"This is an unprecedented opportunity to acquire one of the most extensive and compelling patent portfolios to ever come on the market", Nortel's chief strategy officer, George Riedel, said in a statement.
The patent sale is a last gasp for Nortel, once a Canadian technology darling with some 90,000 employees and a market capitalization of more than $250 billion.
Nortel, which has sold most of its physical assets, said Google was chosen after multiple bidding rounds involving companies and consortia from around the world.
"The patent war is getting tougher and expensive," said IDC analyst Francisco Jeronimo. He said it was unclear how widely the Nortel patents have already been licensed.
Google's bid sets a minimum price for other bidders to use as a starting point for their own proposals.
Nortel will file the agreement to a bankruptcy court in Delaware and outline how it will run the auction, which it expects to hold in June.
source:reuters
Tags:Nortel Networks,Larry Page,Google,Eric Schmidt
Google, which runs the world's most popular search engine, wants the Nortel patents to help it fight a growing wireless patent war against well-armed mobile superpowers. The company has pushed its Android mobile phone software to the top of the wireless heap, attracting litigation in the process.
"Google is a relatively young company, and although we have a growing number of patents, many of our competitors have larger portfolios given their longer histories," Kent Walker, Google's general counsel, wrote on the company's blog.
Nortel, which filed for bankruptcy protection in January 2009, was a pioneer in wired and wireless network technology and the assets include some 6,000 patents and patent applications for wireless, data and optical networking, voice, Internet, semiconductors and other technologies.
"As the mobile market gets increasingly litigious it comes as little surprise that Google is interested in assets that could help it defend its Android mobile platform against rival patent claims," said Ben Wood, an analyst at CCS Insight.
Oracle is suing Google over Android, while Apple is fighting Taiwan's HTC in what is widely seen as a proxy attack on Android, which runs on HTC smartphones as well as devices from Samsung Electronics, Motorola Mobility and others.
More established mobile vendors have cross-licensing deals with each other. That keeps their patent fees low but makes entrance expensive for newcomers like Apple and Google.
Interest robust
Interest in the Nortel patents has been robust, but a deal was been delayed as Nortel's liquidators and potential buyers haggled over price.
Other expected bidders include Chinese telecom network company ZTE, Ericsson, which bought most of Nortel's wireless operations, and RPX, which licenses patents on behalf of member clients for a fee.
"This is an unprecedented opportunity to acquire one of the most extensive and compelling patent portfolios to ever come on the market", Nortel's chief strategy officer, George Riedel, said in a statement.
The patent sale is a last gasp for Nortel, once a Canadian technology darling with some 90,000 employees and a market capitalization of more than $250 billion.
Nortel, which has sold most of its physical assets, said Google was chosen after multiple bidding rounds involving companies and consortia from around the world.
"The patent war is getting tougher and expensive," said IDC analyst Francisco Jeronimo. He said it was unclear how widely the Nortel patents have already been licensed.
Google's bid sets a minimum price for other bidders to use as a starting point for their own proposals.
Nortel will file the agreement to a bankruptcy court in Delaware and outline how it will run the auction, which it expects to hold in June.
source:reuters
Tags:Nortel Networks,Larry Page,Google,Eric Schmidt
Indians are not "large-hearted",I have been quoted out of context says Shahid Afridi
Karachi:After creating a furore by stating that Indians are not "large-hearted", Pakistan's ODI cricket captain Shahid Afridi did a volte-face, claiming that he was misunderstood and quoted out of context.
"Media makes a big deal of small issues. It is shameful. I have always done my bit to improve Indo-Pak ties but sometimes you say something and it is interpreted the other way. I have been quoted out of context," Afridi said.
"I have enjoyed my cricket in India and I love Indian people. Don't take my comments negatively. I have always got a lot of love and affection from Indian fans. And I request the media to play a more positive role and not waste time on such trivial issues," he told a TV channel.
A close aide of Afridi said that "whatever Shahid said about Indo-Pak relations was after he was asked about the statement made by Gautam Gambhir that the World Cup victory is dedicated to the victims of the Mumbai terror attacks."
"Watch the show again. It is clear Shahid was speaking in general terms when he was reminded that while he had said on returning home that Pakistanis should not treat India like a enemy, Gambhir had talked politics and tried to play up anti-Pakistan sentiments," the aide said.
Afridi's aide said while the cricketer spoke positively about India, the players across the border were doing the opposite about Pakistan.
"That is when Afridi made the remarks about Indians not being big hearted like Pakistanis and their media being very negative about Pakistan," the aide said.
As the remarks by Afridi caused a stir in the Indian media on Monday, the Pakistan captain preferred to power off his contact phones and go underground.
He is due to travel to Lahore on Tuesday to meet national selectors who are due to announce the Pakistan squad for the tour to the West Indies.
Afridi, after initially making himself unavailable for the tour due to personal reasons, has now opted to tour the Caribbean and play in the limited over series.
Afridi's aide said the all-rounder was a firm believer that sports and politics should not be mixed together.
"That is why he was so upset with the reported statement of Gambhir," he added.
source:agency
Tags:world cup,Shahid Afridi,Pakistan,India
"Media makes a big deal of small issues. It is shameful. I have always done my bit to improve Indo-Pak ties but sometimes you say something and it is interpreted the other way. I have been quoted out of context," Afridi said.
"I have enjoyed my cricket in India and I love Indian people. Don't take my comments negatively. I have always got a lot of love and affection from Indian fans. And I request the media to play a more positive role and not waste time on such trivial issues," he told a TV channel.
A close aide of Afridi said that "whatever Shahid said about Indo-Pak relations was after he was asked about the statement made by Gautam Gambhir that the World Cup victory is dedicated to the victims of the Mumbai terror attacks."
"Watch the show again. It is clear Shahid was speaking in general terms when he was reminded that while he had said on returning home that Pakistanis should not treat India like a enemy, Gambhir had talked politics and tried to play up anti-Pakistan sentiments," the aide said.
Afridi's aide said while the cricketer spoke positively about India, the players across the border were doing the opposite about Pakistan.
"That is when Afridi made the remarks about Indians not being big hearted like Pakistanis and their media being very negative about Pakistan," the aide said.
As the remarks by Afridi caused a stir in the Indian media on Monday, the Pakistan captain preferred to power off his contact phones and go underground.
He is due to travel to Lahore on Tuesday to meet national selectors who are due to announce the Pakistan squad for the tour to the West Indies.
Afridi, after initially making himself unavailable for the tour due to personal reasons, has now opted to tour the Caribbean and play in the limited over series.
Afridi's aide said the all-rounder was a firm believer that sports and politics should not be mixed together.
"That is why he was so upset with the reported statement of Gambhir," he added.
source:agency
Tags:world cup,Shahid Afridi,Pakistan,India
2G spectrum:Anil Ambani ,questioned by Parliament's Public Accounts Committee
Reliance Communications chairman Anil Ambani was on Tuesday questioned by Parliament's Public Accounts Committee in connection with alleged irregularities in the 2G spectrum allocation.
Etisalat DB Telecom CEO Atul Jham was also questioned by the panel headed by senior BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi.
The PAC had on Monday quizzed Tata Sons chairman Ratan Tata and corporate lobbyist Niira Radia in connection with the 2G spectrum scam. ( 'Candid' Tata admits chemistry problem with Maran )
The panel had quizzed Radia for two hours and Tata for three hours on issues related to the scam.
S-Tel CEO Shamik Das and Unitech Wireless Managing Director Sigve Brekke are also scheduled to appear before the PAC today.
source:agency
Tags:PAC,Anil Ambani,2G scam
Etisalat DB Telecom CEO Atul Jham was also questioned by the panel headed by senior BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi.
The PAC had on Monday quizzed Tata Sons chairman Ratan Tata and corporate lobbyist Niira Radia in connection with the 2G spectrum scam. ( 'Candid' Tata admits chemistry problem with Maran )
The panel had quizzed Radia for two hours and Tata for three hours on issues related to the scam.
S-Tel CEO Shamik Das and Unitech Wireless Managing Director Sigve Brekke are also scheduled to appear before the PAC today.
source:agency
Tags:PAC,Anil Ambani,2G scam
Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week (WIFW) beginning on Wednesday
New Delhi: From the revival of Kanjivaram to vintage-inspired clothes to stylish modern garments - the autumn/winter edition of the Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week (WIFW) beginning on Wednesday will see a lot of innovation in styling and better business opportunities for designers.
The five-day extravaganza will feature 141 participants -- 77 of them splashing myriad designs on the runway during 41 shows and the rest displaying their creativity in various stalls at Hall No. 18 of the Pragati Maidan exhibition grounds here.
Arguably Asia's biggest business-of-fashion event, the bi-annual prêt fashion week, now into its 12th year, has firmly established itself as the convergence point for the best and most promising talent in Indian fashion. From designers, models, choreographers and makeup artists to buyers and retailers, the event acts as a catalyst and a networking point for the industry.
Delhi-based designer Ritu Kumar will present her clothes under Label, a deep and vibrant collection inspired by Silk Route explorers in the early 19th century.
"The entire collection revolves around the adventure and mystery immortalised by characters who travelled the land looking for fortune. There are several jacquard weavings in both traditional and fresh designs. The collection will feature one-of-their-kind pieces that are the beginning of the Kanjivaram revival project, apart from handwoven textile and silks from West Bengal," said Kumar.
Among the other designers who will be showcasing are Sabyasachi Mukherjee, Manish Arora, Tarun Tahiliani, Varun Bahl, Shantanu and Nikhil, Kallol Datta, Abraham and Thakore, Preeti Chandra, Kavita Bhartia, Rohit Gandhi-Rahul Khanna, Niki Mahajan and Anamika Khanna.
Designer duo Ankur-Priyanka Modi, who have long been associated with the fashion event, are set to present an exotic vintage-inspired line with a contemporary twist. And for once, the models showcasing their collection won't be cold and stiff.
"London's Portobello Road is one street that many throng to for all things vintage, so it is my inspiration. London is the most experimental fashion capital in the world and we have slightly pushed the envelope with our collection," Priyanka said.
"So far, models have been slightly cold and expressionless on the ramp, but this time we're going for a little more character and a little more seduction," she added.
For their collections, designers have indulged in plush velvets, silk, chiffon, satin, lace and taffeta in myriad hues like lime, coral, ivory and lilac, as well as dark shades like wine, khaki, moss green and black.
Delhi-based designer Anupama Dayal has taken inspiration from Kashmir's Shalimar Gardens for her label, appropriately named Shalimaar.
"I have used amethyst, phirozi, sand and red sandstone as background colours with pop art in acid pink, orange, canary yellow, Shrek green and black. The fabrics vary from pashminas, sheep wool blends, twill silk, tafetta and stretch cottons," Dayal explained.
Fun, stylish, comfortable and yet dressy is how the designer duo Hemant and Nandita describe their collection.
"Holidays are what inspire us all the time because we designers and business people hardly get time to take a break. It is always work which comes along with our vacation, so it's fun to take inspiration while travelling. The feel is very relaxed and the look is very breezy, transparent, comfortable," said Nandita.
From kaftaans to kimonos, tunics to hooded long shirts, shorts to cropped pants and jumpsuits - the collection has traces of Ibitza to New York. Burnt orange and tropical green are used to add zing to the fabrics like crepe, satins and silk velvets.
Shantanu-Nikhil, known for their edgy and sexy designs, will showcase their new bridge brand S&N Drape.
"The brand draws inspiration from Indian vintage colours and culture. The clothes are not rigid or unyielding, but instead cheerful and sexy, bringing real fashion through mainstream silhouettes and drapes," said Nikhil.
Jatin Verma will present a collection that has already received a wonderful response in Paris and Dubai.
Lable "Dozakh" by Nitin Kartikeya and Isha Dhingra is set to recreate the intrigue that surrounded the Elizabethan Theatre during Shakespeare's times.
"Our 'To be or not to be' colour palette includes arrogant reds, dominant greys, melancholic blacks and seraphic navy blue illustrated prints in silk and worsted wool - it revives the distinctive thespian atmosphere," said Nitin.
Asked about his target buyers, designer Ankur Modi said: "Since we have a strong presence domestically, with a very loyal customer base, we look to foray deeper into the international markets this season. We got a great response last season from buyers in the US, Europe and the Middle East and hope to increase our retail points in these places apart from gaining new ground."
source:agency
Tags : India Lifestyle News, Indian Fashion, Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week, Modern Garments at WIFW, Business Opportunities for Designers, WIFW Innovation
The five-day extravaganza will feature 141 participants -- 77 of them splashing myriad designs on the runway during 41 shows and the rest displaying their creativity in various stalls at Hall No. 18 of the Pragati Maidan exhibition grounds here.
Arguably Asia's biggest business-of-fashion event, the bi-annual prêt fashion week, now into its 12th year, has firmly established itself as the convergence point for the best and most promising talent in Indian fashion. From designers, models, choreographers and makeup artists to buyers and retailers, the event acts as a catalyst and a networking point for the industry.
Delhi-based designer Ritu Kumar will present her clothes under Label, a deep and vibrant collection inspired by Silk Route explorers in the early 19th century.
"The entire collection revolves around the adventure and mystery immortalised by characters who travelled the land looking for fortune. There are several jacquard weavings in both traditional and fresh designs. The collection will feature one-of-their-kind pieces that are the beginning of the Kanjivaram revival project, apart from handwoven textile and silks from West Bengal," said Kumar.
Among the other designers who will be showcasing are Sabyasachi Mukherjee, Manish Arora, Tarun Tahiliani, Varun Bahl, Shantanu and Nikhil, Kallol Datta, Abraham and Thakore, Preeti Chandra, Kavita Bhartia, Rohit Gandhi-Rahul Khanna, Niki Mahajan and Anamika Khanna.
Designer duo Ankur-Priyanka Modi, who have long been associated with the fashion event, are set to present an exotic vintage-inspired line with a contemporary twist. And for once, the models showcasing their collection won't be cold and stiff.
"London's Portobello Road is one street that many throng to for all things vintage, so it is my inspiration. London is the most experimental fashion capital in the world and we have slightly pushed the envelope with our collection," Priyanka said.
"So far, models have been slightly cold and expressionless on the ramp, but this time we're going for a little more character and a little more seduction," she added.
For their collections, designers have indulged in plush velvets, silk, chiffon, satin, lace and taffeta in myriad hues like lime, coral, ivory and lilac, as well as dark shades like wine, khaki, moss green and black.
Delhi-based designer Anupama Dayal has taken inspiration from Kashmir's Shalimar Gardens for her label, appropriately named Shalimaar.
"I have used amethyst, phirozi, sand and red sandstone as background colours with pop art in acid pink, orange, canary yellow, Shrek green and black. The fabrics vary from pashminas, sheep wool blends, twill silk, tafetta and stretch cottons," Dayal explained.
Fun, stylish, comfortable and yet dressy is how the designer duo Hemant and Nandita describe their collection.
"Holidays are what inspire us all the time because we designers and business people hardly get time to take a break. It is always work which comes along with our vacation, so it's fun to take inspiration while travelling. The feel is very relaxed and the look is very breezy, transparent, comfortable," said Nandita.
From kaftaans to kimonos, tunics to hooded long shirts, shorts to cropped pants and jumpsuits - the collection has traces of Ibitza to New York. Burnt orange and tropical green are used to add zing to the fabrics like crepe, satins and silk velvets.
Shantanu-Nikhil, known for their edgy and sexy designs, will showcase their new bridge brand S&N Drape.
"The brand draws inspiration from Indian vintage colours and culture. The clothes are not rigid or unyielding, but instead cheerful and sexy, bringing real fashion through mainstream silhouettes and drapes," said Nikhil.
Jatin Verma will present a collection that has already received a wonderful response in Paris and Dubai.
Lable "Dozakh" by Nitin Kartikeya and Isha Dhingra is set to recreate the intrigue that surrounded the Elizabethan Theatre during Shakespeare's times.
"Our 'To be or not to be' colour palette includes arrogant reds, dominant greys, melancholic blacks and seraphic navy blue illustrated prints in silk and worsted wool - it revives the distinctive thespian atmosphere," said Nitin.
Asked about his target buyers, designer Ankur Modi said: "Since we have a strong presence domestically, with a very loyal customer base, we look to foray deeper into the international markets this season. We got a great response last season from buyers in the US, Europe and the Middle East and hope to increase our retail points in these places apart from gaining new ground."
source:agency
Tags : India Lifestyle News, Indian Fashion, Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week, Modern Garments at WIFW, Business Opportunities for Designers, WIFW Innovation
L.K. Advani :India's victory in the cricket World Cup was a reflection of patriotic spirit
New Delhi: Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader L.K. Advani on Monday contended the countrywide jubilation following India's victory in the cricket World Cup was a reflection of patriotic spirit of the people and the real issue was the country, not only cricket. "I wish it is realised that the core issue is not cricket, it is the country. It is India, it is Bharat. Millions who do not understand anything about cricket have been enthusiastic partakers in these victory celebrations, only because for them it has actually been a Bharat Mata ki Jai (glory to motherland)," Advani said in the latest post on his blog.
The BJP leader, who himself witnessed the match in Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium on Saturday, said that the newspaper headlines and songs heard the day after World Cup victory reflected sense of pride of people in the country's achievement.
He said when India's skipper M.S. Dhoni hit a triumphant six to defeat Sri Lanka in the suspenseful, cliff-hanger match and won the World Cup for the country, it became an unforgettable moment for tens of thousands present at the stadium.
"In fact, I can think of numerous occasions which have made me and Indians generally quite happy. But I cannot think of any other event that has made the entire Indian population, urban as well as rural, irrespective of caste, community, language or region unitedly feel as ecstatic and proud as they felt the moment they heard about the result of the World Cup Final," Advani said.
He said though the presentation ceremony ended by midnight, the vicinity of the stadium had crowds milling till the early hours of the morning.
"At the stadium itself, it was a sight to be seen to be believed. Thousands of flags were being waved, songs like Vande Mataram, Sare Jahan Se Achha were being chanted, and Jai Jai Kars (adulation) of individual players were being shouted. Emotions and feelings were virtually exploding," he said.
The BJP leader said when Sachin Tendulkar and other Indian players were going round the stadium, he along with union minister Farooq Abdullah, party leader Shahnawaz Hussain and his daughter Pratibha stood up holding national flag to greet the Indian team.
Advani said he personally complimented President Pratibha Patil and Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa for the wonderful match that had been played by the two teams.
source:agency
Tags : Advani on India's World Cup Victory, World Cup Jubilation, World Cup Celebrations
The BJP leader, who himself witnessed the match in Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium on Saturday, said that the newspaper headlines and songs heard the day after World Cup victory reflected sense of pride of people in the country's achievement.
He said when India's skipper M.S. Dhoni hit a triumphant six to defeat Sri Lanka in the suspenseful, cliff-hanger match and won the World Cup for the country, it became an unforgettable moment for tens of thousands present at the stadium.
"In fact, I can think of numerous occasions which have made me and Indians generally quite happy. But I cannot think of any other event that has made the entire Indian population, urban as well as rural, irrespective of caste, community, language or region unitedly feel as ecstatic and proud as they felt the moment they heard about the result of the World Cup Final," Advani said.
He said though the presentation ceremony ended by midnight, the vicinity of the stadium had crowds milling till the early hours of the morning.
"At the stadium itself, it was a sight to be seen to be believed. Thousands of flags were being waved, songs like Vande Mataram, Sare Jahan Se Achha were being chanted, and Jai Jai Kars (adulation) of individual players were being shouted. Emotions and feelings were virtually exploding," he said.
The BJP leader said when Sachin Tendulkar and other Indian players were going round the stadium, he along with union minister Farooq Abdullah, party leader Shahnawaz Hussain and his daughter Pratibha stood up holding national flag to greet the Indian team.
Advani said he personally complimented President Pratibha Patil and Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa for the wonderful match that had been played by the two teams.
source:agency
Tags : Advani on India's World Cup Victory, World Cup Jubilation, World Cup Celebrations
Social activist Anna Hazare,to press for a stronger anti-graft Lokpal Bill
New Delhi: Veteran social activist Anna Hazare, who has vowed to fast unto death, today reached Mahatma Gandhi's memorial at Rajghat to press for a stronger anti-graft Lokpal Bill through greater involvement of civil society in its formulation.
The Magsaysay Award winner activist, along with supporters, reached Mahatma Gandhi's memorial at Rajghat at 10 a.m., after which he is expected to stage a march from India Gate to the Jantar Mantar, a stone's throw from Parliament House, where Hazare will begin his fast.
Those accompanying Hazare include Right To Information (RTI) activist Arind Kejriwal and former top cop Kiran Bedi.
"I will fast unto death as announced earlier, as the prime minister has refused to form a joint committee with civil society members in it for the formulation of the Lokpal Bill. Even if I lose my life, I will have no regret, my life is dedicated to the nation," Hazare had said at a press meet earlier.
Hazare and several other civil society activists are pressing for adoption of an alternate bill, called Jan Lokpal Bill.
The Jan Lokpal Bill calls for setting up ombudsmen - Lokpal and Lokayuktas (in states) - independent of the government's control in order to check corruption in public life.
Activists say investigations by ombudsmen should be completed in one year and there should be a minimum jail term of five years and maximum punishment of life imprisonment.
The government's version, however, recommends a prison term of a minimum six months and a maximum punishment of seven years for corruption.
Hundredrs of supporters have already gathered at Rajghat, India Gate and Jantar Mantar where Hazare will be staging his protest march.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had on Monday expressed "deep disappointment" over Hazare's decision to go ahead with the planned hunger strike, but said he had enormous respect for the social worker and his mission.
source:agency
Tags : India News, Anna Hazare Fast, Anti Graft Lokpal Bill, Formulation of Lokpall Bill
The Magsaysay Award winner activist, along with supporters, reached Mahatma Gandhi's memorial at Rajghat at 10 a.m., after which he is expected to stage a march from India Gate to the Jantar Mantar, a stone's throw from Parliament House, where Hazare will begin his fast.
Those accompanying Hazare include Right To Information (RTI) activist Arind Kejriwal and former top cop Kiran Bedi.
"I will fast unto death as announced earlier, as the prime minister has refused to form a joint committee with civil society members in it for the formulation of the Lokpal Bill. Even if I lose my life, I will have no regret, my life is dedicated to the nation," Hazare had said at a press meet earlier.
Hazare and several other civil society activists are pressing for adoption of an alternate bill, called Jan Lokpal Bill.
The Jan Lokpal Bill calls for setting up ombudsmen - Lokpal and Lokayuktas (in states) - independent of the government's control in order to check corruption in public life.
Activists say investigations by ombudsmen should be completed in one year and there should be a minimum jail term of five years and maximum punishment of life imprisonment.
The government's version, however, recommends a prison term of a minimum six months and a maximum punishment of seven years for corruption.
Hundredrs of supporters have already gathered at Rajghat, India Gate and Jantar Mantar where Hazare will be staging his protest march.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had on Monday expressed "deep disappointment" over Hazare's decision to go ahead with the planned hunger strike, but said he had enormous respect for the social worker and his mission.
source:agency
Tags : India News, Anna Hazare Fast, Anti Graft Lokpal Bill, Formulation of Lokpall Bill
Congo:UN plane crash,32 dead
United Nations: One out of 33 people on board a UN aircraft, which crashed on Monday at an airport in the Democratic Republic of Congo, has survived, a UN press service said.
The plane broke in half and caught fire when the pilot tried to land in heavy rain.
A search and rescue effort continued at the site of the crash. However neither the type of the aircraft, nor the nationality of those killed in the accident have been revealed. The cause of the accident has not been established yet.
The media reported earlier that the plane belonged to Georgia's Airzena airline, but this information has not been officially confirmed.
The plane had reportedly flown from Goma via Kisangani, a city in the north-east of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
source:agency
Tags : UN Aircraft Crash in Congo, Congo Airport, Congo Accident
The plane broke in half and caught fire when the pilot tried to land in heavy rain.
A search and rescue effort continued at the site of the crash. However neither the type of the aircraft, nor the nationality of those killed in the accident have been revealed. The cause of the accident has not been established yet.
The media reported earlier that the plane belonged to Georgia's Airzena airline, but this information has not been officially confirmed.
The plane had reportedly flown from Goma via Kisangani, a city in the north-east of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
source:agency
Tags : UN Aircraft Crash in Congo, Congo Airport, Congo Accident
Innoz Technologies has bagged the prestigious MIT award
Thiruvananthapuram: Technopark based start-up company Innoz Technologies has bagged the prestigious MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) award for telecommunication at the MIT Technology Review EmTech India Conclave in Bangalore.
Innoz received the award for SMSGyan, a mobile based search engine that can work with different internet resources to give correct answers - on verticals such as encyclopaedias, dictionaries, cricket scores, stock market and weather information.
With more than 10 million users, SMSGyan has become one of the fastest growing mobile services in India.
"Sixty percent of India does not even know what Google is because internet and computer penetration is so low. On the other hand, with 771 million subscribers, more than half of India owns a mobile. Growth opportunities for a service like SMSGyan are huge because now the information is just an SMS away," an MIT statement said about Innoz's product.
Airtel has recently joined hands with Innoz to launch AirtelGyan accessible to over 150 million customers in India. Customers can use the service by sending questions to 55444.
"MIT clearly gives us a strong belief that we can also build international companies from India. The recognition shows the importance that digital economy is the domain of younger generation who quickly adopt new technologies," said Deepak Ravindran, chief executive officer of Innoz Technologies.
The dream of producing technology success stories such as Microsoft, Google and Facebook from India is never too far, he added.
Innoz, started by a group of engineering students from Kerala in 2008, is one of the fastest growing technology companies in the country which works on mobile and web applications.
The flagship product SMSGyan was developed while Ravindran and his college mates were final semester engineering students.
source:agency
Tags : India Business News, Innoz Technologies, MIT Award for Telecommunication, MIT Technology Review EmTech India Conclave
Innoz received the award for SMSGyan, a mobile based search engine that can work with different internet resources to give correct answers - on verticals such as encyclopaedias, dictionaries, cricket scores, stock market and weather information.
With more than 10 million users, SMSGyan has become one of the fastest growing mobile services in India.
"Sixty percent of India does not even know what Google is because internet and computer penetration is so low. On the other hand, with 771 million subscribers, more than half of India owns a mobile. Growth opportunities for a service like SMSGyan are huge because now the information is just an SMS away," an MIT statement said about Innoz's product.
Airtel has recently joined hands with Innoz to launch AirtelGyan accessible to over 150 million customers in India. Customers can use the service by sending questions to 55444.
"MIT clearly gives us a strong belief that we can also build international companies from India. The recognition shows the importance that digital economy is the domain of younger generation who quickly adopt new technologies," said Deepak Ravindran, chief executive officer of Innoz Technologies.
The dream of producing technology success stories such as Microsoft, Google and Facebook from India is never too far, he added.
Innoz, started by a group of engineering students from Kerala in 2008, is one of the fastest growing technology companies in the country which works on mobile and web applications.
The flagship product SMSGyan was developed while Ravindran and his college mates were final semester engineering students.
source:agency
Tags : India Business News, Innoz Technologies, MIT Award for Telecommunication, MIT Technology Review EmTech India Conclave
Air India officials ,M.S. Dhoni, Harbhajan Singh, Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina will soon get a promotion
Kollam (Kerala): Minister of Civil Aviation Vayalar Ravi today announced that four Air India officials who are members of the winning World Cup cricket team would be given promotions.
"M.S. Dhoni, Harbhajan Singh, Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina will soon get a promotion for being part of the winning Indian team. They are already officers and it is a normal practice (to give them promotion)," Ravi told reporters here.
"I have spoken to the concerned people to give them a promotion to the next grade," he added.
The Indian cricket team beat Sri Lanka by six wickets April 2 to win the Cricket World Cup, 28 years after it won the cup for the first time win in 1983.
source:agency
Tags : India Sports News, Indian Cricket, Air India Officials, Air India Promotions, M.S. Dhoni Promotions, Harbhajan Singh Promotions, Yuvraj Singh Promotions, Suresh Raina Promotions, Vayalar Ravi
"M.S. Dhoni, Harbhajan Singh, Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina will soon get a promotion for being part of the winning Indian team. They are already officers and it is a normal practice (to give them promotion)," Ravi told reporters here.
"I have spoken to the concerned people to give them a promotion to the next grade," he added.
The Indian cricket team beat Sri Lanka by six wickets April 2 to win the Cricket World Cup, 28 years after it won the cup for the first time win in 1983.
source:agency
Tags : India Sports News, Indian Cricket, Air India Officials, Air India Promotions, M.S. Dhoni Promotions, Harbhajan Singh Promotions, Yuvraj Singh Promotions, Suresh Raina Promotions, Vayalar Ravi
Yuvraj Singh,is all set to open a cricket academy in Noida
New Delhi: Dashing all-rounder Yuvraj Singh, the Player of the Tournament of the 2011 World Cup that India won, is all set to open a state-of-the-art cricket academy in suburban Noida.
The middle-order batsman said his first academy will come up in Noida and that he plans to open the second one in Lucknow.
"It is a great moment for me and I have been planning to open an academy for a long time. The first will come up in Noida. I want to give back something to the game that gave me everything in life," Yuvraj told the media.
"Now I want to concentrate only on the Noida academy and then think of more such facilities. The second will surely come up in Lucknow," he said.
Yuvraj said negotiations were on with the sponsors.
"I am still talking to sponsors and the land has been identified. The academy will have all the facilities a modern cricket academy should have. The idea is to provide young cricketers all necessary inputs," said Yuvraj.
Punjab all-rounder Sandeep Sharma, a long-time friend of Yuvraj, will be involved with the project.
Yuvraj said that special attention will be given to fielding skills as well.
"People still expect me to field as a 20-year-old boy now and it is tough. I am 29 now and body does get a bit slow. So I can be a good fielder but I can't be an exceptional fielder. I am still trying, but it is better to be safe than sorry. I would try to pass on the same message to the youngsters as well," said Yuvraj.
source:agency
Tags : India Sports News, India Cricket, 2011 World Cup Player of the Tournament, Yuvraj Singh Cricket Academy in Noida
The middle-order batsman said his first academy will come up in Noida and that he plans to open the second one in Lucknow.
"It is a great moment for me and I have been planning to open an academy for a long time. The first will come up in Noida. I want to give back something to the game that gave me everything in life," Yuvraj told the media.
"Now I want to concentrate only on the Noida academy and then think of more such facilities. The second will surely come up in Lucknow," he said.
Yuvraj said negotiations were on with the sponsors.
"I am still talking to sponsors and the land has been identified. The academy will have all the facilities a modern cricket academy should have. The idea is to provide young cricketers all necessary inputs," said Yuvraj.
Punjab all-rounder Sandeep Sharma, a long-time friend of Yuvraj, will be involved with the project.
Yuvraj said that special attention will be given to fielding skills as well.
"People still expect me to field as a 20-year-old boy now and it is tough. I am 29 now and body does get a bit slow. So I can be a good fielder but I can't be an exceptional fielder. I am still trying, but it is better to be safe than sorry. I would try to pass on the same message to the youngsters as well," said Yuvraj.
source:agency
Tags : India Sports News, India Cricket, 2011 World Cup Player of the Tournament, Yuvraj Singh Cricket Academy in Noida
ICC:World Cup,have an average run-rate of more than 5 per over
Mumbai: The 2011 World Cup was the first in history to have an average run-rate of more than five per over, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said today.
The average run-rate stood at 5.03 per over in the tournament that concluded on Saturday, an ICC statement said.
The previous highest was 4.95 runs per over in the 2007 edition in the West Indies. This trend goes on to show how scoring rate has changed since the early editions in 1975, 1979 and 1983, when 60-overs-a-side matches were played.
In contrast to the overall trend of an increasing run rate, the average runs per wicket has remained consistent throughout the history of the competition. This is with the slight exception of 1979, which was played in disappointing weather early in the English summer.
"The statistics are a clear illustration of the exciting cricket that was played during the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011," said David Richardson, ICC General Manager (Cricket).
Year Matches RPO RPW
2011 49 5.03 29.18
2007 51 4.95 29.42
2003 52 4.76 27.84
1999 42 4.47 28.41
1996 36 4.67 32.12
1992 39 4.42 29.39
1987 27 4.87 32.52
1983 27 4.08 29.52
1979 14 3.54 25.58
1975 15 3.91 29.62
source:agency
Tags : 2011 World Cup, World Cup Run Rate, International Cricket Council
The average run-rate stood at 5.03 per over in the tournament that concluded on Saturday, an ICC statement said.
The previous highest was 4.95 runs per over in the 2007 edition in the West Indies. This trend goes on to show how scoring rate has changed since the early editions in 1975, 1979 and 1983, when 60-overs-a-side matches were played.
In contrast to the overall trend of an increasing run rate, the average runs per wicket has remained consistent throughout the history of the competition. This is with the slight exception of 1979, which was played in disappointing weather early in the English summer.
"The statistics are a clear illustration of the exciting cricket that was played during the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011," said David Richardson, ICC General Manager (Cricket).
Year Matches RPO RPW
2011 49 5.03 29.18
2007 51 4.95 29.42
2003 52 4.76 27.84
1999 42 4.47 28.41
1996 36 4.67 32.12
1992 39 4.42 29.39
1987 27 4.87 32.52
1983 27 4.08 29.52
1979 14 3.54 25.58
1975 15 3.91 29.62
source:agency
Tags : 2011 World Cup, World Cup Run Rate, International Cricket Council
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