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SC stays HC’s ruling on Ayodhya title dispute

2011-05-09T04:20:00.000-07:00

In an order, what could be seen as a great relief to a number of people across the country, the Supreme Court annulled the Allahabad High Court’s verdict on the Ayodhya Title suit. The Court stayed the Allahabad HC’s order for the tripartite division of the controversial Ramjanmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land.

The Allahabad High Court on September 30 last year directed that the 2.77 acre disputed land would be divided into three parts among Hindus, Muslims and Nirmohi Akhara represented by Ram Lalla, Sunni Waqf Board and Nirmohi Akhara.

"There will be no change of situation at ground zero (the make-shift temple of Ram Lalla). The pooja will continue as per the January 7, 1993 order," senior advocate Ravi Shankar Prasad, who is representing Ram Lalla Virajman, told reporters after the Apex Court’s order.

After the demolition of the Masjid on December 6, 1992, the demonstrators created a makeshift temple. On January 7, 1993, the Congress government enacted the Ayodhya Act 1993 which preserved the status quo of the destroyed mosque and limited prayer on the disputed site.

What could be the outcomes now:

First, the Supreme Court may award use of the land to any one of the plaintiffs.

Secondly, the Supreme Court studies the HC judgment and concurs. But these two outcomes are more of statistical probabilities.

Third, the apex court may ask all parties, the Centre and the state government to maintain an indefinite status quo.

Or Fourth, the Apex Court upholding the spirit of a secular, inclusive and progressive nation, may de-link the disputed land from the politico-religious entities fighting for it.

AYODHYA ISSUES

2010-09-30T03:53:00.000-07:00

Few minutes later India’s longest and most controversial legal battle will come to an end with the final verdict to be heard by the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court. Here we try to understand what this case is all about. Here is a brief look on this historical issue. The 'Title Suit case' covers five suits which involves 28 issues framed by the special Lucknow bench of the Allahabad HC. The issues include:

1. Whether the demolished structure was a mosque as claimed by the plaint Muslim organizations.
2. If so, when was it built and by whom, Mughal emperor Babar or his Awadh governor Mir Baqi Tashqandi.
3. Was it built on the site of a demolished Hindu temple?
4. Whether Muslims prayed in the Babri mosque from time immemorial.
5. Whether they possessed the property openly and continuously from 1528 when it was allegedly built.
6. Whether they possessed it till 1949 when they were dispossessed.
7. Whether the suit was filed too late.
8. Whether the Hindus have earned the right to pray at the site through adverse and continuous possession.
9. Whether the plot is Ram's birthplace.
10. Whether Hindus have worshipped the site as Ram's birthplace from time immemorial.
11. Whether the idols and other objects of worship were placed in the structure on the night of December 22-23, 1949, or whether they had been there before.
12. Whether the Ram chabutra, the raised platform adjacent to the disputed structure, as well as the Bhandar and Sita Rasoi were demolished along with the main structure.
13. Whether the land adjoining the structure on its east, north and south housed an ancient graveyard and a mosque.
14. Whether the structure is 'landlocked' and cannot be reached except by passing through Hindus' places of worship around it.
15. Whether no mosque can come into existence on the plot in view of Islamic tenets (because idols have been placed there).
16. Whether the structure could not legally be a mosque since it did not have minarets.
17. Whether it could not be a mosque as it is hemmed in by a graveyard from three sides.
18. Whether, after the demolition, it can still be called a mosque.
19. Whether Muslims can use the open ground at the site as a mosque to offer prayers following the demolition of the structure.
20. Whether and what relief, if any, the plaintiffs (Muslim organisations) are entitled to.

Here is a brief look on these three judges who will announce the verdict are:

Sibghat Ullah Khan
Sibghat Ullah Khan was born on Jan 31, 1952. He was graduated from the Aligarh Muslim University in law in 1975. He also completed a graduation in science from the AMU in 1971 and enrolled as an advocate in the Uttar Pradesh Bar Council in 1975. He was lifted as additional judge on Oct 5, 2005 and later as a permanent Judge of the High Court on Dec 21, 2002. SU Khan was nominated on the special bench of Allahabad High Court on Dec 11, 2009, handling the Ayodhya title suits.

Sudhir Agarwal

Sudhir Agarwal was born on April 24, 1958. He was graduated in science from Agra University in 1977 and graduated in law from Meerut University. He enrolled as an advocate on Oct 5, 1980 and began his career. He was lifted as an additional judge on Oct 5, 2005 and later as an permanent judge on Aug 8, 2007. Sudhir Agarwal was nominated on the special bench of Allahabad High Court handling the Ayodhya title suits on Sept 18, 2008.

Dharam Veer Sharma

Dharam Veer Sharma was born on Oct 2, 1948. He was graduated in law in 1970 and appointed in the Provincial Civil Services (Judicial) in 1972. Later in 2002, he was lifted as district and sessions judge and then promoted to the post of additional judge in the high court on Oct 20, 2005. He became a permanent judge in Sep 17, 2009 and nominated to the three-member bench on Feb 12, 2007.

Sex drive: Men vs Women

2010-06-07T10:49:00.000-07:00

The one topic which thrills everyone, thinking about which let everybody live in romantic mood is sex. Although talking about sex is as common among young generation irrespective of gender, yet it is considered undercover subject in our society. What am I going to discuss here is not its pros and cons, but I want to focus on its psychological aspect.

Apparently speaking, people, male and female think differently. Nature wise both are different and physically as well. Their mental level can be different. But what I want to elaborate here is what and how men and women think differently about sex.

Men are generally considered bold, and expected to express their desire first than women. True, not every man has the same dare, and not every woman expect man to express his feelings first; exception is everywhere. Actually women’s sex drive is more influenced by cultural and social factors. So this could be one reason why women stay behind from men in this matter.

Women are generally blamed that they are well capable in hiding their emotion deep inside their heart, but are men capable enough in this matter? Normally it is believed that women’s brain is difficult to understand. What are they hiding and what are they trying to tell, no one can imagine. All men are not the same at the same time. Men’s mind is also difficult to understand every now and then. Even men do have dual thinking — internal and external feelings.

Sex expert Brijendain Luane has found that men, too, conceal their feelings. For instance, sex; its desire in men is very high, but they try to hide their sentiments. However, in its desire to fulfill their desire, they do not dare to cheat women. So, the question arises here why men do that? Do men really have stronger sex drives than woman? Well, yes, they do. Study after study illustrates that men's sex drives are not only stronger than women's, but much more straightforward. Whereas the sources of women's libidos, by contrast, are much more difficult to pin down.

Writing on different aspect of sex in her book, Luane says it is ‘testosterone’ hormone responsible for men’s such feeling. This is the hormone which compels men to linger on their eyes to women bodies’ curves. Testosterone, however, is linked to sex drive in women too. But this hormone works much faster in men than women. And this is the reason why men are more prone to sex. Suggesting women about men’s nature, she says treat men with cool head. She also says that not every man is like this, some are capable enough to control their feeling.

However, it can’t be denied that men are crazy about sex. Scientifically it is proved that desire for sex in men is two and half times more than women. It does not mean that women are not crazy about sex. It’s a common wisdom that women place more value on emotional connection as a spark of sexual desire. So here is the difference, and that is heart. Woman, in general, surrender herself in the arms of those whom she gives her heart; I repeat here exceptions are everywhere. Here, I would like to outline Edward O.Laumann, PhD, a professor of sociology, University of Chicago and lead author of a major survey of sexual practices, “Sexual desire in women is extremely sensitive to environment and context.”

Laumann reports that the most of the adult men under 60 think about sex at least once a day, while only about one-quarter of women report this level of frequency. Men fantasize more than women; and as men and women age, each fantasize less, but men still fantasize about twice as often. Study further found that men reported more spontaneous sexual arousal and had more frequent and varied fantasies. And it is also a fact that men want sex more often than women even at the start of a relationship. Strange but true, men are keen to have more sex partners in their lifetime.

After interviewing people a lot and reading a great deal on the topic, I came to the conclusion that men are very specific about whom they become aroused by, who they want to have sex with, and who they fall in love with. In contrast, women irrespective of physical appearance of men fall in love with the person who are nice to her, care her and love her most. In nutshell, women's desire is more contextual, more subjective, more layered on a lattice of emotion; I repeat exceptions are everywhere in male as well as female.

Celebrity and controversy

2010-05-22T02:38:00.000-07:00

Celebrity and controversy has deep relations. It would not be said erroneous if we say that both are two sides of the same coin. Instead of creating a curse for a person controversy helps increase his/her professional life. In new incident, newly declared winner of Miss USA Rima Fakih seems to have landed in hot water.

The 24-year-old beauty from Michigan who is considered to be the first Muslim woman ever to win the Miss USA pageant competition, just a day after winning the competition found herself amidst controversy.

Not yet clear what step will be taken against her if accusation made against her is found right, but one thing is clear her victory could be tarnished with pictures of her pole dancing at a strip club, if she is found guilty.

Actually, this hot, slim and sexy Lebanese-born babe featured in a video emerging on Internet sliding up and down a stripper’s pole in a blue tank top, hot pants and high heels.

So the big question still unanswered is whether the organizers of Miss USA were aware of Miss Fakih winning the ‘STRIPPER 101’ contest at the Coliseum Gentleman’s Club. She is believed to have won a variety of prizes, including adult toys and a stripper’s pole.

And, another big question which is hanging like a naked sword over the head of Rima Fakih is that whether the USA new poster girl will be able to represent the country in the international beauty contest later this year. Well all these questions should be left on the future.

As about the additional information about Rima Fakih is concerned, she emigrated to the US with her family from Lebanon. She is a graduate with degrees in economics and business, looking to attend law school. She represented Michigan in the Miss USA pageant at the Planet Hollywood hotel and casino in Las Vegas.

As against the Islamist culture and thought which restricts women from flaunting their bodies in public, Fakih said she was encouraged to participate in beauty competitions by her parents. And so she did not get any hesitation in flaunting her sexy body in the evening gown and even in swimsuit.

Again coming to the point, celebrity and controversy, celebrities have been caught in controversies since time immemorial. And, the Miss USA pageant has been dogged by controversy in recent years. Last year’s winner Carrie Prejean was stripped off her title after it surfaced that she had made a sex tape. She also created controversy by expressing her opinion during the pageant, claiming that marriage should be between “a man and a woman”.

In 2006, the 20-year-old Tara Conner admitted to taking drugs and underage drinking, however, she was allowed to keep her title. In 1983, singer and actress Vanessa Williams was crowned the first African-American Miss USA, but was stripped off her title when her nude photographs were published in Penthouse.

There are many more examples of celebrities when after winning any reputable crown a dark reality about her life has been surfaced. Does celebrity lead controversy or controversy follow celebrity? Whatever be the truth, one thing is clear that controversy adds to the popularity of person, and finally helps reshaping in his/her career. Going by this judgment, it can be said that controversy acts as a boon rather than curse for the person.

SEX on REALITY SHOWS

2010-05-13T01:51:00.000-07:00

We all are aware of the reality shows and know how popular these shows these days. But the first of its kind of reality show in the world history where the virginity will be sold. Inspired of the idea, Melbourne film maker has planned to make films on this reality show.

The producer of this reality show Jistes Ssisle has been selecting Virgin boys and girls for this show since last year. The shoot will take place in the United States because a case of prostitution could be registered in Australia. Auditions for the show will take place soon under the banner of "Virgin Wanted".

In this show, auction for the virgin boys and girls’ virginity will be held in the brothel of Las Vegas. Each virgin participant in the show will be provided 20 thousand dollars. But 10 percent share of this amount will be given to cathouse. The bid for the show will be made online before the final auction.

Parents of the guys, who are selected for the show, are very angry over the format of the show and so many participants have withdrawn their names. But there are some guys who are eager to participate in the show just for the money irrespective of their parents’ desire.

The 21-year-old Merry Justin of Sydney opined that she was doing all this for money. She also said that she wanted to use this platform to change the perception of people towards sex. As compared to girls, boys are very excited to participate in the first kind of its reality show. When asked some of these participants said: “wow, this show is fantastic. We are very eager to take part in the show.”

Fight DEPRESSION with MAGNET

2010-05-10T20:51:00.000-07:00

We all are aware of the use and advantage of magnets in our life, especially in our modern lifestyle from electric, electronic devices to magnetic therapies. But, do you know magnets may treat depression in people who have not responded earlier to drugs. This finding has been disclosed by a research group from Medical University of South Carolina, United States.

For the purpose of study, a group of people were selected and magnets attached to their heads to activate certain parts of the brain. In comparison to people who were treated with a similar device without a magnet, these people reported more relief from depressive disorder.

Out of 190 selected people, just half were randomly assigned to receive the trascranial magnetic stimulation therapy. These people had to wear a helmet like device that applied a magnetic current to the front section of their brain for around 37 minutes a day for three consecutive weeks.

Other participants wore the same helmet for the same duration, but without a magnetic field.

After the study got over, the findings revealed 14 percent of those who received the real magnetic treatment reported relief from depressive symptoms, while only five percent reported relief who had the simple treatment.

Pills can kill your Sexual Desire !

2010-05-05T00:02:00.000-07:00

Healthy sexual relationship is the first and foremost part of any good marital relationship. Sexual problems or lack of sexual desire can disrupt husband-wife relationship and thus life. So, Women, if you want to keep alive your sexual stamina, stay away from contraceptive pills.

A research published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine critically warns women about such pills. It says that women taking the pill are at risk of losing their sex drive because oral contraceptives drastically reduce the ability to feel desire and arousal.

Study further states that there is a clear link between using hormonal contraceptive pills and Female Sexual Dysfunction (FSD); FSD is a condition time and again caused by a lack of desire.

Interestingly, researchers on the other hand made a surprising discovery – instead of having unprotected sex, using condoms and other contraceptive barriers could do wonder for women as it enhances woman’s arousal for sex. The simple reason behind it is the lack of fear of pregnancy which boosts the potential for enjoyment.

"Sexual problems can have a negative impact on both quality of life and emotional well-being, regardless of age," said researcher Dr. Lisa-Maria Wallwiener of the University of Heidelberg, Germany, "FSD is a very common disorder, with an estimated prevalence of about two in five women having at least one sexual dysfunction, and the most common complaint appearing to be low desire."

Although lacking of sexual desire is very common in our society especially in working women who are aware that sexual dysfunction is often influenced by various factors such as stress and relationships. But this study has discovered it in new perspective that lacking of sexual desire might also be influenced by exogenous hormone application.

For the purpose of research, 1,046 participant women were selected to analyze the effect of contraception on sexual function of which 87.4 percent had used contraceptives in the last 6 months, and 97.3 percent had been sexually active within the last four weeks.

After the study, the researchers concluded that 32.4 percent were considered at risk for FSD, 5.8 percent at high risk for hypoactive sexual desire disorder, 1 percent for arousal disorder, 1.2 percent for decreased lubrication, 8.7 percent for orgasm disorder, 2.6 percent for satisfaction problems, and 1.1 percent for pain.

If this study is to be believed, women should think twice before using contraceptive pills; at the same time using contraceptive barriers not only lower women’s pregnancy risk, but also enhances arousal for sex.

Saakshar Bharat Programme

2010-01-23T02:23:00.000-08:00

Saakshar Bharat Programme is a mission and determination of the Government of India to make all non-literate women literate before the end of the Eleventh Plan (2011-12). The President Pratibha Devisingh Patil herself emphasized female literacy and in her address to the Joint Session of Parliament underlined the need to bridge the yawning gender gap in literacy. Keeping the Government's declaration and firm intention in mind, the National Literacy Mission Authority of the Ministry of Human Resource Development has conceptualized Saakshar Bharat Programme.

Saakshar Bharat Programme

Saakshar Bharat, a centrally sponsored scheme of Department of School Education and Literacy (DSEL), was launched by the Prime Minister on the International Literacy Day, September 8, 2009.

Saakshar Bharat Programme (SBP) aims to further promote and strengthen Adult education. It aims at covering those who missed the opportunity of formal education earlier, and now feel a need for learning of any type, including basic literacy, basic education (equivalency to formal education), vocational education (skill development), physical and emotional development, practical arts, applied science, sports and recreation.

Within next three years, the Saakshar Bharat Programme will cover 70 million non-literate adults (60 million of them, women) in 15 plus age group in 365 low female literacy districts. This would redress the gender, social and regional disparities in literacy.

The Programme's main focus group would be women and adolescents from socio-economically disadvantaged sections like the SCs, STs, Minorities and other disadvantaged sections in rural areas of low female districts.

In SBP, all its programmes including Basic Literacy, Basic Education (linked to Equivalency with formal education system), Skill Development and Continuing Education will be taken up in continuum, without break. With respect to Basic Literacy, a flexible approach would be followed, including Volunteer-based literacy center, appointment of Resident Instructors where educated Volunteers are hard to find locally, Residential Camps, part-residential and part-volunteer-based approaches.

Lok Shiksha Kendra

In each Gram Panchayat a Lok Shiksha Kendra (Adult Education Centre) would be established to take up various types of continuing education programmes. Each Adult Education Centre would be manned by two Preraks (at least one of them, woman).

The gender perspective would permeate all different core aspects of the programme including the approach, strategies, planning, management structures, TLMs, T-L processes and monitoring and evaluation. This could reinforce women empowerment.

The overall aim of the programme is to promote and strengthen adult education in the lifelong learning perspective and create a literate society. To this end, it seeks to establish adult and continuing education as a permanent and institutionalized set up parallel to formal education system. This would strengthen the right perspective for adult education.

The Panchayat Raj Institutions (PRIs) would be the main implementing agency at the district, block and gram panchayat levels, with the State Literacy Mission Authority(SLMA) and the communities at the village level as valued stakeholders.

Especially at the Gram Panchayat level, the programme is envisioned as a programme of, for and by the people, under the auspices of the village panchayat. All stakeholders, especially at the grassroots level would have a due say and role in the planning and implementation of the programme. The role of National Literacy Mission Authority and State Literacy Mission Authority will be that of catalytic agencies, facilitators and resources providers.

The programme has conceptualized the Adult Education Programme in the right perspective of lifelong education, and seeks to build it as a permanent and institutionalized system, alongside and parallel to the formal education system.

This has devised a regular and uninterrupted fund flow system directly to the Panchayats through banks, cutting out the delays.

ILD Celebrations

In the International Literacy Day celebrations, for the first time, the SLMA Directors, SRC and JSS, besides their Chairpersons, Volunteer Teachers and neo-literates participated in large numbers, and heartily welcomed the launch of Saakshar Bharat.

To infuse new energy among neo-literates and literacy activists, NLM organized a special interactive programme with the President. About 100 women from States and Union Territories participated, dressed in their traditional costumes.

For the first time in India, the celebration of the International Literacy Day was combined by a week-long celebration of Adult Learners Week (ALW) in all states and districts.

In connection with the finalisation of the strategies and approach to implementation of Saakshar Bharat Programme, consultative meetings were held with representatives of State Governments, NGOs, literacy practioners, administrators, SRCs, universities, etc. More than 20 Task Forces under SRCs, & NLMA Members elaborated strategies and implementation modalities on various core aspects of Saakshar Bharat programme.

The Programme was launched on October 1, 2009. In view of the changes envisaged the strategy and approach of the programme, with special focus on women, designing a state of the art teaching-learning materials became imperative. Accordingly, based on national consultations involving experts, state-specific primers were prepared by each SRC, and kept in readiness for printing and distribution in time for the programme.

Capacity Building of Key Resource personnel is the first step for launching the cascade training strategy for a programme like Saakshar Bharat, which deploys a massive number of Volunteer Literacy Educators – something of the order of seven million for a target of 70 million non-literates. All the SRCs have undertaken one or two rounds of capacity building of the key resource personnel and in some cases, even the orientation of the PRI members.

In the adult education system envisaged in lifelong learning perspective, Equivalency Programme is one of the salient facets, whereby equivalency with formal education system in respect of III, V, VIII levels and even beyond is planned. Democratisation of education system and increase in the educational level, through the aegis of adult education system is on anvil, which would significantly raise the educational level of Gram Panchayat. For the first time, authentication and certification of prior knowledge of adults is planned.

Jan Shikshar Sansthans

The Jan Shikshar Sansthans (JSSs) are a unique creation of the Government with the challenging mandate of providing vocational skills to non-literates, neo-literates and rudimentary level education. The priority groups of Jan Shikshar Sansthans are women, SCs, STs, Minorities and also other socio-economically backward sections of the society. For the first time, a proforma was developed that could, at glance, reveal details of courses, beneficiaries, duration, programme expenditure, etc. This made possible the review of the progress in Annual Action Plan.

In adult education, motivation and mobilization of the non-literates as well as volunteers are critical for their participation. The changed context of rural areas, with the penetration of IT, ICT, including radio, TV, mobiles, would call for changes in strategy of motivation and mobilization. Thus, the Strategy Communication Group for implementation zeroed in intensive use of Radio and outdoor print message medium for launching environment building for Saakshar Bharat programme. For the next phase, a combination of the traditional environment building based on kalajathas as the dominant mode with the modern technology-based communication strategy could be used.

Based on the broad National curricular Framework for Adult Education, Primers for Saakshar Bharat programme have been prepared by the SRCs in respect of various languages. These have been scrutinized at national level review meetings by the Quality Assurance Committee. After receiving the Quality Assurance Certificate, these primers could carry NLM logo and would be eligible for printing and distribution.

The National Institute of Rural Development, Hyderabad, has been commissioned by NLMA to conceptualize and articulate the strategy for the Orientation of the PRI members and its administrative functionaries at panchayat, block and district levels. NIRD, in collaboration with SIRDs and their district counterparts, have worked out the strategy for PRIs orientation, to be completed by March 2010.

The NLMA has taken up, in a series of four-five states, the orientation of the SLMAs, to launch Saakshar Bharat programmes in their respective states. In such orientations, the SLMA members, State Education Secretaries and Directors of Adult Education would receive orientation on different core aspects of Saakshar Bharat programmes.

TCS upbeat on Q3, to hire more employees

2010-01-15T12:45:00.000-08:00

Upbeat over the company’s performance in the successive third quarter ended December 2009, the IT giant Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is looking forward at hiring 8,500 trainees and around 3,000 laterals in fourth quarter of the financial year 2010.

"We have already employed 8,703 trainees in Q3 and expect to add 8,500 more trainees in Q4 FY 10. We have had significant employee additions in Q3 and given the growth we may continue to hire in Q4 as well," TCS' Vice-President and Head, Global Human Resources, Ajoy Mukherjee, told reporters.

Setting aside the effect of global recession, the country’s largest information technology (IT) services exporter has reported a 34 percent growth in its net profit at Rs.1,824 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2009, against Rs.1,362 crore in the year-ago period.

The company’s revenue grew up by 5.1% from Rs7,277 crore in the third quarter of December 2008, to Rs7,649 crore in the December quarter of the current fiscal. Encouraged by the company’s performance TCS announced a quarterly dividend of Rs.2 per share.

The company benefited from a sequential growth in the banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) which helped together in growing TCS’ revenue from Rs.7,435 crore in the September quarter to Rs.7,649 crore in the December quarter, while the same period witnessed growth in profit from Rs.1,642 crore to Rs.1,824 crore.

The BFSI vertical contributed around 45% of TCS’ revenues. BFSI revenues were Rs. 3,441 crore (Rs. 3,086 crore), manufacturing Rs. 592.48 crore (Rs. 721 crore), retail and distribution Rs. 801 crore (Rs. 716.3 crore), telecom Rs. 1,113.23 crore (Rs. 1,12.7 crore) and others Rs. 1,701 crore (Rs. 1,591.2 crore). TCS gets around 53% of its revenue from clients in the US.

“TCS yet again posted high growth and delivered on margin improvements for the third successive quarter in this difficult year. Our investments ahead of time in emerging markets, multiple industries and client relationships, is reflected in our exemplary performance,” N. Chandrasekaran, CEO and Managing Director, toldMedia.

India’s second largest IT exporter Infosys Technologies Ltd reported on Tuesday a sequential growth of 6.8% in dollar revenues with the support from BFSI in the US.

‘YUVA TRAINS’ for youth

2009-12-22T22:30:00.000-08:00

‘Yuva Trains’ targeted mainly for the unemployed youths of the country is all set to roll out soon in early 2010, at a time when youth has become the political buzzword of the ruling Congress party. A passenger will be charged between Rs.299 and Rs.399 depending on the distance he travels.

‘The total chargeable fare for Yuva passengers inclusive of all other charges like reservation fee, Superfast charge and development charge would not exceed Rs.299/- up to a distance of 1500 kms and Rs. 399/- for distance beyond 1500 up to 2500 kms,” said spokesperson for the Ministry of Railway.

Initially the service will be launched as a pilot project with two separate weekly trains will run between Mumbai to Delhi and Delhi to Kolkata. The extension of Yuva Trains to other areas of the country will depend upon its success rates.

Children between 5 and 12 years will continue to be charged half fare. The benefit of Yuva Train fares will be met by only those unemployed persons who fall between 15 and 45 years and fulfill certain criteria.

To fulfill the criteria of Yuva so as to avail the concessional fares, a person will have to produce certificates issued under National Rural Employment Guarantee (NREGA) and valid Registration card issued by a Government run Employment Exchange. And if age is not specified in these certificates, a person will have to get an age certificate like Identity Card, Ration Card, Driving License., Passport, educational certificate, certificate from local bodies like Panchayat/Corporation/Municipality or any other authentic and recognized document on which date of birth is recorded.

Initially, 60 per cent of the total number of coaches will be earmarked for ‘Yuva’ category. The remaining will be earmarked for general passengers (non-Yuva). The trains will be fully airconditioned with one chair car. Tatkal scheme would not be applicable in Yuva Trains.

Yuva Trains is the brainchild of Railway Minister Mamta Banerjee who had announced in this year’s Railway Budget that “these trains dedicated for the young generation will be introduced between major cities to ensure that the youth and low income groups can travel at low rates between these cities”.

Ruchika case: Justice delayed, Justice denied

2009-12-22T12:34:00.000-08:00

Judicial system, one of the three main pillars of our democratic system, is itself in question today. It is the sheer delay in disposition of cases that has forced many to point fingers on its functioning. And if, after a long delay a victim and its family get inept justice, what can be said then — justice or injustice? Repetitive, common, but one of the unfortunate feature of our legal system has once again put today judiciary in bar with the conviction in Ruchika Girthora, molestation case.

The budding 14-year-old Panchkula resident tennis player Ruchika was molested by former Haryana director general of police (DGP) S.P.S. Rathore almost two decades ago in 1990 that ultimately propelled her to commit suicide three years later. August 12 proved the darkest day in Ruchika’s life when Rathore attacked and molested her at his HLTA office. Failed to bear the incessant pressure to withdraw the case against the IPS officer and the following continuous mental harassment of her and her family finally forced her to end her life. Rathore, now 66, was also then head of the Haryana Lawn Tennis Association (HLTA). On Monday, Special CBI magistrate J S Sidhu convicted Rathore under IPC Section 354 (assault or criminal force on woman with intent to outrage her modesty) and handed him six months of rigorous imprisonment with a fine of Rs.1,000.

The over-delayed and inappropriate justice caused outrage among activists and created uproar in Parliament Tuesday with everyone saying the quantum of punishment was “too little, too late”. “A criminal who committed that crime in police uniform and escaped justice for 19 years was rewarded with promotion after promotion. And, 19 years later this criminal has finally been found guilty. What is the punishment - just six months,” CPM MP Brinda Karat, who sought a fast-track justice system in sexual harassment cases involving minors, raised the burning question in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.

What caused this delay and how this delay could be tackled is the question of hour that needs to be answered to avoid repetition of such delays. To win the confidence of the people in the judicial system, all the four pillars legislature, judiciary, executive and media should act in tandem.

However, in recent years judiciary has won the confidence of people with the disposal of cases against some influential defendants when justice meted out to the vulnerable victims, as happened in Jessica Lal murder case, Nitish Katara murder case, Uphaar case and some others. Chief Justice of India, K G Balakrishnan, has himself pointed out many times the need to expedite the disposal of cases and to streamline the justice delivery system.

Inordinate pendency of cases, which is the biggest problem in disposition of cases, inadequate number of judges, pathetic infrastructure of lower courts, lethargic police investigation are some of the immediate issues which cause delay in meting out justice.

The judges’ conference, held in August this year, deliberated on a number of steps to get rid of flaws in judicial system, and for reduction and elimination of backlog of cases with provisions of speedy trial of criminal cases. Among other steps, it was badly needed to improve infrastructure in the lower courts and to set up more evening courts in subordinate judiciary. It was also felt to strengthen vigilance cells in the high courts, and the senior judges would be entrusted to review the progress made in setting up of vigilance cells in each district to keep a tab on the functioning of lower judiciary.

Article 39-A of the Constitution directs the State to secure equal justice and free legal aid for the citizens. The State, however, has failed squarely on addressing some very basic issues — quick and inexpensive justice and protecting the rights of poor and the vulnerable. The Constitution guarantees the right to speedy trial but the judiciary has so far been incapable to ensure it effectively. The NDA government during its regime had created few fast-track courts, but those little numbers have made a marginal difference. The creation of more and more number of fast track courts and the establishment of gram nyayalayas (village courts) is the need of the hour.

Time has come for all the concerned persons to sit and discuss ways to introduce and implement such laws to deal with such issues so as justice be meted out to innocent litigants in quickest time; and, at the same time, we should not forget that delay drains even a just judgment of its value, leaving behind the old but wise adage “justice delayed is justice denied”.

Sushma succeeds Advani as LS Leader of Opposition

2009-12-18T09:30:00.000-08:00

New Delhi

Putting all speculation to rest BJP stalwart L K Advani stepped down as leader of opposition giving way to Sushma Swaraj to become the first female politician to be appointed as the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha.

The 82-year-old veteran leader is elected Chairman of BJP parliamentary party. “This is a new chapter in my life,” said Advani, the author of “My Country My Life”.

"If they think that I will quit activeness and politics, then it is all wrong. I think that I became a rath yatri at 14 when I was just out of high school and became a Swayam Sewak.... This rath yatra would go on for life," Advani said.

In another top level changes in the party, Rajnath Singh quit as the party president. Maharashtra BJP chief Nitin Gadkari will replace him as the next president. The development in the party took place in consultation with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the party's ideological mentor.

Gadkari's elevation to the top organisational post in the party is expected to be announced after the party's parliamentary party meeting on Saturday.

The replacement of the top leaders has come at a time when the party is itself divided facing internal bickering and blame-game since BJP’s debacle in the parliamentary election. The generational change in the leadership also seemed inevitable to meet the future political challenges and to attract the young voters closer to BJP against the Congress advocating youth leadership.

Advani who scripted the rise of BJP from the mid-eighties could not fulfill his dream of becoming the prime minister in the 2009 parliamentary polls. Advani joined RSS in 1942 at the mere age of 15 and later associated with Bharatiya Jana Sangh. Advani was information and broadcasting minister in the Janata Party government. He became home minister in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government in 1998 and served as deputy prime minister from 1999 and 2004. The BJP-led NDA remained in power at the Centre from 1998 to 2004.

French Ice Cream lands into hot water

2009-12-18T04:50:00.000-08:00

New Delhi

If Shakespeare were alive, he would have said “what is in publicity” instead of “what is in name”. Publicity is all about in transaction of any fresh business today. Whether good or bad, doesn’t matter. All that matter is to gain popularity by fair means or foul. It just happened with Haggen-Dazs ice cream parlour and ‘international-quality’ ice-cream landed it in hot water, when the parlour at Saket here kicked off its business under the tagline “EXLUCIVE PREVIEW FOR INTERNATIONAL TRAVELLERS! Access restricted only to holders of international passport.”

The controversy all started with the touchy tagline displayed at a South Delhi mall soon spread like wildfire and the owner had to take down the signboard. Arindam Haldar, director, Haagen-Dazs apologized for creating the unintentional controversy, saying “No one was turned away because of nationality.” He further expressed his viewpoint, “Haagen-Dazs is here to tap the Indian market but the sign post clearly smacks of apartheid. And I wonder what went through the minds of creative heads at TBWA, the agency that worked out the teaser campaign.”

The message was intended to suggest that Indians can enjoy, for instance, a taste of the French Riviera, here Häagen-Dazs, without traveling to France. “Unfortunately the reference to the international passport holder on the poster may have led to a significant miscommunication. This was completely unintended and we apologize for creating the misimpression that may have hurt our sentiments as Indians," he further clarified.

IIM-Indore professor found slain in campus residence

2009-12-18T02:50:00.000-08:00

Indore

An IIM-Indore professor Amrita Pancholi was found slain in her flat at the institute’s residential campus on Friday morning. Several stab injuries have reportedly been found on her body.

The 32-year-old professor was perhaps attacked on Thursday night with sharp-edged weapons by unidentified assailants. DSP (Crime) Jitendra Singh, who is investigating the case, said she was stabbed repeatedly all over the body nearly a dozen times which caused fatal.

Singh said that the body has been sent for autopsy. The motive behind the murder is not yet known, investigations are however on, he said. He, however, not ruled out an insider’s hand in the murder as security around campus is very tight.

Amrita Pancholi belonged to Udaipur, Rajasthan. She had been working as an associate professor in Human Resources Management for over a year. She was also working as a consultant on behalf of the IIM-I for at least three major Corporate Houses.

ULFA chairman Rajkhowa sent to 9-day cop custody

2009-12-17T09:14:00.000-08:00

GUWAHATI

The outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa, self-styled deputy commander-in-chief Raju Baruah and bodyguard of Rajkhowa, Raja Baruah has been sent to nine days of police custody Thursday for their connection related to explosion in Paltan Bazar, Bharalumukh, and Bhangagarh police stations areas here.

The trio was produced amidst unprecedented security cover away from media glare in a special camp court inside the Guwahati central jail. Chief Judicial Magistrate Rabin Phukan sent them to nine days police custody instead of 14 days custody asked by the Assam Police.

“The investigating authorities had sought 12-day police remand, but the court granted them nine days police custody,” said Bijon Mahajan, legal counsel of Rajkhowa and Baruah.

Earlier in the day, Rajkhowa’s brother Rajkonwar met him inside the jail premises. Later on interacting with media, he said the ULFA was ready for peace talks with the government. He, however, said that not any forward movement in the peace talks took place during the last 12 days of police remand.

On Dec 5, Rajkhowa, Raju and Raja Baruah, and wife of ULFA foreign secretary Sasha Choudhury surrendered before Indian authorities at Dawki in Meghalaya. Later they, except Sasha, were arrested and sent to 12-day police custody.

Earlier on Nov 30, Bangladesh Police arrested Rajkhowa somewhere near Dhaka and handed over to the Indian authorities.

A look on Arabinda Rajkhowa:

Born to freedom fighter Umakanta Rajkonwar and Damayanti Rajkonwar, Arabinda Rajkhowa alias Mijanur Rahman Choudhury is the chairman and co-founder of the outlawed outfit ULFA.

By profession a school teacher Rajkhowa was also the vice-president of the Indo-Burma Revolutionary Front and a leader of the Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuva Chatra Parishad (AJYCP) before he founded ULFA.

PM departs for Copenhagen for Conference on Climate Change

2009-12-17T06:41:00.000-08:00

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh departed for Copenhagen Thursday to take part in the ongoing Conference on Climate Change to keep his promise to US President Barack Obama to help in formulating a pact to combat climate change.

“I am leaving today to attend the 15th Conference of Parties of the United Nations Framework Conference on Climate Change in Copenhagen (UNFCCC),” said Dr. Singh.

His departure however delayed by about two and a half hours after a loader vehicle hit the door of the cargo hold of the aircraft, causing minor damage. Sources said that neither the Prime Minister nor any of the other passengers had boarded the Boeing 747-400 aircraft by the time incident occurred.

Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel, who rushed to the airport instantly, said later that an inquiry would be conducted into the incident by both Air India and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). “A minor damage was caused by the loader vehicle to the cargo door of the aircraft," a statement from the Ministry of Civil Aviation said.

The UNFCCC and its Kyoto Protocol embody the international agreed regime for addressing the global challenge of climate change. The UNFCCC is founded on the principle of equity and common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities. At the 13th Conference of Parties in Bali, the Parties had agreed to launch an Action Plan to enhance the implementation of the UNFCCC. The Bali Action Plan seeks to ensure full, effective and sustained implementation of the UNFCCC through long term cooperative action of the Parties upto and beyond 2012.

It is India’s view that global warming is taking place and its adverse consequences will impact most heavily on developing countries like India. As a responsible member of the international community, India is therefore fully committed to working with the rest of the world to preserve and protect our environment. This is our common heritage, and this is what we must bequeath to our succeeding generations.

At the same time, climate change cannot be addressed by perpetuating the poverty of the developing countries. Every citizen of the globe has equal entitlement of the global atmospheric space. It is in keeping with this principle that I had earlier announced in Heiligendamm in 2007 that we will maintain our per capita emissions at a level lower than the average per capita emissions of developed countries.

We have, as a responsible member of the international community, announced that we will reduce the emissions intensity of our growth by 20-25% in 2020 as compared to 2005. India has also launched a comprehensive Action Plan on Climate Change and the eight National Missions have been set up. We are willing to do more provided there are credible arrangements to provide both additional financial support as well as technological transfers from developed to developing countries.

”I look forward to constructive deliberations in Copenhagen which meet the collective aspirations of all humankind and enable us to move forward in the global efforts to combat climate change,” Dr. Singh said.

Football—Delhi League 2009-10 to begin

2009-12-17T05:44:00.000-08:00

Former Delhi League Champions New Delhi Heroes Football Club shall open the campaign in DLF – SAIL- ONGC DSA Annual Senior Division League Championship- 2009 against Shastri Football Club on 20th December at Dr. Ambedkar Stadium, Delhi.

The team has reshaped its squad for the campaign ahead. The new draft has eminent key players like Harvinder Singh, former National Player, Amjad Ali, Jiten Rai, Rashid Mehdi, Manish Khatri and Bhuvan Chander Joshi to name a few.

“The team looks a lot more balanced side and the squad has depth. We have players challenging for every position and that is really important. The new players have added strength to the team. We hope to do well in this championship,” RC Deswal (GM, ND Heroes FC) said.

The league matches will also be played at Air Force Football ground, situated at Race Course, New Delhi. Top 14 clubs of Delhi will be battling it out for the top honor. The league will be played on a round robin format and the ranking of each team will be decided on the basis of points earned in the round robin league. The two bottom teams will be relegated to ‘A’ division next year.

The other participating clubs this season are - Hindustan FC, Indian Nationals FC, Tarun Sangha FC, Ahbbab FC, Garhwal Heroes, Simla Youngs , Shahdra FC, City FC, Shastri FC, Moghuls SC, Royal Rangers, Youngmen SC, Gorkha Heroes F.C.

Dell making money from Twitter

2009-12-09T10:43:00.001-08:00

In today’s Internet era, social networking sites are not only gaining popularity among online users, but have also been proving beneficial for many businesses, including computer manufacturer companies. These days’ lots of business are using the social networking tool to interact with customers and potential employees, and thereby increasing businesses leaps and bounds.

Twitter, one of the famous social networking sites, has multiplied the sales of Dell, the world’s second largest computer maker. Dell on Tuesday announced that it has racked up $6.5 million in sales of PCs, accessories, and software with the help of Twitter. In June, 2009 it had just $3 million in sales, but within six months Dell has more than doubled its sales via Twitter.

Dell said that Twitter is the best way of promotion and a very vibrant channel for them. According to Dell, 1.5 million followers follow Dell’s Tweets. Dell has especially employed over 100 people who send out the tweets over 35 different channels across 12 different countries, including U.S., Brazil, China, and Japan among others. In addition to Twitter, Dell also utilizes Facebook, Orkut, MySpace and YouTube as marketing avenues.

India signs MoU on climate change

2009-12-09T09:40:00.000-08:00

Taking a positive leap towards combating climate change India has signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Governments of Italy, Canada, Denmark, Norway and China regarding cooperation on climate change including clean development mechanism projects.

The MoU is intended to stimulate development and bilateral cooperation in the field of clean development mechanism (CDM). While the agreement signed with China focuses on promotion of mutual understanding and coordination on climate change related issues, including international negotiations and bilateral cooperation in areas relating to energy efficiency, renewable, power, clean coal and other sectors of mutual interest.

It is to be noted here that no such agreements have been signed so far with the USA, Sweden and European Union, said Minister of State for Environment and Forests (independent charge) Jairam Ramesh in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.

The MoUs will help build confidence between India and partner countries and promote development and implementation of CDM projects as well as coordination, mutual understanding and joint strategies on climate change related issues.

India has been advocating compliance of the provisions of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) which enjoins upon the developed countries to UNFCCC to provide finance and transfer of technology to developing countries to enable them to respond to climate change.

The current negotiations at Copenhagen are aimed, inter alia, at deciding institutional arrangements for development and transfer of clean technologies through technology cooperation and provision of financial resources to developing countries to enable them to adapt to and mitigate climate change.

Parties are currently engaged in negotiations under the UNFCCC and Kyoto Protocol in order to reach agreed outcomes at the 15th Conference of Parties scheduled in Copenhagen in December 2009.

However, the intentions of developed countries into the process of combating climate change have not been encouraging so far. Advanced countries want to scrap the protocol. But developing countries are keen to have it continue, and are asking the rich countries to what extent they have complied with the protocol and what they are willing to commit under it. In fact, the fundamental difference over whether the Kyoto Protocol - the current treaty under which rich countries have to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) that are causing climate change - should continue or be scrapped remained.

Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangatha: an overview

2009-12-08T09:28:00.000-08:00

The Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS) is an autonomous community based non-political youth organization of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India. The NYKS was set up in 1972 as Nehru Yuvak Kendra under the erstwhile Ministry of Education. The NYKS today prepares over 11,000 youth leaders every year. Nearly 17000 trained volunteers enrolled every year. Not less than 139 Rural Information Technology Youth Development Centres ( RITYDCs) are associated with it; and it currently has 500 offices all over the country at district headquarters. At present, it has 2.16 lakh village level youth clubs and 80 lakh non-student rural youth affiliated to it in 13-35 age group.

Objectives:

.To form Youth Clubs and involve the youth in nation building activities.

.To develop their values & skills so that they may become responsible and productive citizens of India.

.To act as a catalytic agency in reaching the benefits of Central and State Government Schemes to the rural community in general and the youth in particular.

.To inculcate in the rural youth the spirit of voluntarism and cooperation.

.To utilize NYK'S large Network for development and promotion of programmes in priority sectors such as employment generation, literacy, family welfare, environment conservation, national integration, gender equality and women's empowerment.

Road Map for Future:

.Implementation of National Youth Policy

.Implementation of Rashtriya Sadbhawana Yojana

.Implementation of the schemes for adolescents Disaster Management and preparedness

.Red Ribbon Express

.District Resource Centres (establishment of Library and other infrastructure with the help of Raja Rammohan Roy Library Foundation)
.At least one self reliant Youth Club/ Mahila Mandal in each of 5.5 lakh Indian villages
.Empowerment of youth clubs through IT networking

.Establishing one Rural Information Technology Youth Development Centre in each district
.Establishing 5000 Youth Development Centres all over India by the end of X Five Year Plan

.Covering the entire districts of the country by Nehru Yuva Kendras by the end of X Five Year Plan

.Extending the network of NYKS in all the tribal areas of the country

.Employment generation of youth through joint collaboration with Khadi & Village Industries Commission

During the current year (2009-10) the NYKS have been doing the following functions and activities in various States, as was stated by the Minister of State for Youth Affairs & Sports, Pratik Prakashbapu Patil in the Lok Sabha today. He further said that an amount of Rs.87.25 crores has been released till date this year against the earmarked funds of Rs.112.00 crores

Functions & Activities:

•Youth Awareness Campaign.

•Capacity Building of Youth for Social Sector Programmes.

•Skill Up-gradation Training Programme for Women in 100 border/tribal/backward districts.

•Incentives and Awards to Youth Clubs.

•Provision of Sports Material for youth clubs.

•Sports Promotion Programme.

•District Folk Cultural Festival.

•Celebration of Important National/International Days & Weeks

•District Youth Convention.

•Grant-in-aid to Youth Clubs

For further information visit: http://www.nyks.org/

India and Russia ink N-deal beyond 123 agreement

2009-12-08T01:26:00.000-08:00

The two old friends India and Russia inked the expanded civil nuclear deal and three defence pacts. The nuclear pact between the two countries goes far beyond the 123 agreement that India entered with the US early this year. Both the countries expressed grave concern over the increasing threat of terrorism and pledged to combat the terrorism together. They also cemented ties on a wide range of interest encompassing N-trade, shared Af-pak perceptions and a plan to boost commerce to $20 billion by 2015.

The agreement between the two countries concluded in Moscow on the official visit of the PM Manmohan Singh to Russia at the invitation of Russian President Medvedev for the Annual Summit from Dec 6 to 8, 2009.

The umbrella agreement for expanding civil nuclear cooperation will give New Delhi the right to reprocess spent fuel, taking the pact “far beyond the 123 agreement” inked with the US, official sources commented Sunday.

“Our views are similar on a global issues and our cooperation can extend to cooperation at international level. We will be sharing intelligence and information gathering,” Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who ends a three-day visit to Moscow on Tuesday, said.

Expressing concern over the "grave challenge of terrorism" the Russian President Dmitri Medvedev said, “There is a common threat that India and Russia face. We should consolidate our anti-terror base. We will provide concrete help in anti-terror activities.”

"The situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan underlines the importance of this... Terrorism is the biggest evil of current and last century," added Medvedev.

India and Russia pledged to work together for global non-proliferation, stressing that the proliferation of nuclear weapons and its possible link to terrorism poses a threat to international peace and security, undermines security of states, and complicates progress towards nuclear disagreement.

The two countries are convinced that the international community should enhance efforts to combat terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.

“Both Sides call upon the international community to comply with the provisions of international counter-terrorism conventions and protocols including the principle, 'either prosecute or extradite', regarding the persons accused of committing acts of terror. The Sides strongly call for an early adoption of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism. The Sides intend to further develop Indian-Russian bilateral cooperation in combating new challenges and threats, including such cooperation within the framework of the India and Russia Working Group on Combating International Terrorism.”

On UN Conference on Climate Change in Copenhagen, India and Russia underscored the urgency of effective international action to combat climate change, and affirmed their readiness to continue to work constructively for the success of the conference in accordance with the principles and provisions of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Bali Action Plan.

Highlights of the MOSCOW PACTS:

a) 4 N-reactors to be set up by Russia in Kudankulam (Tamil Nadu); site for fifth identified in Bengal
b) plan to boost trade between both countries to $20 billion by 2015
c) 10-year deal on weapons, aircraft and maintenance contracts from 2011 to 2020

Winners of 22nd National Photo Content announced

2009-12-07T23:52:00.000-08:00

Devendra and Narayan D Patel have been announced winners of the 22nd National Photo Contest organized by Photo Division, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting on the theme “Badhte Kadam: A vision of hope”. Both the winners were given a cash award of Rs.25,000 each along with a citation and plaque.

Devendra from Ratlam, Madhya Pradesh and Narayan D Patel from Vadodara, Gujarat have bagged the first prize for their pictures Empowering village and No title in Black and white & Colour section respectively.

The Second prize for the contest went to Santosh Kumar Jana of Midnapore, West Bengal and Pravesh Chaursia of Indore for their picture Badhte Kadam and Education for all in Black and white & Colour section respectively. Each was given a cash reward of Rs.20,000 and citation and plaque. Dibyendu Dey Choudhury and Shyamal Das of Kolkata were given Rs.15,000 as the third prize for their picture Hopes and Dreams and towards Market in the Black and White and Colour section respectively..

Apart from that the commendation awards of Rs.5,000 each along with citation and plaque were conferred to a number of artists Avijit Datta, Buddhadeb Saha, Subhashis Basu, Supriya Biswas, Chetan Soni Kuntal Kumar Roy, Jayanta Roy, Nimai Chandra Ghosh, Saurabh Mittal, Kailash Mittal, Sandipan Majumdar, Somenath Mukhopadhyay, Abhijit Dey, O.P. Soni, Kaushik Padaria, Kaushik Majumdar, Anindya Majumdar, Anil Kumar Vastal, D.N. Baraskar and Jayanta Shaw.

A total number of 1575 photographs were received from 391 participants from 24 States and UT’s. A high level Jury comprising noted photographer G.B.Mukherji from Delhi, eminent photographer Jyoti Bhatt from Gujarat, Professor S. Pradeep Kumar, Head of the Department of Photography & Visual Communication, JNTU College of Fine Arts, Andhra Pradesh, T. Narayan, National Photo Editor of the Hindustan Times Group and Debatosh Sengupta, Director, Photo Division screened all the entries and selected the three prize winning entries as well as the ten commendation prizes in each section keeping in view of the quality, spontaneity as well as the theme of the Photo Contest.

Visit World Heritage sites through Google

2009-12-07T22:24:00.000-08:00

The international corporation GOOGLE and UNESCO has signed an agreement for making possible for Internet users to virtual visit several World Heritage sites. People can now visit 19 of the 890 World Heritage properties via Google’s Street View interface. All the other sites on the List will be shown on the Google Earth and Google Maps interfaces.

Sites inscribed on the World Heritage List -- the Palace of Versailles in France, the historic centre of Prague in the Czech Republic and the old town of Caceres in Spain, for instance can now be explore online.

The 19 sites are located in Spain, France, Italy, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic and the United Kingdom. Street View provides nearly spherical panoramic (360° horizontal and 290° vertical) views taken by cameras mounted on vehicles. Once obtained, these images are overlaid on Google Maps’ satellite views – the process can take several months. When the specially-equipped cars cannot reach sites to be photographed, tricycles are used.

“The alliance with Google makes it possible to offer virtual visits of the sites to everyone, to increase awareness and to encourage participation in the preservation of these treasures,” said UNESCO’s Director-General, Irina Bokova.

“Cultural and natural heritage sites are an irreplaceable source of inspiration and fascination. This is an exciting project and we're thrilled to be working with UNESCO to make more World Heritage sites universally accessible and useful to all,” said Carlo d’Asaro, Google’s Vice-President for Southern Europe, Middle East and Africa.

At UNESCO’s suggestion, Google will soon be visiting and photographing other sites on the List. The focus is on harder-to-access sites, which will be photographed with the permission of site managers. They can then be appreciated by millions of people who might never have the opportunity to visit them otherwise. The sites are located notably in South Africa, Brazil, Canada, Mexico and the Netherlands.

In future, Google and UNESCO will also work together to provide online access, via Google Maps, YouTube and Google Earth, to maps, texts and videos pertaining to UNESCO’s Biosphere Reserves, to documentary heritage inscribed on the Memory of the World Register and to endangered languages.

Delhi host India's first Men's Fashion Week

2009-09-12T10:09:00.000-07:00

It’s man’s world here. New Delhi thrilled to be the country’s first state hosting first fashion week for men. The growing and lucrative market is often overshadowed by women's attire, but hence onwards it will face the stiff competition from men’s outfit. Van Heusen India Men’s Week (VHIMW) kicked off here at “The Grand” Friday.

The Men's week is India's first ever fashion event for men and is showcasing 15 shows by 21 designers. The inauguration took place with the designer Ravi Bajaj’s Dandy March collection. Three newcomers—Aslam Khan, Rajvi Mohan and Himmat Singh Jaipur also exhibited their collections on the opening day.

Former model and Bollywood actor Dino Morea and former cricketer Anil Kumble appeared on ramp exhibiting the creations of designer Manoviraj Khosla at India’s Men’s Week 2009 on Friday.

"Any initiative has a high risk and high rewards; it's a kind of nervous energy. In the process you discover something and if there is mass segment available there is a possibility of venturing into other segments like a fashion week for kids in the future," said Shivaraj Subramaniam, brand head of Madura Garments (Van Heusen).

Designer Ravi Bajaj said that the industry had moved a long way, and there has been a lot of growth in the men’s fashion scenario.

It is the first show for Himmat Singh. “I have launched my ethnic collection from Rajasthan and I have tried to bring out a hidden culture,” said Singh, who tried to translate the royal world of Rajasthan with his “prince collection” displaying by his models wearing 'bandhgalas' and 'sherwanis' with ethnic 'pagdis' and swords.

Raj Singh Dungarpur passes away

2009-09-12T02:40:00.000-07:00

Former BCCI president Raj Singh Dungarpur breathed his last on Saturday morning at his residence in Mumbai after a prolonged illness. The 74-year-old Dungarpur was suffering from Alzheimer's disease.

Popularly known as 'Rajbhai' in the cricket fraternity, Dungarpur was an Indian cricket board president and also a former first class cricketer. He also served Indian cricket board two terms as the national selector, and was also the manager of the team on four overseas tours, including the one to Pakistan in 2005-06. He was also the president of Cricket club of India (CCI) for more than 13 years.

Born on December 19, 1935 to an erstwhile ruler of Dungarpur, Maharawal Lakshman Singhji, in Rajasthan, he represented Rajasthan in 86 first-class matches from 1955-71. He was a medium fast bowler, taking 206 wickets. He was the youngest son of Singhji. Jaisinghji and Mahipalsinghji are his two brothers. He was also a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Birth : December 19, 1935
Death: September 12, 2009

Distance Learning in India: an overview

2009-09-11T12:02:00.000-07:00

Distance learning or distance education has revolutionized the traditional educational methods in India by opening a number of opportunities for the learners. For a developing nation like us with fix number of seats in colleges and universities in comparison to its enormous population, it is rather difficult to provide opportunity to everyone to get enrolled. Moreover, distance learning is most opportune choice for those who want to leverage their knowledge and pursue higher education simultaneously while working.

Distance education is an innovative and flexible system of education where educators and learners are physically separated by time or space. There is no direct interaction or face to face activity between them. The learning material is sent to learners from time to time and they have to complete assignments and get it checked by their study centres. The study centres also help students with contact classes or sessions to get solved their problems and difficulties from the subject experts. In due course of time, growth of online education has revolutionized the distance education. However, a brief outline needs to be drawn here between distance learning and online learning. While distance learning courses may or may not be learning courses, all online degree courses can be termed as distance learning courses.

Distance learning is certainly not apt for those who prefer the face to face interaction and real-life discussions that is found only in the classroom. But, distance learning has been proved fruitful for students who want to leverage their knowledge while fulfilling family and work obligations. A person who has thirst for knowledge, but is unable to complete his/her education through regular system of education can avail the opportunity to complete education through distance mode of education. In other words, distance learning programs are fitting for those who want to learn and earn together. Besides, adults who wish to pursue lifelong education not only to enhance their skills but also to improve their quality of life can themselves enroll for relevant courses and gain knowledge on food, health and various other topics which are important for them as well as their family.

In view of India’s incessantly increasing population, the geographical distances, and limited number of seats available in colleges, distance learning opens new directions of opportunities for the learners to obtain higher education irrespective of distant location and time. People belonging to weaker sections of the society and residing in remote areas can also have the privilege of studying in India’s topmost universities through distance learning. Distance is now no longer a hindrance to pursue a desirable course as most universities providing distance learning programs have study and examination centres in many cities. Distance education has opened a new window of opportunities for countless professionals, dropouts (school & college), and housewives to accomplish their incomplete dreams. The distance education in forthcoming times will no doubt see a manifold increase in people’s enrolment.

Presently, there are 15 open universities, including Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) and about 54 distance learning institutes in India. Most of the Indian states viz., Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chandigarh, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Orissa, Pondicherry, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tripura, West Bengal offer distance learning programs. Some of the states even have a separate department for distance learning like University of Delhi, Mumbai, Maharashtra, Punjab University, Osmania University, Hyderabad and others.

Lisa Ray diagnosed with incurable cancer

2009-09-09T11:10:00.000-07:00

Bollywood actress Lisa Ray has unveiled in her blog “The Yellow Diaries” a terrible hard truth which she has been facing over a couple of months that she is suffering from Multiple Myeloma, a rare cancer of the plasma cells, which produce antibodies. Myeloma is an incurable disease.

The Canadian born Ray, who started off her career with the Bollywood movie Kasoor after modeling, decided to reveal the truth setting aside suggestion not to reveal the tragic news as it would affect her career.

The 37-year-old actress writes on September 3 that she has started this blog to give people an insight into her life. “The yellow diaries will be a place where I write about my personal journey,” she wrote.
On September 8, she wrote, “I was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma on June 23rd. Started my first cycle of treatment July 2nd…not long ago.”

“For me, it was a relief to hear what was wrong. The plasma cells in my bone marrow were rampaging, multiplying, squeezing out the red blood cells and it was time to begin doing something about it. I was also tired of being tired all the time. And you just know when something is not kosher with your body. So when I sat there with Bobcat- my life partner and reservoir of Yellow- and got the news I didn’t react and I didn’t cry. I’m an actress, believe me, I can be dramatic. Not just then though,” she adds.

The fact that Myeloma is incurable, I believe it can be cured, she says that is the dirty realist in me. “It’s a relatively rare cancer of the bone marrow that affects about 6000 Canadians. Every year, approximately 2100 more cases are diagnosed,” she wrote adding, “But only with an ever expanding toolbox of treatments and awareness can this Cancer be beat. So I’m going to do everything I can to wrench the spotlight onto Myeloma and Cancer Awareness. I believe it can be cured.”

Lisa, who had also been voted as 'The Most Beautiful Woman of the Millennium' is currently in Canada. She was last seen in Deepa Mehta’s Water, where she played a young widow, and will be seen in ‘I Can’t Think Straight’, a Shamim Sharif movie due for release on Sept 11, where she played a lesbian.

Lisa Ray now plans to wrench the spotlight onto Myeloma and cancer awareness. "I am going to do everything I can to create awareness on cancer," she says.

Gujarat HC lifts ban on Jaswant’s Jinnah book

2009-09-04T10:30:00.000-07:00

Banning the book “Jinnah: India-Partition-Independence” is a serious intrusion on fundamental rights of the citizens, the Gujarat High Court said on Friday ordering the government to lift the ban on the book written by expelled BJP leader Jaswant Singh.

The court also said the government had not read the book thoroughly and had not applied its mind in characterising the book as “against national interest” before imposing the ban.

The Gujarat government had proscribed the book in the state stating the contents of the book was “objectionable, misleading, and against public tranquillity”. The government had also claimed the book had misrepresented the image of Sardar patel and tried to tarnish his patriotic spirit. The book was banned for defamatory references to India’s first home minister, which was not acceptable to anyone, the government had said.

The state government had issued a notification under section 95 of the CrPC on August 19 banning Singh's book on the ground that it was against "national interest" and the contents were "misleading".

The HC, however, did not accept any of the government’s such contentions, but said the government could come out with fresh notifications in this regard, if it wanted.

The 71-year-old writer of the book, Jaswant Singh, welcomed the decision and said he was thrilled by the judgment. "It is a matter of satisfaction that the court has lifted the ban on the book, Singh said, adding the court had upheld freedom of speech.

Singh has also filed a separate case in the Supreme Court challenging the ban, which will be heard on September 8.

Within a couple of days of releasing the book, Jaswant Singh was expelled by BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) from the party on August 19 without seeking any clarification from him; on the pretext of eulogising Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, and making him custodian of secularism, and Nehru and Patel as the culprit of partition of India. The controversy surrounding the book, on the other hand, earned it good, zooming it to the top of the bestseller not only in India but also in Pakistan where Jinnah has the same respect as Gandhi in India.

Int’l Workshop in Kerala on Greenstone Digital Library Software

2009-09-03T11:11:00.000-07:00

The Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode (IIMK) is going to organize an International Workshop on Greenstone Digital Library Software at its campus in Kerala during November 23 to 28, 2009. To facilitate the workshop, IIMK has come into technical collaboration with Greenstone Support for South Asia, All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and UNESCO New Delhi office.

The objective of the Workshop is to propose a six-day long high-end training programme on digital libraries on the open source software 'Greenstone'. The Workshop shall facilitate the participants in creating state-of-the-art digital libraries using the Greenstone open source software, which include software installation, configuration, customization, digitization and other related workflow operations, content development and management, designing and creating standard metadata sets to describe digital objects and encoding it in standard mark-up formats.

Participants attaining the workshop, which will be conducted as a Faculty Development Programme (FDP), are expected to develop professional capacity in their respective countries. Each participant will be provided a PC supplemented with LCD project demos, and will receive a CD-ROM comprising of the latest version of Greenstone Software, other related software packages and faculty presentations.

Registration is open for interested professionals from India and other countries on first-come-first-served basis. Nomination forms duly filled in, along with the Course Fee, should reach the FDP Office at IIMK latest by 12 November 2009.

India retain Nehru Cup beating Syria 5-4

2009-08-31T11:08:00.000-07:00

Defending champion India retained ONGC Nehru football Cup beating Syria by 5-4 in a penalty shoot out at a jam-packed Ambedkar stadium here on Monday after both the teams scored 1-1.

The two sides were deadlocked 0-0 in the regulation time and equaled in the extra time.
India’s goalkeeper Subrata Paul eventually win the title for India making three saves in the shootout, including the decisive shot from Hamzeh Al Aitoni triggering celebrations among the crowd.

After the score went goalless in the regulation time, Renedy Singh scored through a free kick in the 24th minute of extra time. The title was in India’s kitty; however, India could not retain the upper hand as Syria’s Dyab equalized the score in the last minute of the match taking the game to a tie-breaker.

The highly tensed hyper-extended shootout eventually resulted in India’s favour after the 22-year-old goalkeeper Paul produced a heroic performance saving as many as three penalty shots to script the win.

For Indian side, Climax Lawrence, Sunil Chhetri, Steven Dias, Anwar Ali and Surkumar Singh scored in the shootout while Renedy Singh and Meharajuddin Wadoo missed the target.

Along with the Nehru cup title India earned USD 40,000, while Syria pocketed USD 20,000.

Nehru cup 2009 was almost a repeat of the 2007 edition of the tournament when India had lost to Syria in the league match but won the final 1-0.

Bollywood star Salman Khan and AIFF acting president and Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel and Union Minister of Youth Affairs & Sports M S Gill, watched the Nehru Cup final at the Ambedkar Stadium. Salman Khan was appointed as the Brand Ambassador of the All India Football Federation (AIFF).

Climax of shootout

India 1-0 Syria, Climax Lawrence sent the keeper the wrong way
India 1-1 Syria, Raja Rafe straight into the top corner
India 1-1 Syria, Renedy Singh went from hero to zero, striking the post with his penalty
India 1-1 Syria, Wael Ayan hammered it to the keeper's left, brilliant save by Subrata Pal
India 2-1 Syria, Sunil Chetri stroked the ball calmy past Balhous
India 2-1 Syria, Ahmad Haj Mohamad underhit his shot, Subrata's left hand pushing the ball onto the crossbar, another save!
India 3-1 Syria, Steven Dias gave India a cushion
India 3-2 Syria, Balhous - the Syrian keeper - beats his opposite number to keep his team alive in the contest
India 3-2 Syria, Mehrajuddin Wadoo with the chance to win it, but he hits it straight to the keeper
India 3-3 Syria, Abdul Fattah beats Pal who comes racing off his line and gets a warning from the ref
India 4-3 Syria, Central defender Anwar sends Balhous the wrong way to give India the lead again
India 4-4 Syria, Abdelrazaq puts it in the corner past the outstretched hand of Pal
India 5-4 Syria, Sukumar Singh with an excellent shot to keep India ahead
India 5-4 Syria, Excellent save from Subrata Pal from Hamzeh Al Aitounim penatly to win the Nehru Cup!

First int’l conference on Broadcast Media and Climate Change

2009-08-24T11:34:00.000-07:00

With a view to enhance awareness on climate change, UNESCO along with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is going to hold an international conference on ‘Broadcast Media and Climate Change: A Public Service Remit’ on September 4 and 5 at its headquarters in Paris.

The purpose of organizing such conference is to raise awareness on climate change as well as to increase the capacities of national broadcasters to report on climate change and foster cooperation among them, as electronic media could be a useful tool in raising awareness. The event is also expected to help improve the quality of information and programmes on climate change.

More than 180 national broadcasters, key international broadcasting associations and scientific organizations will meet to explore current coverage of climate change issues in different regions of the world. Participants will also seek solution to the challenges being faced by broadcasters, particularly those from the developing countries. These challenges include access to essential content and material needed to report effectively on climate change and promote mitigation strategies at local and international levels.

Commenting on the significance of organizing the conference, former Secretary General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan said that the conference will help to increase awareness and seek better reporting on climate change “at a time when the deathly silence around this crisis is becoming a major impediment for international action.”

The meeting will also look at the mechanisms and frameworks necessary for a global broadcast media partnership on climate change. A number of organizations, including the BBC, France Télévisions, the Global Humanitarian Forum, TVE, the Algerian Ministry of the Environment, and the production companies Dansk AV Produktion and Ki-Productions have partnered with UNESCO to provide a range of quality audiovisual material and resources rights-free to national broadcasters from developing countries.

Three months later in December the United Nations Climate Change Conference will be organized in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Jaswant Singh and controversy not apart

2009-08-19T06:56:00.000-07:00

Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) senior leader Jaswant Singh and controversies are not new to each other. In fact, both are two sides of the same coin. The fresh controversy erupted from the releasing of his new book 'Jinnah — India, Independence, Partition' in which he made Jinnah as custodian of secularism and Nehru as the culprit of partition of India.

Cutting across the party lines in thought and principle, Jaswant Singh has been expelled from the party for eulogising Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, in his latest book.

The 71-year-old leader, perhaps, has to pay the price for creating needless controversy through his book. Had he been known that by going against the BJP and above all its ideological boss Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) principle through his nascent discovery – a secular Jinnah, he would have thought twice before praising Jinnah.

RSS once again has proved its hegemony over the BJP, and driven home the straightforward message that the party is still driven by the Hindutva message and any kind of dissent in the party will no longer be tolerated. However, grabbing public attention by touching off controversy through his writing is not new for Jaswant Singh.

He had used the same gimmick during the releasing of his previous book “A Call to Honour: In Service of Emergent India in 2006”, when he alleged that there was a mole in the prime minister’s office in the nineties during the tenure of Congress prime minister PV Narsimha Rao who leaked vital information to American sources.

But, he dramatically backtracked when contradicted by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who asked him to name the mole. The former external affairs minister said he had a strong hunch that information was being leaked from the PMO.

And now in his latest book that released on Monday, he has glorified Jinnah and held India's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru and its first home minister Vallabhbhai Patel responsible for the country's partition in 1947. He claimed Nehru as the culprit of partition and Jinnah as a supporter of federal polity, which even Gandhi accepted.

He has also earned disgrace for escorting terrorists to Kandhar, Afghanistan who were released by the government in exchange of passengers from the hijacked Indian Airlines plane. The decision, however, was taken mutually by bringing all political parties in confidence, but he personally faced ridicule and criticism as he accompanied terrorists when he was the then foreign minister.

He again found himself in the midst of controversy last year after being accused of illegal drug possession. He was accused of offering saffron milk laced with opium to his guests at his home in Jasol, Barmer during the feast known as ‘riyan’. Jaswant Singh, however, denied the charge in the court.

Team India announced for tri-series, Champions Trophy

2009-08-16T00:49:00.000-07:00

The Indian selectors of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) have ended meeting in Chennai on Sunday picking up the 15-member squad for the ODI tri-series in Sri Lanka and the Champions Trophy. Skipper MS Dhoni attended the meeting whereas Coach Gary Kirsten was connected via phone from South Africa.

Virendra Sehwag has not been included in the 15-member squad, where as Rahul Dravid has made a comeback. Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Pragyan Ojha could not make a place in the squad.

The triangular ODI series will be held in Sri Lanka from September 8-14, and subsequently the Champions Trophy tournament in South Africa from September 22- October 5.

While as it was almost clear that explosive batsman Virendar Sehwag would be out of both the tournaments owing to his right shoulder injury, he has been kept out. The 36-year-old former captain Rahul Dravid has made a comeback to the ODI team after a gap of nearly two years. Dravid had played the last ODI in October 2007.

Master blaster Sachin Tendulkar is also back. He had made himself unavailable for the four-match ODI series in the West Indies in June-July. Sachin Tendulkar and Gautam Gambhir will open the batting with Rahul Dravid likely to be coming in at No. 3.

Rohit Sharma has been kept out of the 15-member team following patchy performances in the World T20 and the West Indies series. Abhishek Nayar has been included in the team while Virat Kohli could not make a place for him. Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Yusuf Pathan and Dinesh Karthik are the other mainstream batsmen in the 15-member team. Suresh Raina has also been included in the team.

In absence of the paceman Zaheer Khan, who is also to be ruled out for a shoulder surgery, Ashish Nehra is certainly to partner Ishant Sharma as the new ball pair, besides R P Singh and Praveen Kumar. The two spinners are Harbhajan Singh and Amit Mishra.

Before flying to Colombo, the selected players will have a four-day training camp in Bangalore from August 27 and will participate in Corporate Trophy.

Squad: Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni (skipper/wicketkeeper), Suresh Raina, Yusuf Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, RP Singh, Ishant Sharma, Ashish Nehra, Amit Mishra, Praveen Kumar, Dinesh Karthik, Abhishek Nayar.

Team to be announced today for tri-series, Champions Trophy

2009-08-16T00:26:00.001-07:00

The Indian selectors of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) are meeting in Chennai on Sunday to pick up the 15-member squad for the ODI tri-series in Sri Lanka and the Champions Trophy. Skipper MS Dhoni will attend the meeting whereas Coach Gary Kirsten will be connected via phone from South Africa.

The triangular ODI series will be held in Sri Lanka from September 8-14, and subsequently the Champions Trophy tournament in South Africa from September 22- October 5.

While it is almost clear that explosive batsman Virendar Sehwag will be out of both the tournaments owing to his right shoulder injury, it could be the moment of truth for the former Indian captain Rahul Dravid, The Wall. The 36-year-old is all set to make a comeback to the ODI team after a gap of nearly two years. Dravid had played the last ODI in October 2007.

Master blaster Sachin Tendulkar is also making a comeback. He had made himself unavailable for the four-match ODI series in the West Indies in June-July. Sachin Tendulkar and Gautam Gambhir will open the batting with Rahul Dravid likely to be coming in at No. 3.

Rohit Sharma may be out of the contention following patchy performances in the World T20 and the West Indies series. Abhishek Nayar and Virat Kohli may be likely probabilities. Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Yusuf Pathan and Dinesh Karthik are among the certainties.

In absence of the paceman Zaheer Khan, who is also to be ruled out for a shoulder surgery, Ashish Nehra is certainly to partner Ishant Sharma as the new ball pair, besides R P Singh and Munaf Patel. The two spinners could be Harbhajan Singh and Pragyan Ojha.

Before flying to Colombo, the selected players will have a four-day training camp in Bangalore from August 27 and will participate in Corporate Trophy.

Likely squad: Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni (skipper/wicketkeeper), Suresh Raina, Yusuf Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, RP Singh, Ishant Sharma, Ashish Nehra, Amit Mishra (Pragyan Ojha), Praveen Kumar (Munaf Patel), Dinesh Karthik, Abhishek Nayar.

Independence Day: Salient features of PM's speech

2009-08-14T23:54:00.000-07:00

On the auspicious occasion of 63rd Independence Day, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh hoisted the flag on Red Fort and called upon the countrymen to remember the sacrifices of lakhs of Indians to bring us where we are today.

The Prime Minister in his address from the ramparts of Red Fort said the best way of paying homage to those brave sons of our country will be to resolve today that we will always stay committed to strengthening the unity and integrity of our nation. Let us all together take a vow that we will spare no effort to take India to greater heights.

"I wish to assure you on this sacred day that we will work with sincerity and dedication to fulfil the expectation of each and every citizen of India. It will be our effort to ensure that every citizen of India is prosperous and secure and is able to lead a life of dignity and self respect."

Appealing to all businessmen and industrialists to fulfill their social obligations by helping government to tackle the economic crisis, the Prime Minister expected that there would be an improvement in the situation by the end of this year, but till that time we will all have to bear with the fallout of the global economic slow down.

Dr. Singh said, "Our economy grew at a rate of about 9% from the year 2004-05 to the year 2007-08. This growth rate came down to 6.7% in 2008-09 due to the global economic crisis. It is only a result of our policies that the global crisis has affected us to a lesser extent than many other countries. Restoring our growth rate to 9% is the greatest challenge we face." He said that government will make every necessary effort to meet this challenge whether it is for increasing capital flows into the country, or for encouraging exports or for increasing public investment and expenditure.

Here are some salient features of PM's speech

On Farmers:

Underscoring contribution of farmers in India’s development, PM said India’s prosperity is not possible without the prosperity of our farmers. He said our government had waived bank loans of farmers, and now have increased the support prices for agricultural products by far more than ever before. He said deficiency of monsoons this year would definitely have some adverse impact on our crops. But we will provide all possible assistance to our farmers to deal with the drought. In view of the deficiency in the monsoons, we have postponed the date for repayment of bank loans of our farmers. We are also giving additional support to farmers for payment of interest on short term crop loans.

More attention will have to be paid to the needs of those farmers who do not have means for irrigation. The country needs another Green Revolution and we will try our best to make it possible. Our goal is 4% annual growth in agriculture and I am confident that we will be able to achieve this target in the next 5 years.

On Rising Food Grain Prices:

Expressing strong concern over the rising prices of food grains, Dr. Singh said all efforts will be made to control the rising prices of foodgrains, pulses and other goods of daily use. “I appeal to all State governments to exercise their statutory powers to prevent hoarding and black marketing of essential commodities.”

On Food Security Law:

It is our ardent desire that not even a single citizen of India should ever go hungry. This is the reason why we have promised a food security law under which every family living below the poverty line will get a fixed amount of food grains every month at concessional rates. It is also our national resolve to root out malnutrition from our country. In this effort, special care will be taken of the needs of women and children. We will endeavour to extend the benefit of ICDS to every child below the age of six years in the country by March 2012.

On Education: Elementary to Secondary:

Recently enacted the Right to Education Act provides each child of our country the right to elementary education. Funds will not be a constraint as far as education is concerned. We will give special attention to the needs of disabled children. Now we need to pay greater attention to secondary education. Secondary education will be expanded through a programme that will ensure that every child in the country gets its benefit. We will endeavour to provide bank loans and scholarships to the maximum possible number of students to support their education. A new scheme will be started to help students from economically weaker sections of society by way of reduced interest rate on their education loans.

On Swine Flu and Rural Public Health:

The National Rural Health Mission that we have started aims at strengthening the infrastructure for rural public health services. We will expand the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana so as to cover each family below the poverty line.

Some parts of our country have been affected by flu that is spreading owing to the H1N1 virus. The Central Government and the State Governments will together continue to make all necessary efforts to control the spread of this infection.

On Cleaning Ganga and Save Water:

The sacred Ganga is the life source for crores of Indians. We have constituted the National Ganga Authority in which the Central and State Governments will jointly work towards this end. The cooperation of the public is also needed in this effort.

Our natural resources are limited, so we must use them more efficiently. We need to prevent the misuse of water. We will pay more attention to programmes for water collection and storage. "Save Water" should be one of our national slogans.

On Terrorism:

Terrorism has emerged as a threat to peace and harmony in all parts of the world. After the horrific terror attacks in Mumbai in last November, our government has taken many steps against terrorism. To root out terrorist activities, our security forces and intelligence agencies are being constantly upgraded. I am sure that with cooperation from all sections of our society, we will be successful in eliminating terrorism from our country.

On Naxalite Menace:

Some parts of our country continue to be affected by the Naxalite menace. Those who think that they can seize power by recourse to the gun do not understand the strength of our democracy. The Central Government will redouble its efforts to deal with Naxalite activities. We will extend all help to the State Governments to make their police forces more effective. Central forces will be provided wherever they are needed. Simultaneously, we will endeavour to remove those causes of social and economic dissatisfaction which give rise to problems like Naxalism.

On Minority Communities:

People belonging to minority communities are our own brothers and sisters. Taking special care of the deprived sections of the society does not amount to appeasement. We have started many schemes for the welfare of the minorities. These programmes will be taken forward. The funds for the special schemes taken up for the development of minority concentration districts have been enhanced quite substantially this year. Similarly, we have allocated increased funds for scholarship schemes for minorities that the first UPA government had started. A Bill to prevent communal violence has been introduced in Parliament and efforts will be made to convert it into a law as soon as possible.

On Women's Reservation Bill:

Female foeticide is a shame on all of us. We must eliminate it as early as possible. Our government is committed to the early passage of the Women's Reservation Bill. This legislation will provide one-third reservation for women in Parliament and the State Assemblies. We are also working on a legislation to provide 50% reservation for women in rural and urban local bodies. In fact, we should find ways and means to increase the participation of women in all democratic institutions. We have decided to launch a National Female Literacy Mission, through which female illiteracy will be reduced by half in the next three years.

Morakot hit Taiwan calls for int’l assistance

2009-08-14T12:01:00.000-07:00

Rescue and rehabilitation efforts in Taiwan are being stepped up to save the life of stranded people following floods and landslides unleashed by Typhoon Morakot last weekend that took death toll of nearly 500 people. The country, however, needs international assistance to effectively continue its rescue and rehabilitation efforts.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) of Taiwan has released a detailed list of items that Taiwan needs in terms of international assistance, including specialized helicopters and pilots capable of transporting very heavy payloads, 1,000 prefabricated houses to provide temporary refuge for homeless flood victims.

The MOFA press release also stated that the country badly needs 100,000 bottles of phenolic disinfectant or Benzyl-p-chloropherno, 200,000 Aquatab water purification tablets, 100,000 liters of sterilizing agent for sanitation, 1,000 portable sterilizers and 500 automatic sterilizers.

"On behalf of the government and people of the Republic of China, we would like to express our most sincere appreciation for all the support and concern expressed by the countries and international organizations," the MOFA said in the press release.

Earlier President Ma Ying-jeou called the damage caused by typhoon as the most severe to the island in more than 50 years. He said that floods and landslides unleashed by Typhoon Morakot from August 7-9 had killed about 500 people, and destroyed the homes of 7,000 people.

Right to Education is now a reality

2009-08-05T08:37:00.001-07:00

A new era begins with the approval given by the Parliament to a landmark Education Bill which ensures free and compulsory education for children in the age bracket of 6 to 14 years. The law is unique in the sense that no student will be failed till class 8th, including all government and private schools will have to provide 25% quota to “disadvantaged” children.

"This bill provides for the inclusion of children who are disadvantaged because of disability. The government is not only setting up special schools for them but doing all it can to provide education to them in all types of schools," said Kapil Sibal, Human Resource Development Minister.

As far as minority institutions are concerned up to 50 per cent of those seats could be offered to students from their communities. The curriculum would be less rigorous and it would ensure all-round development of children.

The law provides for building neighbourhood schools in three years whose definition and location will be decided by states. The bill aims to do away widespread practices by which schools impose admission fees on parents to guarantee their children a place.

The RTE (Right to Education) would empower the 86th Constitutional amendment that made free and compulsory education a fundamental right. The RTE bill sets down guidelines for states and the Centre to execute and enforce this right. Earlier, education was part of the directive principles of state policy.

The bill was passed by the Lower House (Lok Sabha). The bill was passed by the Upper House (Rajya Sabha) last month. The legislation will now soon be enacted after getting the assent from President Pratibha Patil. The finance will be managed by both the Centre and states. The Centre will prepare the capital and recurring expenditure and provide it as grants-in-aid to each state.

UNESCO releases a manual on investigative reporting

2009-08-05T06:17:00.000-07:00

UNESCO and Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism (ARIJ) release the Arabic version of an important guide to basic methods and techniques in investigative journalism, filling a gap in the literature of the profession. Story-based inquiry: a manual for investigative journalists, which is also available in English and French, can be downloaded online for free.

The manual focuses on the hypothesis-based inquiry approach, which takes the basic assumption that a story is only a hypothesis until verified. The methods and skills applying to every step of the investigative process, from conception to research, writing, quality control and dissemination, have been thoroughly analyzed and are well illustrated by case studies in each chapter.

The official launch will take place at the Second ARIJ conference in Amman, Jordan, from 20 to 22 November 2009. More than 250 investigative reporters representing 14 countries from the Arab world are expected to attend.

To download the manual in English please click the following URL:
http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/files/29032/12494586523story_based_inquiry_en.pdf/story_based_inquiry_en.pdf

For French, click:
http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/files/29032/12494586535story_based_inquiry_fr.pdf/story_based_inquiry_fr.pdf

For Arabic,
click: http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/files/29032/124945865311story_based_inquiry_ar.pdf/story_based_inquiry_ar.pdf

Legalising Gay Sex against Indian ethos

2009-08-04T13:22:00.000-07:00

The “global sex industry”, with massive business hubs in Thailand, Philippines, Mexico and Brazil, is poised to extend its tentacles to India taking advantage of gradually relaxing sexual ethos, Purshothaman Mulloli, general convenor Joint Action Committee Kannur said in New Delhi today.

He was speaking in a seminar on “The Delhi High Court Judgment: Section 377, IPC and its consequences” called by the Institute of Objective Studies at Indian Islamic Cultural Centre, New Delhi.

Mr Mulloli, whose committee has been fighting legal battles against legalisation of homosexuality, said the Delhi High Court judgment decriminalising homosexual acts between consenting adults in the privacy of homes, would create a conducive environment for the global sex industry to step in.

He said it was not true that because section 377 (prohibiting unnatural sex with men, women or animals) was a 19th century law that had to be “read down”. The fact was that it was reviewed twice after 1947. He said that the Delhi HC, going beyond its area of operation, has asked Parliament in the judgment to enact appropriate laws protecting gay rights.

The Delhi HC in a controversial judgment on July 2, 2009 had read down the Section 377 to decriminalize same-sex behavior among consenting adults. Section 377 continues to apply in the case of sex involving minors and coercive sex. It is to note here that out of two commissions set up by the Parliament that had examined the relevance of Section 377, one had supported it while the other wanted gay rights. It has gone to the cabinet for consideration.

Earlier, in his inaugural address Dr Mohammad Manzoor Alam, chairman of the Institute of Objective Studies, said that it was a struggle between the values of small westernized elite and the common people of India. The outcome of the struggle would show “whether we would live by God-given laws, or guided by our basic instincts”. He cautioned the government not to force a law on people that would destroy “India’s moral fibre”.

Dr. DBS Sehra, president of Delhi unit of Buddhist Society of India, said that homosexuality was an aberration that was against the ethos of the country. It should never be given legal sanction. He said that consent between two adults to indulge in something undesirable should not become the criterion for its being right.

Journalist and former MP Santosh Bhartiya cautioned that the international sex industry was eyeing India for expanding its business here. It was possible under lax laws only. He urged the nation against opening the gates to such interests.

The following resolutions were passed at the end of seminar:

1. oppose the judgment and its far-reaching implications for the physical health, emotional security, public morality and spiritual wellbeing of the people of India and its future generations;

2. support legal challenge to the ruling in the Supreme Court of India for the protection of our values;

3. mobilise and educate our society to resist such moral decline; and

4.request the Union government to bring legislation that prevents further erosion of our moral values.

BREASTFEEDING has no substitution

2009-08-03T13:27:00.000-07:00

BREASTFEEDING WEEK (Aug 1-7) SPECIAL

This is an eye-opener article for all those mothers who avoid their infants from breastfeeding for the fear of their breast will go shapeless and unattractive. Modern mothers, who fear that they will lose their charm, their beauty, and their sex and energy if they breastfeed their child, should know that breastfeeding has no substitution. No any formula milk or top feeding can fulfill requirements a baby needs. In fact, breast milk is an infant’s birthright which he must not be deprived of.

Breast milk is quite natural and full of appropriate nutrients for the baby which he needs at the time when the growth and development rates are maximal. Breastfeeding promotes health, helps to prevent diseases and reduces health care. Breast milk is clean, free from bacteria and has mother’s antibodies that helps the baby avoid or fight off infections. Besides other benefits breast milk is readily availabe to the baby as well as it is economical and free from contamination.

On the other hand, formula feeding helps increase lower morbidity and mortality. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life and then supplemented breastfeeding for up to one year or two years or more. Exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life "provides continuing protection against diarrhoea and respiratory tract infection" that are more common in babies fed formula. Study shows that 16 per cent of neonatal deaths could be averted if all infants were breastfed from the very first day of birth and 22 per cent if breastfeeding was started within the first hour itself.

Breastfeeding is not only essential for babies but for mothers too. It enhances emotional bond between the child and the mother, provides warmth, love, and affection. Study shows that long duration of lactation reduces risk of heart disease in women, and breastfeeding mothers also have less risk of ovarian and breast cancer.

This year, World Breastfeeding Week (Aug 1-7) under the theme of “Breastfeeding - A vital emergency response. Are you ready?” is being organized with an aim to encourage breastfeeding among mothers and improve the health of babies. The theme emphasizes the need to protect, promote and support breastfeeding to make children healthy and strong.

FRIENDSHIP an eternal bonding

2009-08-02T06:05:00.000-07:00

On this occasion of Friendship Day, I give you a simple but complex thought. Just imagine your life without a friend. Dull, boring and colorless, isn’t it? I knew your answer because this is one such relation we are not born with like other family relations. This is one such relation we make ourselves with a complex blend of heart and mind. True friendship is a gift of God and a friend’s affection is a greatest treasure of life. Many people say a boy and girl can never be friend. This is utterly ridiculous. In fact, a true friend can be anyone irrespective of gender and class. Second thought (?) never comes if one is a true friend.

History speaks in volume about how one sacrificed its life for his friend, and also how one stabbed on the back of his friend. This is just part of life. Sometimes we may be wrong in making right friend, but not always. I mean to say be careful while making friends because you share ever secrets of your life with your friend even those which you can not share with your family members. Oops! I must not speak like this on this very day. So just chill out and enjoy the day with your friends. But do not forget my one advice. Never let build wall between friends. If any problems occur, try to solve it soon. Because communication gap can be perilous for your relationship. Fingers crossed.

MASSAGE by opposite sex not illegal: HC

2009-08-01T03:36:00.000-07:00

People belonging to both genders, particularly who go to health spa for a massage by members of opposite sex, and the owner of health spa have no problems to use/ provide such facilities. The police, however, could inspect the spas and take appropriate action in accordance with law, if find there any illegality, but can not prohibit massages done by the opposite sex in spas.

The Madras High Court on Friday ruled that the city police do not have any legal right to interfere with such activities. Police, as on date, has no legal right to prevent a massage parlour being operated by any citizen of this country, even if it (massage) is done by persons belonging to the opposite sex.

Justice Chandru reading out the order cited judgments of the Supreme Court that the apex court and several high courts had on occasions interfered with police powers to prohibit dance shows in restaurants, video parlours running video games for youth and children, and women serving liquor in bars.

He, however, added that the police can inspect and take appropriate action in accordance with law in cases of any criminal activities prohibited by the law is carried out covertly in the name of spa centres.

The application in this regard was filed by Influence Lifestyle Stores Private Limited seeking to restrain the city police from interfering with its business.

KARGIL to be India’s Tourist Destination

2009-07-31T10:55:00.000-07:00

KARGIL, the place of the armed conflict between India and Pakistan that took place between May and July 1999, is soon going to be an ideal tourist destination. Indian Tourism Ministry is developing Kargil, the remote mountainous region in Jammu and Kashmir, as a tourist destination with an investment of Rs 484.47 lakh.

The Tourism Ministry has also sanctioned funds for the development of Drass-Panikhar and Drass-Sankhoo sections with an investment of Rs 241.70 lakh and Rs 472.32 lakh respectively.

“The tourism ministry extends central financial assistance under the scheme of Product Infrastructure Development for Destinations and Circuits for tourism projects based on the project proposals received from them, complete in all respects, subject to inter se priority and availability of funds,” Tourism Minister Kumari Selja told Parliament in a written reply.

She further said the ministry has advised all the state governments and Union Territory administrations to deploy tourist police at tourist destinations in order to ensure the safety and security of tourists.

KARGIL WAR / CONFLICT

The Kargil War, also known as the Kargil conflict, was an armed conflict between India and Pakistan that occurred between May and July 1999 in the Kargil district of Kashmir. The infiltration of armed intruders backed by Pakistani soldiers into the Indian side of the Line of Control (LOC), which serves as the de facto border between the two states, and capture of frigid peaks in the Indian side of Drass-Kargil sector in Jammu and Kashmir led to the armed struggle between the two countries. Even the aggravated tension brought India and Pakistan on the brink of full scale war.

The fighting ceased on July 26, 1999. The day has since been marked as Kargil Vijay Divas (Kargil Victory Day) in India. India had resumed control of all territory south and east of the Line of Control, as was established in July 1972 as per the Shimla Accord.

Nandita Das — New Chairperson of Children Film Society of India

2009-07-31T06:26:00.000-07:00

Indian actor-turned-director Nandita Das, known for her critically acclaimed performances in films like Fire, Earth, etc., has been appointed as Chairperson of Children’s Films Society of India (CFSI).

She has been appointed for a period of three years or until further orders, whichever is earlier, of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

The post had been vacant after actress-social activist Nafisa Ali resigned to contest the Lok Sabha poll 2009 from Lucknow on Samajwadi Party ticket. She, however, failed to make her debut in politics as she could not win the election.

Born to a celebrated Indian painter Jatin Das, the 39-year-old Nandita Das has left an unforgettable impression as an actor, and now has made a successful directorial debut through Firaaq. The film had its world premier at the Toronto International Film Festival, and was released in India on the 20th of March 2009.

She has acted in nearly 37 feature films made in Hindi, English, Malyalam, Bengali, Gujarati, Marathi and Tamil languages. Some of her memorable movies in which she has acted outstanding performance are Kagaar, Supari, Pitaah, Lal Salaam, Bawandar, Earth, Hazaar Chaurasi ki Maa, Fire (all in Hindi) Amar Bhuvan (Bengali), Kamli (Telugu), Provoked (English), Maati Maay (Marathi).

She has been awarded:
* Best Actress for Bawander - Santa Monica Film Festival (2001)
* Best Actress for Amar Bhuvan - Cairo Film Festival (2002)
* Best Actress for Maati Maay - Madrid International Film Festival (2007).

Basically a Theatre artist, Nandita Das is a good writer too. She writes on the subject of various social concerns. She has also directed some of the Short Films, such as:

Rainwater Harvesting — A 90 sec. Public interest spot for the Centre for Science & Environment, shot on 35mm.
Education for All— A 60 second Public Service Advertisement for UNICEF, shot on 35 mm.
Learning is child’s play (I) — A 60 second PSA for Social Initiatives Group, shot on 35 mm.
Learning is child’s play (II) — A 60 second PSA for Social Initiatives Group, shot on 35 mm.
Imprint in Clay — A documentary on Sardar Gurcharan Singh, The pioneer of Indian studio pottery, shot on Umatic

Apart from directing short films, she has also acted in some of the other short films in the direction of other filmmakers like Saayey (2005), Indo-Pak Music Film (2004), Fleeting Beauty (2003), Saanjh (1999).

Revised Tatkal scheme from August 1, 2009

2009-07-30T12:00:00.000-07:00

In accordance with the announcement made in the Railway Budget 2009-10 revised Tatkal scheme is going to be implemented from August 1. As per the new scheme, Advance Reservation Period (ARP) has been revised from 5 days to 2 days. Earlier a passenger can make reservation 5 days ago of his journey.

Action has also been initiated to make this scheme available destination-wise and for levying of revised minimum Tatkal charges.

All accommodation including general and Tatkal accommodation is meant for general passengers with the only difference of Advance Reservation Period. Creation of additional reserved accommodation is a continuous process for which Railways run new trains, augment the load of existing trains, run special trains, etc.

Broad features of the revised Tatkal Scheme:

• Tatkal reservation facility is provided in the train to meet the urgent travel requirement of the passengers.
• The Tatkal facility can be availed by full fare paying passengers only, and not by those passengers holding concessional ticket.
• The reservation under this scheme commences at 8 A.M on the previous day for which the reservation is being sought, and booking is done on first come first served basis.
• As against the earlier provision of presenting any one proof of identity at the time of booking and the same during the journey, no proof of identity will be required to be produced by the passengers hence forthwith either at the time of booking or during the journey. This provision, however, shall be reviewed after a period of 6 months trial.
• The facility of change of name is not permitted on the bookings made under Tatkal Scheme.
• The booking under Tatkal Scheme will be done only from originating to terminating point of the train with boarding facility from intermediate station. Any passenger boarding from an intermediate station can book Tatkal Accommodation but ticket will be end-to-end and charged accordingly, with permission to board the train from intermediate station.
• No refund will be permissible on the reservations made under Tatkal scheme. However, full refund of fare and Tatkal Charges will be granted on the tickets booked under this scheme in the following circumstances: -

a) If the train is delayed by more than 3 hours from the train originating station;
b) In case of non-attachment of coach in which Tatkal Accommodation has been earmarked and the passenger has not been provided accommodation in the same class.
c) If the party has been accommodated in lower class and does not want to travel. In case the party travels in lower class, the passenger will be given refund of difference of fare and also the difference of Tatkal charges, if any.

• The Tatkal Scheme will be available in Sleeper, AC Chair Car, AC-3 tier and AC-2 tier classes in all Mail/Express trains including Rajdhani/Shatabdi/Jan Shatabdi Express trains.
• From Rs 50 to Rs 200 is charged as additional charges for different classes (SL, AC 2–tier, AC-3 tier, AC chair car) from the passengers besides the fare of the journey.

•The premium on Tatkal Scheme of different classes are as under:--

S.No. Class Existing Tatkal Charges Proposed Tatkal Charges

During non-peak period Other than non-peak period
(15th July to period
15th September)

i) AC 2- tier Rs. 200/- Rs.200/- Rs.300/-
ii) AC3- tier Rs.150/- Rs.200/- Rs.300/-
iii) AC Chair Car Rs.50/- Rs.75/- Rs.150/-
iv) Sleeper Rs.50/- Rs.75/- Rs.150/-

Four-laning of H'bagh-Ranchi gets Cabinet nod

2009-07-30T10:36:00.000-07:00

Years-long traffic snarl in the Hazaribagh-Ranchi route in the State of Jharkhand will get over in a couple of years or more with the completion of four-laning of Hazaribagh – Ranchi section of NH 33.

The Cabinet Committee on Infrastructure (CCI) on Thursday approved the four-laning of Hazaribag –Ranchi section of NH-33 under National Highways Development project (NHDP) Phase III on Design, Build, Finance, Operate and Transfer (DBFOT/BOT) on Annuity mode.

The project cost for this 75 km long route is estimated as Rs.688.07 crore, including Rs.63 crores towards Land Acquisition (LA), Rehabilitation & Resettlement (R&R) and pre-construction activities and at the lowest quoted fixed semi annual annuity of Rs.64.08 crores for concession period of 18 years including construction period of 910 days.

The project will be developed by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) through Private Sector Concessionaires selected by NHAI following two stage bidding process. The Concession period for the project is 18 years which includes 30 months for construction.

Cabinet endorses Delhi Police Building Program

2009-07-30T10:15:00.000-07:00

Giving its nod to the implementation of “Delhi Police Building Program – Office/Residential Building” in the 11th Five Year Plan, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on Thursday (August 30, 2009) issued Rs.170 crore for the construction of Police Office Buildings and Rs.50 crore for Residential Buildings to Delhi Police.

The Scheme of construction of Residential Buildings & Office Buildings is now named as “Delhi Police Building Program”.

Giving details of the program the Committee said that construction of 5 Police Stations, 1 Police Post Building and 157 Staff Quarters at different Police Station premises has already been completed during first two years of 11th Five Year Plan. While the construction of 3 Police Station Buildings, 2 Police Post Buildings and 422 Staff Quarters will be completed till 2009-10. Targets have also been set for the remaining years of the 11th Five Year Plan.

Housing satisfaction for the Delhi Police personnel, which is only 19-34% as of now, as well as the sufficient number of Police Stations and Police Post Buildings are closely associated with their operational efficiency. With the completion of office & residential buildings as proposed during 11th Five Year Plan, the operational efficiency of Delhi Police personnel will be enhanced substantially and will also lead to higher housing satisfaction level among Delhi Police personnel.

139-Rail Sampark introduces SMS facility

2009-06-17T12:43:00.000-07:00

In a bid to reach to masses with an add-on facility, “139 – Rail Sampark”, the authorized enquiry for Indian Railway has recently introduced the facility of Railway enquiry through SMS.

The users can obtain information regarding PNR status, fare, seat availability and arrival/departure by sending SMS in the specified syntax to 139. The syntax for ticket status enquiry is –PNR10 digit PNR Number and SMS to 139 (for example PNR 1234567890). Details of the procedures for SMS can be accessed from the website www.indianrailways.gov.in or www.irctc.co.in.

The service has been launched by Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corporation Ltd. (IRCTC), a public sector undertaking under the Ministry of Railways. This Railway enquiry service operates on the number 139 which can be dialed from the landline/mobile phones all over the country without prefixing the STD code. The idea behind the launching of 139 Railway enquiry service is to connect with masses, a service that is meant for all and is effectively and easily available.

The services include enquiries pertaining to arrival/departure of trains, PNR reservation of berth status and fare enquiry besides to book a train ticket where payment is made through a cash card over phone and the ticket is delivered/ emailed to the user.

Obama set to rise to gay’s expectations

2009-06-17T11:43:00.000-07:00

Same-sex partners in America are going to get a good time ahead as President Barack Obama is all set to extend some federal benefits to the gay partners of US government workers.

The President is due to sign a presidential order in the Oval office on the issue later on Wednesday. It is being expected that the gay partners of federal employees will get the health and pension benefits currently enjoyed by the heterosexual partners of government workers, but they might be devoid of getting full health insurance coverage.

The move comes in the wake of anger expressed by some gay supporters of Obama that he has not done enough after assuming the office to protect their rights. Gay and lesbian rights group were continuously voicing their disappointment over the Obama’s failure to live up to campaign promise in the first month of his presidency.

With this the US military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy may come to an end as the President is reportedly seeking to repeal this policy as part of a lasting and durable solution. A White House spokesman said the President agreed that the policy was not working for national interests. So he is working with the Secretary of Defence and the joint chiefs to capsizing the policy.

As per the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, the gay servicemen and women are allowed to serve, but on the pre-condition of not disclosing their sexuality or engaging in homosexual acts.

Several gay supporters had withdrawn from a fundraising event in protest of Obama’s not fulfilling his promise to repeal the ban on gay military members and extending benefits to partners of government employees. He was also criticized for not turning down a Justice Department legal opinion opposing gay marriage.

The Department of Justice (DoJ) had backed the Defense of Marriage Act last week, which defines marriage as being between a man and a woman and denies federal benefits to same-sex married couples.

During the presidential election campaign, Obama though opposed to gay marriage but supported civil union, which means to ensure the gay couples the same legal and financial benefits as per married heterosexual couples. He expressed opinion on marriage as a sacred union between a man and woman, but at the same time advocated for the gay and lesbian rights.

Hapless performance continues, India lost to Proteas

2009-06-16T14:09:00.000-07:00

In an inconsequential but confidence building and respect earning match from India’s point of view, India continued to show poor performance by bat and lost to South Africa by 12-run in their final Super Eights game. India needed to win this last match in the tournament for their pride. They have not won any of their matches against the tough competitors so a win today might give them a little confidence and respect from the fanatic fans.

South Africa had nothing to lose in this match; it was just a practice match for the Proteas who well defended the tiny 130 in the T20 game. On the other hand, India once again could not prove their strength and their batsmen failed miserably like their previous two games against the West Indies and England.

In fact, India were already crashed out of the T20 World Cup when the bizarre tinkering of the strong batting line-up failed wretchedly at the hands of England on Sunday. The host had defeated India by just 3 runs in a tough game. Coincidently, in both the games India were chasing the modest scores put up by the opponents.

Except Yuvraj Singh no any batsmen could take on the English bowlers, though the two openers Gautam Gambhir and Rohit Sharma put on 48 runs in 6.2 overs when Gambhir got out at 21 be Johan Botha. India still looked in control of the chase. But the familiar middle order collapse came in and they lost four wickets in just 27 balls.

Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s terrible form also continued and he just scored five off 12 balls before returning to pavilion. India’s hopes once again lay squarely on the strong shoulder of Yuvraj Singh but he could not win the match for India and caught behind in the 17th over.

Earlier, Indian bowlers mainly spinners and part time bowlers performed well and the favourite Proteas struggled against them on the slow Trent Bridge wicket to manage just 130 for 5 in 20 overs. Man of the match A B de Villiers, who said that "it wasn't the fanciest knock of my life”, top scored with 63 off 51 balls.

South Africa will now meet West Indies in one of the semi finals.

Dual character of Shiney Ahuja?

2009-06-16T07:02:00.000-07:00

Can the cool, calm, sometimes angry and thinkable actor as his role played by him in some of his movies speaks, do this shameless act? The Hazaron Khwaishe Aisi actor’s fans are yet to believe that Shiney Ahuja can rape his domestic help.

The 36-year-old actor, however, denied that he raped his 18-year-old maid, but allegedly admitted to having sex with the girl. He, however, said the physical relation was made with the girl’s consent.

Although the allegation is yet to be established in a court of law, but if it is proved it would also prove wrong that “face does not lie.” Rather it would be confirmed that it is difficult to know about one’s character through his innocent looking face.

The medical report of the victim has also confirmed that she was sexually assaulted by actor Shiney Ahuja.

“The medical report of the victim has corroborated what the victim has alleged against the actor in the First Information Report,” said Niket Kaushik, the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Mumbai.

The actor has already been booked under Section 376 (rape), Section 346 (wrongful restraint) and Section 506 (threat to kill) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). If proven guilty, he faces a jail term of over seven years.

Meanwhile, a metropolitan court in Andheri has sent the accused to police remand till June 18. His home, where the offence was allegedly committed, was sealed by the police after a special forensic team visited the house to obtain more evidence. Ahuja was arrested on Sunday night for allegedly raping his maid.

How much this incident would impact Bollywood, is difficult to say. Sometimes ago such kind of allegation was made against eminent producer director Madhur Bhandarkar by a model Priti jain. He, however, freed by a court of law and Bollywood accepted his contention that allegation against him was made as he did not assigned a role to Preeti Jain in his movie Fashion.

Earlier, actors Shakti Kapur and Aman Verma were too caught in a casting couch, but Bollywood gave the incident a deaf ear.

It means such kinds of allegations are most common in Bollywood. So how the rape allegation against Shiney Ahuja would impact his career; only time will speak.

Acer launches new notebook series

2009-06-14T13:37:00.000-07:00

Acer, the third largest PC manufacturer after Dell and HP, has launched a new series of notebooks with the name of Aspire Timeline series in India. The new range of products is based on an Ultra-Low Voltage (ULV) Intel Core 2 solo processor that enables thinner design with longer battery life.

The Acer Timeline series are Aspire 3810 T, Aspire 4810 T and Aspire 5810 T. The notebooks are equipped with thermal management system which helps the system to be cool irrespective of its 0.8 inch size and 1 lb (about 2 kg) weight.

The Aspire Timeline series is available in three forms 13.3", 14" and 15.6" with better readability in low-light condition, and is equipped with Dolby Sound Room that produces a quality surround sound.

One another key features of the Timeline models are its battery backup and energy saving capacity. It has over eight hours of battery life. The power smart adapter enters the adaptive charging mode automatically when the battery is fully charged and stops consuming energy.

The price of the Aspire series ranges from Rs 39,999 to Rs 44,999.
Salient features of the Aspire series:

Aspire 3810 T

-Intel Core2 Solo processor
-2 GB Ram
-250GB HDD
-13.3" HD display
-1366 x 768 pixel resolution, high-brightness
-Bluetooth
-Vista Home premium

Aspire 4810 T

-Intel Core2 Solo processor SU3500
-2 GB Ram
-250GB HDD
-14" HD display
-1366 x 768 pixel resolution, high-brightness
-Bluetooth
-Vista Home premium

Aspire 5810 T

-Intel Core2 Solo processor SU3500
-3 GB Ram
-320 GB HDD
-15.6" HD display
-1366 x 768 pixel resolution, high-brightness
-Bluetooth
-Vista Home premium

WHO finds spurt in Swine flu cases

2009-06-13T12:09:00.000-07:00

The World Health Organization (WHO) which has declared swine flu as pandemic has reported on June 12 as 29,699 laboratory confirmed cases of Influenza A/H1N1 infection from 74 countries, including 145 deaths so far.

In its latest update on June 13, the WHO has said that the health screening of passengers coming from affected countries is being conducted in 21 International airports. On this date, around 47339 passengers were screened of which 26482 were from affected countries. A total of 76 counters have been made at these airports where 221 doctors and 111 paramedics have been deployed to screen the passengers.

In India, the six-year-old girl who traveled from New York has tested positive at NIV, Pune. Her one-and-half year old brother has also tested positive. Both children have been admitted to the identified health facility and their conditions are stable.
The siblings had reached India along with their parents from New York on June 10.

Since they are too young to be quarantined, the sister-brother duo are being accompanied in hospital by their grandfather, who was put on anti-viral drugs and has tested negative for H1N1 virus. The family members were also being tested and their samples had been sent to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) for tests.

A 24-year-old student, who came to Hyderabad from Austin (US) via Dubai-Mumbai, was also admitted to hospital after showing swine flu like symptoms. While in Tamil Nadu, a five-member family was quarantined at the airport after they arrived from the US.

Meanwhile, out of the 240 persons tested for novel Influenza A [H1N1] virus in the country, 17 have been found positive. Among them nine have been discharged and rest of the passengers has been admitted to the identified health facility. The rest have been found negative for the Influenza virus.

“A total of 17 swine flu cases have been reported (in India), of which nine patients have been discharged. The rest of the patients are all stable and are admitted to the identified health facilities,” a health official said in Delhi.