MUMBAI: Benchmarks gained
momentum as investors took positions across the board on the back of
positive earnings season and gains in Asian markets. All the sectoral
indices were in the green with metals, banks and oil&gas top
performers.
At 11 am; Bombay Stock
Exchange’s Sensex was at 20424.68, up 258.82 points or 1.28 per cent.
The index touched a high of 20448.59 and low of 20199.73.
National Stock Exchange’s Nifty was at 6136.55,
up 70.5 points or 1.16 per cent. The index touched high of 6151.30 and
low of 6094.60.
“The market has
clearly entered a range trade between 6284-5965 in the short-term. Nifty
needs to break the range between 5965 – 6165 to get back into a
directional trend. Momentum oscillators are presenting a mixed picture,
and thus the price action will lead the market direction.
Bharti Airtel has taken support on weekly and
monthly moving averages supporting the longer-term uptrend, thus
offering good risk-reward opportunity on the long side,” said Edelweiss
report.
BSE Midcap Index gained
0.84 per cent and BSE Smallcap Index moved 1.03 per cent higher.
Amongst the sectoral indices, BSE Metal
Index gained 1.67 per cent, BSE Bankex advanced 1.22 per cent and BSE
Oil&gas Index moved 1.13 per cent higher.
Sensex gainers included Hindalco (3.42%),
Cipla
(2.71%), Sterlite
Industries (2.23%), TCS (1.99%) and HDFC
(1.88%)
Wipro
(-2.54%) and Hero Honda (-0.23%) were the
only index losers.
Market breadth
was positive on the BSE with 1907 advances against 836 declines.
Asian markets were in the green. Nikkei
225 was up 0.07 per cent, Seoul Times climbed 0.90 per cent higher and
Shanghai Composite surged 1.89 per cent higher.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Rest of Asia India asks Japan to help achieve infrastructure targets
india envisages financial outlays of over $1 trillion in the next Five
Year Plan and while much of this would come "from within", it would
welcome support from Japanese companies, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
told Japanese business leaders on Monday.
"During India's next Five Year Plan
"We seek your help in raising urban infrastructure," he told the
gathering, citing needs like control of urban waste and water supply.
The meeting, also hosted by the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Japan-India Business Cooperation Committee, was attended by India Inc - Reliance Industries chairman and managing director Mukesh Ambani, Bharti Enterprises' chief Sunil Bharti Mittal, HDFC chairman Deepak Parekh and Fortis Healthcare's Malvinder Singh among others.
India's business leaders had addressed the 3rd Japan-India Business Leaders Forum ahead of the lunch.
On the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) - India and Japan are expected to announce conclusion of negotiations on the pact - the prime minister said the first priority was to "convert the agreement into a legally binding document".
"We are working on it at the level of the government," he said, adding that it might go to parliament next.
Manmohan Singh, who noted the "welcome sign" that the number of Japanese companies with an established business presence in India had more than doubled in the past four years, said: "Bilateral trade has made a robust rebound in 2010 and should exceed $20 billion by 2012. However, you will agree with me that India-Japan trade is still at a low threshold apart from being unbalanced."
He said he had long believed that India and Japan should work together to create a business environment conducive to much greater two-way trade and investment flows.
"It was with this perspective that we launched negotiations for a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement almost four years ago."
He also noted that nuclear energy could provide India's growing economy with a clean and efficient source of power. "Cooperation in this area will enable Japanese companies to participate in India's ambitious nuclear energy programme."
from 2012 to 2017, we envisage financial outlays of $1
trillion on infrastructure projects. Private investment will play a
large role in achieving this target. We would welcome a much greater
role by Japanese industry in the development of economic infrastructure
in India," the prime minister said at a business lunch hosted by the
industry lobby Nippon Keidanren.
Hoping to attract Japanese investment, the prime minister stressed on
India's infrastructural needs and said that in the next 20 years about
40 per cent of the population would be living in urban areas.
The meeting, also hosted by the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Japan-India Business Cooperation Committee, was attended by India Inc - Reliance Industries chairman and managing director Mukesh Ambani, Bharti Enterprises' chief Sunil Bharti Mittal, HDFC chairman Deepak Parekh and Fortis Healthcare's Malvinder Singh among others.
India's business leaders had addressed the 3rd Japan-India Business Leaders Forum ahead of the lunch.
On the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) - India and Japan are expected to announce conclusion of negotiations on the pact - the prime minister said the first priority was to "convert the agreement into a legally binding document".
"We are working on it at the level of the government," he said, adding that it might go to parliament next.
Manmohan Singh, who noted the "welcome sign" that the number of Japanese companies with an established business presence in India had more than doubled in the past four years, said: "Bilateral trade has made a robust rebound in 2010 and should exceed $20 billion by 2012. However, you will agree with me that India-Japan trade is still at a low threshold apart from being unbalanced."
He said he had long believed that India and Japan should work together to create a business environment conducive to much greater two-way trade and investment flows.
"It was with this perspective that we launched negotiations for a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement almost four years ago."
He also noted that nuclear energy could provide India's growing economy with a clean and efficient source of power. "Cooperation in this area will enable Japanese companies to participate in India's ambitious nuclear energy programme."
Friday, October 22, 2010
'Rakta Charitra' gets police attention in Anathapuram and other parts of AP
Hyderabad, 22nd Oct: Rakta Charitra has managed to get more hype
than any other film in Andhra Pradesh. Being a film on the feud based
on Paritala Ravi and Maddelacheruvu Suri, it also gained undue
attention political attention. The followers of Obul Reddy, involved in
the feud, have allegedly sent threats to director Ramgopal Varma that
they will disturb the film’s release.
As a result the police has been brought in to provide security. The premiere of the movie was helds last at Prasad's multiflex, Hyderabad under heavy security arrangements. It is believed that this is first of its kind for a Telugu film.
Ramgopal Varma had said that he wanted to watch the movie in Ananthapuram, along with his cast and crew on its release day of today (22nd Oct). However, looks like his plans are changed now.
It is believed that the Ananthapuram police didn’t want to take chances as few groups might not be too welcoming to the film’s crew. The RGV is not yet come to clarify the visit of Ananthapuram to watch the Rakta Charitra part-I.
As a result the police has been brought in to provide security. The premiere of the movie was helds last at Prasad's multiflex, Hyderabad under heavy security arrangements. It is believed that this is first of its kind for a Telugu film.
Ramgopal Varma had said that he wanted to watch the movie in Ananthapuram, along with his cast and crew on its release day of today (22nd Oct). However, looks like his plans are changed now.
It is believed that the Ananthapuram police didn’t want to take chances as few groups might not be too welcoming to the film’s crew. The RGV is not yet come to clarify the visit of Ananthapuram to watch the Rakta Charitra part-I.
Rakta Charitra part-I' rated top: Part-II will be hit the screens on Nov 19th
 Hyderabad,
22nd Oct: The Ram Gopal Varma's latest film Rakta Charitra review rated
the all web site at top position. Who saw the film premier of Rakta
Charitra part-I were eagerly waiting for the Raktha Charitra part-II.
It may be releasing on November 19th.Rakta Charitra part -I story: The story of Paritala Ravi and the faction feuds in Ananthapur is captivating enough. And when someone like Ramgopal Varma picks this story to make a film on it, it is enough to create a sensation. As a result ‘Rakta Charitra’ comes with the hype that no other film in the Telugu film industry can compete with. Our team takes a peep at whether this story of the one person’s view of a real life story will create history in Telugu cinema! The story of Rakta Charitra is pretty simple and almost known to everyone. Nagamani Reddy (Kota Srinivasa Rao) gets a local backward caste leader Veerabhadraiah killed out of pure jealousy. The revenge drama unfolds as Veerabhadraiah’s elder son starts killing anyone who is close to the Reddy’s. He also tries to keep his younger brother Pratap Ravi (Vivek Oberoi) away from the feuds. However, Bokka Reddy (Abhimanyu Singh) gets Pratap’s brother killed. Enraged Pratap Ravi is sucked into the quagmire of revenge resulting in him being left to take hiding in jungles with only vengeance in mind. The rise of Pratap Ravi from a vengeful son to a political leader is the story of Rakta Charitra – Part 1. From the moment it starts, we are sucked into the blood bath that is done in the name of loyalty and to an extent, fear. There are many characters, and we relate to each one of them easily within the first few minutes. The men are either loyal or jealous or afraid, but they are extremely true to their specific emotion. The film seems like it looks down upon women showing them as mere spectators of what’s happening around them. But their silence is brutal; their support to their men is obsessive. If women can be so emotionally aggressive, almost all the men’s characters are justified. As a result of such justification and terrific characterization, almost all the actors shine. Vivek Oberoi shows his calbire as an actor. Kota Srinivasa Rao fits right into the character of a villainous politician, even though he played such roles a zillion times. Shatrughan Sinha does the role of ‘over the top’ and self appraising actor-turned-political leader extremely well. Zarina Wahab as Ravi’s mother is intense. Sudeep and Ashwini Kaleskar have small but interesting roles to play. However, it is Abhimanyu Singh who wows everyone in the role of Bokka Reddy. He plays the embodiment of all vices as if he is one such character in real life. He’s so good as the villain that you don’t feel like looking at him when he’s on the screen. The metaphors that Ramgopal Varma uses for the police, the guns, justice, revenge, lost innocence etc. are plenty in Rakta Charitra. Those who want to find them will definitely find them. The movie however doesn’t come across as brilliant as it could have been. Our talented director Ramgopal Varma(RGV) was so enchanted by this riveting drama that he chose to be the narrator himself. His voice is as good and as loud as Nutan Prasad’s narrative for a famous crime based TV serial. While the film’s tone is more like a documentary, it jumps situations and timelines for the sake of screenplay convenience. It seems the screenwriters were trying to avoid telling if the film is set in modern times or the 1980s. There are no mobile phones, yet the settings look ultramodern in urban scenes! The hero uses scooter, but the village settings don’t blend with the tone of the film, giving it a very hypocritical texture. This might result in making the audience disconnected with the story. Rakta Charitra doesn’t glorify violence, but killing people never looked so easy and yet so excessive on Telugu screen. The only laughing moments come in the way Abhimanyu Singh looks at women. The only song in the movie looks like it has been hurriedly shot, and carries the flavor of ‘Khallas’ from Ramgopal Varma’s film ‘Company’. All other songs are in the background and almost all lyrics contain the words Rakta Charitra. Obviously those who will be looking for any kind of entertainment from this movie will be highly disappointed. The movie doesn’t explain why Pratap Ravi’s brother is in jungles. In one scene Pratap Ravi, who is wanted in the village, drives along with his entourage of rowdies just hiding under a rug, and kills a very important leader just like that. Ramu doesn’t give any logic to such scene, as he might have thought that the emotion of killing will carry the scene. May be he is right! The Cinematographer, Amol Rathod’s camera work is exceptional, and is supported by the film’s editing very well. One important aspect is that the continuity is noticeably realistic, inspite of having numerous characters on screen. The screenplay is brilliant at the beginning, when characters are introduced. It takes a backseat as RGV’s visual technique guides the film. Background music is justified. Costumes are realistic, but the setting should have been taken care of. Ramgopal Varma the director is as good as he can get. A situation where the hero’s one eye is visible, and the other eye is covered with a sickle just tells how much importance he gives to visual style. However, his inattention to certain details like those mentioned above is visible too. All said and done only someone like Ramgopal Varma has the guts to make a film like this and he should be appreciated completely for it. Rakta Charitra has unexpectedly least entertainment value for a typical viewer of Telugu cinema, yet it never bores you. As expected it is a documentary style film, and has more violence than one can imagine. Watch it at your own risk, but this is an unforgiving film and you won’t forget it too soon. The sneak peek of Rakta Charitra - Part II at the end of the Part 1 was so enthralling, especially with Surya on screen that no one moved till it ended! |
Saturday, October 16, 2010
NTRs Brindaavanam film: Old Wine with a New family package!
Brindavanam plays safe by adopting all the successful triedand tested formula and delivers some entertaining old wine in a new package. Within ten minutes into the film, we get to know that the super-rich Krish (NTR) is the type of character who believes in helping anyone in distress.
His girlfriend Indu (Samantha) plays on this attitude of his by asking him to help her friend Bhumi (Kajal) who needs a “boyfriend” to take back to her village to avoid getting married to her no-good bava (Ajay). So by the 20th minute, Krish lands up in Bhumi’s palatial village mansion “Brindavanam” which is lorded over by her father Prakash Raj and a small army of relatives.
Despite Prakash Raj’s open dislike towards him, Krish goes around spreading happiness by reuniting estranged joint families and by the end of the first half, he has Prakash Raj’s approval to marry Bhumi. So we now have a situation where Bhumi really falls in love with Krish who also has a soft corner for her while there is an Indu hovering in the background!!!
Indu also lands up at Brindavanam and this triggers off a series of episodes where Krish, Bhumi and Indu try to hide the truth from the family. So the rest of the movie is about how the truth is revealed while Krish tries to resolve the love triangle he has ended up in!!! Brindavanam tries to play to all types of audiences and does a successful job of it.
The mainstay of this movie is NTR who gets a meaty role where he dons the romantic lover boy role for the family audiences while getting enough footage to show-off his dancing and fighting skills to his fans. His comic timing and dialogue delivery is extremely good while his dancing skills have always been his strong point.
Kajal has a strong role as the timid girl, who fights back her feelings for Krish, and she does makes her presence felt in this while Samantha looks glamorous in her city girl avatar. Prakash Raj packs a punch as the head of a large family who hides his love for his daughter under the garb of responsibility.
There is a hilarious comic track involving Brahmanandam as the “Bommarilu Father” that has the audience in splits. Kota Srinivas Rao, Srihari, Ajay are adequate in supporting roles. The songs and the fights are well spaced out over the movie. The art direction department has spared no expense in making Brindavanam set look rich.
There is a sense of déjà vu since we have seen many such movies in the past which had one hero torn between two heroines and so the predictability factor can be a spoilsport. Also, the movie tries to add on too many sub-plots by including a step-brother conflict that is very easily resolved despite the violent build-up shown.
The final confrontation ends quite tamely contrary to audience expectations of seeing a major showdown between NTR and Ajay based on the previous fight sequences. Samantha’s character disappears in the first half once Krish moves to the village and we don’t get to her see her until she lands up in Brindavanam.
The movie makes no apologies about the fact that it is out to entertain using all the clichés possible and banks heavily on NTR to see them through. Overall, it can be a onetime watch as it’s a total masala entertainer. Special effects ensure the original NTR makes a guest appearance for a scene with NTR jr during the end of the movie.
Robo Rajinikant's new film may be a Basha Sequel?
The Tamil film Industry buzz is that before leaving to Himalayas, Rajinikanth met R.M.Veerappan, the producer of ‘Basha.’ Sources say that the super star and the producer had discussed about sequel to ‘Basha.’ It is learnt that Rajinikanth listened to the basic script and asked R M Veerappan to get ready with the complete script by the time he returns from Himalayas.
If this is true, then it would be great to watch the super star again in the sequel. Rajinikanth’s ‘Basha’ (Tamil) released in 1995 was an action thriller. The film was also released in Telugu with the same title.
Both the versions were big hits at the box office. It had Nagma as heroine and Raghuvaran as villain. The film was directed by Suresh Krishna and produced under former minister R.M.Veerappan’s film banner Sathya Movies.
Microsoft Giving Free WP7 Devices To AT&T Staff
It was previously mentioned that Microsoft was dishing out WP7 devices to its staff and interns, and now word is out that the software giant is also giving AT&T workers free WP7 devices to spur acceptance. An employee has claimed that about 100 devices were given out to those attending an event in Minneapolis, though it wasn't confirmed if it was a US-wide policy. It wasn't mentioned which specific phone amongst the many WP7 devices were given, but with the Samsung Focus being the first to ship, it's assumed that the lucky workers received said phone. Such a move isn't new as Apple gave free 8GB iPhones to all of its full-time workers back in June 2007 when the iPhone was first launched, both as a reward for their work and to familiarize them with the platform. First Week gross: Mahesh Khaleja collected over Rs 21 Crore!
Hyderabad, 15th Oct: Prince Mahesh’s Khaleja, despite average talk on the film has collected over Rs 21 crores in the first week. The mouthtalk and web sites average reviews could not keep Prince’s fans away from the film. Nizam - 5,75,13,000; Ceded- 3,25,09,000; Vizag - 1,20,12,000; E.Goavari - 85,41,000; W.Godavari - 86,33,000; Krishna - 83,79,000;Guntur - 1,48,74,000; Nellore - 54,98,000; Overseas - 3,85,50,000; Karnataka - 1,81,25,000; Rest of India - 85,63,000; Total - Rs 21,31,97,000
Friday, October 15, 2010
Tata donates $50 mn to Harvard
India's Tata Group has given America's prestigious Harvard Business School a $50 million donation, the largest gift the school has received from an international donor in its 102-year history.
Earlier this month Anand Mahindra, head of India's Mahindra Group, gave $10 million to Harvard where he earned his undergraduate and master's degrees.
The funds will be used to build a new academic and residential building on the school's campus in Boston. Harvard said it hopes to break ground for the building, which will be named Tata Hall, next spring.
Ratan Tata, chairman of Tata Sons Ltd. since 1991, attended the school's advanced management programme - one of three leadership programmes offered by the school's executive education programme-in 1975 and received its highest honour, the Alumni Achievement Award.
Harvard Business School dean Nitin Nohria hailed the 'historic gift.' Indian-born Nohria became the school's 10th dean earlier this year. He has said his focus will be on business ethics, a cause he has long championed, particularly during the financial crisis.
Earlier this month Anand Mahindra, head of India's Mahindra Group, gave $10 million to Harvard where he earned his undergraduate and master's degrees.
The funds will be used to build a new academic and residential building on the school's campus in Boston. Harvard said it hopes to break ground for the building, which will be named Tata Hall, next spring.
Ratan Tata, chairman of Tata Sons Ltd. since 1991, attended the school's advanced management programme - one of three leadership programmes offered by the school's executive education programme-in 1975 and received its highest honour, the Alumni Achievement Award.
Harvard Business School dean Nitin Nohria hailed the 'historic gift.' Indian-born Nohria became the school's 10th dean earlier this year. He has said his focus will be on business ethics, a cause he has long championed, particularly during the financial crisis.
Delhi overcomes challenges to close Games on a high
Delhi put on a second flawless spectacle of song and dance on Thursday to close the Commonwealth Games on a high after at one stage threatening to become a national embarrassment to India.
The $6 billion Games started in crisis and struggled through a first week of organisational blunders before finally getting into its stride to leave athletes happy and a host nation proud of its best ever showing in the sporting arena.
Chief local organiser Suresh Kalmadi, who bore the brunt of public anger and was jeered at the closing ceremony as he had been at the opening, paid tribute to the spirit the city had shown in bringing the Games back from crisis.
"A month ago questions were being asked about whether the Games would be held at all," he said. "We knew it was about India's ability to stand up and show the world what we are capable of and we can achieve in the face of adversity. We did just that."
India's hope was that the Games would display its ability to put on a world class multi-sport gathering but chaotic preparations and a series of organisational blunders turned it into a public relations disaster.
India is proud of being the "jugaadu" -- the Hindi word for "making do" -- nation, however, and the filthy athletes' village was quickly made fit for habitation, a collapsed footbridge was reconstructed by the army and security was effective.
"The organisation of this Games has been characterised by many challenges and (they) have overcome those obstacles to deliver a truly outstanding event," Games Federation chief Michael Fennell told the 60,000 crowd at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.
Earlier, India's badminton queen Saina Nehwal clawed her way back from match point down to claim a 38th gold for the hosts and ensure second place on the medal table, their best ever finish.
Australia topped the table for the sixth successive Games with 74 gold medals with England (37) just edged into third ahead of Canada (26). South Africa, Kenya and Malaysia won 12 golds.
The centre of Indian capital was again locked down on Thursday with reports in the British media of a specific threat to the closing ceremony a reminder of security concerns which caused some athletes to stay away from Delhi.
Rajan Bhagat, a spokesman for Delhi police, ruled out any new threat and said the 100,000 police and military who have been guarding Delhi and the various Games venues were not reinforced.
"There is adequate security and there is no change in the levels of threat perception," he said.
After marching bands and the handover of the Games flag to the 2014 host city Glasgow, the David Dixon award for the Athlete of the Games went to Jamaica's Trecia Smith, who successfully defended her triple jump title.
PASSIONATE FANS
It was India's success in the sporting arena, however, that helped turn the event around with crowds flocking to venues that had been virtually empty at the beginning of the 12-day event.
"This is not the end but the beginning," Kalmadi, who is also President of the Indian Olympic Association, added. "For the athletes this was a life-changing experience. For India it was a new beginning in sports. For the world, it was what India can do."
Nehwal showed what she could do when she beat Malaysia's Mew Choo Wong in front of a delirious packed house at the Siri Fort complex.
"The crowd was really important," Nehwal said. "I've never been match point down before so I was under pressure. I think it was the toughest match of my career."
Kenya won both men's and women's gold in the marathon, which kicked off the final day, to complete its domination of the athletics with 11 golds.
Few spectators braved the security barriers and morning heat but the city's wildlife was again out in force with police chasing stray dogs and using sticks to clear monkeys from the course.
Indian's men's hockey team failed in their quest to win a first Games gold, humbled 8-0 by triple defending champions Australia.
Despite the Delhi belly stomach complaints and the security that kept them mostly locked up in the village, athletes were mostly positive about their Delhi experience.
"There were spectacular venues and really caring people ensured all our needs were met," said Canada's chef de mission Martha Deacon. "The Games are an incredible success. We had a great two weeks in Delhi."
The $6 billion Games started in crisis and struggled through a first week of organisational blunders before finally getting into its stride to leave athletes happy and a host nation proud of its best ever showing in the sporting arena.
Chief local organiser Suresh Kalmadi, who bore the brunt of public anger and was jeered at the closing ceremony as he had been at the opening, paid tribute to the spirit the city had shown in bringing the Games back from crisis.
"A month ago questions were being asked about whether the Games would be held at all," he said. "We knew it was about India's ability to stand up and show the world what we are capable of and we can achieve in the face of adversity. We did just that."
India's hope was that the Games would display its ability to put on a world class multi-sport gathering but chaotic preparations and a series of organisational blunders turned it into a public relations disaster.
India is proud of being the "jugaadu" -- the Hindi word for "making do" -- nation, however, and the filthy athletes' village was quickly made fit for habitation, a collapsed footbridge was reconstructed by the army and security was effective.
"The organisation of this Games has been characterised by many challenges and (they) have overcome those obstacles to deliver a truly outstanding event," Games Federation chief Michael Fennell told the 60,000 crowd at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.
Earlier, India's badminton queen Saina Nehwal clawed her way back from match point down to claim a 38th gold for the hosts and ensure second place on the medal table, their best ever finish.
Australia topped the table for the sixth successive Games with 74 gold medals with England (37) just edged into third ahead of Canada (26). South Africa, Kenya and Malaysia won 12 golds.
The centre of Indian capital was again locked down on Thursday with reports in the British media of a specific threat to the closing ceremony a reminder of security concerns which caused some athletes to stay away from Delhi.
Rajan Bhagat, a spokesman for Delhi police, ruled out any new threat and said the 100,000 police and military who have been guarding Delhi and the various Games venues were not reinforced.
"There is adequate security and there is no change in the levels of threat perception," he said.
After marching bands and the handover of the Games flag to the 2014 host city Glasgow, the David Dixon award for the Athlete of the Games went to Jamaica's Trecia Smith, who successfully defended her triple jump title.
PASSIONATE FANS
It was India's success in the sporting arena, however, that helped turn the event around with crowds flocking to venues that had been virtually empty at the beginning of the 12-day event.
"This is not the end but the beginning," Kalmadi, who is also President of the Indian Olympic Association, added. "For the athletes this was a life-changing experience. For India it was a new beginning in sports. For the world, it was what India can do."
Nehwal showed what she could do when she beat Malaysia's Mew Choo Wong in front of a delirious packed house at the Siri Fort complex.
"The crowd was really important," Nehwal said. "I've never been match point down before so I was under pressure. I think it was the toughest match of my career."
Kenya won both men's and women's gold in the marathon, which kicked off the final day, to complete its domination of the athletics with 11 golds.
Few spectators braved the security barriers and morning heat but the city's wildlife was again out in force with police chasing stray dogs and using sticks to clear monkeys from the course.
Indian's men's hockey team failed in their quest to win a first Games gold, humbled 8-0 by triple defending champions Australia.
Despite the Delhi belly stomach complaints and the security that kept them mostly locked up in the village, athletes were mostly positive about their Delhi experience.
"There were spectacular venues and really caring people ensured all our needs were met," said Canada's chef de mission Martha Deacon. "The Games are an incredible success. We had a great two weeks in Delhi."
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Sachin banishes 'loser' tag
He has just managed to get one of the biggest demons off his shoulders – that his mental 'mettle' is not strong enough when India are battling against the odds, or need his skills to power to a win.
Over the years, numerous critics have been hounding Sachin, saying he plays for personal aggrandisement and fails to contribute to India's cause when the team's chips are down – the team generally loses. Invariably, India loses and Sachin has to carry the cross.
Best of all, he has scripted this 'achievement' by letting his bat, and not his mouth, do the talking.
This time, a triumphant Sachin, in a fitting reply, has thrown dust in the faces of all his critics.
But it is not in the nature of Tendulkar to score 'political' points and instead, he would be concentrating more on the positives that he has achieved in the just-concluded Test against the Australians.
Monday, October 11, 2010
Unemployed find old jobs now require more skills
WASHINGTON The jobs crisis has brought an unwelcome discovery for many unemployed Americans: Job openings in their old fields exist. Yet they no longer qualify for them.
They're running into a trend that took root during the recession. Companies became more productive by doing more with fewer workers. Some asked staffers to take on a broader array of duties — duties that used to be spread among multiple jobs. Now, someone who hopes to get those jobs must meet the new requirements.
As a result, some database administrators now have to manage network security.
Accountants must do financial analysis to find ways to cut costs.
Factory assembly workers need to program computers to run machinery.
The broader responsibilities mean it's harder to fill many of the jobs that are open these days. It helps explain why many companies complain they can't find qualified people for certain jobs, even with 4.6 unemployed Americans, on average, competing for each opening. By contrast, only 1.8 people, on average, were vying for each job opening before the recession.
The total number of job openings does remain historically low: 3.2 million, down from 4.4 million before the recession. But the number of openings has surged 37 percent in the past year. And yet the unemployment rate has actually risen during that time. Companies still aren't finding it easy to fill job vacancies.
Take Bayer MaterialScience, a unit of Bayer. When the company sought earlier this year to hire a new health, safety and environment director for one of its plants, it wanted candidates with a wider range of abilities than before. In particular, it needed someone skilled not just in managing health and safety but also in guiding employees to adapt to workplace changes.
Joe Bozada, chief of staff for Bayer's CEO, said the company initially interviewed 30 candidates. Then it did final interviews with seven. But none had the additional experience the company now wanted. Ultimately, Bozada said, the company chose one of its own employees it had already trained.
That shift, across multiple industries, has caught the eye of David Altig, research director at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. Workers aren't just being asked to increase their output, Altig says. They're being asked to broaden it, too.
A company might have had three back-office jobs before the recession, Altig said. Only one of those jobs might have required computer skills. Now, he said, "one person is doing all three of those jobs — and every job you fill has to have computer skills."
The trend is magnifying the obstacles facing the unemployed. Economists have long worried that millions of people who have lost jobs in depressed areas like construction don't qualify for work in growing sectors like health care. But it turns out that some of the jobless no longer even qualify for their old positions.
Frustrated in their efforts to find qualified applicants among the jobless, employers are turning to those who are already employed.
"They're hiring a known quantity that already has this specific experience on their resume," said Cathy Farley, a managing director at Accenture. "It is slowing some of the re-hiring from the ranks of the unemployed."
Only 49 percent of people laid off from 2007 through 2009 were re-employed by January 2010, according to a Labor Department survey. It's the lowest such proportion since the survey began in 1984.
And more than 40 percent of the nearly 15 million unemployed Americans have been out of work for six months or longer. That's near the record high set during the recession.
Some of the unfortunate ones are information technology workers. One reason is that tech companies are increasingly combining business analyst and systems analyst positions.
Suppose a company wants a new software application. A business analyst would seek the least expensive approach and then propose the technical requirements. Separately, a systems analyst would build the technology.
But now, employers want "those two skill sets in one human being," said Harry Griendling, chief executive of DoubleStar Inc., a staffing firm outside Philadelphia.
The trend reflects the push that companies made during the recession to control costs, squeeze more output from their staffs and become more productive. Productivity measures output per hour worked. Economy-wide, it soared 3.5 percent last year. It was the best performance in six years.
And it means workers are bearing heavier burdens. In manufacturing, employees increasingly must be able to run the computerized machinery that dominates most assembly lines. They also have to carry out additional tasks, such as inspecting finished products, notes Mark Tomlinson, executive director of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers.
Manufacturers advertised nearly 200,000 jobs at the end of August, a jump of about 40 percent from a year ago, according to government data. Yet hiring by manufacturers has risen less than 6 percent over that time — evidence that they are having a hard time finding qualified workers.
"There are jobs available, but the worker just has to have more skills than before," Tomlinson said.
Bob Brown, 49, has felt the demand for broader skills firsthand. After working for 30 years in manufacturing, including 20 as a plant supervisor, Brown was laid off in July 2009.
He spent a year looking for a new job. His efforts yielded only three calls from employers in the first four months.
But once things began to pick up, Brown noticed something else: The plant manager jobs he used to have, and that he was aiming for again, all required certifications in productivity-boosting management practices.
So Brown paid for courses at a community college to learn a management strategy known as "six sigma." It's an approach to cutting waste and raising efficiency popularized by General Electric. The courses allowed him to obtain his certification. In August, he was hired by an electrical product assembly plant near Williamsport, Penn.
"That's the way the industry's going," Brown said. "Everybody wanted certifications."
Human resource specialists say employers who increasingly need multi-skilled employees aren't willing to settle for less. They'd rather wait and hold jobs vacant.
HR specialists even have a nickname for the highly sought but elusive job candidate whose skills and experiences precisely match an employer's needs: the "purple squirrel."
"There are lots of requests for purple squirrels nowadays," said Joe Yesulaitis, chief executive of Aavalar Consulting, an IT staffing firm.
They're running into a trend that took root during the recession. Companies became more productive by doing more with fewer workers. Some asked staffers to take on a broader array of duties — duties that used to be spread among multiple jobs. Now, someone who hopes to get those jobs must meet the new requirements.
As a result, some database administrators now have to manage network security.
Accountants must do financial analysis to find ways to cut costs.
Factory assembly workers need to program computers to run machinery.
The broader responsibilities mean it's harder to fill many of the jobs that are open these days. It helps explain why many companies complain they can't find qualified people for certain jobs, even with 4.6 unemployed Americans, on average, competing for each opening. By contrast, only 1.8 people, on average, were vying for each job opening before the recession.
The total number of job openings does remain historically low: 3.2 million, down from 4.4 million before the recession. But the number of openings has surged 37 percent in the past year. And yet the unemployment rate has actually risen during that time. Companies still aren't finding it easy to fill job vacancies.
Take Bayer MaterialScience, a unit of Bayer. When the company sought earlier this year to hire a new health, safety and environment director for one of its plants, it wanted candidates with a wider range of abilities than before. In particular, it needed someone skilled not just in managing health and safety but also in guiding employees to adapt to workplace changes.
Joe Bozada, chief of staff for Bayer's CEO, said the company initially interviewed 30 candidates. Then it did final interviews with seven. But none had the additional experience the company now wanted. Ultimately, Bozada said, the company chose one of its own employees it had already trained.
That shift, across multiple industries, has caught the eye of David Altig, research director at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. Workers aren't just being asked to increase their output, Altig says. They're being asked to broaden it, too.
A company might have had three back-office jobs before the recession, Altig said. Only one of those jobs might have required computer skills. Now, he said, "one person is doing all three of those jobs — and every job you fill has to have computer skills."
The trend is magnifying the obstacles facing the unemployed. Economists have long worried that millions of people who have lost jobs in depressed areas like construction don't qualify for work in growing sectors like health care. But it turns out that some of the jobless no longer even qualify for their old positions.
Frustrated in their efforts to find qualified applicants among the jobless, employers are turning to those who are already employed.
"They're hiring a known quantity that already has this specific experience on their resume," said Cathy Farley, a managing director at Accenture. "It is slowing some of the re-hiring from the ranks of the unemployed."
Only 49 percent of people laid off from 2007 through 2009 were re-employed by January 2010, according to a Labor Department survey. It's the lowest such proportion since the survey began in 1984.
And more than 40 percent of the nearly 15 million unemployed Americans have been out of work for six months or longer. That's near the record high set during the recession.
Some of the unfortunate ones are information technology workers. One reason is that tech companies are increasingly combining business analyst and systems analyst positions.
Suppose a company wants a new software application. A business analyst would seek the least expensive approach and then propose the technical requirements. Separately, a systems analyst would build the technology.
But now, employers want "those two skill sets in one human being," said Harry Griendling, chief executive of DoubleStar Inc., a staffing firm outside Philadelphia.
The trend reflects the push that companies made during the recession to control costs, squeeze more output from their staffs and become more productive. Productivity measures output per hour worked. Economy-wide, it soared 3.5 percent last year. It was the best performance in six years.
And it means workers are bearing heavier burdens. In manufacturing, employees increasingly must be able to run the computerized machinery that dominates most assembly lines. They also have to carry out additional tasks, such as inspecting finished products, notes Mark Tomlinson, executive director of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers.
Manufacturers advertised nearly 200,000 jobs at the end of August, a jump of about 40 percent from a year ago, according to government data. Yet hiring by manufacturers has risen less than 6 percent over that time — evidence that they are having a hard time finding qualified workers.
"There are jobs available, but the worker just has to have more skills than before," Tomlinson said.
Bob Brown, 49, has felt the demand for broader skills firsthand. After working for 30 years in manufacturing, including 20 as a plant supervisor, Brown was laid off in July 2009.
He spent a year looking for a new job. His efforts yielded only three calls from employers in the first four months.
But once things began to pick up, Brown noticed something else: The plant manager jobs he used to have, and that he was aiming for again, all required certifications in productivity-boosting management practices.
So Brown paid for courses at a community college to learn a management strategy known as "six sigma." It's an approach to cutting waste and raising efficiency popularized by General Electric. The courses allowed him to obtain his certification. In August, he was hired by an electrical product assembly plant near Williamsport, Penn.
"That's the way the industry's going," Brown said. "Everybody wanted certifications."
Human resource specialists say employers who increasingly need multi-skilled employees aren't willing to settle for less. They'd rather wait and hold jobs vacant.
HR specialists even have a nickname for the highly sought but elusive job candidate whose skills and experiences precisely match an employer's needs: the "purple squirrel."
"There are lots of requests for purple squirrels nowadays," said Joe Yesulaitis, chief executive of Aavalar Consulting, an IT staffing firm.
3 win economics Nobel for job market analysis
STOCKHOLM – Two Americans and a British-Cypriot economist won the 2010 Nobel economics prize Monday for developing a theory that helps explain why many people can remain unemployed despite a large number of job vacancies.
Federal Reserve board nominee Peter Diamond was honored along with Dale Mortensen and Christopher Pissarides with the 10 million Swedish kronor ($1.5 million) prize for their analysis of the obstacles that prevent buyers and sellers from efficiently pairing up in markets.
Diamond — a former mentor to current Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke — analyzed the foundations of so-called search markets, while Mortensen and Pissarides expanded the theory and applied it to the labor market.
Their work, dating back to the 1970s and '80s, sheds light on why the classical view of markets, in which prices are set so that buyers and sellers always find each other and all resources are fully utilized, doesn't always apply to the real world.
One example is the housing market, where buyers can struggle to find new homes even though there are a number of unsold properties available.
Another is the labor market. Because searching for jobs takes time and resources, it creates friction in the job market, helping explain why there are both job vacancies and unemployment simultaneously, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said.
"The laureates' models help us understand the ways in which unemployment, job vacancies and wages are affected by regulation and economic policy," the citation said.
Their work resulted in the so-called Diamond-Mortensen-Pissarides model, a frequently used tool to estimate how unemployment benefits, interest rates, the efficiency of employment agencies and other factors can affect the labor market.
"One conclusion is that more generous unemployment benefits give rise to higher unemployment and longer search times," the academy said.
Diamond, 70, is an economist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and an authority on Social Security, pensions and taxation.
President Barack Obama has nominated Diamond to become a member of the Federal Reserve. However, the Senate failed to approve his nomination before lawmakers left to campaign for the midterm congressional elections.
Senate Republicans have objected to what they see as Diamond's limited experience in dissecting the inner workings of the national economy.
Bernanke was one of Diamond's students at MIT. When Bernanke turned in his doctoral dissertation back in 1979, one of the people he thanked was Diamond for being generous with his time and reading and discussing Bernanke's work.
Diamond said he was returning to his suburban Boston home from New Zealand when he found out about the prize. His wife and son picked him up from Logan Airport and he got a phone call from a friend.
"Fortunately I was sitting down and wasn't behind the steering wheel," Diamond said.
Pissarides, a 62-year-old professor at the London School of Economics, was the first Nobel winner with Cypriot citizenship, academy spokesman Erik Huss said.
Speaking from his north London home, Pissarides told The Associated Press the announcement came as "a complete surprise" though his work had already helped shape thinking on both sides of the Atlantic.
For example, the New Deal for Young People, a British government initiative aimed at getting 18-24-year-olds back on the job market after long spells of unemployment, "is very much based on our work," he said.
"One of the key things we found is that it is important to make sure that people do not stay unemployed too long so they don't lose their feel for the labor force," Pissarides told reporters in London. "The ways of dealing with this need not be expensive training — it could be as simple as providing work experience."
Mortensen, 71, is an economics professor at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. He is currently a visiting professor at the University of Aarhus in Denmark, where the academy reached him by phone as he was having lunch with colleagues.
Mortensen told AP he was asked not to share the news until the announcement in Stockholm 30 minutes later.
"So I was sitting there at the table and I think they knew from the smile on my face what had happened. Everyone knows this is the day," he said.
Diamond wrote a paper in the early 1980s that found that unemployment compensation can lead to better job matches. Workers "become more selective in the jobs they accept" because of the employment aid. And, that makes for better matches and increases efficiency, he found.
He told a Senate committee during his nomination hearing in July that a central theme of his research has been how the economy deals with risks that affect both individuals, and the entire economy.
"In all my central research areas, I have thought about and written about the risks in the economy and how markets and government can combine to make the economy function better for individuals," he said in that hearing.
The economics prize is not among the original awards established by Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel in his 1895 will, but was created in 1968 by the Swedish central bank in his memory.
The economics jury was the last of the Nobel committees to announce 2010 winners.
Last week, British professor Robert Edwards won the medicine prize for research that led to the first test tube baby. Russian-born scientists Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov shared the physics prize for groundbreaking experiments with graphene, the strongest and thinnest material known to mankind.
The chemistry award went to Richard Heck and Japanese researchers Ei-ichi Negishi and Akira Suzuki for designing techniques to bind together carbon atoms.
Peruvian novelist Mario Vargas Llosa won the literature prize and the imprisoned Chinese democracy campaigner Liu Xiaobo was named the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize.
The awards are always handed out on Dec. 10, the anniversary of Nobel's death in 1896.
Federal Reserve board nominee Peter Diamond was honored along with Dale Mortensen and Christopher Pissarides with the 10 million Swedish kronor ($1.5 million) prize for their analysis of the obstacles that prevent buyers and sellers from efficiently pairing up in markets.
Diamond — a former mentor to current Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke — analyzed the foundations of so-called search markets, while Mortensen and Pissarides expanded the theory and applied it to the labor market.
Their work, dating back to the 1970s and '80s, sheds light on why the classical view of markets, in which prices are set so that buyers and sellers always find each other and all resources are fully utilized, doesn't always apply to the real world.
One example is the housing market, where buyers can struggle to find new homes even though there are a number of unsold properties available.
Another is the labor market. Because searching for jobs takes time and resources, it creates friction in the job market, helping explain why there are both job vacancies and unemployment simultaneously, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said.
"The laureates' models help us understand the ways in which unemployment, job vacancies and wages are affected by regulation and economic policy," the citation said.
Their work resulted in the so-called Diamond-Mortensen-Pissarides model, a frequently used tool to estimate how unemployment benefits, interest rates, the efficiency of employment agencies and other factors can affect the labor market.
"One conclusion is that more generous unemployment benefits give rise to higher unemployment and longer search times," the academy said.
Diamond, 70, is an economist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and an authority on Social Security, pensions and taxation.
President Barack Obama has nominated Diamond to become a member of the Federal Reserve. However, the Senate failed to approve his nomination before lawmakers left to campaign for the midterm congressional elections.
Senate Republicans have objected to what they see as Diamond's limited experience in dissecting the inner workings of the national economy.
Bernanke was one of Diamond's students at MIT. When Bernanke turned in his doctoral dissertation back in 1979, one of the people he thanked was Diamond for being generous with his time and reading and discussing Bernanke's work.
Diamond said he was returning to his suburban Boston home from New Zealand when he found out about the prize. His wife and son picked him up from Logan Airport and he got a phone call from a friend.
"Fortunately I was sitting down and wasn't behind the steering wheel," Diamond said.
Pissarides, a 62-year-old professor at the London School of Economics, was the first Nobel winner with Cypriot citizenship, academy spokesman Erik Huss said.
Speaking from his north London home, Pissarides told The Associated Press the announcement came as "a complete surprise" though his work had already helped shape thinking on both sides of the Atlantic.
For example, the New Deal for Young People, a British government initiative aimed at getting 18-24-year-olds back on the job market after long spells of unemployment, "is very much based on our work," he said.
"One of the key things we found is that it is important to make sure that people do not stay unemployed too long so they don't lose their feel for the labor force," Pissarides told reporters in London. "The ways of dealing with this need not be expensive training — it could be as simple as providing work experience."
Mortensen, 71, is an economics professor at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. He is currently a visiting professor at the University of Aarhus in Denmark, where the academy reached him by phone as he was having lunch with colleagues.
Mortensen told AP he was asked not to share the news until the announcement in Stockholm 30 minutes later.
"So I was sitting there at the table and I think they knew from the smile on my face what had happened. Everyone knows this is the day," he said.
Diamond wrote a paper in the early 1980s that found that unemployment compensation can lead to better job matches. Workers "become more selective in the jobs they accept" because of the employment aid. And, that makes for better matches and increases efficiency, he found.
He told a Senate committee during his nomination hearing in July that a central theme of his research has been how the economy deals with risks that affect both individuals, and the entire economy.
"In all my central research areas, I have thought about and written about the risks in the economy and how markets and government can combine to make the economy function better for individuals," he said in that hearing.
The economics prize is not among the original awards established by Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel in his 1895 will, but was created in 1968 by the Swedish central bank in his memory.
The economics jury was the last of the Nobel committees to announce 2010 winners.
Last week, British professor Robert Edwards won the medicine prize for research that led to the first test tube baby. Russian-born scientists Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov shared the physics prize for groundbreaking experiments with graphene, the strongest and thinnest material known to mankind.
The chemistry award went to Richard Heck and Japanese researchers Ei-ichi Negishi and Akira Suzuki for designing techniques to bind together carbon atoms.
Peruvian novelist Mario Vargas Llosa won the literature prize and the imprisoned Chinese democracy campaigner Liu Xiaobo was named the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize.
The awards are always handed out on Dec. 10, the anniversary of Nobel's death in 1896.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Mahendra Singh Dhoni
Few had heard of him as a 23-year-old when he savaged a Pakistan A side in Nairobi. There had been the odd excited whispers from those who watched his big-hitting exploits in Kolkata club cricket, but hardly anyone expected that he would be playing for India within months of that Kenyan safari. In his fifth game, he lashed a matchwinning 148 against Pakistan and later in the year, he clubbed 183 against Sri Lanka. Such was the impact of his strokeplay that a far-from-polished wicketkeeping technique was almost ignored as he was fast-tracked into the Test side.
Within two years of that, he was leading an inexperienced team to glory in the inaugural World Twenty20, and winning the last tri-series to be held in Australia. When Anil Kumble handed over the Test reins in 2008, he celebrated with a home victory against Australia.
Off the field, his Samson mane and fondness for fast bikes marked him down as Mr Cool, and though the haircut eventually became short-back-and-sides, the cool quotient never wavered. He was seldom flustered on the field either, batting and leading the side with poise and assuredness. Not for him the sustained harangue or the bloody oath.
He fine-tuned his game too, becoming a safe keeper and a batsman capable of shifting through the gears as he pleased. Sometimes discomfited by the short ball, he compensated with astonishing power in his preferred hitting zones. The scythe over midwicket, even to yorker-length deliveries, drove bowlers to distraction, and his mastery of the 50-over game is revealed by a batting average that remains over 50 after more than 150 games.
He remains the advertiser's dream and a poster boy for modern-day India, but off the field, Dhoni has seldom courted attention or publicity. Even his wedding was a low-key family affair, and now nearing 30, he remains content to make the big statements where they need to be made, out on the field.
Full name Mahendra Singh Dhoni
Born July 7, 1981, Ranchi
Current age 29 years 95 days
Major teams India, Asia XI, Bihar, Chennai Super Kings, Jharkhand
Also known as Mahi
Batting style Right-hand bat
Bowling style Right-arm medium
Fielding position Wicketkeeper
Hizbul chief visits border; infiltration in J-K increasing
New Delhi, Oct 10 Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin has visited terrorist training camps along the LoC with Pakistan Army and ISI officials in a bid to encourage militants to infiltrate before the onset of winter and step up violence in Jammu and Kashmir. Salahuddin''s recent movement has caused concern in the government as renewed attempts are being made from across the border to make up for the "lull" in terrorism after 2009 by pushing militants across the border before, an official said.
Government officials said Pakistan continues to pursue the strategy of pushing infiltrators and triggering violence in Jammu and Kashmir. Infiltration attempts from across the Line of Control increased in the last nine months as compared to 2009.
Nearly 110 terrorists had infiltrated into the border state in 2009 through 413 infiltration attempts, in which 93 terrorists were killed. This year from January to September, nearly 285 terrorists have attempted to infiltrate.
Around 90 of them are believed to have been successful in their attempts. Officials said nearly 700 terrorists, half of them foreign mercenaries, are active in Jammu and Kashmir.
According to an intelligence input, there are an estimated 42 terrorist training camps in Pakistan. The total number of militants staying in these camps is roughly between 2,000 to 2,500.
The security forces have successfully eliminated 59 terrorists between January to June this year in the state. "The successive attempts of infiltration into Jammu and Kashmir is a matter of serious concern as many militants have been able to cross over into India," the official said.
Last year was the most peaceful in Jammu and Kashmir in more than a decade with violent incidents dropping by nearly a third over 2008. Nearly 80 civilians were killed but this was 15 per cent less than the previous year.
However, a total of 395 cases of apprehension of infiltration were reported last year as compared to 342 in 2008. There were 573 such cases reported in 2006 and 535 in 2007 along LoC. "There has been no change in the attitude of Pakistan.
They are infiltrating terrorists from the border. It is borne by the facts on the ground," the official said.
India and Pakistan share a 740-km Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir and a 110-km Actual Ground Position Line that extends up to Siachen Glacier, the world''s highest battlefield.
Government officials said Pakistan continues to pursue the strategy of pushing infiltrators and triggering violence in Jammu and Kashmir. Infiltration attempts from across the Line of Control increased in the last nine months as compared to 2009.
Nearly 110 terrorists had infiltrated into the border state in 2009 through 413 infiltration attempts, in which 93 terrorists were killed. This year from January to September, nearly 285 terrorists have attempted to infiltrate.
Around 90 of them are believed to have been successful in their attempts. Officials said nearly 700 terrorists, half of them foreign mercenaries, are active in Jammu and Kashmir.
According to an intelligence input, there are an estimated 42 terrorist training camps in Pakistan. The total number of militants staying in these camps is roughly between 2,000 to 2,500.
The security forces have successfully eliminated 59 terrorists between January to June this year in the state. "The successive attempts of infiltration into Jammu and Kashmir is a matter of serious concern as many militants have been able to cross over into India," the official said.
Last year was the most peaceful in Jammu and Kashmir in more than a decade with violent incidents dropping by nearly a third over 2008. Nearly 80 civilians were killed but this was 15 per cent less than the previous year.
However, a total of 395 cases of apprehension of infiltration were reported last year as compared to 342 in 2008. There were 573 such cases reported in 2006 and 535 in 2007 along LoC. "There has been no change in the attitude of Pakistan.
They are infiltrating terrorists from the border. It is borne by the facts on the ground," the official said.
India and Pakistan share a 740-km Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir and a 110-km Actual Ground Position Line that extends up to Siachen Glacier, the world''s highest battlefield.
Archers Deepika claims gold, Dola settles for bronze
TapanMohanta New Delhi, Oct 10 India''s ''baby'' archer Deepika Kumari today made a giant leap to stardom, claiming the gold medal in the women''s recurve individual event at the Commonwealth Games here today. On a day when India''s most experienced, Dola Banerjee had to settle for bronze, the 17-year-old Ranchi girl maintained her cool composure and defied the windy conditions at the Yamuna Sports Complex to thrash Olympic bronze medallist Alison Wiliamson in straight sets (6-0) for the yellow metal.
This was India''s second gold in archery after the women''s trio of Deepika, Dola and Bombayala Devi Laishram won the gold in the recurve team event. Double Olympian and winner of 2007 World Cup finals Dola went down to Athens bronze medallist Williamson 2-6, while Deepika beat Anbarasi Subramaniam of Malaysia 7-1 in the semi-finals.
In the bronze medal play-off, Dola got the better of Subramaniam of Malaysia 6-2. "The wind was blowing from right to left very strongly, something that did Dola in.
I asked Deepika to maintain her cool and not to get disturbed by the wind factor. She did just that.
I am so happy for her," women''s team coach Poornima Mahato told . Daughter of an autorickshaw driver, Deepika is the reigning cadet world champion and she recently won a silver medal at the World Cup stage 4 held in Shanghai last month, a performance that enabled her qualify for the coveted World Cup finals in Edinburgh. In today''s final, an unruffled Deepika shot 10-9-8 to win the first set 2-0 by a slender one point margin that put pressure on Williamson.
With the crowd cheering ''Come On Deepika.
Jai Ho.
", for the Indian, the pressure was evident on the veteran 29-year-old Englishwoman as she managed 8-9-8 compared to Deepika''s 9-10-9 to lose the second set by three points. Leading 4-0, Deepika was at her best in the third set as she shot three perfect 10s to clinch the issue.
Williamson could only manage 9-8-7 to go down 0-6. Crediting her parents, coaches (Poornima and Dharmendra Tiwari) at the Tata Archery Academy for her triumph, Deepika said, "I am over the moon.
I am thankful to my parents, coaches who have supported through out." "I just focussed on not to lose hope and concentrate on my shooting.
I was hopeful to win this medal. I just wanted to be more confident," he said.
This was India''s second gold in archery after the women''s trio of Deepika, Dola and Bombayala Devi Laishram won the gold in the recurve team event. Double Olympian and winner of 2007 World Cup finals Dola went down to Athens bronze medallist Williamson 2-6, while Deepika beat Anbarasi Subramaniam of Malaysia 7-1 in the semi-finals.
In the bronze medal play-off, Dola got the better of Subramaniam of Malaysia 6-2. "The wind was blowing from right to left very strongly, something that did Dola in.
I asked Deepika to maintain her cool and not to get disturbed by the wind factor. She did just that.
I am so happy for her," women''s team coach Poornima Mahato told . Daughter of an autorickshaw driver, Deepika is the reigning cadet world champion and she recently won a silver medal at the World Cup stage 4 held in Shanghai last month, a performance that enabled her qualify for the coveted World Cup finals in Edinburgh. In today''s final, an unruffled Deepika shot 10-9-8 to win the first set 2-0 by a slender one point margin that put pressure on Williamson.
With the crowd cheering ''Come On Deepika.
Jai Ho.
", for the Indian, the pressure was evident on the veteran 29-year-old Englishwoman as she managed 8-9-8 compared to Deepika''s 9-10-9 to lose the second set by three points. Leading 4-0, Deepika was at her best in the third set as she shot three perfect 10s to clinch the issue.
Williamson could only manage 9-8-7 to go down 0-6. Crediting her parents, coaches (Poornima and Dharmendra Tiwari) at the Tata Archery Academy for her triumph, Deepika said, "I am over the moon.
I am thankful to my parents, coaches who have supported through out." "I just focussed on not to lose hope and concentrate on my shooting.
I was hopeful to win this medal. I just wanted to be more confident," he said.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
'Mahesh Kaleja review
So let’s uncover to read the 'Mahesh Khaleja' movie review. GK (Prakash Raj) is a business tycoon and plans to establish a plastic factory in Paali village. He discovers that the land in Paali has Iridium (worth more than gold) through a researcher. For that, Hence, GK plans to get his son’s marriage with Tanikella Bharani’s daughter Subhashini (Anushka) so that their business can prosper unlawfully.
And GK tries to evacuate the people in Paali (through a superstition) so that he can acquire Iridium land. Cut across, Seetharama Raju (Mahesh Babu) is a cab driver. The plot unveils as how this nowhere related Seetharama Raju saves the lives of the 534 people in Paali.
Writer turned Director Trivikram Srinivas is known for his candy floss and humor quotient, but he unveils a different fairy-tale in the form of an action entertainer Kaleja. It’s Mahesh Babu all the way in Khaleja, which turns out to be an average film.
Mahesh Babu’s characterization is being shown in a completely different dimension. Trivikram once again comes up with an attractive script that aptly suits Mahesh Babu. In fact, Mahesh Babu has not done such a unique character thus far in his career. Mahesh Babu shoulders the responsibility and carries the feel of his character very well in this narration.
While the conflict point and plot were reasonably strong, the screenplay and pace in which the story took off was not as expected. However, since the lead protagonist being Mahesh Babu, the strength in the conflict point was not badly affected who carried well.
Mahesh Babu’s action sequences were well made and he does with Bachchan-like naturalness. Having said all these, Mahesh Kaleja is certainly not a film that should be made with a whopping budget of 40 crores and short in 3 years. Trivikram once again carries the same humor dimensions with Sunil, Ali and Brahmanandam.
However, all the giddiness in the plot does not dilute the big bang. Trivikram Srinivas manages to sustain the subtlety element in the first half, which is exciting and humors (Like he earlier did in Nuvve Nuvve and Athadu). But the second half could not accommodate the same pace. There should have edited the second half, which would have increased the tempo.
Amidst huge ticket-stub flinging and loud cheers, Mahesh Kaleja manages to create a decent persona to watch. Mahesh Babu is very handsome and elegant. His stylish looks and trendy costumes once again make him a teen heartthrob. True to his image of Prince Charming, Mahesh Babu mesmerizes with this on-screen presence.
His action episodes are great and his body language is very energetic. Anushka, as a demure damsel, is attractive. Her essential impishness fits the role to the T (tee). However, she needs to improve her expressions in emotional scenes. Rao Ramesh does well as a foreteller – almost the same character like he did in Magadheera. Shafi also did well as Rao Ramesh’s disciple.
Prakash Raj and Thannikela Bharani are adequate. Yash Bhatt has done a phenomenal job - The camera angles tight close shots, lighting effects and camera movements. His cinematography is on top, gritty and classy. Mani Sharma’s music was not great except for two songs - particularly the Om Namo Siva Rudraya song is absolutely brilliant.
But re-recording in action episodes is good. The action sequences of Peter Heins are spell-binding. Editor Sreekar Prasad perhaps could have done a better job in the second half where the actual plot would be unveiled. It’s a tough call nevertheless for him.
All things considered, Mahesh Kaleja turns out to be an average movie. With gigantic expectations and surge in the fan base, Mahesh Khaleja comes with huge expectations, but the screenplay and the pace, coupled with an unnecessary song in the second half makes it a typical movie. But boy, watch out for Mahesh Babu’s characterization.
Yeddyurappa sacks two more ministers
Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa on Thursday dropped two more dissident ministers from his Cabinet.
The dropped ministers are Minister for Municipal Administration Balachandra Jarakihole and Minister for Fisheries Anand Asnotikar.
With this, the number of dissident ministers dropped from the ministry since Wednesday has risen to six.
Earlier,Yeddyurappa dropped four ministers including (Textiles Minister) Venkataramanappa, (Minister for Agricultural Marketing) Shivaraj Thangadagi, (Youth Services and Sports Minister) D Sudhakar and (Animal Husbandry Minister) P M Narendraswamy.
Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party has asked senior leader Venkaiah Naidu to intervene. He has been rushed to Bangalore to help resolve the issue within the state government.
Naidu is expected to mediate between Yeddyurappa and the rebellious MLAs, who have withdrawn support from the government.
Nineteen MLAs on Wednesday handed over a letter to the Governor, withdrawing their support. They are reportedly unhappy over the recent Cabinet reshuffle in which six new ministers were inducted.
Following, the withdrawal, the Governor has asked Yeddyurappa to prove his majority by October 12.
Despite the crisis, Yeddyurappa seemed confident and said he'll prove the majority by October 11, a day ahead of the Governor's deadline of October 12.
"I talked to the Governor... the house will meet on October 11... the MLAs who have gone out of town will be back soon. I am confident of proving majority, " said Yeddyurappa.
In the 224-member Assembly, BJP and independents together had the strength of 123 members. With Wednesday's developments it has been reduced to 104 members. The BJP now requires the support of 113 members to prove its majority.
The BJP earlier had 117 MLAs including the Speaker, followed by Congress 73, JDS 28 and independents six.
The dropped ministers are Minister for Municipal Administration Balachandra Jarakihole and Minister for Fisheries Anand Asnotikar.
With this, the number of dissident ministers dropped from the ministry since Wednesday has risen to six.
Earlier,Yeddyurappa dropped four ministers including (Textiles Minister) Venkataramanappa, (Minister for Agricultural Marketing) Shivaraj Thangadagi, (Youth Services and Sports Minister) D Sudhakar and (Animal Husbandry Minister) P M Narendraswamy.
Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party has asked senior leader Venkaiah Naidu to intervene. He has been rushed to Bangalore to help resolve the issue within the state government.
Naidu is expected to mediate between Yeddyurappa and the rebellious MLAs, who have withdrawn support from the government.
Nineteen MLAs on Wednesday handed over a letter to the Governor, withdrawing their support. They are reportedly unhappy over the recent Cabinet reshuffle in which six new ministers were inducted.
Following, the withdrawal, the Governor has asked Yeddyurappa to prove his majority by October 12.
Despite the crisis, Yeddyurappa seemed confident and said he'll prove the majority by October 11, a day ahead of the Governor's deadline of October 12.
"I talked to the Governor... the house will meet on October 11... the MLAs who have gone out of town will be back soon. I am confident of proving majority, " said Yeddyurappa.
In the 224-member Assembly, BJP and independents together had the strength of 123 members. With Wednesday's developments it has been reduced to 104 members. The BJP now requires the support of 113 members to prove its majority.
The BJP earlier had 117 MLAs including the Speaker, followed by Congress 73, JDS 28 and independents six.
Delhi can host Olympics, says Sheila Dikshit.
Delhi can host the Olympics - the greatest international sporting event, says Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, deriving confidence from hosting of the Commonwealth Games and seeking to put behind the controversies surrounding it.
Notwithstanding cynicism associated with the build-up to the Commonwealth Games, Dikshit pointed out that Delhi has already developed world class stadia and other infrastructure and the city is now "confident" of hosting Olympics.
"Yes, I think so. Yes, we can. We are confident (of hosting Olympics)" she said in an interview, when asked whether the city would be able to host the biggest sporting event.
Her assertion assumes significance as questions had been raised by some quarters whether India has the capacity and capability to host a mega sporting event like the Commonwealth Games in which 71 countries are participating.
However, Dikshit made it clear that the decision to host the Olympics rests with International Olympic Committee and Government of India.
"That's not a decision for me to take. We naturally feel more confident but the decision will have to be taken by the Olympic committee... Then Government of India has to say (take the decision)," she said.
The Indian Olympic Association and the Sports Ministry have been at loggerheads on bidding for the 2020 Olympics.
Despite the controversy-marred build-up to the Games, International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge last week had said India has set a "good foundation stone" for an Olympic bid in future. Explaining her confidence about the city's capability to host the Olympics, the 73-year-old Chief Minister said Delhi now has 15 top class stadia which were of international standard, besides other world class infrastructure.
"Look at Jawaharlal Nehru stadium and any other stadium. They all are absolutely world class. Nobody is complaining about the venues. No player is complaining. Everything was ready before start of the Games," she said, terming criticism in the run-up to the event as "premature".
Dikshit said the Tyagraj stadium, venue for netball events, built by the city government is one of the best stadia in the world.
"We built the stadium from scratch. It is now one of the best stadia in the world," she said.
Spread over an area of 16,000 square metres, the Thyagaraj Stadium has been built with the latest green building technologies and eco-friendly material. The stadium is India's first eco-friendly sports complex.
Asked about the cynicism and delays in some of the projects, Dikshit said the criticism was "premature" and media went a "little overboard" in criticising the preparations.
"Everything is ready before the Games. If you had made it six months earlier or 10 months earlier, they were not going to be used anyway... Now we got maximum number of athletes among all the Games," she said.
She acknowledged that she had gone through "anxious moments" when there was widespread criticism and questions were raised over the preparedness as India's image was at stake but asserted that she never lost hope.
Dikshit, who is the Chief Minister for the third consecutive time, equated preparation for the Commonwealth Games to winning elections.
Notwithstanding cynicism associated with the build-up to the Commonwealth Games, Dikshit pointed out that Delhi has already developed world class stadia and other infrastructure and the city is now "confident" of hosting Olympics.
"Yes, I think so. Yes, we can. We are confident (of hosting Olympics)" she said in an interview, when asked whether the city would be able to host the biggest sporting event.
Her assertion assumes significance as questions had been raised by some quarters whether India has the capacity and capability to host a mega sporting event like the Commonwealth Games in which 71 countries are participating.
However, Dikshit made it clear that the decision to host the Olympics rests with International Olympic Committee and Government of India.
"That's not a decision for me to take. We naturally feel more confident but the decision will have to be taken by the Olympic committee... Then Government of India has to say (take the decision)," she said.
The Indian Olympic Association and the Sports Ministry have been at loggerheads on bidding for the 2020 Olympics.
Despite the controversy-marred build-up to the Games, International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge last week had said India has set a "good foundation stone" for an Olympic bid in future. Explaining her confidence about the city's capability to host the Olympics, the 73-year-old Chief Minister said Delhi now has 15 top class stadia which were of international standard, besides other world class infrastructure.
"Look at Jawaharlal Nehru stadium and any other stadium. They all are absolutely world class. Nobody is complaining about the venues. No player is complaining. Everything was ready before start of the Games," she said, terming criticism in the run-up to the event as "premature".
Dikshit said the Tyagraj stadium, venue for netball events, built by the city government is one of the best stadia in the world.
"We built the stadium from scratch. It is now one of the best stadia in the world," she said.
Spread over an area of 16,000 square metres, the Thyagaraj Stadium has been built with the latest green building technologies and eco-friendly material. The stadium is India's first eco-friendly sports complex.
Asked about the cynicism and delays in some of the projects, Dikshit said the criticism was "premature" and media went a "little overboard" in criticising the preparations.
"Everything is ready before the Games. If you had made it six months earlier or 10 months earlier, they were not going to be used anyway... Now we got maximum number of athletes among all the Games," she said.
She acknowledged that she had gone through "anxious moments" when there was widespread criticism and questions were raised over the preparedness as India's image was at stake but asserted that she never lost hope.
Dikshit, who is the Chief Minister for the third consecutive time, equated preparation for the Commonwealth Games to winning elections.
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Telangana issue: BJP seeking to regain its lost glory in AP
The BJP is seeking to regain its lost glory in the Telangana region of Andhra Pradesh by vigorously taking up the cause of a separate state as well as issues relating to people in the region. Telangana was once considered a stronghold of BJP with a sizeable number of its senior leaders like Ch Vidyasagar Rao and Bandaru Dattatreya making a mark even at the national level and working as union ministers in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government.
The national party''s influence, however, waned gradually after it aligned with the Telugu Desam Party in the late 1990s. Luck did not favour BJP even after it snapped ties with TDP and raised the Telangana slogan again after 2004.
In the 2004 and 2009 elections, the BJP had to be content with just two seats each in the state Assembly while drawing a blank in Lok Sabha. The state party president G Kishan Reddy is representing Amberpet Assembly constituency in the city here and Nizamabad seat was represented by Lakshminarayana.
While the party has not much base in the Rayalaseema region of Andhra Pradesh, its influence has eroded significantly in coastal Andhra after it started espousing the cause of Telangana. BJP leader from coastal Andhra M Venkaiah Naidu too has become an advocate for bifurcation of the state much to the chagrin of the party rank and file in Andhra-Rayalaseema regions.
The national party''s influence, however, waned gradually after it aligned with the Telugu Desam Party in the late 1990s. Luck did not favour BJP even after it snapped ties with TDP and raised the Telangana slogan again after 2004.
In the 2004 and 2009 elections, the BJP had to be content with just two seats each in the state Assembly while drawing a blank in Lok Sabha. The state party president G Kishan Reddy is representing Amberpet Assembly constituency in the city here and Nizamabad seat was represented by Lakshminarayana.
While the party has not much base in the Rayalaseema region of Andhra Pradesh, its influence has eroded significantly in coastal Andhra after it started espousing the cause of Telangana. BJP leader from coastal Andhra M Venkaiah Naidu too has become an advocate for bifurcation of the state much to the chagrin of the party rank and file in Andhra-Rayalaseema regions.
V.V.S.Laxman
Full name Vangipurappu Venkata Sai Laxman
Born November 1, 1974, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh
Current age 35 years 339 days
Major teams India, Deccan Chargers, Hyderabad (India), Lancashire
Nickname Very Very Special
Batting style Right-hand bat
Bowling style Right-arm offbreak
Education Little Flower High School, St. John's School
Monday, October 4, 2010
India says is now third highest carbon emitter
Jairam Ramesh's comments come as negotiators from nearly 200 governments meet in the northern Chinese port city of Tianjin. The U.N. talks aim to reach
agreement on what should follow the current phase of the Kyoto Protocol, the key treaty on climate change, which expires in 2012.
Indian per-capita emissions are still low but demand for energy is rising as the middle-class buys more cars, TVs and better housing. Much of that energy
comes from coal oil and gas, the main sources for planet-warming carbon dioxide.
But Ramesh said India's rush for wealth could not come at the expense of the environment.
Officials said his comments are the first time a government minister has said India has overtaken Russia as the third-largest source of greenhouse gas
emissions.
"We will unilaterally, voluntarily, move on a low-carbon growth path. We can't have 8-9 percent GDP growth and high-carbon growth," Ramesh told reporters on
the sidelines of a conference in the Nepalese capital.
"It has to be low-carbon 8 percent, 9 percent growth and that is the objective that we have set for ourselves," he said.
Poorer nations are now the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions and many big developing countries have taken steps to curb the growth of their
emissions but say they won't agree on absolute cuts, fearing this will hurt their economies.
India weathered the global financial crisis better than most, and is setting its sights on economic growth of almost 10 percent over the coming years. Its
economy currently grows at around 8.5 per cent.
"We are the third largest emitter of the greenhouse gases in the world ... China is number one at 23 percent, the United States is second at about 22 percent
and India is number three at about five percent."
GREENER PATH
In India, any talk of a low-carbon economy was once seen as politically very risky, given the economic costs involved. But Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in
January asked a panel to begin charting a path to a greener economy. The report is expected by the year-end.
Although India has announced a new climate plan which identifies renewable energy, such as solar power, as a key element, coal remains the backbone of energy
supply in a country where almost half the 1.1 billion population has no access to electricity.
"The gap between the second and the third (highest emitters) is very very high, but nevertheless we need to be conscious of our contribution," Ramesh said.
The fraught U.N. talks have been hobbled by lack of trust between rich and poor nations over climate funds, demand for more transparency over emissions cut
pledges and anger over the size of cuts offered by rich nations.
The risk of the talks stalling is so great that the United Nations has stopped urging nations to commit to tougher pledges to curb carbon emissions, fearing
further debate could derail already fraught talks on a more ambitious climate pact.
Anand Mahindra donates USD 10 mn to Harvard University
Vice-Chairman and Managing Director, Anand Mahindra, has given it USD 10 million in honour of his mother Indira Mahindra. The University has claimed that the
grant was the "largest gift" for the study of humanities in Harvard''s history and would advance the unique interdisciplinary collaborations led by Centre
Director, Homi Bhabha, a statement said.
Mahindra had graduated from Harvard in 1977 and earned an MBA degree in 1981. "This remarkable gift is a significant affirmation of the importance of the
humanities and the central place of the liberal arts in the University," Harvard University and Lincoln Professor of History''s President, Drew Gilpin Faust,
said.
Faust said that the grant had come at a time when it was vital to bring a humane and critical perspective to the urgent questions that confront the world.
"To address complex problems in an interdependent world, it is vital to encourage the cross-cultural and interdisciplinary exchange of ideas in an
international setting.
I am proud to be part of the intellectual legacy of India''s contribution to global thinking across the arts, culture, science, and philosophy. "I am
convinced of the need for incorporating social and humanistic concerns into the core values that inform the world of business and have sought to do so with
tremendous support from my peers and colleagues at work and beyond," Mahindra said.
Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh said on Monday the country could not have high economic growth and a rapid rise in carbon emissions now that the nation
was the number three emitter after China and the United States.
India''s automobile export target of USD 12 billion may be achieved by 2014
Mission Plan 2006-16 by the government, a study has said. "Indian automobile industry is confident of achieving its export target of USD 12 billion by
2013-14 itself, which will be good two years ahead of the target year of 2016 laid-out in Automotive Mission Plan (AMP) 2006-16," Ficci study said.
The country''s auto exports have been growing at a compound annual growth rate of more than 25 per cent in last five years, it said. In 2009, India''s
automobile exports, including tractors, passenger vehicles and commercial vehicles stood at USD 4.5 billion, the study said.
It said, while India has managed to be the seventh largest producer of vehicles in the world, it still remains a small player in the global market. "The
share of India in global automobile exports was a meager one per cent in 2009 and India ranks 22nd in automobile exports falling behind countries like
Thailand, China, Mexico, Brazil and Turkey," the study said.
The chamber said that there is also a need to revisit the targets set in AMP and perhaps there is also a need to scale-up the targets in the background of
robust growth of this industry in the last few years. "The government should aim at achieving a share of at least three per cent within the AMP by 2016," it
said.
As per the AMP, Indian automobile industry aims to achieve an output level of USD 145 billion by 2016, which would imply a domestic market of USD 82-119
billion and export market of USD 12 billion. "Auto exports can touch USD 17.7 billion by 2016," the study said.
New Delhi, Oct 5 India''s automobile export target of USD 12 billion may be achieved by 2014, two years before the target year laid out in Automotive Mission
Plan 2006-16 by the government, a study has said. "Indian automobile industry is confident of achieving its export target of USD 12 billion by 2013-14
itself, which will be good two years ahead of the target year of 2016 laid-out in Automotive Mission Plan (AMP) 2006-16," Ficci study said.
The country''s auto exports have been growing at a compound annual growth rate of more than 25 per cent in last five years, it said. In 2009, India''s
automobile exports, including tractors, passenger vehicles and commercial vehicles stood at USD 4.5 billion, the study said.
It said, while India has managed to be the seventh largest producer of vehicles in the world, it still remains a small player in the global market. "The
share of India in global automobile exports was a meager one per cent in 2009 and India ranks 22nd in automobile exports falling behind countries like
Thailand, China, Mexico, Brazil and Turkey," the study said.
The chamber said that there is also a need to revisit the targets set in AMP and perhaps there is also a need to scale-up the targets in the background of
robust growth of this industry in the last few years. "The government should aim at achieving a share of at least three per cent within the AMP by 2016," it
said.
As per the AMP, Indian automobile industry aims to achieve an output level of USD 145 billion by 2016, which would imply a domestic market of USD 82-119
billion and export market of USD 12 billion. "Auto exports can touch USD 17.7 billion by 2016," the study said.
High-tech PCR vans for Commonwealth Games
Total 630 PCR vans will act as a one-stop shop for help, including information on transport and lodging and ferrying visitors to heritage sites. The vans have stretchers for medical emergencies, advanced equipment, a tour guide and water. 'They would guide the visitors, provide them with information on the Games schedule and tourist places, direct them to places to stay and - most importantly - protect them from touts and any misbehaviour,' said a senior police officer.
For the Games, 25 PCR vans have been stationed around the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, eight at the Games Village and two to six vehicles around the other Games venues. Delhi Police have earmarked 10 tourist PCR vans to transport visitors to the city's hot spots including heritage sites. According to officials, these vehicles would have young trained officers who understand English and can guide tourists. These vans will be placed at 10 places of tourist interest including Rajghat, India Gate, Red Fort, Qutub Minar, Palika Bazaar, Janpath, Paharganj, railway stations and the IGI airport.
High-tech PCR vans for Commonwealth Games
source Geospatial World Weekly
Little Master sachin Tendulkar
There are no apparent weaknesses in Tendulkar's game. He can score all around the wicket, off both front foot and back, can tune his technique to suit every condition, temper his game to suit every situation, and has made runs in all parts of the world in all conditions.
Some of his finest performances have come against Australia, the overwhelmingly dominant team of his era. His century as a 19-year-old on a lightning-fast pitch at the WACA is considered one of the best innings ever to have been played in Australia. A few years later he received the ultimate compliment from the ultimate batsman: Don Bradman confided to his wife that Tendulkar reminded him of himself.
Blessed with the keenest of cricket minds, and armed with a loathing for losing, Tendulkar set about doing what it took to become one of the best batsmen in the world. His greatness was established early: he was only 16 when he made his Test debut. He was hit on the mouth by Waqar Younis but continued to bat, in a blood-soaked shirt. His first Test hundred, a match-saving one at Old Trafford, came when he was 17, and he had 16 Test hundreds before he turned 25. In 2000 he became the first batsman to have scored 50 international hundreds, in 2008 he passed Brian Lara as the leading Test run-scorer, and in the years after, he went past 13,000 Test runs and 30,000 international runs.
He currently holds the record for most hundreds in both Tests and ODIs - remarkable, considering he didn't score his first ODI hundred till his 79th match. Incredibly, he retains a divine enthusiasm for the game, and he seems to be untouched by age: at 36 years and 306 days he broke a 40-year-old barrier by scoring the first double-century in one-day cricket. It now seems inevitable that he will become the first cricketer to score 100 international hundreds, which like Bradman's batting average, could be a mark that lasts for ever.
Tendulkar's considerable achievements seem greater still when looked at in the light of the burden of expectations he has had to bear from his adoring but somewhat unreasonable followers, who have been prone to regard anything less than a hundred in each innings as a failure. The aura may have dimmed, if only slightly, as the years on the international circuit have taken their toll on the body, but Tendulkar remains, by a distance, the most worshipped cricketer in the world.
Born April 24, 1973, Bombay (now Mumbai), Maharashtra
Current age 37 years 163 days
Major teams India, Asia XI, Mumbai, Mumbai Indians, Yorkshire
Nickname Tendlya, Little Master
Batting style Right-hand bat
Bowling style Right-arm offbreak, Legbreak googly
Height 5 ft 5 in
Education Sharadashram Vidyamandir School
Commonwealth Gameswill result in economic impact of $4,940 mn
"It is estimated that the Commonwealth Games 2010 would result in an overall economic impact of approximately USD 4,940 million on India over the period of 2008-12," the document said.
It said the 2002 Manchester Games created an impact of nearly USD 3,400 million in Britain's, while the Melbourne Games created an impact of USD 1,600 million on Australia's GDP.
The OC estimates said the Delhi Games are also expected to create an "enormous employment opportunity" of close to 24.7 lakh jobs.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Rahul most preferred face for CWG brand ambassador: Survey
The 2010 Common wealth Games will be the nineteenth Commonwealth Games, and the ninth to be held under that name. The Games are scheduled to be held in New Delhi, India between 3 October and 14 October 2010. The games will be the largest multi-sport event conducted to date in Delhi and India, which has previously hosted the Asian Games in 1951 and 1982. The opening ceremony is scheduled to take place at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, the main stadium, in Delhi. It will also be the first time the Commonwealth Games is held in India and the second time the event has been held in Asia (after 1998 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia).He is considered to be the prime minister-in-waiting by many, but a recent survey among students has shown that Rahul Gandhi is also the face India would like to see as the brand ambassador for the Commonwealth Games. A whopping 72 per cent of those surveyed said they wanted the Gandhi scion to be the brand ambassador for the CWG. The survey was conducted by the Associated Chambers for Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) among 10,000 students in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Dehradun, Jaipur, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Chandigarh, Kolkata and Bhubaneswar.
It revealed that Sachin Tendulkar (64 per cent) is the second choice of the nation for face of the Commonwealth Games 2010, followed by Amir Khan (56 per cent) and A R Rahman (42 per cent). The major options among the different categories included politicians, Bollywood stars, sportspersons and other public icons, who majorly influence the common man.
72 per cent of the respondents said Gandhi was the most honest, straightforward and trustworthy youth leader. The respondents said that the young Congress leader has instilled confidence in the youth and he is the motivational factor who can set standards for them.
Sachin Pilot, Minister of State for Communications and Infotech got 14 per cent, while Jyotiraditya Scindia, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry and Congress MP Jitin Prasada got six per cent votes each as the face of the Games. Among the sportspersons, iconic batsman Sachin Tendulkar (64 per cent) tops the list followed by Saina Nehwal (20 per cent), Viswanathan Anand (18 per cent) and Abhinav Bindra (six per cent).
The survey also highlighted the face for Commonwealth Games 2010 among the film industry. Actor Amir Khan -- the perfectionist -- came out on top with 56 per cent of the respondents voting for him as the first choice.
Actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan with 18 per cent, Shahrukh Khan with 12 per cent and Ranbir Kapoor with six per cent followed in the list. Other public figures included A R Rahman (42 per cent), Chetan Bhagat and singer Shaan.
The survey also highlighted the city which had the highest potential to organise the Commonwealth Games 2010 in India. Bangalore with 75 per cent first choice vote emerged as the most preferred city to organise the Games.
It was also felt that the involvement of Indian business houses jointly with the Games organisers would have made a difference. Sixty per cent of respondents voted for Tata followed by Reliance (18 per cent), Jindal Group (15 per cent) and DLF group (seven per cent).
Suresh Kumar Raina
Raina's ability to split the field and discover gaps where fielders could not be placed earned him high praise when he first burst through to play for India in December 2006. The early years, however, were marked by a stack of attractive cameos in ODIs, but only a handful emphatic performances that changed the course of games. A string of 15 ODIs without a half-century found Raina being dropped from the national team, missing out on the 2007 World Cup and falling off the selectors' radar.
An 18-month gap from international cricket had Raina producing a mountain of runs in domestic cricket before he marked his return to the Indian team in the Asia Cup in June 2008 with two centuries and the second-highest aggregate in the tournament. The last three years have been Raina's most prolific, with three centuries and 12 of his 15 ODI fifties, and a growing stature in the line-up as one of India's responsible gen-next batsmen.
His tenacity at the worst of times is typical of someone who has spent his teenage years living away from home in the demanding world of the Uttar Pradesh sports hostel, where a lack of facilities or grooming produces cricketers who must match talent with determination. At the under-19 level, Raina was prodigious with his run-scoring and a string of double-hundreds took him to the Indian junior team and beyond it, to India colours. For a player of his ability, though, India must hope that Raina's best innings are still to be played
Suresh Kumar Raina
Born November 27, 1986, Muradnagar, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh
Current age 23 years 310 days
Major teams India, Chennai Super Kings, India Blue, India Under-19s, Indian Board President's XI, Rajasthan Cricket Association President's XI, Uttar Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh Under-16s
Also known as Sanu
Batting style Left-hand bat
Bowling style Right-arm offbreak
Ansari leaves for two-day visit to Belgium for ASEM meet
ice President Hamid Ansari today left for a two-day visit to Belgium for the 8th Asia-Europe Meeting where representatives of 48 countries spanning the two continents will deliberate on various issues, including financial governance and safety of sea lanes. Ansari is being accompanied by his wife Salma and senior officials from the Ministry of External Affairs.
The Vice President will address the first plenary session tomorrow when he is expected to highlight issues related to effective financial and economic governance. The leaders from the two continents will also review the progress on the declaration on sustainable development that was issued during the previous ASEM meeting held in Beijing in October 2008.
"In the third session they wish to concentrate on a number of global issues which will include the fight against terrorism and organised crime, elimination of acts of piracy at sea, reversal of the proliferation of WMD and delivery system," Latha Reddy, Secretary (East), Ministry of External Affairs had said on Friday while briefing on the visit. On the sidelines, Ansari will meet European Council President Herman Von Rompuy and Belgian Prime Minister Yves Leterme.
On what would be India''s reaction if Islamabad raised the Kashmir issue in the ASEM forum, Reddy had said, "we will cross the bridge when we come to it". Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had attended the ASEM summit in Beijing two years back.
Ansari is representing India at the summit as the Prime Minister has obligations in connection with the Commonwealth Games that begin today. Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi will also attend the summit but no bilateral meeting has been planned.
The Vice President will address the first plenary session tomorrow when he is expected to highlight issues related to effective financial and economic governance. The leaders from the two continents will also review the progress on the declaration on sustainable development that was issued during the previous ASEM meeting held in Beijing in October 2008.
"In the third session they wish to concentrate on a number of global issues which will include the fight against terrorism and organised crime, elimination of acts of piracy at sea, reversal of the proliferation of WMD and delivery system," Latha Reddy, Secretary (East), Ministry of External Affairs had said on Friday while briefing on the visit. On the sidelines, Ansari will meet European Council President Herman Von Rompuy and Belgian Prime Minister Yves Leterme.
On what would be India''s reaction if Islamabad raised the Kashmir issue in the ASEM forum, Reddy had said, "we will cross the bridge when we come to it". Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had attended the ASEM summit in Beijing two years back.
Ansari is representing India at the summit as the Prime Minister has obligations in connection with the Commonwealth Games that begin today. Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi will also attend the summit but no bilateral meeting has been planned.
Govt to include nano technology in school syllabus: ‘Nano T10' conference opens
: Government will consider about the idea of including lessons on nano technology in school curriculum that is being revised in view of implementation of the equitable standard education in the State, Thangam Thennarasu, Minister for School Education said.
Delivering the presidential address at the inauguration ceremony of three-dayInternational Conference on ‘Novel Applications of Nano Technology' nick named ‘Nano T10' at Aruani Engineering College here on Thursday, Mr. Thennarasu said “some delegates suggested inclusion of nano technology in school curriculum, and I ask D. Arivuoli, Director, Centre for Crystal Growth, Anna University, to give suggestion in this regard and we are ready to consider it.”
He said that vision for nano technology can be found in ancient Tamil literature itself. “While Tirukural has brought down the size of verses from earlier forms of 10-15 lines into 2 lines by pruning unnecessary words, another poem lauded Tirukural as potent as seven oceans placed inside an atom by piercing it. They have imagined piercing an atom which is now measured to be 0.1 nano meter in size,” he said.
“Nano technology is applicable in myriad fields such as medicine, robotics, construction and automobile etc. Today it is difficult to find one field where nano technology is not applicable. There are apprehensions about nano technology which critics say would harm human body. Such apprehensions would not help development. Even when European rulers introduced train in India people expressed apprehensions,” he said.
“If academia, industry and government coordinate and reach at a tripartite agreement vis-a-vis nano technology we can do wonders,” he added. Later speaking to us he said “we are planning to include lessons on subjects like stock exchange, finance, Panchayat raj etc. in school curriculum. Now we would consider including nano technology in this series at higher secondary level.”
R. Lawrence, co-director, Division of Psychiatry Research, Zurich University, Switzerland, in his inaugural address said that drugs are available for Alzheimer's disease, an aging disorder, but they don't reach right area in the brain and hit right target molecule there.
Nano technology can help in developing a strategy to target the drug to hit the right molecule, he said.
K. Venkateshwara Rao, Head, Centre for Nano Technology, Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Hyderabad, in his special address said “Everything can be made in some way better, stronger, cheaper, and easier if engineered and manufactured in nano scale. As the technology advances, by 2030 single electron is going to play the role of a transistor.
Then you can imagine how small the size of the computer is going to be. It is called nano computing or quantum computer. A 22-year-old boy got the professor post in IIT - Mumbai because of his research in quantum computing.”
E.V. Kamban, Managing Director of the college delivered the welcome address. Sidhartha Hazari, Tulane University, USA, Dr. Arivuoli of Anna University and G. Kameshwar, of Tata Consultancy Services spoke. Vice Chairman of the college E.V. Kumaran, Convenor, NanoT10, S. Ragupathy, were among the participants. Principal M. Arumugam delivered the vote of thanks.
Delivering the presidential address at the inauguration ceremony of three-dayInternational Conference on ‘Novel Applications of Nano Technology' nick named ‘Nano T10' at Aruani Engineering College here on Thursday, Mr. Thennarasu said “some delegates suggested inclusion of nano technology in school curriculum, and I ask D. Arivuoli, Director, Centre for Crystal Growth, Anna University, to give suggestion in this regard and we are ready to consider it.”
He said that vision for nano technology can be found in ancient Tamil literature itself. “While Tirukural has brought down the size of verses from earlier forms of 10-15 lines into 2 lines by pruning unnecessary words, another poem lauded Tirukural as potent as seven oceans placed inside an atom by piercing it. They have imagined piercing an atom which is now measured to be 0.1 nano meter in size,” he said.
“Nano technology is applicable in myriad fields such as medicine, robotics, construction and automobile etc. Today it is difficult to find one field where nano technology is not applicable. There are apprehensions about nano technology which critics say would harm human body. Such apprehensions would not help development. Even when European rulers introduced train in India people expressed apprehensions,” he said.
“If academia, industry and government coordinate and reach at a tripartite agreement vis-a-vis nano technology we can do wonders,” he added. Later speaking to us he said “we are planning to include lessons on subjects like stock exchange, finance, Panchayat raj etc. in school curriculum. Now we would consider including nano technology in this series at higher secondary level.”
R. Lawrence, co-director, Division of Psychiatry Research, Zurich University, Switzerland, in his inaugural address said that drugs are available for Alzheimer's disease, an aging disorder, but they don't reach right area in the brain and hit right target molecule there.
Nano technology can help in developing a strategy to target the drug to hit the right molecule, he said.
K. Venkateshwara Rao, Head, Centre for Nano Technology, Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Hyderabad, in his special address said “Everything can be made in some way better, stronger, cheaper, and easier if engineered and manufactured in nano scale. As the technology advances, by 2030 single electron is going to play the role of a transistor.
Then you can imagine how small the size of the computer is going to be. It is called nano computing or quantum computer. A 22-year-old boy got the professor post in IIT - Mumbai because of his research in quantum computing.”
E.V. Kamban, Managing Director of the college delivered the welcome address. Sidhartha Hazari, Tulane University, USA, Dr. Arivuoli of Anna University and G. Kameshwar, of Tata Consultancy Services spoke. Vice Chairman of the college E.V. Kumaran, Convenor, NanoT10, S. Ragupathy, were among the participants. Principal M. Arumugam delivered the vote of thanks.
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Sun Pictures was planning a Hollywood flick with Rajini-Jackie Chan after Robot!
Now the plans of the Sun Pictures are changing, Mr Saxena said they would make big budget movies as well as quality films of smaller budgets next year. And as for talks that Sun was planning a Rajini-Jackie Chan flick — “It sounds nice; but whether we are doing a Jackie Chan film or not, I can vouch that we are well equipped with technical and financial expertise to come out with a Hollywood film.”
MR. Sexena on Robot, “Making the possible the impossible has been the motto of Sun Pictures. We have made Enthiran possible,” Mr Saxena told us, sharing some thoughts that had gone into the making the trilingual (Robot in Telugu and Hindi) that consumed `160 crores and two years. “It was the vision of our MD Kalanidhi Maran that we make a movie of world standards using our vast potential.
We have realised that dream,” he said, adding, “Enthiran became possible thanks to the rich and tremendous production values.”
Asked what gave Sun Pictures the confidence to make a South Indian film, which has limited market, with a massive budget, he said, “Frankly, we did not plan anything at the first level of discussion. Rajini sir, Kalanidhi and Shankar met and took a call that we will jointly make a quality film.
At that stage, nothing was discussed as to how to market it or how to make it big. The movie just got bigger at each stage - the songs, locations, computer graphics -and everything turned out amazingly well. We were simply pumping in money as demanded by the script. And ended up getting a product that’s of an unimaginably grand scale.”
Mr Maran’s comment during the audio release that Rajini was yet to take his remuneration, the Sun COO said when the project was launched, the superstar said he would talk about salary only when the film got released. “He is modesty personified. Now it’s time for us to give back.”
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