Bihar News, Latest News from Bihar, News of Bihar, Biharprabha News |
- Hindu Muslims together on Save Ganga Campaign
- India not to shelve Agni Missiles Program
- Who will be the next President of India ?
- Why Tatas could not venture into Airlines Business in 1997 ?
- India to commission INS Teg on April 27
- UP CM Akhilesh to start a website of his own
- Government not to take over Padmanabhaswamy temple in Kerala
- Amitabh Bachchan frustrated of Stomach Pains
- Bengali actress Paoli Dam taking Bollywood by storm
- Bihar uses more Mobile phones than Toilets
| Hindu Muslims together on Save Ganga Campaign Posted: 20 Apr 2012 07:07 PM PDT Shia Muslims in Varanasi have been asked to participate in the cleaning up operations of the river Ganga. Eminent Shia cleric and member of the All-India Muslim Personal Law Board Maulana Kalbe Jawwad appealed Muslims of the state to participate in the Save Ganga movement. In Varanasi to lend his support to the movement, Jawwad appealed to the Muslim community to “actively participate” in the cleaning of the river Ganga and allayed fears that any such activity would be treated against the community. There was nothing in Islam that banned Muslims from participating in the clean-Ganga operations, taken up by a section of local people, Hindu priests and NGOs, he said. “Despite the fact that the river had been declared a national river by the Indian government, no serious efforts have been undertaken to stop pollution in the river,” Jawwad said. Jawwad further added that the issue was not just related to the faith of Hindus but also involved millions, including Muslims, who were irked at the condition the Ganga was in. |
| India not to shelve Agni Missiles Program Posted: 20 Apr 2012 05:57 PM PDT
Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) Director General Dr. V.K. Saraswat told a press conference here a day after the successful testing of the 5,000-km-range missile that can hit targets deep inside China, including Beijing, that the nuclear-capable weapon was “a game changer” for the country. “There is no question of capping the Agni programme,” Saraswat said here, when asked if it was time to say the programme is over now that the DRDO has achieved a long-range deterrence capability to meet its threats from the immediate neighbourhood. “Our missile development programme is based on today’s, current and evolving threats. Evolving threats will continue to drive our future needs for platforms and weapons,” he said, refusing to predict what could be the range of the futuristic Agni series and whether it will go beyond 10,000-km range. However, the modern technologies such as anti-satellite, putting satellite in orbit on demand, and multiple independently targettable re-entry vehicle (MIRV) would be part of the Agni-series missiles in the future. China has an inter-continental ballistic missile Dong Feng-31A that can reach targets 11,500-km away and it has in February 2007 proved its anti-satellite capability to hit targets in space. The MIRV technology provides a ballistic missile to carry multiple war heads that can be directed at different targets during flight. Clarifying that Agni-V is a long-range missile and not an inter-continental missile, Saraswat said it does not possess the MIRV capability, but future Agni missile would definitely have one and that the defence scientists were already working towards developing it. He clarified that the future Agni missile has not been named “Agni-VI’ as has been speculated in a section of the media. For anti-satellite capability, Saraswat said Agni-V has provided India the necessary velocity and range to reach the needed altitudes. But its all about having the guidance capability to direct the warhead towards the intended target in space and whether we want to destroy it, for which a ‘kill vehicle’ is needed, or just disrupt the satellite’s functioning. However, he clarified that India is “a peace-loving’ nation that does not approve or favour weaponisation of space. The satellite-on-demand capability would help India to place mini- and micro-satellites in orbit if its other major satellites are disrupted or damaged during wartime. These micro-satellites would have a six-month to a year life and could be used for global positioning, navigation and other purposes for a short period of time. Considering the assessment of threat to India in its neighbourhood, Saraswat said, “there is no harm in saying Agni-V is a game-changer, as it has taken us to a much higher pedestal and has added new dimension to our strategic defence.” He also said that the successful Agni-V test has provided him “happiness, satisfaction and excitement” and has been a “dream come true” for the defence scientists community of the country. The DRDO chief also noted that Indian ballistic missiles “are second to none” and in particular, Agni-V, Agni-IV and Agni-II “are 21st century missiles.” “I have no doubt our missile technology is on par with the best in the world.” |
| Who will be the next President of India ? Posted: 20 Apr 2012 03:50 PM PDT  Sam Pitroda is termed as the Dark Horse in the race for President of India With less than three months before President Pratibha Patil demits office, a host of possible successors have now surfaced. But a poor Congress show in recent state elections may ensure regional parties hold the key to who will be India’s 13th president. Several names are doing the rounds. Some have been possible contenders earlier as well, while some names have taken people by surprise, even as they are generating a lot of traction, particularly among the young and the educated. Who are they? Some of them are tech evangelist Sam Pitroda, Vice President Hamid Ansari, Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Congressman Karan Singh, former speaker Somnath Chatterjee and Nationalist Congress party leader P.A. Sangma. Pitroda, among them, has attracted some print media attention as the “”dark horse” in the presidential race and his name has excited the web world as well. His name has been circulating ever since industrialist Harsh Goenka wrote a piece in a leading daily. “I would like to end with a wild card entry, which is a radical option of considerable merit – Sam Pitroda,” Goenka wrote, while also mentioning several other potential candidates for president. “Rajiv Gandhi’s poster-boy for reforms, he quietly revolutionised the telecom sector, paving the way for subscriber trunk dialling, public call booths and nationwide networks.” Goenka also said: “If I had to place my bets, I’d predict a photo finish between (Vice President) Hamid Ansari and Sam Pitroda,” Goenka said. Pitroda himself has made no specific public comment on the sudden upsurge in his favour. Those close to him say he is focused on his current assignment as advisor to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on public information infrastructure and innovation. But he is not alone in this presidential stakes. Ansari, a career diplomat, was for sometime the most obvious choice. But he seems to have lost some of his clout after his infamous adjournment of the Rajya Sabha during the Lokpal debate that earned him the opposition ire. About Manmohan Singh. Congress president Sonia Gandhi has always insisted there is no question of replacing him as prime minister. And Pranab Mukherjee. He remains the principal trouble-shooter for the party. He is too overqualified to become president, as one senior Congress leader said. Meira Kumar may be a popular choice. But India has a woman head of state already. Defence Minister A.K. Antony, a Gandhi family loyalist, also is a strong contender. India has not inaugurated a Christian president yet. But three months may prove to be too short a period for the army chief’s age and bribe controversies to die down. Sangma is a Roman Catholic. He is also cosying up to Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee and Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh. But the circumstances under which he quit Congress party will not find favour with the loyalists of the present leadership. Kalam’s name has been apparently suggested by several parties. But the Congress is not in his favour. He is also 80. As for Quraishi, he has earned quite a share of displeasure of senior leaders who may not like him being sent to Rashtrapati Bhavan. How do the numbers play out. The Congress-led United Progressive Alliance holds 40 percent of the votes and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has 30 percent in the electoral college that consists of members of parliament and the state legislatures. The Congress is keeping its card close to its chest, so are the other parties. It could be none of these names, but a complete dark horse that Sonia Gandhi had thrown up the last time after the CPI-M rejected Karan Singh’s candidature. But this time a plea from the people to those vested with the powers to elect the 13th President of India is for the selection of a candidate based on merit rather than other extraneous considerations. |
| Why Tatas could not venture into Airlines Business in 1997 ? Posted: 20 Apr 2012 02:46 PM PDT  Ratan Tata said in 2010 that due to a minister in Civil Aviation Department, he could not venture into Airlines sector in 1997 When Tata group chairman Ratan Tata said that he was not comfortable with the idea of bribing a Minister to enter the airline business, it was a very small matter, but a former top bureaucrat has re-ignited the spark by naming the minister and other stake holders in the entire game. In 1997, then civil aviation minister C.M. Ibrahim acted under pressure from Jet Airways to thwart the Tata group’s bid to start an airline in India in association with Singapore Airlines, a former top bureaucrat has said in a tell-all book. “The history of civil aviation in this country would have taken a different trajectory, if Tata Singapore Airlines had been allowed to float an airline,” wrote M.K. Kaw, the civilian aviation secretary in the government of prime minister I.K. Gujral. In his book “An Outsider Everywhere – Revelations by an Insider” (Konark Publishers), Kaw said Ibrahim refused to clear the proposal despite policy papers being put up before him. “The minister did not clear the file, despite several attempts on my part.” Later, Ratan Tata – whose group started India’s first airline, Air India, which was later nationalised – met Kaw and inquired about the chances of the proposal coming through, the bureaucrat wrote.
Kaw said when privatisation of airlines was permitted, Jet Airways had come up with 40 percent equity contribution by two airlines in the Gulf. “The Tatas had mooted a proposal for a private airline with 40 percent equity contribution from Singapore Airlines. As this would have been a formidable competitor, Jet tried hard to upset the rules regarding foreign equity contribution. “One of the last decisions taken by the outgoing Deve Gowda government had been to disallow such contribution in new proposals. This would block the Tata proposal effectively. Jet was given a time of six months to buy back the equity from its foreign contributors.” He said the Tata group was not allowed to open an airport. “They had wanted to set up an international airport at Bangalore. They had a foreign collaborator with all the expertise connected with setting up of world-class airports. Normally the proposal should have been through.  C M Ibrahim denies all allegations and says that he acted for the best of nation “I submitted the case to the minister (Ibrahim). He did not okay the proposal.” On the other hand Mr. Ibrahim had earlier said that the government policy during his tenure was that no foreign airline would be allowed to pick a stake in an Indian airline.
Kaw, who was later shifted out of civil aviation, said it was a pity that even 15 years later, the country is yet to have a civil aviation policy. “It is the considered view of many experts in civil aviation that FDI investment will not be allowed in India till this is permitted by the powerful owners of Jet Airways,” Kaw wrote. The official, who retired from the Indian Administrative Service in 2001 and was known for uprightness and outspokenness, said the history of civil aviation in India was “a fascinating saga of benami ownership of airlines, demands for bribes, destruction of rival airlines one by one, unwarranted purchase if aircraft, mismanagement of bureaucrats and politicians, free jaunts on inaugural flights, subsidized travel for many categories of travelers, VVIP flights, Haj flights and so on.” “It is a story of shameless exploitation and ruthless corruption.” |
| India to commission INS Teg on April 27 Posted: 20 Apr 2012 12:52 PM PDT  INS Teg Indian will commission, Russia made INS Teg ,on April 27 this month in order to boost its naval warfare capability “The first of the three Teg-class frigates will be inducted into the Indian Navy April 27,” Chief of Material Vice Admiral Ganesh Mahadevan said here. INS Teg is the first of three guided missile frigates of the modified INS Talwar-class that India commissioned Russian shipyard Yantar to build. INS Teg will be followed by induction of INS Tarkash and INS Trikand in the next one year or so. Russia had taken out INS Teg for sea trials earlier this year in the Baltic Sea and completed the tests between March 5 and April 7 this year. The Yantar shipyard had said earlier this month that all on-board systems on INS Teg including armaments were tested in the presence of Indian Navy officers and the frigate proved to be fully ready for final stage of acceptance trials. The three Teg-class frigates have modern technologies on board, Mahadevan said, noting that these warships have been modified from the original three-ship Talwar class. Talwar, Trishul and Tabar are the three first modified Krivak-III class frigates that India ordered from Russia and these three ships have been doing service, having made a mark during the anti-piracy patrols in the Gulf of Aden and achieving “kills” of pirate mother ships. India’s order for the Talwar-class ships was placed with Russia in 2006 for $1.6 billion. INS Teg was laid down at Yantar in 2007 and became the first of three Project 1135.6 ships built for Indian Navy. Other two frigates – INS Tarkash and INS Trikand – are being currently completed. They are planned to join Indian Navy in 2012 and 2013 respectively. The contract signed in 2007 in New Delhi cost $1.6 bln. |
| UP CM Akhilesh to start a website of his own Posted: 20 Apr 2012 06:59 AM PDT Hoping to reach out to people across the class divide, particularly the young, Uttar Pradesh’s new tech savvy Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav will soon have a new address in cyber space. Akhilesh Yadav, the state’s youngest chief minister at 38, who has restarted the tradition of ‘janata darshan’ at his home every week, is now going to start a new website. The website www.akhileshyadav.com is under construction and will be up and running soon, said Samajwadi Party spokesperson Rajendra Choudhary. Akhilesh Yadav, who is keen on propelling development through IT in the state, has been on Facebook for the past several months, but his quota of 5,000 is already full. His subscription has also crossed a lakh, said his aides. The chief minister is keen to have a direct dialogue with people across all demographics and wants to interact with them on a regular basis, say his supporters. The new website shows Akhilesh Yadav in a white kurta, black sleeveless jacket and the red Nehru cap of the SP party. It says “site coming soon”. |
| Government not to take over Padmanabhaswamy temple in Kerala Posted: 20 Apr 2012 05:57 AM PDT Newly-appointed Kerala Home Minister T.Radhakrishnan Friday said the state government would not take over the management of Sri Padmanabhaswamy temple, which has been in the news after priceless treasures were unearthed from its vaults July last year. “The state government has no plan at all to take over the temple management. Our job is to provide the security to the temple and that we will do it with utmost earnestness,” Radhakrishnan told reporters while visiting the 16th century temple in Thiruvananthapuram after taking charge as the state’s new home minister. Currently, the affairs of the temple are run by an executive committee which includes members of the temple management and representatives of the royal family of Travancore. Following the discovery of the treasure, an expert committee appointed by the Supreme Court in its report had suggested a security ring for the temple vaults at par with those available for the strong rooms of the Reserve Bank of India. An apex court appointed panel began opening six chambers in the temple last year to make an inventory of the stock. The decision on opening the last of the six chambers is pending with the apex court. According to the court-appointed panel, the entire stock-taking process is being videographed and a bar code is placed on the articles found, to make the valuation more authentic. The unofficial estimate puts the valus of the gems and jewellery found so far in the five chambers of Sri Padmanabhaswamy temple at Rs.1 lakh crore ($22 billion), making it one of the richest temples in the country. |
| Amitabh Bachchan frustrated of Stomach Pains Posted: 20 Apr 2012 04:53 AM PDT
Big B, as Amitabh is fondly called by his fans, says the constant pain is frustrating. “Six a.m. up to dub for ‘Department’, but stomach strain while doing that brings back shooting pain… So frustrating,” the 69-year-old tweeted early morning Friday. Amitabh, who has been battling with health issues for long, was operated at Seven Hills Hospital in February. He was on bed rest at home for a while post his stint at the hospital. But was back to work for the opening ceremony of the fifth edition of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) in Chennai earlier this month. He is currently dubbing for “Department”, which also has southern actor Rana Daggubati and Sanjay Dutt in pivotal roles. However, due to his excruciating stomach pain, he says he is unable to give his 100 percent to work. “The dub of a film requires great effort to catch the right tone and graph of the scene, done some many months ago. In the dark and stark confines of a dubbing theatre, with just a microphone as your co-artist, it does become quite a task,” he posted on his blog bigb.bigadda.com. “But with an injured belly and one that has suffered many, it does take its toll. So somewhere in the middle of my effort at 7 a.m. for ‘Department’, that sharp pain, which seems like someone slid a knife into you, returns,” he added. “Department” is set to release May 18. |
| Bengali actress Paoli Dam taking Bollywood by storm Posted: 20 Apr 2012 03:42 AM PDT  Paoli Dam, Click to view Full Pic Paoli Dam is touted as the boldest actress in the Indian film industry rising to fame from a Bangla movie 'Chatrak'. The actress is ready to take the Bollywood by storm with her debut movie Hate Story, directed by Vikram Bhatt. Not only this, the actress will be seen doing 'dare all bare act' in an international film titled 'Choli Ke Peeche'. She is as bold as one can get. But Paoli Dam, who did a full frontal nudity scene in Bengali movie “Chatrak” last year, says boldness is all in the head. “What is bold for you may not be bold for me. Boldness is a state of mind,” Paoli, now the lead actress of Bollywood film “Hate Story”, said to be topped with dollops of sex and violence, told IANS in an interview. No wonder she picks roles that most other actresses would think about twice before giving the nod to. “As an actor I am choosy about the script and the projects that I do. But when I take a project, I don’t have any dilemma about it,” said Paoli, who plays a sex worker in “Hate Story”, which released Friday. “I want to do good cinema with good directors and banners. Script matters to me. I am a newcomer and different people have their own way of growing. I don’t want to compare myself with anyone. For me bold is beautiful in its own way,” she added. Her parents aren’t complaining of her choices either. “‘Hate Story’ is my first Bollywood launch. My parents and friends are very happy about it. I have been bought up as an individual and my parents respect my decision (to do bold films). I have my own individuality and, besides, I am an actress,” she said. “For me, ‘Hate Story’ is about performance and it showcases the power of women. Yes, there are bold scenes in the film, but it has been shot aesthetically,” added Paoli. “Hate Story”, being touted as an ‘erotic thriller’, is directed by Vivek Agnihotri and produced by Vikram Bhatt. The movie, about the transformation of a simple middle class girl to a sex worker to seek revenge, has released with an A certificate. Paoli plays the lead role of Kaavya, a journalist. “I had got a call from Vikram who offered me this role. I know Vikram is a sensible director; I liked his script as it’s a very powerful role. It’s a female-oriented film and I had a lot of space to perform. “My character is shown as a confident and a very today’s girl. The story is about revenge with a bold concept,” she said. Paoli went out of the way to shed 10 kg for the role, which marks her foray into the Hindi film industry. “I have shed 10 kg for this film. When I had come to Mumbai, I weighed 55 kg. But Vikram asked me to shed weight. He said the script demanded a lean and thin girl. “I went on strict diet and I used to work out thrice a day. Finally I managed to shed the extra kilos and came down to 45 kg,” said the 31-year-old. |
| Bihar uses more Mobile phones than Toilets Posted: 20 Apr 2012 02:40 AM PDT A striking Census report suggests that people of Bihar use mobile phones than Toilets. Nearly 56 percent of families in Bihar have a mobile or landline connection, but about 77 percent of the population lack toilets, says the census report, highlighting the paradoxes in the state which has taken big leaps in development but also lagged behind in key areas.
“Till 2001, only 2.2 percent families were using any kind of telecom facility in Bihar, now over half of its population owns a phone, as around 98 lakh (9.8 million) mobile phones are in use,” said the census report. In contrast, only 23 percent of its population has access to toilets and 77 percent is forced to go for open defection. “Bihar is full of paradoxes. Millions are living in the lantern age and have no access to toilets, but millions are using banking services and chatting over phones,” Bhaskar Mishra, deputy registrar general of India, told IANS. “It is amazing to note that nearly 56 percent of the total 1.89 crore (18.9 million families) in Bihar have mobile or landline telephone connections but a majority of them lack toilets,” he said. The latest report on houses, household amenities and assets in Bihar, released by the Census of India 2011, says the state is developing at a high rate, but millions are still without electricity, safe water and are defecating in the open. Bihar has recorded a remarkable average growth rate of 11.3 percent over the last six fiscal years and improved school education, primary health and increased immunization and reduced infant mortality rate in the last few years. These are some indicators of change and development in the state. Last year, the central government records showed that Bihar was the worst performer in the national Total Sanitation Programme campaign. It said one out of every six people without access to sanitation in India lived in Bihar. The Bihar government launched a special scheme named after veteran socialist leader Rammanohar Lohia in 2007 to speed up construction of toilets, but its implementation has been lagging, to say the least. Bihar’s Public Health Engineering Department (PHED) Minister Chandra Mohan Rai said that the department planned to provide toilet facilities to more than 10 million families, but till now just over three million households had been covered. Only 16.4 percent of Bihar’s 18.9 million families or households have the luxury to light up their residences with electricity, the remaining 83.6 percent families live without electricity, said a report on household amenities and assets in Bihar, released by the Census of India 2011. According to the report, in Bihar, kerosene is the main source of lighting for 82.4 percent of its 105 million population. The report said that electricity as the source of lighting had increased by just six percent since the 2001 census. It was the only positive thing about electricity in Bihar in the last one decade. Bihar has a daily requirement of 2,300-2,500 MW of power. It generates hardly 80-100 MW. The supply from the central grid is only around 750-900 MW. “The state is facing a power deficit of about 1,000-1,200 MW a day,” said an official of the state energy department. In a reference to the high growth rate, economist Abhijit Sen, who is also a Planning Commission member, had said in February it was a matter of serious concern that there was no decline in poverty in Bihar despite a high growth rate and development. Nearly half of Bihar’s population lives below the poverty line. |
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