Friday 3 August 2012

Bihar News, Latest News from Bihar, News of Bihar, Biharprabha News

Bihar News, Latest News from Bihar, News of Bihar, Biharprabha News


How Indian Government is destroying Athletics Environment in India ?

Posted: 03 Aug 2012 01:50 PM PDT

Indian Government is destroying Athletic  Environment in India. The poor  plight of Athletes in India is well known to all yet, we expect them to perform admirably well in International Events like Olympics and Commonwealth. The Government simply  lacks  enthusiasm towards any athletic event.

Above all India lacks the much required infrastructure for many of the events.  Any chances of improving them are also rejected by insensible Political Clan whose sole aim is to rule the Country.

2014 Asian Games

2014 Asian Games will be held in Incheon (South Korea). India was one of the top 2 bidder for the this  Game in 2006, but it was awarded to South Korea because of  Delhi’s lack of enthusiasm to host the event.

Then Union Sports Minister of India, Mani Shankar Aiyar, spoke strongly against Delhi hosting the games and argued that it was better if the money allocated by India’s government for organizing the sporting event was spent on building facilities for the poor. The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president revealed that India’s Sports Minister remarks against hosting the Games was the main reason for New Delhi’s loss.

2019 Asian Games

It was reported that India was keen to bid for 2019 Games. However, on August 2, 2010, Indian Government turned down Indian Olympic Association’s (IOA) bid for the Games, amid allegations of corruption in 2010 Commonwealth Games.  The sport ministry reconfirmed its rejection for the bids on November 4, 2010. 

2010 Commonwealth Games

India got the Chance to host 201o Commonwealth Games because the bidding was held in 2003 and  was under a different Government . The two principal bids for the 2010 Commonwealth Games were from Delhi, India and Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. A ballot of members was held in November 2003 at the Commonwealth Games Federation General Assembly inMontego Bay, Jamaica. Delhi bid won by a margin of 46 votes to 22, confirming India’s first successful bid for the Games. The bid was Canada’s attempt to hold the games for the fifth time. India’s bid motto was New Frontiers and Friendships.

President of India website redesigned and goes social

Posted: 03 Aug 2012 11:20 AM PDT

President of India Office is going more Tech Savvy with the swearing in of Pranab Mukherjee. The website has been redesigned,giving it an elegant and  liquid look along with integration with Social Media.

The website can be accessed at presidentofindia.nic.in. One can also find President of India on Facebook and Youtube

The redesigned website was launched by the president’s secretary Omita Paul, who expresssed the hope that it would be a step forward to bring the president closer to the people.

She also said efforts would be made to ensure that the website is in line with the best global practices, the release said.

It said while historical perspectives from the earlier website have been retained, the redesigned website has some new features, which include direct connectivity from the website to social networking media such as Facebook and YouTube.

“These two features have been initiated after assumption of charge by President Pranab Mukherjee. The new website also has a video gallery. Citizens can connect to the president directly by clicking the button ‘Write to the President’, which will take them directly to the helpline portal.

“Moreover, visuals have been conceptualised and made user-friendly,” the release added.

Minister Opposes shifting of Sansad Bhawan

Posted: 03 Aug 2012 10:37 AM PDT

Not all in Indian Parliament is happy with shifting of  Parliament from Sansad Bhawan to a new Location.  Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal, who feels that the heritage building should retain its present status

He said that essential offices like those of Lok Sabha speaker, Rajya Sabha chairman, secretary generals of two houses, table offices, notice offices, and parliamentary reporters room should be retained in the 84-year old heritage building while other offices and canteen could be shifted to a new building which could be constructed in the Parliament House complex
“It (the new building) should be away from the main building but not far off. The canteen should be part of this new building,” Bansal said.

Countering the logic that a new building would be needed if there is increase in the strength of the two houses, Bansal said that the central hall could be turned into Lok Sabha. He said that Rajya Sabha can shift to the place where Lok Sabha holds its sitting.

Structural stability of the heritage structure could be strengthened through modern techniques such as retrofitting, he said.

Bansal’s remarks assume significance as Lok Sabha speaker has given approval for setting up a high-powered committee to suggest an alternative complex.

Lok Sabha secretary general T.K. Viswanathan had said last month that there was need for an alternate complex as the existing building was heavily used and cannot take the strain.

He said footfalls were increasing and the heritage character should be preserved.

The Central Public Works Department had also said that the parliament building needs renovation as there were apprehensions of loosening of small ceiling tiles.

The foundation stone of Parliament House building was laid in 1921. Constructed at a cost of Rs.83 lakh, it was inaugurated in January 1927.

Sources said heritage committee of Parliament is also expected to meet over the next few days.

Lokpal and Lokayukta Bill to be tabled in Parliament this Monsoon session

Posted: 03 Aug 2012 10:19 AM PDT

The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Bill, 2011  prepared by UPA Government is likely to be passed in the Monsson Session of Parliament starting from August 8  if the select committee looking into the measure gives its recommendation.

Stressing that the government was committed to get the bill passed,Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal  told reporters here that if the Rajya Sabha’s select committee, which has been asked to give its recommendations by the first day of the session’s last week, gives them by the middle of the session, it may be possible to bring the bill in the session.

The bill was tabled in the Lok Sabha on 22 December 2011 and was passed by the house on 27 December 2011 as The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Bill, 2011. The bill was subsequently tabled in theRajya Sabha on 29 December 2011. After a marathon debate that stretched until midnight of the following day, the vote failed to take place for lack of time.[11] On 21 May 2012, the bill was referred to a Select Committee of the Rajya Sabha for consideration.

If the report is given on the stipulated date, it will be difficult for government to “finish deliberations in four days”, said Bansal.

He said bills which were ready will be taken up in the session and added that the government was willing to discuss all issues.

The Lokpal bill has been passed by Lok Sabha. However, if government agrees to amendments based on recommendations of select committee, it would bring the bill again to the Lok Sabha for passage.

2G Spectrum Auction Reserve Price Fixed to Rs 14000 Crores

Posted: 03 Aug 2012 08:24 AM PDT

Indian Cabinet  has finally okayed the Reserve Price of 2G Spectrum Auction to Rs 14000 Crores which is 4000 crores less than that set by TRAI.  The new Reserve Price was recommended by Empowered Group of Ministers EGoM

This may put an end to the controversy after  Supreme Court cancelled  122 licenses issued during A Raja’s Tenure as Telecom Minister.
“The Cabinet approved the reserve price of Rs.14,000 crore for 5 MHz pan India in 1800 MHz band. The cabinet also approved the recommendation of EGoM for reserve price for 800 MHz band at 1.3 times that of 1800 MHz band,” Communications Minister Kapil Sibal told reporters after the cabinet meeting.

“Existing slab rate system for Spectrum Usage Charges (SUC), as recommended by EGoM, as the preferred option has also been approved by the Cabinet,” he added.

The minister said Friday’s decision signalled that India meant business and added that the EGoM would meet Monday to decide on the auction schedule.

Last month, the EGoM had recommended the reserve price to the cabinet which is lower than what the sector regulator has suggested for the 2G spectrum auction.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) had recommended a reserve price of Rs.18,000 crore.

Justifying the high price which has been highly opposed by the operators, Sibal said the terms of payment were “pathbreaking”.

“Now the spectrum has been allowed to be mortgaged with the banks who will themselves deal with it.”

The Supreme Court Feb 2 ordered cancellation of 122 licences including those of Uninor, Sistema Shyam Teleservices, Loop Telecom, Etisalat DB, Videocon, Idea Cellular and STel and asked for redistribution of these licences though an auction with a deadline of Aug 31.

All questions relating to the pricing of spectrum currently held by operators and related issues including pricing of contracted spectrum, excess spectrum, retrospective pricing will be considered later.

Meanwhile, Uninor urged the government to do everything to conduct the auctions within the Aug 31 deadline.

Team Anna ends its 10 Day Old Fast

Posted: 03 Aug 2012 06:15 AM PDT

Team Anna Fast gets Over at Jantar Mantar

Team Anna Fast gets Over at Jantar Mantar


Team Anna has ended its 10 Day Long Fast at 6:30 PM today at Jantar Mantar. Former Army Chief Gen. V K Singh offered Coconut Water to Anna Hazare to end his fast, while Arvind Kejriwal took Lemonade to finish his 10 day old fast.

Arvind Kejriwal has announced that they will form a political party to fight against corruption. He said that it is time to topple the government. He even asked the public to suggest a name for their political outfit.

He said that they will travel all over the country to awaken the people. Saying that they have not accepted defeat at the hands of the government, Kejriwal added that many ministers in the cabinet were scared of the lokpal bill. Team Anna had earlier decided to end their fast and fight corruption from inside and outside the parliament.

Weight loss benefits both Physical and Psychological Health

Posted: 03 Aug 2012 05:30 AM PDT

The loss of 20 pounds can help overweight or obese individuals secure a decade’s worth of health benefits, even if they regain the weight later that decade, according to a new research.

Rena Wing, professor of psychiatry and human behaviour at Brown University’s Alpert Medical School, referred to her work from the Diabetes Prevention Programme, a study of 3,000 overweight people, who were motivated to change their behaviour rather than given drugs.

It showed that even modest weight loss, an average of 14 pounds, reduced people’s risk of developing Type 2 diabetes by 58 percent. The benefits of this weight loss lasted up to 10 years, even if people gained the weight back over this time, said Wing, according to a university statement.

Participants practiced basic behavioural strategies to help them lose weight, including tracking everything they ate and reducing the amount of unhealthy foods they kept in their home, she said. They also met with coaches frequently and increased their physical activity over the course of the study.

“Helping people find ways to change their eating and activity behaviours and developing interventions other than medication to reinforce a healthy lifestyle have made a huge difference in preventing one of the major health problems in this country,” Wing said.

“Weight losses of just 10 percent of a person’s body weight (or about 20 pounds in those who weigh 200 pounds) have also been shown to have a long-term impact on sleep apnea, hypertension and quality of life, and to slow the decline in mobility that occurs as people age,” added Wing.

Wing is leading a 13-year trial of 5,000 people with Type 2 diabetes. This study is testing whether an intensive behavioural intervention can decrease the risk of heart disease and heart attacks.

“We are trying to show that behaviour changes not only make people healthier in terms of reducing heart disease risk factors but actually can make them live longer,” she said.

These findings were presented at the American Psychological Association’s 120th Annual Convention.

Udaipur, a Haven for all Childless couples

Posted: 03 Aug 2012 04:30 AM PDT

Udaipur,  has become a Haven for all Childless couples . As thousands of tourists arrive here this September, the start of the tourist season, so will Rajan and Parul. But this couple from Delhi will have on their minds things other than just exploring this city of lakes, often called Venice of the East.

While on their weeklong vacation, the childless couple, in their 30s, will be undergoing a session for a test-tube baby at a medical centre in Udaipur, about 400 km from the state capital Jaipur.

Mixing vacation with a purpose didn’t occur to them on their own. “This was suggested to me by a cousin,” said Rajan Wadhwa, a resident of Paschim Vihar in west Delhi.

“My cousin was blessed with a child after undergoing treatment in Udaipur and he suggested the same to me as going to another city helps stay away from the probing eyes of relatives,” the computer science graduate told IANS.

Rajan and Parul, who work in MNCs, are not the only ones opting for a vacation-cum-fertility work-up at Udaipur. In an emerging trend, more and more couples are opting for holiday destinations such as this to explore the idea away from prying eyes back home and to reduce costs.

An IVF procedure in Rajasthan costs about Rs.40,000-50,000 as compared to Rs.80,000-100,000 in a metro like Delhi or Mumbai. In the west, costs could go up to about $12,000 (over Rs.650,000).

“We have people coming from as far as Tamil Nadu, Goa, Jharkhand and Mumbai for test tube babies,” said Ajay Murdia, their doctor and chief of the Indira Infertility Clinic & Test Tube Baby Centre.

The fertility expert of over three decades’ experience called it the domestic version of the medical tourism that attracts foreigners to India.

“We help some of our patients undergo initial counselling and tests while holidaying in the city.”

According to Murdia, whose paper on male infertility was published in medical journal Lancet, Delhi had around 50 infertility clinics but people from the national capital region (NCR), which includes Gurgaon and Noida, preferred coming to him for treatment.

“Apart from the low cost, we have achieved a high success rate of 95 percent in the first attempt of IVF and other procedures,” said Murdia, who treats about 600 infertility patients every year. Most of these are outsiders.

Hoping to attract more clients, Kshitij Kumar, another IVF specialist from Udaipur, held a workshop for childless couples in Delhi last month.

“Some busy couples specifically wanted to know the duration of the procedure. They said a two-week process would fit into their vacation calender,” he said.

This Rajasthan city of 450,000 people has four centres offering infertility solutions.

This trend has spread to other tourist destinations like Jaipur and Jodhpur.

Upwan Pandia, an anaesthetist, shuttles between all three cities. “However, the Udaipur centres score over others in the state in terms of modern technology and high success rate,” he said.

Perhaps because Udaipur is also more organised. The trend of doctors or clinics in Udaipur offering travel desk facilities to patients is fast catching on.

“We give brochures on tourist destinations in and around Udaipur to patients. Once they decide on their itinerary, we get down to chalking out the schedule for the fertility procedure,” said Murdia.

Till about three-four years ago, the demand for travel desk services was not as much, he added.

Patients from abroad also inquire about travel facilities when they make the initial inquiries, he said.

“We keep getting queries from African countries, Russia, France and the US,” said Murdia.

According to travel industry estimates, medical tourism involving foreigners in India would be worth $2 billion by 2015. On an average, 150,000 medical tourists travel to the country annually.

IVF is a procedure where a woman’s eggs are fertilised outside her body. The eggs are removed from her ovaries and then placed in a petri dish with sperm for fertilisation to occur.

Once the fertilised egg starts dividing, it’s considered an embryo. After a few days of dividing in the lab (usually three-five), the fertilised egg can either be transferred to a woman’s uterus or frozen and transplanted at a later date.

India to launch 3 Polar satellites in September

Posted: 03 Aug 2012 03:30 AM PDT

India will launch three satellites next month and two more by the end of this year.

“We will be launching Spot-6, a French satellite and a small Japanese satellite on board PSLV-C21 (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle) rocket, next month,” P.S.Veeraraghavan, director, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), told IANS.

The third is a communication satellite – GSAT-10 – on-board Ariane rocket from Kourou in French Guiana.

The Thiruvananthapuram-based VSCC is part of India’s space agency Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

Veeraraghavan said the French satellite is expected to be in India soon while the Japanese satellite is already at ISRO’s launch centre at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh, around 80 km from here.

ISRO’s commercial arm Antrix Corporation Limited (Antrix) has entered into a commercial Launch Services Agreement with Astrium SAS, a company under EADS, France, for launching SPOT-6, an advanced remote sensing satellite.

What is interesting is that the 800-kg SPOT-6 built by Astrium SAS will be the heaviest third party payload that ISRO will be carrying after the 350-kg Italian satellite Agile it put into orbit in 2007.

As the total luggage will be around 815 kg, ISRO will be using its Core Alone variant of PSLV (rocket without its six strap on motors).

The mission will take ISRO’s total tally of ferrying foreign satellites to 29.

The Indian space agency in order to augment its communication transponder capacity-(automatic receivers and transmitters for communication and broadcast of signals) will be sending up GSAT-10.

The 3.4 tonne satellite will carry 12 Ku Band, 12 C Band and 12 Extended C Band transponders and GAGAN (global positioning satellite-GPS and GEO augmented navigation) payload.

According to Veeraraghavan, the space agency would launch SARAL satellite – an Indo-French initiative – using PSLV-C20 rocket sometime in October-November this year.

Agreeing that ISRO normally do not launch any rockets during that period, Veeraraghavan said if the weather is conducive the rocket could be sent up.

He said ISRO is also planning to launch GSAT-14 a small communication satellite by this December or January next year using its heavier rocket Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV).

The two ton GSAT-14 considered as the replacement for India’s the education satellite Edusat is configured with six Ku and six Extended C Band transponders.

In addition, the spacecraft also carries Ka band beacons, which are planned to be used to carry out studies related to rain and atmospheric effects on Ka band satellite communication links in Indian region.

ISRO will be flying the GSLV rocket this time with its own cryogenic engine. This will be the second GSLV rocket to fly with indigenous cryogenic engine. The first GSLV rocket that flew with indigenous cryogenic engine in 2010 was a failure.

Interestingly, ISRO will be flying a GSLV rocket after a gap of two years. In December 2010, another GSLV rocket with Russian made cryogenic engine was destroyed mid-air within a minute after lift off.

Veeraraghavan said ISRO will be testing its GSLV Mark III model next March but without the cryogenic engine.

“The mission is called X Mission. The rocket will have only the first two stages/engines powered by solid and liquid fuels. The subsystems for the cryogenic engine are being tested. The cryogenic engine is much bigger than the one that will power other GSLV,” Veeraraghavan said.

2000 years Old Buddhist Stupa restored in Nangchen

Posted: 03 Aug 2012 02:30 AM PDT

A stupa constructed  by Legendary Indian Ruler Ashoka, 2000 years back  has been restored in Nangchen in eastern Tibet. A statue of Lord Buddha  35-metre high has also been installed there.
The seeds of the restoration project were sown a decade ago, Singapore-based businessman Felix Lim Ah Yeong, son-in-law of Aw Boon Haw, the founder of Tiger Balm, told IANS.

“My wife and I met his holiness (Gyalwang Drupka, who leads the Drupka Buddhists) 10 years ago in Bali. He mentioned that one of his ambitions was to rebuild the Amitabha stupa. My wife and me said ‘Ok’ – and thus started the project,” Felix said.

Asked how much money has been pumped into the project, he said: “The Buddha statue alone is worth $6 million.” As for how much the entire project cost, he said this could be gauged from how much the statue had cost – and left it at that.

“It took a long time to make the statue. A Bhutanese sculptor made the model and it took him 10 years to do it. After he completed the model, he died. We took the model to a factory in Nanjing that specialises in making Budhha statues,” he said, adding it was fabricated out of the same alloys used for making spaceships.

Were there any restrictions from the Chinese government? Felix said: “The Chinese government does not encourage and does not discourage if it is a part of the region’s culture. Buddhism started in China 2,500 years ago and it’s a part of the region’s culture.”

Located in China’s Qinghai province 4,000 metres above sea level, Nangchen was abuzz with activity at the inauguration of the restored stupa, which is 95 percent complete, late last month. Thousands of people flocked to the place to witness Gyalwang Drukpa conduct the inauguration ceremony.

The crowd was so huge that it led to a traffic jam around the stupa as cars and other vehicles came to a standstill.

Away from modern society, the Nangchen region has an old world charm, with its vast open spaces, pastures dotted with yak and sheep, mountain peaks that seem to touch the sky and a river flowing through it. Its inhabitants, who wear ancient Tibetan costumes and headgear, depend on animals like sheep, yak and cows and on farming for a livelihood.

At the same time, they aspire for a better life. “The people want to move out in search of a better life but at the same time they want to retain their culture,” said Nawang Chirum, a teacher.

Primary education is a must for everyone in the region, which has a population of about 90,000. One major step the people have taken towards their upliftment “is that they are also growing a special herb available in high altitudes and which is quite popular among Tibetans”, Chirum said.

As for the stupa, he said it would promote not only spiritual happiness but also economic growth.

“There are many benefits of the stupa. First, the place has become more prominent and tourism will be boosted. This would result in the growth of service industry and create job opportunities for the people who want to have a better life,” Chirum said.

So, how did the stupa get there in the first place?

Quoting Buddhist scriptures, a posting on www.nangchen.org said: “With the wish of spreading the teachings of the Buddha, King Ashoka of India divided the relics of Lord Buddha and constructed 84,000 stupas to enshrine these precious objects of devotion.”

“In China, 19 of such stupas were constructed. However, most of them have collapsed due to natural wear and tear as well as human negligence. Some have been moved to other locations. In the process of restoring some of these stupas, many relics of Lord Buddha and a huge amount of precious offering items were discovered. The stupa in Nangchen was one of these 19 archaic and precious structures of devotion.

“In history, Nangchen was an important centre of politics and trades in Eastern Tibet, and therefore it was also a very active centre for missionary activities. This explains why Ashoka chose Nangchen as one of the locations to build the reliquary stupa. In the later history, Nangchen too proved to be an extraordinary place for spreading Buddhism. With the support of the once-glorious Nangchen dynasty, this Buddhist kingdom had produced generations of Dharma kings, exemplary scholars and amazingly qualified monks, yogis and practitioners.

“Therefore Nangchen is also fondly known by great masters as Gomde or the ‘abode of meditators’ “.

(Getting there: From Chinese captial Beijing one has to take a flight to Xinning and then to Yushu. From there, it takes about six hours to reach the place by road. There is some accommodation with basic facilities. Despite the language barrier, the warmth of the people makes a connect with visitors).

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