Bihar News, Latest News from Bihar, News of Bihar, Biharprabha News |
- The meaning of Standard & Poor’s Outlook Rating
- Aamir Khan enjoys Litti Chokha at Patna
- Vicky Donor plays big at Box Office
- Amitabh pleads joy after clearing out of Bofors Case
- Tata Group Future Chairman dragged into a Real Estate Case
- Tearful mother greets kids back from Norway
- 10 Million Indians wising to be US Citizens says Report
- Sexual Assault can trigger Eating Disorders
- Standards and Poor downgrades India’s rating to Negative
- RISAT 1 Launch preparations in the Final Stage
| The meaning of Standard & Poor’s Outlook Rating Posted: 25 Apr 2012 07:28 PM PDT Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s Wednesday cut its outlook on India to Negative from Stable. What does it mean? Outlook indicates potential direction of ratings in short to medium term, typically six months to two years. Stable outlook means that the ratings are not going to change. Negative outlook indicates that the ratings might be downgraded, while positive outlook means that the ratings may be upgraded. Ratings agencies also give developing or evolving outlook, which indicate that the ratings might be lowered or upgraded. However, an outlook is not necessarily a precursor of a change in ratings. Ratings agencies give outlook generally to maintain stability in their long-term ratings. A downgrade in sovereign rating means that the government is less capable to meet its debt obligations. This results in higher cost to government borrowings. Top ratings agencies, including Standard & Poor’s, Fitch Ratings and Moody’s Investors Services, have assigned the lowest investment grade ratings to India’s long-term debt. Standard & Poor’s Wednesday affirmed the lowest investment grade ratings of BBB(-) on India’s sovereign long-term debt. Any cut in ratings will put India’s long-term debt in “junk” category. It will cripple the government’s ability to raise money, especially from overseas markets. The agency rates countries based on factors such as political risks, growth prospects, external liquidity, international investment position, fiscal performance, debt burden, and flexibility of the monetary system.  |
| Aamir Khan enjoys Litti Chokha at Patna Posted: 25 Apr 2012 07:27 PM PDT
The 47-year-old star reached here post-noon, interacted with the local people and left by late afternoon by road to attend the wedding in Varanasi. Said a member of Aamir’s team: “Aamir had never visited Patna. He took a flight from Mumbai to Patna, mingled with the locals for two hours and then left by car to reach his friend’s son’s wedding the same evening.” Aamir reportedly stopped at a roadside dhaba to have the Bihari delicacy litti-chokha. The ecstatic food vendor served Aamir a plate filled with five large littis. Aamir had two littis. He then requested the litti-wallah to let him take the remaining three littis to eat in the car. He then sped away on the highway from Patna to Varanasi with the promise of returning to the Bihar capital in the near future. Aamir had met Ram Lakhan three years ago and continued with his bonding with the auto-driver and even sent Nathuni air tickets to fly down to Mumbai for the premier of “3 Idiots”, which later went on to become one of the biggest blockbusters at the box office. Nathuni recently went to Mumbai to invite his “friend” Aamir for the wedding of his son Rajeev — an engineer with an anti-virus company in Jaipur. Aamir promised to come down for the D-day.  |
| Vicky Donor plays big at Box Office Posted: 25 Apr 2012 06:24 PM PDT “Vicky Donor” is going places. After receiving rave reviews from the critics as well as the audiences, it has earned Rs.13.40 crore in the opening weekend. Director Shoojit Sircar is on cloud nine and says the film’s success proves that the moviegoers have matured over the years. “Vicky Donor” is a light-hearted take on the taboo attached to infertility, sperm donation and artificial insemination. “I am happy with the kind of response ‘Vicky Donor’ has got. While writing the script, me and my writers thought we will get a positive response from young boys and girls, but with the film becoming so popular among the masses, it feels great,” Sircar told IANS. “I never thought my film will get a U/A certificate from censors. It came as a shock for me. The success of the film is the biggest example of audience getting mature. I personally feel that the audiences are very clever and they know what they want to see,” he added. Co-produced by Eros International and JA Entertainment, the film was released Friday over 600 screens worldwide. The film, which was made with two newcomers – Ayushmann Khurrana and Yami Gautam – along with seasoned actor Annu Kapoor, has grossed over Rs.11.40 crore in India and Rs.2 crore overseas. “We are very happy with the audience as well as critics’ reactions to ‘Vicky Donor’. Sunday’s collections showed a 91 percent jump over Friday figures,” Nandu Ahuja, senior vice president, distribution, India, Eros International Media Ltd said in a statement. “The film created a positive buzz right from the launch of its trailer and has delivered on audience expectations. With its unusual subject, characters and dialogues, we are hoping for repeat viewings and a promising run at the box office,” he added. Trade analyst Taran Adarsh says “Vicky Donor” success proves that content is king. “The success of “Vicky Donor” is the triumph of its story. The script of the film is the real hero. Every character, be it Ayushmann or Kamlesh Gill or Yami, has fitted so beautifully in the film. I give full marks to the script. With a taboo topic, new actors, a small budget, the kind of business the film has done is commendable,” Adarsh told IANS. “Films starring newcomers or lesser known actors don’t find a theatrical outlet in the international arena. The success of ‘Vicky Donor’ should also encourage distributors to go beyond the boundaries of India and explore newer horizons,” he added.  |
| Amitabh pleads joy after clearing out of Bofors Case Posted: 25 Apr 2012 05:20 PM PDT Expressing happiness over his name being cleared in the Bofors payoff scam, mega-star Amitabh Bachchan, however, said that he is “pained” that it came after 25 years. Speaking to reporters here, Bachchan welcomed the revelations made by the Swedish investigators in the Bofors case. He said he had “lived with humiliation and loss of reputation” all these years. “I am happy that the truth has emerged after 25 years,” he said. However, he wished that his father, the late Harivanshrai Bachchan, had lived to see this development. “My family knew the truth on Bofors all along, from day one,” Bachchan said.
Bachchan’s reactions came in response to fresh revelations in the Bofors case in which Swedish investigator Sten Lindstrom said that the case against actor and then Congress MP and his family was planted in Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter by Indian investigators. “From the very day we have maintained that we were innocent, for 25 years my as well as my family’s name bore the brunt of the scandal of which I was never a part of,” he said. He, however, wondered as to why Lindstorm cleared his name only now. He said he quit politics only because he could not get used to it. “I left before the Bofors scandal broke, but some people tried to link my exit from politics to the scandal,” he said. Earlier, Bachchan had said on his blog that 25 years after the incident, “I read today from one that pioneered accusation and investigation, of innocence”. “No one shall be able to understand or even remotely fathom, the hours and days and months and years of the anguish of petulant blame that I had to go through. But will it really interest another? No it shall not,” he wrote. The Bofors case dates back to 1986, when Swiss arms manufacturer Bofors landed a Rs.1,500 crore contract to supply 155 mm howitzers to India. A year later, Swiss media began reporting that the company had paid massive kickbacks to Indian politicians, including then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, and defence officials. Lindstrom now says there is no evidence to show Rajiv Gandhi was bribed.  |
| Tata Group Future Chairman dragged into a Real Estate Case Posted: 25 Apr 2012 03:18 PM PDT Tata Group chairman-designate Cyrus Mistry is being falsely implicated in a case related to a real estate firm in which the Bombay High Court issued notice to his father Pallonji Shapoorji Mistry, a statement issued Wednesday said. “Cyrus Mistry is in no way concerned in the said petition… and his name has been dragged into it with ulterior motives,” Shapoorji Pallonji and Co Ltd and S.D. Corporation said in a joint statement. “Our attention has been drawn to reports in the media seeking to implicate Cyrus Mistry in litigation filed by Ketan Tirodkar in the Bombay High Court against the state of Maharashtra concerning the redevelopment of Samata Nagar by S.D. Corporation at Kandivli, Mumbai,” it said. “Cyrus Mistry has never been a director of S.D. Corporation Pvt Ltd., which is a joint venture between Shapoorji Pallonji Group and the Thacker group. As such he has never been concerned or involved with the affairs of S.D. Corporation Pvt Ltd,” the statement added. The two companies said they will file an appropriate reply in the Bombay High Court to clarify the issue. “This statement is being issued jointly by us in order to prevent further misinformation and mischief,” it said. “In addition S.P.C.L. and S.D. Corporation wish to state that all business transactions that they have entered into are fully compliant with the law and supporting documentation has already been submitted to the authorities confirming the same,” the statement added.  |
| Tearful mother greets kids back from Norway Posted: 25 Apr 2012 01:17 PM PDT After nearly a year’s wait, a tearful Sagarika Bhattacharya Wednesday got her two children back in her lap. The children had returned to India from Norway the day before. The two children, who were in foster care in Norway after they were separated from their parents on grounds of alleged negligence, were brought to Kolkata Tuesday. The siblings – three-year-old Abhyigyan and one-year-old Aishwarya – were given to their uncle, Arunabhash Bhattacharya, by a Norwegian court in the city of Stavanger Monday, following which the Indian government facilitated their return to the country. Sagarika flew down from Mumbai Wednesday and rushed to the northern outskirts of the city where the two children have been kept at a relative’s house. She hugged and kissed them and said: “I am delighted that I can again hold them in my arms. What more could have I wanted as a mother. It is very difficult to express my feelings.” She said earlier she and her husband Anurup could meet them once a week, but later the Norwegian authorities did not even allow that. “I am meeting them after two months. I last met them on Feb 17 at a foster care centre in Norway after nine months for nearly an hour.” “Then I found that Abhigyan had stopped talking, while Aishwarya could not recognise me,” she told mediapersons while holding them together. “I don’t know what will happen but it is my biggest achievement that I am with my children…It is a great satisfaction to hold them in my arms again,” she said. The Norwegian court’s decision came as a major breather for the Bhattacharya family, which had been trying to get back the custody of the children for nearly a year now. The Indian government had put in all diplomatic efforts to ensure that the siblings returned to their homeland and grew up in their family environment.  |
| 10 Million Indians wising to be US Citizens says Report Posted: 25 Apr 2012 08:22 AM PDT Around 13 percent of the world’s adults — or over 640 million people — would like to emigrate with roughly 150 million, including ten million Indians wishing to settle in America. So suggests a new Gallup survey giving the US an undisputed title as the globe’s most desired destination for would-be migrants since Gallup began tracking patterns in 2007. Would-be migrants who express desires to relocate to the US most likely come from populous nations such as China (22 million), India (10 million), Brazil (7 million), Nigeria (15 million) or Bangladesh (8 million). In addition to the almost 1 in 30 adults globally who would like to permanently settle in the US, vast numbers are attracted to the UK (45 million), to Canada (42 million), to France (32 million), and to Saudi Arabia (31 million). Despite large numbers of people in China, Nigeria, and India who want to migrate permanently to the US, these countries are not necessarily the places where the US is the most desired destination. Potential migrants aspire to move to countries all over the world for the simple reason that they are in search of opportunity, Gallup said. Opportunity could mean the chance to join family members who are already in other countries, to start a new business, to express one’s views without fear, or to live where children are treated with respect. The reason the US is such a highly desired destination for potential migrants, in addition to being the land of opportunity, could be that many Americans are accepting of migrants in their communities, Gallup said. Gallup.com’s latest figures on adults’ aspirations to move to other nations are based on a rolling median of surveys, using the responses of 452,199 adults in 151 nations between 2009 – 2011. The 151 nations represent over 97 percent of the globe’s adult population.  |
| Sexual Assault can trigger Eating Disorders Posted: 25 Apr 2012 07:15 AM PDT Lack of support following traumatic events such as bereavement, abuse and sexual assault could trigger eating disorders. Even changing school or moving home can prove too much for some young people and lead to conditions such as anorexia or bulimia, according to researchers from University of Minnesota. They spoke to a group aged between 17 to 64 years receiving treatment for eating disorders for an average of 20 years, the Journal of Clinical Nursing reported. “The aim of our study was to find out if there was any link between transitional events in family life and the onset of eating disorders,” said Jerica M. Berge, assistant professor of family medicine and community health Minnesota, who led the study. “Eating disorders are an important public health issue and knowing what causes them can help us to develop more effective treatment and support,” added Berge, according to a university statement. Some spoke about the problems they had adapted to the more independent world of junior high school and others talked about leaving home to go to college and how they missed friends and family. Starting college was very hard for one woman. “Nobody knew who I was . . . I was incredibly lonely with no support and I just stopped eating.” Another struggled to cope without regular support. “You don’t receive the daily love that you are used to growing up, you are left to provide that for yourself and I just wasn’t able to do it.” Breaking up with a partner affected some participants and others talked about their parents splitting up and moving on. When her father got a new girlfriend when she was seven, one woman lost the close relationship they had enjoyed. “Overnight she became the most important thing in his life . . . his girlfriend would be really mean to me and my dad wouldn’t defend me.” The death of a family member or close friend often proved traumatic, with people saying that they didn’t not know how to deal with their grief and that they received little support. One woman’s sister died when she was five, but no-one talked about this “major event” in her life. “I started to eat – to compensate for feelings of anxiety.” Another lost her mother to an eating disorder when she was 11. She found herself living in a single-parent household where she was given “so much freedom with not much emotional support… I lost control.”  |
| Standards and Poor downgrades India’s rating to Negative Posted: 25 Apr 2012 07:11 AM PDT Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s on Wednesday lowered its outlook on India to negative from stable, and warned of a ratings downgrade citing deteriorating economic indicators and slow progress on fiscal reforms in the backdrop of a “weakened political setting”. It also downgraded the Outlook of Top 3 Indian IT Companies (TCS, Infosys and Wipro ) from Stable to Negative. Standard & Poor’s credit analyst Takahira Ogawa said there was one-in-three likelihood of India’s sovereign ratings downgrade. The ratings agency kept India’s long-term rating unchanged at BBB-, which is the lowest investment grade rating. “The outlook revision reflects our view of at least a one-in-three likelihood of a downgrade if the external position continues to deteriorate, growth prospects diminish, or progress on fiscal reforms remains slow in a weakened political setting,” Ogawa said. Ogawa said India’s real per capita gross domestic product (GDP) growth will fall to 5.3 percent in 2012-13 as compared to an annual average growth of around 6 percent registered in the last five years. Reacting to the revision, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said the government is concerned over the lowering of outlook, but there is no need to panic. “I am concerned, but I don’t feel panicky because I am confident that our economy will grow by around 7 percent, if not plus. We will be able to control fiscal deficit and it will be around 5.1 percent,” Mukherjee told reporters in New Delhi. The finance minister empahsised that the government was hopeful to meet the economic growth and fiscal deficit targets. On economic reforms, Mukherjee admitted that there have been delays but the government was taking steps to push up the reforms process. Standard & Poor’s affirmed ‘A-3′ short-term unsolicited sovereign credit ratings on India. In a media conference call, Ogawa said India’s fiscal deficit was likely to widen to around 8 percent in the current financial year as against the government’s budgetary target of 5.1 percent. Ogawa said economic growth was likely to remain at around 7 percent. “The negative outlook signals at least a one-in-three likelihood of the downgrade of India’s sovereign ratings within the next 24 months. A downgrade is likely if the country’s economic growth prospects dim, its external position deteriorates, its political climate worsens, or fiscal reforms slow,” Ogawa said. On the other hand, the ratings could stabilise again if the government implements initiatives to reduce structural fiscal deficits and to improve its investment climate, Standard & Poor’s said in a statement. “Fiscal measures could include an increase in domestic prices and a more efficient use of fuel and fertiliser subsidies, or an early implementation of the goods and service tax.”  |
| RISAT 1 Launch preparations in the Final Stage Posted: 25 Apr 2012 06:13 AM PDT Thursday set for the blast-off of the Indian rocket carrying a remote sensing/earth observation satellite – Radar Imaging Satellite (Risat-1) – into space, the Indian space agency is fuelling the rocket’s second stage with liquid propellant. “The major activity today (Wednesday) is the filling up of the liquid fuel in the rocket’s second stage. The countdown is progressing well and every system in the rocket is normal,” a source in the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) told IANS. The indigenous Risat-1 with a life span of five years would be used for disaster prediction and agriculture forestry, and the high resolution pictures and microwave imaging could also be used for defence purposes. The rocket is ready to escape the Earth’s gravity to put India’s heaviest microwave satellite, Risat-1, weighing 1,858 kg at an altitude of 480 km at an inclination of 97.552 degree. The rocket that would sling Risat-1 will be the four-stage Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle’s (PSLV) upgraded variant called PSLV-XL which would weigh 320 tonnes at lift-off. Space scientists do not expect any problem with the PSLV’s performance though it would be carrying its heaviest luggage so far. “Depending on the satellite’s weight, the rocket’s centre of gravity would change. Slight changes will have to be made in the navigational parametres. The control systems would have to be tuned accordingly,” an ISRO source said. While satellite weight is a major criteria, the other metric is the altitude at which the rocket would sling its luggage. Satellite mass to altitude is also related. The rocket would sling the satellite at 480 km Thursday and as such officials do not see any hitch in the mission ending successfully. The PSLV’s four stages are fuelled with solid and liquid propellants. The first and third stages have solid fuel while the second and fourth stages are powered by liquid fuel. The PSLV rocket has earlier put satellites at altitudes ranging between 630 km to 820 km. “Lower the weight of the satellite, PSLV can spit out the satellite at higher altitude and vice versa is also true,” the ISRO source said. According to ISRO officials, the rocket launch will be controlled by space scientists at the new mission control centre inaugurated by President Pratibha Patil this January.  |
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