Friday, 31 August 2012

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

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

Ratan Tata bids Farewell to all Shareholders

Posted: 31 Aug 2012 01:43 PM PDT

A shareholder garlanded him, some offered him send-off gifts and yet others urged him to put his signature on the annual report.

Ratan Tata, who chaired his last major Tata Group company annual general meeting at Kolkata on Friday, obliged all of them.

Tata, head of the $83.3 billion salt-to-software conglomerate of more than 100 operating companies, will retire in December when he turns 75.

It was an emotional moment for Tata and the shareholders at the Tata Global Beverages Ltd (TGBL) AGM here. “This is the last time I stand before you, so let me stand,” said Tata, turning down calls to do otherwise.

When a shareholder said, “Aap ko Bharat Ratna Milna Chahiye” (You should get Bharat Ratna), Tata, a Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan awardee, remained silent.

Tata then thanked the shareholders for their sentiments and warmth. “This has been an equally emotional meeting for me. I think the warmth, the sincerity and the affection that has been displayed is something I will carry back with me through the remaining life of me.

“I am an emotional person. And I will not forget what you have meant to me in the years that I have needed you.”

Most shareholders, however, raised concerns over the Singur fiasco and sought to know the groups’ future plans for West Bengal.

The Tata boss noted that the Singur issue did not bring any sense of anger to him, just a sense of sadness that he couldn’t do “something” there. “May be one day you will have a Tata Motors factory somewhere in Bengal and hopefully be welcomed.”

“I have enjoyed and in fact had a sense of great satisfaction in all the interactions I have had with you, with the people of West Bengal. I often considered them to be very warm and friendly people.

“I lived six years in Jamshedpur, at that time I used to be in Calcutta off and on. I have an affinity to this part of the country which is why we tried to bring a car manufacturing facility here.”

As the AGM got over, there was a mad rush among the shareholders to shake hands with Tata and he obliged merrily.

There was only fleeting moment he was bareft any expression when journalists asked him whether he had any message for Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

India introduces strict Mobile Radiation Rules

Posted: 31 Aug 2012 12:36 PM PDT

Stringent new radiation norms for mobile phone towers and mobile handsets will come into effect Sep 1 across the country, the government announced Friday, keeping in view their possible adverse impact on human health.

“We have to be careful as a nation. Technology must be embraced but ultimately public health should not be compromised,” Communications Minister Kapil Sibal told reporters here, unveiling the norms.

Under the electromagnetic frequency(EMF) radiation standards, all handsets will have to display their exposure limit on the handset like IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity) number display.

A penalty of Rs.5 lakh will be liable to be levied per tower per service provider for non-compliance of EMF standards.

The new EMF limit will be one tenth the existing exposure limit for all mobile phone towers across the country.

“Indian standards would now be 10 times more stringent than more than 90 percent countries in the world,” the communications ministry said in a statement.

The norms also say that mobile handsets shall comply with the Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) values of 1.6 W/kg averaged over 1 gram of human tissue. Earlier it was 2W/kg over 10 gram of human tissue.

All cellphone handsets sold in the market in India shall be available in hands-free mode. Existing handsets which do not comply with these norms will co-exist only up to Aug 31, 2013.

From Sep 1, 2012 only the mobile handsets with revised SAR value would be permitted to be manufactured or imported in India.

The ministry issued guidelines for mobile handset owners. It says customers shoul follow basic health rules such as holding the cell phone away from body to the extent possible and using a headset to keep the handset away from your head.

The government said it will set up a test laboratory in the telecom engineering centre (TEC) by this year-end for testing of SAR value of mobile handsets.

The Comptroller and Auditor General in a report tabled in parliament Thursday had slammed the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) for delay in finalising safety standards for cell phones.

Advance Pricing Agreement Norms gets into effect Thursday

Posted: 31 Aug 2012 10:30 AM PDT

Advance Pricing Agreement (APA) norms, introduced in this year’s Budget, have come into effect from Aug 30, 2012, an official release said Friday.

An APA is an agreement between the income tax department and any person, which determines, in advance, the arm’s length price in relation to an international transaction

Once APA has been entered into for an international transaction, the arm’s length price for the period specified in the APA will be determined only in accordance with the APA.

The APA scheme is a finance ministry measure for bring in greater clarity in transfer pricing norms. The ministry had earlier this month notified that where the variation between the arm’s length price determined under Income Tax Act provisions and the price at which an international transaction had been undertaken did not exceed five percent of the latter, the price at which the transaction took place would be taken as the arm’s length price.

The arm’s length price is critical for companies with international operations and subsidiaries trading with each other. There is often an incentive to reduce the overall tax burden by manipulation of inter-company prices.

The APA regime had to begin from July 1 but its notification had been delayed.

India is generally regarded as among the more difficult transfer pricing destinations, with more than half the transfer pricing audits facing adjustments resulting in an additional tax demand and litigation.

The continuation of the five percent tolerance range and the APA mechanism are expected to bring in certainty and transparency to the transfer pricing process.

Once in a Blue Moon Phrase gets enlivened in the Sky

Posted: 31 Aug 2012 09:30 AM PDT

Thousands of people today cherished watching the “blue moon”, a phenomenon when a full moon appears twice in a month.

“It is a normal full moon, except for the fact that it occurs twice in a month,” says C.B. Devgan of the Science Popularisation Association Communicators and Educators (SPACE).

“The special thing about it is that it’s once in two or two-and-a-half years that a full moon appears twice in a month,” he says.

“It is exciting, though the moon looks the same. The fact that this is the blue moon makes it special,” says Devika, a student.

However, the blue moon is not blue in colour, unless there is volcanic ash in the atmosphere.

“In 1946, a writer for “Sky and Telescope” magazine declared a blue moon to be the second full moon in a month with two of them,” explains Devgan.

Some years even boast of two blue moons. This last happened in 1999, and it will occur again in 2018.

Ratan Tata hopeful of a Tata Motors facility in Singur

Posted: 31 Aug 2012 09:09 AM PDT

Showing no bitterness over what happened in Singur, Tata Group Chairman Ratan Tata Friday said some day Tata Motors will have a plant somewhere in the state.

“Several persons have asked about Singur. I think it doesn’t bring any sense of anger to me, just a sense of sadness that we couldn’t do something here,” Tata told shareholders at the annual general meeting of Tata Global Beverages here.

“It (Singur case) is sub-judice today and whatever the outcome is, I think we will respect the law and wishes of the Bengal government,” he said.

Tata, who chaired the AGM for the last time as he will retire in December when he turns 75, said: “May be one day you will have a Tata Motors factory somewhere in Bengal and hopefully be welcomed.”

The automobile giant had plans to roll out the the small car Nano from Singur in Hooghly district, but had to shift to Sanand in Gujarat following an intense political protest spearheaded by the then main opposition Trinamool Congress who demanded return of 400 acres of land allegedly taken forcibly from farmers by the then Left Front government.

Tata turned very emotional when he was replying to the shareholders and thanked them for their sentiments and warmth.

“I am an emotional person and will not forget this occasion,” he said.

Potatoes of Nalanda to be exported to Russia

Posted: 31 Aug 2012 06:30 AM PDT

Farmers in Bihar’s Nalanda district are happy that potatoes grown by them through organic farming will be exported to Russia.

R.K. Sohane, director, Bihar agriculture management and extension training institute (Bameti), said a Delhi-based export firm, Indian Potato Ltd, is keen to purchase one lakh tonnes potatoes from the Nalanda farmers for export to Russia.

“It is a big development for the hundreds of farmers growing patato and will encourage farmers engaged in growing other crops and boost the state’s agriculture,” Sohane told IANS here.

Bihar is the third-largest potato producing state after Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.

Nalanda, the home district of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, is the leading potato producing district in Bihar with farmers growing the crop over more than 27,000 hectares.

Early this year, a young farmer of Darveshpura village in Nalanda set a world record, harvesting 72.9 tonnes of the tuber per hectare through organic farming.

Sohane and M.L. Choudhary, vice chancellor of Bihar Agriculture University in Bhagalpur, along with the officials of the firm held talks with farmers during their visit to Nalanda early this week to buy potatoes from them.

“The export firm is keen to purchase potato grown through organic and non-organic methods from farmers in Nalanda,” Choudhary said.

Sohane said officials of the export firm were impressed by the varieties of potatoes shown to them by registered farmers growing potato in Nalanda. “The firm is likely to finalise the deal with farmers soon,” he said.

Jharkhand presents Rs 411 Crore Supplementary Budget

Posted: 31 Aug 2012 05:30 AM PDT

Jharkhand government presented a Rs.411 crore first supplementary budget in the state assembly on Friday.

Deputy Chief Minister Hemant Soren, who is also in charge of the finance ministry, tabled the supplementary budget.

The monsoon session of the Jharkhand assembly began Friday.

A large chunk of the supplementary budget has been allocated to higher education and rural development, with these sectors getting Rs.40 crore and Rs.36 crore, respectively.

The opposition parties have criticised the state government for presenting the supplementary budget.

“There are many departments where the state government’s expenditure is zero. What is the use of presenting a supplementary budget when the government is unable to spend money,” asked Pradeep Yadav, Jharkhand Vikas Morcha-Prajatantrik (JVM-P) legislator.

How Garden City is slowly becoming Garbage City ?

Posted: 31 Aug 2012 04:30 AM PDT

As the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) first chief minister in Karnataka B.S. Yeddyurappa and scores of legislators battle cases against them related to what has come to be known as land-grabbing, the state government is struggling now to find land to dump the thousands of tonnes of garbage that ‘garden city’ Bangalore dishes out every day.

This is one problem the land-scam- and corruption-marred BJP government did not expect in the last year of its maiden rule in Karnataka.

Bangalore is fast turning into a ‘garbage city’ with mounds of garbage visible at almost every street corner, driving people to desperation as heavy rains have compounded the problem.

The mounting garbage across the state capital has drawn the ire of not only the common people but also Governor H.R. Bhardwaj and the high court.

Bhardwaj has twice this week expressed displeasure at the failure of the BJP-ruled Bangalore civic body to keep the city clean. Hoping to shake it up, he said he was ready to clear the garbage if 20 workers were given to him.

Hearing a public interest petition filed by a Bangalore advocate, G.R. Mohan, on the garbage problem, Chief Justice Vikramajit Sen and Justice B.V. Nagarathna told BBMP (Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike) Monday that it was offering “lame excuses”.

Justice Sen said the court may have to order suspension or even dismissal of officials responsible for the problem.

Those who have to walk past the stinking mounds, particularly in market areas, covering their noses have taken to deriding the garden city as garbage city.

The problem got acute as heavy rains lashed many parts of the city almost daily since Sunday flooding the roads with garbage and adding to the stink.

The around eight million population of the city daily generates 5,000 tonnes of garbage, which was being dumped in three landfills on the outskirts of the city in spite of increasing protests from the people living around those areas.

Even then the city was not clean as heaps of garbage were to be found in many places.

The problem took a turn for the worse following a July 11 directive by the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board to stop dumping the garbage at Mavallipura, the biggest of the three landfills.

The board ordered the stoppage on the ground that a private firm, Ramky Enviro Engineering Ltd., which had got the contract to process the garbage dumped in Mavallipura had failed to do so, leading to accumulation of over two million tonnes of waste.

The board directed that garbage be dumped in the two other landfills, of which one is located at Mandur and the other managed by Terra Firma.

All the three landfills are in the Doddaballapur revenue sub-division (taluk), about 45 km north of the city.

BBMP mayor D. Venkatesh Murthy has been having meetings with people around these three landfills to persuade them to agree to the dumping. He has been assuring them that the garbage would not be left to rot creating health hazard but would be scientifically disposed of.

However, the residents are not buying the promise.

Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar, who is the third BJP leader to lead the state in four years, is also having a series of meetings with BBMP officials to find a way out of the increasingly unbearable stink and is hopeful of finding an early solution.

The immediate fallout of the high court’s stern warning to BBMP was that the government shunted out the BBMP commissioner M.K. Shankaralinge Gowda and appointed in his place another senior Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, Rajneesh Goel.

Goel has his work cut out and says he is ready for it.

Soon after taking over office, he told reporters that Surat faced a similar situation several years ago but is now one of the best cities. He also referred to how the problem is handled in Chandigarh, the city he hails from.

His mantra is micro-management.

The BJP, which is ruling the state and BBMP for the first time and has already earned a damning image as the most corrupt regime Karnataka has seen, can only hope that this approach will avoid more muck sticking to it.

Admiral Devendra Joshi appointed as Indian Navy Chief of Staff

Posted: 31 Aug 2012 03:31 AM PDT

Admiral Devendra Kumar Joshi, an anti-submarine warfare specialist, Friday took over as the new Indian Navy chief.

He succeeds Admiral Nirmal Verma, who retired from service after 43 years of service.

Admiral Joshi, who was till Thursday the Mumbai-based Western Naval Commander, is the 21st navy chief of Independent India and the 19th Indian to take command of the world’s sixth largest naval force.

In the morning, Admiral Joshi paid tribute to the country’s martyrs by laying a wreath at the Amar Jawan Jyoti in India Gate and inspected an impressive Guard of Honour at the lawns of South Block, the seat of the naval headquarters on Raisina Hill.

Later, in the office of the navy chief, Admiral Verma ceremonially handed over the chief’s telescope to Admiral Joshi to mark the handing over of office from the incumbent to the successor.

In his maiden message to the navy, Admiral Joshi indicated his priorities as the new chief.

“For the navy to fulfil its mandate as a maritime power for national prosperity, 24×7 attention would need to be paid at all levels to ensure that there are no gaps in our security preparedness,” Joshi said.

He emphasised: “To achieve security related objectives, the man-machine interface is crucial and the navy would need to professionally re-audit, train and consolidate its preparedness to optimise the existing capabilities as well as harness the full potential of the transformational new capabilities being inducted.”

In his 38-year service till now, Admiral Joshi has commanded guided missile corvette INS Kuthar, guided missile destroyer INS Ranvir and India’s lone aircraft carrier INS Viraat.

He has also been awarded the Nausena Medal, Vishist Seva Medal and Yudh Seva Medal, respectively, while commanding these warships.

Subsequently, he commanded the Eastern Fleet, when Ati Vishist Seva Medal was awarded to him.

Admiral Joshi has also commanded the Andaman and Nicobar Command, the only tri-service integrated formation of the country and was awarded the Param Vishist Seva Medal during this time.

Later, he served as the Chief of Integrated Defence Staff to Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee (CISC).

Admiral Joshi is a graduate of the US Naval War College, an alumnus of the Mumbai-based College of Naval Warfare and the capital-based National Defence College.

He was also the defence advisor in the Indian high commission in Singapore from 1996 to 1999.

He is married to Chitra Joshi and the couple have two daughters.

Indian Economic Growth gets down by 3 percent

Posted: 31 Aug 2012 03:30 AM PDT

The Indian economy grew at a sluggish 5.5 percent in the first quarter of this fiscal in comparison to 8 percent in the corresponding quarter of the previous financial year owing to poor performance of manufacturing, mining and agriculture sector, official data showed Friday.

The April-June quarter data is slightly better than the 5.3 percent growth registered in the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) during the quarter ended March 31, 2012.

The figure is better than analysts’ expectations of 5.2 percent.

The sluggish growth in the first quarter was mainly on account of a mere 0.2 percent growth in the manufacturing sector, against 7.3 percent in the corresponding quarter of previous fiscal, even as farm sector growth dropped from 3.7 percent to 2.9 percent, according to data released by the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO).

Construction and services sector, which includes insurance, finance and realty, grew at 10.9 percent and 10.8 percent, respectively, during the quarter under review. These two groups had expanded by 3.5 percent and 9.4 percent, respectively, in the first quarter of 2011-12.

Seeing the data, top economic policymakers said the growth numbers were consistent with the government’s estimates.

“These numbers are consistent with the overall economic growth of 6.7 percent projected by us,” said C. Rangarajan, chairman of the prime minister’s Economic Advisory Council.

Rangarajan said the economic growth is likely to remain sluggish even in the second quarter of the current financial year.

“You will see pick-up in the second half of the year. In the third and fourth quarter, one should expect the rebound,” he said.

The Indian economy has been under stress in the recent quarters largely due to poor performance of the industrial and farm sector. The country’s GDP growth slumped to 6.5 percent in 2011-12, which is even lower than the 6.7 percent level achieved during the global financial crisis of 2008-09. The economy had expanded by 8.4 percent in 2010-11.

Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia also expressed a similar hope saying the growth would pick up in the second half of the fiscal.

“By the end of the second quarter and especially in the third quarter, we will have a rebound,” Ahluwalia said.

He, however, said the revival in the economy would depend on investments, both from public as well as private sectors.

India’s GDP at factor cost at constant (2004-2005) prices is estimated at Rs.13,06,276 crore in the first quarter of 2012-13 as compared to Rs.12,38,738 crore during the corresponding period of last year, showing a growth rate of 5.5 percent, the CSO data showed.

“GDP for the first quarter has marginally improved to 5.5 percent. While the slight improvement over fourth quarter of 2012 is comforting, the individual components of GDP are of concern,” said Anis Chakravarty, senior director, Deloitte in India.

“Service sector growth, which had earlier held at over 8 percent, has steeply declined to 6.9 percent — driven partly by low transport sector output. Further, industrial activity has not picked up — high capital goods variance with low mining and manufacturing output remains a cause of concern,” Chakravarty said.
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Thursday, 30 August 2012

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

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

Non-polluting units to get land in Lucknow

Posted: 30 Aug 2012 06:42 AM PDT

Lucknow Industrial Development Authority (LIDA) will soon launch a scheme to provide around 50 acres of developed land for non-polluting industrial use.

The proposal was approved Wednesday at a meeting of LIDA’s board of directors.

It was also decided that LIDA would try to increase its land bank to around 500 acres — the target for the current financial year.

LIDA Chief Executive Officer Sanjay Prasad said they had around 50 acres of compact and developed land and a scheme would soon be launched to invite entrepreneurs to set-up non-polluting industrial units there.

Also, a substation will soon be built to ensure quality power supply to around 350 acres of a LIDA project.

The meeting also granted approval to upgrading and strengthening the link road connecting a proposed IT-park to National Highway-2.

LIDA is also looking for financial assistance from the National Capital Region Planning Board (NCRPB) for developing the Lucknow-Kanpur industrial corridor.

Sanjay Prasad said the last date for submission of Expression of Interest for selection of anchor investor for the development of an IT-Park would not be extended beyond Sep 10.

In case no one expressed interest, LIDA would go ahead for tenders with two companies, which had initially applied for the project, he said.

Only Gurgaon-based Raheja Developers and Hyderabad-based Aditya Housing and Infrastructure Development Corporation Private Ltd have expressed interest in the project.

Infrastructure and Industrial Development Commissioner Anil Kumar Gupta said LIDA had the potential to push industrial development in and around Lucknow and efforts should be made to make it a catalyst for innovative entrepreneurship.

Nawazuddin Siddiqui aims to be Industry’s Highest Paid Actor

Posted: 30 Aug 2012 05:39 AM PDT

After getting recognition and accolades for his work in films like “Kahaani” and “Gangs of Wasseypur”, actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui is thinking big and his latest dream is to become the highest paid actor. But he is not ready to compromise on his work for money or luxury.

“I am very happy the way things have shaped up in my career… Now I am getting all the credit for my hard work. I want to be the highest paid actor in Bollywood and I am sure even that day will come soon,” Nawazuddin told IANS.

“I don’t dream of having a flat in Mumbai or owning a car. By buying a flat of Rs.2 or Rs.3 crore, I will not compromise by doing any sort of work to repay the loan. I will never compromise with my work for the luxury. I want to do some good work.”

Nawazuddin, 38, has a handful of films – “Aatma”, “Mountain Man”, and “Lunch Box”, among others – and said: “Post-’Gangs Of Wasseypur’, I am doing ‘Aatma’ with Bipasha Basu. Almost more than 50 percent of the film is ready. We are gearing up for the last schedule which will be shot in Panchgani and in Mumbai,” the 38-year-old said.

Bihar to get Indo-Israel agriculture centres

Posted: 30 Aug 2012 04:33 AM PDT

Two Indo-Israel Agriculture Centre of Excellence may come up in Bihar.

This follows hour-long discussions Israeli ambassador Alon Ushpiz had with Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in Patna Wednesday, an Israeli embassy statement here said.

Accompanying the ambassador was the embassy’s agriculture counsellor, Uri Rubinstein.

The agricultural centres will focus on fruit and vegetable cultivation, the statement said.

Nitish Kumar and Ushpiz also discussed possibilities for cooperation in water treatment, aquaculture, dairy and grain storage. Solar energy was also identified as a potential field for cooperation.

Ushpiz invited Nitish Kumar to visit Israel.

Said the ambassador: “There is no doubt that the potential for cooperation between Israel and Bihar is rich, and what we can achieve together in agriculture and water is indeed promising.

“I hope that in the next couple of months we will be able to marry Israeli technologies and know-how in the fields of fruits and vegetables, dairy, crop storage and water, with the proven capabilities of the farming sector of Bihar.”

Lok Sabha passes chemical weapons, AIIMS bills

Posted: 30 Aug 2012 03:32 AM PDT

Lok Sabha has passed a bill for regulating chemical weapons in accordance with international convention and another to set up more AIIMS-like institutes amidst opposition din demanding prime minister’s resignation.

As BJP and its allies raised slogans, the Chemical Weapons Convention (Amendment) Bill, 2012, and All India Institute of Medical Sciences (Amendment) Bill, 2012, were passed by voice vote.

The AIIMS bill will replace an ordinance which allowed the six AIIMS-like institutes to become operational from Sep 15.

The Chemical Weapons Convention (Amendment) Bill seeks to amend the Chemical Weapons Convention Act, 2000, which was enacted to give effect to the convention on the Prohibition of the development, production, stockpiling and use of chemical weapons and on their destruction.

India had signed the convention Jan 14, 1993.

The passing of the two bills, despite the BJP’s attempts to disrupt parliament proceedings for the seventh day in a row over the official auditor’s report on coal block allocations, shows the government’s mind to get its legislative business conducted before the monsoon session ends Sep 7.

Indian Army to buy 20 Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

Posted: 29 Aug 2012 08:30 PM PDT

To better arm its troops fighting insurgents in the border state of Jammu and Kashmir, the Indian Army is buying 20 man-portable, mini unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that can be deployed to gather intelligence and mount surveillance.

The mini-UAVs are being bought by the Udhampur-based Northern Army Command. Earlier this month, it issued a tender open to global original equipment manufactuters.

Sources in the Northern Army Command said the mini-UAVs will augment the Israeli UAVs that the over three lakh troops in Jammu and Kashmir already use.

“The tender was issued earlier this month and we expect the mini-UAV manufacturers to respond by the beginning of September this year. After perusal of the proposals, the orders will be placed for the 20 mini-UAVs required at present,” souces said.

The procurement is being made under the Northern Army Commander’s special financial powers as “the quantity is less and costs low”, the source said.

The mini-UAV that the troops will get will weigh less than 10 kg and can be transported on the shoulders of a trooper.

The mini-UAV will have cameras, including an infrared one, for night use. It also comes equipped with recording devices and sensors for mounting surveillance.

“We have asked for mini-UAVs that can be assembled by the troops themselves within 20 minutes and deployed for about an hour over a specific area of about five-km radius,” sources said.

The mini-UAVs will be propelled by an electric motor and hence it will be literally noise-free once it attains a height of 500 metres above ground level. This will help it avoid detection.

The ceiling for this flying machine will be 1,000 metres above ground level. It will have a cruise speed of about 40 knots or over 70 kmph.

Indian armed forces are at present using about 100 Searcher-II and 60 Heron UAVs, both from the Israeli stable.

India is also in the process of developing indigenous UAVs such as Nishant and Rustom.
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Wednesday, 29 August 2012

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

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

Greater Noida to have Night Safari to boost Tourism

Posted: 29 Aug 2012 07:30 PM PDT

Preliminary work on the first night safari in India is likely to begin soon in Greater Noida, a growing suburban town of Delhi.

The Greater Noida Master Plan 2021 was approved by the National Capital Region (NCR) Board last week.

The project, conceived on the lines of the famed Singapore Night Safari, had been stuck up for want of a green signal from the NCR board, officials told IANS.

“Now the biggest bottleneck has been removed. We hope to start work at the earliest,” said Anil Kumar Gupta, the Infrastructure and Industrial Development Commissioner.

Progress on the night safari, one of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav’s favourite projects, is being monitored by Chief Secretary Jawed Usmani.

The state government is likely to proceed with the bid invitation process for developing the wildlife night park through public-private partnership mode.

“The 102-acre land for the project will not require any land use change as it is already marked for recreational green. The project has already got statutory approvals from the Central Zoo Authority and the Supreme Court,” Gupta said.

The project was conceived in 2005 by the Samajwadi Party government of Mulayam Singh Yadav but was grounded by the Bahujan Samaj Party.

The government has decided not to allow any commercial construction or housing projects within the safari area, which will have 60 percent animals from abroad and 40 percent from the Indian subcontinent.

A total of 71 species of animals, including 58 species of mammals, eight species of birds, three species of reptiles and two species of gigantic lizards, is proposed for the project.

Indian Coast Guard inducts new Inshore Patrol Vessel

Posted: 29 Aug 2012 06:30 PM PDT

Indian Coast Guard (ICG) has inducted a new Inshore Patrol Vessel (IPV) at Visakhapatnam that will aid the maritime force to secure the eastern coastline from terror threats, smuggling, gun-running, poaching and other such crimes.

Indian Navy’s Eastern Naval Command chief Vice Admiral Anil Chopra, who has earlier served as the ICG director general, inducted ICGS Rajkiran into service in the presence of East Coast Guard Region Commander Inspector General S.P. Sharma.

The vessel, the third in a series of eight IPVs, is designed and built by the Kolkata-based defence public sector undertaking Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers.

The 50-metre indigenous IPV displaces 300 tonnes and can achieve a maximum speed of 34 knots, with an endurance of 1,500 nautical miles at an economical speed of 16 knots.

Equipped with state-of-the-art weaponry and advanced communication and navigational systems, it is ideal for close-coast missions such as surveillance, interdiction, search and rescue, and medical evacuation, according to a defence ministry release here.

Special features of the ship include an Integrated Bridge Management System (IBMS), Integrated Machinery Control System (IMCS) and an integrated gun mount with indigenous Fire Control system (FCS).

ICGS Rajkiran, literally meaning ‘Royal Light’, will be based at Haldia in West Bengal and will be under the administrative and operational control of the Northeast Coast Guard Region commander.

In his address during the commissioning ceremony, Vice Admiral Anil Chopra assured that the Indian Navy and the Indian Coast Guard are working in tandem to achieve the overall objective of maritime and coastal security of the country.

He also stated that there are numerous stakeholders involved in coastal security and building synergy amongst all of them is extremely important to achieve the common goal of national security.

ICGS Rajkiran will be commanded by Lieutenant Commander Sumanta Roy, a specialist in anti-submarine warfare. It will have a crew of five officers and 30 enlisted personnel.

NRIs denied LPG Connection in India

Posted: 29 Aug 2012 05:30 PM PDT

Unable to procure a cooking gas connection for his home in Punjab has forced a British citizen of Indian origin to approach the Punjab Non-Resident Indians (NRI) commission.

The commission has, in turn, issued notice to the union ministry of petroleum and natural gas.

The notice has been issued on a complaint filed by Baldev Singh, who is from Punjab’s Moga district, but is now a British citizen and holds a Person of Indian Origin (PIO) card, a spokesman of the commission said here Wednesday.

In his complaint, Baldev Singh pointed out that while many benefits have been given to people of Indian origin for their stay in India, they cannot live without an LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) cylinder.

He pointed out that to get an LPG connection, the applicant has to make a declaration that “I am an Indian Citizen”.

He said that since he is not an Indian citizen but holds a PIO card, he could not apply for a gas cylinder.

“This frustrates my intention to stay in India for a longer period,” he said.

The spokesman said that Singh was claiming relief to the extent that the declaration should include “OCI/PIO card-holders” to enable them to get gas connections.

The ministry has been asked to file a reply on or before Oct 5 to the commission.

Punjab has a huge population of NRIs, most of whom are settled in the US, Britain, Canada, Australia and other countries.

2016 Obama’s America – A Film by Indo-American rocks US

Posted: 29 Aug 2012 04:30 PM PDT

Washington DC An anti-Obama film by an Indian-American conservative author that has rocked the box office is set to make further inroads across the nation, thanks to the buzz created by Republican National convention.

Mumbai-born Dinesh D’Souza’s documentary “2016: Obama’s America,” that purports to show what the nation will be like should President Obama be re-elected, will expand to about 1,800 theatres Friday, entertainment trade site TheWrap reported citing Rocky Mountain Pictures.

That’s up from the 1,091 theatres it played in over the weekend, when it took in $6.2 million between Friday and Sunday for a per-screen average of $5,940 – the best of any film in wide release. It added another $1.2 million at the box office Monday.

Produced for roughly $2.1 million, the film – with its catchphrase, “Love Him. Hate Him. You Don’t Know Him” – has made $10.3 million since its release seven weeks ago and has surpassed “Bully” as the year’s top-earning documentary.

Co-directors John Sullivan and D’Souza, along with producers Gerald Molen and Doug Sain, are in Tampa, Florida for the Republican gathering that Tuesday officially anointed Mitt Romney as its presidential candidate to challenge Obama in the Nov 6 election.

Based on D’Souza’s book, “The Roots of Obama’s Rage”, the documentary basically argues that Obama has a pro-third world view inherited from his Kenyan father, and he is actively and wilfully working to dilute America’s primacy in the world.

Trade publication Variety pegs it as a “slickly produced” documentary that could “turn a tidy profit” with content that prompts discussion about “President Obama as a clear and present danger whose socialist governing philosophy has been indelibly coloured by radical influences.”

Although it’s not likely to win fans among Obama supporters, Variety’s review continues, “there’s no gain saying the value of ’2016′ as a sort of Cliffs Notes precis of the conservative case against the re-election of our current US president”.

Kolkata Scientists discover cure for Big Tummy

Posted: 29 Aug 2012 03:34 PM PDT

Pill popping has become a reflex action to aid quick pain relief, often leading to gastro complications and sometimes even hospitalisation. Now, relief could be at hand with researchers at the Indian Institute of Chemical Biology (IICB) here synthesising a novel molecule that helps shield the stomach.

According to IICB researchers, their discovery provides relief from the stomach complications (gastropathy) arising from the use of common pain killers belonging to the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) group.

Approximately 30 million patients worldwide consume NSAIDs on a daily basis to aid in pain, inflammation, rheumatic disorders and osteoarthritis. The downside is that approximately 107,000 patients are hospitalised every year due to NSAID-related gastrointestinal complications.

The IICB study chose indomethacin as the representative NSAID over others because it is most frequently used in gastrointestinal toxicity studies in experimental animals, in this case the Sprague-Dawley rats.

Indomethacin generates the deadly reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the cell which damages the cell’s chemical energy (ATP) generating unit – the mitochondria.

“In order to block cell damage and the following organ damage, we have designed and synthesised a small molecule, tryptamine-gallic acid hybrid (SEGA), which successfully prevents damage by scavenging ROS, chelating the free iron and preventing cell death,” Uday Bandyopadhyay of the Division of Infectious Diseases and Immunology, IICB, told IANS.

ROS, researchers explained, are chemically reactive molecules containing oxygen, also termed free radicals. If not reined in, they can release clustered iron in the mitochondria which in turn leads to production of more ROS.

The combo of free iron and ROS initiates a domino effect beginning with mitochondrial dysfunction, leading to cell damage and cell death that ultimately leads to organ damage (intestinal lining damage).

According to the study published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry in 2012, the hybrid product was formed when gallic acid (GA), an antioxidant was conjugated with 5′-hydroxy tryptamine (5HT) through amide linkage (the linkage found in proteins).

“Other tryptamine-antioxidant conjugates were synthesised and tested but SEGA was the most promising one,” said Bandyopadhyay.

All in all, the shield of SEGA seems an important defence against NSAID induced stomach disorders.

Despite Jet Airways’s Emergency Landing, an Infant Child Dies

Posted: 29 Aug 2012 02:30 PM PDT

A desperate bid by a Jet Airways flight, which made an unscheduled landing at Amritsar on Wednesday morning, to save the life of a three-year-old girl went in vain as she died on way to a hospital.

The Milan to New Delhi Jet flight made an emergency landing at Amritsar’s Raja Sansi International Airport here to save the child, who had started vomiting severely during the flight. She was suffering from breathlessness after she fell ill on board the flight.

After being given medical aid at the airport, the child was immediately rushed to a private hospital here, where doctors declared her brought dead.

She was accompanied from Milan by her parents and brother. The family belonged to Pehowa town in Haryana’s Kurukshetra district.

There were around 100 passengers and crew on board the flight when it landed here. The flight left for Delhi after over one hour.

Mamata Banerjee answers Question for the First Time

Posted: 29 Aug 2012 01:30 PM PDT

After all the flak she drew the last time she got a man arrested for publicly questioning her government’s policies, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee Wednesday chose to answer a similar question raised by a young man at a rally at Krishnanagar WB.

“The subject is not in our control. It is a central subject, so only the central government can do something about it. In my last visit to Delhi, I asked the government and the prime minister to control prices,” Banerjee said when a youth shouted to her a query about rising fertiliser prices.

Banerjee has embarked on a five-day tour of six districts beginning with Nadia. She was addressing a rally in Krishnanagar when the young man in the crowd asked her the question.

Far from being infuriated, as in the past on such occasions, the chief minister asked the farmers to complain against black marketeers, assuring them that the government would act against the guilty.

At a rally in in Belpahari in West Midnapore district Aug 8, Shiladitya Chowdhury, a marginal farmer, said to the chief minister, “Farmers are dying because they have no money. Empty promises are not enough. What are you doing for farmers?”

Stunned by the question, an angry Banerjee branded the farmer a “Maoist” and asked the police to nab him as he was “intentionally disrupting the rally”.

Chowdhury was detained and taken for interrogation by the police.

Though allowed to go that day, he was later arrested. He was remanded to 14 days’ judicial custody before being granted bail.

BSF admits infiltration of Bangladeshis into India

Posted: 29 Aug 2012 12:30 PM PDT

Even as the controversy over infiltration into India via the Bangladesh border rages on, the director general (DG) of the Border Security Force (BSF) on Wednesday said he was not confident that there was “zero entrance” of Bangladeshis into India.

“We have pushed back 15,000 Bangladeshis this year. The border is a complex one and I cannot say with confidence that there is zero entrance from the Bangladesh border,” BSF DG U.K. Bansal said here.

Bansal is on a three-day visit to Punjab, which has a 553-km international border with Pakistan.

“We are keeping a strict vigil at the Bangladesh border. It has its own character and problems. It is a human issue and it cannot be completely sealed as people have relatives on both sides,” Bansal said here.

He said the BSF was being extra vigilant in Jammu and Kashmir after a tunnel was recently discovered along the border in Samba sector.

“No infiltration has taken place through this tunnel,” he added.

He said more watch towers would be set up along the India-Pakistan border in Punjab. He said that in view of increased trade through the Attari-Wagah land border route, full body truck scanners were required at the new integrated check post at Attari.

Wipro to train Teachers at University of Massachusetts

Posted: 29 Aug 2012 11:29 AM PDT

Wipro Limited, a subsidiary of Indian IT major Wipro will train 120 school teachers at University of Massachusetts in Boston, US, over the next three years to foster excellence in science education among students.

“The 12-month fellowship programme is aimed at developing competencies in teachers and make them catalysts of change in schools where less privileged students from Boston and New York read,” the global software major said in a statement here Wednesday.

Funded by Wipro, the programme will select 40 science teachers from Boston and New York for the fellowship by Jan 2013 and the course will begin from Sep 1, 2013.

“The programme is part of our efforts to align with the US’s goal to engender an environment that instills and nurtures scientific temper and innovative spirit among young people,” Wipro chief executive T.K. Kurien said in the statement.

“The programme involves a set of activities to improve teachers’ pedagogical and content knowledge with the aim of boosting the performance of underprivileged students,” Kurien said.

The University of Massachusetts will partner with a university in New York and multiple school districts in Boston and New York to administer the programme.

“Wipro’s science education initiative aligns with the ‘educate to innovate’ campaign to improve the performance of US students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM),” Kurien noted.

University of Massachusetts Chanceller J. Keith Motley said effective STEM education was crucial to students’ success.

“We are upbeat on playing a role in providing Boston’s teachers with new skills for imparting mastery in these fields,” Motley said.

For the past decade, Wipro has been working towards empowering education in India with its ‘Applying Thought in Schools’ initiative to help in societal change and development by improving the quality of education.

The company works with teachers to enhance employability skills of engineering graduates across India through its not-for profit initiative Mission10X.

French Company to jointly make Radars with India

Posted: 29 Aug 2012 10:30 AM PDT

French aerospace and electronics major Thales has said it would partner with and form a joint venture with India’s Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) to build civilian and defence radars.

“The JVC will be dedicated to the design, development, marketing, supply and support of civilian and select defence radars for Indian and global markets,” Thales said in a statement.

The decision by the directors of both companies to form the joint venture (JV) is subject to mandatory approvals of the respective governments. The two companies had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) three years ago.

Under the current Indian foreign direct investment (FDI) norms in the defence sector, the French company will hold 26 percent equity in the JV. The remaining 74 percent equity will be held by the state-run BEL.

The city-based Rs.5,700-crore BEL offers products and services such as radars, military communications, naval systems, electronic warfare systems, opto-electronics, solar photovoltaic systems, embedded software and electronic components.

As a leading aerospace and transport firm, Thales is present in 56 countries worldwide and employs about 67,000 people, including 22,500 engineers and researchers.
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Tuesday, 28 August 2012

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

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

Designers romp for Aamby Valley India Bridal Fashion Week

Posted: 28 Aug 2012 04:30 PM PDT

 As many as 11 top-notch designers will participate in the forthcoming Aamby Valley India Bridal Fashion Week at New Delhi and they gave a sneak peek into their special creations at an introductory event.

Sonakshi Sinha was the special guest at the fashion event, which kick started with Miss India World Vanya Mishra walking the ramp in designer JJ Valaya’s A-line burgundy-coloured suit with golden embroidery.

The five-day fashion show will be opened by Tarun Tahiliani in Mumbai Sep 12.

Also, Vikram Phadnis, designer duo Shantanu-Nikhil, Meera-Muzaffar Ali, Ashima-Leena, Narendra Kumar Ahmed, Falguni-Shane, Anjalee-Arjun Kapoor, Mandira Wirk, Jyotsana Tiwari and JJ Valaya, who is the closing designer, are participating in it.

Talking about grand finale, Valaya told IANS: “What I showed here was actually Burgundy and obviously red is intrinsic to the whole bridal thing, but my collection will see a lot of turquoise, a lot of flame colours.”

The event took a starry turn when Bollywood actress Sonakshi Sinha sashayed down the ramp in a red net sari with a thin golden border created by Jyotsna Tiwari.

Asked when does she plan to get married, the 25-year-old said: “I don’t know what I am doing day after tomorrow, how can I say that? Right now I am just glad wearing these beautiful bridal outfits.”

The Aamby Valley India Bridal Fashion Week has also announced the date for the fashion event in 2013 – it will take place in the capital from Aug 2 to Aug 7 and in Mumbai, will be held between Sep 20 to Sep 25.

India to develop Renewable Energy in Pakistan

Posted: 28 Aug 2012 03:30 PM PDT

Renewable energy development can be another area of cooperation between India and Pakistan.

A visiting Pakistan delegation led by Zafar Mahmood, secretary in Pakistan’s water and power ministry held talks Tuesday with officials in India’s ministry of new and renewable energy.

The high-ranking Pakistan official said that renewable energy being a relatively new area in Pakistan, the interaction had been extremely useful and provided an opportunity to learn from the Indian experience.

Gireesh Pradhan, secretary in the ministry of new and renewable energy, gave the Pakistan delegation a detailed overview of India’s journey in the development and application of renewable energy. The focus of the presentation was on solar, wind, biomass and small hydro sectors.

India’s achievement in installing over 25,000 MW of grid-connected renewable energy was lauded by the Pakistan delegation.

The Pakistani officials were informed about Indian Electricity Act 2003 and Tariff Policy provisions with reference to the renewable purchase obligation for renewable energy, which makes it mandatory for all power distribution companies to purchase a minimum percentage of power generated through renewables.

The provision is an effective instrument for promoting the use of renewable energy.

The visiting delegation was also informed about fiscal and financial incentives given by the union government to promote renewable energy.

Illegal Drinking Party busted in Pune

Posted: 28 Aug 2012 01:30 PM PDT

Pune  A weekend drinks party allegedly going on at a resort of the relative of a Maharashtra politician was busted here last week and over 750 underage people detained for consuming liquor and smoking.

“We had been receiving complaints from parents stating that their children hold such parties and pressurise them to grant permission to attend the said parties. They had approached us requesting if we can bust such parties and send the children home,” an official from the Pune Police’s Social Security Cell told IANS.

These parents had also provided the address where the party was being organised. Acting on this tip-off, police raided the party where over 750 youngsters were seen drinking and smoking.

“Most of them were underage. They were mostly school students. Only a few of them were above 18,” the official said.

Considering their age, the children were let off with a warning. Most students were brought to the police station and then handed over to their parents, who thanked the policemen for taking their children to task for attending such parties where alcohol was consumed.

Police had also detained two of the seven organisers of the party and six boys above the age of 18, who were let off later after they paid a penalty.

The entry fee for the party was Rs.400 each and had two themes. In the “Happy Hour” theme, students could buy alcohol for half the price while in the “Bladder Full” theme, they could drink for free unless they used the washroom.

Supreme Court to decide over Kasab’s Death Sentence Today

Posted: 28 Aug 2012 12:30 PM PDT

 Supreme Court  is today  likely to pronounce verdict on a petition filed by the 2008 Mumbai terror attack convict and Pakistani terrorist Ajmal Kasab challenging the Bombay High Court judgment upholding his death sentence.

The high court upheld Kasab’s death penalty Feb 21, 2011.

Kasab was sent to the gallows by a Mumbai trial court May 6, 2010. Besides other charges, he was convicted for waging war against the nation.

An apex court bench of Justice Aftab Alam and Justice C.K. Prasad reserved the verdict on the conclusion of arguments that spread over nearly three months, starting Jan 31.

In the Mumbai terror attack, Kasab was one of 10 Pakistanis who illegally sailed into India and launched the Nov 26-29 mayhem that killed 166 people, including many foreigners.

The court will also pronounce its verdict on Maharashtra government’s appeal challenging the acquittal of Fahim Harshad Mohammad Yusuf Ansari and Sabauddin Shaikh. They were accused of providing topographical details to the Mumbai terror attack accused.

Kasab contended that he was denied a fair trial as he was not provided legal assistance as mandated under in terms of Article 22 (1) of the Indian constitution.

Senior counsel and amicus curiae Raju Ramachandran, who appeared for Kasab, told the court that “denial of right to counsel at the earliest stage and denial of right to protection against self-incrimination” together vitiated a fair trial.

Defending Kasab, Ramachandran told the court that “if he had the lawyers’ assistance right from the beginning, one wonders if a confessional statement would have been made”.

Senior counsel Gopal Subramanium, who appeared for the Maharashtra government, said that “legal aid was provided to him right from the word go”.

The 26/11 attack was an “attempt to wage war against the country and its people and not just the government”, he said.

Kasab and his nine associates who had sailed from Karachi reached Mumbai after they hijacked private Indian ship M.B. Kuber and killed its navigator Amar Chand Solanki.

Former Army Chief Suffers Initial Loss in Defamation Case against him

Posted: 28 Aug 2012 11:29 AM PDT

Former Army Chief Gen. V K Singh  suffered an Initial Loss in Defamation Case against him when a Delhi Court refused to change in the nature of trial of the defamation case. Metropolitan Magistrate Jay Thareja dismissed the application.

The court was hearing a defamation case filed against the former army chief by Lt. Gen. (retd) Tejinder Singh.

“In my view, no useful purpose is likely to be served by converting the present summons case into a warrant case and subjecting the complainant and his uninitiated (about army’s internal procedure) witnesses to a dual examination by the advocates for the accused,” the court said.

A warrant case means a case relating to an offence punishable with death, imprisonment for life or imprisonment for a term exceeding two years. The rest are broadly called summons case. The two differ in terms of the trial procedure.

The court was hearing a defamation case filed by Tejinder Singh against the former army chief and four other officers for allegedly making libellous statements against him to the media and accusing him of bribery in an all-terrain truck purchase deal of the army.

Alleging that the officers misused their official position, power and authority to level false charges against him, Tejinder Singh named Army Vice Chief Lt. Gen. S.K. Singh, Director General Military Intelligence Lt. Gen. B.S. Thakur, Additional Director General Public Information Maj. Gen. S.L. Narsimhan and Directorate General of Public Information Staff Officer Lt. Col. Hitten Sawhney.

Former army chief V.K.Singh had disclosed in a press release that he was offered a kickback of Rs.14 crore by a retired defence officer in exchange for clearing a tranche of 600 all-terrain Tatra trucks for the army, which he described as sub-standard.

Denying all the allegations, Tejinder Singh had said that in the press release of March 5 the army headquarters publicly accused him and a group of serving officers of the military intelligence of conspiring to create a rift between the army chief and the government.

Apex Court orders States to Formulate Missing Children Action Plan

Posted: 28 Aug 2012 09:52 AM PDT

Supreme Court has asked the governments of states and union territories to file their response to a petition seeking the formulation of a National Action Plan for missing children and to make kidnapping of children a non-bailable offence.

A bench of Justice Altamas Kabir and Justice J. Chelameswar gave the states four weeks time to file their response to the plea seeking investigation into the missing children, their recovery and counselling.

The petition by the NGO Bachpan Bachao Andolan has also sought putting in place a standard operating procedure (SOP) for law enforcement agencies on coordinating their efforts.

The four weeks’ time has been given to the states which had not responded to the notice that was issued in March this year on the plea for the recovery and rehabilitation of missing children and deterrent punishment for those engaged in the kidnapping of the children.

The petition has also sought the formulation of suitable definition of ‘missing children”. It has also sought direction to the states to treat the offence of kidnapping or trafficking of children as a non-bailable and cognizable offence.

Seeking direction for the preparation of national data base of missing children, the NGO said that from January 2008 to January 2010, as many as 117,480 children had gone missing in 392 districts in India. Out of these, 41,546 are still untraced.

Expanding this figure to all 640 districts in India, the number of missing children in India is almost 90,000 every year with more than 30,000 remaining untraced, said the petition by the NGO.

The NGO identified Maharashtra with maximum number of missing children followed by West Bengal, Delhi and Madhya Pradesh. Similarly, the instances of untraced missing children are maximum in the state of West Bengal followed by Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Madhya Pradesh.

“… the issue of missing children has a national magnitude which requires coordination of various central and state authorities and also of civil societies all across the country to tackle the menace of missing children,” the NGO said.

One of the major problem in tackling the issue of missing children in India is the fact that the term “missing children” has not been defined in any statute, the petition said adding that the “cases of missing children are not properly handled by the authorities and the fate of such children are completely dependent on the whims and fancies of the authorities”.

“The problem of missing children is also not covered as crime under Indian Penal Code, 1860. At best, the statute only recognises the offences of ‘kidnapping’, ‘abduction’, and other related offences, which are not sufficient to tackle the issue of missing children,” said BBA.

Bangalore Nano 2012 to highlight Business Opportunities in Nanotechnology

Posted: 28 Aug 2012 09:48 AM PDT

Bangalore The fifth edition of Bangalore Nano 2012, the premier nanotechnology event during  December 6-7, will focus on business opportunities in the sunrise sector, which helps in improving the quality of life and environment.

“Nano will explore business opportunities in nanotechnology, healthcare and medicine, aerospace and defence, electronics and MEMS (micro-electro-mechanical systems), food and agriculture, energy and environment and water management/solutions,” Principal Secretary, Science and technology I.S.N. Prasad told reporters at a preview of the upcoming trade show.

Organised by the state government in collaboration with the industry and academic associations, the two-day annual event will enable experts, scientists, researchers, industry and start-ups to deliberate on the future of nanotechnology and its applications to improve manufacturing, processing and discovering new products and solutions.

As the new frontier of science, nanotechnology deals with manipulation of materials, devices and structures in atomic and molecular scale less than 100 nanometres.

“As one of the most innovative technologies of the last decade, nanotech has made inroads in crucial areas for the betterment of humankind, with major benefits in manufacturing, water purification systems, energy conservation systems, better food production methods for nutritious foods and infrastructure pre-fabrication,” Prasad said.

According to renowned scientist C.N.R. Rao, nano-applications can bring about a paradigm shift healthcare, environment, energy, agriculture, ICT, engineering and consumer goods sectors.

“The government’s ‘Nano Mission’ will bring about a sea change and unfold huge opportunities for Indian & multi-national firms to invest in the niche sector.

“India’s strength in core technology and biotechnology will fuel the growth of nanotechnology. With sound policies and government support, nanotechnology will flourish in India during this decade.” Rao pointed out.

Rao is also chairman of the scientific advisory council to the prime minister and president of the state-run Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research located here.

Besides trade expo, the event will have plenary and conference sessions on a range of issues pertaining to research, technology development, skills requirements, risk factors, regulatory and governance structures, investments and collaborations between academia and industry.

“Over 100 international and domestic firms are expected to participate, with over 100 delegates from Australia, Japan, US and other countries,” Prasad said.

The event will also feature a ‘poster session’ for scientists and researchers to share their innovations and research in nano-science and nano-technology with industry, research institutes and venture capitalists.

Startups in the field will be allowed to make presentations on nanotechnology innovations that are commercially viable in the research-industry collaboration hub (RICH) programme.

RBI to introduce Rs 1000 notes with new Rupee Symbol

Posted: 28 Aug 2012 04:30 AM PDT

India will now have the new Rupee symbol printed on all currency notes of Rs 1000 domination.

Reserve Bank of India has said on Tuesday it will soon issue Rs.1,000 denomination notes with the rupee symbol and improved security features.

A RBI statement said the new notes will have the letter ‘L’ in both the numbering panels.

These notes will bear the signature of RBI Governor D. Subbarao. The year of printing 2012 will be on the reverse.

“The design of these notes is similar in all respects to the Rs.1,000 bank notes in Mahatma Gandhi Series-2005 issued earlier,” the RBI said. The existing Rs.1,000 notes will continue to be legal tender.

Halkat Jawani song from Heroine storms Youtube

Posted: 28 Aug 2012 03:59 AM PDT

Heroine Movie WallpapersHalkat Jawani Song from upcoming Bollywood movie Heroine has reached over 1 Million hits in just 10 days. Such an amazing response is in itself a record.

Kareena Kapoor’s peppy number “Halkat jawani” from “Heroine” is grabbing eyeballs. The video was officially put on the site Aug 16, and has received a stupendous response.

From Ganesh Acharya’s choreography to Kareena’s svelte looks, viewers have praised the song for all its aspects. ”Heroine” will release on September 21.

The entire movie revolves around the life of a once successful film actress, Mahi Arora, whose career is on the decline, the film features Kareena Kapoor as the protagonist along with actors Arjun Rampal, Randeep Hooda and Rakesh Bapat.

The trailer of Heroine w was released on July 25, 2012. After the release of the trailer, a controversy arose. In the film's promo a dialogue of Kareena Kapoor: "If a heroine buys a car, it's gifted to her by a businessman.

If she goes to LA (Los Angeles), she's getting plastic surgery done and, god forbid, if she goes to Dubai, you people make a rate card for her," was not appreciated by the people of Dubai. To avoid hurting sentiments, Director Madhur Bhandarkar has had the offending statement censored in the Dubai version.

Wipro to develop Client Software using Google Apps

Posted: 28 Aug 2012 02:38 AM PDT

Wipro Technologies has declared that it would start developing applications using Google Apps, the cloud computing platform started by Search Engine Giant Google.

“As every product or IT service will be on cloud platform in future, our integrated cloud solutions and research and development (R&D) services team will leverage Google’s platform for our global clients,” Wipro chief technology officer Anurag Srivastava said here Monday.

As internet-based computing, a cloud platform enables sharing of resources, including software and hardware for accessing information and data across computers.

“The Google cloud platform will enable us to help clients develop new cloud-based solutions that drive their success in the IT and product R&D by building on its power,” said Srivastava.

The platform also offers the global software major a set of application development, cloud storage, largescale computing and huge data capabilities to serve customers with desired business variability and rich user experience.

The programme includes services partners such as systems integrators, IT consultant firms, developers, web designers and other professional services firms to help clients design, develop and manage new cloud-based solutions.

“Our clients will benefit by engaging with us as we have invested in developing skills needed to build these solutions on top of Google’s cloud platform,” Srivastava added.
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