Bangalore, Karnataka, India, Wednesday, October 31, 2007 -- (Business Wire India) -- Cisco® and Wipro Ltd today announced that they have entered into a strategic alliance to jointly develop and deliver information technology (IT) service solutions to help both companies meet their customers' needs, particularly in fast-growing markets around the world. Under the agreement, Cisco and Wipro together will build new IT infrastructure service solutions that combine Cisco's industry-leading networking solutions with Wipro's infrastructure and managed services portfolio. The companies also announced the establishment of the Cisco Solution Centre at the Wipro Campus in Bangalore, India, which will develop and showcase new services and solutions, such as Cisco Unified Communications, that will take advantage of the network platform to help enterprise customers drive innovation and business growth.

"Over the years, Wipro, with its expert system integration services, and Cisco, with its industry-leading products, have partnered to add value to HDFC Bank's network strategy. Working with these two world-class organizations has been a great experience," said Aditya Puri, managing director, HDFC Bank Ltd.

Under the agreement, Cisco and Wipro will jointly develop and deliver new solutions that incorporate their intelligent-networking technology and unmatched services in business processes and IT. Wipro will offer solutions based on Cisco products and services on a global basis, with initial focus in India, Middle East and Africa. Cisco will also become the preferred networking partner for Wipro's portfolio of services, including outsourcing, managed-services and other solutions. Wipro will invest in developing competencies in Cisco's leading-edge products and services through its Cisco Solution Centre.

"Wipro is a global leader in the industry for delivering IT services to enterprises and is implementing IT innovation that helps businesses achieve new levels of productivity," said Wim Elfrink, chief globalization officer of Cisco. "This strategic alliance illustrates Cisco commitment to building relationships with new partners in emerging parts of the world that will take advantage of new virtualised approaches such as 'software as a service,' and service-oriented network architectures."

The companies will provide joint services and solutions that take advantage of the network as a platform. The joint offerings will incorporate Cisco's advanced technologies for such areas as application networking services, data centre, security, telepresence, and unified communications, with Wipro's industry-leading IT global service and business process models that help customers maximize their business performance. In the future, Cisco and Wipro will work collaborate to develop innovative solutions that support specific vertical industry models such as health care, financial services, retail, real estate and transportation.

"The pervasiveness and intelligence of the network is the key to driving IT innovation," said Suresh Vaswani, president of Wipro Infotech. "This alliance brings together Cisco's industry-leading network solutions and Wipro's vertical expertise, quality standards and global presence to deliver innovative new solutions to our customers. We are excited by the possibility of combining the strengths of Cisco and Wipro to deliver unique value to our customers."

Now that Cisco is the global network platform and networking solutions partner for Wipro, Cisco is able to expand on its worldwide market leadership. Additionally, Cisco will be able to take advantage of Wipro's world class services and business process re-engineering expertise to seize new growth opportunities in the areas of remote services delivery.

"Wipro offers a unique approach for delivering service solutions based on infrastructure and combined with Cisco's innovation in making the network the platform we know we will help meet customers' needs around the world," said Steve Steinhilber, vice president of strategic alliances for Cisco. "We are looking forward to working with Wipro to help us expand both our business opportunities in the high-growth emerging markets and the innovation it can bring to address unique customer requirements in those markets."

The Cisco Solution Centre at the Wipro Campus in Bangalore, India scheduled to be functional in November and will expedite the development of network-based IT solutions, test frameworks, and illustrate proof of concepts and IT and networking methodologies for client-specific business processes. 

AA: New Delhi, Delhi, India, Wednesday, October 31, 2007 -- (Business Wire India) -- Leading Asian media and broadcast major New Delhi Television Limited (NDTV) today announced its entry into the Singapore broadcast market on the SingTel's mio TV platform. NDTV 24x7, India's leading English news channel and NDTV Profit, India's no.1 business channel, will be available on mio TV starting November 1, 2007.

"The launch of our channels in Singapore is another milestone in our objective to reach out beyond the domestic market to Indian expatriates and to all those who have a deeper commercial and cultural interest in the news and stories from the sub continent," said Rahul Sood, Head of Distribution & Affiliate Sales, NDTV, "SingTel mio TV's innovative approach to pay TV will allow subscribers simple and inexpensive access to our channels" he added.

"SingTel mio TV is delighted to partner NDTV who is the leading broadcaster in India. We are sure the Indian community would be very excited about the launch of NDTV 24x7 and NDTV Profit that continuously provide compelling and innovative programming that is relevant to their interests," said Low Ka Hoe, Director of mio TV and Content.

Launched in 2003, NDTV 24X7 is the flagship English news channel and the market leader with an unrivalled reputation for excellence. The channel is home to a team of award winning journalists who spearhead the news campaign- Dr. Prannoy Roy, Barkha Dutt, Vikram Chandra among others. The channel produces original content such as documentaries and special reports and showcases award winning programs like "We the People" and "The Big Fight."

NDTV Profit, a 24-hour business channel, has established new standards for simple, clear and transparent reporting on the world of business since its launch in 2005. NDTV India has a large number of journalists covering the action from the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and the National Stock Exchange (NSE). It also covers the latest business deals and acts as a platform for companies to give their public results, with growth rate, net profit etc. The channel also has to its credit the launching of a video screen at the BSE building on December 14, 2006.

Labels: Tv-Radio

MP: New Delhi, Oct 30 (ANI): Vice President Hamid Ansari today said that the default by the State in terms of deprivation, exclusion and discrimination needs to be corrected by the State at the earliest.

Addressing the annual convocation of Jamia Milia Islamia here, Ansari said: "The default by the State in terms of deprivation, exclusion and discrimination is to be corrected by the State; this needs to be done at the earliest".

"Political sagacity and public opinion play an important role in it," he said, adding that there is another default referring to "the inadequacy of the autonomous effort by the community itself in relation to its social perceptions."

Noting that Muslims in India today number about 150 million and constitute a significant segment - 13.4 percent - of Indians, Muslims have the highest child sex ratio of any social group in the country - 986 girls per 1000 boys, they are more urbanised than the general population, the literacy rate among Muslims is 59.1 percent, against a national average of 65.1, but the incidence of poverty among urban Muslims is even higher than among the urban SCs/STs, is well above other OBCs, and is almost double of the national average, Ansari said: "These figures speak for themselves in terms of the imperative for correcting social imbalances resulting from social immobility."

"The manner in which Asian Muslim societies like Indonesia, Malaysia, Iran and Turkey have addressed the questions of knowledge and gender deficit needs to be studied, perhaps emulated," said Ansari. (ANI)

Labels: Politics

MP: New Delhi, Oct 30 (ANI): India and Germany today signed seven agreements, which are enlisted below:

1. Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the creation of an Indo-German Science and Technology Centre between Ministry of Science and Technology of India and Federal Ministry of Education and Research, Germany.


2. Agreement between Defence Ministries of India and Germany on the mutual protection of classified information.

3. MoU on bilateral co-operation between the office of the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion of India and the German Patent and Trade Mark

4. Cooperation agreement between the Department of Science and Technology of India and the Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science of Germany for the launch of "Science Express".

5. MoU between the Department of Science and Technology of India and the Council for the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings (council) as well as the Foundation Lindau Nobel Prizewinners Meetings at Lake Constance.

6. MoU between the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research of India and the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research in the Helmholtz Association of Germany on cooperation in Marine Sciences 

7. MoU on Cooperation in post between the Ministry of Communications and IT of India and Deutsche Post of Germany. (ANI)

MP: New Delhi, Oct 30 (ANI-Business Wire India): Triton Corp Limited, a leading company, engaged in the business of IT and IT enabled services posted a strong performance for the Quarter and Half-year ending September 30, 2007.

Speaking on the occasion, K C Gupta, MD & CEO - Triton Corp Ltd said: "We are happy to realise that Triton has maintained the steady momentum of its growth in this quarter too. A balanced organic and inorganic growth has helped Triton meet its targets and come a long way. The improved performance has been the result of the gradual business development from countries like UK, USA and Australia, which have resulted in better utilisation of existing resources and catering to higher value added services and also achieving better operational productivity and efficiency. With the company treading on a strong strategic platform, we expect the performance to continue and sustain the progress also in the times to come,"

Financial Performance Q2 FY 07-08 Vs Q2 FY 06 - 07

The Total income of the company during the quarter showed an increase of 191% to Rs.313.39 million from Rs.107.48 million reported in the corresponding quarter previous year.

The Net Profit of the company also went up to Rs.57.94 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2007 as against Rs.15.63 million reported in the corresponding quarter in the previous year.

The profit from ordinary activities before tax for the company during the quarter went up to Rs.64.08 million for the quarter as compared to Rs.15.72 million for the corresponding quarter in the previous year.

Financial Performance H1 FY 07-08 Vs H1 FY 06 - 07

The Total income of the company during the half year showed an increase of 177% to Rs.543.87 million from Rs.196.53 million reported in the corresponding half year for the previous year.

The Net Profit of the company also went up to Rs.97.99 million for the half year ending September 30, 2007 as against Rs.23.41 million reported in the corresponding half year in the previous year.

The profit from ordinary activities before tax for the company during the half-year jumped to Rs.110.71 million for the half year as compared to Rs.23.56 million for the corresponding half year in the previous year. (ANI)

MP: New Delhi, Oct 30 (ANI): Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday said that efforts are still on to evolve a national consensus on the Indo-US civilian nuclear cooperation.

He admitted that some problems exist and said, "We have not reached the end of the road."

"We are committed to see that the process is carried forward," he told reporters at a joint press conference with visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

The nuclear deal has come under a vehement opposition from the Left Front, which has asked the government not to move ahead with the operationalisation of the deal. (ANI)

Labels: Indo-US-Nuclear-Deal

MP: New Delhi, Oct 30 (ANI):  The Indian Government's difficulty towards moving ahead to operationalise a civilian nuclear cooperation agreement with the US was manifested again today when India and Germany in its joint declaration gave the nuclear word a miss.

The 18-point joint declaration signed by visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh does not refer at all to India's quest for civilian nuclear energy to meet its growing energy demand.

On the critical energy issue, the declaration refers to the need for "ensuring the supply of safe, sustainable and non-polluting sources of energy to meet the rising global demand for energy, particularly in developing countries."

Though the Government has officially stated that it is still trying to reach a political consensus over the controversial deal in the wake of Left Front's severe opposition to the deal's operationalisation, it was expected that the nuclear deal would come up during today's talks, since Germany is part of the 45-member Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).

The focus of the bilateral talks during the two-day visit of Merkel remained focussed on trade and Climate Change.

Seven agreements were signed between both countries, significant of which were the defence agreement on the mutual protection of classified information, Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on bilateral co-operation on the patents' issue and MoU on the creation of an Indo-German Science And Technology Centre.

On the issue of cooperation in the field of science and technology, both countries reiterated their commitments to continue with more such cooperation and make it is an "important pillar" of their strategic partnership.
 
Both sides are already actively pursuing cooperation in the space sector, including India's first moon mission- Chandrayaan.

Substantial amount of importance was laid to the issue of Climate Change and both countries resolved to develop clean and efficient energy projects.

"India and Germany recognise the urgent need to find effective and practical solutions to address concerns regarding climate change and its implications for human kind. These would include mitigation and adaptation strategies in a manner that supports further economic and social development in particular of developing countries," the joint declaration stated.

Both sides also reaffirmed their commitment to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in accordance with their "common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities".

Both countries agreed to conclude a MoU on Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects as early as possible.

Since both countries are part of the G4 group, and are seeking the expansion of UN Security Council that would reflect the 'realities of the 21st century', India and Germany today reiterated their support for each other's candidature for permanent membership on an expanded UNSC.

India and Germany also agreed to strengthen cooperation in countering terrorism through the Indo-German Joint Working Group.

"The conclusion of a Treaty on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters would further strengthen the bilateral efforts," both countries agreed to.

On the issue of bilateral and multilateral trade issues, both countries called for early and substantive outcome of the Doha Round of negotiations.

"They bear common responsibility for a successful conclusion of the Doha Agenda with focus on the development dimension and stress the necessity to overcome the existing differences in the Doha Round for the benefit of all WTO member states," the joint declaration stated.

The declaration that called for bringing further development in the strategic partnership noted with satisfaction that bilateral trade has doubled within three years and both countries agreed to work towards an annual trade volume of 20 billion Euro for 2012.  (ANI)

MP: Mumbai, Oct 30 (ANI): The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) today raised
the proportion of cash that banks have to keep with them on deposit by
50 basis points to 7.5 percent to mop up excess funds, but kept its
key lending rate at 7.75 percent.

"The status quo of monetary policy can continue. Except one and that
is the huge liquidity. Therefore what is overhang of liquidity, we had
to take care. Therefore, we have proposed a CRR increase of 50 basis
points, which will take care of a part of the overhang of liquidity,"
said RBI Governor Y V Reddy.

"This does not signify any view about the future evaluation about
liquidity or the capital flow. Our response will depend on the way
these things will work in the future," he added.

The RBI has kept the Reverse Repo rate unchanged at six percent. This
is the rate at which the RBI borrows funds from the market. It impacts
government bond yields and short-term bank deposits.

It kept the Repo Rate steady at 7.75 percent. This is the rate at
which the central bank adds funds to the money market.

It kept the bank rate unchanged at six percent. Banks use this rate to
price their long-term loans to individuals and companies.

The RBI's step on the monetary policy is aimed at:

Reinforcing the emphasis on price stability and well-anchored
inflation expectations while ensuring a monetary and interest rate
environment that supports export and investment demand in the economy
so as to enable continuation of the growth momentum.

It is also to re-emphasise credit quality and orderly conditions in
financial markets for securing macroeconomic and, in particular,
financial stability while simultaneously pursuing greater credit
penetration and financial inclusion.

Further, it is to respond swiftly with all possible measures as
appropriate to the evolving global and domestic situation impinging on
inflation expectations, financial stability and the growth momentum.

Finally, the bank is ensuring that it is in readiness to take recourse
to all possible options to maintain stability and the growth momentum
in the economy in view of the unusual heightened global uncertainties,
and the unconventional policy responses to the developments in
financial markets.

The bank reiterates its power to retain option to conduct repo/reverse
repo auctions at a fixed rate or at variable rates as circumstances
warrant.

And also it reiterates to retain the option to conduct overnight or
longer term repo/reverse repo depending on market conditions and other
relevant factors.

The RBI kept the GDP forecast for 2007-08 at 8.5 percent.

The central bank said its policy endeavour would be to keep inflation
close to five per cent in 2007-08. (ANI)

Labels: Finance

MP: New Delhi, Oct 30 (ANI): Former US Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger today said that as the international focus shifts to the Indian and Pacific Ocean from the Atlantic, India has become an emerging power whose interests run parallel with the US.

 "The fundamental interests of the US and India run parallel, their destinies are linked and they must work together towards lasting world peace," Kissinger said during a seminar.
  
He said that China is also the new emerging power in the region, both economically and politically. However, he added that closer ties between the US and India is not for containing China.

"The US-India partnership is not dictated by any agreement but by their common interests in an international system that is characterized by a series of changes," he said, pointing to the difficulty in getting the Indo-US civilian nuclear deal operationalised due to New Delhi's domestics concerns.

Stating that US, Russia, China, India and Japan are established nations, Kissinger called for the revision of the Security Council with the new shift in the global power.

In this regard, he said the question of veto power of the Permanent five members of the UNSC must also be addressed. (ANI)

Labels: Indo-US-Nuclear-Deal

MP: New Delhi, Oct 30 (ANI): Expressing happiness over the achievements of Indian sportspersons and teams this year, President Pratibha Patil today emphasised the need for appreciating the unique qualities of each sport in the country.

Felicitating the national hockey, football and Tweny20 cricket teams for winning the Asia Cup, the Nehru Cup and the World Championship respectively at Rashtrapati Bhavan here, Patil said that we must ensure that valiant sportsmanship does not go unappreciated, be it from any sport.

"It is also encouraging to note that our achievements in sports are multi-disciplinary and I hope that this will encourage us to promote all sports and not just a select few," she said.

Patil pointed out that the enthusiasm and participation of people is fundamental in the process of creating a culture of professional sports in the country.

"It is heartening to note what a successful year this has been for India in the field of sports! Our teams and sportspersons have delighted the nation with spectacular performances and victories that have made us all proud," she said.

She further said that India has a long tradition of sports and athletic activities, adding that "many indigenous games of our country are testament to the fact that we have always encouraged the friendly yet competitive spirit of sports."

Patil said that the importance of sports for a nation goes far beyond victories in the playing field, since the spirit of sportsmanship imbues several values, which are essential for a well-groomed citizen of the country.  

"Loyalty, courage, perseverance, teamwork and dedication are but a few of the many qualities which one may learn from sports and these qualities not only enable them to become good sportspersons but also better human beings. It is this socially constructive aspect of sports which is of paramount importance to a nation and in the light of the recent victories of our players, we can be certain that India remains committed in its encouragement of sports," she added.

The members of victorious hockey and cricket teams were present on the occasion. The men's football team could not attend the function, as they were involved in a World Cup qualifier in Goa.

They were represented by the President of the All India Football Federation (AIFF) Priya Ranjan Das Munshi. (ANI)

Labels: Sports

MP: New Delhi, Oct.30 (ANI): The Mid Term Review of the Annual Monetary Policy announced by RBI today is on expected lines, said CII in a Press Release issued here today. However, keeping in mind the international trends in interest rates and particularly the indications coming in from the US, CII feels that the RBI could have considered an interest rate (Repo Rate) cut to go along with the CRR hike of 50 bps.

CII has observed that the hike in CRR would effectively suck out about Rs. 15500 crores from the system.

The press release said that CII has taken note of the statement, which says that the RBI would move "swiftly" in case of global developments.

The release also mentioned that CII feels that the RBI has clearly indicated that it is attaching more importance to liquidity compared to concerns on growth. The press release said that CII fully appreciates the RBI Governor's difficulties in dealing with the twin challenge of managing liquidity and consequent inflationary expectations on the one hand and boosting demand and hence growth, on the other.

CII only wondered how the RBI would react in the eventuality of the US Federal Reserve cutting interest rates tomorrow, since another round of interest rate cut would increase the propensity of more foreign funds coming into India through the ECB route, which would obviously add to the concern of the RBI. This challenge of increased foreign exchange inflow would further get accentuated and consequent pressure on the rupee by expanding the interest rate differentials between India and the US.

However, a moderate cut in interest rate in India at this point of time would have probably dealt with this situation better, said the CII release.

The RBI announcement has allowed Oil companies to hedge foreign exchange exposures by using over-the-counter (OTC)/ exchange traded derivatives up to a maximum of one year forward. CII feels that this is an opportunity, which India could have leveraged by developing currency exchanges to facilitate such hedging, said the release.

CII also said that it has taken note of the RBI's efforts at liberalising foreign exchange transactions, strengthening risk management in banks, migration to Basel II and fine-tuning of supervisory processes.

CII observed that the RBI has also attempted to develop an integrated financial market, improve credit delivery mechanism, particularly to agriculture and small and medium enterprises, which is welcome. (ANI)

Labels: Finance

MP: Dharamshala, Oct.30 (ANI): Dharamshala town, famous world over as the abode of the Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama, hosts a large number of students from across the country, during winters. 

An estimated 5,000 students visit Dharamshala during November and December, which is otherwise an off-season for tourists. The arrival of several groups of students from various schools or colleges cheers locals.

These student groups are curious to learn about Tibetan culture and the temple and other Buddhist establishments. Besides, the local climate and the spiritual ambience of the robed monks attract one and all. 

"We specially visited this monastery here. I find this shrine very interesting," said Meenakshi, a college student from Punjab.

According to travel tour operators and locals, the student groups prefer visiting the abode of the Dalai Lama.

"Now there is (an) addition to the tourism sector through educational tours and obviously most of them have some vital interest in the field of Buddhism and they want to see the developments projected by His Holiness Dalai Lama and his people -- the Buddhists and the Tibetans in the area. It has really left an impact on the minds of the people," says Prem Sagar, President of Mcleodganj Travel and Tourism Association.

These students enjoy shopping while visiting the Tibetan markets, which sell a variety of things ranging from street jewellery to Buddhist religious books.

Also known as Mini Lhasa, Dharamsala, with its large number of monasteries and a centre of Buddhist learning, attracts over 600,000 foreign tourists every year.

Himachal Pradesh has become the preferred destination for tourists due to turbulence in Jammu and Kashmir.

Located in the Dhauladhar Himalayan ranges, Dharamsala, the home of Tibetan spiritual head the Dalai Lama, is famous for its scenic beauty.

Tourists from far-flung eastern States, which have moderate climate throughout, are seen in large numbers in the valley. Tourism is the mainstay of State's economy. (ANI)

Labels: Tourism

MP: New Delhi, Oct 30 (ANI): Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said that the "Science Express", an exhibition which is the result of a partnership in science and technology between India and Germany, will build new bridges of understanding and goodwill between India and Germany.

Flagging off the "Science Express", a special exhibition mounted on a train at Safdarjung Railway Station today, along with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Singh said: "It will symbolise the exciting partnership between our scientists that befits the 21st century. It will symbolise and showcase our cooperation in the popularisation of science and its importance to our relationship."

Singh said that the "Science Express" will take the wonders of modern science to remote corners of the country and contribute to the propagation of the scientific temper among our youth.

Recalling India's partnership with Germany in setting up the Rourkela Steel Plant and Indian Institute of Technology at Chennai, he said, "Our collaboration with Germany in science and technology goes back several decades."

Singh also thanked the Max Planck Society in Germany, the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, Indian Railways and the Department of Science and Technology for making this project possible.

Felicitating the scientists and engineers involved in the project, Dr. Merkel, herself a researcher, said, "This train will create a strong movement in the talented youth of India towards research in science."

After visiting some of the coaches, both the Chancellor and the PM waved green flags and the Science Express rolled off a gaily-decorated station to the cheering of the invitees. 

The Science Express will travel through 57 cities across the country for over seven months and will display important challenges in science, the future of research and reach different target groups especially students and young researchers.
 
Many organisations from Germany and India are associated with the exhibition on train which would be available for counselling and guidance of interested youth at each halt.

It has large screen displays for audio-visual experience, interactive computers and many other attractions in each of the coaches.

The exhibition seeks to address issues from micro-cosmos to macro-cosmos through twelve stories. (ANI)

Labels: Science

MP: New Delhi, Oct 30 (ANI): India has given Bangladesh a list of 112 separatist rebels from the North-East, who have allegedly crossed the border, urging it to hand over them to New Delhi.

The request was made at a meeting between officials of the Border Security Force (BSF) and the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) in Shillong, the BBC reported.

Senior BSF official Suresh Kumar Dutta was quoted as saying that the list handed over to the BDR contained names of rebels, about whose presence in Bangladesh the BSF has "fool-proof evidence."

Assamese separatist leaders, Arabinda Rajkhowa, Paresh Barua and Anup Chetia figured in the list among others, Dutta added.

He further said that a list of 172 camps allegedly run by north-eastern separatist groups in Bangladesh was also handed over to the BDR delegation led by its Deputy Director General, Brigadier SK Gholam Rabbani.
  
Dutta said the BDR officials have assured that they would try to verify the information provided by the BSF and act on it. (ANI)

MP: Washington, October 30 (ANI): People who believe in positive thinking are more likely to display prudent financial behaviours, but being extremely optimistic may cause a person to have short planning horizons and act in ways that are generally not considered wise, suggests a study.

Manju Puri and David Robinson, professors of finance at University's Fuqua School of Business, say that they have developed a novel method to assess individuals' levels of optimism. They used data from the Federal Reserve Board's Survey of Consumer Finance (SCF), a triennial assessment of U.S. families' financial and demographic information, for the purpose.

Although the SCF does not ask about optimism directly, it does ask respondents how long they expect to live. It also collects demographics, and health-related information similar to the one that actuaries use to estimate life expectancy. 

The researchers combined the data to determine participants' statistical life expectancies. Thereafter, they compared the statistical and self-reported life expectancies, and categorized anyone who expected to live longer than the data predicted as an optimist.
 
"Most of the information we needed was already there, but we had to create a new way of combining it with other existing data in order to extract meaning about optimism," Puri said.
 
The researchers labelled the top five per cent of optimists, who thought that they would live an average of 20 years longer than what was suggested by the statistics, as "extreme optimists".

They found that optimism indeed related to a large number of behaviours.

According to them, while optimism can lead to wise decision-making, extreme optimists "display financial habits and behaviour that are generally not considered prudent."

"The differences between optimists and extreme optimists are remarkable, and suggest that over-optimism, like overconfidence, may in fact lead to behaviours that are unwise," said Puri.

The study's authors said that the new findings could lead to useful ways to consider individuals' investment and career planning decisions, and help people understand or overcome personality characteristics that could negatively affect important financial decisions.

"Doctors tell us that one or two glasses of red wine a day can be really healthy. But no one tells you to drink the whole bottle. It's the same with optimism. A little bit is really beneficial, but too much can lead to some really bad economic choices," Robinson said. 

The study has been published in the Journal of Financial Economics. (ANI)

Labels: Finance

MP: New Delhi, Oct 30 (ANI): German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is on her first trip to India, today said that her visit will boost the economic, scientific and strategic partnership between India and Germany.

"I hope that my visit will be giving a contribution to further enhancing the very strong relationship between India and Germany. It will enhance strategic partnership in political field as well as in science and technology," said Angela Merkel after receiving a ceremonial reception at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who welcomed Merkel here, said that India is looking forward to having discussion with Merkel on bilateral, regional and global issues.

"We look forward to having a discussion with her on bilateral, regional and global issues. I think the interdependence of nations is a fact of life. We want this interdependence should be equitable, should benefit all nations. We expect Chancellor Merkel to provide the leadership to the world in this matter," said Singh.

Merkel also visited Mahatma Gandhi's memorial at Rajghat, to offer flowers.

Boosting ties in newer areas such as environmental technology and software as well as machinery, electrical engineering and chemicals will be in focus during her visit.

Business leaders are accompanying Merkel on her three-day visit to New Delhi and Mumbai.

Among the 30 executives on the trip are senior executives from European planemaker Airbus, conglomerate Siemens, rail operator Deutsche Bahn and
reinsurer Munich Re.

Merkel, under fire from some business leaders for emphasising human rights at the expense of business in her relations with Russia and China, is also meeting ethnic minority groups and non-governmental organisations. (ANI)

MP: New Delhi, Oct 30 (Business Wire India/ANI): Top CEOs, head of states, academics and leading thinkers are gathering here to discuss the most pressing issues facing global business at the 10th Fortune Global Forum.

This year's Forum is centered on 'Mastering the Global Economy,' a theme in which leaders will discuss the market realities that companies face in the midst of global integration.

It will bring together over 300 overseas participants in addition to Indian business and government leaders who will focus on and explore the economic, political, social, and cultural issues of India and its emerging role in today's market.

Speakers at the Forum include Prime Minister Manmohan Singh; Chairman and CEO of Time Warner, Richard D. Parsons; Finance Minister P. Chidambaram; Chairman of Wipro Ltd, Azim H. Premji; Chairman and CEO of The Goldman Sachs Group, Lloyd Blankfein; Chairman and CEO of Cisco Systems, John Chambers and Henry M. Paulson, Jr., Secretary of the Treasury, U.S. Treasury Department.

Fortune Global Forum partners include Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF).

Last year, the Forum was held in Beijing. (ANI)

MP: New Delhi, Oct 29 (ANI): The Winter Session of Parliament will commence from November 15 and will conclude on December 7.

The Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs presided by Leader of the House and External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee took the decision today.

The duration of the session has been shortened due to the Assembly elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, which will be held in November and December.

The Winter Session will have 17 sittings, covering 23 days, a Parliamentary Affairs Ministry release said. (ANI)

Labels: Politics

MP: New Delhi, Oct 29 (ANI): Vice President Mohammad Hamid Ansari
today expressed his concern over the growing incidents of terrorism
and Naxalite acts in the country.

He said this in his address at a book release function of "Political
Violence and the Police in India," authored by K.S.Subramanian
(Retired IPS officer).

Pointing out that the Central Government takes action on any political
violence in the state only when the state government asks the Centre
to do so, Ansari said this should be looked into.

Speaking about the book, he said it gives an overview of the role of
various police organizations in tackling the terrorist activities and
political violence.

He congratulated the author for bringing out an informative book.

A number of dignitaries were present on the occasion. (ANI)

MP: New Delhi, Oct 29 (ANI): Top US officials met senior Bharatiya
Janata Party (BJP) leaders here on Monday in a bid to push for the
Indo-US civilian nuclear deal, which has been put on a backburner
following the reservations expressed by the Opposition and the Left
parties.

US Ambassador to India David Mulford called on BJP chief Rajnath Singh
at his residence in New Delhi, and understood to have discussed what
has been termed as a landmark bilateral cooperation agreement.

Meanwhile, former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger met senior BJP
leader Lal Krishna Advani at his residence in the Capital to garner
the party's support on the issue.

Mulford had earlier met Advani and India's former National Security
Advisor Brajesh Mishra to discuss the nuclear agreement, which is seen
as increasingly important in boosting strategic relations between
Washington and New Delhi.

The civilian nuclear cooperation deal aims to lift a three-decade ban
on sales of US nuclear fuel and reactors to India, imposed after the
latter conducted a nuclear test in 1974, while staying out of
non-proliferation agreements.

The deal has brought the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh led UPA
government to the brink of collapse as Left parties that provide
outside support to the coalition government threatened to withdraw its
support if the pact is pursued.

The communists have rejected the deal, saying it hurts India's
sovereignty and imposes US hegemony.

The deal faces an informal US deadline related to securing approval of
America's Congress well before presidential polls next year.

Last week, U.S. Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns, Washington's
main negotiator for the pact, said India did not have an unlimited
amount of time.

The Bush Administration wants the agreement to go to Congress for its
backing by the end of the year, he said in New York on Tuesday.

That deadline would be virtually impossible to meet if India does not
move now to secure approvals from the International Atomic Energy
Agency (IAEA) and the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).

Last week, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said that the
talks with the Left parties on the Indo-US deal would continue beyond
the November 16 meeting.

"We are working to reconcile a position… We are trying to get a
solution. Let us see what is the outcome of the meeting on November
16," Mukherjee, who is the convenor of the special UPA-Left committee,
said, adding that it would not be the last meeting with the Left on
the issue.

Expressing the hope of sorting out the differences with the Left
parties, Mukherjee asserted that divergence views would be narrowed
down, and rejected the viewpoint that the nuclear deal was dead.

The special committee of the UPA and the Left, formed to resolve
disagreements between the two sides over the nuclear deal, held
deliberations for the fifth time on the issue on October 22.

They decided to continue the talks even as the 'unofficial' deadline
for India to initiate formal negotiations with the IAEA for
country-specific agreements ends in October.

There has been a general opinion that the bilateral agreement could be
difficult to operationalise since Left parties are trying to woo the
United National Progressive Alliance (UNPA) to launch a joint
opposition to the deal.

Three more steps are required to operationalise the deal that include,
safeguard agreement with the IAEA, amendment in the 45-member Nuclear
Suppliers Group's charter and the passing of the 123-agreement by the
US Congress. (ANI)

Labels: Indo-US-Nuclear-Deal

MP: New Delhi, Oct 29 (ANI): Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said
that India remains committed to the successful conclusion of the Doha
Round of Trade Negotiations at an early date.

Inaugurating the Fortune Global Forum here, Singh said "without
hesitation" that India is committed to the successful functioning of a
rule based multilateral trading system.

"We do hope that the round keeps in mind the promised development
dimension and that it also will addresses the concerns of millions of
our subsistence farmers," he said.

Singh further said that trade liberalization has contributed immensely
to the country's economic growth and to the growth of the world
economy as a whole, adding that lowering trade barriers both at home
and abroad has helped.

"Our enterprises have become more globally competitive. We shall
persist on that path," he added.

More importantly, he said, new business activities have grown in
response to global opportunities. "The successes of our Information
Technology, automobile and pharmaceutical sectors is a living
testimony to the benefits that liberalization and globalisation have
brought us," he said.

Admitting that sometimes, it is worrisome to become more open, he said
the lesson that must be drawn from the experience of the past century
is that no country can reverse the dynamics of social, economic and
technological change. "Rather we must learn to cope and adapt with
change."

"This is precisely why India chose to join the World Trade
Organization (WTO). India is a founder member of GATT. You will
recognize the fact that we have adhered to all our Uruguay Round
commitments. In fact, our firms have benefited from these commitments.
While we remain committed to these obligations, we must also explore
ways in which developing countries can catch up in the race to
modernization," Singh said.

Pointing out that a trajectory where sustained annual economic growth
of 9-10 percent– growth rates which were considered impossible even
five years ago - seems possible for many years to come, Singh said
this acceleration of economic growth over the past two decades has
been driven by rising investment and savings rates, and by rising
domestic consumption.

Singh went on to say that India's "needs are immense" and in the next
five years, "we need more than 450 billion dollars as investment in
infrastructure alone. We see this coming from both domestic sources
and from foreign investors."

"As India grows, it seeks a wider engagement with the outside world,
as an open market and as an open society. As a nation of young people,
we view the world as a planet of opportunities. We are aware of the
risks associated with processes of globalisation. But, we have the
confidence to utilize the opportunities being created thereby. I
believe that is the mood in India today. We do want to be more
integrated with the global economy. This is the best way to expand our
development possibilities," he said.

He also said that the world today needs a new concord between private
enterprise and public welfare.

He also spoke about climate change, saying India is "deeply and
sincerely committed" to the protection of the environment because "we
all share a single global environment."

"The Indian approach to climate change and global warming derives from
the ancient Hindu saying - vasudhaiva kutumbakam – 'the whole
universe is one family'," he said. (ANI)

MP: Mumbai, Oct 29 (ANI): The Bombay Stock Exchange's benchmark 30-share Sensex after breaching the 20,000-point mark on Monday for the first time, closed at 19,977, up 734 points from the previous close.

It took 10 trading sessions for the index to move from 19,000 to 20,000.

The Nifty ended the day at 5900, up 198 points.

The biggest contributors to this rally were ICICI Bank, Larsen & Toubro (L&T) and Reliance Industries (RIL). (ANI)

Labels: Finance

MP: New Delhi, Oct 29 (ANI): Indian Ambassador to the US Ronen Sen will appear before the Privileges Committee of the Lok Sabha today in connection with his "headless chickens" comment to describe those opposing the Indo-US civil nuclear deal.

Sen will also appear before the Rajya Sabha Privileges Committee on November 2.

A meeting presided over by Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman K Rahman Khan recently took the decision to summon Sen before the Upper House's Privileges Committee.

Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee had also referred the issue to the Committee headed by Congress MP V Kishorechandra Deo after receipt of a reply by the External Affairs Ministry.

Sen had expressed his unqualified apology to the MPs after they expressed their strong feeling over his remarks.

After this, the Ministry had pleaded that in view of unqualified apology by Sen, the matter be closed.

At a time when the opposition from the Left and opposition parties against the nuclear deal was at its peak, Sen had referred to those against the deal as "headless chickens".

Both the Houses of Parliament had witnessed uproarious scenes over Sen's remarks.

In his clarification, Sen said that he had used the remarks to refer to journalists and not MPs. (ANI)

MP: Jaipur, Oct 29 (ANI): President Pratibha Patil will inaugurate the
12th World Lake Conference 'Taal 2007' here today.

The conference with the theme of conservation and sustainability of
water bodies and wetlands will be attended by experts from around the
world and will discuss ways in which lakes can be conserved.

This is the first time that this conference is being held in the South
Asian region.

This will be the President's first visit to Rajasthan since she was
sworn-in in July. President Patil was the Governor of Rajasthan before
she was elected as the President of India.

She will return to New Delhi on the same evening.

The five-day conference will revolve around five major themes of
science and lakes, conservation and management, special group of
lakes, socio-economic aspects and special sessions.

It will focus on bio-diversity and conservation, lake catchments and
eco-system process, invasive species and wind control besides
fisheries, zone management, eco-hydrology, community participation and
legal and regulatory frameworks.

It will have participants from Russia, Australia, Austra, China,
Italy, the Netherlands, Denmark, Zimbabwe, Canada, the US, the
Phillippines, Czech Republic, Poland and Japan.

The conference is in the series of conferences held every two years
since 1985, under the aegis of the International Lake Environment
Committee (ILEC) Foundation (Japan).

A special logo has been adopted for the conference. The logo
represents natural lakes in the Himalayan belt and other hilly regions
of the country. It depicts their recreational and spiritual cultural
significance in Indian society.

The 'shikara' (boat) in the logo reflects also their value for tourism
and livelihoods. Further, the leaves of 'chinar' symbolize the natural
vegetated catchments, so essential for maintaining high water quality
in the lakes. (ANI)

Labels: Environment

Sikh Temple invites prominent Hindu chaplain Zed

 

Reno (Nevada, USA):

In a remarkable interfaith gesture, Reno Sikh Temple invited the prominent Hindu chaplain Rajan Zed to read the historic prayer during its Sunday service, which he recited in the United States Senate in July last.

 

Amolak Singh Powar, President of Reno Sikh Temple, in his welcoming address, listed various projects undertaken by Zed to bring communities together through interfaith dialogue. He said that a broader, deeper, more inclusive understanding of religion was necessary. Religion was the most powerful force in human society, so we all must take religion seriously, Powar added.

 

Rajan Zed read the first Hindu prayer of United States Senate in Washington DC, California State Senate, Nevada State Senate and Nevada State Assembly in the past few months. He is very active in interfaith dialogue in the region and has received various awards recently.

 

After re-reading the historic Hindu prayer, Zed said that one had to act for the benefit of all. Despite our seriously different traditions, we should learn to live in some sort of trust and mutual loyalty. God, as a sign of God's bountifulness and generosity, positively willed the existence of different faiths, he added.

 

Both Powar and Zed listed various similarities in different traditions and agreed that in our shared quest for truth we could learn from each other and thus come closer to the truth and cooperate in common causes.

 

Founded by Guru Nanak (1469-1539 CE), Sikhism believes in one immortal Being, ten Gurus from Guru Nanak to Guru Gobind Singh, the Guru Granth Sahib, the utterances and teachings of the ten Gurus and the baptism bequeathed by the tenth Guru. Its holy scripture, Guru Granth Sahib, brings the reader to a poetic vision of ordered harmony and unity and a spiritual discipline. Tenth Guru Gobind Singh initiated the Khalsa in 1699. First Gurudwara in the United States of America opened in 1912. There are about 200 Sikh families in the area and over 20 million Sikhs worldwide. Personal contact with Sikhs usually impresses the outsider with energetic hospitality.

 

Oldest and third largest religion in the world, Hinduism dates back to around 3,000 BCE. It has no founder, no datable beginning, and no single holy book. Hindus believe what is commonly considered to be reality—the physical world—is actually temporal and illusory. The goal of existence is liberation from the cycle of birth and rebirth and entrance into the indescribable state of moksha (liberation). There are about 781 million Hindus in the world.

Labels: Religion

MP: Lucknow, Oct 28 (ANI): Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha
and former BJP President, L K Advani on Sunday remarked that he felt
pity on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

"There have been so many attacks, whether Ayodhya or Ajmer, train
attacks in Mumbai all other terrorist attacks. One day he (Prime
Minister) will blame the attacks on Pakistan and then after some days
he will go ahead and announce a joint mechanism with Pakistan. I feel
pity for him," Advani said during the two-day party meeting.

He also referred Singh as the weakest Prime Minister that the country
has ever seen. (ANI)

MP: Patna, Oct 28 (ANI): In an attempt to expand his base among the voters in Bihar, Rashtriya Janata Dal president Lalu Prasad Yadav today appeared to follow in the footsteps of BSP supremo Mayawati by trying to build a rainbow alliance comprising of Yadavs, Muslims, Dalits, and uppercastes like Kayasthas and Bhumihars.

At a mammoth rally here at the historic Gandhi Maidan today, Lalu said that the rally was not for Yadavs only but it was equally for Dalits, Muslims, Other Backwards Castes and upper castes.

He thanked the Kayastha Samaj and Brahmrishi Samaj, which is a group representing Bhumihars in Bihar, for attending the rally in great strength.

He said that his party favours reservation of jobs based on economic criteria for which he is ready for Constitutional amendment, and added that the new reservations would not in any way affect the existing reservations given to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and OBCs.

With a teeming population occupying every nook and corner of the ground, Lalu launched a vitriolic attack against Bihar and Gujarat Chief Ministers- Nitish Kumar and Narendra Modi respectively.

Stating that Nitish Kumar was sitting in the "lap of communal forces", Lalu challenged him to show the development work that he has carried out in the State.

The RJD president, who launched the public rally titled 'Chaitavani or Warning rally for the first time after losing power in the State, today presented before the public a 27-point 'chargesheet against the Nitish Kumar government.

''The NDA government has cheated the people. The state government is on a promise-making spree but has failed to live up to the people's expectations,'' he said, adding, "If you (Nitish) have any shame then tell us what have you done for the development and progress of Bihar? The path that you have chosen will lead us to a deep precipice."

The chargesheet alleges Nitish going on a 'pleasure trip' to Mauritius at a time when floods wreaked havoc in the State. It also questions Nitish's promise of improving law and order in the State and refers to recent incidents of lynching of ten people belonging to lower caste in Vaishali, gouging-out of the eyes of some youth suspected to be thieves in Nawada and the infamous policeman of Bhagalpur who dragged a suspected thief with his motorcycle.

The Railway Minister also made a scathing attack against Narendra Modi and demanded his immediate arrest under Section 302 in the wake of recent Tehelka expose.

Refuting allegations that he misused the rail services to bring his supporters to the rally, Lalu quipped that his supporters came here using different modes of transportation, including bullock carts and rickshaws. (ANI)

MP: New Delhi, Oct 28 (ANI): Muslims and activists of other
organisations staged a protest against Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra
Modi here today and demanded re-opening of all cases in connection
with the 2002 Gujarat riots in the wake of sensational revelations
made in a sting operation carried out by a weekly newsmagazine
Tehelka.

Tehelka recently aired a sting operation, claiming that the 2002
massacre of Muslims in Gujarat were carried out "with the knowledge
and sanction of Chief Minister Narendra Modi."

The activists said Modi, who is seeking re-election, gave mob a free
run for three days.

The protestor, holding placards that read "Give Punishment To
Rioters", raised slogans against Modi. They also burnt a cut-out of
Modi.

The protest led by Muslim Yuva Atankwad Virodhi Samiti demanded
capital punishment for the politicians and police officers mentioned
in the sting.

"Narendra Modi, Babu Bajrangi and all of them (mentioned in the sting)
should be hanged," said Mohammad Shakeel Saifi, Chairman of the Muslim
Yuva Atankwad Virodhi Samiti.

"We demand that the Central Government open all the closed riot cases
in Gujarat," said Saifi, adding that he would file a writ petition in
the Delhi High Court in this context.

Saifi also demand a ban on organisations like VHP (Vishva Hindu
Parishad) and Bajrang Dal.

Tehelka had claimed that the six-month long investigation confirmed
that "the Gujarat murder of Muslims was not a spontaneous swell of
anger, but a planned genocide strategised and executed by top
functionaries of the RSS, the VHP, the Bajrang Dal and the state
authorities."

The protestors said no one should issue a statement against any
particular community.

"They should not divide us by issuing a statement against any
community. Today they have issued a statement against Muslims;
tomorrow they will speak against Punjabi, Marathi and Christians. It
is not right," said Shri Ram, National President, Punjabi Ekta Munch.

Tehelka said the report was the result investigation by one of its
reporters, who posed as a research scholar and spoke to the activists.

Meanwhile, the BJP said the activists quoted by Tehelka had colluded
with Congress party to discredit Modi ahead of the State Assembly
election.

About 2,500 people, mostly Muslims, are estimated to have been beaten,
stabbed or burnt to death in the Gujarat in 2002 after suspected
Muslims set fire to a train carrying Hindu pilgrims, killing 59
people.

MP: New Delhi, Oct 28 (ANI): The Delhi Half Marathon organised here today saw the participation of over 28,000 people, including 7,000 professionals.

Home Minister Shivraj Patil flagged off the half marathon.

Rwanda's Diudone Disi and Ethiopian Deriba Alemu won in men's and women's categories respectively at the third Vodafone Delhi Half Marathon here on Sunday morning.

World number six Disi completed the 21-kilometer race in one hour and 43 seconds, while Alemu took little over one hour 10 minutes to win the race, ending the Kenyan dominance established during the last two editions of the half marathon.

Kenya's Isaac Macharia and world number three Wilson Kiprotich came second and third respectively in the men's race.

In women's category, another Ethiopian Atsede Habtambu came second (1:10:36), while Kenya's Alice Timbill finished third (1:10:40).

The event also saw other races like the senior citizens' run, wheelchair event and great Delhi run.

"The race was very good. It was not so steep, nor downhill and was very short. I could run more but it is okay. Everything was well organised," said Mike, a German, who participated in the wheelchair event.

Suresh Kalmadi, President of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), also present at the event, said: "The Commonwealth Games are in 2010 and all these events are a build-up to it. The Commonwealth Games will not be in the stadium but outside the city and the people in the city will have to make the games great."

Last year's top Indian finisher Ram Singh Yadav once again finished the race earliest among Indian participants. He ended 16th with a time of one hour, six minutes and nine seconds.

Yadav said: "I am happy with my performance."

The total prize money of the event was 160,000 dollars. (ANI)

Labels: Sports

MP: Ranchi, Oct 28 (ANI): The state-wide shutdown called to protest
against the Saturday's killing of 17 people in Jharkhand's Giridih
District by Naxals evoked mixed response today.

On Saturday, Naxals attacked the villagers of Chilkhadia with
indiscriminate firing and exploded bombs at a cultural programme that
killed former Jharkhand Chief Minister Babulal Marandi's son Anup
Marandi.

Marandi's brother Nunulal, who was also present there, however managed
to escape unhurt.

The dawn-to-dusk shutdown on Sunday, called by Marandi's Jharkhand
Vikas Morcha (Democratic), affected the road and rail traffic.

Buses and trucks remained off the roads in most parts of the State.

The movement of trains was worst hit in Dhanbad Railway Division.

Three Rajdhani Express trains to Howrah, Sealdah and Bhubaneswar were
held up for several hours in various places in Dhanbad and Giridih
Districts by protestors, a Railway official said.

Several other trains got delayed due to the protests.

The shutdown was total in Simdega, Gumla and Giridih, but evoked mixed
response in Dumka, Pakur and Latehar districts.

Road transport services were also affected as protestors blocked the
Grand Trunk Road at Nirsa, Chirkunda and Barvadih in Dhanbad.

Meanwhile, police have detained 54 supporters in Garwah. (ANI)

MP: New Delhi, Oct 28 (ANI): President Pratibha Devisingh Patil will leave for Jaipur later today to inaugurate the 12th World Lake Conference there on Monday.

Experts from across the world will attend the Conference, and will discuss ways in which lakes can be conserved. This is the first time that this Conference is being held in the South Asian region.

This will be the President's first visit to Rajasthan since she was sworn-in in July this year. Patil was the Governor of Rajasthan before she was elected as the President of India.

She will return to New Delhi on Monday evening, a President's Secretariat release said.

The Conference is in the series of conferences held every two years since 1985, under the aegis of the International Lake Environment Committee (ILEC) Foundation (Japan).

The 12th edition of the Conference has been named as Taal 2007 (Taal is common Indian term for lakes).

A special logo has been adopted for the Conference. The logo represents natural lakes in the Himalayan belt and other hilly regions of the country. It depicts their recreational and spiritual cultural significance in Indian society.

The 'shikara' (boat) in the logo reflects also their value for tourism and livelihoods. Further, the leaves of 'chinar' symbolize the natural vegetated catchments, so essential for maintaining high water quality in the lakes. (ANI)

MP: Kanpur/Ranchi, Oct 27 (ANI): Condemning the killing of former Jharkhand Chief Minister Babulal Marandi's son Anup Marandi in the Naxal attack, Union Minister of State for Home Sriprakash Jaiswal said that the culprits would not go unpunished.

"We condemn this attack. Whosoever is responsible, strict action will be taken against them. We are in touch with the Jharkhand Government. We are trying to stop such incidents from happening in the future at any cost," Jaiswal said.

Sixteen people, including son Anup Marandi, were killed by Maoists at Chilkhadia village in Jharkhand's Giridih District at around 1.00 a.m.

According to eyewitnesses, about 50 Maoists, including 12 women, raided a village during a cultural programme.

Deputy Inspector General of Police R K Mullick said the incident occurred during a cultural programme when heavily armed naxalites attacked and opened indiscriminate fire on the gathering.

Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Arun Kumar Singh said, "About 30 Naxalites had mingled with the crowd during the cultural programme organised by Nunulal."

While Marandi's son Anup was killed on the spot, his brother Nunulal managed to escape unhurt.

Four injured, including two women, are undergoing treatment at Giridih hospital.

Meanwhile, Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda also condemned the killing of Anup Marandi.

"It is a sad incident, in which Anup Marandi was killed. Such attacks and earlier ones were in retaliation of police action against them. In last few months, police has arrested a number of Naxals and destroyed their bunkers, training camps," Koda said.

Koda, who had spoken to Marandi, will also visit the village.

The Government announced Rs 1 lakh compensation for the families of all those who were killed.

Earlier in the day, Marandi blamed the Central and State Government for the attack and said his family was being targeted.

"I would say that today in the state and in the country such incidents occur at their (Naxalites) own will. It feels as if the government has no control over them. Yesterday's incident is a clear indication that my family is being targeted and that's why my brother and son were attacked," he said.

Earlier this year, the General Secretary of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha
(JMM) and Lok Sabha MP from Jamshedpur  Sunil Mahato had been killed by Naxalities about 40 km from Ranchi while attending a football match.

The Maoists looted the weapons held by the lawmaker's bodyguards and fired at them before torching Mahato's car.

Jharkhand is one of the 13 states hit by the Maoist insurgency that began more than three decades ago.

The Naxals say they are fighting for the rights of poor farmers and landless labourers and attack security forces, government officials, politicians and state property.

According to Home Ministry, 76 districts in Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Bihar, Maharashtra, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal are 'badly affected by Maoist violence'. (ANI)

Labels: Jharkhand

MP: London, Oct 27 (ANI): Playing computer games may not always slacken kids' performance at school, for a new study has found that children who play computer games before going off to school get better grades than those who don't play such games.

In the study conducted at the St Columba's Primary in Dundee, a group of Primary 5 and 6 pupils played for 20 minutes on Nintendo's handheld DS console at the start of each day which showed 'dramatic' advancements in the classroom after gaming for 20 minutes before the lessons began.

The game, called 'More Brain Training from Dr Kawashima' features number challenges, reading tests, problem-solving exercises and memory puzzles.

The tasks are designed to 'exercise the brain' by increasing blood for to the pre-frontal cortex.

Ten weeks later the group was given a maths test with the results showing a ten per cent average increase compared to those taken before the experiment.

Additionally, the average time for completion of the test dropped from 17 minutes, 1 second to 13 minutes, 19 seconds.

Some of the children even halved the time it took them while maintaining or improving upon their score.

Another group was given the existing educational movement based programme, Brain Gym, during the same experimental period.

The analyses of this particular group found that these children also achieved better results but not to the extent of the Nintendo group.

Along with the children's test scores improving, notable progress was also made in their behaviour and concentration.

Derek Robertson, Learning and Teaching Scotland's development officer, has backed the role of computer games in improving kids' classroom performance.

"There was dramatic enhancement in their mental maths ability in such a short period of time. It also seemed to have a settling effect on the children," the Daily Mail quoted him, as saying. (ANI)

Labels: Health

MP: New Delhi, Oct 27 (ANI): President Pratibha Patil will inaugurate
the 12th World Lake Conference in Jaipur on October 29.

President Patil will arrive in Jaipur on the evening of October 28 and
return to New Delhi the next day after inaugurating the conference.

The conference will be attended by experts from around the world and
will discuss ways in which lakes can be conserved.

This is the first time that this conference is being held in the South
Asian region.

This will be the President's first visit to Rajasthan since she was
sworn-in in July. President Patil was the Governor of Rajasthan before
she was elected as the President of India. (ANI)

Labels: Science

MP: Jharkhand, Oct 27 (ANI): Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda today condemned the Naxal attack in which seventeen people, including former Jharkhand Chief Minister Babulal Marandi's son Anup Marandi, was killed.

"It is a sad incident, in which Anup Marandi was killed. Such attacks and earlier ones were in retaliation of police action against them. In last few months, police has arrested a number of Naxals and destroyed their bunkers, training camps," Koda said.

Koda, who had spoken to Marandi, will also visit the village.

The Government announced Rs 1 lakh compensation for the families of all those who were killed.

Meanwhile, Deputy Inspector General of Police R K Mullick said the incident took place at Chilkhadia village in Jharkhand's Giridih District at around 1.00 a.m.

"The incident occurred during a cultural programme when heavily armed naxalites attacked and opened indiscriminate fire on the gathering," said Mullick.

Marandi's brother Nunulal, who was also present, escaped unhurt.

Four injured, including two women, are undergoing treatment at Giridih hospital.

Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Arun Kumar Singh said that about 30 Naxalites had mingled with the crowd during the cultural programme organised by Nunulal.

Earlier in the day, Babulal Marandi, who represents the Koderma Lok Sabha constituency, said that the entire nation is their target.

"My family has been the target of Maoist rebels for a long time as we have been fighting against them and organising villagers to rebel against them. Yesterday, their target was my family and since my brother and my son were there in that function they were clear targets for them," he said.

Giridih is the home district of Babulal Marandi.

In March, Lok Sabha MP from Jamshedpur, Sunil Mahato was shot dead by Naxalities about 40 km from Ranchi while attending a football match.

Jharkhand is one of the 13 states hit by the Maoist insurgency that began more than three decades ago.

According to Home Ministry, 76 districts in Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Bihar, Maharashtra, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal are 'badly affected by Maoist violence'. (ANI)

Labels: Jharkhand

MP: Washington, Oct 27 (ANI): Researchers at New Mexico State University have announced the discovery of the world's hottest chile pepper, Bhut Jolokia, a variety found in Assam, India.

The variety of chile pepper has won Guiness World Records' recognition by beating the previous champion Red Savina.

In replicated tests of Scoville heat units (SHUs), Bhut Jolokia reached one million SHUs, which is almost twice the SHUs of Red Savina, which measured a mere 577,000.

Dr. Paul Bosland, Director of the Chile Pepper Institute at New Mexico State University's Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences collected seeds of Bhut Jolokia while visiting India in 2001.

Bosland grew Bhut Jolokia plants under insect-proof cages for three years to produce enough seed to complete the required field tests.

"The name Bhut Jolokia translates as 'ghost chile, I think it's because the chile is so hot, you give up the ghost when you eat it," he said.

Bosland added that the intense heat concentration of Bhut Jolokia could have significant impact on the food industry as an economical seasoning in packaged foods. (ANI)

Labels: Assam

MP: Jharkhand, Oct 27 (ANI): Former Jharkhand Chief Minister Babulal
Marandi's son Anup Marandi was killed in a Naxal attack at Chilkhadia
village in Jharkhand's Giridih District late on Friday night.

Around 15 persons were also reportedly killed and four other seriously
injured in the incident which took place at around 1.00 a.m.

According to media reports, the incident occurred during a cultural
programme when heavily armed naxalites attacked and opened
indiscriminate fire on the gathering.

Giridih is the home district of Babulal Marandi, who represents the
Koderma Lok Sabha constituency.

Jharkhand is one of the 13 states hit by the Maoist insurgency that
began more than three decades ago.

According to Home Ministry, 76 districts in Andhra Pradesh,
Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Bihar, Maharashtra, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh,
Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal are 'badly affected by Maoist violence'.
(ANI)

Labels: Jharkhand

MP: Ambala, Oct 27 (ANI): Chief of the Sirsa-based Dera Sacha Sauda sect, Baba Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, will today appear before a CBI court in connection with two cases of murder and one of sexual harassment.

The court who had granted regular bail to Singh on Thursday, asked him to appear before the court on Saturday.

Singh's lawyer Jasmir Singh had said that Special CBI Judge R K Saini allowed the regular bail plea as his "prima facie involvement" in the three cases had not been established,

Dera chief spokesman Aditya Insaan had claimed the charges against Singh were "baseless" and that "truth will prevail".

However, the prosecution lawyer had said that they would decide on the future course of action after receiving the copy of the judgement.

The Ambala Police have already made tight security arrangements. Four companies of the police and at least six DSPs have been summoned from adjoining districts of Ambala.

Singh is facing charges for the murder of Dera manager Ranjit Singh and a Sirsa journalist Ram Chander Chatterpati as also a case of alleged sexual harrasment of a woman disciple. 

The CBI had filed three chargesheets against the Dera head on July 31 and on October 20 had opposed the granting of interim bail to Singh.

The regular bail application was moved by Singh on October 4, and the court had then extended the interim bail granted to him till October 15. (ANI)

Labels: Crime

MP: Srinagar, Oct 27 (ANI): Defence Minister A K Antony will review the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir today.

Antony on Friday said the situation in Jammu and Kashmir was improving compared to the past, and expressed the hope that it would improve further in the coming days.

"The situation is improving. Look at the past, compared to the past, the situation is much better. I am sure that things will improve further. As the situation improves we will take all possible measures to improve the atmosphere there and we will try to find a solution to many of their genuine difficulties," he said

During a day's visit to the valley, he will also hold meetings with senior Army and the State Government Officials.

The Minister will also inaugurate the silver jubilee celebrations of Jawahar Institute of Mountaineering and Winter Sports (JIMWS) in Pahalgam. He is also scheduled to attend the executive council and general body meeting of the institute.

Set up in October 1983, the JIMWS imparts theoretical and practical training in mountaineering and rock climbing techniques. It also encourages and imparts training in winter sports. (ANI)

Labels: Kashmir

MP: New Delhi, Oct 26 (ANI): Defence Minister A.K. Antony today said the situation in Jammu and Kashmir was improving compared to the past, and expressed the hope that it would improve further in the coming days. 

"The situation is improving. Look at the past, compared to the past, the situation is much better. I am sure that things will improve further. As the situation improves we will take all possible measures to improve the atmosphere there and we will try to find a solution to many of their genuine difficulties," Antony said on the sidelines of a cultural programme organised to mark the Foundation Day of Armed Forces Headquarters (AFHQ) here.

Commenting on the border dispute with China, Antony said that talks were on to resolve the longstanding issue, adding that it would continue till the border was not demarcated.

He further said that whenever the government saw "something serious" taking place around the disputed region, it takes the required steps.

"There's nothing to panic, the process will continue. We are always alert, we put in our interest, we don't compromise on our interest, we are trying to find a solution to border disputes through dialogues, Eleventh round is over, there is some progress, we will continue the efforts," he added.

Early this week, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said during his China visit that the two sides have decided to set up a working group to prepare the framework arrangement to resolve the border dispute.

He said that the 11th round of talks between the Special Representatives of India and China held in Beijing from 24th-26th September decided to set up the working group.

The Special Representatives of the two countries, National Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan and Vice Foreign Minister Dai Bingguo, held the discussions on the framework for the settlement of the India-China boundary issues.

The two sides have held several rounds of talks over their border dispute, but have been unable to report progress, even though bilateral ties have improved on the back of strong business links.

New Delhi and Beijing have differences over three main stretches of the Himalayan frontier in the east, central and western parts, with the latter not recognising the entire state of Arunachal Pradesh on the eastern stretch as Indian territory.

Both sides expressed satisfaction on the growing trade between them. The total trade between India and China has reached 30 billion dollars.

After the European Union and the US, China has become the third largest trading partner of India. (ANI)

Labels: Kashmir

MP: New Delhi, Oct.26 (ANI): Secretary, Defence Production, Ministry of Defence, K P Singh, today  promised all possible government help in facilitating private sector investment in defence production.

Addressing the valedictory session of the concluding session of the two-day 2nd International Conference on Energising Indian Aerospace industry, here on Friday, Singh said the greatest challenge facing the aeronautic industry is the lack of design and development skills.  

Singh said that the new Defence Offset policy that is expected to bring in 12 billion dollars by 2011, will give a fillip to the Indian industry as it gives the foreign vendors the responsibility to select Indian collaborators, encouraging competition among the Indian industry.

As 60 percent of defence production was being imported, there is great opportunity for investment and called upon the industry to do its best in meeting the challenges in the aerospace industry. 

Singh also clarified that the foreign suppliers can choose its Indian Offset Partner from Private Sector or Public Sector.

In his keynote address, Dr B V R Mohan Reddy, Chairman and Managing Director, Infotech Enterprises Ltd hoped that the government initiatives like the Defence Offset policy, the setting up of export promotion zones, tax incentives and the government's commitment to invest 40 billion dollars in the aerospace industry would encourage industry participation and put India on the global map.

He said the Indian industry was already in a state of preparedness with domestic R and D expertise, greater indigenisation of R and D and government initiatives to self-reliance, grooming talent and encouraging innovation.

The growing commercial aviation demand, booming commercial airlines, air cargo market and increase in the number of passengers provides an opportunity to global companies to seek a role in the Indian aerospace industry. Speaking about growing global engineering partnership, Reddy said as 70 percent of R and D is being outsourced globally, collaborative and concurrent engineering is on the rise. With a surplus working population and a large talented manpower pool, India was comparatively at an advantageous position.

Session Chairman  N N Vohra observed that the willingness of the government to allow the private sector to play a key role in the defence production is encouraging and the future looked bright.

Air commodore Jasjit Singh, Director, Centre for Air Power Studies, in his closing remarks, said inadequate local repair capacity and rapid airline growth are presenting MRO providers with an opportunity to get in on the ground floor. He also called for necessary policy changes to facilitate the tapping of technical skills of the defence forces in the MRO sector. He said there is a need for Indian involvement in aircraft manufacturing especially commercial aircraft.

Delivering the vote of thanks,Lt Gen (retired) S S Mehta, Director General, CII, said if gainfully spent, defence expenditure will fuel India's economic growth. He urged the Defence Services not to lose their skilled manpower and also stressed that they be trained and certified to global standards. (ANI)

MP: Srinagar, Oct 26 (ANI): Hurriyat Conference (Geelani) chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani today hit the streets here protesting against Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the wake of a sting operation, which claimed the 2002 Gujarat massacre of Muslims were carried out in full knowledge of Modi. 

"We saw the Tehelka report yesterday, the revelations have hurt the sentiments of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. We are protesting against Narendra Modi, BJP and the Government of India for not taking any action against the culprits," said Geelani.

Yesterday, Tehelka claimed that its investigation into 2002 post Godhra riots in Gujarat found that the massacre of Muslims were carried out in full knowledge and sanction of the Gujarat Chief Minister.

It claimed that the six-month long "investigation brings confirmation that the Gujarat murder of Muslims was not a spontaneous swell of anger, but a planned genocide strategised and executed by top functionaries of the RSS, the VHP, the Bajrang Dal and the state authorities, with the knowledge and sanction of Chief Minister Narendra Modi."

The magazine quoted a BJP MLA, who said that he was present at the meeting in which Modi gave them "three days' time to do whatever they wanted." 

 "He had given us three days time...to do whatever we could. He said he would not give us time after that...He said this openly," the news magazine quoted the MLA, as saying.

After three days "he (Modi) asked us to stop and everything came to a halt," Haresh Bhatt, the then national co-coordinator of the Bajrang Dal was quoted, as saying.

"It appears that bombs were manufactured in factories owned by senior Bajrang Dal and VHP activists. Arms were smuggled from Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Punjab, and then distributed to execution squads led by MLAs and senior members of the Sangh Parivar. Consignments of arms were not just smuggled in once, but 'there were tens and tens of them," Tehelka said in a press statement.

The news magazine also claims that elaborate legal subversion was done to save those accused for their role in the genocide. To help the foot soldiers, who actually raped, killed and looted, the strategists had constituted a panel of lawyers sympathetic to Hindu cause. (ANI)

MP: New Delhi, Oct 26 (ANI): Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today flagged off a chariot procession from his residence to mark the birth anniversary of Guru Balmiki (a Hindu scholar, saint and writer of Ramayana).

Addressing the members of Balmiki Society, Singh said that India should follow the teachings of Balmiki for prosperous future.

"I wish that from now onward we will follow the teachings of Balmiki and gain inspiration from his life to make India a prosperous and powerful nation," added Singh.

On this occasion, functions were organised by various groups and political parties across the nation. (ANI)

Labels: Society-Culture

MP: New Delhi, Oct 26 (ANI): Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singhhas today said that the government was making efforts to convince the Supreme Court about the need for reservation for the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in higher education.

Addressing a national conference on 'Social Exclusion and Inclusive Policies', Singh said: "Reservation of Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in higher education is very desirable. We should be able to convince the Supreme Court what India wants and the efforts in this regard have to be pursued with dedication".

Singh said that the conference was being held at an opportune time when the deliberations at the conference can help the policies to become inclusive, eventually giving a roadmap to further the commitment of removing discrimination in every sphere of life, including social and cultural, economic and the political as well as extreme case of violence.

He further said that policies formulated by our founding fathers of the Constitution to do away with the discrimination faced by marginalised sections of the population such as SCs, STs ,OBCs, women and religious minorities such as Muslims have yielded good results in social and educational development but advancement made here is still falling short of the expectations of that section of the society.

"There needs to be done a lot," said Singh.

The legislation to provide 27 percent reservation for OBCs in elite educational institutions, including IITs and IIMs, from the current academic session, was stayed by the apex court.

He also shared his experiences at a recently held UNESCO conference at Paris.

The time has come UNESCO should come forward with practical solutions and face the reality around the globe without any discrimination, said Singh.

The two-day conference has been organised by Indian Institute of Dalit Studies (IIDS) in collaboration with Princeton University, USA.

This conference is of significant importance as it will address the most important problem being faced by vast section of population, namely SC, ST, OBC, religious minority like Muslim and women and currently being discussed in the academic and government circles.

This is the first conference of its kind which will discuss through presentation of papers the economic discrimination faced by discriminated groups in various market and non market transactions.

This will include employment market in rural and urban areas, occupation and business, various factors market, services, and also education and health.

Most of the papers are based on original research and will bring new insight on the theme of market and non market discrimination.

Based on the insights from the papers, the conference will also discuss policies to overcome the discrimination. (ANI)

Labels: Society-Culture

MP: New Delhi, Oct 26 (ANI): Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today expressed concern over the slow progress of infrastructure projects in the country.

Reviewing the implementation of various programmes taken up under the National Common Minimum Programme (NCMP) here, Singh directed that a meeting of the Committee on Infrastructure be called to review progress in power, roads, ports, telecom and railway sectors.

Among the issues discussed at the meeting were implementation of the recommendations of the Radhakrishna Committee on agricultural indebtedness, Vaidyanathan Committee Report on cooperative sector and the Sachar Committee Report on empowerment of Minorities.

Singh also reviewed the implementation of Mid-Day Meal Scheme, Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS), revamping of Public Distribution System, implementation of social security initiatives like old age pension and health insurance schemes for disabled persons.

He also reviewed the implementation of initiatives in education sector, including announcements made in his Independence Day address. (ANI)

MP: New Delhi, Oct 26 (ANI): A group of sixteen Indian Origin Parliamentarians met External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee here today

Indian origin parliamentarians from the US, the UK and Europe are in India as a part of an intensive programme organised by the Public Diplomacy Division of the Ministry of External Affairs.

It envisages providing them with comprehensive presentations on key domestic and foreign policy issues in India.

The lawmakers arrived in India on October 23 and since then they have attended a series of seminars and meetings in New Delhi.

Through these programmes, the External Affairs Ministry expects to provide international lawmakers with comprehensive information on the socio-economic, strategic, regional and multilateral issues that engage and confront India.

The programme is aimed at enabling the MPs to influence the global debate on the country's "legitimate concerns" in the world.

The lawmakers will get a chance to know more about the opportunities and challenges that are confronting India. (ANI)

MP: Mumbai, Oct 26 (ANI): The Bombay Stock Exchange's benchmark 30-share Sensex crossed the 19000-point mark on Friday, following Security and Exchange Board of India's (SEBI) decision to partially restrict Participatory-Notes.

The Sensex closed at 19,243, up 472 points, while Nifty closed at 5702, up 133 points from the previous close.

The Sensex touched a high of 19,276 levels in intra-day deals.

The SEBI, India's stock market regulator, on Thursday, said it would go ahead with planned curbs on the use of an investment route by unregistered investors overseas.

Initially, investors seemed cautious ahead of SEBI's board meeting on Thursday to decide on restrictions on P-Notes amid reports that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has reiterated its earlier stance of a complete ban on P-Notes. Activity, however, was picked up as investors continued to roll over positions to next series indicating the market's bullish undertone.

The buoyancy in the markets on Friday was accounted for by the buying spree of foreign and domestic funds in capital goods and metal segments resulting in the 30-share index, Sensex, gaining 276.23 points to climb over 19, 047.12, a record peak set on October 14.

SEBI has said it wants to limit the use of participatory notes (P-Notes), which it says allow foreigners to make a backdoor entry into the market without registering. It wants foreign portfolio investors to register so it knows the source of funds coming into the country.

"The way SEBI chief yesterday announced, the market has reacted positively, even the FII. Because as he mentioned, yesterday that many of the foreign investors have submitted their forms for registration. This is a very good step that the SEBI chief has taken," said Siddhart Kuanwala, an investor.

The benchmark Sensex surged as investors engaged in hectic buying on the Bombay Stock Exchange and shares of Tata Steel and ICICI Bank registered sharp rise.

India's stock market regulator tightened investment rules for unregistered foreigners as expected on Thursday by clamping down on issuance of indirect investment notes to stem inflows of anonymous money.

Analysts thought in the long run the new rules would not deter foreign funds from the world's second fastest-growing economy after China, especially as the SEBI has pledged to speed up registration of foreign institutional investors (FIIs).

"Yesterday, the meeting held with SEBI was a positive one because they announced that they are not against the FIIs coming in. SO, as the news came in, it has been seen that many FIIs ate registering," said Vikas, another investor.

P-notes are issued by foreign institutional investors (FIIs) registered in India to unregistered overseas investors. Registered FIIs buy Indian securities and issue the notes based on the underlying asset. (ANI)

Labels: Finance

MP: Patna, Oct 26 (ANI): Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav today demanded immediate arrest of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and senior BJP Leader L K Advani while accusing them of planning mass murder during the 2002 post Godhra riots.

 

A day after weekly newsmagazine Tehelka aired a sting operation on the 2002 riots, claiming that the massacre of Muslims were carried out in full knowledge of Modi, Lalu said criminal cases be instituted against the two leaders and they be sent to jail immediately.

 

"The sting operation by Tehelka aptly christened operation 'Kalank' (disgrace) has exposed Modi's deep involvement in the post-Godhra Gujarat riots. People now know the real faces involved in the crime against humanity," the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader told reporters.

 

"Since Modi enjoys the patronage of Senior BJP Leader L K Advani, the opposition leader in the Lok Sabha, the latter cannot escape culpability for the mass murder," Lalu added.

 

Yesterday, Tehelka claimed that its investigation into 2002 post Godhra riots in Gujarat found that the massacre of Muslims were carried out in full knowledge and sanction of the Gujarat Chief Minister.

 

The six-month long "investigation brings confirmation that the Gujarat murder of Muslims was not a spontaneous swell of anger, but a planned genocide strategised and executed by top functionaries of the RSS, the VHP, the Bajrang Dal and the state authorities, with the knowledge and sanction of Chief Minister Narendra Modi," Tehelka claimed.

 

The magazine quoted a BJP MLA, who said that he was present at the meeting in which Modi gave them "three days' time to do whatever they wanted."

 

"He had given us three days time...to do whatever we could. He said he would not give us time after that...He said this openly," the news magazine quoted the MLA, as saying.

 

After three days "he (Modi) asked us to stop and everything came to a halt," Haresh Bhatt, the then national co-coordinator of the Bajrang Dal was quoted, as saying.

 

"It appears that bombs were manufactured in factories owned by senior Bajrang Dal and VHP activists. Arms were smuggled from Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Punjab, and then distributed to execution squads led by MLAs and senior members of the Sangh Parivar. Consignments of arms were not just smuggled in once, but 'there were tens and tens of them," Tehelka said in a press statement.

 

The news magazine also claims that elaborate legal subversion was done to save those accused for their role in the genocide. To help the foot soldiers, who actually raped, killed and looted, the strategists had constituted a panel of lawyers sympathetic to Hindu cause.

 

"To get me out on bail, Narendrabhai changed judges thrice," Tehelka quoted Babu Bajrangi, as saying. (ANI)

MP: Aizwal, Oct 26 (ANI): The first ever Bamboo festival was held here recently to showcase the states bamboo products and to promote tourism in the state.

The three-day festival was organised by the tourism department with the theme "promote tourism".

In the festival, where the stalls were put up under the banner "bamboo, the ultimate source of prosperity" provided a magnificent platform for traders to display their bamboo and other indigenous products.

C.Ramhluna, PCCF, Mizoram and Chairman of State Bamboo Steering Committee said, "Bamboo has been utilised for building, construction and also for the purpose of irrigation facility. I think Bamboo contributes a lot in our daily life."

Apart from the stalls of indigenous product, there was an exhibition-cum-sale of different handloom and handicraft products, along with displaying various major fruits and flowers of the state.

"We just want to show our varieties of products of Bamboo. We are also using it for flower stands. We also have different kinds of Bamboo," said Margaretv Vanlalijani, a horticulture development officer and a participant. 

A fashion show displaying both the traditional Mizo handloom dresses as well as the modern designers outfits, was the centre of attraction.

Mizoram is a state with the total area of 21,087 sqkm, out of which bamboo   orchards occupying an area of 7882 sqkm. (ANI)

Labels: Mizoram, Tourism

MP: Majha, Oct 26 (ANI): A school in Narli village on the Indo-Pak border in the Majha region has the distinction of shaping the careers of many students who h