Dec 12: The search engine leader and Internet giant Google Inc has expressed regret over allegedly disabling a few Gmail accounts in qualm of conflicting spammers. Google apologises to its users for restricting their Gmail account in its official website www.google.com.
“I understand that some of you have had a frustrating experience with your accounts being inappropriately disabled. Our team is aware of the problem, and our engineers are investigating this matter,” said Google in its website.
Google has also thanked the users for brining this problem before the Google engineers’ team by posting complaint on Gmail Help Forum. “Thanks for bringing this to our attention,” added Google.
The problem began late on December 05, when several of the Gmail users could not open their account or found that their mail could not reached to its destination instead it bounced backed. Some of them had posted written complaint on Gmail Forum and put the problem in front of Google staff.
The employees who monitor the forum came to know what’s the real problem is all about and later on December 06, they had sorted out the problem and regret in its ‘Gmail Guide’ declaring that things will be back to normal.
“Our efforts to prevent breaches of our Terms of Use (policy) caused a number of users to be incorrectly identified. This most meant as spammers or other abusive users,” said Google in its Gmail Guide.
Explaining the situation, Google trouble shooting team clarified, “It was the result of an effort by Google to bar such users from the Gmail service. Users whose accounts were disabled by mistake should have regained access to them by that point, without losing any of their account data.”
Accepting its mistake, Google also praised the regular performance of its employee, “Our engineers work diligently to combat spammers …. With this in mind, our engineers have built a monitoring system to minimise the impact that some of you ended up feeling.”
Though Google has not released in numbers that how many users suffered through this problem, but it seems only few consumers out of massive Google users faced the problem.
By Shamsheer
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Friday, December 14, 2007
PSU MFs to handle Postal schemes
NEW DELHI:
In a move that might lead to greater investment in the country’s stock markets, the Union Cabinet on Thursday appointed two public sector mutual funds — UTI Mutual Fund and SBI Mutal Fund — as managers for investment of Post Office Life Insurance Fund (POLIF) and Rural Post Office Life Insurance Fund (RPOLIF).
Briefing newspersons after the Cabinet meeting, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram said that the PSU fund managers were expected “to follow safe and conservative investment policies” for the funds mopped up largely from rural areas.
Asked whether a part of the funds so raised could be directed to the stock market, Mr. Chidambaram said it was up to the fund managers to decide.
While POLIF has a corpus of Rs. 8,934 crore, the money raised through RPOLIF stood at Rs. 1,625 crore as on March 2006. “Much of this money has already been invested, but the MFs will manage the accumulated funds,” he said.
Better returns
Formulated on the lines of the National Investment Fund (NIF) corpus that has been entrusted to three PSU managers, Mr. Chidambaram said the move to permit SBI and UTI MFs as fund managers was following the Department of Post’s decision to invest funds in a manner that would fetch better returns to the investors.
The Cabinet also approved the setting up of an investment board for formulating policy guidelines and an investment strategy for the postal funds.
According to an official statement, a Chief Investment Officer (CIO) with the rank of Additional Secretary is to be appointed along with four Directors for managing and devising day-to-day strategies for these investments.
By Shamsheer (H)
In a move that might lead to greater investment in the country’s stock markets, the Union Cabinet on Thursday appointed two public sector mutual funds — UTI Mutual Fund and SBI Mutal Fund — as managers for investment of Post Office Life Insurance Fund (POLIF) and Rural Post Office Life Insurance Fund (RPOLIF).
Briefing newspersons after the Cabinet meeting, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram said that the PSU fund managers were expected “to follow safe and conservative investment policies” for the funds mopped up largely from rural areas.
Asked whether a part of the funds so raised could be directed to the stock market, Mr. Chidambaram said it was up to the fund managers to decide.
While POLIF has a corpus of Rs. 8,934 crore, the money raised through RPOLIF stood at Rs. 1,625 crore as on March 2006. “Much of this money has already been invested, but the MFs will manage the accumulated funds,” he said.
Better returns
Formulated on the lines of the National Investment Fund (NIF) corpus that has been entrusted to three PSU managers, Mr. Chidambaram said the move to permit SBI and UTI MFs as fund managers was following the Department of Post’s decision to invest funds in a manner that would fetch better returns to the investors.
The Cabinet also approved the setting up of an investment board for formulating policy guidelines and an investment strategy for the postal funds.
According to an official statement, a Chief Investment Officer (CIO) with the rank of Additional Secretary is to be appointed along with four Directors for managing and devising day-to-day strategies for these investments.
By Shamsheer (H)
Spice launches SMS service in 12 Indian languages
BANGALORE: Spice Telecom, Karnataka's oldest cellular provider, on Thursday announced the launch of `Spice Local Lingo', a messaging service that enables a consumer to send and receive SMSs in 12 Indian langauges. The new offering was launched by the Spice's Brand ambassador and leading Bollywood star, Priyanka Chopra. The service can be downloaded on all Java-enabled phones and allows a user to choose from 12 Indian languages, Kannada, Hindi, Oriya, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Marathi, Assamese, Gujarati, Bengali and Urdu, Rakesh Singh, COO, Spice Karnataka told reporters today. "A subscriber could with a GPRS connection could downlaod it from the spice portal http://wap.spicetele.com or can SMS the key word `SLL' to 56199 ", he said. The language service can be enabled by using the language specific soft keypad that would be installed once the software is downloaded.Using the message edit box the user could compose the message and sent it as a normal text SMS. He can also use the picture SMS in case the person the message has been sent to does not have the special 'langugage facility on their mobile phone. The charges for the service is a one time download charge of Rs 20 per language plus a monthly subsrciption cost of Rs five per language. As an inaugural offer, SMS charges in Spice Local Lingo will cost 50 paise. The service is powered by Geneva Software Technologies. "The new offering was targetted at mass consumers keen in sending SMS in their own lingo and at those who were not comfortable with English", he said.
By Shamsheer (ET)
Rupee climbs on capital inflows
MUMBAI:
The rupee climbed to its highest close in nearly a month on Friday, driven by strong capital inflows into the fast-growing economy, though sporadic central bank intervention limited gains, dealers said. The partially convertible rupee ended at 39.34/35 per dollar, its strongest finish since November 19, and up from the previous close of 39.395/405. It hit 39.16 last month, its strongest since March 1998. "There were strong flows from a single bank today, which put a lot of upward pressure on the rupee," said a dealer with a state bank. "But the central bank was there to see that the rupee did not appreciate too fast." Reserve Bank of India bought a record $12.544 billion in intervention in October to slow down a rising rupee, which has gained about 12 per cent this year, data showed on Friday.
Multi Currency Converter
The Reserve Bank of India bought $64.5 billion in intervention in the first ten months of the year and is widely seen as having played an active role in the rupee market in November and December too. RBI will continue to allow greater flexibility in the foreign exchange market but will also intervene to keep the rupee stable, Deputy Governor Rakesh Mohan said on Thursday.
The rupee climbed to its highest close in nearly a month on Friday, driven by strong capital inflows into the fast-growing economy, though sporadic central bank intervention limited gains, dealers said. The partially convertible rupee ended at 39.34/35 per dollar, its strongest finish since November 19, and up from the previous close of 39.395/405. It hit 39.16 last month, its strongest since March 1998. "There were strong flows from a single bank today, which put a lot of upward pressure on the rupee," said a dealer with a state bank. "But the central bank was there to see that the rupee did not appreciate too fast." Reserve Bank of India bought a record $12.544 billion in intervention in October to slow down a rising rupee, which has gained about 12 per cent this year, data showed on Friday.
Multi Currency Converter
The Reserve Bank of India bought $64.5 billion in intervention in the first ten months of the year and is widely seen as having played an active role in the rupee market in November and December too. RBI will continue to allow greater flexibility in the foreign exchange market but will also intervene to keep the rupee stable, Deputy Governor Rakesh Mohan said on Thursday.
ICICI, IL&FS, Kotak pick up 9.55 pc stake in MCX
MUMBAI: Financial Technologies, parent company of Multi Commodity Exchange, today said leading banking and financial services groups ICICI, Kotak and IL&FS have picked up 9.55 per cent stake in MCX, at an enterprise value of up to 1.1 billion dollars. ICICI Group has picked up a 3.5 per cent stake in the country's largest commodity exchange, while Kotak and IL&FS have acquired five per cent and one per cent respectively, the company informed the Bombay Stock Exchange. "This milestone is a testimony of the quality of the institute we have built in and from India where the global and domestic best have converged," MCX Managing Director and CEO, Jignesh Shah said. The transactions valued MCX at one billion dollar to 1.1 billion dollar, the communique said. Other shareholders in MCX include Fidelity International, State Bank of India, State Bank of Hyderabad, State Bank of Indore, State Bank of Saurashtra, State Bank of Patiala, State Bank of Travancore, State Bank of Mysore, State Bank of Bikaner & Jaipur, SBI Life Insurance Co Ltd, HDFC Bank, National Stock Exchange, NABARD, Canara Bank, Bank of India, Union Bank of India, Bank of Baroda and Corporation Bank. Earlier this year, Merrill Lynch and Citigroup bought a five per cent stake each in the exchange. Financial Technologies is the parent firm of the Multi Commodity Exchange. Financial Technologies closed at Rs 2600.80, 2.81 up per cent at the BSE
By shamsheer (ET)
By shamsheer (ET)
Trespass case against Sania
HYDERABAD:
A trespass case has been registered against tennis player Sania Mirza and the advertisement agency, which shot a film with her on the Mecca Masjid premises here, according to Charminar Assistant Commissioner of Police B. Reddenna.
The Masjid Welfare Committee filed a police complaint on Tuesday seeking action against the agency and Ms. Mirza for shooting on the masjid premises without permission. Initially, the police maintained that the masjid, being a historical monument, people went inside and took pictures. However, on Thursday the police registered a case under Section 448 of the IPC.
Ms. Mirza, now in Bangalore, tendered an apology to the Imam on Thursday.
She said: “It is with a deep sense of remorse that I would like to apologise to all my brothers and sisters and respected elders, who have been anguished by my unwittingly entering a portion of the land belonging to the Mecca Masjid, while filming the Charminar with the intention of promoting the heritage monument, which is symbolic of our city.
“While I am fully aware that a woman must not enter the sanctity of the mosque, I was unaware that even entering the outside gates was seriously objectionable, especially without permission, which I was assured by the agency they possessed. However, I would like to unequivocally render my apology to all my brothers and sisters for hurting their sentiments.”
A copy of the letter was released to the media.
The Masjid Welfare Committee filed a police complaint on Tuesday seeking action against the agency and Ms. Mirza for shooting on the masjid premises without permission. Initially, the police maintained that the masjid, being a historical monument, people went inside and took pictures. However, on Thursday the police registered a case under Section 448 of the IPC.
Ms. Mirza, now in Bangalore, tendered an apology to the Imam on Thursday.
She said: “It is with a deep sense of remorse that I would like to apologise to all my brothers and sisters and respected elders, who have been anguished by my unwittingly entering a portion of the land belonging to the Mecca Masjid, while filming the Charminar with the intention of promoting the heritage monument, which is symbolic of our city.
“While I am fully aware that a woman must not enter the sanctity of the mosque, I was unaware that even entering the outside gates was seriously objectionable, especially without permission, which I was assured by the agency they possessed. However, I would like to unequivocally render my apology to all my brothers and sisters for hurting their sentiments.”
A copy of the letter was released to the media.
By Shamsheer (HIndu)
Admission to nursery classes: SC stays regulation
New Delhi :
The Supreme Court on Friday stayed the regulation requiring prior approval from the Directorate of Education (DoE), NCT on the criteria for admission to nursery classes by private schools in the national capital and gave more scope to schools for interaction with parents.
The apex court also stayed the guidelines which required informal interaction of parents and guardians for verifying the veracity of the documents with the school management.
It said this guideline will mean interaction with parents and guardians. In a sense, it means that the interaction will not be limited and would have more scope.
A Bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan also said the schools can have their separate time schedule for starting the admission process but have to complete as per the regulations by March 15.
It also said the time schedule has to be informed to the Directorate of Education within a week and has to be published on the websites of the respective schools.
Meanwhile, on the issue of age criterion, the apex court refused to stay the Delhi High Court order which had fixed five year as the age for admission to class I.
The Supreme Court on Friday stayed the regulation requiring prior approval from the Directorate of Education (DoE), NCT on the criteria for admission to nursery classes by private schools in the national capital and gave more scope to schools for interaction with parents.
The apex court also stayed the guidelines which required informal interaction of parents and guardians for verifying the veracity of the documents with the school management.
It said this guideline will mean interaction with parents and guardians. In a sense, it means that the interaction will not be limited and would have more scope.
A Bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan also said the schools can have their separate time schedule for starting the admission process but have to complete as per the regulations by March 15.
It also said the time schedule has to be informed to the Directorate of Education within a week and has to be published on the websites of the respective schools.
Meanwhile, on the issue of age criterion, the apex court refused to stay the Delhi High Court order which had fixed five year as the age for admission to class I.
Sunday, December 9, 2007
Ganguly hits maiden double ton, Pathan joins runfeast
Bangalore:9-12-2007.
Sourav Ganguly struck an epic 239 and fellow left-hander Irfan Pathan hit his maiden century as India tightened the noose around Pakistan in the third and final cricket Test here on Sunday.
For the second successive day, there was no respite for the toothless Pakistani attack with Ganguly bringing up his maiden Test double ton and adding 178 runs with Pathan (102) for the seventh wicket as India amassed a massive 626 in their first essay.
At stumps, Pakistan were 86 for one, still 540 runs behind and left with nine batsmen to avoid the ignominy of follow-on.
Salman Butt (50) and Younis Khan (7) were batting at the crease when stumps were drawn. Anil Kumble had trapped Yasir Hameed (19) to draw the first blood.
In his third over, Kumble found success trapping Hameed (19) as the batsman played on the front foot to a fuller length straight delivery that was quick and kept low.
Earlier, India recorded a mammoth total before being dismissed 20 minutes into the final session with Irfan Pathan recording his maiden Test century adding to two other glorious knocks of Ganguly and Yuvraj Singh (169).
Pathan was the last to be dismissed for a well-made 102 off 133 balls with the help of 10 fours and four sixes, the last six off Danish Kaneria aimed at the official scoreboard confirming his century as he ran short of partners.
Both Kumble (4) and Harbhajan Singh (4) quickly departed after Ganguly's exit before Ishant Sharma (0 not out) survived four balls from Yasir Arafat to enable Pathan complete a well-deserved century.
Ganguly played a classy innings of sheer grit and handsome stroke-play before being dismissed for his highest ever score in Test cricket, going for a sweep shot and missing a Kaneria delivery to be bowled 12 minutes before tea break.
The left-hander's grand knock which came in 523 minutes off 361 balls and included 30 boundaries and two sixes off Kaneria, was also the highest by an Indian at this venue surpassing Virender Sehwag's 201 against Pakistan four seasons ago.
India sent the Pakistan fielders on a leather hunt in the post-lunch session, which saw 150 runs being scored in 30 overs with Pathan quickly learning the scoring lessons from his senior partner at the crease.
As a consolation for the visitors, debutant Yasir Arafat (5-161) achieved a well-deserved five-wicket haul with Harbhajan's wicket, while Kaneria bagged three for 168.
Pakistan did not bowl Shoaib Akhtar in the post-lunch session though towards the end of it he was allowed to bowl having completed the compensation time.
Akhtar took the field in the morning and as per the laws of the game completed the period for which he was absent from the field on the opening day about half an hour before tea break on Sunday.
Shoaib had to be taken to hospital on the first day after he complained of back pain and the MRI scan revealed no injury but just muscle spasm.
Sourav Ganguly struck an epic 239 and fellow left-hander Irfan Pathan hit his maiden century as India tightened the noose around Pakistan in the third and final cricket Test here on Sunday.
For the second successive day, there was no respite for the toothless Pakistani attack with Ganguly bringing up his maiden Test double ton and adding 178 runs with Pathan (102) for the seventh wicket as India amassed a massive 626 in their first essay.
At stumps, Pakistan were 86 for one, still 540 runs behind and left with nine batsmen to avoid the ignominy of follow-on.
Salman Butt (50) and Younis Khan (7) were batting at the crease when stumps were drawn. Anil Kumble had trapped Yasir Hameed (19) to draw the first blood.
In his third over, Kumble found success trapping Hameed (19) as the batsman played on the front foot to a fuller length straight delivery that was quick and kept low.
Earlier, India recorded a mammoth total before being dismissed 20 minutes into the final session with Irfan Pathan recording his maiden Test century adding to two other glorious knocks of Ganguly and Yuvraj Singh (169).
Pathan was the last to be dismissed for a well-made 102 off 133 balls with the help of 10 fours and four sixes, the last six off Danish Kaneria aimed at the official scoreboard confirming his century as he ran short of partners.
Both Kumble (4) and Harbhajan Singh (4) quickly departed after Ganguly's exit before Ishant Sharma (0 not out) survived four balls from Yasir Arafat to enable Pathan complete a well-deserved century.
Ganguly played a classy innings of sheer grit and handsome stroke-play before being dismissed for his highest ever score in Test cricket, going for a sweep shot and missing a Kaneria delivery to be bowled 12 minutes before tea break.
The left-hander's grand knock which came in 523 minutes off 361 balls and included 30 boundaries and two sixes off Kaneria, was also the highest by an Indian at this venue surpassing Virender Sehwag's 201 against Pakistan four seasons ago.
India sent the Pakistan fielders on a leather hunt in the post-lunch session, which saw 150 runs being scored in 30 overs with Pathan quickly learning the scoring lessons from his senior partner at the crease.
As a consolation for the visitors, debutant Yasir Arafat (5-161) achieved a well-deserved five-wicket haul with Harbhajan's wicket, while Kaneria bagged three for 168.
Pakistan did not bowl Shoaib Akhtar in the post-lunch session though towards the end of it he was allowed to bowl having completed the compensation time.
Akhtar took the field in the morning and as per the laws of the game completed the period for which he was absent from the field on the opening day about half an hour before tea break on Sunday.
Shoaib had to be taken to hospital on the first day after he complained of back pain and the MRI scan revealed no injury but just muscle spasm.
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday permitted employment of women in bars and liquor-serving restaurants in the National Capital Territory of Del
NEW DELHI:6-12-207.
The Supreme Court on Thursday permitted employment of women in bars and liquor-serving restaurants in the National Capital Territory of Delhi. The Court also removed the ban on employment of men below 25 years of age.
The Court was dealing with the constitutional validity of Section 30 of the Punjab Excise Act, 1914, as applicable to the NCT of Delhi prohibiting employment of men aged below 25 and women as bartenders.
The Delhi government cited the examples of Jessica Lal and BMW cases to highlight the dangerous consequences of sale and consumption of liquor by young men aged below 25 and vulnerability of women working in bars. Rejecting the contention, the Bench of Justice S. B. Sinha and Justice H. S. Bedi said: “When the restrictions were in force, they could not prevent such occurrences. If the restriction goes, some such incidents may again happen. But only on a pre-supposition that there is a possibility of some incident happening, we cannot declare a law intra vires which is ex-facie ultra vires.” “Outmoded in content”
Writing the judgment, Mr. Justice Sinha said: “Legislation should not only be assessed on its proposed aims but rather on the implications and the effects. The impugned legislation suffers from incurable fixations of stereotype morality and conception of sexual role. The perspective thus arrived at is outmoded in content and stifling in means.”
“Instead of prohibiting women’s employment in the bars altogether, the State should focus on factoring in ways through which unequal consequences of sex differences can be eliminated. It is [the] State’s duty to ensure circumstances of safety which inspire confidence in women to discharge the duty freely in accordance with the requirements of the profession they choose to follow,” said the Bench.
“It is to be borne in mind,” the Bench added, “that legislation with pronounced ‘protective discrimination’ aims, such as this one, potentially serves as double-edged swords. Strict scrutiny test should be employed while assessing the implications of this variety of legislation.”
Acting on a petition from the Hotel Association of India, the Delhi High Court had struck down the law and the Delhi government had accepted the verdict.
While the Association challenged that portion of the judgment which upheld the upper age limit of 25 fixed for employment of men, Anuj Garg and others assailed the High Court judgment.
The Supreme Court, while upholding the judgment, removed the age restriction imposed on men.
The Supreme Court on Thursday permitted employment of women in bars and liquor-serving restaurants in the National Capital Territory of Delhi. The Court also removed the ban on employment of men below 25 years of age.
The Court was dealing with the constitutional validity of Section 30 of the Punjab Excise Act, 1914, as applicable to the NCT of Delhi prohibiting employment of men aged below 25 and women as bartenders.
The Delhi government cited the examples of Jessica Lal and BMW cases to highlight the dangerous consequences of sale and consumption of liquor by young men aged below 25 and vulnerability of women working in bars. Rejecting the contention, the Bench of Justice S. B. Sinha and Justice H. S. Bedi said: “When the restrictions were in force, they could not prevent such occurrences. If the restriction goes, some such incidents may again happen. But only on a pre-supposition that there is a possibility of some incident happening, we cannot declare a law intra vires which is ex-facie ultra vires.” “Outmoded in content”
Writing the judgment, Mr. Justice Sinha said: “Legislation should not only be assessed on its proposed aims but rather on the implications and the effects. The impugned legislation suffers from incurable fixations of stereotype morality and conception of sexual role. The perspective thus arrived at is outmoded in content and stifling in means.”
“Instead of prohibiting women’s employment in the bars altogether, the State should focus on factoring in ways through which unequal consequences of sex differences can be eliminated. It is [the] State’s duty to ensure circumstances of safety which inspire confidence in women to discharge the duty freely in accordance with the requirements of the profession they choose to follow,” said the Bench.
“It is to be borne in mind,” the Bench added, “that legislation with pronounced ‘protective discrimination’ aims, such as this one, potentially serves as double-edged swords. Strict scrutiny test should be employed while assessing the implications of this variety of legislation.”
Acting on a petition from the Hotel Association of India, the Delhi High Court had struck down the law and the Delhi government had accepted the verdict.
While the Association challenged that portion of the judgment which upheld the upper age limit of 25 fixed for employment of men, Anuj Garg and others assailed the High Court judgment.
The Supreme Court, while upholding the judgment, removed the age restriction imposed on men.
Handover Babri mosque site to Muslims: CIM
LONDON:
The Council of Indian Muslims (CIM) in UK on Friday asked the Indian government to hand over Babri mosque site to Muslims and allow them to rebuild the mosque there. "Babri Mosque demolition and Gujarat massacre have left deep scars on Muslim psyche and unfortunately no concrete step has been taken by the Indian Government to cure this pain," the CIM Chairman Mohammad Munaf Zeena said in a statement. Marking the 16th anniversary of demolition of Babri Masjid Mosque, Zeena said: "One finds it extremely frustrating that those who pulled down the mosque in full media glare, incited attacks on Muslims and rejoiced on those atrocities are roaming free. Babri Mosque was demolished on 6th December 1992 by Hindu extremists who claim that it stood on the site of the birth place of Lord Rama. Hindu-Muslim riots that followed killed some 2,000 people across India, most of them Muslims. "But no compassion has been shown in punishing the Muslims for their alleged involvement in the 1992 riots in Mumbai despite the fact that in its report Justice Sri Krishna commission had clearly identified the perpetrators of these riots and CBI had charge sheeted the inciters of the demolition of Babri Mosque." "Such discriminatory policies create negative psyche that is detrimental to the development of any society," he said.
The Council of Indian Muslims (CIM) in UK on Friday asked the Indian government to hand over Babri mosque site to Muslims and allow them to rebuild the mosque there. "Babri Mosque demolition and Gujarat massacre have left deep scars on Muslim psyche and unfortunately no concrete step has been taken by the Indian Government to cure this pain," the CIM Chairman Mohammad Munaf Zeena said in a statement. Marking the 16th anniversary of demolition of Babri Masjid Mosque, Zeena said: "One finds it extremely frustrating that those who pulled down the mosque in full media glare, incited attacks on Muslims and rejoiced on those atrocities are roaming free. Babri Mosque was demolished on 6th December 1992 by Hindu extremists who claim that it stood on the site of the birth place of Lord Rama. Hindu-Muslim riots that followed killed some 2,000 people across India, most of them Muslims. "But no compassion has been shown in punishing the Muslims for their alleged involvement in the 1992 riots in Mumbai despite the fact that in its report Justice Sri Krishna commission had clearly identified the perpetrators of these riots and CBI had charge sheeted the inciters of the demolition of Babri Mosque." "Such discriminatory policies create negative psyche that is detrimental to the development of any society," he said.
The train returns after 12 years
MANGALORE:
A 12-year wait for the people of this region ended at 3 p.m. on Saturday as Railway Minister Lalu Prasad flagged off the new train between Mangalore and Yeshwanthpur.
Commuters by the special train that was flagged off to mark the occasion as well as the crowd numbering more than 1,000 people cheered and clapped as the train began to move.
The train’s movement could be seen on the giant screen specially erected close to the dias in a huge pandal where Mr. Prasad pressed a button to turn the signal from red to green. People were excited to see the amber light turn green and the train started its 508-km journey towards Bangalore.
The metre gauge line was suspended for conversion in September, 1995.
The Railway Minister said, in a lighter vein, that he had come to realise that the bus lobby and the truck lobby were opposed to the railway line besides the engineering difficulties railwaymen encountered in the gauge conversion work in the steep ghat sections. “What you have got is not an ordinary line,” he said hinting at the hurdles it had to cross.
He announced a reward of Rs. 10 lakh to the railway engineers, who built the broad gauge track through a tough terrain.
Describing the Railways turn around and profit of Rs. 20,000 crore as “jaadu”, he said a lot more was about to happen. He promised a dedicated double-line freight movement corridor from Howrah to Mumbai to Chennai and back to Howrah to decongest the saturated main lines. Minister of State for Railways R. Velu also promised to look into the demands of the region and stated that more trains would be introduced in “due course of time.”
Earlier, BJP State unit president D.V. Sadananda Gowda summed up the railway-related needs of the region. Chairman of Administrative Reforms Commission M. Veerappa Moily, Union Minister for State for Labour Oscar Fernandes and Congress leader Janardhana Poojary were present.
A 12-year wait for the people of this region ended at 3 p.m. on Saturday as Railway Minister Lalu Prasad flagged off the new train between Mangalore and Yeshwanthpur.
Commuters by the special train that was flagged off to mark the occasion as well as the crowd numbering more than 1,000 people cheered and clapped as the train began to move.
The train’s movement could be seen on the giant screen specially erected close to the dias in a huge pandal where Mr. Prasad pressed a button to turn the signal from red to green. People were excited to see the amber light turn green and the train started its 508-km journey towards Bangalore.
The metre gauge line was suspended for conversion in September, 1995.
The Railway Minister said, in a lighter vein, that he had come to realise that the bus lobby and the truck lobby were opposed to the railway line besides the engineering difficulties railwaymen encountered in the gauge conversion work in the steep ghat sections. “What you have got is not an ordinary line,” he said hinting at the hurdles it had to cross.
He announced a reward of Rs. 10 lakh to the railway engineers, who built the broad gauge track through a tough terrain.
Describing the Railways turn around and profit of Rs. 20,000 crore as “jaadu”, he said a lot more was about to happen. He promised a dedicated double-line freight movement corridor from Howrah to Mumbai to Chennai and back to Howrah to decongest the saturated main lines. Minister of State for Railways R. Velu also promised to look into the demands of the region and stated that more trains would be introduced in “due course of time.”
Earlier, BJP State unit president D.V. Sadananda Gowda summed up the railway-related needs of the region. Chairman of Administrative Reforms Commission M. Veerappa Moily, Union Minister for State for Labour Oscar Fernandes and Congress leader Janardhana Poojary were present.
VS holds talks with doctors
Thiruvananthapuram:
The strike by government doctors, which crossed 70 days, may finally be over in the next few days, thanks to the intervention of Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan.
The Chief Minister accepted the argument of government doctors that instead of special allowances they be given the amount as special pay, which would ensure that all doctors, including those in the entry cadre, benefit from it, president of the Kerala Government Medical Officers’ Association Sunny P. Orathel told The Hindu.
KGMOA office-bearers met Mr. Achuthanandan along with Health Minister P.K. Sreemathy on Saturday. In the briefing which lasted barely 10 minutes, the Chief Minister asked the doctors to submit their proposal for special pay in detail on Monday.Proposal accepted
“We told the Chief Minister that we were willing to settle for a special pay as it would benefit the entire cadre and that the allowances declared by the government earlier was not acceptable to us as it would only give benefits to a few specialists. He asked us if we would end the strike if the special pay was accepted and we replied in the affirmative,” Dr. Sunny said.
Mr. Achuthanandan was told that the doctors were not willing to accept allowances as it was not of a permanent nature and whereas a special pay would be carried over when the next Pay Commission was set up.
Ms. Sreemathy, when contacted, expressed happiness and relief that finally there seemed to be a way out of the stalemate.
“We have asked the KGMOA to submit a written proposal for special pay in detail.
“I myself spoke to the Chief Minister after the High Court order yesterday and appealed for his intervention. We are confident that we will resolve this issue soon,” the Minister said.
The KGMOA, following an order by the Kerala High Court on Friday, agreed to withdraw its strike for the next four weeks so that the government could take a decision on resolving the current stalemate.Panel to meet today
The KGMOA’s State committee would meet tomorrow and discuss the finer details of the proposal for converting the allowances as special pay. The Finance Department had earlier objected to the suggestion about special pay put forth by the KGMOA.
“We will work out the details in such a way that our junior doctors (Assistant Surgeons) get the maximum benefit.
“We have already told the government that we are willing to give up all allowances for specialists declared by the government,” Dr. Sunny said.
Chief Secretary Sheela Thomas and Special Secretary, Health, Usha Titus were present during the meeting with the Chief Minister.
The strike by government doctors, which crossed 70 days, may finally be over in the next few days, thanks to the intervention of Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan.
The Chief Minister accepted the argument of government doctors that instead of special allowances they be given the amount as special pay, which would ensure that all doctors, including those in the entry cadre, benefit from it, president of the Kerala Government Medical Officers’ Association Sunny P. Orathel told The Hindu.
KGMOA office-bearers met Mr. Achuthanandan along with Health Minister P.K. Sreemathy on Saturday. In the briefing which lasted barely 10 minutes, the Chief Minister asked the doctors to submit their proposal for special pay in detail on Monday.Proposal accepted
“We told the Chief Minister that we were willing to settle for a special pay as it would benefit the entire cadre and that the allowances declared by the government earlier was not acceptable to us as it would only give benefits to a few specialists. He asked us if we would end the strike if the special pay was accepted and we replied in the affirmative,” Dr. Sunny said.
Mr. Achuthanandan was told that the doctors were not willing to accept allowances as it was not of a permanent nature and whereas a special pay would be carried over when the next Pay Commission was set up.
Ms. Sreemathy, when contacted, expressed happiness and relief that finally there seemed to be a way out of the stalemate.
“We have asked the KGMOA to submit a written proposal for special pay in detail.
“I myself spoke to the Chief Minister after the High Court order yesterday and appealed for his intervention. We are confident that we will resolve this issue soon,” the Minister said.
The KGMOA, following an order by the Kerala High Court on Friday, agreed to withdraw its strike for the next four weeks so that the government could take a decision on resolving the current stalemate.Panel to meet today
The KGMOA’s State committee would meet tomorrow and discuss the finer details of the proposal for converting the allowances as special pay. The Finance Department had earlier objected to the suggestion about special pay put forth by the KGMOA.
“We will work out the details in such a way that our junior doctors (Assistant Surgeons) get the maximum benefit.
“We have already told the government that we are willing to give up all allowances for specialists declared by the government,” Dr. Sunny said.
Chief Secretary Sheela Thomas and Special Secretary, Health, Usha Titus were present during the meeting with the Chief Minister.
BJP dares Left to withdraw support to Govt
NEW DELHI: 9 Dec 2007
The BJP on Sunday dared the Left to 'show courage' and withdraw support to the government on the Indo-US civil nuclear deal issue as it ridiculed the CPM's fresh ultimatum to the UPA on the matter. "We don't trust the flexible fluidity of the Left. They lack the courage to withdraw support to the government because the looming fear of the BJP is more important to them than the apparent sell out to the US," BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad said here. Reacting to CPM General Secretary Prakash Karat giving an ultimatum to the government on the deal, he said the Left had earlier also set deadlines but found some "via media" not to withdraw support to the UPA as it does not have the courage do so. "If Prakash Karat is so serious, let him show the courage and withdraw support. He lacks courage," Prasad added. It was not just a question of the nuclear deal. The Left had served ultimatums to the government on earlier occasions also but always some via media was found to continue support, he said. Prasad was reacting to Karat's statement on Saturday saying the government should be prepared for mid-term polls to the Lok Sabha if it goes ahead with talks with the IAEA beyond December.
The BJP on Sunday dared the Left to 'show courage' and withdraw support to the government on the Indo-US civil nuclear deal issue as it ridiculed the CPM's fresh ultimatum to the UPA on the matter. "We don't trust the flexible fluidity of the Left. They lack the courage to withdraw support to the government because the looming fear of the BJP is more important to them than the apparent sell out to the US," BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad said here. Reacting to CPM General Secretary Prakash Karat giving an ultimatum to the government on the deal, he said the Left had earlier also set deadlines but found some "via media" not to withdraw support to the UPA as it does not have the courage do so. "If Prakash Karat is so serious, let him show the courage and withdraw support. He lacks courage," Prasad added. It was not just a question of the nuclear deal. The Left had served ultimatums to the government on earlier occasions also but always some via media was found to continue support, he said. Prasad was reacting to Karat's statement on Saturday saying the government should be prepared for mid-term polls to the Lok Sabha if it goes ahead with talks with the IAEA beyond December.
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Microsoft trials XP on XO laptop
6 December 2007
Microsoft is to begin field tests of Windows XP working on the so-called $100 laptop, or XO, early in 2008.
It has not committed to offering XP on the XO laptop but hopes to release the operating system in the first half of 2008 if the trials succeed.
The work, undertaken as part of the firm's plans to widen access to technology, forms part of a project to run Windows on flash-based machines.
The XO does not have a hard drive, and uses a lightweight flash drive instead.
Microsoft's James Utzschneider, writing on his blog, said: "We are hard at work on the project here.
"Between Microsoft employees and third party contractors that we have brought into the effort, we have over 40 engineers working full-time on the port."
The XO is the work of the One Laptop Per Child project to boost access to technology in the developing world by building a low-cost laptop designed for educational uses.
It has been pioneered by a not-for-profit group lead by Nicholas Negroponte, the founder of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Media Lab.
The group has taken its first orders, with 100,00 bought by Uruguay and 40,000 by Peru, with an option for a further 210,000.
The availability of Windows on the XO could boost take-up of the machine. There have been reports that some countries have been cautious about signing-up to the project because it does not run Windows, the world's most popular operating system.
The XO laptop runs Linux, an open source operating system which costs nothing for schools around the world to use.
If schools and governments wanted to use XP on an XO machine they would have to buy a license.
For Microsoft the challenge in porting XP to the XO machine has been in re-writing many drivers for the operating system that control functions like the laptop's webcam and wireless connections.
The engineers have also had to work to fit the operating system into a much smaller amount of storage.
Factfile: XO laptop
Microsoft asked the XO project to add a slot for an internal SD memory card to boost the storage to 2GB in order to run XP. The complication for Microsoft is that the XO has a custom SD interface, rather than a standard one used by most computers.
"The potential payoff for students and schools from this work, of course, is that the tens of thousands of existing educational applications written for Windows can potentially run on the XO," said Mr Utzschneider.
Microsoft is currently looking into the process of installing XP onto the machines at the point they are manufactured in the factory and remotely, if needed.
Mr Utzschneider added: "Microsoft plans to publish some formal design guidelines early next year that will help Flash PC manufacturers benefit from our early work so they can design machines that enable a great Windows experience at as low a cost as possible."
By Shamsheer (BBC)
Microsoft is to begin field tests of Windows XP working on the so-called $100 laptop, or XO, early in 2008.
It has not committed to offering XP on the XO laptop but hopes to release the operating system in the first half of 2008 if the trials succeed.
The work, undertaken as part of the firm's plans to widen access to technology, forms part of a project to run Windows on flash-based machines.
The XO does not have a hard drive, and uses a lightweight flash drive instead.
Microsoft's James Utzschneider, writing on his blog, said: "We are hard at work on the project here.
"Between Microsoft employees and third party contractors that we have brought into the effort, we have over 40 engineers working full-time on the port."
The XO is the work of the One Laptop Per Child project to boost access to technology in the developing world by building a low-cost laptop designed for educational uses.
It has been pioneered by a not-for-profit group lead by Nicholas Negroponte, the founder of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Media Lab.
The group has taken its first orders, with 100,00 bought by Uruguay and 40,000 by Peru, with an option for a further 210,000.
The availability of Windows on the XO could boost take-up of the machine. There have been reports that some countries have been cautious about signing-up to the project because it does not run Windows, the world's most popular operating system.
The XO laptop runs Linux, an open source operating system which costs nothing for schools around the world to use.
If schools and governments wanted to use XP on an XO machine they would have to buy a license.
For Microsoft the challenge in porting XP to the XO machine has been in re-writing many drivers for the operating system that control functions like the laptop's webcam and wireless connections.
The engineers have also had to work to fit the operating system into a much smaller amount of storage.
Factfile: XO laptop
Microsoft asked the XO project to add a slot for an internal SD memory card to boost the storage to 2GB in order to run XP. The complication for Microsoft is that the XO has a custom SD interface, rather than a standard one used by most computers.
"The potential payoff for students and schools from this work, of course, is that the tens of thousands of existing educational applications written for Windows can potentially run on the XO," said Mr Utzschneider.
Microsoft is currently looking into the process of installing XP onto the machines at the point they are manufactured in the factory and remotely, if needed.
Mr Utzschneider added: "Microsoft plans to publish some formal design guidelines early next year that will help Flash PC manufacturers benefit from our early work so they can design machines that enable a great Windows experience at as low a cost as possible."
By Shamsheer (BBC)
ICICI plans to raise $8 bn by next year
MUMBAI: 6-12-2007.
ICICI group may well turn out to be the single-biggest channel for foreign investment in India. The group’s fund mobilisation target for ’08 for private equity investments in India stands at around $8 billion, which is half the total investment by all foreign institutional investors (FIIs) into the country this year. Of this, ICICI Venture alone is looking at raising around $5 billion with the remaining to be raised by ICICI Bank. ICICI Venture is aiming for a size of $10 billion by 2010. It is already the largest Indian private equity player with over $2.5 billion of assets under management. Next year, it plans to raise $5 billion. Among others it is launching a $2 billion real estate fund and $2 billion private equity fund. The average size of investments by the fund will also rise in the future. Currently, the size of investments is $60-100 million, which will go up to $200 million, said insiders. They added the fund is also likely to strengthen its management team going ahead. ICICI Bank also has ambitious plans to mobilise funds for private equity investments in India. The bank is looking at a fund of funds with an initial size of around $500 million, which will expand to around $2.5 billion. It is also in the process of raising another $2 billion for an infrastructure fund. Both the funds are likely to be launched next year. If the fund-raising plans go through, the group will rub shoulders with the biggest multinational players who now have a presence in the country. Bigger players like Temasek, Warburg Pincus, CVC, New Bridge, Blackstone and Carlyle do not have an India-specific fund. Other players are also looking at major fund-raising plans for investments into India. Private equity players say that over $12 billion of funds will be mobilised by PE players for investment into India. This figure factors in ICICI group’s fund raising plans. Other than Indian private equity groups, this includes funds from Japan to Middle East who are also looking at raising India-dedicated funds. A host of other private equity companies will also hit the fund-raising trail next year. IDFC will hit the trail early next year. Says Shahzad Dalal, vice-chairman and MD, IL&FS Investment Managers, We will hit the market early next year to raise $750 million for a real estate fund. Japanese major, Mizuho is also looking at launching a private equity fund based out of Japan for the Indian markets. The size of the fund will be in the region of $500 million, $1 billion. It is likely to be a growth fund, said an official from Mizuho Securities. New Frontier Capital Management, a Japanese institution, is also looking at setting up a pan-Asia fund, but with a primary focus on India. The fund, according to the firm’s CEO, Mikihide Katsumata, is likely to be in the range of $300-$500 million. He was speaking on the sidelines of Asian Private Equity & Venture Forum-India 2007. Others like Evolvence is also looking at raising a fund of funds for investments into India related funds. If sources are to be believed there will be a couple of more multi-billion fund of funds that are going to be raised. Others who are likely to hit the market next year include IDFC, UTI Ventures, and Blue River Fund among others. As compared to European markets where fund sizes grow by 50%, fund sizes are on an average doubling themselves in India, says Guy Eugene, managing partner, Legacy Finance (a placement agency), India is becoming a more mature market. Investors into Indian funds are looking at returns of 25% against around 15% in European funds. One of the main reasons is that investors don’t know enough about the market.
By Shamsheer (ET)
ICICI group may well turn out to be the single-biggest channel for foreign investment in India. The group’s fund mobilisation target for ’08 for private equity investments in India stands at around $8 billion, which is half the total investment by all foreign institutional investors (FIIs) into the country this year. Of this, ICICI Venture alone is looking at raising around $5 billion with the remaining to be raised by ICICI Bank. ICICI Venture is aiming for a size of $10 billion by 2010. It is already the largest Indian private equity player with over $2.5 billion of assets under management. Next year, it plans to raise $5 billion. Among others it is launching a $2 billion real estate fund and $2 billion private equity fund. The average size of investments by the fund will also rise in the future. Currently, the size of investments is $60-100 million, which will go up to $200 million, said insiders. They added the fund is also likely to strengthen its management team going ahead. ICICI Bank also has ambitious plans to mobilise funds for private equity investments in India. The bank is looking at a fund of funds with an initial size of around $500 million, which will expand to around $2.5 billion. It is also in the process of raising another $2 billion for an infrastructure fund. Both the funds are likely to be launched next year. If the fund-raising plans go through, the group will rub shoulders with the biggest multinational players who now have a presence in the country. Bigger players like Temasek, Warburg Pincus, CVC, New Bridge, Blackstone and Carlyle do not have an India-specific fund. Other players are also looking at major fund-raising plans for investments into India. Private equity players say that over $12 billion of funds will be mobilised by PE players for investment into India. This figure factors in ICICI group’s fund raising plans. Other than Indian private equity groups, this includes funds from Japan to Middle East who are also looking at raising India-dedicated funds. A host of other private equity companies will also hit the fund-raising trail next year. IDFC will hit the trail early next year. Says Shahzad Dalal, vice-chairman and MD, IL&FS Investment Managers, We will hit the market early next year to raise $750 million for a real estate fund. Japanese major, Mizuho is also looking at launching a private equity fund based out of Japan for the Indian markets. The size of the fund will be in the region of $500 million, $1 billion. It is likely to be a growth fund, said an official from Mizuho Securities. New Frontier Capital Management, a Japanese institution, is also looking at setting up a pan-Asia fund, but with a primary focus on India. The fund, according to the firm’s CEO, Mikihide Katsumata, is likely to be in the range of $300-$500 million. He was speaking on the sidelines of Asian Private Equity & Venture Forum-India 2007. Others like Evolvence is also looking at raising a fund of funds for investments into India related funds. If sources are to be believed there will be a couple of more multi-billion fund of funds that are going to be raised. Others who are likely to hit the market next year include IDFC, UTI Ventures, and Blue River Fund among others. As compared to European markets where fund sizes grow by 50%, fund sizes are on an average doubling themselves in India, says Guy Eugene, managing partner, Legacy Finance (a placement agency), India is becoming a more mature market. Investors into Indian funds are looking at returns of 25% against around 15% in European funds. One of the main reasons is that investors don’t know enough about the market.
By Shamsheer (ET)
'World must emulate India's spirit of non-violence'
NEW DELHI:
Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama has said the world must emulate India's tradition of non-violence and peace. Inaugurating the Ahimsa Paryawaran Sadhna Mandir (Non-violence environment meditation temple) here on Tuesday, he said that in the 21st century, the concept of 'Ahimsa' (non-violence) is more relevant than ever. "Non-violence is very relevant to today's world. Therefore, India's central old tradition must be more active now. This tradition should be a model for the entire planet. They must show it to others," he said. The Ahimsa Paryawaran Sadhna Mandir, is the first temple of its kind, which imbibes an underlying spirit of brotherhood common to all religions and faiths. India from the time of Gautam Buddha, the founder of Buddhist religion, to Mahatma Gandhi, who earned India its freedom through his campaign of non-violence, is a country rooted in 'Ahimsa', the Dalai Lama said. The current Dalai Lama -- the 14th -- was born into a farming family and identified at the age of two after passing tests, including identifying his predecessor's rosary from among several others. He fled Tibet in 1959 after an abortive uprising against Chinese rule and has been living in India ever since, heading a 200,000-strong Tibetan exile community from the northern town of Dharamsala. He now campaigns for greater autonomy within China, but Chinese leaders accuse him of still seeking independence for Tibet, which they see as an integral part of their territory.
By Shamsheer (ET)
Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama has said the world must emulate India's tradition of non-violence and peace. Inaugurating the Ahimsa Paryawaran Sadhna Mandir (Non-violence environment meditation temple) here on Tuesday, he said that in the 21st century, the concept of 'Ahimsa' (non-violence) is more relevant than ever. "Non-violence is very relevant to today's world. Therefore, India's central old tradition must be more active now. This tradition should be a model for the entire planet. They must show it to others," he said. The Ahimsa Paryawaran Sadhna Mandir, is the first temple of its kind, which imbibes an underlying spirit of brotherhood common to all religions and faiths. India from the time of Gautam Buddha, the founder of Buddhist religion, to Mahatma Gandhi, who earned India its freedom through his campaign of non-violence, is a country rooted in 'Ahimsa', the Dalai Lama said. The current Dalai Lama -- the 14th -- was born into a farming family and identified at the age of two after passing tests, including identifying his predecessor's rosary from among several others. He fled Tibet in 1959 after an abortive uprising against Chinese rule and has been living in India ever since, heading a 200,000-strong Tibetan exile community from the northern town of Dharamsala. He now campaigns for greater autonomy within China, but Chinese leaders accuse him of still seeking independence for Tibet, which they see as an integral part of their territory.
By Shamsheer (ET)
Women can tend bars: SC
NEW DELHI:6 Dec 2007
The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld Delhi High Court's decision to allow women to serve liquor in bars till late night. The apex court said that women can tend bars provided they have completed 21 years of age. The Delhi government had asked the Supreme Court to restore Section 30 of the Punjab Excise Act, which the Delhi High Court had struck down as unconstitutional in 2006. The discriminatory provision in the Punjab Excise Act prohibited women from serving liquor in the hospitality industry. The court had ruled that this restriction - applicable under the Act to Punjab, Delhi and Haryana - was "unconstitutional" and violated the Articles on fundamental rights. The reason being sighted by the Delhi government for a ban on women bartending in the Capital was that men behave badly under the influence of alcohol. The government had also said that liquor is the common denominator behind most cases of domestic and sexual violence.
By Shamsheer (TofI)
The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld Delhi High Court's decision to allow women to serve liquor in bars till late night. The apex court said that women can tend bars provided they have completed 21 years of age. The Delhi government had asked the Supreme Court to restore Section 30 of the Punjab Excise Act, which the Delhi High Court had struck down as unconstitutional in 2006. The discriminatory provision in the Punjab Excise Act prohibited women from serving liquor in the hospitality industry. The court had ruled that this restriction - applicable under the Act to Punjab, Delhi and Haryana - was "unconstitutional" and violated the Articles on fundamental rights. The reason being sighted by the Delhi government for a ban on women bartending in the Capital was that men behave badly under the influence of alcohol. The government had also said that liquor is the common denominator behind most cases of domestic and sexual violence.
By Shamsheer (TofI)
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