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Prakash Javadekar is welcomed by United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon

India hails Paris climate pact, with reservations Details on page 5

VOL 21, No. 1108

December 18, 2015

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H-1B CESS MAY BE REIMPOSED

WASHINGTON: Indian IT companies in the US may end up paying a special USD 2,000 fee again on the popular H-1B and L-1 visas to fund a 9/11 healthcare act, with a group of Congressmen quietly mounting fresh efforts to reimpose it. Such a move has been made part of the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act which funds health screenings and treatments for 9/11 first responders. The bill, named after Detective James Zadroga who died of a respiratory illness in 2006, expired on October 1.

Lawmakers are seeking to permanently extend the bill and want to generate necessary funds by imposing a USD 2,000 additional fee on H-1B visas. The bill has been written in such a way that it would impact only Indian companies. According to the National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM), Indian companies had paid between USD 70 to 80 million per annum between 2010 and 2015.

Details on page 5

NJ scholarship in honor of Hinal Patel Details on page 6

Sikhs join Muslims to combat backlash Details on page 6

White House invites Sikh, Muslim leaders Details on page 9

Pravin Gordhan is S Africa's Finance Minister Details on page 6

Indo-US N-deal could be effective 2016

Bone marrow drive for South Asians on Jan 1

Details on page 8

Details on page 16

Banaras Hindu varsity honors Dr Manu Vora

CONTENTS Bollywood ---------------------- 28-29 Classifieds ------------------------- 48

Details on page 8

Community Post -------------- 16-26 Date Book -------------------------- 47

INDIA POST SURVEY

Edit Page --------------------------- 54

survey@indiapost.com

HealthScience Post --------- 32-35

This week’s question

Horoscope ------------------------- 37

H-1B cess move myopic fear of foreigners?

Immigration Post ------------- 44-46 Life Style ----------------------- 50-52 Philosophy ------------------------- 53

Last week’s result

Publisher’s Diary ------------------ 4

Is court summons to Sonia Gandhi political move? YES 23%

NO 77%

INDO-JAPAN AARTI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe taking part in Ganga Aarti at Dasashwamedh Ghat in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh on December 12. (Details on page 9)

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Real Estate -------------------- 30-31 TechBiz Post ------------------- 12-15 Travel & Hospitality Post ---- 40-43

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kay, let's all stop pretending to be surprised at how Donald Trump is leading with such a ridiculous margin in the national opinion polls even as the nation hurtles towards the primaries. And let me tell you, if you haven't already figured it out for yourself, why he is where he is at - a very possible position to wrest the nomination as the GOP candidate for President, whether anyone in the party itself likes it or not. For better or worse, good or bad, or pure loony, for once, Americans are looking at a man who says exactly what he thinks and means exactly what he says. There is no reading between the lines where Trump's utterances are concerned; nor is there ever any ambiguity in the language he communicates in. His words are auto-translated from his thoughts without having to go through the cumbersome process called political correctness. There's utter lack of political rhetoric. More importantly, there's never a back down in the face of condemnation. And therein lies the mass appeal. And the reason why he is leading in every national poll of Republican presidential contenders. In the CNN Poll of Polls conducted ahead of the Dec 15 debate Trump topped with 33% and another Monmouth University poll released the same day, put Trump's popularity at 41%. And to think that this level of Trump-mania comes right in the wake of his promise to ban all Muslims from America if he is elected President. This, by no means, is an endorsement of Trump or his brand of executionstyle straight shooting of opinion. But let's stop blaming him and his supporters entirely for endorsing hate. It's not their fault. They are simply tired of hardened politicians whose only job is to mince words garnished with political correctness without conviction. At a press conference after the ISIS attack in Paris, a senior reporter asked President Obama a very direct question: "As the most powerful military in the world, why can't we take these bastards out?" Irrespective of Obama's response, a majority of Americans have come to believe that Obama can't. And scarily enough, believe that Trump can.

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HIGHLIGHTS Bollywood: Baring soul Recently, during an interview Deepika Padukone bared her heart out about her alleged boyfriend Ranveer Singh

Cover Story: H-1B cess again Indian IT companies in the US may end up paying a special USD 2,000 fee again on the popular H-1B and L-1 visas

Community: Constitution Day The first Constitution Day was celebrated at the premises of the Consulate General of India in Chicago on November 27

Republican chaos Donald Trump's plan to ban Muslims from entering the US is shoving the Republican Party to the edge of chaos

Life style: Sexiest again Bollywood star Priyanka Chopra has beaten off global competition to retain her title as the "Sexiest Asian Woman"

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Welcome deal World leaders have welcomed the Paris climate deal to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius

Yamunotri Situated amidst the Garhwal Himalayas, Yamunotri is naturally bestowed with abundant beauty and charm

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December 18, 2015

India Post

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H-1B cess may be reimposed WASHINGTON: Indian IT companies in the US may end up paying a special USD 2,000 fee again on the popular H-1B and L-

1 visas to fund a 9/11 healthcare act, with a group of Congressmen quietly mounting fresh efforts to reimpose it.

Such a move has been made part of the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act which funds health screenings

and treatments for 9/11 first responders. The bill, named after Detective James Zadroga who died of a res-

piratory illness in 2006, expired on October 1. Lawmakers are seeking to permanently extend the bill and want to generate necessary funds by imposing a USD 2,000 additional fee on H-1B visas. The bill has been written in such a way that it would impact only Indian companies. According to the National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM), Indian companies had paid between USD 70 to 80 million per annum between 2010 and 2015. The "extra fee applies to companies with at least 50 per cent of their employees on H-1B visa or L-1 visas, and is in addition to the other fees paid by employers," Computerworld reported. Because of its 50 per cent

threshold, it mostly hits the large Indian IT services firms, the leading users of the H-1B visa, the report said. Recently, two American Senators introduced a legislation

mum of 85,000 H-1B visas can be issued including 20,000 for those who completed higher education in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).

The bill has been written in such a way that it would impact only Indian companies. According to the National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM), Indian companies had paid between USD 70 to 80 million per annum between 2010 and 2015 in the Senate proposing to cut the number of popular H-1B visas by 15,000 and that such a visa be given to highest wage earner first. Currently every year a maxi-

The H1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in specialty occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise in specialized fields. -PTI

India hails climate pact, with reservations PARIS: India has hailed as "historic" the adoption of a legally-binding pact seeking to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius but said the deal could have been more ambitious had the developed nations shouldered more historical responsibilities. Noting that the agreement acknowledges and recognizes the development imperatives of India and other developing countries, Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar said the accord also supported their right to development and their efforts to harmonies development with environment, while protecting the interests of the most vulnerable. "Today is a historic day. What we have adopted is not only an agreement but a new 'chapter of hope' in the lives of 7 billion people. Mahatma Gandhiji used to say that 'we have not inherited earth from our ancestors, but we have it on loan from future generations," Javadekar said. "This is historic because it was not easy that all countries will agree to a reasonable ambitious deal. This has given a new hope, a new lease of life," he said. "We have today reassured our future generation that we all together will mitigate the challenge posed by climate change and we will give them a better future," the Minister said at the plenary session after the agreement was adopted, ending 13-days of tough negotiations. Javadekar, however, also said the agreement could have been more ambitious as the actions of developed nations are "far below" than their historical responsibili-

ties and fair shares. ambition must be paved with eq"For us, this agreement is yet "The actions of developed uity, he said that the accord has another step in a journey we have countries are far below their his- recognized it. already started. I hope that Paris torical responsibilities and fair "While give and take is normal will mark the new beginning, shares. We have in the spirit of in negotiations, we are of the opin- where commitments made will be compromise agreed on a number ion that the agreement could have fulfilled," Javadekar said. of phrases in the agreement," he been more ambitious. "It is India's hope that the Paris said. We share the concern of sev- Agreement will fulfill the wishes Javadekar said the conference eral friends that this agreement of Mahatma Gandhi who said 'We also witnessed the launch of the historic International Solar Alliance under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi which he termed as "path breaking" in providing unprecedented boost to solar energy development. He said that India was happy that the agreement has "unequivocally" acknowledged the imperative of climate justice, which reflects common sentiment and has based itself on the U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry shows of a bouquet which he received for his birthday principles of eqfrom Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar following a meeting on the sidelines of uity and common the COP21 United Nations Conference on Climate Change in Le Bourget, on the but differentiated outskirts of Paris on December 11 responsibilities. "The agreement also acknowl- does not put us on the path to should care for a world we will not edges the importance of sustain- prevent temperature rise below 2 see'," he said while thanking as able lifestyles and sustainable degrees," Javadekar said. well as congratulating French consumption patterns. India was engaged construc- Presidency for vision and paWe are also happy that the tively and in good faith through- tience. agreement differentiates between out the course of the negotiations Later, Javadekar told reporters the actions of developed and de- while it was also a part of several that it is a historic day because it veloping countries across its ele- groupings of developing coun- gives a new hope to the future ments," Javadekar said. tries, including BASIC, LMDCs generation that the world will act Noting that India has consis- and G-77 and China and support collectively and give them a bettently said that the path to climate their statements. ter earth for their future.

"Today I hope that the commitments made are fulfilled. This will be new beginning. Paris has succeeded. It was under terror attack last month. This month Paris has proved that world comes together and that is the answer to mitigate the challenge posed by climate change," Javadekar said. Asked if compromises were done, Javadekar said the need was to be "accommodative" without changing the thrust of the agreement. "To achieve big things as there are languages and many issues, when 196 countries are putting their efforts together, you need to be accommodative without changing the thrust of the agreement. We have done everything to maintain that thrust," he said. It will be continuous work from here till 2020 to have new mechanisms. At the same time, all nations are bound by INDCs and they will be reporting. He said that there were no obligations for developing countries as the agreement has differentiated treatment which is logical. "Paris is an absolute success. It is a great victory for humanity. We have been successful to keep our national interest alive, at the same time to arrive at a compromise, we proactively engaged with the world and ensured that on small differences, we worked together and now there is this agreement," he said. An official statement said that the Paris Agreement for the first time brings all nations into a common cause based on their historic, current and future responsibilities.-PTI

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Sikhs join Muslims to combat backlash CHICAGO: Pardeep Kaleka spent several days after 9/11 at his father's Milwaukee gas station, fearing that his family would be targeted by people who as-

fully pushed the FBI to track hate crimes against Sikhs. They speak to lawmakers and support each other's legal action, including a lawsuit filed over a

Darsh Singh with his wife Lakhpreet Kaur, in Dallas on Dec 11

sumed they were Muslim. Kaleka explained on behalf of his father, who wore a turban and beard and spoke only in broken English, the family was Sikh. But amid a new wave of antiIslamic sentiment since the terror attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, Kaleka is vowing to take an entirely different approach. "For us it does not matter who they're targeting," said Kaleka, a former Milwaukee police officer

New York City police surveillance program targeting New Jersey Muslims. "We are in this fight together," said Gurjot Kaur, a senior staff attorney at The Sikh Coalition, founded the night of September 11. Reports of bullying, harassment and vandalism against Sikhs have risen in recent weeks. Recently, a Sikh temple in Orange County, California, was vandalized, as was a truck in the park-

Someone bent on harming Muslims wouldn't understand or care about the distinction between the two faiths, they say, and both also deserve to live in peace. So they plan educational sessions and rallies. They successfully pushed the FBI to track hate crimes against Sikhs and teacher whose father was one of six people killed in 2012 when a white supremacist opened fire at a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin. "This time we cannot differentiate ourselves; when hate rhetoric is being spewed we cannot be on the sidelines." Across the US, Sikhs and Muslims are banding together to defend their respective religions. Someone bent on harming Muslims wouldn't understand or care about the distinction between the two faiths, they say, and both also deserve to live in peace. So they plan educational sessions and rallies. They success-

ing lot by someone who misspelled the word "Islam" and made an obscene reference to ISIS. Several Sikh football fans said they initially were not allowed into Qualcomm Stadium to watch the San Diego Chargers game against the Denver Broncos because several of them were wearing turbans. Schoolchildren say they've been bullied. For most Sikhs, much of the backlash has been frequent stares or comments and occasional online insults. Former NCAA basketball player Darsh Singh said he has heard insults throughout his life, including recently when someone

recently yelled "Osama!" at him as he was crossing a street in Phoenix. Rajinder Singh Mago, community outreach director at the Sikh Religious Society of Chicago, said it's more difficult for Sikh schoolchildren who sometimes are bullied. "Ninety-nine percent of Americans are good ... then that one person who just came out of a tavern after a few beers, you don't know what he's thinking at that point," Mago said. Madihha Ahussain, a staff attorney at the national group Muslim Advocates, said people who are misinformed about both religions not only are "blaming entire faith communities, now they're blaming multiple groups for the acts of a couple of individuals." -AP

NJ scholarship in honor of Hinal Patel NEW YORK: In honor of the senior at Spotswood High School memory of a young Indian-origin every spring, tapinto.net news emergency health worker, who website said. died in the line of duty when a car A local family is also pitching slammed into an ambulance, a in for collecting donations for the scholarship fund is being set up scholarship. in her native town in New Jersey. The Kloos Family has a yearly 22-year-old Hinal Patel, a tradition of decorating their home Spotswood Emergency Medical with lights and holiday decoraTechnician, died in July this year when a car hit her ambulance while The scholarship will keep she was hurrying to an accident site. Patel's memory alive and it The Piscataway native was working her fi- will be awarded annually to nal shift for the a deserving senior at Spotswood EMS at the time of her death and Spotswood High School wanted to continue her education at the Graduate School of Biomedical Science tions. at Rutgers University, hoping to Area residents visiting their become a doctor. home donate to various causes The scholarship will keep and this year, the Kloos Family Patel's memory alive and it will be Lights will be accepting donations awarded annually to a deserving for Patel's scholarship fund. -PTI

Pravin Gordhan is S Africa's Finance Minister JOHANNESBURG: Veteran Indian-origin politician Pravin Gordhan has been appointed South Africa's new Finance Minister by President Jacob Zuma who fired two of his predecessors within a week amid a raging economic turmoil in Africa's secondlargest economy. 66-year-old Gordhan's appointment comes after a huge controversy amid mounting pressure on Zuma to quit after he dismissed Nhlanhla Nene as Finance Minister, without giving reasons, drawing widespread criticism even from within the ranks of his own African National Congress. He replaced Nene with the little known David van Rooyen. The country's currency, the Rand, plummeted to new lows as the news broke. Credit agency Fitch downgraded South Africa on December 4, leaving the continent's most sophisticated economy just one notch above junk status. Later, Zuma tried to bring about some calm by saying that Nene had been removed because he was in line for a top position at

the new BRICS Bank. Gordhan's appointment sent the Rand up almost 5 per cent but failed to quell a tide of criticism of the president. Gordhan was widely respected when he served as South Africa's finance minister from 2009 until 2014.

Pravin Gordhan

In a statement, the president said after replacing Nene he had "received many representations to reconsider my decision". "As a democratic government, we emphasize the importance of listening to the people and to respond to their views," Zuma said. "Gordhan will return to a portfolio that he had held proficiently

during the fourth administration," the statement said. Gordhan's current position as Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, where he was overseeing local government, will be taken over by Van Rooyen, who was effectively Finance Minister for just four days. Zuma assigned Gordhan, who has also served with distinction as the Commissioner of the South African Revenue Services before excelling as Minister of Finance, with several tasks to address the country's failing economy. "(Gordhan) will lead government again in the interest of stimulating more inclusive growth and accelerated job creation while continuing the work of ensuring that our debt is stabilized over the medium term," Zuma said. Gordhan would also be required to ensure fiscal discipline in government spending and work with the financial sector to bring about stability. South African economy has been under strain recently but is still the second-largest economy in Africa behind Nigeria. -PTI

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Indo-US N-deal could be implemented in 2016 WASHINGTON: The long awaited Indo-US civil nuclear deal is likely to be implemented next year as most of the pre-requisites

are going to be moving more aggressively towards implementation (of the civil nuclear deal) in 2016," US Ambassador to India Richard Verma told a group of Indian journalists here. Verma also told a Washington audience that "there will be a lot of progress on the civil nuclear deal in the first half of 2016". The IndiaUS contact group, which was set up in US Ambassador to India Richard Verma January, last met of the historic agreement have ei- in Washington in November. ther already happened or are likely "We had positive discussions to materialize soon, a top Ameri- with the nuclear arm of the Indian can diplomat has said. government," Verma said in re"I am actually confident that we sponse to a question at the

Brookings Institute, a top American think-tank. "Even in the last two months, I was in Mumbai to have those discussions. We are working very hard on its implementation. It's not enough to say we reached an understanding on liability," he added. The implementation is the key, the Ambassador asserted. "We really have had good discussions with Department of Atomic Energy, with NPCIL and with the Prime Minister's office. Everyone wants to see the deal move towards implementation," Verma said when asked about the long pending implementation of the nuclear deal, under which US companies are expected to establish nuclear power plants in the country. "Remember there were some things still outstanding on the Indian side. One of them was ratification of the Convention on

Banaras varsity honors Dr Manu Vora FRANK FERNANDES India Post News Service

MUMBAI: The Alumni Cell of Banaras Hindu University (BHU) this year selected Dr Manu K. Vora for the BHU Distinguished Alumnus Award. The Award was presented at a special ceremony on Tuesday, November 24 at the Swatantrata Bhawan of Banaras Hindu University, Prof. Anil Kumar Agrawal, Head, IIT (BHU) Training & Placement Cell, accepted Dr Vora's Award on his behalf. On the occasion of the first Centennial Celebration of BHU (2015-2016), a BHU International Alumni Meet was held at the BHU campus. 17 Distinguished Alumnus Awards were conferred at the Valedictory Function of the Alumni Meet. Awards were presented by Shri Ram Naik, Governor of Uttar Pradesh, Shri Manoj Sinha, Minister of State, Indian Railways and Dr Girish Chandra Tripathi, Vice-Chancellor of BHU. Dr Manu Vora is Chairman and President of Business Excellence, Inc., a global quality management consulting service firm. He has over 40 years of leadership experience guiding Fortune 500 companies with Baldrige Performance Excellence framework. Dr Vora holds MBA (1985) with Marketing Management, Ph.D. (1975) & M.S. (1970) in Chemical

Prof Anil Kumar accepting Award on behalf of Manu Vora

Dr Manu Vora

Engineering from Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, and B.S. (1968) in Chemical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (BHU), Varanasi in India. He has delivered over 510 presentations around the world on business excellence and quality man-

agement topics and has published over 55 articles in professional journals. ASQ has bestowed on him Five Medals (Distinguished Service Medal, Grant Medal, Hutchens Medal, Ishikawa Medal, and Lancaster Medal). For over 45 years Dr Vora has been active in community service. In 1989, he established the Blind Foundation for India to serve over 15 million blind people there which accounts for 1/3rd of the world's blind people. The BFI team has raised over $4 million to support 150,000 free cataract operations, distributed over 10,000 Braille kits to blind children for their education, donated 115 mobile vans for transporting eye doctors and patients, and examined over 750,000 schoolgoing children for their eyesight and provided necessary interventions.

Supplementary Compensation, one was making sure the insurance pool was up and running so there was patch work of things that was to reoccur. So frankly they have occurred or will occur shortly," Verma said, exuding confidence that 2016 would be the

cess. That is not an excuse. That s a reality. So it is a multi-year effort," he said. "What I am suggesting is that the path towards commercial contracts and actual development would continue," he said in response to a question.

"We really have had good discussions with Department of Atomic Energy, with NPCIL and with the Prime Minister's office. Everyone wants to see the deal move towards implementation," Verma said when asked about the long pending implementation of the nuclear deal year if implementation of the nuclear deal. The Ambassador noted that nuclear power is not fast in terms of time lines. "The notion of building a nuclear reactor is a long term pro-

After India had passed domestic nuclear liability law in 2010 the foreign suppliers of nuclear reactors including the US had expressed concerns over what they interpreted as unlimited financial burden under the legislation.-PTI

Direct Air India flight to Washington next year SAN FRANCISCO: Air India the West Coast is a boon for them, has begun the process to start its making travel easy and convefifth non-stop flight to the US by nient. next year end, making Washing"A large number of passengers ton the national carrier's next des- are older people who visit their tination after successfully launch- children to spend some time with ing direct flight to San Francisco. them," another official said, add"We will complete the viability ing that around 70 wheelchairstudy in next few months and once bound passengers were in the first it's completed we will move on next flight to San Francisco on Decemstep. If everything goes fine, we ber 2 which was booked to its full may start a direct flight to Wash- capacity. ington by the end of 2016," a top Kandace Bender, Deputy AirAir India official said. port Director, Marketing and ComThe national carrier now oper- munications, San Francisco Interates non-stop flights to four US national Airport, said that Indians cities - Chicago, New York and San Francisco (From New Delhi) and Around 70 wheelchairNewark (from Mumbai). bound passengers were in Air India earlier used to fly to Washington the first flight to via New York, but the San Francisco on service was discontinDecember 2 which was ued a few years ago. The official said the booked to its full capacity airline is encouraged by the response to its newly launched direct flight to are one of the fastest growing San Francisco in California. The communities in San Francisco aftickets for next two months have ter Chinese. already been sold out and the de"We have more than 700 pasmand was "huge", he added. sengers to and from India daily The San Francisco flight was and the numbers are increasing," airline's first non-stop service she said, adding that the travelconnecting America's West Coast ers include businessmen, tourists, with India and making the Silicon professionals, students and eldValley its fourth destination in the erly people. She said that Delhi US. and Bengaluru are among destiA large number of Indian IT nations in India. Hyderabad and professionals and students live in Chennai are among other destinathe region and a direct flight in tions.-PTI

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India, Japan pact on bullet White House invites Sikh, Muslim leaders train, nuclear energy NEW DELHI: A USD 12-billion deal for India's first ever bullet train network, an MoU on civil nuclear energy cooperation and sharing defense technology were among key agreements India and Japan sealed to take forward their special strategic and global partnership to a new height. The pacts were inked after the

new level of mutual confidence and strategic partnership in the cause of a peaceful and secure world," Modi said. Referring to inking of a pact on the bullet train project, Modi said, "No less historic is the decision to introduce High Speed Rail on Mumbai-Ahmedabad sector through Shinkansen known for

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe at the signing ceremony, in New Delhi on December 12

talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe who also focused on driving up economic ties besides deliberating on global issues including situation in South China Sea, challenges of terrorism and UN reforms. Addressing a joint press meet with Abe, Modi said, "No friend will matter more in realizing India's economic dreams than Japan" while describing Abe as "a personal friend and a great champion of India-Japan partnership". To support Modi's 'Make in India' initiative, Japan has created a fund of about USD 12 billion which will be provided to Japanese companies for manufacturing in India. Japan has also pledged USD 5 billion as part of its Overseas Development Assistance to India. After Modi-Abe talks, the two countries signed a broad based MoU for cooperation in civil nuclear energy with the final pact to be signed after certain technical and legal issues are thrashed out. "The memorandum we signed on civil nuclear energy cooperation is more than just an agreement for commerce and clean energy. It is a shining symbol of a

speed, reliability, safety". He also noted that Abe's extraordinary package of approximately USD 12 billion and technical assistance on very easy terms for this project was greatly appreciated. The bullet train network will link India's financial hub Mumbai with Ahmedabad in Modi's home state Gujarat. The train will cut travel time on the 505 kilometer route from eight hours to around

in India. "This builds on our decision to expand staff talks to all three wings of the Armed Forces and make Japan a partner in Malabar Naval Exercises," he added. The two leaders also issued a joint statement on 'India and Japan Vision 2025: Special Strategic and Global Partnership Working Together for Peace and Prosperity of the Indo-Pacific Region and the World'. The statement said the two Prime Ministers welcomed the agreement reached between the two governments for cooperation in peaceful uses of nuclear energy and confirmed that this agreement will be signed after the technical details are finalized including those relating to necessary internal procedures After the talks, Modi also announced that "Recognizing our special relationship, India will extend 'visa on arrival' to all Japanese citizens from 1st March 2016." On his part, Abe said, "We have taken relationship to new level and buds have turned into blossom. The two Prime Ministers reaffirmed the intention to develop "Japan Industrial Townships (JITs)" in India with incentive for companies which invest in the project. At least 13 such townships are under consideration. An agreement on security measures for protection of classified military information and an amendment protocol of double taxation avoidance agreement were among 16 pacts signed by the two sides. The two leaders also expressed their concern about the growing threat and "universal reach of extremism" and reiterated their

Addressing a joint press meet with Abe, Modi said, "No friend will matter more in realizing India's economic dreams than Japan" while describing Abe as "a personal friend and a great champion of India-Japan partnership" three. The two sides also inked agreements - one concerning the Transfer of Defense Equipment and Technology and another related to Security Measures for Protection of Classified Military Information. Terming defense pacts as "decisive steps in our security cooperation", Modi said they will deepen the defense relations and promote defense manufacturing

strong condemnation of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations with "zero tolerance". Japan also decided to provide opportunity to 10,000 young Indian youths in Japan under students exchange program. Modi said India and Japan will work together in East Asia Summit to promote an inclusive, balanced and open regional architecture and maritime security in the region.-PTI

WASHINGTON: In the wake of ranged a conference call with a a spate of hate-crimes directed broad array of faith-based orgaagainst Sikhs and Muslims after a nizations across the country after deadly shooting in California, se- a number of hate crimes were renior White House officials will ported in the country following hold meetings with leaders of the massacre of 14 people at a disthese communities to discuss ability center in Southern Califorways to address their concerns nia on December 2 by a Pakistaniand challenges. origin Muslim couple, who inves"The White House is routinely tigators believe, were at least parengaged in an active dialogue tially inspired by the Islamic State with faith leaders across the country. There are a number of "Cecilia Munoz will lead with e n g a g e m e n t s . . . T h e representatives of the President does not plan American-Sikh community to participate in any of the meetings that are to discuss how the planned," White House administration is supporting Press Secretary Josh Earnest told reporters. that communityâ&#x20AC;? "Cecilia Munoz will lead with representatives of the terror organization. American-Sikh community to disIn addition to this, there would cuss how the administration is be an in-person meeting consupporting that community and to vened with a smaller group of discuss ways to work together to Muslim-American leaders, the address concerns and chal- press secretary said. The Amerilenges," Earnest said. can-Sikh community, numbering Munoz is director of White nearly half-a-million, has seen a House Domestic Policy Council. spur in hate-crimes against them The White House had ar- following the terror attack.-PTI

Modi, Abe attend Ganga Aarti at Varanasi VARANASI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe attended the spectacular sunset Ganga Aarti at the fabled Dashashwamedh Ghat in Varanasi on Dec 12 marking a new chapter in traditional cultural ties between the two countries. Elaborate security arrange-

45 minutes at the Ghat in Modi's parliamentary constituency where they watched the Ganga Aarti, an exquisitely choreographed ritual performed daily on the banks of the river. Modi had earlier said culture and people breathe life into a relationship. "Our remarkable relationship also has a wonderful human touch. The KyotoVaranasi partnership is one of its strong symbols," he said at a joint media interaction with Modi. Abe's visit to the Ghat fully decorated with flowers assumed significance as it came against the backdrop of Partner City Agreement between Kyoto and Varanasi, signed by the two leaders during the Prime Ministers visit to Japan Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime in August last year. Minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe witnessing the Amid chanting of Ganga Aarti in Varanasi slokas, Modi and Abe ments were in place at this ancient offered flowers and a rose garland temple town which was all decked on the banks of the river. Nearly 7,000 security personup to welcome Modi and Abe shortly after their summit talks in nel were pressed into service for the high-profile visit lasting about Delhi. The two leaders spent about four hours.-PTI

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Jet to codeshare with KLM, Delta MUMBAI: In a move that will help it fly more passengers to Europe and the US, Jet Airways has announced codesharing pacts with KLM and Delta Air Lines besides deciding to make Dutch capital Amsterdam as its new hub in Europe. Jet Airways, which has been using Belgian capital Brussels as the gateway for its operations in Europe and beyond, would also be starting two new flights from

India to Amsterdam. It would soon start one flight each from Delhi, Mumbai and Toronto to the Dutch capital. The move by Naresh Goyalpromoted Jet Airways, in which Gulf carrier Etihad has 24 per cent stake, will help provide seamless air connectivity to as many as 41 European and American cities from India. In a statement, Jet Airways said it would codeshare to "30 European destinations for travel between In-

dia and Europe via Amsterdam. Key destinations include Brussels, Berlin, Copenhagen, Munich, Madrid, Geneva and Vienna operated by KLM". Besides, the carrier would codeshare with KLM and Delta on 11 destinations between India, the US and Canada including New York's JFK, Newark, Washington DC, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Vancouver and Montreal.

The codeshare agreements are subject to government and regulatory approvals. Code-sharing of flights allows an airline to book passengers on its partner carriers and provide seamless transport to multiple destinations where it has no presence. Jet Airways said its passengers from India would soon be able to access the greater networks of Delta and KLM on an interline basis with convenient

connections to over 70 destinations across North America and Europe. Those traveling from over 50 European cities would be able to connect to the entire Jet Airways network across India, SAARC and the ASEAN region via Amsterdam, the statement said. Besides, passengers from Toronto would have access to 30 select European destinations via Amsterdam. Meanwhile, Jet Airways would operate two daily non-stop flights to Amsterdam from New Delhi and Mumbai. The services would start from March 27, 2016. This would be in addition to new flight from Toronto to Amsterdam. The 293-seater wide-body Airbus A330-300 aircraft in two-class configurations would be used for these flights. The schedules of all three flights have been planned in such a way as would allow quick and convenient connections between India and Toronto over Amsterdam, the statement said. Bookings for these flights would begin from December 15. "Jet Airways' two daily flights from India to Amsterdam will facilitate further growth in business and tourism between India and the Netherlands," Jet Airways chief executive officer Cramer Ball said. -PTI

We must support minority communities: Pichai NEW YORK: After Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg, Google's India-born head Sundar Pichai has come out in support of Muslims saying it is important to have a diverse mix of voices and backgrounds to build a company or leading a country. Responding to Republican Presidential h o p e f u l D o n a l d Trump's comments seeking ban on Muslim entry into the US, Pichai, in a post on Medium wrote, it is "disheartening to see the intolerant discourse playing out in the news". "I debated whether to post this, because lately it seems that criticism of intolerance just gives more oxygen to this debate. But I feel we must speak out -particularly those of us who are not under attack," he wrote. Everyone has the right to their views, but it's also important that those who are less represented know that those are not the views of all, Pichai added. "Let's not let fear defeat our

IT has issued notices in National Herald case NEW DELHI: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has said Income Tax Department has issued notices in National Herald case and now it is its duty to assess the parties allegedly involved in it. "When Income Tax has already issued notices asking for details, Income Tax is under the duty to assess. It has to assess Congress party, it has to assess the Associated Journal, it has to assess Young Indian. There is certain proceeding, and notices and that process is on," he said in an interview to NDTV. "I have never said that process is not on. I have never said that process will stop or it's not on. They issue notices, they hear assessees. These are quasi-judicial authority. I don't even know who is the assessing officer," he said when asked why ED and In-

come Tax department were not taking action in the matter related to National Herald. He, however, denied that the Enforcement Directorate re-

in it. The Congress party has claimed the Enforcement Directorate under the Modi government had reopened the National Her-

ED is not looking into the matter, he said, adding, they are independent investigative agency and the Finance Minister has no role in it Finance Minister Arun Jaitley

opened case. ED is not looking into the matter, he said, adding, they are independent investigative agency and the Finance Minister has no role

ald case after having closed it. "Why did the government reopen a closed enquiry by the Enforcement Directorate? After the BJP government came into office,

the ED closed the case. Then the ED was abruptly transferred and enquiry was reopened. I am not criticizing the judge, I am criticizing the judgment," senior party leader and former finance minister P Chidambaram has said. Congress has been protesting in Parliament on the National Herald issue alleging political vendetta after the Delhi High Court refused to quash summonses to its leaders including party chief Sonia Gandhi and her deputy Rahul Gandhi. To a question on Congress stalling Parliament, Jaitley said, "Mature politics requires that we get out of this cry baby syndrome. I just saw a statement on my phone in one of the news sites saying the Assam Minister has denied this allegation (that Rahul was allegedly stopped from entering a temple there). "The Assam Minister has said what their leader is saying is not correct," he said. -PTI

values. We must support Muslim and other minority communities in the US and around the world," he said. Trump had caused international outrage earlier this week when he called for "a total and complete shutdown" on Muslims

Sundar Pichai

entering the US. In a response, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg pledged support to Muslims around the world and said the social networking giant would fight to protect their rights and create a "peaceful and safe" environment for them. "I want to add my voice in support of Muslims in our community and around the world. After the Paris attacks and hate this week, I can only imagine the fear Muslims feel that they will be persecuted for the actions of others," he wrote on his page. Describing his move from India to America 22 years ago, Pichai said he saw how hard work opened a lot of doors for him in the "land of opportunity". "And I've felt as much a part of this country, as I felt growing up in India. My experience is obviously not unique... America provided access to opportunities that simply didn't exist for many of us before we arrived," Pichai said. He added that the "openmindedness, tolerance, and acceptance of new Americans" is one of the country's greatest strengths and most defining characteristics. "And that is no coincidence -America, after all, was and is a country of immigrants," he said. Pichai said he firmly believes that a diverse mix of voices, backgrounds and experiences leads to better discussions, better decisions, and better outcomes for everyone. -PTI

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Kejriwal claims CBI raided his office NEW DELHI: Amid claims and counter-claims, CBI has raided the office of an officer of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in a corruption case that led the AAP chief to call Prime Minister Narendra Modi a "coward and psychopath" and intensifying the face-off between AAP and Centre. The Chief Minister, however, claimed that his office was raided

A CBI spokesperson, however, said the searches were being conducted only at the office of the Principal Secretary Rajendra Kumar. Searches were being conducted at 14 locations in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. CBI sources claimed the case is against Kumar and six more accused. In the Rajya Sabha, Jaitley said Kejriwal's office was not raided and that the raid was in re-

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal

which was denied by the CBI as well as Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in Rajya Sabha where the opposition created an uproar and forced a couple of adjournments. "CBI raids my office," Kejriwal claimed in a tweet. "When Modi cudn't handle me politically, he resorts to this cowardice. Modi is a coward and psychopath," he said in another tweet expressing his anguish over the raids.

lation to a case of alleged corruption against an officer of the Delhi government. The CBI raid has nothing to do with Kejriwal or his tenure and that the graft case against the officer also pertains to his past, he added. This was countered by Kejriwal who tweeted, "FM lied in Parliament. My own office files are being looked into to get some evidence against me. Rajender is an

excuse". The BJP also hit back at Kejriwal with Union Minister Prakash Javadekar saying the CBI was only probing a complaint of corruption against an officer and maintained it has nothing to do with Kejriwal's office. CBI sources said that a team of its officials went to the Delhi Secretariat, which houses office of Kejriwal and other ministers in the morning and conducted the search in the third floor of the building. The CBI said it has registered a case against Rajendra Kumar on allegations of abusing his official position by "favoring a particular firm in the last few years in getting tenders from Delhi government departments." "After taking warrants, searches are being conducted in the office and residence of Rajendra Kumar. The allegations against Rajendra Kumar were raised by Ashish Joshi, former Member Secretary, Delhi Dialogue Commission," the agency said. The third floor of the secretariat also houses Kejriwal's office. Delhi Government and AAP reacted angrily to the "raid" calling it the "darkest" day and "undeclared emergency" in the history of Indian democracy. Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia claimed the Centre was controlling the CBI and claimed the raid at Rajendra Kumar's office was aimed at sending message to officials "if they worked with Kejriwal honestly, they will be troubled." -PTI

Japan says will review cooperation If India tests NEW DELHI: As both countries "in principle" agreed for cooperation in civil nuclear energy, Japan has cautioned India that it will be "quite natural" for it to review its cooperation if New Delhi goes for a nuclear test. However, Japan asserted that it does not see India moving in that direction. If sealed, the nuclear pact with India will be Japan's first with a country which has not joined the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. "What do you think will hap-

view its cooperation with India. But again, as I said, we do not expect or see such a movement," he said. Japan is a major player in the nuclear energy market and an atomic deal with it will also make it easier for US-based nuclear plant makers Westinghouse Electric Corporation and GE Energy Inc to set up atomic plants in India as both these conglomerates have Japanese investments. The agreement, featuring broad contours of cooperation in the nuclear field, was signed after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe held the ninth annual Indo-Japan summit talks here. "The significance of the agreeYasuhisa Kawamura ment is that pen," asked Yasuhisa Kawamura, the two countries have reached an Press Secretary, Director General agreement that will provide the for Press and Public Diplomacy of basis for cooperation in nuclear the Japanese government when technology for peaceful purpose," asked how Japan will react if In- he said adding both the sides have dia goes in for a nuclear test. "in principle" agreed to cooperate He said that Japan does not see on nuclear technology. India moving away from its self Kawamura said this agreement imposed moratorium on nuclear will guarantee India will take retests and international commit- sponsible actions for the peacements. ful use of nuclear energy. "If India does a test and reThe fundamental structure of cedes from its commitment, it will this agreement is solid, he asbe quite natural for Japan to re- serted.-PTI

PM chairs Combined Commandersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Conference KOCHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired the Combined Commanders Conference, an annual tri-services event, held for the first time outside New Delhi, on board INS Vikramaditya about 50 kms off Kochi coast. Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, all three services chiefs and other senior officers of the Army, Navy and Air Force were present. The Prime Minister was briefed about military issues during the conference which began at 10 am, defense sources said. The Conference, also known as the Unified Commanders' Conference, is an occasion in

which India's defense policy, doctrine and operational challenges are discussed in detail. Before departing to INS Vikramaditya, Modi reviewed the tri-services guard of honor at Southern Naval Command, here. Defense sources such a significant conference is being organized outside the national capital following a suggestion by the Prime Minister last year that such conferences may be shifted from New Delhi to field areas of the three services. -PTI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the INS Vikramaditya, on December 15. Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral R.K. Dhowan is also seen

Tech News MoU to set up 3 IIITs on PPP mode NEW DELHI: The Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry has signed a memorandum of understanding with some private players for setting up of three Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIITs) in Ranchi, Nagpur and Pune on public-private partnership (PPP) mode. The three institutes would be set up in collaboration among state governments, industry, and the Centre and are expected to bring out high quality IT manpower required for building up IT industry in the country, a statement released here said. The memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Tata Consultancy Services, Tata Motors, M/s ADCC Infocad, Nagpur and M/s Hubtown, Mumbai was signed by Vinay Sheel Oberoi, Secretary Department of Higher Education in HRD Ministry. "With this, the total number of IIITs on the PPP mode has gone up to 16, leaving 4 more to be set up for which scheduled has been fixed in the month of January 2016," the official statement said.-PTI

NGT ban on diesel: Automakers fear big losses NEW DELHI: Automakers fear an immediate loss of 'hundreds of crores of rupees' due to ban on new diesel vehicles in the national capital, as confusion reigns supreme in the industry over delivery of already-booked inventory. The companies want the government to immediately clarify about registration and delivery of the vehicles for which the customers have already made part or full payments, even as they also stare

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Monetary limit for appeal by I-T raised NEW DELHI: In order to cut down on frivolous litigation and taxpayers grievances, the CBDT has issued fresh directions revising the monetary threshold for the taxman to appeal at two important legal forums ITAT and High Courts. The Central Board of Direct Taxes, which formulates policies for the tax department, has issued a fresh directive asking the Income Tax department to go into appeal at the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) only when the "tax effect" in question is Rs 10 lakh (from earlier Rs 4 lakh) and Rs 20 lakh (from earlier Rs 10 lakh) if the appeal is to be filed in a High Court. The monetary limit for filing appeals or Special Leave Petitions in the Supreme Court have been kept unchanged at Rs 25 lakh.-PTI

World leaders laud Paris deal, Modi says 'victory of climate justice' PARIS/NEW DELHI: World leaders have welcomed the climate deal to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius with Prime Minister Narendra Modi describing it as a victory of "climate justice" while the pact evoked mixed reactions from environmentalists. "This agreement represents the best chance we've had to save the one planet we've got. I believe this moment can be a turning point for the world," US President Barack Obama said in an address to the nation from the White House. "As a result of the climate agreement we can be more confident the Earth will be in better shape," he said. In Delhi, Modi tweeted, "Outcome of #ParisAgreement has no winners or losers. Climate justice has won & we are all working towards a greener future." Commenting on the legallybinding pact which seeks to limit global warming to "well below" 2 degrees Celsius and makes developed nations commit USD 100 billion a year from 2020 to help developing countries, he said, "#ClimateChange remains a challenge but #ParisAgreement demonstrates how every nation rose

to the challenge, working towards a solution." "Deliberations at #COP21 & #ParisAgreement demonstrates the collective wisdom of world leaders to mitigate climate change," he said. French President Francois Hollande termed the day as a great

has just been accomplished," he said after the landmark deal was inked by 195 nations. The international deal on limiting climate change represents "a huge step forward in securing the future of the planet", British Prime Minister David Cameron has said. Reacting to the deal, Environ-

Prime Minister Narendra Modi

date for the planet. "In Paris, there have been many revolutions over the centuries. Today it is the most beautiful and the most peaceful revolution that

ment Minister Prakash Javadekar said the accord also supported developing country's right to development and their efforts to harmonies development with envi-

ronment, while protecting the interests of the most vulnerable. "Today is a historic day. What we have adopted is not only an agreement but a new 'chapter of hope' in the lives of 7 billion people. Mahatma Gandhiji used to say that 'we have not inherited earth from our ancestors, but we have it on loan from future generations," he said. However, Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) said the climate change agreement is "weak and unambitious" as it does not include any "meaningful" targets and has discharged developed nations from their historical responsibility. "Developing countries have got words and promise of money while the developed countries have finally got rid of their historical responsibility of causing climate change. They have no legally binding targets on finance or emissions cuts," CSE director general Sunita Narain said. "The phrase 'historical responsibility' has been erased from the agreement and this weakens the obligations of developed countries to take actions due to there past emissions," Narain said. Contâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d on page 14

Long way to go, say environmental experts

at huge losses in form of the inventory they had lined up for year-end sales -- typically a period when industry doles out big discounts to clear the inventories. The auto industry was jolted into this 'confused' state after the National Green Tribunal (NGT) ordered an immediate ban on registration of diesel-run vehicles in Delhi as also on renewal of registration of such vehicles which are more than 10 years old.-PTI

PARIS: Environmental experts struck a note of caution on the path-breaking climate deal saying it may not be the panacea to the problem of reducing use of fossil fuels but is the "starting gun" for the race towards a lowcarbon future. While agreeing that it is a turning point, they said several difficulties will crop up in implementing the deal. Once implemented, this would bring down greenhouse gas emissions to net zero within a few decades. Christopher B Field, a leading American climate scientist, said, "I think this Paris outcome is going to change the world. We

didn't solve the problem, but we laid the foundation." Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, a pioneering environmental scientist, chairman of the German

man enterprise, where the great transformation towards sustainability begins." The deal unites all the world's nations in a single agreement on

Terming the climate deal as "weak and unambitious", Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) said it does not include any "meaningful" targets and has discharged developed nations from their historical responsibility government's advisory committee on climate change and climate adviser to Pope Francis, was quoted by the New York Times as saying "this is a turning point in the hu-

tackling climate change for the first time in history. Pledges thus far could see global temperatures rise by as much as 2.7 degrees Celsius, but the

agreement lays out a roadmap for speeding up progress. The key element of the deal is to keep global temperatures "well below" 2 degrees Celsius and an "endeavor to limit" them even more to 1.5 degrees Celsius. WWF-UK Chief Executive David Nussbaum said, "Paris is just the starting gun for the race towards a low-carbon future." Terming the climate deal as "weak and unambitious", Delhibased Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) said it does not include any "meaningful" targets and has discharged developed nations from their historical responsibility. Contâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d on page 15

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Ansari, others break ground for TAPI pipeline MARY, Turkmenistan: Vice President Hamid Ansari, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and leaders from Turkmenistan and Afghanistan on Dec 13 broke the ground here for the ambitious USD 7.6 billion TAPI pipeline project which will provide energyhungry India gas to run its power plants. Ansari flew to the ancient city of Mary, 311 km from the capital Ashgabat, which was part of the old Silk Route, to attend the ground-breaking ceremony of the 1800-kilometre-long TAPI gas pipeline in the presence of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Turkmenistan President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow. They pushed a button which started the welding process of pipes. They later signed the pipe and also signed a document which was put in a capsule and placed under the ground. At the ceremony in the Turkmen desert, Berdimuhamedow hoped that the project would get operationalised by December 2019. He said the project proves that Turkmenistan can carry such huge amount of gas to places where it is required. "Today we were participants and witnesses of a historic event. Today marks the start of a project of great scale -- the TAPI pipeline," said Berdimuhamedow. "TAPI is designed to become a new effective step towards the formation of the modern architecture

Vice President, Mohd. Hamid Ansari along with the President of Turkmenistan, Gurbanguly Berdimohamedov, the President of Afghanistan, Ashraf Ghani and the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Nawaz Sharif pressing the button to begin the welding process of the TAPI Gas Pipeline, in Mary, Turkmenistan on December 13

of global energy security, a powerful driver of economic and social stability in the Asian region," he said. The TAPI pipeline will have a capacity to carry 90 million standard cubic meters a day (mmscmd) gas for a 30-year period. India and Pakistan would get 38 mmscmd each, while the remaining 14 mmscmd will be supplied to Afghanistan. Ansari while terming the project as a "reflection of desire" to the old age legacy warned that all stakeholders have to work together with resolve to ensure that "negative forces inimical to the success of the project are ad-

dressed in an appropriate manner. "In doing so, we must recognize that the forces of violence and disruption can no longer be allowed to threaten the quest for economic development and security of our people. I am confident that with the active engagement of all four governments, and the support of our international partners, we can overcome such challenges." He also appreciated the role of ministers and officials who worked hard to achieve the goals and said Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan is an example of new generation of politicians who work hard to make India pros-

8% GDP growth achievable: Mukherjee KOLKATA: President of India Pranab Mukherjee has said political stability and new initiatives taken by the government will help India emerge as an attractive investment destination and make an 8 per cent growth rate 'achievable'. "We may soon achieve eight per cent rate of growth which is not beyond our reach," he said. The GDP growth rate of eight per cent is achievable if we make united efforts in this direction, Mukherjee said. Mukherjee said that for better economic performance, a re-energized manufacturing sector is crucial. Speaking at the 185th anniversary of Calcutta Chambers of Commerce, Mukherjee called for "out of box" solutions and technological interventions to handle country's problems which cannot be solved using normal ways of finding solutions. The President said we will have to bring "technology, scientific applications and innovative ap-

proach" to solve the problems of the country. "We must emphasize on finding technological solutions...

formance of all major economies. "Barring a below five per cent growth in 2012-13, our economic growth in all other years has not been less than 6.6 per cent," he said. The President said, "We must achieve an 8 per cent plus growth to achieve our objective of alleviation of poverty, hunger and other such problems. " Va r i o u s countries toPresident of India Pranab Mukherjee day consider India as an atWe shall have to keep in mind tractive investment destination that there are various challenges. because of political stability and We have to think innovative and government's new initiatives like out of box solutions," he said. Swachh Bharat, Make in India, Mukherjee said that a pro- Digital India, Skill India, etc," he longed global economic slow- said. Contâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d on page 14 down had affected the growth per-

perous. Ansari said the four nations also need to work together to ensure the technical and commercial viability of the project in its broadest sense. The international market place for energy works on complex principles. Often these are difficult to fathom. However, given the widespread poverty that exists in our countries, it is essential to ensure that we can make energy available at the least possible cost to the largest sections of our people, he said. Prime Minister Sharif said the TAPI

project will prove to be a trailblazer and open doors for similar such projects to connect Central Asia with energy starved South Asia. Terming regional connectivity as an issue which is close to his heart, Sharif said it will help bring prosperity and peace. He also urged other countries to participate in the China-Pakistan economic corridor as it would help them connect with the ports of Pakistan for greater economic activity. Afghan President Ghani said the groundbreaking ceremony is a historic event as it has helped overcome history of doubts and skepticism. He also said the project will help reestablish ties as old as a million years which were "ruptured" following the advent of the Soviet Union. Ghani said that against the backdrop of success of the Paris climate talks, the four nations will have a positive carbon footprint due to use of gas for energy production. Besides the gas pipeline, the four countries will be connected by fiber optic cable, he said, adding that a power transmission line will also connect Turkmenistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Turkmenistan's state company Turkmengaz will lead the consortium for building the pipeline carrying gas from the former the Soviet state to India, Pakistan and Afghanistan.-PTI

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'GST rate won't be included in Constitution Bill' NEW DELHI: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has ruled out including the GST rate in the Constitution Amendment Bill saying tariffs can't be cast in stone. He said the Congress, which has opposed the GST Bill over three main demands, should accept the UPA Finance Minister P Chidambaram's proposal for a GST Council or its appointed forum for resolving tax disputes, instead of its demand for a Supreme Court judge being the adjudicating authority. Speaking at the Aaj Tak Agenda program, Jaitley said the Congress was changing stance everyday as it believes none other than persons from one family have the right to rule the country. "Why don't you say directly that we want to stall country's progress. For the Congress, except one family, no one else can rule. This is the basic point," he said. "Daily they change their stance." Asked about his statements as opposition leader and Gujarat's opposition to GST, he said he had never ever opposed the Goods and Services Tax regime that will replace all indirect taxes to create a unified market. The UPA, which had in 2006 mooted the GST, had failed to build consensus amongst the states over issues like loss of revenue to manufacturing states like Tamil

in Constitution Amendment Bill, Jaitley said tax rates are not mentioned in Constitution anywhere in the world. "Are tariffs ever cast in stone. It happens nowhere in this world. You (Congress) are trying to impose an impossible condition."

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley

On the party's other demand of scrapping the powers to states to levy 1 per cent additional tax over and above the GST rate, he said the government will talk to manufacturing states like Gujarat and Tamil Nadu, which have been demanding such a levy. Jaitley said the GST along with other reform measures will add 1-1.5 per cent to

On the party's other demand of scrapping the powers to states to levy 1 per cent additional tax over and above the GST rate, he said the government will talk to manufacturing states like Gujarat and Tamil Nadu, which have been demanding such a levy Nadu and Gujarat as the new regime was more a destination oriented tax. The NDA government, he said, has been able to bring about a consensus in the first six months. On Congress demands for inclusion of a GST rate of 18 per cent

velopment of the country. "If you want to drag your feet on your own proposals, then why are you making all these false excuses that (Union Minister) V K Singh said that, Member of Parliament Virender Singh said that, and also citing ED's some imaginary

present year GDP growth rate of 7-7.5 per cent. "The country will grow fast if Congress supports and also if it does not". Attacking the Congress for using imaginary excuses to block the GST, he said the party should clearly say if it wants to stall de-

notice, that actually has not come. "So tell us clearly that we want to stall this nation. No one else other than from one family has the right to rule this country," he said. Jaitley said: "If that (1 per cent tax) is a deal breaker with regard to manufacturing states, we thought lets talk with them". Incidentally, Finance Ministry's chief economic advisor has recommended scrapping of the levy. "They said the revenue neutral rate should be 18 per cent. So the expert committee set up by us said that no it should be at 15 per cent. Now that 18 per cent argument is nowhere to be seen, now they are saying that 18 per cent has to be written in Constitution. Are tariffs ever written in the Constitution?" he said. Rejecting the Congress' demand for Supreme Court adjudicating disputes between states; he challenged the party to present one state that wants its taxation powers to be given to the apex court.-PTI

8% GDP growth achievable: Mukherjee Contâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d from page 13

During the heydays of country's growth, exports grew over 20 per cent and contributed substantially to the GDP, he said. The President said although the exports have stagnated in the last three years, the import bill has also dwindled, helping India to

keep the current account deficit to manageable levels. "We must emphasize on finding the technological solutions to our problems," he said. The President also welcomed the visit of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. He said Japan has been the largest contributor to some of the key

infrastructure projects like Delhi Metro. "Since 2003-04, India has been largest beneficiary of Japanese assistance," Mukherjee said. He further said that foreign exchange reserves at USD 353 billion as of October-end are also at comfortable levels, giving a cushion to meet any crisis, he said. -PTI

World leaders laud Paris deal, Modi says 'victory of climate justice' Contâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d from page 12

issues but the deal requires a serious work on its implementation. European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said, "This robust agreement will steer the world towards a global clean energy transition." "Today the world is united in the fight against climate change. Today the world gets a lifeline, a last chance to hand over to future generations a world that is more stable, a healthier planet, fairer societies and more prosperous economies," he said. China's Special Representative on Climate Change Xie Zhenhua said, "The Paris Climate Conference is a crucial point in the global climate governance process. The outcome has a bearing with the undertaking of climate change of the human being and our future of sustainable development." "Although the agreement is not perfect, it does not stop us from moving a historical step forwards," Xie said, calling on developed countries to abide by their promises to provide finance, tech-

"Without historical responsibility, equity will now be interpreted only through the words 'respective capabilities and national circumstances" further removing differentiation between the climate actions of developed and developing countries," said Chandra Bhushan, Deputy Director General, CSE. Greenpeace International said, "It sometimes seems that the countries of the United Nations can unite on nothing, but nearly two hundred countries have come together and agreed a deal." "Today the human race has joined in a common cause, but it's what happens after this conference that really matters. The Paris Agreement is only one step on long a road, and there are parts of it that frustrate and disappoint me, but it is progress. This deal alone won't dig us out the hole we're in, but it makes the sides less steep," said Greenpeace International executive director Kumi Naidoo said. The Climate Group and its business and sub-national govern- "Although the agreement is ment partners from the US, Europe, China and not perfect, it does not stop India called today's cli- us from moving a historical mate agreement "a victory for science and vi- step forwards," Xie said sion which calls time on the fossil fuel age". UN Secretary General Ban Ki- nology development and transfer, moon termed the agreement as a and capacity building to develop"monumental triumph" for planet ing countries. According to Russian envoy at Earth that will set the stage for achieving an end to poverty and climate talks, the Paris accords show a significant progress in development for all. "In the face of an unprec- curbing climate issues but the deal edented challenge, you have dem- requires a serious work on its onstrated unprecedented leader- implementation. "I want to confirm Russia's ship," he said taking the COP21 stage just minutes after the adop- commitment to the reached agreement, our determination to contion of the agreement. "You have worked tinue strengthening our actions to collaboratively to achieve some- reduce the anthropogenic pressure thing that no one nation could on the environment in accordance achieve alone. This is a resound- with the principles of the Paris Agreement and in the interests of ing success for multilateralism." Speaking to pilgrims and tour- present and future generations of ists at the Vatican, Pope Francis our planet," Alexander Bedritsky said the deal's "implementation said. The World Bank welcomed the requires concerted effort and generous dedication by the part of "historic" agreement, saying it reflects aspiration and seriousness everyone." China termed the pact as "a new to preserve the planet for future beginning in international coop- generations. World Bank President Jim eration". The pact is fair in splitting re- Young Kim said the Paris agreesponsibility between developed ment left no one behind protectand developing countries, Chi- ing the poorest people and the nese Foreign Ministry spokesper- most vulnerable countries by calling on all to hold the increase in son Hong Lei said. According to Russian envoy at temperatures to well below 2 declimate talks Alexander Bedritsky, grees Celsius and to pursue efforts the Paris accord shows a signifi- to limit the temperature increase cant progress in curbing climate to 1.5 degrees Celsius.-PTI

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December 18, 2015

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Long way to go, say environmental experts Contâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d from page 12

"Developing countries have got words and promise of money while the developed countries have finally got rid of their historical responsibility of causing climate change. They have no legally binding targets on finance or emissions cuts," CSE director general Sunita Narain said. Unfazed by the euphoria over the deal, Greenpeace International said it is "only one step on a long road". "Today the human race has joined in a common cause, but it's what happens after this conference that really matters. The Paris Agreement is only one step on long a road, and there are parts of it that frustrate and disappoint me, but it is progress. This deal alone won't dig us out the hole we're in, but it makes the sides less steep," Greenpeace International executive director Kumi Naidoo said. The Climate Group and its business and sub-national government

partners from the US, Europe, China and India called the climate agreement "a victory for science and vision which calls time on the fossil fuel age". The Kyoto Protocol of 1997 set emission cutting targets for a handful of developed countries, but the

The agreement requires rich nations to maintain a USD 100 billion a year funding pledge beyond 2020, and to use that figure as a "floor" for further support agreed by 2025 US pulled out and others failed to comply. The Paris pact aims to limit the amount of greenhouse gases emitted by human activity to the same levels that trees, soil and oceans

can absorb naturally, beginning at some point between 2050 and 2100, experts said. It also seeks to review each country's contribution to cutting emissions every five years so they scale up to the challenge. The deal asks rich countries to help poorer nations by providing "climate finance" to adapt to climate change and switch to renewable energy. Developing nations have been promised USD 100 billion a year by 2020 - not as much as many countries would like. The agreement requires rich nations to maintain a USD 100 billion a year funding pledge beyond 2020, and to use that figure as a "floor" for further support agreed by 2025. For the first time, the accord lays out a longer-term plan for reaching a peak in greenhouse emissions "as soon as possible" and achieving a balance between output of man-made greenhouse gases and absorption - by forests or the oceans - "by the second half of this century".-PTI

OROP largely acceptable, says Jaitley NEW DELHI: Finance Minister government's recent policy initiaArun Jaitley has said the tives with regard to Pakistan, government's OROP (One Rank Jaitley said there were no fundaOne Pension) formula for retired mental changes and effort has defense personnel has been ac- been to resolve differences cepted by most associations and through talks. only a small section had some isIndia's foreign policy approach, sues on it. the Minister said, "has always "The government has already been of resolving disputes by way announced its decision. Most of talks but the environment, in personnel in their (defense) organizations "The mainstream organizahave accepted that. If one faction or the tions personally met me and other have reservations, I think it's for all of you thanked the government to sit together and decide ...within the orga- that their long-standing denization itself. mand has been accepted," "The mainstream organizations personally met me and thanked the govern- which you want to talk, the rement that their long-standing de- sponsibility (of it) lies with Pakimand has been accepted," he said. stan as well. The Minister was responding "So it depends on the environto a question on the implementa- ment and conditions. And when tion of OROP at 'Aaj Tak Agenda' the conditions improve, it improgram. As approved by the gov- proves the conditions to talk as ernment in September, the OROP well. And government's policy on will be implemented from July 2014 the matter, being ongoing for so and arrears alone would cost the many years, is appropriate. We exchequer about Rs 10,000-12,000 should hope that the conditions crore. will remain good and the talks will Replying questions on the keep going." -PTI

Desi News UCCA holds Grand Christmas Banquet HARISH RAO

CHICAGO: A glittering evening of dazzling dance presentations, stirring melodious carols, inspiring remarks and uplifting yuletide sermon marked the Grand Christmas Banquet celebrations organized by United Christian Cultural Association [UCCA] on Saturday, December 5 at the Bristol Palace in Mount Prospects, Illinois that drew a large gathering of families and children to celebrate Christmas festival. The evening celebrations set off with the lighting of the Christmas Candles by Indian Consul General Dr Ausaf Sayeed, the Guest Speaker Anil Kumar, Iftekhar Shareef, Ravi Achanta and Harish Kolasani.

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Living a wellbalanced material and spiritual life Details on page 25

Constitution Day celebrated solemnly at Indian Consulate SURENDRA ULLAL

annually as the 'Constitution Day' starting from this year, which also marks the 125th birth anniversary of Dr Ambedkar. The Consul General emphasized that the Constitution of India does not discriminate against anyone on the basis of religion, creed, sex or any other ground. It is the duty of every citizen of India, therefore, to uphold the Constitution both in its letter and spirit. The Consul General also read out

Details on page 18

Mesmerizing melodies at 'Sitaron Ki Mehfil' India Post News Service

MILPITAS, CA: Unique Production presented the mesmerizing musical concert "Sitaron Ki Mehfil " in association with Sanatan Mandir San Bruno on Nov 20 at ICC Milpitas California in aid of handicapped University (Chitrakoot). It was a sold out event. The cream of Bay area society gathered to listen and watch gorgeous Melody Queen Bollywood singer Alka Bhatnagar of Bay area who was awarded by Raj Kapoor himself and blessed by Music Legends R.D.Burman, Kalyan Ji Anand and Ravindra Jain. Alka has succeeded in mingling the finest nuances of classical music with an element of modernity by her imaginative improvisation. Details on page 21

Indian Hockey hero Sardara Singh visiting US India Post News Service

Gathering at CG Office on Constitution Day Nov 27

CHICAGO: The first Constitution Day was celebrated at the premises of the Consulate General of India in Chicago on November 27 with great solemnity. This was part of the decision taken by the National Committee set up under the Chairmanship of Prime Minister of India for the celebration of 125th Birth Anniversary (14 April) of Dr B.R. Ambedkar. The Constitution of India was adopted by the Constituent Assembly on November 26, 1949. The Committee decided to observe 26th November as

"Constitution Day" every year. The program commenced with

CG Dr Ausaf Sayeed

the observation of one minute of silence as a homage to the victims of the dastardly terrorist attacks in Mumbai, marking the 7th Anniversary of 26/11 attacks. Addressing an august gathering of Chicago elite, Indian Consul General Dr Ausaf Sayeed recalled the mammoth work done by the Drafting Committee of the Constituent Assembly under the Chairmanship of Dr B.R. Ambedkar. He mentioned that this day is of considerable significance to modern India and aptly the GOI decided to celebrate it

Consul O P Meena

the Preamble of the Constitution of India. The two documentaries, 'Taana Baana: The Warp & Weft of India' and 'India-: The Spirit of Freedom', highlighting the salient and empowering features of the Constitution were also screened. O P Meena, Consul, proposed a vote of thanks.

Bone marrow drive for South Asians on Jan 1 India Post News Service

FREMONT, CA: According to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, every nine minutes, blood cancer takes an innocent life. This is partially because no match is found for a life-saving bone marrow transplant. If a person of South Asian descent needs a bone marrow transplant, the chances of them finding a match is only 5070% (as opposed to 95% for Caucasians), and the chances of the match agreeing to donate is only 50% (as opposed to 85% for Caucasians). Fortunately, you can help by

registering at the national 'Be the Match' Registry being held at Sunnyvale Hindu Temple, 450 Persian Drive, Sunnyvale CA on January 1st, 2016 from 12:00 noon to 4:00PM. A series of bone marrow recruitment drives in the Bay Area are being conducted by Rhea Modi, a Senior Girl Scout with Troop 60321, SU 608, and a sophomore at a local high school in Cupertino. She is running a series of bone marrow recruitment drives in the Bay Area. She is doing this community service as part of her Girl Scout Gold Award project. Contâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d on page 18

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Dr Barai heading for world record RAMESH SOPARAWALA India Post News Service

CHICAGO: An India born oncologist now settled in Indiana, Dr Bharat Barai may well be heading for a place in the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest serving member of a State Medical Licensing Board in USA. Indiana Governor Mike Pence recently announced appointing Dr Barai for the fifth term ending November 2019.He was first appointed to this prestigious Board in 2000 and with the fifth term he will have served nineteen years at the same position, the longest than any member in a similar position in any State of USA. The seven-member Medical Licensing Board is the most powerful medical body in Indiana, and for that matter similar bodies in any State. Normally, it wields the power to issue revoke or suspend license to a medical practitioner. Besides, it can investigate complaints, dis-

cipline those who violate the law, conduct physician evaluations and facilitate rehabilitation of physicians when appropriate. State medical boards also adopt policies

and guidelines related to the practice of medicine designed to improve the overall quality of health care in a particular State. Indiana has 26,000 physicians

practicing from internal medicine and family practices to different specialties. Dr Bahrain is a medical oncologist in Merrillville, Indiana and is affiliated with

Dr Bharat Barai

Franciscan St. Margaret Hospital. He received his medical degree from Baroda Medical College and has been in practice for 44 years. With a first class academic record under his belt, he has endeared himself with the medical fraternity in Indiana by his professional competence, personal integrity and community services. His appointed to the licensing board along with Dr John P. McGoff [Marion County], who gets his reappointment to serve a four-year term through November 15, 2019 For the Indian community in Mid-west area, Dr Barai is a household name associated as he is with a number of social , religious and community organizations like Federation of Indian Associations, Manav Seva Mandir, Bharatiya Seniors, and host of others. He has helped conducting a number of health fairs in the area. He has bagged numerous awards, including the Ellis Island Medal of Honor.

Community galvanized to help Chennai flood-hit G.S.M. SUNDARAM

ST LOUIS: The first phase of fundraising campaign to help the flood victims of Chennai and other places of Tamil Nadu was held recently at Mahatma Gandhi Center. It was hosted by Tamil Sangam of Missouri in alliance with other leading India Association of St. Louis. The catastrophic floods brought life in the metropolitan city (Singara Chennai) and other parts like Cuddalore and Kanchipuram to complete halt. The amount of damage caused is unprecedented and many experts suspect that the total impact will run into tens of millions of dollars. Over 300 people have died and several thousands stranded and suffered crippling losses from the debacle. People have no access to food, water and very basic ameni-

President of Missouri Tamil Sangam Vijay Manivel in discussion

Donors gathering in the fundraising event

Indian Association president Sarath Rao shares his views

Pradeep Rajendran, Govind with Asian American Chamber of Commerce President

ties and the city needs immediate relief measures. The objective of the fundraiser held with the support of Telugu Association of St. Louis (TAS), Ohmkaram Association of St. Louis, Dhvani Foundation, Sangeetha Association of St. Louis, Gujarati Samaj, St. Louis Tamil Church, St. Louis Marathi Mandal, Sangama St.Louis Kannada Association, Asha of St. Louis, Asian American Chamber of e-commerce, STLVA Chapter and ACA (American Cricket Association) is to help the victims to get back to their normal life. This is being done by solicit-

ing funds from generous donors and channelize it to different charity organizations like Abdul Kalam Vision India Movement, Ramakrishna Mission Vidyapith, etc. to meet their long and short term goals to expedite the process. With the overwhelming response and support from all Indian communities and associations in St. Louis, the organizers of the campaign were able to raise the collection amount towards the flood relief to $42,000. The meeting observed a minute's silence in memory of those affected by the flood. Hundreds of people turned in to show

their support and solidarity to the people back home. The successful campaign witnessed enthusiastic donors keeping the volunteers at the collection desk busy throughout the day. Presidents and representatives of the respective organizations participated in the campaign were called upon the stage to share their views about the disaster and the kind of help that can be provided at this tough time. Videos and presentations were continuously displayed to show the nature of the disaster. Contâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d on page 19

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Art of Living provides need-based supplies VINESH VIRANI

rt of Living Foundation has come forward to provide relief to the thousands of people in Chennai hit by an unprecedented flood and torrential rains. The city of Madras is limping back to normalcy after the disaster that killed more than 280 people and displaced and stranded half a million people. "The people's homes are filled with river water and drainage. Nothing is usable. They have nothing left." said Harish Gopalakrishnan, a volunteer with the AoL Foundation. "The immediate need is providing relief - and the challenge lies in coordinating relief efforts," he said, A number of volunteers of Art of Living group have been working tirelessly for the past many days providing relief to the flood affected victims and their families. The challenge is to ensure that the distribution of relief material reaches maximum and equitably to each family in the affected area. Many of Art of Living volunteers came across scenarios where a section of the people in the area could not get any relief materials as they were not aware of any measures being undertaken in their area or were left behind in the crowd. At the same time, some people took material supply multiple number of times. This was because there was no set process to ensure everyone gets in right proportion. Citing a very recent example, when a truck load of relief material reached Kottupuram volunteers came up with a

structured and enduring process of token system. They walked door to door gave tokens to each family ensuring every family gets to know of the relief material and gets a share. Bed-sheets, blankets, breads, fruits were distributed to more than 500 people. Seeing their efforts, the Police came to

tribution of relief material to everyone in the locality of around 2000 people. In both the cases with the thoughtful effort of volunteers, support of police and cooperation of localities, relief material could evenly reach people who were in dire need. Art of Living has assured continuing their

Art of Living camp in Chennai

help in the nearby area. They helped inform the people about the availability of material like milk, soaps, mosquito coils, match boxes, candles, biscuits, mats, sanitary napkins etc. This aided volunteers' efforts to ensure dis-

efforts till the hardship is removed. The International Association for Human Values (IAHV) along with the Art of Living Foundation have initiated a rehabilitation project in Chennai with emphasis on trauma relief. "Aside of material needs, unless mental trauma is attended to, it is extremely dif-

ficult for the victims to cope, especially those who lost their homes, loved ones or livelihood," said Madhu Kadari, IAHV treasurer. The spirit of giving and assistance resonated across the globe as non-resident Indians came together, providing crucial communications and coordination for immediate relief and rescue efforts from several control rooms worldwide. "Our team responded early to the disaster creating a global volunteer Whatsapp group. It soon became our virtual global control center" said Abitha Narayanan, a volunteer with the Overseas Volunteer for a Better India. "Rescue and relief requests received from Chennai, and from social media were funneled to the right action teams on the ground, making assistance available to the needy within a short time. NRIs across countries handled data collection, prioritization of requests and made direct calls for rescue and relief. We quickly partnered with many other NGOs with the single goal to aid Chennai," Narayanan said.

Bone marrow drive for South Asians on Jan 1 Contâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d from page 16

Rhea is sponsored by SAMAR (South Asian Marrow Association of Recruiters) which is affiliated with Be the Match (supported by the NMDP). 'Be the Match' has issued an appeal to sign up at a recruitment drive to register more South Asians to the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP). The appeal says, "Register yourself as a potential bone marrow donor and give the gift of life to someone suffering from blood cancer. It has never been easier to donate bone marrow. With very little discomfort and no risk or cost to the donor, here is your chance to save a life. "Registering yourself is very simple," it says. "You must be between the ages of 18 and 44. In less than 10 minutes, we can help you fill out forms about your basic contact information and you give us a DNA sample in the form of a cheek swab. All information you give us is completely confidential. Be the Match registry will contact you and confirm your registration in 2 to 4 weeks. Your information stays on the

registry until you are 61 years of age during which time, if someone matching your tissue type needs a life-saving bone marrow transplant, you will be called to request a

donation." For more information please refer to the following links: http://www.samarinfo.org/ index.asphttps://bethematch.org

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Bay Area fundraiser for Chennai on Dec 20 PM SWAMY

he great deluge of Chennai not only uprooted thousands of residents of the Southern City of Chennai and adjacent Cuddalore but gave sleepless nights to hundreds of Bay Area residents whose parents or

low-lying areas and those on the banks of three rivers - clogging the network in Chennai. "It was a sleepless night for two days as my aged parents who were in Thiruvanmiyur suffered a lot when the floods entered their

"It was a sleepless night for two days as my aged parents who were in Thiruvanmiyur suffered a lot when the floods entered their house, submerging all the belongings. They had to be evacuated in a boat to a safer place," said Jaishree Chandrasekar relatives got caught in the swirl. Frantic calls were made to friends and relatives seeking information about the near and dear ones in Chennai, especially in the

house, submerging all the belongings. They had to be evacuated in a boat to a safer place," said Jaishree Chandrasekar, a leading Tamil actress and an IT profes-

sional in San Francisco. "I was on tenterhooks, unable to reach them and those moments were scary to say the least." Like Jaishree, hundreds of Tamils living in Bay Area frantically searched for their parents or relatives for over a week that was unprecedented in the history of India and Chennai in particular. The great deluge has triggered an enormous amount of volunteer participation and donation activity around the world. Diaspora Indians as well as Indians from other parts of India have come together in this moment of need with their generous contributions. An ad hoc group has also come together among some friends in the Bay Area, which was an outgrowth of the anxiety of a couple of former Chennai na-

Tamil actress Jaishree

tives. In addition to Jaishree and Rohini, the ad hoc group in the Bay Area consists of other community members who are committed to alleviating the pain of the Chennai flood victims. Sandhya Ramesh, an activist, had a chance check up with Vennira Aadai Murthy, a legendary Tamil movie comedian. Jaishree is now coordinating volunteers using Whatsapp and Facebook connecting with the relief efforts of noted South Indian actress Suhasini Maniratnam and ace cinematographer Jayendra Panchapakesan. They have planned a huge fundraiser in Bay Area on December 20. More details can be had from 925-639-1945 or email jaishree.chandrasekar@gmail.com.

SEWA volunteers bolster relief efforts NIRAV K PATEL

ince the first day the disaster struck, SEWA Interna tional team is in Chennai. It is working day and night to help flood damaged area and victims there by providing shelter, food, cloth and some generic medicines. Based on a tweet, SEWA rescue team volunteer Ratnesh Mishra of Phoenix, AZ alerted volunteers in Chennai about a woman in labor pains. The lady got timely help from Sewa volunteers on the ground. She delivered twins. The mother and children are in excellent health. Sewa International USA is a humanitarian non-profit service organization with a mission to increase civic engagement of the communities in the United States to volunteer and promote volunteering.

SEWA International at flood hit area

Community galvanized to help Chennai flood-hit Contâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d from page 17

The campaign was generously supported and sponsored by US Wide Financial, Sun Copies, Seema, Asian Spices and Bombay Bazar. The President of Tamil Sangam of Missouri said in his address: "We have taken a pledge that our efforts will not end until the affected people back home get a new beginning." He thanked all the sponsors, donors and partnering associations who were instrumental in running this successful campaign at short notice. Donors who wish to donate and help the flood victims can log on to http:// www.motamilsangam.org/ to make their valuable contributions.

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St Louis Indian Association celebrates Diwali ASHWIN PATEL

IAS children participating in Diwali celebrations

ST LOUIS: The India Association of St Louis (IAS) celebrated Diwali on Sunday, November 22 in a spectacular way at Mahatma Gandhi Centre in St Louis, MO. More than 300 people attended the event. There were a wide range of cultural programs performed by local talent. Colorful decorations and lighting arrangements set the festive mood for the audience. Dressed in attires reflecting Indian culture and tradition, artists presented programs which drew

huge applause from the audience. Stage decoration and various types of cultural programs presented to reflect Indian culture and tradition were the highlights of the event. President Sharath Rao reminded everyone of the marvelous successes of the past IAS events in both cultural and social service programs and laid out IAS' plans for 2016. He praised and thanked the parents and kids who were actively engaged in social service programs this year.

President-Elect Meera Jain and Secretary Shailee Saran Varanasi played a key role in conducting the event successfully. Board of Directors Sendil Rathinasabapathy and Krishna Rao Moharir efficiently handled the technical audio-visual and electronic communications, respectively while Cultural Coordinator Gayatri Chintakunta coordinated the cultural events. All the participants were awarded IAS certificates.

Delicious Indian dinner satisfied the taste buds of everyone. The event ended with kids enjoying the sparklers. The board of

India Association extended thanks to all the sponsors, volunteers and attendees to make it a grand successful event.

UCCA holds Grand Christmas Banquet HARISH RAO

UCCA members with guests and dignitaries

Lamp Lighting by Dr Ausaf Sayeed, Indian Consul General, Chicago

and children to celebrate Christmas festival. The evening celebrations set off with the lighting of the Christmas Candles by Indian Consul General Dr Ausaf Sayeed, the Guest Speaker Anil Kumar, Iftekhar Shareef, Ravi Achanta and Harish Kolasani. Teresa Neetipudi's opened the evening with a classical invocation dance. It was followed by a colorful fusion dance presented by Kala Dance Acad-

emy group entitled 'Silent Night". Dr Ausaf Sayeed, paid rich accolades to the Chicago Christian community and outlined the extraordinary contributions made by Christians in India especially in the field of education, healthcare, charity, social empowerment and emancipation of women and participation in public life. He added that Christianity has profoundly helped to strengthen the social fabric in India.

Keynote speaker Anil Kumar presented the central theme of Christmas message of salvation to all mankind through the birth of Jesus Christ. His message was interspersed with high-energy singing which led to the spontaneous break out of joyful dance from the floor. Anil Kumar narrated instances of his life transforming experiences which he said led him to Christian faith. Contâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d on page 23

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Mesmerizing melodies at 'Sitaron Ki Mehfil'

India Post News Service

The cream of Bay area society gathered to listen and watch gorgeous Melody Queen Bollywood singer Alka Bhatnagar of Bay area who was awarded by Raj Kapoor himself and blessed by Music Legends

R.D.Burman, Kalyan Ji Anand and Ravindra Jain. Alka has succeeded in mingling the finest nuances of classical music with an element of modernity by her imaginative improvisation. Contâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d on page 23

India Post 21

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E3 presents Holiday Shopping Party! BEGUM NAZNIN

Cake cutting ceremony

E3 Event sponsors with Roopali Chand on the right

CHICAGO: For educating, empowering and evolving entrepreneurs, E3 Entrepreneurs Inc. presented a mega shopping extravaganza titled 'Holiday Shopping Party' at Waterford Banquets in Elmhurst, a southwest suburb of Chicago, on Sunday December 6. It was attended by a great number of Chicagoans from city and sub-

and her efforts to save it through Radio Pani Poori. Another inspiring talk was presented by Dr Callista Lay of "Reddy Set Yoga". She provided awareness on the importance of holistic health/self-care for women entrepreneurs to succeed in their personal and professional lives. Dr Lay discussed the need for nutri-

Roopali Chand observed that "E3 focuses activities on education, mentoring and networking, and on creating opportunities for leadership that can help advance one's career." The event also had an award ceremony urbs. It was the second successful event hosted by Roopali Chand, owner of UR creations & founder of E3 Entrepreneurs Inc. The event brought together members, vendors and supporters for an exciting day filled with inspirational talks, shopping and entertainment. E3 provided platform for entrepreneurs who share the goal of enabling and empowering each other to reach the highest levels of leadership, and more importantly, to fulfill their own career aspirations. The event started with inspiring talks by leading entrepreneurs. They revealed their success stories and listed obstacles that they had overcome to accomplish great success in their lives. Reema Kapur, Executive Director of SAAPRI (South Asian American Policy & Research Institute) spoke on challenges that immigrant communities face in this country. She emphasized on various initiatives that the government is taking to save and protect our community. She shared her success story with SAAPRI and asked everyone to learn about benefit options available to immigrants by joining SAAPRI. RJ Promila of radio Pani Poori spoke on India's art and culture

tional supplements and explained in detail about Orenda products. Deepali Aul, Certified Health Coach, spoke on how to be healthy, look great and live longer. Roopali Chand observed that "E3 focuses activities on education, mentoring and networking, and on creating opportunities for leadership that can help advance one's career." The event also had an award ceremony which was presented in 3 categories: "Woman of Influence Award" was given to singer Mona Bhalla of Kudi Bindaas; "Best Creative Business Award" was

E3 organizers with guests and invitees

presented to Pankaj Garg of SomruS and "Excellence in Entrepreneurship Award" was given to Jas Sandhu of Mitandio for art scarves. The awards were presented by Reema Kapur, Executive Director of SAAPRI, and O.P Meena Deputy Consul General at Chicago of Community Welfare, Information, Protocol & Culture and

RJ Promila of radio Pani Poori. Yet another attraction of the event was Fashion Show which was presented by Sneha Dixit of "VA Cosmetics" and Panache, "The Emporium by Arti Chandok." Models walked on the ramp, showcasing "Haute Couture" and "Pret-a-Porter" collections of leading designers of India. Make up of all models was

done by Ms Dixit of VA Cosmetics Sameer Saini, a successful business owner, emceed the event along with Nisha Saraswat who sang melodiously. Sneha Dixit of VA Cosmetics and a member of E3 Entrepreneurs opened the event talking about the three E's and her journey as a businesswoman.

Butani elected chairman of FICSC India Post News Service

LOS ANGELES: At the recent election, for the 2015-16 executive committee of Federation of Indian Community of Southern California (FICSC) Dilip Butani was elected as Chairman and Amrit Bhandari as President. The other elected office bearers were: Mohan Sharma Executive Vice-President, Raj Walia Secretary and Ajay Khetani Treasurer. The vice -presidents elected were Ramesh Bhatt, Dinesh Gala,

Siddharth Pathak and Nauzad Sadry while Latesh Bhambhani

Dilip Butani

and Pranav Desai were elected as the Joint Secretary and Joint Treasurer respectively. The Advisory Board will comprise Inder Singh, A s h o k M a d a n , K e w a l K a n d a , Gurjeet S i n g h , Amrit Bhandari B h a v n a

Chawla, Dr Jay Shah, Aparna Hande, Dr Shekhar Rahate, Navin Gupta, Dr Kailash Dhamija, Prakash Pancholi, Ram Tasildar and Jashbhai Patel. Both Dilip Butani and Amrit Bhandari are Co-Chairs of IndianAmerican Republicans of Southern California. Dilip Butani is also President of GOPIO InternationalOC Chapter, while Amrit Bhandari is the Vice-President. Butani has also been Chairman of The Sindhu Center and Bhandari, Director of The Jain Center.

December 18, 2015

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Mesmerizing melodies Indian Hockey hero Sardara Singh visiting US at 'Sitaron Ki Mehfil' Contâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d from page 21

India Post News Service

FREMONT, CA: Sardara Singh, a leading hockey player of India, is visiting the US at the invitation of his good friend Raj Kumar, international wrestler from Amritsar, India. Sardara Singh usually plays the center half position. He became the youngest player to captain the Indian team when he led the side at the 2008 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup. He was awarded Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award of India, in 2015. Sardara Singh became the highest-paid marquee player at the inaugural Hockey India League auctions as the Delhi franchise bought him for USD 78,000 (Rs 42.49 lakh). The Delhi team was named Delhi Waveriders. He

captained his side to a secondplace finish in its inaugural season and was awarded the 'Player of the Tournament.' Sardara's host, Raj Kumar has just returned from India where he visited the training facility run by his father (for over 50 years) Akhara Krishan PNT, and toured the new training academy CWE in Jalandhar owned by his friend "the Great Khali" Dalip Singh.

Her control over voice, mastery over modulation, superb intonation and "stress" were par excellence. Alka Bhatnagar is founder Guru of "Sur Bahar" music school. The program was full of melodies old and new, Bollywood songs, ghazals and latest songs fulfilling every one's taste. Top musicians from New York, Denver and Bay areas accompanied the singers. Bay area's popular singers Raj Sohol, Sachin Srivastava, Lahar Dalal, Varun Tiwari rocked the stage and brought Bollywood alive. New talents Aditi and Abhay entertained the audience with their melodious songs. The musical program started with golden era songs. Alka Bhatnagar started with haunting melodies like Aaiye Meherbaan, Piya To Se Naina Lage Re, Babu ji Dheere Chalna etc. Alka also paid tribute to legendary singers K.L. Sehgal, Mukesh, Talat Mehmood and Rafi Saheb. She performed latest hits like Mein Tenu Samjhava Ki, Teri Galiyan, songs ghazals like Hoton se chhoolo tum and Aaj Jane ki zid na karo. Raj Sohol, golden voice of Rafi and Sonu Nigam mesmerized the audience with songs Tum Jo Mil gaye ho, Jeena Jeena and duets with Alka Isharon Isharon Mein & O Hasina. Sachin Srivastava, voice of

Kishore, sang beautiful songs, Pal pal dil ke pass, and duets with Alka, Hawa ke sath sath and

Inteha Hogai. Lahar Dalal won the hearts of audience with Suno Na Sange marmar and duets with Alka, Dheere dheere se. Varun

Tiwari voice of Arijit rocked the stage Hum tere bin and Chahoon mein Ya Na and many more. The unforgettable four-hour event was a full package of high quality entertainment with sumptuous dinner. Unique Productions intends to bring another signature event soon. " sitaron ki mehfil " Tribute To Indian Cinema

UCCA holds Grand Christmas Banquet Contâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d from page 20

He urged the audience to introspect on their lives and make time for God. Earlier, Keerthi Kumar Ravoori welcomed all and later joined by UCCA leaders honored the ambassador by presenting a silk shawl to him. A flower bouquet was presented by women leaders' group. Proposing a vote of thanks, the UCCA President laid out the road map for future UCCA programs and initiatives. Vasanth Charles, UCCA Director, unveiled the series of new exciting programs for 2016 including a cricket tournament. Shirley Kalvakota conducted the candle lighting ceremony and the singing segment. The community Christmas greetings were offered by FIA

UCCA families

Trustee Iftekhar Shareef. The evening celebrations con-

cluded with the entire hall glowing in shimmering candle lights

held by each guest while singing "Silent Night" - a traditional Christ-

mas carol. It was followed by the serving of festive dinner.

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Smithsonian exhibiting 'Devi: The Great Goddess' NEELA PANDYA

WASHINGTON DC: Smithsonian, the world's largest museum and research complex headquartered in Washington DC, is showing an online exhibition titled "Devi: The Great Goddess". Displayed by its Freer Gallery of Art, this exhibition talks about various aspects of Devi, manifestations of Devi, cosmic force, creation, woman saints, etc. It depicts images of Bhadrakali, Lakshmi,

Parvati, Markama, Durga, Chamunda, Kali, Sarasvati, Ganga, Vasudhara, Ambika, Radha, Sita, Mariamman, Varahi, Saint Karaikkal Ammaiyar, Saint Andal, etc. Between 1660-1670, an unknown master in the Punjab hills of northern India painted a magnificent series of some seventy paintings which visualize Devi in expressive forms of strength and beauty. Only thirty-two of the

original group have survived, of which six, with their accompany-

This series is known as the Tantric Devi series because the imagery suggests an affiliation with esoteric rites

ing verse, are exhibited here. This series is known as the Tantric Devi series because the imagery suggests an affiliation with esoteric rites of Tantric worship. The paintings are embellished with voluptuous decorative details and the highly burnished surfaces incorporate a lavish display of applied beetle-wing cases in an intense green to simulate emeralds. In Tantric art Devi appears in varying body configurations and has many skin colors, facial expressions and symbolic gestures. She may have two, four, or as many as ten arms, and wear a profusion of costumes and orna-

Devi Goddess

ments. She may stand with attending figures who express her reflected power, or stand or sit alone. She may be benign and nurturing or a furious protector. The spectrum of images makes the point: while the Goddess is one, she is worshiped as many. In worshiping the goddess it is possible to arouse the divine

power, Shakti, that lies dormant within individuals in order to make their physical, mental, and psychic selves divine. One method of worship aimed at integrating the physical and spiritual realms is Tantric worship which has characterized much of goddess worship in India. Tantra is a code of rites and practices Commending Smithsonian for Devi exhibition, Rajan Zed, president of Universal Society of Hinduism, said that Hindu art had a long and rich tradition in Hinduism and ancient Sanskrit literature talked about religious paintings of deities on wood or cloth. He urged major art museums of the world, inc l u d i n g Musee du Louvre and M u s e e d'Orsay of Paris, Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, Los Angeles Getty Center, to frequently organize Hindu art focused exhibitions, thus sharing the rich Hindu art heritage with the rest of the world. Founded in 1846, the Smithsonian consists of 19 museums and galleries, the National Zoological Park, and nine research facilities. It has nearly 138 million collections and gets over 28 million visitors (besides over 175 million online visitors) annually. Dr. David J. Skorton is the Secretary.

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Living a well-balanced material and spiritual life SWAMINI GOPESHWARI DEVI

very individual soul is searching for happiness because the soul is a subtle shakti (ansh) of the supreme embodiment of happiness - God. The question remains that how can one attain happiness. There are many schools of thought regarding the attainment of happiness. We can divide the various concepts into two major categories one, materialism and the other, spirituality. Those who consider themselves to be mere physical body are materialists and those who consider themselves to be the spirit divine, or soul, are spiritualists. Unfortunately, both of these contradictory schools of thinkers ignorantly condemn one another; which is baseless and meaningless. Just as the soul can never exist without a physical body and is, hence, eternally related to it, in the same manner, materialism and spirituality also have a mandatory relationship since eternity. How exactly are they related? We address ourselves both as the body and the soul. When we are alive we unite both the body and the soul and say 'I'. I am going, I am eating, and I am drinking. But when the soul leaves the body, then the people say, "Today he left the world". But his body is lying in the coffin. This means that there are two entities - one is the 'I' and the other is the 'my'. That is why it is absolutely necessary to attain the aim or subject of both the 'I', which is the soul, and 'my', which is the body. The body is made up of five elements; earth, water, fire, air

votion. Body means the physical body, its senses, mind and intellect. All these are the material energy, the product of 'maya'. Only the soul is spiritual, being the ansh or part of God. The body needs to be maintained well and kept healthy for spiritual practices. All the necessary vitamins, nutrition, protein, iron, magnesium, copper etc. are needed in the right amounts. If we fail to give the correct supply of all the supplements we will surely fall sick. Then, we will end up having aches and pains in different parts of the body. We will not be able to meditate on God. Instead we will end up meditating on the bodily pains. We cannot practice devotion this way. Suppose someone claims that we have had great sages who did not need the material world and that they lived without food, water, and air, on this earth or in space. Even the earth or space is part of the material world. Moreover, such man of austerities still posses the material body to practice their penance. Hence, as long as one possesses the body, be it a God realized Saint, a renunciate or a Paramhans, they all need to beg and eat. They all need to supply the necessary supplements to the body. The Vedant says: "Pashvadibhishchavisheshat". Just as the animals and all other living beings get hungry and thirsty, so do the Paramhans. If one neglects health, nature will punish that person. One can ignore and neglect the physical health for a while but not always.

The body is made up of five elements; earth, water, fire, air and ether. So its subject pertains to the five senses - the sense of sound, touch, form, taste and smell. The soul, on the other hand, is the ansh of God - so its subject is God and ether. So its subject pertains to the five senses - the sense of sound, touch, form, taste and smell. The soul, on the other hand, is the ansh of God - so its subject is God. It will not work if we give spiritual subjects to the body or material subjects to the soul. So, it is very important to reconcile the two. First, let us take one concept that without materialism we cannot achieve spirituality because we need the body to practice de-

Once, Mahatma Buddha sat in deep meditation without eating any food for many days. One day he started feeling giddy and at the same time few village ladies were passing by singing a folk song. The words of the song was, "tighten the strings of the tanpura and then play, but do not over tighten it so much that the string may break." When Mahatma Buddha heard this song he thought that even these illiterate village ladies are saying such a great thing - that a

tanpura should not be played without tightening because that will not create music but neither should it be over-tightened for that way the string may break. Even the supreme Lord Shri Krishna told Arjun the same thing in the Bhagwad Gita:

Materialism means utilizing the world for the maintenance of the body. Thus, upabhog is dangerous but upayog is necessary and without it we cannot live even for a day Natyashnastuyogostina chaikantamanashnatah, Na chattiswarnashilasya a jagratonaiiva charjuna. (6/16) Yuktaharviharasyayuktcheshtasysdrmasu, Yuktswapnavabodhasyayogobhavatidhukhaha (6/17) Lord Krishna says that by eating unhealthy you will not be able to do Sadhana and if you completely stop eating even then you will not be able to do Sadhana. According to material science, the body that is made up of the five elements needs to get all the five elements in the correct amount, neither too much, nor too little. Even the great sage Maharishi Narad wrote in his scripture Narad Bhakti Sutra: "Lokopi tavadev bhojnadivyaparastvasharirdharanaavadhi." Thus, all the spiritualists need the material world; those who say that the world is an illusion also need the elements of the material world. God is not a fool that He created the world without a purpose. God, the creator of the body, created the world for the proper utilization (upayog) of the body and not for material enjoyment (upabhog). We need to understand the difference between upayog and upabhog and correct our way of living. Suppose you need to buy a shawl or a dress and there is a choice. Either you can buy the $1000 one or a $100 one. Upayog would be to buy a $100 shawl which would do exactly the same work as the $1000 one but upabhog would be to buy a $1000 shawl. Similarly, eating simple healthy food is upayog but having a va-

riety of delicacies is upabhog. Actually, all the pleasure that we give to the senses is wrong. We get only temporary pleasure but there are two major side effects of it first, the desire for more keeps increasing and secondly, after spoiling ourselves with various kinds of fried savory, rich, oily foods and sweets, we destroy our lungs, kidney, heart, stomach, and run to the doctors for treatments. Materialism means utilizing the world for the maintenance of the body. Thus, upabhog is dangerous but upayog is necessary and without it we cannot live even for a day. Without life how can anybody practice spirituality? That is why the spiritualists should stop condemning materialism and should accept it instead. Now let us consider the other side. Only being purely materialistic also will not work. Without practicing spirituality a materialist cannot attain the ultimate aim of life. Materialists think that by accumulating lots of wealth and material items that give pleasure one will attain happiness. However, experience tells us that the more material wealth we accumulate the more we become

because of materialism. To release the tension, many people these days are turning towards Indian philosophy. Therefore, without the rise of spirituality, materialism by itself cannot bring any amount of inner peace or happiness which happens to be our main aim in life. If sense gratification would have given happiness to our souls, then, since time immemorial, many affluent people would have attained perfect peace and happiness. That establishes that materialism cannot operate without spirituality. Despite having a very healthy body if one does not give the subject of the soul to the soul, one will always remain tensed and stressed. Continuously new desires will pop up and the satisfaction of the desires will lead to greed while dissatisfaction of the desires will lead to anger and we will always remain unhappy. So, being spiritual is essential. In the stone ages, there was never so much restlessness as we witness in today's age. People never used to have doors or windows, what to say of locks and alarms. But today even

Swamini Gopeshwari Devi

stressed, and due to lack of spirituality, unfortunately, we need sleeping pills to sleep. A coolie, in India, on the other hand, has a very sound sleep on the footpath. Suicidal rate is found to be the highest in the most prosperous countries like the USA. In every 10 minutes there is a shooting, in every 7 second there is a robbery and 70% of the youth take drugs or alcohol. Most marriages hardly last for 4 years, people divorce and get remarried multiple times. So we can see that there are a lot of problems

in broad daylight robberies take place in the banks where security is so tight. This shows how dirty our minds have become. It is evident that in today's age, due to the lack of spirituality, all sorts of negativity are on the rise like cheating, deception and crime. In the world either a person should naturally have great spiritual shakti that he may never commit any crime or have the fear of consequence for doing wrong. Contâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d on page 26

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Living a well-balanced material and spiritual life Contâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d from page 25

That is why many atheists and western philosophers have also said that even if God does not exist, one should create an imaginary God, so that out of his fear one would refrain from committing sin. Once, Dwight Eisenhower, the former US President, during his visit to India, said that God has given us a lot of material power but unless God gives us the right intellect to use these powers we will not be able to make proper use of it. Thus, without the right intellect and lack of spirituality we abuse the great powers which are the gifts of God. No doubt material advancement has given us great technology, like the TV; and the entire world is benefiting from it greatly. However, only if spirituality would have also been rising, then we would not be

facing all the wickedness that we are facing today. With the rise of spirituality, we would have had the right intellect to utilize material science and technology only for our welfare and not to destroy or cause harm to others. Because we did not advance spiritually our hearts and mind did not become pure and faultless and this is the reason why we are abusing material science and technology. Suppose, materially we advance so much that every house gets built in gold studded with diamonds; but on the other hand, the means to destroy those would also keep on increasing. In such a case it may take a thousand years to build something good, but it would take only a second to destroy. In this manner, the entire world will be destroyed. Nobody will be alive.

That way, we will have neither the materialists nor the materialism. That is why, in this present age, spirituality is most essential so that our intellect does not turn towards destruction. Or else, scientific progress will destroy us. It is absolutely marvelous that today we can be in touch with our

limited areas only, then planes started flying and the method of delivery became more advanced. Subsequently, telephones were introduced. Then came mobile phones which became so handy. A lot of our inconveniences got taken care of. People no longer have to suf-

We as individual souls are continuously seeking for unlimited and everlasting happiness. Even if we become lord of the entire world we can never attain the happiness. Simple reason being that God alone is that unlimited, everlasting happiness loved ones in faraway places through phones, emails, Facebook and Skype. In the olden days there were no means to send a letter. Then postal delivery started in

fer the extremities of weather because of air conditioners and heaters. However, along with all these great scientific material progresses, our mental and intellectual condition, our feelings of love and hatred lead to the diminution of spiritual proliferation. This way we are abusing the advanced scientific knowledge as a means to destroy everything. We are also paving the way for this scientific knowledge to cause its own devastation. So without spiritual progress even if we reach the moon we will still not attain any peace. This is the reason why without spiritual progress material progress is absolutely meaningless. Spiritual progress is a must for peace and happiness; there is

absolutely no other way. Mere talk is not good enough for our spiritual progress. We need to embrace and practice spirituality. The conclusion is that both our body and soul are contradictory entities and we need to give them the right subjects. We can never satisfy the material body by giving it subjects for spirituality, and we can never satisfy the divine soul by giving it the subjects of materialism. We as individual souls are continuously seeking for unlimited and everlasting happiness. Even if we become lord of the entire world we can never attain the happiness we are looking for. Simple reason being that God alone is that unlimited, everlasting happiness and only on attaining God can we become perfectly happy. Therefore, it becomes absolutely essential for us to synthesize both God and the World. We need to walk along with both materialism and spirituality in the journey of our lives, giving the soul and body their respective subjects. Those spiritualists who say that there is no need for the world are wrong and the materialists who say that there is no need for God are also wrong. Being biased will not solve the problem. Materialism and spirituality need to go hand in hand and we must reconcile both. Only then, one day we can attain our ultimate goal and become perfectly happy.

December 18, 2015

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TOP TEN HINDI FILM SONGS

1 Gerua: Dilwale 2 Agar Tum Saath Ho: Tamasha 3 Matargashti: Tamasha 4 Deewani Mastani: Bajirao Mastani 28 India Post

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December 18, 2015

5 Tumhe Apna Banane Ka : Hate Story 3 6 Pinga : Bajirao Mastani 7 Prem Ratan Dhan Payo : PRDP 8 Heer Toh Badi Sad Hai : Tamasha 9 Malhari : Bajirao Mastani 10 Prem Leela : PRDP

anveer Singh holds a special position in Deepika's heart. Recently, during an interview Deepika bared her heart out about her alleged boyfriend and made an explosive statement about her 'Bajirao', Ranveer Singh. The bold statement does raise eyebrows. The 'Piku' actress talked about being 'naked' in front of Ranveer. Before drawing any conclusion, here's the full text of what Deepika actually said in her interview with Bombay Times: "He is my best friend (and this is not to be taken lightly). I am emotional, sensitive and vulnerable and I hurt easily. I can be so naked in front of Ranveer and I know he will never hurt me or take me for granted. That is the kind of trust and understanding we have. The reason I love and respect him is that I can bare my soul and still feel comfortable. If this is divine connection - this is what it is."

anveer Singh is head over heels in love with Deepika Padukone and during the promotion of their latest flick, 'Bajirao Mastani', their off-screen romance is seen playing a primary role in the movie promotion. While promoting 'Bajirao Mastani, Ranveer went down his knees and proposed his ladylove by casting a peck on her hand. Deepika looked traditional in a saree while Ranveer Singh rocked in indo-western sherwani. "Bajirao ne Mastani se mohabbat ki hai... Ayaashi nahi." This very dialogue from 'Bajirao Mastani', which became a trademark, is apt for the couple, Ranveer Singh and Deepika who are totally in love with each other.

ani Mukherji and Aditya Chopra are proud parents of their first child, daughter Adira. The baby was born at Mumbai's Breach Candy hospital. The highly delighted Rani says Adira is God's greatest gift for her and her husband Aditya Chopra. The 37-year-old actress thanked her fans, friends and well wishers for their "unconditional support and blessings". "I would like to thank all my well wishers and fans. Today life has given us God's greatest gift with Adira. We thank fans, our friends and well wishers for their unconditional support and blessings. With joy we begin this new chapter in our lives," Rani said in a statement. Yash Raj Films, headed by 44-year-old Aditya, made the announcement on their official Twitter account. "Rani Mukerji and Aditya Chopra become proud parents to a baby girl named 'Adira'," the post read.

Bollywood

December 18, 2015

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onakshi Sinha tried her hand at 'chenda', Kerala's traditional percussion instrument, when she arrived at Alappuzha (Kerala) with family to celebrate the 70th birthday of her actor-father and BJP MP Shatrughan Sinha. The Dabangg actress played 'chenda', a cylindrical wooden drum, along with an all-women percussion group as she excitedly drummed and swayed to the music at a private backwater resort. Besides Shatrughan Sinha, his wife Poonam, sons Luv and Kush and other family members, were in Alappuzha as part of the birthday bash. Sinha cut a cake and cruised on the backwaters and a sumptuous meal with traditional Kerala cuisine was served for the family later. Sinha later said he and his family were captivated by the beauty of the backwaters of 'God's Own Country' Kerala and would come back again.

The Dabangg actress played 'chenda', a cylindrical wooden drum, along with an all-women percussion group as she excitedly drummed and swayed to the music at a private backwater resort

riyanka Chopra is one of the most hard-working stars of Bollywood and she works 16 hours a day. She has no time to enjoy life. After earning name and fame in Bollywood, she headed to Hollywood to gain recognition. She is very much liked for her American TV show, 'Quantico'. Priyanka defines success in a different way. "Success is not a destination.... Success is a journey. You are successful if you are consistently successful," Priyanka said. Asked whether money matters, Priyanka said, "I do make money as I work very hard for what I do. I don't sleep at night, I work 16 hours a day, I don't have weekends or birthdays or Diwali." Whether Hollywood would be the next step for the 34-yearold actress, she said, "I have an agent in America since five years but I do work on my own terms. I am a star here in Hindi cinema so I don't want to do anything for the heck of it. I have no desperation to prove a point to someone. I would do films there if they excite me."

he 'Ishaqzaade' girl, Parineeti Chopra is no longer the same; she has undergone massive transformation in shape and size. Parineeti has now evolved as a fit and bold actress. The chubby girl has posted few images from her workout session with a message. The actress wrote on Twitter: "4 years ago, a chubby childish girl was introduced to the world. 4 years later, i am closer to where i want to be. A very special photoshoot, made me get rid of my inhibitions, and portray the strong, confident girl I feel today. Anybody who thinks it's a challenge, take it from me - you can also do it. Because I am sure that, like me, even you are built that way." Parineeti Chopra, who was last seen in 'Kill Dil' is on a break from the big screen. She is waiting for the right script.

hahid Kapoor and Katrina Kaif have been roped in for the second installment of super-hit film, 'Aankhen'. The couple would be joined by versatile actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui. Amitabh Bachchan from the prequel has also been signed in for the sequel, 'Aankhen 2'. When director Anees Bazmee was probed, he said that 'Aankhen 2' cannot be made without the megastar. 'Aankhen' revolved around a bank robbery by three blind persons. It featured Akshay Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan, Sushmita Sen, Arjun Rampal and Paresh Rawal in the lead. If everything goes well then Katrina Kaif and Shahid will be seen sharing screen space for the first time.

Â&#x201E;

Realty Tidbits

Sundaram offers special loan scheme CHENNAI: To benefit customers affected by unprecedented heavy rainfall in Chennai, Sundaram BNP Paribas Home Finance has offered housing loans up to Rs 10 lakh at a fixed interest rate of 8.50 per cent per annum. The special scheme valid for disbursements till June 30 2016 would help customers reconstruct and renovate their housing units,

the city-based company said in a statement. "We have received concessional refinance facility from National Housing Bank. We are happy that NHB has quickly extended such a scheme at this critical juncture where finance is a dire need for rebuilding homes", company Managing Director Srinivas Acharya said. The tenure of the loan would be three to seven years. Sundaram BNP Paribas is a 50.1 per cent and 49.9 per cent joint venture between Sundaram Finance and France-based BNP Paribas. -PTI

Â&#x201E; Philadelphia land bank gets 150 properties PHILADELPHIA: Philadelphia is looking to turn thousands of vacant lots and buildings from blighted burdens to productive developments in the city, and has put 150 properties into its land bank. Mayor Michael Nutter transferred the first batch of deeds into the Philadelphia Land Bank from the Philadelphia Housing Development Corp. and expects to transfer another 500 properties by the end of the year. Nutter signed an ordinance nearly two years ago to create the public authority. Over the next four years, the land bank hopes to acquire 6,500 vacant properties. Supporters say the land bank will make it easier to manage, sell and redevelop vacant properties currently held in departments across the city - making the process frustrating for interested developers. -AP

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December 18, 2015

Property buyers to benefit with amendments to real estate bill NEW DELHI: The Union Cabinet has approved various amendments to the contentious Real Estate bill, introducing provisions for depositing 70 per cent of the project cost by builders into an escrow account and punishment for violations of the proposed law, meeting key opposition demands. Reaching out to the opposition, the Cabinet, in its meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved a string of amendments to the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Bill, 2015, aimed at protecting the interest of the buyers and promoting investments in the sector while ensuring transparency. A key amendment is the provision for depositing 70 per cent of the money received by the builders from buyers for a project into an escrow account, especially created for the concerned scheme, so the builders do not invest a large portion of the money thus raised for other projects. It would also act as a safeguard against uncertainty over a project in the event of the builder backing out.

The real estate bill approved by the previous UPA government had provided for deposit of 70 per cent of the funds raised from buyers into the escrow account but it was reduced to 50 per cent by Rajya Sabha's select committee

The UPA bill had a penal provision for violations, which was not there in the one brought by the Modi government. The Congressled opposition had been insisting on reintroduction of these provision in the amended bill.

which examined the bill. The amended bill also provides for imprisonment up to 3 years for the builders in case of violations of the provisions of the proposed law and up to one year in case of real estate agents and buyers, according to a senior official of the Urban Development Ministry.

The decision has significantly improved the prospects of the bill getting passed during the current session provided Congress allows normal functioning of Parliament. Another major change approved by the Cabinet includes equal rate of interest to be paid by promoters and buyers in case of

default or delays. The provision was earlier tilted in favor of the builders. The bill envisages registration of real estate projects and real estate agents with a Regulatory Authority, mandatory disclosure of all registered projects, including details of the promoter, project, layout plan, land status, approvals, agreements along with details of real estate agents, contractors, architect, structural engineer are other features. Aggrieved buyers can now approach 644 Consumer Courts which are available at district level in the country instead of only the Regulatory Authorities proposed to be set up under the bill, mostly in capital cities, for redress of grievances. This makes it easy for buyers besides reducing the litigation costs. The earlier NDA bill provided for resolution of disputes between consumers and builders by consumer court, while the UPA legislation stipulated dispute resolution at the appellate body of the proposed real estate regulator. -PTI

8500 allottees surrender DDA flats NEW DELHI: Around 8,500 allottees, almost one-third, of a housing scheme of Delhi Development Authority (DDA) have surrendered their flats, Rajya Sabha was informed. "DDA has informed that as on December 4 this year nearly 8,500 allottees, who were allocated flats under Housing Scheme-2014 have surrendered their flats," Minister of State for Urban Development Babul Supriyo said in a written reply. In majority of the cases, the allottees have not provided any specific reasons for surrender, he said. Supriyo, however, said some of the reasons as reported included not liking the location or area of the allotted flats and not finding the built-up area of the allotted flats sufficient.

DDA has also informed that authority had decided to convert a large number of flats, which were to be built for economically weaker section category, to low income group residential units in the

scheme. The DDA offered the surrendered flats to the waitlisted registrants as per the terms of the scheme and the remaining flats were disposed off by launching a

new housing scheme. The DDA had in September last year rolled out nearly 25,000 flats via a lottery system in suburban areas including Dwarka, Rohini and Narela. -PTI

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December 18, 2015

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Puravankara eyes Rs 700cr Commercial complex in Jammu sealed sales revenue NEW DELHI: Realty firm Puravankara Projects expects a sales revenue of about Rs 700 crore from the second phase of ongoing affordable housing project near Bengaluru. The company launched the second phase of 'Provident Sunworth' project comprising

about 1,400 housing units. The 60-acre project located at NICE-Mysore Road junction is being developed by Puravankara's arm Provident Housing. Nearly 6,000 flats would be de-

veloped in the entire project. The special pre-launch price for a 2 bedroom apartment starts from Rs 33 lakhs and 3BHK apartment from Rs 39 lakhs. The company did not disclose the project cost and expected sales revenue of the second phase. However, according to

sources, it is expecting about Rs 700 crore of sales revenue over a period of 3-4 years. Puravankara Projects MD Ashish Puravankara said this project is a 60 acre "integrated lifestyle district that offers

high quality homes for value conscious home buyers, at a very attractive pre-launch price". Puravankara Projects Ltd has presence in Bengaluru, Kochi, Chennai, Coimbatore, Hyderabad and Mysore, Mumbai and Pune. The company has 20.93 million sq ft of projects under development

with additional 85.83 million sq ft in projected development over the next few years. The company has set up a subsidiary Provident Housing Ltd to develop affordable homes.-PTI

JAMMU: Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC) has sealed a commercial complex housing

ers and the staff. "This created bottleneck and caused inconvenience to the gen-

Jammu and Kashmir bank branch in Jammu due to violation of building permission and lack of parking places. The enforcement staff of JMC under instructions from Mandeep Kaur, Municipal Commissioner sealed the commercial premises on the ground floor where the branch of J&K Bank Rehari colony was functioning, a JMC officer said. "In the building there was no provision for parking vehicles and the vehicles were illegally parked outside the Branch by the custom-

eral public in an already very busy area and also created hindrance in the free flow of vehicular traffic leading to traffic jams," he said. Action has been taken under the provisions of J&K Control of Building Operation Act, 1988, he added. JMC once again appeals to the general public to refrain from making encroachments and unauthorized and constructions in violation of land use otherwise action as admissible under rule leading to demolition and sealing will be taken, he said. -PTI

40 homes demolished for now-abandoned project ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla.: The first home Brunilda Galarza ever owned, she surrendered to the government to be razed and submerged beneath a 10-acre drainage pond. Like dozens of other residents in the neighborhood just outside Altamonte Springs, she and her husband packed up and cleared out of their community, then watched as cranes moved in behind them to tear down their homes. The driveway where her son practiced his basketball layups, the patio where they hung streamers for his bug-themed 3rd birthday party - it all disappeared to make way for a retention pond that the Florida Department of Transportation said was needed for a critical highway expansion. But it's been six years since the Galarzas moved out, and the land is still as dry as they left it. Project plans changed. The 41lot neighborhood - which FDOT deemed ``necessary for public use'' and was purchased, emptied of residents and demolished for

$12.9 million - will serve no lasting public purpose. The land, just east of Interstate 4 and south of State Road 436, will probably go up for sale in a few years and end up in the hands of a private developer. The result of all the moving and expense might be to erase one neighborhood and replace it with another. The state agency did compensate former residents, paying out more than $11.4 million to buy their homes and about $1.1 million to relocate them. Still, moving on hasn't been easy for some people, displaced from homes where they had lived for decades, planted gardens and raised children. ``The intention of 40 families being uprooted was because they said there was going to be a retention pond, and this was the best location. And now six or seven years later, where's the retention pond?'' Galarza, 54, asked from her former driveway apron, the only remaining trace of 127 Dolores Drive. An FDOT spokesman said the agency did need the land based

on its initial plan for storing runoff from the I-4 expansion. However, several years later, the agency changed course after deciding there was a better, cheaper solu-

came convinced that the alternative stormwater plan was viable, he added. ``In hindsight, if we knew then what we know now, and had the

Manuel Galarza, left, Brunilda Zalarza and their son Emmanuel Omar Galarza show where their driveway to their Dolores Drive home in Altamonte Springs, Fla., used to be on Dec 3 .-AP

tion for dealing with stormwater, spokesman Steve Olson said. The agency only recently be-

comfort level that the latest version offers, we could have avoided buying the property, and been

even further ahead,'' Olson wrote in an email. Situations such as the one near Altamonte Springs are one side effect of a change in how FDOT approaches many road projects, says a Jacksonville-based attorney experienced in eminent domain cases. Recent shifts in how road projects are sequenced have escalated the risk that the government will unnecessarily take homes and other private properties, attorney Andrew Brigham said. Once rigidly ordered in phases, transportation projects have become more fluid, and designs are often still in flux as construction gets under way. As a result, transportation officials are taking land before they know how they'll use it or whether they'll need it at all, Brigham said. ``In some cases, the government is jumping before they really look,'' he said. ``With greater discretion put in the hands of government decision makers, you have greater chance of abuse of property rights.''-AP

Â&#x201E; Health

Line

US upbeat on health law sign-ups WASHINGTON: The Obama administration says about 1 million new consumers have signed up for 2016 coverage under the president's health care law.

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One in 4 young doctors may be depressed Details on Page 35

A high-yielding rice variety identified for diabetics US President Barack Obama

Another 1.8 million current customers have contacted HealthCare.gov to switch plans or renew their coverage after reviewing their options, officials said in a weekly update. Although premiums are increasing in most states, HealthCare.gov CEO Kevin Counihan says he's optimistic about a strong open enrollment season. Current customers who take no action will be automatically renewed. Open enrollment ends Jan. 31, and the administration estimates there are still about 10 million uninsured people eligible. Fines will rise for those who don't get coverage. -AP

Â&#x201E; Playing 3-D video games may boost memory LOS ANGELES: Playing three dimensional video games such as 'Super Mario' may boost the formation of memories and maintain cognition as we age, a new study has claimed. The finding by researchers at the University of California, Irvine (UCI) shows the potential for novel virtual approaches to helping people who lose memory as they age or suffer from dementia. For their research, Craig Stark and Dane Clemenson of UCI's Centre for the Neurobiology of Learning & Memory recruited non-gamer college students to play either a video game with a passive, two-dimensional environment ("Angry Birds") or one with an intricate, 3-D setting ("Super Mario 3D World") for 30 minutes per day over two weeks. Before and after the two-week period, the students took memory tests that engaged the brain's hippocampus, the region associated with complex learning and memory. They were given a series of pictures of everyday objects to Cont'd on Page 35 study.

RAIPUR: Rice will no more be a 'villain' for diabetic patients as researchers in Chhattisgarh have identified a high-yielding variety of white rice with low Glycemic Index (GI) - measurement of how foods affect blood sugar levels. The finding is not only advantageous for people with diabetes, or at a risk of the disease, it can also be a part of a healthy diet for the average consumers, experts feel. A team of researchers from Indira Gandhi Agriculture University (IGAU) Raipur, led by Department of Plant Molecular and Biotechnology's Professor Dr Girish Chandel, has identified the variety of low GI rice, which is expected to be released next month at a commercial level. "Since past few years we have been working to develop or identify a rice variety with low GI that could be fruitful for sugar patients. Interestingly, we found it on the 'Chapati Gurmatiya' race of rice, which is a traditional cultivated variety of paddy in Chhattisgarh," Dr Chandel told PTI. He said that this new development is significant as rice is a

staple diet for a big population. People can't give it up in Chhattisgarh, which is popularly known as a 'rice bowl', as well as in the entire country because food habits are an entrenched cultural habit which is difficult to change, he said. But consumption of white rice

that the effect of low GI rice on a diabetic mouse was similar to that on another diabetic mouse who was injected with sugar control drug," he said. "The identified variety of rice has GI score of 55, which is considered as diabetic-friendly. Therefore, we are planning to

with GI more than permissible limits can be harmful for diabetic patients. Keeping this in view, the research was taken up, he said. "During the research, data was collected by mouse feeding trial at Chhattisgarh Council of Science and Technology. The mouse model data clearly demonstrated

name it as 'Madhuraj-55' for commercial sale," Dr Chandel said. This rice breaks down more slowly into glucose after consumption, therefore ensuring that sugar is more slowly released in the blood, rather than all at once, he said. "For a nation like India which has more than 65 million diabetic

India to introduce Rotavirus vaccine NEW DELHI: The rotavirus vaccine will be introduced by March next in the government's routine immunization program for protecting children from diarrhea, a move that is expected to save around 50,000 lives per year from the disease. The Centre will also launch a three-year-long anti-measlesrubella (MR) campaign next year at a cost of Rs. 1,500 crore for saving children in the age group of nine months to 15 years from all kinds of measles. Rotavirus is a common virus that causes diarrhea among infants and children throughout the world. Presently, more that 1.50 lakh children die in the country due to the disease every year, of which rotavirus accounts to 50 per cent of the

deaths. Additional Secretary Health, C K Mishra said the introduction of the vaccine (in March next year) will be launched in four

"Apart from 1.50 children who die due to diarrhea, at least two to three times of the children suffer from the disease" states initially including Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Orissa and will act as a "game changer" in reduc-

ing the child mortality rate. "It will be a game changer in bringing down the child mortality as the new vaccine is expected to save more than 50,000 children per year," he said. Diarrhea also has high morbidity rate which will be controlled with the rotavirus dose. "Apart from 1.50 children who die due to diarrhea, at least two to three times of the children suffer from the disease. It not just the deaths that will be prevented but the whole gamut of diarrhea-controlling exercise," he said. The rotavirus vaccine introduced in the national program has been developed by Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech. -PTI

patients, the discovery of low GI rice would prove to be great tool to fight the epidemic," he expressed. Earlier also, the 'Chapati Gurmatiya' variety of rice had a consumption pattern in the state and was cultivated in large area, but it was mainly produced for the lower income groups and laborers of big farmers and landlords. The newly identified line of this race is high yielding and has low GI with no change in its taste and palatability, Dr Chandel said. The university has planned to release the seeds of this new variety of rice in January 2016 and then distribute it to farmers for sowing in next kharif crop season. "Its seeds will be released by State Varietal Release Committee - the body meant for official release of new variety of seeds next month and its production is likely to begin from next Kharif season," IGAU Vice Chancellor Dr S K Patil said. Along with the farming of the low GI paddy, the university is also looking for potential partners for its branding and marketing in the market, Dr Patil said. -PTI

Free insulin pumps for diabetic children THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala has decided to provide insulin pumps free of cost to diabetic children. This decision was taken in a Cabinet meeting in view of the increase in number of cases of diabetes among children in the state, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy told reporters here. Most families were finding it difficult to meet the expenses of treatment for the affected children, Chandy said. "Insulin pump is the most reliable way to combat diabetes among children. Most of the families find it difficult to afford the huge cost of insulin pump," he said. Details on Page 34

December 18, 2015

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Mexico approves first use of dengue vaccine MEXICO CITY: Mexican health authorities approved the first vaccine to gain official acceptance for use against the dengue virus, which sickens about 100 million people every year, mostly in Asia, Africa and Latin America. The federal medical safety agency said the vaccine has undergone testing on over 29,000 patients worldwide. It said the vaccine's manufacturer had proved its safety and effectiveness, but did not name the drug. In a separate statement, the Lyon, France-based Sanofi Pasteur identified the vaccine as Dengvaxia. Mexico said the vaccine is aimed at people ages 9 to 45 and will be used in areas where the disease is endemic. According to a World Health Organization report published in late 2014, the vaccine had an average rate of effectiveness of about 60.8 percent in protecting against the four strains of dengue currently circulating. Sanofi said its vaccine was shown

to'' reduce dengue due to all four serotypes (strains) in two-thirds of the participants,'' a figure similar to the 65.6 percent rate reported in a study published in September by the New England Journal of Medicine. That is relatively low for a vaccine. Common vaccines like those for measles and polio are more than 95 percent effective. But Dengvaxia appeared to be particularly effective in protecting people from the most extreme, potentially life-threatening form of the disease, known as dengue hemorrhagic fever, which can cause internal bleeding, shock, organ failure and death. That form of the disease seems to hit people who have already had one strain of den-

Being unhappy will not kill you: study LONDON: Being unhappy or stressed does not increase the risk of ill-health and happy people are no more likely to live longer, a major new study has found. The study found that happiness itself has no direct effect on mortality, and that the widespread but mistaken belief that

unhappiness and stress directly cause ill health came from studies that had simply confused cause and effect. Life-threatening poor health can cause unhappiness, and for this reason unhappiness is associated with increased mortality. In addition, smokers tend to be unhappier than non-smokers. However, after taking account of previous ill health, smoking, and other lifestyle and socio-economic factors, the researchers at the UK million women study found that unhappiness itself was no longer associated with increased mortality. "Illness makes you unhappy, but unhappiness itself doesn't make you ill. We found

no direct effect of unhappiness or stress on mortality, even in a ten-year study of a million women," said Bette Liu, now at the University of New South Wales, Australia, who led the study. The main analysis of the study included 700,000 women, average age 59 years, and over the next 10 years these women were followed by electronic record linkage for mortality, during which time 30,000 of the women died. After allowing for any differences already present in health and lifestyle, the overall death rate among those who were unhappy was the same as the death rate among those who were generally happy. This was true for overall mortality, for cancer mortality, and for heart disease mortality, and it was true for stress as well as for unhappiness. Unhappiness was associated with deprivation, smoking, lack of exercise, and not living with a partner. The strongest associations, however, were that the women who were already in poor health tended to say that they were unhappy, stressed, not in control, and not relaxed. "Many still believe that stress or unhappiness can directly cause disease, but they are simply confusing cause and effect," said Sir Richard Peto, of the University of Oxford. "Of course people who are ill tend to be unhappier than those who are well, but the UK Million Women Study shows that happiness and unhappiness do not themselves have any direct effect on death rates," he added. The findings were published in The Lancet journal. -PTI

gue, and then suffer a subsequent infection by a different strain. Because of that, Mexico said it planned to apply the vaccine in areas were expo-

sure rates to at least one strain were 60 percent or more. Dr. In-Kyu Yoon, director of the international Dengue Vaccine Initiative, said the drug ``may potentially have a significant public health impact,'' but noted ``we still don't know how much Sanofi will charge.'' ``It probably will work best in those regions and countries that have the highest rate'' of dengue exposure, Yoon said. Sanofi said in its statement that the drug

``prevented 9 out of 10 cases of severe dengue and 8 out 10 hospitalizations due to dengue.'' Dr. Cuauhtemoc Ruiz, chief of Pan American Health Organizations' immunization program, said that whether the vaccine will be widely used will depend on a cost-benefit analysis. Countries will have to weigh whether another treatment or simply spraying to reduce mosquitoes would prevent more illnesses and deaths for the same money. Ruiz added that at least five other dengue vaccines are in clinical development. Mexico's federal medical safety agency, known by its initials as Cofepris, said the vaccine could help prevent 104 deaths and 8,000 hospital admissions and save about $65 million in health expenditures annually. Mexico's Health Department declined to comment on whether the government would supply the vaccine to those who need it most in the country's largely poor, low-lying southern states. WHO's report said it was unclear how long the vaccine would protect those who receive it. Mosquitoes transmit the dengue virus. Symptoms include high fevers and severe muscle and joint pain. There's no specific treatment for dengue. -AP

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Inactivity may increase death risk fourfold MELBOURNE: People who sleep and sit for too long and are not physically active enough are over four times as likely to die early as those without these unhealthy lifestyle habits, a new study has claimed. Sleeping more than nine hours a night, and sitting too much during the day could be a hazardous combination, particularly when added to a lack of exercise, according to the findings by the Sax Institute's '45 and Up Study'. Too much sitting equates to more than 7 hours a day and too little exercise is defined as less than 150 minutes a week. "When you add a lack of exercise into the mix, you get a type of 'triple whammy' effect," said Melody Ding from the University of Sydney, who led the study. "Our study shows that we should really be taking these behaviors together as seriously as we do other risk factors such as

levels of drinking and unhealthy eating patterns," she added. The researchers looked at lifestyle behaviors that are already known to increase the risk of

Sleeping more than nine hours a night, and sitting too much during the day could be a hazardous combination, particularly when added to a lack of exercise death and disease - smoking, high alcohol intake, poor diet and being physically inactive - and added excess sitting time and too little/too much sleep into the equa-

tion. They then looked at different combinations of all of these risk factors to see which groupings had the most impact on a person's risk of dying prematurely from any cause. As well as new evidence on the risky combination of prolonged sleep, sitting and lack of exercise, the researchers also found another problematic triple threat smoking, high alcohol intake and lack of sleep (less than 7 hours a night) is also linked to a more than four-times greater risk of early death. "These non-communicable diseases (such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer) now kill more than 38 million people around the world - and cause more deaths than infectious disease," said Adrian Bauman, a professor at the University of Sydney. The findings were published in the journal PLOS Medicine. -PTI

Internet access affects how we think TORONTO: People are less willing to rely on their knowledge and say they know something when they have access to the Internet, suggesting that our connection to the web is affecting how we think, a new study has found. Researchers from the University of Waterloo in Canada asked about 100 participants a series of general-knowledge questions,

They had to look up the answer when they responded that they did not know the answer. In the other half of the study, participants did not have access to the Internet. The team found that the people who had access to the web were about 5 per cent more likely to say that they did not know the answer to the question. Furthermore, in some contexts,

such as naming the capital of France. Participants indicated if they knew the answer or not. For half of the study, participants had access to the Internet.

the people with access to the Internet reported feeling as though they knew less compared to the people without access. "With the ubiquity of the Internet, we are almost constantly

connected to large amounts of information. And when that data is within reach, people seem less likely to rely on their own knowledge," said Professor Evan F Risko, from the University of Waterloo, who led the study. In interpreting the results, the researchers speculated that access to the Internet might make it less acceptable to say you know something but are incorrect. It is also possible that participants were more likely to say they did not know an answer when they had access to the web because online searching offers an opportunity to confirm their answer or resolve their curiosity, and the process of finding out is rewarding. "Our results suggest that access to the Internet affects the decisions we make about what we know and don't know," said Mr Risko. "We hope this research contributes to our growing understanding of how easy access to massive amounts of information can influence our thinking and behavior," Mr Risko added. The study appears in the journal Consciousness and Cognition. -PTI

Obese couples lose weight for coming baby BEIJING: A young obese Chinese couple, each weighing around 200 kg, has caught national attention as they fight to lose weight in preparation for their first child. Lin Yue, 29, and his wife Deng Yang, 27, are undergoing weight loss therapy at a hospital in Changchun City, northeast China's Jilin province, which offered them free services. The treatment started in late November and includes a specific diet and exercise routine in addition to traditional Chinese therapy, such as acupuncture and massage. So far, Lin has lost 15 kg while Deng temporarily abandoned the plan for her job in Sichuan, said Yu Shuzhong, the doctor working with the couple. Yu estimated that Lin and Deng could get rid of half of their weight in 10 to 12 months if the plan goes well. However, Yu said losing the first kilos would be easy, but achieving the final goal would require "strong willpower." A health check found they both had fatty livers, hyperlipidemia and hypertension, all symptoms related to obesity, the doctor said. The couple, who were married five years ago, believe weight loss is essential to have a healthy baby. "We used to eat more than 1.5 kg

of meat for a dinner. We should not have indulged ourselves like that," Lin said, state-run Xinhua news agency reported. Due to gastronomical indulgence and lack of exercise, the

Lin Yue and Deng Yang

couple's weight nearly doubled during the past five years. Lin lost his job as a welder for his increasingly clumsy body and Deng has avoided shopping for fear of ridicule. "If we want a hug, we have to bend down, or our bellies would bumpfirst," Lin said. A report published by the National Health and Family Planning Commission in June showed that 30 per cent of China's adults and nearly 10 per cent of its children are overweight and its growth rate of the overweight population is higher than those of developed countries. -PTI

Bank has given an extension to complete the Kerala Local Government Service Delivery Project. The project aims to enhance and strengthen the institutional capacity of the local government system in Kerala to deliver services and undertake basic administrative and governance functions more effectively and in a sustainable manner. An amount of Rs. 1039 crore has been spent so far out of the total Rs. 1195.8 crore sanctioned for the project, he said. The original deadline of the project was March 31, 2016. Following a request to the World Bank by the government, the project deadline has been extended to June 30, 2017 and the World Bank has agreed to provide Rs. 400 crore due to variations in the exchange rate of US Dollar. This additional amount will be utilized for improving the condition of backward panchayats and implementing programs in tribal clusters. -PTI

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One in 4 young doctors may be depressed WASHINGTON: More than one in four doctors in the early stages of their careers has signs of depression, according to a new study that suggests grueling years of training for a medical career are partly to blame. That is bad news not just for the young doctors themselves, but also for the patients they care for now and in the future. Depressed doctors are known to be more likely to make mistakes or give worse care, researchers said. The findings come from a careful investigation of 50 years' worth of studies that looked for depression symptoms in more than 17,500 medical residents. By collecting and combining data from 54 studies done around the world, the researchers concluded that 28.8 per cent of physicians-in-training have signs of depression. There was a small but significant increase in the rate of depression over the five decades covered by the study. "The increase in depression is surprising and important, especially in light of reforms that have been implemented over the years with the intent of improving the mental health of residents and the health of patients," said Srijan Sen, senior author of the study from the University of Michigan Medical School. Mr Sen worked with the study's lead author - Douglas Mata, of Harvard University - and the other authors to pull together and analyze a wide range of studies. They focused on the first post-medical school training years, called internship and residency. Those years are marked by long hours, intensive on-the-job learning, low rank within a medical team, and a high level of responsibility for minute-to-minute patient care.

While the percentage of residents with possible depression found by any one study ranged from 20 per cent up to 43 per cent, the bottom line when all the data were equalized and tallied together came out to 28.8 per cent. Having a definitive number, and definitive evidence that the proportion of new doctors with depression symptoms increases over time, should help spur action to help address these issues, Sen said.

While many medical schools and teaching hospitals have begun to address student and trainee mental health more completely in recent years, more needs to be done While many medical schools and teaching hospitals have begun to address student and trainee mental health more completely in recent years, more needs to be done, researchers said. "Our findings provide a more accurate measure of the prevalence of depression in this group, and we hope that they will focus attention on factors that may negatively affect the mental health of young doctors, with the goal of identifying strategies to prevent and treat depression among graduate medical trainees," Mr Mata said. The study was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. -PTI

Playing 3-D video games may boost memory Cont'd from Page 32

Then they were shown images of the same objects, new ones and others that differed slightly from the original items and asked to categories them. Recognition of the slightly altered images requires the hippocampus, Stark said, and his earlier research had demonstrated that the ability to do this clearly declines with age. This is a large part of why it is so difficult to learn new names or remember where you put your keys as you get older, researchers said. Students playing the 3-D video game improved their scores on the memory test, while the 2-D gamers did not. The boost was not small either. Memory performance increased by about 12 per cent, the same amount it normally decreases between the ages of 45 and 70. In previous studies on rodents, Clemenson and others showed that explor-

ing the environment resulted in the growth of new neurons that became entrenched in the hippocampus' memory circuit and increased neuronal signaling networks. Stark noted some commonalities between the 3-D game the humans played and the environment the rodents explored - qualities lacking in the 2-D game. "First, the 3-D games have a few things the 2-D ones do not," he said. "They've got a lot more spatial information in there to explore. Second, they're much more complex, with a lot more information to learn. Either way, we know this kind of learning and memory not only stimulates but requires the hippocampus," said Stark. Stark added that it is unclear whether the overall amount of information and complexity in the 3-D game or the spatial relationships and exploration is stimulating the hippocampus. The study was published in The Journal of Neuroscience. PTI

Women reject preventive drugs for breast cancer LONDON: Five in six women with increased risk of breast cancer turn down drugs likely to prevent the disease, a new study has found. Researchers at Queen Mary University of London collected data from 26 international studies totaling more than 21,000 women of all ages who were at increased risk of developing breast cancer. The women in these studies were offered a five-year course of preventive medication to lower their risk of developing the disease. Overall just one in six 16.3 per cent of women at higher risk chose to take the medication. Those offered the opportunity to take part in trials were more likely to use preventative medications with 25 per cent choosing it compared with nine per cent of women making the decision outside a clinical trial. The researchers also examined a separate group of 18 studies looking at how likely the women were to complete a full course of drugs. The studies looked at any medication that is used for breast cancer prevention including tamoxifen and raloxifene, either as given on a clinical trial or by a specialist, when referred by their doctor. Of the studies that tracked women's use of preventative medications over time, most reported more than 80 per cent of women took the drugs for at least one year. But

this declined over time. Drugs to block cancer-causing hormones and surveillance with an annual mammogram may be offered to certain women with a family history of the disease when they have a moderate to high risk of breast cancer.

"Our important research reveals that only a small proportion of eligible women make the decision to have preventative medication," said Sam Smith, from Queen Mary University of London. "It's crucial to find out why so many chose not to take the drugs - or stopped taking them before completing the course," he added. The findings were published in the journal Annals of Oncology. -PTI

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December 18, 2015

Horoscope

December 18, 2015

India Post

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Dec 18th - Dec24th 2015

ome one you come across will cause major change in your religious beliefs. You will attend a big social event with family this week. One of your child struggling in the past will finally find some easy way out. After some thinking you may finally make the offer on a nice property. Material you study will come handy soon.

lanets are well aligned to help you achieve your goals. Aim high and go with the full swing. Business meeting will go well and the contract will be signed on the spot. Children will plan an interesting trip to a nearby place. You may need some Issues stuck with a government agency or courts will take a sharp favorable turn.

ou will receive positive response to letters or mail you sent out last week. Spouse will maintain a tough stand on an important issue and you should take the advise. With smart strategy you will gain an edge over your opponents. It is very favorable week for people appearing for a tough and highly competitive exam.

lanets provide you with many chances to make extra bucks. Don't hesitate to try your luck with few lottery tickets. Life will one more time come back on the right track and you will regain confidence. Some electric item in the house will need to be replaced. You may be in touch with some one overseas for an important task.

resh commitments will put you under financial pressure and you will need to do lots of juggling in order to keep up with the situation. Gambling instincts will pay off in big way. You may invite some one at your place for dinner. You may sign up for a short term course or some kind of training program. Try to cut down on sugar intake.

here is no point in giving up at this stage as you are too close to ultimate success. You will need to stay focused on real issues and take one thing at a time if you want the quick and final resolutions to hurdles. Changes in career you had been looking forward to in the past are imminent and will take place in next few weeks.

o not hesitate to seek professional help to clear the confusion and fill the paper work correctly. People in business will need to invest heavily in order to stay way ahead of competition. You may continue your search for another job closer to home. You will make final payment on a purchase and still have plenty left.

f you can just control irritation and temper then getting jobs done will be a piece of cake. Money wise things will start to brighten up from this week. You may also see a big refund check in mail. A relationship recently started will keep getting strong. You may be traveling to a very nice area with family to attend a big event.

ou will start to pay more attention to health and may start going to a gym in order to come back in shape. You may buy some high tech gadget for personal use. Some of you may also initiate a law suit to claim what was supposed to come long time ago. Spouse may feel exhausted and need little rest. Children will continue to do better.

o not ignore any paper work or inquiry from a government agency. Some money will go towards an upcoming trip. You may spend little extra time at work to finish the project well before the deadline. Keep an eye on family members charging on the credit cards. People in business will recover most part of an old debt this week.

ontract you sign will bring immediate rewards. Issues involving a child will come to a pleasant closure. You may change your plans to go to a social event on the last minute. Value of your stocks and other assets will appreciate considerably. Cutting corners here and there will save you lots of money this week.

ou will reap rich rewards for extra time spent at work in shape of money as well appreciation from boss. You will spend money on buying some new cloths for your self. You may finally find some ideal partner to help you on your dream project. Another favorable week for people in sales, marketing or working as brokers.

December 18, 2015

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40 India Post

ituated amidst the Garhwal Himalayas, Yamunotri in the state of Uttarakhand is naturally bestowed with abundant beauty and charm. At a hovering altitude of 3293 meters, Yamunotri lies adjacent to the Indo-Chinese border and is encircled

www.indiapost.com by lofty peaks on all sides. One of the holiest centers in the Hindu pantheon, this sacred abode of the Asti Muni boasts of many unparalleled vistas of nature. Highly revered as the origin of the majestic River Yamuna, Yamunotri is famed for its glaciers, and thermal springs that make it one of the most important stopovers in the schedule of a Hindu pilgrim. According to Hindu tradition, Yamuna is the sister of Yama,

December 18, 2015 the god of death and a holy dip in this river secures a painless death to the devotee. A thrilling and exhilarating location in the footsteps of Garhwal mountain ranges, Yamunotri proffers picturesque surroundings with the awesome shrubs, lush meadows and gushing cascades. A legendary place, which demands lots of courage and stamina to reach, Yamunotri would be a perfect place for those who love escapades. The trek to Yamunotri is magnificent, subjugated by mind stilling views of craggy peaks and intense forests. From the snow-clad summits to the turquoise lakes, Yamunotri has unbelievably

romantic allures on store for those who are young at heart. Its imposing walking trails beside the gushing streams present some of the spectacular moments that one could never forget. Tourist Attractions Yamunotri Temple: Yamunotri is one of the Char Dhams and it is also the first place to visit in the Char Dham Circuit. Thousands of devotees visit the sacred shrine of Yamunotri temple every month from May to October. Yamunotri Temple was constructed by Maharaja Pratap Shah of Tehri Garhwal. Contâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d on page 42

December 18, 2015

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Dubai - Manhattan of the Middle East DUBAI, UAE: With its glistening skyscrapers and man-made waterways, Dubai Marina is a playground for the rich. Dubai's rapid transformation from a desert outpost into one of the world's most architecturally stunning cities is mapped out in the Marina. What 15 years ago was mostly empty land is today a bustling neighborhood with a sky-

The area is sometimes referred to as the Manhattan of the Middle East and some of its buildings are promoted by realtors as having ``Manhattan-style'' architecture and amenities. A 12,400 square foot (1,152 square meter) apartment in the Marina was put on the market this year for a cool 56 million dirhams, or about $15.25 million.

line that pierces through the clouds. More than 150 high-rise buildings, stacked row after row, make up this 50 million square foot (4.65 million square meters) waterfront neighborhood built around a manmade canal where the wealthy park their yachts.

Unlike Manhattan, though, Dubai's year-round sunshine gives the Marina a summer vibe throughout the winter months, when temperatures rarely drop below 75 degrees Fahrenheit (24 Celsius) during the day. On weekends, alcohol-fueled party boats ferry Russian and Western expa-

triates down the canal as speed boats and jet skis buzz in the water. Trendy restaurants and bars along the canal reflect the myriad of cultures and people drawn to Dubai, a modern city-state in the United Arab Emirates where foreigners far outnumber the locals. Children can ride on a carousel, splash in a fountain and watch street artists perform on the canal's promenade. Around sunset, when the blistering heat of the day begins to subside, people jog and ride bikes. The Marina boasts the world's tallest residential building, the Princess Tower, which reaches 1,355 feet (413 meters) high. The Marina 101 is currently being built to soar to 1,417 feet (432 meters). The neighborhood is one of many clusters of neck-bending skyscrapers throughout Dubai, built by armies of low-paid migrant workers, many of them from the Indian subcontinent. These workers provide the manpower to build high-rises, shopping malls, highways and other mega-construction projects sweeping through the region. While the wages they come for offer hope of a better life, they are far too meager for most to ever dream of calling the Marina they built home.-AP

Harry Potter rides at Universal Hollywood LOS ANGELES: Rides and other attractions themed on Harry Potter will open at the Universal Hollywood theme park in Los Angeles on April 7, Universal has announced. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter will include an immersive 3D ride called Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, along with an outdoor family coaster, Flight of the Hippogriff. The Wizarding World also features depictions of Hogwarts castle and the village of Hogsmeade, both central backdrops for the ``Harry Potter'' book and movie series. The first Wizarding World of Harry Potter Park opened at Universal's theme park in Orlando, Florida, in 2010. A second Harry Potter-themed park opened in Orlando in 2014. The Harry Potter attractions are credited with increasing attendance at Universal Orlando and with helping to boost

tourism overall in the city of Orlando. Visitors waited up to five hours for a ride during the 2014 opening week. Just like the Harry Potter parks in Orlando, Universal Hollywood's Wizarding World is heavy on opportunities for visitors to spend money on food and souvenirs. The Los Angeles Wizarding World has

two eateries, Three Broomsticks and Hog's Head pub, as well as Magic Neep and Butterbeer carts, plus eight retail venues: Honeydukes, Ollivanders, Owl Post, Zonko's Joke Shop, Wiseacre's Wizarding Equipment, Dervish and Banges, Gladrags Wizardwear and Filch's Emporium of Confiscated Goods.-AP

An artist rendering shows the 'Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey' ride at 'The Wizarding World of Harry Potter,' expected to open in spring 2016. (Universal Studios Hollywood)

Tourist photographs scene of croc versus croc CANBERRA, Australia: Tourist Sandra Bell was poised to photograph a sedate scene of two crocodiles sunning themselves at the edge of an Australian waterhole when the picture unexpectedly exploded into violence. Bell was startled but managed to snap around 20 graphic photos as a 5-meter (16-foot) estuarine

long vacation driving around the country. Without warning, the large croc suddenly clamped its jaws around the other's tail and flung the smaller croc's entire body repeatedly through the air and into the water. Although Bell was 30 meters (100 feet) away from the action on the opposite bank, she found herself backing away through fear as she continued to take photos. `Ì had no idea how forceful and powerful it was,'' she said. ``There were waves and splashes going everywhere and a large crocodile flings a smaller crocodile through the you could hear air before eating it at Catfish Waterhole in the Rinyirru the little one getNational Park in Australia's Queensland state. ting thumped into the water.'' croc tore apart and devoured a far Crocodile expert Grahame lighter 2.5-meter (8-foot) croc over Webb said the pale color of the 15 minutes. smaller croc in some photos sug`Ìt was super amazing but gested it was decomposing. He pretty terrifying as well,'' Bell said. suspected it had been killed by a `Ìt looked like it was pretty much croc before Bell reached the scene. dead pretty quickly.'' The violent throwing of the She later said an expert's opin- smaller croc was an attempt to tear ion that the croc appeared long away body parts to swallow, Webb dead before the attack could be said. correct. Bell said she didn't detect Cannibalism was common much movement when she first among crocs although humans saw the smaller croc partially sub- rarely witness such attacks in the merged. Australian wilderness, he said. The extraordinary pictures were While birds and fish preyed on taken on Oct. 26 at Catfish hatchlings, the only predator a Waterhole in the Rinyirru National larger croc feared was another Park, where Bell had been camp- croc. ing with her 14-year-old son in `Ònce a croc gets to 1-to-2 north Queensland state. The years old, its survival depends on mother and son, from Shark Bay in how many big crocs are around,'' Western Australia, were on a year- Webb said.-AP

Book your bedrolls online or at food plazas NEW DELHI: Train passengers can now book bedrolls online and also at the IRCTC-run food outlets at stations. As a passenger-friendly measure, we have to introduce e-bedroll facility that allows passengers to order bedrolls online and also at the counters of food plazas at stations, Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) CMD AK Manocha said. Initially, the facility will be introduced on a trial basis at four stations this month. These stations are New Delhi, Hazrat Nizamuddin, Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) and Mumbai Cen-

tral. Passengers can avail this facility by paying Rs 140 for two bed sheets and a pillow and Rs 110 for a blanket. These can be purchased together at a cost of Rs 250 or can be purchased separately. Manocha said a major feature of the scheme is that the bedroll is a takeaway facility and passengers can take it home. Currently, bedrolls are provided only in AC classes in trains, now there is arrangement for sleeper class passengers to avail a takeaway bedroll kit at a highly concessional price, he said. -PTI

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Travel & Hospitality Post

December 18, 2015

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natural thermal springs in Yamunotri of which Surya Kund is renowned. The water of Surya Kund has a surprising temperature of 1900F. Pilgrims tie potatoes and rice to cook it by immersing it under water of Surya Kund. After cooking it is served as 'prasad'. Divya Shilla: Divya Shilla is a rock pillar which is worshipped before entering the divine Yamunotri temple.

est to Yamunotri situated at a distance of 210kms. It is well connected to Delhi with daily flights. Taxis are available from Jolly Grant Airport to Hanuman Chatti. By Rail The nearest railway stations to Yamunotri are Rishikesh and Dehradun. Dehradun railway sta-

By Road Yamunotri is directly not connected with motorable roads and the trek commences from Hanuman Chatti. Hanuman Chatti is well connected by motorable roads with major destinations of Uttarakhand state. Buses to

tion is situated 175kms from Yamunotri and Rishikesh railway station is situated 200kms before Yamunotri on NH58. Rishikesh and Dehradun are well connected by railway networks with major destinations of India.

Rishikesh are available from ISBT Kashmiri Gate, Delhi. Buses and Taxis to Hanuman Chatti are easily available from major destinations of Uttarakhand state like Rishikesh, Dehradun, Tehri, Uttarkashi, Barkot etc.

How to reach By Air Jolly Grant Airport is the near-

Contâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d from page 40

The temple opens on the auspicious day of Akshay Tritiya and closes on the second day after Diwali festival. The temple holds immense importance amongst the Hindus. Janki Chatti: It is the midpoint of the trek to Yamunotri which is accessible by jeeps. Janki Chatti is situated 7kms before Yamunotri and this place is popular for thermal springs. Surya Kund: There are many

Air India's advance purchase scheme for economy class NEW DELHI: Seeking to make flying affordable to the common man, national carrier Air India has rolled out an advance purchase scheme for the economy class, matching the fare with that of a 2AC train ticket price, including on key domestic destinations like Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata. The 90-day advance purchase fares (all-inclusive) starts at as low as Rs 2,865, sources said. These advance purchase fares have already been put in the system for sale on various routes operated by Air India, they said. As per the new scheme, a ticket price on Delhi-Mumbai

route would cost Rs 2,865 while on Delhi-Bhubaneshwar the same would cost as low as Rs 3,470. Incidentally, the 2AC train ticket prices in these two sectors respectively are Rs 2,865 and Rs 3,325. "We have brought our economy class fares on key domestic routes at the level of 2AC train fares. The idea behind rolling out such low fares is to make the flying affordable for a common man," a source said. These fares are also in line with the government's plan to make air travel affordable for all in the draft national civil aviation

policy, they said. The scheme targets all segment of travelers, youth, students and vacationers, among others, they said. Similarly, an all inclusive DelhiKolkata fare would be Rs 2,885, which is also at the level of the 2AC train fare on this route. Under the scheme, the national carrier has pegged its fare for a Delhi-Bangalore air travel at Rs 4,015, which are also at the level of 2AC train fare for travel between the two cities.

In an effort to boost air connectivity, the civil aviation ministry has sought to put flying within the reach of the common man by capping air fares at about Rs 2,500 per flying hour under the Regional Connectivity Scheme

(RCS). It has also proposed to provide an upfront subsidy to airline operating on regional and remote routes as part of the draft civil aviation policy.

Besides, the policy has also proposed to develop no-frills airports at over 400 unused airstrips a c r o s s the country at an est i mated cost of around Rs 50 crore each for supporting flights to the unconnected destinations under the RCS. The suggested measures are expected to boost domestic air traffic to 300 million by 2022 from 70 million currently, as per the draft policy. The move is likely to trigger a fare war as other domestic carriers may follow suit.-PTI

December 18, 2015

Travel & Hospitality Post

India Post

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Apple, Google offering transit directions NEW YORK: HopStop, a pioneer in offering transit directions in major cities, disappeared in October - not because it failed, but because Apple bought it and shut it down after putting its engineers to work building Apple's own transit-navigation service. That feature went live on Apple Maps in September, narrowing a major feature gap with Google Maps. Such transit services offer you navigation routes via train and bus, usually based on published transit schedules. Some also offer limited real-time arrival information. Although Apple's transit service doesn't cover as many cities as HopStop and Google Maps, it has its strengths, including improvements in getting you to and from subway stations. Here's a look at how Apple Maps, Google Maps and a few smaller rivals stack up in this respect. APPLE MAPS Apple is expanding its transit service gradually. In the U.S., it's currently limited to Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, the San Francisco Bay area and Washington, D.C. It also covers Berlin, London, Mexico City, Sydney and Toronto, plus more

than 300 cities in China. Coverage areas include some suburbs. Where Apple has gone further is in sending teams to map out subway stations. Rival mapping services typically use a station's center point to offer walking directions to and from the station. Given that stations can stretch for blocks, this approach can mean more walking if there's a closer entrance just around the corner. Apple Maps can direct you to that closer entrance _ and to a spe-

cific subway exit with directions that reflect the wording you'd see on signs within the station. You get better directions as a result - unless you're looking at a sprawling subway station that

serves multiple routes. Apple might direct you to an exit on a different platform, potentially leading you on a maze-like journey through tunnels and up or down stairs. Sometimes it's easier just to use the closest exit and walk aboveground. GOOGLE MAPS Google has been offering transit directions longer. Google Maps now covers public transit in hundreds of cities on every continent

except Antarctica. In California alone, it works in about 70 cities even Yosemite National Park. Google also covers more devices. While Apple Maps requires an iPhone, iPad or Mac, Google

New projects to make Jammu attractive JAMMU: Dismissing that Jammu could lose focus after direct rail connectivity to Katra, Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed assured that an appropriate strategy has been devised to create attractive assets in and around the winter capital to sus-

visitors in Jammu memorable," he said. The Chief Minister made these remarks after inaugurating the River Tawi Front Park, here. Elaborating upon various measures afoot to position Jammu as a leisure and heritage destination,

Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed inaugurating the River Tawi Front Park

tain tourist footfall. He described Jammu as a repository of rich heritage reflected in its historic temples and monuments. "Jammu has its own significance. We will create new areas of attraction to make the stay of the

Mufti Sayeed referred to Mubarak Mandi Complex, which previously housed the State Legislature, as a heritage treasure that has a huge potential to attract art lovers both from within and outside the country. He said the work on the execu-

tion of Jammu ropeway shall be expedited, which will also come as a shot in the arm for Jammu tourism. He also highlighted several other measures taken to diversify tourism-related activities in Jammu region at places such as Ranjit Sagar and Baghliar Dams, Sanasar, Marwah, Warwan, Bhaderwah and Jai. The Chief Minister, in his meeting with Union Tourism Minister, had raised the issue of fast-tracking the work on conservation of Mubarak Mandi Heritage Complex. The Ministry has assured that a Central team will visit the winter capital soon to assess the progress of work on the project. Emphasizing upon development of more parks alongside River Tawi front in the city, the Chief Minister said Jammu tourism will receive fillip once the artificial lake project will be completed. "Jammu is the city of temples and government will leave no stone unturned to project it as an independent destination," he said. -PTI

Maps has an Android app and works on other devices through a Web browser. Even on Macs, Apple Maps requires a dedicated app. But Google Maps doesn't offer precise directions to station entrances and exits. And while Google Maps recently updated its Android app to offer directions without an Internet connection, that's limited to driving directions. MOOVIT Moovit gets the same official data from transit agencies that Apple and Google Maps get. But it supplements that with crowdsourcing, a fancy term for free labor from people around the world. Volunteers improve coverage by adding information on bus routes and schedules from smaller transit agencies that don't provide mapping data. Moovit now covers 800 cities worldwide. Moovit is particularly good at accounting for service changes and disruptions. New York's transit agency, for instance, provides warnings about such changes, but the timetables aren't automatically updated. As a result, Google and Apple will sometimes direct you to a subway that skips a particular stop, while warning you that you can't get on there. Moovit has

teams to manually adjust the timetable data so that the route offered reflects what's actually running. One feature added last week: Real-time information on when your train or bus is coming. Rival services typically rely on scheduled stops. You're on your own, though, figuring out entrances and exits. Moovit has apps for Apple and Android mobile devices and Windows phones. CITYMAPPER As with Apple Maps, Citymapper offers specific exit information. Citymapper now covers 29 cities worldwide and is available on Apple and Android mobile devices. The best part: It tells you what part of the train to get on so that you're closer to your destination when you get off. TRANSIT Transit presents route choices in a grid, which takes getting used to. Others tend to give you recommendations to reduce work on your part. But Transit does offer real-time schedules, along with information on nearby bike- and carsharing services. It covers more than 100 cities worldwide on Apple and Android mobile devices.-AP

Children to pay full train fare from April NEW DELHI: From April next year, children of the age group of 5 to 12 years of age will be charged full fare instead of half as the Railways has revised the child fare rule. Under the revised provision, full adult fare will be charged for children of age 5 years and under 12 years of age if for whom berth/ seat (in reserved class) is sought at the time of reservation. However, there shall be no change in the rule for child fare of unreserved tickets which means fare for children of 512 years for unreserved tickets shall continue to be half of the adult fare. The revised child fare rule shall be applicable for travel from April 2016 onwards. Exact date of commencement of this provision will be notified separately at a later

date, according to a statement issued by railways. However, in case berth/seat is not sought for the children of age 5 years and under 12 years of age at the time of reservation, then half of the adult fare shall continue to be charged. Railways will carry out neces-

sary changes in the reservation form so that the passenger can indicate their option for requirement of full berth/seat for child or not. Children under five years of age will continue to enjoy free ride (without berth) in trains.-PTI

In Brief 800 immigrant children for 2 counties DALLAS: Officials in two North Texas counties say they've been told to expect more than 800 children to be encamped in their counties who are believed to be in the country without papers and without parents. Officials in Ellis and Rockwall counties on the suburban fringe of Dallas say they learned of the plan in conference calls with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Ellis County Judge Carol Bush says the department plans to send the children to two privately-owned camps, one in Rockwall and another near Maypearl in Ellis County. Ellis County Sheriff Johnny Brown said the children are expected to be mostly boys ages 1218 from Central America. Bush says she wasn't told if the children had crossed the border illegally but was told they weren't accompanied by adults. She says they will be in the camps for 21 days until they can be placed with sponsoring families. A message to the HHS Office of Refugee Resettlement hasn't been returned. -AP

Â&#x201E; New Mexico Dem Gov. acts like Trump LOS LUNAS, N.M.: New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez's opposition to the state's immigrant driver's license law is similar to GOP presidential hopeful Donald Trump's racially charged comments, the state's top Democratic Senate leader has said. Speaking at his Los Lunas law office, Senate Majority Leader Michael Sanchez, D-Belen, told reporters the Republican governor's efforts to repeal the law and her ``lies'' about pending federal Real ID requirements were ``almost Trumpism'' since they were dividing New Mexico residents. ``We're family in New Mexico,'' Sanchez said. ``All this governor has done is try to divide us.'' Specifically, Sanchez said Martinez is falsely telling residents they will need passports for commercial air travel in January, though the federal government has not announced when those requirements will be adopted. Sanchez said constituents who called the governor's office have been falsely told they needed to get passports by Jan. 10. The governor's office said Martinez has been honest and open about the federal decision on New Mexico's status. Cont'd on Page 45

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December 18, 2015

US visas get new scrutiny after attacks Details on page 46

Donald Trump's Muslim ban idea pushes GOP toward chaos WASHINGTON: Donald Trump's plan to ban Muslims from entering the United States is shoving the Republican Party to the edge of chaos, abruptly pitting GOP leaders against their own presidential front-runner and jeopardizing the party's longtime drive to attract minorities. Unbowed, Trump fired a searing warning via Twitter to fellow Republicans carping about his proposal. A majority of his supporters, he tweeted, ``would vote for me if I departed the GOP & ran as an independent.'' The crossfire between Trump and frustrated Republicans became a furious blur the day after the billionaire businessman announced his plan. Beleaguered 2016 rivals condemned his proposal and complained that his divisive positions were dominating attention in the crowded Republican contest. Party elders, meanwhile, warned that too much criticism might indeed push him to abandon the GOP and launch a third-party bid that could hand the presidential election to the Democrats. And Republicans up for re-election in the Senate grew terse in the

Capitol hallways as they were asked again and again to respond to Trump's remarks - a glimpse of their political futures if the former

cials across the country lashed out at Trump's plan, which calls for a ``total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a rally coinciding with Pearl Harbor Day in Mt. Pleasant, S.C

reality show star captures the GOP nomination. ``This is not conservatism,'' declared House Speaker Paul Ryan, the Republican Party's top elected leader. ``What was proposed is not what this party stands for. And more importantly, it's not what this country stands for.'' One by one, Republican offi-

States'' to help quell the threat of terrorism. But party leaders are well aware that he could leave the GOP, run as an independent and challenge the party's presidential nominee next year. It's a threat they have long feared. The Republican Party, said Jeb Bush adviser Ana Navarro, is

stuck between `à rock and a jerk'' less than eight weeks before the first primary-season votes are cast in Iowa. In New Hampshire, Republican National Committeeman Steve Duprey called Trump's idea `àbhorrent.'' At the same time, he reminded Trump of his Republican loyalty pledge, saying, `Ì know him to be a man of his word.'' And in Mississippi, RNC member Henry Barbour said Trump's comments `àren't worthy of someone who wants to occupy 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.'' He said Trump would be a ``disaster politically for the GOP if he won the nomination.'' `Ìt's embarrassing at best,'' Barbour said of Trump's impact on his party. Barbour helped author the Republican National Committee's ``Growth and Opportunity Project'' after a painful 2012 presidential election that forced party leaders to re-evaluate their strategy in presidential contests to reflect the nation's demographic shifts. Among other things, the report cited an urgent need for GOP leaders to adopt an inclusive and welcoming tone on issues such as immigration. Cont'd on Page 45

2 Senators introduce law to cut H-1B visas WASHINGTON: Two American Senators have introduced legislation in the Senate proposing to cut the number of popular H-1B visas by 15,000 and that such a visa be given to highest wage earner first. The legislation in this regard was introduced by Senators Bill Nelson of the Democratic Party and Jeff Sessions of the Republican Party. "By cutting the number of visas available each year and requiring those visas be given to the highest wage- earners first, this bill directly targets outsourcing companies that rely on lower-wage foreign workers to replace equally-qualified U.S. workers,"

Mr. Nelson said. Maximum 85,000 H-1B visas Currently every year a maximum of 85,000 H-1B visas can be

issued including 20,000 for those who completed higher education in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). The popular work visa has been given to a large number of IT professionals from India over the

years. The bill proposes to reduce the number of visas available by 15,000. Prioritizing allocation It would also require the Department of Homeland Security to prioritize the allocation of these 70,000 H-1B visas to foreign workers based on their salary. Mr. Nelson said the measure would help ensure that the H-1B visa program was once again being used as it was originally intended: to attract foreign workers with highly specialized skills not found among the available U.S. workforce. Last month, Mr. Nelson and a handful of his Senate colleagues filed a separate piece of legislation to reform the H-1B visa program.

Advantage U.S. worker Specifically, it would prohibit any employer from replacing a U.S. worker with an H-1B visa holder, a media release said. It would also require employers to prove that they first tried to recruit American workers prior to hiring an H-1B visa holder and bar companies that employ more than 50 people from hiring any additional H-1B employees if more than half of their employees were already H-1B visa holders, it added. The H1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in specialty occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise in specialized fields. -PTI

Immigration Post

December 18, 2015

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'Comprehensive immigration reform in US unlikely' BENGALURU: IT industry body Nasscom has said it is unlikely that any comprehensive immigration reforms will take place in the US in immediate future, but it does not mean that threats of such arbitrary actions are non-existent. "Currently, based on our information, we understand that it is unlikely that any comprehensive immigration reforms will take place in the immediate future in the US," Nasscom president R Chandrashekhar told PTI. He, however, added, "...merely because comprehensive immigration reforms are unlikely to take place, it doesn't mean that threats of such arbitrary actions are not there. That is why we are continuing to engage, and that's why it is important for us and the government to stay engaged in all these matters." Throwing light on threats of arbitrary actions, Mr Chandrashekhar said "the IT body is wary of certain

provisions which have been introduced in the context of appropriation bill as an additional clause can cause the same effect".

Recently, two US Senators had introduced the legislation against the 'abuse' of H-1B visa which had adverse job impact on US nation-

Recently, two US Senators had introduced the legislation against the 'abuse' of H-1B visa which had adverse job impact on US nationals

He was speaking on the sidelines of the inauguration of Bangalore ITE.biz 2015 here.

als. They had sought reforms to ensure Americans don't lose out to foreign employees on jobs and

pay packages. The Bill was introduced by Senators Chuck Grassley, Chairman of Senate Judiciary Committee, and Dick Durbin, Assistant Democratic Leader. It is supported by Senators Bill Nelson, Richard Blumenthal, and Sherrod Brown. To a query, Mr Chandrashekhar said the issue is a political rhetoric ahead of US presidential elections, but it is not as if negative aspects haven't cropped up, which was evident from the H1-B fee hike which were unrelated to the industry. "Rhetoric always goes up at the time of elections, but it is not as if negative aspects have not cropped up (earlier), which was evident from James Zadroga Act, which was a clear example of how certain costs were added which were completely unrelated to the industry," he said. The law, containing provisions to hike H1-B and L-1 visa fee per application by $2,000 and $2,250,

respectively, for the qualifying firm, was passed by the US Congress on August 10, 2010. The law mainly hit the Indian IT companies badly. The US, which is preparing for presidential elections in 2016, is the largest market for the over $140 billion Indian IT services industry. Exports account for over $98 billion. Asked about the update on their petition to the PMO after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the UK, Mr Chandrashekhar said there is no separate update from there, but the body is happy that the government had flagged the concerns before the UK government during his visit to the UK. "There is no separate update from the PMO. We are happy that the government had flagged our concerns during the PM's visit (to UK). These have been brought to the notice of British authorities," he said. -PTI

US trying facial, eye scans on Mexican border SAN DIEGO: Nearly half of the people living in the US illegally are believed to have entered the country legally and stayed on expired visas. To combat the problem, the federal government is launching one of its most ambitious efforts to track them. US Customs and Border Protection will begin capturing facial and eye scans of foreigners entering the country at San Diego's Otay Mesa port of entry on foot. By February, foreigners going to Mexico on foot through the checkpoint will get scanned. The trial run, which lasts through the end of June, will help determine if authorities expand biometric screening to foreigners at all land crossings on the 1,954mile (3,150-kilometer) border with Mexico. Authorities will look at the ac-

curacy of the cameras. For more than two decades, Congress has demanded biometric screening such as fingerprints, facial images or eye scans from people leaving the country, but the task has presented enormous financial and logistical challenges. There is no checkout system at land crossings. Marc Rosenblum, deputy director of US immigration policy at the Migration Policy Institute, said the attempt to capture biometrics from people leaving the country would fix "the biggest deficiency in the whole system." "It's a huge deal," Rosenblum said. "What they likely hope is this could be a fast exit check that won't be terribly expensive or time-consuming to implement." Biometric screening has raised objections from privacy advocates

who worry that authorities may misuse the information or make it vulnerable to identity theft. It also has raised concerns among businesses and travelers who fear bottlenecks at already congested land crossings. "We have historically controlled our borders coming in but not out," said Jim Williams, a former Department of Homeland Security official who oversaw efforts to introduce biometric screening at border crossings from 2003 to 2006. "It's been a lack of infrastructure and lack of investment." A 2006 study by the Pew Hispanic Center estimated that between 40 per cent and 50 per cent of people in the country illegally overstayed their visas - a figure that is widely accepted by immigration experts but notoriously difficult to pin down.

New Mexico Dem Gov. acts like Trump Cont'd from Page 44

Trump has drawn criticism for comments comparing Mexican immigrant to rapists and for calling on a moratorium on accepting Muslim immigrants in to the U.S. Martinez, the nation's only Latina governor, denounced Trump shortly after his comments on Mexican immigrants earlier this year and said no politician should make generaliza-

tions about any group. She also called Trump's latest comments on Muslims ``disappointing'' and said his proposed moratorium didn't ``reflect leadership.'' A Martinez spokesman bushed off the Democratic leader's comments and put the blame on the driver's license stalemate on Sanchez. ``The bottom line is that Michael Sanchez has blocked efforts to repeal the dangerous law that gives driver's licenses to il-

legal immigrants, and now he's trying to hide from his record,'' said Martinez spokesman Michael Lonergan. ``An overwhelming majority of New Mexicans have been crystal clear that they want to stop giving driver's licenses to illegal immigrants.'' Martinez has tried a number of times since taking office in 2010 to repeal a state law that allows immigrants to obtain driver's licenses regardless of status. -AP

Otay Mesa was the nation's fourth-busiest border crossing last year, with 14.8 million motorists

and pedestrians entering the country there from Tijuana, Mexico. AP

Contractor Sabira Dewji, right, helps a pedestrian crossing from Mexico into the United States at the Otay Mesa Port of Entry have his facial features and eyes scanned at a biometric kiosk in San Diego

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Immigration Post

46 India Post

December 18, 2015

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US visas get new scrutiny after attacks

isas used by foreigners to travel to the United States are getting new scrutiny in the wake of shooting massacres in California and France. House lawmakers passed legislation tightening controls on visa-free travel and requiring visas for anyone who has been in Iraq or Syria in the previous five years. Some lawmakers said they also planned to re-examine a visa that Tashfeen Malik used to come to the country. She is the Pakistani woman who helped her American husband carry out the San Bernardino attack that killed 14 people. Here's a breakdown of how some of those visas work: WHAT IS THE VISA WAIVER PROGRAM? It allows citizens of 38 countries to travel to the United States without a visa for stays of 90 days or less. Travelers must submit data through an electronic counterterrorism screening program maintained by the Department of Homeland Security before

boarding a plane, but they are not required to show up at a local consulate to apply for a visa as tourists from other countries must do. Those who fail to pass the screening are required to apply for a visa.

WHAT CHANGES HAVE BEEN PROPOSED TO THE PROGRAM? House lawmakers passed legislation to deny visa-free travel to anyone who has been in Iraq or

US lawmakers pushed toward a vote on tightening controls on travel to the US.

About 20 million visitors come to the United States each year for business or tourism under the program, largely from European countries.

Syria in the last five years. The move aims to prevent attacks in the U.S. by citizens of countries that participate in the visa waiver program. The concern is that

Widespread antipathy on immigration from the Middle East

most of the Paris attackers were citizens of Belgium and France. The bill proposed by Republicans and backed by the White House also would require participating countries to share counterterrorism information with the United States.

the U.S. government as a conditional resident and was eligible to seek a permanent green card in two more years. Since the San Bernardino shootings, the Obama administration has said it is reviewing the program.

WHAT IS A FIANCE VISA AND HOW IS IT DIFFERENT? A fiance visa, also known as K1, is issued abroad to people who plan to marry American citizens upon traveling to the United States. It is one of the smallest visa categories managed by the U.S. _ accounting for 0.3 percent of the nearly 10 million visas issued in fiscal year 2014 _ and was created to try to root out marriage fraud. Applicants must give at least one in-person interview, fingerprints, be checked against U.S. terrorist watch lists and have their family members and travel and work histories reviewed. Malik entered the U.S. in July 2014 on a K-1 visa and married American citizen Syed Farook a month later. She was approved by

HOW DOES REFUGEE SCREENING COMPARE WITH THE VISA PROCESS? Lawmakers also are looking into the screening process for refugees fleeing Syria's civil war. Some Republican lawmakers have raised concerns that terrorists might try to hide among those genuinely seeking safe haven. Like K-1 visa applicants, refugees must submit to in-person interviews overseas and provide their fingerprints and biographical information to U.S. officials. However, the process takes much longer, and U.S. government officials say foreigners applying from Iraq and Syria are given additional scrutiny. Those awarded refugee status can apply for permanent green cards after a year. -AP

Donald Trump's Muslim ban idea pushes GOP toward chaos Cont'd from Page 44

WASHINGTON: With his comments calling for a ban on Muslims entering the United States, Donald Trump may be tapping into widespread antipathy toward immigration from the Middle East, a new Associated Press-GfK poll finds. The poll was conducted before Trump made his contentious proposal and does not reflect public opinion about it. But it indicates a suspicion of newcomers from the region where Muslims predominate and follows the latest deadly shooting in San Bernardino, California, by a couple said by authorities to have been radicalized - with the wife having pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group. The poll found three-quarters of Republicans thought immigration from the region was too high, with nearly as many expressing fears about the possibility that Syrian refugees will commit violence. Some things to know about public opinion on refugees and immigration from the Middle East from the AP-GfK poll: MOST WANT LESS MIDEAST IMMIGRATION Both Americans in general and

Republicans in particular were more likely to say the United States is allowing too many immigrants from the Middle East than to say so about other regions of the world, including Latin America. In the poll, 54 percent of Americans, including about threequarters of Republicans, about

The poll indicates that Trump's rhetoric, might appeal to fears about immigration from the Middle East shared by many Americans half of independents and over a third of Democrats, said the United States takes in too many immigrants from the Middle East. By contrast, 46 percent of Americans, including 6 in 10 Republicans, slightly under half of independents and 3 in 10 Democrats, said the U.S. takes too many immigrants from Latin America. Just 28 percent of Americans

said the same of immigrants from Europe, with little variation by party identification. DEMOGRAPHIC FAULT LINES The poll indicates that Trump's rhetoric, before he proposed the sweeping prohibition on Muslims, might appeal to fears about immigration from the Middle East shared by many Americans. It also points to a risk of alienating some groups, such as younger Americans, nonwhites, and some less conservative Republicans. Whites were more likely than non-whites to say the current level of immigration from the region is too high, 59 percent to 43 percent. More than 6 in 10 Americans over 50, but less than half of those under 50, said the U.S. lets in too many immigrants from the Middle East. Men were more likely than women to say so, 59 percent to 50 percent. Within the Republican Party, supporters of the tea party movement were more likely than those who are not supporters to say the level of immigration from the Middle East is too high, 84 percent to 71 percent. -AP

``If we want ethnic minority voters to support Republicans, we have to engage them and show our sincerity,'' it read, noting that white voters made up a record-low 72 percent of the electorate in 2012 and would represent less than half of all voters by 2050. Yet Trump has vaulted to the top of the Republican 2016 field by attacking immigrants in many cases. He called some Mexican immigrants ``rapists'' and ``criminals'' in his announcement speech and intensified his criticism of Muslim immigrants or visitors. While experts widely consider his proposal unconstitutional, Trump's continued popularity underscores the deep divide between Republican leaders and the party's conservative base, which holds outsized influence in the presidential nomination process. Indeed, Trump's plan was cheered during a South Carolina rally and vocal supporters across the country defended the Muslim ban as necessary for national security. Polling suggests the sentiment is likely fueled by sharp strain of xenophobia: A new AP-GfK poll found 8 in 10 Republicans think there are too many immigrants coming from the

Middle East. Trump showed little concern for critics. ``I don't care about them,'' he told CNN. ``I'm doing what's right.'' The debate over Trump's plan left his Republican presidential competitors struggling for attention with little time remaining before Iowa's Feb. 1 caucuses. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's calls for Congress to strengthen the nation's domestic surveillance program was little more than a coverage afterthought amid the wave of Trump stories. So, too, was a new advertising campaign from allies of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush that assailed Trump, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz as unprepared to serve as commander in chief. Former technology executive Carly Fiorina flashed her frustration when asked repeatedly about Trump's comments as she campaigned in Iowa. ``Maybe you should quit focusing on Donald Trump so much,'' she told reporters. Trump's position has also forced vulnerable Republicans facing reelection next year into an awkward position. Those who weighed in at all condemned his plan but also stepped carefully. -AP

Datebook

December 18, 2015

India Post 47

NEW JERSEY

NEW YORK

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA

CHICAGO

Upcoming

ILLINOIS

Upcoming

Thu, Dec 31 • Nye 2016 Bollywood Cruise Carnival

1st and 3rd Sunday of Month • Chicago Children's

Sat, Dec 19 • IFMP - Annual Cultural Show 2015

Thu, Dec 31

Venue: West Windsor Plainsboro High School North, 90 Grovers Mill Road, Plainsboro, NJ 08536 Time: 2:00 pm

Venue: Antun's by Minar, 244 W Old Country Rd, Hicksville, NY 11801 Time : 08:00 pm

Thu, Dec 31 • Chand Palace - New Years Eve 2016 Venue: Chand Palace, 269 Littleton Road, Parsippany-Troy Hills, NJ 07054 Time: 8:00 pm

Thu, Dec 31 • 2016 New Year Eve Masquerade Ball Celebration Venue: Nanking Lounge, 101 Hudson Street, Jersey City, NJ 07302 Time : 10:00 pm

• New Year Eve 2016 Extravaganza

Sun, Dec 20 • Zumba for Chennai Flood Relief - San Ramon Venue: Windemere Ranch Middle School MPR, 11611 East Branch Parkway, San Ramon, CA 94582 Time: 10:00 am

• New Years Eve Bash 2016!

Thu, Dec 31

Venue: The Meadow Club, 1147 Route 112, Port Jefferson Station, NY 11776 Time : 08:30 pm Contact: 631-928-3800

• FOG - New Year Celebration 2016

• Midnight Masquerade Ball Venue: BOWLMOR - CHELSEA PIERS, 59 Chelsea Piers, New York, NY 10011 Time : 10:00 pm Contact: 631-928-3800

cisco, CA 94107 Time: 08:30 pm Contact 315-746-0250

Thu, Dec 31

The, Dec 31

Venue: Pier 40, 89 King Street, San Fran-

Venue: Royal Palace, 6064 Stevenson Boulevard, Fremont, CA 94538 Time: 07:30 pm

Thu, Dec 31 • Bollywood Blast: Happy

Thu, Dec 31 • QP-Asian Association presents 2016 New Year Venue: Anaheim Plaza at Celebrity Ballroom, 1700 South Harbor Boulevard, Anaheim, CA 92802 Time: 7:00 pm

New Year Venue: Club OMG, 43 6th St, San Francisco, CA 94103 Time: 9:00 pm Contact 510-757-5726

Thu, Dec 31 •Desi Dhamaal 5 - New Year 2016 Venue: Wyndham Anaheim Garden Grove, 12021 Harbor Boulevard, Garden Grove, CA 92840 Time: 6:00 pm

Thu, Dec 31 • The Diamond Ball New Years Eve 2016 Venue: Penthouse Nightclub, 652 North La Peer Drive, West Hollywood, CA 90069 Time: 8:00 pm

Thu, Dec 31 • Desi New Years Eve Party Fantasy Ball 10 - LAs Largest New Years Eve Party Venue: SPACE, 4067 West Pico Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90019 Time: 9:00 pm

ATLANTA Upcoming Thu, Dec 31 • Pujari Atlanta New Year’s Eve 2016 Venue: TAshiana Banquet Hall, 5675 Jimmy Carter Boulevard, Norcross, GA 30071 Time: 08:00 pm

Thu, Dec 31 • Beautiful Grand New Years Eve 2016 Atlanta Venue: Forsyth Conference Center (Lanier Tech), 3410 Ronald Reagan Blvd, Cumming, GA 30041 Time: 8:00 pm

Thu, Dec 31 • Grand Premier New Year Eve 2016 Venue: Taste of India Banquet Hall, 3070 Windward Plaza, Alpharetta, GA 30005 Time: 8:00 pm

Bal Mukund Character Building Program and Hindi Literacy Classes Venue: Vogelei Center, 650 W. Higgins Road, Hoffmann Estates, IL 60192 (Next to Nissan Dealership) Contact: Ajay & Arti Chandhok @ 630-561-4807

Mondays and Fridays • Free ESL - English as Second Language Classes Metropolitan Asian Family Services Venue: 9015 N Milwaukee Ave, Niles, IL, Time: 10:30am to 12:30pm Contact: 773-465-3105

Mondays and Fridays • Free ESL - English as Second Language Classes Where: Metropolitan Asian Family Services Venue: 9015 N Milwaukee Ave, Niles, IL, Time: 10:30am to 12:30pm Contact: 773-465-3105

Swami Ishatmananda • Bhagavad Gita: Philosophy of life Venue: Public Library-95th Street 3015 Cedar Glade Rd Naperville IL 60564 Time: 1st friday of every month 7-8 pm Contact: 630-637-0662

• India Eternal: From the Vedic Age to the Present Venue: Hindu Temple of Greater Chicago 10915 N. Main Street Glendale Heights, IL 60139 Time: 10:00 pm Contact: 630-655-8822

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December 18, 2015

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Philosophy

December 18, 2015

India Post 49

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Page Sponsored by Sahanis EKNATH EASWARAN

atya" means not only 'truth' but also 'that which is real.' One of the oldest prayers in Hinduism says, 'Lead me from the unreal to the real': from a lower state of consciousness in which we are acting out our dreams, to the state of truth and joy. Most of us are convinced that we are already awake, that we are completely responsible for our thoughts. But we don't seem to be able to have the same thought for a very long time. If a beneficial thought comes, we can't make it stay, and many, many thoughts sneak into the mind that we do not approve of at all. Therefore, the Buddha would say, it isn't quite correct to say that we think thoughts; it is more accurate to say that thoughts think us. To be able to say 'I think' and mean it, we should be able to have a regular roll call of thoughts and account for every one of them. Imagine the mind as a kind of theater. When I go to the art museum theater, the attendant checks tickets not once but twice. After the first show she comes around again, and if you don't have your ticket stubs she will ask you, politely but firmly, to leave. We should have the same capacity to check on our thoughts. If an unkind thought is lurking in a dark corner, we should be able to shine our flashlight on it and say, THICH NHAT HANH

f you pour a handful of salt into a cup of water, the water becomes undrinkable. But if you pour the salt into a river, people can continue to draw the water to cook, wash, and drink. The river is immense, and it has the capacity to receive, embrace, and transform. When our hearts are small, our understanding and compassion are limited, and we suffer. We can't accept or tolerate others and their shortcomings, and we demand that they change. But when our hearts expand, these same things don't make us suffer anymore. We have a lot of understanding and compassion and can embrace others. We accept others as they are, and then they have a chance to transform. When we feed and support our own happiness, we are nourishing our ability to love. That's why to love means to learn the art of nourishing our happiness. Understanding someone's suffering is the best gift you can give another person. Understanding is love's other name. If our parents didn't love and understand each other, how are we to know what love looks like? The most precious inheritance that parents can give their children is their

'No ticket? Sorry, you'll have to go.' "When a mood or desire overpowers us, we think it is one thought, one state of mind that can't be altered until it has run its course. A dominant passion or obsession seems a solid block in the edifice of our personality. The Buddha would say no. Every mental state is a momentary flash of thought, one after the other, and no two thought-moments are connected. Think of a

moving by so fast. Similarly, in a person whose mind is fast, thought after thought pushes through the turnstile so rapidly that we think it is one solid wave of emotion. Once the first thought pushes through, the rest follow in a heap. Get hold of the first fellow, the Buddha says. He hasn't got a ticket - in fact, he has a permanent season 'no-ticket,' a very Zen phrase.

are? Let me see your ticket.' And everybody seated around him will explain, 'Oh, he's been here a long time. He must belong; how else could he have gotten in?' In other words, the roots of compulsive thinking - anger, fear, lust, and the like - go deep in the unconscious. To deal with them with authority, you have to reach an even deeper level of consciousness in meditation. If you can get below a samskara, you can be there

Roots of compulsive thinking go very deep Once the first thought pushes through, the rest follow in a heap. Get hold of the first fellow, the Buddha says. He hasn't got a ticket - in fact, he has a permanent season 'no-ticket' Eknath Easwaran

million separate thoughts, he would say, standing in line to get into the theater of the mind. In a movie theater, when the projector is running, you see a smooth, continuous flow of action. But stop the projector and you will see that the film is only a slide show. The action seems real merely because the separate frames are

In yoga psychology this thought-leader is called a root samskara, the source of a whole chain of compulsive thought. Even after you have learned to keep lesser freeloaders out of the mind, a root samskara is terribly difficult to deal with. If you succeed in locating him and demand to see his ticket, he will answer, 'Who do you think you

waiting for him and say, 'Sam, where is your ticket?' He will look sheepish and say, 'You got me!' Once you can do this, you know with joy that every trait due to negative conditioning can be undone. Excerpted from 'Constant Companion'. The 115th birth anniversary of Eknath Easwaran will be observed on Dec 17

own happiness. Our parents may be able to leave us money, houses, and land, but they may not be happy people. If we have happy parents, we have received the richest inheritance of all. Often, we get crushes on others not because we truly love and understand them, but to distract ourselves from our suffering. When we learn to love and understand ourselves and have true

less empty. The desire to understand ourselves and to understand life is a deep thirst. There's also the deep thirst to be loved and to love. We are ready to love and be loved. It's very natural. But because we feel empty, we try to find an object of our love. Sometimes we haven't had the time to understand ourselves, yet we've already found the object of our

something better to happen. That is why you check your email many times a day! The essence of loving kindness is being able to offer happiness. You can be the sunshine for another person. You can't offer happiness until you have it for yourself. So build a home inside by accepting yourself and learning to love and heal yourself.

You can't offer happiness until you have it and compassion are limited, and we suffer. But when our hearts expand, these same

compassion for ourselves, then we can truly love and understand another person. Sometimes we feel empty; we feel a vacuum, a great lack of something. We don't know the cause; it's very vague, but that feeling of being empty inside is very strong. We expect and hope for something much better so we'll feel less alone,

love. When we realize that all our hopes and expectations of course can't be fulfilled by that person, we continue to feel empty. You want to find something, but you don't know what to search for. In everyone there's a continuous desire and expectation; deep inside, you still expect

A reflective, contented mind is the best possession. Turn yourself not away from three best things: Good Thought, Good Word, and Good Deed. With an open mind, seek and listen to all the highest ideals. Consider the most enlightened thoughts. Then choose your path, person by person, each for oneself. Doing good to others is not a duty. It is a joy, for it increases your own health and happiness. Your good thoughts, good words and good deeds alone will be your intercessors. Nothing more will be wanted. They alone will serve you as a safe pilot to the harbour of Heaven, as a safe guide to the gates of paradise. Do not hold grain waiting for higher prices when people are hungry.

When our hearts are small, our understanding

things don't make us suffer anymore

ZOROASTER QUOTES

Thich Nhat Hanh

Learn how to practice mindfulness in such a way that you can create moments of happiness and joy for your own nourishment. Then you have something to offer the other person. Excerpted from 'Brainpickings.' Thich Nhat Hanh is a Vietnamese Zen Buddhist monk, teacher, and peace activist.

War and courage have done more great things than charity. Not your sympathy, but your bravery has saved the unfotunate. What I hold good for self, I should for all. Only Law Universal is true law.

Insure yourself FIRST. Call Sahanis, (Arish, Priya or Shiv) for your Insurance needs 718- 271- 0453. Serving for last 35 yrs

50 India Post

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December 18, 2015

ollywood star Priyanka Chopra beat off global competition to retain her title as the "Sexiest Asian Woman" in an annual UK poll. The singer and actress, 33, came out on top following millions of votes pouring in from across the globe on social media for the 2015 edition of the popular'50 Sexiest Asian Women' poll conducted by London-based weekly newspaper 'Eastern Eye.

Fans & Bollywood celebrate as Salman is freed

ye' for 'Eastern E o t o ls t a u ell, at leas w â&#x20AC;&#x153;Thank yo '; y x e 's e feel ice making m ear. A piece of adv er y the mind. for anoth in ll a 's it ies es," to the lad s sex y do a is y x e s r, Remembe

CHOPRA PRIYANKA

"Now that's a title I'm happy to hold on to. I'm bringing sexy back! A big thank you to everyone who's voted for me. Thank you also to 'Eastern Eye' for making me feel 'sexy'; well, at least for another year. A piece of advice to the ladies - it's all in the mind. Remember, sexy is as sexy does," said Chopra. This is the third time in the past four years that Chopra, who has been making waves with her role as an FBI recruit in American television thriller "Quantico", topped the list. The win rounds off a dream year for the former Miss World, which includes winning all-round praise for her 2014 film Mary Kom and 2015 box-office hit Dil Dhadakne Do. "Priyanka Chopra is doing India proud on the global stage and winning loads of admirers. This was illustrated by the largest-ever number of votes by non-Asians that she received from all over the world. "She is clearly building bridges internationally through her art and will continue to do so in the coming years. And by excelling in TV, film and music, the multi-talented actress has shown just how far hard work can take you," said Asjad Nazir, 'Eastern Eye' entertainment editor and founder of the list. The mass interest in the list, now in its 12th year, was such that it was trending on Twitter across India and Pakistan during the voting process. Popular television actress Sanaya Irani rose one place from last year to come second and fellow small screen star Drashti Dhami took third spot. A-list Bollywood actresses Deepika Padukone (4) and Katrina Kaif (5) completed the top 5. Others in the top 10 are Nia Sharma (6), Kareena Kapoor Khan (7), Gauahar Khan (8), Sonam Kapoor (9) and the highest placed Pakistani, Mahira Khan (10). The highest placed newcomer in this year's list is young Indian television actress Niti Taylor (15). The highest placed British woman is once again TV actress Jasmin Walia (28) and Canadian actress Hannah Simone (35), a newcomer in the list, is the highest-placed North American. Madhuri Dixit, 48, is the oldest lady in the 2015 countdown ranked 44th and 20-year-old actress Radhika Madan is the youngest, ranked 24th.

uperstar Salman Khan was overwhelmed and broke down as the judge read out the verdict acquitting him of all charges in the 2002 hit-and-run case. His family members including sister Alvira Agnihotri and politician Baba Siddiqui who were present at the court, huddled and congratulated each other. It was a moment of celebration for all Salman Khan fans, who gathered outside the actor's residence - Galaxy Apartments ahead of the verdict into Salman's appeal against his conviction in the case by a lower court. As soon as the news about his acquittal was out, people broke into jubilation and were seen cheering and hugging each other outside his house in suburban Bandra. The huge crowd went in a frenzy causing disruption to traffic movement in the area for a while.

Bollywood celebrities including actor Anupam Kher, Ajay Devgn, Emraan Hashmi, music composer Anu Malik, director duo AbbasMastan visited Salman's house Police had to arrange for extra security and deployed a team of State Reserve Police Force in the area. Bollywood celebrities including actor Anupam Kher, Ajay Devgn, Emraan Hashmi, music composer Anu Malik, director duo Abbas-Mastan visited Salman's house. Meanwhile, Salman who was reportedly shooting in Karjat reached the Bombay High Court a little after 1.30 PM. Justice A R Joshi had sought his presence in the court for the final verdict which he read out in a courtroom jampacked with media persons, lawyers, law students among others. Cont'd on Page 53

December 18, 2015

India Post 51 www.indiapost.com

SAROJ KHAN taught me DANCING,

MUMBAI: She has won hearts with her moves but Bollywood diva Madhuri Dixit reveals it was ace choreographer Saroj Khan who taught her Bollyood dancing. "Saroj Khan ji (choreographer) knows my problem very well. My

says Madhuri

problem was that I was a classical dancer. I am trained in Kathak and I did not know Bollywood dancing. When we were doing 'Uttar Dakshin', Saroj ji told me to learn Bollywood dance," Madhuri told reporters here at an event of "Dance with Madhuri", her online Dance Academy. "She had told me when we do 'Tezab' I will have to do a lot of rehearsals. I have learnt Bollywood dancing from her," the 47-year-old actress said. For the "Dhak-Dhak" girl, dance is also a stress buster. "Whenever I am tensed I danceâ&#x20AC;Ś that is the best stress buster. Like some people meditate or do yoga I dance as I feel

My problem was that I was a classical dancer. I am trained in Kathak and I did not know Bollywood dancing. When we were doing 'Uttar Dakshin', Saroj ji told me to learn Bollywood dance,"

Indian streets filled with theatre: French director NEW DELHI: The vividness of life in its various facets seen on every street and gully in India is in itself an instruction for stage theatre, according to renowned experimental director Araiane Mnouchkine who is currently on an India tour. Winner of the The Ibsen Award, one of the biggest awards in theatre, the French director has traveled world over with her plays and is currently in India with Ecole Nomade of Theatre du Soleil for a 16day workshop in Puducherry, which begins December 14. Mnouchkine, whose theatre group Theatre du Soleil is reckoned to be an avant-garde en-

semble, founded by herself, Philippe Leotard and theatre students in 1964 as a collective of theatre artists in Paris, however, ad-

Araiane Mnouchkine

mits that she has not seen the modern Indian theatre productions. "I would say there was and there is still theatre everywhere in

India. The streets were the theatre for me because of the beauty of the people. Because of their musicality in their gestures, their intensity. So everything made theatre during this trip. I didn't need to go to actual theatres to gather a vision for theatre," she says. Asked if the Indian productions would hold ground at global level, she says, "I don't know Indian modern theatre. So I don't know. But, what I know is the Indian tradition of theatre is way above many other theatres. Traditional Indian form of theatre is of course recognized as source, interest, inspiration, discipline and example...they are like a book. Cont'd on Page 53

happiness," she added. Madhuri feels that Bollywood films have witnessed some changes in dancing over the years. "Changes do come as different styles do keep coming but the basic thing of happiness and joy is there," she added. Tata Sky has partnered with Madhuri and her husband Shriram Nene's RnM Moving Picture to launch 'Dance Studio', which will help its interested subscribers learn various forms of dancing. On qualities that she looks in a g o o d dancer, Madhuri says, "One should be expressive, t h e r e should be grace and how to carry yourself. When you put expression, rhythm and body language together then you become a good dancer." The Direct-to-home major's service will provide introduction to different dance forms ranging from Bollywood dance to specialized forms like Kathak,

Bharatanatyam, Jazz, Contemporary, Hip-Hop along with Salsa, Tango, the company said in a statement. "Dance has always been my passion and acting is my first love. I have been dancing since I was three year old and am still learning dance. Dance gives me lot of happiness, pleasure, spiritual experience, and I wanted to share it with people," she said. "You can learn from the best of gurus at your own convenience.

It is good for housewives. It's a great medium for people to learn dance. Those who dance badly I feel like telling them to go and learn dance from 'Dance with Madhuri', she added. -PTI

52 India Post

December 18, 2015 www.indiapost.com

MAINSTREAM ACTORS who excelled in

Trump is a good entertainer: Nicki Minaj

COMIC ROLES

omedy is a serious business with a solo target that is to make people laugh. Lot of mainstream actors are giving special importance to this genre these days. It's an art to master comedy, let's take a look at some of the actors who nailed this art with their hilarious sense of humor and perfect timing.

Nawazuddin Siddiqui in Bajrangi Bhaijaan Nawaz who is known for his intense acting and serious characters made us giggle with his unintentional humor in the film. Though Salman and the little Harshali were the stars of the film but he shined out in his own light of comedy

Kartik Aryan from PKP2

Amitabh

Amitabh Bachchan in Piku After ruling several hearts for decades and consistently trying new things, this legendary actor didn't shy away to play his age, a dysfunctional father, obsessed about his constipation problem. He killed it with his great humor. A confused, stubborn, naive father. He made us roll out laughing.

The new chocolate boy in B-town who made all the guys nod Bachchan to his monologue also made girls go gaga over his cute and charming looks. He played the perfect lover boy who is stuck with his doting girlfriend. Though there was lot of women bashing in the film he also made us laugh like hell with his comic timings.

Kangana Ranaut

Pavleen Gujral from AIG After being in fashion scene for 8 years and popular face associated with number of commercials and press shoots, she made her Bollywood debut in the female buddy film Angry Indian Goddesses. Her superb comic timing and naive re-

Kangana Ranaut in Tanu Weds Manu Returns Kangana stunned us with her tom boy character Kumari "Kusum" Sangwan aka Datto. She not only brilliantly spoke the heavy Haryanawi accent but also tickled our funny bones by crazily getting into the nerves of her character. And of course she melted our heart in the in the climax.

Pavleen Gujral

Nicki Minaj Nawazuddin Siddiqui

action over LGBT and stuff gave a good laugh to audiences. She looks promising as an actress in

Kartik Aryan

comic role in the coming years. Mainstream actors who banged in as comedy actors have made it clear that comedy is an essential element of acting skills and the one who masters this art wins the hearts.

LOS ANGELES: Rapper Nicki Minaj shared her opinion on the 2016 presidential candidates saying Donald Trump is a good entertainer. The "Anaconda" raptress said that Trump's presidential run would be a very good reality show if his team filmed it, reported Billboard. "There are points (Donald) has made that may not have been so horrible if his approach wasn't so childish," Minja said. The "Superbass" hitmaker added, "But in terms of entertainment - I think he's hilarious. I wish they could just film him running for president. That's the ultimate reality show." When asked about Hillary Clinton, Minaj was not really convinced about her capabilities. "Am I convinced that she should be the next president?

I still want to be open-minded about everyone," the 33-year-old rapper said, adding, "Obviously, I identify with her struggles as a woman. I identify with the fact that when she's in that room and there are nothing but men there - there's sometimes something in her that

Donald Trump

must feel intimidated. But I think that she uses that and turns it into a strength. -PTI

Ekta Kapoor addresses New York students MUMBAI: Well-known film and TV producer Ekta Kapoor delivered a lecture on Hindi entertainment industry at the New York University. Ekta, 40, who revolutionized the small screen with shows like "Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi", "Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii" and "Kasautii Zindagii Kay", was invited by the New York University

Stern School of Business. During the chat session, Ekta

Ekta Kapoor

shared her knowledge of Hindi entertainment industry, a media release issued here said. The event was attended by undergraduate students of entertainment, media and technology. Apart from TV, Ekta also ventured into Bollywood movie production with films like "Kucch To Hai", "Krishna Cottage" and "The Dirty Picture". Ekta, daughter of veteran actor Jeetendra, has also produced movies like "Love Sex aur Dhokha" directed by Dibakar Banerjee and Vikramaditya Motwane's "Lootera" in collaboration with filmmaker Anurag Kashyap. Her last film production was "Ek Villain" under her banner Balaji Motion Pictures. -PTI

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ErosNow launches Bajirao, The Game India Post News Service

MUMBAI: Eros Now, the ondemand entertainment portal of Eros International, has announced the launch of the trailer of 'Blazing Bajirao The Game' for their upcoming magnum opus, Bajirao Mastani. An extension of

on erosnow.com. After Mughal-e-Azam, Bajirao Mastani is the country's next big labor of love. Known to create nothing short of masterpieces, director Sanjay Leela Bhansali promises to outdo himself with this visual spectacle. And befitting a magnum opus of this stature, 'Blaz-

After Mughal-e-Azam, Bajirao Mastani is the country's next big labor of love. Sanjay Leela Bhansali promises to outdo himself with this visual spectacle ErosNow's unique digital marketing innovation, the successfullyrunning web series, Blazing Bajirao, the game is available for download on the Apple App and Google Play stores. The web version will be available exclusively

ing Bajirao The Game', will be adrenaline pumping, high octane and reflective of the legendary Peshwa's supremacy. In an epic hunt for love and glory, the interactive game invites players to embark on a thrilling

adventure as they battle as Peshwa Bajirao, the undefeated warrior of the Maratha empire. As players p r o g r e s s through the game, they must fight through hordes of enemy infantry and archers in search of Mastani roaring 'Har Har Mahadev'! Commenting on the launch of the game, Rishika Lulla Singh, CEO, Eros Digital

Indian streets filled with theatre: French director Cont'd from Page 51

They are parts of the Bible of the Theatre." Now 75, Mnouchkine who had traveled far and wide in India before her venture into theatre direction during the 1960s may have cultivated experiences from her journey here, but it was China that attracted her artistic instincts more in the beginning before India became her source of inspiration. "I was drawn to Asia since I was very little. Actually it was China. I wanted to go China. And of course I wanted to go to China at that time but then I did not get my visa. Then I asked for a visa to Japan... Then India took first rank and it became my source. Since then I did not go to China for political reasons. I didn't want to go. "But I still remained drawn to China's culture and theatre which I got acquainted with in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore. But I do want to go to mainland China," she says. Speaking about the challenges she faced in theatre, considered predominantly a male domain, Mnouchkine says she faced "misogyny" initially but later made the issue subject of her plays. "...it took me some time to understand that there were problems. I chose my friends well. It was not a problem in the company. It took me some time to understand the problem. It was during one of the plays that I realized suddenly that misogyny is

not far away from me. But until then I was blank probably and which in a way protected me from the indignation and the soul that you feel when you are victim of misogyny," she says. "But, then when I started it (misogyny) became a subject for me, a point of struggle and of shock for me," adds Mnouchkine, the only international female Ibsenholder. About her Ibsen feat she says "probably the only one but not for long... there will be many more. There is growing number of women directing theatre in Eu-

workshops to hone their skills and exchange creative processes and ideas. A production should follow the program, which is scheduled to be showcased in France by the end of 2016 and in India early 2017 as part of the festival of France in India, "Bonjour India". Talking about the creative process of her works, the leading experimental theatre ace stressed that the art of listening is the key to successful collaborative works. "Theatre is not an idea. For it to exist it has to become a practice,"

Speaking about the challenges she faced in theatre, considered predominantly a male domain, Mnouchkine says she faced "misogyny" initially but later made the issue subject of her plays rope and France. I am not the exception anymore." There is expressed delight at the overgrowing presence of women in theatres now. Mnouchkine along with her cole Nomade is set to host a series of theatre workshops along with twelve artists of Theatre du Soleil which will be held in Puducherry from December 14-30. . Auditions will be held for shortlisted candidates to select about 80-odd participants. These selected artists will participate in

she says, adding censors have to be stopped from theatre and that included the ones imposed by members of theatre group. Creativity begins by accepting others, it begins by listening, she says. "It is not about arguments or debates but it's about discussion. Listen to all suggestions every member has to make. Not already preparing your answers while listening to the other. It is difficult...You are already thinking as to what you would say. -PTI

said, "ErosNow has been pushing boundaries with unique digital initiatives for the promotion of Bajirao Mastani. After the success

of India's first graphic web series, Blazing Bajirao, the game was a natural progression to take digital promotions to the next level. The game is of stellar quality and gamers can now become Peshwa Bajirao, the great warrior themselves and experience the exhilaration of battle victory using swords, bows and arrows". Game Features: • Blitz your way through countless waves of the enemy • Dismember enemies using your sword, bows and arrows • Use the might of your special Urumi attack to obliterate enemy battalions • Avoid enemy towers and elephant mounted defenses • Collect gold to buy weapons and upgrades It is truly a great time for cinema as once every 50 years does a film of this caliber comes from India. Promising to be not just a film, but an experience, Bajirao Mastani remains one of the most anticipated films in the history of Indian cinema.

Fans & Bollywood celebrate as Salman is freed Cont'd from Page 50

Later, the 'Bajrangi Bhaijaan' actor took to Twitter to express his humility. "I accept the decision of the judiciary with humility. I thank my family, friends & fans for their support & prayers," he wrote. Some of his colleagues and friends in the industry also expressed their happiness for him on the micro-blogging site. Veteran actor Rishi Kapoor said, "Back. Welcome reprieve for Salman. Unprecedented reaction to this news." Filmmaker Sajid Khan tweeted, "@BeingSalmanKhan bollywood, fans and his critics will all have to agree to this.. Salman Rules Fridays... I am very happy for the Khan family." "Looks like someone up there heard all our prayers," actor Rohit Roy posted. Actress Ameesha Patel, who visited Salman at his residence, posted, "So happy to hear the good news that @BeingSalmanKhan has got bail. Prayers of all have been answered." "The kindness of a man has been judged by the god himself... Good deeds never go in vain. Thank you one and all for the prayers and love," tweeted Salman's 'Jai Ho' co-star Daisy Shah. Actress Amrita Rao said,

"Happy for @BeingSalmanKhan & family." Pakistani singer Adnan Sami tweeted, "I am extremely happy for @BeingSalmanKhan! He definitely deserves this relief.#ISupportSalman." VJ and former 'Bigg Boss' contestant Andy wrote, "Congratulations! @BeingSalmanKhan God Bless may this positive news bring a sense of peace and atonement. #SalmanVerdict much love." Filmmaker Subhash Ghai who co-produced the remake of his 1983 film 'Hero' with Salman this year, Milap Zaveri, writer of his 2005 film 'Lucky: No Time For Love', singer Mika Singh and censor board member Ashoke Pandit were among others who also tweeted. A restaurant themed after Salman Khan named Bhaijaanz' also celebrated the actor's acquittal in a unique way by allowing its customers to pay their bills according to their wish. The customers could take anything and avail a discount of up to 99 percent as per their wish, owner of the eatery Rahul Narain Kanal told a news wire. The restaurant located in Mumbai's Carter Road has posters of the superstar and his popular dialogues gracing its walls. Even the items in the menu are named after his movies.

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Turkey's ambitions and the war in Syria

India Post

RANJIT GUPTA

ike in almost all Arab countries, the regime in Syria is also an absolute dictatorship. The unprecedented revolutionary fervor sweeping across the Arab world since December 2010 hit Syria in March 2011, but the trajectory of developments in Syria was completely different from those in Tunisia and Egypt. In Syria, the unrest spread only gradually and did not immediately become a spontaneous coherent mass movement demanding regime change. This was because the regime enjoyed the overwhelming, if not almost total, support of the minority communities such as the Alawites, Christians and Druze, and a rather substantial support amongst the upper and middle class Sunnis, particularly the business community in all major cities. Also, the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) did not withhold support as in Tunisia and Egypt despite the fact that at that time 3/5th of the SAA was comprised of Sunnis. Syria's army was estimated at

under a decade, Turkey's relationship with Syria was transformed from one of deep enmity to becoming Turkey's best bilateral relationship; Turkey's prestigious HĂźrriyet newspaper labeled Turkish-Syrian relations as a "model partnership in the Middle East" as late as January 2011. When the uprisings in Syria began, Erdogan at first continued to publicly support Assad, calling him "a good friend who was loved by his people." He was fully aware of the ground realities in Syria and knew well that Assad could not be overthrown by an internal revolt and that substantive foreign intervention would be necessary. Though Assad released large numbers of Muslim Brotherhood detainees on Turkey's request, he turned down Ankara's threatening demands to include the Muslim Brotherhood in the government. Turkey had its alibi, albeit rather weak, for large-scale intervention. Having won three successive elections and successfully curbed the power that the military has tra-

The war in Syria acquired a new dimension with the establishment of the Islamic State (IS) in mid-2014. Though initially created by disgruntled Sunni elements from Iraq, it expanded very rapidly due to several reasons, amongst which the Turkish role has been vital around 350,000 strong, and after over four-and-a-half years of war, and taking into account casualties and desertions, approximately 90,000 still remain a part of the SAA. Furthermore, Sunnis also constitute a not-insubstantial number of the National Defense Forces raised since 2013. Foreigners played no part in the toppling of Tunisia's Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and Egypt's Hosni Mubarak. In Syria, the protests had become an armed uprising almost from the beginning entirely due to foreign intervention of Sunni regional states with Turkey taking the lead. Syrian President Assad's foreign opponents had finally found an opportunity to overthrow the regime because its longstanding alliance with the Islamic Republic of Iran was a festering sore that had to be excised. After Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's election victory in 2002 and the innovative enunciation of a 'zero problems with neighbors' foreign policy, in just

ditionally enjoyed in the post Ottoman Turkey, Erdogan started nursing neo Ottoman dreams and, inter alia, described his election victory in 2011 as a victory of its Ottoman heritage. In October 2009, the then Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davotoglu, invoking Turkey's former imperial grandeur, had said that "As in the sixteenth century, when the Ottomans were rising, we will once again make the Balkans, the Caucasus, and the Middle East, together with Turkey, the center of world politics in the future. That is the goal of Turkish foreign policy and we will achieve it." Under Erdogan's rule, Turkey began considering itself the foremost patron of political Islam and began pushing his belief that it should be the main component of governing entities in Muslim countries. Developments in Syria were viewed as the perfect opportunity to begin implementing these dreams. Sanctions were put in place. Strident denunciations of Assad

began, and he was now termed "a butcher' - calls for him to be overthrown became a daily staple. Turkey began proactively supplying arms and sending in Islamist fighters almost from the beginning, and this steadily increased over time; and most of these foreign fighters and arms entered Syria via its border with Turkey. A NATO document admits that "It is believed that there are as many as 1,200 armed opposition groups in Syria, with well over 100,000 fighters." The war in Syria acquired a new dimension with the establishment of the Islamic State (IS) in mid2014. Though initially created by disgruntled Sunni elements from Iraq, it expanded very rapidly due to several reasons, amongst which the Turkish role has been vital. In fact, Turkey has chosen to attack the Syrian Kurds who have been the single most potent fighting force against the IS. There is a large amount of literature in the West which substantiates Syria expert and West Asia historian Helena Cobban's comment that "Turkey has certainly colluded with the Islamic State, allowing arms, men and money to flow across its border into the Islamic State-controlled area with almost no hindrance." Turkey is a NATO member and a long-standing ally of the Western powers. Barring Israel, Turkey is by far the most militarily powerful country in West Asia; if Turkey really wanted to hit the IS, the latter would crumble within months, given the heavyweight coalition that is fighting against it. There are two wars ongoing in Syria - one against the IS and the other against the Assad regime. The war against the IS cannot be won without Turkey being an active participant. Even with its best efforts, Turkish ambitions to overthrow Assad cannot succeed with Russia and Iran now actively militarily committed to the continuance of the Syrian regime at least until the end of a transitional period which could be a long time away. The first substantial step required to end the tragedy in Syria is a complete change of Turkish policy, which however, unfortunately, seems unlikely to happen anytime soon. The writer is Distinguished Fellow, IPCS, former Indian Ambassador to Yemen and Oman, and former Member, National Security Advisory Board (NSAB), India

Takeaways from deals

ndia figured in three major international deals this past week. When the world got together in Paris to hammer out a consensus on controlling climate pollution, India emerged as a leader to put up a strong case of the right of developing countries to burn fuel in order to pull up its weaker sections from poverty. The second was a USD 12-billion deal with Japan for India's first ever bullet train network, an MoU on civil nuclear energy cooperation and sharing of defense technology. The third deal was a near breakthrough in relations between India and Pakistan with both pledging to continue to talk following External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj's visit to Pakistan. There is nothing like a perfect deal and Paris was of course a compromise. But a beginning has been made. Over 200 Governments have agreed to limit warming to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels: something that would have seemed unthinkable just a few months ago. While India has welcomed the agreement, but said the deal could have been more ambitious had the developed nations shouldered more historical responsibilities. The agreement acknowledges and recognizes the development imperatives of India and other developing countries and also supports their right to development and their efforts to harmonies development with environment, while protecting the interests of the most vulnerable. India played a leading role in the outcome. As one commentator put it, "if the Paris deal unlocked hundreds of billions of dollars of institutional funds for clean tech investments, then India would be one of the natural destinations." The agreements with Japan that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been able to pull off can fuel India's transformative economic modernization. It needs to be remembered that Japan provided similar stimulus to the economies of China, Singapore, Hong Kong, South Korea and Taiwan. It seems that Japan is willing to make the same big bet on India that it once did on China and Southeast Asia. The bullet train agreement has been criticized as wasting money on luxury while the poor are languishing. The critics can be told how the effect of such a development will boost modernization. Hyderabad with its new airport showed that India could have world class airports and Delhi demonstrated the possibility of efficient and safe metro rail systems. Neither was considered possible in India until they happened and their successful implementation saw demand increase around the country for similar ventures. The decision to continue talks with Pakistan under a 'Comprehensive Bilateral Dialogue' will mark "beginning of peace and development as continued estrangement was a hurdle to peace and prosperity in the region." So said External Affairs Minister after her visit to Pakistan. But India's approach this time is a bold one, as apparent from the wordings of the joint statement in Islamabad. "The Indian side was assured of the steps being taken to expedite the early conclusion of the Mumbai trial. Both sides, accordingly, agreed to a Comprehensive Bilateral Dialogueâ&#x20AC;Ś" the statement read. According to a report in Pakistani newspaper Dawn, the agreement pointed out the centrality of the insertion of the word "accordingly" in the statement and noted that the commencement of the process was predicated on Pakistan fulfilling its commitment regarding the speedy conclusion of the trial of Mumbai attack suspects. The snail-paced trial by a Pakistani court of the seven men accused of involvement in the 2008 Mumbai terror attack has been one of the major sticking points in the relationship, with New Delhi regularly accusing Islamabad of insincerity. "This would be a major obstacle, let's see how it is addressed," the Dawn report observed. Also interesting was Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan T C A Raghavan in a lecture in Islamabad saying, "Yes, India will discuss Kashmir, "that part of the State, which had acceded to India and is now under the illegal occupation of the Pakistan Army."

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