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STOCKS • FINANCE • SOUTH ASIAN MARKETS • TECHNOLOGY
$780 Million World Bank Loan to Improve Mumbai Train System
WASHINGTON: The World Bank has approved $430 million to finance further improvement of Mumbai’s suburban railway system, considered the lifeline of the megacity with a population of nearly 15 million. The Bank’s Board on Tuesday also approved $350 million to finance the Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project which aims to improve the safety and sustainable performance of over 220 selected dams in Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, and Tamil Nadu. The Mumbai Urban Transport Project 2A aims to add more vehicle capacity during peak hours, reduce peak hour overcrowding, shorten journey times and improve operational efficiency, the Bank said. As many as 720 train cars will be added in the system. The project will also expand maintenance facilities, provide additional
Victoria Terminal, Mumbai
stabling lines, and complete the conversion from 1500V DC to 25KV AC traction of the remaining sections of Central Railway in the
Mumbai Metropolitan Region. “The first Mumbai Urban Transport Project has already managed to reduce the level of
crowding in suburban trains from 4,500 to 4100 passengers per 9-coach train at peak hours in spite of traffic increase,” said Hubert NoveJosserand, World Bank Senior Urban Transport Specialist and Project Team Leader. “This follow up project will further improve the capacity, operational efficiency, level of comfort and strengthen the institutional capacity of the agencies i n c h a rg e o f t h e suburban rail system in the Mumbai Metropolitan area.” Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP) also aims to strengthen the institutional,
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legal and technical framework for dam safety assurance within the Government of India and in the participating states. “Rainfall, which occurs mainly in intense and unpredictable downpours within short monsoon seasons, is of high temporal and spatial variability and does not meet year-round irrigation and other water demands,” said Joop Stoutjesdijk, Lead Irrigation Engineer and Project Team Leader. “Considering this, storage of water is essential for India. However, many large dams are in need of modern safety measures and monitoring instrumentation.” There are about 4700 completed large dams in India - almost half of which are more than twentyfive years old- with another 400 under construction. The total water storage capacity of these existing dams is about 283 billion cubic metres. - TOI
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RIL, RNRL Sign Gas Supply Pact
RNRL will now request the government for speedy allocation of natural gas MUMBAI: The Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) and his younger brother Anil Ambani-led Reliance NaturalResourcesLtd(RNRL)signed a revised gas supply agreement on Friday as per the directions of the Supreme Court. Although neither side gave details of the revised gas supply agreement, sources in Reliance Natural Resources said that it was for 17 years for projects totalling 8,400 MW at a government determined price of $4.2 per mBtu (million British thermal unit). When contacted, RIL spokesperson declined to give details saying that the contract was as per the direction of the Supreme Mukesh Ambani and Anil Ambani. Court and in accordance with The brothers agreed on to dump their differences to eliminate “disputes”. government’s policies. The government has fixed a Rejecting a family agreement beprice of $4.2 per mBtu for five years for gas from RIL’s KG D-6 fields. tween the two brothers, the Supreme The announcement of the deal comes Court in its order on May 7 asked within weeks of the warring brothers the two companies to renegotiate signing a truce agreement for creating the agreement and base it on the fact a “harmonious environment of coop- that the government was the owner eration and collaboration” between of natural resources (gas) and pricing and utilisation of gas would be their respective groups. Shortly after the deal was signed on decided by the Government. “Pursuant to and in compliance Friday between Mukesh-led RIL and Anil group firm RNRL, the agree- with the directions and orders conment was submitted to the govern- tained in the judgment of the Supreme ment for necessary action, Oil Min- Court delivered on May 7, RIL and istry sources said but clarified that RNRL have today [Friday] signed neither any quantity, duration of gas a Gas Supply Master Agreement supply, specific project nor price was (GSMA). The said GSMA is compliant with the Gas Utilisation Policy mentioned.
and EGoM decisions,” RIL said in a statement here. In another statement filed with the stock exchanges, RNRL said that “pursuant to the judgment of the Supreme Court dated May 7, RIL and RNRLhave on June 25 signed a revised GSMA.” “RNRL will now take appropriate steps requesting the Government for expeditious allocation of natural gas to facilitate implementation of the same,” RNRL said. However, both RIL and RNRL refused to divulge the details of the revised gas supply agreement. In the last annual general meeting on June 18 here, Mukesh Ambani, Chairman of RIL, had said that “As and when the power plants of ADAG are ready to receive gas, we would commence supplies to them, subject to government granting allocations to these plants in the same manner as we do to all other plants to whom the government has allocated gas from the KG-D6 gas field. With this legal dispute behind us, we look forward to a harmonious and constructive relationship with ADAG.” “It has always been our position that we are, and continue to be, governed by the provisions of the production sharing contract in all respects of the petroleum operations carried out by us. We have also been fully conscious that the Government of India has more than a significant say in these operations,” said Mr. Mukesh Ambani.
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Air Fares Set to Rise on Service Tax Proposal
Domestic and international air fares would rise by Rs 100 and Rs 500 respectively from July one with the government issuing a notification to bring air travel into the service tax ambit. Government had proposed in the 2010-11 Budget that 10 per cent service tax be charged on air travel aiming at raising Rs 600 crore and Rs 1,000 crore annually. It had proposed to expand the scope of air transport services to attract service tax to include domestic journeys and international journeys in any class. The notification, issued by the Department of Revenue on Tuesday, said that for domestic travel, “ten per cent of the gross value of ticket or Rs 100 per journey, whichever is less” would be charged from passengers travelling in any class -- business or economy. For international journey, it would be “ten per cent of the gross value
NEW DELHI: An FIR has been lodged on behalf of Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee against a shoe manufacturer for allegedly putting out an advertisement featuring her picture without her permission. The full page advertisement that claims that Mamata was wearing rubber slippers manufactured by Ajanta Company, was published in June 21 edition in Sambad Pratidin, a Kolkata based Bengali newspaper. “Railways has lodged the FIR
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of the ticket or Rs 500 per journey, whichever is less, for passengers embarking in India for an international journey in economy class.” The measure would come into effect from July one, the notification said. A service tax of little over 12 per cent is already imposed on foreign travel by business or first class since the past several years. The move to impose the tax in this year’s budget was opposed by all Indian carriers as well as the global airlines body, International Air Transport Association which sought a roll back of the service tax, describing it as “unacceptable” and “counterproductive”. Following this, the government decided to cap the hike at Rs 100 for all domestic travel and Rs 500 for economy-class foreign travel, leaving the tax on upper class international journeys as it is.
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against Ajanta Company in the Parliament Street police station. It was published without the knowledge and permission of the Cabinet Minister,” said a senior Railway Ministry official. The complaint has been lodged on the minister’s behalf by an official of Railways on June 22. “She is very upset over it. The ad, it seems, has been put out for pecuniary gains by exploiting Mamata’s image,” the official said.
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India Cuts Subsidies for Fuels
An employee filled an oil drum in New Delhi on Friday. India’s government has decided to reduce popular fuel subsidies.
By Vikas Bajaj MUMBAI: The Indian government on Friday reduced popular fuel subsidies, a long-delayed change that will help policy makers reduce a big budget deficit but one that will also worsen already high inflation. Policy makers said the government would stop subsidizing gasoline. Diesel, kerosene and natural gas would continue to receive support at a slightly lower level. India spent about $5.6 billion to subsidize fuel in the last fiscal year, which ended in March. State-owned energy companies added the equivalent of an additional $4.4 billion by selling fuel below its cost. India and other big countries committed to eliminating energy subsidies at a Group of 20 meeting last year, but policy makers here had repeatedly put off the politically difficult change. Heavily subsidized fuels like kerosene, for instance, are used by many poor Indians for lighting and cooking. Moreover, opposition politicians have criticized the government for not doing enough to bring down escalating prices, especially for food. Consumer prices jumped 14.4 percent in April from a year earlier. The opposition Communist Party of India (Marxist) called the subsidy cuts a “cruel blow against the people who are already suffering.” The G-20 meeting in Toronto this weekend might have played into the timing of the decision. But the reductions in subsidies also signals that Indian leaders have become more confident about their political mandate a year after they won a new five-year term in office. The Congress Partyled government also appears to have gotten more serious about reducing the federal deficit, which is estimated
to be 5.5 percent of the country’s gross domestic product. Still, policy makers are moving cautiously. Prices for diesel, kerosene and natural gas, which are the most heavily subsidized fuels, will increase only moderately and remain under government control for the time being. By comparison, gasoline is not subsidized as much, and its retail price is already much higher than in the United States because of high taxes. Prices for it will increase 3.5 rupees a liter, or 29 cents a gallon, to about 55.7 rupees a liter, or $4.58 a gallon. The increase in gasoline prices should bolster the profits of stateowned oil companies, which were not being fully compensated by the government for the subsidies. It should also help private energy companies like Reliance and Essar that sharply scaled back their fuel retailing businesses in recent years because they could not compete against the subsidized fuel sold by state-owned companies. Even after the increase, analysts at Citigroup estimate that the government and state-owned oil companies will spend about $11.5 billion on fuel subsidies this fiscal year, down from a previous estimate of $16.7 billion. Reliance Natural Resources, owned by Anil Ambani, has revised a purchase agreement for natural gas with Reliance Industries, Bloomberg News reported Friday from New Delhi. Reliance Industries, controlled by Mukesh Ambani, Anil’s brother, won a favorable ruling from the top Indian court in May on natural gas sales from the country’s biggest field, which holds $38 billion worth of reserves. The estranged brothers subsequently scrapped agreements that prevented them from competing with each other in business.-NYT
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Nuclear-Material Won’t Fall into Wrong Hands: PM Assures Canada
TORONTO: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday ruled out the possibility of nuclear material or equipment supplied to India under civil nuclear cooperation agreements being used for “any unintended purpose.” “Nuclear material supplied to India will be fully safeguarded in terms of agreement signed with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). We have fool-proof system of export controls. “We have complete control and there is no scope for any nuclear material or equipment being supplied going for any unintended purpose,”
Singh told a joint press conference with his Canadian counterpart Stephen Harper after the two countries signed a civil nuclear cooperation agreement. He was responding to a question whether there were enough safeguards to prevent nuclear material coming to India under such agreements being used for any weapons programme. India already has civil nuclear agreements with eight countries like the US, France and Russia. Replying to questions, Harper said Canada, which had imposed sanctions on India after the Pokhran-I and
Pokhran-II atomic tests in 1971 and 1998, cannot live in the past. “We have received all the reasons that we were looking (for signing a civil nuclear cooperation agreement with India). It is a good agreement. We got much more important reasons because we cannot live in the past of 1970s,” Harper said. He said India is a “powerhouse that is going to play a very important role in the world. “We are determined to develop cooperation not only for the sake of our industry, but it is also an agreement which is a symbol of our relationship,” he said.-NDTV
Jaswant Singh Rejoins BJP, Gadkari Says ‘Past is Past’ NEW DELHI: Expelled BJP leader Jaswant Singh today rejoined the party nine months after he was summarily thrown out for writing a controversial book on Pakistan founder Mohammed Ali Jinnah. At a function organised to announce his re-induction into the party fold, 72-year-old Singh profusely thanked senior BJP leader L K Advani for taking the initiative to bring him back to the BJP of which he was a founder member. “It is good to be back in familiar surroundings... I wish to unreservedly express my gratitude to Advaniji who took the initiative,” Singh said. Among others present were party President Nitin Gadkari and Leader
of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj. Recalling his expulsion from the party at its ‘Chintan Baithak’ in Shimla in August last year, the MP from Darjeeling said, “I was hurt and humiliated by what I had encountered.” Advani said he was “very happy” that Jaswant Singh, whom he had met as an RSS pracharak in Rajasthan, has rejoined the party. “I am very happy. With happiness there is also a sense of relief. I welcome him,” he said. Gadkari said the “past is past” and hoped that Singh will work to make the party’s future bright. He said this was a day of “great happiness” for
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him and the party workers. Singh was expelled from the BJP in August 2009 for praising the Pakistan founder in his book “Jinnah - India, Partition, Independence”. While holding Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Patel responsible for partition, Singh maintained that Jinnah was secular, a position that was unacceptable to the Sangh Parivar. Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi had banned Singh’s book in his state. After his expulsion, BJP also asked Singh to step down from the Chairmanship of Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee but he refused. He gave up the post in December last year.-TOI
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Bihar MP Digvijay Singh Passes Away LONDON: Digvijay Singh, former Union Minister and a Lok Sabha MP, died on Thursday following a brain haemorrhage. He was 55. Singh, who was Minister of State for External Affairs in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government, had come to London along with the Commonwealth shooting team recently, when he suffered a heart attack. He was admitted to St Thomas hospital here where he suffered a brain haemorrhage. Singh is survived by his wife and two daughters. His elder daughter and wife were in London as he was under treatment. A five-time Member of Parliament, Singh was at present representing Banka constituency in the Lok Sabha as an independent. He was earlier elected to the Lok Sabha in 1998 and 1999. He was a member of the Rajya Sabha in 1990 and 2004. Singh, who was a close associate of former Prime Minister Chandrashekhar, had served as Minister of State for Railways and MoS for External Affairs in his government. He had fought the last Lok Sabha election independently after he being denied ticket by JD(U). Singh, who belonged to Rajput community in Bihar, had
File photo of JD (U) MP from Bihar Digvijay Singh. The former Union Minister died on Thursday following a brain haemorrhage.
fallen out with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar before the last general elections. JD(U) general secretary and spokesperson Shivanand Tewari said Singh was active in politics since his student days and was also a member of Lohia Vichar Manch. He was one of the founder members of Samta Sangathan formed in Bangalore in 1980. Singh was also the President of the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI).
SOUTH ASIA
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India Has 1,26,700 Dollar Millionaires By Nitin Shrivastava & Malvika Tegta MUMBAI: There’s no dearth of fat cats in India. The number of millionaires in the country grew by more than 50% last year, the second-fastest in the Asia-Pacific region, compared to 2008, according to a study by Merrill Lynch Global Wealth Management and Capgemini. Last year, India had 1,26,700 people with more than $1 million, or Rs4.6 crore, net worth, compared to 84,000 in 2008. That’s about one in 10,000 given India’s population of 120 crore. The number of millionaires had plunged in 2008 (from 1,23,000 in 2007) following the global meltdown. Hong Kong was the fastest dollarmillionaire producer — people with more than a million doubled (104.4% to be exact) in the former British principality. The other nations that saw the rich getting richer fast were China and Brazil. The number of millionaires in Asia rose to three million, matching Europe for the first time. An analysis by DNA shows that the wealth of the top 10 billionaires in India grew by 70.3% during
the calendar year 2009 — from Rs 3,55,205 crore to Rs 6,05,077 crore. Among them, Mukesh Ambani’s wealth grew by 75% to Rs1,66,556 crore. The two following him on the list — Wipro’s Azim Premji and the Vedanta Group’s Anil Agrawal — saw their wealth grow by 192.7% and 247.2%, respectively. “In the case of India, the strong rebound in the numbers of high networth individuals is highly correlated to the strong recovery in stock market prices and strong outlook for India’s underlying economy,” said Pradeep Dokania, chairman, Merrill Lynch Global Wealth Management, India. Strong government stimulus and a revival in consumer sentiment as a result of which industrial output rose by 10.4% also helped drive GDP growth by 7.4% last fiscal. The stock markets proffered more than 100% returns in 2009 following a 64.1% decline in 2008. The Merrill Lynch-Capgemini study reveals the risk appetite, which took a beating post 2007, has started to return among the rich. “The fear which was there in 2008 has gone but the investors still remain
cautious. The cash levels are coming down and the investors are again going back to equities and fixed income instruments” said Dokania. The study, which was conducted using data from IMF, World Bank and other government sources, covered 71 countries that constitute 98% of the world GDP. It showed the population of dollar millionaires world over rose back to 10 million in 2009 and their combined finanical wealth jumped 18.90% to $39 trillion. The millionaires remain highly concetrated in the US, Japan and Germany, which together account for 53.5% of them. As risk appetite among the rich rises, money allocated by the rich to buy stocks will also increase, said Atul Singh, head of wealth management at Merrill Lynch Wealth Management India. “We expect the proportion of asset allocation towards equity to increase to 35% by 2011 and cash levels to drop further to 13%. The global investors also seem to be looking for diversification outside their home countries to avoid risks. They are looking for predictable returns by investing in simpler products,” Singh said.
Terror Alert in India: Pak-Based Groups May Strike at Public Place ISLAMABAD: Even as the Foreign Secretaries of India and Pakistan said a round of talks had gone very well, the Indian government issued a terror alert. The reason: Pakistani terrorists opposed to the
talks may be looking to damage the process that’s aimed at reducing “the trust deficit.” (Read: Govt issues terror alert ahead of SAARC meeting) In Islamabad, for the first time since 26/11, the Foreign Secretaries of India
and Pakistan held a joint press conference in Islamabad to share what they discussed. India’s Foreign Secretary, Nirupama Rao, and her Pakistani counterpart, Salman Bashir, held a round of talks in Islamabad. “I feel
much more optimistic and confident about the outcome and relationships between the two countries,” said Bashir. Rao stressed that “We must deny terrorist elements any attempt to derail good relations.” She also
INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, july 02 , 2010 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM
noted that Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani had assured his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh in Thimphu in April that Pakistan will not allow its soil to be used for terrorist activities against India.
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South Asia News of the Diaspora
Indians, Envious of U.S. Spill Response, Seethe Over Bhopal By Lydia Polgreen NEWDELHI:The contrast between the disasters, more than a quartercentury and half a world apart, could not be starker. In 1984, a leak of toxic gas at an American company’s Indian subsidiary killed thousands, injured tens of thousands more and left a major city with a toxic waste dump at its heart. The company walked away after paying a $470 million settlement. The company’s American chief executive, arrested while in India, skipped bail, never to return. This month eight former senior officials from the company, including one who has since died, were convicted of negligence, but the sentence two years in jail seems paltry to many here compared to the impact of their crime. No matter how halting the Obama administration’s response to the gushing oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico might look toAmericans, Indians cannot help but marvel and envy the alacrity with which the United States government has acted. BP’s $20 billion cleanup fund, as vast a sum as it seems from here, is in all likelihood merely a down
is actually does remind you that India is a weak state.” Analysts and historians say that the entire episode reeks of the humiliation of a poor and powerless country at the hands of a rich and resourceful Western corporation. India sought $3.3 billion in damages from the American company Union Survivors of a 1984 toxic gas leak protested on Thursday in New Delhi, demanding Carbide, but in to meet with the prime minister. The disaster killed thousands. 1989 settled for less than half a Now, almost 26 years later, in the face billion dollars. Charges of culpable payment on what the company will probably pay for the damage caused of public outrage prompted by the light homicide against the company’s senior by the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. A criminal sentences and the inescap- officials were later reduced by India’s criminal investigation has begun. And able contrast with the BP disaster, the Supreme Court to a charge most often while the environmental toll is huge, Indian government is trying shake off used against reckless drivers in car the cost in human lives, compared with the shadow of Bhopal, an episode that accidents. has become synonymous with ineffecBhopal, has been minimal. Many Indian commentators have tual governance and humiliation at the taken the BP comparison further, arhands of Western guing that the Obama administration capital. Indeed, cares more about fish and birds in the the disaster and its Gulf of Mexico than it does about Indiaftermath are a re- ans maimed by anAmerican company. minder that even But the onus, others argued, lies with as India aspires to the Indian government. superpowerstatus, “If we in India aspire to sup with those it still struggles to at the high-table in the world, then the provide its 1.2 bil- Indian government cannot be allowed lion people with to undervalue Indian lives so consome of life’s most temptuously,” wrote Sitaram Yechury, basic necessities. a member of the upper house of Par“This is one case liament representing the Communist where every organ Party, in The Hindustan Times. of the state failed,” At a news conference late Thursday, said Pratap Bhanu government officials announced a raft Mehta, president of new measures, including increased of the Center for compensation for victims and a fresh Policy Research. effort to extradite Warren M. Ander“An event like this son, the octogenarian former chairman
of Union Carbide, the company that owned the pesticide factory in Bhopal, from the United States. The government approved compensation of about $22,000 for the families of people killed by the leak, and about $4,000 for those with a diagnosis of cancer or total renal failure linked to the toxic gas. It also pledged that it would clean up the abandoned factory. Activists have long sought to make the Dow Chemical Company, the company that bought the now-defunct Union Carbide, pay for the cleanup. The Indian government said Thursday that it would pay and seek reimbursement if a court found Dow liable. Some of the measures, like increased compensation and a cleanup of the site, are simply a matter of money. But others will be much harder to accomplish. The government said it would ask the Supreme Court to revisit its 1996 decision to reduce the criminal charges against the men convicted this month. Because the charges were reduced to negligence, the men faced a maximum sentence of 2 years rather than 10 years under the previous charges. Anderson traveled to India in the wake of the disaster in 1984. He was arrested and released on bail, then fled the country. He is still considered an absconder, but has retired comfortably on Long Island. Indeed, his departure, along with what many see as the meager price the company paid in compensation to the victims, became symbols of India’s impotence, confirmation that it was a soft state unable to protect its citizens. The new measures did little to quell anger among victims and activists. “The victims will get hardly 10 percent of the money and rest will go to the pockets of ministers and bureaucrats,” said Satinath Sarangi of Bhopal Group for Information and Action, an advocacy group. “Indian people have to pay for the crimes committed by the U.S. corporations.”-NYT
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25 Years Later, Canada Says Sorry for Kanishka Toronto: Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Thursday offered a formal apology to families of the victims of the Air-India Kanishka bombings on the 25th anniversary of the worst terror attack in the country’s history. “Some wounds are too deep to be healed even by the remedy of time,” Harper said on Wednesday at Air India memorial in Humber Bay Park in Toronto. “We are sorry.” The destruction of Air India Flight 182 “was, and remains, the single worst act of terrorism in Canadian history,” he said, adding terrorism is “an enemy with a thousand faces, and a hatred that festers in the darkest spots of the human mind.” “This was evil. Perpetrated by cowards. Despicable. Senseless. And vicious,” Harper said. The statement follows ‘damning indictment’ of last week by former Supreme Court Justice John C Major report blaming a “cascading series of errors” by the Canadian government. Canadian Public Safety Minister Vic Toews, Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty, Toronto Mayor David Miller, Indian High Commissioner to Canada S M Gavai and senior
A door from the Air India jumbo jet floats off the Irish coast after a bomb exploded in June, 1985, causing the plane to crash.
officials of RCMP and Canadian Security Intelligence Services were also present on the occasion. The ill-fated Montreal-New Delhi Air India Kanishka flight via Toronto and London exploded mid-air 45 minutes before it was to land at London’s Heathrow Airport, killing all 329 people on board, most of whom were Canadians of Indian descent. Memorials marking the 25th anniversary of the Air India bombings were also held in Ottawa and Vancouver.
Canadian Transport Minister John Baird attended the Ottawa ceremony while Asia-Pacific Gateway Minister Stockwell Day joined the victims’ families at the Vancouver memorial. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s message on the occasion was also readout at the gathering. Mourners and dignitaries yesterday observed a minute’s silence to honour the victims during an annual service at a memorial garden in the remote Sheeps Head peninsula on Ireland’s West Cork coast. The gathering fell silent at 8.13 am (local time), the moment Flight 182 disappeared from radar screens. Irish Foreign Affairs Minister Michael Martin said the “tragic events had forged unbreakable bonds between the people of three continents.” Ireland and the local community “gladly open their arms” each year to the families and friends of the victims after their “long journey to this hallowed ground,” he said. “You will always be welcome here,” he said to a gathering that included Minister for Corporate and Minority Affairs Salman Khurshid and Canadian Immigration Minister Jason Kenney.-NDTV
From March 2011, AI Will Operate on Single Code NEW DELHI: Air India will have a single code by March next year on which it will be operating all its domestic and international flights and selling their tickets. The national carrier now has two codes - AI of Air India and IC of erstwhile Indian Airlines, which have to be integrated not only as part of the merger process, but also to join the global airlines platform - Star Alliance. Once the project is completed and Air India joins the Star Alliance, it would help the carrier save an estimated whopping $ 180 -190 billion over ten years through advantages of cooperation with the network partners across the globe. “We have entered into collaboration with aviation IT major SITA, which will take about 10 to 11 months to integrate the operations of two different airline under one code. The
system would start functioning from March 2011,” a senior airline official said. “The Departure Control System (DCS) would be put in place by September, by October its testing would start and by mid-December migration of data would be over and the whole system would be tested for about two months,” he said. Erstwhile Air India, which was operating on international sectors and Indian Airlines, which was operating primarily on domestic sectors, were merged to form National Aviation Company of India Limited (NACIL) in 2007. But due to differences in the IT platforms, including those relating to ticketing, and programmes used by the two carriers, “we were facing difficulties in operating flights under single code of AI. As a result, the entire purpose of merger has been
defeated,” he added. Keeping this in view, Air India entered into an agreement with Societe Internationale de Telecommunications Aeronautiques (SITA) for a period of 10 years to provide the required system for the merger. The airline has started a six-week training programme for 350 staffers related to internet booking, departure control system, loyalty programmes and other departments dealing directly with the travellers. “From Monday last, experts from a private IT firm have started training them in batches in Mumbai,” he added. He said due to integration and computerisation “no one would be losing their jobs“. “The surplus staff would be retrained and deployed to another department.Also, being the government enterprise, we don’t have a policy to retrench people,” he said.-Hindu
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Kanishka Bombing: Chronology of Events NEW DELHI: Following is the chronology of major events in the 1985 Air India Kanishka bombing incident: June 23, 1985: Air India Flight 182 leaves Toronto and explodes near Ireland, killing 329 people, 278 of them Canadians. Less than one hour before the blast, two baggage handlers at Tokyo’s Narita airport are killed when a bag explodes as it is being transferred to an Air India flight. November 8, 1985: Talwinder Singh Parmar and Inderjit Singh Reyat arrested by the Canadian police in connection with bombings. Charges are dropped against Parmar. Reyat is fined for a minor, unrelated charge. January 22, 1986: CanadianAviation Safety Board concludes a bomb brought down the jet. February 1988: Reyat is arrested by police in Coventry, England, where he moved with his wife and children in 1986. December 8, 1989: British authorities sign an extradition order for Reyat following a lengthy court battle. May 10, 1991: Reyat, an electrician from the Vancouver Island community of Duncan, BC, is sentenced to 10 years in prison on manslaughter and explosives charges related to the Narita bombing. May 1995: Canadian police offer a USD 1-million reward for help catching the Kanishka bombers. March 7, 1998: National Parole Board panel denies Reyat early release. October 27, 2000:Ajaib Singh Bagri and Ripudaman Singh Malik are arrested and charged with first-degree murder, attempted murder and conspiracy. June 4, 2001: British government grants permission for Reyat to be charged in Air India blast. June 6, 2001: Reyat is charged in Air India Flight 182 bombing just days before his 10-year sentence for his role in the Narita bombing is up. He remains in custody. February 10, 2003: Reyat pleads guilty to one count of manslaughter and is sentenced to five years. April 28, 2003: Bagri and Malik are set to go on trial before a judge alone in BC Supreme Court. November 2003: Star witness against Malik testifies the accused confessed his involvement in the bombing on at least two occasions. December 3, 2004: Crown and defence rest in what’s come to be called the bloodiest terror case in Canadian history. The trial ranks among the longest and most expensive Canada has ever seen. March 16, 2005: British Columbia Supreme Court Justice Ian Josephson acquits Malik and Bagri, saying he found the main witnesses in the case not credible. April 26, 2005: Federal government appoints Bob Rae, the former Ontario premier, to look into whether Ottawa should call a public inquiry into the Air India investigation. January 6, 2006: Reyat charged with perjury, prosecutors allege he lied 27 times during testimony at the trials of Malik and Bagri. May 1, 2006: Prime Minister Stephen Harper calls for public inquiry into the Air India bombing, overruling the previous government’s decision. September 25, 2006: Former Supreme Court Justice John Major begins hearing evidence in public inquiry. February 15, 2008: Major concludes hearings in Air India public inquiry. July 9, 2008: British Columbia court of appeal grants bail to Reyat, clearing the way for his release from prison. July 28, 2009: Commission of inquiry says draft of final report is complete. December 16, 2009: Lawyer says report from public inquiry slated for release in early 2010. March 4, 2010: Jury selection completed for Reyat perjury trial. March 8, 2010: Comments from one juror in Reyats perjury trial raise concerns with the presiding judge, who dismisses the entire jury on the first day of the trial. June 11, 2010: Reyat’s perjury trial deferred to September. June 17, 2010: Kanishka bombing Commission releases report.
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Indo American News • Friday, July 02 , 2010
A Mills and Boon Heroine
How do you get an utterly pedestrian book to shout “reprint”? Congress managers have made such a din about Javier Moro’s The Red Sari that the book has the imprint of best-seller stamped all over it. What a shame. Forget for a minute the hundreds of mistakes—the sparse, angular Congress leader Bansi Lal consistently described as “chubby”; the idiotic translation of Kissa Kursi Ka as The Tale of Two Armchairs; the Festival of India turned into the Year of India; marigolds, the ubiquitous flower of political campaigns, becoming carnations; and, most glaring of all, Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale referred to throughout the manuscript as Brindanwale (no first name). How much genius does it take to get the little things right? And if the details are wrong then how can this book, or any book, have credibility? We read the manuscript so, hopefully, editors at Roli, Moro’s Indian publisher, will clean up after him. But perhaps Moro simply didn’t care enough to get his book right, right on facts or right on nuances, consumed instead by turning the head of the world’s largest political party into a Mills and Boon heroine. His first line sets the tone, and the colour, “Sonia Gandhi simply cannot believe that the man she loves is dead, and she will no longer feel his caresses or the warmth of his kisses.” More purple prose follows: “Since the moment she had clung to Rajiv’s hand in response to his shy advances, back there in the gardens of the cathedral at Ely, she was consistent with herself.” Yes, yes, now give us the insight. Hilariously, Moro describes his book as a “lengthy investigation”. But his disclaimer seems at odds with facts, “This is a novel based on the story of Sonia Gandhi and the Nehru family. Neither Sonia Gandhi nor any member of her family has provided information or has collaborated in this book. Dialogues, conversations and situations found therein are the product of the author’s own interpretation and do not necessarily reflect authenticity.” What does a biographer whose subject refuses to speak with him do? He could tiptoe around and speak to people who will. But if Moro does that, then his information is sketchy. He is parsimonious with names. The two Aruns, Nehru and Singh, so much a part of Rajiv’s inner circle in the early days, find no mention by name. Satish Sharma, Rajiv’s Indian Airlines colleague who continues to be close to the family, gets barely a passing mention. Vincent George, loyal Gandhi secretary, features prominently but is never named. A “highly valued” Congress leader whose opinion carries weight in Rajiv’s time is simply D.S. Who is this person? Your guess is as good as mine. Did Moro speak to the other side then, the estranged Gandhis, Maneka and her son Vitriolic Varun? Clearly there is a problem. Those close to the Gandhis will not speak to him, or if they do then it’s on conditions of anonymity to reveal nothing that is not already known
Javier Moro’s controversial book on Sonia Gandhi is a hagiographic and sanitized telling of the life of India’s first political family
Rajiv and Sonia Gandhi at a sports event in Delhi (Hindustan Times); Moro gets the wedding sari detail wrong (Dinodia)
and published. Those ranged against the Gandhis, and that number is not inconsiderable, are of no use to Moro because in the end The Red Sari is more hagiography than biography, a sanitized telling of the life of India’s first political family. Warts are glossed over, wrinkles botoxed, leaving only a shiny patina. There is mention, for instance, of the Sikh riots following Indira Gandhi’s assassination, but no mention of a quote famously attributed to Rajiv, and for which he received a roasting at home: “When a big tree falls, the earth will shake.” There is mention too of the battle for secular India, but no analysis of the overturning of the Shah Bano verdict and its impact, no understanding of what opening the locks at Ayodhya by Rajiv’s government meant. Moro falls back on a vast library of books on the Gandhi/Nehrus. If you’ve read Katherine Frank’s Indira: The Life of Indira Nehru Gandhi or Pupul Jayakar’s Indira Gandhi: An Intimate Biography and Sonia Gandhi’s own Rajiv, then you pretty much know where the rehashing is coming from. Much of The Red Sari has already been documented: Sonia weeping at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences while Rajiv Gandhi holds her hands, telling her he must take over as prime minister from his assassinated mother, is straight out of P.C. Alexander’s My Years with Indira Gandhi. Indira Gandhi’s clear distaste for her younger daughter-in-law Maneka finds mention in Frank’s book: The issue is not an inevitable conflict with a mother-in-law so much as a clash
of opposing personalities. The senior Mrs Gandhi finds “Maneka’s behaviour inappropriate and grating”, writes Frank, a conclusion echoed by Moro. The central question about Moro’s book is not its authenticity but its ethics: Should you write a book about a living public figure even as you admit that it does not “necessarily reflect authenticity”? The liberal view, one taken by the First Amendment, America’s standard of free speech, is that when you are a public figure you become fair game. It doesn’t matter if Sonia Gandhi did not speak to Moro; he was at liberty to conduct his own investigations. But to do so and then concede that you do not “necessarily reflect authenticity” is to admit that this is a “biography” in the loosest sense of the word. So if it is not biography what is it? This is the dilemma of the book. Just one last word. The Red Sari, both the title as well as the sari worn by Indira Gandhi on her wedding day, presents itself through the book. We are told Rajiv showed it first to Sonia in England during an exhibition on Jawaharlal Nehru. He tells Sonia: “That is the sari my grandfather wove in prison for my mother’s wedding...I hope you will wear it one day...” Sonia does indeed. Only thing, as anyone who has ever seen those documented wedding photographs knows, the sari was not red. It was pink. Moro’s website says The Red Sari is in its 10th printing and has sold 230,000 copies in Spain and Latin America. Roli Books will release it in India.-Mint
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Lessons from the Baby Elephant: Smash the Peg. Set yourself free! In life we often play the role of the elephant trainer. Handle your baby elephants with care. Don’t be overly critical. Don’t belittle them. Don’t chain them to a peg! By Prakash Iyer DO you know what they do to keep a circus elephant from running away? They tie a metal chain onto a collar around the mighty elephant’s leg – and tie it to a small wooden peg that’s hammered into the ground. The 10-foot tall, 5,000 kilo hulk could easily snap the chain, uproot the wooden peg, and escape to freedom. But it does not do that. In fact it does not even try. The world’s most powerful animal, which can uproot a tree as easily as you and I can break a toothpick, remains tied down by a small peg and a flimsy chain. How come? It’s because when the elephant was a baby, its trainers used exactly the same methods. A chain was tied around its leg and the other end of the chain was tied to a metal stake on the ground. The chain and peg were strong enough for the baby elephant. When it tried to break away, the metal chain would pull it back. Sometimes, tempted by the world it could see in the distance, the elephant would pull harder. But the chain would cut into the skin on the elephant’s leg, making it bleed, creating a wound that would hurt the baby elephant even more. Soon, the baby elephant realized it was futile trying to escape. It stopped trying ! And now when the big circus elephant is tied by a chain around its leg, it remembers the pain it felt as a baby. And it does not try to break away. So even though it’s just a chain and a little wooden peg, the elephant stands still. It remembers its limitations, and knows that it can only move as much as the chain will allow. It does not matter that the metal stake has been replaced by a wooden peg. It does not matter that the 100 kilo baby is now a 5,000 kilo powerhouse. However,
When we are young, many of us grow up on a diet of “Don’t do that”, or “You can’t do it!”, or “You are no good!” And we stop ourselves from aiming high. We say “I can’t do it because…” and fill in our favorite excuse. Because I don’t speak English too well. Because I didn’t study in a premier B-school. Because I come from a poor family. Over time, these beliefs about our limitations become stronger and stronger. These self-limiting beliefs become chains that stop us from trying. Circumstances change, metal poles get replaced by wooden pegs – but we don’t recognise that. We stop trying. We give up without even trying. And in life we often play the role of the elephant trainer, too – as parents, teachers,
colleagues or friends. When that happens, remember to handle your baby elephants with care! Don’t be overly critical. Don’t belittle them. Don’t chain them to a peg! Remember, we all have the strength of an elephant. Don’t let a mere chain-and-peg hold you back. It’s a good idea to recognise what’s holding you back. And break the shackles of your self-limiting beliefs. It’s sad when we allow our achievements in life to be determined not by our strengths and our powers – but by our self-limiting beliefs. Time then to break free. Snap the chain. Smash the peg. Break your self-limiting belief. Set yourself free. Today! Unleash the elephant within!
Prakash Iyer is MD, Kimberly-Clark and Executive Coach.
the elephant’s belief prevails. If you think about it, we are all like the circus elephant. We all have incredible power inside us. We have it in us to take on the world. And of course, we have our own chains and pegs. Our self-limiting beliefs that hold us back. Sometimes it’s a childhood experience or an early failure. Sometimes it’s something we were told when we were younger. That becomes our chain and peg, holding us back from doing what we are capable of, stopping us from achieving what was well within our powers. Time then to ask the question: what’s holding you back? What’s your chain and wooden peg?
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Everything you Need, in the Mumbai’s Coolest 3-Wheeler By Namita Handa MUMBAI (DNA): With the auto rickshaw and taxi drivers giving Mumbai a harrowing time over the past two days, one would understand if Mumbaikars are not favourably inclined towardsthese drivers. However, even the angriest of them would have to smile on seeing this autorick shaw. Sandeep Bachche’s three-wheeler is unlike anything you may have seen before. It is stocked with almost every convenience you can imagine. Fancy a newspaper while holding on for dear life? The rickshaw has a magazine stand with the daily newspaper and a film magazine. You and your girlfriend want to suddenly catch a film but don’t know where to go? Then behind Bachche’s seat is a piece of paper glued on that has all the numbers of theatres as well as emergency numbers neatly written out and highlighted. Oh, and if you’re feeling magnanimous, just turn around in your seat
where perched on the back rest is a red donation box. But, two of the auto rickshaw’s most striking features are a small television set and a black landline phone. “I get Doordarshan and if somebody asks, I switch on the TV for a while but switch it off later as it distracts me while driving,” Bachche admits. His telephone calling rates are also quite reasonable with both local and STD being Re1. Apart from a telephone facility, he also provides a mobile charger and a pre-paid recharge card. Bachche, aka Munnabhai SSC, another popular name given to him by friends, started driving his threewheeler in 2000, but changed the interiors two years ago. “I used to work as a peon in a travel agency. So, during night duties, I used to end up sleeping inside a tourist bus. That’s when I thought that whenever I got my own vehicle, I would do up the interiors and make it commuter friendly,” Munnabhai SSC said.
Bachche is equipped for emergencies, too, with a fire extinguisher and a first aid box to boot. Another interesting feature is the old 10 paise coins taped to the side of his meter. The reason, he says, is, “When an old couple sits in my rickshaw and sees this, they smile as it reminds them of days gone by. And, to see them smile is priceless,” Bachche said. Interestingly, Bachche’s flashy vehicle belies his philanthropic side. This amiable driver is known to distribute biscuits to old age homes and, if he earns more than average on a particular day, he donates it to the cancer patients aid organisation. The first and the last fare of the day also goes to charity. He even offers interesting discounts. For newlyweds there is a 10% discount, a 25% discount for the handicapped and for the blind the ride is free up to Rs50. Bachche lives with his family in a 70 square feet rented room on KharDanda Road. “My dream is to have my own flat here,” Bachche said. But right now, his big wish is to participate in the game show, dus-ka-dum and share the stage with his idol Salman Khan.
Sandeep Bacche, auto driver par excellence
25% discount for handicapped !! Now, who on this earth can expect something like this from an rickshawala!!
He has got a first aid box on the left and a newspaper box on right (which included economic times and magazines in several other languages)
He has got a TV on the top with cable (I was watching Colors channel) and below that is the tissue box. On the left has devotional pictures and don’t miss the “Only gandhigiri” written there). Below that is the calendar, a notepad and pen along with a blue fan (which blows towards the passenger sitting in the seat behind the driver) INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, july 02 , 2010 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM
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RELIGIOUS SERVICES
Temple hours: Monday - Saturday: 9am- 11am and 4pm to 7pm; Sandhya Durga Bari Society Aarti 6.30pm. Sunday 9am- 7 pm. www.houstondurgabari.org, Champak 832-347-4003 Sadhu. • 13944 Schiller Road. Hindu Worship Society Temple
Priest – “Bhibhdutt Mishra Ji”. Open for Darshan all days, except Thursday, from 8am -10am & 5pm - 8pm. Sunday 11:30am to 1:30pm – Regular Puja, Religious discourses and Prasad. Website www.hwst.org
Parkash & prayer everyday: 6-7:15am, Evening Diwan: 7:15-8:30pm, Special Sikh Center of Gulf Diwan: Wed: 7-8:30pm, Sun: 10am-1:30pm, Langar everyday. 8819 Prairie Coast Area Dr., Houtson TX 77064, 713-466-6538, 281-635-7466, 832-633-5092 Shri Kripalu Kunj Ashram 713-344-1321
Satsang & spiritual discourses, Sun: 10.30 am.-12.30pm. with simultaneous prog. of Hindi, Sanskrit and Moral science for kids, dance classes for children and adults every Fri:8 pm, www.shrikripalukunj.org
Shri Radha Krishna Four Arti daily: 6:30am , 12 noon, 7pm & 9pm. Tuesday & Saturday 7:10pm. Sunday Bhajan and Kritan at 6pm. Maha Arti 7pm, More information www. Temple srkt.org Located at 11625 Beechnut Houston, TX 77072. 281-933-8100
Please note: The above section for Religious Services has been provided as a free service for many years. We are now updating this section to make it informative for our readers. To help provide this service on an ongoing weekly basis, we are making these listings available for a nominal annual charge. Give prominence to your religious services with a special block ad for an annual cost of only $150. That is only $2.88 per week. Thank you for your ongoing support. Regular business card size $30 / week.
The Number One Obstacle to Retirement Saving for retirement is crucial. At first it would seem that the biggest obstacle to retirement is not having enough money. Most people simply don’t have enough in the bank to retire comfortably. While that is certainly a big part of the equation, it’s just the tip of the iceberg. Why don’t many people have enough money to retire? They didn’t save enough, of course. But why didn’t they save enough? And that brings us to what is, for many, the biggest obstacle to retirement-debt. And the problem isn’t just any debt. The problem is nonmortgage debt. Non-mortgage debt creates a triple-whammy when it comes to retirement. First, during your working years you have less to save toward retirement because you must make payments on your debt. Second, unlike a mortgage payment that goes toward a home that over the long term goes up in value, consumer debt usually goes to pay for things that have no lasting monetary value. And third, in retirement you need more income because, in addition to your regular monthly expenses, you must keep making payments on the nonmortgage debt you’ve racked up. As a result, many save less during
their working years and need more during retirement. In a recent study commissioned by Scottrade, for 63 percent of Americans, debt was an impediment to retirement savings in 2009. And 61 percent of Americans expect debt to limit retirement savings in 2010. While there are no easy answers to the prob-
lem of debt and retirement, here are some basic strategies that may help you save more and climb out of debt as you work toward your golden years. 1. Stop borrowing. No matter how much consumer debt you have, the absolute most important step is to stop going into more debt. You cannot climb out of the hole until you stop digging. 2. Save first. While some advo-
cate ridding yourself of all non-mortgage debt before saving for retirement, this strategy can backfire. Not unlike dieting, you may find the discipline to stay out of debt elusive. So like eating your vegetables first, make saving for retirement a priority today. Even if you save just a few dollars a month, the money will grow and you’ll begin developing good investing habits. Saving first is particularly important if your employer offers a company match for 401(k) contributions. 3. Scale down your budget. To borrow from dieting again, one of the biggest mistakes we make when trying to lose weight is to go extreme. We count every calorie and significantly restrict
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Charlie Chaplin, Jungle Book to Come Alive
K.Rajani Kanth HYDERABAD: Hyderabad-based DQ Entertainment plans two 3D feature films with a budget of Rs 315 crore. Following the league of major animation studios, DQ Entertainment (DQE), a Hyderabad-based animation, gaming and entertainment company, will produce two 3D animated stereoscopic feature films, together with a budget of euro 55 million (approximately Rs 315 crore). According to sources privy to the development, the two polaroid animation films will be based on Rudyard Kipling’s classic tale The Jungle Book and the famed silent film comedian Charlie Chaplin. “Our idea is to bring back famous books and characters, from the early 1950s to 1970s, to the contemporary world using our shop floor capabilities on stereoscopic technology (which enhances the illusion of depth),” says DQE Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Tapaas Chakravarti Chakravarti, adding that one of the films will have its global theatrical release by December 2011 and the other in 2012 winter. Chakravarti, however, declined to discuss the subject of these movies, saying the company is currently under legal negotiations with distributors in the US and Europe. The pre-production of these movies, including voice cast, will be done in the US and France, while the stereoscopic animation work will be executed from DQE’s facility in Hyderabad. “About 85 per cent of the budget will be raised through pre-sale commitments the foods we eat. Such extreme strategies rarely work in dieting or money. So rather than counting every penny you spend and denying yourself every indulgence, pick the one or two categories of spending that really cause you to overspend. This may include eating out, buying clothes, or, if you’re like me, spending on gadgets. For just these categories, set a reasonable budget and stick to it. 4. Plan for the unexpected. We often go into debt to handle emergency expenses. While we can’t guarantee we’ll have enough money to handle every situation, saving up an emergency fund
from global distributors, broadcasters and publishers, which we expect to conclude in the next two months. Pilots of these films will make their debut at the 64th Cannes Festival, scheduled to be held in May 2011,” he says. DQE, which currently has an order book of around Rs 620 crore, including pure-service, coproductions, and assured licensing and merchandising deals to be executed in the next two and a half years, went public early this year. The company reported a net profit of Rs 26 crore (after writing off its initial public offer expenses) on revenues of Rs 175 crore last financial year. Chakravarti, who along with his co-promoters, holds close to 21 per cent stake in DQE, says the company was expecting its topline to grow between 17 per cent and 22 per cent and net profit at 50 per cent in the current year, on the back of the windfall in incoming cash flows from licensing and merchandising for its intellectual property (IP)-based content library. “Currently, our library has a little over 470 hours of content. We produce 22 television series and six to seven television movies. By the time we end the 2011 financial year, we expect to have a library of over 600 hours of content,” he says. The company is planning to raise about Rs 30-crore shortterm debt shortly to meet working capital requirements, and augment promotional and marketing efforts globally, he adds.
in a high interest online savings account reduces the likelihood that an unexpected expense will send us into more debt. 5. Plan for the expected. As important as planning for an emergency is, we also should be planning for large, anticipated purchases. Whether it’s buying your next car, taking a yearly vacation, or paying for a wedding, these big expenses can sink you deep into debt if you are not careful. Saving for retirement isn’t easy. If it were, we’d all have enough to retire comfortably. But we can greatly improve our chances of having enough money in retirement if we keep our debt under control. - US News
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World’s Smallest Pen: Waiting in Wings to Enter Guinness By B.V.S. Bhaskar RAJAHMUNDRY: This pen is an iconic instrument, and it has a legacy to live up to. And, meet the man behind it — K.V. Ramana Murthy, 68. He is seeking to gain for his diminutive but efficient writing tool, what he describes as the world’s smallest fountain pen, a special status. Made of Ebonite (hard rubber made by prolonged vulcanising of rubber, which then looks much like ebony), it is just 3.5 cm long and 1.7 gm in weight, with a 14 carat gold nib with a pen point, a clip and ring band. Mr. Murthy is hoping to secure a place for it in the Guinness Book of World Records. The enterprise has an impressive pedigree. Ratnam Pens, which were known as ‘swadeshi’ pens during the freedom movement, brought fame to Rajahmundry and the pen-maker, K.V. Ratnam. Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Rajendra Prasad, S. Kasturiranga Iyengar of The Hindu, Indira Gandhi, V.V. Giri, Ramnath Goenka of the Indian Express, and Archibald Nye, Governor of Madras, were known to have used them. When Gandhiji gave a call to boycott foreign goods, Ratnam was involved in making lithographic blocks, methim, in 1921. Gandhiji advised him to make something that would be utilitarian and affordable to the common man. Ratnam made a pen in Ebonite and sent it to Gandhiji. The Mahatma wrote to him on July 16, 1935from Wardha: “Dear Ratnam, I must thank you for the fountain pen you sent me… I have needed it and [it] seems to be a good substitute to the foreign pen, once in the bazaar. Yours sincerely, M.K. Gandhi, 16.7.1935.” When Congress leaders met in Kakinada in 1937, Nehru travelled to
PETIT PENS: Pen maker K.V. Ramana Murthy displays the miniature pens in Rajahmundry.
Rajahmundry to see Nyapathi Subba Rao Pantulu, one of the founders of The Hindu. Together they went to Ratnam Pens and bought a pen each. ‘Ratnam Pens’ thus gained popularity across Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and even elsewhere in the country and the world. A small, traditional house on Fort gate Street serves as the workshop today. Popularly known as the ‘Kotagummam’ of Rajahmundry, the house has a sign board: “Pioneers of Pen Industry in India since 1932, K.V. Ratnam & Sons, Ratnam Ball Pen Works, Mfrs: Swadeshi ‘Ratnamson’ pens, 14 CT-Gold Nibs.” Mr. Murthy says each pen took two days to make. There is a range made in gold, 4.2 cm long. It weighs 5.6 gm. Mr. Murthy uses 22-carat gold for the entire pen (with ebonite inside), a clip and 14 carat gold for the nib and its pen point, besides gems set in India’s national tricolour. The
22-carat gold pen takes three days to make. It is adorned with gold pen portraits of Mahatma Gandhi and Mother India. The cap is embellished with the tricolour. According to Mr. Murthy, the raw material to make Ebonite is available in India. Pure gold (24 carat) is converted into 14 carat to make the nib. The iridium pen point will last years of use, as it is ductile and has good resistance to ink. The pen points, very tiny balls, are imported from Germany. What motivates him? “I wanted to do something special on the eve of the platinum jubilee of India’s Independence. I want it to be recognised by all in India and abroad,” said Mr. Murthy, who is known by the sobriquet of ‘Swadeshi Ratnam.’Will the uniqueness and tradition continue after him? Mr. Murthy smiles, and says his two sons entered the business at14 years of age. He is confident they would continue the pursuit.- Hindu
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Does Corporal Punishment Leave a Child Disciplined or Scarred? DELHI: Be prepared to sit on the ground in Delhi’s bone-chilling winter if your parents haven’t paid your fees. Stand in the sun till the summer heat singes you because you haven’t done your homework. Or risk losing an eye when the teacher hurls a duster at you for talking in class. And god forbid if you play a childish prank like bursting a cracker in class: risk being caned at the assembly the following morning. If this sounds like a primer on disciplining children straight out of Victorian times, don’t be surprised to see schoolteachers still swearing by it in the best of our schools. All of us can recall, though not with fondness, the first stinging slap by the math teacher high on numbers and low on patience, or the first rap on the knuckles with a wooden ruler by the Hindi teacher or the first caning by the headmaster for sneaking out of school. What’s the din all about, you ask— specially in a country where child rights have never been the focus of
a national discussion? Well, for one, though corporal punishment is a crime punishable by law, and two judgements— by the Delhi High Court in 2000 and by the Gujarat High Court in 2009—have expressly banned corporal punishment, it has taken the death of Rouvanjit Rawla, a Class VII student of La Martiniere School, Calcutta, to start a public debate on corporal punishment. What is also happening increasingly is that children are speaking up confiding in their parents and word reaching lawyers, NGOs or constitutional authorities about the horrific stories of corporal punishment and abuse in schools. Last year, when parents vociferously protested the fee hike imposed by schools in Delhi, teachers found a novel way to wreak vengeance on the children. Students of schools like the Vishal Bharti School, Paschim Vihar, were made to sit on the floor in the December winter. Poonam Choudhury, whose two children go to the
same school, says, “The school found our children easy targets. continued on page
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INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, july 02 , 2010 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM
F OOD TA L K
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Indo American News • Friday, July 02 , 2010
Ginger Fish Recipe If you like ginger, you will really enjoy this particu½ cup red bell pepper, julienned into thin strips lar recipe. Ginger is a wonderfully pungent, slightly ½ cup carrot, thinly sliced spicy aromatic tuber that is essential to Indian cuisine. ½ cup green peas (frozen is fine, no need to thaw) Ginger is available in many different forms such as 1 can of coconut milk (use as needed) fresh ginger, dried ginger, pickled ginger, preserved 6-8 fresh curry leaves ginger, crystallized ginger and ground ginger. In re¼ tsp red chili flakes, to taste gards to Indian cuisine, fresh ¼ tsp turmeric ginger is the most commonly ¼ tsp garam masala used form. ½ tsp ground coriander powGinger also has many medicider nal qualities and is used extensalt & pepper, to taste sively throughout India as part juice of ½ lime of Ayurvedic (herbal) medicine 1-2 tbsp of oil, vegetable or where it plays a large role in canola digestion and other stomach refreshly chopped cilantro lated issues. leaves for garnish For this recipe, any firm white METHOD: fish fillet such as snapper, tilaIn a large karahi or wok on pia, sole, cod, halibut, flounder, medium high heat, add the oil. pollock, grouper, mahi-mahi, When hot, add the onions and sea bass will work well. This bastir fry for a few minutes or Tilapia Filets sic recipe can also be used with until slightly browned. Then most shellfish too, just remember add the green chilies and the to adjust the cooking times accordingly. Also, if you ginger along with the spices (red chili flakes, turare planning to make this dish using clams or mus- meric, garam masala, ground coriander powder, salt, sels - remember to cover the pot with a tight fitting lid pepper & curry leaves). Stir fry for a few minutes bein the last 5-7 minutes of cooking. Always remember fore adding the vegetables - red bell pepper, carrots to discard any open clams or mussels before cooking & green peas. Let cook for 2-3 minutes. Now add and also any that remain closed after cooking. the fish and carefully stir so as not to break up the This versatile dish may be made as either a stir fry fish. Add the lime juice and as much coconut milk as or as a curry, depending on your personal preference you prefer depending on whether you want a proper or mood. So add as much or as little coconut milk as curry or a semi-dry stir fry dish. Reduce the heat to you wish. medium low and let cook for 5-7 minutes or until the INGREDIENTS: fish is fully cooked. Garnish with cilantro and serve 1 lb of any firm boneless/skinless white fish, cut with fragrant Basmati rice or warm chapatis. into 1.5” pieces VARIATIONS: 1.5” piece of fresh ginger, peeled and julienned into Feel free to use your favorite vegetable in this very thin strips recipe such as baby corn, bamboo shoots, snap peas, 1-2 small green Thai chilies, slit in half lengthwise snow peas, baby bok choy…. - Bella (to taste) • 1 small onion, thinly sliced
Tandoori Chicken - A Canadian Twist By Sabrina Del Ben Serves 8 People 2 cups (500 ml) yogurt 1 medium onion, grated 1 tablespoon (15 mg) cumin 1 tablespoon (15 mg) garam masala 1 tablespoon (15 mg) paprika 1 tablespoon (15 mg) turmeric 1-1/2 teaspoons (7 mg) salt 1 teaspoons (5 mg) cardamom 1 teaspoons (5 mg) cayenne pepper 8 boneless skinless chicken breasts To prepare marinade, combine all ingredients except chicken in a large heavy resealable plastic bag. Cut three diagonal slashes, 1/2 inch (1.25 centimetre) deep, in top of each chicken breast. Add chicken to marinade and coat chicken with marinade. Seal bag and place on a plate. Refrigerate, turning bag occasionally, for at least 8 hours or up to 24 hours. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with non-stick
foil. Remove chicken from marinade. Place chicken in a single layer in prepared pan, making sure each piece of chicken has a light coating of marinade.
Do not overcrowd pan. Discard remaining marinade. Bake at 425 F (220 C) for 40 to 45 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Acto Blue Flame, Calgary, Can West News
INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, july 02 , 2010 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM
Babulbhai
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Indo American News • Friday, July 02 , 2010
online edition: www.indoamerican-news.com
INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, july 02 , 2010 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM
online edition: www.indoamerican-news.com
technology
Indo American News • Friday, July 02 , 2010
Bugatti Veyron Hi-Tech Car to be Shah Rukh Khan’s Steed in ‘Ra.One’ In his forthcoming film, ‘Ra One’, superstar Shah Rukh Khan is preparing to drive one of the world’s fastest cars, the Bugatti Veyron. Its been rumored that a special technical team that has also worked in the Johnny Depp starrer ‘The Pirates of the Caribbean’, is all set to teach Shah Rukh the nitty gritties of driving the world’s most fastest production car. Special lessons are in order for the superstar in order to master this dreamy speed demon. A source from film ‘Ra One’ spoke to a news daily saying that “A team of technicians from ‘The Pirates Of The Caribbean’ crew is being flown down to teach Shah Rukh how to drive the car with ease. When you are zipping at a top speed of 407 kilometres (254 miles) per hour, your mind cannot afford to drift. Your concentration needs to be at its best.”
‘Ra One’, which stands as an abbreviation of ‘Random Access Version One’ is expected to be SRK’s most ambitious project. In this film Shah Rukh plays a superhero and drives the fastest car ever. The Bugatti Veyron is believed to be used in performing many stunts by Shah Rukh in this film. This film is being directed by Anubhav Sinha and it also stars Kareena Kapoor as its leading lady. Currently, Shah Rukh Khan is enjoying a holiday with his family, the source also added that “He will be taking his family to South Africa for the FIFA final. From there, he plans to go straight to London for the next schedule of ‘Ra.One.’ It is in this schedule that most of the portions using the Volkswagen Bugatti would be shot. As soon as he reaches London, the experts will commence the driving lessons.” - Times of India
INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, july 02 , 2010 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM
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Indo American News • Friday, July 02 , 2010
sports
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Saina Completes Hat Trick
HYDERABAD: It is an incredible hattrick from the most gifted woman shuttler ever to have graced world badminton from India. By defending the Indonesian Open Super Series title in Jakarta on Sunday, 20-yearold Saina Nehwal completed a rare three in-a-row wins having won the Chennai Indian Open Grand Prix, Singapore Open Super Series and now the Indonesian Open title in a span of three weeks. But there was a ‘battle’ between the parents -- Dr. Harvir Singh and Usha Rani -- even as the world No. 3 was scripting another history. Every time the father jumped up from his seat to applaud Saina scoring a point, the mother (herself a former Haryana State player) reminding him that the Japanese opponent Sayaka Sato is a very tough player. “In the semi-final, Sato won after trailing by 12 points at one stage,” she pointed out. As Saina switched gears in the decider, the cautious mood paved the way for optimism which soon turned into a delightful reality.
In the full glare of the media, Harvir Singh, with tears of joy strolling down his cheeks, jumped as Saina clinched the title. “ Yeh, sab bhagwan ki krupa hai (this is all God’s grace). My daughter has done it again,” was his reaction, struggling to control his emotions. This time around, Saina’s mother too joined the celebrations at the posh new flat in L&T Info City Tulip. The mood at the Gopi C h a n d Academy where Saina trains was also one of elation as players like P. C. Thulasi, Aparna Balan, B. Sumeet, K. Nandagopal, Sourabh Varma and Manu Atri brought out a banner congratulating Saina and flashing victory signs. “This is a great moment for all of us too. It is a privilege and an honour to train with someone like Saina who is not only a champion player but a simple person,” remarked Thulasi and Aparna. “We are all awaiting for her arrival to host a grand welcome at the academy,” they chorused. - The Hindu
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Education
Indo American News • Friday, July 02 , 2010
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Does Corporal Punishment Leave a Child Disciplined or Scarred? continued from page
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One kid’s grades too were spoilt.” Poonam, a member of the Parent Teachers Association, confronted the principal, who denied everything. “As parents,” Poonam points out, “we just chase reputed schools to get our children admitted; once that’s done, we don’t care or bother to ask them about what they go through every day.” Abject humiliation, if you ask Siddharth Nandi, a Class X student of DPS Calcutta. “I think caning is humiliating,” he says. “I would not want to show my face to the class if it had ever happened to me.” Having suffered humiliation in school himself, Manoj, a physically challenged parent, has vowed to bring to the attention of school authorities every single act of abuse—verbal or physical—committed by the teachers at St Peter’s Convent School, Vikaspuri, Delhi, where his son studies. “It is just not permissible to beat a child or abuse him,” says Manoj, who still bears the emotional scars of having his teachers call him not by his name but by alluding to his physically challenged status. Manoj was subjected to what is now officially recognised as verbal abuse, and strictly prohibited by law. In fact, very little was known about the extent of physical or verbal abuse of a child till a national survey conducted by the department of Women and Child Development of the Government of India in 2007 lifted the lid off the crimes visited on school children in the name of punishment. In 2009, Shanno, a Class II student in a school in Bawana, Delhi, died of a heat stroke after she was made to squat in the sun. Her shoes & ID All that’s left of Shanno after she was made to squat in the sun Last year, Punita Singh, mother of a Class III student at St John’s High School, Chandigarh, complained to the state administration that a teacher had slapped her son several times. An inquiry found the teacher, Reema Talwar, guilty. Indu Bala, principal of the Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 35, Chandigarh, slapped a Class XII student when she was talking to her friend during a free period. In October 2009, two Class III children of St Joseph English Medium School in Mydukur, Kadapa, Andhra Pradesh, were found speaking in Telugu. They were forced to wear a slate around their neck, declaring ‘I will never speak in Telugu’. When a Class III teacher in a Hyderabad school hit a boy, his hand was so swollen that his parents took him for an X-ray which showed a fracture. The school reprimanded the teacher.
In Prakasam district in Andhra Pradesh, a victims of corporal punishment, that is, an bleeding child had to be rushed home after overwhelming majority of children (65.01 his teacher threw a duster at his head for talk- per cent) reported being beaten up in school. ing in class. The teacher was suspended. Of these, 54.28 per cent were boys and 45.72 Earlier this year, Somesh, studying in a per cent were girls. The study also indicated prestigious private school in Bangalore, that an alarmingly high percentage of chilwas humiliated and caned by his teacher for dren in state-run schools (53.8 per cent) not bringing faced corporal colour penpunishment, cils to school. followed by Incidentally, public schools it was the (22.3 per cent). child’s birthNGO-run day. schools acOn June counted for 13 19, Satish, a per cent cases. child from a The most government commonly reschool in ported punishChennapatna ment was bein Ramanaging slapped or aram district, kicked (63.67 60 km from per cent), folBangalore, lowed by being was thrashed beaten with a so harshly by stave or stick a teacher that (31.31 per it left bruises cent), and beon his hand ing pushed or and back. shaken (5.02 The teacher, A mother in Calcutta leaves her son at school, not per cent). Such Hemavathy, knowing what her child will go through that day punishment was suspendsometimes left ed and arrested. visible marks, as in physical injury, swellIn 2006, a Class VIII student from Guru ing, bleeding or internal bleeding. However, Nanak High School, Sion Koliwada, Mum- little gets known of the mental anguish a bai, died a day after being beaten and made child goes through unless it manifests in a to climb three flights of stairs on his knees suicide or death. for being late to school. Madhumita Ray, a teacher at Pratt MemoA Class VIII student from St Francis High rial School in Calcutta, whose daughters School, Vasai, Mumbai, was beaten with a go to La Martiniere for Girls, says, “Some metal ruler by a teacher for causing commo- amount of disciplining is required and I tion. It left Nirmal with bruises on his upper think a teacher should be allowed the freeback, shoulder and left arm and cuts on his dom to take punitive or disciplinary action. forehead. But it should not cross over to the category In early 2008, eight-year-old Rohit Kumar of abuse. The idea is not to humiliate the Sakpal of Sangli, Maharashtra, was beaten child or hurt him physically.” to death by his headmaster. Last year, TinBut, faced with the staggering number of ha, a Class VII student at Little Angels High abused children in schools, what is the legal School, Sion, Mumbai, had to undergo hu- recourse in case of corporal punishment? miliation because her hands had mehendi Says social jurist Ashok Aggarwal, known designs that she and her friends had done for dragging every school that violates the for Id. She was made to sit outside the prin- dignity of a child to the courts, “Unless cipal’s office on the floor facing a toilet for the relevant sections of the IPC—namely over six hours, for two successive days. Sections 88 and 89, which state that an act Based on the experiences of 12,447 chil- done in good faith for the benefit of child dren aged 5-18 years in 13 states and 2,449 by the guardian not intended to cause death stakeholders (adults holding positions in is permissible—are struck down, teachers government departments,) the study re- and guardians will continue to enjoy immuvealed a high prevalence of corporal pun- nity.” ishment in all settings—family homes, “Corporal punishment,” says Isidore Philschools, institutions and on the streets. Two lips, director, Divya Disha, a group which out of three schoolchildren were found to be works for child rights in Andhra Pradesh,
Shiv Sagar
“is just a case of teachers not knowing what to do when the child doesn’t listen. So they fall back on beating a child.” Teachers have to realize that child rights and dignity are non-negotiable. It’s worse in the villages. S.S. Rajagopalan, an 80-year-old Chennai-based educationist, says that in cities at least “the parents come marching to the school to fight. In rural areas, parents accept corporal punishment because they feel that teachers beat children for a reason.” Rajagopalan spearheaded a campaign against corporal punishment after Ram Abhinav, a 16-year-old student of Velammal Matriculation School, committed suicide in 2003 after being caned for being absent. “Till today,” Rajagopalan says, “the management has not expressed regret.” Two years earlier, Thoufeeq, another student from the same school, had committed suicide. “Corporal punishment is very common in Tamil Nadu,” asserts V. Vasanthi Devi, chairperson of the Institute of Human Rights Education and ex-chairperson of the State Commission for Women. “Because of the fierce competition, there is a ruthlessness in dealing with children. The problem is, parents don’t mind as they think this is the way to make children succeed.” “Beating a child or abusing a child begins when a teacher’s intelligence does not match that of a child. It is simply a reflection of the teacher’s inadequacies who cannot motivate a child by making the subject interesting,” says Vasireddy Amarnath, who runs Slate The School in Mumbai. And it’s not just about the physical abuse. “Children in some schools are subjected to psychological abuse in the name of caste or physical appearance and called dark, ugly, fat or short by insensitive teachers.” But does the law have anything to punish the punishers? “We are looking at strengthening our laws,” says Shanta Sinha, chairperson of the National Committee for the Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR). As for any serious effort to sensitize teachers, most schools have no specific programme. Nina Nayak, chairperson, Karnataka State Commission for Protection of Child Rights, talks of one failed exercise in her state. How then does one compensate for the loss of life, limb or dignity of a child? New laws are certainly needed to make teachers more accountable. Our education system needs to move away from the Victorian-vintage dictum of ‘spare the rod and spoil the child’. Britain, which gave us both the proverb and some of moral/legal legitimacy accorded to it, has long banned corporal punishment and abuse. - Outlook India
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Indo American News • Friday, July 02 , 2010
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INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, july 02 , 2010 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM