India's Top Ten News

Advani wants Liberhan report tabled, slams UPA for its leak

2009-11-23T10:00:00.000-08:00

An angry Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader LK Advani on Monday described as a "breach of privilege of the house" the reported "leak" of the Liberhan Commission report in the media and stated he was personally proud of his "association with the Ayodhya movement".

He also demanded that the Liberhan report on the Babri Mosque demolition be tabled immediately in parliament.

The BJP senior leader led a scathing attack on the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) for "secretly leaking" the report to media.

"Why is the report not being placed in the house? When we demanded it in the last session, we were told the report would be placed in the house along with action taken report (ATR). Our demand is that the report along with ATR should be tabled today (Monday) itself," he said.

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Nokia annouces availability of 6600i in India

2009-11-23T09:59:00.000-08:00

Nokia, the world’s leading mobile phone supplier, has announced the availability of 6600i in India.

The newly launched slider phone is equipped with 2.2 inch color TFT screen, a 5 mega pixel camera along double LED flash and autofocus with an 8X zoom.

Nokia 6600i comes with an internal memory of 20 MB, which can be expanded upto 16GB, with the help of micro-SD card slot. The phone provides supports for 3G, EDGE, and GPRS. Apart from this, it includes features such as FM radio, maps, accelerometer sensors, bluetooth, and stereo headset.

to read more please visit
http://www.thefirstreporter.com/technology/nokia-annouces-avaiability-of-6600i-in-india/

Jharkhand : 15 person dead due to hunger in Drought Effected Area

2009-10-25T09:31:00.000-07:00

Ranchi:: In Jharkhand , 15 persons are dead due to hunger Till now and it will took a lot of life in Jharkhand. there are so many areas i.e. Lathehar, Plamu, Gadva and Chatra hit by drought. These areas also effected by nexalite. “All our crops are dying as there is no rain…I have sown wheat in two acres but the plants are not growing. We are receiving ration from the government through our cards,” said Genda Gope, a resident.

In Plamu, it having no drinking water. so we can think how worst situation is it that drought creates here. Here villager have lands but there is no production.

The delayed monsoon and scanty rainfall has badly affected the crops in the region and locals depend heavily on government ration But The help is not coming from government and These people have only Gutta that is made of water and butta or kandmul in jungle. there is no other option in Jharkhand drought effected area.

the State Rs 498.38 crore for drought effected area but where is this money when people are dying there due to hunger. The Government's NREGA is also not in working there. The people are getting only Rs. 10 only per day . so the Person what can buy from that money.

The whole amount is consumed by Dalals , Naxalite and Police .

Government said that he has spent 20 Crore on these area but what people says that they haven't get any single amount from government. And Government is planning to Spent more 10 crore on these area. So due to that they have nothing to yield and eat . Many pregent women are having worst effect on them due to this drought.

Where Government is saying that everything is in control but truth is something different. Government need to do something fast so that these things can be stopped.

Hemant Brijwasi is Winner of Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Little Champs

2009-10-25T02:54:00.000-07:00

Mumbai: Hemant Brijwasi, the participant of Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Little Champs, won the hearts of millions of audience by singing songs. He emerged as a winner, pushing down Yatharth Rastogi of Varanasi on number 2 and Shreyashi Bhattarya on number 3.

Brijwasi received 1,535,380 votes in the competition which saw many others participating in it

He succeeded in leaving indelible imprint on the audience through his numbers. His melodious voice left audience spellbound. In turn, they extended their support to Brijwasi through SMSs.

The boy belongs to Mathura. He witnessed several ups and downs during the show. He was voted out. But luck favoured the boy and he got entry to the show through wild card.

After his entry, he never gave a chance to audience and judges to think twice about him and gave his best in each episode. His efforts paid rich dividends and he became winner of the show.

In the grand finale of the show, Bollywood actor Salman Khan publicized the names of winner, runner-up, and second runner-up.

RAJESH KHANNA will be soon at BIG BOSS 's House

2009-10-23T23:35:00.000-07:00

RAJESH KHANNA is all set be a part of Bigg Boss Season 3. The superstar of yesteryears will be introduced as a wildcard entry in the show within the next two weeks. In fact, Rajesh Khanna was a strong contender when the entertainment channel Colors was finalising the contestants a few days before the show was about to be aired. However, Rajesh Khanna wasn’t finalised because of uncertainty at that point of time.

A source from the channel said, “The main problem with Khanna was he wanted permission to be allowed to drink within the house. We couldn’t allow him that.” But with the passage of time, things have changed now and the interesting format of show compelled Rajesh Khanna to think again.

With disgraceful exit of Kamaal R Khan on Wednesday, the channel is once again negotiating with Rajesh Khanna. This time Rajesh Khanna says he’s willing to give up on his hard drinks till he is inside the house because apparently, he finds the friction, tension and drama on the show far more intoxicating than the drinks.

“We’ve opened up negotiations with Khanna and he has agreed to be on the show. We will be introducing him in the show as a wildcard entry in the next two weeks,” says a close source of Colors.

Interestingly, rumours aired that Rajesh Khanna’s son-in-law Akshay Kumar was opposed to the idea of his father-in-law participating in the reality show. “If this is true then Khanna must be all the more inclined to do so. He doesn’t like to be told what to do,” adds the source.

At the mean time, the legacy of Rajesh Khanna will continue in Bigg Boss as well and he will be paid the highest amount ever given to a contestant.

Last but not the least, it would be really interesting to see how Rajesh Khanna interacts with his old co-star and the reality show’s pop philosopher Amitabh Bachchan who had taken over as the superstar crown from him.

Big Boss is arround with Sick Persons : Kamal

2009-10-23T21:00:00.000-07:00

Kamaal, who was nominated for eviction, was asked to leave a day before the results of public voting were announced because of his intolerable, abusive and uncouth behaviour since the beginning of the show. But he is unperturbed.

"It was a very good experience. Even though I had to eat food like it was made in jail, had no contact with anyone outside and had to stay with 10 'beemaar' (sick) people, I had a good time," Kamaal told IANS on phone from Mumbai.

Asked why he refers to his co-participants as 'beemaar', Kamaal said: "Except for me, Ismail (Darbar) and Vindu (Dara Singh), everyone had a health problem. Someone couldn't eat sugar or had to compromise on the salt - but three of us always ate everything."

Kamaal was the most controversial inmate in the "Bigg Boss" house. He says whatever fights or arguments he had with his co-participants -- Bakhtiyaar Irani, Tanaaz Currim and Poonam Dhillon -- happened because their thinking and ideas clashed.

Kamaal says he had never expected to be thrown out of the show. He is, however, glad he could keep his promise with co-participant, item girl Sherlyn Chopra.

"I had promised Sherlyn that I will quit if she has to leave the house before I am evicted out of the show. So god ne meri izzat rakh li (god saved my pride). I am happy for her that she is inside the 'Bigg Boss' house," he said.

He is also hoping to team up with German supermodel Claudia Ciesla, his inmate on "Bigg Boss".

"I want to work with Claudia hundred percent! If she wants to work with me in future, I would love to have her in my film. She is a good actress and even a very nice human being, I feel," said Kamaal.

"We spoke to each other about film projects and she said she wants to do some work in the Indian film industry. But we will talk about it after she is out of 'Bigg Boss'," he added.

Kamaal, who had earlier worked with Italian actress Rosa Catalano in his controversial film "Desh Drohi", tried to pursue Claudia into a good friendship in the initial episodes of the show but gave up when she did not reciprocate. He is all set to begin shooting for "Desh Drohi 2" as he plans to release it in April 2010.

"Bigg Boss" is currently in its third season. It started with 13 celebrities locked up inside a secluded house for 84 days and are kept under constant camera surveillance without any contact with the outside world. The show airs on Colors.

Pipe Line Down on Mumbai Thane line 2 dead and several injured

2009-10-23T20:56:00.000-07:00

MUMBAI: Around 500 trains were cancelled in the Thane-Ghatkopar section on Friday leaving lakhs stranded, confused and harrowed after a 40-metre pre-stressed girder fell off a road overbridge that was under construction, and an adjoining water main fell on a passing Kalyan-bound local at 10.55 am. Two people including the motorman died in the accident. Eleven were injured, of whom one is in critical condition.

The mishap occurred about 30 kms from Mumbai at 1030 am when an under-construction bridge, adjacent to existing Road-Over-Bridge connecting Thane from east to west, fell on a local train below.

As the bridge collapsed, it also took along a parallel water pipeline which was supported by a steel enforcement. The support gave away due to the impact of bridge collapse and the pipeline also fell on the train.
The deceased were identified as R Ramachandra and Subhash Nikam, a motorman and a passenger respectively.

Central Railway (CR) officials said services between Ghatkopar and CST continued, but the frequency was very low and there was utter chaos at stations. Even though announcements were made at every station, they were muffled and indicators went on the blink. Updates were aired on TV and FM channels, and sent out through Central Railway's SMS Update service.

Commuters had a harrowing time trying to figure out train schedules in the absence of functioning indicators. Since people had no option but to take to the road, taxis and autos made a killing. Traffic was jammed in many parts of the city.

Some jumped onto the tracks in desperation. One commuter who took more than four hours to get to her destination said, "I left Thane at 5 pm and walked on the tracks to Mulund station, which was almost deserted. I then took an auto to Ghatkopar since I was told trains were playing from there to the city. But there were no trains there. I then took another auto to Kurla but it broke down at Chembur. So I got to Kurla on an Andheri-bound Harbour Line train. Switched over to the mainline, and the train the crawled to Masjid. It was stuck between Masjid and Sandhurst Road for more than 30 minutes. I finally got off at Masjid ,'' she said. CR officials said many trains were cancelled due to a shortage of guards and motormen, as many of them were stuck en route. Trains ran normally on the Harbour Line.

One commuter, accountant Geeta Mishra, was lucky enough to be let off early from work. "I live at Kalyan and will have to take a bus from Vashi. This will take over two and a half hours. I am really worried as I don't know what time I'll get home. The station is overcrowded and I had a tough time pushing my way through the unruly crowd of men,'' she said.

Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray Blame voter to push Maharastra into Hell

2009-10-23T09:19:00.000-07:00

Mumbai: Stunned by his party's third consecutive defeat at the hustings, Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray Friday blamed the people of Maharashtra for "pushing the state back into hell" by re-electing the Congress-Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) combine.

In an editorial in the Shiv Sena mouthpiece Saamna, which expressed the party's shock and anguish over its rout in the 2009 assembly polls, the Sena chief and the newspaper's editor wondered what were the great achievements of the Democratic Front government in the past 10 years that made people to vote for it.

"There was corruption, load-shedding, Maoist terror which killed policemen, suicides of thousands of farmers, Mumbai terror attacks, etc," Thackeray noted in the editorial.

Congress romps home in assembly elections

The results of the assembly elections held on October 13 gave the Congress 82 seats and the NCP 62 -- totalling 144 in the 288-member assembly. The opposition alliance got a drubbing with only 90 seats, the Shiv Sena getting 44 and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) 46. The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) got 13 seats.

Thackeray blamed the people for the defeat of the Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) saffron alliance and for bringing back a "naalayak" (useless) government.

Comparing the latest elections to the Mahabharata, in which truth had triumphed, Thackeray said the only difference was that in this electoral Mahabharat the Kauravas (untruth) had emerged victorious.

MNS offers support to Congress-NCP govt in Maharashtra

"If the people re-elect the Narakasura for the third consecutive time, what can we say," he said.

He hit out at the Congress for adopting the old British policy of divide and rule and said the party had split Marathi votes to capture power.

It did not spare even the independents, rebels and the Third Front who were hoping to make it big in case of a hung assembly, the editorial said. In many cases, it seemed to aid the defeat of good candidates, with the hope that it would benefit in the ensuing "horse-trading".

"Unfortunately for them, since the Congress-NCP has secured a clear majority, the horses (of this lot of independents, rebels, etc) shall remain in the stables," Thackeray pointed out sarcastically.

He even ticked off Republican Party of India (RPI) leader Ramdas Athavale, who led the 19-party Republican Left Democratic Front (RLDF). Many of the parties could not win a single seat in the October 13 elections.

List of winners in Haryana Elections Oct 2009

2009-10-23T01:13:00.000-07:00

Following is the list of winners in the Haryana assembly elections till Thursday afternoon:
Bhupinder Singh Hooda(Cong) – Garhi Sampla Kiloi
Om Prakash Chautala (INLD) – Uchana Kalan (Finance Minister Birendra Singh (Cong) LOST)
Kishenpal Gurjar (BJP) – Tigaon
Ashok Kashyap (INLD) – Indri
Kavita Jain (BJP) – Sonepat
Jai Tirath (Cong) – Rai
Dr Harichand Middha (INLD) – Jeend
Kuldeep Bishnoi (HJC) – Adampur
Venode Sharma (Cong) – Ambala City
Anil Vij (BJP) – Ambala Cantt
Sukhbir Kataria ( Ind ) – Gurgaon
Kuldeep Sharma (Cong) – Gannaur
Randip Singh Surjewala(Cong) – Kaithal
Harmohinder Singh (Cong) – Pehowa
Ajay Singh Chautala (INLD) – Dabwali
Sher Singh (INLD) – Ladwa
Akram Khan (BSP) – Jagadhri
Jagbir Singh Malik (Cong) Gohana
Dharamvir (Cong) – Sohna
Prahlad Singh ( Ind ) – Fatehabad
Krishan Panwar (INLD) – Israna
Kiran Chaudhry © - Tosham
Om Prakash Jain ( Ind ) – Panipat Rural
Balbir Pal Shah (Cong) – Panipat City
Dilbagh Singh (INLD) – Yamunanagar
Ashok Arora (INLD) – Thanesar
Capt Ajay Singh Yadav ( Ind ) – Rewari
Shiv Charan Tejpal (Ind) – Faridabad NIT (DEFEATED Minister A.C.Chaudhary)
Sampat Singh (Cong) – Nalwa
Gangaram (INLD) – Pataudi
Anita Yadav (Cong) – Ateli
Mahendra Pratap (Cong) – Badkhal
Rameshwar Dayal (INLD) – Bawal
Yaduvender Singh (Cong) – Kosli
Rampal Majra (INLD) – Kalayat
36.Pradeep Chaudhary INLD – Kalka
37.Devinder INC – Panchkula YUVRAJ SINGH’S FATHER YOGRAJ SINGH OF INLD LOST
38.Ram Kishen INC – Naraingarh
39.Rajpal INC – Sadhaura
40.Bishen Lal INLD – Radaur
41.Anil Dhantori INC – Shahbad
42.Phool Singh INLD – Guhla
43.Sultan (IND) – Pundri
44.Mamu Ram INLD – Nilokheri
45.Sumita Singh INC – Karnal
46.Narender Sangwan INLD – Gharaunda
47.Pandit Zile Ram Chochra HJC – Assandh
48.Dharam Singh HJC – Samalkha
49.Jaiveer INC – Kharkhauda
50.Sri Kishen INC – Baroda
51.Parminder Singh Dhull INLD – Julana
52.Kali Ram Patwari INLD – Safidon
53.Pirthi Singh INLD – Narwana
54.Om Prakash Chautala INLD – Ellenabad
55.Paramvir Singh INC – Tohana
56.Gian Chand INLD – Ratia
57.Charanjeet Singh -SAD – Kalawali
58.Krishan Lal INLD – Rania
59.Gopal Kanda (IND) – Sirsa
60.Naresh Selwal INC – Uklana
61Saroj - INLD- Narnaund
62.Vinod Bhayana HJC – Hansi
63.Ram Niwas Ghorela INC - Barwala
64.Savitri Jindal INC - Hissar
65.Dharam Pal INLD – Loharu
66.Raghubir Singh INLD – Badhra
67.Satpal HJC – Dadri
68.Ghanshyam Saraf BJP – Bhiwani
69.Ram Kishen Fouji INC- Bawani Khera
70.Anand Singh INC- Meham
71.Shakuntala INC- Kalanaur
72.Rajinder Singh Joon INC- Bahadurgarh
73.Naresh Kumar INC- Badli
74.Geeta INC- Jhajjar
75.Dr Raghuvir Singh INC- Beri
76.Dan Singh INC- Mahendragarh
77.Narender Singh HJC – Narnaul
78.Bahadur Singh INLD – Nangal Chadhry
79.Yaduvender Singh INC – Kosli
80.Dharam Pal INC – Badshahpur
81.Dharam Bir INC – Sohna
82.Aftab Ahmed INC- Nuh
83.Naseem Ahmed INLD- Ferozepur Jhirka
84.Mohammed Ilyas INLD – Punahna
85.Jaleb Khan (Ind) – Hathin
86.Jagdish Nayar INLD- Hodal
87.Subhash Chaudhary INLD – Palwal
88.Raghubir Singh INC – Prithla
89.Sharda Rathore INC- Ballabhgarh
90.Anand Kaushik INC – Faridabad

Kuldeep Bishnoi Will Play The Role of King Maker in Haryana

2009-10-22T20:00:00.000-07:00

CHANDIGARH: His party may have got pulverised in Haryana, but the man is standing tall. Former Congress CM Bhajan Lal's son, Kuldeep Bishnoi, who heads the Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC), knows he holds not one or two but six seats.

True, the Congress can form the government with the support of six Independents, but such a thing is not possible . A singleshot injection of six MLAs — that Bishnoi can provide — is crucial for Congress if it wants longevity on its side. Bishnoi is likely to extend conditional support, and therein lies the rub: He may ask too high a price.

While there's speculation that he may demand that his father, Bhajan Lal, be accommodated as a Central minister, he is quite likely to seek a change of CM as well, with the post of Deputy CM for himself. That's bound to make the Hooda camp see red.

Of course, Bishnoi can ask for Dy CM in an OP Chautala-led regime as well. But the big question is whether, if he supports a Jat leader, he loses his own support-base. On the other hand, without Bishnoi throwing his weight behind Chautala, the latter will have no choice but to sit in the opposition.

And there's another irony, still: HJC's voteshare has come down from 10% to 8% in these elections. Interestingly, HJC got its most severe setback in Bhupender Singh Hooda's districts of Rohtak, Jhajjar and Sonepat. Bishnoi's candidates failed to even save their security deposits. But the party has managed decent votes in south Haryana, Hisar, Panipat, Jind and Sirsa — all of which were INLD strongholds.

Ristriction of Withdrawl of Amount in Other Bank ATM

2009-10-22T09:56:00.000-07:00

The Reserve Bank of India directive imposing restrictions on the number of times a bank customer can use automated teller machines (ATMs) of other banks free came into effect on Thursday.

According to the directive, customers can withdraw only a maximum of Rs.10,000 per transaction from ATMs of other banks. The number of transactions that could be conducted free would be limited to five a month. A sum of Rs.20 would be charged for every subsequent transaction.

Customers also said that as some banks have limited the maximum cash withdrawal to Rs.5,000 per transaction those in need of more money have little alternative but to use the ATM more than once in a day thus reaching the free of charge limit soon. People in the suburban areas said that most of them rely on the ATMs of other banks as their banks often do not have ATMs in their area, said T.Sadagopan, a consumer activist in Pattabiram.
However, officials of various banks in the city said the restrictions have been introduced to contain the number of transactions involving small amounts. Whenever a customer uses the ATM of another bank, his or her bank incurs interchange expenses.
Officials of the United Bank of India said it would help in reducing customer complaints of inadequate cash at the ATMs.
Indian Bank’s chairman and managing director M.S. Sundara Rajan said notices about the directive have been displayed in the banks. “People in suburbs may experience inconvenience wherever ATMs are less. Many banks have begun to reach out to such areas according to the demand.”

This restriction is applicable from 2th October 2009.

Congress wins Maharashtra, Arunachal and Haryana

2009-10-22T05:22:00.001-07:00

The Congress-NCP alliance, which had won 140 seats in the last elections, may end up with almost the same figure and may not have problems in forming the government with the support of rebels of both the parties and independents.

The Sena-BJP leaders are attributing their loss to the Raj Thackeray-led MNS which made its maiden foray in the 288-member House.

"We lost because MNS ate into the traditional Shiv Sena votes," BJP general secretary Gopinath Munde said.

As Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has made it clear that it will not stake claim to chief minister's post, the process of government formation is likely to get speeded up, a senior Congress leader said.

Chief minister Ashok Chavan, in race for the top job, said the ruling alliance's performance was due to the dynamic leadership of Congress president Sonia Gandhi and team work by Congress-NCP combine.

HARYANA
The Congress has fallen short of a majority in Haryana after results for all seats were declared.

The Congress emerged as the single largest party in the Haryana assembly elections but was not able to get a clear victory. The party won 40 of the 90-member assembly seats, the INLD won 31, the Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC) won 6, the BJP 4 and Independents 7. The BSP won one seat in the state and Shiromani Akali Dal, an alliance partner of the INLD, won one.

For a simple majority in the assembly, the Congress needs 46 seats. It had won 67 seats in the February 2005 elections. .

While INLD chief Om Prakash Chautala won the Uchana Kalan seat defeating finance minister Birender Singh by a margin of 621 votes, his son Ajay Chautala emerged victorious from Dabwali defeating his cousin K V Singh of Congress.

Haryana Congress chief Phool Chand Mullana and transport minister Mange Ram Gupta lost from Mullana and Jind to INLD.

Among other prominent winners are HJC-BL chief Kuldeep Bishnoi, who won the Adampur and Haryana BJP President Krishan Pal Gujjar, who was declared elected from Tigaon.

ARUNACHAL PRADESH
The ruling Congress party in Arunachal Pradesh will form the next government for the second straight term, having already won 38 of 60 assembly seats as counting of votes progressed Thursday.

Of the 55 results declared, the Congress party won 38 seats, Trinamool Congress won five seats, six by the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), two by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and four by independents and candidates belonging to smaller regional parties.

The Congress is leading in four more seats, according to latest trends available.

"This is a victory for good governance and stability, besides all round development that we were able to bring to the state," Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Dorjee Khandu told IANS.

"We thank the people of the state for giving us a chance to rule the state for yet another term." Voting was held for 57 seats with three candidates already declared elected unopposed.

Khandu and two more ruling Congress members were declared elected unopposed - sitting MLA Tsewang Dhondup from Tawang constituency and debutant Jambey Tashi from the Lumla seat.

Khandu was elected unopposed from the Mukto constituency in Tawang district, bordering China, repeating his feat in the 1999 and 2004 assembly elections.

Voting for the 60-member assembly elections was held Oct 13 with an estimated 72 percent of the 750,000 electorate having exercised their franchise.

A total of 154 candidates were in the fray with the ruling Congress party fielding candidates in all the 60 seats.

Apart from the Congress party, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) fielded 36 candidates, and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) 22 -- although the surprise element was the Trinamool Congress with several candidates in the fray.

Of the Trinamool Congress nominees, five are former Congress party ministers and 10 are sitting MLAs from the ruling party who were denied tickets this time

How Rs 1,000 became Rs 95 cr in an ATM

2009-10-22T01:21:00.001-07:00

What would you do if you saw Rs 95 crore in your bank account?
Especially if you are a 20-year-old living in a chawl, picking your way past overflowing gutters everyday to work and getting off work at 3 am?
Vaibhav Pawar, a call center employee, got off work at his routine ti me at 3 am and was withdrawing money from an HDFC Automatic Teller Machine (ATM) in Mazgaon when his account balance clocked in a whopping Rs 95,70,00,000.
“I thought it was my account number,” he said, showing a crumpled receipt from that day. Pawar’s monthly salary is Rs 10,000 and he started working nine months ago. Still not believing his eyes, he withdrew Rs 600 and checked his balance.
It now showed a balance of Rs 75 crore. Reasoning that something was wrong with the ATM machine, Pawar tried other ATMs nearby. They all showed the same amount.
Pawar went back to Byculla and withdrew Rs 200 from the SBI ATM outside Byculla station. The balance now showed Rs 15 crore.
Other nearby ATMs corroborated the figure. Pawar tried to check up with the Punjab National Bank (where he has his account) about the unexpected largesse.
But the toll-free call center help-line he dialed offered no reply.
“It’s election time,” Pawar said. “Lot of money is transferred here and there right now. I imagined someone transferred money to my account by mistake,” he mused.
Did not want to take chances in case an accounts audit took place as his balance would take a lot of explaining.
The SEEPZ branch of the Punjab National Bank finally picked up his calls today.
“The Delhi server was misbehaving,” said a bank official requesting anonymity. “The account information was wrong, and Pawar could not have withdrawn the money even if he tried.”
The branch manager at SEEPZ has referred Pawar to the head office in Delhi.
Pawar is yet to take a look at his account balance today and he hopes it is back to showing the usual balance amount, about Rs 1,000.
But he will treasure those ATM receipts for a long, long time.

Congress set to retain power in Maha, Haryana & Arunachal

2009-10-22T01:16:00.001-07:00

The Congress was on Thursday set to capture power in Maharashtra for a third consecutive term and sweep Arunachal Pradesh while a not-so-good performance in Haryana left it as the single largest party scrambling for numbers to get a majority.
The Congress, along with its ally NCP, was poised to form the government in Maharashtra as it was leading in 134
constituencies having already bagged 4 seats in the 288-member Assembly.
The alliance, which had won 140 seats in the last elections, may end up with almost the same figure and may not
have problems in forming the government with the support of rebels of both the parties and independents.
Congress has bagged one seat and was leading in 75 others, while the NCP has won three and was ahead in 50
others.
Affected vastly by the presence of Raj Thackeray-led MNS, the Shiv Sena-BJP combine has managed to be ahead in only
84 seats, far behind its 2004 tally of 116 seats. Shiv Sena won 2 seats and was ahead in 41 seats, while BJP bagged one
seat and was leading in 46 seats.
Results in Haryana came as a bit of surprise for the Congress which advanced polls by over seven months to cash in
on its spectacular Lok Sabha election performance in which it had won 9 of the 10 seats.
Today, the Congress managed to win 9 seats and was ahead only in 31 seats in the 90-member assembly and may have
to look for support from rebels and independents who are ahead in 9 seats.
The Congress, which had won 67 seats in the 2005 elections, was apparently over-confident as reflected by an
impressive show by Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) which has won 6 and was leading in 23 others. The INLD had 9 seats in
the previous assembly.
The BJP was ahead in 4 seats, BSP in two and Bhajan Lal-led Haryana Janhit Congress in five. 'Others' accounted
for eight leads and one win.
Arunachal Pradesh turned out to be a happy hunting ground for the Congress which has already won 13 seats and was
ahead in 10 others in the 60-member assembly. The Congress had 34 seats in the outgoing assembly.
The Trinammol Congress has won two seats and was leading in one while the NCP was ahead in one and has won one.
BJP was ahead in one seat.
In Maharashtra, Chief Minister Ashok Chavan and a number of other leaders have emerged victorious, while President Pratibha Patil's son Rajendra Shekhawat is trailing behind Congress rebel Sunil Deshmukh.
47 candidates in 'others' category are leading in the state while two have won.

Election Poll of india

2009-10-21T20:25:00.000-07:00

Maharashtra :

CONG :+ 111
BJP : + 79
MNS : 7
others : 13

Haryana :

CONG :+21

BJP : +4

INLO : 8

others : 7

Michael Jackson was "excited", ready for concerts

2009-10-21T20:21:00.000-07:00

LONDON (Reuters) – Michael Jackson was "excited" about performing a run of 50 live concerts in London for which he was rehearsing just before his sudden death in June, the director of a new movie about the "king of pop" said on Tuesday.
In the last few days of his life, Jackson also appeared to have "gone into another gear" and showed no signs of drug dependency, Kenny Ortega told Reuters in an interview.
"This is It", a feature-length film built around footage of the final Los Angeles rehearsals before Jackson's death on June 25 aged 50, hits theatres around the world on Oct. 28 and looks set to be one of the biggest movies of the year.
"He was excited, looking forward to (it), happy, pleased with what we had accomplished up until that moment and looking forward to finishing up the rehearsals in Los Angeles and moving on to London," Ortega said.
"Those last few nights of rehearsals it seemed like he'd gone into another gear, and everyone really believed that we were about to embark on something that was going to be rather remarkable."
Asked whether Jackson had shown any signs of dependency on drugs, Ortega replied: "No."
Jackson died of a prescription drug overdose, and his death triggered fevered speculation about his physical state at the time and what drugs he may have taken.
According to Ortega, who had been working with Jackson on staging and choreographing of the "This Is It" concerts, the sellout shows were seen by the singer as his swansong.
"This was it, this was his final curtain call. I think that what Michael wanted to do was to retire from performance and focus on film making and other things.
"He had said to me before in confidence that he didn't intend to be out there in the world performing for much longer, so this opportunity came along where he thought that he was young enough to be able to do what it was that he loved, he wanted to share it with his children ... to do it for the fans."
NEW FOOTAGE
Journalists in London were shown about 12 minutes from the concert film and accompanying trailer.
Jackson was shown on stage rehearsing "Human Nature", from his hugely successful 1982 album "Thriller", apparently singing himself and working with musicians to coordinate the music with his dance moves.
He also performs "The Way You Make Me Feel" with a group dancers, and appears to be moving relatively well and freely.
Ortega said that at no time did Jackson suggest he was doing the concerts for the sake of money or of clearing his debts.
Despite enjoying one of the most successful careers in pop music that spanned 40 years, Jackson left behind debts estimated by some to be around $500 million.
The string of shows and other potential projects with concert promoter AEG Live would have gone some way to clearing those arrears.
Sony Pictures paid $60 million for the footage of Jackson in This Is It, and Jackson's estate and AEG Live were to share the profits. Pre-sales ahead of the theatrical release have been particularly strong in the United States, Japan and Britain.

Did Human Error Cause Mathura Train Accident?????????

2009-10-21T19:49:00.000-07:00

NEW DELHI: The railways has ordered an inquiry into the accident near Mathura on Wednesday while defending the state-of-the-art signalling system.
It also pulled the two drivers of Goa Express, which rammed into the stationary Mewar Express, off duty pending the probe.

"We cannot comment on the reason behind the accident. Conclusions can be drawn only after detailed enquiry is completed," Sri Prakash, Member (Traffic), Railway Board, said.

While efforts are on to ascertain the cause of the accident, officials did not rule out the possibility of the drivers of Goa Express overlooking the signal leading to the accident, pointing towards human error.

Defending safety measures, railway officials insisted that the automatic block signal (ABS) system, which was operational in the section on which the accident occurred, was one of the best and widely used across the world.

Under the ABS system, the signal does not allow a train to enter a block unless it is clear. Once ABS system is operational, the driver of a train gets ample warning (three signals in an eight km stretch) if another train is moving on the same track. Officials also said that even the fastest trains take just one km to stop after brakes are applied.

If a train stops on the track and another train comes from behind, the driver of the approaching train first sees a double yellow signal, then a yellow and finally a red signal. Generally, the gap between green, double yellow, yellow and red is of around 6-8 km.

"The system is foolproof. There is ample warning of the situation," Sri Prakash said.

Pending enquiry, both drivers of Goa Express have been put under suspension and they have to prove their innocence before the probe committee. If proved guilty of ignoring the signal, the punishment would be dismissal from service.

Driver R K Chaturvedi, 45, who boarded the Delhi-bound train at Jhansi, has been in service for around 20 years and has a clean track record. His assistant Laxmi Kant also boarded the train at Jhansi.

"Both the drivers have excellent past records," Sri Prakash told TOI. "Their statements have been recorded. They have been put off duty till the inquiry is complete," he added.

Officials also ruled out any "fatigue angle" as the drivers would have been on board for only 5-6 hours from Jhansi to Nizamuddin.

The railways cited year-wise accident figures to show that the number of mishaps was declining due to increased safety measures and mechanisation. "Till October this year, 76 accidents took place compared to 98 in the same period last year," said Kamlesh Gupta, Advisor (Safety).

Train accidents have come down significantly from 415 in 2001-02 to 195 in 2006-07 and 177 in 2008-09. The figure was 351 in 2002-03, 325 in 2003-04, 234 in 2004-05, Gupta said, adding that accidents due to failure of railway staff had show a decline from 248 in 2001-02 to 73 in 2008-09.

Terror at doorstep: PM tells forces to stay alert

2009-10-21T07:03:00.001-07:00

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday virtually sounded the Code Red in the ongoing anti-terror alert, asking the armed forces to be
vigilant since the situation in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region was spiralling out of control.

"There are regular intelligence reports of imminent attacks in the country. This is a matter of deep concern, and there is no room for complacency,'' said the PM, addressing the top military brass at the annual combined commanders' conference here.

"The terrorist attack on our embassy in Kabul on October 8 is yet another grim reminder of the forces we are pitted against. The overall situation in our immediate neighbourhood has worsened since I last spoke to you,'' he added.

The fast-deteriorating situation in the Af-Pak region, which has become a revival ground for Taliban, in fact, came in for special mention during the conference.

This comes just a day after defence minister A K Antony held the situation was "very serious'' in Pakistan, where extremists have unleashed a spate of attacks on governmental forces and targets, including one on the Army headquarters at Rawalpindi.

Army chief General Deepak Kapoor, too, said the threat of a terror spill-over into India was a clear and present one. The Indian security forces, he added, were, however, geared towards giving "a befitting reply'' to the Taliban if "they try to carry out destructive activities in our country''.

This comes in the backdrop of Pakistan Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud threatening to dispatch terrorists to fight India once an Islamic state had been created in Pakistan.

The PM, on his part, said the "horrific'' 26/11 terror attacks on Mumbai had confirmed "our worst fears'' about the lethal dimensions of terrorism and non-traditional threats to India's security.

"There are both State (read Pakistan) and non-State actors involved in the business of terrorism. India is a democracy and an open society and is, therefore, sometimes highly vulnerable,'' he added.

India needs to improve its defensive mechanisms against all forms of terrorism, asymmetric warfare and aggravated militancy. "The armed forces must be fully-equipped to deal with all threat scenarios,'' he said.

"Our troops should be trained to fight anywhere, anytime and under any conditions. Their ability to deal with non-traditional threats must receive greater attention,'' he added.

Turning to the various internal security challenges, the PM once again dubbed naxalism as the "gravest threat'' to the country. But even as the government is now launching a full-scale offensive against Maoist rebels in states like Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Bihar, Maharashtra, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh, the PM said the issue required "a nuanced strategy with a holistic approach''. The government was trying to push an agenda for more inclusive growth, he added.

BCCI's new TV deal worth USD 431m

2009-10-21T06:51:00.000-07:00

Rights holders Nimbus Communications, which owns Neo Cricket and Neo Sports channels, retained the television rights of the Board of Control for Cricket in India for four more years for a whopping Rs 2000 crore (USD 431 million).

The decision to award the rights to Nimbus, who will pay the BCCI Rs 31.5 crore (USD 6.8 million) per international match -- whether it is a T20, 50-over or Test match -- was taken at the Board's marketing committee meeting, in Mumbai on Tuesday.

Though the BCCI is mum on granting of the television broadcast rights from April 1, 2010, to March 31, 2014, sources in the Board said Nimbus had again bagged them.

The earlier deal was originally worth US $612 million, but it was reduced and reworked to US $549 million on a request from Nimbus following the government ordinance that forced rights holders to give compulsory feed of sports events of national importance to Doordarshan.

The previous agreement between BCCI and Nimbus, which featured 23 Tests and 55 ODIs ends at the conclusion of the Indian squad's home series of Tests (3) and ODIs (5) against South Africa.

The BCCI's marketing committee also decided to float fresh tenders for the team sponsorship rights that are currently with Sahara, the sources added.

Nimbus will have to give a bank guarantee of Rs 2000 crore for the TV rights.

"No other party was invited to the meeting as Nimbus had the first right of refusal," the sources added.

Rajnath's plane guided by jeep lights

2009-10-21T06:36:00.001-07:00

DUMKA/NEW DELHI: In a glaring violation of air safety norms, a small aircraft carrying BJP president Rajnath Singh took off from an unlit airstrip
in Dumka in Jharkand in pitch darkness last night guided by only headlights of jeeps.

Taking note of the incident, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel ordered a probe by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and appealed to VIPs not to pressurise pilots to operate flights. Singh was accompanied by some senior party leaders in the chartered eight-seater airplane.

The runway in Dumka airstrip, which does not have air traffic control facility, was lit up for take-off by several vehicles lined up alongside with their headlights on, according to officials and BJP leaders.

The take-off after sunset described as 'risky' by state Civil Aviation Secretary P K Jajoria came a few weeks after the crash of a helicopter in Andhra Pradesh claiming the lives of Chief Minister Y S Rajashekhar Reddy and five others.

In New Delhi, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel told reporters, "It is too premature to say who is responsible till the inquiry is over. But I would appeal to VIPs not to pressurise pilots."

He also appealed to the VIPs "to refrain from taking avoidable risks" and cautioned pilots to strictly adhere to all safety norms.

BJP leaders in the national capital denied Singh's airplane violated safety norms saying it was entirely the pilot's decision and their party president was not in a haste to leave.

China Treated Kashmir as Seperate Country

2009-10-21T06:33:00.001-07:00

Visitors to Tibet, especially journalists invited by the Chinese government, are given handouts where Kashmir is indicated as a country separate from India.

Media kits providing "basic information" about Tibet - which China attacked and annexed in the 1950s - says Tibet "borders with India, Nepal, Myanmar and Kashmir area".

Except the "Kashmir area", the other three are sovereign countries.

Maps too, available in China, Myanmar and Nepal, show an India denuded of Kashmir.

Also, China's policy of extending assistance to only the government of a country indicates it considers India's nuclear rival and neighbour Pakistan to be in control of Pakistan-administered Kashmir by offering financial assistance to build a dam on the Indus river there.

China, now locked in a row with India, is also asking for the tightening of the open border between India and Nepal that, it says, is abetting anti-China activities and demonstrations by Tibetans crossing into Nepal from India.

Beijing is also indirectly asking for the closure of the seat of the Dalai Lama, the exiled leader of the Tibetans, in Dharamshala in India, hinting that such a step would improve India-China relations.

China, which fought a war with India in 1962, says Arunachal Pradesh belongs to it. India says it is an integral and inalienable part of India.

On the eve of the Dalai Lama's visit to Arunachal Pradesh in November, China has been hurrying Nepal to deploy armed security forces along the border between northern Nepal and Tibet.

Both Nepal's Home Minister Bhim Rawal and Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal recently visited Mustang, the northernmost district in Nepal to assess the security plan.

Mustang was once both part of an ancient Tibetan kingdom and later the base of anti-China guerrilla attacks by Tibet's Khampa warriors.

For Entering IIT Needs 80 to 85 %

2009-10-21T06:31:00.001-07:00

The reform is being planned within three years of introduction of the new system of JEE which also came from within IIT. But HRD minister Kapil Sibal on Monday justified it on the ground that the new system had not worked well. A three-member committee has been set up to look into the curriculum and reform in JEE.

The committee, which will give its report in three months, consists of science and technology secretary T Ramasamy, secretary, department of biotechnology M K Bhan and director general CSIR Samir Brahmachari.

Reform in admissions is being done to check the mushrooming of coaching centres for IIT-JEE as well as the tendency among students to not take the class XII board examination seriously. Right now, a student having cleared IIT-JEE should have 60% in class XII.

Announcing this after a meeting of IIT Council, Sibal said, "The present criteria is that students need to secure 60% in class XII for appearing in IIT-JEE. This is not acceptable."

Stating that the final decision should be left to the IITs, Sibal remarked that the minimum class XII marks could be anything between 80% and 85%. When asked about variation in marking across states, Sibal said the percentile would be factored in. "Let the IITs decide first. There is confusion right now," a ministry source said.

In order to usher in long-term reforms and bring the focus back on research, the IIT Council also decided to set up a five-member committee under Anil Kakodkar, chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, to suggest a roadmap for IITs for the next 10 years. The committee will give its report in six months outlining the broad areas of reforms required for the elite institutes to make them global brands.

The committee will also come up with a vision document for 2020 for the IITs. The document will suggest measures on how the IITs can collaborate with private sector in IT, bio-tech and other emerging areas. "It will suggest how the IITs need to move forward. The committee will specify how to give more emphasis on research and how the IITs can be more involved in the national projects for development," Sibal said.

On the lines of IIMs, IIT Council also decided that directors and board members will be appointed on the basis of the nominations made by an independent collegium.

IIT Council also decided to change the norms for non-plan grants to IITs. Instead of the existing system of block grants, it will now be linked to the number of students in each IIT. Institutes having more students will get more grant.

Changes will be made even in the norms to attract investment from foreign universities so that any overseas institute can invest in the IITs for short duration. Sibal said right now it takes about three years under the Foreign Currency Regulation Act for a foreign institute to invest in an Indian institute for research and other collaborations.

Sibal said the IIT directors will evolve the Performance Related Incentive Scheme and submit it to the government for approval. He said there was no discussion on the pay structure issue at the council meeting. It has also been decided to hold meetings of the IIT Council once every six months. Yet another committee will be set up to decide the pay structure of the class-III employees.

22 killed as one train rams into another in Mathura

2009-10-21T06:26:00.000-07:00

The Uttar Pradesh government will give compensation of Rs.10 lakh and a job to the families of those killed in the train accident in Mathura early Wednesday, the state's Agriculture Minister Laxminarain Choudhry said.

At least 13 people were killed when two Delhi-bound passenger trains collided early Wednesday in Uttar Pradesh's Mathura city. Hours after the Goa Express rammed into the stationary Mewar Express, several people continued to be trapped in the mangled carriages.

More than 20 people were injured in the accident that occurred around 5 a.m. at an outer signal, about 55 km from here.

Earlier, Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee announced a compensation of Rs.500,000 for families of people who died in the accident, apart from Rs.100,000 for those seriously injured and Rs.10,000 for passengers who sustained minor injuries