Rahul Reports

Osama Bin Laden Dead

2011-05-02T08:43:00.001+05:30

Al-Qaeda founder and leader Osama Bin Laden is dead, according to US media reports citing officials.

The US is in possession of Bin Laden's body, the reports say. President Barack Obama is due to make a statement shortly.

Bin Laden is top of the US most wanted list.

He is accused of being behind a number of atrocities, including the attacks on New York and Washington on 11 September 2001.

India - the world champs!!!!

2011-04-03T11:06:00.005+05:30

India is the world champions of cricket and what an awesome feeling for 1.2 billion Indians !!! Many people of this generation were not even born when Kapil Dev's Indian team lifted the cup in 1983. So, except the proud momentous video of Kapil lifting the cup, many couln't even relate to that win. Because youngsters of this generation haven't seen Kapil, Gavaskar and Amarnath play cricket. All they know is Sachin Tendulkar!!!! This guy has been closely followed by the young Indians because they have grown up watching him play cricket. For many of them, Sachin experience in cricket i.e 21 years is their age.

After watching him do all that is possible in cricket: highest number of runs in tests, ODI, highest single innings score in ODI cricket, highest number of centuries in both tests and ODI's ... this is the one jewel in the crown that was elusive for little champion. So, no wonder when India won the world cup, he had tears in his eyes. Probably the first time anybody woud have seen Sachin, the child-faced legend cry literally like a child. That shows how much he wanted to have that world cup winners medal. So, now everything has been achieved by him and truly he has become the 'King of Cricket'!!!

Dhoni - the boy from the small town Ranchi and look where he has gone in just a space of seven years. He has done eveything as captain: Captain of the no: 1 test team, Captain of the IPL winning team, Captain of the champions league winning team and now Captain of the world cup winning Indian team. So, for sure he is the best captain for India after Sourav Ganguly. People shouldn't forget the strong foundation to this team laid by Sourav Ganguly, Anil Kumble and Rahul Dravid. They too deserve a tremendous applause for the way they had groomed today's senior players like Sehwag, Yuvraj singh, MS Dhoni, Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan.

For me, the most important player to this team is Zaheer Khan. He has responded everytime India were in a bad position by taking very crucial wickets. Yuvraj Sigh, Sachin Tendulkar, Sehwag and Munaf Patel had their moments. Harbhajan Singh was big let down. But that analysis can wait for later posts.

And finally, not least by any stretch of imagination is Gary Kirsten and his support staff. Gary along with Paddy Upton, mental conditioning coach and Eric Simmons, the bowling coach has transformed a very talented Indian team to be world beaters in every cricket stage. BCCI should do all that is possible to retain him as the Indian coach.

India V Pakistan : World cup 2011 to be at its peak

2011-03-26T13:05:00.006+05:30

March 30th 2011..... and you can be sure that 2 nations will come to a standstill. Overwhelming joy for one nation and depressing sorrow for the other by the end of an event. And the event is India v Pakistan in Mohali., a dream semi-final in cricket's world cup this year. Cricket at its best, thanks to the biggest rivalry which potentially can change people's moods with flows and ebbs over the course of the 8 hours.

India's campaign has been one of ups and downs and they are yet to fire together as a team. Bowling has been a big worry throughout the tournament. Except Zaheer Khan, no bowler was able to bowl consistently which is a big worry. Harbhajan Singh has been a big let down, not able to spin his magic over the opposition. Admittedly, ever team has played Harbhajan comfortably. Potentially, Harbhajan will be under more pressure as the Pakistan batsmen play spin very well.

Munaf Patel has been hot and cold but he needs to be used a defensive bowler and Munaf does that role very well. Ashwin's inclusion has been a breath of fresh air and he will be the trump card for MS Dhoni.

India's batting is yet to peak and its best for them if people like Sehwag, Yuvraj,Dhoni and Raina play around the likes of Sachin, Kohli and Gambhir. Batting woes still persist and they would have to sort out the risk of a batting collpase in the first innings. Dhoni is yet to fire as a batsman and he generally plays well against Pakistan. Pakistan has clever bowlers like Gul, Razzaq and Afridi. They would challenge the Indian top order and they have to be prepared for the Pakistani onslaught.

Pakistan on the other hand, has a weak batting order and its highly reliant on Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq to pull them out from difficult situations. Watch out for the young Umar Akmal. This young lad has a great technique and will for sure shine in the future. Inconsistent batsman like Kamran Akmal and Afridi has to step up to the plate and be counted. Razzaq can be dangerous in his own ways. Bowling has beenn very strong throughout the tournament with the likes of Gul, Razzaq and Afridi. Its time for Shoaib Akhtar to be in the team and he will take the bowling to the next level.

Fielding has been a worry for both the teams and so don't expect sensational fielding effort from both the teams. So, on paper India looks a better team on paper but dont be surprised if Pakistanis upstage the Indians in Mohali. High octane matches like these make new heroes and ride their team all the way. The team which holds its nerve and controls pressure will eventually win the match. Either way, one sub-continental team will surely play the Final on April 2.

These days, 330 is the new 250 in ODI cricket : England given a taste of their own medicine

2011-03-02T22:09:00.003+05:30

Kumble and his boys have given a batting paradise to the cricketing fraternity for this world cup so far. A pathetic decline in the bowling skills across the board have left batsmen the kings of cricket. Earlier it was the Indian bowlers who infused great amount of belief to many a the beach cricket bowlers in Chennai that they could challenge the Harbhajans and the Zaheer Khans of the world. Now its the turn of the English lads to show their ridiculously mediocre bowling prowess.

Broad, Anderson, Swann.. you name it and he was punished mercilessly. What an effort by the Irish boys to oust the heroes of the Ashes last year!!!! 'Associate nations sidelined for the next WC' - ahem... Get your papers tomorrow morning to see sea of green in the front pages. Egg on the faces on those who said these minnows just make up numbers for the Cricket WC in the Indian sub-continent.

Bangalore crowd - watch out for a shock again on Sunday!!! Indians should be very careful against these minnows and especially the lessers teams in the Group B. MSD - Dont think of South Africa and West Indies just yet. You have Ireland and Netherlands in the waiting.

Stats and scores can wait... Just not important in great games like these.. But for those stat-hungry people , England made 327/8, thanks to a decent knocks from Trott and Bell, but it was Kevin O'Brien's day out. Fabulous and one of best WC knocks rocketed Ireland to a win by 3 wickets against rivals-in-a-way England.

Cricket is played by batsman and also the BOWLERS : Tonight, Dhoni found out that the hard way

2011-02-27T21:18:00.006+05:30

'Should Sachin come down the order? Should Dhoni promote himself up to No: 4? Should Raina play instead of Pathan?. Sachin or Sehwag play 40 overs every match and the match is in our bag. ' ------ Its all rubbish if you cant pick up 10 wickets in a match. You go in effectively with one and a half bowlers and very soon you will see the Indian cricket team just getting blown away by all the top teams out of this world cup. England batting was all top class, accepted but Indian bowlers looked irritatingly below par. They didnt show any skill, bowled as though they dont care about the outcome of the match.

World cup winners in the past have one thing in common. They had a potent bowling attack in their ranks, whether it was the West Indies team of the 70's, the pakistan team in '92 or the all powerful Australian attack of the past decade. I am not even suggesting that this Indian team shoould be compared with those teams. But the present Indian bowling attack is under the mercy of their batting legends to show off themselves as a decent bowling attack.

We will analyse the current bowling attack of the Indian worldcup squad:

Zaheer Khan : He is a very impornant wicket taking bowler and the whole team looks at him to get them early wickets. Yet he is not in the league of a Brett Lee or Dale Steyn. He is good only in conducive bolwing conditions. He will have some odd bad day like the one today and all of a sudden the whole fast bowling attack is under threat. To be honest, he is a steady bowler who could get you two wickets and give away 45 runs every match on an average. So, to expect him to run through sides will not happen. In the end of the day, he is no McGrath, Pollock or Dale Steyn. But he is vital to this Indian attack, else honestly there is no seam attack.

Harbhajan Singh: First of all, i was confused if i should put him in this list. Last time , i heard he wants to hit a ton in ODI. This guy has just forgotten his main skill and that was offspin. Somebody has to tell him that his primary duty in the team is to bowl 10 good overs of offspin and not just economical bowling but a aggressive bowling and go for wickets. If he goes on giving away 45 runs in tem overs without a wicket, he essentially is not doing his job. Best way to show him this is to drop him from the side and replace him with the talented R Ashwin. Infact, it would allow Ashwin to show his class and emerge as the next best spinner from India. So, Harbhajan Singh should be shown his place.

Sreesanth: He was not in the team but was a last minute draft in to replace a very talented Praveen Kumar. India will very badly miss Praveen whose wonderful in-swingers and out-swingers bamboozled South Africa and New Zealand in the home series last year. Sreesanth is no good if keeps leaking important runs in crucila matches like the ones against Bangladesh. Lets hope this guy doesn't get the white cherry for the rest of the world cup. If he gets in the team again in this WC, then something is wrong with the Indian captain.

Ashish Nehra: This injury prone cricketer should is a bad selection to this squad. Poor old Srikanth can do anything as he has to choose from the pool that is given to him only. So, Nehra is in not because of his bowling prowess but because the supply system has a structural problem in India not just in essential commodities but also in the market of fast bowlers.

Munaf Patel: He is a steady bowler and that his job in the Indian team. So, dont expect anything extra-ordinary from him. He will get you one or two wickets and give away 45 runs which is fair enough. Best part is he has a constant line and length and sticks to basics. So, we must allow him to just carry on with his job and maybe demand to be kuch more agile in the field.

R Ashwin: Get this guy in the team.. He is a talented off-spinner and has a good amount of variety in his bowling armoury. Many teams havent had a look at him and his unique style would be tough for others to pick him up. Also, he can bowl at any stage of the game unlike people like Harbhajan Singh who performs at specific situations only. Ashwin will be the first choice spinner in my team.

Piyush Chawla: A good selection and leg spinners always are a good bet to get wickets. Some people would argue that Ojha would have been a better bet but this guy is also good and nobody else bowls leg spin other than him in this sqaud. (Sachin can bowl leg spin, but what that he doesnt do in cricket).

So, this Indian team will falter, if not today, but in the course of this world cup, due to a NON-EXISTENT bowling attack.

ICC World Cup: Pakistan beat Sri Lanka in the league match

2011-02-26T22:25:00.004+05:30

Pakistan, true to their status of the dark horse in this cricket world cup has beaten Sri Lanka in the Group A league match. Sri Lanaka played Pakistan in the Premadasa stadium in Colombo in the Day/Night encounter. Pakistan Skipper Shahid Afridi won the toss and elected to bat first. Pakistan had an unchanged team but Sri Lanka had made two changes in the team: Batsman Chamara Silva in for Kapugedera and Left armer Rengana Herath replaced the magic bowler Ajantha Mendis. Lasith Malinga was rested for the match.

Pakistan's batting got to a shaky start losing three quick wickets and then ace batsman Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq steadied the ship. They had a quick 100-run partnership. Both Younis and Misbah reached their fifties. After some last few over burst,Pakistan managed to fighting total of 277/7 in the alloted 50 overs. Sri Lankan bowling was steady and medium pacer Kulasekara and Murali along with Rengana Herath bowled a decent spells. Herath and Perara picked up 2 wickets while Murali finished a economical spell of bowling with one wicket giving away only 35 runs.

Sri Lanka had a positive opening partnership between Tharanga and Dilshan. But in came Hafeez and picked up tharanga for 33 and Dishan was bowled by Afridi. Suddenly, Sri Lanka lost 3 quick wickets with Akhtar showing glimpses of his past performance bowling out Mahela Jayawardena. Sangakarra and Chamara Silva played a calm innings and came up with a good parnership. Sangakarra was picked up by Afridi for 49 and there started the slide for Sri Lanka.

Chamara Silva tried his best but eventually fell for a well made 57 though he consumed a lot of deliveries.

Sri Lanka was able to get only to 265/9 and Pakistan won by 11 runs. This is Sri Lanka's first world cup loss in their country and Pakistan extended their unbeaten streak against Sri Lanka in worl cup's to seven matches in a row.

Pakistan could well be the dark horse team which could go all the way to win this world cup. Lets hope they do it, which could bring some joy to the war-torn country.

Is it a good time to invest in equities?

2011-02-19T20:03:00.003+05:30

'Every time someone buys in a market, there is someone else on the other end who sells it. And the beauty is both think they make are making the right move in the market' - This is a famous ironic saying about the stock markets. 'Timing' in the market is something you would have to perfect and that comes with experience. So, when do you 'Buy' or 'Sell' in a stock market? There are people who have burnt their fingers pouring there entire savings into stock markets, pretty much like pouring the plastic currency into a full blown well. And everyone knows what would be the fate of your plastic currency.

We will look at a few examples to time the market.

1.If someone had invested in market in the early 2007, might have laughed all the way to bank with a 55% return on his investment in mid-2008. That is, his 100 rupee investment would have been all the way upto Rs.160.

2. If the same guy had invested the same amount in early 2008, he might have had a negative return on his investment of 40%. That is his 100 rupee investment would have come down to 60 rupees by the end of 2008.

So, its all about timimg the market, knowing the complete view of the stock you are about to buy and its perceived value in certain time frame and not to forget your own target towards your investment. Markets were just pummelled right from the start of 2011 and there is a general state of gloom in the market. Sensex and Nifty is down 13% for the YTD and many believe its a fair value now. But if its fair value, then the probability of 15 to 20% return this year is a tricky one.

Also, think about your equity(stocks and Mutual funds) exposure wi.h relation to your age. There is a belief that your equity exposure in your portfolio should be 100 - current age. So, if you are aged 40, your equity investments should be 60% in your investment portfolio.

On a macro-ecomonomic scale, India's fiscal deficit could be one of the biggest problem going forward this year. You just cannot run the government with debt and then hope for growth too. The reason is fiscal deficit is the percentage of the GDP which reflects government debt obligations. So, the government finances its needs with loans from the central bank. so, what happens is the private sector 'Crowding out' happens. That is, private sector capital needs for expansion will be possible only at a higher interests., as logically government would be preferred creditor to any banks, reason being their money is safe and repaying capacity is bright with the government.

So, unless the fiscal deficit is down, the private sector growth is always limited and this impacts the overall economic growth. So, economic growth being less, the company revenues is less and this in turn reflects in low profits for the companies. Obviously, low profits will conclude towards low share price in the markets. This is how fiscal deficit impacts growth.

Another side to it is the inflation. Higher inflation, leads margin pressures due to higer input costs and so the profits become lesser. So, bothe inflation and fiscal deficit greatly influences the market price. India's fiscal deficit this year could be arounf 4.5% and as you all know we have a sky-rocketing inflation (although early signs of tempering is on the anvil). So, that is the reason for the recent butchering in the dalal street in the last couple of months.

So, now that the stock markets have greatly corrected , this could be a best time to buy in the market. Sensex is expected to cross and close the year at around 21,500 and that translates to a double digit return from the market. And if you are not highely knowledgable in the market, you can take the Mutual fund root with Systematic Investment Plans.

So, invest in companies whose fundamentals are good and you the performance of the particular company. Otherwise the safe root is mutual funds. So, hapy investing in 2011 and this just could be right time to do it in 2011. And remember, you must have the final say in your investment and just nobody else, not even any third-party broker, as its your money that is being invested.

India to play Bangladesh in the World cup opener today

2011-02-19T09:23:00.004+05:30

India will start its quest for first cricket world cup triumph in almost 28 years today. India take on Bangladesh in the world cup opener in Mirpur, Bangladesh. India start the tournament as one of strong contenders to win this year's world cup. Also in the reckoning for the title triumph are the likes of Sri Lanka, South Africa and Australia. Pakistan and West Indies will be the dark horses. Although, after India, i would like to see Pakistan lift the world cup this time. Let's look at the India's chances at this world cup.

India: Undoubtedly, India look much better side on paper. India's strength lie in their batting line-up. Likes of Sehwag, Virat Kohli and Yusuf Pathan hold the key for India's batting performance. Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh are not in their best of nicks and Yuvraj's place in the playing XI is under doubt, though his part-time left armers could be useful for the team in the middle overs. Pity that the man around which the Indian batting revolved around couple of years ago is going through a very bad batting form for the past year and a half. But with Raina also not in inspiring form with the bat, Yuvraj might just be able to cling on to his place in the XI. All said, if he can somehow rediscover his form, India's chances will become even more brighter. Gambhir has been hot and cold in the past year with injuries not helping his cause either. If he doesn't bring back his dream form displayed not so long ago, then there is a strong possiblity of him being dropped from the team. Then we have the grand old man of the Indian cricket, Sachin Tendulkar. Last WC and expectation of him helping the young team to win the World cup are all weighing on this man. In terms of the records, eveything has been achieved and its time he guides this team for the rest of his career. Pressure is not a new dragon to the most sort after Indian in the planet and he would want to win this cup badly for himself and for the team.

MS Dhoni, the blue-eyed boy of the Indian team and its captain has so far done massively impressive job with the team. He along with coach Gary Kirsten have brought a new sense of freedom to this Indian team. There were previous Indian teams which were counted as one of the favourites for the cup, but this time, they have a strong, astute and well-balanced captain at the helm. You would see him not over joyed if he wins a match or become a bogged and point fingers on his players when he loses a match or the WC itself. Avery important thing is that no matter what happens, whether India win the WC or not, MS Dhoni is expected to captain this team for a long time to come. So, actaully he enjoys some amount of comfort zone. Previous WC's have seen Indian captains sacked after losing the WC, which itself is an added pressure on the captain.

Indian bowling looks vulnerable and not the best bowling attack by any stretch of imagination. A lot rides on Zaheer Khan and his bowling prowess. He is a wicket-taker. We need wicket-takers and India doesnt them apart from Zaheer Khan. Harbhajan Singh has been mainly doing a containing job rather than a wicket-taker. Surely, he should be replaced with Ashwin if he doesnt take vital wickets in earlier games. Otherwise, Indian baowlers have nothing much to write about and i have to say Praveen Kumar will be hugely missed in this world cup.

So, Indian batters have score a minimum 50 runs more than the winning score in every match to compensate for their hole in the bowling and appaling fielding they display in the park. That is an added disadvantage in itself.

India win the opening warm-up game against Australia

2011-02-13T21:30:00.002+05:30

India have won the opening warm-up game in the World cup 2011 against Australia. India batted first and scored only 213, thanks to lacklustre performance by the Indian batsmen. Apart from Sehwag and Ashwin who held the batting together, other Indian batsmen just were not good enough. Earlier in the day, Sachin Tendulkar didn't feel the need to play the warm-up game against a very formidable Australian side. A few experts justified his decision of him not playing the game as he has wealth of experience in the ODI format. I guess, each game is so much different and has its own experiences.

Australia managed just 173 and Ricky Ponting played well for his fifty. Indian bowlers especially the spinners were just too good for the Australian batsmen. Chawla picked up four wickets and Harbhajan walked away with three wickets. The pitch admittedly was two paced and just under-prepared to say the least. India now take on New Zealand in Chennai on 16th February in their second warm-up game before starting their world cup campaign against Bangladesh in Mirpur on February 19th 2011.

Inflation–The dragon which could eat up India’s growth story

2011-02-06T12:14:00.000+05:30

Inflation, inflation, inflation!!!! Everywhere you hear about this in India right now. India’s PM Dr. Manmohan Singh was very apprehensive about the high inflation and was worried that the it could stall India’s impressive growth story over the past five years. Words of wisdom from the PM himself has not be taken seriously because being a economist himself he knows a thing or two about macroeconomics.

So, what is it all about this inflation which pinches peoples of all spheres very hard – from the you and me as common man to the business man owning hotels in sub-urban Chennai, to the leading auto makers, the stock brokers, to the lending private and public banks to the Indian government itself. Let’s look at this right from the common man’s perspective in this article.

Common man: As you all know, there has been steady increase in prices of all essential commodities in the past couple of months from milk, vegetables, fruits to the petrol costs. Food inflation has been persistently hovering in the higher teens. Increase in crude prices internationally has led to the overall domino effect in the increase of many essential commodities. The increase in petrol prices not only increases your monthly fuel expense but also same amount of increase in the transport of various essential commodities. The local wholesale and retail vendors add this to the essential commodities and pass it on to the common man. Also, after the deregulation of petrol prices by the government, the oil companies directly tweak the prices based on the international markets. So, in this regard the government has very little room for any change. The international crude prices been increasing due to the slight sense of recovery, though temporary in the developed countries like the US and northern Europe.

So, since inflation is something which hits the common man and the poor in particular are heavily hit, this immediately becomes a political issue. So, government has to be seen as being doing something. This is where RBI comes in. The theory is with increase in interest rates, the demand could be tempered and thus bringing down the inflation. This theory hold good if the pressure point is in the demand side. But, inflation in India is mainly due to supply chain which has just crumbled down. This needs some structural changes like effective management of the public distribution system, proper world-class storage facilities for all essential commodities and stricter rules for all types of hoarding.

Public Distribution System(PDS): State governments use PDS to supply rice, wheat and other essential commodities to the people below poverty line(BPL) in their respective states. This chain of distribution system is pathetic and dysfunctional in many states. So, the poor are forced to get the essential commodities from the private retail outlets. This not only is a burden on the poor, but also increases the demand in retail outlets resulting in overall increase in prices. So, the states has to reform their PDS and strive for better quality and low wastages in PDS. Also, an universal PDS, meaning everyone in the state in entitled to this ration card and particular quantity of rice, wheat etc. has to be put in force. This helps in avoiding duplication of ration cards and wastage of grains. This has been followed successfully in states like Tamil Nadu at present. Also, the prices of food grains through PDS should be uniform throughout the country. For example, illegal hoarding takes place from one state selling grains at Re.1/ Kg to another state selling grains at a higher price. So, this kind of hording can be avoided. Corruption of PDS employees also is a reason for this. They have their illegal ways with the middlemen in hoarding the grains.

Storage facilities: World class storage facilities has to be in place for food grains, milk, eggs, meat and other essential commodities. High technology storing facilities can be used in this regard. Public- Private partnership can be used and a involvement of FD in retail can be helpful to cut down on wastages due to inadequate storage facilities. Of late, we are witnessing grains rottening due to this particular hamstring in the government distribution system.

Strict rules on hoarding: Hoarding as was pointer out before was an critical impediment when it comes to food inflation. Government employees working in PDS has to be aware of the hoarding and take strong action against illegal hoarders with checkpoints at various places along state borders. Big retail corporations hoarding commodities to create artificially inflated demand has to be punished by the government. Futures markets on commodities has to be properly monitored and any sudden spike in Futures market has to be analysed on their cause.

These are some of the important structural changes to the distribution system which could bring down food inflation to a great extent. But this needs courage and conviction from both the states and the union government.

Kamal Hassan–Master of all trades

2010-12-09T00:12:00.002+05:30

Kamal Hassan has over the years donned many roles in Indian cinema. Ulaganayagan(roughly translates to ‘Hero of the world’), as he is fondly called, was all of three when he sprung into the silver screen. Now am not going to rewind the history path travelled by Kamal(in any case, you have Wikipeadia and Guru Google to turn to for help), which many would be vaguely aware of and this piece doesn’t even venture into it.

I am very sure that no one in Indian cinema was, is or ever will be able to master many sub-fields within a field, as was achieved by Kamal Hassan. After his initial on-screen presence during his childhood days, Kamal was more inclined to be part of the behind- the-glitz and glamour team.

Choreographer: As a choreographer, he worked with many leading heroes in Tamil cinema like Sivaji and MGR in those days. He is one of the very few heroes who can dance both Bharathanatyam and the western dance with elan. Not many(may be none) can boast off such command over both sides of the spectrum. His dance repertoire in Salangai Oli was applauded by the masses and was watched in awe by many in the film fraternity.

Actor: This probably is the easiest part. The guy needs no introduction in this segment. A prolific actor, Kamal is the recipient of 3 national awards(for ‘Nayagan’, ‘Moondram Pirai and ‘Indian’). But the most striking feature about his acting, atleast to me, is his timing for comedy. Humour is not easy, when it has to be enacted. Kamal is the king of comedy genre. Many films like ‘Panchathantiram’, ‘Michael Madana Kamarajan’, ‘Thenali’, ‘Sathileelavathi’, ‘Pammal K Sambandam’, ‘Vasool Raja MBBS’ and not to forget ‘Singaravelan’ are a very few of his best works in Comedy genre. So, comedy is probably my favourite in his works, though his works in films like ‘Indian’, ‘Nayagan’, ‘Devar Magan’ and the evergreen ‘Anbe Sivam’ are etched in everyones memory.

Director/ Screen Play writer: Kamal wanted to be a director, very much like his guru K.Balachander. Maybe, the knowledge rubbed into him and here we have the director of aptly structure movies like ‘Virumaandi’. He has a great share behind the scenes in he movies like ‘Mahanadi’, ‘Devar Magan’ and ‘Dasavatharam’. Many criticise Kamal for his over involvement in many of his films, many a time turning into Director, Cinematographer, Music director. But, somebody with so much talent would be best advised to take a share of all these if the outcome is a much better play. His screen play in ‘Devar Magan’, ‘Mahanadi’ and ‘Dasavatharam’ was applauded by even the worst of his critics.

Polyglot: Kamal is someone who not only has strong control over his mother tongue Tamil and also English, he is someone who knows atleast 8 other languages. His control over many languages comes to the fore in his climax scene in ‘Panchathantiram’. Language skill is such an important criteria in films, especially if you are in India, with languages sprouting every Friday. I can strongly say no one the Film industry has the skill to converse with his fellow Indians in their mother tongue as does Kamal.

Tamil Poet: This is one of the most interesting face of Kamal. A very neatly speaking Kamal(‘Spashta Tamil’, as in Tamil), is something tamilians have come to know over the years. His use of tamil with all its intricacies makes people sit up and take note. Of late, he is building his own niche as a Tamil poet. ‘Venbaa’ is a grammatically difficult set of poems in tamil which needs deep knowledge of Tamil language to understand, let alone pen them. It has rules like every line should have four words only, last line should have three words, the first word in the penultimate line should be an independent word and totally only four lines.(Hope am right in the grammer part). Kamal, as said by a famous tamil poet, Gnanasambhandar, is adept in writing these poets. His latest sing-song poem in the upcoming flick ‘Manmadan Ambu’ , is a big example to Kamal’s writing skills.

Singer: Kamal may not be in the elite group of singers like SPB, Yesudas, Hariharan and Unni Krishanan, but he surely has laid out his own mark as a singer. The immediate songs that come to mind as ‘Yaar Yaar Sivam’ from ‘Anbe Sivam’, ‘Marugo’ from ‘Sathileelavathi’, ‘Inzhi Iduppu’ from ‘Devar Magan’ and the latest soothing song from ‘Manmadan Ambu’, ‘Neela Vanam’(such a fantastic song from the master himself). The distinct voice of his is exploited to the hilt, to get the best out of himself.

Aethiest/ Pagutharivalar(in Tamil): Though from a very orthrodox Tamil Iyengar family(most conservative side of Tamil Hindu Brahmins), Kamal has no such ideals. A staunch proponent against marriage institutions(not surprising, he has two divorced marriages before), Kamal is of the clad who calls themselves rationalist and doesn’t believe in the so callled enity ‘God’. Its a very private side of his life, which gets much publicised.

The many faces adapted by this man makes him a true legend, not just in Indian cinema,but also as a go-getter human being. I have always been fascinated and awed at not the different roles he takes up in reel life, but the range of different hue that he has taken up in real life.

Power Grid FPO priced at Rs.90

2010-11-14T15:59:00.001+05:30

India's biggest inter-state transmission firm Power Grid Corp's follow-on public offer (FPO), which closed today, has received tremendous response from investors.Power Grid Corporation of India has set the issue price for its follow-on public offer at Rs 90 a share. This is at the upper end of the price band that it had announced earlier.

Retail investors and employees of the company will get a 5 per cent discount on the offer price.State-run Power Grid’s follow-on public offering (FPO) was subscribed about 15 times at the end of the last day as retail and wealthy investors lapped up the issue on attractive pricing.

The issue’s retail and non-institutional investor categories were subscribed 3.85 times and about 29 times, respectively. The issue got a good response from the company’™s employees, with their portion getting fully subscribed.

Retail investors and employees will get equity shares at 5% discount to the final issue price. The issue comprises a fresh issue of 42,08,84,123 shares and an offer for sale of 42,08,84,123 shares by the President of India acting through the Ministry of Power, Government of India, which is 20% offer in total.

The company has a current capacity of 75,000 circuit kms and plans to add 8,000 circuit kms in FY11. Power Grid Corp has earmarked capital expenditure of USD 27 billion for 2012-2017, more than double its capex budget in its current five-year plan.The FPO proceeds will be used for 13 transmission projects costing Rs 22,600 crore.

Seniors rested for New Zealand One Day Series

2010-10-24T10:05:00.001+05:30

BCCI in consultation with Indian cricket coach Gary Kirsten has decided to rest the senior Indian players like Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni, Virender Sehwag for the upcoming one day series against New Zealand. Players have a daunting schedule ahead of them with a home series against New Zealand and a 45-day tour to South Africa before the much awaited Cricket World Cup in early February 2011. Coach Gary Kirsten expressed his concerns to the BCCI top officials on player burn-out due to the packed schedule. BCCI was very adamant on having a short tour against New Zealand primarily due to sponsor pressures.

Kirsten had relented to BCCI pressure on having the matches against New Zealand on one condition and that is player rotation policy ahead of the World Cup in the Indian sub-continent. Kirsten had also felt that it would be better to have some test playing players to be sent to South Africa to get acclimatized to the conditions in South Africa. After all, the present bunch of top test cricketers like Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Virendar Sehwag and Zaheer Khan had not tasted success in South Africa in the longer format of the game though they had won a test match in Johannesburg in their last tour under Dravid's captaincy.

It would be good idea to test some of the young players like Sourabh Tiwary, Shikar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Dinesh Karthick, Vinay Kumar, R.Ashwin and Abhimanyu Mithun. Yuvraj Singh who is in awfully out of form should be playing all the games ahead to get into some respectable form.

IPL 2011 - All new format

2010-09-05T17:24:00.006+05:30

Indian Premier League will come home with a new format in 2011. The GC(Governing Council) chaired by Sunil Gavaskar, MK Pataudi and Ravi Shastri have come up with the new format for IPL edition 4.
In each of the next three seasons, the IPL will comprise 70 league matches and four playoffs. The ten teams(including the two new teams, Pune and Kochi) will be split into two groups of five each.
An extension of the current home-and-away format would have stretched the season to 94 matches, which had prompted concerns of player burn-out. Franchise owners were also reluctant to reduce the minimum number of matches their team would play each season. These constraints have led to a convoluted format.

1.Every team will play the same number of league games (14, 7 home and 7 away) as in previous seasons with the following break-up:
a) Each team will play the other four in its group both home and away (eight matches),
b) Each team will play four of the teams in the other group once (four matches, either home or away)
c) it will play the remaining team in the other group twice, both home and away. A random draw will decide the composition of the groups as well as who plays whom across the groups once and twice.

2.The teams that finish first and second in the league table will contest the first playoff, which is effectively a semi-final. The loser of this match shouldn't loose heart. To know why, read on......
3. The teams that finish third and fourth will play each other in a knockout that is effectively a quarter-final.
4. The loser of the first Semi-Final will play the winner of the Quarter Final in a match that will decide the second finalist that will play the winner of first Semi-Final in the grand final.

Each of the ten franchises can retain up to four players( 3 Domestic Players and 1 Overseas Player only). The retained players must have been part of the franchise's registered squads for the 2010 season and will not be part of November's auction.

The franchise and the player it wishes to retain must come to a mutual agreement regarding the retention and the fee for the 2011 and 2012 seasons.

•$1.8 million per year for the first player retained
•$1.3 million per year for the second player retained
•$900,000 per year for the third player retained
•$500,000 per year for the fourth player retained

Therefore, if a franchise decides to retain four players, it will be charged $4.5 million per year and will have only $4.5 million to spend on other players, compared to the $9 million available to a franchise that retains no one. Also, the size of the squad is capped at 30 players(10 Overseas players and 20 Domestic Players). In all, the total number of players will be 300 in IPL4. But only 4 Overseas player can feature in the Final XI.

Hopefully, IPL4 will be a cracker of a contest rather than it cracking under the pressure of off-field controversies which plagued the last three editions.

Indian IT companies - Time for a change in operating models

2010-07-07T23:04:00.002+05:30

Indian IT services companies have been the darling of the masses for about a decade now. The clean and transparent administrative models that they brought to the table was quiet refreshing in the early 90's albeit much was from the corridors of the elite American industry. The large talent potential in India was attracted by the huge salaries that were been offered by the industry if you were a techie. Yet, rigorous entry criterion and high merit-based selection interviews models were used by the top management to hire employees.

The unique and highly profitable offshore-onsite was a win-win situation for both the Indian IT vendors and the clients. Since 95% of the revenues came from exports, the industry was able to achieve 25-30% as Profit After Tax(PAT). The geographical spread was as such that USA contibuted 65% of the revenues and Europe around 30%.This meant that the currency fluctuations was never a headwind. So, IT companies never really bothered about hedging practices. The traditional ADM model(Application Development and Maintanence) was bread and butter for most IT vendors. The companies kept bringing out customer specific outputs and never really focussed on R&D for customized services and tools which needed domain experts.

The economic crisis was a watershed moment for Indian IT industry. World economics have seen a sea change and the share of developing countries in the world economic growth is rising and will have an exponential growth in the years to come. The world is slowly changing and so should the Indian IT pack to sustain their growth. Its no longer the US and Europe markets. New markets like China, India, South Africa, Brazil and Russia should be the focus in the years to come. New markets mean new and diversified customer whose needs could be vastly different from say a client in US or Britain. So, careful study of these markets is critical for gaining a foothold in these geographies.

India is a growing economy. With growth, the choice for employment will also increase for the local skilled workforce. Already, many sectors like Infrastructure,tourism and financial services are seeing robust growth in India. So, young Indian graduate will become more choosy about his dream job with the attractive offers from many sectors. This in turn will only push the salaries demanded by the skilled workforce. So, margins of the IT companies could be hit due to higher salaries. Dont forget, one of the main reasons overseas clients flock towards India is due to their low salaried workforce. Higher salaries mean lesser profits for the company. This could be the major problem for the Indian companies going forward.So, carefully caliberated approach is needed on this account. Otherwise, the profit margins as in pre-2008 levels will become history and will never be achieved again.

The next big challenge is the ramp-ups that needs to be done in the R&D platform. Right now, Indian IT companies spend on an average 1% of their revenues towards R&D. More customized IT products should be delivered to catch up with the likes of the Microsofts and the Googles of today.New and emerging markets like Infrastructure, high-end defence and government sectors should be fostered apart from the known culprits like BFSI and retail.

So, change in approach should be the main focus for these doyens of the Indian industry to stay afloat and capture many more deals in a more competitive world with other rivals

Back to my favourite past time

2010-06-20T11:31:00.004+05:30

Its been such a long time since i have blogged.6 months to be near precise. These 6 months have seen a lot. 'Lacklustre showing', is how we can mildly put with regards to the UPA's first term in office,cold-blooded attack across the states of Chattisgarh, Orissa and West Bengal by the resurgent Maoists, a 'Simple no Affair' can be atmost said, about Budget 2010 and surprising huge sums raked in by the government in the high ticket auction of the year, 'The 3G and BWA auction' held in May-June 2010 reflected how the UPA-1 goverment could have amassed a similar kind of money moolah if only had they had in a place an upright and honest minister. A huge setback for the Obama administration due to the so called 'BP oil spill' over the coast of Gulf of Mexico and the Economic crisis in Europe balloning everyday due to the debt-ridden countries like Greece, Portugal, Spain,Ireland and Britain. Not to forget the IPL-gate, Lalit Modi's brainchild suffering an huge setback due to his creator's mishandling of many procedures and proccesses within IPL from team Auction to the TV rights issue taking away the post of a flambuoyant MoS in the External Affairs ministry. Last but not least, atleast for the common man is the inflating inflation transforming many in the BPL category to being miserably destitute.

It has also had its fair share of some good news. The passage of the Health-care bill in the US, Obama's pet project envisaging health safety and a right towards the same for all Americans. Though Europe is still reeling under the economic crisis, the much debated 'V', 'W' or 'U' type recession has seen an ending. Its seems for sure that the developed world will go through a 'U' shaped recession while the developing world will have a 'V' shaped recession fuelled mainly by the commendable growth rates seen in Asian giant states China and India.Back home, its has so far been a good year for the markets. In Tamil Nadu, its the Tamil classical language meeting in Coimbatore thats slated to take place in the last week of June which has captured many Tamilians imaginations, albeit the noise is a bit deafening.
Some worthwhile watching Bollywood flicks had hit the screens this year until now, like Shah Rukh's 'My Name is Khan', Hrithik's 'Kites' and latest to hit is Mani Ratnam's 'Raavan'. Tamil film industry have had some good movies also like 'VTV', Surya's 'Singam', and some others. But one thing which hasn't changed is and stays as always is Vijay and Ajit's movies.

Bidazzled - A new online auction experience

2009-12-27T19:12:00.002+05:30

Bidazzled has come up with an innovative idea towards online auctions. Online auctions with bids running upto many days and waiting for the bid to finally get over and catch hold of the stuff that you have won after many tiring days is a thing of the past. If your one whose has tried lots of online auctions and fed up with the way it works, then Bidazzled is the place you need to be to have an enriching(literally!!!) online auction experience.

Bidazzled was launched in early November, Bidazzled.com is redefining the online auction by offering savings of up to 90% on name brand merchandise. This is something people would have never heard of. Generally called as Penny Auctions, bids are purchased in advance and then used to bid on merchandise. The price increases a few cents with each bid placed and a few seconds are added to the countdown clock to give others a chance to bid. The main highlights of Bidazzled is that you win, Bidazzled typically make an offer to buy the item back for either cash or cash and bids or even just the bids. This makes the auction more fun and profitable to the customer. Also, Auction winners usually save over 80% off retail and you can purchase the auction item less the investment you had in the auction.
On the flip side, if you dont win,Bidazzled gives you up to 50 Bonus Bids as a thank you for participating. Isn't that cool ? And there is 15 additional bids to my readers as well. All you guys need to do is enter this code "BBP1202A " in your registration age and you get 15 additional bids.
And there is a viral refferal program in Bidazzled , which works this way:
A refers B. A receives 5 Bonus Bids
B refers C. A receives 4 Bonus Bids
C refers D. A receives 3 Bonus Bids
D refers E. A receives 2 Bonus Bids
E refers F. A receives 1 Bonus Bid.
So, why are you still waiting??? Log on to Bidazzled and place your bids to your favourite things now!!!
Please note that a fund has been created by Bidazzled and the whole money collected through this will fund a lung cancer charity (The RuchFoundation:http://www.ruchfoundation.com/ ).

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Bidazzled. All opinions are 100% mine.

Barrack Obama wins Nobel Prize for peace

2009-10-09T20:55:00.003+05:30

US President Barack Obama has won the Nobel Peace Prize less than a year after taking office.

Many observers were shocked by the unexpected choice so early in the Obama presidency, which began less than two weeks before the Feb. 1 nomination deadline and has yet to yield concrete achievements in peacemaking.The Nobel Committee said he won it for "his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and co-operation between peoples".

There were a record 205 nominations for this year's peace prize. Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and Chinese dissident Hu Jia had been among the favourites. Obama's name had been mentioned in speculation before the award but many Nobel watchers believed it was too early to award the president.

Among earlier US leaders, Theodore Roosevelt won the prize in 1906 and Woodrow Wilson won it in 1919.
The Nobel prize was invented by the Swedish industrialist and inventor of dynamite Alfred Nobel, and was first awarded in 1901. The prize-giving ceremony for the peace award is due to take place on 10 December in the Norwegian capital, Oslo.

Davis cup: India beats South Africa to enter world group stage

2009-09-20T21:09:00.002+05:30

India No. 1 Somdev Devvarman beat Rik de Voest 3-6, 6-7 (3), 7-6 (5), 6-2, 6-4 in a marathon first reverse singles to win the Davis Cup World Group play-off 3-1 against South Africa. Tenacity of Somdev and Voest engineered a prodigious tennis game which the Indian won ,after an energy-sapping four hour and 38 minutes battle at the Ellis Park indoor stadium.India last played in 16-team World Group in 1998 when it lost 1-4 to Italy. Thrice India reached in the final of the World Group but finished runners-up on all occasions.
India have taken an unassailable 3-1 lead in the tie. Junior Australian Open champion Yuki Bhambri will make his Davis Cup debut in the dead singles rubber.

India becomes No:1 ODI team in the world

2009-09-11T22:12:00.003+05:30

A disciplined India spanked New Zealand by six wickets in a drab low-scoring match to book a berth in Monday's final against Sri Lanka in the Compaq cup 2009. With this India for the first time in history becomes No:1 in ODI cricket. New Zealand crashed out of the Compaq Cup triangular series following a comprehensive six-wicket defeat to India at Colombo.

New Zealand were beaten for the second day in succession as India after Sri Lanka beat them last wednesday.

After scoring just 119 in their series opening defeat to Sri Lanka on Tuesday, the Kiwis managed just 155 at the same venue before India eased to the target to book a final date with the home nation.Sachin Tendulkar hit six fours in 46 in reply, before skipper Mahendra Dhoni and Suresh Raina shared an unbroken 72 to win it with 57 balls left.

Prakash Raj wins National award

2009-09-08T11:59:00.004+05:30

Director Priyadarshan's off-beat Tamil film Kanchivaram has won the best feature film award at the 55th National Film Awards 2007, while tamil actor Prakash Raj has been adjudged best actor for his performance in the same film.Malayalam film director Adoor Gopalakrishnan is best director for Naalu Pennungal while Kannada actress Uma Shri is best actress for Gulabi Talkies.

There had been lot of talks about the battle between Aamir Khan and Shahrukh Khan for the best actor in the National Awards. But as it turned around both the Bollywood stars were left empty handed as Prakash Raj walked away with the award. Prakash Raj won the award for his superb performance in the movie Kanchivaram.

Bollywood star Aamir Khan's directorial debut Taare Zameen Par gets the best family welfare award and Prasoon Joshi the award for the best lyrics for the song "Maa" from the same film about a dyslexic child. The song also gets Shankar Mahadevan the National Award for best playback singer.

The best special effects award was won by Super star Rajnikanth's Sivaji directed by Shankar. Shahrukh Khan's "Chak De India" won the Best film award in Wholesome entertainment category.

The myth of Obamaphobia in India

2009-09-06T18:03:00.006+05:30

The moment the name "Barrack Obama" is uttered and people around the world visualize the African-American who infused huge confidence into the sagging spirits of many Americans. His campaign trail had a lot of fresh air both during the primaries and also in the Presidential campaign. He made it a point to touch the issues pertaining to people and lent in his plans and ideas for the future of America. The pure way in which he connected with his own fellow Americans coupled with growing anger against the Presidency of George Bush transformed into crushing win for the democrats. He was the right man, at the right time and someone many Americans looked up to for a change. His slogan of "Yes, we can!!!" worked wonders and was the right tonic for the people who were hit by the worst recession in six decades.

President Bush's era was painted with lots of hatred and a growing sense of "American Bullyism" was felt by countries across the world. The events like 9/11 and the wars that followed in Afghanisthan and the unnecessary war in Iraq alienated America from the rest of the world. America under Bush regime was spending billions of dollars in the so called "War on terror". This only made America and its people more insecure and is still is. Many terrorist attacks in American-friendly nations followed like the one in London and Madrid.

Back home in America, economy was weaking every quarter and more people lost jobs every month. The bad management practices which crept into the American MNC's laid seeds for a painful economic chaos. Bush's ratings was spiralling down very quickly and was regarded as the worst President in many decades. It all culminated towards the "Lehmann Brothers bankruptcy" last September and American economy had a free fall from then on. This was when a man with broad smile and detailed plans for his country entered the scene- Barack Husssain Obama. The rest is history with him becoming the first ever African-American to chair American Presidency.

All said and done, George Bush could be regarded as a villain in the rest of the world, but somehow he was very close to India. For the first time in decades, America laid out red carpet state salute welcome to an Indian Prime Minister when Dr. Manmohan Singh visited America in July 2005. Bush and Manmohan Singh had a great working relationship and signed an historic Indo-US Nuke deal. India was always quiet close to Bush and he went out of his way to convince American congress on the Nuke deal proposal. Bush's love for India was also seen as a tactical move to counter the growing Chinese economy. Bush was one of the few American Presidents who gave a strong support to India which led Dr.Manmohan Singh to say that Bush was ver much loved by Indian people during his last meeting with the American President. Dr.Singh received lot of flak for that particular remark back home.

Many in India are quiet apprehensive even from the Presidential campaign about Barrack Obama and his policies. His policies of greater check on non-prolifreation and curbing of offshoring jobs to other countries particularly IT jobs to India created lot of panic in India. He was one among the few who raised amnedments to Indo-US nuclear deal in the congress which he later didnot press upon. He was opposed to tranferring sensitive nuclear technology to India. With his election to Presidency in January, India was quiet nervous about the approach he would take towards India. His famous quote of "Say no to Bangalore and yes to Buffalo" was like hearing death knell to many entrepreneurs in India. A myth was being created that Obama would stop India's ascendancy in global stage.

The IT sector was quiet dissatisfied by the protectionist policies charted out by Obama administration which could hit this sector in particular very badly. This was just an illusion. Obama proposed the abolition of tax breaks to those AMERICAN MNC's who shipped jobs to other countries like India. Earlier, American business houses which made profits from their overseas subsidiaries(easily put as "branches") were liable to pay only 2% of their profits as taxes to American government. At a time of huge economic crisis and raising fiscal deficit in America, this kind of low taxes was seen to be quiet biased. So, they have proposed to increase the taxes to those MNC'c to upto 35%. This in no way is applicable or will affect Indian IT companies or any other sector companies for that matter. The proposal itself had a lot of opposition from companies like Micrsoft, IBM and HP who will be affected by this proposal and to top it all these proposal if accepted in American congress will come into effect only from 2011.

The main worry is the cut in H1B1 visas which are necessary for foreign nationals to work in America. With more offshoring mix than onsite in many Indian IT companies now, this could also be weathered.

Other issue which makes Indian diplomats fret is the American U-turn in a sense towards opposition to sharing sensitive nuclear technology to India. This proposal was made by America to other G8 countries but with a lukewarm response. Russia and France have already shot down the proposal and has given full support to India in tranferrring all latest Nuke technology to Indian nuke reactors. Many American nuclear companies have raised voices against this because they could loose lots of nuclear business to their French and Russian counterparts due to this proposal. These are the main fears(mainly myths) that Indians are suffering from the so called Obamaphobia.

One thing that Indians should be clear is "Obama is elected President of America". It would be very short- sighted to discuss whether he would be any good or bad to India. His role as President of America is to work for American people and their improvement. It would be better if we have an eye on what our elected politcians and what they will do for our country's improvement rather than worry about policies and work of Presidents and PM's of other countries towards our country.

Amitabh Bachchan to host Big Boss

2009-09-04T19:57:00.004+05:30

Actor Amitabh Bachchan will host Bigg Boss 3, the third season of the popular TV reality show which will telecasted in Colours which is a part of Viacom 18. Amitabh Bachchan first arrived on the small screen with Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC) in 2000. The impact of the show is now part of television legend. It revived Bachchan's sagging career and established the struggling Star Plus as the No. 1 entertainment channel.

The Indian version of the popular British reality show Big Brother, Big Boss is set to get bigger and Amitabh Bachchan is going to take over as host from Shilpa Shetty, who hosted it last season.Bachchan will invite viewers to send in their choices for housemates and Colors will attempt to get some of the people chosen by viewers. Amitabh Bachchan will also interview the housemates as they get evicted. He will play the role of a philosopher, giving housemates his wisdom and advice.This will be his second stint on the small screen.

Bigg Boss rated reasonably well when it was telecast on Colors last year soon after the channel's launch in July. But it was more successful at being constantly in the eye of a storm. The show is expected to go on air around December.

Bigg Boss will have celebrity contestants locked into a house under the surveillance of multiple cameras for a period of three months without any contact with the outside world. Periodic eliminations will take place based on voting by housemates and the audiences.

Sachin Tendulkar's new bat

2009-09-04T18:59:00.005+05:30

Sachin Tendulkar and his MRF bat have been synonymous for the past 13 years. It was a big hit among young kids and parents literally bought MRF bats, so that there kids will also become a Sachin Tendulkar. But now, after 13 years of association with MRF, Sachin Tendulkar will sport a new bat. Adidas will sponsor that bat and Sachin's bat will bear its name on it.

Sachin Tendulkar is playing active cricket after a long well deserved rest. He played his last cricket match in South Africa in IPL 2 for Mumbai Indians. He said during the function that ODI's should be more innovative if it wants to survive the T20 assault. He also said that he hasn't thought about retirement yet.

Apparel major Adidas today announced its foray into cricket equipment business in the country and said it plans to become a leader in the over Rs 100-crore organised cricket gears market in the next five years. The company's long-standing brand ambassador Sachin Tendulkar was the main design advisor for the new range. During the first two years, Adidas is aiming to capture at least a double-digit share of the organised cricket equipment.
The marketing campaign for the new range will be spearheaded by Sachin Tendulkar.

Andhra Pradesh CM YS Rajashekar Reddy dies in helicopter crash

2009-09-02T16:52:00.006+05:30

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy and four others were killed when their helicopter crashed on a hill. The helicopter crashed about 49 nautical miles east of Kurnool, more than an hour it took off from Hyderabad's Begumpet airport yesterday.The charred bodies of 60-year-old Reddy and others and the wreckage of the twin-engined Bell 430 helicopter were located at 8.20 AM. The other bodies are identified as the ones of Pilot, co-pilot, CM's security officer Wesley and his secretary Subramanyam IAS.

Reddy, 60, a powerful politician who had never lost an election during his 30-year political career, led the Congress party to victories in both state and Parliament elections in May, and was just months into his second term as chief minister.Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in his condolence messsage described YSR's death as a personal loss and said he was a "role model" and an outstanding leader with a tireless commitment to serve the people. He said he was stellar leader and loved my masses.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi said that she was "deeply saddened" by the news, and described as a "leader of reason and dynamism". She remembered him who had full determination and commitment to bring the Congress back to power both at the Centre and in Andhra Pradesh in elections earlier this year. Both the PM and Congress president will attend his funeral tomorrow.

Meanwhile, AP Finance Minister Rosaiah will be the caretaker Chief Minister of the state. He appealed to the people to stay calm in this hour of crisis. The government said all schools and other instituitions will remain closed tomorrow as a mark of respect to the late CM.

ICC Awards 2009: MS Dhoni gets three nominations

2009-09-02T16:29:00.006+05:30

Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Sri Lanka's Tillakaratne Dilshan head the list of nominees for the annual International Cricket Council awards, with both being nominated in three categories. Dhoni had earlier won the ODI Player of the Year in 2008 and was also named in the ODI Team of the Year. Dhoni was nominated in three categories - ICC Cricketer of the Year, Test Player of the Year and ODI Player of the Year awards.Amit Mishra was nominated as the emerging player of 2009.Dilshan, yet to win an ICC award, was also nominated for cricketer and test player of the year, plus Twenty20 performance of the year.

Indian pacer Zaheer Khan also found his name in the list of nominees, after he was named as a strong contender for the T20 Performer of the Year award for his 4/19 against Ireland.Gautam Gambhir and off-spinner Harbhajan Singh made the grade for the Cricketer of the Year award.

VVS Laxman joined the trio of Dhoni, Gambhir and Harbhajan to be in the line for the Test Player of the Year award while Yuvraj and Sehwag were also in the fray for the honour of ODI Player of the Year. In the women's section, Mithali Raj and Priyanka Roy were nominated.

The long list of nominees in the eight award categories was announced well ahead of the official ceremony in South Africa on Oct. 1.

Now talk for hours for just Re.1: Tata's innovative plan

2009-09-01T22:05:00.003+05:30

Innovation once again from Tatas.Close on the heels of Tata Docomo’s ‘pay-per-second’ offer, dual-technology telecom service provider Tata Teleservices (TTSL) today unveiled a ‘pay per call’ plan under its CDMA brand Tata Indicom.The new plan marks a dramatic shift in airtime pricing, in effect offering unlimited talk time. Telecom operator Tata Teleservices' new tariff plan allows CDMA subscribers unlimited hours on local calls for just Re 1.

Tata Teleservices pre-paid CDMA subscribers will be charged Re 1 for all local calls and Rs 3 for long distance calls, regardless of the duration.The plan also offers subsidised rate for SMSes or short message service at 50 paisa for both local and national SMS.The pay per call plan is initially being introduced on the pre-paid platform, and all subscribers who opt for it will be charged a daily fee of Re 1 to avail of the tariff option. The company expects volumes to make up for the loss of average revenue per user in this plan. TTSL's CDMA service is pan-India and has a subscriber base of under 40 million.Rival dual-technology telco Reliance Communications, which, in early years gained market share competing on price, is almost certain to come up with an equivalent plan

IL&FS to be the new promoters of Maytas Infra

2009-08-31T18:20:00.002+05:30

IL&FS(Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services) Ltd. will take over the management control of Maytas Infra Ltd. The board of Maytas Infra Ltd, linked to scam-hit outsourcer Satyam Computer, has received a proposal to replace the existing founders of the company from IL&FS limited. IL&FS is the single largest shareholder of Maytas and will control 37% of equity in the company as some other large shareholders will pledge their shares with it.IL&FS currently holds a 14.5% stake in Maytas. The existing promoter shareholders will step down.
Maytas was founded by the family of Ramalinga Raju, the former chairman of Satyam Computer Services Ltd., who confessed in January to an accounting fraud at Satyam.
IL&FS Financial Services will spend about Rs.1.5 billion to buy 22.51 percent of equity in Maytas Infra Ltd.

Maharashtra, Haryana and Arunachal goes to polls on October 13

2009-08-31T17:47:00.004+05:30

Maharashtra, Haryana and Arunachal Pradesh will go to polls on October 13 on a single phase election time table. This was announced by Chief Election Commisioner Mr.Naveen Chawla. The counting will take place on October 22. There is an unusual 9-day gap between the polling day and counting day.

This, Election Commision says is due to Diwali that comes right between on October 18. This is also the first elections after the General elections which took place last April-May where Congress party romped home with victory.Despite the ongoing controversy over Electronic Voting Machines, the same will be used for casting vote in all three states. Video cameras will be placed in sensitive polling booths. With this announcement the Model Code of Conduct has been activated.

There are 60 seats in Arunachal Pradesh, 90 seats in Haryana and 288 seats in Maharashtra assemblies respectively. There are 7.56 crore voters in Maharashtra and 1.20 crore voters in Haryana. EVMs will be used in all the three states.

Arunachal Pradesh and Haryana are expected to go Congress way mainly due to a strong party base and also a very weak opposition in BJP. Maharashtra will be the one to watch. The Congress-NCP combine are likely to go together against the 3o years of coalition combine of Shiv Sena and BJP. BJP is certainly on a sticky wicket due to internal party uproar and fights within the party high command. Also, the Raj Thackeray's MNS could play a spoiler and eat into the votes of BJP and Shiv Sena.

Congress, fresh from its victory at the centre is itching to take hold of the Maharashtra government for the third consecutive time. The main qusetion being whether they would contest alone in Maharashtra or contuinue with their combination with NCP which is headed by BCCI-president and Union Agricultural minister Sharad Pawar. Pawar had a very poor General elections winning only 9 seats in 48-seat Lok Sabha contest.

Force India's Giancarlo Fisichella moves to Ferrari

2009-08-31T17:36:00.004+05:30

Belgian GP runner-up Giancarlo Fisichella has completed a temporary switch to Ferrari for the rest of the F1 season. Fisichella would replace Luca Badoer, who has struggled as a replacement for the injured Felipe Massa. With Massa definitely out of the reckoning till next year, Ferrari made a call to Force India boss Vijay Mallya and requested him to release Fisichella. Fisichella's move to Ferrari is now confirmed. Force India likely to call up Vitantonio Liuzzi to take Fisichella's place.

Badoer, Ferrari's official reserve driver, was drafted in to replace the injured Felipe Massa after legendary seven-time F1 champion Michael Schumacher was forced to shelve his comeback plans. Fisichella's contract with Force India runs out at the end of the 2009 season.
Massa is recovering at home in Brazil after suffering a fractured skull in a crash during qualifying at the Hungarian Grand Prix in July.Ferrari are believed to have run out of patience with Badoer, who has qualified last at both of his races so far.
While Raikkonen won the race at Spa, Badoer trailed in last, nearly 48 seconds slower than the driver in front.
The Italian GP is on the 13 September, followed by Grands Prix in Singapore and Japan, before the teams head to Brazil. Though, the constructor's championship for Ferrari is out of question this year, Ferrari intends to have a strong second driver to support Kimi Raikonnen. Felipe Massa could return to active F1 only next season. Fisichella'stransfer will be a great boost for Ferrari and can give Kimi Raikonnen much needed support. Felipe Massa, meanwhile can concentrate on his full recovery and comeback stronger next season.

Economy grows by 6.1% in Q1

2009-08-31T12:14:00.005+05:30

Indian economy grew an impressive 6.1% in Q1 of FY2010. The YOY growth was at about 7.8% while last quarter(Q4 FY2009) was at about 5.8%. So, QoQ the economy has grwon by around 300 basis points. As government stimulus measures helped spur demand, although a poor monsoon threatens to crimp growth later in the year even as it drives inflation. The economists feel the full impact of drought in certain areas of the country will be seen only in the coming quarters, especially in the Q2 and Q3 of this year.

The segment grouping financing, insurance, real estate and business services led growth in gross domestic product, gaining 8.1% on year. Services sector was pleasant surprise which grew by 7.8%, while as expected Agriculture was worst performing with 2.4% vs 3% last year. The drought situation will only decrease the growth in agriculture in the coming months. Manufacturing and mining grew by 3.4% and 7.9% in June quarter compared with 5.5% and 4.6% respectively in the year-ago quarter.

The whole year GDP guidance is at about 6.1-6.4% taking into consideration the agricultural slowdown and also some counter balance from manufacturing,services and mining sectors. This is below the promised growth of 7% by the Finance Minister in his budgetary speech. Weak rains will hurt purchasing power of consumers in rural areas and drag down industrial output. Drought situation may impact around 400-700 basis points of the total GDP growth.

Hatoyama becomes Prime Minister of Japan

2009-08-31T11:48:00.005+05:30

Its was a historic moment in Japan's history. Yukio Hatayoma ended five decades of Liberal Democratic Party rule in Japan. The Democratic Party of Japan(DPJ) headed by its leader Yukio Hatayoma cruised through in the national elections to hand otgoing PM Taro Aso and leader of LDP its worst ever defeat in fifty years. Democratic Party of Japan seized 308 seats in Lower House election, bouncing the Liberal Democratic Party from power. The DPJ's tally far exceeded the 241 seats needed for a single majority and surpassed the 296 seats the LDP won in its landslide victory in the previous Lower House election in 2005.

The Liberal Democrats have governed Japan for virtually all of the past 54 years.Japan's electorate wanted a significant change in old school policies of the LDP, which includes a more equivocal diplomatic relations with the USA rather than a more submissive approach all these decades. At the same time, the Democrats want to improve relations with other Asian countries, like China, Taiwan, S.Korea and India.

Hatoyamo has pledged to foster a family-friendly state by abolishing high education fees, increasing child support to £170 a month and introducing a minimum income for farmers. Tax breaks for small and medium-sized businesses, minimum pensions and the abolition of road tolls are among other promises. The child support plan is one which is aimed at increasing the fertility rates in Japan which is shockingly in the nagative. This would lead to an population degrowth by 2030. So, the increase in child support plan is one way of encouraging couples to have more child.

Japan managed to climb out of a yearlong recession in the second quarter, but its economy remains weak. Unemployment and anxiety over falling wages threatens to undermine any recovery. The jobless rate has risen to a record 5.7 percent.But with Japan's public debt heading toward 200 percent of gross domestic product the largets for any wealthy nation, it will be very difficult for export-driven-country like Japan to pull out of this recession and lead a path to high-end recovery.As China threatens to overtake Japan as the world’s second largest economy as early as next year, the pressure is on for Mr Hatoyama to reinvent the nation’s trade and industry Japan's people are hoping the new government with new ideas will lead the country towards the glory days of 80's and 90's.

Raikonnen wins Belgium GP; Force India's Fisichella takes second position

2009-08-30T18:43:00.006+05:30

It was a close race and who would have thought the race to the top would be between F1's top budget team Ferrari and the "low -budget" Force India. It was a dream weekend for India's liquor barron Vijay Mallya-owned Force India. Italian Giancarlo Fisichella of Force India got into a shock pole position. The race started with Fisichella having a clean start while Kimi Raikonnen in his Ferrari over stearing in the first corner and somehow with his adept driving joining the track at third position.The biggest irony of the race was when Fisichella was racing first, his team-mate Adrian Sutil was at last. Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton got into a worst collision in Belgian Grandprix in years and soon found out that he was out of the race along with Brawn's Jenson Button.

Kimi Raikonen with his superior Ferrari car took the top slot. Soon it was Kimi vs Fisichella with Fisichella pushing the Finn right to his limit. With both having a 2-pitstop strategy, both fought to gain every second of the race. Meanwhile, a pitstop mistake from Renault team had Alonso retiring from the race. The final showdown with Ferrari and Force India both going to pits at the samew position was mindboggling and it was Ferrari's Kimi Raikonnen who secured his top slot and Fischella settling for a second position. Red Bull's Sebastien Vettel came third. Barrichello in his Brawn GP had a heart-stopping last three laps due to an engine leak finished seventh and hold on to his second place in Champioship points.

Jenson Button still holds his No:1 in terms of Championship points followed by his teammate in Brawn GP, Rubens Barrichello. In constructors championship, Brawn hold on to its top position, while Red Bull and Ferrari are at second and third position respectively.

Race Result:

1. Kimi Raikkonnen(Finland) - Ferrari.

2. Giancarlo Fisichella(Italy)- Force India.

3. Sebastien Vettel(Germany)- Red Bull.

Chandrayaan mission called off formally

2009-08-30T18:01:00.003+05:30

THE CHANDRAYAN I mission is over and India's honeymoon in lunar space came to an abrupt end. The actual lifetime of Chandrayaan 1 is 2 years but everything came to end in just 312 days.The country’s space agency has lost radio contact with the lunar craft Chandrayaan-1 at around 1:30 AM on August 29th.Data from Chandrayaan-1’s last orbit was transmitted until 12.25am on Saturday to the Indian Deep Space Network at Byalalu near Bangalore.With communication totally lost, there is no transmission or receipt of signals between Chandrayaan-I and ground control stations.

Nearly 95% of Chandrayaan’s scientific goals had already been accomplished in less than a year. At Rs 386 crore, the mission that put India in the global space league of six nations, was launched on October 22. Chandrayaan-I aimed to take high-resolution, three-dimensional images of the lunar surface, especially the permanently-shadowed polar regions.The craft carried payloads from the United States, the European Union and Bulgaria. One of its objectives was to search for evidence of water or ice and attempt to identify the chemical composition of certain lunar rocks.

Chandrayaan-1’s temperature raised to over 50 degrees Celsius, prompted ISRO to switch off most of the 11 instruments it was carrying. The ‘star’ sensor, unable to bear the heat, collapsed.Though there was no official word on the cause of the loss of contact, space experts, said it could be due to a power problem in the spacecraft, or the spacecraft being hit by a some space object. Earlier this year, the Indian government increased the federal budget for space research to about $1 billion from $700 million.

Force India's Fisichella takes pole position in Belgium

2009-08-30T15:54:00.003+05:30

Nobody could believe their eyes.Force India's Giancarlo Fisichella took pole position in the Belgian Grand Prix in an extraordinary qualifying session.The 36-year-old's performance created a sensation not only because it was the team's first pole, but also because the team is yet to score a single point in its one and a half years of existence.The Mercedes-powered Force India, with a new aerodynamic upgrade introduced at the last race in Valencia, has genuine pace particularly at a fast and flowing circuit like Spa - and Fisichella made the most of it.

The good news for Button is that the Red Bulls also struggled with their set-up, Sebastian Vettel qualifying in eighth and Mark Webber ninth, and they are likely to find a McLaren in their rear view mirrors before too long. McLaren's Lewis Hamilton was another favourite to falter badly, after qualifying 12th fastest.

Toyota's Jarno Trulli will start second for Sunday's race ahead of BMW Sauber's Nick Heidfeld and Barrichello's Brawn. Kimi Raikonnen will start from sixth in the grid while his team mate Badoer, who replaced injured Felipe Massa continued to have a horrible time at the circuit as he spun off the track to finish last in qualifying. His days in Ferrari are literally numbered. Hopefully, Force India will grab their first points in 29 races.

3G spectrum auction in 3 months; reserve price at Rs.3500 crore

2009-08-28T08:56:00.003+05:30

The deadlock over the reserve price for third-generation radio frequency auction, vital for services such as video-calling and high-speed internet access on mobile phones, was finally resolved.The empowered Group of Ministers (e-GoM) finalised the reserve price for auction of at Rs. 3,500 crore. The auction will be completed within three months, and the winners will take another 3-5 months to roll out the services.

The EGoM also decided that a total of five players will be allowed to offer 3G services in every circle, of which one slot will be reserved for state-owned telcos BSNL & MTNL. BSNL and MTNL already own and operate 3G services. They will have to match the highest auction price in each circle.The 3G spectrum auction will provide mobile users a host of facilities like video streaming, richer internet connections—basically use of data on phones not possible in the current 2G spectrum and also put behind irritants like call drops and connectivity problems. The group of ministers (GoM), headed by finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, also fixed a reserve price of Rs 1,750 crore for the auction of wireless broadband (WiMax) spectrum.The e-GoM decided to auction only three slots of spectrum for WiMAX services.

The government will earn at least Rs 35,000 crore from the auction. The more aggressive the bids are, the richer will the government be. This will provide some succour to the government which is struggling with its finances with a fiscal deficit already estimated at a high of 6.8 per cent of the GDP. The Prime Minister’s Office and the finance ministry expect 3G services to attract foreign players and generate high revenues.

Salman Khan to buy an IPL team

2009-08-26T16:59:00.003+05:30

Bollywood action hero Salman Khan is the latest cine star to join the Indian Premier League (IPL) and has expressed interest in buying a team. The bollywood star met Indian Premier League chairman Lalit Modi and expressed his desire to be the owner of an IPL team.Salman is eyeing an IPL team in the 2010 season. Modi said that Salman had approached to discuss all the pros and cons of buying an IPL team. Modi also confirmed that the actor would be buying one of the new teams and was not interested in any of the existing ones.

A lot of Bollywood actors are a part of the cash-rich T20 League with Shah Rukh Khan owning the Kolkata Knight Riders, Preity Zinta with partner Ness Wadia owning the Kings XI Punjab, and Shilpa Shetty, with Raj Kundra, owning the Rajasthan Royals.

The fourth season of the IPL in 2011 will see two new teams and they would be up for grabs through a bidding process later this year. This takes the total number of teams in 2011 season to ten teams. Auctions for two teams will take place in January 2010. The cities that would go under the hammer would be decided by December this year at the latest. Each team could fetch the BCCI anywhere between $200-300 million. Likely cities that could be auctioned are Ahmedabad, Nagpur and Vishakhaptanam and be the hometown for new teams.

Wasim Akram to coach Kolkatta Knight Riders

2009-08-25T17:47:00.004+05:30

Pakistan captain Wasim Akram, inarguably the most gifted left-arm quick of all time, is in the frame to take John Buchanan’s place in the Kolkata Knight Riders’ set-up. The good rapport between Akram and KKR captain Sourav Ganguly may well seal the deal for him. This process, which includes a presentation, is to be completed by the end of this week. Sourav Ganguly who is tipped to regain the captaincy next season, may be present at the meeting. Akram is part of the final few coaches who have been called on August 30.

India's former coach John Wright was the frontrunner to succeed Buchanan, who’d been the franchise’s head of cricket operations until his sacking two months ago. However, impressive presentations by Richard Pybus and Duncan Fletcher have opened up the race somewhat. Others who may be interviewed for the post include former Aussie all-rounder Michael Bevan and former Indian wicket-keeper Praveen Amre. Former Indian batsmen WV Raman, Ashok Malhotra and Lalchand Rajput made their presentations in front of principal owner Shah Rukh Khan and Ganguly last week.

Akram's candidature, however, is not expected to carry much weight because, the former Pakistani legend would essentially be a bowling coach and Akram himself is less keen on a full-time coach's job and would like to work as a consultant. Also, Wasim Akram has prior media commitments with ESPN-Star Sports.

Motorola to test 4G in India

2009-08-24T16:01:00.004+05:30

What? 4G, In India? We have had a torrid time implementing the 3G spectrum and license and now that first of the 3G Services have started trickling in, Motorola wants to do a trial run of 4G in India! Technology changes with day and our slow government took lot of time selling 3G mobile phones and wanted to raise about Rs 35,000 crores from trading radio frequency for the existing version. But now, Motorola brings in the next level 4G phones. This could mean spoiling the broth for the government’s plans.

4G can offer upto 70 Mbps download speed on a mobile phone. We don't have those kinds of speeds even on our broadband networks today. That is in a normal broaband network, whereas it takes 4-5 hours for downloading an film with an average space of 700 MB- 1.5 GB, with the advent of 4G, the same movie can be downloaded in 10-30 minutes. Ofcourse, it will come our way with a huge premium, but it could also save lots of online time. This technology is known as Long-Term Evolution(LTE). Lots of research on this technology has been done by American electronics majors Motorola, Verizon and also by Japan's NTT DoCoMo which has a JV with Tata Communications for rolling out 2G GSM services across India.

The DoT(Department of Telecom) is understood to have prepared a concept paper on 4G. Apart from Motorola, other telecom vendors are also in the process of trials in India. Many services providers would wait and watch the growth of 4G. This may affect the enthusiasm for getting spectrum from the government for 3G networks. Government had earlier planned to rake in Rs.35,000 crores by auctioning 3G spectrum. More the delay in the 3G auction, more the pain for Government's exchequer.

It also shows how slow the government process can be in India . When countries around the world are all providing high quality 4G network, getting started with 3G network in India is in itself proving to be a big hurdle. In the end, people are the real sufferers because they are forced to use hapless 2G GSM network which is quiet inferior in speed and voice quality when compared to 3G, leave alone 4G.

England regain the Ashes; Ponting eyes 2013 tour to England

2009-08-24T08:27:00.003+05:30

England regained the Ashes after beating Australia by 197 runs Sunday to win the deciding fifth test and take the five-match series 2-1. Michael Hussey was the last man out after tea at The Oval, for 121, for Australia to be dismissed for 348 chasing a mammoth 546 for victory.England, 2-1 victors, had grabbed back the oldest prize in sport, in a repeat of the scoreline four years ago, which made household names of Andrew Flintoff, Kevin Pietersen and Michael Vaughan.

With a day to spare. That was the lovely part. For once, England’s cricketers did not test the resources of an already overworked bench strength of English cricketers.

This is not a vintage Ashes year, it must be said. Australians didnot have the aura and invincibility that they possessed for alomost a decade. The "ruthless assault" which created panic and frightened oppositions across the board is no longer their traits. Perhaps, they have become vulnerable without the presence of all those greats.Had Andrew Strauss, deservedly the player of the tournament, newcomer Jonathan Trott and Graeme Swann not batted so superbly to set such a vast total, England would not have been safe.
This may be an average Australian team in relative terms, but in Ponting it possesses one of sport’s greatest competitors, and had England not risen to the occasion at The Oval, the momentum Australia achieved with the victory at Headingley in the fourth Test would have been unstoppable. Australian captain Ricky Ponting, was the perhaps the main culprit. His batting skills have seen a sharp decline and his captaincy is not something to write home about. At cricial moments, like his run out in the second innings in The Oval, he failed to take the bull by its horns. Having said that, as the old saying goes, the captain will only be as good as his team.Ricky Ponting became the first Australia captain to lose two Ashes series in England in 119 years and then indicated he will try to return for the next tour in 2013 to avenge the defeats of 2005 and 2009, which may not be all that easy as discovered by Shane Warne this year.

Due to this loss against England,Australia now drop down to No 4 on the Test rankings.This is the first time that any country other than Australia has filled top spot in both formats of the game. It is the first time that Australia have lost the No 1 Test ranking since the current system was introduced in 2003. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka with their win against New Zealand claimed No:2 spot followed by India at No:3.

Jinnah jinx haunts Jaswant Singh

2009-08-19T21:49:00.006+05:30

For long, Bharatiya Janatha Party(BJP) has found itself toeing the line of its big brother and parent party in politcs, the Rashtriya Swayam Sevak(RSS). Party men, be it their tallest leader LK Advani or even someone who is a basic member of BJP have not dared to cross the Lakshman Rekha drawn by RSS,when it comes to their age-old ideaology, the Hindutva. L.K.Advani's comments on Mohammad Ali Jinnah being a secular leader created a huge uproar in the BJP and the RSS in 2005. He was literally given marching orders by the RSS from the post of party leadership. He found out the wrong way that it was RSS and not BJP who call the shots in ideological matters relating to BJP.
Now its the turn of Jaswant Singh, the senior most party leader and a close confidant of two pillars of BJP namely Vajpayee and Advani. His comments in his book regarding "Jinnah, Independence and Partition" have caused yet another furore. He has indicated that both Nehru and Patel were equally responsible for the partition and its the ignorance of Indian public to make a villian out of Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the first PM of newly formed Islamic reublic of Pakistan. He has also praised Jinnah of being a nationalist and only one who has the distinction of being the President of All India Congress Party and also Muslim league.A controversial new book suggests that Jinnah, a secular man who drank and smoked and rarely visited the mosque, has too long been demonised by Indian society.
It is a fact that Nehru and Jinnah had strained relations. Nehru along with Vallabhai Patel, it is believed, refused the idea of Jinnah being made the Prime Minister of united India, so that there wont be any partition. This idea was allegedly proposed by Gandhi himself which was flatly refused by Congress members except a few muslim leaders like Abul Kalam Azad. These are facts which are hotly debated even today and refused in some quarters as mere myths by Indian historians.
The decision to expel Singh came after the release of his book “Jinnah - India, Partition, Independence” which the Bharatiya Janata Party said did not represent the views of the party. The decision was taken in the "Chintan Baitak" or "brain-stroming session" called by the BJP leaders in Simla from August 19-21. Ironically, Advani has given the go-ahead for the expulsion process of Jaswanth Singh to take place, whille Jaswant Singh was one of the few who supported LK Advani during his "Jinnah Controversy" in 2005. Many believe this is sheer double standards and refusal in the part of BJP to come out of its intolerant ideology.

The main agenda of this session being to discusss the recent poll debacle of BJP and the future steps to be taken in order to strengthen the party ahead of the assembly polls in four states including Maharashtra. The expulsion has become some kind of a distraction for the BJP taking the spotlight away from the "Chintan Baitak". It has become a "Chinta Baitak" with BJP leaders scrambling for top post in the BJP and many having their won goals in BJP's succesion plan.
Meanwhile, in a trademark Narendra Modi style the book of Jaswant Singh has been banned in Gujrat territory. The ban on Jaswant's book comes soon after his expulsion from BJP.

Rahul Dravid recalled to Indian one-day squad

2009-08-16T16:21:00.004+05:30

Rahul Dravid is to make a return to one-day international cricket after being picked for India's tri-series trip to Sri Lanka and the Champions Trophy in South Africa.The Indian selectors have picked a common 15-member squad for both the ODI tri-series in Sri Lanka and the ICC Champions Trophy in South Africa.The 36-year-old, who last played an ODI in October 2007 against Australia in seven match series in Nagpur, is included in India's tri-series trip to Sri Lanka and the Champions Trophy in South Africa.

Indian selectors hope the 36-year-old will bolster the batting in the Champions Trophy on pacy South African pitches. A young Indian batting unit struggled against short-pitched bowling at the Twenty20 World Cup in England.As expected, Tendulkar who made himself unavailable for the four-match ODI series in the West Indies in June-July, is back to the squad along with Suresh Raina. Selectors have also retained wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik and all-rounder Abhishek Nayar, while leg-spinner Amit Mishra is picked at the expense of left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha. Medium pacer Praveen Kumar pipped a promising Sudeep Tyagi and gets a ticket to fly to Sri Lanka and South Africa

Explosive opening batsman Virender Sehwag is not in the squad as he is yet to recover from the shoulder injury sustained in the IPL.Fast bowler Zaheer Khan was already ruled out because of a shoulder injury.The tri-series in Sri Lanka, which has New Zealand as the third team, is set to begin on September 8 while the eight-nation Champions Trophy will be held from September 24 to October 5.

The squad: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain and WK), Yuvraj Singh(VC),Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Gautham Gambhir, Suresh Raina, Dinesh Karthik, Yusuf Pathan, Abhishek Nayyar, Harbhajan Singh, Amit Mishra, Ishant Sharma, Ashish Nehra, Praveen Kumar, Rudra Pratap Singh.

What is W,V and U-shaped recession ?

2009-08-14T20:59:00.008+05:30

U,V,W or something else.... What shape will it be eventually ? Everyone wants to know about it. No, am not talking about something pertaining to English literature. Its about the painstaking graph that this economic recession will take through up until its end and for the world economy to come back to its normal growth progression. Well read and well-informed researchers and economists have all tried to through their hat in to decide the course-graph that this recession could eventually take.
The first case is the shape of 'V' that this recession could take. This essentially means that economy will have a steep decline in its growth, but its rebound will also be quiet sharp. This kind of recession and its recovery will resemble closely to the alphabet 'V'. This has always been the case in superficial recessions like the ones in 1983 and in 2001. These are typically those recessions that comes in a cyclical fashion after every economic bubble. They are shallow recessions which doesn't affect the job market in a significant manner. But this 'V' shaped rebound have been ruled out when it comes to this particular recession. The main reason being that this recession is an outcome of a virulent housing market bubble going bust. Soaring housing market and typically low interest rates have long fuelled a huge booming housing market in the US. People started using their homes like some kind of ATM machines, mortgaging them and withdrawing money and getting huge profits due to a booming housing market.
The sub-prime crisis and huge dip in housing market were instrumental in bringing the housing prices to record low levels. Unable to cope with rising interest rates and lowering home rates citizens felt it was impossible to either sell their homes or pay their mortgage loans. This led a huge amount of loan defaulters and many foreclosures followed. The banks unable to flush out these bad debts went bankrupt overnight. This was manily due to bad and directionless management of mortgage and bad debt accumulation by these banks.
This triggered a huge stock market crash which started immediately followed by the Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing by Lehmann Brothers. Many banks like AIG and Morgan Stanley faced unprecedented drain of assets and cash equivalents. Many Americans lost jobs as many industries like the automobile industry in particular, were closing down their many manufacturing plants.
This was the start of long and painful recession which many believe will chart out a 'U' shaped recovery in the coming year.Most economists, including Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, predict a slow and gradual upturn. To be sure, the telltale recovery signals have been flashing green lately. Factory output and new orders grew last month at the fastest pace in two years. These are what many state as "Green Shoots" in the recovery path of the economy.And with inventories of stores and manufacturers depleted, factories must soon ratchet up production just to restock. So, this is the way economists bet,the economy will grow to get out of recession, the 'U' shaped recovery, slow and painful recovery.
Now to the theory of a 'W' shaped recovery,the occurance of it,many believe is remote .The recovery will be muted, largely because consumers are in no mood to open their wallets. They have lost $13 trillion of wealth in the recession's housing and stock market crashes and appear determined to sock away any extra cash they have.The savings rate jumped to 5.2% in the second quarter from a low of 1% before the crisis. Consumer spending in the US accounts for 70% of the economy. So, any dip in consumer spending will greatly affect a dynamic, consumer centralized economy like the United States.
A small group of experts believes the economy will endure an unusual W-shaped, or "double-dip," recovery in which the economy falls back into recession before growing again.The massive liquidity, plus rising commodity prices, will increase inflation. Meanwhile, many believe the Fed reserve will be loath to raise interest rates to stave off inflation in 2010, because doing so could tamp down what will be a weak recovery in next year.So, these are the three major theories that is doing rounds in terms of recovery in global economy.

Whatever be the recovery path the economy takes, one thing that everyone comes to a consensus is that unless and until the US citizen starts spending again, the economical growth will not possible in a major way. There maybe green shoots or slight decrease in unemployment rate, but consumer confidence and higher spending are the ones which could lead a robust economical growth in the coming years.

Michael Schumacher calls off his comeback to F1

2009-08-11T13:52:00.004+05:30

Michael Schumacher has called off his highly anticipated return to Formula One.He has not recovered from a neck injury he sustained in a motorcycling accident earlier this year.The seven times world champion had been due to replace Ferrari's Felipe Massa at the European Grand Prix in Valencia on August 23.He announced on his personal Web site that these plans have now been scrapped.

Since confirming he was to make an F1 return, Schumacher has been pushing himself hard to get back to race fitness. The consequences of the injuries caused in February, fractures in the area of head and neck, unfortunately have turned out to be still too severe to pave way for his F1 comeback in his favourite car Ferrari.The German driver said the decision had been an extremely difficult one to make and he apologised to everyone at Ferrari and to fans of the sport.

Ferrari test driver Luca Badoer will now replace Massa in Valencia.Massa is recovering in Brazil from the serious injuries he received in a freak crash in qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix and is set to miss at least four races.

Schumacher has worked as a special adviser to Ferrari since his retirement from Formula One in 2005, after winning five championships during his time with the team.The German, who won 91 grands prix from 250 races, is the most successful driver to take part in the sport.

"Right to education" bill: Move in the right direction

2009-08-07T20:23:00.006+05:30

The wait is finally over. India and its ever powerful politicians and bureaucrats finally woke up to the urgent need of passing a bill which makes primary education for all citizens an irrevocable right. "Right to education", as it is called, makes primary education free, compulsory and with the quality of highest order to all children between the age group of 6-14 years.This is one of Prime Minister Dr.Manmohan Singh's ambitious and visionary projects. Kapil Sibal, the HRD minister of the newly elected UPA government, called it the most important bill that has been passed in independent India. Sure, that might be true, but the following question that would haunt every Indian is "Why so late? What have they been doing for 62 years ?".

We will deal with the three mantras that this bill has formed around: free,compulsory and quality education.First of all about the "free education" clause.Its a shame that people in India will take up their own child's education seriously only if its made free. Many would argue that acute poverty in rural India makes it necessary for making atleast the primary education "free". After all, the government also has a responsibility towards its children. But you may not have an effective implementation of this "education for all" project without the proper engagement of the parents who are an equal stakeholders in the child's physical and mental growth. They must have the ambition and not just "wishful thinking",an equal responsibilty towards the education of their child. This ambition and desire of the parents will go a long way in vigilant and efficient implementation of this project. Only then, governments can be made accountable for their actions in making every Indian educated. So, the word "free" doesnot mean parents can just wash their hands off from their wards education believing the government will do everything. A careful folllow-up and scrutiny of their child's performance will eventually help only the child's education.

The second clause is "compulsory education". This perhaps can be effectively implemented by far reaching campaigns making the people realise the importance of education of their child. I am sure many in rural village India wouldn't have known such a bill is in place and that their children can have quality and free education.The finer points of the bill and the government's arduous actions should be highlighted to the genaral public. This may increase awareness among public and eventually the enrolment in primary schools will also increase many fold.

Next is "qualty education". One of the main reasons why average enrolment in government schools is low is because of quality. The main problem being inadequate infrastructure and student-teacher ratio being very less. The government has made plans to build new schools in every panchayat but it needs to be speeded up and they must be expedited to a much earlier time frame. But these things cannot be done over night. So, the rule which makes it compulsory that atleast 25% of overall intake must be allocated for children below poverty line in private schools makes lot of sense. Its a responsibility that private schools must not shy away from.

Another important issue is the student-teacher ratio. Ideally every 40 students must have one teacher.So, new teachers with proper training must be recruited and the old teachers must also be trained which is a necessity in this changing world. Its beleived that of the nealy 1,00,000 government teachers, 25% are absent or not available for work at any given point of time. This must be done away with. Stricter laws which calls for well trained and duty-bound teachers should be in place. Non-performing teachers should be shown the door.

Teaching is an important tool which will shape a country's future for the best. At present, teaching is not a career option for young Indians. This can be changed with hefty pay packages which could woo the best young minds for this important profession. Young and bright minds in teaching and research can ignite thousand more minds of young children within the age group of 5-15. Other ambitious professions might keep you and your loved ones happy and cheerful. But teaching will have a multiplier effect lighting up thousands of lives. So, the government must make it attractive for young indians to take up jobs in education.

So, the passing of the "Right to education" is just a first step. To experience the fruits of this project, effective and vigilant implementation is very much a neccesity. This will go a long way in making India an "enlightened country" ready to surge ahead to its righful place in world's history.

Sachin targets Worldcup 2011 victory; 15000 test runs

2009-08-07T11:36:00.002+05:30

He has played 129 Tests, 425 ODIs and scored close to 30,000 international runs over the last two decades, but Sachin Tendulkar insists that there is unfinished business before he winds up his international career. Sachin Tendulkar wants to take his Test scoring record past 15,000 runs and help India to win the 2011 World Cup before he considers retiring from cricket.While many of his contemporaries have retired, Sachin Tendulkar has no intention of applying the brakes on his record-breaking career.

The 36-year-old Tendulkar, also disclosed that he has been inspired by legendary Sunil Gavaskar to set the goal.Tendulkar said former opener Sunil Gavaskar, an all-time great for India, had urged him to carry on playing and stretch his lead in the scoring charts over the retired Brian Lara and current Australia captain Ricky Ponting.Tendulkar is the leading scorer in Test cricket, with 12,773 at an average of 54.58. Australian captain Ricky Ponting, 34, is closest to him with 11,193 Test runs so far.

Even as quite a few players have sounded the impending death-knell of Test cricket in the wake of the huge popularity of Twenty20, one of the game's icons, Sachin Tendulkar, has said he does not fear for the health of the game's most traditional form.The master batsman likened Test cricket as the main course in a meal and Twenty20 as its dessert and that one cannot survive on just the latter part of a meal.

Michael Schumacher is back; Schumacher to replace Massa

2009-07-29T22:35:00.007+05:30

Seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher is making a sensational return to Formula One.The German driver who quit F1 after securing a record seven time championships, will replace the injured Felipe Massa who will out for the rest of the season due to a fatal multiple skull fracture.Michael Schumacher may have retired almost three years ago, but he continues to be in the thick of things in Formula One.Michael is still fit enough to drive a Formula One car.With no proper replacement for Massa and the chances of Fernando Alonso debuting for Ferrari in a month's time being unlikely, Ferrari has requested Michael to race again.

German driving legend Schumacher still works for Ferrari as an advisor, but after Massa's shocking injury in Hungary he will now get back behind the wheel once again.The 28-year-old Massa was hit in the helmet by a loose part from another car and crashed into a protective tire barrier at 120 mph during qualifying Saturday at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Schumacher has some time to prepare as the F1 season takes a summer break, but he should once again line up on the grid at the European Grand Prix. So,we all can see Schumi behind the wheels in Spanish GP which is on August 23.

Michael Schumacher has also confirmed the news and has said "I was meeting this afternoon with Stefano Domenicali and Luca di Montezemolo and together we decided that I will prepare myself to take the place of Felipe. Though it is true that the chapter Formula 1 has been closed for me since long and completely, it is also true that for loyalty reasons to the team I cannot ignore that unfortunate situation. But as the competitor I very much look forward to facing this challenge."He will take up a fitness test to assess his body condition. He has 3 weeks to prepare himself for the F1 challenge.

PM Manmohan Singh: Trust, but verify

2009-07-29T20:32:00.004+05:30

The Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh clarified the government's stand on the latest Indo-Pak joint statement in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt earlier in the month during the NAM(Non-aligned Movement) summit.There was a huge uproar back in India as a strong reaction to loosely packed joint-statement. Many diplomats in India believed that it was a huge mistake to include the problem of Baluchistan in the joint-statement.The PM clarified that there was no dossier exchanged in reference to Baluchistan.But, experts believe there was no need to point to Baluchistan which after all is an internal matter of Pakistan and India has absolutely nothing to do with it.The PM has said that the composite dialogue with Pakistan will not begin until and unless Pakistan brings the terrorists who headed the 26/11 Mumbai attacks to book. Quoting Ronald Regan's words, PM said that we must trust Pakistan but verify and scrutinise its actions. We can choose our friends,our enemies, but we cannot choose our neighbours. So, we have to find a way to deal with Pakistan.PM also wanted Pakistan show in letter and spirit that they are serious about terror.He also took a dig at the BJP, that UPA does not need any lessons from BJP about dealing with Pakistan.

On the Nuclear Enrichment status(ENR) raised by the G8 countries in L'Aquila,Italy that these processes can be transferred only to those countries which are a signatory of NPT(Non-Proliferation Treaty), the PM said there was no need to worry and that India will not sign NPT in its present form. The PM said that India has got a clean and specific deal from the NSG and that this position was even endorsed by French President Nicholas Sarkozy.He also said India has signed bilateral nuclear deal for construction of nuclear reactors with France,US and Russia.As regards to the end-user agreement with the USA, he said its just a composite bilateral agreement for procuring defence equipments and that it will expedite the closure of defence deals with United States of America.

BMW to exit Formula one

2009-07-29T17:12:00.005+05:30

BMW is to withdraw from Formula One at the end of the season. The German carmaker is the second major manufacturer to pull out of the sport in the space of eight months after Honda's withdrawal in December.BMW have had a poor campaign with drivers Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica giving the team just eight points this season from ten Grand Prix to leave them eighth in the nine-team constructors' championship.The team, who gave former world champion Jacques Villeneuve his last drive in the sport and in Robert Kubica fielded its first ever Polish driver, have emerged over the past two years as the closest challengers to McLaren and Ferrari.The team finished third last season behind Ferrari and McLaren-Mercedes.Their only Grand Prix win as BMW Sauber came when Kubica won in Canada in 2008, while he also achieved the team's only pole position in Bahrain in 2008.Bernie Ecclestone, the commercial rights holder of Formula One, says BMW's failure to challenge for the world title is behind the announcement. The team have fallen short of expectations and the future of Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfield, the two BMW drivers are in jeopardy due to BMW's withdrawal from F1.

Felipe Massa injured in an accident;Hamilton wins Hungarian Grand Prix

2009-07-27T17:53:00.004+05:30

Brazilian driver Felipe Massa was injured when a spring from fellow Brazilian Barrichello's car struck his helmet during qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix, with the Ferrari driver then hitting a tyre wall.Massa remains in a stable condition in Budapest after undergoing emergency surgery on Saturday to repair a fractured skull in the wake of this freak accident.Injured Formula One driver Felipe Massa can now communicate "actively" and is able to move his hands and legs.Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton was back on top of the podium after claiming his first victory since October's Chinese Grand Prix.
The world champion took the chequered flag in a Hungarian Grand Prix overshadowed by Felipe Massa's accident.Kimi Raikkonen was second and Mark Webber third to close the points gap on Jenson Button, who was seventh, but Sebastian Vettel was forced to retire.Ferrari team boss Stefano Domenicali dedicated Kimi Raikkonen's second place in Sunday's Hungarian Grand Prix to Felipe Massa.Domenicali, who immediately after the race left the track to see Massa, said: "We dedicate the result to Felipe. At this time all our thoughts are with him and his family, and I think this sentiment also applies to those who are close to him and to fans all over the world."Massa's accident came days after Formula Two driver Henry Surtees, was killed in a freak accident during a race at Brands Hatch.

Renault have been suspended from next month's European Grand Prix in Valencia following the wheel loss suffered by Fernando Alonso in Hungary.

Hungarian Grand Prix
Final positions after 70 laps
1 L Hamilton- McLaren
2 K Raikkonen -Ferrari
3 M Webber -Red Bull

Free insurance schemes for 1 crore families in Tamil Nadu

2009-07-23T21:30:00.002+05:30

Nearly one crore families in Tamil Nadu, with an annual income of Rs 72,000 or less will benefit from the Tamil Nadu Government's new insurance scheme.Each family can avail treatment for critical ailments — around 51 identified procedures — up to Rs.100,000 at private and pay wards of government hospitals.The state government would pay the premimum of Rs 500 per annum for all the families from its pocket.The insurance is offered by the city-based health insurer Star Health and Allied Insurance Company Ltd. It has tied up with more than 150 public and private hospitals across the state.A biometric smart card will be issued to the beneficiary. The card would carry the photo of head of the family. Details of dependents would be available in the database.Chief Minister K. Karunanidhi requested Union Health Minister,Ghulam Nabi Azad to waive the Rs.48 crore service tax paid by the state government on the Rs.517 crore payout towards the insurance premium under the Kalaignar Insurance Scheme.At a time, when even US is fighting for a comprehensive health care system, the implementation of this Insurance scheme is quite laudable. While other states are struggling and working hard to give their citizens basic amenities like food and shelter, insurance schemes from TN is the right example in growth and development. But the trick lies in execution and if executed properly, the poor and needy will be the biggest beneficiary out of this visionary scheme.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi also announced that, after his death his house at Gopalapuram will be converted into a charitable hospital for the poor and downtrodden.

Now, withdraw cash from debit cards at retail shops, petrol stations

2009-07-23T10:44:00.005+05:30

Every store that accepts debit cards could soon become an ATM. The next time you run out of cash, you needn’t go scouting for an ATM. All you need to do is take your debit card to the nearest shop, swipe it and withdraw cash.As a further step towards enhancing the customer convenience ,the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided to permit cash withdrawals at point-of-sale (POS) terminals.

You can withdraw up to Rs 1,000 in a day. Also, you don’t need to purchase anything from the shop to avail this facility.In case the facility is being availed along with the purchase of a product, the receipt generated shall separately indicate the amount of cash withdrawn. For this, the swipe machines, or point-of-sale (PoS) terminals, will have to be upgraded and it may take around a month for the service to go on stream. The move will particularly benefit customer in smaller towns and rural areas, which have few ATM machines.

At present the cash withdrawal facility using plastic cards is available only at automated teller machines (ATMs). This will help crowd out people at the ATM's and also make use of many retail shops, petrol stations, hotels and restraunts and big budget shops who have this wipe sysytem installed in their shops.However, customers (i.e) general public may have to pay a fee of 2-3%.The processing fee will be split between the bank and the shop owner.

Can India effectively leverage its Demographic dividend ?

2009-07-20T20:38:00.007+05:30

The buzz word these days in chambers across the knowledge-hungry societies is the so called "Demographic Dividend" which will favour India in the near and medium term. The term "Demographic Dividend" essentially means that the percentage of working class people is high among the total population such that it favours an accelerated economic growth. This perhaps is seen to be a new dimension to India's oldest resource namely the "Human Resource". Population density and its growth was perceived to be India's biggest bane until a few years ago. Thanks to huge boom in services sector and economy as a whole in the last decade or so, people began to talk about the huge potential in India's large population. Add to this, today India is one of the youngest nations in the world.

This is an unique and favourable transitive stage in a country's demographic make-up which comes once in many decades, maybe once in a century. This essentially means less dependants(read "retired senior citizens and children below 15 years) and more people in the working age between 20-45. This is due to falling fertility rates(the average number of children born to a woman) in India from about 4.8-5.3 in the 70's to about 2.3 today.

So, people spend less on child care as there are less number of children and simultaneously the average wages and savings becomes higher. This leads to higher spending for a safer lifestyle and the growth of children in healthy environment.Parents are under less strain to provide for many children.The government can then concentrate purely on economic growth rather than wasting money in subsidies and low quality education. Eventually, the population growth rate also stabilises and signs of those happening in India could be seen as early as 2030.

The other side of this story could actually act as counter to economic growth. If, the government doesnot fuel growth now and create jobs for many young people who come out from their education every year, then we cannot effectively take advantage of this demographic dividend. The second point is as economy grows, healthy lifestyle will also grow and so the average life-expectancy(average number of years a man could live) will also increase. This leads to an increase in retired dependants who may not have a role to play in economic growth of a country.Another dreaded scenario is that the educated umemployed youth turning to evil ways like terrorism and domestic violence.

So, if we donot take stock of the situation and strive for producing enough oppurtunities for producing skilled youth labour and jobs for them, the old evil of high population will come back to haunt us once again. At a time when many countries like America, UK and Europe are going through a downturn and has a huge dependant population in their ranks, this is probably the best oppurtunity for India to spread its wings and fly high. The next decade will be very crucial and determine how well India has leveraged its demographic dividend. This will go a long way in shaping India's quest for becoming a worthy super power and sustain itself in the world's economic map.

Waiver Wire - one stop shop for the game you love

2009-07-20T17:41:00.003+05:30

WaiverWire is the one stop shop for all your needs regarding the game. It gives a complete coverage of all the latest news,views, stats, videos and analysis of your favourite matches.WaiverWire also gives a comprehensive stats and lead positions to help you win your fantasy league. The In-season pass is the place to be to fulfill all your football needs. Sign-up for this package and you enjoy innumerable privilages. Real time player alerts via e-mail, text through the web keeps you updated about all the happenings in the game. Player injury and the subsequent alerts form a comprehensive part of this deal. This vasts helps you plan your fantasy league games in advance. Player news and important on-field activities also help you keep in touch with the game.Player focus list which has Filtered real-time injury alerts and news with expert analysis and Stay also covered by RotoWire and TSN Fantasy Player News to be the first to know and quickest to act.
The strength of in-depth analysis starts with sound knowledge of facts. In-season pass also helps in this regard. Player profiles, stats and player analysis are all fed to you updted right to the minute. Player projections ans stat comparisons are all easily available to help you understand the strengths and weaknesses of each player.Comparison of up to four players at a time and Side by side stat comparisons makes a real stats guru. Graphical charts about the history and profile of each player is also available and is just a click away.Player rankings by position and overall defensive points allowed by position is also properly enumerated. Expert analysis about the matches, key moments and player tactics are also available.
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TCS beats Q1 FY10 estimates; variable pay to be paid in full

2009-07-17T19:31:00.008+05:30

Country's largest software exporter TCS reported nearly 19 per cent growth in consolidated net profit for the first quarter of the current fiscal at Rs 1,533.94 crore.Its revenue for the same period stood at Rs 7,207 crore -- up 12 per cent YoY.In terms of verticals, the quarter under review saw some stability in the core BFSI segment with the US leading the trend, while the UK and Europe are expected to stabilise in subsequent quarters, notes the management. In manufacturing, the speed of demand recovery will depend on overall economic recovery. The media and retail verticals continue to grow from new deals as well as ramp-ups of large deals closed in FY09.

On the hiring front, utilisation in Q1 FY09 was 79.2 per cent (excluding trainees) and 71.3 per cent (including trainees). There was a gross addition of 2,828. The attrition rate in Q1 was 11.5 per cent. At the end of Q1, the total employee strength of the company was 1,41,642. Foreign nationals formed 8.3 per cent of the total employee base and 30 per cent were women.The variable component of employees in Indian payroll will paid in full along with july salary.

TCS also added 26 new clients(lowest in 6 years), and net addition were down by 2000 odd employees though gross addition was 2312 associates. EPS growth was up 15% to RS.7.83 from Rs.6.81 last quarter. The board approved a dividend of Rs.2 per share.

Andrew Flintoff retires from test cricket

2009-07-15T18:35:00.003+05:30

Andrew Flintoff will retire from Test cricket at the end of the ongoing Ashes series against Australia.The 31-year-old will bow out at the end of this summer's Ashes series against Australia after failing to overcome a series of injuries which have plagued his career.He will though continue to make himself available for selection for One-Day Internationals and International Twenty20 fixtures.

Well, I am not sure it is that much of a blow for England cricket team. They have spent most of the time since 2005 without Flintoff. They haven't won many games with him since that period and his performances since 2005 have been quite modest. So, while it is always a blow to lose a player of quality, I am not so sure it is a massive blow for England. His announcement will come as little surprise to anybody close to the England side, who have watched Flintoff struggle time and again to recover from injuries.

Flintoff will always be remembered for his displays during the Ashes in 2005., where his performances with bat and ball were the key to England's stunning success.The burly Lancastrian dismissed suggestions that his impending Test retirement would overshadow the remainder of the series.

Balloning Fiscal deficit: Will it affect you ?

2009-07-13T18:56:00.005+05:30

Pranab Mukherjee, finance minister of India presented what many believed to be a lousy budget with no definitive approach towards important issues like disinvestment, financial sector reforms and even deregulation of petrol and diesel prices. The argument in favour of FM was that budget is not neccesarily the place to chalk out plans for reforms or disinvestment strategy. These market-centered announcements may even come later through the course of the Congress's regime. Point well taken.

But, the most dreaded and the one which could come back to haunt the FM and the people is the fiscal deficit. The projected fiscal deficit for this financial year is 6.8% and when you add the state fiscal deficit which is 3.8% and some revised expenditure through the year, it ballons out to nearly12.5-13% and more worrisome is the revenue deficit at 3%. Revenue deficit is the deficit caused by higher cost of running government, its debt and things like pay commision hikes. According to FRBM act(Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management), the union government has financial obligation to keep the fiscal deficit below the accepted levels of 3-4%. But these are tough and unprecedented times. A deeper economic recession and the resultant negative growth of the private sector has left the central government with little headroom for spuring economic growth or atleast maintain it at present levels. That is precisely why the government has announced three stimulus packages. Stimulus packages are essentially more spending by the government in job-oriented infrastruture projects, farm loan waivers, tax cuts, interest rate deduction and giving more subsidies. The idea is to put more money in the common man's pocket and encouraging him to spend more. This in turn will spur growth due to domestic demand. At a time, when export market is hit by a deep recession in developed countries(US and Europe in particular), fiscal stimulus are the only way the government can arrest the economic growth from nose diving.

But, everything comes at a cost. These stimulus packages need greater government spending and so the government borrows money from the central banks(like the RBI) and many foreign financial instituitions.Also, at a time of recession, due to less industrial growth, the tax collections from both the corporate and individuals citizens are comparitively lesser. So, this is the cause of balloning fiscal deficit and what does it have to do with ordinary citizen like you and me?

As fiscal deficit increases and the government borrowing from RBI hits new high, interest rates increases which will crowd out the private sector from large scale investment. Cascading effect is more job losses, less spending and low growth. Also, high fiscal deficit will force international credit rating agencies like S&P, IMF to downgrade India credit rating. This only adds to more pain as these are the main criterion with which foreign financial institution plan investment and lend credit to Indian MNC's.

So, its very vital to contain the Fiscal deficit and get the country back to normal growth. Many other countries like America and UK have high fiscal deficit in tune to about 15% and 9% respectively. But they have far deeper crisis than what we do. We have to be careful so that we don't fall into a painstaking downturn like the developed countries. This is perhaps why, the markets nosedived nearly 10% last week, the fact that there was no proper roadmap to contain and bring back the fiscal deficit to acceptable levels(maybe 3-4%).The FM did say that the fiscal deficit will come down to 4% by FY 2012. But there was no mention of any plan how he will bring them down.

This is such a risky and tough period which may well decide whether we get back to sub-8% growth rates or languish to a paltry sub-4% levels which will disastrous for the whole nation, you and me included. Hope Finance Minister's listening.....

Infosys Q1 2010 results: Beats expectation;revenues down by 5%

2009-07-10T09:23:00.005+05:30

Infosys declared its first quarter results showing that there has been a five per cent fall over fourth quarter results of 2008-09.Infosys counts on Goldman Sachs, Philips Electronics, BT Group Plc and Australia's top phone company Telstra Corp among its clients. The Group has posted consolidated net profit after tax & minority interest of Rs 1527 crores for the quarter ended June 30, 2009 as compared to Rs 1302 crores for the quarter ended June 30, 2008.

Profit after tax is the net profit earned by a company after deducting expenses like interest, depreciation and tax.

Infosys rupee EPS guidance has been downgraded to Rs.94.59 to Rs.96 from the previous guidance of Rs.96 to Rs.101. Revenues for the whole year is estimated at Rs.21,452 crores to Rs.22,343 crores.The revenue from the top client BT is down from 5.3% to 4.6%.New client addition for the quarter is 27. All the revenue and EPS guidance are at the presumpotion that dollar stays between Rs.47.91-Rs.50.72 in the exchange rate.The utilisation is at 67% including trainees and at 70.4% ecluding trainees. Company has actually offloaded 945 employees and thus the net additions is in the negative.

Microsoft warning: Security hole in Video ActiveX control

2009-07-07T14:38:00.002+05:30

Microsoft has warned of a flawed software in Internet Explorer that hackers can exploit to take over some computers. The vulnerability affects Internet Explorer users whose computers run the Windows XP or Windows Server 2003 operating systems.If a victim visits an infected website, hackers can remotely take control of their machine.

Microsoft said it was working with partners to patch the weakness in ActiveX Video Control involved in capturing, recording or playing video and is also a main component of Windows Media Center.Microsoft advised users to deactivate ActiveX Video Control until a fix is available.

However, the good news might be that the buggy ActiveX Control doesn't affect any major functionality in IE.At worst, the ActiveX Control bug, which affects several versions of Windows, including Windows XP and Windows Server 2003, allows attackers to infiltrate a user's system to download malicious code, typically information-stealing Trojans.Attackers taking advantage of the vulnerability could install programs; view, change or delete data; or create new accounts with full user rights.

Microsoft said in its advisory that it was working on a fix for the bug, which will either be released in its monthly Patch. Internet Explorer versions 6 and 7 are at risk, but people running IE 8 are not vulnerable.

Budget 2009: Cheers from aam admi;bloodbath at markets

2009-07-06T19:03:00.002+05:30

Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee on Monday raised the income tax exemption limits in his Union Budget 2009-2010 speech. He proposed to increase the income tax exemption limit for senior citizens by Rs 15,000, for women and others by Rs10,000 each, while keeping the corporate tax rate unchanged. The exemption limit will now be Rs 240,000 for senior citizens, Rs190,000 for women and Rs 160,000 for others.The good news is that 10% surcharge on income above Rs 10,00,000 has been removed.

The most welcome change is the complete removal of the Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT). As the FBT provisions were felt to be too onerous and generated a huge administrative burden on corporates, there was a pressure to abolish the same.However, Minimum Allocation Tax (MAT) on book profits has been increased from 10 percent to 15 percent.Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee asked state governments to remove hurdles to speed-up infrastructure implementation and tried to bring liquidity back to the cash-strapped builders.
He also set a goal to increase the investment in infrastructure to more than 9 percent of GDP by 2014.Market tanked almost 950 points in sensex and 280 points in Nifty.

The government is committed to provide Rs 100 a day as wages under National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme.The National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) Allocations have been hiked by 144% to Rs.39,100 crore in the proposed Union Budget.The Finance Minister also said allocation for Bharat Nirman programme is being hiked by 45 per cent. The project covers six schemes, including rural roads, drinking water and sanitation in villages.

The finance minister said the government would soon publicise a draft food security (guarantee) bill and seek comments from everybody before finalising the bill. In its election manifesto earlier this year, the Congress had promised 25 kg of rice or wheat a month at Rs.3 per kg to families below the poverty line.

Federer becomes world number 1

2009-07-06T18:46:00.002+05:30

After four hours and 16 minutes on the centre court at Wimbledon, a time when play often soared to regal heights even as the sun dipped, the great man finally became the most successful Grand Slam champion of all time.
The 5-7, 7-6(6), 7-6(5), 3-6, 16-14 victory in the men’s singles final of the 123rd championships on Sunday saw Federer ease past the greatest Wimbledon champion of modern times.He surpassed Pete Sampras's total of 14 major titles by defeating Andy Roddick in five sets.Federer’s victory – a gruelling success – secured his sixth title at the All England Club and took him once more to the top of the world rankings ahead of the injured Rafa Nadal, who beat him at the same stage last year. In terms of sheer tennis brilliance, it may trail last year's thriller, but the drama was something else, as both players went toe-to-toe like gladiators - the onlooking Russell Crowe must have been proud and India's own gladiator sportsman Sachin Tendulkar spending his precious little time viewing this great match.

For Federer, the only question remaining is whether, at 27, he is already the best tennis player in history. Certainly, the previous owner of the Grand Slam career record was in agreement.
"In my book, Federer is the greatest," Sampras said, who still has the edge in Wimbledon titles with seven to Federer's six. "I have to give it to him. The critics say Laver, and Nadal has beaten him a few times at majors. He's won all the majors, he's won 15 now, he's going to win a few more here. So in my book he is the best." Sampras agreed.

Rahul Dravid back in One day scheme of things

2009-07-06T18:38:00.002+05:30

Rahul Dravid finds himself back in the ODI reckoning after the former captain was today named in India's 30-member probables list for the Champions Trophy. The All-India Senior Selection Committee met at M A Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Monday to select the following thirty players as probables for the series.A veteran of 333 ODIs, Dravid has not featured in India's ODI squad since playing his last one dayer against Australia in Nagpur.

Irfan Pathan’s international career has suffered a big setback as the selectors omitted the Baroda all-rounder from the list of 30 probables.Explosive Karnataka opener Robin Uthappa was the other surprise exclusion from the list.Senior cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, who had opted out of the just-concluded West Indies tour, returns to the side as do the injured duo of Virender Sehwag and Zaheer Khan.

Probables for Champions trophy: M S Dhoni, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Rohit Sharma, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Suresh Raina, Yusuf Pathan, Abhishek Nayar, Ishant Sharma, Zaheer Khan, R P Singh, Praveen Kumar, Harbhajan Singh, Pragyan Ojha, Ravindra Jadeja, Dinesh Karthik, Munaf Patel, R Ashwin, M Vijay, Amit Mishra, Ajinkya Rahane, Dhawal Kulkarni, S Badrinath, Ashish Nehra, Virat Kohli, Bhuvneshwar Kumar Singh, Wridhiman Saha, Pankaj Singh.

Is it all over for the BJP ?

2009-06-28T14:23:00.004+05:30

The Bharthiya Janata Party(BJP) suffered a severe setback in Elections 2009 losing as many as 20 seats from their previous eletion tally in 2004. On the other hand,the Congress surged ahead to get 206 seats on its own. But, is it really all over for BJP as many analysts predict? Lets look ahead and try, analyse the outcome. The one thing which obviously separates Congress from BJP is that BJP is not a pan-India party like Congress. BJP simply doesnot even have a miniscule presence in South India. Apart from Karnataka, which it won as recently as 2006, BJP's tally in Tamil Nadu,Kerala and Andhra Pradesh, so called game changers in any election, is literally zero.They are not even a second or thrid alternative in these states and donot even figure in any credible alliance with major regional parties. They languish allay-less and are not a force to reckon with. They just have to start from scratch and try build a base,which acceptably seems very distant or even impossible without the help of the regional parties.

But, the scenario is not as worse in west and central India as in the south. They have a strong base, which of late is seeing some cracks, in Gujarat,Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. BJP, which is believed to have a created a strong attraction by both good administration in these states and also communal politics. Gujarat's growth in terms of infrastructure and government intitiatives in creating plethora of jobs in many sectors should be physicallly viewed to believe it. Yet, BJP faired marginally bad in their strong-hold states. For instance, BJP won just one seat more than in 2004 in Gujarat, where they were predicted to sweep the elections.Similar to South, BJP as a party is quiet alien to east India. Unless they have some kind of alliance, they seemed to be far behind. BJP was wiped out in Delhi, the National capital, Jammu and Kashmir,Uttarakand and won just one seat in West Bengal.

All said and done, BJP still has some hope and it may be down,but not out. After all, they are the prime opposition party and by far the second largest, in terms of number of seats won in Lok Sabha. In terms of administartion, BJP, under AB Vajpayee showed the way for the country in infrastructure development,telecom boom and the overall economic growth during their tenure from 1998-2004. In terms of foreign policy, both Congress and BJP, donot have any major differences. One thing, the Indian voter would like them to weed out from their system, is their Hindu fundamentalist face, which is advocated by a small group of grey-haired leaders in their ranks.

Maybe, a younger leader with a futuristic approach with clean non-communal image is the order of the day for BJP. The old issues like building temple in a particular site may not fetch vote anymore. Also, they can win back hearts and votes by being a resposible opposition party and helping the government in implementing important projects and also criticising when the government takes the wrong approach and giving alternative ideas. Like the saying goes, "Never say never in politics", BJP may come out of this predicament with the right, non-communal approach putting the welfare of the country as priority or slump further to oblivion by taking a dangerous fundamentalist approach. The ball is in their court and even this "not-so-good period" can become a water-shed moment in BJP's political survival.

Michael Jackson dead

2009-06-26T09:10:00.003+05:30

Pop star Michael Jackson died Thursday following a cardiac arrest at his home in Los Angeles. He was 50. Jackson, one of the most influential figures in pop music history whose four-decade career included the highest-selling album of all-time, "Thriller," had been preparing for a concert comeback in London next month he had dubbed "the final curtain."Michael Jackson's death has been greeted with a mixture of shock, sadness and disbelief, as fans expressed their grief.

Jackson had appeared increasingly frail and financially-challenged in recent years. Despite earning hundreds of millions of dollars he was reported to be $500 million in debt thanks largely to his extravagant lifestyle. Jackson's rented home was roped off after paramedics arrived to transport the King of Pop to the hospital.

Jackson lived as a virtual recluse following his 2005 acquittal on charges including child molestation and plotting to kidnap his young accuser.Despite his acquittal, the trial was a body blow from which the pop music superstar, who named his ranch for Peter Pan's "Neverland" of perpetual childhood

Nandan Nilekani quits Infosys

2009-06-25T21:00:00.002+05:30

Infosys Co- Chairman Nandan Nilekani has been appointed by the government to head the National ID Card Project and will step down from the company’s board. Nilekani would be given status of a Cabinet Minister.The UIDAI, an entity under the Planning Commission, has been constituted to provide national identity cards to Indian citizens.Nilakeni said the government was still to work out the costing of the project, adding the plan was to roll out UIDs within 12 -18 months.The big issue of this project is that we need to have one central data base which ultimately will have details of a billion residents of India and that apart from their information about their names, address, date of birth and so forth, will also have to store bio-metric information about them, maybe finger prints, or facial picture etc. because the bio-metric is what is going to ensure that we don’t have duplication of people in the database.

Under the UIDAI programme, unique identification cards would be provided to citizens by 2011. In the beginning, the cards will be assigned to all voters by building on current electoral roll data. The other big challenge is the inter-operability is whether the Citizen card is issued which are co-branded with MNIC or Pan card, as far as the identity part of it goes, it should get authenticated in the same way all over the country so there is a lot of co-ordination that is required both across central government as well as local governments, so the complexity is mainly of co-ordination and inter-operability which we have to encourage.

As co-founder of the $4.6-billion global software major, Nilekani served as a director since the company's inception in 1981. He was the chief executive and managing director from March 2002 to June 2007 and was re-designated as the co-chairman of the company's board.

Different weather patterns

2009-06-25T20:16:00.002+05:30

The weather back home in Chennai is hot and humid, as its always been. But this time, it is very hot, feels like Dubai, though i haven't been there. Generally, Chennaites suffer from hot and humid conditions throughout the year and especially during April-July. The rainy season between October-November is quite short and we have spells of rain extending for 2-3 days. The mercury never dips below 25 degree celcius. People here crave for the rainy and winter season.Chennai weather is pretty much like what the weather in Arizona relocation is. The high 80 f in Arizona relocation maybe the way it is in Arizona always. People would love to spend in those temperate climatic regions of Arizona.Arizona’s weather is popularly categorized as hot and dry and no matter what time of year you visit Arizona, you’ll find beautiful, perfect weather somewhere.Hope weather in Chennai turns like the one in Arizona.

Will middle income syndrome affect India ?

2009-06-24T21:56:00.002+05:30

Recently, India was elevated from being a low income country to a lower-middle income country joining the likes of China,Philipines and Turkey by the World bank. This was mainly due to strong economic performance in the last half decade. What is the significance of this elevation in the first place ? Lower-middle income countries are those countries in which the average income of an individual is anywhere between 956$-3705$. Generally, countries grouped in this category said to have attained financial credibility which they lacked previously. This in turn, makes them eligible to borrow more loans and aids from financial instituitions like World Bank and IMF for improving their internal infrastructure, spending in social sector schemes and internal security.
But, many countries like Brazil and Philippines which had tremendous growth in the early 90's and their subsequent stagnation in growth should be properly analysed. India's main growth story is fuelled by the services sector like IT and financial services. Now, why is outsourcing and other services being awarded to India by foreign countries like America and the EU? One reason is the high technical expertise of Indian engineers and the second and a major factor is due to "Low wages" prevailing in India.
But, as we grow and so is the income of many skilled people in India. This could affect the wage-advantage that we have against our Chinese,Korean and Japanese counterparts. This will affect our services sector. IT and ITES contracts may go to many less-income countries like Vietnam and Philippines which are of late, growing very well in services sector.This was echoed even by Wipro chairman Azim Premji recently in a conference. He said "The BPO business in the Philippines was hardly anything some five years ago, but now the country is in a position to get equal with India or displace its leadership in BPO". IT companies may not post 25-30% CAGR that they are posting before the recession. This means creation of less jobs in this industry and more difficult times ahead.
Thus, India has look beyond the successful growth story of services sector and start investing in sectors like manufacturing,infrastrucure,education,textiles and telecom. Proper planning forward with proactive rather than reactive measures should be the need of the hour. Also,improving educational expertise in different sectors and skilled labour in other sectors should be encouraged. India has to diversify its core sectoral growth and bring in major face-lift to many sectoral portfolios, if it wants to become a major superpower by 2020.
As far as the software industry is concerned, they will have to keep thinking and innovating in different avenues and be competitive always,like they have been for many years.Major thrust to R&D and Intellutual Property Rights(IPR) should be given by Indian companies. If these can be managed, Indian IT industry can become a 80 billion dollar sector by 2011, double than what they are today!!! It has to seen whether India can stay clear of this middle income syndrome like China and motor forward, diversifying in all sectors or get stagnated like Brazil with a small percentage of growth.

Accor Hotels- the best place to check-in for holiday trip

2009-06-24T18:45:00.003+05:30

Holiday season is in and people are exploring new places to spend their time during their trips. With recession gripping everyone, everywhere people have started spending each penny with great caution. People want best value for each dollar spent. So, the best way to get out of all these daily routines is to have a chill pill and go exploring the earth for a few days.
The first thing that you need to do while going for a trip is to book the hotel rooms in the place you want spend. Hotels are costing much more and the services are not particularly great. Dont worry. Accor Hotels City Super Sale is here and at such flat rates, it is probably the best bet you would ever get from a reputed hotel chain. Accor has a wide chain of hotels around the world and especially Asia-Pacific. From Bangalore to Beijing, or from Perth to Pune, you name it and Accor Hotels will offer their best hospitality hotels.
Personally, i would like to go on a holiday trip to New Zealand and ideally spend couple of days in Wellington. With its low cost and great hospitality structure including some wonderful packages, i would opt for Accor Hotels in wellington. This way i get save a lot of money and also get the best luxuries any hotel can provide.
I would also others to go through Accor Hotels City Super Sale and check out the wonderful packages offered by Accor hotels. Remember, the offer is valid for a limited time and you dont get a better value for money with world's best luxuries hotels. Accor Hotel rates in 27 cities across 10 countries in Asia Pacific are being reduced in Accor's new "City Super Sale".
The offer is valid in Accor Hotels in major cities like Bangkok,Singapore,Mumbai,Sydney.
Travellers will be able to take advantage of savings of up to 60% when they book on-line between 23 - 29 June, for stays between July 10 and September 30, 2009 and also the low air fares across many Asia-Pacific countries.
So, what are you waiting for ? Avail this wonderful oppurtunity from Accor Hotels to enjoy one of the best holiday trip of your life time.

Budget 2009- what is the road ahead for our economy ?

2009-06-13T20:42:00.004+05:30

Everyone seems to buoyed by the outcome of elections 2009 in India. India will have a far more stable and energetic government in the form of the Congress-led UPA government.Hopefully, we will see lot more governance than politics in the next five years led by PM Manmohan Singh.One of the main and immediate challenge facing the government is the economic slowdown. Although, India seems to have been faring far better than many countries around the world, it cannot be complacent. The two main reasons for this is- one, India has a vibrant domestic demand fuelled by a huge population and second is that India is just a developing country with industries and exports just on the brink of huge expansions. Also, there is lot of restrictions and caps on foreign investments in India.Therefore, well developed export sectors like IT and trextiles are the main ones which are worst-hit by the recession in the developed world.Even though we had the popular liberalisation budget of 1991 by the then FM Manmohan Singh, we still need to do lot more in terms of reforms especially in sectors like power,insurance and banking.

Many ask why its just an economic slowdown in India, while many western countries are going through a rough recession period ?It is the above mentioned reasons why there is just a slowdown in India. On the contrary, Japan is going through a deep recession even though it is not the cause of it, primarily because it is an export-dependent country.

With the left out of the way, Congress has a golden oppurtunity in setting the record straight in the economic front. The budget on July 6th will signal the direction in which this government will travel. That is why, this budget will be very important for the government as well as the industry leaders.

Here are some of the main decisions that the industry believe should be taken in this budget:

Agriculture and Food: India, even while it talks of globalisation and industrialization, should not forget that 70% of Indian population depend on agriculture. The most important policy is the Food security act, which essentially will guarantee food, three times a day for the poor. Also, more R&D intiatives and investments is the need of the hour in this sector such that new techniques and ways to cultivate fertile land and produce hybrid seeds can be achieved.

Exports sector: This sector is worst affected by the global recession and needs a fillip immediately. Tax breaks and duty cuts for this sector is a mere given. Also, textile sector should be given some stimulus package so as to revive their business and compete with global players. Also, for the IT sector abolition of FBT(Fringe Benefit Tax) and STPI tax exemption extension for another 3 years should be taken up.

Telecom: The first and foremost is the completion of 3G auction which will enable fast data transfer and more clear voice signal.Also, a proper broadband policy for India should be commisioned in line with major economies. Broadband and internet should help in e-governance and education at all levels. Atleast 8 Mbps broadband speed should be introduced in wired communication.

Insurance and Finance: Labour reforms, Insurance and banking reforms should be the priority. Banks must be adviced to lend to for many industrial projects, most of all the infrastructure projects.

Roads, railways and infrastructure: This perhaps is the most important sector. Huge potential in improving our infrastructure will produce more jobs and stimulate the demand market and improve our economic growth vastly. The main issue here is the execution of all the projects. We have all the project work and the money. But, we have to execute the projects well which is where we lack. Power generation, roads, ports expansion will hugely transform our economy. Proper execution mechanism and regulatory mechanism should be taken up by the FM in this budget for this sector.

Education: Primary education should be the main focus.Schools with properly attended teachers and students should be ensured. Innovative methods for teaching with the help of internet and computers should be used.More money should be allocated for this sector in mid-day meal schemes and should also ensure continuation of children in classes into secondary education and colleges.

Other important schemes like Bharat Nirman,NREGA(National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) with daily wages incrreased from RS.80 to RS.100 a day should be ensured. It must extend to throughout India. Similar scheme for the rural poor should be researched and executed.

Thus, these are the main and immediate steps that should be taken in this Budget. This will help the Indian economy to move back to our growth story of 2007-08. A GDP growth of 9% should be the goal which is very much achievable in the next 2-3 years.

Roger Federer-a legend beyond comparison

2009-06-11T19:19:00.004+05:30

June 7,2009 8:46 PM-He has done it!!! The man who was time and again crucified by critics around the world- Spanish, Russian,American, German,Indian for failing to go past just that single hurdle in his career- THE FRENCH OPEN VICTORY. Roger Federer is the man and he did it. He showed the world that unlike the great Pete Sampras, his closest rival in terms of number of grand slams victories, he had the spine and more importantly the game to win in Roland Garros. Ruled for four years by current world no:1 and Roger's long term nemesis, Rafael Nadal, this was perhaps the only eluding jewel in an otherwise illustrious career.
This places him alongside "Pistol Pete" for most number of grand slam victories-14. At 27, Roger still has a lot more years to go past Sampras and create a record number of grand slams, which i believe cannot be breached by anyone in the years or perhaps, decades to come.But, all these records aside,Roger Federer is a true legend beyond any comparison. After a string of defeats and losing his No:1 crown to the Spaniard, Rafael Nadal, many wrote off Federer just like that.To be fair,he also didnot show any of his regal touch of class for a long time. The critics(read "Nadal's fans") ridiculed the way he surrendered to Rafael Nadal's power play in three of the four grand slam finals last year.
An emotional Federer was left weeping inconsolably after his defeat to Nadal in the French open final last year. His fans and also the game's greatest including Sampras were running out of ideas to defend the Swiss master. 2008-09 was the worst year for Roger Federer in terms of win-loss ratio.All this time, the new world no:1, Nadal was marching through and was playing the best tennis of his career rubbishing claims that he is a one-surface wonder. He began to win on all surfaces- grass, hard court or clay, he mastered it all. He reached his peak winning the Wimbledon 2008(grass) and the Australian open 2009(hard court) and the Olympic gold medal.
Federer with just one grand slam to equal Sampras record went into this year's French Open, the place he was beaten by Nadal four consecutive times, as a clear underdog.Nadal brezeed past his opponents in his favoutite surface while Federer was made to work hard to win his early rounds. He seemed a shadow of his gloroius past.
Second week of French open and there came the surprise. Nadal was beaten in 4 sets by a lesser known opponent from Sweden,Robin Soderling. This boosted Federer chances and he started feeling his rhytm and came back from 2 sets down to beat Tommy Haas.He started to feel confident and was soon in the finals against Soderling, the man who defeated Nadal. The occasion was overwhelming for Soderling and Federer took advantage and won the first two sets easily.Then after stiff resistance from Soderling in the third set, closed the match and realised his dream, winning the French Open for the first time. An emotional Federer could not believe it and fell to the ground in tears.
"It takes away so much pressure. Now, I can play in peace for the rest of my career. Nobody will never tell me again that I have not won Roland Garros. It's nice to be up here on the podium as a winner this time", told the champion.
More than his game, his grit and determination won him the honours on that beautiful Sunday evening in Paris.As told by Roger himself, his critics can stay calm now that he has won in all the surfaces.Maybe its time for Nadal to prove that he can achieve atleast half as many grand slams as Federer has won. Federer has proved everything and achieved everything in tennis that he will play more calmer and without pressure and win many more grandslams. I just feel, come July 5 and Federer would be posing with his Wimbledon title. Even if quits the game today, Federer will be hailed the greatest player in tennis history and all his so called present-day competitors will have to show the longevity that Federer has been able to show and sustain for about a decade in competitive tennis winning every crown in tennis history.
As far as long haired Spaniard is concerned, he has show the flare and panache of Federer, to come anywhere close to him and not just raw physical power, which cannot be sustained. Heard that Nadal's knee is already giving up. What's the news there?!!!

Federer wins French open to equal Sampras's record

2009-06-07T21:36:00.003+05:30

Roger Federer defeated Robin Soderling 6-1, 7-6 (7-1), 6-4 in the French Open final on Sunday to become the sixth man in tennis history to win all four Grand Slam titles.The others are Don Budge, Fred Perry, Roy Emerson, Rod Laver and Andre Agassi, the American who surprisingly won the title here in 1999 and presented the trophy to Federer on Sunday.Roger Federer has joined Pete Sampras on a record 14 grand-slam titles.

Federer, who was a runner-up to Rafa Nadal in each of the last three years on the Paris clay, could not contain his delight at having finally broken his Roland Garros jinx.His other wins being five each at Wimbledon and the US Open and three Australian Opens.The match was played in gusting winds and, for much of the final two sets, in rain that ranged from light to heavy and had many of the fans in the Philippe Chatrier Court hunkered down under their umbrellas.Andre Agassi who wa the last man to win all four grand slams, fittingly presented the cup to Roger Federer.

EC-Council iClass- The place to learn for ethical hackers

2009-06-06T15:31:00.002+05:30

IT Security and ethical hacking goes a long way both in legal ethical hacking and to secure the Information Systems that we have in place.EC-Council helps you in this regard in fulfilling your dream of being a IT security expert with credible certifications in IT Security . White hat hackers, also known as "ethical hackers," are computer security experts, who specialize in penetration testing, and other testing methodologies, to ensure that a company's information systems are secure.
Since, lot more companies are going global and capacitating themselves with pure IT infrastructure,IT Security has become a huge and an important investment for companies around the world. So, it has become a huge employment oppurtunity for many people in these tough times. People equipped themselves with these courses in security are getting well placed in big companies with good salaries. Ethical hacking itself involves various stages in hacking called as "hacking cycles". These are essential courses taken towards becoming an IT security guy by the EC-Council. Students attending EC-Council training will get proper exhaustive training namely Security Fundamentals ,Ethical Hacking ,Penetration Testing ,Computer Forensics,Disaster Recovery and Secure Programming. In Ethical Hacking training by EC-Council, each student gets Accelerated Live, online Official Instructor Led Training ,Official EC-Council Courseware ,Prometric or Vue Certification Test Voucher ,Complimentary Hacker Halted Pass with a Dedicated EC-Council Education Consultant ,Certificate of Completion and a copy of Core Security Technologies' award winning penetration testing product, CORE IMPACT Pro.
The training for Certified Ethical Hacker classes can be held at the our own comfort and thats why we have a different training schedules catering to different needs of the students.
So, what are you waiting. Go now and enrol yourself in EC-Council and become an ethical IT Security man.

"The Great American Dream" - Will that be possible again?

2009-06-03T18:52:00.002+05:30

For students in emerging markets i.e India and China, America was the dream destination for pursing their higher studies and a wonderful career. It was all a matter of few applications to US universities and choosing the right ones once you get the admits, ofcourse you need a better under-graduate score and acceptable scores in some qualifying exams. Two years of hard work and then landing in a good job there will help you take off in your career.
But now, is it all turning into a nightmare very soon ? The economic recession and its aftermath, have pulled the US economy considerably down. The housing bubble has led to huge financial crisis. Many big companies have gone bankrupt and huge layoffs have occured in many sectors across the board in America.
Many Indians have flown back home to India planning to apply for jobs in India, as they think that their jobs are not secure. US government has pumped in money through many financial and stimulus packages, cut interest rates to encourage spending by its citizens.This inturn has put a huge fiscal deficit burden on the American government, which many believe will balloon out to uncontrollable levels by FY10. Besides this, the American treasury bonds bought by many countries as a source of investment is becoming more of a liability. The Chinese who has the highest amount of treasury bonds are very worried about their return on investment.
Americans who are the main source of consumption for the global market are beginning to save more for the future fearing a bleak future. So, this has put enormous pressure on other countries who export goods to America and Europe.
Many believe this gap in global consumption can be filled only when emerging markets like India and China grow and create a domestic demand in their respective countries as they have a huge growing population.Experts believe even if America and Europe get out of this recession, they may not grow like they massively did pre-recession era. So, more protectionist measures and stringent immigrant laws will follow so as to keep American jobs to themselves. This may make it improbable for Indian students and their Chinese counterparts to study and get a dream job in US.
But the blessing in disguise could be a growing India and more jobs being created in India with well paid openings. This could take a few years, if not a decade or so before India and China emerge as dynamic economies providing sufficient jobs to its citizens. Till then, a slow growing or sluggish global economy will be the order of the day,hopefully just 2 to 3 years of pain.Indian companies should now look to Africa and "Emerging markets" for pouring their investment rather than United States and Europe and diversify their investment.
So, maybe, demise of the "American Dream" would be the starting point of an "Indian or a Chinese dream".

GM files for bankruptcy

2009-06-01T17:59:00.003+05:30

General Motors Corp filed for bankruptcy on Monday, forcing the 100-year-old automaker once seen as a symbol of American economic might and dynamism into a new and uncertain era of government ownership.
The bankruptcy filing is the third-largest in U.S. history and the largest ever in U.S. manufacturing.The widely expected move comes after GM had seen its losses widen following a steep fall in sales in recent years. The move into bankruptcy protection has been backed by the US government, which is now expected to take a 60% stake in the company.
GM had already received $20bn of state aid since the end of last year. US Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection gives an American company time to restructure its finances while being protected from its creditors. The restructuring is likely to drastically change GM, with some 20,000 US workers thought likely to lose their jobs.

Time to deliver

2009-05-27T09:08:00.002+05:30

Dr.Manmohan Singh and the Congress party has defied all odds and has captured power at the centre with a clear mandate.Hoards and hoards of opinion polls and exit poll surveys unanimously predicted a hung assembly with smaller regional parties playing kingmakers.This was perhaps the most feared outcome for any party coming to power.With the economy at doldrums, investors and industrialists alike wanted a stable government that can act with conviction and courage to take on the economy. At the time when other countries are racing against time to fix their respective economies,India was readying itself for the largest democratic practise in the world- the General Elections.

Election campaigns appeared to be a sum total of hate speeches,name calling, anti-democratic movements, petty regional politics and ego clashes. Somehow or the other,political parties wrongly concluded that these kind of campaingns will win them seats and make them eligible for hard bargain for power at the centre.

But the most fascinating outcome of elections 2009 was a marked change in the psychology of the common voter who vehimently seems to have opposed all those who have tried to create chaos and confusion at the centre once the elections gets over and done with. LK Advani,BJP PM candidate who superficially denounced the hate speeches by Varun Gandhi didnot take adequate steps to clean the party's image of a fundamentalist Hindu group. Many in the BJP, even believed that this kind of hate speeches will win them votes. But they were once again proved wrong by the uncharacteristically mature UP voters. Congress's strategy to go alone in UP and Bihar, have alliances with NCP,TMC and DMK in Maharasthra,West Bengal and Tamil Nadu respectively paid off handsomely.

Congress won the main battle by a huge margin with the help of gains from West Bengal,Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh,Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan,Kerala and Maharashtra.People have voted for the good clean image of PM Manmohan Singh, an able political leader in Sonia Gandhi and the future hopeful in Rahul Gandhi. Now its time to motor along with all the important works in economy,education, infrastruture,foreign relations,health care and terrorism which includes internal security.

The PM has his hands full with a wayward economy,threat from all sides of our border,poverty and educational reforms,to name a few.This clear mandate which even the Congress didnot dream is a lifetime oppurtunity for someone like Dr.Singh and his cabinet colleagues.The cabinet allocation seems to take ages but it better to take some time and choose the best ones rather than giving berths to the ineffective.But once the allocations are over, a coordinated action on all fronts is required. This is "Singh is king" time and he must seize the oppurtunity which he didnot have in 2004.

Finally, all this was possible because of one independent body called the Election Commision of India, which did a fabulous job in helping voters choose their best candiddates.They deserve a big round of applause for their worthy contribution to our democracy.

55 pc voting in the second phase

2009-04-23T21:33:00.002+05:30

About 55 percent turnout was recorded in the second phase of the 2009 general elections, the Election Commission said here on Thursday.With nearly half the ballots cast, the likely result of India's month-long national elections is becoming muddier rather than clearer.
Thursday marked the second of five days slated for voting in India between April 16 and May 13. All the votes will be counted May 16 and a government will be formed June 2. Exit polls aren't permitted so predictions of voting patterns so far aren't available.
BJP is closely following trends in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh where Congress is perceived to be on the backfoot.BJP sources maintained they were reasonably confident that projections of the party getting around 160 seats were holding, though this is linked to a good performance in UP -- an untested proposition so far. But party managers seem to feel that if there is no space for a "third front", parties like TDP are very much approachable.

Freida Pinto in the top ten world's sexiest women

2009-04-23T21:25:00.002+05:30

Slumdog Millionaire" star Freida Pinto appeared in the chart of world's sexiest women for the first time in the British men's lifestyle FHM.The 24-year-old Mumbai native had also featured in the vanity Fair&aposs most beautiful women&aposs list recently.
Cole, 25, became the first british to come on top in the last three years. She knocked last year&aposs winner, actress Megan Fox, 22, into second place, Sun online reported.
The others in the top-10 list were actress Jessica Alba, who came third, pop singer Britney Spearssecured fourth position while fifth spot went to Keeley Hazell.Other additions to the chart included French President Nicolas Sarkozy's wife Carla Bruni, who was voted 40th sexiest woman in the world. Almost 10 million votes were cast by FHM readers worldwide for the poll.

Inflation inches to 0.26%;food prices increase

2009-04-23T18:18:00.003+05:30

Dearer food items and textile products pushed inflation for the week ended April 11 away from the brink of negative inflation.RBI in its monetary policy review announced earlier this week pointed out that with inflationary concerns abating WPI inflation is expected to enter negative for a short patch though it will move up to 4.0% by end of current fiscal.

During the week, prices of raw food rose by 0.5% as tea prices increase by 5%, Bajara by 3%, fruit and vegetables by 2%, and mutton and maize by one per cent each. Even though annual Inflation no longer remains a concern increase in prices of vegetables (2.6%),fruits (0.8%) and cereals (0.3%) is emerging as a major work for policy makers. Prices of vegetables had moved up by almost 25% in the week before, and the spike in prices of essential commodities is expected to play spoilsport for ruling coalition during elections. Prices of manufactured items has also been moving up for the last one and a half months. Textile products like synthetic yarn and sacking bags, chemicals and basic metals became costlier over the week.

Voting begins in 141 Lok sabha seats in phase 2

2009-04-23T12:33:00.002+05:30

Polling stations in 140 constituencies across 12 states opened for the second phase of the Lok Sabha elections.
Voters started queueing up at many of the 2,22,350 polling stations where approximately 19.4 crore people are eligible to exercise their franchise.However, polling was held in Manipur yesterday due to a Holiday today. The states going to polls today are Andhra Pradesh (20), Bihar (13), Orissa (11), Assam (11), Karnataka (17), Madhya Pradesh (13), Jharkhand (8), Maharashtra (25), Uttar Pradesh (17), Goa (2), Jammu & Kashmir (1), Manipur (1), and Tripura (2).Voting also began for the last of the two-phase assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh and Orissa.
The first phase of polling was conducted April 16.Tight security arrangements have been put in place, especially in naxal-infested states, to thwart any attempt by the ultras to disrupt the elections.A total number of 2.041 candidates are in the fray for 141 Lok Sabha seats. During the first phase elections, 58-62% polling reported .

Economy to grow at 6% in 2009-10:RBI

2009-04-21T11:42:00.003+05:30

Reserve Bank of India(RBI) has announced its credit policy for the fiscal year 2009-10. Credit policy is the estimation of the overall economic growth and various other sectorial growth for the impending fiscal year. The economic growth is expected to be 6% in 2009-10 and inflation could go to negative levels in the first half of the year and then gradually limp back to positive WPI infaltion levels. Consumer Price Index(CPI) which is the price levels of essential commodities like food grains,vegetables are likely to come down further and moderate through the year.
The RBI has also cut repo rate by 25 bps to 4.75% and reverse repo rate by 25 bps to 3.25%. Repo rate is the interest rate at which the RBI lends money to other banks and Reverse repo rate is the interest that the banks will get when they deposit the money in RBI. The RBI has also said that banks dont need to get license from government to open new ATM's across India.
These measures will pump lot more liquidity into the system and encourage banks to lend money to both industries and common citizen. The RBI has come down heavily on banks for not decreasing the interest rates and encoursgung money spending. The credit growth is seen to increase by another 20% and money supply by 17% in the financial year 2010.

No layoffs;restructuring in variable pay:TCS

2009-04-21T08:57:00.005+05:30

India's largest IT services provider, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS),now a $6 billion company, registered a consolidated net profit (Indian GAAP) of Rs 1,333 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2008. While its net profit was up only 7 per cent up as compared to the same period last financial year (YoY), sequentially (QoQ), the growth declined by 2.1 per cent. The company's revenue at Rs 7,172 crore was up 18.5 per cent YoY but declined 1.5 per cent QoQ. TCS added 36 new clients (41 in the trailing quarter) in the current quarter, and closed 7 large deals. The company has also announced a bonus of 1 share for every share(1:1) held by the investors.

The top management said that there wont be any salary increments or promotions definitely in the first half of the 2009-10 fiscal year. Also, the board members said that they are not looking at layoffs as a cost-cutting measures. The current variable pay maybe restructured in terms of the ratio that was paid each month to the combined variable pay at the end of each quarter. The deal pipelines seemed to be on track and there are some semblance of recovery in US. There are certain pricing pressures in the environment with about a negative 44 bps in Q4 2008-09.

Prabhakaran is my friend:Karunanidhi

2009-04-19T18:57:00.003+05:30

DMK supremo and Tamil Nadu CM, M.Karunanidhi has said that leader of the terrorist organisation Prabhakaran is his friend. LTTE is a banned terrorist organisation across the world. LTTE cadres are demanding separate tamil nation called "Eelam" from the SriLankan government. It is also the organisation which assasinated former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi when he was attending a political meeting in Sriperumbedur near Chennai,Tamil Nadu.

After nearly a three decade long war with the SriLankan government, the LTTE is now cornered in a 20 sq KM "no fire zone" in SriLanka. Karunanidhi, a tamil CM, whose was always kept silent about LTTE fearing backlash among tamils in TamilNadu recently has said that Prabhakaran is his friend.

Also, he has said that he will deeply regret if Prabhakaran is killed in the war.Karunanidhi also said that the LTTE’s goals were “legitimate,” but faulted it when he said they had adopted “wrong methods.”Karunanidhi said he differed with Prabhakaran on his policy of delivering a dictator-type rule if he came to power, as stated by the LTTE chief.

Enjoy DTH services even when you are mobile

2009-04-19T11:07:00.002+05:30

How would you like your favorite television channels to be available to you when on-the-go?After launching its direct-to-home (DTH) services across India last year, now Bharti Airtel is in talks with companies to launch its DTH mobile services for luxury cars, buses, and trainsWith the start of general elections as a source of revenue Bharti Airtel’s direct-to-home (DTH) arm is ready to launch its mobile DTH units for cars.
The company that launched its DTH operations in October last year is in talks with various automobile companies to install their mobile DTH units.
DTH in cars works with the help of a special auto-tracking antenna that is mounted on the roof of the car. The antenna tracks the company’s satellite placed in orbit at 36,000 km, from where signals will be fed to the set top box placed near the television set inside the car. This will enable seamless transmission of satellite channels in the vehicle.

Dish TV is also ready to launch its smaller version of the mobile unit with smaller antennae and set top box that can be mounted on any kind of vehicle.

Pakistan loses right to host World cup 2011

2009-04-17T21:53:00.002+05:30

Pakistan has been stripped of hosting rights for the 2011 World Cup because of the 'uncertain security situation' in the country.Pakistan cricket officials and former team captains were shocked on Friday.

Pakistan had been scheduled to stage the event with subcontinent neighbours India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh but the International Cricket Council (ICC) said it had decided to ditch them as hosts to "deliver a safe, secure and successful event".The decision comes after terrorists attacked the Sri Lankan team bus in Lahore and killed six police officers and a driver on March 3. The World Cup Secretariat will now be shifted from Lahore and the World Cup matches will now be hosted by Sri Lanka, India and Bangladesh.

According to sources, Pakistan was hopeful of support from India in this regard but it failed to extend the same.

Infy trainee commits suicide in its Mysore campus

2009-04-17T16:16:00.002+05:30

Infosys trainee Abhijit Mukherjee(22) has allegedly committed suicide in the Mysore campus. Infosys Mysore is a specially built technology centre for the freshers who join the company just after finishing their graduation. Many in the IT sector know that training in Infosys is the most toughest and highly challenging.
Abhijith Mukherjee was found hanging in his room on the campus.His suicide note said: "I am dejected in life and nobody is responsible for my death."A case has been registered.
According to police, Abhijith, a native of West Bengal, had come to Mysore in February for training at the Mysore campus. He was given a separate room. Police suspect he committed suicide on Tuesday night.

124 Lok Sabha seats goes to polls today in the first phase

2009-04-16T15:41:00.003+05:30

The world’s biggest democratic exercise got under way this morning as India began voting in a marathon month-long general election that looks certain to produce a fragile coalition government. The vote is the first of five phases in which some 714 million people — more than twice the population of the United States — will be eligible to cast ballots. More than 140 million were eligible to vote on Thursday.The outcome of the five-stage election will be known on May 16.

Up to 2.1 million security personnel have been deployed to prevent another terrorist attack like the one on Mumbai in November.Unlike in many Western democracies, the number of Indians voting has increased with every general election. And poorer people are more likely to vote than the rich.

No wage hike,lay offs: Infosys

2009-04-15T20:47:00.002+05:30

Infosys Technologies has reported a 29% year-on-year increase in its Q4 net profit on improved operating margins, but forecast a decline in its revenue and earnings as many of its clients have been hit by the global financial crisis.
Net profit after tax (PAT) surged to Rs1,613 crore in the recently concluded quarter, up 29.1 per cent from the year-ago period. The revenue rose 24.1 per cent to Rs5,635 crore on year-on-year basis.

The cash and cash equivalents, including investments in liquid mutual funds and certificate of deposits, as on March 31, 2009 were Rs 10,993 crore," a company statement said.

Infosys HR head, Mr. Mohandas Pai also told that there wont be any increments or promotions for this fiscal year. Also, there wont be any layoffs apart from poor performers who will be outplaced. Earlier in the year the IT behemoth laid off 2100 employees. Mohandas Pai also said that all campus offerings of about 20,000 will be honoured.

Tech Mahindra wins bid for Satyam Computers

2009-04-13T12:13:00.002+05:30

Tech Mahindra wins bid for the scam-rotten Satyam Computer Services. The 4th largest Software firm in India nosedived after its former Chairman Ramalinga Raju revealed about his decade long fraud of about Rs.7000 crore. Tech Mahindra will pay Rs.1757 crore for 31% stake in Satyam. Satyam will now have a market cap of Rs.5800 crores with its expanded equity. There is a likely acceptance ratio of 34% in Satyam open offer. The price quoted by Tech Mahindra Rs.58/share. A total of Rs.2889 crore will be paid for the whole 51% share in Satyam.

Industry sources say there is a lot of synergies between Tech Mahindra and Satyam. The clients of Satyam can also be relieved that the take over process has come to a happy ending. The Company Law Board has said that Satyam will file an affidavit quoting the winning bidder.

L&T has a 12% stake and Fidelity has some 4 crore shares in Satyam. Its likely that Tech Mahindra might buyout those shares too.

Scents and smell

2009-04-11T21:07:00.002+05:30

Scents and perfumes have perhaps become the most household nemes these days.People
tend to get attracted to certain kinds of smells.Scent of the perfumes which is full of fragrance is about a certain perfume called Axe. Its my favourite perfume and the wholesome smell is something breathtaking. The different types with which they come out everytime is also amazing. The "Axe affect" as they call it one of the best marketed brands anywhere in the world. The brand name has a special place for all perfume lovers. It perhaps can do away with some dull perfume types and concentrate on its niche customers.The price is another important criteria for its everlasting glory. Its priced at a reasonably and its at its best modest pricing.So, everything goes well for this brand and also has a niche customers. That is why many like the author himself is very much attracted to the brand.

Post-Economic crisis more challenging

2009-04-11T16:24:00.004+05:30

World is now at an undefinable stage of the economic crisis. The more we analyse the current economic crisis, the more frightening it becomes. World economies including United States, European nations and developing nations like Brazil,Russia,India and China (famously known as BRIC) have no clue when this economic crisis will end. The other day, G20 nations met and agreed for a stronger regulatory actions on so called "Bad debt or Badly behaving banks". They yelled out for financial reforms across the board and a lot more stimulus packages.
Personally, i dont think this in any way addresses the main aim of bailing out countries from the present financial crisis mainly because regulating banks and financial reforms are steps that should be taken by countries to prevent another such crisis from taking place. So its more of a prevention of the disease occuring again rather than a cure of the current disease. I would suggest to first cure the present crisis and then we can think about its reoccurance. Secondly, the stimulus packages that the countries have promised. With the present scenario, countries have very little or no liquidity(read as "money") left with them for yet another stimulus packages which is essentially giving money to people through banks as loans or by any other means and encouraging them to spend more money. The interest rates in US and many European nations have virtually come to zero and thus they have no more room for any kind of monetary policy.
This leaves the US with no other way than to just wait for the economic crisis to end by itself and then hope for some economic growth. Also, the growing unemployment rate(now at 8.5% in US) is a cause of big worry. Less jobs means less spending and that forces less industrial production and which in turn leads to more layoffs. Developing nations like China and India are better placed to face the crisis but with time running out, they will also be affected badly.
One of the reasons for this crisis not ending quickly is the relatively low consumer spending in US as many of them are saving for an uncertain future.In January, the savings rate climbed to 4.4%. In February, it dipped slightly to 4.2%. Both were well above the negative 1% rate for 2006 and the negative 0.5% rate for 2005.In a $14.2 trillion U.S. economy, a 5-percentage-point increase in the savings rate -- and therefore a 5-point decline in consumption -- amounts to $500 billion.So, one way for the crisis to end is by other developing nations like India compensate for this $500 billion gap in US spending. That is people in India,China need to spend more so that the whole world can get out of this mess, else everyone will suffer. But countries like India and China are traditionally inclined to saving more.
That is why, even if economic crisis ends this year, the Americans and Europeans will want to save more to prevent themselves from such a scenario again. This in turn would lead to low economic growth around the world. This may increase dramatically only when some other country takes over from US as the leading economy in the world. That is why, many say the future of the world depends on how well India and China grow. With their population, even if a small fraction(about 30% of total American population) leads life like a average American, the world will grow much faster than what it was did in the past 2 decaded prior to the economic crisis.
So, the post economic crisis seems very challenging and would slow going till hopefully China and India take over. Future of the world lies in the hands of the Indian and Chinese citizen!!!

TCS enters IPL; signs deal with Rajasthan Royals

2009-04-07T16:00:00.002+05:30

Rajasthan Royals have tied-up with Tata Consultancy Services as their technology partners for a period of three years.This marks a historic moment for the IPL as it is the first time that an IPL team has inducted a Technology Partner into the organization to help the team stay on the championship track.

TCS's Global Marketing Head, Jayant Pendharkar, told a media conference today that Rajasthan Royals' champions status as well as the importance they give to technology were some of the reasons they were preferred from among the eight IPL teams in fray for season 2 of the IPL commencing on April 18.
"Over the years TCS have partnered sports events. We are connected with the Ferrari team, NBA and the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon," he said.

Shane Warne, Captain-Coach, Rajasthan Royals says, “Rajasthan Royals represents an ideal combination of skill and experience. It’s good to be associated with a winning and trustworthy brand like TCS as their contribution will be an added advantage.”
TCS works with other sports organizations like racing major Ferrari in formula one and Ducati, the leader in bike racing. In the past few years, TCS has also consulted with the Indian national cricket team on lateral thinking and communication strategies and with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on its organizational structure.

Journalist attacks Chidambaram with a shoe

2009-04-07T15:49:00.002+05:30

A Sikh reporter threw a shoe at the Indian home minister during a news conference after he was angered over the minister's reply to a question. P Chidambaram ducked as the trainer flew past him, and smiled broadly as the man was escorted out of the event in New Delhi. The Sikh journalist appeared to have acted after the minister refused to answer a question he had raised at the press conference.

Jarnail Singh of a Hindi daily hurled a shoe at Chidambaram protesting against CBI's clean chit to senior Congress leader Jagdish Tytler accused in 1984 anti-Sikh riots case. Soon afterwards, Mr Singh told TV news reporters that he regretted throwing the shoe but he felt that Mr Chidambaram was dodging the question.
"I just wanted to ask him how justice will be done, but he was not interested in answering the questions," he told . BJP on Tuesday condemned hurling of a shoe at Home Minister P Chidambaram."We condemn the incident," BJP spokesperson Balbir Punj said in Delhi.

The Iraqi journalist who threw a shoe at Mr Bush won worldwide fame but was jailed for three years earlier this month.

Download a movie in an hour-Airtel launches 16 Mbps broadband

2009-04-06T16:28:00.003+05:30

Bharti Airtel has announced 16 Mbps broadband – which the company claims to be the fastest wireline broadband on DSL in the country.Telecom consumers in India can experience broadband in the true sense, withconnections which offer speeds of 16 Mega Bits Per Second (Mbps) — that’s twice that of the current highest speeds available for the retail segment anywhere in the country.
With 16 Mbps speed, consumers can download a 4 GB high-definition movie within 30 minutes compared with more than 12 hours that a 256 Kbps connection takes.Powered by Airtel’s Carrier Ethernet Network the service will be available in Delhi NCR, Chennai and Bangalore with phased roll-out to additional cities of Hyderabad, Pune, Mumbai and Kolkata. Airtel delivers its broadband service to customers through a fibre backbone of Carrier Ethernet Network with last mile delivery on copper using ADSL2+ technology.

Customers can gain access to 16 Mbps broadband by choosing from 2 Tariff Plans – Speed Combo 2999 (20GB transfer limit) and Speed Combo 4999 (50GB transfer limit). The press release claimed Airtel offers its broadband services across 95 cities in the country with approximately 9.92 lakh broadband customers as on December 31, 2008.

Rahul Dravid breaks the world record for most catches

2009-04-06T16:16:00.004+05:30

Rahul Dravid scaled another lofty peak in his illustrious career when he created the world record for the most number of Test catches by a fielder.When Dravid helped to dismiss the New Zealand batsman, Tim McIntosh, in Wellington, it was his 182nd catch in a Test career going back to 1996.

Rahul Dravid has always been regarded as one of the finest fielders, especially in the slip region in the cricketing world, for most of his 13 years as an international cricketer. Therefore, it is only fitting that the former Indian captain has taken over the mantle of the maximum Test catches from Australia's Mark Waugh.Having snared Nasser Hussain off Javagal Srinath to open his 'catch' account in his debut Test at Lord's, Dravid is now clearly ahead of Ricky Ponting (148 in 131 Tests), Jacques Kallis (147 in 131) and Mahela Jayawardene (142 in 102) among current players.

Dravid has taken 88 catches in 59 Tests played at home, while 94 of his catches, including the 182nd of his career, have been taken in 75 matches played on overseas grounds.He has also scored over 10,000 runs in both Test cricket and one-day internationals.

11 digit mobile numbers soon

2009-04-06T16:08:00.002+05:30

If remembering 10-digit mobile phone numbers is hard task for you, soon you'll have an addition to the problem. The Department of Telecom, or DoT, is considering making mobile phone numbers to contain 11 digits.With phone operators expected to run out of 10-digit mobile numbers soon, the Department of Telecom (DoT) is now considering this proposal.

According to industry, given the current rate of growth of subscribers in the country, another 150-200 million can be added before the 10-digit quota is consumed.In India, the first numbering plan was announced in 1993 when mobile telephony had not yet begun.
In 2003, the DoT had come out with a 30-year numbering plan. However, the rapidly growing subscriber base has forced it to review the plan in six years.
The current growth rate in telecom is expected to continue as firms extend their reach to rural India and new technologies such as high-speed 3G enter the country.

So, get ready for your 11 digit mobile number....

No IPL in India

2009-03-22T13:21:00.002+05:30

Indian Premier League(IPL) will not be held in India this year. The Indian General elections dates and IPL dates had clashed. The Home Ministy of India and state governments feared of security difficulties as it would be difficult to provide security to both elections and IPL. IPL may be held in April-May in either England or South Africa.
The timings and schedule will remain the same and there will be changes only to the venues. But next year the IPL will be played back in India.
BCCI has blamed the Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh government for not able to stage the IPL in India this year.

Go vote and here is why you must vote

2009-03-16T20:50:00.002+05:30

India and its 70 crore voters are on the cusp of a historic "Make or break" situation. For the first time in its 60 years of independence, the percentage of working population is higher than the dependents. That means India is relatively young nation with median age of 24 compared to China's 32. But here lies in the problem. Young country means lots of younsters in the age gap of 21-25 and in turn we need to produce lots of jobs for them such that they are able to take care of atleast 2 dependents(generally mother,father).
So, the next step to produce jobs is to have a stable economy growing atleast at the range of 8-9% every year. Fortunately, we were growing at this range untill this recent economic depression. Many believe India's growth story is fuelled only by its services sector alone like IT and software services, which is quiet true at this point.
We have an enormous untapped resources in infrastruture sector like building roads, railways, airports and ports. If these were done, it will only fuel our own economy and at the end of it people will only be the beneficiary.
For this to happen, we need to have the best possible government at the centre atleast. We the people must ensure that the deserving candidates are standing for elections atleast from their respective constituency. If not, vote for the deserving ones alone.
A good government will decide the fate of our country. If we miss this oppurtunity, then the unemployment will much higher that the whole country will get down into shambles. People with illegal activities will increase and this only leads them to get involved in terrorism.
So go vote this time because there is no second chance for us this time.....

Countdowm to Elections 2009

2009-03-15T13:59:00.003+05:30

Everyone around the world was overjoyed when Barrack Obama won the US elections in 2008. It was the greatest day in US politics when an African-American won the elections for the US Presidentship. That was possible because the people wanted a change in the way they were led. They voted for a person who gave them the famous slogan "Yes, We Can!!!".
Now, on the eve of our own Lok sabha elections 2009, its time we stood up and stand counted. India is at crossroads. On the one hand, we have local issues like poverty,illiteracy,corruption & unemployment, on the other side, we have the global economic recession threatening to decelerate our economic growth which peaked at 9% in 2007-08 and we have the perrenial problem of cross-border terrorism from Pakistan.People from all walks of life should show courage in electing his representative to the august house of the Lok Sabha.
We the people are responsible for electing a government which has the spine to implement the projects like building roads, electric power to all households and proper drinking water i.e "Bijli,sadak and Paani". The government we elect should have intellectuals who can tide through the difficult economic times and also take bold steps against those countries which wage guerilla war through encouraging terorist activities in India.
So, come forward to make a change and lay the road to prosperity and with this i start a new label "Elections 2009" which will exclusively have my posts regarding Elections. Do check that out too....

Black Caps wins the final ODI, series goes to India

2009-03-14T16:24:00.003+05:30

NewZealand skipper Daniel Vettori was determined to put their best foot forward to win the final ODI against India to restore "some credibility" and that they did it in style. NewZealand thrased a superior Indian side which looked a wee bit offcolour in the final ODI in Auckland.

Nonetheless, the series went to India. MS's team brought India its first ODI cup against NewZealand in the Kiwiland.

Through the series, India once again proved why they are a dreaded ODI team around the world beating teams like SriLanka, England, Australia and now NewZealand both in India and away.Many back home debate whether this Indian team is the best ever. I for one think this team can become the best ever but they dont own the position now. Batting in all forms of the game seems solid with a complementing opening partners in Viru and Gautham and the middle order is as strong as ever with Yuvi,Dhoni,Raina and Rohit Sharma in ODI and Dravid, Laxman and Sachin in tests.

Bowling seems a bit less experienced but they too are a formidable attack. Zaheer and Ishanth has become a potent fast bowling combination after Srinath and Prasad. There are a number of young upcoming fast bowlers. Spin is taken care by Harbhajan and people like Amit Mishra and Ojha.

Overall this team has the potential to do great things but people should wait a bit longer before tagging them world beaters.

IPL vs Elections

2009-03-13T17:51:00.003+05:30

The raging topic today in every meeting, be it a casual discussion among friends or a high-level meeting among officials in the Home ministry is, "Which is more important? IPL or General Elections in April-May. If you get down to plain interest among the public, especially among those sceptics who think that the "General elections and voting" are just a more official way for the politicians to loot public money, IPL wins hands down.

Many in the political circles fear that the IPL matches during april-may could bring down interest in politics and subsequently the voter turnout which is already abysmal could further deteriorate. A recent survey by an independent agency shows, people prefer IPL to politics.

But the latest attacks on the SriLankan Cricket team in Lahore have cast a shadow on IPL. The Home ministry officials are more vary about having IPL and Elections parallely. The government cant afford another terrorist attacks which may seriously dent their chances in the upcoming elections. Any minor mishap during the matches and the opposition will pounce on it.

That is why, the government is treading a cautious path.

Nevertheless, a more serious approach towards elections and voting from the public and a elaborate security to both election campaign and IPL matches will be the need of the hour. These are testing times for both the public as well as the government.