Approval | SilverScorpio.Com

Carlyle Taiwan TV deal hits hurdle before deadline

April 3, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

TAIPEI, April 2 (Reuters) – Carlyle Group’s [CYL.UL] $1 billion deal to take a stake in mobile carrier Taiwan Mobile (3045.TW) has hit a regulatory hurdle and it was unclear if a June 30 completion deadline would be met, according to an official of the mobile firm.

Private Capital | Media | Telecommuncations Services

Under the deal, agreed last September, Carlyle will exchange its stake in Taiwan cable TV company Kbro for a 15.5 percent stake in Taiwan Mobile, while Taiwan Mobile will pay T$32.8 billion ($1 billion) via a share swap and cash. It will also assume T$24 billion of debt. [ID:nTP280376]

But the deal, which would create Taiwan’s largest pay TV operator, has run afoul of a law in Taiwan prohibiting state ownership of media bodies.

“It has suddenly become an issue that a company partially owned by the government cannot buy a media stake,” Josephine Juan, deputy spokeswoman at Taiwan Mobile, said on Friday.

“It is hard to say if we can close the deal before June,” she added. “We are still waiting for an approval from regulators.”

The problem has arisen because the city government of Taipei has an indirect interest in Taiwan Mobile via a stake in banking group Fubon Financial Holdings (2881.TW). Fubon’s controlling shareholder, the Tsai family, is Taiwan Mobile’s largest shareholder.

The broadcast regulator, the National Communications Commission (NCC), has proposed changing the law to allow for some indirect ownership. It could not be reached for immediate comment.

Carlyle declined to comment

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: approval, banking group, Broadcast Regulator, Cable Tv Company, Carlyle Group, City Government, communications, Communications Commission, completion, Completion Deadline, Indirect Interest, Kbro, last september, Media Bodies, National Communications, Pay Tv, Private Capital, Regulatory Hurdle, Share Swap, taiwan, Taiwan Tv, Telecommuncations, Tv Deal, Tv Operator, unclear

Congress – NCP to finalise seat-sharing formula on Saturday

September 19, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Sep 19 (ANI): The crucial meeting of the Congress Party and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leaders will be held here on Saturday to give the final shape to the seat sharing agreement for next month’s Maharashtra Assembly polls.

The Election Commission issued notification for the assembly polls in Maharashtra, which is to be held on October 13.

On Thursday it was reported that both parties had broadly agreed to a formula of 174: 114 seats for the Congress and the NCP respectively.

The Maharashtra Assembly has 298 constituencies.

Poll management leaders of both the Congress and the NCP met their respective party chiefs on Friday after three days of negotiations.

They had earlier held a series of discussions in Mumbai to give final shape to the seat sharing process.

If the current formula gets the stamp of approval of both parties then the NCP would settle for ten seats less than what it contested the last time.

Meanwhile the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) – Shiv Sena alliance settled on a seat sharing, for 119 for the BJP and 169 seats for Shiv Sena (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: agreement, alliance, ANI, approval, assembly, bharatiya, bharatiya janata party, bjp, commission, Congress, constituencies, Election, election commission, finalise, formula, Friday, Janata, last time, Maharashtra, Maharashtra Assembly, management, Management Leaders, meeting, met, month, Mumbai, nationalist congress party, NCP, negotiations, New Delhi, notification, October, party, Party Chiefs, poll, Poll Management, process, Saturday, seat, Sena, Sep, series, shape, shiv, Stamp, Stamp Of Approval, Thursday, time

Pak issues prohibited arms license to US security firm

September 19, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Islamabad, Sep.17 (ANI): Pakistani authorities have issued 86 licenses for prohibited weapons to a security company which has been hired by the US embassy in Islamabad.

Interior Ministry sources revealed that the licenses were issued to Inter Risk following Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani’s approval, The Daily Times reports.

According to a private television channel, the highly sophisticated weapons have been imported from the US and each of them cost about 800,000 rupees.

When enquired about the US embassy’s contract with the private security firm, a spokesman said it was no secret that the embassy had hired Inter Risk. He said the deal was finalized in April itself. (ANI)

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: ANI, approval, April, channel, company, contract, daily, deal, embassy, firm, gilani, Inter, Inter Risk, interior, Interior Ministry, Islamabad, minister, ministry, Ministry Sources, Pak, pakistani authorities, prime, Prime Minister, private security, private television, raza, risk, rupees, secret, security, security company, Security Firm, Sep, Sophisticated Weapons, spokesman, television, television channel, times, US, us embassy in islamabad, yousuf

Government approves amendments in ASA between India and Saudi Arabia

September 17, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Sep 17(ANI): The Government on Thursday gave its approval to the amendments in the Air Services Agreement (ASA) between India and Saudi Arabia.

In the MoU signed, the provision of the incorporation of ‘multiple designation clause’ has been agreed and, therefore, each side can now designate any number of airlines as they wish.

The capacity entitlement for the designated airline of each side has also been enhanced from the existing 8,500 seats per week with frequencies not exceeding 31 services to 20,000 seats per week with frequencies not exceeding 75 services per week.

Bangalore, Calicut and Lucknow have also granted additional points of call for the Saudi designated carriers apart from the existing Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Cochin and Hyderabad.

While, Medinah has been granted as additional point of call for India designated carrier apart from the existing Jeddah, Riyadh and Dammam.

The capacity to be operated by the Indian designated carriers to and from Dammam for which the Government of Saudi Arabia has declared an open sky policy, shall not be counted against the capacity entitlements available to the Indian carriers.

Both sides have also agreed for the open sky with regard to all cargo services with full third and fourth freedom traffic rights.

As per the summer schedule of 2009, Saudi Arab Airlines fly 39 services per week – 9 to Mumbai, 5 to Hyderabad, 7 to Delhi, 5 to Chennai, 4 to Kochi, 2 to Bangalore, 4 to Calicut and 3 to Lucknow.

Air India flies 46 services per week – 16 services per week to Riyadh, 14 to Jeddah and 16 to Damman. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: agreement, air, air india, airline, amendments, ANI, approval, Arab, asa, Bangalore, Calicut, call, capacity, cargo, Cargo Services, carrier, Chennai, clause, Cochin, dammam, Damman, Delhi, designation, entitlement, Freedom, Government, Government Of Saudi Arabia, Hyderabad, incorporation, India, Jeddah, kochi, Lucknow, Medinah, mou, Mumbai, mumbai delhi, New Delhi, number, Open Sky, point, policy, provision, regard, riyadh, Saudi Arab Airlines, Saudi Arabia, schedule, Sep, side, sky, summer, Thursday, traffic, Traffic Rights, week

Railway employees to receive bonus

September 17, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Sep 17 (ANI): The Union Cabinet today approved the proposal of the Ministry of Railways for payment of Productivity Linked Bonus (PLB) equivalent to 75 days’ wages for all eligible non-gazetted Railway employees.

The move will benefit 13.05 lakh employees and it will cost the xchequer Rs 889 crore

The salient features of the PLB scheme evolved as a result of review of the scheme and approval of the cabinet on September 23, 2000.

Railways were the first departmental undertaking of the Government of India wherein the concept of PLB was introduced. The main consideration at that time was the important role of the Railways as an infrastructural support in the performance of the economy as a whole.

In the overall context of Railway working, it was considered desirable to introduce the concept of PLB as against the concept of Bonus on the lines of ‘The Payment of Bonus Act – 1965′.

The PLB scheme for the Railways came into force from the year 1979-80 onwards and was evolved in consultation with the two recognised federations viz. All India Railwaymen’s Federation and National Federation of Indian Railwaymen and with the approval of the Cabinet. The scheme envisages a review every three years. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: act, ANI, approval, bonus, cabinet, concept, consideration, consultation, context, crore, departmental, economy, federation, force, Government, government of india, India, Indian, Infrastructural Support, lakh, linked, ministry, move, national, National Federation, New Delhi, payment, Payment Of Bonus Act 1965, performance, PLB, productivity, proposal, railway, railway employees, Railwaymen, railways, result, review, role, salient, salient features, scheme, Sep, September, support, time, today, undertaking, union, union cabinet, viz, wages, whole, xchequer, year

Kiwi chocolatier’s meat-flavoured chocs ‘a hit with men’!

September 17, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, Sept 17 (ANI): Meat-flavoured chocolate might not be everyone’s idea of a yummy treat, but a Kiwi chocolatier’s salami-tinged creation is proving to be a hit with men.

Brainchild of Hanna Frederick, the venison chocolate truffles are made from a blend of dark chocolate and ground-up salty dried meat.

Shaped like small sausages, the sweets have a salami aftertaste, she said.dmitting it was a weird combination, she said meat and chocolate went together “amazingly well”, reports The Telegraph.

“There’s this smoky taste to start, then a strong chocolate flavour comes in, and at the end you have this wonderful taste of salami,” she told the Australian Associated Press.

She said the snack, being served as a starter to 150 people at New Zealand’s Meat Industry Association conference, has proven a hit with men “who can’t get enough of it”, but admits women have been “quieter” in expressing approval.

“Women tend to love their chocolate more fruity, more feminine, and I guess meat doesn’t have that feel to it,” she said. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: aftertaste, ANI, approval, associated, association, australian, australian associated press, blend, brainchild, chocolate, Chocolate Truffles, chocolatier, combination, conference, creation, dark chocolate, end, everyone, flavour, fruity, guess, hanna, Hanna Frederick, idea, industry, kiwi, London, meat, Meat Industry Association, Meat-flavoured, New Zealand, press, quieter, salami, salty, Sausages, Sept, smoky, snack, starter, sweets, taste, Telegraph, treat, venison, Weird Combination, Women, yummy

Cabinet approves signing, ratification of BIMST Convention

September 10, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Sep 10(ANI): A Union Cabinet meeting on Thursday discussed topics, including the revamping of the National Rural Health Mission and approval for the signing and ratification of the BIMST (Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Thailand) Convention.

Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni said: “This convention will provide strong legal basis for cooperation among the law enforcement agencies of the BIMST member states. It will give a much needed thrust to the enforcement agencies of the BIMST member states which are Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Thailand.”

The proposal will be signed during the forthcoming BIMST Ministerial Conference.

On the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), Soni said: “The mission (National Rural Health Mission) now seeks to provide universal access to affordable and quality healthcare which is accountable and at the same time responsive to the needs of the people.”

She said the Government would launch an annual health survey in some states to provide feedback on the impact of schemes underthe NRHM on health indicators like Maternal Mortality Rates and Total Fertility Rates.

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in collaboration with the Registrar General of India, Ministry of Home Affairs will be conducting the survey and would compute the statistics, she added. (ANI)

Filed Under: Business News Tagged With: access, affairs, Ambika Soni, ANI, annual health, approval, Bangladesh, basis, BIMST, broadcasting, cabinet, Cabinet meeting, collaboration, conference, convention, cooperation, enforcement, family, feedback, fertility, Fertility Rates, general, Government, Health, Health Indicators, health survey, Healthcare, home, impact, India, India Ministry, information, law, law enforcement agencies, legal basis, maternal, Maternal Mortality Rates, meeting, member, Minister Ambika Soni, ministerial, ministerial conference, ministry, ministry of health, ministry of health and family welfare, ministry of home affairs, mission, mortality, Myanmar, national, national rural health, national rural health mission, New Delhi, nrhm, proposal, quality, quality healthcare, ratification, registrar, Registrar General Of India, revamping, rural, Sep, Sri Lanka, survey, Thailand, thrust, Thursday, time, total, underthe, union, union cabinet, welfare

Obama’s popularity in Europe still sky high

September 10, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, Sep 10(ANI): A survey has found US President Barack Obama’s popularity is gaining massive support in European Union countries.

The German Marshall Fund, which conducted a study, said that 77 per cent of European citizens support Obama’s handling of international affairs, while only 19 per cent found former President George W Bush doing the same.

It also revealed that 75 per cent of Europeans have confidence in Obama’s ability to combat terrorism and two thirds now have a favourable view of America.

“We see a remarkable shift in trans-Atlantic opinion from the previous administration,” The Telegraph quoted Craig Kennedy, the president of the German Marshall Fund, as saying.

“With American leadership enjoying unprecedented modern popularity, partners on both sides of the Atlantic have an immense opportunity to co-operate on a range of economic and security issues,” he added.

The poll also found a drastic change in the attitude of European citizens to American leaders, as Obama enjoys an approval rating of 92 per cent, compared with only 12 per cent for Bush.

The survey also covered Turkey, where anti-American sentiment has grown markedly in recent years. Obama is far less popular among Turks than among Europeans, but he still enjoys a 50 per cent approval rating compared with only eight per cent for Bush. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: ability, administration., america, american leaders, American Leadership, ANI, anti, anti american sentiment, approval, approval rating, atlantic, attitude, barack, Barack Obama, bush, cent, change, confidence, Craig Kennedy, drastic change, Europe, European, European Citizens, European Union Countries, europeans, former president, fund, george, George W Bush, German, German Marshall Fund, handling, Immense Opportunity, International Affairs, leadership, London, Marshall, massive support, Obama, opinion, opportunity, poll, popularity, president, President George W Bush., Previous Administration, range, rating, remarkable shift, security, sentiment, Sep, shift, sky, study, support, survey, Telegraph, terrorism, trans, trans atlantic, Turkey, union, US, view

Now, Berlusconi says most Italians want to be like him

September 8, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, Sept 8 (ANI): After describing himself as “Superman”, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has said: “Most Italians want to be like me.”

The controversial 72-year-old premier, who has repeatedly denied allegations of inappropriate relationships with young women, insisted during a television interview: “Most Italians would like to be like me and they support my behaviour.

“Italian aren’t stupid, as the Left thinks, and they prefer my government.

“Just look at the polls, we have an approval rating sailing towards 70 per cent”.

The premier’s personal life came under media glare after news of him attending birthday of Noemi Letizia, 18, a model, erupted, reports The Telegraph.

However, he has insisted that “nothing spicy” happened between him and Letizia.

He has also said he cannot remember the escort Patrizia D’Addario, 42, spending the night at his official Palazzo Grazioli residence in Rome.

Last week Berlusconi described himself as “Superman”.(ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: allegations, ANI, approval, approval rating, behaviour, birthday, cannot, cent, d addario, escort, glare, Government, Grazioli, Interview, italian, italian prime minister, italians, left, Letizia, life, London, model, NEWS, night, Noemi, nothing, official, Palazzo, palazzo grazioli, Patrizia D'Addario, personal life, polls, Premier, prime minister silvio, prime minister silvio berlusconi, rating, relationships, residence, Rome, sailing, Sept, silvio berlusconi, spicy, Superman, Telegraph, television, television interview, week, young women

Army, IGNOU sign MoU to give soldiers’ second career option

September 4, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Sep. 4 (ANI): A Memorandum of Understanding has been signed between Indian Army and Indira Gandhi National Open University to meet the twin objectives of empowering soldiers educationally and providing an opportunity for a second career option.

The MoU was signed by Lieutenant General Mukesh Sabharwal Adjutant General and IGNOU Vice Chancellor Professor VN Rajasekharan Pillai in the presence of Army Chief General Deepak Kapoor at South Block today.

The MoU seeks to confer educational certification to soldiers of the Indian Army, within the parameters laid down by IGNOU for Community Colleges, recognizing the ‘in-service’ training done by them; within the broad frame work set out by IGNOU.

IGNOU will register Regimental Training Centres/Human Resource Development Centres of the Indian Army and Army Schools of Instructions as ‘Community Colleges’.

The Army-IGNOU Community Colleges will function as autonomous bodies conducting examinations and their courses as before.

Credits from such approved courses will be transferred to the programme and will count towards the desired credits to be earned for an associate degree.

Certain credits are to be earned for a Graduation Degree which would be from approved elective courses offered by IGNOU or the Army to be undertaken after grant of an Associate Degree.

Approval of these courses with credit ratings would be accorded and reviewed by the ‘Army-IGNOU Academic Committee’ at regular intervals.

With the signing of the MOU with IGNOU leading towards award of academic diploma/associate degree and Graduation Degree to soldiers, a major step forward has been taken to empower the soldier to live a life of dignity and confidence after he leaves the service for a second career.

The project has been named as ‘Gyan Deep’ signifying knowledge. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: academic, academic committee, Academic Diploma, Adjutant, Adjutant General, ANI, approval, army, army chief, Army Schools, associate, Autonomous Bodies, award, career, career option, centres, certain, Certification, Chancellor, chancellor professor, Chief General Deepak Kapoor, committee, community, confidence, credit, credits, deepak kapoor, degree, Degree Approval, Development, dignity, diploma, Educational Certification, frame, gandhi, graduation, graduation degree, grant, Gyan, human, human resource development, Ignou, Indian, indian army, indira, Indira Gandhi, Indira Gandhi National Open University, Instructions, knowledge, lieutenant, lieutenant general, life, memorandum, memorandum of understanding, mou, Mukesh, national, New Delhi, open, opportunity, option, pillai, presence, professor, programme, project, Rajasekharan, Regimental, resource, Sabharwal, schools, Sep, service, sign, signing, soldier, South Block, step, the, today, training, Twin Objectives, understanding, University, vice, vice chancellor, work

Senior FBI agent says Gaddafi may have sanctioned Lockerbie bombing

September 4, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Jerusalem, Sep. 4 (ANI): A senior FBI agent has claimed that Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi must have personally okayed the 1988 Lockerbie bombing that killed 270 people.

Richard Marquise, an FBI veteran who led the US task force probing the December 1988 blast, said it is unthinkable that such a major terrorist attack in a regime like Libya could have been authorized without Gaddafi’s approval.

“If you were a senior minister, would you do this without telling the boss? I doubt it. I have to think [Gaddafi] knew something was going to happen, something that the US would be pissed about, and he said OK,” The Jerusalem Post quoted Marquise, as saying.

He said investigators had tried to pursue the chain of responsibility up through the Libyan hierarchy, but had been unable to muster the necessary evidence.

“We couldn’t make the connections… A lot of names came up… We had names of people in the Libyan hierarchy, buying radios, making inquiries about putting bombs in radios,” Marquise said.

The bomb that destroyed Pan Am 103 was hidden in a Toshiba radio cassette player.

“But there was no real overt act [that could serve as the basis for an indictment. It would have been nice to indict the entire Libyan regime, but our system wouldn’t allow for it. It would have been a real struggle to show Gaddafi and others in the chain,” he said.

Marquise said he was also convinced that Abdel Baset al-Megrahi, the former Libyan intelligence officer who is the only man ever convicted in the attack, was no “rogue” agent.

“It had been hoped that Megrahi would give us the whole story, and go up the chain. That didn’t happen. And Megrahi never talked. He did everything for his leader,” he said. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: Abdel Baset, act, Agent, al, ANI, approval, attack, basis, blast, bomb, bombing, bombs, boss, cassette, chain, Chain Of Responsibility, December, everything, evidence, fbi, fbi agent, force, gaddafi, hierarchy, indictment, intelligence, intelligence officer, Jerusalem, jerusalem post, leader, libya, Libyan Leader, lockerbie, lockerbie bombing, lot, man, Marquise, Megrahi, minister, Moammar, Necessary Evidence, officer, Overt Act, Pan, Pan Am 103, player, post, radio, Radio Cassette Player, Radios, regime, responsibility, Richard Marquise, rogue, Rogue Agent, Senior, senior minister, Sep, something, story, struggle, system, task, terrorist attack, Toshiba, US, Veteran

Iran’s ‘wanted’ defence minister warns Israel not to attack its N-facilities

September 4, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Jerusalem, Sep. 4 (ANI): Iran’s controversial new Defence Minister Ahmad Vahid has warned Israel not to attack the country’s nuclear facilities.

“Every move from the Zionist entity against Iran will be met with a harsh and powerful response from Iran,” The Jerusalem Post quoted him, Vahidi saying.

Vahidi also said that the overwhelming support he had garnered in the parliamentary vote on his appointment “attested to the anti-Zionist spirit of the Iranian parliament and people.”

Vahidi is a wanted by Interpol for masterminding the Buenos Aires Jewish centre bomb blast in 1994 that claimed 85 lives.

Buenos Aires has called General Vahidi’s inclusion in Ahmadinejad’s new Cabinet “an affront to Argentine justice and to the victims of the brutal terrorist attack”.

US President Barack Obama has termed Vahidi’s inclusion in the Cabinet as “disturbing”.

Vahidi gained support earlier this week when lawmakers said they would not bow to foreign pressures to reject him.

The chairman of the Iranian foreign policy committee, Alaeddin Boroujerdi, said the allegations “will not have any negative impact on the assessment” of General Vahidi’s suitability for the job.

“Rather, it may increase his vote,” he noted.

Ahmadinejad has faced questions about the experience and expertise of some of the choices for his 21-seat cabinet. But on Thursday, he managed to win approval for many key posts that included the foreign, interior, intelligence ministries and Ahmad Vahidi as defense minister.

The parliament also backed Marzieh Vahid Dastjerdi as health minister, making her the Islamic republic’s first female minister since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: (Iran, Affront, Ahmad Vahidi, Ahmadinejad, Alaeddin, alaeddin boroujerdi, ANI, anti, appointment, approval, Argentine, assessment, attack, barack, Barack Obama, blast, bomb, bomb blast, Boroujerdi, Buenos Aires, cabinet, centre, chairman, committee, country, Dastjerdi, defence, Defence Minister, defense, defense minister, entity, experience, expertise, Female Minister, General Vahidi, Health, Health Minister, impact, inclusion, intelligence, Interpol, iranian parliament, Islamic, islamic revolution, Israel, Jerusalem, jerusalem post, jewish centre, job, justice, Marzieh, masterminding, minister, Minister Ahmad Vahid, move, New Cabinet, nuclear facilities, Obama, Overwhelming Support, parliament, Parliamentary Vote, policy, post, president, republic, response, revolution, seat, Sep, spirit, suitability, support, Thursday, US, Vahid, vote, week, Zionist, Zionist Entity

NASA’s Orion spacecraft passes significant design milestone

September 2, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, Sept 2 (ANI): NASA’s Orion spacecraft has passed a significant design milestone by completing the Orion Project’s preliminary design review (PDR), and thus taking a major step toward building the next crew exploration vehicle.

Orion is being designed to carry astronauts to the International Space Station and other destinations.

The preliminary design review is one of a series of checkpoints that occurs in the design life cycle of a complex engineering project before hardware manufacturing can begin.

As the review process progresses, details of the vehicle’s design are assessed to ensure the overall system is safe and reliable for flight and meets all NASA mission requirements.

The Orion features a capsule-shaped crew module designed for maximum crew operability and safety, a service module housing utility systems and propulsion components and a launch abort system for improved astronaut safety.

The preliminary design review evaluated the vehicle’s capability, as currently designed, to support three types of missions: flights to the International Space Station (ISS), weeklong missions to the moon and missions to the moon for up to 210 days.

“This is the successful culmination of all of the design trade studies and activities to date,” said Mark Geyer, manager of the Orion Project Office at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

“As a project, a program and an agency, we are reviewing the design maturity, strategy and plans for NASA’s next human spacecraft and agreeing that this is the architecture we are going to build,” he added.

Teams representing each subsystem of Orion conducted focused reviews from February to July before proceeding to the overall vehicle-level review.

The preliminary design review lasted about two months and included reviewers from all 10 NASA field centers to evaluate the hundreds of design products delivered by the Lockheed Martin-led industry partnership.

According to Cleon Lacefield, vice president and Orion project manager at Lockheed Martin in Denver, “To date, we have completed more than 300 technical reviews, 100 peer reviews and 18 subsystem design reviews.”

The PDR process culminated with a review board that concluded on August 31 and established the basis for proceeding to the critical design phase of Orion.

NASA will continue the review process with an independent agency-level evaluation to validate the PDR results and gain formal approval to transition the project into the next life cycle phase. (ANI)

Filed Under: Science News Tagged With: abort, agency, ANI, approval, architecture, astronaut, August, basis, board, capability, center, Cleon, complex engineering, crew, Crew Exploration Vehicle, Crew Exploration Vehicle Orion, culmination, cycle, date, Denver, design, engineering, evaluation, exploration, February, field, flight, hardware, housing, houston, Human Spacecraft, industry, Industry Partnership, international, international space station, ISS, johnson, johnson space center, July, Lacefield, launch, life, Lockheed, lockheed martin, manager, manufacturing, Mark Geyer, Martin, Martin-led, maturity, maximum, milestone, mission, missions to the moon, module, moon, NASA, Nasa Field Centers, Nasa Mission Requirements, office, operability, ORION, Orion Project, orion spacecraft, partnership, PDR, phase, Preliminary Design Review, president, process, program, project, Propulsion, Propulsion Components, review, safety, Sept, series, service, space station, space station iss, spacecraft, step, strategy, subsystem, system, trade, transition, utility, validate, vehicle, vice, Vice Pres, Washington

George Clooney to marry his Italian girlfriend?

September 1, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, Aug 31 (ANI): George Clooney may soon walk down the aisle with his Italian girlfriend, Elisabetta Canalis.

According to sources, the actor has asked his lover to move into his main home Studio City pad in LA.

“George has really fallen for Eli and wants her back with him in LA on a permanent basis,” the Daily Express quoted a source as saying.

The insider added: “It’s obviously a big step, particularly as George has been such a free spirit for so long. But it seems she really could be the one for him. Whether she goes along with the idea remains to be seen.”

Canalis is already known to have become a near-permanent resident at his Lake Como home.

She is said to have given her approval to his new abode on the Adriatic.

Clooney parted ways with his ex-girlfriend, Sarah Larson, last year. (ANI)

Filed Under: Entertainment News Tagged With: abode, Actor, adriatic, aisle, ANI, approval, Aug, basis, Canalis, city, daily, daily express, Eli, elisabetta, Elisabetta Canalis, ex-girlfriend, Express, Free Spirit, george, george clooney, girlfriend, girlfriend sarah, home, idea, insider, Lake Como, London, lover, pad, Permanent Resident, resident, Sarah Larson, source, spirit, step, studio, year

Reservation for students in National Institute of Technology in Tripura

August 27, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Aug 27 (ANI): The Union Cabinet today approved the implementation of reservation for students belonging to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes to the National Institute of Technology in Jirania in Tripura.

The Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admission) Act, 2006 (CEI Act, 2006) was notified on January 4, 2007. Section 3 of the CEI Act, 2006 provides for reservation of seats in Central Educational Institutions, according to which, 15 per cent seats are reserved for the SC 7.5 per cent for the ST and 27 per cent for the OBC.

Section 4 (a) of the CEI Act, 2006 provides that the provisions of Section 3 of the Act shall not apply to a Central Educational Institution established in the tribal areas referred to in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution of India.

The National Institute of Technology (NIT) located at Jirania in the Tripura Tribal Area Autonomous District Council, Agartala was unable to extend the benefit of reservation to students belonging to OBC category in view of the non-applicability of the CEI Act, under Section 4 (a).

Several writ petitions were filed in Guwahati High Court, Agartala and High Court, New Delhi challenging applicability of reservation of the SCs and STs in NIT, Agartala while not extending the benefit of reservation to OBCs.

There was a popular demand from political parties and public representatives that the benefits of reservation for OBC should be extended to NIT Agartala in view of the substantial population of OBCs in the State.

A notification was issued with the approval of the President under Paragraph 12AA(c) of the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution of India on 13.7.2009 to the effect that provisions of Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admission) Act shall apply to Jirania in the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council in respect of Central Educational Institutions situated therein namely NIT, Agartala subject to modifications of Section 3, 4 and 6 of the CEI Act, 2006.

It benefits Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other socially and educationally Backward Classes of students. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: act, admission, agartala, ANI, applicability, approval, area, Aug, autonomous, Autonomous District, backward, benefit, cabinet, castes, category, CEI, cent, Central Educational, constitution, constitution of india, Council, Court, demand, district, educational institution, educational institutions, effect, Guwahati, High, implementation, India, institute, institute of technology, institution, January, january 4, Jirania, national, National Institute Of Technology, New Delhi, nit, notification, obc, OBCs, Other, paragraph, political parties, population, president, Public Representatives, reservation, respect, schedule, scheduled, SCS, section, section 3, sixth, state, STs, Technology, today, Tribal, tribal area, tribal areas, Tribes, tripura, union, union cabinet, view, writ, writ petitions

Indian expedition to Antarctica approved

August 27, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Aug 27 (ANI): The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) today accorded its approval for the continuation of the project “Polar Science; Expedition to Antarctica” during the XI Five Year Plan period at an estimated cost of Rs.230.01 crore.

The scientific expeditions which started in 1981 have contributed substantially to the growth of polar science in the country.

Experiments mounted by Indian scientists in disciplines such as atmospheric sciences and meteorology, earth sciences and glaciology, biology and environmental sciences have also contributed directly to global experiments mounted under the aegis of the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR).

The Indian Antarctic research base “Maitri” (70o 45′ 56.9″S : 11o 44′ 08.62″E) is one of the few active permanent research stations in the Central Donning Maudland (CDML) of East Antarctica from where systematic scientific experiments are conducted on a year-round basis.

The facilities available at this research base include a weather observatory, geomagnetic station; a permanent seismological observatory, GPS station, ice-core drilling facilities and laboratories for environmental, human health and communication research.

The entire activities related to the planning, coordination and implementation of the Indian Antarctic Programme is managed by the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) through the National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research (NCAOR), Goa, an autonomous institute under the Ministry, established in 1998.

The objectives of this Programme are to continue the long-term scientific pursuits undertaken to understand the global processes and phenomena some of which are directly pertinent to our needs having potential applications.

The continuation emphasizes our perceptible and influential presence in Antarctica to uphold the country’s strategic interests in the Polar region and the surrounding oceans. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: aegis, ANI, antarctic, antarctica, approval, Aug, autonomous institute, base, basis, biology, cabinet, cabinet committee, ccea, CDML, Central Donning, centre, committee, communication, communication research, continuation, coordination, core drilling, cost, country, crore, drilling, Earth, earth sciences, East Antarctica, economic, expedition, glaciology, Global Experiments, Global Processes, Goa, gps, growth, Health, ice-core, implementation, Indian, Indian Expedition, Indian Scientists, institute, Maitri, Maudland, meteorology, ministry, MoES, national, NCAOR, New Delhi, observatory, ocean, ocean research, period, plan, plan period, planning, polar, Polar Region, Polar Science, presence, programme, project, region, Research, scar, Science, Science Expedition, scientific, scientific experiments, Seismological Observatory, station, today, weather, Weather Observatory, year

Minorities Development Finance Corporation to have 1000 crores share capital

August 27, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Aug 27 (ANI): The Union Cabinet today accorded approval for increasing the authorized share capital of the National Minorities Development Finance Corporation (NMDFC) from Rs.850 crores to Rs.1000 crores.

The share of the Government of India, the State Governments and individuals/institutions will be Rs.650 crores Rs.260 crores and Rs.90 crores respectively.

The NMDFC is a not for profit company, registered under Section 25 of the Companies’ Act with share contribution from the Government of India (65 per cent), the State Governments (26 per cent) and individuals/institutions (9 per cent).

It provides financial assistance to people belonging to minorities living below double the poverty line for self-employment.

The NMDFC is greatly dependent on Central equity contribution. The enhanced authorised share capital will enable the Central Government release its full budgetary provision of Rs.125 crores towards equity of NMDFC in 2009-10.

The equity contribution from the Government of India, together with contribution from the State Governments and individuals/institutions and also the recovery of loans from beneficiaries will be spent for providing term loans and micro finance through State Channelizing Agencies (SCAs) and for providing micro finance through NGOs.

The NMDFC also provides educational loans and has promotional schemes like vocational training.

NMDFC’s schemes are targeted for economic upliftment of people from minority communities living below double the poverty line through self employment.

The budgetary provision of Rs.125 crores will be released to the NMDFC by way of equity contribution of the Central Government during 2009-10.

As per the Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of India and the NMDFC, 66,000 beneficiaries are to be covered during 2009-10.

NMDFC’s schemes envisage to cover minority communities in the entire country through State Channelizing Agencies and NGOs.

As on March 31, the NMDFC has disbursed an amount of Rs.1190.84 crores covering 4,34,329 beneficiaries belonging to the minority communities through their term loan and micro finance schemes. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: act, amount, ANI, approval, assistance, Aug, authorised share capital, Budgetary Provision, cabinet, capital, cent, Central Equity, Central Government, Channelizing, company, contribution, corporation, country, crores, Development, development finance corporation, economic upliftment, educational loans, employment, envisage, equity, Equity Contribution, finance, government of india, India, line, loan, March, memorandum, memorandum of understanding, micro finance, minorities, minority, minority communities, national, national minorities, New Delhi, ngos, NMDFC, poverty, poverty line, profit, provision, recovery, release, Rs 125, rs 90, SCAs, section, self, self-employment, share, state, state governments, term, Term Loans, today, training, understanding, union, union cabinet, upliftment, vocational, way

Polio eradication strategy approved

August 20, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Aug 20 (ANI): The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs today gave its approval for implementation of the polio eradication strategy with an estimated expenditure at Rs.3203.98 crore for the year 2009-2010 to 2011-12.

The main objective of the project is to achieve the goal of zero transmission of polio and obtaining international polio free certification for accomplishment of this goal.

The annual strategy for polio eradication is decided on the basis of the recommendations of the India Expert Advisory Group (IEAG) consisting of national and international experts.

The IEAG has recommended a total of six National Immunization Day (NIDs), Nine Sub National Immunization Day (SNIDs) and forty Mop Up rounds for the period 2009-10 to 2011-12.

Pulse Polio Immunization (PPI) was started in India in 1995-96. This is the largest public health intervention ever taken up anywhere in the world.

The estimated number of children aged between 0-5 years to be vaccinated in a National Immunization Day is around 172 million.

Sub National Immunization Day, in the high risk states/areas will cover about 69 million children between 0-5 years.

Mop Up immunization round will be undertaken in the districts and in the surrounding areas, where polio cases will be reported, covering about 7.5 million target population. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: accomplishment, Advisory, affairs, ANI, approval, Aug, basis, cabinet, cabinet committee, Certification, committee, crore, day, economic, economic affairs, eradication, expenditure, expert, Expert Advisory Group, forty, Goal, group, Health, high-risk, IEAG, immunization, implementation, India, international experts, intervention, main objective, MOP, Mop Up, national, national immunization day, New Delhi, NIDs, number, objective, period, polio, polio cases, Polio Eradication, Polio Immunization, population, PPI, project, Public Health Intervention, pulse, Pulse Polio, risk, round, SNIDs, strategy, Sub, target, Target Population, today, total, transmission, world, year

AYUSH to be integrated with mainstream health services

August 13, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Aug 13 (ANI): The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) today approved the continuation of the Centrally Sponsored Scheme for AYUSH Hospitals and Dispensaries.

This was introduced during the 10th Five Year Plan with certain modifications for supporting the mainstreaming of AYUSH under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) at a total expenditure of Rs.650 crore.

The basic objectives of the scheme are to encourage the opening of general and specialized AYUSH treatment centers in allopathic hospitals with a view to integrate AYUSH health services with mainstream health services in the country, and to provide assistance to the State Government for the procurement and supply of essential drugs to AYUSH hospitals and dispensaries.

The scheme envisages provisions of the preventive, promotive and curative healthcare covering Ayurveda, yoga and naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Hemoeopathy all over country.

Under the scheme grants-in-aid will be provided to the State / Union Territory Governments for the following activities:

(i) Establishment of System Specific Outdoor Treatment Centres in the Primary Health Centres (PHCs).

(ii) Establishment of AYUSH Specialized Therapy Centre with Hospitalization Facilities in the Community Health Centres (CHCs) with IPD facilities.

(iii) Setting up of AYUSH Wings in Districts Hospitals (DHs)

(iv) Supply of Essential Drugs to Hospitals and Dispensaries.

(v) Upgradation of AYUSH Hospitals / dispensaries other than PHCs/CHC/DHs at the District/Sub-district level.

(vi) Setting up of Specialized AYUSH facilities in Government Tertiary Care AYUSH Hospitals with Public Private Partnership (PPP).

(vii) Providing Managerial assistance at the Central/State levels and other facilities to support the mainstreaming of AYUSH under NRHM.

The approval will facilitate the mainstreaming of AYUSH under the National Rural Health Mission by ensuring AYUSH services and quality drugs to the people in the rural areas.

It will also facilitate the revitalization of traditional systems of medicines at all levels.

The modified scheme will be implemented during the remaining three years of 11th Plan that is 2009-10 to 2011-12.

The scheme will facilitate the revitalization of the AYUSH sector, widen choice of people in availing quality health care and medicines.

It will strengthen AYUSH infrastructure and employment for medical practitioners.

The scheme will provide AYUSH health care facilities to the people at large and will be implemented in all the State/Union Territories of the country. (ANI)

Filed Under: Health News Tagged With: ANI, approval, assistance, Aug, ayurveda, Ayush, cabinet, cabinet committee, care, ccea, central, centrally, centre, centres, CHC, CHCs, choice, committee, community, community health centres, continuation, country, crore, DHS, dispensaries, district, districts, economic, economic affairs, employment, essential, establishment, expenditure, Government, Health, Healthcare, Hemoeopathy, hospitalization, III, Infrastructure, IPD, level, mainstream, Mainstream Health Services, Mainstreaming, managerial, Managerial Assistance, mission, national, national rural health, national rural health mission, naturopathy, New Delhi, nrhm, opening, outdoor, partnership, phcs, plan, ppp, primary health, Private, procurement, Promotive, providing, Public, public private partnership, quality, Quality Drugs, revitalization, rural, scheme, sector, siddha, specialized, sponsored, state, Sub-district, supply, system, territory, Territory Governments, Tertiary, tertiary care, therapy, today, treatment, unani, union, union territory, upgradation, view, VII, wings, year, yoga

Delhi Police scheme for modernisation of traffic and communication network approved

August 13, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Aug 13 (ANI): The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs today gave its approval for implementation of the scheme of developing Traffic And Communication Network in NCR/mega cities and Model Traffic System of Delhi Police in the 11th Five Year Plan with an allocation of Rs.200 crore.

The main objective of the scheme is to develop state-of-the-art Traffic and Communication Network in NCR in view of forthcoming Commonwealth Games – 2010 and the tremendous increase in traffic to and from satellite towns around Delhi, and in the city.

The scheme envisages procurement and installation of intelligent transport systems for guidance of road users as well as to ensure safe and smooth movement of traffic.

With the implementation of the scheme, motorists/travellers will benefit from increased safety, better information, greater comfort and reduced travel time.

The scheme would help network and fleet operators offer a better and more efficient service.

The scheme can assist city authorities in implementing the policies and measures necessary to ensure a sustainable transport system.

This project has been taken up as a part of the ongoing modernization programme of Delhi Police.

An integrated data communication network is proposed to be used for convergent services.

Apart from the ITS scheme, the network will be shared by other key applications of Delhi Police.

In the first phase of the scheme, 87 roads covering approximately 210 km of road length and approx.220 signalized intersections will be covered.

In the subsequent phase, the scheme would broadly take into account a road length of about 30000 kms, around 500 signalized intersections as well as intersections which are not presently signalized.

Similarly, the future scheme/plan will also factor in the infrastructure projects as well as operational plans of the various stakeholders.

The present scheme would be designed on an open platform basis to facilitate future compatibility between the other related systems.

Scope for integration within NCT of Delhi in the second phase and within NCR in the third phase would be ensured. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: account, affairs, allocation, ANI, approval, approx, Aug, basis, cabinet, cabinet committee, city, city authorities, comfort, committee, commonwealth, commonwealth games 2010, communication, compatibility, convergent, Convergent Services, crore, data, Data Communication Network, Delhi, Delhi Police, economic, fleet, Fleet Operators, guidance, implementation, increase, information, Infrastructure, installation, integrated data, integration, Intelligent Transport Systems, Its, length, main objective, mega cities, model, Model Traffic, modernisation, modernization, movement, NCR, nct, network, New Delhi, objective, Open Platform, operational plans, part, phase, plan, platform, Platform Basis, police, procurement, programme, project, road, rs 200, safety, satellite, Satellite Towns, scheme, scope, service, Signalized Intersections, smooth movement, Sustainable Transport System, system, time, today, traffic, transport, travel, view, year

Congress – NCP to finalise seat-sharing formula on Saturday

Pak issues prohibited arms license to US security firm

Government approves amendments in ASA between India and Saudi Arabia

Railway employees to receive bonus

Kiwi chocolatier’s meat-flavoured chocs ‘a hit with men’!

Cabinet approves signing, ratification of BIMST Convention

Obama’s popularity in Europe still sky high

Now, Berlusconi says most Italians want to be like him

Army, IGNOU sign MoU to give soldiers’ second career option

Senior FBI agent says Gaddafi may have sanctioned Lockerbie bombing

Iran’s ‘wanted’ defence minister warns Israel not to attack its N-facilities

NASA’s Orion spacecraft passes significant design milestone

George Clooney to marry his Italian girlfriend?

Reservation for students in National Institute of Technology in Tripura

Indian expedition to Antarctica approved

AYUSH to be integrated with mainstream health services

Delhi Police scheme for modernisation of traffic and communication network approved

Search More News

Technology News

Ads