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POSCO-India denies rumours of shifting its 12bn dollars project from Orissa

August 27, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Bhubaneshwar, Aug.27 (ANI): The world’s fourth largest steel producer POSCO has denied reports of plans to shift the 12 billion dollars steel project, India’s largest foreign direct investment, from Orissa state.

Chairman of POSCO-India, Dong Hee Lee called on Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday to allay fears that the company had plans to shift its steel project from the State.

Dong-He Lee during his meet with Naveen Patnaik in Bhubaneswar said the company would commence the construction very soon.

“We have very constructive, productive meeting with the Chief Minister on our mega project. I understand there are some rumours Posco has changed the original schedule, but we never changed that one. So we confirmed our original plans and we will start our construction very soon,” Dong-He Lee said.

The project is already running behind its schedule but Dong-He Lee said, the company planned to sort out any legal snags hitting the mega project by the end of 2009 and also had plans to begin ground levelling work from early next year.

“I think, we almost solved the problem already so there are no other barriers to start our construction quite soon. By the end of this year we would like to solve any kind of legal barriers and by early next year we will start the levelling of the land,” said Lee.

The project had run into trouble after local residents protested plans to compulsorily buy their land for the plant, which they say could displace about 20,000 people. (ANI)

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Aban Offshore | Aban Offshore bags 3371 Crore Rig Deployment Deals

August 26, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Aban Offshore | Aban Offshore bags 3371 Crore Rig Deployment Deals

Oil exploration services provider Aban Offshore today said it has secured two deals worth Rs 3,371 crore for supplying rigs.

The company has signed a contract worth $603 million (Rs 2,925 crore) for the deployment of three newly build jack-up rigs (from the deep driller series) in the Middle East, Aban Offshore said in statement to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).

The company is expects to earn a revenue of about $92 million (Rs 446 crore) from this contract, it said.

The deployment period of rigs is for three years each, it added.

The firm has also entered into a deal for the deployment of a new build jack-up rig in Latin America for a period of 25.5 months.

The deployment of rigs in both the deals is likely to commence in the third quarter of 2009, the offshore services provider said.

However, the company did not disclose the identity of parties with whom it has entered into the deals.

Shares of Aban Offshore today closed at Rs 1,210.45 down 0.47 per cent from its previous close on the BSE.

- Business Standard.

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akistan blames India for delaying Mumbai attack probe

July 12, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Islamabad, July 12 (ANI): Rejecting the notion that it is not sincere in conducting its investigations into the Mumbai attack, Pakistan has blamed India for the delay in the probe.

Addressing a press conference here, the Prime Minister’s Advisor on Interior Affairs, Rehman Malik, said the trial of the Mumbai attack suspects would commence from July 18.

Malik claimed that the delay into the investigations was on the part of India, and that Islamabad has completed the probe much faster than New Delhi.

“India took 90 days to complete the investigations and submit a challan, while Pakistan submitted it just in 76 days,” he said.

Malik said every possible step was taken to ensure a fair and extensive probe, and added that Pakistani agencies left no stone unturned in the probe.

“Pakistani intelligence agencies worked hard to dig out the case and collect evidences and now no one could say that Pakistan was not conducting the investigations seriously,”he Nation quoted Malik, as saying.

He added that further investigations would continue.

Malik said five accused have been arrested so far while 13 others have been declared proclaimed offenders.

The arrested accused included Zakiur Rehman, the mastermind of the attack, Hamid min, Mazhar Iqbal, facilitators, Abdul Wajid, facilitator and an expert of computer network, and Shahid Jamil Riaz.

Commenting on the Samjhauta Express blast, Malik said the probe into that incident is as important as the November 2008 Mumbai terror attack, as a large number of Pakistani civilians were killed in it.

India has reacted strongly to Pakistan’s accusations.

Junior Foreign Minister Preneet Kaur rejected Islamabad’s charge that New Delhi has delayed in providing information.

“This is totally untrue and we (Indian authorities) have produced whatever we had,” Preneet Kaur told reporters in New Delhi.

“In fact even on the Samjhauta Express, the people who masterminded it were from Karachi and we have told that to them. They are sending us a dossier this evening, once it arrives our government will look at it and examine it,” she added. (ANI)

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Solar eclipse popularises astro-tourism in India

July 10, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New Delhi, July 9 (ANI): After space tourism, it is astro-tourism that is catching up people’s fancy, courtesy the ensuing total solar eclipse.

Air charter and tourist operators in India are receiving an overwhelming response for chartered flights to view total solar eclipse of longest duration in 21st century.

All set to take place on July 22, the eclipse holds special interest for scientists and general public as its path of totality passes through thickly populated western, central, eastern and northeastern regions of India.

Cox and Kings, a travel agency claims that both amateur astronomers and others are booking for the Boeing-737 that they have hired for the two-hour journey from Delhi to Gaya in Bihar to watch the rare total solar eclipse.

Each ticket is priced at rupees 79,000 (around 1,618 dollars).

“Well, we have got very strong response. The airline that we are flying has 21 seats facing the sun and 21 more window seats, which are facing away from the sun, facing the earth. We call them the ‘sun side seats’ and the ‘earth side seats’. The sun side seats, which will have direct view of the eclipse, cost about 79,000 rupees. We are actually getting very strong response form the amateur astronomy circles in India, from the corporate world and a wide variety of audience,” said Nikhil Pawar, Scientific Officer, Space Technology and Education Private Limited, Mumbai.

On July 22, the moon will totally eclipse the sun after a decade. The next total solar eclipse will take place again only in 2034.

People on board these chartered flights can watch the eclipse for almost 10 times more than those on ground. And, there are reasons attributed to such a phenomenon.

“Theoretically the totality (of the eclipse) can be only 7 minutes 30 seconds. So that is the maximum you can get, if you are stationed at one place and during that period, by chasing the moon shadow they (people in airplanes) increase the time to 74 minutes that means almost ten times than the theoretically maximum possible,” Piyush Pandey, Director, Nehru Planetarium, Mumbai.

Meanwhile, hotel owners in Patna are preparing to welcome the rush of astro-tourist guests expected to halt here.

“The solar eclipse on the 22nd can be seen from Bihar. The tourists will come on the 21st and 12 rooms have been booked for them in our hotel,” said Vinay Pandey, owner Hotel Republic, Patna.

In India, the eclipse will commence soon after sunrise.

Surat and Vadodra in Gujarat, Indore and Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh apart from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh and Patna in Bihar are stated to be the ideal locations for good views of the total solar eclipse.

It provides a rare opportunity to view and study this grand spectacle of nature. The partial phase of the eclipse will be visible throughout the country.

Astro-tourism comes as a surprise in a country where people for ages have been considering eclipses especially solar eclipses as bad omen.

The belief that the sun is at the mercy of two evil planets, Rahu and Ketu causing the eclipse, still prevails among a large section of people despite propagation of scientific temper among the masses. (ANI)

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India, Japan agree to fast track work on freight, industrial corridors

July 3, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Tokyo, July 3 (ANI): India and Japan on Friday agreed to take steps to fast track work on the Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) and the Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor Project.

The decision was announced at a joint press conference by the Foreign Ministers of the two countries-Hirofumi Nakasone and S.M. Krishna-after the conclusion of the two-day Third Japan-India Strategic Dialogue here.

Foreign Minister Nakasone also confirmed bilateral collaboration on the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Hyderabad.

On the issue of disarmament and non-proliferation, the Japanese Minister revealed that he had shared Tokyo’s ’11 benchmarks’ for promoting the same, and added that Krishna and he had agreed that both countries should work together to commence negotiations on the Fissile Material Cut-Off Treaty (FMCT) at the earliest.

It was also agreed that there was a need to enhance bilateral exchange of views between Japan and India, on the regional situation in South Asia, international challenges and regional situations.

Both ministers shared the view that the nuclear and missile development by North Korea is a threat to the international community, and that there was a need to implement the measures set out in the UN Security resolution 1874 and make North Korea to take this very seriously.

Endorsing the views of Nakasone, Krishna said New Delhi attached high importance to its bilateral relations with Tokyo.

“We thoroughly reviewed our bilateral relations since my Prime Minister’s visit to Tokyo in October 2008. We agreed that the Strategic and Global Partnership between us is an important factor in furthering our ties, as well as in promoting peace, stability and prosperity in Asia and the world,” said Krishna.

“We are making progress in our negotiations on a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement. Foreign Minister Nakasone and I agreed on the necessity of concluding a high quality and mutually beneficial agreement,” he added.

Krishna also revealed that Japan’s Official Development Assistance to India was reviewed and New Delhi appreciated Tokyo’s contribution to “our economic development”.

He also said that both ministers reviewed the follow-up on the implementation of the Joint Declaration on Security Cooperation.

Other issues taken up were UN reform and the important global challenge of climate change.

Krishna said that he would be calling on Prime Minister Taro Aso before returning to New Delhi. (ANI)

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Tight security for Jagannath yatra in Gujarat

June 23, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Ahmedabad, June 23 (ANI): Gujarat police has said that they were taking all precautions ahead of the Lord Jagannath Rath Yatra, which commence on Wednesday.

Security forces staged a flag march in the city on Monday.

Police have planned foolproof security on the entire 14-kilometer route of the procession and particularly in the sensitive areas of the city.

“We are taking the inputs on Gujarat very seriously. We have done detailed investigations regarding those inputs and we are taking all the precautions required,” said S S Khandwawala, director general of police.

Various CCTVs have been installed at strategic places to monitor the crowd. uring the procession, the idols of Lord Jagannatha, Balabhadra and Goddess Subhadra, the deities of the Sri Mandira, are taken out.

Thousands of devotees pull the chariots with the idols from the Jagannath Temple to the Gundicha Temple. For seven days, the deities stay at the Gundicha Temple and then return. (ANI)

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Kashmir gears up for annual Amaranth pilgrimage

May 11, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Srinagar, May 11 (ANI): The preparations for the upcoming Amaranth pilgrimage in Kashmir have begun.

The government with the help of the army has started the construction of road for the pilgrims to reach Pahalgam, the pilgrimage base camp.

The state authorities of Jammu and Kashmir have initiated massive drive to upgrade the roads leading to the holy cave of Amarnath in order to reduce the hardships the pilgrims face while undertaking the pilgrimage.

“When the pilgrimage used to commence earlier, the pilgrims faced a lot of problems. The traffic could only move one way. Now, we are happy with the government and the army, since they have started the work (road laying) very quickly. Now it will be easy for the pilgrims and the tourists to come and go till Pahalgam,” said Tariq, a resident.

The pilgrimage to the shrine of Amarnath, which attracts nearly 350,000 pilgrims annually, will commence in June from Pahalgam.

The work on these roads had to be halted for some time due to unfavourable weather conditions few months ago.

However, the authorities claim that most of the road will be ready before the pilgrimage starts in the month of June.

“The project cost of construction of road is 110 crores. The expenditure so far has been 99 crore. Looking at the expenditure incurred so far, the work is being completed. Our target date is June 30,” said Mehraj-U-Din, assistant engineer roads and buildings, Jammu and Kashmir Government.

Amaranth stands at a height of nearly 12,500 feet above sea level, 141 kilometers from Srinagar. The base camp for the pilgrimage, Pahalgam, is 96 kilometers south of Srinagar.

A number of pilgrims ride on ponies up the arduous route and for the pony owners this comes as an annual bonanza. (ANI)

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Canadian Commons committee asks Indian origin MP’s nannies to testify

May 8, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Ottawa (Canada), May 8 (ANI): A Tory-led immigration panel has said that it would like to hear the version of Filipino immigrants who were allegedly mistreated by Indian-origin Liberal Party MP Ruby Dhalla.

The Two caregivers, who have found employment elsewhere, have charged Dhalla with mistreating them while in the employ of the family. They have now been asked to appear before a Commons committee next week and testify.

“The immigration committee is going to be studying the topic of migrant workers,” the Globe and Mail quoted Conservative MP David Tilson, the committee’s chairman, as telling reporters Thursday afternoon.

“We’ll certainly be inviting those particular nannies to come and talk about their experiences,” Tilson added.

Dhalla, who has been in seclusion since the allegations of her family’s former caregivers were made public, will also be asked to testify, Tilson said.

He also said that Ontario provincial Labour Minister Peter Fonseca and Education Minister Kathleen Wynne, who failed to act on the allegations they first heard at a meeting in Toronto on April 25, might be called.

The maids claim that Dhalla and her family had hired them under the federal Live-in Caregiver program for foreign workers to care for the MP’s mother. They say they were paid 250 Canadian dollars a week for 16-hours of household chores – from shining shoes to shovelling snow – and cleaning the family’s chiropractic clinics.

One, Magdalene Gordo, 31, compared the job with slavery; the other, Richelyn Tongson, 37, said Dhalla withheld her passport for weeks. A third unnamed woman came forward with similar allegations in a Toronto newspaper yesterday.

Few of Dhalla’s Liberal colleagues have jumped to her defence as the allegations dominated chatter in the corridors of Parliament.

The scandal threatens to knock some of the wind out of the sails of a party.

Dhalla did not talk to reporters yesterday, but released a statement saying she would ask the Commons Ethics Commissioner to investigate the allegations against her.

“I take these allegations very seriously, and believe that a transparent, third-party evaluation of the facts is required to clear my name. I have requested the Ethics Commissioner to commence a review to ensure that this matter is resolved in a fair and objective manner,” she said in a release.

The office of Ethics Commissioner Mary Dawson acknowledged that Dhalla’s request had been received, but it was unclear what, if any, jurisdiction she had to look into the matter. (ANI)

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Now, ‘Really Goode Job’ for wine lovers

May 2, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

San Francisco, Apr 30 (ANI): Inspired by the publicity campaign of Queensland Tourism, an American winemaker is offering a dream job with a salary 10,000-dollar-a-month for six months to drink wine, learn and talk about wine, eat good food and live rent free.

According to the Murphy-Goode winemaker Dave Ready Jr., the ideal candidate should have an engaging personality, should be a wine-lover and an expert at tweeting, blogging, and keeping photo and video diaries.

The ‘Really Goode Job’ with Murphy-Goode Winery in Sonoma County, as ‘Wine Country correspondent’, is expected to attract 10,000 applications.

Hundreds of wine-loving, social-media-savvy types thronged to downtown San Francisco to apply for the job.

“I’m busy trying to turn grapes into wine, so what I don’t know, really, is Web 2.0,” the San Francisco Chronicle quoted Ready as saying.

“We’re looking for a communicator to promote wine, promote what we do and promote Sonoma County,” he added.

Ready said the idea for the dream job in Healdsburg came from a publicity campaign launched in Queensland, Australia.

The tourism bureau there invited applicants to apply for “The Best Job in the World,” as “island caretaker on the Great Barrier Reef.”

The application process for the ‘Really Goode Job’ closes June 5, when the 50 top candidates will be selected.

The applicant should be at least 21 years old. They are required to complete an employment application, and upload a one-minute video (longer videos will not be viewed) on www.areallygoodejob.com that demonstrates special qualifications for the job.

The list will be narrowed to the top 10, who will be interviewed between June 27 and July 1. The candidate selected for the Really Goode Job will be announced July 9 and the work is to commence Aug. 1. (ANI)

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Nepal PM’s visit to China cancelled

April 26, 2009 By admin 2 Comments

Kathmandu, Apr 25 (ANI): Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal’s visit to China has been cancelled due to soaring tensions between his government and the Nepal Army over the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) clarification episode.

The Prime Minister was scheduled to commence his visit from May 2, nepalnews reports.

According to the PM’s press advisor, Om Sharma, Dahal directed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to put off his China visit for now.

During his trip, Dahal was expected to sign a few agreements on Chinese assistance to Nepal. The proposed new friendship treaty between the two countries were also on the agenda.

Earlier, Foreign Minister Upendra Yadav had visited Beijing ahead of Dahal’s visit. (ANI)

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Banknet Summit to discuss top priorities for banks in 2009

April 24, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Mumbai, Apr 23(ANI/Business Wire India): Banknet’s “Fifth Annual CTO-CXO Summit” will be held in Mumbai on June 5.

It will have discussions on the top priorities for banks in 2009 in Four Focused Sessions.

Fifth Edition of CTO-CXO Summit will commence with an exclusive “Round Table Session” where top executives of major banks, FI’s will have an in-depth discussion on role of technology in providing effective solutions to banks in managing downturn and building up business.

Summit will bring together on one platform C-level Executives like CEO, COO, CIO, CTO and a large number of senior functionaries from BFSI and IT-ITES sector.

Nearly 700 financial institutions / companies from 24 countries had been represented at earlier Banknet Conferences. This included delegates from nearly every major bank in India.

Banknet Team interactions with the senior bankers in India made it clear that priorities are now changing. Operational efficiency and cost cutting are definitely the order of the day. Banks in India will continue spending on technology especially in the priority areas in 2009.

On the basis of industry feedbacks, Banknet has identified the “Top Priority Areas for Banks in 2009″ as mobile banking and payments; risk management and compliance; – cyber security and frauds and business intelligence, CRM, data mining. (ANI)

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Gold prices likely to fall further in wedding and festival season

April 12, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Gold pricesIn spite of the recent drop in gold prices in India to slightly over Rs 14,200 per 10 grams, most gold dealers opine that buyers are still not tempted enough to go in for substantial purchases because they are possibly waiting for the prices to fall further.

A majority of market players project that waiting for a couple of weeks more might turn out to be beneficial for prospective buyers. Though gold has fallen by over 12 percent in the past month-and a-half, largely due to a stronger rupee, there is still scope for correction in terms of prices of the precious metal, since buying gold in full-swing for the forthcoming wedding season is yet to kick off.

A bullion dealer at a government bank said that gold sales are still “moderate,” with the demand having picked up last week, as traders refreshed their stocks to cater to the demand for the wedding and festival season, to commence in mid-April and Akshaya Tritiya, which falls on April 27.

And going by the opinion of Prithviraj Kothari, a Mumbai-based bullion broker, the wait may well be worth it! Kothari, who expects a fall in gold prices, said: “Prices could further correct to Rs 13,000 to 13,500 levels as the sentiment in equity market has improved lately.”

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Blame your asymmetrical ears for being a dud at dancing

April 11, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, Apr 11 (ANI): Got two left feet? Well, then instead of wasting money on dance classes, try to spend a few minutes measuring your ears, suggest researchers.

Researchers in Edinburgh have embarked upon a mass experiment which will be see both good and bad dancers. They have been invited to show off their skills before having their ears also subjected to scrutiny.

The study’s motive is to test the theory that the more symmetrical you are, the more likely you are to be a hit on the dance floor.

“We will be finding the best and worst dancers in the room and finding out how symmetrical their bodies are. Good dancers tend to be quite physically symmetrical – if you measure their ears they tend to be about the same size,” The Scotsman quoted researcher Professor Richard Wiseman, as saying.

The reasons behind the link between symmetry, dancing and attractiveness are complex. Symmetrical features, such as equally sized ears and eyes, are generally thought to be linked to genetic quality.

Previous studies suggest highly symmetrical people are generally rated as more attractive.

According to Wiseman, in evolutionary terms, attractiveness was a sign of a good genetic background, meaning someone was likely to produce the best and healthiest offspring.

“One theory about dance is that it is a kind of display of sexual fitness. It’s a way of saying to people we’re fit, we’ve got a good sense of rhythm.

“You expect good dancers to be displaying their fitness and people who are good bets from an evolutionary perspective are those who are quite symmetrical in terms of facial attraction,” he said.

For the study at the Edinburgh Science Festival event, good dancers will be asked to put themselves forward for a dance-off to find the five best among them. The five worst dancers, Wiseman said, would be easier to spot.

Then the ear measuring will commence. Wiseman said researchers suspected the best dancers would have the most symmetrical ears, while the worst dancers would be less equal – though there may only be a few millimetres difference.

“Pretty much every society dances and a lot of the time those dances are about attracting mates,” he added.(ANI)

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Aircel to expand India operations; planning $5 billion investments in 3 years

April 10, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

As per the reports by Business Standard, Aircel Cellular is working on plans to expand its presence in India, proposing to put in a $5 billion investment over the next three-year period.

Initiating its operations in Mumbai on Friday, the GSM service provider – with a 70 percent stake held by Malaysian telecom giant Maxis Communications has dispelled hearsay about its plans to get hold of the citys oldest mobile company, Loop Mobile.

After commencing its operations in December 2003, Aircel has thus far had invested a total of $5 billion; with a part of its future investments will also be earmarked for the development of its current network, increasing the number of towers from 20,000 to 40,000 by this year-end.

By and large, Aircels planned expansion will also see the addition of five new circles Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana and Punjab by next year.

Saying that the company has adequate funds, and is not planning an immediate Initial Public Offering, Aircel COO Gurdeep Singh elaborated on the proposed plans: We have planned $5 bn investment for financial years 2010, 2011 and 2012 for expansion of operations. We are planning to commence operations in five additional circles. A good amount of investment will be made in existing circles also.

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Gene therapy may safely regenerate gum tissue

April 8, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, April 8 (ANI): University of Michigan scientists have moved a step closer to using gene therapy to regenerate tooth-supporting gum tissue.

The researchers say that they have developed a method of gene delivery that appears safe.

According to them, their work assuages one of the biggest safety concerns surrounding gene therapy research and tissue engineering.

The most notable incident highlighting the safety concerns of gene therapy research and treatment occurred several years ago when a teenager died when given the adenovirus during a gene therapy clinical trial at the University of Pennsylvania.

The U-M researchers say their approach, though involves the adenovirus, differs because they use lower dose and put the genes on a localized area rather than inject them into the blood vessels, where they can then travel through the bloodstream and result in unexpected and sometimes fatal reactions.

“What the U-M study showed is (the topical method) is very well contained and doesn’t distribute throughout the body,” said William Giannobile, a professor at the U-M School of Dentistry.

“This approach alleviates the safety concern about negative reactions within the body.

“When the teenager died, it got into his bloodstream and he reacted to it. It was tragic. This is the first study of periodontal disease therapy that demonstrates the distribution of these genes is very safe, suggesting that it could be used in the clinic for clinical application.

“Our study doesn’t look at all the safety concerns, but certainly this is very important to the field. The two clinical applications to date where it shows potential are periodontal disease and diabetic wounds. Maybe the reason for this is that both diseases result from a compromised or a defective healing environment,” Giannobile added.

The researcher revealed that the next step would be to use the new gene delivery approach in human clinical trials.

The planning stages for these studies will commence in the next year.

A paper on this work is scheduled to appear in the May issue of the journal Human Gene Therapy. (ANI)

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Ignou to offer engineering courses

April 5, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

NEW DELHI: With over 10 lakh students registering for the AIEEE in 2009, up from 8.62 lakh in 2008, it may not be possible for all to get a seat in
existing engineering colleges. Keeping the shortage of seats in mind, Indira Gandhi National Open University (Ignou) has collaborated with Chennai-based Sri Angala Parameshwari Education Trust (SAPET) to offer certificate, diploma and degree programmes in various engineering branches including, civil, mechanical, electrical engineering, electronics and communication technologies and computer science.

The programmes, which will commence from January 2010, will help students who have completed their class XII with physics, chemistry and mathematics (PCM) and are interested to pursue engineering but have not got opportunity to study in the conventional institutes or engineering colleges.

The diploma holders in engineering subjects will also be given lateral entry to the third-year in any engineering disciplines.

“The new programmes will also help bright students who fail to get admission into engineering colleges due to weak socio-economic conditions or lack of awareness or non-availability of higher technical institutions in areas they live,” said Latha Pillai, pro-vice chancellor, Ignou.

According to SAPET officials, the programmes will follow the need-based assessments of the industry, profession and service sectors. Adviser to the SAPET, Premendra Raj Mehta said: “The programmes and their courses will be prepared according to the needs and demands from the industry. Students can enter at different levels and credits will be offered to them from what they already studied. The programmes will offer four levels of entries out of six years. Students can enter after passing out class X, the ITI exams, class XII, acquiring a multiple diplomas and also B Sc degree. The programmes are being restructured offering vertical mobility.”

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Indian economy will recover quickly, says RBI Governor

March 29, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Mar 27 (ANI): Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Dr. Duvvuri Subbarao said that although it is uncertain as to when Indian economy will recover, when it does it will be sharper and quicker than other economies of the world.

“It is not clear when recovery will start, but when recovery starts around the world and in India, India’s recovery will be sharper and swifter than elsewhere in the world,” Dr. Subbarao said in the course of his address at a seminar hosted by the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) here last evening.

He also dispelled fears of getting into a deep deflationary cycle.

“Our own view is that this is statistical. There is no fear of sustained deflation in India. I think our inflation dimension is quite healthy. There is no concern about our getting into a deep deflationary cycle,” added Dr. Subbarao.ince October, the RBI has slashed its main lending rate by 400 basis points to shield the economy from the global financial crisis and also to shore up activity.

In this context, Dr. Subbarao said that 2009-10 would be a challenging period unless business confidence and investment are revived. Further, he said that cuts in policy rates needed to flow through to the broader economy.

India’s wholesale price index rose by 0.27 per cent on March 14, below the previous week’s annual rise of 0.44 per cent, government data showed on Thursday.

The Government has decided to tap markets for 2.4 trillion rupees of borrowings in the first half of 2009-10, two-thirds of its projected record borrowings for the full fiscal year that will commence on April 1.

Nonetheless, the government contends that India as Asia’s third-biggest economy has grown by about seven per cent in the fiscal year that ends on March 31, its slowest pace in six years, after growing at rates of nine per cent or more in the last three years.

Gross borrowings for 2008-09 have more than doubled to 3.06 trillion rupees this year. (ANI)

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Delay in IPL hits Freddie and KP’s pockets

March 25, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, Mar.25 (ANI): England cricket players Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff will lose 150,000 and 75,000 pounds respectively due to the rescheduling of the second edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Originally, the IPL was to start on April 10, but the event will now commence on April 18, as it has been shifted to South Africa and because the Indian cricket board wants to give its players some rest and time with their families after they return from New Zealand on April 8.

Flintoff and Pietersen are currently the joint highest-paid players in the tournament and they will face a pay cut because they can now play in the IPL for only two weeks instead of three weeks.

Pietersen and Flintoff have to fly back home on May 1 to prepare for the series against the West Indies.

Their fees work out to around 75,000-pounds-a-game. The two superstars should still collect about 450,000 pounds each.lthough fixtures for the IPL in South Africa have yet to be finalised, it is likely that Pietersen will appear in two fewer matches for Bangalore Royal Challengers and Flintoff will play one fewer for Chennai Super Kings.

Ravi Bopara is expected to lose 25,000 pounds because of the rescheduled event while the shortfall of Owais Shah and Paul Collingwood will be around 15,000 pounds. (ANI)

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TATA’s Nano launched

March 23, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Mumbai, Mar. 23 (ANI): Tata Motor’s much awaited people’s car, ‘Nano’ was commercially launched here on Moday with a promise to stick to the 1,00,000 rupee price tag for the base model.

“We made a promise and we’ve kept the promise,” Tata Group Chairman Ratan Tata said.

Three versions of the Nano car would be available in market.

“From today onwards, the product will be available in showrooms. There will be three versions – the base version, which is the one we promised to the people of India and two upper tier versions,” Ratan Tata said.

Nano’s high-end versions would have air-conditioning, power brakes and power windows, among other features.

“We hope this day we will usher in a new form of transport,” Tata said, while adding that this endeavor was never to build the cheapest car but to provide an affordable form of transportation.

The bookings will commence on April 9 and deliveries are expected in July. (ANI)

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Queensland pacer Ben Laughlin called up for Australia’s one-day, Twenty20 squads

March 12, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Brisbane, Mar.12 (ANI): Queensland fast bowler Ben Laughlin, who has taken 20 wickets at an average of 15.85 to guide his team to the Ford Ranger Cup final, has been called into the Australian squad for the Twenty20 and one-day clashes with South Africa.

Laughlin, 26, snared 3-25 in the final as Queensland stunned hot favourite Victoria.

“Ben has had an extremely good summer for Queensland and was instrumental in their one-day final victory,” chairman of selectors Andrew Hilditch said.

“Ben will add to the versatility of the Australian bowling line up as we continue to look at options progressing forward to the 2011 World Cup.”

Australia will rest Test pacers Peter Siddle and Ben Hilfenhaus for the limited-overs series, which include two Twenty20 and five one-day internationals.

“Both Ben Hilfenhaus and Peter Siddle are being rested from the South African one-day series as part of their workload management to prepare for their possible inclusion in key upcoming events which include the World Twenty20 and the Ashes,” Hilditch said.

“Both Peter and Ben had significant injuries during the 2008 off-season.

“Since returning to cricket they have had a demanding and heavy Australian season and will have completed three back-to-back Test matches in South Africa.

“The recommendation of the coaching and fitness staff was that they have time off now to allow them to recuperate and then commence a structured training program in ideal preparation potentially for the World Twenty20 and the Ashes.”

NSW blaster Dave Warner and Victorian bowler Shane Harwood have been included in the squad only for the two Twenty20 matches.

Australia: Ricky Ponting (capt), Michael Clarke (vice-capt), Nathan Bracken, Callum Ferguson, Brett Geeves, Brad Haddin, Nathan Hauritz, James Hopes, David Hussey, Michael Hussey, Mitchell Johnson, Ben Laughlin, Adam Voges, Cameron White, David Warner, Shane Harwood. (ANI)

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