Modi to showcase Gujarat in China

October 30, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi may not be welcome in the US, but China is ready to roll out the red carpet for him as he gears up to visit the world’s fastest growing economy and Asian powerhouse next month.

Modi is likely to visit China Nov 8, reliable sources told IANS. The visit has been cleared by the external affairs ministry.

Modi is expected to make a pitch for greater Chinese investment in Gujarat and showcase his state as a hub for foreign investment. In particular, Modi is likely to discuss the prospects of Huawei, China’s biggest telecom company which has a considerable presence in India, investing in Gujarat.

China has been impressed by the economic transformation of Gujarat in the last decade and the massive foreign investment it has attracted in different sectors. When China’s Vice Minister Ai Ping visited Gujarat last week, he had lauded Gujaratis’ contribution to business development in different countries, including China. He had also extended an invitation to Modi to visit China.

Modi is expected to seek Chinese assistance to develop a “Gautam Buddha circuit”, that includes constructing a temple where Buddha’s relics would be preserved, to attract tourists to the state.

Modi’s visit will take place soon after Nur Bekri, chairman of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in China, visits New Delhi and Mumbai next week to explore investment opportunities.

The visit by regional leaders has become a trend of sorts lately, with Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar going to China in June. Kumar’s visit was focused on cooperation in the field of infrastructure, agriculture and rural development.

Despite differences over a host of issues, economic ties between India and China have been showing a steady upswing.

The two countries recently held their maiden strategic economic dialogue to exchange their experiences in macro-economic management and to address issues like the growing trade imbalance in favour of Beijing.

Bilateral trade is already touching $60 billion, with both sides confident of scaling it up to $100 billion.

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Pak nuclear stockpile to touch 200 in a decade: Experts

July 7, 2011 By Leave a Comment

WASHINGTON: Pakistan has the world’s fastest-growing nuclear stockpile and it could achieve 150-200 warheads in a decade despite the political instability in the country, two top American atomic experts have said.

Pakistan is in the process of building two new plutonium production reactors and a new reprocessing facility to fabricate more nuclear weapons fuel, wrote nuclear experts Hans M Kristensen and Robert S Norris in the latest issue of Bulletin of Atomic Scientists.

In their paper ‘Pakistan’s nuclear forces, 2011′, the authors estimate that if Pakistan’s expansion continues, its nuclear weapons stockpile could reach 150-200.

“Despite its political instability, Pakistan continues to steadily expand its nuclear capabilities and competencies; in fact, it has the world’s fastest-growing nuclear stockpile,” they wrote.

“We estimate that Pakistan has a nuclear weapons stockpile of 90-110 nuclear warheads, an increase from the estimated 70-90 warheads in 2009,” the paper said.

“It is also developing new delivery systems. Enhancements to Pakistan’s nuclear forces include a new nuclear capable medium-range ballistic missile, the development of two new nuclear-capable short-range ballistic missiles, and the development of two new nuclear-capable cruise missiles,” they wrote.

“With four new delivery systems and two plutonium production reactors under development, however, the rate of Pakistan’s stockpile growth may even increase over the next 10 years,” they warned.

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Games bid won’t slug ratepayers: Clarke

April 7, 2010 By Leave a Comment

The Gold Coast Mayor says ratepayers should not be facing additional costs for the city’s Commonwealth Games bid.

The Gold Coast and Hambantota in Sri Lanka are the only cities seeking to host the 2018 event.

Mayor Ron Clarke says it is a matter of changing development priorities.

“Any extra costs would only be for the Queensland Government … bringing forward of costs as we did for the global financial crisis – we did some stimulus packages by bringing forward investments in virtually capital items that we had planned for maybe two years’ time, we brought it forward so we could now get the construction industry still occupied,” he said.

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Cypress Introduces Easy-to-Use Development Platform for iPhone and iPod Accessories Based on Revolutionary PSoC® 3 Architecture

April 6, 2010 By Leave a Comment

New Development Tool Enables Made for iPod Program Licensees to Quickly Design
Feature-Rich Accessories Using Configurability of PSoC

SAN JOSE, Calif.–(Business Wire)–
Cypress Semiconductor Corp. (Nasdaq:CY) today introduced a new development
platform for Apple iPhone and iPod accessories based on its new PSoC® 3
architecture. Designers can use Cypress`s new CY8CKIT-023 PSoC Expansion Board
Kit For iPhone & iPod Accessories – a plug-in board to Cypress`s CY8CKIT-001
PSoC Platform Development Kit – to streamline design of innovative mobile
accessories using the flexible PSoC programmable system-on-chip architecture.
The new kit leverages the iPhone OS operating system of Apple`s iPhone and iPod
products and the corresponding iPhone SDK (Software Development Kit) to provide
a two-way communication interface between apps from Apple’s App Store and
corresponding accessories.

The easy-to-use PSoC-based development platform enables highly-integrated
modular design of functions such as capacitive touch-sensing, LCD segment drive
and much more for traditional iPhone and iPod accessories such as audio docks
and speakers, chargers and automotive products. The platform also opens up a new
realm of accessories that can leverage the 480 x 320 touchscreen display and
many other features of the iPhone and iPod touch for a myriad of markets and
applications, including health and wellness, point-of-sale, RFID, and
diagnostics and instrumentation tools. Details on the new kit and a video
demonstration are available at www.cypress.com/go/cy8ckit-023, and for more
information on the Made for iPod program, visit http://developer.apple.com/ipod.

When used in conjunction with the PSoC Development Kit, the PSoC Expansion Board
Kit For iPhone & iPod Accessories offers support for Cypress`s recently
announced PSoC 3 and PSoC 5 product families, as well as the PSoC 1 family. PSoC
3 and PSoC 5 devices extend the world`s only programmable analog and digital
embedded design platform, delivering unmatched time-to-market, integration and
flexibility across 8-, 16-, and 32-bit applications. The platform is powered by
the revolutionary PSoC Creator Integrated Development Environment (IDE), which
introduces a unique schematic-based design methodology along with fully tested,
pre-packaged analog and digital peripherals easily customizable through
user-intuitive wizards and APIs to meet specific design requirements. The PSoC 1
family delivers similar ease-of-use and flexibility with a cost-optimized core,
and is supported by the powerful PSoC Designer software tool.

“The popularity of the iPhone and iPod has developers rushing to create a wide
range of accessories, and even more so now that they can leverage their
multi-touch interfaces and widescreen displays,” said Norm Taffe, executive vice
president of the Consumer and Computation Division at Cypress. “The flexibility
of our PSoC platform helps developers quickly design products with
differentiating features, make last-minute changes and still hit market windows.
They can also reuse the IP they develop across multiple product variations.”

The PSoC Expansion Board Kit For iPhone & iPod Accessories features a plug-in
board that connects to the PSoC Development Kit, enabling PSoC to communicate
with the iPhone and iPod. The kit showcases the capabilities for developers to
record to and play from an iPhone or iPod with a microphone input and speaker
output on the plug-in board, while simultaneously highlighting PSoC`s
capabilities to power CapSense capacitive touch-sensing buttons and sliders for
playback control as well as drive an LCD to display metadata from multimedia.
The kit also comes with an iPhone app and a PSoC project example to demonstrate
communication between iPhone apps and accessories. Additionally, Cypress plans
to release a full assortment of other plug-in boards that each interface to a
variety of electronic sensors and actuators and perform various application
functions such as audio processing, Controller Area Network (CAN), high
precision analog sensors, QVGA graphics and more.

Availability and Photo

The CY8CKIT-023 PSoC Expansion Board Kit For iPhone & iPod Accessories is now
available to Made for iPod licensees via Apple`s authorized distributor. A
high-resolution photo of the kit is available at
www.cypress.com/go/pr/ipodkitphoto.

The CY8CKIT-001 PSoC Development Kit contains a main PSoC development board and
processor module boards for the different architectures. It also includes a
MiniProg3 debug and evaluation device, prototyping cable kit, a USB cable, a 12V
AC power adapter, and both PSoC Creator and PSoC Designer software. Sample
projects are also provided. The kit is available today, priced at US$249.00.
Designers can get more information and order the kit from
www.cypress.com/go/psoc.

PSoC — Because Change Happens

PSoC devices employ a highly configurable system-on-chip architecture for
embedded control design, offering a flash-based equivalent of a
field-programmable ASIC without lead-time or NRE penalties. PSoC devices
integrate configurable analog and digital circuits, controlled by an on-chip
microcontroller, providing both enhanced design revision capability and
component count savings. A single PSoC device can integrate as many as 100
peripheral functions saving customers design time, board space and power
consumption while improving system quality and reducing system cost.

The new PSoC 3 and PSoC 5 architectures include high-precision programmable
analog capability (up to 20-bit resolution for an Analog to Digital Converter)
and expanded programmable digital resources integrated with powerful,
industry-standard MCU cores and ample memory and communications peripherals.
PSoC 3 devices are based on a high-performance 8-bit 8051 processor, while PSoC
5 devices include a powerful 32-bit ARM Cortex-M3 processor. The products
provide designers with a seamless, programmable design platform, enabling easy
migration from 8 to 32 bits. The robust features of these new solutions
dramatically expand the applications and markets that PSoC can address,
including automotive, portable medical, industrial and many more. The PSoC 1
family is based on a cost-optimized 8-bit M8C core. More information about PSoC
products is available at www.cypress.com/psoc and free online training is at
www.cypress.com/psoctraining.

About Cypress

Cypress delivers high-performance, mixed-signal, programmable solutions that
provide customers with rapid time-to-market and exceptional system value.
Cypress offerings include the flagship PSoC programmable system-on-chip families
and derivatives such as PowerPSoC solutions for high-voltage and LED lighting
applications, CapSense touch sensing and TrueTouch solutions for touchscreens.
Cypress is the world leader in USB controllers, including the high-performance
West Bridge solution that enhances connectivity and performance in multimedia
handsets. Cypress is also a leader in high-performance memories and programmable
timing devices. Cypress serves numerous markets including consumer, mobile
handsets, computation, data communications, automotive, industrial and military.
Cypress trades on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker symbol CY.
Visit Cypress online at www.cypress.com.

Cypress, the Cypress logo, PSoC, PowerPSoC, CapSense and West Bridge are
registered trademarks and PSoC Creator, PSoC Designer and TrueTouch are
trademarks of Cypress Semiconductor Corp. Apple, iPhone, and iPod are trademarks
of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. All other trademarks
are property of their owners.

Cypress Public Relations
Samer Bahou, 408-544-1081
samer.bahou@cypress.com

Copyright Business Wire 2010

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Microsoft sues UK game controller maker

April 3, 2010 By Leave a Comment

(Reuters) – Microsoft Corp on Thursday filed a lawsuit claiming British video game accessory maker Datel Design and Development Ltd is illegally copying the software company’s game console controllers.

Technology

Microsoft, which makes the Xbox game system, claims Datel’s “TurboFire” and “WildFire” wireless controllers — which resemble Xbox controllers and sell for up to $50 on the Internet — infringe a number of Microsoft patents.

In the lawsuit, filed in federal court in Seattle, Microsoft asks for an unspecified amount of compensatory damages, payment of royalties or profits Datel made from the sales, while also asking for an injunction on manufacturing the disputed controllers.

A call to Datel’s U.S. unit, which is also named as a defendant in the suit, was not immediately returned.

(Reporting by Bill Rigby)

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‘Dirty Dancing’ town planning memorial for Patrick Swayze

September 19, 2009 By Leave a Comment

London, Sep 19 (ANI): Locals of a North Carolina community, where Patrick Swayze’s film ‘Dirty Dancing’ was shot, are planning a memorial service for the late star.

The ‘Ghost’ star died on Monday evening after a long battle with pancreatic cancer.

The town of Lake Lure will pay homage to the 57-year-old during a memorial service on Saturday evening at Firefly Cove, a housing development that was Camp Chimney Rock when ‘Dirty Dancing’ was filmed.

Many outdoor scenes in the film were filmed there, as was the cabin of Johnny Castle, Swayze’s character.

While the memorial service is free, visitors will be asked to donate to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network.

Rev Everette Chapman, who will be speaking at the memorial service, said that the town’s residents remember Swayze as a kind family man.

Chapman, who lived at Lake Lure when the movie was filmed but did not meet the actors, said he would talk about Swayze’s determination to live each day to the fullest.

“I’ll ask people their memory of him and just talk about him as every woman’s heart-throb and every man’s envy,” said Chapman.

Although organisers have no idea how many people to expect, they have still arranged for police officers to help with parking. (ANI)

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Kashmir almonds ready to hit markets

September 19, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Werwan (J-K), Sept 19 (ANI): With the almond harvesting reaching its final stages, the growers are gearing up to hit the local market in Kashmir.

Residents of Werwan village in Pulwama district, very famous for almonds, are busy harvesting the almond crops.

Eighty-five per cent people are doing the almond business. These days, they are very busy in harvesting.

“This year, the almonds were bigger and the kernel was also large. We hope that this year because of good quality, we will get good rates for our almonds,” said Jan Muhammad Lone, a grower.

With a comparatively good and timely rainfall this season, the state authorities are hoping for a better return for the growers.

“This year and even last year, the kernel developments were excellent. Compared to last year, this year we have received timely rainfall during the fruit development months of almonds that is May and June.

Therefore, the almond farmers are quite happy that their crop yields are good and they will receive good money of it,” said Manzoor Ahmed, a horticulture development officer.

Shalimar, Makdoon and Waris are some of the varieties of almonds that are grown in Kashmir. By Afzal Butt (ANI)

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Gandhians in Ahmedabad laud government’s austerity drive

September 19, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Ahmedabad, Sep 18(ANI): In contrast to leaders of some political parties, who are criticising the austerity measures mooted by the government as mere ‘tokenism’, Gandhians associated with the Sabarmati Ashram at Ahmedabad have lauded the initiative.

The Gandhains, who themselves live a life of extreme simplicity, following the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi, said that if politicians lead a simple life, people would certainly follow in tune with the adage: Follow the leader.

Amrut Modi, the managing trustee Sabarmati Gandhi Ashram, a staunch Gandhian himself, is a firm believer in Gandhi’s teaching of ‘doing one’s work by oneself’, and professes it religiously.

Appreciating the austerity drive of the government, he said that politicians through such measures inspire people towards leading a simple life, as the Mahatma did.

“If simplicity is acquired, it can lead to change. Gandhiji himself had brought about change in the country. He prepared the people for independence and self-rule. The principle of simplicity is included in his teachings. He inspired the common man, through his simple life. Even today if our politicians adopt simplicity, then people will take inspiration from them,” Modi said.

Several other believers of Gandhi’s teaching also said that simplicity could help the nation develop, and also set an example in front of the whole world.

“The ministers should adopt Gandhiji’s principles and teachings pertaining to simplicity. This will help in the development of the country financially and otherwise and they can also send the message to the world, that how beneficial it can be to walk on Gandhiji’s principles,” said Dhimant Badiya, another Gandhian. (ANI)

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Himachal Pradesh Govt. moves to produce IT friendly business landscape

September 19, 2009 By Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Sep.18 (ANI): Recognizing the enormous potential of Information Technology in acting as a catalyst for the Tier – II growth of Suburban India, The Government of Himachal Pradesh (GoHP) is moving to produce an IT friendly business landscape.

To close the technological gap and nab the marquee, various initiatives are being put in place by the GoHP. Tax Breaks, Exemption from various duties and levies and imports are certain defined benefits for the industry to set base at Himachal Pradesh.

The IT Park cum Township falls will come up in Solan District of Solan, about 20 kilometres from Shimla.

The total area of the project is 64.73 acres. The site is located at a distance of four kilometers from Kiarighat. Kiarighat is on Chandigarh – Shimla highway (NH-22) on midway between Solan and Shimla at an approximately equal distance of 23 kilometres.

Conceptualized as an Integrated Development – offering both residential and commercial options, the project’s developmental contours will include built-up IT space of 1.1 million square feet. Built to suit plots for IT in 9.5 acres of land, a township for of 1.31 million square feet, a project cost of 408 crore rupees.

Commercially structured on the Public Private Partnership format. The developer shall be responsible for designing,financing, constructing, operating, maintaining and development of the IT Park cum Township at Waknaghat.

The implementing agency will be the Department of Information Technology, Government of Himachal Pradesh.

To promote the project and the township, an investor Meet will be held in Delhi on September 23. A visit to the site will be organised on September 30, while a pre-bid meeting will be held on October 3, 2009.

The last date for submission of proposal is October 26. (ANI)

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Farmers grew rice in China’s Yangtze Basin 4,000 years ago

September 19, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Washington, September 18 (ANI): New findings in the form of carbonized rice have indicated that farming in the Yangtze Basin in China existed as early as 4,000 years ago.

According to a report in Epoch Times, excavation in the Xiezi Area of Hubei Province yielded a total of 402 cultural relics, including carbonized rice.

Stone tools, pottery, bronze, jade and porcelain were unearthed, as well as a number of spinning wheels, drop spindles made of clay and other textile tools.

There were also stone mounds and smelting relics such as slag.

A variety of grains and seeds were found, and experts believe there may be carbonized wheat among the plant findings at the site.

The relics were determined to be from the Neolithic Era or New Stone Age at the time of the Shang Dynasty (ca. 1600-1050 B.C.) and Western Zhou Dynasty (ca. 1046-771 B.C.)

The combination of the relics that were found and their stratigraphic age provides valuable information about the diet structure, production methods, and living conditions of the inhabitants of the area during the time of the Shang and Western Zhou dynasties.

Archeological team leader, Luo Yunbin explained that there had been speculation in the past about edible rice production in the Yangtze Basin, but the new findings provide solid physical evidence that there was agricultural development in that area during ancient times. (ANI)

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India Air Force activates Nyoma airfield close to China border

September 19, 2009 By Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Sep 18 (ANI): The Indian Air Force in a significant move today activated its Nyoma Advanced Landing Ground (ALG) to support the Army in carrying out operations in the inhospitable terrain.

An IAF AN-32 aircraft landed at Nyoma ALG, which is located at an altitude of 13,300 feet in Leh district of Jammu and Kashmir, at 6:25 a.m. today. It is located 23 kms from the Line of Actual Control. (LAC).

The successful landing of a fixed wing aircraft at Nyoma marks the culmination of joint effort by the IAF and Indian Army to enable the IAF to operate in the inhospitable terrain of Leh-Ladakh region in support of the Army.

The landing comes just fifteen months after an AN-32 landed at Daulat-Beg-Oldie (DBO), the highest airfield in the world situated at an altitude of 16,200 feet.

Group Captain SC Chafekar touched down on the Nyoma airstrip. Air Marshal NAK Browne, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Air Command and Lieutenant General PC Bharadwaj, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Northern Command on board.

Though helicopters have been landing at this ALG, this is for the first time that a fixed wing aircraft has landed at the compact airstrip of Nyoma.

After deliberating on all aspects and carrying out aerial and ground inspection, it was concluded that Nyoma could be developed for fixed wing operations as well.

The Engineer Regiments of 14 Corps undertook the herculean task of developing the ALG to the standards required for fixed wing operations.

Joint development of Nyoma braving the extremely difficult working conditions and hostile weather is yet another step towards enhanced joint partnership between the two services.

Nyoma has been developed with an aim to connect the remote areas of Ladakh region to the mainland. This would also ensure movements in the area when the road traffic gets affected, during the harsh winters besides enabling improved communication network in the region. (ANI)

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Researchers operate biomedical robots from different locations worldwide via Internet

September 19, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Washington, September 18 (ANI): Experts from the University of Washington and SRI International have jointly developed a new software protocol, to standardize the way biomedical robots are managed over the Internet.

Nine research teams from universities and research institutes around the world recently made a successful demonstration of biomedical robots operated from different locations in the U.S., Europe, and Asia with the help of the ‘Interoperable Telesurgical Protocol’.

In a 24-hour period, each participating group connected over the Internet, and controlled robots at different locations.

The tests performed demonstrated how a wide variety of robot and controller designs can seamlessly interoperate, allowing researchers to work together easily and more efficiently.

The demonstration also evaluated the feasibility of robotic manipulation from multiple sites, and was conducted to measure time and performance for evaluating laparoscopic surgical skills.

“Although many telemanipulation systems have common features, there is currently no accepted protocol for connecting these systems. We hope this new protocol serves as a starting point for the discussion and development of a robust and practical Internet-type standard that supports the interoperability of future robotic systems,” said SRI’s Tom Low.

The protocol is expected to allow engineers and designers that usually develop technologies independently, to work collaboratively, determine which designs work best, encourage widespread adoption of the new communications protocol, and help robotics research to evolve more rapidly.

Its early adoption may encourage robotic systems to be developed with interoperability in mind, and avoid future incompatibilities.

“We’re very pleased with the success of the event in which almost all of the possible connections between operator stations and remote robots were successful. We were particularly excited that novel elements such as a simulated robot and an exoskeleton controller worked smoothly with the other remote manipulation systems,” said Professor Blake Hannaford of the University of Washington. (ANI)

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Flintoff’s decision to reject ECB contract will benefit Chennai Super Kings

September 19, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Sydney, Sep 18 (ANI): The Indian Premier League would be benefited after Andrew Flintoff rejected the ECB contract, said Chennai Super Kings, the team the England all rounder plays for in the IPL.

Chennai Super Kings manager VB Chandrasekhar said Flintoff’s decision to reject the contract would greatly benefit Chennai, but only if he was fit.

“But the thing is,” he said, “it’s not just about what a cricketer can give on the field. ‘Fred gives us a full package – in terms of marketing he is very valuable. Last time he was of great value to our dressing room, even when he wasn’t playing; someone of that aura can lift the team,” The Sydney Morning Herald quoted him, as saying.

The development comes amid bizarre reasoning by his manager, Andrew Chandler, that Flintoff rejected the ECB contract because he might have to go “bungee jumping”.

With Flintoff’s troubled injury history and the unproven results of his radical treatment in Dubai, any further damage to his knee could be career-threatening and he may be forced to pay for his own treatment.

The Super Kings pay Flintoff 1.55 million dollars a season and expressed sympathy with his plight, saying they may pay for rehabilitation depending on the circumstances, but did not guarantee it.

“There is a rule that says if it is a pre-existing injury, then the IPL team is not liable,” Chandrasekhar said.

“If you have taken a player in and if it is a serious injury and has occurred during the IPL, sometimes you have to weigh that up. We pay him on a match-to-match basis,” he added.

Under the IPL regulations, players must declare previous injuries, but Chennai is fully aware of the well-publicised knee problem that kept Flintoff out of the fourth Ashes Test.

Flintoff’s IPL future after 2010 is also in doubt, as he requires a No-Objection Certificate from the ECB. Granting him one would set a dangerous precedent for the board, as other players could follow his lead – precisely what the certificate is designed to prevent. (ANI)

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Weight loss can prevent kidney disease progression in obese patients

September 19, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Washington, Sept 18 (ANI): Shedding extra pounds can preserve kidney function in obese people with kidney disease, according to a new study led by Indian origin scientist from Cleveland Clinic.

Weight loss can improve a number of health problems, like it can improve control of diabetes, lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels, and reduce the effects of heart disease.

During the study, Dr Sankar Navaneethan, and his colleagues analysed the studies that examined the effects of weight loss interventions in obese kidney disease patients.

It showed that weight loss attained through diet and exercise reduces proteinuria (excess excretion of protein in the urine-a hallmark of kidney damage) and may prevent additional decline in kidney function in obese patients with kidney disease.

Studies also showed that surgical interventions normalize the filtration rate of the kidneys in obese patients with high filtration rates (a risk factor for the development of kidney disease).

While the findings imply that weight reduction may prevent the progression of kidney disease in obese kidney disease patients, the authors noted that there were only a small number of studies available for analysis and additional high-quality long-term studies on this topic are needed.

The study appears in Clinical Journal of the American Society Nephrology. (ANI)

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MIC chief to apologise to Dr Mahathir over ‘slipper garland’ insult

September 19, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Kuala Lumpur, Sep 18 (ANI): Malaysian Indian Congress president S. Samy Vellu has said that he will personally apologise to former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad over the ‘slipper garland’ insult by a MIC member during the recent party congress.

He said he would seek an appointment with Dr Mahathir to tender his apology over the incident.

“I will meet him personally to explain the whole episode and extend my apology,” Samy Vellu said in a statement on Thursday.

The MIC chief said he and the MIC regretted the incident. “I have always had the highest respect for Tun Dr Mahathir. He is a great leader and a statesman.”

He said Dr Mahathir had brought tremendous development to the country and had united the people. “He will always be respected by us and all Malaysians,” The Star quoted Vellu, as saying.

Meanwhile, Dr Mahathir said he did not feel anything about the incident and added: “Nothing would have happened to me.”

Instead, he said he would have felt angry and saddened if Umno members had made such an insult.

“This is not the first time I have been insulted. People might have forgotten how Umno leaders had insulted me. Nazri (Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Nazri Abdul Aziz) and the previous mentri besar of Kedah wanted me expelled from Umno.

However, then no one gave any reaction. No one dared to say anything,” he said. (ANI)

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India needs to liberalise, change policies to attract more FDI: Nazareth (Corrected)

September 19, 2009 By Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Sep 18 (ANI): Policy analyst Premila Nazareth has emphasised that India needs to liberalise and change its policies to attract more foreign direct investments.

During the release of the annual study of worldwide investment trends by the United Nations Conference on Trade And Development (UNCTAD) in the national capital, Nazareth also blamed the bureaucracy in India for being the main reason for less inflow of FDI.

“FDI policies do not need much changes to increase fund inflows. Policies are fine. The rest of the policies, bureaucracies and regulations are creating problems for people and these are the reasons behind less inflow of FDI. The policies are liberal, but we need to change and liberalise the sectoral policies of various sectors for private investments,” Nazareth said.

Nazareth further said that India and China are being seen as strong contenders for the Global Direct Investment (GDI) due to their emerging economy status.

“India’s position as a recipient country in the global FDI picture is only going to strengthen over the next few years because global investors are now looking more and more the emerging world as a whole. China and India are seen as very strong players, markets with guaranteed growth in a way and this is only going to grow,” Nazareth added. (ANI)

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India to build more highways than any other country in the world: Kamal Nath

September 17, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Zurich (Switzerland), Sep 17(ANI): Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Kamal Nath on Thursday said that in the next two years India will build more highways than any other country in the world.

Inaugurating “Building India: Road Infrastructure Summit” at Zurich, he also invited European investors to invest in the road and highways sector in India, and said that India as a nation is determined to build a comprehensive high quality infrastructure.

Nath also said that the next decade would belong to infrastructure sector, as the last decade had been the decade of IT.

Stressing on the strong fundamentals of the Indian Economy, he said India is a safe destination for investment even in the times of recession and showcased the opportunities and potential of the Indian road sector to investors from across Europe.

Addressing a strong gathering of investors, developers and financial institutions, Nath said that the Government is back with enhanced mandate and building infrastructure is one of its important focus.

Elaborating on the new vision on road sector, he said that Government is committed to increase the pace of highway development to 20 kms per day, which would unleash huge business and investment opportunities, amounting to 70 billion dollars over the next 3-4 years.

In addition, it would also lead to an inclusive growth and provide connectivity to all stakeholders in socio-economic development.

Inviting investors to be a partner in building road infrastructure in the country, the minister said that out of total investment required, 40 billion dollars are expected to come from private sector. (ANI)

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India needs to liberalise, change policies to attract more FDI: World Bank

September 17, 2009 By Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Sep 17(ANI): World Bank consultant Premila Nazareth on Thursday emphasised that India needs to liberalise and change its policies to attract more foreign direct investments.

During the release of the annual study of worldwide investment trends by the United Nations Conference on Trade And Development (UNCTAD) in the national capital, Nazareth also blamed the bureaucracy in India as the main reason for less inflow of foreign investments.

“FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) policies do not need much changes to increase FDI inflows. Policies are fine. The rest of the policies, bureaucracies and regulations are creating problems for people and these are the reasons behind less inflow of FDI. The policies are liberal, but we need to change and liberalise the sectoral policies of various sectors for private investments,” Nazareth said.

Nazareth further said that India and China are being seen as strong contenders for the Global Direct Investment (GDI) due to their emerging economy status.

“India’s position as a recipient country in the global FDI picture is only going to strengthen over the next few years because global investors are now looking more and more the emerging world as a whole. China and India are seen as very strong players, markets with guaranteed growth in a way and this is only going to grow,” Nazareth added. (ANI)

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Jharkhand man begs for alms to run orphanage

September 17, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Dampara (Jharkhand), Sept 17 (ANI): Kantha Singh, a former motor mechanic, plays good samaritan for 42 orphans from tribal communities and runs an orphanage by begging for alms at Dampara village in Jharkhand.

Started in 2007, the orphanage had just 15 children. These children have been rendered homeless due to reckless alcoholism and polygamy prevalent in the area.

“They do not have any guardian. Some of them were even working, while others were living with relatives. We started the orphanage with 15 children, now we have 42. They are all taken care of and they are all studying,” said Singh.

Singh has voluntary workers at the orphanage, who beg for alms in the surrounding villages. The offerings by the people are not always enough. At times, the children have to make do with just salt and rice.

“We go from village to village begging for alms,” said Ramchandra Hembrum, a worker.

Singh’s service has earned him an invitation from the President. He and the other workers at the orphanage are now hopeful that the President would do something for the children.

The unexpected development has left them all overwhelmed.

“He will meet the President and talk to her about how difficult it is to run the orphanage. He will also talk about the needs of the children and all we need to run the orphanage well. He will also talk about their educational and other needs,” said Pather Saran, another worker.

Singh has also been taking care of the education of the orphans. He runs a school within the orphanage and hopes that the President will extend help, in his efforts to educate the children and ensure a good life for them. By Girija Shankar Ojha (ANI)

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Madhya Pradesh gets over hundred crore grant for tribal development

September 17, 2009 By Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Sep 16 (ANI): The Union Tribal Affairs Ministry has sanctioned a grant in aid of Rs. 116.90,50,000/- for Madhya Pradesh as regular allocation to bring rapid development in tribal areas of the state.

The first instalment of grant-in-aid of Rs. 58,00,00,000/- has been released to the State Government towards Special Central Assistance to Tribal Sub Plan for the current fiscal.

Special Central Assistance to Tribal Sub Plan is provided by the Tribal Affairs Ministry to the States as an additive to the state plan to bring about a more rapid economic development of tribal in the States.

The tribal sub plan cover the employment-cum-income generation activities and the infrastructure incidental thereto not only family-based, but also run by the Self-Help Groups.

The fund release for Tribal Dub plan are based on the population and area of the scheduled Tribes (STs) in the States concerned.

From the last fiscal the projects and activities are being approved by the Tribal Affairs Ministry prior to release of funds. (ANI)

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