Global brands join hands with nutritional supplements shopping portal MyNutraMart.com

Bangalore, July 7 (ANI/Business Wire India): Pragya International, a Bangalore-based company, has launched online shopping portal MyNutraMart.com to cater to the growing wellness nutrition market.

The Indian wellness services market is expected to remain buoyant and has the potential to sustain a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 30-35 per cent for the next five years, says a latest study by FICCI and professional services firm, Ernst and Young. T

he wellness services market is currently estimated at Rs 11,000 crore in India.

The FICCI-EY report, titled Wellness- Exploring the untapped potential, highlights that the growth is expected on the back of favorable market demographics, consumerism, globalization, changing lifestyles, increasing availability across categories and regions and rising awareness among people.

Global brands like Joint Expert, Mega-Pro, Zenith Nutritions, Joint’s Coach and Alpha Omega, have joined hands with MyNutraMart.com to sell their brands online.

Pawan of Vista Nutrition’s said: “In US more than 60 per cent of dietary supplements and wellness products are sold online. In India, online shopping is at nascent stage as internet penetration stands at paltry 9 per cent. But still being able to sell online gives us instant advantage to cater to wider market and save on branding expenses”.

MyNutraMart.com is expected to tie-up with more than 300 brands and offer 5000 products to cater to the growing Nutritional supplements market worldwide and in particular India.

The portal offers products for cholesterol management, blood pressure management, skincare, brain and memory, depression, vision and eye. Well known supplements like Grape Seed extract, colostrum, policosanol, glucosamine, spirulina and major vitamins have been included on the portal.

“While the Bodybuilding supplements market in Southeast Asia is well developed, at the same time uninformed and fraudulent selling is on the rise. By joining hands with MyNutraMart.com, we have ensured that the customers will get the option to make informed purchase and avail some discount as well,” said Arvind M Madhok of Bodycare Nutritions India, exclusive distributor for South Asia for US based company MEGA-PRO International, deals in sports nutrition. (ANI)

Success of Inca civilization a result of global warming that lasted for 400 years

Lima (Peru), July 2 (ANI): In a new study, a team of scientists have determined that the success of the Inca was boosted by a period of global warming that lasted more than four centuries.

The new study is called “Putting the Rise of the Inca within a Climatic and Land Management Context” and was prepared by Alex Chepstow-Lusty, an English paleo-biologist working for the French Institute of Andean Studies, in Lima, Peru.

The Inca Empire was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. It began as a support group in the Cuzco area, where the legendary first Sapa Inca, Manco Capac founded the Kingdom of Cuzco around 1200.

According to a report in Living in Peru, a team of English and US scientists has analyzed pollen, seeds and isotopes in core samples taken from the deep mud of a small lake not far from Machu Picchu to determine that the success of the Inca was underpinned by a period of warming that lasted more than four centuries.

The four centuries coincided directly with the rise of this startling, hyper-productive culture that at its zenith was bigger than the Ming Dynasty China and the Ottoman Empire, the two most powerful contemporaries of the Inca.

“This period of increased temperatures allowed the Inca and their predecessors to expand, from AD 1150 onwards, their agricultural zones by moving up the mountains to build a massive system of terraces fed frequently by glacial water, as well as planting trees to reduce erosion and increase soil fertility,” said the scientists.

“They re-created the landscape and produced the huge surpluses of maize, potatoes, quinua and other crops that freed a rapidly growing population to build roads, scores of palaces like Machu Picchu and in particular the development of a large standing army,” they added.

According to Alex, the report “raises the question of whether today’s global warming may be another opportunity for the Andes.” (ANI)

Pacer Johnson may become Australia’s highest-paid cricketer

Melbourne, Mar. 31 (ANI): With 47 in three home and away series in 2008-2009, Australian fast bowler Mitchell Johnson is all set to become the nation’s highest-paid cricketer.

In the 25-man contract list likely to be announced next week, Australian selectors may promote Johnson to the No.2 spot, the Herald Sun reports.

Johnson’s elevation will be a reward for his exceptional progress this summer, in which he took 14 wickets at 11 apiece in two Tests against New Zealand, and 17 wickets at 25.99 against South Africa in three Tests in Australia then 16 at 25 in South Africa. He also blossomed into low-order big-hitter with the bat.

The individual rankings are a closely guarded secret of Cricket Australia.

In deciding the rankings the selectors assess the contribution a player has made over the past year, and forecast what he is likely to achieve in the next contract period.

In both categories, Johnson’s claims for a pay increase are substantial, because he is now considered the most critical player in the team.

Although top ranker Ponting continues to occasionally produce a masterful innings, he has averaged 39 or less in four of his past six series, indicating he is not the dominant force as was in his zenith.

While Ponting may retain his top ranking on the strength of his recent joint-Allan Border Medal win, Johnson is seen as the player who will follow him into the top spot if he can handle the upcoming matches well.

McGrath held the position, which currently commands an annual base contract fee of more than 800,000 dollars for at least three years.

Players likely to lose contracts are wrist spinner Beau Casson, fast bowler Ashley Noffke and batsman Brad Hodge, while Matthew Hayden’s retirement will create space for Phillip Hughes.

Victorian fast bowler Peter Siddle is likely to rocket into the top 10 while Mike Hussey and Brett Lee, ever-presents in the top five in recent seasons, are expected to be handed pay cuts. (ANI)

Manmohan Singh asks embassy in US to get back Gandhi’s memorabilia

New Delhi, Mar 5 (ANI): Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh on Thursday asked the embassy in the US and officials in India to do everything to get back Mahatma Gandhi’s belongings.

Some of Gandhi’s belongings, include Zenith pocket watch, steel-rimmed spectacles, a pair of sandals and an eating bowl and plate will go under hammer at 1.30 am on Friday (Indian time).

Union Culture Minister Ambika Soni said that she has got the instructions from the prime minister to get Gandhi’s belongings back.

“The prime minister has directed me to do whatever possible. The bottomline is to procure the belongings,”" Soni said.

Earlier, the Indian government rejected a proposal by the US collector to halt the controversial auction of Gandhi’s iconic round glasses.

Union Minister of State for External Affairs Anand Sharma said India cannot enter into such agreements where it involves specific areas of allocation of resources.

“Gandhi himself would not have agreed to conditions. The government of India, representing the sovereign people of this republic, cannot enter into such agreements where it involves specific areas of allocation of resources,” Sharma added. (ANI)

Mahatma Gandhi kin hopeful of getting back legacy on sale

Mumbai, Mar 5 (ANI): A great-grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, Tushar Gandhi has expressed the hope in getting back his memorabilia from an auction in New York.

“It was the responsibility of the Indian Government to get the things back. But they woke up pretty late. Last Saturday, only the government announced that they are making strong efforts. Still if the Indian Government wants, they can intervene in the matter and make a strong bid,” said Tushar Gandhi.

Tushar had earlier appealed to Indians for money to buy his great-grandfather’s belongings that are up for sale as, he said, they are part of Indian heritage that ought not to be frittered away to wealthy collectors.

“A small mistake can rob us of our national heritage. I pray nothing of this sort happens and we accomplish our mission. I hope that before it goes under the hammer some miracle will happen and an angel will fulfil our wish of getting things back,” he said.

After failing to mobilise sufficient funds for the auction, Tushar persuaded the Indian Government to intervene in the matter.

The Indian Government is reportedly holding talks with the Antiquorum Auctioneers to take the items off the auction.

Indians view the items as part of their national heritage and want them to be kept in a museum.

Some non-resident Indians have also offered to buy back the items, amid concern that time may be running out for the government to persuade the owner or the auctioneers to sell them the objects.

The auction, the largest collection of Gandhi’s possessions on sale at a time, is expected to fetch some 300,000 dollars.

The belongings of Mahatma Gandhi that are up for sale include trademark wire-rimmed glasses, a pair of sandals, a pocket watch, a bowl and a plate.

Tushar had informed that the Zenith pocket watch was gifted to Gandhi by Indira Gandhi. Gandhi used the plate and bowl for his last meal.

Tushar has launched a “people’s initiative” to raise funds to buy the items. But he is disappointed with the response from the government and the corporate sector. (ANI)

India to bring back Mahatma Gandhi’s legacy on sale

New Delhi, Mar 4 (ANI): Union Minister of State for External Affairs Anand Sharma has said that India would take all steps, including bidding, for bringing back the personal belongings of Mahatma Gandhi, which are up for auction in New York.

The belongings of Mahatma Gandhi that are up for sale include trademark wire-rimmed glasses, a pair of sandals, a pocket watch, a bowl and a plate.

“Those are part of our collective national heritage. The government’s attention was drawn through newspaper reports about the forthcoming auction. Enquiries were made. And the leadership is clear Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and also UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi that what is India’s heritage should come to us. We have accordingly advised our Embassy in Washington and the Consulate General of India in New York to do everything that is required through bidding process or otherwise to acquire father of the nation’s personal assets for the country.” Sharma told reporters here last evening.

As per media reports, India’s Foreign Ministry would ask the US State Department to prevent the auction. In an effort to stop the auction, a city High court has put an interim stay on the auction.

The injunction by Delhi court however has no validity in United States, but might strengthen the argument in stalling the auction.

The auction, the largest collection of Gandhi’s possessions on sale at a time, is to be held on Thursday and is expected to fetch some 300,000 dollars.

The proposed sale has dismayed many Indians who say it goes against the philosophy of a man who shunned material possessions and led an ascetic life.

Gandhi admirers in India want the items kept in a museum.

A great-grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, Tushar Gandhi has appealed to Indians for money to buy some of the leader’s personal belongings in a New York auction and keep them in a museum.

Tushar had informed that the Zenith pocket watch was gifted to Gandhi by Indira Gandhi. Gandhi used the plate and bowl for his last meal.

Tushar Gandhi has launched a “people’s initiative” to raise funds to buy the items. But he is disappointed with the response from the government and the corporate sector. (ANI)

Indian outrage over auction of Gandhi’s belongings in New York

Washington, Feb 24 (ANI): Indians are furious over a New York auction that is set to sell some of the personal belongings of Mahatma Gandhi, the leader of India’s freedom struggle.

The bidding for Gandhi’s distinctive, round, metal-rimmed spectacles; his leather sandals; a 1910 sterling Zenith pocket watch; and a brass bowl and plate is scheduled for March 5-6 in New York.

“By auctioning his things, we are going totally against what Gandhiji stood for. It is as if we are trying to buy a piece of Gandhiji,” The Washington Post quoted Varsha Das, director of the National Gandhi Museum in New Delhi, as saying.

“He never believed in possessing things, except for a few things he wore. He was absolutely against materialism and commercialism. It is more important to disseminate his message, to learn something from his life, rather than just possess his objects,” added Das, a member of a government committee that is examining the issue.

The items will be auctioned together by Antiquorum Auctioneers, with a starting price of 20,000-30,000 dollar.

“The watch, the bowl and the plate were given by Gandhi to his grandniece Abha Gandhi while he was still alive. She, in turn, willed it to her daughter Gita Mehta,” the paper quoted Michelle Halpern, the public relations and marketing manager for Antiquorum, as saying.

However, she declined to reveal any of the sellers’ names. Halpern said the spectacles were gifted to Colonel Muhammad Mahabat Khanji III, who ruled princely state of Junagadh.

She said the auction house has letters of authenticity for all the items.

Indian Parliamentarians have also expressed bewilderment at how such precious objects of Indian heritage had landed in foreign auction houses.

In 2007, a similar controversy erupted when the London auction house Christie’s sold Gandhi’s last letters, written about two weeks before his assassination. The Indian government, under pressure from lawmakers, acquired the letters for an undisclosed sum. (ANI)

Gandhi’s sandals, spectacles to be sold at New York auction

London, Feb.11 (ANI): Sandals and spectacles belonging to Mahatma Gandhi, India’s Father of the Nation, are to be sold at an auction in New York next month.

The auction also includes his pocket watch.
According to The Telegraph, Gandhi gave his metal rimmed, circular lensed glasses to an army colonel with the words: ‘These gave me the vision to free India’.

The sandals were given to a British army officer in 1931 prior to the Round Table talks in London that were held to discuss Indian self rule.

His Zenith pocket watch was given to his grand niece, Abha Gandhi, his assistant of six years, in whose arms he died after being shot in 1948.

Gandhi had few possessions, and these items are of huge interest and expected to be sold for prices in excess of the estimated 30,000 pounds.

A bowl and plate that were given by Gandhi to his grand niece are also for sale.

The items have letters of provenance and were collected by the unnamed vendor who is now selling them.

Michelle Halpern, from Antiquorum Auctioneers in New York, which is staging the auction, said: “This is a truly historic sale of Gandhi’s possessions. Of course he didn’t have much, so anything of his that comes up for sale is worth that much more.”

The sale is being held on March 4 and 5. (ANI)

Dissident author says Vietnam founder Ho Chi Minh’s mistress was ‘murdered by his comrades’

Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam), Jan.22 (ANI): Ho Chi Minh, the father of modern Vietnam, kept a mistress 40 years his junior who was murdered by his comrades, an author claims.
The Telegraph quotes Duong Thu Huong, 61, whose works are banned but widely admired in Vietnam, as saying that the man the Vietnamese worship as ‘Uncle Ho’ kept a mistress 40 years his junior who was murdered by Communist Party bosses.

“His companions were terrified it would damage his saint-like image,” the author claims.

She also claims that Ho Chi Minh, who died aged 79 in 1969, hastened his own death in hospital to spite his fellow leaders and “cast a curse on the corrupt regime”.

Huong said that the key claims in her novel, The Zenith, are factually accurate and based on 15 years of research. She admits using some poetic license with other elements of the plot.

The novel has already caused a stir in Vietnamese intellectual circles with excerpts widely circulated on the Internet in Vietnamese and French before its official publication. It will be published in English later this year.

But it is certain to appall the country’s contemporary Communist leadership, who brook little criticism and are currently engaged in a clampdown on the already tightly controlled media.

Ho Chi Minh led the Vietnamese independence struggle against France and then led the Communist North against South Vietnam and the US during the 1960s. He died before he could see victory in the conflict Vietnamese call the “American War”. (ANI)

Dissident author says Vietnam founder Ho Chi Minh’s mistress was ‘murdered by his comrades’

Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam), Jan.22 (ANI): Ho Chi Minh, the father of modern Vietnam, kept a mistress 40 years his junior who was murdered by his comrades, an author claims.
The Telegraph quotes Duong Thu Huong, 61, whose works are banned but widely admired in Vietnam, as saying that the man the Vietnamese worship as ‘Uncle Ho’ kept a mistress 40 years his junior who was murdered by Communist Party bosses.

“His companions were terrified it would damage his saint-like image,” the author claims.

She also claims that Ho Chi Minh, who died aged 79 in 1969, hastened his own death in hospital to spite his fellow leaders and “cast a curse on the corrupt regime”.

Huong said that the key claims in her novel, The Zenith, are factually accurate and based on 15 years of research. She admits using some poetic license with other elements of the plot.

The novel has already caused a stir in Vietnamese intellectual circles with excerpts widely circulated on the Internet in Vietnamese and French before its official publication. It will be published in English later this year.

But it is certain to appall the country’s contemporary Communist leadership, who brook little criticism and are currently engaged in a clampdown on the already tightly controlled media.

Ho Chi Minh led the Vietnamese independence struggle against France and then led the Communist North against South Vietnam and the US during the 1960s. He died before he could see victory in the conflict Vietnamese call the “American War”. (ANI)