Schumacher makes sensational return to F1

The German motor racing legend, who retired in 2006, will replace injured Felipe Massa in the European Grand Prix in Valencia on August 23, and possibly for the remainder of the season.

"The Ferrari-Marlboro team plans to give Michael Schumacher Felipe Massa's car until the Brazilian returns to competition," Ferrari announced in a statement on its website.

The statement added: "Michael Schumacher says he is available and in the coming days he will pursue a specific programme of preparation at the end of which it will be possible to confirm his participation in the European Grand Prix."

Schumacher, 40, commented: "Ultimately I like challenges and this is a great challenge."

"The important thing is that Massa gets better," he continued, adding that he "just wanted to help the firm (Ferrari) when they needed it".

Schumacher's return was arranged at a meeting between him and Ferrari president Luca di Montezamolo at Ferrari's headquarters at Maranello on Wednesday morning.

News of Schumacher's comeback to the sport he virtually made his own came 24 hours after the possibility had first been raised by his spokeswoman, Sabine Kehm.

"The whole thing will be considered by Ferrari. If they approach Michael, then he will consider it," Kehm had said.

She added: "Usually, I would say he's not interested because he's fine with his life and he doesn't miss anything but now the situation is so different - it's very hypothetical - and Michael doesn't want to step into that (discussion)."

Schumacher, who is on Ferrari's pay roll as an advisor, will be filling in for Massa, who is recovering from surgery following his horrific high speed crash in qualifying for last weekend's Hungarian Grand Prix.

Only this month the 40-year-old had made it clear speaking at the German Grand Prix that he was not interested in making a full time comeback.

But the offer of a temporary return to the Ferrari cockpit obviously proved too much to resist for 'Schumi' who has recovered from a neck injury sustained in a motorcycle accident in February.

Source:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

AR Rahman’s son sings for Hollywood

Music maestro AR Rahman , who is one of the most celebrated personalities in the music world, has reason to be proud not only professionally but also personally.

His six-and-ahalf-year-old son, Alim, aspires to become a playback singer. And he is wasting no time to reach his goal. Last week, Alim sung a full song in the Hollywood film, Couples Retreat for which AR Rahman has composed the music.

A source said, “AR Rahman’s family and people in his office have still not got over the fact that Rahman’s little son has sung the song. They are very excited and happy and can’t stop talking about it. His mom and dad are very proud of him.”

Couples Retreat is a romantic comedy directed by Peter Billingsley and stars Vince Vaughn, Kristen Bell and Jason Bateman in lead roles. Keeping with the lighthearted theme of the film, Rahman has composed a soothing and light score. The film is expected to release end 2009.


Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/

Heavy rains lash national capital; one dead

New Delhi: Heavy rains lashed the capital in which one person died of apparent electrocution and crippled the city inundating several low-lying areas, causing massive traffic jams with thousands of people stranded for hours till late tonight and disrupting flights.

A 36-year-old identified as Naveen, a resident of Gupta Colony, died apparently getting electrocuted after coming in contact with an electric pole which had a short circuit following the rains. The incident took place at Ramaiyya Chowk in Central Delhi's Mori Gate at around 9.20 pm.
The season's heaviest rainfall which virtually continued for five to six hours since evening gave relief from the prolonged heat spell to the rain-starved Capital but left a trail of misery as a massive traffic gridlock across the city frustrated people returning home in water-logged roads.

The city received 29.4 mm of rains between 5:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m., a senior official at the Meteorological Department said, adding rain gauges in the city recorded 69 mm of rains from Sunday evening till 8:30 p.m. today. More rains are predicted for tomorrow.
Trees were uprooted and overhead electrical cables collapsed in some areas, adding to the woes of people hit hard by huge pile-ups on roads and overflowing drains. Numerous autorickshaws broke down, their drivers blaming the low-floor gas engines for their misery.

There were reports of a wall collapse in Sangam Vihar-- where two people were injured--and Jehangirpuri.

Massive water-logging and traffic snarls occured in many areas, including India Gate, ITO, R K Puram, Dhaula Kuan and localities in West Delhi and East Delhi.
Traffic lights snapped at several intersections compounding the chaos on the arterial roads where scores of vehicles packed up after water filtered into the engines.

Even in the better organised Luyten's Delhi, there was no respite. MPs leaving the Rajya Sabha complained their vehicles were struck for hours on overflowing streets.
Some roads and large parts of many roads simply went under water, thanks to choking drains. In some areas, drain water overflowed on to the roads.

Power outages were reported in many areas.

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) control room was inundated with complaints of flooding in several residential areas.

Airport affected

Due to heavy rains, flights coming from Aurangabad, Lucknow, Goa and Bangalaore were delayed by up to two hours, sources at the airport said.

Also, the use of one runway (main runway) led to congestion at the national capital's air space and some of them were diverted.
Arriving and departing passengers had a tough time wading through water outside the terminal ID. An official admitted that it would take hours to clear the area of water.

During heavy rains, since the visibility drops, so only one runway (28/10) is being used, ATC sources said. This leads to increase in gaps between the landing of two aircraft as compared to other days, thus ensuring congestion in the airspace and delay in flights, they said.

There were also reports of leaks in the new domestic departure terminal, causing inconvenience to the passengers. A few days back, rain water had accumulated at the check-in areas in front of the airlines counters.
Due to continuous rains, some of the x-ray machines had to be shut down in order to prevent damage to them, sources said.

Rail traffic disrupted

The signals on the tracks from the New Delhi Railway Station and the Old Delhi have failed leading to chaotic situation for thousands of passengers. There has been no movement of train traffic after 9 p.m., the official said.

Engineers were at the scene to determine the damage and carry out emergency repair work, he said.
The extreme weather hampered the work but the situation was being monitored closely "to bring the line back-up as soon as possible", the official said.

The Hazrat Nizamuddin track was also flooded with rain water.


Source: http://www.zeenews.com/

Second arrest at Sania Mirza home

Ajay Singh Yadav told the police that he had been in love with Ms Mirza - ranked 85th in the world - for five years and wanted to marry her.

On Wednesday another man, Mohammad Ashraf, was arrested after threatening to kill himself if Ms Mirza did not marry him. Both men are in custody.

The tennis player is to be engaged to a family friend on Friday.

Security has been tightened at Sania Mirza's bungalow in the upmarket Banjara Hills area of Hyderabad.

The police said Ajay Singh, from Noida in Uttar Pradesh, arrived in the city in the morning and rushed to Banjara Hills, saying he wanted to meet the tennis player.

When he did not go away despite warnings, the police took him in to custody.

"I have loved her for the last five years, and want to marry her," Mr Singh said, remaining cool and composed.

Based on an identity card he carried with him, the police identified him as a student at the Dronacharya College of Engineering in Noida.

It was a repeat of Wednesday's drama, in which Mohammed Ashraf, an engineering student from Kerala, tried to enter Ms Mirza's house and threatened to commit suicide if her engagement was not cancelled.

Mr Ashraf, a resident of Manjeri in Malappuram, said he wanted to "propose" to Ms Mirza. He said he fell in love with her two years ago, when he watched her playing tennis in Bangalore.

The Banjara Hills Police charged Mr Ashraf with offences including trespass, criminal intimidation and uttering words or making gestures outraging the modesty of a woman. He was sent before a local court, which remanded him in custody for 14 days.

Ajay Singh will also appear in court and be sent to the same jail where Mr Ashraf is lodged.


Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/

Nokia N86 8MP Smartphone

The award winning Nokia N86 8MP, the most advanced Nokia imaging device, is coming to the United States.

The smartphone is a 2-way slide dual-mode mobile computer supporting WCDMA/HSDPA, EGSM, and WLAN. Enjoy videos, music, and graphics on the 2.6” Active Matrix OLED display and orientation sensor.

One can find directions and locations with the integrated A-GPS and included maps. At the same time it can take photos with a 8-megapixel autofocus camera with Carl Zeiss optics, Tessar lens and dual LED flash.

N86 8MP comes with additional features include Flash lite 3.1, USB charging with simultaneous data transfer, UPnP and TV out. Supported WCDMA frequencies depend on the region where the device is available.

With its eight megapixel camera, dual LED flash and Carl Zeiss Optics, the Nokia N86 8MP will allow US consumers to carry a true replacement for single purpose point-and-shoot camera.

Sharing images and video with your social network couldn’t be easier with the Share Online client that is preinstalled on the Nokia N86 8MP and its one-click upload.

With over-the-air uploads, media can be seen within seconds from Ovi Share and other media sharing sites. The Nokia N86 8MP also comes preloaded with Ovi services including Ovi Maps, N-Gage and Ovi Files.

With exceptional build quality and loaded with features, the Nokia N86 8MP continues the reputation that people expect from the Nokia Nseries.

The Nokia N86 8MP will be available for $558.00 through Nokia Flagship Stores.
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Source: http://gizmopassion.com

Gambhir now No.1 in Tests

Calcutta: Gautam Gambhir has become the first Indian batsman in over four years to head the batting rankings, replacing Pakistan’s Mohammed Yousuf in the latest Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for Test batsmen issued on Wednesday.

Incidentally, the one-day International batting chart is also led by an Indian, captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

Yousuf, who had returned to the batting table last week in number one position, has dropped four places to the fifth position.

Gambhir became the sixth Indian batsman to lead the batting table in this version of the game.

The 27-year-old left-handed opener is the first India batsman after former captain Rahul Dravid to top the batting chart.

Sachin Tendulkar is the other India batsman in the last 15 years who has topped the batting chart.

There is also a change at the top of the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings for Test bowlers for the first time in more than three years with Muttiah Muralidharan handing over the baton to South Africa fast bowler Dale Steyn.

Batsmen

1. G. Gambhir; 2. Y. Khan; 3. K. Sangakkara; 4. S. Chanderpaul; 5. Md Yousuf; 6. R. Ponting; 7. M. Jayawardena; 8. M. Clarke; 9. G. Smith; 10. K. Pietersen

Bowlers

1. D. Steyn; 2. M. Muralidharan; 3. M. Johnson; 4. S. Clark; 5. M. Ntini; 6. H. Singh; 7. J. Anderson; 8. P. Harris; 9. C. Vaas; 10. Z. Khan

All-rounders

1. J. Kallis; 2. M. Johnson; 3. D. Vettori; 4. A. Flintoff; 5. C. Vaas Top


Source: http://www.telegraphindia.com/

Hillary Clinton to visit India with climate change envoy

As New Delhi prepares to greet Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton speculations are rife that there will be important agreements that would be signed between India and US to take the strategic partnership forward.

Clinton has already said that she is visiting New Delhi to start a strategic dialogue which will include issues like climate change and clean energy. To put the issue of climate change on fast track, Clinton will be joined by President Barrack Obama's special envoy for climate change, Todd Stern, who is known as a man in hurry.

Stern wants Obama to use his clout to urgently sign a new international treaty to control global carbon emissions in the name of fighting global warming.

Before the global leaders meet in Copenhagen, Denmark in coming winter on December 7-18 to push the global agreement on climate change. Hillary wants to use her charm and goodwill to soften India's stand. India is steadfast in its argument that it will not accept any quantifiable cap and specific deadline over carbon emission that can hamper India's development.

India surely agrees that per capita carbon emission of Indians will not be more than per capita carbon emission of any Western countries. Stern is behind US's slightly softer change where it now agrees in principle that the America would like to reduce greenhouse gas emission by 80 percent by 2050 till, US has not agreed for any short term goals.

In 1998, US senate has by a vote of 95 to 0 in the Byrd Hagel Resolution agreed that US would not agree to any economically harmful international climate agreement that did not also include China, India and other major developing countries.

But, times have changed now. Bush administration had opposed Kyoto protocol on the climate change. During Bill Clinton's presidency Stern, acclaimed lawyer and environment expert, was senior White House negotiator at the Kyoto. Recently, he accompanied Hillary Clinton to China.

Frank Wisner, former US ambassador to India, was in New Delhi on Tuesday to bat for Indo-US ties. Wisner said, 'sensible Americans understand that we cannot untangle climate change issues unless we sit together and take steps to strike a common position to make the Copenhagen Climate Conference in December 2009 a success." While speaking on Obama administration he said, "Obama administration is as committed to Indo-US nuclear deal as Bush administration."

In New Delhi, Wisner did some plain speaking as well. While agreeing that India's stand on climate change is understandable but he said that somehow some deal has to be reached by India and China to agree to limit the carbon emission. He also said that protectionism is the cheap and easier way out to fight back economic downturn. Mid-west America is carving for it.

Wisner rubbished the arguments of think tanks and business circles over the Obama administration's commitment to the "strategic partnership" scripted by president George Bush and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. He said, "Let me assure you that this Administration is as committed to the US-India nuclear deal as the previous one. Let us not wrestle with small issues on whether this Administration is pro or anti-India. Our task ahead is much larger. We need to set bigger roles for ourselves and we have to work out solutions to the pressing global and regional issues together," he declared while addressing business persons and strategic analysts at a Roundtable organized by FICCI.

While commenting on Clinton's visit, Ambassador Wisner said, "Clinton would be coming to India to make a point�that this relationship (between US and India) was of critical importance to the US. It would also lay the groundwork for President Obama's visit to this country in 2010." Wisner said during her visit to India, Clinton would focus on challenging global issues such as the stalled Doha Round, imperatives for mitigating climate change and the looming spectre of protectionism that stares nations in the face.

"We have get out of the global mess that the Doha Round is currently in. If we don't keep an eye on expanding global trade we all will be worse off than now. The current differences in negotiating positions at the trade round have to be sorted out on priority, Wisner pointed out.

Source: http://news.rediff.com/

CPM ejects VS from politburo; lets off Vijayan

NEW DELHI: CPM
on Sunday formally lost its moral high ground on corruption as it humiliated Kerala chief minister V S Achuthanandan,one of its tallest leaders and also a founder of the party
, by removing him from the politburo while state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan, an accused in the SNC-Lavlin case and the first politburo member ever to face corruption charges, was left untouched

Though politburo member Brinda Karat claimed the decision to remove Achuthanandan was unanimous, many central committee members disputed it. A large section of politburo was in favour of action against Vijayan also. But party general secretary Prakash Karat, supported by others in the central committee, held that corruption charge against Vijayan was politically motivated whereas Achuthanandan's utterings against corruption was "violation of organisational principle and discipline".

The report prepared by the politburo on Lavlin case had made the party line clear. It said SNC-Lavlin case was approved by the state committee.

Achuthanandan is not the first senior CPM leader to face disciplinary action. In the past, doyens like Nripen Chakrabarty in Tripura, M V Raghavan, K R Gowri and K P R Gopalan in Kerala were thrown out of the party.

The focus now shifts to Kerala where state committee and secretariat will be meeting from Tuesday. Karat will attend the meeting.

Vijayan's influence is so strong that the party parroted its oft-repeated defence of the man by stating that he was "not involved in any corrupt practice whatsoever" and promised to fight the case "politically and legally".

In the past, especially during NDA rule, CPM used Comptroller and Auditor General reports to allege corruption in disinvestment of Modern Foods and Balco. But now, the party interprets CAG report on SNC-Lavlin deal as no indictment of Vijayan. Suneet Chopra, a central committee member, had an interesting take, "CAG report does not indict Vijayan. He is a great leader. In three months, you will realise what a great decision the party has taken." He could not explain the suspense of three months.

Despite the humiliation, Achuthanandan refused to back down from his stand on corruption. While accepting the party's decision to remove him from the politburo, he made it clear that there was been no change in his stand on SNC-Lavlin case.

Achuthanandan could not attend Sunday's central committee meeting due to high blood pressure. After the meeting, Vijayan and state home minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan went to see him in Kerala House but the meeting barely lasted a few seconds. "He is angry and upset," a close aide said. Interestingly, Achuthanandan was a one-time mentor of Vijayan.

Sharp moral decline in the party can be gauged from the fact that Chopra was equating Vijayan with Bhagat Singh apart from comparing Lavlin case with Singh throwing a bomb in Central Assembly against Defence of India Act. When pointed out that unlike Vijayan, Singh was not charged for corruption, Chopra still held his ground, claiming a grand conspiracy against communists.

Central committee members from Kerala and many other states said CPM's decimation in the 2011 assembly election in Kerala was almost certain. A major cause of its dismal performance in the Lok Sabha election was widespread perception that the party was siding with a leader accused of corruption.


Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Infosys beats street predictions, posts 17% rise in Q1 net

Sensex bellwether Infosys Technologies beat street estimates to post a modest profit growth for the June quarter over a year ago, but a strengthening rupee prompted the company to pare its rupee forecast for the full year-ahead.

However, the company reported sequential earnings de-growth for the second successive quarter amidst persisting volume decline and pricing pressure while stating that the uncertainty in business environment would continue till an expected recovery in 2010.

Infosys registered a 17.3 per cent year-on-year growth in net profit at Rs 1,527 crore for June quarter, much lower than March quarter’s growth of 29.1 per cent. Revenues for the quarter grew 12.7 per cent to Rs 5,472 crore, almost half the rate at which it grew in March quarter. Sequentially, the June quarter net profits declined 5.3 per cent, while revenues fell 2.9 per cent over the March quarter.

“Given that the short-term environment is still challenging, we have to be cautious,” said Mr S. Gopalakrishnan, CEO, Infosys. “There is still volatility and uncertainty in the environment.”

The rupee which gained 5.5 per cent against the dollar in the June quarter prompted the company to reduce its full year forecast to Rs 21,416 crore from Rs 21,747 crore. In April, the company had projected its fiscal 2010 revenues to be between Rs 22,066 crore and Rs 22,898 crore.

However, Infosys increased the lower-end of its dollar term guidance on the back of the dollar gaining against the Euro, the Pound and Australian dollar. It now expects revenue of $4.45 billion to $4.52 billion, compared with its previous estimate of $4.35 billion to $4.52 billion.

“The better than expected volume growth and favourable cross currency movements helped us to beat the dollar-term guidance,” said Mr V. Balakrishnan, CFO, Infosys. The company posted dollar term revenue of $1,122 million, beating its estimate of $1,060 million and $1,080 million. In rupee terms, it beat the lower-end of its guidance of Rs 5,379 crore and Rs 5,480 crore.

For the September quarter, Infosys expects income in the range of Rs 5,318 crore and Rs 5,413 crore.

Volumes declined by 1.1 per cent, better than the company’s estimates of three to four per cent. Pricing decreased by about 5 per cent. “Most of the price negotiations are behind us, but that does not mean that such re-negotiations will not surface again,” said Mr S.D. Shibulal, COO.

The lower volumes have forced the company’s utilisation (excluding trainees) to a low of 70.9 per cent, compared with 74.5 per cent in the previous quarter and 72.2 per cent in the year-ago period. Infosys also saw revenue from its top client, British Telecom, drop below 5 per cent during the quarter. Though Infosys added 27 new clients during the quarter, one of the lowest in recent times, the repeat business accounted for 98.7 per cent of its revenues.

Infosys said though the pipeline looks good, the delay in decision making was worrisome. The pace of decision making comes down every time there is negative news in the macro environment. Decision making has not accelerated over the quarters.

Source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/

Ganguly game for cricket's power politics?

Former India captain Sourav Ganguly on Wednesday indicated his willingness to begin a new innings as a cricket administrator, saying he wants to stay in touch with the game post-retirement.

Ganguly, who turned 37 on Wednesday, said he may have quit international cricket but wants to stay in touch with the game as an administrator.

"I have stopped playing cricket six months ago. I would be connected to cricket. Bengal has a lot of talent and I want to take care of it," the country's most successful captain told reportetrs here.

Already the opposition camp in Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) is planning to pit the former captain against CAB President Jagmohan Dalmiya and it could be the stepping stone before Ganguly goes on to head the BCCI, which, according to the rotation policy it follows, is scheduled to have its 2014 President from the East Zone.

To attain the BCCI top post, Ganguly, however, would require to attend at least two annual general body meetings of the board.

Ganguly, meanwhile, kept the cards close to his chest and said, "I want to be a part of cricket in Bengal. I will take one step at a time, don't know what lies ahead."

Dalmiya, on the other hand, played down the development and doubted the veracity of the reports.

"I've got nothing to say on this. This has been done to create a controversy and I'm not getting into it," the former BCCI President said.

Ganguly quit international cricket last year, having accumulated 7212 runs from 113 Tests with an average of 42.17. In one-dayers, his record is even more impressive, amassing 11363 runs from 311 ODIs averaging 41.02.

Ganguly, however, remains part of the Kolkata Knight Riders, which he led in the first edition of the Indian Premier League before Brendon McCullum replaced him.

Source: http://cricket.ndtv.com

On Board PM's Special Aircraft, July 07: India will convey in no uncertain terms to Pakistan that it has to take demonstrable action to bring the perpetrators of the Mumbai terror attacks when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh meets his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani in Egypt next week.

While New Delhi
recognises that Islamabad has its own problems on the terror front it cannot accept these as an excuse for inaction against terrorism directed against India, according to sources in the delegation accompanying Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for the G-8 summit in L 'Aquila in Italy.
The meeting between the two prime ministers slated for July 16 on the sidelines of the Non-Aligned Summit(NAM)in Sharm-el-Sheikh will be preceded by a meeting between their Foreign Secretaries Shivshankar Menon and Salman Bashir on July 14.

The Singh-Gilani meeting will be a follow-up to the discussions he had with President Asif Ali Zardari in Yekaterinberg in Russia last month when he delivered a stern message to Zardari in the full glare of media that his mandate was to tell Pakistan that it has to take action against terrorism emanating from its soil against India.
The sources said Pakistan has told India that they have five people in their custody who were the masterminds of the Mumbai attacks and they have declared 22 people as proclaimed offenders they were looking for.

At their meetings in Egypt, the two Foreign Secretaries will review matters relating to what action Pakistan has taken on its assurances to India that it will contain terrorism against India and to dismantle the terror infrastructure on its soil.

"They will tell us what they have done and we will tell them what we expect from them," the sources said.

India is actually not interested in the judicial process in Pakistan because it doubts whether it is capable of delivering justice.
About PM's virtual snub to Zardari in Russia and his cancellation of the trip to Egypt, the sources said India has no say in who the leaders are in Pakistan and cannot decide who it will talk to there.

India has also never said it will not talk to Pakistan at all, the sources said, adding the only issue is that the process of resumption of the Composite Dialogue with that country is not possible right now.

The sources pointed out that it has been one year since the attack on the Indian Embassy in Kabul and there has been no action by Pakistan against those responsible for it.
They wondered why there is no demonstrable action against those elements working against India.
The sources said Manmohan Singh told Zardari that Pakistan has taken some action against Taliban but when it comes to India there is no demonstrable evidence of action.

The sources said Jamat Ud Dawa (JuD), which is said to have been banned after the Mumbai attacks, is always there existing in some form or other.

New Delhi has also come to understand that Islamabad is doing some spoofing by which they use decoy phones on the borders to draw red herrings to mislead India.
The sources said India was not looking for any breakthrough in talks with Pakistan because dealing with terror is not a one-off incident that you can switch off or switch on at will.
On increased US assistance to Pakistan, officials feel there was no problem as long as it is meant for betterment of its economy and people but when equipments are given to Pakistan which is not absolutely not necessary it causes concern in India.

Source: http://www.zeenews.com/

Divestment when time is right: Pranab

NEW DELHI: Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee cleared the air on PSU divestment in an exclusive interview to ET Now, saying that the "appropriate"
time for equity sale had to be carefully chosen and this wasn’t the right time when market sentiments were down.

The minister sought to instil confidence in a spooked market, which nosedived in the absence of the 'D' word in the Budget
speech, by asserting that the government's commitment to divestment has been spelt out in the Economic Survey.

itimes: Join discussion on the Budget

"There are things that should be done and things that can be done," he said, adding that he couldn't have possibly listed names of companies and how much of their stake would be sold in his budget speech. He added that the promoter holding in all listed companies would have to be reduced to a certain level in order to increase public participation, and PSUs came in that category of companies.

"My primary objective right now is to come back to high growth rate. My target is to touch 7% GDP growth this year and take it to 8% to 9% thereafter," Mukherjee said. "If we are supported by a good monsoon this is more than possible," he added.

"We will have to see how the manufacturing sector does." The minister was confident that the policy initiatives taken in the Budget would put the economy on a high growth trajectory.

"When external trade is in bad shape and revenues are going down, I'm providing stimulus (through extra spending) to pull up growth domestically," he said. He added that between interim Budget and now, the government has increased spending by Rs 60,000 crore - Rs 40,000 crore by the Centre and Rs 20,000 crore by the states.

The FM said, "It will be a domestic demand generated growth. Since the contribution of direct tax to GDP is high, once demand revives and industry is back on a high growth path, we can expect higher revenue." He added, "I have spoken to all states and the industry and sought their contribution. With the help of the states we will be able to roll out GST, a major reforms in indirect taxes on schedule," he said.


Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/

Lalu vs Didi: Railway Ministers, then and now

New Delhi: If the previous Railway Minister Lalu Prasad made Patliputra or Patna his focus of development, the current Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee may just have some sops ready for her home state of Bengal.

Lalu Prasad gave new projects to Bihar and Mamata Banerjee is likely to follow him in that aspect by looking farther eastwards.

But speaking to mediamen, Mamata Didi categorically denied having any plans to favour one state over the other.

She said, "I am taking charge from Bengal, it doesn't mean that the work will be limited to Bengal."

Instead, she may want to woo the aam aadmi or the common man. "We shall provide a monthly ticket at the cost of Rs 20 for the poor people whose monthly income is 500 rupees," said the Railway Minister as people wonder what's in her kitty regarding the Railway Budget to be presented on Friday.

Mamata Banerjee takes over the Indian Railways after its turnaround story under Lalu that got the world's top business schools to the Rail Bhawan for a lesson from its CEO.

The Railways had posted an impressive profit worth a whopping Rs 90,000 crore without having to hike passenger fares.

Lalu Prasad had even said in the Parliament in flowery verses after presenting the Rail Budget the year before that the Railways' engine will keep trundling on the path of progress even later.

Speaking on the Lalu versus Mamata comparison, senior journalist Paranjoy Guha Thakurta said, "He (Lalu) did not interfere in the working of professionals and technocrats. It had much to do with the fact that the economy had grown at a pace faster than ever before. Right now, the economy is in a phase of slowdown. To that extent, Mamata Banerjee will be far more constrained."

The new Railway Minister hasn't done much to favour her home state till date. If the kulhars (earthen cups for serving tea on trains) was Lalu's gift to the aam admi, < Mamata Didi's taste buds were tickled by the Bengali menu of macher jhol that she promptly transferred to the Railways' menu.

Her austerity drive has begun as she has put a stop to Railway officers' international tours and would take a less lavish passage on the Railways, unlike her predecessor.


Source: http://ibnlive.in.com/

Delhi High Court legalizes homosexuality

NEW DELHI: In a historic judgement, the Delhi High Court on Thursday decriminalized homosexuality by reading down section 377 of the Indian penal code.

The Section 377 of the IPC as far as it criminalizes gay sex among consenting adults is violation of fundamental rights, said the high court. However, Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code which criminalizes homosexuality, will continue for non-consensual and non-vaginal sex.

Full text of Delhi HC judgment

Any kind of discrimination is anti-thesis of right to equality, said the court, while allowing plea of gay rights activists for decriminalization of homosexuality.

Our reporter Smriti Singh from the court sketched the rejoice of the LGBT community.

Soon after the judgement, the supporters of the LGBT rejoiced the moment of victory and called it as the "first step to a better future". “Great moment for us, we are hoping that the court will pass an order in our favor, we have kept our finger-across,” she further added.

It is amazing to see, how we have won the battle, said Shivangi Rai, counsel for the NAZ Foundation.

A bench of Chief Justice Ajit Prakash Shah and Justice S Muralidhar said that if not amended, section 377 of the IPC would violate Article 21 of the Indian constitution, which states that every citizen has equal opportunity of life and is equal before law.

The court said that this judgement will hold till Parliament chooses to amend the law.

"In our view Indian Constitutional law does not permit the statutory criminal law to be held captive by the popular misconception of who the LGBTs (lesbian gay bisexual transgender) are.

"It cannot be forgotten that discrimination is antithesis of equality and that it is the recognition of equality which will foster dignity of every individual," the bench said in its 105-page judgement.

Section 377, a law from the British Raj era, says homosexuality and "unnatural sex" is a criminal act.

While the home ministry wanted the petition to be dismissed, the health ministry supported its contention that section 377 criminalized homosexuality per se, it was obstructing the AIDS/HIV prevention efforts among high-risk groups. Whatever the outcome, this is the second time the Delhi high court will be pronouncing on Naz Foundation’s petition against section 377. In 2004, it dismissed the petition at the preliminary stage stating that “an academic challenge to the constitutionality of a legislative provision could not be entertained.” It further said that when no personal injury was caused to the petitioner by this provision, the petition could not be examined.

The foundation then approached the Supreme Court, which disapproved the manner in which the high court had disposed of the matter. SC observed that when there was a debate on this issue the world over, “where is the question of the petition being academic? We are not able to accept the approach of the high court that it is an academic exercise and there is no personal injury.” Accordingly, in 2006, SC directed HC to reconsider the matter in detail. The judgment is coming close on the heels of statements from ministers on the possibility of a legislative intervention because of growing demands from the community of lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders (LGBT). If the judgment serves the purpose of decriminalizing homosexuality, the government will be spared the burden of amending a provision laden with religious and cultural sensitivities.

Interestingly, in the new team of law officers appointed by the government, at least two of them — attorney general Goolam Vahanvati and additional solicitor general Indira Jaising —- have publicly supported the demand for decriminalizing homosexuality.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Tech Mahindra's open offer for Satyam ends

BANGALORE, July 1 (Reuters) - Tech Mahindra's (TEML.BO) public offer to acquire an additional stake in Mahindra Satyam (SATY.BO) ended on Wednesday, and analysts said the offer would have received a poor response due to a spike in the share price of the fraud-hit Indian outsourcer.

Tech Mahindra, majority owned by Mahindra & Mahindra (MAHM.BO), will now go for a second round of preferential allotment of shares to gain a majority stake in Mahindra Satyam.

It bought a 31 percent stake of new equity in Mahindra Satyam in April, and on June 12 launched an open offer to buy up to 20 percent in the open market at 58 rupees a share to take its stake to 51 percent.

But shares in Mahindra Satyam, earlier known as Satyam Computer Services, rose 3.7 percent on Wednesday to 73.55 rupees and the stock hasn't dipped below 70 rupees since the launch of the open offer.

"The response to the offer would have been very, very poor as the market price of Satyam shares is sharply higher than the open offer price," said Tejas Doshi, head of research at Mumbai brokerage Sushil Finance.

"I would be surprised if they get even 5 percent of the shares that they were planning to buy."

Tech Mahindra, 31 percent-owned by Britain's BT Group (BT.L), said in a statement to the stock exchanges the final numbers of shares tendered and accepted in the public offer would be announced on July 8.

If the offer is not fully subscribed to Tech Mahindra can opt for a second preferential issue of shares by Satyam to raise its stake to not more than 51 percent of the expanded share capital.

"They would go ahead and do it," Doshi said. "That will mean the money will go back to Satyam and strengthen the company."

Tech Mahindra said in the statement the second preferential allotment of shares would also be at 58 rupees a share.

A spokesperson at Tech Mahindra, based in western Indian city of Pune, refused to provide details on the open offer.

Satyam's founder and chairman shocked investors in January by saying profits had been overstated for years, putting in doubt the survival of a company once ranked as India's fourth-largest software services exporter.

Tech Mahindra made a bid worth around $580 million in April's auction for a controlling stake


Source: http://www.reuters.com/