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April 6, 2014, 3:27 am

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UPA govt trying to interfere in investigations against RIL gas price scam

Posted on April 6, 2014 by sagarmedia

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UPA govt trying to interfere in investigations against RIL gas price scam From: Media Cell AAP <mediacellaap@gmail.com> Sun, 6 Apr ’14 2:41p                                                                               Date: Sunday, April 6                     The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) strongly condemns the desperate attempts by the Congress-led UPA’s central government to influence the ongoing investigation into the multi-crore natural gas price hike scam by Delhi government’s Anti-Corruption Branch. The opinion by a central government’s law officer (Solicitor General) reported in the media is shocking and clearly establishes collusion between the petroleum ministry and the Reliance Industries Limited, which is aimed at providing this company an unjustified gain of Rs 54,500 crore every year. The Solicitor General (SG) appears to be trying to create an erroneous impression that even if any central minister allegedly commits a crime in Delhi, then no action can be taken against such a minister. The timing of the SG’s opinion is questionable and raises suspicion that the UPA government, which is about to demit office in a month’s time is using its law officers to avoid facing the law, once it is out of power. What was least expected from a law officer was to have taken into account the fact that the Election Commission has deferred the central government’s decision to double the prices of natural gas from April 1. Why has the opinion been rendered nearly two months after the FIR was registered by the Anti-Corruption wing ? What is surprising is that the SG has used the language quite similar to that of the BJP leadership in raising a false and unjustified bogey of federalism in their combined attempt to bail out the RIL and support the petroleum ministry’s move to double the prices of natural gas. The clear proof of Congress-led UPA and the BJP are together in bailing out the RIL was their decision to vote together in the Delhi assembly on February 14 to defeat the AAP government’s Janlokpal bill. This took place merely three days after the Arvind Kejriwal government had directed the Anti-Corruption Wing to register an FIR against the RIL and petroleum minister M Veerappa Moily, among others.  Why are the Congress and the BJP, both, shying away from revealing the amount of funds they have received for the Lok Sabha elections ? Can these parties declare that they have not received any funds from the RIL ? The SG’s opinion raises serious questions about professional ethics also. He is the same law officer, who on April 3 tried to defend the centre’s decision to double the prices of natural gas before the Supreme Court. Is it justified for a law officer who has been consistently taking a pro-RIL stance in his opinions/submissions to comment on the alleged criminality of the same company, which hobnobbed with the UPA government to impose a huge financial hike on the people ?    

Regards AAP Media Cell

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April 6, 2014, 3:34 am

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Boletín informativo. Domingo 6 de Abril 2014. La más visto de la semana EN LA SEDE DE LA COMISIÓN EUROPEA EN ESPAÑA  CCOO y UGT piden por carta a la CE el fin de la austeridad  "Con 26,5 millones de personas en desempleo, es el momento de cambiar las políticas para que éstas sirvan para crear empleo y recuperar derechos", reclaman en la misiva los sindicatos. Las causas del enorme desempleo y la baja ocupación de la UE  Por Vicenç Navarro | El elevado desempleo es, en gran parte, resultado directo de las intervenciones promovidas por la Troika... OPINIÓN | FERNANDO LEZCANO  Sin empleo no se sale de la crisis  La Unión Europea necesita refundarse en clave democrática y configurar una amplia mayoría política y social... ELECCIONES EUROPEAS  Europa necesita ya una nueva vía de construcción  Por Manuel Bonmati | Las próximas elecciones europeas del 25 de mayo constituyen una oportunidad importante para todos los ciudadanos europeos... MOVILIZACIONES DEL 3 ABRIL  Por un urgente cambio de rumbo en España y en Europa  Por José Campos Trujillo | En España el movimiento sindical y la Cumbre Social llaman a la ciudadanía para que se sume a las manifestaciones del 3 de abril. ENTREVISTA A JAVIER LÓPEZ | CCOO  "La formación profesional es un derecho de los trabajadores y una necesidad para el país"  Para el secretario de Formación de CCOO, Javier López, "seremos como país lo que aporten las personas formadas durante esta crisis". 8,50 EUROS LA HORA COMO EXIGENCIA DEL SPD  Alemania fija un salario mínimo de 1360 euros mensuales  El proyecto no se aplicará a los menores de 18 años, los becarios y los desempleados de larga duración durante los seis primeros meses de un nuevo contrato. · Cándido Marquesán Millán: Reflexiones sobre el origen, desarrollo y futuro del estado de bienestar  En nuestro país, es claro la insuficiencia y el escaso desarrollo de este incipiente Estado de bienestar... REPRESENTACIÓN SINDICAL DE LAS MÁS ALTAS DE EUROPA  Catedráticos de Universidad firman un manifiesto en defensa de los sindicatos  El exministro de Trabajo Valeriano Gómez, el exsecretario general de Empleo Antonio González, y el exportavoz de Empleo en el Parlamento, Jesús Membrado, tres exdirigentes del PSOE vinculados a UGT, impulsan un manifiesto para reclamar el fin de la campaña de deslegitimación contra los sindicatos y reivindicar su papel en la conquista de los derechos sociales y laborales. PEAJES FALLIDOS  Ganancias privadas y pérdidas públicas  Por Rafael Simancas | Muchos ciudadanos han reaccionado con una mezcla de estupor e indignación ante la noticia de que el Gobierno está dispuesto a rescatar las autopistas... CONSUMO | PRODUCTOS BANCARIOS  ¿Qué harán los bancos para intentar frenar las demandas por las cláusulas suelo?  Por Vicente Gutiérrez Rubio | Los bancos intentarán negociar haciendo ofertas que no se deben aceptar, sin consultar con expertos. INFORME DE LA FUNDACIÓN ALTERNATIVAS  Los españoles, ¿’analfabetos’ fiscales?  El fraude fiscal en España sigue siendo uno de los principales problemas de la recaudación tributaria. El asunto tiene muchas derivadas pero una de las asignaturas pendientes es que el ciudadano sea consciente de la necesidad de pagar impuestos que reviertan en prestaciones y servicios sociales. La socióloga María Goenaga propone una serie de propuestas para el “rearme moral” del contribuyente. DECÁLOGO PARA ENTENDER LA REFORMA ELÉCTRICA  10 preguntas y respuestas para entender las nuevas tarifas  A partir del 1 de abril empieza a aplicarse una nueva manera de calcular lo que vas a pagar, aunque esta revolución no llegará a tu recibo hasta el 1 de julio. El socialismo italiano hasta la II Guerra Mundial  Por Eduardo Montagut | El movimiento obrero italiano se caracterizó por la multitud de ligas, asociaciones y sindicatos de tendencias anarquistas... MODIFICAR / CANCELAR SUSCRIPCIÓN Está recibiendo este boletín tras solicitar este servicio a través de la web de Nuevatribuna. En cualquier momento puede modificar o cancelar su suscripción accediendo a esta dirección.  Nuevatribuna Información continua y análisis para una ciudadanía comprometida con los valores de libertad, igualdad y justicia.   © medio digital de información general editado por Página 7 Comunicación S.L. C/ Noblejas, 5 Bajo - 28013 Madrid

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April 6, 2014, 3:59 am

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Expulsion of Ashwini Upadhyay may spill beans

Posted on April 6, 2014 by sagarmedia

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Press release along with email of AAP to expel Ashwini Upadhyay who was handling media for the party for North East states as told to us received by us as Ashwin gathered lots of information about the misdeeds of AAP at its apex level.

The news trickled down for possible leaks of AAP ills, Arvind did it quickly to relieve the key person Ashwini Upadhyay who may spill beans.

Very soon the only honest parties will find itself the most corruptible deeds in public domain to which Arvind will plead ignorance and spell it lie,

However the offiicial press release from the Only honest party is reproduced.

From: mediacellaap  Sun, 6 Apr ’14 10:23

Dear  All

The Aam Aadmi Party has expelled Mr Ashwini Upadhyay due to his repeated involvement in the anti-party activities and his failure to respond to the show cause notice served to him.

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April 7, 2014, 5:38 am

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Afghanistan on the historic elections

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Seven  million  voters, nearly  35 percent of whom were female  clear message in support of democracy to the world, including to anti-election groups , stressing that nothing can stop them from exercising their constitutional right to elect a new leader and, more importantly, that they rejected the dictatorial  dictum. War torn Afghanistan experienced defining moment as millions of Afghans braved suicide attacks, roadside bombs, intimidations and even unexpected stormy weather conditions on Saturday, to take part in the presidential (and provincial council) elections.As per media reports Taliban issued statements denouncing elections and threatened to punish anyone associated with the process. However, a string of violent attacks leading to elections failed to dissuade Afghans from voting, but took the lives of dozens of civilians and security forces.Vote counting is well underway in Afghanistan after Saturday’s landmark poll to elect a new president. If no candidate wins more than 50% of the vote, there will be another round of voting between the top two candidates.   Obama has congratulated the people of Afghanistan on the historic elections which he said promise to usher in the first democratic transfer of power in the war-ravaged country.

“On behalf of the American people, I congratulate the millions of Afghans who enthusiastically participated in the historic elections, which promise to usher in the first democratic transfer of power in Afghanistan’s history,” Obama said in a statement on Saturday.  “The elections represent another important milestone in Afghans taking full responsibility for their country as the United States and our partners draw down our forces,” he said.  A day after millions of Afghans exercised their franchise for Presidential elections defying the Taliban threat, Obama commended the Afghan people, security forces, and elections officials on the turnout for voters, which he said “is in keeping with the spirited and positive debate among candidates and their supporters in the run-up to the election.”  “These elections are critical to securing Afghanistan’s democratic future, as well as continued international support,” Obama said.  “We look to the Afghan electoral bodies to carry out their duties in the coming weeks to adjudicate the results – knowing that the most critical voices on the outcome are those of Afghans themselves,” he said.  Obama also paid tributes to the many Americans military and civilian – who have sacrificed so much to support the Afghan people as they take responsibility for their own future.  “The US continues to support a sovereign, stable, unified, and democratic Afghanistan, and we look forward to continuing our partnership with the new government chosen by the Afghan people on the basis of mutual respect and mutual accountability,” the US President said.  The front-runners to succeed Afghan President Hamid Karzai are former foreign minister Zalmai Rassoul, Abdullah Abdullah – runner up in the 2009 election – and former World Bank academic Ashraf Ghani.  If no candidate wins more than 50 percent of the vote in the first round – preliminary results for which will be announced on 24th April – a run-off is scheduled for late May.

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‘Rahul Dev’ release cover of magazine ‘Health & Nutrition’

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‘Rahul Dev’ visited Breathe Fitness for cover release of magazine ‘Health & Nutrition’

Actor ‘Rahul Dev’  visited Breathe Fitness  for reveal of cover page of magazine Health & Nutrition event was conducted by Magna Publishers Ltd.

At the event  he said, “ We should always eat fresh and healthy and should always keep a check on our fitness regime because  products in the market are not fresh” he also added, “ junk food should be avoided by youth”

Talking about the importance of Exercise he said, “exercise should be the most important part of our routines as it keeps us free from all diseases and keeps our body fit”.

For the magazine Rahul has done a proper photoshoot, in which he is showing his toned body.

Health & Nutrition is India’s foremost and oldest Wellness, Fitness & Lifestyle magazine. It has been around for 25 years and can rightfully take the credit for spear-heading the health and fitness revolution currently taking place in this country.

Over the years the magazine has not only grown in size but also in volume, having built a large and faithful following looking for reliable health information.

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Categories : culture, Education, Uncategorized

BJP releases manifesto 2014

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BJP on Monday placed their manifesto with lots of fanfare and their leaders showed exemplary  unity while releasing the belated Manifesto and pledged to end policy paralysis, corruption and “tax terrorism” while opposing FDI in multi-brand retail but stuck to its core agenda of Ram Temple construction, Uniform Civil Code and abrogation of Article 370 that gives special status to Jammu and Kashmir.

The party  52-page document, released among others by its PM candidate Narendra Modi at the party headquarters in New Delhi, also pledged to provide good governance and inclusive development.”BJP reiterates its stand to explore all possibilities within the framework of the Constitution to facilitate the construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya,” the manifesto, delayed by a fortnight, said.

Asked about the reported differences within the party over inclusion of the Ram Temple issue, Murli Manohar Joshi, Chairman of the manifesto committee, said “whatever is there is there in the manifesto. If you want to write something on the basis of your own perceptions, you are free to do”.

The release of the manifesto came on the opening day of the 9-phased Lok Sabha elections drawing criticism from rivals.

Highlights of the BJP manifesto 2014

- The party reiterates its stand to explore all possibilities within framework of Constitution to facilitate construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya.

- Reiterating its stand on Art 370 and discussing with all stakeholders for abrogation of the Article.

- Ensuring minimisation of black money and setting up of a task force for this purpose.

- Putting in place strict measures and special courts to stop hoarding and black marketing.

- Setting up a Price Stabilisation Fund.

- Unbundling FCI operations into procurement, storage and distribution for greater efficiency.

- Evolving a single National Agriculture Market.

- Promoting and support area specific crops and vegetables linked to food habits of the people.

- Developing high impact domains like labour intensive manufacturing, tourism, and strengthening traditional employment bases of agriculture and allied industry.

- Harnessing opportunities provided by the upgradation of infrastructure and housing.

- Encouraging and empowering youth for self employment and transforming employment exchanges into career centres.

- Eliminating corruption through public awareness, e-governance, rationalisation and simplification of tax regime.

- Harmonising Centre-state relations by evolving model of national development driven by the states.

- Setting up a Team India initiative which will include the PM and CMs as equal partners.

- Ensure fiscal autonomy of states and creation of regional councils of states of common problems and concerns.

- National Development Council and Inter-state Council will be revived and made into active body.

- Involving state governments in promotion of foreign trade and commerce.

- Greater decentralisation through smaller states.

- Special emphasis on improving connectivity in Northeast region.

- Massive infrastructure development in NE region.

- Complete all pending fencing work along the India-Bangladesh and India-Myanmar border.

- Dealing with insurgency with a firm hand.

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Comedian Vir Das goes Dark!!

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Vir Das who is known for his stand up comedies and doing comedy roles in the movies is all set to come out of his comfort zone in Revolver Rani.

Vir Das whose name is synonymous with Comedy, for the 1^st time will be seen playing an out and out dark character in the film.

A source close to the team said, ‘Vir Das has done a completely different role this time. He is playing the role of Kangana’s Toy Boy who does some desperate things to woo her for his ulterior motive. He has played a very different character and we are sure that people would be surprised to see him in such a role as he always does comedy.

Well, with this we can just say that Vir Das surely knows how to keep his audiences interested!!

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AAP : BJP returns to its communal agenda

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 Aam Aadmi Party is surprised at the unprecedented situation whereby the BJP has released its manifesto on the very day that the country has gone to elections. It seems that the BJP does not regard the North-Eastern states, which are going to polls today, significant enough to give them time to consider their agenda and policies.  We are also surprised that the Election Commission gave permission for the release of the manifesto, given the fact that there was no means of regulating that the live TV release was not telecast in regions going to the polls today.

While the BJP pays lip-service to combating corruption and reducing the black economy, it is clear that they are not serious about this agenda. Firstly, they do not promise amendments in the Lokpal Bill, which can bring about strong and independent Lokpal which can effectively curb corruption. Secondly, nor do they promise any electoral reforms which are the starting point for the flow of the black economy.  However, we are happy to note that following the lead of the Aam Aadmi Party, the BJP too has talked about moving from a representative to a participatory democracy and empowering Gram Sabhas. The BJP’s manifesto also maintains a silence on the gas pricing issue, and do not give any concrete policies on the transparent and equitable use of natural resources.

However, the most worrying part of BJP’s election manifesto – in line with the recent speeches of their party leaders – is the reiteration of their communal agenda. With the promise rebuilding the Ram Mandir and abrogation of Article 370 in their manifesto the BJP has shown that the agenda of ‘development’ was a short-term farce and that communal and divisive policies are their true agenda.

Regards

AAP Media Cell

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Lobsang Sangay: Chinese National?

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Lobsang Sangay: Chinese National?
By Maura Moynihan | Apr 7th, 2014

When Steven Spielberg recently announced that he is shifting his film production to a spanking new 2.5 billion dollar facility in Shanghai, one wondered if the director of Schindler’s List was briefed about the millions of Chinese people murdered by Mao’s regime and the millions still imprisoned in China’s labor camp system. The legitimization of China’s one party dictatorship continues apace, but not everyone is on board for the ride; at the recent DAVOS Economic Forum, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe gave a powerful oration telling the western powers that they should make clear whose side they are on; Communist China, or Asia’s democratic states, Japan and India chief among them.

India is one of the few nations left standing that can mount a moral and strategic defense against China’s rise. While western nations can appease Communist China, India must contend with increasing Chinese military incursions into Indian territory, from occupied Tibet. India has given sanctuary to thousands of Tibetan refugees, notably Tibetan Buddhists who are persecuted by the Chinese state for practicing their ancient faith. Thus the pro-China stance of the Tibetan exile prime minister based in Dharamshala, Lobsang Sangay, is all the more disturbing.

In his May 2013 speech at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington, Sangay stated that henceforth the Tibetan movement would abandon democracy as a goal, accept communist rule in Tibet in its present structure, and accede to China’s full “discretion” in militarizing the Tibetan plateau. This took many by surprise, but Sangay’s pro-China drift has been some time in coming. While studying at Harvard Law School, Mr. Sangay made a very public alliance with Ms. Hu Xiaojiang, whom intelligence sources identify as a Chinese Ministry of State Security co-optee. Hu is so trusted by the Chinese government that it allowed her access to the ultra-sensitive government archives in Lhasa to research her 2003 Ph.D. thesis on Chinese migration into Tibet. (Hu makes special note of Sangay in her acknowledgements).

In a defensive speech before the Tibetan exile parliament in Dharamshala on March 22, 2014, Sangay tried to evade questions over his use of “Overseas Chinese National” travel papers on an academic junket to Beijing and Shanghai in 2005. Sangay had long denied that he made this trip on “Overseas Chinese National” papers until he was confronted with irrefutable evidence in 2011( a clip of this exchange can be seen on You Tube). The issue of concern is his willingness to declare himself a Chinese citizen while continuing to hold a Tibetan refugee identity card issued by the Indian government.

In the same speech before the Tibetan parliament, Sangay also refused to explain how he managed to pay off a $227,000 mortgage just one week before he was inaugurated as the exile prime minister. In all representative democracies, candidates must disclose the source of their finances, but Sangay will not explain how, just four years after buying a house near Boston, he paid off a quarter-million dollar mortgage in full, and with such fortuitous timing. No one would begrudge him his good fortune if he has a patron who supports Tibetan democracy, so why is he unable to provide a full account of how his mortgage disappeared overnight?

Prior to the grilling he received in Dharamshala, Sangay gave a public talk on March 5, 2014, at the Washington headquarters of the National Endowment for Democracy, where he stated that his abandonment of democracy and acquiescence to Chinese militarization is no different than the policy laid out in a memorandum issued by his predecessor, but a careful reading of this document shows Mr. Sangay’s assertion to be insupportable. Sangay went on to describe how he is portrayed in Tibetan thankas (religious paintings) in the place of a deity. He claimed that he had received His Holiness’s approval, and moreover that His Holiness had reasoned that other laypeople like past Chinese emperors had also been portrayed in thankas.

What does Sangay’s comparison of himself to a Chinese emperor does reveal about his ambitions? When Sangay stated that he embraced Chinese communist rule, the courageous Beijing-based Tibetan writer Tsering Woeser said she felt like she had been “punched in the gut.” Woeser joked that Mr. Sangay should join the Communist party since he wants to be the “Obama of China” a reference to a talk Mr. Sangay gave back in 2008, when he said “I nominate myself as the next president of China.”

In this context, Mr. Sangay’s language regarding His Holiness the Dalai Lama is cause for concern. In a 2003 article entitled “Tibet: Exiles’ Journey”, Sangay refers to His Holiness the Dalai Lama as “the Lama” fifteen times, a level of disrespect usually seen only in Chinese Communist propaganda. In this same article, Mr. Sangay describes the old Tibet as “feudal” and Buddhist monks as “reactionary”.  Again, this is language seen in Chinese propaganda tracts about Tibet, as a Google search of Xinhua articles will reveal. As India faces a growing threat across the Himalayas from Chinese-occupied Tibet, it must ask itself: who is this ambitious young Tibetan exile politician, what are his ambitions, and where are his loyalties?

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$1500b 51,000 MoU – Failed Gujarat?

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$1500b 51,000 MoU – Failed Gujarat? 10b Posters 0.8b Voters
April07, 2014

This is in response to Debates on Gujarat Model implementation on India scale.

BJP has undertaken Black Money funded program – over 1000 crore Mady
Posters, Picture and advertisements everywhere are already released
for only 80 crore voters. But it is TOTAL FLOP SHOW in Gujarat. A
Lunatic is BEING DUMPED on India, Who Had Total Failure in Gujarat.

http://www.vibrantgujarat.com/images/pdf/Manufacturing-Sector-Profile.pdf
On Page 9 of VG 2013 Brochure on Manufacturing – Mady admits to just
$26.4B as Gross GDP contribution out of $75b StateGDP. Gujarat has
developed 60 SEZs, 12 Special Investment Zones, besides over 182
Industrial Estates. But you can see on page 23, Mady admits to Rs.4481
crores of FDI or just $1b from 1991-2011 in 20 years in Manufacturing
Sector, This is 12.66% of Gujarat.

THIS IMPLIES GUJARAT ATTRACTED NOT EVEN $8B
IN 20 YRS INCLUDING 10 YRS – 12 YRS OF MADY.

Gujarat signed $1500b worth 51,000 MoUs at six Vibrant Gujarat
Summits. But no Invest Materialized in last 3 years – Why?

1.]  Gujarat Failed to implement Sardar Sarovar Narmada Canal Project
economically and even after wasting 5-6 times capital required
utilization is not even 6%.

6.25 BCM Surface Water For 80% Gujarat – Even That Not Reaching

2.] Out of 38 BCM of surface water in Gujarat on page 54 you can see
just 6.25 BCM is available for 80% of the Gujarat State comprising
Saurashtra, Kutchh, North Gujarat regions. Drought impacted Gujarat
severely in 2011 and 2012 seasons and 2013 was severe flood year.

6.25 BCM  IS NOT EVEN SUFFICIENT FOR MUNICIPAL WATER NEEDS OF 50M
POPULATION LIKELY TO EXCEED 70M BY 2050.

3.]  Cost of Power is well over Rs.7 per unit because of Excess
Capacity & Low PLF, High Cost Renewable Energy.

4.]  Poor Education & Health of workers Gujarat is Unfit for HIGH-TECH
Industry.

5.]  What is Most Shocking – Gujarat wanted Foreign & Indian investors
to INVEST in even SEWAGE DISPOSAL and SEWAGE TREATMENT PLANTS in PPP
Mode.

MOST OF THE TAX COLLECTED WAS SWINDLED

6.  Gujarat currently reports Rs.675,000 crores SGDP but Tax
Collection is just Rs.75,000 crore and Gujarat borrows Rs.30,000
crores to FUND Plan Budget and Social Sector.

7.]  Mady made a ‘Unique Promise To Investors in January2007′ but
nothing moved.
[A Unique Promise To All The Investors - Apka Investment, Hamara
Commitment, Sabka Development.]
8.]  CRONY Capitalism or Promotion of Adani & Ambani by Mady Dried Up
FDI & Indian Investments in Gujarat.

9.]  On the PAYROLLS of Corporate He Kept WAGES DOWN – Didn’t even
Attract Talent from Outside Gujarat to Efficiently Execute Projects.

http://www.vibrantgujarat.com/focus-sectors-2013.htm
http://www.vibrantgujarat.com/images/pdf/Sustainable-Development-Sector-Profile.pdf
10.  BUT THE MOST LUNATICS ARE HIS

1. SUFALAM SUJALAM Yojana,
2. 80M Coastal Canal Project,
3. Hugely Overdesigned Sardar Sarovar Canal, and
4. Program to fill over 180 Dams with Narmada Canal Waters.

Ravinder Singh, National General Secretary.
Sabka Bharat Mission 2019
Y-77, Hauz Khas, New Delhi -110016
Ph: 9650421857, 9718280435

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NO TO FDI IN RETAIL IN BJP MANIFESTO

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NO TO FDI IN RETAIL IN BJP MANIFESTO WELCOMED BY TRADERS

RETAIL TRADE WILL BE LIBERATED FROM CLUTCHES OF MNC’S & CORPORATES-CAIT

The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), apex body of the business community of the Country has welcomed the stand of BJP in saying a clear cut No to FDI in Retail in its poll manifesto released here today at New Delhi. The CAIT has hoped that if BJP is voted to power in current elections it will not hesitate to rescind the current notification of FDI in Retail as already committed by BJP leadership time and again in the past. The CAIT has complimented the BJP leadership for inclusion of various issues raised by CAIT in its poll manifesto.

CAIT National President Mr. B.C. Bhartia and Secretary General Mr. Praveen Khandelwal in a joint statement said that the steps taken by the BJP will go miles ahead in liberating the retail trade from the clutches of not only the MNCs but even from the vicious net of big corporate houses who were considering the retail trade as a profit centre by entering into partnership with MNCs. This unhealthy circle encouraged and promoted by the present UPA Government will certainly come to an end.

Both Mr. Bhartia and Mr. Khandelwal said that the CAIT is preparing a comparative chart of different political parties stating their stand on trader’s issues and the same will be released very shortly. They further said that the said comparative chart will also be sent to more than 20 thousand trade associations across the Country which will enable the traders to take a decision whom to support in current poll battle.

Both Mr. Bhartia and Mr. Khandelwal beside FDI in Retail, the BJP has also committed to review obsolete and multiple laws to reduce and simplify them beside ensuring easy availability of institutional credit. It has also affirmed to simplify and rationalise the tax structure and to dispense multiple license system and to upgrade and modernise the retail trade. The BJP has also affirmed to set up a strong regulatory framework for the non banking finance companies which on the one hand will provide ample opportunities to small traders to avail easy finance from NBFCs and will also protect the investors. The trade leaders said that these are some of the core issues being raised by the CAIT from time to time and their inclusion in BJP manifesto will certainly bring a cohesive and trade friendly atmosphere in the Country if BJP is comes to power.

There are more than 6 crore business enterprises in the Country which provides employment to more than 25 crore people while generating an annual turnover of more than 20 lakh crores of rupees and contributing nearly 15% to National GDP with an annual growth rate of 15%. The BJP decision on FDI in Retail is expected to have wider impact on large number of traders across the Country as far as current polls are concerned.

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Congress on verge of defeat in General Election 2014

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Congress on verge of defeat in General Election 2014.

Congress on verge of defeat in General Election 2014

The oldest political outfit of India The Congress Party is nearly 125yrs old and has shown the nation the way to rule the country with its grand leaders.

All India Congress Party set is foot prints in India in 1888 by some foreign intellectuals for the people of India to have an opportunity to participate in the governance of the nation from local level to national levels.Party reached its zenith of glory during pre-independence era because of grand leaders struggling to get swaraj to its totality. British before handing over the powers in India made an agreement which blinded the nation with its bonded technique which gave fierce teeth to the administrators, and the rulers of today with secretive phenomenon to clad them with adm -veil.
After India freedom Congress Party was the main political outfit and remained in such significance till 1967 and thereafter the Congress shed its image but came to its apex out of people emotion surfacing after the assassination of Mrs Indira Gandhi and assumption of her son Mr Rajiv Gandhi as the PM with more than two third majority and later years saw the deep decline in Congress image.

India general election of the year 2014 in which the Congress leaders have conceded and their image is at its lowest level.
Congress party and it’s leaders have not been able to create warmth amongs it’s cadre.Leaders have lost ground from local level to national level.
Many Congress leaders have shown their pessimissim in this ensuing general election.
The growing number of scams and rampant corruption prevailing in the nation is sordid affair.
Galloping rise in prices have proved fatal to commoner and the Congress party for it to garner vote in this context.
Arrogance of the leader who in turn lost touch with their people , lost their humility and could not find their workers to support them in their whole hearted support.
Furthermore PM not being from the grassroots and belongs to executive category is essentially fond of foreign jaunts and dabble more in International views,he further enjoyed globalization of India and thus inviting foreign companies but in turn putting bottlenecks in their holistic entry . It was observed the easy entry was for fes and helping and assisting selective MNC to get in Indian market.
PM Mr Singh built his image more of a PUPPET rather than of sovereign mind of this sovereign republic.
His contribution of his foreign relation from which his credit could be derived is more technology has come in which has given growth to this part of world.

Contact Information: Sagar media IncJanakpuri,New Delhi Contact Person: Naresh Sagar Founder Director Phone: 9810974027 email: email Web: Www.sagarmediainc.wordpress.com

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First phase of election begins in India.

7042014

First phase of election begins in India.

First phase of election begins in India.

Polls in India for the lower house in the parliament has begin today on Monday 7 April 2014.

Congress, BJP , Trinamool Congress, AIUDF, AGP, SUCI,CPI M, AIFB, SP AAP are the political parties taking part in this phase for five seats in Assam and one in Tripura.

There are fifty one candidates for the total six seats.
More than six point four million voters will cast their votes.
Next phase of election will be held on 12 April 2014.
General election which begins today will be completed in mid May and results to trickle out on 16 may 2014.
Security Is beefed up in the states with additional force.
All the booths have been declared smoking free zone.

Election awareness campaign is initiated by election commission for Indians to participate in the formation of their government and rope in the best available talent in the country to bring in competent members to the parliament.

More than 87 Cr voters have been listed by the authorities this election .
The election event assume great significance with its mammoth number of voters and the way this national events is managed so peacefully with change of power taking place with great ease.

Contact Information: Sagar media inc

Janakpuri,New Delhi

Contact Person:
Naresh Sagar
Founder director
Phone: 9810974027
email: email

Web: www.sagarmediainc.wordpress.com

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April 7, 2014, 6:50 am

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Signals ‘consistent’ with those from black boxes detected

7042014

A pinger locator has detected signals consistent with those emitted by aircraft black boxes, raising hopes of finding the missing Malaysia Airlines plane a month after it mysteriously disappeared en route to China.

An Australian vessel searching for the Boeing flight MH370 has detected signals consistent with those from aircraft black boxes, Air Chief Marshal (retd.)  Angus Houston, the head of the Joint Agency Coordination Centre (JACC) which is leading the search, said on Monday.  Calling it the “most promising lead” so far, Houston said that Australian defence vessel Ocean Shield acquired the signal twice, once for more than two hours.  “We haven’t found the aircraft yet and we need further confirmation,” he said, adding that this is 4,500 meters down.  The HMS Echo, a British navy ship equipped with advanced detection gear, sailed into the area of the southern Indian Ocean on Monday morning where a Chinese crew had detected two audio signals, news channel reported.  And an Australian navy vessel carrying sophisticated US listening technology is investigating a sound it picked up in a different patch of the ocean.  Investigators hope the signals could be locator beacons from the plane’s data recorders, but they’re not sure yet.  It might be only a few hours before the pingers stop transmitting the signals as the batteries inside the beacons, which are designed to start sending signals when a plane crashes into water, last about 30 days after it’s activated.  Finding black the black box is crucial to know what happened on 8th March before the Beijing-bound Malaysia Airlines jet with 239 people, including five Indians, disappeared under mysterious circumstances in midair.  The mystery of the missing plane continued to baffle aviation and security authorities who have so far failed to trace the aircraft despite deploying hi-tech radar and other gadge.

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April 7, 2014, 9:19 pm

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Kharkov protesters declare independence

8042014

Kharkov protesters declare independence

Posted on April 8, 2014 by sagarmedia

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Police have clashed with anti-coup protesters in Kharkov in an effort to push the crowd back from the administration building. Earlier, activists in the second-largest Ukrainian city followed those in Donetsk and proclaimed a People’s Republic of Kharkov.
Clashes erupted near the Kharkov administration on Monday evening after police reportedly tried to vacate the building, which was partially occupied by pro-independence protesters. Kharkov demonstrators took control of the building earlier in the day, after proclaiming independence of the region from Kiev.
Police reportedly used fire-hoses, stun grenades, and tear gas to push the crowd back from the building. In response, protesters threw several Molotov cocktails at the building and set a pile of tires on fire. The blaze soon spread to the first floor of the building.
Activists at the scene said the law enforcement officers who used force against protesters had been deployed from western Ukraine. According to some witnesses, the violence was initially triggered by a group of provocateurs. Earlier in the day, pro-EU demonstrators clashed with supporters of the federalization of Ukraine.

Eventually, a group of local police outside the administration building moved in to push protesters back, allowing fire crews to extinguish the blaze. The building was slightly damaged by the blaze, and several windows were broken in scuffles.
Witnesses at the scene reported that demonstrators were still in control of the government building after the tensions eased.

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April 8, 2014, 4:12 am

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APR8

Nations can’t be run hiring C grade lawyers as party Spokesperson

Posted on April 8, 2014 by sagarmedia

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April 08, 2014

Jairam Ramesh, Desi Einstein was had been total disaster in everything
he did as Minister was reported earlier.

Jairam Ramesh was DAMAGER Like Modi never a DOER. Patents, Industry,
Power, Multipurpose Dams, Bio-Technology, Rural Development, S&T etc
he totally failed.

What Congress and BJP need is a CEO to run the Government and Party
neither Modi nor Rahul are CEO material.

Nations can’t be run hiring C grade lawyers as party Spokesperson -
Nation needs answers to all questions in one or two hours. Let me
clarify here Modi gives quick answers but were always Lies or
Mischief.

This Mischief of Modi is most DAMAGING When I reported in 1999 that
Narmada Canal of 40,000 cusec is over designed should have been 10,000
cusecs, instead of down sizing shall advise Modi run another parallel
canal of say 10,000 cusec capacity called Sujalam Safalam. When this
too fails he proposed to ‘Connect about 180 Surashtra Dams to Narmada
Canal’. It was also revealed Gujarat was also developing COASTAL Canal
- all Lunatic and Wasteful projects.

A CEO can answer any question almost instantly.

Today just a good leader of a Party is not enough – He needs to
understand things Quickly and Provide Leadership to millions of party
workers and over 1.25 billion people.

This is real challenge. Both Modi and Rahul are good for Party
Management not beyond.

MULTI LAYER POLITICAL INSULATION

Jairam Ramesh never acknowledged when he ought to have replied in
details to Petitions delivered to him.

I have written hundred times on Farming Issues which is linked to
Rural Development and 80 crore population.

You can’t have Rural Development by just digging or deepening ponds.

And the best way to improve Earnings & Rural income is to Give
adequate Prices for the Food farmers produce, Let them Store and
Process and Market.

MNREGA was good to improve WAGES of workers and once its utility was
over should have been withdrawn was not a replacement of Food
Processing, Irrigation Works, etc.

Few Lakh Crores wasted could have created 5-10 crore REGULAR JOBS in
villages in Food Processing.

MSP should have been linked to GDP index or Wages Index of Government
Servants and Food Storage, Processing, and Marketing would have-

—– PUMPED in Rs.50,00,000 Crores in Rural Economy
———— INC Wouldn’t Have Lost A Single Election.

Mediocre like Jairam Ramesh didn’t build Party Cadre & Followers.

More in ‘Super PM Jairam Ramesh Desi Einstein Favor Ambani Gas Price’

Ravinder Singh, National General Secretary.
Sabka Bharat Mission 2019
Y-77, Hauz Khas, New Delhi -110016
Ph: 9650421857, 9718280435
Sabkabharatmission2019@gmail.com

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April 9, 2014, 5:48 am

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Today at 6:17 AM

Hi, On average, full-time working women earn 77 cents for every dollar earned by men. Worse still? Many women don’t even know they’re underpaid. And because 51% of women report they are discouraged or forbidden from discussing their wages, they can’t take steps that would ensure they’re earning fair pay at work. That’s why today, on Equal Pay Day, President Obama is taking action. See what President Obama is doing to address the gap — then share the news. Thanks, Cecilia Cecilia Muñoz Director, Domestic Policy Council The White House @Cecilia44

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9042014

K Prabagaran claims maiden title with playoff win against Om Prakash Chouhan

Coimbatore, April 5, 2014: Sri Lankan K Prabagaran claimed his maiden professional title with a playoff win against Om Prakash Chouhan of Mhow at the PGTI Players Championship at Coimbatore Golf Club. Prabagaran sealed it with a par on the second playoff hole even as Chouhan missed an eight feet par putt. Both Prabagaran and Chouhan had earlier ended the regulations 72 holes with matching scores of nine-under-279.

  

K Prabagaran (70-70-71-68), who was in tied sixth after round three, fired his best score of the week on Saturday. His four-under-68 featured five birdies and a lone bogey. Prabagaran was off to a good start as he sank birdie putts from 18 feet and eight feet on the second and third holes respectively. The 33-year-old from Nuwara Eliya in Sri Lanka then produced a splendid chip from 50 yards on the ninth that left him a tap-in for birdie. Prabagaran became the outright leader after converting seven-footers for birdies on the 10^th and 15^th. However, he fell back into the joint lead after a bogey on the 17^th.

Om Prakash Chouhan (68-68-74-69) had four birdies and a bogey in his final round of 69. Chouhan, a two-time winner on the PGTI, missed an eight-feet birdie putt for victory on the 18^th. The two players then headed into their first ever playoff.

The first playoff hole was all square as Chouhan recovered from the bunker for a par while Prabagaran also made par with an up and down from 60 yards. Prabagaran bagged the title after rolling in a one-foot par putt on the second playoff hole even as Chouhan couldn’t salvage a par from the bunker. Prabagaran has now moved up from seventh to third in the 2014 Rolex Rankings.

Prabagaran said, “I’m really thrilled to win my first title. I was very consistent through the week. My chipping was excellent today. I was a little nervous after taking the sole lead on the 15^th. However, I didn’t really feel the pressure during the playoff. I have done well on this course in the past having won the All India Championship here in 2007. I was therefore, familiar with the course conditions and the layout and that gave me an edge. I received a lot of support today especially from my fellow Sri Lankan professionals Mithun Perera and N Thangaraja. I would like to thank my home course Nuwara Eliya Golf Club in Sri Lanka for supporting me all these years. I would also like to thank the Coimbatore Golf Club for having sponsored me while I was an amateur.”

Delhi’s Rashid Khan (69-71-73-67) and Mukesh Kumar (69-71-71-69) of Mhow were tied third at eight-under-280. While Mukesh was in the lead for a brief period on the final day, Rashid was also in the joint lead at one stage. Rashid’s 67 was the best score of round four.

Third round leader Amardip Sinh Malik (70-68-69-74) of Noida slipped to tied fifth after a 74 on Saturday. Kolkata’s Feroz Ali Mollah (72-66-71-72) joined Malik in tied fifth place at seven-under-281.

Leading Scores:

279 – K Prabagaran (70-70-71-68), Om Prakash Chouhan (68-68-74-69)

280 – Rashid Khan (69-71-73-67), Mukesh Kumar (69-71-71-69)

281 – Feroz Ali Mollah (72-66-71-72), Amardip Sinh Malik (70-68-69-74)

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9042014

देश, धर्म और संस्कृति की रक्षार्थ मतदान अवश्य करें: विहिप

मतदाताओं की सहायतार्थ जुटेंगे विहिप और बजरंग दल कार्यकर्ता

नई दिल्ली अप्रैल 9, 2014। सोलहवीं लोक सभा के लिए राष्ट्रवादी मतदाताओं के शत-प्रतिशत मतदान को सुनिश्चित करने हेतु विश्व हिन्दू परिषद व बजरंग दल ने कमर कस ली है। विहिप दिल्ली के महा मंत्री श्री राम कृष्ण श्रीवास्तव ने आज एक बैठक के बाद कहा कि प्रत्येक राष्ट्र भक्त को न सिर्फ़ स्वयं को बल्कि अपने सभी मित्रों, परिजनों व परिचितों के साथ अनिवार्य मतदान कर इस परम पावन राष्ट्रीय यज्ञ में अपनी आहुति सुनिश्चित करनी चाहिए। दिल्ली के मतदाताओं से उन्होंने यह भी कहा कि ईवीएम की बटन दबाने से पूर्व यह अवश्य तय करलें कि जिस पार्टी या प्रत्याशी को वोट दे रहे हैं वह हमारे चहु-मुखी विकास के साथ देश, धर्म व संस्कृति की रक्षा भी कर पाएगा कि नहीं।

बैठक की विस्तृत जानकारी देते हुए विहिप दिल्ली के मीडिया प्रमुख श्री विनोद बंसल ने बताया कि प्रान्त अध्यक्ष श्री स्वदेशपाल गुप्ता की अध्यक्षता में हुई इस बैठक में राजधानी के मतदाताओं से यह अपील की गई कि वे इस बात की पहचान करें कि विकास की अन्य भौतिक बातों के अलावा आखिर कौनसा दल हमारी निम्न आवश्यकताओं को पूरा करने में सक्षम है:

1                    नारी की सुरक्षा, बुजुर्गों की रक्षा और बच्चों का समुचित विकास;

2                    नग्नता, अश्लीलता, अभद्रता, विवाहेत्तर संबन्ध व समलैंगिकता पर अंकुश;

3                    देश की धुरी गऊ, गंगा, योग, आयुर्वेद, अध्यात्म, हिन्दी, संस्कृत, संस्कृति, स्वदेशी व वेदों का प्रसार तथा संवर्धन;

4                    सरकारी सम्पत्ति, पुरातन धर्म स्थलों व ऐतिहासिक स्मारकों के साथ राम सेतु जैसी सांस्कृतिक धरोहरों की रक्षा;

5                    धर्मांतरण व गऊ हत्या पर पूर्ण प्रतिबन्ध;

6                    श्री राम जन्म भूमि पर भव्य मन्दिर का निर्माण, कश्मीरी पंडितों की घर वापसी, पाकिस्तान व बांग्लादेश पीडित हिन्दुओं का भारत में पुनर्वास;

7                    देशद्रोहियों, आतंकियों व घुसपैठियों पर बज्रपात कर भारत को विश्व शक्ति के रूप में पुन:स्थापित करने में सक्षम व समर्थ नेतृत्व प्रदान कर सके।

बैठक में यह भी तय किया गया कि शत-प्रतिशत मतदान के लिए मतदाताओं के जागरण व उनकी सहायतार्थ विहिप व बजरंग दल के कार्यकर्ता जुटेंगे उन्हें हर प्रकार की सहायता करेंगे।

बैठक में विहिप दिल्ली के उपाध्यक्ष श्री महावीर प्रसाद, श्री गुरदीन प्रसाद रुस्तगी, मंत्री श्री राम पाल सिंह, हिन्दू हेल्प लाइन के श्री दीपक कुमार, बजरंग दल के प्रान्त संयोजक श्री शिव कुमार, मातृ शक्ति की प्रान्त संयोजिका श्रीमती सिम्मी आहूजा, दुर्गा वाहिनी की प्रान्त संयोजिका श्रीमती संजना चौधरी, सहित राजधानी के अनेक धार्मिक, सामाजिक व सांस्कृतिक संगठनों के प्रतिनिधियों ने भाग लिया।

भवदीय

विनोद बंसल,

मीडिया प्रमुख,

इंद्रप्रस्थ विश्व हिंदू परिषद, दिल्ली

 मो - 9810949109

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9042014

AAP is filing a writ petition with the Nagpur HC today

A writ petition with the Nagpur HC will be filed today to either demand the installation of VVPAT system in Gondhia-Bandhara LS constituency OR postpone the election date. Our candidate from Gondia-Bhandara, Prashant Mishra, in whose constituency volunteers identified several manipulated machines, will seek time from the HC to hear the case today itself considering the extreme gravity of the situation.

The Loksabha election 2014 is riddled with instances of malpractice and violation of the code of conduct. AAP, true to its stand against corruption at all places, has filed complaints with the concerned election authorities asking for appropriate action. To quote examples from Maharashtra:

1. Complaint to EC re Mr. SharadPawar encouraging voters to vote twice 
2. Complaint to EC against Mr. Munde for bogus voting in last election
3.  Complaint to Nanded RO by Mr. Granthi’s team re. a billboard put up in Nanded offering 1,00,000 loan to every woman by Congress Party
4. Complaint to Bandra RO by Mr. Gandhi’s Team regarding laminated voter slips with candidate info:
5. Nandurbar candidate, Mr. Valvi, raised an objection against an opposition candidate holding an ‘office of profit’ in government organisation at thetime of his scrutiny. The opposition has been given time until tomorrow to explain.

And of course the Complaint to the Bhandara RO by Mr. Prashant Mishra against EVM tampering.

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9042014

Inaugural issue of US$ 1 billion dual-tranche USD unsecured bonds by Oil India Limited

New Delhi, 9^th April’14: Oil India Limited (OIL) announced that it has made an inaugural US$ 1 billion dual-tranche USD unsecured bond issue in the international capital markets. The RegS Bonds were issued in two tranches of US$500 million each 5-year and 10-year tenor. The Bonds are rated Baa2 by Moody’s and BBB- by Fitch.

The Bond issue was oversubscribed by 9.2 times approximately which is one of the largest order book for a USD issuance out of India. This was the debut foreign currency bond issuance by OIL and is the largest ever issuance from an Indian Quasi-sovereign corporate. It is also the largest ever Reg S issuance by any Indian company.

OIL conducted an extensive series of investor meetings across UK (London) and Asia (Hong Kong & Singapore) beginning from 3 April 2014. The deal road show was highly successful with over 60 high quality investor meetings. Over 600 investors participated in the landmark two tranche Bond issue.

The 10-year Bonds were priced at T+272.5 bps bearing a fixed coupon of 5.375% per annum and the 5-year Bonds were priced at T+222.5 bps bearing a fixed coupon of 3.875% per annum. OIL intends to use the Bond proceeds to refinance its bridge loan availed for the recently concluded acquisition of stake in Rovuma block in Mozambique.

In terms of geographic distribution, 67% of the Bonds were distributed in Asia, 31% in Europe and 2% in off shore US accounts. In terms of Investor accounts, about 74% of the Bonds were distributed to fund managers, 11% private banks, 10% to banks and 5% to insurance and corporates.

Mr. S K Srivastava, Chairman and Managing Director of OIL said, “We are pleased with the strong interest shown by top investors in OIL’s debut bond issue. The transaction was very well executed in the backdrop of Indian elections and volatile global environment. High participation and superior quality of the order book demonstrates the confidence of global investors in the fundamentals of the Company”

OIL is a premier India oil and gas company with Government of India as the majority owner, holding a stake of 67.6%. OIL is a Navratna company engaged in the business of exploration and production of crude oil and natural gas. OIL is also the second largest national oil and gas E&P company in India.

Citigroup, DB, HSBC, RBS and Standard Chartered acted as joint book runners and lead managers for this issue.

Media Contacts:

Mansi Gupta

Adfactors PR

Mansi.gupta@adfactorspr.com

+91 9999975490

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Czech Culinary Feast at West View Restaurant 

9042014

Czech Culinary Feast at West View Restaurant - ITC Maurya Hotel from April 16-26, 2014 from 7 p.m

From: “Czech Embassy – Culture & PR” <czechembassydelhi.culturepr@gmail.com>

 

 

 

Dear All,

It is an immense pleasure to invite you to the Czech Culinary Feast that will take place at the West View Restaurant – ITC Maurya Hotel from April 16 – 26, 2014, every evening from 7 p.m.

Join us for the unique dining experience served to you right from the “Heart of Europe” by the Vice-president of the Association of Cooks and Confectioners of the Czech Republic Mr. Marek Svoboda. Savour his delicious meat variations, taste the traditional Czech dumplings or just sample the famous Czech beer, bittersweet digestive Becherovka or aromatic spirit Fernet Stock made from numerous herbs & spices.

Enjoy the great combination of the Czech rich flavours this April at ITC Maurya Hotel – West View Restaurant!

The invitation to the Czech Culinary Feast is enclosed in the attachment.

Wishing you all the best and enjoy your meal!

Andrea Kučerová
Deputy Chief of Mission / Political Affairs
Embassy of the Czech Republic in New Delhi
Tel: +91-11-24155200
Fax: +91-11-24155270
Address:
50-M, Niti Marg
Chanakayapuri, New Delhi – 110 021
India

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April 12, 2014, 5:26 am

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April 24 Lok Sabha polls in Tamil Nadu

12042014

Battle lines have been drawn for the April 24 Lok Sabha polls for 39 constituencies in Tamil Nadu with 845 candidates left in the fray.

On the last day of withdrawal on Wednesday, a total of 61 candidates withdrew their nominations, leaving 845 in the contest.  Apart from 789 men and 55 women, one transgender is also in the fray, a bulk of them are independents.  This is higher than the 823 contestants in 2009 and 571 in 2004.  Traditional arch rivals AIADMK and the DMK, who are generally the front runners would have to deal with a six-party alliance led by BJP, which is nurturing aspirations to make its presence felt in Tamil Nadu, as its leader Narendra Modi is eyeing the Prime Minister’s post.  Isolated in the state, Congress faces a challenge to clock some votes in its account to prove its strength as a national party, in which a handful of Central ministers from the state were a part.  Left parties too are in a similar boat as they parted ways with the AIADMK, believed to be mainly because of seat sharing agreement, which did not go well between them and the ruling party.  Aam Aadmi Party candidates would also be making their debut in the polls this time, with fight against corruption being their main plank for the polls.  Former Union Ministers A Raja, Dayanidhi Maran, T R Baalu of DMK, Anbumani Ramadoss of PMK, BJP state president Pon Radhakrishnan are amongst those contesting in the polls.  Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram’s son Karti is contesting from Sivaganga constituency, which was represented by his father.

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Income tax cases against Jaya adjourned to 28th April

12042014

A local court in Chennai has adjourned Income Tax cases against Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa and her aide Sasikala to 28th April after allowing pleas praying for postponing of the case, citing fresh petitions they have moved in the Supreme and High Courts.

Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate R Dakshinamurthy, in a brief order, granted two weeks time for further proceedings after hearing arguments of the prosecution and defence counsels.  Jayalalithaa, who was to appear before the court today for questioning and answering the charges, however, did not attend the proceedings.  When the case came up for hearing on Thursday, petitions were filed by the defence stating that a revision petition has been filed before the High Court against an order of the ACMM court, which had directed for personal appearance of Jayalalithaa.  Also, an application has been filed before the Supreme Court, seeking extension of time for completing the trial in the case. Hence, it was prayed that the case be adjourned for three weeks.  An undertaking was given by Sasikala’s counsel that she would appear before the court on 28th April.  The defence plea was opposed by the Special Public Prosecutor for the Income Tax department.  The Department had launched criminal proceedings against Jayalalithaa and Sasikala for allegedly not filing returns in their individual capacity for the assessment year 1993-94.  Complaints were also filed by the IT department for allegedly failing to file returns for the assessment years 1991-92 and 1992-93 by Sasi Enterprises and its partners, Jayalalithaa and Sasikala.

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LS polls 2014: High turnout in 91 seats; Chandigarh tops with 74 pc

12042014

High voter turnout has marked polling in the first major day of Lok Sabha elections covering 91 constituencies in 14 states and Union Territories as the exercise entered key battlegrounds of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar where three securitymen were killed in a Naxal attack.

Delhi recorded its second highest voting percentage of 64.77 in Lok Sabha poll–up by a sharp 12 per cent over the last elections in 2009–for the seven seats for which BJP appears to be riding on “Modi wave” against challenge from AAP and a struggling Congress.  Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Bihar witnessed Maoist-related violence which left 2 CRPF jawans and one state policeman dead.  The voter turnout this time was substantially higher over the last Lok Sabha elections in all the constituencies.  Muzaffarnagar and Shamli in Uttar Pradesh, which had witnessed comunal riots in August last year, recorded “above average” voter turnout of 67.78 per cent and 70.85 per cent, respectively, Deputy EC Vinod Zutshi told reporters in New Delhi.  The 10 seats of Uttar Pradesh, which went to polls today, reported a record turnout of 65 per cent as compared to 51.30 per cent recorded in the last LS polls.  Among all the constituencies which went to poll on Thursday, Chandigarh recorded the highest turnout of 74 per cent, against 64 per cent in 2009 polls.  Kerala, which went to polls in single phase on Thursday, recorded 73.4 per cent voter turnout, up from 73.2 per cent last time.  Chhattisgarh’s Bastar seat witnessed the lowest voter turnout among the 91 seats of 51.4 per cent.  But it was higher as compared to 47.33 per cent recorded in the last LS polls.  EC maintained that the turnout could be “much higher” in all the seats as final reports were yet to come in with voting still on after the stipulated hours in various areas.  Nearly 11 crore people were eligible to exercise their franchise to choose thei representatives from a field of 1,418 candidates.  Prominent among those whose electoral fates were decided day are Lok Sabha Speaker Meria Kumar, seven union ministers including Kapil Sibal, Kamal Nath, Shashi Tharoor (all of Congress), former BJP chief Nitin Gadkari, RLD leader Ajit Singh, former army chief V K Singh and Harsh Vardhan (both BJP)

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Sibal moves EC on Modi “hiding” his marital staus in the past 

12042014

Senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal on Friday moved the Election Commission over the issue of the marital status of Narendra Modi by seeking action by the poll body against the BJP leader for “hiding” facts in election affidavits filed by him in the past.

“I have filed a petition with the Election Commission today seeking action against Modi under various provisions of the IPC for hiding facts in his election affidavits regadring his marriage,” Sibal said after meeting the poll panel.  He said that between 2002 and 2012, Modi had filed election affidavits while contesting Gujarat assembly elections where he had not mentioned his marital status.  “He has not informed the country about this fact. Now, while contesting from Vadorara Lok Sabha seat, he has mentioned that he is married,” Sibal said.  He said the EC has assured to examine his plea.  Earlier in the day, Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi raked up the issue of Modi’s marriage to hit out at BJP, saying while the party made claims of ensuring safety of women, it took several elections for its Prime Ministerial candidate to mention the name of his wife in the poll affidavit.  “Don’t know how many elections he has contested till now, but he has revealed for the first time that he is married.  In Delhi, he talks about honour of women but his own wife’s name doesn’t reach the affidavit,” Rahul said.  Modi has for the first time declared himself as a married man by revealing his wife’s name as Jashodaben in an affidavit filed before the Election Commission along with his nomination papers for Vadodara Lok Sabha seat.

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7 election personnel among 13 killed in Naxal attacks

12042014

Seven members of a polling party and five CRPF personnel were among 13 killed as Naxals struck twice on Saturday in gap of less than an hour, blowing up a bus and an ambulance in Bijapur and Bastar districts of Maoist-hit south Chhattisgarh.

Eleven persons, including five paramilitary personnel, were also injured in the two incidents.  The Naxals attacked the election personnel near Ketulnar village of Bijapur at about 11 AM when they were returning from poll duty in the region, Additional Director General of Police (Naxal Operation) RK Vij told PTI.  Polling was held in the Naxal-affected Bastar constituency on April 10. When the poll party reached near a pond in Ketulnar village between Gudma and Kutru, Naxals triggered a landmine blast and opened indiscriminate firing, he said.  “Six polling personnel were killed on the spot while another succumbed to injuries at a local hospital,” the ADG added.  The five others injured have been admitted to a local hospital in Bijapur, he said, adding “the bodies were yet to be retrieved from the forest.”  A police official told PTI that around 75-100 armedrebels were involved in the ambush on the polling party.  The rebels fled to the core forest after security personnel launched a retaliatory attack. Reinforcements were rushed to the spot, the ADG said.  Less that an hour later and about 100 kms away, Naxals blew up an ambulance carrying CRPF personnel under Darbha police station.  The incident took place in Kamanar village when around ten CRPF personnel were travelling in 108 Sanjeevani ambulance, he said.  Five CRPF personnel and the ambulance driver were killed in the incident, the ADG said. Besides, five paramilitary personnel and a paramedic staff of the ambulance were also injured in the incident, he said.

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EC cracks whip on Amit Shah, Azam Khan

12042014

Cracking the whip on BJP leader Amit Shah and SP leader Azam Khan, the Election Commission has banned them from holding public meetings, processions or roadshows in Uttar Pradesh and asked authorities to initiate criminal proceedings against them.

The EC also directed the Chief Secretary to ensure that no act of commission or omission is resorted to by BJP leader Amit Shah and UP Minister Azam Khan that can affect public tranquility and law and order.  The EC was also critical of the role of Samajwadi Party’s government in the state for “soft-pedalling” on registration of FIRs against Khan and not dealing with the sensitive issue with alacrity.  The tough stand was taken by the EC at a top-level meeting of Chief Election Commissioner V S Sampath and Election Commissioners H S Brahma and S N A Zaidi where the poll body exercised its constitutional powers to prevent the two leaders from further vitiating the poll atmosphere.  “The Commission hereby directs under Article 324 of the Constitution of India and all other powers enabling in this behalf, that necessary FIRs should be immediately filed and criminal proceedings initiated against the above mentioned two leaders, wherever the same have not been instituted so far,” the order said.  It also said, “No permission should be granted for holding public meetings, public processions, public rallies, road shows, etc., by the district administration authorities, where the above two leaders are expected or likely to participate.”  The EC also directed the Chief Secretary to ensure compliance of its orders by 5 PM of April 12.  The poll body directed the authorities to take all preventive measures against Shah and Khan under the relevant provisions of CrPC to ensure that no act of commission or omission is resorted to by them which has the effect of prejudicially affecting public tranquility and law and order.  BJP, SP APPEAL EC FOR RECONSIDERATION

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Voting of 4th phase in Goa, Assam, Sikkim, Tripura

12042014

The fourth phase of Lok Sabha elections are underway on Saturday covering seven constituencies in four states where over half-a-crore voters will decide the fate of 74 candidates.

53.31 pc voting in Assam till 2.15pm  A voter turnout of 53.31 percent was recorded till 2.15 pm for three Lok Sabha seats in Assam.  Voting commenced at 7 AM and Karimganj( SC) recorded 25 percent polling, Silchar 20 percent and Autonomous District (ST) comprising Karbi Anglong and Dima Hasao district 20 percent voting, said election office sources.  There were reports of EVM initially malfunctioning in Autonomous District(ST) and Karimganj constituencies. They were replaced and voting continued uninterrupted, the sources said.  Long queues of voters, including women and youth, were seen in front of the 3,698 polling booths of the three constituencies an hour before voting began amidst tight security.  The three seats are — Autonomous District (ST), comprising Karbi Anglong and Dima Hasao districts, Karimganj (SC) and Silchar.  Elaborate security arrangement has been especially in the Karbi Anglong district under Autonomous District (ST) which till Friday witnessed a bandh called by the Karbi Peoples’ Liberation Tigers.  As many as 17 companies of security forces have been deployed in the district. Helicopters have been pressed into service to keep a watch on the voting process.  An electorate of 29,26,762, including 15,26,082 males, 14,00,594 and 86 others, will exercise their franchise in 3,698 polling booths in the three constituencies.  Of the 37 candidates in the fray in the three seats, three each belong to the Congress and BJP, two each to AGP, AIUDF, AAP, SUCI (Communist) and Samajwadi Party, one each to CPI(M), CPI-ML(L), Trinamool Congress, Shiv Sena and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha. The remaining 19 are independents.  In Karimganj (SC), out of 1504 polling stations, 197 have been identified as highly sensitive and 567 as sensitive while the rest are comparatively safe.  In Silchar constituency, out of the 1188 polling stations, 209 are highly sensitive and 611 are comparatively safe while the rest are comparatively safe.  Goa records 53.64 pc mark by noon in Goa  Around 53.64 percent voters cast their ballot in Goa till 2.15 pm on Saturday, though the crowd at the polling booths started thinning out due to excessive heat, officials said.  The voters responded with enthusiasm till 10 am, but the number started dwindling after that.  According to the Election Commission officials, the voting percentage in North Goa was 36.42 percent till 11 am, while in South Goa it was 34.11 percent.  Chief Minister Manohar Parrrikar was amongst the early voters when he exercised his franchise at a polling booth in Panaji.  In all, 10,60,777 voters will exercise their franchisee in North and South Goa constituencies. Women voters outnumber men in the state with 5,32,469 female and 5,28,308 male voters.  The Election Commission has identified 14 vulnerable and 30 critical polling stations in the state which have been given adequate security cover to avoid any untoward incident. Polling will conclude at 6 pm.  In North Goa, BJP’s Shripad Naik is pitted against Congress’ Ravi Naik, AAP’s Dattaram Desai and CPI’s Suhas Naik.  Congress’ Aleixo Reginaldo Lourenco is fighting against BJP’s Narendra Sawaikar, AAP’s Swati Kerkar and CPI’s Raju Mangueshkar in South Goa constituency.  51.95 percent turnout in Sikkim  Nearly 51.95 percent turnout was recorded in the lone Lok Sabha and 32 Assembly seats in the Himalayan state of Sikkim till 2.15 pm on Saturday.  A force of 3,500 policemen and 15 companies of the West Bengal police have been assigned to maintain security during polling in this peaceful Himalayan state.  Election will be held in the lone Lok Sabha and 32 Assembly constituencies. In all 538 polling stations have been set up.  Tek Nath Dhakal of the newly-launched Sikkim Krantikari Morcha is pitted against sitting SDF MP Prem Das Rai in what is billed as a very tough fight.  Apart from the two home-grown parties, the BJP, Congress, Trinamool Congress and Aam Aadmi Party have also put up candidates.  There were 121 contestants for the 32 Assembly seats and six for the Lok Sabha seat. SKM leader Prem Singh Tamang, known as P S Golay, is a major contender for the chief minister.  Chamling would be contesting from two places – Namchi-Singhithang and Rangang-Yangang.  Other prominent candidates included SKM’s Bharati Sharma from Soreng-Chakung seat.  Out of the 32 Assembly seats, two are reserved for SC while 12 are meant for the Bhutia and Lepcha communities.  The Congress is contesting all the seats, while the BJP has put up candidates in 13 seats and Trinamool 7. Besides, there were five independents contesting the Assembly polls.  Brisk polling in Tripura, 56.35 percent votes cast till 2.15 pm  Brisk polling is on at Tripura East (ST) Lok Sabha constituency where over 56.35 percent voters exercised their franchise till 2.15 pm on Saturday, election department sources said.  Voters were seen standing in long queues in urban and rural polling stations of the constituency much before the voting started at 7 AM.  Voting began an hour and half late at a polling booth at Ambassa, the headquarter of Dhalai district as the EVMs there did not function properly and had to be changed, the sources said.  Tribals, who form the majority of the electorate in the constituency, were seen waiting to cast their votes donning colourful traditional dresses.  Women tribal voters outnumbered menfolk in the polling booths in rural and hilly areas of the state, which is witnessing the second phase of polling.  Additional 35 companies of security forces have been dispatched by the EC for deployment, along with the state police. The BSF has deployed additional forces along the 856- km-long Indo-Bangla international border.  There are 12 candidates in the fray including CPI(M)’s Jitendra Chowdhury, who is the state industries minister, Congress’ Sachitra Debbarma, a prominent educationist, BJP’s Parkshit Debbarma, an ex-armyman, and Trinamool Congress leader Bhriguram Reang.  The CPI(M) has won the seat 11 out of 15 times between 1952 and 2009 and did it consecutively since 1996.  An electorate of 11,38,765, including 580497 men, are eligible exercise their franchise in 1,490 polling stations, of which 18 have been identified as very vulnerable and more than 400 as vulnerable.  The Election Commission has set up nine all-women polling stations.

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16 Pak militants killed in fresh infighting

12042014

At least 16 militants were killed in Pakistan’s restive northwest on Friday, in the latest bout of violence in nearly a week of infighting between rival factions of the banned Taliban that has claimed 40 lives so far.

The clash started between two rival Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) factions a few days ago and the cause of infighting was said to be interference in matters under each other’s domains. At least 10 people were killed during a clash in North Waziristan’s Shawal tehsil and several were injured, media report said.  The latest clash came a day after the expiry of a 40-day ceasefire with the government. The casualties in Shawal took place when the two factions exchanged fire.  The clashes first erupted on Sunday in Shawal between supporters of Khan Said Sajna and followers of the late Hakimullah Mehsud group. In a separate incident, six militants, including Sher Amanullah, a commander of the Haqqani network, were killed when a roadside bomb hit their vehicle near the town of Dattakhel, media reports said, quoting intelligence and militant sources.  Amanullah was said to be a close associate of Mullah Sangeen Zadran, who was blacklisted as a terrorist by the UN and US and was killed in a US drone strike in North Waziristan in September last year.  Militant sources had earlier suggested that differences emerged after Sajna, a senior commander, was rejected for the TTP leadership, after then-leader Mehsud was killed in a US drone strike last November.  The TTP has long been driven by infighting. Sajna had been seen as a strong candidate to become TTP chief following Mehsud’s death. But the movement’s ruling council at the last minute elected Mullah Fazlullah, who hails from Swat and is believed to be hiding in Afghanistan.  The TTP has remained silent on the matter of infighting in which over 30 deaths have been reported over a couple of days. Both factions are part of the TTP umbrella group, which has been waging a bloody seven-year insurgency against the state.

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Four killed in landslide in northern Afghanistan

12042014

A landslide triggered by heavy rains and a small earthquake swept through two villages in northern Afghanistan killing four people and destroying around 100 houses, officials said on Saturday.

The natural disaster occurred overnight in the Rustaq district of northern Takhar province, about 300 kilometres north-east of the capital Kabul, police spokesman Abdul Khalil Aseer said.  “Four civilians – three men and a woman – were killed as a result of landslide, heavy rains and (an) earthquake in two remote villages of Rustaq district,” on the outskirt of northern Takhar province, he said.  According to the United States Geological Survey, a minor 4.1-magnitude quake struck northeast Afghanistan at 2:30 AM (local time) at a depth of 203 kilometres. The death toll might increase as Afghan police forces head to the scene, Aseer said.  Sunatullah Taimoor, a spokesman for the governor of Takhar, confirmed the death toll. “Around 100 houses were destroyed in last night’s landslide,” he said, adding residents had climbed to higher ground for safety.  Landslides sometimes occur during the spring rainy season in the country’s mountainous north, with the flimsy mud houses built in the area often unable to withstand them.

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The House Republicans voted on their 2015 budget

12042014

	Friday, April 11, 2014
House of Cuts The House Republicans voted on their 2015 budget yesterday, and it’s bad news for the middle class. How bad? Frankly, it makes Congress look like something out of a TV show. See what the House Republican budget could mean for your family — then pass it on.     Stay Connected

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Yogendra Yadav visits Pune and Maval

12042014

Yogendra Yadav visits Pune and Maval

From: AAP Maharashtra News <news@aapmaharashtra.org> Fri, 11 Apr ’14 9:06p

 

 

 

 

 

Dear all,

Senior AAP leader Yogendra Yadav visits Pune and Maval tomorrow and we would like to share his schedule with you:

9 am rally in PCMC by Volunteers (without Yogendraji)

12 pm rally : Yogendraji joins the rally

12:30 pm PCMC Ramchandra More Auditorium : Press Meet

1pm – 3pm: Jan sabha at same venue

3:00 – 3:30 pm: lunch

4:30 pm to 5:30 pm : Press Meet at AAP Office, Ashirwad
                               Mangal Karyalaya, near Appa Balwant  Chowk,                                Shaniwar Peth

6 pm : Jan Sabha at Nadi Patra,  Z-Bridge, near Deccan, Pune

9 pm : Dinner with AAP Pune Volunteers at AAP Office.

For any information, please contact 

  Maval : 09766492001 / 09096301748

  Pune : 093372860028 / 09096301748

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PREMIERE OF TOMORROW WE DISAPPEAR AT THE 2014 TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL

12042014

MEDIA ALERT

**ALL PRESS MUST RSVP & BE ACCREDITED TO COVER**

**ARRIVALS ONLY**

PREMIERE OF TOMORROW WE DISAPPEAR

AT THE 2014 TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL

SATURDAY, APRIL 19^th

What:                                   Premiere of Tomorrow We Disappear at the 2014 Tribeca Film Festival, presented by AT&T

When:                                  Saturday, April 19^th at 7:00PM

                                                Press Check-in: 6:00PM

                                                Arrivals: 6:30PM

Who:                                     Directors Jimmy Goldblum and Adam Weber

Cast member Puran the Puppeteer from the Kathputli Colony in New Delhi  

Where:                                AV73

                                                AMC Loews Village 7

66 3rd Ave, New York, NY 10003

***RSVP required for all media to Morgan Michaels at michaels@sunshinesachs.com

TOMORROW WE DISAPPEAR

Writers/Directors: Jimmy Goldblum and Adam Weber

It is a film that truly takes you on a journey through a world you haven’t seen before or experienced before and enlightens the audience to a different way of life. Growing up in a colony of 2,800 artist families comprised of jugglers, acrobats, puppeteers, painters, folk singers and magicians in New Delhi called the Kathputli, these children are taught acrobatics, to play musical instruments and other tricks at an early age; they grow up with no fear for trying new and strange things. This unique world however is slowly vanishing. When their land is sold to developers to be bulldozed to make room for the city’s first-ever skyscraper, The Raheja Phoenix, the magicians, acrobats, and puppeteers of Kathputli Colony must find a way to unite — or splinter apart forever.  This documentary is not telling you about an injustice or that something needs to change/stop, but asking you to experience this culture before it disappears. As they are both New Yorkers, they feel like they can relate this issue to how much the five burroughs in New York have changed. Our neighbors and homes are constantly changing – we need to appreciate your culture before it fades away. This is a rare slice of the world; everyone should see it before it is gone.

Below please find a link to the trailer and the film’s website:

http://www.twdfilm.com/video-stills/

Morgan Michaels | Junior Account Executive

Main: 212.691.2800 | Direct: 646.509.2383 | Cell: 949.533.9288 |136 Madison Ave. 17th Fl. New York, NY 10016

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PRESS INVITATION

12042014

PRESS INVITATION- 

Mr. Lekhraj Maheshwari

Chairman

Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts (EPCH)

Cordially invites you

To

The Inauguration of

Asia’s Largest Confluence of Home & Lifestyle Products

HOME EXPO INDIA 2014

(From April 15-18, 2014)

Ms. Zohra Chatterji, IAS, Secretary (Ministry of Textiles)

 Will Be The Chief Guest

&

Mr. S.S. Gupta, IAS

Development Commissioner (Handicrafts)

Will Grace The Occasion

On

Tuesday, April 15, 2014

At

1300 Hrs

At

India Expo Centre & Mart

23-24 Knolwedge Park-II, Greater Noida Expressway,

Greater Noida, Delhi-NCR

————————————————————————————- 

For further information and logistic needs kindly contact:

Brij Bhushan Sharma-Media Coordinator-EPCH at  9810945839

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Al Jazeera English reports as the world’s largest democracy goes to the polls

12042014

Doha, April 2, 2014

As the world’s largest democracy prepares to vote, Al Jazeera English will provide TV and online in-depth analysis on India’s future, lining-up an array of special coverage focused on the most crucial issues - economy, food, health, corruption and security.

As part of the coverage, Al Jazeera will have six correspondents traveling across the country to report on what this election means for India and the world. From across the political landscape, Al Jazeera English will present a detailed report card on the main issues faced by Indians, profiling leaders and engaging voters’ expectations.

Speaking about Al Jazeera’s Indian election coverage, Al Anstey, Managing Director, Al Jazeera said, “India is the world’s biggest democracy and the country is diverse in opinion and sentiment. Al Jazeera will attempt to reflect the voices of people ranging from the metropolitan hubs of Delhi, Mumbai and Ahmedabad; to the rural landscapes of Rajasthan and Kerala. Al Jazeera’s coverage will encompass TV, online and social media which will ensure real opinion, thought and voices will be heard.”

The coverage of the election will be a mixture of news and programmes including Al Jazeera’s Nidhi Dutt exploring the issue of food inflation and the impact on rice farmers in West Bengal. Al Jazeera’s Sohail Rahman will investigate the recent attack by Maoist rebels in Chattisgarh and talk about the internal security issues the government faces ahead of the general elections.

Karishma Vyas will travel to Gujarat, the home state of BJP leader Narendra Modi - who has been credited by some with transforming the state into an economic powerhouse and look at the rise of Hindu nationalism. Faiz Jamil will explore the people in Assam who are demanding a separate state called Bodoland, while Nidhi Dutt will be speaking to Suhas Chakma, a northeastern India expert, on his views on alienation of northeast India from the mainland, what corruption costs the economy and the measures that should be taken to overcome that.

Al Jazeera’s Baba Umar and Kamal Kumar will be traveling the length and breadth of India speaking to the common man. They will be focusing via multimedia the concerns and hopes towards the elections, the parties and their candidates.

Al Jazeera will also be airing special programmes leading to up to election as Nidhi Dutt will focus on health in a one hour special, analysing the measures taken by the major political parties in India to provide healthcare facilities to the citizens of West Bengal. Al Jazeera’s 101 East will go on India’s campaign trail with the BJP Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi asking if he is the right man for Modern India.

As social media will be playing a key role in the elections the hashtags #AJIndia and #IndiaElections which will be tracked by the online team and the social media programme The Stream.

Al Jazeera’s flagship discussion programme Inside Story will also debate the key election points before and after the vote.

Twitter handles of Al Jazeera journalists in India: @nidhidutt, @KarishmaTV, @faizreports, @BabaUmarr, @kamalpkumar

For all the latest news, analysis and features from Al Jazeera on the Indian elections – click here: http://www.aljazeera.com/India

For more information please contact

pressoffice@aljazeera.net

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Monaco News

12042014

ABOUT MONACO | NEWS | PLACES TO VISIT | PLAN YOU STAY | MEETINGS & INCENTIVES
Headlines Culture A Very Special Moroccan Day at the Rainier III Auditorium in Monaco  10/04/2014  The Monte-Carlo Spring Arts Festival (“Printemps des Arts”) is offering a musical voyage on 13 April 2014, with more than 82 musicians and dancers from the Moroccan High Atlas Mountains » Read CHARITY 21st “Star Team for Children” Football Match at the Louis II Stadium, Monaco  07/04/2014  A team led by HSH Prince Albert II will face the Formula 1 Drivers’ Association on 20 May 2014 » Read LEISURE The Oceanographic Museum of Monaco Inaugurates some new Aquariums  11/04/2014  Some major improvements have just been carried out in the section devoted to the Mediterranean Sea » Read New Temporary Exhibition at the Museum of Prehistoric Anthropology, Monaco  08/04/2014  “Received Ideas in Prehistory” until 30 October 2014 » Read NIGHT LIFE Bob Sinclar at Jimmy’z Monte-Carlo  11/04/2014  The famous French DJ will man the turntables at Jimmy’z on 19 April 2014 during the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters » Read BUSINESS The Latest Innovations from the Top Marques Show – A Preview at the Métropole Shopping Centre in Monaco  10/04/2014  A selection of exclusive vehicles from the Top Marques show has been unveiled. The vehicles are on show from 10 to 16 April 2014 » Read Marco Molinario is Exhibiting at Top Marques Monaco  10/04/2014  The jeweller from the Avenue de la Costa is presenting his collections at the Top Marques Monaco show from 17 to 20 April 2014 » Read ENVIRONMENT Monacology Celebrates its 10th Anniversary  11/04/2014  The 10th Monegasque Awareness Week for Children on Environment and Sustainable Development will take place from 10 to 13 June 2014 » Read SPORT 2nd Monte-Carlo Polo World Cup  11/04/2014  Several international polo teams are expected in Monaco from 3 to 6 July 2014 » Read

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Quake of M6.6 – NICARAGUA

12042014

 

Magnitude	6.6
Date-Time	11 Apr 2014 20:29:15 UTC 11 Apr 2014 14:29:15 near epicenter 12 Apr 2014 00:29:15 standard time in your timezone
Location	11.710N 85.963W
Depth	138 km
Distances	11 km (6 mi) ESE of Nandaime, Nicaragua 20 km (12 mi) SSE of Diriomo, Nicaragua 24 km (14 mi) S of Granada, Nicaragua 30 km (18 mi) ESE of Jinotepe, Nicaragua 56 km (34 mi) SSE of Managua, Nicaragua
Location Uncertainty	Horizontal: 0.0 km; Vertical 5.1 km
Parameters	Nph = 161; Dmin = 90.9 km; Rmss = 1.73 seconds; Gp = 36° Version = 1
Event ID	us c000pgsi

For updates, maps, and technical information, see: Event Page or USGS Earthquake Hazards Program
National Earthquake Information Center
U.S. Geological Survey
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/regional/neic/

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Boletin

12042014

Boletín informativo. Sábado 12 de Abril 2014. Portada SUSANA DÍAZ DEVUELVE LAS COMPETENCIAS DE FOMENTO A ELENA CORTÉS (IU)  PSOE e IU salvan su pacto de gobierno en Andalucía  El acuerdo se alcanzó la pasada madrugada después de la reunión que mantuvieron ambas formaciones para intentar solucionar la crisis provocada por el realojo de familias procedentes de la Corrala Utopía. La presidenta andaluza restablece las competencias en materia de vivienda a la consejera Elena Cortés. ERE DE TELEMADRID  Las falsedades del tándem González-Victoria  Sección Sindical UGT-Telemadrid | Podríamos decir que mienten pero lo vamos a dejar en que faltan a la verdad. · Juan Torres López: Un cambio a peor  Los datos de Empleo no permiten saber qué está sucediendo realmente con la ocupación y el paro… TRAS LA DECLARACIÓN DEL EXTESORERO DEL PP  PSOE pide la dimisión de Rajoy y una comisión por el caso Bárcenas  El PSOE afirma que el PP es “un partido que desde su origen, se fundó y se ha financiado y ha trabajado con dinero negro, con cajas b”. · Emilio Jurado: LocoMontoro  Los que tengan edad suficiente y aún no les haya vapuleado el cerebro el paso del tiempo recordarán un mítico… POR EL ERE DE COCA-COLA  CCOO presenta denuncia ante la Inspección de Trabajo  CCOO “no va a permitir bajo ningún concepto el desmanteleamiento de la planta de Coca-Cola de Fuenlabrada”, advierte el sindicato. CUERPO DE GUARDIA  Sangüijuelas  Capitán Lagarta | “La sangüijuela parasita a su víctima controlando cualquier expresión de voluntad libre… HISTORIA | EDUARDO MONTAGUT  La organización territorial en la II República  La Segunda República, a través de la Constitución de 1931, articuló un tipo de Estado nuevo en relación con los dos modelos anteriores. MUJERES DE PELÍCULA | EDMUNDO FAYANÁS ESCUER  La Comunera María Pacheco  María Pacheco ha sido denostada en un amplio periodo de la historia de España, hasta que los liberales, en el reinado de Isabel II a mediados del siglo XIX, la alaban como ejemplo a seguir…. LECTURAS SUMERGIDAS | REVISTA LITERARIA  El río de las contemplaciones  Por Emma Rodríguez | De nuevo quise volver a Thoreau y hacerlo como la primera vez, totalmente libre de ideas preconcebidas. CINE: PROPUESTAS PARA LA SALA OSCURA  Anochece en la India  MODIFICAR / CANCELAR SUSCRIPCIÓN Está recibiendo este boletín tras solicitar este servicio a través de la web de Nuevatribuna. En cualquier momento puede modificar o cancelar su suscripción accediendo a esta dirección.  Nuevatribuna Información continua y análisis para una ciudadanía comprometida con los valores de libertad, igualdad y justicia.     © medio digital de información general

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Coca-Coca Cricket Cup Inter-State challenge 2014

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Ten of India’s top U-16 cricket school teams headed for the royal battle in the Coca-Coca Cricket Cup Inter-State challenge 2014

~ Initiative to promote grassroots cricket and identify promising cricketing talent from the Country~

-       Partnership takes forward Coca-Cola India’s commitment to promote a sporting culture and healthy active living in the country

-       Inter-State challenge to begin on 14^th April 2014 in Mumbai

-       Cricket India Academy (CIA) to provide the coaching program and expertise for the coaching camp and team for the second year in a row

-       24 of the best players from the Inter-state challenge to be shortlisted for an intensive coaching camps

-       Entire program is mentored by Saba Karim

Mumbai, April 11 2014: After eight months of intense cricketing action covering 820 schools in 66 districts across ten states and involving the participation of close to 12,500 young cricketers, ten of India’s top cricket playing school teams have now qualified for the intense inter-state challenge of the Coca-Cola Cricket Cup for Under-16 Boys. The talented players will now pit their skills against each other in the Inter-State Challenge of one of the country’s largest Inter-School Cricket championships, which will be played across seven venues in Mumbai beginning April 14, 2014.

The commencement of the Inter-State leg was announced in the city on Friday by Dilip Jayram, CEO, Procam International, in the presence of Shrikant Tigdi, MCA and P.N. Sankaran, Procam International.

Al. Barkat Malik M. I. English School has emerged the champion school from Mumbai and will open their campaign against DAV Sr. Sec. School, Chandigarh at Hindu Gymkhana ground on April 14.

The other champion schools in the fray are Sports College, Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh), St. Johns Jr. College, Hyderabad (Andhra Pradesh), Salwan Boys Sr. Sec. School, Rajendra Nagar (Delhi), Shreyas Samarpan Vidyalaya, Baroda (Gujarat), AVR E Techno School, Vijayawada (Andhra Pradesh), Debinagar K.C.R. Vidyapith, Uttar Dinajpur (West Bengal), Don Bosco Matriculation Higher Secondary School, Chennai (Tamil Nadu), and Kiddys Corner Higher Secondary School, Gwalior (Madhya Pradesh).

The ten teams will be divided into two groups of five each and league matches will be played till April 20 at the following grounds: Hindu Gymkhana, Islam Gymkhana, Mahalaxhmi Ground (WR), Trombay, HPCL Ground, Police Gymkhana and RCF. The top two teams of each group will play the semi-finals on April 19, followed by the grand final on April 20..

Intensive Seven-day Coaching Clinic: Twenty-four of the best players from the Inter-State Leg of the Coca-Cola Cricket Cup will be picked for a seven-day coaching clinic to be conducted from 21^st – 27^th April 2014. -The clinic will be conducted by veteran Cricket India Academy coaches like Anthony Adam.

Following the week-long clinic, the Coca-Cola XI will be selected to play a three-match series against an international under 16 team in the month of June.

Speaking on the occasion, said, Sumanta Datta, CBO-Company Bottling Operations, INSWABU, said, “It gives me great pleasure today to kick-start the Inter-State challenge for the Coca-Cola Cricket Cup. Coca-Cola India has had a long association of supporting grassroots sports in India. We strongly believe that it is at this level where encouragement and guidance is required to boost participation and develop successful players. We look forward to an exciting season with some of the best teams from across the country. I wish everyone the best of luck for the upcoming challenge.”

P.N. Sankaran, Procam International, said, “We are thrilled to have come to the concluding and challenging Inter-State Leg of this year’s Coca-Cola U-16 Cricket Cup. At each juncture of the event, we came across some excellent talent across the length and breadth of India. It has been a matter of great pride and joy to partner Coca-Cola in this immensely satisfying and unique endeavour. We wish the participating teams the very best for the final leg”.

Speaking about the initiative, Saba Karim, former Test cricketer and Chief Mentor of the initiative said,“Youngsters studying in schools across the country continue to amaze us with their passion, knowledge and talent when it comes to cricket. Through the Cup, it is our endeavour to spot cricket aptitude and nurture it in the right manner in order to give the nation the players it needs in the future.”

The Inter-State Leg will help crown the champion Under-16 cricket playing school team in the country. Following the tournament, 24 of the best players will be shortlisted for an intensive seven-day coaching clinic to be conducted by Cricket India Academy coaches. The coaching clinic will serve as catalyst in identifying the final Coca-Cola XI, who will play a three-match series against an international under 16 team. The Champion school of the Coca-Cola Cricket Cup will we awarded a cash prize worth Rs.1,00,000 while the runner-up school team will be awarded Rs 70,000 in addition to individual awards for excellence.

Cricket India Academy (CIA), the cricket division of Sports Education Development India Limited (CEDIL) is continuing to provide the coaching program and expertise for the coaching camp and team selection at the Coca-Cola U16 Cricket Cup for the second year in a row. With renowned Indian cricketer Pravin Amre as Coach Director, CIA was established in 2009 with a focus on modern coaching methodologies to provide the most effective learning environment to produce champions of tomorrow.

The academy seeks to further develop this important program to ensure a thorough and transparent selection process helps select 24 of the best players. It also seeks to provide coach education and training support to the coaches of each winning state school. Apart from this, the CIA will also provide a high performance training experience and environment for the national squad chosen from the national championship and select the under-16 team to play an International Series once the Cup concludes.

The Coca-Cola Cricket Cup is an initiative undertaken by Coca-Cola India as part of its commitment to promote a sporting culture and healthy active living in the country and is being promoted by Procam International, India’s largest sports and leisure Management Company.

More About the Coca-Cola U-16 Cricket Cup

The Coca-Cola Intra-State Challenge will be played in Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh (all 13 districts), Punjab (eight districts), Baroda, Tamil Nadu (Chennai + 8 districts), West Bengal (Kolkata + 18 districts), Uttar Pradesh (Lucknow, Kanpur & Allahabad), and Madhya Pradesh (4 districts). The format of the Coca-Cola Cricket Cup has been structured to begin with the Intra-State Challenge. The centers that have more than one city or district will play their own inter-district before one winner emerges from each center. The winners from the ten centers will feature in the Inter-State Challenge.

Coca-Cola Cricket Cup’s Vision

BCCI over the past several years has done a tremendous job of enhancing the growth of cricket in India. They have done so by adopting a result oriented approach of organising age group tournaments all over the country through their state associations.

This has helped immensely in carving out talented individuals on a regular basis. Most of these cricketers have moved ahead and have brought laurels for their states and the country.

Seeing the vast potential and growing popularity of this game, Coca-Cola India has a vision of facilitating BCCI in their quest to tap talent. We believe that the future of Indian cricket lies in these young talented budding cricketers. We intend to provide a perfect opportunity and platform to all the youngsters across the country to showcase their talent, skill and equally important, pride and loyalty to their school. It gives BCCI and their affiliated state units a brilliant arena to scout for potential match winners.

We hope that this initiative will serve as an ideal platform to identify and nurture young talented cricketers for them to be able to get noticed by the state associations and BCCI to represent the country on an International level.

About Coca-Cola India

Coca-Cola in India refreshes millions of consumers throughout the country with an exciting range of beverages including Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, Thums Up, Fanta, Limca, Sprite, Maaza, Maaza Milky Delite, Minute Maid Pulpy Orange, Minute Maid Nimbu Fresh, Minute Maid Mixed Fruit, Minute Maid Apple, Georgia, Georgia Gold, Kinley, Kinley Club Soda, Burn and Nestea through a network of more than one million outlets. The company has invested more than US$ 1 billion in its Indian operations, emerging as one of the country’s top international investors. The Coca-Cola system in India employs more than 25,000 people directly. For more information and details on the company’s Indian operations please visit: www.coca-colaindia.com

About Procam International

In 1988, with a vision to provide a more holistic spend to the advertising rupee and a burning desire to ameliorate the prevailing professional standards for sportsmen, Anil and Vivek B. Singh created Procam International.

Procam International is today a full-fledged sports management company, involved in the promotion of national and international sporting events, sports consultancy and live television programming.

Procam International has based its corporate philosophy on an open culture, with an emphasis on values and integrity. Procam International has promoted and conducted over 45 world events, which have elicited player participation of the highest caliber, as well as huge public interest.

The Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon, the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon and the TCS World 10K in Bangalore are three of the most prestigious distance running events in the world. This has established Procam International as the leading sports events creator in India. Its professionalism, attention to detail and dedication has won it the faith of its sponsors and partners.

Incase of any queries, please contact:

Procam International

Neha Parab Kandalgaonkar

+91 9892194965; neha@procam.in

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Orlando Sets All-New Record for United States with 59 Million Visitors in 2013

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(Mumbai, India:  April 10, 2014) – Visit Orlando President and CEO George Aguel announced that Orlando welcomed 59 million visitors in calendar year 2013, setting an all-time record for U.S. destinations. The record-breaking figure represents a three percent increase over the previous milestone set in 2012.

The news was made at IPW, the premier international travel conference hosting more than 6,000 buyers, suppliers and media.

“We are so pleased to announce this incredibly exciting news on the closing day of IPW 2014, when travel industry professionals around the world shift their sights toward next year’s IPW event in Orlando,” said Aguel. “Thanks to the strong global marketing and sales efforts of our team at Visit Orlando and the leadership of our tourism members and community leaders who share a common vision for our destination, Orlando continues to lead the nation as its most visited destination.”

Orlando is experiencing one of the most significant expansion periods in the destination’s history. Universal Orlando Resort will open the world’s first centrally themed, multi-park experience this summer by expanding The Wizarding World of Harry Potter across both of its theme parks. SeaWorld Orlando recently opened Antarctica: Empire of the Penguin – the biggest expansion in its company’s history, while Walt Disney World Resort will complete a multiyear project that is doubling the size of Fantasyland when it debuts the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train coaster this summer.

If that was not enough, a variety of additional attractions and enhancements to the popular retail, dining and entertainment districts are underway. By 2017, Orlando will be among the first destinations with on-airport intermodal facilities in the U.S. and the first airport in Florida to conveniently support air travel, ground transportation and rail.

To help the travel trade understand how to benefit from the exciting news coming out of the destination, Visit Orlando has launched an enhanced Orlando Travel Academy. Travel agents around the globe can use this online tool to help boost their knowledge of Orlando and augment their ability to support their clients travel planning efforts. More information on specific resources for travel professionals, including collateral, sales aids and the Orlando Travel Academy online training tool can be found on Visit Orlando’s travel trade site, VisitOrlando.com/trade.

About Visit Orlando

Visit Orlando is the official tourism association for the most visited destination in the United States, with representation in more than a dozen countries around the world. Visit Orlando, together with its 1,200 member organizations; represent the area’s leading industry.

Best Regards

Rodney Crasto

Corporate Communications

______________________________________________

AVIAREPS AG
3B. Victoria Plaza
SV Road,Santacruz (West)
Mumbai 400054 India

Tel: +91 22 42163122
Fax:+91 22 42163100

Mobile: 98214 79702

Email:   rcrasto@aviareps.com

Web :     http://www.aviareps.com

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PGTI Cochin Masters: Sanjay Kumar and Rashid Khan emerge top contenders in round three

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Kochi, April 11, 2014: Sanjay Kumar of Lucknow and Delhi’s Rashid Khan ended day three as joint leaders at the PGTI Cochin Masters presented by CIAL Golf and Country Club. While Sanjay shot a three-under-33 on Friday, Rashid came up with a two-under-34 as both players took their three-day tally to seven-under-101. There is a three-way tie for third place between Gurgaon’s Shubhankar Sharma and Sri Lankans Anura Rohana and K Prabagaran at five-under-103.

Sanjay Kumar’s (33-35-33) round of 33 lifted him from overnight tied second to the top of the bunch. Sanjay landed his approach within five feet and converted the putt for his first birdie of the day on the 11^th. The 42-year-old went on to hole a 15-feet birdie putt on the 14^th to move to two-under for the day. Sanjay, a winner of six titles, picked up his third and final birdie of the round courtesy a chip to two feet on the 16^th.  

Sanjay said, “I was quite pleased with my bogey-free effort today since the wind came into play once again. My wedge shots were the best part of my game in round three. I’ve made just one bogey in the tournament so far and that has helped me stay in contention. One has to be very careful not to drop shots in this shortened format as there aren’t too many opportunities to come back. I’ve not done well in the 2014 season so far and would therefore like to make an impact here.”

Rashid Khan (32-35-34), the sole leader by one shot after round two, now shares the lead with Sanjay. Rashid, who has not dropped a single stroke in the tournament so far, continued to impress on day three. He knocked down a mammoth 30-footer for birdie on the 15^th. The 23-year-old pocketed his second birdie on the par-3 17^th where his tee shot stopped within six feet of the flag.

Rashid, a winner of five titles, said, “I hit the ball well and was steady once again. Importantly, I didn’t drop a bogey. The only dissappointment was that I didn’t take all my opportunities on the greens and missed some putts. The win on the Asian Tour has really lifted my spirits and has helped me perform even better. It will be a good fight in the final round. Whoever in the top-6 gets off to a great start with two or three birdies on the first six holes is in with a chance.”

Shubhankar Sharma fired his second 33 of the tournament to be placed tied third, two behind the joint leaders. K Prabagaran, who won on the PGTI last week, joined Sharma in third along with fellow Sri Lankan Anura Rohana.

The Delhi duo of Gulfam and Kapil Kumar along with Noida’s Amardip Sinh Malik and Sri Lankan Mithun Perera are joint sixth at four-under-104.

Ashok Kumar, Himmat Singh Rai, Chiragh Kumar and KPS Sekhon shot the day’s best score of four-under-32. While Ashok and Himmat are in tied 16^th place, Chiragh lies tied 29^th and KPS Sekhon is in tied 35^th.

Rahil Gangjee occupies tied 11^th place along with Digvijay Singh at two-under-106.

Anirban Lahiri is in joint 20^th place at even-par-108. He returned a 36 on Friday.

Local amateurs Joseph Joseph and Alexander K J are placed tied 117^th and 120^th respectively.

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Food Tank & Global Forum on Agricultural Research

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Dear Naresh, Greetings from Quebec City where I am participating in the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization Dialogue on Family Farming in North America. Farmers and farmers groups, researchers and scientists, and government leaders and policy-makers from across the continent are gathered to better understand family farming in North America and to agree upon common recommendations for the development and support of family farmers in Canada, the United States, and Mexico. The Dialogue also hopes to identify the key challenges family farmers face as well as the solutions they’re developing in their communities.   This week, Food Tank is also excited to announce our collaboration with the Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR). GFAR brings together all those working to strengthen and transform agricultural research for development around the world. During 2014 and the International Year of Family Farming (IYFF), GFAR is working with Food Tank to showcase and raise awareness and understanding of the challenges faced by smallholders and help identify efficient ways to support family farmers, especially women farmers. [NOTE: You Can Share This Article Online HERE.]   GFAR’s Gender in Agriculture Partnership (GAP) is “transforming agriculture to empower women and deliver food, nutrition and income security.” GAP is a “vibrant, collective movement for change,” bringing together more than 150 institutions comprised of equally committed actors who work to break down gender barriers and achieve gender equality in agriculture. GAP member projects highlight the role of men and women as producers, develop participatory processes, address social norms and power relations in creating disparities, and put a spotlight on women farmers as the backbone of the land. The timing of this initiative is more important than ever. Although women make up at least 43 percent of the agricultural labor force worldwide, they typically lack access to education, extension services, land, and credit.   And this gender inequality comes at a huge cost, not just for women, but society as a whole. Discrimination against women can undermine economic development by limiting food security for families and preventing women and girls from achieving greater opportunities in education. In addition, many agricultural research and development programs ignore the needs and hopes of women farmers.   But research from the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization shows that if women had the same access to resources as male farmers, they could lift 100-150 million people out of hunger. According to Landesa, for example, when women farmers have secure land rights family nutrition improves, women become less vulnerable to contracting HIV/AIDS; they may be less likely to be victims of domestic violence; children, especially girls, are more likely to receive an education and stay in school longer; and women’s participation in household decision-making increases.   GFAR, among its many roles, works to highlight the important work of women farmers—as food producers, nutrition providers and care-takers, and as scientists, practitioners, and innovators and teachers in villages and cities, in governments and leadership at NGOs, and at research institutions all over the world.   In 2012, GFAR helped bring together women farmers and leaders from more than 50 countries at the First Global Conference of Women in Agriculture to highlight the importance of reducing the gender gap in agriculture and identifying ways forward to ensure that men and women are equal partners in food and nutrition security. The conference gave rise to GAP—eliminating the gender gap in agriculture, GFAR knows, requires cooperation and collaboration from a variety of food system stakeholders.   To celebrate this important work and the crucial role of women farmers, female agricultural scientists and researchers, and women-led food NGOs and businesses, GFAR and Food Tank are highlighting six innovative projects and initiatives that are working to strengthen women’s empowerment in agriculture: African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD)—AWARD is a career-development program for prominent women agricultural scientists in sub-Saharan Africa. AWARD provides fellowships aimed at teaching research and leadership and is focused on the success and security of African smallholder farmers—most of these farmers are women. AWARD fellows are selected through a highly competitive process.  Jamaican Pig Farmer Association (JPFA) & The Jamaica Network of Rural Women Producers (JNRWP)—Mildred Crawford, a pig farmer and pig artificial inseminator, helped create JPFA and JNRWP. JPFA works with pig farmers and other industry players to provide leadership, advocacy in representing the industry at a national level, and resources for the development of pig farmers in Jamaica. The Most Honorable Lady Cooke, former First Lady of Jamaica, launched JNRWP in 1999—it works alongside various stakeholders to foster economic and social development of rural women in Jamaica. This organization works to empower and motivate rural women so they can improve the quality of their lives and the welfare of their communities.  Maruzi Beekeeping Association—Rose Akaki, a beef farmer from Uganda, diversified her family beef farm and encouraged neighbors to become beekeepers, eventually forming the Maruzi Beekeeping Association. This association has grown beyond their village to regional membership, now involved in processing, packaging, and marketing a product called “Go Honey”.  National Agricultural Innovation System Support Project (Peru)—The objective of this project is to create acceptable conditions in the National Agricultural Innovation System (SNIA) in order to support the effectiveness of its member organizations in providing improved agricultural technologies. Women-based organizations are a main beneficiary of this project, as the role of rural women tends to be marginalized outside of the household, even though women participate in all agriculture tasks. World Farmers Organization (WFO)—WFO partners with GAP to empower women farmers and find ways to lift up all farmers from inequities that exist today. Susan Carlson, the WFO Women’s Committee Chair, explains that, “women farmer’s innovation and entrepreneurship are evidence of their commitment and dedication to their family farm—their way of life and their livelihood.” Young Professionals for Agricultural Development (YPARD)—YPARD is a network of young farmers, researchers, scientists, and other food system stakeholders. YPARD helps to give a voice to these young women and men, amplifying their voices and giving them a seat at the table in decisions around agricultural development. Through national meetings, conferences, and other initiatives, women are using the YPARD platform to highlight the issues most important to them at the national, regional, and international level. Please share this list online by clicking HERE. What other projects helping empower women farmers can you add to this list?   Email me at danielle@foodtank.com and let me know!     All The Best,   Danielle Nierenberg President, Food Tank foodtank.com Please connect with us on Facebook,  Twitter, and Pinterest

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Rahul Gandhi filed his nomination papers In Amethi for LS

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Rahul Gandhi Vice President  of Congress and one  of the most powerful young leader has today filed his nomination papers for the LS poll in AmethI he has won the seat last two times. He was accompanied by his mother Sonia Gandhi the  President of Congress party. Rahul Gandhi sister Priyanka along with her husband Robert Vadra were also present .

Amethi goes to the polls on May 7.

Gandhi was accompanied by Congress president Sonia Gandhi for a roadshow prior to filing his nomination papers.

Rahul had earlier joined the Congress president when she filed her nomination papers from Rae Bareli on April 2.

The constituency, known as an impregnable fortress of the Nehru-Gandhi family, was earlier represented by country’s first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru and later by Sanjay Gandhi once and four times by former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi.

Sonia Gandhi also represented the seat but later shifted to Rae Bareily to vacate the seat for Rahul.

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International headlines

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April 13, 2014 by sagarmedia

Japan, Germany: G7 to work on Ukraine issue

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has agreed with the visiting German foreign minister that the Group of 7 countries will work together toward a peaceful solution to the situation in Ukraine.

Abe met Frank-Walter Steinmeire in Tokyo on Friday. The German diplomat is in Japan to attend a meeting for the Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Initiative in Hiroshima on Saturday.

Abe said the crisis in Ukraine is a problem not only for the European region but also for the entire international community, including Asia.

He said his government will further collaborate with Germany to tackle the issue.

Steinmeire said he agrees with Abe on increased bilateral cooperation on the problem.

He said G7 countries need to work together for a peaceful settlement of the turmoil in Ukraine.

 G 20 Express support for Ukraine 

Finance ministers and central bank governors from the Group of 20 nations have agreed that financial assistance should be provided to Ukraine.

The leaders concluded a 2-day meeting in Washington and issued a joint statement on Friday. The talks came as Western nations and Russia remain deeply divided over Russia’s handling of the crisis in Ukraine.

The statement says the G20 framework will be mindful of any risks to Ukraine’s economic and financial stability.

It says G20 leaders acknowledge that the International Monetary Fund is best suited to help Ukraine meet its economic challenges. They also welcome the IMF’s recent engagement with Ukraine to undertake meaningful reforms.
IMF chief Christine Lagarde said the IMF’s executive board is expected to approve an up to 18-billion-dollar bailout program for Ukraine by early May.

US: Russia troops behind Ukraine unrest

US Secretary of State John Kerry has criticized Russia, saying its troops were involved in the attacks on police stations by armed groups in eastern Ukraine.

Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke by telephone on Saturday.

A senior State Department official said Kerry expressed strong concern that the attacks were similar to previous attacks in eastern Ukraine and Crimea.

The official said Kerry noted that militants involved in the unrest were equipped with specialized Russian weapons and the same uniforms as those worn by the Russian forces that invaded Crimea.

Ukrainian  unrest continue

Armed groups have occupied police stations in eastern Ukraine in the latest development in that country’s unrest.

With ethnic Russian protesters continue to occupy government buildings in Donetsk and Luhansk, demanding greater autonomy.

On Saturday, an armed group broke into a police station in Slaviansk, about 100 kilometers north of Donetsk. They occupied the station and seized hundreds of weapons stored there.

A police station in a city nearby was also occupied by an armed group following a shootout with police.

On Saturday evening, Ukraine’s acting President Oleksandr Turchynov called an emergency meeting to discuss how to respond to the situation.

PM visits restive Donetsk

Interim Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk says he is ready to accept some requests by pro-Russian demonstrators.

Yatsenyuk visited the eastern city of Donetsk with the deputy prime minister and the interior minister on Friday for talks with local politicians.

He said both sides want to find a balance between central and local governments, hinting at the possibility of amending the constitution to hand over more power to regional authorities.

Yatsenyuk also indicated that the law on national referendums would be revised to enable local authorities to hold plebiscites on their own. That’s seen as a concession to the protesters.

Yatsenyuk said the government does not plan to scrap a law that designates Russian as an official language in some eastern parts of Ukraine.

He called on protesters to hold dialogue with the government.

Pro-Russian residents are occupying public buildings in Donetsk and Luhansk to demand more autonomy.

The government has warned that it may start using force to remove them as early as Friday.

Some police and security service personnel in eastern Ukraine have apparently let armed groups occupy government offices without resistance

Modi questions Sonia’s silence on Baru’s memoir

BJP leader Narendra Modi referred to the book penned by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s former media advisor Sanjaya Baru and sought answers from Congress president Sonia Gandhi on allegation that “she handled the government files before the PMO”.

“One of the biggest revelations was made yesterday in a book. It claims that Sonia used to clear the Central government’s files before the PMO.  The government appointments, ministerial portfolios, transfers etc. were being decided by her and then cleared by the PM mechanically without applying mind,” Modi said alluding to Baru’s memoir “The Accidental PM” which has crated an uproar in political circles.  Modi was addressing an election in Pune rally in support of party candidate Anil Shirole. “The institution of Prime Minister had been degraded. Sonia has kept mum even 24 hours after the revelations in the book. She should answer the charges as people want to know,” Modi said.  “We had heard about the remote control but in this case the remote itself was running the government,” Modi said.  If the institution of PM was devalued like this, no country in the world would accept its constitutional authority, he said.  “The revelations in the book have also explained the intemperate action on part of ‘shehzada’ (Rahul Gandhi), daring to tear off the ordinance (on conviction of elected representatives) which was approved by the cabinet and PM. These are serious charges made in the book written by an insider,” the BJP’s PM nominee said.  Citing instances of institutional degradation, the BJP leader said, “the PM’s authority as the Planning Commission (chairman) too was eroded with the setting up of the National Advisory Council (NAC) which kept him in the dark while taking decisions”.  For the first time, the country saw frictions between the government and the Army as well as the CVC, he added.  Taking a dig at Congress, Modi said the Congress-led UPA excelled in promoting those people who have messed up in their jobs.  Criticising various schemes and acts implemented by the UPA government, Modi said, “The MNREGA hardly served the purpose for which it was started, with the number of beneficiaries remaining negligible and much below its target.”  “If a train or a plane meets with an accident, a few persons are killed but an ‘accidental PM’ as described in Baru’s book has broken the whole country,” the BJP leader said.  In a veiled reference to the criticism by his opponents that he has a ‘dictatorial’ mindset, Modi said, “A democratic country as big as India cannot be run by one individual. Prime Ministers and governments come and go but the country goes ahead. Democracy draws its strength from preservation of constitutional institutions.”  Modi said the black money stashed away in foreign bank accounts by powerful people in the country should be brought back and utilised for development.

No clues about missing plane flight MH 370

Searchers hunting for the missing Malaysian plane in the Indian Ocean on Sunday failed to find any confirmed clues about the black boxes of the aircraft, as no new signals have been detected over the past 48 hours.

“Up to 11 military aircraft, one civil aircraft and 14 ships will assist in today’s search,” the Joint Agency Coordination Centre (JACC) said in a statement, adding the centre of the search areas was set approximately 2,200 km north west of Perth.  It said the Australian Maritime Safety Authority had planned a visual search area, totalling 57,506 sq km compared to 41,393 sq km Saturday.  No new signals have been detected over the past 48 hours, as the search for the missing jet entered into 37th day on Sunday. The last of the four other signals was detected on Tuesday night.  In an effort to narrow the underwater search area in which the autonomous underwater vehicle is deployed, JACC said the Australian defence vessel, Ocean Shield, continued more focused sweeps with the towed pinger locator to try and locate further signals related to the black box.  Last Wednesday, JACC chief coordinator Angus Houston said the autonomous underwater vehicle would be deployed once signals could no longer be detected.  Finding the black box is crucial to know what happened on 8th March before the Beijing-bound Malaysia Airlines jet with 239 people, including five Indians, an Indo-Canadian and 154 Chinese nationals, mysteriously vanished after taking off from Kuala Lumpur.  The batteries powering the black box are certified to be working for 30 days, but can still provide weak signals for some more days.  Stored in a plane’s tail, they are designed to begin sending off distinct, high-pitched signals as soon as they come in contact with water.  China’s vessels have been searching in an area of about 25,000 square kilometers, which is in the western part of the search region designated by the Australian authorities, said Zhuo Li, an official with the China Maritime Search and Rescue Center.  In the eastern region of about 15,000 square kilometers, vessels from other countries, including Australia, the UK, the US and Malaysia, have been in search, Zhuo added.  By midday Sunday, the center had mobilized 63 merchant ships for assistance in the search, covering about 167,135 square kilometers in total, he said.  The mystery of the missing plane continued to baffle aviation and security authorities who have so far not succeeded in tracking the aircraft despite deploying hi-tech radar and other gadgets even after searching for 37 days.  Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott on Saturday said signals possibly from the black box of the ill-fated Malaysian jet were “rapidly fading” and the ongoing massive search for the plane was likely to continue “for a long time”.

N. Korea blasts reunification offer as ‘psychopath’s daydream’

North Korea on Saturday blasted South Korean President Park Geun-Hye’s proposal on laying the groundwork for reunification through economic exchanges and humanitarian aid as the “daydream of a psychopath”.

The blistering attack from the North’s powerful National Defence Commission (NDC) was the first official reaction from Pyongyang to a proposal Park made in a speech last month in Dresden in the former East Germany.  She urged the North to expand reunions of families separated by the division of Korea and increase cross-border economic and cultural exchanges, starting with the South bolstering humanitarian aid.  “Germany’s unity is for us an example and model for a peaceful reunification,” she had said.  An NDC spokesman noted that German reunification came about with the West absorbing the East and accused Park of begging foreign countries to help a reunification in which South Korea absorbed the North.  “This is merely a daydream of psychopath”, he said, denouncing Park’s proposal, billed as the “Dresden Declaration” by Seoul, as “nonsense” full of “hypocrisy and deception”. “The fact that in that particular place, Park Geun-Hye lashed her tongue about reunification gave away her sinister mind”, he said in a statement carried out by Pyongyang’s state media.  Reunification is however enshrined as a national priority in both the South and North Korean constitutions, but pro-merger sentiment in the prosperous South has waned considerably in recent years.  The North Korean spokesman urged Seoul to abide by earlier agreements including a landmark agreement signed in 2000, stressing all these previous accords gave priority to addressing the issue of easing military confrontation.  Tensions on the Korean peninsula remain high since the South launched annual military exercises with the United States in February, described by Pyongyang as a rehearsal for an invasion against the North.  In a pointed protest at the exercises, Pyongyang carried out a series of rocket and missile launches, capped by its first mid-range missile test since 2009 on 26th March.

India leads global remittances with USD 70 bn in 2013

India lead global remittances in the year 2013 with a whopping USD 70 billion in its kitty, of which USD 65 billion were earned from the country’s flagship software services exports, the World Bank reported.

India’s neighbour China follows second with USD 60 billion, said the World Bank report on Friday, according to which international migrants from developing countries are expected to send USD 436 billion in remittances to their home countries this year, despite more deportations from some host countries.  In its latest issue of the Migration and Development Brief, the World Bank said this year’s remittance flows to developing countries will be an increase of 7.8 percent over the 2013 volume of USD 404 billion, rising to USD 516 billion in 2016.  Global remittances, including those to high-income countries, are estimated at USD 581 billion this year, from USD 542 billion in 2013, rising to USD 681 billion in 2016, the report said.  “Remittances have become a major component of the balance of payments of nations. India led the chart of remittance flows, receiving USD 70 billion last year, followed by China with USD 60 billion and the Philippines with USD 25 billion,” said Kaushik Basu, Senior Vice President and Chief Economist of the World Bank.  “There is no doubt that these flows act as an antidote to poverty and promote prosperity. Remittances and migration data are also barometers of global peace and turmoil and this is what makes World Bank’s KNOMAD initiative to organise, analyse, and make available these data so important,” he said.  The depreciation of the Indian rupee during 2013 appears to have attracted inflows through a surge in the deposits of non-resident Indians rather than remittances, the World Bank said.  The bank said growth in remittances to the South Asia region has slowed, rising by a modest 2.3 percent to USD 111 billion in 2013, compared with an average annual increase of more than 13 percent during the previous three years.  The slowdown was driven by a marginal increase in India of 1.7 percent in 2013, and a decline in Bangladesh of 2.4 percent, the bank said.

 

Ukraine’s Slavyansk under siege as Kiev orders crackdown on protests

Gunfire has broken out in the city of Slavyansk in eastern Ukraine, where anti-government protesters seized several buildings. The city is under siege after Kiev announced an “anti-terrorist operation” against the protesters.

China seizes 10,000 illegal firearms in biggest operation yet

China has seized more than 10,000 guns in a police operation in the southwestern province of Guizhou, local media reported on Sunday. This is the largest operation to capture illegal firearms in Chinese history, as the country battles violent and gang-related crime, Reuters reports.

Deadly Mid-East virus spreads to Yemen

A deadly strain of the MERS coronavirus has popped up in Yemen for the first time on Sunday, as it spreads further through the Middle East after originally appearing in Saudi Arabia, Reuters reports. “Medical personnel have recorded one case of the coronavirus in Sanaa and the victim is a Yemeni man who works as an aeronautics engineer,” the public health minister was quoted by local newspaper, al-Thawra. “The ministry is working in effective cooperation with the World Health Organisation to confront this virus and is in direct and constant communication with all hospitals to receive information on any other suspected cases,” he added. The first outbreak had occurred in 2012; it was ruled the virus belonged to the same family as the deadly SARS, and caused symptoms of coughing, fever and pneumonia.

  

​Foreign donors fail to honor obligations to Syrian refugees – UN aid chief

Of the $6.5 billion requested by the UN from international donors to help Syrian refugees, only one-fifth has been delivered, Amin Awad, the head of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) in the Middle East told Britain’s Independent newspaper. The UN requested funds on January, but donors pledged to pay $2.3 billion. And even of that, only $1.29 billion has been received to date. Awad said he is concerned that the international attention to the perils of the refugees is dwindling and warned that the problem “will show up in different shapes and will haunt us as a community for a generation.”

​French FM visits Cuba for the first time in 30 years

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius has arrived in Havana for a brief visit aimed at strengthening ties with Cuba. “This is the first time in 31 years that the head of French diplomacy is on an official trip to Cuba,” Fabius told reporters. “France wants to strengthen its ties with all of South America and, in this context, we wanted relations to be strengthened in particular with Cuba.” Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez pledged his“willingness to continue to work on common goals” with France, AFP reports. “Today we note a favorable development — and great potential – in our bilateral relations.”

​Taliban kidnap 100 in Pakistan

Around 100 villagers were kidnapped by gunmen in northwestern Pakistan Saturday, government officials said. Authorities suspect Taliban involvement as the attacked men from Orakzai and Khyber tribal areas supported the government. Three local government officials told Reuters that insurgents later released around 40 of them. Authorities launched a search operation in the area for the safe recovery of the villagers.

NATO accuses Russia of aggression against Ukraine

NATO has accused Russia of aggression against Ukraine which led to Russia’s international isolation, including NATO’s suspension of all practical cooperation with Russia, said the organization in its April fact sheet. The organization also addressed Russia’s statements on NATO including concerns of NATO’s expansion to the east. NATO’s relations with Russia deteriorated amid a major split between Russia and Western powers over the ongoing crisis in Ukraine. NATO said it suspended all cooperation to show disagreement with Moscow’s acceptance of Crimea as a new part of Russia.

Woman who threw shoe at Hillary Clinton freed

The woman accused of throwing a shoe at Hillary Clinton during her speech on Thursday at the Mandalay Bay hotel-casino, Las Vegas, was released from jail but faces possible charges of disorderly conduct. Alison Michelle Ernst, 36, has been booked at the Clark County jail, according to the police arrest report. She was aware of what she had done despite her agitated state. Ernst was not authorized to be in the hall, security said. The former Secretary of State ducked and was not hit, joking about the incident.
There are reports that the activists in Slavyansk have taken up weapons. However, one of the members of the Donbas people’s militia told media that no one was hurt during the storm of the police HQ, adding that the government building will be under their control until a referendum is held.

Syrian govt blames rebels for gas attack in Kfar Zeita

Syrian government has blamed the rebel forces of using poisonous gas in an attack on the village of Kfar Zeita in the central province of Hama on Friday. State-run Syrian television blamed members of the Al-Qaeda linked Nusra Front for using chlorine gas, killing two people and injuring more than 100. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that dozens were injured, while people suffered from suffocation and breathing problems as heavy smoke rose in the area after the attack.

Germany: NSA spy scandal should not thwart the EU-US free trade deal

The NSA spying scandal should not undermine plans to create a transatlantic free trade zone between the EU and the US, German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere told Nordwest-Zeitung. He said that “it would be absurd to consider any sanctions against our most important partner”, adding that Germany is interested in the deal between Brussels and Washington. But, at the same time, Germany wants a “solid and effective” deal between Europe and the US on data protection.

​Turkish PM threatens to ‘go after’ Twitter on tax evasion grounds

Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accused Twitter and other social networks of tax evasion. “Twitter, YouTube and Facebook are international companies established for profit,” Erdogan said in televised remarks.“Twitter is at the same time a tax evader. We will go after it,” he stated. On March 20 Erdogan’s government blocked access to the micro-blogging site, igniting international outrage. International human rights groups condemned the move as a setback for democracy. Last week the Turkish government also confirmed that it would be keeping to its YouTube bans despite court orders for it to be lifted.

Maoist rebels kill 13 in India blasts

Thirteen people have been killed in two bomb blasts which took place in the central Indian state of Chattisgarh. Most of the casualties were paramilitary soldiers and officials participating in elections, Reuters reported. The two explosions were approximately half an hour apart. Seven were killed in the first blast, which struck a bus carrying election officials back from Bijapur, some 1,000 kilometers to the southwest, while the second struck an ambulance in the Chhattisgarh’s southern Bastar region killing five members of the Central Reserve Police Force and their driver. Government officials occasionally travel by ambulance to avoid being targeted by Maoists. The rebels are aiming for the overthrow of the Indian state, which it accuses of plundering the mineral wealth of land seized from peasants. The movement has increased in strength in regions where poor villagers live in close quarters with mining companies.

​Time running out to locate MH370′s black box recorder

Rescuers are trying to narrow down the search area for the missing MH370 jetliner. They believe it to be somewhere in the ocean west of the Australian city of Perth, where four acoustic signals were detected, which could have been produced by the plane’s flight recorder. However no new “pings” were heard in the past 24 hours, and the device’s battery is only designed to run for 30 days after any crash, which means it is already five days overdue. The jet went missing shortly after taking off March 8 from Kuala Lumpur, bound for Beijing with 227 passengers and 12 crew on board. The search operation for the plane is the most extensive in the history of aviation.

​Pakistan drops attempted murder charge against 9-month-old infant

A Pakistani judge has thrown out charges of attempted murder against a nine-month-old infant, Mohammad Musa, lawyers said. The boy, along with his father and other family members, were charged with allegedly attacking police and gas company officials with rocks and wooden rods in a working-class neighborhood of Lahore on February 1. The baby boy’s grandfather, Muhammad Yasin, and his three sons still face the charges.

​Japanese minister pays visit to controversial war shrine

Yoshitaka Shindo, Japan’s minister for internal affairs and communications, have visited the Yasukuni shrine, Japanese Jiji Press service and the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper said. The temple honors Japan’s war dead, including several high-level officials executed for war crimes after World War II. Chinese and South Korean authorities see the shrine as a reminder of Tokyo’s imperialist past and wartime aggression as over 1,000 war criminals from World War II are also buried there. Japan is undergoing a period of distancing itself from its post-war pacifist policies. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe made his first visit to the Yasukuni shrine in his present capacity in December over protests from some other Asian nations.

​Suspected Boko Haram militants kill 19 in Nigeria

Suspected Boko Haram insurgents have killed at least 19 people in three attacks that took place in the country’s Dikwa and Kala-Balge towns and near Dalwa village in Borno State, which is considered the bastion of the Islamist terror group. Among the victims were six college teachers and two security guards killed in Dikwa in a Thursday night raid on a college, residents said. The attackers also abducted an unspecified number of women. Three people have been killed in Kala-Balge town, some local officials said on condition of anonymity. Also the insurgents blocked the highway near Dalwa village and shot dead eight passengers, according to a local passer-by.

​Spacewalk may be needed to fix broken ISS computer

Crewmembers of the International Space Station are considering options to bring back online the backup Multiplexer-Demultiplexer (MDM) computer, which stopped responding to commands Friday. Unless they are able to get it working again, they will have to replace it, which would require a spacewalk, since the computer is mounted onto the hull of the ISS. The main MDM computer is working fine, so the situation does not pose any immediate risk to the station, but the backup computer would be needed by Wednesday, when it will be required for the scheduled docking of the Space X Dragon supply spacecraft. MDM computers are involved in controlling some robotic functions of the ISS.

news agencies 

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AAP list of candidates for Lok sabha elections 2014

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AAP list of candidates for Lok sabha elections 2014From: mediacellaap <mediacellaap@gmail.com> Mon, 14 Apr ’14 3:08pTo: undisclosed-recipients:;Show full HeadersDear all here is the next list of candidates of the Aam Aadmi Party for Lok sabha elections – 2014

State	LS Constituency	Our candidate
UP	Bhahraich	Jagat Ram Sonker
Andhara Pradesh	Visakhapatnam	Kuna Ramam
Andhara Pradesh	Araku	Burja Bariki Dhanaraju
Andhara Pradesh	Kakinada	Srinivas Dangeti
Andhara Pradesh	Tirupati	Nageswara Neerugutta

Regards
AAP Media Cell

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Tusshar Kapoor is committed!!

Yes you heard it right! Tusshar Kapoor is committed! But wait, we are not talking about Tushar’s relationship status instead his commitment to work. Recently during the shoot of STAR Plus’ ‘Mad in India – 100% Desi Show’, Tusshar proved that commitment is an act and not a word when the actor landed to shoot for an upcoming episode on the evening of his dad Jeetendra’s birthday.

So, on Jeetuji’s b’day eve, when many people from the film fraternity were gathering for the veteran actor’s birthday bash, beta Tushki was busy shooting for Mad in India. A little birdie informed us that despite the fact that Tusshar is very close to his father and it was his birthday, the actor patiently waited till the shoot ended and was spent time chatting up with the stars. In fact, he waited till he finished his bit completely with utmost dedication and only after finishing the shoot rushed home to spend some time with his daddy dearest!.

As they say work comes first… hats off to Tushar for his commitment!

Watch all the fun in the upcoming episode every Sunday at 9:00 pm only on Star Plus.

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Caricatures, String Quartet with Piano, Music Lectures…

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Caricatures, String Quartet with Piano, Music Lectures…

From: Hungarian Newsletter <hicc.delhi@yahoo.in> Mon, 14 Apr ’14 3:54p

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Hicc

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		Dear Friends, Greetings from the Hungarian Information and Cultural Centre! In April and May, we will exhibit caricatures by ÉDUA SZŰCS from Hungary for our art lovers.  We are pleased to announce for our music lovers that this April we will have the concert series by the KODÁLY STRING QUARTET along with pianist BALÁZS FÜLEI across India. We will also conclude the final cycle of the lecture series by eminent musicologist PUNITA SINGH titled INTRODUCTION TO WESTERN CLASSICAL MUSIC. The CAPITAL CITY MINSTRELS present the Summer Concert in the month of May.  For the film lovers in India, we are happy to share that the Hungarian film, FRESH AIR will travel now to Goa, Mumbai and Jodhpur, in April and May as part of the ongoing EUFF 2014. We will also screen a film by Zoltán Fábri as part of our Film Club in mid – April. In the month of January, famous Hungarian Director, MIKLÓS JANCSÓ passed away and as a tribute to this legendary Director, we will organise a Retrospective of his films in May.  Please keep yourself updated about the events for our upcoming issues of the monthly e-Newsletterby subscribing to it. You may send your details and email id to hicc.delhi@gmail.com. Please visit ourwebsite at www.delhi.balassiintezet.hu for more information. So don’t miss our extravagant events for the coming months! Tibor Kovács Director and Cultural Counsellor CALENDAR OF EVENTS Details of our upcoming events can be seen below by clicking on the date in the table. Dates Type of programme Venue Event April 15 – May 30 Opening: Tues 6:00 pm Exhibition HICC “LIFE IS LIKE THAT” caricatures by Édua Szűcs April 17, Thurs 6:00 pm Fábri Film Club HICC “TWO HALF TIMES IN THE HELL” Hungarian film by Zoltán Fábri April 17, Thurs 6:30 pm Piano Recital The Doon School, Dehradun Recital by BALÁZS FÜLEI April 18, Fri 6:30 pm Piano Recital The Welhams’ Boys School, Dehradun Recital by BALÁZS FÜLEI April 20, Sun 7:30 pm Live Concert Stein Auditorium, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi Concert by “KODÁLY STRING QUARTET and BALÁZS FÜLEI” on piano April 22 – 23 7:00 pm Live Concert Experimental Theatre, NCPA, Mumbai Concert by “KODÁLY STRING QUARTET and BALÁZS FÜLEI” on piano April 24, Thurs 6:00 pm Music Lecture HICC “HIGH AND LATE BAROQUE INTO EARLY CLASSICAL” by Dr. Punita Singh, musicologist April 25 – 26 7:00 pm Live Concert Mazda Hall, Pune Concert by “KODÁLY STRING QUARTET and BALÁZS FÜLEI” on piano April 26, Sat 5:00 pm Film Screening Maquinez Palace Complex, Panaji, Goa Hungarian film “FRESH AIR” directed by Ágnes Kocsis screened as part of EUFF 2014 April 28, Mon 6:00 pm Music Lecture HICC “LATE CLASSICAL INTO ROMANTIC” by Dr. Punita Singh, musicologist April 28, Mon 7:00 pm Live Concert Sivagami Pethachi Auditorium, Chennai Concert by “KODÁLY STRING QUARTET” May 1, Thurs 7:00 pm Live Concert HICC “SUMMER CONCERT 2014″ by the Capital City Minstrels May 5, Mon 6:00 pm Music Lecture HICC “LATE ROMANTIC INTO MODERN AND POST-MODERN/ CONCLUSION” by Dr. Punita Singh, musicologist May 6, Tues 6:00 pm Introduction and Film Screening HICC Introduction of life works of “MIKLÓS JANCSÓ” by Anandana Kapur and Gautam Kaul followed by screening of the film “THE ROUND-UP” May 7, Wed 6:00 pm Film Screening HICC “THE RED AND THE WHITE” by Miklós Jancsó May 8, Thurs 6:00 pm Film Screening HICC “AGNUS DEI” by Miklós Jancsó May 13, Tues 5:00 pm Film Screening Max Mueller Bhavan, Mumbai Hungarian film “FRESH AIR” directed by Ágnes Kocsis screened as part of EUFF 2014 May 13, Tues 6:00 pm Film Screening HICC “RED PSALM” by Miklós Jancsó May 15, Thurs 6:00 pm Film Screening HICC “ELEKTRA” by Miklós Jancsó May 30, Fri 7:00 pm Film Screening Art Gallery, Jain Narain Vyas Town Hall, Jodhpur Hungarian film “FRESH AIR” directed by Ágnes Kocsis screened as part of EUFF 2014 Balassi Institute Hungarian Information & Cultural Centre New Delhi Programmes for Mid April – Mid May 2014 Exhibition  at HICC  April 15 – May 30  Inauguration onApril 15 Tuesday 6:30 pm  LIFE IS LIKE THAT Caricatures by Édua Szűcs  In the contemporary art, Édua Szűcs belongs to those mature graphic artists who practice their expertise based on their brief and proficiency. Her drawing skills are amazing, her aspects of creating situations are brilliant, her knowledge of humanity can sensibly react to such resonance that makes it possible for everyone to have the same personal reaction. Mr. Ajit Ninan, eminent cartoonist and Chief Graphics Consultant, The Times of India has kindly consented to inaugurate the exhibition. (On view till 30th May on weekdays only from 10 am – 4 pm)  Fábri Film Club at HICC April 17, Thursday  6:00 pm TWO HALF TIMES IN THE HELL (KÉT FÉLIDŐ Á POKOLBAN) Hungarian film, directed by Zoltán Fábri (1962), b&w, 140 minutes Spring 1944. Nazi officers want to organize a football match for Hitler’s birthday, in which Germans would play against Hungarian labour servicemen of war. They call for the famous Hungarian footballer, Ónódi, and order him to organize a team. Ónódi accepts, but in turn demands extra food, a ball with which he and his team can train before the match, and asks that they be allowed to concentrate on training before the match and not work. The Germans accept all the demands… Piano Recital  in Dehradun April 17 – 18 PIANO RECITAL BY BALÁZS FÜLEI In cooperation with SPIC MACAY Balázs Fülei (pianist) learnt music at the age of eight and made his diploma with honours at the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music, Budapest. He is characterized by a high degree of musical professionalism and his delicate and profound performance reveals the very substance of music. He will give two concerts in Dehradun as per the following schedule: Thursday, 17th April at 6:30 pm in The Doon School Friday, 18th April at 6:30 pm at The Welhams’ Boys School Concert series in Delhi, Mumbai, Pune and Chennai  April 20 – 28 KODÁLY STRING QUARTET AND BALÁZS FÜLEI (PIANO) In cooperation with Delhi Music Society, Poona Music Society, National Centre for the Performing Arts, Mumbai, Hotel Le Meridien, New Delhi and India Habitat Centre, New Delhi Hungarian Information and Cultural Centre is pleased to present a concert series by the world famous Kodály String Quartet and the young and charismatic pianist Balázs Fülei from Hungary. The concert tour schedule is as under: 20th April, Sunday at 7:00 pm at Stein Auditorium, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi22nd April, Tuesday at 7:00 pm at Experimental Theatre, NCPA, Mumbai  23rd April, Wednesday at 7:00 pm at Experimental Theatre, NCPA, Mumbai  25th April, Friday at 7:00 pm at Mazda Hall, Pune  26th April, Saturday at 7:00 pm at Mazda Hall, Pune 28th April, Monday at 7:00 pm at Sivagami Pethachi Auditorium, Chennai Supporting Hungarian organisations: Ministry of Human Resources, Hungary   NKA – National Cultural Fund, Hungary (www.nka.hu)    Lecture series at HICC  April 24, Thursday April 28, Monday May 5, Monday 6:00 pm AN INTRODUCTION TO EUROPEAN CLASSICAL MUSIC Lecture series by Dr. Punita Singh  Hungarian Information and Cultural Centre in cooperation with The Neemrana Music Foundation continues the lecture series by eminent musicologist Dr. Punita Singh as per the following schedule: 24th April, Thursday – “High and late Baroque into early Classical”  28th April, Monday – “Late Classical into Romantic”  5th May, Monday – “Late Romantic into Modern and post-Modern / conclusion” Film festival at Goa, Mumbai and Jodhpur April – May 19th EUROPEAN UNION FILM FESTIVAL (EUFF 2014) Hungarian film Fresh Air (Friss levegő) As part of the 19th edition of the EUFF 2014 with the theme VOICES OF YOUTH, Hungary will participate with the film Fresh Air by Ágnes Kocsis (2006), colour, duration: 109 minutes. Viola is still a beautiful woman. Angéla is ashamed of her mother. Communication between them has become almost impossible. Probably, in secret, they both are in love with the protagonist. Viola works where no one else wants to. She is looking for a real man whom she could love. Angéla would like to design nice dresses. She desires something different. Another life. Fresh air.  The screening in the three cities will take place as per the following schedule: 26 April, Saturday at 5:00 pm at Maquinez Palace Complex, Panaji, Goa 13 May, Tuesday at 5:00 pm at Max Mueller Bhavan, Mumbai 30 May, Friday at 7:00 pmat Art Gallery, Jain Narain Vyas Town Hall, Jodhpur (Please check our website for dates and timings of the film screening in other cities for the upcoming months.) Live concert  at HICC May 1 Thursday  7:00 pm SUMMER CONCERT 2014 Presented by the Capital City Minstrels  The Capital City Minstrels (CCM), Delhi’s best known choir, comprises of people from all walks of life, all with one thing in common – their love of music. This season they will present folk songs from Hungary, Africa, Germany, Korea and many others countries. Film series  at HICC May 6 – 7 – 8  May 13 and 15 6:00 pm RETROSPECTIVE OF THE FILMS BY MIKLÓS JANCSÓ (1921-2014) in cooperation with the Federation of Film Societies of India Northern Region The retrospective pays tribute to Miklós Jancsó, widely acclaimed, iconic Hungarian film director who became world famous with his early films on the relationship of the ordinary men and those in power. His five films were nominated for Best Director Award at the Cannes Festival in the 60-ies and 70-ies. The screenings will take place as per the following schedule: 6th May, Tuesday: Inauguration of the Retrospective Session and introduction on Jancsó’s life-work by Ms. Anandana Kapur, film maker and critique followed by a short talk by Mr. Gautam Kaul, Vice President, Federation of Film Societies of India and Film Critic Screening of the film The Round-Up (1965) (Szegénylegények) 7th May, Wednesday: The Red and the White (1967) (Csillagosok, katonák) 8th May, Thursday: Agnus Dei (1970) (Égi bárány) 13th May, Tuesday: Red Psalm (1972) (Még kér a nép) 15th May, Thursday: Elektreia (1974) (Szerelmem, Elektra) Hungarian Information and Cultural Centre reserves the right to change the programs and the dates.

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CAIT reveal its economic agenda for next Government

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CAIT reveal its economic agenda for next Government
Instead of Corporate Sector, focus on domestic trade alone will improve the economy

Having an eye on the incumbent Government at the Centre, the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), apex body of the trading community of the Country has began the exercise of bringing core issues of the trading community at the centre stage in its bid to find place on priorities of the next Government irrespective of the party who gets peoples mandate. The CAIT has already released its Traders National Charter on 27th Februrary, 2014 at New Delhi at its national convention which was inaugurated by BJP Prime Ministerial candidate Mr. Narendra Modi and was also participated by leaders of different political parties including Union Law Minister Mr. Kapil Sibal.

At a press conference held today at Nagpur, the CAIT National President Mr. B. C. Bhartia and Secretary General Mr. Praveen Khandelwal outlined CAIT’s agenda for next Government. ” The economy of the Country is in a very dilapidated condition and needs highest priority of the next Government and having focus on exploitation of domestic resources is need of the hour. Therefore, the retail trade of India which contributes nearly 15% to National GDP requires more focus than corporate sector in order to make economy vibrant and resurgent”-said both trade leaders.

Mr. Bhartia and Mr. Khandelwal said that the CAIT has decided to embark upon the next Government to formulate a National Trade Policy and a separate Ministry of Internal Trade. Till the time the separate Ministry is formed, it will demand a State Minister for Internal Trade in Ministry of Commerce with a full fledged Directorate of Internal Trade in the Ministry to draw policies and to monitor structured growth of retail trade of India comprising of more than six crore business enterprises which is providing employment to twenty five crore people in the Country. Further neglect of this important sector of Indian economy will not be tolerated any more and if need be, the CAIT will not hesitate to launch a nationwide movement.

Both trade leaders said that creation of an alternate financial mechanism for small traders will be on top of the agenda of the CAIT. The core banking sector has failed to serve the small traders which has also been asserted by a recent report of Dr. Nachiket Mor Committee formed by RBI Governor Mr. Raghuram Rajan. The CAIT will urge upon the new Government to strengthen the Cooperative Banks and Non Banking Finance Companies which are already providing financial assistance to small traders and low income group. It will demand a classification in Non Banking Finance Companies and will call for categorization of Small Banking Finance Companies in NBFCs with a clear mandate to serve the small traders and low income group.

Allowing FDI in Retail is a burning issue for the trading community and as such the traders are committed to oppose tooth and nail any move to bring FDI in Retail and instead the CAIT will give more focus on upgradation and modernisation of existing retail trade structure in the Country. On the one hand both Central and State Governments are largely implementing e-governance in Government Departments. The traders are being made subject to e-compliance in taxation and other Departments whereas the Government have not taken initiative to empower the traders with computerisation and as such there is a wide gap and traders are finding difficult to make e compliance. Therefore, the CAIT will call upon the Government to design a nationwide campaign for education and awareness among the trading community for need of upgradation, modernisation and computerisation and also to ensure financial assistance to traders for computerising the existing business format. However, the CAIT has already working on this issue and recently it has signed a MOU with global major in e commerce eBay for the above issue and to promote online business among the traders. Both CAIT and eBay are scheduled to make formal announcement at a Press Conference at New Delhi on forthcoming 17th April, 2014.

The CAIT will also laid greater emphasis on formation of a Review Commission to review Laws, Acts, Rules and Regulation governing retail trade and all such obsolete laws should be dispensed with whereas necessary amendments must be made in rest of the laws. The BJP has already committed for such review in its poll manifesto. The amendments in Food Safety and Standards Act, Uniform taxation structure in the Country and early implementation of GST but in prior consultation with stakeholders, ban on commodity exchanges, review of APMC Act,  are some of the other core issues which CAIT will be raising for the consideration of the next Government-said both Mr. Bhartia and Mr. Khandelwal.

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Round Table on Right to Education

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Round Table on Right to Education- Amaltas, India Habitat Centre tomorrow 15th April at 11 am – Amaltas Media Round Table on RTE

From: Sonia Sarkar <ssarkar@unicef.org> Mon, 14 Apr ’14 1:24pRound Table on 

Progress and Challenges of Right to Education

When: Tuesday, April 15, 2014 

Where: Amaltas Hall, India Habitat Centre, Lodi Road, New Delhi

Time: 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM 

Programme Overview:

Considerable progress has been made since the historic Right to Free & Compulsory Education (RTE) Act was enacted by the Government of India on April 1, 2010 to universalize access to elementary education. The Act has been successful in bringing more children to school and improving the infrastructure. There still needs to be a continuous focus on the quality of education and hence improvement in learning outcomes. 

This roundtable is an opportunity to highlight significant initiatives undertaken by various states and reflect on ways to address challenges as well as identify innovative solutions that show us the way forward. 

Who: Mr Louis Georges Arsenault, Representative, UNICEF India 
Ms Urmila Sarkar, Chief of Education, UNICEF India 
Ms Kushal Singh, Chairperson, NCPCR
Ms Caroline Den Dulk, Chief Advocacy and Communication, UNICEF IndiaDr Dhir Jhingran, Senior Advisor, Education, UNICEF India
Dr Geeta Menon, Education Expert
Dr Indu Khetarpal, Principal, Salwan Public School,

For further information contact (UNICEF): Ms. Caroline den Dulk, Chief of Communication and Advocacy, UNICEF India, Mobile: +91 981 810 6093 Ms. Geetanjali Master, Communication Specialist, UNICEF India, Mobile: + 91 981 810 5861 Ms. Sonia Sarkar, Communication Officer,  UNICEF India: Mobile: +91 981 017 0289

Sonia Sarkar
Communication Officer (Media) , UNICEF India
Tel (+91) 9810170289,9891861445; 
Email: ssarikar@unicef.org

United Nations Children’s Fund
UNICEF House, 73 Lodi Estate, New Delhi,
Follow us on Facebook Twitter and at www.unicef.in 

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Shri Ram-Hanuman Jayanti Procession on 15th at 2.30 Pm

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Press Invite:

Shri Ram-Hanuman Jayanti Procession on 15^th at 2.30 Pm

A large Shobha Yatra(procession) on the occasion of Hanumaan Jayanti being organized by Hindu Parv samanvay samitee is scheduled to start at 2.30Pm on 15/04/2014(Tuesday) from Ram Leela Maidan.

The Int’l Secretary General VHP shri Dinesh Chandra will be the chief guest & the National secretary-VHP Dr. Surendra Jain will be the main speaker of the inauguration ceremony of the Yatra presided by shri Gopal Mani ji maharaj.

Kindly grace us on this auspicious occasion by your personal presence. We also request you to send your representative / correspondents / photo journalist / video journalist to cover the event.

Regards

Vinod Bansal

Media Incharge

Vishwa Hindu Parishad-Delhi

9810949109

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Syria troops seize Christian town near Lebanon border

14042014

 

Syrian soldiers backed by Hezbollah fighters recaptured on Monday the town of Maaloula, north of Damascus, Media reported. “Units from the army and armed forces restores security and stability in the town of Maaloula,” state news agency SANA said. The operation closed off more of the rebel supply route through the Qalamoun mountains near Lebanon. Islamist fighters, including from the Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Nusra Front, took over a quarter of the ancient Christian town in December and held several nuns captive, who were released in March in an exchange deal. In recent months, government forces have recaptured several rebel-held areas and border towns, securing the main highway leading north from Damascus towards central Syria, Homs and the Mediterranean.

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Quake of M7.5 – SOLOMON ISLANDS

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Preliminary Earthquake Report

Magnitude	7.5
Date-Time	13 Apr 2014 12:36:18 UTC 13 Apr 2014 23:36:19 near epicenter 13 Apr 2014 16:36:18 standard time in your timezone
Location	11.455S 162.063E
Depth	35 km
Distances	111 km (68 mi) S of Kirakira, Solomon Islands 321 km (199 mi) SE of Honiara, Solomon Islands 713 km (442 mi) NW of Luganville, Vanuatu 922 km (571 mi) SE of Arawa, Papua New Guinea 967 km (599 mi) NW of Port-Vila, Vanuatu

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71 killed, 124 wounded in blasts n Nigeria

14042014

: 71 killed, 124 wounded in blasts at crowded bus station in Nigeria’s capital – police; details to follow  

A blast at a bus depot on the outskirts of the Nigerian capital, Abuja, killed at least 70 people on Monday morning, media reported, citing witnesses  no immediate claim of responsibility but authorities are likely to blame Islamist militant group Boko Haram that have been waging an insurgency in the northeast.

 

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Kiev is preparing to contain provocations in Eastern Ukraine

14042014

Kiev is preparing to contain provocations in Eastern Ukraine on the border.

“Ukraine provocations are being planned near the border in order to discredit the military personnel of the Russian Federation,” Vitaly Zakharchenko said in Rostov on Don during a press conference with ousted President Victor Yanukovich.

He called on the security forces in Ukraine not to obey orders from Kiev, reminding them that such actions would be illegal, and condemned Kiev’s coup-imposed leadership for giving such orders.

“From the legal point of view illegal orders are given out the illegitimately appointed Turchinov, Avakov, Nalivaychenko, Makhnitsky,” Zakharchenko said.

The information of a planned staged attack and provocations by Kiev are also being confirmed by sources in the Ukrainian Interior Ministry on condition of anonymity.

“Kiev authorities are preparing a big provocation, with a purpose to discredit the people of Donetsk and Lugansk regions who are committed to holding a referendum and federalization of the country,” the source told Ria Novosti.

“An order arrived at the management of divisions of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the armed forces of Ukraine deployed in Donetsk region, to use fighters from the Right Sector to simulate armed attacks on the these divisions,” source added.Ukrainian authorities have already tried to launch what they called an “anti-terrorist operation” in the eastern city of Slavyansk, Donetsk region. Gunfire broke out there on Sunday, after troops in black uniforms supported by armored vehicles and several helicopters approached the roadblock set up by the locals. 

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Collection of unique paintings and sparkling hand painted jewelry

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Rashmi Singh

Cordially invites you

To her exhibition

“Aiyati”

Collection of unique paintings and sparkling hand painted jewelry

Inauguration by Shahnaz Husain

15^th April 2014

at Galerie Romain Rolland, Alliance Francaise de Delhi, 72, KK Birla Marg, Lodhi Estate, New Delhi – 110 003

6 PM onwards

Guest List

Niren Sen Gupta

Padamshri Ram V. Sutar

Ms. Anjolie Ela Menon

Ms. Arpana Caur

Sh. Jatin Das

Sh. Rameshwar Broota

Ms. Saroj Pal Gogi

Sh. Paramjit Singh

Col. Karamjit Singh

Nishi Singh

Sh. Arvind Singh Ji Mewar

Princess Diya Kumari Ji

Padamshri Ashok Chakradhar Ji

Padamshri Dr. K.K. Agarwal

Padamvibhushan Dr. P. Lal

Padambhushan G.D. Neeraj Ji

Sh. Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore + Gayatri Rathore

Ms. Archana Dalmia

Ms. Neelima + Amitabh Adhar

Dr. Karan Singh Ji

Media RSVP

Rashi Rohatgi Khan

For further details, please contact:

Vishal Bhalla

+91 8826456567

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President Ma Ying-jeou sheen fades

14042014

Media reports of recent protests, student occupation of parliament to a mass rally outside the presidential office, point to Mr Ma losing public support as well as influence within his own ruling Kuomintang party. Taiwan prestigious survey research labels his latest approval ratings at 19 per cent, a far cry from the 52 per cent he garnered when he was re-elected in 2012.

President  Mr Ma’s authority is under threat, even from his own Kuomintang (KMT) party. Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng made concessions to students without President Ma’s knowledge or consent. Furthermore “As far as President Ma is concerned, his power within the KMT has been openly challenged,” said Liu Bih Rong, political science professor at Soochow University.“So even if he is not yet a lame duck, he is pretty close to being one. Now we’re worried how he is going to push through his policies in the next two years.”

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Paradis, the film of Montalvo and Hervieu eponym choreography

14042014

 

Jean-Philippe Bottin

To Jean-Philippe BottinMe

 

 

 Today at 11:28 AM

Dear Friends,

 

I just wanted to remind you of two interesting events:

 

- today (Monday), at 7pm, the screening of Paradis, the film of Montalvo and Hervieu eponym choreography. A fantastic experience.

 

- tomorrow (Tuesday) at 7pm at Kamani auditorium, Stranger in Indian Paradise, a Franco-Indian production by French artistic director and choreographer David Rolland with participation of Indian guest choreographers Padmini Chettur and Preethi Athreya.

 

I see you all today and tomorrow for those two new events of the second edition of our contemporary dance biennale DanSe DialogueS.

 

Warmest regards,

 

Jean-Philippe.

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The floral tributes Babasaheb B R Ambedkar on 123rd Birth Anniversary.

14042014

All India Radio News ‏@airnewsalerts  35s

PM Dr Manmohan Singh pays floral tributes at portrait of Babasaheb B R#Ambedkar on his 123rd Birth Anniversary. pic.twitter.com/hqSmumsyCC

 

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UK Prime Minister congratulates sikhs

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UK Prime Minister congratulates sikhs

 

 

 

Sikhs Helping Sikhs

To Me

 

Today at 7:00 PM

Please watch video below,

http://youtu.be/_dgMEmjXafI

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Berlusconi to do community service

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Berlusconi to do community service for tax fraud conviction

An Italian court ruled that former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi should serve a one-year sentence for tax fraud by doing community service, Media reports  a legal source as saying on Tuesday. It was not immediately clear what kind of community service he has been ordered to do. The Milan court also set travel restrictions on the former prime minister. Berlusconi’s lawyers described the ruling as satisfactory given his political activity needs.

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Afghan deputy minister kidnapped in Kabul

15042014

A senior Afghan government official was kidnapped along with his driver on his way to work in Kabul on Tuesday, according to an Interior Ministry official. Ahmad Shah Waheed, deputy minister for public works, was taken by gunmen at around 7am (02:30 GMT) from the Khairkhana neighborhood of the capital, AFP reported. Kabul police spokesman Hashmatullah Stanikzai confirmed the incident, adding that Afghan police forces have launched a search to secure his release. Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for Taliban militants, said they had no knowledge of Waheed’s kidnapping.

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Robotic submarine stops hunting

15042014

Robotic submarine stops hunting for missing Malaysian jet in deep area

A robotic submarine hunting for the missing Malaysian jet aborted its first mission after only six hours, AP reported. It surfaced with no new clues when it exceeded its maximum depth along the floor of the Indian Ocean, officials said on Tuesday. Search crews sent the US Navy’s Bluefin 21 into the depths on Monday to begin scouring the seabed for the missing Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777. The previous six-day search failed to detect any new signals thought to coming from its black boxes. The 16-hour mission was cut short when the unmanned sub entered a patch that was deeper than its maximum depth of 4,500 meters.

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Latvia suspends broadcasting of Russia’s Rossiya RTR TV

15042014

Latvia has suspended broadcasting Russia’s Rossiya RTR television channel for three months, the BBC said. An “administration process” was reportedly launched against the First Baltic Channel, and Rossiya 24 TV channel was labeled as “creating problems” over their coverage of the events in Ukraine. Latvian, Lithuanian and Estonian public broadcasters are considering a plan to set up a new Russian-language TV channel. Chairman of the Russian Presidential Human Rights Council Mikhail Fedotov had said the ban on Russian TV channels in Latvia and Lithuania would violate the rights of television audience.

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Rajnath Singh: BJP Karyakartas in Chandauli met me on the highway

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   Rajnath Singh ‏@BJPRajnathSingh  21m
   BJP Karyakartas in Chandauli met me on the highway and requested me to visit the local election office. pic.twitter.com/SfBb8NbOrb

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India and the World – an Update

15042014

The emergence of India as a strong economic power is receiving widespread recognition in the region and beyond. Today, it has expanded its footprints and engagement in multiple fields across all continents. Accordingly, India’s foreign policy and international conducts should reflect upon its new global stature. In this backdrop, Ananta Aspen Centre is pleased to launch a new initiative — a bi-weekly digest of all the major news related to India’s Foreign Policy. Our sincere effort is to keep you informed and updated on all the major international developments that have implications on India’s foreign policy. Hope you will benefit from the initiative. We value your feedback, comments and recommendations.    India and the World – an Update A bi-weekly News Digest on India’s Foreign Policy (Volume – 7) April 1st – April 14th, 2014 Neighbourhood South Asia Pakistan To re-engage with India as soon as new govt is formed: Pak FM  PTI / Zee News | April 9th, 2014″The non-discriminatory market access (NDMA) is a new term we have coined for mutual expansion of the trade. We wish to minimise the negative list of both the countries,” Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said. Afghanistan Wary Afghanistan goes to polls today under shadow of Taliban threat  Times of India | April 5th, 2014 A joint task force report by two Indian think tanks, Ananta-Aspen Centre and Delhi Policy Group, which was released by PM’s special envoy on Af-Pak S K Lambah on Friday to coincide with the elections, makes a strong case for India to equip Afghans militarily. India hopes new Afghan administration will be inclusive  Live Mint | April 5th, 2014 Speaking after the launch of a report titled Afghanistan Task Force Report: What India Can Doby two Delhi-based think-tanks, the Ananta Aspen Centre and the Delhi Policy Group, Satinder K. Lambah, the Prime Minister’s special envoy on Afghanistan, also called on the international community to “remain committed” to supporting the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF), which is playing the central role in tackling the resurgent Taliban insurgency in the country. India has no exit strategy in Afghanistan: Foreign Secretary  PTI / Business Standard | April 9th, 2014 Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh said India would like to see a strong and stable Afghanistan and exhuded confidence that the country will manage its transition in 2014 and beyond. PM congratulates Hamid Karzai for successful conduct of polls  PTI / Zee News | April 7th, 2014 The polls in Afghanistan will end 13 years of rule by Karzai, who has held power since 2001. Preliminary election results are expected on April 24. Bangladesh Likely govt change in India unlikely to hit ties with Bangladesh  PTI / Business Standard | April 7th, 2014 The Indian High Commissioner said as long as the fundamental principles of relations stayed, India’s Bangladesh policy would continue to remain unchanged as it would be led by same interests. Sri Lanka Govt: Decision on Lanka was political  Asian Age | April 5th, 2014 Speaking to a news agency, foreign secretary Sujatha Singh said: “Any decision relating to foreign policy is a political decision, is it not? And no official will take a decision without taking a political sign off.” Bhutan Bhutan to hire Indian students for hydel project PTI / The Economic Times | April 10th, 2014 Bhutan’s Minister for commerce and foreign affairs Liyonopo Narbo Wangchuk, who is currently leading a Bhutanese delegation here, said Bhutan has tremendous hydro power potential and wants to harness the Indian expertise in the field to tap it to the maximum. Asia Pacific China India, China to hold strategic dialogue on April 14 PTI / Zee News | April 9th, 2014 China is in touch with India to explore way forward in Afghanistan to deal with the war-ravaged country after the draw-dawn of the US-led NATO troops by the end of this year. India, China to discuss border pinpricks  DNA | April 12th, 2014 After the two countries signed the Border Defence Cooperation Agreement (BDCA), they had agreed to have a hotline between their DGMO-rank officers to resolve issues cropping up on the LAC during face-offs between the soldiers of the two sides, defence sources said. Foreign secretary Sujatha Singh to test Beijing waters before new government checks in  The Economic Times | April 14th, 2014 Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei said last week that the two sides will have deep exchanges on bilateral ties, high-level exchanges, and practical cooperation, international and regional issues of mutual concern. The United States US faces trade barriers from India, China in telecom  PTI / India TV News | April 5th, 2014 The report among other things mentions ongoing restrictions on the provision of voice-over the Internet (VOIP) services in China and India. It expresses concerns about undue restrictions on the ability of US satellite service suppliers to provide satellite transmission capacity to customers in both China and India. Time to get past tensions and move on: US on ties with India  PTI / NDTV | April 5th, 2014 “We have said we want to get past some of the tensions that have been there over the past several months and move on,” State Department Deputy Spokesperson Marie Harf told reporters. Space Cooperation: A Vital New Front for India-U.S. Relations  Space News | April 7th, 2014 India’s Megha-Tropiques, a satellite mission to study the water cycle in the tropical region in the context of climate change, will now form part of the Global Precipitation Measurement mission being led by the U.S. and Japan. India refuses to consider Khobragade episode as closed  The Hindu | April 7th, 2014 Though the first indictment against her was rejected by a U.S. court, prosecutors last month re-indicted her on visa fraud charges and accused her of “illegally” underpaying and “exploiting” her domestic maid. US lawmakers look forward to new government in India after general elections  PTI / The Economic Times | April 8th, 2014 Congressman Eliot Engel said he is pleased by the transformation that has occurred in the US-India relationship over the past couple of decades and noted that this transformation could not have happened without the strong leadership of both major political parties in India and the United States. Americans facing competition from India, China: Obama  PTI / The Hindu | April 8th, 2014 “Young people in India and China, they’re all interested in trying to figure out how they get a foothold in this world economy,” Mr. Obama said while addressing students in Maryland.   Europe Russia India, Russia sign Rs 2,600 crore deal for anti-tank ammunition PTI / DNA | March 31st, 2014 The two sides signed the deal on March 27 for the supply of anti-tank shells to the Army and agreement in this regard was inked by Defence Ministry officials from India and Rosoboronexport officials from the Russia side, the Defence Ministry said in New Delhi. Middle East 3 Israel diplomats sent home Asian Age | April 9th, 2014 According to reports, one of the three diplomats had even slapped the immigration official while the other too also roughed him up. All three were headed for work to Kathmandu, Nepal. Miscellaneous FS engages envoys in ‘interactive sessions’  The Asian Age | April 7th, 2014 These sessions have evoked a huge response amongst the diplomatic corps with large numbers — some 80 to 100 — including high commissioners and ambassadors turning up to brainstorm with the FS on issues that might be of concern or interest. *** If you do not want to receive this News Digest, please let us know at this e-mail id:admin@anantacentre.in About Ananta Aspen Centre Ananta Aspen Centre is an independent and not-for-profit organisation that seeks to foster positive change in society through dissemination of knowledge. The Centre facilitates discussions on issues of international significance, values-based leadership and cross-sector outreach by engaging the civil society, government, private sector, and other key stakeholders.

To know more, Please log on to http://www.anantaaspencentre.in

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WEC India Energy Portal

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WEC India Energy Portal  One Stop Energy Resource Center

WEC India Scenarios Power Coal Oil & Gas Renewables Nuclear

Energy Portal The menu for Global Scenarios has been enabled.  Comparison of Scenarios of IEA, EIA and WEC is presented for Primary Energy Consumption, Electricity Generation and Co2 Emissions.

Energy News Menu Aggregated Energy News Power Sector News Coal Sector News Oil & Gas Sector News Renewable Energy News Nuclear Sector News Environment News International Energy News Energy News Archive Google buys solar-powered drone maker Titan Aerospace Acquisition of solar-powered drone maker to help boost Internet access in remote areas Growth goes beyond a strong coalition Weakest coalition since 1989, the United Front govt from 1996-98 delivered faster GDP growth than much stronger govts Ajai Shukla: Come out of the nuclear closet While the ‘no first use’ pledge must quickly be scrapped, the ill-conceived commitment to ‘massive retaliation’ is even more damaging to our nuclear credibility Rays Power commissions 14 solar power projects in FY’14 Rays Power is now starting two new parks in Rajasthan for 100 MW of capacity and its solar power capacity is now 85 MW with 56 projects. Climate change: UN panel’s latest tocsin Planned action just not enough, it pleads; new target cuts in emissions and deal to allocate these needed by 2015 Punjab State Power Corporation petitions APTEL about CERC’s compensatory tariff order Punjab State Power Corp has petitioned APTEL challenging CERC’s order about compensatory tariff to two Mundra projects of Tata Power and Adani Power. Parakh set to reignite coal fire Former coal secretary Prakash Chandra Parakh is gearing up to put up a strong fight against the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)’s allegations of criminal conspiracy in the coal block allocation scam, with the launch of his book, Crusaders or … Finance ministry steps in to rescue Dabhol power project The project, which was built by Enron Corp, has been in trouble since last year, when dwindling gas supply from Reliance Industries’ KG-D6 block forced it to shut down. Govt receives 36 applications for three coal mines Applicants include JSPL and Tata Steel Solar energy sector sees $7 billion corporate funding in first quarter of 2014 Besides the number of merger and acquisition deals in the solar sector jumped to 38 in the 2014 first quarter compared to 25 transactions seen in the year-ago period. NTPC pays dues, ends conflict with Coal India NTPC has settled the dues of two Coal India subsidiaries, bringing to a close a protracted tussle over quality of fuel the state-run miner was providing. Suzlon Energy sells 240 mw Illinois-based wind farm to EverPower Suzlon did not disclose the consideration for the sale of the wind farm. The sale may have happened at 50% discount to the original price. Boiler light-up achieved for fourth unit of Reliance Power’s Sasan UMPP Boiler lightup achieved for fourth 660 mw unit of Reliance Power’s 3,960 mw Sasan Ultra Mega Power Plant. GVK coal mine gets conditional clearance from Australia court GVK’s Alpha Coal Mine is located in the Galilee Basin, Australia with the first coal expected to be extracted by 2016 Coal India signs 160 fuel supply deals with power plants The company is likely to sign more fuel supply agreements BLP aims at 1GW power generation capacity in 5 years The firm is raising capital and building power plants across the country to augment capacity, says founder Tejpreet Singh Chopra Adani Power commissions 4th unit of Tiroda power plant in Gujarat With that, Adani Power has overtaken Tata Power in total installed power generation capacity India to award 1 gigawatt solar permits by 2015, boosting plan The planned new capacity is about 30% more than originally targeted and is about half of what has been built so far A clarification on why CERC’s compensation to Tata, Adani for high coal prices sets dangerous precedents This is with reference to inaccuracies in “Why CERC’s compensation to Tata, Adani for high coal prices sets dangerous precedents and dents competition’” published in ET Magazine, dated March 2, 2014.

For more information Contact – WEC India Secretariat, C/o NTPC Limited, 7th Floor, Core-6, SCOPE Complex, New Delhi-110 003, India 
Email: info@wecindia.in, Phone: 011-2436 3719, Fax: 011-2436 9530, Website: http://www.wecindia.in

 

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Special Invitation for LED Lighting Workshop at Jaipur on 30th May 2014

15042014

Sub:Special Invitation for LED Lighting Workshop at Jaipur on 30^th May 2014

Dear Sir/Madam

Greetings!!!

We are please to inform you that ELCOMA, an apex body of Lighting Manufacturers in India, in consultation with bureau of energy efficiency (BEE) and Ministry of Power we are organizing LED Lighting workshops in all state capitals to aware municipalities about street lighting, LED Standards, and architects to indoor and industrial lighting. You being an important stakeholder in adopting the national program on energy efficient lighting and play an important role in energy conservation and renewable energy are cordially invited to attend the workshop and also depute other officials in your organization.

Please note there is no fee for the workshop. Just fill the registration form and send us back for confirmation. Due to restricted seating, the registration will be done on priority basis.

During the workshop, you will listen to presentations from global experts on new developments in technology and applications in LED and Off-grid lighting. There will be special focus on LED Street Lighting, tools to understand on planning for street Lighting, pay-back period, various government support and schemes  and other LED products like down lights for retails outlets and retrofit LED Bulb for domestic use.

Special arrangement has been made to give ”on the spot” training on use of special street light tool for designing street light on road, prepared by DOE, USA which will be undertaken by CLASP. If you are interested in attending this program can also mention in the registration form so that necessary arrangements can be made.

We shall appreciate an early response and confirmation on list of delegates from your organization.You may write to us for any query or details or Visit our website www.elcomaindia.com

A confirmation will be highly appreciated. Looking forward to meeting you also at the workshop.

SHYAM SUJAN

Secretary General

Encl: Copy of Registration form

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April 16, 2014, 12:07 am

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A moment of silence for Boston

16042014

Tuesday, April 15, 2014

A moment of silence for Boston Today, at 2:49 p.m. ET, President Obama will observe a moment of silence to mark the one-year anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombing. The President also released a statement this morning on the tragedy: A year ago, tragedy struck at the 117th Boston Marathon. Four innocent people were killed that week, and hundreds more were wounded. Today, we remember Krystle Campbell, Lingzi Lu, Martin Richard, and Sean Collier. And we send our thoughts and prayers to those still struggling to recover. We also know that the most vivid images from that day were not of smoke and chaos, but of compassion, kindness and strength: A man in a cowboy hat helping a wounded stranger out of harm’s way; runners embracing loved ones, and each other; an EMT carrying a spectator to safety. Today, we recognize the incredible courage and leadership of so many Bostonians in the wake of unspeakable tragedy. And we offer our deepest gratitude to the courageous firefighters, police officers, medical professionals, runners and spectators who, in an instant, displayed the spirit Boston was built on — perseverance, freedom and love. Read the statement here, and if you like, join the President for a moment of silence at 2:49 p.m. ET today. Stay Connected

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Failed Weird GUJARAT MODEL is the Real Danger to Indians

16042014

April16, 2014

Foreign media has come alive to the rise of Eccentric in Indian
politics not for merit or Gujarat Model which fake – Gujarat
contributed 7% of net GDP of India in 1993, 2004 and 2014 but for his
promotion Select Corporate.

Tax collection in Gujarat is barely Rs.75,000 crores or $12.5b for 62m
population or $200 per capita and borrows $5b to fund Gujarat budget.

Expenditure on Education and Healthcare is not even 0.5% of State GDP
against 5% desired.

Sardar Sarovar Narmada Canal has completely failed due to 4 times over
size than desired and Gujarat wasted $billions on diversion projects –
Sujalam Sufalam, SAUNI and Coastal River Linking projects but water
failed to reach drought prone regions.

Corporate in Gujarat are valued at over $160b as of today but people
of Gujarat have no equity in them – wages are not even 1% of their
turnover – contributes nothing.

Unlike Corporate in West – Cargill or Microsoft for example could
scale any heights but is generally restricted to Food industry and
Software.

But Ambani, Adani, Wipro and others EXPAND IN ALL DIRECTIONS IN ALL
SECTORS AND ALL ARE PRACTICALLY 100% OWNED & CONTROLLED.

[Power, Refineries, Petrochemicals, Textiles, Power, Telecom,
Broadband, DTH, Broadcast, Oil & Gas Exploration to Retail, Retail
Trade, Infrastructure, Films, Food Processing etc. Leaving Nothing For
others.]

For example Adani buys Groundnut or Soybean at Rs.35 per kg and
instead of retail vegetable oil at Rs.50-60 per kg, retail vegetable
oils for Rs.90 to Rs.180 per liter.

Profits are not DECLARED – Illegal Financial Dealings are tolerated,
Angadias, Ponzy, Chit Funds, Moneylenders dominate Gujarat economy not
the Regulate Banks.
    
It is not an issue of Left or Center or Right of Center government of
Gujarat but ally of thugs and criminals.
    
Ravinder Singh, National General Secretary.
Sabka Bharat Mission 2019
Y-77, Hauz Khas, New Delhi -110016
Ph: 9650421857, 9718280435
Sabkabharatmission2019@gmail.com

1.  All Over The World Rooftop Solar is Standard – It was foolish to
install Solar Pannels on Canals and Damaging Lifeline of Gujarat.
Solar Power Cost to Gujarat Consumers is over Rs.20-25 Per Unit –
Rs.100,000 Cr Scam.

2. Oil & Gas prices are High Because of Criminal GSPC & RIL Conspiracy.
Modi owned GSPC and RIL secured over 80 Oil & Gas Blocs, Reported
World Record Discoveries in 2005 and 2002 but there is practically no
production in 15 years. CAG reported RIL is operating in ONGC and GSPC
blocks Illegally.

3.  Gujarat Food Production is Negative, Gujarat rear 27m Animals.
Gujarat produced 3% of Foodgrains in 1998 and 3% presently. Fact is
Irrigation Projects in Gujarat and BJP States HAVE FAILED including MP
and Gujarat agriculture is Vulnerable to Drought. http://goo.gl/Cx2Rvm

    Gujarati Cooking Classes on TV are Missing Butter, Ghee, Lassi, Milk.
    Gujarati sell export over 50% of Milk and 90% Milk Products.
    23m Children Were Malnourished Generation During 19 Years BJP Rule.
GUJ IS HUNGER, STARVATION, MALNUTRITION & STUNTED CHILDREN HOME

4.  Gujarat is OBVIOUSLY Most Corrupt when Corporate Get Land at Rs.1
per square meter forcibly acquired from farmers. Tax Collection in
Gujarat is 11.3% only for 63.3% Tax Rate – India average 17.7%.

5.  Gujarati are No Doubt ENTREPRENEURIAL BUT Only Adani, Ambani,
Tata, Ruchi Soya, etc get all the Bank Credits and Cheap Land and
Subsidies.

    Small Industries actually are Financing Corporate at Zero Interest,
are Paid for their products & services in up to Six Months.
    Gujarat Industries Are Low Tech & Highly Polluting.
    Tata Nano had Shut Down – With it Scores of Ancillaries.

6. Education, Healthcare are in Shambles – Less than 0.5% of GDP is
allocated for Education & Healthcare.

7. Over 100 Ministers, Police Officers are Facing Criminal Cases.

8. Gujarat PSU restrict power supply to Consumers & Farmers to Stay Profitable.

9.  BJP Gujarat & MP Governments are NOTORIUOS For Corruption & Loot,
CAG Reported Massive Loot in Narmada Canal and all MP Projects – Costs
have gone up 20-100 Times in all cases. http://goo.gl/Cx2Rvm

10. Gujarat while allocating Land to Corporate it uproots Indians
Settled in Border Area for the protection of Gujarat itself.

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NDTV BJP Record 182 Seats Can’t Be 275,

16042014

NDTV BJP Record 182 Seats Can’t Be 275, Gujarat Let Down
April15, 2014

Pranab Roy these days outsource Poll Surveys and is not directly
involved is depending on second hand opinion. BJP campaigned has
survived to this day because of Corrupted Corporate owned media. It
requires only 24 hours bursting the fake growth story of Gujarat.

BJP scored 182 seats in both 1998 and 1999 elections when INC was at
its weakest and Vajpayee the moderate face of BJP RSS was leading NDA
with promise not to take up controversial issues and backed by scores
of regional partners. Except UP BJP had alliances in every region, BJP
was though not really a virgin in terms of ruling India but still
viewed as Patriotic and Clean party.

Under Mady BJP is going in to elections with Enemies in every corner
of the country including Gujarat. Mady has made more Enemies than BJP
had allies in 1998 and 1999.

People are very smart – they fully understand the Gujarat Loot &
Exploitation Model that had rendered 99% vulnerable poor hungry &
malnourished.

But worse is his Patronizing Ambani, Adani and corporate. Take out
Rs.10,00,000 crore Corporate Value, Funded By Indian Money and people
of Gujarat has no equity in them  – Gujarat is reduced BIMARU status.

Million lies of Shining are spoiled by just 30 minute exposure of
Arvind Kejriwal. But when 20 important parties repeat it, it is
collapse of the campaign.

He had actually spoiled relations with Regional Super Powers -
Communists, TMC, SP, AIDMK, BJD, JDU, BSP, etc who could have
contributed 80-100 seats post elections.

Opinion polls didn’t take in to account Strategic Voting by voters in
polarized situation like 2014 Lok Sabha Polls.

Even if BJP wins 275 seats with so many Enemies Outside and Inside –
people will not let him become Prime Minister, exactly the same way
Sushma Swaraj prevented Sonia Gandhi from taking over as Prime
Minister of India.

Ravinder Singh, National General Secretary.
Sabka Bharat Mission 2019
Y-77, Hauz Khas, New Delhi -110016
Ph: 9650421857, 9718280435
Sabkabharatmission2019@gmail.com

NDTV opinion poll: BJP and allies cross 272 mark
April 15, 2014

NDTV’s latest opinion poll shows the BJP and its allies collecting 275
seats, three more than needed to form the government.

The BJP, led by prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, gets 226
seats, the party’s strongest performance ever and a very long way from
the two it had won in 1984.

With some canny late alliances like the one with the Telugu Desam
Party in Andhra Pradesh, the BJP seems to have gained much ground in
the penultimate lap of the general elections.

If this will be the BJP’s best performance ever, its main rival the
Congress, which has ruled straight for the last 10 years at the head
of the UPA (United Progressive Alliance) registers a low point in its
history. The party has never gone below 100, this time it is likely to
dip to 92, the NDTV opinion poll shows.

Together with its allies, the Congress could touch a meagre 111, three
short of it worst solo performance of 114 seats in 1999.

There is, however, one month and five phases of polling still to go
before votes are counted on May 16, as all parties step up their
campaigns in this crucial final leg of electioneering.

The BJP had so far been projected as heading towards being the single
largest party, but with its national alliance falling short of the
majority mark. It seems to have only got better for the BJP as
elections have neared.

In NDTV’s February opinion poll Mr Modi’s party was projected to get
196 seats, its NDA 230; the March opinion poll showed 214 for the BJP
and 259 for the NDA.

But 275 is tight when a two per cent margin of error is factored in
into the opinion poll’s predictions and the BJP will have to sustain
the pitch of its campaign in the next few days.

The NDA crossing the magic 272 is heavily predicated on the BJP
winning the 51 seats in UP that the latest opinion poll shows it
winning.

If the alliance does not reach 272, it will have to seek more allies
from among regional players like J Jayalalithaa, who is expected to
win a tidy number of seats in Tamil Nadu, or even Mamata Banerjee, who
is projected to get a lion’s share of West Bengal’s 42 seats.

Regional heavyweights like these are reportedly eyeing a bargaining
position in government formation at the Centre.

 

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Smriti Z Irani file nomination for Amethi, Sushma Swaraj cancels MP rally

16042014

 Main yahan (Amethi) Congress se ladne aayi hoon, Congress ki B-team se ladne nahi, says Smriti Irani on AAP, while filing her nomination. 

Smriti Z Irani tweeted: On my way to file my nomination for Amethi, with the blessings of Durga Ma and enthusisatic support from the constituency residents.Irani is the BJP candidate from Amethi. 

Sushma Swaraj cancels Shivpuri,MP rally after Pawaiya and the party workers were fpund absent : Yesterday, senior BJP leader Sushma Swaraj’s proposed rally in Shivpuri, Madhya Pradesh in support of the party nominee from Guna seat, Jaibhan Singh Pawaiya ended up in no show today as the local leaders failed to turn up at the helipad to receive her.

There was no BJP leader was present to receive the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha when her chopper landed at around 1.45 pm, except the media, sources said.

Even no party vehicle was present at the spot except a security vehicle with a tag “Escort”, which Sushma Swaraj thought was due to the Model Code of Conduct which is in force, they said.

When she realised it was an escort vehicle, she asked the driver to stop and returned to the helipad where she found a few local BJP leaders whom she asked about Pawaiya who was reportedly in Ashoknagar town at that time.

When efforts to contact Pawaiya proved futile, Sushma got angry at the “shoddy” arrangements and refused to address the party’s rally in Shivpuri and left for Ashoknagar in the same chopper to address a scheduled public meeting at 2.18 pm, sources added.

During the addressing the rally in Ashoknagar, she publicly scolded Pawaiya who was present at the spot, over the treatment meted out to her at Shivpuri.

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Food Tank is honored to be participating in Edible Institute

16042014

Dear Naresh, Edible Communities create community-based, local food publications in culinary regions of the U.S. and Canada–from Baja Arizona to Washington, DC, and the Hawaiian Islands to Omaha, Nebraska. And through stories, news updates, and tastings and dinners, Edible Communities collectively connect consumers to local growers, farmers, fishers, ranchers, and chefs, putting a face and a place to food.   This spring, the Edible community members will be participating inEdible Institute: a two-day celebration in New York City May 10-11, 2014 to discuss where the local food movement is and where it’s headed. Edible Institute will also bring together leaders in the movement for a better food system, including; Mark Bittman, Jane Black, Paul Greenberg, Brian Halweil, Anna Lappe, Gary Paul Nabhan, Brad Nelson, Tom Philpott, Jeffrey Zurofsky, and others. I’m also excited to be participating in this event!   [NOTE: You can share this newsletter online HERE] Tickets are still on sale for this annual conference that will gather more than 80 Edible magazine publishers and will feature talks and forums led by farmers, chefs, journalists, and more. Guests can expect panels to address topics such as: Culture: Can the food revolution cross geographical, cultural, and class boundaries? Technology: The expanding food-tech space and what it means. Business: How to build a sustainable food business in a city (or nearby suburb). Drinks: Why is the good food movement drinking more? Seafood: How will small-scale fishers save East Coast seafood? Food Service: What will it take to bring the good food movement to scale in school cafeterias, hospitals, hotels, and beyond?   Attendees will also enjoy two days of discussions at the New School in Manhattan, food and drink tastings, as well as invitations to selected events during the weekend including walking tours of Brooklyn’s rooftop gardens, bus trips to Hudson Valley wine country, and a live food-tech meet-up. Food Tank is honored to be participating in Edible Institute and we’re hoping to see many of you there! You can learn more about the event HERE. We’re also excited to highlight five of the many Edible publications who are a voice for the good food movement and encourage eaters and consumers to join them in cultivating a better food system.   With a growing interest in food over the past 10 years, eaters and consumers in Boston can use Edible Boston as a guide to local products and seasonal food. The community-based publication is a resource guide to what’s new, what’s locally available, and an introduction to local change makers. It connects readers to the farmer at the local farmers market.   Edible Chicago is published seasonally and explores the local and sustainable food movement in the city. With a mission of changing the way people eat—one story and meal at a time—Edible Chicago provides interesting content and photographs connecting readers to the food culture of Chicago. Readers will find suggestions on where to eat, drink, and attend local food events in the area.   Edible Manhattan is a bi-monthly magazine that can be found in both print and online versions. Editor, Gabrielle Langholtz says, “Edible Manhattan pulls back the curtain on our city’s eats to reveal every spellbinding, unctuous tale in town.” This grassroots publication is a guide to eating experiences, where to find the best cookbooks, stories of lovacore legends, and the journey of urban ingredients from fields and farms to plates.   Edible Portland believes “there’s a pleasure in knowing.” The goal of this Edible publication is to be a resource that makes eating, growing, and enjoying local food a daily pleasure. Edible Portland is part of the growing movement to encourage people to eat more locally grown and locally produced foods. And part of this mission is to, as a result, help sustain local family farmers.   Edible Vancouver aims “to transform the way communities shop for, cook, eat, and relate to the food that is grown and produced in their area.” The community-based magazine is published bi-monthly and each issue emphasizes the current food in season in the Vancouver Metro area.   Eaters and consumers can learn more about the Edible Communities by picking up a local publication, starting a new community publication, or attending the Edible Institute in New York City on May 10-11, 2014. For more details, itineraries, and to register, click here. Food Tank hopes to see you there! Please email me at danielle@foodtank.com with any questions     All The Best,   Danielle Nierenberg President, Food Tank foodtank.com Please connect with us on Facebook,  Twitter, and Pinterest           Think Global, Buy Local: A New Study Looks at the Impact of Buying Local Produce on Local Economies         Think Globally, Act Locally has been a motto of the sustainable food movement – but does it improve local economies? Read more…               Transforming Political Will into Action for Nutrition         Fighting malnutrition requires proactively building political will for effective action—a new core challenge for the nutrition community, according to IFPRI. Read more…               A YOUng FARMer’s Vision         Three young farmers stories are highlighted in A YOUng FARMer’s vision. Read more…               FarmHer: A Project By Marji Guyler-Alaniz         FarmHer is a project started by Marji Guyler-Analiz that documents important role that women play in the agricultural system. Read more…               Japanese Professor Uses Fermentation for Soil Enrichment         Japanese Professor Teruo Higa is fermenting food waste—and adding it to the garden to boost productivity. Read more…               GFAR Launches Platform to Make Agricultural Data More Available         Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR) and the Coherence in Information for Agricultural Research for Development (CIARD) have collaborated on an effort to increase availability of agriculture information. Read more…               IYFF: World Farmers’ Organization Elects New President at General Assembly Meeting         The World Farmers’ Organization, at their annual General Assembly meeting, elected Peter Kendall to be the organization’s next President; he replaces Robert Carlson. Read more…

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Vote Quotes of Zee TV Artists

16042014

Mohit Malik (Samrat from Doli Armaanon Ki) - I believe it’s a very easy, escapist route that a majority of our youth take when they say they are simply not interested in politics. If you don’t wish to spare the time and participate in getting the right government to power, then you have lost the right to complain about all the things going wrong in India. So, I urge all my fans to take adequate ownership of the running of our democracy and cast a vote to those who are equipped to give us better governance.

Neha Marda (Urmi from Doli Armaanon Ki)- I think, as a woman, I must highlight that one of the biggest issues we face in the country is that of women’s safety. I strongly believe that in addition to justice to victims of crimes against women, we must look at compulsory self defence classes for every woman. We cannot afford to be the weaker gender in times such as these.  My vote will go to the party that can aggressively work towards this goal and make our cities safer places to work and live in.

Rajat Tokas (Jalaluddin Akbar from Jodha Akbar) - Rather than a responsibility, I look at voting as my right to choose the people truly capable of effectively running our democracy. As a citizen, I consider it extremely important to use my intelligence in analysing all the facts at hand and identifying the right party that will make a change for the better for millions of Indians in every respect, be it infrastructure, rising costs, water, quality education, better civic amenities, etc.  Just as I will cast my vote this year, I urge all my fans to also vote and work towards constructively shaping the future of  this country.

Sriti Jha (Pragya from Kumkum Bhagya): Election is celebration of democracy and having said that I feel that the youth needs to have an informed opinion before electing a suitable candidate. They should have an idea of the general manifesto and not just believe all that they have heard from others around them. Have first hand info. I feel sad for not having been able to vote this year since I was registered in Delhi list. I’m trying to go there and vote as I’m tied down shooting for my new show - Kumkum Bhagya. 

Mishkat Varma (Raaj from Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya) : I have seen a lot of people complaining about politicians and the general state of affairs. I believe elections are the only chance we have to choose the right leader and stop complaining. I am registered in the Mumbai list and I will ensure that I go and vote in the first half of the day.

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AAP candidates in Mumbai denied permissions to hold rallies, road shows

16042014

 AAP candidates in Mumbai are repeatedly being denied permissions to hold rallies, road shows and other events by the local authorities. While the other parties are granted permissions with ease, AAP has been consistently harassed by the authorities and the volunteers seeking permissions are made to run from pillar to post. Unlike other parties which use political clout and connections, AAP is run by an army of volunteers who ensure that every single rule is followed, but we are finding it hard to cope with the growing discomfort caused in seeking permissions. AAP strongly feels that there are political forces trying to show their clout and deny AAP’s right to free and fair campaigning.

South-Central, Mumbai candidate Sundar Balakrishnan was forced to sit on a dharna yesterday as he was denied permission to hold a rally in his constituency. Only much later he was granted permission to hold the rally. In other instances applications for 10am rallies, applied for days in advance are granted at 12 noon on the day of the rally.

We strongly feel that AAP routes are adjusted to accommodate other parties but sometimes a party books a whole area and AAP is denied permission to campaign in those areas. Thirdly, the authorities are persistent about every detail, which they should be but other parties are not asked to furnish particulars of cars, bikes etc.

AAP is proud of the independent and strict conduct of the election commission, but somewhere down the line individuals are perhaps getting compromised by political pressure.

Despite these hurdles AAP will continue the battle and work together with Election Commission to reinforce democracy.

Please find the marathi version of the press note attached.

Thanks,

AAP Media Cell

AAP leader and former journalist, Ashish Khetan’s press conference to reveal his findings of the failures of the BMC and State Govt in providing public services and infrastructure in Mumbai.

Date

16^th April, 2014 (Today)

Time

4.30 pm.

Location

Patrakar Bhavan, 

Mahapalika Marg, 

Near Azad Maidan, Fort, 

Azad Maidan, Fort, 

Mumbai, Maharashtra 400001

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April 17, 2014, 2:18 am

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	Wednesday, April 16, 2014
The cost of inaction One year ago today, the Senate introduced S.744, a bipartisan bill that would fix our broken immigration system, grow our economy, and shrink the deficit. Last June, they passed that bill. The House has still failed to act. Take a look at how inaction has hurt our economy — and pass it on: Stay Connected

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WEC India Energy Portal

17042014

WEC India Energy Portal  One Stop Energy Resource Center WEC India Scenarios Power Coal Oil & Gas Renewables Nuclear Energy Portal The menu for Global Scenarios has been enabled.  Comparison of Scenarios of IEA, EIA and WEC is presented for Primary Energy Consumption, Electricity Generation and Co2 Emissions. Energy News Menu Aggregated Energy News Power Sector News Coal Sector News Oil & Gas Sector News Renewable Energy News Nuclear Sector News Environment News International Energy News Energy News Archive Toyota to launch hydrogen-powered car The firm will launch the hydrogen-powered car in the United States, Japan and Europe in 2015 Tata Power plans to add 646.7 MW from clean energy sources Firm plans to raise renewable energy capacity by 71% to cut carbon emissions Hydro power output goes up to 1,400 Mw to match rising peak demand Production at hydro power stations in the state has gone up by more than 200 Mw to 1,400 Mw during peak hours in comparison to March daily average output, as peak power demand in the state has been rising matching with soaring mercury levels. The … Indian companies to benefit from Nepal’s new hydropower initiative The initiative of International Finance Corporation (IFC) can pull up Nepal’s power profile to a much brighter scale and also boost Indian power companies business. Clarify on undecided environment approvals: Assocham to EC EC has been examining projects awaiting clearances to ensure their approval by the government violate poll code TAPS generated 28% of India’s atomic power in 2013-14 There was less than 1% increase in power generation from TAPS during the year as compared to the previous fiscal, the report said. Over 14,000 MW hydro power capacity is under execution: Central Electricity Authority Over 14,000 MW of hydro power capacity is under execution in the country and would be commissioned in the next 4 years, according to CEA. Growth goes beyond a strong coalition Weakest coalition since 1989, the United Front govt from 1996-98 delivered faster GDP growth than much stronger govts Ajai Shukla: Come out of the nuclear closet While the ‘no first use’ pledge must quickly be scrapped, the ill-conceived commitment to ‘massive retaliation’ is even more damaging to our nuclear credibility Rays Power commissions 14 solar power projects in FY’14 Rays Power is now starting two new parks in Rajasthan for 100 MW of capacity and its solar power capacity is now 85 MW with 56 projects. Climate change: UN panel’s latest tocsin Planned action just not enough, it pleads; new target cuts in emissions and deal to allocate these needed by 2015 Punjab State Power Corporation petitions APTEL about CERC’s compensatory tariff order Punjab State Power Corp has petitioned APTEL challenging CERC’s order about compensatory tariff to two Mundra projects of Tata Power and Adani Power. Parakh set to reignite coal fire Former coal secretary Prakash Chandra Parakh is gearing up to put up a strong fight against the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)’s allegations of criminal conspiracy in the coal block allocation scam, with the launch of his book, Crusaders or … Finance ministry steps in to rescue Dabhol power project The project, which was built by Enron Corp, has been in trouble since last year, when dwindling gas supply from Reliance Industries’ KG-D6 block forced it to shut down. Govt receives 36 applications for three coal mines Applicants include JSPL and Tata Steel GVK coal mine gets conditional clearance from Australia court GVK’s Alpha Coal Mine is located in the Galilee Basin, Australia with the first coal expected to be extracted by 2016 Coal India signs 160 fuel supply deals with power plants The company is likely to sign more fuel supply agreements

For more information Contact – WEC India Secretariat, C/o NTPC Limited, 7th Floor, Core-6, SCOPE Complex, New Delhi-110 003, India  Email: info@wecindia.in, Phone: 011-2436 3719, Fax: 011-2436 9530, Website: http://www.wecindia.in

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Biggest Lie of Helicopter PM

17042014

Biggest Lie of Helicopter PM – Its 3%-4% MSME Jobs not 80%
April16, 2014
    
Helicopter PM in election interview broadcast just hours ago Claimed
80% MSME jobs created in Gujarat. MSMEs contribution is just 5% of
India.
    
But I down loaded latest Annual Report of MSME ministry.
    
Gujarat 1st in Fixed Assets, 7th in Enterprises, 7th in Jobs, 9th in
Production Value.
Sl.
No.    State/UT    Enterprises
(lakh)    Employment
(lakh    Market Value of Fixed Assets (Rs. Crore)    Gross Output
(Rs. Crore)
3    Punjab    10.14    18.31    37126    81625
24    Gujarat    15.32    34.42    166753    55306
    INDIA    214.38    501.93    689954    1077212
    
Gujarat 24% Fixed Assets, 5.5% Production Value, 6.9% Jobs, 7.5% Enterprises

http://msme.gov.in/WriteReadData/DocumentFile/ANNUALREPORT-MSME-2012-13P.pdf
Statement 2.3: State – wise Distribution of Principal Characteristics
of MSME Sector * Based on 2005 MSME Census

This table on page 32 is most damaging – Gujarat has 15.32 lakh
Enterprises out 214380 or 7.5% approx, 34.44 lakh employees out of
501.93 lakh or 6.9%, Rs.166753 crores out of Rs.689954 crores or 24%
Fixed Assets, But value of output is Rs.55,301 crores out of 1077212
crores or 4.76% only.
        
The ten leading States, in terms of enterprises, are Uttar Pradesh
(44.03 lakh), West Bengal (36.64 lakh), Tamil Nadu (33.13 lakh),
Maharashtra (30.63 lakh), Andhra Pradesh (25.96 lakh), Kerala (22.13
lakh), Gujarat (21.78 lakh), Karnataka (20.19 lakh), Madhya Pradesh
(19.33 lakh) and Rajasthan (16.64 lakh).
    
The ten leading States, in terms of employment, are Uttar Pradesh
(92.36 lakh), West Bengal (85.78 lakh), Tamil Nadu (80.98 lakh),
Andhra Pradesh (70.69 lakh), Maharashtra (70.04 lakh), Kerala (49.62
lakh), Gujarat (47.73 lakh), Karnataka (46.72 lakh), Madhya Pradesh
(33.66 lakh) and Odisha (33.24 lakh).

STATE-WISE DETAILS: UNITS ASSISTED, MARGIN MONEY UTILISED AND ESTIMATED
EMPLOYMENT GENERATION DURING 2012-13(UPTO 31 DECEMBER 2012) UNDER PMEGP
    
P-251 -  Number of Assisted Units 595 out of 18160, Margin Money
Subsidy Rs.2301 crores out of Rs.36146 and jobs 6937 out of 155418.
JUST 4%.
A year earlier it was 8058 jobs out of 325359 or not even 3% Page 240.

http://msme.gov.in/WriteReadData/DocumentFile/ANNUALREPORT-MSME-2012-13P.pdf
http://msme.gov.in/WriteReadData/DocumentFile/MSME-Annual-Report-2011-12-English.pdf
    
http://finmin.nic.in/stats_data/monthly_economic_report/2013/indoct13.pdf
CNG Gas Price in USA $3.4 per mmBTU – Gujarat State Petroleum
Corporation demanded $15 to $18 Per mmbtu – Table-16

Ravinder Singh, National General Secretary.
Sabka Bharat Mission 2019
Y-77, Hauz Khas, New Delhi -110016
Ph: 9650421857, 9718280435
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17042014

Nehru Memorial Museum and Library

cordially invites you to a Public Lecture

(in the ‘Cities in History’ series)

at 3.00 pm on Thursday, 17 April, 2014

in the Seminar Room, First Floor, Library Building

on

‘Women and the City:

The case of Ahmedabad’

by

Ms. Madhavi Desai,

Centre for Environmental Planning

and Technology University,

Ahmedabad.

Abstract:

Asian cities are multi-layered environments. Natural and man-made, historical and modern, public and private create a complex structure of the city, deeply influencing its citizens. The built environment constitutes the image of the city and has a high cultural value as a collective memory. The city of Ahmedabad, which did not have colonial roots like Bombay, Calcutta and Madras, dates back to 1411 AD when Sultan Ahmed Shah established his capital on the eastern banks of the Sabarmati River. The 7th largest metropolis in India, Ahmedabad still contains a medieval core. In the first half of the 20th century, it was called the ‘Manchester of India’, owing to its large textile industry. Today, it is being hailed for its contemporary urban development.  On the one hand, physical planning, mostly in the hands of the government, is limited to macro level Development Plans or Master Plans. In these abstract processes, the neutrality of the user is taken-for-granted and the element of people’s participation is minimal. On the other hand, with growing impact of globalization, rapid urbanization and projects of modernization, Ahmedabad, like other Indian cities, has increasingly become less accessible to the marginalized and less mobile population, women being one of them. In addition, the discourse and critical scholarship about gender and the city has remained rather peripheral in India, creating a major lacuna in theory and praxis, severely limiting inputs to design, policy and implementation.  Spatial arrangements in an urban context help to reproduce structures of gender and also to articulate identities. At various levels, from the city to the neighbourhood and from institutions to the dwelling, the relationship between men and women is expressed in the built form. Focusing on middle class women, this presentation will examine their relationship to inside and outside spaces in the city, particularly in the public sphere, referring to traditional as well as modern markets, streets, parks and gardens, public toilets and urban transportation systems. Based on empirical research, this work-in-progress will attempt to read of the city as a gendered entity.

Speaker:

Ms. Madhavi Desai is an architect, researcher and a teacher. She has an M. Arch from the University of Texas at Austin, USA. She is a partner in ARCHICRAFTS since 1981 and an adjunct faculty at Faculty of Architecture, CEPT University, Ahmedabad since 1986. She has had Research Fellowships from Indian Council for Social Science Research, the Aga Khan Programme for Islamic Architecture in MIT, USA, Sarai, New Delhi and the Getty Foundation, USA. She is a founder member of Women Architects Forum. She is the co-author of Architecture and Independence: The Search for Identity: India 1880 to 1980, New Delhi (1997), Architectural Heritage of Gujarat: Interpretation, Appreciation, Values, the Government of Gujarat, Gandhinagar, (2012) and The Bungalow in Twentieth Century India: The Cultural Expression of Changing Ways of Life and Aspirations in the Domestic Architecture of Colonial and Post-Colonial Society, UK (2012). She is also the author of Traditional Architecture: House Form of the Islamic Community of the Bohras in Gujarat,Pune (2007) and the editor of Women and the Built Environment in India, New Delhi (2007). Currently she has a manuscript ready for a book on Women in Architecture in India. She is also a member of the nominating committee of the Berkeley-Rupp Professorship and Prize at the University of California at Berkeley, USA (2012-2014). She has made presentations at many international conferences and has been widely published.

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CONGRESS & BJP JUSTIFY BEFORE SUPREME COURT

17042014

NON-DISSOLUTION OF DELHI ASSEMBLY AND PROLONGED PRESIDENT’S RULE

In the petition filed by the AamAadmi Party in the Supreme Court challenging the non-dissolution of the Delhi Legislative Assembly &non-holding of fresh elections, both the Congress and the BJP have filed their affidavits justifying the non-dissolution and prolonged imposition of President’s Rule.

Despite the fact that Supreme Court had specifically asked both the parties to make their stand clear as to whether they are willing to form the Government by joining hands, both the parties have not indicated any willingness to form the Government.

This shows that both the Congress and BJP have joined hands to thwart the democratic rights of the people of Delhi to have a popularly elected Government. This is because they feel that in the event of fresh elections, AAP would get a majority and form the government in Delhi, and both parties would instead have a prolonged Centre’s Rule irrespective of the political party in power at the Centre.

Regards
AAP media Cell

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Pawar takes a dig on Narendra Modi and BJP’;s campaign.

17042014

Bharatiya Janata Party’;s (BJP) prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi has brought down Gujarat’;s development, Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar said on Wednesday.

He was speaking at a rally at Bhandup, arranged for the poll campaign of Sanjay Dina Patil, the Nationalist Congress Party’;s candidate for the Mumbai North-East Lok Sabha constituency. The rally saw Pawar portraying Modi as cruel referring to Modi’;s puppy remark and the massacre during 2002 Gujarat riots.

Pawar claimed that Gujarat’;s development was a continuous effort of its erstwhile Congress chief ministers and alleged that Modi is trying to steal the credit by making consistent false statements.

During the chief ministerial period of Madhav Singh Solanki, Amarsinh Chaudhary and Chimanbhai Patel, Gujarat was developing at the rate of 16% to 17.5%. However, during the period of Modi’;s rule in the last 12 years, the growth has come down to 9% or 8%. Modi has brought down the growth of Gujarat, said the NCP supremo. 

Pawar took a dig at Modi and BJP’;s campaign – ‘;Ab ki Baar Modi Sarkar’;- stating that it is for the first in the history of independent India that a politician has come up and started portraying himself as the next Prime Minister, and going down to the streets asking people to vote for him.

“In democracy people choose the Prime Minister, and not vice versa,” said Pawar commenting on Modi. 

“The elections haven’;t concluded, the counting of ballot has not started, the results has not been announced and neither has the majority been proven in the Parliament. But here is one man who has been harping of himself as the Prime Minister,” said Pawar.

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Dear Naresh - There’s a new petition taking off on Change.org, and we think you might be interested in signing it:

Shri Prithviraj Chavan: Prevent Laxmi from going back to her previous owners By Wildlife SOS SLC, Utah Sign the Petition Laxmi was rescued in July of 2013 from a life of cruelty and neglect. She was sent to live at the Elephant Conservation and Care Center where she has made signficant improvements with her rehabiliation and her health.  Now her owners are trying to get her back. This needs to be prevented. Please request that the Honorable Chief Minister of Maharashtra takes action against the previous owners and ensures that Laxmi stays where she is and is not sent back to live a life in chains with her previous owner.

Sign the Petition

The person (or organisation) who started this petition is not affiliated with Change.org. Change.org did not create this petition and is not responsible for the petition content. This email was sent by Change.org to Nksagar_1@yahoo.com. You can edit your email preferences or unsubscribe from Change.org emails. Start a petition on Change.org Mailing Address: 216 West 104th Street, Suite #130 · New York, NY 10025 · USA

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Third Front govt will be formed after the LS polls: Mulayam

17042014

Asserting that neither BJP nor Congress would come to power, Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav on Wednesday claimed that a Third Front government would be formed at the Centre after the Lok Sabha elections.

“Neither BJP nor Congress would come to power. Since only Third Front would be formed at the Centre, the more seat Samajwadi Party would win, the more it would have a say,” Yadav said while addressing an election meeting in Mathura on Wednesday.  Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and son Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday had also claimed that a Third Front will form a stable government with Congress’ support after the elections.  “The way in which election trend appears, BJP will not be able to reach the magic figure and form government. Congress will emerge weakest after elections…The parties associated with Third Front will get maximum number of seats and will form the next government”, Akhilesh said.  The SP leader also demanded withdrawal of Election Commission’s ban on Azam Khan.  Mulayam assured the farmers that like free irrigation facilities they would also get free power facilities after one year. The farmers would get compensation if their crop is ruined owing to natural calamity.  “Nobody would be allowed to die owing to lack of money…Government has made arrangement for free treatment of diseases like cancer, kidney trouble etc”, he said.  Taking a jib at BJP, Mulayam said that the party’s claim of coming to power was an absolute lie.  “Modi would never become a Prime Minister as a cunning person in his party would not allow him to fulfill his ambition”, he said.  After elections, artisans of different trades would be called to Lucknow. The problem related to their trade would be asked and then solution would be found.

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Modi projection as PM is like a gas balloon to burst: Mamata

17042014

The projection by certain quarters that Narendra Modi will become the prime minister is like a gas balloon which will burst when the gas leaks, Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee said in stepped-up her attack against BJP’s prime ministerial nominee. Banerjee claimed at a rally in Kumarganj on Wednesday that crores were being spent by interested quarters on predicting who would become the prime minister.  “Have you seen a gas balloon? A gas balloon is made by pumping gas into a balloon. It remains inflated for sometime. As soon as the gas goes down inside the balloon, it collapses,” Banerjee said without naming Modi.  “They have on their own decided that he will become the prime minister, it will not happen,” Banerjee said about opinion polls about Modi’s prospects.  She claimed attempts to give Modi a stature larger than what he is actually would fall flat on its face.  “A certain section of the media is getting paid to carry on the propaganda. Don’t believe what they are saying,” the West Bengal Chief Minister said.  “Without Trinamool Congress, no government can be formed in Delhi. TMC will ensure a non-communal government in Delhi,” she said calling upon the voters to give the maximum number of seats to her party to ensure that it becomes a pivotal force in government formation after the elections.  “The Left Front is trying to fish in troubled waters. It is trying to get BJP to cut votes,” she claimed alleging “CPI(M) is giving money to BJP here to hold meetings and rallies.  “CPI(M), RSP and Forward Bloc are thinking that the more BJP cuts votes, the better will be their prospects,” she said.  Taking on Congress, she claimed it has no ideals or philosophy. She also claimed Congress has a tacit understanding with BJP and pointed at “how they came together on the issue of division of Andhra Pradesh.”  “Congress and BJP together can sell the country,” she charged and claimed the two parties along with CPI(M) had come together to destroy everything when they were trying to rebuild Bengal.  “Trinamool Congress is fighting alone against these forces and will continue to do so,” Banerjee said.  (DD-16.4)

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Smriti Irani, Rudy file nominations

17042014

BJP candidate in Amethi Smriti Irani, party leader Rajiv Pratap Rudy and Congress’ Amita Singh were among the prominent candidates who filed nominations for the penultimate phase of Lok Sabha election covering 64 seats in seven states. 38-year-old Irani filed three sets of nomination papers before district magistrate Jagatraj Tewari in Amethi, where she is pitted against Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi.  Amita Singh filed her papers in Sultanpur, where she is contesting against BJP’s Varun Gandhi.  The two were among 49 candidates who filed nominations on Wednesday in Uttar Pradesh, where 15 seats will go to polls on 7th May.  A total of 117 candidates have filed nomination papers for this phase. The last date of filing nomination is 19th April.  The scrutiny will take place on 21st April and withdrawal of nomination will be allowed till 23rd April.  Rajiv Pratap Rudy filed nomination from Saran parliamentary seat in Bihar.  National Conference MP Sharief-ud-din Shariq entered the fray from Baramulla Lok Sabha seat in north Kashmir.  Accompanied by Union Minister and party president Farooq Abdullah and JKPCC head Saif-ud-din Soz, Shariq submitted his papers to the Returning Officer.  BJP’s Anurag Thakur and Mohan Lal Brakta of Congress were among six candidates who filed nomination for Lok Sabha polls in Himchal Pradesh.  Thakur, BJP’s youth wing chief and a sitting MP, filed nomination from Hamirpur while Mohan Lal Brakata of Congress and Subhash Chander of Aam Adami party (AAP) filed nominations from Shimla (Reserve) Parliamentary constituency.  Lal Hussain filed his nomination papers as Bahujan Samajwadi Party candidate from Kangra Parliamentary constituency.  12 candidates have so far filed nominations four seats in the state.  In Andhra Pradesh, YSR Congress candidate ChalamalasettiSunil and four independents filed their nominations for the Kakinada Lok Sabha seat in East Godavari.  Former minister K Pardhasaradhi filed his nomination as YSR Congress nomionee for Machilipatnam seat and Kesineni Srinivas for Vijayawada seat as a TDP candidate.  Union Minister Panabaka Lakshmi filed her nomination from the Bapatla Lok Sabha (SC reserved) seat. (DD-16.4)

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17042014

‘Ship of Theseus’ named best film at National film awards

Updated on : 16-04-2014 08:50 PM

Anand Gandhi’s debut film ‘Ship of Theseus’ was named the best feature film while Milkha Singh’s biopic ‘Bhaag Milkha Bhaag’ was declared the best popular film providing wholesome entertainment at the 61st National Film Awards.

The best actor award was shared by ‘Shahid’ actor Rajkumar Rao and Suraj Venjaramoodu for Malayalam film ‘Perariyathavar’ while Hansal Mehta was named the best director for ‘Shahid’, again a biopic on slain lawyer-activist Shahid Azmi.  Geetanjali Thapa was named the best actress for Hindi film ‘Liar’s Dice’.  Saurabh Shukla was declared the best supporting actor for court-room drama ‘Jolly LLB’ which was also named the best Hindi film. The best supporting actress award is shared by Amruta Subhas and Aida El-Kashef for Astu (Marathi) and ‘Ship of Theseus’ (English-Hindi). Indira Gandhi Award for best debut film will go to Marathi director Nagraj Manjule for his critically acclaimed ‘Fandry’.  Nargis Dutt Award for best feature film on National Integration will be given to Balu Mahendra directed Tamil film ‘Thalaimuraigal’.  An 11-member jury, headed by noted directed Saeed Akhtar Mirza announced the awards today. The National Film Awards along with Dada Saheb Phalke honour, which will go to lyricist-director Gulzar this year, are likely to be given by President Pranab Mukherjee on May 3. Nargis Dutt Award for best feature film on National Integration will be given to Balu Mahendra directed Tamil film ‘Thalaimuraigal’.  Marathi film ‘Tuhya Dharma Koncha’ was declared the best film on social issues.  Hindi film ‘Kaphal’ was named the best children’s film whereas Fandry’s Somnath Avghade and Tamil film ‘Thanga Meengal’s Sadhana shared the best child artist award.  Bengali film ‘Jaatishwar’ won the best male playback singer award for the song ‘E Tumi Kemon Tumi’ by Rupankar while in the female category Bela Shende won for the song ‘Khura Kura’ from Marathi film ‘Tuhya Dharma Koncha’. Interestingly, both the original and adapted screenplay awards went to Kannada films. P Sheshadri won the award for his original screenplay in ‘December I’ while Panchakshari won the award for adapting ‘Prakruti’.  The best dialogue award will go to Sumitra Bhave for Marathi film ‘Astu’. In the language category, ‘Ajeyo’ was named the best Asamese film, ‘Bakita Byaktigato’ (Bengali), ‘December 1′ (Kannada), ‘Baga Beach’ (Konkani), ‘North 24 Kaadham’ (Malayalam), ‘Aajcha Diwas Majha’ (Marathi), ‘Thanga Meengal’ (Tamil) and ‘Na Bangaaru Talli’ (Telugu) were other winners.  ‘Yellow’ (Marathi) and ‘Na Bangaaru Talli’ were given special mention by the jury. The other language winners were: ‘The Coffin Maker’ (English), ‘RI’ (Khasi), ‘The Crossing Bridges’ (Sherdukpen).  ‘Bhaag Milkha Bhaag’ choreographer Ganesh Acharya won in the best choreography category. In the best audiography category John Abraham-produced political thriller ‘Madras Cafe’ won the award for location Sound Recordist and Sound design while Malayalam film ‘Swapaanam’ won for re-recordist of the final mixed track.  Best editing went V J Sabu Joseph for the Tamil sports drama ‘Vallinam’ while best production design was won by ‘Miss Lovely’.  In the best music direction category ‘Jaatishwar’ won for the song while Tamil film ‘Na Bangaaru Talli’ was named in the best background score. ‘Jal’ won for special effects. The film ‘Jaatishwar’ also won in the make-up and costume design cagtegories. The jury selected the winners in the best feature film category out of 310 films, an official said. The award for the best book on cinema was given to Cinema Ga Cinema (Telugu) authored by veteran film journalist Nandagopal while the Alaka Sahani (English) was chosen as the Best Film critic for her articles.  In the Non-Feature film category, ‘Rangbhoomi’ (Hindi) was chosen as the Best Film while ‘Kanyaka’ (Malayalam) directed by Christo Tomy was named as the ‘Best Film debut by a director.  In this segment, ‘The Last Adieu’ (English) was named in the Best Biographical/Historical Reconstruction section while the award for Best Arts/Cultural film was shared by ‘The Lost Behrupiya’ (Hindi) and ‘O Friend, This Waiting!’ (English, Telugu).  ‘The Pad Piper’ (English) was named the best Science and Technology film while the award for best promotional film was shared by ‘Chasing The Rainbow’ (English) and ‘Kush’(Hindi).  ‘Foresting Life’ (Hindi, Assamese) was named the best environment film while ‘Gulabi Gang’ (Hindi, Bundelkhandi) was chosen as the best film on social issues as well as for best editing.  The jury of the National Film Awards also presented their report to I&B secretary Bimal Julka.  “It was a long exercise and the eminent members of the jury have done a commendable job. They have also made some suggestions related to certain aspects like pre selection of films which we will be kept in mind for the future,” Julka said after the meeting in New Delhi on Wednesday.  Other non feature films which were chosen for the awards include ‘Yugadrashta’ (Assamese) for Best Music Direction, ‘The Quantum Indians’ (English) Best Educational Film, Katiyabaaz (Hindi, Urdu, English) Best Investigative film and ‘Heyro Party’ (Bengali) named best film on family values.  In the non feature film category ‘Mandrake! Mandrake!’ (Hindi) won the award in the best short fiction film and best cinematograhy categories while ‘Chidiya Udh’ won for best direction and audiography.  For Best Narration/ voice over ‘Kankee O Saapo’ (Odia) has been chosen while the special jury award would be shared by ‘Ananthamurthy Not A Biography… But A Hypothesis’ (English) and ‘Tamaash’ (Kashmiri).  Among the special mentions named by the jury were ‘Accsex’ (English, Hindi), ‘Candles In The Wind’ (Punjabi, Hindi), ‘Dharmam’ (Tamil) and ‘At the Cross Roads: Nondon Bagchi Life and Living’ (English, Bengali).

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High voter turnout witnessed in 121 constituencies

18042014

High turnout was witnessed in 121 constituencies which went to polls across 12 states in the fifth phase of Lok Sabha elections on Thursday in which the political fate of leaders like Nandan Nilekani, Maneka Gandhi, M Veerappa Moily and Jaswant Singh is at stake.

There were a few incidents of violence, including blasts, in Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and Uttar Pradesh in which four people, including three security personnel, were injured. Four constituencies of West Bengal, which went to polls, recorded the highest turnout among the 12 states. The voter turnout was recorded at 78.89 per cent but was likely to go up as final figures were still being computed. The figure as of now was lower than previous Lok Sabha election turnout of 80.85 per cent. In Manipur Inner constituency, the turnout was an impressive 74 per cent and it was likely to go up further. In the 2009 Lok Sabha polls, the turnout was much higher at 77 per cent. In Bihar’s seven constituencies, the turnout was 56 per cent as compared to 39.3 per cent recorded in the last general elections. The three constituencies of Chhattisgarh which wernt to poll in the fifth phase, the turnout was an impressive 63.44 per cent. In the last Lok Sabha elections, the turnout in these constituencies was 57.60 per cent. An electorate of 16.61 crore was eligible to exercise their franchise today in 28 seats of Karnataka, 20 of Rajasthan, 19 of Maharashtra, 11 each of Uttar Pradesh and Odisha, 10 of Madhya Pradesh, 7 of Bihar, 6 of Jharkhand, four of West Bengal, three of Chhattisgarh and one each of Jammu and Kashmir and Manipur. Of the total seats, Congress has 36 seats while its main challenger BJP has 40 seats. Jammu and Kashmir’s Udhampur constituency recorded a turnout of 69.08 per cent which was 24 per cent higher than the 45.15 per cent recorded in the previous LS polls. Karnataka, which went for a single-phased poll today, also recorded a high turnout of 68 per cent, nearly 10 per cent higher than last elections’ 58.88 per cent. In 10 constituencies of Madhya Pradesh, though the turnout was not impressive as compared to other states, it was higher than the last general elections. It recorded a turnout of 54.41 per cent, while in the last polls, it was 46.2 per cent. The 19 constituencies of Maharashtra, which went to polls today, witnessed a turnout of 54.67 per cent. It was 54.14 per cent in the last polls. Odisha went for simultaneous Lok Sabha and assembly elections today. A total of 11 Lok Sabha seats went to polls in Odisha and recorded voter turnout of 70 per cent. It was 66.28 per cent in the 2009 general elections. Rajasthan’s 20 constituencies also recorded an impressive turnout of 63.25 per cent as compared to 48.09 per cent in the last polls. Voters turned out in large numbers in Uttar Pradesh’s 11 constituencies which recorded a turnout of 62.52 per cent as compared to 55.09 per cent in the last LS polls. In Jharkhand’s 6 constituencies, 62 per cent of voters came out to exercise their franchise. While in the last LS elections, the turnout was 58 per cent. A landmine blast on a CRPF patrol and subsequent ambush by Maoists left four people, including three securitymen injured. Elsewhere, in Bihar an FIR has been registered against RJD chief Lalu Prasad’s daughter Misa Bharti for entering a polling compartment in a Patlipura constituency polling booth though she is not a voter there. She is pitted there against Lalu’s former close confidante Ram Kripal Yadav who is contesting on a BJP ticket. Later some 50 persons entered the polling booth and created a ruckus and damaging a voting machine. A separate FIR was lodged against them. Some polling staff was caught casting votes in connivance with a candidate in Patna district, the EC said. While they have been suspended, a case was registered against them. Defective EVMs forced authorities to order suspend polling in nine places in Bihar, the EC said. In Odisha’s Cuttack, miscreants damaged an EVM, while in other case, a member of the flying squad was caught doing “wrong thing” inside a polling station. He was suspended and a case lodged, Deputy EC Alok Shukla told reporters here without elaborating. In UP’s Shahjahanpur and Pilibhit districts, people decided to boycott polling in a total of six polling stations over issued related to development and missing names in electoral rolls, Deputy EC Vinod Zutshi said. In Rampur constituency of UP, some 60 people entered a booth and cast 40 votes. A repoll is likely in the polling booth, he said.

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Russia, West reach deal on Ukraine crisis

18042014

Updated on : 18-04-2014 09:14 AM

Russia, Ukraine, the US and EU reached a surprise deal on Thursday on de-escalating the worsening Ukrainian crisis, in a ray of hope for the former Soviet republic that has plunged into chaos.

The agreement reached in Geneva comes as a strong contrast to earlier hawkish comments made by Russian leader Vladimir Putin, who left the door open for intervention in Ukraine. A ban by Kiev on all Russian males aged 16 to 60 from entering Ukrainian territory had also ratcheted up the tensions, with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov calling the measure “disgusting”. But after half a day of talks, the four parties agreed on steps to “restore security for all citizens”, including a call to disband armed groups that have taken over buildings in Ukraine “illegally”. While not spelt out in the agreement, these groups could refer to pro-Kremlin separatists who have seized control of government buildings and taken over parts of Ukraine’s southeast, destabilising the country. “All illegal armed groups must be disarmed, illegally seized buildings returned to their rightful owners,” Lavrov said as he briefed reporters about the deal reached with US Secretary of State John Kerry, Ukraine’s Andriy Deshchytsya and EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton. Washington and Kiev have accused Russia of supporting the militants who have occupied buildings such as police stations and government bases, but Moscow has always categorically denied this. Lavrov also said Russia had “no desire” to send troops into Ukraine, toning down earlier comments by Putin. Warning that Ukraine was plunging into the “abyss” just hours after three separatists were killed in a gunbattle with troops in eastern Ukraine, Putin had stressed he hoped not to have to use his “right” to send Russian troops into its western neighbour. “I very much hope that I am not obliged to use this right and that through political and diplomatic means we can solve all the acute problems in Ukraine,” he said in his annual televised phone-in with the nation, in a signal the option was on the table. The upper house of parliament on 1st March authorised the Russian leader to send troops into Ukraine after pro-Kremlin president Viktor Yanukovych was ousted, and Moscow later went on to annex Ukraine’s Russian-speaking Crimean peninsula. Russia has now massed tens of thousands of troops at the border and has warned Kiev’s untested new leaders — whom it does not recognise as legitimate — not to unleash force in Ukraine. Accordingly, Kerry warned Russia that if there was no progress on de-escalating the crisis in Ukraine, “there will be additional sanctions, additional costs.” The United States and European Union have already imposed punitive sanctions on key Russian and Ukrainian political and business officials, including members of Putin’s inner circle. And the European Parliament on Thursday said the European Union should act “against Russian firms and their subsidiaries, especially in the energy sector, and Russia’s EU assets”. So far, though, any further sanctions appear to have been put on hold. Russia’s annexation of the Crimea peninsula last month escalated a crisis that has shaped up to be the worst East-West standoff since the Cold War. On Thursday, Kerry said the West is “not giving up” on peninsula, “but we did not come (to Geneva) to talk about Crimea.” Each side came to the Geneva talks armed with a very specific set of demands, and the West and Kiev had aimed to persuade Moscow to demobilise the militias. Ukraine’s Security Service said it was detaining 10 “Russian spies” arrested over the past six weeks on suspected missions to stir up unrest in the country, further implying Russia’s role in the destabilisation of the country. But Russia has blamed Kiev’s interim leaders — installed by Ukraine’s parliament in February after the overthrow of Yanukovych following months of protests — for pushing the country dangerously close to a civil war. The agreement also called on all sides to refrain from violence, intimidation and provocation, as well as to reject extremism in all shapes. Kerry told reporters that notices were sent to Jews in a Ukrainian city believed to be in the east, asking them to identify themselves as Jews — a move he condemned as “grotesque”. “In the year 2014, after all of the miles travelled and all of the journey of history, this is not just intolerable, it’s grotesque. It is beyond unacceptable,” he said.

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TDP-BJP alliance intact

18042014

TDP-BJP alliance intact; talks on seat sharing hit brickwall

The electoral alliance between the Telugu Desam and the Bharatiya Janata Party in Andhra Pradesh will continue though talks over sharing of seats still remained inconclusive today.

“The alliance is intact,” BJP national spokesman Prakash Javadekar said after a two-hour discussion with TDP Chief N Chandrababu Naidu in Hyderabad on Friday afternoon. “The alliance will continue,” TDP spokesman also confirmed. However, both did not divulge any more details as Javadekar and TDP MP Y S Chowdary and other leaders left for Venkaiah Naidu’s residence for further talks. Though the TDP wanted the BJP to part with 7 out of the 14 Assembly seats, the latter reportedly agreed to give away only the Ichchapuram seat. “Talks are going on over other seats,” a TDP leader said after the meeting. The BJP also agreed to change its nominees in some seats where the TDP raised objection over fielding of “weak” candidates. Clarity on seat sharing between the two parties is expected late this evening.

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CAIT & EBAY BEGAN THEIR NATIONAL CAMPAIGN

18042014

CAIT & EBAY BEGAN THEIR NATIONAL CAMPAIGN BY HOLDING WORKSHOP IN DELHI

     TRADE COORDINATORS TO PLAY A VITAL ROLE

 

As a first step after signing of the MOU, Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) and eBay India, India’s leading e-Commerce marketplace hosted a Workshop at New Delhi yesterday evening at NDMC Convention Centre for imparting education and awareness among the trading community for up-gradation and modernization of their respective business formats and use of e-Commerce marketplace for availing multiple opportunities about growing their business nationally and globally. The workshop was attended by nearly 100 traders of Delhi dealing in different kinds of products.

 

CAIT National President Mr. B.C.Bhartia, Secretary General Mr. Praveen Khandelwal,  Mr. Latif Nathani, Managing Director, eBay India  beside leaders of different trade associations of Delhi also attended the workshop.

 

As a part of their MOU, both CAIT and eBay have begun their joint nationwide campaign yesterday with holding a workshop at New Delhi among the business community as to why and how their current business format needs a radical change in terms of modernization and how such up-gradation will be accomplished. After holding workshop at New Delhi now they are planning to hold about 20 such workshops in different cities of the Country in various States in next three months.

 

While addressing the traders at the workshop, the technical team of eBay focused its educational program to impress upon the traders to adopt modern business techniques and tools to ensure better growth of their business and to encourage them to avail benefits of e-commerce market place as an additional business growing tool and for this purpose both CAIT and eBay have instituted a pillar of “trade coordinator” in their strategy who will assist the traders in their process of up gradation. Even a trader who is not familiar with online business can use e Commerce marketplace for generating more business additionally. 

 

While inaugurating workshop Mr. Latif Nathani said that  online selling is growing at a faster speed and in accordance to keep pace with the growth, the small traders needs to equip themselves with computers and avail the e commerce marketplace to keep their customer base intact. CAIT National President Mr. B.C.Bhartia  said that e-commerce is a platform for doing direct business with consumes facilitating small artisans, women entrepreneurs and persons with limited working capital to enhance their  domestic and even export business. It will also help in wide spreading Indian traditional and cultural products and will fetch domestic and global market for them.

CAIT Secretary General Mr. Praveen Khandelwal said that on the one hand the Government is emphasizing implementation of e-governance in Government Departments whereas no effort has been made to empower the traders who are under obligation to comply the e governance, with computerization resulting into a wide gap. Therefore, the joint campaign of CAIT & eBay will set the ball rolling for upgradation and modernization of trading community across the Country.

__________________________________________________________________________

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Home Expo India 2014 Concludes

18042014

Home Expo India 2014 Concludes With 1456 Buyers and

 Expected Business Worth Rs 586 Crore  : EPCH 

Greater Noida — April 18, 2014 — The third-edition of  Home Expo India 2014,  a confluence of three integral sectors Home-Textiles, Houseware and Furniture into one and an estimated business is likely to be generated to the tune of Rs. 586 crore

during the four-day expo which concluded here today.

The premium expo, organized by the Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts (EPCH),  registered more than 1456overseas buyers as well as their representatives and  buying agents and retail buyers to source their focused requirements  from a diverse range of international quality products under one-roof showcased by more than 1250 exhibitors including mart owners and manufacturers from all across India.

The prominent buying groups across the world who visited the Home Expo India 2014 included ASHLEY FURNITURE (USA), WISTERIA (FRANCE), PIER1 IMPORT (USA), COST PLUS WORLD MARKET (USA), GIBSON IMPORTING CO (AUSTRALIA), WORLDWIDE HOME FURNISHING INC. (CANADA), TLAS GMBH (GERMANY), HALENZA KG (GERMANY, LIVINS CO LTD 9JAPAN), GLOBUS AG (SWITZERLAND) AND EDELMAN BV (THE NETHERLANDS).

A highly specialized and product-segmented triple show– Home Expo India– was the culmination of Indian Houseware and Decoratives Show  (IHDS), Indian Furnishings, Floorings and Textiles Show (IFFTEX) and Indian Furniture and Accessories Shows (IFAS) offered three opportunities to the visitors to source their requirements under one

Mainly foreign buyers came from USA, UK, Germany, France, Denmark, Netherlands, Sweden, South Africa, China, Japan, Australia, Canada, Spain, Latin America particularly Brazil, Argentina, Colombia and Mexico, Middle East.

The export performance of these sectors during the last years has been very impressive and that the growth in furniture and accessories exports has been: 47.56%, in furnishing, floorings and textiles 27.45%, houseware and decorative  21.42%,  said Mr V.S. Goel, President of the Home Expo India 2014.

One of the distinct features of the show was display of eco-friendly new product lines by select companies who over the years have done detailed market research and product development taking into account consumer comfort and utilities particularly for items like Furniture and Household requirement, Mr. Goel added.

“With the development taking place in the international market, the thrust is now on product-segmented specialized trade shows rather than trade shows covering all product categories. Hence, there was need for Home Expo India. The emphasis laid by the Council is on making this show a wholesome with a ‘Home Total’ tag’ attached to it with the intention of making it a benchmark event for premium merchandise for a target market/buyers segment,” said Mr. Rakesh Kumar, Executive Directtor of  EPCH.

The EPCH has been successfully organizing for the past 15 years Asia’s largest Indian Handicrafts & Gifts Fair (IHGF) twice a year viz. Spring and Autumn to promote exports of Handicrafts from India to various destinations. Over the years, IHGF has acquired the reputation of “One Stop Sourcing Event” amongst the overseas buying community and ‘most effective marketing medium’ amongst the Indian exporting community.

EPCH is the nodal export promotion body for handicrafts in India and plays an important role of a catalyst between the exporters, buyers and the Government with the main objective of boosting trade in Handicrafts and also projects India’s image in the global market as a reliable supplier.

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Analyses of Candidates of Phase 6: Lok Sabha Elections 2014

18042014

Analysis of Criminal Background, Financial, Education, Gender and other details of Candidates

National Election Watch (NEW) and Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) have analysed the self-sworn affidavits of 2071 candidates out of 2077 candidates who are contesting in the Phase 6 of Lok Sabha 2014 Elections. The rest of the candidates were not analysed due to unclear/incomplete affidavits uploaded on the ECI website at the time of making of this report. 

​

Please find the following detailed reports in English​:

1. Analysis of Criminal, Financial and Other Background Details of Candidates Contesting in the 6th Phase for Lok Sabha 2014
2. Consolidated Analysis of ​Criminal, Financial and Other Background Details of Candidates from the 1st Phase to the 6th Phase for Lok Sabha 2014

​

Phase 6
S.No.	State	No. of Candidates Constesting	No. of Candidates analysed	Constituencies	No. of Candidates with Criminal Cases	% of Candidates with Criminal Cases	No. of Crorepati Candidates	% of Crorepati Candidates	Date of Poll
1	Tamil Nadu	845	844	39	103	12%	178	21%	24thApril, 2014
2	Maharashtra	338	337	19	68	20%	111	33%
3	Uttar Pradesh	168	168	12	27	16%	58	35%
4	Bihar	108	108	7	38	35%	26	24%
5	Madhya Pradesh	118	117	10	21	18%	23	20%
6	Chhattisgarh	153	150	7	12	8%	22	15%
7	Assam	74	74	6	8	11%	22	30%
8	Rajasthan	81	81	5	7	9%	21	26%
9	West Bengal	78	78	6	11	14%	16	21%
10	Jharkhand	72	72	4	19	26%	15	21%
11	Puducherry	30	30	1	6	20%	6	20%
12	Jammu & Kashmir	12	12	1	1	8%	6	50%
Total		2077	2071	117	321	15%	504	24%

​

Criminal Background

• ​Candidates with Criminal Cases: Out of the 2071 candidates analysed, 321 (15%) candidates have declared criminal cases against themselves 
• Candidates with Serious Criminal Cases: 204 candidates have declared serious criminal cases including cases related to murder, attempt to murder, robbery etc.
• Candidates with most number of declared Criminal Cases: Udayakumar S.P. of AAP from Kanniyakumari constituency, Tamil Nadu has declared 382 criminal cases against himself followed by M.Pushparayan of AAP from Thoothukkudi constituency with 380 criminal cases and Mu.Anbhalagan of DMK from Tiruchirappalli constituency with 10 criminal cases. 
• ​
  Candidates with cases related to murder: 11 candidates have declared cases related to murder.
• Candidates with cases related to Attempt to Murder: 40 candidates have declared cases of attempt to murder.
• Candidates with cases related to Communal Disharmony: 13 candidates have declared cases related to Promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony (IPC section-153A). 4 candidates have declared cases related to Deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings or any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs (IPC section-295A) and 1 candidate has declared a case related to Injuring or defiling place of worship with intent to insult the religion of any class (IPC section-295). 
• Candidates with cases related to Prevention of Corruption Act:
  ​​
  8 candidates have declared cases related to Prevention of Corruption Act.
• Candidates with cases related to Electoral Violations:
  ​​
  17 candidates* have declared cases related to electoral violations. 2 candidates have declared cases related to Bribery (IPC section-171B), 8 candidates have declared cases related to undue influence or personation at an election (IPC section-171F), 8 candidates have declared cases related Illegal payments in connection with an election(IPC section-171H). *A candidate may have declared more than one IPC related to Electoral Offences.
  
  
• Candidates with cases related to Crimes against Women: 12 candidates have declared cases related to crimes against women. Pankaj Kumar Singh an CPI(ML)(L) candidate from Purnia constituency, Bihar has declared a case related buying minor for purposes of prostitution, etc. (IPC Section-373).

​

• Party wise Candidates with Criminal Cases: 30 (32%) out of 94 candidates from INC, 20 (26%) out of 77 candidates from BJP, 13 (14%)out of 91 candidates from AAP, 27 (24%)out of 111 candidates fielded by BSP and 76 (8%) out of 972 Independent candidates have declared criminal cases against themselves in their affidavits. 
• Party wise Candidates with Serious Criminal Cases: 15(16%) out of 94 candidates from INC, 12 (16%) out of 77 candidates from BJP, 9 (10%) out of 91 candidates from AAP, 17 (15%) out of 111 candidates fielded by BSP and 43 (4%) out of 972 Independent candidates have declared serious criminal cases against themselves in their affidavits.​

• Red Alert Constituencies: 55 constituencies have at least 3 candidates with declared criminal cases. Raver constituency, Maharashtrahas the highest number of contesting candidates i.e. 10 with criminal cases against them. 

Financial Background

• Crorepati Candidates: Out of the 2071 candidates analysed, 504 (24%) are crorepatis.
• Party-wise Crorepati Candidates: 77 (82%) out of 94 candidates in INC, 58 (75%) out of 77 candidates in BJP, 41 (45%) out of 91 candidates in AAP and 30 (27%) out of 111 candidates in BSP and 71 (7%) out of 972 Independent candidates have declared assets worth more than Rs. 1 crore. 

• Average Assets: The average assets per candidate contesting in the 6th phase of Lok Sabha 2014 elections is Rs.2.76 crores. 
• Party-wise Average Assets:Among major parties, the average assets per candidate for 94 INC candidates is Rs 13.62 crores, 77 BJPcandidates have average assets of Rs.14.37 crores,91 AAP candidates have average assets worth of Rs.2.60 crores and 111 BSPcandidates have average assets of Rs. 2.32 crores. 
• Party-wise Asset Rank: 66 (70%) out of 94 INC candidates occupy the top three highest assets positions amongst all the contesting candidates in their respective constituencies. Similarly, 54 (70%) out of 77 BJP candidates, 20 (18%) out of 111 BSP candidates and 20 (22%) out of 91 AAP candidates occupy the top three highest assets positions in their constituency. 
• High Asset Candidates:29 candidates have declared more than Rs.50 crores worth of assets.*Total Assets includes income of self, spouse and dependents.

S.No.	Name	State	Constituency	Party Name	Total Assets (Rs)	PAN Given
1	Vasantha Kumar H.	Tamil Nadu	Kanniyakumari	INC	2,85,77,86,803  285 Crore+	Y
2	Deol Hema Malini Dharmendra	Uttar Pradesh	Mathura	BJP	1,78,20,15,620  178 Crore+	Y
3	Jain Manish Ishwarlal	Maharashtra	Raver	NCP	1,51,51,46,765  151 Crore+	Y

• ​​
  Candidates with High Liabilities: A total of 100 candidates have declared liabilities of more than Rs. 1 crore.Out of these 100 candidates, 14 have declared liabilities of Rs. 10 crore and above.
  
  
• Crorepati Candidates with no PAN: 18 candidates with total assets worth more than Rs. 1 crore have declared no PAN details. 
• Candidates with High Income*: 24 candidates have declared total annual income of more than Rs. 1 crore. *Total income includes income of self, spouse and dependents

​

S.No.	Name	Party Name	State	Constituency	Total Assets	The financial year for which the last income tax return has been filed by candidate	Total income shown by candidate in ITR (Self+Spouse+Dependent)	Self income shown by candidate in ITR
1	Vasantha Kumar H.	INC	Tamil Nadu	Kanniyakumari	2,85,77,86,803 285 Crore+	2012-2013	16,72,04,340 16 Crore+	16,71,11,750 16 Crore+
2	Thambidurai.M	AIADMK	Tamil Nadu	Karur	13,24,57,262 13 Crore+	2012-2013	10,68,54,272 10 Crore+	17,05,970 17 Lacs+
3	Meera Ashish Sanyal	AAP	Maharashtra	Mumbai South	50,94,61,553 50 Crore+	2012-2013	6,94,58,900 6 Crore+	6,86,23,673 6 Crore+

​

• ​
  Candidates who have not declared Income Tax Details*: 1174 (57%) candidates out of 2071 analyzed have not declared income tax details.*Some candidates may be exempted from filing Income Tax Returns
• ​​
  Candidates with High Assets who have not declared Income Tax Details: 54 candidates with assets worth more than Rs. 1 crore, have not declared Income Tax Details. 

​

Consolidated Analysis of Criminal Background, Financial, Education, Gender and other details of Candidates

​

Phase 1 to Phase 6

 

 

​

National Election Watch (NEW) and Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) have analysed the self-sworn affidavits of 5380 candidates out of 5432 candidates who have contested/contesting in Phase 1 to Phase 6 of Lok Sabha 2014 Elections. The rest of the candidates were not analysed due to unclear/incomplete affidavits available on the ECI website at the making of this report. The following is a consolidated summary of the same.

 

​

Phase	No. of contesting candidates	No. of Candidates analysed	No. of Constituencies	No. of Candidates with Criminal Cases	% of Candidates with Criminal Cases	No. of Crorepati Candidates	% of Crorepati Candidates	Average Assets	Date of Poll (2014)
1	64

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Phiroze Palkhivala’s press conference

18042014

​​

 ​AAP ​Mumbai North Central candidate, Phiroze Palkhivala’s press conference for a Q&A session to answer questions raised by the media in the last few days.

 

Celebrities like Raj Zutshi and Vishal Dhadlani will be present (tentative) to express their support for Mr. Palkhivala.

 

​​

Date: 19th April, 2014

​​

Time: 

  3 

pm. 

 ​​

Location: M.I.G Club, Bandra East 

Contact: Shilpika|9920389955

 

Thanks,

AAP Media Cell

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DataWind rolls out an affordable bridge to education

18042014

Tech pioneer joins the Business Call to Action (BCtA)

New Delhi, 18 April 2014: DataWind, a leading developer of wireless web access and products, and the manufacturer of the world’s lowest cost android tablet PC, announced that it has joined the Business Call to Action (BCtA).

DataWind plans to bridge the digital divide by providing an affordable tablet thus enabling internet access for millions of consumers in India. The company aims to harness the potential of ICT Technologies for a positive developmental impact on quality of education through its range of UbiSlate/Akash Tablets.

To meet the educational challenges in India, DataWind has worked to address the key demands of a large population, whose poor communities often face disproportionally high illiteracy rates. The company is focused on expanding the roll-out of the Aakash tablet, which is designed to be affordable, deliver high quality content, and provide access at the lowest cost or for free, where possible.

By 2017, DataWind has a target to distribute five million tablets in India and expects that more than 80% will reach individuals who live at the base of the pyramid– living on less than $8 dollars a day.

“We are greatly encouraged to have DataWind join the BCtA with their unique technological approach to help reach new communities and improve access to education and technology. The impact of affordable and connected devices cannot be underestimated,” said Sahba Sobhani, Acting Programme Manager, Business Call to Action. 

The company recently scaled-up its tablet launch to better ensure market-based solutions meet the needs of low-income communities in India. Working to help low-income communities readily adopt the new technology, and in an effort to provide continued quality education and internet access to help empower students and teachers, the Indian government has subsidized the costs and the planned expansion of the mobile tablet.. 

Recognizing that while a growing number of consumers have access to mobile phones, DataWind is also working with service providers and network operators to provide much needed access to the internet through these web access devices. The company has patented a unique delivery system to provide low-income consumers valuable data services at the lowest cost possible. 

Initial results are promising and the company is continuing to create applications that are versatile and relevant to its varied partners, which include schools, libraries, government and other public and private institutions. 

“DataWind is pleased to be in the company of like-minded organizations and initiatives such as the Business Call to Action that are working towards a common goal of social development by providing tools and empowering individuals and communities globally.” said Suneet Singh, CEO, DataWind

DataWind is working with several governments and not-for-profit organizations to help them achieve their goals of elevating the quality of education and bridging the digital divide. The company is looking to expand in Thailand and a number of other regions.

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Withdrawal and its Implications: The future of Afghanistan

18042014

Invite you to a session on Withdrawal and its Implications: The future of Afghanistan
EVENT DETAILS
DATE		Wednesday, May 7, 2014
TIME		5:00 PM  - 6:00 PM (Tea & Registration: 4:30 pm)
LOCATION		Burdwan and Cooch Behar Room, The Oberoi Grand, Kolkata
SPEAKERS		Professor Anatol Lieven, International Relations Chair at the War Studies Department, King’s College London Dr Rudra Chaudhuri, Senior Lecturer at the War Studies Department and the India Institute, King’s College London
MODERATOR		Mr. Scott Furssedonn-Wood, British Deputy High Commissioner for Eastern India
ABOUT THE EVENT Uncertainties permeate the security, political and economic transitions in Afghanistan as the withdrawal of American and International Security Assistance Forces (SAF) approaches in the course of 2014. Will the decline in international military presence throw greater responsibility on regional actors to take the lead in initiatives for peace and stabilization in Afghanistan ? What about India’s stake in ensuring stability in Afghanistan and avoiding spillover of tensions and terrorist activity? The challenges of sustaining an evolving democratic state structure, social-cultural transformation and Afghanistan as a regional transit hub for economic progress are immense and need to be addressed.
SPEAKERS Professor Anatol Lieven -  International Relations Chair at the War Studies Department, King’s College LondonProf Lieven is the Chair of International Relations in the War Studies Department of King’s College London, and a senior fellow of the New America Foundation in Washington DC.  His recent book, Pakistan: A Hard Country, was published in April 2011 by Penguin and was selected by the Daily Telegraph as one of the ’2011 Books of Year’. A new edition of America Right or Wrong: An Anatomy of American Nationalism, was published in 2012. He spent most of his career as a British journalist in South Asia and the former Soviet Union, and author of several books on the latter region, including Chechnya: Tombstone of Russian Power? (Yale University Press 1998) and Ukraine and Russia: A Fraternal Rivalry (USIP, 1999); and The Baltic Revolution: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and the Path to Independence (Yale University Press 1993). He has a BA in history and a PhD in Political Science from the University of Cambridge. From 2000-2005 he was a senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington DC. In 2005 he became a senior research fellow of the New America Foundation, a position he continues to hold. He writes a monthly column for the Financial Times, and is published frequently in other newspapers and journals.   Dr Rudra Chaudhuri- Senior Lecturer at the War Studies Department and the India Institute, King’s College London Dr Chaudhuri joined the department in September 2009 having previously taught at the UK Joint Services and Command and Staff College. In September 2012, his position as a Lecturer was divided between War Studies and the India Institute at King’s. Currently, he is the Program Director for the MA South Asia and Global Security course. He completed his BA at St. Stephen’s College, Delhi University, MA at Exeter and PhD in the Department of War Studies, King’s College London.  Together with colleagues in the department, he has served as a consultant to British Commanders in Afghanistan. He has also worked closely with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office as a Program Director for confidential stakeholder conferences and workshops focussing on the economic and political future of Afghanistan, India-Pakistan relations, and the thorny issue of reconciliation with the Taliban. MODERATOR Mr. Scott Furssedonn-Wood, British Deputy High Commissioner for Eastern India Scott Furssedonn-Wood is a career diplomat and assumed charge as the British Deputy High Commissioner for Eastern India in October 2013. Before being posted to Kolkata , Scott was based in the US. From 2008 until 2013 he served at the British Embassy in Washington DC, first as Head of Strategic Threats, working on counter-terrorism and counter-proliferation issues; and then as Head of the Political Section, where he was responsible for coverage of the 2012 Presidential election, a role which took him to 47 of the 50 states. Prior to Washington, he spent two years at the Foreign Office in London as Private Secretary to the Minister of State for the Middle East & South Asia, during which time he travelled to over fifty countries, including to India and its neighbours on many occasions. Mr Furssedonn-Wood is a MA (Hons) in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from Merton College, Oxford University and has a MBA from Open University.
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About Ananta Aspen Centre Ananta Aspen Centre is an independent and not-for-profit organisation that seeks to foster positive change in society through dissemination of knowledge. The Centre facilitates discussions on issues of international significance, values-based leadership and cross-sector outreach by engaging the civil society, government, private sector, and other key stakeholders.
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India as World Capital of Liver Disease

18042014

You are cordially invited to a

 

  

Press Meet

 

on 

India as World Capital of Liver Disease

 

 

 

Day & Date: Sat, 19th April, 2014

Time: 12:30pm (followed by Lunch)

Venue: Hotel Shangri-LA, New Delhi

The gathering would be held in room no 1, 1st floor of the hotel

 

  

‘Non-Alcoholic Steato-Hepatitis (NASH)’, a condition more common among women and persons with morbid obesity, diabetes mellitus or metabolic syndrome is acquiring epidemic situation

 

 

 

Press Meet to be addressed by

 

 

 

International Speaker:

 

Prof, Abhinav Humar, MD, Chief Division of Transplant Surgery, Starzyl Institue, Pittsburgh, USA

 

 

 

National Speakers:

 

Dr. Shyam Aggarwal, Senior Consultant Surgeon, Department Of Surgical Gastroenterology and Liver Transplantation, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital

 

Dr Abhideep Chaudhary, Consultant Surgeon, Department Of Surgical Gastroenterology and Liver Transplantation, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital

 

Dr. Sunil Taneja, Asst Professor, Department of Hepatology, PGI, Chandigarh

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WEC India Energy Portal 

18042014

One Stop Energy Resource Center WEC India Scenarios Power Coal Oil & Gas Renewables Nuclear Energy Portal The menu for Global Scenarios has been enabled.  Comparison of Scenarios of IEA, EIA and WEC is presented for Primary Energy Consumption, Electricity Generation and Co2 Emissions. Energy News Menu Aggregated Energy News Power Sector News Coal Sector News Oil & Gas Sector News Renewable Energy News Nuclear Sector News Environment News International Energy News Energy News Archive   Power Outages may fall as coal stocks improve at plants Apart from Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and to some extent Tamil Nadu, power demand during peak hours has been mostly met and there is a only a shortfall ranging between 1 mw and 300 mw. Tightening fuel emission norms: Government plans to impose extra 30% environment compensation on diesel vehicles Govt is also considering tightening the emission norms by mandating fuels compliant with Euro-IV norms by next year and Euro-V norms by 2016 while it is targeting Euro-VI norms by 2021. Players from Gulf nations plan to invest in Indian solar sector Plan to form joint ventures with Indian manufacturers based on their engineering capabilities MSERC approves 15% hike in power tariff in Meghalaya The approved increase in power tariff will be effective from April 1, 2014 till March 31, 2015 Toyota to launch hydrogen-powered car The firm will launch the hydrogen-powered car in the United States, Japan and Europe in 2015 Hydro power output goes up to 1,400 Mw to match rising peak demand Production at hydro power stations in the state has gone up by more than 200 Mw to 1,400 Mw during peak hours in comparison to March daily average output, as peak power demand in the state has been rising matching with soaring mercury levels. The … Tata Power plans to add 646.7 MegaWatt from clean energy sources Tata Power plans to increase its renewable energy capacity by about 71 per cent to cut carbon emissions and reduce risks from fluctuating fuel prices. Indian companies to benefit from Nepal’s new hydropower initiative The initiative of International Finance Corporation (IFC) can pull up Nepal’s power profile to a much brighter scale and also boost Indian power companies business. Clarify on undecided environment approvals: Assocham to EC EC has been examining projects awaiting clearances to ensure their approval by the government violate poll code Tarapur Atomic Power Station generated 28 pct of India’s atomic power in 2013-14 The total nuclear power generated in the country in the year under review was 35,333 MUs. Over 14,000 MW hydro power capacity is under execution: Central Electricity Authority Over 14,000 MW of hydro power capacity is under execution in the country and would be commissioned in the next 4 years, according to CEA. Growth goes beyond a strong coalition Weakest coalition since 1989, the United Front govt from 1996-98 delivered faster GDP growth than much stronger govts Ajai Shukla: Come out of the nuclear closet While the ‘no first use’ pledge must quickly be scrapped, the ill-conceived commitment to ‘massive retaliation’ is even more damaging to our nuclear credibility Rays Power commissions 14 solar power projects in FY’14 Rays Power is now starting two new parks in Rajasthan for 100 MW of capacity and its solar power capacity is now 85 MW with 56 projects. Climate change: UN panel’s latest tocsin Planned action just not enough, it pleads; new target cuts in emissions and deal to allocate these needed by 2015

For more information Contact – WEC India Secretariat, C/o NTPC Limited, 7th Floor, Core-6, SCOPE Complex, New Delhi-110 003, India  Email: info@wecindia.in, Phone: 011-2436 3719, Fax: 011-2436 9530, Website: http://www.wecindia.in

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digital learning

18042014

digitalLEARNING Weekly Newsletter: April 17, 2014   Volume 11, Issue 16

COVER STORY: Reintroducing Teaching in Classrooms As Interactive White Boards (IWB) change the education paradigm in India and make it more interactive… Schools ask weak students to leave To secure 100 percent results in the board examination and to maintain a reputation, some of the schools of Chennai… New post graduate programme in IIM- Trichy IIM-Trichy has launched a post graduate programme in human resource management (PGPHRM) for the working .. Inspection of RTE infrastructural norms compliance by schools to begin soon The primary education department of the Kolhapur zilla parishad (ZP) has formed 12 inspection squads in the district… Second career option for defence retired personnel The directorate general of resettlement (DGR) has started new courses management programmes to… Doon School to offer leadership course The Doom School will be conducting a two week leadership course from June 1 for the young boys and girls… A mobile app to inform students about timetable A mobile application named as “NexClass” has been created by two second-year IIT-Gandhinagar student… UPCOMING EVENT 8 – 9 August LATEST ISSUE UPCOMING (MAY) ISSUE

Quality Education: A must for Minorities In south India, the Muslim community has established centres of excellence. Justice MSA Siddiqui, Chairman, National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions,Government of India Fostering Faculty Members for Excellence When I joined IMI, there were around 31 faculty members and now, we have 65 members. Padma Shri Dr Pritam Singh, Director General, International Management Institute More than Money, Sincere Efforts Needed in Education System Today, money is not a constraint in our country but we need to have sincere teachers, sincere efforts, right approaches and it does. Piyush Trivedi, Vice Chancellor, Rajiv Gandhi Proudyogiki Vishwavidyalaya Vandana Lulla, Director & Principal,Podar International School, Mumbai Soma Debnath, Principal, The Heritage School, Pune

If you can’t see the mailer, please click here  This message is brought to you by Elets Technomedia Pvt Ltd.

Copyright © 2014 Elets Technomedia Pvt Ltd

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PRESS INVITATION Mukta Arts Invites

18042014

PRESS INVITATION

Mukta Arts cordially Invites

 You to attend the cover of Press conference

To share with you the uniqueness of their latest Hindi Film

Kaanchi

The Unbreakable

To be addressed by:

Subhash Ghai (Director)

Kartik Tiwari (Film “Pyaar Ka Panchnama” fame)

Mishti

Venue     : Spice Mall, sec. 25, Noida

Time         : 1:30 pm

Date      : 18th April, 2014

You are requested to send correspondents/photographers/camera crew for thePress Conference

R.S.V.P

Shailesh Giri

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Delhi’s Salwan Boys School Continues Winning Spree

18042014

Delhi’s Salwan Boys School Continues Winning Spree

Mumbai, 17 April 2014: Strong batting performance by Mukulit Bhatt and Rishabh Drall helped Salwan Boys Sr. Sec. School, Delhi beat St. Jones Jr. College, Hyderabad by 56 runs in the Coca-Cola Cricket Cup Inter-State leg, played at HPCL ground.

Salwan Boys School won the toss and opted to bat first. Mukulit Bhatt played a captain’s innings by scoring an inspiring knock of 75 runs. His teammate Rishabh Drall contributed valuable 70 runs to achieve a respectable score of 206.

For St.. Jones Jr. College, C.H. Rithwik and Traneeth Raj claimed four and two wickets respectively.

In reply, Hyderabad’s St. Jones Jr. College team batting line-up collapsed at 150 runs. Salwan Boys School’s Sahil Sharma and Bharat Shankar claimed three and two wickets respectively to bowl-out the opponents in 41.1 overs. Abhishek Singh was the top scorer for St. Jones.

Mukulit Bhatt was adjudged Man-of-the-Match for his brilliant knock.

In another match, Sports Campus College, Lucknow won the match against DAV Sr. Secondary School, Punjab by huge margin of 120 runs.. While, Don Bosco M Higher Secondary School, Tamil beat AVR E-Techno School, Vijayawada by 66 runs.

In the final match of the day, Dehinagar K.C.R. Vidya Pith, West Bengal won the match by two runs against Shreyas Samarpan Vidyalay – Baroda. 

Brief Score:

Salwan Boys Senior Sec. School, Delhi: 206 All out in 44.1 overs (Mukulit Bhatt 75 runs (76b 13X4), Rishabh Drall 70 runs (90b 7X4); Rithwik 4 for 33 in 7 overs, Traneeth Raj 2 for 15 in 8 overs) beat St. Jones Jr. College, Hyderabad: 150 All out in 41.1 overs (Abhishek Singh 35 runs (60b 2X4), Mickil Jaiswal 27 runs (54b 4X4); Sahil Sharma 3 for 21 in 9 overs, Bharat Shankar 2 for 24 in 6 overs)

Sports Campus College, Lucknow  (UP) : 258 for all out in 45 Over’s (Nitin Singh 68 Runs (87b, 1X6, 6X4), Govind Yadav 48 Runs (33b, 3X6, 3X4), Mohsin Ali 46 Runs (53b, 7X4); Vikas Bamel 3 for 57 in 8 Over’s, Aman 2 for 30 in 6 Over’s, Vijay Deswas 1 for 36 in 6 Over’s beat DAV Sr.Secondary School,Punjab: 138 All out in 32.2 Overs (Ankit Laller 34 Runs (54b, 4X4), Sagar Saharan 26 Runs (47b, 2X4); Vijay Yadav 3 for 10 in 4.4 Over’s, Ankit Singh 3 for 30 in 7 Overs with 3 maiden, Prashant Srivastav 2 for 13 in 3 Overs’s

Don Bosco M Higher Secondary School (Tamil Nadu): 278 for 8 in 43 overs (Taryn Ferrario 157 Runs in 108 Balls 19X4, 4X6, Tausif Mirza 33 Runs in 38 Balls 5X4; Mohd. Rafi 3 for 55 in 8 overs, Sirinath 2 for 50 runs in 9 overs beat AVR E-Techno School, Vijayawada (Andra Pradesh): 212 All Out  in 42.3 overs (T. Vamsi Krishna 57 Runs in 68 balls 4X4, 1X6, T. Surya Charan 37 Runs in 30 Balls 3X4; Y. Sreekanth 5 for 28 runs in 9 overs, G. Karthik Shanmugan 3 for 40 runs in 8.3 overs. 

Dehinagar K.C.R. Vidya Pith, West  Bengal: 134 for All out in 41.4 Over’s (Amit Chanda 42 Runs (63b, 6X4), Sowradiv Shah 14 Runs (20b 1X6); Karan Pawar 4 for 22 in 7.4 Over, Sourine Thakar 3 for 18 in 9 Over’s beat Shreyas Samarpan Vidyalay – Baroda: 132 for All out in 44.3 Over’s (Karan Pawar 34 Runs (58b, 5X4), Abhimanyu Singh 33 Runs (50b, 5X4); Tanmoy Aditya 2 for 20 in 9 Over’s, Rahul Chanda 2 for 23 in 9 Over’s.

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Hindi Film Revolver Rani

18042014

PRESS INVITATION

Wave Cinemas cordially invites

You to attend the cover of Press conference

To share with you the uniqueness of their latest Hindi Film

Revolver Rani

To be addressed by:

Kangana Ranaut

Vir Das

Sai Kabir Shrivastav (Director)

Venue     : Wave Cinemas, Sec. 18, Noida

Time        : 5 pm

Date      : 18th April, 2014(Friday)

You are requested to send correspondents/photographers/camera crew for thePress Conference

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April 19, 2014, 4:33 am

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India is about to become Non Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease capital

19042014

India is about to become Non Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease capital

By bringing healthy changes in lifestyle and identifying the diseases linked with fatty liver timely, patients could be saved from diseases like cancer

New Delhi, April 19, 2014: Consultant surgeon of surgical gastrology and liver transplantation, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, Dr. Abhideep Choudhary told that urbanization and changes linked with it, like sedentary lifestyle, fatty foods, uncontrolled blood sugar level in diabetics, obesity, smoking and high alcohol intake is leading Indians towards higher incidence of fatty liver disease, that is Non Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease. This also increases the risk factor for Non Alcoholic Stato Hepatitis (NASH).

NASH disease could lead to cancer if patients are not treated timely. According to the studies of epidemic science, the prevalence of NADLF among common Indian public is between 9 percent to 32 percent, and this is more commonly found in obese and pre-diabetics.

According to Dr. Choudhary, “Fatty liver and NASH have been found in all age groups, including children, however it is more common between the age group of 40 to 49 years.”

This makes timely diagnosis of disease even more important, otherwise it could develop into cancers, like those of stomach and colorectal.

Elaborating further upon this, in detail, Dr. Abhideep Choudhary says, “If the diseases linked with fatty liver are timely diagnosed then they can be treated with laparoscopy, minimal invasion surgery or robotic surgery. In these surgeries, a small cut is mad on patient’s body, and this is the reason of fast recovery. As compared to conventional surgeries, which are very painful for patients, modern techniques are very easy for them. All which is required is timely detection of disease.”

Dr. Anne Hammerstad Lecturer in International Relations

19042014

Centre for Policy Research is delighted to invite you to a talk by 

 Dr. Anne Hammerstad

 Lecturer in International Relations

School of Politics and International Relations

University of Kent

 On

The Rise and Decline of a Global Security Actor: UNHCR, Refugee Protection and Security

On the occasion of the launch of her new book, published by Oxford University Press

 Discussant: Dominik Bartsch,

Chief of Mission, UNHCR New Delhi, India

 Date: Wednesday, 23 April 2014

 Time: 3:00 – 4:30 pm

 Venue: Conference Room, Centre for Policy Research, DharamMarg, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi – 110021

 Abstract: 

Dr Hammerstad presents her new book, which investigates the rise of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) as a global security actor, following the refugee agency through some of the past two decades’ major conflict-induced humanitarian crises, including Afghanistan, Bosnia, Iraq, Kosovo and eastern Zaire/Congo. She analyses UNHCR’s momentous transformation from a small, timid legal protection agency to the world’s foremost humanitarian actor playing a central role in the international response to the many wars of the tumultuous last decade of the 20th century. Then, as the 21st century set in, the agency’s political prominence waned. It remains a major humanitarian actor, but the polarised post-9/11 period and a worsening protection climate for refugees and asylum seekers spurred UNHCR to abandon its claim to be a global security actor and return to a more modest, quietly diplomatic role.

The rise of UNHCR as a global security actor is placed within the context of the dramatic shift in perceptions of national and international security after the end of the Cold War. Prominent among ‘new’ security issues were the perceived threats posed by refugees and asylum seekers to international security, state stability, and societal cohesion. ‘The Rise and Decline of a Global Security Actor’ investigates UNHCR’s response to this new international environment; adopting, adapting and finally abandoning a security discourse on the refugee problem.

In this seminar Dr Hammerstad will draw lines from the findings of her book to discuss some key questions on the future of international humanitarian action in the polarized and dangerous environments of countries such as Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria and Somalia. How can UN agencies and NGOs avoid the stamp of being part of ‘western agendas’? Is principled, neutral, needs-based humanitarian aid in conflict zones possible? How can it best be achieved – or at least approximated?

Speaker’s Biography:

Dr Anne Hammerstad is a lecturer in International Relations at the University of Kent, research associate of the South African Institute of International Affairs, and recent Global Uncertainties Fellow with the British Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). She received her DPhil from Oxford University, MSc from the London School of Economics, and BA from the University of Oslo. Her doctoral thesis won the 2003 thesis prize from the British International Studies Association.

In addition to the book ‘The Rise and Decline of a Global Security Actor: UNHCR, Refugee Protection and Security’ (OUP, 2014), Anne has published on migration, refugees, conflict and security in, among others, Security Dialogue,Review of International Studies, and Conflict, Security and Development, and is a contributing author to the Oxford Handbook on Refugee and Forced Migration Studies (OUP, 2014 forthcoming).

Anne has previously worked as a Senior Researcher at the South African Institute of International Affairs in Johannesburg, a Research and Teaching Fellow at Royal Holloway, University of London, and journalist with the Norwegian newspaper, Dagbladet. 

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Kejriwal will campaign for Kumar Vishwas

19042014

Aam Aadmi Party national convenor Arvind Kejriwal will campaign for Kumar Vishwas, the party’s candidate from Amethi Lok Sabha constituency from April 20-22.

Campaign schedule for Sunday, April 20:  

8 AM: Tikkar Mafi

9 AM: Ayodhyanagar

10 AM: Durgapur

12:30 PM: Sangrampur

2 PM: Amethi

4:30 PM: Gauriganj

For Enquiry please contact

Pankaj Shukla: 091619 54524

Regards

AAP Media Cell

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International Home Textiles & Furnishing Gifts & Premium Fair in Hong Kong

19042014

Over 150 Companies To participate Handicrafts In Houseware, International Home Textiles & Furnishing Gifts & Premium Fair in Hong Kong from and Tomorrow: EPCH

New Delhi-April 19, 2014 – With Hong Kong emerging as an important destination for aggressive marketing through medium of trade fairs, the Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts (EPCH) is organizing the participation of more than 150 Indian handicrafts exporters to showcase their products in the four-day-long Hong Kong Houseware, International Home Textiles & Furnishing to BE held from April 20 – 23, 2014   and BE Gifts & Premium Fair held from April 27 to – 30, 2 014   at Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, Wanchai, hong Kong starting from 20 th April.

Excluding Hong Kong and mainland China, the top other visiting countries and regions are: India, United States, Taiwan, Japan, Australia, United Kingdom, Korea, Thailand, Germany, Italy, Philippines, Spain, Brunei, Turkey, Macau, Malaysia, Israel, Singapore etc.  

More than   150    Indian companies will Wide BE A RANGE of showcasing products, An Area of Spread over the 1,500th Sq.meters , which include Gifts, Premium & Corporate Gifts, Fashion Jewellery & Accessories, Picture and Photo Frames & Christmas Decoration, Kids Room Accessories, Candle Holders, Bowl, Vases, Home Furnishing Items, Cushions, Curtains, Apron, Towel, Mats, Handicrafts of Art Metalware, Handicrafts of Woodware, Textile-based Products, Jute, Cotton, Wine, Shopping and Canvas Bags, Baby & Bedroom Textile, Bedroom & Kitchen Textile, Carpet & floor coverings, Upholstery & furnishing Products, Window Accessories in textiles categories and Bar Accessories, Home Living, Furniture, Home Tech, Green Living Health & Wellness, Home Accents, Kitchenware & Gadgets, Outdoor living Paintings, Objects d’Art, Tableware in Houseware categories.

“After detailed analysis and survey of the trade shows of Hong Kong, the Council has been participating on regular and annual basis in these trade fairs covering the entire range of handicrafts sector of India”, according to Mr. Rakesh Kumar, Executive Director of EPCH.

“Handicrafts occupies an important place in the Indian economy and society. This product group is a large foreign exchange earner, employment generator for economically and socially backward classes and promoter of Indian ethnic, cultural heritage worldwide, “the Executive Director of the Council added.

EPCH – an apex body for promotion and export of handicrafts products from India to the world market – has since evolved an integrated and comprehensive policy which revolves around development of new product lines, new designs, improvement in technology and aggressive marketing as well as exploration of new markets.

For further information, please contact:

Mr. Rakesh Kumar, Executive Director-EPCH at: +91-9818272171

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International news updates

20042014

Iran says nuclear experts to hold talks in New York

Iran and world powers will resume technical talks next month in New York ahead of further negotiations on a lasting nuclear deal, a senior Iranian official said on Saturday.

The talks will take place from 5th to 9th May on the sidelines of a Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) review conference that is to be held at the United Nations, deputy foreign minister Abbas Araqchi told the state broadcaster IRIB.  He said the Iranian delegation will be led by Hamid Baeedinejad, like previous rounds, without providing further details.  The meeting will come a few days before a new round of talks between Iran and the so-called P5+1 group of world powers, set to begin May 13, that seeks a comprehensive agreement over Tehran’s disputed nuclear activities.  The sides met in Vienna last week, with negotiators from Iran and the five permanent UN Security Council members – the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France – plus Germany agreeing to “move to the next phase” of their talks.  They will now move to draft the final accord, after clinching an interim deal in November under which Iran froze some nuclear activities in return for minor relief from painful Western sanctions.  A lasting deal may involve Iran slashing its number of centrifuges – used to enrich uranium – changing the design of a new reactor at Arak and giving UN inspectors more oversight.  Tehran has said in recent weeks it would need further, more powerful centrifuges to feed nuclear plants it says it hopes to build in the future.  Western nations and Israel have long suspected Iran of secretly pursuing nuclear weapons alongside its civilian programme, charges adamantly denied by Tehran.

Pak journo Hamid Mir shot at in Karachi

Senior Pakistani TV journalist Hamid Mir, who faced threats from Taliban and other terror groups, was today shot at in Karachi by four unidentified motorcycle-borne gunmen near a bridge on way to his office.

Mir, 47, sustained bullet injuries after he was shot at near Natha Khan bridge soon after he left the Karachi airport for his office, initial reports in Karachi said.  GeoTV reported that Mir, who has security guards with him, called up office to inform them of the attack on him.  He was rushed to a hospital in a private car. Four gunmen riding two motorcycles opened fire on Mir’s car about six kilometers from the airport, GeoTV said.  Dawn reported that the gunmen opened fire at the vehicle at 5:30 pm and Mir was admitted to hospital in a state of unconsciousness.  Geo News Islamabad bureau chief, Rana Jawad said Mir told him after being attacked that the gunmen were following him and continued to fire at the car.  A popular news anchor, terrorism expert, and security analyst, Mir currently hosts political talk show Capital Talk on Geo TV.  In November 2012, a bomb was recovered from under his car which was believed to have been planted by the Pakistani Taliban.

Russia warns US, declares military near Ukraine as deal stalls

Russia declared on Saturday that its military is massed on Ukraine’s doorstep and warned against further US sanctions as a deal it had struck with Washington appeared to stall because of intransigence by rebels it backs in the former Soviet republic.

A threat by US President Barack Obama that more sanctions would befall Moscow if the agreement, reached on Friday with Ukraine and the EU, failed was “absolutely unacceptable,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian television.  “Our Western colleagues are trying to push responsibility towards our side.  But it must be underlined: it is a collective responsibility,” he said.  He pointedly declared that “there are troops close to the Ukrainian border”. “Some are based there, others have been sent as reinforcements due to the situation in Ukraine,” he added.  The comments appeared to be a warning shot to Washington that the situation could quickly degrade if Moscow were punished for a failed implementation of the accord.  The White House reiterated that it was watching Moscow to see if it is holding up its end of the deal. “We expect and we will be watching whether Russia does or does not uphold its responsibility to use its very considerable influence to restrain and withdraw those irregular militia from the buildings and spaces that they’ve occupied,” said National Security Advisory Susan Rice.

 

US tracing Putin’s secret accounts is “absurd” – presidential spokesman

The report in The Times on potential sanctions targeting President Vladimir Putin’s alleged secret personal wealth, is “apparently a hoax” presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Ekho Moskvy radio.

The British newspaper reported that American financial investigators, who previously traced Al-Qaeda funding, would find the secret $40 billion of Putin’s money in numbered Swiss bank accounts, so that it can fall under US sanctions.

“Why would anyone be scared of sanctions, especially as absurd as these?” Peskov commented. “This can only be joked about.”

US drone strike kills 10 Al-Qaeda suspects and three civilians in Yemen

A US drone attack in central Yemen killed 10 Al-Qaeda suspected militants on Saturday as they were traveling by car. However, three civilians were also killed and five wounded in a nearby vehicle. The attack followed on the heels of an intelligence report that pointed to planned attacks on civil and military targets in al-Bayda province, the state news agency Saba said. A source in the High Security Committee said the attack targeted some of the most “dangerous and leading elements of Al-Qaeda.”

09:13

Militants ambush Algerian Soldiers, killing 11 – reports

Islamic militants ambushed Algerian troops during a routine mountain patrol near the capital Algiers, killing 11 soldiers, a security source told Reuters on Sunday. The attack, which occurred in Tizi Ouzou, 120 kms (74.5 miles) east of Algiers, marked the deadliest in years against Algeria’s security forces. Al-Qaeda’s north African branch, ‘Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb’ (AQIM), is reportedly operating in Algeria.

​Eight killed in Mexico plane crash

A small Hawker 800 flying from the Mexican Caribbean island of Cozumel to Ramos Arizpe crashed in the municipality of Ramos Arizpe in the North of the country, the government of the state of Coahuila said. All eight people on board were killed. The cause of the crash was not immediately apparent.

01:20

6.1 magnitude earthquake strikes off Papua New Guinea, no tsunami warning issued

A 6.1 magnitude earthquake has been registered 96 km (60 mi) southwest of the town of Panguna, Papua New Guinea, according to the US Geological Survey. The quake occurred at 00:15 GMT. The epicenter was located at a depth of 18 kilometers. Currently there is no information on possible casualties or damage. This comes just hours after a 7.5 magnitude earthquake struck off Papua New Guinea’s eastern coast, prompting a tsunami warning which was later canceled. Last week, a tsunami warning was issued for Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, and Vanatu, after two earthquakes hit the Solomon Islands within hours.

 

Death toll in S. Korean ferry disaster rises to 46 as divers find 10 more bodies

The official death toll in the South Korean ferry disaster has risen to 46 after divers retrieved 10 more bodies from the inside of the sunken boat overnight, AP reports. Earlier, the South Korean government stated that 36 were confirmed dead after three additional bodies were recovered. A rescue team reportedly broke a glass window and successfully entered the vessel. They are now looking to retrieve more than 200 bodies – many of them children – from the wreckage of the ferry that capsized on Wednesday. Of the 476 people believed to have been on board the ferry, over 250 are still unaccounted for.

Oldest nuclear plant in France shuts down after incident, no threat posed

France’s oldest nuclear plant, Fessenheim, was shut down on Saturday following an incident away from the reactor, a spokeswoman from French electric utility company EDF told Reuters. The incident occurred when a valve in control of the steam supply to the turbine generator accidentally closed. Fessenheim’s reactor 2 automatically shut down following the malfunction. No danger was posed. Experts are working on fixing the problem, but it is still not known when the reactor will restart. Reactor 1 of the plant has been out of operation since April 9, following a leak in a water supply pipe. “These are two incidents that have no bearing on the security of the plants nor for the environment,” the spokeswoman said.

Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood leader jailed for insults

Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed El-Beltagy has been sentenced to one year in prison for insulting the judiciary, a local court announced on Saturday. Ousted President Mohamed Morsi and 13 other Muslim Brotherhood leaders also face charges of encouraging the killing of protesters during demonstrations outside the presidential palace in 2012. “The court has decided to imprison the accused, Mohamed El-Beltagy, for one year on charges of insulting the judiciary,” Reuters quoted a senior court official as saying. Security and judicial sources stated that this is the first sentence to be handed down to a leader of the organization since it was outlawed last year.

Two killed, three kidnapped as armed militants attack Sudan oil field

Armed militants have killed two security officers and kidnapped three workers in an attack on an oil field in Sudan’s main oil-producing state of West Kordofan, Reuters reported, citing army spokesman Al-Sawarmi Khalid Sa’ad. The abducted workers include two foreigners – citizens of China and Algeria – and one Sudanese citizen. Security forces are still tracing the perpetrators, the source said. West Kordofan has been the target of a number of attacks by armed militants attempting to disrupt oil production.

Heartbleed bug could infect Healthcare.gov website

US citizens who used the healthcare.gov website to enroll in insurance plans under the government’s healthcare reform law are being told to change their passwords to protect against the notorious Heartbleed internet security error. The Heartbleed bug is an encryption bug that silently puts the passwords, personal information, and credit card data of millions at risk. However, a post on the website says there is no indication that any personal information is at risk.

Boko Haram claims responsibility for explosion that killed 75 in Nigeria

Islamist Abubakar Shekau, the leader of Nigeria’s Boko Haram, has claimed responsibility for a bombing at Nyanya bus terminal in the Nigerian capital of Abuja, which killed at least 75 people. In a 28-minute video message acquired by AFP news agency, Shekau not only admitted Boko Haram’s responsibility for Nigeria’s most deadly attack to date, but added that the group has fighters in the capital. Boko Haram has also been blamed for the kidnapping of 129 students from a girls’ school. Fourty-four girls have so far managed to escape, according to the government. The remaining 85 students are still missing. 

Tsunami warning issued as 7.5 quake strikes off Papua New Guinea coast

A strong earthquake measuring 7.5 on the Richter Scale has struck off the coast of Papua New Guinea, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS). The quake’s epicenter was at a depth of 30.9 km and a tsunami warning was subsequently issued for Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands, according to the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. “This event is the latest in an ongoing sequence of seismicity in the same region over the past week, which began with M 7.1 and 6.5 earthquakes on April 11, just to the northeast and southeast of the April-19 earthquake, respectively,” stated USGS.

Bahrain car explosion leaves 2 killed and a third wounded

The explosion was in the mostly Shiite village of al-Maqshaa, outside the capital Manama, according to the Interior Ministry’s Twitter account, as Reuters reports. It added that the car had signs of explosive substances inside. The explosion killed two people and wounded a third. In recent weeks Shiite villages in Bahrain have seen several explosions, with a bomb attack in March leaving three policemen killed. The US ally is still struggling to control the restive Shiite population in Bahrain.

16 die in Yemen drone strike

Thirteen suspected Al-Qaeda fighters and three civilians have been killed in a drone strike in Yemen. “An air strike targeted cars suspected Al-Qaeda militants were in and killed 13 of them in the Sawma’a area of [central Yemeni province] al-Bayda,” a security source told Reuters. The drone targeted two cars early on Saturday morning. While the Yemen government did not state who undertook the attack, the Yemeni government said that it was aimed against senior Al-Qaeda fighters. The US has stated that it uses drones in the country. However, it generally declines to comment on its activities.

Northern Ireland police arrest man for Belfast shooting

A 26-year-old man has been arrested in Northern Ireland after the shooting of a prominent republican hardliner. Tommy Crossan, a senior member of the Continuity IRA, was fatally shot on Friday afternoon in west Belfast. Crossan had been strongly opposed to the 1998 peace deal. Northern Ireland has been predominantly peaceful since the signing of the Good Friday agreement. However, there have been occasional outbreaks of sectarian violence, which have intensified over the past 18 months. More than 3,600 have died in sectarian troubles between Catholic Irish nationalists and union protestants who wish to remain part of the UK since the ‘troubles’ began in the 1960s.

Holy Fire lit in Jerusalem ahead of Orthodox Easter

The Holy Fire, described by Orthodox Christians as an annual miracle, was lit at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem on Great Saturday, or Holy Saturday, the day preceding Orthodox Easter. The Patriarch of Jerusalem, Theophilos III, has passed the Holy Fire to the pilgrims, including the Russian delegation, which will deliver it to Moscow. The Holy Fire, which symbolizes the miraculous light of the Resurrection, has been brought to Russia from Israel every year since 2003. This year it will be taken for the first time to Crimea, a former Ukrainian region that became part of Russia in March.

10:25

​3 more bodies found at Korean ferry wreck site

The official death toll in the South Korean ferry disaster has risen to 32 after divers lifted three more bodies from the wreck. More than 300 are missing or have been confirmed dead following Wednesday’s sinking of the ship. Prosecutors are carrying out a criminal negligence investigation on the ferry’s captain, 68-year-old Lee Joon-seok and 55-year-old helmsman Cho Joon-ki, who entrusted control of the ship to the inexperienced third mate, a 25-year-old woman identified only by her surname, Park. All three were arrested.

Four kidnapped journalists freed in Syria

Four French journalists, who were captured by Syrian rebels from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Syria in June 2013, are now free and in good health, says French President Francois Hollande, according to AFP. The journalists were found by Turkish soldiers on the border with Syria. They were immediately taken to hospital.

​Car bomber kills 6 in western Syria

A suicide bomber has blown himself in a car up at a checkpoint near Salamiya in western Syria, killing at least six people, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR). Meanwhile, a Syrian government official who spoke on condition of anonymity said four people were killed and nine injured. The city, located 33km southwest of the Hama province, has witnessed fierce fighting in recent months.

​Search resumes for four missing Nepali guides after Everest avalanche

Nepali climbers have resumed the search for four missing Sherpa guides after an avalanche swept down a slope on Mount Everest on Friday, killing 12 Nepali mountaineering guides. Helicopters will be involved in the search. “I sat and counted 13 helicopter lifts – 12 were dead bodies, flying overhead suspended by a long line from a helicopter,” Tim Rippel of Peak Freaks Expeditions wrote in a blog. The avalanche hit the most popular Mount Everest route as hundreds of foreign and Nepali climbers were trying to climb Everest’s 8,848 meter peak.

 

NASA’s SpaceX launches supplies to ISS

The SpaceX Dragon supply ship blasted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida on Friday, carrying two tons of cargo for the International Space Station. The supply vehicle will reach the orbiting space module on Sunday. SpaceX is carrying an external backup computer, which is crucial in case the main one fails. Storms cleared out of Cape Canaveral just in time for the mid-afternoon launch.

Algeria’s Boutefika wins fourth term

Algeria’s ailing president who has chronic health problems has taken more than 81 percent of the vote, according to the interior minister. The 77-year old who suffered a stroke last year beat five other opponents without doing any personal campaigning. A coalition of Islamist and secular parties had called for a boycott of the vote calling it a sham and three other presidential candidates pulled out of the race saying the result would be a foregone conclusion. Violence marred the election process, particularly in Kabylie, a restive Berber region east of Algiers, with 70 people wounded in protests.

Storms threaten NASA’s 2nd launch attempt to space station

Stormy weather threatens to interfere with Friday’s attempt to launch SpaceX, NASA’s commercial space supplier. The unmanned Dragon cargo ship contains two and half tons of supplies for the space station, including materials needed for urgent spacewalking repairs. On Monday NASA’s first attempt to launch Dragon was thwarted by a leaky rocket valve.

Magnitude 7.5 earthquake strikes Mexico

A magnitude 7.5 quake hit Mexico on Friday, shaking buildings in the capital and sending people running out into the street, Reuters said. The powerful earthquake was centered in the western state of Guerrero, north of the beach resort of Acapulco, according to the US Geological Survey. There were no reports of major damage.

Obama adviser Axelrod to help UK Labor election campaign

Britain’s Labor Party has recruited a top adviser to US President Barack Obama’s campaigns to help with its leader’s election bid next year, AP reported. The UK opposition party said David Axelrod will join its election campaign team as senior strategic adviser. Axelrod, a key figure behind Obama’s two presidential victories, will take part in regular strategic discussions with party leader Ed Miliband. Axelrod said on Thursday that both Miliband and Obama had the vision to focus on the “experience of everyday people.”

14 killed in car bombing in Homs – Syria TV

A car bomb that exploded outside a mosque in a pro-government district of the central city of Homs killed 14 people, Syrian state TV reported. The bombing occurred as worshippers were leaving the Bilal al-Habshi mosque on the edge of Akrama after attending Friday prayers. Opposition activists confirmed the bomb attack in the predominantly Alawite district but had no immediate details on casualties, AP said.

Japan to hunt fewer whales this season

Japan will target fewer whales when its Pacific hunt begins next week and will observe them in the Antarctic next season with the aim of resuming full-fledged commercial whaling, AP reported. Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said on Friday the Pacific catch target was being slashed by nearly half – to about 210 from the current 380. “We will continue our research hunts aimed at collecting scientific data and seek to resume commercial whaling,” Hayashi said. Last month, the International Court of Justice ordered Japan to suspend its Antarctic program because it was basically commercial and not scientific.

Russia urges Libya to facilitate release of kidnapped foreign diplomats

Moscow has urged the Libyan authorities to facilitate the release of kidnapped foreign diplomats. The government should do its best to find the diplomats as soon as possible and free them, the Russian Foreign Ministry said. The authorities should also punish those responsible for the kidnapping and take measures to defend diplomatic missions in Libya, the statement said. Laaroussi Kontassi, an adviser at the Tunisia’s embassy in Tripoli, disappeared Thursday morning in “unclear circumstances,” days after gunmen kidnapped the Jordanian ambassador

S. Korea school vice principal commits suicide after ferry accident

The vice principal of a high school whose pupils died or are missing in a South Korean ferry accident has committed suicide by hanging himself, Reuters reported. Kang Min-gyu, 52, had been missing since Thursday and appeared to have hung himself with his belt from a tree outside a gym where families of the victims were staying. Out of 475 passengers and crew on the ship, about 340 were students and teachers from the Danwon High School in Ansan, a town near Seoul. They account for about 250 of those missing.

Rouhani parade speech: Iran will deter any attacks

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Friday during a military parade to mark the country’s National Army Day that Tehran had the might to deter any attacks as its military displayed a range of drones and missiles, Reuters reported. Unlike predecessor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Rouhani did not use his speech to lash out at the US and Israel. “We don’t support any aggression… We support dialogue,” Rouhani said in the live broadcast. He touted Iran’s diplomatic outreach, and AP quoted him as saying that Iran announced to the world: “We are not after war, we are after logic, we are after talks.”

At least 12 Nepali guides killed in Everest avalanche

An avalanche swept down a slope of Mount Everest on Friday, killing 12 Nepali mountaineering guides, a Tourism Ministry official said. The first major avalanche this climbing season hit the most popular route as hundreds of foreign and Nepali climbers flock to the mountain to attempt to climb its 8,850 meter peak. Three Nepali guides were injured and some people may be missing, Reuters quoted Tilak Ram Pandey, an official at the ministry’s mountaineering department, as saying. The avalanche hit the Sherpa guides between base camp and camp 1 early on Friday.

06:22

Japan sends soldiers, radar to remote island, risking China tension

Japan is sending 100 soldiers and radar to its westernmost outpost, a tropical island off Taiwan, Reuters said. The deployment could risk angering China amid a dispute over nearby islands that both countries claim. Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera will break ground on Saturday for a military lookout station on Yonaguni. The island is home to 1,500 people and just 150km from the disputed Japanese-held islands claimed by China. Yonaguni is now defended by two police officers, and the move is part of a plan to improve defense and surveillance in Japan’s far-flung frontier.

Media agencies

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April 20, 2014, 5:43 am

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Modi to file nomination from Varanasi on 24th April

BJP Prime Ministerial Candidate Narendra Modi will file his nomination papers for Varanasi Lok Sabha seat on 24th April.

Talking to reporters in Lucknow on Saturday, Amit Shah, the close aide of Modi said, the BJP wave would turn into a tsunami, after Modi files his nomination. Taking a dig at Rahul Gandhi’s claim for bringing up overall development, he targeted UPA government for failing miserably in eradicating corruption and other evils in the country, despite being in power for a decade. BJP leader Amit Shah has demanded an inquiry into allegations linking Congress candidate Ajay Rai, who is pitted against BJP Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi in Varanasi, to illegal gun trade. Talking to reporters in Lucknow on Saturday, Amit Shah said, both the Congress President Sonia Gandhi and party Vice President, Rahul Gandhi are silent on the issue. He said, they should react and clarify Congress’ stand on this issue.  Senior Congress leader and Union Commerce Minister Anand Sharma on Saturday alleged that BJP is indulging in “political plagiarism”. Addressing a press conference, Sharma said that BJP simply “copy-pasted” the Congress manifesto in its vision document.  He also said that voters would keep “the personality cult and authoritarianism” out of power. BJP PM Candidate Narendra Modi and Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi held election rallies in Assam on Saturday.  Both the leaders hit out at each other in a war of words. Narendra Modi, questioned the Congress on its silence with regard to inflation.  Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi responded terming the BJP politics as divisive.