News in Detail

I'm here to stay, says Sanjay Dutt after SC verdict

Lucknow: Barred from contesting election, film star Sanjay Dutt said that he respects the Supreme Court order refusing to stay his conviction in a 1993 Mumbai blasts case but made it clear that he will continue in politics and campaign for the Samajwadi Party.



"I honour the court's verdict, but I will not leave Lucknow. I will continue to campaign for the Samajwadi Party and its candidate," Dutt said.

Asserting that he had full faith in judiciary, Dutt said, "I am not going anywhere. I am here to stay I am not leaving. Any candidate who will come will be my candidate. It is my seat and will always remain so."

Asked whether his wife Manyata will now be the SP candidate from Lucknow, he said that it will be decided by the party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav and general secretary Amar Singh.

"It is not my decision. Mulayamji and Amarji have been with me and it is my duty to be with them throughout my life," he said.

50-year-old Dutt had sought suspension of his conviction under the Arms Act in connection with the Mumbai blasts case so that he could contest for the first time in the general elections. He had been sentenced to six years imprisonment.

Source From: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/im-here-to-stay-says-sanjay-dutt-after-sc-verdict/441255/


Jaswant Singh caught on tape bribing voters

New Delhi: After Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav and actor-turned-politician Govinda, former external affairs minister and BJP leader Jaswant Singh is being accused of offering money to voters in exchange for their votes.

Jaswant was caught on camera distributing money at a rally in Barmer in Rajasthan to promote his son Manvendra Singh who is contesting on a BJP ticket from there.

In the footage, Jaswant is seeing handing out cash - reportedly Rs 10,000 rupees - to a woman who was attending the rally.

The Election Commission has sought a report from Barmer district magistrate on the incident. But Jaswant Singh isn’t the first political leader accused of distributing money to voters during elections.

Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh distributed money to party workers in Etawah on Holi. He is now facing a probe by the Election Commission. In his defence, Mulayam said it was his party’s custom.

Another Samajwadi Party candidate, actress Jayaprada also distributed money to pilgrims visiting a shrine in her constituency Rampur

In January 2009, DMK leader M K Stalin was caught on camera bribing voters in the Thirumangalam bypoll campaign.

Source From:http://ibnlive.in.com/news/jaswant-singh-caught-on-tape-bribing-voters/89154-37.html

Cash withdrawal from any ATM free from Apr 1


Tuesday, March 31, 2009 (New Delhi): Tomorrow onwards you need not shell out any extra money to use ATM of any bank, thanks to a directive by the Reserve Bank.

Providing the much-needed relief to the common man, banks have been asked by the regulator not to charge any fee for cash withdrawals using ATM and debit cards issued by other banks from April 1 onwards.

However, banks can still charge extra for services such as cash withdrawal with the use of credit cards and at ATMs located outside India.

Under these circumstances also, some banks plan to expand their ATM network.
Oriental Bank of Commerce is planning to increase its ATM base and will open 60 new ATMs across the country to facilitate smooth cash withdrawal.

"We are planning to open 60 more ATMs to facilitate cash withdrawal," OBC Executive Director S C Sinha said.

When asked about the strategy the largest private sector lender ICICI will adopt to comply with the regulation, a bank's spokesperson said, "We will abide by the RBI directions".

Last year on March 10, the RBI had come out with guidelines limiting the fee charged by banks for using their ATMs by clients of other lenders to Rs 20. It had also allowed the use of ATM, for purposes like balance enquiry, free of any charge.

This was to ensure greater transparency and facilitating usage of any ATM installed within the country by customers without shelling out more, the central bank had said.
At present, banks charge Rs 20 per transaction when a customer uses the cash machine of any bank other than the one in which he/she has an account with.

Various banks have already entered into bilateral and multi-lateral arrangements with other banks to have inter-bank ATM networks.

Source From: http://profit.ndtv.com/2009/03/31145215/Cash-withdrawal-from-any-ATM-f.html


Gambhir's rise to prominence

WELLINGTON: Five years ago, Gautam Gambhir was a nondescript 24-year-old, nervous and jittery on the eve of his Test debut against Ricky Ponting's Australia at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai in November 2004.




Now, he has emerged as one among the most respected and productive batsmen in international cricket, someone whom bowlers hate to see at the square.

For, the feisty left-hander either daintily walks down the aisle to disdainfully swat them over the top, or brings them on their haunches with his dour defence, as he did at the Mclean Park over six sessions, making a stodgy 137 in 642 minutes.

If New Zealand's fast bowlers would be sore before the final Test at Wellington on Friday, it could be attributed to Gambhir's resilience and sage-like temperament. (AFP Photo)

Source From: http://cricket.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/quickiearticleshow/4338812.cms

News in Detail

LAHORE: Terror struck Lahore for the second time in a month on Monday when heavily armed gunmen stormed a police academy near here killing at
Pak attack


Pak army claim victory over Lahore attackers
Pakistan paramilitary troops at the police training school on the outskirts of Lahore(AP Photo)

Atleast 27 policemen in an eight-hour siege that ended with four terrorists being shot dead and six captured alive by security forces. ( Watch )

"We hope to finish the operation within 40 minutes to an hour," paramilitary Major Farhat Ali told Reuters at the site, after commandos took back control of the complex.

Television news channels showed jubilant police shouting praise to God and firing in the air, soon after an intense burst of firing inside the academy.

Interior Ministry chief Rehman Malik earlier said 52 police were wounded in the attack but gave no word on the number killed.

Salman Taseer, governor of Punjab province, said authorities had reports of four people confirmed killed, although television news channels put the number of dead at 20, including cadets.

"It was like doomsday; it was every man to himself. Every boy was trying to race to safety," one young cadet with bandaged hands told reporters at a hospital.

The latest brazen attack will heighten fears about mounting insecurity in nuclear-armed Pakistan. The assault came less than a month after gunmen attacked Sri Lanka's cricket team in Lahore, killing six police guards and a bus driver. Those gunmen escaped.

One wounded policeman described how the attackers struck while police recruits were going through their regular morning drill on the parade ground in the eastern city.

"A grenade hit the platoon next to ours ... then there was continuous firing for about 20 minutes," the policeman told reporters gathered round his hospital bed.

"A man in light-coloured clothes -- I think they were white -- stood in front of us, firing at us. They wanted to do as much damage as possible."

Army and paramilitary troops laid siege to the training centre for hours, firing from rooftops of nearby buildings, while gunmen returned fire and threw grenades to keep police back.

Punjab police chief Khawaja Khalid Farooq said one of the suspected attackers had been caught. Footage showed police kicking a bearded man on the ground before leading him through a throng of journalists.

Reports said the suspect was caught with a grenade in his possession and had an Afghan passport, though a cadet who fled the carnage said he heard the attackers speaking a dialect common to southern Punjab. Lahore is the capital of Punjab province.

Governor Taseer said up to 10 gunmen carried out the assault, although one wounded policeman told Geo News channel there were up to 20 gunmen in the building.

The academy is on the road to the nearby border with India. Islamist militants have launched a campaign of violence to destabilise the Muslim nation of 170 million people, and the one-year-old civilian government's ability to meet the challenge.

U.S. President Barack Obama made support for President Asif Ali Zardari's government a centrepiece of a review of policy towards Afghanistan and Pakistan that was announced on Friday, and which made annihilation of al Qaeda the United States' principle objective.

Despite the attack in Lahore, Pakistani stocks and the rupee firmed as investors registered relief that a recent political crisis had subsided.

Television channels said several hundred trainees were at the centre when the attackers struck. Taseer said some wore masks.

One witness told Reuters the gunmen attacked in groups of three or four from all sides, and lobbed grenades before opening sweeping fire on cadets assembled on the parade ground.

Another wounded policeman recounted how he escaped when the gunmen burst into a room and began firing indiscriminately.

"I jumped from the second floor," he said. "There were dead bodies all over the place."

One television station showed pictures of about a dozen police lying on the parade ground. Some appeared to be lifeless while others were crawling to cover.

An army helicopter circled overhead, and police and soldiers were seen carrying wounded to ambulances.

A police armoured personnel carrier (APC) earlier tried to enter the compound and an exchange of fire, including what appeared to be a grenade explosion, broke out, a Reuters photographer at the scene said. The APC then withdrew.

Militant violence has surged in Pakistan since mid-2007, with attacks on security forces and government and Western targets.

While there have been attacks in all Pakistan's big cities, most violence has been in the northwest, near the Afghan border.

Source From: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Lahore-siege-ends-31-dead-Pakistani-forces/articleshow/4335033.cms

Varun Gandhi gets bail, but remains in jail

Pilibhit (UP): A court here granted bail to embattled BJP leader Varun Gandhi in two separate cases relating his alleged hate speeches but he will remain in jail because of his detention under the National Security Act.



Chief Judicial Magistrate Vipin Kumar granted the bail to the 29-year-old leader asking him to furnish two personal bonds of Rs 20,000 each after 45 minutes of arguments by the prosecution and the defence lawyers.

The magistrate gave the bail to Varun in two separate cases--one relating to allegedly causing breach of peace through inflammatory speeches at Barkhera and the other on the charge of violating prohibitory order.

Arguing for Varun's bail, his lawyer Siddharth Luthra alleged there was no evidence against his client and the video tapes purportedly showing his client making the speeches were fabricated.

He said the CDs have been sent to the forensic test and the report was awaited and there was no point in keeping Varun in detention.

Luthra said the prosecution based their case on local intelligence reports and statements of shopkeepers-witnesses none of whom was named in the case diary.

Luthra also contended that there was a delay in filing the case diary on March 26 although the incident had taken place on March 18.

The prosecution, on the other hand, referred to the CDs and the witnesses seeking to buttress the argument that Varun's speeches had vitiated the atmosphere.

Source From:http://www.indianexpress.com/news/varun-gandhi-gets-bail-but-remains-in-jail/440863/

Giant Internet worm set to change tactics on April 1


Monday, March 30, 2009 (New York): The fast-moving Conficker computer worm, a scourge of the Internet that has infected at least 3 million PCs, is set to spring to life in a new way on Wednesday — April Fools' Day.

That's when many of the poisoned machines will get more aggressive about "phoning home" to the worm's creators over the Internet. When that happens, the bad guys behind the worm will be able to trigger the program to send spam, spread more infections, clog networks with traffic, or try and bring down Web sites.

Technically, this could cause havoc, from massive network outages to the creation of a cyberweapon of mass destruction that attacks government computers. But researchers who have been tracking Conficker say the date will probably come and go quietly.
More likely, these researchers say, the programming change that goes into effect April 1 is partly symbolic — an April Fools' Day tweaking of Conficker's pursuers, who for now have been able to prevent the worm from doing significant damage.
"I don't think there will be a cataclysmic network event," said Richard Wang, manager of the U.S. research division of security firm Sophos PLC. "It doesn't make sense for the guys behind Conficker to cause a major network problem, because if they're breaking parts of the Internet they can't make any money."

Previous Internet threats were designed to cause haphazard destruction. In 2003 a worm known as Slammer saturated the Internet's data pipelines with so much traffic it crippled corporate and government systems, including ATM networks and 911 centers.
Far more often now, Internet threats are designed to ring up profits. Control of infected PCs is valuable on the black market, since the machines can be rented out, from one group of bad guys to another, and act as a kind of illicit supercomputer, sending spam, scanning Web sites for security holes, or participating in network attacks.

The army of Conficker-infected machines, known as a "botnet," could be one of the greatest cybercrime tools ever assembled. Conficker's authors just need to figure out a way to reliably communicate with it.

Infected PCs need commands to come alive. They get those commands by connecting to Web sites controlled by the bad guys. Even legitimate sites can be co-opted for this purpose, if hackers break in and use the sites' servers to send out malicious commands.

So far, Conficker-infected machines have been trying to connect each day to 250 Internet domains — the spots on the Internet where Web sites are parked. The bad guys need to get just one of those sites under their control to send their commands to the botnet. (The name Conficker comes from rearranging letters in the name of one of the original sites the worm was connecting to.)

Conficker has been a victim of its success, however, because its rapid spread across the Internet drew the notice of computer security companies. They have been able to work with domain name registrars, which administer Web site addresses, to block the botnet from dialing in.

Now those efforts will get much harder. On April 1, many Conficker-infected machines will generate a list of 50,000 new domains a day that they could try. Of that group, the botnet will randomly select 500 for the machines to actually query.
The bad guys still need to get only one of those up and running to connect to their botnet. And the bigger list of possibilities increases the odds they'll slip something by the security community.

Researchers already know which domains the infected machines will check, but pre-emptively registering them all, or persuading the registrars to neutralize all of them, is a bigger hurdle.

"We expect something will happen, but we don't quite know what it will look like," said Jose Nazario, manager of security research for Arbor Networks, a member of the "Conficker Cabal," an alliance trying to hunt down the worm's authors.

"With every move that they make, there's the potential to identify who they are, where they're located and what we can do about them," he added. "The real challenge right now is doing all that work around the world. That's not a technical challenge, but it is a logistical challenge."

Conficker's authors also have updated the worm so infected machines have new ways to talk to each other. They can share malicious commands rather than having to contact a hacked Web site for instructions.

That variation is important because it shows that even as security researchers have neutralized much of what the botnet might do, the worm's authors "didn't lose control of their botnet," said Michael La Pilla, manager of the malicious code operations team at VeriSign Inc.'s iDefense division.

The Conficker outbreak illustrates the importance of keeping current with Internet security updates. Conficker moves from PC to PC by exploiting a vulnerability in Windows that Microsoft Corp. fixed in October. But many people haven't applied the patch or are running pirated copies of Windows that don't get the updates.

Unlike other Internet threats that trick people into downloading a malicious program, Conficker is so good at spreading because it finds vulnerable PCs on its own and doesn't need human involvement to infect a machine.

Once inside, it does nasty things. The worm tries to crack administrators' passwords, disables security software, blocks access to antivirus vendors' Web sites to prevent updating, and opens the machines to further infections by Conficker's authors.Someone whose machine is infected might have to reinstall the operating system.

Source From: http://profit.ndtv.com/2009/03/30170609/Giant-Internet-worm-set-to-cha.html

RIL shuts down oil production at KG basin

Monday, March 30, 2009 (New Delhi):Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) has once again shut down crude oil production at its predominantly gas-rich KG-D6 block to hook up more wells that will raise the output to a peak of 40,000 barrels per day.

Reliance shut down production at the MA field on the midnight of March 22 for 45 days to connect more oils that will raise the output, a source said.

The MA field was producing about 18,000 barrels per day of oil from three wells when it was shut down. Two-three more wells would be hooked up in the planned shutdown period.

"Output is expected to rise to 40,000 bpd before the end of the April-June quarter," the source said.The Reliance spokesperson did not return calls for comments.

The MA field in KG-D6 off the Andhra coast, which began pumping out oil in September 2008, had produced 7,90,000 barrels of oil till December 9 last year, when output ceased due to equipment failure. It had resumed production earlier this month after the three-month shutdown.

RIL, the source said, sold a second cargo from the MA field to Chennai Petroleum Corp Ltd (CPCL). A 4,50,000-barrel cargo was delivered to CPCL's refinery near Chennai last week.

The billionaire Mukesh Ambani-run firm had sold the first cargo of over 4,30,000 barrels of oil to Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd's Vizag refinery in November.

Source From: http://profit.ndtv.com/2009/03/30133759/RIL-shuts-down-oil-production.html

Gambhir, VVS guide India to draw in 2nd Test

Monday, March 30, 2009 (New Delhi): With some timely performances by Gautam Gambhir (137), Rahul Dravid (62), Sachin Tendulkar (64) and VVS Laxman (124*), India scored 476/4 in the 2nd innings to draw 2nd Test against the Kiwis. Both the captains agreed to call off the day, as they saw no possible result coming out. India's savior came in the form of Gambhir who batted for almost 11 hours to save the Test match for his side.



Jesse Ryder was declared Man of the Match for his outstanding double century in New Zealand's first innings. New Zealand scored 619/9 and declared their first innings whereas, India managed to pile up only 305 and the batting line-up crumbled. They were forced to follow on and batted till last day to manage 476/4, which proved to be sufficient to draw the Napier Test.

With an overnight total of 252/2, Gambhir and Tendulkar resumed batting in the morning as they looked determined to play solid knocks to take India out of danger. The tourists then trailed by 62 runs.

Kiwi pacer Chris Martin initiated the proceedings for his side. An early breakthrough for the hosts came in the form of Tendulkar (64) in as early as the fifth over of the day, when he was caught by McCullum off Martin. VVS Laxman came in next to partner focused Gambhir.

As expected, Laxman played a fine innings and supported Gambhir well. Like always, he had the composure and calmness of an experienced Test batsman and it reflected in his batting. Both the batsmen took India's score to 306/3 at lunch and were only 8 runs behind Kiwi total.

The classy batsman stitched 53 runs off 136 balls while on the other end, Gambhir enjoyed a second life when he had earlier survived a dismissal when O'Brien dropped a dolly from him.

The Gambhir party ended when he was caught plumb by Jeeten Patel on 137 runs. He played 436 balls and stayed at the crease for 642 minutes to deprive New Zealand the Test win. India then stood at 356/4 and had taken a lead by 20 runs.

Yuvraj Singh walked in then to form a pair with Laxman almost at the stroke of tea and visitors' scoreboard then showed 397/4, leading by 83 runs.

And then it was Hyderabad player, who by his charismatic performance raised 14th Test century of his career in the need of the hour.

Yuvraj kept the momentum and answered his critics by 6th Test fifty of his career that came in soon after Laxman's refined hundred. The stylish left-hander came back in form with a half-century on just 51 deliveries, looking as good as an ODI knock. The Laxman-Yuvraj partnership of 100 runs came in just 86 balls.

And as the play seemed to get stagnant and no possible result could be seen, both the skippers - Sehwag and Vettori, decided to call off the day when India was on 476/4.

Source From: http://cricket.ndtv.com/cricket/ndtvcricket/storypage/ndtv/id/SPOEN20090089132/story.html

News In Detail

Varun Gandhi charged with attempt to murder, rioting


PILIBHIT: BJP Lok Sabha candidate Varun Gandhi has been charged with attempt to murder, rioting and other offences in an FIR filed in connection
with violence that erupted in Pilibhit even as police on Sunday maintained a close vigil to maintain law and order
in this district.

29-year-old Varun, along with Uttar Pradesh BJP chief Kalraj Mishra, local MLA Sukhlal and former party MLA BK Gupta, have been named in another FIR registered for violation of prohibitory orders under section 144 CrPC on Saturday when the BJP candidate courted arrest in a case related to his alleged anti-Muslim speeches, Kotwali police sources said.

Varun, who is in judicial custody, has been booked under sections 147, 148 and 149 (rioting and related charges), 307 (attempt to murder), 332 (voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from his duty), 336 (doing any act that endangers human life or the personal safety of others) and certain sections of IPC and public safety and certain state acts for the violence around the district jail here, they said.

The FIR relating to rioting and other charges has been filed by Pilibhit district jailor Mukesh Arora against Varun and his supporters after BJP activists fought a pitched battle with the police and laid a siege of the jail premises.

Meanwhile, Pilibhit district magistrate Ashok Chauhan discounted the allegation of BJP MP and Varun's mother Maneka Gandhi that a Muslim officer had injured several of supporters and said he was not deployed there.

Chauhan said, "I strictly don't agree with the comments of Maneka Gandhi. The person she is naming was not at all deployed at that place.

"We checked the records and we were careful about his deployment. He was at another place and the allegation is totally false," he said.

On the situation in Pilibhit, he said, "it is under control. People may be spreading rumours but as of now the situation in the city and rural areas is totally under control".

In Lucknow, additional director general of police Brij Lal, said, "A close vigil is being maintained in Pilibhit with deployment of adequate number of personnel from Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) and police".

Asked about the cases registered against Gandhi, who courted on Saturday, he just said, "A case under section 188 of IPC has been registered against all those who violated the prohibitory orders under section 144 CrPC".

During the violence yesterday, BJP workers, who were demanding Varun's release, had indulged in heavy brick batting and laid a siege of the district jail.

Source From: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Varun-Gandhi-charged-with-attempt-to-murder/articleshow/4330224.cms


Free cash withdrawals from all ATMs from April 1


Come April 1 and you need not have to sweat it out looking for an ATM of your own bank as you can use ATMs of your choice without shelling out any extra money.

Thanks to an RBI directive, much to the relief of common man, banks have been prevented from charging any fee for cash withdrawals using ATM and debit cards issued by other banks from April 1 onwards.

However, banks can still charge extra for services like cash withdrawal with the use of credit cards and at ATMs located outside India.

Last year on March 10, the RBI had come out with guidelines limiting the fee charged by banks for using their ATMs by clients of other lenders to Rs 20. It had also allowed the use of ATM for purposes like balance enquiry free of any charge.

This was to ensure greater transparency and to facilitate usage of any ATM installed within the country by customers without shelling out more, the central bank had said.

At present, banks charge Rs 20 per transaction when a customer uses the cash machine of any bank other than the one in which he/she has an account with.

At the end of December 2007, there were 32,342 ATMs in the country and various banks have entered into bilateral and multi-lateral arrangements with other banks to have inter-bank ATM networks.

Source From: http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20090089078&ch=3292009124700PM

India 252/2 at stumps, trail by 62 runs


NAPIER: With solid batting performances by Gambhir (102*), Dravid (62) and Tendulkar (58*), India fought back with a score of 252/2 in their 2nd innings on Day 4 of the 2nd Test against the Kiwis at Napier. The tourists trail by 62 runs. Gambhir and Tendulkar will open the fifth and last day for their side.

In the morning, with their overnight 2nd innings total of 47/1, Gautam Gambhir and Rahul Dravid resumed batting. They looked anxious to save the Test match and to some extent they were successful in their efforts of not losing wickets early. Both the players stuck to the crease and played almost all shots in the books to partner each other well.



Gambhir looked rock solid right from the beginning and with Dravid at the other end, it could only get better. Gambhir soon completed his fifty runs on 127 balls and India was seen crossing the 100-run mark in the 43rd over. With this performance, Gambhir also became the third fastest Indian player to reach 2000 runs after Sehwag and Dravid. The pair gave a slow but cautious start to the day's play, it worked and India went into lunch break with 119/1.

The left and right hand combination came up with 100-run partnership in the 55th over. Dravid kept the momentum and stitched a well-deserving 55th Test half-century of his career. He along with Gambhir got firmly settled in the middle to keep the scoreboard ticking.

The partnership seemed hard to be broken but just few minutes before the tea break, Kiwi skipper Daniel Vettori came to the rescue for his side and got the breakthrough in the form of Dravid's wicket, who faced 220 balls since morning to score invaluable 62 runs. It was a commendable performance and much-needed stand for India. Sachin Tendulkar came in to replace 'The Wall', who didn't seem to be happy with the umpire's decision. The game was halted for tea break with India on 180/2, trailing by 134 runs then.

Tendulkar looked unperturbed by the fact that Gambhir and Dravid played a slow but sensible game. He was in his natural form, played some nice shots to support the Delhi dasher at the other end. Tendulkar, who missed a fifty in 1st innings by 1 run, made no mistake to raise his 55th Test half-century of his career in the 2nd innings to reduce New Zealand's hopes of cleaning up the Indian batting order on Day 4.

While, Gambhir showed some great resilience by facing 265 balls to raise his 5th Test century of his career. The Indians, who threw away their wickets in 1st innings, looked conscious today and batted superbly to hang in there. Gambhir and Sachin left the scoreboard at 252 at the loss of 2 wickets.

On Day 3, with the first innings wrapped up on 305, India scored 47 runs in their 2nd innings at the loss of one wicket - Sehwag (22). After getting all out on 305, follow on was imposed on India and they were asked to bat again.

Rabri, children richer than Lalu; have assets worth Rs 1.2cr


CHAPRA (Bihar): Railway minister and RJD supremo Lalu Prasad has no immovable assets but his wife and former chief minister Rabri Devi and their
nine children are worth over Rs 1.2 crore in terms of landed property.

Rabri Devi also surpasses her husband in terms of bank balance with her deposits in banks, financial institutions and non-banking financial companies
at a little over Rs 24 lakh against Lalu's 12.11 lakh, according to the affidavit filed by Lalu along with his nomination paper for Saran Lok Sabha seat.

The children of Bihar's most powerful political couple possess 39.58 lakh in bank deposits
.

The affidavit says Rabri Devi has agricultural land worth over Rs 34.5 lakh and her children Rs 57.7 lakh, while she owns non-agricultural land worth Rs 28.5 lakh.

Rabri Devi, who along with Lalu was an accused in a disproportionate assets case -- an off-shoot of the multi-crore rupees fodder scam -- but was acquitted, possesses 60 cows and 36 calves worth Rs 10 lakh.

Lalu has a 1990 model Maruti 800 worth a Rs 15,000 and a military disposal jeep purchased in 1977, when he became a Lok Sabha member for the first time, valued at Rs 10,000.

The RJD boss has jewellery and precious stones worth about Rs 95,000 and his wife approximately Rs 5.5 lakh.

The duo's National Saving Certificates with the combined face value of Rs two lakh have not been renewed as those have been seized by the CBI, investigating the fodder scam cases.

Likewise, Neelam Singh, wife of BJP spokesman and former union minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy of BJP, who is crossing swords with Lalu in Saran, is richer than her husband.

While Neelam is worth Rs 49.71 lakh in terms of bank deposits and assets, including jewellery and vehicles, Rudy has property and cash valued at Rs 40.58 lakh.

Source From:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Rabri-children-richer-than-Lalu-by-Rs-12cr/articleshow/4330154.cms



Crowe blasts Sehwag's captaincy in second Test


05:20 IST, Sunday, March 29, 2009 (Napier): Criticising stand-in skipper Virender Sehwag for his poor leadership, former New Zealand captain Martin Crowe said India's performance in the on-going second Test in Napier is a far cry from their attempt at becoming the world's number one team.

Crowe claimed regular captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni - he is out with a back injury - was being sorely missed and pin pointed Sehwag's leadership as one of the prime reasons for India's desperate situation against the Kiwis in the second Test, which the visitors are trailing by 267 runs after following on.

"The Indian team effort was pretty sloppy. There was a resigned feel about what the Indian side were obviously thinking in terms of looking to draw this match and to retain that 1-0 advantage," said Crowe.

"But these are troubled signs for India. They have almost taken their eyes off the ball. The Virender Sehwag shot was very irresponsible. Gautam Gambhir was lucky to survive a run-out, and the stroke that he played to get out. All this does not become of an experienced side that wants to be No. 1 in the world. Their fielding again was just slack. Nothing much changed and MS Dhoni was badly missed," Crowe wrote in his column for a cricket website.

He blasted Sehwag for his tactics and termed the Delhi dasher's decisions as "unfocused thinking".

"Sending out a nightwatchman was always unnecessary and shows further muddled and unfocused thinking," Crowe said. "I have never seen captaincy so bad as I saw with Virender Sehwag," he added.

The 46-year-old right-hander said Dhoni altogether has a different approach towards the game and pointed out that even senior players like Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid stood as silent spectators on Friday when the New Zealand batsmen were on a run rout.

"Clearly the loss of Mahendra Singh Dhoni has been a massive turnaround for them because their attitude has disappeared completely. For a side that wants to be the No. 1 team in the world, I was quite surprised at their whole approach, particularly after lunch on the opening day," he said.

"Obviously Dhoni has got the Midas touch, he has got that ability to motivate the team. But what surprises me is the fact even with Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar on the park they are not able to rally the troops," Crowe said.

He also criticised India's decision to arrive late in Napier for the second Test and said it left the visitors with very little time to settle down with the conditions.

"India should look back at the decision to arrive late in Napier. It's hard to tell if that is what is showing up on the field as well. But this late arrival has gone against the norm," said Crowe.

"I don t know if its arrogance or not, it's probably ill-planned. No one can predict that Dhoni was going to be injured, but they just seemed to as a group just gone off the boil which has allowed New Zealand to lift their confidence and belief that maybe they can pull off an upset and take the remaining wickets necessary to win the Test," he said.

News in Detail

Return of outsourced jobs not good for US: Obama

Washington, March 27: In the midst of its worst recession in decades, President Barack Obama says it would be better to create new jobs that can't be outsourced instead of bringing back such low paying jobs from other countries.

"Not all of these jobs are going to come back," he told a questioner during an "Online Townhall" from the White House who asked when would jobs outsourced to other countries come back and be made available to the unemployed workers in the US.

"And it probably wouldn't be good for our economy for a bunch of these jobs to come back because, frankly, there's no way that people could be getting paid a living wage on some of these jobs - at least in order to be competitive in an international setting."

The online meeting - a new take on President Franklin Roosevelt's fireside chats - was streamed on the Internet from WhiteHouse.gov.

Obama said a lot of the outsourcing has to do with the fact that "our economy - if it's dependent on low-wage, low-skill labour, it's very hard to hang on to those jobs because there's always a country out there that pays lower wages than the US.

"And so we've got to go after the high-skill, high-wage jobs of the future," he said. "That's why it's so important to train our folks more effectively and that's why it's so important for us to find new industries - building solar panels or wind turbines or the new biofuel -that involve these higher-value, higher-skill, higher-paying jobs.

"So what we've got to do is create new jobs that can't be outsourced," Obama said.

The president also asked Americans "to be patient and persistent about job creation because I don't think that we've lost all the jobs we're going to lose in this recession."

"I don't want people to think that in one or two months suddenly we're going to see net job increases," he said striking a note of caution. "It's going to take some time for the steps that we've taken to filter in."

Other questions - some of which came from the live audience - focused primarily on health care, job loss, mortgage payments and energy. IANS

Source From:http://www.zeenews.com/business/world/2009-03-28/518412news.html


Google dumps 200 jobs in company's largest layoffs

Google is jettisoning nearly 200 workers in its largest round of layoffs yet, demonstrating that even highly profitable companies are feeling the recession's pinch.

The job cuts announced Thursday affected less than 1 percent of the 20,200 workers employed by the Internet's search leader.

That's modest compared with the massive shake-ups in the newspaper, retailing, automobile and financial services industries during the past year.
Google's housecleaning nevertheless is a sobering sign of the hard times around the globe.

Coming off a year in which earned $4.2 billion on revenue of $22 billion, Google still is trimming its expenses in attempt to protect its profit margins and prevent its slumping stock price from falling even further.

Google's fortunes are tied to ad spending that's dwindling as both marketers and consumers squirrel away more cash. Although Google's revenue has continued to rise during 15-month-old recession, some analysts say they believe the Mountain View-based company may finally be suffering its first quarter-to-quarter decline since it went public in 2004.

It's a guessing game because Google steadfastly refuses to offer financial guidance. But Google's recent actions have left little doubt that management is bracing for a possible downturn.

Once renowned for its free-spending ways, Google already has curtailed some employee perquisites, dumped outside contractors and closed services that aren't paying off. Pulling the plug on a radio advertising division in February eliminated as many as 40 jobs.

Management also has clamped down on hiring after adding more than 17,000 workers in Google's first 4½ years as public company. That decision prompted Google to dump 100 employee recruiters in January.

The latest layoffs are concentrated in the division that sells Google's advertising.
In a blog posting, Google said it had hired too many employees doing the same jobs during its rapid expansion.

"Making changes of this kind is never easy — and we recognize that the recession makes the timing even more difficult for the Googlers concerned," wrote Omid Kordestani, the company's senior vice president of global sales and business development.

Google shares gained $9.22, or 2.7 percent, Thursday to close at $353.29.

Source From: http://profit.ndtv.com/2009/03/27083703/Google-dumps-200-jobs-in-compa.html

Determined to survive, suicide survivors take exams

It's a story that left Delhi shaken and desperate to help five young girls and their parents who attempted suicide last week.

The father had been unemployed for four years and the family was finding it impossible to make ends meet.

Now the girls and their mother have left hospital. The father is no longer in a critical condition and after strangers have come forward to help, the young girls are picking up the pieces by returning to school, determined to prove they're survivors in every sense of the word.

"My paper was good. I revised well and I think I will stand second," said Sakshi Jain, the seven-year-old survivor.

Sakshi's older sister Priyanka is a topper in the same school. She was in the middle of her final exams when the family attempted its suicide. She is looking forward now to a new year in school.

"I will study very hard in the summer vacation and perform well in Class X," Priyanka Jain promised to herself and to her family.

Politicians like LK Advani and Sheila Dikshit have promised financial assistance. That still hasn't come through but after teachers, friends, family and many strangers have come forward with either money or advice, Sakshi's mother says it's time for a new start.

"I will start the tailoring job once I recover fully. I will not look back anymore. I will look ahead and plan our lives for our children," said Sharda Jain, the mother.

Source From: http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20090088846&ch=3272009121700AM


Varun Gandhi to visit Pilibhit today, may court arrest

Bharatiya Janata Party's new saffron soldier Varun Gandhi may court arrest at his constituency Pilibhit on Friday.

Sources have told NDTV that Varun is likely to withdraw his anticipatory bail, which also expires on Friday, and the UP police will have no legal bar in arresting him.

Varun Gandhi apparently took the decision to withdraw the bail application after the Allahabad High Court on Wednesday rejected his petition, seeking quashing of the two FIRs registered against him for the speeches in Pilibhit on March 7 and 8.

Varun's lawyers are likely to withdraw their petition from the Delhi High Court.

Though legally he could have challenged the Allahabad and Delhi High Court order but Varun has decided to take the political route on this issue which has raised a debate across the country on 'hate speech'.

It's a political decision which may benefit the new icon of Hindutva during the polls. With this step Varun is looking to derive more political mileage.

The BJP said Varun has not told them of his plans to go to Pilibhit but they say their advice to Varun would be to act within the law.

Source From: http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20090088893&ch=327200994200AM

In Cricket:India lose openers early

Chasing a mammoth NZ total of 619, India lost its openers - Sehwag (34) and Gambhir (16) in less than 20 overs on Day 2 of the 2nd Test at Napier.

Daniel Vettori got the breakthrough for his side when he sent back Virender Sehwag (34) in as early as ninth over.

Earlier, riding on three splendid performances by Taylor (151), Ryder (201) and McCullum (115), New Zealand piled up 619/9 and declared the innings.

With an overnight total of 351/4, Jesse Ryder and James Franklin resumed batting on Day 2.

Ryder looked confident to set up a huge total against the visitors and Franklin supported him well at the other end. Guarding his wicket since Day 1, the sticky batsman reached 150 in the 97th over of the match.

Franklin kept the momentum going at the other end to hit his 2nd Test fifty of his career and the hosts crossed 400-run mark. On the other hand, Ryder was 30 runs short of his first double century. Both the batsmen shared a partnership of 100 runs on 210 balls.

Soon after competing his half-century, Franklin (52) gifted his wickets to India when he fell short of his crease and Harbhajan caught him napping between the wickets. Brendon McCullum replaced him.

Ryder held the fort and Kiwis went into lunch break with 448 at the loss of five wickets. New Zealand saw 97 runs being added at the cost of one wicket in the first session.

After the halt, Ryder's (201) resilience proved a hard nut to crack by the Indians and he was focussed enough to raise his first double hundred. He did it in style by hitting the ball for a boundary. But the celebrations didn't last long and the mighty batsman gave away his wicket to Zaheer when he was clean bowled by the spearhead pacer. Skipper Daniel Vettori entered next.

McCullum then took the charge and fired all cylinders to bring up a swift 60-ball fifty. He also made NZ cross 500-run mark. He added on to the visitors' woes by converting his fifty into three-digit figure. This was his 3rd Test hundred that came at the stroke of tea and New Zealand total was pumped up to 592/6.

Daniel Vettori, playing on 37, got another life when was dropped by Ishant Sharma at mid-off but by the end of New Zealand innings, India pacer scalped him after he completed his half-century. His second wicket came in the form of Brendon McCullum (115) off Tendulkar.

Tailenders Jeetan Patel and Ian O'Brien were at the crease when the hosts had already crossed 600-run mark. Ace spinner Harbhajan Singh removed the prior on one run and New Zealand declared on 619/9.

On Day 1, two brilliant centuries by Taylor (151) and Ryder (137*) pushed New Zealand's score to 351 at the loss of four wickets.

A surprise change in Indian line-up was seen with Virender Sehwag replacing MS Dhoni as the leader. Dhoni sat out due to his back pain. Dinesh Karthik came in as the wicket-keeper.

In contrast to India's three-seamer, one-spinner combination, New Zealand have packed their attack with two spinners and three seamers for the contest at the McLean Park.

Source From: http://cricket.ndtv.com/cricket/ndtvcricket/storypage/ndtv/id/SPOEN20090088891/story.html

News In Detail

South Africa to host IPL 2: Modi

NEW DELHI: South Africa was on Tuesday named as the host for the second edition of the Indian Premier League which has been shifted out of India
because of security apprehensions.

IPL commissioner Lalit Modi and Cricket South Africa CEO Gerald Majola announced the news formally in a press conference in Johannesburg. The decision to hold the lucrative Twenty20 tournament was taken after a meeting between Modi and Majola at an undisclosed venue.

The tournament will be held between April 18 and May 24, a delay of about one week from the original schedule of April 10, 2009.

Six venues have been identified for staging the eight-team tournament and the matches will start at 4 pm IST and 8 pm IST to make it convenient for Indian television viewers back home.

South Africa pipped England as the venue after the BCCI decided to shift the tournament outside India because of security issues in view of the general elections.

England was initially tipped to be the front-runner but the wet weather there during April and May swayed the IPL officials to consider South Africa as the preferred venue.

Another reason for England's chances receding is the assurance from South Africa government and CSA officials that the tournament will receive full support.

South Africa was considered to be a better option because the cost of running the tournament would be substantially less than in England and their domestic event would have concluded by the time IPL began, sources said.

Source from:http://ipl.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/4310555.cms


Satyam defers joining dates of 9K freshers

Citing global economic slowdown as one of the reasons, Satyam Computer has deferred the joining dates of 9,000 freshers to whom the company had issued offer letters.
"The joining dates of around 9,000 students of the 2007-2008 batch, who were given the offer letters during December 2007 to June 2008, have been deferred," a company spokesperson told PTI.

Satyam HR head S V Krishnan said in an email to all the freshers has said this decision was made after careful and extensive deliberations and only after all other practical options were exhausted.

"The scenario (slowdown), combined with the continuing volatility in the business environment, necessitates that we optimise available resources internally and critically reexamine additional requirements (for new-hires) on an ongoing, quarterly basis."

"While unfortunate, it has also been unavoidable. Added to this was an unprecedented set of events in the organisation, over the past few weeks, which has been most unfortunate," Krishnan said in the mail.

"The IT services industry in India and around the world has been observing the impact of the unfolding global economic crisis. The rate of growth, while mostly in line with the guidance provided for this year, is half of what it used to be in the past few years (around 20 per cent growth this year against 40 per cent or so in the past of few years)," he said.

A Satyam official said the move is clear the air of uncertainty among the freshers and the situation the company is in. A new owner of the company is in the offing. "So, the decision is based on both the current compulsions that the company has coupled with the global economic slowdown," he added.

Source From: http://profit.ndtv.com/2009/03/24184741/Satyam-defers-joining-dates-of.html

Infosys offers employees option to work with NGO for 1 yr


Left without as much work for all its employees, Infosys is offering some of them an option to work with a non-profit organisation for a year and get paid half their salary by the IT major, its co-founder Nandan Nilekani has said.

"We've also launched a program where an employee can go work with a non-profit organisation for a year and we'll pay him half the salary for the duration," Nilekani told US publication Forbes in an interview published online.

Asked if Infosys was still hiring in the gloomy economic scenario, Nilekani who is also Infosys' Co-Chairman said, "Very selectively."

"In our industry, campus recruitment happens very early. Students who will be graduating and joining us this summer, we offered them jobs
last March. So we have 18,000 offers out and we will be honouring those.
"We won't have as much work for all our employees right now, so we're encouraging them to contribute to projects on open source and do more innovative work," he said.
Responding to a query on whether there are new opportunities for Infosys in the current crisis, Nilekani said that the firm is doing more business-driven projects, such as "redesigning the supply chain of a company".

"We're also entering new sectors like pharmaceuticals, natural resources and media, and new geographies like emerging markets," he noted.

Pointing out that 88 per cent of Infosys' revenues come from the US and Europe, Nilekani said that the economic crisis has impacted everyone.

"You can see it reflected in our guidance for this year. We expect an 11 to 12 per cent increase in revenues, and while it's still in double digits, it's a lot lesser than what we've had in the past few years," he added.

source From: http://profit.ndtv.com/2009/03/24191435/Infosys-offers-employees-optio.html

It's an advisory, take it or leave it: EC on Varun

Bangalore: With BJP deciding to field Varun Gandhi from Pilibhit Lok Sabha seat ignoring the Election Commission's advice, Chief Election Commissioner N Gopalaswami on Tuesday said it has done its duty and it was for the saffron party to 'take it or leave it.'

"It is an advisory. It is for those to take it or leave it. We have done our duty. Our duty ends there", Gopalaswami told reporters in Bangalore winding up his day-long exercise to review preparations for the first phase of Lok Sabha elections to be held in Karnataka on April 23.

He said the Commission has not given any directive but only an ‘advisory’.

Asked whether the EC had powers to issue such directives, Gopalaswami shot back "it is not an order, it is an advisory. Is there any ban on giving advice to people?"

Defending the Commission's action in asking BJP to withdraw Varun's candidature, Gopalaswami said "we have seen the tape, and are satisfied. Hence, we passed the order (advisory)."

The EC had on Sunday, while condemning Varun Gandhi's allegedly inflammatory speech with communal overtones, asked BJP not to field him from Pilibhit. The BJP rejected the EC's advice, maintaining the EC had no jurisdiction to make any suggestions on party candidates.

The Commission has been trying to educate the people about candidates with criminal records since 10 years, Gopalaswami said.

"You (press) have also been writing about it but what happens. Sometimes they get tickets, and win too. If we had powers, it is obvious, we would have gone beyond it", he said when asked whether the EC should be further empowered.

Gopalaswami declined to comment on Samajawdi Party chief Mulayamm Singh Yadav reportedly threatening Mainpuri District Magistrate.

"I don't want to offer my reaction without knowing the facts. The issue reached Delhi today and our people are dealing with it", he said.

Source From: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/its-an-advisory-take-it-or-leave-it-ec-on-varun/438472/

Nano, the Rs 1-lakh car, hits the road

MUMBAI: Tata Motors has commercially launched its people's car, Nano, promising to stick to the Rs 1,00,000 price tag for the base model.Nano hits the road.


"From today onwards, the product will be available in the showrooms... There will be three versions - the base version, which is the one we promised to the people of India and two upper tier versions...," Tata Group Chairman Ratan Tata told a news conference.

The higher-end versions will have air-conditioning, power brakes and power windows, among others.

"We hope this day we will usher in a new form of transport," Tata said, adding that the endeavour was never to build the cheapest car but to provide an affordable form of transportation. He, however, hastened to add that "we made a promise and that we've kept the promise."

The booking of the Nano will begin on April 9 and remain open till April 25.

The delivery of the first lot of Nano cars will begin in early July, he said, adding that applications for booking of the car will be available in 30,000 locations in 1,000 cities across India.

State Bank of India will be the qualified banker for collection of bookings in 850 cities, he said.

The car can be booked by just paying Rs 2,999 upfront while the rest can be secured by way of loan, he said.

There will be 15 preferred financiers for the booking whose names will be disclosed in three days.

As the Nano made its commercial debut, automotive industry experts opined that the Rs 1-lakh wonder from the Tata stable can give an additional 14 million Indian families access to an affordable car, thus creating a niche segment.

"It definitely is a major milestone in the mobility paradigm for India and perhaps the world," Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) director general Dilip Chenoy said, adding it has the potential to create a new segment of customers in the existing market.

According to market research firm Crisil, Nano's price reduces the cost of ownership of an entry-level car by 30 per cent and to below three times the cost of owning a motorcycle.

"This will make the car affordable to an additional 14 million families, including a section of 58 million two- wheeler owners," Crisil said.

Source From: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/specialcoverage/articleshow/4305642.cms

EC action hasty, harsh and politically motivated:
Varun

NEW DELHI: A defiant Varun Gandhi on Monday hit back at the Election Commission for asking BJP not to nominate him for the Lok Sabha polls, and
accused the panel of taking "hasty" and "harsh" action "pressurised by political considerations".

The BJP candidate from Pilibhit said the EC action was in "utter disregard of the principles of natural justice" as it had passed the censure "without any attempt to ascertain the truth".

Making it clear that he would not withdraw from the polls, 29-year-old Varun said, "I believe my real court of appeal lies with the people."

Varun, who is contesting Lok Sabha elections for the first time, also said, "The EC's eagerness to exercise its 'recommendatory jurisdiction' begins and ends with my case alone. This itself, coupled with the haste with which the EC has acted, leaves one to believe that the action has been pressurised by political considerations."

With his party standing by him, Varun said by making "adverse remarks and recommendations to the BJP and all other parties, the EC has acted beyond its jurisdiction and has surpassed its powers including under Article 324 of the Constitution".

"It is astonishing that such harsh censure should be used without any attempt to ascertain the truth," said Varun, who has come under attack for his alleged anti-Muslim speeches recorded on tapes, which he claimed have been doctored.

A day after EC recommended to BJP that he should not be fielded because of his hate campaign, Varun said the EC had given him no chance to clarify.

Varun said he had asked for the material forming the basis of the EC notice to enable him to respond appropriately to the same. "But sadly in utter disregard of the principles of natural justice, the EC has in haste and unusually censorious language passed an opinion," he wrote to the EC.

The BJP candidate also said the EC had taken the action without providing him personal hearing, the report against him or any materials on which that report is based.

He claimed that the EC did not show him or even sought out for itself the original recording, if at all it exists.

The EC gave the recommendation without "examining the authenticity or source of the tape that was sent to it which on a cursory glance shows that there has been splicing, repetition and interpolation during the so-called editing process as evident from the media logo seen in the footage. The short jumpy sequences also establish that the tape has been edited," Varun said.

Varun also alleged that the EC's action came without it "independently applying its mind and conducting a thorough examination of the material".

The BJP candidate said, "I cannot help but express my deep disappointment over the unseemly haste in which the EC has passed an opinion without giving me even a fair opportunity to appear in person or through counsel to establish my innocence."

Adopting an aggressive approach, he said, "I must point out that there are several candidates in the fray even today who have been convicted of or are being tried for crimes which carry a far larger sentence than the one of which I am accused."

He said the newspaper reports over the last few days have indicated that "people against whom cases are pending in the context of the 1984 riots have also been given tickets by a major political party."

Source From: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/EC-action-hasty-harsh-and-politically-motivated-Varun/articleshow/4306081.cms

L&T, Spice Corp, Tech Mahindra shortlisted for Satyam bidding

Satyam Computer on Monday shortlisted B K Modi's Spice, L&T and Tech Mahindra, among others, to move to the second stage of the bidding process, when these companies will be given financial data to decide on their auction prices.
Sources said the Satyam board has shorlisted six bidders comprising L&T, Tech Mahindra, Spice, and private equity players. Spice chief B K Modi and a spokpesperson of Tech Mahindra declined to comment, saying they are bound by the non-disclosure agreement. The L&T spokesperson too declined to comment.
Satyam shares were down 3.76 per cent at Rs 42.25, pulling down its valuation since Friday to Rs 2,876 crore.
As per the bidding process schedule, short-listed bidders will be given access to business, financial and legal diligence materials provided they execute a non-disclosure and non-solicitation agreement, a stand-still pact and a "no-claims" undertaking.
There is no reserve price for the auction, leaving the bid prices wide open.
A senior Spice Corp official told PTI the company received an e-mail from the Board of Satyam informing it (Spice) of its shortlisting, and financial and legal data would be available from tomorrow.

Source From: http://profit.ndtv.com/2009/03/23114646/LampT-Spice-Corp-Tech-Mahi.html

Satyam Computers bags dairy firm deal

New Delhi: Satyam Computer Services has bagged a contract from a country-based dairy processor Vijay Dairy and Farm Products to automate and integrate their key business processes, the company said on Monday.

Under the contract, Satyam would implement SAP business solution for the dairy firm and automate and integrate their key business processes across the country to speed up workflows and lower the cost of operations, it said in a statement.

However, IT solution provider has not revealed the financial details of the contract.

For the Hyderabad-based firm, which is currently in the midst of various probes due to a huge corporate fraud, the order came as a huge breather. The company has lost many key clients since January when its founder admitted to having cooked the company books for years together.

“We understand the business challenges faced by Vijay Dairy and Farm Products and will deliver a solution to transform their entire procurement-to-sales process,” Satyam's SAP and Managed Testing Practice Global Head Manish Mehta said.

Vijay Dairy and Farm Product Managing Director J Madhan Mohan said, “Managing our supply - especially procurement and pricing -- is a complex process that will now be simplified.”

Source From: http://ibnlive.in.com/news/satyam-computers-bags-dairy-firm-deal/88427-7.html

England an attractive venue for IPL2: Modi

England's chances of becoming the Indian Premier League host have brightened after IPL chairman Lalit Modi said the presence of a large Asian community makes it an attractive venue for the Twenty20 event, which was shifted out of India owing to security concerns.

"England is a very attractive venue. It is easy to access from India and there is a large Asian community to tap into.

The IPL, is a big competition. We would bring around 100 million dollar of revenue to the British economy and anybody in a recession would want to have us," Modi, who is due to arrive here on Monday for discussions with the England and Wales Cricket Board, told 'The Daily Telegraph'.

A spokeswoman of the ECB said that a statement would be issued as and when a decision was taken. Modi said the prospect of England hosting the IPL is "very real".

Cricket South Africa has already submitted a written proposal to Modi and he is awaiting a similar offer from the ECB, the report said.

Keith Bradshaw, chief executive of the MCC, yesterday spoke to Modi to offer Lord's as a venue.

The ECB's executive board held a teleconference on the matter on Friday and security issues, the broadcast contract with Sky TV and the hangover from the Stanford debacle were major concerns.

The IPL is due to begin on April 10, the day after the English first-class season starts, and will run until May 24, less than two weeks before the start of the World Twenty 20. It is due to feature five England players including Kevin Pietersen, who has been named as captain of the Bangalore Royal Challengers.

The ECB would need to squeeze in 59 matches and some counties will not want to see their own tournaments getting disrupted for the IPL.

ECB chairman Giles Clarke said yesterday the board "stands ready to help".

"We have opened discussions with the BCCI and I think there is a strong desire to come to England," ECB chief executive David Collier said.

"We have opened discussions with Sky and clearly that is one of the things on the agenda. We realise this is an unusual set of circumstances and we expect to have a meeting with the BCCI in the coming week and a decision has to be made soon," he added.

Source From: http://cricket.ndtv.com/cricket/ndtvcricket/storypage/ndtv/id/SPOEN20090088538/story.html

News In Detail

'People's Car' Nano to be launched tomorrow

NEW DELHI: History will be created in Mumbai on Monday when Tata Motors launches the world's least expensive car, Nano -- a car that can redefine personal transportation in modern India.

Described as "People's Car" by Tata Group Chairman Ratan Tata, Nano's commercial launch will mark a milestone in a journey, which was replete with controversies, hurdles and criticism from competitors.

As far as customers are concerned, they can expect to own a car coming at a price between Rs 1.20 lakh and Rs 1.30 lakh, depending on the version of Nano, although bookings will start only in April second week.

According to dealer sources, if the company keeps the ex-factory price at Rs 1 lakh, as promised by Tata, then the base model could easily have an on-road price of Rs 1.20 lakh after adding taxes such as excise duty, education cess and road tax, along with transportation cost, local taxes, insurance and registration fees and a lifetime parking fees (wherever applicable).

Last month, Tata Motors had appointed public sector lender State Bank of India as the sole booking agent for the world's least expensive car from the stable of Tatas. The booking amount is reportedly fixed at Rs 70,000.

Ever since the idea of making a car costing only Rs 1 lakh for Indian passengers was conceived way back in 2003 by Ratan Tata, his dream had to face challenges -- both technical and political.

At a time when input costs were soaring, keeping cost of production of a comfortable mini car powered by a 623cc engine giving a competitive mileage, was a challenge big enough.

While Tatas were able to overcome it, the group was unable to beat political challenge from Trinamool Congress and had to shift manufacturing base from the original location at Singur in West Bengal to Sanand in Gujarat.

It delayed not only the original plans for the commercial launch of Nano by about five months, but also affected its availability.

Till the time the Sanand facility is ready by 2010, Nano will be produced from Tata Motors' factories at Pantnagar in Uttarakhand and Pune in Maharashtra in limited numbers.

After the launch in Mumbai, Nano would be displayed at the company's dealerships from the first week of April, while the bookings would start from the following week. The booking process and other details of the Rs one lakh car would be announced on the day of launch.

While critics had been sceptical about the car meeting safety and emission norms, Tata had said during the unveiling of Nano on January 10, 2008, in Auto Expo in Delhi that the car would meet Bharat Stage-III emission norms and could also meet the stringent Euro 4 norms. The car has also gone through a full frontal crash test as per standard norms, he said.

Besides, the European version of the car was unveiled in the first week of this month at the Geneva Motor Show. The company plans to roll out the car by 2011, complying with Euro V emission norms and some added features.

The Nano is eight per cent shorter than Maruti 800, the cheapest car on offer currently in India, on bumper to bumper length, but is 21 per cent more spacious, Tata had claimed in Auto Expo. The 623cc Nano comes with a 33 HP petrol engine, but a diesel variant would also be launched soon.

The Nano would come in three variants -- standard and two deluxe models with air conditioning.

Source From:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Tata-Motors-to-launch-Nano-in-Mumbai-tomorrow/articleshow/4300303.cms

H-1B visa restrictions to end in two years

The US government's controversial restriction on companies from hiring skilled foreign workers with non-immigrant H-1B visas will continue for only two years, the immigration department has said.

As part of a stimulus package passed last month for revival of the economy, US President Barack Obama signed a new law, named "Employ American Workers Act", which makes it difficult for the companies having received government bailout funds to hire H-1B foreign workers.

However, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), in a circular issued with its invitation of H1-B applications for the next fiscal, has now made it clear that the EAWA requirements are not permanent and would "sunset two years from the date of enactment."

EAWA, which prevents a company from displacing US workers when hiring H-1B specialty occupation workers if the company received stimulus funds, took effect on February 17, 2009 and it applies to any "hire" taking place before February 17, 2011.

The Act defines "hire" as an employer permitting a new employee to commence a period of employment; that is, the introduction of a new employee to the employer's US workforce.

USCIS has said that it would begin accepting H-1B visa applications from April 1 for the next fiscal 1 and would subject the applications to various terms and conditions related to EAWA.

Source From :http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20090088417&ch=322200930900PM

IPL's semis and final in India not possible: Modi


MUMBAI: IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi has ruled out the possibility of hosting at least the semifinals and final of Twenty 20 league in India.


"We explored all possibilities of moving the semifinals and final to India. But it would have been too exhausting for the players. Players have to go back to England for the World Twenty20 Cup (beginning on June 5)," Modi said.

The second edition of the IPL would be held abroad, most probably in England from April 10 to May 24, following the decision to this effect taken by the Cricket Board on Sunday.

Modi said that the Twenty 20 event would be a loss making venture for the Board as it had made all arrangements, including logistics
, centrally.

"Cost is not an issue. We will cover it all. We are not concerned whether we make a profit or loss. We need the continuity," he said.

He also said it was upto the franchises on the number of players they wanted to take to the host country in the second edition.

"The franchisee owners have option to take any number of players. They can try to limit the number of players that are going to take up," he said.

Modi made it clear that the event cannot be held in more than one country because of logistical reasons.

"In a tournament of this magnitude the 49 matches cannot be held in more than one country. Logistics come into account. It is a mammoth task and it is going to only one country," Modi said.

source From :http://ipl.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/4300827.cms

Jade Goody dies in peace

Seven years after becoming Britain's best known reality TV star who lived out her most intimate moments in front of the camera, Jade Goody died quietly in her sleep at home early Sunday, her publicist Max Clifford said. She was 27.

Goody, who was ill with cervical cancer, died at her home in Upshire, a village in southest England, at 3.14 a.m. GMT with her mother Jackiey Budden, husband Jack Tweed and family friend Kevin Adams by her side.

Goody's mother said: "My beautiful daughter is at peace."
Clifford said it was "ironic" that Goody had died on Mother's Day. The television star had struck media deals worth nearly a million pounds to secure the future of her two young sons - Bobby, five and Freddie, four.

"I think she's going to be remembered as a young girl who has, and who will, save an awful lot of lives," he said in a reference to the fact that cervical cancer testing has increased in Britain following her public battle with the disease.
"She was a very, very brave girl. And she faced her death in the way she faced her whole life - full on, with a lot of courage."

It was also ironic that Goody, who had spent most of her celebrity life in front of the camera, died quietly - away from the glare of lights and camera.

Goody, a working class woman from south London who worked as a dental
nurse, shot to fame in 2002 when she appeared on the reality TV show "Big Brother" and made an immediate impression with her feistiness.

But she became controversial in the celebrity version of the same show in 2007, when Channel 4 network expelled her after thousands of viewers complained she had racially bullied Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty, who was on the same show.
Goody, who had called the Bollywood star "Shilpa Poppadum" angered fans in India, who burnt Goody's effigies during a visit by then Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown.

But before the incident could turn into a diplomatic row, Goody apologised, made up with Shetty, undertook a tour of India and bounced back into the public eye.

It was in India, while Goody was making an appearance on the Indian version of Big Brother, that British doctors told her she was suffering from cervical cancer.

She flew back home for treatment but the cancer spread to her liver, bowels and groin. Goody then allowed a television channel to film her being treated in hospital in a reality show called Jade. In tandem, British tabloids reported her every move and statement on a daily basis.

She married her long-time boyfriend Jack Tweed last month and was christened with her sons this month. Jade told IANS exclusively last month that she felt "honoured by India's love" and relayed "a big thank you" to the thousands who had sent her letters, emails and cards.

Source From: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Entertainment/Jade-Goody-dies-in-peace/articleshow/4300244.cms

News in Detail

Microsoft reiterates interest in Yahoo

Microsoft Corp. Chief Executive Steve Ballmer is still signaling an interest in a deal to buy part of Yahoo Inc.

Ballmer said at a technology and media summit Thursday in New York that a deal would help improve Microsoft's Web search business by expanding the base of users. More people using the search engine means more advertisers. And, Ballmer says, a larger pool of advertisers will allow for more tailored ads next to search queries.

Ballmer said he has had only one conversation with Carol Bartz since she became Yahoo's chief executive in January. Ballmer said he congratulated her and said he'd like to chat at some point about a possible deal.

Bartz's predecessor as Yahoo CEO, Jerry Yang, rebuffed a $47.5 billion takeover offer from Microsoft last year.

Yahoo shares rose 38 cents, 2.8 percent, to $13.80 in morning trading. Microsoft shares were up one cent at $16.97.

Source From: http://profit.ndtv.com/2009/03/19200200/Microsoft-reiterates-interest.html


AIG CEO asks staff to return bonuses

Under intense pressure from the Obama administration and Congress, the head of bailed-out insurance giant AIG declared on Wednesday that some of the firm's executives have begun returning all or part of bonuses totaling $165 million. Edward Liddy offered no details, and lawmakers were in no mood to wait.

He was still fielding their questions when House Democratic leaders announced plans for a vote Thursday on legislation to tax away 90 per cent of the extra pay for executives at AIG and many other bailed-out firms.

Liddy, brought in last year to oversee a company that has received $182 billion in federal bailout money, said he, too, was angry about the bonuses. But he did not respond directly when advised in pungent terms to pay to the Treasury all the money handed out last weekend in "retention payments."

"Eat it now. Take it out of your profits down the road. It's a lot sweeter now than it's gonna be later," said Rep. Gary Ackerman, D-N.Y.

Liddy slid into the witness chair at a congressional hearing as President Barack Obama sought anew to quell a furor that has bedeviled his administration since word of the bonuses surfaced over the weekend.

Obama, who took office just under two months ago, told reporters his administration was not responsible for a lack of federal supervision of AIG that preceded the company's demise, nor for the decision made last year to pay what he called "outrageous bonuses."

Still, he said, "The buck stops with me." He said that "my goal is to make sure that we never put ourselves in this kind of position again," and he disclosed the administration was consulting with Congress on the possibility of creating a new agency to govern the meltdown of large financial institutions such as AIG.

He also gave a strong vote of confidence to Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, who has been the target of growing Republican criticism.

Later, at a town hall meeting in Costa Mesa, Calif., Obama said that while his administration was addressing the AIG bonuses specifically, he said he wanted to "make sure we dont find ourselves in this situation again, where taxpayers are on the hook for losses in bad times and all the wealth generated in good times goes to those at the very top."

Obama spoke as congressional Democrats worked on legislation designed to recoup most or all of the $165 million by exposing it to new taxes.

Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., chairman of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee, said the new 90 per cent tax would apply to bonus money paid to employees earning more than $250,000 at firms that have received more than $5 billion in federal bailout funds. Mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are covered under the proposal.

Liddy said that on Tuesday, he had "asked those who have received retention payments in excess of $100,000 or more to return at least half of those payments." Some have "already stepped forward and returned 100 per cent," he added.

Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said the House bill would be voted on under rules requiring a two-thirds majority for passage. Democrats are in comfortable control of the House but do not control two-thirds of the seats, meaning the outcome of the vote would probably be determined by tax-averse Republicans.

Republicans raised pointed questions about the extent of Geithner's advance knowledge of the bonuses, and stressed they had been locked out of discussions earlier this year when Democrats decided to jettison a provision from legislation that could have revoked the payments.

"The fact is that the bill the president signed, which protected the AIG bonuses and others, was written behind closed doors by Democratic leaders of the House and Senate. There was no transparency," said Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, the senior Republican on the Senate Finance Committee.

On Wednesday, Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, acknowledged that his staff agreed to dilute an executive compensation provision that would have applied retroactively to recipients of federal aid. Dodd told CNN the request came from officials at the Treasury Department whom he did not identify.

While the House and Senate reconciled their stimulus bills last month, the Treasury Department expressed concern with a Senate restriction on bonuses, noting that if it applied to existing compensation contracts it could face a legal challenge.

"The alternative was losing, in my view, the entire section on executive excessive compensation," Dodd told CNN. "Given a choice — this is not an uncommon occurrence here — I agreed to a modification in the legislation, reluctantly."

The legislation does include a provision that allows the Treasury Department to examine past compensation payments to determine whether they were "contrary to the public interest." Geithner on Tuesday said he was using that provision to review AIG's bonuses.

Liddy's presence in a congressional hearing room was evidence of a bipartisan opposition to the bonuses, although his status as a $1-a-year CEO called out of retirement last year to try and untangle AIG's financial mess made him a less-than-easy target for expressions of outrage.

"No one knows better than I that AIG has been the recipient of generous amounts of government financial aid," he said. "We have been the beneficiary of the American people's forbearance and patience," he added, acknowledging the patience was wearing thin.

Asked by Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., whether he would turn over the names of individuals who received the bonuses, as well as the amounts, Liddy said he would do so only if assured the information not be made public.

When Frank said he might seek a subpoena, Liddy said he was concerned about the safety of the employees and their families, and read aloud from a death threat received by one of them.

Frank said he would be guided in part by security considerations, but Ackerman later noted that Andrew Cuomo, the New York attorney general, was already seeking the names with a subpoena.

Liddy said he had not yet complied, sidestepped several times when asked whether he would, and finally said "it would be our intent" to do so.

Cuomo swiftly issued a statement saying Liddy's pledge was "simply too little, too late. ... Rather than take half-measures, AIG should immediately turn over the list, which we have subpoenaed, of who got what and when."

Separately, a New York state judge ordered Bank of America Corp. to disclose information about bonuses given to employees at Merrill Lynch & Co. just before the bank bought the brokerage company. Cuomo, who has been sparring with the bank over release of the information, said the decision "will now lift the shroud of secrecy surrounding the $3.6 billion in premature bonuses Merrill Lynch rushed out in early December."

"AIG should take heed and immediately turn over the list of bonus recipients we have subpoenaed," he said. "The deadline for responding to our subpoena is tomorrow. "

AIG spokesman Mark Herr said he could not say how many executives had turned back the money. "Bear in mind, these bonuses were only just paid," he said.

In Wilton, Conn., headquarters of AIG Financial Products Corp., police chief Edward Kulhawik said his department had not received any reports from the company of threats to employees but was in contact with the company and keeping "a special eye on that whole office complex."

Liddy said the Federal Reserve knew long in advance of the bonus payments and acquiesced in them, noting that officials from the independent agency attend key company meetings. But he said the same was not true of Geithner, adding, "We do our work with the Federal Reserve."

Liddy gave skeptical committee members what amounted to a tutorial in the practice of paying retention bonuses — he did not call them that — to executives.

He said the money was offered to executives in AIG's financial products section, where risky investments finally became the entire company's undoing. He said each executive was offered money to dispose of his "business book," meaning the transactions he had been in charge of handling, and thus far, the company's financial derivatives had been reduced from $2.7 trillion to $1.6 trillion.

He had decided it was worth paying the money to retain the services of executives who knew the business best, he said. And he had received legal advice that there were valid contracts requiring the payments.

"I know 165 million is a very large number. It's a very large number. In the context of 1.6 trillion ... we thought it was a good trade," he said.

Liddy added there was still a risk of financial catastrophe if the remaining $1.6 trillion in financial instruments were not disposed of properly.

But Rep. Stephen Lynch, D-Mass., angrily told the witness the contract read like "the captain and the crew of the ship reserving the lifeboats."

Liddy replied that he was not at the firm when the contracts were negotiated, and said, as he has before, that he would not have approved them.

Lynch said the terms had been put in place in December, after Liddy arrived at AIG.

But Liddy disputed that. "I take offense, Sir," he said.

"Well you take it rightly. Offense was intended," shot back Lynch.

Source From:http://profit.ndtv.com/2009/03/19083605/AIG-CEO-asks-staff-to-return-b.html

Tendulkar steers India towards lead

The match didn't take off the way it was expected to, with dangerman Virender Sehwag run out early in the day. With the help of half-centuries from Gautam Gambhir and Rahul Dravid and an unbeaten 70 from Sachin Tendulkar, India made 278 runs for the loss of 4 wickets when bad light called for an early close of the second's day play in Hamilton.

India were just a run away from equalling New Zealand's first innings total of 279 when on-field umpires Ian Gould and Simon Taufel offered light to the batting side and they readily accepted it.

Tendulkar (70*) and Yuvraj Singh (8*) have added unbeaten 40 runs for the fifth wicket and they will resume batting nine minutes early on Friday.

Earlier, Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir opened the day with their overnight score of 29 runs. Sehwag, who's been in ominous form, had looked solid and murderous when he had started India's chase on Wednesday along with Gambhir.

But he ran out of his luck on Thursday as he was caught short of his crease by James Franklin for 24 runs. However it was not his fault as he had responded to his partner's call. Gambhir ran across and returned for the second run when Franklin's direct throw hit the stumps on the non-striker's end. His early fall not only made the run chase slow, but also deprived his fans of some fireworks.

Gambhir, who was playing Sehwag's second fiddle, tried to make up for his goof-up. After his opening partner's fall, he was joined by Rahul Dravid. The duo added 105 runs for the second wicket before the left-hander fell to Chris Martin for 72 runs. Martin foxed Gambhir with the reverse swing. The ball came in and then drifted away. Gambhir who wanted to play it on the off-side, nicked it and wicketkeeper Brendon McCullum took him safely.

Dravid fell 35 runs later when New Zealand pacer Iain O'Brien put an end to his resistance. A good length delivery held its line and sneaked through Dravid's bat and pad to knock down his off-stump. Dravid made 66 runs. It was his 54th Test fifty and third against New Zealand.

His fall saw VVS Laxman join Tendulkar in the middle who added 61 runs for the fourth wicket with the master batsman. Laxman fell prey to Chris Martin for 30 runs. The new ball was taken in the last session. Martin pitched it outside the off-stump and Laxman carelessly reached out to edge it to Ross Taylor at first slip. Soon after Laxman's dismissal, Tendulkar completed 52nd fifty, his sixth against the hosts.

Source From:http://cricket.ndtv.com/cricket/ndtvcricket/storypage/ndtv/id/spoen20090088072/story19032009_192000.html



Goody's death: A media circus?

She was Shilpa Shetty's fiesty opponent on the reality show, Celebrity Big Brother. And now, she's fighting for her life.

Jade Goody, who is in the final stages of her battle against cervical cancer is sinking rapidly. She is too ill to even meet Shilpa who flew all the way to the UK to meet her.

For someone who lived her life on reality TV, this is a tragic ending. And now, her dying moments are being turned into a virtual reality show as well.

"I have lived my whole adult life talking about my life. The only difference is, I am talking about my death now," Goody told the documentary crew following her final days. "I've lived in front of the cameras, and maybe I'll die in front of them," she added.

The 27-year-old mother of two, was told of her cervical cancer live on Indian TV when she was part of the show Big Boss. She flew back to England and after months of cancer treatment was told it had spread.

"Yes, my intention was to go meet her. The end is really near but I do hope there is a miracle," says Shilpa Shetty.

Her final days, she said were used to make sure she left behind enough money for her two young boys, by selling the only asset she had - her grim reality.

"It is the camera that picked her up and made her a famous person. In our day celebrity status is being seen not doing something and this is the first person who is dying for the camera," says Farrukh Dhondy, Writer and Former Commissioning Editor, Channel 4.

A documentary team is filming her battle with cancer, though her publicists insist she will not die live on TV.

Max Clifford, Jade Goody's Publicist says, "The only people by her side at her home in Essex are her Mum and her husband Jack Tweed, although a priest has visited earlier in the day."

This slow, painful, dying has the world fascinated and revulsed. Her life is discussed daily in the British tabloids. International papers follow her every move and blogs are dedicated to just Jade Goody. But perhaps, the only positive thing about this media blitz is that cervical cancer screening in Britain has gone up by 21 per cent.

"British newspapers are carrying stories of how she has said her final goodbyes to her family, telling her two young sons aged 5 and 4 that she would be leaving them, turning into a star in heaven.

Till the end however, reporters from across the world are camping outside her house near London waiting for live updates - ironically, on the death of a young woman.

Source From:http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20090088028&ch=318200965700PM

Special News in Detail

Police file FIR against Varun Gandhi

NEW DELHI: UP police on Tuesday registered a FIR against BJP's Varun Gandhi in Pilibhit under section 153A for allegedly making inflammatory
remarks with communal overtones.

Earlier, the Election Commission on Tuesday filed a criminal case under non-bailable law against BJP candidate in the Lok Sabha Varun Gandhi for allegedly making inflammatory remarks with communal overtones and served notice to the party seeking its explanation. ( Watch )

The three-member commission directed the Uttar Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer to file a case under Indian Penal Code and Representation of the People Act against Gandhi, PTI reported.

The EC ordered issue of notice to BJP and Gandhi for alleged violation of Model Code of Conduct. The EC also ordered transfer of district officials and suspended two others for alleged dereliction of duty.

Earlier in the day, Varun Gandhi claimed that the CD containing his speech has been tampered with. "I know it has been (tampered with)", he told TV channels while replying to a question.

"All I want to say is that tomorrow I will be addressing a press conference in Delhi and I will be clarifying my stand on every single issue....I will be addressing from a proper party forum," the young scion of the estranged Gandhi family said.

At a recent election meeting in Pilibhit from where he is being fielded, Varun had said "this is not a 'Hand' (Congress symbol), it is the power of the 'Lotus' (BJP symbol). It will cut the head of ....... Jai Shri Ram."

Continuing in the same vein, the grandson of Indira Gandhi and son of the late Sanjay Gandhi and Maneka told another meeting "If anyone raises a finger towards Hindus or if someone thinks that Hindus are weak and leaderless, if someone thinks that these leaders lick our boots for votes, if anyone raises a finger towards Hindus, then I swear on Gita that I will cut that hand.”

On a complaint from the Congress party, Varun was slapped with a notice by the Election Commission charging him with violation of the model code of conduct for elections for allegedly making communal remarks during a rally held on March 6 in Pilibhit.

Varun has also come under attack from within the party and its allies. Terming the comments as "shocking", BJP leader Shahnawaz Hussain demanded an unconditional apology from him while the party asked all its poll nominees to "practice caution" in their speech.

We have advised all our candidates to practise caution and restrain in their speeches," party spokesperson Siddarth Nath Singh said.

Asked if his party would initiate any action against its candidate from Pilibhit for his alleged inflammatory speech, Singh said "that is to be seen but we do not subscribe to such views and this is sure."

Varun had faced criticism from BJP vice president Mukthar Abbas Naqvi yesterday who said his remarks were a manifestation of his Congress past.

BJP's ally and JD (U) leader Shivanand Tiwari said that the Election Commission should take cognisance of Gandhi's speech and that there should be a "legitimate" inquiry.

In his reply submitted to the District Magistrate M P Agarwal, the BJP candidate had denied the charge.

source From :http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Police-file-FIR-against-Varun-Gandhi/articleshow/4275065.cms


Telstra ends 32m-Aus dollar contract with Satyam: Report

MELBOURNE: Australian telecom giant Telstra has reportedly dropped outsourcing partner Satyam Computer Services from an applications support
contract worth 32 million Aus dollar annually.

The troubled Indian outsourcing firm's IT contracts with Telstra will be passed on to EDS, according to sources that were quoted by a 'The Australian' daily here today.

Telstra Chief Executive Sol Trujillo, who leaves the company on June 30, sat on the board of EDS before joining the telco in 2005, the report said.

According to the daily, Telstra refused to comment on the report of dumping Satyam and said the decision about its supply arrangements with individual vendors was not for media release.

'The Australian' further said that new Satyam Chief Executive A S Murty is understood to have flown to Australia last week in a last-ditch bid to retain the Telstra contract and the Indian IT company placed a compelling case to continue with Telstra.

The recent fraud at Satyam is believed to have led to the fallout, but a source close to the deal denied that the IT firm's scandal was responsible for Telstra's decision to tear up its contract, saying it was instead linked to the Indian outsourcer's performance.

The decision was taken by a Telstra advisory board, which was advised by a US tender management company, sources said.

Outsourcing contracts held by Satyam, EDS, IBM Global Services and Infosys could be trimmed as Telstra is in the process to reduce the list of major IT suppliers, from four to two, to reduce costs and streamline its providers.

The new contracts on offer, internally codenamed SSSP, require each of Telstra's suppliers to bid for application maintenance work on its legacy systems.

The total worth of the contracts is estimated to be up to 200 million Aus dollar annually over five years.

The decision follows moves by Telstra classifieds subsidiary Sensis dropping multinationals IBM and EDS from its software testing and application development panel.

"Late last year we announced a number of our major IT contracts across four major suppliers -- EDS, IBM GS, Infosys and Satyam -- were up for renewal," Telstra spokesperson Martin Barr said, adding, "...We are taking this opportunity to consolidate all legacy IT work and we are planning to divide the applications between two companies."

Losing the Telstra account is a major blow for the struggling Satyam, as Telstra represents about 35 per cent of its Australian revenue.

The accounting scandal at India's fourth largest IT firm also led to National Australia Bank re-evaluating its relationship with it. NAB has delayed plans to send several core technology functions to Satyam's Indian operations.

Source From: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Business/Telstra-ends-contract-with-Satyam/articleshow/4274729.cms

ICC ban venue after farcical Test abandonment

The International Cricket Council has banned the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua from hosting international matches for at least 12 months until extensive remedial work is carried out and it passes an inspection by the game's apex body.

The stadium was scheduled to host the second Test between England and the West Indies in February this year but the match was abandoned after just 10 balls due to an unfit outfield.

The matter was reported to the ICC which also warned the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) for not preparing the ground properly.

"Appropriate work must now be carried out and monitored by the WICB before the inspection can take place. Such inspection will be conducted no earlier than 12 months from yesterday, the day the ICC informed the WICB of its decision," the ICC said in a statement.

Speaking about the decision, ICC General Manager (Cricket) David Richardson said, "We have come to the decision that the outfield was, in fact, unfit for play and of an unacceptable standard for international cricket."

Richardson observed that the abandoned match in Antigua was an embarrassment to the game.

"The abandoned Test match was an embarrassment to the local authorities in Antigua, to West Indies cricket in general and to the international game as a whole. The image of the game and the integrity of our sport cannot afford to have such farcical scenes play out as they did on the first morning of the match. Steps must be taken to ensure that it never happens again," he said.

Source From: http://cricket.ndtv.com/cricket/ndtvcricket/storypage/ndtv/id/SPOEN20090087872/story.html