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Remembering St NEW DELHI, Oct 13: It is the prestigious St Stephens College that Avant Garde film maker Arun Kukreja is now focussing on in a unique tribute to his ...more Apang
secures support ITANAGAR, Oct 13: Arunachal Pradesh’s longest-serving Chief Minister Gegong Apang, a front runner for the ....more Need for a balanced NEW DELHI, Oct 13: Government today said that a balanced view has to be taken on intellectual.....more Despite
braille, blind take MUMBAI, Oct 13: Despite the Election Commission introducing a pilot project to enable the visually challenged to .....more |
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BJP gradually making ITANAGAR, Oct 13: The BJP is trying to consolidate its position in the north east by making its presence felt in .....more Disabled
creates NEW DELHI, Oct 13: It was a proud moment for Navin Gulia, an ex-gentleman cadet......more Centre
awaiting formal GUWAHATI, Oct 13: The Centre is still waiting for a formal communication from.....more Centre’s
attitude on NEW DELHI, Oct 13: The Supreme Court has expressed its shock and anguish over UPA Government’s attitude in not.......more |
Remembering St Stephen’s college NEW DELHI, Oct 13: It is the prestigious St Stephens College that Avant Garde film maker Arun Kukreja is now focussing on in a unique tribute to his Alma Mater. The film maker, noted for his off the beat works, has traversed down memory lane to encapsule the rich traditions of the institution, its spirit, its ambience and his own emotions associated with the college in a 103-minute production. The work is in fact a film version of his autobiographical poem penned on the college of his dreams: ‘The architecture of St Stephen’s Beckons, I belong here, in smphony with the architectonics of love and life and light’. Kukreja said the poem expresses his feelings when more than three decadesd ago he sought admission into the college. And when three decades later, his son Raghav Kukreja entered the college these emotion were rekindled and translated into the film on the college. The music of the film has been composed by Ustad Amjad Ali Khan. He said the film is dedicated to all stephanians and will be screened on the occasion of the founder’s day of the college later this year. Kuckreja says his film has tried to capture the cultural traditions and atmosphere of the college by references to motifs like Leonardo Da Vinci’s painting of the Last Supper, works of Shakespeare, Jawahar Lal Nehru’s autobiography and cricket matches played by college boys. Kukreja in a hat trick performance entered the Limca Book of Records for directing the country’s first one actor film ‘Sangeet Yaachana’, then for directing first one actor talkie ‘Ashta Naika’, starring Sharmila Tagore and for authoring first monologues on epics Ramayana and Bhagwat Gita. (UNI) |
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Apang secures support of 11 of 13 independents ITANAGAR, Oct 13: Arunachal Pradesh’s longest-serving Chief Minister Gegong Apang, a front runner for the Chief Minister’s post, got a shot in the arm ahead of the Congress Legislature Party meeting here with as many as 11 of the 13 independents pledging support to his leadership. The 11 legislators, who held parleys till late last night at a hotel in the city here, formed a new body, Arunachal Democratic Legislators Forum, and decided to extend support to the "Apang-led Congress Government for its full tenure of five years." The forum’s chairman, R K Khrimey, took the decision after having a threadbare discussion on the emerging political process leading to the formation of the Congress Government in the state, sources said. The forum has also informed Apang and CWC member Ramesh Chennithala about its decision, which they termed as an "effort to form a stable Government". The CLP is scheduled to meet here today to elect its new leader in the wake of Congress winning 34 seats in the 60-member Assembly in the just-concluded elections. The newly-formed forum will also call on AICC observers Oscar Fernandes and Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi who are airdashing to the state capital today to oversee the crucial CLP meeting. APCC president and former Chief Minister Mukut Mithi, regarded as a rival of Apang and a contender for the post of CLP leader, however, has said that the party does not need the support of the independents as it has already a majority of 34 members in the 60-member house. The Arunachal Pradesh youth Congress in a separate meeting held last night opposed the inclusion of the independents in the Government as the party did not need them. The Arunachal Congress general secretary, Domin Loya, said that two Arunachal Congress mlas have also pledged support to the leadership of Apang. (PTI) |
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Need for a balanced view on intellectual property rights: Govt NEW DELHI, Oct 13: Government today said that a balanced view has to be taken on intellectual property rights as phenomenal technological advancement is a double-edged weapon posing both opportunity and serious challenges. "The main issue remains how to balance the interest of creator in the society and that of the need of the society at large in an optimum way in this digital environment," HRD Minister Arjun Singh said inaugurating a three day symposium on "emerging issues of copyright protection in the digital environment". An ideal regime of intellectual property rights should therefore strike a balance between the private incentives for the innovators and the public interest at large by maximising access to the fruit of creation, he said. Ten years ago, India was groping in the dark as "we did not know where to begin and where to end" in bringing about a law on the issue. "Today I can say with a sense of satisfaction that India was able to bring into the statute book a law which was fairly modern and an effort to maintain equilibrium". Singh said that because of the trans-border nature of the technology, new norms have to be evolved to see that innovativeness and creativity was duly rewarded and all other stakeholders also got their due reward. Singh hoped the gathering of representatives from 35 countries from various sectors like software, music and book publishing could define the path to be pursued by the countries to maintain the equilibrium between the rights and technology. Speaking on the occasion, Education Secretary B S Baswan said that India has one of the most modern copyright laws in the world and the amendments made in the Indian Copyright Act from time to time had ensured that it was fully trips compliant. While the piracy had to be tackled on one hand, there was also need to strengthen the legislation to enable the enforcement agencies to effectively tackle the unscrupulous pirates, he said. Baswan said that India’s commitment to World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) and World Trade Organisation (WTO) would strengthen and not weaken the economy of the country. Yasutaka Moriguchi, Director General of Japan Copyright Office, Geoffrey Yu, deputy Director General of WIPO and Deepak Nayyar, vice Chancellor of Delhi University also spoke. (PTI) Despite braille, blind take help of companions to vote MUMBAI, Oct 13: Despite the Election Commission introducing a pilot project to enable the visually challenged to exercise their franchise in selected constituencies, a blind couple preferred to take help of a companion. Vasant Shroff, who has been voting for the past four decades, and his wife Grach, cast their votes with the help of their son Kunal at Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation(BMC) school near MiG club at Bandra in Mumbai north west today. The couple said they had not learned braille and, so, could not take advantage of the facility. "We knew which candidate to vote and with the help of our son, pressed the button on the Electronic Voting Machine(EVM)," the couple said emerging out of the polling booth. The EC had, for the first time, introduced dummy ballot papers in braille for the visually impaired to identify the candidates they want to vote and then press the button on the EVM. The facility has been introduced in all the 34 constituencies in Mumbai and four urban constituencies of Thane, Kalyan, Ulhasnagar and Belapur in Thane district. Gangster-turned-politician Arun Gawali, who is also the president of Akhil Bharatiya Sena (ABS), cast his vote in the Chinchpokli constituency from where he contesting the Assembly elections. During the last Lok Sabha polls, despite the Election Commission sending an aide to help him cast his vote, Mr Gawli had refused to come out of his heavily-guarded Dagdi Chawl residence to excercise his franchise. At Wada in neighbouring Thane district, a physically challenged person trudged up the stairs on crutches to the first floor of the Zilla Parishad Primary School to cast vote. In Vasai area, voters found that polling agents were not ready with the lists when polling began at 0730 hrs. "It is the duty of political parties to distribute chits with serial numbers, booth numbers and other details. I used to get it earlier. But I have not not received it this time" Sudhakar Rao, an executive with a call centre, said. At MiG club, Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray told reporters after exercising his franchise that the saffron combine would be able to form the next Government in Maharashtra without the help of independents and rebels. The Sena supremo was accompanied by his son and Sena working president Uddhav Thackeray, daughters-in-law Madhvi, Smita and Rashmi and grandchildren. Several film actors and celebrities turned up at polling booths to cast their vote, an exercise they echoed was central to democracy. "Voting is very essential," remarked actor-turned Union Minister Sunil Dutt after voting at Bandrahere. His star son Sanjay Dutt said he evaluates both the candidate and the party he or she belongs to before making a choice. For Anupam Kher, people who do not vote have no right to make commentaries from their homes. Actor-turned-MP Govinda wished the Congress candidate the best as he exercised his franchise. Ranjeet, known for his wicked roles in films, said one abstaining from voting should not blame politicians for the wrongs in society. Former Indian cricket Captain Dilip Vengsarkar, sporting black trousers and a white half-shirt, also exercised his franchise. Model-cum-actress Aditi Gowitrikar said one must vote for a change. "You cannot blame the politicians. Voting is your right, go to the polling booth and express yourself." Former super cop Julio Rebiero, who had held important posts like Mumbai Police Commissioner, Director General of Police in Punjab and Ambassador to Romania, also voted during polling. BJP candidate from Bandra and fashion designer Shaina NC, daughter of two-time Mumbai Sheriff Nana Chudasama, visited the famous Siddhivinayak temple at Prabhadevi here and then exercised her franchise. "I have a lot of expectations from the people of Maharashtra," she said. Businessman Anand Mahindra, who is the MD and vice-president of Mahindra Mahindra, said he voted on the basis of policies and promises of the candidate and the party. At a polling booth in Mumbadevi in south Mumbai, the presiding officer had to intervene as the name of a 70-year-old voter appeared differently on the identity card and the voter list. The voter said his original name — Rajaram Soni— in the records of Jaunpur district of Uttar Pradesh had been changed by his employer in Mumbai to Kallu Soni. Finally, the presiding officer was convinced as the identity card issued by the Jaunpur district administration and the Election Commission photo card matched. (UNI) |
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Centre’s attitude on nutrition to poor children shocks SC NEW DELHI, Oct 13: The Supreme Court has expressed its shock and anguish over UPA Government’s attitude in not responding to its directive for providing nutrition to poor children under the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS). Giving final opportunity to the Centre to respond within two weeks, a bench comprising Justice Y K Sabharwal ad Justice Tarun Chatterjee said the number of Anganwadi centres (AWC) providing nourishment to children in the age group of 0-6 years should have been 14 lakh but only six lakh such centres have been set up of which many were non-operational. The court on April 29 had directed the Centre to file an affidavit within three monts stating the time to be take by it to set up remaining eight lakh AWCs. It had als directed the Government to conider revising the norm of supply of nutrition food worth to the children from Re one to Rs 2. When Additional Solicitor General Mohan Parasaran sought more time, an anguished bench said "it is most unfortunate that instead of three months, nearly six moths have expired and the Government of India has still not filed the affidavit and instead an oral application is made seeking more time. "We are shocked at the attitude of the Central Government in respect of giving nutritious food to all children, though in practice it concerns those unfortunate section of the society who can ill afford to provide nutritious food to the children of the same age group," it said and added that a large number of children in this age group remain malnourished in the country. According to the Government norms, one awc was to to be set up for every one thousand population (700 in case of tribal population). The bench said that in the absence of the affidavit from the Centre it would have straightway issued directions for the sanction of the remaining AWCs and for increase of the sanction for nutrious food per child from Re 1 to Rs 2. "But having regard to the totality of the circumstances, we grant one final opportunity to the Central Government to file affidavit within a period of two weeks on these two issues," it said. The bench passed these direction after considering the report of Commissioners Dr N C Saxena and N R Sankaran, who were assigned the task of looking into the working of various social schemes announced by the Centre from time to time in the face of allegations by a petition filed by people’s union for civil liberties about serious irregularities in them. "We make it clear that if the affidavit is not filed, this court will be left with no option but to issue directions for implementation of these two aspects," it said. The court noticed that the ICDS, started in 1975, was perhaps the largest of all food and supplementation programmes in the world with very laudable objects to provide nutrition to children, pregnant women and lactating mothers. The court said that the commissioners’ report presented a gloomy picture "both in regard to operation of the sanctioned awcs in some of the states like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand and the position in those which are operational." (PTI) |
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Prawn farming getting boost in Haryana CHANDIGARH, Oct 13: As the prawn farming is fast picking up in Haryana, an area of 70.06 hectares has already been brought under fresh water prawn farming as against the target of undertaking prawn farming in 100 hectares of fresh water area by the end of next financial year. This was revealed in a meeting presided over by Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala here today to review the functioning of the fisheries department. Chautala directed the fisheries department to formulate a comprehensive project to popularise fish farming by giving incentives as well as training to the farmers so that they might make it as an additional source of income. He said that the farmers should be inspired to take up fish farming in a big way and they should be made well aware of the various schemes being implemented by the department. At the same time, the department should ensure marketing of their produce so that the fish farmers get the optimum benefit of fish farming. Commissioner and Secretary, Fisheries, Shakuntala Jakhu informed that Haryana was the only state, which was given subsidy for promotion of prawn culture. She said that three projects for prawn farming were being implemented by the department and 119 farmers had been given subsidy and imparted technical know-how to take up prawn culture during the last financial year. Jakhu said that the project of fresh water prawn farming was initiated in 12 districts of Yamunanagar, Karnal, Sonipat, Faridabad, Gurgaon, Jhajjar, Rohtak, Bhiwani, Fatehabad, Sirsa, Hisar and Jind. The department not only provided technical know-how to the fish farmers for undertaking prawn farming in fresh water, but also took them to a study tour to Andhra Pradesh so as to acquaint them with the practices being adopted there, she said. She said that two other projects to develop water-logged areas into aquaculture estates and utilisation of saline water for fish or prawn culture were also being implemented with 100 per cent assistance from the Union Agriculture Ministry. She said that under the project for development of water-logged areas into aquaculture estates, 18.7 hectares of area was brought under fresh water prawn culture by imparting training and technical know-how to the farmers in the districts of Gurgaon, Rohtak, Jhajjar and Sirsa. (PTI) Dr Kalam urges consultants to strive for knowledge development NEW DELHI, Oct 12: President A P J Abdul Kalam today called upon consultants in the Asia-Pacific region to synergise their efforts through value addition using the core competence of individual countries in the region. Inaugurating the international conference on "development of knowledge infrastructure: role of consultants", organised by the Technical Consultancy Development Programme for Asia and the Pacific (TCDPAP), the President said efforts should be made to promote development using the experience and knowledge available with the different member countries. Urging the consultants for encouraging rural financing leading to large scale employment for rural populace combining the self help group of India and the gramin concept of Bangladesh, he said similiar efforts should be made for synergising the expertise in Nepal, Thailand and India in promoting spiritual tourism besides harnessing flood waters and generating power. The President further called upon the consultants to play a proactive role in creating bio-diesel enterprises generating large scale employment for farmers in the rural sector and youth in industries. "I will recommend the consulting community in Asia and the Pacific to take the lead and enable establishment of model bio-diesel plants, which use Jatropha seeds from a minimum of 1,000 hectares, in different states," Dr Kalam said in his inaugural speech. India faced a huge import bill of nearly Rs 90,000 crores a year in importing oil, like many other countries in the Asia-Pacific region, and find a solution to this issue discussions are on about Jatropha cultivation in wastelands, Dr Kalam said. The Jatropha plantation available in many of our states could be used for generating bio-diesel for utilization in transportation and the power sector, he added. There has been a successful experiment which had been carried out by Daimler/Benz in collaboration with CSIR laboratories for running a Benz car from Pune to Delhi using 10 per cent blend of bio-diesel, without modifying the engine, he said. "Now is the time for the consultants to come out with the proposal which can provide answers to all the questions of the farmers, financial institutions, entrepreneurs who are keen to set up the fully integrated bio-diesel plant using Jatropha seeds from the plantation for production of bio-diesel, by-products and their marketing," he added. The President said a number of foreign consultants had shown interest in taking up Jatropha plantation and commissioning of plants in different areas in the country. "Before they establish such plants, I recommend the consulting community in Asia and the Pacific to take the lead and enable establishment of model bio-diesel plants." Knowledge had always been the prime mover for prosperity and a knowledge-based society was one of the basic foundations for the development of any nation, Dr Kalam said adding, "knowledge has many forms and it is available at many places. "Acquisition of knowledge has been the thrust area throughout the world and sharing the experience of knowledge is a unique culture of our country." During the last few centuries, he said the world had undergone a change and a new society was emerging where knowledge was the primary production resource instead of capital and labour. In the knowledge economy the objective of a society changes from fulfilling the basic needs of all-round development to empowerment, he said. (UNI) Artisans busy giving finishing touches to Durga idols NEW DELHI, Oct 13: With less than a week left for the colourful Durga Puja festivities, which has grown from a Bengali fest into a pan-Indian celebration, artisans in various parts of the country are working overtime to impart finishing touches to the idols of the deities. More than 5,000 odd artists in Kumartuli, the idol manufacturing hub in the heart of Kolkata, are working overtime to meet the orders of the numerous puja organisers in the city and in other states with the beginning of ‘Debipakshya’ on ‘Mahalaya’ today. The four-day Durga Puja begins on October 19. Artisans from Kolkata are most in demand from different parts of the country for making idols of the Goddess. The idols made by this artisans will not only grace the marquees of the city and the state but will be seen as far as in europe and america, where the people try to recreate the nostalgic moments back home. In Guwahati, the Durga idols are mostly made in and around the city by the local artisans. In some areas like Latasil, Paltanbazar and Maligaon, the organisers bring idol makers from Kolkata. Ashok Kumar Paul, a leading idol maker in Guwahati, whose family has been in this business for the last four generations, said that the idols here generally are traditional in nature. Paul makes on an average 50 idols per year. In the other metropolis right across the counry, the majority of artisans numbering about 100 come from Kolkata every year and they make about 136 idols at four different places for various clubs and associations of Mumbai and its three directional suburbs — western, central and harbour. They bring all ingredients including muds from the river bed of the Ganga from West Bengal by booking railway wagons. In Bhopal, over 100 artisans are engaged in making Ganesh and Durga idols and get busy in this task for nearly three months from August to October each year. With a bewildering multiplicity of pujas in different parts of cities, (around 1037 pujas in Kolkata metropolis alone), different themes for outstanding decoration are eagerly sought. With the West Bengal Government imposing restrictions on using themes of executed murderer Dhanonjoy in designing the ‘Asura’ and in operas, the themes in Kolkata range from the war in Iraq, the holding of Indian truckdrivers as hostages in that country, the Manmohan-Musharraf meet, scenes in Parliament and Kashmir problems. However, in Guwahati, the Latasil Puja committee is awaiting clearance from the city police to demonstrate the hanging of Dhananjoy Chatterjee through illumination. In an other innovative idea, the Maligaon Puja Committee plans to project Gujarat CM Narendra Modi as the "Asura" and Congress president Sonia Gandhi as "Durga", following the same idea at a famous puja in Kolkata. There is as such no specific theme so far the Durga puja festival in Guwahati is concerned.But some puja pandals in Tinsukia, in upper Assam, again dominated by Bengalis, follow the famous terracota model of West Bengal. The price of the idols also fluctuates widely through the different centres. In Kolkata, the prices of the idols generally ranges from Rs 15,000 to Rs one lakh depending on the perfection and decoration demanded by the puja organizers, while in Guwahati, the cost varies between Rs 10,000 and 40,000 depending on the nature of the decoration and the quality of clay used for the same. There has been a 10 percent rise in the cost of Durga idols compared to last year. In Mumbai, the cost of idols varies between Rs 15,000 and Rs 80,000 per idol depending on the size and dress materials and ornaments to be put on the Goddess and her retinue. Though the number of idols remain same as on last year, the prices have gone up by 10-20 per cent. This year, rains also played its role in delaying the progress of making the idols whose heights range from a low of 5 feet to a high of 23 feet. However, in Bhopal, there has been no spurt in the cost of the mother Goddess’ images, which continue to range between Rs 2,000 and Rs 10,000 and booking of idols is as usual without any major change. (UNI) UK committed for a comprehensive
partnership CHENNAI, Oct 13: Britain is committed for a comprehensive partnership with India in the economic, political and social sectors, British High Commissioner to India Michael Arthur has said. Speaking at an interactive session organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) here last evening, he said the recent visit of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to the UK and the setting up of a joint economic and trade commission, led by the Commerce Ministers of the two countries, had cemented strong economic co-operation between the two nations. The two countries, with a wealth of cultural and ethnic diversity, had immense scope for greater economic cooperation, Mr Arthur said. He said the Indo-UK bilateral trade stood at ten billion US dollars during the current fiscal with a growth rate of 30 per cent. "UK is the second largest foreign direct investor in India after the US," he added. Mr Arthur further said India was fast emerging as an important source of investment in the UK and out of the total Indian investment in Europe, over 60 per cent was being invested in the UK. Britain was strategically located as a gateway for Indian companies to penetrate the European markets, he added. On the opportunities for Indian companies in the UK, he said Information Technology (IT) and ITES, biotechnology, pharmaceutical, financial services, high technology research in energy and environment and defence were some of the key sectors for boosting bilateral trade. Referring to the outsourcing boom in India, the British High Commissioner to India said more UK companies were looking at India as a preferred outsourcing destination due to its skilled and cost-effective workforce. He attributed the growing signs of integration between the two countries to the increase in Indian students studying in the UK -50,000 students for the current year and the visits of 5,00,000 Indians to the UK every year and 3,00,000 British people travelling to India every year. Mr Stuart Innes, British Deputy High Commissioner for southern India, in his address, said the UK was keen on increasing its cooperation with India, especially with southern India, which was clearly evident from its strong network of offices in cities like Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad. He said the British Deputy High Commission had set up visa facilitation centres at important towns in southern India, including Coimbatore, Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi. Mr R Parasuraman, deputy chairman, CII (southern region) and managing director, Novar India Ltd, earlier, in his welcome address, said the Indo-British partnership initiative needed to be strengthened to enhance the economic cooperation between the two countries. (UNI) |
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