VOL: 2 ISSUE 57
Litigents present their case
in person in T N Courts
Chennai, March 17 :
Even as the advocates
have carried on with their
agitation of boycotting the
courts, a large number of
litigant public thronged the
High Court, appeared
before the respective
courts, argued their cases
as parties-in-person and
obtained interim orders in
their favour, on Monday.
and also today.
They argued their
cases in Tamil and the
judges, who gave a patient
hearing, also spoke in
Tamil. The court officers
assisted the litigant public
in representing their cases.
The family
Matriculation exams from tomorrow
Chennai , March 17 A
total of 1,16,787 students
f r o m Ta m i l n a d u a n d
Puducherry will appear for
the Matriculation Tenth
board exams which begins
tomorrow. . According to a
press release issued by
Directorate of Government
Examinations here on
Monday, there has been
an increase of 10,864
students appearing for the
Matriculation exams this
year with 6,399 of them
boys and 4,465 girls. In
Chennai alone, 16,369
students would sit for the
exams with 8,537 of them
boys and 7,832 girls.
Similarly, 4,697
students will appear for the
Anglo-Indian Board
examinations beginning
tomorrow. Compared to
members of the accused
in bail and anticipatory
bail cases were also
seen in the court halls.
After going
through the
papers, the
judges passed
interim orders
on merit. In
some other
cases, they
adjourned the
hearing.
I n
some cases,
where there
w e r e
procedural or technical
discrepancies, the
petitions were returned
with an advice to the
litigants to correct them
and file afresh. In one
such case, R Senthil
K u m a r, r u n n i n g a n
electronic shop in
Madipakkam, argued his
case and Justice K
Mohanram ordered
notice to the authorities
concerned, returnable in
two weeks. His grievance
was that the local
last year the number of
students appearing for
the examinations has
increased by 108. Of the
4,697 students, 1925 are
boys and 2,772 are girls.
In Chennai alone, 2,148
students will sit for the
exams with 897 boys and
1,251 girls.
The SSLC and
OSLC board exams will
commence from March
25. As many as 8,42,350
students from Tamilnadu
and Puducherry are
appearing for the exams.
Of them, 4,16,512 are
boys and 4,25,838 girls.
Compared to last year,
this year has been an
increase of 59,125
students.
The number of
girls appearing for the
March 17, 2009
Assistant Commissioner presented the petty in three places on the cases as parties-in-
of Police Rajamanickam crime and told the judge High Court premises, person.
and his subordinates that their wards were in including the one near Meanwhile the
harassed him in a case, jail for the past two the Family Court manned advocates of the Saidapet
which was purely civil in months. by women advocates, Court burnt the report of
nature. He prayed for a The agitating and offered assistance to Justice Srikrishna
direction to transfer his advocates set up free the litigant public in filing Commission expressing
case against the police legal aid service centres petitions and arguing the their protest.
personnel to the CBI. In
another case, over 40
students, mostly women,
appeared before Justice
V Ramasubramaniam,
and got the stay order
already granted last
week, extended till March
30.
They argued
that they were denied
appointment as assistant
agricultural officers, as
the institution from which
they received the
certificates, was not an
approved one.
On Tuesday
two women presented
the case of their sons
bail, which they were
granted after going
through the merits of the
case on a personal
surety of Rs. 10,000/-
The women in tears
examination has
increased to 29,916 and
boys have increased to
29,209. In Chennai
alone, 19,697 students
are appearing for the
examination which
includes 37,779 boys
and 18,082 girls.
A total of 1,361
students will appear for
OSLC exams. Of them
608 are boys and 753 are
girls. The above exams
will conclude on 8 April.
The exams will be held at
2,788 centres across the
State. Flying squads will
be formed and strict
action would be taken
against students if they
are found copying during
the examinations, the
release said.
Page 2 Times Chennai E-Paper
Star power crucial for ticket
seekers in AIADMK
Chennai, March 17:
Star power will be a guiding
factor in deciding the fate
of AIADMK leaders
seeking party tickets in
Ta m i l N a d u i n t h e
upcoming general
elections.
Sources in the
party said AIADMK
supremo Jayalalithaa, who
interviewed the aspirants,
asked them to submit their
horoscopes too.
T h e y s a i d
Jayalalithaa is determined
to win all 39 Lok Sabha
seats in the state and the
union territory of
Puducherry and is leaving
no stone unturned.
Bank penalised for deficiency in service
Chennai, March 17:
The District Consumer
Disputes Redressal Forum
(North Chennai) has
directed the Standard
Chartered Bank in Parrys
Corner to pay within six
weeks, a compensation of
Rs 50,000 to a customer
for deficiency in service.
The forum
comprising its president P
Roasiah and members T
Kamalakannan and M
Sheela gave the direction
while passing orders on a
complaint from E Vijay
Anand, an advocate
practising in the Madras
High Court, praying for a
direction to the bank to pay
Rs 2 lakh towards
compensation.
According to Vijay
Anand, he opened a
savings bank account with
the bank and was provided
with a debit card and he
Actor Radha Ravi to join DMK
Chennai, March 17:
Veteran character artiste
and former AIADMK MLA
Radha Ravi is all set to join
the ruling DMK soon.
As a prelude, the
actor called on the party
chief and Chief Minister M
Karunanidhi at his
Gopalapuram residence
here on Monday.
R a v i w a s
accompanied by his family
members. When
contacted, Radha Ravi
said that he had been
sidelined by the AIADMK
high command for quite a
long time though he had a
very good rapport with the
party cadre.
The actor said he
had sent 25 letters to the
AIADMK supremo but
without any response.
AIADMK sources
said the actor had fallen out
"She does not
want to take any chances
this time and wants all
her candidates to win.
One's star power plays
an important role in each
person's life and hence
we asked the aspirants to
submit their horoscopes.
There is nothing wrong in
it," the sources said.
Jayalalithaa,
known for her strong
belief in astrology and
n u m e r o l o g y, a l w a y s
chooses auspicious time
even to visit her party
office. She is also said to
have her own team of
astrologers whom she
consults before taking
maintained the minimum
balance of Rs 10,000.
W h e n h e
attempted to withdraw Rs
5,000 through an ATM in
Royapettah on January
30, 2005, the equipment
displayed that the
account was frozen.
When approached, the
bank official told him that
since he was not
operating the account for
two years, it had been
frozen and advised him to
deposit some amount to
activate it. The
complainant deposited
Rs 10,000 and the total
balance was 31,800. He
issued a self-cheque for
Rs.31,800 on February 1,
2005 but the same was
returned with the
endorsement that
`restricted account’.
Hence, the present
complaint alleging
of the grace of the party
leader a couple of years
ago.
Ravi, who was
the sitting MLA from
Saidapet, was not given
party ticket to contest
again from the
constituency during the
2006 Assembly
elections.
For the past one
year, the actor had not
been invited for the public
meetings of the AIADMK.
In this backdrop, Ravi
met Karunanidhi, while
giving funds for the Sri
Lankan Tamils a couple
of months ago.
Ravi said a
fortnight ago that when
his mother passed away,
Karunanidhi had sent a
condolence message
and Local Administration
Minister MK Stalin met
important political
decisions.
In the first round
of screening of
applications, those who
lacked financial capability
t o s p e n d o n
electioneering were
eliminated.
In the second
round, the selection is
based on the applicant's
educational qualification
and loyalty to the
leadership. But,
ultimately the aspirant
having a strong star
power will be the clincher,
sources said.
deficiency in service on
the part of the bank.
In its counter,
the bank submitted that
since the complainant
had not operated his
account for about two
years, the same was
declared `dormant’. The
selfcheque was returned
as the signature
mismatched with the
original, it added.
Rejecting the
submissions, the forum
observed that the action
of the bank was against
the rules. It had not
i n f o r m e d t h e
complainant that his SB
account would be treated
as dormant if the debit
card was not used for two
years. ``On perusal of
the documents, we are of
the view that there is
deficiency in service on
the part of the bank.’’
him and conveyed his
condolences.
Further, the CM
has directed the DMK
cadre not to engage in
birthday celebrations for
Stalin in and around the
areas where my
residence is located...I
was moved by this
gesture,” Ravi said and
added that he would join
the DMK very soon.
Ravi was
elected as MLA from
Saidapet constituency in
2001 and held the post till
2006.
It may be
recalled that Actress
Radhika, Radha Ravi’s
sister, was expelled from
the AIADMK in 2006, just
six months after her
joining the party along
with her husband
Sarathkumar
March 17, 2009
Apollo, Chennai Introduces
Advanced Cyberknife
Chennai March 17 :
patient is breathing. tumors anywhere in the
Apollo Speciality Tumors in the spine, b o d y, i n c l u d i n g t h e
Hospitals, Chennai has particularly metastatic prostate, lung, brain,
introduced CyberKnife tumors are challenging to spine, liver, pancreas and
Robotic Radio Surgery treat with surgery k i d n e y, " e x p l a i n e d
S y s t e m , t h e because of the proximity Romesh Kaul, President
revolutionary treatment to the spinal cord. The and CEO, Advanced
of cancerous and non CyberKnife System can Medical Systems group
cancerous tumours. track tumor and the PTE.
Said Dr Prathap Reddy, patient's spine Developed by Dr
Executive Chairman,
movement during the Jophn.R.Adler, Professor
Apollo Hospitals Group, treatment, hence of Neurosurgery and
R a d i a t i o n
oncology at
S t a n f o r d
University
Medical Centre,
the CyberKnife
R o b o t i c
Radiosurgery
System is the
first system in
t h e w o r l d
designed to treat
t u m o r s
anywhere in the
body with sub-
millimeter
accuracy. Many
o f t h e
"In our continuing minimising the risk of complications associated
endeavor in providing the damage to surrounding with other conventional
best treatment for cancer, tissues. CyberKnife cancer therapies are
we have brought to the systems have also minimised or eliminated by
latest in South East Asia, shown promising results the CyberKnife system.
and most advanced in treating prostate “During a CyberKnife
technology CyberKnife cancer. procedure, a patient lies
Radiosurgery System." "The CyberKnife is a non- comfortably on the
Hitherto inoperable or invasive alternative to treatment table, which
highly challenging surgery. The source of automatically positions the
conditions today have a the therapeutic x-ray (the patient. Anesthesia is not
chance of treatment with Linear Accelerator) is required, as the procedure
the robotic radiosurgery mounted on a computer is painless and non-
system the CyberKnife. controlled robotic arm. It invasive. The treatment,
For instance, lung cancer can aim a pencil like which generally lasts
could not be treated with beam exactly at the between 30 and 90
traditional radiation target from any direction minutes, typically involves
techniques due to high of the space. This the administration of
risk of radiation damage flexibility results in a between 100 and 200
to the surrounding 'never seen before radiation beams delivered
healthy tissue as tumours precision with which from different directions,
in the lungs move as the beam target reach and each lasting from 10 to 15
patient breathes.
CyberKnife system
destroy the lesion. It's
successful in the
seconds," elaborated Dr P
M a h a d e v, S e n i o r
follows the lung tumor treatment of cancerous Consultant Radiation
accurately while the and non-cancerous
Oncologist.
HC advances hearing on
petitions filed by advocates
Chennai, March 17 : comprising Chief Justice respectively taken up by a
The First Bench of the H L Gokhale and Justice bench headed by former
Madras High Court today F M Ibrahim Kalifulla to Acting Chief Justice S J
advanced the hearing on take up the cases Mukhopadhya.
a batch of petitions filed immediately. J u s t i c e
by advocates, seeking The first bench Mukhopadhaya, who
action against police posted the matter along underwent a treatment in
officials in connection with suo-motu cases in the Apollo hospital in the
with February 19 violence connection with the city from March 6, was
inside the court complex February 17 and 19 discharged from the
from March 26 to March incidents, in which Janata hospital on March 15.
18. Party president J u s t i c e
S e n i o r Subramanian Swamy Mukhopadhaya is likely to
advocates N G R Prasad, was attacked by a group resume work from
Ms R Vaigai, Ms Shantha of lawyers inside the tomorrow.
K u m a r i a n d court hall and the police-
Prabhakaran, mentioned advocates clash in the -Agencies
before the bench court premises
March 17, 2009 Times Chennai E-Paper News You Can Use
Discovery of new micro-organisms
in the stratosphere
Bangalore, March 17:
Three new species of
bacteria, which are not
found on Earth and which
are highly resistant to ultra-
violet radiation, have been
discovered in the upper
stratosphere by Indian
scientists. One of the new
The balloon carrying scientific payload which
discovered new micro-organisms. Discovery of new
micro-organisms in the stratosphere.
Photo: Courtesy ISRO
species has beennamed as
Janibacter hoylei, after the
D i s t i n g u i s h e d
Astrophysicist FredHoyle,
the second as Bacillus
isronensis recognising the
contribution of ISRO in the
balloon experiments which
led to its discovery and the
thirdas Bacillus aryabhata
after India’s celebrated
ancient astronomer
Aryabhata and also the first
satellite of ISRO.
According to Mr. B
R Guruprasad, PRO,
ISRO, the experiment was
conducted using a 26.7
million cubic feet
ballooncarrying a 459 kg
scientific payload soaked in
38 kg of liquid Neon, which
was flown from the National
Balloon Facility in
Hyderabad, operated by
t h e Ta t a I n s t i t u t e o f
Fundamental Research
(TIFR). The payload
consisted of a cryosampler
containing sixteen
evacuated and sterilised
stainless steel probes.
Throughout the
flight, the probes remained
immersed in liquid Neonto
Female robot to hit Japan catwalk
Tsukuba, Japan, March
17: A new walking,
talking robot from Japan
has a female face that can
smile and has trimmed
down to 43 kilograms to
make a debut at a fashion
show. But it still hasn't
cleared safety standards
required to share the
catwalk with human
models.
Developers at the
National Institute of
Advanced Industrial
Science and Technology, a
government-backed
organisation, said their
"cybernetic human,"
shown today, wasn't ready
to help with daily chores or
create a cryopump effect.
These cylinders, after
collecting air samples
from different heights
ranging from 20 km to 41
km, were parachuted
down and safely
retrieved. These samples
were analysed by
scientists at the Center
for Cellular and
M o l e c u l a r B i o l o g y,
Hyderabad as well as the
National Center for Cell
Science (NCCS), Pune
for independent
examination, ensuring
that both laboratories
followed similar protocols
to achieve homogeneity
of procedure and
interpretation.
The Analytical
findings are summarised
as follows:
In all, 12
bacterial and six fungal
colonies were detected,
nine of which, based on
16S RNA gene
sequence, showed
greater than 98%
similarity with reported
known species on earth.
Three bacterial
colonies, namely,PVAS-
1, B3 W22 and B8 W22
were, however, totally
new species. All the three
newly identified species
had significantly higher
UV resistance compared
to their nearest
p h y l o g e n e t i c
work side by side with
people - as many hope
robots will be able to do in
the future.
"Technologically
, it hasn't reached that
level," said Hirohisa
Hirukawa, one of the
robot's developers. "Even
as a fashion model,
people in the industry told
us she was short and had
a rather ordinary figure."
For now, the 158
centimetre tall black-
haired robot code-named
HRP-4C - whose
predecessor had
weighed 58 kilograms -
will mainly serve to draw
and entertain crowds.
neighbours. Of the
above, PVAS-1,identified
as a member of the
genus Janibacter, has
b e e n n a m e d
Janibacterhoylei. sp. nov.
The second
new species B3 W22 was
named as Bacillus
isronensis sp.nov. and
the third new species B8
W22 as Bacillus
aryabhata.
T h e Here is the list
precautionary measures
and controls operating in
this experimentinspire
confidence that these
species were picked up
in the stratosphere.
While the present study
does not conclusively
establish theextra-
terrestrial origin of
microorganisms, it does
provide positive
encouragement to
continue the work in our
quest to explore the
origin of life.
This multi-
institutional effort had
Jayant Narlikar from
theInter-University
Centre for Astronomy
and Astrophysics, Pune
as Principal Investigator
and veteran Scientists
U.R. Rao from ISRO and
P.M. Bhargava from
Anveshna supported as
mentors of the
experiment. S. Shivaji
from CCMB and Yogesh
Shouche from NCCS
were the biology experts
and Ravi Manchanda
from TIFR was in charge
of the balloon facility.
C.B.S. Duttwas the
Project Director from
ISRO who was in charge
of preparing and
operating the complex
payload.
This was the
second such experiment
conducted by ISRO, the
first one beingin 2001.
Even though the first
experiment had yielded
positive results, it was
decided to repeat the
Developers said
the robot may be used in
amusement parks or to
perform simulations of
human movement, as an
exercise instructor, for
instance.
HRP-4C was
designed to look like an
average Japanese
woman, although its
silver-and-black body
recalls a space suit. It will
appear in a Tokyo fashion
show - without any
clothes - in a special
section just for the robot
next week.
-Agencies
Top 10 ''inventions''
London, March 17: Credit
cards, trainer shoes, social
networking sites, and GPS
technology have made it to
the list of things that have
changed the world.
To m a r k t h e
National Science and
Engineering Week, a
panel of 20 experts from
the British
S c i e n c e
Association
have drawn up a
list of the top 10
things that have
changed the
world, reports
The Telegraph.
in full:
1 . G P S
Technology
Originally developed as a
navigation system by the
United States military, the
Global Positioning System
is now used in cars, aircraft
and boats.
2. The Sony Walkman
In 1979 Sony spawned the
era of wearable
technology with its iconic
personal stereo. The
Walkman quickly changed
listening habits and
became hugely popular as
jogging culture took the
1980s by storm.
3. The Bar code
The boring sets of black
and white lines can now be
found on almost every
single item bought from a
shop. Norman Woodland
first developed an early
form of the bar code in
1949 by combining ideas
from movie soundtracks
and Morse code to help
him speed up store
checkouts. And now stores
can instantly access
product details, prices and
stock levels with a sweep
of a laser.
4. TV Dinners
Convenience food really
took off in the 1970s and
transformed the way
families ate
meals, the
high-street, the
countryside
and national
h e a l t h .
Traditional
family dinners
around the
t a b l e
disappeared
a n d p r e -
packaged "ready meals"
eaten on the sofa became
the norm.
5. PlayStation
Although games consoles
had been around for some
time, Sony's PlayStation
took gaming out of spotty
teenager''s bedrooms and
into adult living rooms
when it was released in
1994.
6. Social Networking
Everyday, more than three
billion minutes are spent
by computer users on
Facebook. Along with
other social networking
sites such as MySpace
a n d Tw i t t e r, i t h a s
completely changed the
way we interact and who
we interact with.
Millions of
people now communicate
tiny details of their
professional and personal
Page 3
lives by poking, twittering
and posting. Online social
networking has allowed
people to rekindle
friendships with friends they
lost touch with years ago.
7. Text messages
Text messaging has created
a new vocabulary and new
grammar that is almost
incomprehensible to those
who do not use it. LOL and
FYI have now passed into
everyday English.
8. Electronic Money
Credit cards gave us greater
convenience for spending,
greater security and the
ability to spend money
anywhere in the world.
9. Microwaves
M i c r o w a v e s -
electromagnetic radiation
with wavelengths ranging
between 1 millimetre and
one metre - are used by
mobile phones, wireless
broadband internet and
satellite television.
They also gave us a new way
of cooking food while the US
military has developed a
"less-than-lethal" weapon
that can blast victims with a
heat wave.
10. Trainers
Trainers changed fashion
and the feet of generations
ever since the Goodyear
Metallic Rubber Shoe
Company first used a new
manufacturing process to
meld rubber to cloth in 1892.
With the help of
celebrity endorsements by
sporting superstars such as
basketball legend Michael
Jordan, trainers turned from
being purely practical
clothing for sport into a
fashion item.
Page 4
Rift grows within BJP; Jaitley
skips CEC meet
New Delhi, March 17: The
rift within the Bharatiya
Janata Party (BJP)
intensified on Tuesday,
with senior leader Arun
Jaitley skipping a second
meet of the party’s Central
Election Committee.
Reports said party vice
president Venkaiah Naidu
failed to convince Jaitley to
attend the meeting. Jaitely
is unhappy with party
president Rajnath Singh
over the appointment of
businessman Sudhanshu
Mittal as BJP's co-
convenor of Northeast
region.
Sources said
Jaitley has made it clear to
the party that he would not
accept anything less than
Mittal’s removal.
However, Rajnath
has indicated that he is in
no mood to accede to the
demand, and even held a
meeting with Mittal on
Monday night to drive
home the point.
The CEC is likely
to become the first casualty
LS polls: Lalu, Paswan agree
on seat-sharing in Bihar
New Delhi, March 17: RJD
chief Lalu Prasad Yadav
and LJP leader Ramvilas
P a s w a n o n Tu e s d a y
sealed a seat sharing
accord for the upcoming
Lok Sabha elections in
Bihar. As per the seat
sharing agreement, the
RJD will contest on 25
seats while Paswan’s party
will try its luck from 12 seats
out of the total 40 seats in
the state.
Elaborating more
details about the seat
sharing arrangement
between the two parties,
Lalu said, “We have
decided to contest the Lok
Sabha polls together to
prevent the rise of secular
forces in the interest of
nation and the state of
Bihar.”
In what would not
go down well with the
Congress, looking to
regain a foothold in the
Times Chennai E-Paper
of the growing divide,
with sources saying prior
to the meet that the party
was thinking of winding
up the Committee today
itself if Jaitely failed to
show up yet again. He
had also skipped the first
meet of the CEC last
week, and indicated
on other occasions
too that he was in no
mood to relent until
and unless Mittal was
removed.
The BJP’s
parent organisation,
the RSS has also
intervened to make
sure that the Rajnath-
Jaitley stalemate
does not hurt the
party before the Lok
Sabha polls.
RSS general
secretary Suresh Soni
called up Jaitley on
Saturday night to find a
solution to the stand-off,
sources said.
Senior leaders
Venkaiah Naidu and Ravi
Shankar Prasad also
said efforts were
underway to find a
solution.
Rajnath also
had a meeting with BJP's
prime ministerial
candidate LK Advani last
night where the
stalemate is understood
to have figured.
Advani has
insisted there was no rift
in the party. "This issue
crucial state, the two
regional parties left only
three seats for the
biggest constituent of the
UPA.
“We have left
three seats for the
Congress”, Lalu said.
Addressing a
joint press conference
in the national capital
both Lalu and Paswan
reaffirmed that they
are part of the UPA led
by the Congress party
and will remain with
the same.
“We are with
UPA and we have
nothing to do with the
Third Front.” Lalu said.
The Lok Sabha
constituencies from
where the RJD will field
its candidates include
Balmiki Nagar, Motihari,
Bhagalpur, Siwanganj,
Chapra, Patna Sahib,
Gaya, Jehanabad,
Thagadia, Kishanganj
amongst others.
While LJP will
field its candidates from
Hazipur, Samastipur,
Newada, Aara,
Begunsarai, Purnia,
Katihar, Supol, Betia,
Nalanda and other seats.
On the deal that
has been worked out,
Lalu said that both the
National
may make a good story
for you but there are no
differences within the
party," he told reporters.
If the BJP decides to wind
up the CEC today, it
would authorise Advani
to finalise the party's
remaining Lok Sabha
candidates. Roughly 100
nominees are yet to be
declared.
Party sources
said the authorisation
could be given to Advani
along with Rajnath and
the meeting would be
held at Advani's
residence.
Advani had to
convene a separate
meeting at his residence
on Friday to finalise
candidates of Delhi and
Uttar Pradesh as Jaitley
kept himself away from
the CEC meet.
Mittal however
attended a key meeting
of the party at the BJP
headquarters to decide
upon the seats for
Assam.
The meeting chaired by
Rajnath was also
attended by Northeast
convenor SS Ahluwalia
among others.
When asked if he could
offer to resign in the wake
of the stand taken by
Jaitley, Mittal said, "I am
ready to jump into a river,
if the party asks me to do
so. I will do everything
that I am told to do."
-Agencies
two parties will have the
right to field any
candidate, which they
find suitable for a
particular Lok Sabha
constituency and there
will be no interference
from the either side.
On his turn,
jubilant Paswan told
reporters that his party
had actually staked claim
on 16 seats but finally
settled for 12 seats
keeping in view the
national interest.
The two leaders
also said that they are
actively looking at having
a similar pre-poll tie-up in
Jharkhand too.
The present
seat sharing agreement
between the two parties
marks a major
concession on Lalu's
part, as well as a
reflection that RJD chief
he is finding himself on a
weak turf.
In view of the
changed political
environment in Bihar with
the rise of Nitish Kumar-
led NDA, Lalu seems to
have been forced to
accept the conditions laid
down by LJP to prevent
the emergence of the
NDA as the winner.
Varun Gandhi says CD showing
his speech was tampered with
Pilibhit (UP), March 17:
Under attack for making
alleged inflammatory
remarks with communal
overtones, a BJP
candidate in the Lok
S a b h a p o l l s Va r u n
Gandhi on Tuesday
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
BJP advises candidates to
exercise caution in speeches
New Delhi, March 17:
With its Lok Sabha
c a n d i d a t e Va r u n
Gandhi's alleged anti-
Muslim speech leaving
the BJP embarrassed,
the party has advised all
its nominees for the polls
to "practice caution" in
their speeches.
"We have
advised all our
candidates to practise
caution and restrain in
their speeches," party
spokesperson Siddarth
Nath Singh told
reporters.
Asked if his
party would initiate any
Amend IPC to make ragging a
punishable offence: netizens
New Delhi, March 17
With the brutal death of
young medical student
Aman Kachroo shocking
the nation, a movement
is gradually gaining
m o m e n t u m i n
cyberspace to make
ragging a punishable
offence under Indian
Penal Code.
An online
petition hosted by
stopragging.org,
appealing to the Prime
Minister to amend the
IPC to make ragging an
offence, has received
nearly 200 signatures
within three days of its
opening, with outraged
netizens slamming the
so-called "tradition" of
harassing and assaulting
freshers.
The Supreme
Court has clearly laid
down directives to launch
criminal prosecution in
cases of ragging, but the
IPC does not have a
separate section
specifying it as an
offence.Kachroo, a 19-
year-old first-year
medical student from
Gurgaon, died allegedly
due to severe thrashing
during ragging by his
seniors at a government
medical college in Tanda
in Himachal Pradesh on
March 8. "While this is a
murder case, matters
will be addressing from a
proper party forum," the
grandson of Indira
Gandhi said.
At a recent
election meeting in
Pilibhit from where he is
being fielded, Varun had
allegedly made some
remarks against
Congress party's 'Hand'
symbol.
"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," Gandhi
said in a raised voice at a
recent election meeting
in Pilibhit from where he
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."
Va r u n h a d
faced criticism from his
own party yesterday for
the alleged comments,
with BJP Vice President
Mukthar Abbas Naqvi
saying his remarks were
a manifestation of his
Congress past.
At a recent
election meeting in
Pilibhit from where he is
being fielded, Varun had
would not have reached
this level had Aman been
able to use an anti-
ragging law to approach
the police," the petition
argued. It also
demanded that all the 50
recommendations of the
R K Raghavan
Committee on ragging
should be seriously
looked into by the Central
government.
The organisers
say they will collect
signatures till May 7
before posting the letter.
S e v e r a l
communities have also
come up in social
networking site
Facebook demanding
justice for Aman while
tributes for the vivacious
teenager and demands
to stop the practice of
ragging are pouring into
various blog sites.
"This senseless
act of brutality, carried
out in the name of
relationship building with
freshers, has to be
stopped at once and in its
all forms," a post at
stopragging.org says.
"This is the
stupidest 'tradition' if you
will," feels a netizen while
another says "this
happened because we
tend to brush issues
under the carpet." While
the Aman case has hit the
March 17, 2009
is being fielded.
Continuing in the
same vein, Indira Gandhi’s
grandson 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."
Taking note of the
inflammatory remarks, the
Election Commission has
already slapped a notice
against Varun gandhi.
-Agencies
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 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."
-Agencies
headlines, many other
similar incidents go
unreported every year or
receive very little media
attention, says Harsh
Aggarwal from the anti-
ragging group Coalition to
Uproot Ragging (CURE).
According to
CURE, which compiles
yearly records of ragging
incidents reported in
English-language media,
there were 11 deaths or
suicides due to ragging
and another five attempted
suicides between July
2007 and June 2008.
"When we made
a detailed analysis, we
were shocked to find that
89 cases of severe ragging
were reported in this
period, almost double of
the five-year average of 46
cases," Mr. Aggarwal, a
former consultant to
Raghavan Committee,
says. Maintaining
anonymity of the
complainant, sensitising
the media and society are
the key, he feels, but is
sceptic about how
deterrent the provision of
criminal prosecution will
be.
"A fresher will be
extremely fearful to use the
provision of FIR and get
involved in a court case.
Gathering evidence has
also been always very
difficult," he says.
March 17, 2009 Times Chennai E-Paper
FIR filed against Varun for communal remarks
New Delhi/Pilibhit, March
17: Acting swiftly on the
E l e c t i o n C o m m i s s i o n ’s
directions, the district
magistrate of Pilibhit in UP on
Tuesday filed an FIR against
BJP’s Lok Sabha candidate
Varun Gandhi over his
alleged communal remarks.
The action comes
after the Election
Commission directed Uttar
Pradesh’s Chief Election
Officer to file a case against
Varun and issue notice to his
party for the communal
remarks against a particular
religion.
The FIR has been
filed under Section 153 A of
the Indian Penal code which
pertains to spreading enmity
between two communities
and is non-bailable.
Varun is in the eye
of a storm for making
inflammatory remarks with
communal overtones which
saw the Election
Commission slap a notice
on the young Gandhi and
his party the BJP.
"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,"
Gandhi (29), son of late
Sanjay Gandhi and
Maneka, said in his
rabid vitriolic against
members of a
minority community
in a raised voice at a
recent election
meeting in Pilibhit
from where he is
being fielded.
Continuing in the
same vein, the
grandson of Indira
Gandhi 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."
Congress,
headed by Varun's aunt
Sonia Gandhi, was quick to
condemn the remarks as
"unethical and against
law".
National
" I t
condemnable.... He
i s
(Varun) is associated with
a party which has this
ideology (anti-minority)
and culture," Congress
spokesman Abhishek
Singhvi told reporters in
Delhi.
BJP leader
Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi
snubbed Varun,
contesting his maiden
election, saying the
controversial speech is a
manifestation of his
family's past Congress
culture and that his
outbursts did not reflect
BJP's traditional culture.
B u t Va r u n ,
whose mother is also a
BJP MP, denied the
charge in his reply
submitted to the District
Magistrate MP Agarwal.
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 his alleged
communal remarks during
a rally held on March 6 in
Pilibhit.
"Notices have
been issued to BJP
candidate from Pilibhit and
state unit president for
their alleged communal
remarks. They have been
asked to submit their
replies," election officials
in Lucknow said here.
The DM said that
a complaint was received
from the Congress against
Varun on which an inquiry
had been ordered. He said
that the inquiry would be
conducted by Sub-
Divisional Magistrate
Bisalpur M S Akhtar.
" M a k i n g
communal or casteist
remarks amounts to
violation of the model code
of conduct," officials said.
Varun Gandhi is
contesting from Pilibhit
seat from where Maneka
was elected in the last
general election. Maneka
is contesting from Aonla
p a r l i a m e n t a r y
constituency this time.
BJP leader
Chandan Mitra said the
Election Commission has
to take cognizance of the
remarks.
" I f t h e
Commission comes to a
conclusion that he (Varun)
had indeed said it and it
does violate the election
code of conduct then
obviously, the laws of the
land must take
precedence," he added.
EC nod to Railways plan
to start summer specials
New Delhi, March, 17:
The Election Commission
has given its nod to the
Indian Railways, which
plan to announce the start
of a series of summer
special trains originating
from Delhi.
After the model
code of conduct came into
effect, the Northern
Railways had sought
permission from the EC to
start 32 special trains and
publish them for general
public information.
"The permission
was granted recently," a
senior Railway Ministry
official said.
Meghalaya govt wins trust vote
Shillong, March 17: The
Donkupar Roy led MPA
govt survived Tuesday's
trust vote in state assembly
with Speaker Bindo
Lanong casting his vote in
the government's favour.
The spectre of
President's rule had
loomed large over
Meghalaya after assembly
Speaker Bindo Lanong
near midnight on Monday
issued "interim
suspension" orders on five
legislators for withdrawing
support to the ruling
Meghalaya Progressive
Alliance (MPA)
government ahead of
Page 5
These special
trains — mostly Uttar
Pradesh- and Bihar-bound
— will cover hundreds of
trips during the season to
ease the passenger rush.
Destinations of the trains,
which would start operations
from April onwards, will
include Lucknow,
Chandigarh, Udhampur,
J a m m u Ta w i , P a t n a ,
Darbhanga, Varanasi and
Gaya.
Summer special trains will
also run to places
includingHowrah, Lokmanya
Tilak Terminus (Mumbai),
Ahmedabad and Guwahati.
Tuesday's trial of strength in
the House.
The Speaker had
barred the five legislators -
former ministers Advisor
Pariong and Paul Lyngdoh,
deputy speaker Sanbar
Shullai, and two
independent MLAs Ismail
Marak and Limison Sangma
from entering the House via
ruling late last night.
The decision had
come less than 12 hours
before the MPA government
was to face a crucial floor
test following withdrawal of
support by the five
legislators.
Page 6 Times Chennai E-Paper
Indian banks' NPAs to go up:
ING Vysya
Mumbai, March 17:
Indian banks' may face
rising non-performing
assets in next fiscal in the
face of economic
slowdown, financial
services major ING Vysya
feared on Monday.
"We expect the
NPA levels of Indian banks
to go upto 3.5-4 per cent
levels in the next financial
year as against 2.5-3 per
cent expected in this fiscal,"
ING Vysya Bank's
Economist, Financial
Markets, Deepali Bhargava
told reporters here.
Indian banks
have witnessed a sharp
increase in their badloans,
especially in consumer and
credit card loans in the last
one year on account of the
impact of global financial
crisis in the domestic
economy.
Sectors that are
likely to witness a surge in
sticky assets are real
estate, textile and
garments and consumer
loans, Bhargava said.
Bank Muscat to sell entire
holding in HDFC Bank
Dubai, March 17: Bank
Muscat on Tuesday said it
has sold 40 per cent of its
stake in India's second
largest private sector
lender HDFC Bank and
would offload the entire
holding over a period of
time.
At the current
market level, the shares
sold by Bank Muscat,
which held 2.13 per cent in
HDFC Bank as on
December 31, 2008, would
be worth about Rs 300
crore.
"Till date the bank
has disposed around 40
per cent of its stake and the
gain on realisations will be
'Fiscal deficit seen at 10.3% in FY'10'
Mumbai, March 17:
India's combined fiscal
deficit is likely to narrow
slightly to 10.3 percent of
the country's gross
domestic product in the
fiscal year starting April 1,
from 10.8 percent in
2008/09, Nomura said in
research note on Tuesday.
T h e placing the bonds with
government's gross
market borrowing is seen
at USD 83 billion in FY10,
compared with the
government's estimate of
3.62 trillion rupees (USD
70.1 billion).
Funding such a
large deficit would be the
key challenge for the
Banks are likely
to be risk averse to
vulnerable sectors in FY
09, which may moderate
the credit growth further
to 17-18 per cent in FY
10, she said.
On the other-
side the deposit-base of
Indian banks are likely to
grow by 16.5 per cent on
a year-on-year basis,
Bhargava said.
Noting that a
low demand and lagged
impact of aggressive
monetary tightening of
Reserve Bank could slow
down the GDP growth,
Bhargava said the
country's GDP is
expected to grow at 6.5
per cent in FY 09 as
c o m p a r e d t o
Government's projection
of 7.1 per cent.
GDP growth in
2009-10 is likely to be in
the range of 5.3-5.5 per
cent, she said.
India's WPI-
based inflation, now
below 3 per cent, may go
reported in our first
quarter results," Bank
Muscat said in a
regulatory filing with
Muscat Stock Exchange.
Oman's biggest lender
did not disclose financial
details of the share sale.
"In line with our annual
report disclosures in our
chairman's statement,
we decided to sell our
stake in HDFC Bank,
India over a period of
time," Bank Muscat said
further.
For the quarter
ended December 2008,
Bank Muscat held
9,051,724 equity shares
of HDFC Bank and 40 per
government and the
onus of conducting the
market borrowing in a
non-disruptive manner
would lie with the central
bank, Sonal Varma,
economist at Nomura,
said in a note.
The government could
consider privately
the central bank as an
option, while issuance of
shorter-term dated
bonds and treasury bills
to reduce risk duration for
banks would also help,
she added.
"At a time when
banks are wary of taking
additional interest rate
Business
below zero by April
leading to a state of
deflation in the economy,
Bhargava said, adding,
"this (negative inflation)
may continue for a period
of 5-6 months."
"India could see
deflation by April, which
can last 5-6 months. This
would be a more
statistical issue than a
structural one...for a
g r o w i n g e c o n o m y,
deflation is not going to
be a problem," Bhargava
said.
The Reserve
Bank, which cut rates
aggressively since
October, might reduce its
cash reserve ratio (CRR)
by 0.5 per cent in the near
future to provide cushion
for a sagging economy,
she said.
In a bid to infuse
sufficient liquidity into the
market, the RBI cut its
CRR and repo to 5 per
cent and reverse repo to
3.5 per cent in the recent
months.
cent of shares held by the
Oman bank would be
worth around Rs 305
crore at yesterday's
closing.
Shares of Bank
Muscat were trading
down by 7.20 per cent at
0.503 Omani Riyals after
it said it is likely to post
losses. "We could have
RO 4 million to RO 7
million of losses in the
first quarter results,"
Bank Muscat said in the
filing.
Shares of
HDFC Bank were trading
lower by 1 per cent at Rs
836.60 on the Bombay
Stock Exchange.
risk on their balance
sheets, the RBI may have
to fill the gap by
expanding its own
balance sheet through
deficit financing," Varma
said.
Nomura also
expects the government
to announce an
additional 0.6 percent of
GDP of planned
expenditure at its final
budget in June/July.
"On the fiscal
policy front, little is likely
to happen until after the
May elections because
the election code of
conduct," Varma wrote.
N o m u r a
Nokia to slash 1,700 jobs
New York, March 17:
The world's largest
mobile phone maker
Nokia will be trimming its
workforce by 1,700
employees worldwide, as
part of the company's
cost cutting efforts.
The firm in a
statement today said
actions would be taken at
its devices and markets
units as well as in the
corporate development
office and global support
functions.
"... these plans
will affect approximately
1,700 employees
g l o b a l l y. W h e r e
applicable, Nokia will
start consultations with
e m p l o y e e
representatives about
these plans," Nokia said.
The cell phone maker
noted that it intends to
scale sales, marketing
and technology
management to match
the pruned portfolio and
'L&T in talks for Satyam bid'
Mumbai, March 17:
Larsen & Toubro is talking
to private equity firms
such as Blackstone and
The Carlyle Group to
jointly bid for Satyam
Computer Services, a
news report said on
Tuesday.
G o l d m a n
Sachs, Kohlberg Kravis
Roberts & Co and
Singapore's Temasek are
also involved in the
discussions with L&T, the
newspaper said, citing
unnamed people familiar
with the situation.
"This is purely
speculative," a
spokesman for Larsen
told reporters, without
elaborating.
The news report
said Goldman Sachs --
one of the firms
appointed by Satyam's
board to help find an
investor -- and KKR were
also evaluating the option
of making individual bids.
expects the central bank
to further reduce its key
short-term interest rates
by 100 basis points each
in tranches of 50 bps
between April and June.
"We judge that the
reluctance of banks to cut
rates and lend, and a
heavily geared
government are diluting
the transmission of
stimulus to the
economy," the note said.
"The bottomline is that
the policy action is nearly
o v e r ; p o l i c y
effectivemenss is now
the key," Varma wrote.
-Agencies
global consumer
demand.
According to
the company, these
measures are part of its
previously announced
plans to adjust business
operations and cost base
in accordance with
market demand and
safeguard future
competitiveness.
" N o k i a
continues to seek
savings in operational
expenses, looking at all
areas and activities
across the company," it
added.
Earlier this
month, the firm
announced a voluntary
departure package
aimed at bringing down
its headcount by as many
as 1,000 employees. It
noted the package would
lessen the need for
" i n v o l u n t a r y
redundancies" and also
help in cutting costs.
L&T, which owns 12
percent of Satyam, is
among a clutch of firms
that have expressed
interest in the outsourcer
damaged by India's
biggest corporate fraud.
Satyam's founder
Ramalinga Raju quit in
January saying profits
had been overstated for
years and assets
falsified.
New York-listed
Satyam said on Friday
that Indian and
international firms,
including private equity
companies, had
registered to bid for a
controlling stake.
US outsourcer
iGate Corp has tied up
with a private equity firm
to bid for Satyam, whose
government-appointed
board is looking for an
investor to help restore
confidence among both
clients and staff.
S o f t w a r e
s e r v i c e s f i r m Te c h
Mahindra and diversified
Spice Group are among
those registered as
potential bidders, who
must submit detailed
expressions of interest by
Friday.
Contract termination
Separately, the
media report said around
46 customers of Satyam
had moved their
outsourcing contracts to
rival firms such as Tata
Consultancy Services,
Wipro, IBM and
Accenture since the fraud
was uncovered.
Clients such as
Applied Materials Inc,
Telstra Corp, Nissan
Motor Co Ltd and Sony
Corp had either moved
out their projects or were
in the process of shifting
to other outsourcers, the
paper reported, quoting a
March 17, 2009
The Finnish entity
which is listed in the US,
had said that the global
mobile phone market is
expected to shrink by 10
per cent this year in the
wake of the financial
meltdown.
"The voluntary
resignation package will be
open for application from
March 1 until 1,000
employees have applied,
closing at the latest on May
31, 2009," Nokia had said
in a statement.
When contacted,
a company spokesperson
had said that voluntary
departure package would
not impact its India
operations.
In fact, the
company is still recruiting in
India. Meanwhile, direct
labour and senior
executives are exempted
from applying for the
voluntary resignation
package.
person familiar with the
developments.
A S a t y a m
spokeswoman told media
the company would not
comment on client specific
issues.
A N i s s a n
spokeswoman in Tokyo
said the automaker's North
American unit continues to
do business with Satyam
and has no plans at the
moment to terminate its
contract with the Indian
outsourcer.
Satyam won a
multi-million dollar deal in
2006 to manage Nissan's
business applications for
the North American
market.
A S o n y
s p o k e s m a n i n To k y o
declined to comment on
the report, while a Telstra
spokesman said decisions
about arrangements with
IT services providers would
not be announced to the
media by Australia's
largest phone company.
Satyam allots
10,511 equity shares under
stock option
IT firm Satyam
Computer on Tuesday said
it has allotted 10,511 equity
shares under its stock
option plans.
The board
approved the allotment of
the shares on March 13,
under the stock option
plans of the company,
Satyam said in a filing to
the Bombay Stock
Exchange.
Pursuant to the
allotment, the paid-up
share capital of the
company stood at Rs
1,34,77,89,584 up from Rs
1,34,77,68,562, the filing
added. Shares of Satyam
were trading at Rs 44.25,
down 2.21 per cent, on the
BSE.
March 17, 2009 Times Chennai E-Paper
'Indian IT industry capable of
surviving economic crisis'
Hannover, March 17:
India's IT industry is well-
placed to weather the
global economic crisis
despite decline in exports
of such services including
computer software for the
first time over the years
looks inevitable this fiscal.
I n d i a n I T
companies, which
participated in the CeBIT
2 0 0 9 i n H a n n o v e r,
expressed confidence that
innovative skills of the
software engineers and IT
professionals along with
their ability to adapt to the
rapidly changing situation
in the markets around the
world will help cushion the
impact of the global
economic meltdown on the
industry in India.
Most of the Indian
exhibitors in the CeBIT, the
world's largest IT and
computer fair, were upbeat
about continuing their
existing business and
forging new partnerships
by offering their clients new
solutions and services.
"The impact of the
economic crisis on India's
IT industry so far has been
minimal and the industry
has the resilience to
withstand the crisis for
some more time,"
Additional Executive
Director of Electronics and
Computer Software Export
Promotion Council (ESC)
D P Gupta, who
coordinated India's
participation in the CeBIT,
told reporters.
Gupta said if the
economic downturn in
major markets like the US,
Europe and Japan
continued for a longer
period, then it could have
far-reaching affects on the
industry.
At present, many
small and medium-level IT
companies have been hit
hard by the crisis because
they are not in a position to
diversify their products or
to find new markets, he
said.
"However, one
silver lining for the industry
is that Indian IT and
computer software
companies are designing
PNB introduces CBS in its
regional rural arm
New Delhi, March 17 :
Haryana Gramin Bank,
sponsored by state-run
lender PNB, has
introduced Centralised
Banking Solution (CBS),
which would enable
customers to carry out
banking at locations
convenient for them.
"In view of
numerous advantages,
which had been derived by
implementing CBS at
commercial banks; it was
Business Page 7
'Layoffs in IT needed'
Bangalore, March 17
Strongly defending job
working on an
outsourcing contract).
companies, which would
be keen to outsource to
and developing high-end have gained new cuts, the State's former "What will you do (when India for the first time.
solutions and services significance as areas information technology that happens)? So, there "For what I am
and therefore clients holding great potential for secretary Vivek Kulkarni will be temporary finding is that for the rest of
around the world will business in the wake of said it is natural in times of dislocation; no the companies (US
continue to require their the economic and recession to stay afloat. permanent harm," he companies who have not
products to remain financial crisis. "When there is said. received Government aid)
competitive," Gupta said. Jayanthra no business, companies In times of to survive, they have to do
The ESC has already Jayachandran, CEO of have to react; otherwise recession, layoffs are business (they would
scaled down its growth Coimbatore-based nobody will survive. quite natural. He said benefit if they outsource to
target for computer Angler Technologies, Either you have to reduce companies, which have India)," he said.
software and IT enabled said that the customer everybody's salary, or lost big accounts and are According to him,
services exports for the loyalty and better you have to let some operating from huge Indian IT companies are
current financial year services are the right people go and move on facilities after signing increasingly looking at the
from 25 per cent to 15 per strategy to fight the with that," Mr. Kulkarni multi-year lease contract, domestic market.
cent. recession. told PTI here. are reducing and "Because our
But Indian IT He said his "Because, if you rationalising staff. economy is big. Our
companies feel they are company was less do not have labour M r. K u l k a r n i companies can, instead of
already laying the affected by the crisis than flexibility, you can't do said the year 2009 is doing it for Citi Bank, they
groundwork for the many other Indian IT business well," Kulkarni, going to be challenging can do it for SBI. So, we
industry to bounce back companies because of its who is currently the for freshers in the IT can do work for our
to its growth course when diversified customer Chairman and CEO of sector and it would be companies and that's
the global economic base and products, but it knowledge process tough for them to get picking up. I see that Indian
situation stabilises. had to postpone some of outsourcing firm jobs, but exuded IT companies now focus
"The present its expansion plans. Brickwork India, added. confidence that hiring on domestic sector a lot,"
crisis is both a challenge India's IT He admitted that would restart in the first he said, adding, "We are a
and an opportunity for services and computer IT companies have quarter of financial year c o u n t r y. . . w e a r e b i g
Indian companies to software continued to resorted to various ways 2010-2011. enough. We may not need
consolidate their existing generate strong interest to lay off their staff. On the impact help from foreign countries
business and to find new among the trade visitors S o m e of US recession on the (outsourcing) all the time to
partners," Executive at the CeBIT and Indian companies are forcing Indian IT firms, he said grow."
Director and CEO of exhibitors received many their managers to give a while large players such Mr. Kulkarni said:
Pune-based e-Zest business inquiries and "lower-rate" to their as Citi Bank and "If we have the right
solutions Devendra established new employees so that they Goldman Sachs "who government, if they are
Deshmukh said. business contacts, can be removed, citing have received able to come up with some
"Our message Gupta said. "non-performance". government money policies, we should be
to our clients and The overall M r. K u l k a r n i (bailout package) will okay by September or
potential partners at the response received by said he knows a company behave based on October of this year."
CeBIT is that they can Indian companies was that lost an account of government directions", -Agencies
continue to count on the not as great as in 6 , 0 0 0 p e o p l e ( s t a ff there are other US
technical competence previous years, but
and expertise of Indian IT
professionals in
considering the present
doom and gloom in major
Sensex snaps three-day winning streak
developing various markets in North Mumbai, March 17 Bombay Stock Index was down 1.81 per
packages and solutions America, Europe and in Three-day old pull-back E x c h a n g e ’s S e n s e x cent, BSE Bankex fell 1.64
to cope with the crisis," Asia, it was more than rally in Indian closed at 8861.86, down per cent and BSE Oil&gas
Deshmukh said. anticipated, he said. benchmarks came to an 81.68 points or 0.91 per Index declined 1.34 per
"We are trying About 25 Indian end Tuesday as profit cent. The index touched cent.
to preserve and nurture companies, mainly small booking set in after an intra-day low of Ta t a M o t o r s
o u r c u s t o m e r and medium-level sentiments in global 8801.79 and a high of (4.4%), Hindalco Industries
relationships by offering enterprises, presented 9024.12. (2.58%), Maruti Suzuki
them cheap solutions the latest India has to National Stock (1.72%), ITC (1.29%) and
and services and by offer in the areas of Exchange’s Nifty NTPC (1.08%) ended with
remaining loyal to them," computer software, IT ended at 2756.95, gains.
Deshmukh added. enabled services, down 20.3 points or Tata Consultancy
In spite of the electronics hardware and 0.73 per cent. The Services (-4.87%),
crisis, world-wide telecommunication broader index Jaiprakash Associates (-
demand for computer equipments. touched a low of 4.4%), State Bank of India
software and IT enabled India's exports 2738.70 and high of (3.93%), Ranbaxy
services in areas such as of computer software and 2805.60 in trade so Laboratories (-1.99%) and
h e a l t h c a r e , IT enabled services far. Reliance Industries
manufacturing, reached a record level of markets turned bearish BSE Midcap (1.85%) were the biggest
publishing, education, USD 31.17 billion during on concerns of credit Index ended 0.22 per Sensex losers.
etc will continue to grow 2007-2008 when they card defaults in the US. cent lower and BSE Market breadth
and Indian companies went up by 28 per cent European markets were Smallcap Index edged remained positive on BSE
can benefit from that, he over the level of USD under pressure following 0.44 per cent higher. showed 1332 advances
said. 24.27 billion in 2006- decline in commodities Amongst the against 1138 declines.
Bankruptcy 2007, according to the and banking stocks. sectoral indices, BSE IT (All figures are provisional)
management and legal ESC.
process outsourcing
HDFC Mutual Fund hikes
stake in Patni Computer
Mumbai, March 17 acquired 50 lakh shares, Patni Computer on March
felt that CBS should also that customers may
be implemented in derive by this new Domestic mutual fund representing 3.9 per cent 13, the value of shares is
Regional Rural Banks initiative taken by PNB house HDFC Mutual stake in the company, worth about Rs 55 crore.
(RRBs)," PNB Chairman include low-cost ATMs for Fund has raised its stake through open market Before the
and Managing Director K anytime banking, point of in IT services provider transactions. acquisition, HDFC Mutual
C Chakrabarty said. sales terminal Patni Computer Systems P o s t Fund had a 1.28 per cent
W i t h t h e transaction and financial to 5.18 per cent by acquisition, HDFC stake in the company.
implementation of CBS, inclusion of unbanked acquiring additional 50 Mutual Fund holds a 5.18 Shares of Patni Computer
customers would be able and under-banked lakh shares for about Rs per cent stake in Patni Systems were quoted at Rs
to provide IT-enabled people, he added. 55 crore. Computer. 11 4 . 2 0 o n B S E i n
financial inclusion and At present, PNB Patni Computer The acquisition afternoon, up 4.87 per cent
serve the customers in an has six RRBs, having a Systems, in a disclosure of shares was made on over the previous close.
effective manner, he said network of 1,354 to the Bombay Stock March 13, 2009, it added.
in a statement. branches spread over six Exchange, said that Calculated on -Agencies
Other benefits states and 67 districts. HDFC Mutual Fund has the closing share price of
 Page 8 Times Chennai E-Paper
NZC sticks to 11am start time for first Test
Hamilton, March 17:
Indian skipper Mahendra
Singh Dhoni`s concern
about the unconventional
12 noon start to the first
Test against the Kiwis has
been put to rest by New
Zealand Cricket, which has
decided to stick to the
original start time of 1100
hrs (local time).
NZC confirmed
Carlsen beats Anand at Amber
Nice France, March 17:
World Champion
Viswanathan Anand
suffered a shock defeat at
the hands of Norwegian
prodigy Magnus Carlsen
and went down 0.5-1.5 in
the third round of Amber
blindfold and rapid chess
tournament.
Anand lost the
blindfold game with white
pieces and did not get a
chance to recover in the
rapid. With this defeat, the
Indian slipped in the
standings and stands joint
sixth in combined, joint fifth
in rapid and joint sixth in
blindfold.
A l e x a n d e r
Morozevich of Russia and
Levon Aronian of Armenia
Paes, Bhupathi out of Indian Wells
Indian Wells, March 17:
Indian challenge at the
BNP Paribas Open ended
after Leander Paes and
Mahesh Bhupathi lost their
respective second-round
doubles matches at the
USD 4.5 million tennis
tournament here.
Paes and his
Czech partner Lukas
Dlouhy, seeded fourth,
that play will start at the
scheduled time of 11am
at Seddon Park, here
tomorrow.
"It will be very
different for us. Playing at
night it seems like. It will
go on till don`t know what
time. That will be
definitely difficult. I have
not played any Test that
starts at 12. It is definitely
retained the joint first
position in the combined
standings after settling
for a 1-1 draw with
Teimour Radjabov of
Azerbaijan and Gata
Kamsky of United States
respectively.
W h i l e
Morozevich signed
peace in both
games against
Radjabov, Aronian
and Kamsky shared
a win each to reach
the tied score.
Morozevich and
Aronian took their
tally to four points
apiece and are now
followed by Vladimir
Kramnik of Russia,
Veselin Topalov of
Bulgaria and
Carlsen who all
have 3.5 points.
Anand shares
the next spot along with
Sergey Karjakin of
Ukraine and Peter Leko
of Hungary on three
points and this bunch is a
half point clear of
Radjabov and Kamsky.
With eight rounds still to
come, Wang Yue of
C h i n a a n d Va s s i l y
Ivanchuk of Ukraine are
currently sharing the last
spot with two points
apiece.
went down 6-7 (6), 6-7 (5)
to Argentines Juan
Martin del Potro and
David Nalbandian.
In another
match, the third seeded
pair of Bhupathi and
Bahamian Mark Knowles
were stunned 6-7 (2), 4-6
by the unseeded Israeli-
Belarussian duo of Max
Mirnyi and Andy Ram.
Sports
a bit of concern," Dhoni
had said at the pre-match
media briefing.
NZC and their
Asian broadcast partner
Sony discussed the
s c h e d u l i n g
arrangements, including
the possibility of
adjusting the start time to
grab more eyeballs at a
later time zone in India.
A f t e r
discussions with Sony,
and with the teams and
match officials, it has
now been confirmed that
the start time will remain
at 11.00 am.
The start times
for the second and third
Tests at Napier (March
26-30) and Wellington
(April 3-7) are expected
to be confirmed in the
next few days.
-Agencies
It's a three-way
lead in the blindfold with
Kramnik, Carlsen and
Topalov having 2.5 points
each while in the rapid
Morozevich is in lead on
2.5 points.
After he had
beaten Anand in their
blindfold game, Carlsen
flashed his best smile and
said, "Yes, this was a
special game for me. I
was very focused and it's
nice that I managed to
beat him for the first time
with black."
The Sicilian
Rosslimo by Anand was
fairly new for Carlsen.
Contrary to what
happens in the sharp
Sicilian battles, white was
castled king side and
gained space while
Carlsen found a safe
haven for his king on the
other flank and began to
like his position after
Anand went for a an
erroneous plan in the
middle game.
By the 20th
move itself Carlsen stood
much better and slowly
increased his advantage
to post a big win in 34
moves.
-Agencies
The twin losses
rounded off a
disappointing Indian
campaign at the hard-
court event, where Sania
Mirza couldn't go past the
second round in women's
singles and crashed out
of doubles in the first
round itself.
-Agencies
Dhoni expects Sehwag fireworks
in Test series
Hamilton, March 17:
After demolishing the
New Zealand bowling
attack with consummate
ease in one-dayers,
explosive opener
Virender Sehwag will
once again be crucial for
India to dominate New
Zealand in the Test series
s t a r t i n g t o m o r r o w,
skipper Mahendra Singh
Dhoni said.
Speaking to
reporters on the eve of the
first Test, Dhoni said he
wants Sehwag to play his
natural game.
"We want him to
play the way he wants to
play, because that is his
natural style.
We all know if
he gets going he can
dominate the bowlers and
all of a sudden you see
the bowling attack
rattled," the 27-year-old
said.
"We have seen
if he plays for two hours or
three hours, he is a
batsman who is capable
of getting big scores.
High Court reserves order
in BCCI-Sony case
Mumbai, March 17: The
Bombay High Court on
Tuesday reserved its
order in the BCCI-Sony
case and directed BCCI
not to sign new contracts
for IPL broadcast rights.
The ruling
came after TV
broadcaster Sony TV
took the IPL organisers to
court over discussing
telecast rights with other
broadcasters.
Sony had got
an injunction to stop the
IPL from discussing
telecast rights with other
channels.
The injunction
order was given to IPL on
March 17, 2009
He is not the also made it clear that the
kind who gets out in 30s team`s success over the
last 18 months wasn`t
or 40s; 50s or 60s. If he
gets going, he gets big based on individual
scores." performances alone but
With India depended largely on a
chasing an elusive Test collective effort.
series victory in New "We don`t rely on
Zealand, something they individuals.
If you see our
record in the past one and
a half year, we don`t really
depend only on batsmen.
The bowlers
have come out with plenty
of aggression on flat
tracks. They bowled the
right lines and have got
the best batsmen out
because of their
consistency and
execution of plans.
We don`t rely on
just batsmen or bowlers,
we have been good totally
haven`t achieved in 41 as a team."
years, Dhoni knows the Speaking about
the three-match Test
importance of an in-form
Sehwag up the order. series, the India captain
The right- said he expects New
handed batsman can Zealand to come back
hard after losing the one-
change the course of the
game in one session by day series 3-1.
pulverising any bowling "New Zealand
attack into submission. lost the one-day series,
"We don`t want but that doesn`t mean
individuals to change they are not a good side.
their game. That is the They are a very
strength, because of competitive team,
which they are part of the especially when it comes
Indian team. Definitely in
to exploiting the
between you may want
conditions out here.
them to curb your natural We expect tough
game, but more often -– cricket over the next 20-
about 80 per cent of the 25 days," Dhoni said.
times -– we want them to
play their natural game,"
-Agencies
Dhoni explained.
However, the
wicketkeeper-batsman
Saturday night. CEO Sundar Raman, who
With the IPL reached the Capital from
already in a fix over Mumbai, have been in
schedule problems meetings to find a way out
owing to the upcoming of the entanglement.
General Elections, Lalit The Bangalore
Modi is trying every trick police earlier declined to
in the book to salvage the provide security cover for
multi-million dollar T20 the IPL till May 3 and
tournament.
T h e
advised the organisers to
hold all matches after May
tournament has already 4.
run into rough weather The Ministry’s
after the Home Ministry directive came on Friday
asked the organisers to after eight states, where
redraw the schedule as it matches are to be held,
was not feasible to hold said they might not be able
the matches under the to provide security in view
existing fixture for of the General Elections.
security reasons.
Lalit Modi and -Agencies
March 17, 2009 Times Chennai E-Paper
Crisis a chance to tackle climate change’ New organic material may boost Internet speed
Singapore, March 17:
Measures to help ease
climate change should be
integrated into massive
stimulus packages aimed
at fighting the global
economic crisis,
environmental groups and
government officials said.
There are fears
some countries may
backslide on commitments
to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions as they focus on
reviving their recession-hit
economies, but the two
objectives can go hand-in-
hand, they said.
Investments in
clean energy and other
environment-friendly
projects can eventually
create millions of "green
collar" jobs and help
cushion the impact of
retrenchments in older,
polluting industries, they
added.
" W e a r e
confronted with a massive
opportunity to recreate our
economies in a way that
will lay the foundations for
strong, sustainable growth
in the future," Greenpeace
I n t e r n a t i o n a l
spokesperson Stephanie
Tunmore said.
"World leaders
have a perfect opportunity
to develop stimulus
packages that cut
greenhouse gas emissions
and create green jobs."
Some countries
have taken the lead,
including the United States
under President Barack
Obama.
Clean energy is a
major component of
Obama's USD 787 billion
economic stimulus
package, with the US
leader vowing to pump
USD 15 billion a year into
developing technologies
such as wind power and
solar energy.
He plans to
double the country's supply
of renewable energy in the
next three years. There is
also funding for training
workers in the new fields.
I n A s i a ,
governments have rolled
out spending measures
worth at least USD 1.1
trillion since October, many
of them focused on
infrastructure, help for
companies to access
capital, and dole-outs to
boost consumer buying.
Economists are
urging a second round of
spending packages, and
environmental groups
hope these would include
measures to protect the
environment.
"A global 'green'
stimulus package could
deliver immediate
economic benefits, reduce
the risk of catastrophic
climate change and reduce
sources of global instability
such as energy insecurity
and resource competition,"
Tunmore of Greenpeace
Office: F 5 and 6 1st Floor, Leo Complex, New No: 41, Madley Road, T.Nagar, Chennai 600 017. Ph: 42867771, Fax: 42867772
said.
Indonesia, the
world's fourth most
populous country, has
incorporated a green
component in its USD 6
billion stimulus package,
Trade Minister Mari
Pangestu said.
Among other
measures, the
government has
accelerated a mandatory
requirement to have
biofuels take up five
percent of the national
energy mix, she said.
"It's a green
objective and there's a
tax incentive as well built
in," she said in an
interview.
"It also creates
demand for our palm oil
at a time when external
markets are declining."
British Minister
for Trade and Investment
Gareth Thomas said
clean energy offers vast
overseas opportunities
for local businesses.
The British government
is helping companies
with expertise in
renewable energy and
constructing energy-
efficient buildings to
expand abroad.
"We want to
encourage British
businesses to see the
huge changes that are
coming down the line
from the worldwide shift
that is going to be
towards low-carbon
economies," he said
during a recent visit to
Singapore.
Ta l k s a r e
underway for a new
global climate change
treaty scheduled to be
signed in Denmark in
December, with rich and
developing nations trying
to reach a compromise
on emission targets to
replace the Kyoto
Protocol which expires in
2012.
H o w e v e r,
workers in industries
such as steel and
manufacturing fear strict
caps will raise production
costs and lead to
massive job losses.
S o m e
d e v e l o p i n g
countries also say drastic
emission cuts could
compromise their
economic growth, but
environmental groups
argue otherwise.
"Contrary to
perceptions by some,
climate change solutions
are more labour-
intensive than
conventional energy and
have been proven in
many countries as a jobs
creator and a good way
to stimulate the
economy," said Rafael
Senga, Asia Pacific
manager for energy
policy at the World
Wildlife Fund.
Owned Edited and Published by S. Raghunathan Editorial and Advertisement
Medley
Greenpeace
cited a report by the UN
Environment Programme
which estimated that at
least 2.3 million jobs are
currently available in the
renewable energy sector,
and the number is likely
to rise to more than 20
million by 2030.
Improving
energy efficiency in
buildings alone could
create 3.5 million jobs in
Europe and the United
States by 2030, the
report said.
Environmental
groups warned of dire
consequences if world
leaders allow the
economic crisis to
weaken their resolve to
tackle climate change.
"Unlike the
economic recession that
can be solved in a few
years' time, the impact of
climate change on the
planet's life support
systems and the global
economy will be
permanent if we fail to act
urgently," said Senga of
the WWF.
Artificial life within 5 years?
Washington, March 17:
Scientists are on track to
develop artificial life
"within five years",
claimed US researchers,
who suggested that
laboratories across the
world are drawing close
to the threshold of a
"second genesis".
New study links diabetes to Alzheimer's risk
Washington, March 17:
Diabetes can hurt the
heart, the eyes and the
kidneys. New research
indicates a more
ominous link: That
diabetes increases the
risk of getting
Alzheimer's disease and
may speed dementia
once it strikes.
Doctors long
suspected diabetes
damaged blood vessels
that supply the brain. It
Washington, March 17:
Take two bricks out into a
snowfall and place them
side by side. In a few
hours, the snowflakes will
fill every vacant space
between and around the
bricks. The same
phenomenon could
hasten the day when the
Internet works at
superfast speeds.
Ivan Biaggio,
physics professor at
Lehigh University, says
that using the same
principle at the smallest
of scales on an integrated
optical circuit, scientists
are hoping to achieve a
major leap in velocity by
designing circuits that
rely solely on light-waves
process data.
Biaggio is part
of an international team
of researchers that has
developed an organic
material with an
unprecedented
combination of high
optical quality and strong
ability to mediate light-
light interaction.
H e h a s
engineered the
integration of this
material with silicon
Discovering - or
engineering - a second
genesis wouldn't just
broaden our view of life.
Alternative life forms
c o u l d s u p p l y
biotechnologists with
fresh molecules and new
functions that they could
apply to practical
now seems even more
insidious, that the
damage may start before
someone is diagnosed
with full-blown diabetes,
back when the body is
gradually losing its ability
to regulate blood sugar.
In fact, the lines
are blurring between what
specialists call "vascular
dementia" and scarier
classic Alzheimer's
disease. Whatever it is
labelled, there is reason
technology so it can be
used in optical
telecommunication
devices.
The material,
which is composed of
small organic molecules,
mimics the behaviour of
the snowflakes covering
the bricks when it is
deposited into the slot, or
gap, that separate silicon
wave guides that control
the propagation of light
beams on an integrated
optical circuit.
Just as the
snowflakes, being tiny
and mobile, fill every
empty space between the
two bricks, Biaggio says,
the molecules completely
and homogeneously fill
the slot between the
wave guides. The slots
measure only tens of
nanometres (nm) wide;
one nm is a billionth of a
metre, or a dozen carbon
atoms wide.
"We have been
able to make thin films by
combining the molecules
into a material that is
perfectly transparent, flat,
and free of any
irregularities that would
affect optical properties,"
problems.
David Deamer,
a biochemist at the
University of California,
Santa Cruz, has argued
for three decades that
scientists would create
synthetic life in "five or 10
years". Finally, he might
actually be right.
" T h e
momentum is building,"
he said. "We're knocking
at the door," he was
quoted as saying by the
New Scientist online
today.
L a b s a r e
closing in on a "second
g e n e s i s " - a n
achievement that would
be one of the greatest
scientific breakthroughs
of all time.
A synthetic,
made-to-order living
system could produce
everything from new
enough to safeguard
your brain by fighting
diabetes and heart-
related risks.
"Right now we
can't do much about the
Alzheimer's disease
pathology," those sticky
plaques that clog
patients' brains, says Dr
Ya a k o v S t e r n , a n
Alzheimer's specialist at
Columbia University
Medical Centre. But, "if
you could control these
Page 9
said Biaggio.
The slot between
the wave guides is the
region where most of the
light guided by the silicon
propagates. By filling the
slot, say Biaggio and his
collaborators, the
molecules add an ultra-fast
all-optical switching
capability to silicon
circuitry, creating a new
ability to perform the light-
to-light interactions
necessary for data
processing in all-optical
networks.
T h e
nanophotonic device
obtained in this way, says
the group, has
demonstrated the best all-
optical demultiplexing rate
yet recorded for a silicon-
organic-hybrid device.
Multiplexing is the
process by which multiple
signals or data streams are
combined and transmitted
on a single channel, thus
saving expensive
bandwidth. Demultiplexing
is the reverse process, said
a Lehigh release.
A description of
this material was published
on the Nature Photonics
website.
drugs to biofuels and
greenhouse gas
absorbers, the report said.
The finishing line
could be in sight after
geneticists Professor
George Church and Dr
Michael Jewett, of Harvard
Medical School, informed a
synthetic biology
conference in Hong Kong
that they had synthetically
created part of a cell, called
a ribosome, New Scientist
reported.
The breakthrough
offers hope that they could
develop an entire cell.
"There's nothing you'd
expect to go wrong - the
way we expected things to
go wrong with the
a s s e m b l y, " P r o f e s s o r
Church said.
-Agencies
vascular conditions, you
might slow the course of
the disease."
The link has
staggering societal
implications: More than 5
million Americans have
Alzheimer's, and cases
already are projected to
skyrocket in the next two
decades as the population
ages.
-Agencies