INDIA POST SURVEY [email protected]This week’s question Top Stories VOICE OF INDIANS WORLDWIDE www.indiapost.com NEW YORK • WASHINGTON D.C. • CHICAGO • ATLANTA • CALIFORNIA VOL 17, No. 919 April 27, 2012 50¢ Periodical Postage India Post CONTENTS Bollywood ---------------------- 38-39 Classifieds ------------------------- 47 Community Post -------------- 10-18 Date Book -------------------------- 46 Edit Page --------------------------- 49 HealthScience Post --------- 40-42 Horoscope ------------------------- 37 Immigration Post ------------- 34-36 Life Style ----------------------- 25-28 Philosophy ------------------------- 48 Publisherís Diary ------------------ 4 Real Estate -------------------- 43-45 TechBiz Post -------------------20-24 Travel & Hospitality Post ---- 29-31 Agni-V test will earn more respect from China? Details on page 10 Details on page 9 Last week’s result YES 63% NO 37% Certified by “CIRCULATION VERIFICATION COUNCIL Readership 117,765” Details on page 6 Details on page 7 Details on page 6 & 25 The detention saga of Shah Rukh Khan Details on page 8 Details on page 34 Details on page 20 Ajay Banga elected USIBC Chairman INDIA N-MISSILE CAN HIT 5000km NEW DELHI: India on April 19 demon- strated the capability of launching a nuclear-tipped Long Range Ballistic Mis- sile (LRBM) as Agni- V hit a target over 5,000 km away. With this, India has joined an elite group of na- tions which have mas- tered such technol- ogy. The 5,000 km- range missile gives India the capability to hit targets in China, including Beijing, eastern Europe, east Africa and the Austra- lian coast. "This launch has given a message to the entire world that India has the capability to design, develop, build and manufacture mis- siles of this class, and we are today, a missile power," V K Saraswat, Director General, De- fense Research and Development Organi- zation, said. He said the missile launch was a major milestone in the pre- paredness of strate- gic defense of the country. Details on page 5 Shinde asks US corporates to invest in energy Rao discusses US-India with Ros-Lehtinen Indian Film Fest IFFLA comes of age Senator calls for investigation of Infosys US corporates plan agenda for UP progress Trial begins in Dr. Divyendu Sinha murder case SUCCESSFUL TEST: This Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) picture shows the Long Range Ballistic Missile (LRBM) Agni-V (A-5) being launched from Wheeler's Island, in Odisha on April 19. Will India win visa case in WTO?
Top Stories V O I C E O F I N D I A N S W O R L D W I D E
www.indiapost.com
NEW YORK • WASHINGTON D.C. • CHICAGO • ATLANTA • CALIFORNIA VOL 17, No. 919 April 27, 2012 50¢ Periodical Postage
India Post
CONTENTSBollywood ---------------------- 38-39
Classifieds ------------------------- 47
Community Post -------------- 10-18
Date Book -------------------------- 46
Edit Page --------------------------- 49
HealthScience Post --------- 40-42
Horoscope ------------------------- 37
Immigration Post ------------- 34-36
Life Style ----------------------- 25-28
Philosophy ------------------------- 48
Publisherís Diary ------------------ 4
Real Estate -------------------- 43-45
TechBiz Post ------------------- 20-24
Travel & Hospitality Post ---- 29-31
Agni-V test will earn morerespect from China?
Details on page 10
Details on page 9
Last week’s result
YES 63% NO 37%
Certified by “CIRCULATION VERIFICATION COUNCIL Readership 117,765”
Details on page 6
Details on page 7
Details on page 6 & 25
The detentionsaga of ShahRukh Khan
Details on page 8
Details on page 34
Details on page 20
Ajay Bangaelected USIBCChairman
INDIA N-MISSILECAN HIT 5000km
NEW DELHI: Indiaon April 19 demon-strated the capabilityof launching anuclear-tipped LongRange Ballistic Mis-sile (LRBM) as Agni-V hit a target over5,000 km away. Withthis, India has joinedan elite group of na-tions which have mas-tered such technol-ogy.
The 5,000 km-range missile givesIndia the capability tohit targets in China,including Beijing,eastern Europe, eastAfrica and the Austra-lian coast.
"This launch hasgiven a message to theentire world that Indiahas the capability todesign, develop, buildand manufacture mis-siles of this class, andwe are today, a missilepower," V K Saraswat,Director General, De-fense Research andDevelopment Organi-zation, said.
He said the missilelaunch was a majormilestone in the pre-paredness of strate-gic defense of thecountry.
Details on page 5
Shinde asks UScorporates toinvest in energy
Rao discussesUS-India withRos-Lehtinen
Indian Film FestIFFLA comesof age
Senator calls forinvestigationof Infosys
US corporatesplan agenda forUP progress
Trial begins in Dr.Divyendu Sinhamurder case
SUCCESSFUL TEST: This Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) picture
shows the Long Range Ballistic Missile (LRBM) Agni-V (A-5) being launched
from Wheeler's Island, in Odisha on April 19.
Will India win visa casein WTO?
India Postwww.indiapost.com
April 27, 20122
April 27, 2012 India Post 3www.indiapost.com
BIGGER is how you will feel as youexperience our agenda of outstanding speakersand timely educational seminars, highlighted bythe Keynote Address on Friday, May 4:
Visit the AAHOA website www.aahoa.com/convention for complete Convention information, especially the Early Registration Discount
What are you waiting for? Make your reservations today!
BOLDER is how you will feel as you see the latest products and services during ourtwo-day Trade Show – and as you network withindustry leaders, friends, and colleagues.
BETTER is how you will feel asyou enjoy exceptional Indian cuisine andthree nights of exciting entertainers directfrom India, including:
Unforgettable Yaadon ki Baaraton Thursday night
Legendary Pankaj Udhason Friday night
Dynamic Javed Ali plusAnup Shankar and his band
of Sa Re Ga Ma Pa fame,together in North Americafor the first time
Single Occupancy: $165Double Occupancy: $165Triple Occupancy: $185Quadruple Occupancy: $185
The Omni Hotelat CNN Center
100 CNN CenterAtlanta, GA 30303 1-800-524-0500
www.aahoa.com/omni
Howard DeanFormer Chair Democratic
National Committee
Michael SteeleFormer Chair Republican
National CommitteeVS.
Moderated by Jonathan KarlABC News
Senior Congressional Correspondent
Also experience a passionate political debate:
Join Us For HisInformative
Insight, Unique Perspective& Powerful
Recollections
George W. Bush43rd President of the United States
AAHOA ANNUALCONVENTION &
TRADE SHOWMAY 2-5, 2012 ◆ ATLANTA
Omni Hotel At CNN Center& Georgia World Congress Center
38
Mission Statement
To empower the Indian Diaspora and make their voice strong and effective in countries of their adoption. RJ Media conglomerateoffers a credible, professional and complete package of news, opinion, entertainment, networking and information.
and responsible for all liability for their claimers
Over the past several months, India's Ambassador to the US NirupamaRao has been on an overdrive selling the India story to every possiblegroup, be it of lawmakers, business organizations, students and aca-
demics, think tanks and even mainstream media. Although not overtly stated, itdoes appear the government of India is desperately trying to beat the pre-electionpolitical rhetoric in the US which invariably tends to target Indians and IndianIT companies as job grabbers.
Although the US-India bilateral brochure continues to harp on the strategicpartnership between the oldest and the largest democracy, and any fissures in the we-can-be-so-good-together bond are being covered up by visiting delegations on bothsides, the 'irritants' spoiling the bonhomie are becoming increasingly noticeable.
Last week, at least a dozen influential American trade and industry organiza-tions dashed off a letter asking the US government to challenge some recentIndian tax amendments which they feel will be detrimental to the investmentclimate in India and their future business prospects there.
A week before that, India lodged a formal complaint with the World TradeOrganization about the cost of US work visas, which it says are too high anddiscriminate against a group of Indian IT companies.
Despite knowing India's critical need for Iranian oil, the US continues topressure it to sever all ties with Iran; and India seems to be voicing a bit tooloudly even its knee-jerk reactions to instances such as Shah Rukh Khan beingdetained at a New York airport.
The US is lusting after the potential returns on India's trillion dollar invest-ment requirements; and India needs the US to patronize its IT companies andalso keep its doors wide open to its skilled workers who in turn contribute toIndia's forex reserves. In trying to squeeze the most out of each other, the two aresomehow defacing the façade of friendship.
While India and the US can never be BFFs (best friends forever), one is onlywell aware that this is a relationship where a bit of warmth and a lot of mistrustmix together to make for a mutually beneficial society.
India PostApril 27, 2012 5
www.indiapost.com
Cover/Top Stories
India N-missile can hit 5000kmSuccessful test boosts capability
NEW DELHI: India on April 19demonstrated the capability oflaunching a nuclear-tipped inter-continental ballistic missile(ICBM) as Agni-V hit a targetover 5,000 km away. With this, In-dia has joined an elite group ofnations which have masteredsuch technology.
The 5,000 km-range missilegives India the capability to hittargets in China, including Beijing,eastern Europe, east Africa andthe Australian coast.
"This launch has given a mes-sage to the entire world that Indiahas the capability to design, de-velop, build and manufacture mis-siles of this class, and we are to-day, a missile power," V KSaraswat, Director General, De-fense Research and DevelopmentOrganization, said.
He said the missile launch wasa major milestone in the prepared-ness of strategic defense of thecountry.
The Agni-V is 17.5m tall, solid-fuelled, three-stage missile with alaunch weight of 50 tons, whichincludes a 1.5 tonne warhead.
This was the first launch of themissile after the country's defensescientists began work on it threeyears ago.
"The first flight itself was dem-onstrated in user deliverablemode," Avinash Chander, ProjectDirector of Agni-V, said, addingthat it was indeed a rare achieve-ment to launch the missile in sucha short duration.
The missile was launched at8:07 hours from a mobile launcher
at the Wheeler Island off Orissacoast. It reached the apex at 600kms and then re-entered the at-mosphere to strike a target over5000 km away from the launch site.
The launch was monitored bythree ships deployed in the IndianOcean and radars were also theretracking the complete trajectory ofthe missile.
The personnel on the shipsspotted a fireball as the missile re-entered the atmosphere on its wayto hit the target.
"The sleek missile, within a fewseconds of its blast-off from theIsland launch pad, roared majes-tically into the sky leaving behindits trajectory a trail of thin orangeand white smoke before disap-pearing," a defense official at thelaunch site said
Saraswat said the missile hadbeen achieved despite the strin-
gent export control regimes, whichdeveloped countries have im-posed on India.
"This shows that self-reliancein the area of this technology isnow becoming a reality," he said.
Saraswat said the DRDO wouldconduct two more validation testsbefore starting the production ofthis missile.
The DRDO chief said that bar-ring some electronic components,the Agni V was a completely in-digenous product. "More than 80per cent of the missile is indig-enous, except for the electroniccomponents which we import.
Everything has been designed,developed and produced in our in-dustry and our laboratories," he said.
On the road ahead, Saraswatsaid the DRDO would now de-velop multiple independentlytargetable re-entry vehicles foranti-satellite system.
"Today, we have done a greatevent for the country. All the teamwork that has gone in for the lastthree years has given a fruitfulresult," Tessy Thomas, Chief Sci-entist, Project Agni-V, said.
A senior DRDO scientist saidthat the missile would be readyfor induction into the armedforces by 2014.
"The 5000-plus kilometer rangefulfils our strategic needs andmoreover we are developing adeterrent capability," formerDRDO chief M Natarajan said.
"We have to develop a missileto meet our strategic needs andidentified threat perceptions andthis missile will answer all those,"
he said.New Delhi's deterrence capa-
bility will now be further strength-ened and it will push its case forhaving a greater say at multilat-eral fora.
India has at present in its ar-mory of Agni series, Agni 1 with700 km range, Agni 2 with 2,000km range, Agni 3 and Agni 4 with
2,500 km to more than 3,500 kmrange.PM, Antony hail launch
Hailing the successful launchof the indigenously developedmissile, Prime MinisterManmohan Singh said it repre-sents another milestone in India'squest to add to its security pre-paredness.
Defense Minister A K Antonydescribed the maiden test flightof Agni-V as an "immaculate suc-cess" and a "major milestone".
"The nation stands tall today.We have joined the elite club ofnations (to possess the ICBMcapability)," Antony toldSaraswat on phone after the testflight of the missile was declaredsuccessful.
ITR Director S P Dass said, "Itwas a perfect launch and the mis-sile hit the pre-determined targetand the mission met all its param-eters.
"We can call it an ICBM as ithas the capability to travel fromone continent to another," Dasssaid.
"The missile achieved exactlywhat we wanted to achieve in thismission. This missile from theprime board to launch pad hashappened in about three years,"the missile's Program DirectorAvinash Chandra said.
The test-firing of Agni-V dem-onstrated giant strides taken byIndia in its integrated missile de-velopment program, he said.
Preparation for Agni-V test hadgathered momentum after Indiaachieved successful results fromthe first development trial of AgniIV, which has a strike range ofmore than 3,500 km, from the samelaunch pad on November 15, 2011.
Apart from Saraswat, who isalso the scientific advisor to theDefense Minister, a host of topdefense scientists, military offi-cials and functionaries of con-cerned agencies were present atthe site to monitor, supervise andwitness the maiden test of the newgeneration missile.
China reacts cautiously; says India not rival
‘This launch hasgiven a message tothe entire world thatIndia has the capa-bility to design, de-velop, build andmanufacture missilesof this class, and weare today, a missilepower,’ V KSaraswat, DirectorGeneral, DRDO said
Apart from Saraswat,who is also the sci-entific advisor to theDefense Minister, ahost of top defensescientists, militaryofficials and func-tionaries of con-cerned agencieswere present at thesite to monitor andsupervise the test
BEIJING/NEW DELHI: Re-acting cautiously to India's testof Agni-V missile, China saidthe two countries are not rivalsand enjoy "sound" relationsthough the sources in the Chi-nese establishment feel that thelaunch can give rise to anotherround of arms race in the region.
"China has taken note of re-ports on India's missile launch.The two countries have soundrelationship.
"During the (recently held)BRICS meeting (in Delhi) theleadership had consensus totake the relationship further andto push forward bilateral stra-tegic cooperative partnership,"Chinese Foreign Ministryspokesman Liu Weimin told amedia briefing in Beijing when
asked about the launch.In Delhi, the diplomatic sources
in the Chinese embassy said the"Agni-V launch can give rise toanother round of arms race in thispart of the world."
They were also critical of themedia commentary on the suc-cessful launch of the nuclear ca-pable 5000 km-range Agni-V mis-sile, saying it sounded provoca-tive.
Asked whether China was con-cerned as most of the countrywould come under the Agni'srange, Liu said in Beijing that"both the countries are emergingpowers. We are not rivals. We arecooperative partners. We shouldcherish the hard earned momen-tum of cooperation."
To another question whether
it would affect the regional stabil-ity, he said "we hope Asian coun-tries can contribute to peace and
stability."However, China's state-run
Global Times came out with astrong editorial criticizing the
launch, claiming that the Chinesenuclear power is "stronger and re-liable" and New Delhi has "nochance" to catch up.
"India should not overestimateits strength. Even if it has missilesthat could reach most parts ofChina, that does not mean it willgain anything from being arrogantduring disputes with China," Glo-bal Times, the influential tabloidof China's ruling Communist Party,said in its editorial.
Known for its scathing attackson countries that have disputeswith China, the daily said "Indiashould be clear that China'snuclear power is stronger andmore reliable."
"For the foreseeable future,India would stand no chance," itsaid in the editorial titled "India
being swept away by militarydelusion."
"India should also not over-state the value of its Westernallies and the profits it couldgain from participating in acontainment of China. If itequates long-range strategicmissiles with deterrence ofChina, and stirs up further hos-tility, it could be sorely mis-taken," it said.
The paper noted that Indiahas moved rapidly in develop-ing missile technology.
"It successfully launchedthe Agni IV with a range of3,500 km last year. Indian pub-lic opinion has long seen Chinaas its reference point for mili-tary development.
‘India should notoverestimate itsstrength. Even if it hasmissiles that couldreach most parts ofChina, that does notmean it will gainanything from beingarrogant’
Cont’d on page 7
Cont’d on page 7
India Post April 27, 20126
www.indiapost.com
Top Stories
The detention saga of Shah Rukh KhanSRIREKHA CHAKRAVARTY
India Post News Service
NEW YORK: "Shah RukhKhan did not deserve to be de-tained at all," said India's Ambas-sador to the US Nirupama Rao.She was referring to the recentdetention of the Indian actor atWhite Plains airport in New Yorkwhere he flew in especially fordelivering the Chubb FellowshipLecture at Yale University onApril 12.
He landed in a private jet alongwith Nita Ambani (wife of indus-trialist Mukesh Ambani). US cus-toms officials detained Khanwhile clearing the others who ac-companied him on the flight im-mediately while detaining Khan.
At a breakfast interaction withthe media organized by the Chris-tian Science Monitor in Washing-ton DC April 13, AmbassadorRao responded to a question re-garding Khan's detention stating,"I think it's an unfortunate inci-dent and we wish it had not hap-pened."
On the reason for Khan's de-tention itself, Amb. Rao said, "Ibelieve what happened is that his(Khan's) name figures in whatyou call "the system", I mean theword itself conjures up differentimages, but apparently that wasthe reason why he was detainedfor 75 minutes at White Plains,
NY."Rao added that Khan "de-
served to be cleared immedi-ately… I hope it does not hap-pen in the future."
Asked if this was symptomaticof how Indians are treated by USgovernment, especially the TSAAmb. Rao said, "No, I wouldn't
say that. I think post 9/11 you(the US) have heightened levelsof checks and we know you aresuper careful. I see the reason-ing behind that, but I wish ithadn't happened in this case be-cause I don't believe Mr ShahRukh Khan deserved to be de-
tained at all. He was here to ad-dress a student audience at Yaleand it was a prestigious event,and I wish it had happenedsmoothly. He is a star and he re-mains a star despite what hap-pened at White Plains."
The incident was almost as ifit was scripted. For the secondtime in less than three years,Khan is detained at a US airport.News of it travels to India. Fans,media and the Indian governmentreact strongly to the "insult". TheUS government apologizes forthe inconvenience and seems toforget about it.
The first time Khan was simi-larly detained leading to an up-roar in India was in August 2009at Newark International airportwhen he was visiting for a sched-uled appearance at an event inAtlantic City.
"Whenever I feel arrogantabout myself, I take a trip toAmerica; as always I get detainedat the airport," Shah Rukh Khanjoked characteristically as a pre-amble to his Chubb Fellowshiplecture at Yale University on April12.
The nearly 1700 strong audi-ence, the majority of them stu-dents, booed the authorities asthey heard their favorite star in-form them of his hour-and-halflong detention at the airport. "ButI have my small victories," the
actor said. "Whenever they askme about my height, I get awayby saying 5'10"; next time I amgoing to be more adventurous,when they ask me about my color,I'll say 'White'".
While intervention by the In-dian Consulate in New York sawthe actor come through the or-
deal, it undoubtedly left a badtaste in the mouth for all con-cerned.
As the Indian media went totown screaming about the USslight to Khan, everyone from theman on the street in India toIndia's External Affairs Minister
S.M. Krishna expressed their dis-pleasure and concern over the in-cident, and the US State Depart-ment issued an immediate apol-ogy.
In a statement on its interven-tion with the US authorities onbehalf of the 'internationally re-nowned Indian film star', the In-dian Embassy in Washington DCsaid: "Approximately half-an-hour after his arrival, the Consu-late General of India in New Yorkreceived information that he hadnot been cleared by the US Cus-toms and Border Protection(USCBP) at the Airport.
“The Consulate General imme-diately intervened with the con-cerned authorities for his earlyclearance, which was done within75 minutes of his arrival. Mr.Khan thereafter left the airport.The same evening, USCBP au-thorities, through an email to theConsulate General conveyedtheir profound apology for the in-cident."
The Embassy further stated:"In order to convey the deepconcern that has been expressednationwide in India over this in-cident, the Embassy of India hastaken up the matter with the USDepartment of State and soughtthe State Department's interven-tion to institute appropriate mea-sures to avoid recurrence of suchan incident in the future."
‘I believe what hap-pened is that his(Khan's) name fig-ures in what you call"the system", I meanthe word itselfconjures up differentimages, but appar-ently that was thereason why he wasdetained for 75minutes at WhitePlains, NY’
‘In order to conveythe deep concernthat has been ex-pressed nationwidein India over thisincident, the Em-bassy of India hastaken up the matterwith the US Depart-ment of State andsought the StateDepartment'sintervention’
Rao discusses US-India prospects with Ros-LehtinenIndia Post News Service
NEW YORK: Indian Ambassa-dor Nirupama Rao met with Chair-man of the House Foreign Rela-tions Committee, Congress-woman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen fromFlorida to discuss the presentstate of India-US relations, and
the global strategic partnershipbetween the two countries.
At the meeting on Capitol Hillon April 17, Ros-Lehtinen, whois presently the senior mostHouse Republican in the USCongress, said, "The ever-ex-panding partnership between theUS and India has never beenmore vital as we work together toensure peace and security in the
Asia-Pacific region, combat ex-tremists, enhance stability in Af-ghanistan, and build an agendafor shared prosperity."
Congresswoman Ros-Lehtinenspoke of shared values andcomplementarities between Indiaand the U.S. and the broad spec-trum of opportunities, including
in the economic sector, for the twocountries to collaborate. "The fu-ture is bright for the US-India part-nership, which continues to fur-ther both nations' goals of peaceand stability in the region. I lookforward to future meetings withAmbassador Rao and for the con-tinued vibrancy of this importantalliance," she said.
On her part, Amb. Rao in-
AMBASSADORIAL EMBRACE: Ambassador Nancy Powell and
Ambassador Nirupama Rao share an embrace at the swearing-in
ceremony of Nancy Powell as Ambassador to India at the State
Department on April 17. Pic US Department of State
Their discussion also included the regionalsituation in India's neighborhood. Congress-woman Ros-Lehtinen welcomed India'spositive contribution to Afghanistan'sreconstruction and viewed U.S.-Indiapartnership as having an important role
formed the Congresswomanabout the recent developmentsin the relationship and India'sperspective on regional and glo-bal issues of common interest.Amb. Rao also gave an overviewof trade and business ties be-tween India and the US and thebright prospects for businessand economic cooperation thatexisted in the partnership.
The Indian Ambassador furtherexpressed her deep appreciationof the commitment expressedwithin the US Congress to build astronger and even more substan-tive US-India relationship.
Their discussion also in-cluded the regional situation inIndia's neighborhood. Congress-woman Ros-Lehtinen welcomedIndia's positive contribution toAfghanistan's reconstructionand viewed U.S.-India partner-ship as having an important rolein contributing to Afghanistan'sprogress and wellbeing.
Congresswoman Ros-Lehtinen invited Amb. Rao tovisit Florida, and conveyed herinterest in continuing to remainin touch with her.
India PostApril 27, 2012 7
www.indiapost.com
Top Stories
"It seems India's path forboosting its military strength hasnot met too many obstacles. In-dia is still poor and lags behind ininfrastructure construction, butits society is highly supportive ofdeveloping nuclear power and theWest chooses to overlook India'sdisregard of nuclear and missilecontrol treaties," the editorialcharged.
The West remains "silent onthe fact that India's military spend-ing increased by 17 per cent in2012 and the country has againbecome the largest weapons im-porter in the world," it said, with-out referring to China's ownwhopping defense budget ofUSD 106 billion listed for this year.
The Global Times editorial,however, said "China and Indiashould develop as friendly a rela-tionship as possible. Even if thiscannot be achieved, the twoshould at least tolerate each otherand learn to co-exist."
"Their status as newly emerg-
China reacts cautiously;says India not rival
Cont’d from page 5 ing countries shows the twoshould cooperate on the interna-tional stage. It would be unwisefor China and India to seek a bal-ance of power by developing mis-siles," it said.
"The geopolitics of Asia willbecome more dependent on thenature of Sino-Indian relations.The peace and stability of the re-gion are crucial to both countries.China and India should both takeresponsibility for maintaining thispeace and stability and be waryof external intervention," it said.
China understands the Indiandesire to catch up with China, thedaily said. "China, as the mostappropriate strategic target forIndia, is willing to take India as apeaceful competitor."
"Due to historical reasons, Chinaand India are sensitive toward eachother. But objectively speaking,China does not spend much timeguarding against India, while Indiafocuses a lot of attention on China.China hopes India will remain calm,as this would be beneficial to bothgiants," it said. -PTI
India N-missile can hit 5000kmTop scientists present at the
test site said at least 20 laborato-ries of the DRDO were engagedfor several months to prepare thestate-of-the-art missile.
About 800 scientists, staff andsupport personnel had been en-gaged to make the first everlaunch of the Agni-V a success,they said.
Unlike other missiles of indig-enously built Agni series, the lat-est one - Agni V-is the most ad-vanced version having severalnew technologies incorporated in
Cont’d from page 5 it in terms of navigation and guid-ance, warhead and engine, said ascientist associated with theproject.
Satish Reddy, architect of themissile navigation systems, said,"The systems have worked withhigh accuracy...We don't requireany more technology from any-body else."
DRDO plans to conduct moresuch tests of the missile over thenext one year after studying andanalyzing the parametersachieved in each subsequent trial,defense sources said.
Regarding the timeline fixed for
fully developing the Agni V,Saraswat had earlier said anotheryear of testing would be required.
Known as 'Agni Lady', anelated Katy Thomas, who hasbeen involved with the Agniproject, said, "Today we havedone a great event for the coun-try. The mission was perfect withall the events being recorded andwe had a perfect separation. Thestages of guidance systemworked wonderfully.
"All the teamwork which hasgone in for the last three years hasgiven fruitful result today," sheadded. -PTI
Shinde asks US corporates to invest in energy sector
Indiaís Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde with the US Energy Secretary
Steven Chu at Washington, DC, USA on April 16
WASHINGTON: Indian PowerMinister Sushil Kumar Shinde hascalled on US corporate leaders toinvest in India saying the coun-try is moving on the path of mas-sive investment in the energy sec-tor.
Shinde also met the US EnergySecretary, Steven Chu, duringwhich the two leaders discussedways and means to enhance bi-lateral cooperation in the energysector, in particular the alternatesources of energy and energyconservation.
In his address to a meeting ofUS private sector organized by USIndia Business Council, Shindesaid India is moving on the pathof massive investment in the en-ergy sector, especially electricitygeneration and transmission.
"Energy security is of vitaleconomic and strategic signifi-cance for us. A number of finan-cial, technological and explor-atory initiatives already exist withthe US in clean and renewableenergy and energy conservation
and efficiency and we now needto explore economic partnershipsbetween the Indian and US com-panies in this shift to clean en-ergy," he said.
"There are excellent opportu-nities in India to examine the fea-sibility of clean energy technolo-gies, which will be a win-win situ-ation for India and the United
States," Shinde said.No doubt India's power sector
presents a massive opportunity tothe American companies, Shindeacknowledged the concerns ofthe investors from the US.
"I am also aware of the con-cerns of investors with respect toland acquisition, coal sourcing,financial health of discoms, pric-ing reforms, payment security andcontract sanctity," he said.
"Recognizing the need for anoverall and comprehensive legalarchitecture and a policy frame-work conducive to larger and moresustained investment in thepower sector, the Government ofIndia took numerous steps to fa-cilitate reforms in the sector," hesaid.
Shinde said the Indian govern-ment has proposed various pro-posals in the Budget 2012 tostimulate investments.
A crucial Land Acquisition andRehabilitation and ResettlementBill is under the consideration ofthe Parliament, he said. -PTI
In his address to ameeting of US privatesector organized byUS India BusinessCouncil, Shinde saidIndia is moving onthe path of massiveinvestment in theenergy sector,especially electricitygeneration andtransmission
Chief Justice's remarks can hit 'RTI journey'NEW DELHI: Information
Commissioner Shailesh Gandhihas written to Chief Justice of In-dia S H Kapadia about his recentremarks that irrelevant RTI que-ries hampered the work of judi-ciary, saying this may "dampenthe RTI journey" of the country.
In his letter to the CJI, Gandhisaid, "I would like to submit toyou that transparency in gover-nance is a cherished goal and allfunctionaries and instrumentali-ties of the Government should bestriving for greater transparencyand accountability. Your com-ments - correctly reported - maydampen the RTI journey of India."
The Chief Justice had said thatwhile the RTI law was "good",certain information being sought
such as about invitations, attend-ing lunches and the like went be-yond the limit. "There should besome limit to all these," the CJI
had observed.Contesting this, Gandhi said,"
ideally there should be very fewlimits to fundamental rights of the
citizens. These limits can only beset by Parliament which has al-ready done this by codifyingRight to Information in the RTIAct."
Gandhi underlined that trans-parency law has started makingsmall difference in the "powerequation between citizens andgovernment," given hope ofbringing correction, making citi-zens effective monitors of govern-ment, and helping to unravel cor-ruption.
"Sir, the Nation has very greatrespect for you, and your remarkscould have significant negativeimpact on RTI. Various function-aries would quote your remarksto justify putting fetters on thecitizen's right," he wrote. -PTI
Shailesh Gandhi
India Post April 27, 20128
www.indiapost.com
Top Stories
US corporates preparing 'Agendafor Progress' for UP
India, Afghanistan fail to agreeon transit fee
WASHINGTON: India-focusedAmerican companies are develop-ing the "Agenda for Progress" forUttar Pradesh with the objectiveof its all-inclusive and dynamicgrowth, the US India BusinessCouncil (USIBC) has said.
The Agenda for Progress, tai-lored made for the state, is beingprepared at the request of UttarPradesh Chief Minister AkhileshYadav. It would be developedwithin the first 100 days of theSamajwadi Party government inUttar Pradesh by USIBC, which isthe apex body of American com-panies doing business in India.
"Once Yadav fine tunes theagenda, USIBC will launch a ma-jor high-level executive missionto Uttar Pradesh to begin imple-mentation," USIBC President RonSomers said.
"I look forward to working withthis forward-thinking Chief Min-ister to help achieve his goal of
creating jobs and prosperity forthe people of this great state," saidSomers, who had met Yadavwithin the very first week of himtaking over as the Chief Minister.
Somers said he discussed thedevelopment priorities for thestate, where American invest-ment would be welcome.
These areas include farmingbest practices; agricultural devel-opment, food processing, waterdevelopment for drinking, irriga-tion, and treatment; connectivity- including by air, by roads, andvia the internet.
Other areas include health caredevelopment, vocational skills de-velopment; manufacturing - withan emphasis on Job creation andenergy and power development.
"American companies arekeen to invest in all these sectors- so long as the business envi-ronment is welcoming," he said. -PTI
ISLAMABAD: India and Af-ghanistan failed to agree on tran-sit fee for gas passing throughAfghan territory under the USD7.6-billion Turkmenistan-Afghani-stan-Pakistan- India (TAPI) pipe-line project, officials said here.
Consequently, Islamabad andNew Delhi too could not agree onthe transit fee for the segment ofthe pipeline passing through Pa-kistan, which has linked its feestructure to any India-Afghani-stan agreement.
Technical teams of Afghani-stan, India and Pakistan held talksfor two days in Islamabad.Pakistan's Petroleum SecretaryEjaz Chaudhry was quoted by TheNews daily as saying that the par-leys had ended inconclusively.
However, Indian officials toldPTI that the talks were held in apositive atmosphere and therewas considerable progress on allmajor issues.
The three countries were try-ing to settle their differences onthe issue of transit fees, the offi-cials said.
Afghanistan will charge Paki-stan and India a transit fee for gaspassing through the pipeline fromTurkmenistan and Pakistan willcharge India the same amount asthe Afghan side.
Chaudhry said Afghanistanhad demanded 54 cents perMMBTU (million British ThermalUnit) as the transit fee but this was
rejected by India. Subsequently,the Afghan side made a demandof 50 cents per MMBTU and In-dia responded with an offer of 47cents, he said.
The difference between thetwo sides was just three cents perMMBTU and could be settled ifthere was political support fromthe Indian and Afghan leadershipand "a push from the US", which
is supporting the project, theDawn quoted its sources as say-ing.
The three countries agreed tohold another round of talks and ifthey again fail to reach an accord,a pipeline steering committee ledby the Asian Development Bankwill play the role of mediator.
The committee is set to meet inTurkmenistan's capital Ashgabaton May 6.
Pakistan has cleared the formalsigning of a gas sales and pur-chase agreement (GSPA) withTurkmenistan.
The pact is expected to besigned by Turkmengaz and Inter-state Gas Company in the firstweek of May.
Under the agreement,Turkmenistan will supply Pakistan1.3 billion cubic feet of gas a day(bcfd) at a price equivalent toabout 70 per cent of the BrentCrude Oil price. India too will get1.3 bcfd and Afghanistan 0.5 bcfd.
The 1,640-km TAPI pipeline isexpected to bring gas to energy-starved Pakistan by December2016 if a credible security appara-tus is put in place in war-torn Af-ghanistan.
Pakistan's Economic Coordina-tion Committee of the Cabinet con-stituted a committee to analyze thecost of risk sharing for gas trans-portation through Afghanistanand the overall cost of the projectinside Pakistan.
The pricing formula finalizedby India, Pakistan andTurkmenistan was based on com-mon principles but the base pricefor India and Pakistan is different.
In view of the security situa-tion in Afghanistan and its reluc-tance to bear the risks involved,Turkmenistan and Pakistanagreed to share the risk with anupper and lower limit of risk costs.-PTI
Teams of Afghani-stan, India and Paki-stan held talks for twodays in Islamabad.Pakistan's PetroleumSecretary EjazChaudhry said theparleys had endedinconclusively
'Major economic reformsunlikely before 2014 polls'
WASHINGTON: Major eco-nomic reforms in India would hitthe roadblock and are unlikely tohappen before the next Parliamen-tary elections in 2014, India's ChiefEconomic Advisor Kaushik Basuhas said.
Addressing a meeting at theCarnegie Endowment for Interna-tional Peace, an eminent Washing-ton-based think tank, Basu saidthat relatively less important billsmight go through Parliament.
Post-2014, he said,"you would see a rushof important reforms"and after 2015 Indiawould be one of the"fastest growing"economies of theworld.
The new govern-ment, if in majority,would start with the re-forms in a big way be-cause there is a sense that it needsto pick up, Basu added.
At the same time, he said thereare some reforms that need to gointo fast gear and identified theopening up of the retail sector asone key reforms in waiting.
India, he said, also needs toaddress the issue of massive sub-sidy leakage and that of poor in-frastructure.
After the elections, the govern-ment of the day would take re-forms on fast track and therewould be a flurry of reforms, Basu,who is here to attend the AnnualSpring meeting of the Interna-tional Monetary Fund (IMF) and
the World Bank, said.He was addressing the con-
cerns expressed by the US corpo-rate on some recent decisions ofthe Indian government and its re-luctance to initiate the series ofnext phase of reforms.
Basu said there is a slowdownin decision making. The unearth-ing of a series of corruption andscams, he argued, is having itsown impact on the psyche of thebureaucracy, who are not willing
to take risks.Reforms, he said, have also
slowed down because of the coa-lition government. Another rea-son for the slowdown is the battleagainst inflation and drop in agri-cultural production.
India, Basu said, acted on boththe fiscal and monetary policy. Fi-nally, India too is impacted by theglobal economic slowdown.
"We are going through a diffi-cult year," Basu, who is accompa-nying Finance Minister PranabMukherjee to the IMF- WorldBank meet, said, adding that In-dia is trying to go back to fiscalconsolidation.-PTI
Reforms, he said, have alsoslowed down because ofthe coalition government.Another reason for theslowdown is the battleagainst inflation and drop inagricultural production
'Pak security establishment supportstrade ties with India'
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's secu-rity establishment supports thecivilian government's efforts tonormalize trade relations with In-dia as it believes the move willboost the country's economy andhelp create grounds for resolvingpolitical disputes between the twonations, security officials said.
The Pakistan army supportstrade with India because all stake-holders in the country "have beentaken on board and the chambers(of commerce) want it," the secu-rity officials said during an inter-action with Indian journalists.
"The army fully supports tradebecause it will boost oureconomy," one official said.
The security establishmentbacks the decision to normalizetrade relations because it wasmade by a civilian governmentthat is a coalition of various par-ties which have all supported themove, said the officials who spokeon the condition of anonymity.
The security officials indicatedthat since political disputes be-tween India and Pakistan can nei-ther be put in cold storage nor re-solved overnight, the two coun-tries need to forge "some mecha-nism" that showed to the people
that they are working to addressoutstanding issues.
"Trade may not be the alterna-tive but it shows that the two sidesare talking and taking some tan-gible steps. Unless something is
seen to be happening, non-stateactors will get fuel to add to theirpropaganda that both govern-ments are not doing anything. Weneed to keep talking," one officialsaid.
At the same time, the two coun-tries must remain prepared for"spoilers," the officials said.
In this regard, they referred tothe situation in 2001, when a ter-rorist attack on India's Parliamentwas blamed on the Pakistan-basedLashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed.
That "situation in 2001" had ledto the massing of troops "on theborder and brought us close towar," the officials said.
Giving "ultimatums" about an-other Mumbai-like assault or anattack on the US will "only pro-vide an incentive to non-state ac-tors" as neither India nor Pakistancan guarantee that there wouldnot be another incident, the offi-cials contended.-PTI
The Pakistan armysupports trade withIndia because allstakeholders in thecountry ‘have beentaken on board andthe chambers (ofcommerce) want it’
India PostApril 27, 2012 9
www.indiapost.com
Top Stories
Indian Film Fest IFFLA comes of agePURNIMA MUDNAL
LOS ANGELES: As the sun set on theIndian Film Festival of Los Angeles lateSunday evening (April 15), the fest markedits tenth anniversary but more importantlycarved out a radiant character arc for itself.
The festival opened with BedabrataPain's inspiring saga of revolution, triumph,sacrifice and love in "Chittagong" andclosed with the Los Angeles premier ofPrashant Bhargava's uplifting "Patang."
The festival's growth was evident - fromits humble beginnings in 2002 - it attractedmore than 8,000 people who attended the
six-day film fête at the ArcLight Hollywoodin Los Angeles. IFFLA received 350 sub-missions and showcased 33 short films,documentaries and features with 45 film-makers in attendance.
Aiming to be a portal between the twolargest film industries in the world, IFFLAfounder Christina Marouda described thejourney as: "We have grownand we've learned from ourmistakes and we're celebrat-ing our most successful fes-tival yet."
The transformation of theIndian film industry hasdrawn attention in recenttimes from many quarters.Indy producer and IFFLAjury member Sunil Perkashdescribed the changes in In-dian cinema as "Over thepast five to 10 years, the In-dian film industry has be-come a movement, experi-enced a blossoming, a com-
ing of age with sophisticated story telling."Perkash's credits include films like Salt andEnchanted.
"Indians have been telling stories forthousands of years; it's in our blood," saidveteran actor and jury member Iqbal Thepa,who appears as Principal Figgins in the Foxhit TV musical series Glee.
Acclaimed actress Seema Biswas gracedthe red carpet on closing night and sharedher experiences during the making ofPatang as being nervous initially aboutworking on an NRI project. Beautifully shot
in old Ahmedabad, the film engages uniquefilming techniques to tell the story of a fam-ily and its hidden conflicts coming to thefore during Uttarayan, the kite flying festi-val in Gujarat. Bhargava said the film be-came the "anthem of the city" and thankedthe Amdavadi people for their support.
Biswas watched the film in its entirety
for the first time at IFFLA and saidthe most enjoyable momentswere observing Bhargava traininexperienced child actors.
Karan Gour's Corrode (Kshay)won the jury prize in best featurefilm category. Jury memberspicked Gemma Atwal's well-de-served Marathon Boy in the bestdocumentary category. Atwal'sgut-wrenching documentary fol-lows four-year-old Budhia's jour-ney from the slums to becomingthe world's youngest marathonrunner before the age of 10; andthe ramifications of that fame and glory for
the boy and his coach.Director Rajan Khosa's
film Gattu garnered the Au-dience Choice award for BestFeature as well as receivedan honorable mention fromthe jury in the best documen-tary category. The film cen-ters around a spunky streeturchin's dream and desire toescape the drudgery of hislife in a village where kite-fly-ing is revered. It also earneda special mention at the 2012Berlin International Film Fes-tival.
"I wanted to make a fun
film and that's what people appreciated,"Khosa said. "I hope people will realize thatstreet kids aren't just street kids, they arevery smart."
Best jury short film honors went toNeeraj Ghaywan's "Noise" (Shor)" alongwith honorable mentions to performancesby Ravi Kapoor in "The 5" and actressMeera Simhan in "Sujata."
Gotham Chopra's film about his fatherwon the audience award for best documen-tary for "Decoding Deepak" and AnirbanRoy's Audacity (Aashprodha) for bestshort film.
Notable films screened at IFFLA in-cluded Black Friday, Paan Singh Tomar,Udaan, Delhi Belly, Agent Vinod and Loinsof Punjab.
Best jury short film honorswent to Neeraj Ghaywan's"Noise" (Shor)" along withhonorable mentions toperformances by RaviKapoor in "The 5" andactress Meera Simhan in"Sujata."Gotham Chopra'sfilm about his father wonthe audience award forbest documentary
IFFLA Founder Christina Marouda, writer, director Prashant Bhargava and actress Seema
Biswas (left to right) discuss the making of Patang at closing night gala Actress Seema Biswas speaks to media on the red carpet
Actor and expert Kathak dancer Amprapali Ambegaonkar on the red carpet
Filmgoers gather outside screening theatre
Local artistes perform on tabla and guitar in outdoor courtyard at IFFLA
Outdoor courtyard at ArcLight Hollywood
buzzes with activity at IFFLA 2012
are deemed to be citation clas-sics. His work has transformed
the treatment and prevention ofcardiovascular diseases glo-
www.indiapost.com April 27, 2012
COMMUNITYACROSS AMERICA
Details on page 18
10 India Post
Bill to protectSikhs from jobdiscrimination
Desi News
Details on page 12
Details on page 14
Details on page 16
Trial begins in Dr. DivyenduSinha murder case
Wife Alka Sinha gives tearful testimonyIndia Post News Service
NEW JERSEY: It was an emo-tional day in the Middlesex Countycourthouse on April 12. Alka
Sinha, widow of Dr. DivyenduSinha, the Indian American scien-tist who was beaten to death by
four teenagers near his home inOld Bridge, NJ, relived the mo-ments before and after her hus-band was attacked on the night ofJune 25, 2010.
"It was the worst day of mylife," said a tearful Sinha testify-ing against Steven Contreras, oneof the accused who is on trial fac-
ing 10 charges including murderand aggravated assault.
Contreras (now 20) was thedriver of the car that took the fourassailants to and from the sceneof murderous attack on Dr. Sinha.While Contreras is being triedseparately, trial of the remainingfour defendants will tentatively
start on July 10.Besides Contreras, the attack-
ers who were indicted by a GrandJury in Dr. Sinha's murder are: CashQ. Johnson (now 20), Christian M.Tinli (now 21), ChristopherConway (now 20), and Julian C.Daley (now 19).
Alka Sinha Dr. Divyendu Sinha
The second 'Hottest' researcher in scienceDR ENAS A ENAS
CHICAGO: The IntellectualProperty & Science business ofThomson Reuters on April 11 an-nounced the Hottest Research of2011, a ranking of the most influ-ential scientific researchers andresearch papers of the year.Thomson Reuters is the world'sleading source of intelligent in-formation for businesses andprofessionals.
Dr. Salim Yusuf, an Indo-Ca-nadian cardiologist and epidemi-ologist was named the secondhottest researcher and innova-tor with 13 Hot Papers in 2011.Yusuf just missed sharing the topspot.
Lander had 14 of the mostcited papers - called "hot pa-pers" - last year. Yusuf had 13.
Several of Dr. Yusuf's articles
bally.This year's group of 15 Hot-
test Researchers each contrib-uted to at least 10 Hot Papers,
covering key areas such as ge-netics, cardiology, epidemiologyand cancer research. Eric S.Lander of The Eli and Edythe L.Broad Institute of MIT andHarvard topped the list of mostinfluential researchers for thesecond year straight, recording14 Hot Papers in 2011.
The ranking of the top re-searchers was made by ScienceWatch, its open Web resource forscience metrics and analysis.Tracking researchers whose re-cent published papers recordednotably higher levels of citationsduring 2011, along with the mosthighly cited individual papers ofthe year, the annual report spot-lights emerging trends in scienceand the innovators behind them.
Dr Salim Yusuf
Several of Dr. Yusuf'sarticles are deemedto be citation clas-sics. His work hastransformed the treat-ment and preventionof cardiovasculardiseases globally
"It was the worst dayof my life," said atearful Sinha testifyingagainst StevenContreras, one of theaccused who is ontrial facing 10 chargesincluding murder andaggravated assault.Contreras (now 20)was the driver of thecar that took the fourassailants to and fromthe scene of murder-ous attack onDr. Sinha
CHICAGO: Chicago-based In-dian scientist and a leading com-munity activist, Prof GhanshyamPandey, has been elected as theNational President of the Associa-tion of Indians in America (AIA)
A Professor at College of Medi-cine, University of Illinois, Prof.Pandey has been associated withthe Illinois Chapter of AIA for overtwo decades and has been instru-mental in revamping this one ofthe oldest ethnic Indian organiza-tions with numerous communitybased service activities.
President's Awardfor Lane Techstudent
SURENDRA ULLAL
CHICAGO: 15-year old AyeshaSiddiqui, a 9th Grade student atLane Tech High School Chicago,has been honored with President'sEducation Award for her Outstand-ing Academic Excellence.
The certificate duly signed byPresident Barack Obama and Sec-retary of Education Arne Duncanwas presented to Ayesha by thePrincipal of Lane Tech HighSchool.
Ayesha, a former student ofClinton Elementary School Chi-cago and daughter of AQ Siddiqui,owner of Evia Travel Inc, is alsoamong top 50 students of LaneTech High School.
Asian AmericanInstitute celebrates20 years
KIRAN SIDDIQUI
CHICAGO: Asian American In-stitute (AAI), a member of theAsian American Center for Ad-vancing Justice, hosted its 14thannual Milestone Awards atHarold Washington Library onTuesday April 17.
The event, both a fundraiserand a celebration of AAI's 20th an-niversary drew attendees fromboth the public and private sec-tor, including Cook County BoardPresident Toni Preckwinkle.
The program, emceed by localFox news reporter Joanie Lum in-cluded an address from Helen Zia,activist and former editor of Ms.Magazine, a speech from ExecutiveDirector Tuyet Le.
India Post 11April 27, 2012 Community Across Americawww.indiapost.com
Meet on plight of women under Islamic lawIndia Post News Service
DETROIT, MI: The JessicaMokdad Human Rights Confer-ence dedicated to exposing theplight of women under Islamiclaw will be held in Dearborn,Michigan on the anniversary ofthe honor murder of JessicaMokdad, a 20-year-old Muslimwoman from Warren, Michigan
The Conference jointly hostedby American Freedom DefenseInitiative (AFDI), its Stop Islam-ization of America (SIOA) pro-gram and the Virginia Anti-ShariahTask Force (VAST) is slated to beheld at the Hyatt Hotel inDearborn.
After bowing to Islamic su-premacist pressure and cancelinga speech by Pamela Geller that hadbeen scheduled for a Hyatt in Nash-ville, Tennessee, the Hyatt reversedits stance, recovered its under-standing of the American principleof free speech, apologized and of-fered AFDI space in a Hyatt for afuture conference to make it up thehuman rights organization. Gellerchose the Hyatt in Dearborn tostand in solidarity there with girlswho are in danger of being victim-ized like Jessica Mokdad.
Jessica Mokdad, a young 20-year-old Muslim woman in War-ren, was brutally murdered in May2011. Fox News Detroit reported:"Authorities say a Minnesotaman killed his 20-year-old step-daughter in Michigan becauseshe left home and wasn't follow-ing Islam." Jessica's stepfather, adevout Muslim, tracked his step-daughter over four states to mur-der her for bringing dishonor onher family.
Jessica Mokdad "loved Islam" according to her parents. Stepfather Rahim A. Alfetlawi
AFDI Executive DirectorPamela Geller said in a statement:"We've named the Conference af-ter her as part of our ongoing cam-paign to raise awareness and
bring a stop to the phenomenonof Islamic honor killing. Thesegirls have rights, too, they're hu-man beings, and yet they're com-pletely forgotten in our politicallycorrect culture, in which speech
that is offensive to Islam is in-creasingly forbidden. We'restanding for the human rights ofgirls like Jessica Mokdad."
Geller added: "AFDI tried to
place ads on Detroit-area busesoffering help to people wishingto leave Islam and threatened bytheir families. Detroit SMARTTransit refused the ads, and wesued on free speech grounds. We
won, and the ads were scheduledto run, but Detroit SMART stillrefused to run them - and the sameweek they were supposed to run,Jessica Mokdad was murdered.Perhaps if she had seen one ofour ads, she would be alive to-day. This underscores the cow-ardice of Detroit-area officialsand the need for this Conferencein Dearborn. We welcome womenseeking help and resources toescape dangerous and misogy-nist households."
The confirmed list of speakersincludes ex-Muslim human rightsactivist Nonie Darwish;Sudanese ex-slave and freedomfighter Simon Deng; and JamesLafferty of the Virginia Anti-Sharia Taskforce (VAST), co-host
of the Conference. Also speakingwill be David Wood of Acts 17Apologetics, a Christian groupthat is suing the city of Dearbornfor covering up Islamic honor kill-ings performed in the area - thatcover-up, and the resulting suit,will also be a focus of the JessicaMokdad Human Rights Confer-ence
Hosting the Conference andalso speaking are Pamela Geller,publisher of the acclaimedAtlasShrugs.com blog, executivedirector of AFDI and SIOA, andauthor of Stop the Islamization ofAmerica: A Practical Guide to theResistance (WND Books); andAFDI/SIOA associate directorRobert Spencer, the bestsellingauthor and director of Jihad Watch.
Stop the Islamization ofAmerica is a groundbreaking newbook offering the fruit of a vet-eran national activist's years ofexperience fighting back againstIslamic supremacist efforts toerode our freedoms.
In it, Geller offers the fruit ofher experience as the nationalleader of the fight against theGround Zero mega-mosque andof numerous other initiatives todefend freedom against the en-croachment of Islamic law. She of-fers practical, tested, effectiveguidance on how freedom loverscan stop jihadist initiatives in lo-cal communities.
AFDI/SIOA is one ofAmerica's foremost organizationsdefending human rights, reli-gious liberty, and the freedom ofspeech against Islamic suprema-cist intimidation and attempts tobring elements of Sharia to theUnited States.
‘These girls have rights, too, they're humanbeings, and yet they're completely forgottenin our politically correct culture, in whichspeech that is offensive to Islam is increas-ingly forbidden’
Unique Hindu Baccalaureate Service at Nevada varsityHARISH RAO
Religious leaders belonging to various religions and denominations blessing graduating students at the "Fifth Annual Hindu Baccalaureate Service of University
of Nevada-Reno", after tilak was applied to their foreheads. (Pic Debbie McCarthy)
NEVADA: One of its kind bac-calaureate services in the world,was held at University of Nevada-Reno (UNR) on Sunday April 15evening.
"The Fifth Annual Hindu Bac-calaureate Service (DikshantUtsav) of UNR " blessed thegraduating class in the traditionalHindu style, complete with apply-ing tilak (religious mark) on theforeheads of graduates, participa-tory reading of Gayatri Mantra inSanskrit, keynote address by aSwami and kirtan (sacred chant).In addition, it also included bless-ings by Christian (various denomi-nations), Muslim, Buddhist, Jew-ish, Native American and Baha'irepresentatives who recitedprayers in Arabic, Pali, Hebrew,Paiute, besides English.
Cont’d on page 14
April 27, 2012India Post12 Community Across Americawww.indiapost.com
The courtroom was packed with nearlytwo dozen Indian Americans who turnedout to show support to the Sinha family.
The trial began before Superior courtJudge Bradley Ferencz on April 12, withcounsel for both sides making their open-ing statements. Sinha was the first to tes-tify on behalf of the prosecution.
Alka Sinha, 47, who holds a Masters inComputer Science, had been married toDr. Sinha for 20 years. Dr. Sinha workedas a manager in the imaging division ofSiemens in Tarrytown. That fatefulevening, the couple, along with their sonsAshish and Ravi were out for a walk infront of their house on Fela Drive whenthey heard footsteps coming up behindthem. As they hurried back home, one ofthem came up, tapped Dr. Sinha on his
Trial begins in Dr. Divyendu Sinha murder caseshoulder and said, "Hey man I have toask you something." Even as Dr. Sinhaturned around, they began pummeling himon his face and continued to take turnsbeating and punching him after he lost
his balance and fell on the ground. Thefour teens also beat up Ashish and Raviwho received minor bruises.
The attackers ran away when they re-alized that they were in front of a friend'shouse. They left Dr. Sinha on the grass
with Alka Sinha screaming for help.Eventually, Dr. Sinha was taken to hos-
pital and three days later, he passed away.Alka Sinha said that Dr. Sinha never leftthe Robert Wood Johnson hospital and
he never came back to his home from thatwalk.
To another question from the prosecu-tor Alka Sinha said that they had neverknown the assailants and that there wasno bad blood between them and her fam-
ily. She also said that they did not fightback when the guys attacked them.
Middlesex County Deputy First Assis-tant Prosecutor Christopher Kuberiet saidhe plans to call 34 witnesses includingdoctors who treated Dr. Sinha, MedicalExaminer who performed the autopsy,Police officers and detectives, and hissons Ashish and Ravi.
Hassen Abdellah, attorney forContreras tried to establish that the de-fendant was merely driving the car inwhich the four teenagers who attacked Dr.Sinha came in.
He said Contreras did not even physi-cally touch Dr. Sinha and that there wasno proof that he shared the same criminalpurpose, intent or state of mind as thefour others in the car that night. "Merepresence at the scene is not culpable," hesaid in defense of Contreras.
Middlesex County Deputy First Assistant Prosecutor Chris-topher Kuberiet said he plans to call 34 witnesses includ-ing doctors who treated Dr. Sinha, Medical Examiner whoperformed the autopsy, Police officers and detectives,and his sons Ashish and Ravi
Cont’d from page 10
Ghanshyam Pandey electedAIA national president
RAMESH SOPARAWALA
India Post News Service
CHICAGO: Chicago-based In-dian scientist and a leading com-munity activist, Prof GhanshyamPandey, has been elected as theNational President of the Associa-tion of Indians in America (AIA)
A Professor at College of Medi-cine, University of Illinois, Prof.Pandey has been associated withthe Illinois Chapter ofAIA for over two de-cades and has been in-strumental in revamp-ing this one of the old-est ethnic Indian orga-nizations with numer-ous community basedservice activities.
AIA was launchedon August 20, 1967 asa grassroots nationalorganization of Indiansin the United States. Ithas applied democraticprinciples of one mem-ber one and has chap-ters and membershipspread across thecountry.
The objectives ofAIA are to provide aforum of common ac-tion to those with In-dian heritage and help them be-come a part of the American main-stream. The Illinois chapter is oneof the largest and active organiza-tions hosting youth and commu-nity programs in the Chicago area.The celebration of Gandhi Jayantiby AIA Illinois chapter is one ofits signature events which havebeen conducted since 1983.
The inaugural function of the
National Executive Committee withProfessor Ghanshyam Pandey asthe President will take place at theAshyana Banquets on April 29.This will be in conjunction withthe Annual Banquet and dinner ofAIA Illinois. This will comprisecultural events as well as banquetdinner with Dorothy Brown, Clerkof the Circuit Court, and JesseWhite, Secretary of State, asGuests of Honor.
The following were elected tothe AIA Executive Committee:President: Ghanshyam Pandey;Vice Presidents: Virendra Gupta,Naren Patel, Surinder Rametra,Durgesh Thakur; Treasurer: LucyPandey; Secretary: Salil Mishra;Members at Large: S.S R Mehta(California), Hansa Ashar (Con-necticut), Uma Eniasivam (Florida),Rakesh Gupta (Florida), Maya
Kriplani (Florida), RamolaMotwani (Florida), Claude Moraes(Florida), Chand Mehta (GenesseValley, NY), Om Dhingra (Illinois) ,Nand Kapoor (Illinois), PremMehrotra (Illinois), ManoranjanMishra (Illinois), Beena Patel (Illi-nois). Anjana Chaudary (St. Louis,Missouri), Ravi Prakash Singh (St.Louis, Missouri). D.C. Agarwal(New Jersey), Bharati Palkhiwala(New Jersey), Ravi Mehrotra (New
Jersey), Anwar F. Siddiqi (New Jer-sey), Asmita Bhatia (New York),Indu Jaiswal (New York), UshaKapoor (New York), SantoshKhera (New York), SushmaKotahwala (New York), Sunil Modi(New York), Beena Sabharwal (NewYork), Yogeeta Purohit (Washing-ton), Kamlesh Saini (Wisconsin),Puneet Saini (Wisconsin) andShanti Tangri (New Jersey).
Prof Ghanshyam Pandey
Sikh restaurateur obtainsexemption to wear KaraDULUTH, GA: A Sikh small
business owner who was cited re-peatedly by the State of Georgia,has obtained a "variance" to wearhis Kara to work at his restaurant.Navraj Singh Banga, owner ofLajawaab Indian Cuisine, was toldby a Georgia health inspector thatwearing the Kara violated statehealth regulations. The repeatedcitations could have resulted inthe state shutting down his busi-ness. However, the Sikh Coalitionsuccessfully represented Mr.Banga in obtaining a variance fromstate health regulations.
Georgia's health regulationsdisallow restaurant food preparersfrom wearing jewelry, except forwedding rings. Mr. Banga cooksfood at his restaurant. He con-tacted the Sikh Coalition after statehealth inspectors told him that noaccommodations would be madefor his religiously-mandated Kara.
However, the Sikh Coalition'sresearch revealed that the statedoes allow exceptions to the healthregulations on a case-by-case ba-sis. The organization representedMr. Banga in his application for avariance, and argued that thestate's position violated state andfederal constitutional guaranteesof free exercise of religion.
On March 23 the state agreedand is allowing Mr. Banga to wearhis Kara in his restaurant withoutpenalty. The decision is listed onthe state's official "Rules WaiverRegister" website, and sets pre-cedent in the State of Georgia.Thus, no other Sikh restaurantowner in the state should be pe-nalized for wearing his or her Karato work.
"I would like to thank everyoneat the Sikh Coalition for fighting
for me, supporting me, and for win-ning! This victory will raise aware-ness among the Sikh communityand will encourage other Sikhs tofight to practice their faith," saidMr. Banga.
"No one should live in fear thatthe government will shut downtheir business because of their re-ligious beliefs," said HarsimranKaur, the Sikh Coalition's LegalDirector. "We are pleased that theState of Georgia recognizes itsconstitutional obligations."
The Sikh Coalition thankedGuru Nanak Mission Society ofAtlanta, which provided a sup-porting letter, for their assistancein this matter.
Navraj Singh BangaThe objectives of AIAare to provide aforum of commonaction to those withIndian heritage andhelp them become apart of the Americanmainstream. TheIllinois chapter is oneof the largest andactive organizationshosting youth andcommunity programsin the Chicago area
However, the SikhCoalition's researchrevealed that the statedoes allow excep-tions to the healthregulations on acase-by-case basis
India Post 13April 27, 2012 Community Across Americawww.indiapost.com
Ekal Vidyalaya raises funds with concert
Asian Media USA
CHICAGO: Ekal Vidyalaya, a no profitbody resolved to eradicating illiteracyamong children of rural and tribal India, or-ganized a musical concert with artists fromMumbai to raise funds for its activities. Theevent was held on Saturday April 14 atGlenbard East High School, Lombard, aChicago suburb.
Ekal had invited two young rising sing-
ers Samir Date and Dipalee Somaiya fromMumbai. The program started after a sump-tuous dinner with Aum Stuti and Prarthanfrom Yash Desai and his group. Dr. HasmukhShah and Harish Doshi narrated in brief ac-tivities of Ekal.
Samir and Dipalee won over the audi-ence with their rendering of songs and livelystage performances. The singers used onlytwo musicians one keyboard player (SamitPuddar) and the other octopad player
(Sanjeet Birha). With such a small orches-tra, Dipalee and Samir belted out nostalgicold songs as well as newer ones for aboutthree hours.
While Sushma Patel provided pictur-esque backdrop in blue and white wavydesign and soothing light effects, SalimPanjwani managed the sound system.
Ekal was able to raise donations for ap-proximately 450 schools. Besides its initia-tive in eradicating illiteracy from rural and
tribal belt of India by 2015, it is also aimingto go beyond this through its four impor-tant domains: Empowerment (Empowermenteducation), Knowledge (DevelopmentalEducation), Arogya (Health care Education),and Literacy (Primary Education). Ekal isoffering holistic village developmentthrough functional education and is in a pro-cess to make villages liquor free (tulsi plan-tation) and land chemical free (PromotingVermicompost).
One of the Ekal organizers Kamlesh Shah (second from left) with artists Children saying prayers during Ekal fundraiser
April 27, 2012India Post14 Community Across Americawww.indiapost.com
Dr Yusuf has been included inthe top 15 most influential re-searchers in the world severaltimes, including being ranked in2009 as No.8, and now no. 2 in 2012.He is likely the most influentialhealth researcher of Indian originof all time.
Making it more remarkable isthat Yusuf does clinical research.Usually the top spots are taken bygenetics. His work on heart dis-ease, stroke, blood clots and thecauses of illness are cited by other
scientists more often than anyother researcher except one -famed geneticist Dr. Eric Lander,president and founding director ofthe Broad Institute of MIT andHarvard.
Dr Yusuf has been the chiefscientific advisor to CADI (Coro-nary Artery Disease among AsianIndians) Research FoundationUSA from its very inception. He isalso an esteemed member of theAKMG which represents morethan 3000 Indian physicians ofKerala heritage in the US andCanada.
The second 'Hottest'researcher in science
Cont’d from page 10
Organized by Universal Soci-ety of Hinduism in collaborationwith Indian Student Organizationof UNR, it started with lighting tra-ditional lamp before the statue ofgoddess Saraswati, patron oflearning and the arts, and includedblessing of the upcoming gradu-ates with wisdom from Vedas,Upanishads and Bhagavad-Gita -ancient Hindu scriptures, by well-known Hindu monk SwamiVedananda from California. Promi-nent musician Jim Eaglesmithchanted kirtan number "HareKrishna, Hare Rama" and the au-
Unique Hindu Baccalaureate Service at Nevada varsitydience followed him on the chant.
While Vedananda read a uni-versal prayer, all religious leadersrepeated after him and raised theirhands blessing the graduatingstudents who stood in front ofthem and all other upcominggraduates in absentia.
US Senate Majority LeaderHarry Reid, US Senator DeanHeller and US Congressman MarkE. Amodei sent recognition certifi-cates for the Baccalaureate Ser-vice. Rajan Zed, president of Uni-versal Society of Hinduism, recitedGayatri Mantra in Sanskrit and theaudience repeated it after him. Edu-cation in Hindu tradition has been
deep rooted, Rajan Zed pointedout and added that after many im-portant universities in ancient In-dia, like Taxila, Nalanda, Sarnath,Amaravati, Banaras, Kanchi andUjjain; great Indian universitiesalso flourished in medieval period,like Odantapura (745 CE),Vikramasila (810 CE), Somapura(480 CE), Jagaddala (1090 CE).
Washoe County issued a spe-cial Resolution to mark the signifi-cance of First Annual Hindu Bac-calaureate Service of UNR.
Baccalaureate service basicallymeans service where a sermon isdelivered to the graduating class.In use since the eighth century,origins of the baccalaureate ser-vice point to an Oxford University
statute of 1432, which requiredeach bachelor to deliver a sermonin Latin as part of the academicexercise.
The flagship institution of thestate established in 1874, UNR isone of the top 120 universities inAmerica for funded research hav-ing internationally known re-searchers in renewable energy,earthquake engineering, environ-ment, etc.
It is helping to create theworld's most accurate atomic clockand is home to one of the largestearthquake-simulation labs. Vari-ous Hollywood movies have beenshot at UNR, which has about18,000 students with MarcJohnson as interim President.
The flagship institutionof the state estab-lished in 1874, UNR isone of the top 120universities inAmerica for fundedresearch having inter-nationally knownresearchers in renew-able energy, earth-quake engineering,environment, etc
Cont’d from page 11
President's Award for LaneTech student
SURENDRA ULLAL
Ayesha Siddiqui
Crazy Mohan brings'Chocolate Krishna'
SURENDRA ULLAL
CHICAGO: Ganesh GayathriTemple has organized a new com-edy play by renowned Tamil actorCrazy Mohan and his troop on Sat-urday, April 28 at Balaji Temple, Au-rora, a south west suburb of Chicago.The play titled "Chocolate Krishna"is nearing its 500th performance.
An engineer by qualification,Crazy Mohan with his distinctivebrand of humor has enlivened thelife of millions with his memorableplays. He has authored 24 playsand scripted 29 super hit films inTamil. His association with actorKamal Hassan has produced mas-sive humor epics such as AvvaiShanmugi, Aboorva Sahodarargal,Michael Madana Kamarajan,Tenali, Vasool Raja MBBS, etc.Mohan's movie Arunachalam withRajnikanth was an all-time hit. Themega event will start at 4 p.m. atthe Temple auditorium.
Ganesh Gayathri temple atLockport, IL is giving its patronsa double treat of comedy play and
light music during the presenta-tion. The play will be followed bya light music concert with live or-chestra which includes old, newand devotional movie songs per-formed by the professional artistsfrom the Chicago area.
CHICAGO: 15-year old Ayesha Siddiqui, a 9thGrade student at Lane Tech High School Chicago,has been honored with President's EducationAward for her Outstanding Academic Excellence.
The certificate duly signed by President BarackObama and Secretary of Education Arne Duncanwas presented to Ayesha by the Principal of LaneTech High School.
Ayesha, a former student of Clinton Elemen-tary School Chicago and daughter of AQ Siddiqui,owner of Evia Travel Inc, is also among top 50students of Lane Tech High School.
The President's Education Awards Program,sponsored by the U. S. Department of Educationwas developed to help principals recognize andhonor those students who have achieved highacademic goals by their hard work and dedica-tion to learning. The select students receive cer-tificates signed by the President, the U.S. Secre-tary of Education and a congratulatory letter fromthe President. Since 1983, the program has pro-vided individual recognition from the Presidentand the U.S. Secretary of Education to those stu-dents whose outstanding efforts have enabledthem to meet challenging standards of excellence.
Approved by the Lockport CityCouncil, this event is geared to-wards collecting funds for thebuilding, sewage maintenanceand installation of security systemas required by the city. The GGTemple is an IRS approved tax ex-empt organization and donationsto the temple are tax deductible.
Ganesh Gayathritemple at Lockport, ILis giving its patrons adouble treat of com-edy play and lightmusic during thepresentation
India Post 15April 27, 2012 Community Across Americawww.indiapost.com
Jalaram Mandir health fair a big success
Group of people waiting for their turn Patient being examined for BP
Mandir organizers and volunteers
Asian Media USA
CHICAGO: The third annualhealth fair organized at ShreeJalaram Mandir in Hoffman Es-tates, a northwest suburb of Chi-cago on Sunday, April, 15 was agreat success by all accounts.
More than 325 patients availedthe free services provided at thishealth fair - a community serviceprogram mainly for the benefit ofdevotees and all those withoutmedical insurance, visitors andothers in need of medical check-ups. People came from all overChicago Metropolitan area andmore than 100 enthusiastic healthcare volunteers of Jalaram Mandirparticipated to make this commu-nity service event a success.
Bakulbhai Thakkar, one of themain coordinators and ChiryauParikh, the president, were over-joyed at the success of the fair andthey thanked the volunteers anddoctors for their services.
The fair started at 8 am and con-cluded at 1 pm. According to
Chirayu Parikh, the primary goalwas to provide comprehensivemedical checkup and needed con-sultations with various specialistsall under one roof.
Most attendees who took ad-vantage of this event were thosewho could not afford medical in-
surance coverage, or had no ac-cess to medical services due totransportation or language barrier,due to economic constraints orresidency requirements.
Volunteers managed the flowof patients from one station to an-other in a smooth fashion with-out much chaos or confusion. Pa-tients received height, weight,blood pressure, blood sugar,urine analysis, EKG and bonedensity testing. Specialty con-sultants of internal medicine, car-diology, obstetrics and gynecol-ogy, dentistry, podiatry and op-tometry rendered free services atthis event.
Attendees were served hotMasala Chai, breakfast and snackafter blood work was completed.At the conclusion of the event, hotlunch was provided to all the hardworking volunteers.
The following are Trustees andOffice Bearers of Shree JalaramMandir 2011-2013:
Attendees wereserved hot MasalaChai, breakfast andsnack after bloodwork was com-pleted. At the con-clusion of the event,hot lunch was pro-vided to all the hardworking volunteers
April 27, 2012India Post16 Community Across Americawww.indiapost.com
Asian American Institute celebrates 20 yearsKIRAN SIDDIQUI
Celebration of 20 years of Asian American Institute
Vedic Day Care Center celebrates Ram NavmiKRISHNA DAS
Vedic Day Care Center children with organizers and guests
CHICAGO: Asian American In-stitute (AAI), a member of theAsian American Center for Ad-vancing Justice, hosted its 14thannual Milestone Awards atHarold Washington Library onTuesday April 17.
The event, both a fundraiserand a celebration of AAI's 20th an-niversary drew attendees fromboth the public and private sec-tor, including Cook County BoardPresident Toni Preckwinkle.
The program, emceed by localFox news reporter Joanie Lum in-cluded an address from Helen Zia,activist and former editor of Ms.Magazine, a speech from ExecutiveDirector Tuyet Le, and an awardspresentation to 12 community part-ners; all members of the Pan AsianVoter Empowerment group (PAVE).
The awardees were: Alliance ofFilipinos for Immigrant Rights andEmpowerment, Cambodian Asso-ciation of Illinois, Chinese Ameri-can Service League, Chinese Mu-tual Aid Association, Coalition fora Better Chinese American Com-munity, Hamdard Center, Indo-American Center, Korean Ameri-can Community Services, KoreanAmerican Resource and CulturalCenter, Lao American CommunityServices, Lao American Organiza-tion of Elgin and Muslim WomenResource Center. This year PAVEactively organized its membershipfor Springfield Advocacy day onFebruary 29 presenting an AsianAmerican legislative agenda toelected officials.
The second half of the event
included a reception in the WinterGarden where local bandFunkadesi performed and raffleprizes were awarded. The Mile-
CHICAGO: The Vedic Day CareCenter, a pre-school and kinder-garten educational facility, cel-ebrated its annual Ram Navmifunction on Sunday April 8.
Close to 100 teachers, parentsand invited guests attended theprogram. The children of the VedicDay Care Center recited BhagavadGita slokas, sang nursery songsand performed folk dances. Therewere two plays, one based on LordRam's pastime and another basedon Lord Krishna's pastime.
The director of the Center,Vrashabh Das, briefly enlightenedthe crowd on the progress of the
facility and spoke on the signifi-cance of Ram Navmi. "The DayCare Center is really appreciativeof the generous donations madeby the parents of children and thecommunity leaders for their helpand donations," Das said.
Parents were honored to showthe gratitude of the Day Care.Amongst the many that financially
supported the Center are BharatRabari & family, Chetan Patel &family, Sohan Joshi, MaheshPanchal, Piyush Desai, RoopalBhrambhatt, Kalpesh Patel, Dr.Modi, Dr. Agarwal, Hansa Ben ofSwati Restaurant, Valabbhai Pateland Niru Kapadia of Jai Hind Res-taurant.
stone Awards represent AAI's larg-est annual fundraising event, andthis year, an opportunity to show-case its major accomplishments andpartners from the last 20 years.
The second half of theevent included areception in the WinterGarden where localband Funkadesi per-formed and raffleprizes were awarded
"The Day Care Centeris really appreciativeof the generous do-nations made by theparents of childrenand the communityleaders for their helpand donations"
Mortgage rates are still historically low — act now
• Lower your monthly mortgage payment• Switch from an ARM to a predictable fixed-rate loan• Access funds for large expenses or, debt management
• Get a shorter term to pay off your mortgage faster• Finance your closing costs as part of your new loan
Call today for a complimentary consultation.
Look into refinancing with a responsible lending leader. You may be able to:
• Since 2002, ranked among top 10 volume producers for Wells Fargo Home Mortgage in Silicon Valley• One of Wells Fargo Home Mortgage’s top 125 volume producers in the nation• Winner of numerous Sales and Service awards during his 22 years
Neil Sheth39265 Paseo Padre Pkwy, Fremont, CA 94538Office: 510-818-9536, Cell: 408-396-3545Fax: [email protected], NMLSR ID 460012
Rangla Punjab 2012 a memorable eventRAJINDER SINGH MAGO
CHICAGO: The Punjabi Cul-tural Society of Chicago (PCS) pre-sented their flagship annual event"Rangla Punjab 2012" to celebrateVaisakhi festival on Saturday April7 at Copernicus Theater in Chi-cago. More than 250 performersrendered 30 delightful variety actsin a show attended by more than1500 guests.
Punjabi Cultural Society of Chi-
cago (PCS) has been organizingthis traditional Punjabi culturalprogram "Rangla Punjab" for morethan two decades. Mrs. & Dr.Bhupinder Singh Saini of Ad-vanced Pain Management Clinicsin Wisconsin were the chiefguests.
The program includedBhangra, Giddha, Punjabi songs,music, poetry, recognition of spon-sors, guests, and the P.C.S. offi-cials including the 2012 new boardof directors.
Bhangra and Giddha artists ofall ages ranging from talented
young boys and girls to exception-ally entertaining adult artists in avariety of colorful costumes fromIllinois, Indiana, Wisconsin andIowa performed their best onstage.
Well choreographed and ener-getic college Bhangra teams "Uni-versity of Chicago Bhangra," Illi-nois Institute of Technology "TechDe Fateh," University of Illinois
Chicago "UIC Bhangra," "DePaulUniversity Bhangra," and IowaState University Ames Iowa"I.S.U. Bhangra" were a delight towatch.
The Giddha dance moves bythe colorfully dressed ladies from"Milwaukee Giddha" team per-formed with a serious message tostop female infanticide, and"Giddhe Diyan Ranian," theyoung Chicago Giddha team, and"Shaunkanna Chicago Diyan"won the hearts of the audience.
PCS vice president SurinderSingh Sangha welcomed the audi-
Punjabi youth doing an item PCS women artists presenting a performance
ence. The program opened withsinging of a prayer "shabad" by agroup of young children. Dividedin four segments, the program wasemceed by Mona Bhalla, HarpreetSingh Grewal, Thakar SinghBasati, and Gurmukh SinghBhullar. Sajid Caudhary enter-tained the audience with Punjabipoetry. Siobhan and MehervaanHenegan and Mona Bhalla ren-
dered melodious Punjabi songs.PCS recognized its permanent
Board of Governors and Board ofAdvisors. The new Board of Di-rectors for 2012 as announced areDr. Amarjit Singh (Hon. Chairman),Baljit Singh Sidhu (President),Surinder Singh Sangha (V. Presi-dent and Finance Secretary),Pardeep Singh Deol (ExecutiveSecretary), Harpreet Singh Grewal(Sports Director), Gurmit SinghDhillon (Youth Director), and VickSingh (Inter-community Director).
The immediate past PresidentBalwinder Singh Girn was honored
PCS program starting with prayer by children
with a plaque for his excellent ser-vices by the chief guest Dr.Bhupinder Singh Saini. PresidentBaljit Singh Sidhu and the PCS offi-cials honored the Chief guests Mrs.& Dr. Bhupinder Singh Saini with aplaque for his continuous support.
Irene Cualoping, ManagingPartner, ENERI Communications,said that it was "always great tofeel the energy in "this theater" at"this event." ENERI Communica-tions will be presenting this year"Music on My Mind," the releaseof the 2012 Asian Pacific Ameri-can Heritage Month Commemora-tive Bookmark, in Chicago land.
PCS is one of the honorees onthis year's bookmark. 10,000 com-memorative bookmarks will beprinted and distributed all over -through community groups,schools, libraries and governmen-tal entities. Prominent musical art-
ist and filmmaker Tatsu Aoki willbe presenting a short video trib-ute featuring the honorees.
Many youth volunteers alsohelped in organizing and runningthe show. The theater stage wasbeautifully decorated by SilverleafEvents and Wedding Designs Inc.
The next P.C.S. participationprograms are: "Passport to theWorld - India" at ChicagoChildren's Museum at Navy Pieron May 20, 2012.
The upcoming P.C.S. organizedevents are "Punjabi Youth Gradu-ation & Scholarship Night" onJune 17 at Viceroy of India Ban-quets in Lombard, IL. All thePunjabi graduates are requestedto register with PCS.
"PCS Sports Festival" includ-ing a basketball tournament isslated for July 28 and July 29 atCommunity Park, Addison IL.
India Post 17April 27, 2012 Community Across Americawww.indiapost.com
Bill to protect Sikhs from job discrimination
India Post News Service
FREMONT, CA: Surrounded by mem-bers of the interfaith community, CaliforniaAssemblywoman Mariko Yamada held apress conference here at the West Sacra-mento Gurdwara to unveil legislation to pro-tect Sikhs and others from job discrimina-tion in the workplace.
The legislation, known as the WorkplaceReligious Freedom Act of 2012 (AB1964),will be considered by two legislative com-mittees this month.
California Sikhs continue to experiencejob discrimination because of their Sikh ar-ticles of faith. According to a Sikh Coali-
tion report published in 2010, approximately12% of Sikhs in the San Francisco Bay Areabelieve that they have experienced job dis-
crimination. Major law enforcement agen-cies in California refuse to hire Sikhs. Inaddition, loopholes in federal law make Sikhs
The Sikh Coalition expressed gratitude to Assembly-woman Yamada and her staff for introducing AB1964,and to the Sikh sangat and committee members ofGurdwara Sahib West Sacramento
vulnerable to workplace segregation.If AB1964 passes, it will significantly reduce
job discrimination against Sikhs and other reli-
gious minorities and outlaw segregation inCalifornia, one of the largest economies in theworld. The proposed law is part of the Sikh
Coalition's ongoing efforts to strengthen civilrights laws throughout the nation. Last fall, asix-year effort by the Sikh Coalition culminatedin New York City Mayor Michael Bloombergsigning into law a city version of the Work-place Religious Freedom Act.
In a statement, the Sikh Coalition ex-pressed gratitude to AssemblywomanYamada and her staff for introducingAB1964, and to the Sikh sangat and com-mittee members of Gurdwara Sahib WestSacramento, including Public Relations Of-ficer, Mr. Darshan Singh Mundy, for host-ing the press conference and promoting in-terfaith understanding and civic engage-ment in their community.
Gill outraises McNerney - againIndia Post News Service
LODI, CA: Congressionalcandidate Ricky Gill reported re-ceiving more than $316,000 incontributions in the first quar-ter of 2012, a total that exceedsincumbent Rep. JerryMcNerney's take of $267,000.
Gill, a Lodi small businessowner and family farmer, nowhas outra ised Pleasanton 'sMcNerney in three of four
fundra i s ing quar te r s . Gi l lalso ended the first quarterw i t h m o r e c a s h o n h a n d($988,000) than McNerney($937,000).
Gill now has raised more than$1.1 million since entering therace in mid-2011, almost exclu-sively from individuals andlargely from the San JoaquinValley and Delta areas of the 9thCongressional District. Gill con-sistently has outraised
McNerney despite the incum-bent having accepted more than$425,000 from PACs this cyclealone.
"It 's humbling to see ourgrassroots support translateinto another strong fundraisingquarter," said Gill.
"Unl ike my opponent , Idraw my financial support pri-marily from voters in the 9thDistrict, where I was born andraised."Ricky Gill
April 27, 2012India Post18 Community/Californiawww.indiapost.com
April 27, 2012 India Post 19www.indiapost.com
20 India Post April 27, 2012www.indiapost.com
TechBizTech News
MasterCard CEO Ajay Bangaelected Chairman of USIBC
India Post News Service
NEW YORK: Ajay Banga,President and CEO of MasterCardWorldwide, has been elected as thenext chairman of the US-IndiaBusiness Council (USIBC), theorganization's Board of Directorsannounced. The transition comesat the end of a record-setting two-year term by USIBC's previousChairman, Harold "Terry" McGrawIII, President, Chairman, and CEOof The McGraw-Hill Companies.
"The US-India relationship isstrong and only going to get stron-ger over the long term," saidMcGraw. "We have made goodprogress to improve the trade andinvestment environment andpushed aggressively on anagenda that supports economicand job growth in both of ourcountries. By expanding the part-nership between our two nationsover the next several years, includ-ing passage of a bilateral invest-ment treaty, we can move from $100billion in two-way trade to $500billion by the end of the decade."
During his time as Chairman ofUSIBC, McGraw blazed an equallyimpressive path by adding nearly100 new member companies whileincreasing staff levels two-fold tomore effectively serve members.
"As a long time supporter and
member of USIBC, I have wit-nessed the Council's stature andinfluence rise dramatically as a di-rect result of the iconic leadershipprovided by former chairs ChipKaye, Indra Nooyi, and Terry
McGraw," said Banga. "It is anexceptional honor to be entrustedwith such a legacy and I look for-ward to building on their suc-cesses as USIBC's next Chairman."
Banga joined MasterCard asPresident and Chief Operating Of-
ficer in August 2009 and was laternamed President and CEO, effec-tive July 1, 2010. He currentlyserves on the board of KraftFoods and is a member of suchprestigious groups as the Council
on Foreign Relations, the BusinessRoundtable, and the ForeignPolicy Association.
"The USIBC Board is delightedto have Ajay serve as Chairman,"McGraw added. "His deep busi-ness experience in India, as well
his global businessacumen and leader-ship, will be enor-mously helpful as wemove forward to re-alize the full poten-tial of closer US-In-dia relations."
"MasterCard 'sactivities in India em-powering people viafinancial inclusionand making availableto every segment ofIndian society inno-vative payment solu-tions are central to
the future US-India growth story,"said USIBC President, Ron Somers."I look forward to working closelywith Ajay and the USIBC Board tobuild on the India Council's proud,37-year history."
"The USIBC Board is delighted tohave Ajay serve as Chairman,"McGraw added. "His deep busi-ness experience in India, as wellhis global business acumen andleadership, will be enormously
helpful as we moveforward to realize thefull potential of closerUS-India relations"
Ajay Banga
Citi shareholders against $15 mn package for PanditNEW YORK: Showing frus-
tration with large payouts toWall Street executives,Citigroup's shareholders havevoted against the bank's pro-posal on top level compensa-tions, which included a USD 15million package for its India-born CEO Vikram Pandit.
The vote came at Citi's an-nual shareholder meeting heldin Dallas.
While the vote is not bind-ing, it is the first time that in-vestors at one of America's larg-est banks have voted against aboard's compensation plan, theNew York Times said.
Only 45 per cent of share-holders supported the planwhile the rest voted against theproposal on executive compen-sation, which included approv-ing Pandit's USD 15 million pay
package.Since Citi does not have to act
on the vote, Pandit and other topexecutives could still get their
packages but the rejection none-theless sends out a strong sig-
nal."Citi's board of directors takes
the shareholder vote seriously,and along with senior manage-ment will consult with represen-tative shareholders to under-stand their concerns," said JonDiat, a spokesman for Citi.
Last year, Pandit's USD 14.9million compensation includedUSD 1.67 million salary and USD5.3 million cash bonus. He hadalso received a retention pack-age valued at USD 40 million.
However, at the height of thefinancial crisis in 2009, Pandithad said he will take home justa dollar as salary.
"CEOs deserve good pay,but there's good pay and there'sobscene pay," the report quotedBrian Wenzinger, a principal ata Philadelphia money manage-ment company that votedagainst the pay package, as say-ing. -PTI
Vikram Pandit
Air India postshealthy growthrevenue
MUMBAI: Riding on highyields and an increased passen-ger load factor, state-owned AirIndia posted a healthy 46 per centrevenue growth last month overthe same period last year, airlinesources said.
"The yields on domestic sec-tor had significant improvement of38.5 per cent in March vis-a-vislast year. The seat factor duringthis period also increased nearly7.9 per cent. Consequently, the air-line posted a healthy growth inrevenue of 46.1 per cent," thesources told PTI.
On international routes too, theairline put up a good performance,clocking a nearly 33 per cent growthin passenger revenue. The highergrowth came on the back of an eightper cent jump in load factor andhigher yields at 28 per cent.-PTI
Microsoft, Googlewin Indiandeveloper awards
Global software majorMicrosoft and global search
engine Google bagged the GreatIndian Developer Awards 2012 forinnovative products and applica-tions at the IT developers' fifthannual summit in Bangalore.
Microsoft Visual Studio 2010has been selected in the develop-ment environment category andGoogle Android in the mobile de-velopment category for the pres-tigious awards, instituted bySaltmarch Media, a platform ofprofessionals from diverse sectorswith an objective of informing,networking and serving them withinformation, evaluation and guid-ance to excel in their jobs.
PayPal executiveto lead Yahoobusiness
Yahoo! the premier digital media company, has an-
nounced that former PayPal execu-tive, Sam Shrauger, and currentYahoo! executive, Mollie Spilman,will co-lead the new consumercommerce business unit for Ya-hoo!. Both executives will holdtitles of senior vice president, re-porting to CEO, Scott Thompsonand sit on Thompson's executiveleadership team.
Under Shrauger and Spilman'sleadership, the new commercebusiness will focus on deliveringengaging and personalized con-sumer commerce experienceswhich will connect consumers tomarketers and merchants.
Upgraded Aakash tablet launch next monthNEW DELHI: A faster
and enhanced version oflow-cost tablet PC, Aakash,would be launched nextmonth, Telecom MinisterKapil Sibal said here.
"The second version ofAakash will be launched inMay," Mr. Sibal told report-ers on the sidelines of WorldIT forum 2012 in New Delhi.
The tablet will be produced domestically, and in this regard the gov-ernment is talking to various manufacturers from across the world.
IMF lowers India's 2012 growth projection to 6.9 pcWASHINGTON: The Interna-
tional Monetary Fund (IMF) hasmarginally lowered India's eco-nomic growth forecast to 6.9 percent in 2012, from 7 per cent pro-jected earlier, on weak global anddomestic demand.
In its World Economic Outlook(WEO), released ahead of the IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings here,the IMF said that world economicgrowth rate would slump to 3.5 percent from 3.9 per cent in 2011.
As regards India, the WEO low-ered India's growth forecast for2012 to 6.9 per cent, from earlierprojection of 7 per cent made inJanuary. It has pegged India'sgrowth during the 2013 calendaryear at 7.3 per cent and for 2011 itwas 7.2 per cent.
"In emerging Asia, includingIndia, strengthening domestic de-mand will require improving theconditions for private investment,including by addressing infra-structure bottlenecks and enhanc-ing governance and public service
delivery," WEO said.Referring to the declining
growth rate in India, the WEO saiddomestic factors also contributedto the slowdown, as a deteriora-
tion in business sentiment weak-ened investment and policy tight-ening raised borrowing costs.
As per the estimates of India'sCentral Statistical Organization
(CSO), the growth rate during thefinancial year 2011-12 slipped to a3-year low of 6.9 per cent. Whilethe government has projected agrowth rate of 7.6 per cent for thecurrent financial year which beganon April 1, 2012, the Reserve Bankof India expects it to be 7.3 percent.
The WEO said that "fiscal con-solidation remains a priority in In-dia, to anchor confidence and re-build room to meet future chal-lenges".
The IMF said that the room forfurther easing of monetary policiesin countries with high inflation,including India, is constrained.
"Although monetary tighten-ing has been appropriately pausedin many Asian economies, andcautiously reversed in some, roomfor further easing is constrainedin economies where underlying in-flation pressures remain (India, In-donesia, Korea)," the IMF reportsaid.
After a gap of three years,
India's Reserve Bank has loweredthe interest rates by 0.50 per centthereby making credit cheaper. In-dia Inc has been demanding eas-ing of interest rates in view of
slowing investments and slump-ing industrial output.
As regards Asia, the IMF saidthe outlook has been deemed onaccount of weaker external demand
"In emerging Asia,including India,strengthening do-mestic demand willrequire improving theconditions for privateinvestment, includingby addressing infra-structure bottlenecks”
“Growth is going tobe slow in advancedeconomies; sus-tained, but not great,in emerging marketand developingeconomies. But therisk of things turningbad again in Europeis high”
and growth in the region wouldaverage 6 per cent in 2012.
"For the past six months wehave been on a roller coaster ride,"IMF Chief Economist OlivierBlanchar said. "Our baseline isthat growth is going to be slow inadvanced economies; sustained,but not great, in emerging marketand developing economies. Butthe risk of things turning bad againin Europe is high," he said.
The IMF report emphasizedthat governments shouldstrengthen policies to solidify theweak recovery and contain poten-tial risks that can weigh on con-sumer and investor confidence.
"Advanced economies shouldimplement medium-term budget-ary savings, but not in a way thatcould undermine the recovery. Indeveloping countries and emerg-ing markets, policies should begeared toward ensuring a softlanding for economies that haveseen sustained credit growth," itadded. -PTI
India warns UK on toughvisa norms
Amending tax rules won't hurtinvestments: Sharma
LONDON: India's move toamend the Income Tax act retro-spectively is not Vodafone-specificand won't hurt the country's in-vestment climate, the visiting Com-merce and Industry MinisterAnand Sharma has said.
"The clarificatory amendment isretrospective in character and itwas not Vodofone-specific. I don't
see, in any manner, the investmentclimate will be hurt," Sharma saidat a media briefing here, after meet-ings with Britain's Chancellor ofExchequer George Osborne andSecretary of State for BusinessInnovation and Skills Vince Cable.
"India remains one of the bestinvestment destinations.
Returns on investment in Indiaare the highest in the world," headded. Sharma said the issue wasdiscussed when ChancellorOsborne met Finance MinisterPranab Mukherjee in Delhi.
"We have a very stable tax re-gime and policy regime which isjudicious," Sharma said, addingthat the Finance Minister will re-
spond to debate in Parliament onthe issue.
UK-based mobile operatorVodafone purchased Hong Kong-based Hutchison's telecom busi-ness, which included operationsin India, in 2007 for about USD 11.2billion.
Indian income tax authorities saidthe deal will attract tax on it and soughtRs 11,000 crore from Vodafone, which
Union Minister for Commerce & Industry and Textiles Anand Sharma meeting
the Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne, in London
"The clarificatoryamendment is retro-spective in characterand it was notVodofone-specific. Idon't see, in anymanner, the invest-ment climate will behurt," Sharma said ata media briefinghere, after meetingswith Britain's Chan-cellor of ExchequerGeorge Osborne
21India PostTechBiz PostApril 27, 2012
www.indiapost.com
LONDON: India has warned theUK that its IT majors may relocatetheir business to other Europeancountries, if the British governmentinsists on tough visa rules whichaffect Indian IT professionals.
The issue came up for discus-sion during meeting of India'sCommerce and Industry MinisterAnand Sharma with UK Secretaryof State for Business, Innovationand Skills Vince Cable and theChancellor of the ExchequerGeorge Osborne.
However, Osborneassured Sharma that theBritish government hasdecided not to make anychange in the 'IntraCompany Transfers' forthe next two years. Theproposal had upset theIndian IT industry andthe government as itmeant that the profes-sionals on intra company transfersto UK would be treated "prospec-tive immigrants".
Sharma said this rule has badlyaffected the performance of Indiancompanies operating in the UK.
"Sharma also expressed con-cern that this move may force In-dian companies, especially ITcompanies to relocate to otherEuropean capital," an official state-ment said.
The Minister also raised the is-sue of the restrictions imposed onnon-EU immigration into Britainwhich is adversely affecting the
operations of Indian companieshere.
"He specifically referred to theUK Border Agency treating IntraCompany Transfers of IT experts,professionals and highly skilledworkers as prospective immigrantswhich has affected has badly af-fected the performance of Indiancompanies operating in the UK,"it said.
Besides, Sharma also expressedconcern over the issue that Indian
companies who want to acquireUK firms have been facing con-siderable delay and long legalhassles.
"He highlighted the concernsof Indian companies who want tovisit UK for business meetings andalso the long delay in obtainingvisa by Indian nationals," it said.
He said Indian experts comingto the UK leave the country aftercompletion of their contractualobligations with their employersin the UK and "therefore they can-not be treated as economic mi-grants".-PTI
"He specifically referred tothe UK Border Agency treat-ing Intra Company Transfersof IT experts, professionalsand highly skilled workersas prospectiveimmigrants”
challenged the move.The Supreme Court ruling held
that Vodafone wasn't liable to paytax on the deal, following whichthe government has proposed toamend the tax laws retrospectivelyto bring in the net such deals.
On Pakistan's move to grantIndia the Most Favored Nation(MFN) status, Sharma said, "In thelast one year there has been much
forward movement. There is agrowing realization that economicengagement can yield positivedividends."
He said, however, that it is wellbelow the potential -- given thetrade between the two countries,the formal trade is less than USD 3billion, while informal tradethrough 3rd countries is close toUSD 10 billion.-PTI
22 India Post TechBiz Post April 27, 2012
www.indiapost.com
Tata Comm withdraws from Cable&Wireless bidNEW DELHI: Tata Communica-
tions pulled out of the acquisitionbid for Cable&Wireless World-wide (CWW) as it has failed toreach an agreement on offer pricewith the British firm.
"TCL confirms that it has beenunable to reach agreement withCWW on an offer price andtherefore confirms that it doesnot intend to make an offer forCWW," Tata Communicationssaid in a statement.
With TCL moving out, UK-based telecom giant Vodafone isthe only contender for the bid.
CWW owns fixed lines thatare used by mobile operators toprovide links to mobile transmit-ters and switching offices. It alsoprovides voice, data and host-
ing services to major Britishcompanies such as Next, Tescoand United Utilities, and retainsan international cable networkconnecting more than 150 coun-tries.
The acquisition would haveprovided TCL, which owns un-dersea cable assets and providestelecom and internet services tocompanies across countries, alarger footprint in voice and datacarrier businesses as well as inthe undersea cable network.
CWW said discussions withVodafone Group are on.
"In accordance with Rule2.6(a) of the Code, Vodafonemust, by a deadline of not laterthan 5.00 p.m. on April 19, 2012,either announce a firm intention
to make an offer for CWW in ac-cordance with Rule 2.7 of theCode or announce that it does
not intend to make an offer forCWW," CWW said.
However, there is no certainty
that any offer will be made, itadded.
Comments of Vodafone couldnot be received till the time thisreport was written.
Also, TCL has the option of re-bidding if the deal with Vodafonedoes not go through.
"TCL reserves the right to an-nounce an offer or possible offeror make or participate in an offeror possible offer for CWW (and/or take any other action whichwould otherwise be restricted un-der Rule 2.8 of the Code) withinthe next six months following thedate of this announcement in thecircumstances," TCL said.
Had the Tatas prevailed, itwould have marked the latest in aseries of British acquisitions by the
Indian giant which already ownsJaguar Land Rover and Corus, thesteel-maker.
TCL had appointed StandardChartered Bank and MorganStanley as financial advisors for thedeal. The company had on March1 announced that as part of its on-going review of potential acquisi-tion opportunities, TCL is evaluat-ing a possible cash offer for Cableand Wireless Worldwide Plc.
CWW had extended the lastdate for both TCL and Vodafonefrom March 29 to April 19 to makethe offer for acquiring the com-pany.
Prior to that, the CWW boardhad extended the deadline fromFebruary 13 to March 29 forVodafone. -PTI
The acquisition wouldhave provided TCL,which owns under-sea cable assets andprovides telecomand internet servicesto companies acrosscountries, a largerfootprint
Daimler to manufacture Actros trucks in TNCHENNAI: Daimler India, the
subsidiary of Stuttgart-basedDaimler AG, would set up a newassembly line at their new manu-facturing facility in Oragadam nearhere to manufacture Actros brandof trucks, a top company officialsaid.
"We will be shifting the CKD(completely knocked down) linefrom Pune to Chennai. It is pre-mium product. Yes we will be set-ting up an assembly line (here)",Daimler India Managing Directorand CEO Marc Llistosella told re-porters after the inauguration ofthe Rs 4,400 crore new facility atSIPCOT Industrial Park inOragadam by Chief MinisterJayalalithaa.
Jayalalithaa said the presenceof Daimler here strengthened"Chennai's reputation as the De-troit of India."
She said after her governmentcame to power last year, there hasbeen an overwhelming responsefrom investors. "Our governmentwill soon sign MoUs with a num-ber of companies including bothvehicle and component manufac-turers."
According to company offi-cials, currently, Actros range ofproducts are assembled at theirPune facility. Since 1996, the com-pany has sold six lakh Actrostrucks in more than 100 countries.
Talking about future plans,Daimler AG Board of Manage-ment Chairman Dieter Zetschesaid their plan of introducing com-pact cars was progressing welland they would soon introducetheir third model - a compact car -in Beijing.
"We have planned to have fivemembers of the compact car seg-ment. Already two are present -the B and A Class. In Beijing wewill present a concept car. After
that we will be introducing asporty "SUV", he said, decliningto elaborate.
Regarding the launch of
'Bharat Benz' range of trucks fromthe Oragadam plant, Llistosellasaid production would begin fromthe third quarter of this year.
Asked about their exports ofBharat Benz trucks, Daimler Boardof Management, Member andDaimler Trucks and Buses-Head,
Andreas Renschler said theywere looking at shipping of thetrucks to South Africa, MiddleEast and Far Eastern markets.
"Right now our purpose is toserve the Indian market. From2013, we are looking at exportingto some countries in Africa,Middle East and also in the FarEastern markets", he said.
On whether the company canmanufacture buses from BharatBenz platform, Zetsche did notrule out the possibility, saying,"Yes. it is possible to producefront engine buses like front en-gine trucks."
Llistosella said the companywould have a product portfolioof 17 Bharat Benz range of trucksby 2014 and they have aimed totarget 20 per cent market shareby 2020.
He said the company would"double" its employee base fromthe present 1480 in the next twoyears. The company plans tohave about 70 dealerships in 12States and plans to take it up to110 in the next two years. -PTI
Bharat Benz trucks are seen on the assembly line at the Daimler India Commercial Vehicles (DCIV)
Plant at Oragadam in Chennai on April 18
Major funds boost for India-UK projectLONDON: The UK has an-
nounced 10 million pounds fund-ing for a joint research project withIndian institutes to boost India'sinternet capabilities with rural ac-cess to broadband and healthmonitoring systems among others.
The project aims to developsolutions that can scale to benefitthe lives of millions of users as wellas the digital economy in bothcountries.
The funding - considered oneof the largest for any project be-tween the two countries - was an-nounced by Universities and Sci-
ence Minister David Willetts dur-ing a meeting with Science andTechnology Minister VilasraoDeshmukh here.
The 10 million pounds invest-ment will support the secondphase of research into next gen-eration telecommunications net-works - the development of state-of-the-art platforms and applica-tions that will carry voice, videoand data in the future on theInternet.
The project involves the em-ployment of 200 scientists.
The research is a key part of
ATC), a collaborative programfunded by the UK's Engineeringand Physical Sciences ResearchCouncil (EPSRC), India's Depart-ment of Science and Technology(DST) and industrial partners inboth countries.
The funding will allow the Cen-tre to focus its efforts to developlow-cost solutions for rural accessto broadband, improved use ofavailable spectrum as well as appli-cations for rural health monitoring,emergency and disaster communi-cations, social TV-Virtual Class-rooms and other services.-PTI
The funding will allowthe Centre to focus itsefforts to developlow-cost solutions forrural access tobroadband andimproved use ofavailable spectrum
the work of the India-UK Ad-vanced Technology Centre (IU-
23India PostTechBiz PostApril 27, 2012
www.indiapost.com
Obama confident new WB chief will be an inclusive leaderWASHINGTON: US President
Barack Obama has exuded confi-dence that new World Bank presi-dent Jim Young Kim will prove tobe an inclusive leader with a com-mitment to sustained economicgrowth.
Kim, Obama's personal nomi-nee, was selected by the WorldBank Executive Board as the nextpresident. He will take over at thebeginning of July, after currentpresident Robert B Zoellick stepsdown at the end of his five-yearterm.
Congratulating Kim on his se-lection, Obama appreciated thestrong support offered to him fromleaders around the world.
"I am confident that Dr Kim willbe an inclusive leader who willbring to the bank a passion for and
deep knowledge of development,a commitment to sustained eco-nomic growth, and the ability torespond to complex challengesand seize new opportunities," theUS President said.
He also expressed satisfactionon the "open" and "transparent"selection process.
Delighted at his selection,Secretary of State Hillary Clintonsaid Kim "is an excellent selec-
tion to lead the World Bank for-ward, build consensus with do-nor and borrowing countries, andencourage the increasingly im-portant leadership role of devel-
oping countries".He has demonstrated a deep
commitment to solving some ofthe most pressing challenges weface. For over 25 years, he has
worked to fight disease and hun-ger by pioneering innovative so-lutions and investing in peopleand communities, she said.
"We look forward to working
with Dr Kim as he shapes an evenstronger World Bank. Together, wewill help develop economies, buildpartnerships, and alleviate pov-erty," Clinton said. -PTI
10 sec limit set for deliveringbanking messages
NEW DELHI: Trai has fixed atime limit of 10 seconds fortelecom service providers to de-liver banking transaction-relatedmessages to customers.
"Every Access Provider, act-ing as bearer, shall facilitate thebanks to use SMS, USSD andIVR to provide banking servicesto its customers and deliver themessage generated by the bankor the customer within the timeframe specified...," said MobileBanking (Quality Of Service)Regulations, 2012 issued by Trai.
The regulation asks TelecomService Providers (TSP) to de-liver the message generated by
the bank or the customer withinspecified time frame under newregulation which is less thanequal to 10 seconds for SMS,IVR, WAP, STK (a technologybuilt in SIM card) and 2 secondsfor Unstructured SupplementaryService Data (USSD).
"These time frames are for thefirst delivery attempt," the regu-lations said.
The regulations have been is-sued following recommendationof Inter-Ministerial Group on de-livery of financial servicesthrough mobile phone that askedTelecom Regulatory Authority ofIndia (Trai) to draw up guidelines
to ensure high availability of as-sociated communication ser-vices.
Under the new regulations,TSP have been asked to facili-tate banks with SMS, USSD andIVR (Interactive Voice Re-sponse) service for providingbanking services to its custom-ers.
USSD messages are generallyused by companies to inform userwhen they finish calls.
"Being a financial transactionthe consumer would like to re-ceive confirmation of the out-come of the transaction at theearliest," Trai said. -PTI
For over 25 years, he has worked to fightdisease and hunger by pioneering innova-tive solutions and investing in people andcommunities, she said
Plan panel encourages setting upof more ITIs: Montek
BANGALORE: The PlanningCommission has said it is encour-aging setting up and upgrading ofmore ITIs and Skill DevelopmentCenters to meet the LaborMinistry's target of developing askilled workforce of 50 crore by2020.
"For producing 50 crore skilledforce by 2020, the Planning Com-mission is encouragingupgradation and setting up ofmore ITIs and SDCs," PlanningCommission Deputy ChairmanMontek Singh Ahluwalia said.
Speaking at the foundationstone ceremony for a Multi SkillDevelopment Centre (MSDC)here, he also called upon stategovernments to establish state-level MSDCs headed by ChiefMinisters to produce skilled la-borers.
"Skill development is an impor-tant tool to achieve economicgrowth as it is felt that we cannotachieve nine per cent growth intargeted plan period," he said.
Skill development not onlyhelps GDP growth but also cre-ates broad-based employmentgeneration, Ahluwalia said.
Union Labor MinisterMallikarjun Kharge said a pro-
posal to set up 1,500 ITIs and5,000 MSDCs on Private PublicParticipation model has been sentto the Planning Commission.
At present there are 50,460 ITIsin the country and about 4,000have been started in the last fiveyears, he said.
On MSDCs, Kharge said thecentres would train 1,800 studentsevery year in each of the two cen-ters - Gulbarga and Bangalore."The skill development courseswill offer five subjects," he said.
German Industrial Cooperation(South Asia) Regional DirectorHans Hermann Dube said skilledlabor is the backbone of hiscountry's economy. Germany has400 years of history in impartingvocational training to students, hesaid. -PTI
Montek Singh Ahluwalia
World Bank President Jim Young Kim with Barack Obama
24 India Post TechBiz Post April 27, 2012
www.indiapost.com
Vodafone issues notice to Indiangovt over tax issue
NEW DELHI: Vodafone has threatenedto drag the government to international ar-bitration over retrospective tax legislationunder the bilateral investment treaty (BIT)between India and the Netherlands.
Dutch subsidiary Vodafone InternationalHoldings BV (VIHBV) has served a noticeof dispute on the Indian government regard-ing proposals in the Finance Bill 2012 whichit claimed violated the international legalprotections granted Vodafone and other in-ternational investors in India.
In a regulatory filing to the London StockExchange, Vodafone has asked the Indiangovernment to abandon or suitably amendthe retrospective aspects of the proposed
legislation as Vodafone would prefer toreach an amicable solution to this matter.
"However, if the Indian government isnot willing to do so, Vodafone will take what-ever steps are necessary to protect its share-holders' interest, including investmenttreaty arbitration proceedings under the BITagainst the Indian government," the com-pany said.
In the Budget, the government an-nounced a proposal to amend the IncomeTax Act to bring overseas deals such asVodafone's purchase of Hutchison under taxnet after the Supreme Court held that theUK firm was not liable to pay the Rs 11,000crore in taxes. -PTI
Fish Feed Mill shipped to J&K from HollandJAMMU: Jammu and Kashmir will have
the latest Trout Fish Feed Mill (TFFM) byJune this year as the mill, which has beenshipped from Holland, is undergoing instal-lation process.
“This is first state of art technologybased Trout Fish Feed Mill (TFFM) not onlyin J&K but in the country. It would fullyoperational by first week of June this yearin the state”, Director Fisheries, AhowkatAli, told PTI.
Trout Feed Mill has been shipped fromHolland recently and has been assembled
and grouted to the foundation by the engi-neers and suppliers in Manasbal belt in theoutskirts of Srinagar summer capital city.
“The civil work is going on at the site.After its completion trial runs would be car-ried out by April 25 by the foreign expertswho will arrive here to train the people”, Alisaid.
The coming up of Rs 10 crore ManasbalTrout Feed Mill would be to boost troutproduction in the state and ensure avail-ability of feed to the government and pri-vate fish farms, he said.-PTI
www.indiapost.com25 India Post April 27, 2012
PEARLS OF WISDOMAnd whale of fun for YaleFROM A SUPERSTAR
SRIREKHA CHAKRAVARTY
India Post News Service
CONNECTICUT: Entertainer.Entertainer. Entertainer. Oneword that defines the actor, per-sona and individual that ShahRukh Khan, the immensely popu-lar Indian actor with billions in fanfollowing worldwide, is. Whetherhe is talking about the humiliationof being detained at an airport ortalking of fighting failure, or ser-monizing students on keeping thehunger for success burning throughall odds, he is entertaining. Whetherhe is talking about simply keepingup with his impervious tech savvyteenage son or deeply philosophiz-ing about his dreams and aspira-tions, he is making people laugh.
In his Chubb Fellowship lec-ture, Khan was unapologeticabout his capitalistic mantra tomonetary success ("I'm the great-est capitalist on the face of theearth") and unabashed about cry-ing in the bathroom over lay criti-cisms about his work. What you
see of him is what there is - as anactor on screen, as the superstarbefore his fans, and as the personhe is off screen - an honest mergerof make believe art and reality. Hewas not there to spread pearls ofwisdom, Khan told his young au-dience who will soon be steppingout into the big bad world. "I amhere to tell you how to survive,"he told them.
Hundreds of fans, some ofwhom had traveled from as far asAlabama and California to join withmembers of the New Haven andYale community braved unusuallychilly winds and a sudden down-pour to wait over four hours out-side the Shubert Theater on theYale University Campus and acouple of hours more inside the
theater before they could see andhear Shah Rukh Khan. For them,the wait was part of their pilgrim-age to see their idol. And he madeevery moment of those hoursworth their weight in his 'perfor-mance' spiced with self-deprecat-ing lessons in survival, of prag-matism and practicality while be-ing true to one's creative aspira-tions and of love for one's parents- all delivered in his uncanny stylewith just a hint of seriousness andloads of humor.
And the students expectednothing less, going by the spon-taneous laughter, cheers, applauseand ecstatic sounds of sheer adu-lation throughout his hour longspeech. In a conversation onstageafter the speech, with JeffreyBrenzel, Yale dean of undergradu-ate admissions and master ofTimothy Dwight College, the Yaleresidential college that administersthe Chubb Fellowship; Yale Col-lege alumna Sarika Arya; and YaleLaw School student Nihkil Sud,Khan said, "One thing I'd neverever do is take myself seriously. Inever intellectualize about myself;the day I do that, I'll lose it. Solong as I am being silly and child-like, my art will be honest."
Khan said it was okay to domundane, unsatisfying jobs in or-der to pay the bills, so long as oneused the stability thus gained toeventually pursue one's creativegoals. "People question me all thetime on the many uncreativethings I do. But I use the money Iget from those things to run myproduction house to pursue mycreativity," he said. He, however,cautioned against living in pov-erty over empty idealism in the
name of creativity. "You have tosurvive," he said.
Asked if there was somethinghe really aspires to do, Khan said,"Sure I want to create a studio, astadium and well, make my (IPL)cricket team win, but basically all Iwant to do is make people smile.Keep it simple."
Earlier in a giddy introductionof the star, Isha Ambani (daughterof Mukesh Ambani) who is presi-dent of the South Asian Societyat Yale said seeing him in personwas a dream come true for all ShahRukh fans on the campus. She saidKhan had kept a promise he madeto her four years ago to visit Yaleto meet the students there.
"One thing I'd never ever do istake myself seriously. I never in-tellectualize about myself; theday I do that, I'll lose it. So longas I am being silly and child-like, my art will be honest."
Cont’d on page 28
April 27, 2012India Post
www.indiapost.com
26
'Failure is a fiendish friend'Excerpts from the Chubb Fellowship Lecturedelivered by actor Shah Rukh Khan at YaleUniversity on April 12.
I was told not to dwell too much on my movies when Ispoke to you, I am to give you an inspirational talk - tellyou stuff you can think about when you leave this room.
That worries me, it gives me performance anxiety. Here
you are, 1500 of you, hoping to hear words of wisdom fromthis sexy, desirable man… but I'm not about to leave youanymore inspired than when you walked in here.
I will tell you simple experiences of my life's journey,with simpler words, which may not leave you inspired butwill help you survive this life. And if you can survive, hap-piness, creativity and success will follow on its own…ormaybe not but you will have to live this life nevertheless.
As for my destination, I don't think I ever knew one. I
walk, I run, in the direction of my dreams. Things changealong the way, people change, I change, the world changes,even my dreams change. I don't have a place to arrive, I justkeep doing what I know how to do the best that I can do it."Be a funambulist"
However I look at it, in its eventual analysis, my life hascentered around my creativity. I have assimilated the worldthrough creative expression and in return the world hasexperienced me.
I have grown to understand that on one hand the worldwill always uphold creativity as the most honest feelingpossible. On the other hand the portents of fame (the glitz,the glamour, the wealth) that arise from this very recogni-tion of creativity will always be questioned.
Creative expression comes from the deepest experienceof the artist himself. A good artist cannot be separate fromhis creation. Good art is honest art. A man may be an artist,a writer, a sculptor, an actor or a totem pole carver…whateverhe is, if what he creates is true to himself, it becomes a vividtestimonial to human creativity. If it lacks honesty, its entirepremise is a waste.
Many a nights I have gone back home after receiving anaward, pumped up and all happy….just to read that what I
really deserved was the golden banana for worst actor ofthe year….
I become heartbroken, angry and completely convincedthat bananas and critics, both should have their skins peeledand fed to the monkeys.
I momentarily lose my ability to give and close up. Andhere's where the trick is - when you are in this place ofdespair, where the world is staring you down into yourself.There's only one thing you can do to survive - hang on towho you are inside. The world will be unkind to you, it willnot be able to see you. You must learn at such times, to beable to see yourself.
Life as a creative person is like being on a tight rope. Ibegin to lose myself, in my own melodrama. It's frustratingthat I find myself living up to other people's interpretationof what I ought to be.
And when faced with dissent or unappreciation, I startlosing my love affair with my audience. It becomes a tightbalance act to keep doing what I do best and not be both-ered by the reactions of people I do it for in the first place.
All I am is a funambulist trying to balance my action andexterior reaction to my naked show of who I am inside.
Life as a creative person is likebeing on a tight rope. I begin
to lose myself, in my ownmelodrama. It's frustrating that
I find myself living up to otherpeople's interpretation of
what I ought to be
Cont’d on page 28
April 27, 2012 India Post
www.indiapost.com
27
'I'd dedicate my life to education of girl child'
SRIREKHA CHAKRAVARTY
India Post News Service
CONNECTICUT: "I wish myparents were alive today," saidShah Rukh Khan responding to areporter's query on what it meantto have been honored with theChubb Fellowship by the IvyLeague Yale University. "I am stillnumb from the fact that I am get-ting this honor; I don't know whatI've done to deserve it."
Addressing the media beforedelivering his Chubb Fellowshippublic lecture at Shubert Theateron the Yale campus, Khan said itwas very humbling for him to bein the august company of all thepeople who received the presti-gious fellowship before him.Former Chubb Fellows include
As an advice to students he said,"You have one life, one chance,so be relentless in the pursuit ofwhat you want to achieve.
There are three things he fol-lows, which he hoped youngsterswould take as his advice: "Be cre-
ative, figure out what makes youhappy, and don't be afraid of fail-ure."
The Chubb Fellowship is de-voted to encouraging and aidingYale students interested in the
operations of government and inpublic service. Established in 1936,through the generosity of HendonChubb (Yale 1895), the program isbased in Timothy Dwight College,one of Yale's residential colleges.Each year three or four distin-
guished men and women havebeen appointed as visiting ChubbFellows. Chubb Fellows spendtheir time at Yale in close, informalcontact with students and delivera public lecture.
Presidents George W. Bush,Ronald Reagan, and Jimmy Carter;authors Octavio Paz, CarlosFuentas, and Toni Morrison; film-maker Sofia Goppola; and journal-ist Walter Cronkite.
Khan said he had visited theYale campus about five years agowhen he shot some of the scenesfor his film 'Kabhi Alvida NaKehna'. "I always wanted to studyhere and I hope students under-stand how lucky they are to bestudying here. I hope that at leastmy children will come to studyhere."
Talking about his philosophyin taking life head on, the star said,"I didn't know I'd be where I amtoday; I wanted to be a sportsman.Life takes its own course, so youneed to be prepared for anything."
Quoting his late father, Khan saideducation should be such thatone can understand every page ofthe newspaper.
Much as he would like to de-vote more of his resources on is-sues he believes in, Khan said thatin India they don't expect film starsto be part of activism; "I reallyhoped to do something goodthrough my films. (But) Back homethey don't measure me by the is-sues I may believe in or the moneyI give to charity; I am measuredby my creative success."
Still, if he were to dedicate hislife for anything besides the workhe does, it would be for the edu-cation of the girl child, Khan said."Education for women, amenitieslike public toilets for women…these are things that are not yetdeveloped in India," he added.
Khan, who is known not to restor even sleep much, said he didnot believe in holidays or relaxing.
Talking about his philosophy in taking lifehead on, the star said, "I didn't know I'd be
where I am today; I wanted to be asportsman. Life takes its own course, so you
need to be prepared for anything."
The evening of course could not haveended without a piece of quintessentialBollywood action on stage. Khan taughtBrenzel a bit of Hindi dialogue from hismovie 'Don' and later joined by Yale sopho-more Natalia Khosla, Sud and Arya hebrought the house down by dancing to'Chammak Challo' from his movie Ra.One.
"This was one of the most vibrant and
Pearls of wisdom froma superstar
Cont’d from page 25 exuberant Chubb fellowship events ever.Shah Rukh Khan is so comfortable in his ownskin and loves to make connections withpeople that you have to say he makes happi-ness contagious," said Brenzel. "I think stu-dents were paying attention to who he is aswell as to what he was saying. They learneda lot about a rare generosity of spirit."
"This is the most fun I have had inmonths!" Khan concluded. Well, not morethan what his fans did.
April 27, 2012India Post
www.indiapost.com
28
'Failure is a fiendish friend'Laugh at yourself
Learn to laugh at yourselves too. Neverbecome cynical about yourself and your life.Becoming cynical about your life is thesingle most destructive thing you can do toit.
Creativity is your gift to the world. It wasnever meant to be barter for anything, noteven appreciation. Your work of art maynever be complete in your lifetime. Your ful-fillment will always lie in your creative ex-pression not in its products.
Do not try to feed your stomach withcreativity, it is food for your soul, not yourstomach.
Do not be afraid to defy conventions.Do not be afraid to destroy systems that
kill art and your souls.Do not be afraid to be hungry.Do not be afraid to walk alone if neces-
sary.Gift of parents
Your age is the age when we most con-fuse happiness with gratification. Happi-ness, in other words, lies in the things youwill never be able to count. (For your par-ents) you kids are their greatest source ofhappiness. Parents want nothing inreturn….just that you respect thatfeeling…that's all.
They might be boring, silly or stern attimes. Maybe some of you are embarrassedof yours, I know my kids are of me….but ifever any of you are in trouble of any kindthe best friends you can always trust towatch your backs are your parents. Theywill always come good.
Cont’d from page 26 I call parents unconditional and forgiv-ing punching bags who feel happiest whenthey get bashed up by their kids.Fear of failure
I feel that talking about how to becomesuccessful is a waste of time…instead letme tell you very honestly whatever hap-pened to me happened because I have al-ways been terrified of failure. I don't wantas much to succeed as much as I don't wantto fail.
Failure is a fiendish friend that can leadto success by teaching one to be pragmatic,to work harder, and to be true to oneself.
Sometimes our success is not the directresult of our actions. Success just happens.Really. It is accidental and we take credit forit. I know I have done this even out of em-barrassment sometimes.
You have to know and learn that life is anot just a check list of acquisitions, attain-ments and fulfillments, your qualificationsand c.v.'s don't really matter. Instead life isdifficult and complicated…and beyondanyone's control. The humility to know thiswill help you survive its vicissitudes.
My hope for all of you is that you retaina lifelong love of learning, that you nevercease to dream exciting and inspiringdreams, and when you fail, you fail wellenough to succeed the next time. Don't beafraid of being afraid, be afraid of not facingyour fears and failures.
So remember you are fortunate enoughto be a funambulist, who has an amazingset of punching bags (loving parents), cher-ish them… and failure is your fiendishfriend… keep him close… and don't take noshit from anybody.
Zee launches new show-PHIR SUBAH HOGIIndia Post News Service
NEW YORK: Despite all the progress insociety, injustice towards women is rampantall over India and one such reality is preva-lent in the 'Bedia' community ofBundelkhand region (Uttar Pradesh-Madhya Pradesh). They are a tribe knownfor their beautiful 'Raai dance'. Zee TV'sbrand new offering, Phir Subah Hogi tracesthe journey of 'Sugni', a bedni (member ofthe Bedia tribe) by birth who wants to breakfree from traditions and customs and daresto dream of a life that is different from thewomen around her. Theatre artist, Gulki Joshihas been roped in to play the pivotal role ofSugni.
This is Gulki's television debut but sheis already in the news for her acting prow-ess and diligence. During a recent shoot,she chauffeured Varun Badola on a rusticcycle rickshaw that put her strength andstamina to test.
Gulki's eyes twinkled when asked abouther journey so far, "My mother says that
I've always dreamt of being an actor… I wasnever too keen to do daily soaps which in-volved the rona dhona rigmarole. But theeureka moment in my life happened when Iread the script and Sugni's character... Afterauditioning for the role, I was very keen thatSugni of Phir Subah Hogi should be mylaunch pad as this is exactly the kind of roleI was waiting for…. the opportunity to workwith such veteran actors like Varun Badolaand Narayani Shashtri is quite somethingelse."
Gulki's eyes twinkled when askedabout her journey so far, "My mothersays that I've always dreamt ofbeing an actor… I was never too keen to do daily soaps whichinvolved the rona dhona rigmarole
Waiting for Shah Rukh
April 27, 2012www.indiapost.com29 India post
Cont’d from page 30
Shimla is a perfecthaven for the onesin search of tran-quility. Nature hasblessed this capi-tal city with innu-merable gifts and
man has usedthem to makeShimla one of
India's best locales
Shimla, one of India's most famous hillstations, derives its name from Goddess Shyamala, an incarnation of God-
dess Kali, the deity of power and wrath.However, unlike its name, Shimla is a per-fect haven for the ones in search of tran-quility. Nature has blessed this capital citywith innumerable gifts and man has usedthem to make Shimla one of India's best lo-cales.
Perched at an altitude of 2159 m abovesea level, Shimla is located towards the
southern parts of the north Indian state ofHimachal Pradesh. It is the state capital andis at a distance of 343 km from Delhi, 260 kmfrom Manali, and 119 km from Chandigarh.The temperature range is not very high andthe maximum temperature rarely crosses25°C during summers. Winters are cold dueto the chilly winds from the upper Himalayas.Around Christmas, Shimla experiencessnowfall. The best season to visit Shimla isbetween September and November.
The British discovered Shimla in the
form of a little village in 1819. Until then, itwas a part of the Nepalese kingdom. It wasduring Lord William Bentinck's time thatShimla was truly acquired by the Govern-ment of India. The British persuaded thelocal Raja to part with the land in 1830, andthe settlement became the subcontinent'smost fashionable summer resort. In 1864,Shimla was declared the summer capital ofIndia. After the independence of India,Shimla became the capital of Punjab until1966, when it came under Himachal Pradesh.
India Post April 27, 201230 Travel & Hospitality Postwww.indiapost.com
Shimla: Perfect haven for beauty & tranquility
Tourist attractions: The hub of Shimlais the Mall, which runs along the Ridge andis crowded with tourists.
It is the city's most famous shoppingcenter, with shops selling all items, fromclothes to junk food. The Ridge is a largeopen space in the heart of the town andpresents excellent views of the mountainranges. Most of Shimla's landmarks are lo-cated here. The Mall further joins the Ridgeat the 'Scandal Point' of Kipling's Shimla,where a statue of the nationalist leader LalaLajpat Rai has been erected.
The six-storeyed Vice-Regal Lodge orRashtrapati Niwas, about 4.5 km from Scan-dal Point, attracts many visitors. It was builtin 1888 and was formerly the residence ofLord Dufferin, the British Viceroy.
The style of architecture is English Re-naissance, the masonry of the walling is lightblue limestone and the wrought stoneworkis done in sandstone in a beautiful light graytint. It has magnificent lawns and housesthe Indian Institute of Advanced Study.
Nearby is the Himalayan aviary that hasa good collection of birds, including theMonal pheasant, Himachal's state bird.
About 2.5 km from Scandal Point is theState Museum, which has a good collec-tion of statues, miniatures, coins and pho-tos from in and around Himachal Pradesh.It was built in 1974.
Another of Shimla's major landmarks is theChrist Church and St. Michael's Cathedral. Itis the second oldest church in Northern Indiabuilt between 1846 and 1857. It is located justoff the Mall, below the District Center and isknown for its stained glass windows.
Jhaku temple, dedicated to Hanumanji,the attendant of Lord Rama, is to the east ofthe town center, near the highest point ofthe Shimla Ridge. It is at a height of 8048feet above sea level and offers a panoramicview of the city.
The temple just below the Grand Hotel isthe temple dedicated to Shyamala Devi, anincarnation of Goddess Kali.
Southeast from Jhaku is the long spur ofChotta Shimla, with Barnes Court. Once theresidence of the Governor General ofPunjab, it is now the official residence ofthe Governor of Himachal Pradesh.
About 4 km from the Ridge, a sprightly
stream flows through the Glen forests at analtitude of 1830 meters. It is a secluded pic-nic spot.
Beyond the Glen is Annandale, anotherpicnic spot. It is covered with deodar for-ests and was once the playground of Shimla,where racing, polo and cricket entertainedthe Britishers.
Elysium Hill, on the road leading throughLakkar Bazaar, houses the famous AucklandHouse, the former residence of Viceroy LordAuckland. It is a well-known girls' schoolnow. Nearby is the Stirling Castle, now anorphanage for Tibetan children and a cen-ter for Tibetan exiles who have settled lo-cally.
Places aroundRampur has the Padam Palace built in
1925. The whole area is a maze of lanes,shops and temples. In the month of Novem-ber, the Lavi Fair is organized here.
On the Mahasu range, at Charabra, 13km from Shimla, is the Wild Flower Hall situ-ated at an altitude of 2,498 m. Nestling amongpicturesque sylvan surroundings, the WildFlower Hall commands a breathtaking viewof the snows. A major fire damaged it in 1993.Serving as a hotel today, it attracts manytourists who wish to revisit the grandeur ofa bygone era.
About six miles from the Shimla Church,in Koti, lay the village of Mashobra, at aheight of 2149 m. A place of unique beauty,Mashobra is an ideal interlude beneath theoaks and the pines. Featuring beautiful gar-
A folk procession in Shimla
The ridge in Shimla
Indira Gandhi Medical College and Hospital at Shimla
dens spattered with the daffodils, hyacinths,asphodels and celandines, it is a popularweekend resort, dotted with delightful vil-las and innumerable picnic spots. From here,a track leads down to Sipur, which is anexquisite glade shaded by ancient deodartrees. A fair is held here every April/May.About 3 km from Mashobra is the lovelyresort of Craignano.
At a distance of 5 km from Shimla is Sum-mer Hill, a quiet suburb with peaceful envi-rons ideal for secluded walks. About 2 kmfrom Summer Hill are the Chadwick Falls, asilent gorge frequently visited by picnick-ers.
Narkanda, 64 km from Shimla, offers won-derful slopes for skiing. At an elevation of2708 m, it has dense pine forests. Hatu peak,8 km from Narkanda, provides a strikingpanorama of the plains below.
Chail, 43 km from Shimla, is a lush greensetting and was the former capital of thePatiala State. It has the world's highestcricket ground at a height of 2250 m, built in1893. It is also a hiker's paradise and thereis a wildlife sanctuary at a distance of threekm from here.
Sarahan is a small village worth visiting.It provides a spectacular view of ShrikhandMahadev and hiking opportunities to thenearby villages such as Ranwin and BashalPeak. The Bhimakali temple, dedicated toGoddess Durga, is the finest example ofHimachali architecture.
Best time to visit: May-July and Septem-ber-November.
How to reachAir - The airport at Shimla, 22 km from
the main city, has connecting flights to Delhiand Kullu. The nearby Chandigarh airportis, however, more handy.
Road: The national highway connectingShimla with Chandigarh is an excellent roadincluding the hill stretch (7 hours from Delhi,3 hours from Chandigarh).
Rail: Shimla is connected to Kalka (96kms) on Meter Gauge and it takes aroundsix hours from Kalka to reach Shimla. Thereare 103 tunnels on the route, the longestbeing 1.2 km.
Cont’d from page 29
India working toattract 1 billiontourists
JAIPUR: Describing India as a high po-tential tourist destination, Union tourismminister Subodh Kant Sahai has said thegovernment is working 'proactively' toachieve the target of one billion tourist foot-falls every year.
"India is a high potential tourist destina-tion. We want to double the number of tour-ists coming here every year to about onebillion," Sahai said at a hospitality eventhere.
Addressing the Great India Travel Ba-zaar here, Sahai said tourism sector is toppriority for the government of India.
"At present India gets about 5.7 milliontourists annually, we want to double that asa target in the current five year plan," Sahaisaid.
To achieve the target, India is"proactively" working with other countries,the minister said.
He also sought greater participation fromhospitality players to create supporting in-frastructure.
"We have started visa on arrival for 13-14 countries and have started working withthem to facilitate flow of tourists to India,"Sahay said.
He also said that to cater to growingnumber of tourists, the country also needsto create additional hotel rooms. "We needat least 20 million hotel rooms in India," headded.-PTI
'Involve localpeople to boosttourism'
JAIPUR: The government should takesteps like involving rural people in decisionmaking and improving marketing strategyand infrastructure to boost indigenous tour-ism, a report has said.
A FICCI-YES BANK report said that de-spite a plethora of problems such as ab-sence of a policy framework, inadequateinvolvement of local community, indigenoustourism has a huge potential to contributeto socially and economically inclusivegrowth.
Suggesting steps to enhance the sector,the report said that there is a need to reviewthe policies dealing with the sector, as theyare very basic in nature and far from groundscenario, which makes its implementationdifficult.
"Now that there are successful modelsrunning in the country, it might prove to bebeneficial to revisit the frameworks in theirlight and bridge the lacunae," it said.
It recommended a better marketing strat-egy and creation of modern infrastructureto boost indigenous tourism.
The report said the government shouldfocus on creating quality human resourcesfor the sector.
"One of the major reasons why India,despite having so much potential, loses outon tourism footfalls is the lack of qualityhuman resource, especially when it comesto service - oriented roles," it said. -PTI
India PostApril 27, 2012 31Travel & Hospitality Postwww.indiapost.com
Publicly Acclaimed Top Vegetarian Restaurant Serving
If You are looking For the BEST & the MOST AUTHENTIC VEGETARIANRESTAURANT IN TOWNCome to One and Only One Place
CATERING IS OUR SPECIALITY
TASTE OUR 30 PLUSE MOUTH WATERING DISHES ONCE YOU COMETO US YOU WILL NOT ELSEWHERE THAT IS OUR GUARANTEE
NORTH INDIAN • SOUTH INDIAN • GUJARATI • JAIN DISHES
Tel:(773) 274-58002508 W. Devon Ave.Chicago, IL 60659
JAIPUR: The governmentshould take steps like special mar-keting strategy, developing tour-ism circuits and scrutinizing reli-gious trusts to boost religious tour-ism in the country, a report has said.
Laying out a roadmap for thedevelopment of religious tourismin the country, a FICCI-YES Bankreport said that there is a need todevelop integrated infrastructurefor religious tourism developmentand improving connectivity tospecific religious tourism circuits.
"The huge potential for reli-gious tourism in India can be real-ized if problems associated withthe carrying capacity on the re-gion, waste management, air pol-lution, monetization of religionand lack of scrutiny of religioustrusts are dealt with in earnest," itsaid.
As India has abundance of reli-gious centers across the country,there is need to create nodes nearreligious centers, where there is al-ready a basic infrastructure presentand plan day trips from there.
"For example, Chennai in SouthIndia can be a node for excursionsto Madurai, Thanjavur andTrichnapalli," it said.
It said that a special marketingstrategy should be worked out forreligious tourism destinations andprovide special training to peopleinvolved in the sector.
"Infrastructure developmentrequires that religious tourism cir-cuits be identified and state gov-
ernment is required to streamlinethe development of the entire reli-gious tourism circuit existing in agiven region/area," it said.
The report said that as religioustourism is endemic to a given ge-ography, the local population whoare earning their livelihood fromsuch tourism should be trained in
a better way.Further, "there needs to be a
practice for reviewing the financialstatus and regulation of religioustrusts as it will allay global con-cerns about money laundering andterrorist financing activities".
"This is especially crucial in ascenario when some of India's re-ligious trusts are among the rich-est in the world," it added.
A separate board should be setup to prepare and implement plansto provide necessary facilities tothe devotees and also ensure con-servation of cultural atmosphereconsistent with sentiments of vis-iting devotees.
"The pricing of religious tour-ism products needs to be in tan-dem with the different sectors ofpeople visiting the sites. In India,the prices paid are only for the ter-tiary services provided and not forthe actual services of the religiousflavors one intends to experience,"it added.
Hence, attempts need to betaken to ensure that the pricing ofthe tourism product is such that itcompensates for educational andcultural services provided to thoseinterested. -PTI
‘There needs to be apractice for review-ing the financial sta-tus and regulation ofreligious trusts as itwill allay global con-cerns about moneylaundering and terror-ist financingactivities"
Suchetgarh as bordertourism destination
19th century palace ruins toget makeover
KOLHAPUR: It would stretchanyone's imagination to believethat a maze of dilapidated build-ings along the banks of thePanchganga River here was oncea magnificent palace, the abode ofa famous Maharashtrian king.
Visitors to this city though, areoften asked to believe this fact,even as the sprawling "palace"with six wings seems to crumbleright before their eyes.
The birthplace of the famousRajarshi Shahu Maharaj whobrought the 'golden period' inKolhapur from 1884 to 1922 byabolishing several evils like un-touchability and child marriage,the Lakshmi Vilas Palace is in anadvanced state of ruin, its cultural
and historical significance over-looked and neglected.
However, this is soon about tochange with the state archaeologyand tourism departments joininghands to restore it and develop itas a modern tourist facility.
"Rajarshi Shahu Maharaj is oneof the few kings who used hiswealth for the welfare of his sub-jects. He was an ardent social re-former and is well known for pro-moting education amongst allcastes and women," AmarjaNimbalkar, core committee memberof the state archaeology depart-ment told a delegation of visitingjournalists.
"The importance of Laxmi VilasPalace in the history of Kolhapur
and the surrounding region is al-most forgotten and not many areaware of its existence. Hence it isparamount to bring it to the publicnotice and at the same time developit as a monument," she said.
Once the archaeology depart-ment has worked its magic by rec-reating the original 19th centuryarchitecture using old photo-graphs and conservation with lo-cally available materials, visitors tothis site will see a majestic palace,inlaid with pristine white marbleand modern tourist facilities likeguided tours, souvenir shop andsound-and-light show.
"Laxmi Vilas Palace will be de-veloped as a museum dedicated toShahu Maharaj. -PTI
JAMMU: Suchetgarh would bedeveloped as a mega border desti-nation for pilgrim tourists visitingthe cave shrine of Mata VaishnoDevi and other holy shrines ofJammu division, Jammu and Kash-mir Minister for Tourism and Cul-ture Nawang Rigzin Jora said here.
In this regard a project of Rs6.39 crore is under implementationfor creation of tourist related in-frastructure in the area, he said af-ter laying the foundation of resto-ration and conservation work ofhistorical Raghunath temple atSuchetgarh in R S Pura belt ofJammu district.
Jora said conservation work ofthe temple would be completed ata cost of Rs 1.25 crore.
He said an amphitheatre would
be also constructed in Suchetgarhand instructed concerned authori-ties to evict the encroached landat the temple site at the earliest forthe purpose.
The minister said celebration ofBaisakhi festival would now bemade an annual feature inSuchetgarh. -PTI
A project of Rs 6.39crore is under imple-mentation for cre-ation of tourist relatedinfrastructure inthe area
In Brief ImmigrationSenator calls for investigation following
suit against Infosys visa fraud
Immigration &customs workerson strike
NASSAU, Bahamas: Hundredsof immigration and customs work-ers in the Bahamas are on strikeand likely won't go back to workuntil after the May 7 general elec-tions, a union official said.
Customs union spokesman K.Renaldo Collie said his union andothers have been demanding newcontracts for two years and ac-cuse the government of slashingsome salaries by as much as 60percent without consultation.They also said the government isnot allowing sufficient rest be-tween shifts.
Air traffic controllers and otherworkers have supported the strikethrough sickouts and work stop-pages since the walkout started onApril 5, Collie said. -AP
SRIREKHA CHAKRAVARTY
India Post News Service
NEW YORK: Republican Sena-tor from Iowa Charles Grassley hasasked for an investigation by theDepartment of State and Home-land Security of the B-1 visa pro-gram following a whistleblower's'expose' on visa misuse by IndianIT giant Infosys.
Jay Palmer, an employee ofInfosys spoke out on CBS ThisMorning recently where he talkedof his lawsuit against Infosys forusing the B-1 visa as subterfugeto the H-1B visa which has morestringent requirements.
Grassley is the Ranking Mem-ber of the Senate Judiciary Com-mittee which has jurisdiction overfederal immigration policy.
Grassley has asked investiga-tion into the use of the B-1 visaprogram by employers to recruitforeign workers who are then notsubject to the cap and the prevail-ing wage requirements of the H-1B program.
According to Grassley, theState Department, in its response,acknowledged the need for greaterfraud prevention in the visa ap-proval process as well as changesto policies that incentivize em-ployers to go around the H-1B pro-gram in the Foreign AffairsManuel. The Department of Home-land Security told Grassley thatthey would work to "develop guid-ance clarifying the scope of activi-
Detained immigrantchildren moved toUS air base
SAN ANTONIO: U.S. officialsare making an Air Force base inTexas the temporary home for 100unescorted immigrant childrenstopped by the Border Patrol be-cause shelters are overwhelmedwith kids.
The children arrived atLackland Air Force Base, the SanAntonio Express-News reported.The children are under the chargeof the Department of Health andHuman Services.
The department has taken in7,000 to 8,000 illegal immigrant chil-dren in each of the past three yearsand has sheltered more than 4,000since October. It has seen a 77 per-cent jump in the number of childrenin the first quarter of 2012.-AP
ties permissible in the B-1 busi-ness visitor classification."
Grassley said that however, todate it appears nothing official hasbeen done to remedy the situation."Infosys continues to bring in for-eign workers. In fiscal 2011, Infosyspetitioned for nearly 4,700 H-1Bworkers. Last year, they also peti-tioned to bring in 300 or more L visaworkers," he said in a statement.
"People had come to me withconcerns that the B-1 business
visa was being abused by compa-nies and putting American work-ers at risk. Jay Palmer was the firstperson to stand up with convinc-ing evidence. It confirmed ourfears. Mr. Palmer was being askedto do shady things, and instructedto 'be creative' and find a wayaround the H-1B visa program. Mr.Palmer has endured a lot of criti-cism from fellow employees andforeign workers who fear losingtheir job or being sent home. I
House panelOKs immigrationlaw change
MONTGOMERY, Ala.: A billmaking some changes to Alabama'simmigration law has been approvedby a House committee, but Demo-crats complained it does not go farenough to alleviate concerns thatthe law allows police to engage inracial profiling.
The House Public Safety andHomeland Security Committeevoted 6-3 in favor of the bill byRepublican Rep. Micky Hammonof Decatur. It addresses some con-cerns of critics to the immigrationlaw, which was adopted by theLegislature last year. The new billadds language that says churchgroups and members can ministerto people regardless of immigrantstatue. -AP
very much appreciate him bring-ing this problem to the world's at-tention," he said in his statement.
In February 2010, Palmer, a USemployee of Infosys filed a com-plaint in the Circuit Court ofLowndes County, Alabama alleg-ing that his employer was "sendinglower level and unskilled foreignersto the US to work in full time posi-tions at Infosys' customer sites indirect violation of immigration laws."
Palmer described ways thatInfosys, one of the top 10 H-1Bpetitioning companies, hadworked to "creatively" get aroundthe H1B visa program in order tobring in low-skilled, low-wageworkers, resulting in visa fraudagainst the US government.
The formal complaint againstInfosys details how the companymanagement in India decided touse the B-1 business visitor visaprogram to get around H1-B visarestrictions. Palmer alleged that thecompany was importing foreignworkers under the guise of attend-ing meetings rather than as fulltime employees for a wage. UnderState Department rules B1 visaholders cannot engage in localemployment or labor for hire.
Sen. Grassley said that moretroubling than the "illegal" waysa company can get around the H1-B visa restrictions using the B-1visa program, are the "legal" waysthey can use the B-1 visa programto defy Congressional intent.
BALCA clarifies on ads placed by private firmsCORA-ANN V. PESTAINA
As usual, BALCA (Board ofAlien Labor CertificationAppeals) decisions are
very important for practitioners asthey offer crucial insights into howto avoid some of the pitfalls in pre-paring and filing a labor certifica-tion application under ProgramElectronic Review Management(PERM) or into what argumentscan be made in response to theunfortunate receipt of a PERMdenial notice. BALCA recently is-sued some notable decisions.
Documentation of the SWA joborder
While the Department of Labor("DOL") is obsessed about theemployer presenting proof of pub-lication of its recruitment, BALCArecently held, in an en banc deci-sion, A Cut Above Ceramic Tile,2010-PER-00224 (Mar. 8, 2012), thatbased on the history of the PERMregulations and the plain languageof 20 C.F.R. §656.17(e)(2)(i), proofof publication of the StateWorkforce Agency ("SWA") joborder is not required supportingdocumentation.
The PERM regulations at656.17(e)(2)(i) require an employer
filing a PERM application to placea job order with the SWA servingthe area of intended employmentfor a period of 30 days. That samesection of the regulations alsostates, "[t]he start and end datesof the job order entered on theapplication serve as documenta-tion of this step."
Pursuant to 656.10(f), all docu-mentation supporting the PERMapplication must be retained for fiveyears after filing the application.656.17(a)(3) mandates that the em-ployer must furnish "required sup-porting documentation" to the Cer-
tifying Officer ("CO") if the PERMapplication is audited. A substan-tial failure by the employer to pro-vide the required documentationwill result in a denial of the PERMapplication. 656.20(b).
In A Cut Above Ceramic Tile,the employer attested, on an ETAForm 9089 filed on January 8, 2007,that, as part of its domestic recruit-ment efforts for the position of TileSetter, it placed a job order withthe SWA in the area of intendedemployment from July 13 to Au-gust 12, 2006.
Cont’d on page 35
Border Patrolagent accused ofimmigrant abuse
SAN DIEGO: Federal prosecu-tors have filed a civil rights com-plaint against a San Diego-areaBorder Patrol agent accused ofkneeing and choking an undocu-mented immigrant at the ImperialBeach station on July 26. -AP
Republican Senator from Iowa Charles Grassley
Cont’d on page 36
Palmer described ways that Infosys, one ofthe top 10 H-1B petitioning companies, hadworked to "creatively" get around the H1Bvisa program in order to bring in low-skilled,low-wage workers, resulting in visa fraudagainst the US government
India Post 35April 27, 2012 Immigration Postwww.indiapost.com
On June 11, 2009, the DOL is-sued an audit notification, whichincluded the request for a copy ofthe job order placed with the SWAdownloaded from the SWAinternet job listing site; a copy ofthe job order provided by theSWA; or other proof of publica-tion from the SWA containing thecontent of the job order.
As part of its audit response, theemployer included a copy of its com-pleted Employer Job Order Informa-tion Sheet from VaEmploy.Com, theSWA for the state of Virginia. Citing656.20(b) as authority, the CO de-nied the PERM application basedon the employer's failure to provideproof of publication of the SWA joborder containing the content of thejob order, as requested in the auditnotification letter.
The CO found that theemployer's submission of the Em-ployer Job Order Information Sheetdid not show the final content ofthe job order as run by the SWA.
The Employer filed a motion forreconsideration of the PERM de-nial arguing that the PERM regu-lations provide that the SWA joborder is documented by the startand end dates entered on the ETAForm 9089.
The employer also argued thatit had tried to obtain proof of pub-lication from the SWA but hadbeen informed that proof of thepublication of its job order hadbeen deleted.
The CO affirmed the denial andforwarded to case to BALCAwhich also affirmed the denial andheld that the employer's documen-tation only showed that the joborder was placed for the required30-day period but did not provideproof of its contents.
The Employer then filed a peti-tion for en banc review whichBALCA granted to resolve the is-sue of whether a CO may denycertification of a PERM applica-tion based on the employer's fail-ure to provide proof of the publi-cation of the SWA job order.BALCA invited the American Im-migration Lawyers Association(AILA) to file an amicus brief
BALCA clarifies on ads placedby private firms
which it did.There was a conflict between
BALCA panels because, in anothercase, Mandy Donuts Corp., 2009-PER-481 (Jan. 7, 2011), a BALCApanel compared the PERM regula-tions at 656.17(e)(2)(i) on placementof the job order and the regulationsat 656.17(e)(1)(i)(B)(3) and656.17(e)(2)(ii)(C) on placement ofa newspaper advertisement andpointed out that the PERM regula-tions for documentation of proofof newspaper advertisements spe-cifically require the employer toprovide copies of the newspaperpages in which the advertisement
appeared or proof of publicationfurnished by the newspaper.
The panel held that the PERMregulations only require "place-ment" of the job order for 30 dayswhich is documented by the startand end dates entered on thePERM application.
The en banc panel in A CutAbove Ceramic Tile agreed withthe Mandy Donuts panel and heldthat the distinction in the regula-tions is clear. The drafters of theregulation could easily have in-cluded a requirement that employ-ers provide proof of publicationof the SWA job order.
In fact, the regulations govern-ing the placement of a job order forthe H-2B temporary nonagricul-tural labor certification program,also administered by the Employ-ment and Training Administration("ETA") specifically require that theemployer maintain a copy of theSWA job order or other proof ofpublication containing the text of
the job order. 656.15(e)(1).The en banc panel reasoned
that the ETA intentionallydrafted the H-2B and the PERMSWA job orders regulations dif-ferently. In fact the ETA specifi-cally stated in its response tocomments regarding the auditprocess, that the employer isonly required to provide the startand end date of the job order onthe application to document thejob order has been placed andthe gathering of additional infor-mation on the job order from theSWA will not be necessary.
See ETA, Final Rule, Implemen-tation of New System, Labor Certi-fication Process for the PermanentEmployment of Aliens in the UnitedStates ["PERM"], 69 Fed. Reg.77326, 77359 (Dec. 24, 2004). Essen-tially, the CO does not have thepower to request just any type ofdocumentation and the employer'sapplication may only be deniedunder 656.20(b) when the absentdocumentation is required.
While this en banc decisionmay appear attractive, and is cer-tainly useful when inheritingflawed cases, practitioners oughtto continue the practice of print-ing copies of the job order to dem-onstrate good faith recruitment.
The BALCA en banc panelmade sure to comment, in note 5,that "the spirit and the context ofthe PERM regulations, which aregrounded in attestations backed upby retained documentation to sup-port attestations, strongly suggestthat an employer should retain andbe able to produce documentationabout the content and dates of ac-tion on all elements of recruitment.
We would anticipate that mostemployers recruiting in good faithwill have retained documentationin some form to show the contentof the job order, and if so be ableto produce it." However, it is nowclear that failure to produce theSWA job order cannot be the solebasis for a PERM denial.
(To be continued)
* Cyrus D Mehta, may be contactedat 212-425-0555 or
The CO found thatthe employer'ssubmission of theEmployer Job OrderInformation Sheetdid not show thefinal content of thejob order as runby the SWA
India Post36 April 27, 2012Immigration Postwww.indiapost.com
Rubio's immigration push a potential lift for GOPWASHINGTON: Florida Sen.
Marco Rubio's push for a Repub-lican version of immigration legis-lation looks like the answer to theelection-year prayers of the GOP -and Mitt Romney.
Rubio - telegenic son of Cu-ban exiles and potential vice presi-dential pick - is pulling together abill that would allow young illegalimmigrants to remain in the UnitedStates but denies them citizenship,an initial step in the drawn-out,divisive fight over immigrationpolicy and the fate of the 11 mil-lion people here illegally.
The freshman senator calls hisevolving legislation a conserva-tive alternative to the DREAM Act- the Development, Relief and Edu-cation for Alien Minors measure.That Democratic-backed bill,which is overwhelmingly popularwith Hispanics, would provide apathway to citizenship to childrenin the United States illegally if theyattend college or join the military.The measure came close to pas-sage in December 2010 but haslanguished since then.
``We have to come up with animmigration system that honorsboth our legacy as a nation of lawsand also our legacy as a nation of
immigrants,'' Rubio told The As-sociated Press.
An immigration plan fromRubio, the GOP's best-known His-panic, could help Republicansmake some headway with the fast-est growing minority group and its21 million eligible voters, manyconcentrated in the contestedpresidential battleground states ofFlorida, New Mexico, Arizona,Nevada and Colorado.
Democrats maintain a signifi-cant political advantage with His-panics, numbers that were onlystrengthened by the harsh rheto-ric from Republican presidentialcandidates in this year's primary.Hispanics overwhelmingly backedBarack Obama over Republicanpresidential nominee JohnMcCain, 67-31 percent, in the 2008presidential race and they favoredDemocratic congressional candi-dates 60-38 percent in 2010, ac-cording to exit polling. A Pew Re-search Center survey showedObama with a solid edge overRomney among Hispanic regis-tered voters, 67-27 percent.
It's a reality the likely Republi-can presidential nominee clearlyrecognizes.
``We have to get Hispanic vot-
ers to vote for our party,'' Romneytold a private fundraiser in Floridain which he insisted the GOP needsan alternative to the DREAM Act.He warned that a significant num-ber of Hispanics backing Obama"spells doom for us," accordingto NBC News.
Rubio, who notably called onhis party to tone down the anti-immigrant talk earlier this year, isworking on a plan that would al-low young illegal immigrantswho came to the United Stateswith their parents to apply fornon-immigrant visas. Theywould be permitted to stay in thecountry to study or work, could
obtain a driver's license butwould not be able to vote. Theylater could apply for residency,but they would not have a spe-cial path to citizenship.
Rubio said he has not talked tothe Romney campaign about hisplan but definitely would. ``He'sour nominee and I think it's impor-tant for him to feel comfortable withand be supportive of whateverendeavor we pursue,'' the senatorsaid.
The 40-year-old freshman law-maker is looking at unveiling hisbill in the coming weeks. The earlyoutlines have drawn interest andskepticism from pro-immigrationgroups. Rubio's political motiva-tion also has been questioned,especially since congressionalRepublicans and Democrats saylegislation as ambitious as immi-gration is unlikely to be done sevenmonths from the election.
``Is this really a legislative ini-tiative or a political ploy?'' askedFrank Sharry, executive directorof America's Voice. ̀ `If it's abouta political ploy, it's about throw-ing a lifeline to Romney, ratherthan throwing a lifeline to thedreamers.''
Joaquin Castro, a Democraticmember of the Texas legislatureand a candidate for the U.S.House, said Rubio must betroubled by the GOP anti-immi-grant talk.
``It must be difficult for a His-panic Republican to sit there andlisten to all of the harsh rhetoriccoming from the Republican Partyabout his community,'' Castro saidin an interview.
Rubio insists that Democrats,who controlled the White House,Senate and House for two yearsand never completed immigrationlegislation, are ``just panickedabout the prospects of losing thisissue as a campaign tool.''
Senate Majority Leader HarryReid, D-Nev., signaled that Rubio'seffort has little chance in the Demo-
cratic-controlled Senate, tellingreporters that he won't accept analternative that stops short of pro-viding a path to citizenship.
Brent Wilkes, national execu-tive director of the League ofUnited Latin American Citizens,said if it's Rubio's bill or nothing,``I think we would have to lookpretty hard at the offer becausethe most important thing for thesestudents, at least initially, is forthem to get right with the law andget on with their lives.'' But Wilkescautioned against creating anapartheid-like system in the UnitedStates with a permanent group ofsecond-class individuals.
President Barack Obama chal-lenged the GOP for opposingchanges to immigration whileRubio works on an alternative.
``Somehow Republicans wantto have it both ways. That lookslike hypocrisy to me,'' the presi-dent said in an interview withTelemundo News.
Rubio faces a major obstacle inpushing his measure. The Repub-lican Party and its allies remainfiercely divided over immigrationpolicy, a split even more pro-nounced in an election year.
Moderates who favor a routeto citizenship are pitted againstlawmakers who want tough lawscracking down on illegal immi-grants. The agriculture industry,which relies heavily on illegal im-migrants, and its GOP backers inCongress have challenged Repub-lican legislation in the House re-quiring employers to use an elec-tronic database to determinewhether a new worker is legal,commonly known as e-verify. Busi-nesses fear it will be an unneces-sary regulation while tea partyersworry about government intru-sion.
Opponents of Rubio's work-in-progress already have appealed totheir rank-and-file members to con-tact the senator and express theiropposition. -AP
Obama vows immigrationreform in 2nd term
CARTAGENA, Colombia: Presi-dent Barack Obama is promisingto tackle immigration reform in thefirst year of a second term.
Obama says in a television in-terview that he would work on im-migration this year, but can't getsupport from Republicans in Con-gress. Obama also tried to painthis Republican presidential chal-lenger, Mitt Romney, as an ex-tremist on immigration, saying hesupports laws that would poten-tially allow for people to be
stopped and asked for citizenshippapers based on an assumptionthat they are illegal.
Hispanics are an increasinglyimportant voting bloc in presiden-tial elections. Obama won a size-able majority of the Hispanic votein the 2008 election and his cam-paign is hoping to similar resultsthis November.
Obama spoke in an interviewwith Univision while in Colom-bia for the Summit of the Ameri-cas.-AP
Woman denied bond in immigrantsmuggling case
MCALLEN, Texas: A US judgedenied bond for one of six peoplefacing federal charges for their al-leged involvement in an immigrantsmuggling operation that left nineMexican citizens dead.
Gloria Solis was ordered held oncharges of harboring illegal immi-grants by U.S. Magistrate JudgePeter Ormsby, who noted the seri-ousness of the case and the
suspect's tenuous ties to the area.Solis is a US citizen but moved toSouth Texas recently.
Border Patrol agents pulledover a van April 10 about 10 mileswest of McAllen. As it stopped,one person jumped from the ve-hicle and ran. When agents pur-sued him, the van sped off. Itcrashed just a few blocks awayscattering a parking lot with bod-
ies, backpacks and water bottles.The 15-year-old driver escapedbut was arrested two days later athis home. He faces nine state mur-der charges.
Sixteen illegal immigrants werestuffed into the van, along withthe driver and another allegedsmuggler. Interviews led federalagents to a stash house in Mis-sion where they found 25-year-old Solis and two other allegedaccomplices.
Four of the six defendantswaived their detention hearings.One requested a continuance.
Assistant US attorney LindaRequenez said ``this wasn't yourtypical alien harboring case,'' not-ing that in addition to the ninekilled, one remained in a coma. Shesaid that besides the 16 peoplewho were packed into the minivanfor the fated trip from Solis' house,12 others were still there whenagents arrived. Someone withcommon sense would have ques-tioned loading so many peopleinto a small van, she said.
Carlos A. Garcia, Solis' attorney,pointed out to Ormsby that his cli-ent was a U.S. citizen with no priorcriminal record. He said the tragicaccident was not ``reasonablyforeseeable'' for her. -AP
According to the CBS Newsreporter Palmer and a fellowInfosys employee were appalledby the living conditions of the In-dian workers being brought to theUS by Infosys. They were alleg-edly appalled to see that the em-ployees were "stacked three inmotel rooms; in tiny apartments"and that Palmer had spent his ownmoney to buy them air mattressesto sleep on and that many of themdid not want to come here.
CBS News reported that Infosyshas categorically denied all allega-tions and that it would address thefacts in court. Infosys has deniedthe allegations in a statement April
13 saying: "Any allegation or as-sertion that there is or was a corpo-rate policy of evading the law inconjunction with the B-1 visa pro-gram is simply untrue."
At a breakfast interaction withthe media organized by the Chris-tian Science Monitor in Washing-ton DC on April 13, AmbassadorNirupama Rao when asked aboutthe case against Infosys said,"The company is cooperating andlet us what comes out of it."
In general, she said, the Indianinformation technology commu-nity has contributed a great dealto the enhancement of Indo-USrelationship in terms of business,which continues to grow.
Cont’d from page 34
Senator calls for investigation followingsuit against Infosys visa fraud
Florida Sen. Marco Rubio
(March 21 to April 20)
Try to deal with issues diplomatically rather than getting frustrated
and angry. You will try to stay focused on real issues and try to
forget about past incidence. Few issues involving children will get re-
solved. You will be in touch with a fatherly figure for some advice and
encouraging words. Keep an eye on credit cards.
Your Weekly FutureAPRIL 27TH - MAY 3RD
by Pandit Parashar
April 27, 2012 India Post 37Horoscopewww.indiapost.com
Pandit Parashar, CEO & COO Astro Scan USA is also available for individualconsultations. He can be reached at: [email protected]
510-886-4370website: www.parashar.com
(November 23 to December 22)
Do not feel disheartened if things do not happen on time. If you
stay focused and have patience, you will accomplish a lot soon.
Planets help you make money through stocks. You will get to meet
very old friends this week. You will be studying some very useful
material. Spouse may feel little exhausted and need extra rest for
few days.
(December 22 to January 19)
You are really going to enjoy this week. Choice will be in between
opportunity poles apart in benefits and risks. You will have few
other reasons to celebrate this week. You will hear from an almost
forgotten friend. Some of you will start a new relationship with a
wonderful person. Bank balance will shot up suddenly.
(January 20 to February 18)
If you play your cards right and ready to accept the challenges, you
will be rolling into big money soon and for a long time thereafter.
You may also visit a holy place with family this week. Plans to buy a
property for investment purpose will need to be put on hold. Some
one who was close in the past will try to come back in life.
(February 19 to March 20)
There will be few positive developments at work. You will be in line
for a dream assignment or promotion. An overseas or long dis-
tance trip is also in the air. Health issues will continue to bother.
Ongoing legal matters will take a favorable turn. You will get a big
check from an insurance company in near future.
(May 21 to June 20)
In order for you to implement your plans, you will need to confront
someone you like very much. Luck is on your side and as a result
you will accomplish a lot this week. Journey will be fruitful. No harm
in going for a new venture in partnership. You will receive a very
interesting phone call. Expenses will stay under controls.
(July 23 to August 22)
Presence of helpful planets in fifth will bring big relief. Issues stuck
for some time and giving big headache will clear and once again
everything will start moving in correct direction. You will make few
intelligence choices in career. Expenses will come under control fi-
nally. You will finish some important paperwork.
(September 23 to October 22)
People prone to litigation should be careful for next few weeks.
Running around will increase and the results will come very slow.
It is a favorable week for job seekers as strong planets in sixth can
help them achieve their goals. You will meet a very interesting person
this week. There will an addition in the family soon.
(April 21 to May 20)
You may have to settle for lot less than what you really deserve.
Some one from distance will call to give you some good news.
You will travel to a nice area with family to meet few old friends.
People on the other side will respond quickly to your mail. Spouse
will continue to give good ideas. Bank balance will grow suddenly.
(June 21 to July 22)
You will not only receive good advice but also get a chance to
learn little diplomacy. You will attend an interesting get together
and win a small bet too. There will be tension at work but you will
continue to stay strong and keep doing your job right. Spouse may
feel exhausted and need extra rest. A long distance trip is in the air.
(August 23 to September 22)
You will have couple of chance to make some easy money. Ex-
pect less pressure at work. Boss will appreciate your work and
send a favorable report. You will make new friends and enjoy a small
get together this week. It will be a wise idea to get rid of money
making stocks. You will hear good news from distant places.
(October 23 to November 22)
You will try to dodge unnecessary stress at work as well at home.
You will be working really hard to obtain a new assignment. You
may need to use some part of your reserves to meet your commit-
ments. It's not a bad idea to contact the person who was always
helpful in the past. You may decide not to go to the party and focus
on work.
2012 will prove a very busyyear for John Abraham
John Abraham burst into theBollywood scenario with the murdermystery Jism (2003) and immediately
caught attention with his drop dead goodlooks and portrayal of a passionate lover.
John is a Sagittarian and his rulingnumber is 8 and his lucky days areWednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.The planet Saturn and Jupiter governs thisnumber, which means that he is disciplinedand dutiful. Being a Sagittarian he has astrong sense of adventure and loves trav-eling a lot. He is an optimist and alwayslooks at the sunny side of life. He is hon-est and outspoken. The sun in his chart isreflected in his wide smile and cheerfulpersonality. He remains optimistic in timesof failure and that is the reason behind hissuccess.
2012 will prove to be a very busy yearfor John with his signing up a number ofnew projects. The year started with a bangespecially with his finances taking a bril-liant turn. He will be required to take animportant decision about his love life thatwill help bring stability back into his life.His personal life suffered a jolt when he
broke-up with girlfriend Bipasha Basu.But now John seems all set to pull up hissocks and make a mark for himself as acreditable actor.
As the key planet of Sagittarius, Jupi-ter will encourage him to live life like anadventure and its radiance will make himhappy. Breaking from the norm and ex-pressing his individuality will help see thestart of a great new phase in his life.
April 27, 2012India Post www.indiapost.com38
1 Chikni Chameli: Agneepath2 Hosanna: Ek Deewana Tha3 Jhoom Jhoomta Hun Main
: Players4 O Saiyyan: Agneepath5 Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu
: Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu6 Aromale: Ek Deewana Tha7 Kal Chalna Shuru Tu
: Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu8 Zara Dil Ko Thaam Lo: Don 29 Dil Yeh Bekarar Kyu Hai
: Players10 Sharminda Hoon
: Ek Deewana Tha
At the Cannes Film Fest this year, we willnot be missing Aishwarya Rai as thelovely actress will make her presence
felt, this year too. It is heard that she will mostlikely take along with her her five-month-olddaughter. The 65th Cannes Film Festival willbe held from May 16 to 27.
Ash has been associated to L'Oreal, thecosmetic brand for years now and has alwaysmade it to the Cannes fest, every year. Thiswill be the eleventh year in a row that she willsashay down the red carpet at the event.
Aishwarya first made her appearance at theCannes Film Festival in 2002 for the premiereof her film Devdas. Ever since, she has beenunder the eyes of the fashion police.
Last year, besides being the face ofL'Oreal, the actress also announced the filmHeroine with Madhur Bhandarkar at the filmfest. This year, her appearance will be solelyfor L'Oreal.
After doing more than 30movies in Bollywood,playing 12 characters in
"What's Your Raashee?" andseven characters in "7 KhoonMaaf," actress Priyanka Choprastill craves for more.
Director Kunal Kohli ropedher in for his forthcoming film"Teri Meri Kahaani", in whichshe plays three different char-acters with Shahid Kapoor op-posite her.
"When I went to narrate thestory to Priyanka, she didn't saya word. But after the narration,the first thing Priyanka asked mewas: 'I have to play only threecharacters?' I was amazed. Shestill has the hunger to do moreand do far better," Kohli said ina statement.
"Teri Meri Kahaani" is set inthree eras - 1910, 1960 and 2012.
Priyanka said: "I enjoy do-ing such characters. It gives mea high."
GIMMEGIMMEGIMMEGIMMEGIMMEMOREMOREMOREMOREMORE
TOP TENHINDI FILM SONGS
India Post 39April 27, 2012
www.indiapost.com
Bollywood
Actor Kunal Khemu and his girlfriend Soha Ali Khanhave rubbished reports that they are set to tie theknot by November this year. The wedding plans
are yet to be put in place, says the couple."None of them (reports) are true as of now… As and
when we discuss it among ourselves, we will share it witheverybody. But not as of now," said Kunal.
Asked if they will pip Soha's brother Saif Ali Khanand actress Kareena Kapoor to the wedding post, Kunalsaid: "It's not like we are ahead of someone or behind.There is no hurry that if they are getting married, weshould also do it."
Soha added: "It's not a race! Whenever it is the righttime, we will talk."
For now, Kunal, whose last release "Blood Money" faredaverage at the box office, is currently shooting for Saif'shome production "Go, Goa, Gone".
Soha was last seen in "Soundtrack" and is busy withDeepa Mehta's "Midnight's Children".
NO HURRY Irrfan was Bollywood's Khan with a difference, untilhe dropped his surname. He is unhappy withthe way his decision is being
talked about in the industry, andsays being a Khan does nottranslate into success.
"I don't understand why youwant to put all the Khans in onebag and mix them up. Had I been puttogether with them if my name was IrrfanAli?" the actor said to a question about thedominance of Khans in Bollywood.
"Everyone has his own place and a sur-name doesn't benefit you, otherwise therewould have been so many Khans roamingaround in the industry," added the 49-year-old.
Irrfan has been highly praised for his lastmovie "Paan Singh Tomar", before which hedropped his surname.
But name and success have nothing to do witheach other, he said, adding: "Khan is just a surnameand it is up to you how much importance you give to it."
Irrfan says "Paan Singh Tomar" owes its successto the way public promoted it on social networkingsites. The actor has finished shooting for a European film "Qissa" and also "The Amazing SpiderMan." He will soon start shooting for Tigmanshu Dhulia's "Sahib, Biwi aur Gangster Returns."
Actress Zarine Khan saysshe is trying to becomea vegetarian, but finds it
difficult to abstain from non-vegfood.
"I have been a non-vegetar-ian since birth, so it is not veryeasy. Hats off to vegetarianpeople… I am trying my levelbest to turn vegetarian," the 27-year-old told reporters.
The actress, who joined theindustry two years ago with the2010 release "Veer", got a lot offlak for her plump look. But shehas since shed a lot of weight.
Talking about the secret be-hind her trim figure, she said: "Ieat whatever I want to in theright quantity and at the righttime. If I have a craving for some-thing, I make sure I indulge in itbut not too much."
The actress featured in therecently released "Housefull 2?.Although Zarine did not putenough light on her futureprojects, she thanked her fansfor appreciating "Housefull 2?and making it a huge success.
VegetarianKhan
www.indiapost.com40 India Post April 27, 2012
Health ScienceHealth Line
Beyond drowsy, too little sleepups diabetes risk
WASHINGTON: Increasednumber of workers pull the nightshift. Teenagers text past mid-night and stumble to class atdawn. Travelers pack cheaperovernight flights.
Nodding off behind the wheelis not the only threat from lack ofsleep. Evidence is growing thatpeople who regularly sleep toolittle and at the wrong time sufferlong-lasting consequences that anap will not cure: increased riskof diabetes, heart disease andother health problems.
``We have a societal con-spiracy for sleep deprivation,''says Russell Sanna of HarvardMedical School's sleep medicinedivision, who attended aTEDMED conference where sci-entists called sleep loss one ofhealth care's big challenges.
Just how unhealthy is it? Con-sider how sleep may play a role inthe nation's diabetes epidemic.
Studies have long shown thatpeople who sleep fewer than fivehours a night have an increasedrisk of developing Type 2 diabe-
tes, the kind that tends to strikelater in life.
Rotating shift work, three ormore night shifts a month inter-spersed with day or eveninghours, raises the risk, too, says arecent report from researcherswho analyzed years of medicalrecords from the huge Nurses'Health Study.
Diet and physical activity arebig factors in Type 2 diabetes.Certainly it is harder to work outor choose an apple over a dough-nut when you're tired, especiallyat 3 a.m. when your body's inter-nal clock knows you should besleeping.
A study, however, showssleep plays a more complex rolethan that. As sleep drops andnormal biological rhythms are
disrupted, a person's body physi-cally changes in ways that canhelp set the stage for diabetes,reports neuroscientist OrfeuBuxton of Boston's Brigham andWomen's Hospital.
Buxton's team had 21 healthyvolunteers spend almost sixweeks living in a laboratory wheretheir diet, physical activity, sleep
and even the light was strictlycontrolled.
The volunteers started outwell-rested. But for three of thoseweeks, they were allowed onlyabout 51/2 hours of sleep every24 hours - at varying times of theday or night, to mimic a bad shiftrotation or prolonged jet lag. Thatknocked out of whack the body's``circadian rhythm,'' a master bio-logical clock that regulates such
patterns as when a person be-comes sleepy or how body tem-perature rises and falls.
What happened was startling:Blood sugar levels increased af-ter meals, sometimes to pre-dia-betic levels, because the pancreasstopped secreting enough insu-lin, Buxton reported in the journalScience Translational Medicine.
At the same time, the volun-teers' metabolic rate slowed by 8percent. The researchers had themon a diet so they did not gainweight, but Buxton says typically,a metabolism drop of that sizecould mean gaining 10 to 12pounds over a year.
The results make sense, saysDr. Michael Thorpy, sleep centerdirector at New York's MontefioreMedical Center and a neurologyprofessor at Albert Einstein Col-lege of Medicine.
``If we're going to spend a thirdof our day sleeping, there's got tobe a good reason for it,'' saysThorpy, who notes that diabetesis far from the only worry.
What happened was startling: Blood sugarlevels increased after meals, sometimes topre-diabetic levels, because the pancreasstopped secreting enough insulin
WHO urges priority to health needs of poorIndia Post News Service
NEW DELHI: Health expertsfrom the 11 Member States ofWHO's South-East Asia Regionmet in New Delhi on 16-17 April tobrainstorm about universal healthcare in the Region. WHO is urg-ing countries in the Region to givepriority to public health and thehealth needs of the poor throughappropriate technology andhealth systems that are anchoredat the community level.
The three strategic dimensionsfor universal health coverage are:population coverage, where allcitizens are covered by health ser-vices irrespective of capacity topay; a service package offereduniversally to all citizens custom-ized to meet ground realities andall resource needs, including fi-nancing; and ensuring utilization,affordability and sustainability.
Countries have placed a differ-ent emphasis on each of these threedimensions in their path to univer-
sal health coverage. China for ex-ample is targeting access to a lim-ited package of services for its en-tire population in its first phase ofuniversal health coverage.
Nepal is committed to provid-ing maternal and child health ser-vices free at primary level andprioritizing better access for thepoor in secondary care. SriLanka, on the other hand, has
been successfully delivering amore comprehensive package forsometime now.
"Equity remains the underpin-ning principle that we must notlose sight of" said Dr. SamleePlianbangchang, WHO RegionalDirector for South-East Asia."Health systems are becoming
more complex and health minis-tries must now lead and coordi-nate multi-sector action for im-proving health for all".
Experience shared from CostaRica at the consultation high-lighted the importance of leader-ship and governance in maintain-ing solidarity for equity. This hasbeen at the core of Costa Rica's50-year trajectory to universal
health coverage even at low andmiddle levels of GDP. Importantly,health has been part of a broadereffort for social developmentwhich has had a reinforcing im-pact on health, and particularly oneducation.
Influences outside the healthsector impact health as well, such
as, the rising burden from high-cost, life-style related noncommu-nicable diseases, health risks fromclimate change, social determi-nants of health and health impli-cations of the financial crisis.
Bhutan is now leading theworld in reassessing our prioritiesas captured by economic growth.The UN is discussing indicatorsfor Gross National Happiness(GNH) to replace measuring ofGDP to capture development.
The nine domains under thefour pillars of GNH are: living stan-dards, health, education, culture,ecological integrity, community vi-tality, time use, good governance,and psychological wellbeing.
Universal health coverage mustprioritize the poor and public healthincluding a renewed focus on cost-effective prevention and promo-tion activities by revitalizing Pri-mary Health Care (PHC). This is thefeasible and sustainable way for-ward given the resource context ofcountries of South-East Asia.
"Health systems are becoming morecomplex and health ministries must nowlead and coordinate multi-sector actionfor improving health for all"
Cont’d on page 42
Court: Prison doccan't be sued overeye surgery
LANSING, Mich.: A federal ap-peals court has cleared an ex-Michigan prison official of liabil-ity for an inmate's four-year delayin getting cataract surgery.
In a 2-1 decision, the courtsaid Dr. George Pramstaller hasimmunity, overturning a federaljudge's decision. He was chiefmedical officer at the CorrectionsDepartment.
Dallas Cobbs had cataract sur-gery on his right eye in 2004 butdidn't get the other eye fixed until2008, despite recommendationsthat it be done sooner. Vision inthe left eye was as bad as 20/600.Cobbs says his right against cruelpunishment was violated. -AP
Cost of 2006 Mass.health care law'modest'
BOSTON: A new study hasconcluded that the state's land-mark 2006 health care law hascome with only modest addi-tional costs for Massachusettstaxpayers.
The report by the business-backed Massachusetts TaxpayersFoundation concluded that directstate spending on the health carelaw grew from just over $1 billionin the 2006 fiscal year to more than$1.9 billion in the 2011 fiscal year.
After accounting for federalreimbursements, that translatesinto about $453 million in statespending or about 1.4 percent ofthe entire $32 billion Massachu-setts state budget for 2011 fiscalyear. -AP
Alaska health officials say in arelease that all three cases wererelated to the consumption ofshellfish that was harvested overthe Easter weekend.
All three people involved arerecovering.
One man went to the hospitalafter eating razor clams from Ad-miralty Island. The other twocases were form eating butterclams from either Lincoln orRalston islands.
Early signs of possible paralyticshellfish poisoning include tinglingin the tongue and lips. That can goto the fingers and toe, extendingeven to loss of control of limbs anddifficulty breathing. -AP
NH Senate hearingon birth controlexemption
CONCORD, NH: A Senate com-mittee is taking up the issue ofwhether employers with religiousobjections should be allowed toexclude contraceptive coveragefor health plans for their NewHampshire workers. -AP
India PostHealth Science Post 41
www.indiapost.com
April 27, 2012
Health executive scammed tax returnsHAUPPAUGE, N.Y: Dozens of victims
of severe brain injuries had their identi-ties stolen by a man who worked at theNew York center where they were treated,a prosecutor said here. The suspect thenfiled phony tax returns with the InternalRevenue Service and in at least two states,pocketing over $200,000 in refunds.
Benjamin Achampong, 30, was chargedwith grand larceny, identity theft and othercrimes in a 48-count indictment, SuffolkCounty District Attorney Thomas Spotasaid. Achampong pleaded not guilty at hisarraignment and was being held on $50,000bail. His attorney, Michael Alber, declinedto comment on whether his client wouldpost bail and said he did not want to com-ment on the specific allegations.
In addition to the charges againstAchampong in New York, Spota said he issuspected of using the same victims' So-cial Security numbers and other identifica-tion to obtain $30,000 in refunds in NewJersey, though charges have yet to be filedthere.
Achampong had been in custody inGeorgia, facing credit card fraud, forgeryand identity theft charges stemming from aNovember 2011 arrest.
Spota said authorities in CharlestonCounty, Ga., contacted his office late lastyear after an arrest warrant had been is-sued in New York, and Achampong was ex-tradited to Long Island.
He said the suspect took the identitiesof 56 brain injury victims who were in such
severe condition they were unable toqualify for any employment that wouldmake them subject to paying income taxes.He added that because of the victims' con-ditions, they were sometimes unable to as-sist detectives; a factor that slowed the in-vestigation.
Achampong also is on probation inNassau County, Long Island, for his con-viction in a 2009 case, where he admittedstealing the identity of a dead developmen-tally disabled man to obtain debit cards,
the prosecutor said.Spota said Achampong stole the brain
injury patients' personal identificationwhile working as a manager for LongIsland's Head Injury Association, anagency that provides housing and ser-vices for people disabled by head trauma;either by stroke, disease, or as accidentvictims.
During the opening of a press confer-ence to announce the charges, Spota de-scribed Achampong as a ̀ `shameless, in-corrigible thief who has absolutely nomoral standards whatsoever.''
Through a spokesman, the associa-tion said Achampong had not worked atthe facility since 2006. The phony re-turns were filed that year and the fol-lowing year, prosecutors said.
"The agency is shocked and appalledby the possible victimization of our cli-ents by this former employee,'' the state-ment said, noting the agency has coop-erated with investigators and turnedover all information and records thatcould assist them.
The prosecutor said Achampong usu-ally had the tax refunds, which rangedbetween $200 and $2,000 each, trans-ferred electronically to one of at least 16bank accounts he controlled. Spotanoted that tax officials do not questionwhere to send a tax refund, as long asthe filer provides a bank account androuting number for an account.
Achampong al legedly used themoney to buy a Range Rover and to payhis own personal expenses and the rentand expenses ``of a number of girl-friends.'' -AP
TIP OF THE WEEK
Spota said Achampong stole the brain injury patients'personal identification while working as a manager forLong Island's Head Injury Association, an agency thatprovides housing and services for people disabled by headtrauma; either by stroke, disease, or as accident victims Studies show turmeric, a popular
East Indian spice, is actually threetimes more effective at easing pain
than aspirin, ibuprofen or naproxen, plusit can help relieve chronic pain for 50percent of people struggling with arthri-tis and even fibromyalgia, according toCornell researchers. That's becauseturmeric's active ingredient, curcumin,naturally shuts down cyclooxygenase2, an enzyme that churns out a streamof pain-producing hormones, explainsnutrition researcher Julian Whitaker,M.D. and author of the book,ReversingDiabetes. The study-recommendeddose: Sprinkle 1/4 teaspoon of this spicedaily onto any rice, poultry, meat or veg-etable dish.
Tame chronic painwith turmeric
India Post Health Science Post42
www.indiapost.com
April 27, 2012
Beyond drowsy, too little sleepups diabetes risk
NJ gives group permit togrow pot legally
Up to 70 million Americans are esti-mated to suffer from chronic problemswith sleep, from insomnia to sleep apnea.Impaired sleep has been linked to highblood pressure, heart disease, obesity,depression, memory impairment and aweakened immune system.
Still another concern: The World HealthOrganization has classified night shift workas a probable carcinogen, because too muchlight at night may hamper a hormone in-volved both with sleep and suppressingtumor cells.
Don't people adjust to the night shift ifthey are on it long enough? Buxton saysrotating shifts probably are most worrisome.In his study, the volunteers' bodies wentback to normal after nine nights of suffi-cient sleep at the right time. No one knowshow long it takes before sleep deprivationand an off-kilter biological clock may causepermanent damage.
Montefiore's Thorpy says natural nightowls seem to adapt better to night shifts, butthat people never fully adapt if they swingback to daytime schedules on their days off.Also, about 30 percent of regular night work-ers have trouble sleeping during their offhours or are particularly fatigued, he says,something termed ̀ `shift work disorder.''
The consumer message:• The National Institutes of Health says
adults need between seven and nine hours
of sleep daily for good health.• People you work nights, should go
straight to bed when they get home, Buxtonadvises. Avoid too much light along theway. Thorpy says wearing yellow - or or-ange-tinted sunglasses on the drive homecan block short -wavelength ``blue light''that triggers wakefulness.
• Let natural light help keep the bio-logical sleep clock on schedule, advisesHarvard's sleep-education Web site. For
most people, sunlight in the morning iscrucial. For the night shift, more brightlight in the evening shifts people's inter-nal clock, Buxton explains.
• For anyone, a sleep-inducing bedroomis one that's dark, quiet and cool. Avoidcaffeine, alcohol and stressful situationsnear bedtime. Electronics right before bedaren't advised, either. Going to bed andwaking up at the same time every day alsohelps. -AP
Colo. GOP rejects health lawpassed by their own
DENVER: Colorado Republicans aren'thappy with a health care law promoted bysome of their own leaders in the state Leg-islature.
In a platform resolution, Republicans atthe state GOP convention voted over-whelmingly to seek repeal of the ColoradoHealth Benefits Exchange.
The exchange is a marketplace for healthinsurance and was supported by businessgroups and Republican leaders in the Leg-islature. But the exchange has riled manyconservatives because private insuranceexchanges are required under the new fed-eral health care law.
``Any time you have what you call aprivate industry solution coming from agovernment agency, it sets off alarm bells,''said Ken Clark of Longmont, a conserva-tive who wrote the platform resolution.Clark is Colorado field director for theFreedomWorks group and host of a con-servative Denver talk-radio show onGrassroots Radio.
The platform resolution vote does notaffect public policy, nor does it reflect theopinion of all Republicans. But the healthexchange vote could be another portent ofdanger for Republican lawmakers who sup-ported it.
The exchange was sponsored by HouseRepublican Leader Amy Stephens, who nowfaces a primary challenger who backed an
unsuccessful effort earlier this year to re-peal the exchange.
Stephens declined to comment on theexchange vote before results were an-nounced.
Political platform votes don't mean theparty leadership supports an idea, and
conventions are routinely stuffed withhot-button policy questions that may notreflect the opinions of everyone in theparty.
Still, platform resolutions can be tellingguides to the questions that Democraticand Republican activists consider impor-tant. Mixed in with no-brainer positionsmany associate with either party often lieindications of where some in the partywould like to head. -AP
NEW JERSEY'S first legal medical mari-juana can now be planted after the stateHealth Department granted a permit to agroup to start growing pot for patients.
Under the permit, Montclair-basedGreenleaf Compassion Center is allowedto start growing but will need an additionalpermit to start selling cannabis to patientswith qualifying medical conditions.
Still, the announcement means that NewJersey's often-delayed medical marijuanaprogram could be providing the drug topatients within three or four months - thetime it takes to grow a crop.
The state posted online the list of 109physicians who have registered to be ableto recommend marijuana to patients. Thelist includes doctors in every county ex-cept for Sussex and Salem.
The Health Department also said a reg-istry for patients is being developed, a nec-essary step for patients to get the drug le-gally.
Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine signed alaw allowing medical marijuana in January2010 as one of his last acts before leavingoffice. Gov. Chris Christie, the Republicanwho replaced him, had serious misgivingsabout the law, though he says he supportsmaking pot available for patients it wouldtruly benefit.
Fifteen other states also have laws al-lowing medical marijuana, though New
Jersey's is considered the most stringent.In New Jersey, patients could only be
recommended the drug by doctors withwhom they have an ongoing relationshipand only certain conditions would qualify.Advocates for medical marijuana say iteases pain and nausea associated withmultiple sclerosis, glaucoma and otherconditions.
Implementation of the law has been slowas the state took more time than expectedto develop regulations.
The state selected six nonprofitgroups to grow and dispense the druglast year. But those groups havestruggled to find communities willing tohost them.
So far, just two of the six have an-nounced local zoning approvals. -AP
"Any time you have whatyou call a private industrysolution coming from agovernment agency, itsets off alarm bells," saidKen Clark of Longmont, aconservative who wrotethe platform resolution
Gov. Chris Christie, theRepublican who replacedhim, had serious misgiv-ings about the law, thoughhe says he supports mak-ing pot available for pa-tients it would truly benefit
Buxton says rotating shiftsprobably are most worri-some. In his study, thevolunteers' bodies wentback to normal after ninenights of sufficient sleepat the right time
Cont'd from page 40
India Post April 27, 2012www.indiapost.com
Real Estate43
Realty Tidbits
Not every seller will be willing to bargain, soif your strategy is to make lowball offers, planto make "offers on several properties beforeyou connect with a seller who will deal,"Irwin says
7 questions to ask before buying a homeDANA DRATCH
Before you make an offer ona house, it pays to ask ahandful of questions.
While the answers might scareyou off or make you rethink yourbid, they could make you feel moreconfident that you're making theright move on the right house.
As you prepare for buying ahome, here are seven questions toask before you make the offer. Forethical reasons, agents can't tellyou how much to offer, says C.D."Chip" Boring, broker/owner ofRe/Max Realty Plus in Sebring, Fla.Instead of asking directly howmuch the home is worth, you askindirectly, by seeking informationabout comparable sales, or"comps."
An agent should arm you withplenty of comparables -- prices ofsimilar, nearby homes that havebeen sold recently -- along withhigh and low ranges for a particu-lar property, Boring says.
Your agent can tell you howlong homes are staying on themarket, and the percentage of theasking price sellers are getting,says Dick Gaylord, past presidentof the National Association ofRealtors and broker with Re/Max
Real Estate Specialists in LongBeach, Calif. This information tellsyou how hot the market is where
you are looking, he says.Also ask how long the property
has been on the market. If it's beenlanguishing for months with naryan offer, it could be slow market or
it could be overpriced, says Rob-ert Irwin, author of "Tips and Traps
When Negotiating Real Estate."If you insult the seller with a
lowball offer, you could lose yourshot at the house. To avoid offend-ing the homeowner, ask the seller'sagent how firm the seller is onprice, Irwin says. You can havethis conversation directly with theseller's agent or have your agentask the question.
Keeping it in terms of "how flex-ible are they on the price?" insteadof "how much less will they take?"allows you to feel out the situa-tion without offending the seller,Irwin says.
Not every seller will be willingto bargain, so if your strategy isto make lowball offers, plan tomake "offers on several propertiesbefore you connect with a sellerwho will deal," Irwin says.
A question that often goeshand-in-hand: Is the seller willingto help with the closing costs?
On foreclosed homes, a seller'scontribution to closing costs "cer-tainly is common with Fannie Maeand Freddie Mac because theywant to sell their properties,"Gaylord says.
Shri Kailash Logicity at Oragadam, near Chennai.
Shree Kailash's Logistics Park is readyCHENNAI: Shri Kailash Logis-
tics, part of Kochi-based SreeKailas Group, said here first phaseof its Rs 320-crore logistics park
set up at Oragadam near here isready to go on stream.
The company has completed
construction of 3.25 lakh squarefeet of warehouses and 25,000square feet of commercial complex,with technical support of aSingapore-based consultant, ShriKailash Logistics Managing Direc-tor S Giridhar said in a statement.
The company is expanding thefacility by adding another 7 lakhsquare feet of modern warehousesin the park with a total investmentof Rs 320 crore for both first andsecond phases.
Formal inauguration of the first
phase of the park is scheduled forthe first week of May, he said, add-ing the entire logistics park is ex-pected to be commissioned in twoyears.
Cont’d on page 45
Cont’d on page 44
The company hascompleted con-struction of 3.25 lakhsquare feet of ware-houses and 25,000square feet of com-mercial complex,with technical sup-port of a Singapore-based consultant
HC arbitrators forEmaar MGF,DDA row
NEW DELHI: The Delhi HighCourt has set up a 3-member arbi-tral panel, headed by Justice V SAggarwal, to resolve a disputearising out of DDA's decision toforfeit a bank guarantee of Rs 183crore furnished by CommonwealthGames village builder Emaar MGF.
"DDA states .... it would nomi-nate its nominee arbitrator and thearbitral tribunal be declared by thiscourt to consist of Justice V SAggarwal (Retd) (Presiding Arbi-trator), S B Lal, Chief Engineer(Retd), BSNL, (of Emaar MGF) andthe person to be nominated byDDA.
"Ordered accordingly. DDA isdirected to nominate its arbitratorand convey the decision to theappellant latest by April 13," Jus-tices Pradeep Nandrajog andSiddharth Mridul said while dis-posing of the petition of the realestate firm.
DDA had on October 21, 2010,ordered the forfeiture of the Rs 183crore bank guarantee furnished byCWG Games village builder EmaarMGF after charges of various ir-regularities were leveled againstthe private construction firm.
Thirty four towers, comprising1,168 flats, were built in the CWGvillage in public-private partner-ship.
Aggrieved by the decision,Emaar MGF had moved Highcourt. -PTI
Mumbairentals to bedearer
In a move that would impact ex-isting tenants and migrants
moving into Maharashtra, thestate government has proposed ahike in stamp duty on Leave andLicense Agreements (LLAs). Thestate's move, if implemented,could potentially increase the costof renting a property in Mumbai,Pune and the tier-II cities and mayend up as a good example for otherstates on what not to do.
The scenarioProperty prices in all metros
across India are very high.Mumbai leads the list followed byDelhi-NCR. Cities such as Pune,Hyderabad, Chandigarh, Chennai,Ahmedabad have witnessed highappreciation in capital value ofproperty. Interest rates being high,make home loans increasinglyunaffordable. In this situation,rental accommodation is the de-fault affordable option. InMaharashtra, Mumbai tops the listfollowed by Pune, Nasik andNagpur.
Cont’d on page 45
Details on page 44
Buying dreamcottage in
Himachal mayget tougher
44 India Post Real Estate Post April 27, 2012
"And sellers who have equity in theirproperty and want to help are helping."
"One of the things that's happening nowis every house is in 'perfect condition,'"Irwin says. "The sellers really want to getrid of the properties, so they're failing todisclose any real problems."
Take the direct approach, he says. Ask:"Is there a problem with this house?"
Irwin recommends reminding sellers thatwith inspections and disclosures, chancesare you'll find any problems. "So if the sell-ers just get it out in the open, they'll avoidwasting your time and theirs," he says.
Some sellers' agents recommend a homeinspection before putting the home on themarket, Boring says. If one has been done,ask to read it.
Some states, such as Texas, mandate dis-closure forms in which sellers have to re-veal any issues or problems with the house,says James Foltz, who recently bought ahome there.
In his case, the disclosure not only pro-vided information, but it also started a dia-logue with the seller. Foltz learned that there
7 questions to ask before buying a homehad been a problem and that it had beenfixed. In the end, Foltz says, "It wasn't thatbig a deal."
In a short sale, the bank allows the prop-erty to be sold for less than the amount ofthe outstanding mortgage. If the seller'sbank doesn't give its consent, the short salecan't happen.
But some sellers simply decide to listtheir properties as "short sales" before even
talking with their lenders, Gaylord says.These sellers don't realize that their finan-cial situations might not meet the lender'scriteria for short sales. So even if the buyerand seller settle on a price, without thebank's permission there won't be a deal.
That's why, when a home is advertisedas a short sale, the buyer should ask whetherthe lender has agreed to allow the home to
be sold for less than the outstanding mort-gage amount. "Find out if there has beencommunication with the lender," Gaylordsays.
Do a little investigation, too, he urges. Ifthe buyer has gotten permission for a shortsale, what was the bank's reason for grant-ing it? Does that reason sound plausible(divorce, job loss, transfer)? And are bankstypically granting short sale requests in that
situation?It's the question sellers (and their agents)
hate: Are foreclosed homes for sale nearby?Foreclosures usually cost less, and that hasto figure into your buying decision.
"It always makes sense to ask if there areother houses for sale in the neighborhood,"says William Poorvu, professor emeritus ofentrepreneurship at Harvard Business
School and co-author of "The Real EstateGame." "In today's world, you should alsoask if any of these sales are as a result offoreclosures."
With foreclosures in the neighborhood,"you can assume there will be a lot of pricecompetition, and you may offer less money,"Poorvu says.
Foltz says he should have asked morepersistently for receipts and documentationabout his new home's appliances and me-chanical systems. "But it's something youdon't have that much control over," he says.
The seller replaced the air conditionershortly before putting the home on the mar-ket, but didn't save the paperwork. Withoutdocumentation, the new buyers didn't havea lot of options when the unit malfunctioned.
Foltz says he didn't know who sold theair conditioner or if it was under warranty."So we paid out of pocket."
The seller did pass along all the docu-mentation on the home's hardwood floors.So when the new owners wanted to installthat same hardwood in the hallway and of-fice, they had the information they neededto get an exact match.
- Courtesy Bankrate.com
Irwin recommends reminding sellers that with inspectionsand disclosures, chances are you'll find any problems."So if the sellers just get it out in the open, they'll avoidwasting your time and theirs," he says
Cont’d from page 43
Buying dream cottage in Himachal may get tougherSHIMLA: Buying an ultra-
luxury cottage or a flat in the idyl-lic settings of Himachal Pradeshwill get tougher and costlier if thestate government accepts acommission's report recommend-ing scrapping of the HimachalPradesh Apartment and PropertyRegulation Act of 2005.
The Act was brought into placeby the previous Congress govern-ment and enables builders to con-struct and sell flats in various cat-egories.
Probing 'benami' or illegal landtransactions in the state, the com-mission headed by Justice D.P.Sood, a former judge of theHimachal Pradesh High Court, in
his report tabled in the assemblyrecommended to the governmentthat the act be immediately with-drawn.
"Builders are creating concretejungles and spoiling the naturalforested environment of the state.Since the government lacks man-power to check and monitor eachand every construction activity,the act should be withdrawn. Thedemand of Himachalis (to own aflat) can be easily met byHIMUDA (Himachal Pradesh Ur-ban Development Authority);
hence no private player should beallowed," Sood said in his 147-page report.
Representatives of real estatesay if the recommendation of thecommission is accepted, the con-struction of new cottages andflats will virtually come to a haltwhile demand remains high.
Sood observed that the basicpurpose of the act has been vio-lated since it came into being in2005.
"It was enacted with the pur-pose of setting up housing com-plexes in the state consisting of20 dwelling units for the labor classwithin a radius of 10 km of an es-tablished industrial area. But per-
mission under the act has beengiven indiscriminately," he said.
As many as 173 builders andpromoters have been issued li-censes by the government to con-struct apartments, cottages anddwelling units.
Spot inspection of the buildersby the commission noted that thebuilders are catering to the needsof the rich people of Punjab,Haryana, Delhi and non-residentIndians.
"They are not serving theneeds and requirements of the
people of Himachal Pradesh.Moreover, 90 percent of coloniz-ers (those moving into the newneighborhoods) are not from thestate," the commission observed.
The builders, it said, have pur-chased a huge chunk of agricul-tural land, thus defeating the pur-pose of Section 118 of theHimachal Pradesh Tenancy andLand Reform Act of 1972.
The land reform act intends topreserve agricultural land and pre-vent it from being converted fornon-agricultural purposes.
The report also observed thatthe builders normally shrug off theresponsibility of providing essen-tial services like water and elec-
tricity in the housing projects de-spite an assurance to buyers ofproviding these at the time of sell-ing.
It cited the case of the promot-ers of Sugandha Apartments inSolan town.
Rajeev Chopra of SugandhaApartments in reply to the com-mission stated that "water is thebasic need of the human being andit's the duty of the government toprovide water to members of thesociety". According to the com-mission, the builder has promised24-hour electricity and water sup-ply in the project report.
The commission suggestsvesting of the land of 42 promot-
ers in the government, while thebuilders, who have been givenpermission between 2008 and2011, should be asked to completethe projects within a stipulatedperiod.
The builders who have beenasked to complete the projects in-cluded Bemloe Development andInfrastructure Company, JantaLand Promoter Ltd, Optima Con-struction Pvt Ltd, Soma New TomPvt Ltd and Surya Builders.
Bemloe Development and Op-tima Construction are accused ofserious environmental violations.They are constructing ultra-luxurycottages in Shimla and Kasaulitowns respectively.
Spot inspection of the builders by the com-mission noted that the builders are cateringto the needs of the rich people of Punjab,Haryana, Delhi and non-resident Indians
45India PostReal Estate PostApril 27, 2012
www.indiapost.com
Noting that 2.5 lakh square footwas leased out to major multi-na-tional automobile companies, hesaid the company has received anoffer from another MNC to takethe entire park on a long-term lease.
The company is currently intalks with certain strategic inves-tors and private equity investorsto fund the project, he said, add-
Shree Kailash's Logistics Park is readying, they were also planning to setup similar logistics parks inCoimbatore and Bangalore.
On their future plans, Giridharsaid they were also planning to setup another 50 acre park in NorthChennai, close to the Chennai-Kolkata Highway aimed at serv-ing the fast moving consumergoods companies.
The logistics park, he said,would offer spacious roads for 40
feet containers, uninterruptedpower supply, IT and communica-tion connectivity, water supply anddrainage network for the clients.
Sree Kailas Group, engaged inmanufacturing of paper productsand paper conversion, transpor-tation and logistics and develop-ment of logistics parks, real estateand construction, is expecting toreport a total turnover of Rs 400crore this financial year. -PTI
Cont’d from page 43
Equinox to invest in Bangalorehousing project
NEW DELHI: Essar Group realestate company Equinox Realtywill invest about Rs 600 crore onconstruction of its first housingproject in Bangalore.
The company, which forayedinto the realty sector in 2007, hasappointed construction majorL&T to build its housing project'Water's Edge' spread over 8 acresof land.
"This will be our first residen-tial project. We will develop about400 flats in this project. The start-ing price in the initial phase wouldbe Rs 1.5 crore onwards," Equi-nox Realty Chief Executive OfficerCherag Ramakrishnan told PTI.
"We have appointed L&T forconstruction of this project with atotal built-up-area of about 2 mil-lion square feet," he said, adding
that the project would be com-pleted in the next four and halfyears.
Asked about the project cost,he said "it would be about Rs 550-
600 crore excluding land price".The planned investment would belargely funded through internalaccruals.
L&T's scope of work includesall shell and core and the finishingworks. The project will have five
40-storeyed towers, which will beamong the tallest buildings in thecity.
Ramakrishnan said the com-pany is targeting people who wantto experience luxury lifestyle withall urban conveniences.
The sizes of the flats would bebetween 2,500 square feet and3,800 square feet and the basicselling price has been fixed at Rs5,660/square feet.
Apart from this project, he saidthe company is developing a 1.2million square feet office complexin Mumbai. It is also developingmany projects for other EssarGroup companies which are usedfor captive purposes.
On expansion, Ramakrishnansaid the company is looking formore projects in Mumbai, Banga-lore and Pune. "We have land inMumbai and we are in active dis-cussions to acquire land in Ban-galore and Pune". -PTI
L&T's scope of work includes all shell andcore and the finishing works. The project willhave five 40-storeyed towers, which will beamong the tallest buildings in the city
A tougher year for fundraising
Owing to global issues, li-quidity is becoming aproblem. Though the
phase is temporarily, the concerncannot be ruled out. Indian real es-tate sector is banking on the factthat change will take place and mar-ket will come out of the situation.The fact of the matter is that next 12months and in fact 2012, does notlook too bright for the sector.
The global debt worries have ledto more and more uncertainty. In thelast few months, the sector has beenplagued by a potential liquiditysqueeze. The situation is very un-settling and the fear is that we mightend up looking at the year 2008 situ-ation. It is certain that banks will getinto selective lending with morestrict verifications. In 2012, we areexpecting that interest rates mightget stabilized but disbursal of homeloans will come down.
As RBI has been steadily in-creasing interest rates, debt for de-velopers is becoming expensive.Also many banks are right nownot keen to lend to real estateprojects. Due to global uncer-tainty even private equity is cau-tious of investing in India. In fact,companies have started looking atalternative routes of fund raising.And many a deals are being doneas structured debt deals hidingbehind the facade of an equity
structure.In structured debt deals, the
companies - investor and investee- sign two agreements. In the pub-licly announced agreement the in-vestor - a PE or a VC fund - buysan equity stake in the company;and in the second contract theyhave buyback clause, which al-lows investee company to buyback its shares from the PE/VC
fund at a price that will give thefund a return of about 20% perannum over the duration of theinvestment.
All signs currently suggestthat 2012 would not be an easyyear. As debt becomes more ex-pensive and PE funds find it diffi-cult to deploy cash due to globaleconomic conditions, we wouldsee higher number of structureddeals taking place in 2012.
Due to global uncer-tainty even privateequity is cautious ofinvesting in India. Infact, companieshave started lookingat alternative routesof fund raising
Existing RegimeThe current stamp duty is irrespective of
the period of LLA or market value of thepremises being rented. The duty is fixed asper the annual average rent (AAR). ThisAAR comprises the total rent per year alongwith the deposit amount.
For example, a flat in the tony Peddar Roadarea in Mumbai, worth Rs 5 crore is rented fora year at Rs 1 lakh per month with a deposit ofsay Rs 5 lakh. The total rent per year is Rs 12lakh and with the deposit added becomes Rs17 lakh. As per the current fixed structure de-termined by the ready reckoner, the stamp dutywould be Rs 2,000 for that year.
"One can observe that the stamp dutyhas nothing to do with the market price orcapital value of the premises but is depen-
Mumbai rentals to be dearerdent solely on the amount being paid asrent and deposit i.e. duty is on the gain madeby the licensor in that particular tenure."says S Bharat, a property consultant.
The current maximum stamp duty for theresidential premises for the tenure of maxi-mum five years stands at Rs 25,000.
Proposed RegimeThe proposed stamp duty structure
takes into account the market value in com-parison to the total gains the licensor makes.The proposed duty for residential premisesis divided into two slabs depending on thetenure.
For the LLA of 36 months, the stamp dutyproposed is either 0.1 per cent of the marketvalue or 1 per cent of the AAR - whichever
is higher. For periods from 36-60 months,the proposed stamp duty would be 0.2 percent of the market value or 2 per cent of theAAR - whichever is higher. Market value isdetermined by the government every yearin the form of a ready reckoner.
Consider the earlier example. Under theproposed structure, 0.1 per cent of the mar-ket value i.e. Rs 5 crore would be Rs 50,000,and 1 per cent of the AAR, i.e. R17 lakhwould be Rs 17,000. The proposed stampduty now could be R 50,000 as that is thehigher figure of the two - a 25-fold increase!
In addition, it would not be a fixed butwill vary on the market value and the tenureof the agreement for residential premises.For commercial properties, the proposed
stamp duty would stand at 0.4 per cent ofthe market value.
Possible ReasonsThe state government gets 60 per cent of
its revenue from sales tax/VAT and 20 percent from the excise duty, electricity charges,vehicle tax etc. The balance 20 per cent isfrom stamp duty. A hike in LLAs can gener-ate Rs 1,000 crore additional revenue per year.
An official on condition of anonymitysaid, "Since 2002-03 when registration forLLAs were made mandatory, the stamp dutywas not revised in order to encourage rentalhousing. Hence it was fixed as per AAR. Ithas been a decade since and with overallgrowth in economy, the taxes usually go upwith time."
Cont’d from page 43
April 27, 2012India Post46
www.indiapost.com
DatebookNEW YORK
UpcomingILLINOIS
UpcomingNORTHERN CALIFORNIA
U p c o m i n g
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIAU p c o m i n g
Sat April 28• Javed Ali in ConcertVenue: Palace Theater, 61 Atlantic St. Stam-ford, CT 06901Time: 8pmContact: 203-325-4466
Sat April 28
• Kailash Kher Live in ConcertVenue: Chabot College performing Art Cen-ter, 25555 Hesperian Blvd., Hayward, CAContact: 510-453-1521Highlights: Winner to winn Greet and Din-ner with Kailash Kher
Sat May 5
• Vaisakhi 2012 CelebrationVenue: Birminghuam Charter High School,17000, Haynes Street, Van Nuys, CATime: 3pmContact: 818-835-3374
Sun June 10
• Songs & Dances from Vibrant
GujaratVenue: Palace Theater, StamfordTime: 8pmContact: 203-322-9862Highlights: Gujarat, the Land the Legends:Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel,Vikram Sarabhai, Jamshedji Tata and visionaryDhirubhi Ambani go down in history.But, Gujarat also stands for its literary traditionin the form of folk songs, narratives and theater.
Thurs Sept 27
• Ballet Folklorico De MexicoVenue: Palace Theater, 61 Atlantic St. Stam-ford, CT 06901Time: 8pmContact: 203-325-4466
Fri Oct 19
• Royal Drummers and Dancers
of BurundiVenue: Palace Theater, 61 Atlantic St. Stam-ford, CT 06901Time: 8pmContact: 203-325-4466
Fri April 27• Maharaniís NightVenue: Fire n Ice Restaurant Lounge, 583 FordAve, Fords, NJ 08863Time: 7pmContact: 347-724-5202
Sat April 28• Vishu Festival 2012Venue: Crossroads North Middle School Au-ditorium, 635 Georges Road, MonmouthJuction New JerseyTime: 3pmContact: 732-333-3952
Sat May 5• Musical MelangeVenue: JP Stevens Hingh School, 855 GroveAvenue, Edison, NJTime: 4pmContact: 732-800-2336
Sat April 28ï Kailash Kher KailasaVenue: Chabot College Performing Arts Cen-ter, 25555 Hesperian Blvd, Hayward,CA94545Time: 8pmContact: 510-509-1990
Sun May 6• Kathakaanjali of Dance
Karishma Anniversary 2012Venue: De Anza College Visual & PerformingArt Amphitheater, 21250 Stevens Creek Blvd,Cupertino, CATime: 4:30pmContact: 40257-2436
Sun May 6• Grand QawwaliVenue: Chinmaya Mission Auditorium, 1Union St, Andover, MATime: 5pmContact: 978-681-5678
Sat May 19• Hindu Heritage DayVenue: Marlborough Middle School, 26 UnionStreet, Marlborough, MATime: 3pmContact: 508-789-3548
Sat April 28• Pankaj Udhas in New YorkVenue: Colden Auditorium, Queens College,65-30 Kissena Blvd, Flushing, New YorkTime: 8pmContact: 732-277-6687
Thurs May 10• The Luxury ReviewVenue: The Metropolitan Pavilion, 125 West18th Street, New YorkTime: 6pm
Sat May 5• Desi Speed Dating NYCVenue: Pranna NYC, 79 Madison Ave, NewYorkTime: 7:15pmContact: 732-444-8781
India Post 47
www.indiapost.com
ClassifiedsApril 27, 2012
www.indiapost .com
NEWSon your desktop
48 India Post April 27, 2012
Page Sponsored by Sahanis
One who has become
enamored with the song
within, one who is united
with the inner universal
pulse, such a one has
become immune to the
buffeting of the storms of
circumstance without.
-Ramesh Balsekar
Stop trying to be a bet-
ter person, and you are
a better person
- Adyashanti
We search for love out
there in the world, only to
discover that we never
lacked love, and there is
no 'out there'.
-Jeff Foster
There is a joy and a love
for all of creation that is
there when you fall out of
your head into the still-
ness of your pure heart.
-Solane
To see myself in every-
body, and everybody in
myself, most certainly is
love.
-NisargadattaMaharaj
The illusions of the mind
may hold our love for a
time, but to love Love it-
self, we must turn within.
-St. John of theCross
Relationship can be a
shortcut to enlighten-
ment.
-Isaac Shapiro
www.indiapost.com
You Insure all your Valuables, all are replaceable except YOU! So Insure yourself FIRST. Call Sahanis, (Arish, Priya or Shiv) for your Insurance needs 718- 271- 0453. Serving for last 35 yrs
Philosophy
Creation arose from God,so it is not an illusion
ANANDAMAYI MA
Life and religion are one. Allthat you do to maintainyour life, your everyday
work and play, all your attemptsto earn a living, should be donewith sincerity, love and devotion,with a firm conviction that true liv-ing means virtually perfectingone's spiritual existence in tunewith the universe.
To bring about this synthesis,religious culture should be madeas natural and easy as taking ourfood and drink when we are hun-gry and thirsty.
With earnestness, love andgoodwill carry out life's everydayduties and try to elevate yourselfstep by step. In all human activi-ties let there be a live contact withthe Divine and you will not haveto leave off anything. Your workwill then be done well.
Just as a mother nourishes herchild with all possible care andaffection and makes him grow upinto a healthy boy and a handsomeyouth, so you will find the subtletouches of the Divine Mothershaping your inner life and mak-ing you reach your full height andstature.
Whatever work you have todo, do it with a singleness of pur-pose, with all the simplicity, con-tentment and joy you are capableof. Thus only will you be able toreap the best fruit of work. In full-
or qualified nondualism, whichwas opposite to Shankaracharya'sphilosophy of Advait Vedanta.
Ramanuja has bequeathedthree works on the Brahma-Sutra:the Vedanta-Sara, Vedanta-Dipa,and the Sri-Bhashya. The firstwork merely enunciates the mean-ing of the Sutras.
The second goes beyond thissummary of conclusions and in-dicates the dialectical framework.The third is the fullest and all-sufficient commentary. Pious tra-dition records that GoddessSaraswati was so charmed by itthat she blessed it with the pre-fix 'Sri'.
Ramanuja stated the God isone, but with internal differences,represented as the souls and thematerial creation. God has quali-ties. He is ocean of Divine knowl-edge, bliss, compassion and otherunlimited attributes.
The world, comprised ofsouls and lifeless inert matter, isa part of His being. He is referredto as 'nirgun', without any quali-ties, but what this indicates isthat God is without the 'mayic'qualities of sattva, rajas andtamas. The material creation
arose from God, therefore it is notan illusion. Maya is a power ofGod and established in Him.
A soul is an infinitesimal frac-tion of God, just as a spark is apart of a fire. It remains at oneplace at a time, whereas God isomnipresent. The soul is igno-rant, but God is omniscient andomnipotent. Being a fraction of
God, the soul will always remainin existence. The soul could beconsidered equal to God onlywith respect to the experience ofDivine bliss.
The only means for a soul tobe liberated from maya is selfless,whole-hearted devotion to God.The soul is an eternal servant ofGod. To refer to himself as Godis a great sin.
Maya is a power of God and
dependently established in God.Mayic ignorance can delude asoul, but not God.
Ramanujacharya gave specialemphasis to selfless surrender toGod, which he called 'prapatti'.He said to renounce all materialattachments, remove one's pride-ful ego, and to entrust one's ev-erything to God. It is only
through God's grace that a soulcan attain ultimate Divine hap-piness.
He said that God resides in theheart of every soul as a witness.He is the supreme Divine person-ality. He alone is the Creator andLord of the universe.
Worldly happiness is an illu-sion in the same way that a ropemay be mistaken for a snake. Godis our Mother and Father, there-
fore the duty of the child is toattain the grace of His DivineMother and Father.
A bhakta (devotee) shouldremember God's name andserve God with his body, mindand wealth.
A soul should sincerely andhumbly beg for forgiveness ofhis sins; then God, who is
causelessly merciful, will for-give him and grace him withsupreme Divine bliss.
The relationship that existsbetween Brahman (Narayanan)and the Universe of sentientsouls and insentient entities,is inseparable and irrevocable,known as "aprthaksiddha".
The 995th birth anniversaryof Ramanujacharya will be ob-served on April 29
ness of time, the dry leaves of lifewill naturally drop off and newones shoot forth.
Just as there is a definite time-table for work at school, office orthe shop, so should we set apartfor divine contemplation a few min-utes out of the twenty-four hoursof every day, preferably in themorning and evening.
One must make a fixed resolvethat this little time shall be dedi-
cated to God throughout life. Dur-ing this period no worldly activityshould be allowed.
A fixed time for prayer or medi-tation must be allotted to all mem-bers of the family including theservants. If this practice is contin-ued for long, divine contemplationwill become a part of your nature.Once the habit is established, thefuture course of your life will bemade quite easy.
You will feel the flow of themysterious Divine Grace feeding
all your thoughts and giving younew strength. You get a pensionor bonus after years of hard work,so that you need no longer earnyour livelihood.
In the spiritual realm the rewardfor good, sincere and selfless workis even far greater and can be ob-tained more easily.
Your earthly pension expireswith your life, but the divine pen-sion continues long, long after
death. Those who amass money,store it up in a hidden chamber oftheir house, add to this store whatthey can save from time to time,and keep a constant watch overtheir treasure.
So also reserve a little corner ofyour mind and heart for God andalways steal an opportunity to addto your stock in the shape of theinvocation of His name or somepious work or divine thought.
Lose yourself altogether whenbowing down to God with a
single-minded devotion and youwill obtain joy and power in pro-portion. If you cannot do any-thing else, at least morning andevening at the appointed time,lay down your body, mind andlife before Him in salutation andsurrender, and think of Him justa little.
There are two kinds ofpranamas: Offering to Him yourwhole body and mind with all
thoughts, desires, sense-impres-sions, love, affection, devotion,just like emptying the contents ofa full pitcher to its last drop.
The other way is like scatteringface-powder through the minuteholes of a powder-box: the majorportion of your thoughts and de-sires is kept back in a hidden cham-ber of your mind, and only a littledust is allowed to escape.
The 116th birth anniversary ofAnandamayi Ma will be observedon April 30
Ramanujacharya
In all activity, let there belive contact with Divine
Anandamayi Ma
Just as a mother nourishes her child with allpossible care and affection and makes himgrow up into a healthy boy and a handsomeyouth, so you will find the subtle touches of theDivine Mother shaping your inner life
Worldly happiness is an illusion in the sameway that a rope may be mistaken for asnake. God is our Mother and Father,therefore the duty of the child is to attain thegrace of His Divine Mother and Father
49Edit Pagewww.indiapost.com
April 27, 2012 India Post
NLD's victory: Still a long wayto go in Myanmar
MEDHA CHATURVEDI
In the historical bypolls inMyanmar, Daw Aung SaanSuu Kyi's party, the National
League for Democracy (NLD), hasbeen declared victorious by a hugemargin. This has led the countryto a point of no return in terms ofcredible reforms which will makethe civilian government a lot moretrustworthy internally as well asglobally. Are the reforms alreadyprogressing at a pace acceptableto the people of Myanmar and theWest, and more importantly, wheredoes Myanmar go from here?
NLD's victoryThe bypolls were conducted
following the resignation of mem-bers of the parliament who wereelected in the November 2011 na-tional elections and were nomi-nated to the Council of Ministers(as specified in the constitution).The NLD decided to re-register it-self as a political party and con-test these elections after the civil-ian government amended certainparty registration provisions towhich the NLD had earlier ob-jected.
Although the NLD, having won43 of the 45 contested seats, willonly have a limited representationin the parliament, there is sufficientoptimism that Suu Kyi's would bea strong presence. The USDP andthe Shan Nationalities DemocraticParty won the final two seats. SuuKyi will be representing her con-stituency of Kawhmu nearYangon, most probably from July,when the lower house of the par-liament starts its new session.
With only 37 out of 440 seats inthe lower house, the NLD may nothave a big voice, but it will be thelargest individual oppositionparty. With these results, the NLDwill now have 37 seats in the lowerhouse, four in the upper house andtwo in regional assemblies. SuuKyi has heralded these results asa "triumph of the people, who havedecided that they must be in-volved in the political process ofthis country." So far, no indiscre-tion has been reported in the poll-ing process.
The road aheadThe biggest problem which still
remains in a state of ferment is theethnic conflict. Despite ceasefireagreements and peace talks withsome of the ethnic armies, manyof them, including the Kachin In-dependence Organization (KIO),continue to fight the military. Infact, in the run up to the bypolls,the fighting intensified in Kachinstate and polling in three constitu-encies in the state was postponed.
This is a problem which cannot
be solved without a political dia-logue with all the stakeholders,considering that many of the eth-nic armies still control some of themost resource-rich areas ofMyanmar. There has been a de-mand for a federal structure ofgovernment for self-determinationof the ethnic minorities to breakthis impasse, and Suu Kyi's pres-ence in the parliament may facili-
tate a formal dialogue on the is-sue.
Economically, these bypolls aresignificant because the fact that apro-democracy dissident partyhas managed to triumph in almostall the seats contested sends outa positive message to investorsoutside of the regular economicallies of the country. Furthermore,the ASEAN countries are urgingthe West to lift economic sanc-
tions on Myanmar. The EU, Aus-tralia and Canada have alreadyexpressed their willingness to re-lax some sanctions starting end-April.
Another issue that is likely tobe on NLD's priority list is theamendment of the constitutionalmandate of 25 per cent of the seatsin the parliament to be representedby the military. However, this is a
tricky issue given that the militaryrepresentatives to parliamentwould also need to come on boardwith this.
President Sein also needs SuuKyi in parliament to provide legiti-macy to the political process in thecountry. To show just how openthese bypolls were, President Seininvited observers and journalistsfrom all over the world to
Myanmar. Although, the West hasappreciated Sein's steps to ensuretransparency in these bypolls, asection of the incumbent cabinetis reportedly unhappy at the paceat which power is being devolved,and NLD's resounding victorymay cause this divide to deepen.
There is also the possibility thatSuu Kyi would be offered a cabi-net position, like heading the For-eign Ministry, however, it is un-likely that she would take that upand leave the opposition.
The NLD has sufficient time toprepare for the 2015 national elec-tions. However, it is unclearwhether Suu Kyi would be able tocontest then. In addition to theconstitutional disqualificationsshe faces on account of beingmarried to a British national, thereare concerns about her health.While campaigning for her partyin the run up to the bypolls, shecollapsed twice due to exhaustion.
Assuming that these resultswould help Suu Kyi to speed upthe process of reforms and en-courage transparency in thegovernment would be naïve. Atbest, NLD would hold aboutseven per cent of the seats in theparliament (43 of the total 664seats) with all important minis-tries like Home, Defense andBorder Management still underdirect military control. Neverthe-less, this will serve as a big stepin the direction of recognizingMyanmar as attempting to achievea functional democracy.
The writer is Research Officer,IPCS
India Post
Assuming that theseresults would helpSuu Kyi to speed upthe process of re-forms and encour-age transparency inthe governmentwould be naïve. Atbest, NLD would holdabout seven per centof the seats in theparliament (43 of thetotal 664 seats)
Rise of States
In a long list of election debacles, the Congress has added onemore - the municipal corporation of India's capital Delhi. Thisclosely follows setbacks in elections to the Brihanmumbai Mu-
nicipal Corporation and the state assemblies in Uttar Pradesh, Punjaband Goa. The BJP won all the three corporations in Delhi but with areduced margin. As an incumbent party the focus was not on itsperformance which was not very promising, but on the issue ofCongress corruption and rising prices. If the Congress is learningany lesson it is not apparent from the reactions which say civicelections are fought on local issues and this defeat will in no wayimpact the chances of Congress in the Delhi assembly electionswhich are due next year. The BJP is crowing but the message fromthis election has been the large number of independents who wonand the rise of "other" parties like the BSP, NCP, SP and Janata Dal.The overall impression is that of a growing disenchantment with thenational parties.
It was a local election but the image of the dysfunctional UPA atthe Center was writ large before the voters even without any per-suasion. This bodes ill for the ruling Congress party but there doesn'tseem to be any corrective move.
It seems the Congress is so numbed in its second avatar in UPAthat it doesn't know what to do. Any initiative it takes falls flat withthe states and the people in general questioning its motives. A con-ference of chief ministers in Delhi turned into a litany of complaintsof high handedness against the Center. Non-UPA CMs launched ablistering attack on the Congress-led UPA at the meeting on internalsecurity. They accused the Centre of meddling in states' affairs byseeking to arm the National Counter-Terrorism Centre with policepowers and proposing intrusive changes in the Border SecurityForce Act. While Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi accused theCentre of "meddling with subjects under the state list," Tamil NaduChief Minister Jayalalithaa went a step further to say that stateswere being treated as ``glorified municipal corporations.'' She alsocomplained that her government was not informed about the recentIndo-US naval exercises in the Bay of Bengal adjoining Tamil Naduand her attempts to elicit some information about this exercise in-volving Nuclear armed ships was rebuffed by the Center. The Non-UPA CMs also got together in a move to coordinate their plans tochoose a candidate for the forthcoming Presidential elections.
The weakening of the Center will have far reaching consequences.Used to dominating over the states when a majority of them hadCongress governments, the grand old party has never practicedinternal democracy. Instead of allowing the states to choose theirown leaders, it used to nominate leaders and impose them on thestates. The result was factionalism and disaffection among the cad-res of the party. It has now come home to roost with the Congresslosing states one by one. But its old practice of disregarding localvoices continues with the latest instance in Uttarakhand where itwon a narrow majority. While the local MLAs wanted to choosetheir own leader, the so called high command of the party as ex-pected snubbed them and foisted their own choice. The result hasbeen a non-functional government in that state.
The newly confident states make the point that while the Centerenacts laws, it is the States which have to implement them. So forbetter governance, it is reasonable to consult them and act in coop-eration with them. If the present ruling party doesn't listen, writing ison the wall for it in 2014.
Myanmar pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi talks to supporters at the
headquarters of her National League for Democracy party in Rangoon.
