MIT award for 18 top Indian techies

A synthesiser inspired by physicist Stephen Hawking's talking gadget, a cell phone system that gives alerts on cooking gas cylinder leaks and robots that perform root canal treatment and underwater clean- up - innovations such as these have won a bunch of young Indian techies a prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology ( MIT) award.

TR35, a MIT Technology Review initiative, will honour this year's 18 top Indian innovators - who are aged under 35 - here on Tuesday.

Over two days, these young women and men will share the stage with top scientists. The innovators have been selected for developing technological solutions to common problems and their contributions hold great promise, the award jury said.

The innovations will change the world of many people. Rohit Jain, born in Chennai with cerebral palsy that affected his brain and immobilised him into silence, finished high school last year thanks to one of these gadgets.

Jain now studies Sociology at Loyola College, Chennai.

Made by a team of IIT Madras graduates, AVAZ - a custommade speech synthesiser - is now available for tests in institutions like Delhi's Tamanna special school.

AVAZ helps the children convert their gestures with head or fingers into speech with the aid of a micro- processor and sensors.

Ajit Narayanan, the key person behind AVAZ, has won this year's TR- 35 Innovator of the Year award.

Gautam Kumar, 26, of RoboticWares, Bhubaneshwar, won the Social Innovator award for a gadget that detects the smell of a LPG leakage. And it automatically sends text messages to five designated people over their cell phones.

The trigger for the device was a Bhubaneshwar blast that reminded Kumar's colleague Kushal Nahata of an earlier blast at Chandni Chowk in Delhi, where his parents lived.

Deepak Ravindran, 22, of Innoz Technologies in Gurgaon, won the telecom prize for a text- based cell phone search engine.

SMSGyan is a platform that can work with different databases to give answers of up to 500 characters - from dictionaries, cricket, stock market and gadgets price lists.

The digital slate developed by Aishwarya Lakshmi Ratan of Microsoft Research Lab in Bangalore finds application in Kalahandi, Orissa, among poor people.

" Earlier self- help group members had to write out their accounts and leave a copy in a box," Sabyasachi Kar of the NGO Pradan, said. A messenger would collect them and take it to a far- away place with computer and electricity every week. Now the local women just have to place a plain paper on the new slate and enter data with a special pen.

Sameer Jain - of MGV Dental College, Nashik - won an award for his root canal machine. Then, there are robots that go underwater and those that clean ducts.

Others have developed technologies to secure Internet service provider's routing network and make printing ink eco- friendly.

Technology Review India Editor Srinivas Rao who led the project said: " It is heartening to see an increase in technology innovation in India."

Source: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/Story/133052/latest-headlines/mit-award-for-18-top-indian-techies.html

Hasan Ali laundered money for 3 former Maharashtra CMs

Hawala trader Hasan Ali's $ 8 billion (about Rs 36,000 crore) network of illegal money transactions is unravelling.

On Saturday, Ali revealed to agencies probing his accounts that a substantial portion of the thousands of crores in his Swiss bank and other accounts elsewhere belonged to top Indian politicians and bureaucrats, including three former chief ministers of Maharashtra.

This breakthrough has come as a breather to the investigating agencies that have been at the receiving end of the courts for their lacklustre probe into Ali's case.

In what could place Ali at the centre of a devious parallel banking network for the country's most corrupt politicos and babus, investigators have found an ingenious money- laundering mechanism that succeeded in turning black money into legitimate earnings through the stock market.

Following these revelations from Ali, the investigators have summoned Indian representatives of international banks such as UBS, Barclays and Credit Suisse to share more information on his transactions with them.

According to probe agencies, Ali took unaccounted black money from Indian politicians out of the country through the hawala channel and parked them in bank accounts in various countries across the globe, especially Mauritius.

He would then bring this money back to India, invest it in the stock market through participatory notes to buy up shares for people named by the politicians. At times, the money would come in as foreign investment straight into companies floated by friends and family of these politicians.

"In those years, especially the late 1990s and early 2000s, the stock markets had huge black money riding on it, which was often untraceable. Ali smartly bought participatory notes which were not required to be registered with SEBI. In the same fashion, some of the money would also come into companies that would have a beneficiary of the politician's family or in some cases, a completely new business entity in the name of a beneficiary of the politician," said a source close to the probe agencies. Through this strategy, Ali is believed to have pumped in money into the businesses of the son-in-law of one of these former CMs.

Ali was remanded to four days' custody of the enforcement directorate (ED) on March 17. His custodial interrogation was extended by the Supreme Court by another three days.

Ali has told his interrogators that between 1990 to 2000, he got in touch with several top bureaucrats as well, who like the politicians wanted him to launder their ill-gotten wealth. "He says these introductions then became permanent contacts and he did launder money for them several times, also getting his own share of the profit from these transactions. However, he claims that he was just a small fish in the entire episode," said another official source.

Officials however are not yet ready to give out the names of the politicians, bureaucrats or bankers whose names Ali has allegedly revealed. They are piecing the hawala jigsaw together to crack the case before letting out the details of the network. Ali's claims of laundering black money for politicians and bureaucrats probably explain why no probe was initiated against him for a very long time.

According to sources, Ali has told investigators that he did not have any direct links with most politicians whose money he handled but were in fact introduced to them by his friends and partners in his hawala affairs.

Although he claims to be a small fish, the investigators are not willing to buy the claim. The ED has apparently sought explanation from Ali regarding the initial deposit of Rs 5 crore in his bank account with the UBS Bank, Singapore, in 1982, which mysteriously grew to US $1 billion (`4,500 crore at current conversion rates) in 1999, a year-and-a-half before the 9/11 attacks in the US.

"This aspect of his business is something we must look into as his close connections with Adnan Khashoggi, the international arms dealer, run very thick," says an official. Investigators probing the Pune businessman's accounts have found a phenomenal jump in his assets after 2001, with money coming in from 'suspicious' accounts from countries such as Dubai and Saudi Arabia, among others.

The date is significant because investigators believe that after the terror attacks in September 2001, the US and other countries had stopped transactions of money in different bank accounts related to terrorist organisations. Ali's account on the other hand just kept growing with money flowing in from many Middle Eastern countries. This has what raised eyebrows among the many investigating agencies.

" The money could have been routed to his account as other banks were being pressured to freeze accounts. This explains how the money in his account jumped from a few hundred crores to thousands of crores.

The alarming jump and the freezing of funds after the terror attack could not be a coincidence," said an investigator.

The Comptroller and Auditor General's report ( CAG report) indicates how Ali's income jumped from Rs 529 crore in 2001- 2002 to Rs 5,404 crore in 2002- 2003.

From here, it kept soaring as Rs 54,268.6 crore were accumulated in his account in 2006- 2007. Investigators believe that Ali's income did not match with the money coming in to his account.

" He has claimed to be a businessman, a stud farm owner and a scrap dealer. However, even if you do all this together you can't have so much money in your account," said the investigator. He said that Ali has not been able to explain where the money had come from.

" Forget about the thousands of crores. To date, Ali has not been able to explain the source of Rs 5 crore, which was the initial deposit in his UBS Bank account in Singapore in 1982. Apart from arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi, we believe he could be in touch with other sources too," said the officer.

It remains to be seen whether the ED would seriously investigate or simply ignore Ali's revelations as the agency has been unable to initiate any action since 2007 against the money- launderer, until the SC rapped the government on its knuckles. The ED's veil of secrecy on Ali's revelations also does not inspire confidence that it will pursue the hawala trail.

Source: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/Story/133049/top-stories/hasan-ali-laundered-cash-for-3-maharashtra-cms.html

Rajat Gupta resigns as ISB chairman

Hyderabad: Rajat Gupta, the former McKinsey & Co chief accused of insider trading in the US, has resigned from chairmanship of Indian School of Business, a Hyderabad-based B-School, Monday.

Putting an end to the speculation that loomed large over the issue of his resignation, the ISB confirmed his resignation and is on the lookout for a new chairman for the executive committee of the board.

"Rajat Gupta has requested the ISB executive board to relieve him of his board responsibilities till his pending matter with the US SEC is resolved.

"This, and the appointment of the new chairman, will be tabled at the upcoming board meeting on April 2, 2011," an ISB spokesperson said.

Gupta, who is the co-founder of ISB, may not attend the upcoming board meeting scheduled for April 2, sources said.

A McKinsey veteran, Gupta has decided to take "leave of absence" from management of USD 1.4-billion PE fund New Silk Route, which he co-founded five years ago.

Earlier, Indian-American Rajat Gupta had resigned from three corporate boards, including American Airlines.

Gupta, a former board member of Goldman Sachs and Proctor & Gamble, has denied the charges level against him by the American regulator.

"We also note the statement of counsel for Rajat Gupta, which asserts that the allegations are totally baseless. The ISB community is confident that Rajat Gupta will be vindicated. He continues to be the Chairman of the ISB executive board," ISB had said in a statement earlier.

ISB is a premier business school in the country and has academic alliances with the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, among others.

Source: http://biz.zeenews.com/news/news_content.aspx?newscatid=3&newsid=22313

Japan reconstruction may take 5 years: World Bank

Japan may need five years to rebuild from the catastrophic earthquake and tsunami that has caused up to $235 billion of damage, the World Bank said on Monday.

The March 11 disaster - which killed more than 18,000 people and ravaged northeastern Japan - will likely shave up to 0.5 percentage point from the country's economic growth this year, the bank said in a report. The impact will be concentrated in the first half of the year, it said.

"Damage to housing and infrastructure has been unprecedented," the World Bank said. "Growth should pick up though in subsequent quarters as reconstruction efforts, which could last five years, accelerate."

The bank cited damage estimates between $123 billion and $235 billion, and cost to private insurers of between $14 billion and $33 billion. It said the government will spend $12 billion on reconstruction in the current national budget and "much more" in the next one.

It said a crippled nuclear power station in the northeast that authorities are racing to regain control of is an unfolding situation that poses uncertainties and challenges. Traces of radiation first detected in spinach and milk from farms near the nuclear plant are turning up farther away in tap water, rain and even dust. In all cases, the government said the radiation levels were too small to pose an immediate risk to health.

A short-term drop in Japan's consumer demand and manufacturing production will also hurt trade with regional neighbors, the bank said. South Korean electronics companies have seen the price of some memory chips from Japan rise 20 percent because of disrupted production, while Thai car exporters may run out of Japanese auto parts next month, it said.

"Disruption to production networks, especially in automotive and electronics industries, could continue to pose problems," the bank said. "Japan is a major producer of parts, components and capital goods which supply East Asia's production chains."

Japan's northeast, the epicenter of the disaster, is home to ports, steel mills, oil refineries, nuclear power plants and manufacturers of auto and electronics components. Many of those facilities have been damaged, while nationwide power shortages have severely crimped auto and electronics production.

The World Bank said in a separate report Monday that economic growth in developing East Asian countries will likely slow this year as central banks raise interest rates to battle inflation pressure from rising food and energy prices.

The bank expects developing East Asia, led by China, to expand 8.2 percent this year and 7.9 percent next year from 9.6 percent in 2010. China's economy, the world's second biggest, will likely grow 9 percent in 2011 from 10.3 percent in 2010, the bank said. It said the forecasts were calculated before the 9.0-magnitude earthquake and tsunami.

The bank said central bankers in the region have been slow to attack the threat of quickening inflation from higher commodity prices, and urged policymakers to ease emergency government spending programs implemented during 2009's global economic recession.

"Tighter monetary policies, including higher policy rates, are needed across the region in varying degrees to pre-empt the recent rise in food and other prices from exacerbating inflation expectations," the bank said. "At the same time, governments need to allow their discretionary fiscal stimulus packages to lapse."

About 51 million people were lifted out of poverty - those living on less than $2 per day - in developing East Asia last year, lowering the region's poverty rate to 27 percent, or about 500 million people, the bank said.

Developing East Asia includes China, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Fiji, Laos, Mongolia and Papua New Guinea.

Source: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/Story/132994/latest-headlines/japan-reconstruction-may-take-5-years-world-bank.html

India regrets ongoing air-strikes in Libya

Gravely concerned over "continuing violence, strife and deteriorating humanitarian situation" in Libya, India on Sunday regretted the air strikes by US-led coalition and called upon all parties to abjure use of force and resolve their differences through peaceful means.

"India views with grave concern the continuing violence, strife and deteriorating humanitarian situation in Libya. It regrets the air strikes that are taking place. The measures adopted should mitigate and not exacerbate an already difficult situation for the people of the country," Ministry of External Affairs said.

"Spoke to Ambassador (M) Manimekalai in Tripoli a short while ago. She is cool and calm. Harrowing Saturday night tho' with jets screaming above, she says (Ambassador)," Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao tweeted.

India hoped that the air strikes would not harm innocent civilians, foreign nationals and diplomatic missions and their personnel, who are still in Libya.

"India calls upon all parties to abjure use of or the threat of use of force and to resolve their differences through peaceful means and dialogue in which the UN and regional organisations should play their roles," the Ministry said in a release.

The US-led military coalition today hit Libyan defence targets with cruise missiles and launched air attacks as Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi vowed to open his arms depots to the people to retaliate against the Western "aggression".

French jets fired the first shots in 'Operation Odyssey Dawn', the biggest international military intervention in the Arab world since the 2003 invasion of Iraq, destroying tanks and armoured vehicles in eastern Libya, Al-Jazeera reported.

They were joined by the US and the UK who fired over 110 Tomahawk missiles from American and British ships and submarines, hitting about 20 Libyan air and missile defence targets in the capital Tripoli and along the Mediterranean coast, US Navy Vice Adm William Gortney said at a Pentagon briefing.

The UN Security Council had on Thursday adopted a resolution, calling for an immediate ceasefire and authorised "all necessary measures" for protecting civilians in Libya from Gaddafi's forces.

- With PTI inputs

Source: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/Story/132952/india/india-regrets-ongoing-air-strikes-in-libya.html

Enrolment in primary schools plunges 2.6 million in 2 years

MUMBAI: It is a lesson in misplaced enthusiasm. While the Centre has been busy tom-tomming its efforts to send more children to school, enrolment in primary classes across the country has, in actuality, dropped since 2007. Between 2008-09 and 2009-10, enrolment in classes I to IV in Indian schools dropped by over 2.6 million. 

The biggest setback was witnessed in Uttar Pradesh, where admissions plummeted by over a million in the last two years, according to the latest data released by the ministry of human resource development.

The slide in national figures began between 2007-08 and 2008-09 and became, ironically, steeper between 2008-09 and 2009-10, when the Centre cleared the Right to Education Act making education a fundamental right. 

After years of ignoring the worrying statistics, the central government has finally decided to wake up and take action. It recently pulled up state governments and demanded reasons for the decline in numbers. 

Most large Indian states, including Maharashtra, have seen student numbers come down in classes I to V, though Assam has been one of the biggest offenders. 

"This definitely cannot be just a demographic change. In fact, in Uttar Pradesh, enrolment has come down in just about seven to eight districts. The state government has been alerted and it is investigating what went wrong," said R Govinda, vice chancellor of the National University of Education Planning and Administration. Experts are at a loss to accurately explain the drop in enrolment in northern states, where birth rates have essentially remained the same. In some southern states, where population planners had predicted a slowdown in birth rate, primary school enrolments have unsurprisingly declined. 

In other states like Delhi, Tamil Nadu and in the northeast, the figures have begun to plateau. In Bihar, Rajasthan, Assam, the struggle stems from ground-level problems like data keeping, children moving out, introduction of new schools and rationalization of data, said Madhav Chavan, the founder of educational non-profit group Pratham.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Enrolment-in-primary-schools-plunges-26-million-in-2-years/articleshow/7749672.cms

Sachin Tendulkar puts integrity above quest for 100th ton

CHENNAI: Sachin Tendulkar did not get his 100th ton on Sunday but even his early dismissal was evidence of the integrity with which he has played the game for over two decades. 

Against the West Indies on Sunday, Sachin decided to walk off despite being given not out by Australian umpire Steve Davies. 

A quarterfinal place had already been sealed, Virender Sehwag was ruled out of the game, yet the MS Chidambaram Stadium was jam-packed an hour before the game started. When India won the toss, the excitement reached its peak, "Will Sachin get his 100th hundred here?" 

Kemar Roach was not there and the West Indian attack wore a pedestrian look. The stage was nicely set up for Tendulkar and the 39,000 present at the ground went wild with anticipation when they saw the Little Master walking out to bat. But a Ravi Rampaul delivery in the very first over beat the champion and as the West Indian fielders appealed vociferously, umpire Davies nodded his head in disagreement. There was a sigh of relief in the stands but Tendulkar had other ideas. He turned back and started walking back as a stunned silence descended on the ground. 

There have been many Tendulkar hundreds and many dismissals, but this was something out of the ordinary. Not too many players have walked when the stakes have been this high, the last being the legendary Aussie wicketkeeper batsman Adam Gilchrist. 

"That is the greatness of the man. But I don't think this is the first time Tendulkar has walked...I have seen him doing it before," former India player WV Raman told TOI. "Sachin has always been a gentleman cricketer and if he believes in something, he will do it," Raman said. 

From the various replays that were shown, it was difficult to gauge whether Tendulkar had actually got the nick. With the Hotspot not being in use for the World Cup, it was a possibility that even if the decision was referred, it could have gone in Sachin's favour! 

Did Tendulkar forget about that and thought that he would be given out if it was referred? Former international umpire VK Ramaswamy said, "I don't think so. I have seen Tendulkar walking before. He had walked because he was convinced in his mind that he was out. He is an honest cricketer and he always believes in maintaining the spirit of the game."

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/cricket/cricket-world-cup-2011/news/Sachin-Tendulkar-puts-integrity-above-quest-for-100th-ton/articleshow/7749699.cms

Doc who did Sadhick Batcha autopsy resigns

CHENNAI: Dr V Dekal, the forensic surgeon who conducted the postmortem on the body of Sadhick Batcha on Friday, has resigned from government service. 

Sadhick Batcha, 39, a close aide of former telecom minister A Raja and a person the CBI considered a vital link in the 2G spectrum money trail, was found hanging at his Chennai residence last Thursday. 

Dr Dekal, who heads the department of forensic sciences at the Madras Medical College, said he put in his papers on March 3, more than a fortnight before Batcha's suicide, to contest the Tamil Nadu assembly 

elections. 

"I am yet to make up my mind since the relieving order is yet to come. If it comes soon, I may contest as an independent," he said. Dr Dekal's father was a DMK member. 

Dr Dekal had said that asphyxiation was the cause of Batcha's death, but did not elaborate on the details since he was awaiting results of laboratory tests on Batcha's visceral organs. 

The immediate police reaction to the suicide had raised several,questions last Thursday. Though Batcha was declared 'brought dead' to Apollo Hospitals, Chennai at 1.20pm, the postmortem was not carried 

out the same day. 

The police said the process could not be initiated as by the time Batcha's wife came to sign the papers, it was too late. The body was taken to the Government Royapettah Hospital which does not have a forensic expert, and one had to be brought from the Madras Medical College the next day for the autopsy.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Doc-who-did-Sadhick-Batcha-autopsy-resigns/articleshow/7751952.cms