Papers forged to force Army chief to cut short tenure?

NEW DELHI: Squabbling among generals over the age of Army chief General VK Singh has plunged to a new low, with a case of crude impersonation and forgery emerging in Pune. Investigators are frantically trying to trace one Rafique Shaikh, who forged papers to show that General Singh was born in 1949 as part of what is seen as a plot to shorten the tenure of the army chief. 

The certificate with a forwarding letter from a Member of Parliament was sent to defence minister A K Antony and circulated among media to muddy the waters over General Singh's age. 

The Kirkee Cantonment Board in Pune filed a police case alleging that Shaikh forged General Singh's "birth certificate" to show that he was born in 1949 and not in 1951 -- the year of birth shown in the Army chief's class X certificate. R C Jagtap, Chief Executive Officer of Kirkee Cantonment Board, in his police complaint has said "Mr Rafiq Shaikh with malafide intention submitted an application to obtain a certificate for his son" and used it to create the purported birth certificate of Gen Singh. 

The birth certificate manufactured by Shaikh was riddled with loopholes, with a non-existent maternity home as his birth place. But it brought out the resolve of vested interests and a faction in the Army to push Singh out by May 2012. 

At the root of the controversy is what General Singh has for years called a typo in his application to the Union Public Service Commission for admission to National Defence Academy. The teacher who filed the application for Singh entered 1950 as the year of his birth instead of 1951 as recorded in Class X certificate. The Supreme Court has laid down that details in the Class X certificate are to be treated as the relevant date for all official purposes. The discrepancy resulted in two dates of birth for Singh in the Army's records. While the military secretary's branch recorded 1950 as the year of birth based on the UPSC form, the adjutant general's office maintained that it was 1951. 

General Singh tried to get the anomaly rectified several times. Even the ministry of defence asked the Army to reconcile the records when the chief was being appointed a corps commander. Strangely, however, the divergence was allowed to persist. 

A strong section in the Army as well as the defence ministry suspects that the controversy is now being exploited by vested interests hurt by some of the recent measures as well as patrons of some officers whose career prospects are better served by uncertainty over the succession order. 

Defence Minister AK Antony has now stepped into the issue, in the wake of an RTI application, a law ministry opinion saying that Gen Singh's birth year should be 1951, and several media reports. He has asked the ministry to carry out fresh verification, with orders to "go by records" and not to give any opinions. The MOD finding will have to be approved by the Cabinet Committee on Appointments, a senior MOD source said. 

A legal opinion given by the ministry of law and justice too has said that General Singh's birth year should be 1951. If this is accepted, then Northern Army Commander, Lt Gen KT Parnaik, would become the next chief in March 2013. 

However, if the UPSC application showing 1950 as Singh's year of birth is taken into consideration, then Lt Gen Parnaik would be eliminated from the race and Lt Gen Bikram Singh, currently heading the Eastern Command, will take the baton after Gen Singh retires in May 2012. 

Feuds among the Army brass are hardly unknown. But what differentiates the current bout is the lengths travelled by those wishing Gen Singh to retire early. Retired officers have been circulating Gen Singh's alleged birth certificates and select pages from documents, triggering suspicions whether heartburn over his tough actions are in play. 

The measures taken by the Army chief on the Sukna and Adarsh scams have left behind a trail of bitterness, even generating a sense of betrayal. 

Meanwhile, sources said investigation over the past 24 hours by the Pune police have failed to trace Shaikh. There was no one by the name at the address given by him (house No 28, Salisbury Park, Pune). 

Investigators have recovered CCTV recordings from the Kirkee Cantonment Board office, and a woman clerk in charge of birth and death certificates has recognised Shaikh, or the person who pretended to be Shaikh, sources said. Shaikh had visited the office earlier too, and located birth details of an unnamed male child, born on June 9, 1949, with registration number 210, and claimed it was his son. He demanded the birth certificate for this child. 

The lady clerical staff has told investigators that she gave a blank birth certificate in good faith to Shaikh. The certificate was later used to produce that of General Singh, showing his year of birth as 1949.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Papers-forged-to-force-Army-chief-to-cut-short-tenure/articleshow/8121817.cms

Air tickets to get cheaper from Mumbai, but not Delhi

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that the airport development fee ranging between Rs 100 to Rs 1,300 levied per passenger per trip at Mumbai, Delhi and other airports was illegal since it was not authorized by the Airport Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA). 

While this verdict will lead to lower fares in Mumbai, fliers from Delhi will continue to cough up the tax since the operator obtained AERA's permission to collect the sum in 2010. 

The order by a bench comprising Justices R V Raveendran and A K Patnaik will be welcomed by millions of flyers who have resented the levy as an unjustified burden particularly when airfares and prices in general have soared. They, however, will not get refunds, with the apex court ordering the airport development fee to be deposited withAirport Authority of India (AAI) for upgrading airports and passenger amenities. 

The bench held that the GMR-led Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) and GVK-managedMumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) started collecting development fee from passengers transiting through the two airports from March and April 2009 merely on the strength of an authorization from the ministry of civil aviation, and without the requisite sanction from AERA.DIAL got the sanction from the airport regulator in 2010, while MIAL has not been permitted till date. 

Justices Raveendran and Patnaik prohibited MIAL from collecting airport development fee of Rs 100 per domestic trip and Rs 600 per international trip. The airport developer was permitted by the ministry to levy the fee till 2013. 

Though DIAL was permitted to collect Rs 200 per domestic trip and Rs 1,300 per international trip from passengers for three years since March 1, 2009, the court said it could have legitimately done so only from April 23, 2010, when it got AERA nod. 

The bench said it was still open for the petitioners to challenge the April 23, 2010 order of AERA allowing DIAL to collect the fee without determination of the rate. 

However, the court said both MIAL and DIAL cannot keep the money collected from passengers by them and would now have to account for the entire sum they got as development fee since 2009 to AAI. Delhi airport had handled 25 million passengers in the year 2009-10, while Mumbai airport in 2010 had seen a passenger traffic of 28.1 million. 

The airport developer in Delhi was allowed to collect the tax to cover a deficit of Rs 1,827 crore when the project cost was estimated to be about Rs 9,800 crore. But now with the project complete and the cost escalating to Rs 12,718 crore due to, among other reasons addition of the new domestic terminal 1D, the funding gap has gone up to Rs 3,481 crore. To cover the additional gap of about Rs 1,700 crore, DIAL has accordingly asked the Airport Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) to be allowed the charge the ADF of Rs 200 and Rs 1,300 for four years and eight months from March 1, 2010, an extension of two years and eight months. 

Writing the judgment for the bench and partly allowing a petition filed by NGO "Consumer Online Foundation', Justice Patnaik said: "We declare that with effect from January 1, 2009, no development fee could be levied or collected from the embarking passengers at major airports under Section 22A of AAI Act, 1994, unless the Airport Economic Regulatory Authority determines the rate of such development fee." 

"We direct that MIAL will henceforth not levy and collect any development fee at the major airport at Mumbai until an appropriate order is passed by the AERA under Section 22A of the 1994 Act as amended by the 2008 Act," the Bench said.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/Air-tickets-to-get-cheaper-from-Mumbai-but-not-Delhi/articleshow/8095224.cms

Note had warned PM Raja planned to ignore 2G advice

NEW DELHI: The brazenness with which arrested telecom minister A Raja bent rules to distribute telecom licences and 2G spectrum allegedly in exchange of bribes could not have surprised Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. 

An internal note warned Singh that the telecom ministry under Raja intended to ignore advice to refer allocation of 2G spectrum to an empowered group of ministers (EGoM) and that such a course of action violated rules of government business. 

The note, put up to the PM in November 2007 in the wake of rising concern over Raja's bid to ram through the 'first-come, first-served' policy, clearly said that differences between law and telecom ministries over the need for wider consultations should be resolved by the Cabinet. 

The PM did ask his office to examine issues, but despite the pitfalls in Raja's interpretation of his policy domain, the DMK leader not only pushed ahead with his controversial implementation of his preferred policy but also managed to subvert the cabinet system in the process. 

If these revelations contained in PMO and Cabinet Secretariat's communication with the Public Accounts Committee find reflection in the committee's report likely to be submitted this week, it will set off fresh confrontation between the government and opposition. The PAC, headed by BJP leaderM M Joshi, is expected to refer to systemic failures in the 2G episode. 

The PMO assessment followed Singh himself asking his office for a note on "whether the action proposed to be taken by the (telecom) ministry is correct or not; whether it is justified in doing what it plans to do." Raja had insisted in a November 2, 2007 letter to the PM that the EGoM route was "totally out of context''. 

Significantly, the PMO is not clear on whether it should have stopped Raja from having his way. Responding to criticism that it failed to ensure his adherence to the 2003 Cabinet decision that pricing of airwaves be jointly decided by telecom and finance ministries, the PMO told the PAC, "Not giving effect to a Cabinet decision is tantamount to varying or reversing the same… it is incumbent on the department to bring it before the Cabinet." 

However, it did not agree that PMO was mandated to ensure the former telecom minister played by rules. "There is no specific requirement for PMO to enforce cabinet decisions nor is this the general practice," PMO told the committee. 

With regard to then finance minister P Chidambaram's January 15, 2008 letter on the need to review telecom ministry's decision to price spectrum, the PMO said: "Prime Minister saw the finance minister's note. No action was formally taken by PMO on the note." It also said that Chidambaram's objections seem to have been resolved by July 2008.The response is in sync with the PM's assertion that in the final analysis finance ministry agreed with Raja's stand that spectrum need not be auctioned. 

Both PMO and Cabinet Secretariat make it clear that the decision in December 2006 to delete pricing of spectrum from the terms of reference of a group of ministers set up in February was approved by the PM. The PMO informed Cabinet Secretariat on November 27, 2006, that the PM had "approved the revised terms of reference", on the urging of Raja's predecessor Dayanidhi Maran. 

When various concerns were brought to his notice even after his November 2, 2007 letter to the PM, Raja did not budge and wrote on November 15 that he was only continuing with the existing spectrum policy. 

Later on December 12, 2007, the telecom ministry candidly told PMO that new licences would be granted to those who fulfilled the letter of intent conditions. The ministry anticipated a rush of applicants as it said "an applicant who fulfils LoI condition first will be granted licence first, although several applicants will be issued LoI simultaneously." 

Raja assured the PM that "discussions with the external affairs minister and the solicitor general (Goolam Vahanavati) have further enlightened him to take preemptive and pro-active decisions. PMO says that it outlined a course of action for the PM's consideration but does not spell it out.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Note-had-warned-PM-Raja-planned-to-ignore-2G-advice/articleshow/8094760.cms

Daughter of DGCA No. 2 got licence from school with no plane

MUMBAI: They did not have even a single aircraft at their airport base, neither did they have a classroom or a hangar there, but in 2007, for some reason, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) was benevolent enough to grant Raipur-based Touchwood Aviation the approval to start flying training for Commercial Pilot License (CPL) students. 

A month after it started, Rashmi Sharan, the daughter of A K Sharan, joint director general ofDGCA and its number two man, joined the school. Back then, Sharan was the deputy director general (training and licensing), the department which grants approval to flying training organisations. A year after Rashmi got her license and moved out, the school shut down. 

The case of Touchwood Aviation is an intriguing one as it is perhaps the only flying school in Indiato ever get a Flight Training Organisation approval even before it could position an aircraft at its base. It was also allowed to function, though it did not have the mandatory classroom or hangar at its airport base. 

So what are the violations here? 

1. According to Flying Training Circular (No 2/2005) issued by DGCA on May 2, 2005, flying schools/clubs "should have a minimum of three serviceable aircraft", among other requirements, to get an approval to start flying training for CPL students. At any given point of time, if the aircraft fleet falls below three, then the approval for training CPL students will be withdrawn, it states. 

"After the circular came into effect, the DGCA inspected all 16 flying schools in India at that time and flying schools with one or two aircraft scurried to increase their fleet to three," said an aviation source adding that the norms were adhered to in the annual inspections then on. 

When Touchwood Aviation was granted the Flying Training Approval in 2007, this circular, very much in effect — as it is today — was sidelined to grant the approval fraudulently. The proof of violation appears in the hand-written inspection report, dated 24 August 2007 (TOI has a copy) which grants Flight Training Approval to Touchwood. 

It was filed by Mohan Chandran, an official with Aerodrome Standards, Mumbai, after visiting Touchwood's Raipur facility and states that the school is yet to have an aircraft positioned at its base. Said an aviation source: "I do not know of any instance in India, where a flying school got an approval to start training even before it could position the aircraft and build a hangar." 

He added: "Let alone get an approval, the DGCA officials from the flying training department will not even come to inspect the school if the hangar and aircraft are not ready. Getting an approval only comes after site inspection," he added. 

2. How did the DGCA office, find ground facilities "satisfactory", when there was none at the airport base? Apart from the above-mentioned circular, Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR), Section 7, Series D which pertains to approval of flying training instutites also states that a flying school's airport base should mandatorily have aircraft hangar, briefing room, waiting room, etc, for student use. 

But Touchwood Aviation had their office, briefing room, etc, at a place located about 10km from Raipur airport. They did not have any facility at the airport. "Students were ferried to the airport every morning and back in the evening. They would wait on open tarmac through the day for their turn to fly," said a source. 

The issue is not just of inconvenience. Having a briefing room on site is regarded as essential. For instance, before and after every flight, a student undergoes a briefing and a de-briefing session in the classroom. "In a briefing lesson, the flight to be undertaken would be discussed and instructions given so that the teacher and student do not waste time in the cockpit on lessons that can be given when on ground," said an instructor. 

"After a flight, the student is de-briefed and the mistakes and shortcomings are pointed out and instructions given to rectify them," he added. In case of Touchwood, there was no room in the airport for the de-briefing sessions, post flight. 

3. DGCA's flying training department is entrusted with the job of inspecting schools to grant/renew flying training approval. So why did the department waive all the norms for Touchwood? "Since Touchwood had not positioned any aircraft at its base or have a hangar, officials from the DGCA's flying training department refused to inspect the school," said an aviation source. 

Sharan, the then deputy director general (training and licensing), sent Chandran, an official from the aerodrome standards department in Mumbai, to do the Touchwood inspection, the source added. Based on the inspection report filed by Chandran, Touchwood was given an approval for six months, which was later renewed. 

Director General Bharat Bhushan said that he was looking into the case. Manjit Singh, owner of Touchwood Aviation, said that nine students, including Rashmi Sharan, completed their CPL from his school. It shut down in August 2009. Rashmi did her training between September 24, 2007 and October 7, 2008. 

"Airports Authority of India, the owner of Raipur airport, asked Touchwood to pay 13% of the gross turnover since the time of starting school. This made us economically unviable," Singh said about the closure of the school. He confirmed that no hangar space was allotted by AAI at Raipur airport. "All scheduled and periodic maintenance was done in the hangar at Raigarh airport in Chattisgarh," he added. 

Touchwood said that if it gets airport space at rates which are economically viable, it would start operations. But other flying school promoters will vouch that getting a DGCA approval to start a flying training organisation is not an easy task.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Daughter-of-DGCA-No-2-got-licence-from-school-with-no-plane/articleshow/8094783.cms

Sathya Sai Baba's last rites in Puttaparthi today

PUTTAPARTHI: While Prashanthi Nilayam looked like an ocean of humanity in which devotees flowed from all directions on Tuesday, hectic preparations were on for the 'maha samadhi' ofSathya Sai Baba on Wednesday at the Sai Kulwant Hall in Prashanthi Nilayam premises. 

Number 9 was Sathya Sai Baba's favourite and lucky number. When the clock strikes 9 in the morning, the final rituals will start and conclude by 10.30am. 

Sai Kulwant Hall is the place where Baba sat, delivered discourses and blessed people. According to the ashramites, many years ago, while interacting with the students, he had shown the place and expressed his wish that he should be buried in the Sai Kulwant Hall. 

Baba would be laid to rest in the pit (7ft deep and 12ft length), which was dug up 10ft behind from where his body was placed in the glass casket in the hall since Sunday evening. 

"The body would be lowered in the pit and filled with 'Kuruskshetra' matti (soil), salt, silver, gold and navaratnas," sources said. The body would be kept in the sleeping position in the samadhi. 

However, Prasanthi Nilayam would be out of bounds for devotees during the maha samadhi. Only key family members and Sai Central Trust members would take part in the last rites. The construction of a memorial and fixing of a golden statue of Baba would be planned in a few days time. Though Baba preached universal brotherhood and embraced all religions, his last rites will be performed as per the Hindu tradition.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Sathya-Sai-Babas-last-rites-in-Puttaparthi-today/articleshow/8095242.cms

Adobe India doles out up to 200% bonus

BANGALORE: At Adobe's India centre, bonuspayouts are not just linked to meeting key result areas (KRAs) or targets, but also to how innovative employees have been through the year. 

This year, the company doled out bonuses up to 200 per cent, a reflection of the firm notching up 200 patent applications to its name over the years, second only to the number of patents applied from its US office. 

The company has 40 per cent of its global research and development talent in India and one of its most profitable global business units, the firm has five in total, is fully managed here. 

"In India, the opportunity for us is talent arbitrage, not cost arbitrage. We choose the best people from the highest ranked colleges like the IITs and other tier I technology schools and make every effort to keep them together," says Jaleel Abdul, senior director, human resources, Adobe Asia-Pacific. 

To keep the flock together, the company is paying top dollar for top-notch talent, 50-60 per cent higher than most other tier I firms. It has promoted 30 per cent of its engineering staff last year and ensured that employees have full ownership of products that are commercialised and are not involved with just a part of the product, as is often the case with global technology firms which has research centres here. 

Employees also get customer feedback on products. Adobe pumps in significant resources to see a patent application through to its end, a process that could take several years and keeps its employees updated through the process. "A patent is a measure of technical excellence and that probably is the biggest high. It is about saying I invented something no one else thought of before," Abdul said. 

"The annual incentive plan or bonus payouts are based on the company's performance and individual performance. Performance is measured with reference to the Leading to Win criteria which includes thought leadership, results leadership, people leadership and personal leadership. The payouts are contingent on differentiated value added by recipients on all four quadrants of Leading to Win criteria. In addition to this, the company also gives out significant special bonuses to employees who work on innovative ideas that get patented," he added. 

The company has seen a significant increase in the number of patents it has been applying for every year. A growing headcount is also lifting the number of the patent filings, now at almost one every year. 

At a time when most technology firms have been a grappling with huge churn, Adobe says attrition has been in single digits and one sign of employees staying with the company for long periods is that today is because large part of its leadership team has come through the campus route. 

Adobe has also increased hiring significantly this year. It has 1,800 employees and has been increasing headcount at 15-17 per cent a year in the past. In the first three months of this year the company has already hired 350 people.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/news/software-services/Adobe-India-doles-out-up-to-200-bonus/articleshow/8087920.cms

For IT hiring, 2011 to be landmark yr after 2007

BANGALORE: The calendar 2011 is expected to be a landmark year for tech hiring and job movements after 2007 as market visibility improves, global customers step up spending and pipelines remain packed. External head hunters are optimistic of a very bullish trend with hiring requirements going up substantially this year by 60% to 70%, compared to last year's 20% jump over the previous year. 

The industry will see around 2 lakh fresh engineering graduates entering the job market this year while another 3 lakh people will move and change jobs within the industry. Also, there will be another over a lakh graduates (BSc computer science, electronics, and bachelor of computer applications) coming to the market from colleges across the country. 

Also, some 50,000 mid-to-senior people are expected to join the IT industry from traditional verticals like manufacturing, auto, oil, telecom and logistics as the sector is suffering from an acute shortage of senior talent, say industry observers. 

The IT/ITES industry employs around 15 lakh people and at least 25% of it that population will be part of a job churn/change this year. "Many people stayed put in organizations for the last three years due to sheer want of options outside. All in this category are exploring opportunities outside and moving," said B S Murthy, CEO, LeadershipCapital, an IT hiring firm. 

So calendar 2011 will witness a net hiring of around 4 lakh people (campus and lateral), against 2 lakh in 2010. Calendar 2009 was the worst year, with less than 1 lakh people getting jobs, with companies going back on their campus commitments and widespread lay-offs. Year 2008 saw a hiring of 2.5 lakh while calendar 2007 was a bumper year that threw up 5 lakh jobs in the market. 

"The mood today is very optimistic. Therefore, clearly there is an upsurge in hiring. The intake of IT and retail sector is surely going to more than double this year," says K Jayshankar, MD,Empowered Learning Systems. Fresh hiring will be led by domestic players like Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys Technologies and Wipro. Freshers will account for 70% to 80% of their hiring this year while MNCs like IBM, Accenture, HP and Capmini will drive the lateral hiring sector each with an annual mandate of 15,000 to 20,000 people. 

According to Nirupama V G, MD, AdAstra Consultants: "The quantum of people requirement from companies has rapidly increased in the last a quarter or so. To meet this requirement, some external hirers were forced to increase the number of their support staff, after maintaining a thin staffline for last three years."

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/For-IT-hiring-2011-to-be-landmark-year-after-2007/articleshow/8075737.cms

'Successor of Sai Baba unlikely soon, trust will take work forward'

HYDERABAD: Sathya Sai Baba's death has left a huge question mark on the future of the Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust, which is said to control assets whose worth could range anywhere from Rs 40,000 crore to over Rs 1 lakh crore. The cause of the anxiety is the dispute among some trust members, evident from anonymous letters sent to cops in recent weeks. 

Sai Baba was the chairman of the central trust and the only person with cheque signing authority. The central trust is expected to lead, but what if its members do not resolve their disputes? 

Unlike other godmen, Sai Baba had maintained close links with his kin and they are now seeking a role. Baba's nephew R J Ratnakar, a cable operator and gas agency owner, is a member of the trust and is seeking a bigger role. 

Sathya Sai Baba's nephew R J Ratnakar, a member of the Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust, is seeking a bigger role for himself. Ratnakar earned a trust seat after his father R Janakaramaiah, Sai Baba's younger brother, died. 

Trust functionaries like secretary K Chakravarthy would rather have the organization run by professionals. 

Indications are that other trust members like former chief justice of India P N Bhagwati and former central vigilance commissioner S V Giri are aligned with Chakravarthy's thinking. Chakravarthy quit the IAS to devote himself to the work of Sai Baba. 

Evidence of dispute among trustees surfaced in the form of benami letters received by the district police last fortnight, alleging wrongdoing by some trust members. Pamphlets distributed in the pilgrim town last week also sought to target a key functionary of the trust. Compounding the problems are some politicians who have jumped into the fray. 

To add to the problem, the central trust deed registered on September 2, 1972, with the assistant commissioner (endowments) office in Ananthapur, is silent about who should succeed the founder trustee, Sathya Sai Baba. The Central Trust deed clearly states that any change of trustees will happen with the approval of the founder trustee and the founder trustee would have all the powers to appoint or remove any trustee. But there is no word about alternative arrangements in the absence of the founder trustee. 

The central trust is one of the many trusts carrying on the work of Sai Baba. But in the deeds relating to these trusts there is clarity about the trustees, their appointment and tenure. 

The Andhra Pradesh government at present is not seeking to meddle in the affairs of the Sai Central Trust. This was stated by the chief minister Kiran Kumar Reddy in Puttaparthi hours after Sai Baba passed away. 

Sources close to the central trust said that there will be no successor to Sai Baba soon and the trust will continue to take forward work entrusted by the Baba. ''May be the money used will come from the subsidiary trusts since nobody else has cheque signing authority in the Central Trust,'' an analyst said.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Successor-of-Sai-Baba-unlikely-soon-trust-will-take-work-forward/articleshow/8076119.cms

Nokia gives good news finally!

HELSINKI: Nokia Corp has reported better than expected first quarter profits despite confirming that its market share around the world dropped below 30 percent for the first time in over a decade, as the world's top cellphone maker continued to lose ground to its rivals. 

Though the Finnish company said its net profit for the quarter fell €5 million to €344 million ($499 million) a year earlier, the markets were impressed by the news that operating profit only fell 14 percent during the period instead of the anticipated 40 percent decline. 

Nokia shares were up 3 percent at €6.11 ($8.87) in afternoon trading in Helsinki. 

Elsewhere in its statement, Nokia revealed that its revenues grew by 9 percent to €10.40 billion from €9.52 billion in the same period in 2010, while smartphone sales were up 6 percent at €7 billion. 

Despite the increase in smartphone sales, Nokia confirmed that its overall global market share plunged to 29 percent, from 33 percent a year earlier and 31 percent in the previous quarter. 

CEO Stephen Elop said Nokia has now signed a "definitive" deal with Microsoft Corp to develop software for smartphones "and that product design and engineering work was well under way." 

But he cautioned that the company faced "a more challenging second quarter.'' 

Nokia said the tsunami and earthquake in Japan had disrupted the supply of some components linked to Japanese suppliers and would impact its results in the second quarter. 

Nokia is the world's top cellphone maker but faces stiff competition in top-end smartphones from Apple Inc's iPhone, Android-based handsets and Research in Motion's Blackberry. 

However, Nokia said it sold 24 million smartphones, 13 percent more than in 2010. 

Total handset sales were only slightly up at 108.5 million, Nokia said.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/news/telecom/Nokia-gives-good-news-finally/articleshow/8047232.cms

Law ministry proposes 20-yr term for babus

NEW DELHI: The law ministry has prepared a 10-point governance reforms agenda which envisages capping a bureaucrat's term to 20 years and seeks reforms in allocation of mining and land rights. 

The presentation made to key UPA functionaries, including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi, says all new recruitments to central government jobs should be for 20 years and any extension beyond that would depend on the outcome of intense review, the law ministry has said in its presentation on governance reforms. 

It has also suggested several transparent systems for exploitation of natural mineral resources which include a comprehensive survey of all mining blocks, allocation of mining leases through competitive process such as electronic auctions and imposition of export tax to discourage exports of raw minerals. 

The government has been contemplating administrative reforms to improve governance in the country. There has been widespread criticism in recent year about the deterioration in governance and delivery of public services. 

Regarding reforms of the bureaucracy the law ministry says that all public servants shall be subjected to two intensive reviews on completion of 14 years and 20 years of service. It calls for specific tenures to be fixed for each post to ensure objectivity, continuity and autonomy and to avoid arbitrary transfers. 

To curb naxalism, the law ministry has suggested payment of reasonable monthly amount in cash to all below poverty line families in the affected areas. It says mineral processing areas should be set up in these areas and those who lose their land for setting up such units should be made stakeholders either through equity or employment or both. 

"To improve the quality of life and also to mainstream them it is necessary that bulk of the proceeds from the exploitation of natural resources in the tribal areas should be utilized for their welfare," the ministry said in its presentation. 

On urban land management, it calls for a ban on allotment by public agencies through discretionary quotas and has backed immediate survey and preparation of accurate urban property records. 

It also suggests that the Real Estate Regulation Bill being proposed by the Urban Development Ministry should be expedited and all natural resources such as spectrum should be allotted by a competitive transparent process. 

"Because of the pressures of rapid urbanization urban land has become a scarce and valuable commodity. This has encouraged speculation, black marketing and unauthorized land markets," the law ministry says. 

"This has been facilitated by the inadequacies in our urban property records and weak and pliable town planning. This has created a class of land mafia, which has become a source of black money and political clout." 

It says suggests the setting up of a district level ombudsman to ensure that rights of the citizens through the Right to Information Act, National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, Forest Right Act, Right to Education etc are protected and there is a redressal system at the grass-roots structure.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Law-ministry-proposes-20-yr-term-for-babus/articleshow/8052062.cms

Concerted campaign to scuttle Lokpal Bill: Santosh Hegde

BANGALORE: In less than a fortnight of its formation, the joint committee for drafting the Lokpal Bill is falling apart. Even as civil society representatives Shanti Bhushan and Prashant Bhushan are battling attacks on their integrity, another civil society leading light, Justice NSantosh Hegde, is thinking of quitting the panel. 

Stung by Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh's references to his ineffectuality in dealing with corruption in Karnataka, Hegde, who is the Karnataka Lokayukta, told TOI: "I'm angry and hurt. I came to know through the media thatDigvijay Singh said I was trying to protect Karnataka CM B S Yeddyurappa on corruption charges. I've tried to be honest in my entire career."

He said he was reconsidering his decision to join the committee, but would take a final decision on Saturday after meeting the other civil society activists. He said there was a concerted campaign to discredit the civil society members of the joint committee. It would appear he was not prepared to face up to the campaign. 

While Hegde seemed to be wilting under the pressure, Anna Hazare himself appeared to be distancing himself from the controversy. He was heard saying on TV that he had nothing to do with the Bhushans. 

Hegde said, "There is a concerted effort to scuttle the Lokpal Bill, which has been pending for 42 years. It's something like former CM HD Kumaraswamy giving me suo motu powers for prosecution but governor Rameshwar Thakur declining sanction. Politicians do not like their conduct to be examined." 

He added, "I am apolitical and committee members from civil society don't belong to any political party. First, they targeted Anna Hazare. When that did not stick, their focus has been on Shanti Bhushan. While Arvind Kejriwal was too smart for them, I am their latest target." 

Clarifying that he did not want to go into the CD controversy relating to the Bhushans, Hegde said the smear campaign was only designed to nix the formulation of a strong anti-corruption law against politicians and bureaucrats. 

"Our concern should not be about how good or bad Shanti Bhushan is but how good or bad the proposed Lokpal Bill will be. The legislation has nothing to do with any panel member's conduct. It aims to create an institution," he said

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Concerted-campaign-to-scuttle-Lokpal-Bill-Santosh-Hegde/articleshow/8051534.cms

Pantry car hero saves 150 lives in burning Rajdhani

NEW DELHI/MUMBAI/BHOPAL: Thanks to an unlikely hero, not a single passenger was injured as three bogies of the Mumbai-Delhi Rajdhani were reduced to cinders in a fire that started early Monday morning when passengers were fast asleep and the train speeding through western Madhya Pradesh. 

Passengers said pantry car in-charge Pawan Kumar`s quick response in stopping the train around 2.10am and urging sleepy passengers to get off, not only saved the lives of about 150 people in the affected 3-tier AC coaches but also helped contain the fire. 

"Please help the reporters congratulate the most important man," senior citizen Bahadur Mistri was heard telling co-travellers as they hugged and kissed their relatives when the train reached New Delhi station at 3.20pm. "He is the pantry car in-charge who knew quite a bit about the train AC system. His name is Pawan Kumar." 

Kumar was sleeping in the pantry car from where the fire started. "I got up and found smoke everywhere. The first thing I did was to pull the chain. I shouted to my boys to get going and wake up the passengers. We asked everyone to file out. I was screaming — bahar niklo, sab chhod ke bahar niklo (run out, leave everything and run out)," said Kumar, an employee of RaiIway caterers, IRCTC. 

Kumar said after stopping the train, he ran towards coach B7 as the wind was moving in that direction before collecting a fire extinguishers and running back into the pantry to fight the blaze. "Everyone pitched in,`` he added. 

Said Satyendra Singh, who was travelling in coach B7, "The shouting worked. I still do not know how we managed it, but by 2.20am all passengers in the coach were outside. The pantry car and the B7 coach were gutted within the next half hour, the B6 coach followed suit before the fire brigade arrived." 

"Pawan Kumar took me out and helped me get down. Everything my group was carrying — mobiles, digital cameras and even currency notes — were all burnded,`` said Dinoo Dalal, part of the 35-member group heading to Himachal Pradesh. 

The fire started when the train was between Vikramgarh Alot and Thuriya stations located in the Kota-Ratlam section of the West Central Railway. The train left Mumbai Central at 4.40pm on Sunday and was scheduled to reach Delhi at 8.45am. There were around 1,061 people on board. 

"The fire started from the pantry car which was totally ravaged,'' said Anil Saxena, Northern Railways spokesman. "Three coaches of the train were detached and passengers of the affected bogies shifted out. There was no injury, all passengers are safe." 

P Mathur, chief PRO, West Central Railway, told TOI from Jabalpur, "It has not been established that the fire started in the pantry car. The commissioner of railway safety, central circle, Chetan Bakshi, will carry out the enquiry." 

Railways said passengers of the coaches B6 and B7 will get Rs 5,000 as ex-gratia relief. 

The Railways arranged for breakfast for the passengers at Kota and lunch was picked up from Mathura. "Upon arriving at Delhi, we offered an ex-gratia help of Rs 5,000 to the passengers of all the three bogies —B5, B6 and B7. A couple of our own men burnt their hands trying to decouple the coaches,`` said spokesman Saxena. 

Passenger Satyendra Singh said railway engineers and gangmen from Thuriya helped in decoupling the three coaches but B5 was partially damaged too. "Coach B5 too was finally decoupled by two diesel engines arriving from both sides. By 4am, the fire was under control. The villagers gave us water, fed us and looked after us till the train left for Kota at 8.21am,`` he said. 

"The railways did everything they could do. There might have been some mistake on their part that led to the fire in the first place and loss of my entire luggage. But I am happy to be with my mother. Had it not been for Kumar and the other railway staffers, I would not be hugging her now,`` said Nidhi Bajaj, a mass communication student living in Uttam Nagar, west Delhi. 

A woman railway official who was on board the train told TOI: "The place the train was halted was like a jungle and the staff started moving people out with only necessary baggage. It was a full moon night so it helped us see well. The flames were spreading but the message had already reached the railway authorities. I was very impressed that they moved so fast. There was no panic and people were calmly helping each other."

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Pantry-car-hero-saves-150-lives-in-burning-Rajdhani/articleshow/8022477.cms

Somali pirates keep Indian hostages after ransom

MOGADISHU, SOMALIA: In a move that could change the pirate-hostage equation, Somali pirateson Friday took in a multimillion dollar ransom, then released the ship and some of the crew but kept all the Indian crew members as hostages. 

A pirate said that the Indian crew members' hostage ordeal is being prolonged in retaliation for the arrests of more than 100 Somali pirates by the Indian Navy.

"We decided to keep them because India is holding our colleagues," a pirate, Hassan Farah, said. "We released the other crew members who sailed away from our coast. We will keep these Indians until the Indians release our colleagues." 

Farah said the pirates in the stronghold of Haradhere have taken that collective decision. The Indian hostages are to be moved to land. 

A multimillion dollar ransom was paid for the ship Asphalt Venture, whose ownership is located inMumbai, India. 

Pirates are receiving an average of USD 5 million to release ships and crew, and a ransom in that ballpark was believed to have been paid on Friday. 

It wasn't immediately clear how many of the 15 crew members aboard the Asphalt Venture were Indian. The ship was hijacked in late September. 

This pirate action marks a major departure from the standard pirate business model of release-for-ransom and could complicate international military efforts against the piracy trade. 

Earlier this year pirates killed four American hostages while US Navy warships were shadowing the hijacked yacht, the first time pirates had done that. 

The Indian navy has seized around 120 pirates, mostly from Somalia, over the past few months. Last month the Indian navy captured 61 pirates when they attacked a naval ship. Indian warships have been escorting merchant ships as part of international anti-piracy surveillance in the Indian Ocean area since 2008. 

Piracy has long plagued the shipping industry off East Africa, but violence has escalated in recent months. Pirates held some 30 ships and more than 600 hostages.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Somali-pirates-keep-Indian-hostages-after-ransom/articleshow/7997680.cms

Turning point in Pakistan vs New Zealand World Cup match

New Zealand put 302 on board against Pakistan, who are definitely not good in chasing. And when it comes of 300-plus scores they usually find themselves up against the wall.

And that's what happened during the World Cup Group A match at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Kandy, where the team just floundered as the Kiwi bowlers made merry.

But, the turning point in the game was those three important dismissals that had the Pakistan team reeling on 23-4.

First Ahmed Shehzad fell to Kyle Mills on 23-2 in the seventh over. Then Mills accounted for Younis Khan in the same over and the Pakistan scoreboard read 23-3. In the next over Nathan McCullum scalped Kamran Akmal and Pakistan went down to 23-4.

Those quick dismissal Pakistan were already looking down the barrel.

Man-of-the-Match

It has to be Ross Taylor, who scored an impressive 131 off just 124 balls to helped the Kiwis put an impressive 302 on board. His fine innings was decorated with eight fours and seven over the fence shots.

Source: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/Story/131867/sports/match-moments-in-pakistan-vs-new-zealand-world-cup-match.html

एक्स्ट्रामाइंड्स डॉट कॉम - सोशल नेटवर्किंग में एक प्रयोग

भारत में सीएसीई ग्रुप ने www.Extraminds.comनाम से एक सोशल नेटवर्किंग साइट लांच की है. दावा किया जा रहा है कि भारत की यह अपनी सोशल नेटवर्किंग साइट कई नये फीचर से लैस है. इसमें पूरे परिवार के लिए सोशल नेटवर्किंग की व्यवस्था है. नए दोस्त बनाकर उनसे अपनी फोटो, वीडियो शेयर करने का आप्शन तो है ही, दूसरी तरफ अपना ग्रुप बनाने, ग्रुप चैट करने, अपना ब्लाग बनाने और दूसरों से शेयर करने जैसी सुविधाएं भी हैं.

इसका एक फीचर यूजर को सोशल नेटवर्किंग के साथ साथ पर्सनल भी करता है. वो है माई डायरी. इसमें आप जो चाहे लिख सकते हैं और अगर किसी से छुपाना या दिखाना चाहें, तो उसके लिए भी  ये पोर्टल आपको एक ऑप्शन देता है. इसमें आप अपनी साइट का लिंक भी  शेयर कर सकते हैं. इसका एक और सबसे अच्छा फीचर है कि अगर आप अपने दोस्त की बात से सहमत हो या नहीं हो तो उसको Sweet, Sour & Yuckkk करके अपनी बात रख सकते हो. ये पोर्टल बच्चों के लिए  एक ऐसा प्लेटफोर्म लेकर आ रहा है जिससे देश के हर बच्चे को पढ़ने का मौका मिलेगा.

इस पोर्टल पर देश के जाने माने स्कूल के टीचर आकर बच्चों को पढाएंगे जिसमें ग्राफिक्स, ऐनीमेशन का सहारा लेकर बच्चों को आसानी से समझाया जाएगा. अगर आप सोच रहे हों कि इसके लिए आपको कहीं पैसा देना पड़ेगा तो आप गलत सोच रहे हैं. ये पोर्टल बिल्कुल मुफ्त है. इस पोर्टल का मकसद देश के हर व्यक्ति तक ऐजुकेशन को पहुंचाना है. इस पोर्टल पर बच्चों, नौजवानों और बुजुर्गों, हर उम्र के लिए कुछ न कुछ स्पेशल फीचर है. इसीलिए इस पोर्टल को भारतीय परिवार के लिए आदर्श सोशल नेटवर्किंग साइट के रूप में डेवलप किया जा रहा है. इस साइट को देखने के लिए www.extraminds.com पर क्लिक करें. प्रेस विज्ञप्ति

Source:-http://bhadas4media.com/web-cinema/8489-2011-01-12-16-13-34.html#comment-36103

Social Networking site (www.extraminds.com)

free