Manasvi Mamgai wins Femina Miss India crown

The winners of the country’s biggest beauty pageant were announced before a select gathering in Mumbai on Friday. The coveted title of Pantaloons Femina Miss India (PFMI) World 2010 went to Andheri girl Manasvi Mamgai.

This year the title of PFMI Universe has made way for PFMI International 2010 and the lucky winner was Neha Hinge from Pune. Bangalore girl Nicole Faria was crowned PFMI Earth 2010.

Moving indoors from the summer heat, the open-air pageant shifted to the airconditioned environs of the National Centre for Performing Arts (NCPA).

The pageant formalised its tie-up with the Hindi film industry, often the final destination of aspiring beauty queens. Film-makers Madhur Bhandarkar and Vipul Amrutlal Shah shortlisted six finalists, of whom two lucky girls will be crowned Pantaloons Femina Miss India 2010 Bollywood Diva. Each will feature in a film by these directors. However, the wait for these winners will take just a while longer - the announcement will be made on May 16.

Of the 18 finalists, most were from the metro cities - six from Mumbai and five from New Delhi-but the odd participant from Jammu, Dewas and Raipur did leave a mark as well.

Soon after hosts Rohit Roy, who looked particularly dashing in a maroon sherwani, and Mandira Bedi, who shimmered in an orange sari, welcomed the guests, the 18 beautiful girls clad in golden two-piece ensembles performed to a medley of hits. Then it was the turn of contestant director and fashion director Marc Robinson to take a bow as the girls walked the ramp wearing the Timeless Collection by Anita Dongre and accessorised by jewellery from Collection G with Gitanjali and World Gold Council and shoes by Tresmode.

For the final round, the ladies were dressed in the Cocktail Silver Collection by Ritu Kumar.

Making mental notes in the front row was a high-profile bench of judges including tennis star Sania Mirza Malik, who was making her first public appearance after her cross-border marriage with Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Akhtar. Sharing the dais with her were Olympian boxing medallist Vijender Singh, actors Shilpa Shetty-who looked ravishing in a backless LBD-and Kunal Kapoor, director Anurag Basu, fashion designer Ritu Beri and author Chetan Bhagat.

True to tradition the successors were crowned by the previous years’ winners. Doing the honours was PFMI World 2009 Pooja Chopra, PFMI Earth 2009 Shriya Kishore and 2002 winner, actor Neha Dhupia. Ekta Choudhary, PFMI Universe 2009, was also present. PFMI 2008 World and Miss World 2008 first runner-up Parvathy Omanakuttan felicitated Dr Sonal Shah of the Richfeel Group for its 10-year association with the Miss India pageant.

Fiat India president and CEO Rajeev Kapoor awarded the Fiat Linea as the grand prize to each of the three winners. The threesome will fly to the picturesque Fiji Islands courtesy Air Pacific, Fiji’s international carrier. The audience cheered as actor Anupam Kher who had trained the finalists in acting through his academy, An Actor Prepares, announced that Pearl Verma had won the scholarship for a three-month diploma course in acting.

Since being shortlisted for the final, the 18 contestants have undergone a rigorous 40-day in-house training session at Hotel Novotel, Juhu Beach. As always, the best professionals have been grooming and mentoring them. Marc Robinson is fashion director and contestant director, Mickey Mehta, India’s leading holistic health and fitness guru is mentor, Sabira Merchant is diction expert, Alecia Raut their ramp walk trainer, Prasad Bidappa the contestant advisor, Rukhsana Eisa the grooming and etiquette expert and Dr Purnima Mhatre the wellness expert. Dr Sandesh Mayekar contributed as smile designer, Seema Hingorani as clinical psychologist and of course, Richfeel trichologists Dr Sonal Shah and Dr Apurva Shah who have been official hair care experts to the contest for the last ten years. Jitu Savlani is the fashion photographer, Vipul Bhagat did the hair and make-up for the unveiling and grand finale while Sabanand Paira oversaw the training sessions.

The opening acts and the Bollywood segments were choreographed by Shiamak Davar. The event was managed by 360 Degrees Experience and the show scripted and directed by Sol Entertainment.

Thanks are due to the partners and sponsors of the Miss India pageant. Pantaloons is title partner, Streax is hair colouring and styling partner as well as associate sponsor, Voice of India is associate sponsor, Collection G with Gitanjali and World Gold Council is the crown and jewellery partner and associate sponsor. Bhandarkar Entertainment and Blockbuster Movie Entertainers are our talent partners, Kingfisher Airlines is the official airline partner, Lavasa destination partner, Novotel Mumbai Juhu Beach is the hospitality partner and Radio Mirchi 98.3 FM is the radio partner. Gorgeous Skincare Clinic is the wellness partner, Richfeel the hair care partner, Himalayan is natural mineral water partner, Zoom the reality series partner, Sony Entertainment Television the telecast partner. Fiat India is the grand prize sponsor while Air Pacific, Fiji’s international airline, is airline partner.

ApnaCircle.Com is the pageant’s online partner; An Actor Prepares the talent mentor. Shiamak Davar also mentored the girls as the guru of modern dance. Bright is the outdoor partner, Alexandre De Paris is the hair accessories partner, Saint is nutrition partner, Whyte & Mackay the beverage partner and HP is lifestyle partner. The event is produced by 360 Degrees, Tresmode is footwear partner and the gifts are sponsored by Sula Wines, Malaga by Malini Agarwalla, Corelle, Hallmark, Jean Claude Biguine, Titan, Ria’s and Remanika. The English news partner is Times Now, talent partner Shoot Talent Management, ground transportation partner Harshaan Travels and stage and wardrobe management by On Cue.

TOI

After Thimphu talks, focus on format of India-Pakistan dialogue

New Delhi, April 30: A day after India and Pakistan decided to resume their peace process at the level of foreign ministers without making much fuss about composite dialogue, the spotlight on Friday shifted to the contours and content of the talks between the two neighbours in the future. At the end of Thursday’s talks between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani in Thimphu, India studiously avoided any mention of ‘composite dialogue’, saying both sides should move beyond nomenclature to introspect on the trust deficit entrenched in their relationship and chart the way forward.

The two leaders mandated their foreign ministers and foreign secretaries to work out the modalities of restoring trust, paving the way for substantive dialogue covering all issues between them. “The days of the composite dialogue are over. Its relevance is over,” Lalit Mansingh, former foreign secretary, told IANS when asked to comment on the future form of dialogue in the aftermath of the thaw in Thimphu.

Manmohan Singh, Sachin Tendulkar feature in 'Time 100'

WASHINGTON: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar and economist Amartya Sen are among nine Indians figuring in Time magazine's annual list of 100 most influential people while Bollywood sensation Aishwarya Rai-Bachchan tops its 100 Alumnae list.

Manmohan Singh finds himself in the 19th spot in the Leaders list headed by Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva with US president Barack Obama in the fourth place.

As India's finance minister from 1991 to 1996, Manmohan Singh "released India's potential for the benefit of its people. Now, as Prime Minister, he is guiding India into the ranks of the great powers," wrote PepsiCo's Indian American chairperson Indra Nooyi.

Cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar gets the 13th place among 25 "Heroes" headed by former US president Bill Clinton who is recognised for his work as a fund-raiser and anti-poverty activist.

Writing about Tendulkar's double century in a One Day International match, new age guru Deepak Chopra says: "To millions of Indians and countless fans around the world, this act, which caps a career of record-breaking feats, arouses a sense of awe."

"The Alchemist" is the favourite book of Time Alumnae Aishwarya, who lists "certainly my mother and father" as the two people who had the most effect or influence on her.

Sixth placed among heroes Dr Perumalsamy Namperumalsamy, 70, was recognised for performing cataract surgery at the Aravind Eye Care Hospitals since 1976 and having treated 3.6 million surgeries to date-a new one every 15 minutes.

Indian entrepreneur Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw gets the 16th spot among 'heroes' for donating $2 million to support health insurance coverage for 100,000 Indian villagers and another$10 million for creating the 1,400-bed Mazumdar-Shaw Cancer Centre in Bangalore.

A paramedic from Toronto, Rahul Singh in 22nd place is recognised for his relief work in Haiti in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake that hit the poor Caribbean nation on Jan 12. In 1998, Singh founded GlobalMedic to provide disaster relief using volunteer professional emergency workers.

Chetan Bhagat, author of bestsellers, "One Night @ the Call Centre" and "Five Point Someone" is the lone Indian in the list of Artists headed by extravagantly outfitted singer Lady Gaga.

"I've seen the effect Chetan has on his readers," writes Academy Award winner Indian composer AR Rahman. "He often writes about following your dreams and not bowing to others' expectations. That isn't easy in India, where family opinion matters and some professions are regarded as more serious than others."

Nobel prize winner economist Amartya Sen is 20th on the "Thinkers" list. "Occasionally loquacious, often ironic, usually genial, always brilliant," Sen's notion of measuring human development is now central to the work of the United Nations and the World Bank, notes Harvard University history professor, Neil Ferguson.

Indian-America doctor and Harvard professor Atul Gwande is fifth on the list of 'thinkers' for his contribution to medicine. "In this historic time for health policy, the need for smart, creative thinkers is greater than ever. Gawande certainly is one and it is equally certain his influence will grow," wrote former US State Senator, Tom Daschle.

Humanitarian worker, Sanjit Bunker Roy's Barefoot College has trained more than 3 million people for jobs in the modern world, in buildings so rudimentary they have dirt floors and no chairs, Time said.

"Roy combines humanitarianism, entrepreneurship and education to help people steer their own path out of poverty, fostering dignity and self-determination along the way," it said.

TOI

Sensex closes up 55 points

MUMBAI: The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex on Friday advanced further by over 55 points, completing its third monthly gains on sustained buying by funds.

The Sensex, which had gained 123 points in the previous session, rose further by 55.24 to 17,558.71, after shuttling between 17,646.61 and 17,503.47 points.

Similarly, the wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty rose by 23.85 points to 5,278.00 as stocks of IT and financial companies recorded handsome gains. Of the 30 shares in the BSE index, 17 edged higher while 13 closed with losses.

Stocks of Tata Motors, the owner of Jaguar Land Rover, gained the most in more than three years. The stock jumped 3.56% to Rs 872.85, its highest close since January 22, 2007.

The realty sector index gained 1.77% to 3,491.18 followed by auto index that gained 1.51% to 7,799.85.

Healthcare index rose by 1.12% to 5,344.71 and consumer durable index by 1.02% to 4,645.34.

TOI

Sebi moves SC over ULIP; notices issued to centre, 14 insurers

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday issued notices to the Centre and 14 life insurers on a petition by market regulator Sebi seeking transfer of cases from High Courts relating to Unit Linked Insurance Products (ULIPs).

Sebi is locked in a turf battle with insurance regulator IRDA over who has jurisdiction over ULIPs.

A bench headed by Justice S H Kapadia also sought response from some PIL litigants who have raised the issue concerning ULIPs in various High Courts.

During a brief hearing, when the petition filed by Sebi was mentioned by Attorney General G E Vahanvati, the bench questioned Sebi's move to file the petition before the apex court.

Sebi is in Mumbai, insurance companies are in Mumbai, LIC is in Mumbai," the bench remarked and indicated that the matter could have been heard by the Bombay High Court.

Vahanvati, in his submission, said that the issue of jurisdiction too has to be settled by the apex court.

The bench said, basically, both the regulators are fighting and wondered "why not appoint a super regulator." It later posted the matter for hearing on July 8.

The dispute over jurisdiction of ULIPs between Sebi and IRDA snowballed into a major controversy after the market regulator banned 14 life insurers, including those belonging to SBI and Reliance Anil Ambani Group, from raising any further money from ULIPs unless they are registered with the market watchdog.

Responding to Sebi's directive, IRDA asked insurance companies to ignore the order of the market regulator and continue with business as usual.

Amid the conflicting orders, the Finance Ministry brokered peace between the two regulators and asked them to jointly seek legally binding order from an "appropriate" court over jurisdiction on ULIPs. Till then, status quo ante was restored.

Following the government directive, Sebi allowed insurers to raise money from existing ULIPs, but asked them not to issue fresh ULIPs after April 9, the date when it issued the order banning 14 life insurance companies from raising funds through ULIPs.

ULIPs are insurance products but part of the premium raised through them is invested in stock market. While Sebi regulates the stock market, the working of the insurance companies is overseen by IRDA.

TOi

Sarosh Homi Kapadia appointed new Chief Justice of India

NEW DELHI: Supreme Court Justice Sarosh Homi Kapadia has been appointed the new chief justice of India. Kapadia will assume charge May 12.

Kapadia takes over from Justice K.G. Balakrishnan, India's first Dalit chief justice.

A press release from the ministry of law and justice stated: "In exercise of the powers conferred by clause (2) of Article 124 of the Constitution of India, the President is pleased to appoint Justice Sarosh Homi Kapadia, judge of the Supreme Court, to be the Chief Justice of India with effect from May 12, 2010."

TOI

Two CRPF jawans among four held for 'supplying' arms to Naxals

LUCKNOW/NEW DELHI: The Uttar Pradesh STF today arrested four people including two CRPF jawans in the state for allegedly stealing arms and ammunitions and supplying the same to the Naxals.

UP police said the arrests were made following an operation based on a tip off received in the aftermath of the Dantewada massacre, in which 76 security personnel were killed by the Naxals.

Official sources said the STF carried out searches in Moradabad, Rampur and Jhansi and arrested Vinod Paswan and Dinesh Singh of the CRPF.

They said one retired sub-inspector of Provincial Armed Constabulary, identified as Yashodhanad Singh, was seen moving in different armory centres of the CRPF and PAC and collecting empty shells of bullets fired during the training.

These shells were later replaced at the main Rampur armoury with live bullets and finally supplied to Naxals, sources said.

Over 5,000 live cartridges, 16 magazines of INSAS rifles, .25 bore guns, SLR and AK 47s were recovered besides 245 kg of empty shells.

The CRPF, meanwhile, has suspended both its personnel arrested by the STF and ordered an immediate Court of Enquiry.

"We have suspended both the personnel and have also ordered an immediate Court of Enquiry. We are in constant touch with the UP police and are extending all help to them," CRPF Director General Vikram Srivastava said.

Later, addressing the media, Additional Director General of UP police Brij Lal said, "We have also recovered large number of arms components, mobile phones and Rs 1.76 lakh in cash."

He said the network of the racket was large and has been running for more than six months and the police is questioning the four to look at the possibility of involvement of more persons.

TOI

How Philip Pullman’s book split Jesus and Christ

How Philip Pullman’s book split Jesus and Christ

NEW DELHI, April 29: The messiah descends on earth as a classic “split personality” - good Jesus and his twin, the scoundrel Christ - in the new novel by Philip Pullman who believes he must have been “a genius and one of the greatest storytellers”.

Published in April, it is a contemporary and radical retelling of the story of Jesus Christ.“He was a genius, one of the greatest storytellers who ever lived. I simply don’t believe in the miracles like the resurrection, but the parables and the moral teachings are magnificent,” London-based Pullman told IANS in an e-mail interview.He said he has “analysed and re-interpreted the gospels” but did not want his book, The Good Man Jesus and The Scoundrel Christ, to read like one.

“It certainly was not my intention to write ‘an alternative gospel’ or ‘the gospel according to Pullman’ or anything of that sort. I wanted to tell the story of Jesus, which is an extraordinary one.”“His life was full of stories - the stories he told. When I thought of splitting the character into two brothers, one called Jesus and the other called Christ, I saw the way to tell it,” he said.

Presentations on US opportunities

Presentations on US opportunities

ITANAGAR, April 28: As part of educational exchange programme for students, scholars, academicians and other professionals of the state, Education Advising Services Coordinator Sudarshan Saha of United States-India Educational Foundation (USIEF), American Center, Kolkata is on visit to the state from tomorrow to aware the interested on opportunities of higher education in USA besides throwing light on Fulbright-Nehru Fellowship offered by the USA and India. In a series of workshops and interactions, which would be coordinated by the state Directorate of Research, Saha would make presentations at J N State Museum on April 29, 3 pm and at NERIST and Rajiv Gandhi University on April 30.

Sensex down 60 points in early trade

STAFF WRITER 9:28 HRS IST

Mumbai, Apr 22 (PTI) The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex fell by almost 60 points in early trade today on profit booking by funds and retail investors.

The 30-share index, which had gained 11.98 points in the previous choppy session, was down 59.50 points, or 0.34 per cent, to 17,413.06.

The wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty also declined by 16.70 points, or 0.31 per cent, to 5,228.20.

Marketmen said profit-booking by funds and retail investors and a weak trend in Asian markets, which were down up to 1.9 per cent in the morning trade today, mainly pulled the benchmark Sensex down.

DLF Ltd fell by 1.41 per cent to Rs 325.70, Infosys Technologies by 0.25 per cent to Rs 2,709.20, Wipro by 0.74 per cent to Rs 699.60, Tata Steel by 1.04 per cent to Rs 661.80 and Sun Pharma by 1.21 per cent to Rs 1,727.

Meghalaya set to get 11th govt in 10 years

TAFF WRITER 22:38 HRS IST

Shillong, Apr 18 (PTI) Meghalaya is all set to get its 11th government in 10 years with Chief Minister D D Lapang resigning tonight, paving the way for his deputy Mukul Sangma to take over the reins of the state.

Lapang's government was the 21st government the state has witnessed in its 38-year history and tenth in the last ten years.

When Lapang was asked about the instability, he said, "We are in the field. Those who are watching should study the reasons."

During the last two years, the state has seen three governments and is bracing for a fourth with the same set of assembly members who were elected in March 2008.

Lapang was sworn in after the assembly elections in March, 2008, but had to resign after ten days having failed to muster majority in the House.

3G auction: Govt set to get Rs 24K cr

TAFF WRITER 21:5 HRS IST

New Delhi, Apr 19 (PTI) Ensuring a minimum of Rs 24,620 crore to the government's kitty, the price for all-India 3G spectrum rose to Rs 6,068 crore on Day 8 of the auction and the bidding is still going strong.

The Delhi circle continued to be the most in demand with the bid price going up to Rs 691.20 crore against the reserve price of Rs 320 crore.

The government has set a target of generating up to Rs 35,000 crore from the sale of spectrum for 3G telephony and broadband wireless access (BWA). The auction for BWA will start two days after that of 3G.

The base price for pan-Indian 3G licence was fixed at Rs 3,500 crore.

Earlier during the day, Telecom Minister A Raja exuded confidence that the government's revenues may exceed the target of Rs 35,000 crore.

Rocket launch failure will not delay moon mission - ISRO chief

Sriharikota: The failure of India's Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle-Development 3 rocket launch powered for the first time by an indigenous cryogenic engine will not delay the realization of the country's second moon mission, Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) Chairman K. Radhakrishnan said on Thursday.

"If we are able to flight test an indigenously built cryogenic engine in a year's time, then Chandrayaan 2 can be realized by 2013," Radhakrishnan told reporters post the launch here.

The GSLV-D3 rocket plunged into the Bay of Bengal after its cryogenic engine failed to ignite, in a setback to India's space programme.

ISRO's Rs. 330 crore-mission failed minutes after the rocket lifted off at 4.27 p.m.

ISRO had earlier announced its plans to use its GSLV rocket for its second moon mission.

Referring to the failed rocket flight he said, "The rocket lifted at 4.27 pm after the 29-hour countdown that began on Wednesday at 11.27 a.m. The rocket performed as expected till the second stage into the flight.

"We were not sure whether the main cryogenic engine - the third stage - did ignite as the vehicle started tumbling. We have to confirm that after analyzing the data which is expected to get over in two or three days."

He said that while the cryogenic engine when tested on ground got ignited, during flight it had failed to get fired in vacuum.

The setback is serious as the rocket's cryogenic engine is an outcome of 18-years' labor on the part of ISRO scientists, spending around Rs. 335 crore.

Queried how far the failure would put back ISRO's clock, he said: "We have plans to realize 11 GSLV rockets. We have been fabricating necessary systems."

According to him, ISRO will bounce back within a year by launching a rocket powered by indigenously developed cryogenic engine.

He said ISRO will be flying two more GSLV rockets fitted with Russian-made cryogenic engines to launch two GSAT series satellites.

"The next GSLV rocket with Russian cryogenic engine will fly from here sometime in September this year," he said.

On the issue of sourcing cryogenic engines from outside, he said, "The primary issue is to be self reliant in rocket technology. Today we are able to realize a cryogenic engine for Rs. 36 crore whereas if procured from overseas the price will be around $20 million or Rs. 90 crore."

According to him, GSLV is working to bring down the launch cost, which currently is around $20,000 per kilo of payload.

"We should bring down the cost to $10,000 per kilo once we realize GSLV Mark III (the advanced version of GSLV rocket)," he said.

Speaking of other launches, he said a cartography satellite will be flown on the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) next month along with a couple of small satellites as co-passengers. IANS

Facebook to launch operations in China

Facebook to launch operations in China

Beijing, April 18: Facebook, the world’s largest social networking website, is aiming to enter the Chinese market and has hired a domestic head-hunting company to recruit business managers for the country, a media report has said. Facebook wants to hire a general manager based in Beijing to oversee its operations in China, Global Times reported on Friday. The headquarters of the networking site will be Beijing, which will start its operations in probably three months. But, according to local media reports, Facebook may now just establish a research institute or a game lab for creating products for the western market. The products designed by the lab will not be launched in the Chinese market for a while.

Meanwhile, an employee of the recruiting company said Facebook first needs to set up a management team and begin its relations with the Chinese government, which is still in its preliminary stages. (IANS)

Kathak on skates, girl dances to set record

Kathak on skates, girl dances to set record

VARANASI, April 18: A local dance performer has entered the Limca Book of Records by performing Kathak continuously for 24 hours on the roller-skates. The 25-year-old Soni Chaurasia started dancing at 6.30 pm on Wednesday at Arya Mahila Degree College and ended on Thursday evening. “She did it, If someone else does not break her record by May 31, 2010, her name will be registered in the Limca Book,” Smitha Joseph, Assistant Editor of Limca Book told PTI. The entire auditorium gave Soni a standing ovation as she completed her performance on the evergreen holi song chalo guyian aaj khele hori kanahiya ke sang. A PG degree holder in Sitar from Banaras Hindu University (BHU), Soni started learning roller-skating in 2001 from Rajesh Dogera, the president of the organization while she took lessons of Kathak from Pt Omprakash Mishra. (PTI)

ICWAI to set up centres for filing e-returns

STAFF WRITER 20:54 HRS IST

New Delhi, Apr 15 (PTI) Apex cost accountants body ICWAI today said it will set up centres for filing returns and tax-related documents electronically.

Under an agreement signed with Central Bureau of Excise and Customs (CBEC), the Institute of Cost and Works Accountants of India (ICWAI) will provide facilitation centres across the country for e-filing of returns and documents to the central excise and service tax assesses.

"As per the MoU, these services will be available on payment of prescribed service charges for various services such as digitisation of paper documents and on-line filing or uploading of documents," ICWAI said in a statement.

These centres would be set up and operated by the ICWAI members, who have valid certificate of practice issued by the Institute, it said.

BJP seeks apology from German team on Modi remarks

BJP seeks apology from German team on Modi remarks

MUMBAI, April 13: Nearly 400 Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) activists demonstrated outside the German consulate here on Tuesday to protest “provocative” statements by members of a German parliamentary delegation against Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.“A team of delegates consisting German members of parliament belonging to Christian Democratic Union (CDU) visited Gujarat a few days back. Although this delegation was on an unofficial visit, a few members passed comments on the anti-conversion law passed by the Gujarat assembly,” said Atul Bhatkalkar, Mumbai unit general secretary of the BJP.

Bhatkalkar, with other members of the party, also met German Consul General Walter Spechel and submitted to him a memorandum demanding a retraction of the remarks and an unconditional apology from the delegation members.“They should not be commenting on the laws enacted by the sovereign republic of India,” he added.

The BJP activists raised slogans slamming the German delegates outside the consulate office at Nariman Point in south Mumbai. Bhatkalkar said Spechel assured them he would look into the matter.

The German delegation members, who visited Gujarat to study the status of minorities, reportedly justified the European Union’s earlier decision of not granting a visa to Modi.(IANS)

SEBI order on ULIPs a wake-up call for IRDA

SEBI order on ULIPs a wake-up call for IRDA

Chennai, April 12: The order of Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) banning 14 life insurers from selling unit-linked insurance products (ULIP) is a wake-up call for the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) to set its and that of the life insurers' house in order, say insurance officials. Though they do not agree with the manner in which SEBI issued its ban order Friday night asking life insurers to stop ULIP sales with immediate effect, officials of life insurance companies say something like this was needed to shake up IRDA.

“All is not well starting from the kind of products that are approved by IRDA to the way it is sold to the policy holders, the high commissions paid to the corporate brokers/bancassurance parters in excess of the legal stipulation,” a senior official of a life insurer told IANS on the condition of anonymity. “It is really ironical that IRDA, which had asked life insurers to defy SEBI's order, is talking about policy holder’s interests,” he said.

“The SEBI order is really a wake-up call for IRDA as to the kind of products it approves (many are purely investment products), the market malpractices and also the way it approves the appointment of top management of life insurers,” another senior official told IANS. “Life insurance is really a long-term business. But what we see and hear is the CEOs and marketing managers talking about top line growth, payment to distributors and paying scant respect to the interests of policy holders,” he added.

India moots single window clearance for hotels

India moots single window clearance for hotels

Jaipur, April 12: The Indian government is set to unveil a single window clearance system to set up hotels, according to Tourism Minister Kumari Selja. “The hoteliers have to seek permission from both the central and state governments and various authorities to set up hotels. The single window clearance system will minimise the hurdles,” Selja said here late on Sudnay.

She was speaking on the sidelines of The Great India Travel Bazaar 2010, organised by the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. She said the proposal had been approved by a committee of secretaries and would be sent to the cabinet soon. “Once the system comes into effect, they (hoteliers) will send the proposal only to the centre,” she said. According to her, a hospitality development and promotion board will be set up both in New Delhi and in states. “It will be a dual-headed board,” said Tourism Secretary Sujit Banerjee.

At the centre, the board will be headed by the tourism secretary and at the state by chief secretaries. “The system we are making is that the hoteliers will give his application only to the central board, which will send a copy to the chief secretary of the state concerned to get all the clearances. It will be monitored by the central board,” he said.

Non-tribals’ strike hits life in parts of Jharkhand

Non-tribals’ strike hits life in parts of Jharkhand

RANCHI, April 13: The one-day strike called by non-tribals to protest the Jharkhand government’s move to hold panchayat polls by reserving the post of village council heads for tribal people affected normal life in some parts of the State on Tuesday.

Schools and shops were closed in Ranchi, roads were deserted and attendance in government offices was thin. Police used lathis to disperse strike supporters who forcefully tried to close shops. The strike also affected life in Jamshedpur, Hazaribagh and Giridih towns.

In January, the Supreme Court directed the State Government to hold panchayat elections at the earliest in accordance withthe Panchayat (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act (PESA) 1996, under which the posts of mukhiyas and sarpanch are reserved for tribals in scheduled areas as defined by the constitution.

India among top 10 pharma mkts by 2020: PWC

STAFF WRITER 17:19 HRS IST

New Delhi, Apr 13 (PTI) India will join the league of top 10 global pharmaceuticals markets in terms of sales by 2020 with the total value reaching USD 50 billion by then, according to a report by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

The country's population is growing rapidly, as is its economy-?creating a large middle-class that can to afford western medicines, consultancy firm PwC's report said.

An ageing population together with increase in problems associated with cardio-vascular disorders and central nervous system will lead to higher demand for drugs, the report said.

Around USD 70 billion worth of drugs are expected to go off patent in the US over the next three years and India is capable of manufacturing a substantial share of the products.

Ban to continue on new ULIP schemes, says SEBI

STAFF WRITER 18:59 HRS IST

Mumbai, Apr 13 (PTI) A day after the finance ministry brokered a truce between two financial sector regulators, SEBI today said any new ULIP scheme launched after April 9, 2010 by insurance companies will remain covered by its earlier ban order.

"...with respect to any new ULIP schemes/products launched after April 9, 2010, the directions mentioned in the said order (that banned 14 life insurance companies from launching ULIPs) will be enforced as indicated therein," said an order by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).

The market regulator, however, clarified that SEBI has decided to keep in abeyance, till further notice, its order concerning the ongoing ULIP schemes.

"This is to bring to the notice of the investors that SEBI has decided to keep in abeyance, till further notice, the enforcement of the above direction with respect to any new ULIP schemes/products existing on the date of the order", it said.

Reliance fuel dealers on warpath in Gujarat

Reliance fuel dealers on warpath in Gujarat

Gandhinagar, April 12: Reliance petrol pump dealers in Gujarat are on the warpath, seeking a refund of their investments because of losses and have threatened to take to the streets if their demands are not met, a spokesperson of the Gujarat Reliance Petrol Pump Dealers’ Association said on Monday.

It is imperative that the company refund their investments made in opening retail outlets as four years of continuous losses have drained them financially, the spokesperson said. “We are in no position to take anymore of it,” said association member Varun Patel after a meeting of the body.

Dealer owners and dealer operated (DODO) outlets in the state passed a resolution demanding termination of land lease and dealership agreements and buying equipment installed at the outlet at current prices. “In case RIL wants to run these outlets themselves they should pay market rent to the landowners,” Patel added. According to him, when the association first launched a stir two months ago they were given assurance by RIL group president Parimal Nathwani that their demands would be looked into but nothing had come out of it so far.“We are left with no option but to restart our agitation and intensify it,” he said. Reliance and Essar had set up a countrywide chain of retail fuel outlets but shut them subsequently in view of the variation between their prices and those of government owned companies. (IANS)

PM asks ministers not to comment on internal security

NEW DELHI, April 12: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has asked all ministers to refrain from commenting in the media on matters of internal security, sources in the government said.

The ministers received on Sunday a circular sent by Cabinet Secretary KM Chandrashekhar on behalf of the prime minister. The Cabinet Secretary stated in his missive that the Prime Minister “desires” that ministers should not remark on the internal security of the country and should not voice “different opinions” on the matter. The home ministry is competent to react to such matters, it added. The Prime Minister’s direction comes after the April 6 massacre of 76 security personnel in the forests of Chhattisgarh, the largest Maoist attack in four decades.

It is learnt that the Prime Minister gave the direction for the circular after colleagues like Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee and Food Processing Minister Subodh Kant Sahay commented on the attack. The Prime Minister left on Saturday for a weeklong trip to the US and Brazil.(IANS)

Why Didi is afraid of Dada

Why Didi is afraid of Dada

NEW DELHI, April 11: It appears no Congress minister dares to talk with West Bengal’s Communist leaders in the formidable presence of Trinamool Congress chief and Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee. But Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee is an exception.

Popularly called “Pranab da”, he even shared a car with West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee - archrival of Mamata Banerjee - after a meeting at the Prime Minister’s residence over price rise.

Mukherjee is not believed to be too happy about Banerjee meddling in the Central Government’s handling of problems in the Left-ruled State.

But Banerjee, often addressed as “Didi”, had to be silent on Pranab da’s open bonhomie with the Marxists because she fears he may lose his temper, which he often does. She also believes that he has the ability to broker a political alliance with the Communists in the State where she is making an all-out effort to end three decades of leftist rule, they say.

IRDA asks life insurers to defy SEBI ban

IRDA asks life insurers to defy SEBI ban

Chennai, April 11: The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) has asked 14 life insurers to defy the ban imposed by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on selling unit linked insurance policies (ULIP). The IRDA, contending that the ban would bring the life insurance sector to a standstill, on Saturday night directed the 14 insurance companies mentioned in Friday’s SEBI order to “continue to carry out insurance business as usual, including offering, marketing and servicing ULIPs in accordance with the Insurance Act, 1938, Rules, Regulations and Guidelines issued by it.”

Meanwhile, the life insurers — Aegon Religare, Aviva, Bajaj Allianz, Bharti AXA, Birla Sun, HDFC Standard, ICICI Prudential, ING Vyasa, Kotak Mahindra, Max New York, Metlife India, Reliance Life Insurance, SBI Life Insurance and TATA AIG — are expected to approach the court Monday to get a stay on the operation of SEBI’s ban order.

Rupee up by 2 paise against dollar in early trade

STAFF WRITER 9:59 HRS IST

Mumbai, Apr 9 (PTI) The rupee appreciated by 2 paise to 44.43 a dollar in early trade today on capital inflows by foreign funds and a weak US currency overseas.

At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market, the rupee appreciated by 2 paise to trade at 44.43 a dollar.

The rupee had closed higher by 9 paise at 44.45/46 a dollar in the previous session.

Dealers said besides fresh capital inflows by foreign funds following upsurge in equity markets, dollar's weakness against major currencies also supported the Indian rupee.

Meanwhile, the Bombay Stock Exchange index Sensex rose by 154.53 points, or 0.82 per cent, to 17,868.93 points in the opening trade today.

Rupee up by 2 paise against dollar in early trade

STAFF WRITER 9:59 HRS IST

Mumbai, Apr 9 (PTI) The rupee appreciated by 2 paise to 44.43 a dollar in early trade today on capital inflows by foreign funds and a weak US currency overseas.

At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market, the rupee appreciated by 2 paise to trade at 44.43 a dollar.

The rupee had closed higher by 9 paise at 44.45/46 a dollar in the previous session.

Dealers said besides fresh capital inflows by foreign funds following upsurge in equity markets, dollar's weakness against major currencies also supported the Indian rupee.

Meanwhile, the Bombay Stock Exchange index Sensex rose by 154.53 points, or 0.82 per cent, to 17,868.93 points in the opening trade today.

Rupee up by 2 paise against dollar in early trade

STAFF WRITER 9:59 HRS IST

Mumbai, Apr 9 (PTI) The rupee appreciated by 2 paise to 44.43 a dollar in early trade today on capital inflows by foreign funds and a weak US currency overseas.

At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market, the rupee appreciated by 2 paise to trade at 44.43 a dollar.

The rupee had closed higher by 9 paise at 44.45/46 a dollar in the previous session.

Dealers said besides fresh capital inflows by foreign funds following upsurge in equity markets, dollar's weakness against major currencies also supported the Indian rupee.

Meanwhile, the Bombay Stock Exchange index Sensex rose by 154.53 points, or 0.82 per cent, to 17,868.93 points in the opening trade today.

Sensex rises by 218 pts on higher earning expectations

STAFF WRITER 16:32 HRS IST

Mumbai, Apr 9 (PTI) The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex today recovered by over 218 points on fund-based buying in heavyweight stocks, led by banks, on expectations of better fourth quarter earnings and firm global trends.

The 30-share index, which had lost 256 points in the previous session, bounced back to record a gain of 218.74 points to close at 17,933.14 points.

The BSE barometer commenced the day higher and recorded the longest nine-week gain since June last year. The index advanced 1.2 per cent this week.

Brokers said expectations of good fourth quarter result by India Inc and heavy foreign fund inflows boosted the bourses. The market is entering the period of quarterly earnings with IT major Infosys kickstarting the reporting season on Tuesday.

Most Asian stocks ended higher after overnight gains on Wall Street which also influenced the trading sentiment, they added.

‘Gadkari a cheap politician’

‘Gadkari a cheap politician’

Our Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, April 7: Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi today dared BJP president Nitin Gadkari to substantiate with evidence the corruption allegations brought against him by the latter. Taking exception to charges of corruption levelled against him by Gadkari, Gogoi said: “If Gadkari levelled the corruption charges against me on being provoked by Assam BJP president Ranjit Dutta or others, it is certain that he is a cheap politician.”

Talking to newsmen here today, Gogoi said: “I have decided to write to Gadkari to furnish proof of his charges, because such criticism has never been levelled against me by any BJP leaders most of whom have cordial relationship with me at personnel level even though we have political rivalry. His allegations against me have no basis.”

No consensus on women’s quota bill

NEW DELHI, April 5: A meeting of leaders of political parties in the Lok Sabha failed to reach a consensus on the women’s reservation Bill with most opponents of the legislation sticking to their stated positions.

Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Lalu Prasad, a strong opponent of the Bill in its present form, said the legislation should provide reservation for Dalits, minorities and the backward castes.Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, also the leader of the house in the Lok Sabha, convened the meeting at the parliament complex.Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal, Home Minister P. Chidambaram, Law Minister M. Veerappa Moily and Defence Minister A.K. Antony also attended the meeting.

The Bill seeks to reserve 33 percent of all seats in the Lok Sabha and state legislatures for women.Union Railway Minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee said her party supported the Bill, but the interest of the minorities should be taken care of.

Ahead of the meeting, Lalu Prasad said that he and Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav would oppose the bill in its present form.The Bill, passed amid uproar in the Rajya Sabha last month, is also opposed by the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP), the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and a section of the Janata Dal-United (JD-U).

On Sunday, Samajwadi Party spokesman Mohan Singh told IANS that the party would oppose the Bill at Monday’s meeting.The government, which faces a bigger opposition to the Bill in the Lok Sabha, wants to introduce it in the lower house in the second phase of the budget session that starts April 15.

The Samajwadi Party has suggested that reservation for women in legislatures should be brought down to 20 percent from the proposed 33 percent.The Congress has said it will strive to achieve a consensus on the legislation.(IANS)

Lakshmi Vilas Bank reports 22.79% business growth

Lakshmi Vilas Bank reports 22.79% business growth

CHENNAI: Private sector lender Lakshmi Vilas Bank on Monday said it has registered a total business growth of 22.79 per cent at Rs 15,561 crore

for the financial year ending March 31, 2010.

Last year, the bank's total business stood at Rs 12,673 crore. "The total deposits of the bank rose from Rs 7,358 crore to Rs 9,076 crore, increasing by 23 per cent year-on-year basis," a statement issued by the bank here said.

The Current Account Savings Account deposits of the bank also increased from Rs 1,229 crore to Rs 1,650 crore registering year-on-year growth of 34 per cent, it said.

The bank's credit portfolio expanded from Rs 5,315 crore to Rs 6,485 crore, registering a year-on-year growth of 22 per cent, the statement added.

Lakshmi Vilas currently has 16 lakh customers and has 271 branches spread across 14 states and one union territory, it further said.

After Uma, Govindacharya quits his organization

After Uma, Govindacharya quits his organization

BHOPAL, April 4: Close on the heels of Uma Bharti’s resignation from the president’s post of her party, Bharatiya Jan Shakti (BJS), her mentor and former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ideologue K.N. Govindacharya has quit as national convenor of his own organisation - Rashtriya Swabhiman Andolan (RSA).He left for Delhi shortly before the organisation’s two-day national executive meet was to begin here Saturday.

Govindacharya’s decision to quit the RSA post was announced at the organisation’s meet on Saturday and Rakesh Dubey was nominated as RSA’s national convener. Govindacharya was the convener of RSA since its founding May 15, 2004, and was devoting his time and energy in working for the Bharatiya Shodh Sansthan, Kautilya Shodh Sansthan and Bharat Vikas Parishad.

The former BJP general secretary and an RSS ideologue had severed ties with the BJP during the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government following his remarks calling the former prime minister a ‘mask’ and Advani the ‘real face’ of the party.Since then, Govindacharya, a patron of the RSS Swadeshi movement, restricted himself to academic activities even after Bharti roped him in 2009 and announced that the BJS would be the political wing of the RSA.

India willing to hold another FS-level meeting with Pakistan

India willing to hold another FS-level meeting with Pakistan

NEW DELHI, April 3: After the ice-breaking February 25 Foreign Secretary-level talks, India has conveyed to Pakistan its willingness to have the second round of parleys but is yet to get any response.

India also has not heard anything from Pakistan on the three dossiers given to it containing names of 34 terrorists wanted here, including LeT chief Hafiz Saeed, with a demand for handing them over and other effective actions.Sources said India has told Pakistan that the second round of talks can be held but they have to “come back to us”.

The February 25 talks held in Delhi were an ice-breaker after the 26/11 attacks when the dialogue process was put on hold by India as terrorists from Pakistan were responsible for the strike.The initiative for those talks was taken by India and were intended to discuss terrorism, which India says is the “core issue”.India is still not satisfied by Pakistan’s actions with regard to ending terrorism but it conveyed to it that the channels of communication are open from the Indian side, they said.

At the day-long talks between Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao and her Pakistani counterpart Salman Bashir on February 25, the two sides noted the “trust” deficit in the ties and decided to “remain in touch and continue endeavour to restore trust”. India had said that the trust had been “erased” by the Mumbai attacks.

With regard to 26/11, India “acknowledged” that Pakistan had taken certain steps to bring perpetrators to justice, but “pointed out that these did not go far enough to unravel the full conspiracy behind the Mumbai attack and to award exemplary punishment to all culprits.” (PTI)

India market soars for business jet makers

India market soars for business jet makers

NEW DELHI: With the number of billionaires and high net worth individuals in India growing, business jet makers are intensifying efforts to sell their aircraft in India which industry sources say will need over 250 aircraft in the next 10 years.

"We are very optimistic about India. We have good business here as India is an expanding market," said Roger Sperry, vice president, sales, of the US-based Gulfstream.

"Earlier most of our sales were in th US, but now at least 60 percent of our sales are outside. We have built new facilities for the production of our latest offerings," Jerry said.

Gulfstream Aerospace Corp is a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics. It had a record sale of 250 business jets in 2008 when recession spread worldwide. It is looking to increase its presence in the Asian market.

Jairam removes convocation gown, calls it ‘barbaric prac’

Jairam removes convocation gown, calls it ‘barbaric prac’

Bhopal, April 2: Stoking a potential controversy, Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh today called as “barbaric colonial relics” the practice of wearing the traditional coloured robe at convocation ceremonies and publicly removed his own gown at one such event.

“I still have not been able to figure out after 60 years of Independence why we stick to this barbaric colonial relics,” Ramesh said while addressing students at the seventh convocation of the Indian Institute of Forest Management (IIFM.

Ramesh also posed a question as to why there cannot be a convocation with everyone sporting a simple dress.

“Why we cannot have a convocation in simple dress instead of coming dressed up as medieval vicars and popes,” he asked, as he removed his gown worn over his trademark white kurta.

Ramesh’s dramatic action drew a loud applause from the assembled gathering. (PTI)

India guarantees compulsory education to children

India guarantees compulsory education to children

India today gave the right to all its children to have access to elementary education, becoming among a handful of countries in the world that legally guarantees free and compulsory education to millions of deprived children. Citing his own example, Prime Minister Manmohan