Adarsh school

Freedom fighter Bhagat Singh's native village here got an Adarsh (ideal) school on his martyrdom day. The Punjab government promised to open similar schools in every block of the state for poor and rural students.

NSSO survey

The number of usually employed males aged 15 years and above has declined in class I cities like Delhi, Chennai and Kolkata in 2004-05 according to the 61st round National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) survey. The number of employed males per 1000 persons for the three metros in 1999-2000 was 743, 764 and 780 respectively. Women employment has, however, increased in Kolkata from 187 to 190 during the period. The number of usually employed women declined in Chennai and Delhi from 260 in 1999-2000 to 168 in 2004-05 and from 147 to 112 during the same period. Male employment has, however, increased in other class I cities like Mumbai, Surat, Hyderabad and Bangalore in 2004-05.

lending rate

RBI stepped up its fight against inflation and persistently high credit growth by raising its short-term lending rate by 25 basis points for the second time this year.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), acting after local markets closed, lifted its repo rate to 7.75 percent, its highest in nearly 4-1/2 years, saying it was critical to take "demonstrable and determined action" to cool inflationary pressures.The central bank, which last raised the repo rate in January, said it was also increasing its cash reserve ratio, the proportion of cash banks have to keep with it on deposit, by half a percentage point to 6.5 percent.Annual inflation, as measured by wholesale prices is running at nearly 6.5 percent, which is well above the central bank's comfort zone of 5.0-5.5 percent, while bank lending is growing at about 30 percent year-on-year.

IAS

Bureaucrats are eyeing the lure and lucre of the IT sector — not to help its further growth but to join it. A horde of Indian Administrative Services (IAS) officers are putting in their papers, only to take charge of assignments in IT companies or starting one of their own.BV Naidu of Karnataka has just quit his government job as the director of the Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) in Bangalore, to head a semiconductor company. He is not the first and won’t be the last to board IT’s gravy train, say officials. “Many officers are waiting for a chance to make a move,” says Naidu, who will be the India Managing Director of SemiIndia Systems after some fifteen years of working closely with the IT industry. SimiIndia plans to invest $ 3 billion in India to make chips. Vivek Harinarayan, who was Tamil Nadu’s IT secretary till June last, has quit the IAS and will become an IT consultant next week. In Karnataka, it was Vivek Kulkarni and in Tamil Nadu it was D Prakash, who kicked off the trend many years ago, when the quit as IT secretaries and hitched onto the IT bandwagon. Kulkarni now heads a successful Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) company.
from. ..DNA

Anirban Banerjee

Anirban Banerjee is the first Indian to receive Nobel Laureate Signature Award in Chemistry for his work on human DNA. Mr. Banerjee is now a US citizen. The award sanctioned by the Alfred Nobel Society is as one of the most acclaimed awards in the world of science and given by the American Chemical Society (ACS) Chicago. The award carries $3000 and a plaque signed by resident Nobel laureates in chemistry of United States. The award bears the ratification of Alfred Nobel Society

reservation

The Supreme Court stayed until August the 27 percent reservation of seats in elite central educational institutions for backward class students.In an interim order on a bunch of petitions by Youth for Equality and other student bodies, Justices Arijit Pasayat and L.S Panta stayed the quota meant for socially and educationally backward classes (SEBC) students for the coming academic session of institutions like the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs).

good genes

UK scientists believe they have discovered why the spread of "good genes" throughout the population does not make everyone good-looking. If women select the most attractive men, the genes should quickly become commonplace, according to Darwin. But the new research suggests that genetic mutations routinely affect the DNA repair kit, resulting in greater variations as damage goes unrepaired.

Astra

The indigenously developed air-to-air missile Astra was testfired from the Interim Test Range (ITR).Developed by the Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL), Hyderabad, Astra is an advanced missile capable of engaging targets over 80 km away.

Satheeswaran

19-year-old polytechnic student in Coimbatore, who gained fame for performing a record number of push- ups with the palms facing upward, has killed himself because his feat wasn't good enough to take him to the Guinness Book of World Records.Satheeswaran, a resident of Pappanaicken Palayam area of Coimbatore, had made it to the Limca Book of Records for 141 non-stop backhand push-ups two years ago, left a suicide note.

Nalanda international varsity

Two hundred villages around a proposed international varsity at Nalanda will be developed in Bihar. Bihar assembly unanimously approved the University of Nalanda Bill for setting up an international university, the villages around the proposed site are hopeful that the university will establish linkages with them that will result in their economic development.

Aryabhata award

Astronautical Society of India (ASI), Bangalore, has announced its annual awards for the year 2005, including the prestigious Aryabhata award to Dr P S Goel, Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences.ASI, set up in 1990, said in a statement it has instituted several awards to recognise talented Indian individuals who have made significant contributions to astronautics.The list of awardees for the year 2005 is:
Aryabhata Award 2005 - Dr P S Goel, Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences, New Delhi; ASI Awards 2005 Rocket related technology - P Vardaraj, Defence Research and Development Laboratory, Hyderabad; Space sciences and applications - Dr V K Agarwal, ISRO Satellite Centre, Bangalore, and Prof R Sridharan, Space Physics Laboratory, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Thiruvananthapuram; Space systems management - S K Shivakumar, ISRO Telemetry, Tracking & Command Network, Bangalore.

china

China's oil dependency, or net oil imports against oil consumption, went up 4.1 percentage points year-on-year to 47 percent in 2006, according to the Ministry of Commerce.It is predicted that China's crude oil imports will reach 160 million tonnes.Besides oil deposits in Bohai Sea, China has discovered oil resources in Tarim Basin of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and in central part of the country over recent years. It also found natural gas deposits in Tarim, Ordos and Sichuan basins.

technology in development

Denmark came out top for the first time of a worldwide study measuring the most effective use of technology in development and improving competitiveness in 122 economies. Sweden, Singapore and Finland were ranked second, third and fourth respectively while the US slipped from first, last year, to seventh place in the Global Information Technology Report 2006-2007, published in Geneva by the World Economic Forum, WEF. to fifth places this year, followed by the Netherlands, the US, Iceland, Britain, and Norway completing the top 10 rankings.Countries from Asia and the Pacific continue did well this year, with Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, Australia and Korea occupying 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th and 19th positions respectively. India slipped four places to 44th and China fell 9 places to 59th.

ISRO

Satellite technology supplied by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will soon come in aid of nearly 600,000 fishermen in Kerala for identifying shoals of fish in nine fishing districts.satellites will identify the potential fishing zones (PFZ) and would pass on information to the fishermen in Kerala on a regular basis with the help of the fisheries department.In Kerala, there are 222 marine fishing villages with the capital district having a maximum of 42.Currently, the fisheries sector accounts for a mere 1.44 percent of the state's gross domestic product. The total production of fish in the country stands at 6.3 million tonnes, with Kerala accounting for 637,000 tonnes

Mars probe

China and Russia plan to jointly explore Mars and one of its moons with a Chinese micro-satellite aboard the Russian spacecraft "Phobos Explorer." The agreement was signed in Moscow in the presence of Chinese President Hu Jintao and Russian President Vladimir Putin.The Chinese micro-satellite and the "Phobos Explorer" will be launched atop a Russian rocket in 2009. After entering Mars ' orbit, the Chinese micro-satellite will detach from the Russian spacecraft and probe the planet ' s environment. The "Phobos Explorer" will land the Martian moon Phobos and return to Earth with soil samples.

scholarship

Indian Alumni of the International House of New York, a graduate-level residential and cultural centre, have established a $10,000 scholarship for Indians pursuing studies in New York.The scholarship endowment will be awarded annually to Indians keen on graduate studies in the US city, though the number of recipients is yet to be finalized.

Science Village

75-acre Science Village is soon to be established in Assam by Gramya Jana Bigyan Mancha (GJBM), an NGO. The village, first of its kind is being planned in Jamugurihat village, about 250 km from Guwahati. The project, estimated to cost Rs 10 crore would come up in two phases.The Science Village will have a planetarium, botanical garden, heritage Park, a wetland project, bird sanctuary, science museum, library, auditorium, laboratory, aquarium, and a children's park.

increase of fees

In response to the recommendations made by National Knowledge Commission (NKC) for increasing fees in universities to meet at least 20 per cent of their total expenditure, the union HRD Ministry ruled out any possibility of increase of fees in universities.The NKC had finalized, earlier this year and recommended a more rational fee structure for resource generation. "As a norm, fees should meet at least 20 per cent of the total expenditure in universities. This should be subject to two conditions: needy students should be provided with a fee waiver plus scholarships to meet their costs and universities should not be penalised by the University Grants Commission for the resources raised from higher fees through matching deductions from their grants-in-aid.

education loan

Pursuing higher education is becoming more affordable as Punjab National Bank (PNB) will be reducing its education loan rates from April 1. Now, education loan will not be a matter of two much worry for students and parents. The bank has reduced interest rates on educational loan by up to Rs 4 lakh under the 'PNB Vidya Lakshya Purti Scheme' by 1.25 percent to 11.50 percent and under the 'PNB Sarvotam Shiksha Scheme' by 0.5 percent to 10.50 percent.

PIO university

The government has given its approval to a policy framework for establishing a university in India for children of Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) and Persons of Indian Origin (PIO). The policy envisages establishing an NRI/PIO university within the demarcated Special Educational Zone (SEdZ) in the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) to provide affordable and quality education to children of NRIs and PIOs. The university will be a deemed university under the University Grants Commission (UGC) Act as an Institution of Excellence.It will be set up by overseas Indian trusts or societies with credible standing and experience in the field of education under the overall supervision of the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs.An inter-ministerial screening committee will be set up for scrutinizing the applications submitted by societies/trusts desiring to set up the university.An advisory board comprising representative from the UGC, the ministries of Overseas Indian Affairs, External affairs, Human Resource Development, Health and Family Welfare, Indian Medical Council and Dental Council will evaluate the academic and infrastructure standards of the university

exam reforms committee

The exam reforms committee of Delhi University (DU) has recently recommended that instead of awarding marks, the students should be given Grade Point Average (GPA) score. The reform panel has come up with this plan, realizing that the grading system is a broader and fairer method of identifying a student's level of knowledge. The CBSE had earlier mooted a similar plan for class X exams and is gearing to implement the grading system for class X from 2008. According to the panel, a high powered committee is to be set up by the Vice Chancellor to examine the feasibility of introducing the grading system. The report of the reforms panel also tells about a centralized evaluation process. At present teachers merely collect the answer scripts from the evaluation centre and submit them after checking along with the award lists .

De Bono training

Inspired by the globally renowned lateral thinking expert Edward de Bono, his centre of thinking management is planning to reach out to rural India by introducing its cognitive training skills for the farmers to improve their mental skills.The Cognitive Research Trust (CoRT) training would be first given to the school teachers in the rural areas. They will then disseminate their knowledge to their students.Founded in 1969, CoRT is one of Edward de Bono's contributions to management sciences that aims at promoting and fostering creative thought. Bangladesh is one of the countries that benefited from this training. The 60-lesson CoRT module is teaching millions of students in Europe and America.a comprehensive presentation on the de Bono tools and techniques has already been shown to the union ministry and there will be a discussion with the ministry March 17 for introducing this training in rural India.

Financial Market Management

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) is going to start a new course in Financial Market Management (FMM) for the Senior Secondary Classes. For the new course CBSE will be training teachers and the training will be arranged at the BLB Institute of Financial Markets.The course is designed keeping in mind the changing global and economic pattern of the country. The curriculum development committee is designing the course under the chairmanship of GC Sharma, Director, BLB Institute of Financial Markets.

Bill Gates

Harvard University has announced that Bill Gates will be the principal speaker at the commencement ceremony later this year - 30 years after starting an undergraduate degree that he never completed.Gates entered Harvard in 1973, but in 1975 left to concentrate his efforts on Microsoft, the fledgling company he had co-founded with Paul Allen. Steve Ballmer, now Microsoft's CEO, was a classmate of Gates and lived in the same Harvard residence

joint naval exercises

The navies of India and Japan will hold their first-ever joint naval exercises soon, Foreign Minister Pranab Mukerjee announced .He, however, emphasised that the purpose of such a step was "not for aggression.""I am particularly happy to note that the first Joint Goodwill Exercise between the Japan Maritime Self Defence Force and the Indian Navy will also take place very shortly," Mukherjee said at the prestigious Japan Institute of International Affairs."Our cooperation in ensuring the safety and security of sea lanes of communication, combating piracy and terrorism, search and rescue, and disaster relief must define our shared desire to contribute to Asian economic growth and security," he said.

Management Aptitude Test

All India Management Association (AIMA) is going to have its next Management Aptitude Test (MAT) for screening candidates for the MBA programme on 6th may 2007 i.e. Sunday. The MAT bulletin for the exam on 6th may is now on sale. The form is available at all the AIMA nodal centres, selected branches of UTI bank and at some of the participating B-schools. The consolidated charge for the MAT bulletin is Rs. 650/- by cash from these outlets. The candidates who wish to get the form by post should send a demand draft for Rs.690/- in favour of All India Management Association - CMS, payable at New Delhi along with two self- addressed slips. The last date for the sale of MAT bulletin is 18 April 2007 (Wednesday) and the last date for submitting forms is 20th April 2007(Friday). Students have to submit their forms at AIMA New Delhi.

OBC reservation

Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad is expected to add 34 seats during the 2007-08 following the implementation of the 27 per cent OBC reservation in the Central Government-funded institutions of higher learning.The report of Outcome Budget of Department of Higher Education placed on the table of Parliament said that a plan outlay of Rs 576 crore has been earmarked in the 2007-08 Budget for increasing seats in central universities. The students intake capacity in six Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) is expected to increase by 157 during 2007-08, the report said adding IIM Lucknow will add 45 more students, IIM Ahmedabad (34), IIM Bangalore (30), IIM Calcutta (18) and IIM Indore and IIM Kozhikode 15 each. The implementation of the recommendations of the Oversight Committee would see a phased increase of intake capacity over a period of three years, besides augmenting infrastructural capacities as also the strength of the faculty in 17 Central universities, it said.
The intake capacity of seven Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) is expected to increase by 1,788 during the year. While IIT Roorkee will increase its capacity 309, IIT Kharagpur will take additional 295 students, IIT Kanpur (267), IIT Mumbai (209), IIT Chennai (204), IIT Delhi (151) and IIT Guwahati (101). A plan outlay of Rs 988 crore has been earmarked in the Budget.

semiconductor policy

The government expects to attract an investment of around $6-10 billion (approx. Rs 24,000-44,000 crore) by luring two-three fabrication units with at an investment of $2-3 billion each by 2010 now that it has notified (given formal consent) to the semiconductor policy it had announced on February 22.the government had announced a host of incentives in the semiconductor policy that include bearing 20% of the capital expenditure during the first 10 years if a unit is located inside special economic zones (SEZ) and 25% in case of other units. The countervailing duty (CVD) on capital goods too would be exempted in case of units outside the SEZs. The policy further entails that for semiconductor manufacturing (wafer fabs) plants, the investment would be Rs 2,500 crore and Rs 1,000 crore for manufacturing of other productsthat include bearing 20% of the capital expenditure during the first 10 years if a unit is located inside special economic zones (SEZ) and 25% in case of other units. The countervailing duty (CVD) on capital goods too would be exempted in case of units outside the SEZs. The policy further entails that for semiconductor manufacturing (wafer fabs) plants, the investment would be Rs 2,500 crore and Rs 1,000 crore for manufacturing of other products

B. Ed.

The Delhi High Court has held that B. Ed. degree holders are also eligible to apply for the post of primary school teachers. The order came on a bunch of petitions by a batch of 29 B. Ed. degree holders challenging a judgment by the CAT in 2005 holding that only Junior Basic Teacher diploma holders were eligible for being appointed as primary school teachers in Kendriya Vidyalayas. Counsel for the petitioners Surat Singh submitted that the KVS had in its advertisement in February 2005 invited applications from JBT diploma holders as well as B. Ed. degree holders for recruiting 1,000 primary teachers. Some JBT-trained candidates had moved the CAT against the decision of the Sangathan . The CAT had allowed their petitions holding that B. Ed. degree holders were not eligible to apply.

World Cup

international hockey federation (FIH) is acknowledging that India is central to the the game. FIH executive board took a decision to approach the Indian Hockey Confederation (IHC) to find out whether India can host the 2010 World Cup in New Delhi. The last time India hosted the World Cup was in 1982 in Mumbai .FIH board has allotted the 2010 women's World Cup to Argentina.

BlackBerry 8800

Research in Motion (RIM) today launched it's highly anticipated "BlackBerry 8800" smart phone in the country. At 14mm, the BlackBerry 8800 is the thinnest Blackberry handset yet. It is equipped with a highly tactile, full Qwerty keyboard; multimedia features; a microSD expandable memory; and trackball navigation system which was first introduced with BlackBerry Pearl. Moreover, it is the first smart phone from the company to feature built-in GPS

MiG-23MF

The MiG-23MF fighter aircraft, which played a key role in countering a possible threat from Pakistan's F-16s for the last 25 years in the western sector, bid adieu to the force with one last ceremonial flight.The Russian-made MiG-23s were phased out because heavy financial costs were being incurred on their maintenance. `It is too costly to maintain them because of non-availability of spare parts. Maintaining these aircraft was like maintaining vintage cars. Hence, the Air Force had to take the decision to phase these aircraft out.

reservation

The political science paper of the class XII exam got an interesting question related to the issue of 27% reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in central educational institutions. Question number 17 in Set 3 required the students to give their views regarding the reservation policy for OBCs in institutions of higher education.

Harvard University

The Harvard University is in the spotlight with the release of the annual list of its most embarrassing graduates and students, which includes Kaavya Viswanathan, a student of Indian origin.Apart from Kaavya, who was caught for plagiarism, the list includes former Cardinal Bernard Law, accused of protecting child-molesting priests. Former Mexican president Carlos Salinas de Gortari, now charged with corruption, and former Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling, currently in jail, also find place on the embarrassing list

E8

AFTER four years of intensive collaboration, 18 top mathematicians and computer scientists from the US and Europe have mapped E8, one of the largest and most complicated structures in mathematics.Project leader Jeffrey Adams said that E8 was discovered in 1887, and until now no one thought the structure could ever be understood.E8 belongs to so-called Lie groups that were invented by a 19th century Norwegian mathematician, Sophus Lie, to study symmetry. The theory holds that underlying any symmetrical object is a Lie group. Balls or cones are examples of symmetric three-dimensional objects. But mathematicians also study symmetries in higher dimensions. In fact, E8 itself is 248-dimensional.

Dearness Allowance

Announcing sops for the Central government employees, the government has announced a six per cent increase of Dearness Allowance. The government has also brought relief for pensioners entailing a total extra expenditure of Rs 3900.43 crore during financial year 2007-08.The decision was taken at a Union Cabinet held yesterday. The Cabinet has decided to hike the DA from the current 29 per cent to 35 per cent. The hike will come into effect retrospectively from January this year.The additional financial implications on account of increase in DA for employees will be Rs 2265.12 crore per annum. For 2007-08 the burden would be Rs 2642.64 crore because of arrears.
The extra outgo on account of Dearness Relief to pensioners will be Rs 1079.08 crore per annum. The extra expenditure for 2007-08 would be Rs 1275.78 crore.

solar eclipse

parts of the country today witnessed partially eclipsed Sun.The partial solar eclipse began at 6:08 am (IST) across the country. The shadow of the moon first touched the earth during local sunrise at a point in the Bay of Bengal near the coast of Chennai. The beginning of the eclipse was visible only from the eastern, North Eastern and some parts of North India.The remaining parts of India will see sunrise after the eclipse begins. The eclipse was visible in the region covering most of Alaska, eastern and central Asia except the central parts of Japan and western parts of Russia.

Underground caves found on Mars

Researchers from the US Geological Survey (USGS) have found underground caves on Mars. The seven sister cave holes have been named Dena, Chloë, Wendy, Annie, Abbey, Nikki and Jeanne. Glen Cushing from the USGS in Flagstaff, Arizona, got his first hint of the underground cave system from THEMIS (Mars Odyssey's Thermal Emission Imaging System) images of the Arsia Mons region near the equator of Mars. He spotted a system of pit craters, indicative of collapsed areas, and nestled among them half a dozen dark spots ranging in diameter from 100 to 252 metres.

NASA

A new measurement of Mars' South Polar Region indicates that it contains enough frozen water to cover the whole planet in a liquid layer approximately 36 feet deep, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration NASA. ( A new measurement of Mars' South Polar Region indicates that it contains enough frozen water to cover the whole planet in a liquid layer approximately 36 feet deep, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).A joint NASA-Italian Space Agency instrument, the Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionospheric Sounding (MARSIS), installed on the European Space Agency's Mars Express spacecraft provided these data.A joint NASA-Italian Space Agency instrument, the Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionospheric Sounding (MARSIS), installed on the European Space Agency's Mars Express spacecraft provided these data.

PPSC

The Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC) has proposed a new syllabus for Punjab Civil Services examination (PCS). As per the recommendations made by PPSC, the PCS executive exams will be on the pattern of Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) examination held for Indian Administration Services (IAS). The said recommendations have already been sent to the government for final approval.

social forestry

Alarmed over the massive degradation of its lush green cover, Kerala is to launch an ambitious social forestry project aimed at instilling a love for nature in the student community, labourers and coastal inhabitants. The programme, conceived by the state forest department and to be launched in June, will have three elements - 'My Tree' for students, 'Vazhiyorathanal' (roadside tree shades) for labourers, and a coastal forest element for those who live in such areas.The forest department will provide saplings of around 25 varieties of trees including teak, jackfruit, anjili (Artocarpus hirsuta), and gooseberry that would be planted as part of the programme.A district-level organising committee has been formed with the district collector as chairman and the deputy director of education as convenor. The committee comprises heads of various departments, representatives of the teachers' unions, parent-teacher associations and environmental activists.

Naxalites

biggest ever strike by Maoists on security forces in Chhattisgarh, at least 55 police personnel were killed and 11 injured today when more than 300 heavily armed rebels stormed a police station in the Bastar region.The Naxalites, led by the military wing of the banned CPI-Maoist attacked Rani Bodli police outpost, 525 km from here, in the wee hours today, police sources told PTI on phone from Bijapur district.Sixteen Chhattisgarh Armed Force (CAF) jawans and 39 special police officers were killed, while four CAF jawans and seven officers were injured in the incident. Nine other policemen who were at the outpost escaped without any injuries.The Naxalites looted 48 weapons from the security forces, including rifles and a two-inch mortar

Taslima Nasreen

An Indian Muslim group has offered a 500,000 rupees ($11,319; BD4,267) bounty for the beheading of controversial Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen.The president of the All India Ibtehad Council said he had declared the reward for anyone who carried out the "qatal" or "extermination" of the "notorious woman".

mental disorder

Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss has said that nearly 75,000 people commit suicide in India every year for varied reasons, including mental disorder. Suicide in India is a major threat and nearly 75,000 people commit suicide every year. Poverty, debt, illiteracy and mental imbalance are the main reasons for this menace,” said the minister. “Seven to eight percent of the Indian population is facing some sort of mental problem, of which over 1.5 percent (15 million) needs special care

Vodafone Essar

Vodafone chief Arun Sarin has announced that his company has now reached an agreement with the Essar group on the Hutch deal. The company would now be called Vodafone Essar and Ravi Ruia is new chairman of the company. Asim Ghosh has been retained as the CEO of the company.

BSNL

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) plans to invest Rs 800 crore to expand its broadband network across the country over the next three years. The state-owned telecom major will also invest Rs 27,000 crore over the next three years for the expansion of the cellular network primarily in rural areas. The company expects to get the 3G spectrum by the end of 2007. BSNL is also planning to roll out the multiplay services in Chennai, Bangalore, Kolkata and Hyderabad over the next three to six months.

Railway

1,72,689 posts related to A,B,C,D categories were lying vacant in Railways till December 31 last year, Railway Minister Lalu Prasad informed the Lok Sabha. While the highest number of vacancies (1,27,400) are lying in Group "C", there are about 43,781 posts to be filled up in Group "D".There are about 1,908 vacancies in Group "A and B", he said and added that action for filling of vacancies is a continuous process.

coaching industry

Indians’ fetish for education, poor educational infrastructure and ambitious parents is giving rise to a booming coaching industry in the country. The coaching industry, estimated at Rs 5,000 crore, is growing annually at 20%. From board exams to school tuitions, IITs, medical, IIMs and now GRE, there is demand at all education and income levels. There are at least eight big players in the organised sector like Career Launcher, IMS, TIME, Brilliant Tutorials, FIITJEE, Pie Education, Raus’s IAS, who comprise 20% of the market.

Sanjivani Booti

The famous herb of Indian mythology, Sanjivani Booti, which saved the life of Laxman in Ramayana, is being studied these days by scientists for its gifted quality of surviving without water.Scientists from the National Botanical Research Institute (NBRI) are trying to know what made the plant to survive for 300 years, and for this they have also started a five year programme for studying the factors or genes that help the herb to live so long and survive from drought conditions.

Templeton Prize

The world's largest monetary award, the Templeton Prize, went to Canadian philosopher Charles Taylor, who for half a century has argued that violence and bigotry can be solved by studying their secular and spiritual dimensions.Named after world financier John Templeton, the prize valued at $1.5 million, is given each year to those who work "for progress toward research or discoveries about spiritual realities."Taylor, a Catholic in French-speaking Quebec province and a Rhodes Scholar, has been investigating the secular and spiritual to help resolve conflicts in society

warmest winter

This has been the world's warmest winter since record-keeping began more than a century ago, the U.S. government agency that tracks weather reported on Thursday.The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said the combined global land and ocean surface temperature from December through February was at its highest since records began in 1880.A record-warm January was responsible for pushing up the combined winter temperature, according to the agency's Web site, http://www.noaa.gov.

Santosh George Kulangara

Santosh George Kulangara has a confirmed booking on a vacation that will take him thousands of miles away from backpackers, cheap hotels, and souvenir sellers. His destination is the veritable final frontier: space.Kulangara, a Kerala-based entrepreneur and TV journalist, has reserved his place as India’s first space tourist. He will take off on the Virgin Galactic flight from America by the end of next year.Kulangara has spent $20,000 (circa Rs8,81,400) for securing his seat; he will have to pay another $180,000 (Rs79,32,600) for joining the historic expedition. He will undergo a week’s training for a trip that requires more specialised preparation than familiarising facts from the Rough Guide.

China

The China Commission of Science Technology and Industry for National Defense recently released the Space Science Development Plan for the 11th Five-Year Plan, in which it outlined its blueprint for the development of China's space science program. According to the plan, China will continue to work on major space projects such as a manned spaceflight, moon exploration, space HXMT, and a recoverable space science experimental satellite.The plan outlines six goals in space science development during the 11th Five-Year Plan: firstly, it will implement medium and long-term scientific and technological development programs for a manned spaceflight and exploration of the moon. Chinese aircraft will begin circling the moon this year, so as to obtain three-dimensional images of the moon's surface and begin analysis and content studies. China plans to land and begin an automatic inspection of the moon before 2012, returning to earth by 2017.

six-sigma performance

MBA students at IIT Kharagpur are drinking in every word uttered by their new management guru, Manish Tripathi.Manish is the Director of 116 years old Mumbai Tiffin Box Suppliers Association, also famous as the Dabbawallahs of Mumbai, which has a turnover of Rs 10 million.The dabbawallah, taught IITians a thing or two about logistics and supply chain management.The service has been feted by Forbes for its six-sigma performance and an unbelievable error rate of one in 16 million transactions.For the IITians and students and faculty of University of Nebraska who are at the institute on an exchange programme, the dabbawallah's management mantras were magical. How they operate through a simple colour coding scheme and zero dependence on technology certainly gave them food for thought.The dabbawallahs have taken the jargon out of the management class and given the students a feel of how to put theory into practice. It has been an enriching experience for the students of IIT Kharagpur. Lessons from this will stay with them all their life

Viswanathan Anand

Viswanathan Anand added yet another feather to his cap over the weekend, by winning the Linares Super Grandmasters Chess Tournament.The feat ensured that he would become the World Number one for the first time ever when the latest rankings are released next month. He did win the World Championships in 2000 but then Garry Kasparov was No 1 in the world. The other huge achievement in his glittering two-decade-long career came recently, when he became one of only four players to cross the 2800 ELo-rationg mark

NIIT

Computer education firm NIIT Ltd. would offer specialised training programmes in partnership with Sun Microsystems India Private Ltd.Sun Microsystems will set up two centres in Delhi and Mumbai where NIIT will offer courses in Open Source computing through Sun Solaris programmes, a NIIT official told reporters.NIIT, which will also offer the course at its 50 centres, expects to train about 50,000 people in Sun Solaris technologies in the next three years, G. Raghavan, president of NIIT's Individual Learning Business, said.Fees for the course will range from 10,000-25,000 rupees depending on the number of modules undertaken and the level of specialisation, the company said.

AIDS Control

The Kerala AIDS Control Society has decided to launch a visual media campaign featuring actor Mohanlal to spread awareness about the disease.Mohanlal said he was happy to be part of a social cause. The society should change its attitude towards AIDS patients. The government was taking steps to extend all assistance to HIV affected persons and check the spread of the disease

IIMS

The parliamentary standing committee on HRD (Human Resource Development) Ministry in its report has recommended setting up of at least one Indian Institute of Management (IIMs) in each state and also to increase the number of seats in the existing IIMs. The committee says this will be an endeavor to create more opportunities for students in the country by opening at least one IIM in each state.

IGNOU

The Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) is all set to provide online courses from top colleges across the country affiliated to different conventional universities. The varsity is awaiting a nod from the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) for online affiliation of colleges. This is a new concept where students who have missed out on entering the campuses of the colleges for a particular course of their choice can still pursue the same course and get access to the respective college libraries and interact with faculties as well.

McKinsey & Company

US-based consulting firm McKinsey & Company picked up an impressive batch of 11 students for their units in India. The quality of offers and salary packages made by international investment banks improved significantly this year. Leading financial institutions,which regularly recruit from IIM-A, include Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers, Deutsche Bank and Merrill Lynch. Last year, UK-based Barclays Capital handed out the highest international salary of $185,000 to three IIM-A students. This time, McKinsey's domestic offers began at Rs 17 lakh per annum, with higher packages for candidates with work experience.

merger

The Board of Directors of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) and Indian Petrochemicals Corporation Limited (IPCL) have unanimously approved the scheme of merger of IPCL with RIL, subject to the necessary regulatory & shareholder approvals. RIL is India’s largest private sector company with a leadership position in the petrochemicals industry while IPCL is India’s second largest company in that sector. As part of the divestment program of the Government of India, RIL acquired 26% equity in IPCL in the year 2002 and thereafter increased its holding to 46% through an open offer. Over the last five years of IPCL’s operations, with the support of Reliance management several initiatives were introduced to increase capacity utilization, reduce operating costs and improve financial management. This has resulted in ongoing improvement in financial and operating performance at IPCL with revenue increasing from Rs 5,527 crore in FY 2001-02 to Rs 12,362 crore in FY 2005-06, a CAGR of 22% and net profit increasing from Rs 107 crore in FY 2001-02 to Rs 1,164 crore in FY 2005-06, a CAGR of 82%. The improvement in financials has led to a significant improvement in IPCL’s capital structure, with IPCL becoming debt free on net basis as compared to a net debt of Rs 3,482 crore in March 2002.

Bharti Airtel

Striving to retain the leadership position in the mobile industry, Bharti Airtel will invest a massive eight billion dollars by 2010 to have a 25 per cent market share. "By 2010, estimates are that India will have a subscriber base of 400-500 million. Bharti strives to retain up to 125 million or 25 per cent of the market," group Chairman Sunil Mittal said. The aggressive expansion programme assumes importance in the wake of imminent entry of global mobile leader Vodafone through acquisition of Hutch-Essar.

satellite business hubs

The West Bengal government and IIT-Kharagpur have prepared a long-term growth plan for satellite business hubs in the state like Durgapur, Asansol, Haldia, Kharagpur and Siliguri. The plan will recommend measures for controlled development and land usage at these locations.The growth plan prepared by IIT-Kharagpur will provide basic guidelines for development of key locations in the state till 2025. At this stage, there is a need for a long-term vision document which will take into account the growth process in the state for the next 20 years. The growth plan will achieve that

Meghalaya drama

DD Lapang was again sworn in as the Chief Minister of Meghalaya today after the Congress got JD Rymbai to relinquish his chair. Elsewhere, NGOs called for an indefinite night blockade, from March 13, against the decision.the Congress played its ace in solving the current crisis. Four ministers, each from Lapang and Rymbai’s camp, were included in the new Cabinet. With this the Congress ensured that the two factions were weakened.NGOs today held a public rally in the city, simultaneously with the fast-paced political devlopment and then called for an indefinite road blockade against the Congress’ move. Two NGOs from here and backed by the Garo Students’ Union, called for the indefinite road blockade from March 13 next

Sandeep Pandey

Meet Sandeep Pandey, who has a doctorate in mechanical engineering from University of California, Berkeley. The forty-one year old sports a khadi kurta and runs the Asha Ashram in Lalpur village in Hardoi district. He won the Magsaysay in 2002, in the Emergent Leadership category.The main reason he dumped the American dream for a life of struggle and toil was his desire to provide basic needs and education for children, particularly dalits. In recent times he has spearheaded the cause of right to information.Pandey says he decided to work in villages after he read a report by MIT, whose experts found that more than 50 per cent of India's children never went to school. The mission he undertook 15 years back remains undiluted. The ashram has spawned 50 chapters worldwide. What keeps Pandey going is the simple faith of the village folk. "Villagers are simple people. A village activist will not switch his cause because someone else's paying more,'' says Pandey, who was a professor at IIT-Kanpur.

Padma Awards

Jurist Fali Nariman, litterateur Khushwant Singh and former Chief Justice PN Bhagwati were on Thursday named for the Padma Vibhushan awards, while writer Javed Akhtar and telecom czar Sunil Bharti Mittal figure in the list of this year's Padma Bhushan awardees.Industrialist JJ Irani, Pepsi chief Indra Nooyi, Suzuki Motor Corporation chief O Suzuki Singh, IIM (Ahmedabad) Director Bakul Dholakia and American writer Amitav Ghosh are among 32 people chosen for the Padma Bhushan.
The list of 79 Padma Shri awardees include educationist Mushirul Hassan, writer Vikram Seth, rights activist Teesta Setalvad, who had taken up cases of Gujarat riots victims, golfer Jeev Milkha Singh and chess player K Humpy.For the third consecutive year, there was no one selected for the highest civilian award, the Bharat Ratna.The Padma Vibhushan awards also went to Balu Sankaran (Medicine), the Centre's pointsman on Kashmir NN Vohra, career diplomat Naresh Chandra, economist Raja J Chelliah, Surershan E C George (scientist) and former SAIL chairman V Krishnamurthy. Litteratuer Raja Rao was selected for Padma Vibushan posthumously.
Besides Mittal, among those selected for this year's Padma Bushan awards are academician Bhikhu Parekh (UK), vocalist brother duo Rajan and Sajan Mishra, social worker V Mohini Giri and Justice KT Thomas.Among those chosen for the Padma Shri were Bharatnatayam exponent Geeta Chandran, Nasscom Chairman Kiran Karnik, historian and vice chancellor of Jamia Millia university Mushirul Hassan and pop singer Remo Fernandes.
List of awardees
Padma Vibhushan
Balu Sankaran (Medicine)
Fali Sam Nariman (Public Affairs)
Khushwant Singh (Literature and Education)
NN Vohra (Civil Service)
Naresh Chandra (Civil Service)
Justice (Retd.) P N Bhagwati (Public Affairs)
Late Shri Raja Rao (Posthumous) (Literature and Education) USA
Raja Jesudoss Chelliah (Public Affairs)
Sudarshan Erinackal Chandy George (Science and Engineering) USA
Venkataraman Krishnamurthy (Civil Service).

Padma Bushan
Bhikhu Parekh, Literature and Education, UK
Late C P Saikia (Posthumous) Literature Assam
Ela Gandhi, Public Affairs, South Africa
Rev Father Gabriel, Literature and Education, Kerala
Gopaldas Neeraj, Literature and Education, Uttar Pradesh
Gurcharan Singh Kalkat Science Chandigarh
Indra Nooyi, Trade and Industry, USA
Jamshed J Irani, Trade and Industry, Maharashtra
Javed Jan Nisaar Akhtar, Literature and Education, Maharashtra
Jeffrey D Sachs, Literature and Education, USA
Justice KT Thomas, Public Affairs, Kerala
Kavalam Narayan Panikkar, Art, Kerala
Captain LZ Sailo, Literature and Education, Mizoram
Manju Sharma, Science and Engineering, Delhi
N Mahalingam, Trade and Industry, Tamil Nadu
O Suzuki, Trade and Industry, Japan
Prithipal Singh Maini, Medicine, Delhi
Pandit Rajan Misra, Art, Delhi
Ramankutty Nair, Art, Kerala.
Pandit Sajan Misra, Art, Delhi
Saroj Ghose, Science and Engineering, West Bengal.
Shiv Kumar Sarin, Medicine, Delhi
Vaidya Shriram Sharma, Medicine, Maharashtra
Late Somnath Hore (Posthumous), Art, West Bengal
Sunil Bharti Mittal, Trade and Industry, Delhi
Syed Haider Raza, Art, France.
Hakim Syed Mohammad Sharfuddin Quadri, Medicine, WB
T.N. Srinivasan, Literature and Education, USA
Tapan Ray Chaudhuri, Literature and Education, UK
Tyeb Mehta, Art, Maharashtra
V Mohini Giri, Social Work, Delhi
Vilayanur Ramachandaran, Science and Engineering, USA
A Sivasailam, Trade and Industry, Tamil Nadu
Adya Prasad Mishra (Literature) UP
Amitav Ghosh, Literature and Education, USA.
Ananda M. Chakrabarty, Science and Engineering,
Ananda Shankar Jayant, Art, Andhra Pradesh.
Anoop Misra, Medicine, Delhi.
Ashok Kumar Hemal, Medicine, Delhi.
Astad Aderbad Deboo, Art, Maharashtra.
Atul Kumar, Medicine, Delhi.
B Paul Thaliath, Medicine, Uttar Pradesh.
Bakul Harshadrai Dholakia (Education) Gujarat.
Balbir Singh, Medicine, Delhi.
Baldev Raj, Science and Engineering, Tamil Nadu.
Bharath Balachandra Menon, Art, Kerala.
Late Devindra Rahinwal (Posthumous), Social Work
Dilip K Biswas, Science and Engineering.
Gajendra Narayan Singh, Art, Bihar.
Geeta Chandran, Art, Delhi.
Giriraj Kishore, Literature and Education, UP
Rajmata Goverdan Kumari, Art, Gujarat.
Harpinder Singh Chawla, Medicine, Chandigarh.
Jeev Milkha Singh, Sports, Punjab.
KR Palaniswamy, Medicine, Tamil Nadu.
Khalid Zaheer, Social Work, Uttaranchal.
Kharak Singh Valdiya, Engineering Karnataka.
Kiran Karnik, Science and Engineering, Delhi.
Koneru Humpy, Sports, Andhra Pradesh.
Lalit Pande, Environment Protection, Uttaranchal.
Louis Remo Fernandes, Art, Goa.
M. Mohan Babu, Art, Andhra Pradesh.
Mahadev Prasad Pandey, Literature and Education
Mahipal S. Sachdev, Medicine, Delhi.
Manjunath Cholenahally Nanjappa, Medicine, Karnataka.
Mayilvahanan Natarajan, Medicine, Tamil Nadu.
Meenakshi Gopinath, Literature and Education, Delhi.
Miriam L'vovna Salganik, Literature and Education
Mohsin Wali, Medicine, Delhi.
Mujtaba Hussain, Literature and Education, AP
Mushirul Hassan, Literature and Education, Delhi.
Naina Lal Kidwai, Trade and Industry, Maharashtra.
Narmada Prasad Gupta, Medicine, Delhi.
Neelamani Devi, Art, Manipur.
P Gopinathan, Art, Kerala.
PR Thilagam, Art, Tamil Nadu.
Pannuru Sripathy, Art, Andhra Pradesh.
Perumalsamy Namperumalsamy, Medicine, Tamil Nadu.
Pratibha Ray, Literature and Education, Orissa.
Pushpa Hans, Art, Delhi.
Rabinder Gokaldas Ahuja, Sea Cadet Corps Management
Rajinder Gupta, Trade and Industry, Punjab.
Ravi Narayan Bastia, Science and Engineering, Maharashtra.
Late Ravindra Dayal, Literature & Education, Delhi.
Rostislav Borisovich Rybakov, Literature and Education
Runa Banerjee, Social Work, Uttar Pradesh.
S Dhakshinamurthy Pillai, Art, Tamil Nadu.
Sister S.M. Cyril, Social Work, Ireland.
Shanti Hiranand, Art, Delhi.
Shashikala Jawalkar, Art, Maharashtra.
Shekhar Pathak, Literature and Education
Sheo Bhagwan Tibrewal, Medicine, United Kingdom.
Sonam Skalzang, Art, Jammu & Kashmir.
Sonam Tshering Lepcha, Art, Sikkim.
Sudhir Kumar Sopory, Science and Engineering
Sukumar Azhikode, Literature and Education, Kerala.
Sushil Gupta, Social Work, Delhi.
Syeda Saiyidain Hameed, Public Affairs, Delhi.
TS Rangarajan Literature and Education, Tamil Nadu.
Tarla Dalal, Cookery, Maharashtra.
Teesta Setalvad, Public Affairs, Maharashtra.
Temsula Ao, Literature and Education, Assam.
Thanu Padmanabhan, Science and Engineering, Maharashtra.
T Kochandy Alex, Science and Engineering, Karnataka.
Thingbaijam Babu Singh, Art, Manipur.
Lama Thupten Phuntsok, Social Work, Arunachal Pradesh.
Valayapatti A.R. Subramaniam, Art, Tamil Nadu.
Vijaydan Detha, Literature and Education, Rajasthan.
Vikram Seth, Literature and Education, United Kingdom.
Waman Thakre, Art, Madhya Pradesh and
Yusufkhan M Pathan, Literature and Education

Asian billionaires

India became home to the most billionaires in Asia, pushing Japan back to the No. 2 spot, according to Forbes magazine's 2007 rankings of the world's richest people.
Lakshmi N. Mittal, the London-based steel magnate who spearheaded the takeover of European steel maker Arcelor SA, was the richest Asian — and the world's fifth-wealthiest — with a net worth estimated at US$32 billion, the magazine said.India added 14 new billionaires since last year to bring its total on the list to 36 with a combined wealth of US$191 billion, Forbes said, contrasting sharply with the 400 million Indians who still live on less than a dollar a day.Japan's 24 billionaires had an estimated combined net worth US$64 billion, according to the list, while Hong Kong came in the third spot with 21 billionaires, and China was fourth with 20.Globally, the number of billionaires reached a record 946, Forbes said.The rankings underscored how China's and India's rapid economic growth are altering the balance among the world's wealthiest men and women.The United States may still have 44 percent of the world's total billionaires, but many of them are dropping through the ranks and are being overtaken by business tycoons from Asia and other emerging economies, including Russia and Mexico, the Forbes' list showed.Only five Americans were in the top 20 that included three Indians.

antique Koran

police seized an antique Koran, supposedly written by Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, and a Tanjore painting depicting King Sefroji with his chief adviser from a man . Both the antiques are worth around Rs.5.10 crore.According to the accused, the holy book, which has more than 1,000 pages is virtually fireproof. Each page is a copper plate coated with paper which is, in turn, coated with a chemical that has helped protect the beautiful calligraphy. Moreover, every page has a unique fragrance of its own. Gold and silver has been mixed with the ink and each of the 30 sections is written in a different calligraphic style. The Tanjore painting, with the huge wooden frame, weighs around 140 kg. It is a stunning piece of work with gold embossing and semi-precious stones

Insat-4B

Preparations are in the final stages for the launch of Isro's latest satellite, Insat-4B, on board Ariane-5 ECA launch vehicle from Kourou, French Guiana.The launch window for the Ariane-5, carrying Insat-4B and its co-passenger Skynet 5A of EADS Astrium, is fixed between 03:55 am and 04:28 am Indian Standard Time on 11 March (7:25 pm to 7:58 pm 10 March, in Kourou).Insat-4B is the second satellite to be launched in the Insat-4 series. Insat-4B carries 12 high power Ku-band transponders and 12 C-band transponders to augment the capacity for direct-to-home (DTH) television services apart from augmenting the Insat capacity for other communication and television services.The Master Control Facility (MCF) at Hassan in Karnataka is in readiness to take control of Insat-4B soon after Ariane-5 places it in the Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) of 250 km x 35,886 km.In the following days after launch, MCF will conduct orbit raising manoeuvres to take the satellite into the final 36,000 km circular Geosynchronous Orbit followed by deployment of solar arrays and antennas. Insat-4B will be positioned at 93.5 degree East longitude along with Insat-3A. This will be followed by in-orbit test of the communication payloads. MCF will also carry out regular operations and control of the satellite during its service life.The Rs 3 billion telecom satellite, which is identical to Insat-4A, carries 12 Ku-band and 12 C-band transponders. European space consortium Arianespace will carry out the launch. It will cost around $ 50 million.Kalanithi Maran's Sun Group has booked seven Ku-band transponders on Insat-4B for its soon to launch (DTH) service Sun Direct, while Prasar Bharati's free-to-air (FTA) package DD Direct Plus has booked five.

news

OBC quota:

The Supreme Court grilled the Centre on various aspects of the new reservation law providing 27 per cent quota to OBCs in the institutions of higher learning, especially on the question of the hurry shown in passing it in the absence of any data, while reserving its verdict on a bunch of petitions for a stay on the new Act.The main questions raised by a Bench of Mr Justices Arijit Pasayat and Lokeshwar Singh Panta pertained to why the Act should not be deferred for two years to enable the government to collect relevant data to determine the actual percentage of the OBC population and why the seats sought to be raised in IITs, AIIMS, IIMs and other institutions for accommodating the backwards should not be raised in the same proportion as for the general category students.

call center

The Delhi police have decided to provide security to women working in the 500 call centres in the capital and its nearby satellite towns. The police organised a workshop for women and members of the management, to make them aware of the security measures.“We have distributed a list of all the police control room (PCR) vans that are stationed in different areas of the city so that the women know how to reach us for help in case of emergency,” said Muktesh Chander, additional commissioner of the crime branch. There are over 400 PCR vans in the city.

iim-A

The world’s largest corporate education institute, Duke CE, has finally entered the South-East Asian market by an exclusive tie-up with the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A). It aims to provide customised, corporate education programmes in India and the Middle East.

news

US scientists have shown that being overweight as a toddler increases the chance that a girl will reach puberty early.The study from the University of Michigan's Mott Children's Hospital is published in the journal Pediatrics.Dr Joyce Lee, the lead author, and colleagues used the data on 354 girls from age 3 who were enrolled in the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (SECCYD).

manned flight

China is aiming for its third manned flight next year with two astronauts making space walks, a state-run newspaper reported .The Beijing Morning Post quoted Huang Chunping, chief consultant for China's manned launching vehicle system, as saying the Shenzhou 7 spacecraft would be ready this year.China's first manned space launch in 2003 made it only the third country to send a human into orbit on its own, after the former Soviet Union and the United States.A second space flight carrying two astronauts took place in October 2005.

laboratory

The construction of a giant underground laboratory on the French-Swiss border that will help take physics into a new era has reached a major milestone.
A 2,000-tonne piece of machinery has been successfully lowered by crane into a man-made cavern 100m below ground.

annual budget

India's government has unveiled its annual budget, saying agriculture "must top the agenda of policy-makers". Analysts greeted the government's 6.81 trillion rupee (£78bn; $153bn) budget positively.There had been fears that anti-inflation measures could limit growth in Asia's fourth-largest economy. Figures for February revealed that wholesale price inflation had reached nearly 7%, following higher food and consumer goods prices.India's main stock market fell 4% after the budget was unveiled amid concerns about plans for higher taxes on dividends and the removal of tax exemptions from technology firms.

HIV testing

HIV testing should not be a precondition for employment, the Centre told the Supreme Court recently."The Government feels there is no rationale for mandatory testing of a person for HIV/ AIDS. On the other hand, such an approach could backfire as it may put off a large number of suspected cases," Solicitor General GE Vahanvati said on behalf of Central Government.Acting upon an appeal filed in the Apex Court -- seeking directions for making HIV-testing mandatory, the Apex court had directed Vahnavati to put forth the Government's views.The government had then stated in its affidavit that it would abide by the National AIDS Prevention and Control Policy.

IIT

The central government is planning to set up an Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Andhra Pradesh and has decided to upgrade two other technical institutes in the state to IIT level.Human Resources Development Minister Arjun Singh has informed the Rajya Sabha that the Andhra Pradesh government had offered 1,000 acres of land free of cost along with civic amenities at Basara in Adilabad district if the centre agreed to its proposal to set up an IIT there.The two institutes to be upgraded are the Osmania University College of Engineering and Technology, Hyderabad and the Andhra Pradesh College of Engineering, Visakhapatnam.

Attukal Bhagavathi temple

This capital city of Kerala came under an umbrella of smoke belched out by hundreds of thousands of firewood burning open-air ovens lit for a Hindu ritual.An estimated 2.5 million women lined up along the streets leading to the Attukal Bhagavathi temple, cooking an offering of rice, jaggery and coconut. The event takes place on the penultimate day of the 10-day-long "pongala" festival and is a local holiday in the district. The deity, Attukal Bhagavathi, is believed to be an incarnation of Kannaki of the Tamil mythology. The temple ritual attracted not just Hindu women from Kerala but women from abroad as well. The unprecedented rush for the festival began a few years back after the Guinness Book Records listed it as the only event where over one million women get together to take part in the festivities.

pigeons via remote control

Scientists in eastern China say they have succeeded in controlling the flight of pigeons with micro electrodes planted in their brains, state media reported . Scientists at the Robot Engineering Technology Research Centre at Shandong University of Science and Technology said their electrodes could command them to fly right or left or up or down.Su and his colleagues, who Xinhua said had had similar success with mice in 2005, were improving the devices used in the experiment and hoped that the technology could be put into practical use in future. The report did not specify what practical uses the scientists saw for the remote-controlled pigeons

Lloyds TSB

Amidst a welter of protests from thousands of customers, employees and union workers, British banking major Lloyds TSB has announced its decision to close down its call centres in India but said it would continue processing and other back office operations there.Big British names which have recently turned their back on India include esure, headed by Direct Line founder Peter Wood, energy company Powergen, and the Newcastle Building Society.

Punjab government

The Punjab government will have two new ministries - non-resident Indian (NRI) affairs and employment.The chief minister, who inducted 17 cabinet ministers in his government taking it to the maximum permissible strength under the laws

Cricket Stock Exchange

Students from IIT Roorkee and IIM Ahmedabad have attempted to fuse corporate and cricket worlds by launching www.cricstock.com – Cricket Stock Exchange – on this virtual stock exchange, shares of international cricketers can be bought and traded by cricket fans, and the stock prices of cricketers will reflect their recent performance and what fans feel about them.