All Efforts On To Acquire Gandhi Letter

The Indian government has launched all out efforts to acquire a rare letter Mahatma Gandhi wrote 19 days before his 1948 assassination which is up for auction in London next week.In the Jan 11, 1948 letter written for the 'Harijan' newspaper, which he edited, Gandhi makes an emotive appeal for tolerance towards Muslims.'My view remains unalterable especially at this critical juncture in our history. It is wrong to ruffle Muslim or any other person's feeling when there is no question of ethics,' Gandhi wrote, just 19 days before Nathuram Godse shot him dead.The rare letter is part of a collection titled 'the Albin Schram Collection of Autograph Letters', a personal collection by Albin Schram, a Switzerland-based collector. It also includes some of the greatest letters written by legends like Napoleon, Winston Churchill, Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, Charles Dickens and Oscar Wilde.

Memorial to come up for 1857 martyrs

The Haryana government announced that a memorial would be set up at Ambala in memory of those who sacrificed their lives in the country's first war of independence in 1857.He was addressing a public meeting organised to observe the martyrdom day of Ch Udmi Ram Nambardar of village Liwaspur, who was crushed to death along with his wife and 22 others of the village, as the villagers had killed some British soldiers who were going to join troops at Ambala from Delhi in 1857.

Red Fort is World Heritage site

The Red Fort, the imposing 17th century Mughal architectural marvel in the capital, was Thursday declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco - a rare honour expected to attract more tourists to the fortress from where the Indian tricolour is unfurled on Independence Day.The honour to the Red Fort, located in old Delhi, makes it the third for the Indian capital - after Qutub Minar, the 239 ft-high sandstone minaret completed in the 13th century, and the 16th century Humayun Tomb.The planning of the palace is based on Islamic prototypes, but each pavilion reveals architectural elements typical of Mughal buildings, reflecting a fusion of Persian, Timurid and Hindu traditions, Unesco underlined.

Millionaire club expands to 1,00,000

India has added over 17,000-dollar-millionaires in 2006, recording the highest growth in high net worth individuals (HNIs) after Singapore. At the end of the year, the number of millionaires in India rose to 1,00,000 from 83,000 in the previous year.This comes in the back of a record 8.8% real growth in gross domestic product, second only to China. Also, there has been a sharp increase in the asset values with the Sensex being among the best performing in emerging markets. According to the 11th annual world wealth report brought out by Capgemini and Merrill Lynch, Singapore, India, Indonesia and Russia witnessed the highest growth in HNI populations

Internet Protocol Television

Shakti Extratainment, the first Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) channel
one of the very first from India, will be launched here at a cultural ‘Bani Festival’ to be inaugurated July 4. People can choose what to view and when, rather than rely on a channel’s programming schedules, using superior technology that offers higher than DVD quality resolution, with encryption to protect content providers and artists against piracy.The programmes are in five broad categories — Classic Shakti (classical music, dance and culture), Kala Shakti (popular entertainment including films and serials), Gyan Shakti (educational shows), Atma Shakti (devotional, philosophical/spiritual) and Jan Shakti (community centric).

IPOs market

India's IPOs market According to the study, India's increasing number of larger deals has been driven by the growth of Indian corporations and their need for additional capital for potential acquisitionsemerged as the eighth largest with $7.23 billion (Rs 30,000 crore) in net proceeds through 78 public issues, global research and consultancy firm Ernst & Young said in its Global IPO report.Across the world, the companies raised $246 billion, up from $167 billion in 2005, through a total of 1,729 IPOs, led by Chinese companies at the top with net proceeds of $56.6 billion.However, the biggest number of IPOs came from the United States with 187 offerings, followed by Japan with 185 and China with 175 IPOs.According to the study, India's increasing number of larger deals has been driven by the growth of Indian corporations and their need for additional capital for potential acquisitions.

UNESCO's Memory of the World Register

The Rig Veda manuscripts from Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Pune, have been selected for inscription in UNESCO's Memory of the World Register, 2007. India has had three other nominations inscribed on the Register, The IAS Tamil Medic Manuscript Collection (1997), Archives of the Dutch East India Company (2003), a Dutch nomination, and the Saiva Manuscripts in Pondicherry (2005).The Rig Veda, oldest of the four Vedas, is among the 38 items of documentary heritage of exceptional value which have been added to the prestigious World Register, bringing the total number of inscriptions since 1997 to 158.The Memory of the World programme seeks to guard against collective amnesia, calling upon the preservation of the valuable archival holdings and library collections all over the world, ensuring their wide dissemination.The Vedas are the first literary documents in the history of humankind, and they transcend far beyond their identity as scriptures.The Rig Veda, oldest among the four Vedas and a collection of 1028 hymns of exceptional literay qualities eulogising the Vedic deities, is the fountain source of the Aryan culture in all its manifestations that spread beyond the Indian subcontinent to large parts of South and South East Asia as well as parts of Central Asia.Out of the total number of 28,000 Manuscripts housed at the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Pune, the 30 manuscripts of the Rig Veda form a valuable part of the collection.Besides the Rig Veda, the list of 38 items of documentary heritage includes Unpublished Papers of Christopher Okigbo, considered one of the most renowned African poets of the 20th century, killed during the civil war in Nigeria.

e-passports

India's largest IT-ITeS firm, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), is all set to
tap the emerging business for e-passports across the world, and the company has already bid for pilot projects in a couple of countries.An e-passport makes the document machine-readable making the passport not only tamper-proof but also enabling quick processing at airports.e-passports come with in-built security (biometric) features including an IC (integrated circuit) chip embedded in the back cover that stores the data (including photo) that is typically displayed on the photo page of a regular passport.As of now just 4-5 countries, including the US, use the RFID (radio frequency identification) technology, which at best helps their own countrymen on their return for speedy identification and processing of their documents since it is not universally applicable.

Astrosat

India's multi-wavelength astronomical observatory "Astrosat" will be launched in 2008.Orbiting 600 km above the earth's surface, the Rs 200 crore Astrosat would facilitate study of astrophysical objects ranging from nearby solar system objects to distant stars and objects at cosmological distances.Since most astronomical objects in the known universe emit radiations from long wavelength radio emission to extremely short wavelength gamma rays, understanding of the physical processes causing frequency dependent, time-variable phenomena would require near simultaneous multi-frequency observations.Astrosat would also enable timing studies of variables from pulsations of the 'hot white dwarfs' to active galactic nuclei with time scales ranging from millisecond to few hours to days.

food park

The government is likely to accord special economic zone (SEZ) status to the proposed mega food parks that come up during the 11th Five-Year Plan (2007-12).
Each food park is expected to see substantial investments in cold storage, refrigerated vans, transport services, grading centres, laboratories as well as other supporting services.In a proposal sent to the Planning Commission, the ministry has also said that since food processing units are not typically spread over a large area, the minimum area limit applicable for food SEZs should be relaxed.The ministry of food processing industries has envisaged an initial investment of Rs 120 crore for setting up the common infrastructure in a park. It is of the view that by providing a grant of Rs 1,500 crore for 30 parks, Rs 50 crore for each, the private sector would be encouraged to invest up to Rs 9,000 crore in various parks across the country.Considering the higher risks involved in the food processing sector, the central government will also provide a subsidy of Rs 50 crore per park to private investors. Thus, the total financial outlay proposed for 30 parks, to be spread across 1,50,000 hectares in next five years, would be Rs 1,500 crore. The government has also appointed Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Ltd (IL&FS) as a consultant to look into the infrastructure constraints for the project. IL&FS has been given two months to submit its report to the government.

industrial growth

industrial growth in April this year stood at a massive 13.6 per cent against 9.9 per cent in the same month last year.Manufacturing sector led the surge — figures for which were released today in the index for industrial production (IIP) — expanding by 15.1 per cent in April against the 11 per cent growth in April 2006. Manufacturing, which makes up about 15 per cent of gross domestic product and nearly 80 per cent of industrial output, has the highest weight in the index.The index also gave revised data for March, showing annual growth of 14.5 per cent instead of a provisional 12.9 per cent. While the mining sector recorded a flat 3.4 per cent growth, there was a slight improvement in the power generation sector, which recorded a 8.7 per cent growth this April against 5.9 per cent in April last year.

wireless power

A U.S. research team reports moving closer to wireless power transfer by lighting a 60-watt light bulb from a power source located seven feet away.The Massachusetts Institute of Technology team called their accomplishment 'WiTricity.Although various methods of transmitting power wirelessly have long been known -- think of radio waves -- they are not feasible to use for power transmission.In contrast, WiTricity is based on using coupled resonant objects, in which two resonant objects of the same resonant frequency tend to exchange energy efficiently, while interacting weakly with extraneous off-resonant objects.

KPO

India is likely to capture 15 per cent of over 54 billion dollars in the upcoming Knowledge Processing Outsourcing (KPO) industry by 2010.Pointing out that India is one of the few economies expanding at fast pace, Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath said the country has huge potential in the KPO sector.

global warming

Indians are far more concerned about global warming than any other nationality, despite the emerging economy being accused of resisting the need to tackle climate change, a global survey has said.Indians cared most about carbon emissions, with 55 per cent describing themselves as "very concerned" about the issue while just 32 per cent of Britons felt the same way, the survey conducted by Seattle-based research group Global Market Insite found.While emerging economies like India and China are often accused of resisting the need to tackle climate change, the survey suggested that people of these two countries are more worried about climate change, the survey said.

TELECOM SECTOR

Hutchison Essar (HEL) has become the second largest GSM player in the country, displacing state-owned BSNL. The company, in which UK-based Vodafone had recently picked up a majority stake, surpassed BSNL after it recorded a 5.4 per cent growth in its subscriber base during May 2007, with the addition of over 1.5 million subscribers during this period, when compared to 0.24 million for the public-sector giant.According to the latest data compiled by the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), the industry association representing all GSM operators, HEL had a little over 29.2 million subscribers and a market share of 22.36 per cent (in the GSM space) as of May-end, against 27.9 million and 21.43 per cent respectively for BSNL. Overall, HEL is now the third largest cellular operator in the country after Bharti Airtel, which has over 40.7 million subscribers and Reliance Communications (RCOM) at 30.5 million.

TELECOM SECTOR

The GSM operators have added over 5 million subscribers in May as telecom services are becoming increasingly affordable in the country.This takes the total number of users to 130.6 million in the month, compared with 125.57 million recorded in April, an increase of 4.02 per cent.Bharti Airtel added 18.5 lakh users during the month, followed by Hutch at 15.1 lakh and Idea had an additional 7 lakh. BSNL had 2 lakh and MTNL, 64, 098.In terms of subscriber base, Bharti Airtel had 4.07 crore subscribers and a market share of 31.20 per cent, Hutch-Essar had 2.92 crore and a market share of 22.36 per cent, while BSNL had 2.79 crore users, with a market share of 21.43 per cent.The metro subscribers in the country grew by 3.04 per cent over the previous month, with Delhi recording the highest growth at 3.93 per cent followed by Chennai at 3.59 per cent.

Urban Health Mission

The government will launch a National Urban Health Mission to provide health care services to people in cities and towns especially those living in the slums.Meanwhile a WHO resolution making polio immunisation certificate, a mandatory travel document for India, Pakistan and two other affected countries has been defeated with a majority of member nations voting against it.The government has earmarked Rs 1300 crore to fight polio this year alone.

Sunita Williams

Indian American astronaut Sunita Williams is set to break the US record for the longest stay in space as her ride back to Earth is expected to be delayed.The delay it is being pointed out has to do with a ripple effect from the delay of the next shuttle mission, Atlantis, which could not meet its planned March launch because of damages to the external tank from hail recently leaving "thousands of dings" in its foam insulation.

Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna

Ace golfer Jeev Milkha Singh, who had a fairytale season last year yielding four titles, has been nominated for Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, country's highest sports award.Jeev won twin Asian Tour titles in 1995 by lifting the Philippine Classic and Asian matchplay championship and added the Philip Morris Asia Cup to his collection next year.Jeev thus joins Indian cricket captain Rahul Dravid, tennis ace Mahesh Bhupathi and woman pugilist MC Marykom in the race for the coveted honour, which carries a cash award of Rs five lakh.