Month: October 2012

Expanding its facility, Railways have included all trains under its online train tracking service, trainenquiry.com, providing updated information about their movements.

According to a statement issued on Thursday, train running information can also be sources by sending SMS to 139. All that one has to do is type ‘SPOT’ and send it to 139.

The development comes in the wake of real-time train tracking system SIMRAN ( Satellite Imaging for Rail Navigation) developed by IIT-Kanpur shutting down operations recently.

Enthused with the wealth of human capital in Jammu and Kashmir, Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi on Friday pledged to do his bit in building a long-term relationship with the youth of the state and fulfill their aspirations.

Tata Group chairman Ratan Tata said he was feeling very emotional in saying that, “it has been a real step forward to be able to have a conversation with a great wealth of human capital that exists in Kashmir”.

Talking about foundation of lifestyle behaviours being established as early as pre-school, a study found that nearly half of obese children ate dinner in front of the TV more than three times a week.

The study, led by Louise Hardy, from the University of Sydney School of Public Health, also showed not many parents realise their children have a weight problem.

The study of more than 1,200 children aged up to five years found almost a third of obese children had a TV in their bedrooms, the journal Preventive Medicine reported.

The increase in FDI limit in the insurance sector may attract Rs. 30,000 crore that the industry requires over the next five years, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority has said.

A day after the Centre announced its decision to allow up to 49% Foreign Direct Investment in insurance, Irda Chairman J Hari Narayan said the move was essential as inflows are necessary for the sector to grow at 11 to 12%.

“It (the FDI) will give boost to the insurance sector. And it is required any way. Otherwise, we don’t have required capital for the insurance sector,” Hari Narayan told PTI.

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah Friday expressed his admiration and high regards for Ratan Tata, saying the Tata Group chairman was someone that he had always looked forward to playing host to.

“Hosting Mr Ratan Tata for breakfast at home in a few minutes. He’s someone I have a lot of admiration for so am looking forward to this,” he tweeted Friday morning.

However, as Tata reached here with a group of other top corporate honchos, his breakfast meeting with the chief minister had to be deferred because of Tata’s tight schedule.

India successfully test-fired its nuclear-capable ballistic missile Dhanush on Friday from a naval ship in the Bay of Bengal off the Odisha coast, an official said.

The missile was fired somewhere between Puri and Visakhapatnam as part of training exercise of the Indian Navy.

“The test was successful,” Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) spokesperson Ravi Kumar Gupta told IANS.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is expected to sweep 50 percent of all votes and win 133 of the 182 seats in the upcoming elections in Gujarat, a survey of voters released Friday said.

In contrast, the Congress would maintain its 38 percent vote share but get only 43 seats, a drop of 16 from its 2007 tally, the LensOnNews survey said.

The findings follow a survey of 7,294 voters across 52 constituencies across the state.

The BJP’s projected seats would be a gain of one percent in vote share but would give it 16 more seats as compared to 2007, it said.

DMK MP and party chief M Karunanidhi’s daughter Kanimozhi sought to suggest on Friday that her nomination to a parliamentary standing committee was a regular affair, maintaining that nothing had been been proven against her in the 2G spectrum allocation case.

“Every MP is nominated to a committee,” was her cryptic response when reporters asked about her appointment to the standing committee on home affairs.

Kanimozhi said the case was going on and nothing had been proven against her.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is expected to sweep 50 percent of all votes and win 133 of the 182 seats in the upcoming elections in Gujarat, a survey of voters released Friday said.

In contrast, the Congress would maintain its 38 percent vote share but get only 43 seats, a drop of 16 from its 2007 tally, the LensOnNews survey said.

The findings follow a survey of 7,294 voters across 52 constituencies across the state.

The BJP’s projected seats would be a gain of one percent in vote share but would give it 16 more seats as compared to 2007, it said.

Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray has said Gujarat Chief Minister would lead his party to a third consecutive victory in the December assembly elections.

“Modi has shown his grip on Gujarat and is going to win the polls for the third time in a row,” Thackeray said in an editorial in party mouthpiece Saamna.

“This is because of the pace of development in Gujarat in last 10 years under Modi’s leadership. It won’t be easy for anyone to stop the victory march of Modi,” he said.

Sachin Tendulkar has for the first time admitted that at 39 he may not have much cricket left in him and will reassess his cricketing future next month.

Tendulkar’s retirement has been a topic of debate for quite some time now and the batting great said though he does not have any immediate plans, the thought of retirement has been on his mind.

—-PTI

“Inception” star Joseph Gordon-Levitt has become a fan of actress Priyanka Chopra after listening to her new single ‘In My City’.

The track is Chopra’s debut as a singer and also features

Black-eyed peas singer Will.I.Am.

“I came across Priyanka’s new track and found the song very upbeat and refreshing. She is beautiful and extremely talented. The song is going on my iPod list!,” Levitt said in a statement.
The song is climbing International music charts all over and Chopra is currently busy shooting for its video in LA.

A pantry car staffer was arrested Friday afternoon on charges of molesting a young girl on board Sealdah-New Delhi Rajdhani Express, police said.

Mohd. Sheikh, 24, attempted to outrage the modesty of the girl late Thursday night near Chandauli.

The girl raised an alarm and fellow passengers came to her rescue. The man was handed over to the Government Railway Police (GRP) at Mughalsarai.

Police said the man was drunk and does not have any past criminal record.

Her film appearances have been few and far between but Mallika Sherawat has been a fairly constant presence at global red carpet events. And that image of a glamour girl is what she is hoping to change with her turn as the “realistic Delhi girl” in her new film “Kismat Love Paisa Dilli”.

Mallika, who has been tagged a sex symbol after films like “Khwahish” and “Murder” and has dabbled in some Hollywood films, admits she can’t change the image but would like to show audiences the serious actor as well.

The top Congress leadership, including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, party president Sonia Gandhi and general secretary Rahul Gandhi, will campaign in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh for assembly elections, party sources said Friday.

Party sources said the top leadership could address around a dozen public meetings in Gujarat, including around four by Sonia Gandhi, five or six by Rahul and two by the prime minister.

Sonia Gandhi addressed a pre-poll rally in Rajkot in Gujarat Oct 3, setting the tone for the party’s campaign in the BJP-ruled state.

Three people were killed Friday when the New Delhi-Ludhiana Shatabdi Express ran over them while they were crossing the rail tracks in Haryana, police said.

One person was injured seriously in the accident near Bahadurgarh railway station in Rohtak district, about 40 km from New Delhi.

Police said the four were labourers living in a slum close to the tracks. They failed to see the approaching train. The train was briefly halted before it resumed its journey.

—IANS

Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh Friday again made it clear that Kingfisher Airlines cannot fly until it satisfies all the mandatory safety norms.

“In order to give them (Kingfisher Airlines) permission to fly again, they have to satisfy the DGCA (Directorate-General of Civil Aviation) on all safety issues,” Singh told reporters as the airline extended its lockout for another week.

Asked whether the airline’s licence will be cancelled if it failed to meet the safety parameters, Singh said: “We will have to see the legality of the move to suspend or cancel their licence.”

An Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) that is coming up Guwahati is likely to become operational by 2014, Education and Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.

Sarma said Thursday that the government was working towards a 2013 deadline for making the IIIT operational but in the event it failed, then it would become operational by 2014.

“Students who have passed Plus II examination will be eligible for admission to the IIIT,” said Sarma.

Ignoring the reservations of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, the BJP said Friday that it will invite Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi to Bihar to address a public meeting.

“Yes, we have invited Narendra Modi to address the Hunkar rally March 15 in Patna,” state BJP president C.P. Thakur told the media in Gaya.

A former central minister, Thakur said Modi had been invited in view of his rising political stature in the party and the country.

The decision to raise the cap for FDI in insurance and pension funds will make the Indian financial sector “more vulnerable to speculative finance capital”, the CPI-M said Friday.

“These measures announced by the cabinet will make India’s finance sector more vulnerable to speculative finance capital,” the Communist Party of India-Marxist said in a statement.

The government has decided to raise the cap for foreign direct investment in the insurance sector from the current 26 percent to 49 percent. The cabinet has also decided to allow 49 percent FDI in pension funds.

There is a huge buzz around Amitabh Bachchan’s 70th birthday, which falls Oct 11, but for the megastar, it’s “just another day”.

“A million interviews, a million good wishes and a million desires of continuance… birthdays at 70 seem special to some. Just another day for me,” tweeted the 69-year-old veteran.

These days, he is busy meeting mediapersons for interviews, sharing insights and experiences of his life. Big plans are in store for his birthday, and his wife Jaya Bachchan, has reportedly planned each part of the celebrations including painting and poster exhibitions.

-*-

The idea of Telangana without Hyderabad is not only difficult but impossible. Even a child would not accept Telangana without Hyderabad let alone KCR. These views were expressed by Telangana Rashtra Samithi chief K Chandra Shekhar Rao at party office located at Azampura.

As soon as he received information about the demise of chairman TRS minority cell Mohammed Mahmood Ali’s mother, he reached Mahmood Ali’s residence at Azampura and consoled him on his mother’s death.

Elders Think tank is going to organize a symposium entitled “Country’s political scenario: possibilities of third front and role of minorities”, on October 13, 5 pm at Siasat office Abids.

Mr. Zahed Ali Khan editor Siasat will preside over. Mr. Lal Jan Pasha former MP, Mrs. Prof. Rama Malkote, Syed Aziz Pasha former MP, Prof. Masood Ali Khan member Telangana Elders Forum, Maulana Hamed Mohammed Khan (president MPJ) Mrs. Jyoti Kiran (advocate High Court) and others will address on the occasion.

Siasat news

A special programme is being organized by the department of cultural affairs, Saudi Embassy Delhi, on Friday, October 5, at Ghulam Ahmed Auditorium, Sultan ul Uloom Education Society in which glimpses of Saudi people, Saudi cultural and tradition will be displayed.

Mr. Dr. Akbar Ali Khan vice chancellor Telangana University, Mr. Khan Lateef Mohammed Khan chairman, Sultan-ul-Uloom society, Mr. Mohammed Ali Shabbir former state minister and Mr. Zafar Javeed secretary Sultan ul Uloom Educational society will be the honourary guests.

A benchmark index of Indian equities markets Friday afternoon was trading 117.77 points or 0.62 percent down. Bank, information technology (IT) and health care stocks were the heavy losers.

The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 19,115.89 points, was ruling at 18,940.38 points, 117.77 points or 0.62 percent lower in afternoon trade than its previous day’s close at 19,058.15 points.