Month: June 2014

The Indian government could lose a staggering $3 billion in revenues over a five-year period on account of differential import duties levied on refined and unrefined gold, says a report.

The estimate is part of the report prepared by global consultancy PwC.

Currently, the import duty on refined gold is 10.30% while that on unrefined or dore gold is 8.24%.

Going by the report, the current 2.06% duty differential — representing $25.75/oz — is significantly higher than the refining cost.

The Union Minister for Human Resource Development, Smriti Irani today said training individuals in niche areas of science and technology is crucial to the progress of the country.

Addressing the second convocation of the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) here today, she stressed the need for a literate, educated and empowered India, an official release said.

The Minister appreciated the contribution of IISER Bhopal to the science education and research.

Continuing to bet big on the reforms agenda of the new Government, overseas investors have pumped in nearly Rs 32,000 crore in Indian equities and debt this month.

Foreign investors have infused Rs 13,764 crore ($2.3 billion) into equities, and Rs 18,188 crore ($3.1 billion) in debt markets, taking the total to Rs 31,952 crore ($5.4 billion), shows the latest market data.

Only one trading session is left for this month.

Special officer Andhra Pradesh State Hajj Committee Prof. S A Shukoor told that for the convenience of Hajj aspirants, Central Hajj Committee has permitted Hajj aspirants to change their accommodation category. Hence the Hajj aspirants who want to change the accommodation category from Azizia to green category and vice versa can directly send their applications to Central Hajj Committee Mumbai by July 10.

Capital market regulator SEBI has cautioned investors and the public against fraudulent calls being made in the name of regulatory officials to sell financial products and make promotional offers.

The SEBI caution has come amid several instances of fraudsters posing as the regulator’s officials to lure investors into their investment schemes.

Investors have been asked by the regulator to be alert against such unauthorised individuals and to immediately lodge a police complaint on receiving such unsolicited calls.

The Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Akhilesh Yadav today said his government was working towards encouraging girls education in the state.

“The government is taking prompt steps for encouraging girls education in the state,” Yadav was quoted as saying in an official release while inaugurating late Maharaj Smriti Kanya Mahavidyalaya in Auraiya district of the state.

Besides, several schemes are being run to improve the condition of villagers, farmers, backwards and the poor, he said.

Generator has been installed at Makkah Masjid to ensure uninterrupted power supply during Ramadan and white washing work is likely to be completed within 4 days.

The key suspect of a deadly 2012 terror attack on the US mission in the Libyan city of Benghazi that killed four Americans, including the US Ambassador to Libya, pleaded not guilty during a brief appearance before a federal court here.

Czech car maker Skoda is focusing on lowering cost of product development and increased localisation for the Indian market to take on Asian rivals, as it seeks enhanced position in the value for luxury segment.

The company, part of the Volkswagen group, also ruled out notions that it is scaling down business in India saying it has been consolidating its operations for an overall profitable sustainable business in the country.

Begumpet MLA Srinivas Yadav and Hyderabad collector Mukesh Kumar Meena visited graveyard land at Begumpet. The graveyard land is a government land under survey no 195, adjacent to Hyderabad Public School.

Following their visit to the site, collector and MLA promised Muslims that the graveyard land will soon be restored. Present on the occasion were Narendra, Haneef Khan, Mohammed Akber, Muneer Khan, Mohammed Javeed and Mohammed Wahed.

Siasat news

The ongoing upgradation work at Belgaum airport will be completed by the end of January or February, according to Deputy Commissioner N Jayaram.

The runway with upgradation will be stretched to 1,830 metres and will make way for ATR-72 flights with 78-passenger capacity, he said at an event here.

More flights can be pressed into service from Belgaum after upgradation, he said. Other related infrastructure work would be completed latest by February 2015, he said.

Sharon Osbourne has recently revealed that she felt like a “cheat” after getting weight loss surgery because the process of losing weight is not really healthy.

The 61-year-old said that she had the band on her stomach, which made her vomit all the time, so nothing goes down because it goes out, the Mirror reported.

Osbourne now controls her weight by sticking to the low-carbohydrate Atkins diet.

n a path-breaking research which may have implications for those suffering from a decline of their cognitive and hearing abilities, Indian and American experts have established the role of a specific gene in triggering such conditions.

Experts of Sir Ganga Ram Hospital and University of Louisville School of Medicine stated that the MMP-9 gene plays a major role in causing decline of cognitive and hearing functions and removal of the said gene decreases Hyperhomocysteinemia-induced cognitive and hearing dysfunctions.

Do monkeys, like humans, have hot-hand fallacy? Yes, reveals a new study.

Hot-hand fallacy is a belief that a person who has experienced success with a random event has a greater chance of further success in additional attempts.

The concept has been applied to gambling and sports.

Humans have a well-documented tendency to see winning and losing streaks in situations that, in fact, are random.

Now, researchers have found that monkeys also share our unfounded belief in winning and losing streaks.

As per the report of Andhra Pradesh State Waqf Board a control room will be set up at Waqf Board office on June 29, which will work round the clock. The control room aims to undertake necessary works by the concerned departments. Contact can be made on phone no 040-23233811.

All the imams and khateebs and masajid committees are requested to extend every possible support to spend the holy month in peaceful atmosphere.

Siasat news

A new report revealed that time spent on mobile apps is higher than any other digital medium, coming in at 51 percent.

The analytic company ‘ComScore’ looked at roughly 10 billion minutes of user engagement on apps during the month of May.

According to CNET, of all the app categories, digital radio is where people spend the most amount of time, with 96 percent of user engagement coming from mobile devices and Pandora leading that category.

Three thousand women will join Delhi Police by next year as part of the government’s efforts to strengthen the capital’s police force to deal with crime, especially against women.

The women – both officers and constables – will be deployed in each of the capital’s 166 police stations and handle sensitive cases related to the fairer sex.

A newly-wed couple was beheaded in full public view by the family members of the girl for marrying a ‘man of her choice’ in Pakistan’s Punjab province.

According to an FIR, Muafia Bibi (23) of Satrah village of Daska tehsil, some 100 km from Lahore, married Sajjad Ahmed (27) of nearby village Hasanabad on June 18.

“Muafia eloped with Sajjad on June 18 and they married in the court after her parents refused the marriage proposal of Sajjad,” it said.

Yesterday, the family of the girl came to know that the couple had returned to Hasanabad.

Abid Ali Khan Educational Trust, in collaboration with Idara-e-Adabiyat-e-Urdu is conducting Urdu Dani, Zaban Dani and Insha exams today i.e. on June 29 from 10 am simultaneously at 76 centres of Hyderabad and Secunderabad, besides 14 centres in districts and 6 centres in neighboring states.

Results will be announced in 40 days. Certificates will be given to successful candidates. Hall tickets and exam material have been sent to all the centres.

Siasat news

In a breakthrough that may help in developing drugs for Alzheimer’s and other neurological disorders, researchers have developed a 3D view of an important receptor in the brain.

This receptor allows us to learn and remember, and its dysfunction can result in a wide range of neurological diseases including Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, schizophrenia and depression.

The unprecedented view gives scientists new insight into how the receptor – called the NMDA receptor – is structured.

In his first visit to Tamil Nadu after becoming Prime Minister, Narendra Modi will make a brief stopover here on Sunday enroute to Sriharikota to witness the launch of ISRO’s PSLV C-23 rocket.

Modi has no official engagements in the city even as state Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) sources said they have not planned any function for the leader at the airport so far.

Security has been beefed up at the airport in view of Modi’s visit, police said.

In the first top-level exit at Infosys after Vishal Sikka was named as its CEO, K Murali Krishna, Senior Vice President and Group Head of computers and communications division, has resigned.

Infosys in response to a query by PTI said: “We can confirm that he has moved on to pursue his aspirations”.

“We have identified a leader to take on his responsibilities,” it added.

A new study has revealed that more a child is familiar with logos and other images from fast-food restaurants, sodas and not-so-healthy snack food brands, the more likely the child is to be overweight or obese.

Researchers from Michigan State University tested kids on their knowledge of various brands, including their ability to identify items such as golden arches, silly rabbits and a king’s crown and found that those who could identify them the most tended to have higher body mass indexes, or BMIs.

Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar has said people should not expect miracles from the Narendra Modi-led government just at the beginning of its tenure.

“Lot of people ask me -‘acche din aane wale the, aa gaye kya’ (good days were supposed to come, have they come)?.

I say no, ‘aye nahi aa rahe hai’ (good days will come),” Parrikar said at a gathering of businessmen near here last evening.

With the arrest of seven persons, police on Sunday claimed to have busted a gang of highway robbers who used to intercept trucks at isolated locations and snatched valuables from truckers at gun point.

Police said they also seized four motor bikes, two country made revolvers, six mobile phones and ready cash from their possession.