Google adds Video and Voice chat to Gmail

Starting right now, Google is rolling out voice and video chat to all Gmail users. The audio-video chat feature is fairly simple and works straight from the browser. Unlike Skype and other VOIP services, you can’t make phone calls and scores of other features are missing, but still it’s a great add-on for Gmail.

Google decided to ditch flash, and build their proprietary add-on for the feature. The add-on weighs around 2 MB and supports IE, Firefox, Chrome in PC and Firefox-only for Mac users. Once the video feature is enabled in your account, you’ll see "Video & more." option in the lower left corner of the Gmail chat box. If you are trying to make a video call to someone, who has not installed the add-on, you’ll be able to invite them to do so. You have an option to go full-screen while video chatting.

gmail_video_chat


I’m quite disappointed that Google didn’t consider using the cross-platform Flash plugin. Since most people already have Flash plugin installed, users don’t need to install another browser add-on. Google Talk application has supported voice chat right from its early days. I’d like to see some of these new features added to the downloadable client as well.

U.S. Seizes Counterfeit IT Equipment

More than 420,000 pieces of counterfeit IT hardware were seized at U.S. ports during May and June, reports the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

It estimates it seized $1.3 million in networking equipment and hardware components at 11 different ports, reports vnunet.com. On the street, that equipment could have been sold for an estimated $3.5 million. The story warns that such equipment is more likely to fail than authentic products.

The story doesn’t say which brands the counterfeiters were trying to replicate, but they in particular seem to try to pass off Cisco products and have been successful in selling them to the U.S. military in some cases.

India is Exploring the Moon

India launched its first unmanned spacecraft to explore the Moon on October 22, 2008.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) calls the Moon flight project Chandrayan Pratham, which has been translated as First Journey to the Moon or Moonshot One in ancient Sanskrit.

The 1,157-lb. Chandrayan-1 was launched on a two-tyear mission on one of India's own Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) space rockets from the Sriharikota Space Center in southern India.

The spacecraft circled Earth in a geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO) from where it flew on out into a polar orbit of the Moon some 60 miles above the lunar surface.

The Chandrayan mission will send back to Earth high-resolution 3-D images of the moon's surface including the shadowy polar regions. It is searching for evidence of water or ice. It also will try to identify the chemical breakdown of some lunar rocks.

Chandrayan-1 carries X-ray and gamma-ray spectrometers sending data to scientists on Earth for use in a high-resolution digital map of the lunar surface.

Its remote-sensing instruments are sensitive to visible light, near-infrared light, and low-energy and high-energy X-rays.


Shar Space Launch Center on Sriharikota Island off India's east coast state of Andhra Pradesh is used by ISRO to launch spacecraft on PSLV and other rockets.
Chandrayaan-1 has payloads from the United States and European countries Germany, Britain, Sweden and Bulgaria. India plans to share its Moon data with NASA and other space agencies.

The European Space Agency (ESA) provided three science instruments for Chandrayan-1. They are identical to those already in orbit around the Moon on ESA's Smart 1 spacecraft, which is surveying chemical elements on the lunar surface.

The Indian lunar satellite also houses a U.S. radar instrument designed to locate water ice.

Previously, India has launched weather and communication satellites to Earth orbit.

Why send a probe to the Moon? While the South Asian nation has the second largest population on Earth, it is not a rich country with millions of uneducated and even homeless residents.

Like all other nations sending machines and people to space, India considers funding of its space program to be a matter of prestige. In making the announcement in 2003, Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee said a Moon flight would showcase India's scientific capabilities.

A former science minster in the Indian government, physicist M.G.K. Menon told news media then that Chandrayan-1 would "excite the younger generation." Menon also said the Moon flight would have the effect of "enormously increasing the confidence of the nation."

ISRO said Chandrayan-1 is the first mission in "India's foray into a planetary exploration era in the coming decades." Chandrayan-1 will be the "forerunner of more ambitious planetary missions in the years to come, including landing robots on the Moon and visits by Indian spacecraft to other planets in the Solar System."

Other nations have probed the Moon. The former Soviet Union and the United States conducted the earliest lunar exploration in the late 1950s and the 1960s. Soviet spacecraft were the first to fly by, then land on, and finally orbit the moon. The U.S. Apollo flights were the first manned missions to reach the moon, culminating with six missions that set down on the surface.

Much more recently, India's Asian neighbors, China and Japan, sent spacecraft to orbit the Moon in 2007.

BEIJING — When athletes from all 204 nations competing at the Beijing Games marched into the National Stadium, it was obvious that this Olympics was not like any other.
Skip to next paragraph
Interactive Schedule
Interactive Olympics Tracker

Follow the schedules of your favorite sports, day by day and event by event.

Times journalists and special contributors explore the Olympics in Beijing and on the Web from every angle — the politics, the culture and the competition.
The Olympic rings were up in lights at the opening ceremony Friday.

The athletes from Greece, the birthplace of the Olympics, marched in first, as usual. The athletes from the host country, China, marched in last, as usual. But the rest of the athletes walked into the pulsating National Stadium, packed with 91,000 fans, according to the number of strokes it takes to write the first character of their names in Chinese. So, following Greece came Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Turkey, then Turkmenistan. Next came Yemen and Maldives.

“It was a very Chinese ceremony, from beginning to the end,” said Zhou Hui, a 20-year-old college student who came to watch the ceremony from Hong Kong. “And look at the sky. It’s gray. That’s very Chinese, too.”

On the night of the opening ceremony, for the fifth day in a row, the air was thick and smoggy, the conditions Olympic organizers feared the most. The local air quality rating was 94, which would be considered very poor in the United States. But the standards are not the same here. In Beijing, anything below a 101 qualifies as a Blue Sky day, according to the standards set to monitor air quality for the Olympics.

On Friday, as Olympic and city officials continued to defend the air quality here this week, athletes were faced with a decision: whether to attend the opening ceremony in the smog and, if they did go, whether to do anything to protect their lungs.

The American contingent, each person dressed in white pants, a blue blazer, a white cap, and a red, white and blue tie, did not seem much smaller than usual for an opening ceremony. As expected, most of the swimmers and other athletes whose competitions were early in the Games did not attend. The swim team’s doctor, Scott Rodeo, said the swimmers had previously made the decision to skip it because their competition begins this weekend.

Athletes who are expected to star at these Games, including the swimmer Michael Phelps and the gymnast Shawn Johnson, either did not attend or were not easily identifiable from the stands.

Among those American athletes who did attend were Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and many of their teammates on the basketball team; the track stars Tyson Gay and Jeremy Wariner; and the tennis player Lindsay Davenport. The flag bearer for the United States team was the 1,500-meter runner Lopez Lomong, one of the Lost Boys of Sudan. As a child, he was kidnapped by a militia, then sent to a refugee camp in Kenya. On Friday night, he led the United States contingent.

None of the American athletes — and no athletes from other countries, for that matter — marched in wearing masks to filter the pollution. Some, including the American triathlete Matt Reed, said they would wear a mask after the march into the stadium, when the athletes collected in the infield. But from the spectator area, none of the athletes looked as if they were wearing masks in the steaming heat.

They might have learned their lesson. Earlier this week, four cyclists on the United States team wore masks when they arrived at the airport, and then were scolded by the United States Olympic Committee for embarrassing their Chinese hosts. The cyclists subsequently issued a written apology.

The morning before the opening ceremony, local environmental officials organized a news conference about the air quality because it had become such an issue at the Games. They said they were happy with the fruits of their labor.

“We have gone through a very extraordinary process to improve its air quality and we have achieved outstanding results,” said Du Shaozhong, deputy director and spokesman of the Beijing municipal environmental bureau.

Du said Beijing had met the World Health Organization’s international standards of air quality. The Beijing Olympics organizers had promised the International Olympic Committee that in 2001, when the city was awarded the Games. Later, Du said that the city did meet the standards that were set in 1999, not the updated standards that include measures of tiny dust particles that cause much of the pollution.

On Thursday, Jacques Rogge, the president of the I.O.C., praised Olympic organizers for their efforts that have improved the air in this city. Officials have been implementing measures like shutting down factories that burn coal and reducing the number of cars on roads.

On Thursday, John Coates, the Australian Olympic Committee president, was among the first Olympic officials to criticize the Chinese for the smog at the Olympic Village.

Unlike other officials, Coates acknowledged it was caused by pollution, not by fog from the high humidity, which is the label other officials have given the haze hanging over this city.

“I don’t know how you reverse some of these things,” Coates said. “Let’s hope that’s one of the legacies of these Games, that the realization of the damage that’s been done and will continue to be done unless they are more careful.”

India celebrates silver jubilee of `83 triumph

Cricket-crazy India yesterday celebrated 25 years of the greatest triumph it has achieved so far in the sport by reliving the historic 1983 World Cup glory.

National dailies and television channels here paid glowing tributes to `Kapil`s Devils`, going down memory lane to recreate the moments leading up to the victory that changed the cricketing landscape of the country.

In fact, a documentary reviving the memories, complete with interviews of the victorious team members, was released today to mark the occassion.

The men who made it happen, however, are not here. Kapil Dev and his teammates are in London, where 25 years ago they went as no-hopers but came back heroes.

They are set to be felicitated all over again at Lord`s and will also celebrate their achievement at a dinner hosted by Sunil Gavaskar, an integral part of the 1983 World Cup team.

BCCI President Sharad Pawar will be their to honour the team all over again.

They have already been felicitated by the Indian Board, which gave away Rs 25 lakh to each member of the triumphant squad.

Related Stories
Indian cricket was never the same after that day
When Indira Gandhi told Kapil: India can do it
Spirits flow as cricketers celebrate 1983 `Cup jubilee


Although Kapil`s alignment with the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL) has made him a pariah for the Board, the differences were firmly put on the backburner when the Board honoured the legendary all-rounder for achieving a feat that no other Indian captain has managed to emulate.

Before the BCCI felicitation, the team came together to play a round of golf and take a walk down memory lane.

And the stories they revealed ranged from having to wash their own laundry during the tournament to save money to reminding a British journalist of his promise to eat his words for saying that a weak team like India should not have been allowed to play in the World Cup in his preview.

That sports writer washed down his words quite literally with a glass of wine and cricket took its first step towards becoming a religion in India.

India ranked 74 on corruption index among 180 nations

New York, June 26: India has been ranked a lowly 74, two steps down since last year, among 180 countries of the world on the worldwide Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), prepared by independent international agency Transparency International.

However, corruption is much higher in Pakistan which occupies 140th place, a little below Iran, Libya and Nepal which are ranked 133, 134 and 135 respectively.

Meanwhile, China which was ranked a joint 72 with India in 2007, slided a step down to occupy a place above its neighbour this year.

Among other Asian countries, Russia is placed still lower on 145, while Sri Lanka occupies the 96th position and Maldives is ranked 90.

The least corrupt country in the region is the nascent democracy Bhutan, which has been placed at the 41st spot by the Non-Government Organisation Tracking Prevalence of Corruption Worldwide.

Denmark, Finland, New Zealand, Singapore and Sweden corner the top five spots retaining positions as the least corrupt nations of the world, while bottom of table is occupied by Myanmar and Somalia.

The United States also retains its position and is ranked 20th, just below Germany, Ireland, Japan and France. Besides, Britain occupies the 13th spot and is just ahead of Hong Kong.

Gulf to earn $1.3 trillion from oil in two years: Report

Kuwait City, June 21: The oil-rich Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states are projected to earn close to USD 1.3 trillion in oil revenue in 2008 and 2009, a Kuwaiti economic report said on Saturday.

The six-nation alliance -- Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia -- earned USD 364 billion from oil in 2007, the Al-Shall Economic Consultants said in its weekly report.

The GCC oil revenues are projected to reach 636 billion dollars in 2008 and USD 657 billion in 2009, Al-Shall said.

Oil powerhouse Saudi Arabia`s earnings in the two years will be just under USD 700 billion. The kingdom posted USD 194 billion in oil revenues in 2007.

The six states, which boast just less than half of the world`s crude proven reserves, produce around 16 million barrels per day, or just under one-fifth of the world`s consumption.

Petrol and Diesel price may be reduced

Petrol and diesel prices will be reduced by about Re 1 per litre and 50 paise, respectively, if states agree to forego incremental sales tax revenues they stand to earn on this week's fuel price hike.

States like Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh stand to gain over a rupee in sales tax on every litre of petrol sold and over Rs 0.50 on diesel after this week's Rs 5 and Rs 3 hike in the two auto fuel prices.

Petroleum Minister Murli Deroa on Thursday wrote to chief ministers of 30 states and union territories asking them to ''at least forego the incremental tax'' revenues so as to ease the burden of spike in international oil prices on common consumers.

''It is the duty of both Central and State Governments to provide maximum relief to the consumers... (while) the Central Government is contributing over Rs 120,000 crore, it is also expected that the state governments will not lag behind in helping the consumers in sharing their burden,'' he wrote.

Centre has cut customs and excise duties on crude oil and products to protect consumers. Foregoing the incremental sales tax revenues will not in any way impact the state earnings.

Andhra Pradesh, which has the highest sales tax of 33 and 22.25 per cent on petrol and diesel, is earning Rs 1.38 and Rs 0.59 a litre extra. In Mumbai that has a sales tax of 30.64 and 28 per cent, incremental revenue will be Rs 1.17 and Rs 0.75 respectively.

Akali Dal-BJP ruled Punjab levies a 31.68 per cent sales tax on petrol and will earn Rs 1.16 per litre more sales tax.

So far, West Bengal, Bihar and Tamil Nadu have cut sales tax on the two fuel to minimise the June 4 hike.

Oil and Gas price hipe

In 1999, the price of oil hovered around $16 a barrel. By 2008, it had crossed the $100 a barrel mark. The reasons for the surge ranged from the relentless growth of the economies of China and India to widespread instability in oil-producing regions, including Iraq and Nigeria's delta region. Triple-digit oil prices have redrawn the economic and political map of the world, challenging some old notions of power. Oil-rich nations are enjoying historic gains and opportunities, while major importers — including China and India, home to a third of the world's population — confront rising economic and social costs.

Managing this new order is fast becoming a central problem of global politics. Countries that need oil are clawing at each other to lock up scarce supplies, and are willing to deal with any government, no matter how unsavory, to do it.

In many poor nations with oil, the proceeds are being lost to corruption, depriving these countries of their best hope for development. And oil is fueling gargantuan investment funds run by foreign governments, which some in the West see as a new threat.

Countries like Russia, Venezuela and Iran are flush with rising oil revenues, a change reflected in newly aggressive foreign policies. But some unexpected countries are reaping benefits, as well as costs, from higher prices. Consider Germany. Although it imports virtually all its oil, it has prospered from extensive trade with a booming Russia and the Middle East. German exports to Russia grew 128 percent from 2001 to 2006.

In the United States, as already high gas prices rose even higher in the spring of 2008, the issue cropped up in the presidential campaign, with Senators John McCain and Hillary Clinton calling for a federal gas tax holiday during the peak summer driving months. And driving habits began to change, as sales of small cars jumped and mass transit systems across the country reported a sharp increase in riders.

Toyota building 2 battery plants in Japan to rev up green-car production

TOKYO (AP) _ Toyota plans to build two plants in Japan to produce batteries for environmentally friendly gas-electric hybrid vehicles, a news report said Friday. The joint venture that Toyota has with Matsushita Electric Industrial Co.

, the electronics company that makes Panasonic brand products, will set up the battery plants, The Nikkei business daily reported without citing sources. One plant will produce nickel-metal hydride batteries while another will produce lithium-ion batteries, which are planned for future ecological cars, the report said.

Toyota Motor Corp. spokesman Paul Nolasco did not have an immediate comment on the report.

Japan's top automaker, which leads the industry in gas-electric hybrids with its hit Prius, has said it will rev up hybrid sales to 1 million a year sometime after 2010. Hybrids reduce pollution and emissions that are linked to global warming by switching between a gas engine and an electric motor to deliver better mileage than comparable standard cars.

But they are still a relatively niche market. Toyota's Prius, which has been on sale for more than a decade, recently reached cumulative sales of 1 million vehicles.

Lithium-ion batteries, now more common in laptops, produce more power and are smaller than nickel-metal hydride batteries, which are now used the Prius. Toyota has said the lithium-ion batteries may be used in plug-in hybrids, which can be recharged from a home electrical outlet.

The world's other major automakers are also working on environmentally-friendly cars, and the race is on to produce the best batteries to power them. Earlier this week, Honda Motor Co.

, Japan's second-biggest automaker, said it will boost hybrid sales to 500,000 a year by sometime after 2010. Honda said it will introduce a new model sold solely as a hybrid next year, so the Tokyo-based company will have four hybrids in its lineup.

Nissan Motor Co., which still hasn't developed its own hybrid system for commercial sale, said it will have its original hybrid by 2010.

Nissan is focusing more on electric vehicles, promising them for the U.S.

and Japanese markets by 2010. Nissan said this week its joint venture with electronics maker NEC Corp.

will start mass-producing lithium-ion batteries in 2009 at a plant in Japan.

Six bombs in 15 minutes leave at least 80 dead in Jaipur

A series of bomb blasts has claimed at least 80 lives in a popular tourist district of the city of Jaipur in north India.
Officials said that the death toll was expected to rise after the country’s deadliest terror attack in two years.

More than 150 were injured in six explosions that tore through Jaipur over the course of about 15 minutes, according to police. Television news pictures showed pools of blood amid heaps of mangled bicycles and rickshaws in areas that usually draw bustling evening crowds that regularly include hundreds of tourists.

There was no immediate news of any foreign casualties after the attack, which was aimed at some of the city’s busiest areas, including market places and temples, during the rush hour.

Officials at the British High Commission in Delhi, about 160 miles away from Jaipur, said that they were monitoring the situation closely but that telephone lines to the city’s Sawai Mann Singh hospital, where the injured and dead were being taken, were jammed.

Rajasthan state’s Home Minister, Gulab Chand Kataria, told reporters: “We have information that 80 people have died. One suspect was detained and is being investigated.”

Jaipur, gateway to Rajasthan’s forts and palaces and known as the Pink City because of the colour of many of its buildings, usually attracts about 2,000 Britons at this time of year.

Eyewitnesses said they heard six blasts in quick succession at around 7.30pm local time in the city’s walled district. The explosions triggered a stampede in the narrow streets of the old town, they said. “People started running around and I followed them,” Anil Garg told NDTV, the broadcaster. “There are huge traffic jams. I am very scared.”

Among the dead were a 10-year-old boy at the Hanuman (monkey god) temple, a bride in a bright red sari still wearing marriage bangles and a young man covered in blood who was left hanging over the twisted wreckage of a bicycle rickshaw.

Rajasthan’s head of police, Amorjot Singh Gill, said the incident was obviously a terror attack. The Indian Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, issued a statement condemning the blasts and appealing for calm.

Cities across India, including Delhi and Bombay, have been placed on alert. As many as four other bombs were planted in Jaipur, but failed to explode, reports said.

There was no official comment on potential suspects and no groups had taken responsibility last night. India has been plagued by sporadic bombings in recent years and officials routinely point the finger at foreign-based Islamist terrorists or, more rarely, fundamentalist Hindu groups hoping to trigger communal violence.

There were suggestions from Indian security sources that the latest attacks may have been timed to coincide with the tenth anniversary of the Pokharan-II nuclear tests, during which India displayed its atomic arsenal, an act taken as a provocative affront by Pakistan at the time. They also suggested that the intensity of the blasts tallied with the use of explosives known to have been adopted by Islamic groups, though they stressed it was too early to make judgments.

India’s Foreign Minister was due to travel to Pakistan, which also lays claim to Kashmir, later this week and there has been a rise in skirmishes in the disputed Himalayan state.

The most recent serious incident was an attack in the southern city of Hyderabad, which claimed 43 lives last August. In October there was another attack in Jaipur, in which two people were killed.

Indian charged for AP girl's murder

A 24-year-old Indian national charged with the sensational murder of Samrajyo Jyothirmayee Vempala, a student from Andhra Pradesh at the Wolverhampton University, will be produced in the Birmingham Magistrates Court today (May 9).

Vijaywada-origin Jyothirmayee, 23, had succumbed to severe head injuries on Tuesday (May 6) while the suspect Nagaraja Kumar Nalluri, also an Indian student, was found seriously injured in the same private accommodation where she was living in Handsworth, a suburb of Birmingham.

Nalluri was admitted to the City Hospital, Birmingham, and arrested soon after he was released on Thursday (may 8). The West Midlands Police told that he has since been cooperating in the murder inquiry. The motive for Jyothirmayee's murder is expected to be revealed when the charges are read out in the court.

Jyothirmayee was enrolled in a postgraduate degree in Health Sciences at the University of Wolverhampton, 11 km from Handsworth. The university, which like many other British varsities maintains offices and agents in New Delhi and other parts of India to recruit high fee-paying students, is sending a representative to meet the family of the deceased student in Vijaywada.

Expressing the university's deepest sympathies, its marketing and communications director Ashar Ehsan said in a statement: "Feedback from fellow students and tutors indicate that she (Jyothirmayee) was a very bright and enthusiastic student.

"She was a model international student, who will be missed by all, here at the University. We have offered our full support in this time of grief to the immediate family and have been in contact with the family to offer this support," he said.

Ehsan said that the university planned to hold a special day of condolence today in the presence of Mrs J D Pavel, Consul General of India in Birmingham, representatives of the European Telegu Association and members of the local community.

The statement said: "The circumstances of this tragic event that took place in Handsworth, Birmingham, in private accommodation, are currently being investigated by West Midlands Police, UK, and the University is fully cooperating with them. The police, meanwhile, have discounted burglary as the motive behind the murder.

Umpire slapped with suspension after "Sree provoked" remark

New Delhi, April 29: Umpire Amish Saheba was suspended for two IPL matches on Tuesday for talking to the media regarding the Harbhajan-Sreesanth slap row and has been asked to answer the showcause notice served to him by BCCI within 48 hours.

Umpire Sahiba was officiating the Mumbai v Mohali match during which Mumbai Indians stand-in skipper Harbhajan slapped paceman Sreesanth.

"The IPL governing council has withdrawn Amish Saheba`s appointment for two matches of IPL," a BCCI release said.

"The Board of Control for Cricket in India has sought explanation from the umpire Amish Saheba about his statements appearing in Mumbai Mirror regarding the behaviour of Sreesanth in the match between Mumbai Indians and Punjab Kings at Mohali," the release said.

BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah said that Amish Saheba should have informed the match referee about Sreesanth`s conduct instead of going to the press.

Earlier in the day, the on-field umpire Amish Saheba added to the controversy by claiming that even Sreesanth had provoked other players during the match.

He further told reporters that Sreesanth had commented on the other players in the opposition team and the senior umpire on the field, Aleem Dar had also been informed about the incident for which the fast bowler was warned on two occasions.

On Monday, Harbhajan Singh was banned from playing this season’s IPL matches for his unacceptable action of slapping S Sreesanth, a move that the match referee said was ‘unprovoked’ by the other party.

New Satellite Launch

Indian PSLV-9C to carry 10 satellites to space orbits
www.chinaview.cn 2008-04-25 13:57:28

NEW DELHI, April 25 (Xinhua)-- The PSLV-C9 of India, which is to carry two Indian and eight foreign satellites, will be launched by the Indian Space Research Organization on April 28, according to the local newspaper The Hindu Friday.

The launch campaign was progressing at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota in India.

India's satellites include the Cartosat-2A and Indian Mini Satellite-1. Cartosat-2A is the country's latest remote sensing satellite which weighs 690 kg.

It will pair up with the Cartosat-2, which is already in orbit, to transmit high-quality pictures taken using panchromatic cameras.

Sobhan Babu passes Away

Telugu star Shoban Babu passes away

Chennai, March 21, 2008
First Published: 19:53 IST(21/3/2008)

Romantic Telugu hero of yesteryears Shobhan Babu, who had won the hearts of millions as a style icon in a three-decade long career, died here today following cardiac arrest. He was 71 and survived by wife, three daughters and a son.

Shobhan, whose roles in soft family entertainers earned him a massive fan following among women, was counted among the top four Telugu stars of his time, sharing laurels with N T Rama Rao, Akkineni Nageshwara Rao and Krishna.

Shobhan, a fitness buff, collapsed while performing yoga at his home. He was shifted to Apollo hospital when he started bleeding from his nose. The doctors said he died of a massive heart attack.

After making a mark in the tinsel world for over three decades, he has been leading a reclusive life, away from media glare, since 1997.

Shobhan, who made his debut in 1965 with mythological film Veerabhimanyu, kept himself away from public functions and film industry for the last ten years.

It is said in film circles that the reason for the veteran actor not appearing in public is that he did not want his fans to see him as an old man.

"He wanted to live in the hearts of his fans as a young, romantic hero. That is why he did not want to make public appearance," a well-known script writer P Gopalakrishna said.

Born in Krishna district on Jan 14, 1937 as Uppu Shobana Chalapathi Rao, Shobhan, an arts graduate, epitomized a "perfect family man", both on-screen and off-screen.

Known for his strict regimentation and discipline, Shobhan acted in about 200 films, many of them becoming box office hits.
Some of his popular films were Manushulu Marali, Bangaru Panjaram, Jeevana Tarangalu, Soggadu, Jeevan Jyothi, Balipeetham, Gorintaku , Kodenagu, Gorintaaku, Puttinillu- Mettinillu, Andaru Dongale and Kaarthika Deepam.

His performance in 1970 film "Bangaru Panjaram" earned him the central government award for the best classical film hero. In a career spanning 32 years, he won the coveted best actor awards from the Andhra Pradesh government five times and four Filmfare awards.

Shobhan worked with leading directors and production houses of his time. He acted in nine films made by veteran producer D Rama Naidu.

After bidding good-bye to the films a decade ago, he settled down in Chennai and switched over to real estate business. He has not allowed any of his children to take to films.

Ferrari Strikes at the end

Sunday, March 23, 2008 (Sepang)
Defending drivers world champion Kimi Raikkonen finally kicked off the defence of his crown on Sunday when, a week after a dreadful day at Melbourne, he won the Malaysian Grand Prix for Ferrari.

But the Italian team's hopes of a dream one-two finish just a week after their embarrassment in Australia where both cars failed to complete the race were wrecked by Brazilian Felipe Massa spinning off while running second.

The Latin American's error gave Pole Robert Kubica in his BMW a perfect opportunity to grab his career-best finish in second and he did so with a calm and solid performance to come ahead of steadily-improving Finn Heikki Kovalainen for McLaren Mercedes-Benz.

Kovalainen's McLaren team-mate Briton Lewis Hamilton, who won in Australia, battled through a topsy-turvy race and various problems with pit-stops and tactics, to finish fifth behind Italian Jarno Trulli in a Toyota.

His efforts kept him on top of the drivers' championship after two rounds.

Both McLaren men were forced to start five places back on the grid from their original qualifying places after being charged with blocking other cars inadvertently at the end of Saturday's qualifying session.

Raikkonen's win was the 16th of his career and proved he is carrying no "negative baggage" after his dismal outing at Albert Park where he spun twice, but still managed to collect a point for being classified eighth.

It was also Raikkonen's seventh win for Ferrari and his second win in Malaysia.

"That was good, it was what we wanted," said the Finn. "I got a good start and I stayed behind Felipe until the pit stops hoping I could pass him there and that is how it worked out.

"The conditions were not too bad. It was hotter in Australia, but here it is more humid. For me, though it was ok. It is always nice to be at the front - everything seems easier when you are there."

His win increased his total of points for the season to 11 after two races. This cut Hamilton's lead at the top to just three points, the Englishman collecting four points.

Kubica said: "That was a long time coming for me and I am happy for myself and for the team. It is just great for everyone."

Kovalainen said: "After the penalties and everything that happened, we have to be happy with the podium finish. I just tried to do my best."

German Nick Heidfeld finished sixth behind Hamilton in the second BMW after being caught up in a dramatic sequence of events at turn one on the opening lap.

Australian Mark Webber made up for his bad luck in his home race in Australia last Sunday by finishing seventh ahead of double champion Spaniard Fernando Alonso was eighth for Renault.

Two Britons David Coulthard and Jenson Button finished ninth and 10th for Red Bull and Honda on a day when, in contast to last weekend's contest of attrition that saw only seven finishers, 17 cars reached the conclusion.

Massa made a fine start and survived a first-corner challenge from his team-mate before pulling clear at the front, with Raikkonen following close behind on a sensational first lap.

This saw Hamilton make a flying start and demonstrate just why he is regarded as the most exciting driver in Formula One.

From ninth on the grid, he weaved through the field to take fifth place at the end of the first lap.

As they crossed the line, the two Ferraris led, ahead of Kubica, Webber and Hamilton with Trulli sixth, Kovalainen seventh and Coulthard eighth.

But behind the leaders, Frenchman Sebastien Bourdais spun off at turn six and German Timo Glock was forced to retire his

Toyota after a collision with compatriot Nico Rosberg, of Williams, who was forced to pit for a new front wing.

Bourdais said: "I was outside and running wide and I just lost it there. I get that is just part of the learning experience."

Glock said: "He got very close and hit me and broke my suspension and that was it for me."

The luckless Glock also crashed out of the Australian race.

The loser in the opening lap scrapping, that saw Hamilton weave between Kovalainen and Trulli on his way through, was German Nick Heidfeld, in his BMW. He fell back to 10th place and did not rise to eighth until lap four.

German Adrian Sutil in his Force India went out on lap seven as the field settled down until the first round of pit stops, which produced more drama.

Massa was the second man in and after a slow 'out' lap found himself running behind Raikkonen who put in a fast lap and stop to take the lead.

Kubica led briefly and remained third after the stops, but Webber, the first man to stop, and Hamilton, who had a problem with his front right wheel and was at a standstill for nearly 20 seconds, both dropped places in the pits.

When all the stops were done, Hamilton was running seventh behind Webber with Raikkonen leading, Massa second and Kubica third. Kovalainen was fourth, Trulli fifth and Webber sixth.

Ferrari's dream of a one-two finish was wrecked on lap 31 when Massa spun off at turn seven into the gravel trap. It looked like driver error and it meant that after two races the Brazilian was still pointless. This lifted Hamilton to sixth.

"I don't know what happened, I just lost control of the car. It was very strange at the rear," said Massa. The team said their telemetry readings showed there was nothing wrong with the car.

Following Massa's mistake, Raikkonen led comfortably by 24.5 seconds ahead of Kubica, Kovalainen and Trulli with Webber fifth and Hamilton sixth.

It was clearly the Finn's race to win or lose and he pitted for the second time at the end of lap 38 in just 8.5 seconds.

Raikkonen rejoined in second behind Kubica, who still had to make a second stop, with Kovalainen third.

His McLaren team-mate Hamilton remained held up behind Webber where though he had the speed to get close, he could not easily pass him.

It looked as if Hamilton was suffering from continuing difficulties with his right-front wheel where the 'spinner', a kind of aerodynamic hubcap, seemed to be loose.

Webber eventually pitted again after 39 laps allowing Hamilton through to fifth, with a stop remaining. Trulli soon followed, leaving Hamilton running fourth and pushing to make up time.

Kubica was able to hang on in the lead with a 6.2 seconds advantage ahead of Raikkonen until lap 42 when he pitted and the Finn took command again.

That left the flying Finn out in front to pull clear and win with Kubica second and Kovalainen third. Hamilton chased Trulli hard but to no avail.

Stock Market

Sensex down 572 points in early trade
Posted March 10th, 2008 by Mohit Joshi

* Stock Markets
* India
* Mumbai

Sensex down 572 points in early tradeMumbai, Mar 10: The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) benchmark Sensex lost 572 points and was pegged at 15,404 in early trade today on selling by funds in heavy-weight stocks, led by capital goods.

The National Stock Exchange (NSE) Nifty is down by 135 points at 4,636.

Stocks opened sharply lower today, extending losses in markets overseas as prospects of a US recession and worsening global credit conditions taunted investors.

Sectorwise, capital goods, real estate and banking shares were the worst hit.
ShareThis

* Login or register to post comments
* Read more

Sensex dips by over 500 points
Posted March 7th, 2008 by Mohit Joshi

* Stock Markets
* India
* Mumbai

Sensex dips by over 500 pointsMumbai, Mar 7: The Sensex shed 3.5 per cent or 578 points in early morning trading on Friday and when reports last came in, it was pegged at 15,964 due to extremely weak global cues.

Asian markets were also sharply down following a fresh slide in American stocks yesterday as a number of the US mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures continued to rise in the fourth quarter

In the broader markets, the Nifty is in red by 166 points or 3.4 per cent. It is trading at 4,755 levels. Selling is evident in real estate, banking and information technology counters.

BSE stock exchange

Indian Stock Markets open weak
Posted February 11th, 2008 by Shalini Kakkad

* Stock Markets
* Stock Trading
* Featured

Indian Stock Markets Weak
Indian Stock Markets opened weak and NSE Nifty touched a low of 4975 in first 10 minutes of trade. NSE Nifty opened at 5120.55 slightly above last close of 5120.35 and touched a high of 5126. The index witnessed a sudden fall and touched a low of 4975. At 10.07 a.m. was down by 87 points or 1.65 %. There was some recovery as buying in some select counters at lower level helped markets to gain some points.

The markets were very volatile and day traders should stay away from markets. If someone wants to trade in this volatile market, the exposure should be less and we will suggest trading in delivery segment only.
Major losers among blue chips were Reliance Industries, HDFC, Reliance Energy and Tata Power.

Pharmaceutical major Ranbaxy was trading in positive. The stock gained over 1 percent. Satyam Computers was also among gainers. The stock was marginally up at Rs 412. Technology counters were major gainers on Friday.

VSNL was up by nearly 5%. VSNL may soon sell land in four metro cities. The land sale may help VSNL to raise over Rs. 10,000 crore.

There are many stocks which are looking interesting at lower levels. Torrent Power is a good stock in power sector. The stock is currently available within 158 – 162 range. The stock looks good for long term investment.

India holds up CB series

India beat Australia to win tri-series

Tuesday March 4, 07:07 PM


SYDNEY (Reuters) - India ended their troubled tour of Australia on a high note when they beat the hosts by nine runs on Tuesday to win their best-of-three finals series 2-0.

Sachin Tendulkar scored a superb 91 and paceman Praveen Kumar went on to capture four wickets as the tourists followed up Sunday's six-wicket win in Sydney with a thrilling victory at the Gabba in Brisbane.

It was a sweet victory for the Indians after they lost the test series 2-1 and have been embroiled in a long-running feud with their opponents all summer.

The tour was almost cancelled after the Australians accused Harbhajan Singh of racially abusing Andrew Symonds during the second test.

The rival captains agreed to a truce after the International Cricket Council (ICC) called in a mediator to resolve their dispute but the tensions remained throughout the tour.

Australia captain Ricky Ponting was gracious in defeat, saying the Indians fully deserved their victory.

"All credit has to go to the Indian team for the way they've played in the last week," Ponting said at the televised presentation.

"Our level of cricket over the last week has dropped off so that's disappointing ... but we can't take anything away from India, they dominated us in these two games."

India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said his team's unexpected victory with a youthful team was a great sign for the future.

"It's very important because I believe this is a building stage of my team because of our youngsters and that we left off a lot of older players," he said.

Tendulkar just missed out on back-to-back centuries after helping India post 258 for nine after they won the toss and batted first.

He followed up his unbeaten hundred in Sydney with a patient display to set India on the road to victory.

TERRIBLE START

The Australians, who also lost last year's tri-series finals at home to England, recovered from a terrible start to give themselves a glimmer of hope when James Hopes (63) and Matthew Hayden (55) made half-centuries, only to come up short.

The tourists were heading for a much bigger total when Tendulkar and Robin Uthappa (30) piled on 94 for the first wicket before Australia's bowlers struck back.

Part-time spinner Michael Clarke (3-52) captured three wickets, including the prize scalp of Tendulkar, while paceman Nathan Bracken (3-31) also picked up three wickets in the frantic final few overs.

Yuvraj Singh made a run-a-ball 38 in a 54-run stand with Tendulkar but their dismissals triggered a lower-order batting collapse.

The Indians lost six wickets for 50 runs in the last 11 overs after looking as though they would get closer to 300.

The Australians made a terrible start to their run-chase when they lost three wickets in the first nine overs.

Adam Gilchrist, in his final appearance before retiring from international cricket, was caught behind for two off the third ball of the innings then Ponting (one) and Clarke (17) quickly followed.

Hayden and Symonds steadied the innings with a fourth wicket partnership of 89 before they both departed in the same over, Hayden run out at the non-strikers end for 55 and Symonds was trapped lbw by Harbhajan for 42.

Mike Hussey (44) and James Hopes (63) kept Australia in the hunt with a stand of 76 but the wickets began tumbling as the world champions were forced to take risks to reduce the required run-rate.

Australia needed 13 runs from the last over but were bowled out for 249 with two balls to spare with Hopes the last man out.

"It's just been a magic ride," Gilchrist said. "It hasn't been the fairytale ending tonight but it's certainly been a fairytale career."

Some Animations

Graphics for Animated Comments

1

Myspace Animated Graphics

2

Animated Graphic Comments

3

Animated Graphic Comments

4

Graphics for Animated Comments

Chidambaram's Budget 2008

India spends more on poor in budget 2008-09

* $15.05bn debt relief for farmers, economic growth slows, cuts excise duty on autos, inflation at 4.89 percent

NEW DELHI: India’s Congress-led government announced Friday huge debt relief for farmers as it reached out to its traditional rural support base in possibly its last budget before the next polls.

Finance Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram offered a debt relief package for farmers of 600 billion rupees ($15.05 billion) in the budget for the year starting April 1, even as India’s economic growth began to slow.

He told parliament 30 million indebted farmers would have their loans fully waived by the end of June and another 10 million would receive aid.

Through the loan waiver scheme, “the country is discharging a deep debt and sense of gratitude to farmers,” he said.

The government intends “to make growth more inclusive”, the minister said. “We are raising our sights and doing more.”

The farm sector is crucial as it provides a living for two-thirds of India’s 1.1 billion populations. T.N. Ninan, publisher of leading financial daily Business Standard told India’s NDTV news that the debt relief programme was “the single biggest giveaway in India’s fiscal and banking history.”

But he questioned how it would be applied, noting many farmers’ debts were to moneylenders. Farm growth is forecast to slow to 2.6 percent this fiscal year from 3.8 percent the previous year.

Analysts attributed the market’s unhappiness to a knee-jerk investor response to an increase in the short-term capital gains tax to 15 percent from 10 percent. Chidambaram said he was confident the economy would grow nearly nine percent in the current fiscal year to March 2008, down from 9.6 percent the previous year due to aggressive monetary tightening to curb inflation. But the Indian economy would still be the second fastest-growing in the world after China’s.

Data released Friday showed economic growth slowed to 8.4 percent for the third quarter ended December 31, 2007, compared with 9.1 percent in the same period the previous year as a slew of interest rates hikes hit consumer and infrastructure spending and industrial production.

India’s economy under the communist-backed United Progressive Alliance coalition government, which took office in 2004, had grown by over eight percent during 12 successive quarters since 2005.

“We need an ambitious scheme... to revive agriculture,” he said.

Economic growth slows to 8.4 percent in Q3: India’s economy grew by 8.4 percent in the third quarter, its slowest pace in two years, on lower farm and industrial output from the same period a year ago. The data showed that the economy expanded almost in line with a forecast of 8.7 percent for the year ending March. But the pace is well off the 9.6 percent growth reported in the previous year.

The slowdown for the quarter ended December has been attributed to aggressive monetary tightening to tame prices and a 12 percent gain for the rupee against the dollar in the past year. The rupee’s rise has dented export earnings for Asia’s third biggest economy. Farm growth rose 3.2 percent in the third quarter, down from 3.4 percent a year earlier, while manufacturing gained 9.3 percent from 11.3 percent.

JP Morgan estimates the economy will slow down further in the next financial year and expand at 7.5 percent.

India’s central bank has increased interest rates nine times since October 2004 to check inflation, which jumped to 4.89 percent for the week ended February 16 — the highest since June 2007.

“Growth stability with reasonable price stability is the main objective of our government,” Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said after the annual budget was presented Friday. Finance Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram said that he was confident the economy will grow nearly nine percent in the current financial year.

Automakers cheer tax cut plans: Shares in Indian vehicle makers rose on Friday after the government proposed to cut excise duties in the fiscal year 2008-09, which analysts say will encourage demand, particularly for small cars.

The finance minister proposed to cut excise duties on buses and chassis, as well as small cars, to 12 percent from 16 percent in his annual budget. He also cut duty on hybrid cars to 14 percent from 24 percent and on two- and three-wheelers to 16 percent from 24 percent.

Indian inflation rises to highest level since June 2007: India’s annual inflation rate spiked to its highest level since June 2007 on higher food and fuel prices, data showed on Friday.

Inflation climbed to 4.89 percent for the week ended February 16 from 4.35 percent the previous week, according to the wholesale price index, India’s most watched cost-of-living monitor.

Wholesale prices stood at a then two-year peak of 6.73 percent in the same period a year ago.

Inflation in Asia’s third largest economy has fluctuated in recent months but has been inching closer to the central bank’s ceiling of five percent for the fiscal year to March 31, 2008. agencies

Late night studying could upset body clock

Tens of thousands of students across the country are burning the midnight oil for their board examinations barely a week away. But they should watch out for their health.

Studying through the night and waking up late in the morning may not be a good idea. The body clock may refuse to adjust when the examinations dawn, making students groggy and tired when they need to be alert and focussed.

Several students stay awake at night because they can study undisturbed for hours with just their table lamp for company. But they don’t realise that the will have to be up and about for the 10.30 a.m.-1.30 p.m. examination schedule beginning March 1.

Manan Gupta, a Class 12 student, studies till 4 a.m. every day and sleeps till noon the next day during the ongoing study break. He finds that his concentration level is at its best at night.

“I am able to cram my social studies lessons very well at night. My younger brother cannot disturb me, and my friends also do not call up. So, I study - with a small break to play on the computer - till I tire at around 4 a.m.”

Another reason for Manan to stay up at the night are his taxing coaching school schedules - three-four hours daily with maths, science, computers and Sanskrit packed in for which he has to study their given study material, do the exhaustive homework and also take regular tests.

The night is practically the only time he has to study on his own. Though he brushes aside the possibility of night-time studying taking a toll on him during examinations, he says: “I think I shall be fine, but maybe there is sense in this talk about the body clock. ”

Says Swati Mohan, a counsellor at G.D. Goenka School: “When students get used to studying late hours, they come bleary-eyed for the examination next day. It tells on their concentration, as the brain has to re-adjust its capacity to focus. Their sleep cycle also gets disrupted. So it is advisable for students to get used to sleeping on time before examination.”

Mohan says a part of the advice they give to students is to wind up their studies early in the night so that they wake up fresh in the morning after an eight-hour sleep, which is mandatory for good performance.

Sleeping early is also good for general physical fitness, advises Sisir Paul, senior paediatrician with Max Hospital.

“Anyone staying up till late will find his reflexes sluggish in the morning and feel exhausted. The body needs a certain amount of rest for the brain to be able to perform well. Studying late should not extend beyond midnight.”

Breaks after every hour or two of studying is good as, according to experts, the human brain cannot concentrate beyond that time.

But Raghu Anand, a Class 10 student, feels it does not work with him. “It takes me one hour to begin concentrating. So if I have to take a break after every hour as our teachers tell us to do, I don’t think I’ll end up studying at all.”

Eating well is another thing doctors and teachers advise students. But hotel food is best avoided.

“One cannot afford to fall ill now. It is best to eat home cooked meals as food from outside may carry germs. Apart from containing high oil concentration and spice, the food could also be stale,” Paul said.

Railway Budget Preview 2008

Union Railway Minister Lalu Yadav presented the Railway Budget for 2008-09 in Parliament on Tuesday.

Following are the highlights:

• Railway profit in 2007-08 at Rs 25,000 crore.
• AC first class fare cut by 7%
• AC 2 tier fare down by 4%
• AC 3 tier fare cut by 3%
• 5% cut in petrol, diesel freight
• Special focus to be given on railway projects in the North Eastern Region
• Route of 16 trains to be extended
• 6 lakh bulbs to be replaced by cfl lamps by railways to save energy
• 2500 old signals to be replaced by railways. Special trains to anandpur sahib, patna sahib and nanded 155 new lines to be completed.
• 50% concession for AIDS patient
• Foot overbridges at all high-level platforms.

• Northern railway main hospital in Delhi will be fully airconditioned. Divisional railway hospitals in Jaipur and Hubli will be upgraded.

• A new rail coach unit to be set up in Kerala

• A 1,000 megawatt captive power plant to be set up in Nabinagar in Bihar

• Ten new Garib Raths and 53 new trains to be introduced.

• Railway tickets to show 'expected time of arrival'

• Thirty per cent discount to senior citizens for rail travel and 50 per cent discount for women in all classes
• Mother Child Health Express to be started.
• Clearance given for western freight corridor from Delhi to JNPT, Nhava Sheva, adjoining Mumbai.
• Close circuit TV and bomb detecting equipment to be installed at major stations.
• Doubling of lines to be given priority.
• Railways planning smart card-based ticketing system.
• CCTvs at all important stations
• Modular toilets to be introduced in trains.

• 'Go Mumbai' card to be sold at bus depots.

• Freight loading estimated to increase from 650 mt to 1100 mt by 2011

• New policy for wagon leasing.

• New line for Ennore Power Station.

• By 2010, all coaches will be made of steel.

• Professional agencies being involved on a pilot basis to ensure cleanliness in running trains.
• Work on automatic signalling to start in new sections.
• Railways to bring in led displays in stations on train arrivals/ departures.

• Stainless steel coaches for mail and express trains.

• Cleanliness drive on rajdhani and shatabdi trains.

• Railways show a surplus of rs 68,778 cr in last four years.

• Railways to provide escalators at 50 per cent of the stations in the country.

• Railway Minister Lalu Yadav announced that Indian Railways will introduce 15,000 ticketing counters in the next 2 years. The Railways plans to offer tickets through mobile phones.

• By 2009 call centre based inquiry services to be unveiled.

• Issuance of wait-listed e-tickets will also allowed

• Operating ratio of the Railways was at 76%.

• Rs 49,250 crore invested into new railway projects.

• Railway plan size increased from Rs 11,000 crore to Rs 30,000 crore in the last four years.

• Productivity of Railway assets has been constantly increasing.

• Railways attained 790 tonne payload target in the year 2007-08.

• E-ticket booking is likely to rise to 300,000 from 100,000 in a year.

• Freight traffic target of 785 million tonnes crossed to touch 790 million tones

• Railway plan size increased from Rs 11,000 crore to Rs 30,000 crore in the last four years.

• 560 railway station platforms to be lengthened to take long trains.

• Middle-level and low-level platforms to be upgraded to high-level platforms in several stations to help commuters.

• More facilities for women and old passengers.

IPL Auction Bid

Dhoni tops IPL money list

Mahendra Singh Dhoni: The local favourite with a price tag to match [GALLO/GETTY] Money seemed no object as franchise owners spent lavishly in a player auction for the new Indian Premier League, with India's Mahendra Singh Dhoni topping the bidding on a day that demonstrated the enormous financial power of the Twenty20 competition. Bidding for the 77 available players reached near $40 million, pending late bids at Wednesday's auction, and followed on from the $1.026 billion paid for the initial television rights and $723.6 million for franchise ownership. Chennai trumped Mumbai in the race for India's limited-overs captain Dhoni, with all team owners cheering the breaking of the $1 million mark as the southern Indian team landed him on a three-year contract worth $1.5 million per season. Dhoni, currently leading India in the limited-overs tri-series in Australia, was relaxed about being the most sought player for the league which begins April 18. "I heard about it from my manager soon after the bid was held. The sum seems to be good and I'm happy, but I was never in any sort of tension about it, nor was I losing sleep over it,'' Dhoni told the Hindustan Times website. Symonds next in line Australia allrounder Andrew Symonds attracted the next highest price, $1.35 million from Hyderabad, more than five times his reserve price. Mumbai, having bid strongly for Dhoni and Symonds without success, spent heavily to secure Sri Lanka's 38-year-old opening batsman and former skipper Sanath Jayasuriya for $975,000 per year, while also landing India offspinner Harbhajan Singh. Former Indian Board (BCCI) president Inderjit Singh Bindra was taken aback by the amounts being bid, with his excitement at the auction reflecting the importance of the IPL on the cricket landscape. "I have never seen anything so riveting and so absorbing and so exciting even on the field, it's amazing drama,'' Bindra said. India pace bowlers Ishant Sharma and R.P.Singh were the target of aggressive bids that saw Sharma fetch $950,000 from Calcutta. India allrounder Irfan Pathan attracted a bid of $925,000 from Mohali, while South Africa's Jacques Kallis was sold for $900,000 to Bangalore. Mohali team's owners were jubilant with the successful bid of $900,000 for Australia fast bowler Brett Lee, with businessman Ness Wadia pumping his fist and hugging partner and Bollywood actress Preity Zinta. Andrew Symonds: The big hitting Australian's pay packet is no monkey business [GALLO/GETTY] Interest in Ponting cool Australia captain Ricky Ponting went to Calcutta, only modestly over his starting price. His arrival will make for a collection of strong leaders at Calcutta, which is expected to be coached by former Australia coach John Buchanan, and which also has India's most successful test captain Sourav Ganguly. The structure of the bidding saw players auctioned off in groups, marquee players, batsmen, bowlers, wicketkeepers, allrounders and produced some unusual results. Ponting, captain of the world's best national team, will be paid some $250,000 per year less than Calcutta teammate David Hussey, who is only on the fringe of the Australia set-up. There was the possibility of leadership friction at Jaipur, where retired Australian legspin great Shane Warne will join South Africa captain Graeme Smith, with the pair having previously engaged in some strong verbal exchanges, on and off the field. Australia's retiring wicketkeeper-batsman Adam Gilchrist (Hyderabad) and Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan (Chennai) were among the six marquee players, of which Dhoni was the only one to finish in the top ten of bidding. The others marquee players were Warne, Sri Lanka's Mahela Jayawardene (Mohali) and Pakistan paceman Shoaib Akhtar (Calcutta). Sachin Tendulkar: Protected, but still well paid [GALLO/GETTY] Icons The IPL reserved four "icon" players from the auction, team captains Ganguly (Calcutta), Yuvraj Singh (Mohali), Sachin Tendulkar (Mumbai) and Rahul Dravid (Bangalore), who were guaranteed 15 percent more than the highest-paid player at their franchise. Virender Sehwag was added to the "icon" list on a request from the Delhi squad ahead of the bidding. The 15 percent premium meant Tendulkar would fetch $1,121,250 per season, still short of Dhoni's salary. Australia batsman Mike Hussey, Pakistan's Mohammad Yousuf and retired Australian strike bowler Glenn McGrath were among the players who did not attract their reserve price and were placed in the reserve pool for late distribution. There were no England players available at auction, with the players committing to national team and county duty in an increasingly crowded cricket calendar. The winning bids were disclosed by Lalit Modi, chairman of the IPL governing body. "We're all very excited, this is a tremendous day for world cricket," Modi said before the auction began.

500 employees ...TCS

500 TCS employees resign after performance check
Wednesday February 6 2008 11:49 IST

PTI

HURRY! GEMS Portfolio closing on 15th Feb'08

NEW DELHI: Coinciding with cost-cutting drive in Indian IT space amid fears of recession in the US, the country's largest software exporter TCS on Tuesday said about 500 members of its staff have “voluntarily resigned” after an annual performance check.

“Employees with experience of two years and above across the company who were unable to meet the performance requirements of our company are asked to look for other jobs commensurate with their abilities,” TCS spokesperson Pradipta Bagchi told PTI. However, he asserted that no employee has been sacked or fired. As a policy the only time when TCS dismisses people is for disciplinary reasons, he added.

“This is not an exceptional thing, it happens every year and its part of our annual performance exercise. In TCS, everyone has to go through an appraisal cycle where they are rated between 1-5 depending on their performance. If in one appraisal cycle anyone is rated below 2, we put them on pip (Performance Improvement Plan).

“Under this they are given extra training. Even after this if their rating is below 2, then they are asked to look for other jobs,” Bagchi said. The move comes close on the heels of global IT major IBM reportedly showing the door to a large number of its entry-level trainee programmers across major offices in the country on the grounds of performance.

Although IBM has confirmed the move, they declined to specify as to how many trainees have been dismissed. However, sources suggest that the number could be in hundreds.

When asked about the sudden job cuts, the IBM spokesperson said it is a continuous process and is meant to validate the quality of employees. “IBM is driven by a high-performance culture, a place where employees are able to contribute at the upper limits of their potential and continually build market-valued skills and capabilities in both formal training and experiential learning, “ the spokesperson added.

Incidentally, TCS also plans a 1.5 per cent cut in variable salaries of its employees in the fourth quarter, as it fell short of certain financial targets.

The King of Tollywood

My Photo with Friendz