Poor Parsi might be the richest "poor indian"
The Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP) on Monday told the Bombay high court that it had revised the definition of a poor Parsi as one who earns up to Rs 90,000 a month, in order to be eligible for a subsidized community apartment. The BPP, which controls over 5,000 flats in the city, had earlier fixed this amount at under Rs 50,000 a month. There are an estimated 45,000 Parsis in Mumbai. Read More
The Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP) on Monday told the Bombay high court that it had revised the definition of a poor Parsi as one who earns up to Rs 90,000 a month, in order to be eligible for a subsidized community apartment. The BPP, which controls over 5,000 flats in the city, had earlier fixed this amount at under Rs 50,000 a month. There are an estimated 45,000 Parsis in Mumbai. Read More
Government should realize the meaning of inclusive growth and spur the domestic consumption story rather than transnational businesses through finance related globalization. People in India are being compromised in terms of social welfare and security. Government is busy making reform oriented policies by involving more and more private sector institutions in national resources. People must raise a voice against deteriorating social life and personal development in the sack of globalization.
One might think that It's good to be a "POOR PARSI " rather than "poor indian" or "POOR PARSI" might be the richest "poor indian"
Incidentally, the Planning Commission of India had pegged the minimum sustenance level required for a poor person in an urban area at Rs 29 a day.
An affidavit was filed by BPP chairman Dinshaw Mehta in response to a petition by Dahanu resident Rohinton Taraporewala, (65) challenging the non-allotment of a flat to him at Panthaki Baug, Andheri. Earlier, Taraporewala had submitted the names of those who were allotted flats despite earning above Rs 50,000 a month.
In his April 17, 2012 reply, Mehta refuted Taraporewala's claim of being a "poor, needy and deserving Parsi". He said after the high court, on October 15, 2009, allowed BPP to sell flats on ownership basis, the trustees adopted criteria for allotment. Preference was to be given to those who want to settle down after marriage. "All applicants with incomes exceeding Rs 90,000 per month or with assets of more than Rs 25 lakh were to be eliminated," Mehta stated. It was also decided to give low priority to applicants residing outside Mumbai. BPP invited applications for purchase of flats in buildings A and B at Panthaki Baug.
Mehta claimed that Taraporewala's application showed that he owns 17 acres land in Vangaon, Dahanu, along with a farmhouse-a two-storeyed bungalow- measuring 2,000 square feet. "On a conservative estimate, this would be valued at Rs 1.5 to Rs 3 crore,'' he added. Further, as per his income-tax returns, Taraporewala had a monthly income exceeding Rs 90,000. His assets include his various immovable properties and fixed deposits amounting to well over Rs 25 lakh. On the basis of his financial status he was not entitled to be allotted a flat at Panthaki Baug, Mehta added.
Mehta said that the reason Taraporewala gave for allotment was that there were very few basic hospital facilities in the village. He suffers from high blood pressure, prostate problem, diabetes and heart problems while his wife suffers from depression and anxiety. "Clearly, the petitioner could not be allotted a flat by the BPP as he was adequately housed and he desired to be allotted a flat so that he could give his bungalow on rent and live in Mumbai because he suffered from several ailments. In addition, the petitioner was clearly not a resident of Mumbai but of his own admission, living at Dahanu, close to the Gujarat border," stated Mehta. Also, Taraporewala's son and daughter and their families are settled abroad. He said Taraporewala "could not be classified as poor, needy and deserving" as stipulated by the HC order and accordingly his application was rejected.
The affidavit states that the BPP flats at Panthaki Baug, each of which is between 732 sq ft and 760 sq ft, will cost between Rs 17.56 lakh and Rs 20.52 lakh depending on their size and location. The current market value of each is approximately Rs 80 lakh. The flats are being sold at prices prevailing in 2001 and cost one-fourth of their market value today.
The win on Monday was Nadal's 11th Grand Slam title, taking him to joint fourth on the all-time list of winners alongside Borg and Rod Laver. He now leads Roger Federer (16), Pete Sampras (14) and Roy Emerson (12).
Nadal also snapped Djokovic's streak of three consecutive Grand Slam titles, denying the Serbian a chance to become the first since Laver to win all four Grand Slam titles at the same time. Nadal had been beaten by Djokovic in their past three Grand Slam finals, including a nearly six-hour duel at the Australian Open in January.
The Spaniard has now won 11 Grand Slam titles, moving him into a tie for fourth in the all-time list.
"Slowing GDP growth and political roadblocks to economic policymaking are just some of the factors pushing up the risk that India could lose its investment-grade rating," the ratings agency said in a statement issued Monday on a report dated June 8.
India's sovereign rating is BBB-, the lowest investment grade rating, and in April S&P lowered its outlook on the rating for Asia's third-largest economy to negative from stable.
S&P said the new report gave further detail as to why India's investment-grade rating could be at risk.
Indian stocks cut gains after the S&P statement, while the rupee skidded to 55.55 to the dollar from 55.45 earlier after the S&P statement. The benchmark 10-year bond yield showed a more muted reaction, trading down 1 basis point at 8.34 percent from its previous close.
"While INR and bonds moved on this S&P headline, it may not have been warranted. While the report is new, the content in itself is probably not," said Kumar Rachapudi, fixed income strategist at Barclays Capital in Singapore.
"The discussion in this report has largely been covered in their previous report when S&P revised outlook in April."
The two analysts who wrote the report could not immediately be reached for comment.
India recently posted March quarter GDP growth of 5.3 percent, its weakest in nine years and far below expectations.
"Failure to advance with more liberalization might reduce India's long-term growth potential and thus hurt its sovereign rating," the report said.
The so-called BRIC economies consist of Brazil, Russia, India and China.
India has the lowest rating from S&P of all the BRIC countries, and is the only one with a negative outlook from the rating agency, it said in the report.
( Source : Reuters )
Senior Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar was presented the Wisden India Outstanding Achievement award for completing a century of 100 international hundreds in Dubai.
Tendulkar had achieved the milestone while playing against Bangladesh in the Asia Cup in March.
The event was organised by FidelisWorld and the iconic batsman was presented with a trophy. Made from crystal, it features a cricket ball resting on the open pages of a book.
The 49 one-day international centuries that Tendulkar has made are listed on one side, and his 51 Test hundreds on the other.
Tendulkar spoke on various aspects of his career at the function such as his favourite innings - the match-winning fourth-innings hundred against England at Chennai in December 2008 - balancing play and personal life, and the influence that his late father had in shaping his career.
Open Garden launches at TechCrunch DISRUPT NYC 2012 — Wins Most Innovative Startup Award
Travelling and looking for Internet access? A new smartphone app allows users to share mobile Web access for free with other people nearby who have the same app.
Called Open Garden, the app forms a mesh network that enables each person connected to it to relay it to other users.
"Every smartphone is a computer and a router, so we thought it was the right time to interconnect all of these devices together to make general access more ubiquitous," said Micha Benoliel, co-founder and CEO of the San Francisco-based company Open Garden.
"As long as the devices are in proximity they recognize themselves seamlessly. If one device in the mesh has access to the Internet, then the other device can benefit from it," Benoliel added.
If a smartphone user with Open Garden is in a cafe or hotel and does not have access to Wi-Fi, but someone else does, the user can piggyback on the other person's connection.
Benoliel said the functionality could be especially useful for travelers eager to avoid hefty roaming charges.
"You can be traveling and arrive at an airport and instead of paying expensive roaming charges, you can just connect to someone in the airport who has Open Garden," he said.
When there is no direct Internet connection in the network, the app accesses the Web through links to other devices such as laptops or mobile phones. If the person whose connection is being shared leaves the network, the app automatically connects to the next best connection.
The app is available for Android devices, Windows and Mac. It works as a mesh network only if it has been installed by other people nearby to form the peer-to-peer connections.
Benoliel said the app can also be used to interconnect different devices, such as an iPhone and tablets, for free using the plan.
The company is working on features to help users limit who shares their Internet and data connections and how much data they want to allocate to the app.
In future versions, the company said users will be able to connect to social networks to specify desired network sharers.
Despite criticism from mobile carriers concerned about losing revenue, Benoliel said the app could benefit them by helping to decongest crowded 3G and 4G networks by offloading them to WiFi, where there is more capacity.
Open Garden Mobile Mesh formation
It began with WiFi and Bluetooth Tethering: one mobile device wirelessly sharing its data connection with others. Now, we are blooming into a Mobile Mesh Network of many interconnected devices pooling their bandwidth for mutual benefit.
Such a mobile mesh network, in its highly adaptive and self-optimizing capacities is evolving wireless networking into a rich, vibrant garden of information. An Open Garden.
Our users are not just power consumers, but students sharing knowledge with classmates, workers routing vital access to fellow employees, and if the need arises, sources of a potential lifeline to information.
In global regions with underdeveloped infrastructure or restrictions on information, mobile mesh tethering may be the primary and often only source of internet access to individuals whose need for its empowerment is greatest.
Simply put, Open Garden provides a valuable service for those with existing internet access and an invaluable necessity for those without.
Such a paradigm shift in the network topology is expected to be met with hesitation. Contractual concerns have been raised about mobile tethering, but it can only utilize the bandwidth which subscribers pay for and are allotted. Nothing is taken from the network operators. Still there is concern that users will get better deals on their unlimited data plans and increase network operation costs.
And, here too mobile meshing is the answer: by utilizing the WiFi and Bluetooth capacities of mobile and laptop devices to integrate various wireless and hard access points, a mobile mesh network can route data opportunistically through the right assets at the right time. Thus Open Garden can in fact reduce network congestion and generate fresh value every time it leverages the resources of multiple networks to offload traffic from an overburdened access route to an underutilized one.
Network performance is optimized for subscribers and providers alike. Subscribers will simply experience better coverage and more bandwidth, and will be increasingly satisfied with their service provider of choice. Providers in turn will see network congestion reduced and new opportunities for revenue. Mobile mesh networks cannot replace service providers, they can only make them better.
Open Garden is an idea whose time has come. It is a natural evolution of wireless networking from an unwieldy and disarrayed mass into an adaptive and self-organizing ecology. That which is efficient, grows, and the Mobile Mesh Network is forming…
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| da Vinci Robotic Surgery System |
The surgery, called da Vinci Robotic Surgery, was launched at an event at the hospital in Mumbai by Dr Suresh Advani, an oncologist with the Jaslok Hospital.
The newly launched system helps surgeons achieve greater surgical precision, improved dexterity and superior control while performing operations, the hospital said in a statement in Mumbai.
The robot allows a surgeon's hand movements to be filtered and translated into precise micro-movements of tiny instruments, it said, adding the precision translates into smaller incisions, less blood loss and faster recovery time.
Team Inferno is one of the 12 teams from India participating in the Shell Eco Marathon, scheduled to be held from July 4 to 7 at Sepang International Circuit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Their car, named Drona, will compete with cars developed by 150 other teams from Asia.
“We started brainstorming over this from September last year. The actual work on the car started in February. We were determined to develop a car that delivers a super mileage, which is one of the requirements of the competition,” said Avinash Hegde, a first year Mechanical Engineering student and a member of Team Inferno.
Drona’s prototype, as of now, can accommodate one person. The extraordinary mileage is achieved with a modified Bajaj engine, aluminium chassis, electronic fuel injection, aerodynamic design, direct transmission and other factors.
“The prototype has been developed with the competition in mind. We have not thought about factors such as suspensions as the tracks at Sepang are flat,” added Nischal Muralidhar, another Mechanical Engineering student.
The prototype uses glass-fibre reinforced plastic for its outer body and can race up to 60 km per hour. “The prototype is ready and will be on its way to Malaysia for the marathon. We have spent nearly Rs 2.5 lakh on this,” said Avinash.
Nischal added that this was not the last of Drona. “We know there is a great potential. With the help of sponsors, we are determined to come up with another version that can deliver better mileage in city conditions,” he said.
Airtel has recently bought 49 per cent stake in the BWA venture of Qualcomm (after it had applied with competition commission) and that is the reason why the commission wants Qualcomm to submit fresh application again.
Qualcomm secured 4G spectrums of Delhi, Mumbai, Haryana and Kerala in the auctions held in 2010. Qualcomm's BWA venture has been trouble ever since it applied for it, first with the FIBP (foreign investment promotion board) clearance, then with DoT with regards to ISP license (Internet service provider), then it was denied the spectrum and now this new clearance hurdle from Competition commission.
The commission has told Qualcomm that since Airtel bought the stake in the venture after it had applied with the commission, and Airtel being already present as telecom operator it would be important for the commission to look into how it affects competition in the sector.
The Commission, in its order, said that in its current form, the combination of Airtel and Qualcomm is likely to give rise to adverse competitions and the directed the parties in question to apply with fresh details.
Qualcomm had approached the anti-monopoly watchdog for combination of its four subsidiaries. At the time of the application, Qualcomm had 74 per cent equity share capital of each of the four subsidiaries. The balance 26 per cent equity was owned by Tulip Telecom and Global Holding Corporation. On May 29, Bharti Airtel acquired 49 per cent stake in Qualcomm's 4G business in India for Rs 923 crore.
The US based chip maker will continue to hold 51 per cent till it exits India in the next two years. Bharti will take Qualcomm's Rs 4,000-crore debt on its books when it will acquire 100 per cent stake in the venture in 2014.
The name of this organisation sounds like a Bollywood film and they are the real heroes for many couples. In a scenario where a large section of society is still against love marriages, Love Commandos provide help to lovers.
Established in 2010, it is a voluntary organisation having a national network of volunteers. The volunteers include lawyers, journalists and human right activists as well. They provide counseling to youngsters through their helpline. Apart from that, Love Commandos provide food, shelter, protection and legal assistance to the couples who tie the knot against their family’s wish. They have seven shelters for lovers across India.
Working with a motto of 'no more honour killings', Love Commandos was established by a group of friends with Harsh Malhotra as the chief coordinator.
The organisation motivates couples to stand against the caste system. During the show Sanjay Sachdev said, "According to the Supreme Court, caste system is like a curse to our society. Inter-caste marriages can actually save our society from division. The entire society has to understand this."
A few members of Khap Panchayat, who are strictly against love marriages, were also present in the studio. And Sachdev didn’t fail to take dig at them as well. Sachdev added that even police officials consider love as a crime. Do you think having more organisations like Love Commandos can help in stopping honour killings?
