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India can rely more on Russiathan on US?

Last week’s result

YES 68% 32%

Certified by “CIRCULATION VERIFICATION COUNCIL Readership 117,765”

CONTENTSBollywood ---------------------- 28-29

Classifieds ------------------------- 47

Community Post -------------- 16-27

Date Book -------------------------- 49

Edit Page --------------------------- 54

HealthScience Post --------- 12-15

Horoscope --------------------- 50-51

Immigration Post ------------- 44-46

Life Style ----------------------- 30-32

Philosophy ------------------------- 53

Publisher’s Diary ------------------ 4

Real Estate -------------------- 36-37

TechBiz Post ------------------- 40-42

Travel & Hospitality Post ---- 40-42

Top Stories

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SpellbindingSahaj Margteaching INDIA, RUSSIA INK 10

PACTS; DEFENSE DEALSManmohan, Putin review bilateral ties

NEW DELHI: In-dia and Russia inkedas many as 10 pacts,including defensedeals worth aroundUSD four billion, astheir leaders under-took an extensive re-view of bilateral co-operation, especiallyin the field of nuclearenergy here on De-cember 24.

Prime MinisterManmohan Singhand Russian Presi-dent Vladimir Putinheld comprehensivetalks on all key bilat-eral issues, includ-ing defense, space,trade and invest-ment, science andtechnology, educa-tion, culture andtourism.

The venue of themeeting between thetwo leaders wasshifted at the lastminute fromHyderabad House to7, Race Course Road,the official residenceof the Prime Ministerin view of the large-scale protests afterthe gang rape inci-dent. OLD FRIENDS: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh meeting the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir

Putin, in New Delhi on December 24Details on page 5

Modi victory &Gujarat growtha role model

8 Indians inHBR's 100 bestperforming CEOs

Smita Singhappointedto key post

R. Srinivasannamed fortop award

Should India guarantee protectionto its citizens living abroad?

India Postwww.indiapost.com

January 4, 20132

January 4, 2013 India Post 3www.indiapost.com

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Bollywood:Back in ChakkarBefore her wedding with SRK, VidyaBalan had made sure she wrapped up herportions of the shoot of Ghanchakkar.

1Cover Story:Indo-Russia pacts

16Community:Modi model

12Health:Push for new lawsThe FDA has renewed push for new lawsto help police pharmacies like the one thattriggered a deadly meningitis outbreak.

30Life Style:

20-year-old Miss USA Olivia Culpo wascrowned Miss Universe at the 61st MissUniverse Pageant held in Las Vegas.

33Techbiz:

Targeting an ambitious two-way commerceof $200 bn by 2022, India and the ASEANhas finalized a free trade agreement.

40Travel:Havelock IslandsHavelock Islands is the Andaman's starattraction and thousands of tourists flockto this paradise on earth every year.

Pact with Asean

Front ranking community activists in Chi-cago say the Gujarat results should be aneye opener for many other States in India.

Manmohan Singh and Russian PresidentVladimir Putin inked 10 pacts, includingdefense deals worth around $ 4 billion.

Miss Universe

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The times we are living in are indeed disturbing. Ironically enough, weseem to have learnt to cope with wars, natural calamities and epidemics.What we don't seem to be able to deal with, however, are the increasing

levels of social ills - ills brought on, not so much by intention, but ostensibly,mindless, unprovoked actions that border on the irrational.

Here we are still trying to figure out the madness that was unleashed inConnecticut where innocent lives in an elementary school were taken by a crazedgunman. And now we are watching some unbelievable images coming out ofDelhi, India where practically the entire city seemed to have come out onto thestreets to protest against the brutal gang rape and near fatal assault of a youngwoman on a bus in particular and atrocities against women in general in Delhiand across India.

How is one to understand young, middle class kids buying assault weapons,stockpiling ammunition, thinking it okay to kill little elementary school children;how is one to understand men thinking it okay to not only rape a woman on a busin the middle of the city, but brutalizing her body and nearly killing her. Where issuch evil coming from? Is it the movies or the television or marginalization ofpeople in a world of haves and have nots?

Why is it that in what we see as technologically advanced, progressive soci-eties, people are turning to such barbaric acts that defy human advances madethrough evolution?

Or is it the so called progress through technology, leading to disparate lives,aspirational lifestyles, unsatisfied emotional needs, social and economic inequali-ties, that is working to alienate humans so much that they are losing the basicsense of humanity?

Why are all the carefully and willfully created structures of religious, legal,social, moral and ethical codes of living and conduct crumbling in a way thatsocieties, cultures and countries across the world are finding it increasinglydifficult to define what is 'normal' human behavior.

Where do the solutions to these issues lie? Obviously not in the governmentand its machinery.

India PostJanuary 4, 2013 5

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Cover/Top Stories

India, Russia ink 10 pacts; defense dealsManmohan, Putin review bilateral ties

NEW DELHI: India and Russiainked as many as 10 pacts, includ-ing defense deals worth aroundUSD four billion, as their leadersundertook an extensive review ofbilateral cooperation, especially inthe field of nuclear energy hereon December 24.

Prime Minister ManmohanSingh and Russian PresidentVladimir Putin held comprehen-sive talks on all key bilateral is-sues, including defense, space,trade and investment, science andtechnology, education, cultureand tourism.

The venue of the meeting be-tween the two leaders was shiftedat the last minute from HyderabadHouse to 7, Race Course Road, theofficial residence of the Prime Min-ister in view of the large-scale pro-tests after the gang rape incident.

After his talks with Putin dur-ing his brief visit of nearly 18hours, Singh said, "We also dis-

cussed regional and global issues,on many of which there is amarked congruence in our ap-proach.

"The development of ournuclear energy program has beena key pillar of our strategic part-nership," the Prime Minister said

while noting that construction ofUnit 1 of the Kudankulam NuclearPower Project was now complete,and power generation will com-mence shortly.

He also said India looks for-ward to the completion of Unit 2next year.

"Negotiations for the construc-tion of Units 3 and 4 atKudankulam have made goodprogress. We intend to continueimplementing the Roadmap forcooperation in the nuclear energysector that was signed duringPresident Putin's visit in 2010 asthen Prime Minister of Russia,"Singh said.

About their discussions on re-gional and international issues,Singh said, "India and Russiashare the objective of a stable,united, democratic and prosperousAfghanistan, free from extremism,terrorism and external interference.We reviewed the ongoing devel-opments in Afghanistan, andagreed to work together againstthreats posed by extremist ideolo-gies and drug trafficking". . Thepacts include MoU on Coopera-tion in Science, Technology & In-novation, cultural exchange pro-gram and MoU to promote directinvestment which envisages in-vestments up to USD 2 billion inimportant bilateral projects or com-panies, privatization and other op-portunities.

The defense deals include con-tract for delivery of 71 Mi -17V-5helicopters and contract for de-livery of 42 technological kits forSU-30MKI aircraft licensed pro-duction.

"Russia is a key partner in ourefforts to modernize our armedforces and enhance our defensepreparedness. A number of jointdesign, development and produc-tion projects are underway in hightechnology areas. We expressedsatisfaction that these projects areprogressing well," the Prime Min-ister said.

Singh also noted that there wasstill untapped potential in areassuch as pharmaceuticals, fertiliz-ers, mining, steel, information tech-nology, civil aviation, telecommu-nications, infrastructure, food pro-cessing, innovation and services.

"We have asked our inter-gov-ernmental and business levelgroups to recommend specificsteps for enhancing bilateral tradeand investment flows," the PrimeMinister added.

Noting that science and tech-nology cooperation between thetwo countries remains robust, hesaid they welcomed theoperationalization of the India-Russia Joint Science and Technol-ogy Centers which can assist thedevelopment and commercializa-tion of promising technologies,

including nano-technology, bio-medicine and super-computing.

"I particularly welcome theagreement on cooperation in us-ing the GLONASS satellite navi-gation system that has just beensigned," Singh said.

Firms sign threepacts

Russian and Indian companiesincluding Tata Consultancy Ser-vices and JSC Helicopters signedthree different agreements to set

up joint ventures and strengthentechnology partnerships.

Tata Consultancy Services andRussian firm Navigation Informa-tion Systems (NIS) signed a stra-tegic cooperation agreement toestablish and strengthen technol-ogy partner relations between thetwo enterprises in software devel-opment, systems integration, pro-fessional services for and market-ing of NIS products.

"The areas of cooperation vi-sualized concerned sectors suchas information technology en-abled services and emergency re-sponse systems," an officialstatement said.

A joint venture agreement be-tween Elcom Systems Pvt Ltd andOAO Vertoleti Rassi (JSC 'Heli-copters Russia') was also inked.

This "venture aims to set up inIndia, a modern industrial facilityfor manufacturing of Russianmodels of helicopters (Ka- andMi- brands)," it said.

"The JV will serve as an indus-trial base for hi-tech rotorcraftproducts from Russia to India andshall contribute to the develop-ment of the domestic aerospaceindustry. The enterprise will beeligible for implementing offsetprojects under various procure-ment tenders in India," it added.

JSC 'Russian Helicopters' is aleading player in the global heli-copter industry engaged in thebusiness of modern civilian and

military helicopters and training ofaviation personnel, it said.

Elcom Systems is an estab-lished entity in the Indian tele-communications, security andnavigation sectors.

Further, Mumbai-based ElderPharmaceuticals inked a Memo-randum of Understanding withPharm Eco of Russia for a jointventure arrangement.

According to a statement bythe Indian firm, the MOU wassigned for bilateral cooperation inthe field of healthcare. -PTI

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin, at the

delegation level talks, in New Delhi on December 24

Vladimir Putin meeting President Pranab Mukherjee, at Rashtrapati Bhavan, in

New Delhi on December 24

External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid and his Russian counterpart S.

Lavrov shake hands as they exchange documents after signing an agree-

ment on Protocol on Foreign Office Consultations 2013-14 in New Delhi

The Chairperson, National Advisory Council, Sonia Gandhi meeting

President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, in New Delhi

Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Sushma Swaraj meeting President

of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, in New Delhi


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Top Stories

8 Indians in HBR's 100 best performing CEO listNEW DELHI: Eight Indian

CEOs have made it to the list of100 global chief executives, com-piled by Harvard Business Re-view (HBR), with ITC's Y CDeveshwar and late Subir Raha ofONGC finding a place in the top20.

Deveshwar was first amongthe Indian CEOs featured in thislist, and cornered the seventhplace overall.

Under his leadership, ITC de-livered industry-adjusted share-holder returns of 1,574 per centand saw its value increase by USD45 billion.

The other Indians on the listinclude late Subir Raha of ONGC,at 13th place, ahead of RelianceIndustries' Mukesh Ambani whowas ranked 28th.

Larsen and Toubro's A M Naikwas ranked 32nd, followed byBHEL's A K Puri (38), Bharti Airtel's

Sunil Bharti Mittal (65), JindalSteel and Power's Naveen Jindal(87) and Steel Authority of India's

V S Jain (89).Meanwhile, the best-perform-

ing CEO over the past 17 yearsglobally was Steve Jobs of Apple.From 1997 to 2011, Apple's market

value increased by USD 359 bil-lion, and its shareholder returnexperienced average compoundannual growth of 35 per cent.

"That remarkable accomplish-ment is likely to go unbeaten for along time," HBR said.

Jeff Bezos of Amazon.com wasat the second place.

Others in the top 10 include,Samsung Electronics' Yun Jong-Yong (3rd), followed by Vale'sRoger Agnelli (4), Gilead Sciences'John C Martin (5), Hyundai Mo-tor Company's Chung Mong-Koo(6), ITC's Y C Deveshwar (7),Simon Property Group's DavidSimon (8), eBay's Margaret CWhitman (9) and Cisco SystemsJohn T Chambers (10).

The highest-ranked woman onthe list is Meg Whitman, currentlythe CEO of beleaguered HP,whose performance as the CEO ofeBay from 1998 to 2008 earned her

the 9th spot.Interestingly, overall, only 1.9

per cent of all the CEOs studied

were women.The HBR 100 best performing

CEOs in the world list, assessedthe long-term performance ofeach CEO, from the first day on

the job to the last and for CEOsstill in office, until August 31,2012.

The list accessed how muchtotal shareholder returns hadchanged over the tenure of therespective CEO, and the overallincrease in market capitalization.

Harvard Business Reviewsaid, "Our goal was to implementa scorecard that would not onlyget people talking about long-term performance but also alterthe way that boards, executives,consultants, and managementscholars thought about and as-sessed CEOs."

HBR further noted: "Wewanted this innovation to shinea spotlight on the CEOs world-wide who had created long-termvalue for their companies, and wewanted to give executivesaround the world critical bench-marks they could aim for." -PTI

Deveshwar was firstamong the IndianCEOs featured in thislist, and cornered theseventh placeoverall.Under hisleadership, ITC deliv-ered industry-ad-justed shareholderreturns of 1,574 %

The HBR 100 bestperforming CEOs inthe world list, as-sessed the long-termperformance of eachCEO, from the firstday on the job to thelast and for CEOs stillin office, until August31, 2012

Obama names Indian-Americanfor prestigious award

WASHINGTON: Indian-Ameri-can Rangaswamy Srinivasan, arenowned inventor at IBM, hasbeen nominated by the US Presi-dent Barack Obama for the presti-gious National Medal of Technol-ogy for Innovation.

Along with Srinivasan, Obamanamed 12 eminent researchers asrecipients of the National Medalof Science and 10 extraordinaryinventors as recipients of the Na-tional Medal of Technology andInnovation, the highest honorsbestowed by the United StatesGovernment upon scientists, en-gineers, and inventors.

The recipients will receive theirawards at a White House cer-emony in early 2013.

In 1981, Srinivasan discoveredthat an ultraviolet excimer lasercould etch living tissue in a pre-cise manner with no thermal dam-age to the surrounding area. Henamed the phenomenon AblativePhoto-decomposition (APD).

"I am proud to honor these in-spiring American innovators"Obama said.

"They represent the ingenuityand imagination that has longmade this Nation great and theyremind us of the enormous impacta few good ideas can have whenthese creative qualities are un-leashed in an entrepreneurial en-vironment," the US president said.

The National Medal of Tech-nology and Innovation was cre-ated by statute in 1980 and is ad-ministered for the White Houseby the US Department ofCommerce's Patent and Trademark

Office.The award recognizes those

who have made lasting contribu-tions to America's competitive-ness and quality of life and helpedstrengthen the Nation's techno-logical workforce.

The National Medal of Science

was created by statute in 1959 andis administered for the WhiteHouse by the National ScienceFoundation.

Awarded annually, the Medalrecognizes individuals who havemade outstanding contributionsto science and engineering.

Inducted into the US "Inven-tor Hall of Fame" in 2002,Srinivasan has spent 30 years atIBM's T J Watson Research Cen-ter.

Having been granted 21 USpatents, he received bothbachelor's and master's degrees inscience from the University ofMadras, in 1949 and 1950.

He earned doctorate in physi-cal chemistry at the University ofSouthern California in 1956.

According to his profile on theHall of Fame website, Srinivasanand his co-inventors ran testsusing the excimer laser and a con-ventional, green laser to etch or-ganic matter.

They discovered that while thegreen laser produced rough inci-sions, damaged by charring fromthe heat, the excimer laser pro-duced clean, neat incisions.

In 1983, Srinivasan collabo-rated with an ophthalmic surgeonto develop APD to etch the cor-nea.

It resulted in a procedure tocorrect vision known today asLASIK surgery. Since the intro-duction of LASIK, millions ofpeople have taken advantage ofthis procedure that reduces de-pendency on corrective lenses. -PTI

The award recog-nizes those who havemade lasting contri-butions to America'scompetitiveness andquality of life andhelped strengthen theNation's technologi-cal workforce.The National Medal ofScience was createdby statute in 1959

Anurag Basu's 'Barfi!'out of Oscar race

LOS ANGELES: RanbirKapoor-Priyanka Chopra starrer'Barfi!' is out of Oscar race after itfailed to qualify for the next vot-ing round in the best foreign filmcategory, according to the Acad-emy.

The film, which revolvedaround the love story of a deaf-mute boy and an autisticgirl, played by Ranbir andPriyanka, was India's entryto the Oscars this year.

Released on September14, the film was lauded bythe critics as well as audi-ence.

It turned out to be an-other disappointing yearfor India at the Oscars. Inthe past, only Aamir Khanstarrer "Lagaan" in 2002,Mira Nair's "SalaamBombay!" in 1989 andMehboob Khan's "MotherIndia" in 1958 have man-aged to earn nominationsin the foreign film categorywithout registering anywins.

Out of the 71 films that havequalified for the Oscars fromacross the world, only nine filmsare advancing to the next roundof voting.

The shortlist will be winnoweddown to the five nominees by spe-cially invited committees in NewYork and Los Angeles.

The films that have made it tothe list are Michael Haneke'smuch lauded drama "Amour" fromAustria, Kim Nguyen's "War

Witch" from Canada, PabloLarrain's "No" from Chile, NikolajArcel's "A Royal Affair" from Den-mark, "The Intouchables" OlivierNakache and Eric Toledano fromFrance, Baltasar Kormkur's "TheDeep" from Iceland, JoachimRnning and Espen Sandberg's"Kon-Tiki" from Norway, Ursula

Meier's "Sister" from Switzerlandand Romanian film "Beyond theHills' by Cristian Mungiu.

The 85th Academy Awardsnominations will be announcedlive on January 10, 2013 in theAcademy's Samuel Goldwyn The-ater. The Oscar awards will takeplace on February 24, 2013, at theDolby Theatre at Hollywood &Highland Center. The Oscar pre-sentation will be televised live inmore than 225 countries world-wide. -PTI

Rangaswamy Srinivasan


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Top StoriesObama appoints Indian-American

Smita Singh to key postWASHINGTON: The Obama

administration has appointed yetanother Indian-American to a keyadministrative post, naming SmitaSingh as member of thepresident's Global DevelopmentCouncil.

"The Council will inform andprovide advice to the Presidentand other senior US officials onAmerican global devel-opment policies andpractices, support newand existing public-pri-vate partnerships, andincrease awareness andaction in support of de-velopment by solicitingpublic input on currentand emerging issues inthe field of global de-velopment," the WhiteHouse said.

The Global Develop-ment Council was es-tablished in February through anexecutive order of the President.

Along with Singh, Obama alsoannounced names of eight othermembers of the Council includingits Chair Mohamed El-Erian.

"These dedicated and accom-plished individuals will be valuedadditions to my Administration aswe tackle the important chal-lenges facing America. I look for-ward to working with them in themonths and years ahead," Obamasaid.

According to a brief bio re-leased by the White House, Singhwas the Special Advisor for Glo-bal Affairs and the founding Di-rector of the Global DevelopmentProgram at the William and FloraHewlett Foundation, where sheworked from 2001 to 2010.

From 1998 to 2001, she was ascholar at the Harvard Academy

for International and Area Stud-ies. Previously, Singh consultedfor the World Bank and the UnitedNations Economic Commissionon Africa.

She was the first Program Of-ficer for Higher Education Inno-vative Projects at the Commissionon National and Community Ser-vice, now known as the Corpora-tion for National and CommunityService. Before joining the Com-mission, Singh worked at ABCNews' Nightline. -PTI

Singh was the SpecialAdvisor for Global Affairsand the founding Director ofthe Global DevelopmentProgram at the Williamand Flora HewlettFoundation, where sheworked from 2001 to 2010

Rape case: Delhi turns fortress,2 ACPs suspended

NEW DELHI: Delhi turned intoa fortress a day after violent pro-tests rocked India Gate which waskept out of bounds for people butprotests continued in the citywhich witnessed traffic mess has-sling office goers, students and

others.As the outrage continued over

the December 16 gang rape of a23-year-old student, police saidcharge sheet will be filed "withina week" in the case even as twoAssistant Commissioners of Po-lice were suspended and explana-tions sought from two DCPs onwhy the crime could not be pre-vented.

In a fresh appeal for peace,Prime Minister Manmohan Singhassured that government will lookinto delay in response in the gangrape case as also all aspects con-cerning the security of womenwhile asking people to desist fromviolence.

Cutting short his visit to theUS, Delhi Lt Governor TejinderKhanna returned to the capital andheld discussions with senior po-lice officials and women's groupsto chalk out a plan for improvingsafety of women in the capital.

"We have suspended twoACPs Mohan Singh Dabas (Traf-fic) and Yagram (PCR). I have in-structed the Police Commissionerto seek explanation from DCPsPremnath (Traffic) and SatbirKataria (PCR) and will decide onfurther action after that," he toldreporters.

The condition of the victim hasdeteriorated and she remained ina critical condition at Safdarjung

Hospital, doctors said. "She is stillin a critical condition and not outof danger," doctors said.

Security personnel keptRajpath, the stretch linking IndiaGate and Raisina Hill leading toRashtrapati Bhavan, locked down

with barricades and heavy deploy-ment of personnel with riot-gearbesides disallowing traffic onRajpath and closing down nineDelhi Metro stations.

It was chaos on roads as po-lice restricted vehicular movementaround India Gate leading to hugetraffic jams in central Delhi, includ-

ing near ITO, Mathura Road androads leading to the VIP areas.

At Jantar Mantar, a number ofprotesters gathered to demandspeedy punishment for the crimi-nals involved in the gang rape butno violence was reported.

The new protests appearedmuted as police did not allow any-

body to reach near India Gate orRaisina Hill, which saw pitchedbattles between security forcesand protesters on December 23leaving around 150 injured fromboth sides.

There were also small protests

near Safdarjung Hospital, wherethe rape victim is undergoingtreatment.

With regard to violence duringprotests, police have registeredfour cases, including one againstformer Army Chief V K Singh andyoga guru Ramdev on charges ofrioting and damage to public prop-erty.

Home Minister SushilkumarShinde said that certain "politicalelements" were behind the vio-lence at India Gate and its sur-rounding areas. "We have infor-mation that some political ele-ments were behind the violence.We are enquiring into it," he said.

In his televised address, thePrime Minister said he and his fam-ily join in the concern for the vic-tim, who was gang raped and bru-tally assaulted in a moving bus insouth Delhi.

"As a father of three daughtersmyself, I feel as strongly aboutthis as each one of you," Singhsaid adding the government wasconstantly monitoring her medi-cal condition.

Emphasizing that anger at thiscrime is "justified", he said, "butviolence will serve nopurpose...We will examine intodelay not only in the responsesto this terrible crime but also allaspects concerning the safetyand security of women." -PTI

People holding a demonstration demanding justice for the gang rape victim at Jantar Mantar

Home MinisterSushilkumar Shindesaid that certain"political elements"were behind theviolence at IndiaGate and its sur-rounding areas. In histelevised address,the Prime Ministersaid he and his fam-ily join in the concernfor the victim

Justice Verma committeebegins work

NEW DELHI: The three-mem-ber committee of jurists, consti-tuted to give recommendations onamending laws to providespeedier justice and enhancedpunishment in sexual assaultcases, has begun its work by is-suing notice seeking public com-ments on the issue by January 5.

The committee headed byformer Chief Justice of India J SVerma sought comments from thepublic in general, particularly emi-nent jurists, legal professionals,NGOs, women's groups and civilsociety members on reviewing theexisting laws in a bid to providequicker justice and stringent pun-ishment in cases of aggravatedsexual assault, an official state-ment said.

The comments can be sent atemail ID - [email protected] orthrough FAX at 011-23092675.

The committee, which was con-stituted after public protestserupted over the Delhi gang rapecase, will look into possible

amendments to the criminal law forfaster trial and proper punishmentfor criminals accused of commit-ting sexual assault of extreme na-ture against women.

The other members of the com-mittee, constituted by the govern-ment, are Justice (retd) Leila Seth,former Chief Justice of HimachalPradesh High Court, and GopalSubramanian, former SolicitorGeneral of India.

The panel has been given 30days to give its report to the gov-ernment.

Under the existing law, themaximum punishment for rape is alife term but the nation-wide out-rage over the gang rape of the 23-year-old physiotherapy student ina moving bus has sparked a de-mand for death penalty for rapeconvicts.

BJP has also favored death forperpetrators of such crimes anddemanded a special session ofParliament for amending the laws.-PTI


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Delhi rape issue should notbe politicized: Tharoor

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:Union Minister of State for Hu-man Resource DevelopmentShashi Tharoor has said Indiansociety should stand united in itsprotest against the brutal rape ofa 23-year-old girl in Delhi and thereshould not be anyattempt to politi-cize the issue.

"Though it isnot right to char-acterize the entireprotest as nega-tive, some unrulyelements had in-filtrated into theprotests, whichthe law and ordera u t h o r i t i e sshould take careof," Tharoor saidaddressing a meet-the-press pro-gram here.

He said the government andprotesters should have a commoncause as what happened in Delhiwas "horror". "We should take itas a wake-up call and create a cul-tural consciousness. We shouldteach our boys to respectwomen."

Tharoor said there had been

widespread sympathy, outrage,shock and fear after the incident.The outrage and shock was un-derstandable and the fear shouldbe addressed. "Our womenfolkshould be able to move aroundfreely during night hours," he

said.The govern-

ment system hadworked as itcould apprehendthe culpritswithin a day.They should betried through afast track judicialprocess, he said.

Tharoor saidthough the angerof the youth wasunderstandable,

marching to the RashtrapatiBhavan was no solution to the is-sue. UPA chairperson SoniaGandhi and AICC General Secre-tary had talked to the protesters,which was the right approach.

The protesters should not betreated as trouble-makers, but asfellow citizens and deft politicalhandling of the protests wasneeded, he said.-PTI

Shashi Tharoor

Visa delays leave Indian studentsstranded in UK

LONDON: Several interna-tional students including somefrom India have been stranded inthe UK without passports and areunable to get home for Christmasafter the UK Border Agency askedthem to reapply for their visas.

According to a report in TheGuardian, London School of Filmstudents from as far afield as theUS, India, Russia and Lebanonwere asked to hand over theirpassports to the Border Agencyin November so they could be is-sued with new study permits.

This was following the decisionto strip London MetropolitanUniversity of its "higher trustedstatus" before the start of the aca-demic year.

The Guardian said that LondonMet, which sponsors the studentsand issues degrees on behalf of thefilm school, also has hundreds ofinternational students who are un-able to get home due to lengthydelays at the Border Agency, de-spite being promised a fast-trackservice. Education vice-president atLondon Met, Syed Rumman, saidhe believed around 600-700 Met Unistudents were stuck because

UKBA still had their passports.After a petition by the film stu-

dents, the office of the Londonmayor, Boris Johnson, said it hadwritten to the Border Agency totry to expedite the process.

Tara Verma, 24, a second-yearMA student from New Delhi, was

unsure how she would spendChristmas.

She said she had alreadymissed her best friend's weddingand had to cancel a 700-poundflight to India.

London Met was stripped of

its higher trusted status in lateAugust, ending its ability to en-rol and teach foreign students. Inresponse, some universitiesacross the UK have introducedmore stringent monitoring of for-eign student attendance.

In September, Coventry Uni-versity made it mandatory for for-eign students to check in threetimes during the working weekand to swipe their photo ID atmanned check-in points aroundits city centre campus.

Glamorgan University has in-troduced weekly ID scans for itsstudents during term time.

Newcastle University consid-ered using biometric finger-swiperegistration in response to BorderAgency rules, although it hassince dropped the plans.

In the autumn, London Metwas granted a reprieve to helpcurrent students graduate orswitch to other higher educationestablishments.

But Verma, who has paid 24,000pounds a year in fees, said theprocess of re-enlisting for filmschool had been extremely com-plicated.-PTI

In September, Cov-entry University madeit mandatory for for-eign students tocheck in three timesduring the workingweek and to swipetheir photo ID atmanned check-inpoints around its citycentre campus


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Modi supporters holdelection watch parties in US

WASHINGTON: Elated overthe hat-trick by Narendra Modi inthe Gujarat Assembly elections,the supporters of BJP here hopedthat the impressive victory wouldpave the way for his larger role atthe national level.

"Against all odds since last 10years Narendra Modi has shownthe path of progress and devel-opment for all sectors and all com-munities and made people awareof dirty vote bank politics. Thisvictory is for the people ofGujarat and people of India," saidRamesh Shah, who was recentlyin Gujarat with a group of Indian-

Americans to campaign in Modi'sfavour.

Shah said Modi supporters inthe US have prepared a white pa-per and would give it to US law-makers next year to bring to theirnotice the factual position on theGujarat riots 10 years ago.

Despite being a weekday, Shahand his group held an "electionwatch party" watching unfoldingof Gujarat election results. Simi-lar watch parties were held in cit-ies across the US States mainlyin New York, New Jersey, Califor-nia, Washington DC, Texas andFlorida.

Indian doctors in Britainfailing key exams: reportLONDON: Hundreds of foreign

doctors, including those from In-dia and Pakistan, are routinely fail-ing key medical exams in the UK,according to a British media re-port.

"Success rates are so poor thatmedical associations want doc-tors to be allowed six attempts atpassing the tests rather than thecurrent four," 'The Mail on Sun-day' reported.

The findings raise fears thattrainee medics, mainly from India, Pa-kistan and Nigeria, are not suitablyqualified to treat patients despitespending three yearsworking for the NationalHealth Service (NHS) be-fore taking the exam,.

Until they pass theexams, which qualifythem to practice inde-pendently as hospitalphysicians or GPs, train-ees continue to see pa-tients under supervisionin placements at hospi-tals and general practi-tioner (GP) surgeries.

However, figures show thatforeign doctors are substantiallymore likely to fail than UK gradu-ates, with communication cited asone of the problems.

While just nine per cent of Brit-ish doctors fail to pass the knowl-edge and practical exams, morethan 63 per cent of foreign doctorsdo not reach the standard to pass.

Foreign medical associationsare now demanding that doctorsare given two additional opportu-nities to pass the tests amid claimsthat examiners may be discriminat-ing against non-UK graduates,the report said.

However, their claims havebeen refuted by leading UK spe-cialists who say a recent study

showed "no substantial effects ofgender or ethnicity on examiner/candidate interactions", and thatpassing the exams is dependenton having the appropriate skills.

"This is scandalous. If a doc-tor can go on failing theyshouldn't be treating patients inthe NHS and that should bestopped," Joyce Robins, co-di-rector of campaign group PatientConcern, said.

"There has to be a cut-off pointand four attempts is too many,"he said.

"Any attempt to make it easier

for doctors to pass these toughexams must be resisted," ShadowHealth Minister Andrew Gwynnesaid.

Figures show that 63 per centof foreign doctors failed the test,with communication one of themain problems.

Of the Indian doctors takingthe test, 63 per cent failed at thefirst attempt. For those from Paki-stan, there was a 62 per cent fail-ure rate, while 68 per cent of Nige-rian doctors failed at the first try.

"There is a very robust systemof selection to get on to NHS train-ing in the first place," Dr RameshMehta, president of The BritishAssociation of Physicians of In-dian Origin (BAPIO), saying theexam system was "faulty".-PTI

While just nine per cent ofBritish doctors fail to passthe knowledge and practi-cal exams, more than 63per cent of foreign doctorsdo not reach thestandard to pass

Centre never encouragedisolation of Modi: Khurshid

NEW DELHI: The Centre neverencouraged "diplomatic isolation"of Gujarat Chief Minister NarendraModi after the 2002 riots and itdid not have any reservationagainst any country forging dip-lomatic ties with the state, Exter-nal Affairs Minister SalmanKhurshid said here.

"We did not encourage any dip-lomatic isolation. We did not en-courage sovereign countries totake a particular position on MrModi. They did take that positionand we know that position. If theytake another position, we will knowthat as well," Khurshid said here.

He was reacting to RussianAmbassador Alexander Kadakin'sremarks welcoming Modi's victoryin the state elections.

He, however, was also quick tomention that a section in the USdoes not want to have friendshipwith the Gujarat government.

The Centre should not be criti-cized if certain countries do notwant diplomatic ties with Gujaratand, at the same time, questionshould not be asked if a countryforges ties with it, he said, add-ing, "We may disagree with someof his policies and indeed someof the attitudes that he exhibits".

In October, Britain ended a 10-year boycott of Modi imposed

after the 2002 riots and decided toresume engagement with Gujarat.

"He has an elected office....Tohave political difference with himand to join the campaign against

him on issues that we believe areof far-reaching nature is com-pletely different from his being theChief Minister of the state and Ihope that he makes the same dis-tinction himself," he said.

Noting that the Centre wel-comes "good relationship" with

all wings of government,Khurshid said still a section in theUS does not want to have friend-ship with the Gujarat government.

"Still a section of American

people think there should not befriendship with the Gujarat Gov-ernment. If there is different think-ing in Russia and the UK, then wedo not have any problem. We takenote when they did not want tiesand we will take note when theymake relationship," he said. -PTI

Salman Khurshid

Goldman seeks reimbursementof $6.9mn legal fees

NEW YORK: India-born fallenWall Street titan Rajat Guptashould be ordered to reimburse toGoldman Sachs USD 6.90 millionof legal fees incurred in his insidertrading case, the investment bankhas said, telling a court here thatit is "entitled" to the amount.

The US government hasalso written to the DistrictCourt in the Southern Districtof New York to grant Goldman'srequest to be reimbursed by itsformer director Gupta theamount it paid in legal fees andrelated costs in connectionwith the investigation of hisinsider trading case.

In a motion filed in court,Goldman said it has been a "vic-tim" of 64-year-old Gupta'scriminal conduct and violationof his duties as the firm's di-rector.

"As a result of Gupta's con-duct, Goldman Sachs has incurrednearly seven million dollars in ex-ternal legal fees and costs in con-ducting an internal investigation,

in responding to numerous gov-ernment requests in parallel crimi-nal and civil investigations andproceedings, and in attending toother resulting legal matters," theinvestment banking giant said incourt papers.

"Goldman Sachs is entitled to...and now seeks reimbursement ofthose legal fees and related coststhat were a direct and foreseeableresult of Gupta's offence," it said.

"The Court should award

Goldman Sachs 6.90 million dol-lars in restitution for legal fees andrelated costs."

Manhattan's federal prosecu-tor Preet Bharara, on behalf of thegovernment, said in a separate fil-ing to the court that "the govern-

ment respectfully submits thatGoldman, as the 'victim' ofGupta's crimes, is entitled torecover all attorney fees" thatwere incurred by the invest-ment bank due to Gupta's of-fences.

Goldman filed its motion incourt in reply to Gupta's submis-sion a week ago that he shouldnot be required to pay the legalfees and other expenses toGoldman since the fees is forwork that was not necessarilyincurred during "participation inthe investigation or prosecu-

tion" of his insider trading case.Gupta is appealing his convic-

tion on insider trading charges andearlier this month was granted hisappeal to stay out of prison on bailpending appeal.-PTI

Rajat Gupta


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Sachin Tendulkar retires from ODIs

Tendulkar's records in ODIsLongest ODI career - 22 years and 91 days (from December 18, 1989to March 18, 2012)Most number of runs - 18,426Most hundreds - 49Most fifties - 96Most matches - 463Most balls faced - 21,392Most fours - 2,016 (only batsman to hit more than 2,000 bound-aries)Most runs in World Cup history - 2,278Most hundreds in World Cup - 6Most fifties in World Cup - 15Most runs in a single edition of World Cup - 673 in 11 matches(2003) Youngest Indian to make ODI debut - 16 years, 238 daysMost Man-of-the-match awards - 62Most Man-of-the-series awards - 15Most consecutive ODIs for India - 185 (from April 25, 1990 to April24, 1998)Most centuries in a calendar year - 9 (1998)Fastest to reach 10,000 ODI runs and onwards (11,000 to 18,000)Most hundreds against one team - 9 Vs AustraliaMost times in nineties - 18Joint record holder of most World Cup appearances - 6 (1992 to2011) Javed Miandad 6 (1975 to 1996)Second highest number of World Cup matches played - 45 (High-est 46 by Ricky Ponting)Involved in most century and above stands - 99

NEW DELHI: One of the game'sall-time greats, Sachin Tendulkarhas announced his retirementfrom one-day cricket, bringing toan end a glorious 23-year-old ca-reer in the format during which herewrote numerous battingrecords.

"I have decided to retire from

the one-day format of the game. Ifeel blessed to have fulfilled thedream of being part of a World Cupwining Indian team. The prepara-tory process to defend the WorldCup in 2015 should begin earlyand in right earnest," the 39-year-old said in a statement releasedby the BCCI.

"I would like to wish the teamall the very best for the future. Iam eternally grateful to all my wellwishers for their unconditionalsupport and love over the years,"he added.

Tendulkar, considered the mostcomplete batsman in moderncricket and one who was consid-ered next only to the legendarySir Donald Bradman, retires fromthe ODI format at the top of therun-getters' list.

Tendulkar goes out afteramassing 18,426 runs in 463 one-dayers at an average of 44.83. Thediminutive right-hander has anastonishing 49 hundreds in theformat, including a double hun-dred - the first in this form of thegame.

Tendulkar made hisODI debut againstPakistan wayback in1 9 8 9

and interestingly he is quitting thescene just ahead of another se-ries against the arch-rivals.

The Mumbaikar, who madehimself unavailable for Twenty20after playing just one game in2006, will now remain active onlyin the Test arena.

The brightest moment of his

ODI career came last year whenhe finally became part of a WorldCup winning Indian team afterfive previous appearances.

Speculation over Tendulkar'sfuture had grown after his con-tinuing failures in the pastone year.

His last ODI hundredcame in the Asia Cup inBangladesh in Marchthis year - a feat thatcompleted an unprec-edented 100 interna-tional tons.

He was stuckon 99 tons forquite a whileafter scor-ing twoh u n -d r e d sduringIndia'ss u c -

cessful World Cup campaign.Tendulkar also has a mammothtally of 96 ODI 50s to his credit.

Despite the recent slump in hisform, Tendulkar's overall tally ofruns is unlikely to be matchedanytime soon given that the dis-tant second-best in the list, formerAustralian captain Ricky Ponting,has already retired from the gamewith 13,704 runs under his belt.

Sri Lanka's retired great SanathJayasuriya occupies the thirdspot in the overall chart with 13,430runs.

Besides his batting, Tendulkarwas an effective partnership-breaking bowler and finishes hisODI career with 154 wickets, in-cluding two five-wicket hauls.

Tendulkar's Test records are asawe-inspiring. The right-handerhas 15,645 runs at an average of54.32 in 194 Tests that he hasplayed so far. The tally includes51 hundreds and 66 half-centuries.-PTI

www.indiapost.com12 India Post January 4, 2013

Health ScienceHealth Line50 die of cancerin Jalandharevery month

JALANDHAR: Nearly 50people die due to cancer everymonth in Jalandhar district ofPunjab's Doaba region, accordingto an ongoing survey of the statehealth department.

"We have completed 80 per centof the survey. As per the latest dataavailable, 2,955 people have losttheir lives to cancer in past fiveyears," said Shiv Dayal Mali, nodalofficer in charge of the project.

"We have identified 1581 per-sons suffering from cancer and7140 people with symptoms ofcancer have also been identified,"he added.

The survey, which began onDecember 1, has already coveredmore than three lakh homes.

"We will be having the full re-sults in a few days time," he said.

Hundreds of cancer cases havebeen reported from villages locatedclose to the highly polluted ChittiBein (rivulet) in Doaba region. -PTI

FDA chief renews push forspecialty pharmacy rules

SILVER SPRING, Md.: Thehead of the Food and Drug Ad-ministration has renewed herpush for new laws to help policepharmacies like the one that trig-gered a deadly meningitis out-break, even as members of Con-gress expressed little interest incooperating with the agency.

FDA Commissioner MargaretHamburg met with state pharmacyregulators at a meeting to discussthe oversight of compoundingpharmacies like the New EnglandCompounding Center, the com-pany which triggered a now three-month-old outbreak of rare fungalmeningitis.

Contaminated injections fromthe Framingham, Mass.-basedcompany have been blamed for 39deaths and 620 illnesses, accord-ing to the Centers for Disease Con-trol and Prevention. About 370 ofthe cases were caused by a rareform of fungal meningitis, whichcauses inflammation on the liningof the brain and spinal cord.

Hamburg said federal and statehealth inspectors need to worktogether more closely to overseecompounding pharmacies, whichfall into a legal gray area betweenvarious state and federal laws.

``We can do the most effectivework when we do it in partnership,''Hamburg told the heads of 50 statepharmacy boards, gathered at theFDA's headquarters. ``This is ashared responsibility and thestates are obviously on the frontline of this issue.''

Compounding pharmacies,which mix customized medications

Details on page 14

based on doctors' prescriptions,have traditionally been overseenby state pharmacy boards, manyof which date back to the 19th cen-tury. The FDA mainly overseesmultinational pharmaceutical manu-facturing companies like Pfizer Inc.and Merck & Co. In the last twodecades, the agency has begunscrutinizing larger compounderslike the NECC, which mass-produce

thousands of vials of drugs thatcan be shipped nationwide.

The FDA says new laws areneeded to regulate these so-called``nontraditional'' compoundingpharmacies. Hamburg has pro-posed a new system under whichnontraditional pharmacies wouldhave to register with the FDA andundergo regular inspections, simi-lar to pharmaceutical manufactur-ers. Small compounding pharma-cies would continue to be regu-

lated by state pharmacy boards.Hamburg told reporters at the

meeting she was ``guardedly op-timistic'' that Congress would passthe requested legislation.

But House Republicans havesignaled little interest in movingahead on the issue, accusing theagency of dragging its feet in co-operating with their investigationinto FDA's oversight of NECC. Ata congressional hearing on theoutbreak last month, many Repub-

licans said the FDA had multiplechances to shut down the phar-macy and requested internalagency memos on the matter.

``More than a month later, theFDA still has not produced itsinternal communications anddocuments related to NECC,''said Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich.,who chairs the House Energyand Commerce Committee.``Without this information, weare unable to identify any pos-sible weaknesses and as a result,the necessary corrections.''

An agency spokeswoman said

the FDA is working to respond tothe committee, and has turned overnearly 4,000 pages of documentsto congressional lawmakers.

While the FDA's proposal hasidled in Congress it has also at-tracted criticism from consumersafety advocates who typicallyfavor more regulation.

The health safety group PublicCitizen argued that the FDA al-ready has the authority to shutdown operations like the NECC,since the pharmacy had clearlycrossed the line from mixing pre-scriptions to manufacturing drugs.In a letter, the group said that thenew laws sought by the FDAwould actually do more harm bylegitimizing the activities of roguepharmacies like the NECC.

``This proposal, if implemented,would validate the FDA's currentlax enforcement practices for drugmanufacturing conducted underthe guise of pharmacy compound-ing,'' the group states in a letter toHealth and Human Services Sec-retary Kathleen Sebelius.

Health officials have releasednew details about the outbreakinvestigation.

In an article published by theNew England Journal of Medicine,officials discussed how illnesseswere tied to three lots of the ste-roid - methylprednisolone acetatemade at New England Compound-ing. The first lot was made in Mayand included about 6,500 vials. Asecond, of nearly 6,300 was, pro-duced in June. The third, of 4,900vials, was made in August.

Generic drugapplication to costRs 30 lakh in US

NEW DELHI: Indian genericdrug exporters to US will have topay about Rs 30 lakh (about USD54,700) each as fee for every newproduct application they file withthe US health regulator as per anamended law in that country, Par-liament was informed.

This is as per the Generic DrugUser Fee Amendments of 2012(GDUFA) of the US government,Minister of State for Commerceand Industry D Purandeswari saidin a written reply.

She said any company inter-ested in supplying generic drugswith effect from October 1, 2012have to pay the prescribed fee tothe US Food and Drug Adminis-tration (FDA) for registering theirproducts in the US.

"There will be financial impact ongeneric drug exports to USA as theexporters are now required to payabout Rs 30 lakh for registration ofeach abbreviated new drug applica-tion (ANDA)," Purandeswari said.

The companies would alsohave to pay about Rs 12 lakh forfiling of Drug Master File (DMF)with the FDA, she added.

India currently supplies nearly20 per cent of the generic medi-cines in global market.

According to Department ofPharmaceuticals, the Indianpharma sector is expected to growfrom its current level of Rs 1 lakhcrore to Rs 5 lakh crore by 2020.

In 2010, the Indian pharma ex-port business reached USD 10.3billion and grew to touch a levelof USD 13.3 billion in 2011. -PTI

FDA Commissioner

Margaret Hamburg

While the FDA'sproposal has idled inCongress it has alsoattracted criticismfrom consumersafety advocateswho typically favormore regulation

Indian pleads guilty for role in healthcare fraudNEW YORK: An Indian

physical therapy assistant in theUS has pleaded guilty for hisrole in a USD 13.8 millionhealthcare fraud scheme andfaces 10 years in prison.

Ankit Patel, 28, of Detroitpleaded guilty to one count ofconspiracy to commit healthcarefraud before US District JudgeGerald Rosen of the Eastern Dis-

trict of Michigan.Patel is scheduled to be sen-

tenced in March 2013 and faces amaximum penalty of 10 years inprison and a USD 250,000 fine.

According to court docu-ments, beginning in June 2009Patel received payments for falsi-fying medical documentation forPhysicians Choice Home HealthCare, a home health agency

owned by his alleged co-con-spirators.

Another co-conspirator in-structed Patel on how to falsifymedical documentation.

He also signed therapy revisitnotes as a physical therapy as-sistant for patients he did not seeor treat.

Patel admitted to knowing thatthe documents he falsified and the

documents he signed would beused to support false claims tofederal insurance program Medi-care for home health services.

According to Patel's pleaagreement, he was also paid tocreate and sign falsified medicaldocumentation for other Detroit-area home healthcare companiesthat billed Medicare for approxi-mately a million dollars. -PTI

NY groups wantdetails on frackinghealth study

ALBANY, NY: A coalition ofenvironmental groups have calledon state officials to release detailsof a health impact study for shalegas drilling and high-volume hy-draulic fracturing.

India PostHealth Science Post 13

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January 4, 2013

Lupin gets USFDA approvalfor oral contraceptive tablets

Animal diseases pose big challengeto human health: WHO Chief

BEIJING: Animal diseasesemerging at an alarming pace areposing a big challenge to humanhealth, the chief of the UN healthbody has warned.

More than 30 new diseasesemerged to cause diseases in hu-mans in the last three decades,and more than 70 per cent of themcame from the animal sector, Mar-garet Chan, Director- General ofthe WHO, said in Hong Kong.

When animal diseases infectthe human species to cause dis-eases in people, it is crucial to en-sure the ability for the health sec-

tor and the agriculture sector towork well together, making surethe interface is well handled, shesaid.

"SARS virus came from ani-mals, and bird flu came from poul-try. It is important to look at theenvironment, the culture practice,and the human-animal interface,and make sure the ecosystem bal-ance is properly managed,"China's state-run Xinhua newsagency quoted her as saying.

Chan also said changes likeunprecedented population den-sity, the industrialization of food

production, people living almostnose to nose with domestic ani-mals, the eating of bush meat, andthe phenomenal increases in in-ternational travel, are very diffi-cult trends to reverse.

She said there will definitely bemore new diseases capable ofcausing outbreaks in humans, butnot all new diseases will be dev-astating.

"The WHO and her partnersare watching closely, and will veryquickly deploy strong global ca-pacity to respond."

Chan was appointed Director-General of the WHO in 2006, andwas re-appointed for a secondterm until 2017. -PTI

'SARS virus camefrom animals, andbird flu came frompoultry. It is importantto look at the envi-ronment, the culturepractice, and thehuman-animalinterface'

Margaret Chan, Director- General of the WHO

NEW DELHI: Drug firm Lupinsays it has received US healthregulator's approval to marketDrospirenone and Ethinyl Estra-diol Tablets, an oral contraceptivedrug, in the American market.

The company's subsidiary, Lu-pin Pharmaceuticals Inc has re-ceived final approval from the USFood and Drug Administration

of 28 tablets consisting of 21yellow active tablets, each con-taining 3 mg Drospirenone and0.03 mg Ethinyl Estradiol, and 7white inert tablets," the com-pany said.

According to IMS MAT Sept2012 sales data, Yasmin Tabletshad annual US sales of nearlyUSD 275.1 million.

The current approval is theseventh for Lupin in the oral con-traceptive space (OC). Thecompany's current abbreviatednew drug application (ANDA) fil-ings for OC's stand at 30, the com-pany said.

The oral contraceptive marketin the US is valued at around USD5 billion and growing at around 8-10 per cent annually and is domi-nated by few companies like Teva,Watson, Sandoz and Bayer. -PTI

(USFDA) for its Drospirenone andEthinyl Estradiol Tablets instrength of 3 mg/0.03 mg, Lupinsaid in a statement.

The Mumbai-headquarteredfirm's product is the genericequivalent of Bayer's Yasmin tab-lets and is an oral contraceptiveindicated for the prevention ofpregnancy in women, it added.

"Lupin will be marketing itsDrospirenone and Ethinyl Estra-diol Tablets USP in a wallet pack

14 India Post Health Science Postwww.indiapost.com

January 4, 2013

NY groups want details on fracking health studyALBANY, NY: A coalition of

environmental groups have calledon state officials to release detailsof a health impact study for shalegas drilling and high-volume hy-draulic fracturing.

Representatives of a dozenprominent organizations signed aletter to Health CommissionerNirav Shah and EnvironmentalConservation Commissioner Jo-seph Martens. They asked themto make public the health impactstudy being evaluated by a sci-entific panel, and called for publichearings and a 60-day public com-ment period on the health study.

A DEC spokeswoman referredquestions to the health depart-

ment, which didn't immediatelyrespond to a request for comment.

DEC did the health study aspart of an environmental impactreview of shale gas developmentwhich started in July 2008 and isexpected to be completed withina few months.

Martens announced in Septem-ber that he was rejecting demandsfrom health and environmentalgroups to commission a compre-hensive health impact study byuniversity experts on shale gasdevelopment. Such a study wouldlikely scrutinize the potential formyriad health impacts, from die-sel exhaust air pollution to sexu-ally transmitted diseases spread

by out-of-state well site workers.Instead, Martens said he had

asked Shah to review the healthimpacts identified by DEC in its

environmental study and commis-sion a panel of nationally recog-nized experts to weigh in as well.

No details of DEC's health im-pact assessment have been madepublic. It was not included in the

1,500-page draft environmentalimpact study released in Septem-ber 2011. That document and anearlier version released in 2009

generated more than 80,000 pub-lic comments.

``To be valid and meaningful, itis absolutely critical that the healthreview process provide a genuineopportunity for input by local,

Iowa funding woes could meanmental health cuts

Glucosamine 'could prolong life': Study

Martens announced in September that hewas rejecting demands from health andenvironmental groups to commission a com-prehensive health impact study by universityexperts on shale gas development

county and New York State medi-cal and public health profession-als,'' the letter from the environ-mental coalition says.

With the health impact reviewstill pending, DEC released re-vised drilling regulations for pub-lic comment on Dec. 12 and is tak-ing comments until Jan. 11. Theenvironmental groups also criti-cized that decision, saying thehealth review should come first.

Groups signing the letter in-clude Catskill Mountainkeeper,Common Cause, EnvironmentalAdvocates, the Natural ResourcesDefense Council, Sierra Club,Earthjustice and AdirondackMountain Club, among others. -AP

DES MOINES, Iowa: SomeIowa counties are warning thatresidents could see cuts to men-tal health services if the statedoesn't pony up to help countiesmake the transition to a new re-gional system.

County mental health admin-istrators told The Des MoinesRegister that state administra-tors are recommending that mostcounties get nothing from thetransition fund. They're propos-ing that the Legislature putabout $1.5 million into the fund,which county officials say is notnearly enough.

State leaders last spring ledcounty officials to believe thatat least $20 million would be putinto the fund early next year, saidLynn Ferrell, who oversees PolkCounty's mental health pro-grams. State administrators saidno such promise was made.

Earlier this month, the IowaDepartment of Human Servicesreported that most countieshave enough money to pay their

mental health bills without extrahelp. Many of the counties' re-ported expenses weren't relatedto the cost of shifting away fromIowa's county-by-county men-

tal health system to a new sys-tem to be made up of multi-county regions, the departmentsaid.

Under the department's pro-posal to the Legislature, ScottCounty would receive nearly$1.5 million from the transitionfund; Marion County would re-ceive $5,688, and Taylor County$3,134. The other 29 countiesthat applied to the fund wouldget nothing.

Ferrell said that if no fundingcomes from the state, servicesto people with autism and cere-bral palsy could be among pro-grams cut in light of the fundingconcerns.

Linn County mental healthsupervisor Linda Langston saidthat cuts in her county could in-clude psychiatric medication andshort-term rent subsidies for men-tally ill residents. -AP

Ferrell said that if nofunding comes fromthe state, services topeople with autismand cerebral palsycould be amongprograms cut inlight of the fundingconcerns

LONDON: Glucosamine - anover-the-counter health supple-ment - commonly taken by olderpeople to keep joints supplecould help them live longer, re-searchers say.

US scientists said glucosaminecould have similar protective prop-erties to aspirin, minus the sideeffects.

In a study of 77,500 over-50s,researchers found people takingglucosamine were 13 per cent lesslikely to die over an eight-yearperiod, than those who did not.

Researchers at the FredHutchinson Cancer Centre in Se-attle believe the supplement mighthave protective anti-inflammatoryproperties, 'The Telegraph' re-

ported.Their study indicates people

on glucosamine were 13 per centless likely to die of cancer and 41per cent less likely to die of respi-ratory disease, than those who didnot.

"Although bias cannot beruled out, these results suggestthat glucosamine may providesome mortality benefit," research-ers said.

The study results were ad-justed to try to take account offactors that could skew the re-sults, such as age, gender,whether people smoked and so-cial class.

Researchers said it is possiblethat glucosamine has no real life-

protective properties, and whatthe results actually show is thatpeople who take glucosaminetend to take better general care ofthemselves.

An increasing body of evi-dence suggests that aspirin pro-tects against a range of cancers,but this evidence does not atpresent exist for glucosamine, thereport said.

"This is an interesting study,but it can't tell us for sure if theglucosamine supplements them-selves were responsible for thedifference in death rates, orwhether it could be explained bysomething else," Sarah Will-iams, from Cancer Research UK,said. -PTI

Va ranks high in healthemergency preparednessRICHMOND, Va.: An annual

report by two health advocacygroups ranks Virginia high com-pared with the rest of the coun-try in being prepared for public-health emergencies, but saidspending cuts could threaten thestate's ability to prevent and re-spond to disease outbreaks, di-sasters and other threats.

The Trust for America'sHealth and the Robert WoodJohnson Foundation say Vir-ginia was among 10 states thatmeet seven of 10 key benchmarksof public-health preparedness.No state met all 10 benchmarks,and a majority of states met sixor fewer of the measures.

The ``Ready or Not'' reportsaid Virginia complies with sev-eral indicators of public-healthcrisis preparedness, includingnotifying and immediately as-sembling public health staff torespond to an incident, havingan accredited emergency man-agement program, requiring li-censed child-care facilities tohave a written evacuation andrelocation plan, and having thepublic health laboratory staffingto respond to an infectious dis-ease outbreak.

But the report noted that Vir-ginia has decreased its public-health budget from the 2010-2011to 2011-12 fiscal years. The statealso didn't meet benchmarks forrequiring Medicaid to cover flushots with no co-pays for thoseunder the age of 65, or meetinggoals of vaccinating 90 percentof 19-to-35-month-olds againstwhooping cough.

The report said that scoresoverall reflect improvementsover time in how officials pre-vent, identify and respond to

disease, bioterrorism threats andnatural disasters.

States have made progress inbeing prepared for public emer-gencies since the Sept. 11, 2001,terrorist attacks and HurricaneKatrina, but gaps still exist na-tionwide in funding and the abil-ity to respond to threats to pub-lic health, the report said.

``Public health preparednesshas improved leaps and bounds.... But severe budget cuts at thefederal, state and local levelsthreaten to undermine thatprogress,'' Paul Kuehnert, direc-tor of the public health team atthe Robert Wood Johnson Foun-dation, said in a statement. ̀ `Wemust establish a baseline of ̀ bet-ter safe than sorry' prepared-ness that should not becrossed.'' -AP

The ̀ `Ready or Not''report said Virginiacomplies with sev-eral indicators ofpublic-health crisispreparedness, in-cluding notifying andimmediately assem-bling public healthstaff to respond to anincident, having anaccredited emer-gency managementprogram and requir-ing licensed child-care facilities

India PostHealth Science Post 15

www.indiapost.com

January 4, 2013

Hickenlooper wants expansion of mental health care

DENVER: Colorado Gov. JohnHickenlooper wants to expandmental health services and makemental health records readilyavailable for background checkson firearm purchases initiativesthat are a response to the Auroratheater shooting this summer.

The governor's office andhealth officials began working onthe proposals days after the the-ater shooting in July, and hadplanned the announcement forweeks. The timing arrives as thecountry comes to grips with thetragedy at a Connecticut elemen-tary school, another mass shoot-ing that has raised the specter ofmental health services and guncontrol.

Hickenlooper said in an inter-view with The Associated Pressbefore the shootings in Con-necticut, that ``the time is right''to discuss gun control, althoughhe did not call for specific legis-lation.

``Obviously, emotions arerather, are extremely raw for the lastfew days across the country, andcertainly for the last five monthsin Colorado,'' Hickenlooper said,adding, ``never truly goes away.''

Hickenlooper, who said re-sources for mental health ser-vices have declined in the past fewyears, is asking lawmakers for $18.5million to expand those services.

Proposals include opening five24-hour walk-in centers for men-

tal health care and creating a statemental health crisis hotline. Thoseinitiatives would cost about $10.2million, the governor's office said.

``We know that access to ser-vices at present is insufficient,and oftentimes the delivery ofthose services is fragmented,''Hickenlooper said. ``And we'revery well aware that resources for

mental health services have de-clined'' in the past few years.

Hickenlooper also wants men-tal health records to be immediatelyavailable for background checkson gun buyers. Currently, recordsare delivered twice a year, via a CD-ROM, to the Colorado Bureau ofInvestigation, which conducts thebackground checks. Lawmakers

would have to pass a bill to make ithappen, and there was no cost es-timate for how much it would costto revamp coordination.

Former neuroscience graduatestudent James Holmes is chargedwith killing 12 people and wound-ing 70 others in the movie theatershooting. His attorneys say hesuffers from mental illness. -AP

Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper

FDA chief renews push forspecialty pharmacy rules

Cont’d from page 12

Well over half of the cases ofmeningitis and other fungal infec-tions were tied to the June lot, in-vestigators said in the article.

The same finding applied todeaths, according to additional in-formation released this week bythe Centers for Disease Controland Prevention. Nearly two-thirdsof the deaths were in people whoreceived shots from the June lot.

It's not clear why deaths andillnesses were so much more com-mon in patients who got the Junedoses, said Dr. Benjamin Park,head of the CDC team that inves-tigates fungal diseases.

The CDC said the first death

from the outbreak occurred inFlorida in July. The 38 otherknown deaths occurred in Septem-ber or afterward, including twothis month.

Things could have been muchworse. In some earlier fungal men-ingitis outbreaks, as many as 40percent of the people who grewsick ultimately died. In this out-break, 6 percent died.

CDC officials believe somelives were probably saved be-cause health officials and healthworkers teamed up to quickly con-tact nearly everyone who got ashot from the tainted lots, andstart treating those with worri-some symptoms. -AP

www.indiapost.com January 4, 2013

COMMUNITYACROSS AMERICA

Details on page 2316 India Post

Desi News

Golf prodigies Rohan& Sachin

Details on page 27

Details on page 19

Details on page 24

Modi victory & Gujarat examplea role model for other States

SURESH SHAH & SURI SWAMY

CHICAGO: Gujarat has done itagain, backing Narendra Modiunwaveringly and putting himagain at the helm of affairs in theState. It is Gujarat's New Year giftto the country.

The victory acquires signifi-cance in that it was achieved de-spite many political odds - theCongress was hell bent on top-pling Modi and his party by allmeans at its command, the newlyset up Gujarat Parivartan Party byformer chief minister Keshubhairan a caste based campaign, andcertain elements denigrating Modiwere fanning communal discord.The Gandhian Gujarat proved thattruth should and does prevail allthe time. It proved that the vilifi-cation campaign against a personif carried to the extreme can mis-fire and could prove counter pro-ductive.

As outlined by a front rankingcommunity activist Dr BharatBarai, the Gujarat results shouldbe an eye opener for many otherStates in the Indian Union thatthere is no point in electing cor-

welfare of Gujarat and for thepeople. Their reunion should au-gur well for 2012 Federal elec-tions," he said. There should notbe any doubt now in anybody'smind that Gujarat would take hugestrides in economic and social de-velopments, he added.

Anil Shah, CEO World MoneyExchange, observed, that the elec-torate has given its verdict in fa-vor of Modi who has carved out astable and progressive govern-ment in Gujarat and has a provenrecord of good and honest leader-

ship. The electorate has wiselydecided to throw away disruptiveand negative elements by notelecting them. And that is a greatvictory for democracy and devel-opment, he said.

It is interesting to note thatNarendra Modi got support fromminority and backward communitymembers too. There was steadypropaganda against Modi afterGodhra riots and sustained effortswere made to tarnish his image and

get him distanced from minoritycommunity. Fortunately, theGujarat electorate did not fall forthis propaganda. If KeshubhaiPatel, a former chief minister, had

rupt, dishonest and shortsightedpoliticians to the top if collectivelywe want to progress. He said thatthe near decade long vilificationof Narendra Modi as a person toohas not paid dividend. And but forsplinter group of Keshubhai Patel,the Bharatiya Janata Party wouldhave won ten more seats and someof its prominent leaders likeJainarayan Vyas would not havelost the elections. "Overall speak-

ing Gujarat electorate has votedfor stability and progress, and thisshould serve as a role model forothers in the country.

Mafat Patel, often described asUncrowned King of Devon, ob-served that he was happy at theGujarat outcome but "things couldhave been better if the BJP hadwon a few seats more." He saidthat Keshubhai proved a great dis-traction but Modi really did wellby going to Keshubhai for bless-ings after winning elections. "Bothshould now work together for the

not formed a new party and hadworked with Modi, the ruling BJPwould have bagged a still moreseats. But now that is past andModi was magnanimous in goingto seek Keshubhai's blessings af-ter election victory.

Dr Hemant Patel, former presi-dent of AAPI, said that Modi withthree victories under his belt at theState level should now widen hishorizon and seek playing a biggerrole in national politics. "The wayhe has led Gujarat to a new heightin economic and social develop-ment, he would be a welcome ad-dition at the national level. One ofthe biggest problems facing thecountry is endemic corruption, andNarendra Modi has shown a wayto handle it at the State level. MostIndians would welcome anybodyaddressing this issue effectivelyand to me, Modi is quite well suitedto do it," he observed.

Usha Kamaria, a woman com-munity activist associated withGandhi Memorial Trust in Skokie,observed that the Gujarat people

have voted by overwhelming ma-jority for stable and progressivegovernment led by Narendra Modiand that is heartening.

‘One of the biggest problems facing thecountry is endemic corruption, and NarendraModi has shown a way to handle it at theState level. Most Indians would welcomeanybody addressing this issue effectively’

Cont’d on page 20

Anil Shah

Dr Bharat Barai

Dr Hemant Patel

Usha Kamaria

Narendra

Modi

Sahaj Marg leavesFremont devoteesspellboundRAKESH KAPOOR

India Post News Service

FREMONT: This last fortnight,two down-to-earth scholars ofSahaj Marg have been busy ex-plaining secrets of Sahaj Marg andMeditation thru it. Meditation isin the air these days. When thesetwo talk about it, people listen andthe halls become spellbound for15 minutes, as this is the maximumduration of their kind of Medita-tion. People are talking about thisSahaj Marg or easy way of medi-tation.

On Sunday, December 16, visi-tors to the Fremont Hindu Templefelt a different kind of experienceand realized something new. Chair-man Dr Romesh Japra also man-aged to spare some time to be partof it and was all praise for thismeditation.

Big grant allowsTurning Point toexpand servicesRAMESH SOPARAWALA


SKOKIE: Turning Point Behav-ioral Health Care Center CEO AnnFisher Raney, officers and staffrecently hosted a luncheon forlocal community leaders andelected representatives to cel-ebrate the awarding of a $1.2 mil-lion grant from the North Subur-ban Healthcare Foundation at itsSkokie facility.

Majestic Hindutemple opens inChino HillsIndia Post News Service

CHINO HILLS, CA: The majesticand traditional "BAPS ShriSwaminarayan Mandir" here was for-mally inaugurated on December 23.

The four-day festivities of GrandOpening Mahotsav included cer-emonial prayers for world peace,murti-pratishtha, nagar-yatrathrough Artesia streets, kirtan-aradhana, cultural program, dedi-cation assembly, etc.

Said to be one of the largestHindu houses of worship in South-ern California, it reportedly took 16years to complete. This 20-acreseven-building BAPS ShriSwaminarayan Mandir and CulturalCenter complex, rooted in classicalIndian architecture, aims to becomea center.

India Post 17January 4, 2013 Community Across Americawww.indiapost.com

Indian-owned WME celebrates silver jubileeRAMESH SOPARAWALA


CHICAGO: The first of its typeIndian-owned foreign exchangetrading company, World MoneyExchange Inc. celebrates 25 yearsof its existence.

Serving 200 plus currency ex-changes in Illinois - andChicagoland, and four times in arow recognition from Better Busi-ness Bureau under its belt, WMEis owned and operated by AnilShah, a professional turned busi-nessman. The company with itsannual turnover crossing $100 mil-lion mark by a big margin hassteadily expanded its operationalbase with huge support from main-stream American customers

In a talk to this paper, Anil Shahsaid that it is not only the indi-vidual customers and scores ofcurrency exchanges in Illinois whocome to WME for buying and sell-ing foreign exchange on a regular

basis but even some of the banksalso rely on his services. "Withour customer friendly and expertstaff, we can expand our activitiesstill further manifold but our mottois to offer individual attention toour customers and win their con-fidence. Logistic consideration isthe only inhibiting factor," he said.

Anil Shah at one time was con-sidering branching out to India

after liberalization of its economybut has shelved the idea in thewake of allegations of widespreadunderhand dealings. The bulk ofexchange transactions at WMEdowntown office centers aroundUS and Canadian dollar, Britishpound sterling, Euros, Peso, Japa-nese Yen, Hong Kong , Australiandollar and many other world cur-rencies Visit www.wmeinc.com formore details.

It was over two and half de-cades ago Anil Shah with a highlevel of education in accounting -Chartered Accountant - came toUSA from a small town Sojitra inGujarat and worked for a while inan American firm. He wanted tohave his own business and as afirst step he finished CPA here, andlaunched his practice as a tax con-sultant and accountant. Even to-day he has scores of individualand corporate accounts, and hecontinues rendering his servicesto them.

He felt during the course of hisaccounting practice that large num-ber investors are constantly look-ing for safe investment outletsand their preference bogs downprimarily to gold and silver withplatinum following closely for rela-tively well-to-do class. He com-menced dealing in precious met-als and then added foreign ex-change transactions to his port-

folio. Dealing in precious metals-gold silver and platinum - has nowbeen a major activity toppedslightly by foreign exchange deals.Business in precious metals hasgreat potential, especially withweak global economy and a pen-chant among investors for a safehaven for investing their hardearned money.

He feels that both silver andgold are poised for a rise in asmuch as the outlook for globaleconomy is not very sanguine atleast for the near future. Besides,political upheavals and unrest inMid-east, some parts of Africa andFar East are dampening factors forweary investors.

Glimpse of foreign currencies dealt by WME

WME CEO Anil Shah in his Downtown office

January 4, 2013India Post18 Community Across Americawww.indiapost.com

Big grant allows Turning Point to expand servicesRAMESH SOPARAWALA


SKOKIE: Turning Point Behav-ioral Health Care Center CEO AnnFisher Raney, officers and staffrecently hosted a luncheon forlocal community leaders andelected representatives to cel-ebrate the awarding of a $1.2 mil-lion grant from the North Subur-ban Healthcare Foundation at itsSkokie facility.

Showing their support for theinnovative behavioral health careleader were U.S. CongresswomanJan Schakowsky, State Represen-tative Lou Lang, State Senator IraSilverstein and State Representa-tive Daniel Biss. Feature speakersincluded Skokie Mayor GeorgeVan Dusen, and North SuburbanHealthcare Foundation Vice ChairDonald P. Perille.

The event was held in thebuilding adjacent to TurningPoint's current space at 8324Skokie Boulevard. The sizeablegrant has allowed Turning Pointto purchase the neighboring build-ing and nearly double its officespace to 40,000 square feet with-out incurring any new debt. Theadditional space makes it possible

Holding the pieces of Turning Point's promise to provide solid support as it is reassembled into an expanded vision for an integrative care center are L to R:

State Rep. Lou Lang, Turning Point CEO Ann Fisher Raney, State Senator Ira Silverstein, U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky, State Rep. Daniel Biss, NSHF Vice Chair

Donald P. Perille and Skokie Mayor George Van Dusen. Pics Mitchell Canoff

for Turning Point to expand ser-vices through the creation of anintegrative health center.

Turning Point has a track recordof innovation in the behavioralhealth care field. The Living Roomat Turning Point, which opened inSeptember of 2011, offers supportto clients experiencing psychiat-ric emergencies in a comfortable,non-clinical space, providing a

welcome and cost-effective alter-native to hospital emergencyrooms. In the first year, 228 visitsresulted in fewer than 15 emer-gency room referrals (a deflectionrate of 93%), saving an estimated$500,000 in state health care costs.

Turning Point CEO Ann FisherRaney said she was initiallystunned by the generosity of thegrant: "Our staff is dedicated to

providing compassionate, respect-ful and cost-effective solutions toour clients and community weserve. We are actively meeting withorganizations who can providecomplementary services, such assubstance abuse counseling,therapeutic play and health careservices and intend to announcenew partner organizations in early2013."

‘Our staff is dedi-cated to providingcompassionate,respectful and cost-effective solutions toour clients and com-munity we serve’

Cont’d on page 22


Soorya showcases classical dance talent in St. LouisSHUBHA SUBBARAO

ST LOUIS, MO: Soorya DanceCompany recently hosted its An-nual Show as part of the SooryaPerforming Series at the MahatmaGandhi Center in St Louis show-casing Bharatanatyam and Kathak

dance styles.The evening started with a wel-

come speech by Guru PrasannaKasthuri, the Director and ChiefChoreographer of the SooryaDance Company. The show beganwith dances by the Yuva Prathiba(young talent). These studentshave been learning dance for over

six years with the senior most stu-dents who have performed theirarangetrams in the past years. Theshowcase followed pieces from thetraditional marga (repertoire) start-ing off with a Mishra Alaripu,

Jatiswaram, Tillana and inter-spersed with popular pieces suchas Asaindadum, JayajanakiRamana, Sundara Gopalam andTeerada Vilaiattu Pillai.

The dance numbers were inpraise of deities such as LordVishnu, Lord Krishna, and LordRama, highlighting mythological

stories or sequences from epics.Not only were nritya and nrittapieces performed by these stu-dents but also abhinaya played amajor role in several of the dancenumbers. The music was set to

several enchanting Carnatic clas-sical ragas (melodies) and complextalas (rhythm cycles).Students whoperformed in this session wereAnnapurna, Misri, Nivedita, Priya,Shree, Annika, Samanvita, Cheri,Chinmayi, Annuja and Shalini.

Following this, the BalaPrathibha (kids) took to stage and

stole the hearts of all. The dancenumbers were NateshaKouthuvam, Lambodara,Vakratunda, Ganapati Kouthuvam,Tisra Alaripu, with a finale that wasa Gujarati folk piece 'Maadi Tara'.

The dance numbers in praise ofLord Ganesha, who also happensto be the favorite deity amongstkids, was well performed and thekids looked very cute in their brightyellow dance outfits, comple-mented with dazzling jewelry andthe white and orange flowersbraided into their hair.

The tiny tots started with be-ginner adavus accompanying thesongs while the older studentsfollowed them by more complexadavus and defined nritta andnritya elements. The younger stu-

dents performing in this sessionwere Hansika, Mounica, Sadhana,Divya, Esha, Sansita, Roshni,Arshya, Neha, Ria, Manasvini,Shivani, Arathi, Devika, Amisha,Rithika, Radhika, Meera, Niharika,Roshni, Sansita, Ananya, Tanvi,Sanjana, Jahnavi, Sadhana.

Child and young artists performing for Sooryan Dance Company annual show

Cont’d on page 23


She said the real test of Modi'sleadership starts now in that hehas to live up to the rising expec-tations of not only Gujarati peoplebut Indians across the country.His victory in Gujarat should alsopave the way for his larger contri-bution to national developmentand politics. It would not surprisemany if Modi gets national recog-nition sooner than later.

Pramod Bagai, one of the oldtime residents of Chicago hailingfrom North India and now lead-ing a retired life, succinctly ob-served that Modi's victory shouldbe an eye opener not only for theopposition parties but also for in-tra- BJP elements who look lesskindly to this leader." I am of thefirm belief that the BJP rank andfile members should unitedly askfor electing Narendra Modi as theparty leader for 2014 elections ifBJP wants to put up a commend-

Modi victory & Gujarat example a role model for other Statesvictory of Modi should augur wellfor Gujarat and India as a whole. Itis high time for the US State De-partment to reconsider its decisionin denying US entry visa to Modi.He should now be welcome hereas he has bagged sizeable minor-ity votes. With all his good show-ing, it is still a far cry for him to theIndian PM. From CM to PM, it isstill a bumpy road, he added

Vinesh Virani of Art of Livingsaid that this is the third strike forModi and that he should now put

all his efforts harnessing posi-tively all the communities - minor-ity and majority - in buildingGujarat strong. He was heartenedto know that a sizeable number ofGujarat Muslims voted for Modiand his party, and that this shouldhelp stave of oft-repeated allega-tions that Modi is against any par-ticular community. He felt thatModi should show his mettle inensuring that the periodic invest-ment meets in Gujarat do not de-generate into mere Tamasha as itis on the card that a large numberof MoUs are just on the paper andlittle progress is reported in theirimplementation.

Harendra Mangrola of GayatriGyan Mandir said that Modi's vic-tory is a good development notonly for Gujarat but for India as awhole. Good part is that even alarge number of Muslims, as re-ported by Times of India, votedfor him. He signifies progress and

stability, and "I am sure that hewill take Gujarat to a new height."Mangrola added that BJP wouldhave fared much better were it notfor Gujarat Parivartan Party thatformer Gujarat CM had establisheda few months ago to combat socalled "ills in the State of Gujarat".He observed that Modi could be areal good choice for becoming In-dian PM, and his chances wouldhave been immensely bright if hisparty had won over 125 seats inState elections.

Naren Patel of Vishwa GujaratiSamaj said electing Modi and giv-ing a majority to the BJP was theright choice that the people of

Gujarat have made. They have theright man at the right time, and thisshould ensure steady progress ofthe State in the coming years. "Weall expected Modi and BJP to win.

able show at the national level.Most right minded Indians wouldwant Modi to lead the country ashe has displayed strong leader-ship qualities and is admittedly anhonest politician. If BJP fails toboost Modi, I am sure it will be theCongress and hotchpotch groupswho would stand to gain. Most ofus want Modi to lead India so thatIndia gets her rightful place in thecomity of nations," he said.

Balwinder Singh, a prominentIndian Sikh leader, said that the

The only difference is that we ex-pected a bigger majority. The un-called for opposition from GujaratParivartan Party had its impact butModi did a fine job in going to seekKeshubhai's blessing after his vic-tory. That speaks volumes for thisman," Naren Patel said. It wouldbe a great day if Modi goes to Delhiand leads the Indian government,he observed

Dr Ashok Jain of Detroit saidthat Gujarat had little option butto elect Modi as its leader and thehead of the government as mostothers have poor or no credibility.After Sardar Patel, Narendra Modihas proved to be a real Iron Man.Others with less caliber or less willpower would have crumbledagainst the onslaught of vilifyingcampaign run by the opposition.Gujarat is now assured of steadyprogress and good government,Jain said.

Sitaram Patel, a former presi-dent of the Federation of IndianAssociations, Chicago, said thatwherever Modi went the peopleof Gujarat called him "Lion ofGujarat" and he proved that he isa lion. His opponents inside theState and outside the State virtu-ally got licked. Had it not been for

Keshubhai Patel, a former BJP stal-wart and former chief minister,whose only contribution was split-ting of BJP votes by setting up anew party, Modi would havescored a still bigger victory. It isinteresting to note that the minor-ity community in Broach voted forModi and secured him all the seatsin area."I am of the firm opinionthat Modi is fit to lead not onlyGujarat but the country. From CMto PM should not be a far cry as itis the consensus among Indianpeople," he said.


Balwinder Singh

Vinesh Virani

Dr Ashok Jain

Harendra Mangrola

Sitaram Patel

Naren Patel


MKCA celebrates Nathal Fest - 2012AUSTIN PRABHU

CHICAGO: MangaloreanKonkan Christians Association(MKCA) celebrated its 11th Christ-mas program with its focus onsharing and giving. It was sunnybut one of the coldest days of thisyear's winter season, but this didnot dampen the spirit of all thosewho participated.

The program began with cel-ebration of Holy Eucharist by Rev.Fr. Richard Vaz, SVD who invitedeveryone to remember and reliveagain that wonderful time of theirsalvation history. MKCA choirmembers sung Konkani and En-

glish hymns under the leadershipof Dorothy Rego.

The President of the associa-tion, Godwin Rego welcomed allthe guests, well-wishers and mem-bers. He thanked them for theirgracious presence in making thisprogram a success.

The compere of the ProgramSteevan D'Souza, invited the au-dience to savor the typical Indianappetizers and the open bar. Therewere recreational activities for allages - children, teenagers andadults. The robust participationby the members was a joy for all.The winners of the activities were:

Passing the Globe - MerwinD'Souza and runner-up LuellaMascarenhas. Musical Chairs -Winner Mercy Concesso and run-

ners up Edna Mascarenhas.There was a unique "Dessert

Competition" arranged by the or-

ganizers. There were nine entriesand following participants wonthis competition: Anita D'Souza,winner (Rice Pudding) and Shan-

non D'Souza, runner-up (MangoKulfi).

The compere of the Program SteevanD'Souza, invited the audience to savor thetypical Indian appetizers and the open bar.There were recreational activities for all ages- children, teenagers and adults

MKCA Choir singing hymns

Santo Claus with children

MKCA members dancing

Cont’d on page 23


Big grant allows TurningPoint to expand services

North Suburban HealthcareFoundation Board Vice ChairDonald P. Perille said, "Just as werecognized a community need andcapability to address those needsby Lighthouse for the Blind, wesee the singular potential of Turn-ing Point." Skokie Mayor GeorgeVan Dusen said, "Turning Point isconsistently rated at the highest

level by their industry peers. I ex-pect their pioneering efforts in thearea of integrative health care tobring greater public awareness ofthe importance of comprehensivemental health services."

The Center established in 1969,is an outpatient mental health cen-ter that exists to provide compre-hensive mental health services toall, regardless of financial re-sources or intensity of need.

Turning Point Advisory Board Members L to R: David Putrus assistant vice

president at First Bank & Trust, Robyne Luzietti clinical social worker, Sheila

Meyer (Skokie) and Pat Moriarty president of Collegiate Services


Students, religious leaders pray for Conn. victimsIndia Post News Service

NEVADA: A student-led multi-faith memorial service inhonor of Sandy Hook Elemen-tary School Connecticut vic-tims was held at Universityof Nevada-Reno (UNR) onDecember 18 evening.

Organized by UNR's Inter-faith Students Club in col-laboration with Rajan Zed,Director Interfaith Relationsof Nevada Clergy Associa-tion, it included prayers/thoughts by area Christian,Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist,Jewish, Baha'i leaders besidesstudent leaders and leader ofnon-believers.

Rajan Zed opened the ser-vice with Gayatri Mantra,most sacred mantra of Hindu-ism from oldest existing scrip-ture of the world Rig-Veda.Held at the UNR campus, theparticipants recited prayers,offered reflection and readfrom scriptures in Arabic-San-skrit-Hebrew-Aramaic be-sides English. Many in theaudience were seen wiping theirtears during this interfaith service

Thakur Chakrapani Singh, well-known classical musician from In-dia, paid tribute through KachhapiVeena while audience accompa-

nied area musician Jim Eaglesmithin his fusion rendition of "GivePeace a Chance". Various speak-

ers paid tributes to all victims, theirfamilies, teachers, administrators,and first responders touched bythis tragedy.

"We wanted to show that uni-

versity and college students allover the country were united intheir mourning and support for the

victims, their families and othersaffected by this tragic loss in Con-necticut; and religions wouldcome together on issues such asthis," said Daniel R. Sanchez,

President of UNR's Interfaith Stu-dents Club,.

Besides Zed and Sanchez, there

were twelve other speakers includ-ing Navgeet Zed, President, Stu-dent Government Association ofTruckee Meadows CommunityCollege and Nazrul Mojumder,

President of Graduate Chapter ofMuslim Students' Association ofUNR. Mark Sutliff and Stephanie

Walker read statements of UnitedStates Senator Dean Heller andUnited States Congressman MarkAmodei respectively on the occa-sion.

From left to right: Sherif Elfass, Joseph Gebhardt, Daniel R. Sanchez, Vince Fallon, Rajan Zed, Rich Smith, Phil Bryan and Roya Galata. Pic Elizabeth Knott


Guru Prasanna had meshed the dancenumbers to transition the skills through thebeginner, intermediate and advanced stagesto showcase the growing up and maturingof a dance student and what he or she canbring to an audience with years of trainingand dedication.

The second half of the program focusedon Kathak, another popular classical dancestyle from India. Students performed a rep-ertoire comprising Rang Manch, Amad,Gath Nikas, Ganapati Moorath, Jai Durgeand Aaj Shyam Murali. The dancers wereSamanvita, Sara, Trisha, Karishma, andJahnavi. Some of these dancers have been

Soorya showcases classical dance talent in St. Louislearning both styles from Guru Prasanna.

Nagnedara Haaraya, a dance dedicatedto Lord Nataraja, the deity of dance, wasperformed as a way of rendering thanks tothe gurus and the audience by most of thestudents of the dance school. The finalewas a Jugalbandi of both dance styles andthe students did a fantastic job challeng-ing each other with dance structuresthroughout the dance number. The deftfootwork, hand movements and agilitywere captivating and brought applause tothe dancers, Samanvita, Sara, Trisha,Karishma, Annika, Shree, Nivedita andPriya.

Guru Prasanna called volunteers andrecognized them for their support of the


MKCAcelebratesNathal Fest - 2012

This was followed by a sumptuous din-ner with Dukra Maas (Pork dish) withSanna and Chana (prepared by the mem-bers); along with other mouth wateringmenu items. The Dessert Competitionitems were a hit and were a test for thetaste buds with every item having its ownunique taste.

The program was followed by singingof Christmas Carols by children. As theysang "Jingle Bells", there was grand ar-rival of Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus. Allwere mesmerized and happy to receive giftsfrom Santa and Mrs. Claus.

There were several door prizes and si-lent auction. The organizers announcedthat the "Kuswar Packets", the typicalMangalorean style Christmas goodies, pre-pared by Members of MKCA, are on saleto benefit the Educational Fund of DonBosco Club, Puttur. As usual the attend-ees hit the dance floor with full force forthe musical tunes of Konkani, English,Spanish and Hindi songs presented by DJJoey Mendonca.

Steevan D'Souza thanked all the audi-ence present for their gracious presenceand all those who prepared the KuswarItems.


Golf prodigiesRohan & Sachin

performing arts. Mruchhakatika, a mega-production from Soorya Dance companythat was on tour in 2012 was one such pro-duction that had solicited help from thecommunity to a large extent and proved tobe a very successful production for theDance company.

Certificates of appreciation were handedto each of the performing students by theSoorya Performing Arts Board President,Baskar Subbarao, who also commendedthe students for all their hard work and en-couraged them to continue their effortstowards becoming accomplished dancers.The dance show was partially supportedby annual funds received from MissouriArts Council (MAC) Sulkeha.com, Enopiand USA Mortgage.


DALLAS: Rohan Kommineni (8 years) and Sachin Kommineni (6 years) wonthe Dallas US Kids Golf Tournament and were named Players of the Year 2012 intheir respective age groups.

Both of them started practicing golf at age 3 years. They go to Jim MclainGolf Center in Dallas twice a week for training.

Parents: Dr. Jyotsna Prasad & Dr. Kalyan KommineniGrandparents: Kalyani Prasad & Dr. Raghavendra PrasadPaternal Grandparent: Late Shri Chakravarthi Kommineni (Music Director).

Rohan Kommineni and Sachin Kommineni


Sahaj Marg teachers leave Fremontdevotees spellbound

RAKESH KAPOOR


FREMONT: This last fortnight, twodown-to-earth scholars of Sahaj Marg havebeen busy explaining secrets of Sahaj Margand Meditation thru it. Meditation is in the

air these days. Whenthese two talk about it,people listen and thehalls become spell-bound for 15 minutes,as this is the maximumduration of their kindof Meditation. Peopleare talking about thisSahaj Marg or easyway of meditation.

On Sunday, Decem-ber 16, visitors to theFremont HinduTemple felt a differentkind of experience andrealized somethingnew. Chairman DrRomesh Japra also

managed to spare some time to be part of itand was all praise for this meditation.

Leela Mathur, as usual, was there andshe headed the team for celebrating MeeraJayanti. She joined Prabha Bhatnagar insinging bhajans of Meera Bai. Among thosepresent were Rajesh Verma (Co-Chairman)

Manorama Joshi(CFO), Veena Birla(Trustee), KeshabChopra, AnitaChopra, Rekha Malikand many more regu-lar devotees.

Rakesh Kapoortalked with the twolearned devotees ofSahaj Marg: SharadChandra and ShubhChintak Kishore.India Post: Tell ussomething aboutyourself and your as-sociation with SahajMarg?

Sharad Chandra: Iam the eldest grandson of the Founder ofSahaj Marg System, Rev Ram Chandra popu-larly known as Babuji. I will be trying mybest to explain the general questions whichgenerate in human mind and need clarifica-

tion. I shall be open for any further elucida-tion, if any.

In June 1979 at 4.30 pm Rev. Babuji cameto my room and asked me to accompanyhim to his Puja Room. There he told me thatthis was the birth place of Sahaj Marg Sys-tem and then asked me to sit before him andclose my eyes. I did so for 10 minutes whenhe said, that's all and told me that he hadconnected me with Divinity forever. I wastoo young to understandthis. When I reached the ageof my understanding, I de-cided to ask him to explainwhy he never told me aboutthe system as he was explain-ing it to others? After waitingfor a while, he replied "wherethe ground is ready, no expla-nation is required, only con-nection is to be done. Theexplanation is required forthose who have to practicethe system to become eligiblefor connection with the ulti-mate Power. Since you wereready for it, so I directly con-nected you. Hereafter your

practice will help you to realize."IP: What is your profession?

SC: The Year of 1979 was very importantin my life as I was connected to the DivinePower forever and also secured my

Bachelor's degree in academics withhis blessings. Thereafter, I decidedto practice as management and fi-nance consultant and the practicepicked up very well. My relationswith US based software companyare also still continuing.IP: Were there any more turningpoints in your life?

SC: One more turning pointcame when he asked me to accom-pany him to Paris, France in the year1982. At Paris, I was with him all thetime as I had no interest to go foroutings.

There he told me lot of secretswhich are very helpful for all livingbeings. I asked him once why washe telling me all those spiritual se-

crets? His reply was that time will come forme to explain this to living beings globally,which shall be counted as service to hu-manity. Once very late in the night, whilestill at Paris, he kept both his palms on myhead and the force of Power felt by me wasso strong that I found it difficult to bear. Heasked me to sleep. I immediately went tosleep on my bed which was by his side.

Meera Bai. Pics Neeloo KapoorLeela Mathur & Prabha Bhatnagar singing Meera Bhajans

Shubh Chintak Kishore & Sharad Chandra Ji giving

lecture on Sahaj Marg Meditation

Dr Romesh Japra summarizing the lecture given by Shubh

Chintak Ji & Sharad Chandra Ji on Sahaj Marg Meditation

Cont’d on page 26


How West meets East in Ravi Shankar's musicELIZABETH CHALIER-VISUVALINGAM

Listening to Ravi Shankarone day as a teenager inParis eventually changed

my life forever. Soon after, alsounder the influence of MahatmaGandhi's life and the teachings ofSri Aurobindo, I was embarking onan Indian journey to prepare myPhD in philosophy at the BanarasHindu University.

During my 12 years living andresearching from the late 70s in thesacred city, I had the unique privi-lege of listening to the maestro inhis birth place, where concertstypically started at sunset andcontinued till the sun (ravi) beganrising from the Ganga to the raga

Sindhu Bhairavi. Sessions longand leisurely enough for one toplunge into the intricacies andnuances of Indian classical music,exploring and savoring each note(svara). He was accompanied thenon the tabla by Alla Rakha.

More recently, living in Chi-cago, I've twice heard RaviShankar perform live at the Sym-phony Center in "duets"(jugalbandi) with his brilliantdaughter Anoushka. The torch oftradition and continued experi-mentation had been assured, butthe audience still remained capti-vated by the legendary father. Al-though these concerts were nec-essarily briefer, his music spreadthe same energy, strength, depth,the same beauty, and offered usthe same inspiration and aspira-tion.

This cultural "ambassador"from India has worked and playedhard to initiate a genuine and grow-ing, not only musical, dialoguebetween East and West thatunderlines both the differ-ences and the similarities,creating bridges while en-suring the unique identityof each. The ongoing en-counter was epitomizedby his collaboration withviolinist Yehudi Menuhin.He worked later with PhilipGlass, Zubin Mehta, flautistJean-Pierre Rampal, cellistMstislav Rostropovich, JohnColtrane, and others.

Ravi Shankar was the first In-dian to teach Western audienceshow to appreciate his music and

its underlying traditions and val-ues, how to understand and whatto expect from a raga and its un-ending improvisations. He alsoreached out beyond the West tocollaborate with artistes from theFar East, including Japanese mu-sicians such as Hozan Yamamoto,a shakuhachi player, and SusumuMiyashita, a koto player. He com-posed music not only for his soli-tary sitar but also for orchestra andto accompany Indian movies suchas Satyajit Ray's Apu Trilogy andlater for Attenborough's Gandhi.

The pioneer never stoppedworking and playing, innovatingtill the end. His last DVD, titled

Tenth Decade in Concert: Live inEscondido, from East Meets WestMusic, released in November 2012by Alan Kozlowski, was recordedon October 9, 2011 at the Califor-nia Center for the Arts, Escondido.Shankar introduces here, for thefirst time, Goonga Sitar, based onmuffling the sonority of the stringswith a piece of cloth. His last con-cert with daughter Anoushka, withwhom he performed frequently,was on November 4, 2012, at avenue close to home inLong Beach, California.

The official re-cording label ofthe RaviS h a n k a rFoundation,East meetsWest Mu-

sic, well illustrates Pandit RaviShankar's assured status as pio-neer in this domain. A historicalfigure, he was born into colonialIndia, lived through the Indepen-dence struggle, and survived wellinto our 21st century.

Ripe in years at passing, theHindu musician from the timelessholy city was modern well beforehis times. He understood beforemost contemporaries the meaningof globalization, multiculturalism,and was adept at adapting tochange while preserving his coreidentity. This rootedness is per-haps best captured by the mov-ing scene in "Between TwoWorlds" (BBC documentary onDVD) of his visit to his Guru, fromwhom he had received so manyadmonishments, to sing now intearful unison.

Within his own country andwith implications for nation-build-ing, this Varanasi-born Bengalidisciple of Ustad Alauddin Khan,popularized Carnatic ragas - suchas Hamsadhwani, Kirwani, andMalaya Marutam - among NorthIndian musicians and connois-seurs. He played in unison(jugalbandi) with Muslim instru-mentalists, starting withhis Guru's sonand former

brother-in-law, Ali Akbar Khan. In-stead of pursuing inter-religiousand intercultural dialogue throughthe acrimonious exchange ofspeeches, he enacted the same tothe shared delight of hybrid audi-ences on the world-stage. TheRussian philosopher, MikhailBakhtin, popularized the principleof "dialogism" as not simply anadd-on but as fundamental to ourlives and very identities.

Next August, the first interna-tional conference on "Bakhtin inIndia" is being held inGandhinagar (Gujarat) on thepremise that Indian culture hadembodied and practiced

"dialogism" long before Bakhtingot to theorizing it. Ravi Shankar'slong life, musical itinerary, and ar-tistic creativity has been livingproof of this.

Though Shankar traveled farand wide, Paris had a special placein the heart of India's ambassador-at-large. Whenever I heard himthere, he emphatically expressedhis affection for the cultural capi-

tal of France - and earlier of Eu-rope - and took pleasure in

speaking some French.He would recall his

first expo-

sure to the West in 1930 as ayouthful dancer in the companyof his elder brother Uday Shankar.

In December 2011, I visited theanthropological exhibition at theMusée du Quai Branly on "HumanZoos," which featured exotic,even deformed, "savages" fromthe imperial colonies put on trav-eling display across Europe. I wassurprised to see towards the endof my tour, old black and whitevideo recordings of UdayShankar's troupe dancing beforeintrigued, and perhaps titillated,audiences.

What greater tribute to RaviShankar than the fact that, over

his lifetime, so many youngFrench men and women have madethe pilgrimage to India to imbibeits music, dance, and culture, tobecome themselves teachers and"missionaries" of the underlyingclassical and folk traditions.

Ravi Shankar's legacy is im-mense and it is for succeeding

gen-e r a -

tions toexplore all its

dimensions andpossibilities. He

has left an indeliblemark on our world, and

will be remembered for histalent and immense persis-

tence. He will remain with us for-ever as we keep listening to hisextraordinary music. His spiritualjourney will continue through us,for his ragas and the aesthetic sen-sibility that breathes throughthem-so ancient and Indian, yetcontemporary and global- havebecome one.

Elizabeth Chalier-Visuvalingam is a French scholarof Indian religions with PhDs inanthropology and philosophyfrom the University of Paris (X)and Banaras Hindu University

Ravi Shankar was the first Indian to teachWestern audiences how to appreciate hismusic and its underlying traditions and val-ues, how to understand and what to expectfrom a raga and its unending improvisations.He also reached out beyond the West tocollaborate with artistes from the Far East

Next August, the first international conferenceon "Bakhtin in India" is being held inGandhinagar (Gujarat) on the premise thatIndian culture had embodied and practiced"dialogism" long before Bakhtin got to theoriz-ing it. Ravi Shankar's, musical itinerary, &artistic creativity has been living proof of this


Ramanujan museum & libraryplanned at his birthplace

SURI SWAMY

CHICAGO: Indian Americanshave pitched for a "RamanujanInternational Mathematics Mu-seum & Library" in the mathemati-cal genius Srinivasa Ramanujan'sbirthtown of Erode (Tamil Nadu,India) to mark his 125th birth anni-versary which fell on December 22.

Prof Ghanshyam Pandey, anIndian scientist at University ofIllinois Chicago said that thatRamanujan did remarkable work to

bring glory to India and it was nowthe turn of India to pay him a be-fitting tribute. Had he emerged ina city of advanced learning from afamily of noted mathematicians,his accomplishments would stillhave been stunning, but he wasborn into a poor family of no no-table professional attainments ina part of the world where hardly

anyone could understand eventhe nature of his talents. The ob-stacles to his achieving his goalof becoming a professional math-ematician were by reasonable as-sessment insurmountable. Yet hedid, and people around the worldstill marvel at attainments ofSrinavasa Ramanujan, ProfPandey added.

Rajan Zed, President of Univer-sal Society of Hinduism, in a state-

ment in Nevada (USA) said thatRamanujan was a deeply religiousperson, a devout Hindu and astrict vegetarian. This proved thatscience and religion could gohand in hand. The museum wouldbe an appropriate tribute inRamanujan's memory and itwould inspire the coming gen-erations.

LtoR: Ramanujan, Prof Pandey and Rajan Zed

He argued that the Indian gov-ernment and Tamil Nadu Stategovernment should work to-gether, seeking assistance fromUniversity of Cambridge (UnitedKingdom) of which Ramanjuanwas an alumni, to make this inter-national monument a reality.

University of Cambridge andIndian Institutes of Technologyshould also institute researchchairs in mathematics in

Ramanjuan's name honoring hislegacy, Rajan Zed added.

Srinivasa Ramanujan (1887-1920), a renowned mathemati-cian, autodidact and natural ge-nius; born to a poor family; madeextraordinary contributions tovarious areas of mathematics at ayoung age with very little formaltraining.

Sahaj Marg teachers leave Fremont devotees spellboundWhen I got up after 30 hours of

sound sleep, I realized my life wastransformed from the worldly side,more towards the spiritual side.IP: Any other miracle in yourlife?

SC: Another transformationcame in my life in the year 1987. Ihad food poisoning effect whiletraveling from Delhi toShahjahanpur, and was admittedin the government hospital atShahjahanpur in an unconsciousstate. None of my family memberswere aware of my whereabouts tillfor about a week when one day mycar driver visited the hospital to seehis relative there and saw me lyingon a bed. After talking to the doc-tor about how I came to the hospi-tal, he informed my parents. Oncoming to full consciousness, Irealized though I had name, fameand money, but none came to myrescue. It was only Rev. Babuji'sgrace which saved me and gave menew life. Right from the moment ofthat realization, I dedicated my maxi-mum time in his constant remem-

brance and in sharing with othersthe benefit which we can get bypracticing the Sahaj Marg Systemfounded by him.

The transformation broughtabout by practice of Sahaj Margdid not permit me to retire fromworldly responsibilities and dutiesprovided by God Power. The es-sential help we get by practicingthe system is "Balancing of Mind".This helps in deciding the right lineof action, creating more possibili-ties for positive results.

Taking care for the physicalalone is not important

Shubh ChintakKishore (S.C. Kishore)IP: What motivated you to joinSahaj Marg System?

S.C.Kishore: I have alwaysbeen attracted by Divine person-alities like Lord Ram, Krishna, Christand others and holy persons talk-ing about Him. My parents andgrandparents were very simple.Their simple living style left deepimpression on my mind. I learnt thattaking care for the physical aloneis not important, but I should work

Cont’d from page 24 for my spiritual growth also.So I have the idea that life is

not only for earning money, name,and fame, but the real object liesbeyond that.

IP: What is your profession?SCK: I am a qualified Chartered

Accountant (CA), like CPA inUSA, and am still in practice.IP: What is your experience as aresult of practicing the System?

SCK: I have been practicing theSahaj Marg System since 1965, for47 years now, I see the world as amechanical instrument of God in

which people are acting as pup-pets in His hands. As a conse-quence I realized that people claim-ing credit for things done by themor blaming others, are laboring un-

der misconception and wastingtheir precious Divine energy. Butyou cannot help them, much asone would like to do. As they thinkthemselves as doers of the thingsas against the realty.IP: How does it work in yourdaily life?

SCK: With the practice of SahajMarg, the clarity of real purposeof life has come to stay with me. Ifind that most of my family mem-bers and friends are generally act-ing in the cycle of karma as doers.(acting as self, instead of onescarrying out actions as per His di-rections or as per His scheme ofthe things not known to us.) Even

when I try to explain to people thethings in the right perspective asI see, it generally does not work.This only arouses my sympathyfor them, as I cannot help them.So I have to remain only as anobserver till such time, if at all, theyask for my advice.

As for my professional life asChartered Accountant, I find thatmoney alone does not attract me.IP: How do you feel yourselfabout practicing this System?

SCK: While practicing the sys-tem daily, I find that after startingof the meditation, I am lost and donot know what is happening tillmy eyes get opened. Thereafter, Ifind it so soothing that I feel like

resting for a while, and I do somany times. Rev. Babuji had ex-plained that since the mental fac-ulties get balanced, so one feelslike resting.IP: What was your life like lifebefore and after taking up thesystem?

SCK: As described above, itmay be that due to purva janamsanskar (past life impressions) I wasdrawn towards God. The agitationin the mind arising due to inabilityto get the desired result was there.The attitude of helping others wasnot very promising. But the eager-ness for His Darshan (glimpse) wasgradually gaining ground.

After taking up Sahaj Margsystem practice, the mind hassettled gradually, the so calledadvice or unpleasant happeningsare not able to disturb me much.Some times disturbance may bethere, but for a very short period.In this connection I remember oneincident as told by others associ-ated with me at that time. Alongwith the team of my professionalfirm, I was engaged in a big auditaway from my city. Suddenly, I hadto leave as my wife had had fallenseriously ill. A few days later sheexpired and after finishing l the lastrites and making arrangements formy only child of seven years, I re-turned to work. The officers work-ing at the client's place could notoffer their condolences to me as I

appeared very calm to them. I donot know what they saw in me. Iaccepted all the present circum-stances as Divine wish.IP: Say something aboutDarshan

SCK: On the question ofDarshan, I have come to realizethat Center or God is not whichone could see with these eyes.One can only experience and feelHis presence within and outsidein the world around. But the state-ment of Babuji to me was that Godor Centre is TejPunj (storehouseof light). He said he had seen God.For evolving the Sahaj Marg Sys-tem, he has been titled by Natureas Special Personality.

L to R : Rakesh Kapoor, Keshab Chopra, Manorama Joshi, Rajesh Verma, Pt

Bhushan Ji, Shubh Chintak Ji, Sharad Chandra Ji, Pt Jhagendra Ji, Leela

Mathur, Veena Birla, Rekha Nalik, Neeloo Kapoor & Anita Chopra.

Engrossed in the Pravachans L to R Leela Mathur, Veena Birla

& Dr Romesh Japra


Majestic Hindu temple opens in Chino Hills

A rich tribute tomusical legends


CHINO HILLS, CA: The majesticand traditional "BAPS ShriSwaminarayan Mandir" here was for-mally inaugurated on December 23.

The four-day festivities of GrandOpening Mahotsav included cer-emonial prayers for world peace,murti-pratishtha, nagar-yatrathrough Artesia streets, kirtan-aradhana, cultural program, dedica-tion assembly, etc.

Said to be one of the largestHindu houses of worship in South-ern California, it reportedly took 16years to complete. This 20-acreseven-building BAPS ShriSwaminarayan Mandir and CulturalCenter complex, rooted in classicalIndian architecture, aims to becomea center for "spiritual, social andcharitable work"; provide educa-tional opportunities; promote inter-religious and inter-cultural har-mony; create a society free of ad-diction, violence, crime and drugs;nurture a "morally, spiritually andsocially strong" society", etc.

Rajan Zed, President of Univer-sal Society of Hinduism, applaudedefforts of temple-project leaders andarea community to realize this grandHindu temple complex, whosetagline is "A place of love, peace &harmony...".

Kapil Patel, a devout Indian,observed it is important to pass onHindu spirituality concepts and tra-ditions to the coming generationsamidst so many distractions in theconsumerist society and hopedthat this new temple complex wouldfocus in this direction.

Besides Hindu temple, it will alsoinclude a cultural complex, audito-rium, grand foyer with intricatewooden carvings, gardens-ponds-fountains, meditative pathways,museum on Indian culture and val-ues, gymnasium, dining hall, class-rooms, vegetarian kitchen, placesfor contemplation, meditationrooms, etc. Its exhibition will pro-vide comprehensive study of Hin-duism. It also plans to host medicalfairs, educational seminars and ca-reer fairs for the local community;besides music and languageclasses.

Daily schedule of this Mandirincludes Arti (twice a day),Abhishek, Maansi Worship, etc.The temple murtis planned report-edly include: Shri AksharPurushottam Maharaj, ShriGhanshyam Maharaj, ShriHarikrishna Maharaj, Shri Radha-Krishna Dev, Shri Shiv-Parvati &Ganeshji, Shri Sita-Ram &Hanumanji, Bhagatji Maharaj,Shastriji Maharaj, Yogiji Maharaj,

and Pramukh Swami Maharaj.Bhaktipriya Swami will reportedlyperform the opening ceremonies.

Its website describes Mandir as"a house of prayer that inspiresfaith in God and guides an indi-vidual towards spirituality" and"instills basic virtues of humanity";"a nucleus of socio-spiritual activi-ties for the benefit and elevation ofindividuals and society". Its projectleaders, besides others, include DrDilip Patel.

This Hindu temple is open to allfaiths, but its Dress Code specifies:No shorts or skirts shorter than

knee length. No sleeveless tops.The Management reserves theright to refuse admission to thosewho may be inappropriatelydressed.

The Swaminarayan faith, alsoknown as Bochasanwasi ShriAkshar PurushottamSwaminarayan Sanstha, a Hindusocio-spiritual organizationfounded over 200 years ago in In-dia and currently headed byPramukh Swami Maharaj, claims tohave over one million followers andover 3,300 centers worldwide, in-cluding over 64 in USA.

VIDYA SETHURAMAN


PALO ALTO, CA: ShanamoEntertainment presented severalpopular Bay Area artists at a con-cert "Disha 2012, A tribute to themusical legends", on December 1at Schultz Cultural hall in Palo Alto.In spite of the pouring rain, thehall was packed with music lov-ers, who enjoyed the event withgreat passion.

Shanamo Entertainment is amusic company under the direc-tion of Praveen and RiteeChaddha, dedicated towards de-veloping, producing and promot-ing musical talent. It is an annualevent hosted by Shanamo Enter-tainment, featuring talented artistsfrom the south Asian communities.This was an evening paying trib-ute to the musical legends of yes-teryears as well as the legendsthat are in the making at thepresent time. The program had anawesome mix of golden melodies,ghazals, and several contemporaryfoot tapping upbeat songs. It wasa non-stop feast of melodies ofover 30 songs.

The program started withPraveen Chaddha's joyful rendi-tion of "Ye Sham Mastani". He isa complete musician, a composer,singer, guitarist, keyboardist andmuch more. His song selection, andhis direction to the group,seamlessly integrated with theaudio visual show, added to theperformance. The result of hismusical leadership was Disha2012. Praveen was followed byseveral other singers. Ritee,Madhvi, Asim and Anupama.

Other musicians included AliShahbuddin, a renownedkeyboardist of California, Jigar onKeybooard/Electronic Hand per-cussion, Krishan on Guitar andAkshay on Flute. These twoyoung upcoming stars Krishanand Akshay won the hearts of theaudience by their performance.

The show ended with a powerpacked tribute to RD Burman,when the whole group came to-gether on the stage. The eventended with Ritee, the CEO ofShanamo Entertainment, thankingeach and every person involvedwith the show and promising morefun-packed shows in the future.

Besides Hindutemple, it will alsoinclude a culturalcomplex, auditorium,grand foyer withintricate woodencarvings, gardens-ponds-fountains,meditative pathways,museum on Indianculture and values

TOP TENHINDI FILM SONGS

January 4, 2013India Post www.indiapost.com28

1 Jiya Lage Na: Talaash2 Ishq Shava: Jab Tak Hai Jaan3 Dagabaaz Re: Dabangg 24 Fevicol Se: Dabangg 25 Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola:Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola6 Oye Boy Charlie: JMatru Ki BijleeKa Mandola7 Darmiyan: Inkaar8 Jee Le Zaraa: Talaash9 Khamakha: Matru Ki Bijlee KaMandola10 Heer: Jab Tak Hai Jaan

Sri Lankan beauty JacquelineFernandez says her role in Race 2 is

very interesting, but it is Anil Kapoor whoadds a comic relief to the movie.

"The funniest (character is) AnilKapoor for sure. He is actually the co-medic relief in 'Race 2' like he was in 'Race1.' It's great! The rest of our charactersare extremely serious and into betraying,plotting and killing. Then you have AnilKapoor, who is so funny and his charac-

ter is also very funny," the 27-year-old said in an inter-view.

Anil plays a private de-tective in the 2008 film

Race, and in its sequel,"Race 2", he takes the

character forward."He lightens up

the film a lot,"she added.

Jacquelinepersonally alsofeels morecomfortabledoing com-edy.

"I findcomedy alot of funto do be-c a u s eyou arelaughingall thet i m e .P e o p l eare justmakinga fool oft h e m -s e l v e sa n d

that's thew h o l e

point, be-cause youare tryingto makethe au-diencelaugh,"s h esaid.

FUNIN RACE 2

Priyanka Chopra was in for a sweet surprise when her fans in Marrakech

(Morocco) got some home-made barfis for her.The actress visited the 12th Marrakech Interna-

tional Film Festival (FIFM) in Marrakech where herfilm Barfi! was screened. "It is not a local sweet, so

Priyanka was very moved to see the lengths that herfans had gone for her. A lot of them had actually gotthe (barfi) recipe online and prepared it specially for

her at home," said a source.But that's not all. Ever since Priyanka has

worked in Barfi!, in which she played autisticgirl Jhilmil, she has been getting barfis at everyoccasion.

"No matter where she goes, she is beingtreated to the sweet and she very sportinglyputs aside her diet concerns and indulgesin the treats," said the insider.

"During Diwali, even though shewasn't around, most of her fanshad sent in boxes of barfi ad-dressed to Jhilmil Chopra,"

the insider added.

“It is not a local sweet, so Priyanka was very movedto see the lengths that her fans had gone for her. Alot of them had actually got the (barfi) recipe onlineand prepared it specially for her at home”

Before tying the knot with longtime boyfriendSiddharth Roy Kapur on December 14, VidyaBalan had made sure she wrapped up her portions of

the shoot of Ghanchakkar.And now we hear, the actress will resume work on the film

in the second week of January (barely a month after her mar-riage) so that it releases as per schedule on June 21. Clearlyfor Vidya, who had earlier maintained she needed some seri-ous time to set up home with Siddharth, Ghanchakkar is toppriority. More so because her husband is the CEO of UTVMotion Pictures, the film's producers.

Director Raj Kumar Gupta confirmed Vidya will be resum-ing work in January for Ghanchakkar's postproduction. "Shehad wrapped up her portions of the film before her wedding.

We will need her dur-ing the second

week of Januaryand she hastold us she willresume workthen," hesaid.

A sourcesaid, "Thefilm hasbeen shotin sync

sound.

BACK INCHAKKAR

India Post 29January 4, 2013

www.indiapost.com

Bollywood

With three films locked for next year, theactor has no room for his former friend

who has been waiting for six years to shootthe sequel to No Entry

Wanted in 2009, Dabangg in 2010, Body-guard in 2011 and Ek Tha Tiger in 2012 -Salman Khan has successfully ruled thebox office during Eid for many years. Andthe actor is in no mood to relinquish hisrights over the festive occasion, fifth yearin a row.

In fact, he has already started plan-ning for Eid 2013. Salman and brotherSohail have locked in the festive week-end for their project Radhe. It has nowemerged that Salman will play a militaryofficer in the film, and may need to shedall that excess flab he has accumulatedover the past few months.

Sonakshi Sinha who has tasted success in the competitive world of Bollywoodwithin a short span of two years gives credit for her success and filmy career to

Salman Khan, her first co-star whom she considered her mentor cum well wisher.Sonakshi said that whatever she is today it is all because of Salman. He is the onewho persuaded her to take up acting and that's why she takes his comment in a

positive stride and tries to improve."Whenever Salman criticizes me, he does it in a very positive way. Because

of him only I lost so much of weight. I am an actress because of him and heis very happy about it. Whatever he says, I take it in a very positive spirit,"

Sonakshi said.Before she entered Bollywood, the 'Dabangg' star weighed 80 kgs

but slowly she started to lose weight. It makes no difference toSonakshi when people comment about her weight.

Shoojit Sircar heaps praise on his next heroine Nargis

FakhriAfter her disastrous debut in

Imtiaz Ali's Rockstar, NargisFakhri was yet to bag another filmproject for a long time. She wasnot just criticized for her lack ofacting skills but also her dialoguedelivery. Until of course ShoojitSircar's next happened to her. How-ever, on a bright note for Nargis, herdirector feels pretty confident of heracting chops in his next. The starlethas been paired opposite JohnAbraham in the film.

Says Shoojit, `WhileI was casting for the filmI was exploring severaloptions. When I metNargis, my searchcame to an end. I'mactually quite over-confident about herin my film. She is go-ing to surprisepeople. It's a tailor-made role for her. `The actress is saidto be essaying aforeign journalistand has appar-ently even at-tended severalworkshops toget her act right.

MADE FOR NARGIS

HappyNewYear

www.indiapost.com30 India Post January 4, 2013

RITU MAHESHWARI


LAS VEGAS: Twenty-year-oldMiss USA Olivia Culpo wascrowned Miss Universe at the 61stMiss Universe Pageant held hereon December 19. She was crownedby outgoing Miss Universe 2011,Leila Lopes of Angola. Beauty

queens from over 90 countriestook part in the contest.

Miss India 2012, Shilpa Singhwas selected to be part of the final16 contestants, but could notmove up to the next stage afterswimsuit round. Shilpa was origi-nally the Miss India runner up butwas selected to attend the MissUniverse contest after the origi-nally selected Miss India was dis-qualified over age issues. Shilpais a software engineer by profes-sion and represented both the

beauty and the brains at the con-test.

A college student, Olivia Culpois a self-described "cellist-nerd"and brought the Miss Universecrown back to the United Statesfor the first time in more than adecade.

Culpo's coronation ends a longlosing spell for the U.S. in the com-

petition co-owned by DonaldTrump and NBC. An American hadnot won the right to be called MissUniverse since Brook Lee won thetitle in 1997.

Miss Philippines, JanineTugonon, came in second, whileMiss Venezuela, Irene Sofia EsserQuintero, was placed third.

Culpo grew up with two pro-fessional musicians for parentsand has played the cello alongsideworld-renowned classical musi-cian Yo-Yo Ma. On her Miss Uni-verse page, she said she hopes topursue a career in film or televi-sion.

As Miss Universe, Culpo willreceive an undisclosed salary, awardrobe fit for a queen, a limit-less supply of beauty productsand a luxury apartment in NewYork City.

The Miss Universe pageantwas back in Las Vegas this yearafter being held in Sao Paulo in2011. It aired live on NBC and wasstreamed to more than 100 coun-tries.

Organized by Donald Trump

and NBC TV, Miss Universe Con-test was an extravaganza glitteredby star power, exquisite sets andexpansive fashion sets. The con-test was held over many days withcontestants whittled down at eachstage. On the day of main event,top 16 contestants were picked toparticipate in swim suit, eveninggown and personality interviewrounds. After the swim suit round,10 beauties progressed to eveninggown round. Judges picked 5 ofthem to compete in personality in-terviews.

The panel of 10 judges in-cluded Pablo Sandoval, Two-TimeWorld Series Champion and MVPwith the San Francisco Giants;Nigel Barker, Photographer andhost of Oxygen's new series TheFace; Diego Boneta, Singer andActor best known for starring rolein "Rock of Ages" film; ScottDisick, TV Personality from the E!Network; Brad Goreski, Celebrity

Universe Brazil, Gabriela Markus.Rest of Top Ten: Miss Russia,

Elizabeth Golonova; Miss Uni-verse France, Marie Payet; MissUniverse Hungary, AgnesKonkoly; Miss Universe SouthAfrica, Melinda Bam; and MissUniverse Mexico, KarinaGonzalez.

Rest of Top Sixteen: Miss Uni-

verse Turkey, Cagil Ozge Özkul;Miss Universe Peru, NicoleFaveron; Miss Universe Poland,Marcelina Zawadzka; Miss Uni-verse Croatia, Elizabeta Burg; MissUniverse Kosovo, Diana Avdiu;and Miss Universe India, ShilpaSingh.

The India Post representativesattended Miss Universe rehears-als and Grand VIP Gala in honor ofthe contestants. Donald Trumpmet with Ritu Maheshwari andPriya Nayar from India Post.

Next year, the international com-petition of Miss Universe 2013 willtake place in Panama.

Miss Universe India 2012, Shilpa

Singh, was among the top sixteen

Miss USA, Olivia Culpo, being crowned Miss Universe 2012

by Miss Universe 2011 Leila Lopes

Miss Brazil; Miss USA, Miss Australia, Miss Philippines, and Miss Venezuela

were announced as the top five contestants

A college student, Olivia Culpo is a self-described "cellist-nerd" and brought the MissUniverse crown back to the United States forthe first time in more than a decade.Culpo's coronation ends a long losing spellfor the U.S. in the competition co-ownedby Donald Trump and NBC

Stylist and Star of Bravo's It's aBrad, Brad World; Chef MasaharuMorimoto, Star of Iron Chef andAward-Winning Chef; XimenaNavarrete, Miss Universe 2010 andFace of L'Oreal; Claudia Jordan, TV& Radio Personality and competi-tor on the upcoming series All-StarCelebrity Apprentice; Kerri WalshJennings, three-time US Olympic

Gold Medalist in Beach Volleyball;Lisa Vanderpump, Star on Bravo'shit series The Real Housewives ofBeverly Hills and new seriesVanderpump Rules.

Other results:First Runner-Up: Miss Uni-

verse Philippines, Janine Tugononwill assume the duties of MissUniverse 2012 if the titleholder forsome reason cannot fulfill her re-sponsibilities.

Second Runner-Up: Miss Uni-verse Venezuela, Irene Sofiá EsserQuintero.

Rest of Top Five: Miss UniverseAustralia, Renae Ayris and Miss

Miss USA crownedMiss Universe

January 4, 2013 India Post

www.indiapost.com

31

Kamal Haasan talks abouthis tumultuous personallife and the challenge of

releasing Vishwaroopam on satel-lite TV

Where has your conflict withmultiplexes over the proposedDTH (direct -to-home) premiereof Vishwaroopam reached?

We have booked theatres in theSouth, but a section there is stillopposed to it. In Mumbai, PVR wassupportive enough initially butsuddenly, they backed out. Sub-sequently, I tried convincing thembut they have not relented.

Is DTH just a way to play safein a low satellite market?

No. Let me tell you that unlikein Mumbai, satellite rights haverisen in Tamil Nadu. I had my regu-lar takers with substantial moneybut profits would have been mea-ger. DTH ensures greater profit.Some exhibitors claimed I amdriven by greed but I prefer to callit 'opportunity'. Asked what Iwould do with the money, I said Iwould plough it back in theatres.They are needlessly worried. See-ing a film in a theatre is a culturalhabit in India, it will never go away.

How did Vishwaroopamshape up?

Not the marrying kindKamal Haasan & his tumultuous life

PVP was supposed to produceVishwaroopam but the canvaskept widening. They were kindenough to become the financerswhile I took over production. I gota cameraman who would work ondigital cinema, an AD from the US,

an art director from Vietnam, andstuntmen from Thailand and theUS. It wasn't an easy film to make.We didn't shoot in Afghanistansince we were advised it would beunsafe. We thought of going toKazakhstan but the people therewere not film savvy. Eventually, werecreated Afghanistan in Chennai.Also, we dropped the idea of cast-

ing big stars like Sonakshi Sinhaamong others. We wanted themoney to show in the film and notin its posters.

So you dropped her from thefilm?

Everything was amicable. Weexplained it to her. Shatrughan islike an elder brother.

You did films like Saagar,Sadma, Sanam Teri Kasam... andthen you left Mumbai...

At the time of Saagar, I had done109 films. Had I hung around here,I wouldn't have completed 215 tilldate.

Weren't you supposed to do afilm with Barry Osborne?

That will happen but after Icomplete Vishwaroopam 2. I'veeven completed ten days shoot-ing for it. Osborne is also helpingme premiere Vishwaroopam in LosAngeles.

Tell us about your daughtersShruti and Akshara

Shruti is traveling more than Iever did. She has become verybusy. However, her Ek Duuje KeLiye is yet to come. Akshara islearning how to dance. They staywith their mother (Sarika).

Are you in touch with Sarikaand Vani?

No. The parting wasn't smoothin either case. I was too much inlove for an amicable settlement. Iam sure it wasn't easy for my wiveseither. Marriage is not a film youcan forget if it flops. I felt scarred.

Did you see the break-upscoming?

I saw them coming. Sarika and Iwere married for 17 years. And Iknew the marriage wouldn't last 12years before we parted ways. Al-though we kept pulling on. Ithought it would affect the chil-dren. I waited for them to come ofage.

Both your marriages didn'tsucceed. Do you think you

should've married at all?I never believed in marriage.

People marry because of peer pres-sure but I don't subscribe to the'herd mentality'. I shouldn't havemarried. I married for the conve-nience of my women. Vaniwouldn't live-in and I wasn'tstrong enough to put my footdown. And the society was suchthat Sarika and I couldn't book ahotel room together even after wehad two daughters.

Didn't Gouthami pressure youto marry her?

Never. She is very different. Sheis a very progressive lady, and notjust to please me.

‘Parting wasn'tsmooth in eithercase. I was toomuch in love for anamicable settlement.I am sure it wasn'teasy for my wiveseither. Marriage isnot a film you canforget if it flops’

Zee sets up task force against piracyIndia Post News Service

NEW YORK: Asia TV USALtd., the exclusive distributor ofZee channels in the Americas,claims in a press release that it hasinitiated a technical task force toseek out those who are piratingprogramming and signals from theZee suite of channels. It says,"Zee is taking all steps to prohibitpiracy where streaming of contenton services such as Live TV Box,Shava TV, Jadoo TV, Boom TV etcthat permit viewers to access Zee'scontent illegally."

ASIA TV USA Ltd.'s TechHead said, "We recognize thatconsumers are being led to be-

lieve that Zee content is legallyavailable for free on these stream-ing boxes. However, Zee in the

Americas is a premium subscrip-tion service that viewers pay amonthly fee to receive."

Zee has been suc-cessful in shuttingdown Zee content onLive TV Box andJadoo TV that wasbeing streamedillegally, he added

Zee will not hesitate to take ac-tion against illicit services suchas those described above as wellas South Asian retail stores thatsell these boxes.

Zee has been successful inshutting down Zee content onLive TV Box and Jadoo TV thatwas being streamed illegally, headded.

He said, "Zee is committed todelivering quality content to itsloyal base of subscriber viewers.The actions of pirates thwart thebusiness efforts of Zee to ac-complish this goal. Zee hopes tocontinue to shut down streamson other similar illicit services inthe near future."

January 4, 2013India Post

www.indiapost.com

32

Top Bollywood weddings of 2012

Saif Ali Khan & KareenaKapoor

If marriages are made inheaven, the angels must havemarked the year 2012 forBollywood stars, since the yearwas abuzz with severalBollywood weddings. However,the marriage which hogged maxi-mum interest was that of Saif AliKhan and Kareena Kapoor.

After living together for aboutfive years, Kareena Kapoor andSaif Ali Khan are finally bound bythe silken knot of marriage. Thetwo exchanged wedding vows in

a registered marriage held at Saif'sresidence in suburban Bandra,Mumbai, on 16 October 2012.

While their wedding was a pri-vate affair, their post-weddingparty saw a bevy of stars likeShahrukh Khan, Anil Kapoor andPreity Zinta in attendance asBollywood came to wish thenewly-married couple.

Interestingly, Kareena Kapoor'sex, Shahid Kapoor, also congratu-lated the couple on their marriageand said: "I wish them a veryhappy married life. I hope they arehappy together. I hope Kareena

keeps working as she is one of thefinest actresses we have."

Ritesh Deshmukh & GeneliaD'souza

Riteish Deshmukh and GeneliaD'Souza, who were dating since2003, tied the knot on February 3,2012. Interestingly, after marryingin Marathi-style, Ritesh andGenelia also got married in achurch at Bandra, in Mumbai.

Vidya Balan & Siddharth RoyKapur

On December 14, Vidya Balanmarried UTV Motion Pictures CEOSiddharth Roy Kapur at the GreenMile bungalow in Bandra,Mumbai. Interestingly, their wed-ding was a low-key affair with noBollywood celebs in attendance.

Esha Deol & Bharat TakhtaniEsha Deol married her busi-

nessman beau Bharat Takhtani ina South Indian-style wedding onJune 29, 2012. Esha Deol's mother

Hema Malini had expressed herhappiness and told the media af-ter the wedding: "It was a normal

South Indian wedding, with justslight changes. I am very happyfor Esha; she has found the rightperson. We all are very happy. Iwill miss her but she is going tobe in Mumbai, so I am happyabout that."

Lisa Ray & Jason DehniActress Lisa Ray tied the knot

with her long-time beau JasonDehni at a quiet ceremony in theromantic Napa Valley, California,on October 20, 2012.

Mohit Chauhan & PrarthanaGehlot

Celebrated Bollywood play-back singer Mohit Chauhan mar-ried journalist Prarthna Gehlot at ahotel in Mumbai on July 2, 2012.Their marriage was a quiet and pri-vate affair.

Zee Americas introduces 'Deccan Pack'India Post News Service

NEW YORK: Zee Americashas created a "Deccan Pack" thatwill give advertisers access toviewers that were previouslyunaddressed. In a press release,Zee says the pack comprisingJaya TV services, Zee Telugu andZee Kannada will allow busi-nesses to target an additional160,000 unique households. Zeewill offer access to these view-

ers in partnership with EthnicChannels Group based in Canada.

Zee Americas CEO Suresh Balasaid "Tamil is spoken by 7% of theSouth Asian population in theUnited States and Jaya TV hasabout 15 years of broadcast his-tory behind it making it a great re-source to offer advertisers. As Zeeis the best platform to reach theHindi speaking segment of SouthAsians in the US, we are thrilled tobe the only network offer advertis-

ers an opportunity to have dia-logue with this formerly untappedsouth Indian market segment."

Hari Srinivas, President of Eth-nic Channels Group added "TheZee Group is one of our largestpartners. The Jaya TV Group isalso our main partner in the USAmarket. This unique relationshipwill be of immense benefit to theadvertising community as theJaya TV Channels are watchedby many Tamils in USA"

33 India Post January 4, 2013www.indiapost.com

TechBizTech News

India, ASEAN finalize FTA inservices, investments

NEW DELHI: Targeting an am-bitious two-way commerce of USD200 billion by 2022, India and the10-member ASEAN has finalized afree trade agreement in servicesand investments, a move whichwould give Indian professionalslike accountants, engineers anddoctors access to the 800 millionSoutheast Asian markets.

Strengthening ties, India andASEAN also elevated their dia-logue partnership to a strategiclevel.

Following implementation ofFTA in goods last year, both thesides were engaged intensely towiden the base of the pact by in-cluding services, an area of keyinterest to India, and investments.

"I am optimistic that our trade willexceed USD 100 billion by 2015 andwe should aim for the milestone ofUSD 200 billion 10 years from now,"

Indian Prime Minister ManmohanSingh told the India-ASEAN Com-memorative Summit here.

He said that the summit "todaycoincides with the conclusion ofnegotiations for the FTA in ser-vices and investments. I am confi-dent it will boost our economic tiesin much the same way the FTA ingoods has done".

The free trade pact after itsimplementation is expected to fa-cilitate temporary movement ofbusiness people, including con-tractual service suppliers and in-dependent professionals in ac-counting, architecture, engineer-ing services, medical and dental,nursing and pharmacy, computerservices and management con-

sulting.India, whose services sector con-

tributes about 55 per cent in thecountry's economic growth, was very

keen to enter the ASEAN market.The pact would also help In-

dian companies to increase theirinvestment in the ASEAN coun-tries in various sectors like infra-structure.

"Together we constitute a com-munity of 1.8 billion people, repre-senting one-fourth of humanity,with a combined GDP of USD 3.8trillion. It is only natural that Indiashould attach the highest priorityto its relationship with ASEAN,"Singh said.

"This engagement has flour-ished particularly in the area oftrade. India-ASEAN trade hasgrown over 10 times in the 10 years

since we launched the annual sum-mits. Following the implementa-tion of our FTA in goods, tradegrew by 41 per cent in 2011-12.Two-way flows in investmentshave also grown rapidly to reachUSD 43 billion over the past de-cade," Singh said.

He said that as ASEAN invest-ments into India have multiplied,ASEAN countries too haveemerged as major destinations forIndian companies.

"From energy resources to farmproducts, from materials to ma-chinery, and from electronics toinformation technology, Indianand ASEAN companies are forg-ing new partnerships of trade andinvestment," he said.

He stressed that besides trade,the India-ASEAN engagementbecome increasingly strategic inits content.

"Our political dialogue hasgrown, our consultations in re-gional forums have intensified,and our defense and counter- ter-rorism cooperation have ex-panded," he said.

Singh also supported the ob-jective of an ASEAN Communityby 2015 and said that India wouldcontinue to be an active partici-pant in the initiative for ASEANintegration and the ASEAN Mas-ter Plan on Connectivity.

The free trade pact after its implementation isexpected to facilitate temporary movementof business people, including contractualservice suppliers and independent profes-sionals in accounting, architecture, engineer-ing services, medical and dental, nursingand pharmacy, computer services and man-agement consulting

Cont’d on page 35

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, addressing at the Ceremonial Flag Down

of the ASEAN-India car rally, in New Delhi on December 21

President of Myanmar Thein Sein at the bilateral meeting

with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi

on December 21

Prime Minister of Vietnam Nguyen Tan Dung meeting the

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi

on December 21

Virtual desktophelps save inreal estate cost

NEW DELHI: BPO servicesprovider Fareportal has said vir-tual desktop solutions providedby software firm Citrix helped itsaving USD 400,000 per annum inreal estate costs and loweringpower costs by 25-30 per cent.

Fareportal has migrated almost30 per cent of its employees onCitrix XenDesktop virtualized en-vironment, helping it accommodatemore people in the same space, sav-ing almost USD 400,000 per annumin real estate costs and 25-30 percent on power costs, it said in astatement. The virtualized desktopenvironment allows employees toaccess data anywhere and on anydevice across any network.-PTI

TCS to create16500 jobs inWest Bengal

KOLKATA: Tata ConsultancyServices's Rs 1,350-crore specialeconomic zone in West Bengal willbe ready by 2014-15 creating16,500 jobs, the first major invest-ment by the Tata Group in the statesince the Singur imbroglio.

"The IT SEZ at Rajarhat will beoperational by 2014-15 and willaccommodate 16,500 people," TCSCFO S Mahalingam told reportersat the construction site here.

Our growing presence inKolkata continues to be of strate-gic importance for overall busi-ness growth, he added.-PTI

Uttarakhand CMseeks investmentsfrom South Africa

DEHRADUN: UttarakhandChief Minister Vijay Bahuguna,who is currently on a week-longvisit to South Africa, has askedmembers of the Indian businesscommunity in that country to ex-plore the vast investment possi-bilities in the hill state.

The Chief Minister, who is inSouth Africa to seek major invest-ments to the state, acquainted theIndian business community inSouth Africa with the incentivesbeing given to investors underSIIDICUL -II and the industryfriendly features of the stategovernment's hill policy.

Bahuguna highlighted theachievements of his governmentduring the last nine months of histenure and told them that with asound law and order and an indus-try friendly policy, Uttarakhandcould offer an ideal investment cli-mate to entrepreneurs, an officialrelease said here.-PTI

Underprivileged children celebrate Christmas with Maruti Suzuki employees

who presented them gifts at the company’s office in New Delhi

34 India Post TechBiz Post January 4, 2013

www.indiapost.com

Indian-American to develop prefab housesWASHINGTON: A US-based

design consortium headed by anIndian-American architect is intalks with three major Indian de-velopers to design and build "pre-fabricated" residential projects toreduce cost and time of construc-tion.

"Today's estimate is Indianeeds 12 million low cost hous-ing now. These are basic mini-mum shelters of 400 sq.ft. andless.

There is a demand for this inthe form of high-rises in the citiesto support the services need inthe cities," Head of Los AngelesDesign Consortium Harshad RPatel said.

He argues that pre-fabricatedresidential projects, whichwould significantly reduce thecost of housing, could be effec-tive solution to the massive short-age of housing.

Noting that this is needed inTier 2 and tier 3 cities in the formof horizontal growth for millionsof people, Patel said he is in dis-

cussions with three major devel-opers in India to design and buildthese projects as "prefabricated"residential projects to reduce costand time of construction.

"One of our clients in Indiawants to do low cost prefabricatedhousing in 100 cities of India and

we are in talks with Mexican andChinese prefab companies whocan handle this and of coursethere is a built in profit for the de-velopers which comes from massproduction," Patel said, without

identifying the companies he is intalks with.

"The architectural practice andconstruction industry is differentin India than in USA. The con-struction methods are different.But for the high end projects I seeIndia is catching up with the inter-

national standards," Patel saidwhen asked about his experiencein India.

"There is a tremendous amountof scope and opportunity to cre-ate world class architecture in In-

dia," he said."Soon I would like to design a

monumental civic, institutional,transportation or governmentproject like Chandigarh orGandhinagar which will stand thetime for decades to come," he saidwhen asked about his dream

project in India.Patel said urban growth in In-

dia needs to be well planned andcontrolled.

"The migration from rural tourban areas is going to continue

without a doubt. This has hap-pened for centuries in any part ofthe world which is unstoppable.And as the population is growingfaster than expected it will be toolate to plan or control eventually,"he said.

Design Consortium, under Patelhas won many architec-tural design competi-tions. In the first year ofpractice, the firm wasranked in the top 25 ar-chitecture firms of LosAngeles County in termsof design, achievementsand earnings.

He has served as four-term Chairman of the LosAngeles business coun-cil urban beautificationprogram and a juror forarchitecture and land-

scape design awards. He workedclosely with the US Secret Serviceto accommodate 60,000 people in70 acres of open space for a spe-cial event, 'A Salute to PresidentGeorge Bush' in California. -PTI

Tata apologizes to PM, sayscomments misrepresented

NEW DELHI: Tata Group Chair-man Ratan Tata has apologized toPrime Minister Manmohan Singhfor comments attributed to him inan interview, which, he said, werea "misrepresentation" of his re-marks.

"I have always beenone of your greatestadmirers and support-ers," Tata has written toSingh who respondedby saying that those inpublic life "inevitablyface" criticism and itshould be used con-structively to guide thegovernment.

Tata, who will stepdown on December 28to take over as Chair-man Emeritus of TataSons, has conveyed toSingh his "sense ofshock at reading thecompletely untrue, sensationalizedheadlines and reporting of a re-cent interview" to the FinancialTimes of London.

In his letter dated December 10,he referred to his press statementissued on December 8 and said hehad clarified that "I have neither'lashed into the Prime Minister','rapped India' nor 'warned govern-ment of inaction'."

Enclosing transcript of the in-terview to show he never criticizedthe Prime Minister, Tata has toldSingh, "I have always been one of

your greatest admirers and sup-porters, publicly and privately.

"I have valued your trust andconfidence at all times and I wasvery deeply aggrieved to have apublication of the repute of Finan-

cial Times of London misrepresentthe comments of my interview withthem and be the cause of any mis-understanding between you andme."

Contending that the last thinghe would want is a "misunder-standing between us created byan opportunistic journalist reflect-ing his personal views and that ofhis newspaper, Tata said, "I canonly apologies for any embarrass-ment that this media misrepresen-tation may have caused you or thegovernment." -PTI

Ratan Tata

NBSA censuresTV 18 for'biased' reports

NEW DELHI: The News Broad-casting Standards Authority(NBSA) has issued a "censure"against TV18 Broadcast Limitedwhich runs CNN-IBN and Hindichannel IBN7 for "willful viola-tion" of NBA code of ethics andbroadcasting standards in the air-ing of a program related to RajivGandhi Charitable Trust (RGCT).

The NBSA of which Justice J SVerma (Retd) is the Chairperson inits order directed that the twochannels run apologies and alsoimposed a fine of Rs one lakh onthe broadcaster which should bepaid to News Broadcasters' Asso-ciation (NBA).

"The broadcaster committedegregious violation of the NBACode of Ethics & BroadcastingStandards, especially guidelinesrelating to accuracy, impartiality,neutrality, requirement of due dili-gence and verification of factsprior to telecast, as also the needto carry the version of the personaffected," the NBSA said.

Noting that the reportage of theprogram in question smacked of"clear bias and lack of objectiv-ity", the NBSA said it is an exampleof "sensationalization" with thepurpose of promoting and improv-ing the image of the channels,which is "unethical journalism." -PTI

Paramount Airwaysworking on revival plan

MUMBAI: With a British courtawarding Rs 1,650 crore compen-sation in a law suit, defunct Para-mount Airways is working on arevival plan and talking to over-seas carriers for investment, ac-cording to industry sources.

"Paramount is quite upbeatover the Rs 1,650 crore compen-sation awarded by a London-based international arbitrationcourt. With this money on the

t a b l e ,the carrier hasinitiated its efforts totake to wings again," a sourceclose to the development told PTIhere in west India.

With the aviation regulatorDGCA giving its nod to the airlineto restart operations a couple ofmonths ago, the airline is now indiscussion with certain foreigncarriers, taking advantage of therecent liberalization of the FDIpolicy in aviation.

In all probability, the airline maytake off again by the early next fis-cal, the sources said.

"Paramount promoters recentlyheld preliminary discussions at the

board level with some Far-Eastbased carriers and a Gulf-head-quartered airline to rope in one ofthem," the source said, adding onetop official of a low-cost carrierheld deliberations in Coimbatoreto explore investment possibilities.

"However, the airline has notyet decided whether it should re-launch the carrier with the samebusiness model of full-businessclass or it should go with the trendof no-frills model," the source said.

Director General of Civil Avia-tion (DGCA) had suspended Para-mount Airways in April 2010 for

its failure to maintain the

mandatory minimum of five air-craft in its fleet.

Paramount, which had an origi-nal fleet of five leased aircraft, wasoperating with a single one at thattime as three of its planes were de-registered on account of defaultin payment.

ECC Leasing Company Ltd, awholly-owned subsidiary of Brazil-ian aircraft maker Embraer EBA,had also requested DGCA to de-register the remaining two aircrafton grounds of payment default.-PTI

Design Consortium, under Patel haswon many architectural design com-petitions. In the first year of practice,the firm was ranked in the top 25 archi-tecture firms of Los Angeles County interms of design, achievements andearnings. He has served as four-termChairman of the Los Angeles businesscouncil urban beautification program

35India PostTechBiz PostJanuary 4, 2013

www.indiapost.com

"I feel we should intensify ourpolitical and security consulta-tions, including in regional forumssuch as the East Asia Summit, theASEAN Regional Forum and theASEAN Defense Ministers' Meet-ing Plus," he said, adding the grow-ing role and responsibilities ofASEAN and India in global affairscalls for increased consultation ona broader range of internationaldevelopments.

Further, he said that as maritimenations, both the sides should in-tensify their engagement for mari-time security and safety, for freedomof navigation and for peaceful settle-ment of maritime disputes in accor-dance with international law.

"We should also foster regionalcooperation to counter piracy andrespond to natural disasters," hesaid, adding connectivity in termsof physical, institutional, people-topeople, digital and by sea andair - holds the key to closer part-nership between the two sides.

Citing importance of connectiv-ity, Singh said it would stimulatetrade and generate prosperityacross the region.

"We should, therefore, attach

India, ASEAN finalize FTA inservices, investments

high priority to a quick implemen-tation of the India-Myanmar-Thai-land Trilateral Highway and its ex-tension to Laos and Cambodia. Weshould also launch the secondtrack that would run from Indiathrough Myanmar, Laos PDR andCambodia to Vietnam," he said.

"These infrastructure projects

demand enormous finances. Weshould think of innovative waysof financing and executing theseprojects, which also draw upon theexpertise and resources of the pri-vate sector," Singh said.

"Improved connectivity willlead to expanded commerce.

Linkages between small andmedium enterprises, which arecentral to our economies, shouldbe promoted," he said.

He also said that the IndianNaval Ship INS Sudarshini, whichis on a six-month expedition to nineASEAN countries, "not onlydraws attention to our maritimelinks, but to the economic poten-tial of sea-based connectivity".

The Prime Minister added thatmany of the nations share com-mon challenges of energy andfood security, rapid urbanization,climate change, the empowermentof people through education andskill development.

"We should use the opportu-nities available to work togetherin addressing these," he said.

Later, a vision statement wasalso issued at the Summit.

"We declare that the ASEAN-India Partnership stands elevatedto a strategic partnership," thestatement said.

On the issue of political andsecurity cooperation, the docu-ment said India and ASEAN sharethe vision of a peaceful, prosper-ous and resurgent Asia, whichcontributes to and promotes glo-bal peace and security.-PTI


The Prime Ministeradded that many ofthe nations sharecommon challengesof energy and foodsecurity, rapid urban-ization, climatechange, the empow-erment of peoplethrough educationand skill development

Airtel, Vodafone charged in NDAregime spectrum deal

NEW DELHI: Three telecomcompanies, including Bharti Airteland Vodafone India, have beencharge-sheeted by the CBI in con-nection with alleged irregularitiesin the allocation of additional spec-trum during the NDA regime whichhad resulted in a loss of Rs 846crore to the exchequer.

The agency filed its chargesheet, also naming former telecomSecretary Shyamal Ghosh as ac-cused, before Special CBI JudgeO P Saini who fixed January 14 forconsideration of the charge sheet.

The charge sheet named threetelecom firms - Bharti Cellular Ltd,Hutchison Max Pvt Ltd (nowknown as Vodafone India Ltd) andSterling Cellular Ltd (now knownas Vodafone Mobile Service Ltd) -as accused in the case.

CBI refrained from mentioningthe name of then Telecom Ministerlate Pramod Mahajan as accusedin the charge sheet which also didnot mention any charge against thepromoters of Airtel and Vodafone.

All the accused have beencharge-sheeted for the offence of

criminal conspiracy (120-B) of theIPC and under provisions of thePrevention of Corruption Act.

The agency, in its 57-pagecharge sheet, said the decisionregarding allocation of additional

spectrum to these telecom firmswas taken in "undue haste" inpursuance to the conspiracyhatched amongst Mahajan, Ghoshand these companies.

"Investigation has thus estab-lished that the aforesaid decisiondated January 31, 2002 (regardingallocation of additional spectrum)was taken in undue haste pursuantto the criminal conspiracy hatchedamongst the accused public ser-vants, late Pramod Mahajan, thethen MOC&IT, Shyamal Ghosh, thethen secretary DoT and said ac-cused telecom companies," it said.

Jagdish Rai Gupta, a formerDeputy Director General (VAS)cell of DoT and former Director ofBSNL, who was named in the FIR,was not made an accused in thecase with the CBI saying, "no evi-dence attributing any criminalityon his part or his involvement inthe alleged offence has surfacedduring the investigation."

Detailing the roles of accusednamed in the charge sheet, the CBIsaid Ghosh, a 1965 batch retiredIAS officer, in conspiracy withMahajan and telecom firms,abused his official position toshow undue favor to the compa-nies causing a loss of Rs 846.44crore to the exchequer.-PTI

The charge sheetnamed threetelecom firms - BhartiCellular Ltd,Hutchison Max PvtLtd (now known asVodafone India Ltd)and Sterling CellularLtd (now known asVodafone MobileService Ltd) - asaccused in the case

Dubai's Dnata starts providingservices for Air India

DUBAI: Dubai-based firmDnata's ground handling teams atLondon's Heathrow airport arenow providing passenger ser-vices for three daily flights for AirIndia.

Air India operates three flightsdaily using Boeing 777 aircraft,from Heathrow to Mumbai andDelhi.

Under the new contract, Dnatais now providing passenger ser-vices to the airline, which includechecking in passengers, operationof Air India's ticket counter andMaharaja VIP Lounge and lostluggage staff to assist with que-ries in the arrivals hall as well as arange of special services.

Escort of First Class and Busi-ness Class passengers is also partof the provision which has beenrunning since the start of the con-tact on December 1.

Dnata's load control expertiseand support from its team ofskilled turnaround co-ordinatorsfor all Air India's flights aims tohelp the carrier maximize revenue,ensure the safety of its aircraft andhelp protect its on time perfor-mance, a statement released heresaid.

Air India is expected to takedelivery of its next (fourth) Boeing787 Dreamliner soon and the air-line has plans to introduce the air-craft on the London route.

Handling of the Dreamliner isalso included in the new contractand the team is looking forward tohandling it at LHR's Terminal 4.

In order to service the new con-tract for the airline, some 65 pas-senger and traffic staff are ex-pected to transfer across from theprevious handler to join the Dnatagroup.-PTI

India Post January 4, 2013www.indiapost.com

Real Estate36

Realty Tidbits

it was a U.S. market, San Francisco, that hadthe strongest year-over-year increase inprime office occupancy costs with a 36.4%rise driven by that market's hot tech sector

New Delhi rises from 9th to 5th mostexpensive office market

India continued to feature in thelist of World's most expensiveoffice markets, with New Delhi

(Connaught Place - CBD) movingup from 9th position to 5th posi-tion (with an overall occupancycost of US$ 183.30)according toCBRE Global Research andConsulting's semi-annual PrimeOffice Occupancy Costs survey.

Mumbai on the other hand con-tinues to drop further. The currentreport lists the city's CBD -Nariman Point at 25th position. InJuly Mumbai was at 20th position.The latest survey provides dataon office rents and occupancycosts as of September 30, 2012.

Commenting on the develop-ment Anshuman Magazine, Chair-man and Managing Director,CBRE South Asia Pvt. Limited,said, "In prime CBD Locations thesupply of space is extremely lim-ited with almost no new supplyexpected in the near future. This

Land buy conflicts set to riseAs many as 130 districtsacross India have wit-nessed land conflicts in

the past two years. Land- relatedunrest is expected to rise overthe next 15 years as over 11 mil-lion hectares of land would berequired for various projects.

This has been revealed in astudy by Washington-basedgroup Rights and Resources Ini-tiative (RRI) and Delhi-basedSociety for Promotion of Waste-lands Development.

The acquisition of privateland is only one facet of the landissue, the study says.

More problematic is state-sponsored takeover of forest,common and revenue lands for

various projects in violation ofexisting laws. Government datashows that common lands are de-clining at a rate of about two per-cent a year.

The government is usingthree different ways to acquirecommon and forest lands, thestudy says.

The first mechanism is simply

criminal breach of law, as ob-served in Bellary.

The second involves using for-est laws to expropriate commonlands. The third mechanism is mis-

use of revenue laws under whichstate governments have generalpower to control classification ofland that permits them t to getaround provisions either through

loopholes or by ignoring them.The concept of " wasteland"

is frequently invoked to justifythis kind of action.

"It would be surprising if thereis any large project in the countrythat did not involve some take-over of community or forest andcommon lands", pointed outShankar Gopalakrishnan, one ofthe researchers.

The consequences of landacquisition go beyond obviousimpacts of clearing forests. Theeffects include pollution, damageto water table, additional re-sources taken from the surround-ing areas, changes in ecosystemand loss of livelihoods becauseof destroyed lands.

More problematic is state- sponsored take-over of forest, common and revenue lands forvarious projects in violation of existing laws

Amansa sellsentire stake inMahindra Lifespace

MUMBAI: Singapore-basedfund management firm Amansa In-vestments has offloaded its entire5.96 per cent stake in MahindraLifespace Developers, the real es-tate arm of Mahindra Group, forRs 101 crore.

Amansa Investments, whichheld 24,34,599 shares or 5.96 percent stake in Mahindra Lifespaceat the end of September quarter,sold its entire holding in the com-pany, data available with the stockexchanges showed.

The shares were sold on an av-erage price of Rs 414.88 aggregat-ing the deal size to Rs 101 crore,the data showed.

However, buyer of the sharescould not be ascertained.

In a separate bulk deal, CreditSuisse (Singapore) Ltd sold 20.96lakh shares of real estate firm Hous-ing Development & InfrastructureLtd (HDIL). -PTI

Rs 45,000crsought forhouses to poor

NEW DELHI: About Rs 45,000crore has been demanded fromPlanning Commission for the sec-ond phase of Rajiv Awas Yojanathat aims to provide affordablehousing to urban poor, the RajyaSabha was informed.

Replying to supplementariesduring Question Hour, Housing &Urban Poverty Alleviation Minis-ter Ajay Maken said Rajiv AwasYojana was launched in June lastyear to make the country slum-free.

He said over Rs 41,723.13 crorehas been sanctioned for construc-tion/ upgradation of 15.7 lakhdwelling units along with basiscivic amenities like drinking waterand sanitation under theJawaharlal Nehru National urbanRenewal Mission (JNNURM).

Of these, 9.92 lakh units havebeen completed or are under con-struction, he said adding thePhase-II of Rajiv Awas Yojana (un-der JNNURM) is being modifiedto make it more successful.

"We are asking Planning Com-mission to allocate Rs 45,000 croreto this project," he said.

Land slotted for majorprojects in ChandigarhCHANDIGARH: The UT administration has ear-

marked land for major projects that would come up inthe city's periphery in the draft Master Plan ofChandigarh. The urban planning department will sub-mit the plan to the UT administrator this week. Sarangpurinstitutional area: It has been planned on 1,072 acres ofland. Out of this, 434 acres have been acquired and therest will be done. The area has been planned for variousinstitutional and commercial buildings.

(Downtown), that had the strongestyear-over-year increase in prime of-fice occupancy costs with a 36.4%rise driven by that market's hot tech-nology sector.

Hong Kong Central led the"most expensive" list with over-all occupancy costs ofUS$246.30 per sq. ft. per year.This topped London's West End,which had total occupancy costsof US$219.81.

Tokyo (Marunouchi Otemachi)was the third most expensive mar-ket for office space, followed byBeijing's CBD and New Delhi'sCBD. Other Asia-Pacific marketsin the top ten include Beijing-Fi-nance Street (6th) and HongKong-West Kowloon (7th).

Despite economic headwinds,occupancy costs increased by anaverage of 2.1% worldwide overthe past year, led by the Americaswith a 5.2% annual increase andAsia Pacific with a 2.6% increase.

is specially true for quality officespace which has led to occupancycost remaining high.

The dominance of Asia-Pacific inthe top 10 most expensive business

locations worldwide continued, ledby Hong Kong-Central - the world'smost expensive market - and fiveother Asian markets. However, itwas a U.S. market, San Francisco

India Post 37January 4, 2013 Real Estatewww.indiapost.com

CREDAI terms RBI policystand as 'stubborn'

DLF office rental income toreach Rs 2,500 cr

NEW DELHI: Real estate ma-jor DLF has said it expects 20 percent annual growth in office rentalincome that would touch Rs 2,500crore by 2014-15 fiscal with likelyappreciation in rent value and newleasing.

DLF earned an office rental in-come of about Rs 1,500 crore in2011-12 fiscal. It currently has Grade'A' office leasing portfolio of 27 mil-lion sq ft, of which 15 million sq ftis in Gurgaon and rest is in the Na-tional Capital, Chennai, Hyderabad,Kolkata, Pune and Chandigarh.

"Our office leasing business isgrowing by 20 per cent year-on-year. We expect that our rental in-come will reach Rs 2,500 crore bythe end of 2014-15 fiscal," DLFNational Director (Office Busi-ness) Amit Grover told PTI.

The growth would come fromexpected rise in rental value andincrease in size of office leasing

portfolio to 33 million sq ft overthe next three years from the cur-rent 27 million sq ft, he added.

The country's largest realty firmhas a debt of Rs 21,200 crore and

the company has recently said thatit targeting to reduce it to Rs 18,000crore by the end of this fiscal fromsale of two big non-core businesses- luxury hospitality chain

Amanresorts and wind energy.Going forward, the company

has plans to cut debt to below Rs15,000 crore level so that the fi-nance cost gets covered by itsrental income.

Elaborating more on the officeleasing business, Grover notedthat rents of DLF office space hasincreased despite slowdown incommercial real estate business.He cited example of Gurgaonwhere the rentals of its officespaces have risen by 15 per centin the last one year.

"We provide Grade 'A' officespace with value-added serviceslike safety and infrastructure.Therefore, we have an advantage,"he explained.

DLF has been adding about 2million sq ft of office stock everyyear. It expects that demand for itsoffice space would largely comefrom MNCs and big domestic com-panies.

"There is growth coming fromlarge sets of existing corporate cli-ents, which are roughly 750 innumber and include Accenture,IBM, Google, Cognizant, TCS,Barclays, Citi and GE," Groversaid, adding that the company isadding to this client list with thegrowth in outsourcing business.

DLF has developed 128 acreintegrated business district likeDLF Cybercity in Gurgaon. Thecompany is putting lot of focuson developing infrastructure inGurgaon, which is a key market forthe company. -PTI

DLF has been addingabout 2 million sq ftof office stock everyyear. It expects thatdemand for its officespace would largelycome from MNCsand big domesticcompanies

NEW DELHI: The real estate in-dustry body CREDAI has said theReserve Bank has been taking"stubborn" stand in not reducingthe key interest rates and reiter-ated that funds should be madeavailable to builders and homebuyers at affordable rates.

"It is sad and unfortunate to seeRBI taking such a stubborn stand,despite economic realities of theday," CREDAI national presidentLalit Kumar Jain said in a statement.

RBI has left the short-term lend-ing (repo) rate to banks, and thecash reserve ratio (CRR) - theamount of deposits banks have topark with RBI - unchanged.

CREDAI termed the status quoin RBI's monetary policy review as"arbitrary" and "anti-growth" andsought that the stakeholdersshould be consulted before tak-ing policy decisions.

"We wonder if the RBI policyof causing liquidity crunch lead-ing to short supply and resultantprice rise is good for the economyor increasing liquidity and push-

ing supply to bring prices undercontrol is better," Jain observed.

CREDAI said it has been de-manding that developers as well ashome buyers get loans at afford-able and reasonable rates of inter-est, but somehow the RBI does notseem to realize the need for encour-aging the real estate sector.

HIDCO seeks presenceof foreign banks

KOLKATA: The real estate de-velopment arm of the West Ben-gal government HIDCO would in-vite banks from Singapore andHong Kong for taking part in theproposed international financialhub at Rajarhat-New Town areanear the metropolis.

"We are looking forward to thebanking sector in Singapore andHong Kong to buy space in thehub for which roadshows will beheld," principal secretary with ur-ban development departmentDebashis Sen said.

Speaking at an Assochamseminar where urban develop-ment minister Firhad Hakim wasalso present, Sen said that so far,nine entities had evinced interestin the hub.

These were State Bank of In-dia, UBI, UCO Bank, Institute ofChartered Accountants of India,Allahabad Bank, West Bengal In-frastructure Development Fi-nance Corporation, West BengalFinance Corporation and Na-tional Insurance.

Central council member of In-stitute of Cost and Works Accoun-tants of India Manas Thakur toldPTI that the institute had ear-marked Rs 15 crore for buying aplot in the hub.

He said that HIDCO was plan-ning a 59-storeyed iconic buildingin the hub for which it would carryout a design competition.

A convention centre with a seat-ing capacity of 3000 would alsocome up near the hub, he said. -PTI

"We hope that the RBI and otherpolicy makers will soon realize thefact that the capital intensive realestate and construction industry isthe largest employer after agricul-ture and contributes handsomelyto GDP. We cannot expect economicgrowth without pushing the real es-tate sector," it added. -PTI

It has been demand-ing that developersas well as homebuyers get loans ataffordable andreasonable rates

Look into homebuyers' problems:Centre to UP

The Centre has asked theUttar Pradesh governmentto look into "the enormous

problems faced by lakhs ofhomebuyers" in Greater NoidaWest (previously known as NoidaExtension). Ajay Maken, unionminister of housing and urbanpoverty alleviation, wrote a letterto UP chief minister AkhileshYadav, saying the governmentshould consider meeting repre-sentatives of buyers being primafacie harassed by private buildersthrough threats of agreement can-cellation, revised rates and inter-est demands.

The minister said hapless buy-ers have already been undergoinga torturous experience over thelast two years as their hard-earnedmoney got blocked because of liti-gation and non-clearance of thearea's master plan.

The minister also said that evenafter the hurdles have beencleared, builders apparently wantto cash in on the appreciated realestate value.

In his letter to the CM, Makenhas said, "I'm sure that you will beable to look into their (the buy-ers') problems and provide themrelief… it's a matter of lifetime op-portunities and dreams."

The minister wrote the letterfollowing a group of buyers methim complaining regarding "un-fair activities and unethical de-mands of builders".

The buyers also asked the min-ister to bring a bill to regulate thereal estate sector. They said theminister assured them that such abill would soon be tabled in theParliament.

"Agreements between buildersand buyers are mostly in favor ofthe latter. The bills should havestrict provisions so that buildersdo not harass buyers. A helplineshould be put in place for buyers,"said a buyer who met the minister.

Ajay Maken

Housing & Poverty Alleviation Minister

India Post38www.indiapost.com

January 4, 2013

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Cont’d on page 41

Named after Henry Havelock, a Brit-ish colonial time General in the re-gion, Havelock is the Andaman'sstar attraction and thousands of

tourists flock to this paradise on earth everyyear. The five main villages featuring their ownunique beaches are Govinda Nagar, RadhaNagar, Bejoy Nagar, Shyam Nagar, KrishnaNagar. Radha Nagar beach is the best of the lothaving been rated by the coveted Time maga-zine as the best beach in Asia back in 2004.

The Havelock Islands is approximately 55kilometers northeast of the capital city of PortBlair with around two to three departures dailyfrom Port Blair to the island. Catamaran ferries

Elephant beach, another tourist favor-ite, is walking distance from Radha Nagarbeach, and what a brilliant walk it is in-deed. If walking's not your thing, an autorickshaw can be hired. Apart from rick-shaws, one can opt to hire a cab or rent atwo wheeler for a day.

Scuba diving is by far the most enjoy-able activity on Havelock Island and theAndaman Islands are not well equipped withspeed boats and a recompression chamberat Port Blair. Scuba expeditions for everyappetite, beginner, intermediate and experi-enced are available on Havelock Island andare very reasonably priced. It's a great wayto explore marine flora and fauna up closeand personal!

Apart from Scuba, trekking is anotherfamous sport at Havelock Island with manytour operators offering standardized guidedtreks. Unlike other islands in the Andamanand Nicobar Island group, Havelock offersmany hotel and dormitory options to suitevery budget.

take you there and if time is your con-cern, Pawan Hans operates choppersfrom Port Blair to Havelock.

Once you're on Havelock Islands thebest way to get around is on foot, explor-

ing the various beaches, shacks and shop-ping places. Radha Nagar beach featurespristine white sand with emerald colored reefand makes for a great place to spend anafternoon with some sumptuous seafood.

“

”

The five main villagesfeaturing their ownunique beaches areGovinda Nagar,Radha Nagar, BejoyNagar, Shyam Nagar,Krishna Nagar. RadhaNagar beach is thebest of the lot havingbeen rated by thecoveted Time maga-zine as the best beachin Asia back in 2004

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India PostJanuary 4,2013 41Travel & Hospitality Postwww.indiapost.com

Café Del Mar and Wild Orchidare two places worth considering!Done with the sun and sand andyou might want to head over to Vil-lage Number 3 which is the primemarket place selling variouslocal artifacts and accessories.

Don't forget to try someauthentic coconut waterhere. Drinks and beer areavailable at most of the res-taurants and being a UnionTerritory, they're reasonablypriced.

Premium scuba diving andsnorkeling are the highlightsof the gorgeous Havelock Is-land. Glass-bottomed boatsprovide a similar up-close ma-rine life experience. Jungletreks and camping are popu-lar landlubbing activities,though the more delicatelydispositioned can choose toretire to one of several luxuryresorts. Refuel with fresh co-conut milk and succulent, just-caught seafood, which dominatesevery meal.

Havelock Islands (often justHavelock for short) with an areaof some 92 sq. km is the largest ofthe islands which compriseRitchie's Archipelago, a chain ofislands to the east of Great

Havelock Islands: Star attraction of Andamans & NicobarAndaman in the Andaman Islands.The island population has Bengalisettlers. It is one of the few placesthat the administration of theAndaman and Nicobar has permit-ted and encouraged development

of tourism, with a focus on pro-moting eco-tourism.

Radhanagar BeachIt is one of the best beaches in

the world. Unbelievably pictur-esque, flawlessly astonishing dis-closure of nature's splendor canbe experienced here. Heavenly

peace has dominated the place.There's pin-drop silence for a mo-ment, and there comes a well-man-nered wave, 5km long, gentlysplashing in a beautiful accord,and there's complete silence again

till the next one. This splash isthe only thing you can hear onthe beach. Lush Mahua treessurround the beach, high-spir-ited, standing tall, as if touch-ing the clouds. You get into theforest and you can't see the sky.

Check for elephant rides here.Vijay Nagar beachAll the prominently listed

'resorts', except Bare Foot andDolphin tents, are located alongthis beach. Unlike Bare Foot,which is located 100 meters offthe shore and inside the

'jungle', most resorts on this sideare on the beach. Quite and serene,it's worth every penny spent onthis God painted natural beauty!!

Govindnagar BeachGovind Nagar, the main "town",

is small and has only a handful ofshops and local dhabas. There is

a recently opened Axis Bank ATMnear the market place.

Elephant BeachLocated at one remote corner

of Havelock Islands is ElephantBeach. One has to take a boat orgo on a steep, but short trek toreach this desolate beach. But,once you have reached this beach,it is difficult to coax yourself tomove out. Such is the pristinebeauty of this place. The innerreaches of this beach are made up

of mangrove forests and slush, butthe side is close to the water. Thesapphire colored waters, the gentlewaves, the bare trees, the vast ho-rizon and the sense of being aloneamidst this rapidly changing na-ture truly intoxicates one's soul.

Best Time to VisitThe best time to visit the island

is between October and May asthe weather during this time isideal for diving and other aquasports. The days are warm andsunny and sea is calm to reflectblue clouds.

How to Reach

By Sea: Ferries are the easiestway to get to Havelock Islands(Beach number 1). About three fer-ries travel from Port Blair every daywithin a span of four hours each.There is a ferry service fromRangat via Neil Island once a daybut it depends on the season andprior enquiry will save time.

Government operated ferries re-quire to be booked in advance dueto lack of space. There are two typesof tickets that you can book - ChairClass and Seat Class (the more ex-pensive option).

There is a more expensive cata-maran ferry that can be booked atPort Blair. This is less likely to befull and gives much better facilitieslike leather seats and your own TV.

The most expensive way via seato reach Havelock Island is by trav-eling on MV Makruzz, the firstluxury catamaran which travelsfrom Port Blair to Havelock Islandport in about 90 minutes.

By Air: The nearest airport isVeer Savarkar International Airportin Port Blair. There are regular flightsto Chennai and Kolkata. An eightseater sea plane service is availablethat travels between Havelock Is-lands and Port Blair twice every dayexcept on Sundays. Buses, rick-shaws and taxis are available fromthe port.


Visa curbs eased for SouthAfrican travelers

JOHANNESBURG: To facili-tate the entry of South Africanvisitors and business travelers toIndia, the Indian High Commissionhere has eased certain visa restric-tions placed upon them.

The earlier restriction in termsof which a tourist to India couldnot return within a period of twomonths has been lifted, IndianHigh Commissioner VirendraGupta told a gathering of travelagents and airlines at a TourismSeminar organized by the HighCommission in Sandton.

"I think this is right because alot of tourists use India as an en-try point and from there theymake short side trips. We havealways been facing this difficultyand we have had to grant exemp-tions, so fortunately that will notbe required any longer," Guptasaid.

Gupta confirmed that the In-dian missions in South Africawould soon be outsourcing theissuing of visas, which have beenissued free of charge from officesin Pretoria, Johannesburg,Durban and Cape Town until now.There will be a service fee at-

tached to this when the servicestarts at a date still to be an-nounced.

"We have already selected acompany which will open fourvisa collection centers in Pretoria,Johannesburg, Durban and CapeTown. We will start the servicesin Cape Town and our endeavorwould be to streamline visa issu-

ance and make it as easy as pos-sible so that anyone who appliesfor a visa should be able to get itwithin three or four days," Guptasaid.

"Tourists will typically get athree-month visa, but for thosewho are traveling to India for busi-ness purposes, we have an agree-

ment with the government ofSouth Africa that bona fide busi-ness travelers who are verified byour missions or recommended bythe Chambers of Commerce willget one-year visas."

Gupta also said he was un-happy that Jet Airways had with-drawn its daily direct flights be-tween Johannesburg andMumbai a few months ago.

"That was the only Indian air-line offering this service and I verymuch hope and pray that Jet Air-ways will reconsider their deci-sion and come back into the mar-ket, because there is a fair amountof travel both ways. They shouldalso consider the number ofpeople who are usingJohannesburg as a transit pointinto Southern Africa."

Johannesburg travel agent RC Naik supported the call byGupta: "It would definitely begood to have an Indian carrierback in the country as travel be-tween India and South Africa isgrowing fast in the wake of theBRICS (Brazil- Russia- India-China- South Africa) initiative." -PTI

‘Tourists will typicallyget a three-monthvisa, but those whoare traveling to Indiafor businesspurposes will getone-year visas’

Once you have reached this beach, it isdifficult to coax yourself to move out.Such is the pristine beauty of this place

India Post January 4,201342 Travel & Hospitality Postwww.indiapost.com

Omar for round the yeartourism in J-K

SRINAGAR: Development ofrequisite tourist infrastructure inconsonance with environmentalrequirements is necessary to re-store tourism glory of Jammu andKashmir and make world famousresorts like Gulmarg round the yeartourist attraction, Chief MinisterOmar Abdullah said here.

"Comfortable accommodationand best service delivery act asdriving force to attract visitors tocome again and again and enjoythe hospitality of the people andthe natural beauty," Omar said in-augurating a modern tourist facil-ity created in the private sector atthe famous ski resort of Gulmarg,55 kms from here.

"The Khyber", an 85-room fivestar luxury hotel with hi-tech mod-ern facilities is spread over sevenFir-laden acres and has been de-signed in the local Kashmiri archi-tecture with luxury furniture, fur-nishings and fixtures.

The Chief Minister said hisgovernment has concentrated onholistic development of tourismmaking eco-tourism fulcrum in thecreation of new facilities and up-

grading the existing ones."The natural beauty is God's gift

to the state and tourism is the keysector to catapult economy andgenerate jobs for people round theyear," he said adding, it is impera-tive to maintain and conserve thisnatural beauty and bio-diversity ofthe state for present and next gen-erations.

"This is the national duty of allof us," Omar said and called forjoint and wholehearted efforts bygovernment, private sector andpublic to safeguard the natural re-sorts and preserve their beauty.

Omar said visit of about 12 lakhvisitors to the Valley this year in-dicates the interest people of thecountry and outside possess forvisiting Jammu and Kashmir andenjoying the beauty God has be-stowed upon it.

The Chief Minister said be-sides conventional tourism, gov-ernment is focusing to harnessingthe great potential of adventure,pilgrim and sports tourism.

"Organizing events of adven-ture and sports tourism and mak-ing skiing, mountain biking, whitewater rafting, trekking, hiking and

mountaineering regular features intourism calendar would help togive thrust to comprehensive de-velopment of tourism," he said. .

Omar said 'Gandola' andChairlifts in Gulmarg have en-hanced the orbit of organizingmore winter sport events in thisplace and attract visitors from allover the world.

He said development andupgradation of Golf Course atGulmarg has added another attrac-tion for the tourists.

"In fact the government hascreated a golf circuit in the stateby developing Golf Courses atSidhra Jammu, Srinagar, Gulmarg,Pahalgam and one is under con-struction at Leh.

This has provided opportunityto the golfers to enjoy the sport indifferent geographical situationsand climate during their visit to thestate," he said.

Omar said organizing of golfevents during summer have show-cased this aspect of sports tour-ism of the state.

Other activities need to begiven further push to rope in tour-ists of varied interests, he said.

Omar said equal attention isbeing given to divert huge num-ber of pilgrims visiting MataVaishno Devi to visit and stay atplaces like Surinsar, Mansar,Patnitop, Jammu and other placesof tourist and religious importance.

"Development of these placeson modern lines and in agreementwith the environmental require-ments is being attended by theconcerned Development Authori-ties and Tourism Department," hesaid adding Central assistanceavailable for the purpose is alsobeing utilized in this regard. -PTI

Omar Abdullah

Omar said equalattention is beinggiven to divert hugenumber of pilgrimsvisiting Mata VaishnoDevi to visit and stayat places likeSurinsar, Mansar,Patnitop Jammu andother places

ITDC, Hindustan Salts to developtourist centers

NEW DELHI: India TourismDevelopment Corporation (ITDC)has entered into an agreementwith Hindustan Salts to developtourist centers in Rajasthan,Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh.

As per the ITDC and HindustanSalts Ltd pact, HSL will provide the"rights to use of land" for tourismrelated projects, while ITDC willprovide expertise and technicalsupport for running the touristcenters.

"To explore the possibilities ofdeveloping its large land bank atdifferent locations, HSL, with itssubsidiary SSL (Sambhar SaltsLtd), is joining hands with ITDC

to undertake the development ofregions of Khara Ghoda inGujarat, Sambhar Lake inRajasthan and Mandi in HimachalPradesh," HSL said.

When asked as to how the twopartners will share investmentsand profits, ITDC Vice Chairmanand Managing Director Lalit KPanwar said they would be sharedequally.

The MoU will be valid for threeyears, but could be extended ifneeded. The idea is to developHeritage and theme based tourismas these regions have a tremen-dous potential, ITDC said.

In the first phase Sambhar lakearea will be developed, Panwarsaid.

This would include convertingold pre-independence residentialcolony into a 'Heritage Village',promoting religious tourism, laketourism, boating in canal, devel-oping camp and tented accommo-dation around salt ponds and de-velopment of salt heritage mu-seum, he added. -PTI

Study on impact of taxationon tourism sector

Southern Zonal TourismCouncil set up

NEW DELHI: With the aim todevelop integrated tourism circuitsin south India, the Tourism Minis-try has formed Southern ZonalTourism Council comprisingAndhra Pradesh, Kerala,Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and theUnion Territory of Puducherry.

"The setting up of the South-ern Zonal Tourism Council (SZTC)will help facilitate development oftourism and tourism products ofsouthern India in a holistic andcomprehensive manner. Develop-ment of integrated tourism circuitsamong the southern states will bethe way forward," Tourism Minis-ter Chiranjeevi said.

About the issues to be takenup by the Council, he said, "Theissues of competitive taxation oftourism products, inter -state taxa-tion, seamless tourist movementby facilitating smooth facilitationat entry and exit points of the states

will be addressed."The Ministry will be writing to

the Chief Secretaries of the states,who would chair the Council by ro-tation. Tourism and Finance Secre-

NEW DELHI: Exploring the pos-sibilities of giving export industrystatus to the tourism sector, thegovernment has announced thata comprehensive study will be car-ried out on impact of taxation onthe sector.

"The ministry will immediatelyconduct the study of comparisonof the impact of excessive taxeson tourism industry viz-a-viz ex-port industry and also the com-parative analysis on the tax struc-ture on Indian tourism industrywith the competing neighboringcountries," Tourism MinisterChiranjeevi said at a meetingwith a delegation of the IndianAssociation of Tour Operators(IATO) here.

President of IATO SubhashGoyal highlighted the problemsand issues being faced by the tour-ism industry.

The delegation requested theminister that wherever 'visa on ar-rival' is not possible, E-visa shouldbe issued for travel to India.

The delegation also stated thatIndian tour operators are beingdiscriminated as the export indus-try is exempted from service taxwhereas the Tourism industry isnot. This is resulting in discrimi-nation not only against the ex-porters but also against tour op-erators in neighboring countrieslike Sri Lanka and Nepal who arenot paying any taxes and the busi-ness for India is being routedthrough them.

Goyal said, "If two things are

achieved then tourism will go upby at least 50 per cent, if not 100per cent, which include 'visa onarrival' and the second is to giveexport industry status to tourismindustry."

He further said that 'visa on ar-rival' to be issued for the touristsfrom all tourism friendly countriesand wherever this is not possible,E-visa should be issued for travelto India. -PTI

President of IATO Subhash Goyal

The delegation re-quested the ministerthat wherever 'visaon arrival' is not pos-sible, E-visa shouldbe issued for travelto India

tary of the respective states will bepermanent invitees to the Council.

The Council will also interactwith the stakeholders to under-stand the concerns and issues fac-ing the tourism industry. -PTI

‘The setting up of theSouthern Zonal Tour-ism Council (SZTC)will help facilitatedevelopment oftourism and tourismproducts ofsouthern India’

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44 India Post January 4, 2013www.indiapost.com

In Brief ImmigrationDon't blame migrants for

UK problems: BlairLONDON: In a thinly-veiled

warning to party chief Ed Milibandover Labor's position on immigra-tion, ex-British Prime Minister TonyBlair has asked the leader of the Op-position not make migrants a "scape-goat" for problems in Britain.

In a highly unusual interven-tion into British politics, the formerprime minister declined to saywhether he would campaign forthe Labor leader at the next elec-tion expected in 2015.

Days after Miliband claimedprevious Labor governments haddone "too little" to deal with theimpact of mass immigration, Blairdefended his record and warnedthat debate on the issue shouldbe "handled with care".

Rejecting suggestions that ithad been a mistake to open thedoor to migrants from new EUmembers in eastern Europe, Blairsaid: "People look back and sayyou should have done more to re-strict particularly Eastern Euro-pean immigration."

"I look back on that, and youcan have a debate about it, butpersonally I think the Polish com-munity contributes a lot to thiscountry. In many ways immigrantsdo a lot for our country. They bringfresh energy, fresh initiative and I

Young Mich.immigrants sue toget right to drive

DETROIT: Three young peopleare suing the Michigan secretaryof state over her refusal to grantdriver's licenses to applicants whocan stay in the U.S. under a newfederal immigration policy.

The lawsuit, filed by the Ameri-can Civil Liberties Union, says theimmigrants should be eligible forlicenses if they're allowed to stayin the U.S. The lawsuit asks a De-troit federal judge to issue an in-junction to stop the state's policy.

The plaintiffs are a 20-year-oldmedical student in Detroit, a 17-year-old high school student fromAnn Arbor and a 21-year-old Uni-versity of Michigan student.

President Barack Obama lastsummer said immigrants who en-tered the country illegally as chil-dren wouldn't face deportation un-der certain conditions. -AP

Law change neededfor immigrationdatabase

MADISON, Wis.: Accessing afederal database of legal immi-grants to examine whether they canlegally vote in Wisconsin wouldrequire a law change and cost over$1 million over the next five years.

That is according to a reportprepared by staff at the state elec-tions board that is to be discussedat its meeting.

The Government Accountabil-ity Board report comes in re-sponse to a request sent in Julyfrom Republican state Sen. MaryLazich who asked that the boardlook into using the U.S. Depart-ment of Homeland Security data-base to weed out illegal aliens whomay be voting. -AP

Easier visa forSouth Africanstraveling to India

JOHANNESBURG: To facilitatethe entry of South African visitorsand business travelers to India,the Indian Commission here haseased certain visa restrictionsplaced upon them.

The earlier restriction in termsof which a tourist to India couldnot return within a period of twomonths has been lifted, IndianHigh Commissioner Virendra Guptatold a gathering of travel agentsand airlines at a Tourism Seminarorganized by the High Commis-sion in Sandton.

"I think this is right because alot of tourists use India as an en-try point and from there they makeshort side trips.

think it will be a sad day if we endup targeting them."

"Of course it has to be con-trolled, and illegal immigration hasto be tackled head on. But overallI think immigration has been goodfor Britain and most immigrantshave assimilated well. So don't

make them a scapegoat for ourproblems."

Blair also insisted it was "obvi-ous" that major changes neededto be made to sickness benefitsand suggested the ageing popu-lation meant a fundamental reas-sessment of the post-war welfare

Ga. immigrationboard moves toset up hearing

ATLANTA: A state panel cre-ated to ensure that governmentemployees comply with Georgia'stough immigration law will likelyhold its first hearing on a com-plaint early next year.

Details on page 46

Australian Santa reminds immigrants to renew visa

Australia's Department ofImmigration and Citizenship (DIAC) is making

use of the Christmas spirit andhas roped in Santa Claus to high-light students about their visaexpiry options and to get themrenewed on time.

The humorous write-up byDIAC states that while SantaClaus knows obtaining hisAustralian visa is a streamlinedprocess but they have remindedSanta that there are trainee elveson student visas who need to con-sider their options before their vi-sas expire early in the New Year.

Given Santa's intention to en-gage in limited work of a highlyspecialized and non-ongoingnature while down under, he ap-

plied for a subclass 456 businessshort stay visa. Santa's visa wasapproved quickly, given the hap-piness that had resulted from pre-vious visits and his excellent

record of compliance with pastentry conditions.

"Australia has a world-classeducation system and we fre-quently have up-and-comingelves travel to Australia on stu-dent visas, where they're seekingto hone their toy-making skills

through courses such as industrialdesign and engineering," a DIACspokesman said.

Most elves return to the NorthPole upon completion of their stud-

ies. Those elves whose studies havecome to an end need to think abouttheir options once the Christmasseason is over. This may be to makearrangements to depart or apply foranother visa. Elves can apply for askilled visa through SkillSelect andawait an outcome offshore if they

are hoping to return as permanentskilled migrants.

"Some elves have come toAustralia as part of a labor agree-ment Santa signed with the Aus-tralian Government in 2011," thespokesman said. "The laboragreement allows only highlyskilled elves to enter the coun-try, establish operations and trainAustralian elves.

"Elves are not on the list ofapproved occupations for thesubclass 457 visa, permanentemployer nomination scheme orregional sponsored migrationscheme but Santa was able toestablish there was a genuineshortage of qualified elves here,"the spokesman added.

state was necessary. His remarkswill be seen as a swipe at Labor'sstance on welfare.

The opposition has criticizedalmost all of Work and PensionsSecretary Iain Duncan Smith's at-tempts to trim the vast benefitsbill, including increasing mostworking age benefits by only 1 percent a year for the next three years.

Addressing a lunch attendedby Westminster journalists, Blairappeared to contradict Miliband'sinsistence that there must be a newPress law following the LevesonReport into media standards.

He agreed with the main recom-mendations, and did not understandthe "vehemence" of objections tolegislation to back up a more effec-tive newspaper watchdog.

But he added: "I think that themost important thing is whatevercomes out of this is somethingthat's independent of government,Parliament and the media. How youdo that, I am open-minded about."

In another apparent warning toMiliband, Blair sided with DavidCameron and London Mayor BorisJohnson by backing their calls foran end to "banker bashing", say-ing the success of the City was criti-cal to Britain's attempts to emergefrom the economic mire. -PTI

Ex-British Prime Minister Tony Blair

‘Elves are not on the list of approved occupa-tions for the subclass 457 visa, permanentemployer nomination scheme or regionalsponsored migration scheme’

“In many ways immigrants do a lot for ourcountry. They bring fresh energy, freshinitiative and I think it will be a sad dayif we end up targeting them."

Cont’d on page 45Cont’d on page 46

Number of immigrant drophouses in Phoenix declines

Help hard to get for some immigrants hit by Sandy

NEW YORK: Some immigrantNew Yorkers affected bySuperstorm Sandy are strugglingto recover and are finding it difficultto get help, according to a report byan advocacy group.

The report by Make the RoadNew York surveyed immigrants inspecific communities on Staten Is-land and Long Island. It found that40 percent of those surveyed saidthey had sustained economic dam-

age because of the storm. On StatenIsland alone, that figure rose to 60percent of those surveyed.

The report said some of themhave had to leave their homes andhave had a difficult time finding newaffordable places to live because ofa limited housing market in the wakeof the storm.

“I lost my job and I can't find anew one,'' said Maria RaquelSanchez, an immigrant from Mexicowhose Staten Island home gotflooded, forcing her to stay with rela-tives. ``Landlords ask double ofwhat I paid for rent, and my land-lord does not give me my securitydeposit back.''

Others have stayed in theirhomes and are facing concerns likemold contamination.

``The results of this study are

surprising and worrying,'' said SaraCullinane of Make the Road. ``Weneed the government to consider

creating a task force to make surethat immigrant needs are addressed.''

Most had not applied for any kind

of aid. The top reason given for thatwas that they didn't know how. Thereport's authors said that meansstate and federal government offi-cials have to do better outreach.

Eligibility requirements are alsoan issue. People who are not herelegally are not eligible for most aidbut could apply for a family memberwho is eligible, such as an illegalimmigrant applying for a child who'sa U.S. citizen. But the report's au-thors said the process is confusingand can keep people from gettingthe aid their children might be eli-gible for.

The report recommends that out-reach to immigrants on what's avail-able should be improved and thatany planning for future disastersshould include strategies for immi-grant communities. -AP

Water reached the street level of the flooded

Brooklyn Battery Tunnel in New York

I lost my job and Ican't find a newone,'' said MariaRaquel Sanchez, animmigrant fromMexico whose StatenIsland home gotflooded, forcing herto stay with relatives

PHOENIX: The number of so-called drop houses discoveredharboring illegal immigrants in thePhoenix area has decreased sig-nificantly over the last four years,a trend federal officials said is an-other indication that human smug-gling in Arizona is declining.

There were 490 illegal immi-grants discovered in 37 Phoenixarea drop houses during the fed-eral fiscal year that ended Sept. 30.The Arizona Republic reports thatcompares with 3,221 illegal immi-grants found in 186 drop housesin the 2008 federal budget year thatended in September 2008.

The special agent in charge ofImmigrations and Customs En-forcement investigations in Ari-zona, Matthew Allen, tied the de-crease to an overall drop in illegalimmigration nationwide. He citedthe weak U.S. economy, tighterborder security, stepped-up immi-gration enforcement and toughersentences imposed on smugglers.

Allen also said the number ofillegal immigrants being found inindividual homes is down, an in-dication that smugglers are con-cerned about raids.

``You remember the days herewhen we were hitting drop housesthat had 60, 80 or more than 100people in them,'' Allen said.``These days, it's very rare that wesee a drop house that has morethan 20 or 30 people in it.''

Still, Allen said, ``that doesn'tmean that there's none out there.''

ICE officials say the typical waystation is a vacant house with nobeds or furniture. Armed smug-glers stand watch over dozens ofillegal immigrants who arecrammed inside and who sleep on

the floor in squalid conditions.Four years ago, the Phoenix area

was the drop house capital of thenation and hundreds of such loca-tions dotted neighborhoodsthroughout the area. They were usedby smugglers to hold groups of ille-gal immigrants awaiting transport toother cities after being broughtacross the border from Mexico.

``The number of drop housesfluctuates with the volume of traf-

fic, so as traffic has gone down,so has the number of drop housesgone down,'' Allen said.

He said stiff penalties in a num-ber of hostage-taking caseshanded out in state and federalcourts also deterred smugglers.

Maricopa County Sheriff JoeArpaio said he also has seen a de-crease in drop houses recently, dis-covering five drop houses in 2012,down from eight the year before.

Arpaio, however, said he be-lieves fewer drop houses being dis-covered is an indication that smug-glers have changed their tactics.To avoid detection because ofstepped-up immigration enforce-ment in Maricopa County, he be-lieves smugglers are bypassingthe Phoenix area. -AP

US Chamber, Okla. AG resolveimmigration dispute

OKLAHOMA CITY: A federaljudge has signed an agreementthat ends a four-year legal fightbetween the state and the U.S.Chamber of Commerce overOklahoma's tough anti-illegal im-migrant law.

The judgment signed by U.S.District Judge Robin Cauthronessentially accepts a 2010 rulingby the 10th U.S. Circuit Court ofAppeals that blocks enforcementof parts of the law. The settlementwas requested by the Chamberand Oklahoma Attorney GeneralScott Pruitt.

Pruitt said the agreement putsin place what the appeals court andthe U.S. Supreme Court have al-ready decided on the immigrationissue, adding: ``We now can shiftour focus to implementing andenforcing the law.''

Chamber spokesman BobbyMaldonado did not immediatelyrespond to an email from The As-sociated Press seeking comment.

Oklahoma's immigration lawwas considered one of the tough-est in the nation when it wasadopted by the Legislature in 2007and signed into law by then-Gov.Brad Henry.

Among other things, it autho-rized the state to require use of anInternet-based system of employ-ment authorization for public con-tractors. The law also sought tosubject businesses that hire illegalimmigrants to financial penalties,

dictated who could and couldn't befired, and required contractors towithhold taxes for workers withoutproper documentation.

The agreement authorizes thestate to require use of the electronicemployment verification system.But it prohibits enforcement of pos-sible legal sanctions against em-ployers who fire an authorized em-ployee while retaining an illegal im-migrant worker, and the withhold-ing of taxes for work performed byindividual independent contractors.

The law was challenged in 2008by the Chamber and other pro-business groups that argued thestate was pushing immigration lawenforcement onto employers. Butthe state said the law was neededbecause ``illegal immigration iscausing economic hardship andlawlessness in this state.''

Cauthron initially blocked en-forcement of much of the law, buther ruling was appealed to the 10thCircuit. -AP

Santa has advised the depart-ment he would be contacting theaffected trainee elves early in 2013to ensure they complied with theirvisa conditions. He also askedabout what options might be avail-able for other young elves hopingto spend time in Australia.

"We told Santa we're more thanhappy to enter negotiations withthe North Pole to put in place a

The law was chal-lenged in 2008 bythe Chamber andother pro-businessgroups that arguedthe state was pushingimmigration lawenforcement

Australian Santa reminds immigrantsto renew visa

reciprocal working holiday agree-ment, meaning elves aged 18-30can spend up to 12 months livingand working in Australia andyoung Australians would have fullwork rights at the North Pole," thespokesman said. "But for elvesover 30 who are planning an ex-tended stay involving singing anddancing performances while theyvisit Australia, they will need tofind an Australian sponsor and go

through the entertainment visaprocess."

The Australian DAIC startedusing this humorous approach ofupdating students since 2011.Last year, they made Santa sign alabor agreement that would allowhis workforce of highly skilledelves to enter the country, estab-lish operations and train Austra-lian elves.

-Courtesy Business Standard


Allen also said thenumber of illegalimmigrants beingfound in individualhomes is down, anindication that smug-glers are concernedabout raids

India Post 45January 4, 2013 Immigration Postwww.indiapost.com

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King's first complaint,which targeted thecity of Atlanta, wasresolved when thecity council repealedan old ordinance tocomply with statelaw. The board hasdelayed action onanother of hiscomplaints

Ga. immigration board moves to set up hearingATLANTA: A state panel cre-

ated to ensure that governmentemployees comply with Georgia'stough immigration law will likelyhold its first hearing on a complaintearly next year.

Members of the ImmigrationEnforcement Review Board havevoted to instruct Chairman BenVinson to take steps to set up ahearing on a July complaint byD.A. King, an activist against ille-gal immigration.

The complaint alleges thestate Department of CommunityAffairs isn't complying with astate law requirement to collectspecific information from gov-ernment agencies that adminis-ter public benefits and to com-pile that information in a reportby Jan. 1 of each year.

Vinson also announced dur-ing the meeting that board mem-ber Robert Mumford recently re-signed from the board to becomea Rockdale County SuperiorCourt judge. House SpeakerDavid Ralston, who appointedMumford to the board, is re-sponsible for choosing his re-placement.

Created under the state's strict2011 law, the board is charged withinvestigating and reviewing com-plaints filed by any Georgia regis-tered voter that a state or local

government employee or officialis violating state laws related toimmigration. It began acceptingcomplaints early this year.

The board has broad power toinvestigate complaints, hold hear-ings, subpoena documents andwitnesses and take disciplinaryaction. Public employees or offi-cials found to have ``knowinglyand willfully violated or failed toabide by'' the laws can be pun-ished by a fine of up to $5,000.

However, the board has gottenfew financial resources and nopaid staffers to help it fulfill itsmission. The logistical require-ments for a hearing, includingbringing in a court reporter andhaving subpoenas delivered, needto be figured out, Vinson said af-ter the hearing.

Board members went back andforth over whether they should getthe ball rolling on setting up a hear-ing or wait for the Department ofCommunity Affairs to submit ad-ditional data for 2012 that is due atthe end of the year.

Board member Phil Kentpushed for a hearing, saying it wasclear to him the department wasn'tcomplying with the law.

``We are the only entity that cansanction. We can't just continueto have non-compliance, in myopinion,'' he said.

John Turner, director of thedepartment's community devel-opment division, said he believedthe agency was complying withthe law and that it had taken con-

crete steps to educate other agen-cies that are supposed to submitreports. He said the departmenthad addressed the issues in thecomplaint and asked that it be dis-missed.

``We want to see total compli-ance with this law, but DCA is nota regulatory agency,'' he said, lateradding, ``We have no means bywhich we can require public enti-ties in the state of Georgia to reg-ister and report.''

King, who has filed four of thefive complaints received this year

by the board, has expressed frus-tration that the board hasn'tmoved more quickly and deci-sively on his complaints. He saidhe wasn't optimistic that meaning-ful action would result from theboard's future steps.

``I have seen no action takenby this board that would deter anyagency from committing futureviolations,'' King said after themeeting.

King's first complaint, whichtargeted the city of Atlanta, wasresolved when the city councilrepealed an old ordinance tocomply with state law. The boardhas delayed action on another ofhis complaints until it sees howthings play out with the one thatseems destined for a hearing. Herecently submitted a letter to theboard withdrawing his fourthcomplaint. The board's fifth com-

plaint was dismissed after a pre-liminary investigation for lack ofcause.

The complaint King withdrewclaimed that nearly 1,200 stateagencies that are required to use afederal database called E-Verify tocheck the employment eligibilityof new hires had failed to submitcompliance reports to the stateauditor as required by law. Afterthe board delayed action on thecomplaint at its meeting in Septem-ber, King asked the attorneygeneral's office to pursue the com-plaint. The attorney general's of-fice said it would not get involvedbecause the complaint was pend-ing before the board. In a letter thathe mailed after the meeting, Kingasked the attorney general's officeto reconsider the complaint nowthat it's no longer pending beforethe board. -AP

We have always been facingthis difficulty and we have had togrant exemptions, so fortunatelythat will not be required anylonger," Gupta said.

But Gupta also confirmed thatthe Indian missions in South Af-rica would soon be outsourcingthe issuing of visas, which havebeen issued free of charge fromoffices in Pretoria, Johannesburg,Durban and Cape Town until now.There will be a service fee attachedto this when the service starts at adate still to be announced.

"We have already selected acompany which will open four visacollection centers in Pretoria,Johannesburg, Durban and Cape

Town. We will start the services inCape Town and our endeavorwould be to streamline visa issu-ance and make it as easy as pos-sible so that anyone who appliesfor a visa should be able to get itwithin three or four days," Guptasaid.

"Tourists will typically get athree-month visa, but for thosewho are traveling to India for busi-ness purposes, we have an agree-ment with the government ofSouth Africa that bona fide busi-ness travelers who are verified byour missions or recommended bythe Chambers of Commerce willget one-year visas."

Gupta also said he was un-happy that Jet Airways had with-drawn its daily direct flights be-

tween Johannesburg and Mumbaia few months ago.

"That was the only Indian air-line offering this service and I verymuch hope and pray that Jet Air-ways will reconsider their decisionand come back into the market,because there is a fair amount oftravel both ways. They shouldalso consider the number of peoplewho are using Johannesburg as atransit point into Southern Africa."

Johannesburg travel agent R CNaik supported the call by Gupta:"It would definitely be good tohave an Indian carrier back in thecountry as travel between Indiaand South Africa is growing fastin the wake of the BRICS (Brazil-Russia- India- China- South Af-rica) initiative." -PTI


Easier visa for South Africans traveling to India

India Post46 January 4, 2013Immigration Postwww.indiapost.com

India Post 47

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Alternative Work Solutions

Relocation Space Planning

Services North County – Tues-

day, January 15, 2013 at 10:00

AM at General Services Agency,

Room 222, 2nd Floor, 1401

Lakeside Drive, Oakland, CA (A

non-mandatory walk-thru of

1111 Jackson Street will follow

this Bidders Conference in

Oakland.) and South County –

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

at 10:00 AM at Social Services

Agency, Rooms Shooting Star

A & B, 24100 Amador Street,

Hayward, CA

Responses Due by 2:00 pm on

February 13, 2013 County Con-

tact: Lovell Laurente (510)


[email protected] At-

tendance at Networking Con-

ference is Non-mandatory.

Specifications regarding the

above may be obtained at the

Alameda County GSA Current

Contracting Opportunities

Internet website at

www.acgov.org.

1/4/13

CNS-2424972#


sealed competitive bids will

be accepted in the office of

the GSA-Technical Services

Department, County of

Alameda, 1401 Lakeside

Drive, 9th Floor, Suite 900,

Oakland, CA 94612

PROPOSERS/NETWORK-

ING CONFERENCES RFQ

#410181 (Re-Bid) Pre-Quali-

fication for Open-Ended Ar-

chitectural Services Manda-

tory: Monday, January 14,

2013 at 10AM and Non-

Mandatory: Tuesday, Janu-

ary 15, 2013 at 10AM– Both

at General Services Agency,

1401 Lakeside Drive, Confer-

ence Room 1107, Oakland,

CA

Attendance at the first

Proposers Conference is

required. Responses Due

by 2:00 pm on February 6,

2013 County Contact :

Fawaz Khanachet at (510)


[email protected]

Information regarding the

above may be obtained at

the Alameda County Current

Contracting Opportunities

Internet website at

www.acgov.org.

1/4/13

CNS-2422467#


sealed competitive bids will

be accepted in the office of

the GSA-Purchasing Depart-

ment, County of Alameda,

1401 Lakeside Drive, Suite

907, Oakland, CA 94612

NETWORKING/ BIDDERS

CONFERENCES RFQ

#901081 for Motorcycle

Body Repair and Mainte-

nance: South County-Mon-

day, January 7, 2013, 2:00

p.m. – Castro Valley Library,

Canyon Room, 3600

Norbridge Avenue, Castro

Valley, CA North County-

Tuesday, January 8, 2013,

10:00 a.m. – General Ser-

vices Agency, 1401 Lakeside

Drive, Room 1107, 11th

Floor, Oakland, CA

Response Due by 2:00

p.m. on February 14, 2013.

County Contact : Evelyn

Benzon (510) 208-9622 or

via email:

[email protected]

Attendance at Networking

Conference is Non-manda-

tory. Information regarding

the above may be obtained

at the Alameda County Cur-

rent Contracting Opportuni-

ties Internet website at

www.acgov.org.

1/4/13

CNS-2422679#


January 4, 201348

NEW YORKUpcoming

ILLINOIS

Upcoming

Fri Jan 04• Arabian Nights Belly Dancing

Show w/ DJ Wave!Venue: Fire n Ice: Exotic Hookah Bar &Lounge, 583 Ford Ave, Fords, NJ 08863Time: 7:00 pmContact: 732-417-1999

Fri Jan 11• Learn to meditate and

de-stressVenue: Residence, 31 Haymarket Ct, CranburyTownship, NJ 08512Time: 7:15 pmContact: 609-369-4109

Sun Jan 27• Pongal Special Cultural ProgramsVenue: North Brunswick High School, 98Raider Road, North Brunswick, NJ 08902Time: 9:00 am

NEW JERSEY

Upcoming

January 4, 2013 India Post 49

www.indiapost.com

Datebook

Sat Jan 05• Bal-Mukund: Playground for

Vedic Wisdom Open HouseVenue: 2991 Brockway Street, palatine, IL60067, 2991 Brockway St, Palatine, IL 60067Time: 3:00 pmContact: 630-561-4807

Sat Jan 19• 2013 Sankranthi & Republic

Day CelebrationVenue: Hindu Temple of Greater Chicago,10915 Lemont Rd, Lemont, IL 60439Time: 1:00 pmContact: 6304038342

Sat Jan 26• Pongal Vizha 2013Venue: Sri Venkateswara Swami (Balaji)Temple, 1145 Sullivan Rd, Aurora, IL 60506Time: 5:00 pmContact: [email protected]

Sat Jan 05• Amjad Sabri Live Qawwali In

New YorkVenue: Indian Concert Hall, 143-09 Holly Ave,NY 11355Time: 8:00 pmContact: 646-250-5046

Tue Feb 26• West Sonoma Coast Vintners

presents NYC West of West

Wine FestivalVenue: City Winery, 155 Varick St, New York,NY 10013Time: 6:00 pm

Sun May 05• Masters of Indian Music &

Dance Krishna Bhatt & Anindo

ChatterjeeVenue: Symphony Space, 2537 Broadway at95th Street, New York, NY 10025Time: 7:00 pmContact: 212-545-7536

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA

Upcoming

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

Upcoming

Sat Jan 12• Swami Vivekananda's 150th

birth anniversary celebrationsVenue: Mandir in Irvine, 1732 Reynolds Ave,Irvine, CA 92614Time: 10:00 amContact: 650-215-8484

Sun Jan 27• South Asian Wedding ExpoVenue: Pacific Palms, 1 Industry Hills Pkwy,La Puente, CA 91744Time: 11:00 amContact: 714-493-7900

Fri Jan 04• The Art Of Living CourseVenue: Art of Living center, 2368 Walsh Ave,Santa Clara, CA 95051Time: 7:00 pmContact: 408-365-4265

Fri Jan 11• Dance RushVenue: Palace of Fine Arts Theatre, 3301 LyonStreet, San Francisco, CA 94123Time: 7:00 pmContact: 415-724-9255

Sat Jan 12• Free 2-Day Meditation Training

Program For Young AspirantsVenue: Private Residence, heathrow terrace,Fremont, CA 94555Time: 9:30 amContact: 510-405-1630

Sun Jan 13• Makar Sankranti Uttarayan

CelebrationsVenue: Milpitas Sports Center, 1325 ECalaveras Blvd, Milpitas, CA 95035Time: 11:00 amContact: 408-586-0006

Sat Jan 19• Shraddhaanjali: A Dance

FestivalVenue: Santa Clara University Mayer Theater,Santa Clara, CA, 500 El Camino Real, SantaClara, CA 95050Time: 5:00 pmContact: 831-566-8528

Fri June 21• UCarnival San Francisco 2013Venue: San Francisco - Fishermans Wharf, 1300Columbus Ave, San Francisco, CA 94133Time: 10:00 amContact: 7322837600

Fri Jan 18• Holiday Inn Washington DC-

Central/White House

Presidetial InaugurationVenue: Holiday Inn Washington DC-Central/White House, 1501 Rhode Island Ave NW,Washington, DC 20005Time: 1:00 amContact: 202483200

Sat Jam 19• 2-Day Meditation Training

Program For Young AspirantsVenue: Virginia / Maryland PAM center(Gaithersburg, MD), 116 North FrederickAvenue, Gaithersburg, MD 20877Time: 9:30 amContact: 301-947-9040

Sat Jan 19• Indiaspora Inaugural BallVenue: Mandarin Oriental Washington DC,1330 Maryland Ave SW, Washington, DC20024Time: 8:00 pmContact: 415-922-9802

WASHINGTON DC

Upcoming

ATLANTA

Upcoming

Sun Jan 13• Winter Wonderland Bridal

Ball ExpoVenue: Emory Conference Center Hotel, 1615Clifton Road Northeast, Atlanta, GA 30329Time: 12:00 pmContact: 4046356862

Sun March 24• My Shadi Bridal ExpoVenue: Renaissance Atlanta Waverly Hotel,2450 Galleria Pkwy, Atlanta, GA 30339Time: 12:00 pmContact: 9547848100

You will continue to do well in your career. Patience and

hard work will help you make your way

and you will keep climbing up the ladder of success. Pres-

ence of exalted Saturn in sixth will help you gain an edge over

your even strongest opponents. Some of your business competi-

tors may leave the scene adding more foot traffic to your busi-

ness in 2013. Some health issue will keep your mind occupied

till May 31 but will come under full control thereafter. You should restrain yourself

and try not to stretch your limits too much otherwise you will find yourself under lot

of financial pressure in second half of 2013. If involved in any law suit, Saturn in sixth

kind of guarantees a clear cut win with large financial gains before May. You will

definitely change your vehicle with new and luxury version. If you do not gamble,

you will accumulate lot of wealth in 2013.

January 4, 2013India Post50 Horoscopewww.indiapost.com

Money wise the first six months look very promising as

compared to the last six months of year 2012. You will

be plain lucky in all money matters. The value of your

assets and stocks previously purchased will appreciate. You will

have better control over expenses which have already come down

a lot in the past month. After May 31, you are going to have better luck in almost

everything. Most of your plans will hit bull's eye without any difficulty. Some one lot

older and possibly with grey hairs could be instrumental in your success. There is

a strong chance that some of you will change your job in early part of 2013. New job

will be definitely better, closer to home and have a relaxed atmosphere. It will be a

better year for bachelors also, marriage is definitely in the air. Spouse will also have

better luck and purchase of another property is not ruled out. People in business

partnership will get out of one or buy their partners out. You will become financially

very strong in 2013.

(July 23 to August 22)(April 21 to May 20)

(June 21 to July 22)

(August 23 to September 22)

You will be spending lot of money on family and may have

done some addition done to your home or some big reno-

vation done to your home in the first half of 2013. As far as

money is concerned, some time you will have a lot and some

times none, but you will have ample and gracefully meet all your

commitments on time. A child will move away for educational purpose this year.

Second half of 2013 is what you should be looking forward to when Jupiter moves

into your sign and brings all kind of relief in big way. Some of you may start another

venture in partnership or float your own consulting company. Project will be instant

success and go a long way. Bachelors will be successful in finding a right soul mate

but the person will most probably be born overseas. You are full of bright ideas and

should not hesitate to implement them this year. Start small and the planets prom-

ise that you will end up growing like a Banyan tree.

What the 2013 Stars foretell for youby Pandit Parashar

I think it's high time for my readers to understand some fundamental principles of how these weekly and yearly predictions are made. In yearlyforecast mainly we look into the transit of planet Jupiter, Saturn, Rahu and Ketu. It's very important to know the basis on which the interpretation ofthese transits are made. Jupiter is an auspicious planet and yields good results during its transit in various houses but that's not true. Planet Jupiter

is really good when transiting fifth, seventh, ninth or his own sign or house but as they have a shloka saying "Sthaan Haani Karoh Jivah." Here Sthaanmeans place or house, Haani means impair or damage, Karoh means does, and Jivah in Sanskrit language is another name for Planet Jupiter or Guru.What it means is that Planet Jupiter impairs the house he is transiting in different ways. On the other hand transiting Saturn in very helpful in third, sixthand eleventh house or transiting various houses where he is a friend of the sign occupied by Sun or Moon or transiting in the capacity of Raja Yoga Karkaas in case of people with their Sun or Moon in Taurus or Libra ascendant. And of course the transits of Planet Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury and Venus arealso taken into serious consideration and interpretation of their transits are included as per their locations and the relations to the sign occupying Sun orMoon sign.

Normally transit of Malefics like Sun and Mars is considered favorable in third, sixth, eleventh or when they are transiting in the capacity of helpfulplanets for various Sun or Moon signs. For example, since for Cancer the planet Mars is considered Raja Yoga Karka, its effects in different houses willbe mostly helpful. Now Jupiter will stay in Taurus till May 31st, 2013 and Saturn will stay in Libra throughout 2013. Rahu will transit Libra and Ketu willstay in Aries throughout 2013. Now let's see how these will impact various signs

(March 21 to April 20)

(May 21 to June 20)

Lot of you will change career in first half of 2013. Vehicles will

need repairs off and on. You will continue to main-

tain a low profile in first half of 2013 and wait for the right

opportunity to strike which will of course come right after May 31,

2013. You will take several important trips overseas this year and

may start a big project in foreign lands in second half. Opportunity

to purchase a nice piece of property will come around June and you will not hesitate

even for a minute and go for it. You may win few favors from Government this year

and it will help existing business grow and diversify. Spouse will have better health

and may also get some money out of litigation. Children being your biggest assets,

will continue to march towards professional goals. You should continue to try your

hands at lottery this year as strong Sun in May and June can get you the much

needed large chunk of money. You will start helping spouse more at home and at

the business. Anything to do with overseas will be lucky for you after May 31.

This will be a very fortunate year for you. Changes you make

in career will prove to be lucky and a turning point in sec-

ond half. Business should multiply at least twice this year.

You will travel long distance more than once for recreation pur-

poses in 2013. Image in society will improve and you may win big

favors from a government agency. Some of you may initiate a big

lawsuit to prove your point or to recover what belonged to you in the first place. The

judgment will be quick and favorable or the other party may even offer good settle-

ment out of court. For people looking for an expansion in family, planets will make it

happen in second half when Jupiter aspects its own house, the house of children.

Number of you will move into bigger and better homes this summer. You will defi-

nitely add more and luxury model of vehicles to your existing fleet. You will sign

couple of big contracts or deals in second half.

This year will bring many changes in life. If you are not care-

ful and take any hasty decisions, it could hurt your finances

and personal life too. Money wise things will stay very

tight and you may keep disposing off your assets in order to meet

your commitments. There will be big changes in career in mid

2013 and some of you may get out of ventures chewing you up in

the past and take up some job for the time being. Bachelors will be successful in

finding a very noble, suitable and very professional match this year. Some of you

may start new venture on a small scale in partnership with some nice and like

minded people around April or May. Your commitments and expenses on family,

children will escalate in 2013. Avoid investing in any old or run down property; it is

not going to be profitable. You will be taking a trip overseas to meet an important

person who can turn things around, if you play your cards right.

Pandit Parashar, CEO & COO Astro Scan USA is also available for individual consultations. He can bereached at: [email protected] / 510-886-4370 / website: www.parashar.com

January 4, 2013 India Post 51Horoscopewww.indiapost.com

What the 2013 Stars foretell for youby Pandit Parashar

This year could be another turning point in your life if you

have patience and are ready to work hard. Raja Yoga Karka

Saturn in your sign will turn things around in your favor and

will take you to new levels in life. Rahu will change your personal-

ity. You will become a no nonsense and tough person and prob-

ably that is the way to succeed in life. Children will excel in what-

ever they are involved in. There will be peace at home and mind

will be more settled from now on. Some of you may find good luck and fortune in

direction west this year. It will be a great year for people involved in high tech indus-

try. You may also secure a big business loan to help you expand your horizons to

far off lands this year. Spouse may have some unexpected and beyond comprehen-

sion health issues this year. Some of you will be moving to a very large property with

lots of greenery around this summer. Bank balance may not grow that much but

your credibility, assets and value will appreciate in year 2013.

Progress will be slow as in the past six months but you will

continue to make all commitments on time. People in

medical profession should not let their guards down and

make sure that paper work is complete as the threat of a mal-

practice lawsuit still looms around because of Saturn's transit in

twelfth in 2013. Money wise you will be comfortable throughout

as expenses will stay on lower side and the growth will be steady.

April and onwards you will have new clients and foot traffic will grow. Most of new

clients will come through referrals. August will bring some major and positive changes

in career. Some of you may take over another running business on some very easy

repayment terms. Children will continue to do well in their lives and you may even

become grandparent for the first time this summer. You will take all decisions after

careful thinking. Investments you make this year will turn profitable in coming years

only. You may receive some money from an insurance company in second half of 2013.

Things will stay slow in first half. Pressure will be too much

and you will not have any choice but to face it. Some of

you may stay away most of the time for business purpose

or assignments till May 31 but things will change for the better

right thereafter. People taking advantage will be moved away and

you will regain your right place in the career or the organization.

Month of July will bring relief in a huge way and you will have the Midas touch for about

two months so do not hesitate and aim high as dream can become reality during

these two months. A new association or partnership possible with an intellectual

person with some age difference. This person could be short in height too. Money

wise you will become very careful and as a result your bank balance will creep up in

2013. Chances of money through legal matters still stay strong. You will be success-

ful in getting an important issue resolved with a government agency in 2013.

It will be another fruitful year. You will continue to march ahead

against heavy odds. Expect lots of financial growth in 2013.

The size of family will also grow. Another child or marriage

of a child very much possible before end of May. Some of you

may file some kind of complaint against your employer this year.

The judgment will come fast and in your favor. You will make new

friends and useful contacts. You will meet an important personal-

ity during the course of a business trip. This person will help you beyond your

imagination. You may travel overseas with family to attend a wedding of close rela-

tive also. You will stay little double minded about leaving your existing home and

move to a bigger property. Your interest in higher philosophy will increase and you

may associate your self with a charity organization. Some of you may even diversify

and get into gas or automobile business.

Since the size of family will grow you will move to a bigger

place this summer. Large gains from overseas and in

projects going on in other countries are possible this year.

Planets will help you grow against heavy odds and tough market.

You may be the one selected for an important assignment among

number of contenders. Boss will be always on your side. Your

automobiles may need minor repairs off and on and ultimately

you may decide to replace one of them with another economical

model. There will be another addition in the family after June and simultaneously

you will move to a bigger home in a better area. Once Jupiter moves in fifth after May

31, there will be sudden financial growth. Opportunity to make money will come by

itself. You may dispose off some earlier investments for a huge profit. The only

negative thing this year is the health of an older family member. You may make

couple of trips overseas in this respect.

(September 23 to October 22)

(October 23 to November 22)

(November 23 to December 22)

(December 22 to January 19)

(January 20 to February 18)

Things will stay slow for first half of 2013 but once Jupiter

moves into the fourth house, everything will turn around to

your advantage. A huge promotion with added benefits and

bonus will be offered by same or other well known company. Some

of you may need minor surgery to get rid of an old problem this

year. Several important meetings will take place during the month

of April and May. You will receive good tips and guidance from some one you met in

past few months. You will be applying for a big loan possibly a real estate loan in the

month of July. You may take a trip overseas to see some close family member in

the month of August. Few old friends will try to come back in your life but you will be

reluctant to take them back. You may receive a temporary assignment to teach a

class also in month of April or May.

(February 19 to March 20)


January 4, 201352

India Post 53January 4, 2013

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Philosophy

Whatever God gives orgives not, is the best

PARAMHANSA YOGANANDA

The science of Kriya Yogabecame widely known inmodern India through the

instrumentality of LahiriMahasaya, my guru's guru. TheSanskrit root of Kriya is kri, to do,to act and react; the same root isfound in the word karma, the natu-ral principle of cause and effect.Kriya Yoga is thus "union (yoga)with the Infinite through a certainaction or rite." A yogi who faith-fully follows its technique is gradu-ally freed from karma or the uni-versal chain of causation.

Kriya Yoga is a simple, psycho-physiological method by whichthe human blood is decarbonizedand recharged with oxygen. Theatoms of this extra oxygen aretransmuted into life current to re-juvenate the brain and spinal cen-ters. By stopping the accumula-tion of venous blood, the yogi isable to lessen or prevent the de-cay of tissues; the advanced yogitransmutes his cells into pure en-ergy. Elijah, Jesus, Kabir and otherprophets were past masters in theuse of Kriya or a similar technique,by which they caused their bod-ies to dematerialize at will.

Kriya is an ancient science.Lahiri Mahasaya received it fromhis guru, Babaji, who rediscoveredand clarified the technique after ithad been lost in the Dark Ages.

"The Kriya Yoga which I amgiving to the world through you

MEISTER ECKHART

You should know, that thatwhich God gives to thosemen who seek to do His

will with all their might, is the best.Of this thou mayest be as sure,as thou art sure that God lives,that the very best must necessar-ily be, and that in no other waycould anything better happen.

Even if something else seemsbetter, it would not be so goodfor thee, for God wills this andnot another way, and this waymust be the best for thee.

Whether it be sickness or pov-erty or hunger or thirst, or what-ever it be, that God hangs overthee or does not hang over thee -whatever God gives or gives not,that is all what is best for thee;whether it be devotion or inward-ness, or the lack of these whichgrieves thee - only set thyselfright in this, that thou desirest theglory of God in all things, andthen whatever He does to thee,that is the best.

Now thou mayest perchancesay: How can I tell whether it isthe will of God or not? If it werenot the will of God, it would nothappen. Thou couldst have nei-

ther sickness nor anything elseunless God willed it. But know thatit is God's will that thou shouldsthave so much pleasure and satis-faction therein, that thoushouldst feel no pain as pain; thoushouldst take it from God as thevery best thing, for it must of ne-cessity be the very best thing forthee.

Therefore I may even wish for

it and desire it, and nothing wouldbecome me better than so to do.

God is nameless, for no mancan either say or understand aughtabout Him. If I say, God is good, itis not true; nay more; I am good,God is not good. I may even say, Iam better than God; for whateveris good, may become better, and

whatever may become better, maybecome best. Now God is notgood, for He cannot become bet-ter. And if He cannot become bet-ter, He cannot become best, forthese three things, good, better,and best, are far from God, sinceHe is above all.

If I also say, God is wise, it isnot true; I am wiser than He. If Ialso say, God is a Being, it is not

true; He is transcendent Beingand superessential Nothingness.Concerning this St Augustinesays: the best thing that man cansay about God is to be able to besilent about Him, from the wis-dom of his inner judgment.Therefore be silent and prate notabout God, for whenever thou

dost prate about God, thou liest,and committest sin. If thou wiltbe without sin, prate not aboutGod. Thou canst understandnought about God, for He isabove all understanding. Amaster saith: If I had a Godwhom I could understand, Iwould never hold Him to beGod.

If you loved God, of a surety

nothing would give you greaterpleasure than what pleases Himbest, and that whereby His willmay be most fully done.

Meister Eckhart (1260 -1327) was a German theolo-gian, philosopher and mystic,born near Gotha, in the HolyRoman Empire.

in this nineteenth century," Babajitold Lahiri Mahasaya, "is a revivalof the same science which Krishnagave, millenniums ago, to Arjuna,and which was later known toPatanjali, and to Christ, St. John,St. Paul, and other disciples."

Kriya Yoga is referred to byKrishna, India's greatest prophet,in a stanza of the Bhagavad Gita:"Offering inhaling breath into theoutgoing breath, and offering theoutgoing breath into the inhaling

breath, the yogi neutralizes boththese breaths; he thus releases thelife force from the heart and bringsit under his control."

The interpretation is: "The yogiarrests decay in the body by anaddition of life force, and arreststhe mutations of growth in thebody by apan (eliminating current).Thus neutralizing decay andgrowth, by quieting the heart, theyogi learns life control."

Krishna also relates that it washe, in a former incarnation, who

communicated the indestructibleyoga to an ancient illuminato,Vivasvat, who gave it to Manu,the great legislator.

He, in turn, instructedIkshwaku, the father of India'ssolar warrior dynasty. Passingthus from one to another, the royalyoga was guarded by the rishisuntil the coming of the materialis-tic ages. Then, due to priestly se-crecy and man's indifference, thesacred knowledge gradually be-

came inaccessible.Kriya Yoga is mentioned twice

by the ancient sage Patanjali, fore-most exponent of yoga, whowrote: "Kriya Yoga consists ofbody discipline, mental control,and meditating on Aum." Patanjalispeaks of God as the actual Cos-mic Sound of Aum heard in medi-tation. Aum is the Creative Word,the sound of the Vibratory Motor.

Even the yoga-beginner soon in-wardly hears the wondrous soundof Aum. Receiving this blissful spiri-

tual encouragement, the devoteebecomes assured that he is in ac-tual touch with divine realms.

Patanjali refers a second time tothe life-control or Kriya techniquethus: "Liberation can be accom-plished by that pranayama whichis attained by disjoining the courseof inspiration and expiration."

St. Paul knew Kriya Yoga, or atechnique very similar to it, bywhich he could switch life currentsto and from the senses. He was

therefore able to say: "Verily, I pro-test by our rejoicing which I havein Christ, I die daily."

By daily withdrawing his bodilylife force, he united it by yoga unionwith the rejoicing (eternal bliss) ofthe Christ consciousness. In thatfelicitous state, he was consciouslyaware of being dead to the delu-sive sensory world of maya.

Excerpted from Chapter 26 ofAutobiography of a Yogi. The 120thbirth anniversary of ParamhansaYogananda falls on January 5

Meister Eckhart

Kriya Yoga techniquefrees you from karma

Paramhansa Yogananda

By stopping the accumulation of venousblood, the yogi is able to lessen or pre-vent the decay of tissues; the advancedyogi transmutes his cells into pure energy

I may even say, I am better than God; forwhatever is good, may become better,and whatever may become better, maybecome best. Now God is not good, forHe cannot become better

54 Edit Pagewww.indiapost.com

January 4, 2013India Post

One more rapeMulayam Singh Yadav has a hard demeanor which

doesn't befit his name which means "soft." At thepeak of the Anna Hazare movement he had declared

that this agitation would soon die down and things would getback to normal. Nobody would remember that such a thinghad occurred. He was right in a way. So many agitations havetaken place but after a few promises and delaying tactics likeordering an inquiry, the governments get back to the sameroutine. The promises of course are never implemented. TheDelhi administration may not say it in so many words but itshares this callous attitude. One more rape? Oh "hota hai." Inthe famous filmy language, "bade bade shaharon mein aisichhoti chhoti baatein hoti rahatein hai." (Oh it is no big deal!Such small things keep happening in big cities.")

But this time they found the protests just kept swelling andnot only at India Gate in Delhi, but all over the country. It hadtouched a chord. Women's lives were not safe, they dared notstep out at night, there was harassment in public places, in thebus, in the metro, even in offices and on the street. Accordingto statistics, women get raped in India every 20 minutes andthere are 1000 cases of rape awaiting justice in Delhi's courtsalone. So what was special if one more got raped, or let usadmit, gang-raped! Why this mass hysteria?

It seems the tipping point has been reached. Unlike anyother gang-raped woman, this one was refusing to die. Criti-cally wounded after being raped and beaten up by six beastsin a luxury bus, she was thrown out of the moving vehicle(along with her companion) to die. But she refused to die.Even though her rescue was delayed, she lay unconscious inthe hospital with septic wounds, but she refused to die. Herintestines were badly infected and had to be removed. Everheard of someone living without intestines? But this one notonly lived on but was greatly conscious of what was happen-ing. She wanted to know the condition of her companion; sheasked if the culprits had been caught. The doctors said hercondition was worsening and held out little hope. But sherefused to die.

That spark in her drew strength from the nature and swell-ing number of protests all over the country. She told her motherthat she wanted to live. And the protestors, noting her brav-ery, found new courage. It was a rare jugalbandi. She was thesymbol of all the raped women and all those who had losthope. The violated women and their relatives came to the capi-tal and told their stories and joined in the protests. The policewon't register their complaints, made them squirm with theirunhelpful and suggestive questions and even when the caseswere registered, the courts took inordinately long and even letoff the culprits.

The Chief Minister of Delhi, a woman herself, hasn't madethings any easier. To every question her answer is that law andorder is not under her government. It is the responsibility ofthe central government, in particular the Home Ministry. Thisministry makes sure that enough police force is employed insecurity duties for the ever-increasing number of VIPs in thecapital city and there are not many left to look after the secu-rity needs of the common people.

The Home Minister, Sushil Kumar Shinde, who enjoys littlecredibility, made a curious statement at his press conference.He said that his government is considering death penalty for"rarest of rare" rape. What in the world is "rarest of rare" ofrape, it is being asked on the Internet. What is the differencebetween one rape and another? Are "ordinary" rapes to becondoned and only those "rare" rapes in the Home Minister'sdictionary to be acted against?

China makes inroads intoMaldives at India's cost

P. K. BALACHANDRAN

China has been making inroads into the Maldives,which India has for long

seen as part of its area of influ-ence. The signing of a military pactbetween the defense ministers ofthe Maldives and China in Beijingrecently is only the latest in a se-ries of developments which showthe increasing interest the twocountries have been taking ineach other.

This is a development of criti-cal importance to India for two rea-sons. Firstly, New Delhi is losingits traditional clout in Sri Lanka tothe Chinese. Secondly, it is in theprocess of asserting its economicand strategic interests in the In-dian Ocean by establishing a bluewater navy, a process triggeredpartly by the emergence of an as-sertive and expansionist China.

Even as China establishes itselfin Sri Lanka, selling arms, buildingharbors, power plants,housing for the armedforces and road net-works in strategicallyimportant areas, it hasreached out to neigh-boring Maldives, par-ticipating in infrastruc-ture projects and send-ing tourists in largenumbers.

China has recentlysigned a military coop-eration agreement withthe Maldives taking ad-vantage of the latter'salienation from India, and itstroubles with the West over hu-man rights violations and the dis-orderly change of government inFebruary 2012.Tourist Influx

Since tourism is the main indus-try in the Maldives, country-wisearrival figures have critical impor-tance in assessing the potentialinfluence of various countries.

Arrivals from China have beengoing up phenomenally, in con-trast to those from traditional mar-kets like Europe and Japan. Ac-cording to The Guardian, 2009 saw61,000 Chinese tourists arrive. In2010, the number went up to119,000, with honeymooners ac-counting for a significant propor-tion. In the first nine months of2011, the number had shot up to146,668, a 62 percent jump as com-pared to the previous year.

As per Maldivian official sta-tistics for 2011, 21 percent of thetourists were from China. The Chi-nese were the single largest groupfrom the Asia-Pacific region, whichaccounted for 37.5 percent of thearrivals that year. According to

Xinhua, between January andJune 2012, 91,148 Chinese hadcome to the Maldives, a 13 per-cent growth as compared to thesame period in 2011.Few from India

India, in contrast, accounts foronly three percent of the arrivals,though Indian travelers are thesingle largest group in neighbor-ing Sri Lanka. A number of Indi-ans work in the Maldives but theIndian High Commission there hadrecently complained that Indianworkers, and even tourists, werebeing maltreated.

Resort owners are reportedlynot too happy with the Chinesereplacing Europeans because theformer are basically budget tour-ists (who spend less). But the Chi-nese are keeping the recession-hitindustry afloat to the delight of theAbdul Waheed government. Theregime is also happy that unlike

Western countries, China makesno political or ideological demandson the Maldives. This is discern-ible in President Waheed's inter-view to Xinhua in September inwhich he said: "Unlike other influ-ential countries, China looks atsmall countries like the Maldiveswith a different perspective."

The President said that hehoped to increase Chinese pres-ence in the infrastructure and othersectors. He told the Chinese that inthe Maldives there was no foreignexchange control, that all profitscould be repatriated, and that com-pany registration was easy.

Even prior to Waheed, in thetime of Presidents MohammadNasheed and Moumoon AbdulGayoom, the Maldives had beenlurching towards China, thoughfor economic rather than politicaland strategic reasons, in the lightof the reduction of tourist inflowfrom the West.

But The Times of India quot-ing Indian intelligence sourceshas said that Waheed is inter-ested in getting the Chinese todevelop Addu Atoll, where an air-

port and harbor are located at aplace called Gan. The Chinese areapparently interested in Gan aspart of their bid to be present inthe Indian Ocean. The US too isinterested in Gan, as their surveil-lance base in Diego Garcia is dueto be given back to the UK uponthe end of the lease in 2016.

If Britain gives it back toMauritius as promised, and doesnot exercise the option of renew-ing the lease for another 20 years,the US will have to negotiate withMauritius. However, given the Is-lamic resurgence and pro-Chi-nese feelings in the Maldives, theUS might try to stick to DiegoGarcia, rather than seek a place inthe Maldives.Alienation from India

Moves to attract Chinese in-vestments and reach out to Chinafor military aid are occurring in thecontext of certain developments

which have soured theMaldives' relationswith its traditionalfriends in the demo-cratic world.

There was the ex-pulsion of GMR, anIndo-Malaysian con-sortium, from the USD511 million Male inter-national airport project.Then there was the ter-mination of the con-tract with the Malay-sian Nexbis Ltd., tobuild a border control

system.While Malaysia has expressed

disappointment, the Indian govern-ment has tightened the visa regimefor Maldivians. India has alsopointed out that Indians are beingharassed in the Maldives. WhileGMR has sought a compensationof USD 800 million, the MaldivianAttorney General has said that hergovernment will in turn seek com-pensation from GMR.Human Rights Issue

In addition, the Maldives faceshuman rights issues in its rela-tions with the democratic world.Recently, British MPs objected tothe Scottish police training theMaldivian police, which they sayhas violated human rights duringthe February 2012 disturbanceswhich led to Waheed's assumingpower as President. Foreign Sec-retary William Hague is expectedto be quizzed on this.

C o l o m b o - b a s e dP.K.Balachandran has over 25years of experience in reportingSri Lanka and South India as acorrespondent of leading Indianand foreign publications.

China and Maldives signing military pact, Beijing, Dec 16


January 4, 201356

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