JAMMU: The self-styled supreme commander of the banned Harkat-ul-Jehadi Islamia (HuJI) and the alleged mastermind of the UP serial blasts, Bashir Ahmed alias Sabah was on Friday shot dead by police in Kishtawar district.
The HuJI chief, who was being tracked by the Jammu and Kashmir police for nearly a month, was killed in an ambush by the commandos of the state police in Cahtru village of Kishtawar district, official sources said.
Ahmed, a resident of Kishtawar division, was being tracked after his name surfaced during the interrogation of militants arrested in connection with the serial blasts in three court premises of Uttar Pradesh in November last year that left over a dozen people dead and scores others injured.
A satellite phone, a wireless set and some AK rifles were recovered from the slain militant.
Ahmed's role was also being probed in the twin blasts at Hyderabad.
He joined Harkat-ul-Ansar in 1992 and received training in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir before moving to Alaq-e-Ghair in Afghanistan where he specialised in handling and making of Improvised Explosive Devices, communication systems and jungle warfare.
Ahmed was then made in-charge of militant training from 1995-98 at Jungle-Mangal camp in PoK and Mansera in Pakistan before returning to Jammu and Kashmir.
He was arrested by police from Karpan in 2000 but was released in 2002 when the Public Safety Act was quashed.
Immediately after his release, he joined HuJI and rose to the rank of becoming its Supreme Commander.
Friday, January 25, 2008
Mukesh Ambani, Mallya, SRK win IPL bids
The high-profile Indian Premier League on Thursday received overwhelming response as India's top industrialists Mukesh Ambani and Vijay Mallya, and film stars Shah Rukh Khan and Preity Zinta won bids to own teams in the Twenty20 venture.
After much suspense, Board of Control for Cricket in India vice-president and IPL governing council chairman Lalit Modi named the winning bidders, who shelled out staggering amounts to become owners of the Mumbai-based teams.
Reliance Industries chief Mukesh Ambani pipped Vijay Mallya in the bid for the Mumbai team, for US $111.9 million.
The liquor baron, however, won the bid for the Bangalore team, for US $111.6 million.
Actor Shah Rukh Khan, joining hands with Juhi Chawla and Jay Mehta, won the bid for the Kolkata team, for US $75.09 million.
Fellow-actor Preity Zinta and her boy friend Ness Wadia won the bid for the Mohali team, for US $76 million.
Among others, GMR Holdings was successful in bidding for the Delhi team (US $84 million), while India Cements bagged the Chennai team (US $91 million), Deccan Chronicle the Hyderabad (US $107.01 million) outfit and Emerging Media the Jaipur team, for US $67 million.
The bids of ICICI, Sahara and Futures Group were disqualified, Modi said.
"We can say that all the hard work fructified and the IPL is here to stay," Modi said.
Asked if Shah Rukh was bidding just to use cricket as a means to promote his films, Modi replied, "Shah Rukh loves cricket and that's why he invested his money. It has got nothing to do with film promotion.
"We have heard a similar complaint in the past but the Board never endorsed those views," he added.
He also dismissed suggestions that there was a conflict of interests in Indian Cements, which has BCCI treasurer N Srinivasan as a shareholder, becoming a team owner.
"Mr Srinivasan is just a stakeholder there and he is not the owner. So there is no such conflicts of interests," he said.
Modi admitted that some of the contracted international players would skip the twenty20 tournament, which begins on April 18 owing to national commitments, but said the pool of players is big enough.
"A team needs only four players from abroad and we already have a huge number of them contracted with us. You will have enough of them from the day one," he said.
In all, 59 matches will be played over 44 days, with ICC umpires officiating the games that will be broadcast live on SET Max.
"We already have 80 contracted players and their auction would start soon. Each franchise will consult with the IPL Governing Council before naming the teams and discussing revenue sharing," Modi said.
ICC's anti-doping and anti-corruption units will also keep an eye on the Twenty20 league, he added.
Asked if the base price of US $50 million was too high, he replied, "It's up to the bidders to decide if the base price was high. Since the winning bid proved much more than the base price, you can't really say that it was too high."
Schedules and operational guidelines of the league will be announced later.
Stung by the Essel Group-backed Indian Cricket League, the BCCI had announced the IPL to counter the rebel venture, which has left many state teams depleted.
New Zealand has also suffered a lot as six Kiwi players joined the ICL and pace spearhead Shane Bond too is ready to take the plunge.
The following are the bid amounts:
Vijay Mallya - US $111.6 million, for the Bangalore team.
Shah Rukh Khan - US $75.09 million, for the Kolkata team.
GMR Holdings - US $84 million, for the Delhi team.
Mukesh Ambani - US $111.9 million, for the Mumbai team.
India Cements - US $91 million, for the Chennai team.
Deccan Chronicle - US $107.01 million, for the Hyderabad team.
Emerging Media - US $67 million, for the Jaipur team.
Preity Zinta - US $76, for the Mohali team.
After much suspense, Board of Control for Cricket in India vice-president and IPL governing council chairman Lalit Modi named the winning bidders, who shelled out staggering amounts to become owners of the Mumbai-based teams.
Reliance Industries chief Mukesh Ambani pipped Vijay Mallya in the bid for the Mumbai team, for US $111.9 million.
The liquor baron, however, won the bid for the Bangalore team, for US $111.6 million.
Actor Shah Rukh Khan, joining hands with Juhi Chawla and Jay Mehta, won the bid for the Kolkata team, for US $75.09 million.
Fellow-actor Preity Zinta and her boy friend Ness Wadia won the bid for the Mohali team, for US $76 million.
Among others, GMR Holdings was successful in bidding for the Delhi team (US $84 million), while India Cements bagged the Chennai team (US $91 million), Deccan Chronicle the Hyderabad (US $107.01 million) outfit and Emerging Media the Jaipur team, for US $67 million.
The bids of ICICI, Sahara and Futures Group were disqualified, Modi said.
"We can say that all the hard work fructified and the IPL is here to stay," Modi said.
Asked if Shah Rukh was bidding just to use cricket as a means to promote his films, Modi replied, "Shah Rukh loves cricket and that's why he invested his money. It has got nothing to do with film promotion.
"We have heard a similar complaint in the past but the Board never endorsed those views," he added.
He also dismissed suggestions that there was a conflict of interests in Indian Cements, which has BCCI treasurer N Srinivasan as a shareholder, becoming a team owner.
"Mr Srinivasan is just a stakeholder there and he is not the owner. So there is no such conflicts of interests," he said.
Modi admitted that some of the contracted international players would skip the twenty20 tournament, which begins on April 18 owing to national commitments, but said the pool of players is big enough.
"A team needs only four players from abroad and we already have a huge number of them contracted with us. You will have enough of them from the day one," he said.
In all, 59 matches will be played over 44 days, with ICC umpires officiating the games that will be broadcast live on SET Max.
"We already have 80 contracted players and their auction would start soon. Each franchise will consult with the IPL Governing Council before naming the teams and discussing revenue sharing," Modi said.
ICC's anti-doping and anti-corruption units will also keep an eye on the Twenty20 league, he added.
Asked if the base price of US $50 million was too high, he replied, "It's up to the bidders to decide if the base price was high. Since the winning bid proved much more than the base price, you can't really say that it was too high."
Schedules and operational guidelines of the league will be announced later.
Stung by the Essel Group-backed Indian Cricket League, the BCCI had announced the IPL to counter the rebel venture, which has left many state teams depleted.
New Zealand has also suffered a lot as six Kiwi players joined the ICL and pace spearhead Shane Bond too is ready to take the plunge.
The following are the bid amounts:
Vijay Mallya - US $111.6 million, for the Bangalore team.
Shah Rukh Khan - US $75.09 million, for the Kolkata team.
GMR Holdings - US $84 million, for the Delhi team.
Mukesh Ambani - US $111.9 million, for the Mumbai team.
India Cements - US $91 million, for the Chennai team.
Deccan Chronicle - US $107.01 million, for the Hyderabad team.
Emerging Media - US $67 million, for the Jaipur team.
Preity Zinta - US $76, for the Mohali team.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Amitabh buys land for 'Aishwarya' girls' school
BARABANKI (UTTAR PRADESH): Film actor Amitabh Bachchan's urge to acquire farmland in the Barabanki district could surely give script writers some ideas for a Bollywood movie.
The superstar seems to be giving a new twist to his intention of buying land after the Allahabad High Court decided to condone the alleged fraud and forgery through which 2.5 bighas (about 70,000 sq ft) of government land was allotted to him during the Mulayam Singh Yadav regime. The court had cancelled that allotment last year.
Now the superstar has bought some land from private farmers in the district's Daulatpur village, about 40 km from state capital Lucknow, on which he is setting up a high school for girls.
Bachchan professes that his sole intention in buying land was to build an educational institution. On Jan 27, he is to lay the foundation stone for the school to be named after his glamorous daughter-in-law Aishwarya Rai.
Hectic preparations are on at the 10-bigha plot that Big B recently purchased from different farmers in Daulatpur village to build what has been christened the 'Aishwarya Rai Bachchan Girls Intermediate College', a school for higher secondary students.
The actor has never explained what attracted him to Barabanki - a place with which he does not have even a remote connection.
Why Bachchan changed his original plan of naming the school after his eminent poet father, the late Harivansh Rai Bachchan, is not known either.
"The school would be a boon for all the girls in this area who cannot traverse some 40-45 km to the nearest existing girls' school," says local village head Raj Kumari Devi, who is as excited as the youth in the village over the prospect of meeting the entire Bachchan family.
Amitabh is to be accompanied by wife Jaya, son Abhishek and Aishwarya. To add political spice to the show, there will be Bachchan family friend Amar Singh, the Samajwadi Party general secretary who was instrumental in getting Bachchan the earlier government land allotment in violation of laws.
Amar Singh is understood to be trying to ensure the participation of Samajwadi Party chief and former chief minister Mulayam Singh Yadav, besides three former chief ministers - Chandrababu Naidu (Andhra Pradesh), Farooq Abdullah (Jammu and Kashmir) and Om Prakash Chautala (Haryana). They are all members of what is known as the third front, the United National Progressive Alliance (UNPA).
In an affidavit sworn before the high court that condoned Bachchan last month of forgery on the ground that he "was not involved in it", Bachchan had stated: "I purchased equivalent land in the same village and offered to donate it for construction of a school; why would I do that if I had any intention to usurp government land by fraudulent means?"
Replying to the state government's charges, the actor further argued: "So what if I am a non-resident of the village or even if my ancestors had not lived there? After all, there is no law to bar a non-resident to acquire land in a UP village."
According to the Uttar Pradesh government chief standing counsel Devendra Upadhaya, who argued the case against Bachchan: "The observation of the high court clearly showed that even the judge did not dispute the fact that some fraud or forgery was committed; but he felt that the surreptitious entry was not manipulated by Bachchan or carried out at his behest."
It looks as though Bachchan's idea behind the allotment was to safeguard the purchase of a huge 6-hectare farm in Pune district of Maharastra, where land revenue laws do not permit ownership of agricultural property by anyone other than a "farmer".
An obliging Uttar Pradesh administration under Mulayam Singh Yadav favoured Bachchan with a land record entry to give him the status of a "farmer". A certificate was promptly issued, allegedly under directions of Amar Singh. Later, on inquiry initiated by the Maharastra administration, Uttar Pradesh officials found the entry had been forged.
With his claim to the Pune farmland nearly forfeited, the mega star is apparently trying to prove that his only intent in acquiring land in Barabanki was to do start the girls' school.
Tendulkar not thinking of retirement
ADELAIDE, January 23: How long will Sachin Tendulkar prolong his illustrious career may be a matter of speculation for experts and fans alike, but the champion batsman says he just "wants to live in the moment" and enjoy the game without thinking too much about retirement.
"To be honest, I haven't thought about it (retirement). Basically, I just want to go out and enjoy the game. I just want to live in the moment, enjoy it all to the best of my ability," Tendulkar said.
The Adelaide Test starting from Thursday will be Tendulkar's 146th but the veteran batsman does not want to think about how long he can go on.
"I don't want to waste my time thinking about when I will stop. I don't want to think about whether I have two, three or even four years left," said Tendulkar at a pre-match dinner hosted by the South Australian Cricket Association at the Adelaide Oval on Tuesday.
Tendulkar, who began his journey in 1989 as a callow 16-year-old in Pakistan, is already in his 18th year of international cricket.
He holds the record for most runs in One-day cricket - he is only 38 shy of completing 16,000 runs - besides having scored most centuries and could be on his way to overtake Steve Waugh's world record of 168 Tests.
If Tendulkar indeed goes on for a few more years, he would have played more years of international cricket than some of the biggest names the game has seen, when he calls it a day.
Among others, this would include somebody who he has admired a lot all through his career - Sir Donald Bradman - who lasted a good 20 years in international cricket though, admittedly, a few good years of his were wasted because of the Second World War during 1939-45.
The Mumbai cricketer clearly appears unfazed by the fate of his senior fellow batsmen in the team like Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly, who have been ignored for the forthcoming Commonwealth Bank One-day series.
Nor does he appear mindful that his captain on this tour, Anil Kumble, has gone on record to proclaim the ongoing tour as his last visit to Australia.
Still, the kind of reception Tendulkar gets every time he comes out to bat in Australia, conveys that everyone thinks it is his last visit to these shores.
"Australia is a fantastic place to play cricket. I have always enjoyed playing here as people understand the sport. It's competitive and a great challenge, I love it," said Tendulkar, who presented his jumper on the occasion to the Bradman Museum, Bowral, a moment that brought the house down with a huge round of applause.
Apparently, the jumper is the one Tendulkar wore the last time he was in Australia.
Talking about the fourth and final Test, Tendulkar claimed India was not taking its eyes off the present Australian team after beating them in Perth last week.
"We know that Ricky Ponting's team will come hard at us. They have always done that in the past. We don't want to take anything for granted," he said.
"To be honest, I haven't thought about it (retirement). Basically, I just want to go out and enjoy the game. I just want to live in the moment, enjoy it all to the best of my ability," Tendulkar said.
The Adelaide Test starting from Thursday will be Tendulkar's 146th but the veteran batsman does not want to think about how long he can go on.
"I don't want to waste my time thinking about when I will stop. I don't want to think about whether I have two, three or even four years left," said Tendulkar at a pre-match dinner hosted by the South Australian Cricket Association at the Adelaide Oval on Tuesday.
Tendulkar, who began his journey in 1989 as a callow 16-year-old in Pakistan, is already in his 18th year of international cricket.
He holds the record for most runs in One-day cricket - he is only 38 shy of completing 16,000 runs - besides having scored most centuries and could be on his way to overtake Steve Waugh's world record of 168 Tests.
If Tendulkar indeed goes on for a few more years, he would have played more years of international cricket than some of the biggest names the game has seen, when he calls it a day.
Among others, this would include somebody who he has admired a lot all through his career - Sir Donald Bradman - who lasted a good 20 years in international cricket though, admittedly, a few good years of his were wasted because of the Second World War during 1939-45.
The Mumbai cricketer clearly appears unfazed by the fate of his senior fellow batsmen in the team like Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly, who have been ignored for the forthcoming Commonwealth Bank One-day series.
Nor does he appear mindful that his captain on this tour, Anil Kumble, has gone on record to proclaim the ongoing tour as his last visit to Australia.
Still, the kind of reception Tendulkar gets every time he comes out to bat in Australia, conveys that everyone thinks it is his last visit to these shores.
"Australia is a fantastic place to play cricket. I have always enjoyed playing here as people understand the sport. It's competitive and a great challenge, I love it," said Tendulkar, who presented his jumper on the occasion to the Bradman Museum, Bowral, a moment that brought the house down with a huge round of applause.
Apparently, the jumper is the one Tendulkar wore the last time he was in Australia.
Talking about the fourth and final Test, Tendulkar claimed India was not taking its eyes off the present Australian team after beating them in Perth last week.
"We know that Ricky Ponting's team will come hard at us. They have always done that in the past. We don't want to take anything for granted," he said.
Bhupathi-Knowles crash out of Australian Open
MELBOURNE: Mahesh Bhupathi and his partner Mark Knowles of Bahamas were knocked out of the Australian Open after they suffered a straight set loss in the men's doubles semifinals here on Thursday.
A day after upsetting top seeds and world number one Bryan brothers, Bhupathi and Knowles failed to capitalise on their chances and were sent packing 6-4 6-4 by Israeli eighth-seeds Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram in an hour and 32 minutes.
The sixth seeded Indo-Bahamas duo wasted four breakpoints in the first set and two in the second while their opponents were successful in breaking them once in each set.
Erlich and Ram now take on seventh seeded French pair of Arnaud Clement and Michael Llodra in the summit clash.
Clement and Llodra beat South African duo of Jeff Coetzee and Wesley Moodie 6-3 7-6(9) in their semi-final.
Meanwhile, Yuki Bhambri continued his impressive run in the junior singles event and entered the semifinals after defeating Britain's third seed Daniel Evans in a last eight match.
The Delhi boy overcame stiff resistance from Evans to win 7-6(5) 4-6 6-3 and move to the last four stage.
The eighth-seeded Indian will now clash with fifth seed local challenger Bernard Tomic for a place in the final.
Berrnard shocked top seed Cesar Ramirez of Mexico 6-3 6-4 in his quarter-final contest.
A day after upsetting top seeds and world number one Bryan brothers, Bhupathi and Knowles failed to capitalise on their chances and were sent packing 6-4 6-4 by Israeli eighth-seeds Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram in an hour and 32 minutes.
The sixth seeded Indo-Bahamas duo wasted four breakpoints in the first set and two in the second while their opponents were successful in breaking them once in each set.
Erlich and Ram now take on seventh seeded French pair of Arnaud Clement and Michael Llodra in the summit clash.
Clement and Llodra beat South African duo of Jeff Coetzee and Wesley Moodie 6-3 7-6(9) in their semi-final.
Meanwhile, Yuki Bhambri continued his impressive run in the junior singles event and entered the semifinals after defeating Britain's third seed Daniel Evans in a last eight match.
The Delhi boy overcame stiff resistance from Evans to win 7-6(5) 4-6 6-3 and move to the last four stage.
The eighth-seeded Indian will now clash with fifth seed local challenger Bernard Tomic for a place in the final.
Berrnard shocked top seed Cesar Ramirez of Mexico 6-3 6-4 in his quarter-final contest.
People don't respect actresses: Tanushree Dutta
MUMBAI: Tanushree Dutta says she had no choice but to slap a man who tried to act fresh with her at an event in Bangalore and she doesn't regret it.
"I didn't speak about it because so much has been written about my best friend Koena Mitra and I and our experience in Mumbai on New Year's Eve. But what happened to me in Bangalore on New Year's Day takes the cake. I wouldn't wish even my worst enemy to start a New Year in this manner," said Tanushree.
Koena was attacked by a stalker inside the Sahara Star Hotel on New Year's Eve after she had performed there.
In Tanushree's case it all started when the actress, who recently featured in 'Good Boy, Bad Boy' and 'Speed', was invited to perform at the Garuda Mall in Bangalore for an event sponsored by Arvind Mills and Lee.
"I knew the organisers. So I gave up the chance to be with my parents, who've recently moved from my hometown Jamshedpur to Mumbai to be with me, and flew to Bangalore on New Year's. Little did I know what horror awaited me there!
"The security at the mall was practically nil. And there were thousands of people there. I was petrified because I was unaccompanied. On being assured that I'd be safe, I began to move to the stage. But on the way some guy broke the cordon and held my hand. I responded instinctively and slapped him hard."
Tanushree doesn't regret turning violent.
"A girl whether in the industry or out of it, has to protect herself. In our film industry I've realised actresses are not respected at all. On top of that I've this hot and sexy image. But I was wearing jeans and a top on New Year's Day.
"I didn't speak about it because so much has been written about my best friend Koena Mitra and I and our experience in Mumbai on New Year's Eve. But what happened to me in Bangalore on New Year's Day takes the cake. I wouldn't wish even my worst enemy to start a New Year in this manner," said Tanushree.
Koena was attacked by a stalker inside the Sahara Star Hotel on New Year's Eve after she had performed there.
In Tanushree's case it all started when the actress, who recently featured in 'Good Boy, Bad Boy' and 'Speed', was invited to perform at the Garuda Mall in Bangalore for an event sponsored by Arvind Mills and Lee.
"I knew the organisers. So I gave up the chance to be with my parents, who've recently moved from my hometown Jamshedpur to Mumbai to be with me, and flew to Bangalore on New Year's. Little did I know what horror awaited me there!
"The security at the mall was practically nil. And there were thousands of people there. I was petrified because I was unaccompanied. On being assured that I'd be safe, I began to move to the stage. But on the way some guy broke the cordon and held my hand. I responded instinctively and slapped him hard."
Tanushree doesn't regret turning violent.
"A girl whether in the industry or out of it, has to protect herself. In our film industry I've realised actresses are not respected at all. On top of that I've this hot and sexy image. But I was wearing jeans and a top on New Year's Day.
Sachin Tendulkar slams 39th test Century
ADELAIDE: Sachin Tendulkar was doing the spadework as India were dealt two further blows in the second session by Australia on the opening day of the fourth and final cricket Test at Adelaide Oval here on Thursday.
The visitors took tea at 187 for 4 as they lost Virender Sehwag (63) and Sourav Ganguly (7), missing out on a golden opportunity to put early pressure on hosts in the crucial match.
Sachin Tendulkar was intent on making his probably last Test in Australia count as the little master serenely crossed his half century and was unbeaten on 55 from 134 minutes of vigil at the crease during which he faced 89 balls and hit five fours and a six.
Sehwag chose to cut a rising delivery from Brett Lee, too close to his body, and offered a straightforward catch to Matthew Hayden at first slip.
However, the television replays suggested that it was a big no ball from the Australian speedster.
Sehwag batted for two-and-a-half hours and hit six fours from 90 balls.
Ganguly, probably still reeling at his shock omission from the one-day squad, made seven before he missed a sweep and was ruled out leg before wicket off Brad Hogg by umpire Asad Rauf.
There was no hint of such reverses at the start of the session when Tendulkar first thumped Lee down the ground and then smacked Mitchell Johnson for three fours in one over.
Tendulkar also looked to attack left-arm spinner Brad Hogg and once picked him from outside the off-stump for a massive six over midwicket.
VVS Laxman looked good in his short stay during which he made 16 runs.
Red-hot Sharapova downs Jankovic to make Open final
Russian fifth seed Maria Sharapova crushed injured Serbian third seed Jelena Jankovic 6-3, 6-1 in a one-sided semi-final on Thursday to reach her second successive Australian Open final.
It means Sharapova, a losing finalist here last year, will meet either Serbian third seed Ana Ivanovic or Slovak ninth seed Daniela Hantuchova in Saturday's title decider.
"I'm really happy I got through and I'm back in the final," said the 20-year-old, who is on a mission to make amends for last year's humiliating loss to Serena Williams.
"I had the experience going into last year's final and it didn't turn out too good."
"I'm just glad that I've been able to play such good tennis and I hope I can continue that for another match."
Sharapova reproduced the stunning form that blew world number one Justine Henin off court in the quarter-finals, leaving Jankovic reeling as the injuries that have hampered the Serb this year finally became too much.
Sharapova's intensity was clear even when the players were forced to wait 10 minutes while the roof of the Rod Laver Arena was closed due to rain, Jankovic jiggling her leg nervously while Sharapova stared at the court.
The Russian held Jankovic to love as she served in the first game, flexing her muscles early as she blasted an ace past her Serbian opponent.
Jankovic, with only a popgun serve to match Sharapova's cannon, relied on her groundstockes to try to run the Russian around but mistakes proved costly when she netted two returns and went down a break.
The 22-year-old, who brought a range of niggling injuries into her first semi-final appearance at Melbourne Park, then stood rooted to the baseline in the final point of the third game as Sharapova went to the net and made it 3-0.
The massacre continued in the fourth, when Jankovic could only score one point off her own serve, shaking her head in frustration.
She saved two set points in the sixth, finally defending her serve to put herself on the board after 29 minutes and avoid a humiliating 6-0 "bagel".
The Serb's renowned fighting qualities then kicked in and she broke Sharapova and held on to make it 5-3, drawing cheers from the crowd.
But the revival came too late and Sharapova served an ace to reach set point, then sprinted to the net and fired back a Jankovic drop shot ton wrap it up after 42 minutes.
The first set statistics showed Sharapova's dominance, the Russian hitting 20 winners to Jankovic's three.
She began the second set in the same fashion, breaking Janovic in the opening game before the Serb called a medical time-out to receive off-court treatment for a lower back injury.
"It's really sore, I twisted something in there," she told a trainer after going down 3-0 when Sharapova broke her serve again.
The Serb never recovered, managing to win only one more game before finally succumbing to the Sharapova steamroller.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
I'll think about future after Adelaide: Ganguly
MELBOURNE: His axing from the Indian one-day squad for the tri-series might have created a furore back home but Sourav Ganguly is unfazed and determined to stay focused on the crucial fourth and deciding Test match against Australia starting in Adelaide on Thursday.
"I haven't given things a thought beyond this Test. It's an important match and I've got to stay focused. I'll think of the future once it gets over," Ganguly was quoted as saying by the 'Herald Sun' newspaper on Wednesday.
The former skipper has been in superb form since his comeback and continued his good run in the ongoing Test series but his fielding skills or rather lack of it cost him the ODI berth.
Rival skipper Ricky Ponting was also surprised not to see the Bengal left-hander in the one-day squad.
"I am surprised and shocked that he is not in the side because right through this Test series, he has certainly looked good with the bat," he told.
Selectors had also wielded their axe on former captain Rahul Dravid and stylish right-hander VVS Laxman to pave the way for youngsters to come in for the one-day tri series, also involving Sri Lanka, beginning February 3 after a one-off Twenty20 tie.
Ponting felt one-day cricket was gradually becoming a youngster's game.
"That's the way, one-day cricket is becoming a younger person's game and fielding has become such an important aspect.
"They (Indians) are looking at a more youthful sort of approach," he said.
"I haven't given things a thought beyond this Test. It's an important match and I've got to stay focused. I'll think of the future once it gets over," Ganguly was quoted as saying by the 'Herald Sun' newspaper on Wednesday.
The former skipper has been in superb form since his comeback and continued his good run in the ongoing Test series but his fielding skills or rather lack of it cost him the ODI berth.
Rival skipper Ricky Ponting was also surprised not to see the Bengal left-hander in the one-day squad.
"I am surprised and shocked that he is not in the side because right through this Test series, he has certainly looked good with the bat," he told.
Selectors had also wielded their axe on former captain Rahul Dravid and stylish right-hander VVS Laxman to pave the way for youngsters to come in for the one-day tri series, also involving Sri Lanka, beginning February 3 after a one-off Twenty20 tie.
Ponting felt one-day cricket was gradually becoming a youngster's game.
"That's the way, one-day cricket is becoming a younger person's game and fielding has become such an important aspect.
"They (Indians) are looking at a more youthful sort of approach," he said.
Timing of the selection was wrong: Anil Kumble
ADELAIDE: Indian skipper Anil Kumble on Wednesday admitted that the timing of announcing the one-day side was far from 'ideal' but hoped his axed senior players would shrug off the disappointment to stay focussed for the crucial fourth Test against Australia, starting here on Thursday.
"(The selection) is not in their hands. I have gone through it, it's not ideal (the announcement of the team before the Test) but that's the way. It's a bit disappointing.
"It's not easy on senior players, having said that we would keep our focus on this Test," the ace leg spinner said.
Kumble said the senior players were mature enough to take the exclusion in their stride.
"It's a challenge (to get them around). People (not selected) would be disappointed but they have played enough cricket to understand, why this (Test) is important for Indian cricket and to stay in the series," he said.
Shockingly Sourav Ganguly, and to a lesser extent Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman have been left out of the one-day squad for the tri-series, by the selectors.
Kumble was statesman-like while speaking on the importance of the final and deciding Test.
"It all started here (in 2003-04), it's a special venue for me for India as the last four years have gone well for Indian cricket. Now the opportunity is there for us to level the series."
Kumble also looked at his own revival, starting from the Adelaide game in 2003-04, and conceded this time around it's definitely going to be his final match.
"They said the same (about my last visit to Australia) in 2003. But this time I am sure it's the last time. It's been great so far, we came with a purpose of winning the series in Australia.
"We have held our head high and hopefully we would perform which would (inspire) the Indian teams in future to do what we couldn't achieve here," he said.
Kumble, unsurprisingly, stood up for his tribe -the bowlers-- and spoke glowingly about their contribution.
"Before we came here, we were asked if we could pick 20 Australian wickets in the series. As a senior most experienced bowler, I am delighted that our young bowling attack has stepped up the plate."
The Indian pace trinity-- R P Singh, Irfan Pathan and Ishant Sharma -- outshone their counterparts at Perth and Kumble admitted they were undecided on including Harbhajan Singh on a pitch, which is tipped to help spinners too.
"There are a few possibilities but we would like to take another look at the pitch. It (five bowlers) is an option and that is something we will definitely assess," Kumble said.
"(The selection) is not in their hands. I have gone through it, it's not ideal (the announcement of the team before the Test) but that's the way. It's a bit disappointing.
"It's not easy on senior players, having said that we would keep our focus on this Test," the ace leg spinner said.
Kumble said the senior players were mature enough to take the exclusion in their stride.
"It's a challenge (to get them around). People (not selected) would be disappointed but they have played enough cricket to understand, why this (Test) is important for Indian cricket and to stay in the series," he said.
Shockingly Sourav Ganguly, and to a lesser extent Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman have been left out of the one-day squad for the tri-series, by the selectors.
Kumble was statesman-like while speaking on the importance of the final and deciding Test.
"It all started here (in 2003-04), it's a special venue for me for India as the last four years have gone well for Indian cricket. Now the opportunity is there for us to level the series."
Kumble also looked at his own revival, starting from the Adelaide game in 2003-04, and conceded this time around it's definitely going to be his final match.
"They said the same (about my last visit to Australia) in 2003. But this time I am sure it's the last time. It's been great so far, we came with a purpose of winning the series in Australia.
"We have held our head high and hopefully we would perform which would (inspire) the Indian teams in future to do what we couldn't achieve here," he said.
Kumble, unsurprisingly, stood up for his tribe -the bowlers-- and spoke glowingly about their contribution.
"Before we came here, we were asked if we could pick 20 Australian wickets in the series. As a senior most experienced bowler, I am delighted that our young bowling attack has stepped up the plate."
The Indian pace trinity-- R P Singh, Irfan Pathan and Ishant Sharma -- outshone their counterparts at Perth and Kumble admitted they were undecided on including Harbhajan Singh on a pitch, which is tipped to help spinners too.
"There are a few possibilities but we would like to take another look at the pitch. It (five bowlers) is an option and that is something we will definitely assess," Kumble said.
Ash to do the salsa
The Bachchan bahu will give her first post marriage stage performance this Thursday, but Abhishek won’t be there to cheer her on
She’s been doing the rounds for music releases, weddings and odd events with pa-in-law Amitabh Bachchan lately but this one’s going to be a solo-act for Aishwarya Rai Bachchan.
The former beauty queen will give her first stage performance since tying the knot this Thursday at the JW Marriott. But sadly, hubby Abhishek won’t be around to see her live performance. Ash will be putting together a ten-minute salsa act to mark the launch a new range, of the beauty soaps she has been endorsing for some time now.
Confirms a source, “She has already been practicing for the last couple of days with choreographer Sandip Soparrkar.”
However, Ash is a tad upset about Abhishek not being able to make it for the show. “Abhishek Bachchan is out fo town shooting for Dilli 6 and hence won;t be able to make it even for the music launch of Jodhaa-Akbar. She hoped he’d be around for this, but it looks pretty dicey,” adds the source.
Aishwarya who will jive to Latin-American dance music, will most likely be dressed in a little black number for the dance. This is not the first time she is doing the tango —not very long ago, Ash and Abhishek performed a salsa number during her birthday bash on November 2.
We guess those memories are enough to keep her company this time around.
Kumble hopes for a memorable farewell to Australia
India captain Anil Kumble said on Wednesday he was hoping to end his Test career on Australian soil on a high note with a series-equalling win in the fourth and final Test at Adelaide Oval.
The 37-year-old veteran of 124 Tests is certain the Test starting on Thursday will be his last in Australia, as it is also likely to be for star batsmen Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid (both 34), Sourav Ganguly (35) and even VVS Laxman (33).
"For sure, this will be my last one in Australia so it'll be nice to go back with a victory," Kumble said on Wednesday.
"It's been fantastic, this is my third trip to Australia and I've really enjoyed all three visits."
Adelaide holds a special place in Kumble's heart, for both personal and team reasons.
It was here India won by four wickets in 2003 to level the series, and that a recalled Kumble produced his breakthrough performance on Australian soil with six wickets.
He said that match was a turning point in a career that has now produced 603 Test wickets, the third highest tally ever.
"This is indeed a special venue because it all started here in 2003-04," he recalled.
"It was important that we won that Test match and the last four years have been fantastic for me personally and also for Indian cricket."
Although India will lose a wealth of experience and talent when the senior players retire, the performance of its unheralded young attack in the series has given Kumble great confidence for the future.
"It is difficult to replace anybody, we can possibly see that in the Aussie team itself," he said.
"Every team will undergo the transition and how we do that transition is going to be the key.
"India is definitely talented in what we have back home, it is just a matter of ensuring they get the confidence and in four or five years' time we'll have a good set of players who will be able to ensure that Indian cricket moves forward."
Down 2-1 after their shock win in the third Test in Perth, Kumble wants his team to win here and square the series for the second time in as many Australian tours.
Although they can't regain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Kumble said a win here would provide a further shot in the arm for Indian cricket.
He is confident an Indian team will soon create history and win a series in Australia.
"In terms of results, the last visit was fantastic and even this one as well," he said.
"As a senior group we came in with the purpose of winning a series in Australia, we haven't been able to achieve that, but at least we can go back with our heads held high.
"Future Indian teams that come here will look at the performances from the past and I'm sure they'll do what we could not achieve here, so that's something I'm really proud of."
The 37-year-old veteran of 124 Tests is certain the Test starting on Thursday will be his last in Australia, as it is also likely to be for star batsmen Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid (both 34), Sourav Ganguly (35) and even VVS Laxman (33).
"For sure, this will be my last one in Australia so it'll be nice to go back with a victory," Kumble said on Wednesday.
"It's been fantastic, this is my third trip to Australia and I've really enjoyed all three visits."
Adelaide holds a special place in Kumble's heart, for both personal and team reasons.
It was here India won by four wickets in 2003 to level the series, and that a recalled Kumble produced his breakthrough performance on Australian soil with six wickets.
He said that match was a turning point in a career that has now produced 603 Test wickets, the third highest tally ever.
"This is indeed a special venue because it all started here in 2003-04," he recalled.
"It was important that we won that Test match and the last four years have been fantastic for me personally and also for Indian cricket."
Although India will lose a wealth of experience and talent when the senior players retire, the performance of its unheralded young attack in the series has given Kumble great confidence for the future.
"It is difficult to replace anybody, we can possibly see that in the Aussie team itself," he said.
"Every team will undergo the transition and how we do that transition is going to be the key.
"India is definitely talented in what we have back home, it is just a matter of ensuring they get the confidence and in four or five years' time we'll have a good set of players who will be able to ensure that Indian cricket moves forward."
Down 2-1 after their shock win in the third Test in Perth, Kumble wants his team to win here and square the series for the second time in as many Australian tours.
Although they can't regain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Kumble said a win here would provide a further shot in the arm for Indian cricket.
He is confident an Indian team will soon create history and win a series in Australia.
"In terms of results, the last visit was fantastic and even this one as well," he said.
"As a senior group we came in with the purpose of winning a series in Australia, we haven't been able to achieve that, but at least we can go back with our heads held high.
"Future Indian teams that come here will look at the performances from the past and I'm sure they'll do what we could not achieve here, so that's something I'm really proud of."
Team unaffected by Ganguly ouster: Dhoni
ADELAIDE: Indian vice-captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Tuesday dismissed any notion of disquiet in the dressing room over the furore which has followed the team in the wake of Sourav Ganguly’s omission from the one-day squad.
“I think it has affected journalists more than it has us. We are back in the practice session, we trained in the morning, it has not affected us anyway,” said a defiant Dhoni on whether the team’s preparation for the crucial fourth and final Test had been disrupted by the supposed disharmony after the Ganguly ouster.
Dhoni did not want to field any question on Ganguly as he said the Adelaide Test was the team’s priority and the one-dayers could wait. He gave enough indications on the kind of leader he wants to be, as well as the batsman and wicketkeeper he was hoping to be in his yet fledgling career of 25 Tests.
“What Anil (Kumble) has stressed is that there should be a lot of communication between us. If somebody hasn’t been picked for the side you have to go there and convey it to him,” he said.
Dhoni said there should not be any communication gap between the player and the captain.
“As a captain, I believe and go by instinct. It isn’t as if I don’t plan, I make it very clear to the bowlers because it’s ultimately they who would bowl according to the field.”
Dhoni, as a flamboyant batsman, appears to be rearranging his game and is more intent to stick around and spend time at the crease.
“Generally, they have tended to bowl quite outside the off-stump to me. Only Stuart Clark who looks to bowl an off-stump line, otherwise the rest want you to chase the ball, if it’s not moving a great deal.
“When you get in, you don’t want to chase the ball outside the off-stump. That’s what I followed in England in other Tests also.”
“I think it has affected journalists more than it has us. We are back in the practice session, we trained in the morning, it has not affected us anyway,” said a defiant Dhoni on whether the team’s preparation for the crucial fourth and final Test had been disrupted by the supposed disharmony after the Ganguly ouster.
Dhoni did not want to field any question on Ganguly as he said the Adelaide Test was the team’s priority and the one-dayers could wait. He gave enough indications on the kind of leader he wants to be, as well as the batsman and wicketkeeper he was hoping to be in his yet fledgling career of 25 Tests.
“What Anil (Kumble) has stressed is that there should be a lot of communication between us. If somebody hasn’t been picked for the side you have to go there and convey it to him,” he said.
Dhoni said there should not be any communication gap between the player and the captain.
“As a captain, I believe and go by instinct. It isn’t as if I don’t plan, I make it very clear to the bowlers because it’s ultimately they who would bowl according to the field.”
Dhoni, as a flamboyant batsman, appears to be rearranging his game and is more intent to stick around and spend time at the crease.
“Generally, they have tended to bowl quite outside the off-stump to me. Only Stuart Clark who looks to bowl an off-stump line, otherwise the rest want you to chase the ball, if it’s not moving a great deal.
“When you get in, you don’t want to chase the ball outside the off-stump. That’s what I followed in England in other Tests also.”
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Sania-Bhupathi enter third round of Australian Open
Indian pair of Sania Mirza and Mahesh Bhupathi cruised to the third round of the mixed doubles of Australian Open on Tuesday. They defeated second seeded pair of Lisa Raymond of the United States and Simon Aspelin of Sweden 6-3, 2-6 (10-7).
Another mixed doubles match will be played between third seeded pair of Zi Yan-Mark Knowles and Meilen Tu-Marcin Matkowski on Tuesday. The winner of this match will take on the Indian pair in the next round.
Sania's challenge in singles was halted by Venus Williams who won the hard fought third round match. Sania paired with Australian Alicia Molik marched to the third round of women's doubles but lost 5-7, 3-6 against the 12th seeded combine of Shahar Peer of Israel and Victoria Azarenka of Belarus.
However, Mahesh Bhupathi and his Bahamian partner Mark Knowles defeated 11th-seeded Polish duo of Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski 6-3, 6-2 in a third round match to move into the quarter-finals of the men's doubles event.
Both the Indian players are in news for different controversies. While a Hyderabad lawyer filed a case against Sania Mirza for showing disrespect to the national flag, ten times Grand Slam winner of doubles and mixed doubles Mahesh Bhupathi is in news for being approached to throw a Davis Cup match back in mid 1990s.
Another mixed doubles match will be played between third seeded pair of Zi Yan-Mark Knowles and Meilen Tu-Marcin Matkowski on Tuesday. The winner of this match will take on the Indian pair in the next round.
Sania's challenge in singles was halted by Venus Williams who won the hard fought third round match. Sania paired with Australian Alicia Molik marched to the third round of women's doubles but lost 5-7, 3-6 against the 12th seeded combine of Shahar Peer of Israel and Victoria Azarenka of Belarus.
However, Mahesh Bhupathi and his Bahamian partner Mark Knowles defeated 11th-seeded Polish duo of Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski 6-3, 6-2 in a third round match to move into the quarter-finals of the men's doubles event.
Both the Indian players are in news for different controversies. While a Hyderabad lawyer filed a case against Sania Mirza for showing disrespect to the national flag, ten times Grand Slam winner of doubles and mixed doubles Mahesh Bhupathi is in news for being approached to throw a Davis Cup match back in mid 1990s.
Sensex opens 10% down, trading suspended
MUMBAI: Trading was suspended for one hour at the Bombay Stock Exchange after the benchmark Sensex fell to the low of 15,576.30 within minutes of opening, crossing the circuit limit of 10 per cent.
On Monday, the 30-share barometer tumbled by 1,408 points on concerns regarding the US economy going into recession.
The market opened at 16,884.09 points. At the time suspension, the Sensex was quoted at 15,576.30 points, plunging 11.53 per cent from Monday's close.
Similar trend was witnessed at the National Stock Exchange, whose barometer Nifty opened at 5,203.35, and later spiralled downward to a low of 4,569.50, a slide of 12.1 per cent. It was last trading at 4,578.35 points.
Monday, January 21, 2008
Bhupathi says he rejected offer to throw match
MELBOURNE: The saga of match-fixing in professional tennis took a fresh twist on Monday when India's former Grand Slam champion Mahesh Bhupathi said he was approached to fix a result as far back at the mid 1990s.
The 33-year-old said he had been contacted by telephone and asked to throw a Davis Cup match early in his career.
"I haven't been approached in the context of an ATP (tournament). I was approached maybe 10, 12 years ago, in the context of Davis Cup in India," the winner of 10 Grand Slam titles in men's doubles and mixed doubles said in an interview.
"I immediately changed my phone numbers and I never got that call again. It definitely freaked me out."
Bhupathi is the latest in a growing list of players on both the men's and women's tours, including former top-10 player Arnaud Clement of France, to admit that they had rejected offers to lose a match.
The ATP, which governs the men's game, is investigating a match between world number four Nikolay Davydenko of Russia and Argentina's Martin Vassallo Arguello, played in Poland last August.
REPUTATION TARNISHED
Davydenko retired at 2-1 down in the third set of their match, citing a foot injury, but British exchange betting company Betfair reported irregular betting patterns on the match and voided all bets.
Three Italian players, Potito Starace, Alessio Di Mauro and Daniele Bracciali recently received suspensions and fines for gambling on tennis matches.
Bhupathi said the scandals were tarnishing the reputation of tennis.
"It's sad, terrible for the sport," he said.
"I wish the ATP could find as many ways as they can to control it. (There is) so much money at stake and so many different avenues the players can use.
"So I am glad that they are punishing players now, so guys will at least get a little more weary. Tennis is a great sport, we must find ways to protect it."
The 33-year-old said he had been contacted by telephone and asked to throw a Davis Cup match early in his career.
"I haven't been approached in the context of an ATP (tournament). I was approached maybe 10, 12 years ago, in the context of Davis Cup in India," the winner of 10 Grand Slam titles in men's doubles and mixed doubles said in an interview.
"I immediately changed my phone numbers and I never got that call again. It definitely freaked me out."
Bhupathi is the latest in a growing list of players on both the men's and women's tours, including former top-10 player Arnaud Clement of France, to admit that they had rejected offers to lose a match.
The ATP, which governs the men's game, is investigating a match between world number four Nikolay Davydenko of Russia and Argentina's Martin Vassallo Arguello, played in Poland last August.
REPUTATION TARNISHED
Davydenko retired at 2-1 down in the third set of their match, citing a foot injury, but British exchange betting company Betfair reported irregular betting patterns on the match and voided all bets.
Three Italian players, Potito Starace, Alessio Di Mauro and Daniele Bracciali recently received suspensions and fines for gambling on tennis matches.
Bhupathi said the scandals were tarnishing the reputation of tennis.
"It's sad, terrible for the sport," he said.
"I wish the ATP could find as many ways as they can to control it. (There is) so much money at stake and so many different avenues the players can use.
"So I am glad that they are punishing players now, so guys will at least get a little more weary. Tennis is a great sport, we must find ways to protect it."
We can be number one, declares Ganguly
With a resurgent India gunning for glory, Australia's stranglehold as the numero uno Test playing nation is under threat, said former captain Sourav Ganguly.
According to him, Australia are not the same force since bowling greats Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne called it quits. So while the Aussies are still on top of the table, India is closing in on the gap, he said.
"Australia is still the No. 1 team in the world but I think we have a very good side that could be No. 1," Ganguly told Australian daily Herald Sun.
Ganguly believes India played better cricket throughout this summer and sounded confident of levelling the four-match series by winning the final Test in Adelaide.
"We have a side which has played better against Australia than any other side in the world, which is a good sign for us.
"To be honest, we have played better than them [this summer]. I don't want to talk about the past but I feel we were very unlucky not to win in Sydney," he said.
"We were happy to win in Perth and we think we can level the series," Ganguly added.
The left-hander, left out of India's ODI team for the tri-series that follows the Adelaide Test, is not sure if Australia's young attack could handle the pressure.
"They are finding out that players can't go on and play forever," he said.
"Obviously they have less experience now. Their young players need to step up," Ganguly said.
According to him, Australia are not the same force since bowling greats Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne called it quits. So while the Aussies are still on top of the table, India is closing in on the gap, he said.
"Australia is still the No. 1 team in the world but I think we have a very good side that could be No. 1," Ganguly told Australian daily Herald Sun.
Ganguly believes India played better cricket throughout this summer and sounded confident of levelling the four-match series by winning the final Test in Adelaide.
"We have a side which has played better against Australia than any other side in the world, which is a good sign for us.
"To be honest, we have played better than them [this summer]. I don't want to talk about the past but I feel we were very unlucky not to win in Sydney," he said.
"We were happy to win in Perth and we think we can level the series," Ganguly added.
The left-hander, left out of India's ODI team for the tri-series that follows the Adelaide Test, is not sure if Australia's young attack could handle the pressure.
"They are finding out that players can't go on and play forever," he said.
"Obviously they have less experience now. Their young players need to step up," Ganguly said.
Ganguly fans block rail tracks
Train services in two sections of Eastern Railway were affected on Monday as irate supporters of Sourav Ganguly put up a blockade at Barasat in North 24 Parganas protesting against the left-hander's exclusion from the ODI squad for the upcoming triangular tournament in Australia.
The protestors, comprising mainly young men, started the blockade at 1005 hours local time, raising slogans demanding that Ganguly be reinducted into the team, according to an Eastern Railway spokesman.
"We want Dada back. It's a conspiracy," the protestors shouted.
As a result, train services between Barasat-Bongaon and Barasat-Hasnabad sections were affected.
The Indian selectors on Sunday dropped Ganguly and also left out two other senior pros, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman, while announcing the squad for the tri-series in Australia, also involving Sri Lanka.
Incensed at Ganguly being kept out of the team, around 40 cricket buffs gathered near his residence in Behala on Sunday and raised slogans against the selectors and BCCI president Sharad Pawar.
They set fire to an effigy of Pawar and beat it with shoes and chappals.
The protestors, comprising mainly young men, started the blockade at 1005 hours local time, raising slogans demanding that Ganguly be reinducted into the team, according to an Eastern Railway spokesman.
"We want Dada back. It's a conspiracy," the protestors shouted.
As a result, train services between Barasat-Bongaon and Barasat-Hasnabad sections were affected.
The Indian selectors on Sunday dropped Ganguly and also left out two other senior pros, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman, while announcing the squad for the tri-series in Australia, also involving Sri Lanka.
Incensed at Ganguly being kept out of the team, around 40 cricket buffs gathered near his residence in Behala on Sunday and raised slogans against the selectors and BCCI president Sharad Pawar.
They set fire to an effigy of Pawar and beat it with shoes and chappals.
Another Indian student shot dead in US university
WASHINGTON: Yet another Indian doctoral student has been shot dead - the third in a month - on a US university campus, raising questions about the safety of the American university environment.
The bullet-riddled body of 29-year old Abhijit Mahato was found inside his Anderson Street apartment in North Carolina's Duke University on Friday, nearly a month to the day after two other Indian PhD students were killed execution-style at Louisiana State University.
Police are still investigating the cause and motive for Mahato's killing, even as the December 17 LSU murders are yet to be solved.
Mahato, originally from Kolkata and Tatanagar, India, was studying for an engineering doctorate degree focused on computational mechanics at Duke's Pratt School of Engineering, university officials said. He was in his second year.
Earlier, he had earned his mechanical engineering degree from Jadavpur University in 2001 and an M.Tech from the Indian Institute for Technology (IIT) in Kanpur in 2004.
Before coming to Duke, Mahato worked for two years for the GE Global Research Center in Bangalore, where he focused on finite element analysis, a computer-simulation technique used in engineering. The experience prepared him well for his graduate work, according to Mahato's adviser, engineering professor Tod Laursen.
"We were working together on an industry-funded research project and Abhijit's prior industry experience helped him develop close working relationships with our partner," Laursen said. "He understood their needs as a business and was a pleasure to work with."
Even as the incident sent shock waves among the huge Indian student community in the US – the biggest from any foreign country, Duke officials tried to reassure the students.
Some 80,000 students come to the US each year for studies and the total Indian student population in the US is said to be over 250,000 at any given time.
Duke is one of the biggest campuses in the US with one of the racially and ethnically diverse student population (from 117 countries) including a large contingent from India. The University's Pratt School of Engineering is particularly popular among Indian students.
On a newly constructed web page on the school site, Mahato described himself as the "the newest person to join DUKE Computational Mechanics Lab ((DCML)" and said he is "interested in nonlinear continuum mechanics problems and developing numerical methods for them...working on large deformation two body contact problems."
Larry Moneta, Duke's vice president for student affairs, said the university has begun reaching out to Mahato's friends and to his family in India, as well as to Indian and other international students on campus. It is offering counselling services and has begun considering appropriate ways of commemorating Mahato's life.
"This is a tragic circumstance, and we are doing everything possible to assist those who may be affected by it," Moneta said in a statement issued by the university.
In the engineering department, Laursen met with his lab team to talk about Mahato, whom he described as intellectually curious, kind and outgoing.
"He made friends very easily and always had a smile on his face," Laursen said. "Our research team was particularly close to Abhijit. He was very well read in both poetry and literature, and enjoyed conversation with others about what they were reading."
Mahato said on his webpage that his "upbringing was in Kolkata; the City of Joy, the city of intellectuals, and much much more."
Dingy Taj Mahal booked in for mudpack restoration sessions
Carla Bruni may have seen a few mudpacks in her time, but nothing on the scale of what she will find when she visits the Taj Mahal this week.
Indian experts have begun a six-month project to clean the white marble archways, carvings and crannies of the world's greatest monument to love by coating them in a special mud.
The monumental face pack consists of multani mitti, or fuller's earth, a lime-rich clay found across northern India and used in many face masks and Ayurvedic body treatments.
K.S. Rana, director of the science department of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), told The Times: “We will leave it overnight and then, the moment it starts drying, we will remove it, just like a face pack.
“The marble of the Taj Mahal is quite intact — it is very high quality. There is just some yellowing in the arched areas and other parts not exposed to the rain. The mud is being used to clean only those areas.”
The Taj complex was completed in 1653 by Shah Jahan, the Mogul emperor, in memory of Mumtaz Mahal, his second wife. It is India's top tourist site, attracting three million visitors every year.
Rising levels of dust and industrial pollutants from the surrounding city of Agra, 130 miles (210km) southeast of Delhi, have stained some of its white marble surfaces yellow.
Lord Curzon, the British Viceroy of India, first suggested restoring the Taj in the early 20th century, but serious efforts began only in 1996 when the Supreme Court closed thousands of factories around it.
Motor vehicles were also banned from near the monument, forcing visitors to take rickshaws, electric buses or horse-drawn carriages for the last mile and a half.
The mud treatment, which costs about £115,000 a time, was first tried six years ago and last used three years ago, according to the ASI.
Some experts argue that the mud causes variations in the marble's whiteness and exposes it to fungus and even worse staining, but the ASI says that it is the only way to clean it without causing serious damage.
This year local authorities began a simultaneous campaign to clean up the surroundings of the Taj by demolishing illegal structures, banning squatting and restricting rickshaws to designated areas.
Dr Rana said that his team of two dozen experts had already erected the first set of scaffolding on a small section of the World Heritage site and would start work in the next few days.
The work would continue until late March and resume in January next year for another three months, but the monument would remain open to the public throughout that time, he said.
The painstaking treatment would also be done in such small sections that it would not disturb tourists visiting the Taj — even those hoping to imitate the iconic Diana, Princess of Wales, photograph of 1992.
Ms Bruni, a former supermodel, is thought to be planning to visit the Taj Mahal alone this week while her partner, President Sarkozy of France, is in Delhi as part of an official visit to India.
Monument to love
- Mumtaz Mahal and Shah Jahan were inseparable – she even accompanied him when he went to war. She died giving birth to his fourteenth child
- Trees in the Taj garden are either cypresses (signifying death) or fruit-bearing types (signifying life)
- When Shah Jahan fell ill in 1657 one of his sons, Aurangzeb, took over the throne and imprisoned him. He died in 1666 and was entombed next to his beloved wife
By listing day, Anil may be world’s richest man
With his wealth estimated at more than $57 billion, Anil Dhirubhai Ambani has emerged as India’s wealthiest citizen after the blockbuster IPO of his Reliance Power, and all indications are that he may jump to the top of the global rich list as well.
The value of Anil’s holdings in seven listed entities will be around Rs 229,363 crore or $57.3 billion at last Friday’s closing price, taking into account the price of a Reliance Power share at Rs 450 per share, the cut-off price of the public issue which closed on Friday.
Market experts expect Reliance Power to list at a much higher value. If the stock lists at Rs 900, Ambani will jump over Carlos Slim Helu, the Mexican telecom tycoon who topped last year’s rich list with an estimated $67.8 billion to his account according to Forbes magazine.
At Rs 900 per share, Anil Ambani’s personal wealth would be estimated at Rs 2,75,000 crore or $68.7 billion. Microsoft chairman Bill Gates followed Carlos Slim last year with an estimated wealth of $59.2 billion.
Anil’s elder brother Mukesh Ambani, who runs the largest corporation in the country, Reliance Industries Ltd, which has a market cap of Rs 434,170 crore, will now slip to number two in the rich list. The value of his personal wealth is estimated at Rs 218,860 crore or $54.7 billion as per the last closing price.
Although much depends upon the market dynamics, experts feel that at least three Indians — the Ambani Brothers and steel baron Lakshmi Mittal — are expected to make in the top 10 richest.
No place for Dravid, Ganguly in ODI side
It was MS Dhoni all the way. The ODI and T20 captain's imprint on the 16-man squad chosen on Sunday for the ODI Tri-series in Australia is loud and clear.
The selectors went along with Dhoni's judgement - after consulting Test captain Anil Kumble - to pick a young squad with a major focus on fielding abilities because the bigger grounds in Australia require strong throwing arms and swift movers. It meant that both Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid find no place in the team, as reported by TOI on Sunday.
The think-tank says it's trying to learn from the ODI series loss to Australia at home which it believes was lost due to poor fielding and slog-overs bowling.
Also, Dhoni's deputy Yuvraj Singh has got a reprieve for now, but his attitude and fitness will be under the scanner. Manoj Tiwary, Munaf Patel and Yusuf Pathan have been named as standbys.
From the team that last played an ODI series, Ganguly and Murali Kartik were left out while an unfit Zaheer Khan was not considered. In their place come Suresh Raina and Piyush Chawla while Ishant Sharma, who bowled well in the Perth win, gets another ODI call. Dinesh Karthik was added as a back-up 'keeper to make it a 16-man squad.
Fast bowler Sree Santh retained his ODI spot after being cleared to play after a shoulder injury.
Sachin Tendulkar, the last of the senior pros holding onto a place in the ODI team, is expected to be played sparingly due to the fatigue factor. At the most, the 34-year-old would be playing in five out of the eight league games.
Once Dhoni expressed his thoughts, the selectors on tour, Ranjib Biswal and V Raju, decided to make things clear with the senior pros. On Sunday morning, the duo spoke to VVS Laxman (never an ODI regular) and Ganguly and explained the reasons for their omission.
The selectors went along with Dhoni's judgement - after consulting Test captain Anil Kumble - to pick a young squad with a major focus on fielding abilities because the bigger grounds in Australia require strong throwing arms and swift movers. It meant that both Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid find no place in the team, as reported by TOI on Sunday.
The think-tank says it's trying to learn from the ODI series loss to Australia at home which it believes was lost due to poor fielding and slog-overs bowling.
Also, Dhoni's deputy Yuvraj Singh has got a reprieve for now, but his attitude and fitness will be under the scanner. Manoj Tiwary, Munaf Patel and Yusuf Pathan have been named as standbys.
From the team that last played an ODI series, Ganguly and Murali Kartik were left out while an unfit Zaheer Khan was not considered. In their place come Suresh Raina and Piyush Chawla while Ishant Sharma, who bowled well in the Perth win, gets another ODI call. Dinesh Karthik was added as a back-up 'keeper to make it a 16-man squad.
Fast bowler Sree Santh retained his ODI spot after being cleared to play after a shoulder injury.
Sachin Tendulkar, the last of the senior pros holding onto a place in the ODI team, is expected to be played sparingly due to the fatigue factor. At the most, the 34-year-old would be playing in five out of the eight league games.
Once Dhoni expressed his thoughts, the selectors on tour, Ranjib Biswal and V Raju, decided to make things clear with the senior pros. On Sunday morning, the duo spoke to VVS Laxman (never an ODI regular) and Ganguly and explained the reasons for their omission.
36 killed as bus falls into gorge near Nasik
At least 36 people, including 12 women and four children, were killed and 40 others injured when an over-crowded bus, carrying devotees returning from the Saptashringi shrine in the district, fell into a deep gorge at Nanduri, about 70 km from Nasik, police said on Monday.
The accident occured last night at around 2230 hours when the bus skidded off the road after the driver lost control and it fell into a 600-ft gorge, Nasik Superintendent of Police Nikhil Gupta told PTI.
The private luxury bus was carrying about 76 persons, all hailing from Mumbai's Warali suburb, when the accident happened, he said, adding that the group was on their way to Nasik after visiting the temple.
The injured, including the driver, have been admitted to Kalwan, Vani and Nasik civil hospitals, he said.
Meanwhile, District Collector S Chokalingam said rescue operations were progressing at the site and seven to eight ambulances have been rushed to the spot.
The bodies of those who died in the mishap, have been shifted to the Nasik civil hospital, he said.
The accident occured last night at around 2230 hours when the bus skidded off the road after the driver lost control and it fell into a 600-ft gorge, Nasik Superintendent of Police Nikhil Gupta told PTI.
The private luxury bus was carrying about 76 persons, all hailing from Mumbai's Warali suburb, when the accident happened, he said, adding that the group was on their way to Nasik after visiting the temple.
The injured, including the driver, have been admitted to Kalwan, Vani and Nasik civil hospitals, he said.
Meanwhile, District Collector S Chokalingam said rescue operations were progressing at the site and seven to eight ambulances have been rushed to the spot.
The bodies of those who died in the mishap, have been shifted to the Nasik civil hospital, he said.
'Sir Sachin' if Brown has his way
NEW DELHI: Can Sachin Tendulkar join the honoured ranks of Sir Don Bradman or Sir Gary Sobers? Well, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown certainly seems to think so. If he had his way, he would recommend the little master for a knighthood.
"I would like to see some of the great players of the modern era — like Sachin Tendulkar — proposed for honorary awards so the British nation can salute their achievements in these sports."
If Brown's remarks come true, we could be looking at the first Indian sports knight. In between courting trade and investment from India and China visiting British Prime Minister Gordon Brown showed where his heart really lay — at the WACA stadium in Perth.
Complimenting India on its test victory over Australia, Brown shed his normally grave countenance.
"I congratulate India on a famous victory - beating an Australian side who have won their last 16 games and doing so away from home."
England's long cricketing feud with Australia clearly fuelled Brown's enthusiasm for India's historic win. Cricket has long been one of the great binders of Indo-British ties. And until some time ago Commonwealth cricketers were honoured by the UK.
As Brown said, "I believe it was a good tradition to celebrate the achievements of the great Commonwealth cricketers. Obviously these are issues for the independent honours committee, but - hope they will consider it."
So we can hope to see a 'Sir Sachin'.
Perth win assures India of second place in test rankings
India is certain of moving up to second spot in the test championship table following their remarkable victory over top-ranked Australia in the third test in Perth on Saturday.
An International Cricket Council (ICC) statement on Sunday said India would move ahead of second-placed Sri Lanka regardless of the outcome of the final test in Adelaide next week.
India will move two ratings points ahead of Sri Lanka if the final test ends in a draw and by four points if they manage to square the four-test series which they trail 2-1.
"Even if Australia wins the match in Adelaide, India will sit above Sri Lanka when ratings points are calculated beyond the decimal point," the statement said.
The table is updated at the conclusion of each series.
India's 72-run victory brought Australia's world record-equalling 16-match winning run to a stunning end.
It was Australia's first test defeat since the fourth Ashes match against England at Trent Bridge in Aug. 2005.
The last time Australia lost a test at home was against India at Adelaide in Dec. 2003.
An International Cricket Council (ICC) statement on Sunday said India would move ahead of second-placed Sri Lanka regardless of the outcome of the final test in Adelaide next week.
India will move two ratings points ahead of Sri Lanka if the final test ends in a draw and by four points if they manage to square the four-test series which they trail 2-1.
"Even if Australia wins the match in Adelaide, India will sit above Sri Lanka when ratings points are calculated beyond the decimal point," the statement said.
The table is updated at the conclusion of each series.
India's 72-run victory brought Australia's world record-equalling 16-match winning run to a stunning end.
It was Australia's first test defeat since the fourth Ashes match against England at Trent Bridge in Aug. 2005.
The last time Australia lost a test at home was against India at Adelaide in Dec. 2003.
India drop Ganguly for Australia tri series
MUMBAI, India, Jan 20 (Reuters) - Indian selectors have dropped experienced batsman Saurav Ganguly for next month's triangular series in Australia, which also includes Sri Lanka.
Rahul Dravid was also left out as selectors opted for youth in a 16-man squad on Sunday, with left-handed batsman Suresh Raina earning a recall after a year out of the team following some fine domestic performances.
The same squad will play in the sole Twenty20 international against Australia on Feb. 1 before the one-day series.
"Looking towards the future team of India the selection committee has provided the youngsters who have done well in domestic cricket an excellent platform," India board (BCCI) secretary Niranjan Shah said in a statement.
The 35-year-old Ganguly has performed well after he was dropped from the one-day and test sides in the wake of a public spat with then coach Greg Chappell two years ago that led to the batsman losing the captaincy.
However, the selectors decided to revamp the one-day squad following the team's first round exit in the one-day World Cup and a surprise victory by a young squad captained by Mahendra Singh Dhoni in the Twenty20 version last year.
Former captain Dravid was the first to feel the heat of the shake-up late last year.
Fast bowler Ishant Sharma earned a recall on the basis of his impressive performances in the ongoing test series while Shanthakumaran Sreesanth returns after an injury break to bolster the pace attack that includes all-rounder Pravin Kumar.
Squad: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh, Robin Uthappa, Gautam Gambhir, Irfan Pathan, Shanthakumaran Sreesanth, Rudra Pratap Singh, Ishant Sharma, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Dinesh Karthik, Piyush Chawla and Pravin Kumar.
Rahul Dravid was also left out as selectors opted for youth in a 16-man squad on Sunday, with left-handed batsman Suresh Raina earning a recall after a year out of the team following some fine domestic performances.
The same squad will play in the sole Twenty20 international against Australia on Feb. 1 before the one-day series.
"Looking towards the future team of India the selection committee has provided the youngsters who have done well in domestic cricket an excellent platform," India board (BCCI) secretary Niranjan Shah said in a statement.
The 35-year-old Ganguly has performed well after he was dropped from the one-day and test sides in the wake of a public spat with then coach Greg Chappell two years ago that led to the batsman losing the captaincy.
However, the selectors decided to revamp the one-day squad following the team's first round exit in the one-day World Cup and a surprise victory by a young squad captained by Mahendra Singh Dhoni in the Twenty20 version last year.
Former captain Dravid was the first to feel the heat of the shake-up late last year.
Fast bowler Ishant Sharma earned a recall on the basis of his impressive performances in the ongoing test series while Shanthakumaran Sreesanth returns after an injury break to bolster the pace attack that includes all-rounder Pravin Kumar.
Squad: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh, Robin Uthappa, Gautam Gambhir, Irfan Pathan, Shanthakumaran Sreesanth, Rudra Pratap Singh, Ishant Sharma, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Dinesh Karthik, Piyush Chawla and Pravin Kumar.
Pakistan's Inzamam says controversies got to Australia
KARACHI - Former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq said Australia were affected by the controversies from the second test when they lost to India in the third match of the series in Perth on Saturday.
"I think the Australians were unnerved by the criticism they came under after the Sydney test. They were not at their best in this test," Inzamam told Reuters after India's 72-run win reduced their series deficit to 2-1.
Inzamam, who retired last year after playing 120 tests and 378 one-dayers, said India deserved credit for bringing down captain Ricky Ponting's team at the WACA, one of the fastest pitches in the world.
"I think what happened in Sydney, the poor umpiring decisions and the (alleged racial abuse) complaint against spinner Harbhajan Singh, united them and made them more determined to beat Australia," he said.
"The final test in Adelaide (next week) will be a cliffhanger because the Indians have now smelt blood and know this Australian team is fallible."
Pakistan's chief selector Salahuddin Ahmed said Australia's first test defeat since they went down to England in 2005 was good for world cricket.
"The domination of Australia was overwhelming and this result will make other teams, including Pakistan, believe the Australians are not invincible," he said.
Pakistan are due to host the world's top-ranked team in three tests, five one-dayers and a Twenty20 match in March-April.
Former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif said India's bowlers deserved a lot of credit.
"They bowled superbly under pressure against a strong batting line-up," said Latif.
"Australia missed the experience and confidence of Matthew Hayden, who scored hundreds in the first two tests."
But former Pakistan captain and coach Intikhab Alam backed Ponting and his players to come back strongly.
"They did so after their 2005 Ashes defeat and they can do it again," said Intikhab.
"I think the Australians were unnerved by the criticism they came under after the Sydney test. They were not at their best in this test," Inzamam told Reuters after India's 72-run win reduced their series deficit to 2-1.
Inzamam, who retired last year after playing 120 tests and 378 one-dayers, said India deserved credit for bringing down captain Ricky Ponting's team at the WACA, one of the fastest pitches in the world.
"I think what happened in Sydney, the poor umpiring decisions and the (alleged racial abuse) complaint against spinner Harbhajan Singh, united them and made them more determined to beat Australia," he said.
"The final test in Adelaide (next week) will be a cliffhanger because the Indians have now smelt blood and know this Australian team is fallible."
Pakistan's chief selector Salahuddin Ahmed said Australia's first test defeat since they went down to England in 2005 was good for world cricket.
"The domination of Australia was overwhelming and this result will make other teams, including Pakistan, believe the Australians are not invincible," he said.
Pakistan are due to host the world's top-ranked team in three tests, five one-dayers and a Twenty20 match in March-April.
Former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif said India's bowlers deserved a lot of credit.
"They bowled superbly under pressure against a strong batting line-up," said Latif.
"Australia missed the experience and confidence of Matthew Hayden, who scored hundreds in the first two tests."
But former Pakistan captain and coach Intikhab Alam backed Ponting and his players to come back strongly.
"They did so after their 2005 Ashes defeat and they can do it again," said Intikhab.
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Reliance Power maiden issue sets world record
The just-concluded maiden public issue of Reliance Power, which was oversubscribed 73 times and garnered an astronomical $190 billion, has created many world records, its chairman Anil Ambani said on Saturday.
"It is the largest subscription of any IPO (initial public offering) anywhere in the history of global capital markets, with a record five million applicants," a beaming Ambani said at a press conference here, a day after the issue's conclusion.
"When Reliance Power lists early February, it will be among the 10 top listed companies in India with the largest number of shareholders in any listed Indian company or in the world," he said.
"If we assume it lists at the issue price of Rs.450, the market capitalization for the group will be around $100 billion," he said, adding that it will make his Reliance Anil Dirubhai Ambani Group the second largest in India in terms of market capitalisation.
Ambani said the issue came at a time when the Indian markets and global markets were experiencing a meltdown but yet attracted a record subscription of $100 billion from foreign funds, equalling 40 percent of India's foreign exchange.
"The inflow amounts to one-and-a-half times the cumulative foreign institutional investment (FII) flows into India since 1992. The Reliance Power IPO is greater than the combined subscriptions recorded by five top in India so far."
The five top public issues in the past were those by Mundra Port, Power Grid Corp, Reliance Petroleum, Idea and Power Finance Corp.
According to Ambani, provisional calculations revealed the issue was subscribed 73 times over. While the amount set aside for qualified institutional buyers, including foreign funds, was oversubscribed 82.5 times, that for retail buyers was subscribed 14.4 times over.
He said the company would fix the issue price at the top end of the price band at Rs.450 per share, with a discount of Rs.20 per share for retail investors - another first in India.
The Reliance group, that now stands divided between Anil and his elder brother Mukesh, came with its first public offer 31 years ago for launching a textiles unit. The issue then was oversubscribed eight times.
In contrast, when the Reliance Power IPO opened itself to subscriptions Jan 15, it was fully subscribed twice over in the first 58 seconds. By the end of the opening day, it was subscribed 10 times over, Ambani said.
The company notched another record in launching the issue within eight working days of receiving regulatory approvals Jan 2, he added. It also distributed over 40 million application forms, and involved 177 bank branches at 126 bidding centres.
Ambani said after his group was carved out of the larger Reliance empire in June 2006, the market capitalisation had gone up from $4 billion to $100 billion.
The companies under the fold include Reliance Communication, Reliance Capital, Reliance Power, Reliance Natural Resources, Adlabs and Reliance Energy.
Reliance Power proposes to use the funds to build power generation units across the country. As per company officials, projects worth 28,000 MW are in the pipeline.
"This is the largest portfolio of power generation within a geographical area or a group anywhere in the world," Ambani had told a press conference earlier. The government envisages an addition of 80,000 MW during the 11th five-year plan (2007-2012).
The company, which is an associate of Reliance Energy, was in November awarded the 4,000-MW Krishnapatnam power project in Andhra Pradesh, with the lowest bid for a tariff of Rs.2.33 per unit among all qualified bidders.
Another major project of the company was the 4,000-MW Sasan power project in Madhya Pradesh, awarded in August 2007.
"It is the largest subscription of any IPO (initial public offering) anywhere in the history of global capital markets, with a record five million applicants," a beaming Ambani said at a press conference here, a day after the issue's conclusion.
"When Reliance Power lists early February, it will be among the 10 top listed companies in India with the largest number of shareholders in any listed Indian company or in the world," he said.
"If we assume it lists at the issue price of Rs.450, the market capitalization for the group will be around $100 billion," he said, adding that it will make his Reliance Anil Dirubhai Ambani Group the second largest in India in terms of market capitalisation.
Ambani said the issue came at a time when the Indian markets and global markets were experiencing a meltdown but yet attracted a record subscription of $100 billion from foreign funds, equalling 40 percent of India's foreign exchange.
"The inflow amounts to one-and-a-half times the cumulative foreign institutional investment (FII) flows into India since 1992. The Reliance Power IPO is greater than the combined subscriptions recorded by five top in India so far."
The five top public issues in the past were those by Mundra Port, Power Grid Corp, Reliance Petroleum, Idea and Power Finance Corp.
According to Ambani, provisional calculations revealed the issue was subscribed 73 times over. While the amount set aside for qualified institutional buyers, including foreign funds, was oversubscribed 82.5 times, that for retail buyers was subscribed 14.4 times over.
He said the company would fix the issue price at the top end of the price band at Rs.450 per share, with a discount of Rs.20 per share for retail investors - another first in India.
The Reliance group, that now stands divided between Anil and his elder brother Mukesh, came with its first public offer 31 years ago for launching a textiles unit. The issue then was oversubscribed eight times.
In contrast, when the Reliance Power IPO opened itself to subscriptions Jan 15, it was fully subscribed twice over in the first 58 seconds. By the end of the opening day, it was subscribed 10 times over, Ambani said.
The company notched another record in launching the issue within eight working days of receiving regulatory approvals Jan 2, he added. It also distributed over 40 million application forms, and involved 177 bank branches at 126 bidding centres.
Ambani said after his group was carved out of the larger Reliance empire in June 2006, the market capitalisation had gone up from $4 billion to $100 billion.
The companies under the fold include Reliance Communication, Reliance Capital, Reliance Power, Reliance Natural Resources, Adlabs and Reliance Energy.
Reliance Power proposes to use the funds to build power generation units across the country. As per company officials, projects worth 28,000 MW are in the pipeline.
"This is the largest portfolio of power generation within a geographical area or a group anywhere in the world," Ambani had told a press conference earlier. The government envisages an addition of 80,000 MW during the 11th five-year plan (2007-2012).
The company, which is an associate of Reliance Energy, was in November awarded the 4,000-MW Krishnapatnam power project in Andhra Pradesh, with the lowest bid for a tariff of Rs.2.33 per unit among all qualified bidders.
Another major project of the company was the 4,000-MW Sasan power project in Madhya Pradesh, awarded in August 2007.
Australia come crashing down at Perth as India clinch glory
Very few teams come to the Western Australian capital and inflict heavy defeat on the Australians. The West Indies did that, 16 years ago, when Curtly Ambrose' inspired spell of 7 wickets for 1 run destroyed the Aussies. But, that was a different era. India, came into this match with a big point to prove. Bruised and battered in the previous two Test matches in the series, they left the baggage of controversy behind and moved on to Freemantle territory to put up a spirited performance in the Third Test and clinch a historic victory by 72 runs.
The Indians had a single digit number in the minds as they took the field in the morning - 8 i.e. the number of wickets needed to claim victory. And eight, they got after some inspired captaincy decisions by Kumble, superb bowling by the quicks and luck. Their charge to victory came to a pause, when the ninth wicket partnership between Stuart Clark and Mitchell Johnson had other intentions for a while, but it only looked as though they were delaying the inevitable.
Of patience and perseverance
The Aussies were chasing something they tried six years ago and faltered against the same opposition. This time, there were larger stakes in the consecutive-Test wins record, and that looked to have got the better of the hosts. They got off to a confident start, thanks to Ricky Ponting's early flurry of boundaries, but intertwined among those were moments where the Australian skipper looked all at sea against a young, lanky paceman from India - Ishant Sharma. His footwork was tested severely as the Sharma constantly resorted to big inswingers to unsettle Ponting. He kept pegging away, till he got his prey finally for 46. That, was a moment of inspiration as Sharma had toiled hard for six overs going wicketless. In the mid-over conference, Sehwag made his point clear to Kumble asking the young man to put one last effort. That worked instantly, as Sharma produced an edge to first slip which Dravid made no mistake to pouch safely.
Hussey kept going in his usual pace - rotating the strike and stroking the odd boundary. Michael Clarke joined him after Ponting's fall and looked like a man with points to prove, after taking flak for his dip in form. He began on a positive note, displaying nimble footwork to Kumble as much as putting loose deliveries from the pacers. He and Hussey strung together a good partnership, before RP Singh produced another one to send the left-hander back. That perhaps set the ball rolling for the Indians as the Aussies lost their set batsman. Andrew Symonds walked into bat, in an untested territory - a pressure cooker scenario in the second innings, and set off on his usual bludgeoning style - a six and a four. But, that was all he could achieve as Billy Bowden took off his fingers in a flash. Life came a full circle for Symonds, as replays showed there was an inside edge as the ball thudded into his pads.
A moment of sheer inspiration
There was a short partnership mushrooming between Michael Clarke and Adam Gilchrist - but it took nothing short of an inspired chess-like move by Anil Kumble to set India going. He brought on Virender Sehwag for what turned out to be a massive period of play - with the man castling the dangerous Adam Gilchrist round his legs in his very first over. Then, the next over, one became two - as Sehwag snapped up Lee, Laxman holding on to a short-low catch at silly point. Australia jolted in the middle-order. Australia from 227/5 to 229/7.
Clarke then steered the lower-order with some handy shots, but couldn't do much as he ran out of partners. He kept scoring from one end, scoring a defiant fifty. Mitchell Johnson showed why he is no mug with the bat as he used the good old slog to grand effect. Clarke departed the scene for a superb 81 though in vain, as he was stumped by Dhoni off one that turned away from the right-hander.
A sting in the tail
India were flirting with a growing reputation of not being able to finish off the tail and that came to haunt them back again. As much as them, the Aussie tail has had its own image of strong tail-wagging since Ashes 2005. And it was one of those days when they almost lived up to that image. Stuart Clark and Mitchell Johnson came into bat with only one thing in their minds - defeat. But, what we saw was the bowlers having fun - going for every delivery, with an intention of clearing the ropes. They added a superb 73-run partnership to just about shake-up India's hopes. Johnson raced to a brilliant fifty filled with chancy-strokes and some stellar drives. Clark's stay in the middle came to an end when he edged one from Pathan to Dhoni and it came to an end at 31.
The finishing act
Just as everyone around was asking, "Whatever happened to the good old yorker !", RP Singh produced a nasty one to produce the moment for the visitors. It beats the bat totally and zoomed into middle and off-stump. What looked impossible and unlikely before four days, finally came true as India wrapped up the Test by 72 runs. Irfan Pathan, was quite righteously named the man of the match for his stellar all-round effort, that first ensured India removed the openers early twice - contributed some significant runs lower-down and as "nightwatchman" and just as the tail started wagging around, took that important wicket of Clark to seal the victory for the visitors.
All in all, a historic win for India - much in the mould of Johannesburg 2006. The Aussies, conscious of their image looked like playing as saints - and it wasn't just that the bully image was missing, but also Ricky Ponting's long lived ambitions to achieve the 17-consecutive Test wins. Now, the cricket bandwagon moves to Adelaide, where the Aussies will look to bounce back from this defeat, while India must be all keyed up to drag the momentum into the fourth Test and level the series 2-2.
Friday, January 18, 2008
Osama's son wants to be 'peace ambassador'
CAIRO, EGYPT: Omar Osama bin Laden bears a striking resemblance to his notorious father - except for the dreadlocks that dangle halfway down his back. Then there's the black leather biker jacket.
The 26-year-old does not renounce his father, Al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, but in an interview, he said there is better way to defend Islam than militancy: Omar wants to be an ``ambassador for peace'' between Muslims and the West.
Omar - one of bin Laden's 19 children - raised a tabloid storm last year when he married a 52-year-old British woman, Jane Felix-Browne, who took the name Zaina Alsabah. Now the couple say they want to be advocates, planning a 3,000-mile (4,825-kilometer) horse race across North Africa to draw attention to the cause of peace.
``It's about changing the ideas of the Western mind. A lot of people think Arabs - especially the bin Ladens, especially the sons of Osama - are all terrorists. This is not the truth,'' Omar said last week at a cafe in a Cairo shopping mall.
Of course, many may have a hard time getting their mind around the idea of ``bin Laden: peacenik.''
``Omar thinks he can be a negotiator,'' said Alsabah, who is trying to bring her husband to Britain. ``He's one of the only people who can do this in the world.''
Omar lived with the Al-Qaida leader in Sudan, then moved with him to Afghanistan in 1996.
There, Omar says he trained at an Al-Qaida camp but in 2000 he decided there must be another way and he left his father, returning to his homeland of Saudi Arabia.
``I don't want to be in that situation to just fight. I like to find another way and this other way may be like we do now, talking,'' he said in English.
He suggested his father did not oppose his leaving - and Alsabah interjected that Omar was courageous in breaking away, but neither elaborated.
Although there is no way to confirm the details he describes of his childhood and upbringing, the strong family resemblance and Omar's knowledge of Osama's family life have convinced many of his lineage.
``Omar Bin Laden is the son of Osama bin Laden and his first wife, Najwa,'' a US intelligence official said Thursday, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media. The official confirmed Omar was raised in Sudan and Afghanistan after his father was forced out of Saudi Arabia.
Omar and his wife insist they have not been bothered by Egyptian officials, who said Thursday that the terror leader's son did not pose a threat.
``He comes and goes just like any other tourist,'' said a security official, also speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media. ``He is taking a line that is totally different from him father.''
Omar said he hasn't seen or been in contact with his father since leaving Afghanistan. ``He doesn't have e-mail,'' Omar said. ``He doesn't take a telephone ... if he had something like this, they will find him through satellites.''
Omar doesn't criticize his father and says Osama bin Laden is just trying to defend the Islamic world.
``My father thinks he will be good for defending the Arab people and stop anyone from hurting the Arab or Muslim people any place in the world,'' he said, noting that the West didn't have a problem with his father when he was fighting the Russians in Afghanistan in the 1980s.
Omar is convinced a truce between the West and Al-Qaida is possible.
``My father is asking for a truce but I don't think there is any government (that) respects him. At the same time they do not respect him, why everywhere in the world, they want to fight him? There is a contradiction,'' he said.
Osama bin Laden, believed to be in hiding in the Pakistan-Afghan border region, offered a truce to Europe in a 2004 audiotape and a conditional truce to the United States in a 2006 message. In November, he called on European nations to pull out of Afghanistan in a message seen by some experts as an effort to reach out to Europe.
Singur land acquisition legal, says High Court
The Calcutta High Court on Friday rejected all petitions challenging the acquisition of land at Singur for the Tata Motors’ small car plant.
The High Court said that there are no illegalities in the land acquisition.
The verdict comes a week after Ratan Tata unveiled the people's car, Nano at an auto expo in New Delhi.
Earlier, petitioner Joydeep Mukherjee had moved the writ petition on February 9, 2007 challenging acquisition of the 997.11 acre at Singur in Hooghly district, about 40 km from the metropolis.
Mukherjee and 10 other individuals and associations, who joined the case as added petitioners, claimed the land had been acquired without following the provisions of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 and the Land Acquisition (Companies) Rules, 1963.
However, the state government told the court that it had gone by the rulebook in acquiring land at Singur for the Tata motors plant as also for ancillary industries.
The High Court said that there are no illegalities in the land acquisition.
The verdict comes a week after Ratan Tata unveiled the people's car, Nano at an auto expo in New Delhi.
Earlier, petitioner Joydeep Mukherjee had moved the writ petition on February 9, 2007 challenging acquisition of the 997.11 acre at Singur in Hooghly district, about 40 km from the metropolis.
Mukherjee and 10 other individuals and associations, who joined the case as added petitioners, claimed the land had been acquired without following the provisions of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 and the Land Acquisition (Companies) Rules, 1963.
However, the state government told the court that it had gone by the rulebook in acquiring land at Singur for the Tata motors plant as also for ancillary industries.
India paying back Australia in their own coin: Ranatunga
Having been a thorn in Australia's flesh during his playing days, former Sri Lanka skipper Arjuna Ranatunga cannot hide his glee as India gives Ricky Ponting and his men a taste of their own medicine.
"I think this is the first time after I gave it back that Australia is now being paid back in their own coin," an amused Ranatunga told reporters on Thursday.
Although he felt being head of the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), he should be diplomatic and politically correct, Ranatunga looked amused with Australia getting a tit-for-tat from the visiting Indian team in the ongoing series Down Under.
Sri Lanka's World Cup winning captain said over the last decade, there have been issues with the Australian cricket team but he advised India not to get distracted by their on-field antics and leave it to the boards of both the countries to resolve contentious matters.
"Whatever happened in Sydney was unpleasant but the Indian team should not lose their focus. They should leave it to the Board to sort out all these issues.
"When this kind of incidents happen, I think boards should step in to make things smooth," he said.
Although he himself once almost walked out with his team in the 1999 Adelaide Test when Muttiah Muralitharan was no-balled in the contentious match, Ranatunga said India did the right thing by continuing with the tour despite being the victim of some poor umpiring and the racism row involving Harbhajan Singh.
"I don't think pulling out would have been the right thing. I'm not a fan of that, though I almost did it in order to protect a colleague," he said.
The former captain said ICC should work closely with the Cricket Boards to address these issues. Ranatunga was happy that India was not taking it lying down, but he insisted sledging had no place in cricket.
"Now even Australia is also complaining. I think it's important for the administrators to clean up the game. I think they should stop shouting and sledging in the ground.
"Everyone should play the game in true spirit. Cricket has been a gentleman's game and it should remain so," he said.
His former teammate Aravinda de Silva felt some of the players from both sides did not look mature enough in the ill-tempered Sydney Test.
"I think they behaved like kids. The best way to prove a point is to respond with a solid performance. India should focus on the job at hand and forget everything else," he said.
The former middle order mainstay felt Australia had become unpopular champions of the game.
"I think their arrogance is to be blamed for that," said de Silva, who, along with Ranatunga, was in the capital as ambassador of Sri Lanka tourism. Ranatunga, meanwhile, advised all to take a cue from Lanka and involve former players in the running of the game.
"I always felt more and more cricketers, once they are through with their playing careers, should join the administration. We have Aravinda heading a cricket committee, comprising all former captains, which decides on cricketing issues. We don't allow officials take those calls.
"It's not just administration. I would like to see more and more former players as umpires and even curators," he said.
"I think this is the first time after I gave it back that Australia is now being paid back in their own coin," an amused Ranatunga told reporters on Thursday.
Although he felt being head of the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), he should be diplomatic and politically correct, Ranatunga looked amused with Australia getting a tit-for-tat from the visiting Indian team in the ongoing series Down Under.
Sri Lanka's World Cup winning captain said over the last decade, there have been issues with the Australian cricket team but he advised India not to get distracted by their on-field antics and leave it to the boards of both the countries to resolve contentious matters.
"Whatever happened in Sydney was unpleasant but the Indian team should not lose their focus. They should leave it to the Board to sort out all these issues.
"When this kind of incidents happen, I think boards should step in to make things smooth," he said.
Although he himself once almost walked out with his team in the 1999 Adelaide Test when Muttiah Muralitharan was no-balled in the contentious match, Ranatunga said India did the right thing by continuing with the tour despite being the victim of some poor umpiring and the racism row involving Harbhajan Singh.
"I don't think pulling out would have been the right thing. I'm not a fan of that, though I almost did it in order to protect a colleague," he said.
The former captain said ICC should work closely with the Cricket Boards to address these issues. Ranatunga was happy that India was not taking it lying down, but he insisted sledging had no place in cricket.
"Now even Australia is also complaining. I think it's important for the administrators to clean up the game. I think they should stop shouting and sledging in the ground.
"Everyone should play the game in true spirit. Cricket has been a gentleman's game and it should remain so," he said.
His former teammate Aravinda de Silva felt some of the players from both sides did not look mature enough in the ill-tempered Sydney Test.
"I think they behaved like kids. The best way to prove a point is to respond with a solid performance. India should focus on the job at hand and forget everything else," he said.
The former middle order mainstay felt Australia had become unpopular champions of the game.
"I think their arrogance is to be blamed for that," said de Silva, who, along with Ranatunga, was in the capital as ambassador of Sri Lanka tourism. Ranatunga, meanwhile, advised all to take a cue from Lanka and involve former players in the running of the game.
"I always felt more and more cricketers, once they are through with their playing careers, should join the administration. We have Aravinda heading a cricket committee, comprising all former captains, which decides on cricketing issues. We don't allow officials take those calls.
"It's not just administration. I would like to see more and more former players as umpires and even curators," he said.
Sony catches $1bn Indian Premier League cricket rights
Sports broadcaster Sony Max and sports rights company World Sport Group have jointly paid US$1.026bn for the rights to the Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket championship.
The deal gives the partnership shared rights to the series for 10 years, and brings with it a change of direction for Sony Max parent Sony Entertainment Television (SET), which previously backed the International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cup.
The change of heart follows the Indian cricket team's early exit from last year's ICC World Cup, which resulted in a significant financial loss for SET. Reports put SET's accumulated debts as high as US$100m.
And as a result of advertiser uncertainly over the prowess of the Indian cricket squad, coupled with the rising cost of ICC rights, SET has now turned to the IPL for its future cricket coverage.
The new arrangement gives World Sport Group the international media rights for internet, mobile and radio, with Sony Max bagging the South Asian TV rights to the competition, which begins on April 18.
Kunal Dasgupta, CEO of SET India, said: "We officially broadcast the ICC events for seven years, from 2000 to 2007. We are not interested in the next ICC events because it is becoming a little expensive. We have decided to go for the shorter version of 20:20 matches."
Deepika Padukone in race for best actress in Asian Film Awards
Latest Bollywood sensation Deepika Padukone has been nominated in the best actress category for her scintillating performance in the blockbuster Om Shanti Om at the second Asian Film Awards, organisers announced here today.
Padukone, who grabbed eyeballs with her performance in the Bollywood hit, will vie with Joan Chen of China (The Home Song Stories), Jeon Do-yeon of South Korea (Secret Sunshine), Kirin Kiki (Tokyo Tower: Mom and Me, and Sometimes Dad), Kim Yun-jin of Korea (Seven Days) and Tang Wei of Hong Kong (Lust, Caution) for the top award.
The winners will be announced at an awards ceremony here on March 17.
The model-turned actress made her debut in Om Shanti Om which also stars Shah Rukh Khan. The film is based on the theme of re-incarnation in which the protagonist attempts to rediscover the mystery of his demise and 'finds' Shanti, the love of his previous life.
Prior to entering Bollywood, Padukone, daughter of Badminton legend Prakash Padukone, was into modeling and has modeled for several well-known brands including International cosmetics brand Maybelline.
After Om Shanti Om, Deepika is being considered as top league actress and has already signed many big banner films including Yashraj Films' next with Ranbir Kapoor. She is also being considered as the top contendor to star opposite Rajnikanth in Shankar's 100 crore mega-movie, Robot.
Deepika recently won the Screen Best Debut (Female) award for Om Shanti Om.
Big B falls prey to pickpocket in Pocketmaar
Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan is slated to play a pickpocket's victim in a new film that will focus on the tragic consequences of what seems like a petty crime.
Pocketmaar, to be produced by filmmaker Ravi Chopra, is the story of a man who is robbed while carrying money to stave off a personal crisis.
"What may be seen as a small crime can have a shattering effect on the victim," said Chopra. "The focus of the film will be on the effect the crime has on the man's life."
"(It) will try and show that a crime is a crime - there's no big crime or small crime."
Chopra said Bachchan is keen to do the film and shooting for Pocketmaar could begin once the actor "overcomes the loss of his mother" who died last month.
Sensex continues to slide, loses 266 pts at opening
The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex remained weak at open by losing 266 points on Friday on sustained selling by funds in heavy-weight stocks such as Reliance Industries, ACC and ABB.
The 30-share index, which continued to slide in last four-day sessions, fell further by 266.59 points at 19,434.23 in first five minutes of trade.
Similarly, the wide-based National Stock Exchange's Nifty lost by 85.45 points at 5,827.75.
Marketmen said the overseas investors refrained from enlarging their positions in view of rising concerns of recession in the US.
They said the attention of general investors also continued towards the Reliance Power's IPO.
The 30-share index, which continued to slide in last four-day sessions, fell further by 266.59 points at 19,434.23 in first five minutes of trade.
Similarly, the wide-based National Stock Exchange's Nifty lost by 85.45 points at 5,827.75.
Marketmen said the overseas investors refrained from enlarging their positions in view of rising concerns of recession in the US.
They said the attention of general investors also continued towards the Reliance Power's IPO.
Hollywood strike 'nears end, as studios cave in
After a cancelled Golden Globes ceremony, a shut-down in production of America’s most popular TV shows and an estimated $1 billion of losses, the end of Hollywood’s crippling ten-week-old writers’ strike finally appeared to be in sight last night.
Hopes were raised when the Directors Guild of America, headed by the British former Coronation Street director Michael Apted, announced that it had reached a tentative agreement on the terms of its new contract, which will come into effect when the old one expires in June.
If the deal is signed - as seems likely - it will put pressure on the striking Writers Guild of America to end its current work-stoppage and agree to similar terms, saving next month’s Oscars ceremony from cancellation for the first time in its 80-year history.
The WGA’s contract with Hollywood’s studios ran out in November and the strike was called five days later, when talks between the two sides broke down acrimoniously, largely over a failure to agree on royalties for TV episodes and movies shown online. Since then, the WGA has reached temporary ‘strike waiver’ agreements with David Letterman’s production company, Worldwide Pants, and some independent movie studios, including Tom Cruise’s United Artists.
Other than that, there has been a complete stalemate in negotiations, with the WGA’s last talks with the studios breaking down on December 7.
The DGA’s agreement - which was worked out long in advance during private ‘back-channel’ discussions - will also provide a blueprint for the Screen Actors Guild, whose contract with the studios also ends in June.
So far, the writers and the actors have been united, with actors refusing to cross writers’ picket-lines to attend the Globes, hence the cancellation of the ceremony.
The most crucial part of last night’s DGA’s statement was that it had worked out a formula under which its members would be paid for TV episodes and movies ‘streamed’ on the internet.
“Two words describe this agreement - groundbreaking and substantial,” said Gil Cates, chairman of the Directors Guild of America’s negotiating committee. “There are no rollbacks of any kind.”
The studios, represented by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, put out their own statement yesterday, saying that “our industry’s creative talent will now participate financially in every emerging area of new media.”
It is thought that the deal increases both wages and so-called ‘residuals’ - payments for repeats - for each year of the contract.
It also gives the DGA jurisdiction over TV shows and movies created specifically for the internet and doubles royalties from iTunes downloads while establishing rates for streamed TV episodes and movies that are supported by embedded advertising.
The WGA will have to get the support of its 12,500 members, many of whom have suffered financially because of the strike, before ending the current industrial action.
Many writers are thought to be eager to get back to work, especially given the looming recession and the ongoing housing crisis, which has hit Los Angeles particularly hard. Members of the WGA range from the unemployed, who survive on residuals cheques, to the multimillionaire creators of America's most successful scripted TV franchises.
The DGA’s tentative agreement with the studios came only five days after formal talks began. It is thought that the directors spent $2 million researching the potential value of new media over the next decade, and held a series of preliminary meetings with key studio heads to establish a basis for the formal talks.
The DGA’s existing contract covers 13,000 members, including directors, assistant directors and unit production managers.
World Bank closes offices after bomb threat
The World Bank said on Thursday its security was investigating a bomb threat made by telephone and asked its staff at its Washington headquarters to stay home on Friday.
"The bank is working with law enforcement officials to determine the validity of the threat," the bank said in a statement.
"As a precautionary measure, Bank group management has decided to close all World Bank group leased and owned buildings in Washington on Friday," it added.
The poverty fighting institution located about a block from White House employs about 8,000 in at least seven buildings in downtown Washington. The bank's sister organization, the International Monetary Fund, said it would be open on Friday.
"The bank is working with law enforcement officials to determine the validity of the threat," the bank said in a statement.
"As a precautionary measure, Bank group management has decided to close all World Bank group leased and owned buildings in Washington on Friday," it added.
The poverty fighting institution located about a block from White House employs about 8,000 in at least seven buildings in downtown Washington. The bank's sister organization, the International Monetary Fund, said it would be open on Friday.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
'How I make money by taking loans'
We asked you to send in your experiences about the financial mistakes you made in 2007 and how you plan to make 2008 a financial success.
Here we present a strategy by Pune reader Anand K telling us how he makes money from the stock market by taking personal loans.
I want to share my experience of investing and savings using debt. Sounds alien? But true. Here it is how I am doing it since the last 6 months:
I am a software professional aged 30, married for last 2.5 years and my wife is also in the software profession.
Since the last two years I am into investment and share trading along with my job. I started from nowhere and I am a person who likes to take risks, manage risks and bring innovative ideas into reality by implementing them myself. So from the last two years I am into share trading and investing. But I never found a way which would give me sure money in the market.
The existence of my industry (IT) is not sure in future. What will happen to the IT industry in the next 5 years is not very clear right now. How long the India growth story will go on, is uncertain. Everything is dependent on monthly pay cheques. I have taken a 3 bedroom flat, for Rs 17 lakhs in Pune and there are other liabilities also. So, how do I manage all this?
I wanted to earn money from the stock market, sure money! After brain storming a lot, I prepared a framework, suitable for my risk appetite, financial position and investment period. Here is what I assumed before preparing my plan.
I fixed my investment horizon for the next 4 years starting from 1 Jan 2008. That is, I was prepared to lock in my investments in the stock markets till 2012.
Assumptions:
~ Software industry & my job will remain for the next 4 years
~ India's growth story will be intact for the next 4 years.
The base for these assumptions is pretty clear as the Indian government is planning projects in every sector like infrastructure, power, education, R&D with a horizon of 4-5 years.
I manage to save Rs 20k monthly (excluding my wife's income of Rs 10K) after paying all expenses from my monthly salary.
If I save the entire amount for 4 years, ie, 48 months, I will end up with Rs 9.6 lakhs with some interest on that @ 4 per cent per annum if I deposit this money in a savings account. (Inflation will eat some part of that also).
When I started I had a small corpus of Rs 1.5 lakhs as cash; I applied for a personal loan of Rs 2 lakhs @ 17 per cent per annum on a monthly reducing balance. This cost me 9.63 per cent flat rate annually.
For that loan I paid Rs 5,774 as installment every month (EMI). On the very first day I had an amount of Rs 3.5 lakhs in hand ready for investment in the stock market. My only aim was to beat the bank rate and inflation as many times and by as much as I could.
So I started booking profits after making a 3 per cent gain on each of my investment. Thus I set a goal of making Rs 300 for every Rs 10k invested per month. That is, Rs 3,000 for every Rs one lakh invested every month. That comes to around Rs 3,600 ie 36 per cent yearly. I did not bother about the stocks that I bought, be it a Reliance [Get Quote] or L&T, I sold it after making a profit of 3 per cent. And that profit went into my savings account. I strictly avoided day trading and F&O. So in the recent falls like the ones in September and October, I managed to recover my targets.
Please keep in mind here that I am not competing with the Sensex in terms of returns. That is not my goal. Sensex can return 200 per cent in a year... but my goal is to get 3 per cent monthly.
Now you will want to know how much brokerage I paid for Rs 300 profit. But I never bother about brokerages. At the end of every month I should earn Rs 300 net on my Rs 10k investment. That's all. We put money in bank FDs at 10 per cent; do we bother about their loan rates? They lend our FD money at the rate of anywhere from 12 per cent to 24 per cent. So why to bother about brokerages? That is their business, let them earn too.
And to conclude since the last 3 months I have recovered all my loan amount of Rs 2 lakhs and capitalised it (added to previous total of Rs 3.5 lakhs). Now my capital is Rs 5.5 lakhs today. I am getting another Rs 2 lakhs loan, taking the EMI to Rs 11,548 now. So out of my monthly savings of Rs 20k, Rs 11,548 goes to paying the EMI and the rest in a savings bank account. Now I have Rs 4 lakhs of loan and Rs 3.5 lakhs of my own, taking my capital to Rs 7.5 lakhs to play with in the next 48 months.
Calculate yourself the returns at 36 per cent annualised for 4 years on an investment of Rs 7.5 lakhs. (It takes Anand's annual returns to Rs 2.7 lakhs and after paying for the EMI of Rs 1,38,576 (Rs 11,548*12), the net that he would earn is Rs 1,31,424).
As far as trading for a gain of 3 per cent per month is concerned, my favourite stocks are Neyvelli Lignite, GSPL, JP Hydro, the entire Reliance pack, Kotak Mahindra Bank [Get Quote] & Jai Corp [Get Quote]. (higher the risk = higher the rewards).
Once again I would like to stress that my goal is to book profit at a minimum of 3 per cent in a month.
Whoever says leveraging (borrowing money from banks and investing it somewhere else, in this case, in stock market) is dangerous in stock market? As per my individual experience, not always! Sometimes it's smart way to earn money. Buy and hold is a time proven strategy, I know. But who has seen the future?
Disclaimer: This is a reader-driven feature. The views expressed by the readers are their own, and not that of Rediff.com. Rediff.com has not altered the material presented here and does not endorse it in any way.
Here we present a strategy by Pune reader Anand K telling us how he makes money from the stock market by taking personal loans.
I want to share my experience of investing and savings using debt. Sounds alien? But true. Here it is how I am doing it since the last 6 months:
I am a software professional aged 30, married for last 2.5 years and my wife is also in the software profession.
Since the last two years I am into investment and share trading along with my job. I started from nowhere and I am a person who likes to take risks, manage risks and bring innovative ideas into reality by implementing them myself. So from the last two years I am into share trading and investing. But I never found a way which would give me sure money in the market.
The existence of my industry (IT) is not sure in future. What will happen to the IT industry in the next 5 years is not very clear right now. How long the India growth story will go on, is uncertain. Everything is dependent on monthly pay cheques. I have taken a 3 bedroom flat, for Rs 17 lakhs in Pune and there are other liabilities also. So, how do I manage all this?
I wanted to earn money from the stock market, sure money! After brain storming a lot, I prepared a framework, suitable for my risk appetite, financial position and investment period. Here is what I assumed before preparing my plan.
I fixed my investment horizon for the next 4 years starting from 1 Jan 2008. That is, I was prepared to lock in my investments in the stock markets till 2012.
Assumptions:
~ Software industry & my job will remain for the next 4 years
~ India's growth story will be intact for the next 4 years.
The base for these assumptions is pretty clear as the Indian government is planning projects in every sector like infrastructure, power, education, R&D with a horizon of 4-5 years.
I manage to save Rs 20k monthly (excluding my wife's income of Rs 10K) after paying all expenses from my monthly salary.
If I save the entire amount for 4 years, ie, 48 months, I will end up with Rs 9.6 lakhs with some interest on that @ 4 per cent per annum if I deposit this money in a savings account. (Inflation will eat some part of that also).
When I started I had a small corpus of Rs 1.5 lakhs as cash; I applied for a personal loan of Rs 2 lakhs @ 17 per cent per annum on a monthly reducing balance. This cost me 9.63 per cent flat rate annually.
For that loan I paid Rs 5,774 as installment every month (EMI). On the very first day I had an amount of Rs 3.5 lakhs in hand ready for investment in the stock market. My only aim was to beat the bank rate and inflation as many times and by as much as I could.
So I started booking profits after making a 3 per cent gain on each of my investment. Thus I set a goal of making Rs 300 for every Rs 10k invested per month. That is, Rs 3,000 for every Rs one lakh invested every month. That comes to around Rs 3,600 ie 36 per cent yearly. I did not bother about the stocks that I bought, be it a Reliance [Get Quote] or L&T, I sold it after making a profit of 3 per cent. And that profit went into my savings account. I strictly avoided day trading and F&O. So in the recent falls like the ones in September and October, I managed to recover my targets.
Please keep in mind here that I am not competing with the Sensex in terms of returns. That is not my goal. Sensex can return 200 per cent in a year... but my goal is to get 3 per cent monthly.
Now you will want to know how much brokerage I paid for Rs 300 profit. But I never bother about brokerages. At the end of every month I should earn Rs 300 net on my Rs 10k investment. That's all. We put money in bank FDs at 10 per cent; do we bother about their loan rates? They lend our FD money at the rate of anywhere from 12 per cent to 24 per cent. So why to bother about brokerages? That is their business, let them earn too.
And to conclude since the last 3 months I have recovered all my loan amount of Rs 2 lakhs and capitalised it (added to previous total of Rs 3.5 lakhs). Now my capital is Rs 5.5 lakhs today. I am getting another Rs 2 lakhs loan, taking the EMI to Rs 11,548 now. So out of my monthly savings of Rs 20k, Rs 11,548 goes to paying the EMI and the rest in a savings bank account. Now I have Rs 4 lakhs of loan and Rs 3.5 lakhs of my own, taking my capital to Rs 7.5 lakhs to play with in the next 48 months.
Calculate yourself the returns at 36 per cent annualised for 4 years on an investment of Rs 7.5 lakhs. (It takes Anand's annual returns to Rs 2.7 lakhs and after paying for the EMI of Rs 1,38,576 (Rs 11,548*12), the net that he would earn is Rs 1,31,424).
As far as trading for a gain of 3 per cent per month is concerned, my favourite stocks are Neyvelli Lignite, GSPL, JP Hydro, the entire Reliance pack, Kotak Mahindra Bank [Get Quote] & Jai Corp [Get Quote]. (higher the risk = higher the rewards).
Once again I would like to stress that my goal is to book profit at a minimum of 3 per cent in a month.
Whoever says leveraging (borrowing money from banks and investing it somewhere else, in this case, in stock market) is dangerous in stock market? As per my individual experience, not always! Sometimes it's smart way to earn money. Buy and hold is a time proven strategy, I know. But who has seen the future?
Disclaimer: This is a reader-driven feature. The views expressed by the readers are their own, and not that of Rediff.com. Rediff.com has not altered the material presented here and does not endorse it in any way.
Bhutan bans import of poultry from India
Bhutan has banned the import of poultry and its products from India for an indefinite period following an outbreak of bird flu in West Bengal.
Chief Veterinary Officer Karma Tenzin said until India declares itself bird flu free, the ban would continue.
The ban came into effect on Wednesday.
"It's right across the border and we won't take any chances," he said.
Southwestern Bhutan shares its borders with West Bengal, where the administration has began culling of nearly four lakh birds in Birbhum and South Dinajpur districts.
According to Bhutan Agriculture and Food Regulatory Authority (BAFRA) records, Bhutan imports nearly 100 MT of processed chicken and 30,000 cartons of eggs from India annually.
Bhutan had last imposed a ban on Indian poultry products in July last year following an avian flu scare in Manipur. The ban was lifted in November.
Officials in the livestock department said so far they there are no reports of chickens dying in any of the poultry farms in Bhutan.
According to Sithar Dorji of BAFRA, rapid response teams, assisted by livestock officials, have been asked to step up surveillance at all entry points.
"Our inspectors have been informed to cancel all import licenses," Dorji said.
Chief Veterinary Officer Karma Tenzin said until India declares itself bird flu free, the ban would continue.
The ban came into effect on Wednesday.
"It's right across the border and we won't take any chances," he said.
Southwestern Bhutan shares its borders with West Bengal, where the administration has began culling of nearly four lakh birds in Birbhum and South Dinajpur districts.
According to Bhutan Agriculture and Food Regulatory Authority (BAFRA) records, Bhutan imports nearly 100 MT of processed chicken and 30,000 cartons of eggs from India annually.
Bhutan had last imposed a ban on Indian poultry products in July last year following an avian flu scare in Manipur. The ban was lifted in November.
Officials in the livestock department said so far they there are no reports of chickens dying in any of the poultry farms in Bhutan.
According to Sithar Dorji of BAFRA, rapid response teams, assisted by livestock officials, have been asked to step up surveillance at all entry points.
"Our inspectors have been informed to cancel all import licenses," Dorji said.
India slip one place to 144th in FIFA rankings
India slipped one place to 144th in the first FIFA rankings of the year, released on Wednesday.
India and Yemen swapped places from the 2007 year-end chart and this also means India slipping one place to 27th among the AFC countries.
Despite the one-place loss, it is much a better rank for India as compared to last year beginning when India were ranked 157th in January 2007 chart.
Maldives are the next best South Asian country on 153rd while Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal are at 163rd, 167th, 168th and 186th, respectively.
Among the Asian countries, Japan (34)continued to lead the pack followed by Iran (41 ), Korea(41 ), Australia (48 ) and Saudi Arabia (57).
Meanwhile, Argentina remained the world's highest-ranked team and the rest of the top-15 was also unchanged.
Brazil, Italy, Spain and Germany followed Argentina at the top-five while Czech Republic, France, Portugal, the Netherlands and Croatia make up the lower top-10.
India and Yemen swapped places from the 2007 year-end chart and this also means India slipping one place to 27th among the AFC countries.
Despite the one-place loss, it is much a better rank for India as compared to last year beginning when India were ranked 157th in January 2007 chart.
Maldives are the next best South Asian country on 153rd while Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal are at 163rd, 167th, 168th and 186th, respectively.
Among the Asian countries, Japan (34)continued to lead the pack followed by Iran (41 ), Korea(41 ), Australia (48 ) and Saudi Arabia (57).
Meanwhile, Argentina remained the world's highest-ranked team and the rest of the top-15 was also unchanged.
Brazil, Italy, Spain and Germany followed Argentina at the top-five while Czech Republic, France, Portugal, the Netherlands and Croatia make up the lower top-10.
Sharapova too strong for comback mum Davenport
Fifth seed Maria Sharapova overwhelmed Lindsay Davenport 6-1, 6-3 in the Australian Open second round on Wednesday to bring the US tennis mum's Grand Slam comeback to a juddering halt.
A match expected to be a hard-fought slugfest between two of the biggest hitters in the game became a one-sided affair as an intensely-focused Sharapova rattled Davenport with an early onslaught.
The glamorous Russian said she had to be at the top of her game against three-time Grand Slam champion Davenport, who has shown outstanding form since returning to the tour in September less than four months having a baby.
"I approached it like it was a final ever since I took a peek at the draw and saw that Lindsay was my second round," the Florida-based 20-year-old said.
"From the day I found out I might play her I started working towards her game. I wanted my coach to hit the ball as hard as he can for five days because she's one of the biggest hitters out there."
Sharapova blasted an ace in the first game, setting out to dominate from start of a match believed to be the first time two former world number ones and multiple Grand Slam winners have met so early in a major.
Sania enters third round of Australian Open
India's top tennis player Sania Mirza on Thursday sailed into the third round of the Australian Open tennis tournament here with a three-set win over unseeded Timea Bacsinszky of Switzerland.
World number 31 Sania won 6-1, 4-6, 7-5 in one hour and 44 minutes. She prevailed despite committing six double faults, though her first serve was quite successful. The Hyderabadi won 35 points out of 52 on her first serve for a 67 per cent success rate.
India Reaches 297-6 Against Australia in Third Cricket Test
India lost two late wickets to close on 297-6 against record-chasing Australia on the opening day of the third cricket Test in Perth.
Rahul Dravid appeared set for his 25th Test century before top-edging Andrew Symonds while on 93, the 10th time he has been dismissed in the 90s. VVS Laxman was then caught on 27.
India had earlier rallied from 59-2 with a 139-run partnership from Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar. It lost four wickets in the last session after reaching 198-2 after tea.
The Australians are seeking a record 17th straight Test win. Ricky Ponting's top-ranked team tied the mark of Steve Waugh's Australian side by taking a 2-0 series lead in Sydney.
Mitchell Johnson made the breakthrough, removing Virender Sehwag for 29 when the batsman edged to wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist. India added only two more runs before Wasim Jaffer edged a Brett Lee delivery to Gilchrist for 16.
Dravid and Tendulkar, who made 71, steadied the innings before Lee struck again, trapping Tendulkar leg-before-wicket from a short ball which television replays showed may have gone over the stumps.
Mike Hussey took a diving catch to dismiss Sourav Ganguly and give Johnson his second wicket. Lee finished the day with 3- 64 after Laxman hit the ball to Shaun Tait.
Pace Attack
Australia made two changes to the side that won the second match in the penultimate over. Chris Rogers made his debut in place of injured opener Matthew Hayden, while Tait replaced spinner Brad Hogg, giving the Australians an all-pace bowling attack.
India recalled attacking opener Sehwag at the expense of Yuvraj Singh, with Dravid dropping to No. 3.
Harbhajan Singh, whose appeal against a three-Test ban is scheduled after the four-match series, made way for paceman Irfan Pathan, even though the spinner is eligible to play until his appeal is heard.
Harbhajan's ban for making a racist remark was disputed by Indian officials, who also accused Australia of unsporting behavior and criticized umpire Steve Bucknor after the second Test. Bucknor was later replaced for this match.
India two days ago dropped a complaint against Hogg, whom it had accused of using offensive language during the second Test. The team said the move would ``help create a congenial atmosphere'' for the remainder of the series after friction between the sides.
Rahul Dravid appeared set for his 25th Test century before top-edging Andrew Symonds while on 93, the 10th time he has been dismissed in the 90s. VVS Laxman was then caught on 27.
India had earlier rallied from 59-2 with a 139-run partnership from Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar. It lost four wickets in the last session after reaching 198-2 after tea.
The Australians are seeking a record 17th straight Test win. Ricky Ponting's top-ranked team tied the mark of Steve Waugh's Australian side by taking a 2-0 series lead in Sydney.
Mitchell Johnson made the breakthrough, removing Virender Sehwag for 29 when the batsman edged to wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist. India added only two more runs before Wasim Jaffer edged a Brett Lee delivery to Gilchrist for 16.
Dravid and Tendulkar, who made 71, steadied the innings before Lee struck again, trapping Tendulkar leg-before-wicket from a short ball which television replays showed may have gone over the stumps.
Mike Hussey took a diving catch to dismiss Sourav Ganguly and give Johnson his second wicket. Lee finished the day with 3- 64 after Laxman hit the ball to Shaun Tait.
Pace Attack
Australia made two changes to the side that won the second match in the penultimate over. Chris Rogers made his debut in place of injured opener Matthew Hayden, while Tait replaced spinner Brad Hogg, giving the Australians an all-pace bowling attack.
India recalled attacking opener Sehwag at the expense of Yuvraj Singh, with Dravid dropping to No. 3.
Harbhajan Singh, whose appeal against a three-Test ban is scheduled after the four-match series, made way for paceman Irfan Pathan, even though the spinner is eligible to play until his appeal is heard.
Harbhajan's ban for making a racist remark was disputed by Indian officials, who also accused Australia of unsporting behavior and criticized umpire Steve Bucknor after the second Test. Bucknor was later replaced for this match.
India two days ago dropped a complaint against Hogg, whom it had accused of using offensive language during the second Test. The team said the move would ``help create a congenial atmosphere'' for the remainder of the series after friction between the sides.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Reliance Power says IPO fully subscribed in first minute
The much-awaited Reliance Power Initial Public Offering, the country's largest IPO hit the markets today.
The issue, billed as the largest IPO ever, is already oversubscribed 4.5 times on opening.
Anil Dhirubhai Ambani and Reliance Energy are contributing Rs 1440 crore for this IPO, which is priced within the band of Rs 405-450/share.
The IPO has a net issue of Rs 22.8 crore after subtracting the promoters’ contribution. And it is expected to raise Rs. 11,700 crore.
The IPO has attracted a lot of attention both because of the ADAG groups track record and because of the size of the IPO.
Rel Power may list at Rs 1,000
Retail as well institutional investor interest is very high for the Rs 10,260 crore initial public offering (IPO) of Reliance Power, which opens for subscription on Tuesday.
“I am applying for the Reliance Power IPO to the fullest limit allowed to retail investors. It is a Reliance company and a sure bet,” said an investor who wished not to be named. The brand Reliance and Ambani is what is creating the frenzy and investors are not keen on looking at the fundamentals or finer details of the issue.
The grey market premium for the IPO is at Rs 450-500 and marketmen hope for a listing price of Rs 950-1,000. Brokerages are flooded with investor queries on loan facilities for subscribing to the biggest IPO in the country, and at the retail level there is a marketing drive that has not been witnessed in the recent past.
Market experts say the issue is overpriced, as Reliance Power will start earning only after its first generation unit —phase I of the 600 MW Rosa Power project in Uttar Pradesh — goes on stream by December 2009. Until then, at zero earnings, the stock, no matter at what price, will be trading at an effective price-to-earnings multiple (P/E) of infinity.
"National Thermal Power Corporation is the least valued stock in the power pack at a P/E of 30.94. Reliance Energy is trading at a PE of 65 and Tata Power at 60.26. However, the Reliance Power IPO may be a story similar to that of Reliance Petroleum, which hovered at low levels after issue and started rallying recently," said Alex Mathews, research head of Geojit Financial Services.
Though the issue is overpriced, it still may well be of the kind to sell on listing day to exit with substantial gains.
“I am applying for the Reliance Power IPO to the fullest limit allowed to retail investors. It is a Reliance company and a sure bet,” said an investor who wished not to be named. The brand Reliance and Ambani is what is creating the frenzy and investors are not keen on looking at the fundamentals or finer details of the issue.
The grey market premium for the IPO is at Rs 450-500 and marketmen hope for a listing price of Rs 950-1,000. Brokerages are flooded with investor queries on loan facilities for subscribing to the biggest IPO in the country, and at the retail level there is a marketing drive that has not been witnessed in the recent past.
Market experts say the issue is overpriced, as Reliance Power will start earning only after its first generation unit —phase I of the 600 MW Rosa Power project in Uttar Pradesh — goes on stream by December 2009. Until then, at zero earnings, the stock, no matter at what price, will be trading at an effective price-to-earnings multiple (P/E) of infinity.
"National Thermal Power Corporation is the least valued stock in the power pack at a P/E of 30.94. Reliance Energy is trading at a PE of 65 and Tata Power at 60.26. However, the Reliance Power IPO may be a story similar to that of Reliance Petroleum, which hovered at low levels after issue and started rallying recently," said Alex Mathews, research head of Geojit Financial Services.
Though the issue is overpriced, it still may well be of the kind to sell on listing day to exit with substantial gains.
Sehwag may open at WACA
PERTH: Had Gary Kirsten been in charge of the Indian team in Australia, Rahul Dravid would not have had to open the innings in Melbourne and Sydney. The former South African opener, who linked up with the team here on Sunday, will be advising the team management as a consultant and though he may not have the last word in selection matters, his voice will be heard with respect by skipper Anil Kumble.
Asked whether India should go in with makeshift openers, Kirsten said: "Obviously, we have options in that. At a very informal level, after today we will have little more discussion about what to look at, but my personal opinion is that specialists in specialist positions is the way to go."
Kirsten hinted that Sehwag, who got a hundred in the last game, may get the nod to open the innings, especially as he has the respect of the Australians in the way he plays. "I guess, Sehwag will become a factor and Rahul is certainly suited and more comfortable in the middle-order," Kirsten said.
The South African was not sure whether India would go in with two spinners on a fast and hard WACA wicket: "Two spinners are unlikely at WACA but Harbhajan is one of the strengths of this Indian team. We have identified that members of the lower order should contribute more with the bat and Harbhajan did it well in Sydney. So it will be a tough decision to keep him out."
Kirsten will also be working very closely with bowling coach Venkatesh Prasad in advising the bowlers about the right length to bowl on the Perth wicket. He will also be talking to the pacers about bowling into the wind.
Australia, on the other hand, is still sweating over the fitness of opener Matthew Hayden, who was put through his paces by physio Alex Contouris on Monday. Aussies have called up Chris Rogers as a cover for Hayden, but want to give the latter more time to get fit for a match that could go into history books as Ricky Ponting men look to notch up their 17th successive Test win.
Adam Gilchrist reckons Hayden has more than 50 per cent chance of playing. "It must be pretty frustrating for him. He is 100 per cent fit to do most of the things he may be required to do in a match, but there are only a few things he still can’t do properly yet, so we will give him maximum time to recover," Gichrist said.
One thing is almost certain, though. Australia will go into the Perth Test without a frontline spinner with Brad Hogg likely to make way for speedster Shaun Tait, who was seen bowling at full tilt in the nets.
Asked whether India should go in with makeshift openers, Kirsten said: "Obviously, we have options in that. At a very informal level, after today we will have little more discussion about what to look at, but my personal opinion is that specialists in specialist positions is the way to go."
Kirsten hinted that Sehwag, who got a hundred in the last game, may get the nod to open the innings, especially as he has the respect of the Australians in the way he plays. "I guess, Sehwag will become a factor and Rahul is certainly suited and more comfortable in the middle-order," Kirsten said.
The South African was not sure whether India would go in with two spinners on a fast and hard WACA wicket: "Two spinners are unlikely at WACA but Harbhajan is one of the strengths of this Indian team. We have identified that members of the lower order should contribute more with the bat and Harbhajan did it well in Sydney. So it will be a tough decision to keep him out."
Kirsten will also be working very closely with bowling coach Venkatesh Prasad in advising the bowlers about the right length to bowl on the Perth wicket. He will also be talking to the pacers about bowling into the wind.
Australia, on the other hand, is still sweating over the fitness of opener Matthew Hayden, who was put through his paces by physio Alex Contouris on Monday. Aussies have called up Chris Rogers as a cover for Hayden, but want to give the latter more time to get fit for a match that could go into history books as Ricky Ponting men look to notch up their 17th successive Test win.
Adam Gilchrist reckons Hayden has more than 50 per cent chance of playing. "It must be pretty frustrating for him. He is 100 per cent fit to do most of the things he may be required to do in a match, but there are only a few things he still can’t do properly yet, so we will give him maximum time to recover," Gichrist said.
One thing is almost certain, though. Australia will go into the Perth Test without a frontline spinner with Brad Hogg likely to make way for speedster Shaun Tait, who was seen bowling at full tilt in the nets.
Reliance Power kicks off record $3 bln IPO
Reliance Power launches its $3 billion initial public offering, set to be India's biggest, on Tuesday, kicking off a busy period for capital raising in the booming economy.
[Reliance Power says its IPO has been fully subscribed in first minute, initial reports said.]
Reliance Power plans to build power plants across India using funds raised by selling 10 per cent equity in the firm, which is 50 percent owned by utility Reliance Energy Ltd.
Analysts say the issue is likely to get an enthusiastic response as the Indian stock market, revved by a four-year record-breaking bull run and strong flows of foreign funds, has attracted hordes of retail and institutional investors.
Indian IPO volumes soared to a record in 2007 when new listings raised $8.3 billion from 91 issues, including real estate firm DLF's $2.3 billion issue, which is so far India's biggest IPO, according to data from Thomson Financial.
Billionaire Anil Ambani's Reliance Power is poised to overtake DLF, helped by investors' faith in the family name as a result of the group of companies set up by his father, legendary business tycoon Dhirubhai Ambani.
The group was split in 2005 between Anil Ambani, who has interests in telecoms, financials, media and power sectors, and his brother Mukesh, who controls India's top listed firm, oil and petrochemicals giant Reliance Industries.
"The IPO is going to be very well received in the market, looking at the group's aspirations and because investors have faith in their execution capabilities," said Nikunj Doshi, Investment Manager at Envision Capital.
Indian companies are expected to raise $15.8 billion from 35 IPOs issues this year, almost twice as much as the record in 2007, according to Thomson Financial data.
"The markets are doing very well and investors are getting good returns. There is a fair amount of investor appetite for IPOs," said Ved Prakash Chaturvedi, managing director at Tata Mutual Fund.
The benchmark index of the Bombay Stock Exchange rose 47.1 per cent in 2007, recording its strongest growth in four years. It rose nearly 73 per cent in 2003, 13 per cent in 2004, 42 per cent in 2005 and 46.7 per cent in 2006.
In comparison, South Korea's Composite Stock Price Index gained 32 percent, China's Shanghai Composite Index soared 97 per cent and Japan's Nikkei fell 11 per cent in 2007.
[Reliance Power says its IPO has been fully subscribed in first minute, initial reports said.]
Reliance Power plans to build power plants across India using funds raised by selling 10 per cent equity in the firm, which is 50 percent owned by utility Reliance Energy Ltd.
Analysts say the issue is likely to get an enthusiastic response as the Indian stock market, revved by a four-year record-breaking bull run and strong flows of foreign funds, has attracted hordes of retail and institutional investors.
Indian IPO volumes soared to a record in 2007 when new listings raised $8.3 billion from 91 issues, including real estate firm DLF's $2.3 billion issue, which is so far India's biggest IPO, according to data from Thomson Financial.
Billionaire Anil Ambani's Reliance Power is poised to overtake DLF, helped by investors' faith in the family name as a result of the group of companies set up by his father, legendary business tycoon Dhirubhai Ambani.
The group was split in 2005 between Anil Ambani, who has interests in telecoms, financials, media and power sectors, and his brother Mukesh, who controls India's top listed firm, oil and petrochemicals giant Reliance Industries.
"The IPO is going to be very well received in the market, looking at the group's aspirations and because investors have faith in their execution capabilities," said Nikunj Doshi, Investment Manager at Envision Capital.
Indian companies are expected to raise $15.8 billion from 35 IPOs issues this year, almost twice as much as the record in 2007, according to Thomson Financial data.
"The markets are doing very well and investors are getting good returns. There is a fair amount of investor appetite for IPOs," said Ved Prakash Chaturvedi, managing director at Tata Mutual Fund.
The benchmark index of the Bombay Stock Exchange rose 47.1 per cent in 2007, recording its strongest growth in four years. It rose nearly 73 per cent in 2003, 13 per cent in 2004, 42 per cent in 2005 and 46.7 per cent in 2006.
In comparison, South Korea's Composite Stock Price Index gained 32 percent, China's Shanghai Composite Index soared 97 per cent and Japan's Nikkei fell 11 per cent in 2007.
Monday, January 14, 2008
Sania hopes to prove herself at Australian Open
An "upset" Sania Mirza would look to improve on her performance at the big stage as she begins her campaign in the year's first Grand Slam -- the Australian Open-- against Uzbek wildcard Iroda Tulyaganova in Melbourne.
Coming out of injury, which cut short her season last year, Sania had not had the best of starts in 2008 with an average outing at the Hopman Cup, winning one and losing her two singles matches.
She then reached the quarterfinals of the Tier IV Moorilla Hobart International by overcoming two easy opponents before losing to Italian Flavia Pennetta.
Adding to her problems is the flag controversy, which has reportedly upset the Indian tennis star to the extent that she has started to think over her tennis career.
Sania will have to forget the off-field issues to prove her mettle at the big stage, where she faces the best in the game. If she plays her best tennis, reaching the third round at Melbourne Park should not be a problem.
However, much would also depend on Sania's fitness as she suffered cramps in the event at Hobart. She opens her campaign against the 26-year-old Tulyaganova, who perhaps is past her best years.
The Uzbek girl was among the top 20 players at one time but that was way back in 2001. She is currently ranked 317 on the WTA charts while Sania is just outside the top 30 mark.
So getting past Tulyaganova and a possible second round opponent in Sophie Ferguson, ranked 176 in the world, should not be a problem for Sania on the new Plexicushion surface, which she claims suits her style of play.
Blue in colour, Plexicushion replaces the 20-year-old Rebound Ace surface, which was faster than the new one. Sania had said the new surface is similar to the courts at the US Open, where she has done well. Progress to the third round would mean a possible match-up with eight-seeded American Venus Williams.
Coming out of injury, which cut short her season last year, Sania had not had the best of starts in 2008 with an average outing at the Hopman Cup, winning one and losing her two singles matches.
She then reached the quarterfinals of the Tier IV Moorilla Hobart International by overcoming two easy opponents before losing to Italian Flavia Pennetta.
Adding to her problems is the flag controversy, which has reportedly upset the Indian tennis star to the extent that she has started to think over her tennis career.
Sania will have to forget the off-field issues to prove her mettle at the big stage, where she faces the best in the game. If she plays her best tennis, reaching the third round at Melbourne Park should not be a problem.
However, much would also depend on Sania's fitness as she suffered cramps in the event at Hobart. She opens her campaign against the 26-year-old Tulyaganova, who perhaps is past her best years.
The Uzbek girl was among the top 20 players at one time but that was way back in 2001. She is currently ranked 317 on the WTA charts while Sania is just outside the top 30 mark.
So getting past Tulyaganova and a possible second round opponent in Sophie Ferguson, ranked 176 in the world, should not be a problem for Sania on the new Plexicushion surface, which she claims suits her style of play.
Blue in colour, Plexicushion replaces the 20-year-old Rebound Ace surface, which was faster than the new one. Sania had said the new surface is similar to the courts at the US Open, where she has done well. Progress to the third round would mean a possible match-up with eight-seeded American Venus Williams.
Show courage against Aussie pacers, Kirsten advises Indians
India's coach-designate Gary Kirsten has prepared a document for the team to counter the bouncy track at the WACA where the conditions will be "mentally more demanding" for the batsmen.
"It takes a lot of courage to get into position on bouncy wicket to be successful. More than the technical it's the mental side and I am sure Indian batsmen are aware of it," said Kirsten as he faced his first press conference in India colours.
The former South African opener revealed that he has prepared a document for the Indian team where he has put down his experience of travelling to this part of the world.
"I have put together a document on touring Australia...It is how to go about doing it. There is a definite style of playing technically on bouncy wickets.
"At WACA, it's a very tough cricketing environment. There is never an easy game and it's mentally very demanding. But the Australians also say it's the best place to bat. One needs to brace the challenge and give everything you have got.
"I guess it's a case of looking at the glass that is half full and not half vacant," he said. Kirsten believed that more than any other nation, Australia tests the character of a cricketer to the fullest.
"It's a mental battle. When you come to Australia you could be sure they would leave no stone unturned. It tests you as a person, yes you got to have skills but it you can go by skill only up to a point," Kirsten said. "You need to have a strong character. In Australia, you are fully examined."
From what he has seen in a brief interaction with the Indian team, the visitors want to put the controversy of recent days behind and get on with the game.
"They are two cricket-mad countries, there is a lot of emotion flying around, lot of intensity. Whatever has happened in recent days has been sad. "The game has changed so much in recent years. It's all about performance, all about winning and sometimes players step outside the line. "Sometimes under pressure you can make wrong choices. However, it is brave to stand up and accept it. At the end of the day it's the players who can sort this issue out. They are the custodians of the game which is bigger than team, individuals."
On India's choice of batsmen for the openers' slots, Kirsten said Virender Sehwag should open the innings while Rahul Dravid should go back to his reputed middle order position.
"I do feel there are specialist positions...Sehwag has just hit a big hundred and has the respect of the Australians. Rahul Dravid on the other hand has been hugely successful as a middle order batsman," Kirsten said.
"It takes a lot of courage to get into position on bouncy wicket to be successful. More than the technical it's the mental side and I am sure Indian batsmen are aware of it," said Kirsten as he faced his first press conference in India colours.
The former South African opener revealed that he has prepared a document for the Indian team where he has put down his experience of travelling to this part of the world.
"I have put together a document on touring Australia...It is how to go about doing it. There is a definite style of playing technically on bouncy wickets.
"At WACA, it's a very tough cricketing environment. There is never an easy game and it's mentally very demanding. But the Australians also say it's the best place to bat. One needs to brace the challenge and give everything you have got.
"I guess it's a case of looking at the glass that is half full and not half vacant," he said. Kirsten believed that more than any other nation, Australia tests the character of a cricketer to the fullest.
"It's a mental battle. When you come to Australia you could be sure they would leave no stone unturned. It tests you as a person, yes you got to have skills but it you can go by skill only up to a point," Kirsten said. "You need to have a strong character. In Australia, you are fully examined."
From what he has seen in a brief interaction with the Indian team, the visitors want to put the controversy of recent days behind and get on with the game.
"They are two cricket-mad countries, there is a lot of emotion flying around, lot of intensity. Whatever has happened in recent days has been sad. "The game has changed so much in recent years. It's all about performance, all about winning and sometimes players step outside the line. "Sometimes under pressure you can make wrong choices. However, it is brave to stand up and accept it. At the end of the day it's the players who can sort this issue out. They are the custodians of the game which is bigger than team, individuals."
On India's choice of batsmen for the openers' slots, Kirsten said Virender Sehwag should open the innings while Rahul Dravid should go back to his reputed middle order position.
"I do feel there are specialist positions...Sehwag has just hit a big hundred and has the respect of the Australians. Rahul Dravid on the other hand has been hugely successful as a middle order batsman," Kirsten said.
Kolkata fire continues to rage
KOLKATA: Fire continued to rage in the 13th storeyed Nandaram Market building in Burrabazar area here, the biggest wholesale market in the country, where the blaze destroyed about 3000 shops housed in several buildings since early Saturday.
Several cracks have appeared in the front part of the Nandaram Market building which have slightly leaned to its left and flames were seen raging from the top few floors, Commissioner of Police Gautam Mohan Chakraborty said.
But engineers at the site were of the opinion that it would not immediately collapse, he said adding that residents of nearby areas were moved to safer places.
Chakraborty said he was hopeful that personnel of the Army and fire brigade would be able to bring the fire under control during the day.
The intense heat generated by the fire was absorbing the water sprayed and causing the flames to spread, he said adding what was needed was continuous supply of water.
He ruled out use of foam to douse the fire as it is used if petrochemical products are stored nearby. An explosion, probably caused by diesel stacked in the generator room in the 13th floor of Nandaram market, occurred Sunday evening.
The police commissioner said no more explosions were reported during the night. All roads in the area were remained closed for transport with over 50 fire tenders, including those of the Army and Air Force, trying to douse the fire.
Several cracks have appeared in the front part of the Nandaram Market building which have slightly leaned to its left and flames were seen raging from the top few floors, Commissioner of Police Gautam Mohan Chakraborty said.
But engineers at the site were of the opinion that it would not immediately collapse, he said adding that residents of nearby areas were moved to safer places.
Chakraborty said he was hopeful that personnel of the Army and fire brigade would be able to bring the fire under control during the day.
The intense heat generated by the fire was absorbing the water sprayed and causing the flames to spread, he said adding what was needed was continuous supply of water.
He ruled out use of foam to douse the fire as it is used if petrochemical products are stored nearby. An explosion, probably caused by diesel stacked in the generator room in the 13th floor of Nandaram market, occurred Sunday evening.
The police commissioner said no more explosions were reported during the night. All roads in the area were remained closed for transport with over 50 fire tenders, including those of the Army and Air Force, trying to douse the fire.
Ponting admits to making mistakes in Sydney Test
The Australian team made a couple of mistakes on the field in the controversial second Test against India, Australia captain Ricky Ponting has admitted.
The fallout from the Test, which Australia won by 122 runs, included India captain Anil Kumble accusing the Australians of not playing within the spirit of the game, while Ponting faced calls for his sacking.
The Australian team have received support from numerous other international players for their hard-nosed attitude to the game, though Ponting said the team had examined aspects of their behaviour and reaffirmed their pledge to the spirit of cricket.
However Ponting, writing in his column in Monday's Australian newspaper, said there had been two incidents on the field that his side could have handled better.
"I know when I was given out in the first innings in Sydney I should have left straight away instead of hanging around for a few seconds, and I know I should not have lobbed my bat into the dressing room," Ponting wrote.
"Michael Clarke also knows that he should have gone straight away too, after cutting the ball to first slip.
"He knows he did the wrong thing but at the time he was just shocked at how he had got out first ball.
"I believe there are no glaring issues we need to address, but when they are all added together in the heat of such a tense and dramatic final day, they caused a reaction, so we need to tighten up on how we play.
"We are very keen to ensure we get the balance of how we play the game right so we can focus clearly on another very big match coming up."
Ponting said he was disappointed the result in Sydney, where Clarke took three wickets in the penultimate over to snatch an improbable victory, had since been overshadowed by the fall out.
Afterwards, India spinner Harbhajan Singh was banned for three matches for a racist remark, umpire Steve Bucknor was sacked from standing in the third Test and the Indian Cricket Board threatened to abandon the tour.
The third Test begins on Wednesday in Perth. Australia have a 2-0 lead after winning the first Test in Melbourne by 337 runs and the match in Sydney by 122 runs.
The fallout from the Test, which Australia won by 122 runs, included India captain Anil Kumble accusing the Australians of not playing within the spirit of the game, while Ponting faced calls for his sacking.
The Australian team have received support from numerous other international players for their hard-nosed attitude to the game, though Ponting said the team had examined aspects of their behaviour and reaffirmed their pledge to the spirit of cricket.
However Ponting, writing in his column in Monday's Australian newspaper, said there had been two incidents on the field that his side could have handled better.
"I know when I was given out in the first innings in Sydney I should have left straight away instead of hanging around for a few seconds, and I know I should not have lobbed my bat into the dressing room," Ponting wrote.
"Michael Clarke also knows that he should have gone straight away too, after cutting the ball to first slip.
"He knows he did the wrong thing but at the time he was just shocked at how he had got out first ball.
"I believe there are no glaring issues we need to address, but when they are all added together in the heat of such a tense and dramatic final day, they caused a reaction, so we need to tighten up on how we play.
"We are very keen to ensure we get the balance of how we play the game right so we can focus clearly on another very big match coming up."
Ponting said he was disappointed the result in Sydney, where Clarke took three wickets in the penultimate over to snatch an improbable victory, had since been overshadowed by the fall out.
Afterwards, India spinner Harbhajan Singh was banned for three matches for a racist remark, umpire Steve Bucknor was sacked from standing in the third Test and the Indian Cricket Board threatened to abandon the tour.
The third Test begins on Wednesday in Perth. Australia have a 2-0 lead after winning the first Test in Melbourne by 337 runs and the match in Sydney by 122 runs.
Record crowds surge to expo on Nano Sunday
Ratan Tata’s people’s car gave the Auto Expo its busiest day in nine years of existence, drawing a crushing 1.3 lakh people to Pragati Maidan on what could justifiably be described as Nano Sunday.
They came in their thousands, from Delhi, Haryana and UP — riding cars, buses, the Metro, and even tractors and tongas. They filled Bhairon Marg and Mathura Road, and set off traffic snarls that stopped Delhi at several places.
Jumman Khan and his family of six rode their tonga to Pragati Maidan from Old Delhi. “We wanted to see the lakhtakia. I will buy it when it is launched. This car will make my dreams of owning a car come true, anyway my horse is getting too old,” he said, grinning toothily. Someone in his mohalla was already collecting Rs-5,000 “booking deposits” for the Nano, he said.
Gurpal Singh, deputy director general of CII, said, “There is no denying in the fact that footfalls have been highest this year, and Sunday has broken all records. People are visiting all the stalls at the expo, but the main crowd puller is the Nano.”
The Small Wonder has triggered a frenzy the Trade Fair, India’s biggest annual public exhibition, would be proud of. Trade Fair 2007 attracted 30 lakh people over 14 days.
Ratan Tata’s people’s car gave the Auto Expo its busiest day in nine years of existence, drawing a crushing 1.3 lakh people to Pragati Maidan on what could justifiably be described as Nano Sunday.
They came in their thousands, from Delhi, Haryana and UP — riding cars, buses, the Metro, and even tractors and tongas. They filled Bhairon Marg and Mathura Road, and set off traffic snarls that stopped Delhi at several places.
Jumman Khan and his family of six rode their tonga to Pragati Maidan from Old Delhi. “We wanted to see the lakhtakia. I will buy it when it is launched. This car will make my dreams of owning a car come true, anyway my horse is getting too old,” he said, grinning toothily. Someone in his mohalla was already collecting Rs-5,000 “booking deposits” for the Nano, he said.
Gurpal Singh, deputy director general of CII, said, “There is no denying in the fact that footfalls have been highest this year, and Sunday has broken all records. People are visiting all the stalls at the expo, but the main crowd puller is the Nano.”
The Small Wonder has triggered a frenzy the Trade Fair, India’s biggest annual public exhibition, would be proud of. Trade Fair 2007 attracted 30 lakh people over 14 days.
Metro ridership at the Pragati Maidan station has soared over the weekend. A total 80,000 people used the station on Saturday, eight times more than ‘normal’ Saturdays; on Sunday, the number had reached 60,000 by 8 pm, eight to 10 times the normal Sunday ridership at the station.
Metro ridership at the Pragati Maidan station has soared over the weekend. A total 80,000 people used the station on Saturday, eight times more than ‘normal’ Saturdays; on Sunday, the number had reached 60,000 by 8 pm, eight to 10 times the normal Sunday ridership at the station.
They came in their thousands, from Delhi, Haryana and UP — riding cars, buses, the Metro, and even tractors and tongas. They filled Bhairon Marg and Mathura Road, and set off traffic snarls that stopped Delhi at several places.
Jumman Khan and his family of six rode their tonga to Pragati Maidan from Old Delhi. “We wanted to see the lakhtakia. I will buy it when it is launched. This car will make my dreams of owning a car come true, anyway my horse is getting too old,” he said, grinning toothily. Someone in his mohalla was already collecting Rs-5,000 “booking deposits” for the Nano, he said.
Gurpal Singh, deputy director general of CII, said, “There is no denying in the fact that footfalls have been highest this year, and Sunday has broken all records. People are visiting all the stalls at the expo, but the main crowd puller is the Nano.”
The Small Wonder has triggered a frenzy the Trade Fair, India’s biggest annual public exhibition, would be proud of. Trade Fair 2007 attracted 30 lakh people over 14 days.
Ratan Tata’s people’s car gave the Auto Expo its busiest day in nine years of existence, drawing a crushing 1.3 lakh people to Pragati Maidan on what could justifiably be described as Nano Sunday.
They came in their thousands, from Delhi, Haryana and UP — riding cars, buses, the Metro, and even tractors and tongas. They filled Bhairon Marg and Mathura Road, and set off traffic snarls that stopped Delhi at several places.
Jumman Khan and his family of six rode their tonga to Pragati Maidan from Old Delhi. “We wanted to see the lakhtakia. I will buy it when it is launched. This car will make my dreams of owning a car come true, anyway my horse is getting too old,” he said, grinning toothily. Someone in his mohalla was already collecting Rs-5,000 “booking deposits” for the Nano, he said.
Gurpal Singh, deputy director general of CII, said, “There is no denying in the fact that footfalls have been highest this year, and Sunday has broken all records. People are visiting all the stalls at the expo, but the main crowd puller is the Nano.”
The Small Wonder has triggered a frenzy the Trade Fair, India’s biggest annual public exhibition, would be proud of. Trade Fair 2007 attracted 30 lakh people over 14 days.
Metro ridership at the Pragati Maidan station has soared over the weekend. A total 80,000 people used the station on Saturday, eight times more than ‘normal’ Saturdays; on Sunday, the number had reached 60,000 by 8 pm, eight to 10 times the normal Sunday ridership at the station.
Metro ridership at the Pragati Maidan station has soared over the weekend. A total 80,000 people used the station on Saturday, eight times more than ‘normal’ Saturdays; on Sunday, the number had reached 60,000 by 8 pm, eight to 10 times the normal Sunday ridership at the station.
ICL planning to add all-star Pak team
Karachi : The rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL) is planning to add an all-star Pakistani side to its list of competitors for the second edition scheduled in March-April.
After hosting its inaugural twenty20 tournament last year, the breakaway league is considering adding two more teams with one of them being an all stars side from Pakistan.
"There has been discussion on having either a Karachi or Lahore team from Pakistan take part in the next event along with an all stars ICL eleven," Former Pakistan skipper Moin Khan, who is ICL's main representative in Pakistan and also on their coaching panel, said.
The former wicketkeeper said a clearer picture would emerge in next two weeks and did not rule out the possibility of an ICL official coming to Pakistan to sign up more players.
Pakistan had six representatives in the ICL's inaugural edition with pacer Shabbir Ahmed getting man of the match award in the final.
Moin said he was disappointed by the vindictive measures taken by Pakistan and other cricket boards against players and coaches contracted to the ICL, which is not recognised by either the ICC or its member boards.
He said the decision to ban ICL players in Pakistan from playing domestic cricket was unjustified.
But asked whether the ICL would help its players and coaches, Moin said the the league was already backing its recruits financially.
"That is the best it can do. It has given financial benefits to its players and coaches which is their best compensation for what they are facing. The kind of money we are earning now from ICL is very good," he said.
After hosting its inaugural twenty20 tournament last year, the breakaway league is considering adding two more teams with one of them being an all stars side from Pakistan.
"There has been discussion on having either a Karachi or Lahore team from Pakistan take part in the next event along with an all stars ICL eleven," Former Pakistan skipper Moin Khan, who is ICL's main representative in Pakistan and also on their coaching panel, said.
The former wicketkeeper said a clearer picture would emerge in next two weeks and did not rule out the possibility of an ICL official coming to Pakistan to sign up more players.
Pakistan had six representatives in the ICL's inaugural edition with pacer Shabbir Ahmed getting man of the match award in the final.
Moin said he was disappointed by the vindictive measures taken by Pakistan and other cricket boards against players and coaches contracted to the ICL, which is not recognised by either the ICC or its member boards.
He said the decision to ban ICL players in Pakistan from playing domestic cricket was unjustified.
But asked whether the ICL would help its players and coaches, Moin said the the league was already backing its recruits financially.
"That is the best it can do. It has given financial benefits to its players and coaches which is their best compensation for what they are facing. The kind of money we are earning now from ICL is very good," he said.
Friday, January 11, 2008
Thank you, Mr Tata, for thinking of the common man!
Mr Ratan Tata, thank you very much!
You have created history, not because you have created the cheapest car in the world but because you have touched our emotions, our hearts. Thanks a million.
For more than 900 million Indians, who live ordinary lives, this is a rare moment when they feel like they are being taken care of by the rich and the mighty class.
Your class, I mean the others who are amongst the richest Indians, must be feeling a little squeamish today as they saw the overwhelming coverage of you unveiling your pretty car in the Indian press and on television.
Frankly, the best part of your endeavour is that you have taken terrific care to make sure that your car does not resemble a superior version of a Bajaj autorickshaw. That would have made us feel humiliated. Instead, you have done it with style, and class. Thanks again.
The stock exchange might not reacted favourably to your history-making venture, but that is also the proof that Tata Nano is not just about money. It's about profits along with creating a great product.
Very soon the Bajajs and the Munjals, the Japanese and the Koreans will also realize this. We are told that you may be making a humble profit of only Rs 4,000 per Tata Nano, but life in globalization is about ideas plus profit.
In one single stroke you have created a new class within the Indian society. Overnight, my canteen manager Sitaram-ji, my driver's elderly father who is a retired army man, my grocery supplier Mr Arora, and all such nice people with decent but limited income can start dreaming.
That's wow! Really!
Till the 1990s, Indians were striving for roti, kapda, makan, water and roads. Then, the desires expanded. Consumerism started to find a foothold in the country, but glitzy acquisitions were still within the reach of only the fairly well heeled.
But, now, I cannot but be amused as I visualize a supervisor stepping out of his Alto-deluxe and his salesman disembarking from his Tata Nano for an informal meeting at a Barista outlet.
As expected, Bajaj Auto Ltd. managing director Rajiv Bajaj talked about profits the other day. He said: "We have seen the car (Tata Nano) and it looks good, but I haven't heard them (the Tatas) say that it will be profitable."
No one can be so off the mark. To be an industrialist in the new economy is not to be a new zamindar. It is about inclusive growth without losing out on innovation, technology and growth.
Mr Tata, you have given shape to our secret desires. In all seriousness, India's hyper-energetic middle class and the impatient poor who want to break into the upper economic layer salutes you today. You have accomplished what CPI (M) general secretary Prakash Karat -- with his bagful of idealism -- could not do, or what Prime Minister Manmohan Singh -- with his five-page-long qualifications as an ace economist -- could not do, and what all Karl Marx-quoting hypocrites could not dream of doing.
Tata Nano is the great symbol of Indian-ishtyle socialism. This is socialism suited for the 21st century. As a nano favour, Karat should write a letter to the United Progressive Alliance government recommending you for the Bharat Ratna because by thinking so big on behalf of those smiling and struggling Indians travelling awkwardly on unreliable two- or three-wheelers, you have given us something to boast about.
For the first time, our favourite pro-people activist and Centre for Science and Environment director Sunita Narain looked out of sync on TV on Thursday when she talked about congestion, pollution and the other inherent problems 'caused by' the auto industry.
Right now, there are about five million cars and 70 million two-three wheelers on Indian roads. In the coming five years there might not be more than 500,000 Tata Nanos in the Indian market, but there will certainly be 500,000 ordinary Indian families enjoying a safer ride in their own four-wheeler.
The entire Nano event is important from only one point of view. We are taught that social democracy is all about the majority of people having an equitable share of the resources of the nation. Water, land, metals, food and roads -- every basic requirement for living should be distributed in such a manner that more and more people reap the benefits. Since the last 60 years the rich who constitute a single digit percent of the population had all the roads to themselves except for the footpath.
"Yeh road tere baap ka hai?" is the common aggressive sentence ordinary pedestrians heard from insensitive car drivers. Yes, the road should be more the property of the common people of India, but those who can afford Marutis, Hondas and Skodas wrongly think that they should be given the right of way by pedestrians on wretched Indian roads. Yes, road common people ke baap ka hai, this is what Tata Nano is shouting from the rooftops. For that we are so happy, Mr Tata.
Creating roads was a capital-intensive development and took away a large share of the planned budget and ended up helping the rich and upper class much, much more. Huge chunks of land were taken away to build highways and expressways, but 80 per cent of people living around them have no use for them because they simply cannot afford the cars or even autorickshaws to drive on them.
People without cars had to struggle to have their share of the roads. The most shocking fact is that when the New Delhi government built a magnificent cluster of flyovers near the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, it simply forgot that there will be many people on foot too! Only after UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi inaugurated it were some amendments made.
It's so difficult to walk or even cycle in cities. Tata Nano is important from the point of view of having a piece of the pie of the national asset called 'road.' So far, only the rich could boast of driving on roads and highways.
But now the 'other class' will enter. Sunita Narain's argument about pollution and congestion is first class but it comes at a wrong time and at the wrong place because it is a general argument applicable to all and mainly to Central government which is bereft of ideas on development.
The real reason behind the euphoria caused by the Tata Nano is the negligence of mass-transit systems in India since decades. Every ordinary Indian has his or her tale to share about how they have suffered in jam-packed and rickety state transport buses, how they are crushed in Mumbai local trains, and how elderly people dread travelling by any means of public transport.
It is a national shame to see the way women, children and the elderly travel in Mumbai's local trains, but no government or industrialist thinks about putting their act together to help more than 4 to 5 million people even when Mumbai is reaching a breaking point.
For the first time, the Kolkata and Delhi metro rails gave 'respect' to the common man's need for better transport.
We would like to believe that Tata Nano is a symbolic gesture to bring the common Indian in national focus. If India had better public transport, we would not have given a rousing welcome to Tata Nano.
By the way, in Ratan Tata's mother tongue Gujarati, 'nano' means small.
You have created history, not because you have created the cheapest car in the world but because you have touched our emotions, our hearts. Thanks a million.
For more than 900 million Indians, who live ordinary lives, this is a rare moment when they feel like they are being taken care of by the rich and the mighty class.
Your class, I mean the others who are amongst the richest Indians, must be feeling a little squeamish today as they saw the overwhelming coverage of you unveiling your pretty car in the Indian press and on television.
Frankly, the best part of your endeavour is that you have taken terrific care to make sure that your car does not resemble a superior version of a Bajaj autorickshaw. That would have made us feel humiliated. Instead, you have done it with style, and class. Thanks again.
The stock exchange might not reacted favourably to your history-making venture, but that is also the proof that Tata Nano is not just about money. It's about profits along with creating a great product.
Very soon the Bajajs and the Munjals, the Japanese and the Koreans will also realize this. We are told that you may be making a humble profit of only Rs 4,000 per Tata Nano, but life in globalization is about ideas plus profit.
In one single stroke you have created a new class within the Indian society. Overnight, my canteen manager Sitaram-ji, my driver's elderly father who is a retired army man, my grocery supplier Mr Arora, and all such nice people with decent but limited income can start dreaming.
That's wow! Really!
Till the 1990s, Indians were striving for roti, kapda, makan, water and roads. Then, the desires expanded. Consumerism started to find a foothold in the country, but glitzy acquisitions were still within the reach of only the fairly well heeled.
But, now, I cannot but be amused as I visualize a supervisor stepping out of his Alto-deluxe and his salesman disembarking from his Tata Nano for an informal meeting at a Barista outlet.
As expected, Bajaj Auto Ltd. managing director Rajiv Bajaj talked about profits the other day. He said: "We have seen the car (Tata Nano) and it looks good, but I haven't heard them (the Tatas) say that it will be profitable."
No one can be so off the mark. To be an industrialist in the new economy is not to be a new zamindar. It is about inclusive growth without losing out on innovation, technology and growth.
Mr Tata, you have given shape to our secret desires. In all seriousness, India's hyper-energetic middle class and the impatient poor who want to break into the upper economic layer salutes you today. You have accomplished what CPI (M) general secretary Prakash Karat -- with his bagful of idealism -- could not do, or what Prime Minister Manmohan Singh -- with his five-page-long qualifications as an ace economist -- could not do, and what all Karl Marx-quoting hypocrites could not dream of doing.
Tata Nano is the great symbol of Indian-ishtyle socialism. This is socialism suited for the 21st century. As a nano favour, Karat should write a letter to the United Progressive Alliance government recommending you for the Bharat Ratna because by thinking so big on behalf of those smiling and struggling Indians travelling awkwardly on unreliable two- or three-wheelers, you have given us something to boast about.
For the first time, our favourite pro-people activist and Centre for Science and Environment director Sunita Narain looked out of sync on TV on Thursday when she talked about congestion, pollution and the other inherent problems 'caused by' the auto industry.
Right now, there are about five million cars and 70 million two-three wheelers on Indian roads. In the coming five years there might not be more than 500,000 Tata Nanos in the Indian market, but there will certainly be 500,000 ordinary Indian families enjoying a safer ride in their own four-wheeler.
The entire Nano event is important from only one point of view. We are taught that social democracy is all about the majority of people having an equitable share of the resources of the nation. Water, land, metals, food and roads -- every basic requirement for living should be distributed in such a manner that more and more people reap the benefits. Since the last 60 years the rich who constitute a single digit percent of the population had all the roads to themselves except for the footpath.
"Yeh road tere baap ka hai?" is the common aggressive sentence ordinary pedestrians heard from insensitive car drivers. Yes, the road should be more the property of the common people of India, but those who can afford Marutis, Hondas and Skodas wrongly think that they should be given the right of way by pedestrians on wretched Indian roads. Yes, road common people ke baap ka hai, this is what Tata Nano is shouting from the rooftops. For that we are so happy, Mr Tata.
Creating roads was a capital-intensive development and took away a large share of the planned budget and ended up helping the rich and upper class much, much more. Huge chunks of land were taken away to build highways and expressways, but 80 per cent of people living around them have no use for them because they simply cannot afford the cars or even autorickshaws to drive on them.
People without cars had to struggle to have their share of the roads. The most shocking fact is that when the New Delhi government built a magnificent cluster of flyovers near the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, it simply forgot that there will be many people on foot too! Only after UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi inaugurated it were some amendments made.
It's so difficult to walk or even cycle in cities. Tata Nano is important from the point of view of having a piece of the pie of the national asset called 'road.' So far, only the rich could boast of driving on roads and highways.
But now the 'other class' will enter. Sunita Narain's argument about pollution and congestion is first class but it comes at a wrong time and at the wrong place because it is a general argument applicable to all and mainly to Central government which is bereft of ideas on development.
The real reason behind the euphoria caused by the Tata Nano is the negligence of mass-transit systems in India since decades. Every ordinary Indian has his or her tale to share about how they have suffered in jam-packed and rickety state transport buses, how they are crushed in Mumbai local trains, and how elderly people dread travelling by any means of public transport.
It is a national shame to see the way women, children and the elderly travel in Mumbai's local trains, but no government or industrialist thinks about putting their act together to help more than 4 to 5 million people even when Mumbai is reaching a breaking point.
For the first time, the Kolkata and Delhi metro rails gave 'respect' to the common man's need for better transport.
We would like to believe that Tata Nano is a symbolic gesture to bring the common Indian in national focus. If India had better public transport, we would not have given a rousing welcome to Tata Nano.
By the way, in Ratan Tata's mother tongue Gujarati, 'nano' means small.
India will struggle to last five days at WACA: Chris Rogers
CANBERRA: Visiting Indians have been warned that they would struggle to last five days at the WACA pitch in the third Test at Perth, starting January 16.
"I would hate to face the Australian quicks on that sort of wicket," said Chris Rogers, who is tipped to replace the injured Matthew Hayden as opener for the next Test.
Rogers, who indicated he was ready for the job with a confident half-century in the tour match here on Friday, said it was difficult for guys at the top of the order to face the Aussie attack on a really quick wicket.
"My best at WACA has been 60 this season and I belong to Western Australia," remarked Rogers "The ball really flies through after the first day."
The left-handed opener said because of the moisture on the first day, the pitch is not as hard as it usually becomes on subsequent days.
"You really have to play your best innings ever to survive on the WACA this season," opined the 31-year-old Rogers, who has an average of 47.93 in 104 first class games with 22 centuries.
"I would be surprised if the game goes into the fifth day."
His words would be a warning for the Indians, who are 0-2 down in the series and need a win in Perth to remain in the series.
Rogers believed spinners have no role to play in WACA this year.
"Kumble because of his style could make use of the WACA pitch but otherwise, spinners haven't got much help."
He rated Irfan Pathan as the bowler who could get good help from the WACA surface though he wondered who amongst the tourists would be asked to bowl into the wind from the other end.
"Pathan swung a good deal here and at WACA, when the Freemantle Doctor is blowing, he could be a huge factor.
"Ishant Sharma was also impressive here because he hit the deck hard as was VRV Singh who appears to have huge potential. But it would be interesting to see who bowls into the wind for the Indians. It's such a huge factor at WACA," he said.
Rogers believed if he was given a chance, his familiarity with opening partner Phil Jacques, would be to Australia's advantage.
"I have opened with him for Australia A team in Pakistan so I am pretty familiar with his style of batting. If given a chance, I would try my best."
"I would hate to face the Australian quicks on that sort of wicket," said Chris Rogers, who is tipped to replace the injured Matthew Hayden as opener for the next Test.
Rogers, who indicated he was ready for the job with a confident half-century in the tour match here on Friday, said it was difficult for guys at the top of the order to face the Aussie attack on a really quick wicket.
"My best at WACA has been 60 this season and I belong to Western Australia," remarked Rogers "The ball really flies through after the first day."
The left-handed opener said because of the moisture on the first day, the pitch is not as hard as it usually becomes on subsequent days.
"You really have to play your best innings ever to survive on the WACA this season," opined the 31-year-old Rogers, who has an average of 47.93 in 104 first class games with 22 centuries.
"I would be surprised if the game goes into the fifth day."
His words would be a warning for the Indians, who are 0-2 down in the series and need a win in Perth to remain in the series.
Rogers believed spinners have no role to play in WACA this year.
"Kumble because of his style could make use of the WACA pitch but otherwise, spinners haven't got much help."
He rated Irfan Pathan as the bowler who could get good help from the WACA surface though he wondered who amongst the tourists would be asked to bowl into the wind from the other end.
"Pathan swung a good deal here and at WACA, when the Freemantle Doctor is blowing, he could be a huge factor.
"Ishant Sharma was also impressive here because he hit the deck hard as was VRV Singh who appears to have huge potential. But it would be interesting to see who bowls into the wind for the Indians. It's such a huge factor at WACA," he said.
Rogers believed if he was given a chance, his familiarity with opening partner Phil Jacques, would be to Australia's advantage.
"I have opened with him for Australia A team in Pakistan so I am pretty familiar with his style of batting. If given a chance, I would try my best."
I found Indian cricketers as gentleman: Bird
Indian cricketers can take pride for carrying the tradition of maintaining the spirit of the game with legendary umpire Dickie Bird saying he has always found them "gentleman" and all past Indian players have been a credit to the game.
"I have always found Indian team going back to Gavaskar, Chandrasekhar, Prasanna, Wadekar, when I umpired them, as gentleman and I mean in all sense of the term. They all have been credit to the profession and credit to the game of cricket," Bird said.
Bird said the Australian players of his era also played the game with spirit.
"Players like Lillie, Johnson, Marsh, Chappell brother, in that Australian team and they played hard but always played with the laws and the spirit of the game. And if I thought things are getting out of control, I used to have quite word with both captains," said the English umpire.
Bird said the incidents which marred the Sydney Test could have been avoided by the timely intervention of the two umpires.
"The two umpires would realise when they look back on it that they should have got the two captains together. In a proper manner, in a nice way probably cracked a joke with the two captains and a smile and laughter, that's what I used to do," said Bird, a veteran of 66 Tests.
"Its very sad when I saw what was going on in this Test match in Sydney. It is sad for the game but I do hope we can rise from this. Cricket has got to be the winner"
"Lets play the game in a proper manner within the law and spirit of the game."
"With all the technologies available they can go to the third umpire and I think now the third umpire is more important. The umpires with whom I have been brought up is finished because now the electronic age has taken over and I think It is a sad day for cricket."
On Steve Bucknor, Bird said "I did advise him and I did had a long chat with him a while ago and said look, If I can give you any advice is to retire while you get a lot of respect," he said.
Asked whether umpires should be judged on the basis of their performance, Bird said it was certainly a practice during his days.
"In my days, they were (judged). Even if you make odd mistake, I have seen umpires English umpires who made odd mistakes being removed from the Test match panel. Well, that does not seem to happen today. They get long contracts as umpires," he added.
"I have always found Indian team going back to Gavaskar, Chandrasekhar, Prasanna, Wadekar, when I umpired them, as gentleman and I mean in all sense of the term. They all have been credit to the profession and credit to the game of cricket," Bird said.
Bird said the Australian players of his era also played the game with spirit.
"Players like Lillie, Johnson, Marsh, Chappell brother, in that Australian team and they played hard but always played with the laws and the spirit of the game. And if I thought things are getting out of control, I used to have quite word with both captains," said the English umpire.
Bird said the incidents which marred the Sydney Test could have been avoided by the timely intervention of the two umpires.
"The two umpires would realise when they look back on it that they should have got the two captains together. In a proper manner, in a nice way probably cracked a joke with the two captains and a smile and laughter, that's what I used to do," said Bird, a veteran of 66 Tests.
"Its very sad when I saw what was going on in this Test match in Sydney. It is sad for the game but I do hope we can rise from this. Cricket has got to be the winner"
"Lets play the game in a proper manner within the law and spirit of the game."
"With all the technologies available they can go to the third umpire and I think now the third umpire is more important. The umpires with whom I have been brought up is finished because now the electronic age has taken over and I think It is a sad day for cricket."
On Steve Bucknor, Bird said "I did advise him and I did had a long chat with him a while ago and said look, If I can give you any advice is to retire while you get a lot of respect," he said.
Asked whether umpires should be judged on the basis of their performance, Bird said it was certainly a practice during his days.
"In my days, they were (judged). Even if you make odd mistake, I have seen umpires English umpires who made odd mistakes being removed from the Test match panel. Well, that does not seem to happen today. They get long contracts as umpires," he added.
SRK pays Rs 27 cr advance tax
Shah Rukh Khan will be the highest income-tax payer from Bollywood for the second year in a row. He has paid advance taxes of Rs 27 crore till December 15, 2007, said sources, putting his income for 2007-08 at over Rs 100 crore. It is a glittering jump from the money he made the previous fiscal when he paid a modest Rs 18 crore in tax.
2007 has been a particularly prosperous year for Shah Rukh Khan, who has often called himself “priceless’’. He has not only had two mega hits under his belt - Chak De, India and Om Shanti Om , which he also produced - but also earned Rs 1 crore for every episode of Kaun Banega Crorepati .
In the income-tax stakes, SRK is far ahead of the competition. Hrithik Roshan, who paid Rs 15 crore last year, had no releases in 2007 though his endorsement list has grown longer. Aamir Khan, who paid Rs 6 crore last year, released only one film, Taare Zameen Par , and is known to have taken the distribution rights as part of his remuneration. He has paid advance taxes worth Rs 3 crore.
While Amitabh Bachchan paid Rs 8 crore in income tax last year, his advance tax payment until December 15, 2007 was only Rs 1.8 crore. Bachchan, who is said to have upped his fee in 2008, is no more among the highest paid actors but his endorsement roster is still a blue-chip one.
Among those who have paid a high advance tax this fiscal are Akshay Kumar (Rs 7 crore, although there have been media reports in the recent about the actor paying tax of Rs 26 crore) and Himesh Reshammiya (Rs 2.5 crore). The singer charges Rs 5.5 crore as a composer and actor. Abhishek Bachchan has paid Rs 3.7 crore (much higher than his returns the previous year) while his wife Aishwarya Rai has paid Rs 1.6 crore. Close behind Rai is actor Kareena Kapoor with Rs 1 crore in advance tax.
On the corporate entertainment front, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Pvt Ltd paid advance taxes worth Rs 70 crore. They have done the maximum buying of films in 2007 including hits like Om Shanti Om and Taare Zameen Par . Hindustan Thompson was next (Rs 6 crore) followed by Balaji Telefilms (Rs 4.5 crore), Shah Rukh Khan’s Red Chillies (Rs 3 crore) and Amitabh Bachchan’s company AB Corporation (Rs 2.4 crore).
Eros Entertainment, which bought the worldwide distribution rights of Om Shanti Om for a whopping Rs 70 crore from Shah Rukh Khan, had deducted Rs 7 crore in tax deducted at source in this transaction alone.
2007 has been a particularly prosperous year for Shah Rukh Khan, who has often called himself “priceless’’. He has not only had two mega hits under his belt - Chak De, India and Om Shanti Om , which he also produced - but also earned Rs 1 crore for every episode of Kaun Banega Crorepati .
In the income-tax stakes, SRK is far ahead of the competition. Hrithik Roshan, who paid Rs 15 crore last year, had no releases in 2007 though his endorsement list has grown longer. Aamir Khan, who paid Rs 6 crore last year, released only one film, Taare Zameen Par , and is known to have taken the distribution rights as part of his remuneration. He has paid advance taxes worth Rs 3 crore.
While Amitabh Bachchan paid Rs 8 crore in income tax last year, his advance tax payment until December 15, 2007 was only Rs 1.8 crore. Bachchan, who is said to have upped his fee in 2008, is no more among the highest paid actors but his endorsement roster is still a blue-chip one.
Among those who have paid a high advance tax this fiscal are Akshay Kumar (Rs 7 crore, although there have been media reports in the recent about the actor paying tax of Rs 26 crore) and Himesh Reshammiya (Rs 2.5 crore). The singer charges Rs 5.5 crore as a composer and actor. Abhishek Bachchan has paid Rs 3.7 crore (much higher than his returns the previous year) while his wife Aishwarya Rai has paid Rs 1.6 crore. Close behind Rai is actor Kareena Kapoor with Rs 1 crore in advance tax.
On the corporate entertainment front, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Pvt Ltd paid advance taxes worth Rs 70 crore. They have done the maximum buying of films in 2007 including hits like Om Shanti Om and Taare Zameen Par . Hindustan Thompson was next (Rs 6 crore) followed by Balaji Telefilms (Rs 4.5 crore), Shah Rukh Khan’s Red Chillies (Rs 3 crore) and Amitabh Bachchan’s company AB Corporation (Rs 2.4 crore).
Eros Entertainment, which bought the worldwide distribution rights of Om Shanti Om for a whopping Rs 70 crore from Shah Rukh Khan, had deducted Rs 7 crore in tax deducted at source in this transaction alone.
I'm in a lonely phase of my life: Tata
Competitors scoffed. They said it couldn’t be done, it would take a miracle to make it happen. Today, Tata Group chairman Ratan Tata is having the last laugh. On the eve of the launch of the Nano, in a freewheeling conversation with TOI, Tata looks back on the four-year journey that led up to the most eagerly awaited launch in the history of India’s automobile industry — and discusses his vision for the group, why this would be an ideal time to retire, his search for a successor, rivalries that may have stymied Tata projects and how the Jaguar deal fits into his gameplan...
Q: Are you feeling more apprehensive now than you felt at the launch of the Indica?
A: Not really. At that time, we did not know if the market, which knew us as a truck manufacturer, would accept us as a carmaker. We took somewhat widely publicised goals at that time. So at that time we were more nervous than we are today.
A car-azy idea
Q: What sparked off the idea?
A: In this particular case, you could not help but notice there were three-four family members on a scooter with a kid standing in the front, the guy driving and his wife sitting side saddle holding a little kid. When you are driving a car, you say to yourself to be careful, you know they may slip and fall. Add to that slippery roads and night time riding and you have a reasonably dangerous form of transport. That does not mean scooters should not exist—it's an evolution of bicycles and it's the path to prosperity. But, scooters as family transport seemed dangerous. I asked myself if we could put two wheels at the back to give the scooter greater stability. Would it make it safe for the occupants if you put a bar over the top? Last year, I was at Bertoni and to my surprise I found that BMW had produced a scooter with the same safety bars that I had thought about with rubber bumpers on the side and a seat which had a seat belt. Apparently it was not successful and BMW withdrew it.
I set about thinking if we could make a four wheel vehicle from scooter parts. At an ACMA (Automotive Component Manufacturers Association) meeting I even suggested an Asian people's car—a really low-cost car that Malaysia, Indonesia and India could produce jointly. I got no response. The only person who showed encouragement was [Hero group's] Brij Mohan Munjal, but we never really took it further. We found later that using scooter parts is a real limitation.
So we changed tack. We decided to look at everything from scratch. I thought that we could have a car made from engineering plastics that would not be welded but use adhesives. But some of these concepts did not lend themselves to costs or volume manufacturing. So we moved on to a more conventional kind of car.
That led us to configure a small car which would be a full-fledged car. We started again in an evolutionary way. It started with a concept of being a four-wheeled rural car. Do we have roll up plastic curtains instead of windows? Do we have openings like autorickshaws have instead of doors, but have a safety bar? We had many such early concepts and we finally decided that the market did not want a half car. If we wanted to build a people's car it should be a car and not something that people would say, 'That is a scooter with four wheels or an autorickshaw on four wheels'. And so we decided to do a car and really pare the cost.
Breaking on through
Q: What were the most challenging moments?
A: Perhaps the bigger, more visible issue is that we needed to benchmark ourselves against something. And we took the Maruti 800 as the benchmark in terms of acceleration—driveability should at least be equal to Maruti and in some areas it should exceed the Maruti. So we had to increase the size of the engine to give us the kind of performance we have now achieved.
The rest were issues relating to costs. Where do you put the fuel tank? How close is the filler neck to the fuel tank? How much tubing to the fuel tank? Those kind of issues.
Q: Any examples of the breakthrough you talked about?
A: We haven't changed. It is a four-door car, five seat, rear engine and in many ways conventionally constructed. What has been done is in things like the door lock —it is the same lock on all four doors, they are not left hand and right hand door locks. When you see the car what will strike you is that we have packaged it really tightly. Most of the benefit we got on cost is because we used less steel. We just made the car smaller outside, yet big inside.
People's car
Q: Will this car change the group?
A: That's not what it was conceived for. The kind of thing you would do to follow on from this would be different fuels—can we produce an electric version of the car? Can we produce a small hybrid version and really make this car the platform for a new set of personal transport needs? One thing we have established is that we have created an affordable personal transport that will take four or five people under all weather conditions, running on regular fuel and not on some exotic stuff.
Q: There has been criticism that this car will choke congested roads. Is that an elitist view?
A: We produce about 7 million two-wheelers a year. Today we must have 60-70 million two-and three-wheelers in the country. Last year we produced about 1.4 million cars and at some point we will exceed two million. Well, nobody says anything about that. It is only this car that is being targeted. You may say, 'Well, the two-wheeler takes less space.' Our car pollutes, if not less, then certainly not more than a two wheeler—not per passenger but as a vehicle. Our engine conforms to Euro IV and Bharat III—all two wheelers are Bharat II today. So, yes you may take a view that this small car will take less space than a large car. It will carry four people instead of the normal two on a scooter and therefore, instead of two scooters, you will have one car on the road.
That criticism also assumes that the small car will not replace a bigger car. You produce two million cars and you produce half a million small cars, so you produce 2.5 million cars. That's not how it is going to work. We will cannibalise some of the existing low-end cars and two-wheelers, and even some of our own cars. The Indica too is going to feel the effects. So it will not be that it will be on top of everything and there won't be a square inch of space on the road.
Second, we are looking at congestion in the top major cities. Have we got affordable family transport in the two tier and three tier cities? Is it their lot not to have a vehicle? The huge potential lies when India gets connected in the rural areas.
Q: Who are your potential customers?
A: Rather than look at it geographically, look at who might be the buyer of the small car. If you look in the US or Europe, in some garages that have a Bentley or two, or a high-end Mercedes, you may also find a Smart (a subcompact car from Mercedes). Because that person thinks that it is a fun extra car to have. Then you may have a person who needs utilitarian transport and is not looking for a lot of creature comforts. Then you look at someone who is thinking of owning or owns an existing small car—to him this makes sense because it is more fuel efficient and costs less. On the other side, you have someone who aspires for a car. And this can come from anywhere in the country.
Anil Kumble says Australia triggered crisis
In an exclusive article, the India captain writes that Australia started the teams' row by showing a disregard for the spirit of the game.
I would like to begin by pointing out that someone [Michael Clarke] clearly edged the ball to the slips in the second innings of the Sydney Test and stood there even when there was not an iota of doubt over the dismissal. The same player then claimed a catch that showed more than reasonable doubt and said he was 100 per cent certain it was clean.
At this point, a few days before the Test in Perth, I can tell you that that sort of behaviour will play a big role in my decision whether to continue the agreement that Ricky and I had made before the series began.
We had decided that in the case of a disputed catch we would take the word of the fielder concerned, if he was certain. But that agreement was based on the premise that, come what may, whatever the situation, the fielder concerned would be completely straight on what happened. Now, there will obviously be a big question mark about that in future matches.
On the other events, I can only say that I spoke to Ricky that day [of the row between Harbhajan Singh and Andrew Symonds] and having heard from Bhajji and Sachin Tendulkar before that, I was convinced that there had neither been any racist remark made, nor intended. I asked Bhajji why he started it and he said he hadn’t; Symonds did and goaded him, so he responded. But he insisted he made no racist comment.
Ricky, meanwhile, was just not willing to listen, nor see my point. When I offered to apologise as Bhajji’s skipper, it was only to smooth things over, at no stage did I admit that he had made a racist remark; in fact, I said he had not.
Unfortunately, these days, when someone apologises, it is seen as either a sign of weakness or an admission of guilt. I am neither unnerved nor are we guilty. In the larger interests of the game, if an apology could help to build bridges and smooth things over, then it is better made than left unsaid because of egos.
In my book, it’s really important that when somebody is accused of being a racist, whoever that someone is, the charge is not made lightly, is not followed up just to prove a point and is not deemed as proven unless there is absolute evidence. Unfortunately this did not happen in Bhajji’s case.
Then again, he is a colleague and I have a responsibility towards him as his captain and as a fellow Indian. It is a serious allegation, calling someone a racist. You are not just accusing a cricketer, but the ramifications of this accusation, unproven in the eyes of almost everyone, were bound to be huge. India’s cricketers are the country’s ambassadors when we travel and, by making such serious charges without proof, it becomes a question of honour for the individuals concerned and the country.
There is obviously a sense of outrage in India. I cannot comment on what I thought of the proceedings, but the fact that we have appealed should make things self-evident. I’m really grateful for the overwhelming support the team have received from Indians in India and abroad and from people from other parts of the world, equally upset by the turn of events.
I’m also really thankful to the BCCI for their unstinting support of us on the matter. They have backed us right through and are doing all they can to make sure the players will be OK.
We’re going to try to do our best in Perth, a place where no one expects much from us. We are disappointed that we couldn’t force a draw in Sydney. We had a great opportunity when [Mike] Hussey and [Matthew] Hayden were batting to try to restrict their second-innings score, but Hussey batted really well to put the game beyond us.
Still, we should have at least tried for a draw despite that. We really need to get our batting in order. Too often, of late, we’ve struggled batting in our second innings to save a game. Here, we were three down at tea and then lost seven in a row. Yes, the rub of the green went against us, but we still should have stuck it out.
Finally, it’s important that the game goes on. Cricket is larger than any individual. One of the reasons I have tried to put the game and other things in perspective is to ensure that we move on and play good cricket. I’ll do my best but it takes two to tango and ensure that things move smoothly. I can only hope it happens.
I would like to begin by pointing out that someone [Michael Clarke] clearly edged the ball to the slips in the second innings of the Sydney Test and stood there even when there was not an iota of doubt over the dismissal. The same player then claimed a catch that showed more than reasonable doubt and said he was 100 per cent certain it was clean.
At this point, a few days before the Test in Perth, I can tell you that that sort of behaviour will play a big role in my decision whether to continue the agreement that Ricky and I had made before the series began.
We had decided that in the case of a disputed catch we would take the word of the fielder concerned, if he was certain. But that agreement was based on the premise that, come what may, whatever the situation, the fielder concerned would be completely straight on what happened. Now, there will obviously be a big question mark about that in future matches.
On the other events, I can only say that I spoke to Ricky that day [of the row between Harbhajan Singh and Andrew Symonds] and having heard from Bhajji and Sachin Tendulkar before that, I was convinced that there had neither been any racist remark made, nor intended. I asked Bhajji why he started it and he said he hadn’t; Symonds did and goaded him, so he responded. But he insisted he made no racist comment.
Ricky, meanwhile, was just not willing to listen, nor see my point. When I offered to apologise as Bhajji’s skipper, it was only to smooth things over, at no stage did I admit that he had made a racist remark; in fact, I said he had not.
Unfortunately, these days, when someone apologises, it is seen as either a sign of weakness or an admission of guilt. I am neither unnerved nor are we guilty. In the larger interests of the game, if an apology could help to build bridges and smooth things over, then it is better made than left unsaid because of egos.
In my book, it’s really important that when somebody is accused of being a racist, whoever that someone is, the charge is not made lightly, is not followed up just to prove a point and is not deemed as proven unless there is absolute evidence. Unfortunately this did not happen in Bhajji’s case.
Then again, he is a colleague and I have a responsibility towards him as his captain and as a fellow Indian. It is a serious allegation, calling someone a racist. You are not just accusing a cricketer, but the ramifications of this accusation, unproven in the eyes of almost everyone, were bound to be huge. India’s cricketers are the country’s ambassadors when we travel and, by making such serious charges without proof, it becomes a question of honour for the individuals concerned and the country.
There is obviously a sense of outrage in India. I cannot comment on what I thought of the proceedings, but the fact that we have appealed should make things self-evident. I’m really grateful for the overwhelming support the team have received from Indians in India and abroad and from people from other parts of the world, equally upset by the turn of events.
I’m also really thankful to the BCCI for their unstinting support of us on the matter. They have backed us right through and are doing all they can to make sure the players will be OK.
We’re going to try to do our best in Perth, a place where no one expects much from us. We are disappointed that we couldn’t force a draw in Sydney. We had a great opportunity when [Mike] Hussey and [Matthew] Hayden were batting to try to restrict their second-innings score, but Hussey batted really well to put the game beyond us.
Still, we should have at least tried for a draw despite that. We really need to get our batting in order. Too often, of late, we’ve struggled batting in our second innings to save a game. Here, we were three down at tea and then lost seven in a row. Yes, the rub of the green went against us, but we still should have stuck it out.
Finally, it’s important that the game goes on. Cricket is larger than any individual. One of the reasons I have tried to put the game and other things in perspective is to ensure that we move on and play good cricket. I’ll do my best but it takes two to tango and ensure that things move smoothly. I can only hope it happens.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Tata keeps promise with Rs 100,000 car
Ratan Tata drove in the Nano, the much awaited Rs 100,000 ($2,500) "people's car", into the podium in Tata Motor's pavilion at the Auto Expo 2008 in New Delhi, heralding the launch of the world's cheapest car.
The 33-horsepower, 624-cc Nano will come at a dealer price of Rs 100,000. This, despite rise in the price of inputs such as steel since the project was started four years ago, Tata said at the launch.
"A promise is a promise," he said.
Tata also said that Nano fully meets safety and emission standards. The car has passed the full frontal crash test and meets Euro-IV emission norms, he added.
"RK Pachauri can stop having nightmares and Sunita Narain can sleep well tonight," Tata said, alluding to the environmental activists' concerns on the car's adverse impact on the environment.
"The vehicle can accommodate four-five people," he said.
Absolute chaos marked the launch of the car, with at least 1,000 members of the media corps struggling to gain entry into Tata Motor's pavilion.
Nano, which at Rs 100,000 will cost less than a branded DVD player of a BMW or a Mercedes, will be available to customers later in the year.
The car will be manufactured at the company's Singur facility in West Bengal.
The launch is a part of the group's plans to showcase as many as 17 models of cars, utility vehicles, trucks and busses, Tata officials said.
Meanwhile, a Tata Motors press release said that the People's Car has been designed with a family in mind. It has a length of 3.1 metres, a width of 1.5 metres and a height of 1.6 metres. When launched, the car will be available in both standard and deluxe versions.
The statement also added that the car has a rear-wheel drive, all-aluminium, two-cylinder, 623 cc, 33 PS, multi-point fuel injection petrol engine. "This is the first time that a two-cylinder gasoline engine is being used in a car with single balancer shaft," it said. "The lean design strategy has helped minimise weight, which helps maximise performance per unit of energy consumed and delivers high fuel efficiency. Performance is controlled by a specially designed electronic engine management system." The car reportedly gives a mileage of 23 km per litre of petrol.
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