Mars Mission: Isro successfully completes first midnight manoeuver

ISRO successfully crossed its first milestone by completing the midnight manoeuver of Mars Orbiter Spacecraft early morning today.

ISRO officials said that the first orbit raising manoeuver of Mars Orbiter Spacecraft, starting at 01:17 hrs on November 7, 2013, has been successfully completed.

The milestone was achieved on renowned Indian physicist C V Raman's birthday.

The Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), which was launched on November 5, was parked at an orbit of around 250 by 23,500 km.

ISRO officials said there would be five firings of the 440 Newton engine, which is on board the Mars Orbiter PSLVC25, to gradually increase its apogee (point furthest away from Earth). The first firing took place early morning today.

The orbiter has to acquire the required escape velocity to leave Earth, and this will be done by gradually firing the 440 Newton liquid engine during its one month around Earth. In the sixth firing, it will escape from Earth's gravity.

This is planned in a series of midnight manoeuvers (a.k.a Earth Bound Manoeuvers) in which MOM’s engine will be fired in a direction tangential to Earth while MOM is at its closest orbital position to Earth.

The six ellipses represent the various orbits of the spacecraft around Earth and the outward trajectory represents the Trans-Mars Injection Manoeuver. The fire thrusters of the orbiter to increase its elliptical distance around Earth were scheduled on November 7,8,9,11 and 16.

Thereafter, MOM will mainly be under the influence of Sun's gravity. MOM will have a rendezvous with Mars in September, 2014, said the officials.

“Ever day and every thing is crucial in this mission,” said ISRO's spokesperson.

The Focus shifts to ISTRAC!

With ISRO's Mars Orbiter Mission Spacecraft already placed in its parking orbit, the action has shifted to ISRO's Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) in Bangalore.

ISTRAC is a collection of several state-of-the-art ground based stations including the 18 m and 32 m Antennas of Indian Deep Space Network (IDSN), the Indian Space Science Data Centre (ISSDC) and the Mission Control Centre (MCC).

ISTRAC will be employed for Monitoring, Commanding, Navigating and Controlling the spacecraft throughout the Mission.

Between November 7 and December 1, ISTRAC would progressively stretch one end of the ellipse (at the apogee or farthest point from Earth) in six moves, called orbit raising manoeuvers.

The crucial day will be on December 1, 2013 at 12.42 am, when the spacecraft would start its long and difficult voyage towards Mars for almost 300 days, under the influence of Sun. The Orbiter is expected to reach Mars on September 24, 2014.

More: http://www.business-standard.com/article/current-affairs/mars-mission-isro-sucessfully-completes-first-midnight-manoeuver-113110700085_1.html

ISRO rehearses orbit-raising manoeuvres for Mars orbiter

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Wednesday rehearsed a series of six manoeuvres, simulating the raising of the apogee of its Mars orbiter which the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C25) put into earth-bound orbit of 247 km x 23,566 km on Tuesday.

The rehearsal took place from the ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) station in Bangalore. These manoeuvres were rehearsed without actually firing the 440 Newton engine on board the Mars orbiter. In reality, the first of these orbit-raising manoeuvres will take place at 1.50 a.m. on Thursday and the last on December 1. Commands will go out from the ISTRAC station to the spacecraft to fire the 440 Newton engine for raising the apogee.

The engine will be fired when the Mars orbiter is at its perigee so that the apogee will become more elliptical. The D-day is on December 1 when a prolonged firing of the 440 Newton engine will catapult the Mars orbiter out of the earth-centric orbit into the sun-centric orbit. Then the orbiter will coast around the Sun for nine months and finally captured into the Martian orbit on September 24, 2014.

M. Annadurai, Programme Director, Indian Remote-Sensing Satellites (IRS) and Small Satellites Systems (SSS), ISRO, said on Wednesday, “We did the rehearsal of everything today in a controlled way except firing the engine and we have come back to the normal.” India’s Mars Orbiter Mission comes under the IRS programme. When the 440 Newton engine aboard the Mars spacecraft is fired on Thursday at 1.50 a.m, the apogee will be raised to 28,793 km. However, its present perigee of 247 km will more or less remain the same. “The six firings will be done when the orbiter is in the perigee. The whole sequence has been rehearsed. We monitored whether everything went well,” he said.

Spacecraft’s health normal

“The overall health of the spacecraft is normal. Systems on the orbiter such as gyros, accelerometer and star-sensors have been calibrated. In the spacecraft, everything is working normally,” Dr. Annadurai said. ISRO Chairman K. Radhakrishnan told a press conference at Sriharikota on October 30 that after the Mars orbiter’s apogee is raised first on November 7 to 28,793 km, the second firing of the engine will take place on November 8 early morning. This second firing will take the orbiter’s apogee to about 40,000 km from the earth. The third orbit-raising operation will take place on November 9 when the apogee will be boosted to about 70,656 km. The fourth orbit-raising operation will take place on November 11 when the apogee will reach about one lakh km. The fifth manoeuvre will be done on November 16 when the apogee will reach 1.99 lakh km from the earth.

Dr. Radhakrishnan added: “We will then a have a crucial event — the trans-Martian injection [of the orbiter] from the earth-orbit towards Mars, which will take place at 0042 hours on December 1. This is the immediate action programme for the Mars orbiter. We have a long voyage of 300 days.

On September 24, 2014, we are planning to have the Mars orbit insertion of the spacecraft. Once it is successfully done, we will go for the experiments.”

The orbiter has five scientific instruments for analysing the Mars’ surface features, to find out whether it has methane and to study its mineralogy and the atmosphere.

More: http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/science/mars-spacecrafts-orbit-to-be-raised-early-tomorrow/article5321271.ece

After Krrish 3, Hrithik Roshan ready for Krrish 4

Now that your film is out and has joined the prestigiousRs.100 crore club in just four days are you relaxed?
I haven't slept for four days. This usually happens during release time but tonight I am going to sleep like a superhero. It's excellent that the film is in the 100 cr club in just four days and we also have made a new record of the highest collections in one day that isRs.35.91 cr on Monday so it's a feeling that I can't explain in words.

After three years of hard work on one film what is it like on the day of the release?
There is no morning on Fridays because you haven't slept on Thursday night. It's not just my hard work but an entire team has worked on one project for two to three years so obviously you want the film to work for the sake over everyone involved. My dad took such brave steps while making Krrish 3, I want it to work for him and so many other people.

What are the first signs that tell you that your film has worked?
Never believe in first signs. Initially there will be a lot of people telling you that your film is great but it's the best to wait for the first few days and then you will know it automatically. There is no need to judge with the first sign that tells you that it has worked or it hasn't.

We saw you on the wall of Maratha Mandir, a popular single screen in Mumbai. What you see from there is a crowd of thousands of people, you can barely see their faces but they all are waiting to get a glimpse of you. Explain to us that feeling? Seeing that is it easy to get carried away?
It's unreal. I am not myself when I see that, trust me. The love that you are getting standing there is something that cannot be explained. I feel like jumping over that wall into the crowd. I want to get carried away and enjoy that. I want to tell all the Hollywood actors that they may have a lot of things but the love that an Indian audience can give can never be matched, this is something they will never get to witness unless they are in India, in Bollywood.

You watched the film with the crowd in Mumbai. That sounds great but isn't that scary?
It's a learning experience for any actor. In fact when I was watching it with them I kept thinking we could have added something more at this scene since they are laughing here, we could have added some more action since they are enjoying it. I have decided I will watch all my films with the audience.

Your film has made a record of the highest collections in one day which isRs.35. 91 crore. How important are these records for a star like you? Does this change anything?
Since it's a game I am ready to play it. We are all here for a purpose and I want to participate and enjoy the entire process from acting in a film to enjoying its success. These records reinstate your belief in yourself and your work.

What do you learn from what's written about your film? Good and bad!
If someone writes something about my work that's just his or her opinion, that's one person's opinion, it's not that opinion of the public. I respect what's written about my work good or bad and if there is something to learn from it then I do that.

What after Krrish 3?
Next I am starting a film with Katrina Kaif which is called Bang Bang which will be directed by Siddharth Anand. Just like its title, it will be a fun film. I will start that shoot soon.

With the kind of response Krrish 3 has got, there will obviously be a Krrish 4 right?
I already have an idea for Krrish 4, I haven't got the time to meet dad after the release of the film so once I meet him I will share my idea with him but I want to tell the audience Krrish 4 will be out there before you know it.


Read more at:http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/i-want-to-get-carried-away-says-hrithik-roshan-on-krrish-3-success/1/321823.html

Shabana Azmi, Kamal Haasan likely to inaugurate CIFF

Bollywood actress Shabana Azmi and actor-filmmaker Kamal Haasan are likely to inaugurate the 11th Chennai International Film Festival (CIFF) slated for Dec 12-19 in the Tamil Nadu capital, its organisers said Monday.

The eight-day extravaganza will see the screening over 170 films from across 55 countries, with special focus on award winning films from international film festivals such as Cannes, Berlin and Venice.

"We are bringing several coveted films from festivals around the globe. We received a good response last year when Amitabh Bachchan graced the closing ceremony of the fest. This year, we are planning to bring Shabana Azmi and Kamal Haasan to be part of the festival," E. Thangaraj, festival director, CIFF, told IANS.

"We have already spoken to Shabanaji, but she is yet to confirm. I`m hoping that she will at least make it to the closing ceremony. We are meeting Kamal Haasan tomorrow (Thursday) to extend a personal invitation. I`m sure he will grace us with his presence," he said.

For the fourth year in a row, CIFF has included a special competition section to honour the best Tamil films. As many as 12 films will battle it out for prize money of Rs.6 lakh.

Tamil filmmakers R.V Udayakumar, Sripriya and writer S. Ramakrishnan constitute the jury for the competition section of Tamil films.

"We have so far received five films in the Tamil feature films competition section. We have extended the last date for receipt of films to Nov 15. We have included a separate section to honour best Tamil films because we feel they deserve to be honoured on such platform," said Thangaraj.

A bouquet of critically acclaimed films such as Singaporean drama "Ilo Ilo", French drama "The Past", and Chinese crime-thriller "A Touch of Sin" will be screened in the world cinema section.

This year, CIFF will throw the spotlight on contemporary films from Turkey, Iran and Taiwan. There will also be retrospectives of French filmmaker Claire Denis, Hungarian film director Istvan Szabo and Serbian film director Goran Paskaljevic.

A specially designed poster for the 11th edition of CIFF was unveiled Wednesday.

More: http://zeenews.india.com/entertainment/movies/shabana-azmi-kamal-haasan-likely-to-inaugurate-ciff_145987.html

Prabhu Deva wants to work with Shahid again

Ace choreographer-turned-director Prabhu Deva says he wants to work with Shahid Kapoor again after 'R... Rajkumar'.

Shahid will be seen in the masala entertainer directed by Prabhu Deva, whose previous films 'Wanted' and 'Rowdy Rathore' fell into the same space and were blockbuster hits.

"It was a great experience... amazing to work with Shahid. He is energetic and a good actor.

More: http://www.ptinews.com/news/4127479_Prabhu-Deva-wants-to-work-with-Shahid-again.html

Illegal phone tapping lands detective, software developer in jail

Central Crime Branch officials have arrested a Bangalore-based private detective along with a software engineer from Pune for installing illegal software on cellphones, which allowed them to tap the phones of hundreds of individuals in and around the city on behalf of their clients.

The police said that the offence amounted to not only a violation of privacy laws, but also attracted penal action under Information Technology Act, Indian Telegraph Act and Indian Penal Code.

A team raided Lynx Security & Detective Services Pvt. Ltd. on Primrose Road and arrested Nikhil Giri, accused of using snooping software on Android and Blackberry mobile phones for monitoring phone calls and text messages. They confiscated computers, hard discs, mobile phones, Android application package, cash and other records.

The targets were reportedly involved in domestic disputes or business rivalry with the firm’s clients.

The CCB officials said the agency hired Virendra Singh Rawat, a mobile software developer based in Pune, who had, with the help of others, developed the snooping software. Rawat, in turn, had tied up with a company based in Peru to co-develop and host the software on their servers.

Both Nikhil Giri and Virendra Singh Rawat were arrested, produced before the court and remanded in police custody.

HOW IT WORKS

The client would have to take possession of the target’s mobile for a while and clandestinely enter a number by accessing a website and enter a particular number after which the snooping software is automatically installed on the phone. The target would be unaware of it.

Then, all conversations, messages, e-mails, chats, pictures and videos, as well as location data, would be automatically accessible to them.

Investigations revealed that people all over India had been snooped upon in the last year.

The company was reportedly charging as much as Rs. 65,000 to Rs. 1 lakh from the clients for the service.

More: http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/bangalore/eavesdropping-drops-them-in-jail/article5322750.ece

Where are Facebook’s missing teens? On YouTube!

Facebook’s missing teens have been found – watching videos on YouTube! The social media giant’s fantastic results last month, where it showed a remarkable bounce back in total quarterly earnings and beat all analyst expectations, were still seen as a cause for concern once CFO David Ebersman announced a decline in the daily usage from its teenage market segment. 

The announcement triggered an immediate loss of confidence by investors, resulting in volatile share prices. Reuters As Firstpost columnist Samir Alam noted earlier, the youthful consumer spending is a large source of earnings for any online platform. Promoting products such as fashion, technology and other lifestyle brands on its platform builds Facebook’s credibility for advertisers. 

According to the report: The last year however has witnessed a drop in Facebook’s standing as the top choice for younger users, falling to 23 percent in 2013 from last years 44 percent according to financial firm Piper Jaffray. The youth consumer spending market makes up more than $200 billion in the United States alone and is of significant interest to investors and companies everywhere. 

Competing with other social networking platforms for younger consumers has also been a challenge over the last year for Facebook and has not given investors any comfort. The current announcement coupled with last weeks policy changes on Facebook, allowing younger teens to publicly share their content on the platform, demonstrates an already in motion strategy by Facebook executives to tackle the declining appeal Facebook seems to have developed amongst the much desired younger demographic.

 Be as it may however, the question that many people were asking was, if not Facebook, then where are those teens? The answer as it turns out, is YouTube! Mashable has got exclusive access to a report by The Futures Company, a research consultancy, which interviewed 4014 teenagers to find the answer to just that question. And according to the report, the most popular site among all teens now is YouTube. Fifty percent of teens surveyed cited YouTube as their favorite site versus 45.2 percent for Facebook. It further added that 41.6 percent of those aged 12 to 15 said Facebook was their favorite website, as compared to 48 percent of teens overall.

 Last year, Facebook was the most popular site among 12- to 15-year-olds. This data if anything, should only worry Facebook more. More so because the report quotes Rob Callender, the director of youth insights at Futures Company as saying that the data suggests parental controls aren’t the issue. Rather,” says Callender, “it appears Facebook might not be creating as many new fanatics as it once did.”

Read more at: http://www.firstpost.com/tech/where-are-facebooks-missing-teens-on-youtube-1215819.html?utm_source=ref_article

India’s exports gained from free trade agreements: Anand Sharma

Commerce and industry minister Anand Sharma clarified that India's exports gained from the regional and bilateral free trade pacts, responding to the concerns raised about the adverse impact of FTAs on India's trade balance and on themanufacturing sector at the Trade & Economic Relations Committee (TERC) meeting held on Monday.

The TERC, chaired by Prime MinisterManmohan Singh discussed at length about India's trade engagements, specifically India-EU BTIA, SAFTA, RCEP and Africa. Sharma said India has a huge trade surplus of about $12 billion with SAFTA.

"With ASEAN, exports have more than doubled after signing of the Indo-ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement in 2009, though imports have also grown as is natural in any trade agreement," he was quoted as saying in the commerce department release. Sharma further mentioned that a significant part of India's imports from this region was related to essential imports like edible oils from Malaysia and Indonesia, and petroleum products and coke from Indonesia.

In case these essential imports of more than $16 billion are discounted, India enjoys a trade surplus with ASEAN. Finance minister P Chidambaram is reported to have raised concern over India's rising imports with the FTA partners. He warned against hasty signing of FTAs.

India has signed free trade pact with about 20 countries including Japan, Korea, ASEAN, Sri Lanka and Nepal while it is negotiating market opening pacts with Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the EU.

Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia, however, reportedly said that India should go for FTAs quite clearly and unambiguously. India has lost out on all goods agreements as its tariffs are higher than the rest, which is why India is negotiating services agreements with various regions and countries. The FTAs have led to revenue losses, which is why the finance ministry has been pushing for a review of the current FTAs signed.

Sharma highlighted that there was an inbuilt mechanism of review in all FTAs which provided an opportunity for mid-course correction, if required. A comprehensive study has been conducted by the department of commerce to assess the impact of FTAs in the Indian context. It was outlined that Indian exports to different regions are crucially dependent on competitiveness, which is guided by other factors such as ushering in the second generation reforms on taxation, rolling out of GST, reform in labour laws, upgradation of infrastructure relating to power, ports and roads, the release said.

High transaction costs and cumbersome procedure on the border at times hamper the ease of doing business in India which need to be addressed to retain India's competitiveness, Sharma pointed out at the meeting.

More: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/foreign-trade/indias-exports-gained-from-free-trade-agreements-anand-sharma/articleshow/25343322.cms

What is Twitter’s real worth?

Soon, incredibly soon, TWTR will begin to trade. But it is not going to be a feeding frenzy like the sprawling, chaotic Facebook IPO of last year. Because while Facebook is a creative but conventional way of doing community, Twitter is forging the future of communications from boilerplate. It is not part of the legacy of computing but was inspired by the SMS revolution. The core technology is as simple as a paper clip and its usage is partly community-built. Users who invented the @ and the hashtag turned it into a medium that can serve as a wire service, a promo platform and a narrow-casting system for engineering flashmobs and revolutions. Non-geeks may see Twitter’s multi-role variable geometry as shape-shifting. Wall Street has tried to avoid looking this protean elephant in the room in the eye and has evaluated Twitter largely on financials. Which is even more confusing: Twitter is loss-making but its shares are more expensive than Facebook’s.

When Twitter filed an S-1 request with the US Securities and Exchange Commission a month ago, Wall Street had regarded the news with wall-eyed incomprehension. An S-1 filing is financially tantalising. All it reveals is that the company plans an IPO under $1 billion. It does not have to show its hand immediately, leaving room for speculation. The punters went bananas, predicting that Twitter would go public next year and that its market cap would lie somewhere between $6 billion and $20 billion. These were really wild guesses bracketing Facebook’s IPO of $16 billion last year.

The company has released key figures and declared risks since then, but the market is not much wiser. Twitter is a fine example of the distance which separates Wall Street from Silicon Valley, the distance between people who value the present and those who understand future value. Wall Street had looked mainly at profits (huge losses, actually. Earliest profits expected in 2015) and revenues. In the first half of the year, the company had earned $221 million in advertising and $32 million from data licensing. In comparison, Facebook’s six-month revenues are set to cross $2 billion.

In October, some analysts had called down the curtain on the era of social media. Facebook and Linkedin have had IPOs and YouTube was swallowed whole by Google. After Twitter, it was suggested, future investments would be attracted by post-social technologies as yet unknown. This assessment is rather bizarre because the era of social media has just begun. But it is unwittingly accurate, because Twitter is misclassified. It is more than social media. Its future is to be a wrapper for media and advertising. What is the value of Facebook in the average Tunisian’s imagination? Vast, no doubt, but it has its limitations. Facebook was made for the computer, not the phone, and not made with news in mind. What is the value of Twitter to the journalist who uses it as a tool to promote his or her byline, the head of state or business who uses it to fight a media war, the artist or activist who is denied media space altogether? Unqualifiedly vast.

Twitter’s eventual game is power and influence, invaluable assets which are left strictly alone by the valuation process. It’s been that way since the dotcom bust of the late-Nineties, when too many valuations fattened by power projections—such as the power to influence the choices of large populations—had turned out to be just so much PowerPoint. But even before acquiring bells and whistles like the micro-video sharing service Vine, the plain vanilla core of Twitter had helped to organise a revolution or three, besides unprecedented protests in India. Opinion is divided on who are its native denizens, people like Barack Obama and Lady Gaga, or fringe steel bands and the guy who believes that he is Hitler’s moustache. But clearly, it has ripped open the envelope of social media and stepped out.

As for its value, if the world’s most powerful newspapers had been rigorously valued in their early years, they would have been shut down as useless. Besides, we are using the first iteration of Twitter. Google Glass, Facebook, Pinterest, Flipboard and other media innovations are also works in progress. Their final forms may be altogether different, and they may interact in unanticipated ways to create future media networks. But we can be absolutely sure that the pipe that brings media to us, whether new or traditional, will be Twitter. Last month, Nielsen began tracking tweets about US TV shows and how they influence viewer behaviour. It is still an imprecise system based on hashtags, but it is a sign of the central role that Twitter will play in the businesses of media, advertising and the big data that they will generate. This microblogging service is destined to be invaluable.

More: http://www.financialexpress.com/news/what-is-twitter-s-real-worth-/1191575/0

Foreign banks can buy private banks

The Reserve bank will incentivise their wholly owned subsidiaries, but conditions apply.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will treat foreign lenders in the country on par with their domestic peers provided they convert into wholly owned subsidiaries (WOS).

Reciprocity with the home country of the parent bank is one of the major factors that RBI would consider before approving the WOS structure. This means, it would look at the treatment given to Indian banks in the home country of the foreign bank.

The RBI on Wednesday detailed the framework for setting up a WOS in India. This comes almost three years after the release of discussion paper on the subject. The minimum paid-up capital should be Rs 500 crore.

While foreign banks that got licences before August 2010 have the option to continue with their existing structure, they might find the new format lucrative in order to expand their business in India.

Once converted, foreign banks would be free to open branches in India without prior approval of the banking regulator except in case of sensitive areas. The regulator also indicated that WOS’ may be permitted to enter into mergers and acquisition transactions with any private sector bank in India, subject to the overall foreign investment limit of 74% and other regulatory approvals.
These relaxations come with riders.

“Not less than 50% of directors should be Indian nationals or NRIs or PIOs, subject to the condition that one-third of the directors are Indian nationals resident in India,” said RBI.

The WOS will have to make sure that at least 25% of the total number of branches opened during a financial year must be opened in unbanked rural areas.

The WOS will have to comply to the priority sector norms on par with domestic banks, which includes agriculture lending of 18% of adjusted net bank credit (ANBC). Presently, foreign banks with less than 20 branches in India need to allocate only 32% of ANBC to priority sector as against 40% in the case of those with larger presence.

“RBI has cleared the air on preferential treatment, priority sector lending and governance issues that were raised on the draft norms,” said Ashvin Parekh, managing partner, APAS LLP, and senior expert advisor, EY.

At present, there are 47 foreign banks with 327 branches in India. 46 other banks only have representative offices in India. With 101 branches, Standard Chartered Bank has the largest presence in India, while Citibank has the biggest asset base.

More: http://www.dnaindia.com/money/report-foreign-banks-can-buy-private-banks-1914872

SBI hikes base rate, EMIs to go up

India's largest lender, State Bank of India (SBI), raised its base lending rate by 20 basis points (bps) to 10% on Wednesday, pushing up EMIs across the board, including on home loans. The state-owned lender also raised its benchmark prime lending rate by 20 bps to 14.75%. The bank stated the increase in rates would be applicable from Thursday.

"If you see, since September 20 the repo rate has gone up by 50 bps and so we thought it necessary to raise these rates. But having raised them, we tried to raise it to the minimum extent possible. Even after raising, we continue to remain one of the cheapest in the market," Arundhati Bhattacharya, chairperson, SBI, told FE.

SBI has become the second bank to have raised its base rate after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced its quarterly monetary policy on October 29, where it raised the repo rate by 25 bps to 7.75%, while cutting the marginal standing facility (MSF) by the same quantum to 8.75%.

Private sector lender HDFC Bank too raised its base rate by 20 bps to 10% on Tuesday.

Analysts see the rate action by SBI as a way to protect net interest margins (NIM) in the bank's domestic business. Domestic margins for the bank have registered a constant downward trend in every quarter since March 2012. From a 4.17% NIM reported as on March 31, 2012, it dropped to 3.44% in the quarter ended June 30, 2013.

"This action is not to align with the market. This has got to do with the increase in repo rate and the impact on margins. SBI has always been cautious of its NIM position and deposit rates are still quite firm. The only rates they could tinker with are the lending rates," said Rajiv Mehta, an analyst with IIFL.

When asked whether the hike in base rate will affect SBI's credit growth, Bhattacharya said the recent spike in credit growth witnessed by the banking system was due to high interest rates in the short-term money market. As commercial paper (CP) rates soared during August and the first half of September, corporates found it unaffordable to raise funds and thus shifted to the cheaper bank loan market, resulting in an impressive credit of 17%-18% for the banking system.

"As CP rates are correcting, the CP portion of the demand has moved back. But you must remember the busy season is starting, so we expect to see 17%-18% credit growth this year," she said.

Last week, India's largest lender had cut interest across maturities on deposits worth over R1 crore by 25-200 bps. However, it left the interest on most retail deposits (worth less than R1 crore) untouched, except the 180-210 day maturity bucket which it hiked by 20 bps.

Experts say even though short-term rates have fallen by over 100 bps since September 20 — when RBI first announced a partial reversal of its liquidity control measures by cutting the MSF rate — this will barely have an impact on SBI since the bank relies mostly on retail deposits.

While SBI and HDFC Bank have already announced lending rate hikes, other large banks are ruling out rate hikes and are watching the situation closely. Ranjan Dhawan, executive director, Bank of Baroda, told FE that his bank is not considering an increase in base rates in the near future.

On September 19, SBI had last hiked its base rate by 10 bps to 9.8%, while also hiking the spread it charged over the base rate on home and auto loans.

More: http://www.financialexpress.com/news/sbi-hikes-base-rate-emis-to-go-up/1191599/0

Emerging output growth at 7-month high in October: HSBC survey

Output growth across emerging markets picked up in October, posting the fastest rise in seven months, while business expectations also rose from the previous month's near-record lows, a survey showed on Thursday.

The composite HSBC Emerging Markets index for services and manufacturing rose to 51.7 from 50.7 in September, driven by the strongest rally in Chinese goods exports for 11 months.

HSBC said 15 of the 18 emerging markets covered in its survey had enjoyed an expansion in output, with robust increases in activity in China, Brazil and Russia.

"We have a large number of the countries showing improvements," said Pablo Goldberg, global head of emerging markets research at HSBC in New York.

"There is a better outlook for emerging market trading partners - China, the United States, the euro zone."

The index confirms what purchasing managers surveys (PMIs) worldwide have shown, namely that economic growth is slowly ticking higher.

A separate PMI survey by JPMorgan showed earlier this week that global manufacturing activity had increased at its fastest pace in over two years in October, on a surge in new orders that led factories to take on more staff.

The HSBC survey showed that new business growth across emerging markets rose at the strongest rate in seven months in October, leading to the first employment rise in four months.

The HSBC Emerging Markets Future Output Index, measuring business expectations, also rebounded to a seven-month high.

Chinese manufacturing output increased for the third month running, and at the quickest pace since April, while South Korea ended four months of contraction. Russia saw the strongest output growth in a year while Brazilian output rose at the quickest pace since May.

The strongest performance came in central Europe, where Poland posted a survey-record increase in new export business and Czech goods production rose at the strongest rate in 2-1/2 years. Firms also increased head count at the fastest rate since September 2011, HSBC said.

But the bank warned that emerging markets were not out of the woods yet, especially the so-called fragile five economies with large current account deficits.

Of these countries, HSBC pointed out that Brazil and Indonesia had recorded a modest manufacturing pick-up from a low base, while Turkey and South Africa decelerated and India's output had contracted for a sixth consecutive month.

Goldberg also said there had been a slight decline in new export orders in some economies, such as Russia.

"It will be very important to see a little bit of a pick-up on the exports side."

The HSBC survey collects data from purchasing managers at about 7,500 firms in 16 emerging markets. The index is calculated using data produced by Markit.

Despite the recent gains, the emerging markets index remains well below its long-term trend level of 54.0, HSBC added.

More: http://profit.ndtv.com/news/global-economy/article-emerging-output-growth-at-7-month-high-in-october-hsbc-survey-371533

Panel for 15-25% hike in reserve price of airwaves

Overruling the recommendation of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai), the Telecom Commission has suggested a hike of 15-25% more than what the telecom regulator had proposed for the reserve price, in select circles.

The inter-ministerial panel, which met on Wednesday to take a call on the reserve price issue among others in the telecom spectrum auction suggested 15% increase in the reserve price of 1800 MHz spectrum in some circles Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, and 25% in the reserve price of 900 MHz spectrum to be auctioned in Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata.

Last month, in response to the Department of Telecom (DoT’s) request, Trai stuck to its earlier recommendation that the government should cut the reserve price sharply for the upcoming 900 MHz and 1800 MHz spectrum auctions.

It had rejected the government’s request to reconsider its recommendations that the reserve price for spectrum in the 900 MHz band in some key areas be reduced by 60%.

Furthermore, Trai had suggested a 37% cut in the reserve price for spectrum in the 1800 MHz band.

The commission has also gone against the Trai recommendation not to auction the spectrum in the 800 MHz band. However, it has broadly accepted the new merger and acquisition policy, suggested by an internal committee of the DoT. Now a final call on the issues will be taken by the empowered group of ministers (EGoM).

The last two auctions conducted in November last year and early this year had failed miserably on account of high reserve price. According to industry experts, the then reserve price of Rs3,622 crore per megahertz (MHz) for 1800 MHz band spectrum recommended by the selfsame Trai made it unaffordable for telcos.

The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) said that though the operators would still be bidding at this price, a lower price would have ensured a more aggressive bidding.

More: http://www.dnaindia.com/money/report-panel-for-15-25pct-hike-in-reserve-price-of-airwaves-1914798

0.3m Pakistanis facing deportation from Saudi Arabia

As many as 0.3 million Pakistanis who have failed to legalise their status in Saudi Arabia till November 3, the deadline given for this purpose, now face risk being fined, jailed or deported from the Kingdom, the sources told The News here on Wednesday.

According to official statistics, 0.8 million Pakistanis have legal status in Saudi Arabia but 0.3 million Pakistanis are yet to legalise their status. Now those Pakistanis who have failed to legalise their status may face action by the Saudi authorities, the official documents revealed.

Muhammad Naeem Khan, Pakistan’s Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, pointed out that a total of 729,932 Pakistani workers have so far benefited from the amnesty deadline as 396,152 nationals have changed their sponsorships and 333,780 workers their professions to legalise their status in the Kingdom.

The official figures of the Saudi Arab ministry stated that the Kingdom hosts eight million foreign workers, mostly in very low-paid jobs, and there are another two million unregistered non-Saudi workers who must legalise their status or face action.

It is pertinent to mention here that expatriates living and working in Saudi Arabia, had been given until November 3 to set their papers in order or risk severe punishment and deportation. An earlier three-month amnesty deadline, which ended on July 3, was extended to November 3.

When contacted, Foreign Office spokesman Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry said that the Pakistan Embassy in Saudi Arabia is in touch with the Saudi authorities and Pakistani people as well and “we are putting in our best efforts to help resolve the issues of all the Pakistani people working in Saudi Arabia.”

“Our Ambassador and Consulate General in Jeddah are in complete touch with the Saudi officials and also making efforts to help Pakistanis rectify their documents for attainment of legal status in Saudi Arabia,” he said.

More: http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-13-26522-03m-Pakistanis-facing-deportation-from-Saudi-Arabia

Musharraf freed from house arrest, can’t leave Pak

Former Pakistan president General Pervez Musharraf was declared a free man on Wednesday evening after a local court approved his bail in a murder case, the latest of a string of cases that he was facing after he returned to Pakistan. District and Sessions judge granted Musharraf bail against the alleged murder of former cleric of Lal Masjid Ghazi Abdul Rasheed and his mother during the Lal Masjid operation in 2007 on the payment of surety bonds.

The former president had already obtained bail in three cases which include the Benazir Bhutto murder case, the Akbar Bugti murder case and Judges detention case.

Legal experts say that a high treason case is still pending against the former Pakistan strongman and the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has yet to start formal proceedings against him.

This may possibly be an impediment in Musharraf being allowed to leave the country.

Some experts maintain that Musharraf is still on the Exit Control List but he can freely move within the country. However, his lawyer Ahmed Raza Kasuri claimed that per his reading of the laws, Muhsarraf’s name was no longer on the ECL and can leave the country. Despite the bail, Musharraf is likely to remain under heavy guard at his farmhouse owing to Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan threats issued against him.

More: http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/musharraf-freed-from-house-arrest-can-t-leave-pak/article1-1148111.aspx

It's Vijender Gupta vs Sheila Dikshit in N. Delhi

Sending a strong signal to the rival Congress camp, the BJP has fielded former state unit president Vijender Gupta against chief minister Sheila Dikshit in New Delhi constituency in the assembly polls.

Dikshit represents New Delhi constituency in the outgoing assembly. Aam Admi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal will also enter the electoral fray from here.

Gupta’s nomination was announced the BJP’s central election committee (CEC), which released a list of 62 candidates for the Delhi assembly polls. Out of the 70 assembly seats, the BJP has given four seats to the Siromani Akali Dal (SAD). The committee has authorised party president Rajnath Singh to nominate candidates for remaining seats.

Announcing the names of the candidates, BJP general secretary Ananth Kumar said chief ministerial candidate Dr Harsh Vardhan would contest from Krishna Nagar constituency. Almost all the sitting MLAs of the party have been given ticket except those whose sons have been fielded.

The SAD will field its candidates from Hari Nagar, Shahdara, Kalkaji and Rajouri Garden constituencies.

Earlier, there was speculation that some Bollywood celebrity would be fielded against Dikshit. A senior party leader said that with Gupta’s candidature it’s now clear that the BJP is fielding one of its strongest candidates to take on the chief minister.

During his tenure as the party’s state unit president, Gupta continuously attacked Dikshit’s government for its failure on various fronts. He also fought legal battle against Dikshit. In 2009, Gupta contested the Lok Sabha election against union minister Kapil Sibal from Chandni Chowk.

After the announcement, Gupta said the party has given an opportunity to take on Dikshit in the electoral battle. “She will not only be an outgoing chief minister, but after the elections she will also be an ex-MLA,” he said.

Kumar said the party has given ticket to four women candidates, one Muslim and seven from the Schedule Caste.

Son of three senior leaders have also been given ticket. Ajay Malhotra, son of senior BJP leader VK Malhotra, is contesting from Greater Kailash, a seat currently represented by senior Malhotra.
Pravesh Verma, son of former chief minister Sahib Singh Verma, will contest from Mehrauli. Rajiv Babbar, state unit spokesperson and son of sitting MLA from Tilak Nagar OP Babbar, is the party candidate from the same constituency his father has been representing since 1993.

However, son of former chief minister of Delhi Madan Lal Khurana has been left out.

The BJP central election committe has also finalised candidates for 64 assembly seats in Madhya Pradesh and one legislative council seat in Maharastra. “Chandrakant Patil is the party candidate for the Maharastra legislative council election,” Kumar added.

More: http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-it-s-vijender-gupta-vs-sheila-dikshit-in-n-delhi-1914886

Al Qaeda claims killing of French journalists in Mali - report

The Mauritanian news website Sahara Medias said on Wednesday it had received a claim of responsibility from al Qaeda's regional wing for the killing of two French journalists in northern Mali.

A Sahara Medias reporter said a spokesman for Abdelkrim al-Targui, a senior regional commander for al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), had called by satellite phone to read a communiqué in Arabic. The caller had started by speaking in Tamashek, the language spoken by Tuaregs in northern Mali.

The communiqué said the killing was only a small part of the price French President Francois Hollande and his people would have to pay for this year's military intervention, which drove out Islamist militants who had seized half the country.

Sahara Medias is often sent statements by Islamist militants in Mali.

According to the communiqué published on Sahara Medias' website, AQIM said the killing of the two journalists for Radio France International on Saturday was a response to "crimes perpetrated by France and its U.N., Malian and African allies".

France now shares security duties in Mali with African and U.N. peacekeepers and local troops, which generally keep a low profile.

On Tuesday, France announced it had bolstered its military presence by 150 troops in Kidal - a northern stronghold of Tuareg separatist rebels where instability has grown in recent months, and where the journalists were abducted.

Malian Justice Minister Mohamed Ali Bathily told the French channel BFM TV that analysis of mobile phone data "indicates that some of the arrested people were in contact with AQIM".

The French daily Le Monde reported on Tuesday that three of the four abductors had been identified by French intelligence and the military as Islamists from a Tuareg clan, after a document was found in a car abandoned at the scene.

A French government spokeswoman declined to comment and an official at the French presidency said Paris was supporting the Malian government so that the murders did not go unpunished.

In March, AQIM announced it had killed another French hostage, Philippe Verdon, in response to France's intervention in Mali. His body was found by French troops in July.

Last week, four other French hostages kidnapped by Islamists in neighbouring Niger were released.

Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said after the killings that Paris would not delay a planned reduction of its troop presence from 3,200 to 1,000 scheduled for February.

It aims to hand control of security to a U.N. mission that will number 12,600 when it reaches full strength.

Mali is due to hold a parliamentary election on November 24 to follow a presidential vote held in August.

More: http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/11/06/uk-mali-france-kidnap-idUKBRE9A514A20131106

Pollsters blame inaccurate interpretation

The Congress’s proposal to ban opinion polls could be based on an unjustified suspicion of the process, pollsters say. According to them, if opinion polls and forecasts are reported and interpreted in a more scientific way, politicians will find that pollsters get it right more often than not.

The Election Commission bans publication of both opinion polls and exit polls for 48 hours before the casting of votes is over. The body sought the opinion of political parties on whether the ban should be extended to the entire election season, from the date on which elections are announced. Calling opinion polls fraudulent and manipulated, Congress politicians have supported such a ban.

Pollsters say the problem is not so much their inaccuracy as interpretation of their findings. “In the last 20 years, there have been over 100 elections in India and on the whole, polling agencies have got it right. Except for the 2004 general elections, where we all accept that we got it wrong, pollsters have rarely got it dramatically wrong,” Yashwant Deshmukh, founder and managing director of C-Voter, told The Hindu.

This despite the fact that India’s size, social heterogeneity and multi-polarity makes it a forecaster’s nightmare, especially since media organisations, which commission all polling in India, have tight budgets, pollsters say. Global giants like Pew and Gallup say that one of the challenges of polling in India is that because a representative sampling frame of phone users has not yet been developed in India, the country’s size makes face-to-face interviewing prohibitively expensive, their representatives told The Hindu.

Pollsters who specialise in election forecasting say the proliferation of market research companies in the business has given polling a bad name. “If there was some regulation of polls before they are released in the media to make sure that the sampling, methodology and interpretation is correct, we would not oppose that,” said Sanjay Kumar, national coordinator of the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies’ National Election Studies.

“There are too many bad polls out there and very few good ones, but they are all unfortunately getting put into one basket,” he added.

Both the media and the political class suffer from a poor understanding of statistics, pollsters say, and do not pay attention to disclaimers including the margin of error. “Some polling agencies and the media love to flash how big the sample is, without paying any attention to whether it is a truly representative sample,” Mr. Deshmukh said. “What is needed is greater transparency, rather than a ban,” Mr. Kumar agreed.

More: http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/pollsters-blame-inaccurate-interpretation/article5314782.ece

Yasser Arafat may have been killed by polonium poisoning: Forensic report

Nine years after the mysterious death of the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, a detailed forensic report by Swiss experts claims that his death was caused by poisoning with polonium-210”, reports said Thursday.

According to the 108-page Swiss forensic report accessed by al-Jazeera, "unexpectedly high levels of polonium-210 and lead-210 activity" were detected in the remains extracted from the exhumed body of the late leader.

The remains that was examined upon by experts at Vaudois University Hospital Centre (CHUV) in Lausanne, Switzerland, consisted of pieces of Arafat’s bones of ribs and pelvis and the soil around his corpse which had absorbed his bodily fluids.

The report concluded that the results obtained by the scientists "moderately support the proposition that the death was the consequence of poisoning with polonium-210".

The report comes just four days before his death anniversary that falls on Nov 11.

Reacting to the report, Arafat’s widow Mrs. Suha Arafat told Al-Jazeera she was shocked and saddened by the revelations.

"It's a shocking, shocking crime to get rid of a great leader," she said.

Arafat died at a French military hospital in 2004, following a sudden illness which baffled doctors.

No autopsy was carried out at the time, in line with his widow's request.

His medical report claimed that he died of a stroke triggered by abnormal blood conditions.

Palestinians have been suspecting Israel’s hand behind the poisoning for long, and the latest report may spark the tensions again.

Tawfiq Tirawi, the head of the Palestinian committee investigating Arafat's death, had earlier said that Ramallah would petition the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague if it found proof that the veteran leader was poisoned.

However Israel rubbished the report with its foreign ministry writing off the Swiss probe as "more soap opera than science".

Arafat’s body was exhumed from his grave in West Bank’s Ramallah after a Swiss institute discovered traces of the poisonous element polonium in his belongings.

The Palestinian National Authority (PNA) agreed to exhume the late president's body at the request of some of his family members.

The request for exhumation was made after Switzerland's Institute of Radiation Physics discovered traces of polonium-210, a deadly radioactive isotope, on some of Arafat's belongings.

Arafat led the Palestinian Liberation Organisation's fight against Israel from the 1960s but signed a peace agreement with the Jewish state in 1993 establishing Palestinian self-rule areas in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

His mysterious death came four years into a Palestinian uprising, after years of talks with Israel failed to lead to a Palestinian state.

Ex-Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko was also found to have been poisone by Polonium in London in 2006.

More: http://zeenews.india.com/news/world/yasser-arafat-may-have-been-killed-by-polonium-poisoning-forensic-report_888376.html

At Eden, Sachin Tendulkar makes Anjali's wish come true

“If only they give him an over,” she hoped. And as luck would have it, Anjali Tendulkar’s wish was MS Dhoni’s command.

“Let’s go out and sit in the stands.” This time, Boria Majumdar, her husband’s official
biographer, couldn’t but oblige. The duo stepped out of Box No 3 and grabbed their seats in the BC Roy Clubhouse. “He’s going to get a wicket.” Bingo! Majumdar was left wondering if he was sitting next to a distant relative of Nostradamus. “It was crazy,” he says. “It was like she knew it was going to happen.”

The first day of the first Test may have belonged to Mohammed Shami, but if there were a sponsored segment on TV called ‘Moment of the Day’, Tendulkar’s googly that claimed Shane Shillingford would run away with the cake.

It was the last over before tea and the seventh-wicket pair had added 20 runs. Also, the stand between Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Shillingford had lasted over 12 overs.

Enter Tendulkar. First ball: leg-break, no run. Second ball: atrocious delivery, a big-spinning googly pitched outside leg. Spins further, beats Dhoni, four byes. Third ball: leg-break, no run. And then he makes it happen with a straighter one. Tendulkar flights the ball and it dips on the right-hander before thudding into his front pad. Plumb, gone. There’s no way the umpire was going to break more than 40,000 hearts. Not today. Not at the Eden.

Anjali couldn’t contain her joy. It was tea time and she went back into the corporate box. Time for sandwiches, maybe?

The family had no plans to visit the Eden. But when Majumdar and Cricket Association of Bengal supremo Jagmohan Dalmiya requested her to make the trip, she agreed. “Anjali and Arjun (Tendulkar’s 14-year-old son) flew in this (Wednesday) morning. Only Mr Dalmiya and I were in the know. Even Sachin didn’t know they were going to be here,” Majumdar informs. They were joined by four of Arjun’s coaches from Ealing Cricket Club in the UK and a couple of family friends.

A Tendulkar wicket is a rarity, at least in Tests. The last time the maestro struck with the ball, Mark Boucher was at the receiving end (again, LBW). It was the New Year Test of 2011 and Tendulkar had scored the last of his 51 Test hundreds in Cape Town as the contest, and series, ended in a draw.

Sara (Tendulkar’s daughter) is in Bangkok on a holiday and that’s why she missed her father’s 46th Test wicket. But she’ll be there at the Wankhede to watch her baba. The 14-year-old Arjun, a junior Mumbai cricketer, has elaborate plans. He wants to attend all five days of his father’s farewell Test. When reminded by his mother that he cannot bunk school, the left-arm medium pacer dishes out a beauty: “School will be there for five years, but will I get to see my baba bat after those five days?” The mother smiles heartily. Arjun needn’t worry. Baba would be home to sign his ‘leave of absence’ note!

Now, that’s a happy family.

More: http://www.dnaindia.com/sport/report-at-eden-sachin-tendulkar-makes-anjali-s-wish-come-true-1914800

Nigerians are like a cancer, says Goa minister; locals call for their boycott

The murder of a Nigerian last week is threatening not only to snowball into a diplomatic row, but is also developing into a worrying situation in the tiny tourist state where angry posters have sprung up as locals single out Nigerians and say they will not rent homes to them.

There has been growing anger among the people since about 200 Nigerians blocked a major national highway and clashed with the police and locals as they protested after their countryman was found dead with stab wounds in Mapusa town near Panaji.

"We have appealed to people not to rent homes or bikes to Nigerians," said a lodge owner in Mapusa today.

In Parra village in north Goa, the panchayat decided that no "foreigners" will be given homes on rent.

The fine print, admit villagers, is most "foreigners" are Nigerians and need to be banned.

Incendiary posters with legends such as "We want peace in Goa. Say no to Nigerian. Say no to drugs" have been put up but Michael Lobo, an MLA from the ruling party, denies that these have racist overtones.

In controversial remarks, the lawmaker said, "98% Nigerians, African nationals in Goa are involved in drugs... they come to Goa on false pretext of tourism, studies."

His party colleague and a minister in the state government, Dayanand Mandrekar, in fact, said that "Nigerians are like a 'cancer'.

This morning, one of the alleged murderer of the Nigerian was arrested. He is reportedly linked with a gang that traffics drugs.

Amid reports that many of the Nigerians in Goa are leaving town, the ambassador of that country in India today said, "The Nigerian people as a whole feel insulted and offended... I need evidence from you and from others that you are also concerned about the safety of Nigerians." (Read)

Ndubuisi Vitus Amaku was referring to developments over the last few days that have included a drive by the Goa government to identify and deport Nigerians who allegedly do not have valid visas.

Nigeria has also formally written to the Indian government expressing concern over the security of its citizens.

"The MEA got in touch with Goa's chief secretary who assured us of a report in 48 hours. Our acting High Commissioner in Abuja went to the Nigerian foreign office and explained the situation as we see it," Syed Akbaruddin, Spokesperson, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.

Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar had earlier told reporters that he had asked the police department to comb the entire state and locate Nigerians and other foreign nationals who do not have valid visas.

More: http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/nigerians-are-like-a-cancer-says-goa-minister-locals-call-for-their-boycott-442536

Twitter prices above range to raise at least $1.8 billion

Twitter Inc priced its initial public offering above its expected range to raise at least $1.8 billion, in a sign of strong investor demand for the most highly anticipated U.S. public float since Facebook Inc .

The microblogging network priced 70 million shares at $26, above the targeted range of $23 to $25, which had been raised once before.

The IPO values Twitter at $14.1 billion, with the potential to reach $14.4 billion if underwriters exercise an over-allotment option, as they are widely expected to.

If the full overallotment is exercised, Twitter could raise $2.1 billion, making it the second largest Internet offering in the U.S. behind Facebook's $16 billion IPO last year and ahead of Google Inc's 2004 IPO, according to Thomson Reuters data.

The focus now turns to how Twitter stock will fare on Thursday. Some analysts said they expect shares to experience a small pop during the first day. Twelve-month price targets on the stock range from $29 to $54.

Brian Wieser, an analyst at Pivotal Research Group who valued Twitter this week at $29 a share, said the stock appears to have strong institutional investor support and could easily close over $30 a share on its first day.

But he warned that trading could be volatile, given that Wall Street has struggled to value an unorthodox social media company with a newfangled business model.

"There's still so much uncertainty and it's so difficult to even identify how big the opportunity is," Wieser said. "Twitter will make Netflix look like General Electric as a bellwether of stability."

Investor enthusiasm for Twitter, which boasts 230 million users including heads of state and celebrities, is strong even though the microblogging network has never turned a profit.

Moshe Cohen, a professor at Columbia Business School in New York, said pressure on the company could quickly mount if shares lose steam out of the gate.

"Twitter, as a company with no expectations of making profits for several years, needs its investors to have faith," Cohen said. "If that stock starts to show some negative momentum from the beginning, it could last for a while."

Twitter, however, is listing amid the strongest market for U.S. IPOs since 2007, as equity markets soared and uncertainty around the U.S. debt ceiling has largely subsided for now.

A number of IPOs have doubled on their first day of trading, including Container Store Group , restaurant chain Potbelly Corp and software company Benefitfocus Inc .

Twitter hiked its target IPO price on Monday from an initial range of $17 to $20. All of the proceeds from the IPO will go directly to the company, with no insider selling taking place.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc , which led the Twitter IPO, tops the list of U.S. technology bookrunners this year with an 18.3 percent market share, up from 11 percent a year ago when it ranked fifth, according to Thomson Reuters data.

Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase & Co also led the IPO.

AVOIDING FACEBOOK'S MISTAKES

Twitter has been focused on avoiding many of the pitfalls that plagued Facebook during its $16 billion IPO last May. The company priced shares more conservatively than Facebook did and chose to list on the New York Stock Exchange rather than the Nasdaq.

Facebook had increased both the number of shares and the price range just before its public debut, which contributed to a sustained decline in its share price. The shares took more than a year to recover to the $38 IPO price.

"Twitter did a good job putting together its message," said Tom Taulli, an independent IPO expert. "It wasn't about distractions, it was about having a great property and brand and a focus on the business...that wasn't necessarily the message when Facebook came out."

The high level of interest stoked by Twitter's road show spurred speculation in recent days that its bankers could raise the price again significantly higher than $25, but they ultimately did not.

"I'm glad they didn't take it up higher, as speculated," said Suntrust Robinson Humphries analyst Robert Peck. "It still provides enough upside for investors and provides a nice contrast to Facebook."

CHALLENGES REMAIN

Despite Twitter's successful IPO, some analysts have expressed concerns that Twitter's valuation is dependent on sustained user growth and a maturing advertising business - two factors that may never be realized.

Although the company has close to a quarter-billion-users, it lacks the ubiquity of Facebook or the "stickiness" factor that keeps people checking the No. 1 social network on a daily basis. A Reuters-Ipsos poll last month showed that 36 percent of people who signed up for a Twitter account say they do not use it.

Twitter, which has extensively courted large brand marketers, still generates relatively little revenue per user compared with Facebook, while the majority of its users are located outside the U.S. in countries such as Indonesia or Brazil, which are less lucrative digital advertising markets.

During its road show over the past week, Twitter executives had assured investors that they plan to wring more money out of its international user base and smaller businesses by expanding its self-serve advertising products and opening offices abroad.

But analysts say the company could encounter a slew of regulatory and policy hurdles in foreign countries as it expands.

Twitter said last month that its third-quarter revenue more than doubled to $168.6 million, but net losses widened to $64.6 million from $21.6 million a year earlier as costs ballooned.

Aside from aggressively growing its overseas sales presence, Twitter's expenditures will likely continue to rise.

Twitter disclosed Monday that it had received a letter from International Business Machines Corp accusing the social media company of infringing on at least three U.S. patents. Twitter's well-known intellectual property vulnerabilities could force the company to invest heavily in expanding its patent portfolio, similar to what Facebook has done since going public.

Twitter is set to trade on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday under the ticker TWTR.

More: http://www.business-standard.com/article/reuters/twitter-prices-above-range-to-raise-at-least-1-8-billion-113110700101_1.html

90% Indians oppose Narendra Modi: Javed Akhtar

In a comment which could snowball into a controversy, acclaimed writer-lyricist Javed Akhtar on Thursday said that some people think that opposing Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi is an anti-national activity.

On a microblogging website Twitter, Akhtar tweeted: "Some idiots imply that opposing Modi is an anti national activity. Are they suggesting that we, the 90 % Indians are anti nationals."

Last month, the lyricist and Rajya Sabha MP had retorted to those who were sending him “indecent messages”.

On Twitter, Akhtar wrote: “The kind of crude , indecent and Vulgar messages I get from Modi lovers establishes the low quality of his followers (sic).”

The Akhtar bashing by Modi's supporters began when in October, Akhtar said Narendra Modi can never be a good prime minister, alleging that the BJP's PM aspirant was not only tainted of communal riots but was also "undemocratic".

"Besides, all talks of involvement in Gujarat riots of 2002 which are before the courts, this man (Modi) is not democratic," Akhtar had told reporters on the sidelines of a school function in Patna. "Amid chants of registering hat-trick in Gujarat one thing is glossed over - that he has given a damn to democracy in the state ... His rise is a challenge to democracy," the Padma Bhusan awardee had added.

Akhtar’s remarks on Modi drew flak from the Gujarat CM’s supporters.

More: http://zeenews.india.com/news/nation/90-indians-oppose-narendra-modi-javed-akhtar_888382.html

CV Raman's 125th birthday: Google doodles the Raman effect

November 7, 2013 is the 125th birth anniversary of one of India's most prominent scientists CV Raman and Google has highlighted on its India home page the work for which the physicist won a Nobel. The postage-stamp-like Google doodle celebrating CV Raman's birthday has Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman's (his full name) face appearing behind the letter G and on the adjacent stamp to the right the other letters in the Google logo demonstrate the Raman effect. 

CV Raman was born on November 7, 1888 in Trichinopoly (now Tiruchirappalli in Tamil Nadu). After passing out of Presidency College, Madras with a master's degree in physics in 1907 Raman joined government service as an accountant and in 1917 became a professor of physics at the University of Calcutta. CV Raman discovered the phenomenon now called Raman scattering that is the result of the Raman effect. It was in 1928 that he discovered the phenomenon now called Raman scattering that is the result of the Raman effect. 

Google doodles a calculator for the human computer Definition of Raman effect on Encyclopedia Britinnica: When a beam of light traverses a dust-free, transparent sample of a chemical compound, a small fraction of the light emerges in directions other than that of the incident (incoming) beam. Most of this scattered light is of unchanged wavelength. A small part, however, has wavelengths different from that of the incident light; its presence is a result of the Raman effect. Raman was knighted by the British monarch in 1929. 

He received the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1930, becoming the second Indian Nobel laureates after Rabindranath Tagore. In 1933 CV Raman joined the Indian Institute of Science, at Bangalore and headed of the department of physics. He was named director of the Raman Research Institute in 1947. 

After India's Independence CV Raman was instrumental in setting up of other prominent Indian research institutes. CV Raman died on November 21, 1970 in Bangalore.

Read more at: http://ibnlive.in.com/news/cv-ramans-125th-birthday-google-doodles-the-raman-effect/432660-11.html?utm_source=ref_article