India loses 4 lakh children every year to pneumonia, diarrhea

As the country with the highest disease burden for pneumonia and diarrhea, India loses 400,000 children before their fifth birthday every year. The Pneumonia and Diarrhea Progress Report 2013, published by the International Vaccine Access Centre (IVAC) at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health on the occasion of World Pneumonia Day on Tuesday, highlighted that many Indian children do not have access to life-saving treatment and prevention measures.

Pneumonia and diarrhea claimed the lives of 1.7 million under-five children in 2012 alone.

Despite having roughly half the world's under-five population, 15 countries — that have been tracked in this report — accounted for 75% of global pneumonia and diarrhea deaths. India, along with Nigeria, had mortality rates 4-10 times higher than the goal set by the Global Action Plan for Prevention and Control of Pneumonia and Diarrhea (GAPPD). In order to substantially decrease the number of child pneumonia and diarrhea deaths globally, it is especially critical for these countries to accelerate their implementation of GAPPD interventions.

The nine intervention measures are coverage rates for pertussis (DTP3), measles, Hib, pneumococcal and rotavirus vaccines (reported separately), access to an appropriate health care provider and antibiotic treatment for children with pneumonia, treatment with oral rehydration salts (ORS) for children with diarrhea and exclusive breastfeeding in the first six months of a child's life.

The overall GAPPD scores take into account interventions that impact both pneumonia and diarrhea, as well as those that only affect pneumonia or diarrhea.

"None of the 15 countries profiled in this report reached such GAPPD-Pneumonia or GAPPD-Diarrhea scores. In fact, for eight of the 15 countries, none of the GAPPD coverage targets were met. For these high-burden, low-performing countries, much work remains in the areas of breastfeeding, child immunization, and health care delivery," the report said.

Burkina Faso showed the greatest improvement in pneumonia-specific intervention scores between 2012 and 2013 (+11%). Slightly lower 2013 GAPPD-Pneumonia scores were seen in a few countries, including Nigeria, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Niger, Indonesia and Kenya. In case of India, Pakistan and China, there were no changes in their pneumonia intervention scores between 2012 and 2013.

"India has taken a few steps in addressing the pneumonia disease burden by introducing the Haemophilusinfluenzae type B (Hib) vaccine in nine states. The National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (NTAGI) has now recommended the vaccine for a national scale-up. However, India still needs to include other vaccines such as rotavirus and pneumococcal in its national programme while simultaneously strengthening its health systems and improving access to other preventive interventions and treatment solutions," said Professor N K Ganguly, distinguished biotechnology professor, National Institute of Immunology.

According to the progress report, by adopting a comprehensive and combined approach to pneumonia and diarrhea, countries can amplify the impact of individual interventions and achieve accelerated progress in the years to come. Also, creating robust monitoring and evaluation systems should be a priority for countries, as these will provide the necessary information for decision-making on health programmes. In addition, country-specific gaps and barriers in access to appropriate treatment for pneumonia and diarrhea need to be addressed.

Early successes can already be seen in countries such as Uganda and Tanzania, which have achieved relatively higher coverage of interventions that impact both pneumonia and diarrhea.

More: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/India-loses-4-lakh-children-every-year-to-pneumonia-diarrhea/articleshow/25664678.cms

After Monday's glitch, orbit of MOM raised

After facing a technical glitch on Monday, the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) successfully completed the fourth supplementaryorbit-raising manoeuvre of the Mars Orbiter Spacecraft on Tuesday.

On Monday, the fourth manoeuvre had fallen short of the targeted apogee (farthest point from Earth) of 100,000 km after the fuel flow to the engine was affected.

“The fourth supplementary orbit-raising manoeuvre of Mars Orbiter Spacecraft, starting at 05:03:50 hrs (Indian standard time) on November 12, 2013, with a burn time of 303.8 seconds, has been successfully completed. The observed change in apogee is from 78,276 km to 118,642 km. The velocity added is 124.9 metres per second,” said Isro officials.

After the minor setback on Monday, Isro chairman K Radhakrishnan had said there was nothing to worry and there that the mission was indeed on track.

On Monday, the apogee of Mars Orbiter Spacecraft was raised from 71,623 km to 78,276 km by imparting an incremental velocity of 35 metres a second, against the targeted velocity of 130 metres a second to raise the apogee to 100,000 km.

After the operation missed the target, a supplementary orbit-raising operation was planned on Tuesday morning, which was successful.

Most-tracked mission

India's Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), which was launched on November 5 by Isro, has become the most-tracked satellite in the world, according to N2YO, which provides web-based realtime satellite mapping tool to track multiple satellites.

Three days ago, MOM was in the fourth position among the top 50 most-tracked satellites in the world.

According to the N2YO website, MOM is the most-tracked satellite, followed by ISS (ZARYA) of the International Space Station. (The information is as of 6:00 pm on Tuesday).

The result is based on user activity for the past 12 hours.

MOM's mapping at 4.40 pm on Saturday showed the spacecraft was over Chad, a landlocked country in Central Africa.

More: http://www.business-standard.com/article/current-affairs/after-monday-s-glitch-orbit-of-mom-raised-113111200763_1.html

'TN has the most number of diabetic patients in India'

At least 1,000 people receive treatment for diabetes out of the 12,000 out-patients who visit Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital (RGGGH) everyday, said Health Minister Dr C Vijayabhaskar on Tuesday.

The Minister was speaking at a function organised as part of World Diabetes Day at RGGGH. He said that the Government Hospital had been giving free medicine and insulin vials to Type I and Type II diabetic patients.

“Sufficient medicines are given to these patients so they can come to the hospital once a month,” said the Minister. He also added that there was also a specialised foot care centre at the hospital.

Dr V Kanagasabai, Dean, RGGGH and MMC, informed that hospitals in Chennai had been witnessing highest number of diabetic cases in the State. “India has the highest number of diabetic cases and within the country, Tamil Nadu has the most number of cases,” said the dean. He also advised people to take at least half a kilo of vegetables everyday and limit the intake of banana, sweets, ice cream and chocolate.

Diabetes can affect one’s eyesight, kidney and heart, warned Professor Dr P Dharmarajan, HOD, Institute of Diabetes. He added that diabetic patients should go for annual checkups. “Patients notice the symptoms of ailments in the kidneys, heart and eyes only after 90 per cent of the organs are already affected,” said Dharmarajan.

Twenty Type I diabetes patients were given blood glucometers free of cost for monitoring their blood sugar levels and 30 Type II diabetes patients were given a kit containing free insulin vial, 10 disposable insulin syringes and travel pouch for transporting insulin vials at the function.

More: http://newindianexpress.com/states/tamil_nadu/TN-has-the-most-number-of-diabetic-patients-in-India/2013/11/13/article1887073.ece

Mars orbiter raring to go at 1.18 lakh km

India's first Mars orbiter spacecraft bounced back into action after a day of concern, when Isro scientists raised its apogee (farthest point from Earth) to more than one lakh km on Tuesday.

"The orbit-raising operation was a success," Isro chairman K Radhakrishnan messaged TOI early on Tuesday. "We are expecting an apogee of 1.18 lakh km."

This means that the spacecraft is ready to leave Earth's orbit. This exercise, called the trans-Martian injection. is planned for December 1. On Monday, a halt in the flow of the liquid engine had slowed down the orbit-raising operation, as an apogee of only 71,623km could be achieved as against the desired orbit of 1 lakh km. This was corrected with Tuesday's exercise.

What saved the spacecraft were the redundancies (back-up systems) on board. "When both the primary and redundant coils were energised together, as one of the planned modes, the flow to the liquid engine stopped. The thrust level augmentation logic, as expected, came in and the operation continued using the attitude control thrusters. This sequence resulted in reduction of incremental velocity," Isro said in a statement.

Scientists said the spacecraft is in good health to achieve its objectives including the trans-Martian injection on December 1, and the 400-million km cruise to the red planet in 300 days. "During the orbit-raising operations conducted since November 7, 2013, Isro has been testing and exercising the autonomy functions progressively. The prime and redundant star sensors have been functioning satisfactorily. The primary coil of the solenoid flow control valve was used successfully for the first three orbit-raising operations," Isro said.

The drawback means the planned simultaneous operation of two coils would not be possible anymore, but if the rest of the operations happen as planned, the spacecraft will reach the Martian orbit on September 24.

More: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Mars-orbiter-raring-to-go-at-1-18-lakh-km/articleshow/25669264.cms

Venus Williams to play Hobart WTA event

American star Venus Williams has been confirmed as a starter in the Hobart WTA International in January, organisers said on Wednesday. The seven-time Grand Slam champion, now ranked 48, will be making her first appearance in the tournament in the run-up to the Australian Open in Melbourne.

"The tournament is played on the same surface as the Australian Open, so it will be a great place to get some good match practice against tough opponents before I head to Melbourne," Williams said in a statement.

She will join Australia's former US Open champion Sam Stosur in the event from January 5-11.

More: http://www.hindustantimes.com/sports-news/Tennis/Venus-Williams-to-play-Hobart-WTA-event/Article1-1150535.aspx

Black is more than OK for Viswanathan Anand

Third game between the Indian GM and Carlsen ends in a draw.
Viswanathan Anand and Magnus Carlsen during their third match at in Chennai on Tuesday. - PTI

Black is OK is a book by Hungarian Grandmaster Andras Adorjan. But in the World chess championship match here after three rounds, black seems to be getting more than OK with World champion Viswanathan Anand testing World No 1 Magnus Carlsen to the limit. The black draw in 51 moves and four hours in the third game should give Anand enough confidence to stretch his challenger in the remaining games.

The match is tied at 1.5-1.5 with nine games to be played in the next two weeks. Anand will have white on Wednesday.

Anand came five minutes before the game and waited for Carlsen. He had to because he had black. And it was different from the previous two games when the player with white came first. So Carlsen came first in the first game and Anand in the second.

Carlsen repeated his knight opening from the first game paving the way for Reti to surface. The father of the hyper-modern school, Richard Reti popularised this opening in the early 1900s when he told the chess world it was no longer important to take control of the centre with Queen-pawn and King-pawn openings. One could exert pressure on the centre from the flanks as well using the bishops.

Carlsen varied from the first game by mixing the elements of English with his third move. There was slow progress in the first 10 moves and by the time they castled on Kingside, they had consumed equal time on the clock. The critical position in the opening arose on move 10 when Anand placed his knight in the centre.

Carlsen thought for close to five minutes before deciding to exchange the knights in the centre. Former Women’s World champion Susan Polgar felt Carlsen was slightly better in that position because his bishop was active while Anand’s black-squared bishop was cut off from its line by his own pawn in the centre.

However, two moves later, Susan had second thoughts about her assessment as Anand posted his bishop in the centre. The World champion was threatening to create a pawn chain on the Queenside. Carlsen immediately sensed the danger and have his bishop to capture a knight.
Carlsen had to concede the bishop pair to Anand with that decision but then the Norwegian kept an active knight. Anand ‘s black-coloured bishop continued to be blocked by his own pawn.
By move 18, the players had consumed two hours, each taking more or less an hour, and more than the time taken in the first two games. Carlsen was obviously trying to get into a knight versus bishop ending where his piece would have an edge.

But then contrary to white’s expectations, Anand got a minor breakthrough on move 22. The bishops came into play forcing Carlsen’s Queen right back into a corner next to the King and Grandmasters present in the hall started giving Anand the edge in the endgame
Anand offered a draw after 40 moves but Carlsen did not agree. Finally, when the game was drawn after more exchanges, only the bishops remained on the board.

Carlsen said he made a couple of errors but he did not think they were decisive. He felt there was always some way out but he admitted he was nervous and had to make the accurate moves to get the draw. “I missed some simple things,” he said.

Anand defended his decision to go for the opposite-coloured bishop ending. “We are still in the match. I am making some impressions,’ he observed.

To a question whether the presence of former World champion Garry Kasparov in Chennai made for fighting chess, anand said he had not seen him (Kasparov) anywhere. In fact, he was reportedly not allowed to enter the press room. Reacting to this, Carlsen said. “I don’t wan’t to get into politics. He is a legend, he deserves to be treated with respect.”

Reti Opening (Game 3)
1.Nf3 d5 2,g3 g6 3.c4 dxc4 4.Qa4+ Nc6 5.Bg2 Bg7 6.Nc3 e5 7.Qxc4 Nge7 8.0-0 0-0 9.d3 h6 10.Bd2 Nd4 11.Nxd4 exd4 12,Ne4 c6 13.Bb4 Be6 14.Qc1 Bd5 15.a4 b6 16.Bxe7 Qxe7 17.a5 Rab8 18.Re1 Rfc8 19.axb6 axb6 20.Qf4 Rd8 21.h4 Kh7 22.Nd2 Be5 23.Qg4 h5 24.Qh3 Be6 25.Qh1 c5 26.Ne4 Kg7 27.Ng5 b5 28.e3 dxe3 29.Rxe3 Bd4 30.Re2 c4 31.Nxe6 fxe6 32.Be4 cxd3 33.Rd2 Qb4 34.Rad1 Bxb2 35.Qf3 Bf6 36.Rxd3 Rxd3 37.Rxd3 Rd8 38.Rxd8 Bxf8 39.Bd3 Qd4 40.Bxb5 Qf6 41.Qb7+ Be7 42.Kg2 g5 43.hxg5 Qxg5 44.Bc4 h4 45.Qc7 hxg3 46.Qxg3 e5 47.Kf3 Qxg3+ 48.fxg3 Bc5 49.Ke4 Bd4 50.Kf5 Bf2 51.Kxe5 Bxg3+ 0.5-0.5

More: http://www.dnaindia.com/sport/report-black-is-more-than-ok-for-viswanathan-anand-1918263

Rahul Dravid for legalising betting if it helps reduce corruption

Former India cricket captain Rahul Dravid on Tuesday, said that he was in favour of legalising betting in the country if such a step can help reduce corruption in sports.

Asked if he was in favour of legalising betting in the country, Dravid said, "If it can help in reducing corruption, I am all for it."

Dravid was speaking at a special session on 'Ethics and Integrity in Sports' organised by the Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI) here. (Note:Adjoining is an archive image)

He pointed out four integrity issues in Indian sports that require legal intervention.

"While the subject matter of sports integrity is very vast in its scope, I would like to focus the attention of legislators and policy makers in our midst to matters that I believe require immediate attention.

"There are four integrity issues in Indian sport that require legal intervention, which are, age fraud, doping, deliberate under-performance and player involvement in the betting industry," said the former skipper.

More: http://sports.ndtv.com/cricket/news/216891-rahul-dravid-for-legalising-betting-if-it-helps-reduce-corruption

‘Bigg Boss 7’: Ego, temper, it’s an all out war!

Reality show ‘Bigg Boss’ has successfully completed 6 seasons and is only getting better with time. Controversies have always been an indispensible part of the show and its contestants extremely controversial.

It’s a show that deals with all kinds of human emotions. Moments of agony and ecstasy are sporadically spread across the show as audiences witness a high voltage drama not knowing what may unfold in future.

Friends may turn foes overnight. Such is the format for the show where everyone tries to be at their diplomatic best. Grape juice doesn’t take too long to turn into wine here!

Fourth time host Bollywood superstar Salman Khan rightly tweeted, “The format of the show is such that every week the games to win get complicated, contestants g upset, fans hurt but this is the show.”

“its v complicated dealing vit slf respect,ego`s, anger, games, language,lies,drama,nominations,evictions every day it teaches u (sic).”

Audiences witnessed a masaledar drama last Saturday when they saw animated Armaan Kohli and Ajaz Khan indulging in a preposterous argument as they constantly tried to put each other down.

Ajaz called Armaan a “flop hero” and took pride in being a self made personality.

‘Bigg Boss’ season 7 began with a luke warm response with minimal drama but with time it is turning out to be a sensational show that promises entertainment aplenty.

More: http://zeenews.india.com/entertainment/idiotbox/bigg-boss-7-ego-temper-it-s-an-all-out-war_146305.html

HC stays conviction in poaching case, Salman Khan can now go abroad

The Rajasthan high court on Tuesday stayed the five-year jail term awarded to actorSalman Khan in a black buck poaching case. The stay will allow Salman to apply for visa to any country including those who have, after the recent amendment in immigration rules, prohibited visa for any person who has been convicted for more than four years.

Salman was convicted by a CJM court on April 10, 2006 for poaching a black buck in Mathania in Jodhpur on the intervening night of September 28-29, 1998. He was tried under Section 51 of the Wildlife Protection Act (1972) and was sentenced to five years in jail with a fine of Rs 25,000.

"We had moved an application in the high court seeking a stay on the conviction after Khan's visa for UK expired recently and when he filed for fresh visa, he was denied the same because of the conviction order," said his counsel Lekh Raj Mehta.

His assistant Ramit Mehta said that they argued in the court that Khan's profession demanded him to visit foreign countries and huge money was at stake. "If he is not allowed to visit foreign countries scheduled for shooting, the films cannot be shot and his right to livelihood violated," Mehta argued.

Objecting to these arguments, additional advocate general R L Jangid argued that this was not a rarest of the rare case and also the Section of CrPC under which the application has been moved was not maintainable. The prosecution also raised the point over Khan's conduct referring to two cases in Jodhpur and one case in Mumbai pending against him.

But rejecting the arguments of prosecution, Justice Nirmal Jeet Kaur allowed the application of defence seeking stay on the conviction and said that it would no more come in his way of seeking visa for any country and travel abroad.

More: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/jaipur/HC-stays-conviction-in-poaching-case-Salman-Khan-can-now-go-abroad/articleshow/25663762.cms

Court restrains Sanjay Leela Bhansali from releasing 'Ram Leela'

A Delhi court on Tuesday restrained Bollywood filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali from releasing his latest venture 'Ram Leela' starring Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone.

The court considered the plea that the movie, set for an all-India release on November 15, allegedly hurt the religious sentiments of Hindus as it contains sex, violence and vulgarity.

The Delhi High Court had earlier refused to ban the movie and also imposed a cost of Rs50,000 on an NGO which had moved the plea against the film.

Additional District Judge A S Jayachandra, in an ex-parte interim order, restrained Bhansali and Eros promoters from releasing the movie till further orders.

The court allowed the suit filed by six petitioners, including Prabhu Samaj Dharmik Ram Leela Committee, which said the word 'Ram Leela' is associated with Lord Rama and people will also watch this movie with an expectation that it would be related to his life but the film will hurt their sentiments.

The petition filed, through advocate S D Windlesh, said the name of the movie should be changed as it has nothing to do with the mythology and it is "misleading".

More: http://www.dnaindia.com/entertainment/report-court-restrains-sanjay-leela-bhansali-from-releasing-ram-leela-1918151

Nikon Sticks to Camera Roots while Rivals Dabble in New Sectors

Japan's iconic camera maker Nikon Corp will rely on emerging market consumer sales to fuel growth even though it forecast in August its first-ever drop in digital SLR sales, the company's president told Reuters.

Makoto Kimura said on Tuesday Nikon is counting on consumers in markets like Brazil and India to drive sales of its single-lens reflex cameras (SLRs) in the mid-term and has no immediate plans to follow its rivals into other sectors.

Canon Inc for example, is hedging against further downturns in the consumer market with a push into surveillance cameras and Olympus Corp already relies on medical equipment for most of its profit.

"Penetration in emerging markets is still very low," Kimura said. "Look at Brazil where we sell around 8 million cameras overall. Only some tens of thousands of those are SLRs. That's why I don't think that sales will drop that much... When people realize the value of an SLR I think we will naturally see growth."

But with more than two-thirds of its revenue coming from cameras and its new ventures years from bearing fruit, analysts say Nikon is vulnerable to a prolonged slump in the camera market, particularly as consumers continue to switch to smartphones for their daily photographic needs.

"Nikon is sort of a pure player in photography, as it has been for decades," said Chris Chute, research director of digital imaging at IDC, which reversed its forecast for sales of SLR cameras in 2013 to an 11.3 percent drop from an earlier forecast of an 11.9 percent increase.

It may be "time to have a larger conversation about the brand and the technology and where company executives plan to take that," Chute said.

Nikon has cut its full-year sales forecast for interchangeable lens cameras twice already this year, with global shipments of digital SLRs sliding 16.7 percent in the nine months between January to September, according to Japan's Camera and Imaging Products Association (CIPA).

Kimura concedes that a return to the rocket-fuelled growth of the past decade now looks unlikely and that Nikon's forecast in May of a 25 percent increase in SLRs over the next three years needs to be revised.

He is confident however that sales can grow even in relatively saturated developed markets, despite consumers' increasing preference for smartphone cameras due to their connectivity and ability to quickly share photos online.

"A surprisingly number of people don't realize how different the quality between smartphone and proper camera photos are...and that's our fault," he said.

"For a lot of users now, a Web connection is the priority and photo quality comes second. But if a camera has both then they're interested. That's what we have to offer more of."

However, Nikon's latest product, a retro-looking SLR called the Df priced at around 300,000 yen ($3,000), suggests Nikon is still aiming to please purists, a strategy that IDC's Chute says is a different kind of response to current trends.

"SLRs are quickly becoming less of a mainstream consumer product than in years past. Mainstream consumers are embracing mobile-first products. Photography is more about enthusiast photographers and that market is growing, but it's small."

While investors are concerned about growth - Nikon's share price has skidded 40 percent since late May - its share of the high-end market has kept its imaging unit in the black for now, unlike that of Olympus and Panasonic Corp <6752.T>.

More: http://www.foxbusiness.com/industries/2013/11/12/nikon-sticks-to-camera-roots-while-rivals-dabble-in-new-sectors/

Pune girl’s doodle design wins Google contest

Gayatri Ketharaman is "floating in the air" — that's how she describes how she is feeling right now. And why won't she. The Class X student of Bishop's Co-Ed School, Kalyani Nagar, was Tuesday declared the national winner of Google India's Doodle4Google competition.

The chosen one from among the 12 finalists, Ketharaman was felicitated by Rajan Anandan, managing director, Google India, in New Delhi.

The fifth edition of the doodle design competition received 1.5 lakh entries from more than 1,500 schools across 100 cities. The theme for this year's competition was 'Celebrating Indian Women'.

Ketharaman's doodle titled Sky's The Limit for Indian Women will go live on the Google (India) homepage on November 14, the Children's Day. It was judged on the basis of artistic merit, creativity and expression of the theme by a jury that comprised actor Kirron Kher among others.

"Each letter in my doodle depicts a trait of the Indian woman that makes her special. 'G' shows her gracefulness, while the two 'O's show how adept she is at balancing work and home. The next 'G' depicts her as a go-getter, yet she is a mother at heart as shown in the letter 'L'. The final alphabet 'E' shows that even in the face of adversity, she is courageous," Ketharaman said from Delhi.

Asked how did she come up with the concept, Ketharaman said she had been brainstorming for days. "When some concrete ideas began to form, I discussed them with my mother and a cousin. I had many ideas to work on but one of the thoughts that was on my mind was how the common Indian woman is an achiever because she does so much every day," she said, adding that her mother Sumati and some of her teachers were a big inspiration to her.

Passionate about art, Ketharaman said she had participated in the doodle design competition a few times earlier too. "I was also among the finalists once. This time though I won it! I am definitely thrilled but I wasn't really expecting it. This doodle is special for my parents and school too, and this victory is in a way dedicated to them for their contribution to my life," she said.

Sharing the excitement, her mother said: "I am certain that all the parents who had come to the awards ceremony would have desired to be in our place. This time we were the lucky ones. But it is not just the winning, the experience too is really wonderful," she said, adding that they had always encouraged their daughter because they knew she had the talent.

More: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/pune-girl-s-doodle-design-wins-google-contest/1194279/0

Rajiv Gandhi told me to use arms deal payoffs for party funds: Ex-CBI chief

At a time when the funding of political parties is the subject of fresh controversy, a new book has claimed that Rajiv Gandhi, as Prime Minister, wanted commissions given by defence suppliers to be pooled and used to fund the "inescapable expenses of the party".

The just-released book, Unknown Facets of Rajiv Gandhi, Jyoti Basu and Indrajit Gupta, is written by former CBI director Dr A P Mukherjee and the claim is based on his conversations with Rajiv in June 1989, the author has said.

Rajiv, incidentally, was caught in the thick of the Bofors guns bribery scandal at that time and lost power later that year.

"Rajiv Gandhi was very clear that commissions paid as a routine by most defence dealers should be properly accounted for and not siphoned off by dishonest officials of the armed forces and politicians...he wanted such payments to be pooled and accounted for," Mukherjee has written.

"This (elections) leads to massive fund collections by important party functionaries all over the country, which leads to an almost unbreakable unholy quid pro quo nexus between unscrupulous party functionaries, ministers and businessmen. I could sense this as the party's general secretary or even as its youth leader earlier when I had to enter the political arena with considerable reluctance," Rajiv told him over coffee, Mukherjee has written.

Rajiv, he says, had come to know that some senior officers of the armed forces had been surreptitiously collecting huge amounts of money as "commissions" in most defence purchases, quite often in connivance with some ministers, middlemen and civilian officers as well.

Rajiv, the former CBI director says, "discussed this problem with some of his trusted colleagues and advisers when it was suggested by some that all commissions as payable or usually paid to middlemen should be banned but the commissions to be given as a matter of routine practice by the suppliers of major defence materials could be pooled under the care of some non-government entity which could be utilised solely for the purpose of meeting the inescapable expenses of the party.

"As Rajiv Gandhi further stated, such a step would largely prevent the collusive nexus between the middlemen, ministers, bureaucrats and that such a step could enable the government to do away with the quid pro quo relationship with some unscrupulous businessmen and equally unscrupulous politicians and bureaucrats.

"Hence he endorsed the same. He also indicated that he favoured some legislation in line with the practices of some of the western countries where contributions to party funds by business houses and industrial houses and individuals were allowed with provisions for their proper accounting, auditing and public disclosure. But the wild, motivated and widespread adverse publicity obscured the prospect of proceeding further in the above manner."

Mukherjee was additional director of CBI when he says he had this detailed conversation with Rajiv. The conversation had been precisely recollected by him in the book thanks to the diaries he maintained through his career, he told The Indian Express.

Mukherjee, who was advisor to home minister Indrajit Gupta and also served a brief stint as governor of Mizoram, has written that for years he felt making this episode public would have amounted to betraying the former prime minister's trust, and that is something he could never think of doing.

"However, at this distant time and that too long after his tragic death, I owe it to posterity to narrate the full and complete disclosure of all that transpired between the two of us during this memorable coffee meeting with this remarkable human being whose trust I was privileged to receive in ample measure."

More: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/rajiv-gandhi-told-me-to-use-arms-deal-payoffs-for-party-funds-excbi-chief/1194313/0

Jet Airways-Etihad Airways deal gets CCI clearance, moves closer to finality

Paving way for closure of long-pending Jet-Etihad deal, fair trade regulator CCI today approved the proposed acquisition of 24 per cent stake in the Naresh Goyal-led Indian carrier by Abu Dhabi-based airline.

Etihad is acquiring this stake for Rs 2,058 crore in a deal that was announced in April this year, becoming the first-ever FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) in an Indian carrier by an overseas airline.

However, the deal has been stuck for months for want of various regulatory approvals. The clearance by the Competition Commission of India (CCI), whose nod is necessary for any major merger and acquisition deal involving an Indian entity, was among the last regulatory approvals for this transaction.

Among others, the deal has been already cleared by capital markets regulator Sebi, Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) and Cabinet Committee of Economic Affairs (CCEA).

The deal had to be revised after Sebi raised objections over a previous structure that involved Etihad possibly getting larger control over Jet Airways, which is a publicly listed company in India.

"Considering the facts on record and the details provided in the notice (under relevant section of the Competition Act)... the Commission is of the opinion that the proposed combination is not likely to have appreciable adverse effect on competition in India and therefore, the Commission hereby approves the same," CCI said in an order.

The majority order, passed by CCI chairman Ashok Chawla and four members, said that the approval can be revoked if information provided by Jet and Etihad is found to be incorrect at any time.

However, one CCI member passed a minority order dissenting with the majority view and said the deal could have adverse impact on competition in international air travel market. Dissenting member Anurag Goel said he was "of the prima facie opinion that the proposed combination is likely to cause an appreciable adverse effect on competition within the market of international air passenger transportation from and to India."

"A notice may, therefore, be issued to show cause to the parties to the combination calling upon them to respond within thirty days of the receipt of the notice, as to why investigation in respect of the proposed combination should not be conducted," his dissent order said.

The Commission said the approval is granted on the basis of "underlying competition assessment" based on information provided by the parties in their notice, which has been modified and supplemented from time to time.

"This approval should not be construed as immunity in any manner from subsequent proceedings before the Commission for violations of other provisions of the (Competition) Act. It is incumbent upon the parties to ensure that this ex-ante approval does not lead to ex-post violation of the provisions of the Act," CCI said.

The regulator also noted that this "approval however, shall have no bearing on proceedings under Section 43A of the Act". Under this section, CCI has powers to slap penalties for non-furnishing of information on M&A deals.

While Jet and Etihad were said to be in discussions for a long time, they had formally announced their proposed deal in April this year.

However, the original deal had hit several regulatory road blocks, primarily on concerns that it could lead to a foreign airline getting control over an Indian company in a sensitive sector like aviation and Jet's public shareholders were being given a raw deal.

Subsequently, the deal was restructured to address the apprehensions of various regulators and other government bodies, such as Sebi, CCI and FIPB.

After the deal, Etihad would have 24 per cent stake in Jet Airways, main promoter Naresh Goyal would have 51 per cent and public shareholders would have remaining 25 per cent.

Besides, Etihad's control over board matters and other business decisions was also curtailed in revised deal.

Recently, the Home Ministry had conveyed to the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) that it has not given security clearance to Jet-Etihad deal,

The Foreign Investment Promotion Board's (FIPB) gave its consent to the proposed transaction on July 29.

Meanwhile, the two carriers have submitted before the Commission that they seek approval for Etihad's acquisition of 24 per cent equity interest in Jet as well as "in relation to all the rights and benefits" which have been agreed upon in various agreements.

These pacts are amended Shareholder's Agreement (SHA), Commercial Co-operation Agreement (CCA) and Corporate Governance Code (CGC).

Incidentally, the main order runs into only 23 pages, whereas the dissent order is 27 pages long.

The Commission noted that the deal would be beneficial to Jet and strength its operational viability.

Jet had a debt of Rs 89,994 million at end of March 2013.

"The Commission is of the view that this partnership will allow Jet to continue to compete effectively in the relevant markets in India and internationally," the order said.

In this case, the relevant market considered by the Commission is the market for international air passengers.

Regarding the latest Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA) entered between India and the UAE, the Commission said the market share rise due to the revised pact is unlikely to cause exploitation of their market position.

"With very realistic assumptions regarding the distribution of increased seats to Jet in addition to the increased seats to Etihad (totalling 50,000 total seats per week/each way up from current 13,300, to Etihad), the market shares forecasted as a consequence of the revised bilateral of the combined entity increases from 17.06 to 22 per cent.

"This does not portend any possibility of market power that is likely to be exploited," the order said.

Further, the regulator noted that the dynamic responses of other airlines as a consequence of this proposed deal which, cannot be completely evaluated ex-ante, would change the competitive landscape that is most likely to benefit the Indian aviation passenger.

Meanwhile, in its comments on the deal national carrier Air India raised two main concerns -- impact of the alliance on the competitive landscape of the India-Abu Dhabi route and impact of the alliance on Indian aviation and Air India.

"These concerns have been considered and addressed in the assessment of the combination," the order said.

Air India submitted its response on November 8 after seeking time extension twice.

More: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/jet-airwaysetihad-airways-deal-gets-cci-clearance-moves-closer-to-finality/1194085/0

Is the ISI-Haqqani alliance cracking up?

The mystery murder of commander Naseeruddin Haqqani in Islamabad has given rise to the buzz that the decades-old controversial alliance between the Pakistani security establishment and the North Waziristan-based Haqqani militant network is cracking up.

This is happening mainly because of the network’s involvement in several acts of terrorism in Pakistan while working in tandem with the TTP. The group is considered by many as one of the ISI’s strategic assets.

The investigators are still clueless about Naseeruddin’s assassins, with speculation that he might have been killed by his friends-turned-foes in the Pakistani establishment.The TTP spokesman, Shahidullah Shahid, has blamed the murder on the ISI and vowed to take revenge. “Naseeruddin Haqqani has been martyred by none other than theISI. He was killed because he had bravely supported the TTP Ameer Hakimullah Mehsud,” Shahidullah told AFP on Monday night when asked about the possible killer.

However, while no one has claimed responsibility for the murder, the ISI circles suspect the hand of either the TTP or Afghan National Directorate of Security. Some say his killing is related to a family dispute he had with a cousin, Ishaq, whom Naseeruddin suspected of working with the Afghan intelligence.

Some think that the Central Intelligence Agency, which runs the drone programme, is behind it. But whoever killed Naseeruddin, the fact remains that he resided relatively openly in the federal capital (despite being wanted by the US) which was simply impossible without the consent of the Pakistani establishment.

His death came a week after a drone strike killed Hakimullah Mehsud. Both the TTP and Haqqani militant network are based side by side in the Miranshah area. Naseeruddin and Hakimullah have been laid to rest at Danday Darpakhel village in North Waziristan’s headquarters Miranshah, where some family members of Maulvi Jalaluddin Haqqani have been living since 1980. Hakimullah was also droned in the same village, which is largely administered by the al-Qaeda-linked Haqqani militant network.

Despite the known presence of Haqqani network, al-Qaeda and other foreign militants groups in North Waziristan, and repeated requests by the United States that action be taken against them, the Pakistani military authorities are reluctant to proceed against them.

This is despite the fact that the Haqqani network is involved in some of the biggest terror attacks in Kabul, including the January 2008 suicide assault on the Serena Hotel, the February 2009 assault on Afghan ministries, and the July 2008 and October 2009 suicide attacks against the Indian Embassy. American intelligence agencies had confronted the Pakistani government with evidence, including communication intercepts, which hinted at ISI’s direct involvement in the 2008 Indian Embassy suicide bombing.

Following Pakistan’s refusal to act against the Haqqanis, Admiral Mike Mullen, the then US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, had singled out the network (in 2011) as “a veritable arm” of ISI — a characterisation Islamabad has disputed.

But almost two years later, the situation seems to have changed quite rapidly, with many in the Pakistani establishment considering the Haqqani militant network as a liability rather than an asset (which the Khakis wanted to use to their strategic advantage after the US withdrawal from Afghanistan).

In fact, the establishment is lately perturbed over increasing number of intelligence reports of ever-growing cooperation between the TTP and Haqqanis, especially while carrying out terrorist activities which are directed against the Pakistani security forces in the tribal belt.

Naseeruddin was using his Shahpur area residence-cum-office in the federal capital not only to run his huge transport business but also as the media office of the Haqqani network. Known in the media as Zabihullah Mujahid, Naseeruddin was a spokesperson for his militant group. He was also the chief finance controller of the Haqqani network and would regularly visit the Middle Eastern countries to raise funds. He was also the leader of the Miranshah Regional Military Shura, one of the four regional commands of the Afghan Taliban.

The US Treasury Department added Naseeruddin to its list of specially-designated global terrorists in July 2010. According to the Treasury, he traveled to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates between 2004-2009 to carry out fundraising for the Haqqani Network, al-Qaeda, and Taliban.

Due to his friendly ties with Hakimullah Mehsud, Naseeruddin had been mediating between the Pakistani authorities and TTP leadership for a peace deal. However, he became annoyed with the Pakistani authorities over Hakimullah’s killing in a village that is being controlled by the Haqqani network. Therefore, while accusing Islamabad of having provided intelligence to the Americans about Hakimullah’s precise location in Danday Darpakhel, Naseeruddin simply refused to cooperate with the Pakistani authorities, thus inviting their wrath.

But there are those in the security establishment who believe that Naseeruddin might have been killed by the TTP to avenge the killing of Hakimullah who was guaranteed by the Haqqanis that he would not be harmed if he travelled to Danday Darpakhel.

On the other hand, a spokesman for the Haqqani network, Najeebullah, has blamed the ISI for Naseeruddin’s murder, saying he had been mediating between a powerful agency and the Pakistani Taliban for peace talks. “But he had refused to mediate further following Hakimullah’s death and the subsequent announcement of TTP not to hold any further talks. Naseeruddin’s reluctance to mediate after Hakimullah’s killing must have annoyed the powerful agency to an extent that it decided to eliminate him,” the spokesman of the Haqqani network has been quoted by the media as saying.

In fact, Naseeruddin’s killing is curious in many ways, especially being the manner in which he was shot dead in a busy bazaar of Islamabad.

Most of the Haqqani network leaders of Naseeruddin’s stature have been killed in US drone strikes in the Waziristan tribal belt as had been the case with his brother Burhanuddin Haqqani. But Naseeruddin has been killed far from North Waziristan which is the Haqqani’s base of operations in the Fata and where he was feeling quite safe.

His killing in the federal capital must be hugely embarrassing for the Pakistan government as well as the security establishment, which had fended off American accusations for years that it sheltered the Haqqani militant network.

It was only last year that a leaked ISAF report in Afghanistan claimed that the ISI was directly supporting the Haqqani network’s terrorist campaign inside Afghanistan. “Senior Taliban representatives, such as Naseeruddin Haqqani, maintain residences in the immediate vicinity of the ISI headquarters in Islamabad,” the ISAF report had stated.

Naseeruddin’s killing on the Pakistani territory also mirrors the May 2011 American raid that killed Osama bin Laden at a compound in the garrison town of Abbottabad, highlighting how openly the most wanted al-Qaeda leaders live in Pakistan.

More: http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-13-26627-Is-the-ISI-Haqqani-alliance-cracking-up

Salman Khurshid leaves for Colombo for CHOGM summit

Notwithstanding demands for a total boycott from political parties in Tamil Nadu, External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid leaves on a five-day visit to Colombo for representing India in the three-day CHOGM Summit to be held from November 15.

Khurshid will be deputising for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, whose attendance became a casualty in the competitive politics of Tamil Nadu, where the state assembly has passed resolutions for total boycott of CHOGM by India.

Political parties in Tamil Nadu have attacked the Rajpakse Government over its human rights record during the war against LTTE and total lack of concerns for the Tamils living in the country.

Also accusing the Sri Lankan Government of not devolving powers to the Tamil areas in accordance with the 13th amendment to the Constitution, the parties have demanded that neither the Prime Minister nor Khurshid should attend the summit of 54 nations.

Slamming the Centre, a resolution moved by Chief Minister Jayalalitha said today:"Respecting the sentiments and feeling of Tamils, even for namesake, none should represent India in the Commonwealth Summit. This House again demands the Indian Government that the country should boycott completely this CHOGM."

While late last week the Prime Minister decided against attending the summit in view of the strong sentiments in Tamil Nadu, he decided to depute Khushid.

More: http://zeenews.india.com/news/nation/salman-khurshid-leaves-for-colombo-for-chogm-summit_889513.html

Musharraf asks court to let him travel to Dubai

Close on the heels of being granted bail in four major criminal cases, former president Pervez Musharraf Tuesday petitioned a court to allow him to leave Pakistan to visit his ailing mother in Dubai.

The application asked the Sindh High Court to strike Musharraf's name from the Interior Ministry's Exit Control List. His lawyer A Q Halepota said Musharraf wants to go to Dubai to meet his 95-year-old mother, who is seriously ill and unable to travel.

Different courts have confirmed the 70-year-old Musharraf's bail in all cases against him and he wants to be with his mother after being freed, Halepota said.

Musharraf's inclusion in the Exit Control List is a violation of his fundamental rights, he added.

The application further asked the High Court to modify an earlier order restraining Musharraf from leaving Pakistan without permission from courts hearing cases against him.

A division bench headed by Justice Sajjad Ali Shah issued notices to the Deputy Attorney General and Sindh's Advocate General and Prosecutor General, asking them to respond to the application at the next hearing on November 18.

In Islamabad, Musharraf's spokesperson Aasia Ishaque said he was exercising his constitutional right to travel out of Pakistan.

"He is exercising his constitutional right as he has received bail in all the cases. In his plea, it is mentioned that his mother is very ill and he would like to visit her," Ishaque told PTI. After being held for over six months at his sprawling farmhouse in Islamabad, Musharraf was released from house arrest last week when he got bail in a case related to the killing of cleric Abdul Rashid Ghazi during a military operation against the radical Lal Masjid in 2007.

However, he remains under guard at the farmhouse because of Taliban threats to his life.

Musharraf has also been granted bail in three other cases over the 2007 assassination of former premier Benazir Bhutto, the killing of Baloch nationalist leader Akbar Bugti in a 2006 military operation and the imposition of emergency in 2007.

He was arrested soon after he returned to Pakistan in March after years of self-exile to contest the general election. A court subsequently barred him from contesting polls for life.

Despite getting bail in the four major cases, things might not go smoothly for Musharraf as the Federal Investigation

Agency's probe against him over the 2007 emergency is in its final stages.

The FIA will seek to question Musharraf on a charge of treason for imposing emergency, official sources have said.

The FIA will also seek to put him on the Exit Control List as his statement has not yet been recorded, a source said.

There has been speculation in recent months that a deal would be reached for Musharraf to leave Pakistan as this would spare the military from the embarrassment of having its former chief tried by civilian courts. Musharraf's aides have insisted he will fight all the cases against him.

More: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/musharraf-asks-court-to-let-him-travel-to-dubai/1194037/0

Fodder scam: Lalu appears before special CBI court through video-conferencing

RJD supremo Lalu Prasad, now in a prison following his conviction in a fodder scam case last month, on Tuesday appeared before a special CBI court through video-conferencing in connection with another fodder case.

Lalu registered his appearance through video-conferencing from the jail before the court of Sitaram Prasad in connection with fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 97 lakh from Deogarh Treasury when he was at the head of RJD government during undivided Bihar in the 1990s.

Besides Lalu, former Bihar Chief Minister Jagannath Mishra, former JD(U) MP Jagdish Sharma and 27 others are accused in the case. Mishra is now on provisional bail on medical ground.


Fodder scam: Lalu appears before special CBI court through video-conferencing

Lalu is also facing charges in three other cases pertaining to fodder scam cases in different treasuries in the Rs 950 crore AHD scam, known as fodder scam.

He is now lodged in the Birsa Munda Central Jail in Ranchi after being found guilty by the CBI court of Pravas Kumar Singh on September 30 in a case of fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 37.7 crore from the Chaibasa treasury.

The court had on October 3 sentenced him to jail for five years and fined Rs 25 lakh. In all, 45 were convicted and sentenced to varied prison terms in the case.

More: http://ibnlive.in.com/news/fodder-scam-lalu-appears-before-special-cbi-court-through-videoconferencing/433834-3-233.html

SC panel to probe intern's sexual harassment claim

A law intern’s allegation that a recently-retired Supreme Court judge sexually harassed her in a hotel room in New Delhi in December has snowballed into a major controversy with the court on Tuesday setting up a panel of three sitting judges to look into the matter.

“As head of the institution, I am also concerned about the allegation,” Chief Justice of India P Sathasivam said after attorney general GE Vahanvati mentioned it before his bench.

“It is an extremely serious matter and you have to look at it seriously,” Vahanvati, who has filed a petition seeking an inquiry, said.

The woman, who graduated from National University of Juridical Sciences (Kolkata) this year, made the allegation in a blog post in the Journal of Indian Law and Society, and later in an interview to a website, but did not name the judge. She said the incident took place on December 24, 2012 — a time when the entire nation was on the boil over the 16/12 gang rape.

“… Interning during the winter vacations of my final year in university, I dodged police barricades and fatigue to go to the assistance of a highly reputed, recently retired Supreme Court judge I was working under. For my supposed diligence, I was rewarded with sexual assault (not physically injurious, but nevertheless violating) from a man old enough to be my grandfather,” she wrote.

She also wrote she’d taken the “cowardly” decision not to wage a legal battle, but later chose to speak out.

“We are anxious (to know) if the statement is true or not,” the SC bench told Vahanvati, adding that a committee comprising justice RM Lodha, justice HL Dattu and justice Ranjana Prakash Desai would look into it and submit a report within two weeks.

"In cases of sexual harassment, we cannot take it lightly...We are taking steps,” it said. The court will hear the AG’s petition after two weeks.

Retired Delhi high court judge Justice RS Sodhi said, “I feel it is highly scandalous to pull down an institution (judiciary) of this magnitude and nature.

An intern is virtually nothing in the judicial hierarchy. To come up after months with scandalous allegations is only wild card publicity for the reason that the man (judge) is so big that even a fly can hit him. Any scandalous utterances can shake the nation’s confidence in the institution.”

“If it’s true, it’s shameful and shocking,” justice Usha Mehra, also a retired Delhi HC judge, said.

However, she added, “It’s difficult to believe what she said, but what she alleged should be investigated and the person concerned be taken to task. If she is bold enough to reveal the incident, she should have named the judge. Let the person be identified and condemned. The judiciary as a whole should not be painted black.”

What the lawyer has said in her blog

Sometimes the most difficult things to write about are also the most essential. I feel this is especially true when many people, much more scholarly than oneself, have already said and written a lot around the issue, and yet your own experience does not seem to fit into the wide net that they’ve cast. Gandhi once said “I have something far more powerful than arguments, namely, experience”. And it is from these words that I derive what I consider the ‘value’ of this piece – not my experience per se, but from what I feel that my experience can tell us about much discussed issues in the country today.

Last December was momentous for the feminist movement in the country – almost an entire population seemed to rise up spontaneously against the violence on women, and the injustices of a seemingly apathetic government. In the strange irony of situations that our world is replete with, the protests were the backdrop of my own experience.

In Delhi at that time, interning during the winter vacations of my final year in University, I dodged police barricades and fatigue to go to the assistance of a highly reputed, recently retired Supreme Court judge whom I was working under during my penultimate semester.

For my supposed diligence, I was rewarded with sexual assault (not physically injurious, but nevertheless violating) from a man old enough to be my grandfather. I won’t go into the gory details, but suffice it to say that long after I’d left the room, the memory remained, in fact, still remains, with me.

So what bothered me about this incident? As a conditioned member of the society, I had quickly “gotten over” the incident. But was that what worried me: that I had accepted what was essentially an ‘unacceptable’ situation. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that the crux of my unease lay in my inability to find a frame in which to talk, or even think, about my experience.

While the incident affected me deeply, I felt little anger and almost no rancour towards the man; instead I was shocked and hurt that someone I respected so much would do something like this. My strongest reaction really, was overwhelming sadness. But this sort of response was new to me.

That I could understand his actions and forgive him for them, or that I could continue to think of him as an essentially ‘good’ person, seemed a naïve position that were completely at odds with what I had come to accept was the “right” reaction to such incidents.

This emotional response was also completely at odds with the powerful feelings of righteous anger that the protestors in Delhi displayed. I am not trying to say that anger at the violence that women face is not a just or true response, but the polarization of women’s rights debates in India along with their intense emotionality, left me feeling that my only options were to either strongly condemn the judge or to betray my feminist principles.

Perhaps this confusion came out of an inadequate understanding of feminist literature, but if so, isn’t then my skewed perception a failing of feminism itself? If the shared experiences of women cannot be easily understood through a feminist lens, then clearly there is a cognitive vacuum that feminism fails to fill.

Feminists talk of the guilt a woman faces when sexually harassed, like it is her fault. I felt a similar guilt, except, my guilt wasn’t at being assaulted, but at not reacting more strongly than I did. The very perspective that was meant to help me make sense of my experiences as a woman was the one that obscured the resolution of the problem in my own mind, presumably an effect that feminism does not desire.

And if not a result of feminist theory itself, the form that it has taken in India, especially after recent incidents of sexual assault, strengthened the feeling of “If you’re not with us, you’re against us” in a fight that I feel I can no longer take sides in.

All the talk during that time was of stricter punishment, of baying for the blood of “creepy” men. Five years of law school had taught me to look to the law for all solutions – even where I knew that the law was hopelessly inadequate – and my reluctance to wage a legal battle against the judge left me feeling cowardly.

On reflection though, I cannot help but wonder why I should have felt that way. As mentioned earlier, I bore, and still bear, no real ill-will towards the man, and had no desire to put his life’s work and reputation in question. On the other hand, I felt I had a responsibility to ensure that other young girls were not put in a similar situation.

But I have been unable to find a solution that allows that. Despite the heated public debates, despite a vast army of feminist vigilantes, despite new criminal laws and sexual harassment laws, I have not found closure. The lack of such an alternative led to my facing a crippling sense of intellectual and moral helplessness.

The incident is now a while behind me, and they say time heals all wounds. But during the most difficult emotional times, what helped me most was the ‘insensitivity’ of a close friend whose light-hearted mocking allowed me to laugh at an incident (and a man) that had caused me so much pain.

Allowing myself to feel more than just anger at a man who violated me, something that I had never done before, is liberating! So, I want to ask you to think of one thing alone – when dealing with sexual violence, can we allow ourselves to embrace feelings beyond or besides anger, and to accept the complexity of emotions that we face when dealing with any traumatic experience?

More: http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/sc-panel-to-probe-intern-s-sexual-harassment-claim/article1-1150218.aspx

Bharat Ratna for Lata Mangeshkar not your grandfather's property: Shiv Sena, BJP to Congress leader

A comment made by Janardhan Chandurkar over stripping Lata Mangeshkar of Padma, Bharat Ratna awards has snowballed into a controversy with the Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) alliance reacting sharply to the Mumbai Congress chief's demand.

Lata Mangeshkar, earlier this month, extended her support to Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate and Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi at the inauguration of Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital in Pune. "I pray to God that what we want is fulfilled and Narendra Bhai becomes the PM. This is everyone's wish," the singer had said, stoking a political controversy.

On Monday, Chandurkar, who is a former MLA, criticised Mangeshkar for supporting Modi’s candidature for prime ministership.

Speaking at a function to mark the 125th birth anniversary of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Chandurkar said: “Artists who are showing support to politicians should give up their Padma awards or else the government should strip them of their awards."

Reacting to Chandurkar's demand, senior Shiv Sena leader and MP Sanjay Raut said: “These awards are not the property of Chandurkar’s grandfather. These are awards conferred by the government in recognition of a person’s contribution to different fields. The government had given the Bharat Ratna and other prestigious awards to Lataji in recognition of her immense contribution to the world of music. One does not become a slave of the government just because it gave an award to a person. Every award-winner, including Lataji, is entitled to her opinion. It is absurd to ask her to return the awards. If Chandurkar dislikes Lataji so much, he should stop listening to her songs.”

Meanwhile, senior BJP leader Atul Shah hit out at Chandurkar, saying the statement suggests the Congress leader is immature. Lata Mangeshkar has right to express her views and it would be wrong to gag her.

BJP spokesperson Nalin S Kohli tweeted, “Modi phobia at its worst. Lata ji praises Modi ji & the Congress demands that her awards should be taken back!”

Lata was bestowed with Bharat Ratna in 2001. She received Padma Bhushan in 1969, Padma Vibhushan in 1999 and Dada Saheb Phalke Award in 1989, among other awards.

More: http://zeenews.india.com/news/nation/bharat-ratna-for-lata-mangeshkar-not-your-grandfather-s-property-shiv-sena-bjp-to-congress-leader_889519.html

Granted 'decisive' role, Chinese markets decide to slide

Unimpressed by the promotion of markets to a "decisive" role in China's reform agenda for the next decade, investors sold off Chinese shares on Wednesday, disappointed by a lack of details in the reform plan and apparent reluctance to overhaul the state-owned sector.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew also bemoaned the lack of details and said he hoped to gather more information about specific policies in discussions with China.

"Frankly, there are a lot of questions still to be answered," he said on CNBC during a visit to Singapore. "The communique coming out of the plenum was at a very general level."

The ruling Communist Party said at the end of a four-day conclave of its 205-member Central Committee on Tuesday that it aimed to achieve "decisive results" by 2020, and gave markets a more prominent role.

By setting an unusually explicit self-imposed deadline and establishing a special working group, the new administration of President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang suggested a more decisive reform push than under the previous leadership.

But while the communique mentioned several reform areas Beijing aimed to tackle, its language was even more general than some had expected and it explicitly underscored the importance of the state sector for the economy.

"State-owned enterprise reform is a big disappointment," said Gary Liu, deputy director of the CEIBS Lujiazui International Finance Research Center in Shanghai.

"But the implementation will be even more important than the plan itself."

All major Chinese stock indexes opened down, lagging Asian shares.

By 0230 GMT, the CSI300 index .CSI300, which tracks China's largest listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen, was down 1.4 percent and the Shanghai Composite Index .SSECwas off 1.1 percent. The index of Chinese enterprises listed in Hong Kong .HSCE fell 1.8 percent.

All the indexes were dragged down primarily by financial stocks, in particular major state-owned banks, seen as the key levers through which Beijing controls the economy .SSEFN.

Other Chinese financial markets were flat, with the yuan trading steady and short-term money market still dormant at time of reporting.

Global markets also gave the outcome of the conclave little attention, focusing instead on when the U.S. Federal Reserve might start to rein in its economic stimulus measures.

Investors have been waiting for the official statements of the party meeting for signs of the government's intentions toward both financial markets and the companies that participate in them.

Explaining the new approach to reforms, official news agency Xinhua said in an editorial on Wednesday that rather than playing a role of markets in a system dominated by the state, the government would seek to accomplish its goals in conditions determined by markets.

"The state should exercise the government's role under the domination of the market, rather than exercising the market's role under the domination of the government," Xinhua said.

Lew said one test of the reform would be how the likes of the Shanghai free trade zone, launched in September, is developed.

"There have to be some details underneath it that open up markets in financial services and other things to competition," he said.

However, the communique did not commit to any radical move to weaken the role of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in the economy.

In the short term, some equities analysts argue leaving state industry reform off the table is not implicitly negative for equity indexes, dominated by state owned enterprises, in particular banks, which could see margins hurt by increased competition with private companies.

However, some economists believe that reforming market mechanisms without reforming market participants risks further distortions.

"As long as the government does not allow large SOEs to fail, they will be more credit worthy than private sector rivals," wrote Mark Williams and Qinwei Wang of Capital Economics in a research note.

"In these circumstances, the state sector could end up the major beneficiary if investment controls are relaxed and the financial sector further liberalized."

Domestic media, which must operate under guidance from the central government, reacted positively to the plenum, with many running long special sections on the reform accompanied by editorials.

However, an editorial in the Global Times, an influential tabloid published by the official People's Daily, warned of the risk entrenched interests still pose to market-based reform.

"With the advancing of reform, we should firmly oppose vested interest groups," the editorial read.

"If we don't seek a consolidation of group interests and whole social interests, reform will be an empty slogan."

More: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/11/13/us-china-reform-idUSBRE9AC04H20131113

True grit: how Sachin Tendulkar played on in pain

It was early 2004, Sachin Tendulkar had ended a 15-year quest for a double century at the SCG, and India stopped Australia’s juggernaut with a respectable 1-1 Test series scoreline.

Sachin Tendulkar during his penultimate test match between India and West Indies at Eden Garden in Kolkata. (PTI photo)

Until then, Tendulkar, a veteran of 111 Tests, had suffered toe, ankle, back and thigh injuries, and even played through the 2003 World Cup with a finger injury. He was now a seasoned pro who knew how to get by injuries, no different from any other top-class athlete. Even his chronic back problem (estd: 1999) couldn’t keep him down. His batting average had soared to 57.19.

Tendulkar discovered his latest injury, the tennis elbow, was no ordinary injury. This despite scoring 241 in Sydney, using his bottom hand only while bearing shooting pain in his left elbow.

“Every morning when I wake up, I don’t feel the same. I have played with some serious injuries, but the problem here is that I cannot grip the bat. It’s as basic as that. In other injuries, you can at least hold the bat and still manage, not this one,” Tendulkar said in 2004.

Written off

Following surgery, he sat out of a tri-series in Holland, an ODI series against England, the ICC Champions Trophy and the first two Tests against Australia at home. Then, a day before the third Test at Nagpur where Tendulkar was set for a comeback, a magazine put out the famous headline: “Endulkar”.

Suresh Menon, an acclaimed author, wrote, “An injured toe is beyond repair; his strained back continues to cause worry. And now the tennis elbow. Tendulkar is only 31 but no sane doctor will give him a clean chit to continue playing indefinitely. India will have to contemplate a future without Tendulkar. Perhaps the future is already here.”

Nine years on, “Endulkar” is here, but there are no serious injuries at work. And the man who felt his suffering from close quarters, former India coach John Wright, revealed how Tendulkar weathered the storm.

“It was a very difficult period for all of us. Not just for Tendulkar and his family, but even his teammates, extended family, cricketing family and friends. It’s true that some people genuinely felt the end was near,” Wright told HT.

Staying focused

“But no matter what people said, no matter what articles appeared, Tendulkar just stayed focussed and gave into Andrew Leipus and later John Gloster, the team physios. He gave them all he could, gave them discipline. And I, for one, am not surprised at his longevity.”

Asked if Tendulkar’s injury made it tough for him as coach, Wright said, “As a coach, it was easy to back a player like Sachin. You can go and ask any coach of his and they’d tell you the same. So for me, the injury was a worry, yes, but I also knew that Sachin had it in him to bounce back.”

Wright revealed that the tennis elbow put doubts in Tendulkar’s mind but he never thought about quitting. “By that time, Sachin was already playing for 15 years. He had been through so many injuries. But for me as a coach, the way he carried injuries is what made him great. He would often suppress injuries and pain.

Living with pain

“There were always some niggles, but he carried all of that out of the dressing room and onto the ground. And he carried the burden of so many expectations while going through that pain. It was only during that phase (in 2004-05) when many people got to hear of his injury. But Tendulkar suffered many more minor injuries that he silently played through.

Not many know this but the thing with Sachin is he knows how to keep his body working... he knows about biomechanics and knows his body well. He trusts his physios and follows what they tell him.

“I recall the time when he returned in 2004 and 2005 though the tennis elbow actually left him only much later. I remember the shock treatment he received in England, he told me how painful it was, and how frustrating the rehabilitation period was. He’s dealt with some serious pain.”

The Kiwi had parting words for Tendulkar, “He’s a champion individual for undergoing all that – and a pleasure to coach. I just hope he enjoys his last Test and enjoys every minute post cricket.”

More: http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/sachinretirement/true-grit-how-sachin-tendulkar-played-on-in-pain/article1-1150534.aspx

Campa Cola society eviction: Can CM save the residents?

The officials of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will on Wednesday resume the eviction of illegal flats built on the Campa Cola Compound in South Mumbai's posh Worli area even as hundreds of residents remain adamant and refuse to vacate their homes.

According to reports, hundreds of residents and their well-wishers yesterday locked the society's gates from inside for hours in a bid to prevent the BMC's demolition squad and policemen from entering the premise to carry out the demolition wok.

The agitating residents, who shouted anti-government slogans and pleaded to political parties for help, refused to budge even after the BMC officials snapped electricity, water and gas supply to the illegal flats.

With the pressure increasing on the state administration, Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan has sought legal help from the Attorney General, whether an ordinance - or an executive order - can save the homes.

"The BMC action is according to the Supreme Court verdict. We are trying to give some relief to the occupants. We are in touch with our legal counsel. Can't talk on what our next step would be," Chavan told reporters.

The BMC officials, who are under pressure to comply with the Supreme Court directive, have said that they will keep returning every day to ensure that the apex court's order to demolish 102 illegal flats in the compound is followed. So far the BMC officials have avoided using the force for evicting the flats. "We are trying to handle the situation peacefully and are avoiding using force," said Kishore Kshirsagar, deputy commissioner, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

However, the residents are still unmoved and say that they were duped by builders.






The BMC action came after the deadline set by the Supreme Court for residents to vacate their illegal flats ended on Monday.

Seven highrises were constructed at the Campa Cola Compound between 1981 and 1989. The builders had permission for only six floors, but constructed way too many. One of the buildings, Midtown, has 20 floors. Another building, Orchid, has 17.

Mumbai's civic body Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) decided to bring down the 35 illegal floors in the seven highrises after the Supreme Court refused to regularise them.

To carry out the demolition work, the BMC had made elaborate preparations. The Bruihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) officials issued notices to the residents that action will be initiated as per the Supreme Court orders and electricity supply will be cut.

The Supreme Court in its verdict had ordered BMC that 96 flats (above five floors) across seven buildings in the compound must be demolished after the deadline to vacate the flats ends on November 11.

These flats were built by the builders without the permission of the civic body and hence declared illegal.

BMC has deployed around 150 employees in the demolition process. The teams will include officials from ward offices, headed by three assistant municipal commissioners.

More: http://zeenews.india.com/news/maharashtra/campa-cola-society-eviction-can-cm-save-the-residents_889518.html

Philippine president says typhoon death toll overstated

Philippine President Benigno Aquino said local officials had overstated the death toll from Typhoon Haiyan, saying it was closer to 2,000 or 2,500 than the 10,000 previously estimated, comments that drew scepticism from some aid workers.

The government has been overwhelmed by the typhoon, which flattened Tacloban, coastal capital of Leyte province where several local officials have said they feared 10,000 people died, many drowning in a tsunami-like surge of seawater.

Rescue workers have yet to reach scores of other towns and villages in the path of one of the strongest storms on record, five days after it smashed into the central Philippines.

Aquino, who has been on the defensive over his handling of the disaster, said the government was still gathering information from various storm-struck areas and the death toll may rise. "Ten thousand, I think, is too much," Aquino told CNN in an interview. "There was emotional drama involved with that particular estimate.

"We're hoping to be able to contact something like 29 municipalities left wherein we still have to establish their numbers, especially for the missing, but so far 2,000, about 2,500, is the number we are working on as far as deaths are concerned," he said.

A presidential spokesman said Aquino referred to estimated deaths. Official confirmed deaths stood at 1,774 on Tuesday, with only 84 missing, a figure aid workers consider widely inaccurate.

Some aid workers also expressed skepticism at Aquino's dramatically lower death toll.

"Probably it will be higher because numbers are just coming in. Many of the areas we cannot access," Gwendolyn Pang, secretary general of the Philippine Red Cross, told Reuters.

The preliminary number of missing, according to the Red Cross, is 22,000. Pang cautioned that figure could include people who have since been located. "They report their relatives missing but they don't alert us when they are found," she said.

UNPRECEDENTED DISASTER FOR THE PHILIPPINES

More the 670,000 people have been displaced by the storm and many have no access to food, water or medicine, the United Nations said.

With international aid efforts picking up, relief supplies have begun pouring into Tacloban along roads flanked with corpses and canyons of debris.

Natasha Reyes, emergency coordinator in the Philippines at Médecins Sans Frontières, described the devastation as unprecedented for the disaster-prone archipelago.

"There are hundreds of other towns and villages stretched over thousands of kilometres that were in the path of the typhoon and with which all communication has been cut," Reyes said.

U.N. aid chief Valerie Amos, who is in the Philippines, called the scale of destruction "shocking".

Aquino has declared a state of national calamity and deployed hundreds of soldiers to control looting in Tacloban, a once-vibrant port city of 220,000 that is now a wasteland.

The local government was wiped out by the storm, said Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas. Officials were dead, missing or too overcome with grief to work. Of the city's 293 police officers, only 20 had shown up for duty, he said.

Medical workers are treating the injured at evacuation centres for lacerations and other wounds. But many complain of a lack of food and poor hygiene.

One woman sat on a bench in a hospital in the city, her decomposing 5-month-old baby in her arms, wrapped in a black jacket. The infant was sick before the typhoon. After the storm, she sought medicine in the hospital. There was none. Her baby, she said, convulsed and died.

"It feels like I'm going crazy since I keep thinking how we can solve our problems. We want to go back home, but we can't even if my baby's starting to smell. We just want to go back," she said on ABS-CBN television.

FOREIGN MEDICAL TEAMS ARRIVE

U.N. officials said getting food, medicine and clean water to the disaster zone were the priorities, along with sanitation and shelter.

The World Health Organisation said teams from Belgium, Japan, Israel and Norway had arrived in the Philippines to set up field hospitals. It said other countries were expected to provide medical teams.

More than 250 U.S. forces were on the ground too, and a senior Marine official told Pentagon reporters he expected that number to grow every day.

"Our priority for supplying aid is potable water, food, shelter, hygiene products, and medical supplies," said Pentagon spokesman George Little.

The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS George Washington will arrive later this week, carrying about 5,000 sailors and more than 80 aircraft. It has been joined by four other U.S. Navy ships.

World Bank President Jim Yong Kim said the development lender was considering boosting its conditional cash transfer program for the Philippines.

Rescuers have reached some remote parts of the coast that were previously cut off, such as Guiuan, a city of 40,000 people that suffered massive destruction from high winds but was spared the storm surge that washed over Tacloban. Local officials say 85 people were killed in Guiuan, with 24 missing.

The typhoon also levelled Basey, a seaside town in Samar province about 10 km (6 miles) across a bay from Tacloban. Local officials say 80 people were killed in Basey.

Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima said the economic damage in the coconut- and rice-growing region would likely shave 1 percentage point off of economic growth in 2014.

The overall financial cost of the destruction was harder to assess. Initial estimates varied widely, with a report from German-based CEDIM Forensic Disaster Analysis putting the total at $8 billion to $19 billion. (Additional reporting by Rosemarie Francisco in Manila, and Phil Stewart and Susan Heavey in Washington. Writing by Dean Yates. Editing by Jason Szep)

More: http://in.reuters.com/article/2013/11/13/phillipines-typhoon-haiyan-idINDEE9AA0CI20131113?feedType=RSS&feedName=globalCoverage2

BJP's guessing game on Narendra Modi's Lok Sabha seat

BJP's PM candidate Narendra Modi is likely to contest the 2014 parliamentary polls from a seat in the Hindi heartland, although he may not ditch his home state.

There has been a steady buzz on the likelihood of Modi contesting from a UP Lok Sabha seat like Lucknow that has returned former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee and is seen as a prestigious constituency. Other destinations such as Varanasi and Kanpur too are being speculated on.

The latest addition to the likely list of seats for Modi is Patna, considered a safe bet for the party. Bihar is high on BJP's agenda for the coming elections, ever since its erstwhile NDA ally - the ruling JD(U) broke from the coalition.

With the war of words between CM Nitish Kumar and Modi hotting up, contesting from Patna will be seen as a strong statement for the saffron camp. It was Modi's elevation last June as BJP's national campaign head for the 2014 polls that saw Kumar calling off the long-standing alliance.

Speculation about Modi contesting from Patna has been gaining ground even as there are senior Bihar BJP leaders vying for the seat. There is an element of risk too, for Modi will invite the might of JD(U) if he does opt for the seat. Some Bihar BJP leaders feel if Modi contests from Patna, it would take care of the party infighting over the seat, since nobody would say no to him. There is also a possibility of party leaders speculating on Modi's "candidacy" to block one another.

At the same time, the Bihar BJP unit would be elated to host the PM candidate from the state with the party's upper-caste vote bank seeming to have taken to the Gujarat CM.

Modi will visit Bihar for a third time around December-end or mid-January next year to address a public meeting. "We have planned to hold three-four public meetings between December this year and January next year, one of which will be addressed by the Gujarat chief minister," BJP state president Mangal Pandey told reporters in Patna on Tuesday.

The schedule for Modi's third visit and the public meeting venues would be worked out in due course, he said. The BJP's PM candidate visited Bihar twice in the last week of October and first week of November.

Modi addressed the BJP's 'Hunkar Rally' at Patna's Gandhi Maidan on October 27 where serial blasts claimed seven lives, including that of one of the perpetrators. He returned to the state on November 2 to express his condolence to the victims' families. Modi watchers saw this as the Gujarat CM taking on Nitish Kumar on his home turf.

BJP chief Rajnath Singh, while speaking to the media, confirmed that Modi will contest a Lok Sabha seat, but he preferred to keep people guessing on which seat he will contest from saying, "as the party chief I will say Modi will contest elections (LS) ... it will be up to him to decide from where he wishes to contest."

More: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/BJPs-guessing-game-on-Narendra-Modis-Lok-Sabha-seat/articleshow/25667106.cms

Legalising betting like 'enjoying rape': CBI chief Ranjit Sinha's words spark outrage

CBI Director Ranjit Sinha has landed himself in a massive controversy by comparing the legalizing of betting in sports to 'enjoying rape'.

India's top investigator was at a panel discussion in Delhi on Tuesday evening, trying to argue that betting should be legalised, when he drew the bizarre analogy, "If you can't prevent rape, enjoy it."

Mr Sinha used the comment to illustrate that it was difficult and pointless to enforce a ban on betting.

He tried to explain later that he "just used a proverb to make a point," but his use of the word 'proverb' for the distasteful comment did nothing to stop the deluge of outrage from across the nation.

Late on Tuesday night, a CBI spokesperson issued another clarification on behalf of Mr Sinha.

"The context was an opinion on legalising betting by Shekhar Gupta who was moderating the session. A voice vote was taken from Ravi Sawani and then Rahul Dravid and the Director, CBI made a point that if laws cannot be enforced, that does not mean that laws should not be there," the spokesperson said.

CPI-M leader Brinda Karat said the CBI director should be prosecuted. "If the CBI director can trivialize rape, it gives a very wrong message. He has no right to continue in office," she said.

The CBI chief's epic blunder has inflamed the social media at a time the nation's rape debate - triggered by the horrific gang-rape of a medical student in a moving bus in Delhi last December - has been dominated by calls for sweeping changes not just in laws but in mindsets.

"Unbelievable!" tweeted noted Bangladesh writer Taslima Nasreen. Former IPS officer Kiran Bedi commented that the CBI director should issue a public apology.

"After CBI boss Ranjit Sinha's advice on enjoying rape when it's inevitable, one wonders if we're better off with the parrot caged and gagged," tweeted Abhijit Majumder.

Activists say the comments are reprehensible coming from a top officer who investigates criminal cases. "It has become a habit of people in senior positions to treat the issue of sexual assault lightly," said Ranjana Kumari of the Centre for Social Research.

More: http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/cbi-chief-ranjit-sinha-s-rape-analogy-sparks-outrage-445301

‘Youngsters in city turning blind eye to Type II diabetes risks’

Out of the total population of Pune, 14 per cent are diabetic and out of every 100 diabetic patients, five are Type I, says city-based diabetologist Dr Abhya Mutha, who is also the president and founder of Diabetes Care and Research foundation (DCRF). He says the Type I diabetic patients are mostly children, adding that their number has increased rapidly in the last few years.

Children with Type I diabetes have no option but to depend on insulin and regular monitoring. "Regular check-ups, monitoring and insulin or insulin pumps are costly and unaffordable for such children from poor families," says Dr Mutha.

At a press conference on Monday, he announced a programme to be held on November 14, the World Diabetes Day, in association with Lions Club International. The programme will start with a road show on diabetes from Sarasbaug to Tilak Smarak, which will be flagged off by former Indian hockey team caption Sandeep Singh in the presence of former cricketer Chandu Borde.

"While Type 2 Diabetes is a big worry, Type 1 diabetes among small children is growing rapidly and is a cause of big concern," says Mutha. If regular monitoring is not done, children run a risk of affecting their kidneys, eyes and heart at a later stage. "They can also be prone to infections," adds Mutha.

According to him, while awareness about diabetes and the importance of fitness is increasing in the city, youngsters, especially those in the age group of 20-35, are turning a blind eye to preventive measures for Type II diabetes. The global incidence of diabetes is growing at an alarming rate, with more than 371 million people worldwide living with the condition. The International Diabetes Federation has reported that while India had 63 million diabetic patients in 2012, the figure would rise to 101.2 million by 2030.

Mutha says issues like stress and bad lifestyle have to be addressed. "Stress has been taken for granted, and youngsters must force their organisations or companies to have healthy or diet food options in their canteens. Homemade food or simple Maharashtrian food is the best option," he says, adding that people must also exercise for 150-180 minutes every week, including 30 minutes of jogging, skipping and brisk walking. "Just reducing the weight by 10 per cent can do wonders to an individual as a lot of risks are reduced," says Mutha.

DCRF has adopted 279 children as of now in Maharashtra and has given away 17 insulin pumps. The foundation plans to donate seven to 10 insulin pumps to the needy every year.

More: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/-youngsters-in-city-turning-blind-eye-to-type-ii-diabetes-risks-/1193852/0

MAKO Robot Features The Best Speech Recognition Software On PC & Mac

MAKO Robot developed by Michael Ghandour in Chino, California is fast getting popular as the artificial intelligence bot that can do EVERYTHING. Yep, the multi-lingual robot which is now up on Kickstarter to get some solid backing has surpassed was Apple's Siri does with speech recognition. And what Mr. Ghandour claims to be the best speech recognition software available on PC as well as MAC, MAKO robot's abilities exceed expectations. Enveloped with the goal to bring revolution to the way we interact with computers and technology, MAKO robot has got designers and developers who built the artificial intelligence program to much smarter than Apple SIRI or Android SVoice.

Employing an advanced user interface and voice input, the MAKO Robot features a biometrics system in which it is capable of learning thousands of names and voices, which MAKO analyzes and uses to grow its knowledge. It can recognize and speak to five or more different people at once and not get confused. With this incredible memorization system, MAKO is customizable too and it simulates a real person through the API which is available on their website.

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As already stated MAKO is multilingual and can speak in 5 different languages (soon to be 30). When we say it does everything - Well, it can open any website/program on its own. It will search on Google for you and retrieve images from various websites. It will create and print documents for you as well assist you in your Powerpoint slide presentation creation. The possibilites with MAKO robot are really limitless. It can recognize date/time/year as well as the weather forecast. It can do volume control as well empty the recycly bin for you.

Up on the Kickstarter page, MAKO team shares that MAKO displays emotion based on date and time and sometimes randomly. They write, "maybe he is a little grouchy on Mondays, like we all are, but he is always helpful." Check out the following video to see MAKO's actions and a talk directly from the 18-year old developer below -

If you like this project, do share your thoughts with us - What do you think about the MAKO Robot that is capable of doing everything on your computer?

More: http://www.crazyengineers.com/threads/mako-robot-features-the-best-speech-recognition-software-on-pc-mac.71654/