Nokia to pay Rs 67,000 for selling defective mobile

NEW DELHI: Nokia India has been directed by a city district consumer forum to pay Rs 67,000 to one of its customers for selling him a "defective" cell phone and then failing to repair it or refund its price.
The South-II District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum held Nokia guilty of indulging in unfair trade practice for selling a defective phone and then failing to repair it or refund its price since September 2007 when it was first taken for repairs by Delhi resident and complainant Rohan Arora.
The forum also held retailer Luthra Communications guilty of resorting to unfair trade practice.
"When the complainant (Rohan Arora) left the defective piece of good to its manufacturer, it was incumbent upon it either to remove its defect to satisfaction of the complainant or to refund its (mobile's) amount with interest. But opposite party did not bother to resolve such genuine request of the complainant.
"Hence we hold both the opposite parties (Nokia and the retailer) guilty for gross deficiency in service and unfair trade practice and direct them to jointly and severally refund the amount of the handset amounting to Rs 37,000 and to further pay a compensation of Rs 25,000 for supplying a defective good and thereafter not replacing the same or to remove its defect to his satisfaction."
"They shall also pay a sum of Rs 5,000 towards the cost of the proceedings," the bench presided by MC Mehra said.
Arora in his complaint had alleged that the phone, a Nokia E 90 Communicator bought in July 2007 for Rs 37,000, had poor incoming and outgoing audio quality right from the beginning.
He had returned the mobile to Nokia in September 2007 to replace it or repair the defect, he had said adding that the handset was replaced with an old instrument which also had the same problem.
He had also alleged that Nokia flatly refused to refund the cost of the phone. Nokia was proceeded against ex-parte as it had appeared only once before the forum.

Google announces Android Jelly Bean

NEW DELHI: Google today announced its own tablet at Google I/O, the company's annual event for developers in San Fransisco. TOI had reported on June 26 that Google would enter the tablet market on June 27.

Apart from competing with Apple's iPad, which has the highest market share in the tablet market, with its tablet Google is also aiming to take down Amazon's Kindle Fire, a 7-inch tablet that runs on Android but doesn't use several Google services like other Android devices do.

The tablet, named Nexus 7, has a 7-inch screen with a resolution of 1280x800 pixels. It is powered by quad-core Tegra 3 processor with 12 core GPU and has 1GB RAM.

The tablet runs on Jelly Bean, the latest version of Android operating software which was also announced at the I/O event. Nexus 7 is made by Asus. It has a 4,325mAh battery. The tablet has a 1.2MP front camera and weighs 340 grams. The device supports wi-fi but not 3G, something that may limit its appeal to users who like to carry their tablet everywhere.

Nexus 7 will cost $199 in the US. This looks like the price for 8GB model with 16GB likely to cost a bit more. The tablet can be preordered today by people in the US, Canada, Australia and UK. The device will ship out to customers in mid-July. At the moment there is no information on the availability of the tablet in India.

While Android tablets are selling in the market for the last one year, they have failed find buyers and dent the iPad market. Also, Amazon launched Kindle Fire last year and sold more tablets in a few months than what Google's hardware partners had managed in a year. The irony is that Fire is powered by Android, Google's operating software, but Amazon has heavily modified it. This means Fire doesn't come with the Google services pre-installed. This affects Google's ability to make money from Fire even though it uses Android.

"Google believes it has given its partners ample time to innovate and compete but they have been unsuccessful versus the iPad," said Patrick Moorhead, president at Moor Insights & Strategy, firm that advices several computer hardware companies.

With its new tablet, Google hopes to provide a clear direction to its hardware partners the way it does in the case of smartphones with Nexus devices. It also hopes that by entering the fray, it can motivate developers to write more tablet-specific apps for Android.

According to Google, Nexus 7 comes preloaded with some multimedia content, including Transformers: Dark of the Moon movie. It also has magazines like Conde Nast Traveler andPopular Science, and songs from bands like Coldplay and the Rolling Stones preloaded on it.

At the I/O event, the company also announced Nexus Q. "Nexus Q combines the power of Android and Google Play to easily stream music and video in your home -- all controlled by an Android phone or tablet," Andy Rubin, senior vice president of mobile and digital content, wrote at Google's official blog.

Eight Samsung phones facing immediate ban

Apple is seeking speedy bans on the sale of eight Samsung phones, moving swiftly to translate its resounding court victory over its rival into a tangible business benefit.

The world's most valuable company wasted no time in identifying its targets on Monday: eight older-model Smart phones, including the Galaxy S2 and Droid Charge. While Apple's lawsuit encompassed 28 devices, many of those accused products are no longer widely available in the world's largest mobile market.

Although Samsung's flagship Galaxy S III phone was not included in the trial, the jury validated Apple's patents on features and design elements that the US company could then try to wield against that device. Apple may not have to seek a new trial over the S III, but can include it in a "contempt proceeding" that moves much faster, according to legal experts.

Many on Wall Street believe Apple now has momentum behind it in the wake of its near-complete triumph over the South Korean company on Friday.

"The evidence and weight of the case are heavily in Apple's favor," said Jefferies & Co analyst Peter Misek. "We expect there's a two-thirds chance of an injunction against Samsung products."

An injunction hearing has been set for September 20. If US District Judge Lucy Koh grants sales bans, Samsung will likely seek to put them on hold pending the outcome of its appeal.

Samsung said it will take all necessary measures to ensure the availability of its products in the US market. A source familiar with the situation said Samsung has already started working with US carriers about modifying infringing features to keep products on the market should injunctions be granted.

Apple's win on Friday strengthens its position ahead of the iPhone 5's expected September 12 launch and could cement its market dominance as companies using Google Inc's Android operating system - two-thirds of the global market - may be forced to consider design changes, analysts say.

Apple was awarded $1.05 billion in damages after a US jury found Samsung had copied critical features of the iPhone and iPad. The verdict could lead to an outright ban on sales of key Samsung products.

Apple's stock scored another record high on Monday.

While the victory does not cover new Samsung products including the Galaxy S III, Apple will push its case on these products in the near-term, Ever core Partners analyst Mark McKechnie said.

"While a ban would likely increase Apple's leading Smartphone share in the US market, we believe this verdict could lead to Samsung also delaying near-term product launches as it attempts to design around Apple's patents," Canaccord Genuity analysts said in a note.

Tooth-and-nail
Apple's shares gained 1.9 per cent to close at $675.68, tacking on another $12 billion-plus to its already historically leading market value. Samsung lost about the same amount in market capitalization as its shares slid 7.5 per cent in Seoul.

Samsung shares rebounded 1.8 per cent on Tuesday.

"The ruling marks an important victory for Apple against Android. Competitors may now think twice about how they compete in smart mobility devices with the industry's clear innovator,” Barclays analyst Ben Reitzes wrote on Monday. "If Apple forces competitors to innovate more, it could take longer for competitive products to come to market, and make it more expensive to develop them."

The victory for Apple - which upended the Smartphone industry in 2007 with the iPhone - is a big blow to Google, whose Android software powers the Samsung products found to have infringed on patents. Google and its hardware partners, including the company's own Motorola unit, could now face legal hurdles in their effort to compete with the Apple juggernaut.

Google shares closed 1.4 per cent lower at $669.22. Microsoft, a potential beneficiary if Smartphone makers begin to seek out Android alternatives, ended up 0.4 per cent. Nokia, which has staked its future on Windows phones, gained 7.7 per cent.

Even Research in Motion - which has hemorrhaged market share to Apple and Google - climbed more than 5 per cent, before ending 2 per cent higher.

"The mobile industry is moving fast and all players, including newcomers, are building upon ideas that have been around for decades," Google responded in a Sunday statement. "We work with our partners to give consumers innovative and affordable products, and we don't want anything to limit that."

The verdict came as competition in the device industry is intensifying, with Google jumping into hardware for the first time with the Nexus 7 and Microsoft's touch screen-friendly Windows 8coming in October, led by its " Surface" tablet.

Samsung, which sold around 50 million phones between April and June - almost twice the number of iPhones - will have to pay damages equivalent to just 1.5 per cent of the annual revenue from its telecoms business.

"The verdict does not come as a surprise," wrote William Blair & Co analysts. "From Apple's perspective, Samsung's market position and its leadership in the handset world was something the company could no longer overlook, and viewing this as another 'imitation is a form of flattery' was not possible."

"Companies such as Samsung, who we categorize as fast followers, have been viewed by the industry for their ability to quickly adopt the latest handset trends ... rather than their ability to introduce fundamental innovation."

My silence is better than a thousand answers: Manmohan Singh

NEW DELHI: Often at the receiving end of opposition's silence jibe, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today invoked an Urdu couplet to hit back at his critics. 

"Hazaron jawabo se achchi hai khamoshi meri, na jaane kitne sawalo ki aabru rakhe. (My silence is better than a thousand answers, it keeps intact the honor of innumerable questions)," Singh said reciting the couplet, asserting this has been his "general attitude". 

"It has been my general practice not to respond to motivated criticism directed personally at me," he added. 

The Prime Minister's remarks came outside Parliament on a day he read out amid din in both the Houses his statement on the controversial coal block allocations. 

But the Prime Minister's way of sending a message across on his silence did not convince BJP leader and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj. 

Taking a jibe at the prime minister, Sushma said the questions were so pointed that he would have been embarrassed in answering them and that was why he chose to remain silent. 

"Really the questions were so harsh and straightforward that by answering them he would have embarrassed himself and that's why you (prime minister) preferred to keep silent," she added. 

news for the day!!

BJP will continue to press for PM's resignation in Parliament

NEW DELHI: Rubbishing the no loss argument of the government in the coal block allocations, BJP today made it clear that it is in no mood to allow Parliament to function till its demand for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's resignation is met.

"A nation wide debate is on on this issue though it is not taking place in Parliament. Our strategy does not permit that we allow the government to use Parliament to end this debate without any accountability. We want the debate to go on further," Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley told reporters here.

"There are occasions when obstruction in Parliament brings greater benefit to the country," he said.

Jaitley dismissed Chidambaram's assertion yesterday that there cannot be a loss in the coal block allocations as no mining was done in many cases.

"Kapil Sibal had propounded the zero loss theory in the 2G spectrum case... It was a bitter experience for him. He had to eat his words... Finance Minister P Chidambaram has not learnt lessons from Sibal's bitter experience and has tried to take it further," he said.

BJP insisted that once the coal blocks were allocated, the valuations of these 142 blocks in the market sky-rocketed.

"Once the coal blocks are alloted to private parties, the right to mine lies with the allotees and not with the Government of India. Even without actual mining the government has lost control over these mines," Jaitley said.

He maintained that there was a "huge opportunity cost" which the government has lost and termed Chidambaram's no loss theory as "preposterous".

Apple wins 1 billion dollar in patent suit, but Samsung set for bounce-back

SEOUL: Defeat in a bitter patent wrangle with Apple, its smartphone rival and biggest customer, will dent Samsung Electronics's $21 billion cash-pile, but could actually help cement its leadership in the global smartphone market.

A US court has ordered Samsung - which sold around 50 million phones in April-June, almost twice the number of iPhones - to pay $1.05 billion damages, after ruling that the South Korean firm infringed on some Apple patents.

While the verdict was a big win for Apple, the damages are less than half the $2.5 billion compensation it sought - although that could yet be increased by the judge - and are just 1.5 per cent of annual revenues from Samsung's telecoms business.

That phone and tablet business is the powerhouse behind Samsung's growth, earning around 70 per cent of total profit. The group had net profit of $4.5 billion in April-June.

Samsung could also see its popular Galaxy smartphone banned from sale in the United States. But its skill as a "fast executioner" - quick to match others' innovations - would likely mean tweaked, non-patent infringing devices would be on the market soon after any ban came into place.

"Samsung has already made some design changes to new products since the litigation first started more than a year ago," said Seo Won-seok, an analyst at Korea Investment & Securities. "With the ruling, they are now more likely to make further changes or they could simply decide to raise product prices to cover patent-related payments."

Also, Apple's demands for Samsung to pay it a royalty on its phone sales could hit rival phones using Google's Android operating system more than it hits Samsung. If anything, the blaze of publicity from the high-profile, high-stakes US litigation has made Samsung's brand more recognisable.

Contradicting verdicts
The California jury had only begun deliberating on Wednesday after a complex weeks-long trial. Friday's verdict on seven Apple patent claims and five Samsung patent claims suggests the nine-person panel had little difficulty in concluding that Samsung had copied some features of Apple'siPhone and iPad.

It could lead to an outright ban on sales of key Samsung products, with Apple saying it planned to file for a sales injunction within seven days and the judge in the case setting a hearing on September 20.

Because the jury found "wilful" infringement, Apple could seek triple damages.

The US ruling, read out to a packed federal courtroom in San Jose, just miles from Apple's headquarters, came less than 24 hours after a Seoul court found that while the iPhone and Galaxy look very similar Samsung hadn't violated Apple's design.

Samsung issued a defiant response to the US decision, which it called "a loss for the American consumer", indicating the legal tussle is far from over. "This is not the final word in this case or in battles being waged in courts and tribunals around the world, some of which have already rejected many of Apple's claims," Samsung said in a statement.

Nomura analyst CW Chung, speaking before the verdict, predicted it could take "many years" for Apple and Samsung to settle the case whatever the result of this round, leaving the two firmly in control of the $200 billion-plus global smartphone market.

"The litigation may end up with both parties entering a cross-licensing agreement, which should enable them to build a higher patent wall in the smartphone market," said Chung. "This would have a positive impact on the share prices of Samsung and Apple, while posing a substantial threat to other competitors."

Based on the damages ruling, Samsung is asked to pay Apple around $10 royalty per phone, a move seen aimed at slowing rival phones that run on Android - which account for more than two-thirds of the global market.

If Apple were to pursue similar legal challenges against other Android manufacturers that could squeeze profit margins as smartphone prices decline in a growing market - reinforcing the dominance of Samsung, one of the few with big enough margins to absorb the extra cost.

Handset competitors using Android include Taiwan's HTC, LG Electronics, Google's Motorola,Sony and some Chinese brands.

Win some, lose some?
Although Samsung had been viewed as the underdog in the US case, the sweeping nature of Apple's victory was something of a surprise, with many analysts having expected a mixed ruling.

Concerns over potential reputational damage, the short-term cash hit and the impact on billions of dollars of business with Apple had knocked as much as 5 per cent off Samsung's shares this week in the run-up to the verdict. But the stock is still up nearly 50 per cent since Apple filed its accusations.

Samsung has previously been able to move nimbly to release model upgrades by the time courts have ruled certain products infringed Apple patents and retire patent-infringing models from its line-up. It has skirted around those rulings with a few engineering tweaks and has also made some bold design changes to differentiate its devices from Apple's.

"The impact on Samsung will be quite limited, as affected models are mostly legacy products and its new products did make some design changes to avoid potential litigation," said D J Jung, representative patent attorney for SU Intellectual Property.

"Still ... it's a sweeping loss in the most important market. It's inevitable that Samsung's brand will be negatively affected - Samsung could be perceived as a copycat."

Even though Samsung's flagship Galaxy S III phone was not involved in the trial, the jury validated Apple's patents on features and design elements that Apple could then try to wield against that product.

It is possible Apple would not have to seek an entirely new trial against the S III, but rather include it in a "contempt proceeding" which moves much faster, said Nick Rodelli, a lawyer and adviser to institutional investors for CFRA Research in Maryland.

Seoul-based Jung predicted further appeals and fresh suits against newer products as the rivals continue to clash in court.

"It's going to be a very drawn-out battle," he said. "They will keep suing each other, appeal against unfavourable verdicts and bring in new products ... because the stakes are too high. They don't want to lose their initiative in the fast-moving smartphone market."

Outside the box
In a research note before the verdict, UBS analysts said an Apple win could, in the long-run, hurt the US firm "as the real threat is not a competitor beating Apple at its own game, but instead changing the game.

"The likelihood of Apple being leapfrogged or a rival creating a new category (of device) is greater if they have to think out of the box. If they just copy Apple, like Coke, Apple can claim to be 'the real thing'."

Samsung also looks to be staying ahead of the curve - by reviving the stylus function, derided by Apple's Steve Jobs, in its latest tablets and by creating the hybrid phone-cum-tablet, or phablet, category, with its 5.3-inch Note.

Apple, which has largely stood by its original form and design, is taking note, with speculation that the next iPhone will have a bigger screen and new iPads may be smaller.

In China, set to become the world's biggest smartphone market this year, Samsung has almost twice Apple's market share, and the iPhone slipped to fourth in the market in April-June, overtaken by both Lenovo and ZTE, according to latest data from industry research firm IDC.

Despite, or because of, the publicity from the US case, and more than a dozen pending cases elsewhere around the globe, the Samsung brand has gained recognition - as an equal to Apple rather than merely a supplier.

In a recent Campaign Asia-Pacific brand ranking, Samsung came top ... ahead of second-placed Apple.

Microsoft starts taking Windows 8 pre-orders

REDMOND: The window to upgrade to the next version of Microsoft's computer operating system is now open.

Microsoft began accepting orders for Windows 8this week. The new operating system won't be delivered until October 26, however.

People who own a personal computer running earlier versions of Windows can buy the revamped system for $14.99 to $39.99.

The lower price is being offered to PC ownerswho have bought a machine powered byWindows 7 since June 2. Everyone else with a Windows-based computer will have to pay the higher price if they want to upgrade.

The chance to upgrade at these prices expires January 31.

Microsoft designed Windows 8 so it can power both traditional PCs and tablet computers in response to the iPad's popularity.

‘Infosys victory may deter copycat lawsuits against Indian cos’

The Infosys victory in federal court in Alabama may deter potential copycat lawsuits against Indian companies and the mere possibility of litigation should not scare away businesses from investing in the US, an eminent Indian American lawyer has said.

"Infosys' victory in federal court may very well have a chilling effect on potential copycat lawsuits against Indian companies," a Birmingham-Alabama-based attorney with Haskell Slaughter Young & Rediker, Jagdesh Kirpalani, told PTI after a federal court dismissed harassment charges against the IT major by one of its American employee - Jack 'Jay' Palmer.

Noting that some blogs and news outlets misapprehended the litigation as a whistleblower case, he said the plaintiff's case against Infosys was not a whistleblower, or qui tam action. "Simply put the plaintiff's case was an employment case alleging claims founded in contract and tort. The plaintiff failed to establish that Infosys breached a contract with him.

"The plaintiff did not present any conduct on the part of Infosys that rose to the level of an intentional infliction of emotional distress. Accordingly, the court threw out the plaintiff's claims as insufficient," he said.

US District Judge Myron H Thompson said, "Judgement is entered in favour of defendantsInfosys Technologies Limited Incorporated and Infosys Limited and against plaintiff Jack 'Jay' Palmer, Jr, with plaintiff Palmer taking nothing by his complaint.

"It is further ordered that costs are taxed against plaintiff Palmer, for which execution may issue."

Referring to the order Kirpalani said, "The plaintiff brought state law claims against Infosys over which the federal court exercised diversity jurisdiction. "Although the matter was pending in federal court, because the case involved state law claims, the court was required to apply Alabama law to the plaintiff's causes of action."

He said the court found that the plaintiff lacked the proof necessary to prevail on his claims at trial, thus, the court entered a judgement in favour of Infosys. Hopefully, one of the points Indian companies will take away from this result is that the system of justice in the US is both fair and efficient, said Kirpalani, whose practice is focused on advising entrepreneurs and established businesses on international business transactions and economic development.

He has a particular concentration on Indian companies doing business in the Southeast and domestic companies doing business in India and Asia. "American federal courts do not express preferences for domestic litigants over foreign litigants or vice-versa," Kirpalani added.

Thus, he said, the mere possibility of litigation should not scare Indian business away from continuing to invest in the US.

Baba Ramdev ends fast, targets PM and Congress

NEW DELHI: Yoga guru Ramdev on Tuesday broke his six-day fast and a distinctly anti-Congress protest on the black money issue by calling for defeat of the Congress in the next elections.

"The result of any protest is not determined by the government but by the people. I am happy that over 400 MPs in Parliament supported our demands. This government has cheated the people and Parliament," Ramdev said breaking his fast at the Ambedkar Stadium here.

"Congress hatao, desh bachao (Remove Congress, save the country)," he said in his speech lasting an hour and added that except Congress all parties are together on the issue of black money.

After spending the night with hundreds of supporters at the Ambedkar Stadium even after their release, Ramdev broke his fast by sipping a glass of juice offered by a boy and a girl.

Ending the protest, he headed for his ashram in Haridwar while the supporters dispersed giving relief to authorities planning for Wednesday's Independence Day celebrations.

Charging the UPA government with failing to bring back black money, he said the government would have lost if there was any voting on the issue in Parliament.

"If there was voting in Parliament on blackmoney, the government would have lost it. IfMulayam Singh and Mayawati withdraw support, the government will fall in one day," he said, adding it has no right to continue.

"We are not leaving this place defeated but we are going as victorious. We have made all parties come together (on the issue of black money). We have not targeted or tarnished Congress. It was their own doing.

"The government said they have brought out a White Paper but what they have brought out is a false paper," Ramdev said.

Attacking Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Ramdev asked him to show "political will and honesty" in brining back black money stashed abroad.

"He (Singh) should show political will and honesty and if he does not show it, he will be deemed as corrupt. If he can't remain politically honest then he should leave the post," Ramdev said.

The yoga guru also said that if he had wanted he could have stopped the Prime Minister from hoisting the national flag on Wednesday but added that it was not the "right thing" to do.

Holding the Congress responsible for price rise and poverty, he asked people not to vote for the party in the next Lok Sabha polls.

"We have decided not to vote for Congress. The party has made us poor and put us in poverty. You have to tell people that it is Congress which has pushed you to poverty and is responsible for price rise.

"Next time in the elections, we should ensure that not a single Congress leader gets elected to Parliament. Who to vote for? We will tell you later. We have to vote for those who will bring back black money stashed abroad," he said, adding the fast has just been suspended and the fight on the issue will continue.

Ramdev held an early morning strategy session with his close aides to fine tune the future course of his protest.

He had on Tuesday night rejected an appeal by police to vacate the stadium flagging concerns ahead of Independence Day as the facility was near Red Fort where the national celebrations will take place on Wednesday.

The yoga guru was arrested during a march to Parliament but late in the night he refused to quit the stadium from where he and his few thousand supporters were released.

To Rio with hope: Will India hit double digits next time?

NEW DELHI: For long the backbenchers of Olympic sport, in London, India moved on from four-yearly debacles in hockey and the public brawling of its tennis prima donnas. Instead, it looked to a set of doughty, ambitious small-towners who refused to be swept up by the hype and banked on monk-like devotion and undying hunger to serve up two silver and four bronze medals.

Blog: Our medallists/achievers are worth more than mere gold!

India's tally from London looks like a dam breach when compared with the trickle that began with Leander Paes' bronze in 1996 and it has created a sense of hope for Rio 2016. After three medals in Beijing and six in London, will it be nine, or even 12 in Rio?

Fired on by Gagan Narang's bronze -- where India found itself on the 10m rifle podium for the second successive Olympics -- Sushil Kumar's fighting silver brought down the curtain on a mixed-bag fortnight for India. It is possible that the performance has caused a shift in perception in a nation notorious for its lack of sporting culture.

Mary Kom's exploits on the Olympic stage helped push the north-east in western focus; back home her bronze has inspired big-city girls to take up boxing gloves. With hockey continuing its dismal free fall and tennis flattering only to deceive, India turned to relatively less glamorous sports.

Karnam Malleswari, India's first woman Olympic medal winner, says that it could be the poor man's sports that could be India's future. "No rich family boy will go into sports like weightlifting , boxing or wrestling. These are clearly poor man's sports," says theSydney 2000 bronze winning lifter, implying how the smaller centres tucked away in the interiors of Haryana or the distant north-east have been providing us with champions.

"Parental support and idea of the sport providing employment opportunities are the other triggers that can change mindsets," she adds.

Govt focus on core sports helped India's Olympic cause

Abhinav Bindra's gold medal at Beijing forced a rethink of the sports ministry's policies . Under the ambitious 'Operation Excellence for London Olympics 2012 (OPEX 2012)' the core probables were provided with foreign coaches, training stints abroad and exposure trips. The ministry's budget for London: Rs 142.43 crore.

Out of the ministry's annual budget of Rs 722 crore, they spent about Rs 34 crore for hockey and boxing alone -- considered India's main sports at the Olympics. Yet, the boxing failure is a minor blip in the work in progress.

In addition to Bindra, Vijender Kumar and Sushil's medals at Beijing crucially awakened a cricket-drunk corporate world to the possibility of lesser-known sport in the country. Trust and support groups helped the regular sportsman with direction.

Going by unconfirmed figures, the Mittals Champions Trust -- a Lakshmi Mittal brainchild -- spent about Rs 3 crore on the goldwinning shooter in addition to another Rs 32 crore on other athletes. Thirteen of those under MCT's umbrella were in action at London.

Similarly, the Olympic Gold Quest, spearheaded by former sportsmen of repute, chipped in with Rs 8 to Rs 10 crore on its programmes.

There were disappointments at London -- notably in archery and men's boxing -- but the combined efforts seem to bear results. No gold came our way, but with the Indian sportsman not afraid to slug it out with the best in the world, Rio could well prove our watershed Olympics. An Indian contingent walking into the closing ceremony will no longer seem an ordeal anymore.

biggest question for both PM n president

August 15 is not a national holiday?

LUCKNOW: We have all grown up learning August 15 as the national holiday but the government says it has no such record available that announces August 15 as the national holiday. Not only this, there are no government orders available with the ministry of homewhich notify January 26 and October 2 as the national holidays.
The revelation has been made in response to an RTI query by a 10-year-old girl Aishwarya Parashar. She had put the question to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) in April this year. The PMO transferred her application to the ministry of home, which, in turn, forwarded the application to the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) saying the subject matter of the application, the declaration of national holidays, does not pertain to MHA.
After lots of twists and turns, however, the ministry of home, on May 17, said the government has issued no such order which notifies January 26, August 15 and October 2 as the national holidays. Dissatisfied with the response, the girl moved an appeal to the Ministry of home saying she has learnt about national holidays through her text books and that ministry probably has erred in saying that it does not possess any order on declaration of national holidays.
However, the response to the appeal only upheld the response of the ministry. The appellate authority, however, also made a request to the National Archives to provide the copy of the order, if any, to the girl. The response from the national archives is still awaited. Meanwhile, the girl has written to both the President and the Prime Minister seeking the answer to her query.

Baba Ramdev taken into preventive custody

NEW DELHI: Yoga guru Ramdev on Monday courted arrest after he was stopped by Delhi Police from marching towards Parliament as part of his intensified protest against corruption and bringing back black money stashed away on foreign shores.

Ramdev courted arrest along with thousands of his supporters near the Ranjit Singh flyover, just a few metres away from the Ramlila Maidan in central Delhi, the venue of his fast protest since Thursday.

"Delhi Police is a puppet in the hands of the Central government. We will not do anything that disrupts peace. We wanted to march towards Parliament in a peaceful manner to make our voices heard," he told his supporters before courting arrest.

"Our intention is not to disrupt peace. We will cooperate with the police and go according to the law. We have respect to the law of the land," he said before getting into a Delhi Transport Corporation bus which Delhi Police had brought to take him.

He is being taken to Bawana on the outskirts of Delhi. Holding the national tricolour, Ramdev hopped into a open vehicle from outside the Maidan in central Delhi and began his march at 1:15pm. He was soon joined by thousands of his supporters.

"Let us start the march to Parliament. Our march is not to gherao Parliament. But to agitate. None of our volunteers should indulge in violence," he told his supporters before beginning his march.

Ten minutes into the march, the cavalcade was stopped by Delhi Police near the flyover, saying that they do not have permission to march.

Heavy police presence could be seen outside Ramlila Maidan and Ranjit Singh Flyover, the route of the protest march.

Ramdev announced on Monday morning that he and his supporters would march towards Parliament and hold an agitation outside the complex.

"The government has become completely deaf. We have to make them hear us. Now our protest will be outside Parliament. We are not talking about gherao," Ramdev said while addressing his supporters in the morning.

"Lok Sabha polls will be in 2014 and 99 per cent could be in 2013. This protest is to ensure that no dishonest person enters Parliament. Such people should be boycotted. We do not have a political agenda," he said.

Earlier, BJP president Nitin Gadkari and JD(U) chief Sharad Yadav shared the dais with Ramdev, who attacked Congress and asked people to throw out the UPA government accusing it of not acting against corruption and black money.

The NDA leaders appeared on the stage and sat with Ramdev and his supporters. TDP leader Nama Nageshwara Rao, BJP MP Vijay Goel and Akali Dal representatives also shared the stage with Ramdev.

The presence of NDA leaders assume significance in the wake of Ramdev taking a vow to oust the Congress in the 2014 elections.

Gadkari pledged his party's "full support" to the yoga guru's agitation against black money and launched a blistering attack on the Congress-led UPA Government on issues like corruption and black money.

In his address, Gadkari told Ramdev that the BJP would stand "fully behind him" in his agitation demanding bringing back black money stashed away in foreign banks and that the party was raising the issue in Parliament.

"There is no political agenda to this agitation. This agitation should not be seen from political prism. This is an agitation of the people of the country and not of one single party. Black money should be brought back to the country and spent on the country's development," he said.

Talk to Tatas on Singur, Congress tells Mamata

Singur: It may be akin to a political cuss word in Trinamool Congress regime. But given the relationship between the bickering alliance partners,
Singur: The state Congress is planning to hold a rally in Singur on August 26, urging the Mamata Banerjee-government to negotiate with the Tatas for an out-of-the-court settlement to the ongoing land impasse.
And theirs is not the sole voice. A small but significant section of the broad coalition of parties, Mamata Banerjee had formed during the Singur agitation culminating in her 26-day fast, has also suggested the same. The Bengal CM, till now, isn't keen on it, though it didn't stop her from meeting Shapoorji Pallonji Group MD Shapoor Mistry, the single-largest shareholder ofTata Sons, for fresh investment opportunities in the state recently.
State Congress president Pradip Bhattacharya said: "The court process will go on. But if the intent is to give relief to the farmers, what's stopping the government from speaking to all stakeholders, including the Tatas?" Bhattacharya doesn't stop at this. He added that the government should stop demarcating between willing and unwilling farmers. "The latter's demands are justified, but while stressing on their voice aren't we overlooking those who had willingly given their land? Even they are in distress."
Murshidabad MP Adhir Chowdhury, expected to take part in the meeting, said: "If the CPM had committed a mistake (by acquiring land forcibly), it doesn't mean that it will be repeated in another form. Are industrialists untouchables? You speak to them to form your industrial policy and invite them to invest in Bengal. Then why not talk to the Tatas to find an solution to the ongoing stalemate? There is nothing like speaking to the stakeholders directly. The intent has to be very clear."
In a meeting at Town Hall on June 24 with her Singur allies to take stock of the political fallout of Calcutta high court verdict on Singur two days before, the chief minister was advised by PDS leader Samir Putatunda to go for at an out-of-the-court settlement with the Tatas to return land to the unwilling farmers. Mamata wasn't keen on it. The Calcutta high court held the Singur Land Rehabilitation and Development Act, 2011, as unconstitutional and void. A division bench of the high court had given the verdict on Tata Motors' appeal against a single judge order that had upheld the act. The state has appealed against this order in the Supreme Court.
But speaking to the Tatas is only a part of the ongoing imbroglio. problem which Congress is harping on.
The other is the darkness over the real beneficiaries for the government dole of rice at Rs two-per-kilogram and a Rs-2000 per month stipend.
Congress spokesperson Abdul Manan said: "For months, we've been urging the Hooghly district magistrate to publish a list of beneficiaries. It hasn't been done yet. We suspect not all the real beneficiaries are gaining from this." All these after Congress followed Trinamool Congress's footsteps in going alone in Bengal panchayat poll.Now intends to hold a public rally in Singur on August 26 demanding that the Mamata Banerjee-led government negotiates with Tatas for an out-of-court settlement of the Singur impasse.

Yuvraj Singh back in Team India for World Twenty20

NEW DELHI: Yuvraj Singh was on Friday included in the Indian cricket team for the World Twenty 20 Championship in Sri Lanka as well as the two T20s against New Zealand in September, within months of his recovery from a rare germ cell cancer.

In another interesting pick, senior off-spinnerHarbhajan Singh has also been recalled to the team after a gap of one year along with veteran seamer Lakshmipathy Balaji, who makes a comeback after three years.

Yuvraj's selection was on the cards after he was declared fit by the physio and trainer at the National Cricket Academy where he had been camping for the past one month.

"Yuvraj has been declared fit, so he makes a comeback. And all of us know, if he gets going, he can singlehandedly win matches," chairman of selectors Krishnamachari Srikkanth told reporters after the meeting.

The two T20 Internationals against New Zealand, slated for the first week of September, will be a test for Yuvraj who underwent chemotherapy in the US earlier this year.

Ever since his diagnosis, the left-hander has remained out of action since the second Test match against West Indies played from November 14-17 in Kolkata.

The selection committee took around three and half hours to decide on the two squads -- the bone of contention being the selection of Yuvraj and Harbhajan.

According to sources, Yuvraj's selection wasn't exactly unanimous as couple of selection committee members were apprehensive about picking him for the T20 World Cup starting September 18 as he has not played a single competitive match for the past nine months.

However, his class and experience in the shortest format was the logic behind his selection apart from the popular sentiment to bring him back which definitely played a part.

Harbhajan's selection was simply based on his past record as India's spin department is pretty thin on experience. Harbhajan last played for India against England at Trent Bridge last July-August before he flew back with an injury and has not been considered for selection since then.

The surprise inclusion has to be Piyush Chawla, who has done precious little in the domestic season gone by but dearth of quality leg-break bowlers was the reason behind the Uttar Pradesh player getting the nod ahead of the likes of Rahul Sharma and Amit Mishra.

The inclusion of Balaji is based on his impressive performance for Kolkata Knight Riders in the last two editions of the Indian Premier League. The 30-year-old's ability to bowl effective slower deliveries at the death has led to his selection over Umesh Yadav.

The only tearaway pacer in the squad is Ashok Dinda while the other two seamers will be the experienced duo of Zaheer Khan and Irfan Pathan.

The squad consists of eight players -- Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Irfan Pathan, Rohit Sharma, Piyush Chawla and Harbhajan Singh -- who were a part of India's historic T20 triumph in South Aftica five years back.

Squad for T20 World Cup and T20s against New Zealand: Mahendra Singh Dhoni(captain), Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Manoj Tiwary, Rohit Sharma, Irfan Pathan, Ravichandran Ashwin, Zaheer Khan, Lakshmipathy

Balaji, Piyush Chawla, Harbhajan Singh, Ashok Dinda

Infosys employee Neelima may have ended life due to marital problems: Police

HYDERABAD: The mystery over Infosys techie B Neelima's death is likely to continue for another week as her viscera samples reachedAndhra Pradesh Forensic Science Laboratory(APFSL) only on Wednesday. However, after a week-long probe into the mysterious death, police suspect it to be an act of suicide due to marital problems.
Police are waiting for the post-mortem and forensic reports to arrive at a conclusion on Neelima's death. As a part of the probe, the investigating officials have so far verified the call data record of Neelima and checked the SMSs and e-mails she had sent or received from various people.
In the e-mail sent to her husband Suresh Reddy just before her death, Neelima purportedly stated that they were a mismatch. "After the scrutiny of e-mails and questioning her husband, we suspect that Neelima may have ended her life due to marital problems," an officer, who is part of the probe, said.
Police have also discovered that Neelima had given about Rs 25 lakh to Suresh Reddy in the last couple of years. "We got to know that she borrowed some money from colleagues in the US to help her husband launch his own business. However, Suresh seems to have not used the money properly and lost most of it," the official said.
Neelima was a distant relative of Suresh, a BCA graduate, and fell in love with him when she arrived in Hyderabad to do her engineering course. They got married two-and-half years ago and a year ago she moved to the US to work for Infosys there. After Neelima left for US, Suresh followed her, but returned to India after staying there for a fortnight.
It was during this period that Neelima became really unhappy with the behaviour of her husband, and started feeling that she had married the wrong person. Even after coming to the city, Neelima decided to stay with her mother at KPHB.
On July 31, Neelima left her house in the night as Suresh was forcing her to choose between either going to his house in Kukatpally or letting him come to her KPHB house. It appears that to avoid meeting her husband, Neelima went to Infosys office and then the mysterious death occurred there, another officer said.
Even though Neelima had expressed slight dissatisfaction about her marital life in her emails, she did not write a suicide note nor did she mention anything against any person, including her husband.
In his statement before police, Neelima's friend Prashant said that she told him that Suresh dropped her at Infosys office on July 31. But it was not true as police found out that she came there in order to avoid meeting her husband, for reasons yet to be known.
Police cracked Neelima's email and came to know that she had sent an email to her husband just before her death. "Your way of thinking is different from mine. I am paining you by being quiet. I am unable to adjust. I always wanted to live my life my own way. I like individuality and freedom. Your thoughts are entirely different. I am not trying to fault you. Mana Iddariki set avadu ra...I am very sorry," she said in her mail.
Police said that Neelima had also sent an SMS to Suresh informing him that she was going to end her life. "However, when we questioned Suresh about the SMS, he said that he did not see the SMS. But, the reality is that he had deleted the SMS from his phone," the officer said.
Police are maintaining a wait-and-watch policy till they get the post-mortem and forensic reports. The viscera samples reached APFSL only on Wednesday and with three holidays in a row, the lab authorities said it might take a week to give the report.

Pakistan allows about 250 Hindus to cross into India after hiccups

LAHORE/ISLAMABAD: A group of abour 250 Pakistani Hindus were on Friday allowed to cross over to India for a pilgrimage after being detained at the Wagah land border crossing due to a controversy over reports that they planned to migrate to the neighbouring country.

The Hindus protested at the Wagah border crossing after they were detained for almost seven hours. Immigration authorities finally allowed the Hindus to cross the frontier at about 2.30pm.

"We were given the go-ahead from the interior minister to allow about 250 Hindus to travel to India. They all have valid travel documents," a senior official of the Federal Investigation Agency in Lahore told PTI.

"The Hindus have 33-day visas for different Indian cities. We stopped them temporarily after media reports said they would not return because of some problems they were facing here," the official said.

The FIA sent a special team to Wagah to interview the Hindus.

"The Hindus dismissed media reports about them and assured the team that they would not speak against Pakistan in India," the official said. The official said the team had not asked the Hindus to provide any sort of undertaking. "They promised not to defame Pakistan," he said.

Though the Hindus gathered at the border crossing at 8am, only two doctors and their families were initially allowed to cross to India.

Both doctors had "no-objection certificates" and authorities had earlier said they would only allow people with NOCs to cross the border.

It was an act of perversion: Mumbai police on Pallavi's murder

MUMBAI: A day after lawyer Pallavi Purkayastha was found dead with her throat slit in her flat in Mumbai's Wadala area, theMumbai police have recovered the weapon of offence - a kitchen knife. "It was an act of perversion," the Mumbai police said.

Pallavi Purkayastha, daughter of a senior Delhi-based bureaucrat, had been stabbed with a knife by the building's watchman Sajid Pathan and was bleeding profusely. But she managed to escape the attacker who tried to rape her in her flat in central Mumbai. She even rushed outside her door and sought neighbours' help, but nobody came to her rescue. She pressed their doorbells, but none came out from their homes to help her, police said.

Watchman Sajjad Pathan was caught at Mumbai Railway station when he was trying to flee the city. He has reportedly confessed to police that he killed Pallavi simply because she had yelled at him a few days back.

According to police, Sajid Pathan who had been stalking her for two weeks and committed the cold-blooded murder, disconnected the power of her flat on Wednesday night. Later, he waited for her call for assistance. At around 1 am, he accompanied an electrician to her flat. The problem was solved and the men left. But Pathan again disconnected her power, and was summoned by her again.

However, he succeeded in his second attempt. Later, he tried to rape her and when Pallavi fought back, he stabbed her.

Indians pack bags for Dubai 'begging fest' during Ramzan

CHENNAI: Scores of Indians are flying to Dubai on a 'business opportunity' during Ramzan. Not all of them return soon enough though, as the business of begging is an offence in the Gulf country.

The Dubai police have arrested 131 people, including 16 from Tamil Nadu, for begging during the holy month. Devout Muslims are generous with alms (zakat) during Ramzan, though seeking alms in public can land one in trouble.

Diplomatic sources said a lot of Asians head for Dubai during the season. A beggar from Pakistan was caught with 18,000 Dirhams (around 2.45 lakh) during a recent raid. According to the Dubai police, this is an annual organised operation. "Even employed people come from different countries to seek alms in Dubai during Ramzan," said a source. "After paying for their return tickets and the short stay, they still carry a handsome amount back home."

A youth employed in a media organization in Dubai boasted that he made a cool 1,200 Dirhams (16,200) in a matter of ten minutes by seeking arms on the road a few days ago.

Though details of Indians arrested for begging in Dubai were not known, sources said that all of them had Indian passports and visit visas valid for 45 days. Diplomatic sources said they were from Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Assam. Those from Tamil Nadu hailed from Vellore, Ramanathapuram and Tirunelveli districts.

Those arrested are produced before courts and serve a jail term of up to three months. "Those who come to beg here know the penalty. Many think it is worth taking the risk," said an Indian diplomat in the Gulf.

This year a number of police officials, some of who are women, have fanned out to mosques and shopping malls in the emirate to nab the beggars. A Dubai visit visa for example can be obtained for 75,000 through an agent and this investment is much less compared to the kind of money one could make from begging. The money obtained by begging cannot be transferred to India through official banking channels. Hawala operators help solve this problem with a 24 x 7 service to move money from Dubai to Tamil Nadu.

This is the system used by illegal Indian labourers in the Gulf as they cannot open a bank account or send money through exchange houses as they do not have a valid passport or a residential visa.

Bahrain, Muscat and Qatar are also preferred begging destinations during Ramzan.

Don't miss the celestial spectacle on Sunday

BANGALORE: Make sure you'll be an early bird this Sunday or stay awake all through Saturday night to catch a glimpse of a rare celestial show. The prodigious Perseid meteor shower will dart through the Bangalore sky, illuminating it much more than the clearest of starry nights.
The specks of light on the sky may be very fast and at the edge of your field of vision, and you may start doubting whether they are real or not. But have patience and you will be delighted to see three or more meteors coming down the same track in groups, illuminating the sky with a shower of 'shooting stars'.
The rare sight is attributed to pieces of periodic comet Swift Tuttle, known as Perseid meteor shower, visible from the Earth this week when the planet passes near the comet's orbit. Tiny trails of debris left behind by the comet - mostly the size of grains of sand, but some as large as peas or bigger - enter the atmosphere at 60 kilometres per second (134,000 mph). Friction causes these chunks to heat up and on contact with oxygen, they light up in flames. The Swift Tuttle comet comes close to Earth's orbit once in 133 years. Experts said about 80 such 'shooting stars' will whizz past the sky on Sunday.
"The Perseid meteor shower, happening around the world for the past few days, will reach its peak during dawn on Sunday. It will be characterized by numerous streaks of light on the sky. It can be enjoyed best with the naked eye," said BS Shylaja, director of JN Planetarium.
"The event is not much of astronomical significance. It's more like a feel-good hobby. You can reflect radio waves which will give you a deep sound if converted," said E Ebenezer, scientist,Radio Astronomy Group at the Indian Institute of Astrophysics.
CLOUDS MAY PLAY SPOILSPORT
The weatherman has predicted an overcast sky on Sunday. Astronomers and enthusiasts can go to the outskirts to observe the phenomenon. "Nandi Hills may be a good idea as the cloud cover may not be there," added Ebenezer.
"Many amateur astronomers are heading towards villages on Tumkur Road and Bannerghatta Road, 60km from the city, to get a clear view of the shower," added Shylaja.