Mumbai: Megastar Amitabh Bachchan says daughters are special and help to bind a family together.
The father of Shweta Nanda is all praise for daughters.
“Daughters are special very special. They become the soul of the home. They are the reason for the warmth that embraces us all,” he shared on his official blog srbachchan.tumblr.com, Tuesday.
“They conduct, command, secure, analyse, dictate, rule, govern and spread that tender thread which binds an entire family together.”
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“They are reason. They are consult. They are opinion. They are guidance. They are supreme,” he added.
The 72-year-old then shared his photographs with actress Deepika Padukone with whom he is filming “Piku” in Kolkata.
New Delhi: In a first for Indian hockey, the national federation today decided to have the ‘Hockey India Annual Awards’ wherein the top players in the men’s and women’s categories will walk away with a prize money of Rs 25 lakh each.
Hockey India will be identifying and rewarding the most promising and potent players from the current as well as upcoming teams.
Speaking on the announcement, Hockey India secretary General Md. Mushtaque Ahmad said, “It is huge leap that we at Hockey India are preparing for. These awards are not only focused towards the welfare of the players but will ultimately help in boosting the morale of the players and motivating them to perform even better.
“The Hockey India family as an organisation takes pride in announcing the Hockey India Annual Awards for the Players and shall strive to take more such steps for the enhancement of the sport as well the players.”
HI has decided to name the individual trophies after HI President Dr Narinder Batra’s son Dhruv, who passed away recently.
“The Hockey India Executive Board and the Indian hockey community recognise and acknowledge the major contribution that Dr. Narinder Batra in particular and his family have made to Indian hockey. Dr Batra was also recently honored internationally by being awarded the FIH Presidents award at the FIH Congress on 1 November 2014 for his role in the development and growth of hockey in India over the recent years,” he said.
“In remembrance of the late Mr. Dhruv Batra who expired on 29 October 2014, during the FIH Congress, the son of President, Dr Narinder Batra, the Board thought it was fitting to name the ‘Player of the Year? awards in the category of men and women to the remarkable young man that was Mr. Dhruv Batra,” Ahmad added.
Each award will consist of a trophy, certificate and cash award. The decision to announce the awards was taken in the 26th Meeting of the Hockey India Executive Board here.
The 26th Meeting of the Hockey India Executive Board was Chaired by Hockey India Senior Vice President, Ms Mariamma Koshy and attended by Executive Board Members including Md.
Mushtaque Ahmad (Secretary General), Rajinder Singh (Treasurer), Tapan Das, Anandeshwar Pandey, Rajeev Mehta, Hitesh Sindwani, Asha Thakur, Asunta Lakra and Dr. R.P Singh.
List of Awards:
Dhruv Batra Player of the Year (Men) – Rs 25,00,000
Dhruv Batra Player of the Year (Women) – Rs 25,00,000
Upcoming Player of the Year (Men U-21) – Rs 10,00,000
Upcoming Player of the Year (Women U-21)- Rs.10,00,000
Goalkeeper of the Year – Rs.5,00,000
Defender of the Year – Rs.5,00,000
Midfielder of the Year – Rs.5,00,000
Forward of the Year – Rs.5,00,000
Award for Invaluable Contribution (For coaches and support staff) – Rs.5,00,000
President Award for Outstanding Achievement – Rs.5,00,000.
Indian companies will need active help from the new government in expanding overseas, but such support has been lacking in the past as against China which has always put its might behind its enterprises, leading industrialist Sunil Bharti Mittal said today.
“We are facing might of Chinese state wherever we go abroad,” said Mittal, who heads telecom-to-retail conglomerate Bharti group.
Sharing his experiences from the past, Mittal said when his company ventured into Sri Lanka, the government there was expecting assistance of USD 100 million for a project.
“I conveyed it in MEA (Ministry of External Affairs) and officers in PMO (Prime Minister Office) but nothing moved after that. I could only convey. Few months after that, China doled out cheque of USD 1 billion to Sri Lanka which helped its companies,” Mittal said at the India Global Forum here.
He said Indian companies started venturing abroad and investing big after Tata acquired European steel firm Corus in 2006 and soon it was followed by acquisition of Jaguar and Land Rover.
“Indian companies are making big investments abroad. Some of them are extremely successful, some moderate and some are in the process. In Africa, I have seen good amount of goodwill for India. Though we cannot match the amount of money they (China) commit in Africa but government can support Indian businesses there,” Mittal said.
Airtel acquired African telecom operator Zain in 2010 for USD 10.7 billion. The telecom major operates in 17 African countries but is yet to register profit.
At the same event, Wockhardt Chairman and Group CEO Habil Khorakiwala said that Indian companies have brought down price of HIV drugs by about 98 per cent in Africa which was earlier unaffordable for people there.
Mittal said positive changes are taking place under the new government but more needs to be done.
“PM (Narendra Modi) is now making bold moves overseas. He asked us to introduce ourself in Japan,” Mittal said.
But unlike foreign businessmen who are made part of delegation when their ministers visit overseas, Indian businessmen are given a badge which says “coinciding with visit of Prime Minister”, he added.
“I have asked senior officials to at least make ‘accompanying’ if not call it delegates. We deserve some respect,” Mittal said.
Bharti Enterprise chairman recalled a meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Russian President Vladimir Putin where Russian conglomerate Sistema’s chairman Yevtushenkov was present during the meeting between heads of the two states
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi among other leaders on the sidelines of the ASEAN and East Asian summits in Myanmar next week in his first interaction with the pro-democracy icon.
Modi leaves for Myanmar on November 11 on the first leg of his three-nation ten-day visit that will also take him to Australia and Fiji. External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin replied in the affirmative when asked at a media briefing whether Prime Minister Modi will meet Aung San Suu Kyi.
“The Prime Minister will be meeting Aung San Suu Kyi,” he said. Modi is also due to have a meeting with the host nation’s President Thein Sein.
The spokesperson said the prime minister is extremely keen to meet as many people as possible during his foreign visits and there will be several meetings on the sidelines of the multilateral events. Modi will be also attending the G-20 summit in Brisbane on November 15-16.
Myanmar is in the midst of a national debate on whether to allow Suu Kyi, an opposition leader, to contest the 2015 parliamentary elections, which she is barred from at present, due to a provision in the Constitution. Suu Kyi had visited India in November 2012.
Myanmar is one of India’s most important neighbours, both for security and as a gateway to Southeast Asia. An ambitious project is underway to develop a 3,200-km highway linking India, Myanmar and Thailand. It was originally envisaged to be completed around 2017 but it is behind schedule and is now expected to be completed in 2018.
The 12th ASEAN-India summit and the 9th East Asian summit will take place in Nay Pyi Taw on November 12 and November 13 respectively.
The I-T department had said Vodafone India under-priced shares in a rights issue to its parent. The tax demand was for the two financial years ended March 2011
he finance ministry is yet to decide on filing an appeal against the Bombay High Court order of October 10 in favour of British telecom major Vodafone, that it did not have to pay the additional tax of Rs 3,200 crore as demanded by the income tax (I-T) authorities.
An appeal has to be filed within a month after the court order. A source at the ministry said: “It is studying the order. Even after one month, the ministry can file an appeal and a delay condonation petition.”
However, it does not mean an appeal will necessarily be filed, said the source.
After the order, the ministry had sought the Central Board of Direct Taxes’ view on the transfer pricing case. The law ministry has also been consulted. If it is decided not to move the court, it might lead to resolution of other transfer pricing cases. Shell, IBM, Cairn and Nokia are all fighting transfer pricing cases here.
The I-T department had said Vodafone India under-priced shares in a rights issue to its parent. The tax demand was for the two financial years ended March 2011. The amount covered tax and interest for the tax demand, for assessment year 2009-10. After a few days of the first order, the Bombay HC again ruled in favour of Vodafone, waiving Rs 1,400 crore of tax for a different assessment year.
A company spokesperson had said: “Vodafone has maintained consistently that this transaction was not taxable.”
Vodafone India had issued shares at Rs 8,000 each, with an investment of Rs 246 crore. The department had determined the price at Rs 53,000 a share, saying the company had underpriced these and that the shortfall and differential ought to be treated as taxable income of Vodafone India through an international transaction.
The HC had decided the share issue at a premium did not give rise to income and there was no international transaction to trigger transfer pricing provisions. Transfer pricing is the value at which companies trade products, services or assets between units in different countries, a regular part of business for a multinational company but a practice tax authorities feel it is often exploited. Rules require all cross-border transactions between group companies to be valued at ‘arm’s length’ or as if the transaction is with an unrelated company.
However, even if the finance ministry decides not to file an appeal against this order, it would not be the end of Vodafone’s tax woes in India. It is fighting a capital gains tax controversy for the purchase of 67 per cent stake from Hutchison in 2007, the claim for which stands at Rs 11,200 crore. Though the Supreme Court had ruled in favour of Vodafone, the earlier government came out with an ordinance to tax the company with retrospective effect. The matter is under arbitration.
The appointment of the third arbitrator for the case. Former Chief Justice of India RC Lahoti and Canadian lawyer Yves Fortier were appointed as the arbitrators for Indian Government and Vodafone Plc, respectively.
Patna: With the BJP and Shiv Sena on the verge of losing whatever little relationship they share after ending their 25-year alliance, Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi o n Monday empathised with the Maharashtra party and described BJP as an “unreliable” partner.
Manjhi justified his party JD(U) severing ties with BJP in June last year on this ground.
“BJP has been going against the agreed principles of bonding and is working against Constitution…considering this JD(U) took a decision to part company with BJP,” Manjhi told reporters on the sidelines of “Janata Ke Darbar Me Mukhya Mantri” programme.
Seeking to clear the impression that JD(U) severed ties with BJP due to former Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s rivalry with Narendra Modi, the Bihar CM said, “It was not only decision of Nitish Kumar but a consensus view in the JD(U) National Executive to end ties with the saffron party.”
Criticising BJP for drum beating that there are eight ministers from Bihar in Narendra Modi cabinet, Manjhi said, “do not go by numbers, the state has been slighted by not being given any Cabinet berth in yesterday’s expansion.”
“First timers like Smriti Irani have been made Cabinet minister but seasoned politicians like Rajiv Pratap Rudy who had been a minister at the Centre earlier has not been given due honour,” he said.
Even Ramkripal Yadav, who is fourth term Lok Sabha member has been made minister of state, he said to drive home his point.
The Bihar CM pooh poohed BJP’s claims of not promoting dynastic politics and referred to the appointment of Jayant Sinha who is the son of former Minister and senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha, in support of his argument.
Manjhi hit out at the Centre for cutting developmental fund to Bihar by around Rs 7,000 crore.
“I have sought an appointment with Prime Minister to draw his attention towards this lowering of fund flow under schemes like Indira Awas and others…I will also remind him (PM) about his promise to give special category status and special package to Bihar,” he added.
Jumping out of buildings, running through barbed wire, flying makeshift planes and digging secret tunnels — all desperate measures used by people to flee East Berlin after the wall went up.
Those images and memories flooded back into Germany’s collective conscious on Sunday, as the nation celebrated 25 years since the Berlin Wall came tumbling down.
On November 9, 1989, tens of thousands of Germans literally tore it down by hand — using their fists, pickaxes, sledgehammers and shovels.
Then East Germany’s communist government helped, heaving away chunks of it by crane, as its citizens streamed into the West and its one-party oligarchy collapsed.
Freedom and ultimately a united Germany emerged from the bitter Cold War that had separated Berlin since the first concrete barrier went up in 1961.
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Berlin today
In the years since the Wall came down, the city has undergone a massive transformation as people and money poured into the former East Berlin.
Berlin now shines as a crown jewel of central Europe. It’s a far cry from the city and the country that were bombed to ruins during World War II. And Germany is now the world’s fourth largest economy and the driving market in the European Union.
On Sunday, thousands of Berliners, dignitaries and visitors from around the world gathered around the city’s iconic Brandenburg Gate to remember the moment that many thought would never come.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the fall of the Berlin Wall sends “a message of hope and that dreams can come true, nothing has to stay as it is, even if it’s difficult.”
People are also visiting the East Side Gallery, the longest part of the wall still standing — measuring 2.2 kilometers or 1.6 miles.
Most of the Wall was dismantled in the immediate aftermath and much of it was sent to other countries. There are parts of the Wall at the United Nations headquarters in New York as well as U.S. embassies and presidential libraries.
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Grandiose work of art
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A grandiose performance art celebration on Sunday is to symbolize the disappearance of the wall.
The “Lichtgrenze” (Border of Light) was placed along the former path of the Berlin Wall. It comprises thousands of illuminated white helium balloons — to be released into the sky after a performance by the Staatskapelle Berlin orchestra.
In a more somber ceremony, candles will burn at the National Memorial for the Victims of the Berlin Wall. Two hundred people were killed while trying to escape, many of them shot by border guards, others succumbing to accidents.
Berlin Mayor Klaus Wowereit says he hopes the ceremonies will spread hope to people around the world.
“When the wall came down it was a signal to the world that freedom is possible,” he said. “There are many other walls in the world and people who do not live free. We want them to watch these ceremonies and events and be inspired by them.”
New Delhi, Nov 9 (IANS) Budget carrier AirAsia’s Indian arm Sunday launched a week-long sale offer for its entire network with one-way tickets at prices as low as Rs.699, including taxes.
The offer comes as part of the Malaysia-based parent company’s ‘Big Sale’ with three million promotional seats on its network from Kuala Lumpur, with the starting fare of Rs.2,599 for international flights operated by AirAsia Berhad and Thai AirAsia, the airline said in a statement.
AirAsia’s offer of Rs.2,599 would be available on flights from Chennai, Kochi, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Tiruchirappalli and Hyderabad to Kuala Lumpur operated by AirAsia Berhad and Chennai to Bangkok flown by Thai AirAsia, the release added.
AirAsia India is offering an all inclusive one-way fare starting from Rs.699 for flights from Bengaluru to Chennai, Kochi, Goa, Jaipur and Chandigarh and vice versa.
Tickets can be booked on Airasia’s website from Sunday night till Nov 16, for travel period from June 10 next year to Jan 17, 2016, the company said.
“The ‘Big Sale’ offer would allow our guests to plan their travel early with extremely low fares,” said AirAsia India chief executive Mittu Chandilya.
If you’ve been wondering where ‘TV Queen’ Mona Singh has disappeared, we’ve got news. Last heard she was having ‘Zed Plus’ security cover as someone had splashed a bucket of cold water on her face!
Hang on; we are talking about Zed Plus a film by Dr Chandraprakash Dwivedi in which Mona has a pivotal role. More importantly, for Mona it has been a dream come true to be part of a song in which water has been splashed on her face in slow motion.
“As a child, I was always mesmerized when water was thrown on a heroine’s face in slow motion. It has been my dream to feature in a sequence like that. It was a trend started by choreographer Bhushan Lakandri in 1942 A Love Story,” says Mona.
Not only has Mona been able to fulfil her dream but the song in which she has been featured, has been choreographed by Bhushan Lakandri himself! Working with the legendary choreography was an added bonus for Mona.
Zed Plus is not your typical Bollywood film with ‘zero plot’, dancing around trees and digitalized fight sequences; it’s a political satire in which the ‘Dancing Diva’ has a rustic role.
Mona is not saying anything more than this at this stage, but she assures us that this one is going to be a laugh riot.
New Delhi: Former president of India APJ Abdul Kalam`s office on Monday rejected reports of his ill health saying that the 82-year-old is absoutely fine.
A news report quoted Kalam’s private secretary saying that the rumours have been doing rounds about the nuclear scientist ill health. He rejected the reports and said someone is playing mischief.
Meanwhile, Kalam has been awarded an honorary degree by Scotland`s prestigious University of Edinburgh for his contribution to science and technology.
“The award presented by University Principal and Vice Chancellor Timothy O`Shea is in recognition of Dr Kalam`s outstanding contribution to science and technology, and his commitment to helping transform India into a developed nation by 2020,” it said.
Kalam, who served as the president of India from 2002 to 2007, received the degree during a dinner held in his honour on May 15, the varsity said.
The 82-year-old is regarded as the father of his country`s space programme and in recent years, has campaigned to highlight the plight of India`s rural poor, advocating the use of technology to address social and economic inequalities.
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