Tom Cruise eyed Jennifer Garner before pursuing Katie

Tom Cruise had his sights set on Jennifer Garner before beginning his whirlwind romance with Katie Holmes, according to a controversial biography.

In ‘Tom Cruise: An Unauthorized Biography’, British journalist and writer Andrew Morton claims that the ‘Mission Impossible’ star tried his luck with Garner before making Holmes his wife.

Morton alleges that Cruise constantly left voicemails on Garner’s phone asking if she “knew what freedom was.”

However, according to the author, the actor’s advances were turned down, reports Usmagazine.com.

The biography also claims that Holmes signed a contract to commit to Scientology and that her father brokered a high-paying pre-nup.

The Church of Scientology, which appears to be the real subject of the book, has issued an extensive statement dismissing some of the book`s most sensational allegations.

It snubbed the contents of the book as "vicious sensationalism of the lowest order" filled with "false and scandalous allegations".

"Insinuations that Cruise is second-in-command of the Church are not only false, they are ludicrous," the statement added.

News Source : Samachar

Paris Hilton enjoys new super raunchy photoshoot

Paris Hilton certainly didn’t seem to mind posing for a raunchy new photoshoot, for she not only got paid, she also got to lock lips with a sexy male model.

The saucy photoshoot for sports label Fila was shot in Los Angeles and required the 26-year-old heiress to snog the model.

The shoot was set aboard a luxury yacht in the Marina Del Rey area and Paris went through eight outfit changes, including one microscopic bikini.

All through the shoot, the socialite was heard listening and singing along to Britney Spears’ Greatest Hits CD.

“She was singing along to all of Britney’s songs like Toxic and ‘Oops I Did It Again. She knew all the words. She even shouted out ‘I love Britney’ at one point to the photographer. She looked incredible and was really enjoying herself. The model was hot too - a spitting image of Ashton Kutcher,” a magazine quoted an onlooker, as saying.

The multi Millionairess has a reputation of dating models and was recently romantically linked to Swede Alex Vaggo and was engaged to fashion model Jason Shaw from mid-2002 to early 2003.

News Source : Samachar

Neil Nitin Mukesh’s dost stories

Neil Nitin Mukesh didn’t only earn some good reviews for his performance in his debut film Johnny Gaddaar, but like all successful actors, he has earned some ‘friends’ too.

Apparently, the guy who was to bring in the New Year with a quiet get-together with about seven to eight friends at his home was surprised when he got a guest turn out of about two hundred and fifty people.

“All his college and school friends turned up and the crowd only got bigger and bigger,” says a friend of the actor. Looks like Neil is one jolly good fella, or should we say ‘Johnny’ good fella?

News Source : Samachar

‘Dharm’, not ‘Eklavya’, should have been Oscar entry: Pande

India’s Oscar film selection committee chairman Vinod Pande on Wednesday came out in the open with his disgust at sending a film such as ‘Eklavya’ about which “the writing was on the wall”. He said it should rather have been the controversy stirring film ‘Dharm’ that deserved to be India’s official entry for Best Foreign Film film at Oscars this year.

"The writing was on the wall when `Eklavya` was chosen as India`s official entry to Oscar despite the fact that we had a more deserving Bhavna Talwar`s film `Dharm`, which should have been our official entry," Pande told agencies. "The film was extremely relevant as it showcased the turbulent times we are living in. It depicted the vicious atmosphere created by communal fundamentalism. Yet it was overlooked in favour of a big banner film. The result is for everyone to see," he said.

Pande was extremely critical of Film Federation of India`s (FFI) handling of the entire issue of film selection and the controversy surrounding "Eklavya`s" selection.

"I am angry with the politics played by FFI. First they did not inform the committee that one of the members was associated with the making of promotional film for "Eklavya". Had we known this fact, we could have stopped him from voting."

"Then, despite the academy of motion picture arts and sciences giving us an opportunity for course correction, ffi remained adamant on sending "Eklavya" although we had three days in hand to send a fresh entry. The final result was "Eklavya" was not even nominated," Pande said.

"The government must take a good look at the working of FFI. It is the matter of honour of our country," he added.

News Source : Samachar

I am not supernatural: Sania

KEEP GOING: Sania Mirza shuts out controversies to get on with her business on court.

Melbourne: The past two weeks have not been the best of times for high-profile Indian sportspersons. In a grotesque twist of fate, they have been forced to ignore familiar workplace concerns regarding form and footwork, fitness and forehands and, instead, lose sleep over moral/ethical questions of the sort that are more likely to engage philosophers, psychologists and politicians.

If ‘Bollyline’ made it certain that the 2007-2008 tour of Australia by Anil Kumble’s team will go down in history as the most acrimonious sports series down under since Bodyline, then the only Indian sportsperson who, without having to bat or bowl, can still rival the cricketing superstars in the popularity sweepstakes, has had to deal with a few nasty bouncers herself.

Amidst the pungent aroma of over-heated emotions, with high rhetoric and dogmatic moralising leaving little room for rational analysis in the media, a sense of proportion might be too much to hope for.

But both Kumble’s men and Sania Mirza cannot be faulted if they did. A refreshing whiff of sanity might not hurt.

You have to feel sorry for Sania. It is a pity that a pioneering young sportswoman, who has been a wonderful sporting representative of her country worldwide, should be dragged into one emotionally draining controversy after another.

In the event, it was remarkable that the 21-year old from Hyderabad managed to shut out the off-court events of the last few weeks — particularly the national flag issue — to get on with her business on court in the Australian Open championship on Tuesday.

This place gives Sania a healthy, joyous adrenaline surge; and not without reason. For, it was here that the famous journey began three years ago when, as a wild card, she won two rounds before losing to Serena Williams.

After three eventful years that saw her become one of the most easily recognisable Indian athletes, Sania would much rather concentrate on her tennis — if only they would let her!

“It is not easy to deal with things like that off the court. It did affect me. I am not supernatural,” said Sania after beating Iroda Tulyaganova of Uzbekistan 6-4, 6-2 in a first round contest.

Asked if it was true that she considered quitting, Sania said, “Many questions went through my mind and that was one of them. But this (playing tennis) is what I like doing and I have to keep going.”

Tough rival

Tulyaganova was not an easy opponent. Once a top-20 player who won a gold medal in the 2002 Busan Asian Games, she has since dropped a long way in the rankings. Yet, she plays the sort of game that makes it difficult for an opponent to find any sort of rhythm. “She’s a tricky player. She doesn’t give you too many balls to hit,” said Sania.

The Indian, seeded 31, made a tremulous start, losing serve in the fourth game of the first set. But she immediately struck back to break Tulyaganova in the next game and quickly injected a strut into her court coverage.

Sania’s serves too improved midway in the first set and she was able to mostly decipher a proper path to the net, winning a clutch of crucial points in the forecourt while also provoking a flood of errors from the Uzbek with her powerful forehand drives. “I was not sure if I would be able to blank things out and play my best. I am happy I managed to do that,” said Sania, who takes on the Swiss Timea Bacsinszky in the second round.

News Source : Samachar

Karishma's dillema!

We’ve heard from insiders that there’s a twist in the tale of Karisma’s marriage with Delhi-based industrialist Sanjay Kapur.


Although Karisma and Sanjay seem to have worked out their marriage, we heard that Sanjay can’t get along with mum-in-law Babita.

Which is surprising, considering Sanjay’s mother and Babita are close friends. The story goes that Karisma came to Mumbai for the delivery of her baby in 2005 and stayed with her mother (Babita) and sister (Kareena) in Babita’s flat at Hill Road, Bandra. However, about six months ago, she bought a flat of her own in Mayflower building opposite Olive in Bandra and moved there.

According to our well-placed source, the reason behind the move was that her husband Sanjay couldn’t get along with her mother, and so didn’t want to visit his family at Babita’s place. Yet he wanted to have some time alone both with Karisma and his daughter Samaira. So he asked her to set up house separately in Mumbai.

Karisma, says our source, had no choice but to move out of Babita’s flat to allow Sanjay to spend some quality time with Samaira. Says our source, "Sanjay and Babita hardly talk to each other. However, after Karisma shifted to Mayflower, Sanjay started visiting her once a fortnight. He generally comes over on alternate weekends," our source adds.

We visited Mayflower building last Saturday to confirm that Karisma was indeed staying with Samaira at Mayflower, and that Babita and Kareena were not staying with her. The watchman on duty at the building told us that Karisma, Sanjay and Samaira form a happy family on weekends. He said, "Randhir Kapoor, Babita, Kareena and Sanjay visit Karisma, but none of them stay here permanently. Sanjay stays here for about two days whenever he is here, and I do see Karisma, Samaira and Sanjay going out together."

News Source : Samachar

Intel to take its Indian tech solutions abroad

World’s largest chip maker Intel Corp. plans to take technology solutions built in India to other emerging markets such as China and Brazil.

Intel has already taken designs of the rural personal computer, or a rugged PC, built by its Bangalore researchers for India, to be sold in China and Mexico.

The rural PC, which can be powered by a car battery, has been designed to tackle adverse weather conditions, including heat, dust and ­humidity.

Intel’s India team has created the reference design for the rural PC, based on its chip platform and built by assemblers and vendors.

“Our team of ethnographers had spent considerable time in India studying how various culture groups relate to technology and use it, helping develop newer products,” said Justin Rattner, chief technology officer for Intel.

Rattner, who also heads the corporate technology group at Intel as a director, said the company was developing more technologies in India such as mobile health monitoring systems, which could be taken to other developing countries.

An Indian group, in collaboration with the US team, has developed a prototype for a mobile health monitoring system, which monitors multiple physiological parameters such as blood pressure, pulse rate and electrocardiograph, using a wireless body area network on a real-time basis for enabling quick investigation and ­treatment.

“The information acquired will be used to investigate the challenges associated with the wireless health monitoring such as ease of use, mobility, power efficiency and reliability” said Vittal Kini, director, Intel India Research Center.

A prototype of the device, in its second year of research, could take another four to five years to get commercialized, Kini said.

Intel has about 3,000 engineers developing its products in India. Intel India president Praveen Vishakantaiah said the company has been scaling up its development team in India, but declined to give any numbers.

News Source : Samachar

Lost order keeps Aftab behind bars

Aftab Alam Ansari is finally a free man — in jail.

A city magistrate today released the Calcutta resident, detained in connection with the recent court blasts in the Uttar Pradesh capital, but the young man couldn’t step out of prison because the order sheet went missing.

By the time it was found and sent to the jail authorities, it was past 6.30 and too late.

A source at the district central prison said release orders had to reach jail officials by 4.30 in the afternoon.

“If no order reaches us by that time, we don’t release anyone unless the district magistrate, Chandrabhanu, intervenes. That is the rule,” the source said.

The delay meant another night in jail for the 27-year-old, who could have walked free yesterday itself had Lucknow police not mentioned another name in the release petition to additional chief judicial magistrate Rajendra Prasad Tripathi.

Till 9 this evening, the CESC employee — picked up on December 27 after the police mistook him for another man, “Mukhtar” — was still in jail.

His mother, Ayesha Begum, who reached Lucknow today from Calcutta, nearly broke down when she came to know that her son might not be released tonight.

Late tonight, Aftab’s lawyer said he could be released tomorrow morning around 7.30.

Earlier in the day, around 1.30pm, Tripathi signed Aftab’s release order. Around 4, when lawyers for the detained man reached the court, they were told Aftab’s entire file was missing.

Half an hour later, Tripathi ordered court officers to search for the file. It was finally traced, around 4.45, in a corner of the courtroom.

The magistrate then called the district central jail and asked the authorities that Aftab — arrested on charges of conspiracy, attempt to murder, waging war against the country and smuggling RDX into the country — be released soon as it was a special case.

Around 7, jail officials put up a list of undertrials to be released this evening. Aftab’s name was not on the list.

“We want to release him. He is anxious to meet his mother. But we are helpless,” said a jail official.

Aftab’s lawyer Mohammad Shoaib said he couldn’t figure out why jail officials were not releasing his client. “The police told us they wanted to send Aftab to Calcutta. But I don’t think the police can be trusted now.”

He said the police were deliberately trying to delay Aftab’s release because of the media glare. “They appear to be bent on escorting him to Calcutta under tight security,” he added.

“But Aftab’s mother doesn’t want this. She wants to take custody of her son.”

As she counted the hours, another thought kept coming back to Ayesha Begum — will her son, who got married last year, retain his job?

“He is the only bread earner of the family. He got his job in CESC after his father, an electrician, died. If he loses his job, we will all starve,” Ayesha Begun said as her eyes welled up.

News Source : Samachar

Panic hits local market, prices drop

It may be a sheer coincidence that chicken was not served at the CPI(M) state conference at Mahajati Sadan on Wednesday, but the bird flu panic has certainly hit the local market.

Prices in the wholesale market have dropped, caterers complained that customers are canceling orders, roadside eateries and restaurants alleged that there was a sharp decline in their sales and city hospitals have stopped offering chicken and eggs to patients.

The state poultry industry, which have a large market in neighbouring Jharkhand and Bihar, is in a sticky situation as both states have imposed a blanket ban on the import of Bengal chicks following the outbreak of the dreaded disease. The West Bengal government has already ordered culling of chickens, principal secretary, animal resource development department, Dilip Chakraborty, said at Writers’ Buildings on Wednesday.

According to Chakraborty, the state exports approximately 40,000 chicks to Jharkhand and 60,000 to Bihar every day. The ban on the import has virtually put the state poultry industry in quandary. The state information and culture department, of which Chakraborty is the principal secretary, would be issuing an advertisement, both in the electronic and print media so that the state poultry industry does not face a similar experience, as it had experienced two years back. Md Kamaluddin, who sells chicken in New Market said, “Everyday I sell around 200 kilograms, but today I have sold only about 125 kilograms. If the trend continues then the prices will drop sharply, as it happened in 2004 and 2006.”

The scenario in the wholesale market was, however, little different. Prices have already dropped by at least three rupees and hatchery owners are blaming it on dealers and middlemen. Assistant secretary of West Bengal Poultry Welfare Association, Nazrul Islam said, “It is the middleman and dealers who are pressurising to cut down the prices”.

News Source : Samachar

Tour or India for BCCI

The BCCI has a choice: drop the Australia tour or the “I” in its name.

A public interest litigation filed in the Supreme Court today said the Board of Control for Cricket in India should stop using the word “India” if it doesn’t recall Anil Kumble and his boys and defend the country’s honour in the race row with Australia.

The “lazy” and “ignorant” board, Lucknow-based lawyer Prince Lenin said, should “discontinue” the tour because the Australian cricket board had “humiliated” the nation in front of the entire world.

The court has set January 28 for the hearing.

If Lenin finally has his way, the irony wouldn’t surely be lost on the BCCI czars.

Sometime back, in the thick of a telecast rights battle with a channel, the board had claimed it was a private, autonomous body, with no links with the government, either administrative or financial.

Lenin’s PIL also sought to prevent the board from organising or taking part in any tournament under the name “India”.

Those who were not “concerned” with the game or had “not contributed” to it, the petition added, should be barred from contesting as office-bearers of any sports body.

The PIL said the board had become the richest sports body in the country because of the “love” and “affection” of the people.

But on the current tour, the BCCI has been a mere spectator to the “unsporting acts” of the Australian players, the umpiring mistakes and the damage caused to the “spirit” of the game and has not withdrawn for “fear” of losing a few crores.

No person, the petition argued, could be allowed to make money at the cost of the nation’s honour.

The BCCI, it said, had failed to “protect and defend the respect, pride and dignity” of the country, which “rests with the players”, and so “no more deserves to represent the Tricolour at any level”.

News Source : Samachar

Sex toy triggers bomb scare in Sweden

A Swedish bomb squad called out to disarm a suspicious package on Wednesday did not find a ticking bomb, but a vibrating sex toy.

A janitor alerted police after he found the package in a garage of an apartment building in Goteborg, Sweden's second biggest city, police spokesman Jan Strannegard said.

The package was humming and vibrating suspiciously, so police took no chances and sent out a team of explosives experts. After having cordoned off the area, they opened the package with bomb disposal equipment, only to find the battery-operated device inside. "The package was vibrating when the janitor found it, but I think it had sort of died out by the time it was disarmed," Strannegard said.

It was not immediately clear who had left the package in the garage.

News Source : Samachar

The shot was on, says Dravid

STAND-OUT PERFORMANCE: Brett Lee says he has now learnt when “to go full out” and “when to pull back.”

Perth: Rahul Dravid admitted he was disappointed with being dismissed at a crucial moment on Wednesday, but reminded observers of the “fine line between being positive and throwing it away” when asked about the stroke.

Dravid, who made 93, left the WACA cross with himself. He banged his bat on the turf several times before walking off.

“It’s obviously disappointing, but the shot (slog-sweep) was on,” said Dravid after day one of the first Test. “When you connect it looks ok, but when it doesn’t come off you can end up looking stupid. I’m disappointed it happened at the end of the day when the new ball was due. But, there’s lots of cricket left in the game, lot of fighting to be done.”

Was India happy with its position? “We’d have taken four down for 300, but there were some good shows of character through the day. If we can get a partnership and some good lower-order batting tomorrow we can get to about 400, which is what we set out to achieve.”

Dravid termed the strip a “good cricket wicket,” adding it would be “interesting to see how it pans out” and “whether the cracks open up.”

Would India miss Harbhajan Singh?

“When it’s keeping up and down, even the faster bowlers are tough to face,” said Dravid.

Asked about his conversation with the umpires when Michael Clarke was trying to hurry him into taking strike, Dravid replied: “They were trying to push their over-rate up, which was fine. But, they were not giving the batsman enough time to look up. It wasn’t really an issue.”

Australia’s over-rate on Wednesday was outrageously poor — despite play extending 30 minutes beyond the scheduled close, the host managed to bowl just 84 overs.

On the difference between opening and batting at three, Dravid said: “I wouldn’t attribute the runs to the position. It’s hard to explain even for us. I’ve never really done well as an opener, but I haven’t come to the bottom of it. It just feels different (at number three).

“I’m obviously pretty familiar with it and it’s nice to be back. The wicket also had some pace and bounce which allowed the ball to come on, which I like.”

Brett Lee, described by Dravid as Australia’s “standout bowler”, said he had learnt when “to go full out” and “when to pull back” in terms of pace.

“Sometimes you bowl at 95 per cent to try and hit the right areas and when you need a wicket you go all out. Hopefully, it’ll be a quick clean-up job (on Thursday).”

News Source : Samachar

Operators face Rs 20K fine for pesky calls

With no respite from pesky calls for harried phone users — even those who have signed up on the national do-not-call registry — Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) on Wednesday sought to arm itself with powers to impose a fine of up to Rs 20,000 on service providers not complying with its guidelines, besides suggesting higher penalty on telemarketers.

It proposed to revise the penalty to be levied on registered telemarketers to Rs 500 for the first unsolicited call and Rs 1,000 for second or any subsequent call.

To ensure that telecom operators took their job of blocking unwanted calls seriously, the regulator suggested a fine of up to Rs 5,000 for the first non-compliance, which would be hiked to up to Rs 20,000 for second and subsequent violations.

Though the proposed fine is part of a consultation paper released by Trai, it shows the failure of the present norms to deal with unwanted calls and text messages despite criticism from the Supreme Court, consumer courts and Parliament.

"The objective is to increase the effectiveness of these regulations by providing some financial sanctions to non-compliant telecom service providers and thereby reducing the nuisance and inconvenience to the subscribers of telephone/mobile services from unsolicited telemarketing calls or messages," Trai said in a release.

News Source : Samachar

7 killed as Taliban takes Pakistan fort

At least seven Pakistan paramilitary personnel were killed after Taliban militants captured a fort manned by the Frontier Corps in South Waziristan. The whereabouts of 20 others are not known.

The military said 300 militants attacked the Sararogha fort in the northwestern tribal area on Tuesday night and took control of it.

A military spokesman said while 15 personnel escaped to an Army base in Jandola, 35 km away, seven others were killed and 20 were missing.

Local media reports suggested that the militants might be holding some of the troops hostage.

South Waziristan is a stronghold of the Al Qaeda-linked Beithullah Mehsud, Taliban militant leader whom the government named the mastermind of Benazir Bhutto’s assassination.

Militants also killed

The military said 40 militants were also killed in the fighting, which went on for several hours on Tuesday.

It was not clear if the militants continued to occupy the fort.

News Source : Samachar

Reliance Power premium slips in grey market

Shrinking grey market premium in the Reliance Power issue, as a result of the bearish mood in the market in the past two sessions, is prompting investors in the non-institutional category to reduce their exposure to the issue. According to market sources, the grey market premium has now slipped to Rs 280, compared to Rs 320 on Tuesday and is way below the price of Rs 400 it had been commanding last week.

Many HNIs are said to have informed non-banking finance companies that they will not be requiring the entire lot of funds that they had initially committed to borrow. If the premium in the grey market narrows down, it would mean lower gains on the day of listing.

For those looking to booking profit immediately on listing this could be a loss making proposition because the listing price has to be significantly higher to cover the cost of borrowed funds. But this could be a boon to some other investors, who are taking a slightly longer-term view on the stock.

If one section of investors pull out, others are likely to get higher allotments. Should the market bounce back around the time of listing, these investors stand to earn higher profits. A day before the Reliance Power issue opened, the premium was hovering at Rs 380, more than 80% over the upper price band. Sensing this interest among retail and high net worth investors, banks and finance houses (many of which are arms of brokerages) have lined up for funding subscription.

The premium in the grey market is said to be going down due to the weakness in the secondary market. Even though other companies have not been isolated from this, it is more important in case of RPL due to the huge leverage by the non-institutional investors’ category through funding from NBFC and banks. This has resulted in HNIs’ excitement subsiding and they have been reducing leveraged bets for applying in the non-institutional category (which is for HNIs and corporates). As per data on NSE, the non-institutional portion of the book has been subscribed 6.5 times on the second day.

Many brokerages are advising their clients to take funding if they are looking at relatively long-term play and not merely for listing gains. The shrinking premium would mean that there would be lesser leverage and subsequently less over subscription. At the same time, if the market bounces back, investors would stand to gain as premium might go up and they would benefit from the higher allotment.

News Source : Samachar

TCS Q3 net up 19%

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) on Wednesday posted a 19% increase in consolidated net profit at Rs 1,326.67 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2007 when compared with Rs 1,116.10 crore in Q3 FY07.

Total income posted by TCS increased to Rs 6,041.98 crore from Rs 4,910.53 crore in Q3 FY07.

The company also declared a third interim dividend of Rs 3 per share of Re 1 each.

The company added 54 new clients and 7,522 employees joined the company during the quarter ended December 31, 2007.

News Source : Samachar

The company had about $3.1 billion outstanding in hedges, and has used a conversion rate of Rs 39.415/dollar for Q3 FY08.

IAF has no takers in Bollywood

On Tuesday, TOI reported that army chief Deepak Kapoor, disturbed by the dwindling number of youngsters enlisting in the services, had hinted that mandatory conscription would have to be seriously considered by the government. Bollywood, once known to encash on patriotism by making films with the army and air force as a backdrop, seems to be equally disinterested.

The Indian Air Force discovered this recently when it approached several actors, producers and directors to make a film on the occasion of its diamond jubilee. "There was a total lack of response," says a senior air force official. "We approached Aamir Khan, since he’d been so widely applauded for doing a film like Rang De Basanti . But he told us he was too busy. We wanted to make the film in a stipulated time period and nobody had the time to do it."

Has Bollywood lost interest in such subjects? Film-maker Govind Nihalani, who made Vijeta in 1982 when the IAF celebrated its golden jubilee, says, "One of the main reasons for the disinterest is that most producers feel a film on the air force is not commercially viable. Besides, there is no financial assistance from the IAF. When I was making Vijeta, my producer Shashi Kapoor had to pay from his own pocket. I do agree that they gave us all the support that was needed for the film. But in today’s times, a film has to be well mounted to make an impact at the box-office."

Is the subject one of the reasons for the industry not taking interest in a film on the air force? "Not really," says Nihalani. "There are a lot of stories of valour and commitment that can be told, but India doesn’t really have any recent history that needs to be told to the world through cinema. We have to depend on the past, and whatever has happened in the recent past has already been made into films. So, there is nothing new to so."

The approach of IAF also went against it. An event management company was hired to approach film-makers, and all were not even aware that the Air Force had plans to make a film. "Nobody came to me with the proposal," says film-maker Vikram Bhatt. "I would have been more than happy to make a film for them."

Adds Nihalani, "The Air Force would have fared better if it had approached directors personally rather than hiring an event management company. Also, the project was time-bound. If they wanted to plan a film for the diamond jubilee, they could have started work on it about a year in advance for it to materialise. Besides, the air force has an agenda—one is forced to make a film that only praises it."

"There hasn’t been any major event for the industry to make films on the services," says a film critic.

News Source : Samachar

India on car design map

India is emerging as a major designing and engineering hub for global car manufacturers. With Tata Motors showcasing the country's engineering and research and development prowess through its Rs 1 lakh wonder Nano, automobile makers have begun exercise to strengthen research and development operations here.

Car market leader Maruti Suzuki will treble the number of engineers and designers at its R&D centre in the next three years.

"The existing strength is a little less than 300. It will go up to 1000 in three years", a top company official said. Suzuki has already announced plans to make Concept A-Star and Concept Splash here. Maruti's designers have played a key role in the design of Concept A-Star, which has just been unveiled to the world at the 9th Delhi Auto show.

General Motors India (GMI), the Indian arm of US automobile major, already has significant R&D conducted from Bangalore for its global
operations.

"We have 1,000 engineers and designers working for global operations from Bangalore. Plans are afoot to double the strength at the GM Technical Centre to 2,000 in the next 2-3 years," GMI vice-president P Balendran told the Hindustan Times. Hyundai Motor India (HMI), the subsidiary of South Korean automobile major, has 300 engineers at its R&D centre in Chennai. "We will raise it to 1,000 engineers by 2009," HMI spokesman Rajiv Mitra said.

Earlier, Maruti engineers had worked with Suzuki engineers in the design and development of the blockbuster Swift model.

Thereafter, they worked on SX4 and Zen Estilo for launch in India, besides face-lifting the entire range of Maruti models. In the next few years, Maruti expects a rapid flow of new models, including Swift Sedan, A-Star, Splash and in the medium term, the D-segment car Kizashi.
The company is also stepping up work in alternate fuel segments like LPG, where it has achieved resounding success with WagonR Duo and Omni.

"Maruti has an aggressive plan for model launches in the next few years. This will require plenty of design and development work for which we have to step up capability," company official added.

News Source : Samachar

President elevates tainted judge

It's perhaps President Pratibha Patil's first controversial decision since taking over. On Wednesday, President Patil put her seal of approval on Justice Jagdish Bhalla's promotion as Chief Justice of the Himachal High Court.

The move comes just five months after her predecessor APJ Abdul Kalam refused to do so.

Kalam had returned the file to the government over allegations that Justice Bhalla's family was involved in a land scam worth crores.

NDTV was the first to report the sub divisional magistrate's report in 2005, about Justice Bhalla's wife Renu buying 7,200 sq meters of land in Noida for 5 lakh rupees, when it was worth 7.20 crores.

The Supreme Court collegium, which decides on appointment of judges ignored this and recommended Justice Bhalla for the post of Kerala High Court Chief Justice.

But President Kalam refused to clear this and sent the file back to the government. Bhalla had been officiating as acting Chief Justice of the Chattisgarh High Court till August when the government moved for his promotion again.

Now Bhalla moves to Himachal as Chief Justice, even while senior lawyers are collecting signatures for impeachment proceedings against him. The committee for judicial accountability, which has been demanding Justice Bhalla's removal has already had many political leaders, sign their petition, but they say that impeachment will now be difficult.

Constitutional experts say that President Patil had stated that she will not be a rubber stamp president but they say that this move has proved just the opposite.

As per the experts she could have asserted herself by putting her reservations on paper at least once.

News Source : Samachar

F-16 maker Lockheed mounts an India campaign

"A mistake covered up may cost the lives of a brave crew." The message, displayed on a huge board at the assembly line of the C-130J Super Hercules aircraft at Lockheed Martin's plant at Marietta, Georgia, stares at workers all the time, reminding them of the enormous responsibility on their shoulders.

The message could also become a marketing slogan for the leading US defence manufacturer as it looks forward to sealing a deal with India for supply of six of these military transportation planes and makes a pitch, with its upgraded F-16 fighter planes, for India's biggest defence contract in two decades.

The contract for the supply of 126 medium multirole combat aircraft is estimated to be worth $14 billion, or Rs 55,000 crore. The Hercules deal, awaiting clearance from the Cabinet Committee on Security, would be the first direct military sale by a US company to India.

"The F-16 Fighting Falcon being offered to India has unique safety features that recover the aircraft — and save the pilot — even if the plane runs out of control," Lockheed Martin executives told a group of Indian reporters at the F-16 production facility at Fort Worth in Texas. As the Indian Air Force grapples with an aging fleet, which has come to be known as flying coffins, the F-16's safety features could be a USP, the executives said.

In fact, the company already has a name for the customized aircraft it intends to sell to India — F-16IN. It is also inclined to set up an assembly line in India in collaboration with Indian partners. The aircraft's latest features, none of which are available in the version Pakistan has, include AESA (active electronically scanned array) radars, electronic warfare suites and infrared searching.

AESA gives the plane the capability to simultaneously track and destroy ground and air threats. Although supercruising, or cruising at supersonic speeds, is not being touted as one of the features of the new F-16, pilots flying the latest version say they often supercruise.

"The F-16IN is the most advanced F-16 ever," said Chuck Artymovich, the company's director, business development. Many in India might think Americans are fully absorbed in the Hillary, Obama or Romney campaigns but for Artymovich and his team, it's a season of a full-time "India campaign". Will the campaign lose momentum if the Indo-US nuclear deal falls through? Richard Kirkland, Lockheed Martin's South Asia president, insists it won't. "It has already got the backing of the US government and a go-ahead from the US Congress," he says. Many in India, however, may not agree with him as they would not like to take a favourable US foreign policy for granted.

Lockheed Martin hopes to give a detailed proposal soon to the US government on the features and price of the F-16s on offer to India. The US government, in turn, will make a proposal to the Indian government offering F-16s and F-18s.
Incidentally, the F-18 Super Hornet, built by Boeing, is not to be mistaken for an upgraded version of the F-16. The Super Hornet is a supersonic carrier-based fighter aircraft and currently its only user is the US navy. The other aircraft competing for the Indian Air Force's contract are the Russian MiG-35, the French Dassault Rafale, Eurofighter Typhoon being offered by a consortium of European aerospace manufacturers and Swedish company Saab's Gripen.

Why is Lockheed Martin not offering its new fifth-generation fighter aircraft F-35 to India? Company executives give three reasons: such an offer can be made only by the US government, manufacturing capability for the F-35 is still not adequate to meet the timeframe set by India, and the upgraded F-16 meets all the requirements put forward by the Indian government.

The F-35 Lightning II, yet to be officially rolled out, is a multirole stealth-capable strike fighter. It can
perform close air support, tactical bombing, and air-to-air combat.

In fact, the US air force is not going to acquire any more F-16s. Mass production of the F-35 is likely to begin by 2016, when it will start rolling out at the rate of one aircraft a day. "The F-35 is the fighter of the future," company officials said, insisting that if India acquires the F-16 today, the F-35 would be its natural successor in future.

Meanwhile, the "India campaign" rolls on with even Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi being roped in. Lockheed martin executives have dug up a forgotten piece of history to emphasize the ties between the two countries. Thirty-five years ago, during the Chinese aggression, Prime Minister Nehru called up President Kennedy, who sent a fleet of Hercules aircraft to India. These aircraft stayed in India for nine months and carried troops and cargo to inaccessible areas in the Himalayas. The Herck also had two distinguished passengers — Nehru and daughter Indira.

News Source : Samachar