-
A n s h u l aKant appointedas a Chief Finan-cial Officer
forState Bank ofIndia.She isdesignated asDy.ManagingDirector &
CFOof the Bank.
Capt B.BSinha, Director,SCI, has beenselected for thepost of
Chair-man-cum-Man-aging Director,Shipping Corpo-ration of
IndiaLimited (SCI).
Atul Sobti,Director (Po-wer) BHEL, hasbeen appointedas
Chairmanand ManagingDirector of Bha-rat Heavy Elec-tricals
Limited(BHEL)
Public Sector
Hitesh Khannahas been se-lected for the postof Chairman
&Managing Direc-tor, Konkan Rail-way CorporationLimited
(KRCL).He is known to bea sincere officer.
Prabal Basu, Di-rector, BalmerLawrie & Co.Limited, will
bejoining as Chair-man and Man-aging Director,Balmer Lawrie
&Co. Limited(BLC).
Tapan Ray, 82,IAS appointedas DG of Na-tional Inform-atics
Centre.Ray was MD of(GSPC).
G.Gurucharan,82, IAS as-signed an addl.charge of Direc-tor
General, BISfor a period ofthree months.
M s . A r c h a n aRamasunda-ram, 80,IPSAddl. Dir., CBI,has been
ap-pointed DG,(NCRB).
Bureaucracy
Chairperson of(MPEDA) Ms.Leena Nair, 82,IAS has beengiven addl.
char-ge of ChairmanCoffee Board.
Secretaryto CM MamataB a n e r j e e ,Gautam Sanyalhas been
pro-moted as princi-pal secretary.
Rahul Agarwaltook over thecharge as Man-aging Director ofLenovo.
AsiaPacific andC h a i r m a n ,Lenovo India.
Easier list-ing norms willbenefit firms likeus, says Snap-deal
co-founder& CEO KunalBahl.
Vijay GopalJindal has beenappointed asAdvisor to Chair-man of
JindalSteel & PowerLtd (JSPL)Navin Jindal.
Corporate
During themeeting Infosysshareho lderswant NarayanaMurthy back
asits co-founder,but he declines.
After allegationthe MotherDairy MDN a g a r a j a ncame out
stro-ngly in defenceof the quality ofits products.
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July, 20152MIDNIGHT REPORTER
IASGovernment of India appointments......
Bureaucracy
IPSTayal DG, NSG
RC Tayal has been appointed Director General, NationalSecurity
Guard (NSG). Tayal, who is serving as Special DG,Central Reserve
Police Force (CRPF) is 1980 batch IPS of-ficer of Assam-Meghalaya
cadre.
Choubey IG,BSFThe Government of Jharkhand has relieved
Kamal Nayan Choubey of cadre responsibilityenabling him to join
as Inspector General, BorderSecurity Force (BSF) on central
deputation. He isa 1987 batch IPS officer of Jharkhand cadre.
Chhaya DGI,NHRCChhaya Sharma is joining the National Hu-
man Rights Commission (NHRC) as DIG. Sheis 1999 batch IPS
officer of UT cadre.
Thakur is to relieveOfficial sources have said that PS to
Union
HRD Minister Smriti Irani, Ms Binita Yadav Thakurhad written a
letter requesting the Minister torelieve her due to domestic
reasons.
Jethwa deputed as IG,SPGYoshwant Kumar Jethwa, who is presently
in the cadre,
has been deputed as Inspector General in Special ProtectionGroup
(SPG). He is a 1994 batch IPS officer of Orissa cadre.
Sharma New CICSeniormost Information Commissioner, Vijai
Sharma has been appointed new Chief Informa-tion Commissioner
(CIC). He is former 1974 batchIAS officer of UP cadre.
Bhargava IC,CICSudhir Bhargava has been appointed Infor-
mation Commissioner (IC) in the CIC. He is 1979batch retired IAS
officer of Rajasthan cadre.
Anoop assigned Addl. ChargeAnoop Kumar Srivastava has been
assigned
an additional charge of Secretary, Inter StateCouncil
Secretariat. He is a 1981 batch IAS of-ficer of Assam-Meghalaya
cadre.
Sudeep to join ECSudeep Jain is joining the Election Commis-
sion of India as DG Training Institue. 1994 batchIAS officer of
Tamil Nadu cadre Jain would suc-ceed Madhya Pradesh cadre IAS
officer AshishSrivastava.
Roy deputed as RegistrarV.Arun Roy has been deputed as
Registrar,
the Tamil Nadu National Law School,Tiruchirappali in Tamil Nadu.
He is a 2003 batchIAS officer of Tamil Nadu cadre. IFS
Gaur OSD,VPAnshuman Gaur has been appointed as OSD to the
Vice
President at Director level for a period of five years. He is
a2001 batch IFS officer.
Tuhin next HCI, NamibiaKumar Tuhin (lFS: 1991) presently Joint
Secretary has been
appointed next High Commissioner of India to the Republic
ofNamibia.
Judiciary
Ravi Thapar Indian envoy toNew Zealand called back
India recalled its top dip-lomat Ravi Thapar in NewZealand
following allegationsthat his wife assaulted akitchen staff member,
whoapparently told police that hewas “kept in slavery”.A de-tail
investigation is being car-
ried out into the matter, the External Affairs Ministry said
onSaturday. The action was taken based on report of a team sentto
New Zealand last month.
New Zealand police said Thapar’s chef was found wander-ing the
streets in a distressed state after walking nearly 20kmfrom the
high commission. He was taken to a police station andhe ended up
staying several nights at Wellington Night Shelter.
The man apparently told police through an interpreter thathe was
physically assaulted by Thapar’s wife Sharmila, sub-jected to
slavery and the envoy himself had threatened him withassault.High
commissioner Ravi Thapar denied the allegationsand told a newspaper
in Wellington that he was returning toIndia to take care of his
mother.
Sanjyukta Parashar,Assam’s very first female IPSofficer, could
have had all thatconsidering her 85th rank (AllIndia) in the UPSC
exams andher exceptional academicmerits. But she chose a routethat
even the toughest dreadto take - she decided to leadthe fight
against the Bodo mili-tants of Assam. Born and bredin Assam,
Sanjukta Parasharis an IPS officer from the 2006batch, and is
Assam’s onlywoman to join the Indian Po-lice Services.
She was inducted as anIPS officer and chose Assam-Meghalaya
region as hercadre. Now an SP of AssamJorhat District,
Parashar’sfirst deployment was in 2008as Assistant Commandant of
Makum with the responsibility to control ethnic clashes
betweenBodo-militants and illegal Bangladeshi migrants. Bodo
militancy has infested Assam since the1960s and has only become
worse with time, thanks to political warfare and the harsh
terrainof the region.
Sanjukta regularly leads CRPF jawans in treacherous reserve
forests of the terror-in-fested region, and has been immensely
successful in full-blown bullet-for-bullet crackdowns.She is best
known for leading her battalion head-on armed with a loaded AK-47.
After takingdown 16 militants, arresting over 64 and impounding
tons of arms and ammunition in only a fewmonths, Sanjukta has
become one of the most feared police officers among
Bodo-militants.
Salute to this Brave Woman !!
Four Chief Secretaries have not been empanelment to therank of
Secretary in the Government of India. They are all 1982batch IAS
officers. They are, West Bengal CS Sanjay Mitra,Telangana CS
Dr.Rajiv Sharma, Punjab CS Sarvesh Kaushaland Tamil Nadu CS K
Gnanadesikan.Why ?
Four Chief Secretariesnot empanelled in GoI
Sanjay Mitra Rajiv Sharma S. Kaushal K Gnanadesikan
Mrs.Thakur Sec.,SJ&E,Himachal
Mrs Anuradha Thakur, who was waiting forposting, has been
appointed as Secretary, So-cial Justice & Empowerment in
HimachalPradesh. She is a 1994 batch IAS officer of
Himachal Pradesh cadre.
Luikham Sec.,Public EnterprisesAmeising Luikham has taken over
the charge of Secre-
tary, Department of Public Enterprises in place of Kapil
DevTripathi shifted to Petroleum Ministry as Secretary. Luikham isa
1981 batch IAS officer of Manipur cadre.
Justice Mittal resigns to joinCCI
Judge of the Delhi High Court Justice GianParkash Mittal has
resigned. He is joining theCompetition Commission of India as
Member.
Justice Mukherjee CJKarnataka HC
Justice Subhro Kamal Mukherjee, senior-most Judge of the
Karnataka High Court, hasbeen appointed Chief Justice of Karnataka
HighCourt.
No Essay Required For Bureaucrats ToGet London Posting: Govt
New Delhi: The Centre has done away with therequirement of
writing a 250-word essay for getting aposting as Minister
(Economics) at the Indian HighCommission in London, which is
mandatory for get-ting the same in the US. The officer should have
atleast a “very good” service record. However, prefer-ence would be
given to officers who have “outstand-ing” service record, the
vacancy circular No.10/8/2013-EO(SM-I) issued today by the
Department ofPersonnel and Training (DoPT) said.
The officer should have a prior work experiencein commerce,
agriculture or industry. They shouldhave an experience in an
Economic Ministry of theGovernment of India, it said.
The interested officer must be below 54 years ofage. Experience
and familiar exposure to international
trade and bilateral or international trade negotiations are
desirable qualifications for the post,the circular said. The post
of Minister (Economics) in the High Commission of India in Londonis
a Joint Secretary-level appointment under the Department of
Commerce.
Last week, the DoPT circulated a vacancy for the same post under
the Department ofEconomic Affairs at the Indian Embassy in
Washington, DC. A write-up of 250 words is one ofthe pre-requisites
for getting the posting as Minister (Economics) there.
DoPT Secretary Sanjay Kothari
Paswan Gets IRS Officer Ram Chandra Meena As OSDNew Delhi: IRS
officer Ram Chandra Meena was today appointed as Officer on
Special
Duty (OSD) to Consumer Affairs & Food and Public
Distribution Minister Ram Vilas Paswan.Meena is a 1992 batch Indian
Revenue Service (Income Tax cadre) officer. He has been
appointed for a five-year term or on co-terminus basis with the
Minister’s tenure, an orderissued by Department of Personnel and
Training (DoPT) said. In another order, Ram LalGugarwal has been
appointed as OSD to Minister of State for Water Resources, River
Devel-opment and Ganga Rejuvenation Sanwar Lal Jat. Gugarwal, a
Rajasthan Administrative Ser-vice officer, has also been appointed
for a five-year period or on co-terminus basis with theMinister’s
tenure, it said.
Top National Anti-NarcoticsAgency Headless For 4 Months
New Delhi: As the world gears up to mark the InternationalDay
Against Drug Abuse tomorrow, India’s premier anti-narcot-ics
agency, NCB, has been working without a regular chief forclose to
four months. The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) isthe apex national
agency, under the command of the UnionHome Ministry to implement
anti-drugs laws in the country andis mandated to coordinate action
of various law enforcementagencies working in this domain.Records
show the post of NCB’sdirector general has been vacant since
February after incum-bent Rajiv Mehta was appointed the DGP of
Meghalaya. Theadditional charge of this post is being handled in an
additionalcapacity, since April 1, by Special Secretary (Internal
Security)in the Home Ministry, Ashok Prasad. What has brought
stagna-tion in the overall operations and intelligence gathering
mecha-nism task of the agency has been the fact that even two of
itssecond-in-command senior posts, at its headquarters here,are
lying vacant. While Deputy Director General B B Misra re-tired from
service in March, another officer in the same rank, AK Jaiswal has
been repatriated to his parent cadre in the In-come-Tax Department
about two months ago.
-
July, 20153MIDNIGHT REPORTER
• Not to brush teethimmediately after takinglemon juice or
lemonflavoured drinks...viceversa.
• It is not advisableto consume fruits imme-diately after a
strongprotein meal....A mini-mum gap of half an houris
suggested.
• Not recommen-ded to take coffee im-mediately after
eatinggrapes.
• Milk should not betaken immediately aftereating radish.
Courtesy: ‘HealthScan’ online
Healthmagazine.www.healthscan.biz
Imp.Health Tips
*GV Krishna Rao(IAS, 1982, Karna-taka) has reportedlyjoined AP
Chief Minis-ter as Chief Advisorpost retirement.
*Dr A Ravi Shan-kar has been ap-pointed as CEO, NTRVidya Seva in
AndhraPradesh. He is a 1994batch IPS officer ofAndhra
Pradeshcadre.
*S.Johan Bashahas been appointed asManaging Director,APCO,
Hyderabad inAndhra Pradesh.
*An inter-cadredeputation of Adusu-milli V Rajamouli fromUttar
Pradesh toAndhra Pradesh hasbeen approved for aperiod of three
yearson personal grounds.He is a 2003 batch IASofficer of UP
cadre.
*AP Cadre IAS of-ficer Neelam Sawhneyis appointed as a
Sec-retary in the CentralVigilance Commissionfor the period of
fouryears.
*IRS officer J. Kri-shna Kishore is all setto come to AP on
depu-tation. Presently he isthe private secretaryto Union Civil
AviationMinister Ashok Gaja-pathi Raju.
Appointments
Outstanding & Bemisaal July(MR)The top
cop Telangana DGPAnurag Sharma has suc-cessfully completed
hisone year term.So, howwas the term ? It’s totallyoutstanding and
if onehas to understand inUrdu, it’s ‘bemisaal’.Theofficer is
committed fromthe day one and after oneyear the spirit and
theactiveness is the same,infact it increased. Every-one knows
that, how the
police department has changed its identity, impact and thesystem
of working in the past one year.The nationwide dis-cussion about
the caliber of Telangana Police is enough toimagine its
growth.Let’s applaud for the rocking performanceof Mr.Anurag Sharma
and keep your fingers crossed formany more amazing initiatives from
his side….!!!
With Acharya,TelanganaTourism goes to Canada
July(MR)The versatileofficer & Prl. Sec to
TourismB.P.Acharya moving for-ward with his awesomeworking
style.This time theofficer is on screen for hisunique initiative to
promoteTelangana Tourism atCanada.
Where the officerbriefed about the progressmade by T govt.
during the
first year.He invited the NRIs totake part in the process of
building‘Bangaru Telangana’. Let’s not forgetto applaud him for his
unique themeto promote the recent events likeMission Kakatiya,
SwachhHyderabad & T Formation Day.Theart work designs and the
advertorialswere attractive, which was in dis-cussion national
wide.
Meena on Prominent PositionJuly(MR)IAS officer
Mukesh Kumar Meena gotthe new position.The officerhas been
appointed DG,Centre for Good Governance& Ex-officio Secretary,
Gen-eral Administration Depart-ment in Andhra Pradesh.Asthe officer
was serving as aSec., to govt. (Political),GAD.The officer is known
for
his sincerity in the officer fraternity and as per his profile
theofficer is posted on the prominent post.
-
July, 2015MIDNIGHT REPORTER 4
Plum cake for Sudheer July(MR)Finally the officer G.Sudheer Babu
got the plum
cake.The officer took over the charge as the first police
commis-sioner of Warangal City.The officer worked in city police
for a longtime on various jobs and was looking for the best
option.So, finallythe officer’s services were recognized and he got
posed on thebest chair to which other officers were dreaming
off.What onecan do in this, ‘ye tho kismet ki baat hai…..!!!
New avatars in City PoliceJuly(MR)Dr.T.Prabhakar Rao, a 2001
batch IPS officer joined
as Jt. Commissioner DD Crimes,Hyderabad City. The officerwas
serving as a SP in CID earlier to this posting.He is known forhis
hard work and sincerity in the officers fraternity and thoughthe
newly posted job is a challenging task for the officer, theofficer
will surely deliver his best according to his
profile.Bestwishes…!
N.Prabhakar Reddy , a 2010 batch IPS officer joined as aDCP ,
North Zone, Hyderabad Police.The young officer servedas a Addl. SP
Bellampally earlier to the posting.As per the sourcesthe new
officer is all set to tackle the tasks of the North zone andquite
busy in taking out the details of the area.Welcome to
theofficer….!
Chal Chala Chal…July(MR)The young and the vibrant officer
L.Kartikeya
(DCP,Madhapur) is on screen these days because of his speedand
liveliness.The officer was on screen for his best efforts dur-ing
Bias River operation and from there is no stoppage….!! Itwould be
Swachh Hyderabad or any campaign the officer will rubhis shoulders
with his team and encourage them with hisinvolvement.His picture of
cycling shows his zeal and the com-mitment. That’s why we said
‘chal chala chal…..!!!
Great DealJuly(MR)It’s true that where
there is a will there is a way.The HCKolukoori Sridhar is the
one,who hasachieved the distinguished degreethrough his hard
work.Yes ! The copK.Sridhar is awarded Ph.D, who didthe research on
‘Management ofPolice Communication’ from EinsteinInternational
University, Florida,U.S.A. (Distance Education).Let’sapplaud for
the committed cop, offcourse who deserves all the appre-ciations.
Presently Sridhar is working at the DGP,AP office.
AP Tourism is on screensJuly(MR) AP Tourism is on screens now.As
Prl. Sec.
Tourism,AP Neerabh Kumar Prasad has planned the pro-motion
strategy and with the erection of the hoardings inprime locations
of the town things started moving.In fact theofficer is also
working to promote AP tourism globally.So,keep your fingers crossed
to hear many more new newsfrom his side.
It’s all about Lake LoveJuly(MR)The HMDA Commissioner Shalini
Mishra is all
set for the restoration of lakes.First comes Rangadhaminilake of
Kukkatpally.Also,5MLD sewage treatment plant atKukkatpally will be
enhanced so that more water can betreated.Not only the cleaning of
the lakes like E.E.Jyothi,Buddha Purnima Project, but also
beautification of DurgamCheruvu and Fox Sagar.More eighty lakes
areidentified.That’s why we said it’s all about lake love.
Who want the lift ? July(MR)All the cameras have zoomed up for
Hyderabad
Metro Rail MD N.V.S.Reddy,who is just waiting with his cycle
togive a lift to someone….!! Who is the lucky champ ?. Ha ha….!The
officer is taking part in the cycle ride and just waiting for
avigil to press the pedal…That’s it,but in real the city people
areeagerly waiting to take a lift in metro rail.With the dedication
ofthe officer the work is in progress on fast track and very
soonthe officer will make the dream true.Best wishes for the
of-ficer….!!!
Taarif Karu Kya Uski….July(MR)The IT, Electronics &
Communication Secretary to
Govt. of Telangana Jayesh Ranjan is making rounds on majorsocial
networking sites.Yes ! The comments of public and
theirappreciations shows about his dedication and
versatility.Let’scheck…..!!!
Ramakrishna V Achanta Great initiatives. It is as important
totalk about the policies as much as to make them. We can
certainlybe assured that if this vision continues, we will be one
of theintegral contributors to the overall GDP growth of the
country.
Kamal Narayan Rathi Excellent Sir ! Under your leadershipIT
& ITES sector, Industries of Telangana will grow and
investor’sconfidence is revived for making Investment in
Telangana.
Nps Shinh Excellent presentation by a true topper in all ar-eas.
State govt is lucky to have you spearheading the
industryinitiatives . I am very optimistic about the coming years .
Wish youthe very best.
Jhansi Freelancer You are the best architect for any givenjob.
Way to go!
Pardhasaradhi Karingula Your contribution for IT &
IndustrialDevelopment is remarkable.Congratulations !!!
Magnificent Mahendar Reddy -No Comparison
July(MR)The city police chief M.Mahendar Reddy is a mag-nificent
cop, who completed his one year term with his tremen-dous
performance.One has to agree that in just one year theofficer
changed the entire system of city police by providing newtechnology
solutions to the department as well as to the commonpublic for
their convenience.The officer’s success story is justnot one or two
to discuss or too finish in a paragraph, as theofficer added
immense chapters and new methods in the citypolice, which took the
city police on the top level. Tracing thecases on fast track,
maintaining the friendly relation with the pub-lic, saying bye-bye
to corruption, adopting new technology forpolicing and fulfilling
the duties with respect without any onespressure is the remarkable
episodes from the officer.Bestwishes….!!!
Both babu’s have done it…July(MR)The Industrial policy of T
govern-
ment hits the entire Industrial segment.It’s like abonanza for
the industrialists , who are plan-ning to set up a new industry.
Industrial Sec.Arvind Kumar and Addl. Sec. A.Shanti Kumariare the
two officers, who have put in theirawesome efforts are back to the
screen.Moreover the T CM has praised the two officers onthe
stage.Another best thing is that the govern-ment kept its promise
that made the industrial-ists happy by providing the licenses
within theannounced time.The babu’s should be appreci-ated….!!!
Koi bhi ho,Kanoon Kanoon hai July(MR)Whoever it may be one has
to face the charges, if
he breaks the law. ‘Midnight Reporter’ was at Cyberbad
PoliceCommissionerate and came to know a case in which a cop
hasbeen issued with a show cause notice to open a rowdy sheet
onhim….! Must be surprising, but it’s true. Yes ! the cop was
involvedin many land settlement matters,thus after verifying it the
superfast Commissioner CV.Anand issued the notice to the
cop.Thisone incident is enough to evaluate the ongoing policing
ofCyberabad. Gazab…..!
-
5 July, 2015MIDNIGHT REPORTER
Public SectorUnion Steel & Mines Minister reviews
performanceof NMDC Limited
Union Steel & Mines MinisterN.S.Tomar visited the Head
Of-fice of NMDC Limited atHyderabad. The Minister met of-ficers and
employees of the com-pany and reviewed its perfor-mance in a
meeting. Shri Tomarsaid, “NMDC, one of the largestminers in India
must focus on in-creasing iron ore production. Thiswill have the
twin benefit of keep-ing prices in check and ensuringequitable
supply of raw material to big and small producers. As a responsible
PSU miningcompany, it is the responsibility of NMDC to ensure that
there is no imbalance on these counts.Mining as an industry has a
negative perception in the minds of public, which needs to
becorrected by sustained efforts. The company also needs to bring
more parity in its physical andfinancial performance. To achieve
the target of producing
75 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) iron ore by 2019-20, there
needs to be visible incremen-tal increase in production in
consecutive years. NMDC needs to have a strategic vision and
planfor the same.” Minister advised NMDC to get a strategic plan
prepared for long term vision. Hefurther said “Delay in execution
and commissioning of the ongoing projects needs to be cur-tailed at
the earliest. Nagarnar Steel Plant, Kumarswamy mechanised mines,
Deposit 11-b andpellet plant projects must be put on fast track to
be completed in time. Performance in respectof financial parameters
like gross operating margin, PAT, per employee profit etc. has
scope forimprovement.” Earlier CMD, NMDC Mr. N.Kothari welcomed the
Minister and stated that this isfirst visit of a Steel Minister to
NMDC Head office in last few decades. He apprised the Ministeron
progress on SPV front in Jharkhand, MOU for which is likely to be
signed next month. Mr.Kothari assured the Minister that hot trials
of the Nagarnar Steel Plant would commence byDecember’2016. Senior
officials of Ministry of Steel and NMDC were present during this
meeting.
SAIL and MIDHANI sign MoU for R&D in iron andsteel
industry
New Delhi.An Memorandum of Un-derstanding (MoU) has been
signedbetween Research and DevelopmentCentre for Iron & Steel
(RDCIS), SteelAuthority of India Limited (SAIL),Ranchi and Mishra
Dhatu Nigam Lim-ited (MIDHANI), Hyderabad in NewDelhi. The purpose
of this MoU is tojointly undertake research and devel-opment work
in the areas of interestand relevance to Iron & Steel
industry.RDCIS is the corporate R&D unit ofSAIL at Ranchi.
SAIL’s RDCIS andMIDHANI shall work together and
make use of their knowledge and experience for development of
process technology for pro-ducing steel products of national
importance. To begin with, development of process technologyfor
production of CRGO Steel has been identified. Considering the
strength of respectiveparties, MIDHANI and SAIL will take up other
collaborative projects and assignments of mutualinterest during the
pendency of this MoU.
Recently RDCIS had collaborations with reputed academic
institutes like IIT Bombay, IITKanpur, IIT Madras, IIT Kharagpur,
IISc Bangalore, Jadavpur University and researchorganisations like
CSIR-NML/Jamshedpur, CSIR-IMMT Bhubaneswar, Centre for Develop-ment
of Advanced Computing (C-DAC)/Pune, Automotive Research Association
of India (ARAI)/Pune, CRRI/New Delhi etc. in various technical
disciplines of iron & steel technologies. Atinternational level
RDCIS is having collaboration with reputed international
organizations andinstitutes like CSM/Italy, Swerea MEFOS, Sweden
and Deakin University/ Australia to under-take R&D work in the
new & critical areas of steel technologies.
The MoU was signed by Director (Technical), SAIL, Mr S.S.
Mohanty and Chairman & MD,MIDHANI, Mr M. Narayana Rao, in
presence of Chairman, SAIL, Mr C.S. Verma.
GAIL signs MoU with SDMC to provide civic servicesLending
support to the Government’s ef-
forts to promote cleanliness through the‘Swachh Bharat
Abhiyaan’, GAIL (India) Lim-ited, the country’s premier natural gas
com-pany, today signed a Memorandum of Under-standing (MoU) with
South Delhi MunicipalCorporation (SDMC) to voluntarily providecivic
services such as sweeping, cleaning andThe MoU was signed by C.
Uday Kumar, Dy.Commissioner, SDMC and Amit Ray, Execu-tive Director
(HR & HRD), GAIL in the pres-ence of senior officials of SDMC
and GAIL.
As per the MoU, GAIL will be responsiblefor the civic services
in about 14,000 sq.m. in
Bhikaiji Cama Place in south Delhi, including sweeping,
cleaning, upkeep of footpaths, lanes andstreets in the area. It
would also deploy Safai Karmacharis for sweeping work and place
bins forcollection and transport of garbage, silt, etc. to nearby
designateddhalao by SDMC. GAILemployees have been regularly
participating in cleanliness drives across the country for
atleasttwo hours every week since the commencement of the ‘Swachh
Bharat Abhiyaan’ last year.
BHEL commissions first 250 MW Unit at highestrating coal-based
power plant
Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) has achieved one
moremilestone by successfully commissioning a 250 MW
coal-basedthermal plant in Assam. The unit has been commissioned at
theupcoming Bongaigaon Thermal Power Station (TPS) in Assam. BHELis
executing the Main Plant package contract for setting up
threecoal-fired units of 250 MW each at Bongaigaon TPS of NTPC
Limited.Significantly, on completion, this will become the highest
rating coalbased power plant in North East India.
Bongaigaon TPS is located at Salakati near Bongaigaon
inKokrajhar district of Assam. Also known as the gateway to Lower
Assam, Bongaigoan is one ofthe industrial towns of the state, which
also has a major petrochemical industry.
The sets of this rating class, supplied by BHEL are considered
as the workhorse andbackbone of the Indian power sector.These sets
have been performing much above the na-tional average as well as
international benchmarks. BHEL has so far contracted 251 sets of
thisrating class.
HAL Completes Hot Weather Flight Trials of LCHHAL’s indigenously
designed and developed
Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) attained a milestoneby
successfully completing the hot weather flighttrials for a nearly
one week at Jodhpur recently.“Test flights were carried out in the
temperaturerange of 39 to 42 degree Celsius. These were donewith
the involvement of customer pilots from IndianAir Force and Army in
presence of representa-tives from RCMA and DGAQA”, says Mr.
T.Suvarana Raju, CMD, HAL. LCH prototype, TD-3
was ferried from Bengaluru to Jodhpur to achieve the successful
trials. The flight testingcovered ‘temperature survey of engine bay
and hydraulic system’, ‘assessment of perfor-mance’, ‘handling
qualities and loads’ at different ‘all up weights’, ‘low speed
handling’ and ‘height-velocity diagram establishment’.
LCH had completed cold weather flight testing at Leh in February
2015. Two LCH – one onstatic and another on flying display-
enthralled people at Aero India 2015 held in Bengaluruearlier this
year. The LCH is expected to receive Initial Operational Clearance
and enter intoseries production by the end of this year.
About Light Combat Helicopter (LCH): The Light Combat Helicopter
is a twin- engine, dedi-cated combat helicopter of 5.8-ton class
designed and developed by HAL to meet the require-ments of Indian
defence forces. The helicopter is designed to carry out dedicated
combat rolessuch as Air Defence, anti-tank, scout and support
combat search /rescue missions.
Management Trainees told to adopt discipline &work with
commitment
An interaction session between SriP Madhusudan, CMD, Directors
of RINLand Management Trainees (MTs)of2014 and 2015 batches took
place inMP Hall of Ukku Club in Ukkunagaramyesterday evening. While
interacting withthe MTs, Sri Madhusudan, CMD, RINLexhorted them to
cultivate the habit ofpunctuality and discipline to strengthenRINL,
which is known for excellence andefficiency in the entire Steel
Industry. Agreat future is ahead for RINL, since ithas an ambitious
growth plans to reachto 20 mtpa capacity in the near future ata
single location, Sri Madhusudan ob-served. Sri Madhusudan stressed
theneed to apply best safety practices andimplement with commitment
as the plantis a process industry. Sri Madhusudanexplained the
history of Vizag Steel andthe strength of Human Resources in
its
turn around. There are ample opportunities to grow in RINL and
he asked them to contribute fullyand work with great commitment in
taking the Company to newer heights, Sri Madhusudanconcluded. Sri
PC Mohapatra, Director (Projects), Dr. GBS Prasad, Director
(Personnel), SriDN Rao, Director(Operations) graced the occasion
and interacted with the management train-ees. Executive Directors,
GMs, HoDs were present in the interactive session. Sri BBR
Vardhanam,DGM (Trg), HoD, TTI welcomed the gathering.
Sri Madhusudan, CMD, RINL interacting with theManagement
Trainees. Sri PC Mohapatra, Director(Projects), Dr. GBS Prasad,
Director (Personnel), SriDN Rao, Director(Operations) are seen in
the picture.(Insert) one of the Management Trainee interactingwith
the CMD.
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6 July, 2015MIDNIGHT REPORTER
CorporatePNB bags four prizes in Reserve BankRajbhasha Shield
Pratiyogita
Every year Reserve Bank of India ((RBI) honors those
NationalizedBanks and Financial institutions whose performance is
excellent in imple-mentation of Official Language Policy and use of
Hindi in their day to dayworking. RBI has declared the results for
the financial year 2013-14 andPNB has been awarded 1st prize in ‘A’
Region, 2nd prize in ‘B’ Region andconsolation prize in ‘C’ Region
category. PNB has also been awarded con-solation prize for its
bilingual Staff Journal ‘PNB PRATIBHA’. In a ShieldDistribution
Ceremony, organized by RBI at their Head Office Mumbai, Dr.Raghuram
Rajan, Governor and S S Mundra, Deputy Governor conferredRajbhahsha
shield and certificate of Merit to Gauri Shankar MD & CEO
ofPNB, Vivek Jha, FGM Mumbai and Premchand Sharma, AGM
Rajbhasha.
NTPC’s 6th RAC Meeting
Sixth Research Advisory Council (RAC) Meeting of NTPC Energy
Tech-nology Research Alliance (NETRA) was chaired by Padma Shri
& PadmaBhushan Dr.V.K. Saraswat, Member NITI Ayog. The Advisory
council delib-erated on R&D activities of NETRA, and
development of technologies withon focus Efficiency and
Availability Improvement, New and RenewableEnergy, Climate Change
and Environment, Advanced Scientific services tothe NTPC and other
power stations in India. In his address Dr. Saraswatadvised use of
various technologies to ensure, sustainability and long termenergy
security of India.
The advisory council is represented by eminent scientists and
profes-sionals, Dr. Padam Shri Baldev Raj, Shri S.C.Chetal, Dr. H.
Saha, Dr. N.K.Bansal, Shri A.K.Jha(Director Technical), Shri K.K.
Sharma, Director (Op-eration), Shri R.K. Srivastava(ED-NETRA) and
Shri S. Bandyopadhyaya ,GM (CENPEEP).
Secretary (Steel), Rakesh Singh, IAS,takes charge as SAIL
Chairman
Shri Rakesh Singh, IAS, Secretary, Gov-ernment of India,
Ministry of Steel has takenadditional charge of the post of
Chairman, SteelAuthority of India Limited (SAIL) .Shri Singh isa
1978 batch officer of Punjab cadre.
He has the experience of public sectormanagement in the State of
Punjab of about 13years as a Chief Executive. He has also servedon
the boards of banks, insurance companiesand financial institutions.
He is currently theSecretary in the Ministry of Steel, Governmentof
India and is involved in policy making at thehighest level.
Shri Singh is a Graduate in Science and aPost Graduate in
History from the University of Allahabad. He also holds aPost
Graduate Degree in Economic and Social Sciences from the
Univer-sity of Manchester.
Right to left S.S. Mundra, Deputy Governor RBI, Raghuram
Rajan,Governor RBI, conferring Rajbhasha Shield and certificate of
Merit toGauri Shankar MD & CEO Punjab National Bank. Also seen
in thepicture are Vivek Jha, Field General Manager Mumbai and
PremchandSharma, AGM Rajbhasha HO.
Selva kumar Director, NLCP Selvakumar, CGM, NLCL, has been
selected for the post of Director
(Planning & Projects), Neyveli Lignite Corporation Limited
(NLC) at a PublicEnterprises Selection Board (PESB) meeting
held.
Canth Director, IOCLB S Canth, ED, IOCL, has been selected for
the post of Director (Mar-
keting), Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) at a Public
Enterprises Selec-tion Board (PESB) meeting.
Ms Prasad Director, NLCMs Sujata Prasad has been appointed as
Nominee of Union Ministry of
Coal on the Board of Directors of Neyveli Lignite Corporation
Limited asPart-time Official Director.
Appointments
Coffee Day files papers for Rs 1,150 cr IPOThe firm behind Cafe
Coffee Day, India’s biggest home-
grown coffee chain, has filed a draft prospectus with
regula-tors for an initial public offering (IPO) to raise as much
as 11.5billion rupees ($181 million).
Kotak Mahindra Bank, Morgan Stanley and Citigroup areamong the
underwriters for the IPO, the draft prospectus said.India’s biggest
cafe operator opened its first shop in 1996 andhas grown to more
than 1,500 outlets as more young, urbanconsumers opt for cappuccino
over tea and seek out spacesto socialise in overcrowded,
traffic-congested cities. The ap-plication process with the
Securities and Exchange Board ofIndia (SEBI) could take two to
three months, two bankers toldReuters, adding they expected the
coffee chain to list within
one to two months after that approval. The bankers declined to
be identified as they are not authorised to speak tothe media.
Coffee Day Enterprises had consolidated debt of 28.64 billion
rupees as of December 31, according to thedraft prospectus. Of the
IPO proceeds, the chain plans to use 6.33 billion rupees towards
the repayment of debt, it said.
For Fashionably conscious only,Majestic Trends launches
TRENDEVR
Majestic Trends Pvt Ltd, a Delhi based company launched its
flagship brandTRENDEVR which is One Stop Online Fashion Destination
for the fashionablyconscious through its online shopping portal
www.trendevr.com.
The online store offers the convenience to shop some of the
finest & latestcollections from across the world. At present
the company is launching with anelusive range for women from one of
top 3 fashion capitals of the world London.“We aim to be the best
friend / partner that every fashionable person needs whileshopping”
making us the preferred online shopping destination of choice,”
RahulArora, Founder, TRENDEVR said at the launch function. Sharing
details aboutfuture plans, Arora said, “ At present the range
focuses on women”
however company has plans to expand at a rapid pace and include
a rangefor men along with a wide gamut of accessories, artificial
jewelry, fine jewelry,handbags, fragrances, footwear, home
furnishings & decor.” TRENDEVR alsoproposes to retail designer
wear, in near future, from India and abroad offering aunique
opportunity to the designers in reaching discerning
consumer.AboutTRENDEVR FoundersThe brand is spearheaded by a unique
combination ofbrother sister duo Rahul Arora and Megha Arora.
Ravi Dental Clinic inauguratedJuly(MR)Ravi Dental Clinic
inaugurated at
Hyderabad city.Thanks to Socialist Mr.I.Ravishankarfor setting
up a clinic in an area like GowligudaChaman,where the population is
quite high and wherethe people were looking for a dental doctor
from longtime.Mr.Ravishankar daughter Dr.I.Rekha andDr.A.Nitin
Kumar will serve at the clinic. It’s like theyoung doctors arises
at the area to give the bestservice near to them that too in
affordable price.Ex-Minister G.Prasad Kumar, Ex-MLA
P.Ramaswamy,Ex-Corporater Shankar Yadav and other guests
werepresent at the occasion.For best treatment have aappointment
through [email protected]. Best wishes to
theyoung doctors…!!!
KFC challenges Indian report on bacteria found in fried
chickenThe Indian unit of fast food chain KFC , owned
by Yum Brands Inc, on Friday challenged the re-sults of a test
showing the presence of bacterialinked to food poisoning in a
sample of its friedchicken, dismissing them as “false
allegations”.Food safety has hit headlines in India after
govern-ment food safety inspectors found excess lead inpackets of
Nestle’s Maggi instant noodles.
The company disputes the test results and asubsequent recall
order, but it has become country’sworst safety scare involving
packaged food in adecade. On Friday, a children’s rights group
inTelangana said it had submitted samples of KFC’sfried chicken
legs to the state food laboratory onJune 18.
The laboratory report, which was seen byReuters, detailed traces
of bacteria such as E.coli,
which indicates the presence of sewage or animal waste, and
salmonella. In a statement, KFC said it had not heardfrom any
authorities and was unclear about the circumstances in which the
samples were obtained.
“There is no possibility of any microbial development in our
food, which is freshly cooked at 170 degreesCelsius,” it added,
vowing to seek a clarification from the concerned authorities.
Achyuta Rao, an official of APBHS, the group commissioning the
tests, said it would submit a copy of the reportto the office of
the state’s chief minister later on Friday. “This is a state
laboratory report,” he added. “We are notagainst KFC or any brand.
“We are a children’s rights organisation.”
Adani Group to invest Rs 50,000 crore in JharkhandAdani Group is
looking to invest Rs 50,000
crore for producing urea, methane, power andsubstitute natural
gas in Jharkhand. An MoU withthe group was signed in this regard on
Thurs-day, director of state industry department K RaviKumar told
PTI on Friday. The MoU was signedbetween Kumar and Adani Group CEO
RajeshJha.
Kumar said the group, which has a coal blockat Jeetpur, would
invest Rs 50,000 crore to pro-
duce urea, methane, power and SNG from coal. “It is the first
stage of MoU. They will prepare a detailed projectreport. Then land
will be identified,” he said when asked about location of plants
and how much land the investorwould require.
The plants would be set up in two phases and are likely to
provide direct and indirect employment to 20,000people. The
capacity of phase-I is - urea-1.3 MMTPA, methanol-3.3 MMTPA, SNG-8
and 4000 MW power whilephase-II is 1.3 MMTPA, according to the MoU.
The expected year of production of phase-I is within five years
ofsigning of stage-II MoU. The phase-II would commence after three
years of commencement of phase-I commercialproduction. The proposed
location is Sindri in Dhanbad or other suitable location in
Jharkhand, it said.
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7 July, 2015MIDNIGHT REPORTER
Magic of ‘Surya Namaskar’
Pratibha AgarwalInstead of sitting across the table dis-
cussing on Surya Namaskar,if one canpractice the asana and if
one can experi-ence by heart then all debates and the
con-troversies would cease naturally.
Now just knowing how to do SuryaNamaskar is not enough. It is
also impor-tant to understand the science behind thisvery ancient
technique, because a deeperunderstanding will bring forth the right
out-look and approach towards this very sa-cred and powerful yogic
technique.
Mansi GulatiSurya Namaskar is largely a way of sa-
luting the sun, bringing balance between mindand body.
Each of the 12 poses of surya namaskaris designed to have a
specific benefit on thebody. The sequence can boost your
cardio-vascular health, improve your blood circula-tion, help you
beat stress and detox yourbody along with offering several
otherbenefits.That helps in keeping the body andmind healthy.
Paulomi KurupFor thousands of years, people in India have
looked upon the Sun as the life-giver and haveworshipped it in
different ways. One of themodes is to perform a series of yoga
posturespopularly known as Surya Namaskar. This dy-namic form of
yoga exercise consists of 12positions. It is scientifically
designed to bringabout the harmonious development of differentparts
and systems of the human body. All sys-tems, organs, muscles and
tendons are tonedup through this exercise, making the body agileand
the mind alert. Thus, Surya Namaskar isone of the finest all round
exercises for increas-ing vital energy and preserving health.
Sonali AcharjeeSurya Namaskar : Lubricates and increases
the blood supply to the joints. Stretches andstrengthens the
whole body. Improves efficiency ofthe internal organs. Helps to
detoxify the body.Stimulates pingala/surya nadi which increases
en-ergy and stimulates digestion. Increases the pranain the body
and helps to remove energy blockages.Useful for weight loss when
practiced as an exer-cise. Helps to balance the endocrine system.
Beejamantras strengthen the heart. The particular breath-ing
sequence strengthens the lungs.
Niharika KannanSurya Namaskar is well known and vital
technique in yoga.Even it not a part of tradi-tional yoga it is
incorporated within the yogabecause of its wonderful
results.SuryaNamaskar means salutation to the sun god(sun generates
the heat & light necessary tosustain life).Surya Namaskar as a
series of12 physical postures and these alternatingbackward and
forward bending asanas flexand stretch the spinal column and
limbsthrough their maximum range.It loosens up allthe joints,flexes
all the muscles of thebody,massages the internal
organs,activatesthe respiration,endocrine&circulatory systemsas
well as helps to tone all the other systemsof the body in short it
harmonizes the wholebody-mind control.
Rina HindochaWhat does Surya Namaskar have to do with
religion?? It’s not a religious activity but a yogicexercise,
sun is common to all people and so isSurya Namaskar.Very rightly
said by Sadguru“Yoga is not a belief system - it is not a new
reli-gion but a technology. A technology because youdon’t have to
believe it, you just have to learn touse it. It does not matter
what your religion is,what your color is, what your race is or
whereyou come from. If you learn to use yoga, it worksfor you” Yoga
does not mean standing on yourhead, twisting your body or holding
your breath.Yoga means to know the union of life. When
youexperience everything as a part of yourself, youare in yoga.
Kiran DemblaSurya Namaskar: Making the body a
stepping-stone Getting up early in the morn-ing and practising
surya namaskar is oneof the best ways to start your day fresh.Also
known as sun salutation, suryanamaskar is a sequence of 12 yoga
posesthat flow one into the other with rhythmicbreathing. Each of
the 12 poses of suryanamaskar is designed to have a specificbenefit
on the body. The sequence can boostyour cardiovascular health,
improve yourblood circulation, help you beat stress anddetox your
body along with offering severalother benefits. So start your day
with SuryaNamaskar and see the difference in yourphysical and
mental state within a shortperiod.
Naina JaiswalPranamasana, Hasthauttasana, Pada
hastasana, Aswa Sanchalasana, Parvatasana,Astanga Namaskara,
Bhujan gasana, Parvatasana, Aswa Sanchalasana,
Padahastasana,Hasthauttasana, Pranamasana are called
asSuryanamaskar which build up the nervous sys-tem, memory system,
muscles system, oxygen-ates the blood and shapes the physical and
mentalabilities, It refresh the skin. Reduces fat, as well
asunpleasant smell from the body and also eliminatesthe depression.
This is the best cardiovascularworkout. I do it regularly 12 times
in the morning.
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8 July, 2015MIDNIGHT REPORTER
Publisher/Printer/Owner: G. Narahari, Printed at Colour
Graphics, 3-1-351, Bhagya Laxmi Nilayam, Nimboliadda, Kachiguda,
Station Road, Hyderabad - 27. Published at4-6-252, Esamia Bazar,
Hyderabad-27 (A.P.) Editor : Dr. Chaitanya Singh, Cell :
8008175000. E-mail : [email protected]. Annual Subscription
Rs. 500/- (Including postal charges)
Gorgeous Green
“The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago and the
secondbest time is now”.So, just plant a tree to save the earth.
“Plant a Tree” is thetheme of July month and ‘Midnight Reporter’ is
with the gorgeous prettyladies of the town, who are all rocking in
green color dresses to promotethis noble cause on a large
scale.Thanks to one and all…..!!
It’s time for us to take step to transform ourselves from
irresponsibleindividuals to responsible human beings. Though we
neither can replenisheverything nor can produce what we have lost
so far, but we can certainlyconserve what we are still left with,
and try to replenish whatever we can.All it need is strong will and
just a little contribution by all.
So if you want to save the mother nature from further
destructionplease do contribute your might your little initiative
is the big thing towardsthe cause of conservation.Plant a tree and
make the city green, green andgreen.
Vibha Anand MehtaDeepali Bhutada
Bhavna Bagga
Esha Hindocha Sushmita Lahoti Totla
Shikha Sharma
Swathi Rao
Ishita D Shah Meenu Soni
Jaya Hiranandani
Mahima Gupta
Ruchika Sharma
Neelam Mor
Radhika Agarwal
Sushila Bokadiya
Kancharla Lakshmi Kathyayini
Maya Padhy
Neeru Mohan
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MIDNIGHT REPORTER9 July, 2015
CorporateCelebrations
Kuch Meetha Ho Jaye : BNIKohinoor celebrated its
1stanniversary.BNI ED Mr.BharathShah with the Chapter
DirectorKishan Patel.
City Cream All Over : Shri SrinivasaDairy Products Pvt Ltd has
launchedits new Cream Stone outlet atChennai,TTK Road &
Bangalore,IndraNagar. ‘Cream Stone’ ,the taste ofHyderabad is now
all set to take itsflavor all over the country. Congratula-tions to
Viren Shah,who is onscreen….!!
Awesome Anniversary: Mahaveer &Sangeeta Lohiya celebrated
their weddinganniversary.The unique theme of the cel-ebration was a
grand attraction,that’s why wesaid it as ‘awesome anniversary’.
Friends, rela-tives and the family members had a full toofun. Best
wishes for the lovely couple.
Made for each other : The beautiful coupleAnish Varghese &
Jeeva Anish celebratedtheir wedding anniversary.The day began
withthe showering wishes from family andfriends.Best wishes to the
couple…!
Bar bar din ye aaye : The baby girl Deeksha’sfirst birth day
bash.The event was full of joy andmasti.The couple K.Santosh Kumar
& Sirisha madethe evening memorable with the excellent
theme.
Award Time: The Liberty21 Ventures Pvt. Ltd. has done itagain by
achieving the 1st prize for the best stall and the prod-ucts in
‘Architech Show-2015’ held at Visakhapatnam.In the pic-ture company
MD Sandeep Jain receiving the award.
Deepshikha ‘on screen’: The Deepshika Mahila Club’sinstallation
ceremony was on screen as the new memberspledged for a noble cause.
Check the ceremony click (fromleft) Anju Kabra,Madhu Jain, MP
Kavita Kalvakuntla, ChiefGuest Vimala Narasimhan & Anita
Soni.
Best Couple: Sumeet & SejalMaheshwari celebrated their
wed-ding anniversary, which became
Ruby of the Town: Ruby Bal, thepretty lady celebrated her
birthday.Friends planned the surprise gettogether, which made the
day memo-rable. Lots of wishes and bless-ings…..!!!
Steel Man Celebrates: The steelman of the town Yogesh
Agarwalcelebrated his birth day with fam-ily and friends.It was
totally a fam-ily affair,but onslaught of belatedwishes showed his
fan following.
16 years of Journey : TheAluminum Enterprises hassuccessfully
celebrated its16th anniversary. It has comea long way in providing
thebest services to thetown.Omesh Agarwal, theman behind the
success story
CD’s Clap : The BNI Artha CDMahesh Agarwal’s clap has a
secretbehind it. When inquired it came toknow that many of the
members arescoring in their segments becauseof his clap,which
boosts-up to achievethe goals. So, CD’s clap is breakingthe screens
now…!!
Power puff Ladies : The power puffladies are making rounds in
the busi-ness circles, who are again in the limelight. (From the
left ) Shilpa Shah,Sanjana Shah, Neeru Mohan &Jayalaxmi
Kandadai.
Party Time: The most happening coupleVivek & Sapna Gupta
celebrated their wed-ding anniversary.The huge number of
wishesproved their popularity…!!! Hope all agree.
Couple of themonth : Ramesh &Ashwini Chintala, thebest
couple of the townis on screen for theirterrific understandingand
faithfulness.
Superb Sruti : The CorporateTrainer Sruti Mashru is rocking
onthe stage.Many businessmen gotbenefited by her
workshops.Socorporates, meet Sruti to sharpenyour skills and to
deliver the verybest performance.
Excellency Honor: Governor E.S.L.Narasimhanpresenting the award
to K.Satish Reddy for his out-standing social services.Couple
G.Mohan Reddy& G.Deepika Reddy also grace the occasion.
special with the sur-prise gifts. It was amemorable affair
who took thebusiness onthe top level ismaking wavesin the
industry.
New Beginning: PL Computers got the distributorship of
‘Tally’for Andhra Pradesh. Big deal from the new state.The
versatileperson Jayant Jain receiving the authorisation letter in
the picture.
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10 July, 2015MIDNIGHT REPORTER
DeveesKeer HejcHeje ! ueeue efce®e& mes DeefYe
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11 July, 2015MIDNIGHT REPORTER
Tourism
As India’s e-visa scheme forChinese tourists is set to get
imple-mented, Kerala and Andhra Pradeshhave made a strong pitch to
woo trav-ellers from China with lucrative pack-ages and their
age-old spice, martialarts links besides natural beautysteeped in
local culture.
With its well laid out publicity net-work, Kerala made a big
show at aspecial evening for Chinese mediaand travel writers in
Beijing byorganising a fusion performancecombining its ancient
martial art‘Kalaripayattu’ with China’s Shaolintemple, whose early
roots stretchesto the South Indian state.
Six performers of ‘Kalaripayattu’joined hands with Shaolin
expertshighlighting similarities between twotraditional art forms
at a glittery get-together organised by the IndianEmbassy in
Beijing.
K Sunilkumar Gurukkal, whofeatured in movies along
withHollywood’s Kung Fu star JackieChan, headed ‘Kalaripayattu’
team.Kathakali dance form was also dis-played. Kerala’s Tourism
Minister AP Anilkumar is heading a delegation
to China that includes state ChiefSecretary Jiji Thomson and
TourismSecretary G Kamala Vardhana Rao.Anilkumar said the fusion
of‘Kalaripayattu’ and Shaolin showedthat Kerala and China have a
lot incommon, reminding the Chinese theadventure travels undertaken
byChina’s marine adventure travellerZheng He to Kerala few
hundredyears ago.
The state still has China’s im-prints like the Chinese fishing
netsdotting the coast line of Kochi, a ma-jor landmark for
tourists.
Though Kerala attracted over amillion foreign tourists last
year, Chi-nese accounted for little over 4,000,he said. India is
also holding “VisitIndia Year” campaign all over Chinato attract
Chinese tourists whosenumbers to India were less than twolakh last
year.
Last year’s Chinese touristsnumbers visiting abroad touchedabout
100 million spending over USD128 billion. Boosted by Chinese
gov-ernment push, its tourists travelledmostly in the Indian
subcontinent toNepal (1.4 lakh), Maldives (4 lakhs)
and Sri Lanka (1.3 lakh) last year.Chinese travel analysts
advised
Kerala to coordinate with the SriLanka tourism to work out joint
toursas the island’s airline has a numberof flights from different
Chinese cit-ies and the flight time between Lankaand Kerala is just
an hour.
Kerala also could become a newcentre for Chinese film shooting
assome of the Chinese film personali-ties are visiting several
locations of
Kerala, Andhra Pradesh Make Strong Pitch to Woo Chinese
Tourists
Indian visa cannot do without biometricsfeels home ministry
The exclusion of bio-metrics from normal In-dian visa cannot be
done due to security con-cerns said the Union home ministry. The
ministrysuggested that foreign tourists should be encour-aged to go
for electronic tourist (e-Visa) that al-lows biometrics to be taken
at the time of arrival.
The tourism ministry however feels that bio-metrics before issue
of normal visa is preventing
many to book trips to India and hindering the flow of
international tourists to the country.If Bio-metrics is not made
compulsory the tourism ministry feels that the country would
witness a greater share in the world tourist market in the next
three years. The increase could beas high as 0.68 per cent which
would mean the inflow of almost 7.70 million foreign tourists to
India.The foreign secretary also agreed that bio metrics is needed
at the point when the tourist is aboutto immigrate into that
country not while obtaining the visa. The home ministry is firm on
its standand feels that the implementation of bio metrics already
extended to 77 countries and waiting to beissued to 73 more is
necessary for all foreign tourists hoping to visit India.
The Ministry feels that bio-metrics is an effective way of Visa
and Foreigners Registration &Tracking (IVFRT). Once a visitor
gets his biometrics done then the same person will not have togo
through the process again as the details of the person will be
saved in the database. Thebiometrics will help detect the entry of
any suspicious person on the basis of the records givenmaintaining
the country’s security.
Alliance a Chinese firm promoting In-dian films.
Andhra Pradesh, which hascaught the eye of Chinese
investorsafter the April visit of its Chief Minis-ter Chandrababu
Naidu, is also mak-ing an effort to attract Chinese tour-ists
showcasing its facilities like the974-km-long coastline of
Visakha-patnam as well as Buddhist centreslike Amaravathi which too
had an-cient links with China.
the state.State-run Chi-
nese TV has al-ready done fourpart series onKerala
highlightingits tourism poten-tial for Chinese.
The new jointventure film byChinese and In-dian firms
called“Wrecking havocin India”, a comedycould be shot inKerala,
saidPrasad Shetty,partner of Strategic
Thanks to popular religious citeslike Tirupathi, the state is
attractingabout 100 million domestic and NRItourists but the effort
now is to aimfor more international tourists, saidNeerabh K Prasad,
the state’s Prin-ciple Secretary to Tourism and Cul-ture. According
to Chinese Ambas-sador to India Le Yucheng, AndhraPradesh is
becoming a centre forChinese investments, specially theKakinada
Port.
Paradise lost? Greek islandsfear tourism decline
Residents on the Greek islands are concerned that gov-ernment
plans to end their favourable tax rate would damagetourism. The
proposals form part of Greece’s bailout deal withits foreign
creditors. Greece has to make a •1.5bn ($1.7bn;£1.06bn) IMF debt
repayment. If Greece defaults, it could exitthe eurozone, with
possible repercussions for the rest of Eu-rope and the world
economy.
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12 July, 2015MIDNIGHT REPORTER
Ramayana Museum to Come Up atAyodhya But Away From Disputed
Site:Union Minister Mahesh Sharma
NEW DELHI: The government today announced that it wouldconstruct
a Ramayana museum at Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh,which would portray
the epic journey of Lord Rama, but soughtto steer away from
controversy saying it would be kept awayfrom the disputed site
there. Union Tourism Minister MaheshSharma said the Centre has
begun the process of identifyingthe land.
“We are not going to construct this site (museum) in thedisputed
site, but away from it. There is land available at 70 km.So, we
will not touch the disputed area. Definitely, we will notcome into
controversy. We will keep away from the contro-versy,” he told
reporters in New Delhi. The museum would beconstructed as part of
the Ramayana circuit, which the govern-
ment had declared recently and contacting Nepal and Sri Lanka
for the purpose.“We are planning for Krishna circuit and Buddha
circuit in Ayodhya. Similarly, we are also
planning for Ramayana circuit. About Rs. 120 crore has been
earmarked for establishing theRamayana circuit for which we are
also contacting Nepal, Sri Lanka,” he added.
Reiterating that the museum will not come up anywhere near the
disputed land, Mr Sharmasaid, “Wherever the land will be easily
available, either by the government or by the privateproperties or
by any act of donation, we love to construct this museum
there.”
He, however, sought to clarify that construction of Ram temple
and museum are twodifferent things. “The construction of Ram Mandir
is a project of Vishwa Hindu Parishad andRam Janma Bhoomi Samiti.
They are doing their job. But, as a tourism minister, I am doing
this(museum) on behalf of my ministry in Ayodhya,” he said.
The museum would be established under the museums grant scheme
of the union minis-try of tourism and archaeologists and historians
have been approached for the purpose.
Asked whether the museum is for Lord Rama or the Indian
mythological epic of Ramayan,Mr Sharma said, “Rama and Ramayana,
both are same. It will be called as Ramayana Mu-seum and it will a
museum that will portray the journey and greatness of Lord
Rama.”
MHA rejects Tourism Min proposal onbiometric data of foreign
tourists
New Delhi: Citing security con-cerns, the Ministry of Home
Af-fairs has turned down a TourismMinistry proposal to do away
withobtaining biometric data of foreign-
ers wanting to travel to India on normal tourist visa before
issuance of the travel document tothem. According to official
sources, the Home Ministry, which is preparing to meet the target
ofextending e-tourist visas to additional 73 countries by the end
of the current fiscal, hasrejected the Tourism Ministry’s request
with regard to normal tourist visa seekers, saying itcould pose a
threat to national security. Tourism secretary Lalit K Panwar
recently wrote toHome Secretary L C Goyal bringing to his notice
two issues — notification for issuance of e-tourist visa for 73
countries and collection of biometric information of foreign
nationals at theport of arrival. In the letter, the tourism
secretary said the requirement of obtaining biometricdata before
issuing regular visa was acting as a dampener for the prospective
internationaltourists wanting to visit India.
Referring to a recent meeting of Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar
with Tourism MinisterMahesh Sharma on June 15, Panwar said,
“Compulsion of biometrics before issue of normalvisa was acting as
a dampener for the prospective international tourists wishing to
visit India.”
Panwar said Jaishankar was of the view that collecting
biometrics before issuing a normalvisa to potential tourists should
be discontinued and these should be obtained at the point
ofimmigration in the country, only if the Home Ministry agreed to
the proposal.
“The travel industry in our country as well as globally has been
requesting TourismMinistry to take up the issue with Government and
issue directions for biometrics of thetourists (with normal visa)
at the point of arrival in the host country,” the letter said.
China Launches World’s First Electric PlaneChina has made the
world’s first elec-
tric passenger aircraft that could be usedin pilot training,
tourism, meteorology andrescue operations, state media
reportedtoday. The BX1E has a 14.5-meter wing-span and a maximum
payload of 230 kgs.It can fly at an altitude of 3,000 meters.The
charging is completed within twohours, allowing a flight time of 45
minutesto one hour, at a maximum speed of 160km per hour, Xinhua
news agency re-ported. The plane, which has receivedairworthiness
certificate, was designed
by Shenyang Aerospace University and Liaoning general aviation
academy in the northeast-ern Liaoning Province. The first two
aircraft were delivered to Liaoning Ruixiang GeneralAviation Co.,
Ltd. yesterday. The aircraft can be used in pilot training,
tourism, meteorology andrescue operations, the report said. Each
aircraft is priced at about one million yuan (USD163,000). The
number of orders for the aircraft has reached 28, the report
said.
Tourism New Zealand voted Best InternationalDestination for
Adventure
New Zealand has won the award for the Best
InternationalDestination for Adventure by the Lonely Planet
Magazine In-dia Travel Awards 2015 for the third time. The winners
areselected by magazine readers who vote for the best destina-tion
under each category. Steven Dixon, Regional Manager -South and
South East Asia, Tourism New Zealand says, “Weare happy to receive
this award for the third year highlightingNew Zealand as Indian
travellers’ most preferred destinationfor adventure. We look
forward to building a stronger connec-tion with new and existing
travellers and further amplifyingofferings in this category.”
New Zealand offers a wide range of adventure activitiesthat
allow travellers to experience the country’s diverse anddramatic
landscapes from the land, sky and water. Activitieslike skydiving,
bungee jumping, biking, cycling, hiking, surfing,
fly- fishing, glacier walking and jet-boating are popular
amongst visitors. Queenstown, Wanaka,Abel Tasman National Park,
Milford Sound and Franz Josef Glacier have been ranked by theawards
as the top five most famous destinations in New Zealand for all
seasons.
The Lonely Planet Magazine India Travel Awards 2015 were
presented in Mumbai .TheBest International Destination for
Adventure award was received by Neha Bhola, CountryManager India,
Tourism New Zealand. The first and second runners-up in the
category wereSouth Africa and Australia, respectively.