July Launch for India's $100 Billion Industrial Corridor: (IndustrialInfo.com) ANGALORE, INDIA--June 16, 2008--Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The government of India is in the process of appointing a team of consultants for participation in the ambitious $100 billion Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) project. The DMIC is a trade and business development initiative spread over 436,486 square kilometers and is being built with the upcoming 1,483-kilometer dedicated freight rail corridor between Delhi and Mumbai.
Anil Ambani sets sight on more than 40 % stake in MTN: ONDON: Reliance Communications, the flagship company of the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG), is keen to acquire more than 40 percent of South African telecom company MTN. Anil Ambani, chairman of Reliance Communications, is considering buying more than 40 per cent of MTN, Africa's biggest wireless company. The Paper reported if the shareholders agreed, Ambani might end up owning 40-45 per cent of MTN, said one person close to the talks.
Indian origin scientist develops potential hydrogen storage material: Washington: A scientist of Indian origin has led an international research team to demonstrate an atomistic mechanism of hydrogen release in magnesium nanoparticles - a potential hydrogen storage material. The scientist in question is Professor Rajeev Ahuja from Uppsala University in Sweden. It is becoming clear that cars of the future will have to move from using the combination of petrol and a combustion engine in order to combat global warming and potential oil shortages. Storing hydrogen gas in a compact way is, however, still an unsolved problem. Much research effort has been directed at absorbing hydrogen in metal powders, forming so-called metal hydrides. Magnesium may absorb up to 7.7 weight per cent of hydrogen, and has commonly been studied for this purpose, especially since fast loading and unloading of hydrogen can be accomplished by adding catalysts like iron and nickel particles. It has been speculated that the catalysts act as shuttles, helping to transport hydrogen out of the material. With the help of computer simulations of magnesium clusters at the quantum mechanical level, the Uppsala researchers and their colleagues have now been able to show in atomic scale how this happens and why only a small amount of catalysts are necessary to improve the hydrogen release.
Taliban seizes several Afghanistan villages (AP): NATO, Afghan forces redeploy to meet threat near Kandahar: KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - Hundreds of Taliban fighters invaded villages just outside Afghanistan's second-largest city Monday, forcing NATO and Afghan troops to rush in and frightened residents to flee. The Taliban assault on the outskirts of Kandahar was the latest display of prowess by the militants despite a record number of U.S. and NATO troops in the country.
Click here for moreIndia’s RIL IND eyeing stake in Jet Airways': MUMBAI: Reliance Industries Ltd is in talks with Jet Airways Ltd to buy a 6-7 percent stake in the private airline, a news daily said, citing a source familiar with the development.
Second Tejas aircraft breaks sound barrier on maiden flight: BANGALORE: The second indigenously developed light combat
aircraft (LCA) Tejas flew at supersonic speed on its maiden test flight over Bangalore skies on Monday evening. This is the second time a Tejas aircraft has flown at a speed of 1.1 Mach (1,320 km per hour) up to an altitude of 9.5 km in a maiden flight lasting 43 minutes," the state-run Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) said in a statement on late Monday.
India’s Ashok Leyland invests in Germany-based Albonair: Mumbai, June 17: Hinduja flagship company Ashok Leyland on Tuesday said it has made a strategic investment in Germany-based group firm Albonair GmbH for development of vehicle emission treatment systems and products.
'India's GDP to grow at 9.5% in FY 09': Mumbai, June 16: India's real GDP is expected to grow at an impressive 9.5 per cent in FY 09, the Centre for Monitoring Indian
Economy (CMIE) said in its monthly review in Mumbai.
Western players face threat from emerging markets: PARIS: The traditional western business model is likely to face immense challenge from the growth of multinationals from emerging markets of Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC nations), said a report released from Cambridge University’s Institute of Manufacturing by Capgemini.
Japan’s Daiichi may revise open offer price for India’s Ranbaxy: Japanese drug-maker Daiichi-Sankyo, which entered into a binding deal with the Ranbaxy Laboratories [
Get Quote] promoters to buy the latter's 34.8 per cent stake at Rs 737 a share, on Monday said it may revise the open offer price in the case of a competitive bid.
Russian 'sheikh' for Indian investment in oil production: Khanty-Mansiisk (Russia): A major oil rich autonomous region of Russia looking to diversify its economy beyond oil production, is keen to welcome Indian investments in high-tech sectors including IT and pharmaceuticals. Governor of Ugra region Alexander Filipenko, a former Soviet Communist Party 'apparatchik', regretted the withering spirit of 'Hindi-Roosi Bhai-Bhai' and has invited Indian businesses to invest in his Siberian 'Emirate', which is keen to divert the flood of petro-dollars for creation of hi-tech industrial potential for economic diversity. In old days we used to have very good relations with India, but unfortunately the spirit of 'Hindi-Roosi Bhai-Bhai' has disappeared. From time to time I see some Indian goods and commodities coming to our region through third parties, but I am yet to see an Indian businessman here," Filipenko said receiving a group of Moscow-based foreign journalists. “For several years now I have been unsuccessfully trying to woo Indian IT-itians, but perhaps they are afraid of Siberian cold. I will arrange valenki (felt boots) and sheepskin coats to keep them warm," he said. (PTI)
Phil Gov’t expects more Chinese, Indian visitors with new visa system: MANILA, Philippines - The government expects more investors and tourists — especially from China and India — visiting the Philippines as it implements a “liberalized" system of granting visas to foreigners. In a statement released on Monday, Bureau of Immigration Commissioner Marcelino Libanan said the agency had put in place the PVUA or the pre-arranged visa upon arrival system wherein visas of foreigners traveling to the Philippines would be processed from their countries of origin. According to Libanan, out of some 30 million Chinese tourists, only about 60,000 visit the Philippines yearly. Meanwhile, out of the 10 million Indian tourists, only 15,000 visit the country annually. –
Canada’s University of Alberta and India’sTCS sign global partnership : The University of Alberta has entered into a five-year partnership agreement with Tata Consultancy Services, which is to provide student internship and co-op education placements within Tata Consultancy Services and create research collaboration and exchange between the university and TCS researchers. University of Alberta President Indira Samarasekera calls this partnership truly exceptional for a Canadian university. With this collaboration, the opportunity for international internships and training programs for U of A students will increase as they will now have access to TCS's operations in many business sectors, including engineering services, research and development, and information technology. There will also be prospects for research exchanges between TCS's industry professionals and the U of A's researchers and students.
Now, natural disaster alerts on TV: Bangalore: Indian satellites will alert state agencies and the public about imminent natural disasters through direct-to-home (DTH) television broadcasts, a top space agency official has said. In the next six months, (state-run) Doordarshan will relay warning signals from INSAT transponders in Ku-band on impending disasters through a DTH receiver linked to the national disaster management support system in New Delhi," Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman G. Madhavan Nair said.
Forgot password? Banks plan to make you pay for it: MUMBAI: If you have a poor memory, your bank might well make you pay for it. Most bank customers assume that if they forget an internet banking or ATM password, their bank will send them a new one. Don’t bet on it. Some banks –—HDFC and ICICI Bank among them — are planning on charging you Rs25 for the retrieval of the password you forgot. Banks also seem to be discouraging customers from visiting branches and dealing in cash. ICICI Bank charges Rs50 per transaction for cash transactions exceeding 12 a quarter.
US investment Bank Lehman Brothers post USD 2.8 bn loss in second quarter: New York, June 16 : US investment bank Lehman Brothers said Monday it suffered a net loss of some $2.8 billion, or $5.14 per share, in the second quarter of fiscal 2008.
Fuel shortage drives people off roads in Britain London, June 17 (IANS) Fuel shortages across Britain have forced people off the roads and left them looking for alternative fuels like vegetable oil as hundreds of petrol pumps have closed down and private stations profiteer by hiking prices.
Newspaper publisher McClatchy axes 1,400 jobs: New York, June 17: McClatchy Co, the No 3 newspaper company in the country, said it is slashing 1,400 jobs in the latest effort to cut costs amid rapidly dwindling advertising revenues. The cuts represent about 10 per cent of the company's work force. McClatchy, which publishes 30 daily newspapers including The Miami Herald and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, also reported a 15.4 per cent decline in advertising revenues in the first five months of the year on Monday.
British retailer rejects Indian clothes made by child labourers ( 11:19:42 Hrs )By Venkata Vemuri: London, June 17 (IANS) Britain's leading clothes retailer Primark has cancelled the contracts of three suppliers in India's Tamil Nadu state for using child labour and has also withdrawn the garments from its shelves.
Indian Army To Train Its Officers For US-Style War In Space: Set to make forays in use of space applications, the Indian Army will take a leaf out of US forces' experience to train its officers in optimising the effective use of space-based resources to meet its operational requirements. Set to make forays in use of space applications, the Indian Army will take a leaf out of US forces' experience to train its officers in optimising the effective use of space-based resources to meet its operational requirements. "The establishment of a Tri-Services Space Command for persistent surveillance and rapid response is required in future and we need to continue with capability development through a synergistic approach between three Services," General Kapoor said. "The Indian Army recognises space as an emerging arena for important military applications and is increasingly being identified as the ultimate military high ground for battle of space dominance," he added. Earlier, Defence Minister A K Antony had announced the setting up of an Integrated Space Cell at the Integrated Defence Staff headquarters to act as a single window for military use and security of space resources, apart from performing the role of interface among Army, Navy and Air Force.
India Govt allots Rs2,500 cr for Agni-V : NEW DELHI :The Union government has sanctioned Rs2,500 crore for developing the country’s most ambitious missile, a nuclear-capable Agni-V with a range of 5,000 kilometres — one step short of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). N-capable missile will have range of 5000km n Shanghai, Beijing will be in striking distance. Sources indicate, as reported earlier by DNA, the government is not willing to consider development of a full-fledged ICBM that has a range of over 8,000 kilometres. Along with Agni V, the DRDO is venturing into a series of new generation missiles, and several of them are going to be joint ventures with foreign partners, on the lines of the BrahMos cruise missile, an Indo-Russian project. Among the key partners for DRDO would be Israelis and some European firms.
Despite Pak protest, Army plans civilian trek to Siachen: NEW DELHI: Notwithstanding Pakistan's vociferous protests, Indian Army will organise a civilian mountaineering and trekking expedition to the forbidding Siachen Glacier for the second year in a row in October-November this year. Both the expeditions are meant to show to the international audience that Indian troops hold both the Siachen and Khatling glacial heights and neither Pakistan nor China were anywhere near the two Glaciers.
Russian envoy urges India to sign n-deal with US: NEW DELHI: "India should sign the nuclear deal (with the US) sooner rather than later," Russia's ambassador to New Delhi Vyacheslav I Trubnikov said here on Tuesday. Speaking on the eve of crucial talks between the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) and Left parties on the stalled civil nuclear deal between India and the US, the Russian envoy observed that opposition to the deal was "a matter of internal policy rather than external policy".
US negotiating to build new air base in Peru :Lima, June 17 (IANS) The US is negotiating with the Peruvian armed forces to build an air base in the Andean country, EFE said quoting media reports.
Red wine compound may help fight obesity: Washington, June 17 (ANI): A glass of red wine a day not only helps keep the heart healthy, but as it turns out, it can also help battle obesity. Researchers at the University of Ulm in Germany carried out a study to see whether past research of resveratrol protecting laboratory mice from the health problems of obesity, also applied to humans by changing the size or function of fat cells.
Japan's prime minister says G-8 not place to decide carbon targets: TOKYO: The Group of Eight summit next month is not the proper forum for settling the contentious issue of midterm targets on carbon emissions because it is being tackled by the United Nations, Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda said on Tuesda
US needs to lean on Saudi to pressure Pakistan: It is no secret that the Taliban has been using the Pakistani Frontier Tribal areas, which are inhabited by the same or kindred Pakhtun tribes as their sanctuaries to launch attacks on Afghan territory. The US had been pressing Pervez Musharraf to deploy the Pakistan Army and paramilitary forces in the FATA (Federally Administered Tribal Areas) region to drive away the Taliban. Though Musharraf deployed 80,000 troops and paramilitary forces they did not succeed in their mission. There were heavy casualties and a significant number were taken prisoners. The Pakistani forces, both the regular army and the paramilitary forces, have been trained to fight India and not counter insurgency operations. The US has perhaps the best-equipped intelligence collection machinery in the world. Their problem is their inability to assess that intelligence in a balanced fashion and formulate policies on such sober assessments. The intelligence assessment is often corrupted by cronyism between the middle-level US establishment and the dictatorial establishments in the countries of concern or by ideological extremism like that of the neo-conservatives. The probability in this case is neither Pakistan nor the US is likely to change its ways.
In the coming months, it is likely there will be more such incidents on the Pakistan-Afghan border with adverse consequences on US-Pakistan relations. The degree of effectiveness of US pressure on Pakistan will also be dependent on Saudi financial support to Pakistan. Owing to high oil prices, Saudi Arabia is flush with money and the US has to control Saudis if it is to succeed in applying pressure on Pakistan. In India we need to assess the consequences
