The Indian Panorama

Month: November 2016

  • Singer Ameet Kamath’s second album takes listeners ‘Into The Night’

    Singer Ameet Kamath’s second album takes listeners ‘Into The Night’

    NEW YORK (TIP): India-born, New York City-raised and Minneapolis-based singer/songwriter Ameet Kamath’s second music album “Into the Night” released on Wednesday, November 23, at The Rockwood Music Hall on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. In it, he weaves stories of the night with his evocative interpretation of the pop genre. The sound is reflective of an artist born in one world and shaped by another.

    “A most interesting pop-oriented album that transports the listener into the deepest and darkest regions of the time after sundown” is how music critic Dick Metcalf describes Ameet Kamath’s new Indie-Pop album. Metcalf raves that Kamath’s vocals are “infused with the kind of energy that guides the listener into the spaces he sings about.”

    All 13 songs invite the listener to the nocturnal world with themes of love, loneliness and heartbreak, before metamorphosing into an upbeat promise of dance and dreams. Kamath, an American citizen and native of India, embraced Western pop and jazz music long before he earned his U.S. passport. Many of his songs redefine the Indian Diaspora, with artistic expression straddling both cultures.

    As a young boy growing up in Mumbai, Kamath sang church hymns and anthems at his Jesuit grade school. He was deeply influenced by The Beatles, Culture Club, ABBA and Queen, and treasured his music collection, which included bootleg recordings of American Top 40 and Britain’s Top of the Pops.

    He came to New York City as a techie with a self-described “nice-Indian-boy haircut” in 1995. With the money from his first paycheck, he hired a voice coach and, subsequently, gained his performance moxie by busking in city parks and singing in nightclubs, most notably Marion’s Continental in the NoHo neighborhood.

    “I am not your traditional Indian import. I sought out a life in America in order to express myself; that’s the promise America always had for me,” said Kamath, 42, whose debut album, “Greasy Rails,” was self-produced in 2010 after moving from New York City to San Francisco. His debut effort earned him laudable reviews, along with the critical acclaim of his peers and the musical maestros he had worked and sang with over the years.

    “In my music, I’m telling stories so that the listeners can understand life as I do – constantly negotiating spaces, first as an American immigrant in the 21st century and now as an artist,” said Kamath. “I am not a starving artist, but I am starving to express myself,” he said, laughing.

  • Indian Americans Sunil Amrith from Harvard and Akshay Venkatesh from Stanford to receive Infosys Prize 2016

    Indian Americans Sunil Amrith from Harvard and Akshay Venkatesh from Stanford to receive Infosys Prize 2016

    indian-americans-sunil-amrith-from-harvard-and-akshay-venkateshBENGALURU (TIP): Prof. Sunil Amrith, Mehra family professor of South-Asian studies, professor of history, Harvard University and Prof. Akshay Venkatesh, professor, department of mathematics, Stanford University are among six recipients of Infosys Prize 2016 in the categories of Humanities and Mathematical Sciences, respectively.

    Sunil Amrith is the Mehra Family Professor of South Asian Studies at Harvard University. His research is on the trans-regional movement of people, ideas, and institutions. Areas of interest include the history of public health and poverty, the history of migration, and environmental history. His most recent work has been on the Bay of Bengal as a region connecting South and Southeast Asia. He has a PhD in History (2005) from the University of Cambridge, where he was also a Research Fellow of Trinity College (2004-6).

    indian-americans-sunil-amrith-from-harvard-and-akshay-venkatesh1Akshay Venkatesh is an Indian Australian professor in the mathematics department at Stanford. His research interests are in the fields of counting, equidistribution problems in automorphic forms and number theory, in particular representation theory, locally symmetric spaces and ergodic theory.He is the only Australian to have won medals at both the International Physics Olympiad and International Mathematics Olympiad, which he did at the age of 12

    The Infosys Science Foundation (ISF) on November 18 announced six winners of the Infosys Prize 2016 in the categories of Engineering and Computer Science, Humanities, Life Sciences, Mathematical Sciences, Physical Sciences and Social Sciences.

    The winners for the Infosys Prize 2016 were shortlisted from over 250 nominations by a jury panel, comprising renowned scientists and professors. The awards ceremony for the Infosys Prize 2016 will be held on 7 January 2017 in Bengaluru, where Prof. Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, president of the Royal Society and Nobel Prize Laureate will felicitate the winners, the foundation said in a statement. The prize for each category consists of a purse of Rs65 lakh, a 22-carat gold medallion and a citation certificate.

    The winners of the Infosys Prize 2016 are: (1) Engineering and computer science: Prof. V. Kumaran, professor, department of chemical engineering, Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru; (2) Humanities: Prof. Sunil Amrith, Mehra family professor of South-Asian studies, professor of history, Harvard University; (3) Life Sciences: Dr. Gagandeep Kang, executive director of Translational Health Science and Technology Institute (THSTI), Faridabad; (4) Mathematical Sciences: Prof. Akshay Venkatesh, professor, department of mathematics, Stanford University; (5) Physical Sciences: Dr. Anil Bhardwaj, director, space physics laboratory, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Thiruvananthapuram, and (6) Social Sciences: Prof. Kaivan Munshi, Frank Ramsey professor of economics, faculty of economics, University of Cambridge.

     

  • Ratan Tata Considers Demonetization a National Calamity for Poor, suggests Government to Consider Emergency Relief Measures

    Ratan Tata Considers Demonetization a National Calamity for Poor, suggests Government to Consider Emergency Relief Measures

    NEW DELHI (TIP): Business Tycoon Ratan Tata has suggested the government to consider Extra-ordinary relief measures, similar to those employed at the time of national calamities, for the poor so as to lessen their hardships due to shortage of cash following demonetization.

    Tata Tweeting on the recent effects of demonetizationsaid, “While the government is doing its best to increase the availability of new currency note, it may be worthwhile to consider special relief measures similar to those employed at times of national calamities to serve the poorer segment of the population for their daily needs and for enabling emergency healthcare/medical treatment in smaller hospitals. “

  • Trump names K.T. McFarland as deputy national security adviser

    Trump names K.T. McFarland as deputy national security adviser

    WASHINGTON (TIP): McFarland, who was previously a national security analyst for Fox News, has served in the Nixon, Ford and Reagan White Houses. She confirmed that she had accepted the position to Fox News, which terminated McFarland’s contributor contract on Friday, November 25.

    “I am proud that KT has once again decided to serve our country and join my national security team,” Trump said in a statement. “She has tremendous experience and innate talent that will complement the fantastic team we are assembling, which is crucial because nothing is more important than keeping our people safe.”

    “The American people chose Donald J. Trump to lead them for a reason,” McFarland said in a statement. “He has the courage, brilliance and energy to Make America Great Again, and nobody has called foreign policy right more than President-elect Trump, and he gets no credit for it. I’m honored and humbled that he has asked me to be part of his team.”

    From 1970-1976 McFarland served as an aide to Dr. Henry Kissinger on the National Security Council. In the Reagan White House she served as a principal deputy assistant secretary of defense Pentagon spokesman.

    She ran unsuccessfully for the Senate in 2006 in New York.

    Her appointment was welcomed on Twitter by retired general Michael Flynn, who will serve as national security adviser.

  • Researchers Identify 200 Websites That ‘Reliably Echo Russian Propaganda’ to Millions of Americans

    Researchers Identify 200 Websites That ‘Reliably Echo Russian Propaganda’ to Millions of Americans

    WASHINGTON (TIP): Russia had a hand in spreading fake news to millions of Americans during the election cycle, according to two independent research groups, PropOrNot and Foreign Policy Research Institute.

    The Washington Post was the first media outlet to report PropOrNot’s findings that there are over 200 websites described as “routine peddlers of Russian propaganda during the election season, with combined audiences of at least 15 million Americans.” The most recognizable names on the list of “sites that reliably echo Russian propaganda” include Alex Jones’ Infowars, Julian Assange’s Wikileaks and Matt Drudge’s Drudge Report. Others include The Federalist Papers, Zero Hedge, the Free Thought Project and USA Politics Now.

    PropOrNot wrote, “Please note that our criteria are behavioral. That means the characteristics of the propaganda outlets we identify are motivation-agnostic. For purposes of this definition it does not matter whether the sites listed here are being knowingly directed and paid by Russian intelligence officers, or whether they even knew they were echoing Russian propaganda at any particular point: If they meet these criteria, they are at the very least acting as bona-fide ‘useful idiots’ of the Russian intelligence services, and are worthy of further scrutiny.”.

     

  • Yoga improves memory by reducing stress levels, as per University of Illinois study

    Yoga improves memory by reducing stress levels, as per University of Illinois study

    CHICAGO (TIP): “Yoga practice improves executive function by attenuating stress levels”, according to a study conducted by researchers at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) in USA.

    An abstract of the study posted online from the December 2016 edition of Biological Psychology journal, stated: An 8-week Hatha yoga intervention attenuated stress response in an older adult sample.

    It concluded: Eight weeks of regular yoga practice resulted in improved working memory performance that was mediated by an attenuated response to stress.

    According to UIUC News Bureau: Researchers found that eight weeks of hatha yoga classes moderated stress levels and led to better performance on challenging cognitive tests. This study, supported by National Institute on Aging at the National Institutes of Health, was conducted at Exercise Psychology Laboratory of UIUC directed by Professor Edward McAuley.

    Distinguished Hindu statesman Rajan Zed called the UIUC looking into the usage of multi-faceted yoga in stress levels and cognitive performance “a step in the positive direction”. Zed urged all major world universities to explore various benefits yoga offers.

    Yoga, referred as “a living fossil”, was a mental and physical discipline, for everybody to share and benefit from, whose traces went back to around 2,000 BCE to Indus Valley civilization, Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, noted.

    Rajan Zed further said that yoga, although introduced and nourished by Hinduism, was a world heritage and liberation powerhouse to be utilized by all. According to Patanjali who codified it in Yoga Sutra, yoga was a methodical effort to attain perfection, through the control of the different elements of human nature, physical and psychical.

    According to US National Institutes of Health, yoga may help one to feel more relaxed, be more flexible, improve posture, breathe deeply, and get rid of stress. According to a “2016 Yoga in America Study”, about 37 million Americans (which included many celebrities) now practice yoga; and yoga is strongly correlated with having a positive self image. Yoga was the repository of something basic in the human soul and psyche, Zed added.

    According to Oxford Dictionary of Hinduism, hatha-yoga (yoga of force) is a form of yogic practice designed to bring about liberation and immortality in this life, through the purification and manipulation of the practitioner’s body.

    UIUC, founded in 1867, claims to be a “world-class leader in research, teaching, and public engagement” and “pioneer innovative research that tackles global problems”. Robert Jones is the Chancellor.

  • New scheme may impose 50% tax on unaccounted money

    New scheme may impose 50% tax on unaccounted money

    NEW DELHI (TIP): The  government is likely to introduce a disclosure scheme under which anyone with unaccounted income can come clean by paying 50% tax before December 30.

    A fourth of the amount remaining after taxation will be locked in for four years, top officials told DH on Friday.

    They said the government was bringing in an amendment to the Income Tax Act in the current session of Parliament.

    The move is intended to ensure black money does not come back into circulation after tax is paid on it. Only 25% of the total disclosed amount will be available for use. Those with unaccounted-for cash who disregard this option will face a stiffer penalty if caught subsequently. They will have to pay 90% of the income, 30% being tax and 60% penalty.

    The amendments, cleared by the Cabinet, have been sent to the President for his assent and are likely to be introduced in Parliament next week, the sources said.

    On November 9, the government had said it would treat cash deposits exceeding Rs 10 lakh, and not matching declared income, as income on which tax had been evaded.

    It said such an amount would attract as penalty 200% of the tax payable.

    However, the proposal was criticised on the grounds that such steep penalties could not be imposed on individuals without an amendment to the tax laws.

    The government is also planning to include a clause in the IT Act to provide a permanent window to tax undisclosed income at a rate higher than that imposed under the Income Disclosure Scheme, which ended on September 30.

  • Modi’s black-money jibe at Opposition roils Parliament

    Modi’s black-money jibe at Opposition roils Parliament

    NEW DELHI (TIP): The political thrust and parry over the demonetization of high-value currency notes intensified on November 25 with Prime Minister Narendra Modi using the Constitution Day event to take on the Opposition for criticising the implementation of the plan.

    “Some people are saying the government did not make ample preparation. I think the pain of such people is that the government did not give them a chance to make any preparation,” Modi said. “If these people had been given 72 hours to make their preparation, they would have lavished praise that there is no one like Modi,” he added.

    His predecessor, Manmohan Singh, had said on November 24 that the implementation of the demonetization plan was marked by “monumental mismanagement”.

    Modi said that in the country’s battle against corruption and black money, the ordinary citizen is the “foot soldier”.

    “I received details about municipal corporations in some cities,” Modi added. “Earlier, they used to get Rs 3,000-3,500 crore as tax; but after November 8, they have collected Rs 13,000 crore as tax! This money will be used for development, like construction of roads and electricity supply,” he noted.

    Modi’s remarks stirred up the Opposition yet again. Members of almost all the Opposition parties trooped to the well of the Rajya Sabha demanding an apology from him.

    Leader of the Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad said that although the Opposition had made it abundantly clear that it was not against the objectives of the scheme, Modi continues to make allegations to avoid a parliamentary debate on the issue.

    “How can the Prime Minister level such an allegation? We are against black money. The Prime Minister must apologize,” Azad said.

    For the seventh day of the Winter Session, the Lok Sabha was in turmoil, with the Opposition parties demanding the Prime Minister’s presence in the House for a debate on demonetisation and an apology from him for his jibe at them.

    Opposition members raised slogans asking Modi to make his statements inside the House.

    As the House met, Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge said: “The issue now is not our demand for an adjournment motion, but the remarks of the Prime Minister… He said the Opposition supports black money.”

  • DEMONETISATION COURAGEOUS EXPERIMENT, PROUD TO HAVE SUCH PM, SAYS AMAR SINGH

    DEMONETISATION COURAGEOUS EXPERIMENT, PROUD TO HAVE SUCH PM, SAYS AMAR SINGH

    VARANASI (TIP): Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh has hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s demonetisation move as a “courageous” experiment to eliminate black money, corruption and counterfeit currency.

    Though it was implemented without making “proper arrangement”, but sudden implementation of the move helped preventing “adjustment” of black money and unaccounted cash by hoarders, he said here yesterday.

    Singh also said, “he as a countryman was proud to have such Prime Minister who was so dedicated and adamant to root out corruption.”

    “The Prime Minister has punished all who have amassed huge wealth, whether they are from his party (BJP) or others,” he said, adding now they (black money hoarders) are getting “sleepless nights”.

    Singh claimed the move has reduced the gap between rich and the poor and now people would pay taxes instead of evading it.

    “I am not a BJP spokesperson but a SP Rajya Sabha member, whatever the opinion of my party might be on this issue but I have shared my personal view on it,” he said.

    However, he registered his protest against the mismanagement in implementing the demonetisation move, saying he was pained to the see the common people suffering due to it.

    “I am not against this scheme, but the government’s failure in making proper arrangement before implementing the scheme has only brought sufferings in the lives of common people which has pained everyone of us,” Singh said.

    “What is the purpose of implementing a scheme due to which poor, farmers, small traders and common people have to suffer?” he said.

    Singh claimed that due to demonetisation many companies have started reducing their staffs to cut their cost.

  • Zakir Naik plays victim, dubs IRF ban ‘communal move’

    Zakir Naik plays victim, dubs IRF ban ‘communal move’

    MUMBAI (TIP): Controversial televangelist Zakir Naik has called the ban on his NGO Islamic Research Foundation (IRF)+ “a communal decision”. In a letter released on Friday through his spokesperson, his second since being accused of radicalising one of the perpetrators of the July 1 Dhaka cafe attack, Naik said IRF was banned without any agency questioning him.

    “…not a single time was I questioned or given a chance to explain,” he writes. “Their agenda is open and clear: implicate me by hook or by crook.”

    “The decision to ban IRF was taken in the middle of the demonetisation+ fiasco, as the country reeled under the self-imposed cash crunch. I won’t be surprised if this ban was meant to distract media from what was going on in the country.” Recently, the government banned IRF under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, froze the bank account of Islamic International School, while NIA has asked banks to freeze accounts of Naik, IRF and associate companies.

    Playing the Muslim victimhood card, Naik said IRF was slapped with UAPA because “the name of the religion has been made synonymous with violence”.

    Naik, like in his previous letter sent on September 10, alleged it was Indian Muslims who were under attack. “It is an attack on whom I represent, the Indian Muslims.”

    Naik, however, expressed his faith in the Indian judiciary. A source said Naik wrote this letter from an African country which he is touring currently.

  • ‘Worst parliamentarian’ Rahul Gandhi ‘unworthy’ to question PM: BJP

    ‘Worst parliamentarian’ Rahul Gandhi ‘unworthy’ to question PM: BJP

    NEW DELHI (TIP): The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday hit back at Rahul Gandhi for mocking Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s absence in Parliament and said it was ironical of the Congress vice-president to make such assertions given the fact that he was adjudged the “worst parliamentarian” in the history of Lok Sabha.

    “Rahul Gandhi, who bunks Parliament most of the time, who is not seen to be doing worthwhile outside the Parliament, I think he is not really worthy to make such comments. I think it is a joke because Rahul Gandhi has been adjudged to be one the worst parliamentarians in the previous term and that continues to be the case in the present Lok Sabha as well,” BJP leader GVL Narasimha Rao told ANI.

    Rao further said it is not “worthy” of Gandhi to comment on the Prime Minister as the latter has been working for the welfare of the people and working to ensure that the country is back on track. “For the last two and half years, he has brought about massive transformation and discipline into governance. So, for the Congress Party to demand Prime Minister Modi’s attendance they should first tell Rahul Gandhi to learn the basics of parliamentary responsibility and accountability,” he added.

    The BJP leader’s comments came a day after Gandhi took a dig at Prime Minister Modi for not steering clear of the debate on demonetisation. Gandhi yesterday said that he was waiting to see what “new emotion” the Prime Minister would express over the matter now as his expressions outside the Parliament expose his nervousness.

  • Dalit to be deputy CM if AAP wins Punjab: Kejriwal at manifesto release

    Dalit to be deputy CM if AAP wins Punjab: Kejriwal at manifesto release

    JALANDHAR (TIP): With an eye on nearly 32% Dalit voters in Punjab, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convener Arvind Kejriwal on Friday playing the masterstroke by declaring that if his party formed the government in Punjab, the post of deputy CM will go to a Dalit. The announcement was made at a rally here during which he also unveiled the party’s 19-point manifesto meant exclusively for the Dalits.

    Kejriwal said it was a historic announcement by a political party wherein Dalits have been promised a high place in the corridors of power.

    “Saari partiyan kehti hain hum Daliton ko ye denge, wo denge…lekin koyi kursi nahin deta. They only give you choice for MLAs, that too because of the reservation. But AAP is not here to exploit you for votes. We will share the power with you . Bhim Rao Ambedkar and Kanshi Ram had stated that Dalits can only be brought in the mainstream if power is shared with them,” said Kejriwal, addressing a gathering in Dalit-dominated Doaba region.

    Even as the gathering was less in comparison to other AAP rallies, Kejriwal managed to steal the show with his announcement. AAP’s all Dalit candidates from across the state were present on the stage. He said it will be difficult for the traditional parties

    (Akali Dal and Congress)?to match what AAP has announced for the Dalits.

    The Delhi CM also said that even seven decades after the Independence, the Dalits are deprived off their rights. “Look at the plight of Dalits in Punjab. A journalist just told me that 18 lakh students study in government primary schools in Punjab, of which 14 lakh belong to Dalit families,” said Kejriwal. He said AAP enjoyed full confidence of Dalits in Delhi where it won all the 12 reserved seats. “In Delhi, we delivered what we promised for the Dalits. We have started regularising all safai sewaks,” he said, adding Dalits are being given free education and health care facilities in the national capital.

    Dalit manifesto: Old wine in new bottle?

    Except for promising deptuy chief minister’s post to a Dalit, the Aam Aadmi Party manifesto lacks innovation. Most promises in the document are more or less the same as those of rival parties.

    Concept of ‘mohalla clinic’ in Delhi has a mention in the document under the ‘Modern Pind Sehat Clinic’,, besides ?5 lakh health insurance. The promise to provide free gas connection, along with burner and stove, to all Dalit families is already being implemented in Punjab under the Pardhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojna. The party also announced free education for Dalit girls up to Class 12.

    Why Dalit vote counts

    • ? 32% of Punjab’s population is Dalit – the highest in the country.
    • ? 33 of 117 seats in the state assembly are reserved.
    • ? With 23 seats, the Dalit-dominated Doaba is a decisive factor in power sweepstakes. Source: HT
  • EIGHT YEARS AFTER 26/11, RAILWAYS AND COAST REMAIN VULNERABLE

    EIGHT YEARS AFTER 26/11, RAILWAYS AND COAST REMAIN VULNERABLE

    MUMBAI (TIP): Eight years after the November 26, 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, in which 164 people were killed and about 308 injured, the railways and coastal areas remain vulnerable. The strengthening of the intelligence and counter-intelligence apparatus and training of police personnel, especially  constables attached to the anti-terrorism cells, is yet to gather momentum. The cells were set up in over 100 police stations across Greater Mumbai. The nation observes the 8th anniversary of the attacks on Saturday.

    A two-member committee headed by former Governor and Union Home Secretary R D Pradhan had been appointed to examine the government’s response to terror attacks. Among other things, the committee had suggested steps to strengthen coastal security through better monitoring and modernisation of police with automatic arms and ammunition.

    While the government has undertaken to set up 12 coastal police stations, in a bid to strengthen the coastal security, as on date only two are operational –one in the island city the other in the western suburbs. However, both lack infrastructure. Besides, the establishment of police chowkies still remains on the paper while the development of a jetty has been caught in red tape. Of the 30-plus speed boats, some are either anchored at the bay and or can otherwise not be used by security personnel to conduct vigils, for want of adequate fuel.

    Security at the Mumbai railway stations and key junctions have been caught in administrative and policy logjams. More than seven million commuters travel on central, western and harbour railway lines, but deployment of adequate security personnel has yet to happen.

    State Anti-Terrorism Squad chief Atulchandra Kulkarni informs that the implementation of the Ram Pradhan committee report is being made in phases. “A lot of changes have been made in the functioning of the ATS and its jurisdiction. ATS units are functional in all key regions of the state. The police force is equipped with modern arms and weapons,” he says.

    Further, a state home department official said chief minister Devendra Fadnavis recently launched Mumbai’s city-wide CCTV network, which is expected to strengthen the surveillance system stronger. A total of 4,717 CCTV cameras across 1,510 locations, covering almost 80 per cent of the city have been installed. Apart from fixed cameras, five  mobile surveillance vans will also start patrolling the city. The project had been proposed during the NCP-Congress regime, on a recommendation of the Ram Pradhan Committee report but it was delayed because private sector companies did not submit tenders despite bids being invited four times. Security expert Shirish Inamdar says the installation of CCTV cameras is not adequate and upgradation of intelligence machinery is need of the hour. “Higher level and lower level police personnel should interact with each other on a regular basis and those assigned with the job of intelligence gathering should be further trained. Though anti-terror cells have been established in every police station in Greater Mumbai, the personnel deployed there lack adequate training in intelligence and counter-terrorism. Adequate attention needs to be paid on this aspect,” he says. Source: Business Standard

  • Pakistan is damaging itself by fighting against India: PM

    Pakistan is damaging itself by fighting against India: PM

    BATHINDA (TIP): Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said Pakistan was yet to settle from the setback of surgical strikes and was damaging itself by fighting against India.

    “Earlier, soldiers were unable to show their valor despite having the strength. But now Pakistan has seen strength of our brave soldiers after they carried out surgical strikes in 250-km area across the LoC,” Modi said while addressing a public rally.

    He said there were tremors across the border after these strikes and they have not yet settled.

    Reaching out to Pakistani public, Modi said, “125 crore Indians eyes were wet with tears after killing of school kids in Peshawar. Every Indian felt the pain of Pakistani.”

    Reiterating that Pakistani public should ask their rulers that fight should be against black money and corruption rather than fighting any country, Modi said,

    “By fighting against India they (Pakistan) are damaging themselves and killing innocents also.” “Pakistani people also want freedom from poverty. For the sake of political benefits this atmosphere has been created by them,” he added. Modi was speaking at the foundation stone laying ceremony of AIIMS in Bathinda.

  • The Kudi from Amritsar is their envoy

    The Kudi from Amritsar is their envoy

    Nikki Haley, Governor of South Carolina, now nominated US Ambassador to the United Nations
    Nikki Haley, Governor of South Carolina, now nominated US Ambassador to the United Nations

    On November 23, a day before Thanksgiving, American Sikhs received a gift to be proud of – the nomination of Nikki Haley to become US Ambassador to the UN. She and her Sikh parents represent a migrant success story – a story where anyone can live the American Dream.

    The American Sikh story starts in April 1899. It took 57 years for the first Sikh to become a Congressman- Dalip Singh Saund was elected in 1956 and served till 1963.

    Now, 60 years later President-elect Donald J. Trump has nominated Nikki Haley, a person of Sikh heritage, to be the US Ambassador to the UN and member of his cabinet. Nikki -birth name Nimrata ‘Nikki’ Randhawa – unlike most other US politicians of Indian-heritage, including Saund, has risen through the ranks of the Republican Party. Now she becomes the first politician of South Asian, Indian, and Sikh heritage to become a member of the Cabinet. Nikki Haley’s parents – Ajit Singh Randhawa and Raj Kaur Randhawa -were from Amritsar district. Nikki was born and grew up in Bamberg, South Carolina, with its back-drop of racism and American race politics not far away.

    Straddling cultures: Despite converting to Christianity, Nikki opted for Sikh marriage ceremonies
    Straddling cultures: Despite converting to Christianity, Nikki opted for Sikh marriage ceremonies

    Unlike Bobby Jindal, a former Republican Governor, Nikki is proud of her Indian roots and her parent’s Sikh faith. She married Michael Haley in 1996 whom she met as a fellow student and converted to Christianity but still settled on two marriage ceremonies – a Sikh and Methodist.

    Nikki Haley quickly learned the skills of successful political leadership and in reconciling competing economic and political interests. As a conservative, her policies focused on cutting taxes, reducing public debt and big government and creating jobs through promoting growth and encouraging inward investment.

    Nikki Haley, is deeply rooted in her Punjabi tradition. She is seen here with her husband Michael in Punjabi attire at Jalandhar, Punjab, India on November 14, 2014
    Nikki Haley, is deeply rooted in her Punjabi tradition. She is seen here with her husband Michael in Punjabi attire at
    Jalandhar, Punjab, India on November 14, 2014

    In June 2015, she received international praise for banning the Confederate flag from all South Carolina’s government offices and grounds after the Charleston Massacre which ended in the killing of nine African-American children. Her critics called her opportunistic asked why it took her so long to understand the symbolism of bigotry inherent in the Confederate flag. She was also highly pro-active in selling South Carolina to global markets. In her first visit to India and ancestral homeland of Punjab, not only did she paid obeisance at the Darbar Sahib, Amritsar, but also discussed possibilities of mutual trade and investment opportunities. She was chosen last January to provide the Republican response to Barack Obama’s last State of the Union address and soon began to be touted as a potential Presidential candidate. Maybe her appointment as US Ambassador to UN will make that a reality in future – maybe in 2020 or 2024.

    The Haley family: Nikki, Naline, Michael, Rena
    The Haley family: Nikki, Naline, Michael, Rena

    However, nobody should be in doubt about the tremendous challenges she is likely to face. Trump was her third choice as the President nominee for the GoP. In fact, she strongly distanced herself from Trump and his politics of bigotry and division, although previously she had aligned herself with the Tea Party which was equally bigoted. Added to this, she has no foreign policy or diplomatic experience. As the argument goes, it is one thing to be marketing your state but entirely another to be an ambassador to the world given its multitude of complexities. It will indeed be a challenge for her, on the one hand, to deal with demands of President Trump and whoever is nominated as Secretary of State, as there is a high probability that neither will have foreign policy experience.

    In the UN, one thing is for certain. Sikh advocacy groups, especially those who have developed a populist anti-India and anti-Punjab narrative and harbor separatist sentiments from the comfort of their US homes, will be tempted to appropriate her or mock her if she shows indifference. It will be interesting to see if she allows herself to be distracted by the tension between her emotional link to her parental religion or ethnicity and her upbringing as an American first. These are interesting times and let us hope that, not only Nikki Haley lives up to the meaning of her Sikh name and the important Sikh value of humility but also that sections of the US Sikh community also show the same behavior towards her and give her a fair chance to build a record of success. This will be the least of her concerns as she prepares for the challenges ahead.

    (The author is a Visiting Professor in Global Studies at UC Santa Barbara. He can be reached at thandi@global.ucsb.edu)

  • WHEN SONAKSHI HAD A ‘FAN MOMENT’ WITH DEEPA MALIK

    WHEN SONAKSHI HAD A ‘FAN MOMENT’ WITH DEEPA MALIK

    Sonakshi Sinha says she had a ‘fan moment’ after meeting Rio Paralympics silver medallist Deepa Malik.

    Malik won the Positive Health Heroes and was given the award by Sonakshi. Malik tweeted: “Sonakshi Sinha it sure was a fan moment. Great receiving the award from the Bindaas girl. Blessings and success is wished today and always.”

    The ‘Dabangg’ actress thanked the athlete for radiating positivity.

    “Ma’am it was a fan moment for me!!! thank you for being you and radiating so much positivity!Truly an inspiration…Deepa Athlete,” Sonakshi tweeted.

    On the acting front, Sonakshi was recently seen onscreen in Abhinay Deo’s actioner ‘Force 2’, which also featured actors John Abraham and Tahir Raj Bhasin.

    The actress will next be seen in ‘Noor’, where she will be seen essaying the role of a journalist. The film is based on Pakistani author Saba Imtiaz’s novel “Karachi, You’re Killing Me”.

    The book is a bittersweet tale of a single young woman, Noor, who is attached to her profession as a journalist-writer. Directed by debutant Sunhil Sippy, the movie revolves around Noor’s misadventures and love life as she navigates her way through Mumbai.

    -IANS

  • EMMA STONE TO HOST ‘SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE’ WITH SHAWN MENDES

    EMMA STONE TO HOST ‘SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE’ WITH SHAWN MENDES

    Emma Stone and singer Shawn Mendes will host next month’s first episode of ‘Saturday Night Live’ on December 3.

    For Stone, this will mark the third time she has hosted the venerable sketch comedy series since her first hosting appearance in 2010. However, this will be the first time for the 18-year-old ‘Stitches’ singer. Over the span of more than three decades,

    ‘Saturday Night Live’ has included heavy hitters like Will Ferrell, Jimmy Fallon, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler and Kristen Wiig to name a few. There is a lot of buzz surrounding Cary Fukunaga’s next with actors Jonah Hill and Emma Stone, and the director reveals the trio came on board for the show over drinks.

    “Maniac” is an upcoming American dark-comedy television series by Cary with the main roles played by Jonah and Emma.

    The 39-year-old Emmy-award winner approached Emma with the idea of doing a show, while they were drinking.

    “I just really wanted to work with Emma and Jonah so we just thought may be we should do a show. It all started one night, I was having a drink with Emma and I said I really want to do a show with you.

  • Japan plans world’s fastest computer:Capable of 130 quadrillion calculations/sec

    Japan plans world’s fastest computer:Capable of 130 quadrillion calculations/sec

    TOKYO (TIP): Japan plans to build the world’s fastest-known supercomputer in a bid to arm the country’s manufacturers with a platform for research that could help them develop and improve driverless cars, robotics and medical diagnostics.

    The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry will spend 19.5 billion yen ($173 million) on the previously unreported project, a budget breakdown shows, as part of a government policy to get back Japan’s mojo in the world of technology. The country has lost its edge in many electronic fields amid intensifying competition from South Korea and China, home to the world’s current best-performing machine.

    In a move that is expected to vault Japan to the top of the supercomputing heap, its engineers will be tasked with building a machine that can make 130 quadrillion calculations per second – or 130 petaflops in scientific parlance – as early as next year, sources involved in the project told Reuters.

    At that speed, Japan’s computer would be ahead of China’s Sunway Taihulight that is capable of 93 petaflops.

    “As far as we know, there is nothing out there that is as fast,” said Satoshi Sekiguchi, a director general at Japan’s

    National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, where the computer will be built.

    The push to return to the vanguard comes at a time of growing nostalgia for the heyday of Japan’s technological prowess, which has dwindled since China overtook it as the world’s second-biggest economy.

    Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has called for companies, bureaucrats and the political class to work more closely together so Japan can win in robotics, batteries, renewable energy and other new and growing markets.

    DEEP LEARNING

    In the area of supercomputing, Japan’s aim is to use ultra-fast calculations to accelerate advances in artificial intelligence (AI), such as “deep learning” technology that works off algorithms which mimic the human brain’s neural pathways, to help computers perform new tasks and analyze scores of data.

    Recent achievements in this area have come from Google’s DeepMind AI program, AlphaGo, which in March beat South Korean professional Lee Seedol in the ancient board game of Go.

    Applications include helping companies improve driverless vehicles by allowing them to analyze huge troves of visual traffic data, or it could help factories improve automation.

    China uses the Sunway Taihulight for weather forecasting, pharmaceutical research, industrial design, among other things.

    Japan’s new supercomputer could help tap medical records to develop new services and applications, Sekiguchi said. The supercomputer will be made available for a fee to Japan’s corporations, who now outsource data crunching to foreign firms such as Google and Microsoft, Sekiguchi and others involved in the project said.

    The new computer has been dubbed ABCI, an acronym for AI Bridging Cloud Infrastructure. Bidding for the project has begun and will close on Dec. 8.

    Fujitsu Ltd, the builder of the fastest Japanese supercomputer to date – the Oakforest-PACS, capable of 13.6 petaflops, declined to say if it would bid for the project.

    The company has, however, said it is keen to be involved in supercomputer development. Source: Reuters

  • NASA’S CASSINI SET TO FLY CLOSEST EVER TO SATURN’S RINGS

    NASA’S CASSINI SET TO FLY CLOSEST EVER TO SATURN’S RINGS

    WASHINGTON (TIP): NASA’s Cassini spacecraft is set to begin a thrilling ride around Saturn, grazing past its outer rings to provide the closest-ever insight into the planet’s features.

    Between November 30 and April 22, the Cassini spacecraft will circle high over and under the poles of Saturn, diving every seven days – a total of 20 times -through the unexplored region at the outer edge of the main rings.

    Engineers at NASA have been pumping up the spacecraft’s orbit around Saturn this year to increase its tilt with respect to the planet’s equator and rings.

    On November 30, following a gravitational nudge from Saturn’s moon Titan, Cassini will enter the first phase of the mission’s dramatic endgame.

    Launched in 1997, Cassini has been touring the Saturn system since arriving there in 2004 for an up-close study of the planet, its rings and moons.

    During its journey, Cassini has made numerous dramatic discoveries, including a global ocean within Enceladus and liquid methane seas on Titan.

    “We’re calling this phase of the mission Cassini’s Ring-Grazing Orbits, because we’ll be skimming past the outer edge of the rings,” said Linda Spilker, Cassini project scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in the US.

    “In addition, we have two instruments that can sample particles and gases as we cross the ringplane, so in a sense Cassini is also ‘grazing’ on the rings,” said Spilker.

    On many of these passes, Cassini’s instruments will attempt to directly sample ring particles and molecules of faint gases that are found close to the rings.

    During the first two orbits, the spacecraft will pass directly through an extremely faint ring produced by tiny meteors striking the two small moons Janus and Epimetheus.Ring crossings in March and April will send the spacecraft through the dusty outer reaches of the F ring. “Even though we’re flying closer to the F ring than we ever have, we’ll still be more than 7,800 kilometres distant. There’s very little concern over dust hazard at that range,” said Earl Maize, Cassini project manager at JPL. The F ring marks the outer boundary of the main ring system; Saturn has several other, much fainter rings that lie farther from the planet.

    The F ring is complex and constantly changing. Earlier Cassini images have shown structures like bright streamers, wispy filaments and dark channels that appear and develop over mere hours.

    The ring is also quite narrow – only about 800 kilometres wide. At its core is a denser region about 50 kilometres wide.

    Cassini’s ring-grazing orbits offer unprecedented opportunities to observe the menagerie of small moons that orbit in or near the edges of the rings, including best-ever looks at the moons Pandora, Atlas, Pan and Daphnis.

    Grazing the edges of the rings also will provide some of the closest-ever studies of the outer portions of Saturn’s main rings (the A, B and F rings).

     

     

  • Best weather satellite ever built rockets into space

    Best weather satellite ever built rockets into space

    CAPE CANAVERAL, FLORIDA (TIP): The most advanced weather satellite ever built rocketed into space on Saturday night, part of an $11 billion effort to revolutionize forecasting and save lives.

    This new GOES-R spacecraft will track US weather as never before: hurricanes, tornadoes, flooding, volcanic ash clouds, wildfires, lightning storms, even solar flares. Indeed, about 50 TV meteorologists from around the country converged on the launch site including NBC’s Al Roker along with 8,000 space program workers and guests. “What’s so exciting is that we’re going to be getting more data, more often, much more detailed, higher resolution,” Roker said. In the case of tornadoes, “if we can give people another 10, 15, 20 minutes, we’re talking about lives being saved.” Think superhero speed and accuracy for forecasting. Super high-definition TV, versus black-and-white. “Really a quantum leap above any satellite NOAA has ever flown,” said Stephen Volz, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s director of satellites.

    “For the American public, that will mean faster, more accurate weather forecasts and warnings,” Volz said earlier in the week. “That also will mean more lives saved and better environmental intelligence” for government officials responsible for hurricane and other evacuations.

  • Is live video the next big thing?

    Is live video the next big thing?

    If you spend hours navigating various social media platforms —and that’s all of us, really — you may have noticed something oddly familiar. All of them — Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, and Instagram — have been quietly rolling out features that push you to go live and share your experience with the world.

    The latest is Instagram’s update to its stories feature, which lets you go live from any location, and as soon as you are done, the video disappears. “When you’re done, your live story disappears from the app, so you can feel more comfortable sharing anything, anytime,” the photo sharing app said in its blog, earlier this week. The feature is yet to be rolled out to all regions.

    But the question begging to be asked is: why has video suddenly taken over words, even as little as 140 characters?

    The answer lies in numbers. According to Facebook, users are already watching 100 million hours of video per day on the social media platform. And that’s just Facebook. As of March 2016, over 200 million broadcasts have been created on Twitter’s Periscope. According to a 2015 report by Cisco, video content will account for 80 per cent of global internet traffic by 2019.

    Don’t be surprised if, someday, all you see are videos on your social media feeds, instead of personal status updates.

    The lure of live

    For decades, television has taken us closer to live action: be it sporting events, the Gulf War, or the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai. Now, with the way social media is influencing our consumption, the live action is slowly shifting online. Take, for instance, Cheddar, an online news start-up that’s betting big on Facebook’s live feature. Every day, its anchors go live from the New York Stock Exchange floor, with the latest news on business, technology, and start-ups. Think of it as an informal CNBC for millennials.

    Globally, Buzzfeed is a leader in video content creation. In April this year, the web publishing giant made a video of two employees trying to make a watermelon explode with rubber bands. And at one point, more than 8,00,000 people were watching it live on their phones and desktops. Another video that went viral was of a police officer talking a man down from an attempted suicide, somewhere in the US. Posted by NowThis, a video network for the mobile generation, it got 46 million views.

    Source: HT

  • Tata Steel sacks Cyrus Mistry, names OP Bhatt as chairman

    Tata Steel sacks Cyrus Mistry, names OP Bhatt as chairman

    MUMBAI (TIP): The Tata Steel board on Nov 25 replaced Cyrus Mistry with OP Bhatt, an independent director, as the company’s chairman with a majority of the members voting in favour of the resolution. The 110-year-old metal giant’s decision is a fallout of the parent Tata Sons ousting Mistry as its chairman last month.

    However, Mistry remains a director of Tata Steel. The company said Bhatt, who has been on its board for the last three years, will be the chairman till the outcome of the extraordinary general meeting (EGM) called on December 21 to remove Mistry as director.

    The Mistry camp slammed the latest move as yet “another example of the unprecedented erosion in core Tata values”, which has seriously dented the most respected Indian corporate brand.

    Six directors supported the resolution seeking Mistry’s removal as chairman, while three opposed it. Mallika Srinivasan, Ishaat Hussain, Adrew Robb, Jacob Schraven, D K Mehrotra and Bhatt backed Mistry’s removal. Nusli Wadia, chairman of Britannia and Bombay Dyeing, Subodh Bhargava, chairman emeritus of Eicher Group, and Mistry himself opposed the resolution.

    Srinivasan is chairman of Tractor and Farm Equipment, while Hussain, who is on the board of Tata Sons, recently replaced Mistry as chairman at TCS. Robb is chairman of Tata Steel Europe, Schraven is ex-deputy chairman of Corus and Mehrotra is the former chief of Life Insurance Corporation. Of the six independent directors, four — Srinivasan, Bhatt, Robb and Schraven — backed Mistry’s removal.

    This was the second board meeting of Tata Steel after Mistry was removed as chairman of Tata Sons last month

    Tata Steel is the third listed group company that has replaced Mistry as chairman, after Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Tata Global Beverages. At TCS and Tata Global, group veterans Hussain and Harish Bhat were installed as chairman.

    Tata Steel said that the board took note of the leadership changes at Tata Sons and had received a special notice from the principal shareholder to convene an EGM to remove Mistry as its director. “In view of the current situation”, the board, through a

    “circular resolution dated November 25” passed by majority consent, decided to replace Mistry as chairman “with immediate effect”, Tata Steel said in a regulatory filing.

    Tata Steel said that the board appointed Bhatt as chairman keeping in mind principles of good corporate governance and to provide impartial leadership to the company in its preparation and conduct of the EGM.

    Mistry continues to be the chairman of four listed group companies — Tata Chemicals, Tata Motors, Indian Hotels and Tata Power. He is expected to chair the board meeting of Tata Power next week when the members gather to consider the company’s second quarterly earnings.

    Five Tata Group companies have fixed EGM dates to remove Mistry from their boards (see graph). Tata Global Beverages and Tata Power are yet to announce EGM dates.

    Three companies — Tata Steel, Tata Motors and Tata Chemicals — have also proposed the removal of Wadia, a long-time independent director, from their boards for not supporting Tata Sons in its move to oust Mistry from group companies.

  • Vijay Mallya files plea for recalling contempt order

    Vijay Mallya files plea for recalling contempt order

    BENGALURU (TIP): Beleaguered liquor baron Vijay Mallya has filed an application in the Karnataka high court for recalling its order summoning him for allegedly violating an undertaking given by him and his companies not to transfer their equity shares in United Breweries to Diageo Plc.

    When the matter came up for hearing today, the court adjourned it to December 2.

    On October 20, a division bench comprising justices Jayant Patel and Aravind Kumar, while passing orders on petitions by a consortium of banks led by State Bank of India, summoned Mallya to appear before it yesterday.

    “The application was filed three days back,” Nagananda, senior counsel for SBI-led bankers, told PTI.

    The banks have accused Mallya of violating the undertaking given by him and his companies, including Kingfisher Airlines, not to transfer their equity shares in United Breweries Holdings Limited (UBHL) after Debt Recovery Tribunal (DRT) had restrained Standard Chartered Bank, with which the shares had been pledged, from handing over the same to Diageo Plc.

    The DRT, in its order last year, had restrained Standard Chartered Bank from transferring to Diageo Plc or anyone else, the equity shares of United Breweries Holding Limited (UBHL) pledged by Mallya and his son Siddharth with the bank.

    In their pleas, the banks alleged that despite the earlier order by DRT, Standard Chartered Bank was in the process of transferring to Diageo Plc the equity shares

    Diageo Plc, the world’s largest spirits maker, which acquired control of United Spirits (USL) in 2012, had issued a guarantee to Standard Chartered Bank for a USD 135 million (around Rs 877 crore) loan to Watson Limited, a firm affiliated to Mallya, to release certain UBHL shares that were to be acquired as part of the deal.

    The banks had also said the very pledging of the shares by Mallya was illegal.

    Mallya, whose now-defunct group company Kingfisher Airlines owes over Rs 9,000 crore to 17 banks, had left the country on March 2 and is in the UK.

    He has been declared a proclaimed offender by a special PMLA court in Mumbai on a plea by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with its money laundering probe against him in the alleged bank loan default case.

     

     

  • Demonetisation hurts sales, auto industry cuts production

    Demonetisation hurts sales, auto industry cuts production

    NEW DELHI (TIP): A decline in sales is prompting automobile companies to slash production as demonetisation has adversely impacted buyer sentiment and hit footfalls at showrooms.

    Few companies were willing to talk on record over the matter, but officials said in private that “things are getting increasingly difficult” after the ban on Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes that came into effect from November 8.

    Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI), the second-biggest two-wheeler manufacturer after Hero MotoCorp, said production is being “rationalised” to control inventories. The “correction” is being made both in factory production and dealer inventories, said Y S Guleria, senior VP (sales & marketing). “We are not loading the dealer with excessive inventory,” Guleria said adding that the company is working towards having “no-production days” to strike a balance with the slowdown.

    Honda Cars India is also considering to align production to factor in slower offtake in the market, sources said. Jnaneswar Sen, senior VP for sales & marketing, has said bookings have come down by nearly 40% this month as the currency crunch is prompting people to withhold new purchases.

    Officials at top manufacturers such as Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai did not confirm a slowdown in output, though retailers for these brands have spoken about a “massive squeeze” in demand. Rakesh Srivastava, senior VP (sales & marketing) at Hyundai India has, however, said there are “serious short-term challenges” due to lower footfalls and conversions at showrooms. Pawan Munjal, chairman of Hero MotoCorp, had also complained of a “steep drop” in footfalls at showrooms in the first two days of demonetisation, though adding that things are gradually returning back to normal.

    Industry sources said companies and dealers are “not willing to take a chance” towards the end of the year and thus retail outlets are not being loaded with heavy inventories. “With the new year set to begin in about a month, dealers are not willing to be saddled with inventory of 2016. Companies are paying heed to their demand and adjusting output and stock levels.”

    Component suppliers have already been briefed about the situation and many of them have started adjusting production schedules. “The supply crunch is severe, and at least this quarter will be hit badly. Things should look up from the new year as the cash flow gets normal.”

    Some of the auto retailers and the allied industry are also facing problems in meeting working capital requirements. “The after-sales market for components is down by 60-70% in northern India. The situation is not healthy,” a top industry executive said.

  • CHINA CURRENCY DIPS TO LOWEST LEVEL VERSUS DOLLAR IN EIGHT YEARS

    CHINA CURRENCY DIPS TO LOWEST LEVEL VERSUS DOLLAR IN EIGHT YEARS

    BEIJING (TIP): China’s central bank set the value of the yuan at the currency’s lowest level against the US dollar in more than eight years on Friday.

    The “parity rate” for the yuan, also known as the “renminbi”, or people’s money, was set at 6.9168, its lowest level since June 2008. It was at 6.9184 by midday.

    The US dollar has surged against other currencies since Donald Trump won the November 8 presidential election. By midday, the dollar was trading at 113.67 yen, its highest level in eight months against the Japanese currency.

    Trump has threatened to seek to penalize China and Japan for manipulating their currencies to gain a foreign exchange advantage for their exporters.

    China’s Foreign Exchange Trading System allows the yuan to rise or fall a maximum of 2 per cent against its parity rate, which is based on a weighted average of prices offered by market makers before trading starts each day.

    Trump has adopted a more aggressive stance toward China on trade, threatening to use sanctions to win back a competitive trade advantage for the United States. Chinese officials have warned Beijing could challenge such moves at the World Trade Organization.

    In trade talks in Washington earlier this week, Zhang Xiangchen, China’s deputy trade representative, disputed the idea that China keeps its currency artificially low. Many economists also agree that China no longer manipulates its currency.