The Mumbai Grapevine
Connecting Mumbaikars with Mumbai
(Published by Mumbai-Central.com)
Please feel free to forward this message to your friends and co-workers
who might be interested in it. The instructions to join the Mumbai
Grapevine are at the end of the message.
Capitalism and communism have lost relevance: Advani
Pune, Apr 22 (PTI) The two major ideologies of capitalism and communism, which were contending for supremacy in the 20th century and were founded on an understanding of human society divided into classes, have lost their relevance in an era of globalisation, senior BJP leader L K Advani said today.
"The Marxist notion of class struggle is now consigned to the dustbin of the past. Similarly, the capitalist approach of exploitation of one section of society by another, and of one country by another, has also been shown to be inimical to human nature," the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha said.
He was speaking at the convocation of the Symbiosis Centre of Management and Human Resources Development here.
The reason behind India's growth is spiritualism and the traditions of 'bhakti' and `shakti'. "Today, we live in the era of globalisation when the world has already become integral and increasingly interdependent," he said.
"However, the era of economic domination of Western countries is well and truly over. When experts study the future of the global economy, they no longer give priority to the US or Europe. They give priority to China and India," the former deputy prime minister said.
The four BRIC countries -- Brazil, Russia, India and China -- and especially the last two are expected to be the main drivers of the global economy in coming decades, he said.
An important outcome of the change in India in the last decade or so is that young and talented people have started to see their motherland as a land of opportunities. In fact, many Indian companies in Pune, Bangalore, Noida and other places have started to recruit people from the US and Europe, Advani pointed out. PTI
BJP-led alliance to form govt in UP: Naqvi
Lucknow, Apr 22 (PTI) Claiming that a BJP-led alliance was going to form a government in Uttar Pradesh, the party today said it would make its election campaign "more aggressive" in the remaining phases of the assembly polls.
"As per our reports of first four phases, BJP alliance is going to form the next government in the state. Now, we are going to make our election campaigning more aggressive," BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi told reporters here.
Asked what it meant by "aggressiveness", Naqvi said a meeting with alliance partners JD(U) and Apna Dal was held yesterday in which it was decided to put on "all our energy in the phases left".
Describing the UPA coalition as "ulta pulta alliance", he claimed only the BJP is a party of workers, "not of one person or a single family like the BSP, SP or Congress".
Naqvi said BJP chief Rajnath Singh, L K Advani, Kalyan Singh and other leaders had addressed over 100 election meetings so far which had a great impact on the people.
He said BJP had 1,238 MLAs in the entire country at present, which would increase drastically in future, and it ruled in 10 states whereas Congress had only 1,170 MLAs though that party was also in power in 10 states.
Asked about BJP MP Babubhai Katara's alleged involvement in human trafficking, Naqvi said investigations were going on and strict action would be taken against all those who were found responsible. PTI
BrahMos cruise missile successfully tested
Balasore, Apr 22 (PTI) The BrahMos supersonic cruise missile, jointly developed by India and Russia, was successfully tested from the Interim Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur near here today.
Fired from a mobile launcher at the ITR, 15 km from here, at 11.21 am, the sleek missile met all mission parameters, defence sources said.
This was the 14th launch of the missile, which has a range of 290 km. It has also been tested from a naval destroyer in the past.
Taking off vertically from launch pad three of the ITR, BrahMos followed its predetermined course, leaving a trail of thick white smoke, the sources said.
After the sophisticated missile blasted off from the launcher, its trajectory was tracked by ground instruments and radars for detailed analysis, they said.
BrahMos was developed under an Indo-Russian joint venture programme following an agreement signed by the two countries on February 12, 1998. PTI
Bachchan apologises for scuffle between media, security
Mumbai, Apr 22 (PTI) Superstar Amitabh Bachchan today apologised for a scuffle between media and security guards outside his residence here that left three photo-journalists injured, saying his friend Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh's bodyguards were involved in the incident.
"I would like to apologise with folded hands for the incident that occurred yesterday. It is an occasion of happiness for us and we don't want anyone to face problems due to this," he said, referring to strict security arrangements in place at his bungalow Prateeksha for the marriage of his son Abhishek and Aishwarya Rai.
"The security personnel involved in the incident were not our guards but the Black Cat commandos of Amar Singh. He and his security personnel have gone but I would like to apologise," he said shortly after returning here from a visit to the Lord Venkateshwara temple in Tirumala with the newly- weds.
The photo-journalists were injured when members of the media scuffled with security guards outside Prateeksha in suburban Juhu while Abhishek and Aishwarya were heading for the bungalow after the 'bidaai' ceremony in Bandra. Journalists later staged a protest against the incident last night.
Bachchan said the newly-wed couple was in a hurry to return home as Aishwarya had to enter the bungalow before sunset and a doctor was waiting to attend to Amar Singh. He said the Bachchan family was not maintaining a distance from the media but had only wanted to ensure that Abhishek's wedding was a "personal affair". PTI
Injury scare for Smith ahead of semis
Beausejour (St Lucia), Apr 22 (PTI) South African captain Graeme Smith is trying to shake off a minor knee injury to lead his team against Australian challenge in the cricket World Cup semi-final here on Wednesday.
Smith injured his knee during fielding in his team's last Super Eights encounter against England and practised only for some time a while in the training session yesterday.
"He has a niggle and thus didn't train as intensively," a team spokesperson was quoted as saying by Cricinfo.
The South African skipper has been advised by team physio Shane Jabbar to rest.
Smith has scored 441 runs in the World Cup so far at a strike rate of over a run a ball. PTI
Final act from Lara the entertainer
Bridgetown (Barbados), Apr 22 (PTI) Brian Charles Lara, the Prince of Trinidad, bid adieu to cricket with a heavy heart with his long-cherished dream of restoring West Indies to their glory days remaining unrealised.
He had to satisfy himself with the endorsement of cricket fans who billed him as one of the greatest entertainers in the game.
"Did I entertain you? If I did then I'm very happy," drenched in emotion, Lara asked the packed Kensington Oval after the curtain came down on his 17-year career with a one-run defeat to England in the final World Cup Super Eights match.
And the response he got was truly befitting a popular ruler -- a thunderous applause and standing ovation.
"The fans gave an emotional farewell to me, it brought tears to my eyes. I'm always going to cherish memories like this, the affection I got from cricket fans whom I sought to entertain," he said yesterday.
"Today I have friends here right from my school days and throughout my life. Thanks to everyone, I have enjoyed every minute of it," Lara said.
But the master batsman lamented that his longstanding dream of taking Caribbean cricket back to the top had remained unfulfilled. PTI
Clive Lloyd resigns as Match Referee
Kingston (Jamaica), April 22 (PTI) West Indies cricket legend Clive Lloyd has stepped down as ICC Match Referee after officiating in 53 Tests and 133 ODIs in that role.
At a special ceremony during the lunch interval of the West Indies versus England Super Eight game at Kensington Oval on Saturday, Lloyd received a presentation from ICC Chief Executive Malcolm Speed in recognition of the his contribution to the game.
"We all come to the end eventually and this is my time but it was a pleasure to have been involved with them (the ICC), Lloyd said at the function.
"The transition from player to referee was not that difficult for me because if you believe in discipline it's obvious that you would fit quite easily into the role. I have always felt strongly about discipline in the game." As a player Lloyd was the first West Indian to reach the 100-Test milestone and as a hard-hitting batsman he scored 7,515 Test runs at an average of 46.67 with a top score of 247 not out. PTI
The next great success will come from Asia: Bill Gates
Beijing, Apr 22 (PTI) The next great success will come from Asia, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates has said, expressing confidence in the rise of the continent in software sector.
Sixty per cent of the people in the United States said the next success would come from Asia, Gates said, citing a survey done in America on "where will the next big success and where the next Bill Gates come from".
That's true as it's well recognised that the investment and changes here are leading to very innovative work, Gates said at the annual session of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) in the southern China town of Boao.
According to him, Microsoft established its first research centre in Asia about 10 years ago and is currently spending 60 per cent of its research and development budget in Asia. The quality of job by Microsoft's development centres in Asia is among the best in the world.
He said the opportunity that a person has used to be largely determined by the country they were living in, but now the opportunity is much more determined by the level of education they receive.
"And so not only is Asia benefiting from the uses of new technology, Asia will increasingly be the source of advances in technology," said Gates.
Microsoft will build research and development parks in Beijing and Shanghai to further expand its business in China, he said adding the parks will be built to meet the growing research and development demand in China and help ameliorate Microsoft's relationship with its clients and partners. The chairman did not offer details of the new move. PTI
SAIL, RINL to grow within India; line up Rs 50,000 cr inv
New Delhi, Apr 22 (PTI) At a time when private steel producers are acquiring companies overseas, two government owned public sector units SAIL and RINL have lined up whopping investments of over Rs 50,000 crore to expand within the country to cater domestic demand.
"By 2010 these two companies will be investing over Rs 50,000 crore. The focus of these two PSUs is to grow within the country to meet the demand here," Steel Secretary R S Pandey told PTI in an interview.
Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) is producing about 13 million tones today and by 2010 it should be producing 23 million tones for which the process has already begun, Pandey said adding Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL) would almost double its capacity from four million tones currently in the same period.
"Others are going abroad to expand while SAIL and RINL will take care of the domestic market, he said.
Last week only Ruias Essar Global agreed to buy two companies abroad for an over Rs 7,300 crore. Prior to that Tatas had bought over Anglo-Dutch steel company Corus for over 12 billion dollars.
Pandey had earlier said that India would emerge as second largest steel producer in the world by 2015-16 estimating the production capacity of 120 million tones by then and 180 million tones by 2019-20.
Asked whether government had done a study on the demand-supply scenario to avoid a glut situation in the medium to long term, Pandey said " in India the consumption level is still very low at about 38 Kgs. There is lot of scope for further increase in the demand." PTI
Neste Oil eyes Indian Jatropha plant for high quality fuel
Lalitha Vaidyanathan
Helsinki (Finland), Apr 22 (PTI) A leading Finnish refining and marketing firm Neste Oil says India is an attractive future market opportunity for its second generation renewable diesel as the company is focusing on high-quality fuel for cleaner traffic.
"Currently Nestle Oil has no ongoing projects in India. However, with its vast population and pro-active bio-fuel targets, India is an attractive future market opportunity for Neste Oil's NexBTL Renewable Diesel," President and CEO, Risto Rinne, Neste Oil Corporation, told the visiting Indian journalists.
"Also, we in Neste continuously look for ways to expand our raw material base for NExBTL production, and in this search the non-edible Jatropha is very interesting," he said.
Speaking on 'Leading the Way to Cleaner Traffic,' Osmo Kammonen, the company's Senior Vice President, Communication, said, Neste oil will increase its R and D to different feedstock and has developed technologies for conversion of any bio-feed stock into bio-diesel.
"We are very much thinking of commercialisation of inedible oil plants such as Jatropha, possible use of algae, microbes, and bacteria as feedstock for bio-diesel production," Kammonen said.
"We are in the process of developing new generation gasification technology which would broaden the feedstock base further," he said, adding that the main challenge is the purification process and leveraging on refining excellence.
Neste oil expects its first NExBTL plant to be in production by June. The USD 130 million plant will produce 170,000 tonnes per year of bio-diesel. PTI
India outsmarts US with higher investor returns from IPOs
New Delhi, Apr 22 (PTI) Concerns may have been raised about newly listed companies trading below their issue price, but domestic firms have outperformed their US counterparts in terms of investor returns in the stock markets.
Initial public offers on the domestic bourses have given an average return of about 13 per cent over their issue price so far this year. This is against a lower eight per cent return in the much-mature market of the US, according to an analysis of IPOs in the two countries by
Pak Army sets up three new zonal commands
Islamabad, Apr 22 (PTI) Following the Indian model, Pakistan Army as part of its restructuring has established three new zonal commands to improve the operational efficiency and working of the land forces.
The Northern, Southern and Central Zone Commands are being created that will be responsible for the administrative arrangements of the corps falling under the respective commands, 'The News' daily reported.
The Northern and South Commands establishment has been finalised, while the Central Command will be raised subsequently.
The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) already has three commands.
The Army's Southern Command will be having its headquarters in Quetta, while the Northern Command's headquarters is yet to be determined. It may have the HQ in either Gujranwala or Mangla, the sources hinted.
The restructuring of the forces is coming in the wake of lengthy brainstorming on the subject and the decision has been taken in the view to bring them in accordance with the most modern lines of the management, the newspaper reported.
The idea has been conceived after thorough study of the military systems of various countries having large contingents.
The United States, the United Kingdom and India are following the regional command system and it is working effectively in all these countries.
A three-star General will head the regional command and the commanders for the two already established commands would be announced in few weeks, it said. PTI
Bangla court issues arrest warrant against Hasina
Dhaka, Apr 22 (PTI) A Bangladesh court today issued arrest warrants against former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and two of her party leaders in connection with the killing of five activists of a rival group, a day after she vowed to return home defying a ban.
The Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Court issued the warrants against Awami League chief Hasina, who is currently in London, as well as Mohd Nasim, a former minister in her Cabinet, and Abdul Malik, a low-profile leader of the party.
The warrants were issued in line with a case filed by fundamentalist Jamat-i-Islami party in which it charged Hasina and her party leaders with the murder of their five activists during a political clash on October 28 last year, the day when former Premier Khaleda Zia's BNP-led four-party alliance government relinquished power. (More)
___________________________________________________________
This is the Mumbai Grapevine
___________________________________________________________
______Market_______
To get regularly updated NIFTY (NSE) quotes by email, join the NSEData
mailing list by sending an email to NSEData-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
To get regularly updated BSE quotes by email, join the BSEData mailing
list by sending an email to BSEData-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Sensex: 13897.41, +277.71
The sensex closed at 13897.41, up 277.71
___________________________________________________________
This is the Mumbai Grapevine
___________________________________________________________
______Forex_______
1 U.S. $ = INR
1 Japanese Yen = INR
1 British Pound = INR
1 Canadian $ = INR
1 Singapore $ = INR
1 UAE Dirham = INR
1 Saudi Arabian Riyal = INR
1 Euro = INR
1 Qatar Rial = INR
___________________________________________________________
This is the Mumbai Grapevine
___________________________________________________________