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Pak to increase defence expenditure by 9 pc: Economic Survey
K J M Varma
Islamabad, June 9 (PTI) Pakistan is set to increase its defence expenditure by nine per cent in its annual budget this year, marking an allocation of Rs 275 billion for the sector.
The annual pre-budget economic survey has stated that the defence spending during the current financial year has reached Rs 172.8 billion out of the Rs 250.2 billion allotted last year.
According to the officials, a nine per cent increase was proposed for the financial year beginning from July 1, pegging the defence expenditure around Rs 275 billion.
Pakistan's defence expenditure shown in the budget records is exclusive of defence pensions which are shown along with the records of pensions for the civil servants.
The survey said that about Rs 172.8 billion amounting to 60 per cent of last year's defence allocation has been spent.
Pakistan defence forces are currently on a modernisation drive with approved plans to acquire some of the most modern weapons systems which include about 70 F-16s, three Swiss- made Erie Eye AWACS radars mounted on SAAB plans as well as ambitious plans for Navy with several ships from Greece and China.
The economic survey has projected mixed trends in Pakistan economy.
A record wheat output of 23.5 million tonnes and a robust agriculture sector enabled the economy to post a growth rate of seven per cent during 2006-07.
Shortfalls in manufacturing and cotton output targets, however, took some of the gloss off an otherwise encouraging performance, it said. PTI
Stranded passengers start arriving from Oman
Kochi,Jun9 (PTI): A total of 156 passengers, including two children, from cyclone-ravaged Oman reached Kerala today by an Oman Airways flight, which landed at Nedumbassery airport near here.
The flight reached the airport at 8.15 am.
Relieved passengers said they were happy to be back in their home state.Some passengers said they were stranded in the airport and some in their buildings.
Mohan Kalarickal, an employee of an Insurance company, said many Keralites were stranded in Ghubru and Wadia. Most had lost their passports and travel documents as buidings had crashed.
The relatives of the passengers had gathered in good numbers at the airport to receive them.
Indian would be operating a flight at 7.30 pm today to bring back passengers from Muscat. More flights would be operated to Oman in the coming days to bring back stranded passengers, airlines sources said.
Gulf Air would also be operating a flight to Muscat from Kochi this evening. PTI
Number of HIV infected Indians is lower than official estimate
New Delhi, Jun 9 (PTI) The number of Indians infected with the HIV in the country is substantially lower than the current official estimate of 5.2 million, according to National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) and UNAIDS.
NACO attributed the dip in the prevalence level among women sex workers and in antenatal clinics, especially in southern states, that have brought the figure down.
"The survey is still on, but early trends have shown that the figure is much lower," a senior NACO official said today.
Though, he refused to reveal the figures, he said they have come to conclusion because the prevalence level among women sex workers has gone down.
Analysis of existing sentinel data has shown that prevalence in antenatal clinics has shown a decline in some southern states -- Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh -- which are the high-risk states.
The same trend was also seen in Maharashtra.
"This time, we are more sure of our figures because the sentinel sites have increased from 728 to 1162," he said.
Denis Broun, country coordinator of UNAIDS, agreed that the previous figure of 5.7 million could be an "exaggeration".
UNAIDS had maintained that there was 5.7 million people living with HIV in India, while the government had insisted on the figure of 5.2 million.
"I could now say that the earlier numbers were exaggerated as compared to the current trends, which is showing a substantially low figure," Broun told PTI. PTI
Outsourcing may again become an issue in US polls: Mittal
New Delhi, Jun 9 (PTI) Outsourcing of jobs to India is likely to become an issue in the coming US presidential elections despite efforts by the Indian industry to show that a reverse wind has started blowing, CII president Sunil Bharti Mittal said today.
"Outsourcing may become an election issue although we have impressed upon US political leaders like Hillary Clinton not to make it an India debate," Mittal, who led a CII delegation to US, told reporters on his return.
Outsourcing by US companies to low-cost destinations was an issue in the last presidential elections also, with those opposing the trend saying it takes away jobs from Americans.
In a meeting with Senator and Democrat presidential candidate Clinton, the CII delegation tried to drive home the point how American companies were benefitting from outsourcing critical services to Indians who, in turn, are giving them a global competitive edge.
They also informed the American leaders about the trend of reverse outsourcing, where globalising Indian firms were giving service contracts to US companies.
"We brought to her notice a billion dollar service contract to IBM by our own group Bharti... In fact Clinton has asked me to give her details of this contract because IBM is located in her constituency," Mittal, chairman of Bharti Enterprises, said.
Other issues which the CII team discussed with American leaders included the India-US civil nuclear deal, India's demand for raising the H-1B visa cap and the progress on the Doha round of global trade talks. PTI
Indian community joins relief work in Oman
Dubai, June 9 (PTI) In the aftermath of the devastation caused by the Cyclone Gonu in Oman, Indian community has decided to join the massive relief efforts launched by the Omani Government, especially in Muscat Municipality.
However, realizing that the Indian community effort required coordination, the Indian Embassy in Muscat has requested two construction firms - Galfar & Teejan and the Hindu Mahajan Association to establish logistic hubs at several locations.
"The local Indian business houses and communities have been requested to channelize their resources to these hubs. Local Indian volunteers and Indian Embassy officials have fanned out to various regions of Muscat Municipality to determine areas of need and coordinate efforts with these hubs for distribution of supplies," said J K Tripathi, Charge de Affaires, at the Indian embassy in Oman.
The engineering firms and local volunteers have also been roped in to clear the debris and sand in the area.
Giving details of the relief efforts, Tripathy said the Indian Embassy has sent two teams to Qurriat and Sur to assess the situation and coordinate for relief distribution.
The Control Room established by the Indian Embassy has been involved in receiving telephone calls from India and elsewhere. It has also established communication with families who have been rendered incommunicado due to destruction of telephone lines, he said.
The Embassy has informed that those Indians whose passports have been damaged or destroyed in the cyclone would be issued new passports. PTI
UN to hold high level meeting on climate change in Sept
United Nations, June 9 (PTI) The United Nations will hold a special high level meeting on climate change at New York on September 24, just ahead of opening of this year's annual debate of world leaders in the General Assembly on international issues.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced this while talking to reporters at G8 summit held in Heiligendamm, Germany.
Welcoming the agreement by the world's richest nations to address the threat of climate change as an "important first step," Ban described it as "the defining issue of our era" and said this was the reason that he had come to the summit.
The agreement by G8 leaders on "strong and early action" to combat climate change, and to pursue related negotiations under UN auspices, is "only a first step" a beginning, not an end," the Secretary-General stated.
Political will at the highest level is "desperately" needed now to make significant emissions reductions and to help countries adapt to climate change, Ban said. "On both, we will need leadership by the G8 countries." Yvo de Boer, Executive Secretary of the UN Climate Change Convention, welcomed the intention of leaders to conclude by 2009 negotiations on a replacement for the Convention's Kyoto Protocol, which contains legally binding targets for reducing emissions through 2012.
"The green light has been given for negotiations to begin on a comprehensive, flexible and fair agreement at the United Nations Climate Change Conference to be held in Bali in December this year," he stated.
"A negotiating agenda must now be mapped out, which needs to address how future climate change policies can green economic growth and assist societies, especially the most vulnerable societies, to adapt to climate change," de Boer added. PTI
Indians working in Gulf facing financial crunch
Dubai, June 9 (PTI) For the five million Indians residing in the Gulf countries, many of them in blue-collar jobs, life is not that easy, thanks to higher cost of living.
According to a survey conducted by a Dubai-based non-governmental organisation, 95 per cent of Indians in the Gulf return empty-handed to their home country even after working for a decade.
"Though only 10 per cent of Indian workers in the GCC nations live with families, a majority of them fail to save sufficient money due to low wages and high expenditure on medical treatment," K V Shamsuddin, chairman Pravasi Bandhu Welfare Trust told PTI here.
"We had conducted a survey among 10,100 middle and low income expatriate Indians in GCC and found that only five per cent had some financial resources to sustain themselves on return.
"While 95 per cent felt the need for some regular source of income when they return back to India and look after their families, he said.
The NGO is working for the betterment of Indian workers living in the GCC countries.
"We have noticed the pathetic condition of expatriate Indians who returned back to India after decades of service abroad," Shamsuddin said.
The survey also found the number of suicides among Indian expatriates is on increase over the years.
In 2004, there were 70 cases, while in 2005, it was 84 and by 2006, the count has touched 100.
The major cause of the suicides, according to the survey, were financial crisis and related depression. PTI
G8 fails to take up membership issue
Heiligendamm (Germany), June 9 (PTI) The eight most developed nations have decided to work with five leading developing countries, including India, for a joint response to major challenges facing the world economy, but a move to grant them full membership to the elite club did not fructify.
In a joint declaration issued at the conclusion of their two-day annual summit in this Baltic Sea resort, the leaders of the G-8 nations said they decided to launch a new form of specific cooperation with India, Brazil, China, Mexico and South Africa to initiate dialogue on key world economic issues with the aim of reaching concrete results within two years.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who hosted the summit attended by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, said it was important that for the first time a process for permanent contacts between the leading industrialized nations and the "threshold nations" has been established in Heiligendamm.
The G-8 nations acknowledged that neither they themselves nor the major emerging nations alone will be able to cope with the major challenges that have arisen in the world economy.
"Therefore, they agreed on the need to develop common solutions by launching a new form of specific cooperation with the emerging nations," Merkel told a news conference after the summit.
The new initiative -- "Heiligendamm Process" -- was launched after the G-8 leaders' discussions with Singh and the leaders of China, Brazil, Mexico and South Africa at a working session. PTI
Atwal in danger of missing cut at St Jude Golf
Memphis, June 9 (PTI) With the fear of missing yet another cut looming large, Arjun Atwal was stranded with four more holes to go as early darkness truncated second round of the Stanford St. Jude Championship.
As many as 26 players were yet to finish their second round and the Indian were struggling at seven-over through 14 holes when darkness stopped play.
After his opening round of three-over 73, Atwal needed to raise his game in the second and hang out for weekend action. But a birdie eluded him throughout the 14 holes and all he had to show was the double bogey on the second and bogeys on 12th and 14th holes.
Australian Adam Scott topped the leaderboard at seven-under 133 as the cold and gusty wind relented and softened the tricky greens on the 7,239-yard TPC Southwind course.
Fellow Australian Andrew Buckle had a chance to overtake Scott with what could be the best round here so far. He started the day at even and was six-under with three holes left after seven birdies and a bogey.
Brian Gay, undeterred by a mid-round delay, holed out from 45 feet for birdie and a 66 that left him a stroke back at six-under.
Frederick Jacobson, who shared the first-round lead with Scott, was 3 under after a 70. Defending champion Jeff Maggert, however, missed the cut.
Among the Asian Tour players, Korea's Charlie Wi was in joint 58th spot after 71 while Jarrod Lyle of Australia shot his second straight round of 73 to be in the 83rd place.
Kevin Na carded a 72 for a 148 total in tied 108th position. PTI
Tennis: Amritraj beats Rastogi for successive title
Dehra Dun, June 9 (PTI) Prakash Amritraj reconfirmed his status as premier singles player in the country by clinching his second successive title at the USD 10,000 ITF Futures men's tennis tournament here today.
Amritraj defeated Karan Rastogi 6-1 6-2 in the final, maintaining his stranglehold over the top seed whom he had beaten in last week's summit clash in Chandigarh.
It was only the second career title at this level for Amritraj, the US-born son of former Davis Cup player Vijay.
The 23-year-old pocketed USD 1300 in winner's cheque while Rastogi earned USD 900.
The ITF caravan moves to Delhi next week. PTI
TFA in talks with Sao Paulo,UK clubs for exchange programme
Jamshedpur, June 9 (PTI) The Tata Football Academy, which has emerged as the main supply line for the national team of India, is in discussions with Brazilian club Sao Paulo and a couple of reputed outfits of United Kingdom for a player exchange programme to give foreign exposure to its cadets.
"We are talking to Sao Paulo and a couple of UK clubs like Southampton for a player exchange programme. We are yet to clinch the deal, but I am hopeful that things will take shape in the next three to four months, said A N Singh, Deputy Managing Director, Corporate Services of Tata Steel today.
The talks between the TFA and the Brazilian club kicked off during the visit of the Samba magicians for the Super Soccer series in February-March.
TFA chief Satish Pillai travelled to Southampton to initiate discussions with the reputed English club.
"We are still in the process of firming up the nature of the understanding. But if the foreign club agrees, we could send a couple of our boys for training. In the same way, if these clubs want, they can send some of their boys here for a stint," Singh told a group of visiting newspersons here.
The TFA was also open to a sports medicine tie-up, coach exchange programme and infrastructure assistance schemes with the foreign clubs.
The TFA, founded in 1987, provides four year training to select young talents from across the country in the age group of 14-18 years. PTI
General Motors India aims for 70 pc sales jump this year
New Delhi, June 9 (PTI) Buoyed by response to its hatchback Chevrolet 'Spark', General Motors India today said it was looking for about 70 per cent growth in sales this calendar year.
"Despite the industry slowing down, we have been able to achieve robust growth. This year we are looking at selling about 66,000 units as compared to 38,800 last year," GM India Director Marketing Anisha Motwani told reporters here at the launch of the company's first diesel offering in sedan Optra Magnum.
She said with Spark doing well, the company was aiming to sell 18,000 units of the car, while 24,000 unit sales were expected from multi-utility vehicle Tavera in 2007.
"About 8,000 units are expected from Optra range, 70 per cent of which will be from the diesel version, while 16,000 units are targeted from Aveo, Aveo-UVA and Chevrolet SRV combined," Motwani said, adding a new petrol version of the Optra sedan would be launched soon.
The Optra Magnum, powered by a two-litre turbocharged common rail direct injection engine has been introduced at a competitive price starting from Rs 8.74 lakh to Rs 9.99 lakh. It has been pitched against the likes of Skoda Octavia (Rs 11.34 lakh) Toyota Corolla (Rs 9.07 lakh).
In May, GM India saw a 95 per cent a jump in sales at 3,625 units as against 1,853 units in the same month last year.
GM India Vice-President Marketing (Sales and Aftersales) Ankush Arora said the company was also planning to launch SUV Captiva next year, while possibilities were being explored for introducing CNG range in mid-sized sedan Aveo. GM has already introduced CNG Optra in the market. PTI
Bharti to open retail stores early next year: Mittal
New Delhi, June 9 (PTI) Bharti Enterprises will kick off its retail venture early next year, opening half-a-dozen stores - branding of which is still being worked out with its back-end partner Wal-Mart.
"The process is going on as per the plan and we are looking at a cluster of stores by early 2008... You will see half-a-dozen coming up," Bharti Group Chairman and CEO Sunil Bharti Mittal, who was recently in the US, told reporters here.
Mittal had met Wal-Mart Vice Chairman Mike Duke in Washington during the visit as part of a CII delegation.
The two partners have started recruitments and were busy sorting out the legal issues.
"The legal issues like brand agreement, franchise arrangement may take some time... But we are going ahead as per the plan," said Mittal, who had last year announced an investment of 2.5 billion dollars in its retail venture. While Bharti would manage the front-end, Wal-Mart would provide back-end and logistics support.
FDI in multi-brand retail is a strict no no in India, which, however, allows 51 per cent foreign direct investment in single brand retail and 100 per cent in cash and carry wholesale business. The existing policy also allows FDI through the franchisee route.
The Bharti-Wal-Mart joint venture is being structured in consonance with the FDI policy.
Mittal, who also met several business and political leaders in the US, said that the Americans were keen on India opening FDI in multi brand retail.
Asked about the FDI limit in retail desired by the US, Mittal said in the beginning they would be happy to see it happening, may be with 26 per cent. PIT
One in five working "excessively" long hours: ILO
Dharam Shourie New York, June 9 (PTI) One in five workers around the world or more than 600 million people are working "excessively" long hours, according to a new United Nations study.
The study by the International Labour organization (ILO), which points out the positive consequences of shorter hours, estimates that 22 per cent of the global workforce is still working more than 48 hours a week just to make both ends meet.
The study, conducted in more than 50 countries, for the first time explores the policies in developing and transition countries.
"The good news is that progress has been made in regulating normal working hours in developing and transition countries, but overall the findings of this study are definitely worrying, especially the prevalence of excessively long hours," said Jon C Messenger, Senior Research Officer for the ILO's Conditions of Work and Employment Programme and a co-author of the study.
In the period from 2004 to 2005, Peru topped the list with just over half of its workers (50.9 per cent) putting in long working hours -- defined as more than 48 hours per week.
Following close behind was South Korea with 49.5 per cent, Thailand at 46.7 per cent and Pakistan at 44.4 per cent.
Among developed countries, where working hours are typically shorter, the UK stood at 25.7 per cent, Israel at 25.5 per cent, Australia at 20.4 per cent, Switzerland at 19.2 per cent, and the United States at 18.1 per cent. PTI
Saudi Arabia starts offering 60-day tourist visas
Dubai, June 9 (PTI) Saudi Arabia has started issuing group visas, through licensed tour operators, to foreign nationals intending to visit the Kingdom.
Tourist visas could be obatined for a maximum period of 60-days. Generally visas are issued in accordance with the tour programne, Ahmed Al-Eissa, director general for licenses and quality at the Supreme Commission for Tourism (SCT), said.
The SCT has decided to issue tourist visas, through licensed tour operators, as part of its efforts to attract 1.5 million tourists a year by 2020, excluding the millions who come on Haj and Umrah pilgrimages.
Giving details of the visa conditions, a SCT official said, tourists should come in groups of not less than five members. The minimum age for women to get visas is 30 if they are not travelling with their close relatives.
The Kingdom has also started receiving tourists coming by ships.
"Tourist ships intending to visit the Kingdom must coordinate with organisations licensed by the commission," Eissa told the Arab News.
Presently there are 18 licensed tour operators bringing foreigners on tourist visas to the country.
Earlier, in the absence of licensed tour operators, Saudi Arabian Airlines was authorised to bring in tourists from different parts of the world under its "Discover Saudi Arabia" programme.
The tourism sector, along with Haj and Umrah services, currently contributes six per cent of the Kingdom's GDP or SR55 billion (USD 14.6 billion) annually. PTI
Indian vegetarian passenger served chicken, sues and wins
Kuala Lumpur, June 9 (PTI) A Malaysian court has ordered the country's national carrier to pay an Indian Brahmin Rs two lakh in damages for serving him chicken on a flight four years ago.
Arvind Sharma, a cargo agent for a computer company in India, claimed that he was served 'chicken pakoda' on a Malaysian Airlines flight from Bangalore to Kuala Lumpur in March 2003 when he had asked for vegetarian meals and filed for general and special damages.
Magistrate M. Rajalingam said the compensation, including interest, was for "aggravated damages" to Arvind for injury to his feelings as well as depression, shock, mental anguish and stress coupled with humiliation, loss of pride and self-esteem.
The court found "on the balance of probabilities that Arvind has proven his case against the defendant, Malaysia Airlines", the magistrate in George Town, Penang, was quoted as saying by local media.
Rajalingam said there were positive confirmations that the 'pakoda' served was chicken and further evidence was corroborated with a complaint written and acknowledged by both parties.
"Being born in a Brahmin family, having been brought up in the Brahmin way of life and being a vegetarian accords him a social status and is addressed with the honorific 'Pundit' in India," the magistrate said adding that Sharma was entitled to self-respect and dignity.
"The defendant's negligence has caused him a blemish on his code of conduct," the court was quoted as saying by New Straits Times daily. PTI
Digest of domestic news: June 2-June 8
Digest of domestic news for the week June 2-June 8, 2007 Saturday Jaipur: Talks between agitating Gurjars and Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje end inconclusively even as an ex-gratia of Rs five lakh to the next of the kin of the deceased in the violence over the quota issue is announced.
Dausa/Jaipur: The stringent National Security Act (NSA) is imposed by the Rajasthan government in 11 districts hit by Gurjar-Meena clashes and Gurjar violence over ST status issue as the Army conducted an aerial survey of the affected regions.
New Delhi: Heavy to moderate polling reported for bypolls to one Lok Sabha and seven assembly constituencies spread over six states, which were by and large peaceful.
Mumbai: Maharashtra Revenue Minister Narayan Rane says the farmland purchased by megastar Amitabh Bachchan in Pune district would be "seized" by the government if it was found that he had used fraudulent means to purchase the property.
Sunday Chennai: The DMK government in Tamil Nadu served a notice on its arch rival AIADMK asking it to demolish its party headquarters here, after which party supremo Jayalalithaa termed the action as vendetta politics, a charge denied by Chief Minister M Karunanidhi.
Jaipur: The Rajasthan government extends the National Security Act, in force in 11 districts in the wake of Gurjars' stir, to three more trouble-torn areas.
New Delhi: Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva arrives here on a three-day visit during which bilateral relations are expected to receive a major push. Monday New Delhi: India and Brazil decide to step up bilateral trade four-fold to 10 billion dollars by 2010 even as the Latin American nation's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva asserted a new world economic order cannot be negotiated without taking on board the two nations.
New Delhi: Noted cardiologist Naresh Trehan, who recently quit Escorts Heart Institute on a bitter note, joins the rival Apollo Hospital along with his core group that includes around 40 doctors.
New Delhi: Normal life was thrown out of gear in several parts of the national as agitating Gurjars laid siege to all entry points to Delhi and vent their anger at city buses causing traffic chaos.
Tuesday Panaji: Congress and its pre-poll ally NCP set to retain power in Goa winning 19 seats, just two short of a majority, in the elections to the 40-member Assembly that threw up a fractured verdict.
Lucknow:In a major relief for Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati, Governor T V Rajeswar refuses to grant sanction to prosecute her in the Rs 175 crore Taj Corridor scam holding there was no prima facie case and that corruption and forgery charges against the BSP supremo does "not stand scrutiny."
New Delhi: The BJP retains Hamirpur Lok Sabha seat and romped home in two assembly constituencies while Congress bagged four assembly seats including two in Manipur giving it a majority on its own in the North-Eastern state where it heads a coalition government. Jaipur: Army deployed in several areas of Rajasthan was called back today and highways opened as violence ceased allowing life to limp back to normal in the state that saw large-scale arson and clashes during the week-long stir by Gurjars demanding ST status.
Wednesday Jaipur: Gujjar leader Col (Retd) Kirori Singh Bainsala, who spearheaded a week-long violent agitation in Rajasthan to press the community's demand for ST status, is charged with murder and criminal conspiracy.
Bhubaneswar: Amidst high drama, the Orissa government today stopped the much-hyped walkathon by wonderkid Budhia Singh from Bhubaneswar to Kolkata after which the child runner began an indefinite sit-in protest here.
New Delhi: Preparing the defences against those raiding its indigenous wealth, India will translate ancient Sanskrit hymns describing yoga postures in 5 foreign languages to stop countries from handing out patents for things already known for centuries.
Hyderabad: Two years ahead of the general elections, a group of eight regional parties launch a new national front as an alternative to the Congress and BJP. PTI
Literary agencies enter India
Sunandita Dasgupta
New Delhi, June 8 (PTI) It is already a popular and widely accepted concept in the West, but the idea of literary agency -- a bridge between the author and the publisher -- is making a slow entry in India as well.
A literary agent acts as a support base for writers, helping them reach the publishers and negotiating on their behalf so that they get a fair deal while selling the publishing rights for their books.
The role of an agency is manifold -- starting from seeking manuscripts from the authors, deciding whether to go ahead with the project depending on the merits, light editing, sequentially arranging the material if necessary, marketing the book to the publishers and encouraging its promotion.
In the West, most of the reputed publishing houses accept a manuscript only through an agent, giving them an important role in the industry. In India too, quite a few well-known writers have got their agents to sell the overseas rights of their books.
"With European markets opening up for Indian writing and a number of reputed foreign publishers coming here, the authors now have a lot of choices before them. We feel this is the time for agents to come in," Renuka Chatterjee, the head of the newly-launched professional literary agency of auctioneer and art house Osian's, says. PTI
Book: Indian art scene is on the threshold of a new era
New Delhi, Jun 7 (PTI) Indian art scene is on the threshold of a new era riding piggyback on a rapidly expanding art market. The contemporary art in the country is attracting more and more people who are complete strangers to the art world till the other day, says a new book.
From Singapore to San Francisco, newspapers point towards the exchange of big money at art auctions of Indian art and of events mounting Indian artists worldwide.
This is one reason why any Indian artist, especially one like Bikash has to be written about extensively for readers both at home and abroad, says the book "Close to Events".
The book explores the life and works of contemporary artist, Bikash Bhattacharjee by noted author and critic Manasij Majumder in his foreword by eminent painter M F Husain.
"More and more people are now keen to know and understand contemporary art, often as part of efforts to cope with their own time. They include young collectors as well as those who can afford to buy art only in prints and reproductions and they want to read lucid exegetic texts about art and artworks," Manasij says.
The tome analyses the techniques and styles through which art developed with detailed illustrated explanations on the paintings, contained in the book. The sketches and writing used throughout the book has been taken from Bhattacharjee's own notes. (About the Book- Works of Bikash Bhattacharjee Close to events by Masij Majumder foreword by M F Hussain by Niyogi Publishing, pages 250, price not mentioned.) PTI
A replica in Berlin: to help Taj enter the Seven Wonders list
New Delhi, Jun 7 (PTI) As the race for the Seven Wonders of the World draws closer with the on-line voting to choose world-class monuments closing next month, sand artist Sudarshan Patnaik is going to make a last-ditch attempt to canvass for the 'Monument of Love's' inclusion in the prestigious list.
The artist, who is all set to participate in the Berlin International Sand Sculpture Championship beginning from June 14, has decided to use the forum as a medium to appeal art-lovers worldwide to vote overwhelmingly for the Taj.
"Paradise is the theme given to me as the base of the sculpture that I will design in the Berlin fair.
Taj Mahal -- the eternal symbol of love -- will aptly represent the theme with the faces of Shahjahan and Mumtaz carved out on it," the artist told PTI over phone from Bhubaneswar.
According to him, there is a large number of Taj lovers in Western countries, he hoped, would come forward to vote for the 16th century monument.
"I hope that the NRIs will also vote for the Taj," he said.
Taj Mahal, which has secured its place among 21 other world-class architectural beauties, including the Great Wall of China, the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Statue of Liberty in New York and the Acropolis in Greece, still needs active voting to be bag the final crown among six others. The campaign was started by Swiss billionaire Bernard Weber in 2000. PTI
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