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.
Strike: 92 doctors face termination in Maharashtra
Nagpur, Apr 18 (PTI) Services of 92 doctors of Indira Gandhi Medical College (IGMC) have been terminated for staging protests against the reduction in post-graduate seats, sources close to the college said here today.
The Dean of IGMC has cancelled the registration of the doctors and asked them to vacate their hostel rooms immediately, sources said.
The doctors have been agitating for the last three days against the reduction of PG seats, a decision taken by the Medical Council of India. PTI
Creamy layer to be excluded from ambit of OBC quotas
New Delhi, Apr 17 (PTI) Government has decided to exclude the socially and economically advanced among the OBCs from the ambit of 27 per cent quota for them in higher educational institutions.
"Whatever the Supreme Court has suggested, we will try and implement it," External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee told reporters here about the decision taken by the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs last evening.
He said the view in the government was quite clear and it wanted to make a distinction between opportunities of higher education and those available for job reservation.
"The creamy layer concept was intended for job reservation ... The 93rd amendment is for educational opportunites to be open to all OBCs, including those belonging to the creamy layer," he said, adding that now the apex court has ruled that the creamy layer among OBCs was not entitled to the benefit of quotas in higher educational institutions.
The decision is expected to help the HRD ministry to issue a communication to higher educational institutions, including the IIMs, which had earlier decided to put on hold the admission process.
The Supreme Court had last week upheld the controversial law providing 27 per cent quota for OBCs in IITs, IIMs and other Central educational institutions but excluded the creamy layer from its ambit. PTI
India, Mexico sign agreements in civil aviation, energy
Sumir Kaul
Mexico City, Apr 18 (PTI) India and Mexico have signed two agreements for cooperation in civil aviation and energy sectors as part of their efforts to strengthen bilateral ties.
Union Minister for Non-Conventional Energy Vilasrao Muttemwar and Mexico's Minister for Foreign Relation Patricia Espinoza and Secretary of Energy Georgana Kessel inked the agreements here yesterday.
Mexican President Felipe Calderon, who was present at the singing ceremony along with visiting Indian President Pratibha Patil, said India was an "important" partner for his country in the Asia-Pacific region.
The first agreement calls for cooperation in air services between the two countries while the second one was related to enhanced ties in the energy sector.
Calderon said there can be greater interaction in a number of areas such as infrastructure, food processing, technical and scientific cooperation.
Earlier, Patil, on the second leg of her 13-day tri-nation Latin American tour, spoke about the common challenges being faced by Mexico and India, emphasising the need for ensuring inclusive economic growth.
"Our overriding challenge is inclusive growth, not simply growth," she said adding, "we are working together towards the establishment of a more just, humane and fair world order." PTI
Mukherjee pitches for civilian nuclear cooperation
New Delhi, Apr 18 (PTI) Amid a deadlock on the Indo-US nuclear deal, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee today pitched for civilian nuclear cooperation with various countries to achieve energy security.
"Civilian nuclear cooperation with various countries will also help in achieving our energy security objectives," he said at the India-Arab Investment Projects Conclave here.
Mukherjee listed guaranteeing energy security among the most important macro-economic challenges faced by India and said the country was exploring avenues for bilateral as well as multilateral cooperation with petroleum-rich countries.
He noted that India has to depend, to a large extent, on imported fuels for meeting its energy needs, which will grow in keeping with the country's projected growth.
"High oil prices, now averaging more than 100 dollars a barrel, are a drag on our resources that could otherwise have gone for more productive purposes," Mukherjee said.
He said India aimed to enter into long term arrangements for guaranteed supply of energy. "We are simultaneously making efforts in the area of renewable energy and new technologies," Mukherjee said.
Enhancing agricultural security and ensuring education and skill building of its vast young population were other challenges, he said.
"Large projects in infrastructure or in education and training sector can be the perfect vehicles for absorbing the budding talent of our respective young workforces," Mukherjee said.
The Indo-US nuclear deal is deadlocked for want of political consensus as the Left parties continue to oppose it. PTI
China expresses thanks for great Indian efforts for torch run
Raghavendra
Beijing, Apr 18 (PTI) Relieved at the trouble-free Olympic torch relay in New Delhi, China today appreciated the "great efforts" by the Indian government for its smooth run.
"China expresses its thanks for the warm support and participation of the Indian people and the great efforts by the Indian side," the Foreign Ministry spokesperson's office told PTI, a day after the relay passed off under a massive security cover in New Delhi.
Beijing was anxious about the smooth passage of the relay in India, home to an estimated population of about 150,000 Tibetans living in exile who have been staging repeated protests to draw global attention to alleged repression in Tibet, ahead of the Olympics here in August.
Disruptions of the relay in London and Paris and the hide and seek game in San Francisco and repeated attempts by Tibetan protesters to breach the security in the Chinese embassy had added anxiety and worry to China which had maintained constant contact with the Indian government.
The state-run media hailed smooth run of the relay, with the China Daily saying the Indian capital welcomed the Olympic torch with traditional pomp and pageantry. It carried on its front page a photo of actor Amir Khan running with the torch.
It also published on another page a photo of Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dixit and the Beijing Olympic Organising Committee Vice President Jiang Xiaoyu passing the torch to its first bearer Suresh Kalmadi, President of the Indian Olympic Association. PTI
International news agencies to boycott IPL coverage
New Delhi, Apr 18 (PTI) Hours before the launch of Indian Premier League, top international news agencies have announced their decision to boycott the much-hyped multi-million dollar Twenty20 competition due to restrictions on distribution of photographs to cricket-specific websites.
Agence France-Presse (AFP), Associated Press and Reuters will not cover the competition till the term is "sorted out".
The AFP and Reuters have issued advisories to their subscribers, saying no text would be provided on the IPL till their demands were agreed to.
"AFP will not, until further notice, offer any text, photo or graphics coverage of the inaugural Indian Premier League cricket, beginning Friday, due to restrictions imposed on international news agencies on the distribution of photographs," the AFP advisory said.
Reuters also made it clear to its clients that the agency would be "unable to cover" the event due to restrictions on photographs.
The IPL terms and conditions prohibit news agencies from supplying photographs to cricket-specific websites for the eight-team club tournament.
Meanwhile, IPL Chairman Lalit Modi said the issue with news broadcasters was resolved and television channels would telecast all the 59 matches played over 44 days.
"I am glad that the issues relating to footage and accreditation for News and Current Affairs Broadcasters, have been resolved amicably," News Broadcasting Association quoted Modi as saying in a statement issued today.
NDTV Group CEO Narayan Rao said "We look to the action now on the cricket field during the 44 days of the League". PTI
England limited overs capt Collingwood wants to play in IPL
London, Apr 18 (PTI) England's limited overs captain Paul Collingwood wants ECB to relax its stance and let the country's top players turn out in the multi-million dollar Indian Premier League.
Collingwood came out in support of views expressed by Test captain Michael Vaughan and star batsman Kevin Pietersen who argued there was no reason for England stars to miss out on the Twenty20 extravaganza.
"I'd be lying if I said I hadn't thought about the IPL. At the moment we can't play, but players will be tempted. If you had the chance to earn four times your normal money in the next six weeks, would you take it? It's human nature," Collingwood was quoted as saying by 'Sun'.
"Hopefully, there won't be a situation where players have to make a choice between the IPL and playing for England." The enormous amounts of money being talked about may prompt some players to reconsider their priorities, he felt.
"When there's money like this bandied about, players will make a decision," Collingwood told 'The Guardian'.
The England and Wales Cricket Board has not allowed its centrally-contracted players to sign up with the BCCI-backed IPL, saying it clashed with the domestic county season.
Hampshire's Dimitri Mascarenhas is the only England player in the league and will turn out for the Rajasthan Royals. PTI
Wipro expands board, restructures IT biz
New Delhi, Apr 18 (PTI) Country's third largest IT services company Wipro today announced changes in the management structure of its IT business and expansion of its board.
The firm appointed Girish Paranjpe, Suresh Senapaty and Suresh Vaswani to the Board of Wipro Ltd.
Wipro also re-structured its IT Business by appointing Girish Paranjpe and Suresh Vaswani as joint-CEOs, the company said in a statement.
Paranjpe was the president of the Banking, Financial Services and Insurance Business Unit of the Global IT Business of Wipro.
Suresh Vaswani was the president of Wipro Infotech (the India, Middle East and APAC IT business of Wipro) and of Global Practices (EAS, Testing & TIS). He has been with Wipro since 1985.
Suresh Senapaty has been working with Wipro since 1980, and has been CFO of the company since 1995.
"We are transitioning our leadership to a pair of joint-CEOs who together give twice the leverage to seize these opportunities. Girish and Suresh have been close partners in spearheading the growth of Wipro's IT business over the past 10 years," Wipro Ltd Chairman Azim Premji said.
"The inclusion of these new members will add richness and breadth to the Board," he added.
Sudip Banerjee, currently President of the Enterprise Solutions Business, is also moving as Director on the Advisory Board of PremjiInvest (PI).
Premji said "Sudip has been at the core of the leadership team that has built the IT Business of Wipro. He has significantly contributed to Wipro's success over the years. While Sudip moves on to his new role in PI, we are sure he will continue to be a great ambassador for Wipro." PTI
Retail food prices fall in Delhi, Mumbai by up to 11 pc
New Delhi, Apr 18 (PTI) The retail prices of essential food items have fallen by up to 11 per cent in Mumbai and Delhi in the first fortnight of April, much to the relief of millions in these metros who had to shell out 40 per cent more in the last one year.
The rates have come down within two weeks of government's price control measures, reversing the trend of spiralling prices.
A price analysis by PTI of the 14 essential commodities maintained with Ministry of Consumer Affairs show that prices of food items such as edible oil, vanaspati, potato and onion declined in Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai. However, Kolkata has no such relief.
The maximum fall is in edible oil prices that fell by over 11 per cent in the national capital, compared to the 3-7 per cent drop in other commodities, the analysis has revealed.
The prices of mustard oil declined the maximum in Delhi by Rs 9 to Rs 71 from Rs 80 a kilo compared to other three metros where prices fell in the range of Rs 2-4 a kilo.
Ashok Gulati of International Food Policy Research Institute said the government can do much more to contain the rising prices.
"Taxation and market fee system need a major overhaul in reforming the state fiscal policies by promoting direct purchases by retailers from farmers," Gulati told PTI.
However, CRISIL's DK Joshi said it is still early to say whether the government measures have worked or not.
"The government measures have moderated only the edible rates. I do not think it has done enough to bring down the prices of vegetables and pulses," Joshi said. PTI
Forbes names Mallya, Goyal in battling billionaires list
New York, Apr 18 (PTI) It is a new Forbes list and covers rich people and their fights, but for a change the Ambani brothers are not its India connection -- rather, Vijay Mallya and Naresh Goyal have made to the magazine's battling billionaires list for their fight to lord over Indian skies.
"The two are now going tit for tat connecting Indian cities to foreign hubs," Forbes noted, while listing out eight pairs of the "battling billionaires" from across the world.
Both Goyal and Mallya had figured in Forbes' annual list of world's billionaires published earlier last month, where Mukesh and Anil Ambani were named as two richest in India with net worths of USD 43 billion and USD 42 billion respectively.
The two Ambani brothers separated over two years ago with a family settlement reached in June 2005. However, the two groups have grown stronger since then and currently figure among the country's most valued business houses. The two regularly feature on the lists of world' richest billionaires.
Earlier in October 2007, Mukesh and Anil had made it to another Forbes list -- Billionaire Family Feuds, with the recognition being bestowed on them because of their fight.
"Sometimes fighting has a silver lining, as has been the case for Indian brothers Mukesh and Anil Ambani," Forbes wrote about two siblings in a report accompanying that list.
However, the US magazine's latest list of eight pairs of battling billionaires has no mention of the two Ambanis. Rather, it has Mallya-Goyal as the only Indian connection.
According to Forbes, Goyal's fortune is valued at USD 1.4 billion while that of Mallya is USD 1.2 billion.
"Naresh Goyal and Vijay Mallya are both vying for dominance of Indian skies. Goyal is the established player in the country's air travel with Jet Airways. Mallya is the upstart with Kingfisher, an airline he established only a few years ago," it said. PTI
India most energy efficient among emerging economies: Report
New Delhi, Apr 18 (PTI) Defying the logic that a growing economy consumes more energy, India has emerged as the most energy efficient country among leading emerging nations including China, Brazil and South Africa.
Latest findings from the Emerging Economy Report by research and consulting firm, Center for Knowledge Societies, show emerging economies could play pivotal roles in reducing the growing environmental anxieties worldwide.
The findings are based on the fact that these economies have opportunity to voluntarily moderate their carbon emissions for global environmental benefit and market advantage.
The developed world has looked at growth in India and China with increasing alarm as the prior experience of industrially-developing countries worldwide had suggested that as an economy grows, it consumes more and more energy.
And given currently available energy and technology options, this leads to increased carbon emissions.
In contrast, the report mapped energy consumption patterns across different industrialised and emerging economies and observed that growing nations were already highly efficient.
"This means that they (emerging economies) create more economic value per unit of energy consumed. On the other hand, as their GDP per capita grows, their carbon footprint balloons...Energy innovation is the only way out of this logic," CKS founder and CEO Aditya Dev Sood said.
The report shows that most emerging economies remain far below the energy consumption as well as carbon emission levels of industrialised economies.
India's per capita energy consumption of 12.6 million Btu and Indonesia's (21.5) are almost negligible when compared to more economically developed nations like South Korea (170.2 mBtu per capita) and Taiwan (181.5). PTI
India takes up Sarabjit issue with new Pak govt
Rezaul H Laskar
Islamabad, Apr 18 (PTI) Indian authorities have established contact with Pakistan's new government on the issue of its national Sarabjit Singh, whose execution has been deferred till May 1, and are hopeful that he will be shown clemency.
The execution of Sarabjit -- sentenced to death for alleged involvement in four bomb blasts in Punjab province that killed 14 people in 1990 -- was deferred for 30 days by President Pervez Musharraf so that the new government could review his case. Sarabjit was originally set to be hanged on April 1.
Official sources said the Indian government had taken up Sarabjit's case with the new coalition government led by the Pakistan People's Party shortly after it assumed office last month. The Indian government is now hopeful that Sarabjit will be shown clemency, the sources said.
"The Pakistan government is aware that there is cross-party support in India for the plea for clemency for Sarabjit. Though there are no indications as yet from the Pakistan government, we are hopeful that he will be shown clemency," a source told PTI.
Sarabjit's Pakistani lawyer Rana Abdul Hamid is expected to make another appeal for clemency to the new government and the condemned man's relatives will arrive in Pakistan soon to meet him, the sources said. PTI
Brown faces Labour flak, talk of replacement doing rounds
Prasun Sonwalkar
London, Apr 18 (PTI) Britain's local elections scheduled for May one may decide the fate of Premier Gordon Brown who was attacked by leading Labour party members, including Indian-origin Lord Meghnad Desai, for being "indecisive" and "weak".
Noted Labour peer Desai said the party was now discussing who should replace Brown. "There have been talks on all levels about what to do about it," he added.
Zeroing on the idea of who will replace Brown, he said "when-or if-the time comes, I think it has to be (Foreign Secretary) David Miliband because he has shown the maturity about the leadership and he withstood the pressure to stand against Gordon last year." Desai, who has never before criticised his party's leadership, called the British Premier as "indecisive" and "weak".
Brown, who completes a year in office in June, has been criticised by many within the party for recent actions including the decision to double the minimum rate of income tax, plans to detain terror suspects for up to 42 days without charge, and post office closures.
Lord Desai while comparing Brown's leadership style with his predecessor Tony Blair, described Brown's style as "porridge or haggis" while he said Tony Blair's regime was "champagne or caviar'.
During his tenure as Prime Minister, Lord Desai said Brown had come across as "solid, and may be nourishing but not actually very appetising".
Brown has earlier also come under the line of fire from his party members. Chancellor Alistair Darling, a senior Cabinet minister, also said the Brown government needs to "sharpen up" before the local polls. PTI
Three Indians detained in Malaysia despite having valid papers
Kuala Lumpur, Apr 18 (PTI) Three Indian nationals were arrested by Malaysian authorities and held at a camp for illegal immigrants for 18 days despite having valid travel documents, a media report said here today.
The three -- K Meenakshi, 52, a farmer, Sheikh Rajendran, 40, a tailor and P Murugesan, 24, a carpenter, alleged that some men belonging to Malaysia's voluntary immigration officials' squad, called Rela, had entered their flat on March 15 and had arrested them without allowing them to take their passports from their bags.
"I was sleeping in a room when they came at 1.30am. I had a copy of the passport in my pocket and showed it to them. I kept telling them that the original was inside my bag which was in the same room. But they did not understand me," Meenakshi told the New Straits Times.
No official of the Indian High Commission could be contacted as today is an Indian public holiday.
Sheikh was together with him in the room when he was also arrested. Murugesan who was nearby was also stopped by a Rela member who refused to let him get his passport from the room, the report said.
The three said they were bundled into a lorry and taken to the Semenyih camp where they spent 18 days before being rescued from there by a businessman who had heard about their plight through some other Indians.
"The conditions in the camp were bad. The food was terrible and I was so afraid to eat. I spent days not touching the food at all. It was not fit for human consumption," Sheikh was quoted as saying. PTI
Clinton, Obama supporters polarised before Pennsylvania primary
Philadelphia, Apr 18 (PTI) With tensions running high between Democratic presidential hopefuls Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama ahead of Tuesday's crucial Pennsylvania primary, the latest debate between them has highly polarised their supporters and opponents.
As analysts rated the performance of Obama below par in the Wednesday's debate, his supporters blasted ABC network for being tough on him, giving opening to Clinton to criticise him and not concentrating on the real issues.
Clinton, who is fighting a tough battle but is still slightly ahead of Obama in Pennsylvania, seemed to be happy and her husband Bill Clinton praised her performance, saying that she was not whining.
The feeling on both sides ran so high that Washington Post television critic Tom Shales descried the performance of moderators as shoddy and despicable but New York Times' columnist David Brooks gave their questioning "A" grade and predicted shortly after the debate that Obama supporters would criticize ABC.
ABC itself received more than 1500 comments within hours of the debate but most of them were negative and criticizing the way the questions were structured.
Analysts say the reason could be that Obama's supporters were more active after they found their candidate under tough questing for the first time.
A liberal advocacy group Moveon.Org sought signature on a petition against ABC network and said it would run an advertisement if 100,000 people signed it.
At campaign speeches yesterday, Obama stressed that real issues were relegated during the debate and was trying to shrug off the critics who called his performance below par. PTI
Quality and not quantity matters: Pak actress Meera
Mumbai, Apr 18 (PTI) Pakistani actress Meera, who made her Bollywood debut with Mahesh Bhatt's `Nazar' has said that it is not the quantity but the quality that matters.
"Post-Nazar,I have rejected 20-25 offers including some from very big banners. But I do not want to get typecast. It is not the quantity, but quality that matters while selecting a role," Meera said.
The starlet, best known for her kissing scenes in 'Nazar' is back, this time with "Salakhein", which is the second Pakistani movie to be released after "Khuda Ke Liye" recently.
The movie, starring a new comer from across the border, Ahmed, and Meera was premiered here yesterday. However, the premier was a lukewarm affair with most of the Bollywood celebrities giving it a miss.
Meera remained tight-lipped when quizzed about her Bollywood projects and promised to bounce back soon, in a big way and that too in a new avtaar.
"Salakhein" released in 2004 in Pakistan, is story of a college youth Faizaan (Ahmed), who gets trapped in the web of evil-minded people and Natasha (played by Meera) helps him fight the injustice.
"Films can prove to be very useful in easing the tensions between two nations," movie director Shahzad Rafique said.
"It will also clear misconceptions that one has about other nation and its people, he said adding, he is not worried about the success of the movie at the Box Office. PTI
Jackie Shroff move Kerala High Court
Kochi, Apr 17 (PTI) Bollywood actor Jackie Shroff has filed a petition in the Kerala High Court seeking to quash a cheque bouncing case pending against him in a lower court in Thrissur.
Shroff has stated in his petition, filed yesterday, the Judicial First Class Magistrate at Kodungalloor in Thrissur district had no territorial jurisdiction to consider the complaints filed against him in the case.
He stated due to certain business transactions between his wife and the first complainant Bijay Chokani of Mumbai, seven cheques were issued to the latter.
Shroff alleged that Chokani, to harass him, issued a power of attorney to the second complainant, V K Mathew of Thrissur.
Mathew opened an account at the Catholic Syrian Bank's Perinnanam branch in Thrissur and presented the seven cheques.
The cheques were returned for lack of funds and Shroff got notices demanding the amount mentioned in the cheques. Since the money was not paid, the power of attorney holder filed a case.
Shroff alleged the complainant's intention was to create unnecessary media hype by compelling him to come to Kerala as an accused and tarnish his image.
This is the 7th Criminal Miscellaneous case filed by Shroff.
The High Court had earlier stayed proceedings pending before the lower court in six other cases and referred them to a division bench to consider the question of maintainablity of complaints filed by the power of attorney holder of the payee of cheques under Sect 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act.
Vacation judge Justice M Shashidharan Nambiar posted the actor's petition to April 29. PTI
Technology, cheaper costs woo foreign producers to Bollywood
Anurag Sharma
New Delhi, Apr 18 (PTI) With its ever increasing popularity, the Indian film industry, which is already generating more than USD 11 billion annually, is now luring foreign producers too for investment, say experts.
"The rising number of production houses in the country has led to technological advancement in the field of cinema, which attracted foreign filmmakers to invest, mostly for post production works. These producers find it cheaper to get things done in India, says Bollywood director Anand Kumar.
Many Hollywood movies are now being outsourced to the country for visual effects. The latest being "The Golden Compass", starring Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig. Major Hollywood studios like Viacom, NBC, Universal, Dream Works, besides Warner Bros., Sony and Disney have also made investments in India's entertainment sector, he adds.
Shoaib Mansoor, director of 'Khuda Ke Liye', the first Pakistani film released in India almost after four decades, says, "Bollywood is already an established brand and competing with such a big industry would definitely make us better.
"Pakistan is by no means far behind India in terms of talent but when it comes to the technical side, Bollywood is miles ahead. Bollywood movies will bring audiences to cinemas in Pakistan and subsequently people will start investing money in filmmaking," he says.
According to a FICCI report, Indian entertainment and media industry is poised to grow at an annual rate of 18 per cent by 2011, faster than its counterparts in Brazil, Russia and China.
"The entertainment industry in India is an industry of the future. India's entertainment industry already generates more than USD 11 billion annually for the country," says FICCI Secretary General, Amit Mitra. PTI
Indian men succumb easily to powerful women, says book
New Delhi, Apr 17 (PTI) Indian men do not seem to feel embarrassed or resentful falling at the feet of powerful women but they can be both clumsy and aggressive with most women who clamour for equality or appear vulnerable and dependent, says a new book.
When it comes to the powerful women in Indian politics, they have made their place under the sun after coming out of male domination, says the book "Zealous Reformers, Deadly laws" by Madhu Purnima Kishwar, a women's right activist.
The book, a collection of Kishwar's writings tries to explore the reason women's rights laws in India end up producing such dismal results. It tries to provide practical solutions to some anti-women practices.
The most powerful women politicians of India share the common characteristics of cunning and extraordinary resilience says the recently launched book.
Madhu Kishwar in her book takes a long and hard look at the four dominant women politicians- Sonia Gandhi, Mayawati, Jayalalitha and Mamta Banerjee.
"The mesmeric power these women exercise over our political life provides us with interesting insights into the Indian male psyche", Kishwar, senior Fellow at Centre for Study of Developing Societies (CSDC) says.
While Indian men have made it fairly difficult for ordinary women to feel comfortable as equal participants in the political domain, they tend to succumb easily to the demands of women who are are courageous, fearless and hard to browbeat, she adds. (About the book -- Name: "Zealous Reformers Deadly Laws"; Author: Madhu Purnima Kishwar; Publishers: Sage; Price: Rs 495; Pages: 419) PTI
Socially relevant films? Better govt makes them: Farooq Shaikh
Rajeev Ranjan Dwivedi
New Delhi, Apr 15 (PTI) The task of making socially relevant films rests with the government as an individual producer dare not take such risks, feels a veteran Bollywood actor, Farooq Shaikh.
"Investing in a movie on social issues is highly risky in terms of business, so why should anyone take a risk. Instead, the government should finance such movies to create awareness in the society," points out Farooq Shaikh, who is known for his contribution to parallel cinema.
Shaikh, who made his last appearance in the movie 'Mohabbat' in 1997, on his comeback in the films, says, "this year I am confident of being caught by any director or producer".
He pioneered the idea of cinestars getting back to the small screen with 'Jeena Isi ka Naam hai' on Zee and now the entire fraternity seems to be following in his footsteps. When asked about it, the actor quips, "more than achievement it was just a matter of time." On the importance of making socially relevant movies and serials, he points out, "such attempts do have an impact. Although it does not solve a major problem but it raises certain points, at least to let people ponder over the matter".
However, the star of 1970s and 1980s feels that coming up of the 'middle of the road' movies, which provide entertainment besides educating people on certain issues, like 'Rang De Basanti', 'Tare Zameen Par', are setting a good trend. PTI
Evidence of first Indian settlers found in Tamil Nadu
Annie Samson
New Delhi, Apr 15 (PTI) A team of Indian scientists have discovered genetic evidence that tribal villagers living in Tamil Nadu were among the first migrants from Africa to settle down in India.
Geneticists led by Prof Ramaswamy Pitchappan of Madurai Kamaraj University have found out that the marker gene in the group of people from a small village Jyothimanickam near Madurai matched those of the first settlers in India. The findings point to the fact that the villagers are among the direct descendants of the first settlers.
Pitchappan who conducted the research in collaboration with Oxford Research University found that DNA of Virumandi Andithevar, a 30-year-old systems administrator from the village, matched M130, the chromosome marker, which gives proof that the first human migration into India took place around 70,000 years ago.
"The M130 is the oldest marker in India and there is no other marker older than that for India. The DNA samples from, Virumandi and others were found to have this marker and we were able to deduce that they were among the first human settlers in India, who obviously spread from Africa," Pitchappan who is Prof Emeritus at the Madurai Kamraj University told PTI.
The findings will be aired on Discovery Television, where historian Michael Wood will narrate the story of the world's most ancient civilization in the six part series 'The Story of India' beginning on April 16. PTI
___________________________________________________________
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: 16481.20, +237.01
The sensex closed at 16481.20, up 237.01
___________________________________________________________
This is the Mumbai Grapevine
___________________________________________________________
______Forex_______
1 U.S. $ = 39.795 INR
1 Japanese Yen = 0.3820 INR
1 British Pound = 79.562 INR
1 Canadian $ = 39.350 INR
1 Singapore $ = 29.371 INR
1 UAE Dirham = 10.836 INR
1 Saudi Arabian Riyal = 10.626 INR
1 Euro = 62.810 INR
1 Qatar Rial = 10.936 INR
___________________________________________________________
This is the Mumbai Grapevine
___________________________________________________________