Friday, January 30, 2015

India ArtFair 2015

CURATED FOCUS BRINGS INCREASED DIVERSITY AND ENHANCED QUALITY UNDER ONE ROOF 29 JANUARY – 1 FEBRUARY 2015 New Delhi, 20 October 2014:


India’s premier modern and contemporary art fair, is pleased to announce its 7th edition. YES Bank presents India Art Fair, taking place from 29 January – 1 February 2015

Neha Kirpal, Founding Director, India Art Fair says "India Art Fair has taken stock of the way the world is looking at India and the way in which India presents itself to the world. As more international fairs representing emerging markets are established, the desire for collectors is not necessarily to follow the same artists and galleries around the globe, but to engage at a deeper level with each region. This is the approach that India Art Fair is embracing. It is the approach that brings out the unique offering of India, thereby establishing India’s place on the global art map. In line with the positive trends in the market, the fair presents a balanced range of contemporary, modern and classical art, engaging an increasingly broad audience. There is something for everyone and that is what is needed. India Art Fair acts as a catalyst for progress, driving deeper understanding of the country’s artistic history as well as the latest contemporary work from across India, stimulating dialogue, debate, understanding and interaction not only with art specialists, but with the wider public and collectors of tomorrow.”

Sandy Angus, Co­Owner, India Art Fair commented “In my experience of running art fairs in several emerging markets around the world, I can see that collectors today travel the globe to be able to see art from different regions and have a distinguished experience wherever they may go. The desire is to see fresh new works and art forms from exciting emerging markets. India has a lot to offer in terms of its rich art history and its dynamic contemporary art scene, and India Art Fair is focused on bringing together the broadest representation of quality works in a well curated and presented environment that will appeal to a cross section of collectors and the general visiting public alike.” India Art Fair remains unchallenged as the most important stage for facilitating dialogue and art trade in the region. 85 exhibiting galleries in a total of 90 booths will showcase a breadth of modern and contemporary art practices including painting, sculpture, new media, installation and performance art. One significant new element introduced to India Art Fair is the appointment of Girish Shahane as Artistic Director. Directing both the Artistic Projects and the Speakers’ Forum, Shahane will integrate a closely curated artistic programme with the fair itself, bringing a focus to the talks and projects to make them directly relevant to the galleries and artists exhibiting onsite and more accessible for visitors within the context of the fair.

The  2015 Speakers’ Forum will engage the entire range of stakeholders in the visual arts – artists, curators, critics, administrators, academics, gallerists and collectors, as well as covering a wide spectrum of artistic practices. Speakers will include Adam Szymczyk, Artistic Director of documenta, the world’s largest and most prestigious contemporary art exhibition; Dr. Venu Vasudevan, Director General of the National Museum, Delhi; Jeremy Deller, leading artist and creator of the British pavilion at the 2013 Venice Biennale; Sheikha Hoor al Qasimi, Director of the Sharjah Biennale and curator of the UAE pavilion at the next Venice Biennale; and Julian Stallabrass, Professor at the Courtauld Institute London, lecturer and writer on modern and contemporary art.


 For the 2015 Artistic Projects an extensive programme spanning the outdoor and indoor fair space will present a range of work from high profile Indian and international artists. Highlights of the programme include renowned French artist Daniel Buren’s massive installation work, supported by the French Embassy in India and specially designed for the art fair facade. This is the first of an annual artist­led facade installation project at the fair. Atul Bhalla is creating a walkthrough maze of turnstiles, an interactive work that is both fun and thought­provoking and Chitra Ganesh and Dhruvi Acharya will create a collaborative painting on site, giving visitors an insight into the processes contemporary artists employ in their work. The painting will unfold over four days from a blank canvas to the finished composition. A further dramatic project comes in the form of Francesco Clemente’s tent installation. For 40 years Clemente, one of the worlds most renowned painters, has collaborated with a range of Indian artisans in Chennai, Orissa, Varanasi and Jodhpur creating his series of tents using a range of techniques such as embroidery, block printing and his own spectacular paintings.


In addition, Presenting Partner YES Bank will host a series of talks and events in the YES Bank Lounge, including conversations with artists and collectors, workshops with the Asia Art Archive and book launches for Arpita Singh with Vadehra Art Gallery, and Forms of Devotion with Sushma Bahl and the Museum of Sacred Art.

In a re­-calibration of the India Art Fair layout, additional exhibition space has been added to the two main tents, and the permanent structure has been recommissioned to host the largest ever exhibition in a public space on the history of India’s modern and contemporary art. Presented by Delhi Art Gallery, this comprehensive review will showcase the full range of India’s most important artists. Along with the new design elements to the fair, this year sees expanded restaurant offerings from Delhi’s most popular venues as well as live music at the fair, all of which will enhance the overall experience for our growing audiences from both India and abroad.

Delhi Assembly Elections, 2015

Analysis of Criminal Background, Financial, Education, Gender and other details of Candidates

​Dear friends, 

Reports in English are attached with this mail​. Hindi Reports can be found on www.adrindia.org 

 
Delhi Election Watch and Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) have analysed the self-sworn affidavits of all 673 candidates who are contesting in the 2015 Delhi Assembly Elections. There are 70 political parties fielding candidates in these elections. In the previous elections in 2013 there were 77 political parties that contested and in 2008 there were 68 political parties that were in the fray. There are 66 (10%) female candidates out of 673 candidates contesting this year. In 2013 there were 71 (9%) female candidates out of 810 candidates in the fray and in 2008 there were 81 (9%) female candidates out of 875 candidates contesting the elections.​

Criminal Background
  • Candidates with Criminal Cases: 114 (17%) out of 673 candidates have declared criminal cases against themselves. During the previous Delhi Assembly elections in 2013, out of 796 candidates analysed, 130 (16%) candidates had declared criminal cases against themselves and in the 2008 Delhi Assembly elections, out of 790 candidates analysed, 111 (14%) candidates had declared criminal cases against themselves.

  • Candidates with Serious Criminal Cases: 74 (11%) out of 673 candidates have declared serious criminal cases against themselves. During the previous Delhi Assembly elections in 2013, out of 796 candidates analysed, 94 (12%) candidates had declared serious criminal cases against themselves and in the 2008 Delhi Assembly elections, out of 790 candidates analysed, 32 (4%) candidates had declared criminal cases against themselves.

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  • Party wise Candidates with Criminal Cases: 27 (39%) out of 69 candidates from BJP, 23 (33%) out of 70 candidates from AAP21 (30%) out of 70 candidates from INC12 (17%) out of 70 candidates from BSP1 candidate fielded by SAD and 15 (8%) out of 195 independent candidates have declared criminal cases against themselves in their affidavits.

  • Party wise Candidates with Serious Criminal Cases: 17 (25%) out of 69 candidates from BJP, 14 (20%) out of 70 candidates from AAP11 (16%) out of 70 candidates from INC11 (16%) out of 70 candidates from BSP1 candidate fielded by SAD and 9 (5%) out of 195 independent candidates have declared serious criminal cases against themselves in their affidavits.

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  • Candidates with cases of murder and attempt to murdercandidate has declared cases related to murder and 5 candidates have declared cases of attempt to murder.

  • Candidates with cases related to Crimes against Women:
     8 candidates have declared cases related to crimes against women. Out of these, 3 candidates have declared charges related to assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty (IPC Section-354), 3 candidates with charges related to word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman (IPC Section-509), 1 candidate with a charge related to husband or relative of husband of a woman subjecting her to cruelty (IPC Section-498A), 1 candidate with a charge related to causing miscarriage without woman's consent (IPC Section-313) and 1 candidate with a charge related to kidnapping, abducting or inducing woman to compel her marriage, etc. (IPC Section-366).*a candidate may have more than one charge related to crimes against women

  • Candidates with cases related to Robbery and Dacoity: candidates have declared cases related to robbery and dacoity. These cases include charges related to dacoity (IPC Section-395), robbery or dacoity with attempt to cause death or grievous hurt (IPC Section-397) etc.

  • Red Alert Constituencies*: 19 constituencies have at least 3 candidates with declared criminal cases. Tughlakabad constituency has five candidates who have declared criminal cases against themselves.*Red Alert Constituencies are those which have 3 or more candidates with criminal cases contesting elections.

​Financial Background​

  • Crorepati Candidates: 
    ​​
    230 (34%) 
    out of 673 candidates are crorepatis. During the previous Delhi Assembly elections in 2013, 265 (33%) out of 796 candidates analysed were crorepatis and in the 2008 Delhi Assembly elections, 180 (23%) out of 790 candidates analysed had declared total assets worth more than Rs. 1 crore.

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  • High Asset Candidates: 62 (9%) out of 673 candidates declared assets worth more than Rs. 10 crores. 
  • Party-wise Crorepati Candidates: 59 (84%) out of 70 candidates from INC50 (72%) out of 69 candidates from BJP44 (63%) out of 70 candidates from AAP28 (40%) out of 70 candidates from BSP and 27 (14%) out of 195 independent candidates are crorepatis.
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  • Average Assets: The average assets per candidate for the Delhi 2015 Assembly elections are Rs. 3.32 crores. The average assets per candidate analysed in the previous Delhi Assembly election 2013 were Rs. 3.43 crores and the average assets per candidate analysed in the 2008 Delhi Assembly elections were Rs. 1.77 crores.

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  • Party-wise Average Assets: Among major parties, the average assets per candidate for 70 INC candidates are Rs 9.60 crores70 AAP candidates have average assets of Rs.5.89 crores, 70 BSP candidates have average assets worth of Rs.2.16 crores, 69 BJP candidates have average assets worth of Rs.7.96 crores and 195 independent candidates have average assets of Rs. 63.35 lakhs.
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  • Candidates with High Liabilities: A total of 32 candidates have declared liabilities of above Rs. 1 crore. 3 candidates have declared liabilities of Rs. 10 crore and above.

  • Candidates with High Income as declared in ITR*: 5 candidates have declared total annual income of more than Rs. 1 crore. 

  • High Asset Candidates who have not declared Income Tax Details*: 261 (39%) candidates out of 673 candidates have not declared income tax details. 15 candidates with assets worth more than Rs. 1 crore, have not declared Income Tax Details.* Some candidates may be exempted from filing Income Tax Returns

​Other Background Details​

  • Education Details of Candidates: 26 candidates have declared that they are illiterate374 (56%) candidates (not including candidates who are illiterate) have declared that have an education qualification of 12th pass or below while 265 (39%) candidates have declared having an educational qualification of graduate or above11 (2%) candidates have declared that they have doctorate degrees.​​

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  • Age Details of Candidates: 465 (69%) candidates have declared their age to be between 25 to 50 years while 194 (29%) candidates have declared their age to be between 51 to 70 years and 6 (1%) candidates have declared their age to be above 71 years.
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  • Gender Details of Candidates: There are 66 (10%) female candidates out of 673 candidates contesting this year. In 2013 there were 71 (9%) female candidates out of 810 candidates in the fray and in 2008 there were 81 (9%) female candidates out of 875 candidates contesting the elections.

Analysis of Financial Details of Re-contesting MLAs

  • MLAs Contesting Again:  Delhi Election Watch (DEW) and Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) have analyzed the affidavits of 62 outgoing MLAs who are contesting again in the 2015 Delhi Assembly Elections.

  • Average Assets in 2013 Elections: The average assets of these 62 re-contesting MLAs fielded by various parties including independents in 2013 were Rs 11.66 crores (Rs. 11,66,16,836.83)

  • Average Assets in 2015 Elections: The average assets of these 62 re-contesting MLAs in 2015 are Rs 11.48 crores (Rs. 11,48,39,470.93).

  • Average Asset change from 2013 to 2015: The average assets of these 62 re- contesting MLAs, between the Delhi Elections of 2013 and 2015 decreased by Rs. 17.77 lakhs.

  • Percentage change in assets from 2013 to 2015 Average percentage change in assets for these 62 re-contesting MLAs is -2%.
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  • Highest growth in Assets from 2013 to 2015:
S.No
Name
Party in 2015
Party in 2013
Constituency In Delhi Election 2015
Constituency In Delhi 2013
Assets in Delhi Election 2015
Assets in Delhi 2013
Asset Increase
% Increase in Asset
Assets value not given
1.
Manjinder Singh Sirsa
SAD
SAD
Rajouri Garden
Rajouri Garden
2,39,40,96,185
239 Crore+
2,35,51,23,043
235 Crore+
3,89,73,142
3 Crore+
2%
Delhi Election 2015:Deposits in Banks:Value not given for SB 015501517575 ICICI Bank ltd. Punjabi Bagh

Delhi 2013:Deposits in Banks:Value not given for SB 015501517575 ICICI Bank ltd. Punjabi Bagh
2.
Ramvir Singh Bidhuri
BJP
BJP
Badarpur
Badarpur
15,98,92,678 
15 Crore+
12,19,46,408 
12 Crore+
3,79,46,270
3 Crore+
31%
3.
Haroon Yusuf
INC
INC
Ballimaran
Ballimaran
3,73,99,506 
3 Crore+
1,07,15,369 
1 Crore+
2,66,84,137
2 Crore+
249%
4.
Kulwant Rana
BJP
BJP
Rithala
Rithala
8,43,04,282 
8 Crore+
5,82,62,093 
5 Crore+
2,60,42,189
2 Crore+
45%
5.
Devender Yadav
INC
INC
Badli
Badli
29,53,96,702 
29 Crore+
27,43,03,290 
27 Crore+
2,10,93,412
2 Crore+
8%

Regards,
Media and Journalist Helpline

+91 80103 94248
Maj. Gen. Anil Verma (Retd.)
Head
National Election Watch,
Association for Democratic Reforms
011 4165 4200,
+91 88264 79910
adr@adrIndia.org,
Prof Jagdeep Chhokar
IIM Ahmedabad (Retd.)
Founder Member,
National Election Watch, Association for Democratic
Reforms
+91 99996 20944

Prof Trilochan Sastry
IIM Bangalore
Founder Member,
National Election Watch,
Association for Democratic Reforms
+91 94483 53285


-- 
Association for Democratic Reforms
T-95A, C.L. House, 1st Floor,
(Near Gulmohar Commercial Complex)
Gautam Nagar
New Delhi-110 049

BJP today set of questions to Mr Arvind Kejriwal

BJP today as part of its daily inquisition of the Aam Aadmi Party chief ahead of the February 7 Delhi election.

These questions were sent Mr Kejriwal's way this afternoon by central ministers Venkaiah Naidu and Nirmala Sitaraman.

The BJP today asked Mr Kejriwal:

1 AAP has outsourced their vote seeking work to anti-national groups. Delhi voters are getting calls from Dubai, Bangladesh to vote for AAP. There is a map of that on AAP website. Did they not find volunteers in Delhi? Or in India?
2 AAP accuses every party of being corrupt. According to rules, political parties are supposed to submit poll expenses to the Election Commission. Why has AAP not submitted their Lok Sabha account to the commission?
3 It will not be an exaggeration to say that AAP is anti-woman party. All women members are leaving the party. Why are the women leaving the party? When BJP projects a woman candidate, they call her opportunistic... they should be ashamed. Is this how you deal with women?
4  AAP claims they respect institutions. But they do so as per their convenience. AAP has received three notices from Election Commission. Arvind is brazenly violating Election Commission directives. How does he respect institutions?
5 Arvind Kejriwal left the government in 49 days saying nobody is allowing to bring in Lokayukta. Why did he mislead people of Delhi? A Lokayukta exists in Delhi, if he wanted to strengthen it he could have taken points from Uttarakhand's Lokayukta. Kejriwal had gone with Anna to praise Uttarakhand's Lokayukta law made under BJP. Why couldn't he do it in 49 days?

Come and have coffee with Gul Panag, and campaign for Arvind Kejriwal tomorrow (31 January, 2015) at Select City Walk, Saket.
Timing: 11 - 1 pm


Nissan Inaugurates fifth dealership in Delhi

·         Kaizen Nissan opens its second Dealershipat Delhi located in Moti Nagar, the automobile hub of Delhi
·         Kaizen Nissan to focus on Nissan Sales & Service Way to ensure Customer Experience Excellence

New Delhi, India (January 30, 2015): Nissan announced the inauguration of its new dealership Kaizen Nissan at Moti Nagar, West Delhi, expanding the company’s footprint to 160dealerships across India. Nissan will now havea network of 160 sales touch-points, spanning across 113 cities for both Nissan and Datsun vehicles.

Speaking on the launch Mr. GuillaumeSicard, President – Nissan India Operations said, ‘It gives us immense pleasure to announce the opening of our new dealership, Kaizen Nissan at Moti Nagar, West Delhi. Together with our businesspartner, we seek to provide our customers with best-in-class products and services, and look forward to a long-standing, successful association. Nissan is focused towards providing the finest products and services through its trusted dealership network.”

The new showroom of ‘Kaizen Nissan’ is one of its kind 3S facility in Delhi and will provide all solutions to customers under one roof. This facilitywill showcase 6 cars at a time and will also include a special Datsun Corner.A group of 70+ dedicated professionals would be present at the outlet to ensure seamless customer satisfaction.

Nissan aims to double its reach in India by 2016 with a total presence of 300 touch points across the length and breadth of India.The company is rapidly growing the dealership network to cover 95% of the population in India.


Mr. Kunal Ramchandani, Dealer Principal, Kaizen Nissan said,“At Kaizen Nissan we will ensure that our customers experience the level of care that exceeds their expectations when they either purchase a new Nissan vehicle or bring their existing 

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