NCERT asked to remove Ambedkar cartoon from textbooks: Sibal

Agreeing that Ambedkar's cartoon in an NCERT textbook was objectionable, HRD Minister Kapil Sibal on Friday said orders have been issued to withdraw it and stop distribution of these books, and promised concrete action in the matter. 

Responding to concerns expressed by members in Rajya Sabha, Sibal said the Government will also examine whether any criminal offence was made out against those who drew or included the cartoon of B R Ambedkar in the textbook.

Admitting that there were many other objectionable cartoons of political leaders in NCERT textbooks, he said his Ministry has decided to constitute a Committee of experts to look into cases of all such objectionable cartoons and remove them.

"When I got information in the beginning of April, I wrote a letter to NCERT that such a cartoon should not be there as it is objectionable... On April 26, 2012, I wrote to NCERT stating that it is considered advisable to withdraw the cartoon. After this, they set up a Committee to examine this," Sibal said.

"Then I called all textbooks and found there are many other such cartoons about other leaders which are objectionable. Then I decided to set up a Committee to look into all textbooks. I told NCERT to stop distribution of all books immediately," he said.

When asked by BSP member Mayawati as to what action the Government was taking against those responsible for inclusion of Ambedkar cartoon in textbooks and by when would action be taken, Sibal said, "Nothing objectionable about Babasaheb Ambedkar will be allowed and action will be taken so that this is not repeated."

Clarifying that the textbooks are made by an independent textbook authority - Textbook Development Committee, which comprise academics and not officials of NCERT.

He said none of the existing members of the present Textbook Committee which approved this book will be part of the new Committee set up to examine objectionable cartoons.

Meanwhile, amid uproar in Parliament over a cartoon of B R Ambedkar in NCERT textbooks, HRD Minister Kapil Sibal on Friday apologised over the objectionable content, saying he has directed removal of the material and stoppage of distribution of books.

He appealed to political parties not to make it an issue for vote bank politics. "...I am willing to personally apologise for it though I was not the minister at that time in 2006. I was involved in the publication of the books," Sibal told reporters outside Parliament House.

He said there was no question of anybody trying to malign Ambedkar or anybody trying to make fun of him because that "I think will be against the secular ethos of our country".

Sibal said much before the issue came to Parliament, he had taken action on it and set up a committee to look at the entire gamut of cartoons in textbooks and their content to ensure material of this nature is taken out of textbooks.

"This issue came to my notice sometime towards April and we sought an explanation from NCERT and after the explanation had come, we took the decision on April 27 that this particular cartoon should be withdrawn from NCERT textbooks on political science," he said.

Sibal said the government on Friday further decided that the textbooks which contain the cartoon shall not be distrubuted.

The wholesalers, he said, have also been asked to stop distribution of the textbooks.

Nepal: No consensus on Constitution drafting

By sagarmedia on May 12, 2012 | Leave a Comment | Edit

The stalemate between four major political parties in Nepal over contentious issues of Constitution drafting continued on Saturday even after several rounds of negotiations.

Issues of state-restructuring have been a bone of contention among the major political parties even as the May 27 deadline to promulgate the constitution is fast approaching.
“Nepali Congress and CPN-UML have been stuck to the idea of eight federal states to be incorporated in the new constitution against the Maoists’ proposal of 11 states across the country”, Nepali Congress senior leader Bimalendra Nidhi said after the talks this evening.
During bilateral talks between the Maoists and the Nepali Congress, the latter reiterated its stand that the states should not be more than 8 as it would not be economically viable, he said.
The Nepali Congress is also against naming the states on the basis of ethnicity.
A mixed formula should be adopted while naming the states, Nidhi said.
Later on in the evening the three party meeting is scheduled to take place between the Maoists, Nepali Congress and CPN-UML in an effort to forge consensus on key issues, he informed.
The UCP-Maoist and the Joint Democratic Madhesi Front (the five party alliance), have floated the idea of 11 states with names of the states based on ethnicity.
“Rather than ethnic capacity, economic viability should be taken into account while dividing states,” Nidhi said.
Besides state restructuring, forms of governance is another key subject which needs to be settled among the major political parties before promulgating the constitution.
Nepali Congress is in favour of a Parliamentary system with the provision of the Prime Minister being vested with all executive powers and the president elected from electoral college having ceremonial powers.
However, the Maoists are campaigning for an executive president directly elected by the people.
Until the parties tackle these contentious issues promulgation of the constitution is not possible within May 27 deadline.
Meanwhile, Nepali Congress Vice-president Ramchandra Poudyal has issued a statement calling different agitating ethnic groups to calm down and to help create a conducive environment for drafting the new constitution on time.
He asked the ethnic groups to maintain communal harmony, peace and to seek a solution to their problems through peaceful means of dialogue.
Poudyal’s call comes even as the general strike called by different ethnic groups in Far-west Nepal for an undivided Far-western region continued for the 16th consecutive day.

Greek socialists fail in last-ditch bid to build government

Greece's socialist leader admitted on Saturday he had failed in a last-ditch bid to form a government, taking the nation a step closer to repeat elections as it faces increased EU pressure over its finances.

Pasok chief Evangelos Venizelos's announcement came after the key radical leftist party Syriza refused to join a pro-austerity coalition with the socialists and conservatives, paving the way for weekend talks hosted by the president to try to stitch together an emergency unity government.

The latest twist in the tortuous political drama came as EU paymaster Germany threatened to cut off the country's loan lifeline and hinted that the crisis-ridden eurozone could get along without Greece.

Venizelos was the third party leader who tried and failed to cobble together a government after inconclusive elections Sunday that saw a backlash against painful austerity measures that have triggered sometimes violent protests.

"I am going to inform the president of the republic tomorrow (Saturday) and I hope that during the meeting with Carolos Papoulias, each party will assume its responsibilities," Venizelos told reporters in Athens.

If the parties cannot agree a compromise by next Thursday, new elections will have to be called.

Venizelos had been hoping to win the support of Syriza, a party deeply opposed to the terms of the 240 billion euro (311 billion dollar) EU-IMF bailout and which surged to second place in Sunday's vote.

"It is not Syriza which is rejecting (joining a coalition with the socialists and conservatives) but it is the verdict of the people of Greece," said party chief Alexis Tsipras.

Earlier, another possible ally, the small Democratic Left party, said it would not join a government made up of only Pasok and the conservative New Democracy party that did not include Syriza.

Earlier this week both Tsipras and New Democracy leader Antonis Samaras failed in their own attempts to assemble a coalition government.

German leaders warned today that Athens could expect no more money without reforms and also suggested that the eurozone would cope if the cash-strapped country left the 17-member currency union.

Greece has already committed to finding in June another 11.5 billion euros (USD 15 billion) in savings over the next two years.

It also needs to redeem 436 million euros in maturing debt on 15^th May.

The political deadlock saw the Athens stock exchange plunge 4.5 per cent on Saturday after closing up 4.19 per cent on Friday.

Today 60 years of Parliament‎

Special sittings today to mark 60 years of Parliament‎

Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha will hold special sitting on Sunday to mark 60th anniversary of the first session of Parliament.

Two living members of the first Lok Sabha Reishang Keishing and Resham Lal Jangde will be hounoured on the occasion.

Both Houses of Parliament will meet at 11:00 AM on Sunday to discuss ‘The journey of 60 years of Indian Parliament’.

91-year old Keishing, a member of Rajya Sabha was member of the first and third Lok Sabhas, while Jangde was member of first, second and ninth Lok Sabhas.

In the evening, President Pratibha Devisingh Patil will address a joint sitting of both Houses in the Central Hall.

Vice President and Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar will also address the joint sitting.

Level of Technical Education in the Country

Level of Technical Education in the Country

The Government has taken several steps to improve the quality of technical education. National Vocational Education Qualification Framework (NVEQF) has been launched to create a skill and productive work force that matches international standards of quality and productivity through integration of vocational education and training with main stream education. Apart from this, a revamped programme of Finishing Schools would also help in enhancing the employability of engineering graduates and AICTE has various schemes such as Quality Improvement Programme (QIP) scheme for improvement of faculty. The World bank funded TEQIP II also caters to improving the quality of technical education in the country. This Rs. 2430 Crore project will cover 200 institutions in the country out of which 20% will be private engineering colleges. Moreover, the National Board of Accreditation (NBA) has been set up to regulate and monitor the quality of engineering education in the country through a revised accreditation system which is outcome based.

This information was given by Dr. D. Purandeswari, Minister of State for Human Resource in written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today.

National Policy on Microfinance

National Policy on Microfinance

Planning Commission had constituted a High Level Committee on financial sector reforms under the Chairmanship of Shri Raghuram G. Rajan, Professor, Graduate School of Business, University of Chicago in August, 2007. The Committee submitted the report in September, 2008.

The Committee observed that, “despite its success, the future growth of microfinance is constrained by a number of factors. An important issue is the ability of MFIs to raise financing. Given the large estimated demand for microcredit, MFIs need multiple sources of financing, apart from the traditional loan financing from banks. Other constraints include an unclear regulatory environment and the lack of well-developed management information systems and an adequate supply of trained management talent to facilitate sustainable scaling up.”

To provide a formal statutory framework for the promotion, development, regulation and orderly growth of the micro finance sector and thereby to facilitate universal access to integrated financial services for the unbanked population, the Department of Financial Services is formulating Micro Finance Institutions (Development and Regulation) Bill 2012.

This information was given by the Minister of State for Finance, Shri Namo Narain Meena in written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha today.

Indian Banks in Rural Areas

There are 93,659 branches of Scheduled Commercial Banks (SCBs) functioning in the country as on 31st March, 2012, out of which 34,671 branches are in rural areas and 24,133 are in semi-urban areas, which together constitute about 63% of the total bank branches.

During 2010-11, the SCBs opened 3,294 branches in rural/ semi-urban areas against 1,795 branches opened in urban/ Metropolitan areas of the country.

As per the extant Branch Authorization Policy of Reserve Bank of India (RBI), general permission has been granted to domestic SCBs (other than Regional Rural Banks) to open branches in centres with a population upto 99,999 and in all centres of the North-Eastern States and Sikkim, subject to reporting. In order to further expand the banking network, RBI has advised that while preparing their Annual Branch Expansion Plan, the Banks should allocate at least 25 percent of the branches proposed to be opened during a year in unbanked rural centres with population upto 9999.

Further, under the “Swabhimaan” financial inclusion campaign, banking facilities have been provided to over 74,000 villages having population over 2000.

This information was given by the Minister of State for Finance, Shri Namo Narain Meena in written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha today.

Funds for Gram Panchayats for Border Districts of Punjab

Funds for Gram Panchayats for Border Districts of Punjab

Sh Jairam Ramesh, Union Minister for Rural Development, Drinking Water & Sanitation today announced that the Rural Development Ministry would be providing separate funds under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna (PMGSY) for enhancing road connectivity in the six border districts of Punjab i.e Amristsar, Gurdaspur, Ferozepur, Fazilka, Taran Taran and Pathankot. The Minister said this while addressing a gathering of Ministers, MLAs, Deputy Commissioners and other senior functionaries of the Government of Punjab at the Seminar on Rural Development Policies & Programmes here today. The Chief Minister of Punjab, Shri Prakash Singh Badal and Sh Sunil Sunil Jakhar, Leader of the Opposition in Punjab were also present on the occasion. The Minister said that the condition of minimum inhabitation of 500 persons for providing road connectivity under PMGSY would also be relaxed to 250 persons in the case of border districts on the lines of tribal and naxal areas. As regards the Right of Way condition of 10 metres of road, the Minister said that the rural development ministry was in favour of reducing it to 8.33 metres and already his Ministry has approached the Indian Roads Congress for giving its formal approval to the same. The Minister further announced that the Government has decided to remove the BPL condition for providing funds under the rural sanitation programmes of the Ministry. Referring to the inadequate amount of funds available for construction of a toilet under the Total Sanitation Campaign (TSC), Sh Jairam Ramesh informed that the Government has decided to increase this limit to Rs 9500 from the next month. Of this, Rs 5000 would be available as direct subsidy and Rs 4500 would be available under MNREGA. He also asked the state government to look into the aspect of liquid and solid waste management as well. At the same time, Sh Ramesh called upon the Punjab government to improve its record as far as Nirmal Gram Panchayats were concerned. He said that while in Punjab only 170 villages out a total of 12500 have been declared as Nirmal Gram Panchayats, in case of Haryana the figure was 1500 villages out 6500, which is nearly a fourth of the state’s total villages. He also informed that the work on the new BPL list for Punjab was already underway and the final list was likely to be out by September end. The Minister further added that he was of the opinion that for many rural development schemes such as the Indira Awas Yojna, the condition of BPL should not be there. Referring to the problem of water logging in the state, the Rural Development Minister said that this was a problem which had to solved jointly by the state and the Central government. While asking the Chief Minister to propose a short term and a long term plan for the problem, he suggested that the Centre would be happy to constitute a technical expert committee for looking into the issue. About the problem of drinking water in the state, the Minister said that it was not just good enough to provide drinking water, but the state should also look into the aspect of the quality of the water being provided. He observed that water in Punjab had Uranium and Arsenic contents and even fluoride in some places. He informed that the Ministry has already provided Rs 90 crore for this purpose for the current year and was prepared to give even more money, if required. Talking about his plan for strengthening the panchayats and also making them more accountable, Shri Jairam Ramesh said that the Government has decided that out of the total budgetary allocation of Rs 99,000 crore for the Rural Development Ministry, one per cent, which was nearly Rs 1000 crore would be given to the Gram Panchayats to carry out programmes as per their own priorities. This would mean that each panchayat in the country gets around Rs 5-6 lakhs annually as untied fund, he added. However to ensure greater transparency and accountability, the Minister said, every rural development programme would henceforth come under the financial and performance audit of the Comptroller & Auditor General of India (CAG). CAG, he informed, was already carrying out an audit of the performance of rural development programmes during the last six years, the report of which is expected by October or November this year. Additionally, each Gram Panchayat would have to have a compulsory certification of its accounts every year. Earlier, speaking on the occasion, Shri Prakash Singh Badal, Chief Minister of Punjab sought the help of Shri Jairam Ramesh for the project for cleaning of rivers and village ponds in the state. Shri Badal also highlighted the problem of water logging in the state and sought the help of the Union Minister in this regard. The Chief Minister also mentioned that there was an urgent need for a low cost sewerage system in the state for which the state required nearly Rs 150 crore per year out a total requirement of Rs 700 crore. He also requested Shri Ramesh to enhance the limit of funds for construction of toilets and for housing under IAY, since the present limits were too low and unviable. In his remarks, Shri Sunil Jakhar raised the issue of pollution in the rivers of Punjab, the cancer problem in the Malwa region and water logging in the Fazilka area. He called for a hike in the MNREGA wages being given in Punjab, which were quite low as compared to Haryana. While asking for a probe into the mismanagement of rural development funds in Punjab, Shri Jakhar also called upon the state government for more judicious use of Central funds and for strengthening the Panchayati Raj System in the state.

AirAsia flies higher with new look

World’s best low cost airline unveils brand new corporate identity & flight attendants’ weekend uniform

 

Sepang, 11 May 2012 - AirAsia, the world’s best low cost airline unveiled a brand new corporate identity in line with its ’10 Awesome Years’ campaign, which includes a new television commercial featuring AirAsia Allstars, a new concept for its flight attendants’ weekend uniform, apart from the announcements of a few awesome news in the pipeline at a briefing held today at AirAsia’s Headquarters in LCC Terminal, Sepang.

 

AirAsia grew from a two-aircraft airline to one of the largest and most respected low-cost carriers in the world, proving that passion and perseverance can propel a simple dream to a spectacular reality. Over the past 10 years, AirAsia has marked hundreds of amazing milestones, painting the sky red across 152 routes in 24 countries. The new look signifies a fresh new journey with more exciting things to come.

 

AirAsia’s ’10 Awesome Years’ campaign started in December last year, celebrating its tenth birthday with a series of new initiative but staying true to its core identity of being the people’s champion in democratising air travel. Since the campaign launch, the airline has announced various ‘awesome’ news such as the abolishment of counter check-in fees for international flights, baggage fee reduction where guests can now save up to 50% when they purchase their check-in baggage online; as well as revised meal prices with more discounts and even more variety of food to choose from.

 

Kathleen Tan, AirAsia’s Group Head of Commercial proudly says, “In AirAsia, we take branding very seriously. Low fares does not mean we have to be cheap. It’s about engaging our guests, delivering a service experience to make them feel good about the AirAsia brand. After 10 awesome years journey of revolutionising air travel with our low fares, incredible network and a unique “Allstars” culture we have built, we feel it’s time to give our brand a fresh and rejuvenated look and to continue to stay relevant with times. AirAsia’s branding has always embodied the spirit of being bold, innovative, dynamic and progressive in everything we do. We are excited to give our look, feel as well as our plane livery a little contemporary 'facelift'. We have gone from a Malaysian brand to a regional brand and now after 10 years, AirAsia is a global name not just in the aviation industry but one that is internationally recognisable.”

 

“The credit goes to our Group CEO, Tan Sri Tony Fernandes whose individual charisma and dynamism has breathe a lot of live to the AirAsia brand,” she added.

 

It will not just be the ads, counters and office which will have a new look as part of this branding exercise, AirAsia’s flight attendants will also get a brand new outfit for weekends. The weekend outfits are envisioned to reflect AirAsia’s image of daring to be different, sporty yet smart and sexy, apart from being vibrant and stylish. The new weekend outfits also embodies AirAsia’s active involvement in the field of sports.

 

The airline is what it is today because of the can do attitude of each and every person that makes up the AirAsia family. Each and every one of its employees—the AirAsia Allstars--represents the brand, akin to ‘walking advertisements’ for the airline. The way they do things differently via constant innovation is the key in elevating the brand, setting AirAsia apart from the rest of the field and making it the winner of numerous accolades, such as ‘The World’s Best Low Cost Airline’ award by Skytrax for three years in a row (2009, 2010, 2011).

 

The AirAsia brand has also been received well in other countries which the AirAsia group operates in, with awesome news such as Thai AirAsia preparing for IPO (initial public offering); the launch of three domestic and one international route operated by AirAsia Philippines from Clark to Davao, Kalibo, Puerto Princessa and Kuala Lumpur; AirAsia Indonesia now operating a 100% Airbus fleet and with AirAsia Japan soon to announce routes they would fly.

 

Over the years, AirAsia have also been very active in promoting the brand through sports initiatives. AirAsia is the key partner for Caterham F1 (Formula 1), Queens Park Rangers (QPR) FC (English Premier League), AirAsia ASEAN Basketball League, Philippine Patriots (Basketball), Team AirAsia-Sepang International Circuit-Ajo (MotoGP), Oakland Raiders (NFL) and run our own motorsport talent development program-- the AirAsia Caterham Driver Development Program (AACDDP).

 

AirAsia’s merchandise division, AirAsiaMegaStore is having a ‘Hot Weekly Deals’ as part of the celebration, where guests can save up to 30% on merchandise items when purchased online at www.airasiamegastore.com. AirAsiaMegaStore also gives all of AirAsia’s guests a chance to win a trip to Hong Kong whey they spend a minimum of RM10 on Skyrider merchandise at the AirAsiaMegaStore website as well.

 

If you cannot get enough of AirAsia, follow the airline on social media via Facebook (facebook.com/AirAsia) and Twitter (twitter.com/AirAsia) for the latest updates, promotions, activities and more.

Posted by Nksagar at 10:00 A

Dr. Manmohan Singh

The President of Maldives, Dr. Mohamed Waheed meeting the Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, in New Delhi on May 12, 2012. M.ASOKAN

CM PAYS FLORAL TRIBUTE TO RANJITSINH GAEKWAD

Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi , visited Lakshmi Vilas palace in Vadodara, on Friday, and paid floral tribute to late Shrimant Ranjitsinh Pratapsinh Gaekwad, who belonged to the royal family of Vadodara, died here of kidney problem, in the early hours of Thursday. Shri. Modi placed a wreath on the body of late Ranjitsinhji and paid last respect to him. Paying rich homage to Shrimant Gaekwad, Chief Minister said, he followed the rich tradition of art and culture of Gaekwad dynasty. He led a simple life and was soft spoken but used to give his opinion bravely and honestly. He had such a passion for fine arts that he remained devotee to the subject till his death. “May almighty give strength to the bereaved family to bear this unbearable shock” he expressed. State Tourism Minister Jitendra Sukhadia, Parliamentary Secretary Yogeshbhai Patel, Mayor Jyotiben Pandya, Member of Parliament Bal Krishna Shukla, Bharatsinh Parmar and Ramsinh Rathwa, MLAs Bhupendra Lakhawala & Upendrasinh Gohil, Collector Vinod Rao, members of royal families across the country and people from all walks of life gathered to pay last respect to the deceased monarch of arts and culture.

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Pak, UK target £2.5 bn bilateral trade by 2015

Pak, UK target £2.5 bn bilateral trade by 2015

London:Pakistan and UK on Thursday launched a Trade and Investment Roadmap aimed at increasing bilateral trade to £2.5 billion by 2015.With stagflation growing in developed countries and fiscal crisis in Europe British PM David Cameron called First Annual Summit of the UK-Pakistan Enhanced Strategic Dialogue.
Pakistan  Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani and British counterpart David Cameron in joint statement said this on the occasion of the First Annual Summit of the UK-Pakistan Enhanced Strategic Dialogue held in London."Pakistan and UK launched a Trade and Investment Roadmap, setting out the steps both governments will take to promote investment, support business and achieve the target of increasing bilateral trade to £2.5 billion by 2015," it said.

Pakistan Prime Minister Gilani pledged his government’s full support in ensuring an enabling business environment to attract and sustain UK trade with, and investment in, Pakistan.He expressed appreciation for the UK’s consistent support to Pakistan for enhanced market access to the European Union.
He hoped that the UK would continue to support Pakistan’s request for GSP+ and early finalization of Autonomous Trade Preferences package.

British PM David Cameron assured his country's continued support in this regard, and also encouraged Pakistani businesses to look at the opportunities the UK offers and its role as a gateway to Europe.
Both leaders also reviewed the significant progress made under the Enhanced Strategic Dialogue between Pakistan and the UK that underscores the enduring partnership between the two countries.

Two Prime Ministers noted that since its launch in 2011 the dialogue between the UK and Pakistan has become deeper and broader.They reviewed the practical co-operation on shared interests which has intensified across the five areas covered by the Enhanced Strategic Dialogue, including trade, economic growth and development, cultural co-operation, security and education.

Huawei Outlines Growth Strategy for Enterprise Business in India

Huawei Outlines Growth Strategy for Enterprise Business in India

Targets to achieve 10 per cent market share in India by 2015

Unfurls Server Bundles for Enterprise Customers in India  

• Huawei is outlining its growth strategy, defining the growth engines that are set to drive its next level of growth for enterprise business in India

• Technologies and solutions on Cloud Computing, Unified Communications, Smart City implementations etc are set to drive this growth for Huawei Enterprise

New Delhi, 09, May, 2012: With an aim to garner better market share and increase profitability for the company’s ecosystem in India, Huawei Enterprise, a global ICT products and solutions provider is outlining its growth strategy for the year 2012.

As part of this strategy, the company in association with its partners is set to target verticals like Government, BFSI, energy, power, transportation etc in a focused manner and provide its globally proven ICT products and solutions for the enterprise segment.

Speaking about the growth prospects for Huawei Enterprise India business, Mr Eric Yu, President, Huawei Enterprise said, “India is a strategic market for us and we see huge potential here. We are here for the long term and are completely committed to realize the full potential of this market. We are looking at garnering 10 per cent of market share in India by 2015. We are also expecting to have $1 billion order book from India by 2015. As an organization which is focusing towards providing ICT products & solutions, we have seen a lot of traction in segments like Government, Power, Transportation, Finance etc, we are looking at sizable growth coming from the Indian market in the coming months. And in order to achieve this growth, we would be enabling the enterprise community with specific solutions on cloud computing, unified communications, smart city implementation and data center solutions,” he explained. 

Huawei Unfurls Server Bundles for Enterprise

Server bundles christened “A Better Start”, “A Better Value for Money” and “Better Next Step”, are Huawei’s answer to the growing needs of Indian enterprise customer

With a view on the enterprise segment of the country, Huawei Enterprise, a global ICT products and solutions provider is announcing rack server bundles for different enterprise segments addressing the Enterprise community of India. As part of this offering, the company is presenting three different categories of servers which are specifically designed to deliver value for the enterprise segment. Focused around 2U form factor, these bundles are power genies configured to deliver high performance, enhanced flexibility and ensuring that you remain a step ahead of competition.

Better Start

Targeted towards the entry level application segment, this category of server bundle delivers enhanced reliability and ability to host mission critical applications. No longer is high reliable architecture only the realm of expensive top end server models.

Single power supply based servers are unusable in any Tier II Data Center application, Huawei recognizes this and incorporates dual redundant power supply, in this entry level servers that are known for delivering strong resilient performance in server rooms as well as Data centers.

While the next generation Huawei server components are more efficient than competition, yet the rugged Better Start bundle, is configured with high capacity PSU, to ensure, power sink will never be the limiting factor for an enterprise, and can grow to take more load with the growing needs of the organization.  Enterprise have an option to opt for standard Windows platform or choose a reliable Linux platform.

A Better Value for Money

A step ahead of the competition in terms of currently available server configuration at the current price points, Better value delivers High performance - to match current enterprise needs and provides the next generation capabilities to the enterprise customers.

The innovative A Better Value for Money bundle, builds on Huawei’s established path of providing higher resiliency, not only by providing redundant power supply but also the ability to provide RAID (0, 1 and 1E) thus giving you’re the option to potentially provide more performance than a traditional RAID 1 array.  This bundle carries the unique Huawei 24x7, three year on-site support bundled in.

Better Next Step

When the basics no longer meet your requirement, you need to take the next step. This is designed for enterprise applications that need more raw power. Equipped with, intrinsically more advanced version of CPU, this category of server promises better performance for processing and IO functions. 5.86 GT/s QPI, better Point-to-Point interconnect speed between the CPU and the integrated memory controller and higher clock speed for faster performance in carrying out desired functions. The characteristic Huawei 24x7 bundle continues to provide, enterprise with 24x7 supports that gives you a peace of mind for the next 3 years.

Announcing the availability of these enterprise focused servers from Huawei, Alok Sinha, AVP, General Business Sales and IT Solution, Huawei Enterprise, said,  ”At the heart of the design philosophy of these bundles, is our insatiable desire to bring most innovative solutions to our customers. The idea is to bring within the reach of organizations, specifications and services usually reserved for high end servers. With the growing value competition that our customers face from their business, this is indeed the better way to move up the value chain.” he explained. 

Showing its commitment towards delivering hands-on experience to its set of ICT solutions for the IT decision maker community, Huawei Enterprise has showcased its ICT products and solutions at the occasion. This Enterprise Meet was organized as part of Huawei’s ongoing “Huawei Enterprise Roadshow 2012”. This unique roadshow, which got started from Mumbai, has now reached New Delhi, in the form of a 50 feet demo truck - is taking Huawei’s next generation ICT business solutions to six major cities of India including, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Chennai.

‘Innovation Unplugged’: Demo Truck

In order to bring its globally proven ICT products and solutions closer to its core set of customers, Huawei Enterprise is showcasing its next generation offerings inside a Demo truck that is an integral part of this “Huawei Enterprise Roadshow 2012”.  

And as part of this live demonstration, Huawei Enterprise is featuring its horizontal solutions of Cloud Computing, Telepresence, Enterprise Network solutions and vertical solutions comprising of Intelligent Video Surveillance, eEducation and Smart Governance.

About Huawei

Huawei is a leading global information and communications technology (ICT) solutions provider. Through its dedication to customer-centric innovation and strong partnerships, the company has established end-to-end advantages in telecom networks, devices and cloud computing. Huawei is committed to creating maximum value for telecom operators, enterprises and consumers by providing competitive solutions and services. Huawei’s products and solutions have been deployed in over 140 countries, serving more than one third of the world’s population.  

Huawei's vision is to enrich life through communication. By leveraging on the experience and expertise in the ICT sector, the company is helping towards bridging the digital divide by providing opportunities to enjoy broadband services, regardless of geographic location. Today, India is Huawei’s second largest market outside of China with an employee base of over 6,500 employees across the length and breadth of the country.

**The bundles depicted here are derivatives of Huawei Next Generation Cloud Computing Strategy. Products are also available without the mentioned bundles.

Next President of India to be from tribal community.ICITP

By sagarmedia on May 9, 2012 | Leave a Comment | Edit

 

Indian Confederation of Indigenous and Tribal People’s (ICITP) Representatives of 310 tribal organizations from across the country, including the NDFB (Progressive), North East Zonal  President Jebra Ram Muchahary, today held a press conference in New Delhi at Press Club of India briefing  on subject of their demand  that the next President of India ought to be from tribal community.He said that the Scheduled Tribes comprises of nearly 8% of the population which comes to about 85-90 million people,so far no one from them has become the president of India or the prime Minister.Others minorities for example  SC/Muslim/Sikh have  become President,Prime Minister,Chief Justice and Generals but no Scheduled Tribe has held these positions.natural justice demands that the next President of India be a scheduled Tribe.
Natural Justice demands in consonance with the Constitution of our country which give equal rights to all communities demands that the next President of India be from a Scheduled Tribe.He further addressed,On Tribal becoming the President,  the tribal community will feel aligned with mainstream find their demands will be well taken care of and the national problem of civil disorder emanating  the ongoing problems of Maoist in many tribal districts  would be diluted.
NDFB (P) general secretary Gobinda Basumatary said in the last sixty-five years, the country has got a president from the Scheduled Caste, Muslim community and the Sikh community, besides the dominant class.
“But, we are yet to get one from the Adivasi community. We have impressed upon Rahul Gandhi on the need to have a President from the community,” Basumatary said to media at Press club of India New Delhi. He said the eight-member delegation comprised representatives from Maharashtra, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal, besides Assam,on Tuesday met Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi, reiterating their demand to elect an ‘indigenous tribal’ as the country’s next president
Indian Confederation of Indigenous and Tribal People’s (ICITP) North East zonal president Mr Jebra Ram Muchahary said Gandhi told the delegation that the “idea was excellent”. “Though we did not want to name anyone, Gandhi asked us our choice. We referred the name of Meghalaya Governor Ranjit Shekhar Mooshahary as we think he is the most eligible person from the community in the Northeast. But we also added that the choice was with the Congress, if they considered anyone else better,” Muchahary said.
 He said the tribal organisations have met and submitted memorandums to BJP leaders LK Advani, Sushma Swaraj, BSP supremo Mayawati and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, besides other senior political leaders seeking their endorsement to their demand. The ICITP had adopted a resolution in February 21 resolution putting forth the demand for a tribal President. Sources say some influential tribal MPs are also backing the demand. The ICITP had earlier sent a representation to Congress president Sonia Gandhi underling the need for a tribal President.
“We, as the weakest sections of the society, have been simply neglected, suppressed, oppressed, marginalised, exploited and deprived for so long though we have been contributing in the nation building,” the ICITP had said in a letter to Gandhi.
Mr Jebra Ram informed the media that about 53 MP’s presently are the total strength of the tribal  community in both house.When Media asked for their consensus on the name of Mr P A Sangma, Jebra said,” we would be delighted” but tribal bodies impressed upon and said that if Mooshahary is elected as the country’s 14th President, “the Adivasis of India will feel that justices are beginning to be delivered by the privileged society.”

Appeal to all Political Leaders of India for sponsoring a Tribal candidate for the 13th President of India

Most Respected Sir/Madam,

         We send you cordial greetings from Tribal Peoples of India!

        Sir/Madam we, for and on behalf of the Indian Confederation of Indigenous and Tribal Peoples (ICITP) only apex national umbrella organization of more than 310 Tribal organizations of India representing the 700 Tribal Communities (Adivasis) of India would like to draw your humble attention to the following facts for your kind consideration and necessary action.

       As you are aware of the fact that we the Adivasis (The Indigenous and Tribal Peoples) are the sons of the soil in this country and the custodians of life sustaining resources, values, rich culture and traditions.

        We are aware of the fact that Indian political leaders including you are busy looking for a suitable candidate for the forthcoming 13th Presidential Election for the nation.  Within the period of sixty five years of independent India, apart from the dominant society, three terms went to the Muslim minority, one term to the Sikh minority and one term to the Scheduled Caste (S.C.) but unfortunately the people in India could never found President, Vice President or Prime Minister from the weakest section of the society particularly the Adivasis (Indigenous and Tribal Peoples) of this country. We as the weakest section of the society in India have been simply neglected, suppressed, oppressed, marginalized, exploited and deprived for so long though they have been contributing equally in the Nation building processes. Under these circumstances, the following questions arise:

• Are we, the Adivasis (The Indigenous and Tribal Peoples) of India are regarded as equal citizen or as the 2nd class citizen in this country? 

• Does the privileged society still think that the Adivasis (The Indigenous and Tribal Peoples) in India are not capable of serving the nation in such capacities as mentioned above? or

• Is it because the Adivasis (The Indigenous and Tribal Peoples) do not have any national political affiliation to facilitate or lobby for these processes?

            We strongly feel that the national political parties and the politicians in India must rethink to give a chance to the capable personalities belonging to the Adivasis, the weakest section of the Indian Society, who are otherwise equally competent with the privileged society for these top posts to serve the nation.  Unfortunately, the Adivasis (The Indigenous and Tribal Peoples) in India have been mere colonized, dominated, exploited, suppressed, oppressed and politically marginalized by the privileged society in every respect. We also strongly feel that our national political leaders have been talking about the reservation for minorities and underprivileged to win the hearts of the grassroots to buy votes to remain in power but utterly failed to understand the sentiments, the voices and ordeals of millions of the Adivasis (The Indigenous and Tribal Peoples) of India.

            The Indian Confederation of Indigenous and Tribal Peoples (ICITP) the only apex body of the Indigenous and Tribal Peoples of India, therefore would like to appeal to all the political parties and political leaders to seriously consider nominating the 13th President of the nation from the Adivasis (The Indigenous and Tribal Peoples) to prove your commitments to the Constitution of India that we all are equal citizen in practice on the ground reality.

            In this connection, ICITP on behalf of the Adivasis (The Indigenous and Tribal Peoples) of India would like to appeal your honour to sponsor nominating an appropriate Senior Adivasi Ratna Shri Ranjit Shekar Mooshahary, the Governor of Meghalaya, Shillong, who is an honest, most competent and popular Adivasi son of this country as a consensus candidate to the post of the President of India for the 13th President's election from your UPA-II. If this is fulfilled, the Adivasis (The Indigenous and Tribal Peoples) of India will feel that justices are beginning to be delivered by the privileged society, which will surely assuage the feeling of long neglect and discrimination.

            Further, considering the UN 2nd decades of the World Indigenous Peoples, this will raise credential of Indian Nation in the eyes of the International Community.

            That Sir/Madam, we are aware of the fact that for this, India needs strong political will and courage and this is only possible if you are taking up the matter.

            Looking forward to seeing your just, exemplarily and historic decision in the history of Indian politics and a strong political will and fulfilment of your shared responsibilities towards the constitutional safeguard and upliftment of weakest section of the people, particularly the Adivasis (The Indigenous and Tribal Peoples) of this country.

                                                                  With highest regards,

(Jebra Ram Muchahary)                                                                            (Dr. Cecil Khakha)

    Chief Advisor, ICITP                                                                             Secretary General, ICITP

          New Delhi                                                                                               New Delhi.                                                                

     

हज़ सब्सिडी पर निर्णय सरकार के मुंह पर तमाचा: विहिप  

        नई दिल्ली मई 09, 2012| हज़ सब्सिडी पर सर्वोच्च न्यायालय का निर्णय सरकार की मुस्लिम तुष्टीकरण की नीतियों पर गहरा तमाचा है। विहिप दिल्ली के महामंत्री श्री सत्येन्द्र मोहन ने देश की सरकारों को नसीहत दी है कि इस निर्णय के बाद वे अपनी मुस्लिम तुष्टीकरण नीतियों पर पुनर्विचार करें तथा भारत के संविधान की मूल भावना को समझते हुए धार्मिक आधार पर किसी भी प्रकार आरक्षण या अन्य भेद भाव को रोकें।

विहिप दिल्ली के झण्डेवालान स्थित कार्यालय में आज हुई एक बैठक के बाद मीडिया प्रमुख श्री विनोद बंसल ने बताया कि विहिप के प्रान्त महामंत्री ने दिल्ली सरकार तथा उसके अल्पसंख्यक आयोग द्वारा मुसलिम युवकों को विना गारंटी लोन दिये जाने तथा मदरसों के आधुनिकीकरण हेतु सरकारी पैसा दिए जाने के खिलाफ़ भी चेताया है। उन्होंने यह भी कहा कि एक ओर केन्द्र सरकार म्यान्मार से आए हजारों मुस्लिम शरणार्थियों को दिल्ली में बसाने की अनुमति दे चुकी है जबकि गत छ: माह से दर-दर की ठोकरें खा रहे पाकिस्तान से अपनी जान बचाकर आए मात्र 150 हिन्दुओं को बार-बार पाकिस्तान बापस भेजने की धमकी दे रही है। उन्होंने पूछा कि क्या इसी को सैक्यूलरिज्म कहा जाता है? विहिप ने मांग की है कि केन्द्र सहित देश की सभी सरकारें धार्मिक आधार पर देश की जनता के साथ किसी भी प्रकार के भेदभाव को रोकें तथा देशवासियों की मेहनत की कमाई से दिए गए टैक्स का दुरुपयोग सिर्फ़ अपने वोट बैंक को साधने में न करें अन्यथा देश का हिन्दू समाज चुप नहीं बैठेगा।

Removal of Protectionist Trade Barriers by SAFTA Nations

 This issue is being discussed in the trade related meetings of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries. There is a general consensus amongst the SAFTA member countries to liberalize the SAFTA trading arrangements and to remove the trade barriers. This progress is ongoing in consultation with the stakeholders.

This information was given by Shri Jyotiraditya M. Scindia , Minister of State for Commerce & Industry in written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today.

Books on career options after class-12 released by CM

Books will be given to the students along with their class-12 result

Chief Minister Narendra Modi today released two books published by the state’s education department on the career options and opportunities available after class-12 Science and General streams.

The books will be given to the students along with their class-12 results, said Education Minister Ramanlal Vora.

The book for the Science stream lists career options available in engineering (degree/diploma), pharmacy (degree/diploma), medical, paramedical, architecture, designing, fashion technology, disaster management, agriculture, veterinary, petroleum, dairy technology management, healthcare, clinical research and nutrition among others. The book also give useful details related to different institutes, admission procedure, available seats, fee structure, schemes for scholarship and financial assistance, education loans and important websites.

The book for the General stream gives details of the options such as general nursing, education, fashion technology, designing, footwear, film and television, music, drama, CA and CS among others. Usually, the General stream students have an impression that they can only opt for BA or B.Com courses, but in this book they will be able to explore a host of career options.         

The Chief Minister congratulated the Education department for coming out with such useful publications for students. The scope of career opportunities has greatly expanded with Gujarat’s all-round development, he said. He exuded faith that the books will prove useful to the students and parents. 

Datawind announces multi- language support for Ubislate series tablets

Posted on May 9, 2012

 Datawind announces multi- language support for Ubislate series tablets

Strategic alliance with Reverie Language Technologies to Offer world’s lowest cost tablet PCs in multiple languages
New Delhi, 9 May, 2012 – Users of Ubislate tablets will be able to use the tablet in English, Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Punjabi and various other languages of India and the world. Datawind has entered a strategic alliance with Reverie Language Technologies Pvt. Ltd. of Bangalore to ensure that the Ubislate series of tablets will offer an end user experience in all major local languages of India and the world.
Announcing the alliance Suneet Singh Tuli, CEO of Datawind said, “We are very happy to have formed this strategic partnership with Reverie for supply of language solutions. We feel strongly that technology should reach every corner of the world and knowledge of English should not be a barrier. This language solution will benefit the users by offering a new world of services and products to a segment of world population that has been ignored for so long.”
Reverie Language Technologies CEO Arvind Pani said, “We are very excited to be part of Datawind family and getting a chance of making digital information available to the masses in their preferred language. We strongly believe that our alliance will go a long way in bridging the digital divide in the under-privileged communities across the world.”
An operating system level of integration will ensure that the complete user experience will be in the language of choice of the customer. UbiSlate tablets will have text- rendering technology capable of displaying all languages including complex scripts and keypads for all supported languages including transliteration technology.
Datawind will provide UbiSlate range of tablets and its services in all major local regional Indian and world languages. The language aware tablets will allow the information to be consumed and created in the preferred language of the user, freeing them from using English alone.
About Datawind
Datawind is a leading provider of wireless web access products and services. DataWind’s product range includes the PocketSurfer handheld internet device, UbiSurfer netbooks and UbiSlate tablet devices. Based on several international patents, Datawind’s breakthrough technologies solve the bandwidth limitations of cellular networks by accelerating content delivery by factors of 10x to 30x – resulting in a superior mobile web experience at a lower cost. Datawind has offices in Amritsar, London, Montreal, Dallas and New Delhi.
About Reverie Language Technologies
Reverie Language Technologies is a leading provider of language solutions for digital platforms. Reverie’s product range includes Text Rendering Engine, Fonts, Input Methods and Transliteration Engine, based on several pending patents and copyrights. Reverie’s world leading solutions help solve the issue of digital divide across the under-privileged communities globally. Reverie is based in Bangalore, India with representative offices in Virginia, USA