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Live-in, pre-marital sex no offence: SC

NEW DELHI: There is good news for the votaries of the live-in partners. The Supreme Court on Tuesday observed that the live-in relationships between the adult couples cannot be treated as an offence. 

“When two adult people want to live together what is the offence. Does it amount to an offence? Living together is not an offence. It cannot be an offence,” said a bench comprising Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan, Justice Deepak Verma and Justice B S Chauhan. 

Drawing an analogy from the Hindu mythology, the court said, even Lord Krishna and Radha lived together. 

The apex court said there was no law which prohibits live-in relationship or pre-marital sex. 

The bench passed the observation while reserving its judgement on a special leave petition filed by noted south Indian actress Khushboo. She had approached the apex court seeking quashing of about 22 criminal cases filed against her after she allegedly endorsed pre-marital sex in interviews to various magazines in 2005. 

While hearing the case, the judges grilled the counsel for some of the complainants in the case and repeatedly stressed that the perceived immoral activities cannot be branded as offence. 

The argument of the counsel was that her comments allegedly endorsing pre-marital sex would adversely affect the minds of young people leading to decay in moral values and ethos of the country. 

“Please tell us what is the offence and under which section. Living together is a right to life,” remarked the court. apparently referring to Article 21 of the Constitution relating to right to life and liberty. The apex court further said the views expressed by Khushboo were personal. 

“How does it concern you. We are not bothered. At the most it is a personal view. How is it an offence? Under which provision of the law?” the bench asked the counsel. 

The apex court further asked the complainants to produce evidence to show if any girls eloped from their homes after the said interview. 

“How many homes have been affected can you tell us,” court asked while enquiring whether the complainants had daughters. When the response was in the negative, they shot back, “Then, how are you adversely affected”? 

Khushboo had approached the apex court after the Madrash High Court in 2008 dismissed her plea for quashing the criminal cases filed against her through out Tamil Nadu.

Source: economictimes.indiatimes.com

'Injured' Smith ruled out of IPL

Rajasthan Royals player Greame Smith was on Tuesday (March 16) ruled out of the third edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) after sustaining a finger injury during their match against Delhi Daredevils in Ahmedabad yesterday. Smith aggravated the injury on his little finger, which he sustained on SA's tour to India earlier this year.

The South African was taken for scans and has been ruled out of the tournament, which is a huge blow for the Rajasthan Royals team. Smith will now fly home to South Africa in order to recover for the T20 World Cup.

Meanwhile, Dmitri Mascarenhas had twisted his ankle and in-form Yusuf Pathan hurt his shoulder as he landed while diving against the Daredevils.

Shane Warne, the captain of Rajasthan Royals said that the injuries have put a question mark over the availability of the trio for the Jaipur based team’s next game.

"He [Mascarehnas] was only limping, though he could hardly walk. He showed a lot of courage to come out and bowl. His ankle is in ice," said Warne.

Warne ealier also feared that Smith might have broken his finger.

"Yusuf might`ve popped something in his shoulder. Not much to smile about, outplayed in everything, and injuries to three pretty big players as well. Can`t get much worse than that," he said. 

Resource: www.timesnow.tv

Inspirational Quotes

The thing always happens that you really believe in; and the belief in a thing makes it happen.

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Facebook is Hiring - In India!

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Live in India, love Facebook and always dreamt of working for it? Here is your chance, as Facebook is launching its first Asian office in the southern city of India - Hyderabad.

Facebook said its new operations center in Hyderabad will supplement operations supported out of Palo Alto, California, Dublin, Ireland and a recently announced location in Austin, Texas. The Hyderabad office, like the others, will also house online advertising and developer support teams.  Having multiple support centers in a variety of time zones provides Facebook users and advertisers around the world with round-the-clock, multi-lingual support. 

A full list of job descriptions can be viewed here. 

  

With more than 8 million people in India now actively using the site to connect with people across the globe, this move indicates Facebook's interest in the country.

Source: www.techtree.com

Aircel "Peek", A Qwerty Email Handset For Rs 2,999

Aircel India has taken a huge gamble by introducing a new device called "Peek" which is a Qwerty device similar to those provided by RIM’s Blackberry.

The device which is targeted at email users, has a Qwerty keyboard and is specifically for emails. Aircel boasts that Peek is the thinnest email device ever created. Peek in itself is not a pricey device, and at Rs. 2,999 it is almost a steal, but would Indian consumers really buy a device just for emails?

Consider this, most of the smartphones available today have email capability along with video, camera, voice and more, so would users buy a device just for the sake of email?

The marketing strategy of Aircel may not be wrong, but they are basically targeting a small niche of users who want dedicated devices to check their email and not the entire package which a smartphone offers. Whether a device with only email capabilities succeeds or not is a feat we will be watching.

Specifications: Aircel Peek is available in the two colors, black and red and comes with a Qwerty keyboard. Users can currently configure only 3 email accounts, which makes no sense to me and will have PUSH email capability.

Battery life is supposedly 2-3 days, but expect it to be much lower if you are a heavy email user. To top it you can only store up-to 5000 email message right now and about 1000 contacts.

Charges: Users will have to pay an initial amount of Rs. 897 for email access for 90 days and then have to shell out a monthly charge of Rs. 299 every month to download their emails.

Verdict: This device will definitely not take off as much as Aircel expects, considering that it restricts users to only 3 email accounts and also has a charge of Rs. 299 per month which is almost equivalent to a GPRS connection price one pays on mobile smartphones. In addition to that, this device is practically useless without a Internet connection and does not even allow you to make phone calls. All in all, my prediction is that, this device will be a big failure.

If you are interested in the Aircel Peek, you can find more information and purchasing details at the Official Aircel site.

Source: techie-buzz.com

‘3 Idiots’ Movie to Be Available On YouTube: Google Gets Into Pay-Per-Download Business

In a move that will surprise many, the producer of the Bollywood movie ‘3 Idiots’ has announced that, the movie will be legally available on YouTube within 12 weeks of its release.

Vidhu Vinod Chopra – the producer of the movie, hopes this will help in countering piracy. “I’m providing this facility for those who can’t see it on big screen and watch pirated movies. I just want them to discourage pirated prints. They just need to wait for 12 weeks and after that they can legally download the movie and watch it,” said Chopra.

Viewers will also be able to download the entire film from YouTube for a certain fee. Although the amount hasn’t been disclosed yet, this is probably the first time where YouTube would be legally allowing video downloads. ‘3 Idiots’ will signal Google’s entry into the pay-per-download business.

Indian film-makers have been trying various avenues in a bid to tackle rampant piracy. Earlier this year, movies like ‘Kaminey’ and ‘What’s Your Raashee’ premiered on DTH (direct to home) services, within a month of their theatrical releases. In a sense, Vidhu Vinod Chopra isn’t doing anything radical. But, with a low broadband penetration it will be interesting to see how profitable this experiment will turn out to be.

Source: techie-buzz.com

Daily Quotes

Live your life and forget your age.

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Fun Quotes

Comedy is simply a funny way of being serious. 

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From June 1, tobacco packs to carry scarier pictures

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NEW DELHI: It's a picture that 98% people polled in seven states of India said will repulse tobacco users, in turn helping them to quit smoking or chewing tobacco. 

A new pictorial warning will appear on every tobacco pack sold in India from June 1 and it sure isn't pretty. 

The health ministry's latest notification, made on March 5, has chosen a gory picture of a rotting cancer-stricken mouth to appear on tobacco packs. In field tests in Orissa, Bihar, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh by the Voluntary Health Association of India, 98% of the 734 people polled found the picture repulsive and perfect to help smokers quit. 

The warning will cover 40% of the tobacco pack in all local languages with the message 'Tobacco Kills' and 'Tobacco Causes Cancer'. 

Pictorial warning was enforced on May 31, 2009 after the intervention of the Supreme Court. However, the pictorial warnings notified then were very mild and therefore found ineffective. The rules mandate that the pictorial warnings should be rotated every 12 months. 

"Pictures with shock value will make smokers quit. Earlier, warnings were feelgood. While one depicted a scorpion, the other two was an X-ray plate of a TB patient's chest and a photograph of a cigarette stub with a cross sign over it," a ministry official said. 

Experts say mild pictorial warnings would defeat its purpose — to scare away smokers. 

"The warnings can't be soft. It has to convey the ills of tobacco smoking and chewing," the official said. 

According to researchers, smoking in India is more common among illiterate men than those who had at least completed primary education. Over 50% of tobacco deaths occur in illiterate men or women, with 80% of them residing in rural India. "Pictorial warning labels, that can convey risks of smoking to the large number of illiterate adults in India who smoke, might be a particularly effective strategy," the official said. 

"International experience has taught us that warnings need to be big and scary and colourful. Only then do they catch the eye and deter people. In India, only 2% smokers quit," he added. 

Presently, 9 lakh people, nearly 2,200 per day, die every year in India due to tobacco related diseases. About 250 million people in India use tobacco products like gutka, cigarettes and bidis. Over 16% are cigarette smokers and 44% smoke bidis. The health ministry estimates that 40% of India's health problems stem from tobacco use.

Resource: timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Forbes releases billionaires ’10 list

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Forbes has released its 2010 list of Billionaires. There at least two Indians in the top five list and the richest man is no longer Bill Gates.

The veterans Bill Gates and Warren Buffet have made way for Mexican telecom tycoon, Carlos Slim Helu, at the top spot with a networth of $53.5 billion, pushing Gates and Buffet to runner up positions at rank 2 and 3 respectively.

Cashing in at 4 and 5 are none other than fellow Indians, Mukesh Ambani and Laxmi Mittal.

Mukesh Ambani has bagged the 4th spot with a networth of a massive $29 billion as compared to last years 7th place and $19.5 billion dollar networth.

Steel tycoon Laxmi Mittal has also moved up from being ranked 8th to round off this years top 5 with networth of $28.7 billion as against last years $19.3 billion.

India has prominently featured in the list this year as compared to last with a total of six Indians in the top 50 as compared to only the Ambani brothers and Laxmi Mittal being listed last year.

India has also clocked a massive $113.6 billion put together, making the $48.8 billion networth of the three individuals last year look like a

measly sum.

Azim Premji has joined the elite 50 in the 28th position with $17 billion. But Mukesh's younger brother Anil Ambani slipped two places down from the 34th rank last year to 36th this year with his networth standing at $13.7 billion.

Essar brothers, Shashi and Ravi Ruia come in at 40th with $13 billion and rounding up India's standing in the top fifty is Savitri Jindal with $12 billion networth.

With the India growth story back on track and Indian business making its presence felt in the global arena, the Forbes listing reflects the rise and rise of the Asian tiger.

Resource: beta.profit.ndtv.com

Bank Of Baroda Announces Recruitment Notice

NEW DELHI, INDIA (GaeaTimes.com)- The third largest public sector bank of India, Bank of Baroda has recently announced recruitment notices for Probationary Officers in its various branches across India. As per the announcement, 1200 vacancies exist. The interested applicants need to apply before April 10, 2010. They will be able to apply by means of the bank’s own site. The bank is rated just after SBI and PNB, two leading public sector Indian banks. BoB as it is also called, has more than 3000 branches across India and also operates in as many as 25 nations worldwide. Its total assets exceed Rs. 2,274 billion. It also has branches in rural ares of the nation.

The Bank of Baroda Recruitment notice is applicable for the position of Junior Management Grade or Scale 1 probationary Officers. Applicants will be able to start applying online from March 15 onwards. The application details like selection procedure, eligibility criteria and application fee are available in the website of the bank. The candidates who will be shortlisted after applying online for the posts will be made to undergo a comprehensive written test. It will comprise of a number of sections like Quantitative Aptitude, Banking Awareness, English, aptitude for marketing, reasoning and so on.

The candidates will be selected according to their performance in the written test and they will be asked by Bank of Barodafor interview subsequently. There is likely to be a round of group discussion with the interview as well. The decision of the bank will be final regarding the final selection of the eligible candidates.

Resource: blog.taragana.com

Infosys sees increase in outsourcing

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MUMBAI: IT major, Infosys Technologies, has witnessed an increase in outsourcing deals as all major markets are back on the recovery track, a top company official said.

"What has changed in the last two quarters is that the markets have improved and deals are coming back. We see more deal-flows," Infosys' chief executive officer and managing director, S Gopalakrishnan said.

As the deal pipeline is improving, the infotech major is looking at diversifying its business worldwide "The recovery is led by the United States and other emerging markets such as India and China. The United States contributes 60% of the total business. Clearly this is having more impact on the Indian infotech services. Proactively we are investing more on diversifying our business," he said.

Presently, the company's revenue distribution is 60% from North America, 25% from Europe and the balance from other parts of the world. "In 5-years from now, we see the revenue distribution at 40% from North America, 40% from Europe and 20% from rest of the world," Gopalkrishnan said.

Pricing would remain stable, he said. 

Resource: timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Inspirational Quotes

Argue for your limitations and sure enough they are yours.

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Success Quotes

 

Success is how high you bounce 

when you hit bottom.

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Daily Quotes

 

Go confidently in the direction of your dreams

Live the life you have imagined.

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Microsoft India unveils Windows Azure

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Global software giant Microsoft on Monday unveiled a portfolio of services in India that will help companies share software and storage facilities, called cloud computing, that can bring down their total IT spend by as much as 50 per cent.

Windows Azure — the company’s latest offering in the area of cloud computing — is now available commercially in India, said Microsoft India group Director Vikas Arora. “Some 3,500 applications for Azure have been developed out of India alone,” Arora told IANS.

In cloud computing, companies share computer resources — such as servers, software and data storage —— through the Internet, instead of setting up such infrastructure at their own end.

This kind of computing has become a smart way of doing businesses and such offerings are estimated to have generated about $45 billion in revenues for service providers in 2008, and are projected to soar to $150 billion by 2013.

“We are today in India across all the three layers of cloud — infrastructure, platform or the set of services that are on offer,” Arora said, adding cost is one of the key benefits for a company that opts for such services.

Both individuals and companies are already using cloud computing with services such as webmail and sharing of software and other applications. The concept is evolving into a simple, pay-per-use way to get services on tap, just like electricity, for businesses.

The cloud is also a green way to do business. Organisations don’t need to set up server banks running lots of software — just pay for what you use. The provider services many users from one set of equipment, halving energy and equipment cost per user.

According to Microsoft, companies have reported anywhere between 16-49 per cent reduction in their total spend on information technology and related services over a three-year period after migrating to cloud computing.

The company has already launched several products and solutions in India in other layers of cloud computing as part of its overall strategy for enterprises, even as security of data by using such shared services continues to be a concern.

But Microsoft said it was aware of the issue and had strong data security protocol.

“Keeping the customers’ confidence would be the key to further cloud computing. We have actually gone threadbare on all the aspects of data security. We got all our facilities specifically audited to meet the security standards,” said Arora.

“A breach can happen anywhere in the pipeline. So, everybody involved needs to focus on best practices — for coding and securing applications.”

Resource: thehindu.com

IT Buzz: Check out the latest at Infosys, Wipro and TCS

Large outsourcing contracts worth up to $1 billion look set for a comeback this year, as companies from segments like retail, banking, telecom and utilities, apart from government bodies, seek to cope with renewed demand for their services and also lower their operational expenses. 

Outsourcing experts and industry officials said that auto customers too are looking to award large contracts for managing their business and IT systems this year. British Petroleum’s IT contract worth $1.5 billion awarded to Indian vendors TCS, Infosys and Wipro early this year was one such mega deal. 

Resource: economictimes.indiatimes.com

Friendship Quotes

Build bridges instead of walls and you will have a friend.

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Use latest technology in autism research, says Abdul Kalam

‘There is need to infuse a sense of equality into the life of these children'

— PHOTO: S.R. Raghunathan 

 

SPECIAL OCCASION:The former President, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, obliging requests for autographs and interacting with teachers of special children at the inauguration of ‘Learn 2010 — International seminar on Inclusive Education' in Chennai on Friday.

CHENNAI: The former President of India, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, on Friday urged researchers to focus on isolating the main causes of autism and spectrum disorders using the latest diagnostic technologies.

“Identifying the genetic and environmental factors that cause autism is the key to imparting proper training to children with special needs,” Mr. Kalam said, adding that the study of the brain structure could be done more efficiently with advanced diagnostic facilities.

In addition, environmental factors — such as the impact of joint/nuclear families on autism — must also be studied, he said.

‘Special packages'

“Mapping the brain structure of someone with autism will also provide opportunities to diagnose the condition better and fashion better treatment and training methodologies,” Mr. Kalam said.

Special psychological packages based on evidence from the research and experiential learning of mothers, teachers and caregivers could be evolved to train children, he added.

Mr. Kalam was speaking at the inauguration of ‘Learn 2010 — International Seminar on Inclusive Education' organised by Sankalp, an NGO that runs the Open School and Learning Centre for children with learning disabilities and autism.

Mr. Kalam added that any disorder in the human faculty leads to greater dependence on others, and consequently, the lowering of self esteem.

“There is a need to infuse a sense of equality into the life of these children, and the way to do that would be to focus on early diagnosis, engage them in skills and train them,” he said.

Mr. Kalam also spoke of ongoing research projects that involve technology, mathematical simulation and bio-engineering to work towards optimally involving a child with special needs.

N. Ram, Editor-in-Chief of The Hindu, said there were many facets to the challenge of building a more inclusive educational system.

‘Insufficient'

“While there have been heartening signs of improvement in levels of awareness, it is clearly insufficient. India has simply not done enough to respond to the needs of all children, especially children with special needs.

“The Right to Education Act makes punishable by law any attempt to deny children with disabilities admission in schools. But there is a big gap between the law on paper and its practice,” Mr. Ram said.

Sulatha Ajit, director (special education) of Sankalp, said the vision of the organisation was to provide holistic care for children with special needs.

“Over the last decade, Sankalp has been working towards creating self-reliant children,” Ms. Ajit said, adding that the seminar was organised as the first step in facilitating a better atmosphere for inclusive education.

France-Albert René, the former President of Seychelles, launched Sankalp's website, http://www.sankalpnet.org.

Man-Woman Quotes

Sure God created man before woman. But then you always make a rough draft before the final masterpiece.

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India to issue e-passports to citizens soon

BANGALORE: India will soon begin issuing electronic passports to its citizens within three days of applying using biometrics and digital technology, External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna said Saturday. 

In the run-up to commissioning the high-tech service, Krishna unveiled two e-Passport Seva Kendras (PSK) in this tech hub that will be operated by India's IT bellwether Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), which bagged the multi-billion rupee deal. 

"Our objective is to ensure that it becomes much easier for any citizen of this country to get a passport in electronic format in the shortest time (three days) in a transparent and reliable manner through streamlined processes," Krishna told reporters at one of the centres set up on a pilot basis in the heart of the city. 

The other five centres where PSKs have been set up are Hubli and Mangalore in Karnataka, one each in Chandigarh, Ludhiana in Punjab and Ambala in Haryana. 

The second centre in the state is located in east Bangalore near the old airport. A mini-PSK will be set up at Gulbarga in north Karnataka soon. 

The PSKs will dispatch fresh passports in three working days after submission subject to police verification and on same day under the tatkaal scheme. 

The consular and passport division (CPV) of the external affairs ministry plans to set up 77 PSKs across the country by 2011 in partnership with TCS at an estimated cost of Rs.100 crore (Rs.1 billion). 

"The demand for passports is projected to touch 10 million in 2011 from 5.7 million in 2010," Krishna noted. 

Though the existing 37 passport offices across the country are fully computerised, the average time take to deliver a passport is 30-45 days. 

"Rapidly growing demand has put considerable strain on manpower and infrastructure leading to delays in issuance of passports and crowded conditions in passport offices," the CPV said in a statement issued. 

Allaying apprehensions of CPV division employees working in passport offices on outsourcing the front and back office operations to a private partner (TCS), Krishna said their concerns and grievances were being addressed by the ministry. 

"I have assured the employees that their jobs were safe and their service is protected. On the contrary, the e-passport service will enhance their quality of work and efficiency, as they will be fully trained in using the latest technology," Krishna clarified. 

Terming the PSKs as the ministry's flagship service, the minister said the employees would continue to perform sovereign and sensitive functions, including granting, printing and dispatch of passports, besides policy issues. 

When fully commissioned over the next 18 months, the 77 PSKs will be linked to a centralised data and disaster recovery centre in New Delhi and connected with present passport offices and district police headquarters. 

The system has been planned with 99.5 percent up-time. 

In addition to digital photo, the e-passport will have fingerprints of the applicant embedded in the book. 

"The service provider (TCS) will charge Rs.199 per applicant towards processing fee for issuing an e-passport. The data centre and disaster recover centre will be manned by the CPV along with the National Informatics Centre and the Software Technology Parks of India (STPI), a CPV official said. 

For ensuring fool-proof security, the ministry has appointed the standard testing and quality control directorate (STQC) of the department of IT to conduct a comprehensive third party audit.

"The ownership and strategic control of the core and critical assets of the project, i.e., passport application software, system software and data centre will rest with the ministry," the official pointed out. 

Resource: economictimes.indiatimes.com

Incredible India

The world's highest cricket ground is in Chail, Himachal Pradesh.
Built in 1893 after levelling a hilltop, this cricket pitch is 2444 meters above sea level.

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Destiny

During a momentous battle, a Japanese general decided to attack even though his army was greatly outnumbered. He was confident they would win, but his men were filled with doubt.

On the way to the battle, they stopped at a religious shrine. After praying with the men, the general took out a coin and said, "I shall now toss this coin. If it is heads, we shall win. If it is tails we shall lose."

"Destiny will now reveal itself."

He threw the coin into the air and all watched intently as it landed. It was heads. The soldiers were so overjoyed and filled with confidence that they vigorously attacked the enemy and were victorious.

After the battle. a lieutenant remarked to the general, "No one can change destiny."

"Quite right," the general replied as he showed the lieutenant the coin, which had heads on both sides.

Success Quotes

In order to succeed, your desire for success should be greater than your fear of failure.

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