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Houston: A 30-year-old Indian American pharmacist, suffering from postpartum depression, allegedly killed her one-year-old son she hated by drowning him in a bathtub.
According to police reports, Neha Patel, of Florida allegedly drowned her infant son Ishan on February 16, then wrapped him in a blanket and went on a 13-hour drive through Florida, including the Tampa International Airport, where she intended to jump from the parking structure.
According to the Polk County Sheriff's Office, from the day her son was born, Neha said she hated him and the hatred reached a fatal level on that day, when she first slapped him and then purposefully left him alone to drown in a bathtub half full of water.
When she returned 10 minutes later and found him unconscious, she refused to perform emergency cardiopulmonary resuscitation, even though she knew the procedure, the sheriff's office said.
Patel had reportedly been diagnosed with postpartum depression but was apparently not taking her medication, according to police and media reports. When Patel returned home at 2 AM the next morning, she told her husband Rasesh Patel, a quality assurance manager at JP Morgan in Tampa, that Ishan was dead, handed the lifeless body to the father and again drove off in the car, telling her husband she planned to kill herself.
Neha was arrested that afternoon at the Tampa International Airport, sitting in her car on the fourth floor of the parking structure.
She is being held without bail in a medical dormitory at a county jail, according to Carrie Eleazer, public information officer for the Polk County Sheriff's Office.
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New Delhi: On a day when two senior partners in his coalition snubbed the government, the Prime Minister is hosting a dinner for all his allies. The meet-and-greet is being held at his residence, 7 Race Course Road. The National Conference's Farooq Abdullah is present; TR Baalu is representing the DMK. Mamata Banerjee's RSVP is causing much political angst - she has deputed her MP Ratna De Nag. Sharad Pawar, who heads the Nationalist Congress Party or NCP fainted in the Lok Sabha today and was discharged from hospital this evening; his deputy and union minister Praful Patel is at the dinner instead. (Read: Pawar faints in Lok Sabha, discharged from hospital) The Congress has been criticised lately by its allies for poor coordination and for failing to consult them. Tonight's dinner is seen as a chance to rebuild bridges amid reports that the coalition is on shaky ground. Ms Banerjee has denied interest in exiting the government or in exploring political options, but her actions have suggested otherwise. Talk of a Third Front with the Samajwadi Party, the Left and Chandrababu Naidu's TDP continues to do the rounds. Earlier today, Ms Banerjee's Trinamool Congress and the DMK made public moves that undermine the government. The President's address to Parliament inaugurates the first session of the new year and explains the government's agenda. Yesterday, President Pratibha Patil delivered her speech, launching the budget session, Today, the DMK and Mamata Banerjee registered their protests by asking for amendments to that speech.
Ms Banerjee has asked her MPs to move an amendment that asks for the reference to the new National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) deleted. The chief minister of West Bengal has been the Group Captain for ten chief ministers who have objected to the NCTC on the grounds that its powers encroach upon those of state governments. The Centre has delayed the commissioning of the NCTC till an extensive dialogue is completed with states.
President Patil had said in para 91 of her speech, "The National Intelligence Grid and the National Counter Terrorism Centre aim to improve India's capability to counter internal security threats." Because state governments have not lifted their objections to the NCTC, Ms Banerjee's party wants its mention to be removed. In the Lok Sabha today, Home Minister P Chidambaram said, "I believe NCTC is an absolute necessity; I do not believe it violates the federal structure."
The DMK's amendments want the President's address to reflect India's stand on alleged war crimes by the Sri Lankan government. A resolution backed by the US against reported atrocities will come up within the next few days at the United Nations Human Rights Council at Geneva. The DMK has said India must vote against Sri Lanka. The party also wants the President's address to refer to the repeated arrests by Sri Lanka of fishermen from Tamil Nadu.
Ms Banerjee late last year forced the government to suspend its reforms in retail just days after they were announced. With her 19 MPs, she is an indispensable partner in the UPA. She also accused the Centre of violating the principles of federalism late last year, when the Centre introduced the anti-corruption Lokpal Bill in the Lok Sabha. Though the bill was passed there, it has yet to be cleared by the Rajya Sabha. She also accused the Centre of violating the principles of federalism late last year, when the Centre introduced the anti-corruption Lokpal Bill in the Lok Sabha. Though the bill was passed there, it has yet to be cleared by the Rajya Sabha.
Though Ms Banerjee has said that she remains committed to the UPA, her recent gestures suggest she is not closed to exploring other options. She accepted invites to the swearing-in ceremonies for Akhilesh Yadav in UP and the Akali-BJP government in Punjab; the Congress took offense. Later, she said she would send representatives instead.
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Mr And Mrs Iyer are getting ready to reunite for another love story, this time based on the Tagore novel, Shesher Kabita (The Last Poem, 1929). It revolves around two iconic characters of Bengali literature, Amit and Labannya, who will be played by Rahul Bose and Konkana Sen Sharma. Sumon Mukherji’s Bengali film will flag off in April-May, wrap up by October, and should release this year.
“The timing is great since this year marks Rabindranath Tagore’s 150th birth centenary. It’s my first period film and it is wonderful that someone believes I can play such an important literary character who is part-Oscar Wilde part-Renaissance man, a Bengali aristocrat who, thanks to his travels abroad, is as comfortable with Keats as Rabi Thakur,” says Rahul. He points out that the profound transformation the Oxford educated barrister undergoes after meeting the young governess in a car accident, makes the character really exciting for him as an actor.
He admits that since Mr And Mrs Iyer (2002), 15 Park Avenue (2005) and Dil Kabaddi (2008), he has been dying to work with Konkana again, describing her as one of the most exciting actors in world cinema today. “Also, she is one of the nicest human beings I’ve known, so there’s a lot of comfort, trust and laughter on the sets,” he says. Meanwhile, Rahul has been offered three Bangladeshi Bengali films and has liked all three scripts. “One is excellent, the others very good,” he says. “I’d like to squeeze out time for at least one of them this year.”
Crime-based fiction show CID has turned 14 this year. And given that it’s constantly in the top 10 TRP charts, it doesn’t seem likely that broadcaster Sony Entertain-ment plans to take it off the air anytime soon. Over the years, the faces of the junior officers on the show have changed quite often, but many of the senior officers are played by actors who’ve been with the show since the start in 1999, such as Daya (Daya Shetty), Abhijeet (Aditya Shrivastava), Fredrix (Dinesh Phadnis), Dr Salunkhe (Narendra Gupta) and ACP Pradyuman (Shivaji Satam).
“I never thought that the show would go on for so long, though with B P Singh at the helm, I was sure about the quality,” says Shivaji Satam. “I had worked with him on a Marathi show and that’s why I took on CID. Now I don’t want to switch to another show because my co-actors have become family for me.”
Viewers often confuse the CID team with real cops, adds the actor. And fans often say that they think the TV policemen are better than the real police force. “That’s probably because we crack cases faster,” says Satam. “Also, the show’s characters deliver lines that actual police officers would never utter. The real and reel personalities overlap.”
Though he has never confused the real and the reel himself, the Marathi film and TV star says that sometimes, a role can get to an actor. “I went through a traumatic phase when I worked in a play called Dhyani Mani,” he says. “It had 440 shows in three years and revolved around a man who hallucinates that he has a child. My son at that time was as old as the child in the play, and it became very difficult for me to detach myself from the character.”
TV though, doesn’t have such pitfalls. “Once they say ‘Cut’, you know you are back to being yourself,” he says. “My health improved only after director Mahesh Manjrekar gave the play a break!”
Other TV ‘jasooses’ 1. Byomkesh Bakshi and Karamchand were pioneers. Rajit Kapoor and Pankaj Kapoor became household names. 2. Shekhar Suman was in Reporter, playing a journalist who investigated murders and political crimes. 3. The Marathi show Ek Shunya Shunya was a hit too. Shivaji Satam then went on to become a household name with CID. 4. Saturday Suspense, Woh, Kohra and Yeh Hai Raaz were shows that came and went. 5. Mohandas BA LLB teamed Pankaj Kapur with his wife Supriya Pathak. 6. Bullet, Vakeel, Jasoos and Panther were in the race too. 7. Private Investigators was once heard about, but never aired. 8. Tehkikaat brought Vijay Anand to the tube and turned him into a beloved jasoos. 9. Karamchand returned and vanished in no time. 10. Parmeet Sethi in and as DON (Detective Omkar Nath) was cool but didn’t generate hype. 11. Mr and Mrs Mishra shut shop in less than two months.
Stuck in character
Smriti Irani Character: Tulsi Virani Show: Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi Run time: 2000-2008 “The reason I played Tulsi Virani for so long was that the show was a journey on its own. I wasn’t repeating myself. I was enjoying the changes.”
Sakshi Tanwar Character: Parvati bhabhi Show: Kahani Ghar Ghar Kii Run time: 2000-2008 “I miss my show and the people I worked with. But I was happy that it came to a logical end. One has to move out of the shadow of an old character and do something new.”
Reena Kapoor Character: Pari to Rani to Pari Show: Woh Rehnewali Mehlon Ki Run time: 2005-2011 “I stuck around for six years because of my comfort level there. I’ve realised that my reel and real self are pretty similar but our life-cycles are not the same.”
Shweta Tiwari Character: Prerna Show: Kasautii Zindagi Kay Run time: 2000-2008 “I never found my work boring. I played my role so convincingly because every six months, when I was beginning to get bored, there would be a twist, a leap, new characters or I was given a makeover. But I was always Shweta Tiwari because I know how to switch on and off between reel and real.”
It was meant to be of the kids, by the kids and for the kids. And now Chillar Party (2011) has won three National Awards. Obviously, Vikas Bahl, co-director of the film, is on top of the world and dying to talk about it. Here’s a chat with the man.
Three National Awards for your first film — best children’s film, best original screenplay and best child artist for all your young stars. Which of these awards gives you the most satisfaction? I am relieved that we lived up to the faith shown in the film by Salim Uncle (Salim Khan), Rajkumar (Hirani) sir, Salman (Khan), Ranbir (Kapoor) and Sohail (Khan). The fact that all the kids won the best child artist award is the most beautiful.
How unexpected was this? I was completely clueless till my dad called me at 12 on March 7. By the time I finished talking to him, I had 17 missed calls.
How did the collaboration with Nitesh Tiwari, your co-director and co-writer of the film come about? While writing, Nitesh and I never thought that we’d be directing the film. In fact, we were looking for a director. But somewhere we got possessive and couldn’t give it away, so we went ahead and directed it ourselves.
How did the idea for Chillar Party come about? Chillar Party is probably from the days of the Mandal Commission. I was part of the anti-Mandal Commission forum when students brought the government down. We came up with the idea, lived with it and wrote it over two years. Also, I made the film for the love of my dog, Khan.
How easy or difficult was it to handle nine child artists? And how did you find so much talent? Mukesh Chhabra, our casting director, found all of them. He auditioned over 6,000 kids. I would say it’s a myth that kids and dogs are difficult to work with. If you let them be, mould yourself to their tune and leave all of yourself back at home, it’s a great drive.
Any interesting nuggets of information about Chillar Party that no one knows about? The Chillar Party gang had another girl who fractured her foot a day before the shoot. So her part had to be removed and Shaolin was created as a new character in the film. Also, Toothpaste’s original name was Pepsodent. The association didn’t work out so we changed the name. And Encyclopedia’s other name was Google.
Will there be a sequel to Chillar Party? As of now, we only have the stories. Hopefully Nitesh and I will make it happen. The sequel is about getting Fatka and all his friends from the slum into a school.
Top five favourite screenplays Chupke Chupke (1975) Chak De (2007) The Great Escape (1963) Khosla Ka Ghosla (2006) Pursuit of Happyness (2006)
Top five favourite children’s movies ET (1982) Mr India (1987) Ice Age (2002) Star Wars (1977) Superman (1978)
State Bank of India has no plans to lend more to debt-laden carrier Kingfisher Airlines, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said on Tuesday.
Kingfisher has cleared all its tax and interest dues up to August 2011, Mukherjee told lawmakers in a written reply.
Meanwhile, Kingfisher chief Vijay Mallya says pilots have been spoken to and the issue of delayed salaries is being sorted out.
Kingfisher Airlines, headed by liquor tycoon Vijay Mallya and named after his famous brand of Indian beer, has been struggling to continue its normal operations as a heavy debt load, higher jet fuel costs, stiff competition and low fares have severely hurt its ability to raise funds.
The airline, which has a debt of about $1.3 billion, needs at least $400 million soon to keep flying, according to the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation, an industry consultancy.
"We are seeking help from the banking sector to de-freeze our accounts," Mallya added.
Kingfisher had posted losses of Rs 444 cr in the quarter that ended in December 2011. It has ben operating on a trruncated flight schedule after the Service Tax department froze its bank accounts due to non-payment of dues. Kingfisher Airlines has also been suspended from the IATA clearing house (ICH) for not paying its dues.
Additionally, the battered airline owes Rs 40 crore to the Central Board of Excise and Customs, which has threatened legal action if the airline does not pay on time. The CBEC has also frozen the airline’s bank accounts.
With inputs from PTI; Original content by Thomson Reuters 2012
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Kabul: Suspected insurgents fired on an Afghan government delegation on Tuesday investigating the massacre of 16 civilians by a US soldier, officials said, hours after the Taliban threatened to behead American troops to avenge the killings.
Two of President Hamid Karzai's brothers, Shah Wali Karzai and Addul Qayum Karzai, were with senior defence, intelligence and interior ministry officials travelling to the scene of the massacre in Najiban and Alekozai villages, in Kandahar's Panjwai district, when insurgents opened fire.
Karzai's brothers were unharmed in the brief gun battle during meetings at a village mosque, but a soldier and a civilian were wounded. The area is a Taliban stronghold and a supply route.
"The Islamic Emirate once again warns the American animals that the mujahideen will avenge them, and with the help of Allah will kill and behead your sadistic murderous soldiers," Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement, using the term with which the Islamist group describes itself.
As the first protest broke out in Jalalabad city over the weekend shootings, the Taliban said Afghan government demands for an open trial of the US Army staff sergeant being held for the slayings would not blunt civilian hostility towards Western combat troops.
The unnamed US soldier - said to have only recently arrived in the country - is accused of walking off his base in Kandahar province in the middle of the night and gunning down at least 16 villagers, mostly women and children.
A US official said the accused soldier had suffered a traumatic brain injury while on a previous deployment in Iraq.
The shootings, which came just weeks after deadly protests across the country over the inadvertent burning of Korans by US soldiers, triggered a protest by around 2,000 students in the eastern city of Jalalabad.
The demonstrators chanted "Death to America" and demanded Afghan President Hamid Karzai reject plans to sign a strategic pact with Washington that would allow US advisers and possibly special forces to remain in the country beyond the planned withdrawal in 2014.
US President Barack Obama, speaking after a phone call with Karzai - who is said to be furious over the latest deaths - said the shootings had only increased his determination to get American troops out of Afghanistan.
However, Obama cautioned there should not be a "rush to the exits" for US forces who have been fighting in Afghanistan since late 2001 and that the drawdown set for the end of 2014 should be done in a responsible way.
The soldier, from a conventional unit, was based at a joint U.S.-Afghan base used by elite U.S. troops under a so-called village support programme hailed by NATO as a possible model for U.S. involvement in the country after the 2014 drawdown.
Such bases provide support to local Afghan security units and provide a source of security advice and training, as well as anti-insurgent backup and intelligence.
A spokesman for Kandahar governor Tooryalai Wisa said that tribal elders in the area of the massacre would urge against protests and work to dampen public anger if the investigation process was transparent.
"They are supporting the government and will accept any conclusion by the investigators. Today we have meetings with people in the area and all will become clear," spokesman Ahmad Jawid Faisal said.
NATO officials said it was too early to tell if the US soldier would be tried in the United States or Afghanistan if investigators were to find enough evidence to charge him, but he would be under U.S. laws and procedures under an agreement between US and Afghan officials.
Typically, once the initial investigation is completed, prosecutors decide if they have enough evidence to file charges and then could move to an Article 32 or court martial hearing.
US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta said on Monday that the death penalty could be sought in the U.S. military justice system against the soldier, but portrayed the shooting as an isolated event that would not alter withdrawal plans.
While Afghan MPs in parliament called for a trial under Afghan law, Karzai's office was understood to accept that a trial in a U.S. court would be acceptable provided the process was transparent and open to media.
Analysts said the incident would complicate U.S. efforts to reach agreement with the Afghan government on a post-2014 security pact before a May summit in the U.S. city of Chicago on the future size and funding of Afghan security forces.
Thomas Ruttig of the Afghanistan Analysts Network said that despite NATO and White House references to the killings as the work of a "rogue" soldier, other similar events had happened before, including a "kill team" apprehended in Kandahar in 2010.
"In the stress of an environment of escalated violence - by both sides, but particularly after Obama's troop surge in early 2009, it looks as if most soldiers simply see Afghanistan as a whole as 'enemy territory' and every Afghan as a potential terrorist. This can no longer be called 'rogue'," Ruttig said.
NATO's top commander in Afghanistan, Marine General John Allen, has promised a rapid investigation of the massacre, while security was being reviewed at NATO bases across the country.
Copyright@Thompson Reuters 2012
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Bollywood is tired of taking the blame for every other controversy. This time, it was dragged in a recent Sunday Times (UK) report alleging that a Bollywood actor played honeytrap in a match-fixing scam spanning Test matches, Twenty20s, IPL and county matches in England. The actor’s picture was splashed across the paper’s front page with her face blurred and identity withheld due to legal reasons. The fraternity feels it’s unfair to show the industry in a bad light due to one such unproved allegation.
“These things are based on assumptions. One needs to have concrete evidence, else these are baseless conversations. Bollywood is too big to be tarnished by one person,” says actor Neha Dhupia. “Any association of this sort is not good for the industry’s image. Before Bollywood, there is a need to clean up the game first,” says director Rohan Sippy.
Others feel the girl in question may be a small-time starlet. “I’m sure this is not a top actor. Stars don’t need to do this stuff. This could be a struggler who met someone (a bookie or player) sometime, but you can’t point a finger without revealing the identity of the girl in the picture,” says filmmaker Kumar Mangat. Ad guru Prahlad Kakkar adds, “We need to know whether the female involved is actually an actor, an aspiring actor, a starlet or someone who just has given an audition somewhere. It is wrong to generalise.”
Filmmaker Subhash Ghai, too, is miffed with the international media for maligning the industry’s image, since the follow up reports to the Sunday Times’ operation has led to a spate of online stories recalling the reported naming of actors such as Neetu Chandra and Veena Malik in past match fixing allegations. The allegations were never proved.
Filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt, however, holds a different opinion: “I won’t be surprised if this girl actually belongs to Bollywood. There is nothing unusual about it. Cricket is a multi-million dollar industry and people with vested interests can use Bollywood connections.” The picture of the actor used by The Sunday Times resembles an online wallpaper of an actor whose claim to fame is a box office flop with Sunny Deol.
Gurgaon: Two days after a girl was allegedly gang-raped inside a moving car in Gurgaon, the police have arrested five men in connection with the case.
The 23-year-old victim, who worked at a pub in a mall in Gurgaon, had alleged that she was sexually assaulted by a group of six men. In her statement to the police, she blamed a co-worker at the pub for her rape. She claimed that he persuaded the men to rape her after she had a fight with him.
All the five accused - Ankit, Naveen, Sunil, Bhupesh, Mohit - are below 25 years of age and are unemployed. They belong to Madina village in Rohtak in Haryana.
Two other accused, Amarjeet and Vinod, are still absconding.
The victim claims that she was with her brother and driver outside the Sahara Mall on Sunday night when six men overpowered them and forced her into their Maruti. She says she was taken to a flat nearby where she was raped. The men, then, left her outside the Chhattarpur metro station.
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Kolkata: The Trinamool Congress has decided not to support the Congress nominee in West Bengal for the upcoming Rajya Sabha polls, state Congress chief Pradip Bhattacharya on Tuesday said.
"As far as I know, the Trinamool has decided not to support our candidate. I don't know what will happen later on," Bhattacharya told IANS.
"I have placed the list of probable candidates of the Congress before Pranabda (union finance minister Pranab Mukherjee) and Shakeelji (Congress general secretary Shakeel Ahmed)."
On March 30, five Rajya Sabha members from the state would be elected to fill up vacancies arising on April 2.
According to the arithmetic in the assembly, Trinamool with 185 seats is in a comfortable position to send three members to the upper house of parliament. The Left Front with 61 members can win one seat.
A candidate needs 49 votes to cross the finishing line in the Rajya Sabha race in West Bengal.
The Congress has 42 assembly members. It is also banking on the support of one independent.
The Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) has four seats, including an independent, and SUCI-C has one member. The GJM is likely to go with the Trinamool while the SUCI-C is yet to spell out its stand.
The Congress thus needs six surplus votes from either the Trinamool or the Left to send its candidate to the upper house.
Going by the coalition dharma, the Congress seems unlikely to seek support from the Left Front.
Shakeel Ahmed declined to confirm whether Trinamool would support the Congress.
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Bangalore: The Bangalore police is hunting for a woman who was driving an SUV that ran over a man sleeping on a pavement. The police believes she was drunk.
On Sunday night, Nagaraj was among a group of labourers who decided to sleep out in the open on a main road at Kamanahalli in east Bangalore. Nagaraj, in his early 20s, had moved to Bangalore from a village in North Karnataka to make a living as a construction worker. He had just found out that his wife had delivered a baby boy and was planning to return to his village, Raichur, on Monday.
Shivyogi was lying near him on Sunday night. "An SUV ran over us at around 12.30 am," he said. Some of the others sleeping there also received minor injuries.
The Toyota Fortuner was abandoned by its driver. The police have identified a young girl as the driver.
When the hit-and-run took place, she was with a boy who the police has identified and interrogated. "He was detained immediately and a medical examination was conducted. He was drunk. We believe the girl also was drunk at the time. We are trying to trace the girl, because apparently the girl came into contact with this boy a few hours before in a coffee shop," said M A Salaeem, a senior police officer handling the case.
The police has got a photograph of the driver from a mobile phone of one of her friends.
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New Delhi: Anna Hazare will fast for a day in Delhi on Sunday in support of the anti-corruption Lokpal Bill, which he championed throughout last year. Anna, who is 74, will fast at Delhi's Jantar Mantar. The Lokpal Bill, named for a new national anti-graft agency, was passed by the Lok Sabha in December last year. But the Rajya Sabha was given just one day to debate the legislation. Opposition parties and Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress moved nearly 200 amendments to the bill. Finally, the House was adjourned at midnight without a vote. Because that was the last day of the winter session, the Lokpal Bill now has to be discussed by the Rajya Sabha in this session. The opposition BJP wants to know exactly when that will happen. The government says the House must first focus on crucial financial bills like the Union Budget. In August last year, Anna held an epic 12-day hunger strike in Delhi where thousands gathered around him every day. He ended his fast only when Parliament agreed to consider three must-haves that he listed for the Lokpal Bill.
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Director of the hit Golmaal franchise, Rohit Shetty, who was recently seen in the reality show The Big Switch playing judge, has now shot a cameo in Ekta Kapoor’s Kya Super Cool Hai Hum (KSKHH). Tusshar Kapoor, who plays the lead in the film, confirms, “Yes, Rohit is doing a cameo in the film. I have shot with him and it was fun.” Tusshar and Rohit are known to be good friends, having worked on all three Golmaal films.
Additionally, the actor was instrumental in getting Rohit on board for the project. The production team approached him for the cameo but as he was busy shooting Bol Bachchan, talks couldn’t progress. Tusshar then convinced Rohit to come on board. “He had never turned down the cameo to begin with. But he agreed after I spoke to him,” the actor says.
In KSKHH, Rohit plays himself, a director who is shy and quiet on screen. The filmmakers wrapped up Rohit’s portion in few hours as Ekta didn’t want to take much of his time. “We wanted him to be happy as that’s how he is when work is done quickly,” Tusshar smiles. Can we expect another Golmaal film? “I have no clue about that,” he says.
Directed by Sachin Yardi, Kya Super Kool Hai Hum is a sequel to the 2005 hit, Kya Kool Hai Hum starring Riteish Deshmukh and Tusshar Kapoor along with Neha Sharma and Sarah Jane-Dias.
Other directors playing themselves
1. Producer-director Karan Johar has appeared as himself in Home Delivery (2005), Om Shanti Om (2007), C Kkompany (2008), Fashion (2008) and Luck By Chance (2009) 2. Director Madhur Bhandarkar played himself in his film Fashion (2008) 3. Salaam Namaste’s director Siddharth Anand was seen as a taxi driver at the end of the movie. 4. Director Rajkumar Santoshi appeared as himself in his directorial Ajab Prem Ki Gajab Kahani (2009)
New Delhi: The latest panic attack for the Congress comes once again courtesy Mamata Banerjee. The West Bengal chief minister, who has made a habit of publicly challenging the policies of the UPA, has taken on the government once again over its new anti-terror agency.
Ms Banerjee has asked her MPs to move amendments to the address delivered by President Pratibha Patil to Parliament yesterday. She wants the reference to the new National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) deleted. The President's address, which outlines the agenda of the government, formally launched the Budget session of Parliament.
Ms Banerjee has been the Group Captain for ten chief ministers who have objected to the NCTC on the grounds that its powers encroach upon those of state governments. The centre has delayed the commissioning of the NCTC till an extensive dialogue is completed with states. In the Lok Sabha today, Home Minister P Chidambaram defended the NCTC. "I believe NCTC is an absolute necessity; I do not believe it violates the federal structure," said Mr Chidambaram.
President Patil had said in para 91 of her speech , "The National Intelligence Grid and the National Counter Terrorism Centre aim to improve India's capability to counter internal security threats." Because state governments have not lifted their objections to the NCTC, Ms Banerjee's party wants its mention to be removed.
Ms Banerjee late last year forced the government to suspend its reforms in retail just days after they were announced. With her 19 MPs, she is an indispensable partner in the UPA. She also accused the centre of violating the principles of federalism late last year, when the centre introduced the anti-corruption Lokpal Bill in the Lok Sabha. Though the bill was passed there, it has yet to be cleared by the Rajya Sabha. She also accused the centre of violating the principles of federalism late last year, when the centre introduced the anti-corruption Lokpal Bill in the Lok Sabha. Though the bill was passed there, it has yet to be cleared by the Rajya Sabha.
Though Ms Banerjee has said that she remains committed to the UPA, her recent gestures suggest she is not closed to exploring other options. She accepted invites to the swearing-in ceremonies for Akhilesh Yadav in UP and the Akali-BJP government in Punjab; the Congress took offense. Later, she said she would send representatives instead.
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Salman Khan is all set to star in a print campaign with his clan to urge people to buy the original t-shirts of his charitable foundation Being Human.
The actor’s charity is facing tiff competition from the shirts’ rip offs, which have become a hit with people, leading to financial loss for the foundation.
The commercial will be shot in Mehmood studio and include Salim Khan, Helen, Arpita, Alvira, Sohail, Arbaaz and Mallika.
India's move to strip German drugmaker Bayer of its exclusive rights to a cancer drug has set a precedent that could extend to other treatments, including modern HIV/AIDS drugs, in a major blow to global pharmaceutical firms, experts say.
On Monday, the Indian Patent Office effectively ended Bayer's monopoly for its Nexavar drug and issued its first-ever compulsory license allowing local generic maker Natco Pharma to make and sell the drug cheaply in India.
It is only the second time a nation has issued a compulsory license for a cancer drug after Thailand did so on four drugs between 2006 and 2008, also on affordability grounds. Thailand also issued licenses for HIV/AIDS and heart disease treatments.
"This could well be the first of many compulsory rulings here," said Gopakumar G. Nair, head of patent law firm Gopakumar Nair Associates and former president of the Indian Drug Manufacturers' Association.
"Global pharmaceutical manufacturers are likely to be worried as a result ... given that the wording in India's Patent Act that had been amended from 'reasonably priced' to 'reasonably affordable priced' has come into play now."
The new wording is seen as a lower threshold for compulsory licenses, which can be issued under world trade rules by nations that deem major life-saving drugs to be too costly. The licenses allow them to authorise the local manufacture or importation of much cheaper, generic versions.
Global drugmakers see emerging markets such as India as key growth opportunities, but remain concerned over intellectual property protection. Nair said HIV-related medicines were likely to be the most at risk by compulsory licenses in the future.
India has one of the world's fastest-growing rates of HIV and heart disease is also the country's biggest killer, but widespread poverty in Asia's third-largest economy makes many non-generic drugs unaffordable for millions.
Currently, Pfizer and GlaxoSmithKline sell a modern HIV/AIDS drug known as Selzentry through their joint venture firm ViiV Healthcare. The treatment costs more than Rs 60,000 for one month's dosage in India.
Bayer's Nexavar cancer drug costs around $5,500 a month in India, making it "not available to the public at a reasonably affordable price", the patent office ruled. About 40 percent of Indians live below the poverty line, government data shows.
A provision of the Indian Patents Act allows for a compulsory license to be awarded after three years of the grant of patent on drugs that are deemed to be too costly.
MORE TO COME?
Other patent rulings are imminent. A long-running case involving the granting of an Indian patent for Swiss drugmaker Novartis' cancer drug Glivec is expected to be heard in the country's Supreme Court this month.
The case does not involve the issue of compulsory license, but it has also pitted advocates of free trade and intellectual property rights against pro-generics campaigners who say a ruling in favour of Novartis could see other drugs in India priced outside of the reach of most of the population.
"This (Bayer) case might become a trend-setter, wherein generic players can make copies of patented products," said Siddhant Khandekar, analyst at ICICI Direct.
"While global giants might not like this, generic companies will benefit along with common people," he said, adding that the cancer treatment market in India was worth up to 30 billion rupees.
The Bayer case underscores the still fractious relationship between global pharmaceutical firms and India.
Companies like Pfizer, GlaxoSmithKline and Novartis are eyeing India and other emerging markets, notably China, as a growth opportunity but worry about property protection in a country that is also a leading source of cheap copycat medicines.
"Big Pharma" has recently struck some alliances with Indian drugmakers to tap into their generics expertise, but these have also not always run smoothly, with Pfizer on Tuesday scrapping a partnership with India's Biocon Ltd.
In cancer treatments, India's Cipla Ltd, which has the second largest share of the local drugs market, may also benefit from the Bayer case. Cipla is fighting a Bayer suit for patent infringement after the Indian drugmaker launched a generic version of Nexavar in India in April 2010.
BAYER CONSIDERS OPTIONS
Natco's finance chief, Baskara Narayana, told Reuters that sales of the generic version of Nexavar, whose chemical name is sorafenib, were expected to be about 250 million to 300 million rupees a year once it is launched.
Bayer, which developed Nexavar with US biotech firm Onyx Pharmaceuticals, said it was evaluating its options.
"We are disappointed by the decision of the Patent Controller in India to grant a compulsory license for Nexavar," Bayer said in a statement.
Tapan Ray, director general of the Organisation of Pharmaceutical Producers of India, an industry group of multi-national drugmakers, said the Bayer ruling was disappointing.
"The solution to helping patients with innovative medicines does not lie in breaking patents or denying patent rights to the innovators," Ray said.
Pfizer has questioned the issue of affordability, saying many Indians are well off and can afford Western medicines.
"There is huge wealth in India," Pfizer CEO Ian Read told Reuters in London on Monday. "There are maybe 100 million people in India who have wealth equivalent to or greater than the average European or American, who don't pay for innovation. So this is going to have to be a discussion at some point."
But groups that campaign for cheap access to drugs in poor countries have welcomed the Bayer ruling.
Medecins Sans Frontieres said the ruling means that new medicines in India that are still under patent, including some of the latest treatments for HIV/AIDS, could potentially have generic versions produced for a fraction of the cost.
"It's a bold move by the government and it's a good judgment ... which will benefit people," said Dara Patel, secretary general of the Indian Drug Manufacturers' Association, an industry body of Indian companies.
"Drugs to treat heart-related diseases and HIV are costly," said Patel. "Compulsory licensing will make them available at one-fourth or one-fifth of the price, which is good."
Copyright@ Thomson Reuters 2012
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A tight budget, a difficult theme and a curvy actress to dress! Stylist Niharika Khan worked with all odds in The Dirty Picture, but says her struggle to make Silk, played by Vidya Balan, look more silky than vulgar in the hit movie has paid rich dividends in the form of a National Award.
"I must admit that the feeling was overwhelming and it has not sunk in yet," Niharika told IANS in an interview.
"I would have liked to receive the National Award but I didn't think it would happen so soon in my career and definitely not for this film... now I have to do better and that leaves me very little scope for errors and misjudgements," said the designer, who is just five years in Bollywood.
Niharika was named best costume designer with Neeta Lulla at the 59th National Awards.
If Vidya set a benchmark with her dare-bare act in Milan Luthria's directorial venture, Niharika too raised the bar by enhancing the curvy actress' sensuous retro look with her designs - which proves right her theory that fashion should suit the body.
"Designing for Vidya was refreshing. As a designer I always suggest that women need to be proud and happy for what they are and not for what they are not. And the acceptance of a full-figured woman in the days of size zero only further consolidates my belief that design and fashion are made to suit the body," she said.
"The movie had a script which was woman-oriented and a strong brief to support it. Yes, there were challenges within the period as the movie was a blend of south India for a north Indian audience. Also, there was a constrained budget to do work within, but things finally paid off," said Niharika, who is married to actor Ayub Khan.
It was 2007's period film Khoya Khoya Chand that marked her entry into the showbiz and in the short time since then she has done interesting films like musical Rock On!!, romantic comedy Band Baaja Baaraat and adult comedy Delhi Belly.
Thanks to the eclectic mix of projects, she has made a mark for herself with her quirky yet chic fashion sense. Having styled some of the leading actors, Niharika, however, feels a sense of style is missing in Bollywood.
"Most of the heroes and heroines in the past had a distinct sense of style, which is missing today. However, I am happy to say that we are seeing a renaissance of styling in Bollywood today and I am thrilled to be a part of it," she said.
What's next in your kitty?
"I am working on David Dhawan's Chashme Buddoor and styling Arjun Rampal's look for Madhur Bhandarkar's Heroine. Very soon I will start working for Abhishek Kapoor's film, a big screen adaptation of Chetan Bhagat's bestseller Three Mistakes of My Life," she said.
Though she is enjoying her role as a stylist with films, Niharika restrains herself from participating in fashion weeks.
"I am not strictly a designer. I like dabbling with designs and storylines. I like to design for a purpose. A (fashion) designer does a collection normally; I do an assimilation of designs and that excites me," she said.
Bollywood designers like Manish Malhotra, Vikram Phadnis and Neeta Lulla often participate in fashion events, and Niharika said, "I am open to runway shows but not yet. I will build my body of work before I consider runways. But doing a line of clothing does excite me."
London:Sahara Force India team principal Vijay Mallya has pumped in $32 million into his Formula One team ahead of the season opener in Melbourne on Sunday.
Watson, the personal investment company used by the liquor baron, has loaned Force India nearly $10 million while Mallya's Kinghfisher Airlines and his beer and spirit arm has generated the remaining $22 million through sponsorship, The Scotsman reported Monday.
The Silverstone-based team is eying to better its last year's sixth place finish in the 2012 Constructors' Championship.
Force India found a co-owner Subrata Roy led Sahara Group last year when the Indian company bought a 42.5 percent stake in the F1 team. Sahara said that it would invest a further $100 million into the mid-field outfit.
Just two-and-a-half months into the New Year, actor Akshay Kumar’s plate is brimming with fresh projects. Come May-June, and he will turn into a gangster for the Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai sequel. He also has films like Oh My God!, Khiladi 786, Rowdy Rathore and A Wednesday director Neeraj Pandey’s next, lined up. In the midst of all these, he has just taken up the Hindi remake of Mammootty’s Pokkiri Brothers, and a film by former Balaji associate Ashwin Varde.
And if all this wasn’t enough, the action hero has been signed on to fill south star Vijay’s shoes in the Hindi remake of Thupaki, directed by A R Murugadoss. The Tamil movie, revolving around a man’s journey from a small town to Mumbai, where he becomes a don, is still under production. But once the shooting wraps up, it will be remade in Hindi with Akshay in the lead and Murugadoss as the director again.
This is the filmmaker’s second Bollywood movie to be remade from his own Tamil repertoire. Back in 2007-08, he worked with perfectionist actor-producer Aamir Khan on the Hindi remake of his Tamil hit, Ghajini. Vijay and Murugadoss were recently in the city to film a host of crucial scenes. Akshay is understandably happy to associate with another maverick filmmaker.
“Murugadoss is a genius. He did a fabulous job with Ghajini and I’m extremely happy that we’ve managed to sneak in time to work together,” he says, adding, “I’m sure you’re wondering with so many films, and other assignments, how I am going to manage this project. Let me tell you that if I can’t deliver, I won’t commit. And instead of taking it negatively, people should take the gesture positively, because the more the stars work, the more employment is generated for spot boys and other workers on the sets who run their kitchens on daily wages even today.”
Stepping out of Mumbai and Delhi's streets and lanes which have been shown in films over and over again, Bollywood is now romancing Kolkata and its Victorian aura still intact in some places.
After the just-released Kahaani where Vidya Balan traversed through the length and breadth of the city searching for her missing husband, two other big-budget films, due for release later this year, have focused on the metropolis and West Bengal.
Priyanka Chopra and Ranbir Kapoor, two of the most bankable actors in Bollywood, shot for more than a month recently in the city and in the hills of Darjeeling for the Anurag Basu directed murder mystery Barfee.
Ranveer Singh and Sonakshi Sinha, on the other hand, will recreate the old-world charm of West Bengal in Lootera, a romantic period film set in the 1950's.
It was shot recently in the natural surroundings of the picturesque Purulia district, 295 kms from Kolkata.
Director Sujoy Ghosh, who describes Kolkata as one of the characters in his thriller Kahaani, says other filmmakers might soon jump into the bandwagon.
"I am overwhelmed with the kind of interest Kolkata has generated among the people in Mumbai and elsewhere. It is Kolkata and not any other city which people are talking about now," he told PTI.
Portraying the colourful and vibrant city that Kolkata is, Kahaani has brought alive the city on screen.
The film's star Vidya considers the City of Joy as her second home which gave her a break in Bengali film Bhalo Theko.
Filmmakers point out that the landscape of Mumbai has been overused by the camera in the last few decades.
The multi-layered Kolkata, on the other hand, has a different appeal with its Metro trains, rickety trams, hand-pulled rickshaws, dingy bylanes, British-era buildings, iconic structures like Howrah Bridge and Victoria Memorial.
"If I look from the eyes of the camera all other metros look the same but Kolkata has a unique character," said Anurag Basu whose Barfee will be in theatres this July.
Dehradun/New Delhi: Vijay Bahuguna has been sworn in as the new Chief Minister of Uttarakhand. It was a short ceremony on Tuesday evening, with only Mr Bahuguna taking oath. Getting his government together is likely to be less simple - in resolutely appointing Mr Bahuguna the Congress has ignored the loud rebellion of veteran leader Harish Rawat, who says he should be CM and claims he has the support of many Congress MLAs. Less than half of the Congress' 32 MLAs attended the ceremony in Dehradun. Many of them were reportedly in Delhi with the sulking Mr Rawat, who has been looked over before by the party leadership, and has written to Congress president Sonia Gandhi. He is said to have threatened to quit the party. Mr Rawat scoffs at his party saying that not too many MLAs support him. "The Congress General Secretary said Harish Rawat has the support of just six MLAs...so if that were true how come only eight Congress MLAs attended the swearing-in ceremony? Where were the rest? My point has been proved," he said to NDTV on Tuesday evening. Mr Bahuguna, whose problems seem to have only just begun, said before being sworn in, "This is a family matter and will be solved within the family...We will convince everyone...This party is like the Himalayas, it can't be broken." The BJP clearly thinks differently. It got one seat less than the Congress' 32 in the state and still smells a chance; BJP leaders in the state say they will still form the government in Uttarakhand. Towards that objective, the party is happy to fuel the Congress fire. Sources say Harish Rawat has already met BJP chief Nitin Gadkari; if Mr Rawat quits the Congress, the BJP is said to not be averse to supporting a government led by him. Both the BJP and Mr Rawat's camp have officially denied any meeting, but BJP leader Dharmendra Pradhan said before Mr Bahugana was sworn in, "Bahuguna does not enjoy majority support among Congress MLAs. The Congress is breaching constitutional norms. If the Governor administers oath to Bahuguna, it will allow the Congress to indulge in horse trading to whip up support." Here are the top 10 facts of this moment in this fast-developing story: 1) Harish Rawat, a veteran Congress leader from the hill state, has written a letter to Congress president Sonia Gandhi protesting against the "injustice meted out" to him. Mr Rawat contends that he should be the Chief Minister and says he has the support of a majority of the Congress's 32 MLAs. Mr Rawat is a Union Minister and he has reportedly asked Mrs Gandhi to relieve him of his ministerial duties if the party does not believe in him. There are reports that the sulking Mr Rawat might leave the Congress to form his own party along with the MLAs who support him. 2) Though Mr Rawat was a front-runner for the CM's post, the Congress picked Vijay Bahuguna for CM. Vijay Bahuguna is the brother of Rita Bahuguna Joshi, the Congress' president in neighbouring UP. Sources say though Mr Rawat enjoys the support of many MLAs, the party leadership did not pick him for CM as he had put up many rebel candidates in these elections, which the Congress had expected to win comfortably, but did not. 3) Mr Rawat is in his home in Delhi right now. He says he has the firm support of at least 11 MLAs. With him at his house are 17 Uttarakhand MLAs. Rawat supporters have been raising slogans today demanding that the party leadership do a rethink on who should be CM. 4) The Congress leadership has held an emergency meeting but has been firm that it will not change its mind. The message from Delhi is that Vijaya Bahuguna will be the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand. For the Congress, it is not as easy as making problems vanish by picking Mr Rawat instead of Mr Bahuguna. Both of these local leaders and another one, Harak Singh Rawat, enjoy pockets of influence and the party will face problems whoever it picks. 5) Harish Rawat did not attend the swearing-in ceremony in Dehradun. 24 MLAs stayed away too. 6) It is a numbers game in Uttarakhand. In the 70-seat House, neither of the two main parties got the 35 seats needed for simple majority. The Congress got 32 and has managed to stake claim with the support of seven others including three BSP MLAs and four Independents, who have made it clear that only Vijay Bahuguna is acceptable to them as CM. 7) The BJP is breathing down the Congress' neck with 31 seats. And still thinks it is in with a chance at forming the government in the state. "We have said from day one that BJP will form the government in Uttarakhand," said BJP leader Bhagat Singh Koshiyari today, from the sidelines of the Congress high drama. 8) The Congress announced that Mr Bahuguna would be CM after three days of deliberation, on Monday. The factional feud then came out in the open with Mr Rawat's supporters protesting against the announcement. Raising slogans, angry supporters of Mr Rawat gathered at his house here last night, wanted to know why he was ignored for the top slot and egged him to split the party. 9) This is the second time that Mr Rawat's claim has been ignored. About ten years ago, ND Tiwari was made the Chief Minister almost at the 11th hour by the party leadership. 10) In a bid to placate a sulking Mr Rawat, Mr Bahuguna, his sister and UPCC chief Rita Bahuguna Joshi met the union minister at his residence. Asked what transpired at the meeting with the brother-sister duo, Mr Rawat said, "They had come to console a loser".
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London: British police made six arrests early on Tuesday in the British media's phone hacking scandal, including Rebekah Brooks, the former top executive of Rupert Murdoch's News International, The Associated Press has learned.
Police did not identify those arrested, but a person who had been briefed on the details said Brooks and her husband, a prominent horse breeder and a friend of Prime Minister David Cameron, were arrested at their house.
The six people were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice, police said in a statement. The charge is an indication that investigators may be focusing on a possible cover-up of the scope of phone hacking.
The investigation stems from widespread wrongdoing at Rupert Murdoch's now-closed News of the World tabloid. The victims have ranged from celebrities and major politicians to the families of crime victims.
The Metropolitan Police said five men and a woman were arrested in various locations in and around London in a series of raids conducted between 5 am and 7 am on Tuesday.
Police said a 43-year-old woman was arrested at her home in Oxfordshire and is being questioned there.
Also arrested were a 49-year-old man in Oxfordshire, a 39-year-old man in Hampshire, a 46-year-old man in West London, a 38-year-old man in Hertforshire and a 48-year-old man in East London.
A judge-led inquiry into media ethics has heard extensive testimony about wrongdoing by tabloid journalists, and Murdoch's company has reached cash settlements with a number of victims.
There is also a simultaneous investigation into corrupt relations between the police and the press which has yielded a number of arrests in recent weeks.
An inquiry panel appointed by Prime Minister David Cameron is trying to determine why an initial police investigation into phone hacking in 2006 failed to reveal the scope of the problem.
At the time, Murdoch's executives claimed the wrongdoing was limited to one scurrilous reporter and an unprincipled private detective, both of whom were jailed.
The dormant police investigation was reopened last year after reporters were found to have hacked into the voicemail of a missing schoolgirl who was later found to have been murdered.
That investigation led to the resignation of Cameron's top media adviser, Andy Coulson, who had been the editor of the News of the World.
It also led to the arrest of senior Murdoch executive, the 43-year-old Brooks, who was later released on bail. Both have denied wrongdoing.
Murdoch's company has reached cash settlements with various hacking victims, including actress Sienna Miller and singer Charlotte Church, but many new cases are being brought against News International, the UK newspaper branch of Murdoch's global media empire.
The scandal also scuttled Murdoch's plans to purchase full control of the British broadcaster BSkyB.
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As Mallika Sherawat steps into the shoes of ’70s siren Zeenat Aman to gyrate to the hit Qurbani (1980) number Laila O Laila in Tezz, Ganesh Acharya claims the item girl’s sultry outing will be better than Katrina’s super-hit song Chikni Chameli.
The choreographer, who has stepped up to play Amjad Khan’s part in the song, will be seen ogling at Mallika while playing the drums. “Laila O Laila will not be a Jalebi Bai or a Chikni Chameli, but a lot better,” says Acharya.
Ask him how he came to play Amjad Khan’s part in the song and he says, “I am a huge fan of Amjad Khan and this is a tribute to him. My personality is quite similar to his.” The song, sung by Sunidhi Chauhan, has been completely rewritten except for its title, and will have Mallika don three different looks.
The number has been shot in Mumbai with 100 dancers. Dancer Bulbul, who appeared in the original song in Qurbani, will also be seen in this version.
New Delhi: The Prime Minister has invited his allies to a dinner at his residence in the capital tonight. The dinner, say sources, will be held in the gardens of 7, Race Course Road. The meet-and-greet comes as two major allies of the ruling coalition, the DMK and Mamata Banerjee, have expressed serious differences with government policy. Ms Banerjee has chosen not to attend the dinner - she will be represented by Ratna Dey Nag, an MP from her party, the Trinamool Congress. Her RSVP will undoubtedly cause a new anxiety attack within the Congress which has been dealing with reports that Ms Banerjee is exploring other political alliances. Though she has denied any interest in quitting the UPA, her actions depict a relationship stretched to breaking point. Adding to the divided house of the UPA is the DMK, which has told the government that it wants India to vote against Sri Lanka for "alleged war crimes" at the next session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva.
First, Ms Banerjee. In a move that greatly undermines the UPA, her MPs have asked for a formal change to President Pratibha Patil's speech made in Parliament yesterday. The President's address inaugurates the Budget session by outlining the government's agenda. Ms Banerjee wants an amendment that asks for a reference to the new National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) to be deleted. Ms Banerjee has captained a series of chief ministers who object to the NCTC because they find it impinges upon the authority of state governments. Since late last year, Ms Banerjee has fought the UPA on the Lokpal Bill, petrol prices, and reforms in retail, which the government was forced to suspend because of her ardent objections.
The DMK has told the UPA that India must vote against Sri Lanka in a resolution moved by the US that asks for a detailed investigation into alleged human rights violations and war crimes by President Rajapaksa's government. However, the Prime Minister's reply to DMK chief M Karunanidhi seems to suggest this is unlikely. The PM says India wants to work with stake-holders so that "rather than deepening confrontation and mis-trust between the concerned parties, a way forward is found on issues related to accountability and reconciliation."
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Dehradun: Taking a firm stance, the Congress decided to go-ahead with the swearing-in ceremony of Vijay Bahuguna as the Uttarakhand Chief Minister today. Congress leader and union minister Harish Rawat has reportedly threatened to quit the party unless he is made the Chief Minister of the state. Anguished at Vijay Bahuguna being chosen as the Chief Minister, Mr Rawat has reportedly threatened to leave the Congress and take MLAs with him. He has reportedly claimed support of 11 MLAs. Sources say Mr Rawat, who is the Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Parliamentary Affairs, could form his own party in the state.
The swearing-in ceremony of Mr Bahuguna as the new Chief Minister is scheduled to be held at 5 pm today.
According to sources, Mr Rawat has written a letter to Congress President Sonia Gandhi, saying, "he cannot execute his duties" as a Congress leader anymore unless he is made the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand.
This was the second time that Mr Rawat's claim has been ignored as some ten years back ND Tiwari was made the Chief Minister almost at the 11th hour by the party leadership.
The Congress, however, attempted to play down the reported revolt by Mr Rawat and his MLAs in Uttarakhand.
"The decision was taken after taking the opinion of the majority. There may be some disappointment with the decision, but I am sure with time, all leaders and their supporters would back the decision," said union minister and Congress leader Ambika Soni.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which had to settle with one seat less than the Congress' tally in the Uttarakhand elections, now is sniffing an opportunity and it seems it hasn't given up its hopes on forming the government in the state.
"We have said from day one that BJP will form the government in Uttarakhand," said BJP leader Bhagat Singh Koshiyari today.
Mr Bahuguna's name as Uttarakhand's new Chief Minister was announced by Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad in Delhi on Monday. The announcement of the Chief Minister came after a considerable delay with Congress leaders and MLAs caught in discussions for around three days after staking claim to form the government.
Mr Rawat and Mr Bahuguna had held a two-hour meeting with Mr Azad and Birender Singh ahead of the decision.The two central leaders had then submitted their report on the views of the party's 32 MLAs on legislative party leadership to Sonia Gandhi on Sunday.
"It was decided by the MLAs and all the party leaders that Vijay Bahuguna will be the chief minister," Mr Azad announced on Monday evening. He also recalled that the party MLAs had, in their meeting after the results were out, authorised Congress president Sonia Gandhi to name the chief minister.
Congress, with 32 seats in a house of 70, had staked its claim to form a government in the Himalayan state late last week after the results on March 6 threw up a hung assembly.
Yesterday, the factional feud came out in the open in Congress' Uttarakhand unit with legislators supporting Mr Rawat protesting the announcement of Mr Bahaguna as the Chief Minister. Raising slogans, angry supporters of Mr Rawat, who gathered at his house here last night, wanted to know why he was ignored for the top slot and egged him to split the party.
In a bid to placate a sulking Mr Rawat, Mr Bahuguna, his sister and UPCC chief Rita Bahuguna Joshi met the union minister at his residence. Asked what transpired at the meeting with the brother-sister duo, Rawat said, "They had come to console a loser".
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New Delhi/New York: If you're flying an Indian airline these days, that's a legitimate question.
India's once-booming airline industry is floundering as cash-strapped companies, some racking up steep losses, struggle to meet their financial obligations. Hundreds of unpaid and partially paid pilots are flying India's skies, and dozens are flying from India to international destinations, airline analysts say.
Here's a quick look at which airlines are writing paychecks (and which ones aren't): Air India: International pilots have threatened to strike on April 1 in a letter to India's airline regulatory authority dated March 6, which claims they have not been paid for several months. Pilots have not received basic salaries since December and other bonuses since November, amounting to more than one-quarter of their annual pay, the letter says.
Many pilots are from "humble backgrounds and modest means" it notes, who took out loans to go to flight school or are supporting parents and siblings. "The lack of income is causing "psychological stress" which "may adversely affect ability of the flight crew" to safely perform their duties, the letter notes.
An Air India spokesman said Tuesday that last week pilots were paid their salaries through January, but are still owed some other compensation. There is no difference between domestic and international pilots' pay schedules, he said.
Kingfisher Airways: Not since December. Kingfisher said Monday that it cancelled 55 of its 200 flights after the International Air Transport Association, an industry trade group which allows airlines to partner with each other to make it easier for passengers to book tickets, suspended Kingfisher's membership and pilots went on strike.
Jet Airways: Yes, but a little late. International pilots say the airline, which flies to New York via Brussels, is paying basic salaries on the 15th of every month, rather than the 1st as it used to. The airline has promised pilots that from April onward they will be paid on the 1st. Jet Airways owes money to India's tax authorities, who have demanded Jet's share of IATA collections to cover the bill. Spice Jet: "We pay all our employees on time. From a pilot to everyone in the organization," a spokesman said. IndiGo: Pilots are "absolutely" being paid on time, a company spokeswoman says.
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Indian batsmen Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli slammed centuries to guide India to a total of 304/3 against Sri Lanka in the second ODI of the Asia Cup on Tuesday.
Live Scorecard
One was recently made the vice-captain, the other had the vice-captaincy taken away from him. Any simmering tension, fictional or not, was barely evident as the pair of Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir scored centuries and compiled a partnership of 205 to give their followers something to smile about after a dismal tour of Australia.
The pitch at the Shere Bangla Stadium felt like a home away from home as Kohli and Gambhir set about milking the bowling in a manner that was non-existent for most part in Australia. India managed only two 100-plus stands in the CB Series, that too in the same game, in Hobart. The common thread between the two games was Kohli. This innings wasn't as manic, but the effect was still demoralising for Sri Lanka, who took control at the start of the innings but had to wait an eternity to strike again.
The pitch had a layer of grass, but was by no means pacy. The bounce wasn't threatening either, but it needed concentration from the batsmen to watch out for the odd delivery that kept low or skidded towards the pads. The departure from Australian pitches to friendlier "home" conditions was evident by the way Gambhir dabbed and poked with regularity to third man. The same shot, which had him caught behind so often in Australia, fetched him several singles, thanks to the relatively lower bounce that suited his style.
The pace wasn't electric, but steady. Gambhir and Kohli had to be watchful against packed off-side fields, typical of Mahela Jayawardena's captaincy. Short cover and short point were placed to check the cover drive but in due course the pair managed to work their way around those fields, shuffling and nudging it to the on side to pick up the singles. The spinners, Tillakaratne Dilshan and Seekkuge Prasanna, bowled the odd delivery flat, trying to get the ball to skid through. The batsmen weren't afraid to get on the back foot and work it away.
Gambhir's stint wasn't flawless though. He was dropped on 36 and survived a run-out opportunity on 94, Dinesh Chandimal the culprit on both occasions. Those lapses overshadowed a more committed display in the field at the start of the innings, when the run-rate was just over four an over.
Apart from the late cuts, Gambhir used his feet well against the spinners, lofting over extra cover and down to the straight boundary. Hitting in the air was a method the batsmen had to employ as several drives along the ground found the fielders. Kohli kept busy at the crease, rotating the strike to ensure India didn't get bogged down against the spinners.
The period between the second and third Powerplays - overs 21 to 35 - produced 87 runs. Only five fours were struck in that period but the pair wore Sri Lanka down with singles - 53 of them - and six twos. Jayawardena went defensive, pushing the fielders back. Kohli ensured he punished the bad deliveries from the spinners and even produced a reverse sweep, which raced to third man.
Both batsmen reached their centuries in the 42nd over, and their contrasting celebrations were compelling to watch. Kohli jogged the single to long-off and controlled his emotions by merely gesturing to his team-mates with a big smile. Gambhir, however, didn't restrain himself as he punched the air, removed his helmet and yelled out something to the dressing-room. His emotional reaction signaled the end of a long wait to reach three figures.
Both departed in the following over, holing out to the deep. The double-strike - in the 43rd over - didn't give Sri Lanka much respite, as MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina plundered some wayward bowling at the death. The bowlers regularly dished out full tosses, which were clubbed down the ground and flicked off the pads.
Ironically, it was a full toss that yielded their first wicket, that of Sachin Tendulkar. His dismissal was partly due to smart captaincy by Jayawardena, who dropped the idea of a gully and stationed himself at short extra cover. Tendulkar pushed a full toss straight to him. Suranga Lakmal was lucky - the ball dipped just below waist height when Tendulkar played it - and the batsman stood his ground, seemingly asking the umpires to check if it was a legitimate delivery.
Sri Lanka weren't so lucky as the innings progressed. But despite conceding 304, given their current form, the target shouldn't be out of reach.
Balandi, Afghanistan: Taliban militants opened fire on Tuesday on an Afghan government delegation visiting one of the two villages in southern Afghanistan where a US soldier is suspected of killing 16 civilians.
The gunfire killed an Afghan soldier who was providing security for the delegation, said Gen. Abdul Razaq, the police chief for Kandahar province where the visit took place. Another Afghan soldier and a military prosecutor were wounded in the attack, he said.
The attack in Balandi village came as the Taliban vowed to kill and behead those responsible for the 16 Afghan civilians killed on Sunday.
The delegation, which included two of President Hamid Karzai's brothers and other senior officials, was holding a memorial service in a mosque for victims when the shooting started.
One of the president's brothers, Qayum Karzai, said the attack didn't seem serious to him.
"We were giving them our condolences, then we heard two very, very light shots," said Karzai. "Then we assumed that it was the national army that started to fire in the air."
He said the members of the delegation, which also included Kandahar governor Tooryalai Wesa and Minister of Border and Tribal Affairs Asadullah Khalid, were safe and headed back to Kandahar city.
The US is holding an Army staff sergeant in custody who is suspected of carrying out the killings before dawn on Sunday in two villages close to his base in Panjwai district, considered the birthplace of the Taliban.
Villagers have described him stalking from house to house in the middle of the night, opening fire on sleeping families and then burning some of the bodies of the dead afterward.
Nine of the 16 killed were children, and three were women, according to Karzai.
Hundreds of students in eastern Afghanistan on Tuesday shouted angry slogans against the United States and the American soldier accused of carrying out the killings, the first significant protest in response to the tragedy.
The killings have caused outrage in Afghanistan but have not sparked the kind of violent protests seen last month after American soldiers burned Muslim holy books and other Islamic texts.
The more muted response could be a result of Afghans being used to dealing with civilian casualties in over a decade of war. Some have said the slayings in Panjwai were more in keeping with Afghans' experience of deadly night raids and airstrikes by US-led forces than the Quran burnings were.
But the students protesting at a university in Jalalabad city, 80 miles (125 kilometers) east of the capital Kabul, were incensed.
"Death to America!" and "Death to the soldier who killed our civilians!" shouted the crowd.
Some carried a banner that called for a public trial of the soldier, who US officials have identified as a married, 38-year-old father of two who was trained as a sniper and recently suffered a head injury in Iraq.
Other protesters burned an effigy of President Barack Obama.
"The reason we are protesting is because of the killing of innocent children and other civilians by this tyrant US soldier," said Sardar Wali, a university student. "We want the United Nations and the Afghan government to publicly try this guy."
Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said in a statement sent to reporters on Tuesday that the soldier should be tried as a war criminal and executed by the victims' relatives.
Obama has expressed his shock and sadness and extended his condolences to the families of the victims. But he has also said the horrific episode would not speed up plans to pull out foreign forces, despite increasing opposition at home to the war in Afghanistan.
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Actor Abhishek Bachchan says his wife Aishwarya Rai is happy playing mother to their three-and-half-month-old daughter and would return to work when she feels like doing so. Meanwhile the actor is keen to work in films inspired by plays by young writers.
"As and when she wants to come back, is completely her decision... as and when she decides, when she sees a script she is inspired by - the decision is entirely hers. Currently she is very happy doing what she is doing," the 36-year-old said here at the launch of Sorabh Pant's book The Wednesday Soul.
While most filmmakers may opt for novels to base their films on, Abhishek favours plays penned by young writers.
"I like to read biographies and autobiographies. But there are some wonderful plays out there that a lot of young, Indian talent is writing. I would love to do one of them," said Abhishek.
"I can't decide which one. Like I said, there is a lot of interesting material being written in India, I would love to delve into that resource to come up with a film," he added.
The Bachchan family is yet to announce the name of Beti B.
Abhishek is currently busy working on Bol Bachchan and Chakravyuha. His two sequels - Dostana 2 and Dhoom 3 will go on floors soon.
New Delhi: Senior union minister Sharad Pawar fainted this morning in the Lok Sabha. Mr Pawar, who is the country's Agriculture Minister, was admitted to the Dr Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) hospital and was later discharged in the evening.
Mr Pawar underwent several medical tests at the hospital following which doctors advised him rest. "It is a protocol in a government hospital, they do not want to take a chance so they asked him to take some rest. There is nothing serious," PTI quoted an aide of Mr Pawar saying .
Mr Pawar refused to go in an ambulance and opted for a check-up in his own car, news agency ANI reported. Mr Pawar was accompanied by his daughter and Baramati MP Supriya Sule and Union Minister Praful Patel. Mr Patel later said Mr Pawar's blood-sugar level dropped and he felt dizzy.
Mr Pawar had answered a number of supplementaries on questions related to agriculture during the Question Hour in the Lok Sabha. The 71-year-old leader was in the Lok Sabha lobby when he felt a bit uneasy.He had returned to the capital from Mumbai late last night.
His Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) is a member of the UPA coalition at the centre. Mr Pawar will not be attending the swearing-in ceremony later this week of Parkash Singh Badal as the chief minister of Punjab.
The Congress, which is the fulcrum of the UPA, had said that allies are expected not to cross the lakshman rekha by keeping company with political rivals. That statement was made after Mamata Banerjee's party, the Trinamool Congress, said she had accepted invites to the oath-taking ceremonies for both Mr Badal and the new chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, Akhilesh Yadav.
After the Congress made its displeasure cleat, Ms Banerjee's party said she would stay in Bengal to attend the assembly session there, and depute representatives to Punjab and Lucknow.
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Mumbai: In what may be seen as partial relief for former chief of the Mumbai Congress Kripashankar Singh, the Supreme Court has stayed the attachment and seizure of his properties in a disproportionate assets case. The Supreme Court, however, refused to stay investigation against Mr Singh and his family members. The top court has said the FIR against them in a disproportionate assets case will remain.
He was raided by the Economic Offences Wing of the Mumbai Police on March 2 and his properties were attached. The Maharashtra government, the very next day, had withdrawn his security.
Mr Singh, who is alleged to have amassed assets worth over Rs. 300 crore, disproportionate to his known sources of income, had resigned from his post soon after the Bombay High Court ordered his prosecution for "criminal misconduct" under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
In its February 22 order, the court had asked Mumbai Police to collect documentary evidence regarding all movable and immovable properties owned by Mr Singh and his family. The court had also ordered that the role of his family members be investigated. The court was hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by activist Sanjay Tiwari, who alleged that the Congress MLA had amassed wealth disproportionate to his known sources of income.
Speaking to NDTV in Mumbai earlier this month, Mr Singh said, "A PIL alone cannot be used as the basis for levelling charges against me. Allegations against me have wrecked my career."
"I am not guilty. I am not absconding. I have done nothing wrong. I will fight as per law," he asserted. "The media targeting me and my family is wrong. I do not own those many properties as are being shown," he said.
12 properties owned by Mr Singh and his family members were attached by the Mumbai Police on March 2. This after over 120 police personnel spread across the city and raided the premises. The attached properties include a duplex flat with terrace in Jupiter building in Vile Parle, Tarang bungalow, two flats, two offices and a plot in suburban Bandra, a shop at Bhandup and a shop and two flats including one he obtained through Chief Minister's quota in suburban Powai and a flat in Kurla. Only one of these properties in the metropolis is in the name of Mr Singh, the rest are owned by his wife, son, daughter and son-in-law.
During the searches, Mr Singh's two BMWs were also seized. The police also found 400 live cartridges at his residence "Tarang", located in upmarket Bandra.
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Not long back, a bunch of established directors were ruling the Hindi film scene in India, and audience could count their names on fingers. Cut to present era, there's a long list of new directors who are making inroads into Bollywood, slowly but steadily.
While Aditya Chopra's SRK-Kajol starrer Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jaayenge was a defining movie of 1990s, Band Baaja Baraat is the movie today's youth connects to. No wonder, Chopra camp is enamoured with new talent, launching directors like Maneesh Sharma (Band Baaja Baraat), Parmeet Sethi (Badmaash Company) and Ali Abbas Zafar (Mere Brother Ki Dulhan).
It's not only YRF that is riding the current wave, director of movies like Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham, Karan Johar no longer wants to direct back-to-back tearjerkers. He would rather ask a Karan Malhotra to make Agneepath for him or a Tarun Mansukhani to spin a money-making project like Dostana. What's it that makes these established directors launch newcomers who have not even proved themselves before?
"I think it's an instinct that I have. I have got it right some times and I have gone wrong with it at times but mostly, I have gone right with the directors I have worked with because they are solid human beings and that is what I look for," Karan Johar told IANS in a recent interview.
Today if Karan Johar has hits like Wake Up Sid (Ayan Mukherjee), Dostana (Tarun Mansukhani) and I Hate Luv Storys (Punit Malhotra) to his credit, he's not only promoting the new talent, he's also strengthning the brand KJo.
Besides Karan Johar, Aamir Khan too has an eye for talent. He might have taken over Amol Gupte's Taare Zameen Par as director, but he's more comfortable in his producer's chair. That's why he gave Delhi Belly to Abhinay Deo, a director whose Game (Abhishek Bachchan starrer) failed to impress viewers. While Delhi Belly clicked commercially, his wife Kiran's debut directorial venture Dhobi Ghat tanked. He's trusting another flop director, Reema Kagti (Honeymoon Travels Pvt Ltd) this time for Talaash. If trade pundits are to be believed, Aamir Khan's upcoming venture looks commercially viable.
Interestingly, even Anurag Kashyap who's just a decade old in Bollywood has moved on to launching fresh directors. Films like Black Friday, No Smoking, Dev.D, have established a brand of his own, and he's smart enough to make good use of it. But if we trust Anurag, he's a sucker for new talent.
"When I see good filmmakers, I respect them. I have picked up Vikramaditya Motwane (Udaan), Rajkumar Gupta (Aamir) and Bejoy Nambiar (Shaitan). They are filmmakers who know their minds. I don't have to tell them what to do. I think, I'm the good judge of directors. I just pick up people. If I find any good talent, I just latch on to it," he told IANS in an interview.
"New talent is far more better than us (pointing to himself). And that's what I believe in. The new directors are better than us, the new actors and new talent exactly know what they want to do. They are not the confused lot like we used to be," Anurag added.
Anurag Kashyap seems to have a point here. Abhishek Chaubey whom Vishal Bhardwaj launched in Ishqiya was totally convinced about the story he wanted to say in the film and was confident enough to narrate it beautifully on screen. The result was for all to see. From assisting Bhardwaj to becoming a full-fledged filmmaker, Abhishek Chaubey's clarity of mind certainly helped him achieve what he wanted to.
Ragini MMS director Pavan Kriplani was launched by Ekta Kapoor. He was appreciated for his unique storytelling style and an out-of-the-box film making.
Nitesh Tiwari and Vikas Bahl did not plan to direct Chillar Party that has won three national awards, when they were penning the script. By their own admission, they decided to direct the film themselves, as they became "too possessive about the movie." In an industry where formula and masala is considered the safest bet, the first-time director Vikas Bahl picked up a piece of real life for his cinematic product.
"I was part of the anti-Mandal Commission forum when students brought the government down. We came up with the idea, lived with it and wrote it over two years. Also, I made the film for the love of my dog, Khan," he had shared with HT Cafe.
Mahesh Bhatt who's launching yet another new director Vishal Mahadkar in his upcoming film Blood Money, admits he has a penchant for launching new people. "I have loved launching new people all my life. I have an appetite for promoting young talent," he had shared in an interview with HindustanTimes.com.
Sirsa, Haryana: Over one year after he raped a 75-year-old woman and then strangled her to death, a man was condemned to the gallows by a court in Haryana's Sirsa town on Tuesday.
In a historic judgment, Additional Sessions Judge Neelima Shangla termed the case as "rarest of the rare" and awarded death sentence to Nikka Singh, 22, for the rape and murder of Gurdev Kaur.
The incident took place in February last year in Sanwat Khera village of this district, 300 kilometer from Chandigarh.
According to police, the accused waylaid the old woman, who had ventured out of her house for a walk in the afternoon, near some fields. He first raped the victim by gagging her mouth with her shawl and then murdered her by strangling her with her dupatta.
When the old woman did not return, her family went looking for her and found her body in the fields. Some villagers had seen the accused near the same spot earlier and he was arrested later on the basis of suspicion.
Police said that the accused had earlier also attempted to rape two other women of the same village.
Judge Shangla held that "there are no mitigating circumstances and the case is undoubtedly 'rarest of rare case' where the sentence of death alone would meet the ends of justice".
Describing Nikka Singh as a savage-type of person whose "existence on earth is a grave danger to the society", the court said: "Hence, imposition of death sentence is most appropriate in this case as justice demands that court must impose punishment befitting the crime."
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Come 2013 and Saif Ali Khan will don a dual avatar in Judwaa 2. And to make sure his double role stands out, the makers have roped in a team from the USA towork on the film’s special effects. Confirms producer Sajid Nadiadwala: “Yes, we have hired a LA-based expert group and they are flying to Mumbai by April end to get started on Judwaa 2. Let’s see how things work out.”
To be directed by the Housefull series director, Sajid Khan, the film is likely to go on floors by February next year. Nadiadwala informs that the story is ready. “Now, I am working on the screenplay with a team of writers,” he says, adding that the idea is to come up with “never-seen-before” special effects.
“The original came out in 1996, and a lot has changed since then in terms of technology and audiences’ expectations. So, we plan to take the ‘double role’ factor to a level that no one can even think of,” says the producer.
How exactly will the technology work on Saif’s double role? “It’s very difficult to explain, but with the help of special effects, both the characters will talk, run, fight and sing in a way no one has seen till date. We will make two similar-looking people in the same frame do a few things that are otherwise not possible,” says Nadiadwala.
Although initial work on Judwaa 2 has started, the makers are yet to sit with Saif about the project. The producer explains, “Since he is busy with Agent Vinod and we are caught up with Housefull 2, we haven’t had time to discuss it in detail. Once both the films release, all of us will be relieved and will have time to talk.”
Lastly, ask him if Salman Khan – who happens to be his good friend – is fine with the sequel and he says: “To be precise, it has nothing to do with Judwaa. We could name it ‘Twins’ and it would still be as exciting.” He also adds that the exact shooting dates and the female actor will be decided only after April 10. Judwaa, directed by David Dhawan, had Salman play the roles of estranged twins, Raja and Prem.
Lucknow: Her defeat in the Uttar Pradesh elections may have been brutal. But if Mayawati needs cheering up, she could review her long list of assets. The former chief minister of Uttar Pradesh shared the details of her property, cash and jewellery as she filed her nomination for the Rajya Sabha. It's an impressive portfolio. In the last two years, her assets have shot up by 24 crores. So how much is Mayawati worth exactly? 111 crores.
Behenji, as the former chief minister is known, has said she has 380 carats of diamonds, and one kilogram of gold. Together, these are worth just under a crore. Her silver dinner set, which weighs nearly 20 kgs, is worth 9 lakhs.
Her immovable assets - largely property - add upto 96 crores. This includes two shops in Delhi's Connaught Place, a home worth 62 crores on Sardar Patel Marg, one of Delhi's most sought-after neighbourhoods, and a home in Lucknow worth 15 crores.
In May 2010, her assets were worth 87 crores.
This morning, she filed her nomination for the Rajya Sabha. Last week, she was voted out of power in UP. Her party managed less than 100 of the 403 seats in the UP assembly. The Samajwadi Party, with whom she shares a bitter rivalry, won the elections with astounding numbers. Once she is elected to the Rajya Sabha, she will resign from the UP Assembly.
Explaining her decision to move to the Rajya Sabha, Mayawati said her party has decided that with the general elections just two years away, she wants to prep her strategy. That will include drawing parliament's attention to the crime and lawlessness in UP, she said.
The BSP chief also said, "The party men have said I should increase party's support base all over the country and not just in UP. They said they would not want me to devote all my time here."
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Chennai: A wholly Indian-built spy-surveillance satellite - the Radar Imaging Satellite or Risat-1- that can see through clouds and fog and has very high- resolution imaging is slated for launch in April, a senior official of the Indian space agency has said.
An official of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said thorough tests were being done on the Risat-1. "The Risat-1 is put to thermal vacuum test (a test to check the satellite's functioning in space environment). It is a complex microwave satellite being built for the first time in India. The satellite is expected to be launched in April," the senior official told IANS, not wishing to be named because of the organisational rules.
In earlier satellites, one major component, the synthetic aperture radar (SAR) was imported, but in Risat-1 that has also been developed in India.
He said Risat-1 is the first such satellite being built by India and is a bit complex compared to other remote sensing/earth observation satellites built and sent up earlier.
According to ISRO officials, Risat-1 at 1,850 kg is the heaviest microwave satellite to be built by India.
The satellite would be used for disaster prediction and agriculture forestry, and the high resolution pictures and microwave imaging could also be used for defence purposes.
Risat-1 will have all weather, day and night imaging capability.
The satellite's synthetic aperture radar can acquire data at C-band.
ISRO Chairman K. Radhakrishnan had said last October that the space agency would launch two more satellites - Risat-1 and SARAL - before 2011-end. But that did not happen. He also said two more satellites - AstroSat and Aditya - will be launched in 2012-13.
Remote sensing satellites send back pictures and other data for use. India has the largest constellation of remote sensing satellites in the world providing imagery in a variety of spatial resolutions, from more than a metre ranging up to 500 metres, and is a major player in vending such data in the global market.
In 2009, ISRO had launched 300 kg Risat-2 with an Israeli built SAR enabling earth observation on all weather, day and night conditions. The satellite can look through clouds and fog.
With 11 remote sensing/earth observation satellites orbiting in the space, India is a world leader in the remote sensing data market. The 11 satellites are TES, Resourcesat 1, Cartosat 1, 2, 2A and 2B, IMS 1, Risat-2, Oceansat 2, Resourcesat-2, Megha-Tropiques.
According to ISRO officials, the rocket that would sling Risat-1 will be the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle's (PSLV) upgraded variant called PSLV-XL.
The rocket would weigh around 320 tonnes at lift-off and will be the third such expendable rocket to be sent up by ISRO, and first time to launch a remote sensing satellite.
ISRO had used the PSLV-XL variant (rocket with extended strap-on motors than what the base model has) for its moon mission (Chandrayaan-1) in 2008 and for launching its communication satellite GSAT-12 in 2011.
The PSLV is a four-stage (engine) rocket powered by solid and liquid propellants alternatively. The first and third stages are fired by solid propellant and the second and fourth stages are fired by liquid propellant.
ISRO has developed three PSLV variants. The first is the standard variant weighing around 290 tonnes with six strap-on motors measuring 11.3 metres with a fuel capacity of nine tonnes.
The other two rocket variants are the PSLV Core Alone without the six strap-on motors and PSLV-XL with longer strap-on motors measuring 13.5 metres having a fuel capacity of 12 tonnes of solid fuel.
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Sahara Force India team principal Vijay Mallya has pumped in $32 million into his Formula One team ahead of the season opener in Melbourne on Sunday.
