Watch Movie: Krazzy 4

It's a mad, mad, mad world out thereSomeone's nutty about money …Someone's deranged by power… Someone's cracked with stress…Someone's unhinged by overwork…Someone's insanely in love….It's a mad, mad, mad world out there and everybody's worried they're going bananas…. Except the Krazzy 4. Because they know they're already Krazzy!Raja's anger knows no bounds, he'll hit out at the slightest provocation or even without. Intermittent explosive disorder is what the doctors call it. 'Sarphira', is what everybody else does!Dr Mukherjee is your perfect doc – clean and orderly, not a pin out of place. So what's wrong with that? Obsessive compulsive personality disorder, that's what.Schizophrenic Gangadhar lives in the past…his mates are Nehru and Gandhi, Tilak and Patel! He's so busy fighting for swaraj and freedom, he's lost his sanity! Cute Dabboo is everybody's pet. So what if he hasn't spoken for years? So what if he's frightened all the time? So what if he's autistic?Dr Sonali treats them all. She has faith that all it needs is a little time and lots of patience to make them normal…to make them part of the mad, mad, mad world out there…But are the Krazzy 4 ready for the world? And is the world ready for them? Watch out! The Krazzy 4 are coming your way!!And yes...If you think they r crazy, think again!

Watch Movie: Krazzy 4

Watch Movie: U Me Aur Hum

The first time Ajay saw Pia, she served him drinks. She affected him more than the alcohol, and he found true love. He was a leading psychiatrist, but she messed up his mind.The first time Pia saw Ajay, he had too much to drink. She watched him make a fool of himself, and was relieved when he passed ...

Source: 123bollywood

U Me Aur Hum Part 1,

U Me Aur Hum Part 2,

U Me Aur Hum Part3,

U Me Aur Hum Part 4,

U Me Aur Hum Part 5,

U Me Aur Hum Part 6,

U Me Aur Hum Part 7,

U Me Aur Hum Part 8,

U Me Aur Hum Part 9,

U Me Aur Hum Part 10,

U Me Aur Hum Part 11.

Watch Movie: Bhram

Watching BHRAM my mind races back to the mid-eighties when you made movies on videos. Where you launched actors like Deepshika, Jeet Upendra and Aditya Panscholi. They were not great movies but were good to watch and had interesting stories to tell. Of course, those days, videos were a craze and I guess those movies made big business. But BHRAM? I guess as the translation suggests, is just one big illusion. But was it an illusion when you set out to film this movie, or did it become one along the way when you realized there was no solid script? Really Mr Hira, what exactly did you set out trying to do? Was it a video movie you had in mind, or a broader canvass? Because when you see the movie, one can feel the small screen format in place. Most of the characters and sets are even dressed up the way a television set is, not a grand 70mm movie set. The dialogues, at best are juvenile, with Fs and Bs and hard-ons thrown in for impact. Sadly, you cringe when the characters mouth these so-called ‘adult dialogues’. There has to be finesses in the way the dialogues are mouthed and the characters have to be given a believable situation for them to speak the way they do. Watching Chetan Hansraj and Dino Morea and Sheetal Menon mouth Fs and Bs, I am taken back to my college days when this language was used to impress our peers; to announce loudly that you had ‘arrived’. But then you move on…. As for the characters, the less said the better. Sheetal Menon may be a good model, but she does not have that necessary skill to convey her presence on screen. Or I dare say she has not been presented well? Only Simone Singh stands tall among the ruins of this illusion.

Source: Bharat Movies

Watch/Download: Bhram Part 1

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Watch Movie: Shaurya

Officer Javed Khan has been accused of killing his senior officer, Major Rathore. The lethargic fun loving officer Major Siddhant(Rahul Bose) has been entrusted with defending Javed. What Siddhant thought would just be a sight seeing and para gliding experience in the valleys of Srinagar turns out to be a life changing experience.

Watch Movie: Shaurya

Olympic Torch relay completed safe

The Delhi leg of the Olympic relay was completed safely. There was but one Tibetan protester who actually said he was not there to protest but just to see the the relay. Police took no chance as around a dozen policemen surrounded him at took him away. This actually sounds quite ridiculous, a dozen policemen for one single person? hmmm, well I guess India took took the Olympic Relay pretty seriously. All said, after a lot of controversy revolving round the Delhi leg of the relay, it was completed without any disruption. It will now leave Delhi for its next destination, Bangkok.

Source: NDTV

Beautiful Jokes

Tu mere dil mein aise samaayi hai Jaise baajre ke khet mein bhains ghus aayi hai

socha ttha har modh par tumhara saath denge, socha ttha har modh par tumhara saath denge, par kya kare kambakhat sadak hi sidhi nikli

Shaadi se pehle... Dil chahta hai ki Taj Mahal banaun par Mumtaaz nahi milti Shaadi ke baad... Dil chahta hai ki taj Mahal banaun par Mumtaaz nahi marti!

Wo aye hamari kabar par diya bujha ke chal diye, Wo aaye humari kabar par diya bujha ke chal diye, Diye mein jitna tel tha... Sar par laga kar chal diye

Q: What is height of Secrecy? A: Offering blank visiting cards.

Q: What is height of Stupidity? A: A man looking through a keyhole of a glass door

One day Jaganbhai meets Kantibhai while shopping at the mall and sees he has a small gift wrapped box. “It’s my wife Rupaben birthday tomorrow.” Kantibhai said. “Last week I asked her what she wanted for her birthday.” “And???” Jaganbhai asked. “Well, she said ‘Oh, I don't know - just give me something with diamonds in it”. “So, what did you get her?” asked Jaganbhai. Kantibhai replies, “I bought her a deck of cards!”

How was wire invented? Two marwaris spotted the same coin.

A young man asked an old rich man how he made his money. The old guy fingered his wool vest and said, "Well, son, it was 1932 - The depth of the Great Depression. I was down to my last nickel. "I invested that nickel in an apple. I spent the entire day polishing the apple and, at the end of the day, I sold the apple for ten cents. "The next morning, I invested those ten cents in two apples. I spent the entire day polishing them and sold them at 5 pm for 20 cents. I continued this system for a month, by the end of which I'd accumulated a fortune of $1.37." "And that's how you built an empire?" the boy asked. "Heavens, no!" the man replied. "Then my wife's father died and left us two million dollars."

Four hightech sardar inventions: -Waterproof towel -Solar powered torch -Book on how to read -Pedal powered wheel chair.

Ek dost ne sardar se poocha "Yaar tu hamesha foreign channel kyun dekhta rehta hai?" Sardar : "Yaar kuch bijli unki bhi kharcha hone do."

Santa: I am a proud sardar, my son is in medical college. Banta: Really? What is he studying? Santa: He is not studying. They are studying him.

Tourist: Whose skeleton is that? Santa: Tipu's skeleton. Tourist: Whose that smaller skeleton next to it? Santa: That was Tipu's skeleton when he was a child

Interviewer : Just imagine you are on the 3rd floor and it caught fire. How do you think will you escape? Santa : It's simple. I will stop my imagination!

Santa was busy removing a wheel from his auto. Banta asks: Why are you removing a wheel from your auto? Santa: Can't you read 'Parking for two wheelers only'. Teacher to Santa: "Where were you born? Santa: In Tiruvanantapuram. Teacher: Spell it? Santa: (after thinking) I think I was born in Goa .

Santa : 'Have you ever heard of the Suez Canal?' Banta : 'Yes, I have' Santa : 'Well, my father dug it.' Banta : 'That's nothing, have you ever heard of Dead sea?' Santa : 'Yes, I have.' Banta : 'Well, my father killed it.'
Mrs Kartar had bought a beautiful sweater for her husband. She sent it to her husband by parcel post along with a note. The note said: ' The buttons of the sweater are removed since they where too heavy and added to the postage . You will find them in the right hand pocket of the sweater.
Avtar and Kartar used to stay in same building. Avtar on the ground floor and Kartar on the 25th floor. One day when the lift was not working, Kartar invited Avtar for a Dinner. Avtar trudged up to 25th floor to find Kartar's flat closed from outside and had a note which read: ' How did you enjoy your dinner? ' Not to be outdone , Avtar wrote under it , ' Sorry , I could not make it.'

Santa and Banta were looking at mummy in an Egyptian museum Santa: Bechara! pattiyan hi pattiyan lagi hain... Kitne chotein lagi hain isko.. Zaroor truck accident mein mara hoga... Banta: haan, truck ka number bhi likha hai :- A.D. 1460 Ek truck doosre truck ko kheench raha tha. Dekh kar sardarji haskar lotpot hoke gir pade aur bole: Ek rassi ka tukda uthane ke liye 2-2 truck

A family in Gujarat was puzzled when the coffin of their dead mother (Ba) arrived from the US. It was sent by one of the daughters. The dead body was very tightly squeezed inside the coffin, with no space left in it when they opened the lid; they found a letter on top addressed to her brothers and sisters: Dear Chandrakantbhai, Arvindbhai, Smitaben and Varsha , I am sending Ba's body to you, since it was her wish that she should be cremated in the compound of our ancestral home in Gujarat. Sorry, I could not come along as all of my paid leave is consumed. You will find inside the coffin, under Ba's body, cans of cheese, 10 packets of Tobler chocolates and 8 packets of Badam (peanuts) please divide these among all of you. On Ba's feet you will find a new pair of Reebok shoes (size 10) for Mohan. There are also 2 pairs of shoes for Radha's and Lakshmi's sons. Hope the sizes are correct. Ba is wearing 6 American T-Shirts. The large size is for Mohan. Just distribute the rest among yourselves. The 2 new Jeans that Ba is wearing are for the boys. The Swiss watch that Reema wanted is on Ba's left wrist. Shanta masi, Ba is wearing the necklace, earrings and ring that you asked for. Please take them off her. The 6 white cotton socks that Ba is wearing must be divided among my nephews. Please distribute all these fairly. Love Smita. PS : If anything more required let me know soon as Bapuji is also not feeling too well now a days.

Source: shubhamk

Priyanka confirms meeting Rajiv's killer

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has said that she met her father Rajiv Gandhi's killer last month and she did it to come to terms with the loss of her father - the person she loved the most.

''I do not believe in anger, hatred and violence,'' an emotional Priyanka said in a statement confirming reports of her meeting with Nalini Sriharan who is serving a life term.

Nalini is the sole survivor of the five-member assassination squad.

Priyanka said it was her way of coming to peace with the violence and loss that she had experienced.

She also said that it was completely at her own initiative that she met Nalini at a women's prison in Nellore on March 19.

Source: Times of India
In the signed statement, she also said she would be grateful if her decision was respected.

Forget US, IITians prefer to stay home

They may be some of the most sought after techies in the US, but the Big Apple does not seem to hold its charm for IITians anymore. A study reveals the number of IITians opting to move to the US after graduation is steadily coming down. In the last five years, nearly 84% preferred to stay back and pursue a career in India.

The trend began from the class of 2002. Of the IITians who graduated in 2002 and later (including the class of 2008), only 16% went abroad. In comparison, between 1964 and 2001, 35% IIT graduates preferred to fly to the US.

Interestingly, 59% of IIT graduates before 2001 believed that the US and other developed countries provided better opportunities. However, in the last five years the mindset has undergone a change. Now, nearly 49% believe India is where the action lies.

The study 'Changing Career Destination and Career Choices for IITians' by Evalueserve, a KPO, also reveals, the techies believe India will become the most promising geography for them in the next 10 years.

What's more, the number of IITians who believed the US offered a "better standard of living", too has come down from 13% prior to 2001 to almost zero now.

And why not? After all, payrolls in the US have shrunk by 80,000, and the jobless rate has touched 5.1%, the highest since September 2005.

The techies have now realised that India offers more opportunities for them. No wonder, many of them are returning as well. The II sector is buzzing with stories of the returning prodigals who now prefer the home and hearth.

The Evalueserve study also shows 60% of IITians, who graduated before 2001, saw developed countries as the destination with the best career opportunities. However, the trend changed in the last five years. Now, 51% consider

India a preferred career location. In 2006, 90% IIT graduates chose to stay back and work here.

A substantial percentage (35%) of those who wanted to move to the US, did not go there. The reasons were many. While stringent visa regulations after 9/11 shattered dreams of many, high cost of living, limited scholarships, and high tuition fees unnerved others. Shrinking job opportunities and poor quality of life were among some of the major reasons.

Many are disillusioned with the overall quality of life in the US. Nearly 14% of the respondents say they stayed back because they were getting better job offers here. Another 9% felt that India offered better opportunities.

Most strikingly, when asked, ‘10 years down the line, which geography do you think will hold the most promise for success?' 72% chose India, with only 17% opting for the US, 5% for Europe and 2% for China. It's India Shining for IITians, finally.
Source: Times of India

The 13 faces of terror

IN A pre-dawn swoop, Indore police, armed with a tip-off from the Intelligence Bureau, arrested 13 top leaders of the banned Student’s Islamic Movement of India last Thursday.
The 13 men, including SIMI national secretary general Safdar Nagori, have allegedly been spinning a web of terror across the country since 2003 — by either plotting or offering logistical support to major terror attacks. They are accused of networking with Pakistan-based terror groups like the Lashkar-e-Tayyeba (LeT), the Harkat ul Jihadi Islami (HuJI) and the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM).
SIMI members had helped the LeT plan as well as execute the serial bomb blasts on Mumbai locals in July 2006 that killed over 180 people.
Azam Cheema, who is the Bahawalpur-based LeT’s India operations chief in Pakistan, had sent 22 Pakistani operatives in three teams to Mumbai in April-May 2006, said sources in the Maharashtra police and the Intelligence Bureau.
These operatives joined 13 local men — 3 belonged to a Lashkar module, including alleged mastermind Faisal Sheikh, the remaining 10 were SIMI men led by alleged co-mastermind Asif Khan Basheer Khan alias Junaid — and jointly executed the serial blasts. There were seven teams that planted the RDX-based cocktail devices and the Pakistani bomb-makers were helped by SIMI operative Sajid Ansari, a professional mobile-repairer conversant with electronic gadgets, police sources said.
Apart from the 11/7 attack, anti-terror units from six states and the Intelligence Bureau are investigating the role of these 13 men in the blasts at the Gateway of India and Zaveri Bazaar on August 25, 2003, the October blasts across three cities in Uttar Pradesh and the two blasts in Hyderabad in May 2007.
Some of these men — like Nagori and his brother Qamruddin, Shibli and his brother Shahduli — had held three secret meetings in Karnataka where the attacks were plotted and organisational matters debated, said senior police officers in Hyderabad police and Karnataka police’s Corps of Detectives who are investigating the case.
The most important information that police hope to get out of these 13 is news on Adnan, a 30-something resident of Karnataka’s Bijapur district and Nagori’s confidante.
Adnan is believed to be a hyperactive SIMI terror organiser in south India, said a senior IPS officer with the Hyderabad police. “Adnan had taken a lead role in organising the three secret meetings of around 32 SIMI/Lashkar men that occurred in Karnataka late last year. A Hyderabad-based terror suspect — Mutasim Billah — has revealed that he had facilitated Adnan’s meetings with Pakistan-trained Lashkar suspect Riyazuddin Nasir. Both Nasir and Adnan then discussed possible attacks.”
While the Hyderabad police arrested Billah, the Karnataka police nabbed Nasir. Adnan, who is absconding, had fled from a hostel in Hubli, Karnataka, in January after the Karnataka police caught two of his associates —Nasir and Abu Baker on January 17.

Source: Hindustan Times

Why does corrupt India grow fast?

How serious is corruption in India, and how great an obstacle to fast growth? Most people would say corruption is very high and a serious obstacle to the 10% growth now sought by politicians. A joint study by CMS and Transparency International in 2005 asked people of their experiences in dealing with 11 government departments. No less than 62% of people said that they had paid bribes or paid “facilitators” to get goods and services that they were entitled to. The study estimated that Rs 21,068 crore per year was paid in such “small” corruption. Three-fourth of citizens felt that corruption was increasing. An interesting point has been made about corruption by Deena Khatkhate in his recent book Ruminations of a Gadfly. He cites sociological studies to show that in non-corrupt states like Denmark, people in a village hardly know one another, and family ties are weak — members do not even regularly attend family weddings. But people in an Indian village are in close contact with neighbours, and have strong ties within families and communities. People in authority will be much more corrupt in India, says Khatkhate, since tradition approves the giving of priority to one’s family, caste and religious group over abstract ideals like the public interest. But in Denmark and other developed countries, public interest is viewed as top priority, and this notion is facilitated by the lack of strong family and social networks. He also gives examples of Indians who blossomed when they went abroad, but could not have achieved similar success in Indian conditions, marred by cronyism, political interference, and wooden bureaucratic rules. Lakshmi Mittal says that if he tried to buy an existing steel plant in India, he would spend half his life chasing netas and babus, whereas he could complete takeovers abroad in a few months. Economists like Amartya Sen and Jagdish Bhagwati, management gurus like CK Prahlad and Pankaj Ghemawat, and astronomers like S Chandrashekhar all attained great heights abroad, which they couldn’t have in India. If corruption, political interference and senseless rules in India make life so difficult, economic growth should be slow. Investment and growth can be high only if property rights are safe and contracts are honoured. If both are endangered by corruption, then investment and growth should be low. But, surprisingly, India has averaged almost 9% growth in the last four years. Look at different states. The 2005 survey showed that the five least corrupt states were Kerala, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, and Maharashtra. These states (with the possible exception of Kerala) have attracted a lot of investment in the last decade. This suggests that low corruption does indeed improve growth. The five most corrupt states, according to the survey, are Bihar (worst by far), Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Rajasthan . Investors certainly avoid the three worst states, but invest massively in Karnataka and Rajasthan, both of which are fast-growing. Tamil Nadu is also corrupt and fast-growing. How do we explain this? Maybe petty corruption is high in Karnataka and Rajasthan but big corruption — serious extortion — is low. We simply do not know.

Source: Economic Times

Only grandson has right to Nizam’s wealth: aide

HYDERABAD: The Indian government's decision to seek out-of-court settlement of the dispute over the Hyderabad Nizam's wealth lying in a London bank has come under flak from a former adviser of the ruler's successor and grandson Mir Barkat Ali Khan Mukarram Jah Bahadur.The federal cabinet on Friday decided to settle the 60-year-old dispute through talks with the government of Pakistan and the Nizam's heirs.However, Begum Scheherazade Javeri, once the principal adviser to the scion of the former royal family, argues that the money locked up in the bank was Nizam's personal wealth and Mukarram Jah alone had the right to it."India has no locus standi. The money belonged to the Nizam and this has already been made clear by the House of Lords in 1959," she said yesterday.After the partition and before the merger of then Hyderabad State with the Indian Union in 1948, Nizam Mir Osman Ali Khan's finance minister Moin Nawaz Jung had transferred £1,007,940 and nine shillings in the name of then Pakistan high commissioner in London H I Rahimtoola in the National Westminster Bank.India had raised objection to the transfer of funds saying the Nizam was not an independent ruler. Since then the matter is hanging fire between the two countries.The money, which is now estimated to be £30mn (Rs3bn), is proposed to be divided among the governments of India, Pakistan and the Nizam's heirs. While the Nizam's heirs are likely to get 20%, India will get the lion's share.Scheherazade claims it was part of the Nizam's personal wealth invested in the bank. Before the partition, Rahimtoola was an Indian representing the Nizam in London. He later migrated to Pakistan and became that country's high commissioner in London.Scheherazade said Pakistan never claimed right over the funds. "The House of Lords ruled in 1959 that legal title to the funds vests with Pakistan but the beneficial owner of the funds is the Nizam of Hyderabad," she said.The efforts to solve the dispute during the Nizam's lifetime failed as the government of Pakistan never came forward to help unlock the funds. Osman Ali Khan, who was the world's richest man in his times, died in 1967.The Nizam had refused to accede Hyderabad to India after the country's independence on August 15, 1947. He wanted Hyderabad to remain an independent state or join Pakistan. The princely state finally merged with the India in September 1948 after a military operation."In view of the political instability after the partition, the Nizam transferred the money. Perhaps he did not want to transfer it directly to the Pakistan government and he did it through an individual," Mohamed Safiullah, cultural adviser to the Nizam Trust, said.Scheherazade and her late husband Sadruddin Javeri, who too served as Mukarram Jah's adviser and also held power of attorney for him, took up the issue with successive Indian governments and urged them to convince Pakistan to help in transferring the funds to the Nizam's successor. They met prime ministers Rajiv Gandhi, Chandra Shekhar and P V Narasimha Rao.She hopes that Turkey-based Mukarram Jah would challenge the Indian government decision in a British court and plead for settling the dispute in line with the observations of the House of Lords.However, others feel that the scion of the royal family and other legal heirs of the former ruler would accept 20% of the money being offered by the Indian government. "This will come to Rs60 crore (Rs600mn) and going by their poor financial condition I feel they will latch on to it," said Safiullah.He said the Nizam's heirs should have got the entire amount, but they have no other option. "If they don't accept this, the dispute will continue for many more years," he said.The Indian government's decision to hold negotiations with Pakistan and the Nizam's heirs to solve the dispute over the next 18 months is likely to trigger a flurry of activity among the more than 300 legal heirs of the Nizam here."There are only eight main claimants who are direct descendants of the Nizam. Mukarram Jah, being the successor to the title of Nizam and his properties, will get the biggest share," said Safiullah.Shahmat Jah, the grandson of the Nizam and a cousin of Mukarram Jah Bahadur, has already staked claim to the money. "We should get our share," he said.Three granddaughters of the Nizam said they would also make efforts to get their due share.Mir Osman Ali Khan had formed several trusts to safeguard his properties and interests of his descendants.Safiullah is not sure that the dispute will be solved soon. "There is political instability in Pakistan and that government is not likely to come forward for talks in the near future," he said.

Source: Gulf Times

East Germany offers good prospects for Indian firms

NEW DELHI: Indian companies looking for significant European presence have a reason to smile, with the low profile East Germany region offering more organic growth avenues in diverse sectors ranging from renewable energy to microelectronics. At present, about 20 Indian entities including the likes of Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries, wind turbine maker Suzlon Energy, Tata Group firm Voltas and automotive supplier Bharat Forge have business activities in East Germany. However, the exact investment details are not available. "There are a lot of opportunities in East Germany especially for companies from India. The administration offer various incentives for business activities such as fast approval procedures and possible government support," Andreas Dressler, Director Advisory (Global Location and Expansion Services), KPMG Germany told PTI. KPMG is a global advisory firm. Dressler noted that Indian firms in East Germany have created about 2,000 jobs. "More than acquisitions, the firms have a lot of avenues for organic growth in East Germany and are spread across different sectors. Automotive, renewable energy, pharmaceutical, mechanical engineering and microelectronics are among the major fields," he said. According to data compiled by KPMG, Reliance Industries, Voltas, Suzlon and Bharat Forge have hundreds of employees in the region. RIL has more than 700 employees in East Germany. It operates through Trevira GmbH and manufactures polyester fibre. Voltas, which is into manufacturing of high-performance circular knitting machines through Terrot GmbH, employs over 130 people. Suzlon Energy has made investments for design and development of wind turbine generators and roughly account for over 100 jobs. The Indian firm operates through Suzlon Energy GmBH (Rostock), Suzlon Energy GmBH (Berlin) and Suzlon Windkraft GmbH. Another major Indian employer in the region is Bharat Forge that is present through CDP Bharat Forge GmbH and employs about 130 people, the data showed. In addition to incentives from the administration, the region has low labour costs, flexible working hours and good infrastructure. Presently, there are about 240 Indian-owned companies in Germany. A recent KPMG report titled 'Eastern Germany as a Location for Indian Direct Investment', said that foreign investors are provided with many support programmes including research and development funding in the region. Large companies can receive grants up to 30 per cent of their total investment, while medium-sized can get up to 40 per cent and small companies up to 50 per cent. These are cash grants that are paid as initial expenses and therefore have a significant impact in early phases of the investment project, the report noted. It had also said that East Germany is Europe's leading location for microelectronics, primarily due to strong research activities carried out in universities there.

Source: Economic Times

India's villages grow more modern but still grapple with lingering problems

SINGHPURA, India - Standing in front of his small brick home, in a courtyard where the dirt has been packed down by generations of barefoot children, the middle-aged mustard farmer doesn't bother to hide his exhaustion.
"Only someone who has been through something like this can understand the size of my catastrophe," said Sukhpal Singh Tomar. For years, he has struggled to find some reason for his suffering, but has come up with little.

He shrugged: "It must be my karma."
The catastrophe? His eight daughters - so many he sometimes stumbles over their names. But his wife, Shanti, never forgets, and the words spill from her like a breathless prayer: "Anu-Jyoti-Poonam-Roshni-Sheetal-Bindu-Chandni-Shezal."
They have been born in a country leaping headfirst into the globalized world but still holding tight to a preference for boys, enlarging an ever-widening gender imbalance in the second most populous nation on earth.

Tomar, 50, said his wife had also had three abortions. Asked if the intent had been to abort female fetuses, he looked silently at the ground.
"It would have been easier to have a son. Even just one," said Shanti, 38, whose stringy hair and worn skin make her look 20 years older.
She's holding their youngest girl, three-month-old Shezal.

Much has changed in this village since the Tomars' first daughter was born 19 years ago.
Electricity arrived, and later the first cell phones. The number of tractors has quadrupled. Today, the village's girls attend the local primary school just like its boys.
"There's more money here now, and more education. But it's still in the back of everyone's mind: 'I must have a male child,"' said Madhur Gurhan, the obstetrician who runs the public hospital's maternity ward in Morena, the largest nearby city.
"The money doesn't change that."
It has long been clear that India has a deep-seated preference for boys.
By 2001, researchers estimated the country had anywhere from 20 million to 40 million "missing" girls from sex-selective abortions made available through the spread of ultrasound technology.
But as India modernizes - as places like Singhpura become small towns, as towns become cities and as India's once-overwhelming poverty is slowly supplanted by an increasingly educated middle class that wants fewer children - researchers say the problem is only getting worse.
"We're now dealing with attitudes that are spreading," said Sabu George, a prominent activist against the practice. "It's frightening what we're heading to."
While the next national census will not be done until 2011, giving a detailed overall picture, study after study has found an increasingly grim situation even as India's middle class grows.
While researchers once thought education and wealth would dampen the preference for boys, the reverse has turned out to be true.
According to UNICEF, about 7,000 fewer girls than expected are born every day in India.
According to the British medical journal The Lancet, up to 500,000 female fetuses are being aborted every year.
This in a country where abortion is legal but sex-determination tests were outlawed in 1991 - a law nearly impossible to enforce, since ultrasound tests leave no trace.
For a recent report, the group ActionAid sent interviewers to 6,000 households in five north Indian regions.
In Punjab state, researchers found rural areas with just 500 girls for every 1,000 boys, and communities of high-caste urbanites with just 300 girls per 1,000.
Around Morena, in an increasingly urbanized part of Madhya Pradesh state, the 2001 census found 851 girls per 1,000 boys - a number ActionAid found had dropped to 842.
Researchers say pressure for smaller families is the most immediate problem.
"Squeeze on family size is fuelling the trend," said ActionAid researcher Jyoti Sapru. "For households expressing preference for one child only, they want to make sure it is a son."
If India is changing dramatically, the rationale for preferring boys remains fixed: Boys don't need the dowries that can cripple a family financially.
Also, boys stay home after marrying and help care for aging parents; Hinduism dictates that only boys can light their parents' funeral pyres.
Over the past decade, the government and aid agencies have spent millions of dollars on everything from poster campaigns to television ads to soap operas, all urging families to accept daughters.
Governments have repeatedly vowed to crack down on clinics that perform sex-determination tests, yet these remain readily available.
Around here, they cost about 2,500 rupees (US$60), or five times the cost of a legal ultrasound.
Prosecutions are extremely rare.
The number of lost girls is almost sure to increase.
India's growing middle class means far more people can afford ultrasound tests. Increased urbanization means easier access to the machines. And as family sizes drop, the pressure to have boys intensifies.
The statistics tell this story starkly: In 1981, when ultrasound technology was rare here, India had 962 girls for every 1,000 boys. That's roughly what nature dictates.
But by 1991, as ultrasound technology began spreading, 962 had tumbled to 945. Ten years later, it was 927 and the number is still dropping.

Source: MyTelus

Nivea India launches whitening oil control for men

Nivea, a brand of Beiersdorf, has launched Nivea for Men whitening oil control in India.
Having started the 'whitening revolution' for Indian men in May 2007 with the launch of the basic Nivea for Men whitening range, "the revolution is now progressing into the next level, targeting very specific needs of oily skin," said general manager Kai Bendix."We are entering an as yet unattended segment of male grooming in India," said head of marketing Soma Ghosh.

Source: Data Monitor

India and Korea seen as future energy security partners

WASHINGTON: Given the need to access Persian Gulf oil and gas supplies to fulfill their galloping energy needs, countries such as India and Korea, along with other energy-deficient states like Japan and China, could either opt for cooperation or competition.According to a research study by Dr Walter Andersen of the School of Advanced International Studies at the Johns Hopkins University, sea lane security will be at issue, both through the Indian Ocean, its choke points and on through to the South China Sea. There are presently very few effective multilateral arrangements that address the security issues of the sea lanes and choke points of the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea. There are few multilateral institutions in Asia, and those that do exist, like SAARC, ASEAN, APEC - which denied membership to India in the 1990s - have a rather thin record of achievement – especially misuse involving security. Partly, this is due to regional antagonism – such as between Japan and China or India and Pakistan. Most consequential agreements address issues of trade and are bilateral. Yet, to be effective, the protection of vital sea lanes that carry vital oil/gas to energy deficient South and East Asia must be a multilateral engagement. Andersen writes that so far, there is very little cooperation. However, concerned states, including Korea, are discussing ways to collaborate.

Source: Daily Times

Netmagic looking at acquisition, fund raising

MUMBAI: India's leading managed IT service provider Netmagic Solutions could look at an acquisition and a fresh round of fund raising for its expansion over the next 6-12 months, a top company official said. "We are looking at an acquisition particularly in the sphere of application and database management...we are in dialogues with some companies but there is no immediate announcement," Netmagic CEO and MD Sharad Sanghi told PTI. "We are looking for the right fit (for acquisition) and it is possible in the next 6-7 months," he added. Netmagic specialises in internet data centres, managed hosting, network operations and has recently began offering remote infrastructure management. In February, it had raised Rs 80 crore through private equity funding through Fidelity International Ltd and Nexus India Capital. However, to expand its managed IT networks and remote infrastructure management business, it could look at a fresh round of fund raising through debt. "We will be raising more fund in another 12 months through some debt...it could be a few hundred crores," he said. Sanghi said that the proceeds of the earlier round of funding will be deployed in setting up new data centres in Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai. It already has data centres in Mumbai and Bangalore in India and a virtual data centre in the United States. On impact of the possible recession in the US market, Sanghi said that while the growth remains strong, there was a slowdown in average revenue per customer.

Source: Economic Times

India, most preferred emerging retail market

India has been identified as the most sought-after market in a major survey of 300 global retailers seeking to expand outside their domestic markets.

New research by C B Richard Ellis, a leading London-headquartered real estate services firm, reveals that 40 per cent of retailers expect emerging markets to provide their main source of growth over the next five years.

The research report said that India was identified as the most sought-after emerging market. Twenty seven per cent of international retailers surveyed have opened their first store in India in the last year or are planning to do so soon.

"India is considered particularly attractive because of the size of its market compared to its low presence of international retailers. With foreign ownership rules being gradually relaxed, foreign investment is also now possible, allowing single-brand retailers to own up to 49 per cent of their India operations," the report said.

The Global Emerging Markets Survey (GEMS) explores the views of some 300 retailers worldwide, representing a global portfolio of 25,000 stores, and provides the latest insight into retailer attitudes towards the world's emerging retail destinations.

Ukraine and Russia also ranked highly in the survey, in second and third positions respectively. Ukraine, in particular, benefits not only from its own rapid economic growth but also from its proximity to Russia.

"Rising interest and growing expansion into emerging markets globally is being fuelled by rapid growth in consumer spending and the 'emerging middle class' in many of these

countries. We believe India will maintain its position as a popular new location for retail expansion as further trade restrictions are lifted," Peter Gold, head of cross border retail at CB Richard Ellis, said.

Source: Rediff

Are sexual fantasies for the rich?

A friend of mine was recently part of a forum on changing sexual norms in India. Amongst the Indian masses to be exact. A renowned actor from the UK was in Bombay to film a documentary on the changing sexual mores of the masses.

The forum included a fashion designer, a director, some (successful) actor/ writer types, employees of Vogue, artists and the like. “The masses”, if you will. Video cameras did the rounds while these beautiful people ate their caviar, drank their champagne and discussed the sexual ways of the average Indian. Hearing about this got me thinking about sexual fantasies.

Are sexual fantasies … or, at least, living out sexual fantasies … a luxury of the wealthy? Do sex lives get more experimental and more exciting with more money and hence, more space and more resources?

Let’s start with what I imagine is the most basic fantasy…thinking of someone else while you are making love to your partner. That seems simple… and doesn’t require space, special clothing, locations or anything of the sort.

On the opposite extreme is the s&m, dominatrix genre of fantasies…the flown blown highbudget Yash Raj productions. And, in between is everything from voyeurism to threesomes to orgies and more.

Threesomes seem to be one of the first stops for people on the fantasy road. The question that inevitably comes up is: is it better to be the third person to join a couple or be part of a couple inviting a third person to join in? I would guess the former is the safer option. Living out some of these fantasies could mean disastrous results for stable relationships.

Fantasies can be conscious or sub-conscious and positive or negative. They provide a nice break from reality and allow for excitement and greater arousal. As the forum that was discussing such things proves, social responses to sexual fantasies vary greatly. A surprising BBC survey found that the most popular fantasy for men and women was having sex with their existing partner.

I am inclined to believe that these answers were given with the ‘existing partner’ sitting within earshot. Now that’s food for thought …or for tonight.

Source: New Ind Express

Wash if you are Indian. Wipe if not

ONE of the easiest ways to heckle or ignite an NRI, I found was to ask in the midst of a genial conversation, “Wash or wipe?” The context is unmistakable and the question goes home immediately. We all know that paper or water in the toilet is no yardstick to measure the degree of patriotism but it very well could be going by my NRI friends’ discomfiture.

Looks like the conversion to a western way of life tentatively begins with the unruly Indian tongue massaging its “r”s into doughy “zh”s and definitively ends with the bottom demanding paper over water. And between the tongue and the bottom, between wash and wipe, lies a long-drawn process of cultural adjustment and appropriation and a great continental shift in world view.

Starting with better adjusted candidates — Vinu Warrier from Canada insisted that the “wash or wipe dilemma was the most under-mentioned problem of diaspora”. He asserts his dual citizenship by always wiping with paper first and later washing in the tub. (Thanks for telling.

When I visit you I shan’t roll in your tub.) An uncle of mine admitted that he washed in India and wiped in America (that must be one long journey for so poor a cause!). Sathya in Australia confessed that he wet paper with water and used them as wet wipes (eligible candidate for dual citizenship).

Moving on to difficult customers — Raghavan s(h)itting pretty in Boston delivered a stinging monologue on the state of the Indian loos before condescending to answer the question “Wash or wipe?” “With the western loo,” he boomed, “you have to deal with your own ass being a little less than squeaky clean after a trip.With the Indian style loo, you are frequently wondering what exactly you are stepping on when you enter.

So, given the choice between having a little of my own produce on my ass and having other people’s produce on my feet (and possibly hands) I choose the former, as any rational human being would. So that resolves it, right?”

Pavithra in London discussing the “yuck factor” of Indian toilets said, “Despite all the newfound economic prosperity we Indians seem quite reluctant to give up our rusty iron bucket in the loo bequeathed to us by our grandmothers.

Also, you are sure that the previous visitor, after finishing his business picked up the bucket with his unwashed hands and put it back in place under the dripping tap. Paper is definitely cleaner, drier and undeniably better,” she concluded.

On her first visit to India, Rumi after just one typical Punjabi meal declared, “Why water? Indians need ice.” When the fire in her tongue (and elsewhere) subsided she couldn’t stop laughing over the all new Indian bathroom contraption.

“The mini shower hose is a riot, an invention to apparently ensure dry bathroom floors. My aunt sort of missed the whole point. She dethroned from the western closet, squatted on the floor and got her aim wrong and ended up spraying her tummy and face before she finally figured it out. Boy! Paper is god sent!” The “Wash or wipe?” question seems a dipstick study on an NRI’s love or contempt for his country and its way of life.

The toilet paper I am afraid is no ordinary tissue — it is the final cord that permanently binds our brethren to the alien land, a filament that severs the umbilical cord with their homeland, a line that draws our brothers out of the Indian amniotic waters.

Beyond the wash-and-wipe dilemma lies the great NRI toilet dream that my good friend Raghavan dreams for the east and west alike. “Sometimes as I sit on my own humble loo with just a roll of paper on the side, I dream about a day when every loo will spray, dry, powder and fondly pat each ass that comes its way.”

Now we know what lies in the bottom of the Non Resident Indian’s heart or should we say in the heart of the Non Resident Indian’s bottom?

Source: New Ind Express

Wanted: Indian brides

Rob, a 38-year-old from Washington DC, has advertised for a bride on www.delhi. craigs list.com.The condition is that she should be from India.

Another ad from a 32-year-old Californian asks for, “on the lookout for a beautiful dark-haired Indian princess.”

Online hunt
An increasing number of men from the U S, Canada, Switzerland and Italy seem to be looking for Indian brides on the Internet. Reason: Some are ‘fascinated’ by the stereotypical image of the Indian woman.

Charles, an advertiser claims that Indian women are the “only realwomen.” He adds, “The colour and texture of their skin, the silkiness of their hair, the way an Indian woman moves is so feminine.”

A 40-year-old from California says that he is“mostly attracted to dusky women.”

Culture curry
“I want a woman with traditional values,” writes a 31-year-old businessman from Atlanta, on www.mumbai. craigslist. com. Rob is hoping to find a bride who can provide him with $ 50,000 needed to purchase land.

“In exchange, I will marry her and bring her to the US,” his ad reads.

Let’s talk money, honey

Thirty-one-year-old Tony from Canada admits that the motive is purely financial — to help him open a restaurant. In return, the woman he marries will get a Canadian citizenship. He adds that Indian women are the most beautiful on the planet. But love doesn’t come for free. Oh well..

Source: Hindustan Times

Highzoom digital camera

CYBER-SHOTDSC-H10, Sony India’s new high-zoom digital camera, is a combo of superior technical performance in a convenient, pocket friendly size appealing to both photo-enthusiasts and those new to digital photography.

The 8-megapixel camera has a Carl Zeiss 10x optical zoom lens and a long-range flash. Its face detection technology can identify and focus on up to eight faces in a frame, and automatically adjusts the focus for correctly exposed photos.

This intelligent technology allows the camera to quickly focus on fast-moving subjects by predicting where they will be in the frame and ultimately reducing shutter lag.

Priced at Rs 15,990 and available at all leading retail stores and exclusive Sony outlets, the DSC-H10 also has additional accessories such as wide and telephoto conversion lenses, filters, batteries, travel chargers, sports packs and cases.

Source: New Ind Express

Gopal Raju, pioneer of ethnic Indian media in US, is no more

Gopal Raju, who was a bridge between India and the United States in the fields of media, politics and philanthropy for over half-a-century, died here early Thursday after a brief illness. He was 80.

Raju's death was announced by his long-time colleague and friend Veena Merchant. He died after complications from a weeklong bout of jaundice.

An institution builder, he founded the India Abroad newspaper, the Indo-Asian News Service (IANS), the Indian American Foundation (IAF) and the Indian American Center for Political Action (IACPA). At the time of his death, he was the publisher of the weekly newspapers News India-Times, Desi Talk and Gujarat Times.

A pioneering advocate of the two-million Indian diaspora in the US, becoming involved first in the life of their adopted country, and then being a link to their homeland, he made India Abroad his passion for serving as an information bridge between the community and their native country.

Later, he founded the IACPA in 1993, which extended this community involvement to US politics from Washington to state and local levels.

Under the Center's tutelage he placed about 200 Indian American interns with Congressional and Senate lawmakers in Washington, D.C.

The IAF, which he launched in the 1970s, mobilised millions of dollars in contributions for education, health, social development and disaster relief projects in India, also helping rebuild many homes left devastated by the earthquake in Latur in Maharashtra and Kutch in Gujarat.

Former prime minister I.K. Gujral, who knew him well, said: 'He was a institution and also the most significant bridge between India and America. His contribution in setting up India Abroad and a number of other Indian papers in North America speaks a lot about his initiatives. The foundation that he set up and the response he was getting made us feel proud of him and his work.'

True to his shy and self-effacing nature, Raju left instructions shortly before he died for a private funeral 'without any fuss'.

He was honored both in his native and adopted lands. Then president A.P.J. Abdul Kalam last year awarded him the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman for his contributions to India and its diaspora.

In 2004, he received the Ellis Island award honoring immigrants for their contributions to the US, and in 2000 the Asia Society's Leadership Award. The US-based Taraknath Das Foundation conferred its 2006 award on Raju.

Raju, who arrived here in 1950, tried his hand at several businesses, running a travel agency and a restaurant, before settling on publishing.

The often excessively reticent Raju had the mental make-up of an old world publisher who did not enjoy a high public profile.

'My job is to publish a quality newspaper and not to project myself,' was one of his favourite refrains.

It was because of that philosophy that India Abroad went on to become the most credible Indian American publication, which The Economist of London once described as a weekly of 'unusually high quality'.

One of his unfulfilled dreams was to create an overarching diasporic Indian publication worldwide that would watch over the 25 million strong expatriate Indian community around the globe.

'Raju paved the way for every Indian journalist working in the US today. He was also tremendously supportive of SAJA (South Asian Journalists Association) and my own work,' said Sreenath Sreenivasan, dean of students at Columbia Journalism School.

Raju ran the India Abroad Fellowship Programme for several years at Columbia University.

Although he knew many powerful political figures both in India and the US he never made it a habit to leverage his contacts, nor bothered to be seen with them.

H.K. Dua, editor of Tribune and former media advisor to prime minister H.D. Deve Gowda, said: 'Gopal Raju was a remarkable journalist, always eager to do something more than he had already done and achieved. He was an institution builder. Single-handed, he built India Abroad newspaper and IANS. For most NRIs in the US, the two institutions were windows for knowing about India.

'He loved press freedom. I met him often when he would visit India and a couple of times in New York. He was a well aware man and worked a lot for the people of India.'

Source: Irish Sun

77 PG medical courses un-recognised

NAGPUR: The Maharashtra government has said that 77 post graduate medical courses out of 215 are not recognised by Medical Council of India.

Replying to a query posed in this regard by a senate member of Maharashtra University of Health Sciences (Nasik), Dr Ratnakar Dhamankar, the MUHS recently stated that these post graduate courses were being conducted in 24 affiliated and non-aided institutions across the state.

Ironically, government institutions like Government Medical Colleges (GMCs) in Nagpur, Aurangabad, Nanded, Miraj, Grant Medical College in Mumbai, Indira Gandhi Medical College and other private medical colleges also conduct many courses not recognised by the apex medical body.

In Vidarbha, five medical colleges conduct MD courses in various subjects like - anatomy, physiology, pharmacology, microbiology, pathology, general medicine, paediatrics, anaesthesia, radiotherapy and biochemistry.

Of the 77 non-recognised courses by the MCI, 21 are being conducted by medical colleges in Vidarbha alone. For example, eight MD courses not recognised by the MCI in IGGMC, while biochemistry course being conducted by GMC has no MCI recognition, the state government has said. Private medical colleges like NKP Salve Institute of Medical Sciences (Nagpur) and SV Naik Government Medical College (Yavatmal) have no MCI recognition for all its PG courses.

The non-recognition of courses has put a serious question mark on the future of hundreds of students. Meanwhile, a senior MCI committee member told ToI that if a course is not recognised by MCI, students would not have MCI registration and couldn't practice anywhere.

Source: Times of India

Pune hotelier to offer helicopter services

Pune: To stay ahead of competition, India’s rapidly growing hospitality industry is racing to provide value-added services, the latest entrant being the city-based St Laurn Hotels and Resorts, which is planning to offer helicopter services so that guests can fly between its properties without any hassle.
“We are currently undertaking a techno-feasibility study for the new project, which we hope to start by the first quarter of calendar year 2009,” St Laurn’s managing director Laxman Kariyaa said.
The hospitality firm is setting up a new company, St Laurn Aviation, with an initial investment of Rs20 crore for the purpose. It is also discussing wet leasing of helicopters with various companies that include US-based Bell Helicopter Textron Inc.
Wet leasing is an industry term for leasing aircraft on an Acmi (aircraft, crew, maintenance and insurance) basis.

Source: AVIndia

American patient gets a new life and 3 new joints at top Indian hospital

MUMBAI, INDIA, April 10, 2008 - This is an amazing incredible story of an American patient who suffered pain and misery due to bad knee and hip joints for more than ten years and then took a brave decision to fly alone all the way to India to Wockhardt Hospitals at Bangalore. He spent eight weeks in Bangalore and underwent three major surgeries by the star orthopedic surgeon Dr Sanjay Pai.

Brad, 52, a former building contractor from New Mexico has been an arthritic for last 18 years. He first started to suffer acute pain in his left hip and was advised hip replacement fifteen years ago. He spent almost all his life savings of 40000 US dollars and in 1993 got a total hip replacement done at local US hospital.

However the nature of construction work coupled with arthritis made his condition deteriorate and he started to get joint pains in his other hip as well as one of the knees too.
It was not long before the left hip that he got replaced a few years ago also started to bother him.

Life became a tough journey for Brad. He went to a number of local hospitals in US and they told him that he needs a revision of his earlier left hip and a new replacement for his Right Hip and left Knee ...all of which would cost him 120,000 US Dollars. Brad just could not figure out what to do as there was no way that he could manage to pay this huge amount of money

Since day to day activities like walking and climbing stairs became so difficult, Brad quit his construction work and he started to give more time on his favorite pastime of singing and music. He joined a local radio station as a music presenter and singer.

However his health was causing him great concern as days passed and he started to limp as the implant on one his hips which was operated many years ago dislocated and the other hip and one of his knees too lost ligament due to arthritis. Brad had to find a solution to get back a life, but he did not have the astronomical sum of 120000 US dollars

Providence firmly on his side, Brad happened to meet one of his neighbors who while visiting India had a sudden heart attack and was taken to Wockhardt Hospitals in Bangalore and they managed him so well, not only his life was saved he spent a very small amount for his treatment. Brad started to search for Wockhardt on Google and Yahoo and he reached http://www.wockhardthospitals.net

Brad was amazed to find that a large number of uninsured Americans have chosen Wockhardt Hospitals and the website had a number of video testimonials of American, British and Canadian patients singing praises for the services and excellent medical outcome received at this world class hospital. Also Brad was impressed with the hospitals affiliation with Harvard Medical International based at Boston and also the fact the at the hospital meet the high standards set by the Joint Commission International of America, the same organization a part of JCAHO that accredits the top hospitals in US.

Brad was really excited and he sent an email to Wockhardt Hospitals explaining his condition. To his surprise, he got a response within an hour and then started a series of email exchanges and telephone calls. Each of his numerous queries were answered promptly by the International Patient Coordinators at Wockhardt. They even provided him surgeon's and some past American patients mobile phone nos so that Brad could assure himself fully and then decide. The hospital helped him sort out all logistics like applying for Indian Visa, arranging airport pick up, bookings for his room, surgery and gave him one package price for the whole service.

On 26th January, 2008, Brad took a flight of faith and landed at Bangalore, India. He was so happy to see a well dressed chauffeur standing with aboard with his name on it just as he stepped out of the airport. At the hospital he was settled in without fuss in a five star hotel like suite complete with a Computer connected to Internet, A large TV with all Cable channels, Gourmet food service and everyone from doctors, nurses to guest relations personnel ...all speaking good English and make him feel at home in this place thousands of miles away from home.

Over a period of next six weeks, Brad underwent three joint replacements - a revision of his Left hip which had gone and after the first replacement 15 years ago which according top his surgeon Dr Sanjay Pai was a difficult one and then after one week replacement of his second hip joint. After two weeks Brad started to walk and the hospital Physiotherapists worked hard on him and motivated him to put in his best effort in to the rehab program. Both his new hips now in fine form, Brad was ready for his left knee replacement which happened almost five weeks after his arrival in Bangalore. One more week of rehab and Brad was feeling like a new man altogether. He decided to check out of the hospital and stay outside in Bangalore for a few days and explore a little nbit of the garden city.

All through his stay at the hospital in Bangalore Brad didn't stop with his radio show " Timeless Journey" and his friend and well wishers made it a point to speak to him, ask questions and send a endless stream of greetings to keep him motivated and so happy. To hear these radio episodes , you can log on http://www.kedu.us/Brad

On 24th March 2008 - Brad walked out of the Wockhardt Hospital ....tall, lean and muscular .....radiating an abundance of vitality and energy. Brad really felt that he was taking leave from his friends and family and it was an emotional farewell from the hospital All the nurses, the doctor and guest relations people shaking his hands warmly and wishing him a great painless and healthy life again.

He said and we quote - " Thanks to Dr. Pai who made me a new man. I never really had the fear of operation after I read the testimonials and met Dr. Pai. The surgeries went off very well. I am very pleased with care I got at Wockhardt , the doctors here are warm and build personal bonds. This country is great and people are fantastic. Thanks to the hospital for bringing great change in my life."

You can watch a video of Brad talking about his experience on the Wockhardt Channel on Youtube.com - weblink below
http://www.youtube.com/profile_videos?user=wockhosp&p=v


Wockhardt hospitals Group. has partnered with Harvard Medical International (HMI), Boston, USA, in establishing a chain of super specialty hospitals across India. Several new hospitals / facilities are in the pipeline. With latest technology, multi-disciplinary capability, state of the art facilities, world class infrastructure and excellent patient care ambience and processes, Wockhardt Hospitals is poised to become the most advanced and progressive healthcare institution in this part of the world.

Joint Commission International (JCI) - the international arm of JCAHO which accredits top hospitals in USA has audited Wockhardt hospital at Mumbai in 2005 and approved it. This is a first of its kind recognition for an Indian Superspeciality hospital and confirms that the hospital adheres to international standards of clinical care, safe environment, medication safety, respect for rights and privacy, international infection control standards and access to dedicated well trained staff.
In 2006 , Wockhardt opened a new 400 Bed Multi-speciality hospital in Bangalore - among Asia's most advanced super-specialty hospitals - it's a state of the art facility equipped with latest technology and truly World class Clinical Talent dedicated to the whole range of Cardiac, Orthopedic, Neurosciences, Minimal Access Surgery and Women & Child Services

Wockhardt Hospitals attract a large number of overseas patients from UK, USA Canada and Middle East and they have all gone back very happy with our high quality services at very low cost. Please check out the file attached and our website http://www.wockhardthospitals.net for details of our international patient services and testimonials.

The Hospital have created a special division to look after international patients - Company guest relations persons themselves go to the airport to receive patients at any hour, they can arrange to send a life support ambulance in case the patient needs it. Also they have modified our rooms for overseas patients and have equipped them with Satellite TV, Fridge, Computer with high speed internet, F&B and laundry service for the companion are all provided in rooms. International patients are looked after by specially trained nurses, and facilitated by guest relations executives for any special requirements like visa, shopping, tourism packages etc. all through their stay.

For more information, please contact

Mr. Pradeep Thukral
Head - International Marketing,
Wockhardt Hospitals Ltd.,
INDIA

US, Canada Toll Free Helpline - 1800 730 6373
UK Toll Free Helpline - 0808 234 6343
Email : pthukral@wockhardt.com; help@whosp.com
Website : http://www.wockhardthospitals.net

Wockhardt hospitals Group has established a chain of super speciality hospitals at Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Kolkatta and Nagpur. With latest technology, multi-disciplinary capability, state of the art facilities, world class infrastructure and excellent patient care ambience and processes, Wockhardt Hospitals is poised to become the most advanced and progressive healthcare institution in this part of the world.

Wockhardt Hospitals has associated with Harvard Medical International ,USA. As associate hospitals of HMI in India, Wockhardt Hospitals benefit from the extensive learning and experience of Harvard Medical School and its affiliated institutions world-wide and strive to bring to its patients the benefits of global standards in technology and clinical expertise.

Source: 24-7 Press Release

International retailers target India

India is the favoured prospect for international retailers looking to move into emerging markets to offset worsening economic conditions in developed countries, according to a new survey.

CB Richard Ellis, the property agents, and GfK, the market research company, surveyed 300 international retailers about the markets they intended to enter in 2008 or had entered for the first time last year.

In spite of restrictive rules on foreign retailers, India emerged as the preferred destination for 27 per cent of respondents compared with 24 per cent selecting Ukraine and 22 per cent picking Russia, according to the report due to be published on today.

However, delegates to the World Retail Congress expressed frustration about rules on foreign direct investment that oblige most retailers to operate with an Indian franchise partner.

“We are happy to be one of the biggest franchisers all over the world,” said Jose-Luis Duran, chief executive of Carrefour, the French supermarket group. “But in India [we would have to place in the franchisee’s] hands 100 per cent of our brand name, know-how and credibility. I’m going to wait as much as possible until I find the right partner.”

Mr Duran’s sentiment was eclipsed by stronger resistance to the Indian model expressed by Anders Dahlvig, chief executive of Ikea. “We can only have 51 per cent ownership at the moment…We don’t think that is sufficient.”

Mr Dahlvig said he was working to persuade the government to loosen the restrictions but until the law changed he would not open Ikea stores in the country.

Peter Gold, head of cross border retail in Europe, the Middle East and Africa at CBRE, said: “We believe India will maintain its position as a popular new location for retail expansion as further trade restrictions are lifted. And, in the same way that Ukraine is now benefiting from retailer interest in Russia, retailers will again be looking to expand to adjacent markets around other emerging destinations.”

Although entering India is a focus for retailers, China was a more talked about country at the conference in Barcelona with store groups excited about the growth prospects and pleased with the government’s looser restrictions on investment.

Source: FT

Indians 'reconsidering plans to work in UAE'

DUBAI - Increasing opportunities in India and the rising inflation in the UAE have made a number of Indians reconsider plans to leave home and work here, according to an official of a London-based money-transfer networks association.

Lady Olga Maitland, chief executive of the International Association of Money Transfer Networks (IAMTN), said that India, which received Dh99.2 billion ($27 billion) worth of remittances last year, led the list of countries receiving money from citizens abroad.

"India may lead as a recipient country for remittances, but indicators are showing that there is a flattening off of migrants coming to the UAE," she stressed. "In time other countries will fill the gap while Abu Dhabi and Dubai continue to expand."

In a statement, IAMTN said that global remittances rose seven per cent to Dh1.2 trillion ($318 billion) worth of recorded transactions last year. It quoted the report -Economic Implications of Remittances and Migration 2008 - as saying that the amount would balloon to Dh2.2 trillion ($600 billion) if remittances sent through informal channels were included.

IAMTN has organised the Money Transfers Conference Dubai 2008, on April 28, to address issues affecting the remittance business. The use of technology in money transfers and the added value to customers who remit through retail banks, among other things, will be discussed during the one-day conference.

With a 20-per cent growth per annum, the remittance business facilitated the transfer of Dh110.2 billion ($30 billion) from the UAE last year. The World Bank has said that 10 million expatriates in the Gulf region sent home Dh264.4 billion ($72 billion) in 2007.

Abdulrahim Al Awadi, assistant executive director for Anti-Money Laundering and Suspicious Cases Unit at the UAE Central Bank, will deliver the keynote address at the conference while Dilip Ratha, a senior economist at the World Bank, will be sharing his expertise on migration and remittance issues.

Officials of the different foreign exchange centres in the UAE are also set to address the conference.

Source: Khaleej Times

Ripleys chooses B'lore to strengthen its brand equity in India

BANGALORE: Ripleys Entertainment Inc., a part of Australia-based Jim Pattison Group, has chosen Bangalore to showcase its exhibits at Innovative Film City in Bidadi, about 35 km from Bangalore.

"We always intended to come to India and were looking for the right partners. We found the right ones in Bangalore and felt Silicon City was the best place to begin our brand promotion in India", Lon P Casey, Director, Franchise Attraction Operations told PTI.

"Collection of exhibits is a constant process for us and we have millions of them. We have 60 plus museums in 11 countries with 13 million people visiting these museums every year. Our warehouse is in Orlando", he said.

"We have begun with Bangalore, we would like to take it forward", said Brian W Smith, Director of Development of the firm.

The global entertainment major has operations in Malaysia, Thailand and "is now looking at China", he said.

The Innovative Film City will have around 400 exhibits at its Ripleys Believe It or Not Museum, which will be circulated on periodic basis.

Source: Economic Times

India unveils billions for Africa

New Delhi, April 8: India on Tuesday unveiled an Africa package, which included lines of credit worth $5.4 billion over the next five years and preferential market access for exports from certain African countries.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told the heads of state and/or government participating in the first India-Africa Forum Summit here India will undertake development projects against grants in excess of $500 million over the next six years.

He announced doubling of scholarships for the African students in undergraduate, post-graduate and higher courses and increasing the number of training slots under technical assistance programmes from 1,100 to 1,600 every year.

The Prime Minister also proposed an India-Africa Volunteer Corps for development work, which can on a pilot basis identify projects in the areas of public health, informal education and women’s empowerment. "The time has come to create a new architecture for our engagement in the 21st century. We visualise a partnership that is anchored in the fundamental principles of equality, mutual respect and mutual benefit," he said on the occasion.

The duty-free tariff preference scheme will be extended to the 34 Least Developed Countries (LDCs) on the African continent and 16 other LDCs.

The Prime Minister said under the duty-free tariff preference scheme, India will unilaterally provide preferential market access for exports from all 50 least developed countries, 34 of which are on the African continent.

It will cover 94 per cent of India’s total tariff lines. Specifically, it will provide preferential market access on tariff lines that comprise 92.5 per cent of global exports of all LDCs. Products of immediate interest to Africa which are covered include cotton, cocoa, aluminium ore, copper ore, cashewnut, cane sugar, ready-made garment, fish fillet and non-industrial diamond.

"Between 2003-04 and 2008-09, we have extended lines of credit amounting to $2.15 billion. Over the next five years, we will more than double this amount and offer additional lines of credit amounting to $5.4 billion, both bilaterally and to the regional economic communities of Africa," the Prime Minister said in his opening address at the plenary session of the India-Africa Forum Summit.

He announced New Delhi’s intention to enhance the Aid to Africa budget of the ministry of external affairs for implementing projects in critical areas focusing on human resource development and capacity building.

"Over the next five to six years, we propose to undertake projects against grants in excess of $500 million," he explained.

Developing infrastructure in the areas of railways, information technology, telecommunication and power generation and physical connectivity in Africa would be a priority for India. The government will reach out to the private sector and make full use of public-private partnerships.

"The 21st century is often described as the Asian century. India wishes to see the 21st century as the Century of Asia and Africa with the people of the two continents working together to promote inclusive globalisation," the Prime Minister said.

"Today we have a second chance to take charge of our own destiny," he added.

Noting that no one understands better than India and Africa the imperative need for global institutions to reflect current realities and to build a more equitable global economy and polity, the Prime Minister called for cooperative mechanisms for exchange of views, consultation and for working out common strategies for addressing pressing issues.

Source: Asian Age