iGATE joins fray to buy majority stake in Satyam

New York: Nasdaq-listed IT and outsourcing solutions major iGATE on Friday announced its interest in acquiring a 51-percent stake in scam-hit Indian firm Satyam Computer Services by registering for a global auction.

This brings up to four the number of firms interested in buying a majority stake in Satyam, whose founder Ramalinga Raju confessed to Rs 7,000-crore fraud in January.

"We are now expecting to receive from Satyam the latest financial statements, including those for the quarter ended December 2008 and the months of January and February 2009, and updated position on liabilities and potential liabilities of the company," said iGATE in a press statement.

"In the event of iGATE not receiving this information immediately, it has no option but to withdraw its expression of interest," the statement added. iGATE, which has its Indian headquarters in Bangalore, is led by former Infosys' worldwide head of sales and marketing Phaneesh Murthy.

Thursday was the last day for registering interest in the bidding. With iGATE declaring its interest in the Hyderabad based computer giant, the total number of known contenders in the global bid has gone up to four.

The others are infrastructure major Larsen and Toubro (L&T), Mahindra and Mahindra's IT arm Tech Mahindra and the B.K. Modi controlled Spice Group.

L&T already holds about 12 percent equity stake in Satyam.The Hinduja Group, which had expressed interest earlier, has reportedly withdrawn from the bid.

South Korean woman fails driver's test 775 times :O

A South Korean woman who has failed the driver's exam 775 times is not about give up on her hope of buying a truck one day to go into her own business, whether other drivers want her on the road or not.

Cha Sa-soon, 68, has been trying since 2005 to pass the written portion of the test to get a license, but she has so far failed to get the 60 per cent required to clear it.

"I've looked up some guidebooks to get a driver's license, and they were saying it takes at most five years to get this," Cha said in North Jeolla province, where farmers on tractors or cows can be just as common on country roads as motor vehicles."It's already been four years, so I might pass the test next time. That's what I hope for," she added.

Driving schools in Soutk Korea offer courses to enable applicants to walk away with a license in a week. Cha has not been fortunate enough to set foot in such a class, which tends to congregate more in busy metropolitan areas, but she remains unfazed, even after having spent more than 10 million won ($6,800) on test applications.

"I believe you can achieve your goal if you persistently pursue it," she says. "So don't give up your dream, like me. Be strong and do your best," she said.

Bill Gates is back as world's richest

The world has become a wealth wasteland. Like the rest of us, the richest people in the world have endured a financial disaster over the past year. Today there are 793 people on our list of the World's Billionaires, a 30 per cent decline from a year ago.

Of the 1,125 billionaires who made last year's ranking, 373 fell off the list--355 from declining fortunes and 18 who died. There are 38 newcomers, plus three moguls who returned to the list after regaining their 10-figure fortunes. It is the first time since 2003 that the world has had a net loss in the number of billionaires.

The world's richest are also a lot poorer. Their collective net worth is $2.4 trillion, down $2 trillion from a year ago. Their average net worth fell 23 per cent to $3 billion. The last time the average was that low was in 2003.

Bill Gates lost $18 billion but regained his title as the world's richest man. Warren Buffett, last year's No. 1, saw his fortune decline $25 billion as shares of Berkshire Hathaway fell nearly 50 per cent in 12 months, but he still managed to slip just one spot to No. 2. Mexican telecom titan Carlos Slim Helu also lost $25 billion and dropped one spot to No. 3.

The biggest loser in the world this year, by dollars, was last year's biggest gainer. India's Anil Ambani lost $32 billion--76 per cent of his fortune--as shares of his Reliance Communications, Reliance Power and Reliance Capital all collapsed.

Ambani is one of 24 Indian billionaires, all but one of whom are poorer than a year ago. Another 29 Indians lost their billionaire status entirely as India's stock market tumbled 44 per cent in the past year and the Indian rupee depreciated 18 per cent against the dollar. It is no longer the top spot in Asia for billionaires, ceding that title to China, which has 28.

Russia became the epicenter of the world's commodities bust, dropping 55 billionaires--two-thirds of its 2008 crop. Among them: Dmitry Pumpyansky, an industrialist from the resource-rich Ural mountain region, who lost $5 billion as shares of his pipe producer, TMK, sank 84 per cent.

Also gone is Vasily Anisimov, father of Moscow's Paris Hilton, Anna Anisimova, who lost $3.2 billion as the value of his Metalloinvest Holding, one of Russia's largest ore mining and processing firms, fell along with his real estate holdings.

Twelve months ago Moscow overtook New York as the billionaire capital of the world, with 74 tycoons to New York's 71. Today there are 27 in Moscow and 55 in New York.

After slipping in recent years, the U.S. is regaining its dominance as a repository of wealth. Americans account for 44 per cent of the money and 45 per cent of the list's slots, up seven and three percentage points from last year, respectively. Still, it has 110 fewer billionaires than a year ago.

Those with ties to Wall Street were particularly hard hit. Former head of AIG Maurice (Hank) Greenberg saw his $1.9 billion fortune nearly wiped out after the insurance behemoth had to be bailed out by the US government. Today Greenberg is worth less than $100 million. Former Citigroup chairman Sandy Weill also falls from the ranks.

Last year there were 39 American billionaire hedge fund managers; this year there are 28. Twelve American private equity tycoons dropped out of the billionaire ranks.

Blackstone Group's Stephen Schwarzman, who lost $4 billion, and Kohlberg Kravis & Roberts' Henry Kravis, who lost $2.5 billion, retain their billionaire status despite their weaker fortunes.

Worldwide, 80 of the 355 drop-offs from last year's list had fortunes derived from finance or investments.

While 656 billionaires lost money in the past year, 44 added to their fortunes. Those who made money did so by catering to budget-conscious consumers (discount retailer Uniqlo's Tadashi Yanai), predicting the crash (investor John Paulson) or cashing out in the nick of time (Cirque du Soleil's Guy Laliberte).

So is there anywhere one can still make a fortune these days? The 38 newcomers offer a few clues. Among the more notable new billionaires are Mexican Joaqun Guzmn Loera, one of the biggest suppliers of cocaine to the U.S.; Wang Chuanfu of China, whose BYD Co. began selling electric cars in December, and American John Paul Dejoria, who got the world clean with his Paul Mitchell shampoos and sloppy with his Patron Tequila.

Suicide attack in Lanka, many feared dead

An explosion took place near a mosque in Sri Lanka's southern Matara province on Tuesday, officials said.

The number of people killed or wounded in the suicide attack is still not known.Military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara told IANS that "there were reports of several casualties".

Matara, populated overwhelmingly by the Sihalese community, is about 160 km south of Colombo.More details awaited.

Vijay Mallya buys Gandhi items for $1.8 million

Mahatma Gandhi’s memorabilia went under the hammer in New York early on Friday morning (India time) after hours of high drama.

Liquor baron Vijay Mallya bought Gandhi’s items for $1.8 million. The collection had a reserve price of between $20,000 and $30,000. Bidding began at $20,000 and rose to the final price within seven minutes.However, the US justice department has asked the Antiquorum Auctioneers to hold the lot for two weeks pending a resolution between the new owner, the US and Indian Government.

Mallya is then expected to return the items to the Government of India.

Bapu's round wire-rim eyeglasses, a 1910 Zenith sterling silver pocket watch, a bowl and plate and a pair of leather sandals were auctioned.The last time a piece of Indian heritage went under the hammer, Mallya coughed up Rs 4 crore for the Sword of Tipu Sultan and got it back to India.

The auction went off despite the owner of Gandhi's prized memorabilia, James Otis, saying he had decided not to sell the items in the light of the controversy.

Speaking to reporters, Otis had said, "In the last few hours, I have decided, in the light of the controversy, not to sell Gandhi's personal items."Otis' move came after intense negotiations between him and Indian diplomats at the Indian Consulate in New York.

Otis earlier in the day set new conditions including that India shift priorities from military spending to health care especially for the poor if he has to call off the auction.A spokesperson of the Indian consulate in New York said the Indian Government itself did not participate in the auction as that would have been a violation of the Delhi High Court order.

Auction of Gandhi's items likely to be called off

It seems the auction of Mahatma Gandhi’s memorabilia, which was to take place in New York, has been called off. However, an official confirmation is awaited in the next few hours.

Lester Kurtz the advisor to James Otis, the owner of the items, says he will pull out of the auction. But the auction house Antiquorum says it is unaware of the development.

Gandhiji's possessions were to go under the hammer in New York on Thursday evening.

Bapu's round wire-rim eyeglasses, a 1910 Zenith sterling silver pocket watch, a bowl and plate and a pair of leather sandals were to be auctioned.

The auction by Antiquorum Auctioneers was scheduled to start at 1.30 am Friday (India time). The collection had a reserve price of between $20,000 and $30,000.

The Indian Government has been caught unawares for the second time as far as the auction of the Mahatma's items are concerned.

Lankan team fired at in Pakistan

Unidentified gunmen opened fire on a bus carrying Sri Lankan cricket team as they were on their way to Gaddafi stadium in Lahore on Tuesday morning, Dawn news channel reported.

The channel showed footage of two gunmen opening fire using Kalashnikovs. At least 12 gunmen were involved in the attack.

Five security personnel are reported dead, three more are seriously injured and have been rushed to the hospital.

The attackers - who came in a white car - lobbed two grenades at the van and the men then started firing at a police van which was providing security to the Lankan team.

The gunmen, reportedly surrounded the team van and opened fire indiscriminately. They reportedly continuously fired for two to three minutes.

Rocket launchers used in the attack as well.

The incident happened at Liberty Chowk in Lahore.

According to the Pakistan Cricket Board seven players have been reported injured. Five of them are seriously injured - Thilan Samaraweera, Kumar Sangakara, Ajantha Mendis, Mahela Jayawardene and Tharanga Paranavithana.

The tour has been officially cancelled.

1 Lakh indians to return home from US in 3-5 years

U-Turn...Mera Bharat Mahan !!!!

Washington: As many as 1,00,000 Indians and an equal number of Chinese will return to their native countries in the next three to five years, a move that will greatly boost their economies and undermine technological innovation in America, a new US study warns.

The study on immigration by a team at Duke, Harvard and Berkeley universities led by Vivek Wadhwa, an Indian-American technology entrepreneur turned academic, says "America's loss is the world's gain".

There are no hard numbers available on how many have returned, but anecdotal evidence shows that this is in the tens of thousands, says Wadhwa, executive-in-residence for the Pratt School of Engineering at Duke University and fellow at the Labour and Worklife Programme at Harvard Law School.

"With the economic downturn, my guess is that we'll have over 1,00,000 Indians and as many Chinese return home over the next three-five years," said Wadhwa. " This flood of western educated and skilled talent will greatly boost the economies of India and China and strengthen their competitiveness.

"India is already becoming a global hub for R&D. This will allow it to branch into many new areas and will accelerate the trend," he said

"The US has always had the luxury of being arrogant about immigration because it has been the strongest magnet for the world's best and brightest," but as the study shows "there are other strong magnets now".

"We are effectively exporting our economic stimulus. Policies like those which the US just enacted which prevents some banks from hiring foreign workers will have the opposite effect from what they intended - they will send jobs abroad and scare away top talent," Wadhwa said.

The study released on Monday Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, based in Kansas City, Montana, indicates placing limits on foreign workers in the US is not the answer to America's rising unemployment rate and may undermine efforts to spur technological innovation.

"A substantial number of highly skilled immigrants have started returning to their home countries in recent years, draining a key source of brain power and innovation," said vice president of Research and Policy at the Kauffman Foundation, Robert E Litan.

"We wanted to know what is encouraging this much-needed economic growth engine to leave our country, thereby sending entrepreneurship and economic stimulus to places like Bangalore and Beijing," he added.

The report builds on an earlier Kauffman Foundation report by Wadhwa documenting a queue of one million H-1B holders and their families anxiously awaiting longer-term work visas and growing frustrated with the immigration process.

Until recently, America has been the prime destination for the world's best and brightest immigrants.

"Immigrants have made tremendous personal sacrifices. They would leave behind relatives and friends and accept second-tier status in American society," said Wadhwa.

"Now countries like India and China are providing equal career opportunities and a better quality of life. So the most highly educated and skilled are often returning home," he added.

The two-year study covered 1,203 Indian and Chinese subjects who had studied or worked in the US for a year or more before returning home.

10000 crores on elections..in these times of recession?????

India will see a staggering Rs 10,000 crore (Rs 100 billion), equivalent to the foreign direct investment it received in 1995-96, being spent on the Lok Sabha polls this summer, with a fourth of the amount expected to be splurged on voter

The fiscal deficit of the country is already over 5.3 per cent of the GDP, leaving precious little room for the government to spend money without hurting the economy. Some economists believe that the fiscal deficit could well go past 10 per cent of the GDP, if the establishment's spending spree continues.

In such harsh times, the spend on the elections, although necessary, could well hurt the economy further. The official spending is likely to be about 20 per cent of the total expenses, including about Rs 1,300 crore (Rs 13 billion) by the Election Commission, and the rest by political parties in campaigning, says a survey by Centre for Media Studies (CMS).

An amount of Rs 2,000-2,500 crore (Rs 20-25 billion) would be spent in form of "unofficial money" or cash paid to the voters.

Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka may top the list of states trying to purchase votes, with nearly half of voters there likely to be paid "cash for vote" about 24 hours before the polling day, said the election expenditure survey by CMS.

The Election Commission is likely to spend Rs 1,300 crore (Rs 13 billion), while state governments and other government agencies, for purposes like photo identity cards, EVMs and polling booth, are expected to spend about Rs 700 crore (Rs 7 billion).

Various political parties are expected to spend about Rs 1,650 crore (Rs 16.50 billion) from their party funds, in addition to the direct and indirect spending by the individual candidates.

Candidates of the national parties are estimated to incur a bill of Rs 4,350 crore (Rs 43.50 billion), while those from the regional parties are expected to spend another Rs 1000 crore (Rs 10 billion).

NANO on March 23rd ???????

Tata Motors said on Thursday it would launch its Nano, slated to be the world's cheapest car, on March 23 and accept bookings from the second week of April.

The car expected to be priced around Rs 1,00,000 was unveiled in January 2008 and was scheduled to go on sale last October, but problems with the main plant location delayed the launch.

Since its unveiling on January 10, 2008 the Nano has evoked unprecedented interest with its website having recorded over 30 million hits in the past one year.

Just seen, never heard: 15 MPs who didn't speak

The most famous image of MPs is of them shouting and screaming in the Lok Sabha but there is set of legislators in the House: silent ones.

There were at least 15 MPs in the fourteenth Lok Sabha who never opened their mouths or asked a question in the five years of their terms. These MPs might be great at shouting slogans but they were simply dumbstruck when it came to questions and debates in the House.

Actor Dharmendra, who is famous for his weighty dialogues in movies, didn't speak a word in Parliament in five years. The Bikaner MP is not alone though.

Kannada actor M H Ambareesh, a former Union Minister and Congress MP from Mandya in Karnataka, didn’t have anything to say too.

Biren Singh Engti and Manikrao Hodlya Gavit make the list as does Babubhai Khimabhai Katara, the BJP MP from Dohad in Gujarat who is accused of masterminding an illegal immigration racket.

Also on the list are BJP's Baliram Kashyap, Sohan Potai and Somabhai Gandalal Koli Patel.

Shiv Sena MP Anand Prakash Paranjpe voted against his party’s wishes during the trust vote on July 22,2008 but has been largely silent.

Other ‘silent’ MPs include Beni Prasad Verma and Saleem Iqbal Shervani of the Samajwadi Party, BSP's Bhishma Shankar and Akbar Ahmad Dumpy, Kunwar Sarvraj Singh of the Janata Dal (United and NCP's Laxman Rao Pandurang Patil.

The story of deafening silence doesn't end there. Egged on by their parties, there were many others who debated with zest but forgot to ask basic questions about their constituencies.

BJP's PM-in-waiting Lal Krishna Advani and Congress president Sonia Gandhi, their parties top leaders in the House, didn’t have any question in five years.

National Conference leader Omar Abdullah, who is the Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister now, didn’t ask any questions when he was MP. Congress MP Sandeep Dikshit, one of the ‘Young Guns’ in Parliament, was mum for five years.

There are more statistics about questions that could stun. Actor MP Raj Babbar asked five questions while another in a similar league, Vinod Khanna asked four.

Congress MP Jitin Prasada asked six and his party colleague Rahul Gandhi asked five. Sachin Pilot, their party colleague, is takes the cake though. Pilot asked just one question in his five-year term.

Samajwadi Party MP Akhilesh Yadav, one of the silent MPs, says he will be more involved in debates in his next term. “This time, I was busy with the party’s work, the next time my party and I will dedicate more time to the Lok Sabha,” he said.

Speaker Somnath Chatterjee, who retired on Thursday, has been critical of unruly MPs but ‘silent’ ones peeved him too. “Obviously, people would not want silent MPs, they would want their grievances to be raised. But we can't compel them to speak,” he said.

Source : Cnn-Ibn

Facebook wilts under pressure, scraps new policy on user info

Under fire from tens of thousands of users, the social networking site Facebook said early on Wednesday it is reverting to its old policy on user information--for now.

The site posted a brief message on users' home pages that said it was returning to its previous ‘Terms of Use’ policy "while we resolve the issues that people have raised."

The ‘Terms of Use’ is the legalese tacked on to the bottom of most Web sites that details what the site's owners can do with the information that users provide.

Facebook, the Web's most popular social networking site, has been caught in a content-rights battle after revealing earlier this month that it was granting itself permanent rights to users' photos, wall posts and other information even after a user closed an account.

The popular site allows users to create personal profiles where they can then connect with one another, upload photos and share links. The site boasts more than 150 million active users.Member backlash against Facebook began over the weekend after a consumer advocate Web site, The Consumerist, flagged a change made to Facebook's policy earlier in the month.

The company deleted a sentence from the old Terms of Use. That sentence said Facebook could not claim any rights to original content that a user uploaded once the user closed his or her account.It replaced it with: "You may remove your User Content from the Site at any time. ... (H)owever, you acknowledge that the Company may retain archived copies of your User Content."

In response, Chris Walters wrote in the Consumerist post, "Make sure you never upload anything you don't feel comfortable giving away forever, because it's Facebook's now."Thousands of indignant members either cancelled their accounts or created online petitions. Among them were more than 64,000 who joined a group called ‘The People Against the new Terms of Service’.

On Monday, Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg tried to quell the controversy by saying the company's philosophy is that "people own their information and control who they share it with."But members were not appeased because the site did not fix its Terms of Use. The company, in its post Wednesday, said it was returning to its previous Terms of Use because of the "feedback" it had received.

"As Mark expressed in his blog post on Monday, it was never our intention to confuse people or make them uneasy about sharing on Facebook," company spokesman Barry Schnitt said in a blog post. "I also want to be very clear that Facebook does not, nor have we ever, claimed ownership over people's content. Your content belongs to you."

Schnitt said the company is in the process of rewording its Terms of Use in "simple language that defines Facebook's rights much more specifically.""Well that worked pretty fast," wrote member Al Reford of Vancouver, British Columbia. "Numbers count when giving feedback :)"

Baby-faced boy Alfie Patten is father at 13

BOY dad Alfie Patten yesterday admitted he does not know how much nappies cost — but said: “I think it’s a lot.”

Baby-faced Alfie, who is 13 but looks more like eight, became a father four days ago when his girlfriend Chantelle Steadman gave birth to 7lb 3oz Maisie Roxanne.

He told how he and Chantelle, 15, decided against an abortion after discovering she was pregnant.

The shy lad, whose voice has not yet broken, said: “I thought it would be good to have a baby.

“

I didn’t think about how we would afford it. I don’t really get pocket money. My dad sometimes gives me £10.”

Alfie, who is just 4ft tall, added: “When my mum found out, I thought I was going to get in trouble. We wanted to have the baby but were worried how people would react.

“I didn’t know what it would be like to be a dad. I will be good, though, and care for it.”

Alfie's story, broken exclusively by The Sun today has sparked a huge political storm with Tory leader David Cameron saying: "When I saw these pictures this morning, I just thought how worrying that in Britain today children are having children.

"I hope that somehow these children grow up into responsible parents but the truth is parenthood is just not something they should be thinking about right now."

A perfect 10 for Slumdog Millionaire !!!!!!!

Danny Boyle's Golden Globe winning Slumdog Millionaire - a story based in Mumbai slums - has been nominated in 10 categories for the Academy Awards to be held on February 22, 2009. Slumdog has been nominated for
Best Adapted Screenplay (Simon Beaufoy)
Best Picture,
Best Original Score (A R Rahman)
Best Song (One each for Jai Ho and O Saya)
Best editing
Best Sound Mixing (Resul Pookutty)
Best Sound Editing (Resul Pookutty)
Best Cinematography and Best Director (Danny Boyle) at the Oscars.

Surat welcomes Obama in their own way

Slumdog wins 4 Golden Globe!!!! Rahman the first indian to win it :)

Slumdog Millionaire has lived up to its underdog theme at the Golden Globes, sweeping all four of its categories, including best drama and director for Danny Boyle.

India-based story of an underdog, the Danny Boyle-directed Slumdog Millionaire in on a winning spree, first bagging the award for the Best Film, Best Director (Danny Boyle), Best Screenplay category (Simon Beaufoy), and the Best Original Score (A R Rahman). It has also won the Globe for the Best Motion Picture.

Shot in Mumbai, Rahman's song Jai Ho has been penned by lyricist Gulzar.

"Your mad, pulsating affection for our film is much appreciated," said director Danny Boyle.

The film tells the story of a slum kid who participates in popular reality game show Kaun Banega Crorepati (Who Wants to be a Millionaire?) and wins Rs 2 crore in a bid to win his love interest back.

Slumdog is based on a novel by Indian diplomat Vikash Swarup and stars Bollywood actors Anil Kapoor and Irrfan Khan in lead among others.Recently, the film's protagonist Dev Patel won the most promising newcomer award at the British Independent Film Awards as well as the Best Young Actor Award at the Critics' Choice Awards.

The film has been shot at various locations in Mumbai, including the railway Victoria Terminus, which was targeted by terrorists on November 26 last year.Slumdog Millionaire, some awards watchers think, could become an Oscar favourite.

The Indian connection does not end here. Bollywood's King Khan, Shah Rukh Khan will present an award at the ceremony.

The other winners

As expected, the late Heath Ledger earned the supporting-actor Globe for his diabolical turn as the Joker in the Batman blockbuster The Dark Knight.

The Globe win boosts Ledger's prospects for the supporting-actor honor at the Academy Awards, whose nominations come out January 22, the one-year anniversary of the actor's death from an accidental overdose of prescription drugs.

The award was accepted by The Dark Knight director Christopher Nolan, who said he and his collaborators were buoyed by the enormous acclaim and acceptance the film and Ledger's performance have gained worldwide.

"All of us who worked with Heath on The Dark Knight accept with an awful mixture of sadness but incredible pride," Nolan said. "After Heath passed, you saw a hole ripped in the future of cinema."

Only one actor has ever won a posthumous Oscar, best-actor recipient Peter Finch for 1976's "Network."

Wall E grabbed the best animation film award while Sally Hawkins has got the best actress in a motion comedy.

British actress Kate Winslet has been named best supporting actress at the Golden Globe awards in Los Angeles.

The star - who won the award for her role as a Nazi prison guard in The Reader - said she was "shocked" as she had "a habit of not winning things"

British actor Tom Wilkinson was named best supporting actor in a miniseries for his role as Benjamin Franklin in HBO period drama John Adams.

The awards are widely seen as a precursor to the Oscars.

Satyam boss Raju admits accounting fraud, quits

Satyam Computer Services founder-chairman B Ramalinga Raju has resigned from the IT major's board after admitting a multi-crore fraud in the company’s accounts.

In a notification to the stock exchanges, the Hyderabad-based IT firm said Raju and Managing Director Rama Raju had resigned early Wednesday and that the Securities and Exchanges Board of India (SEBI) had been informed.

In the regulatory statement, Raju said that the company had fraudulently incorporated a non-existent cash component and inflated the bank balance to reflect Rs 5,040 crore (Rs 50.4 billion) as against Rs 5,361 crores (Rs 53.61 billion).

''No board member had any knowledge of the real situation. Accrued interest of Rs 376 crore in books is non-existent. About Rs 1,230 crore was arranged to Satyam, but was not reflected in the books,” he said.

CNBC-TV18 reports that the account manipulation started years ago. "It was like riding a tiger, not knowing how to get off without being eaten," Raju said in his resignation letter to the company’s board of directors, in which he listed major financial wrong-doings over the years to inflate profits.

"I sincerely apologise to all Satyamites and stakeholders, who have made Satyam a special organisation, for the current situation," said Raju. "I am now prepared to subject myself to the laws of the land and face consequences thereof."

Raju recommended DSP Merrill Lynch be entrusted the task of "quickly exploring some merger opportunities," but the investment banker informed the stock exchanges that it has terminated its engagement with Satyam.

According to Raju, Ram Mynampati will act as an interim CEO. The resignations, ahead of January 10 board meeting, pushed the company into crisis and paved the way for immediate restructuring of the board and the management.

Shares of the company plunged by over 40 per cent soon after the resignations. Satyam, considered a ripe proposition for acquisition, was pushed into crisis after Raju was forced to abandon the acquisition of Maytas Infrastructure and Maytas Properties promoted by his son.

In a regulatory filing the company said Raju would continue to be the chairman till the board is expanded. "Under the circumstances I am tendering my resignation as the chairman of Satyam and shall continue in this position only till such time the current board is expanded. My continuance is just to ensure enhancement of the board over the next several days or as early as possible," said Raju.

An account of the confession

Raju said the fraud was “marginal” when it started but then grew over the years. "What started as a marginal gap between actual operating profit and the one reflected in the books of accounts continued to grow over the years," said.

"It has attained unmanageable proportions as the size of the company operations grew significantly. The differential in the real profits and the one reflected in the books was further accentuated by the fact that the company had to carry additional resources and assets to justify higher level of operations thereby significantly increasing the costs," he said.

"The aborted Maytas acquisition deal was the last attempt to fill the fictitious assets with real ones. Maytas' investors were convinced that this is a good divestment opportunity and a strategic fit. Once Satyam's problem was solved, it was hoped that Maytas' payments can be delayed. But that was not to be," he said.

Raju claimed that he and Managing Director Rama Raju (his brother) didn’t make any personal profit from the inflated accounts.

The balance sheet also carries "an accrued interest of Rs 376 crore which is non-existent, an understated liability of Rs 1,230 crore on account of funds arranged by me (Raju), an overstated debtors position of Rs 490 crore (as against Rs 2651 crore reflected in the books," Raju said.

He further said that Satyam reported a revenue of Rs 2700 crore for the September quarter and an operating margin of Rs 649 crore (24 per cent of revenue) as against the actual revenue of Rs 2112 crore and an actual operating margin of Rs 61 crore (3 per cent of revenue).

"This has resulted in artificial cash and bank balances going up Rs 588 crore in Q2 alone," Raju said.

"The gap in the Balance Sheet has arisen purely on account of inflated profits over a period of last several years (limited only to Satyam standalone, books of subsidiaries reflecting true performance.

Satyam is the country's fourth largest IT firm and has over 51,000 employees.

AdultDost.com - Viral Marketing Redefined.. Note:Under 18 not allowed :D

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RIM sues Motorola

Research In Motion Ltd is suing Motorola Inc, alleging that the mobile phone company improperly blocked the BlackBerry maker from hiring current and laid-off Motorola employees.

The suit, filed in state court in Chicago on Tuesday, comes three months after Motorola alleged that RIM violated an agreement reached in February that the two companies would not solicit each other's employees.

RIM asked for a court order to invalidate the agreement, saying in its complaint that the pact had expired in August and was no longer enforceable. The Canadian company is also seeking unspecified damages for what it called "unfair competition" practices by Motorola.

Motorola spokeswoman Jennifer Weyrauch-Erickson declined to comment on the lawsuit. "RIM entities continue to grow and hire new employees within the United States and globally against a backdrop of recent public announcements by Motorola that it has and will continue to make massive layoffs," said RIM's lawsuit.

In the lawsuit filed by Motorola on September 4, the Schaumburg, Illinois-based company asked a judge to bar RIM from using Motorola's confidential information, or soliciting or hiring any Motorola employees. RIM officials could not be reached for comment.

The lawsuit, Research in Motion Corp vs Motorola Inc, was filed in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois.

Bollywood king' SRK, Sonia in powerful people list

The prestigious US based magazine 'Newsweek' have included Congress President Sonia Gandhi and bollywood superstar Shahrukh Khan in the 50 most powerful people list topped by US President-elect Barack Obama

US President-elect Barack Obama tops the list.

Chinese President Hu Jintao, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, German Chancellor Angela Markel, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and North Korean dictator Kim Jim Jong II are other world leaders on the list.

Newsweek has selected Sonia as the 17th most powerful leader and says Indian political scene is riven by factions, but the Congress remains the strongest national force and rules unchallenged. "In the world's largest democracy, she is the queen."

The magazine says Shah Rukh, who is No. 41 on the list, is the 'King of Bollywood'.

"It's not just that his (Khan's) romantic flicks make gazillions—it's where those gazillions come from. Khan is huge in the Muslim world, even in Pakistan and Afghanistan, where the mullahs ban his films. Their main appeal is certainly the song-and-dance numbers, but Khan makes devoutly secular films where love trounces bigotry," the magazine says.

Pakistan army chief General Ashfaq Kayani, who controls the country’s nuclear weapons, is placed 20th on the list, which would be published in the January 2009 issue of the magazine.

Kayani, the mumbling and chain-smoking general, answers to President Asif Ali Zardari in theory, but he and his army remain the dominant power in Pakistan. "He's responsible for Pakistan's nukes; for the battle against al-Qaeda and its tribal allies along the Afghan border; and for managing tensions with neighbour India," the magazine says.

Kayani, till now, has kept the army out of politics and seems focused on the battle against 'jihadists'. "In the wake of the November terrorist attacks in Mumbai, Kayani stood firm on Pakistan’s sovereignty while also taking measures against the alleged sponsors of the outrage," it says.

A surprise inclusion in the list, which the magazine admits is subjective, is Osama bin Laden, the "global terrorist." He is No. 42 in the list.

The magazine says the presidency of Obama, the "intensely charismatic" Democrat, who will be inaugurated on January 20, will be judged on how he handles the economic crisis that now envelops the US and the world. "For Obama to be remembered as a great President, he has to do nothing less than rescue capitalism."