Every Indian to have debt of Rs 30,000 by March '10

Viewed from an angle, the average debt of every Indian has been estimated to soar to about Rs 30,000 in about a year with the government Competitive economies stepping up it borrowing programme in the next fiscal to fund public expenditure and stimulate the economy.

The average debt of a citizen would nearly be equal to his 10-month income, which on an annual basis has recently been estimated at Rs 38,000 by the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO) for a population of 115.4 crore (Rs 1.15 billion).

With the government adding about Rs 3,00,000 crore (Rs 3000 billion) to the public debt annually in the last few years, the total public debt is estimated to zoom to a whooping Rs 34,06,322 crore (Rs 34.06 trillion) by March 2010, nearly double the amount recorded seven years ago.

In order to fight the impact of the global financial meltdown on the Indian economy, the government substantially increased its market borrowing programme in 2008-09.

According to budget papers, as against the target of Rs 1,00,000 crore (Rs 1 trillion), the government would end up raising Rs 2,62,000 crore (Rs 2,620 billion) during 2008-09, more than two and a half times the original estimate.

Part of the increase in borrowings can be attributed to the stimulus packages raising expenditure and reducing revenues through slashing duties.For the next fiscal, the government has pegged the market borrowing target at over Rs 3,00,000 crore (Rs 3 trillion), which is expected to be revised upwards at the time of the regular budget in July.

India's public debt includes market borrowings, external debt and other liabilities like small savings and provident funds.Funds raised through market borrowing programmes and issuing treasury bills account for a major portion of the public debt.

Of the total of Rs 34 lakh crore, about Rs 22.7 lakh crore will be internal debt, the amount raised through the borrowing programme.The external debt, which comprises funds raised from multilateral and bilateral lending agencies, is expected to be about Rs 1.38 lakh crore by the end of March 2010, while the other liabilities will account for the remaining Rs 10 lakh crore.

15 Crore Sms in one day [:O]

Hyderabadis have nearly pushed the GSM and CDMA mobile communication systems to the brink of a collapse, as they thumbed a mind-boggling 15 crore short messages on their mobile phones while ushering in the New Year.No wonder that the networks got jammed.

While the youngsters adeptly thumb-texted wacky messages, the elders too were not left behind though using the ‘hunt-and-peck’ typing system on a majority of the 60 lakh mobile phones in the State capital. As the messages reduced to zeros and ones in the cyber world, zigzagged their way through to the recipient mobile phones, the telecom operators must have been the happiest lot.

But all is not hunky dory with the SMS greetings. Most of the mobile phone users were still getting their messages delivered till late in the evening on January 1 too, as the overloaded systems put the incoming SMSs on the queue and began transmitting them later. This delay is acute on festival days or on occasions like new year eve. It’s happening on normal days too.Mobile phone firms say they are taking measures to tackle the delay.I don't know to what extent these measures have an impact...Lets see in the coming days..

Three blasts in Guwahati; 5 dead, 51 injured

Three blasts rocked Guwahati in crowded areas on Thursday, including one shortly before the arrival of Union Home Minister P Chidambaram.

The Assam Chief Minister's Office confirmed that the blasts have left five persons dead and 51 others injured. According to initial reports, the bombs were of low intensity.Speaking to CNN-IBN minutes after the third blast, Assam DGP, GM Srivastava said, “One person is in critical condition. We can confirm that the perpetrators are ULFA.”

The first bomb exploded in the Birubari area, injuring three persons.At least four people were injured when a suspected cycle bomb exploded at Bhootnath locality, which falls on the route Chidambaram was to take, shortly before his arrival.

Three persons were injured in a blast outside a Big Bazar retail chain outlet at Bhangagarh, an upmarket commercial area near the Guwahati Medical College.Earlier, an Improvised Explosive Devise (IED) kept in a municipal corporation dustbin went off at around 1530 hours IST leaving three persons wounded.

The injured have been rushed to a hospital and they were identified as Altaf Ali, Fatema Begum and Raul Ali, news agency PTI said.Police have cordoned off the blast sites.

The state witnessed serial blasts on October 30, killing 88 people.

2009's first tragedy: 59 killed in Bangkok pub blaze

A fire that broke out shortly after New Year's Thursday at a popular Bangkok pub killed at least 54 revellers and left 15 other hospitalised with serious injuries, police said.Thonglor district police deputy chief Sutin Pongkhamphan said many of the victims died trying to get out of the main exit of the Santika Pub on Ekkamai Road.

The fire, the cause of which remains unknown, broke out at 12.20 a.m.Police said they feared more casualties as they had not yet been able to check the bathrooms of the pub, which was totally destroyed by the blaze

Leap Second added to 2008

It's going to take a little longer(just a second) to say goodbye to the worst economic year since the Great Depression, but all for good cause.

The custodians of time will ring in the New Year by tacking a "leap second" onto the clock today to account for the minute slowing of the Earth's rotation. The leap second has been used sporadically at the Royal Observatory at Greenwich since 1972, an adjustment that has kept Greenwich Mean Time the internationally agreed time standard.

Orders for 300,000 Pairs of 'Bye Bye Bush' Shoes Create 100 Jobs

One journalist’s hugely public protest against America’s campaign in Iraq has resulted in a surprising windfall for a Turkish shoemaker.

Baydan Shoe Company, creators of the now-iconic footwear that Muntazar al-Zaidi threw at President George W Bush last week, have been so inundated with orders that they have had to hire 100 extra staff to cope with the sudden uplift in demand.

Since the press conference held in Baghdad little more than a week ago, the shoemakers have received an influx of orders from individuals across the globe looking to show their support with their choice of shoes.

Speaking to the Guardian, owner of the Istanbul-based company, Ramazan Bayden, revealed that he had already received an astounding 300,000 requests for the ‘Model 271’ shoe worn, and then thrown, by Zaidi. This represents a staggering four fold increase in the company’s average annual production of the line.

While a large proportion of these orders originate from customers in Iraq and its neighbouring countries, the shoe is proving highly popular in both the UK and US too. According to Bayden, one US-based company has requested 18,000 pairs while a British company have already come forward as a possible European supplier.

The company intend to take full advantage of this new found attention with television advertising campaigns planned for the new year. They also plan to relaunch the shoe, which has been in production since 1999, with a more ‘distinctive’ name – ‘Bye Bye Bush’ is among those currently under consideration.

This is a perfect example of someone taking the risk and some other beniffitng out of it.Bush's country might be facing a lot of job cuts in recent times but he has created 100 jobs too :In times of recession not bad at all :P

A solemn, emotional reopening for Hotel Trident

Doormen in white suits and black turbans greeted visitors, 45 guests checked in and a lucky customer got a thank you card instead of a bill—the Trident Hotel is serving its customers well.

At least 30 people were killed in the hotel during the terrorist attacks on Mumbai on November 26. On Sunday, the hotel was back on its feet and in business—less than a month after the murderous attack on its guests and staff.

The hotel is opening all its 550 rooms and suites, and four restaurants to guests. At least 80 bookings have already been made and there's a rush for reservations at its restaurants

Security was noticeably tighter as guards scanned bags and sniffer dogs patrolled the ground outside. Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan and Deputy Chief Minister Chhagan Bhujbal visited the Trident to attend its opening ceremony.

Staff members, journalists and guests attended a multi-religious prayer meeting in the lobby for victims of the terror attacks.

‘Thank you, dear customer’

Devendra Ksheer Sagar, the first customer at one of the restaurants, was just about to dip into pocket for his wallet when he noticed he hadn’t been billed. Instead there was a card saying: 'thank you for your support' and a bouquet of flowers.

"I was surprised when I got the card saying thank you for your support instead of the bill," said Sagar.

"I had come here (Marine Drive) for my morning walk and since I knew the hotel was re-opening I decided to try a cup of tea," he said.

"As soon as I stepped into the hotel, managers walked up to me and shook hands saying thank you. I was surprised on being told that I was their first customer. I was really touched by their gratitude."

"We should be bold enough to deter and stop them (terrorists). Instead of getting scared, we should scare them with our resolve to fight back," said Sagar.

Service at any cost

Hotel president Rattan Keswani said his staff is in grief but “committed to deliver 100 per cent”.

"I'm confident of your support. I seek help from all of you to make efforts in projecting Mumbai and India as a safe destination. Fears of guests must be allayed aggressively. Such acts will only affect our citizens and our economic development," he said.

"We believe the time has come to look forward to the future. There is grief, there is sadness, but the staff is committed to deliver 100 per cent and there is absolute desire to bounce back as soon as possible," said Keswani.

The hotel has increased security checks and put up more surveillance systems, but promises its ambience would be welcoming still.

"It's not that a person would not be allowed to walk in into the hotel lobby or sit in one of our restaurants, even if he doesn't have a booking," he said.

The Oberoi-Trident hotel, facing the Arabian Sea at Nariman Point, and the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower, near the Gateway of India, were the key targets terrorists attacked and took over on November 26.

The Taj Mahal hotel will reopen on Sunday evening and the Oberoi hotel six months later.

Slow Internet?????

Are you facing problems with downloads or not able to access your favourite sites then the reason is that one of the undersea cables has snapped.

Internet and phone communications between Europe, the Middle East, and Asia have been seriously disrupted after submarine cables were severed.It is thought the FLAG FEA, SMW4, and SMW3 lines, near the Alexandria cable station in Egypt, have all been cut.A fault was also reported on the GO submarine cable 130km off Sicily.
Experts warned that it may be days before the fault is fixed and said the knock on effect could have serious repercussions on regional economies.It is thought that 65% of traffic to India was down, while services to Singapore, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Taiwan and Pakistan have also been severely affected.Earlier this year, the same line was damaged in the same area - off the Egyptian coast - although only two lines were snapped then.

Rs 50 crore offer for shoes hurled at Bush !!!!!!!!

A Saudi man has offered to pay $10 million for the pair of shoes that an Iraqi journalist hurled at US President George W Bush during a press conference in Baghdad.

Mohamed Makhafa, a retired school teacher, says he considers the size 10s a "medal of freedom and more valuable than everything he owns", Al Jazeera news channel reported.

Muntazer al-Zaidi, the Iraqi journalist who became a hero overnight in the Arab world, had thrown his shoes at President Bush during a joint press conference of the US leader with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki in Baghdad on Monday.

"It is more precious than all my property. I will bequeath it to my children and display it in a museum and call it the Medal of Freedom," Makhafa told AlArabiya.net. Makhafa said the combined value of the land and property he owns exceeds the price he is offering for Zaidi's shoes, adding if the journalist's lawyer manages to reclaim the infamous pair he will buy them.

Makhafa said he does not look at it from a commercial point of view and said his offer was the start of an auction. The 60-year-old stressed that he does not hold a grudge against the US, but said he hates its foreign policies that have humiliated the Muslims. Announcing his offer on the Internet, Makhafa, an activist who has raised voice on various issues, said tribesmen and public figures in the Arab world had expressed their support and many showed interest in taking part in the auction.

TATA joins F1 bandwagon, signs deal with Ferrari

Ferrari have bucked the global economic crisis squeezing Formula One by agreeing a sponsorship deal with carmaker Tata.

"For the first time an Indian brand will appear on the Ferrari," Ferrari President Luca di Montezemolo told Italian media. "It's historic."

A Ferrari spokesman confirmed a deal had been reached and said the details and duration would be announced shortly.

Tata and Ferrari's parent company Fiat have a joint venture in Maharashtra to produce cars.

Formula One approved a package of cost-cutting measures last week to help the sport after the economic crisis led to Honda's withdrawal.

BΛЯΛᄃΚ ØBΛMΛ is the Time person of the year 2008

President-elect Barack Obama has won another contest: He's been named Time magazine's "Person of the Year" for 2008.

The magazine has named Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Governor Sarah Palin and Chinese director Zhang Yimou as runners-up.

Last year's winner was Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. Previous individual winners have included Bono, President George W Bush and Amazon.com CEO and founder Jeff Bezos.

Cong didn't bowl us out in polls. It was a hit-wicket: BJP

A day after India pulled off a sensational test victory over England, senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader L K Advani on Tuesday sought to describe political events in cricket parlance saying his party suffered a 'hit wicket' in Rajasthan and Delhi where Congress had no capable 'bowlers' to strike.

"No bowler in Congress is capable of bowling out BJP. The possibility is only of a hit-wicket like it happened in some states in the assembly polls," Advani told a meeting of the BJP Parliamentary Party meeting in New Delhi.

Advani, the party's prime ministerial candidate, also asked leaders and cadres to focus on corruption under UPA regime along with issues of terrorism and price rise in the run up to the Lok Sabha elections.

The senior leader said the BJP failure in Delhi was primarily due to 'selection of wrong candidates' while it was 'internal contradictions' in Rajasthan.

"Although terrorism and price rise would remain an issue, there is also a need to take to the people the issues of corruption under the UPA regime and more specifically the cash-for-vote scam," he said.

According to BJP sources, the saffron party, which has failed on terrorism plank in the Assembly polls campaign, is planning to rake up corruption and equate it with Bofors scandal during the Lok Sabha campaign.

Touching upon the victory in Madhya Pradesh [Images] where BJP was voted to power for the second time, Advani asked party leaders to take lessons from it.

Tuesday's meeting also gave a farewell to deputy leader in Lok Sabha V K Malhotra, who resigned from the Lower House, after being elected to Delhi assembly. Six other party MPs, who were elected to different assemblies, also put in their papers on Tuesday.

Source :Rediff

Google Earth used by terrorists

Slowly but surely pieces of the jigsaw puzzle of the conspiracy behind Mumbai terror attacks are falling into place.

In a first in terror strikes in the country, all the 10 terrorists involved in the Mumbai attack got familiar with the terrain of the city by using the Google Earth service, according to sources in the Maharashtra home ministry.

The 10 terrorists left Karachi in a boat around one week back. After arriving on the Indian coast near Porbandar in Gujarat, they raised white flag on their boat and anchored it outside Porbandar.

The occupants of a fishing trawler in the area saw the white flag and decided to approach the boat to find out whether the men needed any help.

But as they approached the boat, two or three terrorists, in the garb of asking for help, entered the trawler and killed three of its four-member crew. Then the terrorists shifted their arms, ammunition and other equipment to the fishing trawler and forced the remaining member of the crew to sail the trawler in Mumbai's direction.

After coming within four nautical miles of Mumbai, they killed the lone crew member and shifted their arms and ammunition to two dingy boats and landed on the coast near Koliwada. The abandoned fishing trawler � Kuber - was subsequently ceased by the Coast Guard.

From the communication intercept made by intelligence agencies during the operation, satellite phone records recovered from Kuber and revelations made by arrested terrorist Mohammed Ajmal Kasam (21), a resident of the Faridkot district in Punjab province of Pakistan, it is clear that these terrorists have a Pakistani connection.

"However, we have to ascertain whether their operation had any sanction from the Pakistani establishment, what was the involvement of the ISI, which group of Islamic militants these terrorists belonged to, and whether underworld don Dawood Ibrahim financed this attack," the sources said.

They added that for carrying out such an operation, one needed to go for a rigorous commando training of two years. "The skills shown by these terrorists were almost comparable to that of the NSG," a source said, adding, "Such kind of training can only be provided by a body like the ISI."

Kasam, along with Abu Ismaili Khan, was involved in the attack on the CST station, where almost 50 people died. Abu got killed in the encounter with the police at Marine Drive.

All the terrorists were in the age group of 19-21 and they were carrying the ID cards showing them as the students of different colleges in various cities across the country.

So far, the police have recovered 10 AK-56 rifles, automatic pistols, unspecified numbers of hand grenades and two bombs with 8 kg of explosives. Besides, Rs 6,200 in Indian currency was recovered from the terrorists.

Attack may leave Rs 500 cr bill for Taj

Some parts of the Taj Mahal Palace & Tower, which suffered extensive damage in the terrorist attacks, may need to remain shut for a year and the restoration may cost up to Rs 500 crore (RS 5 billion), experts said.

Terrorists, holed up in the heritage wing (also known as the Old Taj) for over 50 hours, blasted grenades and killed hostages, causing extensive damage to the interiors of the property. The heritage hotel is about 106 years old. The sixth floor, which housed the super luxury suits, has been gutted and the fourth floor has also suffered severe damage. Some restaurants have been burnt down completely.

"The rate for restoration work of a heritage site is about Rs. 5,000 per square feet (for the Taj it will be higher). We expect a shutdown of at least one year," said Indian Institute of Architecture vice-president Pandurang Potnis.

"The Taj heritage wing contained extraordinary pieces of mostly hand made art. The woodwork dates to colonial era and will be very difficult to replace." Experts also pointed out that structural engineering will be the most challenging part in the restoration.

However, the Tata-promoted Indian Hotels Company [Get Quote], which owns the hotel, has not yet assessed the damage. In a statement, managing director and chief executive Raymond Bickson said: "The process of fully assessing the internal situation cannot yet begin as the National Security Guard is continuing its risk assessment. We will provide updates on the situation within the hotel when we can."

However, the company's management said it will restore the iconic hotel to its past glory. "We are not just determined but completely committed to rebuilding the institution to its fullest glory," said Indian Hotels Company vice-chairman RK Krishna Kumar.

The cost of restoration and loss of business is expected to hurt the profits of Indian Hotels Company as well as East India Hotels, which runs the Oberoi and Trident hotel chains, for the remaining part of the fiscal year. The Mumbai Trident was also under siege by terrorists.

East India Hotels chairman PRS Oberoi said at a news conference in Mumbai that it was early to assess the damage and how much the reconstruction of the hotel will cost and when it will reopen. The Mumbai Oberoi, he said, appeared to have been damaged more than the Trident.

Must read for those who love Maggi

'CORRECT WAY OF COOKING NOODLES'
The correct way to cook instant noodles without harming our bodies and health. `Normally, how we cook the instant noodles is to put the noodles into a pot with water, throw in the powder and let it cook for around 3 minutes and then it's ready to eat.

This is the WRONG method of cooking the instant noodles.

By doing this, when we actually boil the ingredients in the powder, normally with MSG (Aginomoto), it will change the molecular structures of the MSG causing it to be toxic.

The other thing that you may or may not realize is that, the noodles are coated with wax and it will take around 4 to 5 days for the body to excrete the wax after you have taken the noodles.

CORRECT METHOD :

1. boil the noodles in a pot with water.
2. once the noodles is cooked, take out the noodles, and throw away the water which contains wax.
3. boil another pot of water till boiling and put the noodles into the hot boiling water and then shut the fire.
4. only at this stage when the fire is off, and while the water is very hot, put the ingredient with the powder into the water, to make noodle soup.
5. however, if you need dry noodles, take out the noodles and add the ingredient with the powder and toss it to get dry noodles.

Dietician's Note: If you buy plain hakka noodles you may initially need to boil it in water and discard the water. This will soften
the noodles, but to prevent it from sticking we need to add a tbsp of oil, also the noodles are deep fried partially to make it crunchy and then dust it with flour to prevent it from sticking while boiling. Hence when you buy the noodles they are already made unhealthy and this is the type we use to make stir fry noodles, and the regular maggi too is made the same way plus they add MSG/ ajinomoto and other chemical preservatives.

A large number of patient with the ages ranging from 18-24 years are ending up with pancreatitis either as a swelling or infection of the
pancreas due to regular consumption of instant noodles.... If the frequency is more than 3 times a week, then it is very hazardous...

Please share this info and help save a life.

e=mc2: 103 years later, Einstein proven right

It's taken more than a century, but Einstein's celebrated formula e=mc2 has finally been corroborated, thanks to a heroic computational effort by French, German and Hungarian physicists.

A brainpower consortium led by Laurent Lellouch of France's Centre for Theoretical Physics, using some of the world's mightiest supercomputers, have set down the calculations for estimating the mass of protons and neutrons, the particles at the nucleus of atoms.

According to the conventional model of particle physics, protons and neutrons comprise smaller particles known as quarks, which in turn are bound by gluons.

The odd thing is this: the mass of gluons is zero and the mass of quarks is only five per cent. Where, therefore, is the missing 95 per cent?

The answer, according to the study published in the US journal Science on Thursday, comes from the energy from the movements and interactions of quarks and gluons.

In other words, energy and mass are equivalent, as Einstein proposed in his Special Theory of Relativity in 1905.

The e=mc2 formula shows that mass can be converted into energy, and energy can be converted into mass.

By showing how much energy would be released if a certain amount of mass were to be converted into energy, the equation has been used many times, most famously as the inspirational basis for building atomic weapons.

But resolving e-mc2 at the scale of sub-atomic particles -- in equations called quantum chromodynamics -- has been fiendishly difficult.

"Until now, this has been a hypothesis," France's National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) said proudly in a press release.

Michael Jackson is now Mikaeel

Michael Jackson has converted to Islam and changed his name to Mikaeel.

The 50-year-old star, pledged his allegiance to the Koran in a ceremony at a friend's mansion in Los Angeles, the Sun reported.

Jackson sat on the floor wearing a tiny hat after an Imam was summoned to officiate -- days before the singer is due to appear at London's High Court where he is being sued by an Arab Sheik, the paper said.

The star decided to adopt the new religion while he was recording a song at the home of his friend where a Jehovah's witness was brought up to help him through the ceremony.

Apparently, the Beat It star was convinced by his producer and songwriter friends David Wharnsby and Phillip Bubal.

"They began talking to him about their beliefs, and how they thought they had become better people after they converted. Michael soon began warming to the idea. An Imam was summoned from the mosque and Michael went through the shahada, which is the Muslim declaration of belief," the source revealed.

Mikaeel is the name of one of Allah's angels.

"Jacko rejected an alternative name, Mustafa meaning "the chosen one", the source added.

The singer, who rarely ventures out without a mask, is due to give evidence on Monday in a 4.7 million pound lawsuit brought by Prince Abdulla Al-Khalif of Bahrain for defaulting on an exclusive recording contract.

Google's 3rd founder ????

Google truth, the truth of Google's birth from googletruth on Vimeo

9,570 Crores..The price that Gujarat payed to bring NANO

The world's cheapest car, the Rs 100,000 Tata Nano is yet to hit the roads but it's always in the headlines.Tata Motors shifted its Nano base to Gujarat after months of protests forced it out of Singur.
The state government promised the Tatas many tax sops and land connectivity to the national highway.The company was assured that there will be no strikes in the state to derail the project.
The concessions offered by the Narendra Modi government has brought the Nano issue to the limelight again.
The government has reportedly offered huge tax sops of over Rs 30,000 crore to Tata Motors for the Nano car project.According to an agreement signed by the government, it has agreed to offer a soft loan of Rs 9,570 crore at an interest of 0.1 per cent for setting up the project.

It has decided to defer repayment for 20 years. The government has also offered to bear the cost of infrastructure development, a cut in power tariff rates and offered Rs 700 crore for shifting machinery from Singur to set up its plant in Sanand.

The Congress leaders in Gujarat have criticised the government's move, calling it a publicity stunt at the cost of people's money.

Mukesh Ambani is the richest INDIAN

Reliance Industries' Mukesh Ambani has overtaken NRI steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal as the richest Indian in the world, with a net worth of $20.8 billion, Forbes said in its annual rich list for the country.

Mittal, who has moved to second position with a net worth of $20.8 billion, is followed by Mukesh's younger brother Anil Ambani, whose wealth stood at $12.5 billion.

Telecom czar Sunil Mittal and realtor K P Singh are ranked fourth and fifth with net worth of $7.9 billion and $7.8 billion, respectively.

The magazine said that the combined net worth of India's 40 richest has declined by 60 per cent due to weak stock markets amid depreciating rupee against the greenback.

Their total wealth is now $139 billion, down from $351 billion just a year ago, according to Forbes India Rich List.

"These are painful times for India's tycoons. The country's once soaring stock market fell 48 per cent the past year, the rupee depreciated 24 per cent against the dollar, and GDP growth is expected to slow by at least a percentage point, in part owing to double-digit inflation," Forbes Asia said in a statement.

While all 40 tycoons listed last year were billionaires, only 27 have 10-figure net worths now. A net worth of $760 million was needed to make to the list this year, $840 million less than last year.