INDIA VISITED

Indian villagers try 'e-policing' to close the digital divide

2006-12-21T02:00:00.000-08:00

India's IT revolution is sometimes thought to benefit only the better off, but developments in Bhanegaon village in Maharashtra state, and 10,000 other Indian villages, suggest that it is slowly taking deeper roots.

Until a few weeks ago the village was on the have-not side of the digital divide.

Now some of its 8,000 inhabitants have used computers, e-mailed scanned documents and above all been part of regular video conferencing between the village and the district police headquarters in Nagpur city.

Read full story - Indian villagers try 'e-policing' via bbc news

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US economist warns India over the impact of globalisation

2006-12-20T06:43:00.000-08:00

A Nobel-prize winning US economist has warned that public services could suffer in countries like India as a result of globalisation.

Professor Joseph Stiglitz told the BBC News website that globalisation had led to lower tariffs, an important source of public revenue.

"A decline in tariff leads to less money for the governments to spend on its people," Professor Stiglitz said.

He won the Nobel Prize in 2001 for his work on the economics of information.

Read full story - India warning on globalisation via bbc news

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China and India 'boosting Africa'

2006-09-17T02:15:00.000-07:00

China and India's growing trade and investment in Africa holds great potential for African economic growth, a World Bank report has said.
The study found that, led by China and India, Asia now gets 27% of Africa's exports, triple the amount in 1990.

At the same time, Asian exports to Africa are now growing 18% per year, faster than any other global region.

The study says both China, India and African nations must improve their trade reforms to help boost this trend.

Read full story - China and India 'boosting Africa' via bbc news

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India PM warns of terror attacks

2006-09-05T01:20:00.000-07:00

Mr Singh said terrorists may attack religious and economic targets

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said that intelligence agencies have warned that more terrorist attacks were likely in the country.
Mr Singh said that that "economic and religious targets", as well as nuclear installations, could be the targets.

He said the intelligence agencies have also warned of more suicide attacks.

Mr Singh's comments come nearly two months after a series of bombings on commuter trains in Mumbai (Bombay) which killed over 180 people.

read full story via bbc news

Indians head home in 'brain gain'

2006-08-27T11:46:00.000-07:00

For much of the last century India suffered a "brain drain". Generations of Indians set off in search of a better life in other countries. Today, an estimated 25 million people of Indian origin live overseas. But could the tide be turning?

"My dad was against me moving back to India," Manish Amin tells me in his new flat in Delhi where he lives with his wife and two sons.

Three decades ago Manish's parents moved from India to the UK. He has just moved back.

"My dad's idea was that everyone wants to get away from India", Manish says. "But now he's seen the big high rise flats, the big shopping malls, even he's amazed. You get Marks and Spencer, Debenhams, everything's here now."

Manish has set up his own online travel company. He's already taking 200 bookings a day.
read full story via bbc news

Climb down by 'Hitler' restaurant in India

2006-08-25T02:59:00.000-07:00

The owners of a new restaurant named "Hitler's Cross" in the Indian city of Mumbai have changed its name after protests from the Jewish community.

The restaurant opened last week in the city's outskirts, initially displaying a giant poster of Hitler.

But now one of the restaurant's owners has acknowledged that naming the restaurant after Hitler was "most inappropriate" and has apologised.

The small Jewish community said they were insulted over the choice of name.
read full story via bbc news

Adventure racing on auto-rickshaw - just for fun

2006-08-21T14:37:00.000-07:00

Teams from around the world have begun racing across the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu in three-wheeled auto-rickshaws.

The 1,000km (590-mile) race, which kicked off in Madras (Chennai), will end in Kanyakumari, the southern-most tip of India, on 27 August.
Colourfully named teams like Tamil Devils" and Curry in a Hurry will get a first-hand experience of Indian roads.

Participants come from as far as the UK, US, Hungary, Armenia and Russia.

The Indian Auto-rickshaw Challenge is strictly fun, without any prize at the end of the race, the organisers say. Adventure racing on auto-rickshaw via bbc news

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Bollywood Steps - A British Bollywood Dance Spectacular

2006-08-20T09:25:00.000-07:00

There performance was absolutely spectacular at the London Mela on 13th August 2006. A thoroughly enjoyable day - even the British weather didn't dampen the spirits.

"A sumptuous piece of dance theatre that both plays homage and spoofs the Bollywood film". Lyn Gardener - The Guardian

Bollywood Steps was created by Simmy Gupta and is a creative collaboration between nutkhut, Walk the Plank and Avanti Display

Indian state files case against Coke alleging high pesticide levels

2006-08-20T01:37:00.000-07:00

India's southern state of Karnataka has filed a case against US soft drinks giant Coca-Cola, accusing it of selling products with illegally high pesticide levels.

The case was filed August 12 after state-supervised private laboratory tests showed excessive amounts of pesticide in Coca-Cola samples, Karnataka Health Minister R. Ashok said Saturday.
Indian state files case against Coke alleging high pesticide levels via yahoo news

Yahoo! Is Inspired by Shammi Kapoor song - Turn on the Speakers

2006-08-18T03:29:00.000-07:00

The song brings back memories of another famous hindi song from a Bollywood movie Junglee where Indian actor Shammi Kapoor makes a similar sound "Yahoooo......"

more details via Digital Inspiration

India not scared by US law

2006-08-17T14:24:00.000-07:00

PM Manmohan Singh says India will retain all its nuclear weapons rights, assures the House that they won't see 'American inspectors roaming around our nuke sites’

US law can’t scare India via Mumbai Mirror

Facing Death - Preity Zinta

2006-08-16T05:58:00.000-07:00

Two escapes from death make me happy to be alive.
Facing death in Sri Lanka and Thailand via bbc news

Epic Misery

2006-08-16T05:43:00.000-07:00

In 1947, the border between India and its new neighbour Pakistan became a river of blood, as the exodus erupted into rioting.
full story in pictures via bbc news

India troops 'shoot Kashmir boys'

2006-08-15T10:21:00.000-07:00

Indian troops have shot and wounded two youths across the Line of Control in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, Pakistan's army says.
The army said the incident truce took place in Rawalkot sector, in breach of a 2003 truce.

A spokesman said the two young men were shovelling sand from a water channel, about 400m inside Pakistan-administered Kashmir, when they were fired upon.

The Indian army has denied any firing, saying that the ceasefire is intact.
Read full story via bbc news

China versus India

2006-08-10T05:17:00.000-07:00

India and China are reckoned to be the global powerhouses of the future. We compare their strengths and weaknesses in a head-to-head contest.

China v india via Motley Fool

Kerala - Indian state bans Pepsi and Coke

2006-08-09T14:16:00.000-07:00

The Indian state of Kerala has banned the production and sale of Coca Cola and Pepsi following a report that the drinks contain harmful pesticides.

It said it was taking the step because the drinks pose a health risk. Both soft drinks manufacturers have said their products are safe.

Five other states have already announced partial bans on the drinks in schools, colleges and hospitals.

But Kerala is the first to completely ban their production and sale.

The move by the communist government in Kerala in southern India is the most severe reaction to a report released last week by an Indian non-government organisation, the Centre for Science and Environment.

Indian state bans Pepsi and Coke via bbc news

India ex-FM suspended from party

2006-08-09T01:50:00.000-07:00

India's ruling Congress Party has suspended a former foreign minister over findings about his role in the oil-for-food programme in Iraq.
A judicial report made public on Monday said Natwar Singh had helped close contacts procure oil contracts, but had not benefited personally.

The party said Mr Singh had been given two weeks to explain why it should not expel him, as a political row grew.

Mr Singh denies wrongdoing and has said he is being made a scapegoat.

In response the announcement, he declared that he was ready for a "decisive battle", the Press Trust of India reported.

"I am a man of strong nerves. I won't take things lying down," he was quoted as saying.
India ex-FM suspended from party via bbc news

Country profile update: India

2006-08-08T02:07:00.000-07:00

The world's largest democracy and second most populous country has emerged as a major power after a period of foreign rule and several decades during which its economy was virtually closed.

A nuclear weapons state, it carried out tests in the late 1990s in defiance of world opinion. However, India is still tackling huge social, economic and environmental problems.

Country profile: India

Blog bans in India thought to be counter productive

2006-08-07T03:20:00.000-07:00

It is well known that the Indian Government ordered local ISPs to restrict access to certain religious/political blogs in India. The ISPs went a step further and blocked all blogspot including typepad blogs even when these sites were not mentioned in the official directive.

The clamp down on blogging following 7/11 blasts has now been revoked, not because the blogging community had expressed unhappiness, but intelligence agencies pointed out that the ban is limiting their scope of investigations into the serial blasts.

Blogging is back, but under lens

India and Pakistan in expulsions

2006-08-06T06:36:00.000-07:00

India and Pakistan have expelled diplomats from each other's countries after Pakistan accused an Indian visa official of "undesirable activities".
Pakistani officials said Deepak Kaul, who worked at the Indian High Commission in Islamabad, was caught "red-handed" with sensitive documents.

India denied the allegation and expelled a Pakistani diplomat in return, India's foreign ministry said.

Relations have soured since train bombings in Mumbai (Bombay) last month.

More than 180 people died in the bombings, which India said were carried out by militants with support in Pakistan. Pakistan denied the allegation.

An unnamed Pakistani government official said Mr Kaul was caught en route to Islamabad by Pakistani agents, the Associated Press news agency reported.

TCA Raghwan, deputy high commissioner at the Indian mission, confirmed Mr Kaul had been ordered to leave but denied he had committed any wrongdoing.

"We reject these allegations," Mr Raghwan told AP.

Hours later, India expelled Pakistani diplomat Sayed Mohammed Rafq Ahmed, without giving a reason. via bbc new

India can challenge the 'big six'

2006-08-06T06:24:00.000-07:00

The offshore Indian outsourcers are now genuine competitors to the traditional 'big six' IT services players such as Accenture and IBM, according to leading UK CIOs.

More than 40 per cent of the $88bn of outsourcing deals up for renewal over the next two years are likely to go to companies from lower-cost locations such as India, according to research out this week, and that view is backed by IT chiefs.Read full story via silicon.com

World's 'hottest' woman

2006-08-05T02:33:00.000-07:00

A demure 25-year-old mother of one in India's Assam state is all set to stake claim as the world's 'hottest' woman - she loves eating the spiciest of red chillies.

Anandita Dutta Tamuly from Titabor village, 325 km east of Guwahati, has a singular fiery habit - gobbling red-hot chillies without batting an eyelid or shedding a tear.

She is like any other woman of her age - except for her preference for the local chilli variety called the Naga Jolokia (capsicum frutescens).

Scientists claim the Naga Jolokia is the world's fieriest. Read full story via Times of India

Pepsi and Coke under fire again - India does not have any purity standards for soft drinks

2006-08-03T03:31:00.000-07:00

An Indian non-governmental organisation says samples of Coca-Cola and Pepsi products are showing even worse levels of pesticides than in a previous study.
The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) said their investigations revealed that the drinks contain harmful residues, posing a health risk.

A CSE report in 2003 resulted in Pepsi and Coca-Cola strenuously rejecting claims that their drinks were unsafe.

Soft drinks manufacturers have condemned the latest findings.

"Soft drinks are completely safe," the Indian Soft Drink Manufacturers Association (ISDMA) said in a statement on Wednesday.

"The soft drinks manufactured in India comply with stringent international norms and all applicable national regulations." Read full story via bbc news

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India's two day rape trial

2006-08-02T13:42:00.000-07:00

A court in the north Indian state of Bihar has sentenced a man to seven years in prison for rape after just two days of hearings.
It may be the fastest such court case in Indian history. Most court cases drag on for years, some for decades.

The trial begun on 25 July and the judgement was announced on 27 July.

Police in Bihar, India's most lawless state, say they are also trying to file charges against suspects as fast as possible to combat crime. Read full story via bbc news

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India bans child domestic labour

2006-08-01T13:14:00.000-07:00

The Indian government has announced a ban on children working as domestic servants or in roadside food stalls.
The order, which applies to children under 14, will come into effect in October, officials say.

It also bans children from teashops, restaurants, hotels, motels, resorts, spas or other recreational centres.

There are estimated to be more than 12.6 million child workers in India, many of whom work as domestic helps or in small roadside restaurants. Read full story via bbc news

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