Milestone of India - Principal bags State Award. (Tamilnadu - India.)

THANJAVUR: R. Malliga, principal, Periyar Centenary Polytechnic College here has bagged the ‘Best Scholar Award' given by the Tamil Nadu Government for the year 2008-09.

The award is given by the government for implementing the best teaching-learning process in the college, innovation in technical research, leadership quality, inculcating team spirit among students and total commitment to the progress of students.

Dr, Malliga received the award from K.Ponmudy, Minister for Higher Education, at silver jubilee celebrations of science club at Anna University, Chennai, recently. 24. K.Veeramani, Chancellor, Periyar Maniammai University, congratulated the awardee .

Dr.Malliga donated Rs.25,000 given along with the award to the polytechnic college to institute an award and give it to a student who gives the best science innovation to the college every year.

Milestone of India - Milestone for TTD - Tirupati laddu gets global patent.

HYDERABAD/TIRUPATI: Here's some sweet news. The famed Tirupati laddu -- the most sought-after prasadam for lakhs of pilgrims who throng Tirumala -- too joins the ranks of Darjeeling tea, Madhubani paintings and Goa feni after it was granted the Geographical Indication (GI) patent rights. This bars others from naming or marketing the sweetmeat preparation under the same name.

Temple sources said the Tirupati laddu got the patent rights under the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act on Tuesday. The TTD, which manages the Lord Venkateswara temple in Tirumala, had applied for GI with Chennai-based Geographical Indication Registry in March last year to avoid its blackmarketing by hawkers and middlemen.

"The laddu is now protected under law and nobody can copy it,'' G L Verma, assistant registrar of trademarks and GI, said. Under GI, the right to market a product is tied to a definite geographical territory and the manufactured goods should be produced or processed or prepared in that territory. P H Kurian, controller-general of patents designs and trademarks, also confirmed granting of GI status to the Tirupati laddu.

The Tirupati laddu is the popular name for Srivari laddu, which is offered as prasadam to the devotees after they worship the Lord. "The laddus are not produced anywhere in the world and are very unique in terms of quality, reputation and other characteristics which go into its making,'' a TTD official said.

"The laddu prasadam came into being in the early 1920s, though some temple priests claim that it existed even before the 17th century,'' a former official said. One 175 gm laddu costs Rs 25 now.

Around 1.5 lakh laddus are made daily and the annual revenue from sales is a whopping Rs 2 crore. Potu (kitchen) workers said 5,000 kg of besan flour, over 10,000 kg sugar, 1,000 kg cashewnuts, 350 kg cardamom, about 500 kg ghee, 500 kg sugar candy and 750 kg of raisins go into the preparation of laddus everyday.

Primarily there are two types of laddus -- small and big. A small laddu weighs 175 grams whereas the big one weighs 700 grams. The big one comes with a Rs 1,000 kalyanam puja. Popular items that have been granted GI tag world over include champagne and tequilla. The procedure helps in preventing others from surreptitiously exploiting a brand name that has evolved over a period of time. Sources said the GI status also provides legal protection and facilitates for action in case of infringement.

OM NAMO VENKATESAYA !

Milestone of India - Milestone in Iron Ore Exports.

NEW DELHI: India's iron ore exports in the first four months of the current financial year that began in April was at 32.86 million tonnes against 31.39 million tonnes a year ago, data released by a trade body on Friday showed.

Milestone of India - Milestone for IDBI public sector bank for SME Financing.

MUMBAI: IDBI Bank has received the best public sector bank award for financing small and medium enterprises (SMEs) from global business information provider Dun and Bradstreet.

"IDBI Bank has developed a special business model to serve the SMEs in the country that has enabled the bank to develop a quality SME portfolio through a dedicated streamlined credit decision process," said T. R. Bajalia, executive director and head (SME Group), IDBI Bank.

The award was presented to IDBI Bank at the "Dun & Bradstreet - Polaris Software Banking Awards 2010" here.

"The bank's focus is on service quality and consequently, utmost importance is being accorded to the building of an efficient SME sales network, effective client management mechanism besides borrower friendly, easy to understand and competitive products," he added.

IDBI Bank's operations during the quarter ended June 30, 2010, resulted in a net profit of Rs.251 crore.

D&B India developed a proprietary quantitative model based on various parameters for identifying the top banks across the spectrum. The model is based on the twin premise of recognising the size and growth of the banks.

For this purpose, D&B India identified a number of crucial parameters related to business, profitability, network, priority sector lending, asset quality, global business etc relevant to each award category.

The final ranking of the banks was arrived at using a composite score of these weighted parameters. The information has been collated from Reserve Bank of India (RBI) documents and annual reports of the banks

Milestone of India - Milestone for Three Indians in in MIT's Technological Review.

BOSTON: Three Indians have been named in MIT's prestigious annual 'Technology Review' list of top young innovators under the age of 35 "who exemplify the spirit of innovation in business and technology".

Rikin Gandhi, 29, Ranveer Chandra, 34 and Indrani Medhi, 32 are in the '2010 TR35' - list of 35 "outstanding men and women" compiled by Technology Review, an independent media company owned by MIT, that focuses on identifying emerging technologies and analysing their impact for leaders.

"This year's winners have created innovations over a wide variety of fields, including energy, biomedicine, communications, IT, transportation and web.

"Their groundbreaking work is liberating patients from sleep clinics, shaping the rules for social networks and helping populations cope with crisis. The 2010 TR35 are transforming technology and tackling problems in a way that is likely to benefit society and business," editor in chief and publisher of Technology Review Jason Pontin said.

Since 1999, the editors of Technology Review have honoured young innovators whose inventions and research they find most exciting.

The TR35 is a list of technologists and scientists, all under the age of 35.

"Their work--spanning medicine, computing, communications, electronics, nanotechnology, and more--is changing our world," Pontin added.

Gandhi is the founder of the nonprofit 'Digital Green' that focuses on educating farmers about farming techniques through locally produced videos, in which local farmers are featured.

"Gandhi demonstrated that for every dollar spent, the system persuaded seven times as many farmers to adopt new ideas as an existing programme of training and visits," the Technology Review said.

He helped launch the programme as a 2006 project at Microsoft Research, India and spent six months testing various video schemes in villages in Karnataka before concluding that featuring local farmers was the key.

Villagers produce the videos using handheld camcorders; workers from partner non governmental organisations then check the quality of the videos and the accuracy of the advice before screening them in the villages with handheld projectors.

So far 500 videos have been made, but three times that number--which should reach four times as many villages--are currently planned.

Milestone of India - LIC achieves New Milestone.

CHENNAI: Life Insurance Corporation of India has crossed the one crore-individual policies mark for the current financial year, with first premium income of Rs.15,917 crore in the fortnight ended August 14.

In the previous year, it had crossed this landmark on August 31, 2009, says a release. Western Zone was the largest contributors with more than 15.86 lakh policies followed by South Central Zone (15.46 lakh policies). — Corporate Reporter

Milestone of India - Mukesh Ambani elected to WEF Foundation Board.

MUMBAI: Reliance Industries' Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh Ambani has been elected Member to the Board of World Economic Forum.

Others elected to the Board are: Alcatel-Lucent's CEO Ben J. Verwaayen and Special Adviser, International Monetary Fund (IMF) and a former Deputy Governor, People's Bank of China, Zhu Min, a release issued here on Friday said.

World Economic Forum's Founder and Executive Chairman Klaus Schwab said “We are honoured to have three distinguished new members of the Foundation Board. Mukesh Ambani will bring an extraordinary level of business acumen and his commitment to the ideals of the Forum. He has played a key role, especially related to the integration of India into all our activities.”

“Ben Verwaayen has been a committed member of the Forum for many years. His insightfulness and energy will be invaluable to the board.

“Zhu Min's experiences at the highest level of Government and the financial sector will be similarly a great asset,” he said.

Strong background

The Foundation Board is composed of leaders from business, politics, academia and civil society.

They strongly identify themselves with the Forum's mission to improve the state of the world and make a valuable contribution to this mission through their involvement. — PTI

Milestone of India - BSNL to roll out FTTH facility. (Karnataka - India.)

MANGALORE: BSNL customers in Mangalore and Udupi will soon get high quality digital television channels, super high-speed Internet as well as landline facility all through a pair of fibre optic cables.

From September 10, people can look forward to Fibre To The Home (FTTH), under which these facilities will be bunched together, according to the Principal General Manager of Dakshina Kannada Telecom District of BSNL, Y.C. Mishra.

Hitherto, these services were being offered through copper cables which transmit limited amount of information.

Under the new technology, which is being tested in Mangalore, one pair of fibre optic cables can bring such a volume of information that the voice, data and television facilities can be extended to as many as 32 houses.

The technology is also known as Gigabit on Passive Optic Network (GPON).

100 mbps

BSNL officials interacting with The Hindu staff here on Thursday said that a unique feature of this facility was that the Internet would be available at speeds up to 100 mbps.

This was 400 times faster than the cut-off speed of 256 kbps for what is called broadband Internet (speeds below 256 kbps are not considered as broadband), according to Assistant General Manager (Consumers) S.M. Hegde.

The service will put FTTH consumers on a par with telecom customers in some select countries where the maximum speed of 100 mbps is offered by 4G mobile service providers, he added.

Matching speeds

Junior Telecom Officer Lissan Johnson said that FTTH would offer matching upload and download speeds unlike traditional Internet services where upload speeds are far lower than download speeds.

Mr. Mishra said that 35 of 50 GPON equipment had been installed in the city and 10 had been installed in Udupi. Together they would offer 16,000 FTTH connections. Over 150 channels.

Mr. Mishra said under FTTH, people would have a choice of over 150 television channels. The number could go up to 200 shortly.

The charges will be commensurate with the present data, (Internet) voice and IPTV services, Mr. Mishra said. Special rates, if any, would be announced in due course. However, he said that commercial establishments would find FTTH slightly more cost effective.

A demonstration of the service is on the cards, he added.

Mr. Mishra said the service could be offered to two-thirds of the population in the city. About 25 per cent of 38,000 broadband users were expected to shift to FTTH, he said.

Staff of the Income Tax department in the city would be the first customers to use FTTH, Mr. Mishra said.

Milestone of India - Milestone in Indo - Japan ties.

CHENNAI: The future of Indo-Japan relations look bright and the proposed Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between the two countries would further deepen bilateral ties, Toshihiko Kinoshita, special researcher, Industrial Management Institute, Waseda University, Japan said on Thursday.

Delivering a lecture on “Lessons and outlook learned from economic development of Japan and Asia” under the auspices of the Consulate-General of Japan and the Indo-Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IJCCI), Prof. Kinoshita said the Indo-Japan relationship has been optimistic over the long-term and it was just that the countries have been “mentally afar.”
The EPA between the two countries which was expected to be signed soon would widen the opportunities for closer cooperation, Prof. Kinoshita said.

India, on its part, needed to develop closer relations with East Asia, improve its business climate and raise its productivity levels, he said.

According to Prof. Kinoshita, one of the major concerns in recent times has been Japan's failure to establish its own concrete vision for the future, especially in relation to co-prospering with Asia. “Japan has to develop a vision in this regard using its superior technology and soft power and reforming its domestic system to meet the demands of a new world order,” he said.

A rapidly ageing society, abnormally high yen rate, or the “yen-daka,” and lowering of Total Factor Productivity were among the other pressing worries of the sea-grit nation, Prof. Kinoshita said.

It is also important for the young population in Japan who had increasingly turned “inward-looking” to step outside and learn to collaborate with counterparts in other Asian countries.
The ideal way forward would be to expand foreign investments while sustaining domestic growth, he said.

According to Prof. Kinoshita, some of the unique aspects of the Japanese business ethics were the importance attached to “middle-up” decision-making (where middle level managers guided the growth of a company), the principle of total quality control and on-the-job training, the ability to add homespun values to ideas absorbed from the outside world and value attached to customer satisfaction.

Kazuo Minagawa, Consul General of Japan in Chennai, said India and Japan shared a lot of ground for collaboration in terms of funding, capital, technology and transfer of know-how.
N. Krishnaswami, IJCCI president, said closer collaboration between India and Japan for the next 25 years could work wonders for both countries and the Asian economy as a whole.

He called for removing the mental blocks that stood in the way of realising bilateral potential.

Milestone of India - Exhibition on Mother Teresa opens. (Tamilnadu - India.)

VELLORE: A two-day exhibition of postage stamps, postal covers, pictures and manuscripts of Mother Teresa, organised by the Numismatic and Philatelic Association of Vellore Fort at the Town Hall here was inaugurated by V. Santhanaraman, Senior Superintendent of Post Offices, Vellore Division, on Thursday.

He said the exhibition reminds one of the importance of rendering service to the disadvantaged and living without hurting others, emulating the example of Mother Teresa. The exhibition comprises postage stamps released in various countries in memory of Mother Teresa. While the Postal Department would continue to print decorative seals, stamps released on special occasions would not be reprinted. These stamps would be available only with philatelists. The exhibition will be open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Friday.

Milestone of India - Award for college teacher. (Tamilnadu - India.)

VELLORE: The Tamil Nadu State Council for Science and Technology has selected A. Sahul Hameed, Reader, Department of Zoology, C. Abdul Hakeem College, Melvisharam, for the Tamil Nadu Scientist Award 2008 under the discipline, Biological Sciences. The award was given in recognition of his outstanding research work in the field of Aquatic Animal Health.

Mr. Hameed received the award from Minister for Higher Education K. Ponmudy at Anna University, Chennai, on Tuesday.

According to a release from the C. Abdul Hakeem College, Mr. Hameed has been carrying out research work since 1990 in the field of diseases of economically important fish and shrimp. He has published 70 research articles in international journals. His research work has been funded by national and international funding agencies, to the tune of about Rs. four crore.

Milestone of India - India remembers Mother Tersa.

Centenary EDITION:

President Pratibha Patil receives from

Dr. Karan Singh, Rajya Sabha MP,

a copy of the

centenary edition of the biography

Milestone of India - Milestone in Indo - Srilanka ties.

NEW DELHI: With the end of the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka, New Delhi and Colombo will revert to a normal defence relationship. Defence Secretary Pradeep Kumar will soon visit Colombo to get an idea of the issues to be taken up at the first annual defence dialogue between the two countries.

The institutional mechanism of yearly defence dialogue was decided by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa during their summit meeting here in June. “It is time to look at greater comprehensive cooperation. In this context, we broadly discussed the areas which would be important to focus on in the annual defence dialogue. An earlier visit by the Defence Secretary would help to understand the issues. In the aftermath of the conflict, there is need for a different defence relationship,” sources said after high level India-Sri Lanka talks on Thursday.

The sources denied that Sri Lanka had approached India for assistance in building the second phase of the Hamabantota port. China had undertaken the expansion and modernisation work in the first phase and is understood to have tied up with Sri Lanka for the second phase as well. The third phase is not in sight, according to the sources.

At Thursday's talks, India was represented by National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon, Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao and Mr. Pradeep Kumar. The Sri Lankan side included Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, Secretary to the President Lalith Weeratunga, and Senior Advisor to the President Basil Rajapaksa, who is also in charge of rehabilitation efforts in the war-affected parts.

India was cautious in its defence ties with Sri Lanka while the conflict was on and restricted military assistance to non-lethal aspects such as enhancing the Armed forces' maritime and aerial domain awareness. When Sri Lanka sought arms from other countries including Pakistan, New Delhi enabled Colombo to seal a $300-million armaments deal with its old ally, Moscow.

At the table, defence was one of the several issues, most of which were a follow-up of decisions taken during Mr. Rajapaksa's recent visit, the sources pointed out. Both sides also discussed the problems facing fishermen, with India pointing out that killings were unacceptable and that a way had to be found to eliminate this kind of action altogether. It was agreed to open channels of communication between fishermen from both countries to understand issues that sparked violence on the high seas.

Having embarked on building rail infrastructure in Sri Lanka, India has signed most of the contracts and an Export and Import Bank team will shortly complete the arrangements for a $800-million credit for the purpose.

India has completed the hydrological survey of the Kankesanthurai port and will send a team to finalise the detailed project report. It is also finalising tender documents for modernisation of the Palaly airport.

Milestone of India - Saina storms into quarterfinals.

Paris: India's Saina Nehwal stormed into the quarterfinals of the World Badminton Championships, beating Russia's Ella Diehl in straight games here on Thursday.

The second-seeded Indian took just 40 minutes to tame 13th seed Diehl 21-14, 21-18 in the third round of the women's singles event.

But minutes before the start of Saina's match, World No. 1 and top seed Yihan Wang of China was stunned by Japan's Eriko Hirose in a three-game thriller that lasted an hour and fifteen minutes. Hirose won 20-22, 21-16, 21-18.

No sign of nerves

However, Saina did not show any nerves against Diehl nor did she carry forward the sluggishness that marked her match against Chinese Taipei's Chen in the second round.

The Indian was aggressive from the start and knowing that her opponent Diehl liked long rallies kept the pace slow and killed the game in mid-court.

Within minutes of the start Saina was off to a 10-5 lead as the Russian made errors at the net.
Saina's main weapon, the drop shot, was again used to good effect as thrice in a row the Russian could not pick up the shuttle as it dropped inches off the net on her side.

At 18-14, Saina reeled off three points in a row, forcing an error at the net from Diehl to win the opening game 21-14.

In the second game, Saina again started off winning five consecutive points on her serve before Diehl won her first point on a net error by the Indian.

More wary

Both the players were a little more wary as the Russian tried to force the pace with a combination of drop shots and high tosses.

At 6-6, it seemed that the game would be tough and hard-fought, but Saina changed her strategy and played mid-court more often and avoided net play till she had a lead of 15-10.

When it looked like the game would go in Saina's favour, the Russian made a last ditch effort and equalised with some smart net play at 17-17.

But Saina got her composure back to take the lead at 20-18 and finally pocketed the match when Diehl sent the shuttle across the side line.

The results (third round):

Men: Kazushi Yamada (Jpn) bt Dicky Palyama (Ned) 14-21, 21-19, 21-11; Peter Gade (Den) bt Marc Zwiebler (Ger) 21-14, 21-15; Hsuen Hsuan Yi (Tpe) bt Boonsak Ponsana (Tha) 21-13, 21-11; Lin Dan (Chn) bt Bao Chunlai (Chn) 21-16, 21-13; Chen Jin (Chn) bt Chen Yong Zhao (Sin) 21-17, 21-10.

Women: Tine Baun (Den) bt Petya Nedelcheva (Bul) 21-19, 23-21; Wang Lin (Chn) bt Yip Pui Yin (Hkg) 21-13, 21-17; Erike Hirose (Jpn) bt Yihan Wang (Chn) 20-22, 21-16, 21-18; Wang Xin (Chn) bt Ai Goto (Jpn) 21-13, 21-13; Saina Nehwal (Ind) bt Ella Diehl (Rus) 21-14, 21-18 . — Agencies

Milestone of India - IT exemption limit to be raised.

NEW DELHI: Come next fiscal, all taxpayers will have something to cheer about as the Union Cabinet on Thursday approved the long-awaited Direct Taxes Code (DTC) Bill under which the government has proposed to hike the income tax exemption limit to Rs. 2 lakh from the existing base of Rs. 1.6 lakh.

The Bill, which also seeks to remove surcharge and cesses on corporate tax as a measure of providing relief to industry while simplifying taxation norms, is expected to be tabled in Parliament during the current extended monsoon session and referred to a select panel of members of both Houses for vetting.

Speaking to the media after the Cabinet meeting, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee indicated that the basic exemption limit for income tax is proposed to be raised to Rs. 2 lakh from the current Rs. 1.6 lakh. As for the new tax slabs, he said: “That will be discussed in Parliament.”

Although exact details are not available, indications are that an annual income of Rs. 2-5 lakh would attract a tax rate of 10 per cent while those in the Rs. 5-10 lakh category would have to pay 20 per cent and above Rs. 10 lakh at 30 per cent. As of now, senior citizens and women are likely to get some additional relief in tax slabs.

Milestone of India - India remembers Mother Teresa.

KOLKATA: As Mother Teresa's birth centenary celebrations commenced here on Thursday, Pope Benedict XVI has sent a message to the Missionaries of Charity, joining “spiritually” in the celebrations and giving the order and the people they serve his blessings.

In a letter to Superior-General of the Missionaries of Charity Sister Prema, Pope Benedict said: “This year will be for the Church and the world an occasion of joyful gratitude to God for the inestimable gift that Mother Teresa was in her lifetime.”

Continue to inspire

Pope Benedict said Mother Teresa exemplified the words of Saint John: “Beloved, if God so loves us, we ought also to love one another. If we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.”

Expressing the hope that this love would continue to inspire the Missionaries of Charity in their work, the Pope said: “I encourage you to draw constantly from the spirituality and example of Mother Teresa.”

The letter was read out at a special mass held at Mother House, headquarters of the Missionaries of Charity, by Archbishop of Calcutta Rev. Lucas Sirkar.

“Today people from all nations, castes, creeds and walks of life celebrate God's love and light, which radiated on our cold and darkened world through Mother Teresa,” Sister Prema said.

A stream of visitors came in to pay homage to Mother Teresa at Mother House all through the day.

Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee inaugurated ‘Mother Express,' an exhibition train with photographs depicting the life and philanthropic deeds of Mother Teresa, at the Sealdah Station.

At the inauguration, Sister Prema spoke about the close association Mother Teresa had with the Railways. It was on a train she took from the same station to Darjeeling when Mother Teresa received what she herself described as “the call within a call” — the moment when she received a message from God to leave the convent were she was a nun and begin her work in the slums of Kolkata.

When several other centres of the Missionaries of Charity came up in other cities, she would often travel to them, but always in third class and without reservation. “Mother liked to travel like the poor and among the poor,” Sister Prema said.

Ms. Banerjee said she had spoken to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, urging them to ensure that the Government of India observed the centenary year in a befitting manner.

A Mother Teresa International Film Festival 2010 was also inaugurated.

Milestone of India - PSU Syndicate Bank's special offers on Home Loans.

CHENNAI: Syndicate bank has come out with special offers in rate of interest and service charges on fresh home loans. For loans upto Rs.20 lakh, bank will be charging base rate (8.25 per cent) during the first two years, base rate plus 0.5 per cent from third to fifth year and base rate plus 0.75 per cent from the sixth year onwards, subject to a maximum of 10 per cent.

Milestone of India - India and Afghanistan agree on need to deny safe haven to terror groups.

External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna (left) with

Afghanistan's Foreign Minister Zalmai Rassoul in New Delhi on Wednesday.

NEW DELHI: Agreeing that terrorism continued to be the threat undermining peace and stability in the region, India and Afghanistan on Wednesday reiterated their stand to work jointly to combat and defeat it.

In a joint statement issued by External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna and his Afghanistan counterpart Zalmai Rassoul the two leaders emphasised on the need to ensure that terrorist and extremist groups, targeting Afghanistan and other countries in the region, are denied safe haven and sanctuaries.

They shared their vision of making Afghanistan a hub linking Central and South Asia, through easier trade and transit links and people-to-people exchanges. In line with the London and Kabul conferences on Afghanistan-led solution, India conveyed its desire to see a strong, stable, peaceful and prosperous Afghanistan and reiterated its commitment to assisting the country in its development efforts, in accordance with the wishes and priorities of the people of Afghanistan.

The Ministers expressed their satisfaction at the frequent and substantive consultations between the two sides and underscored the need for an early operationalisation of the India-Afghanistan Partnership Council, to widen and deepen mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries.

They also reaffirmed their determination to strengthen the rich, multi-dimensional and long-term strategic partnership, in the common interests of the people of the two countries and the region as a whole.

Dr. Rassoul, who came here on the invitation of Mr. Krishna, also called on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon and discussed on a range of bilateral, regional and international issues of mutual interest.

Conveying his best wishes to President Hamid Karzai and other leaders of Afghanistan, Dr. Singh expressed India's strong support for the government and people of Afghanistan in their endeavour to build a peaceful, prosperous and democratic nation, a press statement said.

“Constructive role”

The Afghanistan Foreign Minister conveyed his country's deep appreciation for the important and constructive role being played by India in the reconstruction and development of the country.

Milestone of India - Brahma assumes charge as Election Commissioner of India.

NEW ROLE: Chief Election Commissioner S.Y. Quraishi greeting the newly appointed Election Commissioner Harishankar Brahma (left) in New Delhi on Wednesday.

NEW DELHI: Sixty-year-old Harishankar Brahma, a retired IAS officer of 1975 batch from the Andhra Pradesh cadre, assumed charge as Election Commissioner at Nirvachan Sadan here on Wednesday.

Mr. Brahma, who retired as the Union Power Secretary in April this year, will hold office till April 18, 2015.

Mr. Brahma belongs to Gosaigaon of Kokrajhar district of Assam and has held important posts in the Andhra Pradesh and Union governments. The vacancy for the third Election Commissioner arose after the elevation of S.Y. Quraishi as Chief Election Commissioner.

V.S. Sampath is the other Election Commissioner.

He is the second person from the North-East to become an Election Commissioner, after J.M. Lyngdoh.

Milestone of India - ‘Srinivasa Kalyanam' performed at Tirupathi.

TIRUPATI: ‘Srinivasa Kalyanam' was performed in a colourful manner at the sprawling grounds behind the TTD's administrative building here on Tuesday in connection with ‘Sravana Pournami'.

The TTD started a few years ago the practice of performing the celestial wedding of Lord Srinivasa with his consorts Sridevi and Bhudevi on this day when the astrologically-significant ‘Sravana', the birth star of Lord Venkateswara, coincides with full moon day. As the day is also observed as ‘Raksha Bandhan' elsewhere, the ‘Srinivasa Raksha Kankanams' (protective wristbands) are distributed to the participants as a protective guard to ward off ‘evil forces'.

Priests performed the ‘Kalyanotsavam' with the same grandeur as at the Tirumala temple, which was witnessed by a large gathering of devotees. Courtallam Siddheswari Peetham pontiff Sri Sri Siddheswarananda Bharathi gave a discourse, while TTD Chairman D.K. Audikesavulu, Joint Executive Officer N. Yuvaraj and Dharma Prachara Parishat Secretary R. Kavitha Prasad participated. ‘Raksha Kankanams', prasadam and religious books were distributed among the participants.

OM NAMO VENKATESAYA !

Milestone of India - Fifty Five - Day Amarnath yatra concludes. (Kashmir - India.)

SRINAGAR: The 55-day long annual pilgrimage to the Amarnath cave shrine concluded on Tuesday on Shravan Purnima.

Not a single untoward incident took place this year, despite the ongoing disturbances in Kashmir. Local residents made sure no pilgrims were harmed.

The mace of Lord Shiva arrived at the 3,880 metre-high cave, after a night halt at Panjtarni.

Mahant Deependra Giri, accompanied by a large number of sadhus, carried the mace or ‘Charri Mubarak' and offered pooja at the shrine.

Governor N.N. Vohra, who is also the chairman of the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB), was scheduled to visit the cave but could not, owing to heavy rain.

The Governor lauded the good coordination among the security forces, the civil and police administrations, the local population and the Shrine Board for the smooth conduct of the yatra.

Chief Executive Officer of SASB R.K. Goyal said that over 4.5 lakh yatris paid their obeisance at the shrine. The pilgrimage commenced on July 1 from the Baltal and Nunwan base camps simultaneously.

The registration process began on June 5 through 121 designated branches of the J&K Bank, located all over the country, as against 103 outlets last year.

Mr. Goyal said mobile phone connectivity for real time communication became available through BSNL for the first time, at the initiative of the Governor.

Besides, the board also installed digital satellite phones at Sheshnag, Panjtarni and the cave.

Tight security

Over 5000 CRPF, BSF and Army personnel deployed right from Jammu to the cave, along both the Baltal and Pahalgam routes, provided tight security for the pilgrims.

Milestone of India - PSU SBI Life tops Million Dollar Round Table.

CHENNAI: SBI Life Insurance has retained the top position of the prestigious Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT) 2010 across the globe. For the second consecutive year, SBI Life has reached the pinnacle of the international coveted league by increasing its MDRT members from 2,677 in 2009 to 2,904 in 2010. The MDRT membership is an exclusive honour that is achieved by less than one per cent of the world's life insurance and financial services advisors. — Corporate Reporter.

Milestone of India - PSU SAIL's new unit at Rourkela on stream.

NEW DELHI: As part of its Rs.70,000-crore expansion programme, Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) on Monday commissioned a unit procured from Italy-based Danieli at its Rourkela Steel Plant.

SAIL Chairman C. S. Verma inaugurated the second ladle furnace of steel melting shop-II of Rourkela Steel Plant, the company said in a statement.

“The ladle furnace is part of a Rs. 197.66-crore scheme for simultaneous blowing in basic oxygen furnace (BOF) convertors of steel melting shop-II.

“Total investment envisaged for different facilities as a part of the modernisation and expansion is Rs.11,812 crore,” it said.

SAIL is undertaking an estimated Rs.70,000-crore capacity augmentation at all of its steel plants. The country's largest steel producer has targeted to install an annual production capacity of about 23 million tonnes against the present 14 million tonnes.

The Rourkela plant produces about two million tonnes of steel and is targeting to double its annual capacity in the next two years.

“The 150-tonne ladle furnace, procured from Danieli India, is meant for secondary refining of steel for finer chemistry control and maintenance of ideal temperature for continuous casting,” it added.

The company said that the new furnace would increase the capacity of the unit from 1.68 million tonnes to 1.85 million tonnes of liquid steel annually. “...thereby increasing production of slabs by 0.17 million tonnes per annum,” it added. — PTI

Milestone of India - Exporters, industry welcome new trade policy initiatives.

NEW DELHI: Exporters, industry and business chambers on Monday hailed the new initiatives and sops worth Rs. 1052 crore announced in the annual supplement of the Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) stating that these steps would help India achieve the export target of $200 billion this fiscal.

In order to give immediate relief, a bonus incentive (over and above the present benefits) of 2 per cent has been announced by Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma to various sectors. The extra sops are 2 per cent of the export value.

“We are happy that the sectors which were not doing well have been considered. Extension of the Duty Entitlement Pass Book (DEPB) Scheme and interest subvention are welcome steps,” Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) President A. Sakthivel said.

He said the focus of the changes has been on continuity of the existing schemes, support to labour-intensive sectors such as leather, handicrafts, handlooms, tea, certain engineering products, textiles, silk carpets, marine, toys and sports goods, and reduction of transaction cost and time by simplifying procedures and streamlining decision-making.

Extension of DEPB for six months and zero duty EPCG & SHIS for one year and their extension to additional sectors such as rubber, chemicals, sports goods, marine and toys will benefit these sectors, he added.

Mr. Shakthival agreed with the views of the Commerce Minister that global recovery was still fragile and uncertain and therefore Government should constantly review the situation with a view to fine tuning its policies to address the emerging concerns.

Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) President Rajan Bharti Mittal said: “I hope with all these incentives we should be able to achieve the target of $200 billion of exports. However, given the uneven recovery in the world economy, export performance needs to be closely monitored.”

Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Director General Chandrajeet Banerjee said special focus to the labour-intensive sectors was most welcome.

The focus on reducing transaction is critical and therefore a laudable step.

AEPC seeks more benefits

The Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) has welcomed the extra sops for the labour intensive sectors. Describing the new package as “enriching” the policy, the AEPC said the package could, however, be made better if the additional benefit of two per cent bonus as a higher support for market and product diversification was extended to the ready garment industry too, besides silk carpets, toy and sports goods, leather products and engineering items.

The council also wanted the market focus product scheme extended to the U.S. market too .
Further, the council wanted the one per cent scrip available to status holder exporters.

The Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts also hailed the new package to promote exports and said, “the incentives offered will provide fillip to the exports of handicrafts and will surely result in double digit growth in 2010-11.”

Milestone of India - PSU Dena Bank to increase pan-India presence.

CHENNAI: Dena Bank is planning to increase its pan-India presence in 2010-11 as part of its expansion drive, according to Chairman and Managing Director D. L. Rawal.

Mr. Rawal was in Chennai on Monday in connection with the inauguration of a branch of the bank at Tambaram, near here.

Addressing presspersons Mr. Rawal said the bank had planned to open more than 100 branches during 2010-11, including 30 in unbanked areas and seven in minority concentrated districts. The branch network had reached to 1,248 with the opening of the Tambaram branch. He said the bank had licences for opening 56 branches. Besides, it would seek licences for 44 more branches from the Reserve Bank of India. Mr. Rawal said all the branches were covered under the core banking system.

Business mix

On the bank's performance, the CMD said it had a total business mix of Rs.91,195 crore as on June 30, 2010, against Rs.71,044 crore in the corresponding period in the previous year, a growth of 28.4 per cent. In the three months ended June 30, 2010, the bank posted a 21 per cent rise in its net profit to Rs. 138.79 crore from Rs. 115.02 crore. The bank announced three new deposit schemes which would be available for customers from Tuesday.

The principle amount under Dena Double scheme get doubled in 9 years with an effective interest rate of 7.78 per cent per annum for general public and 8.28 per cent for senior citizens. Deposits under Dena 551 would earn 7.25 per cent (7.75 per cent for senior citizens) for a period of 551 days. Deposits under Dena 1001 would earn 7.50 per cent (8 per cent for senior citizens) for a period of 1001 days.

Mr. Rawal said the bank was targeting to mobilise Rs. 1,500 crore under Dena Double and Rs. 3,000 crore under two other schemes during the scheme period, that is, from August 25 to September 26.

Milestone of India - Arjun Atwal creates history.

GREENSBORO (North Carolina): Arjun Atwal became the first Indian and just the sixth Asian-born player to win on the PGA Tour when he secured a one-stroke victory at the Wyndham Championship on Sunday.

Atwal joined Japanese trio Isao Aoki, Shigeki Maruyama and Ryuji Imada and South Koreans K.J. Choi and Y.E. Yang in an elite but growing club of champions from world's most populous continent.

The 37-year-old Atwal finished at 20-under-par 260 to beat American David Toms (64) by one stroke.

Satisfying Tiger's wish

In fact his friend, Tiger Woods, had sent a text message on Saturday night suggesting he try to finish on 21-under.

“It feels great. I have no words. I grinded it,” Atwal said.

Atwal also became the first Monday qualifier to win the ensuing tournament in 24 years, following Fred Wadsworth at the 1986 Southern Open.

Atwal has enjoyed victories on the European, Asian and Nationwide tours but not until now on the PGA Tour.

He entered Sunday's round with a three-shot lead and needed a par on the closing hole to seal the deal.

Taking no chances

Atwal wasn't taking any chances on No. 18. He blasted his approach into the spectators' tent, choosing to take a drop in the rough rather than try to place his ball on the green.

He chipped it onto the green then one-putted for the win.

“I was so nervous over that putt,” Atwal said. “I am just glad it went in.”

Rich reward

Atwal, who earned $918,000 for the victory, led or shared the lead after each of the first three rounds.

“I told my caddie, ‘We've got nothing to lose this week. Just go out there and try and win it,'” Atwal said. “Guys are going to be out there trying to secure their FedEx Cup spots or whatever. We've got nothing.

“I don't have a card. I don't have anything. Just go out there and free-wheel it, and that's what I did this week.

"I'm pretty sure it's going to be huge back home," he said. "My in-laws called my wife and said the coverage was just unreal with me leading.

"I know there were a lot of people in India and Dubai that watched me play. I've had a lot of messages."

Toms was on 19-under 201 while John Mallinger and Michael Sim both shot 62s and were joined by John Rollins (65) and Justin Leonard (65) at 202.

Bouncing back

Atwal lost his tour card in July because he was unable to win enough money to retain his medical exemption beyond eight events this season, forcing him into Monday qualifying sessions. Atwal missed much of last year with injuries.

Atwal said his goal this week was to get one step closer to regaining his PGA Tour card for next season. The victory gave him a two-year berth on the PGA Tour. — Agencies

Milestone of India - Incentives to critical Export Sectors.

NEW DELHI: Responding to the concerns of exporters and the sudden decline in exports last month, the UPA government on Monday announced sops worth Rs.1,052 crore to the labour-intensive textile, handicrafts and leather sectors to help them cruise through the fragile global economic recovery phase.

“We are not yet out of the woods. We are confident of achieving the $200-billion export target for 2010-11,” Union Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma said unveiling the annual supplement to the Foreign Trade Policy here.

He also announced the extension of schemes such as the Duty Entitlement Pass Book (DEPB) scheme, under which taxes were reimbursed to exporters; interest subsidised; and incentives given for import of capital goods.

Mr. Sharma said the incentives would have revenue implication of Rs.1,052 crore. However, he made it clear that the DEPB scheme was being extended till June 30, 2011 for the last time, “recognising the fragile recovery and the prevailing uncertainties in the global markets.”

A number of products from sectors such as engineering, leather, textiles and jute have been added to the two per cent interest subvention scheme. Handloom, handicrafts, carpet and the SMEs (small and medium enterprises) have been getting this facility, which will now be available till March 31, 2011.

Exports had touched $178.6 billion during the last fiscal amid global economic crisis.

“We can now look back with a sense of satisfaction and claim with humility that the immediate objectives of the policy were realised. The decline in exports has been arrested. However, we must take note that the global recovery so far has been fragile and the economies around the world are still emerging out of the shadows of a grim recessionary period,” Mr. Sharma said.

After declining for 13 months in a row since October 2008, exports have shown positive growth from November 2009.

Milestone of India - Onam symbolises the triumph of good. (Kerala - India.)

Thiruvananthapuram: The curtains went up on the government-sponsored Onam Week celebrations at a glittering function here on Sunday evening with Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan inaugurating the festivities.

Addressing the function at the Chandrasekharan Nair stadium, Mr. Achuthanandan said the Onam festival represented the triumph of good over evil forces. “It also signifies the quest for a world of prosperity, equality and hope, and a world free of exploitation.”

Actor Kamal Hassan was felicitated on completing 50 years in the profession. The Chief Minister said Mr. Hassan had played a sterling role in raising Indian cinema to international standards.

Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan presided over the function.

A special programme titled ‘Swarna Kamalam' was staged to honour Mr. Hassan. The programme organised in association with Kairali TV featured a ballet led by danseuse Nina Prasad, a symphony showcasing the reel life of Mr. Hassan by music director Balabhaskar, a special show featuring actors Jayaram, Kottayam Naseer and Reema Kallingal and a dance-music ensemble led by dancers Dhananjayan and Shanta Dhananjayan, Mattannur Shankarankuty and Karunamoorthy, singers Anuradha Sreeram, Karthik and Madhu Balakrishnan.

The five-part programme delineating Mr. Hassan as an actor, singer, dancer, poet and writer was directed by T.K. Rajeev Kumar.

Ministers C. Divakaran, M.A. Baby and V. Surendran Pillai, V. Sivankutty, MLA, Mayor C. Jayan Babu, district panchayat president Anavoor Nagappan, J.C. Daniel award winner K.S. Sethumadhavan, Tourism Secretary V. Venu and Director M. Sivasankar were present.

By nightfall, the capital city turned into a riot of colours as buildings and trees along both sides of the main thoroughfare were illuminated. Citizens turned out in hundreds to view the spectacle. Policemen were deployed in strength at all the venues to maintain law and order and ensure smooth flow of traffic.

Markets and commercial areas in the city witnessed a heavy rush of shoppers on Thiruvonam eve.

Milestone of India - Onam in Full Bloom.

KARUR: Students of Pon Vidya Mandir celebrated Onam festival by arranging an attractive Pookkalam to welcome King Mahabali on the school premises at Manmangalam in Karur district recently.

The students displayed character and imagination in arranging the Pookkalam and organizing the Onam celebrations heralding multiculturalism and social harmony.

The school principal, Chitra Sundarraman said that the institution laid emphasis on social and communal harmony and wanted to imbue these values among the students at an impressionable age and that was being reflected in the Onam celebrations. The value system instilled in students would last a long time, she added. Learning to respect each other and to treat others as good as one' own self were paramount to holistic education concept which the school tried to impart, Mrs. Chitra Sundarraman observed.

THE ONAM FESTIVAL CELEBRATED IN KERALA

AND ALSO THOSE PLACES WHERE KERALITES

LIVING THROUGHOUT THE WORLD.

Milestone of India - Toppers Honoured. (Tamilnadu - India.)

COIMBATORE: The City Club recently organised a function to facilitate students of Corporation schools who had bagged the first three ranks in the S.S.L.C. examinations.

The teachers of Corporation Higher Secondary School, Rathinapuri, were also honoured for helping the school achieve 90.91 pass percentage.

G. Soundararajan, Vice-Chairman, C.R.I. Pumps, Coimbatore, who was the chief guest, said the standard of Corporation schools was improving and sought the support of the residents of the city to improve the schools' infrastructure. S. Somasundari, Corporation Education Officer, felicitated the students and teachers. As part of the function, a rolling shield was presented to Corporation Higher Secondary School, Rathinapuri.

Milestone of India - Piety marks annual ‘Pavithrotsavams' at TTD.

TIRUMALA: Piety marked the three-day annual ‘Pavithrotsavams' of Lord Venkateswara that began at the hill temple on Friday.

As part of the festival, which is also termed as ‘Sarva Dosha Nivarana' puja, ‘Snapana Thirumanjanam' was performed to the processional deities of Malayappa Swamy and his consorts at the Sampangi Prakaram inside the hill temple.

‘Pavithrotsavam', as the name suggests, is performed once in an year with the priests symbolically seeking pardon for all possible acts of omissions and commissions committed knowingly or unknowingly during the conduct of the daily rituals to the presiding deity. In connection with the festival the management has dispensed with the performance of certain day time rituals being performed inside the temple during the festival period.

OM NAMO VENKATESAYA !

Milestone of India - Special pujas mark Varalakshmi Vratam.

KHAMMAM: Varalakshmi Vratam, Ashtothara Satha Namarchana and other special pujas and rituals were organised in the town on the auspicious occasion of Sravana Sukravaram on Friday and also some parts of India.

Women and girls clad in the traditional attire thronged the temples all over the town and performed special pujas seeking the blessings of Goddess Sri Lakshmi Devi, considered to be the harbinger of wealth.

The member of Vasavi Vanitha Club offered special pujas at Sri Vasavi Kanyaka Parameshwari temple in the town. Ashtothara Satha Namarchana and other special rituals marked the occasion.

The devotees participated in Sahasra Kalasabhishekam and other holy rituals held at Sri Venkateshwara Swamy temple at Kamanbazar.

The devotees worshipped Goddess Sri Lakshmi at various other temples including the famous Sri Seetharamachandra Swamy temple in Bhadrachalam, Sthambadri Narasimha Swamy temple in Khammam in the district.

MAY THE BLESSINGS OF GODDESS SRI LAKSHMI AND MAHA VISHNU

ENTERS EACH AND EVERYONE IN THIS WORLD.

Milestone of India - Saina to be Andhra Pradesh Brand Ambassador.

HYDERABAD: Saina Nehwal will be the brand ambassador for Andhra Pradesh tourism henceforth, according to Jayesh Ranjan, Secretary to A.P. government (Tourism).

Mr. Ranjan said there was no specific time span for the draft agreement between the government and the champion shuttler which is to be finalised very soon. “The agreement effectively means that Saina will promote tourism whenever it is possible. She will be given all the material including CDs as part of the efforts to put Andhra Pradesh on the world map,” he added.

“We expect Saina to speak about the richness of A.P. Tourism, if possible arrange a meeting of all the tour operators whenever the champion is available in the State to highlight the historic places of the State,” Mr. Ranjan explained.

“It is made explicitly clear that Saina can don the role of A.P.'s brand ambassador without we disrupting either her training or tournament schedule,” the Tourism Secretary said.

Milestone of India - Eye care centre at TTD hospital soon.

TIRUPATI: Sri Srinivasa Sankara Nethralaya Trust (SSSN), floated by the Tirumala Tirupati Devsthanam (TTD) has signed a Memorandum of Agreement with Medical Research Foundation (MRF), Chennai, for setting up an Eye Care Center at the TTD's Central Hospital, Tirupati and provide ophthalmological services through Sankara Nethralaya (SN).

The outpatient (OPD) facility inaugurated in the SSSN in September last by Chief Minister K.Rosaiah is said to have examined so for more than 4,800 patients.

As part of the pact between SSSN and MRF, the services have now been expanded to provide further OPD diagnostic procedures, cataract surgical procedures and optical services. Plans are underway to conduct rural outreach programme in and around Tirupati and ferry rural indigent patients for quality ophthalmic surgical care (Cataract) at the base hospital in Tirupati. In addition, the center will provide specialised treatment for Diabetic Retinopathy by Lased Coagulation, a note released by the TTD said.

Meanwhile, an operation theatre and inpatient services unit were formally inaugurated at SSSN by TTD's Executive Officer I.Y.R. Krishna Rao on Thursday. The theatre, it was claimed, would enable the centre to perform around 20 cataract surgeries daily.

Dr. S.S. Badrinath and Dr. Prabhakar of SSSN were present.

Milestone of India - NRI sings his way into Guinness Book. (Andhrapradesh - India.)

HYDERABAD: Singing away into the annals of Guinness Book of World Records is no new feat. People have sung hours and days for a place in the prestigious tome. However, a Non Resident Indian has done it differently this time by entering the book not with the number of hours but the variety of languages!

Sai “Psychuk” Mannapragada earned this fame by singing the patriotic song ‘Maa Tujhe Salaam' in a mind-boggling 265 languages. What's more, in an innovative gesture, he attempted to share the record with over 3,000 listeners!

It took one year of research of the world languages for him to compose the lyrics which he crooned at an event called Symposium of Business, Music and Art.

The event was held jointly by the Psymphony Inc. and his sponsor Manjeera Constructions Group at the Mayfair Community Centre in San Jose, California on May 16 this year, a press note said. The rendition had been reportedly heard by many local community leaders, city and state officials, and local Bay Area music and dance patrons.

After the singing, it took a drill of three months for the adjudicators of the Guinness World Records Limited to examine the evidence, and make sure he sang only in existing languages! After that, Mr.Mannapragada was duly presented with the certificate, by the Grand-Marshal of the Federation of Indian Associations' Independence Day Parade and Bollywood actor Aftab Shivadasani and Chairman and Convenor of for FIA Festival of India celebrations Romesh Japra on August 15.

In a unique gesture, Mr. Mannapragada not only broke his own record at the certification event by singing the same lyric in 300 languages, but also made everyone from the 3000-plus audience sing along with him, thereby giving each one of them an opportunity to claim a record of their own, the press note said. He said it was wonderful to share the record with the entire community.

Based in San Francisco, Mr.Mannapragada is the Chief Technology Officer of Picogen Inc., the CEO of Psymphony Inc. and the chairman of a non-profit organisation Folklore Arts Research and Music Institute.

Milestone of India - State Owned OVL records highest Production from Foreign Assets.

NEW DELHI: The overseas arm of state-run ONGC Ltd has reported its highest-ever production of over 8 million tonnes from its foreign hydrocarbon assets last year, parliament was informed on Thursday.

"The consolidated production of ONGC Videsh Ltd. (OVL) of Oil plus Oil-Equivalent Gas (O+OEG) during the year 2009-10 was 8.870 million tonnes, recording highest ever oil and gas production from its overseas assets," Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Jitin Prasada said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha.

The minister said that OVL has a presence in 15 countries, out of which nine projects in seven countries have oil and gas production.

The largest investment by OVL was of $3.8 billion in Sakhalin-1 project in Russia, followed by the acquisition of London-listed Imperial Energy and shares in Sudan oil blocks.

Milestone of India - When Raj Bhavan flies the Tricolour and celebrates a Catholic Feast. (Goa - India.)

Not many states in the country mark Independence Day the way Goa does. Reason: August 15 is also the feast of the Assumption, the day Catholics commemorate the assumption of Mary, the mother of Jesus, into heaven body and soul.

As early morning mass timings clash with flag hoisting, Catholics try and combine the two. This happens also at the Raj where the feast is celebrated with mass at chapel in the estate.

It is the day the Raj Bhavan comes alive as hundreds of people pour in through the gates to attend mass in the almost 500-year-old chapel and many others line the road in the estate selling candles and flowers, as gun-totting policemen keep a watchful eye on all.

The chapel sits in the corner of the Raj Bhavan estate, and attentively listening to the homily during the mass is Joel D'Silava, 34. "I like the idea behind this grand feast, the crux of it is liberation of two kinds'”India's and Mother Mary's," says D'Silava.

Taleigao parish priest Fr Aquileo Gomes speaking to TOI also makes an important connection between India's Independence and Mother Mary. He said freedom does not mean we have the right to do everything but it's about what we should do. "We ought to be politically free and free from sin," Gomes says. "People come here all the way from Salcete, the prayers are meant for the country and Mother Mary," he adds.

People flock in from different parts of Goa to the Raj Bhavan on this day and it's not just for the feast. Sharmila hastily walks through the crowd, tightly holding her 7-year-old son hand. "I have been coming here every year for the last eight years, the chapel opens to a beautiful view, it feels perfect." A resident from Velsao, some 25km away from the Raj Bhavan, Kankonkar says the bus journey is the most tiresome part of the day.

Students stroll in after the flag hoisting ceremony in their schools. "it's fun, we get pocket money to come here and buy whatever we want, sweets, jewellery, bags. More than anything else we feel free on this day," says one of the kids from among a group of children from the neighbouring Our Lady of the Rosary High School.

Shalifa Periera, 14, has been coming with her family from as long as she remembers, "My dada says it opens only on this day every year and that our prayers will be heard."

Historian Percival clears the misconception that the chapel is open for just one day of the year. "

There was a governor some two decades ago that kept the Raj Bhavan chapel open only once a year on August 15. Now the chapel is open to the public on other days as well."

Not many turn up on other days, and many who celebrated the feast on Sunday, will only return next year on August 15 for another celebration.

Milestone of India - Pakistani saves life of Mumbai Businessman caught in Nigerian Fraud.

MUMBAI: A city-based businessman lost Rs 7 lakh to a Nigerian fraud in an African nation, where he was called for a business deal but came away unscathed with the help of a Pakistani national.

The latter guided him to an Indian community office and the local police who saved his life. Several other traders had been murdered by the same Nigerian gang, local cops told P Chandra Sekaran. Sekaran has now penned a script to make a documentary on the Nigerian scam.

Sekaran started an export business in 2007. He got an email from an organization, Shepherd Aid Network, purportedly working for the war-affected people of Benin, a country neighbouring Nigeria.

Sekaran went to Berlin at the invitation of the organisation's director, John Ndaba, to complete legal formalities for the business. Sekaran was received at the airport by a Nigerian representative.

The following day, he was taken to a seven-storeyed building where the organization had an office. Sekaran was asked to deposit Rs 7 lakh with the finance department of the company. Ndaba promised to take him on a tour of their rehabilitation centre. But his calls to Ndaba, the next two days, went unanswered.

The third day, he managed to reach the organization's office alone but was turned away. He then started to inquire about the organisation but locals understood only French.

His four hours of effort ended when a man introduced himself as a Pakistani. Abdulla guided Sekaran to the community office in Beni, where he narrated his story to community officer Manglani Gobind who contacted the police. Sekaran then received a call from Ndaba, asking him to take back his money.

Gobind and Sekaran along with a team of policemen raided the organisation's office. The police then provided armed protection to Sekaran for three days till he flew back to India.

"I am lucky I survived. I approached the president and senior ministers to make a documentary on my script,'' said Sekaran.