Annavaram Online

Like TTD & Kanaka Durga Temples, the Satya Narayana Temple of Annavaram went online recently.

Annavaram temple officials launched its webpage http://www.annavaramdevasthanam.com/ where all the temple information is available

The temple authorities plans to keep the videos of all the rituals online. Soon, devotees can reserve tickets online for various Sevas & Poojas at the Satya Deva temple.

For more details, visit the temple website at: http://annavaramdevasthanam.nic.in/

Primetime Discussions on Indian TV

Prime time discussions on news channels have been pathetic these days

Just now I watched this TV9 discussion on Section 498 A of Indian Penal Code. I am appalled by the quality of the discussion and the channel’s attempt to make nuisance into its prime time program

As we know, Section 498A of IPC is the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act. Under this law, the accused will be booked under a non bailable warrant. Further, the husband, his sister and his mother can be put behind bars. The passport and other travel documents of the accused will be confiscated.

Off late, there were many allegations of misuse of this law. There were out of court settlements – involving huge sums of money in some cases. Some of those traumatized husbands formed the “Bharya Bhaditula Sangham” & ‘save family harmony’ at Vizag

Under this context, the TV9 discussion started off with the woman’s council representative Sandhya hijacking the topic with motherhood statements. She named the save family harmony members and other harassed people as shameless, as they are not sympathizers of the every day troubles of women in India. She went on to refer to acid attacks and atrocities on woman and references to Gandhi & freedom and what not.

Guess what, after this traumatized discussion, the “Bharya Bhaditula Sangham” representative Mr Sanjay will change the title of his organization to “Sthree Bhaditula Sangham”

On the other day, TV9 telecasted a discussion on using public funds to sponsor the Huz & Jerusalem trips for minorities in Andhra Pradesh. A right wing Hindu supporter was questioning on why the government is not offering similar packages to Hindus. The discussion was pathetically hijacked by the participants & host where the Minority representative claims that “all dalits” are minority and accuses the right wing participant of “anti dalit”.

And the TV9 took no interest in bringing the discussion onto the tracks. Now, I never knew that all the dalits are non Hindus.

Watch Solar Eclipse Live

India will witness an annular solar eclipse on 15-Jan-2010.

The annularity of the eclipse starts in Africa and travels across the Indian Ocean, Maldieves, and most part of Southern India & Northern Srilanka.

The eclipse is best viewed from Dhanushkodi/Rameswaram in Tamilnadu

Here are links to NASA’s pages on the eclipse:

NASA’s page on 15th Jan 2010 eclipse
http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEmono/ASE2010/ASE2010.html

Interactive Map on the Eclipse path, with timings
http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEgoogle/SEgoogle2001/SE2010Jan15Agoogle2.html

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Astro Enthusiasts in India are eagerly waiting for the Total Solar Eclipse that will occur on 22nd July 2009. This solar eclipse will start at 06:23 Hrs in the morning and ends at 07:30 Hrs. The total eclipse will occur at 6:26 and will last for 4 minutes.

Astronomers world over are gearing up to watch this celestial event, the black Sun over China on 22nd July 2009

This will be the last such total solar eclipse for all of us, as the next total solar eclipse will happen in the year 2114. So, all of us, the Amateur Astronomers, are praying for the rain gods to keep the sky clear for this last chance of viewing the Celestial Diamond Ring.

The National Astronomical Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences will broadcast from several locations along the path (from Wuhan to Shanghai) of eclipse.
Click here for details: http://eclipse.astronomy2009.org.cn/english/

To watch this solar eclipse online, visit the following pages
http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEmono/TSE2009/TSE2009.html
http://www.eclipse-tv.com/index_en.html

Griffith Observatory will run a webcast of the Solar Eclipse. Click here for details: http://www.griffithobservatory.org/exhibits/special/solar_eclipse.html

Territorial Army

Recently, Malayalam superstar Mohan Lal joined the Indian Territorial Army. With this, he stands along with other celebrities like Nana Patekar and Kapil Dev who joined Indian TA in the recent past

The Territorial Army is a voluntary, part-time citizen’s Army. It is created to supplement and augment the resources of the regular Army during war-time.

Citizens who join the Territorial Army get a short period of rigorous training, which makes them reasonably competent soldiers. Subsequently, they join their units for two months every year for refresher training, to keep in touch with the art of soldiering.

The Indian Territorial Army is not a profession. It is an organization of volunteers, who are gainfully employed or self-employed. However, certain State Governments and Departments give incentives to their employees to encourage them to join the TA

More information on the TA, visit Indian Army's website at: http://indianarmy.nic.in/ta/index_ta.htm

To join Indian Territorial Army as an Officer, click here: http://indianarmy.nic.in/ta/territorial_join.html

Disclaimer

http://indyhandy.blogspot.com/

The content of this site is for general information purposes only and does not constitute advice. All the content of this site is presented to the best of the author’s knowledge as of the date of writing. The site owner does not claim any assurance or warranty regarding the accuracy, timeliness, or applicability of any of the content.

Links to external sites, or third party web sites, are provided only for the readers’ convenience in the context of the content. Readers are advised to follow the links to other sites at their own risk. This site owner accepts no liability for any linked sites or their content.

TRP Scheme – Help in Filing Income Tax Returns

~ For TRPS Jobs, Read the last paragraph of this article ~

This is again the taxing time of the year. As I wrote earlier, there are many sites which help you file income tax returns.

Recently I came across a new initiative of Income Tax Department, which enhance the convenience of Tax Payers. It is called the Tax Return Preparer Scheme (TRPS). Under this scheme, Tax Payers can seek help from well trained Tax Return Preparer at a nominal fee.

Indian Income Tax Department in collaboration with NIIT and Taxmann started this initiative. Under this TRPS, Income Tax department trains unemployed and partially employed persons to assist small and medium taxpayers in preparing their returns of income has now entered its Second Phase. Currently, the service is planned to be extended to TDS returns and Service Tax returns

The Income Tax department claims that these well trained people will help tax payers at their preferred location, at a nominal fee.

So, if you want to use this service, here is how to locate your nearest Tax Return Preparer:
Dial All India Toll Free Number: 1-800-10-23738
Or visit the list of TRPs at http://www.trpscheme.com/trp/search.jsp


And, TRP is a good opportunity for unemployed people.
TRPs will receive 3% of the tax paid on the returns prepared & filed for every new assessee in the 1st year (subject to a maximum of Rs. 1000/-), 2% in the second year and 1% in the third year and Rs. 250 for the returns prepared & filed for the old assessees.

So, if you want to become a TRP, pl. visit this page for details:
http://www.trpscheme.com/trp/about_in.jsp
http://www.trpscheme.com/trp/ProcedureTRP.jsp

Kolkata Bandh

For latest news on this, watch star ananda at: http://www.starananda.in/

Congress Party Workers across Kolkata took to streets in protest against the Wednesday's attack on their legislators.

Congress leader Manas Bhuniya alleged that, CPM supporters chased nine Congress legislators across slushy paddy fields for 3km and stoned some of them in Burdwan on Wednesday. The Congress MLAs suffered injuries in the attack.

While Left Front 'strongly condemned' the alleged attack, Trinamool's Mamata Banerjee has called for central intervention.

In retaliation to the attack on its leaders, congress workers disrupted the normal life in Kolkata today. They torched buses and halted rail & road traffic. Congress party workers torched a bus on Howrah Bridge. Road transport and railway services were badly hit. Agitators called for a 12 hour bangla bandh on Friday.

Mumbai Rains – Weather Forecast

Its been raining incessantly for the past 24 hours in Mumbai. Heavy showers on Monday evening has resulted in traffic jams across many junctions. Showers coupled with gusty winds has worsened the traffic in the city

While Mumbai is witnessing a delayed monsoon and a little less rain this year, the last few hours rain seems to have compensated for the delay. The Mithi river has reached the danger mark and a flood alert has been issued.

Local train traffic has been affected by the continuous down pour and water logging on the tracks on Tuesday. Trains are running late and there will be delays.

The local weather office forecasted heavy to very heavy rains with strong winds to continue for 2 days. Mumbaikars are advised to be cautious for the next two weeks, in light of the tide of the century expected on 24-Jul-09

CellOne Fancy Numbers Auction

Note: This information is for the auction to be held between 20-Aug-2010 and runs till 31-Aug-10. For latest info, visit bsnl site.

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) Andhra Pradesh Circle (http://www.ap.bsnl.co.in/)is auctioning fancy numbers. Through this auction, BSNL plans to offer one lakh CellOne (post paid, pre paid) fancy (VIP) numbers.

The BSNL fancy number auction for AP circle will start on 20-Aug-2010 and runs till 31-Aug-2010. During these ten days, interested customers can search for their preferred numbers and buy the same in the auction online at http://www.ap.bsnl.co.in/auction/9throundauction.asp

The webpage has a list of Available Fancy Numbers & the Bidding Procedure

Kanaka Durga Temple Online at durgamma.com

Vijayawada’s famed Durga Temple goes online with the launch of http://www.durgamma.com/ website. The site provides all the details required for the devotees.

Vijayawada’s Durga temple, also known as Sri Durga MalleswaraSwamy temple, is situated on the top of mountain Indrakeeladri. There are many legends attributed to this place, dating back to the era of Maha Bharat. It is said that, Arjuna prayed for Lord Shiva on this mountain and got the “Pasupata” asthra (The weapon of Pasupati). Vijayawada thus got its name from Arjun (Vijay)

Also, legend has it that the ruler of this place was so great, that the goddess Durga got impressed and showered gold in his kingdom. Thus the goddess is worshiped as Kanaka Durga (Kanaka = Gold).

During Navratri days, the temple will be at its best as special rituals are performed. Sarannavaratri (The Navarathri of Sharad Ritu, also known as Dasara) celebrations are attended by millions of devotees every year. For details on the Dasara events and special rituals, visit the website http://www.durgamma.com/

BSNL Live Tutor to deliver lessons online

India’s state owned telecom service provider, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL, http://bsnl.co.in/) introduced online education services. The program named, BSNL Live Tutor, gives the option of taking academic help for Primary, Secondary and Higher Secondary Education. Live Tutor also provides Yoga Lessons & Cookery Lessons.

BSNL Live Tutor was developed by BSNL & Smart Links. Live Tutor delivers lessons online, to users who can sit at their home and take the classes. What is more interesting is, users can select a tutor of their liking for the classes.

To avail the service, users have to register with Live Tutor at http://bsnl.livetutor.in/

This is how the BSNL Live tutor works:

i. Student dials a tutor or tutor dials the student on his/her video phone at the scheduled time

ii. The teacher and the student see each other and start interacting on the specified subject

iii. The teacher explains the lesson and the student listens

iv. The student highlights his/her problem areas.

v. At the end of the session, the teacher sums up Session Notes to help the student reinforce the learning and also to serve as a quick revision tool

vi. The whole session is recorded and can be played back by students who has Internet access


Here is what all does the user need to have at his end:

a. Unlimited BSNL Broadband connection

b. Video Phone / Smart Phone / PC with video stream capability

c. A headset and microphone if you want to avoid holding the handset

d. Sign Up for livetutor service

e. Student can procure his/her phone devices with sip protocol and H264 codec from market also

For more details on the program and the prices offered, visit Live Tutor’s website at http://bsnl.livetutor.in/

Jobs - Clerks, Bank of India

Important Notice:
Recruitment of Clerks – Project 2009 - 1750 vacancies

Due to the non-availability of online application facility the applications will be accepted till 05-Jul-2009, with the following changes

Fees will be accepted at the Branches upto 02.07.2009 only.

The candidates, who have paid the fees, and could not apply online, can apply online upto 05.07.2009.

For those candidates, who are unable to apply online, a printed application is made available upto 05.07.2009. They can fill and submit the same in physical format to any branch of Bank of India on or before 06.07.2009 during office hours.


-------------------------------------

Bank of India announced Clerical Recruitment Project 2009. The last date for applying to these posts has been extended to 02-Jul-2009 as the Online application site had some technical issues and many candidates could not access it.

Total Posts
1750 posts in various states of India

Eligibility:
Age (as on 30/4/08) : 18-28 years

Pay Scale : Rs. 4410 -13210/-

How to Apply:
Apply Online at IBPS website: http://app5.ibps.in/boiclerk09/

For more details:
http://career.bankofindia.com/ADVTClericalnew08modified.doc

Last Date To Apply: 02-Jul-2009

For Jobs, Register Online With Employment Exchange

Quick Link for online registration with Employment Exchanges in India
http://employmentservice.nic.in/
http://india.gov.in/citizen/employment_exchanges.php

Indian Government has made Employment Exchanges Act, 1959 (Compulsory Notification of Vacancies) to help unemployed youth to secure jobs in their neighborhood. There are about a 1000 Employment Exchanges across the country. Day to day administration of the Employment Exchanges is with the State/UT Governments.

These Employment Exchanges set up National Employment Service. Through this, citizens can register their names in the Employment Exchange.

Till recently, the registration was done at the Employment Exchange. Now, there is a web interface available to register online with the Employment Exchanges.

Here is the link for online registration with Employment Exchanges in India
http://employmentservice.nic.in/

For Registration of a candidate’s name for Employment Assistance, kindly click on 'New Job Seeker' link (http://employmentservice.nic.in/logpass.do?tnflag=false&entry=jobseeker&fa=f)

It will take us to a page where Candidate has to select the State , District and Exchange of Place of Residence to get registered in that exchange

So, good luck with your job search!

State Bank of India Jobs - MMGS II Special Officers

State Bank of India announces Recruitment of Management Executives in MMGS – II. SBI is India’s largest public sector bank, with 11,655 domestic branches and operations in 32 countries.

The bank promises a job that offers exciting multi dimensional learning and challenging growth opportunities.

Number of Vacancies 500

Eligibility
For MMGS – II Management Executives Job:
Applicants should be aged below 30 years,

Should have
i) Post Graduate Degree / Diploma in Business Administration, Business Management, Finance, Marketing, International Business, Operations Management, Systems, HR or
ii) M.Com. or
iii) M.A. / M.Sc. in Economics or M.A. / M.Sc. in Statistics or
iv) C.A. / CWA / CFA / CS (Company Secretary)

With 55% in Graduate & Post Graduate Degrees and 60% in 10+2 exams

Salary Package
At present, initial monthly emoluments of Middle Management Grade Scale II Officers, including D.A., H.R.A. and C.C.A., are approximately Rs. 23,500/- at Metropolitan centres.

Compensation package includes benefits like Furnished Accommodation, Travel/Conveyance Allowances, Medical Reimbursements, Liberal Loan, Provident Fund, Gratuity etc.

The Cost to Bank for a MMGS-II officer is 6.85 Lakh

Selection Process
Selection will be based on a written test to be conducted on 13-Sep-2009

This test will consists of the following
i) Test of English
ii) Test of Data interpretation and analysis
iii) Test of reasoning
iv) Test of Financial Awareness & Marketing

Short listed candidates will be called for a Phase-2 Examination in Descriptive Test of English knowledge

Further shortlisted candidates will be called for a Group Discussion & Interview for final Selection.

How to Apply
Pay 250/- Application Fee and Apply Online at http://www.sbi.co.in/

Important Dates
10-Aug-09 Last Date to Apply

Rakhi Ka Swayamvar

Reality Shows on Indian TV will enter a new era today, with the launch of much discussed “Rakhi Ka Swayamvar” on NDTV Imagine channel.

The program is intended to select life partner for Rakhi Sawant, bollywood actress know for her Item songs.

The program will be telecasted at 9PM on weekdays.

Here is the list of 16 suitors who are competing for Rakhi’s hand

Ali Bana
Aman Talwar
Arther Pervez
Ashwin Chaudhuri


Atirek Sharma
Chittiz Jain
Deepak Raghav
Elesh Parujanwala


Kapil Mathur
Luv Khanna
Manas Katyal
Manmohan Tiwari


Pranav Damle
Raj Kripal Singh
Raman Handa
Rishi Dwivedi




More on this later..

Cheap Air Tickets with AirIndia & Indianairlines.in

India’s state owned airlines Air India (http://www.airindia.in) announces special fares to select domestic destinations, as part of its monsoon offers.

The airline is already operating Air India Express service, (http://www.airindiaexpress.in/) which operates low cost airlines to Gulf & Middle East Destinations.

As part of the monsoon offer, passengers can book their tickets on Air India’s domestic flight booking site of Indian Airlines at http://www.indianairlines.in

These specially priced fares will be available for sale with effect from 27-Jun to 03-Jul for the journey’s up to 15-Sep

Under this monsoon offer, a Mumbai to Delhi air ticket will come approximately at a price of Rs. 2,500/-. Similarly, Bombay-Kolkata ticket will be available at 2,300. Flight from Delhi to Chennai/Cochin/Gauhati/Goa would come at 2,800/- Further, in short sectors, the cheap tickets may be available at around Rs 2000/-

During this monsoon offer, the ongoing “Summer special prices” will not be offered. The Summer special prices will be revived after 03-Jul

APSRTC Online Ticket Reservation

Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC, http://www.apsrtc.in) started online ticket reservation service. Passengers can reserve their e-tickets online.

Till now, APSRTC tickets were sold at the bus stations or through agents. Now on, passengers can directly book their tickets on APSRTC website.

To book a ticket with APSRTC, just click here: http://www.apsrtconline.in/

First time e-ticket passengers have to create a user id on new user registration page at http://www.apsrtconline.in/

The e-ticket booking facility will be available from 06:00AM in the morning to 06:00PM in the evening.

Passengers can pay for the ticket using credit card or debit card.

At the time of boarding the bus, passengers have to show the printed e-ticket along with an identity proof.

I'd say, this is long pending from APSRTC. While it may have to cater to rural and sub-urban travel needs, it cannot ignore the thriving long distance transport business. I've seen many AP bound passengers in Bangalore, Pune, Bombay clamoring for a ticket, at the mercy of travel agents and private operators. In the recent past, redbus.in did ease the pain of getting a ticket. Some private operators like kesineni travels (kesinenitravels.com) have their own website. Finally, its a good step from APSRTC to roll out this online ticket booking system.

So, no more waiting in queues, Happy journey!

Nandan Nilekani Quits Infosys, to head UIDAI

Nandan Nilekani, the co-chairman of India’s blue chip software giant, Infosys Technologies, has resigned from the company. He will take up a new role of heading a project at the Union Government.

The Union Cabinet today approved the creation of the position of Chairperson, Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI). Prime Minister has India Dr. Manmohan Singh has invited Nandan Nilekani, currently Co-Chairman Infosys, to join the UIDAI as Chairpeson in the rank of Cabinet Minister.

Infosys Management has approved Nandan’s move. Infosys CEO and managing director S. Gopalakrishnan said that Nandan’s new role has national importance & that Nandan would like to take this up.

UIDAI is a part of Planning Commission of India. This program is aimed at creating unique identification cards to all citizens by 2011. It may start a voter identification card by building on current electoral roll data. It will work in coordination with the National Population Register of the home ministry through the Registrar General of the Census, in accordance with the Indian Citizenship Act

The UIDAI card will help citizens avail basic government services like driving licenses, passports and voters identity cards.

Lets wish success for the project & Nandan in this great effort.

PAN Card for Vehicle Registration

Update: Considering the difficulties of implementing the policy, the Andhra Pradesh government exempted two wheelers, three wheelers and Tractors from this rule.

======================================

Buying a new vehicle is going to be a complex affair from now on. The Andhra Pradesh Regional Transport Authority mandated that any new vehicle registration should accompany with the PAN card details of the citizens. So, before buying a new Car, Motor Cycle or any automobile; First Apply for a PAN card.

PAN (Permanent Account Number) is a national identification number for the Income Tax purpose in India. PAN cards are issued by the Income Tax Department of Government of India. In 2006, the Union Government has suggested the Regional Transport Authorities to capture the PAN numbers of the applicants, as part of the vehicle registration process. RTAs mandated that the vehicle C-Book should carry the PAN number of the owner.

Now, the Government made it mandatory to produce PAN card details for the purpose of registration. It is already in implementation at various RTO offices in the state of Andhra Pradesh.

While the new rule seems to be good to curb any malpractices in funding for the vehicles, it sure is a burden on people who work in the unorganized sector. As the rule is imposed for all registrations, the buyers of small two wheelers, mopeds; most of whom are students and small wage earners – are severely affected. It is rare that these people carry a PAN card.

Further, the RTAs are coming up with a new rule that makes it mandatory for the buyer to be present at the RTA office at the time of registration. Till now, the vehicle dealers or Agents used to carry out the registration of vehicles at the RTAs. As per the new rule, the owner should attend the registration process and sign in the Digital Pad.

Anti Ragging Help Line

Anti Ragging Help Line
Tel: 1-800-180-5522 or 155222
Email: helpline@antiragging.net

India gears up to the growing menace of ragging and teasing on campus. Of late, there are growing incidents of the victims ending their lives due to the harassment and teasing that they had to go through in many academic institutions across the country.

Finally, the government woke up and is now setting up a 24X7 help line to assist the victims of ragging at educational institutions across India. The ministry of Human Resources Development in the Union Government of India has set up this help line in collaboration with University Grants Commission (UGC) and Education Consultancy of India.

The help line promises to respond with swift action within 15 minutes of receiving any call from the ragging victims. Within 15 minutes of receiving a call, the help line will alert the police, college management and other law enforcement officials.

The complainant’s details will be kept confidential. The case details will be registered in a database and tracked to completion till the guilty are punished as per the law. Currently, any student who commits ragging, will be imposed a fine of 2.5 Lakhs and will be dismissed from the academic institution.

Students and their parents are requested to be aware of the law and the help line details and prevent this sadistic ritual of ragging at our educational institution.

Here are the Anti Ragging Help Line Details:

Tel: 1-800-180-5522 or 155222
Email: helpline@antiragging.net

Tide Of The Century to Hit Mumbai On 24 Jul

July last week seems to be a bad time for Mumbai.

Exactly four years ago, in 2005 July, Mumbai saw its worst ever floods. This year, it could be a re-enactment of the catastrophe. Local Weather office predicts High tides of more than 4.5 meters during the last week of July.

Mumbai will see the "Tide of the Century" on 24-Jul-09. The Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) has indicated the possibility of a high tide of 5.01m & 5.05m on 23rd and 24th July 2009 respectively.

Incidentally, this year, the South West Monsoon was delayed by more than a couple of weeks now. Normally, the monsoon hits Mumbai by first week of June. This time, Mumbai didnt see a rain drop till 20th of June.


Low lying areas of Mumbai are prone to flooding if it rains heavily. Sometimes they could experience flooding even with moderate rains

Civic authorities called for better preparedness and closer co-ordination among government bodies, corporate & general public to minimize the impact of the catastrophe. Mumbai May Face Flood Like Situation Similar To 2005

Here is a List Of Flood Prone Areas:
Bhandup
Ghatkopar
Milan Subway
Bharat Mata (Lalbaug)
Juhu
Nahur
Bimbisar Nagar (Goregaon)
Kalpana Theatre Junction (Kurla)
Narayan Nagar (Ghatkopar)
Bombay oxygen Nullah (Mulund)
Kranti Nagar (Kurla)
Usha Nagar (Bhandup-Nahur)
Chirag Nagar (Ghatkopar)
LBS Road (Andheri)
Veena Nagar (Mulund)
ESIS Colony (Mulund)
Lower Parel
Vikhroli
Gajarband (Kurla)
Malad subway

Mumbaites are advised to be aware of the potential flooding zones & avoid walking / travelling through any flooded routes.

More importantly, Rely on authentic information & don’t spread rumors!

IPL Second Season

IPL management teams started their warm-up sessions last week. The player auctions were an instant hit, with England’s Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff scoring big tons off the field. With the addition of Shilpa Shetty to the already crowded bandwagon of Bollywood Stars, the warm up sessions were hotter this year.

Interestingly, the Bangalore Royal Challengers are aggressive this season. They went on to bid for Kevin Pietersen and finally got him onboard.

In fact, the owner of Bangalore’s Royal Challengers, Liquor Baron Vijay Mallya was upset with his team’s performance last year. He openly accused his team manager Charu Sharma and Captain Rahul Dravid for misguiding him in bidding for the T20 kind of players. The Royal Challengers had a miserable series in the inaugural session of IPL 20-20. They had a team full of Test Players like Anil Kumble and Jacques Kallis. Indeed their Captain Rahul Dravid was dropped from the Indian Squad for one-days and T20s.

Vijay Mallya doesn’t accept defeat so easily. So, this time Bangalore Royal Challengers got Kevin Pietersen on board. They already lined up explosive opener Robin Uthappa (to be brought from Mumbai Indians). With these additions, Royal Challengers will definitely throw a challenge to the rest of the teams in the 2nd Season of IPL T20.

With these changes, Rahul Dravid may loose out on many things. Firstly, youngsters like Robin Uthappa who held the reins as a captain of Karnataka in Ranji Trophy, will compete for the captain’s role in the second season. With the addition of Kevin Pietersen, the race for captaincy heats up. Further, Rahul Dravid’s place in the team itself becomes doubtful, as he didn’t show any form that is required for T20 matches. Sources say that Rahul Dravid may not play in the second season of IPL, as he is expecting his baby and plans to accompany his wife.

Same is the story for his friend VVS Laxman, in the neighboring Hyderabad’s Deccan Chargers. The dismal performance of Deccan Chargers in the first season of IPL calls for a change at the helm. In fact Afridi, a team member Laxman, ridiculed Laxman’s captaincy in press. The team management may re-thing their choice for the captain this time and Adam Gilchrist may lead this time.

We will have to wait and see how the second season of IPL shapes up

Cricket: Srilanka’s Jayawardene Steps Down

Srilankan skipper Mahela Jayawardene stepped down as the captain of the national cricket team. The islander will step down after the two test match series against Pakistan.

Jayawardene is one of the finest player in contemporary cricket, with an average of 64 in Tests as a captain and an average of 34 in one dayers as the captain. He headed the island’s cricket team during its most tumultuous time as it had been through a series of political pressures in the recent times.

Jayawardene wanted a new skipper to lead the country’s preparations for next world cup scheduled for 2011.

With Jayawaedene’s decision, his deputy Kumara Sangakkara is all set to become the next captain of Srilanka cricket team.

Sangakkara is explosive opener and ranks among the best wicket keeper batsmen of all time. He along with Gilchrist and Dhoni are known for their big hits to the boundary line and watching them behind the wickets or in front of the wickets is a treat to the cricket fans

Commemorative Coins from Indian Mint

Update:

On the occasion of birth centenary of Shaheed Bhagat Singh and the Birth Anniversary of Louis Braille, Indian Government Mint is issuing commemorative coin sets

The coin set will have 2 coins of Rs 100 & Rs 5 (or 2). Price will be in the range of Rs 1100 to 1400.

Interested people can apply for these coins online at http://www.igmint.org/database/listcoin.asp

Last date to apply for these coins is 31-Oct-2009

============================================


Indian Government Mint is issuing commemorative coin sets on the occasion of Ter Centenary of Gur-Ta-Gaddi of Shri Guru Granth Sahib. Each Set of these commemorative coins contains two coins in denominations of Rs 100/- and Rs 10



These coins are available on payment of cash at Mumbai mint, on Monday to Saturday between 10AM to 12AM

Alternatively, the coins can be booked online at http://mumbaimint.org/ These coins will be available till 31-Mar-2009

ICC Centenary Hall of Fame

The International Cricket Council (ICC) is Celebrating its Centenary by honoring the past legends of the game. With the support of the Federation of International Cricketers Associations (FICA), ICC established the Cricket Hall of Fame last week.


The Hall of Fame has 55 cricketers of the game. India has three of its legends in this list. Yester years’ ace spinner Bishen Singh Bedi, Batting Maestro Little Master Sunil Gavaskar, Haryana Hurricane Kapil Dev are in this Hall of Fame.


As part of its centenary celebrations, ICC created a website http://www.catchthespirit.com/ This website carries all the details of the centenary celebrations. The website lists all the details of the 55 cricketers who are in the Hall of Fame.

For starters, see this page for the complete list of ICC Cricket Hall of Fame:
http://www.catchthespirit.com/hall_of_fame/hall_of_famers.aspx

Satyam MD Ramalinga Raju Arrested

The disgraced promoter and managing director of Indian blue chip Satyam Computer Services surrendered to the law enforcement authorities, late on Friday evening in Hyderabad. The Director General of Police in Hyderabad has said that Rama Linga Raju accepted his role in the Rs 7000 Cr ($1.25 bn) fraud that jolted the corporate India on 7th Jan 2009. So, the cops arrested Rama Linga Raju and his brother Rama Raju under sections 120-B, 409, 420, 468, 471 of Indian Penal Code. The CFO of the company Vadlamani Srinivas may be arrested on Saturday morning.

Rama Linga Raju, the promoter of the 4th largest Indian IT Service Company, Satyam Computer Services, has been trying to cover up the financial irregularities at the organization for the past few months. Earlier in Dec 2008, he attempted to merge his other enterprises Mayatas group into Satyam Computer Services, so as to cover up the irregularities. However the investors and the market regulator has prevented his plans. Finally, Raju announced on 7th Jan that a sum of 7000 Cr in the account books of Satyam indeed is non existent.

Considering the magnitude of the fraud, Ramalinga Raju may not get a bail in the case.

The cops are currently enquiring whether the 7000Cr is non existent or has been siphoned off by the Raju brothers. The local political parties and media is abuzz with conspiracy theories that Raju brothers have used the money to bribe the ruling congress government in procuring various infrastructure & real estate contracts for their Mayatas Group. They claim that Raju’s Mayatas has funded the Sakshi news paper, which is run by the son of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Rajashekhar Reddy.

We will have to wait for Raju’ confession which is currently underway at the DGP office in Hyderabad.

Infosys Should Take Over Satyam To Restore India Inc. Image

Satyam Computer Services Ltd, India’s leading software services company disclosed today that its balance sheets were inflated to the tune of Rs 7000 Cr (Approx $ 1.25 bn). The revelations were shocking, as the company serves one third of the Global Fortune 500 companies across the world, including General Electric, General Motors and others. Satyam is regarded as a top IT company in India and is one of the big 4 Indian companies alongside of Infosys, Wipro and TCS. The company operates in 66 countries, employing 55,000 across its software development centers.

The revelations are the culmination of a series of murky steps that the management has been desperately attempting over the past few days. It tried to cover up the non existent assets by acquiring Mayatas Infrastructure, an entity promoted by the same management team. The stock started sliding from Rs 400 (Approx $10) on these attempts. The stock has been beaten badly in the market as the news about the happenings started to come out. Finally, Chairman & CEO Ramalinga Raju , made a statement that the account books have been cooked over the past few quarters. Satyam’s stock was plummeted on the bourses. It ended the day at Rs 41 (Less than a $1)

The National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) has removed Satyam from its Index NIFTY. The Bombay Stick Exchange may follow the suit. NYSE has stopped trading the stock today.

As the news is coming out, most of the institutional investors exited the stock. Aberdeen has quit the counter, Morgan Stanely sold off its holdings. As the bigger fool theory of stock markets say, the greedy retail investors (the fools) bought the scrip from these institutional investors, with a hope that there will be a bigger fool who will buy the stock from them. While we can not rule out the theory that some PE or Indian fund house might be accruing the stock on lows, I tend to believe that the retail investors have put in their hard earned money in this counter today. 90% of the people that I spoke to today have entered the counter from Rs 85 to Rs 32.

Now, nobody will compensate the fools for their greed. But the regulator has to step in to ensure that there will not be any more fraud for the retail investor. I suggest some measures for the same.

Firstly, as the markets open day after tomorrow, the retail investors may flock to sell off their exposure and that may lead to more pain to all. The trading in this counter must be stopped till some clarity is brought in.

Next, Satyam is not an isolated event. The erosion of investors’ wealth in counters like Unitech and other companies have to be probed by the regulator. There should be stricter laws to prevent major loss to retail investor

Then there is the need to strengthen the focus on corporate governance. Readers may be shocked to know that the Satyam fraud has happened under the supervision of great Board of Directors that has names like Rama Mohan Rao (Dean of Indian School of Business – ISB) and Krishna Palepu (Ross Graham Walker Professor of Business Administration and Senior Associate Dean for International Development, at the Harvard Business School). It is a shame that these independent directors are not aware of what happened there.

Finally, it’s the responsibility of the Indian Government to make sure that this one off incident does not damage its image. IT exports have been fueling the growth in this country and the government and the regulator/NASSCOM has to take all the steps to keep the India Inc image intact. As a step towards that, the Ministry of Company Affairs can merge Satyam with companies like Infosys, which have impeccable record of corporate governance. Or another option could be to break the failed company into multiple entities that can be merged with the Top 3 IT companies of India – Infosys, Wipro, TCS. The merge can be done based on capabilities or geography or customer base. This will save the 55,000 employees of Satyam.

Till such a move happens, my heart felt condolences to all those who lost their hard earned money in this counter today.

Jobs Galore At http://www.apspsc.gov.in

APPSC’s election time Bonanza!!

The ruling congress government in Andhra Pradesh is making all attempts to attract voters in the state. Over the past few months, it has already played to the gallery with various schemes on housing and health. Now, it is doling out jobs to attract the unemployed & educated youth. While the governments conviction in creating jobs will be clear only after the long process of recruitment completes, for now all the job hopefuls are delighted to see so many job notifications on a single day.

The APPSC (http://www.apspsc.gov.in) has published the following notifications yesterday (Around 3000 jobs!!):

1. Group 1 Services
2. Group 2 Services
3. Group 4 Services (Notification 40/2008 & 41/2008)
4. Town Planning Building Overseers in AP Municipal Town Planning Sub Srvice
5. Assistant Executive Engineers in Various Departments
6. Assistant Motor Vehicle Inspectors in AP Transport Subordinate Service
7. Assistant Chemists in AP Ground Water Service
8. Royalty Inspectors in AP Mining Service
9. Assistant Hydrologists in AP Ground Water Service (Notification 51/2008 & 53/2008)


For detailed information on each of these posts and the last date to apply, please visit APPSC’s website at http://www.apspsc.gov.in


In addition to these, the AP State Police (http://www.apstatepolice.org/) has published a notification to fill the following posts (Around 16,000 jobs!!)

Stipendiary Cadet Trainee (SCT) Police Constables (Civil)
Stipendiary Cadet Trainee Police Constables (AR)
Stipendiary Cadet Trainee Police Constables (SAR CPL)
Stipendiary Cadet Trainee Police Constables (APSP)
Constables (Men) in Special Protection Force (SPF)
Firemen in A.P. Fire & Emergency Services
Warders (Male) in Prisons and Correctional Services

For details on application procedure, visit: http://www.apstatepolice.org/html/PC-NOTIFICATION.doc