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Monday 16 July 2007

Shaikh Hasina arrested


Police arrested Bangladesh's former prime minister Shaikh Hasina on Monday on charges of extorting money from a businessman

Sunday 8 July 2007

Chandra Shekhar passes away


Former Prime Minister of India Chandra Shekhar passes away.Chandra Shekhar was the 11th prime minister of India.

Thursday 5 July 2007

The world's single biggest fighter jet order


Indian Air Force (IAF)will acquire its 126 Multi Role Combat Aircraft (MRCA).The initial deal for the 126 jets is estimated at $10 billion.

Gandhiji's manuscript


The government of India is in possession of the manuscript (of the piece) Mahatma Gandhi had written 19 days before his assassination

Incredible Dubai: 07-07-07 - new seven wonders#links

Incredible Dubai: 07-07-07 - new seven wonders#links

Sunday 17 June 2007

Good news for patients with rare blood groups in India

Indianblooddonors.com is an address which can save your life.most common blood group to the rarest, the site has a huge database of blood donors. So if you need blood, it's a good place to turn to. It's simple. It's effective. It's Free. It can match you with a donor near you in minutes. And you can save the life of a loved one. You can also register as a donor at the site and save the life of someone else's loved one. Pass the message. And let's build a community that cares

Saturday 16 June 2007

India’s only trillionaire - Mukesh Ambani


Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani has more than Rs 1,00,000 crore of wealth through his shareholdings
Now, just how big is a trillion? For those who are blasé about figures, writer Bill Bryson has a useful perspective. In his book Notes From a Big Country, he writes: “If you were locked in a vault and you could keep every dollar bill you initialled, (we’re assuming that you initial one bill every second and that you don’t need to eat, sleep or take comfort breaks) do you know how long it would take you to make a million dollars?”

It would take you 31,709.8 years to get to your first trillion.

In March, Forbes estimated Mukesh’s stakes at $20.1 billion

India eyes first woman president


On 14th June, United Progressive Alliance(UPA), the ruling alliance of political parties in India and the Indian left nominated Pratibha Devisingh Patil as their candidate for the Presidential Election to be held on 19 July 2007. This could make her the first female President of India. UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi described her nomination as a "historic occasion" in India's 60th year of Independence.

Thursday 14 June 2007

Tribal girls to be trained as air hostesses

The Jharkhand Government has decided to provide air hostess training to 25 tribal and Dalit girls of the state.These girls will be provided air hostess training and the state government will bear the cost.The decision was inspired by the positive response to an earlier programme that trained tribal boys as pilots. Most of those boys have now been placed professionally.

Tuesday 12 June 2007

Process begins today to elect new Indian President

The process to elect the new President of India will be set in motion with the Election Commission expected to issue a formal notification in this regard today.

The Cabinet late last week gave its formal approval to the tentative election schedule prepared by the EC.

Home Minister Shivraj Patil as the ruling coalition's nominee.

Sunday 10 June 2007

Abdul Kalam says human life on Mars in 75 years

President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam has suggested that an industrial complex on the moon and human habitation on mars could become a reality within 50-75 years.

Kalam said this while addressing scientists after dedicating the Insat-4B communication satellite to the nation Friday from the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) facility at Hassan, about 200 km from Bangalore.

He said space missions beyond earth were vital for sustaining the spirit of deep exploration.

"Such missions enable us to bring minerals and other special materials from the moon, asteroids and mars. They will also help build infrastructure for solar power generation, industrial complexes on moon and initiating human habitat on mars."

This, the president added, could turn out to be true in 50-75 years.

"Though these missions require large mass flow into space, they greatly enhance the space market by expanded utilisation of the core competencies built in many launch vehicles, spacecraft and ground systems."

Tuesday 29 May 2007

Indian Stocks Market: India joins the trillion dollar GDP club

Indian Stocks Market: India joins the trillion dollar GDP club

India rejects greenhouse gas limits

India yesterday said it will reject the proposals to limit greenhouse gas emissions at the upcoming G-8 summit meeting in Germany as it will slow the pace of the country's booming economy.

"Legally mandated measures for reducing greenhouse gas emissions are likely to have significant adverse impacts on GDP growth of developing countries, including India," Environment Ministry Secretary Pradipto Ghosh told reporters here.

He said this in turn would have "serious implications for our poverty alleviation programmes".

Germany, which will host the summit from June 6 to June 8, has called for a statement limiting worlwide temperature rise this century to 2 degree Celsius and cuts to global greenhouse emissions to 50 per cent below 1990 levels by 2050.

Maintaining that legal mandates on greehouse gas mitigation in any form would impact the country's growth, Ghosh said "this is not the path we wish to pursue."

"We are a responsible country and take a variety of sustainable projects to ensure energy efficiency at all levels," he said.

Chances of a consensus on the issue during the summit are remote with the US rejecting the idea of mandatory emission targets and the call for G-8 nations to raise energy efficiency.

Thursday 24 May 2007

Global trade system at risk, India warns

India warned the World Trade Organisation (WTO) that the entire system of global trade would always remain at risk as the developed countries were still not willing to fulfil their commitments to correct the imbalance in trade.

In his opening statement at WTO's Trade Policy Review meeting for India being held in Geneva, Commerce Secretary G. K. Pillai said: "India is extremely concerned at the slow pace of [WTO] negotiations. While the suspended [Doha Round] talks have resumed, the political will on the part of developed countries is still not evident.''

Legal pros may soon work in UK

Legal and accounting professionals in India can look forward to practising in the UK in return for ceding some ground to British professionals here. Also, talks to lower the entry barriers for UK’s legal and financial services to India is set to go in full swing.

Discussions between India and UK towards a bilateral trade deal on legal and financial services have gathered momentum with both the countries setting up a framework to remove all the speed breakers that UK firms encounter here.

The task force would discuss issues of company law, accounting and auditing, company secretaryship, corporate governance, investor protection and competition.
Corporate affairs minister Prem Chand Gupta, who met a visiting delegation of 14 experts and policy makers from UK led by lord mayor of London Alderman John Stuttard on Monday, told them that any opening up of these sectors would be on a reciprocal basis.

Tuesday 22 May 2007

RBI Guidelines on Operation of Credit Cards: A Welcome Move

In light of ever-increasing incidents of credit card frauds and exploitation by one-sided terms of issuing banks RBI came up with guidelines on Credit Cards. 1 This guideline touches upon the touch upon issues such as credit limit, interest rate, wrong billing, sharing of credit information and fair practices, and code of conduct for the issuers of credit cards. 2

Henceforth, credit card issuers will have to stick to these norms, which, among other things, deal with issuance of additional cards, printing of annual interest rates, enhancement of credit limits, collection of debts, etc. Second part of the circular stipulates guidelines deals with the fair practice code for the issuance of the credit cards to the consumers. This part of the guideline directs the banks to follow the norms laid down by the IBA (Indian Bank Association) in the Fair Practice Code for credit card operation.

It also obligates the issuing bank to dispatch of the bills in appropriate time. So the consumer gets sufficient time for the payment of the bill, Moreover, the bank should also quote the percentage rate at which the interest will be charged, including the method for the calculation of the interest with few examples.

Banks must be extremely careful for the appointment of the service providers, since the bank has to outsource the various credit card operations. The agents of the banks have to follow the code of conduct formulated by the Indian Banks Association. The guidelines provided by the RBI suggest the banks to evolve the system for the random checks of the agents too. 3

The next important direction given by RBI is the setup of the mechanism for the redressal of the grievances of the consumers. It also says that the complaint must be preferred within 60 days time period. The website of the banks must have the complete detail of the redressal grievance mechanism. The guideline also direct for the compensation if the complains have not been satisfactory resorted. The compensation will be for the time loss, financial loss, harassment, as well as the mental agony, which the person has suffered.

The Reserve Bank of India has reserved the right to impose any penalty on a bank under the provisions of Banking Regulation Act, 1949 4, Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 & respectively for the violation of any of the provisions issued under these guidelines 5. In toto it is submitted that, the RBI guidelines on credit cards is an important step towards a stronger consumer protection regimes.

Credit card Frauds - Where Consumer Needs to be Cautious?

Corporate or financial crimes in India with the help of technology are not very old in India. It was as early as in 2003, that the, Central Bureau of Investigation undertook its first cyber-crime conviction under Sections 418, 419 and 420 of the Indian Penal Code. The convicted engineer was arrested for defrauding an American national by misusing her credit card on the Net and was released on probation of one year after paying a personal bond of Rs 20,000 as well as Rs 20,000 as surety . Therefore the need of the hour is the effective legislation in this field, to carve down the criminals involved in these frauds.

Nevertheless, consumer awareness and caution are the buzzwords for combating crime related to credit cards. There are some precautionary measures that the Consumers have to take for Credit Cards safe usage: -

· On receipt of a new card ensure that it is in sealed condition and that the seal is not tampered.

· Monitor your account regularly either on the Internet or from call centers.

· Also subscribe to email and mobile alerts to keep track of card usage. Ensure that the card is swiped in your presence wherever the card is presented.

· Whenever you travel abroad keep track of your transactions.

· Sign on the back of your new card as soon as you receive it.

· Preserve the card account numbers and the personal identification number in a confidential place.

· Periodically check your cards to ensure that none are missing.

· Destroy and dispose all documents that mention the card number, such as copies of receipts, airline tickets, travel itineraries etc.

· Memorize your card's PIN number

· Personal account information should never be shared with anyone unless payment for the purchase is being done from that account

· Cancel all inactive accounts

· Don't give out your personal information online without checking whom you're giving it to.

· When using your credit card online, make sure that the Web page is secure. Secure pages start with "https:// instead of http:".

· Do not download software from suspect Websites they often send a spy ware program your way that looks for personal info on your PC and sends it out to the delinquents on the Net.

· Get an antivirus program and firewall. Beware of e-mail attachments from people you don't know.

· Always review your credit card and bank statements carefully for any discrepancies. Alert the bank as soon as you find you've been billed for something you did not buy.

· Don't keep your personal information in your work computer. These files may be accessible to other employees on the network.

· When you use your card at an ATM, enter your PIN in such a way that no one can easily memorize your keystrokes.

· Your PIN and account number from a discarded receipt could make you vulnerable to credit-card fraud. Also, don't throw out your credit-card statement, receipts or carbons without first shredding them.

· Never give your credit-card number over the telephone unless you initiated the call.

· Ignore any credit-card offer that requires you to spend money up-front or fails to disclose the identity of the card issuer.

· Make certain you get your card back after you make a purchase. Also, make sure that you personally rip up any voided or cancelled sales slips.

· Always keep a list of your credit cards, credit-card numbers and toll-free numbers in case your card is stolen or lost.

· Check your monthly statement to make certain all charges are your own, and immediately notify the card issuer of any errors or unauthorized charges.

If you read the fine print, insurance cover is only for a lost card and it gets activated only after you have reported your loss of card. It does not cover frauds, aforementioned. Who will pay for the money that has been defrauded is still a legal minefield open to speculation and litigation. Thus, prevention is the only answer.

Credit Cards - Not consumer-friendly any more?

Indian economy is greatly aided by the introduction of modern tools of information technology. There have been path-breaking changes in the banking sector, especially in the field of e banking. Gone are those days when a person had to keep his chequebooks safely under lock and key. We have come a long way to an era of plastic money. Instead of cash, the wallet is heavily loaded with debit and credit cards from different banks. These cards proved to be 'shoppers paradise' and 'ultra-convenient' as the holders were no more required to carry cash and banks started lending money with modest card procuring formalities.

Nevertheless, as a famous proverb goes that 'every coin has two faces', it also holds water for the credit cards. In spite of giving such a convenience to the consumer, credit cards have known to bring grief, insecurity and an unparallel sense of financial vulnerability to many customers.

The recent credit card frauds that were uncovered in Jaipur, Agra and Mumbai 1 clearly support the above statement that Credit Cards tend to be abused. Recently, there has been a sharp rise of online credit card frauds 2 as technology is exploited to develop new innovative techniques to commit fraud. The most common type of modern day credit card frauds include 3

(i) Production of fake and counterfeit cards.
(ii) Skimming - Process of copying genuine card data on another magnetic strip.
(iii) Phishing - Attempt to fradulently acquire sensitive information, such as usernames, passwords and credit cards details, by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication
(iv) Site Cloning - Creation of an identical, but false website as similar to the bank
(v) Stolen Card Fraud - When a card holder loses or has their credit card stolen, it is possible for the thief to make unauthorized purchases on that card up until the card is cancelled
(vi) Account Takeover Fraud - Fraud perpetrators call in and impersonate actual cardholders using stolen personal information. They have the address and other information of the cardholder changed to an address they control. Additional cards and possibly PIN mailers are requested and issued to the new address and used by the fraudsters to make purchases and/or obtain cash advances. Sometimes the fraudster will attempt to add themselves or an alias that they control as an authorized user to the account in order to make it easier to commit the fraud.

Technology today enables fake cards to be created from scratch by obtaining personal data about an individual and the use of requisite equipment. This method requires a high degree of skill as the cards offered by banks come with a lot of security features making it difficult to replicate the full mechanism. The offender also uses this fake credit card money for the other services which are available to him through that credit card, as for example, for shopping, buying online air tickets etc.

In April 2006, the case came up where a 26-year-old Mumbai executive keyed in her credit card number and the three-digit security code on the e-booking site of an airline. She bought a ticket for Bangalore. In July, she was shocked to find an Rs 20,000 additional credit drawn from her account. 'Two tickets from the same airline were booked on two different days in June using my card,' she says. The first was a Dwarka-Mumbai ticket for Rs 6,000, and the other, a Delhi-Dubai one for Rs 14,000. She did not get a response from her card company till August. Then she approached the police to file an FIR. But they told her that they did not know what a credit card was. Thereafter, she went to the cyber crime cell, which in turn asked her to first lodge an FIR with the police. She got a cyber crime officer to speak to the police and finally got her complaint registered. But till now the case has not been solved, by the cyber crime or by the police. 4

Such instances and many more to be quoted in this article take us to the logical conclusion that credit cards are credit cards are making consumers more prone to financial vulnerability in the hands of notorious market elements.

Another issue, is the usurious clauses and unfair trade practices in the typical standard-form contracts adopted by Credit Card issuers. These standard form clauses are so negatively worded against the consumers, that most consumers have had bitter experiences.

Monday 21 May 2007

India, Bangladesh need extradition treaty

India and Bangladesh need to build trust and cooperation to counter terrorism in both the countries, a senior Indian diplomat said today.

''We need to build trust and co-operation including common initiative to counter terrorism and intelligence sharing,'' Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh, Pinak Ranjan Chakravarty, told.

Chakravarty, who is on an official visit to Shillong said, ''India wishes to see Bangladesh as a prosperous country and that can happen only if both the countries mutually agree to extend cooperation and understanding.''

He stressed on the necessity of developing infrastructure and connectivity. ''If Bangladesh prospers, cross-border movement, whether it is influx or crime will come down,'' he asserted.

''New Delhi has been suggesting Dhaka to have extradition treaty and mutual legal assistance,'' he said.

The caretaker government of Bangladesh had been helping India in tracking the insurgents. ''It (government) acted against the Indian-based insurgents in Bangladesh and few of the Bodo militants were arrested from Sherpur district (Bangladesh)'', Chakravarty said.

He stressed on the need for extradition treaty. ''In absence of this treaty, both the countries find difficult to get back criminals. It is time that both New Delhi and Dhaka sign an extradition pact to ensure justice,'' Chakravarty suggested.

He informed that India would again request Bangladesh to handover Anup Chetia, a key-ULFA leader. Chetia, arrested in Dhaka by the previous government on charges of illegal stay and possessing forged documents, was released from jail on completion of his term in February 2003.

Sunday 20 May 2007

India, US still engaged on nuclear deal

NEW DELHI: India remains engaged in serious talks with the United States over a nuclear cooperation deal, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said, even though a senior US official in the negotiations has put off a visit.


"We are in serious negotiations with the USA," Singh told reporters after a ceremony to swear in a cabinet minister, when asked if he was worried that the much touted deal, first announced in July 2005, could still fall through.

The civil nuclear pact has hit serious obstacles. Critics, including lawmakers in both countries, complain their side has given too much and gotten too little in return.

Asked whether he was still optimistic about the deal, Singh said he was "hopeful" differences would be sorted out.

US Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns was expected in New Delhi in the second half of May to iron out serious differences over the deal that would give India access to US nuclear fuel and reactors for the first time in 30 years.

But on Wednesday, the US State Department said that while Burns could still visit India, "he's got nothing scheduled for now".

Adding to the uncertainty, India's foreign ministry said on Thursday no date had been finalised for the Burns visit.

Doubts about his trip has cooled enthusiasm about a possible breakthrough in negotiations, hailed as a strong foundation for booming economic and strategic ties between the world's most populous democracies.

The two sides have been unable to agree on a formal bilateral cooperation agreement, which is supposed to implement a political deal struck in 2005.

One key sticking point is that the Indians have objected to a provision asserting the United States has the legal mandate to halt nuclear cooperation if India - already armed with atomic weapons - tests a nuclear device.

Another is the US refusal to give New Delhi blanket approval for reprocessing spent fuel with American components.

Thursday 17 May 2007

Govt wants Constitution Bench to hear OBC row

The central government today made a fresh plea before the Supreme Court for referring to a Constitution Bench the issue of 27% OBC quota in elite educational institutions contending that the two-member bench cannot adjudicate the matter.

As a bench comprising Justices Arijit Pasayat and Justice L K Panta, resumed hearing in the matter, Solicitor General G Vahanvati pleaded that a two-judge-bench cannot adjudicate the matter as it involved a substantive question of Constitutional law.

The bench made it clear that it was not averse to referring the matter to a Constitution Bench. However, it wondered whether the matter required reference to a Constitution Bench as many acts are routinely assailed before the courts.

In other words, the courts pointed out, that many statutory laws were challenged for their Constitutional validity but were not necessarily referred to the Constitution Bench

Thursday 26 April 2007

E-contract

Definition: E-contract is a contract modeled, specified, executed and deployed by a software system. E-contracts are conceptually very similar to traditional (paper based) commercial contracts. Vendors present their products, prices and terms to prospective buyers. Buyers consider their options, negotiate prices and terms (where possible), place orders and make payments. Then, the vendors deliver the purchased products. Nevertheless, because of the ways in which it differs from traditional commerce, electronic commerce raises some new and interesting technical and legal challenges. For recognition of e-contracts following questions are needed to be considered:

# Whether e-contract is a valid contract?
# Would a supplier making details of goods and services with prices available on a website be deemed to have made an offer?
# Whether e-contracts satisfy the legal requirements of reduction of agreements to signed documents.
# Whether e-contracts interpret, adopt and compile the other existing legal standards in the context of electronic transactions?

Recognition E-contracts
Offer: The law already recognizes contracts formed using facsimile, telex and other similar technology. An agreement between parties is legally valid if it satisfies the requirements of the law regarding its formation, i.e. that the parties intended to create a contract primarily. This intention is evidenced by their compliance with 3 classical cornerstones i.e. offer, acceptance and consideration. One of the early steps in the formation of a contract lies in arriving at an agreement between the contracting parties by means of an offer and acceptance. Advertisement on website may or may not constitute an offer as offer and invitation to treat are two distinct concepts. Being an offer to unspecified person, it is probably an invitation to treat, unless a contrary intention is clearly expressed. The test is of intention whether by supplying the information, the person intends to be legally bound or not. When consumers respond through an e-mail or by filling in an online form, built into the web page, they make an Offer. The seller can accept this offer either by express confirmation or by conduct.

Acceptance: Unequivocal unconditional communication of acceptance is required to be made in terms of the offer, to create a valid e-contract. The critical issue is when acceptance takes effect, to determine where and when the contract comes into existence. The general receipt rule is that acceptance is effective when received. For contracting no conclusive rule is settled. The applicable rule of communication depends upon reasonable certainty of the message being received. When parties connect directly, without a server, they will be aware of failure or partial receipt of a message. Such party realizing the fault must request re-transmission, as acceptance is only effective when received. When there is a common server, the actual point of receipt of the acceptance is crucial in deciding the jurisdiction in which the e-contract is concluded. If the server is trusted, the postal rule may apply, if however, the server is not trusted or there is uncertainty concerning the e-mail’s route, it is best not to apply the postal rule. When arrival at the server is presumed insufficient, the ‘receipt at the mail box’ rule is preferred.

Consideration and Performance: Contracts result only when one promise is made in exchange for something in return. This something in return is called ‘consideration’. The present rules of consideration apply to e-contracts. There is concern among consumers regarding Transitional Security over the Internet. The e-directive on Distance Selling tries to generate confidence by minimizing abuse by purchasers and suppliers. It specifies---

# A list of key points, must be supplied to the consumer in ‘a clear and comprehensible manner.’
# Written confirmation, or confirmation in another durable medium available and accessible to the consumer, of the principle points.
# The right of withdrawal enabling consumers to avoid deals entered into inadvertently or without sufficient knowledge, providing for seven-day cooling-off period free from penalty or reason to return the goods or reimburse the cost of services.
# Performance should be delivered within thirty days of order unless otherwise expressly agreed.
# Reimbursement of sums lost to fraudulent use of credit cards. It places the risk of fraud on the credit card Company, requiring them to take steps to protect their position.
# On the other hand, there is also need to protect sellers from rogue purchasers. For this, the provision of ‘charge-back clauses’ and encouragement of pre-payment by buyers is recommended.
# Thus, this Directive adequately protects rights of consumers against unknown sellers and sellers against unknown buyers.

Liability And Damages: A party that commits breach of an agreement may face various types of liability under contract law. Due to the nature of the systems and the networks that business employ to conduct e-commerce, parties may find themselves liable for contracts which technically originated with them but, due to programming error, employee mistake or deliberate misconduct were executed, released without the actual intent or authority of the party. Sound policies dictate that parties receiving messages be able to rely on the legal expressions of the authority from the sender’s computer and this legally be able to attribute these messages to the sender. In addition to employing information security mechanisms and other controls, techniques for limiting exposure to liability include: -

1. Trading partner and legal technical arguments
2. Compliance with recognized procedures, guidelines and practices
3. Audit and control programmers and reviews
4. Technical competence and accreditation
5. Proper human resource management
6. Insurance
7. Enhance notice and disclosure mechanisms and
8. Legislation and regulation addressing relevant secure electronic commerce issuing.

Digital Signatures: Section 2(p) of The Information Technology Act, 2000 defines digital signatures as authentication of any electronic record by a subscriber by means of an electronic method or procedure. A digital signature functions for electronic documents like a handwritten signature does for printed documents. The signature is an unforgeable piece of data that asserts that a named person wrote or otherwise agreed to the document to which the signature is attached. A digital signature actually provides a greater degree of security than a handwritten signature. The recipient of a digitally signed message can verify both that the message originated from the person whose signature is attached and that the message has not been altered either intentionally or accidentally since it was signed. Furthermore, secure digital signatures cannot be repudiated; the signer of a document cannot later disown it by claiming the signature was forged. In other words, digital signatures enable "authentication" of digital messages, assuring the recipient of a digital message of both the identity of the sender and the integrity of the message. The fundamental drawback of online contracts is that if there is no alternate means of identifying a person on the other side than digital signatures or a public key, it is possible to misrepresent one’s identity and try to pass of as somebody else.

Conclusion:
E-contracts are well suited to facilitate the re-engineering of business processes occurring at many firms involving a composite of technologies, processes, and business strategies that aids the instant exchange of information. The e-contracts have their own merits and demerits. On the one hand they reduce costs, saves time, fasten customer response and improve service quality by reducing paper work, thus increasing automation. With this, E-commerce is expected to improve the productivity and competitiveness of participating businesses by providing unprecedented access to an on-line global market place with millions of customers and thousands of products and services. On the other hand, since in electronic contract, the proposal focuses not on humans who make decisions on specific transactions, but on how risk should be structured in an automated environment. Therefore the object is to create default rules for attributing a message to a party so as to avoid any fraud and discrepancy in the contract.

Saturday 21 April 2007

Treat all kidney related problems free of cost

Vision

A World that ensures good healthcare and right to medical facilities to all.

Mission

To detect, prevent and raise awareness on kidney ailments and to provide quality, affordable treatment to underprivileged people.

The TANKER (an acronym for Tamilnad Kidney Research)Foundation is a registered, non - profit charitable trust, founded on 30th June 1993. TANKER aims to provide health care and financial assistance to those who have kidney problems and do not have the wherewithal to seek medical attention.

TANKER cares for those, the underprivileged, who suffer kidney problems of any kind, reversible or terminal, regardless of caste, creed, sex or religion.

TANKER along with our goodwill ambassador actor Suriya intends setting up dialysis units in other parts of Tamil Nadu, like Thirunelveli and Thanjavur.

TANKER with actor Suriya's help aims to take the awareness and screening programme to schools and colleges all over Tamil Nadu.
http://www.tankerfoundation.com/

Suicide attempt outside the Bachchan residence - Prateeksha'

Introducing a bizarre element into the high-profile Abhishek Bachchan-Aishwarya Rai wedding this evening, a struggling actress cut her wrist outside the Bachchan residence, describing herself as the actor's girlfriend and making claims he had married her.
Janhavi Kapoor, who had done a minor role in Abhishek starrer 'Dus', created a furore outside the Bachchan residence 'Prateeksha' in suburban Juhu by slashing her wrist early this morning, claiming that she was married to the junior Bachchan.

Thursday 19 April 2007

Mid day in Mumbai (17-04-2007)





Like others , this man too, had a dream.

Like others , he too pushed his way into the crowded train

Like others, he too wanted to get going before he got delayed

Unlike others, he slipped and fell in the gap between the train and the platform at Kandivli station.

And eight bogies went over him



Find out what happened to this man on



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The man obviously has a guardian angel and supportive bystanders who told him exactly what he shouldn't do — move. And so, the man lay absolutely still as eight bogies of the train passed over him — centimeters from his head. Within seconds the 12-coach train passed and the man clambered out, unaided, unhurt, but too shocked to speak to us after his near-death experience

Bigest Wedding of the year


Ash Abishek Wedding

IT’S A MARRIAGE that will be remembered for faces. The ceremonies for the hush wedding — billed as a “close family affair” — would begin on April 18 and the wedding is on April 20 th. Interestingly, Amitabh and Amar Singh visited Shahrukh Khan’s house and invited him to the wedding. Among the handful of invitees to the glittering wedding are Kajol, Esha Deol, Hema Malini, Preity Zinta and Shahrukh Khan. But the most important invite has gone to 10 Janpath, seeking Sonia and Priyanka’s attendance

Tuesday 17 April 2007

music legend K J Yesudas to worship at Guruvayur temple


The Guruvayur temple managing committee has said it would discuss at its meeting the issue of allowing music legend K J Yesudas to worship at the temple

Reacting to the development, Yesudas said his personal opinion was that all devotees should be allowed to pray at all places of worship.

Gurvayur temple managing committee, meeting on April 26 and 27, will discuss this issue

However, the particular matter depended on the collective decision of those on the temple committee.

Yesudas, a Christian, has rendered hundreds of Hindu devotional songs, many of them dedicated to Lord Guruvayurappan.

Richard Gere's Conterversial kiss to silpa shetty


Richard Gere kissing incident
Shetty was kissed several times by Richard Gere during an AIDS-awareness event. The pair had appeared at a press conference in New Delhi as part of a campaign to preach safe sex to truck drivers in India, the country with the world's largest number of HIV sufferers. However, following the kiss, members of the right-wing Hindu nationalist group Shiv Sena beat burning effigies of Gere with sticks. However, most people preferred to set fire to the glamorous shots of Shetty. People demanded an apology from her and threatened to ban her movies in the state.

Similar protests broke out in other cities, including Varanasi, Hinduism's holiest city, and in the northern town of Meerut, where crowds of hundreds of thousands chanted "Down with Shilpa Shetty!" Star News Office was also attacked.

Sunday 15 April 2007

Criminalizing Homosexuality


India's Law Criminalizing Homosexuality Hinders HIV Prevention, Violates Human Rights Of MSM, UNAIDS Official Says

India's law criminalizing homosexuality is undermining the fight against HIV/AIDS and violates the human rights of men who have sex with men, Denis Broun, UNAIDS India coordinator, said on Thursday, Reuters UK reports (Zaheer, Reuters UK, 11/30). The law, enacted in 1861 and known as Section 377, makes "carnal intercourse against the order of nature with man, woman or animal" punishable by up to 10 years in prison and, when strictly interpreted, makes it illegal to distribute condoms to gay men and men in prison. The law -- which seldom is used to prosecute gay adults in consensual relationships -- is most often used to arrest offenders in cases of sexual abuse of children. Some people warn that if the law is repealed, efforts to prosecute people who commit sexual abuses against children could be negatively affected (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 9/18). According to India's National AIDS Control Organization, there are about 2.5 million MSM in the country. However, UNAIDS says the number could be anywhere between five million and 15 million. "People are being harassed by section 377 and men having sex with men do not come forward and receive adequate prevention information," Broun said. He added that most Indian MSM are bisexual and that they risk transmitting the virus to their female partners. The law "puts gay activists under great pressure in their fight against AIDS," K.K. Abraham, general secretary of the Indian Network for People Living with HIV/AIDS, said, adding, "The government needs a reality check and (has) to do away with this law if it is serious about fighting HIV/AIDS" (Reuters UK, 11/30). The statute is being challenged under a 2001 lawsuit brought by the Naz Foundation India Trust. The Delhi High Court initially threw out the case, but the Supreme Court of India earlier this year instructed the high court to review the case again

Wednesday 11 April 2007

Grounds for Divorce



Grounds for divorce



In most Western nations, there are approximately 16 distinct reasons for which divorces are granted। In India, however, only five main reasons are generally accepted as sufficient grounds for divorce (Choudhary 90)।Adultery। While no formal definition of adultery exists, it does have "a fairly established meaning in matrimonial law" (Diwan 171), namely "the voluntary sexual intercourse of a married man or woman with a person other than the offender's wife or husband" (Choudhary 91). While the law considers it valid grounds for either sex, adulterous women are "judged more harshly" than men (Kapur and Cossman 102). The various religious regulations a e not unanimous on this issue. The law regarding Hindus allows divorce to be granted on the grounds of infidelity of either husband or wife. The Christian law, however, would traditionally not have granted a divorce to a woman solely on the grounds of adultery. She would have had to prove another violation, such as cruelty (Kapur and Cossman 102-4). A recent Bombay High Court decision "recognised cruelty and desertion as independent grounds for the dissolution of a Christian marriage," striking down a section of the law that allowed for an unconstitutional distinction between the sexes (Raiker-Mhatre 1). Desertion. The three main components of desertion are the "disruption of cohabitation, absence of just or reasonable cause and their combination throughout three years" before the abandoned spouse may petition for a divorce (Virdi 71). There also must be an obvious intent on the part of the offending spouse to remain permanently apart from the other. This statute also applies to cases in which a spouse has been heard from for at least seven years (Choudhary 91). Cruelty. As with adultery, "the definition of the type of behavior that constitutes cruelty varies according to the gender of the petitioner" of the divorce. "Despite the fact that cruelty is often equally available to husbands and wives, the way in which the law is interpreted and applied suggests that women and men are evaluated by rather different standards" (Kapur and Cossman 105). This category includes both physical and mental abuse and neglect (Choudhary 91). A court decision made in early May 1997 made cruelty sufficient grounds for a Christian woman to obtain a; previously, the law required both adultery and cruelty to be proven. The national Indian Christian community seems to have embraced this judgment (Raikar-Mhatre 1-2.Impotency. This refers to the physical inability of the couple to consummate the marriage (Choudhary 91) or the refusal by one spouse to do so (Diwan 136). Some cases have established that sterility can be construed to mean non-consummation if the other partner is not aware of the condition before the marriage (Diwan 139). Chronic Disease. Both mental and physical illnesses are included in this category, as well as sexually transmitted diseases (Choudhary 92). Not all religions recognize identical diseases as grounds for divorce. Christians and Parsis do not allow divorce for a sexually transmitted disease or leprosy while the other communities do (Diwan 204-5).


Monday 9 April 2007

Consequences of Divorce

Consequences of Divorce







Economic There is great disparity between the economic ramifications of divorce between men and women। Men remain relatively unaffected while women, especially those with children, have difficulty "providing food, clothing and shelter for themselves and their children।" The government in urban areas usually provides some form of public assistance to single mothers, but this service is not fully taken advantage of because most do not know of its existence (Amato 210)। Often a woman is not able to rely on her family for support because many parents "feel they have discharged their obligations to a daughter by arranging her marriage and providing a dowry।" Dowries are not returned after a divorce। Also, due to the social stigma of divorce, women find it difficult to remarry and usually attempt to establish an independent household (Amato 211)Social। While India feels that one should have the right to divorce, it is still a highly stigmatizing action। Women are looked upon more harshly than men in this regard. There continue to be segments of Indian society that feel divorce is never an option, regardless of how abusive or adulterous the husband may be which adds to the greater disapproval for women. A divorced woman often will return to her family, but may not be wholeheartedly welcomed. She puts, especially if she has children, an economic burden on her family and is often given lowly household tasks to perform. There is also the risk that a divorced woman's presence would ward off possible marriages for other daughters within the household. Unavoidably, the overall status of the family and household are lowered by having a divorcee living with amongst them. A woman's class and caste are a major factor in her acceptance back into society. Women from higher classes tend to have an easier time than middle or lower class women in returning to the social order after a divorce. An exception to this model is the extreme bottom of the society who have experienced little rebuff from peers after a divorce. This results from their already atypical status in society





Sunday 8 April 2007

maritial rape

maritial rape

What is marital rape?

Recently, the Rajasthan high court granted divorce to a woman on the ground that her husband has not consumated the marriage। What if the wife refuses sex? Can the husband demand it, or will the wife then shout marital rape? in this case, we have been married for over 12 years and have two children? Wife allows sex only when she wants .It can become a grounds as cruelty agaisnt the wife to obtain divorce by the husband. Not allowing the husband to have physical relation will defeat the purpose of marriage but in your case its not permanent refusal. Permanent refusal of physical relation amounts to cruelty.

As desired the concept of Marital rape is as follws:When one mentions the word rape, the tendency is to think of someone who is a stranger, an evil, malicious person. No one ever thinks of rape in the context of marriage. Women themselves find it difficult to believe that a husband can rape his wife. After all, how can a man be accused of rape if he is only availing of his conjugal rights?
Despite the unwillingness to recognize marital rape as a crime, the fact remains that marital rape is prevalent throughout society। Women’s bodies are outraged, regardless of their educational qualifications, class or status. Women themselves don’t make a noise about it or talk about their experiences. This is because cultures worldwide discourage their women from openly discussing sexual matters, let alone within marriage. Most women don’t even think of rape by their husbands as marital rape.

Various subliminal messages across the media and through society encourage young boys to believe in the sexual availability of women। Men begin to believe that decision-making is their sole prerogative that their wives do not have any rights in most matters that their wives are subject to them in every respect. Even educated persons, who would otherwise treat women with the utmost respect, would think nothing of having sex with their wives, against their wives’ wishes.

Social beliefs are only reinforced by the lacunae in the law। As of now, Indian law contains no provisions for helping abused wives and penalizing guilty husbands. Women have no legal recourse. What is worse, women are not even aware that they don’t have to meekly give in to their husband’s demands.

According to section 375 of the Indian Penal Code, "sexual intercourse by a man with his own wife, not being under 15 years of age, is not rape।" On the other hand, the Criminal Procedure Code states that `it is rape if the girl is not the wife of the man involved and is below 16!’ Which means that if the girl is not the wife of the man involved and is below 16, it is rape even if she consents. Whereas if she is a wife and below 15 years of age, it is not rape even if she does not consent.

A woman who has been raped by her husband cannot count on the legal system coming to her aid. Not only are there no laws to protect her interests, the large number of loopholes make it difficult for her to seek protection under the law. These include:Though protection of the dignity of women is a fundamental duty under the Constitution, domestic violence and rape do not come under the definition of dignity।

A husband cannot be prosecuted for raping his wife because consent to matrimony presupposes consent to sexual intercourse. Though women's rights advocates secured a legal clause in 1983 under which it is unlawful for a man to have sexual intercourse with his separated wife, pending divorce, the courts are reluctant to sentence husbands in spite of the law।

Indian rape legislation (Penal Code 375) specifically exempts marital rape. This allows husbands to have complete sexual control over their wives, in direct contravention to Human Rights regulations. Only those married women who are separated from their husbands are covered by the rape legislation. The law simply echoes what social mores often take for granted: that women have no right to their own bodies; their will is subject to that of their husband.
A faint hope was raised by the Law Commission in its 42nd report। This report advocated the inclusion of sexual intercourse by a man with his minor wife as an offence. But a joint committee reviewing the proposal dismissed it.

More recently, the National Commission for Women released a report, "Rape: a legal study," which stated that marital rape should be recognised as a criminal offence.
All over the world, steps are being taken to ensure that marital rape is regarded as an offence. In however, we haven’t even begun to admit that marital rape is a reality, let alone an unpleasant one. Unfortunately, a mere amendment in the law will not ensure that women get their due. Before marital rape is made an offence, the police and the judiciary must be sensitised to deal with rape cases. Sadly, in marriage is considered the definitive experience in an adult woman’s life. Consciously or otherwise, a woman is given to understand that her desires and dreams must henceforth be subject to those of her husband. Under such conditions, women find it difficult to talk about the physical violence that takes place under the guise of conjugal relations in the marriage. Any mention of rape or sex fills them with shame.
The prevalent viewpoint is that when a woman marries, she is willing to fulfilling her husband’s conjugal rights। Once she has made this commitment, she cannot back out of it. Since sexual relations are part of the marriage set-up, a woman cannot refuse to have sex with her husband. By the same token, a husband cannot be said to have raped his wife.

In marriage remains the only route to social acceptance of adult womanhood: there are strong social incentives on women to enter into marriage. The same reasons act as a negative motivator, prompting women to stay in abusive marriages, simply because life outside marriage is not regarded very highly.
Accepting that women go through the most heinous forms of abuse under the name of marriage may be the first step towards protecting women. Until then women will continue to be abused and raped by the one person they trusted enough to want to spend the next seven lifetimes with.

Saturday 7 April 2007

Indian Stocks Market: Small is 'Big' for car makers this summer

http://indianlegalhelp.blogspot.com/

Racist bullying of Shilpa Shetty



India outraged by racist bullying of Shilpa Shetty -


Reports of the alleged mistreatment of Shetty, 31, were splashed on the front pages of several Indian dailies and was also the top story on television news, which repeatedly showed clips from the show of the weeping actress."We are awaiting a report about the show. The government will take appropriate measures once it gets to know the full details," Anand Sharma, India's junior Minister for External Affairs told journalists in New Delhi yesterday."The world knows that India has always rejected all forms of discrimination and racism," Sharma added. Shetty, a former model, who has acted in over 40 movies since her 1993 debut, was repeatedly reduced to tears by a fellow contestant Jade Goody at the reality TV show, who has called the actress "cooking untrustworthy," and mocked her accent. Producers of the reality TV show too have vowed to clamp down on racist abuse on the programme, following the row over the treatment meted out to the Indian actress. However, Indian officials believe that if the situation was so serious that it made the Bollywood starlet burst into tears, then she should have spoken out against it rather than choosing to keep quiet. AP adds: Prime Minister Tony Blair on Wednesday was drawn into a growing furore over the television reality show, saying he opposes racism but had not seen the programme.Keith Vaz, a member of the House of Commons, asked Blair whether broadcasters should take care not to transmit such material."I have not seen the particular programme in question and cannot comment on it,” Blair said.However, he added, "We should oppose racism in all its forms.”The Indian government has raised concerns about the programme.A surge in complaints Tuesday followed a programme in which another contestant, former member of the band S Club 7 Jo O’Meara, said Indians were thin because they undercooked their food. Reports of Shetty’s treatment ran on front pages of several Indian papers Wednesday and was the top story on the television news, which repeatedly showed clips from the show of the weeping actress.In London, the Foreign Office said it had not received any communication from the Indian government about the programme, nor had the British High Commission in New Delhi. It may be noted that Big Brother pits contestants against each other in a battle to stay on the set, a specially constructed house peppered with microphones and cameras.Celebrities taking part in the show include pop star Michael Jackson's brother, Jermaine.
American H1 B visa shortage causes panic
Applicants for American Work Visa H1-B are facing an unusually tough situation this year.That is because the Congressionally mandated visa quota of 65,000 has already been exhausted with more than 200-thousand applicants filing their petitions in record time

The phones are ringing off the hook at the law offices of Joe Nesari. It is a nervous time for H1 B hopefuls. Around 2,50,000 H1 B applicants are fighting for a small visa quota that is just one fourth that number. Even seasoned attorneys like Jennifer Verghese are surprised at how quickly the quota filled up this year. Immigration Attorney Jennifer Verghese, says, "Never seen anything like this before. To give you a perspective, last year it took under eight weeks for the cap to be reached, this year one day. This was shocking to immigration experts all over the country".

So what triggered the sudden rush? Experts say, anticipating a shortage of visas for potential, it hires, many big companies like Microsoft and Oracle filed tens of thousands of applications. Calling for an increase in the Congressionally mandated cap of 65,000 visas, Oracle issued a statement saying.

For now the US Center for Immigration Services, or USCIS will use a random lottery system to pick visa recipients from a pool of applications received by Tuesday this week. The rest will be rejected.

Nobody knows for sure, but it could take the CIS weeks just to figure out how to draw the lottery. For now all that applicants can do is hope that they are one of the lucky ones.