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Kathmandu:  Two young Indian girls miraculously survived after a small plane they were travelling in crashed near high-altitude Jomsom airport in northern Nepal today. The girls, aged 6 and 9, are among the six survivors who were rescued alive from under the debris of the ill-fated plane.

The Dornier aircraft got buried after hitting a mountain peak straddling the airport.

"The girls are conscious and out of danger," Indian Embassy spokesperson Apoorva Srivastav told news channels.

The third survivor, she said, was a 45-year-old man. It was not clear whether the parents of the young girls survived.

The girls and the man were part of a group of Indian pilgrims who were on their way to a pilgrimage to the holy shrine of Muktinath.

"We are in touch with few of the relatives of the families," Ms Srivastav said, adding that the control room number has been circulated and people have been contacting us. At least 15 people, most of them Indians, died in the crash.

Ms Srivastav assured that rescue operations were in full swing adding that Nepal army personnel have rushed to the crash site.

"Nepal army personnel have left for the accident site to bring the remains of the deceased to Kathmandu. They are expected to reach Kathmandu by 4 pm," she said.

The aircraft which hit the top of a hill while landing at the Jomsom airport reportedly broke into pieces but did not catch fire. The plane is now buried in the side of the hill.

"All fifteen bodies have been recovered from the site and they are being airlifted to Kathmandu," a journalist with The Himalayan Times quoted police as saying.

From : NDTV

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Nepal Plane Crash: Indian Survivors Include Two Young Girls

Kathmandu:  Two young Indian girls miraculously survived after a small plane they were travelling in crashed near high-altitude Jomsom airport in northern Nepal today. The girls, aged 6 and 9, are among the six survivors who were rescued alive from under the debris of the ill-fated plane.

The Dornier aircraft got buried after hitting a mountain peak straddling the airport.

"The girls are conscious and out of danger," Indian Embassy spokesperson Apoorva Srivastav told news channels.

The third survivor, she said, was a 45-year-old man. It was not clear whether the parents of the young girls survived.

The girls and the man were part of a group of Indian pilgrims who were on their way to a pilgrimage to the holy shrine of Muktinath.

"We are in touch with few of the relatives of the families," Ms Srivastav said, adding that the control room number has been circulated and people have been contacting us. At least 15 people, most of them Indians, died in the crash.

Ms Srivastav assured that rescue operations were in full swing adding that Nepal army personnel have rushed to the crash site.

"Nepal army personnel have left for the accident site to bring the remains of the deceased to Kathmandu. They are expected to reach Kathmandu by 4 pm," she said.

The aircraft which hit the top of a hill while landing at the Jomsom airport reportedly broke into pieces but did not catch fire. The plane is now buried in the side of the hill.

"All fifteen bodies have been recovered from the site and they are being airlifted to Kathmandu," a journalist with The Himalayan Times quoted police as saying.

From : NDTV

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7-inch tablet 'Attitude Daksha' for Rs 5,399

Thiruvananthapuram: Giving competition to the government's Aakash tablet, Telmoco Development Labs Pvt Ltd has come out with a Tablet PC - Attitude Daksha - a 7-inch tablet variant for Rs 5,399 inclusive of all taxes.

Attitude Daksha, touted as the most powerful 7-inch tablet computer for students and professionals, was launched here Tuesday.

Technopark Technology Business Incubator (T-TBIC) incubated Telmoco plans to compete in the low-cost tablet PC market where the government-launched Aakash tablet is prominent.
It features a capacitive 5 point touch screen, 1.2 GHz ARM Cortex A8 processor, and 512 MB DDR3 RAM.

Daksha features a capacitive 5 point touch screen with 1.2 GHz ARM Cortex A8 processor with 512 MB DDR3 RAM. It has a HDMI port, Micro SD slot, 3.5 mm audio out, Micro USB port and having OTG connector for 3G Dongle and RJ 45lAN cable.

Daksha is capable of 1080p full HD video streaming and has dedicated 400 MHzGPU for advanced flash Apps, Interactive Apps and full HD videos. Daksha is powered by 3,800 mAh li-Pol battery which gives a back up of over 6 hours with WiFi on.

"Even though the Indian media tablets market witnessed high decibel launches by the world's leading vendors, the Tablet PC market in India is a niche market that is quickly picking up the pace in terms of adoption," said C.R. Nijesh, chairman and executive director, Telmoco at the launch.

Telmoco Development labs Pvt ltd is a company initiated in electronics research and mobile technologies.

Attitude Daksha is initially set off to launch at schools, professional institutions, and corporate houses and will be available in the market from May 15. It can be ordered online from Telmoco website.

Read More : IBNLive

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Doctors fight to save life of six-legged baby

A baby born in Pakistan's Sindh province has six legs, with a doctor assessing that the removal of the parasitic limbs could be a "serious and time-consuming medical exercise". Birth defects like the Mermaid syndrome, a deformity where the legs are fused together, Craniopagus, a phenomenon where twins are joined at the head, and Dicephalic parapagus, a condition of having two heads, occur rarely but prove challenging to the medical world. Here are some instances of successful treatment of congenital diseases.

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Time's 100 most Influential People in the World

The Time Magazine has released the list of 100 most influential people in the world, which includes people such as artists, reformers, researchers, head of states and captains of industry.

From India, the list includes two names, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and eminent lawyer Anjali Gopalan.

The list further includes US President Barack Obama, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Pakistan Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry and footballer Lionel Messi.

Here's a look at the names that feature in the Time 100 list: 

1. Jeremy Lin- Basketball Player, America
2. Christian Marclay- Visual artist and composer,Swiss-America
3. Viola Davis- Actress, America
4. Salman Khan- Educator, America
5. Tim Tebow- Football quarterback, American
6. EL James- Author, America
7. Louis CK- Comedian, Mexican-American
8. Rihanna- Recording artist, actress, US
9. Marco Rubio- United States Senator from Florida
10. Ali Ferzat- Cartoonist, Syria
11. René Redzepi- chef, Denmark
12. Kristen Wiig- Television actress, comedian, America
13. Anthony Kennedy- Associate Justice, United States Supreme Court
14. Novak Djokovic- Tennis player, Serbia and Montenegro
15. Ben Rattray- Founder, Change.org, US
16. Jessica Chastain- Actress, America
17. Yani Tseng- Golfer- Republic of China (Taiwan)
18. Raphael Saadiq- Singer- America
19. Elinor Ostrom- Economist, US
20. Samira Ibrahim- Plaintiff, Egypt
21. Jose Andres- Chef, Spanish
21. Ann Patchett- Writer, America
22. Dulce Matuz- President, Arizona Dream Act Coalition
23. Henrik Scharfe- Professor, Director, Centre for Computer-mediated Epistemology, Denmark
24. Freeman Hrabowski- Educator, America
25. Maryam Durani- Member, Kandahar Provincial Council, Afghanistan
26. Manal al-Sharif- Women's rights activist and computer security consultant, Saudi Aramco, Saudi Arabia
27. Anjali Gopalan- Advocate, India
28. Rached Ghannouchi- Tunisian Islamist politician and co-founder, The Ennahda Movement
29. Barbara Van Dahlen- Founder and President, Give an Hour, US
30. Ron Fouchier- Scientist, Erasmus Medical Center, The Netherlands
31. Donald Sadoway- John F Elliott Professor, Materials Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, US
32. Hans Rosling- Statistician, Sweden
33. Asghar Farhadi- Filmmaker, Iran
34. Sarah Burton- Fashion Designer, UK
35. Anonymous- Self described hacktivist group, Voluntary association, Global
36. Pete Cashmore- Social News Guru,Scotland
37. Cami Anderson- Superintendent,Newark schools
38. Ali Babacan and Ahmet Davutoglu- Neo-Ottomans,
39. Ai-jen Poo- Director, National Domestic Workers Alliance, US
40. Marc Andreessen- Kingmaker, America
41. Preet Bharara- Prosecutor, America
42. Robert Grant- AIDS Researcher, San Francisco
43. Andrew Lo- Harris & Harris Group Professor Director, MIT Laboratory for Financial Engineering
44. Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy- Pakistani-Canadian journalist, documentary filmmaker
45. Alexei Navalny- Russian lawyer, politician, and political and financial activist
46. Ray Dalio- American businessman and founder of Bridgewater Associates
47. Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber al-Thani- Prime Minister of Qatar
48. Chelsea Handler- American stand-up comedian, actress, best-selling author, and producer
49. Harvey Weinstein- American film producer and movie studio chairman
50. Chen Lihua- Chairperson, Fu Wah International, China
51. Warren Buffett- Chairman & CEO of Berkshire Hathaway
52. Alice Walton- Heiress, Walton family fortune
53. Harold Hamm- CEO, Continental Resources
54. Sheryl Sandberg- COO, Facebook
55. Sara Blakely- Founder of Spanx, and world's youngest self-made female billionaire, US
56. Eike Batista- President, EBX Group, Brazil
57. Tim Cook- CEO, Apple, US
58. Daniel Ek- CEO and Founder, Spotify, Sweden
59. Virginia Rometty- CEO, IBM, US
60. Barack Obama- President, USA
61. Goodluck Jonathan- President of Nigeria
62. Xi Jinping- First Secretary of the Central Secretariat of the Communist Party of China
63. Fatou Bensouda- Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Gambia
64. Christine Lagarde- MD, IMF, France
65. Mario Draghi- President, European Central Bank, Italy
66. U Thein Sein- President of Burma
67. Ayatullah Ali Khamenei- Supreme Leader of Iran
68. Mitt Romney- Candidate, 2012 Republican Party presidential nomination
69. Juan Manuel Santos- President of Colombia
70. Timothy Dolan- American Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church
71. Portia Simpson Miller- Prime Minister of Jamaica
72. Mario Monti- Prime Minister of Italy
73. Wang Yang- Secretary, Guangdong Committee of the Communist Party of China
74. Maria das Gracas Silva Foster- CEO of Petrobras, Brazil
75. Andrew Cuomo- Governor of New York, US
76. Iftikhar Chaudhry- Chief Justice of Pakistan
77. Mamata Banerjee- Chief Minister Of Indian state of West Bengal
78. Walter Isaacson- President and CEO, Aspen Institute, US
79. Ron Paul- Member of the US House of Representatives
80. Benjamin Netanyahu- Prime Minister of Israel
81. Dilma Rousseff- President of Brazil
82. Erik Martin- Founder and editor, Muschelhaufen
83. Cecile Richards- Democratic Party activist, President, Planned Parenthood Federation of America
84. Angela Merkel- Chancellor of Germany
85. Lionel Messi- Footballer and Captain of Argentinian national team
86. Tilda Swinton- British actress
87. Hillary Clinton- United States Secretary of State
88. Catherine- Duchess of Cambridge, and Pippa Middleton, her sister
89. Adele- Recording artist and songwriter, UK
90. Matt Lauer, TV journalist, Host, NBC's The Today Show
91. Oscar Pistorius- sprint runner, South Africa
93. Claire Danes- American television, stage and film actress
94. Stephen Colbert- American political satirist, writer, comedian, television host, actor; Host, Comedy Central's The Colbert Report

Rogues
 
Kim Jong Un- Supreme leader of North Korea
Mullah Mohammed Omar- Spiritual leader, Taliban, Afghanistan
Sheik Moktar Ali Zubeyr- Emir, Harakat Al-Shabab Mujahideen, Somalia
Bashar Assad- President of Syria

Joel Stein Essay
 
From 100 to Eternity
The All-Time TIME 100 of All Time
Editor's Letter
A World of Possibilities

[IBNLive]

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Mumbai Senior Cop Suspended for Raping Colleague

Mumbai: Maharashtra Home Minister RR Patil on Wednesday said tainted police officer Anil Mahabole has been suspended for allegedly raping a woman police inspector. Patil's statement came during the ongoing Maharashtra Assembly session.

Mahabole, an assistant commissioner of police, was on Tuesday charged with raping a woman inspector who resides at Kurla in central Mumbai.

The victim had approached Joint Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Rajnesh Seth and Jt CP (Crime) Himanshu Roy last week, alleging that Mahabole raped her several times.

She alleged that Mahabole visited her Kurla house and offered her sweets laced with intoxicants, which made her unconscious. The victim had further alleged that Mahabole raped her after that and also made an MMS clip of her.

"Mahabole then blackmailed her to continue having physical relations with her. He also paid her regular visits in the absence of her husband and raped her repeatedly," an officer from Mumbai's Azad Maidan police station said.

Following the complaint, cops appointed a senior level officer to make preliminary inquiries into the matter. "The inquiries confirmed that the victim was raped. The Azad Maidan police have registered a case of rape against Mahabole," said Mumbai Police spokesperson Nisar Tamboli.

[IBNLive]

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Issue Summons to Facebook Through Email: Court

New Delhi: A Delhi court hearing a civil case against various social networking sites for allegedly displaying objectionable content on Wednesday ordered that summons be served to US-based social networking site, Facebook through email. 

Meanwhile petitioner's counsel Santosh Pandey moved an application seeking the government should be brought as a plaintiff for proper adjudication of the case as it is related to national issues.

Administrative Civil Judge Parveen Singh order that summons to Facebook should be served through email within three days after observing that the firm has not appeared in the court as summons were not served against it. 

The court was hearing a case filed by petitioner Mufti Aijaz Arshad Qasmi, an Islamic researcher linked to a website run by the Islamic Peace Foundation of India, who had sought removal of objectionable content from various websites. 

Qasmi in a newly revised list submitted in last hearing April 12 has sought to prosecute - Facebook India, Facebook Inc, Google Inc, Orkut, Youtube Inc, and Blogspot. 

Pandey has moved another application seeking review of the order of dropping the name of Orkut India, Youtube India and Blogspot India from the case. He said that the no objection given by him for deletion of the names of Google India and the other three parties was due to confusion. 

He told the court that submissions made by Google India, Orkut India, Youtube India and Blogspot India that they were only subsidiaries of Google Inc, Orkut, Youtube and Blogspot were wrong.

The court has listed the matter for Thursday for further hearing. 

[IBNLive]

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Mumbai: Student Beaten to Death, 8 Teens Arrested

Mumbai: Eight teenagers were on Wednesday arrested for allegedly beating to death a 17-year-old college student, police said. 

The victim, Ansh Agrawal, a college student, was allegedly beaten up by students from his college because he objected to an SMS that the main accused sent to his girlfriend. 

Around 30 students allegedly beat up Ansh with hockey sticks and smashed his head with a stone in Mumbai's suburban Andheri on Tuesday night. 

Ansh Agarwal was taken to a nearby hospital where he succumbed to injuries, police said.

The students will be produced in a local court on Thursday.

[IBNLive]

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IPL 5: Gayle, de Villiers end Bangalore drought with win versus Pune

Bangalore: AB de Villiers and Saurabh Tiwary took the required 21 runs off the last over bowled by Ashish Nehra to take Royal Challengers Bangalore to a thrilling six-wicket win against Pune Warriors India at the Chinnaswamy Stadium on Tuesday.

Chasing 183 to win, Bangalore got off to a poor start, with Tillakaratne Dilshan (4) and Mayank Agarwal (9) getting out cheaply to Ashok Dinda and Marlon Samuels respectively. Virat Kohli too failed with the bat and when he got out for 16 with only 72 runs on the board in the 12th over, the match seemed to getting out of Bangalore’s grasp. But opener Chris Gayle had other ideas.

The burly West Indian hit Rahul Sharma for five consecutive sixes in the 13th over to bring his team back into the contest. Ashish Nehra provided another twist in the tale, bowling Gayle for 81 with an inch-perfect yorker in the 16th over. At that time, the hosts still needed 56 off 26 balls to win.

de Villiers (33 off 14 balls) and Tiwary (36 off 23 balls) had a big job on their hands after Gayle’s departure and they kept Bangalore in the hunt with some lusty blows. Thanks to their big hitting, the equation came down to 28 off 12 balls. In such a crunch situation, fast bowler Dinda bowled the penultimate over and took the match almost beyond Bangalore’s reach by conceding just seven runs. Former India pacer Nehra, however, could not do what Dinda did in the 19th over. de Villiers hit 4,6,6 to bring down the equation to 3 off one ball and Tiwary lofted it over the long-on boundary for a six to bring an end to Bangalore’s run of three successive defeats.

Earlier, electing to bat first, Pune got off to a rollicking start, with Robin Uthappa and Jesse Ryder taking the Bangalore bowlers to the cleaners. Both added 63 runs in seven overs before Ryder holed out to Agarwal off the bowling of Harshal Patel. Ryder took 22 balls for his 34 and hit four fours and one six.

Captain Sourav Ganguly’s poor run with the bat continued as he limped to six off eight balls before giving Agarwal his second catch of the night. Despite Ganguly’s struggles, Uthappa kept up his onslaught at the other end and that largely accounted for the 45-run partnership between the two. Soon after Ganguly’s departure, Uthappa followed suit but he had done his job by that time. He consumed just 45 balls for his 69 and hit nine boundaries and two towering sixes.

Thereafter, Marlon Samuels and last match’s hero Steven Smith took up the scoring reins. Both added a quickfire 47 off 23 balls to ensure the Pune team posed a mammoth total. Samuels made a 20-ball 34 with the help of one four and two sixes, while Smith made 16 off 14 balls. After their departures in quick succession, Angelo Mathews (10) and Mithun Manhas (6 not out) chipped in to take Pune to 182 for 6. Vinay Kumar picked up two wickets to be the best bowler for Bangalore, while Patel and captain Daniel Vettori took one wicket apiece.

Despite the win, Bangalore remain in 8th with their second win in five matches, while Pune also remain third in the table with their second defeat in five matches.

[IBNLive]

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Audi Q3 specs revealed

Audi's much awaited baby SUV, the Q3 is finally here in India with bookings to start from April end and deliveries in May. The Q3 promises to bring in Q5/Q7 quality at a relatively affordable package.

The Q3 will initially be launched with a 2.0-litre TDI engine producing 176PS of power mated to a 7-speed S-tronic box, with the 2.0-litre TFSI scheduled for later this year.

Audi will also be providing optional paddle-shifters on the steering wheel as well. Standard features include daytime running lamps with LEDs, quattro and Start Stop system. The options list will include a panoramic sunroof amongst others.

The compact SUV measures 4.39 metres in length, 1.83 metres wide and 1.60 metres high. The boot space is 460 litres with the split seats in place. Tumbling the rear seats will increase storage space to 1365 litres.

There will be a single fully loaded variant and while Audi India is reluctant to reveal the prices, we expect the Q3 to be priced around Rs 28-32 lakh. While it's priced significantly higher than the X1, Audi aims to straddle the gap between the Bimmer and Range Rover Evoque.

Audi is initially expected to bring in the Q3 via the CBU route with CKD operations to start at a later date.

[IBNLive]

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Maruti Suzuki Ertiga Review: This MUV will appeal to a Vast Demographic

Out of the 15 million cars sold in India, Maruti Suzuki sells 10 million of them. That's the level of market share this manufacturer has in the Indian market. But in the MUV segment, Maruti dosen't have a strong vehicle. And this segment accounts for 14 per cent of the industry. More and more customers are looking to upgrade from a premium hatchback and this is the space which Maruti want the Ertiga to conquer. So will the Ertiga be able to establish itself?

Styling

The Ertiga has contemporary looks which will appeal to a vast demographic. Maruti's objective, which is to cater to maximum percentage of the population, will be achieved with this design. The vehicle was exhibited at the Expo and even then it had impressed with its clean look. The swept back headlamps, inspired from the Swift, the bonnet and grille taken from the Ritz, give it a car-like look and not a big MUV feel, which is exactly what Maruti want to project. From the side the pronounced wheel arch up front is the only indicator of this being a 'big' vehicle. From the rear, again the small cluster of the tail lamps (much smaller than either that of the Innova's or the Xylo's) adds to the whole car-like feel. It has a clean, uncluttered look with the rear spoiler adding a bit of sportiness.

Interiors

It's a Swift – that's the immediate conclusion when you step inside. The difference being that you get a brown and beige finish unlike the black interiors of the Swift. The beige gives you the feeling of space and there are small bits like the silver trims on the door and on the steering wheel which give it a classy look. And just like the Swift, It's a vehicle that you will slide into rather than having to climb in. The second row gets a 60:40 split, with the seats capable of sliding (240mm) and reclining, increasing the space available. The front seats have been carved out from the back to increase leg room. There is also a centre arm rest. Of course in terms of space the shoulder room is like a hatch so it is not comfy for three abreast at the middle row.

Now to the most crucial third row. And it must be said the space will be comfortable for short journeys, for medium sized adults. Access to third row is easily achieved by folding down the second row seat and sliding it forward. The recline of the third row seat helps increase the space. Third row passengers also get armrests along the side of the vehicle. In terms of storage space, with all the seats upright, you get 135 litres. You can increase it up to 735 litres by folding the second and third rows. There is a fair bit of storage space in term of cubby holes with even the third row passengers getting bottle holders. Overall, in terms of looks, Maruti have played the familiarity card well. Any customer looking to upgrade from a hatchback will not have any problem adapting to the Ertiga.

Engine and transmission

The Ertiga has two engine options. The new K14B petrol with variable valve timing – a 1.4-litre which produces 95PS of maximum power at 6000rpm and 130Nm of maximum torque at 4000rpm. And the trusted diesel from the SX4, 1.3-litre DDiS with VGT which produces 90PS of maximum power at 4000rpm and 200Nm of maximum torque at 1750rpm. The petrol engine has linear power delivery and it didn't feel underpowered during our drive though it didn't involve a lot of highway driving.

The diesel engine is peppy and has sufficient low end torque for comfortable city driving. It is one of the best diesels around, with a good top end, revs easily, and is refined. The VGT does its business in reducing the lag. But there is lag below 2000rpm made more noticeable since the kick you get once the boost comes on is much stronger than the 80PS Swift diesel. But you still get very good responses when the pedal is pushed. The gearbox is again the trustworthy unit from the Swift with slightly reengineered ratios to meet the larger vehicle's requirements and higher torque rating for the petrol. The gears snap into place and the short throw again gives you the whole car-like feel. NVH levels, especially on the diesel, are quite unlike what you would find in an MUV.

Handling

The Ertiga feels planted when pushing it around the corners. The suspension is softer than the Swift to account for the requirements of a vehicle of this class, which means you get more body roll than in a Swift. But this also means that it absorbs the undulations on the road better. The steering feels direct and sufficiently weighted to give you confidence at high speeds as on the highway. Within the city, the Ertiga shines because it feels light and agile, has better visibility, a better driving position, lighter controls (gearbox, steering, pedals) and easy manoeuvrability.

With an overall length of 4265mm, it is shorter than the Innova and Xylo by 320mm and 260mm respectively. Lesser in width too and this aids handling. The turning radius of 5.2m helps in easy manoeuvrability. Again all of this helps in the car-like feel. When driving the Ertiga, you tend to forget that it is actually an MUV which is a good thing. Behind the wheel it feels like a compact car which is what Maruti set out to do. They didn't want to have a van or CV-like feel and they have succeeded.

Verdict

Maruti is claiming an incredible mileage of 16.02kmpl for the petrol and an even better 20.77kmpl for the diesel. With these figures itself, Maruti have a winner on their hands. Because that they will price it competitively is a given. Though the Ertiga is shorter than its competition the cab-forward stance means that in terms of wheelbase it's only 10mm shorter than the Innova making it a vehicle which doesn't look big but has a lot of space inside. It's a vehicle which can accommodate the growing aspirations of a family and in providing a familiar, car-like environment, Maruti have ensured that the customer will want to upgrade to an Ertiga. They are a mass volume player and this one looks certain to bring in the numbers.

It's a new segment for Maruti and with the Ertiga in India they have attempted to 'eliminate the negative image of the commercial vehicle'. The trick will be to appeal to the private customer as much as the fleet taxi people. Versatility is a key factor which will work in favour of the Ertiga. You can drive it to work daily like you would a Swift or Dzire, it has more rear leg room, it can take seven people when required and you can take it on a month-long driving expedition. It can do it all, and does all that without the compromises - poor dynamics, poor efficiency, heavy to drive traits - inherent in a MUV. They are calling it a Life Utility Vehicle. You got to LUV that approach.

[IBNLive]

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Maruti-Suzuki to invest Rs 2,000 cr in Gurgaon facility

Indore: Car major Maruti Suzuki on Saturday said it plans to invest Rs 2,000 crore in diesel engine manufacturing facility at its Gurgaon plant to meet the demand for Swift and Desire models.

The company would manufacture 1.5 lakh diesel engines for Swift and Desire in the current year to meet the growing demand, Shashank Srivastava, chief general manager (marketing), said at a press conference after launching the new model Ertiga in Madhya Pradesh in Indore.

To a question whether the hike in excise duty by 2 per cent had any impact on car sales, CGM said it was across the board for every sector. The car production in last FY was 26.2 lakhs, against 25.2 lakhs in FY 2010-11, he pointed out.

In the last three months of 2011-12, 50 per cent of the cars sold were diesel engine ones, which was much higher than the expected, he said.

To another question, he said the company would start exporting Ertiga to south east Asia, mainly Indonesia, by April end.

In rhe recent years, Multi-Purpose Vehicles have emerged as the fastest growing sub-segment among UVs (utility vehicles), with a growth of around 20 per cent, he said. MPVs presently account for around 10 per cent share of the Indian automobile industry, he added.

[IBNLive]

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Two item songs in 'Zanjeer' remake, Mahie gets one

Mumbai: Item songs have almost become a staple in Bollywood films, and Amit Mehra who is producing the remake of 1973 film 'Zanjeer' too plans to cash in on the trend by including two item numbers, of which one will be featured on actress Mahie Gill. "We will definitely have item numbers in the film. In fact, we have decided to go with two item numbers," Mehra told IANS.

"The songs are a part of the script and they will be situational. One item song will be featured on Mahie and for the other, we are yet to decide whom to cast," he added.

Mahie will also essay Bindu's iconic 'Mona Darling' in the 'Zanjeer' remake, to be directed by Apoorva Lakhia. The film will feature southern superstar Chiranjeevi's son Ram Charan Teja and Bollywood actress Priyanka Chopra in the lead.

Mehra is extremely confident about Teja's acting skills, and feels he will do justice to the role.
"When I saw his films, I decided to cast him. He is the best guy to launch. He is fluent with Hindi as well. I am sure he will justify the role," said Mehra, son of late filmmaker Prakash Mehra.
Priyanka will join the crew of his movie by May end.

"Priyanka is busy with her other commitments. She is confirmed for the film and will join the crew by May end. Presently we are shooting the scenes with the actors," said Mehra.

However, music being a crucial part of movies, Mehra is yet to decided who to trust with the musical score for the film.

"Music is certainly a crucial part of the film. But we are yet to decide who will compose the music for 'Zanjeer' remake. We still have some time to go to think about that," he added.

The shooting of the 'Zanjeer' remake began April 13 at Mumbai's Film city. It is expected to release by May 2013.


"We will finish the entire film by this December and we plan to release the film by May 2013," said Mehra.

 [IBNLive]

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Nitish in Mumbai, invites India Inc to Bihar

Mumbai: Visiting Mumbai after settling of a controversy stoked by Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) leader Raj Thackeray, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Sunday invited India Inc to invest in his state, touting the industrial policy announced by his government last year.

"The state offers tremendous business opportunities in sectors such as solar energy, education, healthcare etc," Nitish Kumar told the industrialists.

"The Chief Minister urged the industry captains to come and invest in Bihar as it offers a industry-friendly climate," sources said after Nitish's hour-long meeting with corporate leaders in Mumbai.
The meeting was attended by Vedanta Group Chairman Anil Agarwal, Bharat Forge Group Chief Baba Kalyanai, ICICI Bank's CMD Chanda Kochhar and Axis Bank's chief Shikha Sharma among others.

A war of words had erupted between Mr Thackeray and the Bihar Chief Minister after MNS threatened to disrupt Bihar's centenary celebrations to be attended by the chief minister.

Reacting sharply to MNS' stand, Nitish had said no one could stop him from attending the event and he did not require a "visa" to travel to Mumbai.

However, in a climbdown, Thackeray later said he has no objection to the celebrations following an assurance from the Bihar Chief Minister that the event has no political agenda.

Bihar government had last year announced a new industrial policy which focused on areas like power, food processing, agro-based industries, tourism, super speciality hospitals, IT, technical and higher education, electronics, hardware and non-conventional sources of energy.

The policy provides for a subsidy grant of 50 per cent for setting up captive power plants and 60 per cent in case of non-conventional sources of energy.

The Industrial Policy 2011-2016 also provides a capital subsidy of about Rs 5 crore to those making less than Rs 500 crore of investments whereas Rs 30 crore would be given as capital subsidy to industrial units that invest Rs 500 crore or above.

[IBNLive]

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Delhi Votes to Elect New Civic Bodies

New Delhi: Moderate polling was witnessed in the Delhi municipal elections, the first for the trifurcated civic body, on Sunday with 55-58 per cent of the 1.15 crore electorate exercising its franchise till late afternoon. 

The counting of votes will take place on Tuesday. There were no reports of violence during the election for three new Corporations, seen as a semi-final ahead of next year's Assembly polls in the state. 

The municipal polls is seen as crucial for Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and Congress as well as opposition BJP with leaders believing that it could be an indicator for what is in store for the Assembly polls which is 18 months away. 

BJP, which has 164 councillors in the undivided MCD against Congress' 67 and BSP's 17, harps on alleged corruption by Dikshit government while Congress is targeting the saffron party on its "inefficient and corrupt" administration in MCD. 

The run-up to the polls also saw some embarrassment for BJP when one of its candidates, a sitting councillor, was arrested for allegedly murdering a partyman, who was opposed to him. Councillor Madhav Prasad was granted bail on Friday. 

Delhi Congress Chief JP Agarwal said he was "100 per cent confident" about his party's victory while his BJP counterpart Vijender Gupta was "certain" his camp was going to win all the three Corporations. 

There are 104 each wards in South and North Corporations and 64 in the East, of which 138 seats are reserved for women. South has the highest number of 904 candidates followed by North (885) and East (634). 

A total of 55 polling stations were identified as hyper-sensitive while 275 were declared as sensitive out of 11,500 polling stations. 

Most of the hyper-sensitive and sensitive polling stations fall under Assembly segments of Jamia Nagar, Chandni Chowk and Seelampur. 

The main contenders are BJP and Congress, but smaller parties like Samajwadi Party and BSP are giving sleepless nights to them. 

Though in public both the parties make claims about clean sweep in the elections, leaders in Congress and BJP are keeping their fingers crossed as the polls are nearing.

Presence of rebels and independents are also keeping both the parties on their toes as they believe that they could play spoilsport for them. The two parties have also expelled a number of leaders to send a strong message to their cadre. 

As the campaign entered a hectic phase, Dikshit and her cabinet colleagues, Union Minister Ajay Maken and DPCC chief Jai Prakash Aggarwal had hit the streets. 

From the BJP side, almost all Delhi leaders, including Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly VK Malhotra and Delhi BJP chief Vijender Gupta are on campaign trail. 

Gupta has earned the wrath of a section of his partymen over denial of party tickets. There was also criticism from within the party about poll ticket to his wife Shobha from Rohini Central ward where she is pitted in a direct fight with Congress' Dr Monica Puri. 

While BJP has fielded Delhi Mayor Rajni Abbi, Leader of MCD House Subhash Arya and MCD Standing Committee Chairman Yogender Chandolia, it omitted prominent councillors like Jagdish Mamgain from the electoral scene. 

After BJP (272) and Congress (271), BSP has fielded the highest number of 254 candidates followed by Samajwadi Party at 105, NCP (81) and LJP (68). 

Kashmir-based National Conference, Orissa's Biju Janata Dal and Muslim League have fielded one each candidate while CPI(M), CPI and Forward Bloc have fielded 35 candidates together. BJP-ally JD(U) has fielded 43 candidates. 

Panthers Party has fielded 15 while JD(S) has 13 nominees in the fray, besides Lalu Prasad-led RJD's 23 and Ajit Singh-led RLD's 20. 

Congress leaders claim that they have fielded 110 candidates below the age of 40 years, including 30 who are below 30 years. BJP has fielded eight candidates who are below 30 years. 

One of the interesting fight will be in Zakir Nagar where terror accused Zia-ur-Rehman is fighting the elections from behind the bars. His family and supporters are campaigning on his behalf. 

An analysis by Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR) said that BJP has fielded the highest number of 39 candidates with criminal background followed by Congress (28). The report was done after the NGO went through 1,485 affidavits of poll candidates. 

On the assets front, it said Congress has fielded a maximum of 116 crorepatis while BJP has fielded 103 crorepatis. 

There are 342 crorepatis contesting the election and BJP candidate Satvinder Kaur Sirsa, contesting from Punjabi Bagh ward tops the list of crorepatis with assets worth Rs 112 crore followed by Karuna Bhalla, BJP candidate in Khyala with assets worth Rs 50 crore. 

[IBNLive]

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Sony Xperia S scores on design

New Delhi: Before everything else - what is great about this phone and how it manages to stand apart in the smartphone crowd - what is interesting is that the Xperia S is the first smartphone under the Sony's Sony Mobile Communications brand. Sony had acquired Ericsson's 50 per cent stake in the pair's former joint venture Sony Ericsson. 

Unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas earlier this year, the phone has finally hit the Indian shores. 

Priced at Rs 32,549, the phone comes in two colours – white and black. The review unit given to me was the black version. However, I have seen the Xperia S in both white and black colours and both have their own grace. 

Now on to a comprehensive review of the device. 

Hardware and styling

In the first look, the phone looks sexy. The design is simple, yet it manages to attract attention. Chances are, you could fall in love at the very first sight with this phone. What attracted me the most is the translucent strip along the bottom, which houses icons for the navigation touch points – back, home and menu. While some of you might not find it as attractive (design after all, is often a matter of personal choice). For instance, my best colleague did not find it impressive. But I found it voguish and think it adds beauty to the device. 

But there is a problem with these navigation touch points. The touch-sensitive spots for back, home and menu are not located near their corresponding icons in the translucent strip. Also, these points are marked with hardly visible silver dots. Initially, it might result in mis-hits, but once you will be accustomed to it, it will no longer seem to be a problem at all. It's just about getting in the habit. 

The phone has been ergonomically designed and its back plate has a prominent curve that makes it more comfortable to hold than other phones. At 144grams, the phone is heavier than both the Samsung Galaxy SII and the HTC One X, which weigh 116g and 130gm respectively. Also, it is 10.6mm thick, and hence is a tad thicker than both the Galaxy SII and One X. Practically these differences hardly matter. 

Ah, a notification LED! It's on the extreme left on the top. The notification LED on any phone actually turns me on. Though, on this phone, the notification LED tells only about the battery status, but it's good to have something than nothing. I still remember the minor disappointment when I did not find the notification LED on the Nokia Lumia 800. 

The Xperia S has no microSD card slot, which means that you cannot expand the storage space beyond 32 GB that comes inbuilt. I admit that the 32 GB storage space should suffice needs of most of the users, but why does Sony have to limit users' options? 

The phone has a big scratch-resistant screen. On the top of the front side, there is a 1.3 megapixel camera, which is fair in quality. On the bottom is the translucent strip that we have already discussed.

On top of the phone are a power button and a 3.5 mm jack (headset connector). On the left side, there is a micro USB port. In addition, the right side also has a couple of controls - a micro HDMI port, a volume rocker and a dedicated camera key. The microphone is expectedly at the bottom.

As you go to the rear, you will notice that the phone has been given matte finish, which makes it look elegant and sophisticated and less susceptible to smudges. The rear side has a 12.1 megapixel camera, an LED flash, a speaker, secondary microphone and a readily visible Sony's logo, which does not look awkward at all. It's funny that this first Sony phone has the same old Liquid logo that used to represent Sony Ericsson. 

Though you can open the back cover, but the irony is that you will end up having access to nothing but your SIM card. The phone requires a micro SIM card. So, if you don't have a micro SIM card, you will have to contact your network operator. The battery is also not user replaceable. 

The Xperia S has an NFC (Near Field Communication) detection area located in the centre of the rear portion. The location of the NFC detection area is not the same on all phones.

In all, design-wise, the smartphone has been beautifully designed, and it looks swish and groovy

.

Display

The phone has a 4.3-inch scratch-resistant TFT capacitive touchscreen with a resolution of 1280x720 pixels, thereby giving a pixel density of whopping 342 PPI. 

It is said to have an HD reality display with Sony's Mobile Bravia Engine, thereby producing splendid images. The Bravia engine is believed to enhance sharpness, increase contrast and saturation. But, obviously, that only works with photos and videos, so better that you don't wander looking for its effect elsewhere. 

The display produces excellent colours, sharp images and detailed results. it's quite impressive that how black the display looks when the phone is off. One cannot differentiate that where the display panel starts and ends. The touch is highly responsive and fluid. Swiping left to right is actually a breeze. Reading e-books on this phone will be a treat. But the viewing angles are okay; these are not something astounding. 

Operating System, UI and software

When companies have been gearing up to launch Android 4-based devices, Sony is still clung to Android 2.3 Operating system (OS). On the one hand, of late, HTC launched Android 4 Ice Cream Sandwich OS powered handsets in India, Sony, on the other hand, came up with the Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) powered Xperia S. However, users will be able to upgrade it to Android 4 OS sometime down the line, says the company. 

The Xperia S runs the Android 2.3.7 operating system and the Xperia skin sits lightly atop the OS.

The interface is intuitive and engaging. 

Sony's Timescape feature allows you to manage all your communication in one place. Users can browse by category their Facebook, Twitter, email and text communications. Besides, the Xperia S is a PlayStation certified phone from Sony, so that users can enjoy a wide range of PlayStation games on the HD display. The phone is also DLNA certified so you can share content with other DLNA compatible devices including TVs, mobile phones, PCs, laptops and others. 

It also supports NFC technology that enables convenient short-range communication between electronic devices, and also allows for data exchange and wireless connections between two devices in close proximity to each other, usually by no more than a few centimetres. 

Camera

The phone has a powerful camera. It comes packed with a 12.1 megapixel camera with LED flash and auto focus. The phone offers 16x digital zoom. The Xperia S has an excellent camera and it can capture sharp images in both bright sunlight and low-light conditions. Undoubtedly, the camera is more than satisfying. 

The phone offers a plethora of options to customise images – landscape, night portrait, beach snow, red-eye reduction, smile detection, exposure value and others. The 3D Sweep Panorama feature lets you create wide-angle, panoramic photos at the touch of a button. It uses the sweep motion to capture scores of pictures in a row, and then stitches them together. 

It has a dedicated camera key that lets you access the camera app even when the phone is locked.

Besides, it also has a 1.3 megapixel front camera, which also produces good quality results, and is capable of recording 720p video. 

But the catch here is that there are minor jerks when you zoom in and out. However, zoom in and zoom out are smoother than the Galaxy Note. 

In video mode also, the camera performed considerably well. The phone comes with 1080p HD video recording capability. But the zooming is a bit fast and jerky, which could bother you. But if we ignore the zoom feature, the camera on the Xperia S is fantabulous. 

Miscellaneous

Powered by a 1.5 GHz Qualcomm MSM8260 Dual Core processor and 1GB RAM, the phone is agile. It offers internal storage space of 32GB, which is not expandable. 

The Xperia S has been engineered with a 1750mAh battery that offers a good battery backup. With normal use, the phone can easily last for a day and beyond. The loudspeaker is loud and produces high good quality sound, even in noisy areas. 

Verdict

Undoubtedly, the phone is good, and offers a cornucopia of rich features, but it does not offer something out-of-the box. Priced at Rs 32,549, the phone is a bit expensive. If you are planning to buy a new smartphone in this price point, you can take it as an option. But if you are not in any haste, then it is suggested to wait for sometime as many new phones are believed to hit the Indian shores soon. 

Pros

Distinctive and eye-catching design

Powerful camera

High-definition display

Good audio quality 

Cons

Marginally over-priced

Non-expandable memory

Dated operating system

Non-user accessible battery 

Rating: 3/5

[IBNLive]

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ICS update roll-out for 2011 Sony Xperia line begins

New Delhi: Sony Mobile has announced to roll out the Sony software upgrade including the uplift to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich for their 2011 Xperia smartphones.

According to Sony's blog post, "The software will initially be made available for Xperia arc S, Xperia neo V and Xperia ray for consumers in Sweden, Denmark, Iceland, Finland and Norway. The software roll out will continue over the next 4-6 weeks, becoming available in other global markets – we will update you here on the blog when additional markets can upgrade."

In order to upgrade their 2011 Xperia smartphones, users will need to connect to a PC or Mac. Users are suggested to visit http://www.sonymobile.com/update and follow the instructions.

The software will initially be made available for Xperia arc S, Xperia neo V and Xperia ray.

Besides, the company also mentioned that the Xperia arc, Xperia PLAY, Xperia neo, Xperia mini, Xperia mini pro, Xperia pro, Xperia active and Sony Ericsson Live with Walkman will receive their scoop starting from the end of May/early June.

However, the availability and scheduling of the software upgrade and specific models upgradeable to Android 4.0 will vary by market and carrier requirements.

[IBNLive]

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