India’s water demand to double by ‘30, conserve now

India’s water crisis is expected to get a lot worse. Water demand, driven by an increasing domestic need for rice, wheat and sugar, with more and more people adopting a middle-class diet, will be the highest in the world in 20 years, says a new global report. Supply, on the other hand, will be half of that demand.Demand will double by 2030, rom 700 billion cubic metres to 1,498 billion cubic metres, according to the study by the Water Resources Group, released on Monday. The biggest deficits will be in the most populous river basins — Ganga, Krishna and Indus.
The demand is nearly double of China’s projected 818 billion cubic meters demand.The majority of that water, 80 per cent, will go to agriculture, as farmers plant more rice, wheat and sugar to feed India’s growing population, says the study, by experts from across industries and institutions.This shortfall can be prevented, the report says, by adopting basic conservation measures, especially in agriculture. Drip irrigation, where a pipe and valve deliver water directly to the plant roots rather than over a field; and no-till farming (without using ploughs) could conserve enough water to meet our entire future demand.
“Our agriculture is relatively inefficient, especially our water use,” said P.K. Aggarwal, professor at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute. “Conservation technology exists, but it hasn't been adopted.”India wastes 40 per cent of the water it uses, said Central Water Commission chairman A.K. Bajaj.“The biggest challenges are awareness and cost,” he said.
The study estimates it would cost $6 billion (Rs 27,900 crore) to implement enough water conservation strategies to meet the projected demand. The potential payoff is huge too. Agricultural income could increase by $83 billion (Rs 3,85,950 crore) by 2030. But that is “if the full potential of agricultural measures is mobilised,” the report says. “We can't continue with business as usual,” added Bajaj.According to Aggarwal, the government should provide farmers with seed money and insure them against risk. “We need capital support so farmers can afford these new technologies.”
Some conservation steps are already afoot. In 2008, the government created the National Water Mission, which aims for 20 per cent conservation in water use over the next several years. In Maharashtra and Gujarat, the government has instituted awareness programmes on better water use strategies for farmers.

Hotels told to keep eye on foreigners

The David Headley case has spurred Delhi Police into stepping up its vigil on foreign tourists, even at the risk of harassing innocent travelers and costing hotels business. Stung by the revelation that Headley stayed in Delhi earlier this year, and concerned about the security implications for events like the Commonwealth Games -- which are expected to see thousands of foreign tourists pour into the capital -- the cops have issued guidelines to hotel owners even as investigators have been visiting several cyber cafes and hotels in Paharganj.

"There are certain things which will be strictly adhered to. Besides installing CCTVs at correct places and frisking each visitor with a hand-held metal detector, we have made ID-card proof mandatory. We have also instructed the police to ensure that managers record the contact numbers of all visitors. The beat constables will visit the hotel during the day and note down these numbers. We will then randomly cross-check these numbers," Karnail Singh, joint commissioner, northern range told TOI.

According to the local police, the hotel managers have also been instructed to report the arrival of any foreign tourist to the Foreigner Regional Registration Office even if he has valid papers with the FRRO stamp. "At times, managers fear that they might upset business if they cross-check the antecedents of foreigners. But the security of the country cannot be compromised now, especially as the 2010 Games are drawing near," said a senior police officer.

A Special Cell team had visited hotels De Holiday Inn and Anand in Paharganj, where Headley stayed, three days ago and spoke to staff there. A check on the antecedents of the staffers was also carried out.

"We have proposed that the integrated network connecting police stations in India also keep scope for live CCTV footages from hotels for quick action. We hope this will help us counter terrorism better," added another officer.

The hotel owners, themselves say they are not taking chances any more. "Besides the usual checking using hand-held metal detectors and CCTV camera footage, we now ask for telephone numbers and even ask visitors to call back home from our own ISD facilities just to satisfy our doubts," said a manager at a three star hotel at Chuna Mandi near Paharganj.

"The Karol Bagh blasts last year had forced us to introduce a slew of measures to enforce security in areas frequented by tourists. But, we did not introduce anything specific for foreign tourists. But, with the Headley case surfacing now, we have to be on our guard," said a senior special cell officer.

Sharp recovery in gold prices on higher global cues

Gold prices recovered sharply on the bullion market here on Saturday on heavy stockists buying triggered by firming of prices in international markets . Silver also moved up due to good industrial demand. In New York, gold futures finished up by one per cent on Friday, after the dollar came under renewed pressure as upbeat corporate earnings helped to offset a weak reading on US consumer sentiment. Gold for December delivery rose by $10.10 to end at $1,116.70 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. December silver up by 12 cents to end at $17.38 an ounce. In the domestic market, standard gold (99.5 purity) strengthened by Rs 145 per ten grams to close at Rs 16,845 from yesterday's closing level Rs 16,700. Pure gold (99.9 purity) also hardened by Rs 140 per ten grams to settle at Rs 16,925 from Rs 16,785 previously. Silver ready (.999 fineness) rose by Rs 100 per kilo to finish at Rs 27,600 as against Rs 27,500 on Friday.

Mind your 'own' business

The recession has significantly altered the dynamics of the job market. In such a scenario there is a rising interest in entrepreneurship, though most people still find it daunting.

However, John Mullins, chair of the David and Elaine Potter Term in Entrepreneurship, London Business School, and author of The New Business Road Test, feels that while there are risks associated with entrepreneurship it holds true for big companies as well. “In fact, the risks are not as much as perceived. When you start an entrepreneurship you may fail but you learn a lot,” he says.

Mullins was at the International Management Institute (IMI), Delhi, for the release of the book he has co-authored with Randy Komisar, Getting to Plan B. He feels that the world would not have had entrepreneurs like Richard Branson or Dhirubhai Ambani, if they had dwelt so much on the risk factor. Mullins adds that this is the time when the world is accepting entrepreneurship in its culture and there are opportunities.

“In hard times, people are reminded of the fact that life in big organisations is not always secure. They start thinking about pursuing a career that puts them more in control of their destiny,” says Mullins. In fact, he informs that several companies were started at the time of recession (HP started in the middle of the great depression and Oracle was started in the recession of 1991).

He feels that India has the potential to produce successful entrepreneurs. “India is an emerging market,” he says, adding that India not only can catch up in this field but it can lead as well. “Indian companies have given self-financing models to the Western world. Also, entrepreneurship has potential in every industry in India. For instance, there is potential in the retail sector,” he says.

Mullins concludes that most of the current entrepreneurial efforts in India are in the field of technology, more specifically IT. “In the coming years, there will be a focus on other industries. It doesn’t matter how you learn but ‘that’ you learn. Business school education can hasten that process,” he says.

Gurgaon boy doodles his way to Google

For once, Puru Pratap Singh’s (9) folks will allow him to surf the Net late at night. In fact, his whole family will be up till midnight

Puru Pratap Singh, a Class 4 student from Gurgaon, won the Doodle for Google competition. Singh’s doodle was chosen from 4,000 entries across India. Log on to Google and you will see the logo

Friday, to see his artwork displayed as an icon on the homepage of Google India.

Singh, a Class IV student of Amity International, Saket, won the GoogleDoodle contest in India, edging out 4,000 others. His will be the search engine’s first “made in India” doodle.

But having won the contest, and a laptop in prize, Singh has other plans for the future: “I want to be a scientist, not an artist as they aren’t very well paid.”

The Gurgaon boy had a little help. His art teacher mother, Arti Singh, pitched in with the artwork while his father, N.P. Singh, helped him think up the concept, ‘My India full of life’.

“The first ‘G’ is in the shape of a peacock; ‘O’ represents the wisdom of our country; the other ‘O’ shows the discovery of water on the moon by India, ‘G’ revolves around Kashmir; ‘L’ is designed as the rifle at Amar Jawan Jyoti at India Gate; and ‘E’ depicts Mahatma Gandhi,” said Singh.

Travellers give thumbs up to India as a global brand

t's not just arts and culture or history that makes India popular, but also its way of doing business.

The FutureBrand's latest Country Brand Index (CBI) has ranked India among the top five countries for value for money, authenticity, history, best brand for art and culture and business.

India has also made it to the list of this year's "rising stars" -- the places which are likely to become major tourist destinations in the next five years, according to the survey.

Other rising stars include United Arab Emirates (UAE), China, Vietnam, Croatia and South Africa.

CBI is a comprehensive study of about 3,000 international business and leisure travellers from nine countries -- the US, the UK, China, Australia, Japan, Brazil, UAE, Germany and Russia.

The survey was conducted by FutureBrand, a leading global brand consultancy, along with public relations firm Weber Shandwick's Global Travel & Lifestyle Practice.

Stop violence and we'll review corporate MoUs, Chidambaram tells Maoists

If Maoist guerrillas halted their violence, the government would respond in 72 hours and order a review of all corporate memorandums of understanding (MoUs) in Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Orissa and south Bihar, Home Minister P Chidambaram has promised.

Calling "Operation Green Hunt", a proposed armed offensive against Maoist guerrillas, "a pure invention of the media", Chidambaram said: "There is no Operation Green Hunt. Name the officer who has said there is and I will take action against him."

In an interview with Tehelka magazine, Chidambaram said categorically: "I haven't seen a single paper or document in the home ministry with the phrase 'Operation Green Hunt'. It's a pure "invention of the media."

He said the state police, assisted by paramilitary forces and intelligence, would in the months ahead "reassert control over areas where, regrettably, the civil administration has lost control".

The minister denied that the government was calling in the army or the Rashtriya Rifles to flush out Maoist guerrillas in Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Orissa.

Asked why the government was not taking tribals into confidence and isolating Maoists instead of raising a military offensive against them, Chidambaram said: "Instead of arguing over who is responsible for the violence or who should stop the violence, why don't the Maoists heed my appeal and say, 'yes, we will halt the violence and let us hear the home minister's response'."

"Give me two or three days to respond, because I need to consult others in government, both at the Centre and the states. Once they say, they will halt the violence and they actually do, between their statement and my response which will surely come in about 72 hours.

"You will find that I am in a position to respond in a manner where violence can be ended once and for all and development can take place, and talks can also be held with the (Communist Party of India) CPI-Maoists. But the first step is for them to say, 'we halt the violence'," the home minister said in the interview to be published in its latest issue.

Chidamabaram's bid for peace was backed by another offer of discussing land acquisition, forest rights, industrialisation and local governance.

Asked whether the government was taking control of mineral-rich land and securing it for private companies through MoUs, he responded by saying: "The MoUs have been signed over a period of time with different governments, long before Maoist violence rose to this level".

"Nevertheless, I am prepared to request Prime Minister (Manmohan Singh) to freeze the MoUs and order a comprehensive review of all MoUs that have been signed in Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Orissa and south Bihar before deciding which MoUs should be implemented - with or without modification. I am prepared to request the prime minister to do that," he said.

He said he was ready to facilitate talks on forest rights, industrialisation, land acquisition and development with state governments.

Google launching free videoconferencing

Google is all set to strengthen its voice and video chat capabilities. The voice and video chat feature in the company's the email se rvice, Gmail, is currently limited to one-to-one communication, however, Google wants to broaden this capability to more than two participants. The Google Apps product manager Rishi Chandra told SFGate that Google is set to roll out its first update in a long line of updates that will include multi-user video conferencing. Chandra told the web site, “This (current Gmail capability) is the first step in a much broader set of features we hope to roll out over the next six to 12 months around video (and voice) chat capabilities.” He added, "It’s a great opportunity for us to push that space along." Google acquired Web and video conferencing software in 2007 from Swedish company Marratech.

Reliance eyes major global acquisition

India’s biggest private sector company —Reliance Industries Ltd — is exploring the possibility of a major global acquisition in the oil and gas space, a deal that could be worth $1-2 billion.

Sources close to RIL confirmed that the company is currently doing due diligence on four overseas companies--including the assets of bankrupt petrochemicals company LyondellBasell--for a possible acquisition.

When contacted, a RIL spokesperson said, “RIL is reviewing a number of global opportunities for growth in its core business.”

“The difficult operating environment of the past year has made available several interesting opportunities, where an
investment by a strategic operator of industrial assets can add substantial value.”

The RIL overseas acquisition buzz started getting louder after the company raised Rs 3,188 crore by selling its treasury
shares recently.

The company had cash reserves of Rs 18,000 crore as on 30 September.

Now, know what Google knows about you

Google has opened a window for users to see what records the Internet giant keeps regarding their activities at YouTube, Gmail, Reader and other accounts. Dashboard summarizes data kept about use of more than 20 of the California-based firm's services, according to a blog post by Google engineer Alma Whitten, product manager Yariv Adan, and vice president Marissa Mayer.

"The Dashboard summarizes data for each product that you use and provides you direct links to control your personal settings," the message said.

"The scale and level of detail of the Dashboard is unprecedented, and we're delighted to be the first Internet company to offer this and we hope it will become the standard."

Only information shared with Google while logged into accounts at its Web properties is included in Dashboard summaries. People can change settings or delete data, which is viewable by account owners online at google.com/dashboard/.

"We are very aware of the trust that you have placed in us, and our responsibility to protect your privacy and data," Adan, Mayer, and Whitten said. Dashboard does not include information Google records without identifying accounts of users. Data kept independent of accounts includes "server logs" with details of searches, Web browser types and computer IP addresses. Also separated from accounts is information from snippets of code called "cookies" and search activity data used to target advertising, according to Google.

Akai set to make a comeback

Twice unlucky Japanese electronics brand, Akai is staging a comeback in the country soon. The aggressive ‘price warrior' brand, which in the mid-90s revolutionized the consumer electronic market and is credited with many ‘marketing firsts', will be re-introduced by Pranay Dhabhai, who is also responsible for launching Chinese major, Haier in the domestic market.

According to industry sources, the Akai brand of electronics including colour televisions, home theatres and DVD players will soon be launched by a venture, Global Brands Enterprise Solutions, promoted by Dhabhai. Confirming to TOI, Dhabhai said, "we will re-introduce the Akai brand in December-January as we have entered into an agreement with the Japanese parent. We also hold the marketing rights in countries like Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bangladesh, besides India."

Akai was first introduced in the domestic market by Kabir Mulchandani-run Baron Electronics, who positioned it as ‘price warrior' to capture a major share in the colour television dominated by players like BPL, Videocon, Philips and Onida. In fact, Baron launched 21-inch colour television at an aggressive price of Rs 10,000, which was unthinkable in the 90s. Akai's market share, according to ORG figures, rose to 16% in 1998-99, and its success story soon made it to case studies of top B-schools in the country. The company which scaled up very rapidly by creating a price war in the CTV market, soon ran into rough weather. In 1999, consumer electronic major Videocon entered into alliance with Akai Electric. But the Rs 300-crore brand seems to have disappeared from show-rooms over the last few months. Industry sources said Akai's brand licensing agreement with Videocon ended in September this year. Videocon chairman VN Dhoot was unavailable for comments. The recently-floated venture by Dhabhai will also expand the range of Akai by introducing more categories. "The company has entered into a long-term agreement with Akai," Dhabhai added. Consumer electronics like TVs and audio products will be manufactured in the country by third-party manufacturers, while some will be imported from southeast Asia and Japan. The Akai brand which was founded in Japan in 1929, is now headquartered in Singapore as a subsidiary of Grande Holdings, a Chinese-Hongkong based conglomerate.

US unemployment rate hits 10.2%

The US unemployment rate unexpectedly jumped to 10.2 percent in October, breaching the politically sensitive double-digit barrier for first time in 26-1/2 years, even though the pace of job losses slowed.

A labor department report showed on Friday that employers cut 190,000 jobs last month, more than the 175,000 markets had expected. Economists had looked for the jobless rate to rise to only 9.9 percent from 9.8 percent the prior month.
The government revised job losses for August and September to show 91,000 fewer jobs lost than previously reported. US stock index futures turned negative on the data, while government debt prices rose.
"The unemployment rate of 10.2 percent is problematic because it gives a sense of urgency to Washington, D.C. Washington will be looking for any increase in stimulus," said Tom Sowanick, co-president and chief investment officer at Omnivest Group.
President Barack Obama has called job creation priority No. 1, but the scope to take further steps to lift the economy is limited by record budget deficits. Mounting unemployment could pose problems for the Democrats who control Congress as they head into congressional elections in November 2010. This week, Republicans wrested control of two state governorships away from Democrats in races where the weak economy figured prominently.
The labor market is being watched for signs whether the economic recovery that started in the third quarter can be sustained without government support. The economy grew at a 3.5 percent annualized rate in the July-September period, probably ending the most painful US recession in 70 years.
Labor market sluggishness and weak wage growth suggest inflation is unlikely to get out of hand anytime soon, giving the Federal Reserve scope to maintain supportive policies. The US central bank on Wednesday held overnight interest rates close to zero percent and said it would keep them extraordinarily low as long as excess economic slack and a lack of inflation warning signs prevailed.
"The Fed will stay on hold even longer with less likelihood of giving a concrete answer to when and how to withdraw quantitative easing," said Joseph Trevisani, senior market analyst at FX Solution in Saddler River, New Jersey. Payrolls have declined for 22 consecutive months now, throwing 7.3 million people out of work since December 2007, when the recession started. However, the pace of layoffs has slowed sharply from early this year, when nearly three-quarters of a million jobs were lost in January. In October, job losses were across almost all sectors, with education and health services and professional and business services bucking the trend. Manufacturing employment fell 61,000 last month, while construction industries payrolls dropped 62,000.
The service-providing sector cut 61,000 workers in October and goods-producing industries slashed 129,000 positions. Education and health services added 45,000 jobs, while government employment was flat. The average workweek, which closely correlates with overall output and gives clues on when firms will start hiring, was steady at 33 hours in October. Average hourly earnings rose to $18.72 from $18.67 in September.

Birlas to foray into hotel industry

For the first time in their close to 100-year history, the Birlas are entering the hospitality arena. The Birla Group - a part of corporate folklore in the country, along with the Tatas - is going to set up its first hotel on a closed mill plot in Mumbai. Although the Birla empire - spread across the various family groupings (BK, AVB, KK, CK, SK, Yash and MP Birla groups) - pretty much covers the entire business spectrum, from textiles, metals and cement to automobiles, tea, IT and media, the Birlas had never tried their hand in the hotel arena. Basant Kumar Birla, the oldest member of the Birla family, told TOI that his group has decided to set up a luxury hotel near Worli, in south Mumbai, on unutilised land belonging to Century Textiles & Industries. "We will not run the hotel. Five big groups from India and abroad have approached us for managing it. We will get a fee, which will be revised every three years," Birla said. The group may also use the land for commercial real estate, the industry doyen said. "We want to optimise the value of the land belonging to Century Textiles. The value will appreciate if we develop it. We will not sell the land. The company will return 15-20% of the land to the state government, as per rules, and the rest will be developed," he added. Century Textiles senior president R K Dalmiya said the mill has been shut since 2006. "All the mills in the area are closed for environmental or other reasons. The mill occupies 40 acres, of which we own 30 acres. The balance is lease-hold land for which the group has an existing 999-year lease with the Wadia Group," he said, adding that a Singapore-based architectural firm has been appointed as adviser for the hotel project. Century Textiles has already set up an advanced greenfield textile mill with an investment of Rs 850 crore at Bharuch in Gujarat. The mill was inaugurated by Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi in the presence of B K Birla and his grandson Kumar Mangalam Birla (chairman of AV Birla Group) in October. "The new mill alone will take care of most of our requirements," Dalmiya said.

Johnson & Johnson to cut 8,000 jobs

US consumer goods and pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson said Tuesday it would cut around 8,000 jobs in a bid to trim costs in the wake of the recession. The lay-offs amount to some 6 per cent to 7 per cent of the company's employees.
They are designed to save some $1.7 billion by 2011, the New Brunswick, New Jersey-based company said. One-time costs of up to $1.3 billion will fall in the current quarter.

Wipro buys Yardley personal care businesses

India's No. 3 software services exporter, said on Thursday it had agreed to buy some personal care businesses of Yardley for about $45.5 million, adding to its consumer goods business.
Wipro said it had signed an agreement with UK-based Lornamead group, which owns the Yardley brand, for the businesses in Asia, the Middle East, Australasia and some African markets. The transaction is expected to be completed by mid-December, it said in a statement.

Now, a game to fight Swine flu

THE HAGUE: The clock is ticking, people are dying and a flu virus is sweeping the globe -- that is the scenario of a new computer game designed

to make people think about how to respond to the swine flu pandemic.
In "The Great Flu", players must choose whether or not to stockpile anti-viral drugs and deploy research teams to new areas of outbreak as the number of infections and deaths rises and more countries are affected.
Players face tough choices with limited funds -- and taking decisions such as closing major airports do not come cheap. And just to concentrate minds, a map of the world shows the spread of the virus.
"If the money is well invested, the pandemic can be stopped," said Albert Osterhaus, head of virology at Rotterdam's Erasmus Medical Centre, who is credited as the game's scientific editor.
"The game is very realistic and has an educational value," he told AFP. "It informs people how the virus spreads, what the flu is and on the ways to fight the pandemic."
The game, which was dreamed up before the current outbreak seized the headlines, was originally designed for Dutch teenagers, said Michael Bas, who helped design it and is the head of Ranj Serious Games, which markets it.
Put online at the beginning of 2009, www.thegreatflu.com was attracting more than 1,000 visitors a day, with peaks of up to 40,000, he said.
Deborah MacKenzie, a consultant, writing on the New Scientist website, said she found that the game was flawed because it was unclear what effect the action that players took had on the virus.
But if the current swine flu pandemic gets bad and schools close in the fall, there are going to be a lot of teenagers sitting at home with not much to do, and with luck this could breed up a generation of officials that does understand," she added.

Poverty remains India's main concern, Krishna tells UN

External affairs minister S M Krishna told world leaders that India continued to face enormous developmental challenges and poverty eradication remains the nation's top priority. "Nearly 200 millions live on less than one dollar a day and nearly 500 millions do not have access to modern sources of energy," he said.

"Our overriding priority, therefore, has to be eradication of poverty for which we must address our energy poverty and use all sources of energy, including fossil fuels," he added.

Krishna was speaking at a Round Table during the Climate Change summit at the United Nations. The high-level summit, which featured more than 100 world leaders, was convened to mobilise political will ahead of the Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen.

Krishna said the outcome in Copenhagen "must also ensure that developing countries can pursue accelerated development also so that they have the resources to cope with and adapt to climate change."

The creation of mechanisms along with provision of financial resources and access to technology which will enable us to upscale our national efforts is an important expectation that we have from Copenhagen," he added.

A guru can help us get connected

he external world is only a reflection of our inner world. Our thoughts and feelings dictate the way we perceive and

A guru can help us get connected (Getty Images)

experience life.

People and the environment only respond and correspond to the kind of vibrations we generate. Trapped by emotions and mood swings, we suffer and make others suffer. Though controlling the mind may seem as impossible as harnessing the whirlwind, through the grace and guidance of a guru we can gain complete mastery over it. The guru can totally transform our inner and outer worlds and fill it with bliss, contentment and peace.

In the Guru Gita, Shiva tells Parvati: "It is the existence of the guru that lends reality to our inner world; it is the radiance of the guru which illumines 'That', the Cosmic Consciousness; it is the ananda of the guru that makes all beings blissful. Therefore, offer your salutations to the guru with utmost reverence." The guru is not a vyakti or personality. He is the shakti or energy that connects our soul to the Supreme Soul. Ever one with the Universal Consciousness, he enfolds the cosmos in his being. He is the all-encompassing power of love, the fount of compassion. The guru always propels our minds towards peace and Self-realisation and anchors us in total stability. The brilliant searchlight of his wisdom illumines the hidden recesses of the mind, revealing both the filth and wealth we have accumulated over lifetimes. His grace strengthens our power of discrimination, ignites our willpower and enables us to discard vices and nurture virtues.

To the guru each Soul is precious. Even if we forsake Him, He does not forsake us. Many people relate to us through our body, mind and intellect, but it is only the guru who is interested in our soul. Whether others value us or not, the guru accepts and cherishes us. For this we have to invoke the guru through our love and devotion. If we already have a guru, we start feeling his grace intensely and instantaneously. In the Guru Gita, Ishwara says: "Though the devoted disciple of a Guru may be a fool, all his actions like initiation, vows and penance bear fruit because of the immense Grace of his Guru."

The guru's grace offers refuge to our body, mind and soul, giving us complete protection. Selfless service turns to reverence and this helps us to identify our ego which is preventing us from attaining Self-realisation This reverence dawns with the knowledge that the guru's word is the truth. In the Guru Gita, Shiva says: "The Vedas and scriptures are scintillating jewels at the lotus feet of the guru. His wisdom is the Sun that illumines the highest truths. The word of the guru is the source of all mantras and the grace of the guru is the source of Self-realisation." When we surrender completely to the guru, He balances everything inside us and brings out the sweetness of bliss, the essence of the Soul. He liberates us and shows us how to expand our constricted world into an endless expanse of joy so that we become one with the One with love.

TCS sets up 8th centre in Latin America

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has set up a delivery centre in Buenos Aires, Argentina, which will provide consulting, IT and business outsourcing services, to broaden the company’s revenue model in Latin America.

TCS has been investing in Latin America - one of its major emerging markets - since 2002, and the latest investment of a couple of million dollars in this facility takes its total number of delivery centres in the region to eight. Latin America contributes 5% to TCS’s revenues of $6 billion.

The Latin American IT services market is estimated to touch $70,721 million in 2012, a compounded annual growth rate of 12.9% over $50,385 million in 2008. Currently, TCS’s Latin American outfit largely provides software services to local companies. While two-third of its customers are local, the rest are global.

It works out to be attractive to cater to its US clients from Latin America compared to servicing them from their base. Also, as TCS’s emerging markets head, Gabriel Rozman, puts it, some of the large US clients prefer to be serviced from a near-shore centre in a bid to de-risk from India, or complement their India strategy.

Surat diamond industry starts sparkling again

The Rs 50,000-crore diamond industry in Surat is on its way to recovery. The growing economies in India, Middle East,Hing Kong and China are helping the sector to regain its glitter.Roughly 500 units, 40% of the 1,250 units which shut shop in the wake of the economic crisis, are back in business giving jobs to one lakh diamond workers. If September 2008 was the beginning of the crash period for the diamond industry, September 2009 has heralded a revival.

"The reopened units are working in full capacity to meet orders from domestic as well as key markets in Middle East, Hong Kong and China," said Rohit Mehta, president, Surat Diamond Association. Most of the diamantaires in Surat and Mumbai have been preparing for the Hong Kong jewellery and gem fair, Asia's biggest and one of the top three in the world, starting from September 21. Last September, the jewellery fair attracted more than 37,000 buyers from 133 countries and regions.

‘‘We are focusing on Hong Kong and India markets. The domestic demand for diamond jewellery has grown by almost 25% compared to last year, which was Rs 20,000 crore. As per the leading industry players, the domestic market for diamonds is likely to touch Rs 30,000 crore by 2012,'' said Bharat Gosai, a leading diamantaire.

As per the data from state government's labour department, of the total 2,500 units in the city, 1,250 were closed due to the global slump leaving two lakh workers jobless.

While most of the jobless workers left for their home towns in Saurashtra, a fraction of them were absorbed in the embroidery industry.

Orkut India's top 10 communities

According to this news, Orkut community site has topped the list of social network.Google's social network is also the country's most visited site.

The social network is a hotbed of various communities, you name a subject, topic or even a like or dislike and you are very likely to find a community on it on Orkut. From `I hate to wake up early' to `procrastinator's club' to ‘The Art of Kissing’, it’s all there.

But ever wondered which are the most popular among these communities? Google recently released a list of its Orkut's top 10 communities. The company claimed that it looked at millions of communities and usage trends to finally arrive at the ten most popular communities. The trends are based on an anonymised and aggregated study of the behaviour of Indian

WIPRO promotes ,hike salaries on selective basis

According to this news,

During this recession period, Wipro has lifted the freeze on promotion and hike salaries on selective basis . Senior HR President Saurabh Govil confirmed the development and company is going to invest in leadership talent and reconize them on selective basis. It will happen across all levels in organisation . It could stay close to 8-15% depending on the level of employees. The selective basis are pointed to confidence level, it biggest technical market. This signals towards towards semi good times, organisation are optimism.

In the last the conclusion is that during this recession time every company should be optimistic about the future. All the stability of market depends on the positive attitude or perception of persons.

God's own country to become 100% e-literate

According to this news, we all are aware about the fact that India is one of the developing country.

So this is again going to add astep towards its development. Kerela is the top most literate stae in India. Now the State Goverment has decide to provide educatio throurh internet. Kerela has about 1400 villages and 999 panchayats. This scheme carried under name Akshaya Scheme- the flagship information, communication and technology intiative to make 100% e-literate.

The other USO scheme (Universal Service Obligation)started by Kerela government to connect the unconnected areas of the state last year along with BSNL. Now the government is interested in providing broadband connections in all. only 9 villages are left because of their not feasible condition. under Akshaya scheme, one member in each household one member is computer literate which has covered 999 panchayats in the state. About 2200 centres conduct computer literacy programme in Kerela in villages providing them the e-services.