India News Clips
 

Bombay Archdiocese Trains Priests To Go Digital Published Date: March 1, 2010 MUMBAI, India (UCAN) — The archdiocese of Bombay, the largest diocese in India, is training priests in its 119 parishes to use online and digital media to communicate the Gospel. “It is part of the ongoing formation for our diocesan priests and Religious priests working in parishes,” said Father Gilbert de Lima, dean of the St. Pius X College, the archdiocesan seminary. The move comes after Pope Benedict XVI, in his 2010 World Communications Day message in January, urged priests to utilize new media technology in their pastoral roles. Father de Lima said the archdiocese’s Conference of the Diocesan Priests, will host a one-day seminar on interactive media on March 4. He said over 100 priests had registered for the workshop. “The priests will be given hands-on training on web hosting, blogging, group SMSing, making short documentaries and posting them on YouTube, counseling in Internet chat rooms” as well as in traditional print and electronic media, said Father Melroy Fernandes, associate director of the archdiocese’s Catholic Communications Centre. The workshop will also help parish priests become media savvy and give a creative lift to parish bulletins, magazines and posters, said Father Fernandes, who is a coordinator for the course. He said priests are primarily communicators of a culture of values, and using online and digital media would make them more effective in reaching out to the masses.

New scheme for unemployed Non-Resident Keralites soon http://www.southasianobserver.com/newsbackhome_news.php?mid=11&cid=9255 ( Feb 27 2010 ) Thiruvananthapuram: A scheme for Non-Resident Keralites (NRKs), who lost their jobs within two years of migration to the Middle East because of the global economic slump, will be launched in the coming financial year, Kerala Governor R.S. Gavai said Wednesday. "My government has been implementing various schemes and projects for NRKs and returnees through the Non-Resident Keralites Affairs Department (NORKA). During the present financial year the Non-Resident Keralite's Welfare Act has been enacted and the Kerala Non-Resident Keralite's Welfare Board has also been constituted," said Gavai. Kerala has more than two million NRKs working outside the country with close to 90 percent in the Middle East and close to a million returnees. Gavai also said in order to enable children of NRKs to get acquainted with Malayalam and the Kerala culture, his government has set up a permanent establishment named Malayalam Mission. "My government will also explore the feasibility of a Malayalam University in the state," said Gavai. Modalities of the scheme for those who have lost their jobs within two years is being worked out, Left independent legislator Manjalamkuzhi Ali told IANS. "This scheme is essential because most of these people who go to the Middle East go after spending close to Rs.one lakh and the salary levels for such people is relatively low. And if they lose their job in two years' time, they end up losing a lot of money and it is here that the new scheme could act as a saving grace," said Ali. (IANS).

This woman suckered us, said Nixon of Indira Gandhi: Book http://www.southasianobserver.com/newsbackhome_news.php?mid=6&cid=9277 ( Mar 02 2010 ) New Delhi: "She suckered us. Suckered us. this woman suckered us." So said an enraged US president Richard Nixon of Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi after learning that war had broken out on the subcontinent on Dec 3, 1971, and Indian forces had made a decisive push towards then East Pakistan that it recognised as Bangladesh three days later. Nixon, who had met Gandhi just a month earlier in Washington, had sought assurances from her that India would not take any precipitate military action pending efforts by the US to find a political solution that would not "shatter the cohension of West Pakistan" and end up "overthrowing President Yahya (Khan)" who was pivotal to America's China initiative after 22 years of diplomatic freeze. Nixon had then made it clear to Mrs. Gandhi that "nothing could be served by the disintegration of Pakistan" and even warned darkly that "it would be impossible to calculate with precision the steps which other great powers might take if India were to initiate hostilities". Nixon's presentations were heard with "aloof indifference" by Mrs. Gandhi, Secretary of State Henry Kissinger was quoted as telling author Kalyani Shankar in her just published book "Nixon, Indira and India - Politics and Beyond (Macmillan/Rs. 445). Nixon's frustration at not being able to make Mrs. Gandhi back off from war reflected in his telephone conversation with Kissinger on Dec 6. Almost fumbling for words without breaking into expletives at the turn of the situation in the subcontinent at a time when Yahya Khan's propping up was imperative for American foreign policy interests, Nixon wondered if he was "too easy on that goddamn woman when she was here". Even as Kissinger tried to pacify a fuming president by saying he was only following advice to be "gracious" to a visiting dignitary, Nixon agreed at one point with Kissinger that he should have probably "brutalised" her and followed up by threatening: "But let me tell you she is going to pay. She is going to pay." Nixon even asked Kissinger whether the Chinese would make threatening moves towards India. But the Chinese, much to the chagrin of the Americans did not agree to "intimidate the Indians", as the author points out, because the Chinese thought that "independence for East Pakistan was a foregone conclusion. "It (China) was prepared to endorse UN proposal for a standstill ceasefire and forgo a demand for mutual troop withdrawal," the book states. When even the Soviets refused to put presssure on New Delhi for a ceasefire, Nixon ordered the Seventh Fleet into the Indian Ocean in a threatening gesture. The Fleet, consisting of an aircraft carrier and four destroyers, was to move towards Karachi with the publicly stated aim that they would stand by for "possible evacuation" of Americans although the intention was to browbeat India in case the government in New Delhi did not agree to an immediate ceasefire and withdrawal. India did finally agree to a ceasefire, but that was only on Dec 17 after Indian forces marched into Dhaka (then Dacca). There was a ceasefire also in the west with India assuring that it had no desire to seize the territory of West Pakistan, an assurance it delivered to Washington via Moscow. The book provides a fascinating insight for foreign policy researchers into the Nixon era and his famous tilt towards Pakistan based on now declassified 'top-secret' documents and top-level telephone transcripts pertaining to Nixon's visit to India in 1969 and Mrs. Gandhi's visit to Washington in 1971 that were obtained from the United States National Archives and the National Security Archives. (IANS)

"My Name Is Khan" ' is Shah Rukh's top seller in US with record haul Excerpt from South Asian Observer | ( Mar 02 2010 ) Washington: "My Name Is Khan" has set a new all-time career record for Shah Rukh Khan by becoming the Bollywood star's top-grossing film in North America with total sales of $3,635,000 after 17 days of release. The film Sunday surpassed Khan's old record of $3,597,372 for 2007's "Om Shanti Om" and continues to play in 119 theaters across the US and Canada in its third week of play. On Feb 22, after only 11 days of release, "My Name Is Khan" also became the highest grossing film ever for director Karan Johar beating the $3,275,444 of 2006's "Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna" which starred Shah Rukh Khan, Amitabh Bachchan, Rani Mukherjee, Preity Zinta and Abhishek Bachchan. A week earlier, with a Sunday sale of $761,000, "My Name Is Khan" recorded the highest one-day gross ever for any Hindi-language film in North America.   The film's Feb 12-14 opening weekend sales of $1,939,000 was again a new record for a Hindi film beating the $1,764,131 of 2007's "Om Shanti Om. "With an estimated four-day opening weekend figure of $2,275,000, it was the fastest Hindi film ever to break the $2,000,000 mark. It beat the previous record of 5 days set in December by "3 Idiots" which grossed $2,149,227 in its five-day opening over the Christmas holiday weekend. In North America, "My Name Is Khan" was distributed by Fox Searchlight and marketed by Box Office Guru. (IANS)

India - Food price inflation rises to 17.87% http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/5640375.cms?prtpage=1 IANS, Mar 4, 2010, 01.17pm IST NEW DELHI: India's annual food price inflation based on wholesale prices rose slightly to 17.87% for the week ended Feb 20 from 17.58 the week before, as per official data released Thursday. The government's decision to hike auto fuel prices has resulted in fears that food prices could rise further in the coming months. Both houses of parliament had Wednesday witnessed stormy scenes as opposition members demanded a rollback of the fuel price hikes, saying they would have a cascading effect on the already high prices of essential commodities.

Now, strawberry will be a fruit for all seasons http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/5639299.cms?prtpage=1 Nikhil Deshmukh, TNN,| Mar 4, 2010 | 05.47am IST PUNE: The Mahabaleshwar strawberries will now be available in the Indian market year round, thanks to modern technology and the initiative taken by the All-India Strawberry Growers’ Association. To begin with, dried strawberries will be launched in the Pune, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Chennai markets in the next two months, and they will be priced at Rs 125 per kg, association chairman Balasaheb Bhilare told TOI on Wednesday. This will be for the first time in India where strawberries will be dried and marketed, he said, adding that Mahabaleshwar is the largest producer of the fruit in India and that the the project will be successful. "The osmo-dehydration technique will be used to dry strawberries grown in Mahabaleshwar and Panchgani (Satara district) and they will be sold under the Mahabaleshwar brand. We have decided to use medium-sized strawberries which will be dried after they are soaked in sugar syrup for a day." After removing the strawberries from the sugar syrup, they are kept in a dryer for 24 to 26 hours. Since osmo-dehydration does not require boiling of the fruit, it retains its original sweetness and aroma. In the next two months, about eight tonnes of dried strawberries will be available in the market, Bhilare said. A workshop will also be held on March 16 at Mahabaleshwar to educate strawberry-growers about the technique. About 200 to 250 farmers will impart training in this skill. The association also plans to involve women’s self-help groups in the project. Bhilare said, "The contribution of Mahabaleshwar and Panchgani in the country’s total strawberry production is more than 70 per cent. More than 1,000 farmers have undertaken cultivation during the current season." He said the dried strawberry concept has been in India for a long time, but nobody took any initiative in that regard fearing its success. "There were two reasons for the delay in introducing it in the market: one, whether it would be accepted in the market; two, reluctance of farmers to take the risk." Asked how he managed to convince the farmers, Bhilare said "Since I succeeded in ensuring good returns for the farmers in the last two years, they have started trusting me and are ready to invest on this project." Bhilare said he got inputs from people travelling abroad that the dried strawberries taste well and are in demand in other countries, following which he thought of introducing them in the Indian market.

World's cheapest EV: Tata Nano electrifies Geneva show http://content.usatoday.com/communities/driveon Mar 04, 2010 The Nano EV of the Indian carmaker Tata is displayed on March 3, 2010 during the third press day at the 80th Geneva International Motor Show at Palexpo in Geneva. Tata Motors said at the  Geneva Motor Show on March 3 that it aimed to put its low cost Nano on sale in Europe in 2010- 2011 and build a reputation as a builder of The world's cheapest car, transformed into the world's cheapest electric car, went on display at the Geneva Motor Show. India's Tata Nano EV seats four, has a predicted range of about 80 miles and will go from zero to about 35 miles per hour in a blistering 10 seconds. The car has super-polymer lithium-ion batteries, which Tata says provide superior energy retention. "Electrification will be an integral part of our initiative to launch environment-friendly vehicles," said Ravi Kent, vice chairman of Tata. Tata displayed the gas-powered European version of the Nano, the Nano Europa, at last year's Geneva Motor Show. It goes on sale in select European countries in a couple of years and is eventually supposed to work its way to the U.S. In India, Nano is being delivered to 100,000 customers. No word yet on how soon the electric version will come to Europe - or the U.S. as well.