India's new mantra: Need for speed

As a rule, the emergence of a rookie bowler with raw pace generates unparalleled excitement in cricket circles in India, a country where new-ball bowlers have traditionally worn the medium-pacer tag. So, with Abhimanyu Mithun in the squad for the first Test against South Africa after a dream first-class debut season, hopes are being harboured that the 20-year-old speedster will continue to intimidate batsmen at the international level.
But in this atmosphere of anticipation, a significant statement made by the chairman selectors, K Srikkanth, seemed to have been lost. Speaking about the green-behind-the-ears paceman Mithun, the former India opener said: "We really needed a genuine fast bowler for Tests, so we included him."
It was the chairman's way of saying that this wasn't just a one-off selection but a new trend that is set to continue in the coming days. As some other members of the committee confirmed, the criteria for Test selection is no longer only wickets and experience, but a tick in the speed box had become mandatory as well.
A look at the Board President XI squad, announced on the same day as the Test team, proves India's consistency in this thinking. The usual medium pacers who generally face touring teams in warm-up games were conspicuous by their absence. Bowlers such as Munaf Patel, RP Singh, Irfan Pathan and Dhawal Kulkarni were excluded, and sources said it wasn't a mere coincidence that they all bowled below 130 kph.
The 22-year-old Vidarbha bowler has played just 11 first-class games, but his quick spell in the Duleep Trophy last year - when he beat Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman for pace - was a factor the selectors kept in mind. "These days in international cricket, it is very tough to get wickets if you don't have pace. The margin of error is very small for a medium pacer, especially on Indian pitches. So while travelling around the country, we keep an eye on the quick bowlers," a national selector, who did not wish to be named, told The Indian Express when asked about Mithun and Yadav.
Central Zone coach Gyanendra Pandey endorsed the view that Yadav fit the bill perfectly. "He is very quick and can unsettle a new batsman with his pace. I watched his games where he has consistently bowled 140 kph all day," he said.
There is a startling similarity between the two young pacemen in the news. Like Mithun, Yadav was a school-level athlete who played tennis-ball cricket far away from a cricket centre with modern facilities. If Mithun was spotted playing in an industrial area on the outskirts of Bangalore, Yadav's beginning can be traced to street matches in Khaparkheda, a village near Nagpur.
Four years ago, when he went to Nagpur to play a tennis-ball tournament, local coach G Gokhale got impressed by his pace. Yadav was to soon hit the big league as former Vidarbha player Pritam Gandhe took him under his wings.
Within days, he was playing first-class cricket, but an injury hampered his rise. Back to peak fitness, he is now waiting to bowl at the South Africans on his home ground. "I am really looking forward to the game," he said. "It will be a dream come true."

Headley planned to set up Delhi base in November

American terror suspect David Headley was scheduled to visit India again in November last year apparently to finalise the next target for Pakistan based Lashker-e-Taiba group and set up a base in Delhi.

Sources privy to the investigations said that 49-year-old Headley had told his friends in India that he was coming to the country in November for his business. Headley's messages to his friends, who have recorded their statements before the National Investigation Agency, stopped in the last week of September, barely a few days before he was arrested by the FBI at O'Hare airport in Chicago on 3rd October last year, the sources said.

After recording the statements, the sleuths believe that since Lashker had postponed its planned terror strike on Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten because of international pressure following 26/11 attacks in Mumbai, Headley, who was arrested just before he could board a plane for Philadelphia en route to Pakistan, was coming to India for finalising the next target.

The friends, which included some women, told the investigators that Headley was constantly in touch with them from the US and before being arrested he had said that he was coming to India and that they will have a get-together.

According to the documents shared by the FBI, Headley had been asked by his handler, a Pakistani Army official that he should wind up his office First World Office in Mumbai and 'open up a new business centre in Delhi to be used as a cover for future activities'. The travel details of Headley, who is now turning out to be the globe-trotting prize asset of Lashker-e-Taiba, was being examined by various agencies, the sources said.

The investigators believe that the last visit of Headley to India in March last year may have been to finalise synchronised terror strikes on Jewish houses located in five cities. Piecing together the travel trail of Headley during his visit to India in March last year, the investigators were of the opinion that the US terror suspect was scouting only the Jewish targets including the El Al airlines office here.

Headley had carried out reconnaissance of the office of Israeli airlines El AI located at Cuffe Parade in Mumbai in March this year before moving to the national capital where he chose to stay in a small hotel in Paharganj area. The security agencies carried out the recce of the area and found a Chabad House, barely 300 metres from the hotel De Holiday Inn.

From Delhi, Headley travelled to Pushkar in the outskirts of Ajmer in Rajasthan where he insisted on a room opposite a Jewish prayer centre claiming he was a Jew and wanted 'holy sight'

After staying there for three days, Headley moved to Goa where he stayed at a guest house located in Anjuna village along the coast of Arabian sea before proceeding towards Pune where he scouted the area around Koregaon Park. Headley, who was born to a Pakistani father and whose earlier name was Daood Gilani, has been charged by the FBI with conspiring in the audacious Mumbai attack of last year which left over 160 people, including six foreigners, dead.

On the Indian side, the National Investigating Agency

(NIA), which was formed in the aftermath of 26/11, was probing the role of Headley and his Pakistani Canadian accomplice Tahawwur Rana.

PepsiCo's Indra Nooyi says she is old fashioned

Davos, Jan 29 (IANS) Her company's products target the youth, she loves chips and cereals and is a relatively young professional at the helm of one of the larger US corporations. But PepsiCo chairman Indra Nooyi says she remains an 'old-fashioned' person at heart.

'I have a Kindle already, might look at the Apple, but not a gadget freak,' the Chennai-born 54-year-old executive said on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum's annual meeting at this Swiss ski resort.

'I like the feel of paper, books and like to write on pages. Am old fashioned person.'

In a chat with NDTV, Nooyi said PepsiCo products are not unhealthy as made out to be and that the company's constant endeavour was to make them better using healthier oils, less salt and reduce sugars.

'In India I ate potato chips everyday, it's not unhealthy, it's just a potato sliced and fried,' she said. 'A bag of chips is a divine product; a bag of chips has less salt than a slice of bread,' she added.

'So what we are doing is pushing the frontiers of science so we can offer healthier treats. What we are doing is re-writing the book on food and beverage. It's exciting to lead the company in these times!'

Nooyi said the $200 million investment plan for India was for a host of areas, including new products and manufacturing with a focus on agriculture - be it for growing potatoes or citrus in Punjab, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh or increasing yields with sustainable produces for farmers.

'We are introducing new technology for agriculture like direct seeding in paddy crops. All investments will increase our footprint and bring technology from the world over to enhance agriculture, the country and the community.'

Indo Asian News Service

PTI Wipro launches eco-friendly PCs

Bangalore, Jan 28 (PTI) Wipro Infotech, leading provider of IT and business transformation services, unveiled its new 'eco-friendly' desktop, manufactured with materials free of harmful chemicals like polyvinyl chloride and brominated flame retardants.

Based on the Intel Core 2 Duo processor, Wipro Greenware range of desktops are free from carcinogenic materials such as PVC and BFRs, Chief Executive of Wipro Infrastructure Engineering Ecoeye, Social and Community Initiatives Anurag Behar told reporters here.
By removing toxins, recycling of electronic products would be safer, he said.
"Wipro considers launch of PVC and BFR free products a major breakthrough in clean production and recycling policy. A very difficult process with no alternative solution, Wipro worked with 37 overseas suppliers for over two years to come out with the completely toxin free product," he said.
Sr Vice-President & Business Head, India & ME business, Wipro Anand Sankaran said, "Wipro is the No. 2 greenbrand in India after Samsung and Nokia. Of our annual desktop production of two lakh units, greenware would be 15-20 per cent."

Boss to English Translation

What your boss says and what he really means
Do you ever feel a trip to your boss’s office is like a trip to a foreign country? Nice view, but no speaka dee English? In order to ensure that none of the buck passing, put- downing, or one- upping is lost in translation, make sure to bring along this cheat sheet so you know what the big enchilada is really trying to say.
“Great job on the report!”
Translation: “I’m taking credit for your work.”

“I have to attend an off-site meeting.”
Translation: “I’m having an affair.”
“Let me give you some broadstroke ideas and you can fill in the rest.”
Translation: “I still haven’t learned how to create an Excel document.”
“Headquarters has assured me we will not be affected by the merger.”
Translation: “You are going to be fired.”
“I’m not sure if what you are suggesting is in alignment with our core competencies.”
Translation: “What exactly do we do again?”
“This office is a family and my door is always open if you ever need to powwow with Papa Bear.”
Translation: “I am a tool.”
“I’ll be out of the office for a couple hours with senior management, but you can reach me on my mobile.”
Translation: “I’m playing golf.”
“I’ll be off-site and unreachable for the rest of the afternoon.”
Translation: “I’m playing golf and I expect to be very, very drunk.”
“I think we should order in some lunch for the team.”
Translation: “None of you are getting a raise. Enjoy your pizza.”
“I don’t want to have to micromanage this whole operation!”
Translation: “I’m the boss because I made good business contacts at my Ivy League university; I don’t know how to actually do things.”
“This came down from up top.”
Translation: “I have no real power.”
“I can’t give you an answer at this moment. Let me survey the situation and see what we can leverage out of it.”
Translation: “Oh God, I wish I was still in sales!”
“It’s good to see you take such bold initiative!”
Translation: “You are a threat to me. You will be fired the next time we so much as run out of coffee.”
“I’ll think about it.”
Translation: “I’ll tell you no in an e-mail, long after I’ve left the office.”
“Did you finish those projections I asked you about on Friday?”
Translation: “I completely forgot to ask you about the projections on Friday, and I’m hoping your memory is even worse than mine.”
“This is a very sensitive issue.”
Translation: “I may need you to shred some documents.”
“Let’s push the boundaries on this one. We need something really innovative! Throw out the conventions, I want something edgy!”
Translation: “Present only safe, traditional ideas to me. I wouldn’t know what to do with innovation if my life depended on it.”
“We’re going to be pulling some long hours and I’ll be right here with the rest of you.”
Translation: “My home life is miserable.”
“I hate to be the bearer of bad news.”
Translation: “Disappointing you is the only pleasure I have left in my dead-end, crappy job.”

Wat Women say and what they really mean

WAT THEY SAY WAT THEY REALLY MEAN
I heard a noise – I noticed you were almost asleep
You Want – You Want
We Need – I Want
It’s your decision – The correct decision should be obvious by now

Do what you want – You’ll pay for this later
We need to talk – I need to complain
Sure…go ahead – I don’t want you to
You’re certainly attentive tonight – Is sex all you ever think about?
I’m not emotional! – I’m not having a period
This kitchen is so inconvenient – I want a new house…and curtains and carpeting, furniture…
Hang the picture there – No, I mean hang it there!
Do you love me? – I’m going to ask for something expensive
I’ll be ready in a minute – Kick off your shoes and find a good game on T.V.
You have to learn to communicate – Just agree with me.
Are you listening to me!? – Too late, your a goner
I’m sorry – You’ll be sorry.
No – Yes
Maybe – No
Do you like this recipe? – It’s easy to fix, so you’d better get used to it
I’m not yelling! – Yes I am yelling because I think this is important.

Discoveries and Inventions by Men and Women

Men discovered COLOURS and invented PAINT,
Women discovered PAINT and invented MAKEUP.

Men discovered the WORD and invented CONVERSATION,
Women discovered CONVERSATION and invented GOSSIP.

Men discovered GAMBLING and invented CARDS,
Women discovered CARDS and invented WITCHERY.

Men discovered AGRICULTURE and invented FOOD,
Women discovered FOOD and invented DIET.

Men discovered FRIENDSHIP and invented LOVE,
Women discovered LOVE and invented MARRIAGE.

Men discovered TRADING and invented MONEY,
Women discovered MONEY and invented SHOPPING.

Thereafter Men have discovered and invented a lot of things… While Women STUCK to shopping.

Our brains cannot handle more than 150 Facebook friends

London, January 24 (ANI): Despite some people having 5,000 friends on their Facebook profiles, they may not be able to remember or manage more than 150 pals in real life, an expert claims.

Robin Dunbar, professor of Evolutionary Anthropology at Oxford University, falls back on a theory he developed in the 1990s, known as 'Dunbar's number,' to prove his point.
The theory claims that that the size of our neocortex - the part of the brain used for conscious thought and language - limits us to managing social circles of around 150 friends, no matter how sociable we are.
The figure was reached after Dunbar checked how many people contacted at least once a year in a variety of societies, ranging from neolithic villages to modern office environments.
Now he has applied his theory to studying social networking websites.
And, he insists that the "Facebook effect" has hardly had an impact on the size of social groupings.
"The interesting thing is that you can have 1,500 friends but when you actually look at traffic on sites, you see people maintain the same inner circle of around 150 people that we observe in the real world," Timesonline quoted Dunbar as saying.
He added: "People obviously like the kudos of having hundreds of friends but the reality is that they're unlikely to be bigger than anyone else's.
"There is a big sex difference though ... girls are much better at maintaining relationships just by talking to each other. Boys need to do physical stuff togethe

Mukesh Ambani, Lakshmi Mittal among 'World's Most Powerful Billionaires'

Washington, Jan 28 (IANS) Two Indians, energy mogul Mukesh Ambani and steel czar Lakshmi Mittal, have made it to the Forbes list of 'World's Most Powerful Billionaires' combining massive fortunes with political clout.

'Through his industrial might, India's richest person, Mukesh Ambani, ranks eighth,' in the US business magazine's annual list topped by Michael Bloomberg, mayor of New York City. Mittal ranks 13th on the list.
Bloomberg also 'lords over the media, finance and fashion capital of the US - and arguably the world'.
'Ambani controls oil and gas conglomerate Reliance Industries. With a market value of more than $73 billion, the firm is India's biggest independent company.'
Compatriot Lakshmi Mittal - India's second wealthiest with a net worth of $30 billion - heads ArcelorMittal, the world's largest steel maker, and ranks 13th on the list. The steel giant operates in 60 countries and has market value of $65 billion.
Mukesh Ambani, Forbes noted, inherited father Dhirubhai's massive industrial empire with brother Anil in 2002. 'Brothers battled over power, divided assets. Mukesh controls energy entities; Anil leads banking and telecom companies.'
Mittal started in the family steel business in the 1970s, broke out on his own in 1994 and is now planning joint iron venture in Liberia and Guinea with miner BHP Billiton, it noted. 'Bought 12-bedroom mansion in Kensington for more than $100 million in 2004; was London's most expensive home at the time.'
Billionaire Sebastian Pinera who won Chile's presidential election, defeating incumbent Eduardo Frei in a runoff vote is ranked 15th on the list which has two other billionaires currently running countries.
'Media and banking titan Silvio Berlusconi is prime minister of Italy and ranks second on Forbes list. Billionaire industrial heir, Saad Hariri, who was appointed prime minister of Lebanon Iast June, ranks fifth.
Rounding out the top five: Mexican telecom titan Carlos Slim and Russian oil magnate Vagit Alekperov.
Apple's Steve Jobs ranks as the 18th most powerful billionaire in the world. Billionaires falling from the ranks this year include Oprah Winfrey, Roman Abramovich and Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Alsaud.

India announces first manned space mission

India's space agency has said it will launch its first manned mission to space in 2016.

India's space programme is more than 45 years old

India's space agency has said A senior official of the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) in Bangalore said that two astronauts would take part.
"We are preparing for the manned space flight," Isro Chairman K Radhakrishnan told reporters.
"We will design and develop the space module for the manned mission in the next four years," he said.
Observers say India is emerging as a major player in the multi-billion dollar space market.
In September it launched seven satellites in a single mission, nearly a month after the country's inaugural Moon mission was aborted.
Key architect
Isro says that it will soon shortlist two astronauts to train for the space flight.
The manned mission will cost 124 billion rupees ($2,676,740,597).
Delhi has given its approval for the mission, space officials told the BBC.
India's space agency is also setting up a full-fledged training facility in Bangalore to train the astronauts.
The country's first unmanned Moon mission, Chandrayaan, was launched last year.
The second unmanned project, Chandrayaan-II, will be launched in the first quarter of 2013 - a prelude to the manned space mission.
India's first Moon mission had to be terminated because of a failure of critical communication components, but Isro officials termed the mission a success because 95% of the scientific objectives were completed.
India also plans a mission to Mars in 2030.

Fonseka rejects Sri Lanka election win for Rajapaksa

President Mahinda Rajapaksa has been declared the winner of Sri Lanka's presidential poll but the outcome was immediately rejected by his challenger.

Gen Sarath Fonseka promised a legal challenge to the outcome of the ballot, the first since Tamil Tiger rebels were defeated after 25 years of civil war.
The Elections Commission declared Mr Rajapaksa the victor with 57.8% of votes cast, to 40% for his main rival.
Gen Fonseka later left a hotel where he had complained of being intimidated.
He left in a vehicle with security on Wednesday, and prevented troops who had been stationed around the luxury hotel from searching him and his vehicle.
Once he had left the area, the troops immediately took down roadblocks and dispersed.
It was believed his security would be removed when he got to his house, but a military spokesman said 40-50 troops would be retained for him.
A government spokesman had said the troops were at the hotel to look for army deserters, with a military spokesman adding that the troops' deployment was a "protective measure".
The BBC's Anbarasan Ethirajan, who had been in the same hotel as Gen Fonseka and other opposition leaders, says the troops' presence had created a very tense atmosphere.
An opposition spokesman, Rauf Hakeem, said opposition members had appealed to the government over what he said were "high-handed tactics" intended to intimidate them.
He told reporters there were no deserters inside the hotel.
Gen Fonseka has alleged vote-rigging and has lodged several objections with Sri Lanka's electoral commission by letter. He has also accused the government of wanting to kill him and said it had removed his personal security from the hotel, leaving him vulnerable.

In pictures: President wins election Fonseka's allegations

Speaking the BBC's Sinhala service, Gen Fonseka later confirmed that he had reached his home.
"We went to the hotel because there was a threat to my life," he said.
"There is nothing we can do about it. There is no law and order in this country. They are planning to assassinate me."
He did not give any details about any alleged plot to kill him. He added that he was planning to leave the country, but would not say where he was going.
Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the brother of the president-elect, has previously expressed concern about Gen Fonseka's allegations that at the end of the war he ordered surrendering Tamil Tiger rebels to be shot. Gotabaya Rajapaksa has denied the claims.
Since he left the army the higher ranks have very much rallied behind Mr Rajapaksa, the BBC's Charles Haviland in Colombo says. Gen Fonseka also does not have his own party base, having stood for election backed by a disparate group of opposition parties.
Independent election observers have been perturbed by two main elements, our correspondent says, one of which is the amount of violence in the run-up to the election - with most complaints about the perpetration of violence laid at the door of the president's side.

Mahinda Samara said Sarath Fonseka was free to leave at any time

The other is what monitors say is the misuse of public resources and state media, particularly state-run TV, which provided blanket coverage of the incumbent president's campaign.
Some 70% of Sri Lanka's 14 million-strong electorate turned out to vote. However, turn-out in the Tamil areas in the north-east, where the fiercest fighting occurred during the conflict, was less than 30%.
Lucien Rajakarunanayake, a spokesman for Mr Rajapaksa, told the Associated Press news agency that the president had "won a historic and resounding victory in the first free and fair elections held throughout the country since the defeat of terrorism".
Supporters of Mr Rajapaksa celebrated in the streets of Colombo, waving Sri Lankan flags and setting off fireworks.
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh congratulated Mr Rajapaksa, saying he was confident "Sri Lanka will find lasting peace, where all communities can live with dignity and in harmony."

In pictures: Sri Lanka votes Profile: Mahinda Rajapaksa Profile: Gen Sarath Fonseka

Millions of Tamils live in India's southern state of Tamil Nadu.
Bitter fight
After a violent and acrimonious campaign, during which four people died and hundreds were wounded, Tuesday's election was largely peaceful.
But there were serious exceptions, especially in the Tamil-populated north.
In the city of Jaffna, the private Centre for Monitoring Election Violence said there were at least six explosions before and just after voting began.
Later there were two blasts in Vavuniya, the town near the huge camps for people displaced by the war. The organisation said it feared this was a systematic attempt to scare people away from voting.
There were also grenade attacks in the Sinhala-dominated centre and south.
It later turned out that Gen Fonseka had not been able to vote because his name was not on the register.
The two men were closely associated with the defeat of the Tamil Tigers last May but fell out soon afterwards. Gen Fonseka quit the military, complaining that he had been sidelined after the war.
The president's side accused the general of courting separatists.

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READER'S DIGEST: Business Administration

READER'S DIGEST: Business Administration

Business Administration

Business Administration

Sri Lanka president wins re-election - state

Enlarge Photo Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapaksa shows a victory sign after voting in the presidential elections...

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa has won a second term in office, state-run Rupavahini television reported on Wednesday.

"The president has recorded a remarkable victory, with a more than 1.8 million vote majority," Rupavahini said. Official final results were not due for another three hours, but polling showed the incumbent with a powerful lead over his chief opponent.

China denies involvement in Google hackings, 3rd Ld-Writethru, AS

Enlarge Photo China denies involvement in Google hackings, 3rd Ld-Writethru, AS Slideshow: World in pictures: January-25

BEIJING (AP) China sharply rebuked the United States, denying involvement in any Internet attacks and defending its online restrictions as lawful after Washington urged Beijing to investigate an attack against Google. The search engine giant announced on Jan.

12 that it would pull out of China unless the government relaxes its rules on censorship. The ultimatum came after Google said e-mail accounts of human rights activists critical of China had been hacked.
Since then, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has criticized the censorship of cyberspace, drawing a strong counterattack from Beijing. The Foreign Ministry on Friday said her remarks damaged bilateral relations, while a Chinese state newspaper said Washington was imposing "information imperialism" on China.
On Monday, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology went on the offensive again, saying the country's anti-hacking policy is transparent and consistent. "Any accusation that the Chinese government participated in cyberattacks, either in an explicit or indirect way, is groundless and aims to discredit China," an unidentified ministry spokesman said, according to a transcript of an interview with the official Xinhua News Agency posted on the ministry's Web site.
The increasingly heated environment is likely to pose challenges to negotiating an arrangement that would suit both Google's and China's interests. The company says it remains optimistic it can persuade China's ruling party to loosen restrictions on free expression on the Internet, so it can keep doing business in the country.
However, China's government has given little indication it's willing to budge. "Increasingly, the line emerging from the Chinese government is harder and less open to compromise," said Russell Leigh Moses, an analyst of Chinese politics based in Beijing.
"Hillary Clinton's speech was seen by many officials here as the United States' laying down a marker and put matters in a more confrontational mode." In Washington, U.S. State Department Spokesman P.J. Crowley said Clinton had put forth a vision that the U.S. believes is shared around the world.
"We are aware that China has a different position with respect to restricting information," Crowley said, citing tightened Web controls in China last year around anniversaries like that of the June 1989 Tiananmen Square demonstrations. "We think this is inconsistent with the information environment and prerequisites of the 21st century.
" "We will continue to promote the free flow of information, unfettered access to information, the ability to have virtual freedom of association," Crowley said. "We will not back away from advocating that this should be something that all countries should promote.
" Xinhua also cited the State Council, China's Cabinet, as criticizing what it called interference in the country's domestic affairs. Internet control is considered a critical matter of state security in China.
Beijing promotes Internet use for commerce, but heavily censors content it deems pornographic, anti-social or politically subversive and blocks many foreign news and social media sites, including Twitter and Facebook, and the popular video-sharing site YouTube. Google said it had uncovered a computer attack that tried to plunder its software coding and the Gmail accounts of human rights activists protesting Chinese policies.
The company traced the attacks on its computers to hackers in China, but hasn't directly tied them to the Chinese government or its agents. A Chinese Internet security official questioned the allegation, saying Google had not reported its complaints to China's National Computer Network Emergency Response Technical Team.
Zhou Yonglin, the team's deputy chief of operations, also said the team logged attacks on 262,000 Chinese computers last year by hackers implanting malicious software such as Trojans, which can allow outside access to the target's computer. More than 16 percent of the attacks came from computers located in the U.S., he said.
___ Associated Press writer Matt Lee in Washington contributed to this report.

Two Indian students assaulted in Melbourne

MELBOURNE: Even as Indian and Australian flags go side by side on their national day on Tuesday, two Indian students were allegedly assaulted by a group of thugs here.

Eight persons, described as being of Asian appearance, have been arrested after several hours of the incident and were being questioned, police said in a statement.
The accused had allegedly made comments to the duo before one of the student was pushed to the ground and kicked at about 10.20 pm (local time) on Monday night in central Melbourne.
The 18-year-old Indian man suffered a wound on his left ear from what appeared to be an edged weapon, police said, adding the 22-year-old student was also punched to the ground and suffered minor abrasions to the forearm.
Police confirmed the two victims were Indian students but were unable to say whether the comments made were racial.
The 18-year-old was taken to St Vincents Hospital with lacerations to the left ear, while the other student did not required hospital treatment, an AAP report said.
The attack comes just weeks after an Indian student Nitin Garg was stabbed to death in a park in Yarraville in Melbourne's inner-west.

11 Things which Needs to be done from this 26 January

1. Answer the Phone by Left Ear

2. Do not drink coffee twice a day

3. Do not take pills with COOL water.

4. Do Not Take Huge Meal after 5 PM.

5. Reduce the Amount of Oil food you consume.

6. Drink More WATER in the morning, less at night.

7. Keep your distance from hand phone CHARGERS.

8. Don't use headphone / earphone for LONG period of time.

9. Best sleeping time is from 10 pm at night to 6 am in the morning.

10. Do not lie down immediately after taking medicine before sleeping.

11. When batter is down to last grid / bar, don't answer the phone as radiation is 1000 times

Indian restaurant in UK declared healthiest by BBC

H S Rao London, Jan 24 (PTI) An eatery set up by an Indian entrepreneur here, which does not use butter, cream or ghee in its preparations and serves fibre-rich meals to its customers, has been adjudged the best healthy-eating UK restaurant by BBC''s food channel. "Indali Lounge, London, is the healthiest curry house in the UK. They don''t use butter, cream or ghee and the naans are made with flour, oats and barley to maximise fibre and minimise starch.

Meals are slow-cooked to retain nutrients," the BBC said. The upmarket cocktail bar atmosphere, with lilac flourishes and slick surfaces adds a contemporary touch to this evolved British Indian cooking," it added.
Bordeaux Quay, Bristol, has been judged as No 2 followed by Saf in London, Heart Buchanan (Glasgow), Pearl Liang (London), New Samsi (Manchester), The Harwood Arms (London), Restaurant Sat Bains (Nottingham), Comptoir Libanais (London) and Terre A Terre in Brighton. The restaurant is frequented by many celebrities like India''s batting genius Sachin Tendulkar, veteran Hindi actor-director Dev Anand and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and his wife Cherie Blair.

Sugar prices are a collective decision: Sharad Pawar

The blame game on the rising prices on vegetables, pulses and sugar continues. It has already lead to strained relations between Congress and its ally the NCP, as Union Agriculture Minister and the NCP chief Sharad Pawar.

There is also a war of words on between Pawar and state chief ministers, especially Mayawati in Uttar Pradesh

.

But again Pawar refused to take the sole blame on sugar saying commodity prices were a collective responsibility of the Cabinet in consultation with the Prime Minister.

Sharad Pawar has also been charged with deliberately stalling the import of raw sugar to promote the interests of the sugar barons in a petition filed by an NGO, which will be heard in the Supreme Court today.

India Inc's manpower-output ratio increases despite slim-down efforts

Even as corporate India is trying to minimise costs, especially manpower costs, the manpower-output ratio that indicates personnel cost compared to production value has been rising indicating lower utilisation.
As observed in the study carried out by FE, output of 25 major corporate houses increased by 14.3% to Rs 53.22 lakh crore in 2007-08 from Rs 46.55 lakh crore in 2006-07, and increased further by 19.8% to Rs 63.78 lakh crore in 2008-09.
The manpower cost that includes wages, provident fund and gratuity, increased 21% to Rs 3.93 lakh crore in 2007-08 and 19.5% to Rs 4.70 lakh crore in 2008-09. Hence, the manpower-output ratio increased from 6.98% in 2006-07 to 7.37% in 2008-09. The net profit margin (net profit as a percentage of sale) of the 25 houses decreased to 9.96% during 2008-09 from 12.39% during 2006-07.
From a sample in the study, 10 industrial houses managed to do better and saw a decline in the ratio, while and 15 experienced a rise in 2008-09 compared with 2006-07. Many witnessed an increase in the manpower-output ratio, indicating they spent more on personnel costs per unit of output.
As a sample study of good performers, Tata Group spent Rs 16 on labour for every Rs 100 worth of output. Essar, Murugappa Group, Videocon (VIDEOIND.NS : 234.05 -4.6), BK Birla, Welspun and Pantaloon were good performers in 2008-09 as compared with 2006-07. The manpower-output ratio of Murugappa Group steadily decreased from 5.48% during 2006-07 to 3.17% during 2008-09.
Houses that witnessed a sharp increase in the ratio from 2006-07 to 2008-09 were the Tata group, Aditya Birla group, OP Jindal, Sterlite, Wipro (WIPRO.NS : 700.05 -9.4), Mahindra, Hinduja, RP Goenka and Bajaj (BAJAJAUTO.NS : 2101.05 0) group.

The sharp increase in the labour-output ratio of Tata group during 2008-09 can be explained from the output figures. Output figures of Tata Group stood at Rs 8.77 lakh crore in 2006-07 increased to Rs 9.74 lakh crore in 2007-08 and increased further to Rs 11.23 lakh crore in 2008-09. Personnel cost increased steadily by 21.8% to Rs 1.51 lakh crore in 2007-08 from Rs 1.24 lakh crore in 2006-07 and increased further by 22% to Rs 1.84 lakh crore in 2008-09.
Of the 25 major houses, 14 houses showed a decline in growth of their labour cost during 2008-09 as compared to 2007-08. Mention may be made of Aditya Birla, Om Prakash Jindal, ADAG, Mahindra, Hinduja and Jaiprakash. The growth of labour cost of Aditya Birla group decreased from 24.7% to 15.7% during 2008-09.


E

Barbed wire cut on India-Pakistan border, red alert in Jammu and Kashmir

Sat, Jan 23 06:09 PM

Jammu, Jan 23 (IANS) A red alert was sounded all across Jammu and Kashmir Saturday after a long stretch of the barbed wire fence on the India-Pakistan border was found cut. There have been intelligence reports that terrorists were desperate to mount a spectacular attack in the state in the run-up to Republic Day.

A group of infiltrators cut several metres of barbed wire fence along Ranbirsinghpora sector, taking advantage of thick fog in the area, about 30 km west of Jammu Friday night. This was detected Saturday when the fog cleared.
'It's a very serious breach and this has been done with professional expertise,' a Border Security Force (BSF) official told IANS on condition of anonymity.
The possibility of armed infiltrators having made it to this side of the border was not being ruled out by the intelligence agencies.
'We are alive to infiltration from the international border,' Director General of Police Kuldeep Khoda told reporters.
'Pakistan is desperate to mount an attack in Jammu and Kashmir, but we have sounded alert and our forces are fully prepared to foil any misadventure of terrorists,' he said.
Airports, television stations, radio stations and headquarters of the forces in the state have been asked to take special care.
Intense checks are going on all across the state. VIPs have been asked to restrict their movement and vehicles are not being allowed to be parked at sensitive places.

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