Divorced Woman Cannot Use Former Husband's Surname

The Supreme Court of India has decreed, in effect, that a woman cannot use the husband's surname after the dissolution of the marriage.

Dinesh Patil married Nisha in 1995 after the death of his first wife. Dinesh Patil filed for divorce in 1997 and the marriage was dissolved by a decree of divorce awarded by a family court in 2006.

When Nisha continued using the surname after divorce, Dinesh Patil obtained an injunction in the matter from the family court. The Court held "By using the name/surname (of the husband), there is always a possibility of people being misled that she still is his wife, when in fact she is not." On an appeal by Nisha to the Bombay High Court, the Honourable High Court concurred with the lower court and held that she "cannot use the husband's name anywhere, including in her bank account."

Nisha challenged the High Court judgment in the Supreme Court through a  Special Leave Petition. She contended that the matter was beyond the jurisdiction of the family court. She argued that there was no rule governing the use of the husband's surname after divorce. She went on to contend that  "Surname is not a trademark which can be patented by an individual."

The Supreme Court dismissed the SLP and said that they were "not inclined to interfere with the impugned order" (of the lower courts).

Earlier this year, in a case where the Passport Office refused to renew the passport of a divorced Pune woman continuing to use her former husband's surname (even though the husband did not object to the use of his surname after the divorce), the Additional Solicitor General Darius Khambata submitted the opinion that a divorced woman could use her former husband's name. "The wife has a fundamental right under Article 21 of the Constitution of India (right to life) to use any name including her married name notwithstanding the fact that her marriage has been dissolved."

We add our two pence (as has become our practice now!): the Additional Solicitor General seems to have erred in the interpretation of Article 21 of the Constitution of India; the interpretation seems to stretch Article 21 a tad too far. The observation made by the presiding officer of the Family Court put the matter in a nutshell. The family court's opinion is, essentially, commonsense, ladies and gentlemen!

62nd (US) National Book Awards

"Salvage the Bones", by Jesmyn Ward, the grim tale of a community devastated by Hurricane Katrina, has won the 62nd National Book Award for Fiction.

"The Swerve", by Stephen Greenblatt, which is an account of the rediscovery of the Latin poet Lucretius, has won the award in the non-fiction category.

The poetry prize has been awarded to Nikki Finney’s "Head Off & Split by Nikki Finney.

“Inside Out & Back Again" by Thanhhai Lai, which is the story of a Vietnamese family in Alabama, received the prize for Young People’s Literature.

Each of the winners receives US $10,000.

Honorary prizes were awarded to the Florida-based bookseller Mitch Kaplan and the poet John Ashbery.

Nargis Fakhri of "Rockstar" the New Brand Ambassador for Van Heusen Woman

Nargis Fakhri, the beautiful model of Czech-Pakistani origin, whose Bollywood debut movie "Rockstar" was released recently, has been named the brand ambassador for Van Heusen Woman.

In a statement, the company said: "The brand is on the cusp of a steep growth and is well poised to extend its appeal to a large western-wear sporting audience, while Nargis's career is set to take off equally well. The elegance and confidence she brings to the table is highly desirable and aspirational for today's women."

Mahindra Launches Rodeo Special Edition

Mahindra has introduced an all-new dual colour Special Edition of Mahindra Rodeo.

The new dual colour scheme of the Mahindra Rodeo has turned the vehicle into a visual delight.

The Special Edition sports the same 125 cc engine (used in the earlier version) which makes it a pleasure to ride even in dense traffic. The vehicle has a telescopic suspension, a 4-in-1 anti-theft lock, digital speedometer etc like the earlier version. The two-tone colour scheme is simply going to make the vehicle more attractive to its young patrons.

Amazon to Launch a Smartphone Next Year

According to Citigroup Inc, Amazon is working on a smartphone which is expected to be in the market by the last quarter of next year.

The phone is expected to be in the mid-range category. It is believed that the phone would use a processor from Texas Instruments and other chips from Qualcomm.

Amazon's Kindle is the best-selling e-book reader in the market. Its new tablet PC, Kidle Fire,  priced at $199, is expected o take on Apple's iPad in the forthcoming festive season.

Apparently, Amazon is keen on pursuing its foray into mobile devices further and use the proposed phone for selling more digital content like e-books and music.

Nissan Motors India to Launch MUV in August 2012

Nissan Motor India's urban MUV is expected to be launched in August 2012. It would resemble Nissan NV 200 and will be positioned against Toyota Innova .

According to an official of Nissan Motor India, the vehicle will be unveiled at the Delhi Auto Expo in January 2012.

The MUV is being developed as part of its joint venture with Ashok Leyland but will carry the Nissan logo and brand name.

Nissan and Ashok Leyland have already launched Dost, a 1.25-ton mini truck, as part of their joint venture.

UTV Motion Pictures Acquires Film Rights for Chetan Bhagat's "Revolution 2020"

UTV Motion Pictures have acquired the movie rights for Chetan Bhagat's latest novel "Revolution 2020".

Chetan Bhagat's first two books  "Five Point Someone" and "One Night @ the Call Center" have already been made into movies. The next two books  "The 3 Mistakes of My Life" and "2 States: The Story of My Marriage" are also slated to be made into movies.

According to Siddharth Roy Kapur, CEO, UTV Motion Pictures, the book is extremely engaging and topical and it makes sense to strike the deal.

Chetan Bhagat tweeted: "Happy to announce the Revolution 2020 movie deal with UTV. Tell @utvmp who'd make a good Gopal, Aarti & Raghav!"

Google Launches Online Digital Music Store

Google launched its much-awaited digital music store on Wednesday.

Google will sell music also on its online store for apps, movies, and books.

While some songs are free, others cost $0.69, $0.99 and $1.29. The music available includes that of Coldplay, Drake and Pearl Jam.

The songs are automatically uploaded to the "online lockers" of customers. They can then be streamed over the browsers of computers and mobile phones.

Google thus opens a new front in its ongoing competitive war with Apple in providing services over mobile devices.

The Cheapest Tablet Aakash Bags 300,000 Pre-launch Orders

The commercial version of Aakash, the cheapest tablet PC in the world at Rs.3000/- (US$ 60 approx) which is going to be launched in December, has received nearly 300,000 pre-launch orders.

A subsidised version made by Datawind of UK is already being supplied free to schools and colleges. Datawind has supplied about 10,000 tablets to the National Mission for Education at Rs. 2,250 per piece. These are being used by students of the IITs, RECs, BITS, Teri University etc.

The bookings for Aakash far exceed the estimated demand of 250,000 tablet PCs in India. So far, the market has been dominated by the likes of Apple and Samsung.

The next version of Aakash is going to sport a capacitative touch screen; the processor is also expected to be one running twice as fast as the one in the present model.

Plans are afoot to supply a keyboard that can be connected to the Tablet; the keyboard is expected to cost Rs.400.

Skoda Rapid Launched in India

Skoda Auto India launched its mid-sized sedan named Rapid in India on Wednesday.

Skoda expects the Rapid to become its best-selling car in the country - and, in the process, overtake its enormously successful Fabia.

Tarun Jha, Marketing Head, Skoda Auto India, said: "India is a very important market for us. There was a gap between our compact car Fabia and the sedan Laura. To fill that gap, we have launched the Rapid in the C segment."

Petrol as well as Diesel versions of the car will be available. Given the price difference between Petrol and Diesel, the company expects the diesel version to sell more.

The petrol version is priced between Rs.6.75 lac and Rs.8.99 lac whereas the diesel version is priced between Rs.7.95 lac and Rs.9.19 lac. (Prices ex-showroom, New Dehi.)

Skoda Rapid is driven by a 1600 cc engine.

The Company is planning to expand its dealer network to cope with the expected rise in demand  for its cars.

Tarun Jha said "Currently we have 82 dealerships and it will be increased to about 100 by the end of this year. Next year, we will add another 20 outlets."

Facebook Cautions Users Against Spam

Facebook has said that its users are experiencing a heavy spate of spam says it is on top of a wave of spam involving sex and violence. It has asked its users to be vigilant and safeguard their accounts.

According to the dapd news agency, Facebook has said ``... our team responded quickly and we have eliminated most of the spam caused by this attack'' and that ``we are now working to improve our systems to better defend against similar attacks.''

The  Bangalore news paper Mid Day claimed that the accounts of nearly two lakh Facebook users in Bangalore have been hacked and that web links to their pictures morphed and manipulated into pornographic content have been sent to the the accounts of their friends.

There have been reports that some of the users are closing their Facebook accounts because of the embarrassment they have experienced.

According to a Bloomberg report, Facebook is said to have identified the culprits behind the spam of hardcore pornographic material and that appropriate action is being initiated.

Faceook is said to have taken steps to greatly contain the spam attack which has taken advantage of some security loopholes in some browsers.. Facebook, in a statement, said: "Protecting the people who use Facebook from spam and malicious content is a top priority for us."

UK Announces A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Scholarship for Indian Students

David Willets, Minister for Universities and Science, UK, has announced a $400,000 A.J.P. Abdul Kalam Scolarship for Indian Students enrolling in postgraduate programs in Engineering, science and technology.

The scheme which is offered by Queen's University, Belfast, provides scholarships to 100 Indian students.

Willet said "India runs second only to China in terms of oversees students pursuing higher education in UK."  According to him, there are some 50,000 Indian students pursuing various courses in UK.

India's Longest Railway Service Inaugurated with the Introduction of Vivek Express

A weekly train christened "Vivek Express" from Dibrugarh in Assam to Kanyakumari (Tamilnadu) at the southern tip of India was inaugurated yesterday.

The train traverses the longest rail route in the country: 4286 Km. The train has 52 stops - and can be expected to have just as many until some politician or the other starts poking his nose in the matter ostensibly for the sake of "public convenience". It is the eighth longest rail route in the world.

The Vivek Express has 18 coaches as of now: six general (unreserved) second class coaches, seven second class sleeper coaches, one two-tier air-conditioned coach, two three-tier air-conditioned coaches, two SLR's, and one pantry car.

The fare by second class sleeper is an astonishingly low at Rs.673/- for the 4286 KM covered in82 hours 30 minutes. The AC 3-tier fare is Rs.1878/- and AC 2-Tier fare is Rs.2573/-.

The figures may be more telling when compared with airfares. The low-economy airfare (one-way) from Dibrugarh to Coimbatore (not Kanyakumari which is  farther from Coimbatore) is Rs.12,200 whereas a round trip form Dibrugarh to Coimbatore costs Rs.9500/-.

Paban Singh Ghatovar, Union Minister for the Development of North Eastern Region, flagged of the train on its southern course at Dibrugarh railway station. Prithibi Majhi, Revenue Minister (Assam) and Keshav Chandra, General Manager, North East Frontier Railway, were also present at the inaugural function.

However, the regular weekly service commences on 26th November 2011. The train would leave Dibrugarh at 11.45 PM every Saturday and reach Kanyakumari at 10.25 AM the following Wednesday.

Prior to Vivek Express, the Himsagar Express between Jammu Tawi and Kanyakumar was the longest railway route (3715 Km covered in 69 hours 30 minutes) in India. The  Dibrugarh Chennai Express route (3352 KM covered in 68 hr 30 minutes) was the next. Incidentally, the longest train route in the world is between Moscow and Vladivostok (9,259 Km in 178 hours).

Vivek Express is a boon to the South Indians - particularly the enterprising Tamilians and Malayalees - working in the North East and to the increasing number of North Eastern students and working personnel in the South. The train may well be expected to promote tourism too and bridge the cultural divide.

We hope there would be many more trains connecting the North East with the South (and other areas as well) so that there is an increased interaction between the North East and the rest of the country. We need that very badly - if total national integration were not to remain a distant dream.

Motorola Launches Defy+

Motorola has launched the Motorola Defy+.

The phone costs Rs 19,000. The expected street price, however, is Rs 17,990.

Motorola Defy+ has a 3.7 inch touch screen and sports a 5 MP camera.

Motorola Defy+ is powered by a 1-GHz processor. It employs the Android 2.3 Operating system (Gingerbread).

The phone's browser supports Adobe Flash 10.

Defy+ extends support to Gtalk.

Motorola Defy+ is claimed to provide 7.1 hours of talk time and 16-day standby battery life.

Huawie Launches a Tablet: MediaPad

Huawei has launched a tablet PC 'MediaPad' and two handsets 'Sonic' and 'Ideos X3' supporting cloud services to strengthen its product portfolio in India.

In a statement to the PTI, Anurag Marang, Marketing Director (Devices), Huawei, said: "We launched our devices earlier this year and by December-end, we should have 10-odd devices. India is a very important market for us and we are aggressively expanding our product-line in India. Next year, the plan is to have 20-30 devices in our portfolio."

The company is also looking at strengthening its retail presence and expects to have 10,000 outlets across more than 50 cities.

The MediaPad runs on Android 3.2 Honeycomb and has a 7-inch screen. It uses a dual-core 1.2 GHz processor from Qualcomm. It has a 1.3 MP camera on the front and and a 5 MP camera at the rear. It costs Rs 28,359.

Huawei has also launched two handsets supporting Cloud+ service under which users will get 16 GB of storage.

Huawei Sonic costs Rs 9,210 while Ideos X3 costs Rs 10,229. The operating system in both is Android 2.3 Gingerbread.

Sonic has a 3.5-inch multi-touch HVGA display, 512 MB in-built storage and an additional storage of 20 GB of which 4 GB is provided through a Micro SD Card and 16GB in the form of storage on "cloud net drive".

Ideos offers X3 features dual camera (3.2MP and VGA) and 3.2-inch screen.

Micromax To Launch Superphone: Micromax A85

Micromax is launching A85, a higher-end phone.

The phone is expected to cost about Rs.19,000/- which makes it the most economical mobile phone in the segment.

The Micromax A85 supports MP3, WAV and AAC musical formats while the video formats supported are MP4, H.263 and 3GP formats.

The phone has a built-in FM receiver too.It supports GPRS, 3G and Wi-Fi as well.

The phone extends support to Email, Push Email, Document Viewer/Editor and Fax.

The Micromax Superfone A85 has support for social networking and connectivity too. It extends support to YouTube, Google Talk, Picassa, and Instant Messenger.

The key features of the Micromax A85 include:

    * Android v2.2 (Froyo) operating system
    * 1 GHz Cortex-A9 Dual Core processor
    * 3.8-inch TFT capacitive touchscreen
    * Dual camera- 5MP with 7.2x zoom and 0.3 MP front facing camera
    * 512 MB RAM
    * Motion Sensor
    * 1500 mAh Li-Ion battery
    * 8 GB internal memory
    * 32 GB extensible memory

Micormax Superphone A85 may well give several high-end phones and brands a run for their money.

Diesel Cars from Maruti Suzuki to Cost More

Maruti Suzuki has raised the prices of its diesel cars by up to Rs 10,000.

While the diesel variants of Swift, Dzire and SX4 cars will cost Rs 10,000 more (effective last Monday), the Ritz is going to be costlier by Rs.2,000.

According the company "There has been a critical upswing in the inputs cost and an adverse appreciation in the Japanese currency yen that had made imports costlier and forced this hike."

Because of the recent strikes at the Company's plant at Manesar leading to a loss of 59 days in production, the waiting period for some of the Company's diesel cars is as much as nine months now.

Potential buyers have always been in the horns of a dilemma when it came to choosing between petrol versions and diesel versions of a car. The petrol cars have been cheaper but more expensive to fuel; the diesel versions cost more initially, cost less to fuel, but cost more by way of repairs and maintenance.

The dilemma is only going to become more difficult now.

The easiest way out is to buy no car at all, perhaps!

Sanjna Kapoor to Quit Prithvi Theatre

Sanjna Kapoor is going to quit as the director of Prithvi Theatre in April 2012. Sanjna is quitting the organisation along with Sameera Iyengar, Director (Programming) to establish 'Junoon' to further the cause of the theater across the country.

Sanjna Kapoor informed the press: "This is a product of our years of work at Prithvi-which has made us realize that there is a huge lacuna in our work field-which we wish to fill ... that of the enabler. The enabler who enables theatre to reach its deserved audience and likewise enables audiences access good theatre - with keen attention to the overall experience for both the theatrewallah and the audience ... this must be a rich experience."

Junoon will be advising persons and organisations keen on setting up theatre venues.

According to Sanjna, "The major part of the work will be through partnerships."

She added: "We will partner with organizations that do children's theatre. We will be the connector, the infrastructure that enables audiences to access theatre and theatre to access audiences."

Prithvi Theatre has been conducting an enormously successful and well-known annual children's theatre festival called 'Summertime at Prithvi'. According to Sanjna, new directors are going to be inducted to handle the festival.

With two of the main pillars of Prithvi leaving, it might be a while before things stabilise into a pattern there. But we believe that Prithvi has the capacity to survive the change.

Dabbawallas Make It to Harvard Business School

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, the famous dabbawallas of Bombay (read "Mumbai", if u insist!) make it to Harvard. In a way. ("Sort of," as one with American leanings might drawl! That reminds me that quite a lot of our metropolitan youngsters are more American than the Americans themselves! :)

The case of the famous - "justly famous", we would like to add - dabbawallahs is now a part of Harvard's curriculum.

Manish Tripathy, one of the dabbawallahs, said: "They (HBS) prepared a comprehensive report and submitted it to us for review. The final draft is now ready. We will give the confirmation next week and the case study will be released in March in a big way."

He further said: "Unlike many other B-schools which studied us, Harvard's was in-depth. They have got the real gist of how two lakh tiffin boxes are delivered every day by 5,000 dabbawallahs without any mix-up."

A professor from Harvard Business School and two professors from the B-school's research center in Worli, Mumbai, conducted the hands-on case study and prepared the report.

Recognition of the good work being done by our dabbawallas of Bombay has been long overdue. Whoever said that we are not good organisers in the face of complexity?

The irony is that more non-Indians seem to know more about the dabbawallas than we do.

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan Delivers a Baby Girl

Abhishek Bachhan has announced that his wife Aishwarya Rai -  the famous Bollywood star and former Miss World - has given birth to a girl. The child is their first.

We join the world in congratulating the happy parents and blessing them all.

Abhishek announced, through his Twitter account, "IT'S A GIRL!," while giving no further details.

Amitabh Bachhan announced through the very same Twitter : "I AM DADA to the cutest baby girl !!"

The baby was born at the  Seven Hills Hospital in the western Mumbai.

"It is news when a bigshot just so much as sneezes!" Isn't it?

More Married Men Commit Suicide in India during 2010 than Women

According to the National Crime Record Bureau, around 70% of the Indians who ended their life last year were married.

61,453 married men and 31,754 married women committed suicide in 2010.

"Not surprising!" is all that I can mutter even as I shudder at the prospect of being lynched. Do we really need studies and surveys to establish what most of us (men and women alike) have always known instinctively?!

Marriage, ask any man, is loaded against the masculine gender. More so in India. Add the burden of domineering wives, raucous women's groups (Is there a single group taking up the cause of men?!!), and the oppressive laws, legislators, and law-enforcement machinery, diced against men ... well, the statistics do not prove to be surprising at all.

19,702 unmarried men killed themselves while 11,108 unmarried women killed themselves.

Further, according to the report, 65% of men and 35% of women committed suicide in 2010.

Not surprising, again.

Women are the stronger, privileged gender! As they have always been!

All that talk to the contrary is the product of fertile imagination - the very same that is responsible for the romantic tales and poetry that have littered the world through millions of years!

RIM Eyes Mobile Application Development in India

Research In Motion India (RIM), the maker of BlackBerry phones, thinks that there is a huge scope for development of mobile applications in India.

The company has started an experimental project in Tamilnadu to train students of in the development of mobile applications.

Annie Mathew, Head of Alliance and Developer Relations, RIM India, said: "We see huge opportunity in mobile application development. BlackBerry App World currently has 26,000-odd registered developers from India, against 5,000 two years ago, with the applications numbering over 40,000."

Annie Mathew further said: "We have commenced pilot project in Tamil Nadu for applications created by youths for youths. We are keen to take this project across the country."

According to her, the company has a 70:30 revenue share, where the developers take the major share. RIM is also stated to be working on the e-governance projects of the government in the area of health and education. The Company is going to launch the Near Field Communciations (NFC) technology in India by the end of November 2011.

NFC Technology has several applications. In one of them, pharmaceutical companies can gather data from their consumers very quickly.

New Tata Sumo Gold: The Most Powerful SUV from Tata Motors

Tata Mortors, India’s largest automobile producer, launched its new Tata Sumo Gold, the most powerful SUV in its category, last week.

There are four variants of the new Tata Sumo Gold: GX, EX, LX & CX. They carry a warranty of 3 years or 1,00,000 kms, whichever is earlier.

The Sumo Gold has a steering wheel with leather grip. It sports hydraulic power assistance. There is a spare wheel below the cabin. The new Sumo Gold comes with a re-designed grill at the front and a rear with clean lines. The elegant console and dashboard in silver are conveniently placed. The headlight design is all new. The tail lamps are conspicuously placed and the fog lamps are powerful.

The price of Tata Sumo Gold starts at about Rs. 5.23 lac.

Apple to Replace First Generation iPod Nano Players Worldwide

Apple has announced that it would replace free of cost - worldwide - the first generation iPod Nano because of reported overheating of the battery and the consequent risk to the users.

Apple made an announcement to the effect on its website. The announcement reads "Apple has determined that, in very rare cases, the battery in the iPod Nano (1st generation) may overheat and pose a safety risk. Affected iPod nanos were sold between September 2005 and December 2006."

The batteries supplied by a particular supplier alone have been noted to be the cause of the trouble and only those units with batteries - identified by the appropriate serial numbers - from the supplier are going to be replaced. The replacement is expected to take some six weeks or so from the date the unit is received by Apple.

Apple iPhone 4S to be Released in India on 25th November 2011

Apple iPhone 4S will be released in the Indian market on 25th November 2011.

Aircel has announced that it is introducing iPhone 4S in India on that date.

iPhone 4S 16GB is expected to cost about Rs.40,000/- whereas iPhone 64GB is expected to cost more than Rs.50,000/-. Compared to the introductory prices (in India) of iPhone 4 - Rs.34,500/- for iPhone 4 (16GB) and Rs.40,900/- for iPhone 4 (32GB) - the iPhone 4S seems to be priced higher. The difference may be partly due the inherent high cost of 4S and partly because of the fact that the gap between the introduction of the iPhone 4S in the US and in India is lesss than that in the case of iPhone 4 (the implication being that the price of iPhone 4 might have reduced more in the longer interval).

Apple has a history of releasing all its earlier versions of the iPhone in India on a Friday. Though Apple and its Indian partners have always been silent about the success of the phone in India, we suspect that the reception to the phone has been rather lukewarm for a variety of reasons. If our surmise is correct, we have the question "Can Apple beat the jinx now - though the release is once again on a Friday?"

We await the answer eagerly - just like most other Apple-watchers (and we don't mean the likes of Sir Isaac Newton!).

Indian Railways Modify Tatkal Service

Indian Railways have announced that the advance reservation period under the Tatkal Service is being reduced to 24 hours from the current 48 hours.

The current bar on travel agents booking tickets online between 8 AM and 9 AM has been extended for two hours: from 8 AM to 10 AM.

Passengers have to verify their identity proof to buy Tatkal tickets and only four passengers per each reservation request under the Tatkal Service.

Henceforth duplicate Tatkal tickets will be issued only in exceptional cases against payment of full fare including Tatkal charges; that makes it a re-purchase of the ticket, of course!

Though Tatkal was introduced with the laudable objective of making reservation available to travelers who are forced to travel unplanned and in emergencies, the service has been under much strain because of unscrupulous and rapacious touts masquerading as travel agents.

Vinay Mittal, Chairman, Railway Board, said: "There were many complaints regarding misuse of Tatkal tickets. The changes that will be effective within a week has been made to prevent its misuse."'

Perhaps a more reliable solution to the problem of touts subverting Tatkal is to increase the number of trains and the number of seats to meet the growing demand. But, sadly, we do not seem to have the resources - particularly given the ever-burgeoning population.

At one time it was claimed by some newspapers that the Railways themselves were resorting to profiteering by reducing the regular reservation quota and increasing the Tatkal quota. Given that, perhaps it is too much to expect our honourable touts to do any better.

As a nation we have become experts in subverting every law and every institution. If we use our collective genius in better ways, we might end up achieving what sceptics believe to be impossible: build a better nation. But then we may be asking for too much.

Google Acquires Two More Start-up Businesses

Google has acquired two startup firms Apture and Katango; the purchase consideration has not been made public yet.

 Apture was setup four years ago. Its in-page search technology capable of providing quick access to information seems to be the reason for he acquisition by Google. The technology is believed to come in handy in improvement of Google's own search and browser services. The principal idea seems to be to beef up Google Chrome and render it unassailable.

Katango is relatively more recent; it was established just about a year ago. It develops algorithms for sorting friends lists based on specific criteria and is expected to be useful in Google's foray into social networking through Google Plus. The technology employed by Katango is very similar in its import to the innovative "Circles" of Google Plus.

Apture said:  "We have been acquired by Google and will be joining the Chrome team to continue driving innovation and creating a better user experience on the web."

Katango said: "We are excited to join the Google Plus team and carry on fulfilling that mission. Google Plus is seeing tremendous momentum, so it's a perfect time to join and make Circles smarter for millions of people."

Google has successfully acquired 57 businesses so far this year for a purchase consideration of  $ 502 million (compared to the 44  for $669 million last year ).

Another juggernaut in the making, obviously.

Returns on Small Savings to Go Up

The government has accepted the recommendations of a panel headed by Shayamala Gopinath, former Dy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, to link the interest rates on small savings etc with the market rates.
The change, as things stand, would mean better returns on small savings.

The interest on the Public Provident Fund ( PPF) scheme is expected to be raised to 8.6% p.a. from the current 8% p.a., whereas the return on 5-year National Savings Certificates is expected to go up to 8.4% pa from the current 8% pa.

Not an earth-shaking raise really but ... can we the people ever be the choosers?!!

KBC Breaks Indian TV Rating Records

Kaun Banega Crorepati 5 has become the topmost Indian TV programme in the non-fiction genre. It registered 7.2 TVR and 8 TVR for the two episodes on 1st and 2nd November in which  Sushil Kumar won the Rs 5 crore top prize.

Some 25 million people are said to have watched the programme on 1st November fllowed by 27 million people the next day.

Sneha Rajani, Senior EVP and Business Head, Sony Entertainment Television, said: "We are ecstatic and humbled with the stupendous ratings on 'KBC'. The success of Sushil Kumar is an emphatic endorsement of the fact that the show is not just a game show, but a melting pot of knowledge and aspirations of the 'aam aadmi' (common man)."

She added: "Leading the way in KBC, we have our very own legend Amitabh Bachchan, who has changed the face of television, and our lives, in many ways than one. He has proved beyond doubt that he is the greatest superstar not just of the big screen but of the small screen too. I thank the entire team for giving us this pathbreaking season of KBC."

Kingfisher Airlines Going Through Challenging Times

Even as Kingfisher cancelled more than 30 flights for the fourth successive day on Thursday citing some cockpit and cabin crew reporting sick as the reason, the real story emerged in response to a directive to all airlines to place on record the actual number of flights they would operate on Thursday against their winter quota.

Though Kingfisher has been claiming cancellation of 50 flights everyday, on Thursday it operated just 269 flights out of its quota of 418 daily flights; 149 flights, amounting to 36% of its daily quota, were cancelled.

Kingfisher has gone on record that it has cancelled the flights to reconfigure its Airbus A-320 aircraft.

But it has been learnt that around 130 pilots have quit Kingfisher which has been going through a cash crunch. Kingfisher has also been having mounting dues to Airport operators, oil companies etc. and it is understood that there has been increasing pressure on the airline to clear the dues.To cope with the shortage of crew and cash as well, Kingfisher is reported to have trimmed down its operations.

Air India, Alliance Air, Jet Airways, JetLite and Go Air alone are said to have operated all their flights allocated to them.

Google Stops Gmail Support for BlackBerry

Google has announced that it would not support Gmail for Blackberry anymore.

Google has stated: "Beginning November 22, 2011, we will end support for the Gmail App for BlackBerry (installed native app). Over this past year, we've focused efforts on building a great Gmail experience in the mobile browser and will continue investing in this area."

As a result, the Gmail applications presently running on Blackberry will not be updated or supported otherwise by Google beyond the said date. But those who have been using the application already can keep using it.

Rockstar: Movie Review

"Rockstar", starring Ranbir Kapoor and Nargis Fakhri and directed by Imtiaz Ali, has been released today.

After Jab We Met and Love Aaj Kal, Rockstar is another commendble effort by Imtiaz Ali.

Janardan Jakhar (played by Ranbir Kapoor) is a casual, happy-go-lucky character supposedly studying at the Hindu College but, more accurately, frittering his time away in the college canteen. He is not exactly idle, though. He is busy nurturing dreams of hitting it big and becoming a rock star.

Taking a cue from the lives of well-known names in the world of music, he convinces himself that he must have tragedy in life because tragedy is, he concludes, what had made those men successful! So he sets about falling in love with his fellow student Heer (played by Nargis Fakhri); well, if one were aiming at having his heart broken, one couldn't perhaps have chosen better. She is rich; she is talented; she is much coveted; and she has that inevitable concomitant attribute in the circumstances: she is arrogant to the hilt. She has the very trait our man Janardan has been looking for: she has a penchant for breaking hearts! So Janardan goes about wooing the (un)fair lady hoping to be rewarded with a broken heart!  The unfair lady turns fair after all - in that she does break Janardan's heart as desired.

Now don't try to bring what you might be tempted to call your commonsense to the fore and start asking profound questions like "How can a man have a broken heart by design?" I don't understand these subtle issues; but then intellectual incisiveness is not one of my major weaknesses!

Realism is not a strong point in the film; but then it is not a strong point of most films. In any case, it doesn't perhaps matter because "Rockstar" finds itself striking a chord effortlessly with the spectators. "Nothing succeeds like success" is an adage that one might quote very appropriately in this context.

While the first half of the film is interesting and entertaining, the latter half does prove to be tedious.
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Both Ranbir and Nargis have acted with elan.

Ranbir's performance is highly commendable and is arguably one of his very best yet; there is something about genes and genealogy, I guess!  I am sure Ranbir is going to come up with similar sterling performances in future too.

Nargis, I must concede, is a bewitching beauty too - apart form being a good actor. She may be a star in the making.

Shammi Kapoor, in the small but important role in this last film of his, has once again proved to be simply scintillating as he has always been all through his spectacular career.

Imtiaz Ali has very skillfully extracted sterling performances from his lead actors. This film would remain another of his remarkable achievements as a director.

The music by A.R.Rehman is excellent.

"Rockstar" is sufficiently entertaining to make one exclaim "Boy, I'm rocking!"


Cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Nargis Fakhri, Shammi Kapoor, Aditi Rao, Kumud Mishra
Director: Imtiaz Ali
Producer: Eros International Media Ltd
Music: AR Rehman

Dr. Har Gobind Khorana, Nobel Laureate, Passes Away

Dr. Har Gobind Khurana (89) who was awarded the 1968 Nobel Prize for Physiology/Medicine for his path-breaking work in Genetics passed away at Concorde, Massachusets, on 9th November 2011.

Dr.Khorana was born in Raipur, Punjab (now in Pakistan) on 9th January 1922.

Dr.Khorana had his preliminary schooling at home. Later he joined the DAV Multan High School. He graduated in Science from Punjab University, Lahore, in 1943 and went on to acquire his Masters degree in Science in 1945. He joined the University of Liverpool for his doctoral work and got his Doctorate in 1948.

Then, he spent a year at the Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich, on post-doctoral work and another two at Cambridge. He joined the University of British Columbia in 1952 and shifted to the University of Wisconsin, Madison, in 1960.

After receiving the Nobel Prize, he joined the Massachusets Institute of Technology in 1970 as Alfred Sloan Professor of Biology and Chemistry and continued there till his retirement in 2007.

Dr.Khorana is a recipient of several other awards and honours. In 1968 he was awarded the Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize by Columbia University and the Lasker Foundation Award for Basic Medical Research. In 1974, he was honoured with the Willard Gibbs Medal of the American Chemical Society. In 1980, he received the Gairdner Foundation Annual Award; in 1987, he was honoured with the Paul Kayser International Award of Merit in Retina Research.

He was also a member of several prestigious international organisations like the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

In 2007, the Department of Biotechnology of the Government of India, The University of Wisconsin-Madison, and the Indo-US Science and Technology Forum set up the "Khorana Program" in honour of Dr.Khorana.

Dr.Khorana married Esther Elizabeth Sibler of Switzerland in 1952; she has predeceased him. Dr.Khurana is survived by Julia Elizabeth (1953) and Dave Roy (1958). Another daughter Emily Anne born in 1954 passed away in 1979.

India To Be The Third Largest User of the Internet By December 2011

According to a survey by IMRB and the Internet & Mobile Association of India, India would be the third largest user of Internet - next only to US -the technology giant, and China - the population juggernaut. According to the survey, one in every ten Indians would be using the Net by the end of the year.

According to the survey, India had 112 million users accessing the Net to e-mail, access one or more social media sites, chat, etc. According to the survey, about 5-7 million new users are accessing the Net every month in India. It is expected that the user base is going to cross that of the US in just about two years.

The fast-changing scenario is also resulting in better times for online businesses.

Schoolchildren more than 20% of the Net users in India. About 10% of the users hail from the  lowest socio-economic groups.

Now, can India rise to the challenge of protecting the children from unsavoury experiences on the web?

Arya Samaj Boycotts Swami Agnivesh

Arya Samaj has announced a boycott of Swami Agnivesh because of his participation in "Bigg Boss 5",  the highly controversial reality show.

Acharya Baldev of Arya Samaj said, "Not only Arya Samaj, but entire society will face its consequence because Swami Agnivesh has coloured his clothes. So, all those who have coloured their clothes are in trouble. He should have gone in the TV reality show after removing his saffron clothes. He has hurt the religious sentiments of everyone including ancient Hindu organisation and Arya Samaj. He has harmed the image of the saints and sacred people."

Swami Agnivesh who entered the Bigg Boss show on Tuesday said he would use the opportunity to   create awareness of social issues.
Well, can he?

Barnes & Noble's Releases New Nook Tablet

Barnes & Noble has released an improved version of its 7-inch Tablet PC named Nook. It has a 1 GH dual-core processor, a 7-inch screen, and weighs less than a pound. It can run video for 9 hours. It is compatible with Netflix video libraries and Hulu Plus.

The Nook is pitted directly against Amazon's Kindle Fire. Nook, which costs $299, is slightly more expensive than Kindle Fire but it is faster than Kindle and has more memory too. The price  compares extremely favourably with Apple iPad which costs $499. Given that, Nook may well prove to be a threat to iPad too - though iPad is almost in a class of its own.'

The release of Nook at this juncture is bound to make the catch the festive fervour ahead. We can only nod wisely and say "The timing seems to be perfect!".

Mahindra Satyam Declares 10-Times Higher Growth in Q2

Leading IT firm in India, Mahindra Satyam today registered a stunning result for the second quarter of 2011-12 financial year with 10 times growth at 238 crore (after tax) against last year’s 23.31 crore at the same period.

Banking on 36 new customers during this quarter, Mahindra Satyam's profit-after-tax is up 5.77% from Rs 225 crore in Q1 of the fiscal year 2011-12.

Mahindra Satyam’s Chairman Vineet Nayar told media, "Our growth momentum continues for the fifth consecutive quarter. As we come toward the end of our three-year transformation journey, it is indeed satisfying to see that all our key business performance indicators, such as growth, profitability and talent retention, are on course. We have shown significant improvement quarter-on-quarter in spite of an uncertain macroeconomic environment.”

HTC to Launch New Tablet Next year

Taiwanese smartphone manufacturer giant, HTC Corporation will launch a new tablet model next year.

HTC CEO Peter Chou announced the same to media, "It's a market we would like to try and test, to see whether we can make ourselves stand out and prevent a me-too product."

Security Expert Removed From Apple’s iOS Program

Charlie Miller, a security expert associated with Apple’s developer programmes, has been removed from the program after his exposure of a security bug in Apple iOS software.

Miller claims to have demonstrated the security glitch by developing an appropriate application for this purpose.

According to Miller it is now possible for programmers to develop malicious software compromising the security of iPhones and iPads. Users who could wants rely upon the applications available   from app stores may have to think twice about it all now.

Rajinikanth & Aamir Khan to Come Together in an Ad

India’s top most two superstars Aamir Khan and Rajinikanth will be seen together very soon in an ad film which will be made to spread awareness of child health in India.

This ad film is a part of the Indian Health Ministry's special campaign for promoting awareness of issues like child malnutrition and their problems.

It is 20 years since Rajinikanth has done any ad. He has agreed to do this only because it is for a good cause.

Aamir Khan told media that he is very happy and proud to share screen with ‘Rajini Sir’.

Well, we are waiting to see the magic of these two sparkling stars!

Nokia Lumia 800 Windows Phone – Features, Specifications & Price

Recently Nokia has officially launched its first Window smartphone, Nokia Lumia 800 in India.  The price will be around Rs. 28,000/-.

The Nokia Lumia 800 comes with 3.7-inch AMOLED Black TFT Touchscreen display with 800 x 480 pixels screen resolution.  It has 8 mega pixel Auto focus Camera.

The Windows Smartphone, Lumia 800 comes with 16GB internal memory, 512MB RAM and 25GB free cloud storage from Microsoft.

Nokia Lumia 800 supports social networking, instant messaging and comes with lots of integrated apps and Internet explorer 9 for smooth browsing experience.

The Smartphone Nokia Lumia 800  will be available in 3 colors - Black, Cyan and Magenta.


Features & Specifications of Nokia Lumia 800


Phone Type: Windows Smartphone
Network: 2G - GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 ; 3G HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100
Size: 116.5 x 61.2 x 12.1mm
Weight: 142 gms
Display Type: AMOLED ClearBlack TFT Touchscreen Display
Operating System: Windows 7.5 Mango 
Processor: 1.4 Ghz scorpion processor
Browser: WAP 2.0/xHTML, HTML5
Camera: 8 MP Autofocus camera with dual LED Flash, and Carl Zeiss optics
Memory: 16 GB internal storage with no card slot, 512 MB RAM, 25GB free cloud storage
Connectivity: Wi-Fi, v2.1 Bluetooth, microUSB v2.0 USB
Battery: Standard
Talk time: Up to 13 hours
Other Features:- SNS integration
- Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic
- Digital compass
- Outlook Mobile for business emails
- Social Networking Support
- Instant messaging support
- HD video recording
- Nokia Music featuring MixRadio
- Multi format Music Player
- FM Radio
- Games

'Can Love Happen Twice?' - Ravinder Singh's New Book After 'I too had a Love story'

After his successful debut novel ‘I too had a Love story’, Ravinder Singh is all set to release his second novel titled ‘Can Love Happen Twice?’ 

For the last 2 years ‘I too had a Love story’ has been among the best sellers along with Chetan Bhagat’s books.

'Can Love Happen Twice?' will be launched very soon and will be available in all the major bookstores and websites across the country.

We expect that Ravinder Singh’s Can Love Happen Twice? will be received as warmly by the readers as I too had a Love story.

Conrad Murray, Michael Jackson’s Doctor Found Guilty

Conrad Murray, Pop King Michael Jackson's doctor was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter over MJ’s 2009 death due to overdose of propofol, now faces 4 years in jail.

He could also be banned from practicing medicine after his conviction in connection with Jackson's death.

Jackson's mother Katherine, father Joe, siblings Randy, Jermaine, Rebbie and La Toya were present in court and they were very happy when the verdict was announced.

M T Vasudevan Nair Will Receive Ezhuthachan Award

M T Vasudevan Nair will receive Kerala’s highest literary prize the ‘Ezhuthachan Award’, for his contributions to Malayalam literature. Along with the memento MT will get a cash award Rs 1.5 lakh and a citation.

From 1993 Kerala Government  is giving away the award in memory of Thunchathathu Ramanujan Ezhuthachan, father of the Malayalam language.

Although the date of award ceremony is yet to be fixed, M T wish to give away whole amount to the development of children's library at Thunchanparambu.

M T received India's highest literary honour Jnanapith award in 1995. Apart from this, he won Kerala Sahitya Akademi award for his novel Nalukettu in 1958. He won the Akademi award for Gopura Nadayil (drama) in 1982 and in 1986 for Swargam Thurakkunna Samayam (short story). He also won the Kendra Sahitya Akademi in 1970 for his novel Kaalam.

Shah Rukh Khan Interrogated by ED for Misdeed in IPL 2

Bollywood Badshah and owner of Kolkata Knight Riders, Shah Rukh Khan was grilled by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday in connection with alleged irregularities in the Indian Premier League Season 2.

IPL season 2 was held in South Africa after the venue was moved from India due to General Election.

Senior ED official told media, "Shah Rukh appeared before us on Saturday and we recorded his statement in connection with IPL 2."

There have been serious allegations of suspicious money flowing into the T-20 tournament from foreign agencies. As per ED officials Shah Rukh Khan is asked to submit documents relating to his franchise’s operations including the buying of players, advertising, profit & loss, share holding pattern etc.

Former BCCI president Shashank Manohar and ex-cricketer & member of IPL governing council Ravi Shastri have been also questioned by ED in connection with alleged irregularities of money.

Apple iPhone is Banned in Germany

A German court granted temporary ban on selling Apple iPhone in Germany in a patent infringement case. However, the order will not affect much on Apple’s sales as the company don’t sell its product directly but through local subsidiary, which was not covered by the injunction.

In an interim order, the German court said, Apple may not sell certain mobile devices including iPad and iPhone in Germany that infringe on two Motorola Mobility patents related to wireless technology. The court also said that If Apple continues selling the devices then it has to pay a fine of up to 250,000 euros.

Internet search giant Google, which is also a major player in the mobile market through its Android operating system, is in the process to acquire Motorola Mobility.

Jaguar Land Rover to Launch New Range Rover Evoque

Jaguar Land Rover launches all new Range Rover Evoque in Mumbai today. The Range Rover Evoque the most electrifying vehicle - is available in three variants: Pure, Prestige and Dynamic (all in case of 5 doors). And Coupe is available in the Dynamic form.

On the eve of launching, Mr. P.M.Telang, Managing Director – India Operations, Tata Motors said, "The Range Rover Evoque is a very important addition to the Land Rover and Range Rover product portfolio and I am delighted to be present at such a significant launch. This car has excited audiences across the world and we expect the same from the discerning Indian customers."

Driven by the elegant and sophisticated design with new dynamic technology the Range Rover Evoque will be available in both 5 door and Coupe body styles. The Coupe is available in a petrol variant and the 5 door version in diesel. Price range for the all new Range Rover Evoque starts at Rs. 44.75 lacs (ex-showroom price in Mumbai, pre- Octroi).

Bhupen Hazarika Passed Away

Music legend Bhupen Hazarika passed away today in Mumbai after long illness due to respiratory problem and kidney failure.  He was 86.

Filmmaker Kalpana Lajmi, Hazarika’s long time mate was beside there when he died.

He was admitted at Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani hospital for the last four months.

Bhupen Hazarika was born in 1926 in Sadiya. He completed his master degree in Political science from Banaras Hindu University and got his PhD in Mass Communication from Columbia University.

A poet, singer, actor, lyricist,  journalist, author and filmmaker Bhupen Hazarika was received Padma Bhushan in 2001. He won prestigious Dada Saheb Phalke Award in 1992.

Through his music Bhupen Hazarika inspired people across generations with the power and passion of his voice. He blend traditional Assamese folk music to give us beautiful songs like 'Dil hoom hoom kare' and 'O Ganga behti ho'.