Category Archives: GENERAL

Textbook Shows Mosque as Source of Noise Pollution Alongwith Car, Plane

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In a glaring oversight, an ICSE Class 6 science textbook shows a “mosque” as a source of noise pollution depicting a man below closing his ears to the sound from loudspeakers from mosques.

Other noise-producing symbols like train, car and plane were seen in the picture but the osque has triggered uproar. While the textbook is not published directly or prescribed by the ICSE, it has denied any role in dipicting a religious symbol in the textbook in a negative tone.

Gerry Arathoon, Secretary of the Council for Indian School Certificate Examinations, told news agency PTI, “If any book with objectionable content is being taught at certain schools, it is for schools and publisher to ensure such a thing does not happen.”

However, social media is abuzz with an online petition launched to demand ban on the book and the private publisher has apologised for the mistake and assured to remove the offensive picture.

Hemant Gupta of Selina Publishers, said, “We do apologise if it has hurt the sentiments of anyone,” as the picture consisted of “a structure resembling a portion of a fort and other noise producing objects in a noisy city”.

The textbook row follows similar controversy when Bollywood singer Sonu Nigam said he was woken up by the sound of “azaan” or early morning prayers from mosques over loudspeakers. Before the controversy subsided, the ICSE textbook row had hit the social media.

Religious portions in textbooks have often triggered major controversies and recently a Class 9 Hindi textbook has referred to Jesus Christ as a demon. Another tongue-in cheek description in Class 12 textbook on physical education suggested ideal feminine body size as 36-24-36.

Flax Seeds Help Women Most: Study

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Flaxseed is the new sought-after supplement in faily diet owing to its component lignans which help women to get regular menstrual cycle and also reduce the risk of breast cancer, show recent research findings.

According to the American Institute for Cancer Research, flax seed contains lignans, also called phytoestrogens, bearing a chemical structure similar to estrogen but unlike estrogen that increases the risk of breast cancer, these brown seeds do not increase cancer risk but be more protective.

In studies conducted on animals, it was shown that lignans isolated from flaxseed help women during the menstrual period and post-menopausal period by lowering the risk of breast cancer. It was also observed that flaxseed did not interfere with the effectiveness of the anti-estrogen medication tamoxifen, said the AICR study. The higher blood levels of lignans show prominent cancer-protective features, said the study.

“For people who wish to consume flaxseed as a source of omega-3 fat or dietary fiber, studies do not support fears that flaxseed could increase incidence or recurrence of breast cancer,” says Karen Collins. However, more research is to be done before recommending it as a medication for breast cancer, said Collins in the paper.

In a previous study conducted from 2002 to 2005, the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) researchers used the MARIE study to take blood samples of 1,140 women who had been diagnosed with postmenopausal breast cancer. After a mean observation time of six years, they related enterolactone levels to clinical disease progression.

Compared to the study subjects with the lowest enterolactone levels, the women with the highest blood levels of this biomarker had an approximately 40 percent lower mortality risk. When the scientists additionally took account of the incidence of metastasis and secondary tumors, they obtained a similar result: Women with the highest enterolactone levels also had a lower risk for such an unfavorable disease progression.

“We now have first clear evidence showing that lignans lower not only the risk of developing postmenopausal breast cancer, but also the mortality risk,” said Jenny Chang-Claude.

There had been prior studies to determine the lignan intake by means of dietary surveys. But the results of such surveys are often unreliable and, in addition, there are big differences in the way individuals actually process the plant substances into effective metabolic products. Therefore, the Heidelberg team chose the more reliable measurement of biomarkers.

Otherwise, flax seeds have other potential medicinal properties, besides preventing growth of harmful cancer cells, even for prostate cancer. Since these seeds are found to catalyze insulin secretion in the body to regulate blood-sugar levels, diabetics are often advised to make it part of their daily diet.

In menopausal women, flaxseeds help them fight complications by maintaining balance in body hormones and reducing the risk of osteoporosis. It is also helpful in lowering bad cholesterol due to its rich nutrients.

The flipside of flaxseeds is that they are rich in calorie levels, 150 grams in four tablespoons.

NASA’s Juno to Fly Directly Over Jupiter’s Mysterious Red Spot Now

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NASA’s Juno spacecraft is all set for another manoeuvre on July 10, flying directly over Jupiter’s Great Red Spot, the gas giant’s iconic, 10,000-mile-wide (16,000-kilometer-wide) storm.

This meanoeuvre will be humanity’s first close-up view of the gigantic storm being monitored since 1830 and possibly existing for more than 350 years on Jupiter, making it mysterious and puzzling.

“Jupiter’s mysterious Great Red Spot is probably the best-known feature of Jupiter,” said Scott Bolton, principal investigator of Juno from the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio. “This monumental storm has raged on the solar system’s biggest planet for centuries. Now, Juno and her cloud-penetrating science instruments will dive in to see how deep the roots of this storm go, and help us understand how this giant storm works and what makes it so special,” said a NASA report.

The July 10 flyby will Juno’s sixth on to the gas giant’s mysterious cloud tops. Since Juno’s perijove is on Monday, July 10, at 6:55 pm PDT (9:55 pm EDT), Juno will be about 2,200 miles (3,500 kilometers) above the planet’s cloud tops.

In its closest reach lasting for 11 minutes and 33 seconds, Juno will cover another 24,713 miles (39,771 kilometers) and will be directly above the coiling crimson cloud tops of Jupiter’s Great Red Spot, said NASA. The spacecraft will bee about 5,600 miles (9,000 kilometers) above the Giant Red Spot clouds and all its 8 instruments and its camera JunoCam, will be directly on the storm during the flyby.

“The success of science collection at Jupiter is a testament to the dedication, creativity and technical abilities of the NASA-Juno team,” said Rick Nybakken, project manager for Juno from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. “Each new orbit brings us closer to the heart of Jupiter’s radiation belt, but so far the spacecraft has weathered the storm of electrons surrounding Jupiter better than we could have ever imagined.”

As US is celebrating its Independence Day on July 4, Juno will have logged exactly one year in Jupiter orbit.

 

NASA Data Detects Huge Drop in Global Fires, Good or Bad?

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NASA satellites have detected from space that the number of fires across tropical forests in South America, the Eurasian Steppe, and the savannas of Africa are increasingly declining due to settled lifestyle than previous nomadic lifestyle in the regions.

The transition is leading intensified agriculture and steep drop in the use of fire leading to decline of forest fires, said researchers from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

The total acreage burned by fires declined annually by 24% from 1998 to 2015, said a research paper based on NASA satellite data and ground-based socioeconomic information. The beneficiaries are mainly the savannas and grasslands, which witnessed fires burning out half the size of the US every year, said Niels Andela, a research scientist at Goddard and lead author.

In traditional savanna cultures, people often set fires to keep grazing lands productive and free of shrubs. Since many of these communities have shifted to cultivate more permanent fields and to build more houses, roads and villages, the use of fire declines.eading organisaed governance that controls fires. By 2015, savanna fires in Africa had declined by 270,000 square miles (700,000 square km), almost equivalent to an area the size of Texas.

“When land use intensifies on savannas, fire is used less and less as a tool. As soon as people invest in houses, crops and livestock, they don’t want these fires close by anymore. The way of doing agriculture changes, the practices change, and fire slowly disappears from the grassland landscape,” said Andela.

Fires in the savanna, like this one in South Africa, burn quickly through grasses, and help prevent trees and larger shrubs from taking root. CREDIT: Guido van der Werf / Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the Netherlands

For their study, researchers used data derived from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS) instruments on NASA’s Terra and Aqua satellites, as well as other sources and compared it with trends in population, agriculture, livestock density and gross domestic product.

The scientists found a different pattern emerging in the rainforests close to the equator. Natural fires are rare in tropical forests, but as people settle an area they often burn to clear land for cropland and pastures. Once settled, they set fewer fires and the burned area declines.

The impact of a warming and drying climate is seen at higher latitudes in Canada and the American west, where fire has increased. Even in parts of China, India, Brazil and southern Africa, an increase in burned area is coming to light, said Doug Morton, a research scientist at Goddard and a co-author of the study.

“Climate change has increased fire risk in many regions, but satellite burned area data show that human activity has effectively counterbalanced that climate risk, especially across the global tropics,” Morton said.

The 24% decline in burned area may have contributed about 7% to the ability of global vegetation to absorb the increase in carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels and land use change.

Shatamanam Bhavati? Human Lifespan Increasing, No Cap on Age Possible, Canadian Study

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Shatamanam Bhavati, says Sanskrit Hindu blessing hymn. It may come true going by the trend, say Canadian scientists. Humans, who live longer than any other species, barring trees and elephants, have many super centenarians who are crossing the 100-year-old threshold, pushing the lifespan further up.

Jeanne Calment of France who lived till she was 122 years old seeing both World Wars, Mussolini and democratic reforms later, buyoant economic growth of Italy and its underworld remains a mystery to scientists and medical community. Many Japanese women have reached nearly the same age and the clock kept on chaning faces in the last one decade.

When Canadaian Emma Morano lived up to 117 years, the researchers began to ponder if there is any end to it. Researchers from the McGill University in Canada have taken up a study of the increasing lifespan of the longest-living individuals from Japan, Italy, US, UK and France since 1968 and realised that there is no cap on how long one can live literally. Nor can there be a cap on maximum age one can live with modern medical amenities within the reach and the way Japan’s robust care for the elderly works.

“We just don’t know what the age limit might be. In fact, by extending trend lines, we can show that maximum and average lifespans, could continue to increase far into the foreseeable future,” said Siegfried Hekimi, from McGill University of Canada and the team lead.

A century ago, the average lifespan was around 60 years in developed countries while it was far below at 50 years in countries like India, bar those who practised yoga and lied on good  food.

Moving forward, as of 1980, the average lifespan increased to 76 years while it is hovering around 70 years elsewhere, especially in developing countries like India. Now that the world has been shrunk to a global village, thanks to Internet, awareness is increasing, hospital care is at throwaway distance and many people have grown to be rich and educated. The lifespan average is now 82 years in Canada and around 76 years in India or other emerging economies.

However, Hekmi and his team found out that it is impossible to predict future lifespan of humans, which can move further up to a few hundred years, bringing the ancient Sanskrit blessing – Shatamanam Bhavati (Live for 1000 years) – come true. While nobody knows why the Hindu blessing of Shatamanam Bhavati was spelt out at every auspicious occasion when it was evrybody’s knowledge that one cannot live beyond 60 to 100 in ancient times too. But certainly there is an inherent meaning to its scope.

“Three hundred years ago, many people lived only short lives. If we would have told them that one day most humans might live up to 100, they would have said we were crazy,” said Hekimi. Now it is possible with the modern medical care, old age pension and other technology is there to help push the maximum lifespan of people beyond the 100 years to reach one day even 1000 years to make the Sanskrit wording “Shatamanam Bhavati” come true.

The research of Hekmi was published in the journal Nature.

GST Highest in World, Arbitrary and Bizarre, Says Cong Leader Surjewala

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Unlike what Congress proposed as a simple three-tier GST capping at 18%, the BJP-led NDA government has made it 4-slab and added 28% slab imposing one of the worst taxation system in the world, said Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala.

Besides the Goods and Services Tax (GST), the cess included, some products will be as costlier as 43% more than the existing prices, he said. The cascading effect will be another standstill in economic growth as it would affect the common man and daily purchasing power of many people, he said.

While the livelihood of shopkeepers, traders, micro and small businesses is at stake, the new tax regime defeats the very purpose of simplifying the tax structure.  Addressing a Traders Sammelan of ‘Vyapar Bachao-Dukandar Bachao’ protest in Haryana, he said, “The GST in its current form will be a blow to the farmers, textile sector, small and medium businesses. It will lead to run away inflation for all goods of mass consumption.”

He revealed that the original proposal made by the UPA government was simple, transparent and not at all complicated. But the new BJP framed GST requires 37 returns to be filed by every taxpayer per year. “In case, a taxpayer is doing business in all 36 states/UTs, it will be 1,332 returns, which is shocking,” he revealed.

The GST is against the basic needs of common man — roti, kapda aur makaan — as all these sectors are set for shocking rise in costs, he said. Giving examples, he said, “daily use items” like shampoos, deodrant attract 28 per cent, ACs/TVs/washing machines too attract 28%, furniture 28 %, computers/printers 28% and even small cars attract 28% and questioned the rationale in attacking the middle class which consumes most of these items.

He pointed out that even sanitary napkins, which are usually kept outside the tax regimes in many advanced and even poorer countries have been put under 12% tax regime on par with shoes and footwear. Even dialysis/blood test/X-ray/ultrasound etc. come under the same category, smacking the irrational treatment of medical services in the country, which may increase the medical bills for the common man.

Daily food items like tea/coffee/butter/biscuit/ curd/sweets/juices attract 12 pc to 28 pc, revealing the mindless aggressive attitude of the policy makers and tax administrators.

“Does it make sense to tax mineral water at 18 per cent even when caviar and prawns are taxed at 12 per cent or even when exotic imported fruits and vegetables are taxed at 0 per cent,” he asked.

Giving an example of taxing almonds and dry fruits at 12 per cent and cashew nuts at 5 per cent, he questioned the rationale behind such decision-making. It is everybody’s knowledge that almonds and dry fruits are good for health while cashew is fatty food and not advised for good health.

He questioned tax on man-made fiber and yarn, dyeing and printing and embroidery at 18% while the end product fabric is only 5 per cent, which means the service sector in textile would be hit badly and many may loose jobs.

While Indian farmer can’t compete with global farmer as there is a massive shortage of cold storage units in the country coupled with high indebtedness and suicides among the farmers, the government has imposed 18% tax on construction of cold storage units, which is more harmful to India and may increase imports.

This is what “Modi government’s method of governance: long on talks and short on delivery,” he told the protesters.

Why is GST Anti-Middle Class but Pro-Rich, Pro-Farmer?

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When Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the White House, the pat came from the President for undertaking the daunting taks of bringing the entire 1.3 billion consumers of the country under one tax regime, making it easy for market access by sellers.

The huge transition to GST-managed tax regime may benefit those who buy white goods as discounts are visibly pushing the demand but not for the middle class, which is still reeling under demonetisation effect of last year.

Many working and salaried class families have woken up on Saturday to a high taxation as they started buying daily consumables. With one stroke, the entire unholy ‘service tax’ has gone up from 15% to 18% and immediately all banks and service providers have sent urgent SMS messages passing on the burden to consumers.

Ironic but all luxury items have seen dramatic reduction in tax structure as cars are on huge discount sale from Maruti Suzuki to Tata Motors, while mobile makers are advertising equally effective price reductions over night. Not far behind, homes will be cheaper now though an elusive dream for many.

Those in rural areas are still not affected by the GST regime. Moreover, fertilizers getting GST discount from 12% to 5%, the direct beneficiaries will feel lesser impact from the concurrent hike in prices of daily consumable items until GST spreads over the remote areas too.

But those who entered restaurants on their way to office on Saturday had to pay extra in the name of central GST tax and State GST tax. It is still not clear for them why there should be two GST taxes in the bill when the GST is being rolled out as one unified structure.

Essentially, the salaried middle class will begin to feel the impact. Since elections are far away, the government is not in a mood to revise these tax slabs on daily consumables for some time.

To offset the hike in consumable goods, commodities such as packaged cement, medicaments, smart phones, and medical devices have been showcased as products where the tax is reduced.

For instance, packaged cement worked out to more than 31% earlier but now it is 28% and if the government is expecting the builders to pass on benefits to buyers, then it’s a dream for many.

In case of medicaments, including Ayurvedic, Unani, Siddha, Homeopathic or Bio-chemic systemsalso and other medicaments in general, the rate was down from 13% to 12% now and the impact will be hardly noticeable.

Smart phones attracted a tax of 13.5% earlier and now it is 12%. Similarly, medical devices, including surgical instruments, were under 13% tax will be under 12% GST, which is not a great reduction.

Only benefit for religious-minded people is that Puja Samagri has been placed under Nil category, to woo the women who would feel the impact of GST immediately.

Otherwise, India is no longer a poor country but a rich country for the rich and for those who marvel in rich lifestyle while those who believe in Mahatma Gandhi’s simplicity would be extinct soon.

GST Regime Offers Huge Discounts on Mobile Phones, Cars, Gadgets, Not on Food

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GST roll out has turned a retail sales extravaganza across the country with car makers and retailers turning it into a sales pitch with huge discounts on goods based on GST rate slabs and large queues were seen from Mumbai to Bhubaneshwar and New Delhi to Bangalore on Friday night.

Beginning today, Saturday, July 1, 2017, India switched over to new tax structure called the Goods and Services Tax (GST), bringing more than one billion population under one tax regime and controlling $2billion market under one federal structure, surpassing the state-level levies and local taxes.

Car makers have been the main beneficiary of the new GST and the No.1 car maker Maruti Suzuki has dropped prices on key models by up to 3 percent, passing on the benefit to customers, though erstwhile hybrid models ceased to avail concessions and become costlier now. The next major player Tata Motos has reduced prices by up to 7 per cent.

On retail front, Big Bazaar chain of retail stores has announced discounts of 2 percent to 22 percent on groceries and household goods across the country while online fashion e-commerce retailer Myntra is providing huge discounts as taxes on garments change from July 1.

Social media and WhatsApp are abuzz with discounts and how customers have been given huge discounts. One such message read:”I bought a refrigerator worth Rs.28,000 for Rs.800 only,” bragging on the unverified discount offer.

Those who have taken coffee in Mavalli center on Saturday morning were surprised to see huge tax on coffee. The actual rate of coffee was Rs.32.20 and the central GST was Rs.2.90 and the State GST was another Rs.2.90, making it Rs.2.90, with a total bill of Rs.38 for coffee. Ironic but South India, which consumes mostly coffee was the worst hit from the GST, while tea is enjoying lesser taxation.

Mobile phones, which are not daily consumables, have been reaping with huge discounts as the GST came calling on July 1, 2017. Apple is among those which has offered Rs.900 to Rs.6,600 discount on iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Mac laptops.

iPhones prices are down from Rs. 1,200 to Rs.6,600, while iPad models are given discounts from Rs.900 to Rs.3,900, with the 12-inch MacBook and MacBook Pro models witnessing price drop of about Rs.5,100 to Rs.11,800.

GST Roll-Out at Midnight Signifies Power Shift to Centre, Common Man at Receiving End?

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India ushered in GST amid historic midnight session of Parliament, replicating the mid-night transfer of Independence from the British Raj on August 15, 1947. However, GST inauguration speaks volumes on the tax burden than power transfer.

President Pranab Mukherjee, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley addressed the gathering, before the President and the Prime Minister pressed a button to mark the launch of GST, amid allegations that it would squarely burden the common man.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi described it as “Good and Simple Tax” which would ultimately benefit the people. He even quoted a shloka from the Rig Veda to describe the spirit of common goal, common determination, leading to mutual and shared benefit for the society. He said the day marks a decisive turning point, in determining the future course of the country.

He recalled that the Central Hall had been witness to several historic occasions in the past as well, including the first session of the Constituent Assembly, India’s independence, and the adoption of the Constitution, which have set the future course of action on power shift in India. He described GST is an example of Cooperative Federalism, another power shift from the states to centre in tax revenue and share.

Recalling the famous scientist Albert Einstein who said that income tax is the most difficult thing to understand in the world, he said that GST would ensure one nation, one tax and makes it simple. He noted that it would eliminate inordinate delay in movement of goods and services across the country and makes the modern tax administration far simple and curbs corruption.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said, “We have made sure that small traders and businessmen are out and the compliance burden on those with annual turnover of Rs 20 to Rs 75 lakh is lower through the composition scheme,” referring to criticism that the commonman and small traders will be the worst hit under the new GST regime.

The common man faces paying higher price for every purchase he makes when he buys daily needs like jam, cornflakes and hotel food bills. He pays higher when he uses shampoo in the morning, pays higher for life insurance, mobile bills and transportation tickets of all modes. The only visible carrot in the deal is biscuits, which are not good for health as vegetable oil is mostly used in manufacturing them.

He saves if he buys annually once products like shoes, garments, hair oil, cell phones, plastic kitchenware (not steel), pressure cooker, economy class air tickets among others. Once in five-year purchase of a car may cost less now after GST but still beyond the common man’s reach.

However, the impact would be felt in a month from now, while traders will have to make adjustments meanwhile. Last year, demonetisation had affected the country and this year the GST will burden the merchant community further. But there is no choice for the middle class, which gets the impact maximum every time the government ushers in something new.

Messi Joins ‘Just Married’ Club, End of Robust Career?

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Football star player Lionel Messi finally married his childhood sweetheart Antonella Roccuzzo on Friday at his Argentine hometown Rosario, amid presence of top football players and celebrities including pop singer Shakira, billed as the “wedding of the century” in local media.

After Messi said, “I do” to his bride whom he knew for two decades, they reached a hotel where the glitteratti and celebrities gathered while Shakira and her husband, Messi’s teammate Gerard Pique, joined the other 260 guests including Neymar and Luis Suarez.

The top player, who is facing a court case over tax evasion, was seen happy at last over the domestic events taking priority over game, name and fame. Messi and Roccuzzo will soon move to Barcelona in Spain where he plays for FC Barcelona.

A winner of top Ballon d’Or award five times, Messi has become iconic figure among the football fans and he was even featured in TATA car endorsement in India last year.

Some reactions on social media Twitter were hillarious to modest.

 

Salman Khan-Starrer ‘Tubelight’ Barely Crosses Rs.100-Crore Mark, Unlike his Previous Hits

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Salman Khan starrer ‘Tubelight’ for 2017 Eid release could not take off despite high expectations in Bollywood about the film that has a story line similar to many of his films earlier like “Bajrangi Bhaijaan’ or ‘Sultan’.

In seven days of its collection, the film grossed Rs.103 crore, with an estimated Rs 4.25 crore on Wednesday, according to Boxofficeindia.com figures. On its opening day Friday, the film collected Rs 20.75 crore followed by Rs 19.75 crore on Saturday and Rs 22.25 crore on Sunday, Rs.18.50 crore on Monday and Rs.11.75 crore on Tuesday, followed by a massive slide to single number at Rs.4.25 crore on Wednesday.

Despite good and bad reviews, never did Salman Khan’s film faced such low collections, hinting at revamp required for the actor’s past collection records. Based on Hollywoood flick, ‘Little Boy’ with a slight change in storyline to suit local conditions when the 1962 Sino-Indian War took place.

The film was also the last one by late Bollywood legend, Om Puri, while Chinese actress Zhu Zhu and child artist Martin Rey Tangu were roped in key roles. With director Kabir Khan, this is the second film by the duo after the massive success of ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’.

Here is a short list of his popular hit films:

  • Maine Pyar Kiya (1989)
  • Hum Aapke Hain Koun..! (1994)
  • Karan Arjun (1995)
  • Dabangg (2010)
  • Ek Tha Tiger (2012)
  • Dabangg 2 (2012)
  • Kick (2014)
  • Bajrangi Bhaijaan (2015)
  • Sultan (2016)
  • Tubelight (2017)

Salman Khan’s record has always been good in box office collections and he was marveled as the unique actor who could bring in moolah for the producers. His first film in 1988 ‘Biwi Ho To Aisi’ was just a passable one while his next film turned the table around as box office starrer with Sooraj R. Barjatya’s romantic family drama Maine Pyar Kiya in 1989, one of India’s highest-grossing films, besides winning several awards.

However success delued him again untill 1994 when “Hum Aapke Hain Koun..!!” with madhuri Dixit virtually thnundered the box office collections and awards for Salman Khan changing the course of his film career. Earning over Rs.135 crore, it was the biggest hit of 1994, breaking all previous records.

In 1995 his film with Shah Rukh Khan in Rakesh Roshan’s ‘Karan Arjun’ based on reincarnation theme went on to become the second biggest hit of the year. But again a spell of below average fillms followed until ‘Hum Saath-Saath Hain’ and ‘Biwi No.1’, both of which were the highest-grossing films of 1999.

It was almost a decade of ups and downs for his film career until ‘Dabangg’, which was released on Eid, 10 September 2010 that went on to earn Rs.215 crore becoming the highest-grossing Bollywood film of 2010.

His next film two years later with Katrina Kaif ‘Ek Tha Tiger’ went on to become the second Bollywood film to gross over Rs.300 crore behind only ‘3 Idiots’ of Aamir Khan. In the same year 2012, ‘Dabangg 2’, a sequel of Dabangg, grossed Rs.250 crore.

His next film in 2014 was ‘Jai Ho’ that was just above average but followed by ‘Kick’ in the same year that entered the Rs.200 crore club.

In 2015, ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’, released on Eid became the second Bollywood film after ‘PK’ to enter Rs.300 crore club. Last year’s film on Eid, “Sultan” became the second film of Salman Khan to nett over 300 crores with a gross collection amount of Rs.583.26 crore worldwide. Compared to these box office collections, “Tubelight” is not only slow but never bright either like a typical tubelight after it glows.

Cassini Takes Plunge Into Saturn, Scientists Cross-Fingered

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In its line up for final plunge into Saturn’s atmosphere, Cassini has once again taken a proximal plunge into the surface of Saturn on June 29, 2017. The final plunge is scheduled for mid-September.

The Cosmic Dust Analyzer’s (CDA) science team, in Germany adjusted the instrument’s settings this week based on experience in recent “proximal” passages between Saturn’s rings and atmosphere. They have created a string of 39 commands that would set the instrument to make the best possible observations during the next proximal plunge. Now the instrument’s data-collection rate has been adjusted to 4 kilobits per second, thus making sure all ring-particle impacts would be sensed.

Here is a week-long update previous to the plunge:

Wednesday, June 21 (DOY 172)

Writers, bloggers, photographers, educators, students, artists and others who use social media to engage specific audiences are encouraged to apply for special access to Cassini’s Grand Finale event in mid-September.

Thursday, June 22 (DOY 173)

The Composite Infrared Spectrometer (CIRS) turned and looked at Saturn’s large icy moon Dione for 3.5 hours today. The Imaging Science Subsystem (ISS), the Visible and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS), and the Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrograph (UVIS) – all the other Optical Remote-Sensing (ORS) instruments – rode along to make observations as well. CIRS’s goal was to measure Dione’s surface emissivity at thermal-infrared wavelengths, which hold clues to the composition and structure of that moon’s regolith.

Friday, June 23 (DOY 174)

Beginning late today, the spacecraft trained its High-Gain Antenna dish on the distant Earth. It then accurately tracked our planet for a total of 28 hours. Accordingly, the Radio Science Subsystem (RSS) team had Cassini power on its S-band (2 GHz) and Ka-band (32 GHz) radio transmitters, which directed their beams of energy out the HGA along with the main communications beam at X-band (8 GHz).

The result was a high-precision measurement of Saturn’s gravitation, which will be analyzed to reveal deviations from spherical symmetry.

Saturday, June 24 (DOY 175)

CIRS observed the dark side of Saturn’s A ring at far-infrared wavelengths for five hours today, with the other ORS instruments riding along. In addition to studying ring-particle compositions, the observation was part of a campaign to compare the spectral properties of ices among different regions of Saturn’s rings and icy moons.

Cassini and Titan happened to come close to one another today, to a distance about the same as that from Earth to our own Moon.

Sunday, June 25 (DOY 176)

This week’s Titan observing wrapped up with its final 4.3 hours devoted to observing clouds on the planet-like moon; VIMS rode along.

Monday, June 26 (DOY 177)

ISS turned and spent 7.7 hours observing Saturn’s irregular moon Bebhionn, an object of about six kilometers diameter, which orbits Saturn in an inclined ellipse that reaches as far as 25.1 million km from the planet. It might have a binary or contact-binary nature. Bebhionn was named after the goddess of birth in early Irish mythology.

The flight team held a Command Approval Meeting fine-tuning commands with consent from representatives from each of the affected spacecraft subsystems and instruments.

Tuesday, June 27 (DOY 178)

UVIS observed. Ten minutes after the Deep Space Network (DSN) station in Australia acquired Cassini’s downlink, its 18-kilowatt transmitter was turned on, and comands were sent. After a round-trip of 2 hours 31 minutes, telemetry confirmed that the commands had been received and were ready to take effect right before Cassini’s eleventh proximal plunge on June 29.

A total of 58 individual commands were uplinked, and about 1,625 megabytes of science and engineering telemetry data were downlinked and captured at rates as high as 142,201 bits per second.

Wrap up:

Cassini is executing its set of 22 Grand Finale Proximal orbits, which have a period of 6.5 days, in a plane inclined 61.9 degrees from the planet’s equatorial plane. Each orbit stretches out to an apoapsis altitude of about 1,272,000 km from Saturn, where the spacecraft’s planet-relative speed is around 6,000 km/hr. At periapsis, the distance shrinks to about 2,500 km above Saturn’s visible atmosphere on the planet’s total 120,660 km in diameter with a speed of 123,000 km/hr.

Meet Arnav Sharma, Indian Boy Who Scored Higher Than Einstein, Hawking in IQ Test

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An Indian-origin boy aged 11 took the famous Mensa Test for IQ measurement, totally unprepared and unaware of it and the results showed that the child prodigy has scored more than what Albert Einstein or Stephen Hawking could have scored.

The maximum score in the test was around 140 and the boy, Arnav Sharma scored 162 in the Mensa Test.

The Mensa club, founded in 1946 in Oxford, has been on a unique mission to “identify and foster human intelligence for the benefit of humanity.” It conducts the Mensa test to enrol those who are highly intelligent and far above the average.

Just the top 2% of the United Kingdom are able to join the club and the India child prodigy has had a cake walk when he took the test and proved that he is far above than even the renowned scientists of the world — Einstein and Hawking.

The Mensa Club spokesperson said, “It is a high mark which only a small percentage of people in the country will achieve”.

The Mensa test consists of verbal reasoning ability and Arnav was apparently not sure that he could have done it so well. Arnav has a little brother and it is not known whether he is also a child prodigy.

Arnav, a student of Crossfields School, told The Independent, “I had no preparation at all for the exam but I was not nervous. My family were surprised but they were also very happy when I told them about the result.”

Arnav’s mother was equally upbeat. “He was counting up to more than 100 (when aged two and a half year old). That was when I stopped teaching him because I came to know that there is no end to his numbers,” she said.

When Independent reporter queried whether there was any other wizard in the family, the boy’s mother said her husband was not as clever though he is clever saying: “His dad is quite clever as well but not as clever.”

Mars Colony with Child Slaves? No Way, Says NASA Denying Ex-CIA Man’s Allegations

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NASA has always been accused of wrong doing in space or hiding aliens or UFOs spotted in the sky and the US space agency has kept silent or denied very often any such conspiracy theories and the lastest one was Anonymous video and in less than a week another conspiracy theory has hit the agency.

In a bizarre revelation on Jones’ TV show , Robert David Steele, an erstwhile CIA officer proposed that kids have been secretly shipped to Mars in the last two decades to live and work as slaves. However, his contention had no evidence but enough of an allegation that forced NASA to deny it.

In his allegations, Steele said: “We actually believe that there is a colony on Mars that is populated by children who were kidnapped and sent into space on a 20-year ride. So that once they get to Mars they have no alternative but to be slaves on the Mars colony.”

Jones pointed out that 90 percent of NASA’s missions are secret and hence the allegations get credence. Soon, a NASA official gave a curt statement to the Daily Beast, which had published the allegation:

“There are no humans on Mars. There are active rovers on Mars. There was a rumor going around last week that there weren’t. There are,” said Guy Webster, a spokesperson for Mars exploration at NASA told the site. “But there are no humans,” he added categorically.

 

The “discovery” or allegation was made after showing an image on Mars that showed tracks, which looked like man-made.

Last Date of Nomination for AYUSH Medical Seats Extended to July 31, 2017

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The Ministry of AYUSH has extended the last date for application to several seats for MD/PG in Ayurveda/Unani/Siddha and Homoeopathy Courses under Central Government Nomination (CGN) as per guidelines for the academic session 2017-18 from the eligible Government Teachers/Medical Officers (Doctors)/Research Officers.

These applications were invited through the concerned State /UT Governments up to 15.06.2017 and 30.06.2017 (NER). In view of administrative reasons, the ministry said it has decided to extend the last date for receiving through the concerned State Governments/UTs up to 31st July, 2017.

There are total 626 AYUSH Colleges in the country and two National Institutes to impart education in Ayurveda namely (i) National Institute of Ayurveda, Jaipur for Under-graduate and Post-graduate education and (ii) Institute of Post-Graduate Training and Research in Ayurveda, Jamnagar for Post-graduate education.

In addition the Government has established two new Ayurveda institutes during the academic session 2016-17 namely (i) All India Institute of Ayurveda, New Delhi for Post-graduate education and (ii) North Eastern Institute of Ayurveda & Homoeopathy, Shillong for Under-graduate education in Ayurveda.

Currently, India has five Central Councils for Research in Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani, Yoga and Naturopathy and Homoeopathy for undertaking, coordinating, formulating, developing and promoting research on scientific lines, through 82 peripheral institute/Centres/Units located all over India and also through collaborative studies with various universities, hospitals and institutes.

The research activities of the councils include medicinal plant research (Medico-ethno botanical survey, pharmacognosy and tissue culture), Drug Standardization Pharmacological Research, Clinical Research, Literary Research & Documentation, and other outreach activities. Further, Ministry of AYUSH runs Extra Mural Research (EMR) scheme to conduct the research on various aspects of AYUSH systems.

The Centrally Sponsored Scheme of National AYUSH Mission (NAM) was announced on 29th September 2014 for better access to AYUSH services such as strengthening of AYUSH educational institutions, facilitate the enforcement of quality control of Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani and Homoeopathy drugs and sustainable availability of raw materials by promotion of medicinal plants in the States/UTs.

 

Zika Virus Surveillance in India Widened Now: Centre

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Following the first zika virus positive test report from Ahemedabad and two more in surveillance tests, the government said it has announced immediate measures to tackle the cases and test equipment across the country.

The sample was from a 34-year-old female patient admitted to hospital with complaints of fever following delivery of a healthy baby who had no travel history to any Zika affected country. Two more cases have been confirmed positive for Zika virus disease from the samples collected during January and February 2017. The other two cases include a 22-year-old pregnant woman in her 37th week of pregnancy and a 64-year-old male with 8 days history of fever.

Though World Health Organization had declared last November that Zika disease infection no longer constituted a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), the state government and the Centre have initiated country-wide Zika laboratory based surveillance in India that has so far tested 36,613 human samples and 16,571 mosquito samples for the presence of Zika virus, though no more positive cases have been reported.

National Guidelines and Action Plan on Zika virus, prepared and shared with the States whille an Inter – Ministerial Task Force has been set up under Chairmanship of Secretary (Health) with Secretary (Bio – Technology), Secretary (Department of Health Research) as members, said a statement.

The Joint Monitoring Group, a Technical group under DGHS, tasked to monitor emerging and re-emerging diseases is regularly reviewing the situation on Zika virus disease, it said.

All the International Airports / Ports have displayed signage providing information for travelers on Zika virus disease and to report if they are returning from any of the affected countries and suffering from febrile illness.

Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) is tracking for clustering of acute febrile illness in the community and sensitized its State and District Rapid Response Teams, while the National Institute of Virology, Pune, and NCDC, Delhi, 25 laboratories have been strengthened by Indian Council of Medical Research for laboratory diagnosis.

Currently, three entomological laboratories are conducting Zika virus testing on mosquito samples and six more lab staff have been trained for vector surveillance for Zika virus.

The Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK) is monitoring microcephaly from 55 sentinel sites though no increase in number of cases / clustering of microcephaly has been reported from these centers, said the government. Meanwhle, a 24×7 control room (011-23061469) is functioning from Directorate General of Health Services.

Why Tabu Never Married? Blame it on Ajay Devgn Bullying Suitors?

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It is not because of romance with Ajay Devgn in her first film “Vijaypath” that Tabu is single even after 25 years but because both her cousin Sameer Arya and Ajay were bullies who would warn anybody who tried to speak to her on the street when she was young, revealed the actress.

Though acted in a couple of films before, Tabu entered Bollywood successfully with “Vajaypath”, which had set the career rolling both for her and for Ajay Devgn. “We did Vijaypath in ’94. It’s nice to be able to romance the same hero on screen even after 23 years,” said Tabu in a media interaction.

Tabu, who is returning to act with Ajay Devgn in “Golmaal Again” with Rohit Shetty, shared her younger days and her friendship with neighbourhood boy Ajay. She said she had given the responsibility of finding a groom to Ajay Devgn but in vain and hence, she remained single even to this day. However, she did not speak about Telugu actor Nagarjuna with whom she had acted in several hit films.

In her exclusive interview to Mumbai Mirror, Tabu is quoted to have said, “Yes, Ajay and I have known each other for 25 years. He was my cousin Sameer Arya’s neighbour and close buddy, a part of my growing up years and that has laid the foundation of our relationship. When I was young, Sameer and Ajay would spy on me, follow me around and threaten to beat up any boys who are caught talking to me. They were the big bullies and if I am single today, it is because of Ajay. I hope he repents and regrets what he did.”

Though said in a lighter way, Tabu is reportedly preparing for a lighter role in the upcoming film “Golmaal Again” with Ajay Devgn. She further told Mumbai Mirror that she had told him to find a boy to marry, which never happened and the erstwhile heart-throb of many leading actors in Bollywood and down the south remained single.

However, she quickly added that Ajay Devgn is one whom she can count on for any help. “If there is anyone I can count on, it’s Ajay,” she said conclusively.

 

Trijunction Row: China Reminds India of 1962 War and Defeat

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When Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi told Russian President Vladimir Putin early this month during his visit to St.Petersburg that India and China never had any border skirmishes in recent decades, it had sent positive vibes which were finally stalled at the trijunction of India, Bhutan and China borders in Sikkim.

In its bid to construct a road along Bhutan and India at Sikkim border, China first asked India to respect Bhutan which has shared the border but never raised any issue over the road. When Bhutan joined India in support over the trijunction violation, Beijing reminded India of history.

India can never afford to forget history. In 1962, India and China had fought a war over the border in Ladakh region that took the toll in defeated India and Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s health which deteriorated over what he described as a let down by China despite his support to them at international fora.

China is upset that India is egging Tibet and together raising objection to construct a road on a trijunction that is called Chicken’s Neck and strategically crucial or vulnerable for India.

“Donglang is part of China’s territory. This is indisputable. The Donglang area belonged to China since ancient times and it doesn’t belong to Bhutan,” asserted Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang in Beijing, refuting India’s objection.

Besides lodging protest with New Delhi, China wanted to go aggressive by shutting the Nathu La pass in Sikkim for Indian pilgrims to Manasarovar. Defending the move, the Chinese spokesman said:

“For a long time in the interest of India-China relations, China provided great conveniences to the Indian pilgrims. Based on the consensus between the two countries’ leaders, and on the fact that the Sikkim sector boundary is delineated and recognised by two countries, the Chinese side in 2015 opened the Nathu La pass for Indian pilgrims,” he said.

“Now the suspension of the same is an emergency response to the situation there. I want to stress that the resumption of pilgrims pass requires necessary atmosphere and conditions. So the liability of the same totally lies with the Indian side and when it will be reopened depends on when or whether the Indian side will correct its errors,” he said.

Though China doesn’t have diplomatic relations with Bhutan, Lu said Bhutan is a universally recognised sovereign country and a third party should not interfere on behalf of Bhutan. Strange but Chinese over-reaction smacks of something more.

Of late, India and China relations have been smooth with bilateral trade and investment ballooning beyond the border constraints. Major mobile brands of Chinese mobile companies like Xiaomi, OnePlus and Oppo have become the top brands next only to Samsung, and machinery is mostly imported by India from China. But where will it lead to?

After 20 Years, McDonald Shuts 43 Outlets in Delhi

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The global food giant McDonald which had made headlines in 1997 when it opened first outlets in India at Delhi with veg burgers replacing its iconic beef burgers elsewhere, hit an unexpected controversy almost 20 years later over ownership issue.

The franchisee given to Connaught Plaza Restaurants Pvt Ltd (CPRL) in North and Eastern India has run into trouble over the ownership of CPRL, which had been jointly owned by Vikram Bakshi and McDonald’s.

Refusing to renew the licence, McDonald’s told media that the restaurant licenses of these McDonald’s restaurants in Delhi “expired”, bringing curtains down on two-year-old controversy and ending 20-year-old partnership with Vikram Bakshi.

McDonald franchisee Vikram Bakshi at loggerheads with parent firm

McDonald’s India has been fighting over the control of CPRL and arbitration proceedings to settle the issue with Bakshi failed at the London Court of International Arbitration. With the expired licences, McDonald’s has decided to shut all the 43 restaurants owned by the joint venture.

McDonald’s India Pvt Ltd (MIPL) spokesperson Barry Sum said, “The Board of CPRL is working to obtain the required licenses. Pending this, CPRL is temporarily suspending the operations of the affected restaurants,” and all the 43 restaurants will face closure. MIPL said all the 1700 employees who will be affected will be paid salaries as usual until the suspension is revoked.

The McDonald’s franchisee for south and west is managed by Amit Jatia. Currently, McDonald’s has more than 320 million customers a year.

However, last year, its reputation faced critical test when news over its use of beef oil for french fries was assailed all over the country where Hindus shun beef and any beef-related products.

McDonald’s was followed by the entry of other US eateries such as Domino’s Pizza which has more than 500 restaurants across India, while KFC has more than 300 restaurants.

Dunkin Donuts has more than 30 outlets in India and Burger King has presence in major cities like Delhi and and Bangalore with more than 10 restaurants.

Cabinet Approves MoU with US Homeland Security

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The Union Cabinet on Wednesday, June 28, 2017, approved signing of a Memorandum of Cooperation between India and the United States of America on Homeland Security.

The Memorandum of Cooperation will further strengthen bilateral security relations between India and the USA and will also help in coordination and interactions among the six Sub-Groups that are proposed to be formed under Homeland Security Dialogue between the two countries.

The Cabinet approval follows Prime Minister’s recent visit to the United States where he had talks with President Donald Trump and senior US officials on boosting bilateral cooperation, including upgrading security matters such as MALABAR joint exercise with US and Japan in the Indian Ocean.

The Cabinet also approved another MoU between India and Israel on National Campaign for Water Conservation in India, that will ensure conserving water for future generations.

The two countries will work together at the national, regional and international level to design, implement and monitor a professionally-designed National Water Conservation campaign in India. The Ministries agree to jointly work on the water conservation campaign to achieve the following objectives:

a.Put water conservation on the national agenda in India

b.Encouraging every citizen to save water in everyday life

c.Generating awareness about water

d.Promoting Re-use, Recharge and Recycling of water

e.Develop digital tools such as websites, mobile apps on water conservation