Thursday, February 18, 2010

Sky's the limit

The Indian Express
Tue, Feb 16 06:28 AM
Beijing's dismissal of the DRDO's claims that its missile technology is superior to that of China might provoke knee-jerk patriotism in Delhi. But no one in the world disputes that China is way ahead of India in missilery and military uses of space.

By transferring missiles and their production technology, China has also put Pakistan ahead of India. Instead of acknowledging the reality and redoubling the effort to catch up, the DRDO is making extravagant claims. Take, for example, its head V.K. Saraswat's claim that the Agni-III, with its 3000 km range, is ready for "induction" by the services.

A weapons system inducted after just four tests including one failure? This is the kind of sanctimonious self-congratulation that the DRDO has doled out for decades. Because they wrap themselves in the flag, we are not supposed to ask questions, only clap. Saraswat has claimed that "there is no need to produce and store missiles in today's world". Really? China has more than 1000 missiles pointed at Taiwan; and is producing and deploying missiles in scores every year.

This could be ignored but for the fact that it has begun to create diplomatic problems for India. Take the claim that India is developing anti-satellite weapons. Here he is talking about a weapon system that does not exist; and the Chinese have conducted ASAT weapon tests in 2007 and 2010 without making any claims in advance. Did he have the political clearance to say this?

Did he consult the foreign office which is campaigning in Geneva against an "arms race" in outer space? Even bolder is talk of targets for Agni-III in China and Pakistan. Since when has it become the DRDO's responsibility to decide on nuclear targeting? One had assumed that was the job of the nuclear command authority under the prime minister.

Meanwhile, the ministry of defence appears to have no oversight of the DRDO and the minister, A.K. Antony, seems out of the loop. Speaking at a conference in Delhi last week, Antony thundered against the "militarisation of space". Has anyone informed the poor minister that space has been "militarised" for decades? The international debate today is about deploying weapons in space.

While the minister of defence makes banal statements, his scientific adviser is boasting about space weapons. Why Delhi, which claims to be a responsible nuclear power, allows this dangerous drift at the MOD and DRDO is one of those known unknowns in Delhi.

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Relax. It's just an exam

New Delhi, Feb. 17 -- With board exams barely a fortnight away, and parental expectations at their apex, students can be a mass of nerves.

HT asked experts ways beat the stress. Revision is the way to go.

"I would advise students to consolidate all they have learnt in the last few months," says Usha Ram, Principal, Laxman Public School, Hauz Khas Enlave, Delhi. "I would also advise them against last minute learning: introduction to new topics at this stage can be confusing.

" Attempt sample papers within the stipulated three hours. "Sample papers include important questions and give students an idea of what to expect from the final question paper," Ram says.
Time yourself. Students often miss out on precious marks as they are unable to complete the examination.

"A time slot of three hours, between 10:30 am and 1:30 pm will help the child get accustomed to writing the exam," says Geetanjali Kumar, counsellor with the Central Board for Secondary Education (CBSE). Feed the brain.

Meals should be light and nutritious. "Eating small meals at regular intervals helps ward off laziness.
Avoid junk food and drink lots of liquids. Light exercise for 30 minutes and eight hours of sleep are important," says Kumar.

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

India's most expensive Animation film LAVA KUSA this summer



Bollywood Trade News Network
India's biggest 2D Animation film costing 5 million USD is here!
India's biggest and most ambitious 2D Animation film titled LAVA KUSA- THE WARRIOR TWINS will hit the theatres this summer. Estimated to be made in a budget of nearly 5 million USD, the film is produced by Rayudu Vision Media Ltd, based in Hyderabad. The film will be released in Hindi, English, Tamil and Telegu.
The film is based on the great Indian epic Ramayan. The film will dwell specifically on the hitherto ignored aspect, that of the lives of the twins of Shri Ram and Sita. The story revolves around the birth of the twins, their life together and their adventures in and around Maharshi Valmiki's hermitage.
The film is supported by 5 songs composed by Late L. Vaidyanathan, whose previous works include Malgudi Days. The songs have been rendered byShankar Mahadevan, Chitra, Sadhna Sargam, K. J. Yesuda and Vijay Yesudas.

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Vancouver tops world's top 10 most liveable cities list


Melbourne, Feb 12 (ANI): Australia and Canada are home to the world's top ten most liveable cities, a new index survey has found.

The survey, by the Economist, was topped by the Canadian city of Vancouver, which is hosting the Winter Olympics, reports News.com.au.

Vancouver scored 98 out of 100 on a comparison of stability, healthcare, education, infrastructure, culture and environment.

"Vancouver scores well across all categories in the survey and the forthcoming Winter Games contribute to a strong score in the cultural and sporting events category," the Telegraph quoted Jon Copestake, editor of the report, as saying in a statement.

Canada's Toronto and Calgary also scored well, while Australian cities of Melbourne, Sydney, Perth and Adelaide made it to the top ten charts.

The Economist Intelligence Unit survey used research involving resident experts and its own analysts to rank 140 cities on 30 factors like healthcare, culture and environment, and education.
Los Angeles bagged the 47th spot, New York was 56th and London took the 54th position.
Zimbabwe's capital Harare emerged as the world's worst city, with a rating of 37.5.

The top ten cities were:

1. Vancouver
2. Vienna
3. Melbourne
4. Toronto
5. Calgary
6. Helsinki
7. Sydney
8. Perth
9. Adelaide
10. Auckland

Bottom ten cities were:

1. Harare
2. Dhaka
3. Algiers
4. Port Moresby
5. Lagos
6. Karachi
7. Douala
8. Kathmandu
9. Colombo
10. Dakar
(ANI)