Sunday, February 27, 2011

Government will issue coins of Rs 150 denomination !

NEW DELHI: For the first time in the country's minting history, government will issue coins of Rs 150 denomination, marking the number of years of taxation in India. 

The special coins, to be released by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee before his Budget speech, will also be brought out in Rs 5 denomination on completion of 150 years, from 1860 to 2010, of the Income Tax department.

This is the first time that coins of Rs 150 denomination are being minted by the government. The Department of Economic Affairs under the Finance Ministry recently notified the order.

The Rs 150 coin, made of an alloy of Silver, Copper, Nickel and Zinc, will have an international design with 'Satyameva Jayate' and 'India' on the front side while a portrait of 'Chanakya and lotus with honeybee' on the reverse side.

The Rs five coins will also be minted in the same fashion. While 200 coins will be minted in Rs 150 denomination, 100 such coins of Rs five will be issued.

"The Income Tax department celebrated 150 years of taxation in the country last year and the these coins, especially the one in Rs 150 denomination will be minted for the first time," a senior I-T official said.

Saturday, February 26, 2011

US employee alleges large-scale visa fraud at Infosys

                  An American employee of Infosys has filed a case against the Indian company accusing it of systematic visa and tax fraud to increase profits.In his 13-page complaint filed before an Alabama Court early this week, Jack Palmer alleged that Infosys sent lower level and unskilled foreigners to the US to work in full-time positions at its customer sites in direct violation of immigration laws.

Palmer, who says he worked for Infosys as "Principal - Enterprise Solutions" since August 2008, alleged that the company was paying these employees in India for full-time work in the US without withholding federal or state income taxes, and overbilled customers for the labour costs of these employees.

After the federal government restricted the H-1B programme in 2009, Palmer claimed he was sent to Bangalore for planning meetings.

"During one of the meetings, Infosys management discussed the need to, and ways to, 'creatively' get around the H-1B limitations and process and to work the system in order to increase profits and the value of Infosys' stock,” he said.

“The decision was made by management to start using the B-1 visa program to get around the H-1B restrictions,” Palmer alleged. Palmer also alleged that Infosys managers in the US and India asked him to write false welcome letters, and he refused.

On July 1, 2010, he claims, he "was asked to join a conference call in regards to his refusal to write the welcome letters during which call plaintiff was chastised for not being a team player."

Then he was transferred to another project in a different division, Palmer alleged. There, he says, he "soon learned that Infosys was illegally employing B-1 visa holders on that project as well".

Infosys asked him to rewrite the contract for that project, and he refused, "because he knew that the purpose was to try to cover up Infosys' overcharging this customer by using the lower-income B-1 employees and charging the higher pay rate for specialized employees", according to the complaint.

Infosys, which employs more than 15,000 foreign workers in the US, had also threatened and retaliated against him, Palmer alleged.

Monday, February 21, 2011

World Cup ticketing website crashes, fans fume !

The official ticketing website of the Cricket World Cup crashed today amid a mad scramble for tickets for the tournament's summit clash on April 2 in Mumbai.

                               The website, www.Kyazoonga.com, showed an error message soon after business began at 1pm IST, leading to fans venting their frustration by lashing out at the organisers at the website's Facebook page.

"The (website) team is still working on it guys. Please bear with us. We understand your frustration and feel your pain. We are working non-stop to get you the tickets you need. Rest assured, not a single ticket that was meant for sale has been sold yet. We can't wait to get them to you as soon as the site is back up," a statement posted by the website on its Facebook page said.

"We are facing absolutely unprecedented amounts of traffic from all over the world, with hundreds of millions of people hitting at once. Some of you may have trouble accessing the site. It seems that cricket fever has surpassed all anticipations and expectations. Please bear with us as our global network team works on," the statement added. But the fans expressed their anger through the feedbacks to the Kyazoonga.com statement, with some saying that it was a "disgrace" that the tickets for the final were not available.

Some said the company should have been prepared for the huge demand in cricket-crazy India.

"If you couldn't handle this crazy traffic then you shouldn't have been responsible for the tickets in the first place," posted one.

"You only have 1,000 tickets to sell online for the World Cup final - how could you not expect insane traffic?" said another. Others speculated that tickets had already been handed out to officials at low prices or free of charge and they will not be sold at counters in a repeat of the 2010 Commonwealth Games, where many tickets were distributed to bureaucrats and politicians.

Just 4,500 tickets are on sale for public for the April 2 final at the historic Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, with the rest being distributed through clubs and other cricket authorities. There was not much interest on other non-India matches, even the tie between South Africa and the West Indies in Feroze Shah Kotla here on Thursday.

"Tickets to the SA v WI Feb 24th match at Delhi which arrived from the DDCA on Saturday have been shipped today, Monday, Feb 21st for domestic delivery by Tuesday, Feb 22nd. For venue pick-up customers, please visit the KyaZoonga pick-up counter at the Ambedkar stadium on the 22nd and 23rd from 11am thru' 5.30pm," a statement by the website said.

"Just stop changing topics and instead fix the main issue of WC Finals tickets," one reply on Kyazoonga.com facebook statement said. "No one here today is not interested in any other ticket other than the finals. So please do understand our emotions," another fan wrote.

Earlier in the day, Kyazoonga.com had announced that the tickets for the semifinals and the final will be available from 1pm IST today.

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Know Your Bank Note of Rs.20 Denomination !


Know Your Bank Note of Rs.10 Denomination !


Milk rises by Rs 2 per litre

MANGALORE: From today, you'll have to pay Rs 2 more per litre for Nandini milk. The state government permitted Karnataka Milk Federation to increase the price following a steep increase in production cost and sharp decline in procurement by cooperative milk unions across the state.

The hike will enable unions pay a better remunerative price to dairy farmers across the state.

The price of milk and milk products, including those sold by Dakshina Kannada Cooperative Milk Union Ltd, will go up. The price of 500 ml of toned milk will be Rs 11 instead of Rs 10 and Rs 22 per litre. Homogenised milk will now be priced at Rs 12 per 500 ml and Rs 24 per litre. Six litres of homogenized cow milk has been revised to Rs 144, and Shubham milk Rs 13.50 per 500 ml.

Customers now have to shell out Rs 7 for 200 gm of curds, Rs 14 for 500 gm, and Rs 162 for a 6kg jumbo pack. Masala butter milk will henceforth cost Rs 6 for 200 ml, sweet lassi Rs 8 per 200 ml. The old rates will continue to be printed on milk sachets till such time that KMF and milk unions have stocks.

Saturday, February 12, 2011

History of Cricket in India

Cricket, now termed as the unofficial national sport of India, has got an old history associated with its existence in the country. The oldest references to the sport in India can be dated as early as the year 1725 when some sailors played a friendly match at a seaport in Kutch. By the year 1792, the Calcutta Cricket and Football Club had been formed, and a yet another Cricket club had been formed at Seringapatam by the year 1799.

Beginning of First Class Cricket
As far as the beginning of First Class Cricket in India is concerned, it was marked by a match played between Madras and Calcutta in the year 1864. In the year 1877, the Bombay Presidency Match was played for the first time. Later, it first changed into the Bombay Triangular and then the Bombay Quadrangular. In the year 1892-93 it was awarded with the First Class status.

First foreign team arrives at India
In the year 1889-90 an English team arrived at India. The captain of this team was George Vernon, which eventually was the first foreign Cricket team to arrive India, although the matches that it played over here are not considered to be First Class Cricket matches.

In the year 1892-93 two matches had been played between Europeans team and Parsees team at Bombay (now Mumbai) and Poona (now Pune). This is considered to be the regular beginning of First Class Cricket in the country. After this, four First Class matches were played between an English team led by Lord Hawke and an All India team between 26th and 28th of January 1893.

The Bombay Presidency Saga
Bombay Presidency Matches were played since 1892-93 till 1906-07. In the year 1907-08 the name of these matches was changed to Bombay Triangular Matches, which continued till the year 1911-12. Since the year 1912-13 the Matches came to be known as Bombay Quadrangular Matches, only to be changed again in the year 1937-38 into Bombay Pentangular Matches.

Ranji Trophy
Ranji Trophy was yet another leg of First Class Matches in Indian Cricket, which began in the year 1934-35 and still continues today. The Bombay team was the winner of first two Ranji Trophy championships.

Indian Cricket team in international arena
As far as the presence of Indian team in the international Cricket arena is concerned, the team played the MCC tour since October 1926 till February 1927. Within the tour, the Indian team played 26 First Class matches in India and 4 First Class Matches in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). Captain of the team was Arthur Gilligan, which included Andy Sandham, Arthur Dolphin, Bob Wyatt, George Geary, Ewart Astill, George Brown and Maurice Leyland as the other players.

The Indian team started playing Test Cricket in the English Season of the year 1932. The team played against the English team at Lord’s Cricket Ground. The English team defeated the Indian team in the match by 158 runs.

Continuing its presence in the International Cricket arena, Maharaj Kumar of Vizianagaram (real name Lt. Col. Sir Vijayananda Gajapathi Raju) formed his own team of accomplished Cricket players including Jack Hobbs and Herbert Sutcliffe. The team visited Ceylon and played some matches in India too during 1930-31.

The Post Independence Era
After gaining independence, India made its first ever Test Series victory against the arch rival Cricket team of Pakistan in the year 1952. The victory gave a great boost to the game in the nation, as some of the All Time Gems of the Indian Cricket showed their remarkable skills during this Test Series. These players included Vijay Manjarekar, S.M.Gupte and Polly Umrigar.

1960’s
Over the next decade of 1960’s the Indian Cricket team proved its strength upon the home ground as well as upon foreign pitches too. During this decade, the team defeated New Zealand and stretched the matches with teams such as England, Australia and Pakistan to a draw.

1970’s
During the decade of 1970’s, the Indian Cricket team got one of its most cherished possessions of all times – The Spin Quartet comprising of E.Prasanna, B.S.Chandrasekhar, Srinivas Venkataraghavan and Bishan Singh Bedi. Apart from them, the Indian Cricket team also got two of its most gifted Batsmen of all times during the decade of 1970’s itself – Sunil Gavaskar and Gundappa Vishwanath.

1980’s
The decade of 1980’s saw the Indian Cricket team scaling new heights in the One Day International (ODI) Cricket, and under the captainship of Kapil Dev, the team even managed to grab the 1983 Cricket World Cup. A number of accomplished players such as Kapil Dev, Madan Lal and Mahinder Amarnath made their presence felt during the decade.

1990’s
If there has to be taken one name for whom the 1990’s decade of Indian Cricket shall always be remembered, it would surely be none other than the same of Sachin Tendulkar. Still playing for team India and considered to be one of the All Time Greatests of the World Cricket, Sachin simply outclassed every other Batsman’s record, and the saga still lingers on. Apart from Sachin, some other wonderful Cricket players such as Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble, Sourav Ganguly and Javagal Srinath emerged in the Indian Cricket team in the decade of 1990’s, and paid their contribution in getting the Indian team clinching several international championships during the period.

2000’s
The Cricket team of India continued to show its brilliant performance in the new millennium, and the new youthful squad has seen some new faces and remarkable victories. The new talented players who joined the team include Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the new captain of the Indian Cricket team both in Test Cricket and One Day International (ODI) Cricket, S.Sreesanth, Munaf Patel, Suresh Raina, Gautam Gambhir, Irfan Pathan and Yousuf Pathan among others. Under the enthusiastic captainship of Dhoni, the new young team successfully won the first Twenty-20 Cricket World Cup held in the year 2007.

Aero Show 2011 at Bengaluru on Wednesday !

The breathtaking flying sorties drew thunderous applause from the gathering :
           Bengaluru: The Aero India show that began here Wednesday has smashed all records in terms of its size and content, entering history books as the largest edition of the biennial event so far. The breathtaking flying sorties drew thunderous applause from the gathering The present-day version of Aero India, deemed the biggest air show in Asia, had begun as a modest display of a few aviation assets as Avia-India in 1993.  The show, renamed Aero India since 1998, has only become bigger and more popular which must rank among one of the largest attended air shows around the world.

               According to statistics given by the Department of Defence Production (DDP), the online request for registration of general visitors to the air show this year has already exceeded the 1.75-lakh mark, a lakh more than the official 75,000 footfalls in 2009. The organisers are expecting the figure to reach 2.75 lakh. With enquiries and requests not showing any signs of abatement, Aero India-2011 is clearly on its way to top the charts.

               Discounting Avia-India in 1993, the growth in Aero India since 1998 to 2005 had been marginal, defence ministry officials pointed out. "It began showing a quantum increase in the gross exhibition area only from the 2007 edition. While it hovered between the 7,000-18,000 sq mts mark from 1998 to 2005, it sharply rose to 30,000 sq mts in 2007 and 44,000 sq mts in 2009," an official said.

              This year, the organisers have increased the gross area to 75,000 sq mts, a significant 70 percent increase over 2009, a fact mentioned by Defence Production Secretary Raj Kumar Singh at his address at the air show's inaugural ceremony.  There are 675 exhibitors in this edition of Aero India - a 16 percent increase over the last edition that had 581 exhibitors in all.  As with all previous editions, this time too international exhibitors score over the domestic ones in terms of participation.  In 2009, the gap was marginal -- 303 international exhibitors against 289 domestic. This year, the figure is 380 against 295, a growth of 25 percent for the international exhibitors against a mere five for domestic exhibitors.

With 30 countries participating this year and 350 official representation from 60 countries, the delegations' number has seen a three-fold-plus increase, both official and business, with the US leading the pact with 250, Germany at number two with 35, Italy 10, and other countries sharing the rest.  Based on online request for business passes, around 70,000 business visitors and delegates are expected to throng the venue, a figure twice that of 2009, through the first three days of the five-day show.

There are eight country pavilions and 63 chalets at the venue, with exhibitions, flying and static display an integral part of the event. This year has recorded a 62 percent increase in flight, static and flight-cum-static display by civil and military aircraft over 2009.  With the defence ministry promoting the air show as both military and civil aerospace event, there are 27 aircraft belonging to the civil aviation sector in the air show, marking a 54 percent representation compared to just 46 percent military component.

In all, over 100 aircraft would be witnessed at Aero India-2011.  The Indian Space Research Organisation ( ISRO ) too has set up a exhibition of its works at a stall, which is expected to be another major attraction.

Friday, February 11, 2011

B S Yeddyurappa promises Metro as Ugadi gift !

Bangaloreans can expect a Ugadi gift if Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa’s promise in New Delhi on Friday that the commercial operations of the Metro will commence on April 4 comes true.
         Yeddyurappa told reporters that he plans to invite Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to flag off the Metro, “for which trial runs have already begun,” on Ugadi (April 4).

However, according to sources in Bangalore, the completion of the work is likely to miss that deadline, further pushing the commercial operations. Although several “static tests” are complete, trials on the main track, which began in the last week of January, have been hit by a small civil engineering snag, delaying the safety certification.

Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) spokesperson B L Y Chavan had earlier said the train will  have to go through tests on the main track for at least eight weeks before the commissioner of railway safety “can certify it as safe for commercial use.”
If the tests on the main run had continued without the glitch, then the train would have  completed the tests by March-end, making an April launch  possible.

But given that the BMRCL is already three weeks behind schedule, there is no way the train can be given the green signal for its commercial run before Ugadi, unless “a shortcut is found,” sources said in Bangalore.

Also, the political crisis in Karnataka has resulted in the postponement of the joint inspection, scheduled for January 24,  of the Metro run by Yeddyurappa and Union Urban Development Minister Kamal Nath. Yeddyurappa said Nath will  visit the City later this month. The chief minister denied any delay in the completion of the first phase from Byappanahalli to M G Road. He also ruled out changes in  the opening of  future lines and the next phase.

       Asked why Bangalore should have a high-speed train link to the airport when Delhi has only a Metro which will be connected to the airport shortly, the chief minister said no final decision has been taken in this regard. “Discussions are on. We are aware of the high cost of the proposed Bangalore’s high-speed City-airport train link. We will take a decision keeping the cost factor in view,” he added.

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Visiting Place in Bengaluru !

BAL BHAVAN BENGALURU
Bal Bhavan Bangalore             Bangalore Bal Bhavan is a beautifully planned amusement park as well as a recreation center, designed for children. There is a small toy train inside the park that runs on a track of almost 3/4th mile inside the beautiful Cubbon Park. Apart from the train, the other attractions of the Bal Bhavan include a Dolls Museum, which boats of a rich assortment of dolls and toys collected from different parts of the world. Read on further to know more about the Bal Bhawan of Bangalore, India.

             A 20 million year old fossilized tree adds to the appeal of the park. The tree was gifted to the Bhawan by the Geological Survey of India. There are also facilities for boating inside the Bhavan, along with a small fair ground and a children's park. The park has swings, horse rides and tree houses to keep the children busy and occupied. Hobby classes, like painting, arts and crafts, etc, are also organized at the Bal Bhavan of Bangalore.  The Vijayaranga Theatre situated inside the park organizes children's film shows and theatre performances on a frequent basis. So, if you are going to Bangalore along with your kids, make sure to visit the Bal Bhavan.

            The Vijayaranga Theatre situated inside the park organizes children's film shows and theatre performances on a frequent basis. So, if you are going to Bangalore along with your kids, make sure to visit the Bal Bhavan.

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Nitish Kumar condoles death of M P Prakash

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today expressed profound shock and grief at the demise of former Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister M P Prakash.
                Seventy one-year-old Prakash died at a private hospital in Bangalore after a prolonged battle with cancer.Karnataka JD(U) president Nad Gowda, who was present at a party meeting here, informed Kumar about the leader's death.

In his condolence message, Kumar described his death as "irreparable loss to the socialist movement" and said he would remain a source of inspiration for the younger generation in politics.

"Because of his people-oriented commitment and devotion in public life, he earned fame and popularity not only in Karnataka but also elsewhere," he noted.

Prakash was a writer, theater personality and social activist, besides being a prominent face of Karnataka politics since the 1980s and had held several responsibilities all through his political career, Kumar recalled.

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

METRO Cash & Carry launches the ‘Wednesday Fresh Bazaar’

Bangalore, India - METRO Cash & Carry, the leader in self service wholesale, recently launched its ‘Wednesday Fresh Bazaar’ in their wholesale centres in Bangalore. This weekly promotional bazaar offers a range of high quality fruits and vegetables like Onion, Potato, Tomato, Cauliflower, Cabbage, Beans, Cucumber, chow chow, Brinjals, Radish, Knol Khol, Capsicum, Chilli, Watermelon, Papaya,
Kinnow Orange, Grapes etc at a price advantage which is extremely attractive for registered customers.
Sourced directly from the farmer at METRO’s own platform within the state, the available range of fruits and vegetables come with a promise of freshness, quality, hygiene and the METRO assurance of food safety. The price advantage to
customers is at par with the wholesale APMC market.
This is an initiative by METRO Cash & Carry to offer quality that is expected from METRO and increase customer engagement in the fruits and vegetables category.

For More Information Contact :
Mr. V. Gunashekar
M/s. Candour PR
Bangalore, India
E-Mail : guna@candour.co.in

List of District websites in Karnataka

S.No
District Name
URL
1
Bagalkot  
2
Bangalore Rural    
3
Bangalore Urban  
4
Belgaum    
5
Bellary    
6
Bidar    
7
Bijapur    
8
Chamraj Nagar  
9
Chikballapur    
10
Chickmagalur    
11
Chitradurga    
12
Dakshina Kannada    
13
Davanagere  
14
Dharwad    
15
Gadag    
16
Gulbarga    
17
Hassan    
18
Haveri    
19
Kodagu    
20
Kolar    
21
Koppal    
22
Mandya  
23
Mysore    
24
Ramnagara  
   
24
Raichur    
25
Shimoga    
26
Tumkur  

27
Karwar (Uttara Kannada)    
28
Udupi  
28
Yadgir  
   

Zilla Panchyat
1
Zilla Panchayat, Tumkur  
2
Zilla Panchayat, Belgaum   
3
Zilla Panchayat, Bellary   
4
Zilla Panchayat, Dakshina Kannada   
5
Zilla Panchayat, Gulbarga   
6
Zilla Panchayat, Raichur   
7
Zilla Panchayat, Shimoga   
8
Zilla Panchayat,Davangere   
9
ZP, Karwar   



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