India clinches first foreign deal to sell Dhruv

India has made aviation history by concluding a USD 51 million deal with the South American Republic of Ecuador for the sale of seven 'Dhruv' Advanced Light Helicopters (ALH).

The deal signed between Ecuador Aviation Authority and bluechip state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) envisages the supply of seven helicopters in semi knock-down conditions to the Republic in a time-frame of 15 months to two years, Defence Ministry officials said.

With this, India has joined a select group of nations with a capability to bid for international contracts for choppers. So far, the helicopter market has been dominated by US, European companies and Russia.

The ALH 'Dhruv' has been making waves in international air shows worldover from the past two years but international sales of the helicopter have eluded HAL.

HAL came very near bagging its first international order when it bid for the Chilean armed forces contract two years ago, but was beaten to the closing line by the US competitors.

AMERICIANS SEEK EMPLOYMENT IN INDIA

Americans seek employment in India

Robert Durbin was looking nervous when he went to the India Visa services centre in Manhattan this past week.

With a professional degree in Information Technology from New York University last year, Durbin has been desperately looking for a job for the past six months; but unsuccessful so far, primarily because US companies these days have been cutting jobs rather than recruiting new people.

After months of job search, the only place Durbin received a job offer was from a Bangalore-based IT major this month. ''I am here to apply for my work visa to India,'' Durbin told NDTV.com, standing outside the India Visa Services Centre in Manhattan, to which the Indian Embassy and Consulates have outsourced visa-processing system.

Durbin, requesting his identity not be disclosed till he joins the job in Bangalore next month, said he was nervous as he did not know if he will get the work visa or not. ''I hope, I will,'' he said, as he went inside to submit his applications. It will take another couple of days before he knows if his application has been approved.

Without referring to this particular case, P S Sasi Kumar, who handles the visa section at the Indian Consulate in New York told NDTV.com that normally most of the applications for work visas are being approved. Of late, the Consulate in New York has been experiencing a steady flow of such applications seeking work visa.

Though, India might still not be a hot destination for foreigners like the US is for Indians for jobs, Kumar said applications for work visa has been gradually increasing. From what used to be a rare category of visas a couple of years ago, hardly a day passes when the Consulate in New York does not receive at least one such application in this regard.

In the past two years, the New York Consulate has issued work visa to more than 900 people. In 2006 the New York Consulate issued 335 employment visas while in 2007, more than 430 employment visas were issued. If the trend of the first three months is of any indication, 2008 could well break all previous records. It is a couple of applications every day, Kumar said.

While New York tops the list, the three other Indian consulates in the US - in San Francisco, Houston and Chicago - and the Indian Embassy in Washington have also seen quite a number of applications for work visa.

Figures made available indicated the Indian Embassy in Washington issued about 300 work visas in past two years, while Houston Consulate down South issued nearly 100; indicating India is gradually emerging as employment destination for the Americans as job opportunities in the US has increasingly been shrinking in past two years.

KAJOL-WANTS 3 MORE KIDS

.Kajol wants three more kids

Kajol was never the one to talk too much.

The lady likes her privacy and prefers to talk to the media mostly when her films are about to release. And her father’s death recently has made her quieter still. Recently, she was in the city to endorse a brand but kept her appearance to a short 30-minutes pose-appear-and-disappear routine.

Asked what she has been doing of late, she said, “Ajay is busy shooting and my daughter Nysa keeps me busy.”
Kajol, who has said in the past that “she was born to be a mother,” perks up immediately at the mention of her daughter. “Everybody I work with knows that my kid comes first. In fact she occupies the one to 10 slots,” she said. And does she plan to become a mother again? “Oh definitely,” she says, “I want to have at least three more kids.”

The actress who has done only selective work since she became a mother may completely go off the screen then! But what is she working on just now? “It’s a film that I will do with my husband. It’s actually an animation film with human characters called Toonpur Ka Superhero, something like Who Framed Roger Rabbit? We’re actually playing ourselves, yes, we’ll be Ajay and Kajol. But the cartoon characters get the main roles. It will be healthy competition.”

IT industry's footprint looks set to expand beyond its existing homes.

Faced with a challenge from upstarts threatening to erode India's low-cost appeal, the government is planning to build 43 new information technology cities across the country to retain its top dog status in the business and to be in a position to tap the huge surge in demand for IT-enabled services over the next 10 years.

The move comes at a time when the rising infrastructure and employee costs in big cities is threatening to blunt India's crucial cost advantage.

While India has held on to its pre-eminent position, its IT and BPO companies are losing their global cost advantage with the emergence of countries like Vietnam and the Philippines, which offer similar services at cheaper rates and are threatening India's status as the world's back office.

As the allure of BPO jobs goes down and attrition rates go up, companies are increasingly finding it difficult to recruit quality employees in the big cities. Also of concern is infrastructure constraints in Bangalore, Gurgaon and elsewhere.

The plan to build brand new towns is designed to address some of these issues. It is felt that these new towns will provide a steady supply of workers besides being specifically geared towards the needs of the IT and BPO sectors.

The proposal, suggested by a high-level group on service sector, has been cleared by the Planning Commission. "The modalities for the ambitious plan will be finalized very soon," a source said.

According to the plan, each IT city will be set up in an area of more than 500 hectare. The cities will altogether generate employment for around 3.5 million people by 2018.

The proposal is to create self-contained satellite townships with commercial space for renting and a commensurate increase in residential accommodation, education, healthcare, retail and recreational facilities.

"Improvement in infrastructure is very important to ensure the continued competitiveness of IT and BPO industries," an official said while explaining the rationale behind the move.

At present, the major volume of IT-enabled services is concentrated in seven cities — Bangalore, Chennai, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Gurgaon and Noida. Government estimates point out that 95% of the IT and BPO service industry is in these cities, with around 36% of services concentrated in Bangalore alone.

According to officials, the IT and BPO business in the country is likely to grow by 2.5 times in the next 10 years. The growth cannot be absorbed in major cities.

As infrastructure in major cities is already under tremendous strain, the IT sector has started migrating to smaller cities. However, the volume of business in the IT sector likely to come to India is huge which even tier II & III towns are unlikely to handle, considering poor infrastructure.

Under the ambitious proposal, the government plans to shift 40% of the business to the upcoming 43 cities by 2018.

The new towns will be properly planned and laid out and endowed with modern infrastructure and good connectivity to the big cities and airports.

These townships will have residential and work areas with all essential services - water supply, power, civic amenities, health, education, transport and entertainment - to meet the civic and commercial needs of the workforce.

The Centre has sought the support of state governments in facilitating creation of these new towns. The proposal suggests that the towns will be developed by private players and state governments will ensure trunk services like electricity, water supply, sewage and drainage

Federer captures 55th title

HALLE (Germany): Roger Federer kept alive his grass-winning streak and captured his 55th title on Sunday with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Philipp Kohlschreiber at the Gerry Weber Open.

Federer, who sailed through the Wimbledon warm-up without a dropped set, ran his record unbeaten run on grass to 59 matches.

The 40th-ranked German netted a backhand after a long rally to end the match.

“I never lost my serve in this tournament, that had never happened to me,” Federer said. “That was very special.”

The top-ranked Swiss restored some confidence after one of his worst defeats — a rout in the French Open final at the hands of rival Rafael Nadal. He took just four games.

Federer, who raised his record to 10-0 in grass finals, won Halle for the fifth time. The previous four were followed by Wimbledon triumphs three weeks later.

Federer didn’t face a top 10 player, but had an easier time than his last appearance at the event in 2006. He was pushed to three sets in four of his five matches that year.

Federer won Halle for the first time in 2003 — before going on to win his first Wimbledon title — and now has won 24 straight at the tournament, a streak dating back to that year.

DASAVATHARAM FIRST DAY REVEIEW

Like a master craftsman who weaves several strands into a well-knit cohesive pattern, Kamal Haasan pulls the seemingly disparate lives of ten people from across the globe to create a coherent and compelling story.
Dasavathaaram, directed by K.S. Ravikumar, rests on a multi-layered narrative technique reminiscent of the Mahabharata — teeming with characters, delving into sub-plots, pausing to make interesting digressions and, eventually and astonishingly, bringing everything together to form a whole in manner of a true epic.
Marked by flashes of intelligence and humour, the dialogue in this Aascar Films production boldly interrogates religion and showcases the skills of Kamal Haasan, the writer. As for the actor, the opportunity of doing a record ten roles allows him to live up to the reputation of a trendsetter.
Simple plot
The film is held together by a simple plot. Scientist Govind Ramasamy is on a mission. A virus that can destroy the world finds its way out of the well-guarded lab and it is pandemonium till — ironically — the tsunami of December 2004 helps mitigate its dreadful impact.
As in award-winning films such as Crash and Babel, lives intersect and seemingly unconnected events are linked in accidental and sometimes predictable ways in a narrative genre that allows Kamal Haasan to don many roles — and naturally.
Consummate villain
Each Kamal character has a distinct voice; much effort has evidently gone into the dubbing. The actor excels as Rangaraja Nambi, a 12th century temple priest, whose insular faith ends on a tragic note. As Balram Naidu, the RAW officer, he keeps you in stitches.
As Christian Fletcher, he plays the villain consummately. As Narahashi the Japanese, the action is stunning. As George W. Bush, he’s a tad contrived but passable. And as a grandmother, he evokes sympathy. It’s only as Kalifulla Khan that he comes out somewhat flat.
Significantly, it is only the last role in which the make up is grossly overdone. Otherwise, the proficiency of Michael Westmore’s make up, which has created 10 distinctly different Kamal Haasans, is impossible to ignore. It’s more than mere make-up, it’s art on an expressive visage.
Camera
Casting light, shade and perspective on this ambitious tale is the camera work of Ravivarman, the cinematographer. Computer graphics don’t work as well in the much hyped tsunami sequence as they do in other scenes.
As Kodhai, Asin plays the role of Rangaraja Nambi’s traumatised wife with a moving intensity. But as Andal, she’s exasperating. She causes a major accident, and not for a moment is she remorseful.
Nostalgic trip
Mallika Sherawat fills the bill as the vamp and killer who gets killed. It’s a nostalgic trip with Jayaprada and Kamal Haasan as a couple; the two make an endearing pair.
The film would have worked even better had the narrative been tauter and more purposive post-interval.
All in all, Dasavathaaram shows that Kamal Haasan has once again taken great pains to make his cinematic projects convincing. The effort has paid off.

Do it naturally: Mantra for would-be moms

Experts say that an increasing number of women in India are opting for Caesarean sections when they want to give birth.

Some estimates even show that the C-section rate has risen from five per cent to almost 65 per cent in some parts of India.

But unlike in some developed countries where the problems arising out of unnecessary C-sections have been well documented, in India, there is little awareness.

And trying to counter this are groups of women and medical experts like Birth India, who are strongly advocating natural methods of giving birth. Some of them even raise questions about delivery practices in some hospitals.

They are spreading a message to do it naturally.

It means there is no need of epidurals or local anaesthesia to numb the pain of childbirth. And no caesareans unless strictly required.

But women in India are increasingly resorting to the C-section method. Like Vinita Contractor, who opted for it when she had her second baby.

''I had a medical birth the first time and it didn't feel right. It did not go with the way I feel inside. I read a few books and realised there were other ways and the only way to go through it is by keeping the doctor out of the picture as much as possible,'' she says.

It's a small movement - one that some women believe is a way of taking charge of their bodies.

The WHO estimates that the C-section rate should not be over 15 per cent but most countries record figures far higher.

In UK, this rate is 25 per cent, in US it's about 30 per cent and in Brazil it's 90 per cent.

No figures are available for India. But a report by the Delhi based Sitaram Bhartia Institute of Science and Research suggests there's excessive use of ultrasounds and procedures like enema and episiotomy where the vagina is surgically enlarged.

But while many doctors push for C-sections because of the money involved, many patients opt for surgery because they feel it's safer, especially with more and more older women having babies.

''It's totally wrong to think C-sections are safer and painless which is what most women think because the outcome is not always positive for the woman giving birth,'' says Dr Duru Shah, a gynaecologist.

''A lot of couples have understood about caesarean birth, how its not as cool as its made out to be. So they want to have control over the whole labour process,'' says childbirth instructor Shruti Saxena.

But natural birth experts warn that it is not an option for everyone. If a woman has complications during delivery, it's a huge risk - a situation a traditional midwife is not equipped to handle.

''When the doctor is monitoring the child and the mother throughout it's easier to pick up problems like a weak heartbeat or a very rapid heartbeat so they can step in. It's good not just for the baby but also the patient,'' says Dr Duru.

But, it remains to be seen whether the call of giving natural birth appeals to today's women or not.Egypt bans 92-year-old from marrying teenage bride