India developed world's low cost lap top

India has come up with the world's cheapest laptop, a touch-screen computing device that will cost just $35.India have reached a developmental stage, that today the motherboard, its chip, its processing, connectivity, all of them cumulatively cost around $35, including memory, display, everything.The touch-screen gadget was packed with internet browsers, PDF reader and video conferencing facilities, but its hardware was created with sufficient flexibility to incorporate new components according to user requirement.The Linux-based computing device was expected to be introduced to higher education institutions from 2011, but the aim was to drop the price further to $20 and ultimately to $10.

The device was developed by research teams at India's premier technological institutes, the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) and the Indian Institute of Science.India spends about three% of its annual budget on school education and has improved its literacy rates to over 64% of its 1.2 billion population, but studies have shown that many students can barely read or write and most state-run schools have inadequate facilities.

India occupied seventh positioned in world automobile

India With an annual production of about 2,632,694 cars in 2009, India is now the seventh largest vehicle producing nation in the world. It is a milestone the country achieved six years ahead of the set target.The Indian automobile sector is also one of the fastest growing markets globally. India aims to become the small car hub of the world by dethroning Japan, the biggest maker of compact cars, a majority of which is consumed domestically.Last year, India pipped Brazil to become the second-largest producer of small cars.India also aims to be among the top five vehicle producers by 2020. India was home to 40 million passenger vehicles by the end of 2009, with auto sales of over 1.5 million cars. This rapid pace of growth has made India the world's second fastest growing automobile market.

India is projected to have the largest number of cars in the world -- 611 million to be precise -- by 2050. According to the third BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China) report by investment banking firm Goldman Sachs.

Australia wants economic cooperation with india in infra,food processing and tourism

Australia is keen on broadening economic cooperation in areas such as infrastructure, food processing and Tourism with India, its top diplomat said here today. The core areas being looked at are infrastructure, education, tourism and food processing, Australian High Commissioner to India Peter N Varghese said. Australia will seek to broaden economic relationship. Though trade relations look impressive, they are narrowly based to coal, Gold and Copper, constituting 87 per cent. Kerala and the rest of India are going in for various infrastructure projects and Australian companies have very good exposure in building pipelines, food processing and Tourism, Varghese said.

India and Australia have a very fast growing trade relationship. The bilateral trade relationship has grown at the rate of 25 per cent a year in the past 5 years, the top diplomat said. India is Australia's third largest export market and Australia is fifth largest trading partner of India, he said. We are now seeing large investments from Australia in resources sector and we look forward to much more Indian investments in Australia'. Australia had recently concluded an import deal of 20 billion with energy major Petronet for supply of gas Gorgon (in Australia) from 2014. An Australian company, Leighton, had also laid pipelines for Kochi Refinery, he said. Education and Film industry is another area Australia was looking at India, Varghese said. There are attractive destinations for Bollywood film and Malayalam films to be made. However, there were no plans to offer subsidy or incentives to the film industry, he said. A feasiblity study on Free Trade Agreement (FTA), conducted jointly by the two countries, has recently been concluded and was before consideration of Indian cabinet, he said. "Australia sees India as a country which is going to play pivotal role not only in the region, but also in whole world.

Nobel peace ceremony goes ahead, with empty chair

New world superpower China tightens its grip on dissidents at home, dignitaries in Norway celebrate this year's winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, imprisoned Chinese activist Liu Xiaobo, with solemn ceremony — and an empty chair.

Liu won't be able to collect the prestigious $1.4 million award at the Oslo ceremony on Friday — the first time in 74 years that it has not been handed over.

Nobel committee secretary Geir Lundestad said Liu will be represented "by an empty chair ... the strongest possible argument" for awarding it to him.

China was infuriated when the prestigious prize was awarded to the 54-year-old literary critic, who is serving an 11-year prison sentence on subversion charges brought after he co-authored a bold call for sweeping changes to Beijing's one-party communist political system.

Beijing described the award as an attack on its political and legal system and has placed Liu's supporters, including his wife Liu Xia, under house arrest to prevent anyone from picking up his prize.

On Friday, uniformed and plainclothes officers guarded the entrance to the compound in central Beijing where Liu Xia has lived since the October announcement that her husband would receive the prize. China also tightened a wide-ranging clampdown on dissidents and blocked some news websites ahead of the awarding ceremony.

China has also pressured foreign diplomats including India to stay away from the Nobel ceremony. China and 17 other countries have declined to attend, including Russia, Pakistan, Iran, Venezuela and Cuba. At least 46 of the 65 countries with embassies in Oslo have accepted invitations. Serbia, which had said it would stay away, announced Thursday that it had changed its mind and would now attend.

Lundestad said countries gave various reasons for not attending, but some were "obviously affected by China."

China warned that attending the ceremony would be seen as a sign of disrespect.

"We hope those countries that have received the invitation can tell right from wrong, uphold justice," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said In Beijing.

WikiLeaks founder arrested

The Australian born founder and CEO of the controversial internet site “WikiLeaks”who leaks us military documents throughout the world , Julian Assange, turned himself into the British police yesterday over allegations of supposed sex crimes he committed during the month of August in Sweden. Julian Assange has been under fire lately for the enormous amount of data his website released and continues to release into the public domain and the highly classified documents that were contained therein, however it is said that this new development and Assange’s arrest are completely unrelated to the WikiLeaks controversy.It is unclear if Mr. Assange will fight extradition to Sweden but according to the British Police statement Julian Assange is “accused by the Swedish Authorities of one count of unlawful coercion, two counts of sexual molestation, and one count of rape”. It was also announced by District Judge Howard Riddle, the judge hearing the sex crimes allegations that Mr. Assange would be denied bail and be remanded in custody by the British court because there is apparently the risk that he would fail to surrender. There is still some speculation as to the nature of the charges, but it seems that Assange is being charged with sex crimes against two different women, in both cases two of the charges are based upon allegations that Assange was not wearing a condom during sex when he was asked to by the women. These allegations provide the grounds for both sexual molestation charges by both women against Mr. Assange who, through his lawyers, continues to deny all of the charges against him.

India, France sign nuclear power deal

India and France signed a multi-million dollar agreement on Monday to build two nuclear power plants in India as French President Nicolas Sarkozy worked to drum up business for his nation during his four-day visit here.
Areva SA, one of France's main nuclear power companies, will build two European pressurized reactors of 1,650 megawatts each at Jaitapur in the western Indian state of Maharashtra.
The agreement, valued at about $9.3 billion, was signed in the presence of Sarkozy and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
The deal marked the first two of 20 nuclear reactors India wants to build to meet its soaring energy demand.
Foreign governments have been courting India to try to get a piece of that lucrative market, but there have been concerns that India's recently passed liability law might prove too onerous for international companies to risk entering the market here.
Indian officials assured France that their liability laws were in keeping with international standards and the security of nuclear operators was ensured, a French official said. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
Sarkozy and Singh later met to discuss regional security, trade and investment.
The talks were also expected to touch on plans for the structural reform of the world monetary system through the Group of 20 countries, currently headed by France.
Sarkozy, who arrived on Saturday, is accompanied by his defense, foreign and finance ministers and nearly 60 business leaders.
No defense agreements are expected during the visit, but Sarkozy is likely to push for French companies to win contracts to supply military hardware.
French companies are negotiating to upgrade 51 Mirage-2000 jet fighters in the Indian air force. India is also in the market to buy 126 fighter jets, a deal worth $11 billion, and about 200 helicopters worth another $4 billion.
According to defense experts, India is expected to spend $80 billion between 2012 and 2022 to upgrade its military.
Sarkozy's visit also coincides with at least two important meetings with Indian business leaders. The French president is keen to attract Indian companies to invest in France, even as French companies are seeking a slice of India's booming economy.
Bilateral trade declined in 2009 due to global economic woes, but was on the upswing this year, said Vishnu Prakash, India's external affairs ministry spokesman. The two countries have set a trade target of 12 billion euros ($15.8 billion) for 2012.
Sarkozy is to visit Mumbai, India's financial and entertainment capital, before returning home on Tuesday.

Pakistan is a sinking boat

Pakistan on Wednesday dismissed Western concerns over the security of its following the publication of more US State Department cables by anti-secrecy organisation WikiLeaks.

A fresh cache of US diplomatic cables released on Tuesday and Wednesday show widespread concern about the safety of Pakistan's nuclear weapons with worries stretching from Washington to Riyadh to Moscow.

A senior Pakistani government official familiar with his country's nuclear weapons program waved off Western handwringing.

A senior official in Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence spy agency said the country's nuclear weapons were "the safest”, and that spent fuel rods in the nuclear reactors were "safe and secure”.

Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani's office, in a statement issued after a meeting with the new US ambassador, Cameron Munter, said the revelations would not "have any effect on the strong, strategic partnership between Pakistan and the USA, as both sides were resolute to address the misperceptions in the interest of long-term cordial bilateral relations”.

WikiLeaks shook the diplomatic world on Monday when it published reports from more than 250,000 confidential cables in partnership with five Western newspapers, including The New York Times and the Guardian in Britain.


Noting that there were more than 120,000 people working in Pakistan's nuclear program in and around the facilities, "Regardless of the clearance process for these people, there is no way to guarantee that all are 100% loyal and reliable."

Nazarov fretted that people with "strict religious beliefs" had been hired to protect the nuclear facilities, giving extremist organisations more opportunities to recruit from within the program.

"Over the last few years extremists have attacked vehicles that carry staff to and from these facilities. Some were killed and a number were abducted and there has been no trace seen of them," he reportedly said.

Indian railway is one of the oldest reailway in thw world

THE FAIRY QUEEN : 1855, The year when the majestic Fairy Queen rolled out for the erstwhile East Indian Railway. For the first time after 1908, the Fairy Queen rolled again on Feb. 1st, 1997 from Delhi to Alwar. The steam engine is the oldest working engine in the world. Finding its pride of place in the Guinness Book of World Records and also capturing the National Tourism Award, this prestigious pristine beauty that graces the National Rail Museum, New Delhi, is steaming once again.

THE DECCAN ODYSSEY : is a special train modeled on the Palace on Wheels to boost tourism on the Konkan route. The route starts in Mumbai (Bombay) and travels to Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg, Goa, Belgaum, Kolhapur, Pune, Nashik, Aurangabad, Ajanta-Ellora, and then back to Mumbai. It is a venture of the Maharashtra Government and Ministry of Railway, Government of India Indian Railways. In addition to being a train that touches tourist spots, this aims to be a complete 5-star hotel on wheels, with two restaurants and a bar, a sauna, business centre and other such amenities on board. In 2004, the Maharashtra government stopped its run of the Deccan Odessey, citing poor response, but may restart it after the 2005 monsoons.

HERITAGE ON WHEELS : Heritage on Wheels is yet another initiative by the Indian Railways to bring tourists closer to Indian culture. In association with the Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation, the Indian Railways have launched this luxury tourist train.

PALACE ON WHEELS : The Palace on Wheels was the first of four luxury trains on Indian Railways. It was launched to promote tourism in Rajasthan and has been highly popular since its launch. It is one of the top ten luxury trains in the world and following its success another luxury train is being launched on the same circuit. The concept of the Palace on Wheels was derived from the royal background of the coaches, which were originally meant to be the personal Railway coaches of the erstwhile rulers of the princely states of Rajputana, Gujarat, the Nizam of Hyderabad and the Viceroy of British India.

MAHAPARINIRVAN SPECIAL TRAIN : The Mahaparinirvan Express is a special tourist train that takes passengers on a spiritual tour through Buddhist India, where Buddhism originated more than 2,500 years ago. The Mahaparinirvan Express is operated by Indian Railways using carriages from a Rajdhani Express train. This is a fully air conditioned train offering three different classes of travel (first class, two tier, and three tier). It's far from opulent, unlike India's luxury tourist trains, but then again pilgrimages aren't normally associated with luxury! Passengers are greeted with garlands, provided with luggage assistance, and given a welcome gift of a Buddhist guidebook. Security guards are present on the train, and tours are fully guided.

GOLDEN CHARIOT : he Golden Chariot is a luxury tourist train that connects the important tourist spots in the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa. It is named after the Stone Chariot in the Vitthala Temple at Hampi. The 19 coaches on the train are colored purple and gold, and sport the logo of a mythological animal with the head of an elephant and a body of a lion. The Golden Chariot operates weekly and had its maiden commercial run on March 10, 2008.