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.

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.

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.

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.

US welcomes India's leadership role

The U.S. on Tuesday said it welcomes a greater global leadership role for India, two days after its Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s remark describing India as a “self-appointed frontrunner” for a permanent UNSC seat was leaked.

“We regret and condemn any unauthorised disclosures of confidential information and sensitive national security information,” U.S. Ambassador to India Timothy J. Roemer said while reacting to the release of diplomatic cables by whistle-blower Website WikiLeaks.

“By releasing these documents front of World, WikiLeaks puts at risk the cause of human rights, the lives and work of dedicated individuals, and threatens our ability to conduct essential private and diplomatic dialogue ,” he said.

As part of its massive leak of a quarter million classified documents of the U.S. government, the Website released a “secret” cable issued by Ms. Clinton where she has described India as a “self-appointed frontrunner” for a permanent UNSC seat.

She had also directed U.S. envoys to seek minute details about Indian diplomats stationed at the United Nations headquarters, according to classified documents released by WikiLeaks.

Mr. Roemer said, “The U.S. welcomes a greater global leadership role for India and values its perspectives on how to meet common challenges, including countering terrorism, securing our maritime domains, and working together to promote democratic, political and economic development around the world.”

Indian student recalls attack in Australia

The 31-year-old man, who wants to remain anonymous, now bears a 26-stitch scar where doctors performed emergency surgery on his punctured bowel after the attack on November 5.

The Indian cookery student in Melbourne has recalled the night he was stabbed in the stomach by two men after he finished work in a South Yarra bar.

He said the two men approached him in Lovers Walk South around 11.10pm as he walked to a railway station.

They asked him for money, and when he said he had none "one punched me in the stomach, scolded me and said dirty words".


"I collected some courage and ran away."

It wasn't until he reached South Yarra rail station that he realised he was bleeding and that he'd been stabbed.

He hailed a taxi, which took him to The Alfred hospital where he was operated on immediately.

The victim, who has been in Australia for two years, spent the next 10 days in hospital, and only then did he let his parents in India know what had happened.

Senior Constable Emma Frankcom is appealing for witnesses to the attack to come forward.

"It was a very callous attack, and we want these two men off the streets," she told reporters.

She said the attack did not appear to be racially motivated.

"It appears to be a random attack," she said.

India can't get UN seat without China backing

Pakistan's permanent envoy to the UN, Abdullah Hussain Haroon said India will never be able to secure a permanent seat at the UN Security Council unless China and Russia back it.

"Without veto power, India will not be of any threat to Pakistan even if it manages to enter UNSC as a permanent member," Haroon told reporters at Hyderabad in Sindh province.

US President Barack Obama's support to India's right to get a UN Security Council seat has not gone down well in Pakistan.

Many Pakistanis feel that India would ride roughshod over Islamabad if it got veto rights -- like the other five permanent Security Council members.

Haroon called for "judicious use of resources" to achieve financial stability in Pakistan, cautioning that China and India were the emerging powers in the region who would control and influence the decision-making processes in future.

The envoy said he had almost completed his stint in the UN and was not interested in continuing in the post. "I have written to the president that I want to return to Pakistan."

India begins building homes for displaced Sri Lankans

Ahead of foreign minister S M Krishna's visit to Sri Lanka, India has started work on construction of 1,000 homes for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the island nation. The construction of 1,000 homes is a pilot project for the commitment made by India to build 50,000 houses in northern and eastern Sri Lanka.

An MoU was signed last week between Hindustan Prefab Limited (HPL) under the administrative control of the ministry of housing and urban poverty alleviation and the ministry of external affairs for taking up the project. Krishna will leave for Colombo on Thursday where he will hold bilateral talks, call on President Mahinda Rajapaksa as well as open Indian consulates in Jaffna and Hambantota. Krishna and his Sri Lankan counterpart G L Peiris will preside over the meeting of their Joint Commission in Colombo.

The Indian minister will inaugurate a housing project and rail links in Sri Lanka's north, which was the main war theatre. One of the railway lines will link Talaimannar and Madhu Church in Lanka's northwest and the other will link Omanthai and Pallai in north. While Colombo has almost completed the process of resettlement, Krishna is expected to take up the issue of devolution of power to the minorities, a commitment made earlier made by Sri Lankan leaders to New Delhi.

Indo - Canada Free Trade Pact To Boost Trading..

A free trade agreement between India and Canada would boost bilateral trade by 50 per cent and increase the two-way merchandise trade to USD 15 billion over the next five-years, a senior Canadian Minister said.

"Canadians are excited about the prospect of a free trade agreement with India. Canadian businesses and investors have long called for closer ties to the Indian market place, which is one of the most exciting anywhere in the world," the Minister told reporters here today during his visit to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).

He said that a free trade agreement would lead to a 50 per cent boost in bilateral trade between the two countries.

"Both the Governments have set a target of increasing the mutual bilateral merchandise trade to USD 15 billion in the next five years. A free trade agreement will help us get there," he said.

Last year, the bilateral merchandise trade reached close to USD 4.2 billion, he said.