Public sector banks today fixed their minimum lending rate in the range of 7.75 per cent to 8.25 per cent, higher than that of market leader SBI.

The minimum lending rate, or base rate, is what a bank can charge from a customer. The new regime, which will come into play from July 1, is intended to bring about more transparency in the lending operations of banks.

The new rate will replace the existing Benchmark Prime Lending Rate (BPLR) that varies between 11—13.75 per cent.

While the Bank of Baroda, Oriental Bank of Commerce, Allahabad Bank, Bank of India, Indian Bank and IDBI Bank have set their rate at 8 per cent, Syndicate Bank, Dena Bank and Indian Overseas Bank have fixed it at 8.25 per cent. Mangalore—based Corporation Bank, State Bank of Mysore and Federal Bank pegged the rate at 7.75 per cent. UCO bank has fixed its rate at 8 per cent.

Taking the lead, the largest player SBI yesterday fixed the base rate at 7.5 per cent.

While private sector lender Dhanalakshmi Bank and DBS Bank India have fixed the rate at 7 per cent, lower than that of SBI, Kerala—based private sector lender Karur Vysya Bank’s rate is the highest so far at 8.5 per cent.

The Chinese have to change their way to access Google search engine, as Google Inc announced that it will change the way people in China access its search engine.

Google Inc plans to make these changes after the Chinese government's statement that the company could no longer automatically redirect users to the unfiltered Hong Kong site.

Saina Nehwal looking hunger to get more international titles, latest she won hat-trick international titles by defending her Indonesia Open Super Series trophy in Jakarta. Great Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal said she is confident of becoming the world's number one player soon.

"Now it is important for me to work harder and win the next international events rather than concentrating on the ranking. If I can become number three, then I can also become number one," Saina said at a press conference.

"I enjoyed all the matches in the three tournaments. I was a little tired but was confident that I could do it. Finally I am happy that I have won three titles in a row. Now I want to win the upcoming tournaments," she added.

Before winning in Jakarta, which was the 20-year-old's third Super Series title overall, Saina had won the Indian Open Grand Prix at home and the Singapore Open Super Series Tournament.

"Last year it was tough for me to win the Indonesia Open and it was something special as it was my first Super Series title. But the recent one is special because I have won three tournaments in a row," said Saina.

Tags: Saina Nehwal, Indonesia Open, world's number one Rank, shuttle ranks, India shuttle

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Canadian counterpart Stephen Harper witness the signing of a civil nuclear agreement in Toronto, on Sunday.

1. The India-Canada Agreement for Cooperation in Peaceful Uses of Nuclear-Energy which was signed today provides for cooperation in areas as design, construction, maintenance, sharing of operating experience and decommissioning of nuclear reactors, supply of uranium, projects in third countries, nuclear fuel cycle and nuclear waste management.  The two countries may promote cooperation in the development and use of nuclear energy applications in the fields of agriculture, health care, industry and environment; and nuclear safety, radiation safety and environmental protection.

2. India and Canada are friendly States with comprehensive capabilities in advanced nuclear technologies. They recognize that nuclear energy is a safe, environment friendly and sustainable source of energy. Taking into account their respective strengths with regard to Pressurized Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs) and CANDU Reactors, there is considerable scope for joint work between the two countries.

India-Canada Memorandum of Understanding for Cooperation in Mining


1. An India-Canada Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed today will establish cooperation between the two countries in the fields of mining and earth sciences. The MoU envisages cooperation in the specific areas of:

1. exploration geochemistry and geophysics;
2. geo-hazards;
3. geo-science information and related informatics;
4. environmental geology;
5. cooperation in improved dialogue on mining and related activities at various international fora;
6. encouragement of improved market access and bilateral in investment in relation to mining in both countries where appropriate; and
7. other areas of mutual interest to be decided upon by the participants.

2. Canada is a major mining nation with state-of-the-art technology, expertise in the mining sector. India will benefit from this MoU by way of education, training, and human resource development in geosciences as well as minerals and metals; transfer of technology in support of collaborative projects; and exchange of information on research and development.

India-Canada Memorandum of Understanding for Cooperation in Culture

1. The India-Canada Memorandum of Understanding on Cultural Cooperation signed today will  strengthen and promote better mutual understanding in art, literature, history, sports and other cultural disciplines, and enhance  protection and  promotion of cultural diversity;
2. Encourage arts and cultural festivals, holding of exhibitions and special events and exchange programmes, particularly during major international events in both countries;
3. Encourage and facilitate exchanges of professionals/experts, knowledge, technical support and expertise in  Archaeology, Museums, Cinematography, Arts, Libraries, Archives, Mass media, Tourism and exchanges of exhibitions of artistic, informative, historic and archaeological nature including fine arts, crafts, photography, new media arts, human and social history and heritage;
4. Share expertise on issues related to creation, production, distribution and dissemination of Indian and Canadian cultural goods and services, and facilitate participation in cultural and trade events to promote various cultural goods and services from both countries.
5. Canada will organise an exhibition on ‘Inuit Art’ in the National Museum, New Delhi in  2010. India will organise a Festival of India in Canada in 2011.

India-Canada Memorandum of Understanding for Cooperation in Higher Education

1. Exchanges of students at undergraduate, graduate and post-doctoral level, and short-term awards for faculty and students for research and curriculum development  including doctoral studies at Indian and Canadian universities;
2. Joint workshops, seminars, special technical programs and professional/academic development activities, exchange of research materials, publications, educational literature, teaching aids, demonstration material and information;
3. Twinning arrangements between institutions of higher learning and promotion of teaching and research about India and Canada. It will bring together institutions of educational excellence in technical, vocational and higher education through education and trainingprogrammes;
4. Allows both countries to explore possibilities of mutual recognition of educational qualifications; and reciprocal internship programs in areas of mutual interest.

Highlights


Domestic Tourism Registers an Impressive growth during 2009
Andhra Pradesh Top in India, 157.5 million Tourists visited Andhra Pradesh during 2009
Tamil Nadu Top in India , 2.37 Foreign Tourists Visited Tamil Nadu during 2009

Market Research Division of Ministry of Tourism compiles data on “domestic and foreign tourist visits to States/ UTs” received from Ministries/ Departments of Tourism of various State Governments and UT Administrations.

Following are the important highlights of data for 2009:

1. Domestic Tourist Visits to States/ Union Territories 

During 2009, the number of domestic tourist visits to the States/ UTs was 650 million as compared to 563 million in 2008 and 527 millions in 2007.

During 2009, the number of domestic tourist visits to States/UTs registered an increase of 15.5% over 2008 as compared to increase of 6.9% in 2008 over 2007.

The top ten States in terms of number of domestic tourist visits (in millions) during 2009 were Andhra Pradesh (157.5), Uttar Pradesh (134.8), Tamil Nadu (115.8), Karnataka (32.7), Rajasthan (25.6), Maharashtra (23.7), Madhya Pradesh (23.1), Uttarakhand (21.9), West Bengal (20.5) and Gujarat (15.9).

The contribution of top 10 States was about 88% to the total number of domestic tourist visits during 2009. The percentage shares of top 5 States were Andhra Pradesh (24.2%), Uttar Pradesh (20.7%), Tamil Nadu (17.8%), Karnataka (5.0%) and Rajasthan (3.9%).

2. Foreign Tourist visits to States/ Union Territories 

During 2009, the number of foreign tourist visits (FTVs) to the States/ Union Territories  was 13.7 million as compared to 14.1 million in 2008 and 13.3 million in 2007.

During 2009, the number of Foreign Tourist Visits to States/Union Territories registered a decline of 2.8% over 2008 as compared to an increase of 6.4% in 2008 over 2007. This decline in FTVs is similar to the trend of the decline of 3.3% in the foreign tourist arrivals (FTAs) during 2009.

The top ten States in terms of number of FTVs (in millions) during 2009 were Tamil Nadu (2.37), Maharashtra (2.0), Delhi (1.96), Uttar Pradesh (1.53), West Bengal (1.18), Rajasthan (1.07), Andhra Pradesh (0.80), Kerala (0.55), Bihar (0.42) and Himachal Pradesh (0.40).

Data show that domestic tourism registered an impressive growth of 15.5% in 2009 inspite of economic recession and other adverse factors for tourism. On the contrary, FTAs and FTVs registered a decline of 3.3% and 2.8% respectively during the same period. This brings out the importance of domestic tourism in the overall tourism development in the country.

India number one and world no 3 shuttler Saina Nehwal continued her superb form with a spectacular hat-trick of titles by wining the Indonesia Open Super Series with a three-game triumph over Japan's Sayaka Sato on Sunday.

Saina Nehwal has never lost any match for the past three weeks. Saina Nehwal won the filnal with 21-19, 13-21, 21-11 and finished the game in 45 minutes.

This was Saina's third successive title, having won the Indian Open Grand Prix at home and the Singapore Open Super Series Tournament last week. This is also the 20-year-old world number three's third Super Series title overall.

Former BCCI chief Sharad Pawar will take over as International Cricket Council President on July 1, becoming the second Indian, after Jagmohan Dalmiya, to occupy the top post.

The ICC annual conference week beginning tomorrow will culminate with Pawar taking over as the seventh ICC President, succeeding Englishman David Morgan, who concludes his two-year term at the end of the week, the governing body said in a statement.

Dalmiya was the first Indian to be elected for the post, in 1997.

The annual conference week begins tomorrow with the Chief Executives' Committee (CEC) meeting and the ICC Executive Board will discuss the nomination of former Australian Prime Minister John Howard for the role of ICC Vice-President.

The main agenda for the CEC meeting is the subject of the Future Tours Programme 2012-20, including possibility of having ICC Test and ODI leagues.

The Indian Institutes of Technology have trashed the idea of selection through a single national admission test for all engineering colleges. Instead, in a throwback to the earlier system of a two-stage test (2000-2004) to enter an IIT, an HRD ministry-appointed committee has come up with a plan of holding an "add-on" test to select candidates.


"Scores in a well-designed National Aptitude Test should be used to capture parameters of interest such as raw intelligence, aptitude, general awareness, comprehension and written communication skills. NAT should not require extensive preparation and coaching. The questions should be so designed that it would not require inputs beyond plus-2 level," an HRD ministry-appointed committee said in its report. The NAT high-performers will then have to clear another test to get into IITs and other top institutes.

To soften stress, it has been proposed to make NAT an online test conducted throughout the year. Every students' composite weighted performance score will then be drawn up; it will be based on marks in NAT and marks each student tots up in science subjects in Class XII boards.

A team led by an Indian-origin professor has devised a method of using mobile phones for conducting eye tests, a technique it hopes will be useful in places lacking hi-tech eye equipment.

The device, called NETRA, which means eye in Hindi, has been designed by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Media Lab Associate Professor Ramesh Raskar, visiting Professor Manuel Oliveira, student Vitor Pamplona and postdoctoral research associate Ankit Mohan.






How it works?

The two-minute eye test can be carried out using a small plastic device clipped in front of a cellphone's screen.

The patient looks into a small lens, presses the phone's arrow keys until sets of parallel green and red lines just overlap. The process is repeated eight times with the lines at different angles for each eye.The entire process takes less than two minutes after which software loaded in the phone provides prescription data.

"Our device has the potential to make routine refractive eye exams simpler and cheaper, and, therefore, more accessible to millions of people in developing countries," Oliveira said in a statement.
The technology takes advantage of the huge improvements over the last few years in the resolution of digital displays and their widespread proliferation on cellphones.

Apart from the software to run on the phone, all that is needed is the snap-on plastic device, which Mohan says can be produced at a cost of about Rs 93 but could cost less in large quantities.

The team is preparing to conduct clinical trials, preliminary testing with about 20 people and objective tests using camera lenses have shown that it can achieve results comparable to the standard aberrometer test, which shines a laser into the eye and uses an array of tiny lenses to measure its characteristics.

The group plans to launch production of the device initially targeting parts of Africa and Asia. They also hope to produce a more advanced version that will be able to detect other conditions such as cataracts, which could be sold in the developed world as well.

NETRA - short for Near-Eye Tool for Refractive Assessment - is a quicker, simpler and cheaper way to test eye sight, the team says. It already has applied for a patent on NETRA.

According to the World Health Organisation, uncorrected refractive errors are the world's second-highest cause of blindness, affecting about two per cent of the world's population.

Nearly two billion people have refractive errors and they could be potential beneficiaries of the new system.

Porn sites movied to be dedicated on .xxx web addresses from Friday, as Internet regulators admitted past mistakes and greenlighted an online revolution.

The decision "does not mean that the .xxx application has been approved... it means we are returning to negotiations with the applicant."

Supporters of the .xxx domain name have argued that grouping the adult entertainment industry under a single banner will make it easier to police and market porn sites that conform to legal standards across different regulatory regimes.

The world's largest gold coin, weighing 100 kg with a diameter of 52 cm, was sold for 3.27 million euros (about $3.99 million) at an auction in Vienna.

Spanish dealer Oro Direct offered the price and became the owner, Xinhua reported.


Six bidders were registered for the auction. Oro Direct offered the bid in a written form, while the other five applicants participated through telephone.

The coin was originally owned by Auer von Welsbah (AvW), an Austrian investment management company, which went bankrupt in May 2010.

The coin which was minted in 2007 in Canada with purest and finest gold (99.999 per cent) has been listed in the Guinness book of world records.

It bears the largest official portrait of Queen Elizabeth II in solid gold. Three maple leaves, the national symbol of Canada, were minted on the back of the coin.

Wicket-keeper batsman Dinesh Karthik who is in good form and played key role in winning Asia Cup after 15 Years have been dropped from the Test Squad. Surprisingly Bengal wicket Keeper Wriddhiman Saha came into the team. Tamil Nadu batsment S Bardrinath also have been dropped from the Test side.

Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman - are named for the three-match series starting from July 18.

Yuvraj and Dravid both missed India's last series at home against South Africa due to injuries are into the team.

K Srikanth-led selection panel have chosen three seam bowlers for the tour. Lanky pacer Ishant Sharma and S Sreesanth have been retained in the squad and will accompany team's strike bowler Zaheer Khan.

Harbhajan Singh will lead in the spin department with support from Amit Mishra and Pragyan Ojha.
Suresh Raina has also given the chance.

Selection Panel however selected Murali Vijay who is not in good form. However, the selection panel believes that T20 and ODI's are different from Test Cricket and Selection Panel believes in the performance of Murali Vijay in Test cricket.

India will play their first match at Galle from July 18, followed by the remaining two matches - July 26-30 and August 3-7 - at Sinhalese Sports Club and PSS grounds, Colombo respectively.

Team: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt), Virender Sehwag (vice-capt), Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Yuvraj Singh, Murali Vijay, Suresh Raina, Wrindham Saha, Harbhajan Singh, Amit Mishra, pragyan Ojha, Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, S Sreesanth

According to latest analysis most of the IT companies are spending 55 - 65% of their income to only employee salaries. Most companies reduced the expenditure on employee salaries and some more to get more profits.


Any way top companies are managed to get the more profit but medium - and smaller-sized players are getting the problem in challenging business environment.

This analysis has done in the past 13 quarters of 100 IT companies that are listed in India. This reveals the IT deck has improved its share of operating profit before income tax in last two quarters. This pertains to the aggregate numbers of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Infosys, Wipro, HCL Technologies, and Tech Mahindra. The share of aggregate PBDIT of top five has increased significantly from a two-year low of 70.3% in September 2009 to 75.4% in the March 2010 quarter.

The situation at the net profit level is even worse for the smaller players. Their share of net profits has gone down to 20% in the March quarter from 26% a year ago.

Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal jumped three places to a career-best third in the latest international rankings.

Earliar this month she is in the 6th position with 64791 points, after won the back-to-back title triumphs at the India Open Grand Prix and the Singapore Open Super Series respectively jumped to 3rd rank.

Saina's previous best ranking was a fifth position which she attained in March this year after becoming the first Indian woman to reach the semifinals of the prestigious All England Super Series Championships.

Saina is presently playing in the Indonesia Open and is well on course for a hat-trick of titles after reaching the quarterfinals of the Super Series event.

India won Asia cup 2010 after 15 years by defeating SriLanka with 81 runs in the final Match. Nehra played crucial innings in the match by taking 4 Wickets. Zaheer Khan and Ravindra Jadeja took 2 wickets each, Praveen Kumar took one wicket.

Before that India won the toss and elected to bat first and made 268 Runs for the loss of 6 wickets. Dinesh Karthik was the top scorer with 66 runs in 84 balls with 9 boundaries. Rohit Sharma was second top scorer with 41 runs. Dhoni made 38 runs.

This is the fourth win in seven tournament finals under the captaincy of MS Dhoni.

Dinesh Karthik named Man of the Match for his tremendous performance in the final, where as Shahid Afridi named Man of the series. He received USD 12,000 as Prize Money  He made 252 runs and took 3 Wickets in 3 matches.

Indian Team won Prize money USD 60,000 by wining Asia Cup.

Bangladesh and Pakisthan are the other teams which participated in Asia Cup.

Sachin Tendulkar is soon to become an officer of the Indian Air Force(IAF) with the Air Headquarters having finalized plans to make him an Honorary Group Captain.

It's the first time a cricketer will get this honor. There were considerable debate as to what position thecricketer should be given. There were initial reports that the batsmen will be handed with Wing Commander or Squadron Leader.

 But they were deemed too junior for the national icon, who has 20 years of top classcricket under his belt.

As per the rules, honorary rank in the Indian armed forces can be granted to both “Indian or non-Indian nationals who have rendered service of a high order to the Indian Union and who have rendered signal service to any of the armed forces, or who have taken a special interest in fostering the development of any of the armed forces”

The Air Force has forwarded necessary documents to the Defense Ministry. The Prime Minister's office and the President will have to give their final consent before the formal announcement is made.

J.R.D Tata was first made an honorary Group Captain in 1948, later promoted as Air Commodore in October 1966 and finally made the honorary Air Vice Marshal in 1974.

Mr. Singhania, was the last to be granted the honorary rank in October 1990 after he flew round-the-globe in a micro-light aircraft.

Rs. 1,500-crore package for Bhopal victims recommended by the Group of Ministers (GoM) to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. He has called a special Cabinet meeting for June 25 to discuss the report.

The GoM recommends a Rs. 1,500-crore package for the victims (Rs. 1,320 crore from the Centre and Rs. 180 crore from the Madhya Pradesh government), enhancing the compensation for the kin of the dead to Rs. 10 lakh, for the permanently disabled to Rs. 5 lakh and for the temporarily disabled to Rs. 1 lakh. It has also recommended that those stricken with cancer and other serious ailments be given Rs. 2 lakh. However, previous handouts will be deducted from the amount payable.

Rs. 300 cr. for clean-up

A sum of Rs. 300 crore required for the clean-up operation will be paid by the Centre, but it will continue to pursue the case against Dow Chemical in the Madhya Pradesh High Court in Jabalpur.

The report also recommended fresh steps for extradition of Mr. Anderson and the filing of a curative petition in the Supreme Court to secure enhanced punishment for the guilty.

It is hard to beleave that comedian Sunil forthcoming film ‘Maryada Ramanna’ doing more business than Balakrishna 'Simha'. According to film nagar news, Maryada Ramanna done more than Rs 25 crores business only by distribution and satellite rights. Sensational director Rajamouli trying to release the movie on july 23rd.

The Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu film industries can boast of an embarrassment of riches as far as acting talent is concerned. While doyens like Rajnikanth, Kamal Hassan, Mamooty and Mohanlal continue to bedazzle audiences, there are lots of new stars on the firmament. Get ready to meet the men who rule the Big Screen Down Under!...

India has been ranked the 87th most failed state in the 2010. Whereas our neighboring countries Pakistan ranked in 10th most failed state in 2010, Burma has been placed at 13, Sri Lanka (22) and Nepal 25. China is ranked at 57th place. India is ranked 87 in a list of 177 countries.

The list is topped by Somalia, followed by Zimbabwe, Sudan, and Chad.

Just three places below Afghanistan, Pakistan has been ranked the 10th most failed state in the 2010 Failed State Index released by the prestigious Foreign Policy magazine on Monday.

 "Shattered Somalia has been the No.1 failed state for three years running, and none of the current top 10 has shown much improvement, if any, since FOREIGN POLICY and the Fund for Peace began publishing the index in 2005," it said.

"Altogether, the top 10 slots have rotated among just 15 unhappy countries in the index's six years. State failure, it seems, is a chronic condition," the magazine said.

The magazine said Somalia saw yet another year plagued by lawlessness and chaos, with pirates plying the coast while radical Islamist militias tightened their grip on the streets of Mogadishu.

"Across the Gulf of Aden, long-ignored Yemen leapt into the news when a would-be suicide bomber who had trained there tried to blow up a commercial flight bound for Detroit," it said.

Afghanistan and Iraq traded places on the index as both states contemplated the exit of US combat troops, while already isolated Sudan saw its dictator, Omar Hassan al-Bashir, defy an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court and the war-ravaged Democratic Republic of the Congo once again proved itself a country in little more than name, the magazine said.

The Saudi Bin Laden Group is in news as it is planning to buy 20% of stake in Maytas. Here are some of the projects done by Saudhi Bin Laden Group.

The Makkah Clock Royal Tower - Second Tallest Building in the World

The tower will serve as the focal point of the iconic Abraj Al Bait Complex, which is part of the King Abdul Aziz Endowment Project whose mandate is to upgrade the precincts of the Two Holy Mosques. The complex will include seven towers adjacent to the Holy Mosque, the holiest site in Islam. The tower, which is being developed by the Saudi Bin Laden Group, will also house the Emaar Residences.


At the center of the complex will also be The Fairmont hotel, the Lunar Observation Center and Islamic Museum. The hotel, which is scheduled to open in mid 2010, will have 858 rooms, and will feature Fairmont Gold, the company’s exclusive “hotel within a hotel”, and seven restaurants.



The Makkah Clock Royal Tower, will include a 40-meter clock, more than five times larger than Big Ben in London, which will be visible up to 17 kilometers away and will announce the daily prayers to the Muslim world.


Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques




Sharajah University

As per the new study Dirty cars can pose serious threat to your health in warmer weather.

As per the findings the motorists are at danger from bacteria like Bacillus cereus and Staphylococcus each time they enter their car.

Bugs linked with food poisoning, vomiting and skin infections were all discovered inside a "random" car when it was subjected to a range of tests.

During the study, scientists analysed swabs taken from the car used by a couple and their two children and found Bacillus cereus and Staphylococcus bacteria inside, including on the steering wheel, gear-stick and door handles.

Staphylococcal infections are contagious and can be transmitted from person to person. They can lead to skin infections and food poisoning.

Bacillus cereus, a bacteria which forms spores that lie dormant until ideal conditions arise - such as warmth and a source of nutrition - can also be responsible for food poisoning. It can cause severe nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea.

"Although many strains of bacteria are harmless, some can cause unpleasant illnesses," telegraph.co.uk quoted Anthony Hilton, reader in microbiology at Aston University, as saying.

"People would be horrified at the prospect of eating from a toilet seat; however they ought to be aware that eating from a contaminated dashboard may represent the same health hazards.

It is important, particularly now the weather is becoming warmer, for people to ensure they do not leave food debris in their cars as bacteria can thrive on even tiny crumbs. Also if you have animals in your car they can contribute to the presence of harmful micro-organisms," Hilton added.

"Those who eat in their car should treat it as an extension of their home and maintain the same levels of hygiene as they would in their dining room," he said.

Source : Times of India

This is so brilliant! An anti-rape female condom invented by Sonette Ehlers… A South African women working as a blood technician with the South African Blood Transfusion Service, during which time she met and treated many rape victims.

The device, known as The Rape-aXe, is a latex sheath embedded with shafts of sharp, inward-facing microscopic barbs that would be worn by a woman in her vagina like a tampon. If an attacker were to attempt vaginal rape, their penis would enter the latex sheath and be snagged by the barbs, causing the attacker pain during withdrawal and (ideally) giving the victim time to escape.

The condom would remain attached to the attacker’s body when he withdrew and could only be removed surgically, which would alert hospital staff and police. This device could assist in the identification and prosecution of rapists.

The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) is to write to every primary school asking them to start sex education when pupils are five. The recommendations include lessons on how to put a condom on and that excessive drinking can lead to sex.

It advises schools to use social networking websites to get the sex message across and calls on teachers to offer children confidential sex advice if they need it - without their parents being told.

The report also says that sex and relationships education is "more effective if it is introduced before young people first have sex".

Sex education, including information about sexually-transmitted infections, methods of contraception, pregnancy and abortion, can help children and teens delay sex until they are ready, the report said.

"It does not cause them to have sex at an earlier age, or to have more sex, or sex with more partners, and nor does it increase the number of unwanted or teenage conceptions and abortions," according to the new guidance.

NICE claimed that teaching children to "say no" could actually increase the chances of risky sexual behaviour and pregnancy.

Sex education is not compulsory in English schools and even where it is taught, parents have the right to take their children out of class. But the new guidance - albeit in draft form - will put greater pressure on headteachers to provide sex education at an earlier age, the Daily Mail reported.

The 74-page document was produced on NICE's own initiative after it convened a panel of public health officials and representatives from family planning groups to prepare guidance on reducing teenage pregnancy.

Britain's teenage pregnancy rate is the highest in western Europe. There are now more than 40,000 under-18 conceptions every year.

Source: IANS

The steel empire Lakshmi Mittal has now been named as a visionary by Fortune magazine for extending support to help Indian athletes win Olympic medals.

Along with Lakshmi Mittal two other Indians Rikin Gandhi, the chief of New Delhi-based NGO Digital Green, and Indrani Medhi, an executive at Microsoft India are among the 8 visionaries named by Fortune magazine .

Fortune Magazine listed out "The Fortune Global Forum Visionaries" by considering the innovative contributions of business men to emerging markets and developing nations.

The NRI billionaire has found a place in the list as the founder of Mittal Champions Trust that supports Indian athletes in as many as six sports. The publication said the England-based chief of the world's largest steel company ArcelorMittal plays a pivotal role in India's ongoing quest for the Olympic metals.

The goal of the Mittal Champions Trust is to identify, support and enhance the performance of talented up-and-coming Indian athletes in six sports: track and field, shooting, wrestling, archery, boxing, and squash.

The trust, started in 2005 with an initial funding of $9 million, supports over 60 Indian athletes, including the Olympic gold medalist and shooter Abhinav Bindra.

The next goal of Mittal Champions Trust is to bring home at least five medals from the 2012 Olympics.

The Rikin Gandhi-headed Digital Green teaches farmers in small villages the latest agricultural techniques with the help of multimedia presentations and personal demonstrations.

Rikin Gandhi's effort is ten times more effective per dollar spent in converting farmers to better farming practices than more traditional approaches.

Indrani Medhi's research work is to "make assistance-free and useful interaction possible for any first-time, non-literate user of a PC or mobile phone". Medhi is an associate researcher (Technology for Emerging Markets Group) at Microsoft India.

The Nobel prize winner and founder of Bangladesh's Grameen Bank Muhammad Yunus, International AIDS Vaccine Initiative's epidemiologist Seth Berkley and the Hong Kong-based sourcing firm Li & Fung Group's Victor and William Fung also feature in the list.

The Fortune has also named French business school HEC Paris' associate dean Valerie Gauthier and China South Locomotive and Rolling Stock Corporation chief Zhao Xiaogang among the eight visionaries.

India's top seeded badminton Player Saina Nehwal won her second Super Series title by defeating Tzu Ying Tai of Chinese Taipei 21-18, 21-15 to win the Singapore Open badminton tournament here Sunday.

World no.6 Saina, the top seed in the tournament, has been in good form and beat two Chinese players to reach the summit clash.

Saina Nehwal won her first Super Series triumph , "Yonex-Sunrise India Open Grand Prix" badminton tournament last week.These back to back victories will give her immense confidence to participate in  Indonesian Open tournament next week.

'It is a great victory. I was confident about my performance here,' Saina said.

Saina, 20, indeed played like a champion and her victory against world champion Lun Lan in the semi-finals Saturday boosted her confidence in final.

Saina also took revenge on Chinese player Xuerui Li, who had defeated her at home in the Badminton Asia championships in April.

The two big victories cleared the way for Saina to go for the title, though her opponent in the final, 16-year-old qualifier Tzu, ranked 118, had shown enough promise during the week upsetting some big names.

The teenage talent Tzu beat South Korea's Youn Joo Bae in the semi-finals.

Tzu surprised Saina with her deceptive game and opened up a huge 13-6 lead. Saina looked rattled, but she relied on her experience to bounce back in the game. Saina engaged Tzu in rallies and attacked her weak backhand to score points.

One of ten siblings, Manmohan Singh was born in Gah, West Punjab, (in what became Pakistan) on September 26, 1932 to Mr Gurmukh Singh and Mrs Gursharan Kaur. The family moved to Amritsar, when Manmohan was 14.

He hails from a poor farming background - his father owned a shop selling dry fruits, and the first time he ever wore a tie was for his first job interview. Manmohan Singh was so determined to get an education he would study at night under streetlights, because there were so many people in the traditional, extended family home.
Here is some thing interesting Man Mohan Singh Resume.

All the time there is a war between the world’s two largest brands, even in the FIFA 2010. The FIFA World Cup is not only about superstars like Messi, Robinho, Michael, Ronaldo or Drogba. It’s also about Adidas versus Nike...

Eating a Mediterranean diet - one characterized by low saturated fats and high in fish, fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, olive oil, cereals and moderate alcohol consumption — reduces a person's heart disease risk.

Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore have the best living standards in the country while Orissa's Rayagada, Kandhamal and Bihar's Banka districts are the worst, a survey said.

It is the good news to the customers who want to purchase Tata Nano, now no need to wait for a longer period as dealers are offering almost immediate delivery of the world’s cheapest car.

Google planning to release the Chrome operating system by this year end. The Chrome OS will be designed initially to work on laptop PCs, Sundar Pichai, Google’s head of the Chrome project told reporters at the Computex PC show.


According to Pichai, “Chrome OS is one of the few future operating systems for which there are already millions of applications that work. You don’t need to redesign Gmail for it to work on Chrome. Facebook does not need to write a new app for Chrome. We expect a generation of applications, including games, to work inside the browser”.

Tags: Google's operating system, google crome operating system, operating system, new operating system.

One of the most talented and successful director Mani Ratnam planning to make a Telugu movie in next year. At present he is busy with the "Raavan" movie pramotions. Geethanjali (1989) was only stight Telugu film made by Mani Ratnam.

People who suffer from serious food allergies may depend on their cell phones to predict if it's safe for them or not.

Nestle is working with researchers at Deakin University in Melbourne and the Australian branch of international barcode standards body GS1 to trial an iPhone application.

The application will scan barcodes or read fine print information that's usually not legible - and call details form a database to display it on the cell phone.

Associate Professor Caroline Chan said GS1's barcoding system contained valuable product data such as weights, volumes, and information about packaging materials and prices.

"We wanted to really harness all this information on the barcoding system and team it up with detailed product information provided by Nestle to give consumers a tool that had the potential to improve their health and raise public awareness," Stuff.co.nz quoted Chan as saying. (ANI)

Top seed Saina Nehwal, won Yonex-Sunrise India Open Grand Prix badminton tournament by beating Malaysia's Mew Choo Wong with 20-22, 21-14, 21-12 in the women's final

Saina, playing her first tournament in two months, was rather patchy as she blew a 20-18 lead in the first game, but kept her nerves to take the next two games, capitalising on a desperate Mew's errors.

"I am happy winning the tournament and that too at home, and yes, it's a good preparation for the two Super Series events (Singapore and Indonesia) I am participating in this month. In fact, I am playing Mew in the first round at Singapore!" she added.

Rexona Tollywood T20 Trophy Match 1 : Balayya Lions vs Venky Warriors






Venky Warriors Batting Score Card  Target - 60 runs
Karthik n.o 22 (2 fours)
Amar c n b Bhoopal 3
Srikanth c NTR b Bhoopal 3
Tharun c NTR b Sushant 5 (one four)
Adarsh Bala Krishna n.o 17 (2 fours)
Total - 60/3 (10 overs)

Balayya Lions Bowling:
Abhinay: 2– 0 – 9 - 0
Bhoopal: 2– 0 – 6 - 2
Sushant 1 -0 - 2 - 1
Shashank 1 - 0 - 6 - 0
Bala Krishna 2 - 0 - 7 - 0
Prabhu - 1 - 0 - 10 - 0
O Kalyan 1 - 0 - 10 - 0

Result : Venky Worriers won by 7 wickets

Umpires: KL Narayana & D Suresh Babu | 3rd Umpire: Prakash Raj