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Union law minister, M Veerappa Moily, on Tuesday said the Centre would ban the book, Great Soul: Mahatma Gandhi And His Struggle With India, calling its contents “baseless, sensational and heresy and denigrating a national leader”.The book has been banned in his home state of Gujarat Wednesday. A resolution to ban the book, "Great Soul", was moved in the state assembly by Chief Minister Narendra Modi and passed unanimously.

He was speaking to media persons after addressing a party meeting at Congress Bhavan here. "The Union government will plan out how to prohibit the book," he said. The book by Joseph Lelyveld, claims that Mahatma Gandhi, a renowned advocate of celibacy, truth and non-violence, was also a bisexual and a racist. It claims Gandhi had an affair with German-Jewish architect and bodybuilder, Hermann Kallenbach, for whom he supposedly left his wife Kasturba in 1908.

The book also claims the Mahatma had a racist attitude towards Africans.

Pop star Lady Gaga has become the first person to have nine million followers on micro blogging site Twitter.

The eccentric singer became the most popular person on the social networking site last August overtaking Britney Spears when they both had just over 5.7 million followers, reports the BBC.

She joined Twitter in 2008 with her first Tweet saying she was rehearsing for the 'Just Dance' video.

Justin Bieber is the second most popular celebrity on the site, with just over 8.3 million followers.

Gaga's latest single, 'Born This Way', is at number one in the Billboard Hot 100 and made it to number three in the official UK singles chart.

The star also has 31 million fans on Facebook and her videos have had more than a billion views on YouTube. 

A three-year-old Toddler Lu Hao  from China is a cause of worry as he weighs a mammoth 60kg.

Though his birth weight was just 2.6 kgs, he began to gain weight rapidly within 3 months. During the last year alone, the baby has gained about 10 kgs.

"His appetite is so good that for a meal he can eat 3 big bowls of rice, even larger than I and his mother," said Hao's father Lu Yuncheng.

The parents have tried their best to keep a strict vigil on the child’s diet, yet if they begin to restrict his food, the child begins to cry non-stop.

The United Kingdom-based Global Risks Atlas 2011 on Friday described India as the 16th riskiest country to invest in for the security hazards it poses and rather embarrassingly clubs it with Niger, Bangladesh and Mali. The Atlas is published by Maplecroft, a consultancy founded by Alyson Warhurst , chair of strategy and international development at Warwick Business School .

Global Risk Atlas 2011

The evaluation is structured on seven key global risks including macroeconomic risk and threats around security, governance, resource security, climate change, social resilience and illicit economies.

Maplecroft assessed India faces simultaneous threats of terrorist attacks from Islamists and Maoists. It also points at India's lack of social resilience despite a robust economic growth and cites its poor human rights record. It says large sections of the population lack access to basic services such as education, healthcare and sanitation, and highlights its less productive workforce, greater susceptibility to pandemics and susceptible to social unrest.

The four countries flagged red as extreme risks are Somalia, Sudan, Afghanistan and the Democratic Republic of Congo; in other words, un-investible. Pakistan is not far behind at 7th.

In an exacting analysis, even developed markets like the US and Western Europe, including the UK, are branded medium risk. Only 35 out of the 175 countries covered in the groups Global Risks Atlas 2011, ranked as low risk.

Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Norway are listed as among the least risky countries to invest; and Norway claimed the overall crown as the safest place.

Mohammad Kaif reportedly tied the knot in Noida yesterday. According to sources, the cricketer's bride is a journalist.

After the Noida wedding, a reception is said to have been planned for March 27 in Delhi. Apparently, the wedding was kept strictly hush hush with only close family and friends in attendance. A reception in Allahabad, Kaif's hometown, will be held once the IPL gets over, sources are saying. Neither the cricketer nor his family were available for comment.

The 30 year old batsmen last played to India on November 29, 2006, against south Africa, in which India lost the match by 80 runs. Later he played in IPL for Rajastan Royals where he was captain for first 2 matches and then lost his place in IPL 3. He was one of the 30 unsold players in IPL 4 Auctions. But the luck favours him in the form of Vijaya Malya, who brought him for Royal Challengers for $1,30,000.

Kaif was well known for his fielding. He is one of the best fielders in the world. However, the match which every Indian fan remembers is the match against England. His controlled 87 runs(not out) when India chased 326 against England in the 2002 Natwest Trophy final is the best match to Mohammad Kaif.

It was BJP's turn yet again to be hit by Wikileaks cables with a US diplomat reporting that its senior leader Arun Jaitley had remarked to him that Hindu nationalism is an "opportunistic issue" for his party.

"Pressed on the question of Hindutva, Jaitley argued that Hindu nationalism 'will always be a talking point' for the BJP. However, he characterized this as an opportunistic issue," a cable by Robert Blake, the Charge at the US Embassy, to his government, had said after a meeting with Jaitley on May 6, 2005.

Jaitley, however, maintained that he had not used the word " opportunistic" while Congress attacked him saying those living in glass houses should not throw stones at others.

The cable by Blake said, "in India's northeast, for instance, Hindutva plays well because of public anxiety about illegal migration of Muslims from Bangladesh.

"With the recent improvement of Indo-Pak relations, he (Jaitley) added, Hindu nationalism is now less resonant in New Delhi, but that could change with another cross-border terrorist attack, for instance on the Indian Parliament," the cable, accessed by The Hindu, said.

Jaitley, the Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, whom the cable described as "one of several aspirants to direct the next generation of BJP leadership", said in a statement that the word opportunistic in reference to Hindutva could be the "diplomat's own usage".

He said the cable by the diplomat in 2005 makes a reference to his conversation with him. "The cable reflects my views on cross-border terrorism, illegal infiltration from Bangladesh and the unfair denial of US Visa to the Gujarat Chief Minister (Narendra Modi).

"However, the use of the word "opportunistic" in reference to nationalism or Hindu nationalism is neither my view nor my language. It could be the diplomat's own usage," he said.

Losing no opportunity to corner BJP which is attacking the UPA over Wikileaks, Congress told the BJP that those who live in glass houses should not throw stones at others.

"Chickens are coming to roost, what goes out wrongly hits back like a boomerang. People living in glass houses are taught in this manner that they were to throw stones at others," Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said.

Jaitley, also told Blake that the controversy involving denial of visa to Chief Minister Narendra Modi continues to fester among the party rank and file, who see the action as a "personal attack" on a leader of the party that began the transformation of US-India relations.

Source : Indianexpress

Abdul Kalam, Abdul Kalam death, Abdul Kalam passed way and other similar key words were among the top 20 searches on Google Trends India on Tuesday after a false rumour that the former president had passed away.

Kalam was also one of the top Twitter trends, which made its way to other social networking services.

It was A P J Abdul Kalam's advisor, Dr Hafiz Saleh Muhammad Alladin, who died on Monday night at the age of 80. It seems that some people mistook the news for the former president's death.

The Income Tax Department has issued a notice to Mahindra Satyam, the new brand identity of Satyam Computer Services Ltd, to pay Rs 616.53 crore in taxes, the company said in a stock exchange filing today.

The company said the Central Board of Direct Taxes, under Section 119 of the Income Tax Act, 1961, rejected various petitions filed by the company seeking reliefs for reopening of past assessments for the Assessment Years 2003-04 to 2008-09; determining the actual income based on the findings of investigating agencies; and granting a stay on recovery proceedings for the said assessment years.

"Notice under Section 226(3) has been issued by the Additional Commissioner of Income Tax, Hyderabad, for recovery of Rs 616,53,92,660. The company filed a writ petition before the Hon'ble High Court of Andhra Pradesh, Hyderabad, challenging the said impugned order and seeking stay of further proceedings," the company said in a statement.

Shares of Satyam were being quoted at Rs 66.45 on the BSE in early trade today.

According to a article published by Larry Page, co-founder of Google, in Wired Magazine, hen Google was looking for an experienced CEO to provide "adult supervision" to the company in 2000, their first preference was Steve Jobs.

Google also considered other big names like Intel’s Andy Grove, Intuit’s Scott Cook, Amazon .com’s Jeff Bezos, and others.

Google's venture capitalist John Doerr arranged a meeting with  top CEO's including Steve Jobs and others  with Google’s young co-founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin.  The purpose of this meeting was  an attempt to get the new CEO. Finally, Doerr introduced Eric Schmidt to Google founders and in 2001 Schmidt appointed as the new CEO.

Google under Schmidt grew into the third-largest technology company in the world, Page and Brin came to genuinely appreciate their CEO. Page would later describe hiring Schmidt as brilliant.

With Inputs from Oneindia.com

Sania Mirza and her Russian partner Elena Vesnina have won the women's doubles title at the 2011 BNP Paribas Tennis Open in Indian Wells, defeating eighth-seeded Americans Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Meghann Shaughnessy 6-0, 7-5.

Sania and Vesnina took the first set Saturday in just 24 minutes before the Americans jumped to a quick 3-0 lead in the second. Mattek-Sands and Shaughnessy broke for a second time to go 5-1 up, but the Indian-Russian duo roared back to reel off six games to take the title without dropping a set in the entire tournament.

Sania and Vesnina have become the fourth straight unseeded pair to win the title here. Vesnina and Russian Dinara Safina won here unseeded in 2008.

The other two unseeded pairs to win were Victoria Azarenka and Vera Zvonareva in 2009 and Kveta Peschke and Katarina Srebotnik last year.

Sania has now won 10 doubles titles and Vesnina four. They were teaming up for just the third time in tour-level competition, reaching the quarter-finals at Dubai and Doha before claiming their first title together here.

Billionaire investor Warren Buffett is finally setting up shop in India -- a country where the billionaire investor is yet to make substantial investments. Berkshire India, a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway , has received approval from India's insurance regulator to sell auto insurance products as a corporate agent of Bajaj Allianz General Insurance. And that's not all. Berkshire also has plans to enter the Indian reinsurance market.

The $214-billion company is in talks with a domestic general insurance company for a 26% stake. Indian rules allow only a 26% foreign direct investment (FDI) in the country's insurance sector, with a domestic company holding the majority 74% stake. In its budget proposals in February, the Indian government said it plans to increase the FDI ceiling in insurance to 49% from 26%. Buffett, eager to draw first blood as the industry opens up, clearly wants to have the first mover advantage. The reason is simple: At present, there is only one reinsurer in the domestic segment -- the government-owned General Insurance Corporation.

Previously, London-based Prudential plc has a tie-up with ICICI Bank , AIG is in a joint-venture with conglomerate Tata, ING with Vyasa, and Aviva with Dabur.

However, Buffett might be eyeing the retail market -- the industry which is slated to grow from $392.6 billion in 2011 to $674.4 billion by 2014.

Hunter further said that the recent corruption cases have not dent the confidence of investors in India, adding that "Corruption is certainly not a specialty in which India will win the gold medal."

India is not as corrupt as China and Russia, according to the global credit rating agency Fitch.

The country, however, suffers from excessive regulation and tax laws, which is concern for foreign investors, Fitch Group Managing Director for Corporate Rating Richard Hunter told PTI in an interview.

"We will certainly rank India well below Russia and China when it comes to concerns about corruption. Really big concern about India is regulation and tax treatment," he said.

These comments come at a time when the nation is facing a plethora of corruption cases relating to allocation of 2G spectrum, conduct of Commonwealth Games, allotment of flats in Adarsh Housing Society and Devas-Antrix deal.

However, he said, domestic and foreign investors are concerned about the burdensome regulatory regime in India.

"Corruption is something that does deter investors much more in China. There is respect for Indian legal system," he said.

Hunter said the rating outlook for most Indian companies is stable for the current year.

Source:PTI

Google Venture, Sequoria Capital and Salesforce.com have joined hands to fund $32 million for a Cambridge, Massachusetts-based startup company called HubSpot. The company enhances businesses by providing a market through search engines and social media. It also sells software to small and mid-size businesses that assist with search-engine optimization, website management and blogging. The company has more than 4,000 customers.

The investment covers everything from mobile devices to the environment, range from hundreds of thousands to tens of millions of dollars. The existing partner of HubSpot, General Catalyst Partners, Matrix Partners and Scale Venture Partners has also participated in this financing round.

Google Venture aims to fund around $ 100 million a year into startups. HubSpot will receive only $21.5 million of the total raised. The remaining fund will be used as liquidity to distribute among the existing holders. HubSpot's spokesperson said that in order to get the math to work, some of the existing shareholders had to sell their shares to allow the new investors to get a larger ownership stake.