Amarnath Samiti doing more harm than good, say Jammu residents
NAT7National/Kashmir/Politics/EconomyAmarnath Samiti doing more harm than good, say Jammu residentsJammu, Oct 7 IANS Many people in Jammu have stopped rallying around the Shri Amarnath Sangharsh Samiti, saying protests organised by it have already cost them too much economically and now it is meddling in their social affairs as well."We are a tolerant society, we were asking for restoration of land to Shri Amarnath Shrine Board and not the unwanted tags which have come partly because of the utterances of the Samiti leaders and partly by deliberate misrepresentation of facts," bemoaned Daisy Sharma, a businessman here."My shop remained closed for more than two months, but I had to shell out fees for my children and also pay salaries to my employees, and now I am told that the agreement that the Samiti signed with the government is a watered down version of the first order of land allotment to the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board," he said. In retaliation to Kashmir's boycott of Jammu traders, the Samiti has now said Kashmiri children should be refused admission to educational institutions here. People here say such utterances have only damaged the Samiti's image. The Samiti, a conglomerate of 30 social, religious, political and business organisations, spearheaded over two months the agitation against the cancellation of land allotted for pilgrims to the Amarnath shrine.This led to an economic blockade of the valley and caused a communal divide between Hindu-dominated Jammu and Muslim-dominated Kashmir. But Jammu residents say they are hurt about being dubbed as "Hindu communalists", virtually being clubbed with right wing mobs who are attacking Christians and their churches in Orissa, Karnataka and Kerala. Anil Kumar Padha, a local businessman, could not make it to marriage of his closest friend, Ashraf Malik, in Budgam in the Kashmir valley. "My family did not allow me to go there in the prevailing atmosphere of fear and suspicion between the two regions. So I had to make an excuse for not attending."A majority of Jammu residents believe the Samiti may have done more harm than good to the region. Students here could not appear in all-India entrance examinations and the economy suffered a loss of over Rs.100 billion, says local traders' body chief Rajender Motial. Worst of all, relations between the Jammu region and Kashmir valley in terms of the political, religious and social landscape have hit an all-time low. Rekha Choudhary, head of the political science department in Jammu University, said: "The losses have not only been in terms of economy. What is more worrying is the communal divide and response to separatist calls by Muslims in the Jammu region." She says there was complete loss of faith and trust between the two regions, which is "visible to a great extent between the communities". People are blaming the Samiti's tough stand during the agitation and some incidents of Kashmiri drivers being beaten up for the boycott of Jammu products by Kashmiri traders. So much so that National Conference president Omar Abdullah last week blamed the Samiti and the alleged economic blockade of the valley in the Jammu region for the rise of separatist forces in the Kashmir valley. "The economic blockade injected a new life into the Hurriyat Conference and the separatists," Abdullah declared at a rally of his party workers. "It is time the Samiti saw the writing on the wall. It is not required. It has damaged Jammu's cause and that of the whole state," National Conference's provincial president Ajay Sadhotra told the media. The Jammu Chamber of Commerce and Industry too has asked everyone not to meddle in trade relations between the Jammu region and Kashmir valley. "It would be prudent if the trade is left alone out of the political discourse," chamber president Ram Sahai has said in a statement. This was seen as a rebuff to the Samiti, who had warned the government of dire consequences if Jammu's products were not bought by Kashmiri traders. Ram Sahai has had to hear persistent taunts from his Kashmiri counterparts that his chamber was part of the Samiti that enforced an "economic blockade" of the valley. That was cited as the reason for Kashmiri traders saying "no trade" to Jammu businessmen. --Indo-Asian News Servicebj/pg/sk/jg777 Words*07101155
2008-10-07 02:04:10Dragon Jones heads skills academy
Dragons' Den star Peter Jones is to become head of a skills academy to teach budding entrepreneurs tricks of the trade....
2008-10-06 20:29:04Indian spiders in IUCN Red List
INT59International/WildLifeIndian spiders in IUCN Red ListLondon, Oct 6 IANS Indian tarantulas, hairy and large spiders, are now in the "Red List" of species threatened with extinction, according to a leading global environmental network as it unveiled its latest global study of threatened species. Highly prized by collectors and threatened by international pet trade, tarantulas are also facing habitat loss due to new roads and settlements, according to the report of the International Union for Conservation of Nature IUCN.The report was released at the IUCN World Conservation Congress in Barcelona Monday.The Rameshwaram parachute spider has also been listed as critically endangered as its natural habitat has been almost completely destroyed, the report said. The fishing cat, found in India, China, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Sumatra and Java also moved from vulnerable to endangered due to habitat loss in wetlands.“The new study to assess the world's mammals shows at least 1,141 of the 5,487 mammals on earth are known to be threatened with extinction. At least 76 mammals have become extinct in the last 500 years,” the IUCN said in a statement.However, the report says there are rays of hope as results also show conservation can bring species back from the brink of extinction, with five percent of currently threatened mammals showing signs of recovery.For the first time, all 161 grouper species have been assessed by IUCN, of which 20 are threatened with extinction. The Squaretail Coral Grouper Plectropomus areolatus from the coral reefs of the Indo-Pacific has been listed as vulnerable. The fish is seen as a luxury food and is typically fished unsustainably at its spawning aggregations, a major threat for many grouper species.The assessment of the world's mammals has confirmed an extinction crisis, with almost one in four at risk of disappearing forever, says the report.“Within our lifetime hundreds of species could be lost as a result of our own actions, a frightening sign of what is happening to the ecosystems where they live,” said Julia Marton-Lefèvre, IUCN director general.“We must now set clear targets for the future to reverse this trend to ensure that our enduring legacy is not to wipe out many of our closest relatives.”--Indo-Asian News Servicejk/sk/dg394 Words06102052
2008-10-06 11:00:00TEL AVIV
INT55International/Media/BusinessIsrael seeks new image, hires public relations firmTel Aviv, Oct 6 DPA Israel has hired a British public relations firm to re-market it to the world, and the company is in the final stages of preparing to launch the new image, the Israeli Ha'aretz daily reported Monday. "Our research shows that Israel's brand is essentially the conflict," Ido Aharoni, the foreign ministry official in charge of the program, said. "Even those who recognize that Israel is in the right are not attracted to it, because they see it as a supplier of bad news. The conclusion is that it is more important for Israel to be attractive than to be right," he said. According to the Israeli daily, Fiona Gilmore, the founder of the company Acanchi, hired to come up with the new image, toured Israel last week, as part of her brief to create an image disconnected from the Arab-Israeli conflict and focusing instead on Israel's scientific and cultural achievements. The idea of rebranding Israel first surfaced following the Sep 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre in New York. The Israeli Consulate in New York reasoned that since the war against Islamic terrorism had become global, Israel had an opportunity to escape its image as the main source of conflict with the Islamic world. US experts, hired and paid for by international Jewish donors, carried out extensive research on Israel's image and in late 2005 the Israeli Foreign Ministry decided to make the project an official programme. The contract with Acanchi was signed about six weeks ago, Ha'aretz said. --DPAsy/vt283 Words06101954
2008-10-06 11:01:12'Goa government playing up to special economic zone developers'
ECO6Economy/Politics/National'Goa government playing up to special economic zone developers'Goa, Oct 6 IANS The Goa SEZ Virodhi Manch SVM, a non-political body comprising various social groups and non-governmental organisations opposed to special economic zones SEZ in the state, has accused the state government of helping SEZ developers make a backdoor entry into Goa. SVM convenor Charles Fernandes in a press note issued Sunday said Chief Minister Digambar Kamat's decision to meet SEZ developers at trade and commerce minister Kamal Nath's behest could facilitate the re-entry of SEZ developers. Fernandes was reacting to a press conference Sunday by Goa's lone Rajya Sabha member Shantaram Naik, where he claimed that SEZ developers, at a meeting with Kamal Nath in Delhi, had insisted on being given another plot of land in Goa in lieu of the present SEZ holdings. "There were three SEZ developers present. They ignored Mr Nath's offer for a separate SEZ plot in any other state in India. They want land in Goa as compensation," Naik told the media. Naik further said Kamal Nath had then asked the chief minister to meet the three SEZ developers. A public outcry following the allotment of 3,800,000 square metres of land to seven SEZ developers recently had forced the government to scrap the projects, a move which had met stout resistance from the central government. The state government's move to issue notice to SEZ developers to return the land allotted to them, has resulted in seven SEZ promoters - Meditabh Specialities, Cipla group, Peninsular Pharma Research, Paradigm Logistic and Distributors, Planetview Mercantile, Inox Mercentile, and Maxgrow - approach the Panaji bench of the Bombay High Court in appeal. SVM has already filed police complaints claiming that the process followed to hand over land to the SEZ developers was riddled with fraud. "The SVM has also exposed the malafide intentions and actions of the government of Goa which is only paying lip service to the opposition of the Goans to the menace of SEZs," Fernandes claimed, further demanding that the administration should not enter into any deal with any of the developers who have "committed illegal acts" to get their SEZs approved or notified. --Indo-Asian News Servicemaya/ank/dg384 Words06101529
2008-10-06 06:03:10Mumbai, Oct 6 IANS The Multi Commodity Exchange of India MCX will launch currency futures trading from Tuesday to become the third stock exchange in the country after the National Stock Exchange and the Bombay Stock Exchange to do so.
ECO5EconomyMulti Commodity Exchange to start currency futures TuesdayMumbai, Oct 6 IANS The Multi Commodity Exchange of India MCX will launch currency futures trading from Tuesday to become the third stock exchange in the country after the National Stock Exchange and the Bombay Stock Exchange to do so.Initially, MCX will trade currency futures on dollar-Indian rupee platform and launch more currency pairs subsequently.The minimum contract size of the currency futures will be 1,000. The contracts shall be settled in cash in Indian rupees and each contract will have a 12-month maturity period, an official release said here Monday.The trading timing would be from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. from Monday to Friday.MCX, which has a large number of banks, corporates and brokerage houses as trading members, is expected to provide liquidity for users. Further, MCX is also expected to guarantee settlement of all transactions by eliminating counter-party risk."This segment will enable importers, exporters, investors, corporations and banks to hedge their currency risks at low transaction costs, and with greater transparency and safety," the statement said.Besides large users, currency derivatives will benefit small and medium enterprises and resident Indians engaged in international trade to hedge their risks against fluctuations in currency values. Previously, these participants had to depend on over-the-counter products such as forwards, swaps and options to hedge their currency risks.--Indo-Asian News Servicevb/sj/dg246 Words*06101522
2008-10-06 06:00:00Rupee falls to lowest since early April 2003
In anticipation of more capital outflows with Asian shares falling, the partially convertible rupee in early trade hit 47.45 per dollar, its lowest since April 2003....
2008-10-06 00:32:10Bollywood and movie merchandising - still a long way to go
NAT1National/Business/CinemaBollywood and movie merchandising - still a long way to goBy Jivraj BurmanMumbai, Oct 6 IANS Inspired by Hollywood, the Hindi film industry is beginning to go into film merchandising - introducing dolls, masks, key chains, school bags and T-shirts - and hopes to one day reap millions like in the West.In the US, manufacturers and retailers collectively earn $16 billion annually from Hollywood movie merchandise. According to a Hollywood trade report, the studios also earn close to what their movies fetch from the box office and home entertainment market from their film's merchandise.The success stories are far too many in Hollywood. Director George Lucas earned about $9 billion from merchandising and sequel rights of "Star Wars". Producers of the 'Harry Potter' series have so far collected $11.8 billion from different contracts. Merchandise from the "E.T." fetched filmmaker Steven Spielberg over $1 billion.Though Bollywood has started to realise the potential of movie merchandising now, the revenues it has been able to earn from it are paltry."The Indian market is yet to catch up with movie merchandising. But there is great potential for the movie merchandise business to grow," Saurabh Varma, chief marketing officer of Reliance BIG Pictures, told IANS.Right now all eyes are on "Drona" merchandise brought out by Zapak. These include a combination of games and toys, comprising two sword packs - Drona and Ritz - Magic Busters, Mind Masters, Mystery Shockers and Bully Zapper pack.A series of comics are also being published based on the key characters of "Drona", which stars Abhishek Bachchan and Priyanka Chopra. The first in the series - "The Adventures of Drona" - has already hit the stands. The series are being marketed by Euro Kids."If you look at a Hollywood movie, the revenues are split evenly between theatre ticket sales, home entertainment and merchandise. In India, cinema merchandise at the moment generates nothing. That is going to change with malls and multiplexes and a middle class of hundreds of millions," said Andrew Heffernan of Eros International, the producers of "Drona".In the merchandising sector, Bollywood has had very few successful deals so far. One of them was producer-director Rakesh Roshan's deal with Pantaloons for his 2006 movie "Krrish" - it proved to be fruitful for the maker as well as the retail chain."The range of 'Krrish' merchandise, consisting of dolls, masks, key chains, colouring books, watches, rainwear, school bags and T-shirts evoked good response from children, more so because the movie was a success," said Sanjeev Agrawal, president marketing of Pantaloons.Another example is Farah Khan's tie-up with Shoppers' Stop. The clothing line made most of the mutual benefits by entering into a marketing agreement for the apparel right of her film "Om Shanti Om".But the sale of licensed products of a movie, as Aggarwal said, is directly linked to its box-office performance. He cited Harry Baweja's "Love Story 2050" as a good example.Though Cartoon Network Enterprise had brought out a range of retail products of the movie, the sale dropped after its lacklustre box-office performance across the country.The same happened with "Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal". Reebok had tied up with UTV Motion Pictures to release merchandise based on the film, but the demand dipped when the Arshad Warsi-John Abraham starrer slumped at the box office.But Varma of Reliance BIG Pictures doesn't agree and said: "Sometimes, a movie may be a failure, but some of its components stay in mind and that helps the sale of its merchandise. Like spy gadgets, hovercrafts, interactive robots and the boo doll, which were key features of 'Love Story 2050', sold well even though the movie might not have been a great success."Rajjat A. Barjatya, managing director of Rajshri Media, added: "It is only lately that the marketing of movie merchandise has been done in an organised way with the entry of pan-Indian retail chains. But the problem of piracy still remains."He said that Rajshri Films had brought out a limited range merchandise of their superhit movie "Hum Aapke Hain Kaun", but pirated copies arrived in the market soon, affecting the sale of the original products."The problem, of course, still remains," he rued.Despite the not so encouraging results, merchandising in India is poised to grow. Recently, entertainment, media and communications company Percept announced a 50-50 joint venture with the Future Group. Called Bollywood Retail, the joint venture will invest Rs.500 million initially to sell Bollywood merchandise.--Indo-Asian News Servicejb/ar/mv/ky803 Words**06100813
2008-10-06 00:00:00Iceland moves to shore up economy
Talks are being held in Iceland to persuade the country's trade unions to repatriate a sizeable portion of their pension funds....
2008-10-05 15:49:13Brown promotes influential Indian-origin minister to key position
INT21International/Diaspora/PoliticsBrown promotes influential Indian-origin minister to key positionBy Dipankar De SarkarLondon, Oct 5 IANS British Premier Gordon Brown Sunday promoted Shriti Vadera - an ex-banker of Indian origin said to be among his most trusted colleagues - to a powerful new ministerial post aimed at solidifying his economic team. Baroness Vadera's exact designation was to be announced later, a Downing Street spokeswoman said. However, the Observer newspaper said she has been given “a powerful new role based partly in the Cabinet Office overseeing business and enterprise issues across the government.” Vadera, an influential figure in Brown's government and said to be fanatically loyal to him, is the parliamentary under-secretary of state for business, enterprise and regulatory reform. The ex-UBS banker, who advised Brown closely on recent government rescue measures to bail out failing British banks, will be seen as offering the prime minister an alternative voice on economic policy from that given by his finance ministry headed by Alistair Darling. The new and powerful economic wing of his government is completed by Peter Mandelson, the Blairite European Trade Commissioner brought in as the secretary minister for business, enterprise and regulatory reform. The government changes, announced Friday, usher in what Brown has called “serious people doing serious jobs in serious times.”The British premier has launched a new National Economic Council NEC that will advise on measures to steer the economy through the current global crisis and appointed a series of 'business ambassadors,' including the chairmen of Lloyds TSB, Barclays, Vodafone, Standard Chartered, the London Stock Exchange, Rio Tinto and J Sainsbury Vadera's position is expected to be key in Britain's efforts to not only meet the current financial challenges - described by Brown as a “truly global financial crisis” - but also to prepare the nation for taking up business opportunities as the climate begins to improve in the longer term. It was Vadera, who, on Brown's invitation, briefed the Cabinet on the financial crisis. Vadera, who worked under Brown when he was Chancellor of the Exchequer finance minister, was once described by the Observer newspaper as “the minister Gordon Brown trusts more than any other in his government.” However, the paper added: “In eight years at the Treasury, her reputation for forcefulness went before her. Senior colleagues reacted with dismay when, on occasions, she reduced junior staff to tears. “But the longer she remained there, the more her greatest champion, Gordon Brown, came to admire and rely on her.” --Indo-Asian News Servicedds/dg 450 Words*05101552
2008-10-05 07:01:07
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