The State
government is yet to decide whether it would go ahead with Project Tiger in
Kudremukh National Park area. The project is being opposed in Dakshina Kannada,
Udupi and Chikmagalur districts because of fears that it would lead to eviction
of forest dwellers
Close on
the heels of Prime Minister Narendra Modi announcing the ambitious ‘Clean
India’ mission, the Union Tourism Ministry on Friday said it was working on a
“cleanliness index’’ for cities in the country to encourage the best performers
and, in turn, inspire others to spruce up.
The
Carnatic music world is in a state of shock over the untimely death of Mandolin
U. Shrinivas here on Friday. He was reportedly being treated for liver failure
at the Apollo Hospital here. He had lately received a liver transplant and had
recovered, but a lung infection proved fatal.
Robert Downey Jr. and Judi Dench Mark will be honoured at 2014 BAFTA Los
Angeles Jaguar Britannia Awards, along with Mark Ruffalo, Emma Watson and Mike
Leigh. According to Deadline.com, the awards, which honour the individuals who
have devoted their careers to advancing the entertainment arts, would be hosted
by Rob Brydon on October 30 at the Beverly
The White
House confirmed that U.S. President Barack Obama intends to nominate Richard
Rahul Verma to the post of Ambassador to India, said an official statement here
on Thursday afternoon. If confirmed, Mr. Verma will be the second
Indian-American in a top State Department role directly responsible for
Washington’s diplomatic engagement with India, alongside Nisha Biswal,
Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs.
Lok Sabha
Speaker Sumitra Mahajan called on Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday and
discussed a variety of issues such as bilateral economic engagement, culture,
youth development, clean energy and yoga. They spoke about the historical links
between the two nations and the visits of scholars, traders and historians,
more notably of eminent travellers like Fa Hien and Hiuen Tsang that laid a
deep foundation of people-to-people contact between India and China.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi prepares for his visit to the U.S. next
week and to deliver his first address at the U.N. General Assembly in New York,
he expressed confidence that it was possible for the U.S. and India to develop
a genuinely strategic alliance.
The second Board of Inquiry (BOI) constituted by the Defence Ministry to
probe the feasibility of reusing INS Sindhurakshak has recommended decommissioning of the
kilo-class submarine. In its report, the BOI said “the submarine is not
seaworthy and hence not fit to sail again,” a senior Navy officer privy to the
report said
In a bid to fortify the security of berthed warships, the Navy is set to
adopt “force protection measures” involving the deployment of a cluster of
high-power underwater sensors, diver detection sensors and high-definition sensors
for surveillance — surface and sub-surface — of naval wharfs and jetties.The
high-priority Integrated Underwater Harbour Defence Surveillance System
(IUHDSS) is currently in various stages of implementation around naval quays in
Mumbai, Visakhapatnam, Kochi and Port Blair.
Kerala will have its All
India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS)-like institution as soon as the
State government identifies land for setting up the institution, Union Health
Minister Harsh Vardhan has said
Larry Ellison, CEO of tech giant Oracle, has stepped down from
his post, handing over the reins of the firm he co-founded in 1977 to
executives Safra Catz and Mark Hurd. Mr. Ellison will serve as Executive
Chairman of Oracle’s board as well as Chief Technology Officer.
The Hirotec Group has invested Rs.40 crore in a
new, integrated design and manufacturing facility here. The Japan-based group
makes car doors and exhaust systems.
Financial services firm BNP Paribas, in
collaboration with the World Bank, has launched the first equity index-linked
green bond that will help raise funds for products seeking to mitigate climate
change. The 30-stock equity index, to which the ‘World Bank Green Bond’ is
linked, comprises companies selected on the basis of their corporate
sustainability ratings. Additionally, the bond could have ‘exposure to the
performance of the Ethical Europe Equity Index’.
Puma India on Friday said that it had appointed
Abhishek Ganguly as its new Managing Director, taking over the reins of the
brand that recently launched the Forever Faster campaign. Mr. Abhishek
previously had been spearheading the sales and retail functions for the brand
and had joined Puma right at its inception in 2005 as a founding director, a
company release said. Rajiv Mehta, who was previously managing the reins of
Puma India as the managing director for nine years, earlier announced his exit
from the company. Mr. Rajiv had moved on to pursue his own interests.
Infosys has signed a contract with commercial
real estate developer Skanska Property for leasing its office space for 10
years, the biggest such transaction in Poland this year. The expansion comes in
the wake of Infosys is planning to expand the workforce at Lodz delivery centre
by 500 people. The Bangalore-based firm’s arm Infosys BPO Poland signed the
lease agreement with Skanska Property for over 21,000 sq. m in Infosys Green
Horizon office complex in Lodz city in the European nation. The agreement
covers new lease terms for the area already occupied by Infosys beside an
additional 3,800 sq m of office space.
