Conference combines music with medicine...

The Fort Wayne area is known in some regional circles for its music and its medicine, but not so much for the kind of out-of-the-box thinking that could advance efforts to combine the two for patient treatment or wellness promotion.

That could change at a Sept. 12-13 conference at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne.

The university will be the site of the third-annual international conference organized by the Alliance for Research in Music Medicine. General admission for the conference is $75 and includes dinner.

The alliance is expecting a diverse group of 75 to 100, “but it’s very hard to say,” said Nancy Jackson, director of music therapy at IPFW. “It’s Indiana, and this is very new to Indiana folks. But it started here, so it should come home here.”

The conference’s theme this year is “Music and Medicine: Composing the Science of Healing.” Author and physicist Claude Swanson will keynote the event, kicking it off with a view of quantum physics that will take the audience on a musical journey into the body’s physiology and biochemistry.

An alliance statement on the conference said its presentations and panel discussions will share the latest research on music’s impact on chronic disease, inflammation and new treatment strategies.

Questions and ideas relating to sound and body frequencies will be among the more intriguing topics covered at the conference, Jackson said.

“We know that all matter vibrates. All matter has some sort of frequency to it, and the cells of our body certainly are included in that,” she said.

“With the appropriate technology, we can probably have a computer picture of what those frequencies in the body are. We know lots of pieces and those pieces just have to be brought together.”

Speakers at the conference who aren’t medical doctors all have Ph.D.s. “If you look at the lineup, we have a very diverse group of people, all with very excellent credentials,” Jackson said.

“It’s not about one person or one viewpoint being the authority. We are all bringing our own expertise in to look at our common problems,” she said. “We’re looking at ways we can start to do research together and not have missing pieces in the studies we have done.”

ARIMM was co-founded by Jackson and a local doctor who chairs its board, Angela LaSalle of Fort Wayne Endocrinology.

LaSalle had graduated from IPFW, and when she had the idea for the conference, she contacted Jackson about it because she remembered the university had a music therapy program.

The first ARIMM conference took place at the University of Arizona through contacts LaSalle had developed when she was there for its integrated medicine program. This year, the conference is hosted and co-sponsored and by IPFW’s Music Department.

“We expect some students here and we expect some professionals here. There are people in the community who are very interested,” Jackson said.

“We’re going to have folks who are just intrigued and professionals who really want to get involved in this. We need lots and lots of ideas and viewpoints.”

National Library of Medicine (NLM) at the National Institute of Health (NIH) has accepted Journal of...

National Library of Medicine (NLM) at the National Institute of Health (NIH) has accepted Journal of Visualized Experiments (JoVE) for indexing in the official repositories of the scientific literature MEDLINE and PubMed.

Less than 2 years old, JoVE is a new type of scientific journal that publishes online video-demonstrations of biological experiments as performed in laboratories of leading academic institutions including Harvard, MIT, Stanford and Berkeley. Now it became the first video journal to be indexed by NLM. The decision was made by the NLM advisory committee, Literature Selection Technical Review Committee, which is composed of the authorities in the field of biomedicine, such as researchers, physicians, editors, health science librarians and historians. This committee evaluates the scientific quality of publications and typically approves only 25% of the applications.

Dr. Moshe Pritsker, the CEO of JoVE, emphasized the importance of this decision. “Inclusion in PubMed/MEDLINE is a big milestone for JoVE, and for the scientific publishing in general. It provides the official recognition and "blessing" of the scientific community to the new approaches in science communication. Overall, this decision will encourage biological scientists to publish their experiments using video online to increase efficiency and transparency of their research, which are critical “bottleneck” problems in the life sciences today.”

According to Dr. David Crotty, the Executive Editor of the scientific publication CSH Protocols, “It's exciting to see JoVE accepted into MEDLINE/PubMed. New technologies are allowing scientists to share information in new ways and JoVE is doing groundbreaking work in establishing visual explanations as a legitimate means of scientific publication. Indexing by MEDLINE/PubMed means it will be easier for researchers to find JoVE's video articles, and will hopefully help pave the way for mainstream acceptance of some of these new communication methods.”

Ike Burke, Director for Production at the scientific publisher Annual Reviews, said:
“We think users of our in-depth literature reviews benefit immensely when relevant experimental-protocols can be demonstrated and explained in article-accompanying videos. We’ve sponsored JoVE’s collaboration with our authors in the production of such videos because JoVE offers a superb grasp of the science involved, sensitivity to our authors’ busy schedules, and professional mastery of videographic narrative. We applaud the National Library of Medicine evaluators for extending to JoVE this well-deserved (and indispensable) recognition.”

About Journal of Visualized Experiments (JoVE); www.jove.com
JoVE was founded in October 2006 as the first online video-publication for biological research to increase transparency and efficiency in biological sciences. The JoVE editorial board includes 20 scientists from leading academic institutions including Harvard, Princeton and NIH. JoVE has released 17 monthly issues including over 200 video-protocols on experimental approaches in neuroscience, immunology, developmental biology, microbiology and other fields. To facilitate integration of video into scientific publishing, JoVE has developed an organizational and technological structure to conduct production of scientific videos in research labs in the USA, Europe and Japan.

Herbal medicine all-clear...

AYURVEDIC centres in Bahrain claim their customers have nothing to fear after US researchers found harmful levels of lead, mercury and arsenic in Ayurvedic medicines purchased over the Internet.

Researchers at the Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) discovered one-fifth of US and Indian-manufactured Ayurvedic medicines they purchased online contained enough of the dangerous substances to exceed acceptable standards.

Their findings have been published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) and have raised question marks over the safety of Ayurvedic remedies here.

"Herbs and supplements with high levels of lead, mercury and arsenic should not be available for sale on the Internet or elsewhere," said Dr Robert Saper, who led the study.

"We suggest strictly-enforced, government mandated daily dose limits for toxic metals in all dietary supplements, and requirements that all manufacturers demonstrate compliance through independent third-party testing."

Ayurveda is a form of medicine based on herbal products that originated in India more than 2,000 years ago.

The alternative treatment has recently gained popularity in the Gulf among all nationals, with several centres now operating in Bahrain.

However, Kottakkal Ayurvedic Centre manager S Shekhar told the GDN that such medicines available in Bahrain had to undergo testing by the Health Ministry before they could be sold.

He added that imported Ayurvedic medicines found to contain unacceptable quantities of the metals were shipped back to India.

"We use and sell only those medicines that are allowed in Bahrain and have a valid licence to do so," said Mr Shekhar.

"We get our shipment of medicines from our headquarters in India once every two months.

"These medicines are subjected to various tests by the Health Ministry, like heavy metal residue test, microbiological residue test and pesticide residue test.

"However, since testing each item costs around BD50 to BD55, they are only tested once (for the first time) and later they are only tested randomly.

"But when sometimes it was found (during testing) that the item contained these metals in unacceptable quantities or that certain herbs were not allowed for sale here, they were sent back.

"This is applicable to all alternative medical centres in Bahrain licensed to import medicines, so there's nothing for Bahrain to worry about."

Meanwhile, Coimbatore Herbal Centre senior specialist Dr Rajeev Raj said medicines manufactured using metals were not harmful if they were properly processed.

"Ayurvedic medicines are divided into two major types: herbal only and Rasa Shastra, which is an ancient practice of deliberately combining herbs with metals, minerals and gems," he said.

"If medicines made with lead, mercury and arsenic are properly prepared and administered, they will be safe and therapeutic.

"They need to undergo various thorough processes until they are converted from being inorganic to organic.

"They should be in a form that can be assimilated by the human body, but if otherwise consumed they will prove to be highly poisonous.

"We get our medicines from other centres in Bahrain that are licensed to sell them."

Bahrain Wellness Resort Centre medical officer Dr Janaki Balan admitted that medicines still retaining unacceptable quantities of the metals could lead to serious health problems.

"Our shipment of medicines comes from Kerala once every six months, which we use for treatment and selling," she said.

"If our medicines contain anything at all harmful or not approved by the Bahraini government, we will not be able to use them.

"Medicines that contain lead, mercury or arsenic in quantities that are not acceptable would affect the human organs."

However, despite the comments of his counterparts who appear to support the US study, Madawi Integrated Medical Complex chief executive officer V S Thampi denied that Ayurvedic medicine could be harmful.

He even claimed the report was a politically-motivated attempt by the US to damage India's reputation.

NASA Mars Rover Opportunity Ascends To Level Ground...

NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity has climbed out of the large crater that it had been examining from the inside since last September. The rover's navigation camera captured this view back into the crater just after finishing a 6.8-meter (22-foot) drive that brought Opportunity out onto level ground during the mission's 1,634th Martian day, or sol (Aug. 28, 2008). (Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech)

NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity has climbed out of the large crater that it had been examining from the inside since last September.

"The rover is back on flat ground," an engineer who drives it, Paolo Bellutta of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, announced to the mission's international team of scientists and engineers.

Opportunity used its own entry tracks from nearly a year ago as the path for a drive of 6.8 meters (22 feet) bringing the rover out over the top of the inner slope and through a sand ripple at the lip of Victoria Crater. The exit drive, conducted late Thursday, completed a series of drives covering 50 meters (164 feet) since the rover team decided about a month ago that it had completed its scientific investigations inside the crater.

"We're headed to the next adventure out on the plains of Meridiani," said JPL's John Callas, project manager for Opportunity and its twin Mars rover, Spirit. "We safely got into the crater, we completed our exploration there, and we safely got out. We were concerned that any wheel failure on our aging rover could have left us trapped inside the crater."

The Opportunity mission has focused on Victoria Crater for more than half of the 55 months since the rover landed in the Meridiani Planum region of equatorial Mars. The crater spans about 800 meters (half a mile) in diameter and reveals rock layers that hold clues to environmental conditions of the area through an extended period when the rocks were formed and altered.

The team selected Victoria as the next major destination after Opportunity exited smaller Endurance Crater in late 2004. The ensuing 22-month traverse to Victoria included stopping for studies along the route and escaping from a sand trap. The rover first reached the rim of Victoria in September 2007. For nearly a year, it then explored partway around the rim, checking for the best entry route and examining from above the rock layers exposed in a series of promontories that punctuate the crater perimeter.

Now that Opportunity has finished exploring Victoria Crater and returned to the surrounding plain, the rover team plans to use tools on the robotic arm in coming months to examine an assortment of cobbles -- rocks about fist-size and larger -- that may have been thrown from impacts that dug craters too distant for Opportunity to reach.

Hurricane Gustav: A Brooding Monster Shuts Down Two NASA Facilities...

Hurricane Gustav/NASA's Aqua satellite

NASA satellites continue to monitor both Hurrican Gustav and Tropical Storm Hanna as two NASA centers shut down in advance of Gustav, now a Category 4 hurricane.

Stennis Space Center, which has a rich history of testing rocket engines, is closed, along with its visitor's center, StenniSphere. Stennis Space Center's newest assignment includes propulsion testing on the upper stage of NASA’s Ares I and Ares V rockets and the main stage of the Ares V.

The Michoud Assembly Facility will shut down all operations tonight. Michoud manufactures the Space Shuttle's external tanks. Michoud is in in the eastern sector of New Orleans, LA, and Stennis is located northeast of Slidell, MS.

Both facilities endured damage from Hurricane Katrina. Many Michoud employees lost everything they owned, according to a post-Katrina NASA study. At one point, NASA officials feared that Michoud's damages and loss of operational time would impact the flow of Space Shuttle flights, but the facility bounced back to keep American spaceflights on track.

Stennis employees also suffered greatly from Katrina. The center itself opened as a storm shelter for the area, and cared for more than 8,000 people's medical needs along with serving hundreds of thousands of meals. FEMA and other agencies used Stennis as a staging area for post-Katrina work.

At present, Mission Control at Johnson Space Center, which manages the ongoing International Space Station (ISS) activities, remains open. Officials will continue to monitor the developing weather situation.

Damages to Kennedy Space Center from Tropical Storm Fay may cause a slight mission delay of one to two days for Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission STS-125, officials said. Along with Fay's effects, a problem with a guide pin during the mating of Atlantis to its engines caused a delay of the spaceship's rollout to the launch pad until Tuesday.

As of today, neither tropical storm is expected to affect Florida's East Coast and KSC.However, officials are keeping a close eye on Hanna, whose future storm track could change.

NASA studies extending shuttle to 2015...

NASA's staff will study whether the space shuttle program could continue operating past its scheduled retirement in 2010, according to an internal e-mail sent this week.

The e-mail obtained by The Orlando Sentinel describes NASA Administrator Michael Griffin's order for a study to determine if the shuttle could fly until 2015, when NASA's next-generation space platform is expected to be completed.

"We want to focus on helping bridge the gap of U.S. vehicles traveling to the ISS (International Space Station) as efficiently as possible," wrote John Coggeshall, manager of manifest and schedules at Johnson Space Center in Houston, in the e-mail sent Wednesday.

NASA officials confirmed the e-mail's authenticity, but said it was too soon to say what the study's reach would be.

"The e-mail did go out," spokesman John Yembrick told The Associated Press. "The e-mail is premature. The parameters of the study have not yet been defined."

Griffin has previously opposed extending the shuttle program, which first launched in 1981, because the money and effort required to do so would hurt progress with the new Constellation launch platform for future orbital flights and proposed lunar missions.

The study comes amid economic and political concerns about the end of a program that has brought thousands of jobs and billions in spending over decades to Cape Canaveral, Houston and other places where shuttle components are produced.

Republican presidential candidate John McCain was one of several senators asking NASA to delay ramping down the shuttle program for at least a year. Democratic nominee Barack Obama has called for $2 billion for NASA to extend the shuttle past 2010.

Yembrick said with the letter from McCain and a new presidential administration coming, "we need to be prepped for this question coming."

And some are concerned that the current stopgap plan — buying Russian spacecraft — is unwise considering diplomatic tension with Russia highlighted by conflict in the former Soviet Republic of Georgia.

Griffin has repeatedly raised the issue of how much it would cost to keep the shuttle flying. Last year, he estimated it could cost $4 billion each year past 2010.

"Continuing to fly the Shuttle beyond 2010 does not enhance U.S. human spaceflight capability, but rather delays the time until a new capability exists and increases the total life cycle cost to bring the new capability on line," he told Congress in November.

New dinosaur species found...

Palaeontologists may have found a hitherto undiscovered dinosaur species when they unearthed the remains of a 120 million-year-old giant animal near the village of Morella in eastern Spain.

Jose Miguel Gasulla, the leader of the scientists involved in the excavation in the Valencia region, was hopeful that they will eventually recover most of the remains unearthed of a Sauropod dinosaur linked to the Brachiosaurus family.

Scientists believe the region, known as the Maestrazgo, is rich in dinosaur remains.

"It's a very exciting find, because you rarely come across the bones in their original skeletal shape," Gasulla said. "We want to situate this dinosaur in the context of Sauropod dinosaurs. We have considerable hope that it may be a new species, linked to the Brachiosaurus, and for which we'd have to find a new name," he noted.

According to the report in the Independent, the giant animal must have been up to 25m long and weighed up to 40 tonnes. "We have found vertebrae, ribs and a thigh bone of a very big adult dinosaur from the early Cretaceous period, Gasulla said.

Source: The Times of India

Industrialist K.K. Birla passes away...

Eminent industrialist K.K. Birla passed away on Saturday morning at his Birla Park residence here after a brief illness, patiently borne. Born at Pilani in Rajasthan on November 11, 1918, K.K. Birla was the family patriarch.

A Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament for 18 years, he is survived by three daughters — Nandini Nopany, Sobhana Bhartia and Jyoti Poddar. His wife Manorama Devi passed way on July 29 this year.

Several dignitaries, including West Bengal Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi, leaders from political parties and corporate chiefs paid their tributes to ‘K.K. Babu’ as he was known, at the family residence in South Kolkata, and at the crematorium.

Mr. Gandhi said in a statement: “Krishnakumarji, as he was affectionately known, was an acute observer of national and international events and made important, though discreet, contributions to public policy, including economic policy. I offer my tribute to the memory of an outstanding social engineer, an innovative newspaper-owner and industrialist.”

“Amongst the business, I respected him the most,” said R.P. Goenka. “ He has been the kind of person that legends are made of. His passing way is a loss not only to industry, but the whole nation,” said Sanjiv Goenka, vice-chairman of RPG Enterprises. Birla family scion Kumaramangalam also flew down to attend the funeral, which took place at a South Kolkata crematorium in the afternoon.

Son of Ghanshyam Das Birla, K.K. Birla was considered an industry doyen to whom many corporate chiefs looked up to for guidance. He had an industrial empire which spawned fertilizers, chemicals, heavy engineering, textiles and sugar. He was the chairman of a number of Birla companies, including Chambal Fertilizers, Zuari Industries, Texmaco, Oudh Sugar and Hindustan Times.

He was also the Chancellor of the Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS), Pilani, an educational institution whose standards have often been compared with that of the IITs.

K.K. Birla’s school education was in Kolkata and Delhi while his higher education was between Calcutta University and Punjab University in undivided India. He was awarded D. Litt. by the Pondicherry University.

He founded the K.K. Birla Foundation which gives awards for excellence in arts, philosophy, literature, scientific research and sports. His K.K. Birla Academy of Scientific, Historical and Cultural Research is planning a scientific museum, official sources at Hindustan Times said.

K.K. Birla’s literary achievements are many including the autobiographical ‘Brushes with History.’ Books penned by him include ‘Indira Gandhi: Reminiscences,’ and ‘Partners in Progress - Collection of Selected Speeches and Writings.’ His contributions to the cause of Hindi literature and journalism are considered to be very substantial.

Source: The Hindu

Way to get rid of greenhouse gases...

By identifying a new way to wrestle fluorine from carbon compounds, chemists may now be able to break down certain types of greenhouse gases before they reach the atmosphere.

Some of the most potent manmade greenhouse gases are also among the most difficult chemicals to destroy, and the most persistent once released into the environment. Scientists report in the Science magazine that they have managed to force these gases to chemically react, turning them into more benign compounds. For now, the process offers only a proof of concept.

But the work opens the door to new ways of disposing of these materials. "Our process allows us to take a hydrofluorocarbon and transform it so that it's no longer a greenhouse gas," says study co-author Oleg Ozerov of Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts.

"It's a very hard nut to crack, and they finally got it to work," says Robert Crabtree of Yale University.

Fluorocarbons, compounds in which carbon and fluorine atoms are bonded together, are a wide class of chemicals, with applications ranging from anaesthetics to non-stick pans. Those in a class called hydrofluorocarbons, or HFCs, have been used as refrigeration fluids to replace chlorofluorocarbons, which were implicated in the thinning of the ozone layer.

Ironically, though, HFCs have been found to have a different drawback: They trap heat extremely well. Once released in the atmosphere, HFCs contribute to the greenhouse effect and to global warming.

Getting rid of HFCs is difficult, because carbon-fluorine bonds are notoriously resistant to change, or, chemically speaking, inert. That means HFCs are hard to break up through reactions with other substances. Fluorocarbons do react with some potent acids, but those tend to be expensive or they only work at very high temperatures. But Ozerov and Christos Douvris, now at the University of Colorado at Boulder, have found a way to use acids as reusable catalysts, which don't get consumed while they help HFCs react chemically. This reaction also has the advantage of working at room temperature.

Ozerov and Douvris found out that a powerful acid, 'Lewis acids',when used in organic solvents such as benzene, forces HFCs to react chemically with silanes, silicon-hydrogen compounds, leading the HFCs to swap out their fluorine atoms with hydrogen atoms. The resulting compounds are then easier for chemists to deal with, Ozerov said. Crabtree said the chemical industry may now be able to find economical ways to dispose of existing stockpiles of HFCs, in the expectation that these chemicals will be banned sooner or later.

Meanwhile, Reyes Sierra of the University of Arizona in Tucson has pointed out that the team's approach, while potentially useful, would not help clean up fluorocarbons already in the environment.

Source: The Times of India

'Indian farmers should not fear deal'...

Sections of corporate India as well as farmers are nervous about the impact of the Indo-Asean free trade agreement, talks for which concluded on Thursday at Singapore. Today, Commerce Secretary Gopal K Pillai told Rituparna Bhuyan that there was no reason to worry as India would get enhanced market access to the fast growing Asean economic bloc. Excerpts:

How does India stand to benefit from the Asean FTA?

We will have access to the Asean market, which is fairly large. The 10 Asean nations put together have a high level of per capita income. Now, we will have better access to the market. Within these markets, many joint ventures are already there. We will have access to Chinese, Japanese, South Korean and even Australian and New Zealand markets, with whom Asean already has FTAs.

What are the broad product categories where Indian exports will increase?

There is a fairly large number of items with export potential. Import tariffs on 80 per cent of the goods will be brought down to zero in a phased manner. Steel, some categories of auto components, engineering goods, among others, will have greater access in the Asean market.

Today, trade is roughly $16-17 billion for both sides. there is no doubt that some of our tariffs are slightly higher than Asean tariffs, especially bound rates. From the point of view of applied rates, we will not be cutting down much. By and large, most of the industrial goods in India have import duties in the range of 10-12.5 per cent. Some industrial goods even have tariffs of 7.5 per cent.

Overall, Indian industry is not comfortable with the FTA as it feels Asean goods will swamp the country...

We have had extensive discussions with Indian industry on this issue. Concerns of the industry have been taken into account by the way of putting items in the negative list (which are goods that do not see any duty cuts). In other cases, we have put items in the sensitive tariff list where tariffs will not be slashed completely and be brought down to 5 per cent from 7.5 to 12.4 per cent levels in a phased manner by 2015. Reduction in these items will not be even a percentage point every year.

There are also concerns on diversion of investments to Asean. How do you respond?

It could happen in one or two sectors. But, even without an FTA, Indian firms have been investing in Asean. Large investments have been made in Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand. Moreover, Indian companies are also seen investing in countries with which we do not have FTAs — like China, where over 2,500 Indian firms are present.

What happens in the case of a surge in imports into India from the Asean?

We have a separate chapter on safeguard mechanisms built into the FTA. We have a highly sensitive list of farm goods, where duties will not be abolished, as demanded by Asean. For example, for pepper, import duty will be reduced to 50 per cent in a period of 10 years from 70 per cent.

For tea and coffee, duties will be reduced by about 5 per cent in a 10-year period to 45 per cent from 100 per cent. Duty cut in palm oils is theoretical as, currently, it is already zero. We have said in the next 10 years import duty for crude palm oil will be brought to 37.5 per cent from 80 per cent.

Indian farmers are not comfortable with the proposals...

They should not fear the FTA. As I mentioned, duty on palm oil is already zero and, in effect, the duty levels committed by us does not matter. In tea, coffee and pepper, the duties will be brought down to the committed levels in the next 10 years.

It is not that the reductions will take place next year itself. Moreover, in tea and coffee, we have a replantation scheme worth more than Rs 4,000 crore, which is meant to replace all the bushes. The replanted bushes will be ready for harvest in the next six to seven years. This will make the tea and coffee sector more competitive.

Source: Business Standard

Hyundai to roll out small car with 800cc engine...

South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Co has decided to roll out its proposed small car for the Indian market with an 800cc engine. The company’s strategy is to pitch this model directly against Maruti Suzuki’s popular Maruti 800 model, with a goal to emerge as India’s largest car maker.

Hyundai’s 800cc small car is slated to hit the Indian market in 3-to-4 years. “We are working on a 800cc car which will be similar to the Maruti 800. The car is under joint development in our Indian and Korean R&D facilities. The ultimate desire is to become India’s largest car maker,” Hyundai Motor India MD & CEO H S Lheem told reporters here on Saturday.

Hyundai is the second largest car maker in India and has a capacity to manufacture 6 lakh units.

It had bagged 17% market share in the Indian passenger car market in 2007 with a target to grow it to 22% this year. The company feels the demand for small cars in India, like its proposed 800cc model, will be more than 2 mn units by 2011-12.

“The Indian market for the small car is set to grow further. Our 800cc car will be as per global standards and will also be exported from India. This will be the major differentiation of our 800cc car compared to Maruti 800,” said Mr Lheem. He, however, refused to comment on the proposed pricing of its 800cc car.

But Mr Lheem categorically said the company had no plans to compete against the Tata Motors Nano. “We do not have the capability and expertise to produce a car at Rs one lakh. This is not our focus segment,” he said.

Hyundai also plans to launch the successor of its popular i10 model, the i20 (code-named as PB), by December. “i20 will be positioned as a upper-B segment car and will have at least 25% premium pricing than the i10,” said Mr Lheem. The company’s i10 model is currently sold at a price band of Rs 3.8 lakh to Rs 4.4 lakh (ex-showroom, Kolkata).

The company is also altering its production plan to combat the slowdown in the domestic car market. “In the first half, around 58% of the production was meant for the domestic market and balance 42% for exports. This ratio will change in the second half with the domestic market accounting for 45% of production and balance 55% for export,” Mr Lheem said.

Source: The Economic Times

KK Birla: A titan of Indian industry...

Legendary industrialist Krishna Kumar Birla was a man of many facets, with an equal passion for not just expanding his well-known, and much respected, business empire founded by his father, but also towards philanthropy and education.

Birla was for long considered the force behind the Indian sugar industry, which he joined as a 22-year-old. Besides media and sugar, his empire spans some 40 firms in fertilizers, chemicals, heavy engineering, textiles and shipping.

The companies include Zuari Industries, Chambal Fertlizers, Paradeep Phosphates, Sutlej Industries, Birla Textile Mills, Oudh Sugar Mills, Texmaco, Simon India, India Steamship, ISG Novasoft, and Hindustan Times Media.

In his innings at the helm of Indian industry, he also headed several institutions like the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci), the Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA) and the International Chambers of Commerce (ICC).

"He was an outstanding visionary, a great parliamentarian, a business leader par excellence and a builder of modern educational and scientific institutions," said Ficci president and Rajya Sabha member Rajeev Chandrasekhar.

Born in Pilani in Rajasthan on Oct 12, 1918, he was the person responsible for building and expanding the reputed Birla Institute of Science and Technology - which has often been rated on par with the Indian Institute of Technology.

He was the eldest surviving son of industrialist Ghanshyam Das Birla.

Along with another legendary second-generation industrialist, late JRD. Tata, Birla had co-authored what is called the “Bombay Plan” that outlined the role of businesses and the government in building a nation.

The seeds of corporate social responsibility in India were sown in that document which also spoke about the role of industries, entrepreneurs and policy makers in modernising and developing what was then a backward India.

He also had an equal passion for charity. It is not, therefore, surprising that the landmark Lakshmi Narayan temple in the capital - visited by hundreds every day - is also referred to as Birla Mandir.

A former member of the Rajya Sabha for 18 consecutive years, KK Babu, as he was referred to by his associates and admirers, was also the chair of the Hindustan Times group, which is one of the largest circulated national dailies.

The stylish and well-groomed industrialist, whose suits and shirts came from London's Jermyn Street and Saville Row, also wrote highly readable reminiscences on his many foreign travels with his wife for the Hindustan Times till about a month ago.

His close associates said he just could not bear the separation from his wife Manorama Devi who died in Kolkata July 29. He is survived by daughters Nandini Nupani, Saroj Potddar and Shobhana Bhartia, the vice chair of Hindustan Times.

Birla was so comfortable with change and transformation that even when the country started the ambitious economic liberalisation programme in the early 1990s and dispensed with the regime of licences and quotas, he was fully supportive - unlike many others who even formed an informal anti-liberalisation lobby group called the "Bombay Club".

“There were many business leaders who were worried, who were apprehensive, who were nervous about the changes,” recollected Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who as India's finance minister then was the architect of the reforms programme.

“But Birla understood the importance and the relevance of what we were doing and I valued his support then as I value it now,” Manmohan Singh recalled last December, while releasing Birla's autobiography - “Brushes with History”.

The book, published by Penguin, has vignettes of his relations with some legendary Indians like Mahatma Gandhi, Rajendra Prasad, Madan Mohan Malaviya, Jayaprakash Narayan and Morarji Desai.

Penguin said Birla inherited a legacy in which the creation of wealth, philanthropy and political leadership were all regarded as part of nation-building.

“Spiritual strength and moral values were part of the personal credo.”

ONGC may rope in Rosneft as local partner in Imperial Energy...

ONGC may rope in Rosneft Oil Company of Russia as its local partner in Imperial Energy Corporation Plc in case of a successful acquisition of the UK-based company having substantial oil equity in Russia’s Siberia region, according to sources.

The Indian major has recently submitted a £1.4 billion (approximately Rs 11,400 crore) bid for acquiring Imperial.

ONGC has existing cooperation agreements with the two Russian oil and gas majors Rosneft and Gazprom. Of the two Rosneft, partners ONGC Videsh (OVL) – the overseas arm of ONGC — in the Sakhalin-1 oil and gas project in Russia’s Sakhalin Island in Siberia.

“We may have to include a third partner and inclusion of the existing partners is not ruled out,” a senior ONGC official told Business Line when asked whether ONGC would include a third partner if it acquires Imperial.

He, however, stressed that any such inclusion was not mandatory as per the local laws.

Incidentally sources say lack of Russian support might have resulted in the recent pull out of China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation, commonly known as Sinopec, from the race. Sinopec announcement came barely hours after the submission of bid by ONGC.

Interestingly, ONGC also denies having the support of Russian authorities. When asked ONGC Chairman, Mr R.S. Sharma, denied having received any such support from the Russian Government.

Source: Business Line

KK Birla a noted public figure: says PM...

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said that Krishna Kumar Birla among the greatest industrial leaders in the country. Reacting to the news of Birla’s death, the Prime Minister said not only was Birla a noted industrialist, he was also a well known public figure too. Describing his contribution to the country’s development as immense, Mr Singh said his was a multi-faceted personality.

Former Prime Minister and BJP stalwart Atal Bihari Vajpayee said that with the death of K K Birla, a strong pillar of the Indian industry has fallen.

Corporate India reacted with shock too. ITC chairman Y C Deveshwar said: “We have indeed lost a true son of India, whose tireless efforts have benefited many sections of society. His multi-dimensional contribution as an industrialist, a caring philanthropist, an astute Parliamentarian and an eminent scholar leaves a rich legacy for many to emulate. Dr Birla’s passing away will leave a deep void in the industrial landscape of the nation.”

Sanjiv Goenka, vice-chairman RPG Enterprises, spoke to ET from New York: “He was an inspiration the stuff that legends are made of. In his passing away, Indian industry and India has lost a great leader. He was warm and affectionate. Our entire family has always looked up to him.” Recalling an incident when both happened to be on a Swissair flight Mr Goenka said: “ I went up to Mr K K Birla inside the aircraft to pay my respects. Our conversation drifted towards office hours and time management. I remember him telling me ...never be late for an appointment. Schedule your day well.” He mentioned he had a meticulous system of scheduling his day. “I have tried to follow his advice on this,” Mr Goenka said.

Sanjiv’s father, Rama Prasad Goenka who was in Puri on the day, said : “Among businessmen, I respected him the most.”
Commenting on Mr Birla’s demise, R S Lodha said: “It is great loss to Indian industry.” Sanjay Budhia Indian Chamber of Commerce president : “He was an asset and it is a great national loss.”

Meanwhile, industry associations have expressed their condolences on the death of K K Birla. A former member of the Rajya Sabha, Mr Birla was also Ficci president from 1974-75. “He was an outstanding visionary, a great Parliamentarian, a business leader par excellence, and the builder of modern educational and scientific institutions,” said Ficci president Rajeev Chandrasekhar.

“A leading industrialist and an eminent member of society, Dr K K Birla’s demise is a great loss to India and Indian industry,” said CII president K V Kamath. Assocham president Sajjan Jindal said that Dr Birla was a great visionary who foresaw things much before of times and it is because of this reason, he remained a successful corporate who contributed a great deal towards promoting the cause of society.

Source: The Economic Times

Under court pressure, Bengal mulls highway action...

The West Bengal government is thinking of taking action to restore law and order in the state, especially outside the Tata Motors’ plant at Singur, commerce & industries minister Nirupam Sen said on Saturday, referring to the traffic disruption caused by the Trinamool Congress blockade of Durgapur Expressway outside the plant. “We are now thinking of action,” Sen said. “The high court has given a directive to ensure free traffic on the highway but they (the agitators) are defying it, so the government will have to take action to maintain law and order in the state.” Sen was talking to reporters after addressing a conference of a bank union. On Friday, a Calcutta high court judge had directed the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to ensure free movement of vehicles on the expressway, part of National Highway 2, on which Trinamool supporters are squatting since last Sunday to press their demand for the return of 400 acres to farmers who do not wish to give up their land for the factory.

“I really criticise the agitators’ act of threatening the workers of the Nano plant, since we were told that they would go for a peaceful movement and not disrupt work,” Sen said.

“But they not only stopped the workers from joining work but forced the engineers who came from other countries to go back. This is very shameful for us since it lowered the image of the state as well as the country,” said Sen.

Sen said the government has neither flouted the land acquisition Act while acquiring land from farmers in Singur for the Nano plant, nor will it disobey the law by returning the land to the farmers.

“According to a Supreme court directive, acquired land cannot be returned to owners. Instead it has to be used for the public interest. And, if in any case, it cannot be used for the public interest, then the land has to be auctioned. But giving the land back to the farmers is not possible,” he said.

Sen said only 1,200 farmers out of a total of 10,000 have not accepted the compensation package, while the rest have gladly accepted it.

“I cannot do injustice to the farmers who have given their land for the Nano plant. If I consider the interest of 1200 farmers then I have to take an unfair decision that can harm the interest of 8,800 farmers. So I cannot return land. But, the state government is always open for negotiation. We can discuss how the package can be made more beneficial for the farmers by ensuring them employment,” said Sen.

Postcard From Mars...

Phoenix’s mission on Mars is coming to an end. It actually surpassed the 90-day mark of its initial mission and its two solar arrays are no longer able to provide sufficient energy because of waning sunlight.

Phoenix’s original mission was to hunt for water ice buried beneath the barren arctic plains of Mars. But now the Martian days are getting colder and the sun is on the verge of dipping completely below the horizon for the first time since Phoenix landed in May.

Phoenix landed in the northern Vastitas Borealis region of Mars on May 25 and began scouting for water ice with the help of a shovel-tipped robotic arm and a science tool kit that included eight small ovens and a wet chemistry lab with four beakers, each the size of a teacup. The mission was successful and now we have the first photos to prove that.

"As we near what we originally expected to be the full length of the mission, we are all thrilled with how well the mission is going," Phoenix Project Manager Barry Goldstein of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory said in a press release. The Phoenix mission has accomplished its goals: chemically analyzing Martian water for the very first time after having made a perfect landing in the northern polar region of Mars.

Moreover among their newly born curiosities, the Phoenix science team is trying to answer whether the northern region of Mars could have been a habitable zone.

Because Phoenix can still function with lower energy as well, NASA announced on July 31 that the mission would continue operations through Sept. 30.

Chew gum to reduce stress...

Chewing gum was found to help relieve anxiety, improve alertness and reduce stress among individuals, according to a new study.

The study, led by Andrew Scholey, professor of Behavioural and Brain Sciences, Swinburne University, Australia, was done on the Defined Intensity Stressor Simulation (DISS), a multi-tasking platform which reliably induces stress and also includes performance measures, while chewing and not chewing gum.

While chewing gum, participants reported lower levels of anxiety. They showed a reduction in anxiety as compared to non-gum chewers by nearly 17% during mild stress and nearly 10% in moderate stress.

Participants experienced greater levels of alertness when they chewed gum. The improvement in alertness over non-gum chewers was nearly 19% during mild stress and eight per cent in moderate stress.

Stress levels were also lower. Levels of salivary cortisol (a physiological stress marker) in gum chewers were lower than those of non-gum chewers by 16% during mild stress and nearly 12% in moderate stress.

Chewing gum resulted in a significant improvement in overall performance on multi-tasking activities. Both gum-chewers and non-chewers showed improvement from their baseline scores.

However, chewing gum improved mean performance scores over non-gum chewers by 67% during moderate stress and 109% in mild stress.

Microsoft's IE8 Takes The Stage...

Microsoft released the second beta version of its Internet Explorer 8 which targets the general public and the browser is now available for download.

The first beta version was opened only for developers and after several updates and fixes, the company decided that it was time for its product to receive a wider audience.

The new IE 8 appears stable and noticeably faster than its predecessor, the IE 7, and among its new features and updates users will notice several improvements such as the accelerators, which are designed to help users significantly speed up their activities of searching for a street address, a definition or a translation; the visual search will also prove to be of great help for users looking for certain items on eBay, Wikipedia, Google or YouTube, as the application provides results and pictures from the Web sites right through the browser once a user starts typing into the IE8 search box.

Another important feature is the InPrivate option, which does not memorize any visited pages in the user’s history list, doesn’t keep cookies and also does not store auto-complete information.

Microsoft explained that the feature was not designed to be a ’porn-mode,’ as the media called it, but rather a useful tool for moments like searching for a present without ruining the surprise.

The new Internet Explorer 8 is exactly what Microsoft needed in its battle with Mozilla’s recently launched Firefox 3.0. Some of the new features included by the company are similar to its rival’s offer, but in the end it all comes down to what is best for the customer, right?

Dubious Steve Jobs Email Claims iPhone Tethering Talks with AT&T...

An iPhone user alleges that he wrote Steve Jobs, pointing out that AT&T offers data plans for BlackBerry that include tethering for an additional $30 per month, but does not offer a tethering plan for the iPhone, which seems "ludicrous."

Allegedly, Steve Jobs replied:

We agree, and are discussing it with ATT.

Steve

Sent from my iPhone

The news, reported by Gizmodo, has rumor status and has not been confirmed by Apple. Either way, paying an additional $30 for tethering to the already outrageously expensive iPhone plan is also ludicrous. But caught in between two mega-greedy companies, Apple and AT&T, it will probably happen sometime soon. Prepare for the $200 iPhone plan, with unlimited tethering!

Netshare, a great third-party application for iPhone and iPhone 3G, was up on Apple's AppStore, then taken down, then put back on, then finally it has been taken off indefinitely in early August. Nullriver's $9.99 NetShare software enabled iPhone users to share their gadget's wireless Internet connection with a computer. Those lucky enough to snatch it reported it worked great.

However, it appears that the application conflicted with AT&T's iPhone Terms and Conditions, which allege that one cannot use the Data Service sessions by applications that tether the Internet connection to a computer "or other equipment for any purpose."

What now? Nullriver doesn't have the application available for download from its website, but resourceful iPhone users can find the application on the Internet and, with the help of a jailbreaking tool, they can run it on their iPhones.

WMO expects 'normal' ozone hole over Antarctica in 2008...

The shear face of the massive B-15A iceberg

The World Meteorological Organisation said Friday it expects the ozone hole over Antarctica to be "normal" this year, two years after it reached record size.

"Looking at the preliminary data so far, it looks as if the Antarctica ozone hole of 2008 in size and severity will be something in-between the record 2006 and the much weaker one in 2007," WMO ozone expert Geir Braathen told journalists.

"We expect an 'average' or 'normal' ozone hole," he said.

The hole in the layer over the Antarctic was discovered in the 1980s. It regularly tends to form in August before it fills again in mid-December, but the size it reaches is dependent on weather conditions.

Braathen said there is still more than enough chlorine and bromine in the atmosphere to cause complete ozone destruction in a certain height region (an altitude of 14-20 kilometres, or 9-12 miles).

Stratospheric ozone provides a natural protective filter against harmful ultra-violet rays from the sun, which can cause sunburn, cataracts and skin cancer and damage vegetation.

Its depletion is caused by extreme cold temperatures at high altitude and a particular type of pollution, from chemicals often used in refrigeration, some plastic foams, or aerosol sprays, which have accumulated in the atmosphere.

Most of the chemicals, chloroflurocarbons (CFCs), are being phased out under the 1987 Montreal Protocol, but they linger in the atmosphere for many years.

Group discovers large threatened monkey populations in Cambodia...

There are "surprisingly large" populations of two globally threatened monkey species in a protected area in Cambodia, a conservation group said Friday.

The US-based Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) counted 42,000 black-shanked douc langurs and 2,500 yellow-cheeked crested gibbons in a study of Cambodia's Seima Biodiversity Conservation Area, the group said.

"At present all evidence does suggest that Cambodia has the largest populations in the world of both the black-shanked douc and the yellow-cheeked crested gibbon," Edward Pollard, a WCS scientist who worked on the census in the northeastern protected area, told AFP.

The two populations started to recover in 2002 when the Cambodian government established the Seima conservation area, and numbers have remained stable since 2005, said WCS in a statement.

Before the recent discovery, the largest known populations were believed to be in adjacent Vietnam, where black-shanked douc langurs and yellow-cheeked crested gibbons hover at 600 and 200 respectively, WCS said.

"The total population of the two species remains unknown," the organisation said.

WCS attributed the Cambodian monkey boon to several factors, including successful management of the area, cessation of logging activities and a nationwide gun confiscation programme implemented in the 1990s.

However the group warned the protected area is still at risk from growing plantations and commercial mining operations.

Microsoft: No more Windows Live Mail crashes with IE8 Beta 2...

Microsoft Corp. today said that it made a mistake when it tagged one of its own programs as incompatible with Internet Explorer 8 Beta 2, the browser preview it unveiled Wednesday.

In the release notes that accompanied IE8 Beta 2, Microsoft initially listed Windows Live Mail as problematic on PCs running the new browser. "If you install Internet Explorer 8 Beta 2, Windows Live Mail will crash when you create or reply to an e-mail message," Microsoft warned in the release notes.

Windows Live Mail, formerly Windows Live Desktop, is the desktop mail client meant to replace Outlook Express and Windows Mail. It is different from the similarly named Windows Live Hotmail, which is the nameplate for Microsoft's Web-based e-mail service.

"This was actually an inaccuracy on our end that has since been fixed," said a Microsoft spokeswoman today via e-mail. "Live Mail will work just fine for IE8 Beta 2 users."

The release notes have since been modified to read: "Internet Explorer 8 Beta 2 is compatible with Windows Live Mail."

Computerworld confirmed that Windows Live Mail did not crash when it runs on a Windows XP system equipped with IE8 Beta 2.

The other incompatibility warnings in the release notes are, however, correct, said the spokeswoman. Among the problems:

• Hotmail, Microsoft's online e-mail service. Apparently, IE8 Beta 2 will not always completely log off Hotmail after the user clicks the "Sign out" button, leaving the account active and making it possible for others using that computer to view the account's messages and use it to send mail. "To make sure that Internet Explorer logs off Hotmail, click the Hotmail Sign-In link after you log off Hotmail," Microsoft recommended in the release notes.
• Netflix, the DVD subscription mail service. Users with IE8 Beta 2 cannot view Netflix's "On Demand" movies.
• Skype, the popular voice-over-IP application. "IE8 Beta 2 displays a compatibility warning when certain versions of the Skype add-in are installed," said Microsoft. "When you disable this add-in, the main functionality of the Skype product is unaffected." Version 2.2.0.193 and later of the Skype add-in are compatible.

Microsoft has also warned potential IE8 Beta 2 users running Windows XP Service Pack 3 that they won't be able to uninstall either the service pack or IE8 under some circumstances.

World Phone introduces cable broadband internet at Rs95 per month news...

Category ''A'' internet service provider World Phone Internet Services Pvt. Ltd, today said it had enetered into cable broadband internet service for Delhi and the National Capital Region at a low tariff of Rs95 per month.

''We hope that with this price tag and the quality of service we will be able to garner at least 5,000 subscriber in the first three months,'' said Aditya Ahluwalia, chairman, World Phone Internet Services Pvt. Ltd. ''Lower monthly commitment would be a strong and bold step by World Phone for enhancing broadband penetration in masses,'' he further added.

Ahluwalia disclosed that World Phone had entered into agreement with the television cable operators across Delhi and NCR for providing this service. Customers subscribing to World Phone's new monthly internet service tariff of Rs95 will get a speed of up to 256kbps with a 200MB data download limit.

As of now the services would be available in select areas only. After Delhi, World Phone plan to launch broadband in Mumbai, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad and Kolkata in coming months.

Ahluwalia also said World Phone had other plans like unlimited plan, hourly plan and data limit based plan to suit different requirements of internet users.

World Phone will also start the concept of offering pre-paid service, using recharge vouchers from the cable operator.

This price band at its lowest rates is not the first time that the company has broken trends of high charges. Last year, World Phone became the first Indian internet service provider to announce the lowest possible tariff for its international call rates to USA, UK, Australia and Canada.

''World Phone Internet services private Limited has ushered a new era in communications for India. We offer a simple and dependable technology that will never let our subscriber down. Backed by constant innovations and a 24x7 customer support, a World Phone connection will ensure the user is connected to the world at all times'' added Ahluwalia.

ntel showcases prototypes of Atom-based devices...

Indian consumers could look forward to Internet-centric desktop devices, that would support basic computing such as Word and Excel, e-mails, casual gaming and Net capabilities, at a price point starting at Rs 5,000 over the coming months. Chip-maker Intel which launched its smallest processor ‘Atom’ earlier this year, showcased on Thursday prototypes of such affordable devices.

“The prototypes have been assembled by the Genuine Intel Dealers (GIDs), but going forward such Internet-centric desktop versions can be made available at price point starting from Rs 5,000, leveraging existing display devices and by adding keyboard and mouse,” Mr Prakash Bagri, Director Marketing, Intel, South Asia, said.

At present, an assembled unbranded entry-level personal computer is priced at over Rs 12,000-13,000. In 2005, HCL Infosystems had launched a fully functional PC for Rs 9,990 that supported applications such as word processor, spreadsheet, presentations, Web browsers, e-mail and video conferencing. On similar lines, Xenitis also has PCs below Rs 10,000 range.

However, the new Atom processor is purpose-built for ‘Nettops’ and ‘Netbooks’, a new category of simple and affordable devices for the Internet. OEM vendors currently marketing Intel Atom-based Nettops are HCL, Wipro and Zenith – HCL’s Neutron desktop is priced at Rs 16,666. In addition, Nettop models have been launched by its channel partners such as Maxtone, Vardhaman and Intex. Netbooks are today available from HCL, Wipro, Acer and Asus. Others such as Lenovo and LG are expected to launch them during Diwali.

Intel also announced the launch of an industry-wide movement “Connected Indians” where Government, industry associations and private enterprises have come together for a common cause of connecting a billion Indians. Supporting the initiative are industry-wide alliances.

NIIT alliance

The Intel-NIIT alliance would see NIIT lending support to the movement through its reach to proliferate the benefits of Internet education to citizens through a special course on Internet education and PC fundamentals which would be made accessible at NIIT centres across the country. In addition, Intel and BSNL have announced a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which would jointly propagate broadband Internet across the country along with wireless solution such as WiMax.

Source: Business Line

Apple founder reads his own obit...

Cyberspace today was abuzz with reports that prominent newswire Bloomberg mistakenly published Steve Jobs’ obituary — making the iconic Apple chief probably one of the few men to read his own obit.

The gaffe reportedly occurred during a routine update of Jobs’ biography by the news service’s obits department. Newspapers and newswires have obits written in advance when it comes to prominent figures.

The story detailing the death of the Cupertino, California-based Apple founder, who is very much alive, appeared for a few seconds after a reporter had updated it, according to Bloomberg.

The incomplete obit was distinctly marked “Hold for release — Do not use,” the reports said.

Following is the opening paragraph as it appeared on the Bloomberg wire: “Steve Jobs, who helped make personal computers as easy to use as telephones, changed the way animated films are made, persuaded consumers to tune into digital music and refashioned the mobile phone, has XXXX. He was TK. Jobs XXXX, TK said XXXXX.”

Bloomberg later published a note acknowledging the story’s retraction on its wire. “An incomplete story referencing Apple Inc was inadvertently published by Bloomberg News at 4:27 pm New York time today,” the message read. “The item was never meant for publication and has been retracted.”

The Apple stock was unaffected since the story was pulled out soon. However, in Jobs’ case, the timing could not have been worse. He had previously battled pancreatic cancer, raising inevitable concerns over his health on Wall Street. Will, and can, Apple sue for a “premature obit”?

Singur: Stir forces Nano shutdown...

Is it the end of the road for the Tatas at Singur? On Friday, the company management decided to evacuate all its manpower from the Nano auto plant. None of the 800-odd engineers and executives, none of the workers, reported for work, ostensibly in light of Trinamool leader Mamata Banerjee-led agitators' threat to physically prevent Tata employees from entering the plant.

Company sources, however, said Tata chairman Ratan Tata and his top aides were set to make a "final assessment" by next week on whether the time had come to "walk the talk" and carry out the threat of pulling out from West Bengal.

In the same breath, though, the sources said that it would be "premature" to therefore assume that the extreme measure would be taken.

Clearly, the Tatas were on edge in the face of daily threats and intimidation by the agitators. It appears that Thursday's threat of the agitators to physically prevent workers from entering the plant has triggered the company's decision to withdraw all its officers and workers from the plant and shut it down for now.

The West Bengal government appeared to be running out of ideas on how to bring Mamata to the negotiating table. It has already said that it was prepared to discuss all her demands, but the agitation in front of the Nano plant, that is increasingly going out of her control and taking a violent turn, should be called off.

Reacting to the road blockade on NH 2 that runs in front of the plant, the Calcutta High Court directed the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to ensure free movement of traffic on the highway. The police has also filed three cases against the agitators for obstructing Tata employees in the last two days.

Mamata reacted to the court directive saying that she was not going to call off her agitation. But at the same time, she betrayed nervousness at her losing control over the agitation. Reacting to rising threats to Tata employees, she said, "There are many organizations here. We cannot take responsibility for the action of others."

CPM West Bengal boss Biman Bose said Mamata had gone back on her promise of conducting her agitation "in a Gandhian manner, without threats or intimidation." He said engineers from Japan, Korea and Singapore were being terrorized. "They are guests of our country," he said. He warned if the Tatas pulled out of West Bengal, "it will be a disaster for the state's economy."

Sensing that things have gone too far and Tatas might, indeed, pull out, top industry leaders — including Sunil Mittal, Venu Srinivasan, C K Birla, Jamshyd Godrej and K V Kamath — came to the Tatas' support and said that if the group withdrew from West Bengal, it would be a huge setback for industrial investments and development of the country.

The Central government seemed undecided on whether it had a role in breaking the deadlock. While industry minister Kamal Nath said the Centre could find a solution to the Singur issue, science and technology minister Kapil Sibal said, "There is no role for the central government...it is for the state government to decide."

Source: The Times Of India