Friday 31 March 2017

PM Modi To Address 10,000 Programmers Today-Smart India Hackathon 2017

Can you imagine an other Prime Minister in the world participating in an event like this?

PM Modi To Address 10,000 Programmers Today-The PM is expected to address the students through videoconference at 10 pm on Saturday. The PM will take time out from his rigorous fasting and hectic schedule to address some of India's sharpest young tech brains and speak on a range of issues from diplomacy to infrastructure to technology and spirituality, officials said.  Online training has been given to the participating students by nearly 2,100 mentors appointed to guide the students.

Smart India Hackathon is the Digital India, Start-up India and Make in India campaigns, which need a large skilled and innovative workforce, the official said. 
Smart India Hackathon 2017-The 36-hour event finale will be held at 26 locations in the country. The program focuses on solving problems of social importance. Groups will sit locked in to find digital solutions for problems.

Giving another push to his Digital India initiative, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to address what is being dubbed as the
world's largest hackathon today via video conferencing.

10,000 programmers will compete in the 36-hour event finale which is being held at 26 locations in the country. The program focuses on solving problems of social importance. 29 ministries and government departments have identified 598 problems, the initial response for which came from over 7,500 teams of approximately 42,000 students.

The Grand Finale of Smart India Hackathon will start at 8 am today and will go in till 8 pm on April 2. 1,266 teams of 10,000 participants from 28 states have been shortlisted for the finale. For 36 hours, the selected groups will sit locked in and find digital solutions for the problem statements by creating software or mobile apps.

The end products will then be evaluated by judges from the respective ministry and industry experts, and the top three teams with the best solutions will be awarded Rs. 1 lakh, Rs 75,000 and Rs 50,000. The winners will also form the Community of Innovative Minds.

The awarded software will then be used by the relevant ministry or department to improve their governance systems, with suitable upgrades if necessary.

In the run up to the finale, online training was given to students by over 2,000 mentors.

"Digital India, Start-up India and Make in India campaigns which need skilled and innovative workforce are the starting point of the Smart India Hackathon," a senior official of the IT Ministry said.

The IT industry especially M/S i4C, Persistent Systems along with NASSCOM have led the effort.

As per statistics of World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), India registers 40 patents per million population. This indicates that a lot more can be done in the field of innovation.

Government sources say Smart India Hackathon is an effort to improve innovation by encouraging students to apply knowledge to real-life situations and find innovative solutions

PM Modi to dedicate India’s longest road tunnel on April 2

PM Modi to dedicate India’s longest road tunnel on April 2
India's longest highway tunnel at Chenani-Nashri, between Udhampur and Ramban in Jammu and Kashmir is all set to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 2.

The tunnel on NH-44 which connects Jammu with Srinagar, will reduce travel time between the two cities by upto two hours. It achieves a distance-reduction of 31 kilometres, bypassing snow-bound upper reaches. The estimated daily fuel savings are to the tune of Rs. 27 lakhs.

Besides avoiding large scale deforestation and tree-cutting, the tunnel will provide a safe, all-weather route to commuters travelling from Jammu and Udhampur, to Ramban, Banihal and Srinagar.

The tunnel is equipped with world-class security systems, and is expected to boost tourism and economic activities in the State of Jammu and Kashmir.

Key Features of the tunnel

• It is a single-tube bi-directional tunnel, with a 9.35 metre carriageway, and a vertical clearance of 5 metres.

• There is also a parallel escape tunnel, with “Cross Passages” connecting to the main tunnel at intervals of 300 metres.

• It also has smart features such as an Integrated Traffic Control System; Surveillance, Ventilation and Broadcast Systems; Fire Fighting System; and SOS call-boxes at every 150 metres.

• The project has been completed at a cost of over Rs. 2500 crore. (ANI)





How India's Longest Road Tunnel Saw the Light of Day
Source http://www.news18.com/news/india/how-indias-longest-road-tunnel-saw-the-light-of-day-1366385.html
Srinagar: India's longest and most modern road tunnel, to be unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday, could not have seen the light of day had not a young dreamy-eyed local builder chipped in.

Imran Beigh, a 36-year-old Jammu-based budding infrastructure businessman, and his team built half of the 9.2-km Nashri tunnel on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway in a short span of two years.

While services of 20 other construction companies were utilised to make the other half, Beigh could do the remaining in lesser time.

His company set off on the tough mission hours after he got a go-ahead from the contract assigning company, named ITNS - Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS) Ltd.

The ITNS had to part ways with Lighton Contractors — an Australian company which originally got the contract to construct the tunnel — over some issues.

Beigh, who heads the Beigh Construction Company (BCC), took over from Lighton at the start of 2015 and never looked back.


An eye on the stiff timeline, he set off to finish the job in a short time.

“I was delighted. A super opportunity had come knocking my door. I had little experience then, had done a small portion of Banihal railway tunnel and here I was looking at a god sent opportunity,” he said.

He started with a single boring machine and a few dozen construction workers that included a small team of engineers.

Over a period of two years, he ended up recruiting 1,300 people, 95 percent of them locals, and expanding the fleet of small and big machines to 150.

“I got a huge fleet of machines now. A boring machine called boomer costs more than Rs 4 crore and we have five at present besides the pavers, high pressure concrete sprays. We also boast of engineers who have world-class expertise,” he said.


Beigh's men were initially tasked with working on 4.5-km tunnel and then the lining works —packing, fixing and bolstering the tunnel arch with iron grille, steel and cement.

“We took the first blast at North portal on January 7, 2015 and two weeks later from the South portal. Seeing the excavation work, we were subsequently allotted the contract for the lining works,” says Shifak Syed, business developer for BCC.

“For that, we joined hands with a Turkish company. The purpose was to give best exposure to put workforce especially the engineers and technical crew,” adds Beigh.

Beigh ran a hospitality business in Australia after completing his higher studies. Sensing there was potential in infrastructure building in Jammu and Kashmir, he shifted to Jammu and set up the construction company. Success followed.

From an asset base of a crore to a turnover of Rs 230 crore in the last three years, the company has gone from strength to strength.

“We are the only company in the state to dig tunnels and we are growing. We have bagged a contract for doing a 44-km stretch highway in Maharashtra. It is called Amravati-Chickli project,” Beigh told CNN-News18.

The 13-metre wide tunnel will cut the distance of strategic Srinagar-Jammu National Highway by 30 km. It will bypass the snow-laden Patnitop pass and the mudslide prone stretch near Nashri and save the commuters from the pain of going through a two-hour tiring, risky and circuitous drive.


Built at a cost of Rs 3,720 crore, the tunnel will mark the country's debut in adopting the integrated tunnel control system (ITCS).

The ITCS, enjoyed by a few western counties, will ensure automatic control of tunnel lighting, ventilation, communication, fire control and vehicle monitoring.

Parallel to the main one, a smaller diameter escape tunnel for the evacuation of commuters has been built for the safety of passengers.

The two tubes of the tunnel are internally connected through 29 cross-passages (each after a gap of 300 meters) and the escape tunnel will be used exclusively by pedestrians.

There are two ducts in the tunnel — one for fresh air and another for letting out the polluted air. There are CCTVs, fire-fighting equipment and communication systems installed along the route.

A control room will monitor the movement of the vehicles and come to immediate rescue in case of emergency.

There is a proposal to construct more tunnels on the highway to make the route dependable especially during the winters and rainy season when the highway breaks often.

If given a chance, Beigh says the highway can get shorter, reliable and open in sun, rain and snow.

“No dream is too big,” he says, invoking the late APJ Abdul Kalam.

Monday 27 March 2017

In UP, BJP won 17 seats out of 20 where VVPAT machines were installed with EVM

In UP, BJP won 17 seats out of 20 where VVPAT machines were installed with EVM

A quick look at VVPAT enabled EVM constituency results show that there is no truth to allegations of EVM rigging
Source - https://www.pgurus.com/bjp-won-17-seats-20-vvpat-machines-installed-evm/By Team PGurus - March 27, 2017

Results in VVPAT enabled EVM seats prove no rigging. Conspiracy theories of opposition parties fall flat about the possibility of Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) rigging in BJP’s stunning victory in Uttar Pradesh.

In the Assembly elections, the Election Commission installed Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) EVMs in 20 constituencies. BJP won 17 seats in these constituencies and Samajwadi Party got three.

Maywati’s Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) which made all sorts of allegations of EVM rigging got nothing.

A sobering moment for Political parties too as they should realize that with the advent of Social Media, the electorate is well informed of the slant being published in print and television medium.

The 20 constituencies where VVPAT enabled EVMs were installed are: Agra Cantt, Agra South, Aligarh, Allahabad North, Allahabad South, Arya Nagar, Ayodhya, Bareilly, Ghaziabad, Gorakhpur Urban, Govind Nagar, Jhansi Nagar, Lucknow East, Lucknow North, Lucknow West, Meerut, Moradabad Nagar, Saharanpur Nagar, Varanasi Cantt and Varanasi North.

Among these 20 constituencies, Samajwadi Party won only Arya Nagar, Meerut and Saharanpur Nagar.

This clearly shows the that entire Uttar Pradesh was on a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) wave and certain sections in media, especially Delhi – Noida centric obviously for other considerations hyped the Samajwadi – Congress alliance.

Most of the media houses blessed by Samajwadi Party had land allotted to them at cheap prices in Noida and Lucknow and most of them literally campaigned by publishing typical paid news for facilitating victory of Akhilesh Yadav, ignoring the basic fact that his party was literally split after founder and father Mulayam Singh Yadav had abandoned the electoral fray. The paid media ignored the surge of BJP wave across the state and like Cheer Girls jumped for Akhilesh.
A sobering moment for Political parties too as they should realize that with the advent of Social Media, the electorate is well informed of the slant being published in print and television medium. Will the parties now realize that they have to earn the respect of the people they serve?

Source - https://www.pgurus.com/bjp-won-17-seats-20-vvpat-machines-installed-evm/By Team PGurus - March 27, 2017

Sunday 26 March 2017

British Parliament condemns Pakistani announcement of Gilgit Baltistan as its 5th Frontier

British Parliament passes motion condemning Pakistani announcement of declaring Gilgit Baltistan as its 5th Frontier.

A motion was passed in the British Parliament condemning Islamabad's announcement of declaring Gilgit-Baltistan as its fifth frontier.
Image result for british parliament
The motion which was tabled on March 23 and sponsored by Conservative Party leader Bob Blackman, stated that Pakistan, by making such an announcement, is implying its attempt to annex the already disputed area.

It was further noted that the attempts to change the demography of the region was in violation of State Subject Ordinance and the 'forced and illegal construction' of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) further aggravated and interfered with the disputed territory . 

“Gilgit-Baltistan is a legal and constitutional part of the state of Jammu and Kashmir, India, which is illegally occupied by Pakistan since 1947, and where people are denied their fundamental rights including the right of freedom of expression,” the motion read. The motion was tabled and sponsored on March by Conservative Party leader Bob Blackman who stated that Pakistan by making such an announcement is attempting to annexe the already disputed area.

The motion further criticised the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and noted that it’s an attempt to change the demography of the region which is the violation of the State Subject Ordinance.



The Gilgit-Baltistan area is Pakistan’s northernmost administrative territory that borders the disputed Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Recently, Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif’s Foreign Affair advisor Sartaz Aziz had recommended Gilgit-Baltistan to give a provincial status.

Pakistan has four provinces in form of Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. India's stand is that the entire state of Jammu and Kashmir, which includes areas currently under Pakistan occupation, is an integral part of the Union of India.

Consolidation of Hindu votes achieved at UP should be replicated all over India specially in Tamilnadu


Consolidation of Hindu votes-Key to BJP's victory


BJP's victory in Uttar Pradesh is hugely significant in the National scheme of things. It is apparent that BJP has won even in Muslim majority areas. It is a strategically important victory and needs to be replicated and executed in other states.

The recent 5 state elections have revealed a few truths.
# Narendra Modi is the single significant factor in Indian National politics.
# Consolidation of Hindu votes is key to BJP's victory.
# Unmindful of the above, good local governance is essential to the success of the party as otherwise, the advantage created by PM Modi will be squandered in no time.

Consolidation of Hindu Votes-THE ABSOLUTELY VITAL KEY
There are few constituencies in UP that have atleast 40% muslim majority and in these BJP emerged victorious. This is electorally significant.

Although some say that many muslims have voted for BJP, what is actually significant is that Hindu votes have been consolidated by the trust and appeal that people have on PM Modi. In addition to this, the hard work of the party cadre has ensured that most Hindus had enough reason to vote for BJP.

In this case, the almost 40% vote share shows that this was achieved to gain the electoral numbers across the constituencies.

We might very well be having the same electoral numbers with around 35% vote share. 

This model of working dedicatedly on the Hindu vote bank is going to be significant in many states in the future.

BJP should start work now in the 3 southern states. All Hindus should be covered by the possible local candidates. Hindus who are likely to vote for BJP should not have a reason to think beyond BJP and Hindus who have been voting for others for what ever reason, should have a strong reason to vote for BJP.

In Karnataka, it can easily be achieved if the constituency wise candidates are groomed from now.

In Tamilnadu, the byelection at RK Nagar - a constituency held by Jayalalitha - this is an ideal place to work on these numbers-

Systematic and Professional work should be done daily at RK Nagar by BJP

# BJP should focus on the good and actually special relationship that Jayalalitha had with PM Modi.
# It can be sited from media reports that it was PM Modi who saved Jayalalitha from the clutches of the Sashikala clan and everybody knows the incident of the clan being driven out of her residence.
# All Hindus should be made to think that it is time to move away from the Dravidian parties and this is a good opportunity to express it.
# If the BJP candidate Gangaiamaran works hard, he can literally visit every street repeatedly on alternate days. In fact, he can actually visit every household, if he is able to, physically.
# It is not a big constituency. He should make it a point to enter every Hindu household with a clear presentation of why electoral change is essential for the constituency to progress in a world that has changed very much.
# He should also point out that neighbouring state of Andhra is progressing dramatically with capable leaders who have a good equation with the Centre.
# He should show how villages adopted by PM Modi and other Ministers are being transformed.
# The DMK vote will not be split. But the ADMK vote will be split in multiple ways.
# Consolidating the Hindu votes and getting the maximum votes from the split ADMK votes will hold the key to BJP's performance.
# The Hindu vote bank should be dedicatedly worked upon by the BJP tirelessly till 12th April 2017. The hard and smart work put in every day will have its effect and ultimate reward. 

Wednesday 22 March 2017

Statistics show that Terrorist violence in J&K had declined after Surgical Strikes

Tuesday 21 March 2017

UGC releases the list of 23 fake universities in India, cautions public

UGC releases the list of 23 fake universities in India, cautions public not to take admissions in fake universities




The University Grants Commission (UGC) has released the list of 23 fake universities in the country. Such universities have been declared as Fake Universities and are not entitled to confer any degree. The detailed list is available on the official website http://www.ugc.ac.in/page/Fake-Universities.aspx

UGC has cautioned the public at large not to take admission in these universities. Out of the 23 fake universities, seven are in the national capital.

Mahendra Nath Pandey, the Minister of state for human resource development has stated that the ministry had written to state governments to look into the matter and register police complaints against such universities. The ministry has also asked the states to initiate proceedings against those involved in cheating and deceiving students “by misrepresenting themselves as ‘universities’ awarding degrees with their name”, Mahendra Nath Pandey told the Rajya Sabha.

List of the 23 fake universities in India

Bihar
1) Maithili University/Vishwavidyalaya, Darbhanga, Bihar.

Delhi
2) Commercial University Ltd., Daryaganj, Delhi.
3) United Nations University, Delhi.
4) Vocational University, Delhi.
5) ADR-Centric Juridical University, ADR House, 8J, Gopala Tower, 25 Rajendra Place, New Delhi – 110 008.
6) Indian Institute of Science and Engineering, New Delhi.
7) Viswakarma Open University for Self-Employment, Rozgar Sewasadan, 672, Sanjay Enclave, Opp. GTK Depot, Delhi-110033.

Karnataka
8) Badaganvi Sarkar World Open University Education Society, Gokak, Belgaum, Karnataka.

Kerala
9) St. John’s University, Kishanattam, Kerala.

Maharashtra
10) Raja Arabic University, Nagpur, Maharashtra.

West Bengal
11) Indian Institute of Alternative Medicine, Kolkatta.
12) Institute of Alternative Medicine and Research,8-A, Diamond Harbour Road, Builtech inn, 2nd Floor, Thakurpurkur, Kolkatta – 700063

Uttar Pradesh
13) Varanaseya Sanskrit Vishwavidyalaya, Varanasi (UP) Jagatpuri, Delhi.
14) Mahila Gram Vidyapith/Vishwavidyalaya, (Women’s University) Prayag, Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh.
15) Gandhi Hindi Vidyapith, Prayag, Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh.
16) National University of Electro Complex Homeopathy, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh.
17) Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose University (Open University), Achaltal, Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh.
18) Uttar Pradesh Vishwavidyalaya, Kosi Kalan, Mathura, Uttar Pradesh.
19) Maharana Pratap Shiksha Niketan Vishwavidyalaya, Pratapgarh, Uttar Pradesh.
20) Indraprastha Shiksha Parishad, Institutional Area,Khoda,Makanpur,Noida Phase-II, Uttar Pradesh.
21) Gurukul Vishwavidyala, Vridanvan, Uttar Pradesh.

Odisha
22) Nababharat Shiksha Parishad, Anupoorna Bhawan, Plot No. 242, Pani Tanki Road,Shaktinagar, Rourkela-769014.
23) North Orissa University of Agriculture & Technology, Odisha.
* Bhartiya Shiksha Parishad, Lucknow, UP – the matter is subjudice before the District Judge – Lucknow

Sunday 19 March 2017

5-Year-Old Muslim Girl Wins Bhagavad Gita Recitation Contest In Odisha

5-Year-Old Muslim Girl Wins Bhagavad Gita Recitation Contest In Odisha


A five-year-old Muslim girl in the coastal district of Kendrapara in Odisha topped the Bhagwad Gita recitation contest.

Firdaus topped the Gita recitation contest held on Wednesday by getting the better of senior competitors.

A Class 1 student of Sovaniya residential school, the girl memorised the Hindu religious scripture at an early age when her classmates were learning how to reading alphabets.

Firdaus is an exceptional talent and she stood first in the Gita recital competition for the sub-juniors in the 6-14 years category, said a judge of the competition, Biraja Kumar Pati.


Firdaus was miles ahead of her competitors. At one go, she recited the Gita with consummate ease without stopping. Her pronunciation was immaculate. “We awarded her 90 marks out of a total of 100”, described another judge of the district level competition, Akshyaya Pani.

“My teachers have taught me moral education and have inculcated me the spirit of ‘Live and let others live’. I believe that all human beings are members of an extended global family. This is what my dear teachers tell us in the classrooms”, the girl said.

“I am a proud mother. It is giving me immense satisfaction after knowing that my daughter has stood first on reciting Hindu religious scripture Gita. Credit for my daughter’s success goes to the school teachers,” her mother Arifa Biwi said.


In 2015,
Maryam Siddiqui a 12-year-old Muslim girl from Mumbai had outperformed over 3,000 participants at the 'Gita Champions League' contest, organized by International Society for Krishna Consciousness (Iskcon).

PTI

Saturday 18 March 2017

Yogi Adityanath named Uttar Pradesh's Chief Minister

Yogi Adityanath named Uttar Pradesh's Chief Minister



A week after the Bharatiya Janata Party's massive victory in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, firebrand MP Yogi Adityanath was on Saturday named as the chief minister of the country's largest state. Dinesh Sharma will be deputy CMs

State unit chief Keshav Prasad Maurya and Union Telecom Minister Manoj Sinha had been considered among the frontrunners for the post. The BJP had not named a chief ministerial candidate during the election campaign, relying on Prime Minister Narendra Modi as their star face.

Born on June 5, 1972, Mahanth Yogi Adityanath is a fifth time Member of Parliament from Gorakhpur constituency in UP. He is a BJP Member of Parliament who has represented Gorakhpur in the Lok Sabha since 1998. Adityanath is the Mahant (head priest) of the Gorakhnath Mutt, a Hindu temple in Gorakhpur, following the death of his spiritual father Mahant Avaidyanath in September 2014. Adityanath is also the founder of the ‘Hindu Yuva Vahini’, a social, cultural and nationalist group of youth that aims to provide rightist Hindu platform.

Adityanath was one of the youngest members of the 12th Lok Sabha at 26. He has been elected as an MP from Gorakhpur to the Lok Sabha in the 1998, 1999, 2004, 2009 and 2014 elections. He is the successor to former Hindu Mahasabha president Mahant Avaidyanath at the Gorakhnath temple. Adityanath is a B. Sc. graduate from the H.N.B. Garhwal University.

Adityanath is also known for some major controversies and some derogatory remarks on various sensitive issues related to caste and religion. In 2005, Adityanath allegedly led a purification move which involved the conversion of Christians to Hinduism. In one such instance, 1,800 Christians were reportedly converted to Hinduism in the town of Etah in Uttar Pradesh during this time.

In January 2007, an altercation occurred amidst a Hindu group and Muslims during a Muharram procession in Gorakhpur which led to the hospitalisation of a young Hindu, Raj Kumar Agrahari. The District Magistrate later restricted Adityanath to visit the site as it may inflame tensions. He initially agreed, but after Agrahari died, he disobeyed the magistrate and travelled to the site with a group of his followers. Adityanath started a non-violent dharna on the site. However, inflammatory speeches were made and some of his followers set fire to a nearby mazaar (Muslim mausoleum). A curfew was implemented by the local police, but Adityanath broke it and was subsequently jailed under Section 151A, Sections 146, 147, 279, 506 of the Indian Penal Code.

He was taken into custody for a fortnight, on charges of disturbing peace. His arrest led to further unrest and later several coaches of the Mumbai-Gorakhpur Godan Express were burnt, allegedly by protesting Hindu Yuva Vahini activists. The day after his arrest, the District Magistrate along with the local police chief, were transferred and replaced.

This was widely perceived as a result of “Adityanath’s clout’ with the Uttar Pradesh government of Mulayam Singh Yadav. The tensions soon escalated to riots across Gorakhpur leading to the burning of several mosques, homes, buses and trains. After his release, Adityanath protested his jailing in the Parliament.

During an intolerance debate in the media, Adityanath had also compared Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan to a Pakistani terrorist Hafiz Saeed. Speaking to the media he said, “Shah Rukh Khan should remember that majority population of the country made him the star, and if they boycott his films, he will also have to wander on streets. It is unfortunate SRK is speaking the same language that of Hafiz Saeed.”

Tuesday 14 March 2017

Subramanian Swamy exposes P.Chidambaram's fraud in 7 page letter to PM Modi

Subramanian Swamy exposes P.Chidambaram's fraud in 7 page letter to PM Modi-
https://www.pgurus.com/swamy-exposes-hidden-property-of-chidambaram-in-cambridge-kickbacks-taken-by-son-karti/
This article is from PG Gurus and is copied here for the sole purpose of circulating it more, to expose the corruption that has been blatantly going on in India for the last 70years. 

People who carry an image of polished upper class gentlemen, who have everything in life, have an insatiable greed for more and have used every opportunity in every position to defraud the nation at the expense of the Indian tax payer. In this case, he was the Finance Minister and Home Minister.

What is even more frightening to think of, is the network that these people would have created in our administrative and political circles to efficiently carry out their fraudulent work. It is this network that Subramanian Swamy has been working tirelessly to expose and break.

One must be aware that what has come out is only likely to be a tip of the iceberg and we sincerely hope there will be more support for Dr.Swamy to completely expose the full extent of corruption indulged in by such politicians, their families and associated people.

The government needs to act immediately on this. 


IT findings of corruption and illegal property holding by Chidambaram and his son Karti: Swamy

BJP leader Subramanian Swamy again strikes at the hidden assets of former Finance Minister P Chidambaram’s family. After exposing son Karti’s 21 secret foreign bank accounts, this time Swamy brought out the details of Chidambaram’s hidden property in Cambridge in UK found by Income Tax’s Investigation Wing. Revealing the details of a 200 page Income Tax analysis on the seized hard disks of Karti’s companies, Swamy detailed more than 20 instances of blatant corruption and illegal money flow and of properties purchased abroad.

Addressing a press conference in Delhi on Tuesday, Swamy shared his seven page letter to the Prime Minister with the media, providing the major findings of Income Tax’s Chennai Unit…

“The Income Tax (IT) which seized the hard disks from Karti’s companies found that P Chidambaram, wife Nalini Chidambaram, son Karti and his wife Srinidhi, had in 2008 jointly purchased a property and a big palatial house in Cambridge town in UK. As per the seized Income Tax documents, the property bought by P. Chidambaram and family is at: 5, Holben Close, Cambridge, U.K. CB237AQ. This huge property and home was purchased from Edmund Suley Holt and Heather Holt, and the money for the purchase was drawn from Karti’s personal account in London’s Metro Bank account number 16714313”. Chidambaram declared only wife Nalini’s share in the Cambridge property. Neither he nor Karti declared their portion in Cambridge land deal.


“Chidambaram never declared this property in any of his mandatory affidavits as candidate for elections to Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha or as MP or Minister. Karti also has not declared this. This is plain corruption under Section 13 (1) (e) of the Prevention of Corruption Act,” said Swamy in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging for immediate CBI-ED probe and seizure of hidden properties and black money parked by Chidambaram and family.

Addressing a press conference in Delhi on Tuesday, Swamy shared his seven page letter to the Prime Minister with the media, providing the major findings of Income Tax’s Chennai Unit, complaining that
Finance Ministry is not allowing officers to act on this report for the past six months.

Income Tax also found several instances of money flow to Karti’s companies from several cases of FIPB approval granted by Chidambaram. Jailed media baron Peter Mukerjea had paid more than Rs. Two crores to Karti’s company Advantage Strategic Consulting Pvt Ltd and other firms abroad.

The documents unearthed by Income Tax show that ASCPL received money from many companies when their FDI investment files were with FIPB and CCEA during Chidambaram’s tenure as Finance Minister.

The joint raid of Income Tax and Enforcement Directorate (ED) was conducted in December 2015 in connection with the Aircel-Maxis scam. The investigators have seized several documents and hard disks from Karti’s offices.

The investigators found that Karti’s company had entered into a deal with a Russian bank called Nazprom and became the bank’s agent for dealing with the Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) Indian Overseas Bank (IOB). The agreements with the Russian bank seized show that Karti’s firm used to get five percent commission for each transaction! After Chidambaram became the Home Minister, Karti’s firm also got money from a South African firm engaged for providing security arrangements for Indian Premier League (IPL) Cricket.


The documents unearthed by Income Tax show that ASCPL received money from many companies when their FDI investment files were with FIPB and CCEA during Chidambaram’s tenure as Finance Minister.

The companies which transferred money to Karti’s ASCPL are Claris Life Sciences, Diageo Scotland Limited, which acquired fugitive Vijay Mallya’s UB Spirits, Katra Group, Arcelor Mittal linked Saksoft, Reflections belonging to Spark Capital Advisory Private Limited.

The IT has unearthed that large sums of money were transacted through Karti controlled Advantage Strategic Consulting Private Limited Company’s bank accounts in Singapore to buy properties in UK like the purchase of an 88 acres farmhouse, known as Surridge Farm in Somerset in UK and another property in Cambridge, at Ceres, 29, Meade Hose at Cambridge.

The worst of all this was that Karti used to take money for fixing appointments with father Chidambaram.

The Income Tax – ED joint raids found that after the Aircel-Maxis deal, there was a large money flow into and out of the ASCPL Singapore subsidiary Company. This money was used to buy huge properties, hotels, farmhouses, vineyards, stud farms and race horses and Tennis Courts in 14 countries, alleged Swamy. Investigators’ report say these secret assets are worth more than Ten Thousand Crores ($1.5 billion), said Swamy, blaming the Finance Ministry for not allowing honest officers to act.

“In all of Karti’s numerous sham companies, including ASCPL, curiously there are five common Directors: C B N Reddy, Bhaskar Raman, Mohanan Rajesh, Ravi Viswanathan and V Padma. The Income Tax also found that all these five persons have entered and executed an extraordinarily suspicious Will, stating that they owe all properties and assets to Karti or his daughter Aditi, out of “respect and love” for P Chidambaram and son! This shows that these five persons are nothing but benamis of son Karti and father Chidambaram,” said Swamy giving the details of curious agreements unearthed by Income Tax from Karti’s computers.

The worst of all this was that Karti used to take money for fixing appointments with father Chidambaram. In a bizarre payoff, the British company Diageo Scotland Limited which acquired fugitive Vijay Mallya’s UB Spirits paid $15,000 as “Service Charges” to Karti’s ASCPL for fixing appointments with then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Finance Minister Chidambaram. Diageo’s email copies are available with IT, “thanking” Karti for fixing appointment of company owner Lord Blyth of Diageo with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Finance Minister Chidambaram. These emails also have as attachment the $15,000 pay out receipt as Service Charges for fixing appointments with PM and FM,” said Swamy.

Subramanian Swamy’s detailed seven page letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, outlining the findings of Income Tax is published below:



  1. Chidambara Rahasya – Details of huge secret assets & foreign bank accounts of Chidambaram Family


    Summary of the assets & foreign bank accounts of the Chidambaram family unearthed by the ITD
    By Team PGurus - March 15, 2017  https://www.pgurus.com/chidambara-rahasya-details-of-huge-secret-assets-foreign-bank-accounts-of-chidambaram-family/

    Income Tax Dept. uneartherd the assets & foreign bank accounts of the Chidambaram familyThe Income Tax’s Chennai Investigation Unit’s report having more than 200 pages about former Finance Minister P Chidambaram’s family and especially son Karti and his companies huge assets in more than 14 countries are now out in the public domain. Recently some portion of this sensitive report was exposed in public by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Subramanian Swamy in a press conference. Many media houses whose owners are friendly and in collusion with Chidambaram tried to black out the news.

  2. In the interest of public, we are producing the entire data of assets and bank accounts found in the joint raid of Income Tax and Enforcement Directorate.

    # 21 foreign bank accounts by Karti and his companies in Metro Bank in UK, 4 accounts in OCBC in Singapore in the name of Advantage Strategic Consulting Pte Ltd, the controversial company caught in kickbacks in Aircel-Maxis scam, 2 banks in Spain namely Sabadell Atlantico, La Caxia Bank, HSBC UK, Barclays Bank in Monaco, Marseille BNP Paribas in France, UBS in Switzerland etc. The details list of the 21 secret foreign bank accounts unearthed by investigators are published at the end of this post.

    # The Income Tax which seized hard disks from Karti’s companies found that P. Chidambaram, wife Nalini Chidambaram, son Karti and his wife Srinidhi jointly purchased a property and a big palatial house in Cambridge in UK. As per the Income tax seized documents, the property bought by Chidambaram and family is: 5, Holben Close, Cambridge, CB237AQ. This huge property and home was purchased from Edmund Suley Holt and Heather Holt and the money was transacted from Karti’s personal account in London’s Metro Bank account number: 16714313. Chidambaram never declared this property in any of his mandatory affidavits as Member of Parliament (MP) or Minister. Chidambaram in his affidavit to Rajya Sabha in May 2016 declared only 1/3rd portion of the property as wife Nalini’s property. He also under-invoiced the value of this property of his wife’s share at just Rs.1.55 crores, while UK’s real estate websites estimate this property in Cambridge to be worth more than Rs.85 crores.

    # Karti’s Advantage Strategic Consulting Private Limited ‘s Singapore company’s bank accounts to buy properties in UK like purchase of 88 acres farm house known as Surridge Farm in Somerset, UK. The land value shown in the registry is one million pounds.

    # Another property in Cambridge is at Ceres, 29, Meade House at Cambridge.

    # Chidambaram’s son Karti has built a massive empire in different parts of the world by making investments in real estate and engaging in other business activities in London, Dubai, South Africa, Philippines, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, British Virgin Island, France, USA, Switzerland, Greece and Spain. Most of the purchases happened during the period 2006 to 2014 when Chidambaram was Finance Minister and Home Minister. The probe agencies estimate these assets across the world are expected to be more than Three Billion Dollars. Why did the Chidambarams invest in real estate in first world countries?
    This post will give you a clue.

    # Karti’s Singapore-based firm had
    acquired majority shares of a big resort in Sri Lanka, known as Lanka Fortune Residencies. This company owns the prestigious resorts ‘The Waterfront’, ‘Weligama Bay Resort’ and Emerald Bay Hotel.

    # Karti’s Singapore firm routed money via Dubai to acquire three farms and vineyards in South Africa, identified as Rowey Farm in Grabouw, Cape Orchards and Vineyards Private Limited, and Zandvliet Enterprises, a wine and stud farm in Ashton.

    # The Dubai-based Desert Dunes Properties Ltd has also investment in Karti’s Singapore-based company Advantage. The probes have unearthed a money trail of 1.7 million Singapore Dollars between these firms. Another Dubai-based company, Pearl Dubai FX LLC, also had financial transaction with Advantage. This shows that Karti linked firms have offices and assets in UAE also.

    # The Advantage’s Ceres, 29, Meade House had entered into joint ventures with the Philippines-based companies to obtain a franchise team of International Premier Tennis League (Asia). The Philippine firms, which were engaged in joint ventures with the Karti-controlled company, are SM Arena Complex Corporation, Sports Entertainment Events Management Inc.

    # The Advantage had also had financial transactions with another real estate company in Singapore known as Real Beyond Pte. Ltd. having three subsidiaries in Malaysia. The investigation has unearthed that these transactions led to 16 land purchases in Thailand.

    # The Advantage’s Singapore unit has set up a firm in British Virgin Island (BVI), namely Somerset Surridge Ltd. Advantage also invested 400,000 Singapore dollars in another BVI firm known as Full Innovations Ltd. It also has financial dealing with Geben Trading Limited in BVI and offices in Switzerland. This firm’s major transactions were through the famous Swiss Bank, namely UBS. The investigators got proofs of transactions in Dollars and Euro. The Advantage also has transaction of five million Singapore dollars with another firm in Singapore, namely Unison Global Investment Ltd.

    # The Karti-controlled company in Singapore entered into joint ventures with Gravitas Investments,
    Match Point International Tennis Events to buy a franchise Tennis team called ‘Manila Mavericks’. This deal was worth of 12 million US dollars and the money was paid in 10 installments.

    # Karti’s Singapore company also acquired a residential flat in Malaysia worth 1.9 million Malaysian Ringgits from a firm called Peninsular Smart. The probe team also found some agreement papers which shows that the Advantage holds franchisees of Café’ Coffee Day in some locations in Malaysia. The investigators have found several transactions to Karti’s Singapore firm with Malaysian companies. Malaysia is the head quarters of telecom giant Maxis which acquired Aircel in 2006. The IT and ED officers seized payment details amounting to more than Rs.30 crore in foreign currencies.

    # The Advantage in Singapore also opened a subsidiary firm in Barcelona in Spain known as Advantage Estrategia Esportiva SLU in August 2012. This is a sports academy having four acres with seven tennis courts in Spain.

    # Karti-linked Singapore firm has also one million US dollar investment in a company in France known as Pampelonn Organisation. The Advantage also has transactions with a Greek firm known as Pisani John Sakellarios in Athens.

    # Karti’s firm Advantage Strategic Consulting Private Limited (ASCPL) had transactions with Aircel Televenutres, DCB Client, Diageo Scotland Limited, Katra Group, Sri Lanka Export Development Board, Unifi Wealth Management Ltd, VST Tillers Tractors, Carlton Trading Company, Claris Life Sciences’, ITC Centre, Best Land Realty Limited, Essar Steel Limited, Gokul Builders and Estates, S Kumar, INX Media, Reflections, Thiagarajar Mills Private Limited, Saksoft, EL Forge Limited.

    # The Income Tax which seized hard disks from Karti’s companies also found that Karti used to get huge money as kickbacks in several Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) deals pending with father former Finance Minister P Chidambaram.

    # On Sept 22, 2008, ASCPL received Rs.35 Lakh from INX Media (now known as News X TV Channel), which applied for FIPB clearance of 220 million dollar during the period. Same day another Rs.60 Lakh was paid from INX Media to Northstar Software Solutions Pvt Ltd. Major shares of this Northstar Software Solutions Pvt Ltd controlled by C B N Reddy, who is a Benami and Director of ASCPL and its Singapore subsidiary also. On Sept 24, 2008 another tranche of 20,000 Dollars were paid to ASCPL’s Singapore subsidiary by INX Media.

    # On Sept 26, 2008, ASCPL had a money transaction of 50,000 dollars with Geben Trading Limited in Athens in Greece. This company’s address is 4 Zaf.Matsa Street, 14564 Athens, Greence and incorporated in British Virgin Islands (BVI). The money transactions of ASCPL also show to
    Geben Trading’s bank account in UBS, Geneva in Switzerland. The emails of banking transaction details were marked to Karti also and documents shows about a business takeover of healthcare and rehabilitation centers in Greece. All these transactions happened during the INX Media’s Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) approvals for 220 million dollar were pending with Karti’s father Finance Minister P Chidambaram. In short, the murder accused Peter and Indrani Mukherjea who sold their INX Media paid around 9 crores rupees to Karti linked firms for FIPB clearance.

# In August 2008, Karti’s Singapore company got 60 lakh shares in the media firm Network 18’s London based company Artevea Digital UK This deal happened when Network 18 applied for a series of FIPB clearances, when Chidambaram was the Finance Minister. This led to around 25 crores kickback for processing the FIPB clearance.

# The documents unearthed by Income Tax shows that ASCPL received money from many companies when their FDI investment files were with FIPB and Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) during Chidambaram’s tenure as Finance Minister. The companies which transferred money to Karti’s ASCPL are Claris Life Sciences, Diageo Scotland Limited which acquired fugitive Vijay Mallya’s UB Spirits, Katra Group, Arcelor Mittal linked Saksoft, Reflections belong to Spark Capital Advisory Private Limited. As per the Income Tax Analysis Report, all these deals involve around Rs. 500 crores kickback to Karti linked companies for necessary FIPB and CCEA clearances during Chidambaram’s period in Finance Ministry.

# The documents seized from the raid also show that ASCPL received money from Best Land Realty, when the company got a Rs.304 crore loan from Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) Banks.

# In a bizarre incident, the British company Diageo Scotland Limited which acquired fugitive Vijay Mallya’s UB Spirits even paid 15,000 dollars as Service Charges to Karti’s ASCPL for fixing appointments with then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Finance Minister Chidambaram. Diageo’s emails thank Karti for fixing appointment of company owner Lord Blyth with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Finance Minister Chidambaram. The thanking email also attached the 15,000 dollar pay out receipt as Service Charges for fixing appointments with PM and FM. This is a clear case of abuse of power initiating case under Prevention of Corruption Act.

# Another clear case of favoritism to son’s company by abusing power by Chidambaram is – In September 2006, Russia’s National Industrial Bank (Nazprom) appoints Karti’s ASCPL as Business Consultant for their Joint Venture with Indian Overseas Bank. The documents seized by Income Tax included ASCPL’s agreement with Russian Bank Nazprom and Nazprom’s series of communications with IOB including the meetings in Chennai. The emails show that in each transactions with the Russian bank and PSU IOB, Karti’s ASCPL minted money in the form of consultancy. The Russian Bank’s agreement says Karti’s ASCPL’s Singapore subsidiary will get 5% as commission with all transactions with Indian Overseas Bank, apart from the initial 25,000 dollar processing fee.

This is a clear case of abuse of power by Finance Minister Chidambaram to get a cut for son Karti’s company for each money transfer between PSU Bank IOB and Russian Bank Nazprom.

# Karti’s ASCPL also received huge money from a South African company Nicholas Stynes Associates Limited. This South African company was engaged in providing security to IPL Cricket and the money transactions with Karti’s company happened when Chidambaram was Home Minister.

# The documents also show that ASCPL got huge money as commission from Allianze Securities for sale of NABARD Bonds when Chidambaram was Finance Minister.

# The money was paid to Finance Minister Chidambaram from Karti’s Meltrack Ltd in relation to sale of shares and selling of huge tract of land in Mysore to VST Tillers & Tractors Limited. The land was mortgaged to Union Bank of India. P Chidambaram was shown as unsecured creditor to Meltrack Limited.

A very interesting thing in all Karti companies including ASCPL – there are five common Directors like C B N Reddy, Bhaskar Raman, Mohanan Rajesh, Ravi Viswanathan and V Padma. The Income Tax found that all these five persons have entered into a curious WILL that they owe all properties and assets to Karti or his daughter Aditi in consideration of respect and love to P Chidambaram! This shows that these five persons are nothing but Benamis of Karti and P Chidambaram.

This is arguably one of the largest catch of black money in India from a politician’s family.

The billion dollar question is when will the Government order CBI, ED and Income Tax to initiate proceedings under Prevention of Corruption Act, PMLA, Benami Transactions Act and seizure of Black Money against Chidambaram and his family members.

Here is a list of 21 Foreign Bank Accounts being held by Karti Chidambaram:

Why is Chidambaram renting from his wife & son at Rs 2 lakh/ month for staying in Delhi?



Source - By Team PGurus - https://www.pgurus.com/why-is-chidambaram-renting-from-his-wife-son-at-rs-2-lakh-month-for-staying-in-delhi/ March 23, 2017

Why is Chidambaram renting one floor of a posh apartment from his wife and son?Is there a tax loophole that the ex-Finance Minister devised that he himself is taking advantage of?

The 200 page Income Tax (IT) report shows that the former Finance Minister P Chidambaram has engaged in a funny deal with his wife Nalini and son Karti. As per the agreements seized in the joint raid of Income Tax and the Enforcement Directorate (ED), there appears to be an inspired scheme to fool the taxman through bogus agreements.

What is the ring of fire that prevents the current government from acting?

After getting out of power in mid 2014, Chidambaram who claims to be a resident in Delhi’s Gymkhana Club enters into curious rent agreement with Nalini and Karti living in Chennai. As per the agreement Nalini and Karti own a floor of a multi-storeyed building having the address 115A at posh Jor Bagh in Delhi. These two owners decided to rent one of the floors to Chidambaram for Rs.2 lakhs ($3000) per month.

In the documents unearthed, it is shown that this one floor Jor Bagh apartment lists for an official price of around Rs.30 crores ($4.6 million). Some documents show that still the mutation process is pending and that this purchase happened after the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) lost power. These documents were seized in the joint raid by IT and ED at Karti’s companies in connection with the Aircel-Maxis money trail.

So what is unusual about this rent agreement from Chidambaram, who never tired of preaching others to be transparent in financial matters? Why does he declare himself as a resident of Gymkhana Club in Delhi? Nalini and Karti have show their original address at 16-Pycrofts Garden in Chennai, which is also supposed to be Chidambaram’s address.

Then why did Chidambaram show his address as a resident in Gymkhana Club in Delhi? Is he separated from his family? If so, is that fact reflected in his filings? Above all is this sheer accounting jugglery acceptable from a man, who prepared at least nine Budgets? So are all the rules laid down merely guidelines for the salaried class? To quote Orwell, all are equal but some are more equal?

There is more. Chidambaram became a Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha) in May 2016 and must have got official accommodation by now. Is he still paying Rs.2 lakhs/ month as rent to his wife and only son?

The picture (see image above) shows that the building is a four storied structure. We are curious as to who owns the rest of the building. The Income Tax report exposed how Chidambaram family manages Benamis by making them sign a
WILL assigning all their assets to Karti’s daughter out of their love for Chidambaram. Does the PC family own just only the one floor? Who owns the other three?

The Rs.10 crore (AKA Million rupees) question (KBC) is when will IT, CBI and ED move? What is the ring of fire that prevents the current government from acting?

Monday 13 March 2017

Major Christian Charity Is Closing India Operations Amid a Crackdown

Major Christian Charity Is Closing India Operations Amid a Crackdown

If these organizations were actually interested in helping the children as they claim to, below, they should be doing it without converting to christianity. They are posing under the guise of charitable institutions whereas their core agenda is conversion.

Closing down all such institutions should be a priority. They have successfully altered the social fabric of the society all over the India with their deceptive ways.  The entire southern coastline has become a christian dominated area as a result of such deceptive charity work.

The government should also ensure that the children who were benefited by the schemes run by these organizations are rehabilitated suitably in other government schemes.



Pramod Dass, the director of Bethesda Charitable Endeavors, one of the 500 Indian partners of Compassion International that will have to shut down operations.Poras Chaudhary for The New York Times
By ELLEN BARRY and SUHASINI RAJ
nytimes.com | March 7, 2017 https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/03/07/world/asia/compassion-international-christian-charity-closing-india.html?ref=todayspaper&_r=2&referer=https://t.co/s8a3MbKBFQ

NEW DELHI —
India’s crackdown on foreign aid will claim its most prominent casualty this month, as a Colorado-based Christian charity that is one of India’s biggest donors closes its operations here after 48 years, informing tens of thousands of children that they will no longer receive meals, medical care or tuition payments.

The shutdown of the charity,
Compassion International, on suspicion of engaging in religious conversion, comes as India, a rising economic power with a swelling spirit of nationalism, curtails the flow of foreign money to activities it deems “detrimental to the national interest.”

More than 11,000 nongovernmental organizations have lost their licenses to accept foreign funds since Prime Minister
Narendra Modi took office in 2014. Major Western funders — among them George Soros’s Open Society Foundations and the National Endowment for Democracy — have been barred from transferring funds without permission from Indian security officials.

But few have been as vocal about their struggle as Compassion International, which solicits donations through its $38-a-month “sponsor a child” program and distributes them through church-affiliated service centers. It has repeatedly ranked as India’s largest single foreign donor, transferring around $45 million a year.

Its executives vehemently deny the government’s allegation that it is funding religious conversions, and say India has given them no opportunity to rebut the accusation. Instead, they say they found themselves in murky back-channel negotiations with a representative of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, or R.S.S., a right-wing Hindu ideological group that is closely connected with the governing Bharatiya Janata Party, or B.J.P., but that has no official role in governing.

“You think, ‘Wow, am I negotiating with the government or am I negotiating with an ideological movement that is fueling the government?’” said Santiago Mellado, Compassion International’s chief executive officer, in a telephone interview from the charity’s offices in Colorado Springs. He added that a briefing on the situation would be submitted to the Trump administration this week.

A spokesman for India’s Ministry of Home Affairs, which oversees regulation of foreign charities, declined repeated requests for comment on the case.

A Foreign Ministry official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, following diplomatic protocol, said that Compassion International’s partners were violating Indian law by engaging in religious activities, and that the organization declined a government offer to re-register as a religious organization, which would have allowed it to continue its work in India.

Religious charities, which make up half of the dozen top international donors to India, are watching the case closely, Mr. Mellado said.

“What we hear from our friends in India is that it would be tragic if they were successful in shutting down Compassion, because that would leave other ministries very vulnerable,” Mr. Mellado said. “They are feeling like they’re next.”

India has long had a law regulating the use of foreign aid, but Mr. Modi’s government has applied it in rigorous fashion, canceling the registrations of more than 10,000 nongovernmental groups, mostly small ones, in 2015.

That summer, income tax investigators began raiding offices affiliated with Compassion International, apparently seeking evidence that funds were being used to convert Indian families.

A collage of pictures showing activities carried out by Bethesda Charitable Endeavors.Poras Chaudhary for The New York Times

Sam Jebagnanam, a field officer based in Chennai, described the searches as “harrowing,” with staff members questioned through the night and forbidden to leave the office, summon a lawyer or order food.

The investigators, he said, focused their questions on a vacation Bible school funded by the charity. Seventy-six percent of the children served by the program are Hindu, and 28 percent are Christian, he said.

At another raid, he said, a top executive was interrogated under oath at 3 a.m.

“They kept asking him: ‘Why did you have a spiritual component to the program? What do you do in the area of spiritual development?’” he said. “We said we teach moral values; we do not force anyone into religion.”

Compassion International executives learned early last year, from an item in an Indian newspaper, that their group had been added to the list of organizations whose transfers required prior permission by the Ministry of Home Affairs, said Stephen Oakley, Compassion’s general counsel.

By summer, $600,000 in donations was stuck in an Indian bank account awaiting permission that did not come. In November, two of the group’s main affiliates — in Chennai and Kolkata — were denied authorization to use foreign funds.

In the United States, Mr. Mellado was pressing, with an increasing sense of urgency, for an opportunity to plead his case with Indian officials.

But the only interlocutors they could find were through unofficial channels. In October, a Washington-based representative of the R.S.S., Shekhar Tiwari, reached out to John Prabhudoss, who heads an umbrella organization of Indian-American Christians and has a long association with Compassion International and its leaders, Mr. Prabhudoss said.

Mr. Mellado said he was puzzled by the indirect outreach, but decided to give it a try.

“We are trying to navigate through understanding of the dynamics on the Indian side,” he said. “We understand that the B.J.P. and the R.S.S. are tied together somehow, so it seems to us that we also need to be talking to the R.S.S.”

Through Mr. Prabhudoss, Mr. Tiwari put forward a proposal: The government might view Compassion International more favorably if the charity routed a portion of its $45 million in annual charitable donations away from churches and through non-Christian aid groups, including Hindu ones.

“They were asking me, ‘How do you think we can solve this problem?’” Mr. Tiwari said. “I told them, instead of having all your partners Christian, have some Buddhists, Hindus, Jains, Sikh organizations.”

Mr. Prabhudoss and Mr. Mellado both said that the suggestion was to fund R.S.S.-affiliated organizations, though Mr. Tiwari denies suggesting that. They rejected the idea, which they viewed as “inappropriate,” Mr. Mellado said.

An official from India’s Ministry of External Affairs denied that the R.S.S. representative had any role in the government’s actions, calling the discussion “totally extraneous to the law enforcement action.”

Things went downhill quickly after that. In early January, Mr. Oakley, the general counsel, went to New Delhi to plead his case to India’s foreign secretary, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, in a meeting also attended by the second-ranked United States diplomat in India.

A cabinet piled with records and files from years of work at Bethesda Charitable Endeavors.Poras Chaudhary for The New York Times

It was the first and last meeting between the charity’s leaders and government officials, and Mr. Oakley described it as bitterly contentious.

As it came to an end, he said, a Home Ministry official suggested that Compassion International re-register its Indian partners as religious entities, a step that the charity’s legal team discouraged, saying it would lead to further paralysis.

“It was a very disingenuous offer,” Mr. Oakley said. “Either he didn’t know that was legally impossible, or it was an offer designed to end the meeting.”

Last week, word went out to the group’s 500 Indian partners that they would have to shut down their operations. Among them is Bethesda Charitable Endeavors, which funds a community center in a town called Haldwani, in the Himalayan foothills.

The center’s employees have cleared out four of their nine rented rooms, and 250 children have been told not to return there.

Pramod Dass, who directs the charity, organized a morose little closing ceremony last week in his Delhi office.

“I was heartbroken, because for the past six months, we were living in hope that something would happen,” he said. “Maybe a miracle.”

Already, 15,000 of the 145,000 Indian children regularly receiving services through Compassion International have been severed from the programs. Beginning on Friday, the sponsors will be contacted individually, at the rate of 2,500 per day, and asked to transfer their sponsorships from Indian children to children from other countries.

“That process is irreversible,” Mr. Mellado said. “We would have to start all over in India, and for 145,000 children, it will take years.”

Priya Saxena, 13, is among the children who have been asked not to return to the community center in Haldwani.

Over the four years she has been attending the center every day after school, she said, she has learned to speak and write English, received vaccinations for typhoid and eaten regular high-protein meals.

Her father, a vegetable vendor, earns a monthly salary of about 1000 rupees, or around $16.

“Now I do not know what the future holds for me,” she said. “I hoped to become a doctor. But now that we are told we will no longer have sponsors to see us through the education, I don’t know what will happen.”

She added: “This place taught me to have a life. It is finished now.”

Tuesday 7 March 2017

World Economic Forum releases survey on Indian media, the results are shameful!



World Economic Forum releases survey on Indian media, the results are shameful!
Source-Postcard Team, Postcard | 2017-01-20T12:45:27+05:30
http://postcard.news/must-read-world-economic-forum-releases-survey-indian-media-results-shameful/

The India media which is known for spreading fake stories, false propaganda have completely lost their credibility. In recent years, media has turned out to be one of the most corrupt institutions with absolutely no ethics or responsibility.
The emergence of social media was the main reason, the hypocrisy of the media got exposed. These people who call themselves journalists turned into PR agents of few political parties to earn benefits.

The World Economic Forum, which released the report has labelled the Indian media as the second most untrusted institution in the world. The survey was conducted by Edelman trust Barometer, who is in the media business for over 20 years now and has business in over 38 countries. The survey showed that the trust of people of media, NGOs and business was in all time low and the credibility and motive of these institutions have been under question.

Majority of people in two-third countries have expressed displeasure over the media reports. It is also said that people cannot trust the media content as most of them have found to have vested interest and exploit the situation for gaining TRPs. Eldem report said that overall there has been an “global implosion” in trust.

Richard Edelman said in his reports that people today see media has a corporate machine and part of elite class. The media which is suppose to reflect the opinion and voice of the unheard, today speaks for the rich and influential people and hence there is total trust deficit with the corporate institution and people said Edelman.

A total of 28 countries were survey, out of which 17 countries expressed their mistrust on the media. It is definitely not a surprise, given the fact how Indian journalists have used silly issues and blown it out of proportion to create panic among people. The Intolerance issue which was scripted by media showed how Indian was maligned in the international level. The issue was orchestrated as few people in the elite class could not accept the fact that Modi won the elections and wanted to tag India and his government as communal.


Building a narrative against the country using anti national voice like Kanhaiya Kumar and Burhan Wani was something which can be called a disaster of this country. In all cases, it is very much evident that it was media and people form Lutyens club of Delhi who played main role in spreading fake stories in the country. While the middle class and the poor had no idea about the word intolerance, the media and the elite club was jumping on the fake issues.

It is absolutely true that there is no trust in media and the news channels have turned out to be a gossip box, with people ranting nonsense 24 hours. The main stream media has already lost relevance with the emergence of social media. The best examples is how NDTV viewership has fallen below 2% especially after their Anti national stand.

Thursday 2 March 2017

25 years of India-Israel ties-A bond that’s getting closer



http://www.asianage.com/india/all-india/020317/a-bond-thats-getting-closer-25-years-of-india-israel-ties.html  Secretary for economic relations Amar Sinha (right) with Israeli ambassador to India Daniel Carmon after unveiling a logo of 25 years of India-Israel diplomatic relations at a function in New Delhi.

In November last year, when Israeli President Reuven Rivlin visited India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi while speaking in his presence had commented, “As fellow democracies, our people are our biggest strength and the biggest beneficiaries of a strong India-Israel partnership. The 2000-year-old Jewish community in India represents a thriving link to this past. Today, it is a vital part of our composite cultural mosaic that continues to thrive in their traditions. We are proud of the Jewish community in India.” Mr Modi had further said, “Two and a half decades of our friendship has brought rich dividends for both our nations. It has also strengthened voices of peace, stability and democracy globally.” Mr Modi will himself be visiting Israel this summer, in what will be a keenly-watched visit. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is also likely to visit India by the end of this year. The two nations on Tuesday unveiled a logo in the capital to mark 25 years of diplomatic ties.

For two countries that began their journeys as independent democracies at roughly about the same time and being two ancient civilisations — the Indian and Jewish, it may come as a surprise to many on why full-fledged diplomatic ties were established just 25 years ago. Much of it has to do with the paths the two countries chose about the middle of the 20th century.

India had attained Independence in 1947 after a painful Partition wherein Pakistan was carved out on the basis of religion. In the Middle East, a year later in 1948, Israel was formed as a Jewish state, which the Jawaharlal Nehru government recognised in 1950. But India’s strong and vocal support to the Palestinian cause ensured that Indo-Israeli ties were frosty.

The Cold War between the US and the then USSR also had a role to play in this. New Delhi, though a member of the Non-Aligned Movement, had a rather pronounced pro-Soviet tilt in its foreign policy while Israel remained a strong ally of the United States. Nevertheless, the Nehru government permitted Israel to open a consulate in Mumbai in 1953 where consular services were offered. There was then a large Indian Jewish community both in Mumbai and Kochi, Kerala, from where many Jews wished to emigrate to Israel.

During the 1950s, 60s, 70s and 80s, Indo-Israeli diplomatic contacts remained minimal while ties between India and the Arab world flourished. But things began to change in the early 1990s. The insurgency in Kashmir fuelled by Pakistan meant that some of the countries in the Islamic world began to sharply criticise New Delhi. It was then that public opinion began to grow in favour of stronger ties with Israel.

At about the same time, from 1989-91, the right-wing BJP — that now rules India and which was until then a small player on the national political scene — began to make huge electoral gains and also argued vocally for strong ties with the Jewish state.

In that milieu, it was the Congress government at the Centre led by P.V. Narasimha Rao that took the gigantic foreign policy leap of establishing full-fledged diplomatic ties with Israel on January 29, 1992. But at the turn of the century, during the earlier NDA government led by Atal Behari Vajpayee, the ties really began to take off. In 2003, then Israeli PM Ariel Sharon visited India in a landmark visit.

The most significant aspect of ties at this time was the start of the defence cooperation between the two countries that has seen India acquire weaponry and defence equipment from Israel worth billions of dollars in the past 15 years. The cooperation includes weaponry and platforms such as surface-to-air precision-missiles, anti-tank guided missiles, drones and sophisticated avionics systems for India’s “eye in the sky” AWACS. But given the strategic nature of the acquisitions, it’s one aspect that the Israelis refuse to discuss publicly.

But there are other aspects to the ties as well. As Mr Modi himself put it last November: “We are familiar with Israel’s advances in agriculture, and its expertise in micro-irrigation in drought-prone areas and water management. We have identified water management and conservation, and collaboration in scientific research and development as two areas of priority engagement... Israeli companies can scale up their tie-ups with our flagship schemes of Make in India, Digital India, Skill India and Smart Cities... Indian and Israeli companies can also work together in high-technology manufacturing, and services sectors... and as President Rivlin told me in our discussion, Make with India can generate jobs and benefit both geographies... IT service is an area where our partnership can make a difference for both our economies.” The two sides had also inked two pacts to strengthen cooperation in agriculture and water resources management.

During this visit last November, India and Israel also decided to “broad-base” their already close defence partnership and agreed to intensify cooperation in combating radicalism and extremism while calling for tough global action against terror networks and states harbouring them. Both countries have suffered the scourge of terrorism, sometimes jointly.

During the horrific 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks in November 2008, carried out by Pakistani terrorists, a Jewish Centre was also attacked and an Israeli couple was killed there. A few years later, in February 2012, a terrorist suspected to be from a West Asian country, attacked the vehicle of the wife of an Israeli diplomat in New Delhi, injuring her, before fleeing the scene. After the Indian Army’s surgical strikes on terror launchpads in PoK last year, Mr Modi was quoted in October 2016, as saying in Himachal Pradesh, “Our Army’s valour is being discussed across the country these days. We used to hear earlier that Israel has done this. The nation has seen that the Indian Army is no less than anybody.” The comment underlined Mr Modi’s personal admiration for the achievements of the Jewish state, particularly in fighting against terror.
High-level government visits between the two countries have also taken place during the current tenure of the Modi government. Israeli defence minister Moshe Ya’alon visited India in February 2015, while external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj visited the Jewish state in January 2016.

But more importantly, the close nature of ties was seen again when India in July 2015 abstained from voting on resolutions at the UN in Geneva, which supported a probe by the International Criminal Court against Israel for alleged war crimes in Gaza. However, in an obvious balancing act, India had argued that “there is no change in New Delhi’s long-standing position on support to the Palestinian cause”, with New Delhi claiming India’s continued “political, diplomatic and developmental support to Palestine”.