London, January 22: Rangoli is all set to make a bright splash in Britain, in a bid to set a world record. It will be an attempt to create the largest rangoli pattern across 230 sq metres.

The 2003 Artsparks festival will begin on February 8, with a traditional Indian rangoli design made of rice, lentils and pasta, covering half of Nottingham's Old Market Square. For two days, shoppers and passers-by can join the Artsparks collective in their attempt to create the world record.

Organisers are hoping to reclaim the world record, which was first set in the city in spring 2000. Nottingham Asian Arts Council and the city council achieved the world record at Wollaton Park during the BBC Music Live event. But the Belgrave Mela in Leicester broke the record soon after - and now Nottingham wants it back.

Parul Jani, of the Nottingham Asian Arts Council, said: "There's a real hunger to get the record back. We're going to get some East Midlands friendly rivalry going - everybody's up for it."

Courtesy: www.hindustantimes.com

Two Indian restaurants in London have maintained their decor, service and of course the excellence of their cuisine to be able to retain their prestigious Michelin One Star award.

Tamarind in Mayfair was the first Indian restaurant to be awarded the much sought after recognition three years ago and it is creditable that it has been able to retain it third year running. The other restaurant to get the prestigious One Star 2003 is Zaika. It was awarded last year as well, so its two successive years for it.

The Michelin Red Guide, which is 103-year-old is most famous for its culinary assessments and in the restaurant industry a Star from it is the ultimate achievement. The Guide also reports on more than 5800 hotels across Britain and Ireland ranging from small guesthouses to luxury hotels.

Tamarind, now in it's eighth year, underwent an extensive refurbishment in September 2002. The refurbishment coincided with the introduction of Alfred Prasad as the new Executive Chef (Formally of legendary 'Bukhara' and 'Dum-Pukht' restaurants Delhi and 'Dakshin' - India's premier south Indian restaurant). Just 28, Alfred becomes the youngest Indian Chef to achieve Michelin status.

The fact that the two restaurants have been able to retain their award is by itself an achievement. Many famous ones have disappeared from the list of 2003. They include Chez Nico and Marco Pierre White's Oak Room.

In total 29 London restaurants are in the One Star list this year. These include Nahm at the Halkin which is a favoured one of one of the most senior Indian minister and Nobu which shot into news because of Boris Beckar's costly dalliance with the closet cleaner there.

Courtesy: UK Bureau, January 20

Silicon Valley (US): The significant contributions made by Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) graduates, India's "hottest" export to the world, not only helped improve Indian economy but also benefited the US and many other countries enormously.

This was recognised by all the speakers at the 50th anniversary celebrations of IIT, including Microsoft chairman Bill Gates.Describing IIT as a "world-class institute", Gates said the computer industry has benefited greatly from the tradition of the IITs.

In a message, John Chamber of Cisco said the IIT system was one of the best in the world. "I want to thank you (IIT) for Cisco employers that are approaching 1,000."

Terming IIT as a "world treasure", Jeff Bezos of Amazon also recognised the contribution made by IIT engineers to his company, saying, "IIT, thank you, bless you and keep on going," drawing a resounding applause from the audience.

US Ambassador to New Delhi Robert D Blackwill said India's "hottest" export to the world, the IIT graduates, has become a reputed global brand name.

"If indeed we can think of India today as a technological force in the world, a rising great power and a strategic partner of US, that vision is owed greatly to the contribution that the IIT has made towards the Indian scientific and technological achievements during the last 50 years," he said. Blackwill said what was great for India has been good for the US as well.

The audience of some 2,000 people included Rajat Gupta, managing director of McKinsey, Vinod Khosla, general partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and co- founder of Sun Microsystems, Kanwal Rekhi, chief executive officer (CEO) Ensim, Founder TiE, Victor Menezes, senior vice chairman of Citigroup, Arun Sarin, CEO- designate of Vodafone, and Narayana Murthy, founder and chairman of Infosys.

The IIT Golden Jubilee celebration was held in Silicon Valley not only to increase awareness about the successes of the last 50 years but also to strengthen the alumni network and foster a dialogue about innovation, leadership and community value creation, the organisers said.

The celebration was designed to be a launching pad for many far-reaching initiatives that would transform the IITs into a research powerhouse with globally leading competency in appropriate technology, said Dilip Venkatachari, an IIT graduate and one of the main co-ordinators of the event.

These would involve joint research programmes with leading US and international universities, Venkatachari, president and co-founder of California-based CashEdge, said.

Courtesy: PTI, January 20 2003

Washington: A non-resident Indian (NRI), Swati Shah Patel has been appointed as deputy chief counsel to the newly sworn in Republican Governor of South Carolina, Mark Sanford.

The co-chairman of the India Caucus and Republican Congressman from South Carolina Joe Wilson has congratulated Patel.

Wilson said, "I am very excited that Governor Sanford has chosen to hire Ms Patel as part of his new administration. Ms Patel is an extraordinary individual, and I am confident she will do a wonderful job while serving with the Governor."

"As the co-chair of the India Caucus, I am always excited to see such talented Indian-Americans elevated to high ranking administration positions both on the state and federal level," he added.

Patel was one of the first Indian Americans admitted to practice law in South Carolina.

Upon graduation from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 1997, Patel was hired as an attorney on the South Carolina House of Representatives' Judiciary Committee, where she worked for Chairman Jim Harrison.

Governor Sanford previously served three terms in Congress representing the First Congressional District of South Carolina from 1994-2000. He was elected Governor of South Carolina and sworn in on January 15, 2003.

Courtesy: PTI, January 18 2003

Washington, Jan. 17 (NNN): India-born space engineer Kalpana Chawla, the first Indian-American woman to be sent to space, embarked on her 2nd voyage on Thursday when the US space shuttle Columbia blasted off from Cape Canaveral,on a mission which is to undertake a series of scientific experiments that would help develop medicines to treat several diseases, including cancer. The shuttle was launched from the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) at 1039 (EST, 2119 IST) amidst a tight security cover in near perfect weather conditions.

Kalpana Chawla is on the mission led by Commander Rick Husband, a colonel in the US Air Force.

Sunita Lyn Williams (nee Pandya) is also in the elite list of short-listed astronauts and may become the second American-Indian to go into space after Chawla.

The latest Columbia flight will be the first dedicated research mission to be flown by the shuttle in almost three years. The mission would give 70 international scientists access to the microgravity environment of space, and a set of seven human researchers, for 16 uninterrupted days.

In a pre-flight talk with reporters at the KSC, Chawla said J R D Tata, who flew the first mail flights in India, prompted her to take up aeronautics as a career. "What J R D Tata had done during those years was very intriguing and definitely captivated my imagination," she said.

Earlier, Kalpana Chawala was a member of the six-astronaut crew that flew the Columbia Flight STS-87 on November 19, 1997.

Courtesy: www.indolink.com

New Delhi: After making a mark in India, the country's first lady IPS officer Kiran Bedi has added a new chapter to her chequered career by bagging a prominent assignment at the United Nations.

53-year-old Bedi, currently Special Commissioner of Delhi Police, has been appointed as the Civilian Police Adviser in the Department of Peacekeeping at the UN, the first woman to hold the post.

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has made the appointment and she will take over from the Acting Adviser Antero Lopes of Portugal.

Bedi, who is leaving for the UN next Monday for a conference scheduled earlier, will join the new three-year assignment shortly thereafter. The assignment involves "comprehensive" policing; including training and legal aspects and the three-year contract can be extended depending upon the performance.

The 1972-batch IPS officer of the UT cadre with five years to go for retirement has been honoured with numerous awards, including the Ramon Magsaysay Award (of Philippines) for Government Service, the Joseph Beus Foundation Award (of Germany) for Holistic and Innovative Management and the Morrison Tom Gitchoff Award (of the USA) for actions that have significantly improved the quality of justice in India. In 1979, she was also awarded the Police Medal for Gallantry for conspicuous courage.

Courtesy: PTI, January 11, 2003

London, January 11. For the first time in the history of London's Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), its Hindu officers have come together to form the Metropolitan Police Hindu Association (MPHA).

The MPS has an excess of 200 Hindu staff members. The chairman of MPHA, Mahesh Nandha, a Gujarati, said that there are already 40 people interested and more are expected once "we can formalize everything, like membership forms etc." The Association was inaugurated last month so it is in its formative stages.

Nandha explained that until now most other communities have their own associations within the MPS, except the Hindus. "Our aim is to help the Metropolitan Police and the Hindu staff in recruiting more people from the community and trying to keep them for longer within the service." A large number of Hindu staff often leaves after short period of service. He adds, "So it's a matter of retention and promotion. We can see how many Hindu officers are promoted, and they can come to us for guidance." He said the Association would provide welfare, support and mentoring. It will help improve recruitment and retention of Hindu employees by working in conjunction with police projects, policies and strategies and reduce premature resignation of Hindu employees.

A police constable himself, Nandha said that the Hindus are the last major community to form an association. Despite being one of the major religions of the world, passivity among Hindus has seen the Muslim, Sikh, Jewish, Italian, Greek and Black associations being formed earlier within the MPS. However, the launch of the MPHA follows a major campaign by the Metropolitan Police to stamp out race hate crime. Dissemination and knowledge of Hindu culture, he said, will undoubtedly help. He said he has already had very positive feedback from Brent Hindu Association and Brent Indian Association.

Courtesy: www.hindustantimes.com

London, January 9. The rise of people of Indian origin living and working in the United Kingdom becomes more evident every time the Asian Who's Who International, a huge tome containing the names of thousands of high-flying men and women, is published. The latest edition (there have been 15 so far) contained the names of 2,000 Indian achievers in the UK. When the first one was printed in 1976, there were just 175.

At the Asian of the Year Awards in London during December 2002, Mr David Blunkett, the UK's Home Secretary, said: "Indians in Britain have broken though the glass ceiling through their enterprise, innovations, and their aspirations."

Apart from those who receive public acclaim in one way or another because of their achievements, it is generally acknowledged that there are many more hard-working men and women of Indian origin who have been making valuable contributions.

LONDON, January 9. Ayurveda has become a buzzword in the west. The market in Britain is being flooded with new Ayurvedic products for consumers to lap up. The Western countries, in fact, are rapidly hijacking this ancient Indian form of medicine. This is a matter of concern, allege the practitioners of the traditional, purist form of ancient Indian ayurveda.

The Ayurvedic Company of Great Britain, which has been fighting for the Indian cause for some time, is sponsoring a conference in London, which will be inaugurated by the Maharaja of Mysore, later this month to discuss The Dangers of Western Dilution of Ayurveda. Its chairman Gopi Warrier told UK HT Online, that the issue needs to be tackled immediately. "It is a major loss of revenue to India, which amounts to about 90 billion pounds."

He explains that half a million Ayurvedic doctors from India are losing out because westerners travel to India for short courses on the subject. "Then they set up diploma courses to milk income from potential students. Of course these new gurus do not want western students to learn from Indian teachers and books from India," he said and added "Plagiarism at its worst, it is also illegal copying of intellectual property in its most subtle and vicious form".

The worry among Indian Ayurvedic practitioners and supporters is that the lack of respect in the West for authentic knowledge leads to its tendency "to hype, distort and hijack Ayurveda," and the fact that "there are billions of dollars to be made from the sale of herbal medicines for ailments that have no cure in the western systems." An example is the pilferage of Neem and other such products.

Ayurvedic remedies by the western pharmaceutical industry "is simply a dishonest appropriation of intellectual property, the siphoning off, of therapy systems like the shirodhara by western therapists and the so-called spas, pose a major danger to the unsuspecting public in the West."

Another cause for concern is the attempt to regulate Ayurveda. "It is merely ending up in the dilution of the qualifications of Ayurvedic practitioners to a curriculum of only 1100 hours, when a full Ayurvedic degree takes five and a half years to complete."

The Governments of India and China and other developing countries have "been advised to protect their heritage and not to allow the theft of their spiritual and intellectual property." Justice VR Krishna Iyer, Chief Justice, Kerala, will be speaking on the Value of Ayurvedic Intellectual Property and its Legal Protection, during the conference. Dr BM Hegde, Vice Chancellor of Manipal University will also be speaking at the conference.

Courtesy: www.hindustantimes.com

LONDON, January 9, 2003. It was a moment of pride for the cause of Hindi when 500 students from about 35 centres across Britain participated in the Hindi Competition 2002, spread over a month. It included both written and speech contest, of which the six best will be sent on an education tour of India.

Organised by the UK Hindi Samiti under the auspices of Hindi Advisory Board, UK and support of the Indian High Commission, the competition attracted students from Surrey, Slough, Hertfordshire, Birmingham, Walsall, Leicester, Belfast, Nottingham, Manchester and Leeds, apart from a sizeable number who live in London.

After the announcement of results the awards ceremony was held at the Hindu Cultural Society, Finchley. Navdeep Suri, Counselor Press & Information who was the chief guest assured that the doors of Indian High Commission in London would always be open for promotion of Hindi.

Courtesy: www.hindustantimes.com

East Indians in Hong Kong may now have an opportunity to become Chinese citizens. Fifteen-year-old Vehka Harjani, born in Hong Kong, has been granted Chinese nationality and a Hong Kong passport. She is the first recorded case where an Ethnic Indian with no Chinese blood or relatives has obtained these documents.

In the past, ethnic Indians applying for Chinese citizenship were denied. A top Indian consular official says, "It is a pointer towards a new approach towards ethnic minorities." Indian businessman and social activist Ravi Gidumal adds, "The move is an important milestone for Hong Kong Indians.

Courtesy: www.hindustantimes.com

Durban: Seven political stalwarts of Indian origin have been elected on December 20 to key posts of South Africa's ruling African National Congress' (ANC) 60-member National Executive Committee (NEC) for the next five years.

They were elected by around 3,000 delegates at the end of the ANC's week long national conference in the town of Stellen Bosch, near Cape Town.

The elected members of Indian origin are Education Minister Pro Kader Asmal, Parliamentary Speaker Frene Ginwala; Deputy Foreign Minister Aziz Pahad; Transport Minister Dullah Omar; Tourism and Environmental Minister Mahomed Valli Moosa; Minister in the Presidency Essop Pahad and former Member of Parliament (MP) Ebrahim Ismail Ebrahim.

Asmal and his fellow leaders are the last of stalwarts of Indian origin who are still active in the political life of the country since the first Democratic elections of 1994. Two other prominent politicians Mac Maharaj and Jay Naidoo stepped down from active political life after serving the first five years in the former President Nelson Mandela's cabinet.

It was rumoured at the end of their term in 1999 that they did not see "eye to eye" with current President Thabo Mbeki. Their decision to step down was a big blow for people of Indian origin but also tens of thousands of their comrades in the liberation struggle. The new 60-member ANC NEC saw the Finance Minister Trevor Manuel receiving the strongest support with 2,800 votes. He was the favourite, apparently because of his superb job in handling the finances of the country.

Courtesy: Press Trust of India

A graduate of the US Naval Academy and selected in the astronaut class of 1998, Sunita was appointed along with two others, to serve as backup crew for the International Space Station Expedition 10.

She will train as a space station flight engineer ahead of the mission. The NASA selected Sunita in June 1998 and she reported for training two months later.

Sunita, who was born in Euclid, Ohio in 1965, considers Needham, Mass, from where she did her high schooling, as her hometown. When not at her work, she like to swim, bike, windsurf and indulge in bow hunting.

Sunita, whose parents Deepak N Pandya and Ursaline B Pandya live in Falmouth, Massachusetts, is married to Michael J Williams. Neither Williams nor her parents could be reached for comments on her selection for the mission.

Courtesy: www.indolink.com

Bangalore, January 3: India's first step towards making an inventory of its bio-reserves has led to the identification of 24 new genes that could bring millions of rupees to the country.

The first phase of the "biodiversity atlas and database of India", released at the 90th Indian Science Congress here, has covered two of the richest "hotspots" in the country, the northeast and Kerala and the Western Ghat region.

"Nobody can now say that this is our Basmati as it happened in the Texamati case. But for security reasons I cannot reveal the names of the plants or species because we have filed for patents. They are really worth millions and millions of rupees," said Manju Sharma, India's secretary for biotechnology.

"India, with 2.4 percent of the world's area, has eight percent of the total biodiversity. It is one of the 12 mega diversity "hotspot" regions in the world. The maps of the hotspots provide information on habitat, habitat quality and biodiversity riches at macro level.

The findings are the result of a unique study taken up by the department of space and the department of biotechnology, using remote sensing, to generate "biome maps" to prevent "our genes from being taken away".

"We have covered 27 endemic species. The applications are enormous," Sharma said on the sidelines of the science congress. For instance, stress and cold resistant genes have been identified in the Himalayan region that could lead to more research and applications.

The study becomes crucial because, from new drugs to energy, the world becomes more dependent on plant reserves. "This is the first time any country has done an inventory of its bio-reserves. "Biodiversity has serious economic and social benefits for any country. Nearly 10 to 20 plant species provide 80 to 90 percent of food requirements of the world.

More than 8,000 species are used in some 10,000 drug formulations. The global plant-based drug trade is around Rs 310 billion with a seven percent annual growth rate but India has only about 2.5 percent share in it.

Courtesy: www.hindustantimes.com

NEW DELHI: Mauritian Premier Sir Anerood Jugnauth, former Commonwealth Secretary General Sir Sridath Ramphal, British MP Lord Navneet Dholakia and McKinsey partner Rajat Gupta are among ten eminent Indians abroad to be honoured by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee at an NRI convention on January nine.

A decision to this effect has been taken by the Pravasi Bharitya Samman jury headed by Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, Secretary in the External Affairs Ministry J C Sharma said here on Saturday.

Other People of Indian Origin who would be honoured are Ujjal Dosanjh, former Premier of British Columbia (Canada), D. Samy Vellu, a Malaysian Minister, Prof. Fatima Mir, well-known freedom fighter from South Africa, Manubhai Chanderia, businessman and philanthopist from Kenya, Hari Lila, businessman from Hong Kong and Kanakbhai Khemji, a businessman in Oman whose family is settled there for the last 300 years.

The Pravasi Bharatiya Divas is being organised in recognition and appreciation of the constructive, political and philanthropic role played by the Indian diaspora worldwide. The day marks return of Mahatma Gandhi, himself a non-resident Indian in South Africa for almost two decades, to India to lead the freedom struggle.

The main objectives are to understand the sentiments of NRIs and PIOs about the country and create a policy framework for a sustained and productive interaction and to acquaint the Indian people with the achievements of the Indian diaspora and their expectations from India.

It also aims at creating a network of the Indian diaspora across 110 countries and recognise the contribution made by this segment towards improving India's relationship with the host countries. Among the galaxy of PIOs attending the three-day meet are Pandit Ravi Shankar and Ustad Bismillah Khan, both have been honoured with Bharat Ratna, Nobel Laureates V S Naipaul and Amartya Sen, Sam Pitroda and Lord Bagri from the UK.

Courtesy: PTI, January 04, 2003