• India beats world champs
• Tendulkar century puts India on top
• Bill Gates confident India can eradicate polio
• Microsoft launches Live Search Maps for India

• Harbhajan third Indian to join 300 wicket club
• A fairy godmotyher turns orphanage into kids paradise
• Bill Gates Introduces DreamSpark Free Software in India
• The untold story: Army helps Kashmiris rebuild lives

It's been 20 years since Australia lost a Test series by a margin of more than one match. And in 1988-89, Australia had not established the reputation it has enjoyed for the last decade of being the world champs in both Test cricket and one-day internationals (ODIs). More to the point, in the four-game series which concluded at Nagpur on November 10, India beat Australia comprehensively, 2-0. The Mohali Test was won by a margin of 320 runs, a record for Indian cricket. And India won the Nagpur Test by 172 runs. However, with the Indian team virtually playing non-stop cricket over the last year or two, the BCCI should ensure that the players get a break in between series to recover from injuries and fatigue. Which is not happening right now, with a seven-game ODI series against England beginning at Rajkot on November 14, followed by two Tests. India's series win was a team effort. The incisive bowling of Zaheer, who used reverse swing effectively to make periodic breakthroughs. The speed, bounce and accuracy of his pace partner Ishant who got the Aussie skipper Ponting out a few times, en route to picking up the player of the series award with 15 wickets. The classic leg-spin of rookie Amit Mishra who took seven wickets on his debut at Mohali. The fluent batting of Sehwag, Gambhir, Laxman, Tendulkar and Ganguly, the last playing his farewell series. Harbhajan's heroics, not just with ball but bat at two critical periods in the first Test at Bangalore and the final one at Nagpur when India was precariously placed at 166 for 6 in the second innings. The brilliant fielding of opening bat Vijay in the last Test. All of which was topped by skipper Dhoni who led from the front by batting his team through critical situations in the matches India won, apart from keeping wickets competently and even driving the team-bus back to the hotel at the end of the first day's play at Nagpur!

Courtesy: www.economictimes.indiatimes.com, November 11, 2008

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Harbhajan Singh on Friday became the third Indian and 22nd cricketer in the world to claim 300 or more wickets in Test cricket when he dismissed Australian captain Ricky Ponting on the second day of the fourth and final Test. The Punjab offie, who is playing his 72nd Test, is behind just-retired Anil Kumble (619 from 132 Tests) and Kapil Dev (434 from 131 Tests). He is only the fifth spinner to join the 300-wicket club after Muttiah Muralitharan (756), Shane Warne (708), Kumble and Lance Gibbs (309) and second Indian spinner after Kumble. By claiming the wicket of Ponting, whom he has dismissed for the 10th time so far, Harbhajan has claimed his 200th wicket on India soil. The feisty off-spinner, who made his Test debut against Australia in Bangalore in March 1998, has also 195 ODI wickets to his kitty from 175 matches.

Courtesy: ww.economictimes.indiatimes.com, November 07, 2008

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Sachin Tendulkar scored his 40th Test century as India ended the first day of the fourth and last cricket Test against Australia at a comfortable 311 for five in the first innings at the brand new Vidarbha Cricket Association (VCA) Stadium here Thursday. At stumps, Sourav Ganguly, playing his last Test, was batting on 27 and captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni four to cap a good day's play, which also saw half centuries from Virender Sehwag (66) and V.V.S. Laxman (64) playing in his 100th Test. Tendulkar and Laxman revived India's innings with their 146-run fourth-wicket stand after they lost three wickets in the first session. Australia trail 0-1 in the four-match Test series and are in a must-win situation if they have to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy by squaring the series. The visitors went in with two spinners, Jason Krejza replacing Stuart Clark, and retaining leg-spinner Cameron White. But nothing went their way to start with after India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni decided to bat first on a virgin track. Tendulkar and Laxman steadied the innings with their big stand after Krejza created some panic in the in Indian camp in the morning session by dismissing Rahul Dravid and Virender Sehwag in quick succession. The dismissals reduced India to 116/3 from a healthy 98 for one by lunch. Tendulkar and Laxman played out the post-lunch session and they were particularly severe on Krejza, who conceded 138 runs in 28 overs for his three wickets. Openers Sehwag and debutant Murali Vijay (33), who came into the side in place of banned Gautam Gambhir, gave India a rollicking start, reeling off 98 runs at over five run an over. Sehwag looked in fine touch and was harsh on Australia's pace spearhead Brett Lee, hammering the speedster who conceded 20 runs in four-over first spell.

The 24-year-old Vijay looked composed and compact as he stroked fluently square of the wicket while Sehwag raced to his 16th half-century off just 45 balls. Shane Watson, who replaced Lee, struck to break the partnership, an awkward short-pitched delivery nicking Vijay's bat on its way to wicketkeeper Brad Haddin. Krejza, who continued to toss the ball up despite being spanked for a huge six by Sehwag, struck to dismiss Dravid. The former captain was surprised by the turn and the bounce the off-spinner got so early on day one and stabbed at a sharp one to be caught at forward short-leg. Minutes before lunch, Sehwag tried to late cut the off-spinner only to drag the ball on to his stump. If the first session saw Sehwag's belligerent power-play, Tendulkar and Laxman batted steadily in the second to set-up the foundation for a big first innings score. They guided India to 202 for three at tea. Tendulkar scored briskly and was let off twice as he neared century. First it was Mitchell Johnson, who dropped a regulation catch when Tendulkar was on 85 and then at 96 Lee made a valiant effort in vain to get under a skier running backwards. Tendulkar had to wait for three more overs before getting his century in style, square-cutting Krejza for a four. His partnership with Laxman came to an end when the stylish Hyderabadi nicked Krejza to Haddin to become the debutant's third victim. Johnson, who bowled a disciplined line and length, finally got his reward, trapping Tendulkar legbefore. Ganguly and Dhoni saw off the last few over before play was called off three overs still to be bowled.

Courtesy: www.jansamachar.net, November 06, 2008

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She is like a fairy godmother to the little kids in her orphanage - doling out dollops of love and affection as she interacts with them, never for a moment letting them feel the want of a normal home. Sadhvi Sarlaben, who is around 60, has turned the Satyam Sanskar Mandir orphanage here into a kids paradise. Clad in a white sari, Sadhvi Sarlaben walks around the over 60,000 sq mt home to see that the children get all the amenities they would get in normal circumstances. The kids, dressed in colourful clothes, play with toys and ride tri-cycles merrily. Cozy, well laid out beds line the bedrooms. The kids have a weekly medical check up and a retinue of servants attend on them. Festivals are always fun-filled times, with lots of goodies and food around. This Diwali was especially memorable with the children getting to burst crackers worth nearly Rs.20,000, thanks to a local NGO. Sarlaben, a post-graduate in literature, is the daughter of a Jamnagar millionaire. Simple by nature, Sarlaben chose to dedicate her life to the service of children and god. She had always felt sorry for children who had lost their near and dear ones. When she was entrusted the task of taking charge of the orphanage, her joy knew no bounds. "I wish to see them as doctors, engineers, scientists. Since children are 'Brahma swaroop' we spare no efforts to make them happy," Sarlaben told IANS.

As eight-year-old Dharti darts nearby, Sarlaben says the child's parents had died in an accident and her aunt was too poor to take care of the child. Dharti is from a nearby village. There is also seven-year-old Krupali, with an infectious smile. The food for the kids is very appetising. "Right from vegetables to ghee and oil to pulses - everything is brought here after ensuring its quality. We have a storeroom, kitchen and a dining room. All are meant for the children. We have a governess for each group of six kids and there are 38 kids whom we look after. We plan to increase this number to 50. The strength would go up later," she said. Sarlaben is against seeking government aid. "We do not want any bureaucratic interference that could lead to avoidable evils. Nothing should be done that would affect the unity and purity of this institution," she says firmly. The Satyam Sanskar Mandir was built in 2003 at a cost of Rs.20 million. The orphanage has vast corridors, big halls, comfortable rooms, kitchen and store rooms. It also has a dispensary with two paid doctors to look after the kids.

Courtesy: www.jansamachar.net, November 06, 2008

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Bill Gates praised the Indian government's efforts to fight polio and predicted Wednesday that with the help of his public health foundation significant progress will be made in the battle to wipe out the disease. Gates, who co-chairs the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation with his wife, said India was on track to rid the country of polio and could be a model for other nations still struggling with the deadly disease. Gates said India, a nation of 1.1bn people, was doing a good job of fighting polio with immunization drives and an effective surveillance program that identifies cases early, and his foundation aimed to support the government's efforts. "It's amazing what a large task this is," Gates told reporters in his first trip to India since stepping down from Microsoft to devote his time to philanthropy. "Despite the challenges, I'm more convinced than ever that India will lead the way to the successful eradication of polio." There have been 496 cases of polio in India so far this year, accounting for about 35% of polio cases worldwide, according to the World Health Organization. Most of those are in the impoverished northern states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, where poor public health facilities, shoddy infrastructure and strong monsoons have made immunization drives difficult. Polio mostly strikes children under 5 and is spread when unvaccinated people come into contact with the feces of those with the virus, often through water. It usually attacks the nervous system, causing paralysis, muscular atrophy, deformation and sometimes death. According to government figures, India has immunized 172 million children against the disease. "This is a case where the government is doing the right thing,'' Gates said. "It's just very difficult to get all the children immunized." When the WHO and partners began their drive to eradicate polio in 1988, there were more than 350,000 annual cases worldwide. But that number has been slashed by more than 99% and the disease is endemic in only four countries: Afghanistan, India, Nigeria and Pakistan. There have 1,431 global cases of polio so far this year, up from 1,315 last year, according to the WHO. The Gates Foundation has spent $400 million worldwide in polio eradication efforts and Gates said the organization was committed to continuing the fight.

Courtesy: www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com, November 05, 2008

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Microsoft unveiled on Wednesday its DreamSpark program that offers some of the company's development and designer tools free to students. The announcement was made in India by Microsoft chairman Bill Gates at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Delhi. Gates is visiting India mainly in connection with his philanthropic interests. Microsoft launched the DreamSpark program in February in the U.S., China and some countries in Europe, with plans to introduce it in stages in a number of other countries. Microsoft said at the time that the company was providing professional-level tools hoping to "inspire students to explore the power of software and encourage them to forge the next wave of software-driven breakthroughs." The DreamSpark tools are available online and through DVDs from Microsoft's program partners such as NIIT, Aptech and Hughes Net Fusion Centers. These partners will also provide technology training on the DreamSpark software tools at a nominal cost, Microsoft said. Microsoft DreamSpark is available to all interested students besides those studying in technology areas, a Microsoft spokeswoman said. Microsoft already has programs in India in the area of education including one that trains teachers in government run schools on the use of computer technology.

Courtesy: www.pcworld.com, November 05, 2008

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Microsoft India on Monday launched Live Search Maps for India that offers users access to detailed listings and street maps for 9 Cities, business listings across 29 Cities and access to highway networks to 20,000 cities and towns. Live Search Maps for India is on Microsoft's Live Search Service, thereby allowing users to search for geographical information, places of general interest and business listings both on the PC and Mobile at http://maps.live.co.in and http://m.live.co.in. This is the first version of its local mapping service for India with the key features developed by the Microsoft India Development Centre (MSIDC) based in Hyderabad. Speaking on the launch, Rishi Srivastava, Consumer & Online Marketing Operations Head, Microsoft India, said, "We are proud to launch Live Search Maps for users in our country. This is the first version of Live Search Maps for India and Microsoft will continue to introduce new features and improvements in the near future to meet emerging needs of consumers. Over the last two years, Microsoft has made significant investments into research and development for Live Search, acquired global resources and introduced several new features which we believe are extremely relevant and will deliver great value to our users. Live Search Maps will be accessible on the PC and the mobile, thus ensuring that users get the information they need anytime".

-- Addresses, roads, localities, landmarks, detailed street maps and places of general interest like monuments, restaurants, hotels and other places of interest across 9 Indian cities - Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pune, Ahmedabad, and Jaipur.

-- Business listings across 29 major Indian cities such as Mumbai, Delhi, Pune, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Agra, Allahabad, Amritsar, Bhubaneshwar, Chandigarh, Cochin, Coimbatore, Jaipur, Jalandhar, Kanpur, Lucknow, Ludhiana, Mangalore, Nagpur, Nasik, Patiala, Patna, Rajkot, Surat, Vadodara and Vishakapatnam.

-- Basic geographical information on the national road network of India across 20,000 cities and towns.

Key features of Live Search Maps for India include Street Maps, Location Search, Business Listing Search, Routing or Directions for Navigation and options for users to print, share collections through email, blogs on Windows Live. "After recent innovations for Live Search such as Image Search, Video Search, Local Search, xRank and Instant Answers, we have rolled out Live Search Maps on our search platform to enable people to learn, discover, and explore specific locations in India", said Rishi Srivastava. Some of the unique aspects about Location Search on Live Search Maps are its global relevance, context-awareness, error-tolerance, partial decoding of address, acronym expansion, road intersection and context sensitive global fuzzy search.

How Can Live Search Maps Help?

-- Short city names such as "Blr", "Hyd" "Dl" will take you to the city of Bangalore, Hyderabad or Delhi. While you are in a particular city, say, Bangalore, "MG Road" will show the MG Road on the map of Bangalore and other MG Roads in India as suggestions.

-- While you are in Hyderabad, the query "Bangalore Golf Course" will place the pushpin on the "Bangalore Golf Course, Bangalore" at their exact position on the map while showing other golf courses in India as suggestions.

-- "Airport, Delhi" will lead to the "Indira Gandhi International Airport, Gurgaon Road, New Delhi, Delhi" at the exact position on the map.

-- If a user poses the location query "#643, Janu's Residency, CMH Road, 100 ft road, Blr" it will return with the suggestion "Chinmaya Mission Hospital Road, 100 Feet Road, Indiranagar, Bangalore, Karnataka, India".

-- If user is in Bangalore and queries for "MG Road", he will get "MG Road, Bangalore". If the user searches for "Begumpet", he or she will get "Begumpet, Hyderabad"

Several key innovations and features of Live Search Maps India were developed at MSIDC based on their research and understanding of the search needs of users in India; thus ensuring local relevance and customization of the product, Live Search Maps on Mobile is a Direct To Consumer (DTC) service without requiring one-on-one relationships with the mobile carriers. It leverages the Live Search Maps for India to deliver 2D Mobile Maps, Location Search and Driving Directions and supports Adaptive Rendering for results from Web, News, Instant Answers and Spaces Search.

"In the near future we plan to add new features such as Landmark Based Driving Directions, Collections Search, options for Enterprise Customers and Developer community to create custom mash-ups, along with satellite imagery and related features for India and key cities," said, Gurpreet S. Pall, General Manager - Live Search and MSN Technologies, Microsoft India Development Centre.

"Live Search Maps India was created after carefully studying search and map information needs of Indian consumers and will continue to be improved in terms of coverage of cities, details of locations, search relevance and overall user experience", added Gurpreet.

Live Search Maps India is powered by the Microsoft Virtual Earth platform, draws information through multiple local vendor sources such as NavTeq and uses Government of India approved data. Partner NavTeq provided Microsoft the data for the maps on Live Search Maps in India. "We are proud to be working with Microsoft in its launch of Live Search Maps for India. Together we have brought Live Search Maps India to consumers in a manner that provides value to the users by delivering quality data that is relevant to them. And it is notable that Live Search Maps has the approval from the Government of India. We are proud that Microsoft has recognized the depth and quality of our India map data, and we look forward to continuing to play a role as we both expand our presence in this key market," said Rich Shuman, senior vice president Asia-Pacific Sales, NavTeq

Courtesy: www.financialexpress.com, November 04, 2008

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Sixteen-year-old Iqbal Ahmad, from a frontier town in Jammu and Kashmir, was shattered after he lost his left arm and leg in a landmine blast that also killed his father some years ago. But today Iqbal is happy and walks to his school - of course with difficulty - but no longer feels despondent. "Thank you", he says to the Indian Army, which gave him not only the artificial limbs but also free education. "The army took care of my family. It not only gave me free artificial limbs but is also educating me free of the cost. I owe a lot to them," Iqbal, of Mendhar town in Poonch district of Jammu, told IANS over the telephone. Iqbal's is just one of the many success stories of the Indian Army's 10-year-old Operation Sadbhavana (goodwill) in the violence-plagued state. The Indian Army has been constructing school buildings, roads and bridges and helping to ameliorate sufferings, particulary of women and children as part of the exercise. Fighting heavily armed guerrillas since 1989, the army began the goodwill mission in 1998 to rebuild Kashmir's socio-economic structure that had been shattered by years of terrorism and to restore confidence among the people. "Women and children were the worst sufferers of terrorist activities. So they were the natural focus of Operation Sadbhavana," said Col. D.K. Kachari, spokesman of the Northern Command that administers the exercise. "The various projects of Operation Sadbhavana focus on quality education, women's empowerment, better healthcare and community development," he pointed out. "The operation began with a modest budget of Rs.4 crore (Rs.40 million) and till now the army has spent Rs.300 crore (Rs.3 billion) on it," Kachari told IANS.

According to the spokesman, the army has constructed about 60 school buildings and renovated 534 in the Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh regions of the state. This apart, it is running 60 Army Goodwill Schools that impart education to about 6,800 students and provide employment to 346 teachers. "These are run on a not-for-profit basis," the spokesman said. The army also provides vocational training to women, has established computer training centres, installed micro-hydel projects, organises medical camps to provide free artificial limbs and primary health, and has set up many orphanages across the state. Said Eijaz Kazmi, a journalist in Poonch: "Many people have benefited in terms of education, vocational training, employment and medical aid from Operation Sadbhavana." P. Namgyal, the Congress' Rajya Sabha MP from Ladakh, was extremely appreciative of Operation Sadbhavana. "The best part of the scheme was introduction of greenhouses in (the cold desert region of) Ladakh, due to which Ladakhis are producing vegetables, which otherwise was impossible," Namgyal, a former central minister, told IANS on the telephone.

Courtesy: www.jansamachar.net, November 01, 2008

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