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New Delhi/Hyderabad:
The demand for a sepa-
rate Telangana had
existed for six decades,
which created turbu-
lence in Andhra Pradesh
in the past five years.
But the timing to bifur-
cate Andhra Pradesh
two months before the
scheduled general elec-
tion smacks of a politi-
cal motive on the part
of the ruling party at the center.
The motive could only be to
deliver the newly created state in
the Congress column. Indeed, TRSchief K. Chandrasekhara Rao has
thanked Congress president Sonia
Gandhi. "Without her support, this
would not have become possible,"
he said.
But while the birth of Indias
29th state -- as parliament
Thursday gave its approval to
divide Andhra Pradesh -- triggered
celebrations across Telangana,
pr ot es ts an d gl oo m sp re ad toRayalaseema and coastal Andhra
regions.
Amid unprecedented bedlam,
which even forced the Congress
party members to form a protective
ring before Prime Minister
New Delhi: The Supreme Court
Thursday blocked the Tamil Nadu
government's order to release
seven convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi
assassination case in what is seen
as a tug-of-war between the center
and the southern state ruled by
Jayalalithas AIADMK, which isinimical to Congress party.
Although the apex courts order
to the Tamil Nadu government
covered only three convicts whose
death sentence was commuted to
life imprisonment Feb 18, it would
apply to the other four as well as
the court said it was examining the
larger issue of procedural lapse.
Solicitor General Mohan
Prasaran said the central govern-
ment's application named only
three convicts but other four too
would be impacted by the order.
Ordering status quo, a bench of
Chief Justice P. Sathasivam, JusticeRanjan Gogoi and Justice N.V.
Ramana said it would examine the
pr ocedur al la pses in th e Tamil
Nadu government 's decisi on to
release within three days the three
convicts along with four others in
the case. Justice Sathasivam said:
New York: In an acquisition move
bigger than Google , Microsof t or
Apple have ever done, Facebook
has announced to buy mobile mes-
saging service WhatsApp for $19billion.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg
explained Wednesday why his
company is paying $12 billion in
Facebook stock and $4 billion in
cash for WhatsApp. "Our mission
is to make the world more open
and connected. We do this by
building services that help people
share any type of content with any
group of people they want.
"WhatsApp will help us do thisby continuing to develop a service
that people around the world love
to use every day," explained
Zuckerberg.
According to Zuckerberg,
WhatsApp would continue to oper-
ate independently within
Facebook."The product roadmapwould remain unchanged. We also
expect that WhatsApp will add to
our efforts for Internet.org, our
partnership to make basic internet
services affordable for everyone,"
he said. WhatsApp has more than
450 million
The South Asian Timese x c e l l e n c e i n j o u r n a l i s m
excellence in journalismHealth 15Op Ed 13
Vol.6 No. 43 February 22-28, 2014 60 Cents New York Edition Follow us on TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Lens Eye 18 Spiritual Awareness 30
Andhra Pradesh
torn apart
Continued on page 4
Continued on page 4
Continued on page 4
Political motive seen behind the timing of
the division of the southern state whichtriggered protests in Seemandhra and
jubilation in Telangana.
Anti-Telangana activists setting ablaze the effigy of CongressPresident Sonia Gandhi who supported the demand for
Telangana state. (Inset) Pro-Telangana activists rejoicing.
Pre-election posturing has started as the convicts werereleased by Tamil Nadu government of Jayalalitha.
The Indian American CEO has a challenging job as the softwarebehemoth fell behind in devices and social media.
Former PM Rajiv Gandhi wasassassinated by Tamil Tigers
in 1991 near Chennai.
Satya Nadella wants to reinvent Microsoft
Facebook acquires WhatsApp for $19 bn
New York: Even a schoolboy can
tell you that Microsoft may still be
minting money but in terms of
innovation and gaining an edge,
Apple, Google and Facebook have
long surpassed the worlds largest
software company.
So, when Indian American Satya
Nadella took the helm earlier this
month, Microsoft watchers, along
with consumers, are eager to seewhat dramatic changes he has up
his sleeve. In an interview with the
Ne w York
Rajiv assassination: Apex court suspends release of convicts
Continued on page 4
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February 22-28, 2014TheSouthAsianTimes.info
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3February 22-28, 2014TheSouthAsianTimes.info TRISTATE COMMUNITY
Trivedi launches third run for Congress from PAWashington: Manan
Trivedi, a Democratic
ph ys ic ia n fr om
Philadelphia, has filed his
candidacy for
Pennsylvanias 6th District
seat in the US House of
Representatives.
Trivedi, who has run
unsuccessfully twice
before in 2010 and 2012,
decided to give it a third
try after Republican incum-be nt Re p. Ji m Ge rl ac h
decided not run for re-elec-
tion this November. So far,
Trivedis only competition
is fellow Democrat Mike
Parrish, a former
Republican who is a local
businessman. Both he and
Trivedi have something
else in common: a military
ba ck gr ou nd , as Tr iv ed i
served in the Iraq War
nearly 10 years ago as a
battalion surgeon.
Speaking with local news
outlet Philly.com, the 39
year-old Trivedi said that
hes running because this
is a great opportunity to get
a refreshing change in the
district.
Trivedi has a host of
endorsements from State
Senators and local luminar-
ies, and is just now startingto raise funds for his cam-
paign, but it will be a tough
hill to climb to beat
Parrish. The latter was
recently endorsed by for-
mer Speaker of the House
Nancy Pelosi and cur rent
Rep. Robert Brady (D-PA).
New York: To recognize the successful
Indians globally and to celebrate their
achievements, TIMES NOW, Indias No. 1
English News channel from Times Group,has announced its new initiative awarding
successful NRIs. This award is open to any
NRI, OC or PIO who has resided in USA,
Canada, Singapore, UK, and the Middle
East for a minimum of 2 years and will
have a five tier evaluation process managed
by Ernst & Young.
The First Edition of the Times Now ICICI
Bank NRI of the Year awards powered by
Global Indian International School (GIIS)
will be held at a glittering ceremony in
Mumbai in March 2014. All episodes of
the awards including winner profiles will
be broadcast on Times Now in its global
feeds in over 75 countries. The final awards
show will also be broadcast in India.
The awards will be given in six categories
Entrepreneur, Professional, Student, Arts/
Entertainment, Philanthropy and Social
Good and contribution to India. The nomi-
nations process was supported by various
organizations around the world including
Federation of Indian Associations (FIA),
Singapore India Chamber of Commerce
and Industry, UK India Business Council,
British Asian Physicians of Indian Origin
(BAPIO) TiE, Singapore, and The India
Club, Dubai.
Sunil Lulla, Managing Director and CEO
of Times Television Network said, We are
proud to announce Times Nows initiative
to recognize and award the excellent work
done by NRIs around the world. We hope
we can build this into a truly unique global
event in the times to come.
Na ve en Ch an dr a, th e He ad of
International Business, Times Television
Ne tw or k ad de d, We ha ve re ce ived a
tremendous response for the first ever NRI
of the Year awards both from supporting
organizations globally and the sponsors.
Our intensive marketing effort will help us
receive a record number of nominations
from participant countries.
There is no exaggeration in saying that
with their grit and perseverance, NRIs
have achieved tremendous success in vari-
ous fields in their adopted countries. Many
of them are accomplished politicians, sci-
entists, businessmen, professionals, acade-
micians and entertainers.
Times Now launches NRI of the Year awardsThe First Edition of the awards will be held at
a glittering ceremony in Mumbai in March 2014.
Jaipur Foot founder DR Mehtafelicitated at Consulate
New York: D.R. Mehta, the
founder of Bhagwan
Mahaveer Viklang SahayataSamiti (BMVSS), know the
world over for devising the
Jaipur Foot, was felicitated
at a dinner at the Indian
Consulate in New York in
the presence of Amb.
Dnyaneshwar M. Mulay, the
Consul General of India.
Among those in attendance
were Rajasthan Association
of North America (RANA)
President, Dr. Narendra
Hadpawat, Diamond and
Colorstone Association
President, Mehul Shah, and
some other jewelers commu-
nity leaders.BMVSS is the largest such
organization in the world,
serving the disabled people
by providing artificial limbs,
calipers, and other aids and
appliances, free of charge
not only in India, but also in
27 countries in the world
such as Afghanistan,
Pakistan, Somalia and Iraq.
Besides the limb, BMVSS
provides beneficia ries with
economic support and means
of livelihood.
The Jaipur Foot is known
for transforming the lives of
thousands of land mine
amputees. With the help of
the Jaipur Foot, an amputee
can walk, sit, run, and even
climb a tree. Nearly 1.4 mil-
lion people have been bene-
fitted by BMVSS.
BMVSS believes that sen-
timents and compassion
must be fused with scienceand technology. It has tie ups
with leading universities for
R&D. In collaboration with
Stanford University,
BMVSS has designed a self-
lubricating knee joint, which
replicates natural joints
movements. Working with
MIT, scientists have
designed a unique wheel-
chair-cum-tricycle. Time
Magazine hailed the
Stanford Jaipur Knee as one
of the 50 best inventions of
the world in 2009. BMVSS
founder Mr Mehta is a recip-
ient of Padma Bhushan,CNBC award for social
enterprise, and the Mother
Teresa memorial award. But
the former chairman of
Securities and Exchange
Board (SEBI) of India and
RBI deputy governor says
that the satisfaction he gets
witnessing the smile of ape rson wh o ge ts up and
walks with the help of Jaipur
Foot is his ultimate award.
Mr Mehta has inspired
people like Vibhor Dhadda,
a student in New Jersey who
coordinated Mehtas itiner-
ary in the US and has been
associated with BMVSS
since 2012. Says Dhadda,
Looking into the eyes of
people BMV SS hel ps and
trying to really feel what the
amputees were going
through was traumatic, and I
knew I could not go on with
my life as usual. I had to domy part.
Harris seeks re-electionas California attorney general
Washington: California'sIndian-American Attorney
General Kamala Harris,
has filed her papers for re-
election.
"So far, so good," said
Harris, who is so far run-
ning unopposed, after fil-
ing the papers with San
Francisco's Department of
Elections last week.
"The deadline is March
7, so we'll see," she was
quoted as saying by local
San Francisco Appeal.
Harris, 48, daughter of an
Indian mother and an
African-American father,pr ev io us ly se rved tw o
terms as San Francisco's
district attorney before
winning her current seat in
2010.
As of Jan 31, Harris had
reported more than $3.1
million in campaign funds
- $2.5 million of which
was raised in 2013, accord-
ing to the CaliforniaSecretary of State's office.
Harris said her strong
fundraising totals reflect
that people support the
work she has done over the
past four years.
She said she hopes to
continue work in areas
including human traffick-ing, privacy rights, home-
owner foreclosure relief
and criminal justice
reforms aimed at reducing
recidivism among criminal
offenders.
Harris counts President
Barack Obama among her
friends. Last April, Obama
caused a stir by calling her
as "by far the best-looking
attorney general". Later he
apologized to her for
remarks that some branded
sexist.
"She's brilliant and she's
dedicated, she's tough...She also happens to be, by
far, the best looking attor-
ney general," Obama said
according to a transcript
pr ov id ed by th e Wh it e
House only to cause a
nationwide flutter among
the chatterati.
Kamala Harris is so farrunning unopposed
Will Dr Manan Trivedi bethird time lucky?
DR Mehta (second from right), RANAs NarendraHadpawat, CG Mulay and Dharam Chand Hirawat,
a prominent jeweler, at the event.
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4 February 22-28, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.infoTURN PAGE
Andhra Pradesh torn apart ...
Continued from page 1
Manmohan Singh when he spoke,
the Rajya Sabha passed, by voice
vote, the Andhra Pradesh
Reorganisation Bill.
Meeting the demands of opposi-
tion BJP and clearing the decks for
the passage of the bill, the prime
minister, whose speech was not
audible among slogan-shouting byanti-Telangana MPs, announced a
package for Seemandhra, as the two
other regions are collectively called.
Members of CPI-M and DMK
staged a walk out before the bill was
pa ssed , wh il e th e Sh iv Sena ,
Trinamool Congress and Samajwadi
Party were among the parties that
opposed the bill.
The bill, passed amid chaotic con-
ditions in the Lok Sabha Tuesday
amid a telecast blackout, will now
go to president for his assent. The
central government will then pub-
lish a gazette notification. With this,
two states of Telugu-speaking peo-
ple will come into existence.Telangana state will comprise 10
districts - Hyderabad, Ranga Reddy,
Medak, Nalgonda, Mahabubnagar,
Karimnagar, Warangal, Khammam,
Nizamab ad and Adil abad . It wil l
have about 3.5 crore population.
Hyderabad, the capital of existing
Andhra Pradesh, will be a common
capital of both the states for 10
years. The residuary state of Andhra
Pradesh comprising Seemandhra
will have 13 districts and a popula-
tion of over 5 crore.
In his intervention in the debate
on the bill which was marked by
several adjournments and slogan
shouting by members opposed to the
creation of the new state,
Manmohan Singh sought to reach
out to Seemandhra, assuring that
special status will be given for five
years to the residual state of Andhra
Pradesh. After the bill was passed,
Parliamentary Affairs Minister
Kamal Nath expressed his happi-
ness, saying that there was demand
for Telangana state for almost 60
years. Home Minister Sushilkumar
Shinde said that the bill had been
passed with support of several par-
ties.
While the BJP fought for a fair
deal for Seemandhra, the MPs of
Congress and other parties from
Seemandhra merely indulged in slo-
gan-shouting.
Satya Nadella wants to reinvent...
Continued from page 1
Times this week, Nadella hinted at
some of what he intends to do as
CEO of the company founded by
Bill Gates.
"Longevity in this business is
about being able to reinvent yourself
or invent the future. In our case,
given 39 years of success, its more
about reinvention. Weve had great
successes, but our future is not
about our past success. Its going to
be abou t whet her we wil l invent
things that are really going to drive
our future," Nadella states in the
interview.Nadella reveals that he isn't big on
people who say, "this is how we do
it." He believes that to be a danger-
ous trap. Rather, one should take
valuable experience and apply it to
the current context and subsequently
raise standards. In other words, use
what you know and make the com-
pany better, he feels. Nadella admits
that Microsoft has done well thus
far, but now its time for innovation
and fostering new growth.
"Culturally, I think we have operat-
ed as if we had the formula figured
out, and it was all about optimizing,
in its various constituent parts, the
formula. Now it is about discover-
ing the new formula," he adds.
This kind of change will not occur
overnight or because the organiza-
tional chart was shuffled around.
Instead, Nadella believes Microsoft
employees need to own an innova-
tion agenda and collectively share
that vision.
Nadella's goal is to reinvent. What
could that mean? What does Nadella
have planned? We will likely get our
first glimpse at what Microsoft has
in store for us at the company's
upcoming BUILD 2014 Developer
Conference in April.
Rajiv assassination: Apex court...
Continued from page 1
"When death sentence is commuted
to life imprisonment, then the statehas to give special reasons for grant-
ing remission."
On Wednesday, Tamil Nadu Chief
Minister J. Jayalalitha ordered the
release of the seven, including three
Indian and four Sri Lankan Tamils,
convicted in the 1991 assassination
of Rajiv Gandhi.
A Tamil Tiger woman suicide
bomber strapped with explosives
assassinated Gandhi at an election
rally near Chennai May 21, 1991.
The suicide bomber was among
some 15 people who also died in the
explosion.
The next year, India outlawed the
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam(LTTE), which was eventually
crushed by the Sri Lankan military
in 2009, ending a quarter century
long separatist conflict in the island.
The court order Thursday came as
Prasaran said the decision to free the
convicts could not be taken without
the approval of the central govern-
ment whose investigating agency
probed the assassination leading to
their conviction.
Facebook acquires WhatsApp...
Continued from page 1
monthly active users and Facebook
CEO Mark Zuckerberg says it is on
pa th to re ach a bi ll ion user s.
"WhatsApp will complement the
existing chat and messaging servic-
es to provide new tools for our com-
munity," he noted in his statement.
Facebook Messenger is widely used
for chatting with Facebook friends
and WhatsApp for communicating
with other contacts and small groups
of people.
Mystic India show to entertain New JerseyNew York: After performing to
sold-out audiences across the world,
Mystic India: The World Tour
comes to Newark, NJ, and the New
Jersey Performing Arts Centers
Prudential Hall on March 8 for one
performance only. Mystic India is
an internationally acclaimedBollywood dance spectacular based
on the concept of ancient Indias
transition into modern India. The
show features renowned musicians,
brilliant dancers, breathtaking aeri-
alists and acrobats, and 750 opulent
costumes.
Founder and Director of Mystic
India, Amit Shah said, We are
excited to be presenting Mystic
India at NJPAC. We have travelled
to four continents and performed for
over 200,000 people. It is truly an
honor to be performing at such a
pre sti gio us venue on our "ho me
turf," and we are most excited about
launching some of our new contentat NJPAC. When I first created the
show, I wanted to spread our love
for Indian culture around the world
and represent India in the most
accurate way. My goal was to
change the way Bollywood dance
was represented on the international
platform, as its being commercial-
ized and losing authenticity. I amproud of our diverse cast for being
such genuine ambassadors of Indian
culture.
Audiences can expect an explo-
sion of color and culture as Mystic
India embarks on a journey through
various regions of India and culmi-
nate with a celebration of the
Bollywood film industry. The team
of diverse, trained dancers combine
authentic Indian and modern tech-
niques bringing the streets of
Mumbai and New York into perfect
harmony. Musicians and acrobats
join a team of 60 dancers to create a
global spectacle.
Tickets may be purchased atwww.njpac.org.
Atlanta: AAHOA Vice
Chairman Pratik Patel,
who becomes the asso-
ciations chairman next
month at the AAHOA
Annual Convention and
Trade Show in
Philadelphia, has been
named to the board of
directors of two presti-
gious industry groups.
He has been elected
first vice president for 2014 of the
Texas Hotel & Lodging
Associations Board of Directors
and will ascend to the position of
Chairman of the Board for TH&LA
in 2015.
Patel has been active with the
TH&LA and has served on its board
since 2008. He has also been named
to the 2014 Board of
Directors of the American
Hotel & Lodging
Association (AH&LA).
This 60-member board con-
sists of C-level, or chief
level, executives who repre-
sent the full scope of the
lodging industry, including
bran ds , owne rs , RE IT s,
management companies,
independents, and state asso-
ciations. A second generation hote-
lier, Patel is a principal in REM
Hospitality, which owns and man-
ages a portfolio of more than a
dozen hotels and other real estate
properties. The San Antonio-based
company specializes in branded
hotels for upscale, limited-service,
and extended-stay markets.
AAHOAs Pratik Patel named to two boards
AAHOA
Chairman elect
Pratik Patel
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5February 22-28, 2014TheSouthAsianTimes.info TRISTATE COMMUNITY
Visa on arrival in India may give new life to Indian
American run travel businessesBy Jinal Shah
New York: With Indian government
planning to extend the visa-on-ar-
rival facility to tourists from 180
countries, travel companies in the
US, especially the ones operated by
Indian American agents, now have a
reason to smile.
For long travel firms have been
reeling under intense competition
both from other agenesis and agen-
cies online. Worse, long queues at
consulates for Indian visa and the
string of rape cases that tarnished In-
dias image kept tourists from visit-ing India affecting business.
Each passing year the number of
people inquiring about travel to India
individually or in groups has been
dropping drastically, but the new
scheme visa on arrival in India --
will just infuse new life in the dying
business, claims an excited Charu
Patel, a private tour operator in New
Jersey.
Indian tourism ministry recently
announced that tourists travelling to
India from some180 countries will
no longer have to queue up at their
local Indian consulates to obtain
visas under reforms expected to be
approved this week.
Most foreigners currently have to
wait several weeks before learning
whether they will be allowed to enter
the country after submitting their ap-
plications at visa processing centers,
a major deterrent for potential visi-
tors.
India currently issues visas on ar-
rival to visitors from about a dozen
countries, including Japan and In-
donesia. But visitors from countries
which account for the bulk of its
tourists - such as the United States,
Britain and France - have to go
through the time-consuming process
of applying in person. In New York,
for example, applicants have to
process their visa documents through
an India visa processing company or
personally hand in documents.
Currently applying for Indian visa
is a cumbersome process. Visa pro-
cessing, which should not take more
than one to three business days for
in-person application, however it
takes more than three to four weeks.
Tourists are frustrated with the way it
is processed by these outsourcing
companies, said Peter Kothari, pres-
ident, Quick Travels in New Jersey.
Travel agencies like Kotharis are
providing visa services for a nominal
fee of $35-$50. Services include
checking, pick up and dropping pa-
perwork. Although with the new
scheme we will lose the visa fees we
are happy to sacrifice for more cus-
tomers. The issue is not visa ap-
proval but the way it is processed.
The Indian consulate has been con-
stantly changing the private contrac-
tor responsible for processing Indian
visa resulting in chaos and unneces-
sary delays, added Jatin Patel, trav-
el consultant Air Savings travel.
New reforms include simplifying
online visa system, relaxing visa
regime for conferences and senior
citizen foreign tourists. Under the
new scheme, the electronic visa-on-
arrival would be available at 26 ma-jor airports in India and would be
valid for 30 days from the date of the
tourist's arrival in India. The govern-
ment plans to set up a website en-
abling tourists to apply for the visa
and pay the fee. The visa would then
be available for collection on arrival
at any airport after three days.
Most tour operators are expecting
an increase in the group and corpo-
rate traveling to India. But not all are
as hopeful as Kothari and Charu,
some even fear losing that extra buck
earned by providing visa services.
On arrival visas will definitely
boost tourism in India but that does
not necessarily translate into increase
in sales for us. This is a dying busi-
ness thanks to the cutthroat competi-
tion from both agencies as well as
travel websites. In Oak Tree Road,
NJ, alone there are over 35 travel
agents and most of them are scram-
bling to hold on to their existing
clients. Airlines too are providing the
same rate as we are, said Patel.
New York: India's Ranbaxy Laboratories and
Israel's Teva pharmaceutical Industries are set
to settle over allegations that the two rival
generic drug makers made an unlawful agree-
ment to restrict competition, according to amedia report.
New York Attorney General Eric Schneider-
man was expected to announce the settlement
Wednesday with US units of the two compa-
nies, the Wall Street Journal reported saying
Schneiderman's office had confirmed the set-
tlement.
As part of the deal, the companies will ter-
minate an agreement not to challenge each
other's rights to sell certain generic drugs ex-
clusively in the US, the newspaper said. They
also agreed to refrain from entering into simi-
lar agreements in the future, and will pay the
state $300,000.
"Agreements between drug manufacturers
to protect each other's market positions violate
fundamental principles of antitrust law and
can lead to higher drug prices," Schneiderman
said in a written statement.
He said drug companies "should be aware
that my office will intervene aggressively to
root out collusion among industry players."
The companies neither admitted nor deniedSchneiderman's allegations as part of the set-
tlement, the Journal said.
The newspaper said the attorney general's
office didn't identify any "real-world" anti-
competitive effects from the companies'
agreement, but said the pact was illegal re-
gardless of whether there were any such ef-
fects, according to the settlement.
The settlement resolves Schneiderman's in-
vestigation of a 2010 agreement between the
companies in which Ranbaxy made contin-
gency plans regarding
its planned sale of a generic version of the
cholesterol drug Lipitor, the Journal said
Ranbaxy was concerned it might not receive
US Food and Drug Administration approval intime to begin selling the drug in late 2011, so
it reached a financial deal that would have al-
lowed Teva to sell generic Lipitor in the event
that it couldn't, the US daily citing the attorney
general's office. Ranbaxy did end up obtaining
FDA approval and began selling the drug. But
the agreement with Teva remained in place.
The deal allegedly included a provision in
which each company agreed not to challenge
each-other's exclusivity rights on a range of
generic drugs, the Journal reported.
Ranbaxy to settle with New York attorney general
Professor awarded grant to
motivate women to pursue STEMNew York: Dr.
Preethi Radhakr-
ishnan, an assis-
tant professor of
biology at La-
Guardia Commu-
nity College, was
awarded a
$30,000 grant
from the Elsevier
Foundation to de-
velop The City
University of
New Yorks first-
of-its kind pro-gram designed to encourage
women to pursue careers in sci-
ence, technology, engineering
and mathematics, known as
STEM.
At a time when great emphasis
is being placed on the critical
role that STEM education plays
in the countrys competitiveness
in the global economy and future
economic prosperity, Radhakr-
ishnan hopes the project will ad-
dress a glaring gap between men
and women entering STEM
fields.
This grant will increase
women entering STEM fields,gaining research experience and
in successfully graduating with a
STEM degree in hand, Rad-
hakrishnan, who has been teach-
ing at LaGuardia for two years,
stated in a press release.
This month, the two-year pro-
gram launched its four-prong
initiative that will target womenwho show great potential in hav-
ing successful careers within the
STEM majors at LaGuardia. Of-
fered will be workshops, re-
search internships, scholarships
and childcare assistance. The
program will also be open to all
CUNY community college stu-
dents.
The series of workshops will
inform women about the STEM
opportunities that LaGuardia of-
fers in math engineering, biolo-
gy and environmental science
and will provide information on
transfer.
Radhakrishnan earned a bach-elors in zoology and a masters
in biotechnology at the Universi-
ty of Madras.
The Indian American received
a full scholarship to pursue a
doctorate in biology at Macquar-
ie University in Sydney,
Australia.
Dr Preethi Radhakrishnan
Currently visa on arrivalallows only a single entryand is issued maximum
of two times in a calendaryear, with a minimum
gap of 60 daysbetween each visit.
Pic courtesy: ThomasCook blog.
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6 February 22-28, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.infoTRISTATE COMMUNITY
'Indian-Americans basis for transformation of India-US ties'Washington, DC: India's new Am-
bassador to the US has said the
small but influential Indian-Ameri-
can community is the basis for "dra-
matic" transformation of bilateral
ties in the past few decades.
"India-US relationship haschanged dramatically. When one
thinks about the transformation of
our ties, it is natural to attribute it to
some good diplomacy on both
sides...But to me, the basis for
transformation of this relationship
is the Indian-American communi-
ty," S Jaishankar said.
Addressing the Indian-American
community from Greater Washing-
ton Area at a reception hosted in his
honor by the National Council of
Asian Indian Associations, Jais-
hankar praised this small ethnic
community for carving a distinct
space for itself in the US in almost
all spheres of lives.
"When an American thinks of In-
dia, the image that comes to peoples
mind are Indian-American neigh-
bors, their Indian American col-
leagues at workplace, the people
who provide them services. This is
the community, which is regarded
as the best educated community,
highest income community and ex-
traordinary responsible communi-
ty," Jaishankar told the audience,
representing some 130,000 strong
Indian-American community in the
Greater Washington Area.
The Ambassador said even
through difficult times, one of the
commendable aspects of the com-
munity has been "to be good Indi-
ans, good Americans" and conse-
quently, be good Indian- Ameri-
cans.
Observing that the relationship
has grown enormously, Jaishankar
said the "time has come to set new
goals... ambitious goals for our-
selves."He identified energy and educa-
tion as the two sectors where India
and the United States can enhance
their bilateral partnership, in addi-
tion to the strategic and defence re-
lationship to ensure a safer, pros-
perous and peaceful world.
In the next three years, the US
would emerge as one of the major
energy providers to New Delhi
when it would start shipping natural
gas to India, Jaishankar said.
Coinciding with the new envoy's
public reception by the community,
Maryland Governor Martin Joseph
O'Malley proclaimed February 15
as 'S Jaishankar Day' in recognition
of his role in strengthening India-
US relationship.
The citation in this regard was
read and presented by Maryland
Secretary of State Rajan Natarajan.
Washington, DC:Georgetown
University Feb. 11 celebrated the
launch of its new Beeck Centerfor Social Impact & Innovation
with a symposium that featured
leaders from the social innova-
tion sector.
Social impact, innovations,
social change, change makers
(are a part of) the lexicon that we
all seem to be talking about, said
Sonal Shah, a professor of prac-
tice at Georgetown and the cen-
ters founding executive director.
Its the generation of students
not just at Georgetown, but
around the world and country
who are talking about how to
have social impactand univer-
sities have the opportunity totrain that generation of leaders to
meet those challenges, she
added.
Shah is a former director of
President Barack Obamas Office
of Social Innovation and Civic
Participation in the White House.
Before that, she worked at theU.S Treasury, Goldman Sachs
and led Google Global Develop-
ment Initiatives, the philanthrop-
ic arm of Google.com.
Sonal Shah joins Beeck Centerfor Social Impact & Innovation
Sonal Shah is formerdirector of Obamas Office
of Social Innovation andCivic Participation
New York: India-born fashion de-
signer Naeem Khan, whose cre-
ations have been worn by First
Lady Michelle Obama, hopes to
grow his brand back home from
where he draws inspiration for his
creations. "India is always on my
mind and the country plays a
tremendously huge role for me, be-
cause everything I do comes from
how I grew up in India," Khan said
before showcasing his
autumn/winter 2014 collection at
the New York Fashion Week here.
Khan, whose clients include
singer Beyonce, Taylor Swift and
actress Penelope Cruz, has had his
designs grace the silver screen in
fashion film classics like 'Sex and
the City' and 'Dreamgirls.'
He said he wants to grow his
brand in India and have his collec-tion worn by leading Indian ac-
tresses like Deepika Padukone.
"I have taken a lot from India and
I have still not giving back to it. I
have this hope one day that I will
go back and make the most amaz-
ing collection for India," he said.
Khan, 55, had debuted his col-
lection in India last year at the
Lakme Fashion Week in Mumbai
but feels that "it is not so easy" to
expand the brand in the country
since he does not yet have his own
pre-standing stores there.
Want to make the most amazingcollection for India: Naeem Khan
New Jersey: Rutgers
alumna Priya Shah
has created Desi
Chaat a spin off on
the popular boardgame Taboo to not
just entertain but also
to educate Indians
about their culture.
Citing personal expe-
riences, the New Jer-
sey-based Shah told
the Daily Targum, the
official student news-
paper of Rutgers University that
while playing board games like
Taboo with her parents, she noticed
that they could not successfully par-
ticipate because they did not know
the terminology as well as she did.
So she set out to find a solution to
this issue by creating the company
Culturally Inclined Productions andcame up with Desi Chaat a mix-
ture of words from many different re-
gions, foods, dance styles and cus-
toms, of India, she told the paper.
On her companys Facebook page,
Shah gives constant updates on the
game and has posted several photos
of people enjoying the board game
with a desi twist.
Grab your Nana,
Nani, Dada, Dadi,
Mummy, Papa, Bhais,
Behens, Betis, Betas,Dosts and have a su-
per-mast time play-
ing, the page says. In
deciding which terms
to include in the game,
Shah sat at the dinner
table for hours with
her parents reading
them the words she
had come up with and would note
how her parents would react to these
words and decide which words
should be included and which should
not. Shah tested each word with her
parents before including it in the
game, but notes that the game is ap-
propriate for people of all ages. Cul-
turally Inclined Productions sells thegame for $33 on its website.
Shah graduated in 2011 with de-
grees in both economics and com-
munication and was actively in-
volved in the community as both a
member of the South Asian sorority,
Kappa Phi Gamma, and the Associa-
tion of Indians at Rutgers.
Priya Shah comes up with DesiChaat board game
"I have taken a lot from
India and I have stillnot given back to it.
Priya Shah with desiversion of Taboo
Ambassador S Jaishankar
Meng to hold healthcare
forum for South AsiansEvent to assist
community with sign-ing up for new healthinsurance coverage
New York: On February 19, U.S.Rep. Grace Meng (D-Queens), in
conjunction with the Jamaica
Muslim Center and South Asian
Council for Social Services
(SACSS), will host a forum for
the South Asian community on
the Affordable Care Act (ACA)
and the new health insurance ex-
change so that South Asian resi-
dents can learn about the changes
to the nations healthcare system
and how they can obtain
coverage.
The forum will consist of a
presentation by SACSS about
the health insurance law and the
enrollment process. A questionand answer session will follow.
Trained navigators will also be
on hand to provide assistance in
several languages including Eng-
lish, Bengali and Urdu. In addi-
tion, theyll be assistance with
signing up for coverage through
the new state exchange.
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7February 22-28, 2014TheSouthAsianTimes.info NATIONAL COMMUNITY
Los Angeles: Indian-American actor Kal
Penn has boarded Vince Gilligan and
David Shore's TV drama 'Battle Creek'.
Penn, who was recently seen in his re-
curring role on 'How I Met Your Mother'
will play a Michigan detective and reunite
with his former 'House' boss, according to
the Hollywood Reporter.
The story revolves around a local detec-
tive and FBI agent with very differentworldviews who are teamed up.
Penn, 36 will play a local detective with
reservations about the newly arrived FBI
agent.
Four South Asian USF students killed in a wrong way crashTampa, FL: Four University of South
Florida students, and another man were
killed early morning of Feb 9 in a fiery head-
on Interstate 275 crash caused by a wrong-
way driver, authorities said.
On I-275, a 2001 Ford Expedition wastraveling south in the northbound lanes just
north of Busch Boulevard around 2:12 a.m.
The Expedition collided with a northbound
Hyundai Sonata in the center lane, the Flori-
da Highway Patrol said.
Officials said Jobin Kuriakose, 21, was
driving the Sonata with three other passen-
gers, Ankeet Patel, 22, Imtiyaz Ilias, 20 and
Dammie Yesudhas, 21.
The Expedition burst into flames, burning
the driver beyond recognition, troopers said.
The Expedition driver, who still has not
been identified, and the four USF students,
all died at the scene.
The four students were all members of
USF's Sigma Beta Rho fraternity a USF fra-
ternity dedicated to multiculturalism.A donation site was linked by the USF
Alumni Association Facebook page. The
fund, set up by Sigma Beta Rho national
president Mohsin Rhythmk' Hussain, saw a
steady stream of donations offered, from $5,
up to single donations of up to hundreds of
dollars.
It is unimaginable what the families must
be going through right now,' said the mes-
sage on the donation Web site. As we all
work through this difficult time, it is impor-
tant for us to come together and form a sup-
port net for the family.
An emotional remembrance ceremony
was held Feb. 13 at USF, attended by nearly
1,000 students, faculty, family and fraterni-
ty brothers. The brother of one of the victims
hung his head at the dais, too distraught todeliver his eulogy.
The brother of another said he couldn't
express in words what I want to say, and in-
stead played and sang an emotional version
of Somewhere Over the Rainbow on the
dead man's ukulele, said the report.
Ghan Ilias, older brother of Imtiyaz Jim
Ilias, told reporters before the service that
his brother was always a good person, had
a great smile on his face, always had a posi-
tive outlook on life.
He was a loyal, hard-working, dedicated
person. He's gone but he's never forgotten.
Later, in front of the crowd, grief overcame
Ghan Ilias, and he was unable to deliver his
remarks.
Jeremy Yasudas, brother of Dammie Yesu-das, kicked off his version of Somewhere
Over the Rainbow with a brief, I miss
you, bro.
Krupa Patel, sister of Ankeet recounted
their last conversation, during which she felt
an overwhelming urge to tell her brother she
loved him but didn't.
Please, tell the people you love that you
love them. Because you never know when
you'll say it again, she said through tears.
The family of Jobin Kuriakose was occu-
pied with family services in Orlando, so
friend, fraternity brother and roommate Al-
lan Babu memorialized him at the service.
USF president Judy Genshaft announced
that all four young men would receive their
degrees posthumously at this spring's com-
mencement ceremonies.
They were a part of the family of the Uni-
versity of South Florida, and they will al-
ways remain a part of the University of
South Florida community forever, Gen-
shaft said.
A fund to benefit the families of the stu-
dents has been set up, and more than 2,200donations totaling more than $76,000 had
been received by Feb. 13.
Dammie Yesudhas (top left), Jobin Kuriakose (top right), Imtiyaz (Jim) Ilias(bottom left), and Ankeet Patel of Sigma Beta Rho died in Florida after
a SUV crashed into their Hyundai Sonata.
Kal Penn to star in TV drama 'Battle Creek'
Kal Penn
Corporate Office: 385 Seneca Avenue, Ridgewood NY 11385
718.821.3182, www.AtlanticDialysis.Com
Washington, DC: A second US lawmaker
has withdrawn from co-sponsoring a new
congressional resolution asking the state
department to maintain its policy of not is-
suing visa to BJP's prime ministerial candi-
date Narendra Modi.
Republican Congressman from Pennsyl-
vania Scott Perry, according to Hindu
American Foundation (HAF) announced
his decision to withdraw his co-sponsorship
to House Resolution 417, which so far has
been signed by 42 lawmakers from both the
Republican and Democratic parties.
However, both the lawmakers Perry
and Steve Chabot are members of pow-
erful House Foreign Affairs Committee,
which makes their decision more signifi-
cant.
While Chabot had withdrawn several
weeks ago, Perry took the decision after US
ambassador to India Nancy Powell met
Modi in Gandhinagar last week.
In a statement, HAF, which has launcheda major campaign against the House Reso-
lution 417 welcomed such a decision by
Perry.
"This decision by Congressman Perry re-
flects the emerging consensus among law-
makers that House Resolution 417 is a
flawed and inaccurate resolution that si-
multaneously damages US-India relations
while doing nothing to protect Indian mi-
norities," said Jay Kansara, HAF's director
of government relations.
One more lawmaker wont
sponsor anti-Modi resolution
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8 February 22-28, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.infoNATIONAL COMMUNITY
California: Shubham Banerjee, a 12
year-old in San Jose, California, has
created a groundbreaking machine
that prints Braille all with nothingmore than LEGO bricks and a few
inexpensive additions from the
Home Depot.
Banerjees invention, dubbed
Braigo, has drawn the attention of
millions of people around the world,
and been recognized by several or-
ganizations both domestically and
internationally. The LEGO Corpora-
tion, which is already in the news for
its new The LEGO Movie, com-
mended Banerjee for the Braigo via
their Twitter account, and Banerjee
also received a Recognition Award
from the California State Assembly.
The Braigo was constructed from a
LEGO Midstorms EV3 kit, which iswidely used by robotics teams and
schools across the nation, and typi-
cally costs in the neighborhood of
$349. Added to this were about $5
worth of add-ons purchased by
Banerjee from his local Home De-
pot. He then based his design off of a
Braille printer known as the Banner
Print3r, and designed a new software
that could accurately print the Braille
letters A-Z.
Banerjee who was born in Has-
selt, Belgium and moved to San Jose
when he was just three years old
said that the idea for the Braille print-
er hit him when he decided to find an
inexpensive way for those suffering
from blindness to have easy access to
Braille material.
A basic Braille printer costs at least
$2,000.
Chicago: A missing Indian-American student Pravin
Varughese was found dead in a wooded area Feb 18,
nearly a week after he was last seen, according to a
media report.
Police found the body of Southern Illinois Univer-
sity student from suburban Morton Grove in Illinois
at about 9:45 a.m. Tuesday, the Chicago Tribune re-
ported citing authorities in Carbondale.Varughese had last been seen around 11 pm Feb 12
leaving a party about three miles from where his body
was discovered.
The 19-year-old second year student and criminal
justice major had walked into the wooded area on the
eastern edge of town after getting into a "dispute" with
someone at the party, the newspaper said citing au-
thorities.
That man was attempting to drive Varughese home
when the dispute started, police said.
Carbondale police, according to the Tribune, said
little about the nature of the dispute, other than they
believed Varughese exited the vehicle on his own ac-
cord.
His sister, Priya Varughese, 20, had said phone
records showed her brother called a friend in Chicago
at 12:30 am Thursday, about 90 minutes after he re-
portedly left the party.
The friend told her it sounded like her brother might
have been running or arguing with someone, she said.
Varughese's Twitter account showed a tweet at
11:17 pm that night reading: "Bloody knuckles ...
guess I was in a fight #backdown."
Police said Varughese's body showed no obvious
signs of trauma, and no evidence thus far points to
foul play in his death.
Rather, Carbondale Police Chief Jody O'Guinn said
cold weather might have played a role.
Varughese was wearing jeans and a shirt when he
entered the woods, the chief said, and the area's "dif-
ficult terrain and low temperatures are believed to
have contributed to Pravin's difficulty finding his way
out of the wooded area."
An autopsy and toxicology report have been or-
dered, police said.
Missing Indian-American student found dead
San Jose boy invents $350 Braille printer using LEGO bricks
West Virginia: Logan Countys young chess play-
er, Advait Patel, has now attained the rank of Na-
tional Master following his win of the 7th grade sec-
tion at the K-12 National Chess Championship held
in December in Orlando, Fla.
Adi was on a roll, Advaits mother, Ruhi Patel,
told Loganbanner.com. He won first place with an
outstanding 7-0 score, which is rare playing all the
games on Board One.
Patel said when Advait was called on stage to re-
ceive his trophy, everyone in the crowd was cheer-
ing. My husband and I were in tears, Patel said.
Every single person in the crowd was clapping and
cheering for Advait and came up to us to congratu-
late us. This was that proud moment we were wait-
ing for.
The win placed Advaits rating to over 2200, plac-ing him in the Master rank. He was also selected for
Team USA. As a member of Team USA, Advait can
represent the country at the Youth World Champi-
onship to be held in South Africa.
Advait Patel attains National Master rank in chess
US doctors to work pro bono atSoS sponsored eye camp in Delhi
Delhi: This year, over 1,000 peo-
ple will be screened for surgery
at Kirpal Bagh, Kalyan Vihar,Delhi as part of the Free Eye Sur-
gery program sponsored by Sci-
ence of Spirituality/Sawan Kirpal
Ruhani Mission, under the direc-
tion of Sant Rajinder Singh Ji
Maharaj.
This first Free Eye Surgery
program of the year was held on
February 6, 2014 as part of the
27th International Human Unity
Conference presided by Sant Ra-
jinder Singh Ji. The date falls on
the birth anniversary of Sant Kir-
pal Singh Ji Maharaj (1894-
1974), founder of the Human
Unity Conferences.
Three prominent surgeons trav-eled to India from the US to vol-
unteer their skills. One of them,
Dr. Sumit Bhatia, said, "It is grat-
ifying to be able to provide serv-
ices like this. Doctors in the local
hospital operated alongside us,
and in one week we were able tohelp more than 500 people. Many
people contributed. Companies
donated supplies as did the hos-
pitals in the US where we are on
staff." The three doctors, who
took time off from their Chicago
area practices, stayed at Kirpal
Ashram in Delhi.
Since its inception in 2002,
11,000 eye patients have been
treated, and those with cataracts
are operated free of charge. The
patients, who come from villages
and small towns in Northern In-
dia, are poor and mostly illiter-
ate. The surgery provides free
sight-saving operations to thosenot otherwise able to afford
them.
For more information visit
www.sos.org.
Indian-Americans to pay $ 3.3 mnto settle overbilling case
Washington, DC: An Indian-
American owner of a billing firm
and three medical practices that
were his clients have agreed to pay
a fine of $ 3.3 million to resolveclaims that the company overbilled
for nuclear stress tests.
Engage Medical and its owner
Sanjay Puri, and three medical
practices that were its clients have
agreed to pay a total of $ 3,340,979
to resolve claims that the company
overbilled for nuclear stress tests,
the US Attorney's Office for the
District of Maryland said in a state-
ment. Puri, who is also president
and CEO of Alliance for US India
Business (AUSIB), has been lead-
ing a campaign in favor of the
Bharatiya Janata Party in the US.
The US Attorney's Office for
District of Maryland said: EngageMedical and Sanjay Puri have
agreed to pay $ 544,500; Advanced
Cardiology Center and its owners
Pankaj Lal, Mubashar Choudry and
Moshin Ijaz agreed to pay
$1,894,549.50; Reva Gill and Ke-
nilworth Internists agreed to pay $
242,204; and Sureshkumar Muttath
agreed to pay $ 659,726.Puri, who is also chairman at the
US India Political Action Commit-
tee, was not immediately available
for comment.
"When medical providers can en-
rich themselves at taxpayers' ex-
pense by falsely representing that
they provided expensive proce-
dures, the government must be vig-
ilant in pursuing fraudulent
claims," said US Attorney Rod J
Rosenstein as he announced the
settlement. "Anyone who know-
ingly reports false medical billing
codes to induce the government to
pay more money is lying, cheating
and stealing," he said. The allega-tions resolved in the settlement
agreement involve overbilling of
nuclear stress tests between July
31, 2007 and March 8, 2011.
Science of Spirituality (SoS) physicians operatedalongside local doctors.
Shubham Banerjee with hiscreation BRAIGO
Advait Adi Patel accepting trophy at theK-12 National Chess Championship
held in December in Orlando
Those in market currently costat least $2000
Pravin Varughese
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US AFFAIRS
New York: Homeland security
officials on Wednesday abruptly
shelved a proposal to build a
national database of license-plate
scans after criticism from privacy
advocates.
The proposal, which had been
pos ted onl ine las t week by the
office of Immigration and
Customs Enforcement (ICE),
sought a contractor who could
establish a searchable database of
license plates, with the times and
locations where they were spotted
by tr af fi c ca mera s an d ot he rsources. But in a statement late
Wednesday, the department
announced a reversal.
"The solicitation, which was
posted without the awareness of
ICE leadership, has been can-
celed," said spokeswoman Gillian
Christensen. "While we continue
to support a range of technologies
to help meet our law enforcement
mission, this solicitation will be
reviewed to ensure the path for-
ward appropriately meets our
operational needs."
It was unclear whether the pro-
posal was dead or was mer ely
withdrawn for revisions.
Under the proposal, officers in
the field would have been able touse their smartphones to look up a
license plate and see every time
and every place the vehicle had
been spotted by a camera.
"The database should track
vehicle license plate numbers that
pass through cameras or are vol-
untarily entered into the system
from a variety of sources (access
control systems, asset recovery
specialists, etc.) and uploaded to
share with law enforcement," the
original solicitation read.
The proposed National License
Plate Recognition database was to
have been used by immigration
officers to find and arrest fugi-
tives.
Supporters of license-plate scan-
ning, like former New York state
homeland security chief Michael
Balboni, said it could have been
an invaluable tool for finding dan-
gerous suspects.
"What license-plate readers
have been used for most effective-
ly is (trying) to do hits against
outstanding warrants, against
unlicensed drivers, against folkswho have shown before that
they've been involved in some
kind of crime -- that's where the
hits come."
But since the solicitation was
po st ed an d feat ur ed in th e
Washington Post, privacy advo-
cates have warned that the data-
base sounded like a dragnet that
would track the whereabouts of
all drivers, including people who
have done nothing wrong, and
that the records might be held
indefinitely.
ICE license-plate tracking plan withdrawnamid outcry about privacy
Washington: Politicians are no
longer Americas main concern.
According to a new poll from
Gallup, Americas No. 1 problem
is unemployment and jobs.
Before last fall, either the econo-
my or jobs were considered the
most important problem dating
back to as far as February 2008. A
16-day government shutdown last
October saw the federal govern-
ment and politicians taking the top
spot among what worried
Americans. However, when Gallupsurveyed 1,023 adults between
Feb. 6 and Feb. 9, it found that
nearly one in four (23 percent)
Americans believe unemployment
and jobs are the most important
issues currently facing the nation.
The economy came second with
20 percent, followed closely by
dissatisfaction with the govern-
ment, Congress and politicians.
At the party level, researchers
found that the three most impor-
tant problems for those who identi-
fied as Democrats were unemploy-
ment (24 percent), economy (17
percent) and the government (17
percent). Among Republicans, the
concerns are similar with unem-
ploy ment at 24 perc ent and the
economy at 22 percent, but health-
care is third with 18 percent.
Independents said the unemploy-
ment (24 percent), economy (21
percent) and the government (21
percent) are their top concerns.
The U.S. government said
113,000 jobs were added in
January and the unemployment
rate decreased to 6.6 percent.
Americas No. 1 Problem isunemployment: Gallup Poll
9February 22-28, 2014TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Washington: US authorities issued
a warning on Wednesday to airlines
flying to the US to watch out for
militants who may have hidden
bombs in their shoes.
The warning came from the De-
partment of Homeland Security,
and it is consistent with concerns
security agencies have about mili-
tants trying to smuggle explosives
onto airplanes in shoes, cosmetics
or liquids. The sources said the
warning principally applied to
flights originating overseas and
heading for America, rather than
domestic flights or planes headed
overseas from the US.
One source said the alert was be-
ing issued "out of an abundance of
caution."
Wednesday's warning follows one
earlier this month in which U.S. au-
thorities warned airlines flying to
Russia for the Sochi Winter
Olympics to watch out for tooth-
paste tubes that could hold bomb-
making ingredients and could be
smuggled through airport security.
Since the September 11, 2001, at-
tacks on the United States, Islamist
militants have made two known at-
tempts to blow up U.S.-bound air-
liners using bombs hidden in their
clothes or footwear.
Airlines warned about shoebombs on US-bound flights
New York: The account information
given by a new customer at Liberty
Reserve read like a not-so-
clever prank: Joe Bogus, 123
Fake Main Street, Com-
pletely Made Up City, N.Y.
But at the multibillion-
dollar virtual banking op-
eration, it didn't matter. Mr.
Bogus in reality, an under-
cover federal agent was free to
begin transferring funds, no ques-
tions asked.
Authorities say the recent investi-
gations of Liberty Reserve and the
hidden website Silk Road, a vast
black-market bazaar for narcoticsand other contraband, demonstrate
how the anonymity inherent in the
use of virtual currency is attracting a
legion of flesh-and-blood criminals.
"The perpetrators feel they can
more easily conceal their activity,
their identities and their
proceeds," Deputy U.S.
Attorney Richard
Zabel said at a hearing
last month held by the
New York State De-
partment for Financial
Services.
Hard cash carries the bur-
den of needing to be physically
smuggled and hand-delivered, Zabel
said. By contrast, in the Silk Road
case, "users were able to purchase
drugs from drug dealers located any-
where in the world, essentially witha push of a button," he said.
At the same hearing, Manhattan
District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr.
urged state regulators to put tighter
controls on digital currency ex-
changes to tame "a digital Wild
West."
New York's chief financial regula-
tor, Benjamin Lawsky, said in a
speech last week that he's consider-
ing new rules requiring businesses to
obtain a Bitlicense if they use the
new currencies and comply with
know-your-customer guidelines to
prevent money laundering activities.
The dialogue comes at a time when
Bitcoins and other virtual currencies
have been gaining the backing of le-
gitimate investors and mainstream
businesses. Last month,
Overstock.com became the first ma-jor retailer to accept digital money.
An online florist, Bloomnation, also
began accepting Bitcoins in time for
Valentine's Day.
NY officials: Virtual currency invites real crime
New York: After facing some
blowback from the White House
over their methods in a study about
raising the minimum wage, the
Congressional Budget Office
(CBO) director defended his workas sound.
I want to be clear that our analy-
sis on the effects of raising the min-
imum wage is completely consis-
tent with the latest thinking in the
economic profession, said Douglas
Elmendorf Wednesday at a break-
fast sponsored by the Christian Sci-
ence Monitor.
The CBO issued a report Tuesday
saying that an increase in the mini-
mum wage to $10.10 an hour a
policy favored by President Obama
and congressional Democrats
would raise wages for 16.5 million
people but could also cost about
half a million jobs.
Congressional Republicans took
the report as affirmation of their op-position to a minimum wage hike,
while Democrats, led by the White
House, challenged the CBOs find-
ings as being outside the overall
consensus view of economists,
which is that raising the minimum
wage has little or no negative effect
on unemployment.
In a blog post, Council of Eco-
nomic Advisers Chairman Jason
Furman and Betsey Stevenson, one
of the council members, cite Nobel
Prize winners and hundreds of oth-
er economists they say have argued
that there would be no negative em-
ployment effects if the minimum
wage were higher. On a conference
call Tuesday, they suggested that
the agency was perhaps not fully
appreciating the breadth of new re-
search on the topic.
Furthermore, Furman and Steven-
son argue, the report ignores any
potential gains in productivity that
companies would see like lower
turnover and improved motivation,
morale, focus and health. And they
write that companies could also ad-
just by reducing profit margins.
In response, Republicans were
quick to point to another study from
economists David Neumark and
William Wascher who found that in
100 different studies, two-thirds of
researchers reported a negative ef-fect on employment if the minimum
wage were increased.
Elmendorf was speaking broadly
at the breakfast and was not ad-
dressing specific criticism, but in-
sists the methods employed by the
CBO are sound and they employed
a balanced reading of research
studies in the area.
Plus, he added,most other econ-
omists dont have to put numbers
behind the words of their evalua-
tions.
Responding to White House doubts, CBO defends minimum wage studyThe Congressional Budget
Office study found the
minimum wage increase to
$10.10 would raise wages for16.5 million people but could
also cost about half a
million jobs.
A man tries to attract theattention of potential
employers as he hands outresumes in the New York
financial district.(Photo: Courtesy Reuters)
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10 February 22-28, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.infoINDIA
Panaji: A Goa court here
allowed rape accused former
Tehelka editor-in-chief Tarun
Tejpal to access CCTV
footage, which he has
claimed will prove his inno-
cence.
District Judge Anuja
Prabhudessai ordered therelease of video evidence a
day after Tejpal, in a state-
ment, said that police were
holding back the CCTV
footage of a camera installed
in Grand Hyatt hotel's lobby
outside the elevator, where
the alleged sexual assault
took place.
A court official said the
footage which was presented
by th e po li ce wa s in th e
process of being copied and
would be handed over to
Tejpal's lawyers by
Wednesday afternoon.
While police in their charge
sheet have claimed that the
CCTV footage shows a dis-
traught victim stepping out of
the elevator on Nov 7 and
Nov 8, Tejpal also claims his
best defence is embedded in
the tapes.
Tejpal's statement Tuesday
evening said: "This entire
case hinges on the 130 and 45
seconds (as per the charge
sheet) of contested time
which can be brought to light
via the CCTV footage."
"The Goa Police know their
fabricated case will collapse
the moment the footage is
revealed and compared with
the 'testimony' of the alleged
victim, on the basis of which
the Goa Police filed its FIR
(First Information Report)
under draconian provisions."
Tejpal said the police had
deprived him of the CCTV
footage for over three months
despite constant requests.
According to police, there
was no CCTV camera in the
elevator of the five-star hotel.
"In fact, receipt of the
footage is what we have been
impatiently waiting for since
the last three months. This
duplicity is in keeping with
the sinister and motivated
po li ti ca l ve nd et ta th at is
being pursued," he sa id.He also claimed that the
crime branch officials have
told him that there was no
case against him.
Tejpal said: "As it were, I
viewed the relevant footage
of both days whilst being
'held' in police custody and
the footage clearly validates
me."
Tejpal was charge sheeted
under Sections 354, 354-A
(sexual harassment), 341 and
342 (wrongful restrain), 376
(rape), 376(2)(f) and 376
(2)(k) (takes advantage of his
official position and commits
rape in his custody).
His appeal for bail will be
heard by the Goa bench of
the Bombay High Court
March 4.
Tejpal charged with rape, to get CCTV footage
Former Tehelka editor-in-chief Tarun Tejpal
New Delhi/Hyderabad: The Rajya Sabha could not
take up the bill for formation of Telangana
Wednesday in absence on consensus over amend-
ments in the legislation even as Andhra Pradesh
Chief Minister N. Kiran Reddy resigned and the state
seemed headed for president's rule.
Announcing his decision to resign to media per-sons in the state capital, Kiran Reddy said he was
also dumping the Congress to protest against the
state's break up.
He then drove to the Raj Bhavan and submitted his
resignation to Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan, urging
the governor to make alternate arrangements at the
earliest as he would not like to continue as caretaker
chief minister.
Raj Bhavan sources said the governor accepted the
resignation of Kiran Reddy, who was accompanied
by abou t 10 ministers and 20 legislators from
Seemandhra region.
A shutdown called by YSR Congress meanwhile
hit normal life in several parts of Rayalseema and
Coastal Andhra.
A day after the Lok Sabha passed the bill amid
pandemonium and a blackout of televised proceed-
ings, the bill could not be taken up in the upper
house due to absence of consensus over amend-
ments.
Even as Y.S. Chowdhary and C.M. Ramesh of the
Telugu Desam Party and K.V.P. Ramachandra Rao of
the Congress stood near the chairman's podium with
posters demanding "uni ted Andhr a Pradesh" and
"Save Andhra Pradesh", the house passed four bills
in a row, after an agreement among parties.
Ugly scenes were witnessed when Ramesh tried to
snatch some papers from Secretary General
Shumsher H. Sheriff. He apologized for his behavior
later.
Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Rajeev
Shukla has however assured the bill will be taken up
in Rajya Sabha, as hectic parleys went on between
government and opposition leaders.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh met Leader ofOpposition Arun Jaitley and BJP leader M. Venkaiah
Naidu so that the bill could be passed Wednesday,
but the meeting yielded no results.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath was
seen holding parleys with leaders from the
Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party on
the floor of the house.
A senior leader from Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
said there are a total of 32 amendments which his
party wants to incorporate in the bill.
However, if the bill is passed in the upper house
with amendments, it will have to go back to the Lok
Sabha for its approval before it is sent to the presi-
dent for his assent, and the government feels thiswould create more trouble in the passage of the leg-
islation.
Telangana bill in Rajya Sabha, Andhra CM quitsRajiv assassination: SCsuspends release of convicts
New Delhi: The Supreme CourtThursday ordered status quo and
suspended the Tamil Nadu gov-
ernment's decision to release
seven convicts in the Rajiv
Gandhi assassination case.
The apex court bench headed
by Chief Just ice P. Sathasivam
said it will examine the procedur-
al lapse in the Tamil Nadu gov-
ernment's decision to grant
remission and release within
three days the seven convicts in
the case. The court order came as
Solicitor General Mohan
Parasaran told the court that per-
mission to free the convicts could
not be granted without the
approval of the central govern-
ment whose investigating agency
probed the matter leading to theconvictions.
Noting the pace at which the
events took place, the chief jus-
tice said the judgment was deliv-
ered Tuesday morning and the
order was available at 5 p.m. the
same day, and decision to grant
remission was taken Wednesday
morning.
The Tamil Nadu government
while opposing the plea by the
center said the order of status quo
will be premature and no final
decision has been taken on the
grant of remission to the seven
convicts. The recommendation of
the state government was before
the center, the Tamil Nadu gov-
ernment said.
New Delhi: Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar
has accepted the resignation of Congress mem-
ber L. Rajagopal who used pepper spray in the
house during introduction of the Telangana
statehood bill.
"I have accepted his resignation with effect
from Feb 19," Meira Kumar informed the
house.The 50-year-old Rajagopal, expelled from
the Congress for opposing the formation of a
Telangana state, shocked the nation when he
used pepper spray during the rather tumultuous
introduction of the bill in the Lok Sabha last
week.
The first-of-its-kind act in parliament sent
scores of members and Lok Sabha officials -
and even some journalists in the media gallery
- running for cover.
All parties then demanded action against the
Vijayawada MP and the government said it
would not oppose any decision taken by the
speaker.
The resignation of the industrialist-politician
came after Meira Kumar asked the privileges
Committee of the Lok Sabha, which has puni-tive powers, to go into the incident.
Rajagopal sent his resignation to the speaker
Tuesday, hours after the Telangana bill was
passed by the Lok Sabha.
Resignation of MP who used
pepper spray accepted
Former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi wasassassinated by Tamil Tigers in 1991 near Chennai.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Kiran Reddyhas resigned and the state seemed
headed for president's rule
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11February 22-28, 2014TheSouthAsianTimes.info INDIA
Congress to empower street vendors: Rahul
New Delhi: A day after Parliament
cleared the street vendors bill,
scores of street vendors met
Congress vice-president Rahul
Gandhi and thanked him for his
help in ensuring passage of the leg-
islation.
"I congratulate them (street ven-
dors) over the passage of the street
vendors bill. They have got the
right to run their business. Seventy
crore people run this country and
their fight is our fight. In these 70
crore people are also included
street vendors," Gandhi told
reporters after he had met the street
vendors outside his residence here.
"I want to say to them (street
vendors) that they need to be given
their rights and power, and
Congress will do this work," he
added.
Rajya Sabha passed the bill
which aims to regulate street vend-
ing and protect the rights of urban
street vendors, besides ensuring
steps against their harassment by
police and civic authorities.
The Street Vendors (Protection of
Livelihood and Regulation of
Street Vending) Bill, 2014
which Lok Sabha had cleared on
September 6 of last year also
provides for protecti on of live li-
hood rights and social security of
street vendors.
Night trial of Agni-I missile put offBhubaneshwar: The first night
trial of Agni-I ballistic missile has
been post poned indefini tely for
the second time, a defence official
said.The missile was to be tested for
the first time for night launch on
Tuesday by the Strategic Forces
Command as part of user trial
from the Wheeler Island off the
coast near Dhamra in Bhadrak
district in Odisha, 170 km from
state capital Bhubaneswar.
But it was put off for a day ini-
tially for some technical glitches.
It was again deferred indefinitely
as the glitches persisted.
The glitches "will be analyzed.
The next launch would be decided
later. It may take some more time
because there are other missions
immediately. After we finish the
scheduled missions, we will come
back to this ," the off ic ia l tol d
IANS.
The Agni, which has alreadybeen inducted in the army, uses
solid propulsion booster and a liq-
uid propulsion upper stage,
derived from country's first
indigenously developed ballistic
missile Prithvi.
It was first tested from the same
base Jan 25, 2002. Although sev-
eral trials of the missile has been
conducted since then, for the first
time a night trial of Agni-I was
planned to reconfirm its techno-
logical parameters.
The official said preparation
was underway to carry out multi-
ple tests of medium-range Akash
missile from the Integrated Test
Range of Chandipur (ITR) in the
costal district of Balasore, about
230 km from Bhubaneswar within
the next fortnight.One test is likely to be carried
out Friday, he said.
The 700-kg indigenously devel-
oped Akash all-weather surface-
to-air missile has a range of about
27 km and can carry a 60-kg war-
head. It can fly at a speed of up to
Mach 2.5 and climb up to an alti-
tude of 18 km.
It can operate autonomously,
and engage and neutralise differ-
ent aerial targets simultaneously.
It can be launched from static
or mobile platforms providing
the armed forces flexible
deployment.
SC asks Subrata Roy to appear
in court on Feb 26New Delhi: The Supreme Court has
issued summons to Subrata Roy and
other top directors of Sahara group
in connection with contempt pro-
ceedings over payment of Rs 20,000
crore to Sebi for refund to investors.
The SC has asked them to appear
in court on February 26. The apex
court rejected Sahara's claim of
repaying investors twice. "If the
money due was not paid, then
responsible officials have to go to a
different place," the SC bench
observed.
Rajya Sabha passed the bill which aims to regulate street vending
Sahara Group chief Subrata Roy
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12 February 22-28, 2014 TheSouthAsianTimes.infoBATTLEGROUND 2014
New Delhi: The Election
Commission, which is now
in the final stages of drawing
up the general election
schedule, is looking at the
first week of March to
announce polls to Lok Sabha
and state assemblies of
Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and
Sikkim. As per indications
available, polling may be
conducted over six phases in
April-May and approximate-
ly last a month.
Elections are likely to be
completed by May 15, allow-
ing political parties a fort-
night to explore options for
forming the next govern-
ment. The term of the currentLok Sabha comes to an end
on May 31.
While sources in the home
ministry, which works close-
ly with the EC on phasing of
polls based on the availabili-
ty of central paramilitary
forces, hinted that the polls
may be declared as early as
March 3, a senior EC func-
tionary said the announce-
ment may come anytime
between March 6 and 10.
The model code of conduct
will come into effect imme-diately after EC issues the
press note on the schedule for
polls.
As many as 1.2 lakh securi-
ty personnel, including cen-
tral paramilitary forces and
armed wings of various state
po li ce , ar e li ke ly to be
deployed for the general
election. The country's elec-
torate now stands at 81.4
crore, with 9.7 crore new vot-
ers getting added to the rolls
since the 2009 polls.
Candidates can look for-ward to a significant raise in
the expenditure ceiling,
which may be revised to Rs
70 lakh from Rs 40 lakh for a
Lok Sabha constituency and
to Rs 28 lakh from Rs 16
lakh for an assembly seat in
the bigger states. The new
limits, based on change in
prices, are likely to be noti-
fied by the law ministry
soon.
India may go for six-phasepoll in April-May
Elections are likely to be completed by May 15,allowing political parties a fortnight to explore
options for forming the next government.
New Delhi: Days after its
government in Delhi quit, the
AAP turned its focus on the
Lok Sabha elections, releas-
ing its first list of candidates
which included activists
Medha Patkar, Anjali
Damania, Yogendra Yadav,
Meera Sanyal and Kumar
Vishwas from various key
constituencies.
"Today, we have
announced the names of 20candidates. The selection of
all these candidates has been
done on the basis of their
work for the society," Aam
Aadmi Party (AAP) leader
and former minister Manish
Sisodia said at a press confer-
ence here.
Social activist Patkar will
contest from Mumbai
Northeast, which is currently
held by the Nationalist
Congress Party, while former
banker Sanyal will fight from
Mumbai South, currently rep-
resented by Milind Deora of
the Congress.
From Mumbai Northwest,
held currently by Congress'
Gurudas Kamat, Mayank
Gandhi has been fielded,
while anti-corruption activist
Anjali Damania will contest
from Nagpur constituency, a
stronghold of former
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
president Nitin Gadkari.
"While choosing the candi-
dates, we have tried to pre-
vent corrupt and people with
criminal charges from enter-
ing politics," said Sisodia.
AAP leader Yogendra
Yadav will contest from
Gurgaon while poet-turned-
pol it ici an Kumar Vish was
will be fielded from Uttar