Hundred x 100: Sachin's tryst with destiny

Mirpur: One year and five days since he scored his 99th international century, Sachin Tendulkar reached the unprecedented landmark of 100. For over a year a legion of fans had watched in anticipation as Tendulkar strode to the crease in India, England and Australia, and at 17:07 local time, when he nudged towards square leg for a single, there was a collective release of emotions.

Tendulkar, 38, had been stuck on 99 international centuries since March 12, 2011 when he scored a century against South Africa during the World Cup. During the time he took to move from 99 to 100, so much has changed for the Indian cricket team. In the last 12 months they have won the World Cup, slipped form their No. 1 perch in the ICC’s Test rankings, been whitewashed in consecutive overseas Test tours, failed to make the finals of a tri-series, and have seen Rahul Dravid make his exit from the international scene


In those 12 months, Tendulkar’s batting returns had also diminished. In 11 Tests he has scored 778 runs at an average of 37.04, with a best of 94. He came close to scoring that a hundred a couple other times too; at The Oval he made 91 and in Sydney he reached 80. That innings of 94 was the best chance he had of getting to three figures – Tendulkar came out on the fourth morning in Mumbai in robust mood – but an unwarranted dab to third man ended up in the slips.

Tendulkar did not play an ODI since the World Cup final on April 2, 2011 until he was named in India’s squad for the CB Series after the Test debacle in Australia. That period included four ODI contests, against West Indies and England home and away. Injury played its part, with Tendulkar being ruled out of the ODI leg in England. In 12 ODIs since that century in Nagpur Tendulkar had made 307 runs at 25.58, with his best shot at the 100th hundred being his chancy 85 against Pakistan in the World Cup semi-final. He had not crossed 48 since then, until today.

Tendulkar’s 100th century was a fluent innings, which began a brilliant cover drive for four in the second over of India’s innings in Mirpur. His cutting and driving was especially eye-catching, and the way he maneuvered the Bangladesh spinners was masterful. His half-century came up with a lofted boundary over extra, off the 63 balls, and three figures came in the 44th over, off 138 deliveries and with ten fours and one six.

Upon reaching three figures, Tendulkar closed his eyes and looked up to the skies as he has so many times before this. And yes, a big sigh of relief.

US President Obama renews vow of 'new beginning' with Muslims

-President Barack Obama on Monday renewed his commitment to a 'new beginning' with the Muslim world, vowing no let-up in US efforts to promote Middle East peace, curb militant violence, and boost economic development. Seeking to build on his outreach to Muslims in a speech in Cairo last June, Obama used a US-hosted Muslim business conference to underscore what his administration has done so far and to pledge further work to overcome mistrust

India, Pakistan have 'very good talks,' signal thaw

THIMPHU - The prime ministers of India and Pakistan held "very good talks" on Thursday and asked their officials to take steps as soon as possible to normalize relations, officials said, signaling an unexpected thaw.

Relations between the nuclear-armed rivals went into a diplomatic freeze after India blamed Pakistan-based militants for the Mumbai attacks in November 2008. That renewed tension between the two and a proxy war for influence had been seen as hampering U.S. led efforts to bring peace to Afghanistan.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani met while in Bhutan for a summit of South Asian leaders, their first meeting in nine months.

"The idea was on renewal of dialogue; to understand the state of affairs," Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao told a news conference after the meeting.

"There was a lot of soul-searching here. The searchlight is on the future, not on the past."

She said the two prime ministers had asked their foreign ministers and foreign secretaries to meet "as soon as possible to work out the modalities for restoring trust" and taking the dialogue forward.

Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said the climate of talks had changed for the better and the two leaders had asked their officials to meet as frequently as possible.

"I don't think either side was expecting such a positive turn in dialogue," Qureshi told reporters. "It was a step in the right direction and it was in the right spirit."

Both sides have been tentative about meeting. There are differences over the nature of talks: Pakistan wants India to restart the broader peace process it broke off after the Mumbai attack, while India wants to go slow until Islamabad acts against the planners of that carnage.
But Thursday's meeting signaled New Delhi was willing to shift from its well-entrenched position on resuming talks with Rao saying the focus was how to carry the dialogue forward to resolve "all issues of concern."

"I do not think we have to get stuck with nomenclature. Both sides agreed dialogue was the only way forward," she said when asked if these talks were not in effect resumption of the broader peace dialogue India suspended after the Mumbai attacks.

Qureshi said the present round of talks were unconditional and all issues between the two countries were on the table.

Samsung eyes record Q2, to up spending in tech rebound

SEOUL - Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, the world's top maker of memory chips and flat screen TVs, forecast record results as it aims to sharply boost spending, betting on still strong demand in the second half.

Samsung is firing on all cylinders as consumers snap up gadgets and appliances, marking a steep recovery in the once-battered global technology sector, but rising industry investments theaten to restart the chronic oversupply cycle.

Samsung, also the world's No.2 handset maker behind Finland's Nokia, has little traction in the lucrative smartphone markets, which could also be an earnings drag for Asia's most valuable technology firm.

"I expect earnings to peak at Q3 as seasonal demand for memory chips reaches its highest...there is a gloomy air in its telecommunication segment since it has lost ground on smartphones," said Kim Young-june, an analyst at LIG Investment & Securities.

By 0320 GMT, shares in Samsung, valued at around $107 billion, rose 2.1 percent in a strong broader market. The shares have slipped 4 percent after hitting a record high in early April on growing worries of oversupply in LCD and chips.

"We are cautiously optimistic Q2 earnings will improve... As for H2, we are again cautiously optimistic because we expect strong demand for memory chips and LCD to continue, helped by seasonality, as well as continued increase in sales of handsets and TVs," Robert Yi, Samsung's vice president of investor relations, told analysts.

Samsung competes with Sony Corp and LG Electronics in flat-screen TVs and Toshiba and Hynix in semiconductors.

Samsung reported a 4.4 trillion won ($3.95 billion) operating profit in January-March, beating a consensus forecast for a 4.27 trillion won profit by 13 analysts from Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Now, SMS that self-destructs after one reading

The new service, called Safe Text, sends messages to mobile phones that self-destruct as soon as they have been read, The Telegraph reported.
Ogilvy Advertising, the creator of the service, said that "one day, everyone will have a facility like Safe Text".
Those keen to use the service had to sign up, giving access to a web page that can be seen on a mobile phone having a data connection.
Users are warned that they will only have one chance to read the SMS before it's deleted.

Pakistan, India signal prime ministers may meet

THIMPHU - The foreign ministers of India and Pakistan signalled on Tuesday that their prime ministers would talk this week, a meeting seen as crucial for resuming a peace dialogue and preventing further deterioration in ties.

India halted peace talks with Pakistan after the November 2008 Mumbai attacks in which 166 people were killed and which India has blamed on Pakistan-based militant groups.

"Why not, one always lives in hope," Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said when asked if the two prime ministers would hold talks on the sidelines of a regional summit in Bhutan this week.

"I think talking and engaging is the most sensible way forward."

Foreign Minister S.M. Krishna also hinted that a meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Yousaf Raza Gilani was likely to take place over the next two days.

"It will depend up on what time the prime minister arrives. Let us look forward to it," he said. Singh arrives on Wednesday morning and will stay in the Bhutanese capital until Friday morning. Indian officials say there is a comfortable window of opportunity for a meeting.


SPYING CHARGES

The move came on a day India arrested a junior diplomat posted at its high commission in Islamabad on charges of spying for Pakistan, something that could embarrass New Delhi but was unlikely to affect any chances of talks between the two nations.
"The official is cooperating with our investigations and inquiries," foreign ministry spokesman Vishnu Prakash said.

A meeting between Singh and Gilani is seen as crucial because it would help keep engagement alive between the two nuclear-armed neighbours who have a long tradition of hostility.

The two countries' battle for influence in Afghanistan also has a direct bearing on Western efforts to stabilise a region with 1.8 billion people.

Although Singh and Gilani briefly exchanged pleasantries in Washington this month, a meeting in Thimpu would be their first substantial contact since controversial talks in Egypt in July when the two agreed to delink terrorism from the broader peace process halted by India after the attacks in Mumbai.

That move was slammed by Indian opposition leaders as diluting India's stand that peace talks could only resume when Pakistan acted against the planners of the attack.

The top diplomats of the two countries met in New Delhi in February this year but failed to achieve a breakthrough. That meeting, nonetheless, was seen as a small step towards repairing ties.

The United States has been urging the two sides to reduce tension so that Pakistan can focus on fighting the Taliban on its western border with Afghanistan

Monsoon may start 7-10 days early - expert

"This year the monsoon may hit the Kerala coast a week to ten days ahead of schedule," said P.V. Joseph, a former director at the India Meteorological Department and professor emeritus, department of atmospheric science, at the Cochin University of Science and Technology.

Joseph said the forecast was based on a phenomenon known as "pre-monsoon rain peak" in which the temperature of the Bay of Bengal off the east coast of the subcontinent rises about 40 days before the monsoon and clouds near the equator move north to bring rains on the southern tip of India.

When monsoon rains are delayed, this phenomenon occurs in early May, but this year it was observed in the first half of April, signalling early arrival of rains, he said.

"It is an indicator of coming monsoons. In most of the years, it has come true," said Joseph, who is often consulted by the government's weather office and invited to lecture on monsoon trends by the ministry of earth sciences which funds weather research.

"Last year the pre-monsoon rain peak took place in April and the monsoon arrived earlier," said Joseph, a resident of Cochin, now widely called Kochi, a city in the southwest Indian state of Kerala which hosts a key weather station for monsoon observance.

A senior weather scientist at a government body agreed there is a correlation between the "pre-monsoon rain peak" and the onset of the monsoon, but there may be a gap of up to four days between the forecast based on this phenomenon and the start of rains.

If rains begin before the usual date, it helps early sowing and harvesting of crops such as rice, soybean, and corn and shields them from any dry spell towards the end of the season.

The Indian monsoon, forecast to be normal this year, is keenly watched by traders and analysts as the country, one of the world's top producers and consumers of sugar, wheat, rice and edible oils, counts on rains to irrigate 60 percent of its farms.
The four-month monsoon season usually begins on June 1 with the first showers in Kerala and covers the rest of India and neighbouring countries by July.

Last year, the June-September season, which delivers 75-90 percent of the total rainfall in most parts of India, was the worst since 1972, stoking inflation and making India the world's top buyer of edible oils and a big sugar importer.

But the 2009 season began on a promising note with heavy showers from May 23 as monsoon rains arrived ahead of schedule.

India, Afghanistan discuss Taliban, regional security

NEW DELHI - Afghan President Hamid Karzai held talks with Indian leaders on Monday about his efforts to reach out to the Taliban for a negotiated settlement of the nine-year old conflict in his country.

New Delhi fears any Afghan plan to broker a deal with the Taliban will undermine its security and give rival Pakistan greater influence there. Pakistan, one of a handful of countries that recognised the Taliban regime before the U.S. invasion in 2001, is seen as a key player in any plan for reconciliation.

"We discussed... reintegration and reconciling of those elements of the Taliban and others who have accepted the Afghan Constitution, who are not part of al Qaeda, who are not part of any terrorist network," Karzai said after talks with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Karzai has proposed a plan to reintegrate low-level fighters back into Afghan society and also sought to reconcile with senior insurgents provided they give up weapons.

An immediate breakthrough is unlikely, analysts say, pointing to previous offers to re-integrate fighters that failed to make much progress. The Taliban have also rejected any offer of talks saying foreign forces must first leave Afghanistan.

"The prime minister and I discussed the situation in Afghanistan, the situation in the region and our common struggle against terrorism and extremism," Karzai said reading from a statement.

Karzai will be travelling to Bhutan on Tuesday to attend a regional summit where the prime ministers of India and Pakistan will also be present and could meet, Indian Foreign Minister S.M. Krishna said on Monday.

"I am not ruling it out," the state-run Doordarshan channel quoted him as saying in Thimphu, the capital of Bhutan, of a possible meeting between the leaders of India and Pakistan.

Obama renews vow of "new beginning" with Muslims

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama on Monday renewed his commitment to a "new beginning" with the Muslim world, vowing no let-up in U.S. efforts to promote Middle East peace, curb militant violence and boost economic development.

Seeking to build on his outreach to Muslims in a speech in Cairo last June, Obama used a U.S.-hosted Muslim business conference to underscore what his administration has done so far and to pledge further work to overcome mistrust.

While Obama has made progress toward mending America's image in the Islamic world, he still faces stiff challenges in his handling of the stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace process, the nuclear standoff with Iran and wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"I knew that this vision would not be fulfilled in a single year, or even several. But I knew we had to begin and that all of us have responsibilities to fulfill," Obama told the Presidential Summit on Entrepreneurship.

The focus on business development marked the Obama administration's strategy of trying to broaden the conversation with Muslims beyond the "war on terrorism" that dominated the Bush-era approach and alienated many.

But, speaking to an audience of 250 business people from more than 50 countries, Obama also waded into some of the hot-button issues between Washington and the Muslim world that he acknowledged "have often been a source of tension."

Many Muslims are especially disappointed by Obama's failure so far to advance Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking despite promising in his first days in office to make it a high priority.

He assured his audience he would not abandon U.S. diplomatic efforts, which have been stymied by a dispute with Israel over Jewish settlement building and divisions among the Palestinians.

Mumbai, Delhi neck-and-neck in 3G spectrum auction

New Delhi: India has concluded 76 rounds of spectrum auction for third generation telecom services in the country, with Mumbai giving tough competition to Delhi and attracting bids at around Rs.1,080 crore.

At the end of the 13th day of the auction, which began April 9, the provisional winning price for a nationwide licence stood at Rs.7,900.48 crore, up 125.7 percent from Rs.3,500 crore reserve price fixed by the government.

Though Delhi remained the favourite among bidders, attracting the highest bid at Rs.1,083.27 crore, Mumbai did not lag much in the race, according to data available on the website of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT).

The country's financial capital received bids at Rs.1,079.93 crore, a jump of nine percent over Rs.989.48 crore bid it attracted Friday. Besides, two additional players were still in the fray for the three available slots in the service area.

As against this, the provisional winning price for Delhi jumped only five percent from Rs.1,030.72 crore it received Friday and only one additional player was in the fray against three slots available.

While Assam, Jammu and Kashmir and Orissa managed to attract players, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh did not receive even a single bid, the data showed.

The 3G services will facilitate much faster connectivity than what is available now and enable applications such as Internet TV, video-on-demand, audio-video calls and high-speed data exchange.

Slots for three-four players are available in each of the 22 circles into which the country has been geographically divided for these services.

The government has already given Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) spectrum for 3G services on the condition that they will pay the same licence fee as would be levied on private players after the auction.

Along with the fee that will be eventually paid by the two state-run enterprises for the licences, the government will provisionally get at least Rs.31,964.84 crore from the auction.

This is on the presumption that every available slot gets filled at the provisionally approved price.

The government hopes to rake in Rs.45,000-50,000 crore from the ongoing auctions to award radio frequency spectrum for 3G telecom services and for rolling out broadband wireless internet services.

The bid data, including the winning companies' names, will be made public after the auction's completion and approval by the government. The winning firms will have to deposit the money within 10 days after the auction.

The successful bidders would be allowed to offer 3G services on a commercial basis from Sep 1.

Quality training leads to India's high-tech success

Bangalore: The reason why India is doing so well in the Technology sector is the in-depth training they receive, which helps them to get an advantage over non-Indian employers. Much of the credit goes to the Indian education system. Back in 2002, India claimed to produce 350,000 engineers per year. But this included "diploma engineers" who were not true engineers at all. India actually had only 102,000 real engineering graduates in 2002. This went up to 222,000 in 2006 and may be double that in 2011, reports Economic Times.

However, McKinsey estimates that only 25 percent of Indian engineering graduates are good enough to work for multinationals (and only 15 percent of finance graduates and 10 percent of those with degrees of any kind). Yet in 2007, India's five largest IT services companies added 120,000 engineering jobs, and IBM and Accenture added another 14,000. Pharma R&D companies boomed. And foreign car companies made India an export and R&D hub to capitalize on its engineering skills.

The Infosys Global Education Centre at Mysore trains 13,500 people at a time. For arts and science recruits, TCS provides an additional three months of training. In all, many recruits get four to seven months of training before starting work. This would be impossibly expensive in the West. It is economic in India . Thus, low-cost training has been transformed into an international advantage, giving India a competitive edge in high-tech exports.

Office space rentals in India seen stable in 2010

NEW DELHI - Rents for office space are seen stable in 2010 as increased spending by IT and ITES firms absorbs space put out over the last few quarters, a recent survey by real estate consulting firm C.B. Richard Ellis showed.

The market for commercial space in major Indian cities has seen a boost in demand in the March quarter even as rents remain hobbled by excess supply.

"I don't expect rentals moving up in the near future. The supply is enough, although the market has picked up and office take-up has improved," Anshuman Magazine, Chairman of C.B. Richard Ellis (South Asia) told Reuters.

"It will take time before we see any upward movement in rentals."

The rental values in the central business district of New Delhi appreciated by 4 percent over the previous quarter while remaining flat in Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad and Pune according to the report.

The study across seven major cities forecast rents to remain stable overall while they may ease up in New Delhi and Bangalore due to supply beating demand.

Telecom, FMCG and pharma companies are also taking up office space, even as the IT-ITES sector which is seeing rising demand continues to be the major occupier.

"Unlike last year, the last quarter of 2009 onwards we have seen demand improving, absorption taking place and there is a momentum in the market," Magazine said.

RBI deputy: monsoon forecast is optimistic

MUMBAI - India's monsoon forecast is optimistic, K.C. Chakrabarty, one of the deputy governors at the Reserve Bank, said on Monday.

The summer monsoon is likely to be normal this year, the government said on Friday, allaying fears over an event crucial to the economic fate of the world's second-most populous nation.

When asked about teaser rates offered by banks Chakrabarty said the central bank has no problem with these rates but banks and customers must understand the risks.

Teaser rates are special lending rates offered by banks to attract customers and are usually well below prevailing market lending rates and have a reset clause after a certain period, usually three years.