“Bullett Raja Is Tougher Than Lootera” – Sonakshi Sinha

She has always been the bombaat factor in all the films, whether it’s the iconic dialogue deliveries or the rustic charm that she is endowed with. But Sonakshi has zoomed into the A-league right at the onset of her career. With almost a handful of films releasing every year, Sonakshi is definitely the busiest of the newbies today. “It has been three years that I have been a part of this industry. I never had the intention of joining films as I had always been saying. But after doing Dabangg, I started liking the entire feel. And henceforth, I have been busy shooting films back to back and my mom gets really pissed at me for overworking all the time. But somehow, work keeps me happy. I loved every moment of it that’s why it gave me the zeal to work even more. Shooting, promoting takes up so much of time that I have hardly taken holidays ever since I joined films. I guess I am the only newcomer who has had as many as nine releases in the first three years.”

From Dabangg to Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai Dobaara! and Bullett Raja now, sans Lootera, she has always been playing loud characters, ones that have hardly had anything substantial to offer. Does she ever regret doing more Dabanggs and less Looteras? Up came the rebuttal. “Well, I don’t really think that is the right way to go about the entire thing. Every film is different in its own right and I personally don’t like it when people call me a mere showpiece or an arm candy in the film. I do the so called massy entertainers just because I believe in them. I am one person who would do a film only if I personally would like to watch it in a movie hall. And be it Dabangg or Bullett Raja or Lootera, these are films that I believed in. Coming to substantial roles, yes everyone did appreciate me in Lootera and that would b e one of my most favourite performances because it developed my acting prowess but then again, I would say doing a film like Bullett Raja is more difficult than doing a Lootera. In these films, I need to play a loud character, one that I cannot relate to with my own life. People might feel this has nothing substantial to offer while I beg to differ and say these roles take serious amount of hard work”, she clarifies with conviction.

Playing a Bengali for the second time in Bullett Raja and looking so effortlessly charming, Sonakshi is definitely on a high. “This is the second time I am playing a Bengali girl but this character is way different from Lootera’s Pakhi. My character in Bullett Raja is more traditionally contemporary and somehow the Bengali look really works well on me. People are saying I totally look like a Bengali girl. Very mishti, is what they say (Smiles)”, Sonakshi signs off with that million dollar smile.

Mahindra & Mahindra seeks subsidy to promote electric cars

In order to improve the support for promoting electric cars in India, Mahindra & Mahindra has asked the government to grant subsidies to automakers to promote green cars.

Given the lack of support for electric cars in India, Anand Mahindra, MD, Mahindra & Mahindra has asked the government to grant subsidies to automakers to promote green cars.

 We've been disappointed because we were banking on a subsidy that the government had in place for electric cars which has expired. The government was committed to maintain it but hasn’t done so far. So, that has put a sticker price hurdle," said Mahindra.

Calling for a favourable policy to promote eco-friendly cars, he said, "I think the government has to come back and step in, and weigh in favour of the new rules."

On March 31, 2012, the Ministry of New and Renewable energy (MNRE) ended a scheme under which 20 per cent subsidy was offered to consumers on purchase of electric four-wheelers and two-wheelers. Under the scheme, the MNRE provided a cash subsidy of Rs. 4,000-5,000 on electric two-wheelers and of Rs. One lakh on electric cars.

The scheme was replaced by National Electric Mobility Mission Plan (NEMMP) 2020, which was announced in January this year. The plan envisages around seven million electric and hybrid vehicles in seven years. It was estimated that the government would need to provide support to the tune of Rs. 13,000 crore to Rs. 14,000 crore over the next 5-6 years.

In March this year, Mahindra & Mahindra had launched its first electric car 'e2o' priced at Rs 5.96 lakh (on road Delhi, after state subsidy), almost three years after it acquired Bangalore-based electric car maker Reva.

World AIDS Day a chance to renew the fight

With the shadow of AIDS still looming large across the Pacific, World AIDS Day in Australia will return the focus upon treatment and testing as the nation gears up for a renewed push in time for the International AIDS Conference to be held in Melbourne in July 2014.

Figures released last month show that Australia has a lot of work to do to reverse the rate of new HIV transmissions, increase HIV testing levels and get many more people on HIV treatment, according to the National Association of People with HIV Australia (NAPWHA).

New HIV infections rose by 10 percent in Australia in 2012, continuing worrying trends of previous years, with most new HIV cases occurring among men who have sex with men.

Perhaps of most concern are the figures suggesting that HIV testing uptake is not increasing fast enough.

World AIDS Day held on Dec. 1 each year seeks to raise awareness about issues surrounding HIV/AIDS.

The global theme for this World AIDS Day is Getting to Zero: Zero new HIV infections. Zero discrimination. Zero AIDS related deaths.

As well as promoting the global theme, World AIDS Day in Australia will be promoting the International AIDS Conference to be held in Melbourne in July 2014.

AIDS 2014 is expected to be the largest medical conference ever held in Australia and gives the Australian government the opportunity to highlight Australia's successes in prevention, support and treatment.

Professor Sharon Lewin is the director of the Department of Infectious Diseases at the Alfred Hospital and Monash University in Victoria.

"We currently know that there are 25,000 people living with HIV in Australia, and on average... well last year there were 1,200 new infections," a number that would surprise many Australians for whom the disease has retreated into the memory.

From its terrifying emergence in fringe communities in the 1980 's, the epidemic is now commonly perceived to be largely under control in rich countries like Australia and to be just one of a long list of intractable health problems that poorer countries face.

However, HIV rates have increased by some 50 percent in Australia over the past decade.

Science has not yet produced an HIV vaccine or a cure, but highly effective drug treatments not only quash side-effects, but dramatically reduce infectiousness, minimizing the likelihood of transmission.

In developing countries where most of the world's 35 million people with HIV live, drug prices have been slashed by 99 percent of initial costs.

University of New South Wales Professor John Kaldor from the Kirby Institute said that Australia has been too lax in its approach to scientific innovation.

"We have been slow to embrace several new technologies that may prove beneficial in HIV prevention. For example, a decade after the rest of the world, Australia has only just begun to adopt point-of-care testing, in which results can be provided on the spot," he said.

Professor Kirby notes that those who know their HIV status are able to act immediately to access early treatment and to prevent transmission.

There are still long gaps between when people contract HIV and they are diagnosed; and many people with HIV who should be on HIV treatment are not. The proportion of Australians with HIV who are taking HIV treatment may be as low as 50 percent.

This disturbing picture is at odds with scientific advances and international HIV treatment guidelines. Many expert HIV clinicians recommend that all people with HIV should be offered HIV treatment, not only for the potential individual health benefits, but also because taking HIV treatment can play a critical role in helping prevent transmission of HIV to others.

"Australia is not responding fast enough to these opportunities and our HIV response has become increasingly less coordinated, particularly at the national level," said Robert Mitchell, NAPWHA president.

"We are at risk of losing our place as a world leader in this new era of HIV prevention and treatment."

One hopeful sign is the recent agreement by all Australian health ministers to set clear targets and timelines for the Australian HIV response. This includes reducing sexual transmission of HIV by 50 percent and uptake of HIV treatment by people with HIV by 90 percent, by 2015.

"This is a very welcome initiative," Mitchell said, "but all health ministers must now move quickly to implement on the ground actions.

"Australia needs a new National HIV Strategy to replace the current one which is completely out of date and also due to expire.

"Strong national leadership in HIV has been pivotal in Australia's HIV response and we need it more than ever today," Mitchell said.

The new Australian government has embarked on a major overhaul of foreign aid, starting with the integration of AusAID into the Department of Foreign Affairs. This presents a perfect opportunity to rethink the current models of how Australia delivers aid in specific domains of health.

Next year Australia will host the World AIDS Conference in Melbourne, with over 20,000 participants, focusing global attention on Australia's leadership in reducing the impact of HIV in the region.

Professor Kirby is hopeful that leadership will be reinvigorated by the time Australia hosts the World AIDS Conference.

"By more effectively projecting our own strengths in health crises such as HIV, we will be better able to help deliver optimal outcomes for our neighbors most in need. As such, Australia could have much more to celebrate on World Aids Day 2014."

Education can help India overcome moral challenges: President Pranab Mukherjee

ARUNACHAL PRADESH,   The people of the country need to make an extra effort to surmount the contemporary moral challenges, President Pranab Mukherjee today said, stressing the need to focus on education for India to be "truly developed". 

"Educational institutions have a pivotal role to inculcate in our youth the core civilizational values of love for motherland, performance of duty, compassion for all, tolerance for pluralism, respect for women, honesty in life, self-restrain in conduct, responsibility in action and discipline," the President said at the 12th convocation ceremony of Rajiv Gandhi University here. 
Asserting that education is the bedrock of an enlightened society, he said a good education breeds tolerance for divergent views. 


"Our country has done well in terms of economic development. Yet, we cannot claim to have evolved into a truly developed society," he said. 

"Development is not only about factories, dams and roads. Development, to my mind, is about people, their values and their devotion to spiritual and cultural heritage of our nation." 

"At a time when we, as a nation, have to make an extra effort to surmount the contemporary moral challenges, it is holistic education that must play a definitive role in shaping our values," Mukherjee said. 

The President, who was on a two-day visit to the north eastern state, expressed concerns over the declining standard of country's higher education and suggested its overhaul. 

"Today, our universities lag behind the best universities in the world. According to an international survey, an Indian university or an institution is missing from the top 200 ranks. Naturally, we feel shock," he said. 

"India is poised to become a world power. Not merely physical expansion is enough, we must have quality expansion. There is no dearth of quality teachers and students, what we need is quality education and an atmosphere for that," the President said. 
Mukherjee said ancient universities in the country had excelled in providing education not only for one or two years but for 1,800 years, yet none of our institutes figures in list of world's top 200 such centres. 

"Our ancient universities--Takshashila, Nalanda, Vikramashila, Valabhi, Somapura and Odantapuri-- were renowned seats of learning that attracted scholars from outside." 

Mukherjee said country's higher academic model must undergo significant changes from the traditional pattern of delivering education. 

He said every university has shortage of teachers but that cannot be overcome overnight. 

Technology can play an important role for it, he said. The President also laid emphasis on conducting research activities in universities across the country. 

Mukherjee asked students of the university to conduct innovative research on border trade opportunities and ways to integrate northeast economy with the national and global economies, among other, to help in the region's development. 

Sachin Tendulkar : dedicates Bharat Ratna to all mothers

Sachin Tendulkar,  dedicated to all the mothers in India -- and especially his own mother, Rajni Tendulkar -- the Bharat Ratna he was awarded for his 24-year service to cricket.

"I'm humbled and honoured to be given the Bharat Ratna. This award is for my mother, because of all the sacrifices she made for me," said Tendulkar at a press conference here.

"As a child, you don't understand life... when you grow up, you realise all these things. It is not just for my mother, not just my mother, but there are millions and millions of mothers in India who sacrifice many things for their children. I would like to share my award with them."

Tendulkar also congratulated C.N.R. Rao for also being awarded the Bharat Ratna for his "immense" contribution to the field of science.

"The award belongs to the entire nation, I'd say. At this stage, I would like to congratulate Prof CNR Rao for getting the Bharat Ratna. It is an honour to get the award with him, his contribution to the field of science is immense, it's only that cricket is played in front of thousands of people," he said.

Shraddha Kapoor did not charge fee for Gori Tere Pyaar Mein

Newcomer Shraddha Kapoor, who will be seen in Karan Johar's home production Gori Tere Pyaar Mein, has apparently not charged any fees for her role.

"Shraddha liked the script and wanted to work with the banner. She agreed to come on board instantly without any remuneration. Her role isn't a lengthy one, but she plays an important part. Her role is crucial to the storyline," a source said.

"I bumped into Shraddha outside a theatre on the day 'I Hate Luv Storys' released. I've known her since then. When we wrote the character of Vasudha, I had her in mind, so I met her and informed her about the role. She liked the script and came on board as a friend. We have credited her part as a friendly appearance," said movie's director Punit Malhotra.

The film stars Imran Khan and Kareena Kapoor Khan in the lead.

World Chess Championship: Viswanathan Anand scares Magnus Carlsen; third game drawn

Viswanathan Anand on Tuesday gave his Norwegian challenger Magnus Carlsen a scare despite playing with black pieces even though the third game of the World Chess Championship clash ended in a long-grinding draw here.

The third game today turned out to be a hard fought affair lasting 51 moves after a rather sedate start that had seen the first two games ending in draws without any real excitement.

Midway into the third game today, Anand appeared to have seized the initiative with some 'spot on' manoeuvres, but world number one Carlsen saved the situation with his counter play.

Later at the post-game conference, Carlsen conceded that he felt "scary" though he averted the danger.

"I was worse, and then I probably made it more worse. I missed some simple things in the middle game, may be I had enough play and it was not a disaster but it was scary," Carlsen said.

After the third draw on the trot, the deadlock continues with none of the two rivals refusing to blink so far, but what happened at the Hyatt today was probably a clear indication that a rough battle is now shaping up.

The scores stand at 1.5 points for both players and the five-time champion Anand will have the advantage of playing with white pieces in the fourth game tomorrow.

Carlsen showed his intentions of a bloody battle when, contrary to the popular belief, repeated the Reti opening.

"I was expecting that Carlsen would jump from one opening to another," said Grandmaster R B Ramesh, who is a part of the live commentary team here.

As is typical of the Reti opening, the changes to several set ups is possible. Carlsen went for a position akin to the English opening that was more of a Sicilian Dragon with colours reversed.

Aarushi Talwar case: Judgment on November 25

GHAZIABAD: A special CBI court on Tuesday said the verdict in the Aarushi-Hemraj double murder case will be pronounced on November 25.

The final arguments concluded in court of Special Judge S Lal.

Narendra Modi, likely to visit Bihar again

BJP prime ministerial nominee Narendra Modi will visit Bihar for a third time around December end or mid-January next year to address a public meeting for which the date and venue were being worked out.

"We have planned to hold three-four public meetings between December this year and January next year one of which will be addressed by the Gujarat Chief Minister," state unit BJP president Mangal Pandey told reporters in Patna.

The schedule for Mr Modi's third visit and the venue of the public meeting would be worked out in due course, Mr Pandey said.

The BJP prime ministerial candidate has visited Bihar twice till now, once in the last week of October and another time in the first week of November.

Mr Modi had addressed the BJP's 'Hunkar Rally' at Patna's Gandhi Maidan on October 27 where serial blasts claimed seven lives, including that of one of the perpetrators.

He had returned in November to express his condolences to the families of the victims.