MANGALORE REFINERY PETROCHEMICAL LTD.

A workshop organized by the Foreign Exchange Dealers’ Association of India (FEDAI), was held at Corporation Bank staff training college, recently.

Speaking on the occasion, B R Bhat, general manager, Corporation Bank, said that several plans in and around the city will be implemented soon. The bank with the assistance of several other industries, must come forward for regional development, he said.

Various industrial units are lined up in the city with an aggregate capital of Rs 25 crore. Every year, there is a 10 percent increase in the import and export through New Mangalore Port Trust, said Bhat.

Apart from it, the work of new industrial units and expansion of Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited is also on. There is a possibility of establishing supplementary micro, small, and medium, ancillary units in the city, he said.

The Bank must also draw attention towards small industries in the city along with foreign exchange. It also helps in regional development and provides job opportunities, remarked Bhat. The FEDAI has conducted a series of workshops all over the country.

S G S Maniyani, representative, FEDAI, Mumbai, delivered the keynote address on the occasion. Dr K Govinda Bhat, principal, Corporation Bank staff training college, welcomed the gathering.

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NCERT Textbook and CBSE Tutorials

Minister of State for Human Resource Development, D. Purandeswari, has appealed to all parents and the society for active involvement in an effort of the National Council for Educational Research and Training (NCERT) to minimize the exam stress on students.

The NCERT is studying the adverse effects of the present examination system to determine whether it can force a student to commit suicide.

This was informed by Purandeswari during Question Hour in the Rajya Sabha on Monday.

The NCERT has not yet made any recommendations on the study on adverse affects on students due to pressure of examinations, under the present education system.

When asked about the 16,000 reported suicides by students between 2004 and 2006, Purandeswari said, "We do realize children are under stress and strain but exams are not the lone cause of suicides".

"Suicides were a result of various other factors. Socio-economic factors add to the stress... anxiety of parents at times transfer to the child. Counseling and helpline for parents and students have been initiated and since September this year, web-based counseling has also been started", Purandeswari added.

NCERT has also taken up the subject of examination reforms with the state education boards. All universities across the country have also been advised by the University Grants Commission (UGC) to suggest academic reforms.

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Obama named Time's 'Person of the Year'

It may come as no shock that Time magazine named Barack Obama its "Person of the Year," but the magazine's online package does offer one surprise -- previously unseen photos of the president-elect from his formative years at Occidental College.

Time's managing editor Richard Stengel said the magazine picked Obama for his constant presence in news coverage throughout the year, and for being elected president at a "periolous" and "critical" time in American history.

Obama "energized Americans in a way that we haven't seen in a long time," Stengel said on CNN today.

Time's online package provides previously unpublished photos of Obama at Occidental College, which he attended from 1979 to 1981. The black-and-white photos were taken in 1980 by Lisa Jack, an aspiring photographer at the time, and show Obama wearing a hat and striking a variety of poses. Take a look at the photos.

Obama: The College Years

Obama: The College Years

Obama's time at Occidental College is a largely overlooked period of his biography, but one where he began to lay the seeds for his future in public service and politics.

The Globe's Scott Helman chronicled Obama's maturation this August in an article and video on the president-elect's years at Occidental. Here's a taste:

"Much has been made in this presidential campaign, both good and bad, of Obama's Ivy League pedigree - his bachelor's degree from Columbia University, and his law degree from Harvard, where he led the prestigious Law Review. But it is during the two years Obama spent at Occidental, a small liberal arts school in Los Angeles, that he started on the path that has led to the Democratic presidential nomination."
click here

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Victoria Prince - Kevin Federline's New Girlfriend

Britney Spears ex husband Kevin Federline has found himself a new girlfriend. Her name is Victoria Prince.

Victoria Prince, an ex-volleyball star, is a member of K-Fed's "Party Animals" bowling team, which is currently in second place in a local bowling league.

Here's a photo of Victoria Prince. More photos click here

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Michelle is 'Biggest Loser'

Michelle Aguilar, the 26 year old from Dallas, was named "the Biggest Loser" in the sixth season finale Tuesday.

She lost 110 pounds in the competition, dropping from a starting weight of 242 to a current 132 as part of Jillian Michaels' team. The percentage weight loss was 45.45 percent and she took home the title and the $250,000 final prize.

Ed Brantley, 31, a chef from Raleigh, lost even more pounds, 139, but the 41.49 percent weight loss was less than the winner (or loser) when he went from a starting 335 to 196. He had been part of Bob Harper's team of husbands and wives, with his wife Heba Salama, 30, who was also among the final four but was eliminated by viewer vote during the finale in a rather lopsided margin -- an 84 percent majority chose Brantley. But Salama did win the $100,000 prize for the biggest loser of those eliminated.

Also part of Harper's team was Vicky Vilcan, 37, the mother from Houma, La., who said she felt guilty that her weight had helped make her daughter overweight as well. Her weight loss, losing 101 pounds from a starting 246 to 145, was good enough for a third place finish.

"The Biggest Loser" finale came as part of a big two hour finale, which really was not so big -- every episode of the show this season was two hours long, something of a record. There won't be much time without the show. It returns with a new group of overweight contestants Jan. 6.

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Todd Homme Makeup Artist Reality Star Todd Homme Of Blush Blush

Mystery in the life of Todd Homme, 23, may be this: What ended it? Homme, a contestant in Lifetime's "Blush: The Search for the Next Great Makeup Artist ...


This doesn't happen often and in fact may never have happened before: A finalist in a popular reality shows dies just before the finale airs. This person was also young - very young - with abundant talent, energy and drive.

He is, or was, in apparent good health.

In fact, the only outstanding mystery in the life of Todd Homme, 23, may be this: What ended it?

Homme, a contestant in Lifetime's "Blush: The Search for the Next Great Makeup Artist," which wrapped last night, died in his sleep at his Manhattan apartment Saturday.

His mother, Marianne Amster of Huntington Station said last night, "They don't know what happened to him" while an autopsy was indeterminate. "He was at the height of life," she added. "It's very hard. Very, very hard."

Born in Tucson, raised in California, Homme moved with his family to Huntington nearly three years ago.

He was one of three finalists in "Blush," a "Project Runway"-like talent quest, in which the winner picks up a $100,000 check and a contract with Max Factor.

The finale was taped a month ago in Los Angeles, and Homme knew he did not win (Nolan Makaawaawa, of Costa Mesa, Calif., did.)

Homme's partner, Neal Krogh, 34, said both were making plans to move from New York to Los Angeles in a month.

"He was happy and exuberant and his usual full-of-life self and excited about the move," said Krogh, a lighting designer for TV and Broadway shows.

"His real passion in life was to help people," said his mother. She said he had told her that if he had won, "he said he'd give some [money] to 'my momma' and work with underprivileged kids. He loved life and he loved people. He did not have a flaw."

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Bharti Airtel Launches DTH TV Service in India Powered by Broadcom Technology

Bharti Airtel has selected Broadcom's highly integrated satellite set-top box (STB) system-on-chip (SoC) solutions to power its direct-to-home (DTH) TV services -- Airtel digital TV -- marking Broadcom's first commercial satellite product launch in India.

With an exploding interest in DTH TV services, India's burgeoning pay-TV market potential is expected to include 90 million subscribers by 2012, according to In-Stat market research. "Direct-to-home technology is emerging as the leading digital TV transmission platform in India," said Mike Paxton, a principal analyst at In-Stat. "Consumer demand for better picture quality and advanced video services have become catalysts that are driving demand for DTH pay-TV services throughout India."

To satisfy the growing market potential and demand in India for satellite TV, Bharti Airtel selected the Broadcom BCM7454 standard definition (SD) satellite STB solution with integrated H.264, MPEG-4 and VC-1 video decoding, and the BCM4505 integrated satellite tuner and demodulator front-end solution.

This selection of Broadcom's DVB-S2 technology, which it said to provide 30% greater capacity when compared to the DVB-S standard, allows Bharti Airtel to offer additional services, channels, and on-demand and interactive content within the same transponder allocation, providing subscribers with more TV choices and a better overall user experience.

The BCM7454 and the BCM4505 are both in production.

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UGC PAY SCALES

The central government has taken a number of measures to attract young and talented people to the teaching profession to strengthen the quality of higher education in the country, parliament was informed on Tuesday.

'One of the critical factors affecting the quality of universities and institutions imparting higher education, is our inability to attract and retain young and talented persons to the teaching profession, leading over a period of time to shortage of teachers in central as well as state universities and other higher educational institutions,' Minister of State for Human Resource Development (HRD) D. Purandeswari said in a statement in the Lok Sabha.

She said the cabinet on Monday approved an Empowered Committee's proposals based on the recommendations of the Pay Review Committee for university teachers. G.K.Chadha, a member of the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council, headed the Pay Review Committee.

Explaining the important features of the revised pay scales and service conditions for teachers, Purandeswari said: 'No one shall be eligible to be appointed, promoted or designated as professor unless he or she possesses a Ph.D. and satisfies other academic conditions, as laid down by the University Grants Commission (UGC).'

'This shall, however, not affect those who are already designated as professor,' she added.

This apart, there would, henceforth, be only three designations - assistant professors, associate professors and professors - for teachers in universities and colleges.

'For the first time, posts of professors shall be introduced in both under-graduate (UG) and post-graduate (PG) colleges. The number of posts of professors in UG colleges shall be 10 percent of the number of posts of associate professors. There shall be as many posts of professors in PG Colleges as the number of departments,' Purandeswari said.

Through these measures, she said the government 'has begun a process of restoring the dignity and pride in being associated with the teaching profession.'

The minister, however, lamented that approximately 25 percent of teachers' posts in central universities and constituent colleges were lying vacant.

'Vacancies in teaching posts in state-level institutions are known to be even higher,' Purandeswari said. IANS

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