vol-9-issue-01 april 30- may 6, 2016
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8/17/2019 Vol-9-Issue-01 April 30- May 6, 2016
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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 journalism US AFFAIRS 9 OP ED 12
Vol.9 No. 1 April 30- May 6, 2016 80 Cents New York Edition Follow us on TheSouthAsianTimes.info
SPORTS 22
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With this edition in your hand,
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Our website is updated round
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Washington:
Tantalizingly close to getting the GOP
nomination, Donald Trump outlined his "America
First" foreign policy on Wednesday. He has pledged a
major buildup of the military, the swift destruction of
the Islamic State and the rejection of trade deals that
he said tied the nation's hands.
“Itʼs time to shake the rust off Americaʼs foreign
policy,” he said during his speech at the Mayflower
Hotel in the capital. “My foreign policy always puts
the interest of the American
SPIRITUAL AWARENESS 30
Washington: Prime Minister Narendra
Modi is set to address a joint meeting of
the US Congress in June as he prepares to
make his fourth visit to America in his two
ye ar s in of fi ce , re po rt ed Wa ll St re et
Journal.
House of Representatives Speaker Paul
Ryan said in a statement Thursday he had
invited Mr. Modi to Capitol Hill, describing
India‑US ties as “a pillar of strength in an
important region of the world.”
Every full‑term Indian prime ministersince 1984 has addressed a joint meeting
of the House and Senate and Modi will be
the fifth, speaking 11 years after his pred‑
ecessor, Manmohan Singh. The first Indian
premier to make such a speech was Rajiv
Gandhi in 1985, followed by P.V.
Narasimha Rao in 1994 and Atal Bihari
Vajpayee in 2000.
Modi couldnʼt address Congress on his
first visit to Washington as PM in the fall
of 2014 because of what then Speaker
John Boehne r
New York: Renowned spiritual
Master Sant Rajinder Singh Ji
Maharaj has been in New Jerseyand New York this week to offer a
series of talks on how we can
transform our lives through medi‑
tation. Head of Science of
Spirituality (SoS)/Sawan Kirpal
Ruhani Mission, he travels the
globe, spreading the message of
inner and outer peace through
spirituality.
On Friday evening, thousands
attended his talk in Hindi at the
Amityville Meditation Center on
Long Island, the center running
since 1957. Earlier on Wednesday,
the spiritual Master inaugurated
Modi set to addressUS Congress
Trump outlines ‘America
First’ foreign policy
Will seek India's help toaddress 'unstable' nuclear-Pak
attracts thousands toAmityville Meditation Center
Continued on page 4
Sant RajinderSingh Ji Maharaj
Continued on page 4
Continued on page 4
Included in this edition is a
16 page, all color supplement
about Sant Rajinder Singh Ji
Maharaj, his Mission,
and his NJ NY visit.
The dates and itinerary for the IndianPMʼs trip to Washington in June have not
been officially announced.
Trump's first major foreign policy speech has alarmedAmerican allies, who view his agenda as a threat to
retreat from the world. (Photo courtesy Reuters)
Head of Science of Spirituality/Sawan Kirpal RuhaniMission, Maharaj ji has been giving talksin New York and New Jersey this week.
Sant Rajinder Singh Ji Maharaj greeting devotees in the meditation hallof SoS Center in Amityville on Friday.
More pix and detailedstory on pages 15‑18
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TheSouthAsianTimes.info April 30-May 6, 2016
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8/17/2019 Vol-9-Issue-01 April 30- May 6, 2016
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3April 30- May 6, 2016TheSouthAsianTimes.info TR I S TATE COMMUNI TY
New York
Due to the
tough regulat ions of
Indian Government, it hasbecome difficult for over‑
seas Indians to send
money back home to
charities, which have to be
FCRA certified.
One excellent alternative
is to channel help through
India Development
Foundation for Overseas
Indians (IDF‑OI) started by
the government in 2008,
which is currently chaired by Sushma
Sawaraj, External Affairs Minister. IDF‑OI
channelizes philanthropic propensities
and resources of the Overseas Indian
community into the key sectors of Health
Care, Education, Women Empowerment,Sustainable Livelihood, and Sanitation.
The States are invited to submit projects
pertaining to these sectors to IDF‑OI.
After assessment, information about
selected projects is disseminated to the
Diaspora through IDF‑OI website and
other social media platforms. IDF‑OI also
works closely with Indian
M i s s i o n / C o n s u l a t e s
abroad and Indian
Associations.Overseas Indian can
either contribute to the
IDF‑OI pool fund or to a
particular project. If the
contribution is made to
IDF‑OI pool fund, IDF‑OI
decides on the disburse‑
ment based on project
needs and how much each
project will receive. After a
project is selected by an
Overseas Indian for contribution, IDF‑OI
transfers the funds to the project imple‑
mentation agencies.
IDF‑OI promotes accountability and
transparency in Diaspora philanthropy
via effective monitoring and reportingmechanisms. It ensures timely monitoring
of projects funded by Overseas Indians
and sends reports to donors about project
implementation.
Information about the projects available
for funding by Overseas Indians is
presently available on IDF‑OI website:
idfoi.org
New Delhi As many as three Indian origin
persons have been named among 100
highest‑paid CEOs globally with PepsiCo's
Indra Nooyi and LyondellBasell's BhaveshPatel making it to the top ten list compiled
by Equilar.
Chemicals company LyondellBasell
Industries' top executive Bhavesh V Patel
was ranked sixth on the list with a total
compensation of $24.5 million, while
Nooyi, the chief executive of PepsiCo was
ranked eighth on the list with a total pay of
$22.2 million.
Satya Nadella, the CEO of Microsoft, was
ranked 26th on the list of 100 highest‑paid
CEOs with a total compensation of $18.3
million.
The overall list was topped by Mark V
Hurd and Safra A Catz of Oracle Corp with
both boasting a total compensation of
$53.2 million.Others on the top 10 include, Robert A
Iger of Walt Disney ($43.5 million), David
M Cote of Honeywell International ($33.1
million), General Electric's Jeffrey R Immelt
($26.4 million), Randall L Stephenson of
AT&T ($22.4 million), Rupert Murdoch of
Twenty‑First Century Fox ($22.2 million)
and James P Gorman of Morgan Stanley
($22 million). This list is a snapshot of com‑
panies that file annual proxy statements
before April 1 and aims to provide an earlylook at CEO pay trends for 2015.
The report further noted that the median
pay for Equilar 100 CEOs was $14.5 mil‑
lion in fiscal year 2015, up 3 per cent from
the previous year.
Interestingly, eight CEOs on the list are
female, and they far outpace the median
pay for the Equilar 100 as a whole.
Washington A nationwide grass‑
roots body of Indian Americans
was launched April 24 by
Democratic frontrunner Hillary
Clinton's campaign to support the
former secretary of state, hinting
that an Indian American could beappointed under her presidency.
The organization named
'Indian‑Americans for Hillary
Clinton' was launched in
Germantown, Maryland, by
Clinton's campaign manager John
Podesta.
Podesta, who personally came
down from the campaign head‑
quarters of New York, told a gath‑
ering of Indian Americans that
the relationship between India
and the U.S. would reach a new
level after Clinton is elected as
the president in the November
elections.
"One of the things that she iscommitted to is having a broad
diverse cabinet more than any
administration. And I think, as
senator and as secretary she
showed that commitment by
appointing Indian Americans to
positions of responsibilities and I
think you should expect that aspresident of the United States,"
Podesta said.
Podesta was speaking to a
group of Indian reporters after
formally launching Indian‑
Americans for Hillary Clinton
wherein he was asked if a Clinton
administration could see the firstIndian American cabinet appoint‑
ment.
"I could think of at least one
person, who you have already
spoken with, who I would like to
see in a future Democratic admin‑
istration," Podesta said, referring
to Indian American Neera Tanden,
head of the Center for American
Progress, a top American think‑tank, who worked with Clinton
for around 14 years.
Tanden was one of the keynote
speakers at the launch of Indian‑
Americans for Hillary Clinton.
Given her past work and experi‑
ence, Podesta told the gathering
that he has no doubt that bilateral
ties between India and the U.S.
would reach a new height under a
Clinton administration.
"As secretary of state, she tried
to develop a strong relationship
between the U.S. and India. She
actually helped begin to lay the
foundation, which I had the abili‑
ty to work on when I was in theWhite House for President Barack
Obama, to deepen the relation‑
ship with Prime Minister
(Narendra) Modi to try to get an
outcome in the Paris negotia‑
tions," he said.
Thrilled at the launch of Indian‑
Americans for Hillary Clinton,
Tanden said that the small but
influential ethnic communitycould play a significant role in
several key states like Maryland,
New York, Ohio and California.
"In every position that Hillary
has ever held as First Lady,
Senator, Secretary of State, she
has always had Indian Americans.
I am sure, she will recognize the
talents of the Indian American
community because she has
already done that in the past,"
said Tanden.
Referring to the divisive cam‑
paign from the opposition
Republican party, Tanden said by
doing so they are questioning
"whether we are going toembrace the diversity" or whether
racial and religious minority are
being seen as part of the country.
India DevelopmentFoundation tailormade for
NRIs to help motherland
Neera Tanden flanked by Hillary Clinton and John Podesta(Clintonʼs campaign manager) at a 2013 event. (Photo courtesy: Reuters)
Chemicals company LyondellBasellIndustries' top exec Bhavesh ̒ Bobʼ Patel
is the sixth highest paid in thelist at $24.5 million.
Sushma Sawaraj, ExternalAffairs Minister.
Neera Tanden could make it to Hillary administration
Indra Nooyi, Satya Nadella,Bhavesh Patel among highest
paid CEOs in the world
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Sant Rajinder Singh Ji Maharajattracts thousands toAmityville Meditation CenterContinued from page 1
the Science of Spirituality New Jersey
Meditation Center in Perth Amboy,
home to large Spanish and Hindi speak‑
ing communities. The center hosts a
library, an office, rooms for children
and young adults, a book store, and a
large kitchen, and of course, a medita‑tion hall . To date, Science of
Spirituality/Sawan Kirpal Ruhani
Mission has 2059 centers in 54 coun‑
tries around the world.
Sant Rajinder Singh Ji Maharajʼs final
discourse in the tristate area will be a 2
pm talk on Sunday, May 1 on
“Meditation to Access Spiritual Realms”
followed by initiation.
In a historic first, The South Asian
Times issued a16‑page special pictorial
supplement in five languages ‑‑ English,
Spanish, Hindi, Punjabi, and Gujarati ‑
about Sant Rajinder Singh Ji Maharaj,
his Mission, and his NJ‑NY visit.
For more information about the week
end program, please go to
www.sos.org/event/nynj.
Modi set to addressUS CongressContinued from page 1
called “the unpredictability of the House
schedule.” That visit was seen as a turn‑
ing point in Modiʼs relations with the
US, which had denied the Indian leader
a visa in 2005 over religious riots in
Gujarat in 2002 when he was chief min‑
ister. But since then, President Barack
Obama and Modi have developed a
close rapport, and Modi has brought
New Delhi closer to the US by enhanc‑
ing defense ties. The US sees India as an
important partner, particularly to coun‑
terbalance Chinaʼs growing clout and
ambitions in Asia.
The dates and itinerary for Modiʼs trip
to Washington this summer have not
been officially announced. White House
press secretary Josh Earnest said
Thursday that the Obama administra‑
tion was in conversation with Indian
officials about scheduling a visit to the
White House.
Trump outlines ʻAmerica Firstʼforeign policyContinued from page
people and American security above all
else. Has to be first. Has to be. That will be
the foundation of every single decision that
I will make."
In his speech, he criticized President
Obamaʼs nuclear deal with Iran and his trip
to Cuba, said he would fight the Islamic
State (IS) terror group by being more“unpredictable” and also called for upgrad‑
ing the US nuclear arsenal.
In his speech, Trump also offered an olive
branch of sorts to Muslim allies of the US in
rare remarks pointing to the ways in which
America can have constructive relations
with the Muslim world. "We're going to be
working very closely with our friends in
the Muslim world, which are all at risk for
violent attacks," he said. Trump said he
would also aim to hold talks with Russia to
seek common ground, possibly over
Islamist extremism. China, he said,
"respects strength, and by letting them take
advantage of us economically like they are
doing, we are losing all their respect". He
said he would seek to "fix our relationswith China" but did not suggest how.
The same day during a town‑hall in
Indianapolis, Trump also said India can
help out the US in dealing with the "prob‑
lem" of "semi‑stable" nuclear‑armed
Pakistan. "The problem with Pakistan ‑‑ I
mean, they have nuclear weapons, and ‑‑
which is a real problem. Again, the single
biggest problem, we have nuclear weapons
... But it's semi‑unstable and we don't want
to see total instability (in Pakistan)," Trump
said.
Trump said the US has "a little bit of a
good relationship" with Pakistan, and if he
becomes the president, he will try to keep
good relations with Islamabad.
"That's very much against my grain to
say that, but, a country ‑‑ and that's always
the country I think, if we give them money,
we help them out, but if we don't, I think
that would go on the other side of the
ledger, and that could really be a disaster,"
Trump said.
"At the same time, if you look at India and
some of the others, maybe they will be
helping us out, because we're going to look
at it," Trump said.
Burlingame Calif: Hundreds of demonstrators
descended on the California Republican
Convention Friday to protest Donald Trump
ahead of his speech.
Protesters ‑‑ some of whom wore bandanas
over their faces and carried Mexican flags ‑‑
blocked off the road in front of the Hyatt
Regency here, forcing the GOP front‑runner's
motorcade to pull over along a concrete median
outside the hotel's back entrance. Trump and his
entourage got out and walked into the building.
"That was not the easiest entrance I've ever
made," Trump said once he began speaking at
the convention, adding, "it felt like I was crossingthe border."
At one point before Trump arrived, about two
dozen protesters tried to rush barriers near the
hotel. Police officers then rushed to the build‑
ing's doors, successfully blocking the protesters
from getting in. Some of the doors' handles were
handcuffed from the inside so they couldn't be
forced open. Several physical altercations,
including shoving, could be seen between pro‑
testers and police officers, who were using
batons to push them back.
After Trump arrived, protesters took down a
barrier and flooded the entrance outside the
hotel, where police again blocked them from
entering. They chanted, "Get him out."
Earlier in the day, Chris Conway, a 51‑year‑old
Trump supporter who was wearing the GOP
front‑runner's famous "Make America Great
Again" cap, claimed he was kicked, punched and
spit on by Trump protesters, though he wasn't
seeking medical attention. Police, apparently
concerned for his safety, eventually pulled him
over hedges outside the hotel and away from the
crowd.
Speaking to CNN Friday afternoon, Conwaysaid he was "not surprised" by his treatment.
"To be honest with you, I'm glad it was me and
not like an 8‑year‑old girl being pepper‑sprayed
or something like that," he said.
Burlingame Police Lt. Jay Kiely said later
Friday that five people were arrested, including
one who was with the crowd when it tried to
rush the Hyatt's entrance. One injury was report‑
ed, but Kiely did not know whether it was a
police officer, protester or supporter who was
hurt or the extent of the injury.
Anti‑Trump demonstrators stormCalifornia GOP convention
Aishwarya Madan, 2nd Lieutenant of Port Washington FD Emergency Medical Services,was honored for her community service by Nassau County legislators Rosemary Walker
and Laura Schaefer on April 28 at a meeting of Rotary Club Hicksville South in the presenceof the clubʼs President Lionel Chitty and Rotary District 7255 Governor Kamlesh Mehta.
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5April 30-May 6, 2016TheSouthAsianTimes.info TR I S TATE COMMUNI TY
Los Angeles : Bollywood actress Priyanka
Chopra has confirmed that she will be din‑
ing with President Barack Obama at the
annual White House Correspondents'Dinner this weekend.
She was invited to the annual White
House Correspondents' Dinner with
President Barack Obama and First Lady
Michelle Obama.
Priyanka, who found global recognition
with her character Alex Parrish in the
American TV series "Quantico", was earlier
"not sure" about attending the dinner due to
her work commitments.
Bollywood's 'desi girl' took to Twitter to
share the news. The dinner will take place
on Saturday. Priyanka will be dining with
some of Hollywood's biggest names like
Will Smith, his wife Jada Pinkett Smith,
Kerry Washington, Shonda Rhimes, Kim
Kardashian's model sister Kendall Jenneramong others. The non‑profit White House
Correspondents' Association, whose mem‑
bers include the reporters, producers, cam‑
era operators and other journalists regular‑
ly covering the White House, traditionally
hosts this annual dinner to raise money for
journalism scholarships.
New York: A pre‑motherʼs day gift
from son Paresh Shah emerged in
the form of proud moment for
mother Kokila Shah at ʻBusiness inDiversityʼ award ceremony during
her visit to New York.
Long Island Business News hon‑
ored entrepreneurs from diverse
background in their “Diversity in
Business” awards category at Crest
Hollow Country Club, Woodbury
last Thursday.
These awards are designed to
highlight the outstanding achieve‑
ments of business leaders of diverse
backgrounds. Timothy Williams,
Chairman, Nassau County Industr ial
Development Agency was the keynote speaker
at this event, which was moderated by News
12 Long Island Reporter Virginia Huie.
Indian American honoree from the financialfield, Paresh Shah has been a member of pres‑
tigious Million Dollar Round Table for past 6
years including 2 years qualification to Court
of the Table.
Interestingly, he graduated as a Chemical
Engineer (honors graduate) from the presti‑
gious Indian Institute of Technology at
Karagpur, India. Shahʼs shift from engineering
to financial services is designed by circum‑
stances, the untimely death of his father
made him realize the importance of financial
planning.He is passionate about the role of a financial
planner and considers it as an important track
for the overall growth and happiness of indi‑
viduals and families.
He and his wife Shimul Shah are active in
many philanthropic activities and dedicated
members of ʻSwadhyay Parivar.ʼ
W a s h i n g t on D C : An Indian‑American
Democratic legislator in Maryland has suf‑
fered a humiliating
defeat in the party's pri‑
mary election for a seat
in the US House of Representatives. Kumar
Barve, 57, who was the
House Majority Leader
from 2003‑2014 and
now Chairman of
Maryland House
Environment and
T r a n s p o r t a t i o n
Committee, received just
two per cent of the total
votes polled in a nine‑person Democratic
primary race for a seat in the US House of
Representatives last night. The primary
election was won by Jamie Raskin who
received 33 per cent of the votes. He was
followed by David Trone with 28 per cent
of the votes.In 1990, Barve made history at the age of
32, when he was elected to the Maryland
House of Delegates and became the first
Indian‑American ever to serve in a state leg‑
islator. If elected, he would have been the
fourth Indian‑American to be elected to the
US House of Representatives. Ami Bera
from California is the only Indian‑American
Actor Priyanka Chopra. (Photo: IANS)
Priyanka to dine withBarack Obama
N ew Jer s ey : A fundraiser was
held on April 22nd at JP Stevens
High School by Hope4Spandana,
a nonprofit charitable organiza‑
tion to help underprivileged chil‑
dren in India diagnosed withAutism. Sharwani Kota who
organized the event, called it a
huge success. About 800 people
attended and more than $10,000
was raised at the event.
Many New Jersey statewide dig‑
nitaries such as Senator‑Peter
Barnes, Congressman‑Frank
Pallone, Former Dy.Speaker‑
Upendra Chivukula, former
Mayor‑Jun Choi, Satish Mehtani‑
Chairman of International mis‑
sion of Mercy, Democratic presi‑
dent,Morris county‑Vin Gopal,
Edison council members,Sapna
Shah, Ajay Patil, community
leader‑Peter Kothari who attend‑ed and stayed all through the
event, were very supportive of the
organization. The event lasted for
three and a half hour with music,
instrumental and dance programs
performed by professionals.
During the event Sharwani gave
presentation about the organiza‑
tion and the schools adopted by
them in India. As part of the
event, Hope4Spandana honored
Satish Mehtani with "Outstanding
Humanitarian Award" for his
unparalleled service in helping
Nepal earthquake victims.
Hope4Spandana was founded by
Sharwani Kota two years ago,
who is a high school junior now at
JP St eve ns Sch ool, Ed ison, NJ .
She recruited 45 other childrenfrom various school districts in
New Jersey. They all work to
advocate, spread awareness about
Autism and raise funds for
research and care through flash
mob dances in New Jersey and
New York. Esha
K h a n d e l w a l , S n e h a
P a c h a n a d y , S h r e y a
D e v a r a k o n d a , S r a a v y a
Mallela,Anjali Modgula,Alekhya
Vuntla,Arya Massand,Arnav
Patel,Divi Patil and other mem‑
bers of the group,have been work‑
ing on this cause for over two
years by performing various arts
at senior citizen homes, communi‑
ty centers and various public
locations such as malls and his‑
torical places such as TimeSquare to raise funds. The organ‑
ization is affiliated with Saint
Peterʼs University Hospital̶a
well‑known organization that
uses its funds for research and
care and family support for
Autism. The funds raised by
Hope4Spandana are distributed
between Saint Peters hospital for
research and to support the
schools in India.
Hope4Spandana has adopted
two schools in India where they
have over 70 kids in each schooldiagnosed with various spectrum
of Autism disorders. Many of
these kids were illtreated and
abondoned by their own families.
They were brought together and
are provided with better therapy,
food, care and shelter.
Unfortunately, now, one of the
school landowner is asking the
children to immediately vacate
and over 70 kids would be out on
the streets by July. The mission is
to raise funds ($50,000) for this
cause by July 2016. Sharwani and
other children from the organiza‑
tion are working hard to raise the
funds to provide them a perma‑nent roof. So far around $40,000
has been raised including the
funds raised at the event.
Hope4Spandana is planning for
many more awareness events like
Autism walk, seminars and flash
mobs. Visit www.hope4span‑
dana.org for more information.
Diversity in BusinessAward for Paresh Shah
Hope4Spandana raises $10000 for autistic kids in India
(L to R): Mrs Shimul Shah (wife), Kokila Shah (mother),Paresh Shah (honoree) & Parul Shah (sister)
Maryland
Assemblyman
Kumar Barve
(Image courtesy:
baltimoresun.com)
Hope4Spandana team with invited guests
KUMAR BARVE LOSES IN
RACE FOR CONGRESS
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6 April 30-May 6, 2016 TheSouthAsianTimes.info TR I S TATE COMMUNI TY
New Jersey Edison Township Council‑
woman Sapana Shah, 39, announced hercandidacy for Legislative District 11, April
22, a seat that opened up as a result of Gov.
Chris Christieʼs recent nomination of Dem‑
ocratic Sen. Peter J. Barnes III to the state
Superior Court bench. Barnes is expected
to be replaced by state Assemblyman
Patrick Diegnan, leaving the 18th District
seat open, a rare occurrence that a number
of candidates are lining up for.
The contenders for Diegnanʼs seat in‑
clude Shah, Edison Councilman Robert
Diehl, Robert Karabinchek, and Elsie Foster
Dublin. Shah has so far won two at‑large
elections to the Council, and in the 2013
council, she was the third highest vote‑get‑
ter in a 12‑candidate field, according to de‑
sitalk.com.Shah is now campaigning to secure a ma‑
jority of 300 or so Democratic Party Com‑
mittee votes which represent 7 towns, East
Brunswick, Edison, Helmetta, Highland
Park, South Plainfield and South River. The
largest is Edison, which has more than 100
votes. To date, only two Indian‑Americans
have made it to the state Assembly, current
officeholder Raj Mukherji, and former As‑
semblyman Upendra Chivukula.
An Edison council member since 2014,
Shah serves on the municipal PlanningBoard and was previously an Edison Board
of Education member. An attorney in pri‑
vate practice, Shah also serves as an Assis‑
tant Corporation Counsel in Jersey City.
She is past‑president of the Asian Pacific
American Lawyers Association. A graduate
of John P. Stevens High School in Edison,
Shah has a bachelorʼs degree in economics
from Rutgers University, and worked as fi‑
nancial analyst for Dun & Bradstreet be‑
fore graduating from Albany Law School.
New York U.S. Rep. Grace Meng (D‑
Queens) announced Samiya Fagun, a
Bangladeshi student at Newtown High
School in Elmhurst, Queens, as the winnerof the Congresswomanʼs fourth annual
Congressional district art contest. This
yearʼs contest marks the first time that a
student of Bangladeshi descent has won
the competition.
The contest, which consisted of entries
from Queens high school students, is part
of “An Artistic Discovery,” the national art
contest sponsored each year by the House
of Representatives that showcases the art‑
work of all Congressional district art con‑
test winners from across the nation.
Beginning this June, Fagunʼs winning
artwork – along with the winning pieces
from art contests in Congressional dis‑
tricts throughout the United States – will
be displayed for one year in the historicCannon Tunnel, a heavily traveled corri‑
dor of the United States Capitol.
Fagun, along with one of her parents,
will also be awarded round‑trip airplane
tickets to Washington, D.C. – courtesy of
Southwest Airlines – to join Meng at the
opening ceremonies of the national art
competition. Fagun and the winners from
each Congressional district art contest
will also be eligible for a scholarship from
the Savannah College of Art and Design in
Georgia. Fagun, who is 18 years old and
resides in Elmhurst, won the competition
for her watercolor drawing entitled “Mo‑
ments of Life.” She emigrated to the U.S.
from Dhaka three years ago. She plans to
attend City College of New York in the fall
and may pursue a major in art.
A total of 46 students – including sever‑
al others of South Asian descent – from 13
high schools participated in the contest.
New York The much awaited “Ekal
Vidyalaya” concerts this year will be held in
New York and New Jersey areas between
May 15 and May 22. The talented artistes
headlining four ‑ “Ek Shaam, Ekal Ke Naam”
‑ concerts are 'Indian Idol' and 'Sa Re, Ga Ma
Pa' super‑fame ʻRajdeep Chatterjeeʼ & ʻPal‑
labi Roy Dia‑Chowdharyʼ. They are per‑
forming on May 15 in Great Neck, NY, May
20 in Wayne, NJ, May 21 in Cherry Hill, NJ
and on May 22 in New Brunswick, NJ .
The ticket for any of these concerts can be
bought at www.ekal.org/events .
ʻEkalʼ raises funds through such concerts
for comprehensive development in rural
and tribal area throughout India, including
Jammu‑Kashmir. These concerts take place
in all major metropolitan parts of USA be‑
tween February and June. ʻEkalʼ has been
providing functional literacy, healthcare‑
training and empowerment for last 27
years and has presence in 65 ,000 villages.
New Jersey On April 16,
Somerset County Voca‑
tional & Technical High
School students compet‑
ed against other career
and technical education
students from around
the state at the 2016
New Jersey SkillsUSA
Championships. Out of
the 94 students from
SCVTHS who competed,
45 received medals in‑
cluding 19 gold. Thosegold medal winners are
now eligible to test
their skills in Louisville,
Kentucky from June 20‑
25, at the 52nd annual
SkillsUSA National Lead‑
ership and Skills Confer‑
ence (NLSC). During the
National Leadership and
Skills Conference (NLSC),
more than 6,000 career
and technical education
students will showcase
their talents and compete
in 100 different trade,
technical and leadership
fields. All contests are
run with the help of in‑dustry, trade associa‑
tions, and labor organiza‑
tions. The test competen‑
cies are set by industry.
Edison CouncilwomanSapana Shah in race for
State Assembly seat
Bangladeshi High Schoolstudent wins Meng Art Contest
Sapana Shah (Photo courtesy: tapinto.net)
U.S. Rep. Grace Meng congratulatingBangladeshi student Samiya Fagun forwinning the Congresswomanʼs fourth
annual Congressional art contest.Fagunʼs winning artwork, pictured in
between her and Meng, will be displayed
for one year in the US Capitol.
Catherine Chen (Warren) andAnjana Nair (Franklin Park) posefor a photo after receiving theirgold medals at the 2016 New
Jersey SkillsUSA ChampionshipsAwards Ceremony.
After I served mycountry, I needed help
feeding my family,SNAP HELPED.- MIGUEL, U.S. NAVY VETERAN
The Bronx
WATCH OUR STORY AT FoodHelp.nyc
Now it’s easier to apply online at FoodHelp.nyc
ACCESSNYC
Call 311 for more info
easier tow it’No
pply online at oo
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Ekal to host four concerts
in NY, NJ
SCVTHS students win gold atNJ SkillsUSA Championships
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7April 30- May 6, 2016TheSouthAsianTimes.info NAT I ONAL COMMUNI TY
Maine Governormocks Indianworkers, sayswon't apologizeBangor: Maine's governor says he won't
apologize for commenting on hard‑to‑
understand workers from Bulgaria or
India, the Associated Press reported.
Republican Gov Paul LePage was
chuckling Saturday at the state party con‑
vention when he said he needed an inter‑
preter to understand some foreign work‑
ers.
He said today it was "meant as a joke,"
but he acknowledged that "maybe it was
a bad joke." He told Maine's WVOM‑FM
that he's not politically correct and that
he won't apologize for that. And he said
that he's had difficulty trying to give an
order in a restaurant with foreign work‑
ers, "period."LePage made his comments Saturday
as he criticized a referendum proposal to
raise Maine's minimum wage to $12.
LePage supports raising the wage by a
lesser amount.
Washington DC:
Indian‑born NASA's com‑
mercial crew astronaut Sunita "Suni"
Williams and her colleagues have success‑
fully tested a new generation of training
simulators that will prepare them for
launch, flight and returns aboard Boeing's
CST‑100 Starliner spacecraft.
The CST‑100 Starliner crew capsule is
designed by Boeing in collaboration with
Bigelow Aerospace as their entry for
NASA's Commercial Crew Development
(CCDev) program.
Its primary mission is to transport crew
to the International Space Station (ISS)
and to private space stations such as the
proposed Bigelow Aerospace Commercial
Space Station.
"These simulators have touchscreen dis‑
plays, which means they are more versa‑
tile than previous spacecraft trainers,"
Williams said in a statement.
"We can run multiple simulations by
just changing software and then put that
same software into a bigger crew simula‑
tor, which we will use to train the whole
crew for a spaceflight," she added.
When wired into the extensive Boeing
and NASA networks, the simulators will
interact with launch and mission con‑
trollers to run rehearsals that are critical
to preparing a crew to successfully fly a
mission and recover from unforeseen
events.
Later, a simulator the size of a Starliner
flight deck will be finished and used in
Houston to train the full‑flight crew.
NASA selected four astronauts ‑
Williams, Boe, Bob Behnken and Doug
Hurley ‑ to train for test flights aboard the
Starliner and SpaceX Crew Dragon to the
ISS.
The flight assignments have not been
set so all four of the astronauts are
rehearsing for the Starliner and Crew
Dragon test flights to the space station.
The part‑task trainers are part of a suite
of cloud‑based and hands‑on trainers that
Boeing has built to prepare astronauts
and mission controllers.
The trainers will be shipped to NASA's
Johnson Space Center in Houston thi s
year so astronauts can use them daily to
practice numerous situations from normal
operations to unlikely emergencies.
(IANS)
Washington DC: In a rare incident, a street
in Mississippi has been named after an
Indian‑American in recognition of his serv‑
ice to the community."Dr Sampat Shivangi Lane" was formally
named yesterday in recognition of Dr
Shivangi, an eminent Republican from the
state.
State governor Phil Bryant this week also
reappointed him for a second seven‑year
term to the Board of Mississippi's depart‑
ment of Mental Health.
"We are thankful to Governor Phil Bryant
for his confidence in me in bringing several
changes in the department of Mental Health
in the state since I took over several years
ago," Dr Shivangi said in a media release.
The department of Mental Health is the
second‑largest Mississippi state agency. It
plays major part in caring for mentally ill,
intellectual developmental disability anddrug and alcohol addiction.
In 2014, Dr Shivangi was appointed as
the Chairman of the Mississippi department
of Mental Health, making him the first
Asian to occupy the top health post in the
southern American state.
From 2005‑2008, Dr Shivangi served as
the Advisor to the US Secretary of Health
and Human Services.
He is the founding president of the
American Association of Physicians of
Indian‑origin in Mississippi and is the past
president and chair of the India Association
of Mississippi. (PTI)
New York: Singing of kirtans at an Ivy League
university has drawn protests from a multi‑
racial group of students there.
Unlike in the protests against yoga, the
demonstrators this time were not religious fun‑
damentalists, but students spewing leftist rhet‑oric at Brown University.
They protested a non‑Indian white woman
singing kirtans, asserting that only those born
Hindu should sing the religious hymns, accord‑
ing to media reports.
The performance by Carrie Grossman, who
has adopted the Hindu name Dayashila, was
disrupted by protesters claiming that by
singing kirtans she as a white person was
wrongly "appropriating" elements of Hinduism.
They used radical leftist terminology like
white privilege, structural change and "radical
love" to oppose what they called "cultural
appropriation" by a white person.
"Cultural appropriation," according to those
who protest it, happens when people use or
performs elements from a culture not theirown. Many in the audience confronted the pro‑
testers, who eventually left the event and
staged a sit‑in outside.
"Several audience members turned around
and asked them to be quiet," The Brown Daily
Herald reported. "In addition, some of the audi‑
ence members stood up and moved to where
the protesters were sitting to ask them to
leave."
Most of those in a picture published by
Herald of the demonstration against the kirtan
performance were white and African American,
with few Indians.
Rajan Zed, the president of US‑basedUniversal Society of Hinduism, called the
protests at Brown University in Providence,
Rhode Island state, "sad and inappropriate."
"Color of the person should not matter in
devotional singing and anybody should be able
pay respectful homage to Hindu deities through
kirtan or other forms," Zed said. "Kirtan offered
means to connect to the heart, to the divinity
that lies within."
He asked Brown University president
Christina H. Paxson and chancellor Thomas J.
Tisch to "make sure that such unreasonable
interruptions did not happen at the Hindu
events on the campus in the future" and to hold
a formal inquiry into the disruption.
The Herald reported that Grossman, a Brown
University alumna, told her audience that shediscovered kirtans during a visit to India and
"found (chanting) very powerful and very heal‑
ing." Although the protesters used radical leftist
rhetoric, their agenda appears to be a form of
selective opposition to conversions or religious
interactions ‑ in effect, banning those not born
Hindu from singing Hindu religious hymns or
participating in rituals. (IANS)
Street named after Indian‑American in Mississippi
SUNITA WILLIAMS, TEAM TO ENSURESAFE CARGO FLIGHTS TO ISS
Brown University students protestkirtan by non Hindu woman
Sunita Williams(Photo courtesy: thehansindia.com)
Dr Sampat Shivangi (first from left) at the
street naming event(Photo courtesy: thehindu.com)
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Washington DC: An Indian‑origin doctor
at a Miami hospital has been fired after a
video that showed her attacking an Uber
driver and his vehicle went viral.
Anjali Ramkissoon, 30, has been onadministrative leave since the video sur‑
faced in January, and according to a state‑
ment released by a spokeswoman for
Jackson Health System, was terminated
from her position there yesterday.
"Jackson Health System is moving for‑
ward with the termination of Dr Anjali
Ramkissoon, a resident doctor," The
Miami Herald quoted the statement as
saying.
"She is entitled to an appeal process."
Ramkissoon, who was a four‑year neu‑
rology resident at the hospital, was seen
in the video attempting to strike and
scratch the driver, climbing into the man's
vehicle and throwing objects out of it, all
the while yelling and swearing at him andtrying to force him to drive her home.
The driver has so far opted to remain
anonymous and has declined to press
charges. Ramkissoon later apologized for
the incident. The video of the incident has
nearly seven million views and sparked a
lot of outrage and controversy. (PTI)
8 April 30-May 6 2016 TheSouthAsianTimes.info NAT I ONAL COMMUNI TY
New York: In its brief TV life, Al Jazeera
America lost more than half a billion dol‑
lars. Thatʼs according to a lawsuit filed by
the former evp of finance Anand Gupta.
According to the New York Times, Gupta
is suing the now‑defunct network for not
being given a promised promotion. Gupta
claims former network chief Ehab Al
Shihabi, who was sidelined in May 2015
after being named in another employee
lawsuit, promised him a promotion to
CFO, but that his successor Al Antsey
reneged. Guptaʼs suit includes financial
details including that the network had an
operating loss of $250 million in 2013,
and $335 million in 2014.
In the suit, Gupta asserts that, amongother freewheeling spending habits, the
network continued to pay more than
$11,000 a month for an apartment
intended for Shihabi, which went empty
after he was ousted last year. It also
asserts that Al Jazeera America is respon‑
sible for more than $800 million in the
process of winding down, if it pays out its
contracts to cable operators in full.
“We strongly disagree with the allega‑tions made in Mr. Guptaʼs complaint,
which contains many factual inaccura‑
cies,” said Molly Morse, a spokeswoman
for Al Jazeera America. “We intend to vig‑
orously defend the companyʼs position.”
AJAM shut down April 13 after less than
three years on the air.
Anand Gupta (Photo: LinkedIn)
Video grab of Anjali Ramkissoon attack‑ing the Uber driver
(Photo courtesy: dailymail.co.uk)
FORMER EVP ANANDGUPTA SUES AL
JAZEERA AMERICA
Lady doctor fired after video of her
attacking Uber driver goes viral
Washington DC: Democraticpresidential front‑runner Hillary
Clinton's campaign has
slammed her Republican rival
Donald Trump for mocking an
Indian call center worker during
an election rally, the media
reported on Monday.
Trump's behavior showed dis‑
respect towards the Indian com‑
munity and "reflects his divisive
rhetoric", John Podesta, chair‑
man of the Clinton Campaign,
told reporters, the Asia Times
reported.
"He has run a campaign of big‑
otry and division. I think that's
quite dangerous for the country
when you think about the fact
that you need friends, allies,"
Podesta said.
"The kind of campaign he is
running breeds disrespect
across the globe and breeds
division and danger here at
home," he added.
Podesta was reacting to
Trump's apparent use of a fake
Indian accent to mock a call cen‑
tre representative in India dur‑
ing a campaign rally in
Delaware.
The billionaire said that he
called up his credit card compa‑ny to find out whether their cus‑
tomer support is based in the US
or overseas.
Trump, however, described
India as a great place, asserting
that he is not angry with Indian
leaders. (IANS)
New York Dr. C.V. Ananda Bose, a
former Govt. of India Secretary and
a member of UN Habitat Housing
Expert Committee has authored abook Parpidam (Housing) in
Malayalam was released in New
York on April 23 at a glittering cere‑
mony during the anniversary of the
Kerala Center. The Center which
was established 26 years ago. Dr.
Bose was the chief guest at the
anniversary program which includ‑
ed colorful dances by Malayalam
language students of the Kerala
Center.
Kerala Centerʼs Founder Member
and Trustee Dr. Thomas Abraham
who is also the Founder President of
the Global Organization of People of
Indian Origin (GOPIO) conducted
the book release. This is the firsttime a book from the Kerala Bhasha
Institute is released outside Kerala
before it is released in Kerala.
The book published by Kerala
Bhasha Institute, is also in Hindi and
English. Dr. Bose put together this
book looking at the housing con‑
structions in over 50 countries in
30 years covering human, animal
and temples of God. Housings have
been covered from the time of cave‑
man to the current modern housing.
The 302 page book is well illustrat‑
ed with colorful photos by NemamPushparaj.
Dr.Bose has been an eminent
administrator, writer, orator and
innovator, He pioneered path break‑
ing administrative innovations in
rural development, affordable hous‑
ing, eco‑tourism development,
redressal of public grievances,
women's empowerment, develop‑
ment of weaker sections of society
and promotion of art and culture.
Dr. Bose served as Chairman of the
Atomic Energy Education Society
and also launched the ASTERProject (Application of Science &
Technology in Educational
Reforms). After retirement,
Government of India asked Dr Bose
to continue with this mission and
currently serves as the Chairman
and Nominee Director of Central
Warehousing Corporation.
The book was released by Prof. Ponisseril Somasundaran, distin‑guished professor of engineering at Columbia University by present‑ing the copy to Kerala Center President Thambi Talappillil and Kerala
Center Chairman of Board Dr. Madhu Bhaskaran.
Dr C V Ananda Boseʼs new book Parpidam released in NY
Hillary Clinton slams Trump for 'mocking'
Indian accent
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9April 30-May 6, 2016TheSouthAsianTimes.info U S AFFA I RS
Washington In a head‑to‑head match‑up,
Democratic presidential front‑runner
Hillary Clinton has a three percent advan‑
tage nationally over her Republican rival
Donald Trump, according to a new poll.
The latest George Washington
University Batt leground (GW
Battleground) poll puts her ahead at 46 to
43, with 11 percent of the voters undecid‑
ed.
Interestingly, though, Senator Bernie
Sanders, who has mounted a spirited butnow seemingly futile challenge against
Clinton, fares much better against Trump
nationally, with an 11 percent advantage
at 51 to 40, with the rest undecided.
The bipartisan poll, conducted in part‑
nership with The Tarrance Group and
Lake Research Partners, found that among
"likely voters" an overwhelming 89 per‑
cent have been following the nomination
process of the two parties closely ‑ and
that they have "negative views of almost
all major candidates".
The poll found that of the five candi‑
dates still in the race for the highest
office, only two ‑ Vermont Senator
Sanders and Ohio governor John Kasich ‑
have an unfavourable rating below 50
percent, at 44 and 29, respectively.
The three others ‑ former Secretary of State Clinton (56 percent), Texas Senator
Ted Cruz (55 percent) and businessman
Trump (65 percent) ‑ are all mostly dis‑
liked, with a majority of voters saying they
would not consider voting for them for
president.
Interestingly, the poll found that former
president Bill Clinton, who has been cam‑
paigning for his wife, has a higher favora‑
bility rating than four of the five con‑
tenders: with 54 percent favorable and 41
percent unfavorable.
The current president, too, fared better
than the candidates. President Barack
Obama's job approval rating was at 51
percent . This is the first t ime since
December 2012 that the GW Battleground
Poll found a higher approval than disap‑
proval rating for President Obama.
Washington A day after getting mauledby front‑runner Donald Trump in five
Republican presidential primaries, Texas
Senator Ted Cruz announced former
Hewlett‑Packard CEO Carly Fiorina as his
vice presidential running mate in a bid to
resuscitate his White House aspirations.
Fiorina was a presidential candidate
herself before she dropped out of the
race early in the primary season.
By naming Fiorina, observers believe
the Tea Party favorite is aiming to gain
the necessary momentum to defeat
Trump in the next primary State of
Indiana. It is also a long shot like the Hail
mary pass in basketball parlance.
Cruz is currently trailing Trump by
more than 400 delegates and a win inIndiana next week would make it easier
for the New Yorker billionaire to reach
the 1237 delegates to become GOP's
presidential nominee.
"Carly is brilliant and capable, and yetshe experienced the hardscrabble world
of being a female professional," Cruz said
at a rally in Indianapolis on Wednesday.
"Over and over again, Carly has shat‑
tered glass ceilings. But in addition to
being a woman of extraordinary experi‑
ence, she's also a woman of deep princi‑
ple," he said.
Fiorina is not the first woman vice pres‑
idential pick.
In 2008 presidential election, the then
Republican presidential candidate
Senator John McCain had then Alaska
Governor Sarah Palin as his vice presi‑
dential running mate.
However, it is for first time a candidate
has named a running mate prior toreceiving the nomination since Ronald
Reagan in 1976.
Trump of course called the new Cruz
gambit a desperate measure.
Wash ing t on The House Armed Services
Committee took a big and unexpected step
toward making women register for the draft
Wednesday night, as a handful of Republicans
joined Democrats to back a measure that its
own sponsor hoped would fail.“Right now the draft is sexist,” said Rep.
Duncan Hunter (R‑Calif.), who filed an amend‑
ment to the Houseʼs annual defense authoriza‑
tion bill to require women between the ages of
18 and 26 to register for the Selective Service,
the government agency that keeps records of
who is eligible to be conscripted.
Hunter, who is against the Obama adminis‑
trationʼs recent policy change allowing women
to serve in all combat roles, said he only pro‑
posed the measure to start a discussion about
the draft. He voted against his own amend‑
ment, arguing that anyone who favored it
would be siding with the administration.
But Hunterʼs gamble that committee mem‑
bers would shy away from forcing women into
the draft backfired when a slim majority ̶including five Republicans ̶ opted to endorse
the measure by a vote of 32 to 30.
“We have a standards‑based force now, and
we donʼt have a standards‑based Selective
Service,” Rep. Chris Gibson (R‑N.Y.) argued,
joining Democrats, all but one of whom also
supported the measure.
“We should be willing to support universal
conscription,” Rep. Jackie Speier (D‑Calif.) said.
“Thereʼs great merit in recognizing that each of us have an obligation to be willing to serve our
country in a time of war.” But including women
in the draft still has a long way to go. It would
have to survive a full House vote and then
make it through the Senate. It would change a
policy that has been in place since 1981, when
the Supreme Court ruled that because women
could not hold combat jobs, they did not have
to register for the draft.
The House is expected to vote on the annual
defense authorization bill ̶ of which the
women in the draft is now part ̶ in mid‑May.
The policy change could also preempt ongo‑
ing court cases about whether excluding
women from the draft is discriminatory.
But though the committee voted to change
the draft policy for women, their debateWednesday night revealed that several law‑
makers on both sides of the aisle have great
reservations about the continued necessity of
the draft at all.
Wash ing t on Former US House of
Representatives speaker John Boehner called
Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz
"Lucifer in the flesh", in an interview at
Stanford University. Lucifer is another word for
Satan. "Lucifer in the flesh", Boehner toldStanford's David Kennedy, a history professor
emeritus, according to the Stanford Daily.
Boehner said he was "texting buddies" with
the other two Republican candidates; front‑
runner Donald Trump and Ohio Governor John
Kasich, CNN reported. The account in the stu‑
dent newspaper is accurate, a source close to
Boehner confirmed on Thursday.
Cruz in response told reporters that Boehner
"allowed his inner Trump to come out". "The
interesting thing is I've never worked with John Boehner, I don't know the man," Cruz
said. "Indeed, during the government shut
down, I reached out to John Boehner, to work
with him to get something meaningful done.
He said, 'I have no interest in talking to you.' "
Cruz naming Carly as his VPis seen as ʻHail Mary passʼ
Ted Cruz‑Carly Fiorina wishful ticket. (Photo courtesy: AP)
Hillary has3 percent lead over
Trump, Sanders 11percent: Poll
Are women headed for the draft?One House committee says yes
Boehner likens Ted Cruz to Satan in flesh
In the delegates
fight Clinton and
Trump far ahead
in the GOP
and Democratic
races respectively.
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Sriharikota Andhra Pradesh): India hassuccessfully put into orbit its seventh and
final navigation satellite ‑ IRNSS‑1G ‑ with
its own rocket in copy‑book style.
With this, India successfully completed
putting into orbit all the seven navigation
satellites to complete the system in the
sky.
Exactly at 12.50 p.m. the PSLV rocket
standing 44.4 metres tall and weighing
320 tonnes tore into the afternoon skies
with fierce orange flames at its tail.
Gathering speed every second, the rock‑
et raced towards the heavens amidst the
cheers of ISRO officials and the media
team assembled at the rocket port here.
At the rocket mission control room, sci‑
entists were glued to their computerscreens watching the rocket escaping the
earth's gravitational pull.
Just over 20 minutes into the flight, the
PSLV rocket ejected its sole passenger ‑
IRNSS‑1F ‑ at an altitude of 488.9 km.Soon after this, the satellite's solar pan‑
els were deployed.
The satellite's control was then taken
over by the Mission Control Facility (MCF)
at Hassan in Karnataka.
The MCF will manage the satellite's
orbit raising operations firing the on‑
board motors till it is placed in its slotted
orbit.
Simply put , the Indian Regional
Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) is sim‑
ilar to the GPS (global positioning system)
of the US, Glonass of Russia and Galileo of
Europe as well as China's Beidou.
While GPS and Glonass are fully func‑
tional global systems, the Chinese and the
Japanese systems offer regional coverageand Europe's Galileo is yet to be opera‑
tional. India will formally join the select
group of nations owing such system once
IRNSS is declared operational after check‑
ing the systems ‑ space (satellites), ground(ground stations) and the user‑end signal
receivers.
Only after the system is declared opera‑
tional, will user‑end signal receiver mak‑
ers seriously get into the manufacture of
equipment for use at the retail end, indus‑
try officials told IANS.
According to Indian space agency the
applications of IRNSS are: terrestrial, aeri‑
al and marine navigation, vehicle tracking
and fleet management, terrestrial naviga‑
tion for hikers and travellers, disaster
management, integration with mobile
phones, mapping and geodetic data cap‑
ture and visual and voice navigation for
drivers.
In other words, IRNSS could be said tobe the "Indian GPS".
Apart from the civilian applications, the
IRNSS will be used for defence purposes
as well.
Islamabad
Pakistan's Foreign
Secretary Aizaz Chaudhry said
that there was no breakthrough
in talks with his Indian counter‑
part S. Jaishankar on his recent
trip to New Delhi.
The foreign secretary, who was
in Delhi on Tuesday to attend the
Heart of Asia Senior Officialsʼ
meeting, held talks with his
Indian counterpart on bilateral
issues, including resumption of
the peace dialogue, Dawn online
reported on April 28.
It was expected that the talks
might lead to progress towards
the start of the Comprehensive
Bilateral Dialogue which was
agreed by the two countries in
December last year.
“I would not say there is a
breakthrough, but we conveyed
our concerns forthrightly,”
Chaudhry said at a media brief‑
ing here on Wednesday.
He said he had stressed the
need for a “structured, sustained
and result‑oriented comprehen‑
sive dialogue process”, resolving
the Kashmir dispute and con‑
ducting a fair trial in the 2007
Samjhauta Express attack case.
New Delhi: A combative Congress
president Sonia Gandhi and for‑
mer prime minister Manmohan
Singh have dismissed the bribery
charges in the VVIP chopper
scam as the BJP tried to cornerthe main opposition party.
Sonia Gandhi, whose name fig‑
ures in a judgment by an Italian
court, said she was "not afraid"
and dubbed the allegations as
false. Manmohan Singh and for‑
mer defence minister A.K. Antony
echoed the sentiment.
The Congress, in turn, accused
the Narendra Modi government
of trying to help the Italian firm
which had been blacklisted.
The issue sparked tensions in
both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya
Sabha.
A Milan court sent
Finmeccanica's former CEOGiuseppe Orsi and
AgustaWestland ex‑head Bruno
Spagnolini to jail for false
accounting and corruption in the
sale of 12 VVIP choppers to
India. The court ruling refers to
Manmohan Singh, Sonia Gandhi,
her secretary Ahmad Patel andalso former Indian Air Force chief
S.P. Tyagi.
Congress members were in
uproar in the Rajya Sabha when
BJP's Subramanian Swamy
named Sonia Gandhi in the Rajya
Sabha during zero hour while
speaking on the AgustaWestlanddeal.
"It is touching to see leader of
opposition relying on (Christian)
Michel for what he said orally but
the high court of Italy have
recorded a letter written by
Michel stating that Sonia Gandhi
is the main..." Swamy couldn't fin‑
ish his sentence.
Congress members sprung to
their feet and rushed towards the
treasury benches aggressively.
Soon after, Sonia Gandhi hit
back, saying she was "not afraid"
of any inquiry and there wasnothing to hide. She accused the
Bharatiya Janata Party of
indulging in character assassina‑
tion. "We have nothing to hide.
Let them (government) take my
name, I am not afraid of anyone
because there is no basis to that
allegation. They amount to
calumny. Where is the proof?
They are lying. This is part of
their (BJP's) strategy of character
assassination," Gandhi told the
media. Union minister Rajiv
Pratap Rudy said Sonia Gandhi
should ask the Italian court whyshe was named in the documents.
Former prime minister
Manmohan Singh also rebutted
the charges. "There is no case. My
party will respond."
New Delhi: President's Rule will
continue in Uttarakhand till fur‑
ther orders, the Supreme Court
ruled this week, implying that
there will be no April 29 floor
test for the ousted Congress gov‑
ernment as ordered by the state
high court.The apex court said the hearing
would resume from May 3 on the
central government's plea chal‑
lenging the Uttarakhand High
Court order that had revoked
President's Rule in the hill state.
The top court extended its April
22 interim ruling, putting on hold
the high court order and allowing
the central government to amend
its petition challenging the high
court order after a detailed judg‑
ment was made available.
The apex court bench of Justice
Dipak Misra and Justice Shiva
Kirti Singh said they would hear
the matter for three days and
pronounce their judgment before
the summer break by mid‑May.
Meanwhile, the Congress wel‑
comed the order, insisting it
expects a fair and favorable judg‑
ment from the apex court soon
after it begins hearing the matter
again from May 3.
The BJP said it would have
proven its majority had the party
been given an opportunity for a
floor test.
10 April 30-May 6, 2016 TheSouthAsianTimes.info I ND IA
BREAKTHROUGH ELUDED
DELHI TALKS: PAK TEAM
VVIP chopper scam hits Congress
Ousted chief minister
Harish Rawat.(Photo: IANS)
Congress president Sonia Gandhi withsenior leader Manmohan Singh. (Photo: IANS)
India a step away from joining 'GPS CLUB'
India has completed putting into orbit allthe seven navigation satellites to complete
the system in the sky. (Photo: PIB/IANS)
Sonia must reveal who gained: ShahNew Delhi
Hitting back at Congress president Sonia Gandhi, BJP pres‑
ident Amit Shah asked her to clarify who were the beneficiaries of the
VVIP chopper scam. "It has been established by an Italian court thatkickbacks were given. Rather than saying she is not afraid of anyone,
she (Sonia) should clarify who received the kickbacks," Shah told
reporters. "Who was in the power then? It was UPA. They should
bring out the truth." Shah said: "She might not be afraid of anyone but
we the leaders of BJP are afraid of the Constitution, democracy and
public modesty."
President's rule to continue in Uttarakhand: SC
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11April 30-May 6, 2016TheSouthAsianTimes.info I ND IA
London Industrialist Vijay Mallya, at the
center of a controversy in India over alleged
loan default of Rs.9,000 crore, has termed
the charges against him as "preposterous"
and said he was in "forced exile" here fromwhich he would like to return to his country.
"I'm absolutely not guilty of any of the
preposterous charges of diverting funds
from Kingfisher Airlines and buying proper‑
ties," Mallya said in an interview to the
Financial Times. "I'm in a forced exile, will‑
ing to reach reasonable debt settlement."
Questioning the amount of Rs.9,000 crore
attributed as wilfull debt against him, the
60‑year‑old industrialist said by taking away
his passport or arresting him, the Indian
government and banks won't be able to get
any money out of him.
"I definitely would like to return to India.
Right now things are flying at me fast and
furious. My passport's been revoked. I don't
know what the government will do next. I'vealways said I will like to reach out to the
bankers of Kingfisher and make a settle‑
ment," he said.
"Notwithstanding the legal proceedings,
my offer for settlement stands. The filings
before the debt recovery tribunal indicate
some 500 mill ion pounds. The rest is
toward unapplied interest. I've never been
able to understand where this Rs.900 mil‑
lion figure came from," he said.
He said he has issued a sworn affidavit to
the Supreme Court and the right position
will come to light if a proper probe is con‑
ducted. "If the government decides to audit
the accounts of Kingfisher airlines, they are
not going to find anything ‑‑ because that isthe truth." Mallya said "extraordinary pres‑
sure" was being exerted on him, but he can't
give preference just to banks since there
were other creditors as well.
"All I can say is that the manner in which
my passport was revoked and then suspend‑
ed was unprecedented and was done in
extraordinary haste. I came to know of the
facts by email," he said, adding the notice of
suspension of his passport came on holiday
and that his reply was ignored.
He further said if he has proposed a settle‑
ment offer to the apex court, it had to be
serious.
New Delhi The govern‑
ment is taking all nec‑
essary steps on the
issue of tax evasion
and notice is being
served on those whose
names figure in the
Panama Papers leaks,
Finance Minister Arun
Jaitley said in the Lok
Sabha.
The statement dur‑
ing question hour
when members, includ‑
ing Nana Patole and
Kirit Somiaya (both
Bharat iya Janata
Party) and B. Mahtab
(Biju Janata Dal) asked
supplementaries on the
tax evasion issue.
Jaitley, however, said any individual case
could not be discussed in the house. He
assured that the government is taking action
and has already served notice on some
named in the Panama Papers leaks on tax
evasion and of stashing money overseas.
Minister of State for Finance Jayant Sinha
said the appointment of a Special
Investigation Team (SIT) by the National
Democratic Alliance (NDA) government in
2014 had helped in the purpose of tracking
black money both in the country and out‑
side.
"SIT is doing a commendable job," Sinha
said, adding that recommendations of the
SIT had helped investigating agencies and
the government, espe‑
cially with regard to
black money stashed
overseas.
"And for domestic
black money also the
SIT recommendations
have been found help‑
ful and necessary
steps are being
taken," he said.
Biju Janata Dal floor
leader B. Mahtab
wanted to know if in
the wake of reports
from SIT and other
agencies the govern‑
ment is proposing any
changes in the law to
keep an eye on tax
evaders.
BJP member Kirit Somaiya was pulled up
by Speaker Sumitra Mahajan when he took
the name of a popular Maharashtra leader,
who is now in jail.
"You know everything, then why are you
taking someone's name," Maha jan told the
ruling party member tersely.
Minister of State Finance Sinha agreed
that there are instances of tax evasion by
moneyed people when they show their
income as agricultural income.
BJP member Nana Patole said the con‑
tention that agricultural income is growing
cannot be true because, "If such is the case,
then farmers would not be committing
suicide".
Charges 'preposterous', I'm in'forced exile': Mallya
Notice on those named inPanama Papers: Jaitley
N e w D e l h i The National Green
Tribunal (NGT) is likely to give its
verdict next Wednesday on the Art
of Living (AoL) causing ecological
damage on the Yamuna banks in
Delhi, officials from the 'Green
Court' told IANS.
The Court concluded the hearings
on the case on April 22 and had
reserved the final order.
In his reply filed before the NGT,
environment activist Manoj Misra
accused AoL headed by Sri Sri Ravi
Shankar of "backtracking from their
commitment to pay for the ecologi‑
cal destruction caused by their
event" ‑‑ the World Culture Festival
(WCF) held on the Yamuna flood‑
plains last month.
AoL, however, said in its applica‑
tion that it did not backtrack but
was asking the NGT to allow it to
provide a bank guarantee instead of
payment in cash of the balance Rs
4.75 crore as environment compen‑
sation, determined by the NGT earli‑
er.
"The present application is being
filed before this Honorable Tribunal
for modification of the order dated
11.03.2016 to allow for submission
of security by way of a Bank
Guarantee in lieu of payment of the
balance amount as directed," AoL
said in its reply to the NGT.
The foundation also challenged
the Expert Committee's observation
in its report that the World Culture
Festival had damaged the Yamuna
floodplains and it would require at
least Rs.120 crore to restore the
area to its original state.
New Delhi A court here on Friday
ordered the framing of charges in
a coal block case involving the
Jindal Group.
Special Judge Bharat Parashar
ordered that charges dealing with
criminal conspiracy, cheating and
various provisions of the
Prevention of Corruption Act
against former parliamentarian,
industrialist and senior congress
leader Naveen Jindal, former
union minister of state for coal
Dasari Narayan Rao and former
Jharkhand chief minister Madhu
Koda and others.
The court was hearing a case
related to the allocation of
Jh ar kh an d' s Am ar ko nd a
Murgadangal coal block to Jindal
Steel and Gagan Sponge.
The probe agency said there was
sufficient evidence to frame
charges against the accused in a
case related to the allocation of
Amarkonda Murgadangal coal
block to Jindal Steel and Gagan
Sponge.
However, Jindal, Rao, Koda and
others have denied the allegations
and sought being discharged from
the case.
The Central Bureau of
Investigation in April last year
filed a chargesheet against Jindal,
Koda, Rao, former coal secretary
H.C. Gupta with six other individu‑
als.
Five private companies ‑‑ four
based in Delhi and one in
Hyderabad ‑‑ have also been
named in the chargesheet.
AoL at Yamuna:NGT verdict next week
COURT ORDERS FRAMING CHARGES INCOAL CASE AGAINST JINDAL
Vijay Mallya said "extraordinary pres‑
sure" was being exerted on him.
(Photo: IANS)
Senior congress leader
Naveen Jindal. (Photo: IANS)
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.
(Photo: IANS)
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By Shobhit Mathur &Nomesh Bolia
After spending about Rs.3.5 lakh crore
($51 billion) ‑ almost equal to Indiaʼs
subsidy and pensions budget for 2015‑
16 ‑ over 10 years on the worldʼs largest
rural jobs programme, it has provided less
than half the guaranteed 100 days of
employment to 50 million poor households.
This is revealed in our analysis of the
Mahatma Gandhi National Rural
Employment Guarantee (MGNREGA) data.
Other facts:
Although the most money ever was
spent during 2015‑16, it was the worst year
ever in terms of assets created (2.27 million
assets), a 23 percent decline from 2014‑15.
While 50 million households found
work through MGNREGA last year, less than
10 percent of these households got 100 days
of wage employment.
Just about 40 percent of the workers
get paid within the promised 15‑day period.
Women now hold half of all MGNREGA
jobs, higher than the mandated 33 percent,
indicating widespread demand for employ‑
ment.
T h e s e f i n d i n g s a r e i n l i n e w i t h
IndiaSpend s earlier analysis of MGNREGA.
A safety net for rural areas, MGNREGA
guarantees 100 days of paid, unskilled man‑ual work every year to every rural house‑
hold.
“It is the largest and perhaps the most
ambitious social security and public works
programme in the world,” Jairam Ramesh,
former union rural development minister,
who launched MGNREGA, said.
Clearly, the popular demand of increasing
the number of guaranteed work days under
MGNREGA will not help since the existing
promise of 100 days is not being met.
Barely 50 million households have found
work through MGNREGA and less than 10
percent of these households have been ableto get 100 days of wage employment.
Clearly, either work is not being provided or
not being demanded.
Just about 40 percent of the workers get
paid within the promised 15 days. For
unskilled MGNREGA workers, not getting
paid in time is detrimental to domestic
finances. Perhaps this will change with 210
million new Jan Dhan (Peopleʼs Wealth)
accounts opened, into which the government
can directly pay wages.
There has been no significant increase in
the number of assets created each year, with
last year the worst ever, as we said, with a23 percent drop from 2014‑15.
The durability of the assets is questionable.
Currently, the law says that 60 percent of
funds should be spent on wages and 40 per‑
cent on material, which means a preponder‑
ance of labour‑intensive works, not struc‑
tures that require more and better material.
MGNREGA has brought parity in labour
force participation, one of its few successes.
There has been a constant demand to
increase the MGNREGA budget. The most
money was spent last year, Rs.42,084 crore
($6.1 billion), about 0.3 percent of Indiaʼs
GDP.
More than 95 percent of MGNREGA funds
have been used over the last two years. This
is a positive, but there are allegations of cor‑ruption.
The expenditure on agriculture was the
highest ever in 2015‑16.
Per person wage and cost has gone up
steadily over the years. The average wage
rate in 2015‑16 was Rs.154 per day, a 27
percent increase from four years ago. Yet,
the labour participation in MGNREGA has
not grown, proven by the fact that only 2.3
billion person‑days of labour were generated
both in 2015‑16 and 2012‑13, despite a 27
percent wage increase.
Critics claim MGNREGA wage rates have
distorted the farm‑labour market, while sup‑
porters argue wages must be increased to
match market rates for unskilled labour.
Why MGNREGA needs a rethinkAfter 10 years, it is clear that MGNREGA
has not met most of its goals.
y Venkatachari Jagannathan
hennai The common man in India has
to wait for some more time to use the
"Indian GPS' as the Indian navigation sys‑
tem has to be formally declared opera‑tional after checking and cross‑checking,
industry officials said.
They also said government mandating
the use of the Indian Regional Navigation
Satellite System (IRNSS) will act as a
booster for the domestic manufacturing
of satellite signal receivers as a part of
the Make in India initiative.
India put into orbit its seventh naviga‑
tion satellite ‑‑ IRNSS‑1G ‑‑ and joined a
select group of space‑faring nations with
their own satellite navigation system.
Simply put, the IRNSS is similar to the
global positioning system (GPS) of the
US, Glonass of Russia, and Galileo of
Europe as well as China's Beidou.
According to India Space Research
Organisation (ISRO), the applications of
IRNSS are: terrestrial, aerial and marine
navigation, vehicle tracking and fleet
management, terrestrial navigation for
hikers and travelers, disaster manage‑
ment, integration with mobile phones,
mapping and geodetic data capture and
visual and voice navigation for drivers.
"The Indian system provides positional
accuracy of 10 metres. For civilian usage
to bloom and the cost to come down,
more manufacturers have to start mak‑
ing the navigation signal receivers. That
will happen once the IRNSS is formallydeclared operational," A.S. Ganeshan,
retired program director of ISRO's
Satellite Navigation Progam, told IANS.
He said the satellite navigation system
comprises three segments ‑‑ space (satel‑
lites), ground (ground systems) and user
(receivers).
The Indian space agency has to test all
the three segments thoroughly before
IRNSS could be declared an operational
navigation system.
Ganeshan said once the IRNSS is ready,
there will be greater development of
application software that would be usefulfor different segments.
The IRNSS will provide two types of
services ‑ standard positioning service
and restricted service. The former is pro‑
vided to all users and the latter is an
encrypted service for authorised users.
Once the system is fully operational,
India will not have to face of risk of the
absence of satellite signals at critical
times as the existing systems are owned
by other countries.
While the defence forces would get the
IRNSS signal receivers from the manufac‑
turers, the challenge for deeper penetra‑
tion of the Indian navigation system
depends on the makers of s ignal
receivers.
"The Indian government should man‑
date the use of indigenous satellite navi‑gation systems by various government
agencies and the emergency services like
ambulance and others so that the signal
receiver makers are enthused to get into
accelerated production mode," Ganeshan
added.
He said once the mandatory usage is
there, more software applications could
then be developed, thereby widening the
usage.
Agreeing with him, S. Purushotham,
director, Accord Software & Systems Pvt
Ltd, told IANS: "If there is a mandate then
it will give a big fillip for the receiver
makers' Make in India efforts."
Nevertheless, Accord Software will get
into making the IRNSS receivers as the
company is confident that the Indian
navigation system will soon be declared
operational, Purushotham remarked.
The Bengaluru‑based Accord Software
clocked a turnover of around Rs.100
crore ($15 million) last year and has
around 400 people on its rolls ,
Purushotham said.
"We are the only company to develop
the receivers for IRNSS. We have deliv‑
ered to ISRO and other agencies through
ISRO for use in land and marine applica‑
tions," he said.
Operation of 'Indian GPS' will take time
The views expressed in Op Eds are not necessarily those of The South Asian Times.
201516 worst year for rural job mission
India put into orbit its seventh navigation satellite ‑‑ IRNSS‑1G ‑‑ and joined a selectgroup of space‑faring nations. (Photo: IANS).
A safety net for rural areas, MGNREGA guarantees 100 days of paid, unskilled manualwork every year to every rural household. (File photo)
12 April 30-May 6, 2016 TheSouthAsianTimes.info OP-ED
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Interviewed by Preetha Nair
Hindutva is a brand of fundamental‑
ism and the Hindu right wing is dis‑
torting what Hinduism stands for,
says renowned author Nayantara Sahgal
who was among one of the first writers to
return her Sahitya Akademi award to
p