june 17 pages 27-40

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, juNE 17, 2011 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

27 Indo American News • Friday, june 17, 2011ONLINE EDITION: www.indoamerican-news.com

Air India Faces Hurdles in joining Star Alliance, Resumes Normal OperationsBy Hy Hy eatHer timmons

NEW DELHI (NYT): Air India, the troubled state-owned airline, risks being rejected by the Star Alliance network of airlines because of delays in fulfilling membership conditions, an executive from Star Alliance said, putting in jeopardy a key element of its turnaround plan.

“We have indicated to Air India that they will have to be ready to join, by latest, end of July,” said Markus Ruediger, media relations director at Star Alliance. There are “items outstanding” on a list of about 80 requirements, he said.

He did not elaborate about what Air India still needed to do, but he said Star Alliance had already made it clear that Air India had been given extensions and had taken longer then expected to fulfill the requirements. It is “not in their interest to delay any further,” he said.

Star Alliance first invited Air India to join the group of 27 airlines, which includes Air China,

Singapore Airlines and United Airlines, in December 2007. The company said in March 2007 that it would merge with Indian Airlines, the state-run domestic carrier.

Air India is hemorrhaging money and lost about $1 billion in its most recent accounting year.

Customers, are now returning back to Air India as it has normalized operations in all its travel sectors.

Air India executives have said in recent months that joining the Star Alliance is a main part of the airline’s turnaround plan. Frequent travelers often book flights based on whether an airline is part of their global network, which earns them frequent flyer miles when they travel.

Membership in the Star Alliance could increase Air India’s revenue 9 percent to 15 percent, a company executive said to the Hindu, a national, leading newspaper in India.

“We are talking to them and it is between us and them,” an Air India spokesman, Kamaljeet Rattan, said

when asked about the Star Alliance membership. “We would not like to go public about it.”

Air India is far behind rival

airlines in some respects. For instance, the airline still does not use computers to make schedules for its 1,600 pilots, relying instead

Air India is slowly getting over its woes. With unfulfilled require-ments, Star Alliance won’t exactly say what, Air India is far behind and has about 80 requirements on an items outstanding list to be qualified by the network of airlines. Meanwhile Air India has resumed normal operations with focus to get back on track to making a profit and retaining a healthy share of the market. Air India has also implemented new Information technology to help cope with its massive fleet operating around the world

on pencil and eraser in a ledger.Star Alliance has often said that

the Indian market is large enough that it could invite two airlines to be members. Star Alliance’s major rival, Oneworld, is aligned with Kingfisher Airlines in India.

“We do understand that Air India has undergone a merger, implemented a new I.T. system and has also tried to cope with a massive fleet renewal at the same time as the industry went into a downturn,” Mr. Ruediger said. “We made it very clear that we expect them to meet all the requirements by the end of July, bearing in mind that on average integration takes around 18 months.”

A team of executives from Star Alliance and from Air India’s mentor airline, Lufthansa, are working with Air India to help the Indian carrier meet the requirements, Mr. Ruediger said. “Clearly, the onus is on Air India to get the items achieved by the end of July.”

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New Discountcarfix.com Can Cut Auto Repair Bills

World Bank, India to Sign Loan Deal for Cleaning GangaIamBusinessnews

PEARLAND : A Pearland based IT professional recently launched a website which aims to significantly cut auto repair bills upto 50%.

Founder Narasimha Moorthy an Andhraite raised in Kerala believes, “Currently there are various options on the internet for customers to negotiate better deals with insurance, loans, mortgage,

airfares, hotel rooms, etc. but when faced with high auto repair bills, the customer has nowhere to turn for help.

Discountcarfix.com tackles this problem by presenting your case to qualified Auto Techs in its network with the intention of cutting your bills drastically. Registration and usage of this service is free for customers.

“My friends and colleagues always come to me for help and advise on how to deal with costly auto repairs. They were surprised at how inexpensive repairs and maintenance can be if the problem

is dealt with in the right manner. Encouraged by all this, I started the website to help people lower auto repair and maintenance costs. He strongly feels that aftermarket auto parts market is very competitive and inexpensive in the US. People need to realize this and take advantage of this to cut costs and keep their cars running without breaking their

budgets. Tech savvy and well

educa ted South As ian customers would find this concept very interesting as they get to witness and participate in the action directly with an Auto Pro instead of dealing with auto dealerships or workshops that charge exorbitant amounts.

Moorthy remarks, “I have noticed people putting off car

repairs as they find the estimates too high. Postponing repairs only leads to higher repair bills. I have even seen people go in for new cars spending several hundreds of dollars per month when they could have fixed their cars for much less in the first place.”

Working directly with qualified Auto Techs without salesmen saves customers money and gives an honest insight into car problems. Moorthy says, “Signing up can save customers a lot of money.” Moorthy can be reached at [email protected] or 713-441-1121

NEW DELHI (TOI): World Bank, the multilateral lending agency, and the government of India will sign a loan agreement worth Rs 7,000 crore ($1.43 Bn) for the National Ganga River Basin Project (NGRBA) for cleaning the river on Tuesday.

“The Rs 7,000 crore National Ganga River Basin Project, including $199 million interest-free IDA credit and $801 million low-interest IBRD loan from World Bank, will be signed tomorrow between the government of India and World Bank,” an official statement issued on Tuesday said.

The Project will help the NGRBA set up a state-of-the-art Ganga Knowledge Centre to act as a repository for the conservation of the Ganga.

The NGRBA will fund investments like sewage treatment plants and sewer networks that are critical for reducing the pollution.

Besides, the Project will help strengthen the Central and State Pollution Control Boards for better monitoring the pollution, by modernising information systems and providing staff training. It will finance the upgradation of the Ganga water quality monitoring system and carry out an inventory of all sources of pollution.

The Ganga, known as the most sacred river to Hindus, is a lifeline

for millions of Indians who live along its course.

Its sprawling basin accounts for one-fourth of the country’s water resources and is home to more than 400 million Indians - or some one-third of India’s population.

However, the Ganga has the dubious distinction of being one of the world’s most polluted rivers.

The government developed a comprehensive vision for the cleaning-up and conservation of the Ganga, beginning with the establishment of the NGRBA in 2009.

It is good to beautify the Varuna and develop navigation facility, but will the navigation take place in a

The national Ganges river basin project seeks to fund investments like sewer treatment plants and networks to reduce pollutants from the city sewage that flows into the river.

stream of sewage and wastewater. While the Varanasi Development Authority (VDA) is planning to start navigation in this river, a tributary of the Ganga, noted environmentalists are worried that nothing is being done to check its

pollution. The major concern of Mahanth

Veer Bhadra Mishra, an expert member of National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA) and president of Sankat Mochan Foundation (SMF), is that nothing is being done exclusively for the Varuna in order to check its pollution and wonders how can the body (river) survive without its soul (fresh water).


29 Indo American News • Friday, june 17, 2011ONLINE EDITION: www.indoamerican-news.com 29Indo American News • Friday, june 17, 2011ONLINE EDITION: www.indoamerican-news.com

Dreams Die Young: How j&K’s Nightmare Changed OmarBy sanjeev srivastava

JAMMU (FP): For several years Omar Abdullah could do no wrong. Now, he keeps looking over his shoulders to check if he is doing anything wrong.

When he took over, at age 38, as Kashmir’s youngest Chief Minister on a cold January morning in 2009, he came in like a whiff of fresh air in a state used to stale cynicism, violence, and political betrayal.

Between then and now, Kashmir has been through hell and so has its Chief Minister. The change in Omar is difficult to miss for anyone who met him three years ago. He still looks young, and keeps fit by jogging. But something has changed.

I was meeting him for the first time after he became Chief Minister. I can hardly claim to know him well as my meetings with him in the past have been few and far between. Also I have interacted with him only at the professional level. But the difference in Omar is so perceptible that it’s hard not to comment on it.

The near-innocent idealism of 2009 has been replaced with a more pragmatic, grounded-in-reality Omar. He comes across less as a promising agent of change and more as a battle-scarred war veteran. Nothing can be said off-the-cuff. He weighs everything he says.

“Everything is a fine balancing act here. One is constantly walking the tightrope trying to balance communities, religions, regions and aspirations of people from different parts of the state.”

There is a kind of a weariness about him which makes him look almost resigned to the enormity of the task he faces as Chief Minister of a province which remains one

of the most volatile trouble spots in the world.

“The events of last year (when more than 100 people were killed in violent protests and police action) have affected me deeply on a personal level. I am only realising now the deep-rooted effect of what happened last year,” he says by way of explanation. His reputation never recovered much after that fumbled response to stone-throwing mobs

Omar says it’s difficult for him to quantify how he has changed since the events of last year. But he denies that he is more resigned to fate now or that he has become a cynic and cares less about things now.

“The day that happens I will not be here. If I cared less I would be far more unaffected. Some people say I care too much and take everything too personally. That’s the way I am. I can’t remain unaffected.”

So how has he changed?“Maybe I have become more

fatalistic. Like earlier I would have planned a year ahead, maybe six months ahead. Now I don’t plan for more than a week ahead at a time.”

One of the many things Omar has learnt in the last couple of years is that nothing sits heavier on your credibility than the weight of unrealistic expectations.

“I am glad things are a bit more manageable now. I don’t want to go back to a time again when I raised unrealistic expectations. I now try and deliver what is possible rather than what is ideal.”

But while it is fine to be pragmatic and seeped in reality, Omar needs to remember that people voted not for a political veteran in the 2009 Assembly elections but for a young man with stars in his eyes and promises on his lips.

It is that young man who seems to

have gone missing in the tumultuous aftermath of last year’s violence in the valley. With his youthful energy, success also came easy to him and whichever way one looked at Omar

he made an irresistible, winning package.

Maybe I am reading too much into Omar’s current body language and his demeanour but if he has to regain his old Midas touch with the people, he needs to walk back a little in time. He still has a twinkle in his eye when he laughs and he retains his candour. A kind of obstinate boyish streak can also be discerned in the passion with which he defends his tweeting ways.

His pedigree is unassailable. He comes from one of India’s best known and most powerful political families. For those who believe in identity politics – and can one really be a non-believer in the Indian context – Omar being a Muslim and that too from the troubled state of

Kashmir was a double asset.His suave and sophisticated ways

– indicative of right grooming and education – his good looks and modesty all combined to settle the

debate even for skeptics. Omar was often touted as one of the good examples of dynastic politics.

In the decade before he took over as Chief Minister, Omar remained a poster boy of national politics, first as a junior minister for foreign affairs in the Vajpayee cabinet and then as an MP who made sensitive, forceful and intelligent interventions in the Parliament. His short, but impassioned, speech in favor of secularism during the 2008 trust vote is still remembered by many for its simplicity and forthrightness.

And then, riding on a popularity wave not often seen in the strife-torn Kashmir valley, Omar Abdullah became Chief Minister as head of

a National Conference-Congress coalition. His fairytale story started unraveling soon after.

Omar admits his honeymoon with the electorate was short lived. “I never thought it will be an easy job (Chief Minister of J& K), but now I agree with those who describe it as one of the toughest jobs in the country.”

“What one says is also to be finely balanced because of the foreign policy implications involved. Everything you say and do is open to very detailed and fine interpretation.”

According to Omar, coming clean with people in terms of what the government can do and what is possible in terms of delivery is very important. “We tend to tell people what they want to hear. It’s time we start telling them the truth.”

He talks about some other takeaways as well from his two-and-a-half year stint as Chief Minister.

“Last year’s violence and street protests in which more 100 people were killed could have been avoided had I learnt from the experience of the Amarnath land dispute. I thought it would be a one-off incident but I now realise there’s nothing like a one-off incident in Kashmir.

“The scale and spread of violence really surprised us and caught us unawares. It looked rudderless and devoid of leadership but it just kept gaining momentum.”

In the tumultuous aftermath of 2010′s violence in the valley, a young man with dreams about doing many things for his people has been rudely brought down to earth.

A young Omar Abdullah, wearing a garland, is flanked by his supporters as he files his nomination papers for the assembly elections in Srinagar on 4 September 2002. Photo: Fayaz Kabli

Pakistan for Early Resumption of Strategic Dialogue with united Statesunited StatesuISLAMABAD (Nation): Pakistan

stressed importance of strategic partnership with United States and called for early resumption of strategic dialogue by scheduling plenary session of its next round, says Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani.

He emphasized joint strategy for peace and stability in the region, which should ensure political and economic stability in Pakistan & Afghanistan. Talking to visiting U.S. Deputy Secretary of State for Resources & Management Thomas R. Nides Monday at PM House here in Islamabad, he said core group of Pakistan, U.S. & Afghanistan on peace, reconciliation in Afghanistan had pivotal role in taking this process forward.

He said Pakistan was strongly committed to f ight against

militancy, terrorism, made and is making sacrifices on daily basis in terms of human lives in this war and that alone attest to its unwavering resolve to take this fight to logical conclusion. He called for due recognition of Pakistan’s unparallel sacrifices. Support, assistance of world community at this critical juncture will be essential. Military action alone could not be solution of present problems, reconciliation, dialogue has to be resorted to. World community and U.S. in particular have to focus on socio-economic development in militancy affected areas and provide political space to Pakistan’s democratic government, he added.

He identified energy development as most immediate requirement and felt U.S. channelize its economic

assistance to high visibility power projects in Pakistan. Lauding U.S. generous assistance for resettlement, rehabilitation of Swat IDPs and flood victims, he hoped disbursing KLB assistance will be fast-tracked, U.S. provide greater market access for Pakistani products by commencing talks on Free Trade Agreement and provision of generalized system of preferences for trade facilities.

Nides described U.S. ties with Pakistan as critically important for peace in the region and imperative for U.S. national security. “There is dire need to work together to achieve benefits of bilateral strategic ties. U.S. administration despite being under tremendous pressure for budgetary cuts,

continued on page 31Pakistan Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani is ready for strategic talks with USA that will ensure political and economic stability there



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India Lost a Lot, Gained Little at Climate Summit

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Iamenvironment

NEW DELHI (TOI): India lost much more than it gained at the Cancun climate change meeting in December 2010, a recent internal assessment of the government, accessed by TOI, reveals. For instance, not only did India open itself up formally to international scrutiny of its actions, the government also agreed to let the US off the hook and sent the Kyoto Protocol into a tailspin, the assessment accepts.

The ‘brief analysis’ conducted after the Cancun conference by government experts lays bare India’s losses at several fronts in the conference while conceding limited gains.

The future of Kyoto Protocol that ensures hard targets to cut emissions for developed countries was weakened , the document states. “...the impact of these decisions (taken at Cancun) on implementation of Kyoto Protocol obligations of developed countries may not be as salutary” in official politeness. But the import of what the report admits isn’t lost.

Without a Kyoto Protocol in place, countries like India and China would end up having similar commitments as the US and Europe. While India has no obligation under the UN Climate Convention, the rich countries are mandated to adhere to stiff targets.

But under the new deal brokered at Cancun – a ‘pledge and review format’ — the government admits to be dependent “entirely on domestic

will and laws of the concerned countries”.

India, China and other developing countries along with rich nations will all have similar obligations, despite having done little to contribute to climate change till date. “...the developed countries have agreed to indicate their level

of emission reduction targets (not negotiated but pledged) without specifying whether this will be done under the convention or the protocol”, the government has concluded.

The o ther r e fe rences to maintaining equity between rights of the rich and developed countries were also diluted.

The language adopted at Cancun, the internal document records, is that of the Major Economies Forum at L’Aquila of 2009 that had caused uproar back home. At L’Aquila Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had signed a declaration along with G-8 countries for the first time breaching India’s position on equal

per capita rights for all countries to the global common carbon space in the atmosphere. At that time, negotiators had cried foul, pointing out that this change would have a debilitating effect on India’s growth and access to energy.

At Cancun, the government has also admitted that its concerns for

easing the intellectual property rights (IPR) control on technology were thrown out of the window, and its demand banning trade sanctions against developing countries was diluted substantially.

E a r l i e r , t h e government had agreed to an international scrutiny of its economic activity and climate act ions, under set conditions. One of these conditions was that there would be no action taken against it for not

living up to its own promises. But this could come under a cloud if the developed countries are allowed to take unilateral actions against India of taxing its exports of goods and services – a window that Cancun agreements have left open.

The internal review has warned that the decisions at Cancun could turn into a ‘frame of actions’ within a year when the countries meet at Durban to take the talks forward. It notes that though some gains have been made for ‘developing countries’ and not necessarily for India, the important question of funds has not even been addressed.

India lost on several fronts while making small gains at the Cancun Climate Summit. India has to indicate its level of emissions, while the issue of poverty was watered down, its economic activity and climate actions are set to be under scrutiny


31 Indo American News • Friday, june 17, 2011ONLINE EDITION: www.indoamerican-news.com

continued from page 29

2G Tel Scam: Where Have Rs 200 Crore Gone, Asks Supreme Court

IamBusinessnews

Pakistan for Early Resumption of Strategic Dialogue with united Statesdoing utmost to maintain level of economic assistance for Pakistan and committed over $2 billion in last 18 months for projects in diverse sectors particularly to help overcome energy shortages in short

and medium terms.”He agreed on importance of

greater market access for Pakistani products and hoped State Minister of Foreign & Economic Affairs will soon visit U.S. for further talks.

NEW DELHI: Asking CBI to explain where Rs 200 crore ($43,478,260) allegedly diverted to DMK-owned Kalaignar TV in 2G scam, has gone, the Supreme Court on Monday sought the probe agency’s response o n D M K M P Kanimozhi’s bail plea in the case.

A b e n c h o f J u s t i c e s B S C h a u h a n a n d Swatanter Kumar, whi le te rming “corruption as the worst form of human rights violation,” asked CBI to come out with a status report on the loss to the state exchequer due to the award of 13 licences to one of the telecom operators and trial proceedings in the CBI special court.

T h e c o u r t granted a week’s time to CBI to file its response on the three issues and the bail pleas of Kanimozhi and Sharad Kumar, MD of Kalaignar TV.

Kanimozhi and Kumar, named as accused in the second charge sheet for allegedly taking a bribe of Rs 200 crore, were arrested on May 20 after the special court dismissed their bail pleas in the case.

Both Kanimozhi and Kumar have 20% stake each in Kalaignar TV

Pvt Ltd which allegedly received Rs 200 crore through a “circuitous” route from Shahid Balwa promoted DB Realty.

Senior counsel Altaf Ahmed and Sushil Kumar Jain, appearing

for Kanimozhi and Sharad Kumar during the brief arguments, submitted the accused were not recipients of the spectrum and had merely taken a loan of Rs 200 crore which has been returned.

The argument, however, failed to convince the bench which pointed that the charge sheet clearly stated that the so-called amount was not part of a legal transaction.

The Supreme Court is out in full force asking the CBI to sniff the trail of the 200 crores that has gone missing. Both Kanimozhi, daughter of Kalaignar, famous politician of the DMK party in Chennai, and Sharad Kumar, MD of Kalaignar TV have been denied bail and investigations are on. Kanimozhi is seen going to the Supreme Court

Call for Action Against Hazardous Child LaborKATHMANDU(HT): The

International Labor Organization (ILO) has — in its new report on World Day Against Child Labor — warned that a staggeringly high number of children are still caught in hazardous work – some 115 million of the world’s 215 million child laborers – and called for urgent action to halt the practice. The report, ‘Children in hazardous work: what we know, what we need to do,’ cited studies from both industrialised and developing countries indicating that every minute of every day, a child laborer somewhere in the world suffers a work-related accident, illness or psychological trauma.

The report also stated that although the overall number of children aged five to 17 in hazardous work declined between 2004 and 2008, the number aged 15-17 actually increased by 20 per cent from 52 million to 62 million.

“Despite important progress over the last one decade, the number of children in child labor worldwide – and particularly in hazardous work – remains high,” ILO director-general Juan Somavia, said, adding that governments, employers and workers must act together to give strong leadership in shaping and implementing the policies and action that can end child labor.

The persistence of child labor is a clear indictment of the prevailing model of growth. “Tackling work that jeopardises the safety, health or morals of children must be a common and urgent priority,” he added.

Last year, the ILO’s Global Report on child labor had warned that efforts to eliminate the worst forms of child labor were slowing down and expressed concern that the global economic crisis could ‘further brake’ progress toward the goal of eliminating the worst forms of child labor by 2016.

“One year on, the ILO remains extremely concerned with the impact of the crisis on children,” the report stated, calling for a renewed effort to ensure that all children are in education at least until the minimum age of

employment and for countries to establish a hazardous work list as required by ILO child labor Conventions.

It also stated that urgent action is needed to tackle hazardous work by children, who have reached the minimum age but may be at risk in

the workplace and calls for training and organizing such young workers so that they are aware of risks, rights and responsibilities in the workplace. Exposure to hazards can have a particularly severe impact on children, whose bodies and minds are still developing late into teenage years, according to the report that looked in detail at six economic sectors — agriculture, fishing, domestic service, mining and quarrying, and street and service industries.

The study noted that the problem of children in hazardous work is not confined to developing countries. Evidence from the US and Europe also point to a high vulnerability of youth to workplace accidents.

Similarly, children have higher rates of injury and death at work than adults, a substantial number of children experience long working hours that significantly increases the risk of injury, the largest number of children in hazardous work is found in Asia and the Pacific, according to the report.

However, the largest proportion of

children in hazardous work relative to the overall number of children in the region is in sub-Saharan Africa. “Most of the decline in the total numbers of children in hazardous work is among girls, over 60 per cent of children in hazardous work are boys, hazardous work is more

commonly found in agriculture including fishing, forestry, livestock-herding and aquaculture in addition to subsistence and commercial farming,” the ILO report added. “While there is a need to strengthen workplace safety and health for all workers, specific safeguards for adolescents between the minimum age of employment and the age of 18 are needed.

These measures need to be part of a comprehensive approach in which employer and worker organisations and the labor inspectorate have particularly critical parts to play.

So far 173 of ILO’s 183 me-mber states have committed to tackling hazardous work by children ‘as a matter of urgency’ by ratifying ILO Convention No 182 — on the worst forms of child labor — that refers to hazardous work as work tha t harms health, s a f e t y a n d morals.

62 mllion children are forced to find labor in Asian nations because they cannot afford a decent life. These children face higher rates of injury and death than adults because of their inexperience and working long hours in harsh conditions that fatigue them easily. In its latest report the ILO has called for urgent action to prevent children from being employed in hazardous jobs that could kill or mutilate them for life There has been a shocking 20% increase in the work force of children between the ages of 15 and 17 alone. Photo: Bhaskar Mallick

Ford to Set up New Plant in IndiaMUMBAI: US auto giant Ford is to set up a second production plant in India as part of its

expansion in one of the world’s fastest-growing car markets, reports said.The report came the day after Ford said it was looking to step up global production by 50

percent by 2015 to eight million and expected Asian markets, particularly India and China, to make up one third of total sales.

The financial daily Mint said the Ford India manufacturing facility will either be in Gujarat state or neighbouring Maharashtra, both in western India, and a decision will be taken at a board meeting later this week.

Ford India’s marketing director, Nigel E. Wark, added: “We have already invested $600 million in India and going forward the investments will be significant.”

One unnamed source said that the firm had been in talks with a number of states but had narrowed down the choice to Gujarat and Maharashtra, both of which are already home to a number of leading auto-makers.



IndiGo’s ‘Earn as You Learn’ to Train Pilots

IamBusinessnews

NEW DELHI (TOI): Low cost carrier (LCC) IndiGo has decided to adopt an “earn as you learn” policy to train pilots for meeting its huge requirements as the airline is scheduled to get one plane a month for the next 13 years. The airline currently has 39 aircraft in its fleet and another 140 will be inducted by 2024, requiring an additional 800-900 co-pilots and as many commanders.

To meet its co-pilot requirement, the LCC has tied up with a flying school formed jointly by Airports Authority of India and global aviation training biggie CAE at Gondia, Maharashtra, where it plans to churn out 50-60 co-pilots and then have them typerated on the Airbus A-320 every year. Airline president Aditya Ghosh said total cost of the 17-month program (about Rs 45lakh ($97,826) to be paid in phases) will be much lower

than the expense incurred by those going out to get the commercial pilot licence (CPL) and then getting a type rating.

“We will be paying chosen candidates Rs 15,000 ($326) per month during the CPL training and then Rs 25,000 ($543.47) monthly while they are getting type rated. The selected candidates, who can be graduates from any stream but need to have passed out of Class

12 with physics and maths, will get a letter of intent from us that will help them get loans. Once they finish training and clear all exams, they will join us as junior co-pilot” Ghosh said. Junior co-pilot earns about Rs 75,000 ($1630) a month, a figure that doubles after a year when one become co-pilot.

He said monthly stipends could help the trainees pay the loan installments as all other costs are covered in the fee.

Indigo is deciding to pay its pilots as they learn to fly which will help them pay off their student loans

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India Planning to Grow at 9.5% During XIIth Five-Year Plan: Pranab Mukherjee

NEW DELHI (DNAI): Dismissing fears of a slowdown, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee said India’s growth drivers are intact and the Centre is committed to policy reforms.

“Though there is some slowdown in industrial growth, partly due to the base effect from the previous year, the growth drivers of the Indian economy remain broadly intact,”

Mukherjee said at a seminar organized by his ministry and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

Factory output slowed down to 6.3% (vis-a-vis a 2004-05 base) in April 2011, from 13.1% in the corresponding month of the previous year. Mukherjee said the medium-term growth prospects for the economy remain buoyant.

“I am confident that we are in a position to sustain high economic growth in the coming years and create a more inclusive outcome of our society,” he said.

India aims to grow at 9-9.5% during the XIIth Five-Year Plan, starting April, 2012.

“Major steps have been taken to simplify and place the administrative procedures concerning taxation, trade and traffic and social transfers on electronic interface, free of discretion and bureaucratic delays,” he said.

The Direct Taxes Code (DTC) is scheduled to become operational from April 1, 2012.

India’s Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee

India to be the World’s Third Largest Producerof Light Commercial Vehicles Market by 2020

NEW DELHI (ET): India will become the third largest market in the world after China and the US for light vehicles, including passenger cars and light commercial vehicles (LCVs), by 2020, according to market research firm JD Power

Asia Pacific.The country, however, will have

to improve its infrastructure, as well as resolve component supply chain issues, in order to realize this. “Our forecast is that by 2020, India will become the third biggest market for light vehicles, that includes

passenger cars and LCVs, with total sales of nearly 12 million units,” JD Power Asia Pacific Executive Director Mohit Arora told PTI.

In a report -- ‘India Automotive 2020: The Next Giant from Asia’ -- the firm said India would have

jumped from sixth place at present to be slotted after China and the US by 2020, with total sales of 11.9 million light vehicles.

In 2010, 2.7 million light vehicles were sold in India, up from just 700,000 light vehicles in 2000, it added.

By 2020, China’s light vehicles market is expected to reach 35 million units, while that of the US will rise to 17.4 million units, the report said.

“There is a huge potential in the Indian market, but the key challenges lie in infrastructure growth to support the automotive industry,” Arora said.

Also, the auto component supply chain in the country needs to scale up, not only in terms of volume, but also quality, to match global standards and become integrated with original equipment manufacturers, he added.

The report pointed out that with the average income of Indians expected to be moderate even in 2020, “vehicle demand will still be focused in the lower-end passenger vehicles segment as well as in the SUV and MPV segments”.

“Given India’s limited road infrastructure, vehicle pricing ceiling and concerns about fuel consumption, it would not be unexpected that microvan and minitruck models in the LCV (segment) will become more popular,” it said.

As per the report, of the projected light vehicle sales of 11.9 million units in India by 2020, passenger cars will account for 9.28 million units and light trucks another 2.69 million units.

India is set to become the third largest consumer for family vehicles LCVs, planning to go up in sales by 11.9 million light vehicles by 2020 commanding a major share of the world market in the automotive sector only next to China and USA. Above: Mahindra Scorpio

Training in Rubber Export from IndiaKOTTAYAM (The Hindu): The Rubber

Board will organize a 4 day training program in marketing and export management of natural rubber at the Rubber Training Institute.

The course content for training includes NR market, futures trading, opportunities for export, formalities for foreign trade, price factors, export regulations, licensing, exim policies of the government, market development and export promotion measures.

The training fee is Rs. 1600 ($34.78). Candidates belonging to the scheduled castes

and scheduled tribes are eligible for 50 per cent concession in course fee on production of caste certificate, the press note said. Money order or demand draft drawn in favor of Director (Training), Rubber Board, payable at Kottayam. Application on white paper along with fee may be forwarded to Director (Training), Rubber Training Institute, Rubber Board P.O., Kottayam-686 009, Kerala.

The fee can also be paid directly to Central Bank of India (IFSC Code – CBIN 0010955). Account No. 1450300184. Contact 0481 - 2351313 or 0481- 2353127 for further details regarding the training program.

INDO AMERICAN NEWS • FRIDAY, JuNE 17, 2011 • ONLINE EDITION: WWW.INDOAMERICAN-NEWS.COM

33 Indo American News • Friday, June 17, 2011ONLINE EDITION: www.indoamerican-news.com


34 Indo American News • Friday, June 17, 2011 ONLINE EDITION: www.indoamerican-news.comIamTechnology

India’s Poverty in the Virtual WorldBy Oy Oy sama manzar

(Live Mint): Let’s suppose Facebook is a nation. It is then the world’s third most populous nation, after China and India. It is perhaps the only nation whose citizens come from all parts of the world—where everyone lives harmoniously, meets and corresponds with each other seamlessly, shares information, thoughts and ideas openly.

Everyone wants to be in this virtual nation. Here, you do not have to pay for your space, as you have to in your real country of domicile.

No country gives you free space, free art and photo gallery, free postal service, free parking area, free entertainment and free space for a business office. Facebook does all of these.

It has almost become an imperative of life today to be on Facebook. If you aren’t already there, better to hurry up, acquire your space and, if you want, create your own estate, business or community.

The popularity of Facebook leads me to believe that the future of any nation will depend on how much digital content it produces and makes available on the Internet—particularly in oral form.

While India’s standing among digital content producers is abysmally low, the good news is that India has one of the highest penetrations of mobile devices, enabling the country to go beyond the literacy barrier and create more oral digital content. There is a caveat though: we need the Internet on all devices, preferably broadband.

As is well known, India is a country of extremes, with the best of certain things and the worst of others.

It is the world’s largest democracy and has the world’s second largest population, but its Internet population is one of the lowest. It is a global leader in information technology (IT), but has an extremely poor information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure.

Let’s look at some more paradoxes.

India has almost 1.6 million schools, mostly located in rural areas, but not more than 100,000 schools have computer centres or labs.

Internet connectivity would be in less than 0.5% schools, and not more than 10% have websites. If every school was to have its own website, we would not only have so many .in domains, but would also enrich the cyberspace with multilingual content, localized culture and creative content produced by children and teachers.

India also has more than 26 million registered micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) employing over 60 million people. But not more than 30% of these MSMEs are online.

Ours is primarily a producers’ country and our economy thrives at the grassroots level. Websites would give our MSMEs national and global reach; their absence means foreign products find it easier to enter the

local market than vice versa.Like MSMEs, cooperatives are a

great means of conducting business at the bottom of the pyramid. There are more than 500,000 cooperatives in India, most of which deal in products and services relating to rural areas, such as agriculture, dairy farming and so on.

When I tried to find out the

level of digital inclusion among the cooperatives, the National Cooperative Union of India could not come up with a definite number. All they said was that there would be no more than few thousand online.

We are a country of more than 3.3 million non-governmental organisations, or NGOs. But 70% of them have no web presence.

Most of them are located at the grassroots level. At the Digital Empowerment Foundation, we have created 500 individual websites for such organisations in the last two years, an exercise that has made us realise that each NGO is a well of

information and knowledge. But they need to share this knowledge, and the Web is the best means of doing so.

If we look at elective governance, we have 245,445 panchayat constituencies, 4,011 assembly constituencies and 543 parliamentary constituencies.

Barring the panchayats in Kerala and a couple of hundred panchayat websites that we have created at http://epanchayat.in, there are no official websites for any elected constituency. But the Right To Information Act says all elected members of the government should furnish relevant information to citizens—and once again the Web could be the best platform for them to share information about their activities and responsibilities.

In all, we are short of some 23 million business, organizational, educational and governmental websites, and therefore, as many domain names.

Considering that there are around 255 million websites worldwide, India’s presence on the Web would significantly increase if all these institutions go online.

This would not only make the country digitally enriched, but it would also attract markets to India and allow Indian producers to go global. Moreover, it will help achieve transparency and a networked knowledge society.

India Develops Technology to Fight Micro Aliens in the Sea

GOA (DNAI): India has developed an eco-friendly technology to treat sea water brought in by cargo ships into our domain, bringing along with it alien organisms and may be even radioactive elements that harm the marine ecosystem or can have even bigger consequences.

Ballast water, as the sea water brought in by the ships is called, is sea water admitted into tanks at the bottom of the ship to stabilise it for the high seas.

According to AC Anil , scientist at the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO), the technology which is developed by the NIO in association with the Pune-based National Chemical Laboratory and Mumbai University Institute of Chemical Technology can kill the alien organisms to the level prescribed by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), a

UN body.“Some of the organisms that the

ballast water imported by the ships may bring along are black striped mussels and harmful algae which can lead to uncontrolled growth of organisms alien to the local ecology. This can wipe out local fisheries and harm the maritime ecology by fighting with the native organisms and creating an imbalance in the ecosystem,” Anil said.

The Ballast Water Treatment technology, which has been patented this year, is supported by the ministry of shipping.

“The facility to use the technology has been implemented in four ports in India -- two in Mumbai and one each in Vishakapatnam and Goa. So ships coming in into these ports can be selectively quarantined. By 2016, all the 12 major ports in the country will be covered,” Anil added.

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Determined West Indies Ease to Consolation Win Against Cocky IndiansBy sidharth mOnga

ANTIGUA (Cricinfo): Finally West Indies managed to put together the kind of cluster of performances they have been missing, and hence losing matches - often from positions from where they could have won. Lendl Simmons got his sixth fifty in his last eight innings, Kieron Pollard notched up his personal best against a Test-playing nation, Carlton Baugh again played the support role before taking the lead behind the stumps, Andre Russell smacked 25 off 14 before unsettling India with his bouncers, and Darren Sammy and Anthony Martin backed up expertly with their bowling, scalping six under-pressure batsmen between them.

It was never going to be an easy win. Not with Praveen Kumar and Amit Mishra in the kind of form they’ve been in. The two bowled six maiden overs and took five wickets between them to undo Simmons’ good work. Simmons brought West Indies back from 41 for 2 through a counter-attack on the returning Ishant Sharma and on the dominant Mishra. However, he saw his partner in recovery, Darren Bravo, pick out one of three fielders on the leg-side boundary to send West Indies into a tailspin that stopped with Simmons’ run-out to make it 103 for 5 in the 27th over.

This was Simmons’ ninth innings out of 27 that ended between 40 and 77, a trend that flatters and then deceives. However, another flatterer-and-deceiver forgot the

deceiving part today. Pollard played one of his more responsible international innings to pull West Indies out of trouble.

After an edgy start, Pollard showed much better discretion and cricketing sense. Hitting Manoj Tiwary for a straight six and a four in the 32nd over, he reached 19 off 19, and started working the singles. Baugh reciprocated just like he had done with Russell two days ago. There was a moment when Baugh should have been run out for 17, running casually with his bat in the air, but the umpire chose not to look at the replays. That was not the first mistake Norman Malcolm made, nor was it the last. His lbw call against Marlon Samuels was dodgy, as were a couple of wides, and he would go on to deny India another run-out in the last over of the innings.

Pollard, meanwhile, was making all the right decisions. The big shots and the singles were mixed well. There was also a deft late-cut, and the big hits were aimed only down the ground. Nor was there any urge to hit every delivery into the stands. He went after Mishra only when he bowled flat. He contributed 64 to the 96-run stand. Having put India under pressure, Pollard holed out in the first over of the batting Powerplay that begun in the 44th over.

That didn’t stall the momentum, though, as Russell continued with

his clean big striking, hitting three fours and a six to help West Indies get 57 in the Powerplay. Having reached their best score of the season, West Indies were aggressive in defence. The pitch wasn’t as slow as the ones in the earlier matches, and Kemar Roach and Russell didn’t bother about keeping some in the tank. They went all out against the inexperienced top order, and Sammy was canny from the other end.

India’s slide began with Tiwary, who was jetlagged on debut when his stumps were clattered by Brett Lee and was now playing his comeback match as an opener, a role he is not accustomed to. It showed as he struggled against the moving ball. Nerves were on display too. He almost ran himself out and was dropped off Roach before finally edging Sammy. Parthiv Patel pulled, flicked and upper-cut well in scoring 26 of the 41 runs that came while he was at the crease. Sammy, though, got rid of him with a smart one-handed return catch to his left.

S Badrinath was then pinged by Russell’s bouncers. There was an air of helplessness in the way he moved about the crease, trying to get out of the way, looking for the upper-cut. The struggle finally ended when he gloved a hook and was quick in rushing off the field.

Martin, who is a firefighter in Antigua, then came on to give his full-time job a bad name. Here were India facing the heat, and the fireman stoked the fire by scalping India’s best batsman, Virat Kohli, in his first over

and the innings’ 21st. Baugh, who had taken an overhead catch behind his body to send Badrinath back, now finished a flashy stumping as Kohli overbalanced for a split-second. Under pressure, Suresh Raina looked for release, but slogged Martin straight to midwicket to make it 111 for 5.

Yusuf Pathan soon did something similar to Simmons, but there was still one man West Indies needed to see the back of. Rohit Sharma had denied them on two previous occasions in this series, but this time he top-edged a slog-sweep off Martin after having looked good for 39 off 47. Game over.

Kieron Pollard played one of his better international innings



Qureshi-Bopanna Take First Title of the Season with Triumph in Halle

Lionel Messi is Coming to India in SeptemberIamSporTS

NEW DELHI (Dawn): Top seeds Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi of Pakistan and Rohan Bopanna of India won their first ATP title of the season, overcoming the Dutch-Canadian pair of Robin Haase and Milos Raonic 7-6 (8), 3-6, 11-9 in the final of the Gerry Weber Open in Halle, Germany on Sunday.

The ‘Indo-Pak Express, as Qureshi and Bopanna are also known, needed just one hour and 19 minutes to script their win and coming ahead of the prestigious Wimbledon tournament it is bound to the pair a world of good.

Qureshi and Bopanna were playing their ninth ATP World Tour doubles final together, a sign of their increased competitiveness on the doubles circuit.

In Sunday’s final, the Indo-Pak pair could not convert any of the four breakpoints, three in the opening set, dropped the second set but held their nerves in the Super Tie break

to clinch the title.Speaking to a private TV channel

after the win Aisam said, “It is indeed a proud achievement for us and the hard work that we put in, had to pay off.”

While it was Bopanna’s third career doubles title, it was second for Qureshi after the two had won

the South African Open together last year.

“I’ve always played on grass courts and while growing up in Pakistan, the Wimbledon final was the only event we could see live on television so winning a grass tournament is an exceptional feeling for me,” Qureshi said.

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani hailed the achievement of the ‘Indo-Pak Express’ and renewed their pledge to back talented sportsmen in the country.

“I’ve always played on grass courts and while growing up in Pakistan, the Wimbledon final was the only event we could see live on television so winning a grass tournament is an exceptional feeling for me,” Qureshi said.

Pakistan’s Tour Rejected by Nepal’s Football Federation Due to Scheduling IssuesKARACHI

(Dawn): Paki-stan’s proposal o f t o u r i n g Nepal before their World Cup qualifiers against Bangladesh was rejected owing to commitments of the Nepal t e a m w i t h their domestic league.

“We had tour negotiations for

a friendly series with Nepal as both Pakistan and Nepal will be playing their World Cup qualifiers later on but the Nepal national team is busy with their domestic league and therefore, could not host Pakistan,” a Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) official said.

The Pakistan national team will now continue their practice in Islamabad for the qualifiers which take place on June 29 in Dhaka and July 3 in Lahore. During the camp, they will play against several departmental clubs including KRL, Army, Navy and PAF.

The PFF official said the preparation was going smoothly and the players were actively participating in the camp. He also added that the first leg of the World Cup qualifiers in Bangladesh will be a crucial one as it will be an away fixture.

Zesh Rehman, Atif Bashir and Adnan Farooq will be the three foreign players in the squad while Jaffer Khan, Samar Ishaq and Arif Mehmood will play a pivotal role in the World Cup qualifiers.

Nepal’s football federation rejected Pakistan’s proposal of a friendly series between the two countries owing to commitments within their domestic league

KOLKOTTA (DNA): It’s good news for football-crazy fans of the city as Argentine superstar Lionel Messi and his teammates are playing a FIFA official international friendly match against Venezuela at Salt Lake’s Yuba Bharati Krirangan on September 2.

After rounds of rumour, the official confirmation came today when Celebrity Management Group along with the state government, All India Football Federation and Indian Football Association announced this at a press conference today.

“The Argentina Football Association had indeed signed a contract to bring in the full-strength squad including Messi and Carlos Tevez among others. So the contract guarantees their participation,” said Bhaswar Goswami of CMG.

The city-based sports management firm that had earlier brought football legend Diego Maradona in 2008 would also organize another international friendly match between Argentina and Nigeria in Dhaka on September 6.

“We were given the match in condition that we have to buy another. We did not think twice and bought both the matches just to make Messi play in Kolkata,” Goswami said.

The Barcelona star forward and winner of the FIFA Ballon d’Or award was recently instrumental in his club’s Champions League win.

Giving a brief detail about the itinerary, he said Messi and Co. would stay here for four days, beginning August 30.

“We are also planning several other

events which will be announced later. We are thinking of a minimum ticket price of Rs1,000 -- about $20,

a nominal price compared to the ticket prices in other international friendlies.”

Lionel Messi football hero to many is headed to Kolkotta, India, in September, a time when football crazy fans can delight in his live games played as a part of international friendly relations to encourage sports among the youth in India


38 Indo American News • Friday, June 17, 2011 ONLINE EDITION: www.indoamerican-news.comIamMovieS

In Bollywood, The Khans Rule, But Which Khan Will Sit on the Throne?MUMBAI (FT): Shahrukh Khan,

Aamir Khan and Salman Khan have three movies hitting theaters soon. Ra.One, Delhi Belly and Ready have been much awaited by the audience for quite sometime now. Here are the movie reviews, the most favorite movie will be voted for by the audience.

Ready: Salman Khan’s Ready is the 3rd remake of the 2008 Telegu

blockbuster. It has been remade successfully in 2009 in Kannada & in 2010 in Tamil. Does the Hindi remake with the same name as the original, match up?

The plot is simple, stupid and as filmy as the 80s. Intro of Hero. Song. Boy meets girl, boy hates girl. Song. Boy finds truth about girl, boy loves girl. Song. Evil looking villains with a sense of humor arrive. Action. They take girl away. Boy decides to get girl back. Boy plots along with his large family (thanks to the Barjatyas). Song. Boys almost succeeds, villains discover truth. Big fight. Bigger fight. In the end, all is well. Song.

Ready has 2 directors. The first half has to be directed by Anees Bazmee (No Problem, Thank You), and Salman Khan takes over the second half, by ensuring that the director stick to the original. In the second half, the film is a nonstop laugh and riot. Salman Khan never ceases to surprise you. You will laugh at the outrageousness of the characters, the silliness of the situations.

The film has a huge cast Mahesh Manjrekar, Manoj Pahwa, Manohar Joshi as the 3 Kapoors are brilliant. Anuradha Patel, seen after a long time is beautiful and class personified in the film.

The warring gangster clan Choudharys, epitomizes the villains from the south with garish outfits, long, unkempt hair in funny ponies and lack class.

Asin, the South Indie actress tries making tremendous efforts to look

good. Zarine Khan looks far more glamorous in her cameo.

Paresh Rawal steals the show his character is introduced post interval, he is the best of the lot.

Salman Khan is currently riding a fantastic wave wherein he has rediscovered the formula, once mastered by Jeetendra in the 80s. Remaking successful South Indian flicks and sticking

to the original in content by just adding a few Bollywood touches here and there. The film relies on Salman’s charisma to entertain you and he doesn’t let you down

one bit. Paresh does the ‘talking’ and Salman is content letting him lead. For Salman Khan fans, this is a sure laugh a riot. Coupled with the 2 dance tracks “Dhinka Chika” & “Character Dheela” these songs are street songs with catchy tunes.

Delhi Belly is an upcoming hindi movie produced by Aamir Khan directed by Abhinay Deo starring Imran Khan, Kunal Roy Kapoor, Poorna Jagannathan, Vir Das & Shenaz Treasurywala.

The full story of Delhi Belly Movie is not yet leaked but the movie is all about the different funnycharacters in Delhi. The movie photos look very interesting and are creating curiosity amongst Aamir Khan fans. Aamir always focuses on plot, excelling at story telling, rather than action or adventure sequences. The music of Delhi Belly Movie is composed by Ram Sampath of Khakee & Peepli Live fame.

Tashi, Arun and Nitin – flat tire mates, buddies and partners in crime. Tashi is to get married in a month but still doesn’t know if his fiancee is THE ONE! Arun can’t make up his mind who he wants to eradicate initially – his girlfriend (who has solely dumped him) or his obtuse, irritating boss (whose perception of creativity is sketching a smiling banana). And Nitin is into food, Delhi Belly he’s always renowned! Three regular blokes, living the regular life apart from pro lone small point – they are on the secure catalog of one of the world’s deadliest crime syndicates. Will they be able to get away before the sh#@ hits the roof and the roof comes down? Delhi Belly is the meanest comedy portrayed so far.

Aamir Khan himself quoted that he doesn’t think that anyone above

the age of thirty would go and watch Delhi Belly. It will entertain the youth of our country and is definitely not a ‘masses’ cinema. Yes, it is entertaining and intriguing and that’s what will draw in the crowds.

Ra. One (Ra.1) is an upcoming Hindi sci-fi superhero film directed by Anubhav Sinha. The film, which is yet to release features Shahrukh

Khan, Kareena Kapoor and Arjun Rampal who plays the villain, will be produced under Khan’s production company, Red Chillies Entertainment. According to Khan, “Ra.One” means “Random Access - Version 1.0”.

This film will reportedly have “breathtaking” stunts from Shahrukh Khan. The special effects team is being hired from Hollywood. Khan has undergone strenous workouts to prepare himself to be able to perform the “daring” stunts for the film. Khan is now set to go flying in the sky to save mankind in this film. At a press conference that welcomed Akon to India, he revealed that his character can “solidify” electricity and that his team was working on making this possible on screen.

In September 2010, Khan signed Hans Zimmer to compose the background score for the film thus making Ra.One Zimmer’s first Bollywood crossover project. Pop Singer and star Akon is also singing a song for the movie Ra.One. Lady GaGa is also singing and dancing one song in this movie.

The ace musical duo Vishal and Shekhar are the music directors of Ra. One.

The film revolves around SRK who is a software engineer Jeevan. He designs a video game named ‘Random Access – Version One’ whose acronym is Ra. One. Shahrukh gives his character name G. one, who is a superhero and his main aim is to kill villain Ra. One.

The movie revolves around Jeevan and his kid, it shows the relationship between a child and his dad, how they come to kill Ra. One.

Shahrukh Khan on the sets of Ra.One

Indo AmerIcAn news • FrIdAy, JUAy, JUA ne 17, 2011 • Online editiOditiOditi n: www.indOn: www.indO Oamerican-news.cOm

3 339Indo American News • Friday, June 17, 2011 Online Edition: www.indoamerican-news.com

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713-780-4278Hilcroft Shopping Plaza inside TAAZA MARKET






713-780-4278713-780-4278Hilcroft Shopping Plaza inside TAAZA MARKET


713-780-4278713-780-4278713-780-4278713-780-4278713-780-4278713-780-4278713-780-4278713-780-4278713-780-4278713-780-4278713-780-4278713-780-4278713-780-4278713-780-4278713-780-4278713-780-4278713-780-4278713-780-4278713-780-4278713-780-4278713-780-4278713-780-4278713-780-4278

Indo AmerIcAn news • FrIdAy, JUne 17 , 2011 • Online editiOn: www.indOamerican-news.cOm

40 Indo American News • Friday, June 17h, 2011 Online Edition: www.indoamerican-news.com

june 17 pages 27-40

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