Sachin Tendulkar takes oath; becomes Rajya Sabha MP

Master blaster and 'God of Indian cricket' Sachin Tendulkar has taken oath as a Rajya Sabha member. The newly inducted MP took oath in the chamber of Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari. He was accompanied by his wife Anjali and Rajya Sabha MP and IPL chief Rajiv Shukla. The occasion marked the first instance a playing cricketer has taken oath as Rajya Sabha  MP.

After signing on the oath, he was presented with a golden shawl and commenting after the same, he said that he will work towards uplifting cricket as well as other sports. Speaking to reporters after the swearing-in, Sachin said, "In the last 22 years, cricket has given so many things to me in life. I wanted to give back to cricket in the latter half of my life."

Sachin was nominated to the Upper House along with film actress Rekha and industrialist Anu Aga in Apr. Rekha had already taken oath, but there was a delay in Sachin doing the same since he was playing in the Indian Premier League (IPL) season 5.

NRIs get right to vote in Indian elections, promises PM

Fulfilling a long-standing demand of its diaspora, India Sunday said it would allow NRIs to vote and participate in the election process.

'Pursuant to the law that was enacted to enable Non-resident Indians to vote in our national elections, the government has issued notifications for registration of overseas electors under the Representation of People Act, 1950,' Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said.

'The government and people of India recognise and value the important role being played by Indian communities living abroad. We believe that Indian diaspora has much more to contribute to the building of modern India,' the prime minister said.

'We propose to facilitate, encourage and promote this engagement. Over the past year, we have taken a number of steps towards this end,' he added, as he formally inaugurated the 10th annual diaspora meet, the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) here.

Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi said NRIs would be able to exercise their franchise in upcoming elections.

'Indian nationals living abroad can now exercise their franchise in India at the time o f the elections,' Ravi said.

Now those NRIs who have registered with the embassies of their respective countries of stay, would be eligible to vote in the upcoming assembly elections in five states including Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Goa and Manipur. Polls will take place in these countries between Jan 28 and March 3.

Dev Anand no more, cremation in London

Dev Anand, the 'Evergreen Romantic Superstar' of Indian cinema, has passed away. He died on Sunday after suffering a massive cardiac arrest in London. He was 88.

Bollywood’s eternal romantic Dev Anand modeled himself on Hollywood star Gregory Peck. 

Tata Pixel, a cool city car concept

The Tata Pixel, with ‘Zero Turn’ drive and an innovative diamond-shaped door system, is a city car concept for Europe from Tata Motors

Hillary laughs when Pak woman compares US to never-satisfied mother-in-law

"I think that's a great analogy I have never heard before," said Hillary Clinton at Islamabad town hall meeting.

How about this????????

How Kerala temple treasure is being recorded

Thiruvananthapuram: The process of scientific documentation of the treasure at Kerala's Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple will begin on November 9. This was decided today at a meeting of the expert panel appointed by the Supreme Court. The documentation will involve digital archiving of temple antiques, preparing a computerised data base and recording 3-D images of the treasure, reportedly worth 100,000 crores.

While Kerala State Electronic Corporation will implement the documentation process, ISRO's Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre will provide the technical expertise.

The state government will bear the cost of the documentation process. The Supreme Court had ordered a detailed scientific documentation of the temple treasure after a local activist in Thiruvananthapuram accused the trust which governs the temple of mismanagement. The temple trust controlled by the erstwhile Travancore royal family.

"We have decided to start the documentation process on November 9. The preparedness for this will be assessed at another meeting on November 4. We are hopeful that documentation will start on November 9 itself," said CV Anandabose, the chairman of the Supreme Court-appointed expert panel.

Five of the six underground vaults at the 16th-century temple have so far been explored. They have delivered unimaginable treasure, much of it allegedly donated by devotees led by the royal family of Travancore.

The Supreme Court has ruled that the ornaments, cash and gold discovered at the temple need to be digitally archived before the last secret chamber is forced open. Vault B has not been touched so far. Local superstition warns of bad luck if it is entered. The Supreme Court has said that while it will be mindful of tradition and the sentiments of devotees, it will decide when the vault should be opened at its own discretion and not in consultation with priests.

Source :NDTV

Mayawati inaugurates Rs. 685-Cr Noida memorial park

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati on Friday inaugurated her dream park in Noida.

Mayawati's pet project has been built at a cost of Rs 685 crore.

The Congress slammed the project calling it a complete waste of money.

A helicopter, a convoy of big cars, a red carpet and several officials were gathered to greet the chief minister as she arrived at the Rashtriya Dalit Smarak in Noida to inaugurate her dream 33-acre park this evening.

The Ambedkar Park features grand lawns, several statues and hundreds of trees and fountains.

Meanwhile, the Congress party has called the project a 'waste' and said that chief minister is wasting the public money.

World powers pre-occupied; India must stand on own feet: Manmohan

Manmohan Singh told top commanders of the armed forces that international strategic and political environment has deteriorated and it must be factored in the policies that India adopts internally or externally.

Karunanidhi backs Maran brothers

He said Maran brothers "are like my sons and my support to them to face the situation arising out of the raids legally will always be there."