Delhi to Host Northeast Film Festival From Aug. 22

EFT Report, New Delhi: Fragrances from the North East, a three-day festival of cinema and entertainment from the country's northeast region, will be held in New Delhi from Aug 22-24, 2014.

Organised by the Directorate of Film Festivals, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, the extravaganza is scheduled to take place at the Siri Fort auditorium complex.

The festival will be attended by actors and directors from the region, including Jahnu Barua, Seema Biswas, Adil Hussain, Geetanjali Thapa, Abdul Majid, Mapuia Chongthu, Pradip Kurbah, Merlvin Mukhim, Oinam Gautam Singh, Tonthoi Bonny Sharma, Meena Debbarma, Tashi Lhamu, Tiainla Jamir and Prashant Rasaily, said a statement.

"Khawnlung Run", a film from Mizoram will open the fest, while "Ri" from Meghalaya will bring the curtains down on the gala, which will also include an exhibit of handicrafts from northeastern states, courtesy the Ministry of Culture.

With the support of the Lalit Kala Academy, there will also be an exhibition of paintings by artistes too. Add to that, a food court with northeastern cuisine.

Other films to be showcased at the fest include "Ajeyo" (Assam), "Phijigee Mani" (Manipur), "Yarwng" (Tripura), "Kathaa" (Sikkim), "Sonam" (Arunachal Pradesh) as well as documentary "Going the Distance" and short film "Bamboo Shoots" from Nagaland.

Providing a musical element to the opening and closing ceremonies will be Papon and East India Company; and internationally-acclaimed Naga pianist Nise Meruno and choir group Nagaland Singing Ambassadors.

Entry to musical performance and cinemas will be free and on first come first basis.

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MMA Fighter War Machine 'Who Stabbed Porn Star GF’ Arrested

EFT Report: The hunt for the fugitive mixed martial arts fighter War Machine is over, the 32-year-old real name Jon Koppenhaver was arrested in California by US marshals on Friday a week after he brutally assaulted his ex-girlfriend popular porn star Christy Mack in Las Vegas. The brutal attack on August 8 left Christy Mack with 18 broken bones around her eyes, a nose broken in two places, and hair sawed off by a knife.

MMA Fighter War Machine Arrested

Simi Valley police said in a release they worked with US marshals and found Jon Koppenhaver inside an Extended Stay America. They also said his hotel room contained 'a small quantity of cash and some pizza.' Jon Koppenhaver is currently booked into Ventura County Jail while he awaits extradition to Nevada.

Koppenhaver, who appeared on the FOX show Ultimate Fighter, has been released from his contract with MMA tournament group Bellator.

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Ex-Hooker Helen Wood Wins UK Big Brother 2014; Richer By £100,000

EFT Report: Former escort girl Helen Wood, whose claim to fame was bedding English football star Wayne Rooney in 2010 while Rooney’s wife Coleen was pregnant, is the shock winner of reality TV show Big Brother taking home a whooping £100,000 as prize money.

Helen Wood

Host Emma Willis later revealed just 1.2 per cent separated runner-up and bookies favourite blonde 18-year-old Ashleigh Coyle and Helen Wood in the public vote for the winner. Helen Wood had immunity from the beginning of the show, which started 3 months ago.

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Next Generation E-Ticketing, Go India Smart Card Launched

EF Times, New Delhi: In a move to provide more hassle-free services to railway users, the Minister of Railways, Shri S.D.Sadananda Gowda launched new IT initiatives/applications at a function here today. These initiatives have been  developed by Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS), an autonomous organization under the Ministry of Railways. Shri Gowda also through Remote Control inaugurated the new Rail Neer Plant at Ambernath, (Mumbai) of Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), a Public Sector Undertaking of Ministry of Railways.

 The Minister of State for Railways, Shri Manoj Kumar Sinha was especially present on the occasion. Chairman, Railway Board, Shri Arunendra Kumar, Member Engineering, Railway Board, Shri V.K.Gupta, Member Mechanical, Railway Board,  Shri Alok Johri, Member Staff, Railway Board, Financial Commissioner, Smt. Rashmi Kapoor   Shri A.K.Mital,  Managing Director, CRIS Smt. Vandna Nanda and Chairman-cum-Managing Director, IRCTC Shri M.P.Mall were also present on the occasion. Dr. Shrikant Eknath Shinde, Member of Parliament from Kalyan in Maharashtra was also present on the occasion. As the new Rail Neer factory at Ambernath falls in his constituency.

In his inaugural address, Shri Gowda said that Indian Railways with its Passenger Reservation System has the distinction of having one of the largest and robust citizens centric IT Systems in the world.  As the number of trains and the services of Indian Railways are growing constantly, matching IT systems should also be developed simultaneously to meet the demands as also to provide state of art IT solutions to the ever increasing aspirations of the passengers.  Indian Railways need to use IT Services extensively in: Passengers services, Freight services, Bring Operational efficiency and Staff Welfare.

Shri Gowda  said that realizing importance of IT in reaching out to passengers, several initiatives were announced in budget speech which include ; Next generation ticket reservation system, Wi-fi in trains and stations, Real-time tracking of trains and rolling stock, Mobile based application for passengers, Station navigation information systems, e-booking  for retiring rooms and many others. In order to provide quick and efficient services to our freight customers, online wagon demand registration was also announced in the Railway Budget, He added

The Railway Minister expressed his happiness as some of the budget announced initiatives are being dedicated to the nation and congratulated all those who were involved in successfully completing these projects.

Speaking on the occasion, the Minister for Railways Shri Manoj Sinha said that development of these applications by Railways’ own organization is a matter of great pride. He said the more and more applications of IT solutions will bring transparency and would also ultimately  bring relief to the common man. He said that CRIS and IRCTC are the organization of Indian Railways working in the fields of providing best passenger amenities. He called upon the railway officers to continue to work for developing more IT initiatives and for more passenger friendly measures.

In his speech, Chairman, Railway Board Shri Arunendra Kumar said that it is really commendable that the Indian Railways has in-house developed five railway user friendly IT applications in one shot. I personally salute the IT arm of Indian Railways, namely CRIS, for this spectacular feat. Our IT organizations are not working  for commercial motive but work for public service motive and in fact are no less than e-commerce giants like flipkart, amazon etc. We are fully committed to use IT solution  for bringing transparency and efficiency in deference to the wishes of the Prime Minister, he added.

Speaking on the occasion, Member Traffic, Railway Board, Shri D.P.Pande said that the future is bright and this core group of professionals in CRIS and domain experts have been moving at a fast pace. They have already delivered Dynamic Pricing at short notice and are running towards –Accounting Management System (I-PAS), Loco Management System for Diesel/Electric Locos, Parcel Management System (PMS), Workshop Management System, Track Management System, ERP System for Production Units, etc. This list is endless but Indian Railways is moving in the right direction at the right speed.  He said that CRIS is in the process of developing other important passenger facing applications like Currency Operated Ticket Vending Machine (COTVM) which will allow customers to obtain tickets by putting cash into these machines. Another project for delivering unreserved tickets on mobile phones is also on the anvil. IT solution are a sure fine way of getting maximum return on minimum investment and it is transparent and user friendly. Referring to the Packaged drinking water called Rail Neer, Shri Pande said that this product of IRCTC has earned reputation in quality. With today’s launch of new Rail Neer plant of IRCTC at Ambernath in Maharashtra the total capacity will increase to 5.8 lakh bottles per day.

In her speech, MD, CRIS, Smt Vandna Nanda said that CRIS, which is the sole and only in-house e-solution provider to the Indian Railways, has been at the forefront of not only developing, operating as well as maintaining the most intricate and vital software programmes that run present day Indian exceeds Railways –like PRS, UTS, FOIS, COA, IREPS to name a few but CRIS also maintains the network on which these pan India programmes run. It may surprise many here to know that the number of passenger transactions that Indian Railways handles in one single day far exceeds the total booking done by all the scheduled airlines in the entire world in a day. CRIS handles the systems that generate, on an average, Rs. 450 crore for Indian Railways daily through its PRS, UTS, and FOIS, she added

The new applications developed by CRIS, are; NGet, Freight E-Demand Registration, E-Diversion of Coal rakes, Go India Card:-

Next Generation e-ticketing (NGeT)

Indian Railways’ e-ticketing system www.irctc.co.in is one of the most essential G2C services operational in the country today. It caters to over 8 lakh passengersdaily (50% of reserved passengers).

To provide superior service and to address the limitations of the existing e-ticketing service, Next Generation e-ticketing (NGeT) has been developed.

·        The project is funded by IRCTC

·        NGeT has replaced the existing system on 14/907/2014. It marks a major milestone in the desire to provide:

o       Passenger friendly service delivering high performance resulting in speedier access to the website even in peak hours.

o       Equipped with state of the art technology, this system is designed to provide high service availability, scalability and improved agility for incorporating business rule changes rapidly

o       Has strengthened safeguards against frauds and unauthorized access

·        CRIS has designed developed and deployed the NGeT and is also maintaining it. IRCTC manages the commercial interfaces o f the system including bank interactions and customer interface.

·        The new system is based on open standards.

         

System capacity	Old system	NGeT
Number o f concurrent sessions	40,000	1,20,000
Booking tickets per minute	2,000	7,200
Enquiries per minute	50,000	2,00,000

With its resilient and scalable architecture, cutting edge technology, backed by high performance and user friendly features, the new NGeT has led to a quantum jump in improved customer satisfaction.

Freight E-Demand system

In Freight train movement, the need for an on-line system for Registration of rakes and wagons will be finally met with the launch of the e-Demand module of the Freight Operations Information System (FOIS). With the release of this module, customers can sit in the convenience of their homes or offices and register their freight demands.

Customers can access the module at www.fois.indianrail.gov.in. the demand can be registered for a full rake or a large r number of rakes and follow the process of registration through a single window. The module will bring transparency into the system of registration also.

The module has been designed and developed under the guidance of Indian Railways’ officers by experienced software professionals of CRIS.

Some of the salient features are:

·        Transparency: possibility to track and trace all registered indents

·        Multifaceted: caters to both programmed and non-programmed indents

·        Convenience: easy to use interface (anytime anywhere)

·        Security: Securely integrated with IRCTC payment gateway for collection and refund of WRF.

·        Prediction: provides advance insight to Railways about customers’ demands

·        Green: reduced paperwork

Freight E-Diversion system

The power of IT has been extended to revamp the current manual process of diverting coal rakes among the Power Houses and Corporations of Electricity Board through the new “e-diversion system”.

Apart form being the process automation that would help railway operation, the e-diversion system will help customers in a big way by eliminating the long process of surrendering of documents at the originating station, adding payment of freight for the same consignment and long claims process.

The system will allow authorized Railways personnel to issue diversion orders and notify controllers by integration with the Control Office Application.

Some of the salient features of the module are:

·        Authorized access only

·        Customer friendly

·        No double payment

·        No penalty

·        Prompt settlement of claims

·        Transparency

Go India Smart card

This is a pan India smart card to enable passengers to pay for tickets for long distance reserved, unreserved, and suburban journeys as a pilot project.

It can be used a nominated UTS counters and Automatic Ticket Vending Machines (ATVMs) and nominated PRS counters for reserved tickets

It is a contact-less smart card: no need to swipe or insert into a slot.

The pilot project to be implemented on the following two sectors:

·        New Delhi – Howrah sector at 6 stations.: New Delhi, Kanpur, Allahabad, Dhanbad, Asansol, Howrah

·        New Delhi - Mumbai sector at 6 stations: New Delhi, Kota, Vadodara, Ratlam, Surat, Mumbai Central.

Initially, the card can be issued by paying Rs. 70/- where passenger can get Rs. 20/- balance. After that the card can be recharged for Rs. 20/- or in multiples of Rs. 50/- up to Rs. 5000/-. Maximum limit can be Rs. 10,000/-.

Go-India smart card has lifetime validity.

Train Enquiry Mobile App

CRIS has enhanced the Train Enquiry system by developing a Mobile App and a desktop application for Windows 8 platform. It has now become easier to track the movement of passenger trains and arrival and departure timings for the benefit of passengers. The app connects to the Train Enquiry system at the Back-end.

One of the best features of the new app is “spot your train” which provides information such as its current position, expected time of arrival and departure at a particular station, train schedule, train between two stations, information on cancelled/diverted/rescheduled trains, and trains expected to arrive and depart from a particular station in the next 2 or 4 hours. The App can be downloaded as a free app for Windows 8 phones. It is planned to release it on the Android platform also shortly.

New Rail Neer Plant in Mumbai region

A new Rail Neer plant at Ambernath (Mumbai) of Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), a Public Sector Undertaking of Ministry of Railways, was inaugurated for commercial production today. The production capacity of this plant will be 2 lakh liters per day, raising the total production (of the four plants) to 6.1 lakh litres of Packaged Drinking Water (PDW) daily.  Till now, already existing three Rail Neer plants used to cater to the Northern, Eastern and Southern parts of our country. As there is no Rail Neer Plant in Western India, there was a need for a plant in this region. The Rail Neer Plant at Ambernath will cater to the need of the Railway passengers in this region. Mumbai Region is an important gateway for passenger traffic.  The Railway stations in Mumbai region alone handles over 350 trains and about 4.5 lakh passengers every day. Rail Neer conforms to the Bureau of Indian Standards specifications IS: 14543-2004, and is a well accepted brand among the Railway passengers.

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Robin Williams Found Dead at His California Home; Suicide Suspected

EFT Report: Legendary comic actor Robin Williams aged 63 was found dead at his home in Tiburon, California in an apparent suicide, police in California said on Monday night. Williams, who according to sources has been battling severe depression of late, was found "unconscious and not breathing" just before noon Monday inside his home in Tiburon, Calif, following a 911 phone call. He was pronounced dead at 12:02 p.m. after emergency personnel arrived.

Often dubbed 'the funniest man alive', Williams won the coveted Oscar for best supporting actor for ‘Good Will Hunting’. In addition to his Oscar, Williams has 2 Emmys, 4 Golden Globes, 5 Grammys and 2 SAG Awards to his name.

Robin Williams

The full statement from Marin County police, released Monday, is below.

On August 11, 2014, at approximately 11:55 a.m, Marin County Communications received a 9-1-1 telephone call reporting a male adult had been located unconscious and not breathing inside his residence in unincorporated Tiburon, CA. The Sheriff’s Office, as well as the Tiburon Fire Department and Southern Marin Fire Protection District were dispatched to the incident with emergency personnel arriving on scene at 12:00 pm. The male subject, pronounced deceased at 12:02 pm has been identified as Robin McLaurin Williams, a 63-year-old resident of unincorporated Tiburon, CA. An investigation into the cause, manner, and circumstances of the death is currently underway by the Investigations and Coroner Divisions of the Sheriff’s Office. Preliminary information developed during the investigation indicates Mr. Williams was last seen alive at his residence, where he resides with his wife, at approximately 10:00 pm on August 10, 2014. Mr. Williams was located this morning shortly before the 9-1-1 call was placed to Marin County Communications. At this time, the Sheriff’s Office Coroner Division suspects the death to be a suicide due to asphyxia, but a comprehensive investigation must be completed before a final determination is made. A forensic examination is currently scheduled for August 12, 2014 with subsequent toxicology testing to be conducted.

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Delhi Metro's Week-long Independence Day Celebrations

EF Times, New Delhi: Delhi Metro will organize a week-long series of activities to celebrate Independence Day, an official said.

"All the premises of Delhi Metro such as stations, viaducts, depots and residential enclaves will be decorated with the Tricolor, banners and illumination, which will try to invoke the spirit of Independence Day among the commuters," a spokesperson of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) said.

"The National Flag will be hoisted at all major offices, depots and metro stations and patriotic songs will be played."

The week-long program will commence on Aug. 10 with the screening of a short film on the Delhi Metro.

DMRC will also launch an awareness campaign about the importance of using public transport.

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Barcelona Confirms Signing Vermaelen

EF Times, Madrid: FC Barcelona has confirmed signing Belgian international defender Thomas Vermaelen from Arsenal.

The club said Saturday they have signed the 28-year-old former Arsenal and Ajax central defender with a five-year-contract. It is believed his move will cost Barcelona about 19 million euros ($25 million), reported Xinhua.

Vermaelen will be officially presented to the press and fans Sunday and is the second central defender to join Barca over the summer, following Frenchman Jeremy Matthieu who joined last month for a similar transfer fee from Valencia.

The arrival of Vermaelen and Matthieu will increase the competition for places in the back four, which was one of Barca's weak points last season, and will allow Javier Mascherano to move forward into his preferred central midfield role.

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Events at India Habitat Center, Delhi on Aug. 10

Sunday, August 10, 2014

11:30am|IHC WALK|Wander through A Passionate Eye- Textiles, Paintings And Sculptures From The Bharany Donation at the National Museum. Walk led by co-curators Dr. Giles Tillotson &Mrinalini Venkateswaran. Please contact the Programmes Desk for registration and details. 7:00pm|MUSIC|IHC LOK SANGEET SAMMELAN- Folk Songs For Children Dogri folk songs by Rakesh Singh Slathia Followed by Awadhi folk songs by Malini Awasthi 7:00pm|FILM CLUB SCREENING|Waapasi (Punjabi/2013/24mins) Dir. Deepak Sharma After being away from home in Australia for five years, Hardeep decides to come backhome forever. But upon his return, he realizes that he has now become a guest for his family and not a member who has been missed. His family and dear ones have become used to his absence, perhaps even desiring it. Will Hardeep stay back home to become a member of his family… or does he go away to return as guests do..? Waapasi is the journey of Hardeep’s return. Winner of Best Actor Award & Jury Award for Best Short Film at the 3rd Dada Saheb Phalke Film Festival 2013. Also, screened at the67th Cannes Film Festival 2014. Screening followed by an interactive session with the cast & crew of the film.

Visual Arts Gallery

August 8 – 15   The Forgotten Frames- A photographic voyage with the people of Bastar. Solo exhibition of Photography byManoj Kumar Jain

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Indian Contingent to CWG 2014 Felicitated

EFT Report, Delhi: Ministry of Skill Development, Entrepreneurship, Youth Affairs & Sports along with Sports Authority of India felicitated the complete Indian contingent of Commonwealth Games, Glasgow 2014 here today. India secured 5th place by winning a total of 64 Medals (15 Gold, 30 Silver and 19 Bronze. The complete Indian contingent of 231, including the athletes, coaches and support staff were invited to attend this ceremony. 

The felicitation was done by Mr Sarbananda Sonowal, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Skill Development, Entrepreneurship, Youth Affairs & Sports, Minister of State (Home) Mr Kiren Rijiju, Bharat Ratna Sachin Tendulkar along with Col. Rajyavardhan Rathore and Mr Anurag Thakur. The cash awards were also distributed to the medal winners during the felicitation ceremony. 

During this ceremony, Sports Authority of India (SAI) also launched a new logo. The logo launch was done by Tendulkar. With its continuous efforts SAI has redefined the definition of Indian sports by taking it to higher level. It is probably the best time to infuse dynamism and energy with fresh look of SAI logo. The new logo envisions the continuous success of Indian sports and shall definitely give a vibrant and everlasting presence in global sports arena with new brand image of SAI as sports super power. 

Eminent sports personalities and representatives of IOA and the National Sports Federations, Secretary Sports Ajit M. Sharan and DG SAI Jiji Thomson also attended the felicitation ceremony. 

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Philips Ropes Alia Bhatt as Brand Ambassador

EF Times, New Delhi: Philips India has roped in Bollywood actress Alia Bhatt as brand ambassador for its beauty range.

As the brand ambassador, Alia will help take the style revolution, that Philips India has started among the new age Indian women, to the next level. 

"I believe women deserve to look and feel great every day and have the freedom to experiment with their looks. It is about knowing who you are and expressing yourself through your personal style," the actress said in a statement.

"Philips’ Beauty range is making that possible and I’m very happy to be associated with a brand that believes in the same style fundamentals as I do,” she added.

The “2 States” fame actress will start by endorsing Philips Kerashine range and a variety of depilation devices.

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Hyderabad Metro Begins Test Run

EF Times, Hyderabad: Hyderabad Metro Rail has begun test run and plans to start trial run early next year.

L&T Metro Rail (Hyderabad) Ltd Friday announced tests on the viaduct between Nagole and Mettuguda, an eight-kilometer stretch on one of the three corridors.

"The test run will continue till December and after this trial run will start and this will continue till the Metro opens for commercial operations in March next year," a company spokesman said.

One train with three coaches is being used for the test run which began Thursday. 

The first three train cars for the project arrived here in May from the Hyundai-Rotem factory in South Korea.

The 72-km elevated Metro rail project, being built at a cost of Rs.14,132 crore, is one of the biggest projects in the world in public private partnership (PPP) model.

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Indo-Pak Football Ties in Bangalore

EF Times, Bangalore: JSW in association with the All India Football Federation (AIFF) will host two international friendlies between India and Pakistan at the Bangalore Football Stadium on Aug. 17 and 20, 2014.

“We, at JSW, are very proud to be associated with two games that football fans in India are looking forward to. I have no doubt that these two matches will be well received by the fans and that it will be a very keen contest on the pitch,” said Parth Jindal, CEO of Bengaluru FC, which is owned by JSW. 

The fixtures will also serve as an able assessment for national team coach Wim Koevermans before the India under-23 team departs to Incheon, South Korea to play the Asian Games. 

AR Khaleel, president of the Karnataka State Football Association, said: “It is a matter of pride that Bengaluru has been chosen as a venue for both the friendlies. The football-loving crowds have been fantastic all of last season and they deserve it. We are sure the games will be a huge success.”

Kushal Das, Gen Secretary, All India Football Federation, said: “I’m extremely grateful to JSW for coming forward to organize the friendly matches between India and Pakistan in Bengaluru.

“I think both these matches are of great importance for the preparation to the Asian Games for both India and Pakistan. I’m sure the contest will be extremely competitive and entertaining,” he said.

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Lampard Set for Manchester City Loan

EFT Report, Washington: Former Premier League side Chelsea star Frank Lampard will play for Manchester City under a loan deal from his new Major League Soccer Team New York City FC, media reports said.

Lampard, who spent 13 seasons with Chelsea, signed a two-year deal last week with New York City FC. He will be loaned to Manchester City for six months, Xinhua quoted the New York Daily News as saying.

The 36-year-old England midfielder has scored 29 goals in 106 appearances for his country since making his international debut in 1999.

The New York City FC also signed Spanish star David Villa.

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Events at India Habitat Centre, Delhi on Aug. 2

Today’s  Events at India Habitat Centre:

Saturday, August 02, 2014

7:00pm|THEATRE|CINEPLAY- A new genre of cinema. Prod. An initiative of Chhoti Productions. Screening of Bombay Talkies (Hindi/English/77mins) Dir & Wri. Vickram Kapadia The play depicts the lives of seven people living in Mumbai, all with their own uniquely moving story. It tries to capture the essence of people living in the city through seven characters who have been strung together in a series of monologues. Stories about the ambitions of a child artiste, the escape of a ridiculed wife into art, a single mother’s sacrifice of her life for the sake of her children, child abuse, a TV reporter’s regret of the media’s inability to celebrate positivism rather than sensationalism and negative news, a hilarious take on corruption by a broker and the west beckoning today’s youth are all interwoven. Each character, marked by failure and doubt are clearly self –censored. While they may communicate through candid expression, they subtly allude to greater truths. Tickets at Rs.500, Rs.300 & Rs.200 available at the Programmes Desk. An Old World Culture presentation. 7:00pm|MUSIC|Week-End Melodies Immortal songs of Hemant Kumar & Kishore Kumar from Hindi and Bengali Films by Soumitra Banerjee & Indranil Banerjee. Collab: Impresario India 7:00pm|TALK|Heritage Series. Srinagar: The Architectural Legacy by Feisal Alkazi, writer and director Collab: Youth for Heritage Foundation

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New Rashtrapati Bhavan Museum to Open for Public From Aug. 1

EFT Report, New Delhi: The new Rashtrapati Bhavan Museum will open for public viewing from August 1, 2014 (Friday). 

The Museum will be open every Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 0900 hrs. to 1600 hrs. except on Gazetted Holidays. 

Entry and exit for visitors will be through Gate No. 30 on Mother Teresa Crescent Road. 

Visits can be booked on-line at the website www.presidentofindia.nic.in. Contact details of the Visitors’ Management Cell are 011-23013287, 23015321 Extn. 4662, Fax No. 011-23015246 and email: reception-officer@rb.nic.in for any further assistance which may be required. 

Visits to the Museum will be completely free from August 1, 2014 to October 30, 2014. 

From November 1, 2014, there will be nominal registration charges of Rs. 25/- per head (Children below the age of 12 years will be exempt from these charges). 

Visitors in group of 30 persons will be charged Rs. 600/- lump sum per visit. Visitors in a groups more than 30 persons will be charged Rs. 600/- for 30 visitors and Rs. 25/- per visitor for additional persons. 

These charges are meant to enable Rashtrapati Bhavan maintain and improve services to public. 

The Rashtrapati Bhavan Museum is established in an erstwhile stable of the Rashtrapati Bhavan which housed horses and ceremonial coaches. It is a story telling Museum which will narrate the story of the Rashtrapati Bhavan using sound-light-video animations. It has a simulated battlefield with arms mounted on warriors, examples of furniture designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens for the Viceroy’s residence, ceremonial coaches, photographs and memorabilia of the President’s Body Guard, paintings of the 19th Century, sketches and gifts received by successive Presidents from national and foreign dignitaries etc. 

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Kamal Haasan's 'Drishyam' to Roll From August

EFT Report, Chennai: Actor-filmmaker Kamal Haasan-starrer, the yet-untitled Tamil remake of Malayalam blockbuster "Drishyam", will go on the floors from the first week of August. The film was launched here recently.

"Kamal Haasan and other important members of the film recently participated in the launch. The regular shooting is expected to start from the first week of August," read a statement.

Jeetu Joseph, who helmed the original, has been roped in to direct the Tamil version as well. Actress Meena is likely to play the female lead opposite Kamal in the film, jointly produced by Suresh Balaje, George Pius of Wide Angle Creations, Raj Kumar Sethupathy and Sripriya Rajkumar of Raj Kumar Theatres Pvt Ltd.

Ghibran has been signed to compose the tunes for the film, which will mark his third collaboration with Haasan in a row after "Vishwaroopam 2" and "Uttama Villain".

"Drishyam" has already been remade in Telugu as well as Kannada.

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2nd Global Himalayan Expedition From Delhi to Leh in an EV

Report by Santanu Ganguly, New Delhi: Global Himalayan Expedition will commence its 2^nd Edition of the expedition across Leh, the solar region of India, by flagging off the maiden Clean Himalayan Journey from Delhi to Leh covering 1300 kilometers, in an Electric Vehicle (EV), running completely on solar charged batteries.

Global Himalayan Expedition team also joins forces with Ladakh Renewable Energy Development Agency for identification of villages across remote parts of Ladakh, where the expedition team will be setting up DC Solar Microgrids to provide basic lighting and charging facilities to the local community.

Global Himalayan Expedition (GHE), the most successful efforts in India in the field of sustainable tourism has announced the second edition of the journey and the launch of the expedition website www.ghe.co.in . What makes this year’s Expedition special is the inaugural Clean Himalayan Journey from Delhi to Leh. To be covered entirely on an Electric Powered Vehicle (EV), the journey will be led by none other than Robert Swan, OBE. Robert is a UN Goodwill Ambassador and the first man to have walked to both the poles on Earth. This will be Robert’s second clean journey after his voyage for cleaner energy to Antarctica. The electric vehicle will cover about 1300 kilometers between Delhi and Ladakh passing through Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and J&K. Throughout the journey, the Expedition team members, will reach out to people and raise awareness about clean energy, electric vehicle and its benefits. The journey will be a precursor to the 2^nd edition of the Global Himalayan Expedition, which would kick-off on the day when the Electric vehicle reaches Leh.

Robert Swan said, “This year the team wishes to further promote the idea of use of clean energy. We decided to undertake this journey as a display of how clean energy is an effective alternative to traditional fossil fuel based transportation systems. Going through some of the toughest terrains, on one of the highest stretches of roadways in the world, the team wants to show that if an Electric Vehicle can take on this challenge, then it can very well work anywhere. Once in Leh, the Electric Vehicle will be used to transport to help in the transportation students and people from the other parts of the city to reach the E-Base, built by the team during last year’s Expedition, and work at the facility.”

The Global Himalayan Expedition team wants this to be the first step in the introduction of more EVs in Ladakh. This would help in reducing the rapidly rising pollution levels in this pristine city, and also would decrease the burden of hauling fossil fuels all the way up the mountains, waste a lot of energy in the process. The region is one of the most suitable regions for yearlong solar energy generation, and the same can be used to refuel these EVs.

In addition to the clean Himalayan journey, this year the expedition will focus on providing energy access to remote Himalayan regions.

Till about a year back, the 32 residents of Sumda Chenmo, a small hamlet of 15 houses, in the Zanskar valley called it a day at 6pm when the sun set. The hamlet, whose major source of income generation is animal rearing and crafts, is about 2 days of treacherous trek away from the mainland in any direction. Every household of the hamlet had been using Kerosene and wood for daily lighting and cooking. To purchase the kerosene they needed to trek for a day to the nearest available store. Ironically, Ladakh receives sunlight for almost 300 days of the year but so far not much effort had been made to tap into this sustainable source of energy. Last year the Global Himalayan Expedition team distributed solar powered lanterns to the villagers of Sumda Chenmo and educated them of its use. The joy was evident on both the sides.

The quest has not ended as this year the Global Himalayan expedition team will be involved in setting up a DC Solar Micro Grid in one of the villages already identified as part of the 4 day long trek. Electrification through centralized grid and power line distribution has not reached many of these sparsely located rural mountain communities, due to low demand and high cost of providing energy access. The Ladakh Renewable Energy Development Agency (LREDA) will be supporting GHE in selecting a remote village and connecting the team with its local community on the utilization and upgrade of power generation resources.

The 2014 expedition participants will be setting up these sustainable and socially oriented infrastructures to be eventually owned and maintained by the local communities. These sustainable solutions will enable reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and protect the fragile eco-system, which in turn will also enable increased income generation activities in the region.

“Bringing these peoples out of darkness must be the priority of everyone who is equipped to do so and not just the Indian government. These areas are untapped markets for solar products and for sustainable energy resources. It should also be the priority of successful people and corporates that have prospered in the last two decades to be acutely aware that the social fabric of the country cannot accommodate inequality of access to basic services of this magnitude. LREDA and GHE will identify territories where micro grids could operate and help setup electricity infrastructure while encouraging the community on the use of solar energy access for additional income generation activities, says Paras Loomba, Founder, Global Himalayan Expedition.

Elaborating about the expedition Col. Loomba, Advisor to GHE, said, “The 2013 inaugural expedition brought together some amazing participants from 8 different countries. They ranged from sustainability consultants from Netherlands, to Investment Bankers from UK, to media professionals from USA, to the CEO of Azure power (India’s largest solar company), to Graduates from top Business schools including Yale & Kellogg among many other entrepreneurs and professionals. This year too we expect a good response to our initiative. The Electric Vehicle journey from Delhi to the E-Base in Leh will be an added element to GHE, making it one of the most successful efforts in India in the field of sustainable tourism.”

The team has finalized its route and logistics, and has now invited applications for participation and partnerships to assist them both technically and financially.

The registrations for the 2014 edition of the expedition opened with the launch of its new website www.ghe.co.in.

The Global Himalayan Expedition (GHE) is an annual 11 day experiential trip promoting sustainable tourism  to the ‘Roof of the world’, Ladakh held in the month of August every year, supported by Robert Swan, 2041 foundation, cycleforwater.com, corporate, volunteers, nature & Adventure enthusiasts and environment sustainability experts and stakeholders from all over the world. 

Established in the year 2013, the 2^nd edition of the expedition this year will undertake the world’s first Clean Himalayan Journey covering 1300 kilometers in an Electric Vehicle. GHE has also established the World’s 3rd E-base at Mahabodhi International Meditation Centre in Leh.  Please visit www.ghe.co.in for more information.

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