Malayalam Film Actor Narendra Prasad no more

Kozhikkode Nov 3: Narendra Prasad(58), the versatile cine actor and literary critic, passed away at a private hospital here today, following breathing problems. He was hospitalized here on October 31 following breathing problems. He is survived by his wife and two children. His body has been taken to his home town, Mavelikkara, for the final rites to be performed.

He began his career as a stage actor and entered into the film world with his debut film "Asthikal Pookkunnu" and has acted in around 150 movies. He has also worked as a professor of English at University College, Trivandrum and at the N.S.S. College, Pandalam. He was appointed as Director of the School of Letters of the M G University in 1989. He became popular with his films "Thalasthanam", 'Ekalavyan', 'Yadavam', 'Aram Thampuran', Ustaad','Vazunnor', 'Krishnagudiyile Oru Pranayakalathu' and Susanna'. He was greatly applauded for his performance in "Paithrukam" and was also wonderful at his performance as a villain. He entered into the serial world with the telefilm 'Peruvazhiyile Kariyilakal'. Prasad formed the 'Natyagraham', a drama troupe, which organised several dramas and also won the Sangeetha Nataka and Sahitiya Akademi awards for contributions to drama. He has also written many novels and literary criticical works. -Keralamonitor.com

Prostitution in beauty parlour; one woman arrested

New Delhi Nov 2: Delhi Police arrested a woman in relation to a beauty parlour racket in East Delhi, who carried on prostitution in the parlour. Ritu Chauhan who was running the parlour was arrested in Madhu Vihar area of I P Extension on the complaint of an employee that she had tried to force her into prostitution on the first day of her job. The employee who raised the complaint said that Ritu talked to a man who came to the parlour and offered him the girls working there. The man selected her and she was sent with him and he tried to molest her. The girl resisted and tried to seek Ritu's help who tried to induce her with money and then with threats. But as the girl was adamant to go, Ritu detained her in the Parlour for more than an hour but the girl escaped and complained to the police. Police immediately registered a case against Ritu and arrested her for inducing poor girls for the sake of profit through prostitution by advertising in newspapers for job at the beauty parlour. -Keralamonitor.com

Ramzan Supplyco fairs from Nov 17

Thiruvananthapuram Nov 3: Ramzan fairs organized by Supplyco would start functioning from Nov 17 said Minister G.Karthikeyan. The Ramzan fairs would take place at 5 cities, which include, Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Ernakulam, Thrissur and Kozhikkode. Other than that, markets would opened at 47 important centres on Nov 20th. The fairs and markets would continue till Nov 24th. In addition, necessary provisions for Ramzan would be available at Maveli stores and Supermarkets under Supplyco. This kinds of markets helps in tackling the price increases in the general market said Minister G.Karthikeyan. -Keralamonitor.com

There should be unified language style in Media

Thiruvananthapuram Nov 3: There should be unified style for all media and the unified style should be beneficial for the language -This was a general opinion emerged in a Media language workshop held in association with the Official language celebrations. Press Academy Chairman Thomas Jacob, presided over the function in which there were 20 eminent personalities of the Media field.

Media should be able to accept good words and those words should be easy to understand. In important situations, we can take words from other languages. In Newspapers, there could be a unified form for different usages. In the committee formed to unify words in the language, the members are Marian George(Convenor) (Deepika Asst.Editor), C.UthamaKurup (Mathrubhumi), Vasudeva Bhattathiri (Malayalamanorama), Neelan (Asianet), Parvathy Devi (Kairali TV) and K.Parameshwaran (Akashavani). The initial report of the committee would be given by Feb 2004. -Keralamonitor.com

Panasonic's new GIGA range of Projection TVs offer 'Ultimate Home Cinema Experience'

TVs offer never-before benefits including industry's first 3-way, 6-speaker Power Wing Sound System'

November 3, 2003

Panasonic, the leading global manufacturer of AV products, business and office solutions, has announced the launch of a new GIGA range of Projection TVs models TX-51P800 and TX-43P800, designed to offer users the 'Ultimate Home Cinema Experience'. The TVs' large screen format, advanced picture enhancement features and high-powered sound system make them ideal for high-definition programming and watching DVDs in cinematic style.

The new range of TVs which are 'Made in Japan' are fitted with never-before features including the industry's first 3-way, 6-speaker Power Wing System, 3D Y/C Digital Comb Filter (luminance-Y and chrominance-C) and High Definition Digital Sound from BBE. The P800 series is also equipped with 2 DVD inputs.

"The TX-51P800 and TX-43P800 projection TVs are designed to offer users a complete home theatre experience. We have seen an increase in demand for high definition, mega-sound viewing in the Middle East market and we are confident that the new range will also have wide acceptance. We estimate the demand for projection TVs to be 30,000 sets in 2003, with Panasonic holding 20 % share in the market. We expect the demand to grow in this region", said Yasuyuki Shimizu, Manager, Consumer AV Dept., Panasonic Marketing Middle East FZE.

The P800 range of TVs is the first in the industry to employ the 3D (luminance and chrominance) Y/C Digital Comb Filter for PAL signals, which enables it to perform field-by field comparisons of the television image to accurately separate colour information from black and white. The resultant razor-sharp images are further enhanced by a 100 Hz Digital Scan that doubles the image display rate to 100 per second, as opposed to 50 per second in other conventional models, It also includes a Progressive Scan system that has twice the number of scanning lines as a conventional system, rendering flicker-free images with extraordinary detail.

"The new range offers several advantages over existing models in both the display and sound department, giving it an undisputed edge over conventional models. The Projection TVs most defining feature is the 3-way, 6-speaker Power Wing System that delivers 40 watts of power and a range of sounds from deep bass to high pitch, making it ideal for dialogue, music and sound effects. The speakers are arranged around the screen in such a way that the sound appears to come from the middle of the screen", said Shimizu.

"We have further optimised the sound by using BBE High Definition Sound, licensed by BBE Sound, the world's leading sound technology company. This technology corrects voice distortion by providing a linear phase correction and dynamic amplitude compensation. In short, it makes voices sound clearer and more natural and gives music a higher, more dynamic range", added Shimizu.

The new range of TVs also includes a newly designed hybrid lens assembly that enhances focussing accuracy by 50% across the entire screen, a dramatic improvement from other TVs, which often have weak definition around the edges. The TX-51P800 and TX-43P800 have a high brightness, fine pitch screen that boosts brightness around the edges by a full 15% and a HD GIGA projection TV that achieves sharp images with minimal noise.

Pledge taken on Vigilance Awareness

Nov 3: All Officers and Staff of the Ministry of Home Affairs (including the Department of Official Language), the Department of Justice participated in a Pledge-Taking Ceremony here today as part of the observance of Vigilance Awareness Week from 3rd to 8th November, 2003.

The Pledge was administered by the Union Home Secretary, Shri N. Gopalaswami. The Pledge reads as follows:'

Pledge

"We, the public servants of India, do hereby solemnly Pledge that we shall continuously strive to bring about integrity and transparency in all spheres of our activities. We also Pledge that we shall work unstintingly for eradication of corruption in all spheres of life. We shall remain vigilant and work towards the growth and reputation of our organization. Through our collective efforts, we shall bring pride to our organizations and provide value based service to our countrymen. We shall do our duty conscientiously and act without fear or favour." -Keralamonitor.com

The India-Myanmar Joint Trade to attain the turnover of US $1 billion in the next three years through the expansion and diversification of trade - Shekhawat

Nov 3: Vice President Shri Bhairon Singh Shekhawat has said that trade, including border trade, is a vital component of the relationship. Even though bilateral trade turnover has grown over four-fold during the preceding decade to about half billion-dollar mark, it is clearly not commensurate with existing potentialities. The India-Myanmar Joint Trade Committee has proposed to raise the turnover to US $1 billion in the next three years through the expansion and diversification of trade. The Vice President was addressing the luncheon meeting hosted by Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry today at Yangoon in Myanmar. He further said that this is a challenging but feasible target. While the Committee will focus on removing impediments and providing an appropriate framework at the policy level, a dynamic private sector, apex chambers of Commerce such as yours, and captains of industry present here will achieve the target. Following is the full text of the address:

"At the outset, I would like to express my warm appreciation to U Win Myint and other members of the Chamber for inviting my delegation and me to this luncheon meeting. It gives us a valuable opportunity to interact with the captains of business and industry of Myanmar. I am deeply touched by your warm welcome and the reception extended to me and my delegation.

Myanmar and India share a unique relationship. We are bound by strong religious, cultural and ethnic affinities, which go back two millennia. My visit to Shwedagon Pagoda brought into sharp focus our common heritage bequeathed by Lord Buddha which represents an everlasting bond between our peoples. My visit to your enchanting country aptly called 'The Golden Land', is an expression of the continuing goodwill and friendship between our two countries and people. It is making a deep imprint on all of us.

Trade, including border trade, is a vital component of the relationship. Even though bilateral trade turnover has grown over four fold during the preceding decade to about half billion dollar mark, it is clearly not commensurate with existing potentialities. The India-Myanmar Joint Trade Committee has proposed to raise the turnover to US$ 1 billion in the next three years through the expansion and diversification of trade. This is a challenging but feasible target. While the Committee will focus on removing impediments and providing an appropriate framework at the policy level, a dynamic private sector, apex Chambers of Commerce such as yours, and captains of industry present here will achieve the target.

The Tamu-Kalay road is a symbol of our joint endeavours. Implementation of other joint projects is underway. IT and telecommunications, hydrocarbons, light engineering goods, pharmaceuticals and food processing are areas of promise. Collaboration in science and technology is also important from the long-term perspective. HRD has become a critical factor in economic development and it is gratifying to note that this is already a major field of cooperation between our two countries. To my mind, tourism is another area of economic activity that should be of common interest as it is through tourism that peoples of our two countries can learn more about each other, create better understanding and mutual appreciation.

Encouraging developments have already taken place this year: in July, a large number of Myanmar businessmen participated in the Jewellery Fair in Mumbai and our Commerce and Industry Minister visited Yangon; in August, a delegation led by our Minister of IT and Communications had fruitful discussions with their counterparts in Myanmar. I am particularly glad that the Government of Myanmar has accepted the proposal by the Confederation of Indian Industry to hold the 'Made in India' Show in Yangon in February 2004. This will provide an excellent forum for interaction between Indian and Myanmar businessmen.

Friends, we were delighted that Brig-Gen Pyi Sone participated in the Second India-ASEAN Business Summit. Myanmar is India's gateway to ASEAN as it is the only ASEAN country with which India shares a land border. Therefore, it has its own special place in India's 'Look East' policy. After becoming a sectoral dialogue partner of ASEAN in 1992, a full dialogue partner in 1995 and a member of the ASEAN regional forum in 1996, the signing of the Free Trade Agreement between India and ASEAN at Bali last month was a watershed in this growing relationship.

Although trade between India and ASEAN has grown from US$ 3.5 billion in 1991 to US$ 12.1 billion in 2002, it is far below the potential. Diversification of the trade basket, the direction of trade and more effective utilization of existing opportunities will undoubtedly help to increase the India-ASEAN trade turn over. Indian industry is already working towards these goals. We are, at the same time, looking at measures to improve physical connectivity. The Myanmar-India-Thailand trilateral highway is one such effort. Bangladesh-India-Myanmar-Sri Lanka-Thailand Economic Cooperation and the Mekong-Ganga Cooperation also cover wide ranging opportunities for mutually beneficial collaboration at the sub-regional levels.

A climate of peace and tranquility is an essential pre-requisite to trade and economic cooperation. Incidents of bombing in Bali, Jakarta and Mumbai require us to fight the menace of terrorism together. Terrorism has assumed a trans-national character. It has become increasingly clear that we have to pool our resources and efforts to curb and eliminate this dangerous phenomenon in all its manifestations.

India's economic fundamentals have always been strong; the economy has remained stable. Investments made during the last five decades have begun to show effect and our reform process is on course. The Indian economy is among the top ten economies in the world. Confidence and optimism characterize the economic mood in my country. We expect more than 6-7% economic growth this year; our target for the next five years is 8%. Our foreign exchange reserves stand over US$ 90 billion, moving rapidly to the 100 billion dollar mark. India's success in IT and software is too well known to be retold; our software exports amounting to US$ 10 billion speak for themselves. Industry too is showing good, positive results. Biotechnology, medical care, financial services and telecommunications are areas full of promise. We have developed indigenous capabilities of a high order in atomic energy, space and oceanographic studies.

Yet, rural India remains, as in Myanmar, the backbone of the country. It has been my belief that issues relating to rural development, including poverty alleviation, literacy and empowerment, require resolution if speedy economic growth is to be attained and sustained. India has not only achieved self-sufficiency in food but has also emerged as an exporter of agricultural products. The White Revolution has made us the largest milk producer in the world. This is a tribute to the toiling millions of our farmers in the countryside. Agriculture and rural development can also constitute fields of our mutual interest, benefit and cooperation.

Our vision of India in 2020 is of a developed nation. We recognize that we cannot rest on our past achievements; we still have a long way to go. However, we are proud of our people for what they have achieved, at times in the face of over-whelming odds.

Friends, let me stress once again that it is a matter of satisfaction that bilateral ties between our two countries have become wide ranging. Our common interest in the further development of relations was under-scored in my discussions with Myanmar's leadership. We would be happy to share our expertise and experience to promote Myanmar's economic development and the well-being of its people. Above all, we look forward to greater depth in our economic and business relations in the years ahead. Thank you, Namaskar & Minglaba". -Keralamonitor.com