It’s for centre to take decision on Telangana: Reddy

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy and leader of opposition N. Chandrababu Naidu Tuesday said it was for the central government to take a decision on the demand for separate statehood to Telangana.

The chief minister told the state assembly that the state government would abide by whatever decision the central government takes on the issue after seeking opinion of all parties on Srikrishna committee’s report.

He said this amid furore in the house by Telangana legislators demanding a resolution for carving out Telangana state.

Amid slogan-shouting by members of the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) and Telangana legislators of Telugu Desam Party (TDP), Kiran Kumar spoke on the motion of thanks to the governor for his address.

In an unprecedented development, the house passed the motion without any debate as the opposition tried to stall the proceedings for the third consecutive day.

“The Telangana issue is not a new issue. It is there for 50 years but the state government can’t take any decision on this,” he said and appealed to the opposition parties to cooperate with the government in continuing the development and welfare programmes.

The chief minister said the governor was an individual but an institution and an attack on him amounts to attack on democracy.

He was referring to the ruckus created by Telangana legislators during Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan’s address to the joint session of the state legislature Feb 17.

Interestingly, leader of opposition and TDP chief N. Chandrababu Naidu agreed with Kiran Kumar on the Telangana issue when he told reporters that the central government should immediately take a decision.

“It is for the central government to take a decision on the report of Srikrishna committee,” he said and blamed the delay on part of the central government for the current situation in the state.

Both Kiran Kumar and Naidu come from Rayalaseema region and are under pressure from Telangana cadres of their parties to back the demand for separate state.

Naidu said his party would respect the sentiments of the people of both Telangana and Seemaandhra (Rayalaseema and Andhra regions). He advised party leaders in both the regions not to do anything which damages the party.

Prema Kavali premiere at Cinemax on 24th Feb

It is well aware that Sai Kumar’s son Aadi is making his debut in Tollywood with Prema Kavali. Since it is the debut flick to Aadi, the film-makers have planned for a grand premiere at Cinemax multiplex theatre on 24^th February. Several Tollywood celebrities are expected to attend the screening.

Isha Chawala, a debutant is playing the female lead in this youthful love entertainer. Prema Kavali is directed by Vijaya Bhaskar and produced by K Achi Reddy on the banner of Max India Productions.
Being a son of famous actor, Prema Kavali would be a test for Aadi’s acting skills and talent. Well, let’s wish him the luck…

Telangana issue rocks Andhra assembly again, 12 members suspended

The Telangana issue rocked the Andhra Pradesh assembly for the fourth consecutive day Wednesday as 12 Telangana legislators were suspended from the house for one day for stalling the proceedings, demanding that the house pass a resolution for the formation of a separate state.

Deputy Speaker Nadendla Manohar announced the suspension of eight legislators of the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) and four of the Communist Party of India (CPI) after Legislative Affairs Minister Sridhar Babu moved a resolution to this effect.

The TRS legislators, including floor leader E. Rajender and Tarakarama Rao, son of party chief K. Chandrasekhara Rao, were suspended as they refused to leave the podium of the house.

The suspended legislators refused to leave the house despite appeals by the deputy speaker, and continued raising slogans of “Jai Telangana”, disrupting the budget speech of Finance Minister Anam Ramnarayan Reddy.

The legislators of Telugu Desam Party (TDP) from Telangana region boycotted the state budget and staged a sit-in at the statue of Mahatma Gandhi in the assembly premises, demanding the Telangana bill in parliament.

Police arrested them as they tried to take out a rally after paying tributes to Telangana martyrs at Gun Park, in front of the assembly building.

Earlier, the house was adjourned thrice as the pro-Telangana legislators stalled the proceedings, demanding a resolution on Telangana and release of protesters arrested during the ongoing 48-hour Telangana shutdown.

For the fourth consecutive day, Telangana legislators tried to stall the house. After the budget speech, the deputy speaker adjourned the house till Friday.

The deputy speaker Feb 18 had suspended three TRS legislators and two of Telugu Desam Party (TDP) for one week for their unruly behaviour during Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan’s address to the joint session of both houses a day earlier.

NASA to launch shuttle Discovery Feb 24

The space shuttle Discovery is scheduled to begin its final flight to the International Space Station Feb 24. It will carry a human-like robot to the permanent station, NASA said.

The Discovery’s 11-day mission will start at 2050 GMT, the US space agency said Friday.

Discovery’s launch date was announced at the conclusion of a flight readiness review at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Xinhua reported.

The six astronauts for the mission will deliver the Permanent Multipurpose Module (PMM) to ISS. The PMM was converted from the multipurpose logistics module Leonardo and will provide additional storage for the station crew.

The PMM also carries Robonaut 2, the first human-like robot in space, which will become a permanent resident of the station

Aircel targets 2G client base for 3G service

Mobile telephony provider Aircel, which plans to roll out its 3G services across 13 circles by March, expects a sizeable chunk of its existing client base to opt for the new service, a top company official said.

Launching the service here Tuesday, Chief Operating Officer Gurdeep Singh told reporters: “The company is targeting the youth segment for its new service. The aim is to bring high speed internet and video calls within the common man’s reach.”

Aircel – a 74:26 joint venture between Maxis Communications of Malaysia and Apollo Hospitals group – said it would cumulatively invest Rs.45,000 crore to beef up its presence across the 13 circles in the country.

Speaking about the prospects for the company’s 3G service, Singh hoped nearly 35 percent of its 2G – voice calls – subscribers to migrate to the 3G service that offers video calls and other add-ons.

Aircel’s subscriber base crossed 50 million last year.

The company won the 3G spectrum in 13 cricles for around Rs.6,499 crore.

Kasab to appeal to Supreme Court against death verdict

Ajmal Amir Kasab, the Pakistani terrorist convicted for the 26/11 attacks on Mumbai, will appeal to the Supreme Court against the death sentence awarded to him, his lawyer said here Wednesday.

The Bombay High Court Monday upheld the death sentence the trial court awarded to Kasab for his role in the 26/11 attack.

“In my brief meeting with Kasab, I told him that he can file appeal to the Supreme Court challenging the death sentence awarded to him,” Kasab’s lawyer Farhana Shah said.

“‘Hum appeal karenge’ (I will appeal), Kasab told me,” Shah added.

Shah, however, mentioned that she is yet to receive the copy of the order of the Bombay High Court.

“The process of filing an appeal in the Supreme Court can be started only after we receive an order copy,” she said.

A division bench of the Bombay High Court comprising Justice Ranjana Desai and Justice R.V. More dismissed Kasab’s appeal challenging the death sentence given to him by Special Judge M.L. Tahaliyani in May 2010.

A total of 166 people were killed in the mayhem let loose by Kasab and nine other Pakistani gunmen during the 60-hour Mumbai terror attacks. While he was caught alive, the nine other terrorists were kileld in gun battles with the security forces.

Tax-free, revenue-surplus budget for Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh Finance Minister Anam Ramnarayan Reddy Wednesday presented a tax-free revenue-surplus budget for 2011-12 with an overall expenditure of over Rs.128,500 crore (Rs.1,285 billion).

He said in his budget speech in the assembly that the overall expenditure in fiscal 2011-12 would include Rs.809.84 billion (Rs.80,984 crore) under the non-plan and Rs.475.58 billion (Rs.47,558 crore) under the plan heads.

Presenting his maiden budget, Reddy said the fiscal deficit was estimated at Rs.176.02 billion (Rs.17602 crore) while the revenue surplus would be Rs.38.26 billion (Rs.3,826 crore).

The total size of the budget this year was higher than the 2010-11 budget of Rs.1,136 billion (Rs.113,600 crore).

The finance minister announced that the government would continue welfare schemes like Arogyasri and Rs.2 per-kg rice to people below the poverty line.

However, he did not announced any new scheme.

Maruti Suzuki launches SX4’s diesel variant

Automobile major Maruti Suzuki Tuesday launched the diesel variant of its mid-sized sedan SX4 with a price tag of Rs.7.74 – 8.62 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi).

“The usage of diesel vehicles has gone up substantially due to the need to travel farther. We were asked many times when are we going to launch the diesel variants of SX4 and now it’s here,” Maruti Suzuki’s managing director and chief executive Shinzo Nakanishi said.

According to him, the diesel variant of its best-seller mid-size segment car will provide a powerful performance with superior engine technology and better fuel economy of 21.5 km per litre.

This is the sedan’s third fuel variant after its launch some three years ago. SX4 is now available in petrol, compressed natural gas (CNG) and diesel models.

SX4 diesel is powered by a four-cylinder ‘Super Turbo DDiS’ engine which can deliver 90 PS of power at 4,000 rpm. According to the company, the high torque (power) at low rpm levels makes the car highly suitable for city driving.

“The engine will be manufactured at Suzuki Powertrain India Limited, which manufactures diesel engines for Swift, Dzire and Ritz and has an annual capacity of 300,000 units,” the company said in a statement.

Another unique feature of the diesel variant is the inclusion of ‘On-Board Diagnostics’ (OBD-2) system which gives information about any malfunction in the emission control system of the car.

The company further said that it expected the diesel variant to expand its market share in the segment.

Currently, SX4 sells about 1,500-1,600 units per month, while the company till date has sold about 75,000 units.

Boys get greater kick from caffeine than girls

Boys seem to get a greater kick out of caffeine than girls, according to the results of a double-blind study.

Boys also credited caffeine with having a positive effect on their athletic performance, not so girls.

The study, conducted by Jennifer L. Temple, neurobiologist and assistant professor of nutrition sciences at the University at Buffalo in the US, is the first to show how genders respond to caffeine consumption.

“We are hoping that our findings from studies on caffeine will help us determine why males and females differ in susceptibility to drug abuse,” says Temple, the journal of Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology reports.

The study involved a group of boys and girls aged between 12 and 17 years. They were required to have previous experience with caffeine but no adverse reactions, and not using hormone-based contraceptives, not smoking, etc.

Participants were instructed not to drink caffeine 24 hours before each visit and to eat nothing or drink nothing but water for two hours before each visit, according to a Buffalo statement.

The study revealed several differences in response to caffeine between girls and boys.

Boys who were regular “high consumers” of caffeine showed greater increases in blood pressure than low-consuming boys.

Device to see under the skin for cancer signs

A researcher has developed optical technology that provides unprecedented images under the skin’s surface.

The technology will detect and examine skin lesions (red rashes) to determine whether they are benign or cancerous without having to cut the suspected portion out of the skin and analyze it in a lab.

Instead, the tip of a roughly foot-long cylindrical probe is placed in contact with the tissue, and within seconds a clear, high-resolution, 3D image of what lies below the surface emerges.

“My hope is that, in the future, this technology could remove significant inconvenience and expense from the process of skin lesion diagnosis,” says optics professor Jannick Rolland, from University of Rochester in the US, who developed the device.

“When a patient walks into a clinic with a suspicious mole, for instance, they wouldn’t have to have it necessarily surgically cut out of their skin or be forced to have a costly and time-consuming MRI done,” according to a Rochester University statement.

The device accomplishes this using a unique liquid lens setup developed by Rolland and her team for a process known as Optical Coherence Microscopy.

In a liquid lens, a droplet of water takes the place of the glass in a standard lens. As the electrical field around the water droplet changes, the droplet changes its shape and, therefore, changes the focus of the lens.

This allows the device to take thousands of pictures focused at different depths below the skin’s surface. Combining these images creates a fully in-focus image of all of the tissue up to one mm deep in human skin, which includes important skin tissue structures.

Rolland presented her findings at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Washington D.C.

After good reviews, ‘7 Khoon Maaf’ earns Rs.28 crore

Vishal Bhardwaj’s films may not be money spinners, but they are high on content as is his Priyanka Chopra starrer “7 Khoon Maaf” that has a different story to tell. The film has not only garnered good reviews but has so far earned Rs.28 crore from its opening week box office collections and satellite and other rights.

The dark thriller about an incorrigible serial spouse-killer cost Rs.22 crore, which includes the money spent on publicity and advertising.

Released with 786 prints, its opening weekend collection was Rs.13 crore. Overseas collections accounted for Rs.2 crore, the music and satellite rights fetched Rs.11 crore and home video and other sources brought in Rs.2 crore.

“‘7 Khoon Maaf’ has worked well for us commercially due to a combination of tight production budgeting, optimised spending on prints and publicity and a pre-sales strategy that helped us to de-risk the film via sales of home video, music, satellite and theatrical rights even before the release,” said Siddharth Roy Kapur, CEO, Motion Pictures UTV.

“The response to the film was good at the weekend with 78 percent occupancy, although it dropped to 40 percent on Monday,” said Amit Awasthi, senior manager (Programming and Operations) Spice Cinemas.

“The first half of the film is interesting but in the second half it becomes slow. Priyanka’s acting is being really appreciated by one and all,” he added.

The film has garnered good reviews and critics are raving about Bhardwaj’s directorial skills and Priyanka’s acting prowess.

One reviewer wrote: “Bhardwaj’s reveals himself yet again as that rare Renaissance man in an art form that deserves more.” Another said: “This is Bhardwaj’s most fluidly-narrated film to date.”

Appreciating Priyanka’s work, one critic said: “Priyanka, not for the first time, proves she is leagues ahead of all competition.” Another wrote: “For Priyanka Chopra, who plays the Anglo-Indian protagonist, this is unquestionably a role of a lifetime. She has you by the eyeballs.”

Yogesh Raizada, corporate head (Cinemas) of Wave Cinemas said every actor in the film had given of their best.

“Priyanka is excellent in the film, Irrfan Khan and Annu Kapoor are known for their acting prowess, John (Abraham) has right stature in the film. All in all, everyone has acted well in the film. Since it’s a dark film, family audiences are lower. The occupancy was 60-70 percent over the weekend,” he said.

Ritika Sharma, a media professional, was all praise for Priyanka’s acting.

“Although the film is a bit slow, Priyanka Chopra takes the cake. She is superb in the film,” she said.

Said Ankita Malhotra, who works with a telecom company: “Priyanka carries the film on her shoulders.”

Multiplex audiences are appreciating the film, but single screen audiences are not showing much enthusiasm.

“Multiplex audiences are liking the film but the single screen audiences are just average, mainly because family audiences are lower. With comedy film ‘Tanu Weds Manu’ releasing Friday, the film is definitely going to take a hit,” said a source from PVR.

Salman shoots action scenes on tuk-tuk

If his arch rival Shah Rukh Khan shot action scenes on a desi cycle-rickshaw, Salman Khan decided to be different and performed his stunts on tuk-tuk, the Thai auto-rickshaw, in the narrow streets of Pattaya for Anees Bazmee’s “Ready”.

“It was Bhai’s (Salman’s) idea to shoot with tuk-tuks which are very fast and powerful. He wanted to shoot an action sequence nobody has done before,” Bhushan Kumar of T-Series said in a press statement.

“People have shot romantic songs or scenes perhaps, but such a high-voltage action sequence will be seen for the first time in ‘Ready’. People will enjoy this unique Thai action,” he added.

Following Salman’s suggestion of using tuk-tuk in the shoot, an action scene was especially written and shot. The scene required two tuk-tuks to blow up and Salman had to jump into another tuk-tuk and drive off.

The producers – T-Series and Rajat Rawail – bought three tuk-tuks especially for this scene.

Naga Chaitanya turns Dream Lover to Kajal

It is known that Naga Chaitanya and Kajal Agarwal have been busy with a new film under the direction of Ajay Bhuyan. The movie has been titled as Dream Lover which is being produced by D. Shiva Prasad Reddy under Kamakshi Kala Movies banner.

Dream Lover is touted as an action-packed love story with ample mass elements. The movie has almost completed the talkie part and the unit will soon fly Europe and US for filming the songs. Devisri Prasad is composing the music for the film.

Other supporting cast includes Sriram, Samyukta, Dr Brahmanandam, Rahul Dev, Mukesh Rishi, Kelly Dorge.

Shakti sold out for record price in Nizam area

Jr.NTR was happy with his fruitful professional career in the year 2010 with hits like Adhurs and Brindavanam. He is currently gearing up for his first big release of 2011, Shakti, which is slated for its release on 30^th March.

Shakti has already created enough hype as it is touted as the biggest budgeted film of 45 Crores. The movie is creating records with the distribution rights of the film. The screening rights are being sold high at almost all the territories and the latest buzz is the film’s Nizam rights has been sold out for a whopping sum of Rs. 10 Crores. This is said to be a record price till date. Trade circles say except Magadheera, Robo and Pokiri none of the films has crossed this mark.
So, Shakti has to do extremely well, in order to gain back its invested amount. Let’s hope the movie lives up to its hype and expectations.

Cosmic census estimates 50 billion planets in our galaxy

A cosmic census conducted for the first time has revealed that there are at least 50 billion planets in our Milky Way galaxy.

And some 500 million of those planets are in what is known as the Goldilocks zone, where the climate is thought to be not-too-hot and not-too-cold, and life could exist, Daily Mail reported Sunday.

The numbers were extrapolated from the early results of NASA’s Kepler telescope following a three-and-a-half year mission, which has cost about $600 million.

Kepler science chief William Borucki says scientists took the number of planets they found in the first year of searching a small part of the night sky and then made an estimate on how likely stars are to have planets. Kepler spots planets as they pass between Earth and the star it orbits.

So far Kepler has found 1,235 candidate planets, with 54 in the Goldilocks zone, where life could possibly exist.

Ram Charan teams up with Trivikram Srinivas

Mega Power Star Ram Charan Teja will soon act under Trivikram’s direction as per the sources information. Trivikram has earlier proved his mettle as a diector with films like Athadu and Jalsa. The other details of the cast and crew of this new film are yet to be revealed by the film-makers.

On the other hand, Trivikram is busy with the pre-production works of his new film with Venkatesh in the lead which will hit the floors soon. So, after wrapping up of Venky’s project, Trivikram will take up his new venture with Ram Charan. Meanwhile, Ram Charan’s Merupu, which has been currently shelved due to its heavy budget might be taken up by another director other than Dharani.

Vishnuvardhan chooses Pawan Kalyan over Ajith

Way2Movies has earlier updated that director Vishnuvardhan is directing a new film in Telugu with Power Star Pawan Kalyan with a title The Shadow. On the other hand Vishnuvardhan has also earlier signed up Tamil Billa 2 with Ajith and now both these films are slated to hit the sets at the same time and Vishnuvardhan has left Billa-2.

Vishnuvardan might have found it difficult to handle two mega projects at a time, so he finally walked out of Billa-2 project for Pawan Kalyan’s ‘The Shadow’. Instead, Billa-2 will be directed by Chakri Toleti of Eenadu fame. As of now, Pawan Kalyan’s fans might be happy for Vishnu’s dedication towards their favorite star’s film. What say!!!

Shruti Haasan replaces Nitya Menon!

It is known that Dil Raju has planned a film with Siddharth in the lead role with a title O My Friend. Initially, Amrita Rao has been roped in as the female lead role in the film but the lady walked away as she was not satisfied with the new cost-cutting measures and rules suggested by the Tollywood producers council.

Later, Nitya Menon has been considered for the role. However, the actress has been now replaced by Shruti Haasan. Siddharth and Shruti have already paired up for Anaganaga O Dheerudu. Though the film failed to score success at the Box-Office, the chemistry between the lead pair was appreciated. O My Friend will be directed by a debutant Venu Sriram.

Take a look at Allu Arjun’s costly wedding card!

Stylish Star Allu Arjun is all set to tie the knot to Sneha Reddy on 6^th March at Hitex, Hyderabad and the Muhurat of the wedding is at 10:33pm. The couple’s parents have planned the marriage as a grand ceremony.

As the wedding date is nearing by, the wedding card has been out which is specially designed in Delhi. The card looked rich and stylish and the cost of this wedding card is rounded to 1200 Rs says the sources. So, Guys! Imagine how the wedding ceremony would be?

Take a look on the specially designed wedding card folks…

Job Opening For Trainee Flash Action Script Programmer In Klio-Tech PVt Ltd

Experience:0 Year
Job Title:Trainee Flash Action Script Programmer
Location:Chennai
Education:UG - B.Sc - Computers, B.Tech, B.E, PG - M.Sc - Computers, MCA -Computers
Compensation:Rupees 70,000 - 90,000
Name Of Company:Klio-Tech PVt Ltd 
Job Description:
Fresher witTelephoneh strong analytical and programming skills are required to take up the position of Action Script Programmer Trainee.
Fresh candidate with strong knowledge in C, C++.
Any knowledge in flash would be added advantage
Desired Profile:
Must B.E CSE/IT or MCA or M.Sc Computers with minimum 80% marks.
Expertise in C, C++, OOPS
Basic knowledge in flash 
Company Profile:
Kliotech is a registered private limited company based in Chennai, India, which provides Information Technology Services and Solutions. Kliotech was founded in 2003 primarily servicing clients in USA and Canada. Currently we have 100+ clients in 12 different countries across the globe. Our core services include Web Application Development, Web Enabling Legacy System, Portal Development , Dedicated Offshore Team and Web Based MMOG Development.
Klio-Tech Private Limited has been approved as an 100% Export Oriented Unit by the Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) a society under Ministry of Communication & Information Technology, Govt. of India.
Contact Details:
Executive Name:Ranjith Kumar
Address:
Klio-Tech(P)Ltd
2nd Floor, TCR Niveras Plaza,
325, Poonamallee High Road,
(Near PachaiyappJob Title:Trainee Flash Action Script Programmer
CHENNAI,Tamilnadu,India 600029
Telephone:044-42172823
Email Address:jobs@kliotech.com
Reference ID:KTJ011019