Jaipur : The Zee Jaipur Literature Festival will be charmed by the talents of some of the cinema’s greatest finds as it unveils from January 25 to 29 next year.  

As a platform for thought provoking conversations and iconic debates, the Festival has evolved to become a global literary phenomenon. From Rishi Kapoor’s morning rendition of Main Shayyar to Nahi, To Sonam Kapoor’s star-studded presence, the Festival will have it all.

Multi-faceted Indian film director, Vishal Bhardwaj has cinematically interpreted three Shakespearean tragedies into remarkable movies like — Maqbool, Omkara and Haider. He will indulge in a riveting session to dive deep into Shakespeare’s masterpieces. In yet another session, he will shed light on cinematic narrative, literature and music, and the parallel line between the arts. This is also where he will formally launch his new book of poems, Nude.

The much-celebrated actor-turned-author, Soha Ali khan is the daughter of a legendary film heroine and a cricket hero. Owing to her royal legacy and Tagore ancestral history, she will take a pragmatic approach in an engrossing session at fame and glitz in the film industry based on her candid memoir ‘The Perils of Being Moderately Famous’.

With a family lineage that can be traced back to seven generations of writers, Veteran lyricist Javed Akhtar is truly the epitome of expression. In an extraordinary session, Javed along with Shabana Azmi will rekindle the magic of poetry to celebrate this literary legacy, and the continuing traditions of Urdu literature.

Mira Nair, who kickstarted her film career as an actor has emerged as an acclaimed filmmaker with award-winning documentaries like So Far From India and India Cabaret. She has constantly challenged stereotypes and interrogated the margins in her famed work. In a scintillating session with Sanjoy K. Roy, she will speak about her work, beliefs and obsessions.

The brainchild behind some of the most critically acclaimed Hindi movies like Black Friday, Gangs of Wasseypur and Dev D, Anurag Kashyap has been on quite a spectacular journey as a filmmaker. There’s no doubt his portrayal of real life situations cinematically in movies is impeccable and his presence on the esteemed stage undoubtedly makes the Jaipur Literature Festival unmissable in 2018.

Azim Premji University has invited applications from fresh and experienced graduates for its various Post Graduate Programmes.

The two-year full time Postgraduate Programmes (M.A. Education, M.A. Development and M.A. Public Policy & Governance) and One year Programme (LL.M. in Law and Development) aim to develop competent and committed professionals who can significantly contribute to the Indian education and social sector.

The University offers a unique learning experience with a curriculum of core courses that provide the foundation, more than 100 interdisciplinary / theme-based electives and flexibility to design your own course through the ‘Independent study’ option, a press release issued by the University said.

Integrated field practice at the University is a unique learning experience with `practicums’ every week, longer exposure visits, field research, internships opportunities and independent field projects. Apart from these, courses in art and craft, music, cinema, literature etc. and other learning opportunities through workshops, seminars, guest lectures and events are organised in the campus, the press release said.

The University has an explicit commitment towards supporting students from disadvantaged backgrounds, based on parental education, income, caste, and gender.  It provides extensive financial assistance for deserving students through full and part scholarships.
S. Giridhar, Chief Operating Officer, Azim Premji University said, “Given our clear social purpose, it is heartening to see that almost all our graduates chose to work in the education and development sector, many of them in rural areas. They have taken the opportunity to contribute meaningfully to social change on the ground.”

Students can apply online on the University website. Applicants will be shortlisted based on a written test and personal interview. The final date for applications for the Postgraduate & LL.M. programmes is Jan 26, 2018 with the test scheduled in 30 centers across India on Feb 10, 2018 and interviews in Mar 2018.

The five postgraduate programme batches that have graduated have seen excellent campus placement. Close to 90 organisations visit the campus every year. Dedicated campus placement cell facilitates these career opportunities.

ORLANDO : The U.S. Air Force awarded Lockheed Martin a contract to provide sustainment and upgrades for its fleet of 683 Sniper ® Advanced Targeting Pods (ATP).

Valued at up to $961 million, the five-year, Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (ID/IQ) contract allows the Air Force to place orders for logistics, spares, software and sensor enhancements, among other activities.

“This contract enables us to respond promptly to the needs of our warfighters, including maintaining Sniper’s availability and reliability rates while advancing capabilities through pod upgrades,” said Nicole Visosky, U.S. Air Force program manager. “We look forward to continuing our partnership with Lockheed Martin.”

“Sniper’s availability, reliability and performance are critical to the U.S. Air Force and warfighters worldwide,” said Paul Lemmo, vice president of Fire Control/Special Operations Forces Contractor Logistics Support Services at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control. “We are proud to continue partnering with the U.S. Air Force to deliver our most advanced targeting technology and support ongoing operations.”

Sniper ATP detects, identifies, automatically tracks and laser-designates small tactical targets at long ranges. It also supports employment of all laser- and GPS-guided weapons against multiple fixed and moving targets.

Sniper ATP has been chosen by the U.S. Air Force and 25 international customers. It is interoperable across multiple platforms, including multinational F-2, F-15, F-16, F-18, A-10, B-1, B-52 and Typhoon aircraft.

Moscow : India and Russia are expected to ink a deal for around US$ 1.1 billion for 48 Mi-17V5 helicopters for the Indian Air Force (IAF) soon.

“Negotiations with the Indian side have been completed, and we hope to sign the contract in 2018, ” Russian Helicopters CEO Andrei Boginsk was quoted as saying by the state-run news agency RIA Novosti December 17. However sources told India Strategic that signatures should be appended on the deal by both the sides in the first quarter of 2018.

The company has already delivered 151 Mi-17 V5 helicopters to India beginning with a deal for 80 machines in 2008, and then another 71 under three follow-on contracts. The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) of the Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) had cleared the purchase of fifth lot of 48 of these military transport helicopters in September 2015.

The Mi-17 variants are now the mainstay of the IAF for heli-transporting troops across the country from the Himalayan Mountains to coastal areas. IAF has also converted the V5 variant for VVIP role now.

IAF had first acquired Mi-4 helicopters from the Soviet Union followed by Mi-8s, the last of which was ceremonially phased out on December 17 at a function in Bangalore.

Russian Helicopters is part of the Rostec State Corporation, an umbrella organisation uniting Russia’s military industrial complex and arms exporter Rosoboronexport (ROE).

Produced by Kazan Helicopter Plant, a unit of Russian Helicopters, the Mi-17 V5 supplied to India ranks among the most advanced helicopters of the Mil Design Bureau’s Mi-8/17 family and is capable of transporting troops and cargo inside the cabin as well as large size cargo like artillery guns on an external sling.

Russia, India’s biggest defence partner, has also sold another helicopter, Kamov Ka-226T to India. Most of these, however, are to be licence-produced by HAL in Bangalore.

All agreements with the Soviet Union and Russia are Government-to-Government (G-2-G).

NEW DELHI: A day after assembly poll results of Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh which went in favour of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), newly-minted Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said the Gujarat results raise serious questions on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s credibility.

Gujarat had given a message to the BJP and Modi that the anger within them would not work, Mr. Gandhi said. “ Frankly, Modiji has a credibility problem and he will find it very difficult… Because what he is saying, his forces and his organisation are repeating that.  But the country is not listening to that. This, the Gujarat election has shown. In the coming times, you will see this clearly,” he said.

While talking to reporters, Mr. Gandhi sharply attacked Mr. Modi’s Gujarat model of development, describing it as “good propaganda” and marketing, but “hollow from within”.

Referring to the Gujarat poll result, he described it as “very good’’ for the Congress. His party bagged 77 seats , while the ruling BJP managed to retain power with 99 seats in the 182-member assembly.

During the campaigning in Gujarat, PM Modi did not talk about the problems that were facing the people of the state. “He neither talked about development nor about the problems of farmers and the traders,’’ Mr. Gandhi said.

Though the BJP had put an ambitious target of 150-plus seats for itself in Gujarat elections, its tally stopped at 99, down from 115 which it had won in 2012. The party, riding on the micro-management of its President Amit Shah and popularity of Prime Minister Modi, scored a sixth straight victory.  The tally of Congress in 2012 was 61 and it went up by another 16 seats with Rahul Gandhi’s cowboys Jignesh Mewani, Alpesh Thakur winning their seats and Hardik Patel providing solid support during campaigning.

Though the BJP is all set to form its sixth government in Gujarat, many of its heavyweights and six of its ministers and the Assembly Speaker were humbled by the Congress in the elections.

Top Congress leaders and some party heavyweights also tasted defeat but the party showed up in brighter colours as compared to 2012.  Among the senior Congress leaders defeated were Arjun Modhwadia, Shaktisinh Gohil, Siddharth Patel and Tushar Chaudhary.

Several BJP leaders, MLAs and ministers fell by the wayside. These included Minister of State Shankar Chaudhary who lost to  Congress’s Geniben Thakor. 

Cabinet rank minister and BJP’s Dalit leader Atmaram Parmar was defeated by Congress’s Pravinbhai Maru. His Cabinet colleague  Chimanbhai Saparia was defeated by Chiragbhai Kalariya of the Congress from Jamjodhpur. Minister of  State for backward class welfare Keshaji Chauhan lost by a slender margin of 972 votes from the Deodar constituency.

In Himachal Pradesh, the BJP managed to oust the Congress but faced embarrassment as its chief ministerial aspirant Prem Kumar Dhumal, 73-year-old party veteran and a former chief minister, lost from Sujanpur seat to his immensely popular Congress opponent Rajendra Singh Rana.

BJP President Amit Shah said the parliamentary board, the party’s highest decision-making body, would decide on the new Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister in the absence of Mr. Dhumal. With 44 out of 68 seats in the Himalayan State assembly tucked comfortably under its belt, the BJP may look upon Union Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda or five-time MLA from Mandi Jai Ram Thakur as strong candidates for the CM’s post in Himachal Pradesh. 

NEW DELHI: The shocking defeat of Himachal Pradesh BJP Chief Ministerial candidate Prem Kumar Dhumal in Sujanpur assembly segment has upset the BJP leadership applecart and put the party on the Chief Minister search mode.

Although, the BJP has romped home comfortably in the state but the loss of Mr. Dhumal, 73, to his former protégé and Congress candidate Rajinder Rana, has made the task of the party to find a successor to him a bit difficult.  

The party has been thrown into a tizzy and now has quickly gone into the search mode. Although the party has nominated Narinder Singh Tomar and Defence Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman as party observers to chose a new head of the party legislature group, the race for the top position is restricted to very few names. The front runners include the Union Health and Family Welfare Minister, J.P Nadda and former Minister, Jairam Thakur.

Five-time MLA, Jairam Thakur has emerged victorious from the Seraj assembly segment in Mandi district by a huge margin of around 10,000 votes. Not only this, it is for the first time that the BJP has swept the Mandi district winning all the 10 seats. Being a Thakur, which is a dominant caste in the state, Mr. Jairam, who has strong RSS roots, could be a surprise selection. However, Mr. Jairam, who was a Minister in the previous Dhumal government, has not been known to be a strong administrator and his performance as a Minister had left much to be desired.

Similarly, Mr. Nadda, who has risen from the ranks, has been a Minister in the Himachal Pradesh government on two occasions before migrating to Delhi to work with the central leadership. In fact, Mr. Nadda has been one of the rising stars of the party since the nineties and enjoys a good rapport with the local party leaders as well as the state cadres. However, he has been at loggerheads with Mr. Dhumal who would resist his installation in the state. But what could go in favour of Mr. Nadda is his administrative experience in handling the state and central government posts.

In fact, it is understood that former Chief Minister and Kangra strongman Shanta Kumar has thrown his weight behind Mr. Nadda while Mr. Dhumal has kept the cards close to his chest. What has added to the woes of the party and Mr. Dhumal is the lost of the state party president, Satpal Satti and another senior leader, Ravinder Ravi narrowing down the choice to these two leaders. However, it is Prime Minister, Narendra Modi who will take the final call on the issue of leadership in the state and one can expect a surprise from him. But Mr. Dhumal could still have a say in the given situation due to his personal equation with Mr. Modi.

On the other hand, Mr. Nadda is seen close to party national president Amit Shah and is currently working under Mr. Modi giving him access to the two most powerful people in the system. But what complicates the situation for Mr. Nadda or the party is the fact he is not a member of the state assembly and one of party’s 44 MLAs will have to resign to enable him to seek an election.

The party is currently having internal consultations and a number of State leaders including some of the prominent MLAs who have won have been summoned by the party leadership to Delhi. A decision on the new Chief Minister will be taken in a day or two.

New Delhi : Speaking on the occasion of Digital India Summit, Union Minister for Law & Justice and Electronics & Information Technology, Ravi Shankar Prasad stated, “Digital India which is a flagship initiative the government is designed to empower and to help the poor and the underprivileged. We are focusing on providing the affordable and inclusive digital media to the masses. Today we have well over 1 billion mobile phones in the country with 350 million being smartphones which defines the digital identity of the nation. Low cost technology for inclusive growth is crucial.” The Minister also touched upon the benefits of digital India in the wake of enrolling Aadhaar. He added “With enrolment of 1.18 billion Aadhaar cards, we were able to save 49,000 crore of the exchequer which was previously looted by the middlemen in the public distribution system.” Further talking about the inclusion of the digital resources, he highlighted that India has digital aspiration, appetite and customer. We are heading towards a revolution of digital media in this country.”

Mr. MK Anand, MD & CEO, Times Network said, “Over the last 3 years, Digital India Summit & Awards, has enjoyed tremendous response from both delegates and participants alike. With unwavering focus on building a digitally empowered India, the 4th edition of Digital India Summit is another step towards bridging the ‘digital divide’ and finding solutions and opportunities to create a robust security architecture.”

Rajkiran Rai, MD and CEO, Union Bank of India said, “Digital India is one of the biggest government programs in the world to bring about sustainable and inclusive societal transformation using digital technologies. The process of making India into a trillion-dollar digital economy has begun and Digital India is making this dream a reality. We at Union Bank are committed to help India achieve its digital vision.”

In the intriguing session on ‘Digital India- Where Do Things Stand? A Real Time Assessment’, Aruna Sundararajan, Secretary, DoT, said, “Digital India is an aspiration. We are focused to enable digital opportunities to reach to the masses and leverage them”. She additionally highlighted the issue of data protection in the discussion as she stated, “We are planning a robust data protection framework to empower the digital mandate. Data protection is beyond Aadhaar; issue of privacy is a global threat.” 

Stating the issue of data protection in the digital domain, Debjani Ghosh, President Designate, Nasscom said, “Critical end to end data policy is a must. The emerging technology needs solid building blocks of data privacy which will enhance the dependency on the digital media. Digital solutions can enhance the employment in the rural areas if we cater it to the most underprivileged parts of India.”

Dr. TP Krishnan, Secretary, Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship addressed a panel discussion on the theme of ‘Developing A Digital Workforce- The Ground Realities’. He said “Skills acquisition needs to be more aspirational. Our jobs are not aspirational. Soft skill developments programs including life skills and ITI which are the game changers under the Skill India campaign of the government can play pivotal role in shaping the skill development sector in this country.”

BUFFALO : The U.S. Navy has commissioned USS Little Rock (LCS 9) –– the nation’s fifth Freedom-variant Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) –– on the Buffalo River on. This milestone officially places the ship, which was designed and built by Lockheed Martin and Fincantieri Marinette Marine into active service.

USS Little Rock completed its acceptance trials in August and was delivered to the U.S. Navy on Sept. 25. She joins four other Freedom-variant ships in the fleet: USS Freedom (LCS 1), USS Fort Worth (LCS 3), USS Milwaukee (LCS 5) and USS Detroit (LCS 7). Collectively, Freedom-variant littoral combat ships have sailed over 250,000 nautical miles and successfully completed two overseas deployments.

“As a company with strong ties to Arkansas and Upstate New York, we are privileged to have delivered USS Little Rock to the Navy and see her commissioned in the state where so many of our employees call home,” said Joe DePietro, Lockheed Martin vice president of small surface combatants and ship systems. “We take great pride in knowing that USS Little Rock and her dedicated crews will serve in the defense of our great nation, enabling the U.S. Navy to carry out its missions where and when needed for decades to come.”

Named in honor of the patriotic and hardworking citizens of Little Rock, LCS 9 is the second U.S. Navy ship to bear the name of Arkansas’ largest city. She will join USS Milwaukee (LCS 5) and USS Detroit (LCS 7) at Naval Station Mayport, her homeport, in a few short weeks.

“These are complex vessels, and it takes a strong team effort to design, build and prepare these warships for the fleet,” said Francesco Valente, Fincantieri Marine Group president and CEO. “I am extremely proud of our entire LCS team, including our shipbuilders at Fincantieri Marinette Marine, who transformed raw American steel into the capable warship you see today.”

The Lockheed Martin and Fincantieri Marinette Marine team is currently in full-rate production of the Freedom-variant of the LCS, and has delivered five ships to the U.S. Navy to date. There are eight ships in various stages of construction at Fincantieri Marinette Marine, with one more in long-lead production.

The Freedom-variant LCS team is comprised of Lockheed Martin, shipbuilder Fincantieri Marinette Marine, naval architect Gibbs & Cox, and more than 800 suppliers in 42 states.

New Delhi : All arrangements are in place for tomorrow’s counting of votes for the Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh Assembly elections. The counting will begin at 8 in the morning and results are expected by afternoon. The 182-member Gujarat Assembly went to polls in two phases on the 9th and 14th of this month, while polling for 68 seats of Himachal Pradesh was held on the 9th of last month.

68.41 per cent voter turnout was recorded in Gujarat, while 74.61 per cent polling was reported in Himachal, the highest-ever in the state. In Gujarat, the Election Commission has set up 33 control rooms at all district headquarters. More than 30,000 personnel have been deployed to monitor the counting process.

All EVMs and VVPATs have been kept in strong rooms under tight security arrangements including CCTV surveillance. Political fate of 1,828 candidates will be decided in this election.

In Himachal Pradesh, 48 counting centers have been set up where 2,820 officers would be deployed.

Chief Electoral Officer Pushpendra Rajput said, three-tier security arrangements have been made at all counting centres. Videography of the counting process will be done at all centres, which will under CCTV camera surveillance. 337 candidates are in the fray in the state.

Himachal Pradesh Election Result 2017 : Things To Know

Exit polls for the 2017 Himachal Pradesh Assembly elections, have shown that Prem Kumar Dhumal from the BJP will be victorious by a huge margin.  Himachal Pradesh has set itself apart from other states by having alternating governments between the BJP and the Congress for 24 years. This unique power tussle between the BJP and Congress governments assumed significance because of the rivalry between Mr Dhumal and Mr Singh, both charismatic leaders of their respective parties.

Gujarat Election Result 2017 : Things To Know

A poll of exit polls, an aggregate of nine exit polls conducted in Gujarat, predicts the BJP will get 116 seats, one more than they won in 2012. The Congress, according to this poll of exit polls, is expected to win around 65 seats, a slight improvement over its 2012 tally when it won 61 seats. A party needs 92 seats to form the government in Gujarat.

NEW DELHI :  Minister of State for External Affairs Gen (retd.) V K Singh asked private security agencies to upgrade their skills and adopt modern technologies to make India a safer place. “Our security environment is changing fast. Our streets may not be as safe as it is today. Therefore, it is important that private security agencies wake up to growing challenges related to public safety and security. They need to fill the gaps in our security requirements,” he said while addressing the annual conference of the Central Association of Private Security Industry (CAPSI) and the Association of Private Detectives and Investigators (APDI).

Gen. Singh said the sphere of private security agencies has increased many times and so has the challenges. “Our internal security environment needs better trained personnel. The industry need to look into the challenges of providing better trained and better equipped manpower. As government cannot meet all the requirements of security, particularly those being demanded by private people, private agencies should take on this task. We are becoming more dependent on private security. There is growing demand for private security personnel. The private security agencies should wake up to this growing demand,” he said.

Speaking at the conference, CAPSI Chairperson Kunwar Vikram Singh raised the issues concerning the sector, particularly related to imposition of GST which is putting financial burden on agencies and also new regulation which puts onus of crimes committed by a guard on his employer. “I have apprised Prime Minister Narendra Modi about these two important issues which could kill this sector which is not only the largest private sector employer with 72 lakh personnel but also top corporate tax contributor. The Prime Minister has asked Union Home Ministry to look into our concerns on urgent basis,” he said.

Mr. Singh, who also heads the Security Sector Skill Development Council (SSSDC), said the sector currently employs 70 lakh people in 22,000 private security agencies. But still it is neglected. “We have urged the Prime Minister to save the sector which could prove crucial for the success of ‘Skill India’ and also in generating jobs. We have demanded that for security agencies GST should be made on reverse charge basis so that service taker is made to pay GST and not the service providers. Our payments are delayed but we make timely payment of salaries to our personnel. It is not possible for us to make upfront payment of GST…we cannot take this extra burden of 18%. Already many agencies are closing down due to this burden. If this continues, our sector will be in distress and lakhs of people will become jobless,’ Mr. Singh warned.

Mr. Singh further said there is a need for amendments of the Private Security Agencies (Regulation) Act in consultation with the security agencies. A recent provision that for any crime committed by a guard, his employer will have to face severe penal action is draconian and needs to be withdrawn immediately. “This is highly objectionable rule which will lead to chaos. Similarly, there are also other provisions which need amendments so that our industry could grow and give more employment. We also need a fair tender process by government or public sector undertakings (PSUs) was necessary to promote competition,” he added.

Speaking at the event, former Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil said the government should spend on private security as providing security and giving a safe environment is necessary for unhindered growth and progress of the country. He urged owners of private security agencies and security providers to adopt modern technologies, upgrade skills, use latest gadgets and deploy latest e-surveillance techniques  to make streets and public places more safe and secure.

“In India police-population ratio is not adequate and it is difficult for the government to meet all security requirements of the country. Therefore, the role of private security agencies is very crucial. Private guards can provide important assistance to state police and security agencies in beefing up security. We need forward-looking policies to ensure growth of the sector and not to strangulate it,” Mr. Patil added.