Category Archives: National News
Onam 2010
Onam is the most important and popular festival of Kerala celebrated every year. Onam 2010 is on August 23, 2010. All Malyalies around the world celebrate Onam irrespective of caste and religion. Basically Onam is a harvesting festival. In the fables Onam marks the visit of Kerala’s mystical king Maveli.
Richard M Stallman in Kerala
Richard M. Stallman (Founder of GNU Project and Free Software Foundation) is coming down to SJCET Palai for a seminar in connection with Swathanthra 1.0 a one day free Software fest on Thursday, September 9, 2010. Swathanthra 1.0 is organized by Swathanthra, which is the free software users group of SJCET. Richard M Stallman will inaugurate this group officially and will be delivering a speech on the topic “Free Software and your freedom”.
Stallman will also attend the conference on FOSS(Free and Open Source Software) in Education at Calicut on September 10-12, 2010.
Shashi Tharoor and Sunanda Pushkar wedding on August 22
Shashi Tharoor and Sunanda Pushker will marry on August 22, 2010. The marriage will be held at Tharoor’s ancestral Mundarath Tharavad at Elavanchery. The marriage is scheduled on August 22( First Onam Day)because the family members assemble at ancestral home every year on that day. A small reception will be held at Trivandrum after the marriage on August 23, 2010(ThiruOnam) and the colorful mega reception will be held at New Delhi on September 3, 2010. It is being speculated that the marriage will be held according to Kerala and Kashmir traditions in 2 venues.
IndiaPay
India’s own payment processing platform
Indians can soon hear a new payment processing platform other than visa and master card. Indiapay, the totally indigenous payment processing platform will be launched within two years. IndiaPay will be developed by National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI) with the support from Reserve Bank of India. NPCI is promoted by banks such as State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, ICICI Bank, HDFC etc alone with foreign banks such as Citybank and HSBC.
The introduction of India pay can reduce the dominance of Visa and Master Cards in India. This will result in the reduction of transaction charges in bank. The credit card companies are taking away a great lump of money each day as processing fee when we swipe at ATM’s and malls. Indiapay is important because the transactions using the plastic money is increasing each day.
Independence Day Greetings
Let us now wish each other the patriotic greetings of our nation’s 64th Independence Day. The most important event of Independence Day celebration is the flag hoisting ceremony by Prime Minister in Red Fort. The flag hoisting ceremonies will be held all over the nation by the local administration. It is the right day for remembrance and payment of tribute to our freedom fighters. Let us now remember the following words of Pt.Jawaharlal Nehru from the speech on Independence Day, 1947.
“Long years ago we made a tryst with destiny, and now the time comes when we will redeem our pledge, not wholly or in full measure, but very substantially. At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom. A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new, when an age ends and when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance…. We end today a period of ill fortune, and India discovers herself again.”
Sariath Portfolio Management Service
Equity Intelligence from Cochin had introduced India’s first Sariath portfolio management service which will invest only in domains that does business in accordance with Islamic laws. The PMS (Portfolio Management Service) is introduced by Equity Intelligence of Porinju Veliyath targeting the NRI Malayalees.
According to Sariath laws, the investment in domains of liquor, tobacco, casino are adult activities are illegal and wrong. Sariath PMS is making investments in the areas of news, communication, technology, basic amenities, transportation etc. This is considered much profitable than the traditional investment schemes. 10 lakh Rs is the minimum amount required for investment in Sariath PMS by a Keralite and for an NRI it is 25 lakhs.
Programs of President in Kerala
Honorable president of India Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil will have a three day visit in Kerala from 12 to 14th of August 2010. Hon. President’s stay is arranged at Kumarakom. She will spent two nights at Kumarakom. She will attend various programs at Bharananganam, Trivandrum and Alleppey. Governor of Kerala state R.S Gavai will receive her in Cochin airport at 12.50 pm today. She will reach Kottayam by 1.30 pm via helicopter. She will spend the afternoon at Taj Hotel at Kumarakom. At 4.25 pm she starts to Bharanaanganam and at 5.15 she will inaugurate the winding up ceremony of St. Alphonsa’s Birth Centenary.
On 13th she will start to Trivandrum at 8.25 am via Helicopter. After the landing in C.R.P.F camp at Pallipuram she will go to Shatigiri Ashram via road and inaugurate “Parnashala” there at 10 am. At 11.30 am she will took part in the winding up ceremony of P.N Paniker’s century celebration at Kanakakunnu. She will reach back Kottayam at 1.40 pm. President and family will spend some time in boating and leisure activities at Kumarakom.
On 14th afternoon she will inaugurate the Nehru trophy boat race at Alleppey. President and family will return to Delhi from Kochi at 4.50 pm.
