New Delhi:

Manmohan Singh, in his 55-minute long meeting with his Chinese counterpart for 55 mins asserted India’s right to explore oil in the South China Sea, which china claims as its exclusive domain.When Jiabao met Manmohan Singh, they resolved to take ties to a new level.Meanwhile, Singh also urged Obama that US companies should begin nuclear trade with India, while ruling out any major changes in liability law in the future.

Manmohan Singh and Barack Obama were meeting after a gap of almost a year. That and the recent hiccups on military and nuclear deals had set off talk of a drift in ties – it was an impression which the Prime Minister wanted to dispel when he said there were no irritants in the bilateral relationship.”I’m very happy to report to you that today there are no irritants whatsoever in our working on a multiplicity of areas,” Manmohan Singh said.

That sentiment got a boost with India moving the last mile on the nuclear pact. Supplier liability has been limited to 5 years and capped at Rs 1500 crores and the Prime Minister told Obama that law would be no hurdle to US companies wishing to invest in India’s nuclear sector.While India and China try to keep tensions down, the region’s powers are playing for high stakes in multiple balancing acts.

With an eye on China, America plans to increase its military presence in Australia and India is developing military ties with Vietnam and Cambodia.

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The bank metiones in a statement, “The RBI will shortly put in circulation… coins of the fifty paise, one rupee , two rupees, five rupees and ten rupees denominations.”

Giving all the new coins a uniformity of circular shape with a shape and outside diameter between 19 to 27 millimetre, the difference would be maintained in the material used for creation of the coins. The fifty paise, Re 1 and Rs 2 coins would be made of ferritic stainless steel containing iron and chromium, while the Rs 5 coins would be made of nickel brass with a varying composition of copper, zinc and nickel. Meanwhile, Rs 10 would be made using copper and nickel.Further, all the new coins would necessarily bear the Lion Capitol of the Ashoka Pillar and the word ‘India’ in English on one side and their denominational value on the obverse side.

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Reserve Bank of India

“India is a very important region and its culture is very influential in art and jewellery. The country is very promising and we are looking to further expand our distribution network,” Cartier Managing Director (Middle-East and India) Louis Ferla said.

At present, Cartier has a total of 14 boutiques in the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Lebanon and India.

It has one boutique in New Delhi and 15 retailers in 8 other major Indian cities.

Ferla, however, did not disclose the company’s investment plans in the country, which he described as one of the “fastest growing millionaires’ economy”.

“India is one of the fastest growing millionaires’ economy and consumers have started recognising the need for luxury goods and services. However, the luxury market in India is still in its nascent stage and requires careful strategies to enter and sustain,” Ferla added.

Cartier plans to open more such boutiques by 2010-end in the Middle-East and India.

The company, which entered the Indian market in 2008, has launched a range of collections across categories with Fine Watchmaking being the latest one last month.

Declining to give sales figures for the country, Ferla said India is a growing economy and the trend is positive as demand for luxury goods has grown multi-fold.

The company sells jewel and diamond studded watches priced between Rs 75,000 and Rs 44 lakh in the country and the demand for such products is growing each day, he said.

India beat South Africa by an innings and 57 runs to level the series 1-1 and also retain the No.1 position in the Test rankings.

It is the first time India have topped the table at the annual cut-off date (April 1) since the rankings were introduced in June 2003. It has been a steady climb by the Indian team as they were ranked sixth in 2004. They were placed third in 2005 and 2006 and finished second last year.

India are at 124 ratings points while South Africa stayed second with 120 points. Australia are third with 116 points.

India will thus retain the Test championship mace, which it received after defeating Sri Lanka last year in December, and will also pocket a cheque for $175,000.

For South Africa, it was heartbreak for the second successive year. Last year they needed a series-win against Australia to finish at the top of the Test table, but lost the home series 1-2 and finished nine ratings points behind Ricky Ponting’s side.

This year, a series win again would have fetched them the top spot.

India and South Africa will fight for the second spot in the One-day rankings during the three-match series starting Feb 21. Australia have guaranteed themselves a number-one finish.

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Mumbai will host two matches and the finals of the 2011 cricket World Cup to be organised jointly by India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, as per the venues announced on Wednesday.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the Local Organising Committee, which finalised venues for the 29 games that India was scheduled to host.

Apart from the semifinal, the committee allotted two other matches to Mohali. The rest of the 20 games of the 49-match event were awarded to Sri Lanka (12) and Bangladesh (8).

BCCI secretary N. Srinivas said in a statement that Ahmedabad had been allotted a quarterfinal and two other games. Delhi, Chennai, Bangalore, Nagpur and Kolkata would host one match featuring India and three other matches each.

India’s share of World Cup matches increased by eight after the games scheduled in Pakistan were shifted to other co-hosts due to security concerns raised by participating countries.

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The event was a collaboration between Doordarshan and Phat Phish India, which also produced and presented the show.

From humble beginnings in 1959, when Doordarshan started with experimental telecast using a small transmitter and a makeshift studio, Doordarshan today operates more than 30 channels across India and an international channel abroad.

Doordarshan will soon commence HDTV transmissions on an experimental basis, followed by a commercial rollout, in time for the Commonwealth Games to be held in Delhi in 2010. Thus, Indian television viewers will be able to watch the Commonwealth Games on HDTV ready televisions.

Commenting on his association, AR Rahman says, “I am proud to be associated with Doordarshan. It feels great to be a part of such a momentous occasion today, when the channel is completing 50 glorious years.”

KR Harish, managing director, Phat Phish India, says, “We are happy to work with Doordarshan and bring in content that will not only kick start the golden jubilee celebration, but also usher in programming of scale richness that will start a new era on Doordarshan.”

Phat Phish, an integrated entertainment and communications company, was associated with Doordarshan in launching a nationwide reality talent hunt called The Big Band in October 2008. The show was launched jointly with AR Rahman.

Doordarshan’s year-long anniversary celebrations will mark a series of events across all centres, which will culminate with the 2010 Commonwealth Games next year.  [Source]

“With a high tourist inflow in to Goa, the route promises to be of great potential for Air Arabia, especially since there are only a few direct flights from the UAE.” Goa takes a 12 per cent share of all tourist arrivals to India and the coastal state is popular with party-going western expats.

Air Arabia now has 13 destinations in India and 46 destinations worldwide. Flights to Goa will depart on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

These flights are scheduled to operate 3 times a wek. The flights will be on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday departing Sharjah at 00.25 hours and arriving in 05.05 hours. The return flights will depart Goa on 05.50 hours and arrive in sharjah at 07.35 hours. [Source]

In what could be called the worst terrorist attack in the history of India. Mumbai awakes after a 54-hour horror drama.

Mumbai after coming under an unprecedented night attack as terrorists, used heavy machines guns including Ak-47s and grenades to strike at the city’s most high-profile target city’s most high profile location – the hyper busy CST (formerly the VT ) rail terminus , the landmark Taj Hotel at the Gateway of India and luxurious Oberoi’s Trident Hotel at Nariman Point, the domestic airport at SantaCruz, the Cama and GT hospitals near CST, the Metro Adlabs Multiplex and Mazagaon Dockyard, killing almost 183,including 22 foreigners and injuring more than 300 people.

-There is speculation that two of the terrorist checked into the Taj as guest while two of their accomplices got themselves recruited as kitchen staff in the hotel. Terrorist entered the hotel through the kitchen.

-Eyewitness and security sources said the body count in the both Taj and Oberoi could go up substantially. They spoke of bodies being strewn all over.

-There is also speculation that some of the terrorist may have taken a house on rent in colaba close to Nariman house.

-A group of ultra orthodox Jews from Israel has landed in mUmbai for special service called ‘zaka’. It involves piecing together shattered bodies and enabling a dignified burial for the terror victims.

-A team of South African bodyguard who were at the Oberoi to provide protection for cricketers in the IPL helped take 120 hostages to safety through a fire escape. They were armed with only knives and meat cleavers.