Thaindian News

By Devirupa Mitra New Delhi, May 16 (IANS) India's first e-passport, which will make travel easy, is expected to be issued next month. It will be issued to diplomats and officials first. Others may have to wait for about 10 months -- or even more. If all goes well, the first ... Read more...

By Frederick Noronha Bangalore, May 16 (IANS) Searching the net might become quite a different experience thanks to an experiment from Yahoo! India called Glue that yields results with visual information. Search in.glue.yahoo.com for the term 'India', for example, and what you find is news, images, links, maps, and even sponsored ... Read more...

Lucknow, May 15 (IANS) The Uttar Pradesh government has planned to counter the long-drawn drought in Bundelkhand region with artificial rain. The government has roped in a Russian firm, Magnetic Technologies, for the purpose, officials said. "The company has already submitted a scientific presentation to us. We have referred ... Read more...

New Delhi, May 15 (IANS) To boost scientific research in India, the government Thursday decided to set up a Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB). After a cabinet meeting Thursday, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram told reporters that the contours of advanced basic scientific research are changing extremely fast at the ... Read more...

Washington, May 15 (IANS) A gastric bypass surgery not only helps morbidly obese shed unwanted kilos, but also enables them regain sexual functioning. This procedure reduces calorie intake by reducing the size of the stomach and bypassing small intestines. The patient feels full faster and learns to reduce the amount ... Read more...

Toronto, May 15 (IANS) If you have a sweet tooth, the answer lies in your genes. A new Canadian study links the sweet tooth to the presence of a genetic variant of GLUT 2 (glucose transporter type 2) genes in individuals. In their study of food habits of 700 individuals, Toronto ... Read more...

London/New Delhi, May 14 (IANS) Bharti Airtel, India's largest telecom firm, Wednesday entered into final stages of merger talks with South Africa's largest telecom operator MTN in a deal that is estimated to be worth nearly $45 billion, according to highly placed sources. Airtel's chief Sunil Bharti Mittal, along with ... Read more...

DPA London, May 14 (DPA) Secret files about the sighting of Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs) over Britain were opened to the public for the first time Wednesday, arousing anew the interest of "sceptics and believers", officials said. The information, recording among many others a saucer-shaped UFO hovering over Waterloo Bridge in ... Read more...

Dubai, May 14 (IANS) In a breakthrough, scientists here have successfully produced the country's first identical twin camels using the embryo splitting technology, WAM news agency reported. According to scientists at Dubai Camel Breeding Centre, the genetically identical twin camels, Zahi and Baih, were naturally born to two surrogate camel ... Read more...

New Delhi, May 13 (IANS) Nearly 40 percent of Indian children suffer from zinc deficiency, a reason behind the whopping malnutrition in India, a top government official said Tuesday. “We know that zinc deficiency among children of poor and middle-class families is quite high. This is the problem and the ... Read more...

Thiruvananthapuram, May 13 (IANS) The Technology Business Incubator (TBI) at Technopark here has bagged the prestigious national award for the best technology business incubator in the country for 2007. Technopark Tuesday said the award, instituted by the department of science and technology of the central government, was for encouraging and ... Read more...

Hyderabad, May 13 (IANS) Software major Satyam Computer Services Ltd Tuesday announced that it has developed a new solution to reduce downtime for process manufacturing companies, which normally take an annual or semi-annual plant maintenance shutdown. Using Satyam's solution, Priya Cement, the brand name of Rain Commodities Ltd (RCL), reduced ... Read more...

Sydney, May 13 (IANS) Australia has one of the lowest maternal mortality rates in the world, with only 65 deaths being reported over a three-year period from 2003 to 2005. During this period from 2003-2005, only one out of 11,896 women giving birth died, bringing down the mortality ratio to ... Read more...

By Jaideep Sarin Chandigarh, May 13 (IANS) Chandigarh may be India's most modern and planned city but, when it comes to mobiles, consumers in several areas face 'call drops' and zero network. Now, in what is anathema to residents, companies are seeking space in the city's many green belts to overcome ... Read more...

New Delhi, May 12 (IANS) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Monday asked the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), the country's premier military organisation, to gear up for the future needs of the armed forces and speed up delivery of defence equipment. He also said that private-public partnerships should be encouraged ... Read more...

New Delhi, May 12 (IANS) The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), the country's premier military research organisation, Monday said it had successfully acquired the technology to launch missiles from the ocean depths, becoming the world's fifth country to do so. The acknowledgement came when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh gave ... Read more...

New Delhi, May 12 (IANS) Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal Monday asked state governments to set up scientific innovation councils within a month and promised to set up seven top-class research institutes in states that did not have them. "The states should take the initiative in promoting science, and ... Read more...

New Delhi, May 12 (IANS) The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), celebrating 50 years of its establishment this year, Monday put across the message that its scientists were not immune to market forces and needed better remuneration. "The scientific temper, while being lured by technology challenges, is not immune ... Read more...

Mumbai, May 12 (IANS) International internet protocol (IP) communications market leader Sonus Networks will expand Tata Communications' global voice network's reach and help in finding wireless and wireline infrastructural solutions. Giving details of the tie-up, a spokesperson of Tata Communications said the two firms would work as a team to ... Read more...

Sydney, May 12 (IANS) Ever heard of "occupational asthma"? That's asthma caused by exposure to allergens present in the average office - and a new study says it's on the rise. Exposure to wood dust, paint fumes, solvents, latex and baking flour - all workplace allergens - cause thousands of ... Read more...

By Jeevan Mathew Kurian Kalpetta (Kerala), May 12 (IANS) Transparency is the name of the game. The names of job seekers, the wages they are paid and many other details of employment under the government's flagship National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) will soon be made available online in a Kerala ... Read more...

Mumbai, May 11 (IANS) India is making large-scale investments in uranium exploration, helping reduce its dependence on the fate of its nuclear deal with the US to meet energy needs, Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) chairman Anil Kakodkar indicated here Sunday. "We are making massive investment in uranium exploration and if ... Read more...

By Fakir Balaji Bangalore, May 10 (IANS) Hundreds of techies in India's silicon hub took a break from writing codes and logged on to electronic voting machines (EVMs) Saturday to cast their votes in the first phase of the Karnataka assembly election. Though many of them did not show any hurry ... Read more...

Sydney, May 10 (IANS) A new way of monitoring breathing patterns in sleep disorders could form the basis of an automated system, cheaper and easier to handle than current methods. "In the future, diagnosing a sleep problem may be as simple as putting on a breathing monitor during a night's ... Read more...

Hyderabad, May 9 (IANS) Infotech Enterprises Ltd Friday announced that it has been awarded a three year contract to provide solutions in geographic information services (GIS) and data management services by Powercor Australia Ltd, one of the largest electricity distribution companies in Australia. "This reflects Powercor Australia's continued confidence in ... Read more...

Mumbai, May 9 (IANS) The major driving force behind global economic growth is new technologies and India has to find innovative technological solutions if it wants to ensure 10 percent growth, Godrej Group chairman Adi Godrej has said. "If India wants to achieve a 10 percent growth rate, the country ... Read more...

Thiruvananthapuram, May 8 (IANS) Kerala Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan Friday said software exports from the state touched Rs.12 billion for the last fiscal. It was Rs.7.5 billion for the year 2006-07. During the Congress rule in 2005-06 it was Rs.4.25 billion, Achuthanandan told reporters here. He said 41 new IT companies ... Read more...

Ahmedabad, May 9 (IANS) A Jaipur-based mechanical engineer and an architect from Ahmedabad have jointly developed a fuel free passive cooling system for buildings. Jyotirmay Mathur of Malaviya National Institute of Technology, Jaipur and Rajeev Kathpalia of the city-based Vastu Shilipa Consultants have developed the system that comprises a solar ... Read more...

Washington, May 9 (IANS) Ponds around the world can absorb as much carbon as the world's oceans, according to the latest study, good news for attempts to tackle climate change. For example, ponds and lakes on US farmland alone bury carbon 20 to 50 fold more than trees trap carbon. ... Read more...

Washington, May 9 (IANS) An anaesthetic popular with doctors on battlefields and vets because it allows one to be conscious without feeling pain could be the answer to severe depression. For the first time, images produced by researchers show exactly how the drug deactivates the part of brain (orbitofrontal cortex) ... Read more...

New Delhi, May 8 (IANS) French defence and aerospace major Thales and the city-based Samtel group Wednesday announced a joint venture to design, manufacture and sell avionics systems in the Indian market. Samtel and Thales will hold 74:26 in the venture that was started with a capital of $12.5 million ... Read more...

Thiruvananthapuram, May 8 (IANS) The city-based Toonz Animation India Ltd, one of the premier animation studios in Asia, has been short-listed for the Global Tech Showcase 2008 (GTS-2008), an international business event that will be held in La Brule, France, in June this year. The show will offer opportunities for ... Read more...

Mumbai, May 8 (IANS) Mumbai-based I-Flex Solutions announced Thursday that it would provide technology solutions to Bahrain's TAIB Bank. I-Flex would implement Reveleus Basel II Solution to compute regulatory capital and Reveleus Asset Liability Management Solutions to manage liquidity and interest rate risks at the headquarters of TAIB Bank in ... Read more...

Xinhua Beijing, May 8 (Xinhua) Though the Olympics torch has gone through the most adverse weather conditions while reaching Mount Everest Thursday morning, its flame is burning bright, thanks to China's rocket science. "Even on a benign weather day, a gale might blow on Mount Everest. Bright sunshine one moment can ... Read more...

Washington, May 8 (IANS) Robots may possibly play more complex roles in future such as performing surgeries in remote or dangerous locations like the battlefield or in space. Duke University engineers have taken the first concrete step towards realising this space age future, based on feasibility studies conducted in their ... Read more...

By Madhusree Chatterjee New Delhi, May 8 (IANS) It was invented in India, but Vedic mathematics is more popular abroad, says expert Pradeep Kumar who has authored more than 75 books on the subject. He believes it could banish the fear that creeps into the minds of millions of children at ... Read more...

DPA San Francisco, May 8 (DPA) Microsoft's bankers have approached Facebook about a purchase of the social networking site as an alternative for its failed takeover bid for Yahoo, an American business journal has reported. Quoting a person familiar with the situation, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday in its online ... Read more...

Kolkata, May 7 (IANS) The Electronics and Computer Software Export Promotion Council (ESC) has welcomed the central government's decision to extend by one year till March 31, 2010, tax exemption available to the IT companies under the Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) scheme. ESC chairman Sanjiv Narayan said the ... Read more...

Chennai, May 7 (IANS) British company VoiceStream has acquired 75 percent stake in the city-based firm Helios Outsourcing. "We wanted to secure our UK revenues and have more control and hence we bought into our service provider Helios Outsourcing. In-house processing is a huge area," VoiceStream chairman and managing director ... Read more...

New Delhi, May 7 (IANS) India and Australia Wednesday signed a partnership agreement for working together on environmental sustainability issues. The agreement, which was signed in the presence of Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal, is between Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) and India's Council for Scientific ... Read more...

DPA Paris, May 7 (DPA) French construction company Vinci has been chosen to build what will be the world's longest bridge, a span of 40 km that will link Bahrain and Qatar, the French weekly Le Point reported Wednesday on its website. The contract, which is worth $3 billion, was ... Read more...

Chennai, May 7 (IANS) The US-based heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) firm Trane Inc launched its global design centre here to support the company's Indian market as well as its global research and development (R&D) wing, said a top official. The Chennai centre will also have validation and verification capabilities. Located ... Read more...

By Jatindra Dash Bhadrak (Orissa), May 7 (IANS) India Wednesday successfully tested its longest-range nuclear capable missile Agni-III, catapulting the country into the select group of nations that have intermediate-range ballistic missiles (IRBM). Adding another dimension to the nation's arsenal, Agni-III with a range of 3,000 km is a mobile system ... Read more...