Intelligent India

A new airplane seating patent that doesn't try to squeeze more humans into a smaller space. Instead, this concept aims to give passengers an even better view of the skies than the pilot's by seating them on top of the plane, inside a transparent bubble-style canopy.


U.S. aerospace technology company Windspeed says its SkyDeck design can be installed on a variety of aircraft, from private jets to wide-bodied commercial planes.
Passengers access the seats, either via an elevator or staircase. Once inside they can rotate the twin or single seats through 360-degrees, enjoying incredible sky vistas. "Current inflight entertainment offerings have not changed much over the decades," Windspeed says. "We wanted to come up with a product that would provide a higher level of entertainment to reduce the boredom of long flights."




The company says the seats could "create the next exciting experiential inflight entertainment for VIP aircraft" or could be used to cr…

Indian cinema has known no bigger star than Rajesh Khanna. Between 1969 and 1974 he had to his credit a staggering 16 blockbusters, most of them record-breakers. Men women and kids alike were under the Khanna spell. And while the magic lasted all other actors were eclipsed. Then one day, it all evaporated. Just why Rajesh Khanna lost his superstardom is a subject for another day.  .

Rajesh Khanna has given lot of hit movies but one of Rajesh Khanna’s last blockbusters, it featured him with his other favourite co-star Mumtaz (apart from Sharmila Tagore), in a grey role as a suspicious husband whose jealousy ruins the marriage. In hindsight the Kishore Kumar song 'Zindagi ke safar mein guzar jaate hai jo makaam, woh phir nahi aate' seems to be poet Anand Bakshi’s anthem for Rajesh Khanna’s career. If only he hadn’t allowed the stunning success to go to his head.


+RajeshKhanna

Telugu character artist ‘Potti’ Rambabu breathed his last on Tuesday (December 29) morning here at his residence. He was 35.



According to an industry source, he suffered a brain hemorrhage.

“He collapsed after he suffered a stroke in the brain this morning at his residence. He passed away within minutes,” the source told agencies.



Rambabu made his acting debut with a small role in Prabhas-starrer 2002 Telugu film “Eeshwar”, and since then had starred in films such as “Chantigadu” and “Donga Dongadi”.

He is survived by his wife and daughter.



His last rites will be performed on Tuesday evening.

+Potti

In a shocking incident for one of the country's major IT hubs, a woman working on the Infosys campus in Pune was allegedly raped by a colleague, reports said. The incident is said to have taken place on the Phase 1 campus of Infosys in Pune, according toANI. The police have arrested two persons in connection with the case, the agency reported. The incident came to light only on Tuesday after the employee filed a complaint with the Hinjewadi police. The woman works as a cashier in one of the canteens in Phase 1 of the sprawling 114-acre campus.The accused also worked in the campus canteen. NDTV quoted police sources as saying that she approached the police on Monday to lodge a complaint, and that the accused will be produced in court on Tuesday. The woman was allegedly raped on 27 December, The Hindu reported.
According to a complaint registered by the victim with police, the two accused — Paritosh Baag and Prakash Mahadik — entered the washroom when the woman was inside it on 27 D…

New Delhi: The government on Monday shunted out Aradhana Johri as disinvestment secretary following the department's dismal record at initiating sell-offs, including strategic sale, and replaced her with Neeraj Kumar Gupta, an IAS officer of the 1982 batch.

It also assigned industrial policy and promotion secretary Amitabh Kant with the additional charge of NITI Aayog, the Centre's think-tank and link with the states, as Sindhushree Khullar's extended term is due to end on Thursday. Kant is himself due to retire in two months.

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet headed by PM Narendra Modi also designated West Bengal cadre IAS officer Sanjay Mitra as the new road transport and highways secretary. Rashmi Verma, a Bihar cadre officer, has been appointed the new textiles secretary, while Johri will be the chairperson of the National Authority for Chemical Weapons Convention.

Sources said the government was especially worried about the poor disinvestment receipts and t…

A teenager from Bengal was allegedly gang-raped in a military compartment of the Howrah-Amritsar Express on Sunday.

An army jawan, identified as Majrish Tripathi, 26, has been arrested in this connection.

The 16-year-old girl, whose father works in the excise department of Bengal, alleged that three men had forced her to drink and two of them of raped her inside the toilet of the compartment.

The girl, a resident of Dum Dum, went missing around 5am on Sunday. Her parents lodged a missing report with a voluntary outfit, Childline, along with her photograph.

Childline, Howrah, shared her picture on its WhatsApp group. Childline, Madhupur, close to Deoghar in Jharkhand, alerted the Government Railway Police. Two search teams were sent to Madhupur and Jasidih stations.

"Around 8.30pm, when the train reached Madhupur, we began searching the compartments," said inspector Fazal Ahmad.

"In the army coach, we found the girl, lying on a berth, barely conscious. A jawan was offeri…

Rahul Gandhi today announced his travel plans to Europe soon after the party wrapped up its Foundation Day celebrations, having apparently learned from the controversies over some of his earlier foreign trips,
"I will be travelling to Europe for a few days. A very Happy New Year to everyone," the Congress vice-president tweeted. "Hope the new year brings much joy and happiness to you and everyone close to you!"
He provided no other detail, nor did his party. As the BJP began taking pot shots on the social media at Rahul's alleged love of holidaying overseas, Congress spokespersons preferred not to join issue.
Certain known pro-BJP trolls wondered how Rahul could leave the country at a time theNational Heraldcase, in which he and his mother Sonia Gandhi are among the accused, is in progress. According to the Congress, the court has not imposed travel restrictions and the next hearing is only in February.
Earlier this year, Rahul's absence from …

All matrimonial websites will soon have to screen applicants, including a psychological assessment to test how serious they are, government sources said today after an inter-ministerial panel submitted a set of guidelines aimed at curbing fraud and weeding out fake profiles.

This is the first time that the government has come up with such a drive involving the online matchmaking market, which is estimated to be worth around Rs 400 crore but is currently unregulated.

Officials hinted that the guidelines, likely to be notified next month, would be similar to those framed in 2011 to regulate cyber cafes that are prohibited from giving access to users without proof of identity.

According to the sources, the inter-ministerial committee submitted the guidelines today to the women and child development ministry, which had formed the panel with officials from the ministry and two other departments - information technology and home affairs.

The panel, the sources said, felt that it was imperative …

The Madhya Pradesh government on Monday put an IAS officer and his subordinate under suspension following an official probe into their alleged involvement in a conversation for bribery.

The state government had initiated a probe after a recorded conversation between tribal welfare commissioner and 1994 batch IAS officer Jagdish Narayan Malpani and Barwani assistant commissioner RK Shroti came out in media on November 27.

In the conversation, Malpani was heard asking Shroti to meet him, saying the latter would be ‘unwell’ if he tried to ‘eat’ everything alone. Shroti could be heard denying having received any amount and insisting that he was not ‘that type’ of officer.

The state government asked additional chief secretary (ACS), water resources department, RS Julania to probe into the matter after posting Malpani as OSD in the ministry at Bhopal. Julania talked to both the officers and submitted his report to the government.

On Monday, the state government suspended Malpani and Shroti …

The security breach at Mussoorie's prestigious IAS Academy, an alleged scam in relief distribution and a sting operation purportedly showing a CMO official negotiating a bribery deal for liquor licences were some of the highlights of 2015 in Uttarakhand.

People of the state watched in disbelief as the news about a woman named Ruby Chaudhry hoodwinking the authorities at Lal Bahadur Shastri Administrative Academy to stay there illegally for six months began doing the rounds on TV channels pointing to the loopholes in the security apparatus at one of the most prestigious academies in the state which according to intelligence agencies is also among top terror targets.

The civil service recruits training academy learnt about the woman and her prolonged stay at the institute when she had already left on March 27.

Chaudhry, who hailed from Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh, was arrested a few days later and told her interrogators that she stayed at the institute with the help of its Deputy D…

Huawei's Honor brand is now rolling out Android 6.0 Marshmallow update for its Honor 7 smartphone in India. The Honor 7 users however will have to register to receive the latest Marshmallow update via over-the-air (OTA). The required details include the IMEI number and previous OS version of the handset. Users can check for version number in Settings > About Phone.

The company says users will start receiving OTA update after 24 to 48 hours of the submission of the required details. Huawei had confirmed that the Honor 7 (Review) smartphone was eligible for the Marshmallow update.

Some of the features of the core Android 6.0 Marshmallow update include revamped app permissions; Google Now on Tap feature; new Chrome feature that will change the Web experience for Android users; new ways to handle Web links; Android Pay mobile payment system; new fingerprint APIs for developers to add into their apps, New Silent feature for sound and vibrate mode, as well as a 'Do Not Disturb'…

BJP MP Kirti Azad today asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene after he was suspended by the party for attacking Arun Jaitley on the DDCA row, and indicated he may seek a court-monitored probe against the Delhi cricket body.

A defiant Azad maintained that his fight was only against alleged corruption in the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) and not against any individual and asked for “specific reasons” for the disciplinary action against him by the party.

“BJP and RSS always speak about uprooting corruption. We also talk about walking the path of Mahatma Gandhi. Thus, I wish that Narendra Modiji intervenes in this issue, goes deeper in it, and then tells me about what I have done wrong, as I need specific answers,” Azad told reporters here.

Yesterday, party chief Amit Shah ordered his suspension for publicly targeting Finance Minister Arun Jaitley with allegations of irregularities in Delhi’s cricket body DDCA.

While talking to media here today, Azad alleged th…

Juveniles aged 16 years and above will now be tried under laws for adults for heinous crimes as Parliament on Tuesday passed a much-expected Bill in this regard against the backdrop of a juvenile convict being released in the gang-rape-cum-murder case of December 2012.
The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Bill, which provides for lowering the age for trial from 18 years, was passed by Rajya Sabha with a voice vote after a walkout by Left parties, which wanted it to be sent to a Select Committee. The Bill was passed by Lok Sabha earlier.
Replying to the debate on the Bill, Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi said no juvenile will be sent to the jail directly. She said the Juvenile Justice Board has experts and psychologists, who will first decide whether the crime committed has been “child-like” or was it committed in an “adult frame of mind”. She said the juvenile crime is the fastest rising segment of the crime and “You cannot have a more comprehensive,…

By now everyone knowsBajirao Mastani is the story of forbidden love between Peshwa Bajirao Ballal and Mastani. It’s also the story of Kashibai, Bajirao’s gamine-like wife who’s the most interesting character in the tempestuous triangle. And when it’s been narrated by the creative Sanjay Leela Bhansali one has to expect nothing but opulence!!!
From the first frame, one knows that everything is scaled up, grander than grand. The Maratha court is in session. As all eyes turn to Peshwa Bajirao (Ranveer Singh), we are invited not just to see, but to behold a warrior in the full glory of manhood, striding off to conquer new places and hearts. 
This is a film to view many times, once just for the way colors are used to convey emotions. When Bajirao heads home after a war victory his buoyant wife dances with a gigantic saffron flag unfurling in tandem with her joyous heart. The visual and emotional impact of the moment is so exhilarating, you want to clutch Kashibai’s (Priyanka Chopra) ecstas…

Apple has cut prices of its latest iPhone6s and iPhone 6s Plus by up to 16 per cent just two months after their launch in India to boost flagging sales in what is historically its most crucial quarter as demand for the flagship devices nosedived from a Diwali high.

The price of the iPhone 6s 16 GB model, which was introduced at Rs 62,000 on October 16, has fallen by 11-16 per cent and now ranges between Rs 52,000 and Rs 55,000, according to large retailers. The price cuts are across all variants - 16 GB, 64 GB and 128 GB — of both models. The average difference in prices of all iPhone 6s and 6s Plus devices between launch time and now is about 15 per cent, a top executive at a national retailer said.

The reduction also narrows the gap with prices of iPhone 6 devices launched in 2014, making an upgrade more attractive for customers. "The price difference between the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6s was a lot, so many customers are not willing to upgrade to the new model," said a senior e…

The Supreme Court has dismissed the plea by the Delhi Commission for Women against the release of the juvenile convict in the brutal Nirbhaya gang rape case. It observed that "we share your concern, but we cannot go beyond the law." "We cannot interpret the law [Juvenile Justice Act] to curtail his [juvenile convict] freedom without legislative sanction. We share your concern, but we cannot go beyond the statute," Justice U.U. Lalit, one of the judges on the Bench led by Justice A.K. Goel, said. When the government said it supported DCW Chairperson Swati Maliwal's plea that the juvenile convict should not be released till such time he is reformed, Justice Goel said, "You are saying without the law backing you... go first and make the law." "Suppose the reformation takes another seven or ten years? Do we have to extend the period of his detention every now and then without any legislative sanction?" Justice Lalit asked senior advocate Guru Krish…

The Miss Universe 2015 contest has ended in confusion and disarray after the host mistakenly named the wrong woman as the winner.
Ariadna Gutierrez Arevalo from Colombia had already been crowned and was standing on stage to cheers from theLas Vegasaudience when mortified host Steve Harvey returned to announce the error. “OK, folks, um, I have to apologize,” he said, walking back on stage while Arevalo was proudly waving to fans, holding the winner’s bouquet and wearing the Miss Universe sash. “The first runner-up is Colombia,” he went on, “Miss Universe 2015 is Philippines.”
The camera panned straight to a stunned Miss Philippines, Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach, who started slowly walking to the front of the stage. For a few awkward moments the two women stood side by side, infront of a TV audience of millions from around the world, before Harvey explained that he read the card naming the winner and runner-up in the wrong order.
“I will take responsibility for this, it was my mistake,” he told the…

Today, The Supreme Court will have the opportunity to declare the law on whether it was injustice to release a juvenile convict involved in a brutal crime in compliance with the written law and without proof to show he has reformed. The court may take a call on whether it should adjudicate within the narrow limits of the Juvenile Justice Act and release the juvenile convict or demand his mental assessment reports to show three years in a special home has reformed him and that he is no longer a threat to society. If the courtbelieves the contention of Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) chairperson Swati Maliwal that the juvenile convict is a “serious threat to society,” a Bench of Justices A.K. Goel and U.U. Lalit can use extraordinary powers under Article 142 to do “complete justice.” The Bill prescribing that juveniles aged 16-18 and accused of heinous offences, as in this case, should be tried as adults, is stuck in the Rajya Sabha. The Juvenile Justice Act, as it stands now, only requir…

Already banned in Delhi, diesel-run public transport is facing the axe in NCR towns too. Implementing a Supreme Court order, the Environment Protection Control Authority on Saturday directed seven districts of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh to halt with immediate effect registration of autos, taxis and buses that run on diesel.

The body also ordered district authorities to stop issuing fitness certificates to diesel-run autos and taxis from January 1 and buses from June 1. The direction was issued to Gurgaon, Faridabad, Sonepat, Bahardurgarh and Jhajjar districts in Haryana, and Ghaziabad, Meerut and Gautam Budh Nagar in Uttar Pradesh.

“The move had been under discussion for quite some time. Seeing the urgency, it was thought that the time for the restriction was ripe. Representatives of all the state gover nments were present and the decision was taken after thorough discussion,” said a Centre of Science and Environment member.

The EPCA met to facilitate the implementation of the Supreme Cou…

Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) chairperson Swati Maliwal wrote to the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) on Sunday, asking them to delay the release of the juvenile convict in the December 16 gang-rape case.
Apprising the Principal Magistrate of the JJB Murari Singh, Ms. Maliwal wrote that the DCW has moved a Special Leave Petition (SLP) in the Supreme Court on late Saturday night, challenging the release of the juvenile convict. “The matter has been listed in the Supreme Court for Monday and is thus sub-judice.” Asking the Board to stop the process of releasing the convict, she wrote, “I request you to kindly not precipitate the matter until the case is heard on Monday.”
Ms. Maliwal on Saturday night moved the petition to the Supreme Court. The Chief Justice of India later referred the matter to the Vacation Bench. The DCW team, at 2 a.m., then went to Justice Goel’s residence as a last-minute attempt to stop the convict from being released. But Justice Adarsh Goel told the team that th…