Tuesday, April 24, 2012

'Satayamev Jayate' has made life tough for me: Kiran Rao

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Mumbai, April 24 (IANS) Filmmaker and superstar Aamir Khan's wife Kiran Rao says the actor's new TV show "Satayamev Jayate" has made life tough for her as he has started bringing work home.

"This show has made my jeena haram (life tough) on many levels because Aamir has worked on the show night and day and in my house," the 38-year-old said here.
"So my house has been full of writers and people from Star, and Aamir and they have all the big team in my house day and night. So, I am waiting for the show to come on air and slowly, hopefully my life will also go back to normal," she added.

"Satyamev Jayate" will go on air on Star Plus May 6. The concept of the show has been kept under wraps, but its theme song is receiving a positive response.
Rao also admits to being in love with it.

"'Satyamev Jayate' is an amazing song. I really loved it and they went all over the country to shoot it, which was really exciting," she said, adding that she regrets not being a part of the show.

"(I was) Very sad that I couldn't be a part of his show. It's been such a journey for Aamir. The promos I hope reached out to the people and people will watch the show," she said.

"Satyamev Jayate" will mark Aamir's debut on the small screen.

It is unique as it will be the first ever programme to go live simultaneously on a private channel and national broadcaster DD1.

While Aamir has been busy with the show, Rao has been spending time with their five-month-old son Azaad. She says motherhood is keeping her away from starting anything new.

"I am actually going to begin writing something. I hope I have the head space to start writing. I am still very much a full-time mother hoping to find the space to work and write something new," said Rao, who became a mother in December last year through a surrogacy.

Her last film as producer was "Delhi Belly" and she made her directorial debut with "Dhobi Ghat".

Source:
http://in.omg.yahoo.com/news/satayamev-jayate-made-life-tough-kiran-rao-064805108.html

2G spectrum price proposals hit telco stocks

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - The telecoms regulator's proposal for a near 10-fold increase in basic mobile phone spectrum prices and switching of radio spectrum given to older carriers knocked down shares of leading operators on fears that the big potential payouts will further hurt an already bleeding industry.

Shares in top mobile operator Bharti Airtel fell as much as 7.5 percent on Tuesday morning to their lowest level since July 2010, while fourth-ranked Idea Cellular fell as much as 9.8 percent, before cutting some losses.

No. 2 Reliance Communications fell as much as 3.4 percent.

The country's telecoms sector, the world's second-biggest by subscribers, has been battered by ferocious competition and a scandal over below-market price sale of lucrative mobile phone permits in a 2008 state sale process.

The Supreme Court has ordered 122 permits granted to eight operators in the 2008 sale be revoked in early June and asked the government to redistribute radioairwaves through an open bidding process.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India late on Monday recommended an auction base price of 36.22 billion rupees for every megahertz (MHz) of nationwide spectrum in the 1800 MHz band, compared with a price of 3.8 billion rupees in the 2008 sale.

This would be a blow to companies such as the Indian unit of Norway's Telenor and Indian firm Idea Cellular and Tata Teleservices who are set to lose some or all their zonal permits after the court order, as nationwide spectrum of 5 MHz quantity would cost a minimum $3.6 billion.

While the proposed starting price for the basic second-generation 1800 MHz band is 8 percent higher than what operators paid for premium 3G spectrum in 2010, the regulator has suggested a base price of 72.44 billion rupees per MHz for spectrum in the 800 and 900 MHz bands held by older operators.

The regulator also suggested that the government should carry out refarming, or switching of, spectrum bands "progressively at an early date". Such refarming is a global practice to resell more-efficient spectrum bands for premium services such as 3G.

But such a move could hit companies such as Bharti and Vodafone's Indian unit, most of whose existing bandwidth is in the more efficient 900 MHz band.

That bandwidth would be replaced with spectrum in the 1800 MHz band, which would increase their capital expenditure, or the companies would have to pay a heavy price to retain the 900 MHz band spectrum.

Goldman Sachs analysts wrote in note the regulator's proposals were negative for the older players as well as the newer entrants as it would "stretch their weak balance sheets".

The proposals would, however, put Reliance Industries that has access to nationwide 4G spectrum at an advantage as the regulator suggested holding auction of fresh 4G spectrum preferably in 2014.

The regulator's proposals are not binding on the government and a panel of ministers will decide on the spectrum rules.

(Reporting by Devidutta Tripathy; Editing by Aradhana Aravindan)

Source:
http://in.news.yahoo.com/telecoms-shares-drop-2g-pricing-proposals-040655956--finance.html

NRI children back home from Norway

New Delhi, April 24 (IANS) The two Non-Resident Indian (NRI) children in Norway who were taken into the custody by that country's Child Welfare Services on grounds of alleged negligence by their parents, returned to India Tuesday.

Minister of State for External Affairs Preneet Kaur was at the airport here to welcome three-year-old Abhigyan and one-year-old Aishwarya along with their grand-parents. The children were accompanied by their Norwegian care-givers.

Abhigyan and Aishwarya, children of Anurup and Sagarika Bhattacharya, had been taken under protective care in May last year.

The siblings were given to their uncle, Arunabhash Bhattacharya, by a Norwegian court in the city of Stavanger Monday, following which the Indian government facilitated their return to India.

The Norwegian court's decision came as a major breather for the Bhattacharya family, which had been trying to get back the custody of the children from their foster parents for nearly a year now.

The Indian government had put in all diplomatic efforts to ensure that the Indian siblings returned to their homeland and grew up in their family environment.

Soon after the children returned to India, External Affairs Minister S.K. Krishna stated that he was "delighted to welcome" them back home.

"They belong to India. They are Indian nationals," he said, expressing the confidence that their uncle "will take care of them in the environment of their extended family in India."

"All is well that ends well," Krishna added.

Krishna also thanked the Norwegian government and his counterpart for his "constructive approach in resolving this humanitarian issue."

He also congratulated the Norwegian judiciary.

 

Source:
http://in.news.yahoo.com/nri-children-back-home-norway-051215992.html