Ranbir and Katrina dating each other?

Although Ranbir kapoor and Katrina Kaif are denying of the fact of being in a relationship, both were recently spotted together in London.

Rumours has it that Katrina, who took a break from shooting Zoya Akhtar’s ‘Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara’ in Spain, took time to be with her family in London. However, Ranbir Kapoor, who was shooting for Imtiaz Ali’s ‘Rockstar’ in Delhi, also landed up in London for an ad film.

Talking to a news daily, a source said, “There have been buzz about Ranbir and Katrina for some time now. Both of them have denied any possibility of a relationship so far and on earlier occasions too both have denied being with each other overseas. However, the fact is that both of them were at the same place and a meeting could not have been averted.”

Meanwhile, both Ranbir and Katrina were unavailable for comments. Well, there’s no smoke without fire!

Now Indians are earning more and more

This is something that would make you happy. In the barrage of news related to price rise, poverty and rottting of food grains, the latest study proves that now Indians are earning more. According to study conducted by Delhi based National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) ,the growing economy has spun a wheel of fortune for Indians, with high incomehouseholds outnumbering those in the low category for the first time at the end of 2009-10.

According to Dr.Rajesh Shukla, who led this study,India has 46.7 million high income households as compared to 41 million in the low income category.For the first time, the number of high income households is set to exceed the number of poor households in 2009-10," Shukla said, adding that the middle income class continued to grow. Reacting to results of study,noted journalist and writer,Mr.Aroon Kumar said," it is a great news that all Indians should celebrate. But,government must ensure that even poor also enjoy the fruits of liberlisation."

Households earning less than Rs 40,000 per annum (at 2001-02 prices) are dubbed as low income, whereas those with earnings over Rs 1.80 lakh fall in thehigh income category.
Those earning between Rs 45,000-Rs 1.80 lakh per annum are considered middle income households, whose number surged to 140.7 million out of the total of 228.4 Indian million families at the end of 2009-10.

Thus, the NCAER survey confirms that 62 per cent of Indian households belong to the middle class, which is the target of most consumer goods firms.

"The wheel of fortune continues to spin in India, with each level of household income set to move a notch higher by the end of the decade," the survey on spending and earning patterns since 1985-86 said.

The Indian economy grew at above 9 per cent between 2005-06 and 2007-08. After slowing down in 2008-09 and 2009-10, it is projected to expand at 8.5 per cent in the current fiscal.

Referring to the middle class, the study said, "Their growing clout becomes even more apparent when one looks at the ownership patterns ofhouseholds goods. Nearly 49 per cent of all cars are owned by the middle class, compared to just 7 per cent by the rich."

Similarly, 53 per cent of all air conditioners are owned by middle class homes and nearly 46 per cent of all credit cards are to be found in thesehouseholds.

Porn screened in Indonesian parliament

Hardcore porn was broadcast on the Indonesian parliament`s internal information service on Monday, shocking journalists and bureaucrats who rely on the screens for updates on political events. Hardcore images apparently taken from the Internet filled the screens used by reporters, political staffers and visitors for about 15 minutes before security guards managed to shut it off, reporters said.

It was not clear how the images appeared on the screens but House Speaker Marzuki Alie said whoever was responsible would be punished.

"Whoever hacked the screens is insolent and will be reported to the authorities," he told reporters.

The incident is sure to embarrass President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who has recently backed calls for stricter controls on the Internet following a national scandal over an online celebrity sex clip.

Huge crunch of officials in armed forces

t is crunch time for the three defence services as they are facing a shortage of 14,244 officers and the Coast Guard was short of 679 officers and over 2,500 personnel below officer rank. Defense Minister AK Anthony told the Lok Sabha on Monday that the shortage of officers is around 11,500 in the Army, 1,507 in Navy and 1,237 in the Air Force.

According to Anthony,the the shortage of officers was "partly attributable to accretions from time to time, tough selection procedures, difficult service conditions coupled with perceived high degree of risk involved in recruitment and training.

He added that a number of steps to attract youth to join the Armed Forces have been taken, which include increase in tenure of Short Service Commission (SSC)officers from 10 to 14 years, increasing promotional avenues for officers by implementing the A V Singh Committee recommendations on the

restructuring of officers cadre of the Indian Army and implementing the Sixth Pay Commission report.

Replying to another query, Antony said the DRDO was facing a shortage of aeronautical engineers and the premier defence research agency requires 20 such engineers every year or the next five years.

Women prefer macho men, really

Sorry, if you are not stockily built with dashing biceps and large chest to flaunt. We have no problem with that but a recent study says that women are attracted to macho men and see modesty as a sign of evolutionary weakness.

So far so, modesty in males is a big turn off for fair sex. Corinne A Moss-Racusin, a doctoral candidate in Rutgers' Department of Psychology, explored the consequences for men (and women) when they acted modestly in job interviews. This study has not many takers in India as the likes of Shashi Tharoor, Shahrukh Khan, Amitabh Bachchan and many other stars without great figure are still loved and adored by millions of women.

Modesty was viewed as a sign of weakness, a low-status character trait for males that could adversely affect their employability or earnings potential.

However, in women, modesty was not viewed negatively nor was it linked to status."For men and women, there are things they must and must not be. Women must be communal and other-oriented, but they must not be dominant. Historically and cross-culturally, men have been stereotyped as more agentic, that is, more independent and self-focused than women," Moss-Racusin said.

In the study, 132 female and 100 male student volunteers (who earned partial academic credit for their psychology course) viewed videotaped, 15-minute job interviews of either males or females.

All the applicants were paid actors rehearsed to deliver similar, "modest" responses for the gender-neutral position that required strong technical abilities and social skills.

The researchers sought to determine which gender stereotype promote backlash.

The researchers' prediction that modest male applicants would face hiring discrimination was not supported, however, and she speculates that because men's status is higher than women's, meek men are afforded the benefit of the doubt and are less likely to encounter hiring discrimination than dominant women.The study was published in the journal Psychology of Men and Masculinity.

Pepsi to launch no-sugar diet cola

PepsiCo is planning to launch a no-sugar diet cola. The demand for these Diet Pepsi constitutes less than 10 per cent of the Rs nine thousand crore aerated drinks market.

Sources said the new drink could be similar to the international brand Pepsi Max, which is sold in more than 40 countries and marketed as an alternative to regular Pepsi andDiet Pepsi. A lime version of Pepsi Max was launched in the US in February.

This could also be brought to India depending on the success of the domestic version of Pepsi Max.Pepsi Max’s global rival Coke Zero — a sugar-free drink from Coca-Cola — is imported in India.

The new drink from Pepsi can stoke the demand for low-calorie aerated drinks. The market for low-calorie drinks is expected to nearly double in the next five years.

The drinking product portfolio of Pepsi includes Mirinda, Mountain Dew, 7UP, Tropicana and Slice. Pepsi is promoted as a youth brand in the country.

Court order on Shah's CBI custody Aug 4

Former Gujarat minister Amit Shah, arrested in connection with the 2005 killing of Sohrabuddin Sheikh, is an accused in an extortion racket, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) told a court on Monday while seeking 10 days custody. The court will give its order on the plea August 4.

Special CBI court Judge AI Raval reserved his order on the investigating agency's custody plea till Wednesday after hearing its counsel KTS Tulsi and Ram Jethmalani, who appeared for Shah, here on Monday.

Seeking Shah's custody, Tulsi said two witnesses to the staged shootout killing of Sheikh have already been killed and Shah's involvement in it has come to the fore.

He said the CBI had presumed that as a former minister of state for home Shah would cooperate in the investigations by answering the questions put to him during his judicial custody but this has not happened.

"He is the prime accused in the extortion racket which prima facie has the involvement of state government personnel, police officers and other criminals," Tulsi said.

"Four witnesses have testified before the CBI that people were being threatened with Prevention of Anti-social Activities Act (PASA) detention and even threatened for ransom," he said.

Tulsi also made it clear that the CBI has not sought the trial to be shifted out of Gujarat. "We are just interested in a free and fair trial," he argued.

Jethmalani, on the other hand, said that though his client was not given a copy of the chargesheet, it was available with the media.

He argued that the CBI had been given three days for questioning Shah but it was not able to fully utilise it and was now seeking additional time.