Northeast's Got Talent

Guwahati, May 30 : The Programme Production Centre (North East India) Doordarshan Guwahati will be organizing the first ever North East Reality Show for singers of the North East India to give an opportunity to the young people to explore their talents and to give a common platform. 

The Reality Show will be held in two categories, that is, Solo-Western popular Pop songs and popular old Hindi Film melodies. 

The competition will be held for the age group of 16 to 26 years.

In this regard, Director Programme Production Centre (NE) Doordarshan has informed all interested person to collect the application forms from any Doordarshan Kendras of the North East India.

Download from the website ppcneddguwahati.net the last date for submission of the applications will be 30th June 2011.  

How About Studying Abroad... For Free!

By Apoorva Tadepalli

Most European varsities are government-funded and offer courses for international students charging little or nothing. Some of them even pay you for taking up higher education there, reports Apoorva Tadepalli

Studying abroad is enticing, all right. But the crunch is that along with the big names like Cambridge and Harvard come premium fee tags, especially when your purse is not two-tonne heavy. Is there a way out? Yes, not one but many!

Just look beyond the UK in Europe, you may find many a varsity -- with big names too -- that are ready to take you in for tuition fees that range between a little and nothing.

One of the biggest differences between higher education in the UK and in the rest of Europe is that in countries like Germany, Finland and Sweden, the universities are publicly-funded. These universities offer high standards of education and are becoming increasingly popular.

It's free in Finland

In Finland, higher education is fully funded by the government, and many courses like design, environmental science and architecture, which are popular among international students, are taught in English. However, there are over 100 other courses that are open to international students.

Local and international students are provided with free university tuition for under-graduation as well as for post-graduation. Some masters programmes even pay students to conduct their masters thesis and do research, especially for courses like Computer Applications. Students who pursue their Masters and conduct research get paid up to 50 euros a month.

If a student's research is in connection with a particular industry, they fetch more funds because the industries' funding is heftier than that of the universities.
What more, Finland is gaining popularity among Indian students.

For a chemical engineering master's course, the number of students who got enrolled from India tripled this year. One of the major reasons for this is the convenience of living in Finland.

The total cost incurred by students averages around 800 euros a month, especially when the universities often arrange for accommodation for students through student unions. Lodging is also relatively inexpensive. Student apartments are less expensive than private apartments and can be easily arranged for on www.soa.fi.

Study and work in Sweden

Sweden is another country where a significant portion of the universities are public and tuition fees are low.

Till date, international and national students have received almost free education, paying only around 30 euros per term. This amount gives students a student card that is necessary to write exams at the university, and also use public transport and shop with discounts. However, this structure may change for non-European students.

Though individual universities do not offer scholarships, the Swedish Institute, which is a collective body regulating education in Sweden, does. Hence, international students, who are not given free tuition, may apply for these scholarships. They can also get jobs in the city, because non-citizens do not need a special permit to work.

The other costs that students have to incur average around 750 euros a month, particularly because student dorms are rented out at a lower price than private dorms.
Germany is also emerging as a favourite international study destination.

Like Finland, Sweden and Germany, there are several other European countries that have institutions that offer high-quality education and rank high in the QS World Rankings. The governments in these countries support education to a great extent, whereas in the US, most institutions are private and in the UK, scholarships and financial aid are rare.

Why European countries, apart from the UK, are not so popular among students is because of the assumption that language would be a problem. Besides, they don't want a degree from an obscure name. But, now, students are realising that these are non-issues and, above all, money matters.

Copyright restricted. Under license from www.3dsyndication.com

Santosh Trophy Final: Manipur vs Bengal, A Battle of ‘Unequals’

By Prasanta Mazumdar

Guwahati, May 30 : It will be a contest between experience and exuberance when defending champions Bengal take on Manipur in the final of 65th Santosh Trophy for National Football Championships at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Guwahati on Monday.

Manipur have got a young side with the average age of the players being 23.

In contrast, the Bengal players are vastly experienced with some of them playing for Kolkata’s premier clubs such as Chirag United, East Bengal and Mohammedan Sporting.

“We know they are a very experienced side. But we are equally good otherwise we wouldn’t have been in the final,” Manipur coach S Ekendra Singh told DNA.

So far, Manipur’s show in this edition of the tournament has been excellent. They rallied to hold Bengal to a 2-2 draw in a quarterfinal league match. They beat Services by an extra time goal in the semifinal.

However, their biggest worry has been poor finishing. “We know we are not doing well upfront. But tomorrow is a different day and the players are raring to go. We are hoping for the best,” the Manipur coach said.

Unlike Bengal, Manipur do not have any injury worries. “We don’t have any fitness problem. (Midfielder) Thoiba Singh isn’t playing tomorrow because of double booking,” he added.

Manipur had won the Santosh Trophy in 2002 defeating Bengal. They have budding talents in the likes of strikers Nilakumar Singh, Tiken Singh, Jimmy Singh and midfielders Santosh Singh, Herojit Singh etc.

Bengal coach Shabbir Ali also spoke very highly of the Manipur players.

“We aren’t underestimating them. They are physically very strong. Besides, most of their players have played at national level,” he said.

Ali said Bengal could not play with their full strength as the clubs did not release the star players because of I League.

“(Striker) Francis Xavier and (defender)) Suman Dey are doubtful starter for the final owing to injuries. We’ll take a call on them tomorrow,” Ali said.

“However, we still have some key players such as (defender) Anupam Sarkar, (midfielders) Snehasish Dutta and Santosh Oraon,” the Bengal coach said.

Bengal scrapped past the Railways by a solitary goal to make it to the final for the 45th time. They won the title 30 times.

Another Scam Hits Mizoram

By Vinod Sharma

Rs 46.76-crore Scam

New Delhi, May 30 : If the much-publicised CBI case against a top MHA official is a comment on the fragile nature of our border management, there’s more in an audit report crying for the government’s attention in Mizoram. It points to grave irregularities in projects designed to reach development to India’s borders with Bangladesh and Myanmar.

The state Accountant General’s report countersigned by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) was tabled in the assembly on March 29. It contains the shocking revelation that Rs46.76 crore was withdrawn from the treasury against “before actual commencement of approved works” between 2005-2010.

Doubts have arisen on whether the findings will be taken to their logical conclusion, the irregularities spanning the Mizo National Front and the Congress regimes. Vanhela Pachuau, principal secretary, rural development from 2006-08 is now the state chief secretary. The state Public Accounts Committee (PAC) is chaired by the Opposition MNF that was in power when the rot set in.

For his part, Pachuau, considered close to chief minister Lalthanhawla, had nothing to say except referring to official explanations rejected by the AG’s report. PAC chairman and MNF MLA B Lalthlengliana couldn’t recall the report, details of which he sought from HT on being approached for his comments. “We’ve not yet studied; we’ll see the report,” he said.

Besides presentation of false bills, Rs30.93 crore was drawn from the treasury and parked in civil deposits for 2-12 months.

The central government account (receipt and payments rules) of 1983 bar withdrawal of funds “unless required for immediate disbursement.” The report rejected the official plea that work couldn’t have been executed without funds. Instead of false bills, money should have been drawn against abstract contingent bills, it said. The AG didn’t also buy the explanation that money in civil deposits helped avoid mandatory re-sanction of funds.

“The reply is not acceptable,” the report said. The first instalment of Rs20.07 crore out of the allocated Rs24.95 crore for 2008-09 was released in October 2008, affording enough time for withdrawals prior to the fag end of the financial year for timely implementation of schemes.

Funds for the border area development programme are provided as special central assistance on a 100% grant basis. The objective is to improve the quality of life in inhospitable terrains to check local support and sympathy for insurgent groups and foreign agents.

Mizoram’s 722-km border with Myanmar and Bangladesh is infested with insurgents, gun-runners and drug traffickers. The audit bares down to the bone the financial indiscipline, manipulation of rules and the lack of planning in development projects. “The perfunctory approach compromises border security,” said an official. For instance, fake bills contained cost of material and labour wages.

Instead of being disbursed to labourers or supplier, the entire Rs46.76 crore reached private individuals appointed for project execution. Over Rs22 crore out of the Rs46.76 crore were en-cashed in 2009-10 showing completion of approved projects in the period. But work commenced in the first quarter of 2010-11 and remained in progress as of July 2010, noted the report containing photographs of unfinished projects.

Another glaring anomaly was non-identification of villages located 0-20 kms from international borders in the plans for 2009-10. “This obviated the very purpose of prioritising these villages (for development).”

Defence, Home Ministries in Turf War Over Myanmar Border Security

The home ministry is arguing that the Assam Rifles has failed to effectively deliver on the dual problem of keeping the border secure and fighting off inflitration attempts by insurgents

By Sahil Makkar

New Delhi, May 30 : Abid to realize operational control of the security apparatus along the border between India and Myanmar, which is vulnerable to illegal intrusions, has degenerated into an ugly face-off between the home and defence ministries.

At present the border is manned by the central paramilitary Assam Rifles.

The irreconcilable differences have forced the government to refer the matter to the cabinet committee on security (CCS), which is headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Defence minister A.K. Antony, home minister P. Chidambaram, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee and external affairs minister S.M. Krishna are the other members of the country’s highest decision-making body on national security.

India shares a 1,643km border with Myanmar; it borders the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram. Insurgent groups such as the United National Liberation Front (UNLF), the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Khaplang) and the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah) operate out of Myanmar.

The home ministry is arguing that the Assam Rifles has failed to effectively deliver on the dual problem of keeping the border secure and fighting off inflitration attempts by insurgents. It has demanded that they be replaced with another central paramilitary, the Border Security Force (BSF), presently deployed at the borders with Pakistan and Bangladesh.

The defence ministry, on the other hand, has opposed the idea and argued that dismantling or replacement of the Assam Rifles would rob the government of domain knowledge of the area that could be useful to hold off a Chinese military offensive.

The CCS, due to meet this week, will find it difficult to take a decision, especially given that there is a long history to the dispute. A group of ministers set up in 2001 had recommended that since the home ministry oversees border management, the defence ministry should hand over operational control of the Assam Rifles, a decision that was rejected by the defence ministry.

At present the Assam Rifles, which has a strength of 46 battalions, of which 31 are deployed for counter-insurgency operations and 15 for border-guarding duties, is operationally under the control of the defence ministry while its administrative control is with the home ministry. It is tasked with preventing the infiltration of arms and drug trafficking from the other side of the border.

“It is a turf war between the two arms of the government,” said B.G. Verghese, a political analyst. “Since Assam Rifles is doing operational duties, it can be placed under the army. But if it is performing peace duties, home ministry can have control over it.”

According to official documents, prepared ahead of the CCS meet and reviewed by Mint, the home ministry has raised serious questions on the effectiveness of the Assam Rifles.

“Assam Rifles has traditionally been a counter-insurgency (CI) force. The Assam Rifles is located not exactly at the border, but very much inside in the interiors to be also able to conduct CI operations. The attention of an essentially CI force to both guarding border and carrying out CI results in neither of the objectives being addressed effectively,” the note said.

The home ministry, therefore, argues that freeing the Assam Rifles of border duty would allow it to focus on counter insurgency.

“Like Pakistan and Bangladesh, where the BSF performs the role of the first line of defence, on Myanmar border also during war, if any, BSF will perform the similar role. Therefore, any force deployed at this border need not be under the operational control of Army as suggested by the MoD (ministry of defence),” the home ministry said in its argument.

It further argued that though the defence ministry was supportive of raising 26 additional battalions (nearly 30,000 security personnel) in the Assam Rifles, the army, which is already facing a shortage of officers, will not be able to provide its officers to man the new battalions. The force is officered primarily by army officers on deputation.

The defence ministry supported the idea of raising additional battalions in the Assam Rifles but refused to hand over their operational control to the home ministry. Consequently, the home ministry decided to raise 41 battalions in the BSF for deployment along the Myanmar border.

The defence ministry’s remarks appended to the same note suggested that it viewed this debate from its perception of a potential threat from China.

“The Chinese interests in infrastructure development in Myanmar with the aim of enhancing its military capabilities, the haste to construct Stilwell Road and development of several air fields with specifications not corresponding to aircrafts held by Myanmar belie its intentions,” the defence ministry said.

Given that Arunchal Pradesh and Nagaland are vulnerable to any Chinese miltiary intrusion, the defence ministry is pusing to keep the area under the operational control of the army. “Any replacement of this force will result in loss of vast domain knowledge and rich operational experience in the region, which the replacing force if at all will take years to build up.”

“There is no harm in replacing Assam Rifles with BSF, provided that MHA (ministry of home affairs) deployed seasoned police officers in BSF at the border,” said E. Ramohan, formera director general of the BSF.

sahil.m@livemint.com

Bethanie Mattek-Sands: The Lady Gaga of Tennis

Eye grease and tattoo
The stripes of grease swiped under the eyes are usually the reserve of football and baseball players but Bethanie Mattek-Sands of the US has brought it on the tennis court. Mattek-Sands sports a tattoo, plays in knee-high socks and plans to attend the Wimbledon players' party in a dress crafted from tennis equipment by one of Lady Gaga's designers Alex Noble.

USA's Bethanie Mattek-Sands returns the ball to Spain's Arantxa Parra Santonja during their first round match for the French Open tennis tournament, at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, Sunday, May, 22, 2011. (AP Photo/Laurent Baheux) Eye black originated in the 1940s when football players began smearing ash from a burnt cork on their cheeks. Today it is a must have for baseball and lacrosse players.

USA's Bethanie Mattek-Sands reacts as she plays Spain's Arantxa Parra Santonja during their first round match for the French Open tennis tournament, at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, Sunday, May, 22, 2011. (AP Photo/Laurent Baheux) Mattek-Sands has gone a step further and etched cute Bs in the grease under her eyes. Mattek-Sands indulged her interest in fashion with a recent behind-the-scenes tour of Paris's Moulin Rouge cabaret club, but admitted her attempts to join in with the dancers yielded mixed results.

Bethanie Mattek-Sands of the US returns against Jelena Jankovic of Serbia in her third round match of the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros stadium in Paris, Friday May 27, 2011. (AP Photo/Lionel Cironneau) She played the 2007 US Open in a what looked like a black push-up bra and has been fined for wearing a cowboy hat during a match.

Bethanie Mattek-Sands of the US looks down in her match against Jelena Jankovic of Serbia in the third round of the French Open tennis tournament in Roland Garros stadium in Paris, Friday May 27, 2011. (AP Photo/Lionel Cironneau) The eccentric dresser Mattek-Sands says she draws her inspiration from pop superstar Lady Gaga, and admits she has already started planning her outfits for this year's Wimbledon.

Bethanie Mattek-Sands of the US blows air on her injured right hand in her match against Jelena Jankovic of Serbia in the third round of the French Open tennis tournament in Roland Garros stadium in Paris, Friday May 27, 2011. (AP Photo/Lionel Cironneau) Quizzed about the inspiration behind her outfits, Mattek-Sands said she felt a stylistic affinity with Lady Gaga, who is as famous for her jaw-dropping costumes as she is for her multi-million-selling albums.

USA's Bethanie Mattek-Sands cenches her fist as she plays Spain's Arantxa Parra Santonja during their first round match for the French Open tennis tournament, at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, Sunday, May, 22, 2011. (AP Photo/Laurent Baheux) At the 2006 championships she sported a football-themed ensemble, replete with football socks bought from the famous Harrods department store for USD 16 the night before.

Bethanie Mattek-Sands of the U.S. returns the ball to Vania King of the US during the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris May 25, 2010. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau. The 26-year-old American teamed a pink T-shirt with black shorts and socks in her 6-3, 2-6, 6-3 defeat of compatriot Varvara Lepchenko in the second round of the French Open at Roland Garros.

Behind the Scenes: Kim Kardashian's Skechers Shoot

Backstage with the reality star at her latest photo shoot.

Kim Kardashian got a lot of attention with her sexy Skechers Super Bowl ad earlier this year. Now she's back with a magazine ad campaign, and we have a few hot behind-the-scenes shots.

Kim was accompanied on the shoot by he mom Kris Jenner.

Kardashian told Extra that she could run all day in her Skechers, and that she needed to, because she can't turn down anything with sugar in it.

Cookies, candy - you get the picture.

Skechers is just one of the many lucrative endorsement deals Kardashian has signed.

Last year, she made a reported $35 million from her show and product deals.

It looks like 2011 could even top that.

Brooklyn Decker's Hot Body Secret: Throw that scale away!

Sports Illustrated swimsuit model Brooklyn Decker may have made a splash in a teeny-tiny yellow bikini in her debut film, “Just Go With It,” but the Ohio native has a unique piece of advice on how to get her killer figure: Chuck the scale!

“Throw it out the window,” declares Decker. “I got rid of mine three years ago, and I haven’t been on one since. When you put on muscle, you gain weight, and it has nothing to do with size.”

The bodacious blonde doesn’t waste time dreaming of cheeseburgers, “Eating is more fulfilling if you talk about what you should eat rather than what you shouldn’t,” the 24-year old explained to Self magazine. “Instead of worrying about what foods might have too much fat or sugar, think, ‘Oh I should eat these blueberries for the antioxidants.’”

Decker eats “clean” throughout the day, “For breakfast, I usually have Greek yogurt and lots of berries or an egg-white omelet,” she tells Us Weekly.

For snacks, Decker goes nuts, “(They’re) my favorite snack,” she says. “I love nuts, I love berries, and I love hummus, so I’ll have hummus with carrots or pita. And, for me, I think snacking’s so important. When you snack, it helps maintain your metabolism throughout the day. You don’t get hungry, and you fill your body with nutrients.”

To get Decker’s bikini-ready body, you have to eat right and (gulp!) exercise, “I’m curvier and more athletic than the typical-size model, so I work out,” she explained to OK! magazine. “A lot of girls are like ‘I eat a cheeseburger, and I’m a size zero.’ Me? No way! I have to workout, and it’s part of my life and I love it. I do yoga, cardio, boxing – everything. For me, it’s about mixing things up and staying in shape.”

Yoga is one of Decker’s favorite exercises, ” I noticed it really enhanced my other workouts because I work out like an athlete,” she explains. “I go for long runs or spin classes and I do weights, which I think a lot of women are scared of. I think it’s so important to do weights, because they don’t make you bigger, they make you more lean and toned and all that good stuff.”

Decker lifts weights faithfully, “I do free weights three days a week,” she says. “I do walking lunges with a weight, then squats, then rotating twists with a plate on my chest, and then arms, too. Having more muscle means burning more calories, which is a reason guys lose weight faster than women. Lifting makes me leaner.”

And to keep your stomach as flat as Decker’s, do sit-ups—every day, “Do 10 or 15 or 20 or 50, however many you can do. Just do them. If your core is strong your back will be strong.”

Decker’s final piece of bikini advice? “The most important thing is to have a suit that covers enough and supports your boobies! At the beach, you don’t want to be vulgar, you want to feel radiant.”