American Idol Adds Kara DioGuardi as a Judge

It looks like the time-honored trio of Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson, and Paula Abdul is about to augmented to include an additional female judge.

In a statement released earlier today, American Idol creator Simon Fuller announced that the uber-popular singing competition judges panel will include Kara DioGuardi when Season 8 begins in January of 2009.

Fuller told press, “We are turning the heat up on Idol this year and are thrilled to welcome Kara to the judges’ table. She is a smart, sassy lady, and one of America’s most successful songwriters. We know she will bring a new level of energy and excitement to the show.”

Amidst all of the hype and excitement, AI judge Paula Abdul said earlier today that she has her concerns as well. “I am concerned about the audience and acceptance. Time will tell. We’ll see. They always tried for a fourth judge because it followed the format of the original show, Pop Idol. We haven’t had much luck with that working, but we’re gonna give it another try.” She also noted, “It takes the fun out of all the hard work I do to push those kids through.”

Photo Credit: WireImage.com

Source: celebrity-gossip.net

India Inc welcomes 6th Pay Commission report

NEW DELHI: India Inc has welcomed the Sixth Pay Commission report that suggested an average increase of 40 percent in salaries of central government employees and said the move will not lead to a rise in inflation and revenue deficit of the government.

Industry body FICCI said the pay hike would not add to inflationary conditions and revenue deficit due to buoyant revenue collections.

"The revenue collections and the overall economy is growing. If these trends are kept intact, then this additional expenditure should not be too much of a problem," Ficci Secretary General Amit Mitra said.

Echoing similar sentiments, Assocham said increase in salaries would not fuel inflation and increase revenue deficit as the country is witnessing increased direct and indirect tax collections as a result of higher tax compliance.

"The government is going to witness substantial hike in its revenue collections, benefits of which ought to be given to its employees and there should be no grudge against such pay commissions recommendations," Assocham President Venugopal Dhoot said.

Assocham said the move would make the central government employees more accountable, productive and responsive as the exchequer would shed Rs 12,561 crore in 2008-09 itself on account of higher package.

Also, Ficci said the hike would reduce the problem of governance and attract talented personnel, besides making the employees more responsible.

The Sixth Pay Commission submitted its report to Finance Minister P Chidambaram recommending implementation of the revised pay from January 1, 2006, which would impose an arrear payout burden of Rs 18,060 crore on the government.


Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com

Details about 6th Pay Commission

Khabrein.Info News Desk,

New Delhi, Aug 15, 2008: The Union Cabinet has given its approval for implementation of the recommendations of the Sixth Central Pay Commission. The revised pay scales will come into effect from 1/1/2006 and revised rates of allowances from 1/9/2008. The Cabinet has also decided that arrears will be paid in cash in two instalments – first instalment of 40% during the current year (2008-09) and the remaining 60% in the next financial year (2009-10).

2. The Cabinet has broadly accepted the recommendations of Sixth CPC with some modifications in the wake of representations received from various sections/Associations of Central Government employees. The new system of four Pay Bands with 20 Grade Pays recommended by the Commission has been accepted with some minor modifications.

3. The minimum Basic Pay for a Government servant has been increased to Rs.7000 from Rs.6660 recommended by the Sixth CPC. Consequently, the total emoluments of an employee at the lowest level will exceed Rs.10,000 p.m., including allowances.

4. The other highlights of the Cabinet decision covering all Government employees including the Defence Forces are:-

(i) Enhancement in the fitment in revised pay bands, which was recommended by the Sixth CPC to be based on multiplication factor of 1.74 to 1.86. This would result in increased emoluments for Government employees.

(ii) Increase in the rate of annual increment from 2.5% to 3%.

(iii) Removal of Campus restriction for grant of Transport Allowance.

(iv) Increase in Transport Allowance at the lowest level to Rs.600 (from Rs.400 in A-1/A class cities recommended by the Sixth CPC) and Rs.400 (from Rs.300 in other cities recommended by the Sixth CPC).

(v) At least three promotions have been assured for all Defence Forces’ personnel and civilian employees under the modified Assured Career Progression (ACP) Scheme. While the civilians would get it after 10, 20 and 30 years of service, the Defence Forces Jawans would get ACP in 8, 16 and 24 years.

5. For the Armed Forces personnel, the Commission, for the first time recommended a Military Service Pay (MSP). The Cabinet has increased the rate of MSP for PBORs to Rs.2000 from Rs.1000 recommended by the Commission. The Officers of the Defence Forces would get an MSP of Rs.6000 over and above their Pay.

6. The middle level officers of the Defence Forces namely Colonels and Brigadiers have been placed in the highest Pay Band of PB-4.

7. Senior Lt. Generals overlooked for promotion as Army Commanders due to lack of residual service would now get the grade of Army Commander (Secretary’s grade). In the case of existing Major Generals/Lt. Generals, MSP will be taken into account notionally for fixation of pay on 1/1/2006.

8. As replacement of the pay scale of Rs.24050-26000, a separate pay scale has been carved for DGPs, PCCFs, GM (Railways), members of the Boards of Income Tax, Customs & Central Excise, Postal and Ordnance Factories, among others, who were in this pre-revised scale. This would take them to the level of Rs.80000 in two years as against three years in the pre-revised scale.

9. Further, the IPS Pay Rules and the Indian Forest Service Pay Rules will be appropriately modified to provide in each State cadre one post of DGP and one post of PCCF at the apex level of Rs.80000 for heading their respective Forces.

10. Middle level Police and Civilian officers i.e. DIGs, Conservator of Forests, Scientists E & F, Superintending Engineers, Directors, Additional Commissioners of Income Tax and Central Excise and posts in equivalent grades have also been placed in PB-4.

11. Other salient decisions taken by the Cabinet are:-

(i) The lower limits of Disability Pension for Defence personnel to be doubled from Rs.1550 to Rs.3100. War Disability Pension to be granted at 60%;

(ii) The rates of Special Forces Allowance for Army and Air Force to be equated with navy’s Marine Commando Allowance;

(iii) For the officers of Central Para Military Forces, all the posts of Additional DIG upgraded to DIG level by the Pay Commission to continue to be manned by the cadre officers of CPMFs;

(iv) For the Railway employees who are in receipt of Running Allowance, this allowance will be taken into account while fixing their pay in revised pay bands;

(v) Government has continued the present position of granting Group A scale to Group B officers after 4 years of service and these officers would be placed in PB-3 instead of PB-2 recommended by the Sixth CPC. This would benefit Group B officers of the Railways, Accounts Services, CSS, CSSS and DANICS & DANIPS.

(vi) For Doctors, the Cabinet has approved promotions under the Dynamic ACP Scheme upto Senior Administrative Grade (Joint Secretary level) for Doctors with 20 years of service. Counting of Dearness Allowance (DA) on Non-Practicing Allowance (NPA) as on 01.01.2006 for fixing their pay in revised pay bands has also been approved;

(vii) For the scientists, continuation of the existing system of grant of Special Pay of Rs.2000 p.m. to Scientists G on promotion and doubling of the amount to Rs.4000 p.m. in Departments of Space and Atomic Energy and Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) has been recommended.

12. The financial implications in 2008-09 on account of the implementation of the recommendations of the Sixth Central Pay Commission as modified by the Cabinet will be around Rs.15700 crore on the Central Budget and Rs.6400 crore on the Railway Budget.

Source: http://www.khabrein.info

Punjab University (PU) announces result: Girls beat boys in BA/BSc exams

* Passing percentage drops to 24.67 percent from 26.68 percent last year
* Cash rewards of Rs 400,000 for 1st position, Rs 275,00 for 2nd position and Rs 240,000 for 3rd position holders
* Supplementary exams due in October

By Adnan Lodhi

LAHORE: The Punjab University (PU) announced the results of its Bachelors of Arts/Bachelors of Science (BA/BSc) Annual Examinations 2008 on Saturday and declared 24.67 percent of students as successful. Last year’s passing percentage was 26.68.

Around 172,888 students appeared in the examinations across Punjab, of which 42,653 candidates successfully passed.

BSc position holders: Mahwish Nadeem of Leadership College, Khadim Ali Road, Sialkot, grabbed the first position (overall) in the BSc exam by securing 665 out of 800 marks.

Wajeeha Sundas of Post Graduate College for Women, Satellite Town, Rawalpindi, and Saba Shehzadi of Ibn-e-Ameer Government College for Women, Jalalpur Jattan, shared the second position in BSc with 657 marks, while Usman Rafi of Government Municipal Degree College, Faisalabad, secured third position with 640 marks.

BA position holders: Sheikh Muhammad Umar Farooq, a private candidate from Shahdara, got first position in BA with 642 marks, followed by Sharmeen Azher of Govt Degree College for Women, Chakwal, who got 628 marks.

Shaista Mehtab, an external candidate from Rawalpindi, and Ayeasha Tariq of Government College for Women, Shakargarh, Narowal, shared the third position with 623 marks.

Rewards: The PU authorities have announced rewards of Rs 100,000 for students securing first positions, Rs 75,000 for students securing second positions, and Rs 65,000 for students getting third positions. The authorities have also announced free education and accommodation for all position holders if they apply for admission at PU.

Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has also announced cash prizes of Rs 300,000 for students securing first positions, Rs 200,000 for those securing second positions, and Rs 175,000 for students getting third positions.

PU Controller Zahid Karim Khan, while announcing the result, presented a brief report on the examination system of the university. He praised the PU employees concerned for announcing the result within three months of the end of the exams.

Supplementary examination: The BA/BSc Supplementary Examination 2008 will be held in the third week of October. The authorities concerned will receive admission forms until September.

The BA/BSc Annual Examination 2009 will be held in March, for which admission forms will be accepted until October 25, 2008.

Mahwish Nadeem

I want to do my masters in Mathematics, said Mahwish, who secured first position in the examination. I have not yet decided what I will do after my masters. I believe the standard of education in Pakistan is good, but it needs further development. I think extremists are damaging the reputation of the country in the world. The credit for my success goes to my parents and teachers.

Wajeeha Sundas

I also want to do my masters in Mathematics and become a professor, said Wajeeha, who got second position in the BSc exam. I am against the rote-learning system. The country’s examination system should be developed according to modern demands. Extremists are those of our society who have not been given their due rights. The government should help the poor because poverty is the root cause of terrorism.

Saba Shahzadi

I want to do my masters in Physics and become a professor, said Saba, who shared the second position in the BSc exam. Pakistan’s examination system and curriculum needs to be upgraded in line with global standards. Acts of terrorism have disturbed the whole country and claimed hundreds of innocent lives. I have succeeded in the exams due to the prayers of my parents and teachers.

Usman Rafi

I want to do electrical engineering, said Usman, who secured the third position in the BSc exam. The country’s examination system should be upgraded and changes should be made in the curriculum, because other countries have also done the same. Acts of extremism and terrorism have brought a stigma to Pakistan. The people responsible for such acts should be taken to task and radicalism should be rooted out.

M Umar Farooq

I want to do my masters in business administration (MBA), said Umar, who got first position in the BA exam. I have appeared as a private candidate, but took tuition for the exam. Pakistan should be free from terrorism and extremism, and politicians should work for the welfare of the country. God’s blessings, prayers of my parents and hard work are the reasons for my success.

Sharmeen Azher

I want to do my masters in English and become a teacher, said Sharmeen, who came second in the BA exam. There are several flaws in the education system of Pakistan, which can be resolved by developing the system. There is a need to produce qualified teachers to uplift the standard of education. The major problems, like extremism and terrorism that our country is facing should be solved without delay.

Shaista Mehtab

I want to get a degree in calligraphy and earn a good name in that profession, said Shaista, who secured third position in the BA exam. Education in Pakistan is expensive and the poor segments of society cannot afford quality education. The government should make quality education accessible to the poor to elevate the literacy rate. Terrorism should be rooted out from the country.

Ayesha Tariq

I want to do my PhD and become a professor, said Ayesha, who shared the third position in the BA exam. The double standard of education in Pakistan should be abolished, because the poor cannot afford to approach English-medium institutes. Extremists are damaging the reputation of Islam. Our religion has always promoted peace and taught the principles of morality. There is no place for extremism in our religion.


Source: http://www.dailytimes.com.pk

Reliance Big TV DTH Service | www.bigtv.co.in

Reliance’s BigTV has launched it’s DTH service on August 15th.

Big TV DTH will be competing with already established players Dish TV and Tata Sky. DTH operators in the country, Tata Sky, DishTV and Sun are estimated to have a user base of around 7-8 million.

The service will have 32 cinema channels, and will be distributed via 700 distributors across the country.
It is estimated that India has over 124 million TV households, with roughly 80 million using the conventional cable delivery platform.


Following are some of the features that Big TV is promoting extensively in its advertisements.

Picture-in-Picture (PIP) that would enable viewers to watch twelve TV channels at the same time on any TV set in the country.

Enabled by worlds most advanced MPEG4 technology Platform for DTH services, BIG TV

BIG TV DTH service is available at 1 Lakh retail outlets, including over 240 Reliance World and 2000 Reliance Mobile Stores, across 6500 towns in the country.

First and only DTH operator to launch 32 Movie Channels and a Subscription Video on Demand service.

BIG TV’s Fully Digital Home Entertainment Service is available at Rs. 1490 including three months complimentary subscription.

The site is currently having lot of problem due to heavy traffic. I am also looking forward to having all the details about their plans. It is thought that Big TV would be providing the cheapest DTH service in India. The best thing is that they will be airing all the sports channels, which is not currently the case with Dish TV and Tata SKY.

Since the competition is hotting up amongst the DTH providers customers are set to benefit with this. Airtel is also launching its DTH service very soon.

You can get all the info regarding the Big TV at its official website at http://www/bigtv.co.in

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Source: http://blog.kishalaya.com

Company Secretaries (CS) Final Results 2008 | www.icsi.edu

Company Secretaries (CS) Final Results 2008 http://www.icsi.edu/

Company Secretaries (CS) Final Results 2008 are availabe at http://www.icsi.edu/


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Sikkim Pay Commission to submit report on time (Sixth Pay Commission)

GANGTOK: Former Sikkim High Court Chief Justice R K Patra, who is heading a two-member fourth pay commission for review of the pay structure of Sikkim government employees, on Monday, said that the commission would endeavour to submit its report on time. The Commission has just commenced its work for revision of the pay structure of the government employees in Sikkim.

The process would pick after various departments provide necessary information to the Commission with regard to the details which has been sought from them. The Commission was also awaiting the details of the formula applied by the sixth Central Pay Comm ission for recommendation of various benefits to the Central government employees and said that the modalities of the Central Pay Commission would act as a guideline for the state pay commission in revising the pay structure for the state government empl oyees in Sikkim.

On the state governments request for submission of an interim report by the Pay Commission within two months, Patra said that although the time-frame was too short, yet the commission would make sincere effort for submission of an interim report. - PTI


http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/blnus/27251533.htm