Cinema should highlight humane approach, says President Patil

New Delhi, Mar 19 (ANI): President Pratibha Patil on Friday said that cinema should be used as a medium to give expression to the importance of a humane approach in life.

Addressing the 56th National Film Award ceremony here, President Patil said: "Cinema needs to be continuously nurtured, as a part of our efforts to not only excel in making films, but also to use it as a medium to tell our stories, as well as give expression to the importance of a humane approach in life."

Patil said that cinema has an immense influence on thinking and on life styles particularly of young generation.

"There is much positive energy that can be generated by using films, for conveying the message of good values to society and also eradicating harmful social evils," she added.

Underling the deep impact making capacity of the cinema, President Patil asked the filmmakers to exhibit a great care in the manner in which creativity finds expression.

"There is a new generation of viewers and a growing middle class, more able to and more capable of spending on entertainment. This is leading to an increasing demand for better cinematography and overall quality of films," she said.

"Other media of entertainment such as television and the internet are also factors that are influencing the film industry, its approach and its outreach. Balancing and catering to all these, is the challenge before the industry, as well as its creative individuals," President Patil added.

She further said that Indian heritage and culture is a great source of knowledge, which can be drawn upon to develop storylines that can appeal to our younger audiences, by making them more appealing and presenting them in the contemporary context.

Recalling the impact of Indian films through out the world President Patil said several genres and styles of film making used in Indian cinema makes it a vast ocean, with a variety that is enviable.

"Now, it is a two-way interaction. Our diverse and growing film sector is being noticed and indeed, wooed around the world. Our film industry is beginning to influence the foreign film industry, both financially and creatively," she said.

"Our film industry can play a part in bringing a progressive and fast developing India, anchored in thousands of years of a rich civilization, to the minds of viewers," President Patil added. (ANI)

A lifestyle resort hospital for diabetes opened in Coimbatore

Coimbatore, Mar 19(ANI): Coimbatore Diabetes Foundation has opened a Diabetes Village, a lifestyle resort hospital at Marudamalai near Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu.

While hospitals normally dealt with acute care and management of complications, preventive care would be focus of the Diabetes Village.

The centre functions as a lifestyle resort hospital, enriching the quality of life of the affected.

It offers diabetes treatment, diabetes master health check-up and management of all diabetic complications. It also has an obesity clinic a state-of-the-art clinical laboratory and also focused on hypertension, cholesterol and heart diseases.

"The diabetes village mainly aims at the objective of providing necessary lifestyle changes. So far, patients were spending more on doctors and received very short consultation. So here, patients live with the medical team," said Dr. Sekar, Chief Diabetologist of Diabetes village.

"You (patients) can walk with the doctors, play with them and may be dine with the doctors. So basically the idea of changing your diet and making you physically active is our objective," he added.

The centre would provide other facilities, including tracks for walking and jogging, swimming pool, tennis court, villas for treatment and rehabilitation, spas, meditation and yoga hall, music therapy and library.

These facilities attract patients from all across the country.

"We can jog, swim in the pool. Here, we have all facilities of relaxation. I feel this is an ideal place for diabetic patients," said Raja Mohan, a diabetic patient from Uttar Pradesh. (ANI)

INDIAN ISSUE....

Monkey killing triggers protests

Greater Noida, March 19 (IANS) A monkey was allegedly shot dead in the NTPC township area of Greater Noida, triggering protests by animal lovers and Hindu groups.

The incident occurred Wednesday.

According to police, a monkey was allegedly shot dead by NTPC employee Ashraf Ali outside his home in the B-block area of the township under Jarcha police station.

Hindu organizations and animal welfare activists swiftly reached the area and protested against the act.

On the complaint of Vishwa Hindu Parishad district president Pradeep Kumar, a case was registered against Ashraf Ali under section 429 IPC and Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act.

Animal rights activist Ashima Sharma said, 'The post mortem of the animal shows a clear bullet mark injury on the head, which proves the monkey was shot by the NTPC employee. But the police are reluctant to arrest him.'

Station Officer Jarcha, Babu Ram Verma said 'The residents informed us that they had found a monkey lying dead near the house of this NTPC employee. They then wrapped it in a red piece of cloth and buried in the nearby fields. On Friday, when we asked the women and some other residents in the immediate vicinity of the house, they told us that there was a fierce fight among a few langoors and monkeys due to which it fell down from the multi-storied house.'

'We exhumed the body of the monkey and got a post mortem conducted by a veterinary doctor' the official said.

'The case will be dealt as per the law,' he said.

Tollywood calls off proposed bandh

The proposed ‘shut down’ by the Telugu film industry on Friday has been called off following an assurance by the government that measures would be taken to deal firmly with piracy. Producer Y Ravichand who had been on an indefinite fast for the last four days demanding a firm assurance from the government on the matter also called off the fast on Thursday evening.

Cinematography minister J Geeta Reddy gave an assurance to film industry representatives that in one and a half months, an ordinance would be introduced against the video piracy. She said all video libraries would also be regulated and they would not be allowed to function without licence in the next three months.

She would also examine the provisions adopted by Tamil Nadu and Karnataka to hand out maximum punishment to those engaged in piracy. Film industry representatives including Allu Aravind, M Muralimohan, D Suresh Babu, Shekar Kammula, Teja and M Shyam Prasad Reddy met Geeta Reddy and also chief minister K Rosaiah seeking their intervention in tackling piracy.

Producer Shyam Prasad Reddy told the media that the film industry was satisifed with the assurance given by the government.

Later in the evening, at the Andhra Pradesh Film Chamber of Commerce at Filmnagar, producer Ravichand who gave up his indefinite fast thanked the film industry for standing by him in pressing for a solution to the problem of piracy.

Movie Artistes Association (MAA) president Muralimohan said the film industry would react as one to problems the industry faced irrespective of the political affiliations of some individuals.

The Telugu film industry decided to observe complete bandh on Friday, including cancellation of shootings and even screening of movies in theatres to bring pressure on the state government to come up with solutions to tackle the piracy menace.

Namib Desert. Namibia. Oldest deserts in the world

The desert occupies an area of around 80 900 km² (31 200 square miles), stretching about 1000 miles (1,600 km) along the Atlantic Ocean coast of Namibia. Its east-west width varies from 30 to 100 miles (50-160 km). The Namib Desert also reaches into southwest Angola. It is one of the 500 distinct physiographic provinces of the South African Platform physiographic division.

Having endured arid or semi-arid conditions for at least 55 million years, it is considered to be the oldest desert in the world. The Namib's aridity is caused by the descent of dry air of the Hadley Cell, cooled by the cold Benguela current along the coast. It has less than 10 mm (0.4 inches) of rain annually and is almost completely barren.

A number of unusual species of plants and animals are found only in this desert. One of these is Welwitschia mirabilis, one of the most unusual species. Welwitschia is a shrub-like plant, but grows just two long strap-shaped leaves continuously throughout its lifetime. These leaves may be several meters long, gnarled and twisted from the desert winds. The taproot of the plant develops into a flat, concave disc in age. Welwitschia is notable for its survival in the extremely arid conditions in the Namib, sometimes deriving moisture from the coastal sea fogs.

Although the desert is largely unpopulated and inaccessible, there are year-round settlements at Sesriem, close to the famous Sossusvlei and a huge group of sand dunes, which at more than 300 meters high are among the tallest sand dunes in the world. The complexity and regularity of dune patterns in its dune sea have attracted the attention of geologists for decades. They still remain poorly understood.

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After seeing the two pics you can clearly identify who works n who doesn't,,,,, !!!

Forward to all girls who can take a joke and all guys who like a laugh.

The Girls Who Kicked in Rock’s Door

THE most striking thing about “The Runaways,” a new film about the trailblazing bad-girl rock band from the 1970s that spawned Joan Jett, is how authentic it feels. The clubs are properly scuzzy. The dialogue is properly raunchy. The actors can properly sing. The hair is fried and feathered, the skin spotty from weeks of running on little but potato chips and estrogen. From the adrenaline rush of performing to the monotony of rehearsal, it’s a vivid snapshot of life on the road for ambitious teenagers who are constantly told that rock ’n’ roll “is the sport of men.” (And that’s their own manager talking.)

Richard Perry/The New York Times

Floria Sigismondi, who directed “The Runaways,” has also made music videos, including one for David Bowie. Cherie Currie and Joan Jett, of the real-life Runaways, were also huge Bowie fans.

One reason may be that the movie is partly based on “Neon Angel: A Memoir of a Runaway” (Harper Collins), a newly revamped autobiography by the group’s lead singer Cherie Currie, whose chillingly quick self-destruction is relived through Dakota Fanning. Another may be that Ms. Currie and Ms. Jett (played by Kristen Stewart) put the actors through hard-rock boot camp for several weeks before filming. And Floria Sigismondi, the writer and director, has “been around music all my life,” as she said in an interview in a hotel room in Midtown. Along with making videos for artists like David Bowie (Ms. Currie’s musical hero) and the White Stripes, she’s worked in clubs and gone on tour with her husband’s band, the Living Things. “I wanted it all to look real. I wanted bed head. I wanted freckles and pimples,” she said of the film, her first feature. The words she kept repeating on the set were “raw” and “gritty.”
The rock lifestyle has been notoriously difficult to get right on film. The mainstream fantasy — sex, drugs, hard-core partying — usually trumps the more tedious reality of musicians striving for success but often becoming trapped by it. The result has been films that end up either bloated and cartoonish (see the American Indian shaman following Jim Morrison around “The Doors”), sweetly sanitized (see the intercourse-avoiding groupies of “Almost Famous”) or as road-to-ruin predictable as “Behind the Music.” But since 2002, when the hyperactive “24 Hour Party People” captured the dance-oriented music scene in ’70s and ’80s Manchester, England, there has been a trickle of rock biopics that get the milieu and the music just right, like “Control,” the story of Joy Division, and “What We Do Is Secret,” the story of the Germs.
“The Runaways” is the rare movie to address the female rock experience. Until now the touchstone has been the fictional 1982 cult film “Ladies and Gentlemen, the Fabulous Stains,” a look at three skunk-haired female punks who make proclamations like “Every girl should be given an electric guitar on her 16th birthday.”
“It’s very hard to make a film about popular musicians, or music as the subject in any context,” said Jack White of the White Stripes in an e-mail message. “You could trust Floria to find the right angle because she has no need to oversell the subject.”
Ms. Sigismondi, 44, earned her first big buzz as a video director in 1997 after strapping Marilyn Manson into stilts and gruesome dental gear for the “Beautiful People” clip. She looks like a rock star herself, dressed in slim-fitting black pants and a black sweater, her long, slightly-goth hair fanning over a furry caveman vest. Simultaneously cool and effervescent, she is easy to imagine directing arty musicians like Bjork, Sigur Ros and Interpol as well as pop divas like Christina Aguilera, which she did.
Born in Italy to opera singers, Ms. Sigismondi moved to Canada with her family when she was 2. She grew up doing her homework in opera houses, surrounded by people in costume, she said, and dreamed of becoming a painter. After art college she embarked on a career as a fashion and art photographer; her work has been widely exhibited and collected in two books. In the early 1990s a production company suggested she make the leap into directing music videos. “Instead of coming up with one image, I had to come up with 100 images,” she said. “But I loved it right away. Now I was able to be more conceptual.”
The biggest legend she has ever worked with is Mr. Bowie. The video for his 1997 song “Little Wonder” is a quick-cut barrage of eyeballs, eye patches and aliens. “Floria is a real force of nature, never short of ideas, and meticulous in the way she brings them into play,” Mr. Bowie said in an e-mail message. “She’s also a little bit crazy, in a dark way, which in a working situation is just fine with me.”
While shooting a video for the Living Things in Prague in 2004, she met her future husband, Lillian Berlin, the lead singer and guitarist of the alternative rock band. They married in a park in Toronto and exchanged their vows on a cross made of red rose petals. Their daughter is named Tosca, after the opera.
Based in Los Angeles, Ms. Sigismondi came to the project, made for less than $10 million, after her manager introduced her to two of the producers, Art and John Linson. (Art produced films like “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” and “Fight Club”; John, his son, produced “Lords of Dogtown,” about ’70s skaters.)
“When we met Floria she was undeniable, even though she hadn’t directed a film before,” Art said in a telephone interview. “If you’ve met her and you’ve seen her work, you see that she’s got a spectacular eye, she’s got great style and she’s got the heart of a girl.” Both producers thought a female director was crucial. “We felt from the beginning that this is really a tale of two young girls” — Cherie and Joan — “getting in way over their heads in a world they knew very little about, a man’s world, and there’s a price to pay for that,” he said. “We thought: It’s got to come from the heart of another woman.”
Though “The Runaways” follows the general trajectory of the band, Ms. Sigismondi also considers the movie more of a coming-of-age story than a definitive biopic, focusing on the relationship among Cherie, Joan and Kim Fowley, the band’s insult-spewing male manager (Michael Shannon). In the film Cherie struggles with her twin sister, a sick alcoholic father, addiction and instant notoriety. Above all, Ms. Sigismondi said, she is a young girl trying to define herself in a high-pressure world of excess, with little adult guidance. “It’s a cautionary tale on Cherie’s side and an inspirational tale on Joan’s side,” she said. (After the Runaways broke up in 1979, Ms. Jett had a monster No. 1 hit with a 1982 cover of “I Love Rock ’n Roll.”)

Israel to investigate timing of settlement announcement

Jerusalem (CNN) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has set up a team to investigate why officials announced new settlement construction in disputed territory while U.S. Vice President Joe Biden was visiting the country.
Netanyahu announced the probe after a meeting with ministers Saturday.
The Israeli announcement of construction in East Jerusalem came during Biden's visit last week.
It complicated U.S. efforts to set up so-called proximity talks between the Israelis and Palestinians, the latest attempt to nudge the two sides back toward talking directly.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called the timing of the announcement "insulting" to the United States.
The construction, announced Tuesday, will be in the Ramat Shlomo neighborhood, located in disputed territory in East Jerusalem. The Israeli Interior Ministry denies the territory is in East Jerusalem.
Biden arrived in Israel on Monday, meeting first with Israeli President Shimon Peres at his official residence in Jerusalem and then with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Biden emphasized the close relationship between the United States and Israel as he met with Israeli leaders Tuesday, a visit that also touched on relations with the Palestinians and Iran.
However, later Tuesday, after getting word of the settlement announcement, Biden said the United States condemned Israel's decision to build the 1,600 housing units in the Jerusalem neighborhood, calling it "a step that undermines the trust we need right now."
The Israeli Interior Ministry said the construction plan was approved by a district committee, and the public can express objections to it over the next 60 days.
"I mean it was just really a very unfortunate and difficult moment for everyone -- the United States, our vice president who had gone to reassert our strong support for Israeli security -- and I regret deeply that that occurred and made that known," Clinton said Friday.
Clinton added that she has no reason to believe that Netanyahu knew about the announcement during Biden's visit, but added, "He is the prime minister. Like the president or secretary of state ... ultimately, you are responsible."
The controversy over Israel's announcement came just a day after George Mitchell, the Obama administration's special envoy for Middle East peace, announced that Israeli and Palestinian leaders had accepted indirect talks.
Mitchell said Monday that the two sides, with him acting as intermediary, had begun to discuss the "structure and scope" of the talks.
"I will return to the region next week to continue our discussions," Mitchell said. "As we've said many times, we hope that these will lead to direct negotiations as soon as possible."
Negotiations between Palestinians and Israelis have been stalled for more than a year, despite the Obama administration's attempt to move toward a resolution of the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Under current agreements between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, Israel maintains full control over the West Bank and its borders, while the Palestinian government oversees administration of major population centers.

No Oscar, but Pookutty still had a blast at awards

Mumbai, March 13 (IANS) He wasn't nominated for the Oscars this time, but Academy Award winner Resul Pookutty struck a deal for his second major international film after 'Slumdog Millionnaire' and met one of his idols, Quentin Tarantino, while he was in the US to attended the awards ceremony.

'I am an absolute fan (of Tarantino). And I had to tell him how I liked his 'Inglourious Basterds'. When I spoke to him, Quentin turned out to be a great guy with a warm sense of humour. He asked me a lot of questions about my work and Indian cinema,' said Pookutty, the sound recordist who the Oscar for his work in 'Slumdog Millionnaire' last year.

He, however, said his Oscar experience was nothing compared to the last year's.

'I realized unless you're nominated there's no fun in attending the Oscars. This time I was just a spectator and to that extent I got to meet a lot of interesting people, including the best actress and best director winners, Sandra Bullock and Kathryn Bigelow, who were absolutely charming,' Pookutty said from New York.

Behind the visit to the Oscars, the sound recordist had a far bigger mission to accomplish. On Wednesday, he closed the deal for his second major international film, this one starring Joaquin Phoenix of 'Walk The Line' and 'Gladiator' fame.

'My second international film after 'Slumdog...' had to be an honourable follow-up. I couldn't he happier because I am doing a period film. It is a very special challenge because I've to recreate the sound textures of New York in 1854.'

Throwing more light on the project, Pookutty said: 'It's an adaptation of a haunting thriller entitled 'The Beautiful Cigar Girl' by Daniel Stashower. It's based on an eerie real-life experience of author Edgar Allan Poe which happened just months before his death. Joaquin Phoenix plays Edgar Allan Poe.'

The film, to be directed by Henry Miller, will be shot in the US this summer and Pookutty needs to wrap up his work in India before he devotes three months to the project.

Coming back to the Oscar night, Pookutty says he was surprised that he was still recognized as the guy who did the sound for 'Slumdog Millionaire'.

'A year has passed. But the impact of 'Slumdog' at the Oscars lingered this year. Maybe because no film this year did a clean sweep at the Oscars like 'Slumdog' last year.'

Siddharth-Shruti’s fantasy flick in Walt Disney’s hands

The global production cum distribution company, ‘Walt Disney Pictures’, has obtained the distribution rights of Siddharth-Shruti Hassan’s untitled fantasy flick for a very tempting figure. Reports say that Walt Disney has tied up with Pixar Animation Studios to enter into Tollywood market. K Prakash, s/o K Raghavendra Rao is wielding this megaphone, while Raghavendra Rao is producing it under their home production ‘A Belly Full of Dreams Pvt. Ltd. Being made simultaneously in Telugu and Tamil, the film so far was shot in Ramoji Film City and Vishakapatnam with Soundarajan’s camera. Musical scores are provided by Mickey J Meyer. Interesting part is Shruti Hassan will be seen as an Angel in the film.

Air India to lose around Rs.5,400 crore in 2009-10: Patel

New Delhi, March 9 (IANS) National carrier Air India is expected to incur losses of around $1.8 billion (Rs.5,400 crore) this fiscal and the trend is likely to continue for a few more years, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said Tuesday.

'The trend of losses is likely to continue for a few more years,' the minister told the Rajya Sabha. He did not say when the airline would start making profits. The state-owned carrier is run by the National Aviation Co. of India Ltd (NACIL).

With the expected losses of $1.8 billion (Rs.5,400 crore) in 2009-10, the carrier's losses will mount to over $2.64 billion (Rs.13,174 crore) in three straight fiscals. The carrier had incurred a loss of $445.2 million (Rs.2,226.16 crore) in 2007-08 and $1.11 billion (Rs.5,548 crore) in 2008-09.

'The airline has initiated action as part of the turnaround plan and is focusing on fleet and manpower rationalisation, route profitability, and structural changes. These plan envisages benefits of $382.2 million (Rs.1911 crore) for the current financial year,' Patel said.

These initiatives taken by the airline will only result in savings of $150.6 million (Rs.753 crore) in fiscal 2010-11, he said.

The minister also said the airline's outstanding fuel dues till January end stood at $348.2 million (Rs.1741 crore). 'We have asked the airlines to clear the dues expeditiously.'

The airline is waiting for a cabinet nod to raise its working capital by $200 million (Rs.1,000 crore). Currently the airline's working capital is $3.4 billion (Rs.17,000 crore).

The government last month approved equity infusion of $160 million (Rs.800 crore) for the ailing carrier in two instalments to tide over the cash flow problem and finance fleet acquisition plans.

-Indo-Asian News Service

Ford India launches much-awaited 'Figo' in New Delhi

New Delhi, Mar. 9 (ANI): Ford India launched its much-awaited compact car 'Figo' at Taj Hotel here on Tuesday. The car was launched in both diesel and petrol versions. Priced at Rs 3,49,000, the diesel version has a 1.4-litre engine, while the petrol version (4 lakh 42 thousand rupees) has a 1.2-litre engine. The car is expected to give a mileage of 15.6 kilometres and 20 kilometres a litre in the petrol and diesel versions, respectively. "The car is unbelievably priced for the Indian customers. Class leading space, class leading technology and first time the option of blue tooth is available in B segment cars. Right cost of ownership, not just surprising it is great," said Michale Boneham, President and Managing Director, Ford India. "But the overall equation for a cost of ownership point of view: uel economy, as well as parts protection. So great host of things, we have been able to put together for this great planet," he added. The company started working on Figo in 2007 and its was globally unveiled in September last year. There are currently 167 Ford dealerships in 97 cities, and 28 of these dealerships were opened in one day, to make the launch of car more successful. The company, which is looking to make India an export hub for the small car, plans to export a significant number of the Figo to Asia Pacific and African countries in 2010. Currently, small cars account for over 72 percent of the 1.22 million units sold in India. (ANI)

India-Africa conclave to discuss $9 bn worth projects

New Delhi, March 9 (IANS) India's diplomatic and economic ties with Africa are set for a surge at a three-day conclave starting March 14 in New Delhi in which ministers, business people and experts from 34 African countries will discuss business projects worth $9 billion.

The conclave will also lay out a roadmap for the second edition of the India-Africa Forum Summit to be held next year. India hosted the first summit in New Delhi in 2008.

External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna will inaugurate the conference that seeks to give a fresh momentum to India's multifaceted engagement with the African continent.

The three-day interactive conference will discuss 145 projects worth $9 billion, external affairs ministry spokesperson Vishnu Prakash said here Tuesday.

The meet will kick off with a CEOs' roundtable which will put forth an action plan to scale up bilateral trade to $70 billion in the next five years.

Ghana's vice-president John Dramani Mahama will be the guest of honour at the conclave.

The sixth India-Africa Project Partnership conclave has been jointly organised by the commerce and external affairs ministries, the EXIM bank and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

The conclave will revolve around four linked sub-themes: India-Africa partnership, Rural economies, Africa tomorrow and Going Green.

The meet will provide a platform for Indian and African leaders to intensify their bilateral and regional partnerships, scale up Indian participation in Indian participation in Africa's long-term development projects, enhance capacity building initiatives and resource mobilization programmes.

president honors airforce combat units

Jaipur, March 9 (IANS) President Pratibha Patil Tuesday honoured two premier combat units of the Indian Air Force at a ceremony at the Jodhpur airbase.

She conferred the presidential standards to the 49 squadron and 107 helicopter unit.

'These two units have put in tremendous effort ... in pursuit of excellence and set an example for others,' Patil said. A fly past by MiG-21, Jaguar, SU-30 jets enthralled the audience at the ceremony.

Government gives SC roadmap on deemed university issue

NEW DELHI: The central government has told the Supreme Court that while it proposes to divest sub-standard colleges of the deemed university tag after giving each of them a hearing, the students of such institutions would be accommodated elsewhere.

The union Ministry for Human Resource Development made this submission in an affidavit filed in the apex court registry Wednesday.

The government filed its affidavit in response to a lawsuit by advocate Viplaw Sharma, questioning the government's stance in according deemed university status to increasing numbers of educational institutions, which allegedly have been doubling up as educational shops.

Presenting its roadmap to the apex court on how it planned to divest sub-standard institutions of their "deemed university" tag, the affidavit said the fate of 44 such institutions would be decided on a case to case basis.

"Each of the institutions, carrying the deemed university tag, but prima facie not deserving to retain the prestigious status, will be communicated their shortcomings and will be given an opportunity to explain as to why their status as deemed university should not be revoked," said the government in its affidavit.

"After receipt of their reply and due consideration thereof, the government will pass an appropriate order in each case. All this will be done in a reasonable time frame," the government said.

Reacting to the voicing of public concern over the mushrooming of educational shops, which fleeced students in the garb of deemed universities, the government had earlier appointed an expert panel to examine the functioning of deemed universities.

The panel after probing the working of 126 deemed universities across the country approved the tag for only 38. It sought stripping of the tag for 44, and said that 44 other institutions needed to be watched over for the next three years.

Sunday spoiler: IPL team bids damp squib

Story

Mumbai: After all the hungama and action at the player auction in January, the bidding for the two new teams for the 2011 season of the Indian Premier League turned out to be a damp squib.

On Sunday, after deliberating for close to two hours here, the IPL's governing council decided to scrap the bids and invite fresh ones.

A new tender will be put out on Tuesday, March 9 and the submission deadline for the tender is 10 am on March 21. The bids will be opened on that day in Chennai.

While the base price of the teams remain USD 225 million, the IPL has removed a few clauses that inlcude the net worth clause of USD 1 billion and an advance guarantee of USD 100 million clause.

All the existing tenders were not opened and returned to the bidders.

Murmurs had been on ever since the tenders were floated on February 21 whereby the base price of the two teams were pegged at USD 225 million dollars, almost double of what was paid by Mukesh Ambani for Mumbai Indians that at USD 111.9 million was the most expensive buy at the first team's auction.

However, prior to the start of the meeting, the price had not seemed like a detterent with many top corporates entering the fray.

Ahmedabad, Pune and Nagpur were tipped as the frontrunners in a group that also included Kanpur, Dharamsala, Indore, Cuttack, Gwalior, Visakhapatnam, Rajkot, Vadodara and Kochi.

Adani Enterprises, Sahara Group and ICICI were in the fray for the Ahmedabad team, while Videocon Enterprises was tipped to be the favourite for the Pune franchise.

Also, in a reflection of the Indian Premier League becoming the Indian Bollywood League as the league is referred to by 'fake IPL blogger' in his book, Bollywood stars were associated with this bidding as well.

There were reports of Abhishek Bachchan partnering Videocon for the Pune team, while Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor were present at the bidding in Mumbai on Sunday.

India hasn't demanded JuD chief's arrest: Pak

Islamabad: India has not demanded the arrest of Jamaat-ud-Dawah chief Hafiz Muhammad Saeed and the issue did not even figure in the Foreign Secretary-level talks with Pakistan last month, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said on Saturday.

"You will be surprised that they made no demand (for the arrest of Saeed). They did not even mention Hafiz Saeed in the entire talks," Qureshi told reporters in his hometown of Multan.

He was responding to a question on whether India had demanded Saeed s arrest.

Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit had told a briefing on Thursday that India had not asked for the handing over of Saeed, who is also the founder of the Lashker-e-Taiba. India has described Saeed as the mastermind behind the 2008 Mumbai attacks.

Following talks with her Pakistani counterpart last month, Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao had said that Pakistan should take action against persons like Saeed and control their activities.

Qureshi also told the reporters that Pakistan is not interested in "talks for the sake of talks" and "photo opportunities".

Instead, it wants talks that are result-oriented and meaningful, he said.

"Our stand is very clear we were ready for talks yesterday and we are ready today too. But we want purposeful and meaningful talks," he said.

Meanwhile, Interior Minister Rehman Malik told reporters in Peshawar that authorities are studying a fresh dossier on the Mumbai attacks that was received from the Indian government.

The Indian side has appreciated steps taken by Pakistan to probe the Mumbai incident, he contended.

Referring to the recent Foreign Secretary-level talks between the two countries, Malik said Pakistan is willing to show "maximum flexibility" but the world community must not treat the country in a discriminatory manner.

"Who doesn't know what they (India) are doing with our waters? The issue of waters and Kashmir must come under discussion during talks," he said.