India's Tallest Building

Today India ranked 3rd world's power full country in-spite of  that its reality that they doesn't have a single skyscraper which height is more than 300m even,In present time Imperial Towers is the India's tallest building which is 254m tall , but In future this reality become a history. Because ,In present time India is undergoing to a large number of sky-scraper construction in which some are super-tall like India tower which is become 2nd tallest building in the world after its completion. 

Mumbai is India's biggest city and it also have India's financial capital  undergoing a massive construction boom, with thousands of high-rises and more than 15 supertall sunder construction. Delhi and its surrounding regions are witnessing huge construction activities with 1500 already constructed high-rises in NCR, Kolkata is emerging as India's next skyscraper city with 600 existing highrises and many more under construction. Hyderabad & Bangalore are also quite bizarre in this sector with many skyscrapers under construction and could well match up with a city like Mumbai. High-rises are also becoming common in Chennai in recent times after the removal of height restrictions on constructions in the relaively active seismic zone.

Presently India's top skyscraper           

This lists ranks of top 20 buildings in India, based on standard height measurement. This includes spires and architectural details but does not include antenna masts. Only completed buildings and under-construction buildings that have been topped out are included.



Rank Name                           City                                                 Height          Floors              Year
1. Imperial Tower 1              Mumbai 254 metres (833 ft)   61                   2010
2 Imperial Tower 2               Mumbai 254 metres (833 ft)   61                   2010
3 Lodha Bellissimo A & B      Mumbai 222 metres (728 ft)    53                  2012
4 Lodha Bellissimo C           Mumbai 222 metres (728 ft)    53                 2012
5 Vivarea 1                         Mumbai 200 metres (656 ft)    45                 2012
6 Vivarea 2                         Mumbai 200 metres (656 ft)    45                 2012
7 Vivarea 3                         Mumbai 200 metres (656 ft)    45                 2012
8 Ashok Towers D              Mumbai 193 metres (633 ft)    49                 2009
9 The Ruby                         Mumbai 191 metres (627 ft)    40                 2011
10 Orchid Woods 1             Mumbai 190 metres (623 ft)    55                 2012
11 Orchid Woods 2            Mumbai 190 metres (623 ft)    55                 2012
12 Orchid Woods 3            Mumbai 190 metres (623 ft)    55                 2012
13 Urmi Estate                    Mumbai 182 metres (597 ft)    45                 2012
14 Planet Godrej                  Mumbai 181 metres (594 ft)    51                 2009
15 Sunshine Tower              Mumbai 180 metres (591 ft)    40                 2011
16 Imperial Heights 1           Mumbai 180 metres (591 ft)    49                 2011
17 Imperial Heights 2           Mumbai 180 metres (591 ft)    49           2011
18 Antilia                           Mumbai 173 metres (568 ft)    27           2010
19 Vasant Grandeur           Mumbai 172 metres (564 ft)    36           2010
20 Victoria                         Mumbai 170 metres (558 ft)    47           2012

Imperial Towers,Mumbai

Ashok Towers D

In future India's top skyscraper 

This list ranks buildings that are under construction in India and are planned to rise. Buildings that are only approved, On-Hold or proposed are not included in this table.


Sr Name                               City                    Height                            Floors        Year of completion       

1 World One                       Mumbai         442 metres (1,450 ft)                  117 2014
2 Oasis tower 1                  Mumbai 372 metres (1,220 ft)                  85 2016
3 Orchid Turf View 1          Mumbai 350 metres (1,148 ft)                  76
4 Orchid Turf View 2          Mumbai 350 metres (1,148 ft)                  76
5 Orchid Crown 1 Mumbai 337 metres (1,106 ft)                 75 2014
6 Orchid Crown 2              Mumbai 337 metres (1,106 ft)                 75 2014
7 Orchid Crown 3             Mumbai 337 metres (1,106 ft)                 75 2014
8 Palais Royale                  Mumbai 320 metres (1,050 ft)                 75 2012
9 Namaste Tower             Mumbai 316 metres (1,037 ft)  62 2014
10 Lokhandwala Minerva    Mumbai 304 metres (997 ft)                    82 2014
11 Century IT Park           Mumbai 300 metres (984 ft)                    59
12 Supertech Supernova      Noida 300 metres (984 ft)                    80
12 Brys Buzz                      Noida 300 metres (984 ft)                     81
13 Kumar Couture            Mumbai 275 metres (902 ft)                    90
14 One Avighna Park         Mumbai 266 metres (873 ft)                    64 2013
15 Indiabulls Sky               Mumbai 257 metres (843 ft)                    60
16 North Eye                      Noida 255 metres (837 ft)                    66
17 Indiabulls Blu 1              Mumbai 252 metres (827 ft)                    60
18 Indiabulls Blu 2              Mumbai 252 metres (827 ft)                    60
19 Nirvana 1                     Mumbai 250 metres (820 ft)                      61
20 Ahuja towers                Mumbai 250 metres (820 ft)                      53 2013
21 The 42                        Kolkata 245 metres (804 ft)                      62 2016
22 Oasis tower 2              Mumbai 239 metres (784 ft)                     53 2016
23 Eon Tower                  Mumbai 230 metres (755 ft)                     65
24 Lodha World-Crest      Mumbai 223 metres (732 ft)                     57 2014
25 Orchid Enclave 1          Mumbai 210 metres (689 ft)                     55 2012



                              

World One,Mumbai

Orchid Crown,Mumbai

Orchid Turf View Towers,Mumbai

Supertech supernova, Noida

The 42, Kolkata

Palais Royale,Mumbai

 List ranks buildings that are approved or proposed or planned

Rank Name                                     Status                    City                  Planned Height             Floors

1 Bengaluru Turf Tower                      Approved        Banglore        660 metres (2,165 ft)         156
2 Lanco Hills Signature Tower             Approved       Hyderabad 630 metres (2,067 ft) 114
3 Lodha Project Wadala                      Proposed       Mumbai 530 metres (1,739 ft) 101
4 Joyus Housing                                 Proposed        Mumbai         486 metres (1,594 ft) 125
5 APIIC Tower                                Approved  Hyderabad 450 metres (1,476 ft) 100
6 Wearesf Tower                             Approved         Banglore        440 metres (1,444 ft) 109
7 Raheja Imperia                               Proposed        Mumbai 421 metres (1,381 ft) 85
8 GIFT Diamond Tower                    Approved  Ahmedabad 410 metres (1,345 ft) 86
9 Shreepati Garden Tower 1               Approved  Mumbai 400 metres (1,312 ft) 110
10 Shreepati Garden Tower 2             Approved  Mumbai 400 metres (1,312 ft) 110
11 Wave City Center Iconic Tower Approved     Delhi              400 metres (1,312 ft) 100
12 Celestia Spaces 1                          Proposed      Mumbai 400 metres (1,312 ft) 80
13 Celestia Spaces 2                          Proposed   Mumbai 400 metres (1,312 ft)           80
14 Celestia Spaces 3                          Proposed   Mumbai 400 metres (1,312 ft) 80
15 Celestia Spaces 4                          Proposed   Mumbai 400 metres (1,312 ft) 80
16 Celestia Spaces 5                          Proposed     Mumbai 400 metres (1,312 ft) 80
17 Celestia Spaces 6                          Proposed     Mumbai 400 metres (1,312 ft) 80
18 Celestia Spaces 7                          Proposed     Mumbai 400 metres (1,312 ft) 80
19 Celestia Spaces 8                          Proposed   Mumbai 400 metres (1,312 ft) 80
20 Asta Vibrant Towers                     Approved     Banglore           390 metres (1,280 ft) 90

INDIA TOWER

India Tower (previously known as the Park Hyatt Tower; also known as the Dynamix Balwas Tower or DB Tower) is a 126 storey, 700-metre (2,300 ft) super-tall skyscraper that began construction in the city of Mumbai, India, in 2010. Construction work was put on hold in 2011.
The Dynamix Balwas realtor group first proposed the project, under the name of Park Hyatt Tower, in 2008. The Dynamix Balwas proposal would have been an 85-storey tower with a height of 301.1 metres (988 ft).The project was subsequently dropped, before being revived and amended in 2010. In January 2010, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation authorised the tower's construction on a site located at Charni Road in Girgaon, southern Mumbai, just north of Mumbai's historical CBD.

 

India tower,Mumbai

Happy Makar Sankranti

Introduction of Makar Sankranti:

Makar Sankranti is one of the most auspicious day for the Hindus, and is celebrated in almost all
parts of the country in myriad cultural forms on 14th January, with great devotion, fervor & gaiety.
 Lakhs of people  take a dip in places like Ganga Sagar & Prayag and pray to Lord Sun.
It is celebrated with pomp in southern parts of the country as Pongal, and in Punjab is celebrated as
Lohri & Maghi. Gujarati's not only look reverentially up to the sun, but also offer thousands of their
colorful oblations in the form of beautiful kites all over the skyline. They may be trying to reach upto
their glorious God or bring about greater proximity with the one who represents the best. It is a day
for which Bhishma Pitamah kept waiting to leave his mortal coil.
Makar Sankranti is the day when the glorious Sun-God of Hindus begins its ascendancy and entry into
the Northern Hemisphere. Sun for the Hindus stands for Pratyaksha-Brahman - the manifest God, who symbolizes, the one, non-dual, self-effulgent, glorious divinity blessing one & all tirelessly. Sun is the one
who transcends time and also the one who rotates the proverbial Wheel of Time. The famous Gayatri Mantra, which is chanted everyday by every faithful Hindu, is directed to Sun God to bless them with intelligence & wisdom. Sun not only represents God but also stands for an embodiment of knowledge
& wisdom. Lord Krishna reveals in Gita that this manifested divinity was his first disciple, and we all
know it to be indeed a worthy one too. No Sundays for the Sun, may be because one who revels in
its very 'being', the very essence of his own Self, is always in the Sunday mood.
The co-relation of cosmic events with individual life and values is one of the most astounding traits of
Hindu Masters. Once this co-relation is brought about thereafter these cosmic events become instrumental
to remind us the best which we cherish & value. Of all the cosmic bodies Sun is the most glorious & important, thus every sun-centric cosmic event became very important spiritual, religious & cultural events. On Makar Sankranti day the Sun begins its ascendancy and journey into the Northern Hemisphere, and thus it signifies an event wherein the Gods seem to remind their children that 'Tamaso Ma Jyotir Gamaya'. May you go higher & higher - to more & more Light and never to darkness.

Astrological Significance:

Makar means Capricorn and Sankranti is transition. There is a sankranti every month when the sun passes from one sign of the zodiac to the next. There are twelve signs of the zodiac, and thus there are twelve sankranti's as well. Each of these sankranti's has its own relative importance but two of these are more important - the Mesh (Aries) Sankranti and the most important, the Makar (Capricorn) Sankranti. Transition of the Sun from Sagittarius to Capricorn, during the winter solstice in the northern hemisphere is known as Makar Sankranti. From this day begins the six-month long Uttarayana, considered very auspicious for attaining higher worlds hereafter. While the traditional Indian Calendar is basically based on lunar positions, but sankranti is a solar event, so while dates of all festivals keep changing, the english calendar date of Makar Sankranti is always same, 14th January. Makar Sankranti is celebrated in the Hindu Calendar month of Magha. There is another significance of this day, after this day the days start becoming longer & warmer, and thus the chill of winter in on decline.

Religious  Significance:

1. The Puranas say that on this day Sun visits the house of his son Shani, who is the swami of Makar Rashi. These father & son do not ordinarily get along nicely, but inspite of any difference between each other Lord Sun makes it a point to meet each other on this day. Father in fact himself comes to his son’s house, for a month. This day symbolized the importance of special relationship of father & son. It is the son who has the responsibility to carry forward his fathers dream and the continuity of the family.
2.  From Uttarayana starts the ‘day’ of Devatas, while dakshinayana is said to be the ‘night’ of devatas, so most of the auspicious things are done during this time. Uttarayana is also called as Devayana, and the next half is called Pitrayana.
3.  It was on this day when Lord Vishnu ended the ever increasing terrorism of the Asuras by finishing them off and burying their heads under the Mandar Parvat. So this occasion also represents the end of negativities and beginning of an era of righteous living.
4. The great savior of his ancestors, Maharaj Bhagirath, did great Tapasya to bring Gangaji down on the earth for the redemption of 60,000 sons of Maharaj Sagar, who were burnt to ashes at the Kapil Muni Ashram, near the present day Ganga Sagar. It was on this day that Bhagirath finally did tarpan with the Ganges water for his unfortunate ancestors and thereby liberated them from the curse. After visiting the Patala for the redemption of the curse of Bhagirath’s ancestors Gangaji finally merged in the Sagar. Even today a very big Ganga Sagar Mela is organized every year on this day at the confluence of River Ganges and the Bay of Bengal. Lakhs take dip in the water and do tarpan for their ancestors.
We salute such a great devotee & benefactor of his ancestors. One who can express such gratitude to his ancestors, work with tireless resolve to redeem the pride, pledges & resolves of his forefathers, alone possess a personality, which the history reveals to be a true benefactor of the world too. A person who has severed his own roots gets soon rooted out in the flow of time. Moral of the story is to see to it that the roots of the tree of ‘our’ life are not only intact but nourished well, thereafter alone the tree blooms & flourishes.
There is another spiritually symbolic aspect of this story. The 60,000 cursed son of Maharaj Sagar represent our thoughts, who become dull & dead-like because of uncultured & blind ambition. Redemption of such people is only by the waters of Gangaji, brought down ‘to’ & later ‘from’ the Himalayas with great tapasya. This represents dedicated hard work to get the redeeming Brahma-Vidya, which alone enlightens, enthuses & enlivens the life of anyone.
5. Another well-known reference of this day came when the great grandsire of Mahabharata fame, Bhishma, declared his intent to leave his mortal coil on this day. He had the boon of Ichha-Mrityu from his father, so he kept lying on the bed of arrows till this day and then left his mortal coil on Makar Sankranti day. It is believed that the person, who dies during the period of Uttarayana, becomes free from transmigration. So this day was seen as a sure-shot Good Luck day to start your journey or endeavors to the higher realms beyond.

Culture & Festivities:

This festival is celebrated differently in different parts of the country.

Uttar Pradesh:

In Uttar Pradesh, Sankrant is called ‘Khichiri’. Taking a dip in the holy rivers on this day is regarded as most auspicious. A big one-month long ‘Magha-Mela’ fair begins at Prayag (Allahabad) on this occasion. Apart from Triveni, ritual bathing also takes place at many places like Haridvar and Garh Mukteshwar in Uttar Pradesh, and Patna in Bihar.

Bengal:

In Bengal every year a very big Mela is held at Ganga Sagar where the river Ganga is believed to have dived into the nether region and vivified the ashes of the sixty thousand ancestors of King Bhagirath. This mela is attended by a large number of pilgrims from all over the country.

Tamil Nadu:

In Tamil Nadu Sankrant is known by the name of ‘Pongal’, which takes its name from the surging of rice boiled in a pot of milk, and this festival has more significance than even Diwali. It is very popular particularly amongst farmers. Rice and pulses cooked together in ghee and milk is offered to the family deity after the ritual worship. In essence in the South this Sankrant is a ‘Puja’ (worship) for the Sun God.

Andhra Pradesh:

In Andhra Pradesh, it is celebrated as a three-day harvest festival Pongal. It is a big event for the people of Andhra Pradesh. The Telugus like to call it 'Pedda Panduga' meaning big festival. The whole event lasts for four days, the first day Bhogi, the second day Sankranti, the third day Kanuma and the fourth day, Mukkanuma.

Maharashtra:

In Maharashtra on the Sankranti day people exchange multi-colored tilguds made from til (sesame seeds) and sugar and til-laddus made from til and jaggery. Til-polis are offered for lunch. While exchanging tilguls as tokens of goodwill people greet each other saying – ‘til-gul ghya, god god bola’ meaning ‘accept these tilguls and speak sweet words’. The under-lying thought in the exchange of tilguls is to forget the past ill-feelings and hostilities and resolve to speak sweetly and remain friends.
This is a special day for the women in Maharashtra when married women are invited for a get-together called ‘Haldi-Kumkum’ and given gifts of any utensil, which the woman of the house purchases on that day.

Gujarat:

In Gujarat Sankrant is observed more or less in the same manner as in Maharashtra but with a difference that in Gujarat there is a custom of giving gifts to relatives. The elders in the family give gifts to the younger members of the family. The Gujarati Pundits on this auspicious day grant scholarships to students for higher studies in astrology and philosophy. This festival thus helps the maintenance of social relationships within the family, caste and community.
Kite flying has been associated with this festival in a big way. It has become an internationally well-known event.

Punjab:

In Punjab where December and January are the coldest months of the year, huge bonfires are lit on the eve of Sankrant and which is celebrated as "LOHARI". Sweets, sugarcane and rice are thrown in the bonfires, around which friends and relatives gather together. The following day, which is Sankrant, is celebrated as MAGHI. The Punjabi's dance their famous Bhangra dance till they get exhausted. Then they sit down and eat the sumptuous food that is specially prepared for the occasion.

Kerala:

The 40 days anushthana by the devotees of Ayyappa ends on this day in Sabarimala with a big festival.

Bundelkhand:

In Bundelkhand and Madhya Pradesh this festival of Sankrant is known by the name ‘Sakarat’ and is celebrated with great pomp & merriment accompanied by lot of sweets.

Tribals of Orissa:

Many tribals in our country start their New Year from the day of Sankrant by lighting bonfires, dancing and eating their particular dishes sitting together. The Bhuya tribals of Orissa have their Maghyatra in which small home-made articles are put for sale.

Assam:

In Assam, the festival is celebrated as Bhogali Bihu.

Coastal Region:

In the coastal regions, it is a harvest festival dedicated to Indra.

How to Celebrate:

1. Get up early in the morning, before sunrise, have bath and be ready with water & flowers for the sunrise.         Worship the rising Sun, by offering water, flowers with both the hands & then pray with folded hands by chanting the Gayatri Mantra and pray for knowledge, wisdom and enlightenment to rise in the similar way to greater & greater heights. Pray for blessings to live a dynamic, inspired & righteous life.
2. Do tarpan for your ancestors. Offer water to the ancestors while praying for their blessings. Resolve to redeem the pledges & pride of your forefathers. Live life in such a way that wherever your forefathers may be their head is held high by the life & deeds of their children.
3. Have a special session of Meditation, wherein you bring about the awareness of the self-effulgent subjective divinity. Affirm the greatest importance of your spiritual goal very clearly, and pray to God to bless you with the capacity to constantly revel in your true self. May the graph of your rise like the Uttarayana Sun. May there be greater 'Love & Light' in your life & the world.
4. Prepare laddus or other sweets of Til & Gur and offer them to your friends & relatives. See to it that your ‘Well-being Prayer for all’ gets manifested in action & deeds.
5. Have the lunch of Khichiri. This stands for inculcating simplicity in your life & habits.
6. Give some Daan on this day to someone who truly deserves.
7. Visit your son at his place and give presents to the son and the daughter-in-law. If it is not possible to visit, then organize to send presents to them to express your love & affection to them. Work to properly cultivate the generation, which has to carry forward all the best you cherish & value.

For More Detail Please Visit on Makar Sankranti

Impact of FDI on Indian Economy

Liberalization of trade policies during the last one and half decade has led India to become an investment friendly country. Foreign direct investment (FDI) in this country assumed critical importance in the context of this liberalization. Though India is the tenth most industrialized country in the world, it is well known that it is mainly agro-based with around 70% population engaged in the farm sector. However, in the initial stage of liberalization, FDI was centered on the urban manufacturing sectors because of its civic infrastructure, labour availability, flexible taxation mechanism etc. The success story of FDI in these sectors is known to us.

For a long time there were efforts for FDI in the retail sector so that the trader can reap the benefit of FDI. Retail trade contributes around 10-11% of India’s GDP and currently employs over 4 crores of people. Recently, a great debate has cropped up against the government plans for FDI in the Indian retail sector. FDI in retail is fundamentally different from that in manufacturing. FDI in manufacturing basically enhances the productive employment in most cases; but FDI in retail trade may create job losses and displacement of traditional supply chain. One of the main features of rural India is disguised unemployment. Farmers, evicted from the agricultural sector, engage in small retail trades for livelihood. The main fear of FDI in retail trade is that it will certainly disrupt the livelihood of the poor people engaged in this trade. The opening of big markets or foreign-sponsored departmental outlets will not necessarily absorb them; rather they may try to establish the monopoly power in the country. However, so many positive factors are also there in favour of FDI in Indian retail service.

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) as a strategic component of investment is needed by India for its sustained economic growth and development through creation of jobs, expansion of existing manufacturing industries, short and long term project in the field of healthcare, education, research and development (R & D) etc.

Government should design the FDI policy such a way where FDI inflow can be utilized as means of enhancing domestic production, savings and exports through the equitable distribution among states by providing much freedom to states, so that they can attract FDI inflows at their own level. FDI can

help to raise the output, productivity and export at the sectoral level of the Indian economy. However, 

it can observed the result of sectoral level output, productivity and export is minimal due to the low flow of FDI into India both at the macro level as well as at the sectoral level. Therefore for further opening up of the

Indian economy, it is advisable to open up the export oriented sectors and higher growth of the economy could be achieved through the growth of these sectors.

click here  to read in detail

FDI : Foreign Direct Investment

What is FDI?

The International Monetary Fund defines FDI as when one individual or business owns
10% or more of a foreign company capital. Every financial transaction afterwards
is considered by the IMF as an additional direct investment. If an investor owns
less than 10%, it is considered as nothing more than an addition to his/her stock
portfolio.
With only a 10% ownership, the investor may or may not have the controlling interest
in the foreign business. However, even with just 10%, the investor usually has
significant influence on the company's management, operations and policies. For this
reason, most governmental agencies want to keep tabs on who is investing in their
country's businesses.


Advantages of FDI:

Foreign direct investment has many advantages for both the investor and the recipient.
One of the primary benefits is that it allows money to freely go to whatever business
has the best prospects for growth anywhere in the world. That's because investors
aggressively seek the best return for their money with the least risk. This motive is
color-blind, doesn't care about religion or form of government.
This gives well-run businesses -- regardless of race, color or creed -- a competitive
advantage. It reduces (but, of course, doesn't eliminate) the effects of politics,
cronyism and bribery. As a result, the smartest money goes to the best businesses all
over the world, bringing these goods and services to market faster than if unrestricted
FDI weren't available.
Investors receive additional benefits. Their risk is reduced because they can diversify
their holdings outside of a specific country, industry or political system. Diversification
always increases return without increasing risk.
Businesses benefit by receiving management, accounting or legal guidance in keeping with
the best practices practiced by their lenders. They can also incorporate the latest technology,
innovations in operational practices, and new financing tools that they might not otherwise
be aware of. By adopting these practices, they enhance their employees' lifestyles, helping
to create a better standard of living for the recipient country. In addition, since the best
companies get rewarded with these benefits, local governments have less influence, and aren't
as able to pursue poor economic policies.
The standard of living in the recipient country is also improved by higher tax revenue from
the company that received the foreign direct investment. However, sometimes countries neutralize
that increased revenue by offering tax incentives to attract the FDI in the first place.
Another advantage of FDI is that it can offset the volatility created by "hot money." Short-term
lenders and currency traders can create an asset bubble in a country by investing lots of money
in a short period of time, then selling their investments just as quickly. This can create a boom
-bust cycle that can wreak economies and political regimes. Foreign direct investment takes longer
to set up, and has a more permanent footprint in a country.

Disadvantages of FDI:

- FDI has and adverse effects on competition.
- FDI will be make the host country lost the control over domestic policy.
- One of the most indirect disadvantages of foreign direct investment is that the economically
  backward section of the host country is always inconvenienced when the stream of foreign direct
  investment is negatively affected.
- It has been observed that the defense of a country has faced risks as a result of the foreign direct
  investment in the country.
- Certain foreign policies are adopted that are not appreciated by the workers of the recipient country.
- Foreign direct investment disadvantageous for the ones who are making the investment themselves.
- Foreign direct investment may entail high travel and communications expenses.
- Another disadvantage of foreign direct investment is that there is a chance that a company may lose
  out on its ownership to an overseas company. This has often caused many companies to approach foreign
  direct investment with a certain amount of caution.
- There is considerable instability in a particular geographical region. This causes a lot of inconvenience
  to the investor.
- The host country is not well connected with their more advanced neighbors, it poses a lot of challenge
  for the investors.
- Inflation is increased.
- Local market is affected badly.


FDI and INDIA :

Foreign investment was introduced in 1991 as Foreign Exchange Management Act
(FEMA), driven by minister Manmohan Singh. As Singh subsequently became a
prime minister, this has been one of his top political problems, even in the
current (2012) election.India disallowed overseas corporate bodies (OCB) to
invest in India.
Starting from a baseline of less than $1 billion in 1990, a recent UNCTAD
survey projected India as the second most important FDI destination (after
China) for transnational corporations during 2010–2012. As per the data, the
sectors that attracted higher inflows were services, telecommunication,
construction activities and computer software and hardware. Mauritius, Singapore,
US and UK were among the leading sources of FDI. Based on UNCTAD data FDI
flows were $10.4 billion, a drop of 43% from the first half of the last year.
On 14 September 2012, Government of India allowed FDI in aviation up to 49%,
in the broadcast sector up to 74%, in multi-brand retail up to 51%, in single
-brand retail up to 100%. The choice of allowing FDI in multi-brand retail
up to 51% has been left to each state. But Government of India does not allow
foreign e-commerce companies to pick-up 51% stake in multi-brand retail sector
in business-to-consumer space citing regulatory issues, problems in checking
inter-state transactions in e-commerce activities.In its supply chain sector,
the government of India had already approved 100% FDI for developing cold chain.

For more detail go to : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_direct_investment

Remain unsolved Indo-Pak relationship

Only some decades ago, there was no Pakistan. The land now called
Pakistan was then part and parcel of the territory of undivided
India, Pakistan came into existence when the Britishers, in pursuance
to their policy of weakening and dividing the emancipated colonies,
partitioned India into two countries at the time of Indepen­dence in
1947. Pakistan came into being as a result of the two-nations theory
propounded by the Muslim League leader, Mohammad All Jinnah. Naturally
the very foundation and the brick and mortar of the communal structure
of Pakistan is hatred and enmity for India.

Since its inception Pakistan has been following a distinctly policy
towards India. The cardinal principle of Pakistan's foreign policy has
been 'Hate India' and 'Bait India'. In reality, anti-India policy and
campaign has become the fundamental basis of her national policy toward
off domestic trouble and internal dis­content and to divert people's
attention from internal disorder to commercial frankly against India.
In the international affairs also Pakistan has always taken an anti-India
instance. India has always been acting in accordance with her ancient
principles of mutual friendship, peaceful understanding and co-operation.
Gandhiji laid down his life for the cause of Hindu-Muslim unity and Indo-
Pak  friendship. But, unfortunately Pakistan has always disappointed
in this regard.

It was-just to spite India that Pakistan joined the Baghdad Pact now known as
CENTO, and also SEATO Pact as because India had refused to join these
power blocs which had been initiated by the Western bloc in pursuance of their
cold war strategy against the Communist bloc. Pakistan joined these pacts to get
free supply of huge military armaments and equipment, obviously to be used
in a war against India.

Pakistan has been keeping a vulturous eye on Kashmir, a Muslim-majority state,
then ruled by a Hindu king. She has made several abortive attempts to annex
Kashmir through infiltration on through direct attacks, but each time her attempts
have been repul­sed by the vigilant Indian Armed Forces. First of all, Pakistan
laun­ched a full-scale attack on Kashmir in October 1947 to grab Kashmir. But it
was foiled and taught a lesson of life by the Indian Armed Forces. Although, our
Forces had cleared the greater part of the territory of Kashmir of the Pakistani
invaders, still Pakistan occupies a large tract of Kashmir territory under the name
of Azad Kashmir. Had the Cease-fire Argument of January 1,1949 been delayed even by
two days, the whole tangle would have been resol­ved, for victory was within sight.
And now Kashmir has become a cancerous sore for India.

Pakistan waged another full-scale war with India in July-August, 1965—first in
the Ranu of Kutch in April 1965 and then, over the whole of western and eastern
boundaries bordering India. When the situation became really grave by Marshal Chou-
en-Lai's visit to Karachi on 4 September, 1965 and his open support for Pakistan,
India decided to hit back. In the course of the twenty-two days war, Kashmir remained
secure and Pakistan's armour was hum­bled. Large areas of Pakistan territory were in
Indian hands when the cease-fire took effect on 23 September, 1965. It was followed
by the Tashkent Declaration between Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri and President
Ayub Khan on January 10, 1966. A few hours after this declaration was signed, our
beloved Prime Minister, Lal Bahadur Shastri died under mysterious circumstances.

In the 1971 Indo-Pak War over Bangladesh, Pakistan was cleft into two parts as her
Eastern wing became an independent sovereign country as Bangladesh. This was due to
the inhuman policies of the West Pak government which they pursued in East Pakistan
and the genocide of the Bengali intellectuals which they had committed and mass rapes
and slaughter they had perpetrated. This war, owe of the briefest full-scale wars in
the history of human warfare, established the superiority of the Indian Armed Forces
beyond any shade of doubt. Pakistan must not have forgotten this crushing defeat in
this war which lasted only for twelve days (5-17 Dec. 1971). Gen. Niazi had to lick
the dust and surrender together with 95,000 soldiers. Pakistan has since then been
arming herself to the teeth and itching for a show-down.

But India has always extended generously the hand of friend­liness and peace towards
Pakistan. Unfortunately, the fanatic and despotic rulers of Pakistan, whether Ayub, or
Bhutto, or Yahya or Zia, have always spurned India's friendly gestures. Even before the
ink could dry on the Tashkent Declaration, Pakistan began violating the letter and the
spirit of the agreement. Similar fate attended on the Simla Agreement after the 1971
war. This, despite the fact that India returned to Pakistan a big clunk of land won
in the Western Sector and 95,000 Pakistani prisoners of war.

Pakistan did not learn any lesson from these debacles. She started fomenting trouble
between India and Bangladesh. To an extent she seemed to succeed when the popular Bangla
leader, Sheikh Mujibur Rehman brutally murdered together with his family and Bangladesh
came under a pro-Pakistan regime. But that phase has now passed off.

Stung to jealousy by India's all-round progress-—economic, social, racial, communal and
scientific, Pakistan has all along been pouring venom against India both nationally and
internationally. When in 1974 India exploded her first nuclear device for peaceful
purposes, Pakistan raised a lot of hue and cry all over the world in all conferences and
assemblies and, thereby, prompted the U.S.A. and China to equip her with atomic and other
deadly weapons of war. She has now acquired an atom bomb. She has been trying to create
problems for India by assisting and abetting infiltrators and terrorists.

Recently, India has taken the initiative once again to develop good friendly relations
with Pakistan, by re-establishing diplomatic and cultural relations which had been snapped
at the time of the kargil war of 1971. Pakistan has also responded to India's gesture,
though with reservations. Trade and communication links have been resto­red. There have
been exchange of visits of teams in Hockey, Cricket and other games, the last one being
the six-match Pre-Olympic Hockey Test series in August 1988.

Let us hope that the Pakistan rulers would now realize the advantage of having mutually
beneficial economic, cultural and political relations with India. If peace and mutual
confidence pre­vails in relations between these two nations of Asia, each can bene­fit
from the other and both the nations could utilize their talents and resources to resolve
the gigantic problems facing them. But this will require a purging of heat and turning
over a new leaf on the part of Pakistan, since India has been thrice bitten and quite
naturally, she has reasons to be six-time shy.

Swami Vivekananda : The Legend

Today is the 150th birth anniversary of India's greatest monk Swami
Vivekananda.He was a key figure in the introduction of Indian
philosophies of Vedanta and Yoga to the western world and was
credited with raising interfaith awareness,bringing Hinduism to
the status of a major world religion in the late 19th century.
He was a major force in the revival of Hinduism in India and
contributed to the notion of nationalism in colonial India. He was
the chief disciple of the 19th century saint Ramakrishna and the
founder of the Ramakrishna Math and the Ramakrishna Mission.
He is perhaps best known for his inspiring speech beginning with
"Sisters and Brothers of America,"through which he introduced
Hinduism at the Parliament of the World's Religions in Chicago in
1893. SwamiVivekananda, known in his pre-monastic life as
Narendra Nath Datta,was born in an affluent family in Kolkata on
12 January 1863.His father, Vishwanath Datta, was a successful
attorney with interests in a wide range of subjects, and his mother,
Bhuvaneshwari Devi, was endowed with deep devotion,strong
character and other qualities. A precocious boy, Narendra excelled
in music,gymnastics and studies.By the time he graduated from
Calcutta University, he had acquired a vast knowledge of different
subjects, especially Western philosophy and history.Born with
a yogic temperament, he used to practise meditation even from his
boyhood, and was associated with Brahmo Movement for some time.


"As different streams having different sources all mingle their waters in the sea, so different tendencies, various though they appear, crooked or straight, all lead to God."

- Swami Vivekananda

Turning Point of Life:

At the threshold of youth Narendra had to pass through a period of
spiritual crisis when he was assailed by doubts about the existence
of God. It was at that time hefirst heard about Sri Ramakrishna from
one of his English professors at college.One day in November 1881,
Narendra went to meet Sri Ramakrishna who was staying at the Kali
Temple in Dakshineshwar. He straightaway asked the Master a question
which he had put to several others but had received no satisfactory
answer: “Sir, have you seen God?” Without a moment’s hesitation,
Sri Ramakrishna replied: “Yes, I have. I see Him as clearly as I see
you, only in a much intenser sense.”Apart from removing doubts from
the mind of Narendra, Sri Ramakrishna won him over through his pure,
unselfish love. Thus began a guru-disciple relationship which is quite
unique in the history of spiritual masters. Narendra now became a
frequent visitor to Dakshineshwar and, under the guidance of the
Master, made rapid strides on the spiritual path. At Dakshineshwar,
Narendra also met several young men who were devoted to Sri
Ramakrishna, and they all became close friends.Narendra's meeting
with Ramakrishna in November 1881 proved to be a turning point
 in Narendra's life.


"All differences in this world are of degree, and not of kind, because oneness is the secret of everything."

- Swami Vivekananda

Beginnings of a Monastic Brotherhood:

Sri Ramakrishna instilled in these young men the spirit of renunciatio
and brotherly love for one another. One day he distributed ochre
robes among them and sent them out to beg food. In this way he
himself laid the foundation for a new monastic order. He gave specific i
nstructions to Narendra about the formation of the new monastic
Order.In the small hours of 16 August 1886 Sri Ramakrishna gave
up his mortal body.After the Master’s passing, fifteen of his young
disciples(one more joined them later) began to live together in a
dilapidated building at Baranagar in North Kolkata. Under the
leadership of Narendra, they formed a new monastic brotherhood,
and in 1887 they took the formal vows of sannyasa, thereby assuming
new names.Narendra now became Swami Vivekananda (although
this name was actually assumed much later.)After establishing the
new monastic order,Vivekananda heard the inner call for a greater
mission in his life. While most of the followers of Sri Ramakrishna
thought of him in relation to their own personal lives, Vivekananda
thought of the Master in relation to India and the rest of the world.
 As the prophet of the present age, what was Sri Ramakrishna’s
message to the modern world and to India in particular?
 This question and the awareness of his own inherent powers
urged Swamiji to go out alone into the wide world.So in the middle
of 1890, after receiving the blessings of Sri Sarada Devi, the divine
consort of Sri Ramakrishna, known to the world as Holy
Mother, who was then staying in Kolkata, Swamiji left Baranagar
Math and embarked on a long journey of exploration and discovery
of India.



"If faith in ourselves had been more extensively taught and practiced, I am sure a very large portion of the evils and miseries that we have would have vanished."

- Swami Vivekananda

Discovery of India:

During his travels all over India, Swami Vivekananda was deeply moved
to see the appalling poverty and backwardness of the masses. He was
the first religious leader in India to understand and openly declare that
the real cause of India’s downfall was the neglect of the masses.The
 immediate need was to provide food and other bare necessities of
life to the hungry millions.For this they should be taught improved
methods of agriculture,village industries, etc.
It was in this context that Vivekananda grasped the crux of the
problem of poverty in India (which had escaped the attention
of social reformers of his days): owing to centuries of oppression,
the downtrodden masses had lost faith in their capacity to
improve their lot. It was first of all necessary to infuse into their
minds faith in themselves. For this they needed a life-giving,
inspiring message.Swamiji found this message in the principle
of the Atman, the doctrine of the potential divinity of the
soul, taught in Vedanta, the ancient system of religious philosophy
of India.
He saw that, in spite of poverty, the masses clung to religion, but
they had never been taught the life-giving, ennobling principles of
Vedanta and how to apply them in practical life.Thus the masses
needed two kinds of knowledge: secular knowledge to improve
their economic condition,and spiritual knowledge to infuse in them
faith in themselves and strengthen their moral sense. The next
question was, how to spread these two kinds of knowledge
among the masses? Through education – this was the answer that
Swamiji found.One thing became clear to Swamiji: to carry out his
 plans for the spread of educationand for the uplift of the poor masses,
and also of women, an efficient organization of dedicated people was
needed.As he said later on, he wanted “to set in motion a machinery
which will bring noblest ideas to the doorstep of even the poorest and
the meanest.” It was to serve as this ‘machinery’ that Swamiji founded
the Ramakrishna Mission a few years later.


"If money help a man to do good to others, it is of some value; but if not, it is simply a mass of evil, and the sooner it is got rid of, the better."

- Swami Vivekananda



World’s Parliament of Religions , 1893:

It was when these ideas were taking shape in his mind in the course of
his wanderings that Swami Vivekananda heard about the World’s
Parliament of Religions to be held in Chicago in 1893. His friends
and admirers in India wanted him to attend the Parliament. He too felt
that the Parliament would provide the right forum to present his
Master’s message to the world, and so he decided to go to America.
Another reason which prompted Swamiji to go to America was to
seek financial help for his project of uplifting the masses.
Swamiji, however, wanted to have an inner certitude and divine call
regarding his mission. Both of these he got while he sat in deep
meditation on the rock-island at Kanyakumari. With the funds partly
collected by his Chennai disciples and partly provided by the
 Raja of  Khetri,Swami Vivekananda left for America from Mumbai
on 31 May 1893.
His speeches at the World’s Parliament of Religions held in September
1893 made him famous as an ‘orator by divine right’ and as a ‘
Messenger of Indian wisdom to the Western world’. After the
Parliament, Swamiji spent nearly three and a half years spreading
Vedanta as lived and taught by Sri Ramakrishna, mostly in the eastern
parts of USA and also in London.



"Our duty is to encourage every one in his struggle to live up to his own highest idea, and strive at the same time to make the ideal as near as possible to the Truth."

- Swami Vivekananda

Back to India and Ramakrishna Mission:

He returned to India in January 1897. In response to the enthusiastic welcome that he received everywhere,
he delivered a series of lectures in different parts of India, which created a great stir all over the
country. Through these inspiring and profoundly significant lectures Swamiji attempted to do the following:

i)   to rouse the religious consciousness of the people and create in them pride in their cultural heritage;
ii)  to bring about unification of Hinduism by pointing out the common bases of its sects;
iii)  to focus the attention of educated people on the plight of the downtrodden masses, and to expound his
      plan for their uplift by the application of the principles of Practical Vedanta.

Soon after his return to Kolkata, Swami Vivekananda accomplished another important task of his mission on
earth. He founded on 1 May 1897 a unique type of organization known as Ramakrishna Mission, in which monks and lay people would jointly undertake propagation of Practical Vedanta, and various forms of social service, such as running hospitals, schools, colleges, hostels, rural development centres etc, and conducting massive relief and rehabilitation work for victims of earthquakes, cyclones and other calamities, in different parts of India and other countries.
In early 1898 Swami Vivekananda acquired a big plot of land on the western bank of the Ganga at a place called Belur to have a permanent abode for the monastery and monastic Order originally started at Baranagar, and got it registered as Ramakrishna Math after a couple of years. Here Swamiji established a new, universal pattern of monastic life which adapts ancient monastic ideals to the conditions of modern life, which gives equal importance to personal illumination and social service, and which is open to all men without any distinction of religion, race or caste.It may be mentioned here that in the West many people were influenced by Swami Vivekananda’s life and message. Some of them became his disciples or devoted friends. Among them the names of Margaret Noble (later known as Sister Nivedita), Captain and Mrs Sevier, Josephine McLeod and Sara Ole Bull, deserve special mention.
Nivedita dedicated her life to educating girls in Kolkata. Swamiji had many Indian disciples also, some of whom joined Ramakrishna Math and became sannyasins.


"Our duty is to encourage every one in his struggle to live up to his own highest idea, and strive at the same time to make the ideal as near as possible to the Truth."

- Swami Vivekananda

Death:

On 4 July 1902, the day of his death, Vivekananda woke up very early in the morning, went to chapel and meditated for three hours. He taught Shukla-Yajur-Veda, Sanskrit grammar, and yoga philosophy to pupils in the morning at Belur Math.He discussed with colleagues a plan to start a Vedic college in the Ramakrishna Math, and carried out usual conversation. At seven p.m. he went into his room and asked not to be disturbed.Vivekananda died at ten minutes past nine p.m. while he was meditating.According to his disciples, Vivekananda attained Mahasamadhi.
Rupture of blood vessels in the brain was reported as a possible cause of the death.His disciples believed that rupture was on account of Brahmarandhra —the aperture in the crown of the head —being pierced when he attained Mahasamadhi. Vivekananda had fulfilled his own prophecy of not living to be forty years old.He was cremated on sandalwood funeral pyre on the bank of Ganga in Belur. On the other bank of the river, Ramakrishna had been cremated sixteen years before.

"The moment I have realized God sitting in the temple of every human body, the moment I stand in reverence before every human being and see God in him – that moment I am free from bondage, everything that binds vanishes, and I am free."

-  Swami Vivekananda

"Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life – think of it, dream of it, live on that idea. Let the brain, muscles, nerves, every part of your body, be full of that idea, and just leave every other idea alone. This is the way to success."

- Swami Vivekananda

For more detail please visit: www.vivekananda.org

Indian dreams..

We are all used to dreaming and enjoy doing it. The pleasures of building castles in the air are untold and infinite. At times some people sit and discuss about the current political and socioeconomic situation and give their own news and suggestions about the problems facing the country. What kind of a country do we dream of? All of us being inhabitants of citizens of our country naturally dream of the kind of a country that we desire for. We even dream of building a kind of country as we hope it to be.

India is a country with an amazing diversity. With the onset of the new millennium, historians, sociologists and other experts predict that only three Asian countries seem to be having the potential of taking Asia to great heights i.e., India, China and Japan, Japan is of course economically challenging but China and India seem to be more dominating and promising because of their impressive size and man power, India marching gloriously ahead after her independence, is emerging as a force to reckon with. But a lot needs to be done on the home front with illiteracy, population explosion, poverty, unemployment, corrupt politicians etc. Besides this, we have failed to provide basic needs of to all the citizens like safe and clean drinking water, housing, sanitation, a square meal a day, medical facilities etc. moreover, the problem of malnutrition, AIDS etc, are growing day by day. According to the report of WHO about lakh Indians were suffering from AIDS at the beginning of the millennium and by 2010 if sufficient measures are not taken India will overtake Africa in HIV infection status.

The India of my dreams may appear impracticable and a little too imaginative to many but then this is what I hope my country to be. In the land of my dreams, the suffering millions and the burden of poverty will be non existent. The ever-widening gap between the rich and the poor will be bridged. Education will be free and compulsory and there will be complete law and order. Crime and violence will be curbed and reason will reign all over. Every citizen will be able to express his/her ideas. No one would be deprived of justice. Everyone will live with dignity. There will be equal rights for everyone-no discrimination between rich and the poor, high or low, man or woman.

Science and technology will reach every village, town and city. Computer literacy will be a haven for scientists. We will produce our own products with indigenous technology. The country will be self-reliant in technology and everything else. All citizens will be swayed only by one emotion-patriotism. Thus, India of my dreams would be strong and self-reliant economically and strong in its defense, politically astute, socially civilized, non-communal, secular, educated and united.