Surface-to-air Akash missile test fired

Two days after its successful trial, India today again test-fired the indigenously developed surface-to-air Akash missile from the test range at Chandipur near Balsoer.

"The user specific trial, which formed part of the country's routine air defence exercises, was conducted from the ITR," said a Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) official associated with the ‘Akash’ missile project.

To re-validate the technology and operational efficacy of the anti-aircraft missile, Defence forces conducted the trial with logistic support provided by the ITR.

Buddhist encyclopaedia published in Russia

The first encyclopaedia of Buddhist philosophy has been brought out in Russia where Buddhism has seen a revival after the collapse of Communism.

The encyclopaedia analyses the philosophical aspects of Buddhism in the context of different civilisations, cultures and religions, including Hinduism, Christianity and Islam.

Releasing the book at a function held at the Institute of Philosophy of the Russian Academy of Sciences India’s Ambassador Ajai Malhotra said that the philosophy of Lord Buddha was a relevant today as ever and would continue to inspire future generations across the world.

Indian-origin student cracks 350 years' old math puzzles

A 16-year-old Indian-origin 'genius' from Germany has managed to crack puzzles that had baffled the world of maths for more than 350 years.

Shouryya Ray, from Dresden, has solved two fundamental particle dynamics theories which physicists have previously been able to calculate only by using powerful computers.

Shouryya has been hailed a genius after working out the problems set by Sir Isaac Newton.

His solutions mean that scientists can now calculate the flight path of a thrown ball and then predict how it will hit and bounce off a wall, the Daily Mail reported.

BoB overtakes PNB as second most profitable public sector bank

State-owned Bank of Baroda (BoB) has pipped PNB to become the country's second largest public sector lender in terms of annual profit.

Mumbai-based BoB's net profit crossed Rs 5,000 crore during 2011-12, a rise of 18 per cent from the previous year.

Punjab National Bank's (PNB) net profit rose by 10.2 per cent to Rs 4,884 crore for the fiscal ended March, 2012.

The country's largest bank State Bank of India in the first nine months of 2011-12 has posted a net profit of Rs 8,243.64 crore. Its profit in 2010-11 stood Rs 8,264.5 crore .

69th Annual Globe awards,Clooney, Streep Win Golden Globes

Ricky Gervais got himself bleeped Sunday night at the 69th Annual Golden Globe Awards — but then again, so did Meryl Streep.
Gervais, returning as host of the show for the third time, largely avoided the personal insults that caused so much controversy at last year’s show, but he still got off quite a few good jabs here and there, including at the Hollywood Foreign Press, which puts on the Globes, and NBC, which airs them.
“The Globes are just like the Oscars, except without all that ‘esteem,’” he joked. He added that the Globes were to the Oscars what Kim Kardashian is to Kate Middleton: “a bit louder, a bit trashier, a bit drunker and more easily bought — allegedly.”
Biting hard on the hand that fed him, Gervais later said, talking about “Boardwalk Empire,” “It’s about a load of immigrants who came to America about a hundred years ago, and they got involved in bribery and corruption and worked their way up into high society. But enough about the Hollywood Foreign Press.”

Standard & Poor's downgrades EU bailout fund to AA+

The Standard and Poor's ratings agency on Monday downgraded the EU bailout fund EFSF by one notch to AA+ but said it would restore the top AAA ranking if the fund obtains additional guarantees.

The decision was the result of downgrades to France's and Austria's ratings from AAA since they served as top-level guarantors of the European Financial Stability Facility, S&P said in a statement.

"The EFSF's obligations are no longer fully supported either by guarantees from EFSF members rated 'AAA' by Standard & Poor's, or by 'AAA' rated securities," said S&P.

The eurozone's temporary bailout fund uses guarantees from its top-rated members to borrow funds at low rates on the market to loan onwards to countries which can no longer borrow at affordable rates.

Railways generates Rs 49,209 cr of revenue earnings from commodity-wise freight

Indian Railways have generated Rs 49,209 crore of revenue earnings from commodity-wise freight traffic during April-December 2011 as compared to Rs 44,789 crore during the corresponding period last year, registering an increase of 4.59 per cent.

Railways carried 705 million tonnes of commodity-wise freight traffic during the period as compared to 673 million tonnes carried during the corresponding period last year, registering an increase of 4.68 per cent.

The Net Tonne Kilo Metres (NTKM) went up from 444,515 million during April-December 2010 to 466,968 million during April-December 2011, showing an increase of 4.68 per cent.

Singapore govt buys 1.09% stake into Reliance Industries

MUMBAI: The Government of Singapore has acquired 1.09 per cent stake, now worth about Rs 2,500 crore, in Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries (RIL), the company's latest shareholding data shows.

The Singapore Government held 3,57,72,679 (more than 3.57 crore) shares of RIL as on December 31, 2011, accounting for a 1.09 per cent stake in the company.

At the current price of Rs 713.40 a piece, these shares are worth about Rs 2,550 crore.