MVP List for IPL. Dhoni is Second

Once again DHONI....

LONDON: Indian cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has pipped the likes of tennis superstar Rafael Nadal and iconic basketball player Kobe Bryant to be among 10 most marketable sportspersons in the world, according to the SportsPro magazine.

Dhoni, who hit the winning runs in the ICC World Cup and led the Chennai Super Kings to the 2010 Indian Premier League ( IPL) title, is 10th on the list.

The top spot goes to Jamaican sprint king Usain Bolt and includes footballing sensations Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi at third and fourth respectively.

Dhoni's teammate Yuvraj Singh also makes the list -- at the 49th spot -- after being named player of the tournament at this year's World Cup.

Chinese basketball superstar Yao Ming makes the top 20 at 11th despite consistent injury problems.

"MS Dhoni's marketability has reached another new high in India in the aftermath of the cricket World Cup. Although he will never attain quite the Messianic status that Sachin Tendulkar has with the Indian population, Dhoni has undeniably become the number one choice for those looking to boost their brand in the south-eastern Asian country," SportsPro editor David Cushnan said.

The only female in the top ten is ninth-placed Caroline Wozniacki, who reached the top of the world rankings in 2010 despite not having won a Grand Slam.

Caroline Wozniacki went down to the Former World No 1 Sharapova

ROME: Former Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova will play Australia's Samantha Stosur in the Rome International final after their semifinal victories on Saturday.

Seventh seed Sharapova defeated world number one Caroline Wozniacki 7-5, 6-3 in a match littered with service breaks.

Earlier Stosur had steamrollered China's Li Na 7-6 (8/6), 6-0.

Sharapova rolled back the years with a performance of crisp power hitting to eventually prove too much for her Danish opponent.

She broke Wozniacki early on but when she led 4-3 there were four breaks in a row until the Russian finally held serve to take the set 7-5.

The service struggles continued at the start of the second set as four of the first five games went against the server.

That saw Wozniacki open up a 3-1 lead but Sharapova wouldn't let her consolidate and reeled off the final five games as she consistently found the corners with rasping ground-strokes.

The 27-year-old Stosur recorded her third straight sets win over Li and maintained her unbeaten record against a player ranked one place above her in the world.

Stosur also reached her first final since the 2010 French Open almost a year ago.

And she said that there was nothing unusual about Li's second set collapse.

"Sometimes when that happens, if you do win a tight first set then it can be a real boost to that person but for the other person that loses it can almost be a deflation and it's a big disappointment," she said.

"But I guess this is when you have to be tough enough to try and forget about it and start over again because obviously you have been playing well enough to play a tight first set.

"Sometimes it is probably more a question of the mentality of going into the second set because there must be something that's been going okay if you've had a tight first set.

"That does happen a lot in tennis, both men's and women's and I guess it is every player's job to not let it happen but sometimes it does."

The sixth seed got off to a flying start and broke Li in the opening game, working the Chinese wide to her backhand and forcing a short defensive return before steaming up to the net and powering away a forehand winner.

Stosur forced a set point on the fourth seed's serve at 5-3 but a deep first serve gave Li a short return to put away.

A series of deep crosscourt backhands setting her up for a forehand winner from close to the net saw Li fend off another set point soon after before she held serve.

That proved a vital hold as in the next game Li forced a break point and levelled up at 5-5 when Stosur went wide with a backhand.

The first mini-break in the tie-break went Li's way when she brought Stosur up to the net with a drop shot and then rasped a backhand pass crosscourt.

But she gave it up immediately with a double fault.

Li brought up a set point with a forehand winner down line but couldn't take it when she put the same shot into the tramlines on the next point.

Stosur was not so generous when she was presented with a set point moments later, hitting a powerful serve out wide and following it up with a forehand winner.

The world number seven got off to a quick start in the second set as well as Li double faulted on break point in the second game.

And the Chinese player's game crumbled from there as Stosur cantered through the rest of the set

Statistical highlights: Rajasthan Royals vs Chennai Super Kings

# Chennai Super Kings' superb victory by 63 runs is the second biggest by runs margin in the IPL 4, behind Bangalore's 85-run win over Punjab at Bangalore on May 6, 2011.

# Chennai Super Kings, for the first time, have recorded three consecutive victories over Rajasthan in the IPL.

# Chennai's victory is their third biggest by runs margin in the IPL overall - their two largest being by 92 runs against Bangalore at Port Elizabeth on April 20, 2009 and by 78 runs against Deccan at East London on May 4, 2009.

# Chennai's tally of 33 victories is the highest in the IPL - winning % 58.77 (Lost 23 and Tied 1) out of 57 played.

# Suresh Raina (2/0) has become the first bowler to claim two wickets without conceding a single run in the IPL.

# Raina's figures are his best in the IPL. # Raina's tally of 320 at an average of 32.00 in eleven matches is the second highest for Chennai in the IPL 4.

# Raina's overall tally of 1695 (ave.36.84) in 57 matches is a record in the IPL.

# Michael Hussey and Murali Vijay put on 77 for the first wicket - Chennai's best against Rajasthan in the IPL, eclipsing the 62 between Vijay and Hayden at Chepauk on April 3, 2010.

# Mahendra Singh Dhoni (41 not out) completed his 1200 runs in the IPL, aggregating 1232 at an average of 37.33 in 54 matches, including six fifties.

# Ajinkya Rahane (52 off 36 balls) recorded his third fifty in the IPL - his first in the present tournament.
# Chennai's 196 for three is the highest by any team against Rajasthan at Jaipur in the IPL.

# Michael Hussey (46) has managed 388 at an average of 55.42 in nine innings, including three fifties. His tally is the second highest in the IPL 4, next only to Virender Sehwag (424).

# Murali Vijay's excellent 53 off 40 balls is his second fifty in the IPL 4 - his eighth in Twenty20.

# Doug Bollinger (3/22) has produced his best bowling performance against Rajasthan.

# Bollinger has completed his 50 wickets in Twenty20 in 43 matches at an average of 21.82 and 25 at 15.12 runs apiece in 16 matches in the IPL

# Albie Morkel has extended his record for most wickets for Chennai - 54 at an average of 25.88 in 49 matches.

# The top three Chennai bowlers in the IPL 4 are - Bollinger (13), Morkel (13) and Ravichandran Ashwin (12).

# Shane Warne has now registered seven ducks - the most by a batsman in the IPL.

Rayudu, Badrinath likely to be selected for Windies tour

NEW DELHI: Young Ambati Rayudu and veteran Subramanium Badrinath are two players who are likely to be rewarded with national call-ups for their good show in the ongoing IPL when the selectors meet in Chennai on Friday to decide on the ODI squad for the tour of West Indies.

Pune Warriors leg-spinner Rahul Sharma, who has had an astonishing economy rate of less than six through 10 matches, is likely to be another beneficiary.

It is still not clear as to how many seniors apart from Virender Sehwag who will undergo shoulder surgery will be rested for the shorter version.

Sachin Tendulkar, who nowadays only plays selective matches in the shorter version and veteran speedster Zaheer Khan may want to give their tired bodies much needed rest after a rigorous World Cup and an equally arduous IPL campaign.

Even skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni is reportedly keen to take a break before the Test series in the Windies followed by an important two and half month long tour of England.

Whatever be the scenario, Rayudu who has so far scored 349 runs from 10 games with a strike rate of nearly 120 has a good chance to board the flight to Caribbean.

"His (Rayudu) wicketkeeping abilities is another advantage for him. With Robin Uthappa not doing well, Rayudu's case is even more stronger. Whether Dhoni takes rest or not, Rayudu can be considered a second 'keeper in shorter versions as Indian teams over the years have always had a second option while touring the Caribbean," a BCCI source said.

For Badrinath who had a fantastic Ranji season scoring a whopping 922 runs at an average of 131 followed it up with 294 runs in the IPL so far at a strike-rate of 135.

The talking point in the cricket fraternity has been how Badrinath who was known for his dogged approach has brought an attacking flair in his style of batting. He along with Michael Hussey has been one of the batting mainstays.

Bengal captain Manoj Tiwary who is also in good form this year having scored 277 runs is another candidate but he can be termed as 'dark horse'. Manoj's selection however depends on how many among the seniors back out for the ODI and T20 series.

Among the bowlers Praveen Kumar is an automatic choice and if Ashish Nehra fails to recover in time, Ishant Sharma will form the core of the pace trio that will also have Munaf Patel.

While off-spinners Harbhajan Singh and Ravichandran Ashwin select themselves, it is unlikely that leggie Piyush Chawla will be able to retain his place. Chawla's show in the IPL has been as disappointing as was his World Cup campaign.

The lanky Punjab lad Rahul who has been a revelation is the favourite after his big-hearted show against superior batsmen. His economy rate of 5.16 over 10 matches has been brilliant to say the least.

If the selectors prefer a left-arm spinner then pint-sized Iqbal Abdulla will fight it out with experienced Pragyan Ojha.

While Ojha has been disappointing in the IPL, Abdulla has carried his good all-round form for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy into the IPL with 13 wickets with average of 6.10 runs per over.

IPL New Calculation for MVP

TCS Q4 Earnings

In an interview, Abhishek Shindadkar, IT Analyst of ICICI Securities, shares his views on TCS Q4 earnings, its hiring targets and how FY12 as a whole would pan out for TCS. Excerpts:

A disappointment there on the quarter on quarter numbers front, but it has still significantly done well for themselves at least on the FY11 numbers. What was your outlook when you first saw the initial numbers?
See the initial reaction to numbers is that it is a good set of numbers. They are ahead of our estimates at least and a 5.1% revenue growth is decent considering that Q1 of calendar is typically a seasonally slow quarter.

So decision-making takes time and the spending is not as robust as you might change some of the other quarters. Prima-facie, I would say it is a good set of numbers. That is what my initial reaction would be.

Do you think there would be a bit of a disappointment coming in which is reflecting in the stock reaction of the bonus issue not being announced this time around?
Those expectations are always difficult to fulfill at all the times, but yes what is leading to the decline in the stock price is primarily a high level of expectations from the stock on every quarter.

And when the consensus is very high relative to what the firm is saying, then you might see people saying that it is a disappointment but considering that this is a seasonally weak quarter, I would say it is a good set of numbers.

What is your sense there is of course focus going to be on their hiring guidance going forward? In terms of what they do from an FY12 perspective is also going to be key because like you pointed out this has really been an outperformer of sorts quarter on quarter even in terms of stock price movements. Do you think TCS would perhaps give a better indication about things in FY12, particularly on the hiring front?
Yes, it is. A lot of people would be keen to hear what Chandra says because in the last four or five quarters their commentary has led to the precedence in the movement in the IT sector.

In terms of hiring targets this year, they will likely hire around 50,000 gross additions which is a very steep number and what they hire next year and how are they going to do on their utilisation front and a couple of other matrix would be your keen thing to watch look out for.

What would you do with TCS at 1200?
TCS continues to be our top pick within the IT space, primarily because it looks in much better shape than some of its other peers. It did its restructuring back in 2008 and it has grown faster than some of the other peers in the last five quarters.

Any decline in the stock price gives you a decent opportunity to enter and we still maintain it as a buy with a price target of around 1280.

Could the disappointment be largely on account of the fact that the expectations after what HCL Tech did were probably high?
It would be largely unfair to compare on a same base because the base for TCS and HCL is different.

A couple of people that we spoke to two days before the results mentioned that expectations from TCS would be high because for the last three quarters they have managed to surprise the street. As I see the Q4 numbers are not really that disappointing...

It is always a case of high expectations set at the start. Most of the streets have expected closer to 5% dollar growth. So 5.1% is probably in line with the expectation.

However, given that HCL showed significant upside to its numbers, people were expecting that TCS might do something like 6%-6.5%. To my mind, however, it's a little difficult to do on a given base of $2 billion and it would be really surprising to compare it with someone like HCL on a quarterly basis.

A lot of people anticipated that TCS would at least maintain margins, if not better the operating profit margin on a QoQ basis. Margins have fallen which is something that we have not seen in TCS for the last about four quarters...

We were building in a decline of a 96 basis points in the EBIT margin primarily because the company continues to hire aggressively and Q4 being a soft quarter you might not see the revenue growth coming in.

That might lead to a decline in the utilisation and that was primarily the reason we were building close to 100 basis points decline in the EBIT margin.

How are you working your numbers for FY12? What is the assumption that you are working on, given TCS' consistent outperformance in the market space?
It will take some for us to come out with the numbers.

What about the exposure, almost 21% to the euro and the pound? How would the forex positions be managed by TCS given an environment where there is a lot of volatility on the currency front?
In the last couple of quarters they have been able to do that much better than most of the other peers. It has been consistent that if the rupee stays in the band of around 44 to 47, currency volatility is manageable.

However, if we have a significant appreciation in any quarter then, it definitely impacts your operating margin, which is not manageable on a quarterly basis.

How do you think the year as a whole would pan out for TCS, purely in terms of the operating picture? If at all there could be a culprit as far as the margin goes, it has to be the utilisation rate...

If you continue to hire 50000 people on an annual basis, your utilisations might come off a bit. On a margin front, I expect them to at least maintain them at the current level.

On the hiring numbers we are expecting guidance to be more than 50,000. How would any surprise there impact your outlook? Are you expecting a surprise firstly and secondly how would that tweak the numbers or the general outlook on how the company would manage to employee cost and thereby its margins?

The company has been saying 45000 gross for FY12, if I am not wrong. What we have to look at is TCS seems to comprehend that it cannot hire 50000 gross heads annually every year and that is why it is trying to diversify by going into something like that iON platform which kind of is a non-linear revenue.

So I have to look at if and when they decide to guide for 50,000 plus, then I would be interested in knowing what is the attrition number that they are looking at for FY12 because a significant jump in the hiring would suggest that demand is still strong and given that they are pursuing a lot of non-linear initiatives, it might suggest that they expect that the attrition to pick up as well.

Duncan Fletcher - What he did so far?????

It was September 2005. Duncan Fletcher was riding high after England's Ashes triumph. Journalists were showering him with praise, calling him England's greatest-ever coach, and government officials were suddenly willing to overrule protocol and rush through his UK citizenship. Here was a coach to be proud of, a man who had dragged English cricket out of the doldrums, bred confidence in his group of young, inexperienced players, and led them on a monumental trek to the summit of Everest - beating the indomitable Australian team in an Ashes series. He was a hero just as much as any of those players who lifted the urn.

Fast-forward to April 2007. The England team have been through the "Tour of Hell" in Australia, losing all five Test matches. After that, they were involved in another awful English World Cup campaign. No one came out of that six-month period with any real credit but, as is often the case in international sport, it was left to the coach to fall on his sword. Duncan Fletcher's seven-year reign with the England team was over. If you add to the mix some controversial comments he made in his autobiography about Andrew Flintoff, a few journalists, and some members of the ECB, the story looks very much one of a man whose legacy with England cricket is compromised.

To those who played under him, however, there will always be a legacy, regardless of whether they got on with him personally or not. His ideas became so much of a blueprint for England cricket over the time he was in charge that I defy any recent player to stand up and say he didn't learn anything off Duncan Fletcher, whether he played one Test or a hundred.

Marcus Trescothick, who made his debut in 2000, shortly after Fletcher took the helm, remembers his first impressions clearly. "The way he operated in a tough environment really struck me. He managed to bring players together. It was not easy because there were quite a few older, experienced players, and the cricket was lingering on from years before, but he managed to gel the team. Also, he made sure everyone knew where they stood. He had strong ideas, and everyone was clear what was expected of them."

His method was to be one taken from business, in which he had plenty of experience in both Zimbabwe and South Africa. He believed strongly in having a management group of senior players who would report problems to him and the captain, while feeding information back to team-mates from those in charge. At the same time he strongly believed in players learning to think for themselves, using him and other coaches more as consultants to their game, rather than being told what to do. He was particularly keen on analysis, but wasn't about to shove it down throats. It was very new and very different to a crop of players used to a coach occasionally telling them that their foot was getting too far across or their elbow wasn't high enough.

Fletcher had two advantages when he took over the side. Firstly, the England team were at a particularly low ebb, having just lost at home to New Zealand, and so the only way was up. Secondly, he was joined by a captain, Nasser Hussain, who had the drive and desire to change English cricket. Different in background and temperament, they both understood that the England team needed a revamp in personnel and management style.

The inherited issue of players finding a hostile environment on entering the dressing-room, owing to a culture in which every man was left to look after himself, was already being treated by the introduction of central contracts. Not only did the England coach have more control over players, but also they themselves began to feel part of the team. They were now England players, rather than players more easily affiliated with their counties. What Fletcher mainly did, however, was confront problems. Those who he felt did not buy into the team environment, or were unwilling to change their ways, found that they were surplus to requirements pretty quickly. In their place came the likes of Trescothick and Michael Vaughan. These were players who were picked out of county obscurity by a coach who believed they had the technique and temperament to succeed at the highest level.

More importantly they added to the team. Both brought bags of enthusiasm, were willing to train harder, and bought into the idea of taking the England team forward. Fletcher, meanwhile, was willing to stick his neck on the line for them. He was to be loyal to the death. In return he expected the absolute loyalty of those around him.

Any cricketer who came into contact with Fletcher could not help but realise that this coach was completely different from any they had experienced before. All batsmen, without exception, were shepherded into a dark room at some stage early in their England career, to listen to Fletcher's theories on playing spin, which involved a white-board, plenty of lines showing different angles of deliveries, and finally why the "forward press" worked. He was never one for telling a player to do something unless he explained it thoroughly first.

Geraint Jones remembers being struck by just how much thought went into Fletcher's coaching. "It was incredible how absorbed he was in the game. He never stopped thinking about it. He was never afraid to think outside the box, look at other sports, relate their methods back to cricket, and then push us to think in those terms as well."

	He knew my game better than anyone else. He worked out what made me tick very early, and was able to spot flaws in my technique that no other coach would even dream about telling meMarcus Trescothick on Fletcher

An analytical mind allowed Fletcher to see below the surface, and find out what really made players tick. It helped enormously with the England side, but in dissecting opponents' weaknesses he was without peer. "His greatest strength was in his analysis of opposition players, and the way he got us thinking about it too," Jones recalls. "I remember how Jacques Rudolph kept getting out exactly as Fletcher predicted on tour in South Africa, and Hayden in the 2005 Ashes was very similar." It is hard to quantify how many wickets that skill took for the England team over seven years. As for his own players, he was able to use that talent to predict difficulties and fix them before they became an issue. Prior to the 2005 Ashes series, Fletcher came up to me stating that he thought I needed to work on my method against Shane Warne. Being slightly pig-headed, I replied that rather than change anything before the series started I would prefer to see whether my technique worked first. Needless to say I was running back for advice and guidance two Tests into the series.

Trescothick used Fletcher for batting advice more than most of his team-mates. "He knew my game better than anyone else. He worked out what made me tick very early, and was able to spot flaws in my technique that no other coach would even dream about telling me." None of this came by accident. Trescothick remembers a crisis moment during the Ashes tour of Australia in 2002-03. "I knew something was wrong but couldn't put a finger on it. I told Duncan this, and he went away to his room, accompanied by a computer, studied how I had been playing, looked at old footage and finally after a couple of days noticed a minor flaw that had crept in." His natural attention to detail made his insights unique.

Ashley Giles, another who really flourished under the Fletcher regime, echoes Trescothick's assessment: "He has huge technical knowledge, what he said always stuck with you." Ironically, though, he believes that Fletcher's greatest influence on the England bowlers came through taking their attention away from technique. "He challenged us to think about tactics and game- plans rather than being too preoccupied with technique. His role was to switch us on to competition mode." With a bowling coach of Troy Cooley's calibre alongside him, perhaps he didn't need to focus too much on the technical side of bowling, but it was vitally important for the bowling unit to be absolutely comfortable in their roles, and know what the bowling plans were for each batsman.

Giles, who has made the jump from player to coach himself, is determined to pass on much of the advice given to him. "I was very fortunate to play under Fletcher and Bob Woolmer. My coaching education has not come from Level 1, 2, 3 or 4, but from spending time with the best in the business. I have realised that much of the stuff that we took for granted hasn't spread down the system, and that makes my new job exciting."

Over the years that Duncan was in charge huge changes were made to the set-up in terms of support personnel. He believed strongly that a world-class team needed to have a world-class support network behind it. Doctors, analysts, bowling coaches, psychologists, fitness gurus, physios and masseurs travelled with us everywhere by the time of his departure. How much effort it took for him to get all those positions in place with his employers is anyone's guess, but I suspect that there were some battles fought which the players were not privy to.

Duncan Fletcher -New Men In Blue Coach

MUMBAI: Duncan Fletcher was on Wednesday appointed India's cricket coach to replace the highly successful Gary Kirsten, ending weeks of suspense on who will take over the high-profile job.

The 62-year-old Zimbabwean has coached England with mixed results from 1999 to 2007, will take over the job for a two-year period.

The decision to appoint Fletcher, whose name was doing the rounds as a possible successor to Kirsten, was taken at the BCCI's working committee meeting here. The announcement came as a surprise as the BCCI had given no indication that it would name the coach on Wednesday itself.

"The contract with Fletcher is for two years. He may not join the team in the West Indies as he has some prior commitments," BCCI Secretary N Srinivasan told reporters after the meeting.

Eric Simmons, who was the bowling coach during Kirsten's tenure, will continue in the same position, Srinivasan said.

Fletcher, who captained Zimbabwe during the 1983 World Cup and played just six one-dayers during the African nation's pre-Test days, had mixed fortunes as coach for England.

The high points of his career was England's Ashes triumph over Australia in the home series of 2005, England's first series win in West Indies in 36 years and taking England to the third spot in Test rankings.

Fletcher has a tough job ahead of him as he replaces the amiable South African Kirsten, who set a high benchmark for the Indian team and completed his stint with the memorable World Cup triumph earlier this month.

With Kirsten at helm, India reached the pinnacle of Test rankings and number two in the ODI list after conjuring up memorable wins and draws in series abroad. He relinquished the job to spend more time with his family.

Captain Fantastic at 52

WASHINGTON: Led by India's " Captain Fantastic" Mahendra Singh Dhoni, five Indians have made it to the Time magazine's 100 most influential people in the world, whose "ideas spark dialogue and dissent and sometimes even revolution."

Other Indians on the Time 100 list released on Thursday are "Titan of Industry" Mukesh Ambani, "Brain Mapper" V.S. Ramachandran, "Philanthropist" Azim Premji and "Change Agent" Aruna Roy.

The list is topped by Wael Ghonim, the Google executive who became the "Spokesman for a Revolution" in Egypt.

US President Barack Obama ranked 86 trails far behind his Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (43), Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg (6), WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange (9) and Pakistani spy master Ahmed Shuja Pasha (17).

Ranked 52nd, Dhoni under whose leadership India won its first Cricket World Cup in 28 years, Time noted, "is now universally acknowledged as India's best captain ever. He's also its most likable, exuding both cool confidence and down-to-earth humility."

"Dhoni doesn't just lead a cricket team; he's also India's captain of hope. And he didn't just win India the World Cup; he also taught India how to win," it said.

The story of Mukesh Ambani ranked 61st "is straight out of the Bollywood movies of his hometown," Time said noting, "He started out in life crammed with six people into a two-bedroom tenement in the most congested part of central Mumbai."

"Ambani, 54, also took the firm his father founded - Reliance Industries - and turned it into India's largest private-sector company, a $45 billion petrochemicals giant," it said describing it as "a new kind of Indian company, built through adroit manipulation of governments and the stock market but also enriching millions of shareholders."

Placed 79th, V.S. Ramachandran, 59, "once described as the Marco Polo of neuroscience," the Time said "has mapped some of the most mysterious regions of the mind."

"With his simple, creative and innovative ideas," Ramachandran, "best known for developing a therapy for phantom-limb pain in which a mirror is used to reflect the intact limb, creating the illusion that the missing one is still there," it said "is changing how our brains think about our minds."

Microsoft chairman Bill Gates who has profiled "philanthropist" Azim Premji for the Time, says, "If anyone personifies India's economic transformation, it is Azim Premji, chairman of the information-technology powerhouse Wipro Ltd."

"A pioneer of India's IT-outsourcing industry, Premji helped unleash a generation of skilled technical professionals who make up India's growing middle class," he wrote.

Bringing up the rear for India on the Time list is "Change Agent" Aruna Roy, who "starting from a tiny village in the deserts of Rajasthan in the 1980s began a long campaign to bring transparency to India's notoriously corrupt bureaucracy."

"Many social activists clamour for India to do more for the dispossessed. A former civil servant, Roy doesn't just condemn a broken system; she changes it," it noted.

The Hero's Voice thru his Bat- Robin Uttapa

Out-of-favour Indian batsman Robin Uthappa has given up the funky haircuts to get back on the national team and said he would gladly give up his $2 million Indian Premier League (IPL) cheque if it were to help the cause.

The 25-year-old batsman played the last of his 38 one-day internationals in July 2008 but remains hot property among the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises for his fearless power-hitting and wicket-keeping.

Uthappa hopes to shine for IPL newcomers Pune Warriors, who paid $2.1 million for him in the player auctions, but his main goal is to use the Twenty20 tournament as a springboard to force an India recall.

"I would do anything to play for the country," Uthappa said in a telephonic interview.

"Swapping the cheque would be a very easy thing to do, with my eyes closed. Coming back to the Indian team is the most important thing for me."

Uthappa, a key member of India's 2007 Twenty20 World Cup-winning team, was at one point India's answer to Kevin Pietersen, thanks to his hard-hitting and array of conspicuous haircuts.

At home batting anywhere from one to seven in the game's shorter formats, Uthappa also appeared comfortable switching from buzz cut to mohawk and another infamous style resembling a sideways zebra-crossing.

Born in a Coorg, a hill station in southern India, Uthappa now wears his wavy hair short and business-like, and insists he has matured as a player in the nearly three years on the sidelines after being dropped for poor form.

"Unfortunately because of a shoulder injury, I missed an India comeback last year. God willing, if I can better my IPL performance this year, I can certainly come back in the side.

"I missed playing for the country in the last couple of years but I think I have improved a lot as a cricketer.

"I have grown up and matured over the time and realised cricket is lot more than just fancy haircuts. Call it a sign of maturity," he quipped.

FLAMBOYANT

While the showy hairstyles are gone, his flamboyant batting remains a delight to watch.

No mindless slogger, Uthappa is a smart cricketer who blends aggression with improvisation in his knocks.

"You have to improvise, playing against top class bowlers and against certain field settings. But you should be mindful of your improvisation as well.

"I used to play the scoop shot a lot but it's not my go-to shot anymore. Probably reverse-sweep and switch-hit are."

While Pietersen has been credited for pioneering the switch-hit, Uthappa insisted the maverick English batsman was not his inspiration.

"I did not look at KP's video. I practise it in the nets very often. I'm a very instinctive player and if I feel the need to play it, I play it.

"Last year in the Bangalore nets, I was batting and suddenly felt the need to play the shot. Anil Kumble was bowling and I thought 'well, if I can play it against Kumble, I can definitely play it against anybody'.

"I was lucky enough to pull it off against him and hit the ball a long way. That instilled lot of confidence in me. Of course everyone advises me not to play the shot."

Uthappa said he had learnt to stay away from unwanted advice, however, fearing it might clutter his otherwise simple approach to the game.

Batting advice is sought from India opener Virender Sehwag, who has a similar 'take-no-prisoners' attitude at the crease.

"One person I look up to is Sehwag, I guess we have a similar game. If I have to discuss my game with anyone, it would be him. He would understand me best as a cricketer."

iPhone 5 on the way

Apple Inc suppliers will begin production of its next-generation iPhone in July this year, with the finished product likely to begin shipping in September, three people familiar with the matter said.

The new smartphone will have a faster processor but will look largely similar to the current iPhone 4, one of the people said. They declined to be identified because the plans were not yet public.

Suppliers to the current generation included camera module maker Largan Precision Co Ltd, touchscreen panel maker Wintek Corp and case maker Foxconn Technology Co Ltd, two of the people said.

The companies would begin production either in July or August before shipping components to Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd, flagship of Foxconn Technology Group, for assembly, they said.

An Apple spokeswoman was not immediately available for comment.

The iPhone is one of Apple's most successful products, with more than 16 million sold in the last quarter of 2010 and accounting for more than a third of the company's sales in the period.

The current iPhone 4 was launched by Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs in June last year and began shipping the same month in 2010. Apple is expected to report another spectacular quarter on Wednesday, tempered by growing caution over how supply constraints will squeeze margins and restrain iPhone and iPad sales.

Sri Lanka reject BCCI request on IPL players

COLOMBO: In what could strain the relations between the BCCI and Sri Lanka Cricket, the Lankan government and SLC have decided to stick to their decision of calling back national cricketers, playing in the IPL, by May 5.

Early this month they had ordered the players to return to the country to prepare for the upcoming England tour.

Though no meeting took place between the BCCI and SLC but Indian officials did speak to their Lankan counterparts on the matter and requested them to let their players play in the Twenty20 event at-least till May 15.

But sports minister Mahindanada Aluthgamage and the Cricket Board (SLC) have decided to ignore the Indian request.

A Sri Lankan Cricket source said on Wednesday that Aluthgamage, Sri Lanka Cricket and the national selection committee had lengthy deliberations on Tuesday on the matter.

Accordingly some 11 Sri Lankans including the star players Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene and the newly appointed Sri Lankan captain Tillakaratne Dilshan would have to abide by the Sri Lankan decision.

Aluthgamage has said that interests of Sri Lankan cricket was his priority and Sri Lankans would be sending a polite explanation on the decision to the Indians.

Sri Lanka summoned all IPL players to return in order to prepare for the tour of England which starts on May 10.

Former captain Sangakkara, now leading Deccan Chargers, said the players will have to abide by the Sri Lanka Cricket decision but expressed hope that two boards would sort out the issue.

Auston Martin To India

Founded in 1913, Aston Martin has been a leading luxury sports car manufacturer around the globe for nearly a century. Deriving its name from its two founders - Lionel Martin and Aston Hill the British car company finally steps into India and steps big by bringing all its models on sale here.

It is a crucial move for the luxury sports car manufacturer to step into India as it has one of the fastest growing automobile markets in the world. This is an extension of the company’s growth strategy in which it has taken the brand to countries like Brazil, Chile, Croatia, Czech Republic Greece, Taiwan and Turkey.


Customers will be able to test-drive selected models from its entire range of V8 Vantage Coupe, V8 Vantage Roadster, V12 Vantage, DB9, coupe, DB9 Volante, DBS Coupe/Volante, and its four-door sports car Rapide. These cars will also be accompanied by the recently launched V8 Vantage S and the Virage. These beauties will be priced from Rs. 1.35 crore to Rs. 2.75 crore and the most expensive of the lot will be the One 77 priced at a massive Rs.20 crore.

 Lalit Choudary Director Performance Cars Bill Donnelly-Director Sales After Sales

Marek Reichman-Director Design at the launch announcement Aston

The Warwickshire based company’s dealership is located in Kemps Corner which is also the host to the Porsche showroom. The dealership will offer a premium boutique environment where customers can custom-specify the needs in their cars. The after-sales service will be done at Worli in a first of its kind air conditioned workshop keeping in sync with the international design elements that have created the identity for Aston Martin for years at end. Today Aston Martin has 134 dealers across 42 countries.

With well-known automotive brands like Porsche, Rolls Royce, Ferrari, Maserati already in India and more brands like Koenigsegg and Aston Martin also finding its way here, it is more than clear that India is where all the premium car manufacturers want to be, speaking oodles about the current automobile market here.

IPL Point Table

	TEAM	PLAY	WON	LOST	TIE	NR	PTS	NRR
	Kolkata Knight Riders	4	3	1	0	0	6	+0.891
	Rajasthan Royals	5	2	2	0	1	5	-0.476
	Pune Warriors India	3	2	1	0	0	4	+1.089
	Mumbai Indians	3	2	1	0	0	4	+0.561
	Deccan Chargers	5	2	3	0	0	4	+0.073
	Kochi Tuskers Kerala	4	2	2	0	0	4	+0.044
	Chennai Super Kings	4	2	2	0	0	4	-0.097
	Kings XI Punjab	3	2	1	0	0	4	-0.478
	Royal Challengers Bangalore	5	1	3	0	1	3	-0.730
	Delhi Daredevils	4	1	3	0	0	2	-0.632

PSLV-C16 launch successful, satellites injected into orbit

SRIHARIKOTA (AP): India's PSLV-C16 rocket on Wednesday successfully launched into orbit the latest remote sensing satellite Resourcesat-2 that would study and help manage natural resources along with two nano satellites.

ISRO's homegrown workhorse Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle placed in a 'Polar Sun Synchronous Orbit' Resourcesat-2, Youthsat and X-Sat about 18 minutes after it blasted off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre launch pad here, 90 km from Chennai, at 10.12 am.

"PSLV-C16 Resourcesat-2 mission is successful," a jubilant Indian Space Research Organisation Chairman K Radhakrishnan announced shortly after all the three satellites were hurled into space one after another 822 km above earth in a text book launch.

The ISRO chief's announcement was cheered by the battery of scientists at the mission control centre who heaved a sigh of relief as they were gripped by an added anxiety following two successive failures of GSLV missions last year.

The 1,206 kg Resourcesat-2 with a space life of five years replaces Resourcesat-1 launched in 2003 and would provide data with enhanced multispectral and spatial coverage on natural resources.

The GSLV mission in December last year failed when the homegrown GSLV F06 carrying communication satellite GSAT-5P exploded mid-air less than a minute after lift-off and fell into the Bay of Bengal.

GSAT-5P, carrying 24 C-band and 12 extended C-band transponders, plunged into the sea when the destruct command was issued as the rocket veered from its flight path.

Earlier, the GSLV-D3 mission carrying GSAT-4 had also failed in April 2010, dealing a blow to India's space programme.

Today's PSLV flight was its 17th successive mission after the failure of its maiden voyage in September 1993.

Microsoft issues biggest-ever security patch

SAN FRANCISCO: Microsoft issued its largest-ever software security patch, aimed at fixing 64 vulnerabilities in Windows, Office, Internet Explorer (IE) and other programs.

The Seattle-based software giant said the patch includes 17 bulletins, including nine judged to be 'critical,' Microsoft's highest threat ranking.

Fifteen of the bulletins address vulnerabilities that allow attackers to remotely execute code to take control of the infected computer.

The patch beat a previous record set in December, when Microsoft released a patch containing 17 bulletins that addressed 40 vulnerabilities.

NASA releases picture of Mercury's surface

WASHINGTON: NASA on Tuesday released the first picture taken of Mercury's surface by the US space agency's orbiting Messenger craft.

"Early this morning, at 5:20 am EDT (0920 GMT), Messenger captured this historic image of Mercury," NASA said.

"This image is the first ever obtained from a spacecraft in orbit about the solar system's innermost planet."

The spacecraft snapped 363 images over the next six hours, and more were expected to be released Wednesday in conjunction with an expert press conference to discuss the findings.

The upper part of the image shows an unusual, dark-rayed crater called Debussy, while the lower part reveals a portion of Mercury near its south pole that has never before been witnessed by spacecraft, NASA said.

NASA's Messenger craft -- which stands for MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging -- became the first vehicle to orbit Mercury on March 17.

Messenger was launched more than six years ago, traveling through the inner solar system and embarking on flybys of Earth, Venus and Mercury.

The first NASA craft to study Mercury since the Mariner mission more than three decades ago, Messenger has already been able to return a partial map of the planet's crater-filled surface after just a handful of flybys.

WC costs 1.06 Crores(Highest) only in Chennai

CHENNAI: When the World Cup euphoria is over, and the Board of Cricket Control in India sits down to square away the accounts, they will have to set aside Rs 1.60 crore to Chennai police. That's the bill for all the anti-aircraft guns, crouching commandos, and hovering choppers deployed by the city police during Chennai matches. "We have prepared the bills to be sent to BCCI," a police officer said.

Following the terror threat, city police prepared a detailed bandobust scheme to give extensive security for the players during the matches. The players were escorted to the hotel from Chenani airport by armed policemen in a tourist bus. The security at the hotel was also tight. One whole floor was cordoned off by the police where the players were stayed. Players had the cautious eyes of cops watching over them even during net practice.

City police arrived at the figure of Rs 1.6 crore based on the number of policemen deployed inside and outside the stadium for player security. This included armed policemen escorting the players from the hotel to the stadium, as well as those who provided security in the hotel.

For the Indian Premier League (IPL) matches conducted in MAC Stadium in 2010, city police had collected Rs 1.06 crore from IPL office bearers. "This is routine for the city police. For the world cup, we will collect the money from BCCI," city police commissioner T Rajendran told TOI.

Five international cricket matches including the India - West Indies match was held in the MAC Stadium, apart from a practice match held prior to the world cup, which started on March 19, 2011. During the India - West Indies match, city police roped in coast guard and defence personnel for security. The defence personnel were armed with anti-aircraft guns and placed inside the stadium premises. "The sharp shooters were there to quickly bring down suspicious aircraft flying above," a police officer said.

Philippines detects radiation from Japan

MANILA (AFP) - Small amounts of radiation from Japan's damaged nuclear plant have been detected in the Philippines, the government said Tuesday, while emphasising the traces posed no danger to humans.

"We have detected the isotopes, but we would like to ask the public not to panic," Tina Cerbolis, a spokeswoman for the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute, told AFP.

"These are very tiny amounts in the air."

The institute released an advisory notice Tuesday saying the radiation was from Japan's nuclear power plant at Fukushima, which has been leaking since being damaged by an earthquake and tsunami on March 11.

"Environment radiation monitoring around the world, including (in) the Philippines has detected very tiny amounts of radioactive isotopes, which appeared to be coming from the Fukushima nuclear power plant and which pose no human health hazards," the advisory said.

China and South Korea, which are nearer to Japan, also reported on Tuesday that small amounts of radioactive iodine-131 had been detected in their territories, while similarly warning they were not harmful to humans.

The nearest major Philippine coastline to the stricken plant is about 2,500 kilometres (1,500 miles) to its southwest, with the Philippine capital Manila around 500 kilometres further.

Highly toxic plutonium is Seeping out from Japan's Nuclear Plants

OSAKA: Japan's Prime Minister Naoto Kan on Tuesday said his government is in a "state of maximum alert" over the crisis at the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant, Jiji Press reported.

Kan told a lower house budget committee meeting that the situation "continues to be unpredictable" and that the government "will tackle the problem while in a state of maximum alert," Jiji reported.

Radiation worries have disrupted efforts to restart the cooling system of the Fukushima Daiichi plant, which was battered by a huge earthquake and tsunami on March 11 that left more than 28,000 people dead or missing.

Highly toxic plutonium is seeping from the damaged nuclear power plant in Japan's tsunami disaster zone into the soil outside, officials said Tuesday, further complicating the delicate operation to stabilize the overheated facility.

Plutonium has been detected in small amounts at several spots outside the Fukushima Dai-ichi power plant for the first time, plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. said. Safety officials said the amounts were not a risk to humans but support suspicions that dangerously radioactive water is leaking from damaged nuclear fuel rods — a worrying development in the race to bring the power plant under control.

``The situation is very grave,'' Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano told reporters Tuesday. ``We are doing our utmost efforts to contain the damage.'' A tsunami spawned by a magnitude-9.0 earthquake March 11 destroyed the power systems needed to cool the nuclear fuel rods in the complex, 140 miles (220 kilometers) northeast of Tokyo. Since then, three of the complex's six reactors are believed to have partially melted down, and emergency crews have grappled with everything from malfunctioning pumps to dangerous spikes in radiation that have sent workers fleeing.

Radiation seeping from the plant has made its way into produce, raw milk and even tap water as far away as Tokyo, prompting some nations to halt imports from the region. Residents within a 12-mile (20-kilometer) radius of the plant have been urged to leave or stay indoors. The troubles have eclipsed Pennsylvania's 1979 crisis at Three Mile Island, when a partial meltdown raised fears of widespread radiation release. But it is still well short of the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, which killed at least 31 people with radiation sickness, raised long-term cancer rates and spewed radiation across much of the northern hemisphere.

A series of missteps and accidents, meanwhile, have raised questions about the handling of the disaster, with the government revealing growing frustration with TEPCO. The Yomiuri daily newspaper reported that the government was considering temporarily nationalizing the troubled nuclear plant operator, but Edano and TEPCO officials denied holding any such discussions.

The nuclear crisis has complicated the government's ability to address the humanitarian situation facing hundreds of thousands left homeless by the twin disasters. The official number of dead surpassed 11,000 on Tuesday, police said, and the final figure is expected to top 18,000.

The urgent mission to stabilize the Fukushima plant has been fraught with setbacks. Workers succeeded last week in reconnecting some parts of the plant to the power grid. But as they pumped water into units to cool the reactors down, they discovered pools of contaminated water in numerous spots, including the basements of several buildings and in tunnels outside them. The contaminated water has been emitting radiation exposures more than four times the amount the government considers safe for workers and must be pumped out before electricity can be restored to the cooling system. That has left officials struggling with two crucial but sometimes-contradictory efforts: pumping in water to keep the fuel rods cool and pumping out — and then safely storing — contaminated water.

Nuclear safety official Hidehiko Nishiyama called it ``delicate work.'' He acknowledged that cooling the reactors took precedence over concerns about leakage. ``The removal of the contaminated water is the most urgent task now, and hopefully we can adjust the amount of cooling water going in,'' he said, adding that workers were building makeshift dikes with sandbags to keep contaminated water from seeping into the soil outside.

The discovery of plutonium, released from fuel rods only when temperatures are extremely high, confirms the severity of the damage, Nishiyama said. Of the five soil samples showing plutonium, two appeared to be coming from leaking reactors while the rest were likely the result of years of nuclear tests that left trace amounts of plutonium in many places around the world, TEPCO said.

Plutonium is a heavy element that doesn't readily combine with other elements, so it is less likely to spread than some of the lighter, more volatile radioactive materials detected around the site, such as the radioactive forms of cesium and iodine. ``The relative toxicity of plutonium is much higher than that of iodine or cesium but the chance of people getting a dose of it is much lower,'' says Robert Henkin, professor emeritus of radiology at Loyola University's Stritch School of Medicine.

``Plutonium just sits there and is a nasty actor.'' When plutonium decays, it emits what is known as an alpha particle, a relatively big particle that carries a lot of energy. When an alpha particle hits body tissue, it can damage the DNA of a cell and lead to a cancer-causing mutation. Plutonium also breaks down very slowly, so it remains dangerously radioactive for hundreds of thousands of years.

``If you inhale it, it's there and it stays there forever,'' said Alan Lockwood, a professor of Neurology and Nuclear Medicine at the University at Buffalo and a member of the board of directors of Physicians for Social Responsibility, an advocacy group.

New bat for Sachin

MOHALI: Sachin Tendulkar is known to prepare assiduously before any match. He never leaves anything to chance and covers all bases before getting into the thick of the battle. Now that India are just two wins away from one of his most cherished goals - the World Cup crown - the batting maestro must be preparing even harder.

On Sunday, one got a sneak peak into his plans for the semifinal against Pakistan, and possibly the final on April 2, when he brought to the ground a fresh supply of bats. Tendulkar is very fastidious about his willows and wants them to be in perfect shape so that he can heap maximum damage on the bowlers.

The gleaming new bats needed some breaking up so he, after doing a few knock-downs himself, asked the yoga trainer Manoj Kumar to give them some hits.

Thus, while Tendulkar played football with teammates, Kumar kept hitting balls with the bats for close to an hour.

Tendulkar came back to continue the routine himself before Suresh Raina and Virat Kohli also got a taste of the master's new weapons of mass destruction.

Will Tendulkar be employing one of these new bats in the semifinal against Pakistan? We will know shortly. Maybe, his 100th international century (he is just one short) will come through a brand new bat.

Few companies declared tomorrow as Holiday due to Indo-Pak Semi's

NEW DELHI: Work will take a backseat at India Inc when the cricketing world's arch-rivals India and Pakistan face-off in the World Cup semi-final at Mohali on Wednesday.

While some companies are considering half- or full-day leave for employees on the day of the match, others have installed TV screens across office premises or made arrangements for special screening of the match to ensure employees get the pulse of the cricketing ties between the two nations that have fought three wars since independence.

FMCG company Dabur India is weighing an "off" on Wednesday. "The only constraint is that it is yearend closing, so work pressure is quite high at the moment," said Dabur India executive director A Sudhakar.

The company had declared a holiday on the day of the T20 final between India and Pakistan in 2007.

Food and beverages major PepsiCo India may allow half-day leave for employees if it doesn't impact the organisation's functioning, said Samik Basu, vice-president (HR) and chief people officer for India Region.

Some firms are also looking into work-from-home facility for that day. "If employees want to work from home or leave early to be able to watch the match, we are open to that," said Ashish Kumar, chief HR officer at multiplex chain operator PVR Ltd , which is screening the match at some of its multiplexes. The firm is also considering an exclusive screening for its employees.

Employees of the Future Group's Big Bazaar, the country's largest hypermarket retail chain, will be free to watch the match on large screens installed in stores, said its president, Rajan Malhotra.

"The idea is to let employees enjoy the match while at work, because they tend to take leave during such crucial matches," said S Varadarajan, executive vice-president (HR) at BPO firm Quatrro.

The company has in-house contests surrounding the World Cup to give employees a sense of involvement in the sporting event. Salil Kapoor, COO of the country's largest DTH service company Dish TV, said, "We would have special screening of the match in high definition feed for our employees in office and have also tied up with some pubs and clubs with special discounts for our employees."

Tsunami warning again in Japan

OSAKA, Japan: A shallow 6.5 magnitude earthquake hit off the northeast coast of Japan on Monday, the US Geological Survey said.

The Japan Meteorological Agency issued a 50-centimetre (18 inch) tsunami warning for the Pacific coast of Miyagi prefecture, which was devastated by the huge earthquake and tsunami that hit on March 11.

Indo-pak Match tickets in Black

NEW DELHI: When all eyes are on the India-Pakistan semifinal clash, cricket fans at Mohali complain about the unavailability of tickets at the counters on Sunday.

The fans are angry and allege that the tickets are now being sold at a high price in the black market.

However, there have been numerous reports of a thriving black market in tickets with prices rocketing so that a 5,000-rupee ticket was being sold for as much as 25,000 rupees.

"For a match as big as this one, we cannot do anything about black market tickets," said PCA joint secretary GS Walia.

"As far as we are concerned, we only gave the tickets to those who stood in the queues and bought them. We cannot keep track if they sell these in (the) black (market)."

Salary hike for Wipro Employees

BANGALORE: IT major Wipro said that it has completed some organisational changes it had planned and has assured employees of its IT business salary hikes across the board.

"The operating plan for the businesses has been completed. Continuing our design principle on having a single axis, we took advice from an external strategy consulting firm to finalise how to goal service lines and business units. This is now ready and will be shared with the leadership teams by next week," TK Kurien, the new CEO, said.

"A cross-functional team is working on the data review and structure finalisation to migrate all our data to the new organisation structure by middle of April," he added.

He also said that he would update the employees on the timing for salary increase process for the IT business by the first week of April.

In a bid to catch up with peers and improve its topline growth which has been lagging peers, the company had announced during its third quarter results that it will align itself to create a "bolder, simpler and leaner" organisation.

Wipro discarded its joint CEO model and appointed Kurien as the sole CEO earlier this year.

A Short interview with the Living Legend Warren Buffett

BANGALORE: On the second day of his India trip on Wednesday, Warren Buffett was a busy man, having a brief chat with the Karnataka CM before a factory visit to the only Buffett investment in India, TaeguTec India, a high-end tooling company. After pounding the shop floor, addressing employees and planting a sapling, it was time for a meeting with city CEOs. Before leaving for Delhi, the 'Sage of Omaha' spoke exclusively to TOI. Excerpts.

Q. We noticed that when you were planting the tree, there was a different Warren Buffett, different from the persona of an investor or a philanthropist. You seemed to open up in a different way.

A. Well, I like to think that I open up even otherwise (laughs). But part of life is to plant trees that other people will sit under. Somebody planted a tree for me long ago in the form of an educational institution and I sat under that tree, metaphorically. The same happened in one area after another in my life.

Q. The chairman of Infosys, Narayana Murthy, talks of compassionate capitalism. Is philanthropy going to be the compassionate side of capitalism?

A. I think philanthropy should be part of humanity. I don't relate it to capitalism or to business. When you have everything that you possibly could need yourself and other people need what you have that is of no use to you and has enormous use to them, I think you need to do something about it.

Q. Philanthropy till now largely has been an individual effort. As it becomes bigger, it might become an institutional effort with its own systems, processes, checks and balances. Will it take away from the spontaneity of the individual effort that it is today?

A. No, I don't think so. What we are encouraging is more individual effort. We are not asking people to join us or to give to what we believe in. We are encouraging people to enjoy giving and do it their own way. They can do it when they want, with whom they want. Maybe they can learn from each other. I have learnt from other people I have met. It's not designed to centralize anything. It's designed to encourage people individually and in their families to do the things we found so enjoyable.

Q. In India, the greatest potential is in the infrastructure sector. Would you be looking at gas, power, steel, utilities in general for investment? You did say on Tuesday that you would look at making one big investment a year in India.

A. I would like to make a big one, but it will have to be in a field that I understand. A company in which I have a good feeling about where it will be in 5/10 years, competitively.

Q. From what we have read, gut instinct plays a large role in your investment decisions. Many investors like to kick the tiles, go to the shop floor to see if an investment makes sense. Are you that kind of an investor?

A. No, I look at the people who run it. I would not know what to do if tomorrow morning you make me in charge of a plant (laughs). But I do know who should be in charge of it.

Q. Your only investment in India so far is in Bangalore-based TaeguTec. Would you future investments here be in such specialist, high-end manufacturing companies?

A. These kind of companies will do very well. But there are a whole group of companies that will do well in India. So, I will not limit my interest to something like this.

All 6 reactors at Fukushima reconnected to power lines

TOKYO/FUKUSHIMA: Japanese workers struggling to avert a nuclear disaster on Tuesday succeeded in reconnecting all six reactors to power lines at the quake-hit Fukushima plant, marking a significant progress in the tedious task of bringing the radiation-leaking complex under control.

The development came as the tsunami-hit northeast was again jolted by a series of powerful quakes, including two measuring 6.6 on the Richter Scale.

In a major relief in their efforts, engineers working overtime at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant reconnected all six reactors to external power, the plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Company said on Tuesday, according to Kyodo news agency.

The progress was made despite the efforts to restore power and cool down spent nuclear fuel pools being hampered by the detection of smoke at the No. 2 and No. 3 reactors.

However, TEPCO cautioned that a lot of work still needed to be done before electricity can actually be turned on at the plant.

The company said workers are checking all additional equipment for damage to make sure cooling systems can be safely operated.

Authorities earlier sought the help of the US military in tackling the "extremely tough" situation at the plant, close to which highly concentrated radioactivity was detected in iodine and cesium in seawater, sparking fears about food safety.

TEPCO said the seawater pollution in the region had expanded, but the country's nuclear safety agency said there were no immediate health threats.

The amount of radioactive iodine reached 80.3-fold of the standard level at the point 8 km south of the plant and 16.4-fold at the point 16 km south, Kyodo news agency reported.

The Fukushima prefectural government denied the possibility that seafood from the area was distributed to markets saying fishing had not been conducted near the nuclear plant, where emergency workers battled to avert a widespread disaster by trying to reconnect power lines and cool overheating reactors.

The critical restoration work at the plant was stalled on Monday after smoke rose from No. 2 and No. 3 reactors, fuelling fears of fresh radiation leaks from the area rocked by the March 11 quake of magnitude 9 and devastating tsunami that left over 22,000 people dead or unaccounted for in Japan's northeast.

Firefighters and the self-defense forces (SDF) on Tuesday also managed to throw in 18 tons of seawater into the nearly boiling storage pool that is holding spent nuclear fuel. The move succeeded in cooling the pool to 50 degrees Celsius, according to TEPCO.

The pool was throwing up steam possibly carrying radioactive elements into the air.

Tata Power to build India's first floating solar plant

MUMBAI: Tata Power on Tuesday said it will be building the country's first low-cost, high-efficiency floating solar plant in partnership with an Australian company which invented the technology.

Sunengy, the Australian company, and Tata Power will begin constructing a pilot plant that uses the Liquid Solar Array (LSA) technology from August this year, a press release issued here said.

LSA uses traditional concentrated photovoltaic technology but rather than mounting the cells on a frame, it is made to float on water, making it low-cost, cyclone-proof and less tedious as it does not involve any land acquisition, it added.

"It effectively turns a dam into a very large battery, offering free solar storage and opportunity for improved water resource management," the inventor of the technology and Sunengy's Executive Director aInd Chief Technology Officer, Phil Connor, said.

Tata Power's Executive Director, Banmali Agrawala, confirmed the tie-up for the "nascent technology" and said this is a part of the company's effort to invest in clean and eco-friendly technologies.