Archives for 2021

Mumbai: A special NDPS court here on Thursday extended the judicial custody of Aryan Khan, son of Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, and seven others till October 30 in connection with the case of seizure of banned drugs from a cruise ship off the Mumbai coast earlier this month.

Their judicial custody was extended by Special Judge V V Patil, designated to hear cases related to the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, though they were not produced in the court.

On Wednesday, the same court had rejected the bail pleas of Aryan Khan and two other co-accused in the case.

Besides Aryan Khan (23), the other accused whose judicial custody was extended by the court are Arbaaz Merchant, Munmun Dhamecha, Nupur Sarika, Ismeet Singh, Mohak Jaswal, Vikrant Chhoker and Gomit Chopra. Their current judicial custody was till October 21.

The previous day, besides Aryan Khan, lodged in the Arthur Road jail in central Mumbai, the NDPS court had rejected the bail pleas of his friend Arbaaz Merchant (26) and fashion model Munmun Dhamecha (28).

While denying bail to the trio, the special court had noted that the WhatsApp chats of Aryan Khan prima facie revealed he was indulging in “illicit drug activities on a regular basis” and that he was in touch with drug peddlers.

The court also held that Aryan Khan knew his friend and co-accused Arbaaz Merchant was in possession of drugs and hence this amounts to conscious possession even though the NCB (Narcotics Control Bureau) had made no recovery of drugs from him.

Aryan Khan, Merchant and Dhamecha have moved the Bombay High court for bail and their pleas will be heard on October 26.

Meanwhile, the special court on Thursday heard the arguments on bail pleas of three other accused- Achit Kumar, the alleged drug supplier to Aryan Khan, Manish Rajgaria and Avin Sahu.

Advocate Taraq Sayed, appearing for Rajgaria, submitted that his client was arrested right after the cruise ship came back from Goa in connection with alleged recovery of 2.4 grams of ganja, “a nano-small quantity”.

However, he argued that ‘panchnama’ doesn’t mention from where the contraband was allegedly recovered.

Citing the last year’s drugs case related to actor Rhea Chakraborty, Sayed said even in that matter 33 people were arrested, but not all were connected.

He said there can be a connection between people, but the NCB should show their link with drugs.

Sahu’s lawyer Sana Khan claimed nothing has been recovered from her client. The only allegation against Sahu was that he consumed ganja twice while on the cruise, she said.

While making submissions for Kumar, his lawyer Ashwin Thool claimed that Kumar’s custody was illegal as he wasn’t produced before a court within 24 hours of detention.

Citing an application of Kumar’s father, Thool argued he was illegally detained by the NCB from 5.14 pm on October 5.

As per the NCB, he was formally arrested on October 6 and produced before the court the next day. He also relied on a TV report where there is a video of him being taken into the NCB office on October 5.

Refering to the panchnama, Thool argued it is a “fabricated and concocted document”, and cannot be relied upon.

The lawyer argued that Kumar has nothing to do with party on the cruise.

On the probe agency’s claim that he was part of drug network, Thool argued “They say I am part of a ganja network. Have they got even one person to say that a one paisa was taken or given to me? At least one transaction, no.”

The hearing of the bail pleas will continue on October 22.

The NCB has arrested as many as 20 people in connection with the case until now. Further investigation into the matter was on.

BENGALURU: Kannada film actor Sanjjanaa Galrani, accused in the 2020 Sandalwood drug case, has filed a complaint against her ‘best friend’ and a co-accused Rahul Tonse and two others of cheating her of returns from her investments in his casino business in Colombo and Goa. Sanjjanaa and Tonse were among those arrested by the city police in the drug case in September last year. She was later released on bail.

Now, Sanjjanaa has alleged in her complaint that Tonse had lured her into investing in his casino business, but had refused to pay her the returns. She has also accused Tonse — the prime accused — of misusing the money invested by her for “illegal activities” to make profits, while spreading rumours to defame her.

A senior police officer said Sanjjanaa had approached the court after she was cheated by her friends. Based on the court’s directions, the Indiranagar police registered a case against Tonse, and the two others — Ramakrishna and Rajeshwari, charging them under IPC Sections pertaining to cheating and criminal intimidation.

Sanjjanaa has alleged that Tonse, in November 2018, had claimed to be the managing director of the group of casinos while trying to convince her to invest in the business and offered her big returns.

Sanjjanaa had invested in the business by transferring money to Tonse’s account and also into those of his friends. Later, the accused allegedly refused to share the returns despite her repeated requests. She said she trusted Tonse as a ‘brother’ and even transferred money into the account of Tonse’s parents, who too allegedly convinced her to invest in the business.

“It was my hard-earned money. That’s why I demand legal action against them,” she reportedly told the court. The police officer said they have sought phone call records and bank account details of the transactions as part of the investigation, before taking any action against the accused. has decided to float short-term tenders to import Covid vaccines from other countries, to inoculate people in the age group of 18-44.

The announcement was made shortly after the Madras High Court posed questions to the government in this regard. Hearing a suo motu petition on Covid-19 management in the State, the court wondered whether the government had decided to issue any global tenders

LUCKNOW: After promising 40 per cent tickets to women in the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections next year, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra announced on Thursday that all class 12 pass girls will be given a smartphone while all graduate girls will get an electronic scooty if her party forms a government in the state.

The Congress national general secretary and in charge of party affairs in UP also attached with her tweet a video of a group of school/college girls interacting with mediapersons, saying they got pictures clicked with her.

One of the students is seen saying that Priyanka Gandhi asked them if they had phones for clicking selfies.

“We said we neither have phones nor are they allowed in colleges. She then asked us if she should get it announced that girls should get phones and we said what more can we ask for our safety,” the student said in the video.

“She asked us to study hard. I want that she continues to meet and talk to us like this,” another student is seen saying in the video.

The girls said Priyanka Gandhi has also told them about the Congress slogan “ladki hoon, lad sakti hoon”.

On Tuesday, the Congress leader had announced that her party will give tickets to 40 per cent women in the coming assembly elections in UP to make women, roughly constituting about half the electorate, a full-fledged partner in power.

The move, she claimed, is aimed at empowering every woman who wants justice, change and unity of her state and also against the efforts to divide them into caste and religion that is stopping them from emerging as a force.

KOLKATA:  At a time when communal violence has overtaken Bangladesh, leading to the death of at least 11 people, a village in Bengal’s Burdwan district has set an example of communal harmony during Lakshmi Puja.

“We organise cultural events and sit together for lunch and dinner during these four days of the Lakshmi festival. This is a tradition of our village where bonding between us is the priority, not an individual’s religious belief,” said Asmat Ali of Dharmadanga.

Asmat’s neighbour Bidyut Das said a major chunk of the subscription for the Lakshmi Puja comes from the Muslim participants. “This Puja has always been the main festival of our village inhabited mainly by farmers. We join hands to celebrate the festival and spend time together during these four days. We respect each other’s religious beliefs,’’ said Das.

“In any crisis, we come forward to help each other. We are not bothered about the tricks played by political parties. What we know is that bonding between people is the most important thing that can help us overcome any tough time,’’ said Saukat Mollah.

DEHRADUN:  With highest ever rainfall registered in Uttarakhand in the last two days, environmentalists say such weather events are likely to occur with increased frequency in future due to rampant, mindless ‘development’ activities.

Kavita Upadhyay, an expert on water and hydropower-related issues, said, “The Himalayas are fragile. Pouring in concrete for projects is impacting the ecosystem.” Beautification and reconstruction plans have been approved for Sukhatal and Sattal areas in Nainital district. Former is the catchment area for the Naini tal (lake). 

“An event like the recent extreme rains may result in overflow of Sukhatal lake, which may eventually lead to flooding in the Nainital town,” Upadhyay said. “The damage is going to increase if developmental plans are made by policy-makers who are unaware of the Himalayan region.”

Uttarakhand has witnessed more than 10,000 extreme weather events, including rainfall, cloudbursts and landslides, since 2015, killing a total of 553 people till June this year, according to the data by Uttarakhand Disaster Management Authority. 

The state received record rainfall during October 17-19. Nainital was the worst hit, receiving 410 mm rainfall, with 28 people being killed.  Vishal Singh, deputy executive director of Dehradun-based Centre for Ecology Development and Research, said, “Climate change is a significant factor and such events are only going to increase in future.”

 Rishi Rich & Rush Toor Zakham Song that has bewitched Indian hearts While geographical boundaries never mattered when it came to music, the internet has truly expanded its reach. Overcoming the barriers of language, each day, Indians get to experience and fall in love with new songs. Renowned British Asian music producer Rishi Rich & Rapper Rush Toor Presents ‘Zakham’ is the latest offering from Break The Noise Records Music Label. With a fiery blend of a classic Bollywood item-number and a Brooklyn street hip hop vibe. Rishi, yet again brings us an exemplary example of futuristic nostalgia!
While Talking to Media Rishi Rich Said, “I’ve always loved fusing the music I listened to growing up with the music I love to make now and Zakham is just a perfect example of how East and West blend seamlessly. Rush was ideal to feature on the track and I hope everyone enjoys it.” The maestro Rishi Rich emerges from his music lab once again with an elaborate concoction of melodic flavours to suit every taste! World-renowned for his East meets West creations, Rishi Rich ingeniously reignites a sample from the Venus Music classic ‘Maalik Mere’ from the movie Zakham featuring the haunting voice of the legendary Asha Bhosle and starring the evergreen ‘Neelam’. Interspersed with the dynamic vocals of Californian rapper Rush Toor, Zakham delivers echoes of yesteryear masterfully rejuvenated with a big splash of modernity creating a sound that’s sure to resonate with music lovers globally. Hailing from Malaysia and now living in San Francisco, Rush Toor is a force to be reckoned with behind the microphone. His lyrical flow, energy and style have gained him a worldwide following. Rush is excited about the track: “Working with a music producer like Rishi Rich is just so innovative and fun. He has a very unique way of knowing exactly what he wants from the artist he is working with and I’m super grateful to be part of such a dope project.” The music video to accompany Zakham is shot on location in India at the stunning Jai Vilas Palace in Jawhar Fort and stars Jagtar & Srishti Vyakaranam as lead. He plays the role of a tourist who becomes mesmerised by a beautiful woman he keeps noticing around an eerie fort but she mysteriously keeps disappearing! The song is directed by Richard de Varda ( RDV), he Said,  “Being able to bring Zakham to life through the lens was a great experience and the video location adds such a regal yet haunting edge to the song” The song ZAKHAM has been lording it over music charts in the country with even Bollywood stars getting hooked to it. From countless regional language covers to dance videos, see how the song broke the internet.

Kolkata: RoundGlass Punjab FC kicked off its pre-season training earlier this month in Kolkata under newly-appointed Head Coach Ashley Westwood ahead of the forthcoming I-League 2021-22 campaign.

A total of 25 players along with the First Team’s coaching and support staff have been housed in a bio-secure environment, following stringent COVID-19 safety protocols. The team underwent its first session on the field on October 8 and hit the ground running as the countdown for the new season starts. RoundGlass Punjab FC made an impressive I-League debut under its new ownership in the 2020-21 season and made a strong statement of intent in the summer transfer window. The side will be led by Head Coach Ashley Westwood, a two-time I-League winner with Bengaluru FC and seasoned professional with over 25 years of experience as a player and coach.

Looking ahead to the start of the new season, Nikolaos Topoliatis, Football Director, RoundGlass Punjab FC, said, “Everyone at RoundGlass Punjab FC is excited to begin the pre-season as we prepare for our second I-League campaign. We are proud to represent #PunjabInSpirit and have put together a competitive squad with a mix of both youth and experience. With Ashley coming in as Head Coach and a number of talented players joining us, we are looking forward to putting an inspiring show in the coming season and fight for the title.”

Ashley Westwood, Head Coach, RoundGlass Punjab FC,said, “I’m happy to be finally back in India and return to the pitch coaching football, which is something I enjoy and feel I do best. A lot of planning has been done in the last few months and we were doing a lot of online sessions with the boys as well. It’s good to finally be in each other’s company as a team. Now, we will strive and work hard with the goal to start the new season in the best possible shape.”

Bikramjit Singh, midfielder and 2020-21 season captain, RoundGlass Punjab FC, said,“Everyone is delighted to be back on the field and all the players are working very hard. All our needs – training pitch, accommodation, diet, etc. have been taken care of. The club is putting in a lot of effort to ensure that we get ready in the best possible manner. We have sufficient time to prepare and get ourselves in a strong position before the league starts. We want to make our fans and the people of Punjab proud in the coming season.”

RoundGlass Sports has embarked on its mission to strengthen the sporting ecosystem in India. An attitude of boldness, creativity, honesty, and risk-taking epitomises RoundGlass Punjab FC, which is bringing the unique spirit of Punjab’s sporting culture to Indian football and wants to inspire every child to play.

The RoundGlass Punjab FC players currently in Kolkata are:-

Goalkeepers: Lalthuammawia Ralte, Jaskaranbir Singh, Jaspreet Singh.

Defenders: Aakash Sangwan, Rino Anto, Lalchhuanmawia Fanai, Keegan Pereira, Shankar Sampangiraj, Saurabh Bhanwala, Gurtej Singh.

Midfielders: CK Vineeth, Kean Lewis, Tongbram Maheson Singh, Suranjit Singh, Bikramjit Singh, Ashis Pradhan, Rupert Nongrum, Joseba Beitia.

Forwards: Aashish Jha, Aphaoba Singh, Sumeet Passi, Robin Singh, Travis Major, Kurtis Guthrie.

*Note: Defender Bikash Yumnam departed for the India U23 national team on October 17 and will return to RoundGlass Punjab FC training once relieved from his national team duties. 

About RoundGlass Punjab Football Club

RoundGlass Punjab Football Club is a dynamic new entrant in Indian football that aims to channelize the energy of the youth towards the sport and place India on the world football map. We are establishing a unique brand of fast, progressive, and inspiring football that our fans and supporters have come to love. The Club, which boasts promising domestic and international players, is redefining football coaching, infrastructure, and grassroots development in Punjab with the aim of identifying and nurturing talent to international standards.

Learn more: https://sports.round.glass/punjab-football-club/

Follow RoundGlass Punjab FC on:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RGPunjabFC

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rgpunjabfc

Twitter: https://twitter.com/RGPunjabFC

About RoundGlass Sports

RoundGlass Sports is creating opportunities for children and youth to take up and excel in sports such as football, hockey, and tennis in India, underpinned by the principles of Wholistic Wellbeing. Our aim is to channelize their energy and help develop and unlock their full potential. To this end, we’re transforming sports in Punjab and the rest of India by building infrastructure, providing high-quality coaching and training, and cultivating a culture of sports participation through its Academy and Grassroots programs. RoundGlass Sports acquired RoundGlass Punjab Football Club in the year 2020.

To learn more, visit sports.round.glass

Digitally Mature Businesses in Asia-Pacific Expanding Digital Infrastructure 4x Faster Than Pre-Pandemic Levels

Mumbai is forecast to lead India with the highest interconnection bandwidth of 111 Tbps

India – The latest Global Interconnection Index (GXI Vol. 5), an annual market study published by Equinix, reveals that the pandemic has forced economies into digital overdrive, with digital leaders, businesses who were already implementing a digital-first strategy, moving four times faster than pre-pandemic levels. These businesses in Asia-Pacific, including Mumbai, have compacted the time to deploy their digital infrastructure to multiple regions, expand to multiple edge locations and integrate multiple clouds—what might have taken two years is now achievable within six months.

This accelerated pace of digital transformation is predicted to continue to fuel the rapid growth in interconnection bandwidth. According to the GXI Vol. 5, global interconnection bandwidth, the measure of private connectivity for the transfer of data between organizations, is forecast to reach 21,485+ terabits per second (Tbps), or 85 zettabytes, per year by 2024, representing a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 44%.  This is in line with APAC where interconnection bandwidth is expected to grow at a 46% CAGR by 2024, contributing 6,002 Tbps to make up 28% of global interconnection bandwidth.

As one of the edge metros in the region, Mumbai is expected to increase interconnection bandwidth at a 53% CAGR, reaching 111 Tbps by 2024. This growth is aligned with the increasing demand for the digital infrastructure needed to bring more businesses online, facilitate electronic integration with partners and supply chains, and reach more people in distributed hybrid work environments.

Additional Insights From GXI Vol. 5

Close to 30% of enterprise infrastructure deployed in carrier-neutral facilities has moved to the edge, in proximity to points of data consumption. Service Providers are also expanding at the edge, growing their edge infrastructure 2x faster than their core infrastructure, enabling them to support increasing demand from enterprises.

Digital leaders are interconnecting with 10 times as many partners, enabling them to ride the wave of digital transformation and enjoy best-of-breed services from a vast pool of Service Providers and partners. The trend has been tracked across 12 industries and three regions for traditional companies, born in the cloud, Service Providers and even hyperscale providers. 

·Among industries, the Financial Services sector in APAC is expected to deploy more than 50% of Enterprise interconnection bandwidth, with Manufacturing as the second-largest industry.

In APAC, the Banking & Insurance, Public Sector, Industrial Services and Transportation industries are expected to experience the fastest digital infrastructure growth, which is forecast to drive a 50% or more CAGR in interconnection bandwidth from 2020 to 2024. The Public Sector, and Industrial Services and Transportation industries that were previously lagging in interconnection adoption are now leading in interconnection growth rate as a result of the pandemic.

·         In Mumbai, Network Providers, Cloud and IT, and Enterprises are expected to deploy more interconnection bandwidth than other verticals, with most connections from businesses to Network Providers.

“While COVID has forced businesses to innovate in many ways, by both expanding existing and introducing new digital services, the infrastructure underpinning these services must keep pace,” said Claire Macland, Senior Vice President of Marketing, Equinix. “As a result, savvy businesses are now moving four times faster than pre-pandemic levels in deploying this necessary digital infrastructure.”

Manoj Paul, Managing Director, Equinix India, added “COVID has pressed the need for transforming to digital models across industries in India. Businesses and organizations have realized the importance of adopting digital strategies and services and leveraging benefits of interconnection to other businesses and service providers to achieve the level of agility and resiliency that is required to outpace and out-innovate their peers.”

Industry Perspective on the Global Interconnection Index

 Courtney Munroe, Research Vice President, Worldwide Telecommunications Research, IDC

“Companies that have adopted a comprehensive digital strategy as a core business pillar—connecting with and leveraging digital platforms with partners, ecosystems, and customers, consistently emerge as disruptive market leaders. Adopting digital platforms and services is essential to achieve the level of agility and resiliency that is required to outpace and out-innovate the competition.

Announcing, World University of Design‘s much awaited International Annual Design + Cultural Festival – “Cult 2021”. CULT will be held virtually on Friday and Saturday, October 22nd and 23rd, 2021. Over the years the festival has been a high – profile event attracting students from colleges from all over to compete and showcase their talent through various exciting events. The festival is a forum for young minds to interact, exhibit their talent and unleash their potential.

World University of Design presents CULT 2021

India’s only Virtual Inter- College Annual Design & Cultural Festival

World University of Design remains as the only university in India to have organized a virtual students’ fest during the pandemic last year, an organisational feat which they are repeating this year as well. The two-day Inter-College Annual Design & Cultural Festival hosts a myriad of competitive events that have been tailor-made so as to be online mode compatible for an exceptional engrossing experience. With cash prizes set for winner, first and second runner ups, Cult 2021 is chalked out for Friday, October 22nd and Saturday, October 23rd, 2021 and invites participation by undergraduate and graduate students from all across India.

Cult 2021 has been designed to spark up young talented minds and provide them with a platform to express their imagination in the form of art, design and architecture. Along with last year’s successful categories like Group Dance Competition, Virtual Jamming Sessions, Broadway Style Theatre, Solo Dance & Song Contests, Instrumental Music Competition, Short Film Genre, Mural Art Showcasing, exhibiting products made of upcycled materials, Caption Contest etc, new categories have been added like Slim Shady where a participant has to add music and creatively to a selected dialogue and make it look like a real piece of innovation!

The more design centric genres of competition are all the more impressive and invoke one to pull their socks up and keep running their flights of imagination. So to speak, this time around the festival is looking for out-of-the-box designs that are made to make lives of a common man even simpler in the BIO BEAM segment wherein students will be required to execute their mind’s imagination to create a masterpiece inspired by nature – air, water, land. Through World Building Competition participants will be expected to showcase their foremost 3D modeling skills and the most powerful aspect of art and design in their way of healing sore minds will be gauged through Conceptual Art wherein participants develop any concept which can be easily communicated to the audience in a two minutes video. Medium to communicate the concept can be any form of art like body art, photography, performance art, short film or make your own little corner of your house etc.

As WUD sashays into the Annual Students Festival, its ecstatic Vice Chancellor Dr. Sanjay Gupta says, “Thanks to last year’s overwhelming response to the virtual version of The Cult that we are able to organize yet another episode this year. A lot of design thinking and innovation has gone into the event redesign fortified with detailing, improvisation and numerous additions. We trust the grapevine effect and since the festival got highly popular amongst students in the country, we expect 2x students of colleges outside WUD to participate! Our deans and professors have mentored the students through the whole process resulting in this big bunch of young highly driven and enthusiastic participants.”

Being a young university, World University of Design is on a mission to provide world class experiential learning to its pupils. The institute believes in appointing the best and experienced faculty members, it is providing platforms to the students to hone their skill set and pave a better future and also opening horizons for them to gauge their potential and see how ready they are for the practical design world.