The Hyderabad police which is probing the twin bomb blasts case at Dilshuknagar area today said the investigations were moving in a positive direction but refused to give a time frame for any arrests.
“Right now, there is nothing concrete we can say that we have. We are following certain leads. We are going forward. But definitely the investigation is moving in a positive direction,” Hyderabad city police commissioner Anurag Sharma told.
“All I can say that we are doing our best efforts and giving a time frame at this moment is not possible,” he added.
Meanwhile, an expert who participated in the forensic analysis of the blast material said the main component of the explosives is Ammonium Nitrate.
He said the police are of the opinion that the bomb was kept in an aluminum container as they found traces of aluminum at the blast site.
On 21 February, Hyderabad was rocked by two blasts in the crowded Dilsukhnagar area killing 16 persons and leaving 117 injured. The blasts triggered by Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) took place outside a roadside eatery near Konark and Venkatadiri theatres in the area.
“We cannot establish the pattern though the similar compound was found in Lumbini Park and Gokul Chat Bhandar blasts earlier in 2007. It is too early to come to a conclusion,” the expert said.
He said in the earlier blast terrorists kept the bomb in a wooden box.
A business delegation from Britain currently visiting India loved the Hyderabadi biryani they had here and are now keen to see some food joints from the city selling the royal rice preparation and other delicacies in London.
Like all the visitors to this historic city, the British businessmen could not resist the temptation of having the famous Hyderabadi biryani − made of finest variety of rice cooked with mutton or chicken along with generous mix of spices.
Some Indian British in the delegation also see a good business potential for biryani and haleem - and other royal dishes of Nizams - in London. Haleem is made by cooking minced meat with pulses, wheat and barley mixture.
With four million Asians, including two million Indians, London offers huge opportunity for those who can bring the real authentic Hyderabadi cuisine, Salil Patankar, a member of the delegation, told IANS.
Salil, who is managing director of ProActive Consultancy, a business consultancy, held talks with owners of Hyderabad House, which runs a chain of restaurants here and also plans to meet owners of Pista House, which made haleem famous in India and abroad, to take forward his proposal.
He pointed out that nobody from Andhra Pradesh or Hyderabad had ever taken the initiative to take authentic Hyderabadi food to London.
While there were hundreds of restaurants in London serving Indian food including biryani, Salil said, there is no restaurant claiming to sell Hyderabadi biryani in its entirety with Hyderabadi cuisine.
There is a huge potential if there is a niche. There are Indian restaurants in every corner but something like Hyderabadi biryani and Kolhapuri mutton is missing. The market is huge as people need variety and different options, Salil said.
What sells is princely taste. Nizam Shahi taste will sell in London and UK. Remember UK is a kingdom and queen is still the head of the state, he said.
Hyderabadi cuisine, a delightful mix of the Persian and the Mughlai, has a rich tradition with dishes prepared in enormous detail with a unique method, using a liberal dose of spices.
According to him, Pakistanis have successfully marketed their cuisine with the brand name Lahori restaurants.
Salil said while starting operations in Britain, the food joints will have to meet high standard of health, safety and hygiene.
He believes London has the best Indian food outside India. There are thousands of restaurants within M25 - radius.
In pursuit of its crass vote-bank politics, ever since it came to power in 2004, the Congress has not only dismantled anti-terror instruments like Pota but also allowed jihadis a free run of India
It’s amazing how ‘sources’ in security and intelligence agencies rush to plant information in media, especially news television channels, within minutes after a terrorist attack in this country. As much was witnessed last Thursday when two bombs went off within minutes of each other on a crowded street of Dilsukhnagar of Hyderabad (a third bomb was later found and defused), killing at least 16 people and injuring scores of others. As is usually the case, the excited chatter of blabbering television anchors and reporters soon gave way to ‘exclusive’ stories quoting ‘sources’ in security and intelligence agencies on possible groups behind the attack, how there was prior knowledge of ‘something being planned’ but nothing was done by way of preventive action, and the need to ‘revamp’ our intelligence gathering system.
Much of what is said is as unintelligible as the commentary on and reportage of events. What is amazing is that these ‘sources’ do not feel the necessity to push the envelope and force their organisational and political bosses to take pre-emptive action. For instance, if there is adequate knowledge of sleeper cells of jihadi organisations, then why aren’t those cells busted before they can be activated to carry out a terrorist attack? And if these ‘sources’ have tried to force precipitate action but failed, and feel frustrated by the ‘system’, then they should boldly blow the whistle and expose their bosses who are no less than collaborators. That is unlikely to happen, for these ‘sources’ either do not exist or, if they do, they are just as thoroughly useless as the bosses to whom they report to in the organisational hierarchy and political leadership of the day.
That said, little or no purpose is served by getting distracted by the media’s obsession with grabbing eyeballs by needlessly sensationalising events that have a bearing on national security. It would be in order to point out the sharp contrast between the coverage of a terrorist attack in our media and that of, say, Israel. While our media, more so news channels, do not hesitate from indulging in what can be described, without fear of contradiction, as reckless kite-flying, the Israeli media would double check every word and weigh every utterance before putting it out in the public domain.
An example would suffice. The Jerusalem Post had commissioned me to report on the terrorist bombing of a car in which the wife of the Defence Attache posted at the Embassy of Israel in New Delhi was travelling and the subsequent investigations and arrest of a key suspect in the crime. Each story was checked, edited, revised and played back to me for approval before being printed. On the first day I was slightly irritated by what to me appeared to be gratuitous changes made in the copy, but over the next few weeks I sensed a pattern to the fine but rigorous filtration process.
It so happened that I was in Israel a couple of months after the incident and mentioned my experience with the desk at The Jerusalem Post to some senior journalist friends. They said it was a standard practice, largely meant to keep speculation and crucial information out of the public domain. It made eminent sense. Speculation does not change facts or alter the reality. And crucial information if put out in the public domain, even in bits and pieces, can seriously compromise both investigations and the larger counter-terrorism strategy.
Much as the media would want it that way, the state cannot combat terrorism, either by way of preventive strikes or reactive action, in the glare of television cameras or by taking the media into confidence. It does not work that way anywhere in the world; in India it is doubly undesirable because the integrity of many journalists is, to put it mildly, suspect. Public memory is notoriously short but let us not forget that a senior journalist on the rolls of Deccan Herald was arrested for plotting jihadi attacks not many months ago. There are others who would happily sleep with India’s enemies for either ideological reasons or to flaunt their ethical promiscuity.
What should instead worry us is the Congress-led UPA Government’s unwillingness to fight terrorism. It would be easy, and is indeed tempting, to describe the stunning failure of this regime to wage war on terror as incapacity and inability. But that would be patently untrue. Ever since the summer of 2004, the Congress has actively followed a policy of dismantling the counter-terror mechanism, including a legal framework, that had been put in place by the BJP-led NDA regime.
This is because the Congress believes the best way to consolidate the Muslim vote in its favour is to go easy on terrorists. Crude as it may sound, that is the truth. Hence the speed with which Pota was rescinded; hence also the reason why senior Congress leaders known for their proximity to the party’s first family have visited Azamgarh to commiserate with the families of terrorists, cast aspersions on Delhi Police for its raid on Batla House (External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid wants us to believe Congress president Sonia Gandhi wept inconsolably when shown visuals of Indian Mujahideen terrorists responsible for bombings in Delhi who were killed in that raid), use the CBI to penalise upright police officers who take on jihadis (as was done with policemen involved in intercepting and killing LeT operative Irshad Jehan and her associates in Gujarat) and defame Hindus (as was done first by P Chidambaram who spoke of ‘saffron terrorism’ and then by his successor in the Home Ministry Sushil Kumar Shinde who luridly accused the BJP and RSS of training ‘Hindu terrorists’) in the hope that this will titillate the fanatics among Muslims.
The Congress maligns Hindus, secure in the knowledge that Hindus are a fragmented community who place caste and community above self-dignity; the educated feel that it is imperative to demean Hindus and Hinduism to prove their secular credentials; and, whether we like it or not, abusing Hindus and Hinduism does have an appeal among non-Hindus.
If the ruling political elite, namely the Congress, is to blame for compromising national security in the interest of crass vote-bank politics, spineless bureaucrats are guilty of facilitating this dangerous pandering to minorityism. The Union Home Secretary seems to be more keen on sucking up to the Home Minister and seconding his absurd assertions about ‘Hindu terrorism’ than in going after the real terrorists. He is also the person who showered fulsome praise on Delhi Police after the terrible gang-rape and murder of a young woman, glossing over the serious lapses of the police that allowed the criminals to commit their hideous crime.
He should now hold another media briefing and inform the nation as to why he, his fellow babus, the Intelligence Bureau and the Andhra Pradesh Police, all kept in clover by us tax-payers, did not act on the information that Indian Mujahideen activists arrested by Delhi Police in October 2012 had visited Dilsukhnagar and surveyed the same spot where the bombs went off last Thursday. Were they busy concocting tales about ‘Hindu terror’ to keep the Congress in good humour? We can be sure it was not incompetence that caused the failure.
As the outrage over the brutal gangrape and subsequent death of the 23-year-old medical student has galvanised a nation with questionable gender parity, it is difficult to place the story of Soni Sori, the young tribal teacher from Chhattisgarh, in the ongoing introspection and legislation against sexual violence.
If there is a growing national consensus against sexual violence, there is also the same consensus among most of the urban agitators at India Gate and other cities to rid the nation of the Naxal problem. And when the police and security forces, assigned the task of eliminating the Maoists from India's forests and hinterlands, adopt sexual violence as one of their tools, the discourse over rape and gender justice is muddled.
Sori, in police custody since October 2011 at the Raipur Central Jail, was arrested on charges of being a courier between Maoists and the Essar group. In custody, Sori was not only allegedly raped at the Dantewada police station, but tortured too with stones inserted into her private parts. Her health since the assault has been deteriorating and activists fear she may lose her life before her plea for bail is addressed by the courts. In her many letters, Soni has been complaining of bad health and being denied sustenance. "Giving electric shocks, stripping me naked, shoving stones inside me - is this going to solve the Naxal problem," she once asked in a letter to the Supreme Court.
Activists insist Sori was jailed for questioning human rights violations by police and security forces in the state. "Chhattisgarh has an unwritten set of rules about how an adivasi should behave. You don't organise, you don't agitate, you don't protest against human rights violations, you don't protest against the state, and you certainly don't protest against industrial houses that are in Bastar to usher in the industrial revolution," Himanshu Kumar, member of the Chhattisgarh chapter of the People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), said. Sori has also been termed as a prisoner of conscience by the Amnesty International in 2012.
Kavita Krishnan, Secretary of the All India Progressive Women's Association, slammed the recent National Commission for Women member Shamina Shafiq's visit to Soni Sori in a Raipur jail. The NCW member, after the meeting, said Sori is doing fine and that she only needs psychological counselling. Calling the statement 'outrageous', Krishnan demanded the immediate release of Sori since 'she continues to be in the captivity of her rapists'. The crucial hearing of her case in the Supreme Court, scheduled for Thursday, was deferred until Tuesday without citing any reason.
Meanwhile, a section of the anti-rape protesters in Delhi has included Sori's story in India's fight against sexual violence. On Wednesday, members of the All India Students' Association (AISA), along with several intellectuals and political leaders including Aam Aadmi Party's Prashant Bhushan and social activist Swami Agnivesh, staged a silent march, demanding Sori's release. "She has been repeatedly subjected to the most barbaric and repulsive sexual abuse in police custody - two separate medical reports has shown evidence of stones being shoved into her private parts. And yet, despite repeated protests, no action has been taken till now," a statement issued by AISA said.
The Delhi protesters also demanded punishment for Superintendent of Police Ankit Garg who allegedly ordered the sexual torture of Sori. Garg was awarded the president's medal in 2012 for professional excellence. In the continuing tragedy of Chhattisgarh, one of the worst hit by Maoist insurgency, Sori, despite the sexual violence and torture, remains just one amongst its many dramatis personae.
As many as 1,141 cases of rapes have been registered in Chhattisgarh during the past 13 months, state Home Minister Nankiram Kanwar informed the state assembly.
In a written reply to Congress MLA Haridas Bhardwaj, the minister, while providing the crime record status, stated that 70 cases of dacoity and 1,102 cases of murder also were registered. Between Jan 1, 2012, to Jan 31, 2013, there were 1,141 rape cases – the maximum were from Raipur (117), Durg (101), Jashpur (89) and Raigarh (86), he said.
Of the 70 dacoity cases during the period, 11 were registered in Narayanpur district and seven each in Bilaspur and Bijapur districts.
Earlier to this statement, facing flak for the Kanker rape case, Chhattisgarh Home Minister Nanki Ram Kanwar has landed himself in a spot by saying that crimes against women were happening as their stars were in adverse positions, a remark termed as childish and vulgar by the state Congress. "We have no answer to this rising spate of crimes against women. Star are not in position," Kanwar told. "Harm can come on a person if the stars are in adverse positions...We have no answer to this, only an astrologer can predict," the state Home Minister said.
Kanwar's remarks on Monday came after opposition Congress in Chhattisgarh demanded dismissal of the BJP government over the issue of the alleged rape on minor inmates of a government-run residential school for tribal girls in Kanker district, which came to light following a complaint on Saturday.
Asked about the Home Minister's remarks, Chief Minister Raman Singh on Tuesday quipped, "Now, what do I say on this." State Congress chief Nand Kumar Patel called Kanwar's comments as childish and vulgar.
A delegation of Congress leaders, led by Patel met Chhattisgarh Governor Shekhar Dutt and demanded dismissal of the state government, saying it has failed to ensure safety of the girls living in residential schools.
In a memorandum to the Governor, the party said that everybody was shocked by the incident of rape of inmates of Tribal Girls Pre-matric Hostel in Narharpur area of Kanker.
Two persons, including a teacher, have been arrested for allegedly raping minor inmates of the government-run residential school, according to police.
Accused Mannu Ram Gota, 24, a contractual teacher, was arrested on Sunday night from a forest area of Narharpur, Superintendent of Police Rahul Bhagat said, adding that school watchman Deenaram had also been taken into custody in the case for sexually abusing the girls for several months.
Medical examination has confirmed rape of nine out of the 40 students, who are residing at the hostel located in Narharpur police station limits, he said. Medical tests were still underway.
The Chhattisgarh government has ordered a high-level probe into the incident and Director General of Police Ramniwas has deputed IPS officer Neetu Kamal to investigate it. Stringent action will be taken against those who will be found guilty after the probe, the DGP said.
The popularity of psychometrics is slowly growing and a large number of companies have already embraced the method in their selection process.
In order to ensure that the recruitment process brings into picture the very best, HR managers are looking beyond objective ways of selection alone. This is where psychometric profiling steps in and provides a scientific method of screening candidates and producing a wholesome list of prospective employees. Yateesh Srivastava, CMO & head, talent, AEGON Religare Life Insurance, tells us what psychometric profiling is, "Psychometric tests are standard and scientific methods used to measure individuals' knowledge, abilities, attitude, personality traits, and behavioural styles. They provide probable areas of strength and limitations of the candidate with varying degrees of accuracy (depending on the tool being used). These tests are objective and unbiased to human error and judgement."
How can psychometrics help organisations in recruitment and selection? Amer Haleem, country manager – productised services, Hay Group India, answers, "Making the wrong hiring decision is expensive and difficult to resolve. Furthermore, putting all candidates through a rigorous interview process is neither practical nor cost-effective. In such a scenario, work-focused psychometric assessments are increasingly being used today
for screening and assessing large talent pools. Not only are the best psychometric tests compact and easy to-use, but they are also meant to be multi-purpose, that is, the data can be used at different points throughout the talent's lifecycle. Further, it is a robust and fair process, since it adapts to the ability of the candidate, which allows individuals of every level to demonstrate their full ability and potential."
Are organisations using psychometric testing for recruitment today? Udit Mittal, MD, Unison International, replies, "Some organisations prefer using psychometric tests for recruitments and some do not. Many organisations are not aware of psychometric tests and even if they are, they doubt the accuracy of the reports. A good psychometric test accounts for a heavy amount for administering and interpreting the analysis apart from spending on instruments and software. Undoubtedly, these tests help lighten the burden of HRD or hiring managers as they not only help in making the selection procedure easy, but also help the companies defend against legal challenges to HR decisions. However, a question on their monetary worth still puts a limit to their use."
Ashish Arora, founder & MD of HR Anexi, tells us whether psychometric profiling gives more or less an accurate idea of the behaviour of employees, "Psychological research has consistently shown that psychometric tests of cognitive ability are the best predictors of performance across roles and industries. For example, ability tests on problem-solving and communication can predict a candidate's performance by almost 50 per cent accuracy. The combined predictive accuracy of multiple ability tests is even higher. These tests may be more critical for certain types of roles (e.g., managerial) and competencies (e.g., conscientiousness) than others."
It is never a good idea to fake your answers in psychometric tests as it gets highlighted at the end of the test. Ketan Kapoor, CEO, Mettl, explains, "Reliability and validity of a psychometric test is the consistency and accuracy of the test that allows repetitive measures and in different settings. The test pronounces itself valid and reliable only when a person responds to a given set of questions in an honest manner. To control the impact of faking on it, social desirability checks are made, where all dimensions of the test are normally distributed. It helps indicate if a person's responses appear high, relative to the norm."
Thus, psychometrics can prove highly useful if more and more companies are to adopt it.
Leading a family-run business calls for different skill-sets and leadership abilities.
Going by definition, a ‘family business' is an enterprise (with an intention of making profit) owned by the member or members of a single family. It is the most common and popular form of business that exists today. Many leading names are family-run. A growing economy like India has more potential in this space. A recent study by PricewaterhouseCoopers - Family Business Survey (FBS) 2012 says that 74 per cent of family businesses in India have witnessed growth in sales figures in the past year against the global average of 65 per cent. So, the outlook is promising.
But, do you think leading a family-owned business is as simple as coming to office one fine day and taking charge? Think again. Taking up the reins of a family business is no cakewalk. There are several challenges in leading a family entity.
"One major challenge for me was living up to the expectations that were set before I joined the business. I was meant to bring a change and revolution in the monotony of our business operations owing to my education and knowledge," says Anirudh Dhoot, director, Videocon. "Hard work was the only way out. I sat and learnt a lot from my seniors, read a lot of management books, met a lot of experienced people, spent sleepless nights and finally overcame most of the hurdles," shares Dhoot.
"There must be a clear strategy in place on the functions of multiple family members and clarity on who is doing what. We had a strategy in place before the second generation came in, so that there is no overlap of responsibilities and even the employees need to be clear on the leadership positioning," feels Mithun Chittilappilly, MD, V-Guard Industries Ltd, a second-generation owner running the family business.
Many a times, family-owned businesses hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons (read: the succession feud). "A leader must proactively plan for leadership succession; there is a need to not only systematically develop the second generation of leadership, but also look beyond family relations to find the right successors. Business leaders must also prepare for potential internal conflicts related to such succession," informs Ashish Arora, founder & MD, HR Anexi. The absence of a competent family member should not be a deterrent for the growth of the business. Organisations must always be open to the idea of bringing in competent talent from outside to lead the firm, though experts suggest that it's vital to weigh the pros against the cons of doing this.
Separating ownership from management is a tricky factor in family-owned businesses. "Family members work on a payroll like any other employee. Before we got listed, we transferred the brand name owned by the family to the company. We have a very strict board of directors and do not have too many dealings with the promoter off the group. We do not talk much of business at home, though we bounce of ideas. We have an informal meeting of family members once in three months for discussions and appraising each other's performance," explains Chittilappilly on how they balance ownership and management.
"A leader must separate the twin phenomena of working IN and ON the business. As a leader of the firm's management, his/her role is to guide executives on managing business performance and help them plan for potential risks and opportunities," suggests Arora.
Making your family entity a success calls for a strong and competent leadership. "In order to manage a business, one must own every aspect of it, take responsibility of all the decisions and also bear the brunt of all the wrongdoings. In order to be a successful owner, one must be a responsible manager," suggests Dhoot. To be a successful leader, it is good to gain some experience outside the family entity, feels Chittilappilly. Before joining a family business, working in any other major organisation will open up new ideas and thought processes beneficial for the family-owned business.
Every new job arouses feelings of anxiety. But there are ways to deal with them.
A new workplace brings with it new challenges, and business gurus say that the best way to manage them is to absorb as much as possible. The first few days, which are vital for an employee to learn and imbibe job-related knowledge, can be charred by anxiety. One rash decision can steer your career off the right road.
"For freshers and experienced professionals alike, beginning a new job is widely considered to be one of the top life-changing events. Starting on a new job has a way of significantly altering the day-to-day life. A different or new job not only means a new role, but also means other considerable changes — a different company, new people, a new manager and management style, a foreign culture, new schedules and different benefits package to adjust to.
The changes can be exciting, but overwhelming nonetheless. Even the seemingly ‘small' aspects of starting a new job (the commute; when, where and who to have lunch with; finding the restrooms; etc) can cause anxiety," says Divakar Kaza – president, HR, Lupin Ltd. Many a times, the anxiety arises in case the work environment is not inclusive or positive enough to match the expectations of the employee. In addition to the above, Jayantika Dave, VP - HR, Ingersoll Rand International avers, "The cause of occurrence of this anxiety is due to the change in the work culture and environment of a new workplace that an employee is a witness to.
After having worked in an organisation with a set work culture, and a particular office environment, would make an employee comfortable and used to it. However, on entering a new organisation, the employee needs to observe and adapt to the new culture and environment altogether." There are a number of reasons why you may feel fearful before you start in your new position. "If you have been out of work due to a layoff or some other reason, worry and self-doubt may overshadow your positive feelings about finally getting that new role. Maybe your skills are a little rusty or you are beginning to ‘second guess' your performance too," explains Desai.
Now that our experts have broken down the causes for this syndrome, let's find some solutions to the same. "Talent managers must create unambiguous job descriptions for all the jobs of the company. The HR managers thereafter must issue in writing to the employees and get an acknowledgement from each of them," says Ravish CK – director, Virtus HR Solutions Pvt Ltd, India. Focusing on making a good first impression in a new organisation, learning the rules of the new workplace, blending-in, etc are good ways to start on a new job. Lastly, looking at a new job as an opportunity to step up the learning curve and giving it the best shot will definitely do the trick.
A few ways for employees to deal with feelings of anxiety without making any rash decisions:
- Refute your negative thoughts and start-off with a positive mindset;
- Begin with the mindset that whatever happens, you will give yourself at least six months of time before deciding on what to do further. By this time, you would have settled and gotten comfortable at the job;
- Talk to your new manager - Calling your new boss a week or two before your start date to find out what your boss wants you to accomplish on day one, week one and month one would help. The call also presents an opportunity for you to obtain materials that will help you ramp up in your new job;
- Create some goals within your workplace that you can shoot for, regardless of your anxiety.
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